Adult - Children_at_Play


Hoshi let out a giggle as Wakamura finished telling a joke.

It was not amusing one but she laughed regardless.

The two were walking down the street with a line of stores on either side of them. They did not pay attention to that as they just happily spend the time focusing on each other and not bothering to worry about their next round.

That being said, they did not notice that even with all the store around them, there was hardly anyone around. Only a few amount of people were going in or out of stores with only two or three people just walking on the street like them.

This was a strange thing that was happening at multiple areas of Mikado City yet these two B-Rank Border agents did not seem to notice at all.

"Ah! I'll be right back. I'm getting a little thirsty. Would you like something to drink as well?"

"Here. Let me get you something."

"Ah! N-no! It's fine!"

The two continued the light argument with smiles on their faces as they walked over to a line of vending machines.

That was when they noticed something.

"Urg..."

Someone was leaning up against a column with a hand in the center of their flat chest. It was difficult for the two to figure out of they were a boy or a girl. Either way, the person's cheeks were red and they were gasping for breath. There were also large beads of sweat on their forehead, suggesting they had just completed some heavy exercise.

"A-ah! Hey, are you okay? If it's too stuffy over here, you should go rest on the benches over there."

"Hm~… I-I'm…I'm T-Ten…"

"Calm down. There are some vending machines right here. I know it seems wrong to have to spend 140 yen on water, but why not get something to drink before trying to talk?"

With Wakamura saying that, Hoshi grabbed the person's warm hand and the person followed them with their head lowered.

The three of them left the area filled with brand-name shops and arrived at the line of vending machines. There, Hoshi brought out some money and got something from the vending machine without thinking.

She bought a bottle of mineral water that was known for how addicting it could be. Regardless, she handed the bottle to the…

Are they...a boy or a girl...?

The person took the clear bottle, removed the cap, and wrapped their hands around it. Gulping sounds soon followed.

Wakamura crossed his arms as the girl drank her water that was kindly bought for her.

"If you're going to drink that much then maybe you should go and get a check-up. It's not really hot out now, but it can still get to someone."

"Phew... Thanks."

They let out a gentle sigh. Even after a few gulps, they did not cough anything back up, so the two agents decided it was not too serious.

The person held the plastic bottle in both hands and looked over at the line of vending machines in order to avoid looking at the two. They noticed that no one was really around, but didn't comment on it.

"You don't need to worry about me. I'm not suffering from heat stroke or dehydration."

"It would be nice if that was something people could be so sure of."

"It's true. I'm sweating because I was running. ...Honestly, I was looking for someone, but I ended up having to run away from a large crowd of people that seemed like they were in a rush."

"Someone? Run away?"

Wakamura's tone dropped a bit, so the girl frantically waved a hand in front of her face and shook her head.

"A-anyway! That was only because I dislike hurting people! I could easily cut through them all, but I really, really don't like hurting people!"

"..."

"You're doubting me, aren't you!? I may not look it, but I'm an A-Rank Border agent, Tenryū Aonegai!"

Aonegai stared at the two with a small blush on her face. She hadn't even noticed that the two hadn't introduced themselves.

Not seeming to be shocked, Hoshi spoke up.

"Oh, so you're an A-Rank. Does that mean you are from a Border in a different country?"

"Eh? What?"

"You don't seem like the type to arrogantly talk about everything you can do, so I guess it doesn't matter. …More importantly, what was that about running away?" Wakamura pushed his glasses up as if he didn't care about the rank.

"…"

Oh, no.

The person calming to be an A-Rank, "Tenryū Aonegai", froze when the two didn't seem to react like she wanted.

"Oh, right. I guess it's rude not to introduce myself." Wakamura gave a slight bow while saying, "I'm Wakamura Rokurō. Nice to meet you, Tenryū-san."

"Hello. I am Taiyōko Hoshi."

"Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!?"

"Tenryū Aonegai" fell onto her butt as soon as he heard that name.

Unable to get up, she slid back along the floor.

