A Hawk's Sound
Takaoto Mei was a kind, beautiful, and almost motherly person. She was kind to all. She had beauty that could outclass any model. She was motherly to her squad.
"If I may. Why am I being the one sent out on this assignment? My team's next match is coming up. I would like to be there if any of me need to ask me something."
That was not the only reason. There was also the fact that she was already committed to only ever using her Trigger for something major like invasions or to deal with Taiyōko Kushikage.
She had to generally be there for her squad, as an Operater.
She is the Ultimate Operator and A-Rank Border combatant with a powerful Trigger after all. She had power, speed and the aura of a strong person. Even when in her real body she is able to rival - and even overpower at times - someone like the muscleman Kizaki Reiji from the Tamakoma Branch or match Jin Yuuichi's Side Effect with her own and get the upper hand on him.
Any limitations she made for herself were most likely necessary.
The girl known as Takaoto Mei was both terrifying and majestic all at once.
"If it's worth anything, we plan on having Kako Swuad help you out on this assignment."
Now here she was, standing in the large room that had Border's Commander, as well as two directors sitting in the seats there. Kako Nozomi, captain of the #6 A-Rank squad was also there, standing behind Mei.
"I apologize, but can't I just give the information needed for what will most likely happen if I don't go? That would make all of this fuss easier to deal with. Not to mention we would all get what we want in the end. Actually, won't it be easier to send Yuuichi in rather than me?"
"Look, Mei." Director Shinoda Masafumi was the one to speak. He was more capable at handling the girl than the other two. "This is more than simply finishing the mission. We're only sending you because if we send other ones like Arashiyama Squad or Miwa Squad something much more difficult may come up."
"We would send the agents from the Yagura Branch, but that lot is far too rowdy to handle something like this." This time it was Director Kinuta Motokichi that spoke. "Tsukiko would end up making his own 'playground' again and not care about what would be inside it. That unruly woman would be worse and destroy everything that she saw. Even the younger brother wouldn't hold back! Akasora doesn't control them, so it wouldn't be good to send them in."
Mei stood there, slowly breathing.
Calculations ranging from hundreds upon hundreds of different scenarios of how that would end had already been made beforehand. Each and every one ended with destruction and mad citizens.
That was when something else come to her mind.
"If I may, once again. Could it be possible for me to bring one other person along with me. As well as leave Kako Squad ready for other things. No offense of course."
Mei looked over her shoulder to see Kako shrug her shoulders.
"None taken."
The two women were great friends, so Kako already knew that there really was no malice behind Mei's words.
Mei herself turned back to the higher ups of Border and continued speaking.
"He will be a great asset in completing this mission. What's more is that he will not destroy anything he isn't suppose to. He will also follow any order given to him by those higher than him."
"And who might this person be exactly?"
"I apologize again, sir. I can't say who exactly this person is. I can assure you that it most certainly not who you are thinking of."
Command of Border Kido and Ultimate Operator Mei starred at each other.
Commander Kido narrowed his eyes at the young woman, trying to figure out how to get her to talk.
That had absolutely no effect on her, though. Takaoto Mei was much too hardheaded and stubborn on certain matters. Even now, she was calculating hundreds upon hundreds of different ends to their current conversation.
This was not the first time that Mei had said something vague like this. It also was not the first time she had been on the receiving end of one of Commander Kido's hard and harsh stares. And just like those times before, she would not back down in the slightest.
"...Very well. You may bring this person along. Let it be known that the only reason I am allowing this is because of how useful you are."
"Thank you, sir."
"Wow~ It's always amazing to see that side of you."
"It's nothing much. I just think this guy will be very helpful on this assignment. Like I said, I want to get back to my squad as soon as I can. There are a lot of things that will happen in the next match, so I want them to be ready."
Takaoto Mei and Kako Nozomi were currently making their way to one of the multiple Border branch bases that were placed outside of Mikado City's Forbidden Zone made by Border.
No one had bothered to ask why they were walking together since it was not such a rare sight. The two women were close friends, so it was not anything new for them to be seen together. They were both women who would not really take anything from anybody. The difference between them being that while Kako was more laid-back about things like that, Mei would simple show them exactly why they should not mess with her.
Kako always enjoyed seeing that from Mei.
Kako had looked over to her friend to see a somewhat glazed look in Mei's eyes.
Her Side Effect is truly amazing. To be able to do so much in a matter of seconds... It's no wonder why she can count for a whole A-Rank squad like it's nothing.
Side Effect. An ability manifested in certain individuals with high Trion levels. This ability usually takes form as enhanced physical abilities or extrasensory abilities. Border organizes Side Effects into four types: S - Extrasensory Perception, A - Superhuman Ability, B - Special Constitution, C - Enhanced Senses.
There were people who very useful and strong Side Effects. Some of these people were Jin Yūichi with the ability to see a little of the future of those before him, Kuga Yūma's ability to see through the lies of others and Murakami Kou's ability to enhance stabilization and consolidation of memory during sleep. Mei's was something different though. It was a Side Effect that rivaled Jin's ability to see into the future.
Her mind was far beyond any supercomputer ever made.
She was able to take in, process, reprocess and remember any given information multiple times in just a few seconds. What's more was that she was able to process over a hundred different subjects at once while still staying focused on what was in front of her. Although the more she processed the longer it took.
Most would call her a perfect woman.
Although...
"Oh yeah. This means you can see your boyfriend while we're at it."
She did have a major weakness.
"Wh-what!? I m-m-mean of course I w-w-would-d! H-he's at the b-branch of-f-f-fice! He's the f-face of it! THATDOESN'TMATTERTHOUGH! THATISNOTTHEREASONWEAREGOING! PLEASESTAYFOCUSED!"
Kako made sure to take at least five large steps away from Mei before she spoke. She also made sure to have a firm grip on her Trigger, that she was now acutely aware of.
It was a good thing she did so too as Mei quickly went red and started slamming her head into the nearest object. Which happened to be a tree.
Kako truly felt sorry for the tree as Mei's hard head repeatedly struck it with the force of a sledgehammer.
It looked like she was banging her head to an overly loud metal song, her head even creating afterimages. The poor tree was feeling all of this impact as it started to break apart.
"Fuji-san, I was just saying something you can't avoid. There is no need to kill Mikado City's flora. Please stop."
It took around ten minutes for Mei to stop her attack on the poor tree and calm down to the point of being normal again.
She looked over at the tree and started apologizing to it while stroking its broken bark.
