Relax - Be_Active
A small break is always nice.
Currently, the B-Rank Wars for Border agents was going on. The amazing fights had continued on with each team fighting their hardest to make it to the top. Each team had their own reasons to be fighting, whether it was something noble or just to show off, and they would stick to their reasons.
That did not really matter at the moment seeing as the teams participating in the B-Rank Wars were on a small break. It had been a set day to give some extra time for each team to do what they needed to do or wanted to do.
That also meant that there was more time for them to strategize over their next matches.
There were also those who were not involved with the B-Rank Wars. Some of them had nothing to do with Border in general.
Those people were currently wandering around Mikado City, looking left and right as if getting caught by anyone would mean life or death.
To be precise, it was only one of them was looking around like a suspicious person while another one was walking with a stern look on his face. The two gave off the impression of a father with their child.
"Stop looking around, girl. If we end up getting caught then it's your fault. Stop it now or I am leaving you right here. Got it?"
"Yes... I'm sorry, Sensei."
The person being spoken to was hard to classify as a male or female. There were small hints here and there that made it seem like they were a girl. The thing that really sold that they were a girl was the fact that she was also wearing a skirt.
The person she was with was a tall man with dark hair that covered his forehead and gave a shadow to his eyes. His expression was a plain and stern one, although there was something about it that seemed to look like he was mad.
The girl quickly faced forward so as not to actually anger the man, but she still looked around the area. It was something she would always do, not for her own sake but the sake of the man next to her.
"Remember, we have something to do here. Stay focused and we will be fine."
"Um... What would that be again...?"
The man let out a small sigh.
"If you can't bother to remember then I won't bother to keep reminding you. Pay attention the next time I explain something."
"R-right... My bad. I'll try to keep that in mind later."
"For now, I'll let it slide. Just remember it this time so I don't have to repeat it again."
"Right! Got it!"
The man gave a small nod as if to say this truly was the last time he would be explaining things to her.
"We are here to take back my Black Trigger. I left it with my son and brother-in-law. Now I want to take it back so we can leave this world."
"And why do we want to leave it again...?"
"Because this world...is terrible. There is no point in staying on it any longer. That is why you will be going towards the base while I go get the Black Trigger. From there we will take their ship for ourselves."
The girl stayed silent for a moment.
She had no issue with Earth. None that she could think of at least. Even so, this man was someone she cared about enough to throw it all away and go along with the plan.
That was what he wanted, so she wanted it as well.
This was enough for her.
The stern man and suspicious girl were not the only ones who were walking around. Two others who did not belong in Mikado City were also there. Their appearances and general feeling were much more casual and carefree than the two who were looking for something.
They spoke as if they didn't have a care in the world while also appearing to be on guard for anything. They were clearly not amateurs in what they were doing.
While two others gave off the feeling of a father and his child, these two made it seem much more like they were a grandfather with his grandchild.
"Why do we have to come here? Isn't this the place where Aftokrator lost?"
"Yes. That's why we're here in the first place. Think about how strong they must be, and what kind of Triggers they have if they were able to fend off Aftokrator. We may even be able to learn something from them and expand on what we already have."
"Guess you're right~ Besides, I have to admit that the things here are amazing to look at. I just bought this thing called a 'hotdog' and it's amazing! Do you wanna try some? It tastes really good!"
"Not to sound rude, Sir, but are you an idiot? And I mean, are you a major idiot that only comes along every few hundred years? If so, I must give you much more credit than I have before. I really never thought your kind existed."
"What!? Why would you ask that!?"
"...No reason. Also, how did you get any money for that Miden food anyways? Please tell me that you didn't cause an incident simply because you were hungry."
"Of course not! I just went to one of their shops and sold some stuff I had on me. Apparently the shiny thing called 'gold' that we had on the ship is worth a whole lot. But the place seemed to have a lot of it already."
"Odd... This place truly is a strange place. Not everything that shiny should have such value. I suppose we should be thanking the former captain for obtaining such material when he was last here."
"Yeah..."
Two people calmly walked down one of the streets in Mikado City. From the way they talked anyone would be skeptical of them, but it would pass by as paranoia. That would be expected though since the two were dressed in regular clothing you could find at any passing by shop.
The first one was a boy looking to be in his late teens to early twenties in regular clothing with a necklace that looked like it was for royalty more so than anything else. He looked around in excitement as he continued to eat the snacks he had bought only a few minutes ago.
The second person was also a man, but one looking to be middle aged. He looked like he had much experience with all of his wrinkles and tired face. He seemed more focused than his partner, yet just as carefree.
The atmosphere around the two, which had been carefree, had taken a dip at the mention for someone they both missed dearly. Like anyone else, they missed those they had lost due to circumstances.
Even so, the younger man made sure to not dwell on it as he continued on.
"Anyways. Why didn't we just send some soldiers? If we played it off right we could have came in and said we were 'Heroes of Justice' and get everyone's favor," the younger one said as he licked his lips to get the ketchup off of them. "Oh~ If you leave it on your face then you have something to eat for later on!"
"We couldn't do that because you made a mistake last time and we ended up using too many of them. This world doesn't make Trion Soldiers like the others, so we wouldn't be able to ask for any from them."
The man glanced down at his partner.
"And please never do that. It will probably taste terrible after a few minutes. Also, it's disgusting."
"Oh... Right... Heh heh heh... Forgot about that..." Looking away from the small glare the older man sent his way, the younger one tapped his head for a few seconds before looking up as if he got a great idea. "Hey! Then why didn't we just send Pyrínas? You know we can always trust him to get the job done! It's so easy! We could use one through seven!"
"We can't use him because we sent him to that other city, and everyone after seven aren't capable of changing their shape. Being in their other forms makes things much easier. Now, Sir, please continue to look around for the building where the Suzunari Branch is. Once that is done, we must move on."
"Yes~ Yes~"
.
The two strangers continued to walk down the street, never once taking a look around them. There had never been a reason to do so, meaning they could not see the person running right towards them. Rather, the person was running in their direction with seemingly no breaks.