"Um…?"

"T-Taiyōko-san?" she asked in a trembling voice. "Y-you mean from the Taiyōko family!? The family of soldiers so strong that just a single glare from them will make anyone shit their pants in fright!?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

Hoshi looked down with a sad expression, making the girl start to panic a bit and Wakamura trying to comfort his friend. He did give a small glare to the other girl though.

"It's not like that... Our parents were soldiers... We are a part of Border, but... We won't hurt people..."

"Wait... You are in Border!?"

Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap! These two are actually in Border! What the hell am I suppose to do now!? I'm so not prepared for this!

While Aonegai was having a small inner freak out, both Hoshi and Wakamura looked at each other for the answer as to why she had suddenly gone quiet as if she was a robot in sleep mode.

"Um... Tenryū-san... Are you okay?"

Hoshi tapped the girl on the shoulder, making her jump and in turn making both B-Rank agents jump as well.

"Don't scare me like that!"

"Ah! I should be saying that!"

"Look! Just because you have the right sized boobs doesn't mean you can yell at me!"

"R-right sized...!?" Covering her breasts, Hoshi took a step closer to Wakamura. "I just wanted to know if you were alright. You looked like you were in a daze."

"A daze?"

"Yeah. You looked like you completely shut down," Wakamura said, trying to clear things up. "She was just worried about you."

"Really!? I am so sorry then!"

Seeing the girl give a deep bow, the two B-Rank agents couldn't help but to think the girl was a little crazy. They didn't comment on it though out of respect as a person.

The two had met some odd people around Mikado City, some of which they had to work with. Someone who was like this did not mean too much when compared to those people.

Even so, they were kind enough to overlook all the oddity from this person.

"Hey... I am sorry to bother you two. You seem like you were on a date-"

"What!?"

"-but I would like to know if there happens to be any underground passage ways here. I'm trying to familiarize myself with the city while I'm here. I've seen enough to be amazed by this place, compared to others. If it wouldn't be too much of a problem... Hm? Something wrong?"

Aonegai tilted her head once she saw that both Wakamura and Hoshi had gone red. Even Wakamura's glasses had started to get foggy.

It was strange since there seemed to be nothing to be embarrassed about.

"U-um... Senzai...san..."

"Huh? I can't really hear you."

Finally getting his wits about him, Wakamura cleared up his glasses as well as his throat. He turned back to her with a straight face, yet still a bit red.

"She's saying that Senzai Senshi knows the underground rather well. He is another member of Border. Red hair, work goggles and usually a plain expression. You can ask him for anything concerning underground passages."

"I see. Thank you very much. I will do my best to find him. Well... You two have fun on your date."

Aonegai made a quick dash out of the area, not noticing that Hoshi and Wakamura were once more red.

She had wondered if the two would be curious as to why she was asking for underground passages but found that they were too busy being red for no reason.

That worked for her.


To sum it up, she was lost.

Misaki Mitsubachi glanced around the scenery of Mikado City. She remembered as far as leaving the large building with Stepney, thinking that Kitora and Satori were following them, but that was it. The next thing she knew, Satori and Kitora were gone and the Border base was nowhere to be found.

"Seriously. Getting lost at his age. I guess we should seriously find them at some point," announced Mitsubachi while striking a daunting pose along a street lit up by decorative lights.

The one who was actually lost was not aware of her own situation.

"Hey, Mitsubachi... We should get back to Big Sis Ai and Mr. Satori. I don't think that they will be happy when they can't find us."

"Where's your sense of adventure? Those two can find us whenever they want. Besides, I seriously live in this city. I seriously know where everything is."

Misaki Mitsubachi's house was in the western part of the city which was where a lot of people lived.

But she was currently in East.

She did not often travel between the city and the areas, and when she did, she was usually being led through thecrowds while holding Suzume's clothes. She did not have enough information to get home on her own. The human homing instinct was amazingly good at guiding drunks home, but the initial settings required for that homing instinct to function had never been inputted into Mitsubachi.