As if saying, "It's alright. I forgive you, my dear child." a leaf silently fell on top of Mei's head.
Kako shook her head and gave a melodious laugh. It was alway entertaining to see her friend like this.
"Shall we get going? We aren't too far from the branch office."
"Right. Let's go."
A cup of tea was placed in front of both Mei and Kako.
"Thank you."
"How kind of you."
The two women were sitting rather comfortably on one of the sofas in Border's Yagura Branch Office. In front of them was an older man wearing a tracksuit and a young man with a rather sickly appearance. To their right sat another man, this one looking more like a charming man on a popular TV show. He sat there with a happy smile and a hotdog in his hand.
"..."
Then there was man that was the reason the two women were there in the first place. This man stood behind the young man with a hotdog. This man was much different than the other three there. He stood at an 6 foot 7 inches with short, grassy-like gray hair and an intimidating look. His choice in clothes was also odd with a mix of different clothing ranging from a sleeveless Chinese shirt to the American jacket on. It may have looked odd to others, but it seemed to also fit the man's appearance better than if someone else wore it.
He gave off a much different feeling than the others. The man in the tracksuit held a dignified and older feeling than the young man who looked sickly had a feeling like he was hiding something, and the man with the hotdog in his hand had a feeling like he was a kid on a man's body. This large man with gray hair didn't give off any sort of feeling though. You wouldn't be able to tell anything about him just from appearance alone.
That would be understandable though. After all, he is a Trion Soldier.
"So, what's up? Not that we aren't happy to see you two here, but you both rarely come by. Something the matter?" The man in the tracksuit spoke with a casual tone as he held a can to his mouth.
"Actually, we are here to talk to Pyrínas."
"..."
"Wow~ Aren't you the lady's man~"
"..."
The large man standing up said nothing. He wasn't being rude or arrogant, he was just waiting to officially be spoken to by the A-Ranks.
"Well, go ahead and ask him then. He's not officially affiliated with Border, so I can't say anything for him."
"Not that you would care in the first place."
Mei shared a knowing look with her sickly-looking boyfriend.
The man in the tracksuit had been Yuki's teacher at school before, as well as being a mentor for the both of them. They knew what he was like without giving much thought about what he would say.
Kako on the other hand seemed to be sizing up the other two in the room. She had recognized them almost immediately, but said nothing on the matter. She knew that if they had been let into the Yagura Branch - rather, Border as a whole - then there was no reason to be wary with them.
Besides, they wouldn't be able to take on the four of them at once.
Kako turned her attention back to the girl sitting calmly next to her.
"Pyrínas, I would like to ask for your help on an assignment that was just given to me."
"...What is this assignment? ...If you don't mind me asking."
"Not at all. The assignment is a simple one. Apparently, people have reported seeing a rather large man with gray hair walking around. The thing is that he always seems to appear near Gates when they open up. People have been telling us for that reason. They think he's involved with Neighbors. That being said..."
"... They believe it might be another 'Pyrínas', if not myself."
"Right. Like I said, it's simple though. I just need to find this person and figure out what's going on. And... If I doesn't happen that he is involved with the Neighbors, I just take him out."
Futoyuki grinned as he finished up his hotdog. He looked over at Mei and couldn't help thinking, 'Of course it seems easy for someone who no one can relate too.'
"...So you're asking for my help to figure out if this is another 'Pyrínas' that may have been left behind?"
"Hold up!"
Everyone turned to Futoyuki.
"It can't possibly be another Pyrínas. The original was taken away after we Wanderers came along. The original is like a power source for any of his 'clones'. #7 here was a rare case that was able to escape from the original's grasps, but we were able to figure out that much from the tech we had. If another one happened to also get their own life, we would have known right away. And the others would have even made their way back here just to retrieve him."
Not even a month ago, a group of Neighbors had conducted an experiment on Earth. This experiment was to test and see if Earth - more accurately Border - would be good allies to have. They would gladly team with with Border and be at the ready for any sort of issue involving Neighbors.
During this test an autonomous Trion Soldier had rebelled and gone against the ones conducting the experiment. This resulted in his loss, as well as the ones known as Wanderers taking their leave.
This Trion Soldier was known as Pyrínas.
Pyrínas had multiple copies of himself, all running around to so his bidding during the time.
Something had happened to the clone known as "Pyrínas #7" though. That something being he was able to grow his own personality, separating from the original. This meant he was free to make his own choices. And he chose to stay on Earth.
Pyrínas slowly closed his eyes, showing that he was thinking about it.
Akasora and Yuki just casually spoke to Kako. They didn't seem bothered in the slightest by the request or what the assignment was. That was reasonable since they both knew that Mei herself was more than enough for the job.
After a few seconds, Pyrínas opened his eyes and gave a slight nod.
"...Alright. ...Is there a time I should meet up with you? ...Also, who else will be involved on this assignment? ...If you don't mind me asking."
"Not at all. Kako Squad was also assigned to this assignment, but I said it would he fine if it was just you and me. The less people the more likely we won't be found out. And as for when... I'll stop by tomorrow and get you. Does that sound fine?"
"...Yes."
Mei gave a nod as she stood up.
"Well then, I'll be going."
"Aw~ You don't want to spend some time with your boyfriend? I promise I won't make fun of you two~"
Only three people in the room didn't freeze at this. One was the idiot who said these deadly words. The tall man standing was another. The last one was the poor girl who quickly went red from head to toe.
Everyone else quickly got ready to handle something akin to an elephant rampaging through the building.
Akasora took immediate action by turning to the Trion Soldier in the room.
"Pyrínas! Get ready to hold her down! Yuki! Trigger! Kako! Get ready to call for backup! Futoyuki! Get the hell outta here before you make things worse!"
Akasora continued to both dodge forehead-centric attacks from Mei while also moving any and all furniture out of the way of being destroyed. His orders didn't fall on deaf ears either, Kako and Yuki quickly went into action.
Futoyuki tilted his head in confusion.
That was a mistake on his part.
BAM!
In a single hit, the idiot known as Futoyuki was on the floor, clearly knocked out.
Pyrínas was more quick on what to do. He managed to dodge a headbutt and actually hold on to Mei for a good five seconds before getting a solid punch to the side of the head. It didn't hurt since it was a regular attack from Mei's real body, but he did accidentally losen his grip.
That moment was all Mei needed to break free and go back on her rampage.
...She continues to have me wonder whether she really is human or not...
The two Border women had left the Yagura Branch and were now headed to their respective homes.