The older man looked forward when he felt the person run right into him at full force. He still stood, but the same could not be said for the other person.
The older man noticed that the person was a boy who could not have been more than a few years younger than his partner.
"(Ah, crap! Sorry 'bout that!)" Noticing he was speaking his native language, the boy changed to a different one. "Sorry about that. I'm in a hurry and didn't see where I was going!"
The boy, with little effort, jumped to his feet.
"It's quite alright. Just make sure to watch where you're going," the older one said as he patted the boy's head, which was covered by a gray trapper hat. "Now, you said you were in a hurry. Go on, don't let me keep you waiting."
"Right! Again, sorry!"
With that, the boy ran off.
The older man smiled as the boy ran off. He could feel his partner giving him a dirty look while standing next to him.
It was to be expected at this point.
"Why are you always nice to younger people except me!?"
"Because they usually don't give me heart attacks by being too reckless. You, on the other, have caused me to lose so much sleep that it is showing on my face. Even Sanshū has not been as bad as you."
"I said I was sorry!"
The boy in the gray trapper hat on, after having just ran into a man, continued to run to a group of two girls and one guy. He let out a breath once he reached them and started speaking. Even with the running, he did not seem too winded and just straightened up so he could look them in the eyes.
His tone was not one of apologies but rather one of unrestrained engery. Even his face expressed how unpahsed he was by things around him.
"Sorry I'm late! Step had come to see me before I could leave, so I had to see if Ai would watch him for a bit!"
"I still don't get why you didn't honestly come with Takeshi. Both of you live right next to each other, so there's no reason not to be his escort."
"Please don't make it sound like that, Suzume-senpai. Besides, I don't need a dog to escort me." Takeshi turned away from his upperclassman to look at Toby. "By the way, we saw what just happened. I can't believe you ran into an old person. Slow down once in a while."
"But it was honestly fun to see him fall on his ass while the old guy was still standing."
"(Hey!)"
"Please calm down, Toby-kun. And Senpai, please don't antagonize him."
Continuing their talking while they walked, Kotowari Squad, minus their Operater, made their way through Mikado City with a single destination in mind. They had fought their fourth match in the B-Rank Wars and were now actually taking time off from their training.
Under normal circumstances they would all be doing their own things and avoiding each other for the most part. Things were different right now since they had agreed to do this ahead of time. It was a sort of group activity that they needed after everything they have had to deal with.
"I still don't get why you wanna go to the mall of all places," the boy in the trapper hat said as he crossed his arms. "Can't we just go to some local store. I'm sure they'll have what you want anyways."
The boy, as mentioned before, had a trapper hat on, covering his brown hair. He had brown eyes to match and looked like the type of person who was a delinquent from a different country. Well he was American after all, so the judgment was not totally without reasoning. It showed on his tan skin as well. He was the Attacker of the Kotowari Squad and neighbor to his captain.
"Because I honestly want to go to that sale on CDs there! There's one I've been wanting and now's my chance to get it at a lower price!" one of the two girls there said as she flipped her hair. "Besides, I honestly know for a fact that you need some stuff from there as well."
She is Misaki Suzumebachi. She had short, brown hair as well as green eyes that seemed more like shining emeralds than eyes. Her appearance was one of a model with her looks being able to attract almost any guy she wanted. Although she never used her looks for something petty like that. Not on purpose that is. She also had a musical note necklace around her neck. She is the Sniper of Kotowari Squad, but could easily switch to using a blade or gun.
"I'm actually in agreement with Toby here. Wouldn't it be better to train some more? I still need to get the hang of Zanzō before we head back up to the more powerful opponents," the second boy said as he fixed the scarf around his neck. "We have to catch up to Yuki-san after all."
"I don't know. It is nice to just have some time for us. Even if we are in Rank Wars, we are still people," the second girl said while giving a heaven-sent smile. "There will certainly be enough time to catch up to Kiyo-nii-san."
The boy was Kotowari Takeshi, captain of Kotowari Squad, as well as their Shooter. He has black hair, with some gray streaks, and gray eyes. He wore a gray scarf around his pale neck and had an almost bored look on his face. He had taken up the title of Captain after their team's disbandment, but in reality was just a figurehead for the team.
The second girl was Taiyōko Hoshi, the youngest sibling in the Taiyōko family. She had black hair that would normally fall over her right eye but was held up by a crescent moon hair clip. She had the aura and image of an elegant, majestic princess from a fairy tale, and would be called such at times.
"It is nice at times, but we want to reach Yuki already so we can properly kick his ass."
"One day won't kill you, right?"
"See, Hoshi-chan gets it! Besides! You two honestly need some new clothes! Holes are starting to appear in your shirts and I honestly can't stand it. I want the two of you to honestly look good so you can get girlfriends!"
"Pah! No! I need new pots since this idiot Shooter actually tried to make something yesterday and messed up everything in my kitchen! And don't use us as material!"
"Why do you let him in?"
"I don't! This idiot stole my spare key! (I've told you this already!)"
"Here's a better question then... Why did you need to bring us along, Senpai? I had planned on meeting up with Asano so we could practice a bit."
"Now I would honestly be on you, asking for the details, but I'm on a mission here, so please don't mention things like that to me." Fixing her hair into a small tail, Suzume went to answer the initial question. "Anywho. I'm honestly bringing you two since Mei-san's not even in Mikado City right now, so I need to bring someone else."
"By the way, where did she say she was going again?"
"Honestly... You don't pay attention to anything, do you?"
"She said she needed to go to the next city over with some of the people from Yagura for a while. She'll be back later."
"Oh..."
Content with watching her team converse, Hoshi stayed quiet with a smile on her face.
She had been the latest addition to the squad but, unlike the other three, she did not stand out much. She did not mind this at all, always happy with just watching them and their usual antics. They were considered the main fighters of the team while she took up the role of a support fighter.
Taking her eyes off them for a few second to look around, she saw a familiar face and straightened up a bit. She fixed her hair for a few second before turning back to her squad. The smile she wore was much more bright and filled with innocence that may have never been seen before.