Stepney on the other hand had no idea where anything was in the city. This was the first time he had ever been to Japan so everything was new to him.

"Seriously, I am hungry...but I cannot just abandon Ken-chan while he is lost. I need to carry out my role as the big sister and go find him! Stepney, you'll help me, right?"

"Of course I will. I need to get back to Big Sis Ai."

As the two children put all their energy into making that mistaken decision, they looked over at a map of the area posted nearby.

But that map was hardly going to tell them where Satori and Kitora were, plus they did not even know where they were. Nevertheless, Mitsubachi nodded twice as if it had told her all she needed to know.

And then she made another announcement.

"If we seriously walk in a big circle around this area, we are sure to run into them!"

She seemed to think that was the fastest way to cover the wide area of the eastern side, but it was no better than when someone lost in the forest of Aokigahara thought it would be best to just head in one direction. If that was all it took, getting lost would not be such a big deal. Also, Mitsubachi had not seen what the scale of that map was.

And so Misaki Mitsubachi the missile girl looked away from the map and took her first step.

And in that first step, she collided with someone.

"Ssssssss!"

"(Wh-what? What?. ...Ah!? I found a lost child!)"

Stepney was quick to check and see if the two were alright.

Then he translated what the other girl had said as they fell.

"I-I am not a lost child! Seriously! I am the big sister!"

The two girls received a great collection of scathing comments over the area, a group of people had seen what happened and spoke in hushed tones or simply thought to themselves, but neither the girl aware of those comments or the one unaware of them paid them any heed.

The girl named Michelle looked up and down Mitsubachi and then puffed out her chest triumphantly despite being shorter than the girl.

"(You leave me no choice. As the one who is familiar with things, I will help you.)"

At some point Stepney had taken a backset to this and decided to simply translate the fluent German coming from the girl's mouth.

"I seriously do not remember asking for help from someone who proudly puts her hands on her hips over being smaller! Don't make fun of me!"

"(I can tell you are a child from how you are trying to stand on your tiptoes. A true adult yearns for youth.)"

Michelle spoke as if she knew what she was talking about.

Mitsubachi than stuck her index finger out towards Michelle and shouted out loud enough for everyone on the street to hear as if she was playing her greatest trump card.

"I wear a bra!"

"(Wha-!?)"

Stepney made a sound with his mouth to create a lightning sound effect behind Michelle to complement her shock. Meanwhile, Mitsubachi seemed to feel like she had lost for having to use her greatest trump card, so she desperately continued speaking.

"And I already choose my own bras! I know the sexy underwear department like the back of my hand! I am seriously on a fundamentally different level from a child like you!"

"(I-I can't let you get away with that. That was a challenge to my genetic characteristics!)"

"You're just a kid!"

"(What was that, you child!?)"

"You are in luck, lost child. I will take you home!"

"(You're the lost one, so that is my line!)"

Stepney was not sure how these two girls, who had just met by bumping into each other, had ended up getting along so well.

It may have been because of his outside view that he was able to see the smiles on their faces as they yelled at each other in different languages. It was not a serious fight but one that they may have seen happen from time-to-time from older women. That may have been why he saw no reason to interrupt them and their squabble.

An advertisement for a local travel show played on the large screen of a blimp floating overhead in the sky.

"An adult woman must not be at a loss regarding how to entertain an unexpected guest. This week on Informed Ladies, we are having a special on the hidden top-rate restaurants in Mikado City that do not require a reservation! For details, tune in to the urban channel on your cable TV!"

"..."

"..."

Misaki Mitsubachi and Michelle stared up into the sky for a bit.

And then they looked back down to look at each other and made an announcement with surprising synchronization.

"We'll see who is more informed by heading around to the famous restaurants of Mikado City!"

"(We'll see who is more informed by heading around to the famous restaurants of Mikado City!)"

Once the two girls' thoughts jumped directly to that idea, Satori being lost and anything else were completely gone from their minds!