Before that though...
A female agent talking to Mei while she tried her best to not lose eye contact with her. She was about two years younger in age than Mei.
"- Thank you very much for helping out before. I was able to win more solo matches because of your help. And you were right. I'm better at using Scorpion than Kōgetsu."
"It's fine. Helping others is something that all people, I'm some shape or form, tend to do. I reallyd didn't do much. You are the one who is working hard to improve after all."
"O-of course." The female agent nodded her head. Her small cheeks and face were red with tension and nervousness.
"Well then, we will be going. Keep up the good work."
The female agent gave a quick bow as Mei and Kako took their leave.
"Wasn't that young lady a little tense and nervous?" Kako spoke as they were walking along the road.
"She was probably just happy that she is able to work more efficiently and move up faster due to having some more guidance."
"Or it could be that she was standing in front if the great Takaoto Mei-senpai. She could aspiring to be like you."
"Why would she want to do that?"
Mei asked Kako, who then responded with an impish laugh.
"Don't you know? You are really popular with the younger ones. Your feats as the Ultimate Operator and the only Operator to fight has gone around HQ like wildfire for the girls. Some of the Operators are trying to keep up with you while the combatants wish to be at your level. In addition, you're also able to work so diligently. Moreover, you're a beautiful person. Because of those reasons, you'll probably grow even more popular."
"Even I want to share your good luck," Kako implied with her laugh.
"Please stop, Kako."
Mei retorted with a wry smile.
"But you certainly have changed since back then. When I first met you... Well, that was rather entertaining by itself. You were running around to help anyone and everyone you could find. Now it seems that you do it more so for that fun squad of yours. As well as~-"
"Alright. I get it." Mei got the smallest of blushes on her cheeks. Not enough to worry about. "It was all thanks to the assistance that I was given. That includes you too, Kako. Thank you."
"If you really want to thank me then treat me some time."
In response to Kako's quip, Mei gave a small laugh.
Kako could only smile when she this from Mei.
Kako had been the first person to stop Mei from running around and randomly helping others out. She had grabbed the girl by the shoulder, sat her down for a snack and told her to take things easy. She had been a great senpai for Mei to learn from throughout the years they had known each other.
Kako was also the only one who knew that not all of the times Mei blushed were bad. Like now, Mei had a small blush, but it was in a gentle way that showed she was very happy. Even Yuki hadn't seen this kind of thing from his former Operator.
Maybe I'm just use to handling these kinds of people by now.
Kako gave a small laugh herself as they rounded a corner.
From the corner of her eye she could see something that interested her. So she extended an invitation to Mei.
"Do you want to get some tea?"
Mei looked over to what Kako had been looking at and lightly shook her head.
"Sorry, but I'll pass. I would like to get home and think about what I will do concerning the assignment given to me. Maybe some other time."
"I get it," Kako said, but there was a hint of worry on her face. It looked like she was telling Mei not to worry too much about it.
Mei pretended not to notice Kako's expression.
She waved her hands with a "Goodbye".
She then began to walk alone along the bustling street.
Even though it was early in the afternoon, the streets were thriving and crowded with people.
It was a rather nice scene for someone like Mei, who had been so preoccupied with the recent Galpoula attack and the B-Rank war. Everything looked so normal and had its own beauty to it that only she seemed to see.
"Huh? Mei-san?"
Suddenly, she heard a voice from behind. It was a voice that she knew well.
"You three. Hello."
Turning around, Mei saw the figures of three of her squad members. Takeshi, Toby and Hoshi were in casual clothes and were walking in her direction.
"What are you three doing over here? You don't live in this directions. And Yagura Branch is more in that direction."
"Toby said he wanted to talk more about what we're going to do concerning our next match. The thing is that he wanted to go to some sweats shop to do it. We had gone to find Suzume-senpai, but she seemed to be busy with Satori-senpai."
Mei nodded her head, making a mental note to question the two snipers about it later on.
"How are you, Fu- Ah... Mei-nee?" said Hoshi.
"I am fine. I'm headed home from talking with Kako."
"I've heard that you have an assignment with Kako Squad tomorrow."
"That has changed. I'm now working with Pyrínas. That being said, I won't be able to do much for you tomorrow." Mei gave a small bow. "Sorry."
"Ah. It's fine. There's no need to worry about it that much." Hoshi nodded.
"Mei-san, we should be the ones apologizing for not doing much for you." Takeshi fixed his scarf and slightly moved his eyes. "You work much more than any of us and we don't really do much for you."
Mei could see that both Toby and Hoshi thought this as well since they turned their gazes away from her. She quickly got a motherly smile on her face and patted their heads.
"It's fine. The four of you are still learning, so that means that I need to make sure you all learn properly. As the oldest, I must make sure that you are going in the right direction, meaning that I have to work much, much harder than any of you."
Takeshi fixed his scarf once again, this time making sure to hide the small blush that was now on his cheeks.
Toby gave a large grin from next to the smiling Hoshi.
Kotowari Squad, as well as its former captain, all had family problems in some shape or form. Mei was the only expecting from that. Toby hated his parents with a passion, Takeshi never cared much for his family, Hoshi's parents were very difficult to get along with and one of Suzume's parents had left the family. What these three in the same year had in common was that they never really had much of a mother figure to help them out while Suzume had at least had her mother with her, so that's where Mei came in.
Mei was like a kind and caring mother to these three. She made sure they were straightened out, yet didn't bring any sort of burden on them. She always helped out when necessary and kept them in line. She had been the one to put up with them from the very beginning, never giving up on them and even leaving Yuki by himself to stay and be their squad's Operator.
They were all glad to have her with them.
It wasn't just a one-way thing either. Mei always cared for them because she genuinely cared for them. After all.
They're lovely.
She was unconsciously thinking that.
Mei quietly hummed to herself as she walked to the Tamakoma Branch office.
It was six in the morning and she was making her way to Border affiliated branch office with a rather large box in her hands. It was sealed tightly, making to so that nothing as simple as wind could show what was inside of it.
"Kuga should be up all night. But I guess I could just leave this at the door and wait for them to get it later on."
Only a handful knew of Tamakoma's chibi albino, but to Mei it was something that came quickly to her. She had long ago figured out that he was a Neighbor, evem going as far as to vaguely know what happened to him. Or at least about his circumstances.
She obviously didn't care in the slightest. She still related him like any other person, in her usual kind and caring way.
It didn't take much longer for her to be at the front door of the office.
Just as she reached the door, it opened.