"Ah. Excuse me," she said, getting their attention. "I know I said I would go with you all, but I'm going to check something out over there. Ah! If you don't mind, that is!"
"Oh. Alright." Seeing passed the girl, Suzume saw a certain glasses wearing boy and forced herself not to grin. "We'll see you later then. And honestly don't let us stop you from having some fun of your own~"
"Make sure to meet back up later for some training."
"Right! I will message you when it's time."
The three watched as she jogged over to the glasses-boy and could not help the smile that came to their faces.
Well, two of their faces.
Takeshi let out a sigh as he started walking once more.
He knew that the other two felt like Hoshi was a sister to them now. That was why they were happy for her. It was almost like they wanted to see their own younger siblings in such a state as well.
Both Suzume and Toby were older siblings with age-varying younger siblings. They would start going on-and-on about their siblings when given the chance. It was certainly annoying, but Takeshi was not going to be the person to stop them. It was similar to how Arashiyama and Yuki would get when speaking about their siblings.
Takeshi had older brothers before but had been so distant towards them that he had never really seen the appeal of a sibling. These same brothers had died during the first invasion on Mikado City, but he still felt nothing towards them. It seemed sad for anyone who knew, although he had little care for them to begin with.
Letting out a sigh at his own inability to understand siblings, Takeshi ignored them and continued on.
A sickly-looking person slowly sat up while holding his head. His expression was one of pain, yet he also seemed like he was more mad than anything.
It was understandable when his whole body was a constantly deteriorating one that caused him pain on a daily basis. Having to wake up with this pain, as well as pain to his head, would cause anyone to be angry.
"Urg... My head is killing me."
"That's probably because you fainted after having a coughing fit. Please be more careful. I don't want to have to speak at your funeral so soon. Then again, knowing you, you would come back to life just to tell me off for not doing it right."
"Don't worry. I don't plan on dying anytime soon. If I do, I'll tell you about it. It would be annoying if you didn't at least try to meet my expectations."
Looking to the side, Yuki saw Murakami sitting in a chair close to him.
Tsukiko Yuki, or Taiyōko Kiyoshi (depending in the person you asked), was an eighteen-year-old guy with black hair that seemed to have more by his left eye. He had a fragile and sickly look to him, but he held the honor of being an A-Rank agent at Border with the specialized Trigger known as Idōgetsu. He was also the representative of the Yagura Branch.
The other guy - Murakami Kō - was also an eighteen-year-old male with short spiky gray-brown hair, which seemed to be slicked back. He had a more indifferent look to him and seemed more durable than the other male. He was a B-Rank agent for Border and the ace for the Kuruma Squad, which was stationed at the Suzunari Branch.
The two had some history together, so seeing the two together, or at each other's branch offices, was not an uncommon thing. The two seemed to be hanging out more so than before.
"Urg. Did I really cough that much? Damn. No wonder Mei's always bugging me to be careful..." Looking around, Yuki saw that he was on a couch and easily put together that he was in the branch office. "So what are you even doing here?"
"Senpai asked me to come check on you while they're all gone. Apparently you had been fighting with Tachikawa-san before you passed out."
"'They'? Oh crap. I forgot about that. Do you know who all went?"
"Well the only one who was here when I arrived was Sensei, and Hoshi is with her team, so I'm assuming the rest of them went."
Whether that was a good thing or not was up in the air at this point.
The two could only think about how destroyed the area was after having those people in it for this long.
Yagura Branch had been created with some of the strangest people. Four being from the same family while others just being oddities. For them all to in a city with no supervision would be worse than having children on their own.
"Why did things end up like this…?" muttered Takaoto Mei as she shook her head. She fixed her hair up by clipping the parts by her face up to the top sides of her head.
Standing next to her was Taiyōko Kushikage, a bandage wrapped woman who had crimson hair (dyed) and a mischievous look in her eyes.
They had both gotten separated from their group in some confusion and had gone to see if they could find the missing A-Rank, B-Rank, Operator, and two C-Ranks.
"I didn't think the great Fuji-sama would get lost when she is suppose to be supervising the rest of us."
"Well maybe if you didn't play around so much, I would have an easier time doing my job."
"Now, now, no need to get so feisty. I just want to have some fun while we were out here. Speaking of which... Why the hell does a place like this have such a fuckin' massive multi-layer overpass to begin with? This isn't some bustling American city where everyone is moving around at Mach 10 just to get to their shitty jobs."
"I don't know. Maybe they just want to seem more busy than they actually are. Either way, it reminds me of the recent match we had."
"Hoshi still needs some improvements in her technique," muttered Kushikage. "Anyway, Fuji-chan, are you sure you should be doing that during such an urgent time?"
"What are you trying to say?"
Mei had called up a map on her cell phone in order to think up a way to regroup with the other members, but...
"That sure is a lot of unrelated locations you have marked on your cell phone map there. What's this? You have that weird store Lover's Sign marked?"
"Wha-!?"
Mei turned her cell phone off as quickly as humanly possible, but Kushikage's grinning didn't stop.
"Isn't that a store well known for its disgustingly shitty lovey-dovey atmosphere? Although I had heard they had recently started expanding the breadth of their operations because business was in the shithole..."
"...For someone who doesn't care about love, you sure are knowledgeable about this."
"You can quickly find almost any information you want on the internet. But I thought they had an external detective agency perform a background check on the customer before they would make any items for them. I don't think they would accept an order from a girl who looks like she's from some prepubescent middle school band group."
"Ugh..."
"Which means... Heh heh... It must be that new service of theirs...ha ha... Those charm bracelets that look expensive, but are connectable by plastic for lovers in a less serious relationship... hee hee..."
"Gah! Fine, you're right! When I heard you were all coming here, I just thought I could come along and stop by to grab those bracelets when I had some time! Is that so wrong!?"
"...Those bracelets are made of titanium. They're cheap but don't you think they're a little unrefined?"
"Titanium can be colored using electrolysis when it's in a solution. If two bracelets are manufactured with the same equipment, the pattern of the coloration comes out so the two bracelets connect."