At some point both Takaoto Mei and Taiyōko Kushikage had left their group to go off and do their own things. That may have been why it was quiet enough for Mukuro to think at the moment. Or at least quiet enough to listen to the other loudmouth he had with him.

Dealing with children was never his strong suit.

"Why were we sent here again? And why did Hoshi-chan and Yuki-san get to stay?"

Mukuro did not need to turn around to know that Kazekiri had a look of irritation on his face. The tone alone was enough to give everything away.

Mukuro let out a tired sigh as he walked in front of the two C-Rank Border agents. Behind them was a single B-Rank agent. The four were currently looking for the two missing people, but had no luck.

He tried to call them multiple times, but no one seemed to answer. He figured they were either busy fighting or just not paying attention.

"...We came here because Uncle... ...Boss said that he needed us to check on something..."

"Did he even say what we needed to check on? This place seems fine enough, and Mikado City is taking almost all of the Neighbors. There really shouldn't be a reason to send us over."

"Kaze, just be quiet. You should be happy that Akasora-san trusted enough for this. Don't forget that, unlike Shobu, we two are still C-Rank. This is just for experience if anything else. Besides, he had only told the A-Ranks what exactly we are suppose to look for."

"Hey, Mukuro! What are we suppose to be looking for!?"

"Currently, Kushi-nee and Fuji-nee-san. Leaving those two alone for too long will end with this city's destruction."

"I can't be that bad."

"...It can..."

Both Kazekiri and Kirisame kept quiet in the topic after that. They trusted the soft spoken boy enough to know that he wouldn't lie. This also made them want to find the two girls now since they didn't want to see the city destroyed by the two.

As the four continued to walk, the two louder ones looked around in awe since this was the first time they had been outside of Mikado City, so it was fascinating to them.

So much so that they didn't notice they were lagging behind the other two until they both ran into someone.

They both stared up and saw a man looking down on them.

Kazekiri quickly jumped up and got in a defensive stance.

"H-h-hey! Just because you're t-tall, that doesn't mean y-you can be in the way!"

"Kaze, your stuttering isn't helping! This guy can just step on you anyways! Back away!"

The man just stood there, looking down at the two. He had an intimidating expression on his face, but really he thought he had a plain expression.

"Sorry... I didn't mean to be in the way..."

The two jumped up and turned back to him once they realized he had said something. They gave different reactions with Kaze looking up at him with the kind of look you would get from a barking chihuahua while Ame was just looking a little nervous.

"... Kaze... Ame...!"

The three turned to see Mukuro and Shobu walk up to them.

Shobu got to the two then noticed the man towering over them. He quickly hid behind Ame while looking down at the ground.

"Hey! Don't go scaring Shobu!"

Letting out a sigh, Mukuro hit Kaze on the head before turning to the man and giving a small bow.

"I'm sorry if these two were bugging you."

"It's fine..."

Getting a good look at the man, Mukuro saw how...odd he looked. He was a tall man, probably around seven feat 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, but it seemed to also fit the man's appearance better than if someone else wore it.

Just as Mukuro was going to tell the three that they were leaving, Shobu walked forward and looked at the man with a calm expression.

This was also odd since Shobu was just cowering from the man a few seconds ago. Not to mention he only gave that calm look when with someone he knows well.

"Excuse me. I am really sorry if my friends had been a bother to you." After Shobu gave a deep bow he looked up at the tall man with an almost dull look. "I am Tenryū Shokubutsu. Hello."

"Hello... I am...Pyrínas."

"...If you wouldn't mind answering a question..."

"Yes...? What is it...?"

The two 14 year olds felt something odd while they watched this. It had taken a lot from them to have their friend talk to them as casually as he did, which wasn't much, so it made them feel a little mad at the guy.

Meanwhile Mukuro got ready to do something if the man tried anything against Shobu.