She tilted her head a bit to look down at the chibi albino who had silently opened the door.
"Good morning, Kuga."
"Hello, Mei-san."
"I needed to drop this box off. Would you mind I out it inside? I'm just going to leave it for them."
Yuma, with his duck face, moved over to allow Mei to walk in. He followed behind after closing the door.
Yuma was rather curious about Mei. He hadn't really spoken to her before, but he had heard some rumors going around about her. Some were about how did fought during the attacks by Aftokrator and Galopoula, others being how she easily beat Reiji and Director Rindo in arm wrestling, or how she slammed a sheathed Kōgetsu on Director Shinoda's head before almost beheading him with the blade.
These were all rumors of course, but that didn't stop Yuma from wondering.
"Mei-san, are the rumors about you true?"
Mei didn't seem to mind the straightforward question. She just placed the box down and turned to Yuma with a rather neutral expression.
"That all depends on what the rumors are."
"Did you really beat Reiji-san in arm wrestling?"
"I have a three to zero win streak on him."
"Did you fight two Neighbors by yourself and win?"
"No. During the Aftokrator invasion I had fought with Yuki. During the Galopoula attack I fought with Yuki again. Although I delivered the finish blows during that fight."
There was absolutely no reason for Mei to lie, so she didn't.
Yuma nodded his head and had to admit that he really was impressed by what she could do, even when he hadn't seen her actually fight.
"Can I ask one last question?"
"Of course."
"Is there anyone who can beat you?"
"Of course. Sensei, Director Shinoda, even that-..."
Yuma tilted his head when he saw the sour look that appeared on Mei's face. He knew she was about to continue, but now he was much more interested at who this last person was.
Mei didn't want to remind herself of that person, but now that she mentioned them she couldn't help but get a bit irritated.
"That woman can also-"
"Fu-chan~!"
Mei jerked forward as a larger body slammed into hers from behind. This body wrapped its arms around here and gave her a large bear hug, which also made Mei's head get squished between two large breasts.
It didn't take a genius to figure out who this person was.
"Get off me... Now!"
Mei tried her best to keep her voice down. There were still others asleep in the building, so she didn't want to wake them.
This was a rather hard endeavor though since...
"And why are you naked!? Kuga, turn the other way! Don't look at this horny beast!"
Doing as he was told, Yuma covered his eyes.
The person who had been squishing Mei between her breasts moved back and gave a childish pout. She crossed her arms under her breasts, give more emphasis on them, and looking at Mei like a child who just got in trouble.
"I'm not completely naked, Fu-chan! I have my panties on!"
"Those don't count as underwear! A triangle attached by two pieces of sting does not count as underwear!"
"Oh yeah~? Then what do you wear, Fu-chan~?"
"Like I would-"
Before Mei could say any more, Taiyōko Kushikage made a quick dash and was able to grabbed the bottom of Mei's dress. She quickly moved her hands up and lifted the dress up with a loud "Tada!".
"Why is there so much yelling at-..."
Mei quickly brought her dress down before turning to the ones who had entered the room.
"All of you, look away right now. This woman truly isn't wearing a bra and is only in her underwear."
"Aw~ But I'm sure they don't mind looking at such a fine looking woman~ I mean, I'm pretty sure they're already horny as fuck just looking at how damn gorgeous I am."
It too a few seconds but everyone, excluding Mei and Kushikage, were out if the room, determined to play this off as some kind of weird dream they were having.
Except Yuma.
He was stuck with being awake the whole time.
"Now then..."
Mei let out a sigh as she turned to the oldest of the siblings she was familiar with. She got a nearby blanket and threw it over Kushikage, holding herself back from trying to punch the woman while she was at it.
"Kushikage, why are you even at the Tamakoma Branch?"
"Ya see, I may or may not have had a drinking contest with Rindo."
"By that you mean-"
"He was drunk as fuck by the time I was done with him. I just continued to drink while he was knocked out. Guess I went a hit overboard though."
Mei stared blankly at the woman in front of her.
She doesn't even seem to have a hangover...
Mei let out another sigh as she turned around.
She and this woman had known each other for quite some time now, so Mei knew that it was better to just stay away from her at any cost.
And that was what she was going to do,
"Well, I have delivered what I needed to. I'll be going now."
Before she could take a step forward Mei felt the same pair of breasts as before on either side if her head. She quickly brought her elbow up and slammed it into the woman's stomach, but that seemed to have no effect on her.
The fiery headed woman simply hummed before falling to the floor, dragging Mei along with her.
"This sucks..."
A tall man with gray hair looked down at the Trion soldiers that lay before him.
There were three different ones, each looking like some kind of animal.
This man seemed to be doing something with them, but it was rather difficult to tell what that was since the area he was in was rather dimly lit. Whether it was to be secretive or just to seem like a villain, we will never know.
To some people this man had a familiar looking face, but to one man it would seem like he was looking in a mirror.
"I bout that Ultimate #2 is enough... If I want to see them again then I also need some others. Not to mention that our idiot leader probably needs protection. Let's see. What do I have to go against again?"
The man continued to mutter to himself as he worked more and more on the Trion soldiers.
"#7 may turn out to be a pain in the neck... I'll just get rid of him while I have the chance."
The area looked like a bomber had passed by overhead.
This area was the spot Takaoto Mei and two new B-Ranks stood.
After dealing with the terror known as Taiyōko Kushikage, Mei had gone back to the Yagura Branch in order to get Pyrínas. Something particular had come up, so he had not been able to go with her. That something happened to be two small girls, one with heterochromatic eyes and the other resembling one of Mei's squad members.
Pyrínas had been playing with them, as well as the newly formed Tenryū Squad, and was quick to apologize.
Mei had been fine with it, even saying that she only needed some information from him.
Just as she was about to leave the branch office Akasora had ordered an off-duty squad residing in the branch office to go with her. That squad was a two-man squad that consisted of the Neighbor and former leader of the Wanderers - Futoyuki. As well as a girl on his squad - Bōdō Arisa.
The three were now standing in an area that actually held some meaning.
The spot where Futoyuki had fought against multiple Border agents.
"Eh? Eh?"
Arisa did not seem to understand what they were doing there.
"Pyrínas had said that all the areas where he felt that small connection were the areas where fights had happened during the Wanderers' experiment. That helped in many ways. We now know that the person was indeed another Pyrínas who had separated from the original. Also... I have now narrowed the possibilities to less than five."
"There really is no need for us to be here, is there? I mean, you can handle all of this yourself, can't you, Takaoto Mei-san?"