"So you were going to color them using a combination of the store's equipment, electricity and your own hyper calculations? ...Isn't that like some crappy stalker girl who's gift is only accepted out of pity when she tried super fuckin' hard to make it? The girl's the only one who finds that crap romantic."
"Eh!?"
"Not to mention that the two of you aren't even going out yet. Do you have any idea how a guy must feel if the girl gives him a gift like that? He'd probably be wondering how the fuck you even got his wrist measurement."
Mei stiffened and Kushikage sighed.
The girl who was wearing almost nothing over her slender body and large breasts took pity on Mei and decided to stop poking fun at her over that.
"Well, enough with the stupid mushy-gushy crap. More importantly, I knew that you you still couldn't hold a candle to someone like me."
"What?"
"What's the point of of training when the most important part of a woman will never grow to be like this?"
"...Are you talking about breast size...?"
Mei's fist clenched with so much power that anyone looking would think she had some kind of supernatural power that could destroy anything with one punch.
Paying the tightening fist no heed, Kushikage finished the jab with a, "I never said that. I could be meaning how I get any guy I want while you can't even get one."
"I am seriously going to punch you! Stay still!"
The two friends let out simultaneous sighs.
"I see..."
There was a moment of silence between the two.
They just wanted to let everything sink in and see if they would get a call saying they need to drag two destructive women back to Mikado City.
Once the moment was done, Murakami started speaking again.
"Oh yeah. Shinoda-san is also here. He's talking with Sensei right now."
"Tora-san?"
Getting up, the two walked out of the main room and headed over to Akasora's office. When they got closer they could hear the two talking about nothing particular and seemed to just be having a regular conversation.
Now this would not have been bad if it was not for the fact there was a bottle of sake on the desk. That was the first thing they noticed once they entered the room.
"It's about time you got up, you lazy brat." Looking at the two with a bored expression, Akasora drank some of the sake before putting the bottle back down. "Hurry up and get in here."
"I don't think you should be drinking, Sensei," Murakami said as he entered the office with his friend. "Especially since it's the middle of the day. You're a respected-"
"Semi-respected."
"-adult, as well as the branch manager of the Yagura Branch. Getting drunk like this isn't something you should be doing. Leave that stuff to Kushikage-san. She is the one no one actually respects."
"Pah! I don't really care. I'm nowhere near being a lightweight, so it doesn't matter. It takes me at least five bottles of the best stuff to just get me tipsy. I'd think you two would know this by now."
"It's a fact we didn't care to know." Turning to the other man, Yuki gave a small greeting of, "Hey, Tora-san."
"Now that you're awake, we can properly discuss this," Shinoda said as he took the bottle from Akasora's hand and put it down. "So that means no more drinking, Chishi."
"Tch. If we're talking about that guy then I'll need more than this. I'd rather deal with a hangover than that headache."
"What is it?"
"Kō, you'll probably hear something about this when you go back to Suzunari, but it's best to hear it now, I suppose. As my students I probably should have actually said this a lot sooner. The guy is just too...irksome for me to even mention."
"Who are you talking about, Sensei?"
"There are two people in Mikado City that we need to be on the lookout for. One is someone both Masafumi and I know pretty well while the other seems to be his partner or something."
"We don't know who this partner's name is, or even who they are generally, but the one we do know is Tenryū Seidō. He's been missing for a while now and has been labeled as a fugitive. He's easily on par with us two when it comes to using a Trigger, and we have no idea why he's back."
"A fugitive... Wait! Tenryū?"
Letting out a groan, Yuki slid his hand down his face.
Murakami looked from the two older ones to the one next to him in confusion. The name was familiar, he could even associate it with someone, but it still confused him as to why that name meant so much to Yuki.
"Yeah. I know. I made sure not to tell Shokubutsu about it though. He probably won't be able to handle the shock of it."
"It's not just that."
"We know. The Tenryū family was against you're parents as much as Awdry and Kurosaki, so that's why we're glad the rest of them have left. With you're name having been changed to Tsukiko there won't be as much of a problem with him going after you."
"Either way though, it's still troubling to know he's here. On the flip side of that, we could use this to our advantage and try to get him."
"If I may say something." Getting the attention of the three, Murakami got a more serious look than he had before. "I'm not sure what exactly you're all talking about, but there's something wrong with this... Not everyone left, remember? Hoshi is still here in Mikado City."
"Shit!"
"Hold on a moment," Shinoda said as he held Yuki back. "He doesn't know that. For all we know, he could just be here for something else entirely. We're keeping tabs on him for now and we're going to be making sure an A-Rank agent is tailing him at all times."
"There's also that person with him. If we forget about them then it'll give them the freedom to move around as they please. Kō, like I said before, you'll probably get a watered down version of this all when you go back to Suzunari, but could you also make sure everything's okay if you see them?"
"We know you need to focus on the Rank Wars, but this would be very much appreciated."
"Of course. I'll make sure to keep an eye out."
The two regular agents nodded their heads. Akasora had done so much for them in the past that it would be wrong to not help him at times like these. What was more was that it was also an assignment from Director Shinoda as well. They knew that they were not the only ones who would be hearing this.
Although there was something out of place from this all and the two of them knew it.
"Sensei, what else do you want to tell us? You both look like there's more to this story than just our assignments. What else comes with talking about Tenryū?"
Akasora let out a resigned sigh.
His hand started for the sake once more. He stopped just before grabbing it, deciding that it was better to speak with his students sober than being even a bit tipsy.
"Seidō was a member of Border a while ago. He was around the same level as us two. From the last name I'm sure you can figure out that he's related to my nephew. The two are father and son. Don't be surprised if Shokubutsu says he doesn't know that."
"I'll take a guess and say he left when Tenryū was young."
"You would be right. His wife had also been a part of Border, as well as my own sister. The two were really a great pair, both in combat and general. Well, something had happened a bit after Shokubutsu was born. That being the creation of Shikifuku. Now then, answer this question: if we have not seen my sister since the creation of Shikifuku, what do you two think that means?"
The answer was obvious.
"Yup. She became the Black Trigger known as Shikifuku. Even her personality shows a bit in it."