He may seem lanky and tired all the time, but he is from a family of soldiers. Meaning he was on alert when someone as tall and menacing as this guy was stood in front of his charges. He figured that if he could talk Minoru down, who was strong in both his real body and Trion body, then this guy could be taken down as well.

"...How tall are you...?"

"6 foot 7 inches..."


Mitsubachi, Michelle and Stepney arrived at the northeastern area of Mikado City.

It bordered where they had been, so it was not difficult to reach, but the area they were in was well known for having poor public order. There were stories of deliverymen going out of their way to avoid passing through the district on the way to their destination. That type of rumor remained even during peaceful times, so it was immediately obvious it was no place for two little girls and a little boy during the day when everyone had thrown out any restraint.

If the situation was given the tagline "I will use any means necessary to save those two girls and that boy who have wandered into the dangerous area!", it would probably make a decent independent action film for a film studies group.

However, they all seemed shared a certain characteristic.

They were a bit oblivious when it came to their own danger right now.

"Heh hehhn. That parking garage over there is seriously Mikado City's famous Food Stand Spire!"

"(I-I knew that too!)"

"It's fine. Everyone has been saying something or other about this place. Even Mr. Arashiyama has said something about this place."

"Then do you seriously know what the most popular restaurant in the Food Stand Spire is?"

The simplest way of describing it was a parking garage filled with nothing but large vans and RVs. Seats and tables for customers were also set up, so the parking space was not full, but the one building still contained somewhere between 400 and 500 restaurants.

The parking garage was not airtight, but it still had an excessive number of vents and air ducts to allow the exhaust to escape. The building itself was lit by irregularly placed LED light bulbs and altogether gave off an aura of handmade junk.

The scene of all the stands lined up had no uniformity to it. It mainly gave a motley and dirty impression. Also, the area was well known for having the worst public order of any area. Dyed hair and shaved heads were the norm. The customers viewed scars and tattoos like normal people viewed glasses and contact lenses.

Arashiyama had something abut this area in order to warn Stepney to no go near it. That part may have ended up going a bit over his head as he was looking around the operating room.

Simply put, it felt like it would be game over for the children within 5 seconds of setting foot inside the building. But...

"Huh? What are some kids doing here?"

"Oh, c'mon, old man! You can't put a place like this in a pamphlet! What if those harmless little kids end up getting mugged!?"

"You two over here! I'll give you each a free boiled egg if you act as their bodyguards!"

"It has to be a long way to their home, but at least keep an eye on them until they reach a large station."

Surprisingly, most of the people seemed to be neither enemy nor ally.

It was thanks to the following ironclad rule of delinquents:

You have to be nice to cats abandoned in the rain and to little kids!

"The lineup of restaurants should seriously change as we go up floors."

"(Yes, yes. The lower floors closest to the entrance draw the most customers and have the more popular junk food, and the higher floors draw fewer customers but make a living by catering to more specific tastes.)" Michelle raised her index finger. "(But there is one restaurant that draws a lot of people despite being on those upper floors. I've been told this kind of stuff from Border agents here.)"

The parking garage had an elevator, but it did not have several of them like a department store or hotel. Since the customers were bound to get into fights if they had to wait in line for the elevator, it was banned from use. For that reason, the three children followed the other customers' lead and walked up several gentle slopes as they headed for the very top floor.

As they headed up, the food for sale no longer focused on appealing to everyone just as Michelle had explained. By the time they reached the top floor, restaurants like a coffee shop that's owner wore a tailcoat and a Kaiseki stand run by a young woman in a kimono were not unusual. However, these shops were so incredibly cheap that it was hard to enjoy them without growing somewhat suspicious.

But the children were completely oblivious to this.

The three headed to the center of the top floor with Mitsubachi primarily taking the lead.

There they found a certain stand.

The stand was made out of a small modified truck, but it did not have a kitchen space inside like all the other stands did. Some basic camping gear was spread out around the truck and the cooking was done in that open space. It was a popular restaurant, but it currently had plenty of empty seats due to lucky timing on the kids' part.