Arisa had still looked confused after Mei's explanation, so Futoyuki had added on that extra comment. He then ignored the girl who still did not quite get it and he looked over to Mei.
"Since I was the one fighting here, there's something that the other Pyrínas must have found out."
"Right. I had already taken it upon myself to find the area that I had helped Yuki. There was also some traces of the other Pyrínas being there," said Mei in an emotionless voice.
An odd creaking sound came from the the gloves around her arms as her grip tightened.
"I should have already figured something would come from being so nonchalant about leaving the damaged train and broken Trion Solders there."
"We'll make sure that Yuki-aniki won't know you said that. Anyways, what are we going to do now? Just because he was here already doesn't mean we'll know where he is right now."
"Leave that to me. I'll figure things out in a few seconds."
Futoyuki felt Mei wished she only had to fight opponents like this inside a set ring, but he made sure not to say so out loud. It was best not to provoke Mei when she was like that.
"Is he even in Mikado City? Surely he would leave by now. He'll have long since escaped to an area we can't reach."
"Not necessarily."
Mei pointed down at her feet.
On her feet were combat booths that had gauges on the side of each one, giving it a more technological look.
"Earlier, I had gone over every inch of this area, so I know every part of it. I even checked the
buildings, both inside and out. As we were walking, I used my Trigger to shake the ground a bit, making it seem as if there were more than just the three of us."
"What do you even mean by that?"
"He should be hiding within a safe area of the area if he thought a large amount of agents were searching for him." Mei glanced around. "That is able to keep him in place, meaning he should still be here. I don't have great hearing like Kikuchihara, but with tweaks to this trion body I was able to enhance my hearing."
"You truly are a crazy woman... So what then?"
"The safe area can easily be found out given how everything in the area sounds. There was still that area that the old man you were with stayed in while you fought. That place doesn't seem damaged in the slightest, even as Izumi was fighting. The sound I created by stomping went through the area and helped me figure out where any hollow sounds would come from in that area." As she spoke, she lightly tapped the soles of her boots on the ground. "That being said, I figured out which parts of each building should have hollow sounds and which ones should be able to stop the sounds from moving any further. I was able to tell if something that wasn't suppose to be there was. In other words..."
Using one hand, Mei pulled out a nearby road sign for the large trucks that passed by in that area.
"He's there!"
As she shouted, she threw the sign like it was a javelin.
The sign flew over a kilometer through the air and stabbed into a normal-looking concrete wall.
But...
A tall figure frantically jumped to the side. He seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. It had looked like someone hiding behind an invisible wall had frantically jumped out from behind that cover.
Mei lowered her hips slightly and then chased after the man as quickly as a bullet.
With that speed, Futoyuki and Arisa could not cover for her. Arisa spoke after they had been left behind like that.
"What is with that woman!? Any normal person wouldn't even think of messing with their Trion bodies like that! And she did it while using echolocation! Is she some kind of bat!?"
"Not so sure myself," responded Futoyuki as he stared off in the direction Mei had disappeared in. "But I'm pretty sure she gave us a lame answer to sound smart. She was just saying what came to mind, and not how she actually found him out."
"But he used something like Bagworm so we couldn't find him."
"That's true. So... Shit."
Arisa looked confused and Futoyuki sighed before continuing.
"He might be taking things from Sanshū's specially made Trion Soldiers."
Mei was quick to get ahead and stop the running man from going anywhere else. Now she stood in front of him, fists ready to land a hit.
"Stop. There's no point in running any more. Now that I have gotten in front of you, I'm sure you can figure out that you can't outrun me."
"That just means I have to beat you down, doesn't it?"
Mei looked up and raised an eyebrow.
Standing before her was something most would call an abomination. A man was standing there. He was around six to seven feet tall with gray, grassy hair. The thing that made him seem so disgusting was the fact that his legs seemed to be like a deers, his arms were large and clawed, like a bears. He also had large wings behind him, like the ones from a specific Trion Soldier Mei had taken out that went by the name Ultimate #2.
I was right... He was in each area so he could collect these parts and make it into a new body for himself...
The deformed man give a sinister grin as he held out one of the bear-like arms.
"It weights a good amount, but I have reinforced each part with enough Trion to take a direct hit from a Black Trigger. There's no way you can win."
The man spoke in the same voice as the Trion Soldier in the Yagura Branch, expect this man sounded far more annoying.
Mei didn't say anything.
Now that she knew what was going on she was certain on what to do.
Just take him out.
It was something so simple that she didn't need her Side Effect to think about it. She was more than needed for this type of opponent. To beat something that had enough defense to block a Black Trigger meant she just had to land hits that were harder than any Black Trigger made.
Fujin was a Black Trigger that used remote slashes. Yūma's Black Trigger used "seals" for different things. Shikifuku had absolute strength, absolute slashing ability and an absolute defense. That meant she needed to be much stronger than any of them.
"Now then..."
Mei lowered herself and got into a runner's pose. Her eyes quickly looked around the area before landing back on her main target.
"Extension. Ground, building. Throw at 50%. Run at 20%."
Mei slightly tilted her head once she heard these strange commands. She would often say these kinds of things when she wasn't able to touch the gauges on her gloves or boots, but otherwise kept quiet.
What happened next got her thinking this fight may be a bit more difficult.
"..."
The two bear-like arms that were at Pyrínas' sides did something very odd. The left arm was held out as if grabbing something while the right arm was facing the ground, as looking like it was about to grab something. Both arms quickly came off of Pyrínas' shoulder and moved, only being connected by a chain.
The left arm shot out and grabbed a nearby wall from a building, making it fall.
The right arm stabbed into the ground and came out holding a large slab of the ground.
The two arms quickly went into the air and moving back before rocketing forward and throwing both the wall and the slab of ground right at her.
Mei reacted quickly and moved to the side.
Just as she came to a stop, Pyrínas was in front of her, bear-like arms high above his head.
Mei could see multiple holes in his defense, so she used them.
Gauge: 25% power.
Mei quickly moved forward and slammed her right fist into Pyrínas' stomach.
"?"
Instead go flying off for miles on end, Pyrínas stood there, arm above his head.
So 25% won't be enough.
Mei gave a small nod to herself as she quickly jumped back. She did so just in time not to be hit by the large bear-like arm that slammed into the ground.
A small crater was now where she once stood.
Let's try...
Mei walked over to one of the buildings to her side. She easily destroyed it with one of her punches.