"What do you mean, Sensei?"
"He's probably talking about the fact that Shikifuku can be used by virtually everyone. It's interesting in that sense since even Black Triggers seem to have preferences."
Akasora gave a nod.
"That's right. My sister was someone who cared for everyone. Although she was also a bit difficult at times, represented by the fact that Shikifuku has three separate parts that can be used simultaneously by other people. At least that's what we think. The people who knew her can see it all."
There was a moment of silence.
Akasora seemed to thinking over something as he spoke. Picking and choosing the correct words was not something he was use to, but he knew that he had to make it understandable enough for his students.
"To tell you two the true, we didn't even know that Shikifuku was a Black Trigger at the time. Seidō had been the only one to see it all happen. We only found out about it when my nephew had accidentally used it at some point. Then we saw a letter when going through Seidō's belongings. From there we decided to hide the fact that it was a Black Trigger. It was a secret to even some of the directors. If only because we wanted to make sure it couldn't be used too often."
"But you had to bring it out during the invasion. That was a necessary time to use. We had to deal with multiple Black Triggers at the time while Jin didn't have Fujin and Amo was busy elsewhere due to orders."
"Correct. A+ for you. Even though I hardly did anything. I could only buy some time since that woman had sent me away from the battlefield. In all actuality, I shouldn't have been a part of the invasion at all. I should have been doing my part as a teacher."
"You were compensated for your work. Don't start that up again or I'll take the alcohol away from you."
Akasora was quick to grab the bottle on the table out of fear of losing it.
Murakami and Yuki laughed a bit at this.
"And the father... What exactly happened with Seidō-san?"
Akasora and Shinoda had a bittersweet feeling when they heard Murakami speak about their former friend with respect. They were glad to know that he respected the man that was on equal footing as them. They also felt like he did not deserve that kind of respect.
Even so, the two would answer honestly.
"He took care of Shokubutsu rather well. He was a kind parent and never hit Shokubutsu for no reason. Basically, he was your average father who just happened to be a part of Border. At some point his view probably changed, most likely after Shikifuku was created. That's probably our fault for not noticing anything particular going on."
"Don't mind that last part too much." Shinoda let out a sigh while ruffling his hair. "But I'll finish things up while your stupid teacher drinks some more. It looks like he needs it from here on out."
Murakami and Yuki looked over to see that Akasora was staring at the bottle in his hand.
"At some point Seidō had left without letting anyone know. It was in the late hours so no one was really even awake at the time. Shokubutsu did not seem to mind... No. Maybe it was that he hadn't even noticed that his father was gone in the first place."
"How's that? Shobu is a perceptive kid. I doubt that he wouldn't notice if his caretaker was missing. Sensei even said that Seidō-san was a good father."
"He never said that he was a 'good father'. Chishi had said that he had taken care of his son. That's all. He was giving everything a person needs. Food and other necessities were always provided without issue. But to say that he was always there..."
"The guy spent more time fighting Neighbors than anything else. In a way, you can say he was a grownup version of Miwa. Just without all the hate."
"Exactly. So, suffice to say, Shokubutsu didn't notice that anything was wrong. Actually... It may have been that he saw nothing wrong with his father leaving him. It was only after we had gone to their house did he tell us that Seidō wasn't around. That's also when we saw Shikifuku on his wrist. As mentioned before, we didn't give that too much thought when we first saw it."
They were glad. Murakami and Yuki were glad to hear more. They knew more about their teacher, one of the director, as well as the child Yuki was rather fond of.
At the same time, it made them mad. To hear that a father left his child for seemingly no reason would get anyone mad. The fact they knew the child was what made things worse. Murakami knew him because of Yuki and Akasora but he could not find a reason not to be mad. It was much worse for Yuki.
Yet the two said nothing. They simply waited for the two adults to finish speaking.
"Now that everything has been brought out to the two of you, we can say something else about why he would be coming back. We think he is back to take Shikifuku."
"Wait... While it's messed up that he just left Shobu without any warning, is that really a reason to be so worried? He may be as good as the two of you but that's only with a Trigger, right? We just need to make sure he doesn't get a Trigger to work with."
"That's not so easy. You see, when he left... He took a few Triggers with him."
"Ah. Now that makes sense..."
"Exactly. That's why it was so sudden as to why I sent everyone to the next city over. I never let that kid go so far away without taking Shikifuku. Since I've seen Seidō myself that means he doesn't know that Shikifuku isn't in Mikado City."
Everything was thought out. So much so that they did not seem to take into consideration Yuki being unable to go with the rest of the Yagura Branch. It was a clear sign that they had not told Mei anything about this.
Being told to keep an eye out by these two was enough for them to follow orders. It was part of their job as Border agents. Having a solid reason to do so made them steal their resolve even more.
They knew what they had to do and they would get it done.
Which was why a last question was brought up.
"Sensei, Shinoda-san, do you want me to follow them? You guys know that I can handle something like that. If it gets to a point, I am the best at getting away."
"That's alright. He's a cautious guy to begin with. He probably thinks we already know he's here. If you start watching him then he will definitely notice and do something about it. It'll make things worse if you are out of range for Bail Out. You won't be able to make an escape, and with your body the way it is..."
A deteriorating body. That was what Yuki had and they all knew it.
"If you say so... Well, I'll still be keeping an eye out for anything particular. I don't know why but I'm getting this bad feeling."
"Thanks." Letting out a long sigh, Akasora sat back in his chair. "You two can go now. I want to talk some more with Masafumi."
"Right, right. Old man talk is the last thing I want to hear." Standing up, Yuki waved his hand while saying, "Come on, Kō."
Following the other, Murakami left behind Yuki.
The two made their way towards the door to give the two some privacy.
"I really hope he doesn't end up meeting with Shokubutsu at any point. That kid... Not too sure how he would take it at this point."
Akasora grabbed his wrist as he looked at nothing particular. The item that was usually there was gone, but it was in good hands.
"This really sucks..."
"This really sucks."
Yuki scratched the back of his head as he and Murakami left the office and walked down the street.