The stand had only one cook, but he was accompanied by three girls who looked like they knew nothing of cooking or the service industry. After spending a month in the area, it would be obvious they were hired to carry out dirty jobs in the name of being bodyguards.

But as previously stated, the children were oblivious.

One of those bodyguards had something in her mouth with a blinking bluish-white LED on the end. It looked like a nicotine free electronic cigarette, but it was actually something much more suspicious. The three small children ignored the bodyguard as she put the item back in its case and they approached the lone cook. They pushed aside a few tables and chairs as they approached.

Mitsubachi said, "Seriously give me the usual!"

"...The usual? I've never seen you before. Also, you should try not to say that around this district. You'll get caught up in some illicit transaction."

The cook's voice was low and flat so as not to show any emotion.

Michelle sat down in one of the camping chairs and looked around while Stepney decided to stay by her side, in case he was needed again by either girl.

"Seriously, what kind of restaurant is this?"

"Chinese."

"Seriously. I don't see any Chinese people here."

"In this country, salt butter ramen and mild chili oil qualifies as Chinese cooking."

Mitsubachi also sat in a chair, but retained her I-am-older expression.

"I knows that this restaurant has no menu. I seriously know the hidden truth. After all, this restaurant only serves one thing! I will even point my finger for extra emphasis!"

"Only one kind of food maybe," muttered one of the bodyguards and one of the other girls stomped on her foot.

With expressionless eyes, the cook said, "Well, I'll make anything so long as you pay."

He then opened the lid of a silver stockpot and stuck a giant fork-like tool inside.

Michelle's nose twitched and she frowned at the oddly sweet smell.

"(...What do they sell here?)"

"Giant pieces of meat," Mitsubachi answered immediately, puffing out her chest meaninglessly. "They seriously have the ridiculously giant pieces of meat you only see in manga! Even through I have never seen it myself..."

"(Y-you admitted you have never seen it!)"

And then exactly what Mitsubachi had described appeared.

The plate was large enough for an entire family-size pizza but it had no side dishes on it. It contained nothing but a ridiculously huge chashu cutting horizontally across the giant plate. Its width was about a size larger than a store-bought jelly roll.

Mitsubachi had the expression of someone whose improvised attempt at speaking a foreign language had actually gotten through overseas.

"See!? I seriously told you! Hey, hey, hey! Stepney, tell her I told her! I was right!"

Doing as he was asked, Stepney translated exactly what Mitsubachi had said.

"(...It looks like a chashu, but it has a somewhat sweet smell. Also, the outside seems crunchy. Is this the same thing you put on ramen?)"

"Those are specifically made to go well with Japanese ramen. They are too greasy to eat plain," replied the cook who was opening a sports newspaper now that his job was done.

Michelle looked puzzled.

"(Th-then do you use a knife and fork…?)"

"Tsk, tsk tsk."

Mitsubachi wiggled her finger for extra effect.

"(If you keep acting like a know-it-all I will dump chashu sauce all over your clothes.)"

"Wait, wait! I will give you a proper explanation, so wait! I beg you to seriously stop!" Mitsubachi frantically brought up her hands in a meaningless defense. "I said this is like the giant pieces of meat in manga, right? Just double checking. Do you ever see them elegantly using a knife and fork to eat their ridiculous pieces of meat!? That is an important question!"

"But then, how do you eat it?"

It was Stepney who had asked the question this time.

Mitsubachi explained with her actions.

She grabbed both ends of the giant piece of meat with her hands and started chowing down on the middle portion.

The instant she did, time seemed to stop for Michelle and Stepney as their basic knowledge of the world crumbled around them.

And then Michelle opened her mouth to speak as her instincts welled up within her.

"(It's just like in manga! It's manga meat!)"

"Didn't I seriously tell you?"

"(I see. So this was mammoth meat...)"

Despite being slightly mistaken, Michelle began eating her own giant piece of meat.