Pyrínas lifted his two bear-like arms up to block.
Mei grabbed a rather large piece of the destroyed wall and threw it with as much force as she did the street sign.
Mei slid her hands on the gauges on the side of her boots a second after that.
She quickly ran forward and appeared behind the pieces of wall she threw, meaning she was now in front of Pyrínas.
Gauge: 50% power.
She landed another punch on Pyrínas' stomach. Unlike before, he slid across the ground, arms still raised.
So 50% does that much. Going to 75% would be pointless if I could just blow him away with 100%. But then I wouldn't be able to do much concerning speed. And I can't switch fast enough from speed to power. That means I need to get him close up again.
"Extension. Grab. Throw then slam. 50% speed."
Mei jumped to the side as the left bear-like arm shot forward.
She was able to dodge it with relative ease, but had the smallest amount of difficulty with the right one as it also shot forward.
From her position Mei could see Pyrínas running on his two deer-like legs as fast as someone like Midorikawa using Grasshopper.
She destroyed another wall and quickly threw it at him.
Pyrínas was able to use his deer-like legs to jump into the sky. From there his pair of wings folded outward a and kept him in the air.
His two bear-like arms were quickly pulled back in using the chains they were attached to.
Mei looked up at Pyrínas and walked back over to the wall she had first destroyed.
She grabbed a few pieces in one hand while lifting a large piece with her other. She reeled both arms back and started throwing the pieces of the destroyed wall up into the air.
.
From his spot in the air, Pyrínas easily dodge each attack headed for him.
It wasn't that he was afraid of getting hit. He just thought he would entertain his opponent.
The original Trion soldier known as Pyrínas was unique in his abilities. He had three main abilities and a few minor ones with that.
He was give an ability to store up large amounts of Trion from people who gave him any and give it to anyone he wanted, pushing that person's Trion limit beyond what it was and thereby giving them a larger amount of Trion to use for the rest of their lives. He had to willingly give the person the Trion and any person had to willingly give him their Trion.
All of Trion could also be used by him. His strength was rivaled only be Mei, meaning that with raw strength he was able to cause a large amount of damage.
His final main ability was that each Pyrínas made was able to take in and fuse with any other Trion soldier, so long as they were willing or had no core.
All of this could be seen by what this current Pyrínas was doing.
I suppose now is a good a time as any.
.
Mei's mind was slowing down to that of a normal person's. Her Side Effect had been calculating thousands upon thousands of different ways to combat this foe. All of that calculating started to make her mind a bit slower.
This didn't seem to slow her down in the slightest though.
She continued to threw pieces of of different buildings she had been destroying.
It was easy to see why she was dubbed the #1 person of destruction via Trigger.
Having enough of this small issue, she walked over to a perfectly in tact building.
She held her hands out...
"Here I go."
And she pulled the whole building up from the ground.
.
Pyrínas could only stare in shock as he watched this girl, this small girl lift a whole building from the ground and threw it into the air like it was a shot.
"Fly! 50% speed!"
Pyrínas quickly elevated higher into the air, wings spread out to gain the altitude.
He could see Mei start walking over to another building and couldn't help but be impressed that she was able to do so much.
"Beat down. 100% speed."
If the ones who had faced off against the Shooter Neighbor in the Aftokrator invasion saw the Trion soldier then they would say that his current speed made that other Neighbor seem like he was going slow.
Pyrínas zoomed through the air, falcon-like wings and bear-like arms spread out, ready to attack.
He quickly hid behind the buildings and flew threw each one, making sure not to hit any of them.
He was quickly behind Mei.
I just need one hit.
.
I just need one hit.
Mei could no longer see her opponent, but that didn't stop her from staying on the offensive.
She continued to use her slightly enhanced hearing to try and find where Pyrínas currently was, but there was far too many places that were making noise in the area.
She noticed something from the corner of her eye and made a quick jump to the side.
Pyrínas flew by her.
Mei was about to attack again, but stopped herself when she noticed a large bear-like arm in front of her face.
She quickly took a step back and ended up tripping on a piece of the wall she had destroyed.
"I really am too strong. Now I just need to find that idiotic captain so he can call the others over. Once they seen how much better I am than the original... Hehehe~"
Mei looked up at Pyrínas with an expressionless face.
She was using this idiot's rambling to her advantage. She forcibly slowed down her thinking, giving herself more time to mentally heal herself and get more speed in ear calculations.
As she did so...
"!?"
Warning: A Gate is opening!
"It's about time. I set those things up I don't even know how long ago. Having them barely work right now is such an irritations. Now then..."
I can't Bail Out right now...
Pyrínas lifted one of his large bear-like arms high above his head.
"100% power."
Like an iron hammer, the arm fell down.
Mei readied herself to move when...
"50% defense."
"Whoa~ Mei-chan, you having some trouble there? I guess you got carried away and are just taking your time. Having some fun maybe?"
Mei recognized both the voice and the person now standing in front of her.
"You two..."
"Not just us."
"We need to keep these things from coming through so our lovely monster can do her thing."
Kako gave an impish laugh as blobs of Trion floated around her head.
Next to her was Kuroe Futaba, Kōgetsu in hand and at the ready.
In front of the two was a rather large Trion soldier that seemed to be like a stuffed bear.
"Well then, shall we get this over with? Too bad we have to take down this cute Kuma-san."
The blobs floating around Kako's head started firing Hound directly at the large stuffed bear-like Trion soldier.
Kuroe was gone from her spot next to her captain and appeared behind one of the Trion soldier's leg, a zig-zag streak behind her.
"We honestly need to tell Mei-san that she can rely on us more."
"You can say that again."
"Will you two please be quiet and hurry up."
Three orbs of Trion flew in the air and circled around a large amount of deer-like Trion soldiers. Each one fired a free laser-like beam before rotating and slicing the group of Trion soldiers in half.
Another group of deer-like Trion soldiers a brown and gray blur was speeding by and taking off their heads. Two green glades could be vaguely seen in the blur.
Multiple shots were being fired in a short amount of time, each one hitting the eyes of the deer-like Trion soldiers in the center. The person firing comminuted to do so until they were getting attacked by some of the Trion soldiers. This wasn't an issue though as the person quickly stabbed them in the eyes with a green Stinger that was wrapped around their middle finger.
To finish it all off, twenty beautiful ribbons of green light fluttered around, each one taking off more heads of the Trion soldiers. As soon as one ribbon was gone another one would quickly replace it, making it seem like these ribbons were swords of their own.