Having felt bad for causing Murakami some trouble he decided to walk his friend to the Suzunari Branch. There were also things to talk about from everything they had just heard.
"It's bad enough Toby's dad is here, but the fact Seidō-san is also here..."
"Hey, there's something that I still don't know. Even after what Sensei and Shinoda-san told us, what was that about your parents and those families? Were they all on bad terms with each other?"
Letting out a sigh, Yuki turned his head and thought about if he had told Murakami before or not. He was not one to talk about his family - unless it was Hoshi - so he did not think he would mention something like that before, even if it was Murakami. It was even likely that he had not spoken to Mei about this either.
Murakami on the other hand was trying to remember if he was ever told something like this. Even with his Side Effect he could not remember being told, so it most likely did not happen. If he did not have his Enhance Trance Memory he would still have remembered something important like this seemed to be.
"Those people-"
There was a brief moment where Yuki noticed something from the side coming towards them.
His natural instincts were to either move out of the way or stop whatever it was. Yet there was something about it that made him stay still. Even as the thing latched on to his neck.
"(Someone I know!)"
Murakami looked to see a small girl with heterochromatic eyes and a smile on her face as she held onto Yuki without a problem. He felt a bit worried since he knew that Yuki's body could give out at any moment.
Yuki seemed fine with the girl hanging from his neck so some of his worries were pushed down. Even so, they both looked at the girl with confused looks.
"Michelle, what are you doing here? Where's your mother?"
The heterochromatic eyed girl gave a giggle as she held on to Yuki's shoulders so she would not fall of his shoulders.
Murakami raised an eyebrow when he saw the scene. He had not learned any languages before but he could tell that what the girl was speaking was one of rougher sounding languages, making it easier to narrow down which one it was.
Setting the girl on the ground, Yuki bent down to the girl's eye level.
He remembered that she could not speak Japanese as well as the rest of them, having not lived in Japan but in Germany, so he asked his question again. This time he asked it in his head so that she could use her Side Effect to understand him.
"(She's not here with me! I came here to see you all!)" the girl answered back in German. "(I came with someone else, so that's how I got here! I got permission of course!)"
"Yuki..."
Remembering his friend was still there, Yuki turned to Murakami and showed the girl to him. He introduced them to each other before turning back to Michelle.
To have this little girl here at a time like this would be dangerous. While he had not doubt that she would be taken care of once others knew she was around, he did not want to run that risk.
Even then, there was another question that lingered in his mind. That being a wonder as to where Michelle's dog was. To see them apart, especially right now, made him worry a bit.
"(I'm gonna be busy for a while, so I won't be able to be around. Sorry. But I'm sure we can find Minoru around somewhere.)"
Yuki pulled his arms back so that they looped around Michelle's legs. He thought it best to carry her like this instead of having her hang on for dear life around his neck.
He had planned to accompany Murakami back to the Suzunari Branch but that had been tossed out the window once the girl came into play. So he gave his friend an apologetic look.
The ever faithful Murakami let out a sigh to show that he could already understand the idiot's thoughts.
"Kō, you can go back if you want. I need to go find Minoru before anything else."
"Alright. Make sure to take care of yourself. If I get any message saying that you passed out again..."
"Yeah, yeah. Just tell the others I said 'Hi' would you."
Nodding his head, Murakami took his leave.
He knew that he could trust Yuki for something like this.
"(Wow! So this is what it looks like! Everything looks amazing here! Border is such a cool place!)"
Stepney stared in awe as he looked around the room that had four other people in it. He hopped around from one person to another while the one at the door let out a sigh.
Kitora, for a reason she cannot come to understand, decided she would watch Toby's little brother while he went off to do something. She was not told what that something was. She was not going to train with Mikumo today, so it was not too much of a problem for her. The issue was that the young boy was full of energy, something that reminded them all of his older brother.
Arashiyama did not seem to mind the boy there and both Tokieda and Ayatsuji seemed to really warm up to the boy. Nothing could be said about Satori since he was not in the room. She herself did not mind the boy either, but how short notice it was bugged her to no end. Especially since she would be busy.
"So you're Awdry's little brother, huh? I can definitely see the resemblece."
Stpmey seemed to enjoy the simple last to the head he received from Arashiyama.
Kitora could see that the boy enjoyed affection from others. It almost looked like he craved it, something that she could figure out the reason for.
She had seen just how the boy's father treated his children and was no pleased with the memory of it. It may have been the oldest son but the treatment was wrong regardless.
Although seeing the boy so excited how just a simple thing did warm her heart a bit.
"(Yup! Big bro is really awesome!) Oh. I am sorry, everyone. I forgot that I was speaking in English."
Arashiyama simply let out a laugh and continued to talk with the boy who was basically bouncing in front of him. Telling him that it was fine and that Kitora knew what he was saying while he got a very things from listening to Toby before.
Ayatsuji calmly watched this all happen from her seat.
What else she could see was how Kitora was acting towards this all.
"If you're annoyed with this then why didn't you just give him to his parents?"
"Because he doesn't want to be with his parents," Kitora answered. "He went to see Awdry because he's the only family member he likes. And I've seen how the parents treat their children. It's deplorable."
"I suppose that's understandable."
Turning back, they saw Arashiyama telling the younger boy about Border. Obviously he was just saying things everyone knew.
Going into fine detail was not something they would expect a child to understand. Especially one so young.
"Can you explain how Triggers work?"
The squad was a little shocked at this. Not because he had asked that question, but because of the way he had asked it. He asked that simple question in a way they would expect an adult to ask.
That was when they remembered who exactly were his parents and what family he had come from.
This child was the son of two wealthy people who ran their separate businesses with iron fists and with no-nonsense attitudes. Stoney may have had to grown up fast to continue living under their roof.
That had been how Toby was before moving to Mikado City.
Kitora felt bad all over again.
Before they could go on to explain how a Trigger works, or question the child, they heard a familiar voice going towards them.
"Duck your head now~!"
"Okay~"
They all turned to see Satori walk in with a seven year old girl on his shoulders.
Recognizing the girl, Stepney ran forward with an excited yell as the girl got down from Satori's shoulders.