"Well, we can discuss this with Mei-nee later."
These four were Border agents who made up the B-Rank Kotowari Squad.
Mei got a small smile on her face as she stood up.
She looked over at the boy who was standing near by with a black pole on the back of his hip. She then turned to the large man with gray hair who had just protected her.
"Thank you for the save, Pyrínas. I'm fine now. And as for you... Shouldn't you be resting?"
Tsukiko Yuki gave a laugh as he leaned against one of the buildings that had yet to be destroyed.
"Is that really what you should be worrying about right now? Pyrínas here had to leave Michelle, Mitsu and Tenryū Squad behind to deliver something to you. They'll probably get on your case for doing that."
"Deliver something?"
Pyrínas #7 easily pushed his fellow Trion soldier back.
"... Yes. ...I am here to deliver to you Trion."
.
The Pyrínas that was fused with multiple Trion soldiers knew what was going on. Her knew what was about to happened.
And he would stop it.
"25%-!"
"No, no, no."
The Pyrínas that was fused with multiple Trion soldiers had to move back as something came at him. That something was a black pole that was how stabbed into the ground.
He quickly looked over to see Yuki lazily waving at him.
"Sorry about that, but I can't let you stop this. As her boyfriend, I must make sure that no actual harm comes to Mei. I will save her from anything."
Yuki let out a small laugh right after and thought,
I wish I could say that, but that's not how our relationship works at all. The day Mei would need my help is the day I bow down to that idiotic airhead. No. Mei is way out of any of our leagues. The only reason you've been able to handle her this far is because she still needed to figure you out. Now that she has...
Yuki stopped thinking, deciding to just nod towards the other two that were there.
.
The original Trion soldier known as Pyrínas was unique in his abilities. He had three main abilities and a few minor ones with that.
He was give an ability to store up large amounts of Trion from people who gave him any and give it to anyone he wanted, pushing that person's Trion limit beyond what it was and thereby giving them a larger amount of Trion to use for the rest of their lives. He had to willingly give the person the Trion and any person had to willingly give him their Trion.
All of the Trion could also be used by him. His strength was rivaled only be Mei, meaning that with raw strength he was able to cause a large amount of damage.
His final main ability was that each Pyrínas made was able to take in and fuse with any other Trion soldier, so long as they were willing or had no core.
What Pyrínas #7 was doing was giving Mei the Trion that had been willingly given to him by a small heterochromatic girl, a beautiful female captain, a group of four squad members, a teacher, an older sister with red hair, a chibi albino, a loving boyfriend and a few more.
"Question. What exactly happens to everyone else's Trion when they give it to you?"
"...Think of it like using a Trigger. ...They use the Trion, but it comes back. ...What I do though isn't like that."
Mei tilted her head to the side in a rather girly manner.
"You see... When I give someone Trion, it greats a new 'limit' on how much Trion they have... Meaning that if you had a Trion level of 10... After I give you all this Trion... It would be raised to level 15..."
Mei's Trion level was indeed at 10, which meant she was now expanding so that it would become 15.
"You know... This really feels like something out of a shounen manga."
"Yes, well... Futoyuki and Hatomi were the ones who created us... Just look at how the former is..."
"Fair point."
Once it was all done, Pyrínas #7 moved away from Mei and headed right towards Yuki. His outstanding height did make Yuki a bit jealous, but he out that to the side once he saw Mei ready for round 2.
"Now then. Shall we finish this?"
Mei stood there, fists ready to deliver the finishing blows.
"I will now go about showing you what the #1 agent of destroying things via Trigger can do. Are you ready?"
The Pyrínas that was fused with multiple Trion soldiers was far more wary of his opponent now. He quickly brought his arms up to block, putting as much Trion as he could into defending, but...
"First hit."
Mei was quickly in front of the Pyrínas that was fused with multiple Trion soldiers. She moved her fist forward and was determined to end this fight.
Her fist connected.
The Pyrínas that was fused with multiple Trion soldiers flew the air at amazing speed.
He finally came to a stop once his body smashed into the wall of a buildings in the Forbidden Zone.
I had put all defenses up to block that hit and yet she still destroyed it! My defense was destroyed!
The Pyrínas that was fused with multiple Trion soldiers was about to get out of the small hole he had made because of the impact when...
Yuki let out a whistle as he watched the other Pyrínas fly through the air at an amazing speed.
He was going to compliment Mei on her attack, but she was already gone when he turned to her.
He walked over to his own weapon and took it from the ground, placing it back in its holster.
He then turned to the Trion soldier that was still there.
"So, do you want to watch the show? This is a pretty safe distance away from them."
"Won't you have to deal with any issue that may come up...? After all, you are the one who decided on using me to give her that extra Trion..."
Pyrínas #7 didn't turned to see Yuki, but he knew that the A-Rank was looking over at the a Border HQ with a fond expression.
"Yeah, well, I may not be able to protect her or anything, but..."
Yuki turned to Pyrínas #7 and gave a kind smile.
"It's also a boyfriend's job to support his girlfriend at all times, isn't it?"
Mei was in front of the Pyrínas that was fused with multiple Trion soldiers in only a few seconds.
She slammed her foot into him, sending him further into the building.
She grabbed him and threw him into the air.
The Pyrínas that was fused with multiple Trion soldiers looked as if he was going to fly away. A scared look could he seen on his face as his two falcon-like wings unfolded.
"I'm not letting you get away."
Mei was once again too fast for him to keep up with. She was how above him, both wings in her grasp.
She did a flip in the air and slammed her heel on his head, sending him straight to the ground with the same amount of force and speed as the previous hits. In her hands were the two falcon-like wings that had been attached to his body.
Trion was leaking like crazy from those two new holes on his back.
The onslaught of power attacks didn't end there though.
Mei used her fall to her advantage and used all her weight to land on the Pyrínas that was fused with multiple Trion soldiers.
Chunks of earth flew through the air as a rather large crater was made. In the center if the crater was the #1 person most likely to destroy everything via Trigger and the Pyrínas that was fused with multiple Trion soldiers.
"And the finale."
Mei bent down and grabbed the two bear-like arms that had so much power and defense. They were broken - completely destroyed. She grabbed them and tore them off. She did the same thing with the two deer-like legs. That left just the body and the head.