That was no something they had expected.
"Mitsu!"
"Step! Hey, hey, what are you doing here!?"
"Big sis Ai is watching me!" Stepney excitedly said as he pointed to the slightly blushing Kitora. "What about you!?"
"Ken-chan said he would seriously play with me!?"
Satori could feel the stares from his teammates and turned around to give them a sheepish laugh. He had not known that Stepney was there in the first place, so he was a little shocked by it.
"You see... Suzu-chan-"
"Said she was going somewhere, but didn't tell you where, right?" Arashiyama asked, feeling a sense of déjà vu. "Well that's fine. Those two will keep each other busy, I'm sure. They seem to get along already."
"Arashiyama-san."
"Hm? Yeah?"
"The kids are gone."
Everyone quickly turned their heads all around to see that the kids were really gone. Not a hint of them was in the room.
Satori and Kitora started to panic a little bit. They both knew how their respective charge's sibling would react to this. What made it worse was that Kitora did not want Stepney's dad to find out something like this. They both quickly ran out of the room in search of the the two kids.
Letting out a small sigh, Arashiyama stood up and stretched for a few seconds. He thought it would be best for the remaining three to help in the search since it was their teammates that were in charge if the children.
"Ayatsuji, Mitsuru, we're going to go out and help them. It's our duty to help them out."
"You just don't want Misaki to write stuff about us or for Awdry to attack us when we least expect it, right?"
"Exactly. Knowing those two... They'll string us together with Ken and Kitora, meaning we'll all be in trouble without doing anything."
Tokieda gave a nod while muttering under his breath.
"Older siblings really are scary..."
"Man! Why did you have to take so long? Why did I even have to wait for you in the first place!?"
Konami had an irritated look on her face as she walked along side Karasuma on their way headed to Tamakoma. She had stopped by the store Karasuma had been working at and was asked to wait for his to get off. She was told it would only be around five minutes, but that quickly turned into thirty. Then she was told a lie so that she would stay.
She still thinks the lie is true.
"Thank you for waiting."
"It's not like I had a choice! I didn't want the whole place to explode just because I didn't wait for you!" Letting out a final stomp, she sighed and decided to just let it go. "By the way, have you been getting this weird feeling?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"I mean..." Taking a look around, Konami gave an odd look. "There aren't as many people around as there should be."
"Now that you mention it... There weren't as many customers as there usually are."
Also taking a look around, Karasuma noticed some else.
It was a small thing that anyone would miss if they did not pay attention to their surroundings. In this case the two A-Rank Borders were aware of the area they were in with keen eyes.
"I know people don't usually crowd around the branches, but there are definitely more people than this."
"It's like the closer we get to the less people there are..."
Before the two could continue their conversation they heard a very loud screech from the sky that sounded like a loud, distorted bird call. They quickly looked up to see a moving speck in the sky.
Being too far from it they could not see exactly what it was. Karasuma pulled out his phone and zoomed in as much as he could on his camera. It was an odd creature that would not come into view due to the massive distance from the sky to the ground.
The two did take note of the odd angles that made it seem much more robotic in appearance than any type of bird flying around.
"Do you think it's a Neighbor?"
"We would have heard if a Gate opened up. Not to mention it's flying too high to launch any attacks."
"But if it can still throw out some bombs, right?"
"I'm not too sure. It might have done that already if it really had that intention."
Just as he said that, the speck in the sky seemed to stop moving for a moment. That was when it seemed to being an angular dive. The direction it was headed seemed to be towards the Tamakoma branch office.
Seeing that, the two pulled out their Triggers and got ready to activate them. They seemed to be the only ones around and the closest to branch office.
There was a moment between them that made them stop themselves from activating their Triggers. It seemed like the attack was going at full force when something flew up, directly towards the creature.
It was a person.
From what they could see it was a person using a Trigger. The height they were able to reach would be impossible otherwise. That meant it was someone affiliated with Border.
Yet neither Konami nor Karasuma could save for sure if they had ever seen the man before. His face could not be seen, even through the screen of the phone, making their identity that much harder to figure out.
The two watched closely as the person pulled out a blade from the sheath on his hip.
The person using Grasshopper and the speck in the sky finally met up in the air. The meeting was short as the person slashed right through the speck in the air, splitting it in two. The person started to descend in another direction, so the two still could not tell what they looked like.
They both started running towards the area where the two fallen parts of the speck in the air had landed.
When they got to the area, which was not too far away, they got a full look at what it was.
The speck in the air turned out to really be a Trion Soldier. The thing was that this was one neither of them had seen before.
The Trion Soldier had the general appearance of a falcon and the robotic look of a Trion Soldier with two massive wings having multiple rod-like objects coming off of the ends. It had two smaller wings near it bottom corners that were rectangular in shape. They got to the claws and saw that there were three on each foot that looked as sharp as any blade. The head, along with the body, was white with the face having three dots lining up at the bottom of the face and a single dot at the top of the face. They looked like lights. Finally, the core was in its mouth.
"What the hell is this thing? It's so...weird."
The two examined it from a safe distance, hands still holding tightly to their Triggers.
It was always better to be prepared.
"We should report this. But who was that person who could cut it so easily in half...? The cut is so clean that it had to be someone with experience."
"Konami. Kyosuke. What happened here?"
Turning around the two saw Kizaki walking up to them. He seemed to have come in the jeep they had at the ready.
"That's what we were trying to figure out. This thing was flying over the city before dive bombing towards the base. We were going to stop it but someone else had gotten to it."
"Who? There is no one in this area who could have taken this down so easily."
"The guy looked sorta familiar, but we couldn't see much since we were using a phone to see what exactly was happening."
Kizaki looked over at the Trion Soldier with a serious look.
From having fought multiple Trion Soldiers it was easy to tell that this one was well made and would not be cut down by someone who did not know what they were doing. That meant it really had to be a high ranking member of Border.
Even if this made no sense due to the schedules of the Border agents who had duty during the day.
Things just continued to make little sense when he thought more about it all.