"Your plan was extremely pointless and flawed from the beginning. Futoyuki is here to stay. He is a part of Border now. There is no way that the Wanderers would return for him, or even the other Pyrínas. What's more is that you made no real effort to understand their reason for being here in the first place. They wanted to test us, you just wanted to do whatever you wanted. Your way of doing this was even weak. That small amount of Trion soldiers is nothing compared to all of Border's agents. Your defense may have bested my power, but that doesn't mean you wouldn't lose. There are people more skilled and much more experienced than me. My teacher, who uses a Black Trigger, could take you out. He wouldn't even have it use said Black Trigger. Now then..."
Mei stood straight up.
She moved her left hand over the gauge on her right glove.
The bars filled up all the way.
"I'm going to make sure you don't cause any issue with the kind Pyrínas we have living with us. Ah. I suppose I'm starting to sound like a scolding mother. My bad."
With one final attack, the fight was over.
The crater that Mei had been it grew even more with this attack.
The Pyrínas that was fused with multiple Trion soldiers was destroyed.
Mei had finished her assignment.
"Now I need to focus on helping out my squad. As their Operator."
"..."
"..."
Commander Kido Masamune could only sigh and rub his forehead as he sat in his chair.
He was currently in a meeting room with Border directors Shinoda and Netsuki, as well as Branch Director Akasora Chishi. On the other side of the table stood Takaoto Mei.
Takaoto Mei was a kind, beautiful, and almost motherly person. She was kind to all. She had beauty that could outclass any model. She was motherly to her squad.
"If I may. I would like to apologize for the damages I have caused and will pay for anything needed. Although... That was all in the Forbidden Zone, so..."
She is the Ultimate Operator and A-Rank Border combatant with a powerful Trigger after all. She had power, speed and the aura of a strong person. Even when in her real body she is able to rival - and even overpower at times - someone like the muscleman Kizaki Reiji from the Tamakoma Branch.
Any limitations she made for herself were most likely necessary.
She was bother terrifying and majestic all at once.
"Th-that isn't the issue!"
Director Netsuki spoke up, but was ultimately ignored by the girl.
Seeing things may turn out, Branch Director Akasora decided to get their attention.
"Look, you all knew how much destruction Mei causes when you sent her out. That being said, this was a bit too much. Mei, I know you understated what Director Netsuki is talking about. The way you fought was a bit...much. It isn't particularly something that would look good for Border."
"I am fully aware of that."
"Then-!"
"Alright."
Everyone in the room turned to Commander Kido, who had been quiet the whole time.
"You did the assignment assigned to you. For that I'm glad. But, that being said, the amount of destruction you caused was far beyond anything you've been able to do before. There will be consequences for that. One of which being you telling how you were able to increase the damage you are able to do now. As well as having your Trigger confiscated for some time."
"Yes. Of course, sir."
"I am not done."
Mei could only let out a small sigh as she heard all the new restrictions that were out upon her now.
What would others do at a time like this...
"This sucks."
Yuki could only laugh as Mei finished telling him everything that had happened at the meeting after the fight.
The two were currently on the roof of the Yagura Branch, looking up at the clear sky.
It took all of Mei's willpower not to go on and attack everything as her hand was held by Yuki's.
She knew that handholding was the simplest of things that a couple should do, but she would always get embarrassed and start attacking everything if she thought about doing that with Yuki.
She still wasn't too sure how they really got together, but she wasn't caring about things like that anymore. This was who things were now, so she would enjoy herself.
"I know it sucks, and I guess that's more my fault than anyone else's, but you really did look awesome when you beat that other Pyrínas down. You should have seen how the others reacted when you were attacking. Toby and Suzume were in complete awe, Kako was grinning and both Takeshi and Kuroe looked like they wouldn't be going against you at any point in time anymore."
"I should probably apologize to those two then... I don't want them to be scared. Especially since I'm in the same squad as one of them."
"Nah. It's fine. Takeshi is more aware of things now. And Kuroe should be fine as well. Heh. Maybe you could get her to give Kitora a chance now."
"I'm not going to butt into that issue. Not my place."
"That hadn't stopped you before. You butted right in that one time with me and Kou."
"That's different. I needed to make sure you didn't rip his head off over something so stupid."
"Hey! That wasn't stupid!"
"Yes. It most certainly was."
This felt nice.
It was nice to just talking, like normal couples. It didn't really feel like anything had changed between the two, but that was fine with the both of them. If something had changed then they would have fixed it and made it right again.
Kako may have been the first person to stop Mei from doing much more than she needed to. Murakami may have come before Yuki and started talking to Mei. There may have been many more that had helped Mei in some shape or form.
But...
I was the first to completely understand her. No way is that going to be taken from me.
Yuki smiled as he glanced over at Mei.
Mei was great. She treated almost everyone in a kind and caring manner. She always looked out for the people she cared about. She would quickly beat down anyone who would even think of going against things she cared about.
She had her quirks that ranged from her embarrassment to her manly strength, but that made her all the more appealing. She was definitely human, regardless of if others thought otherwise.
Yuki couldn't help but chuckle when he remembered what his former squad's Sniper had once said.
"Yuki-san, you and Mei-san would honestly make the best couple. I've even come up with the best name for you two."
"Just make sure Mei doesn't hear it. Even my SE won't save me from her wrath."
"Oh be quiet. Anyways. The best name for you two is YuMe. I'm sure this goes without saying but if this ships comes true then that would honestly mean-"
"'Dream came true'."
"Hm? What about a dream?"
Yuki chuckled as he shook his head.
Mei gave a girlish tilt as she saw Yuki laugh.
Yuki gave a kind smile as he turned fully to Mei.
"Hey. Look over there for a second."
"No. It's obvious what you're going to do. I'm going to turn my head back to you and you're going to kiss me. You should know that's pointless with me."
"You're right. I should just..."
In one quick motion Yuki moved forward and placed a quick kiss on Mei's lips.
"-!?"
Yuki took that as his cue to get up and head right back inside of the building.
Mei was quickly behind him, face more red than Arashiyama Squad's uniform.
As he ran, Yuki couldn't help but to have a single thought in his mind.
Suzu would have loved to have seen that.
She was bother terrifying and majestic all at once.
Any limitations she made for herself were most likely necessary.
She is the Ultimate Operator and A-Rank Border combatant with a powerful Trigger after all. She had power, speed and the aura of a strong person. Even when in her real body she is able to rival - and even overpower at times - someone like the muscleman Kizaki Reiji from the Tamakoma Branch.
She was motherly to her squad.
She had beauty that could outclass any model.
She was kind to all.
She was a kind, beautiful, and almost motherly person.
Takaoto Mei is all of these things.