"Well, putting aside the person who took this thing down... We should start to move things away from the people to save some face for having it reach even this far."
Konami and Karasuma gave nods before going to do what was needed.
She hated the technology on Miden. She found that the strangest aspect of modern cell phones was the increase in the number of camera lenses. At least to her.
Not being use to phones, she thought it was pointless to have lens on the back of the phone for normal photography, lens on the front for showing yourself in a video conference, and extra pointless things like 3D photography and other features. At the current rate, it did not seem long before the entire phone would be covered in camera lenses like they were beads. It really was pointless. At least to her.
She felt like she was being watched as long as she had the phone in her hand.
A girl of about 15 was flipping her cell phone back and forth between front and back. She had medium-length blonde hair and white skin. She wore a primarily orange tank-top and miniskirt as well as thick boots that passed above her knees. On her head, she wore something like a crown that seemed like it was metal rather than some cheap plastic one you could find at a kid store.
With an expression that showed that the clearly multi-function cell phone was just too much for her, she spoke into the electronic device that she simply could not get used to.
"Yes, yes. I know it failed. Rise was my favorite ones, so of course I would know it failed. It really sucks. It seems they are planning to be more on the defensive now that they had been attacked. It looks like attacking one of the branches was unrealistic after all."
The way she spoke made it clear she was not used to speaking politely. Her tone of voice made it clear she was giving no thought to whether she was angering the person she was speaking to or what would happen to her if she did anger whoever it was. This was because she was skilled enough to avoid any danger coming her way.
She had a tongue so silver that it would be easy to convince the most skeptical of people believe they had won the lottery on their first try.
"Yes, yes. I understand that. The incident with the unknown variable was indeed bad, but the basics of the plan will fall apart if I were to really let that get to me. Well, we now have an idea as to how skilled they are and how serious they are. Also, they can be used as a positive factor from here on out. In the end, it is not a problem."
The humanoid Neighbor was simply saying whatever she could to pacify the person she was speaking to rather than logically analyzing the situation. It's not like she would get in trouble after all.
"Anyway, we just have to follow the plan now."
The Neighbor's eyebrows then moved slightly. She seemed to finally be showing interest in something the other person had said.
"Oh, really? I knew it. I had thought that was a little too convenient. So they are interfering."
The Neighbor's tone showed that she did not particularly mind.
"Well, thanks for that. When it was just me, I denied it, saying I was over thinking things. Having proof really is important. Proof is so much better than guesses. Yes, yes. I will do something about that, too. Bye."
She hung up, spun the phone around in her hand, and then stuck it in her pocket.
She shrugged and turned to the human-like soldier next to her. She took the drink on the tray it was holding and took a sip.
Behind her was a destroyed restaurant with the only things in it being her and the single soldier with a tray in it hands.
She enjoyed being with her creations.
Even here, Kotowari Takeshi wore his gray scarf.
The mall's mid level contained a main office, but that included a viewing platform, indoor pool, gym, and other facilities that were set up so there was no overlap with entertainers and production teams. The lower level was filled by high-class brand-name shops where one bought products, but the mid level was filled with movie theaters, beauty salons, restaurants, and other services that were consumed on site. Unlike the lower level, the Japanese-style construction included a focus on water here. For example, narrow waterways made from wooden troughs ran along the side of the corridors like the canals of Kyoto.
But these people were inside a café that took up the entire perimeter of the floor to provide a view of the area's dazzling night scenery.
It was built to provide a relaxing atmosphere, so the guests could set the aroma, music, light intensity, and light color in each individual partition. They could also rent massage chairs and footbaths. This was the type of café that made its money on the extra table fees instead of on their coffee.
Currently, Takeshi spoke while his chair vibrated for a massaging effect.
"Hoshi says she'll be here in another half hour."
"Oh? That's kinda fast for her," replied Toby Awdry, a boy with brown hair who sat at the same table.
He would occasionally breathe in from a clear mask attached to an oxygen tank and tilt his head as if wondering how it was supposed to be relaxing.
However, he did not stop there. He went on to hesitantly turn around.
"The real problem is all the shopping bags we've collected already."
"What? Hoshi-chan was the one who told us to honestly kill time until she got here," said Misaki Suzumebachi, the culprit, as she crossed her legs.
Toby gave an annoyed sigh.
"She just meant to wander around for a while! Why did you start buying a lot of stuff all of a sudden!?"
"Because I honestly have a card."
"I can't see how someone like her manages to be a Sniper!"
"Senpai, Dog, think about the other customers."
However, the other two agents were not the type to listen to Takeshi.
"And what is this!? You have pair after pair of identical pumps!"
"You can't tell the difference between El Asine and White Snake? Are you honestly my grandfather?"
"Shut up, Miss Celebrity! I'm the one that's super mad right now!"
"No matter what Senpai buys, she always breaks the heels off so she can move better as soon as she gets into a fight. Rather, when starts fighting with Narasaka-senpai."
"That's why the El Asine twin heels have a hinge. The heels fold down when you need to move."
"Then you don't need the heels in the first place! Wear some flat sneakers already! ...Honestly, if we weren't paying attention, you'd buy an apartment with that card."
"Are you trying to say it's all on me? It's all my fault?"
"Senpai, don't use Ibis here."
"Yeah, it is your fault. And who's going to carry that pile of bags? What a pain! This is why I suggested we should go see a movie to kill some time."
Takeshi breathed out through his nose and let his eyes wander.
They had ordered a goldfish tank as an option and it calmed his heart to see the red things fluttering around.
Meanwhile, Suzume gave a mocking shrug.
"A movie? You honestly mean that one where they strap you in your seat for twenty-four hours straight!? That is not some time! At a full day, that's pretty much imprisonment!"
"Hypnos is an experimental visual experience that works in the visions you see when you're woozy from sleep deprivation! This is the problem with people who feel like talking about movies without doing any research."
"Honestly sounds like a D movie."
"You damn casual! That's not even a real classification!"
The situation quickly devolved into chaos.
They constantly called her their newest member, but Hoshi had rapidly become the grease needed to keep Kotowari Squad running smoothly and without fights.