That was when the two girls noticed that the third member of their party was simply looking at his large piece of meat as if he would get in trouble for simply being near it.

Mitsubachi was the one to speak up, seeing as how Michele had puffed cheeks due to taking a bite.

"Stepney, aren't you seriously going to eat?"

"H-huh? Oh! Um... I don't...want to get in trouble... My parents...they might be mad if I get any of this on my clothes... Even worse if it gets on my skin... S-so you two can go ahead and eat! I will have something else later on."

As if on cue, a loud growing sound was heard.

Stepney went red while the two girls looked towards him.

"You seriously can't hide that from us. You are hungry and I won't eat until you do! If your parents get mad then I will seriously give them a piece of my mind!"

Michelle, seeing Mitsubachi cross her arms and refuse to eat, followed suit. She had gotten the gist of what was going on by using her Side Effect to read the mind of the older girl. While she had just met these two, Stepney had been nice to them both and translated what they were saying. She would not let him go hungry just because he could get in trouble.

Stepney looked from the girls down to his piece of meat.

Knowing that the two girls were stubborn on what they doing he slowly went for the meat.

He grabbed the meat with both hands, feeling just how squishy it was. The feeling was nice, but now it was time to know what it tased like.

"(Hm... It's so good!)"

The two girls did not know what he said since it was said in English, but they got it enough to know he was happy about eating the meat. That was enough for them to start eating once more.


In the tunnel system right under Mikado City sat a single person. Well it was wrong to call them a person. In reality they were a Trion Soldier that looked exactly like a person. The soldier was a tall man with gray hair.

He was typing something on, what seemed to be, a laptop for a few seconds before closing the device.

"#7, hurry up and get back over here. Make sure to transform back into Beetle form. We are about to start and we need everyone ready. If you are not back in five minutes then you will be dismantled and recreated. Do you understand?"

The Trion Soldier let out a sigh as a response come through to the other end.

Something had been set in motion the moment they had landed on this world. While it did not seem as advanced as other ones they had seen, it was different. Their technological advances concerning Trion was further behind then any other place. Yet the stuff they did have, that did not rely on Trion, was truly amazing.

That was good enough for them to stay awhile.

Their leader had already determined what they would do in order to gain an alliance with this world. Even if that was the case, this Trion Soldier had other things in mind.

For these things to realized he would need as much of his own help as possible. He could only rely on himself for something like this. That was exactly what he was going to do.

"We still need Trion to even leave. To maintain us it takes even more. To continue researching requires even more. For that we have come to the conclusion that obtaining resources for Trion usage is the best option."

He spoke to himself, yet to a multitude of others. Everything he said was processed by him and no one else, yet multiple others processed the exact same thought. A connection was always open to on him, yet others were also connected to him.

He would rely on himself and no one else. No on else except those others.

"This is Pyrínas serial number 0. Pyrínas serial numbers one through seven are to locate the two large Trion sources and obtain them. We will be using them to maintain everything that the Wanderers are about. Even if our leader is to hate us for it. Understood?"

A single answer came from multiple others.

All that was needed was himself and no one else.

That was why multiple others were now on the move.

"Right. So next would be the issue of that person lingering down this tunnel."


Within the same area as a Trion Soldier, "Tenryū Aonegai," stood near the entrance to a subway station holding her head. It seemed to be abandoned, yet others still walked by it.

So this underground way is probably where whatever it is is hiding. I should be careful to not gain the attention of Border.

Even then, she could remember the smooth and deep voice telling her what to do, but Aonegai's thoughts were turning in the direction of wanting to finish things off already.

The stairway into the subway area was surrounded on three sides by walls. It was almost midday and the time for the sun to be high up must have been nearing because a large number of company workers and drunks were walking just above the closed off stairway. Under it all, Aonegai was leaning against one of the walls focusing on the meter long bag hanging on her back.

"...At the very least, I need to stop this single one. All I can do is wait for Seidō-san to contact me. The real problem is that we don't know where it will be until the last second. Having to ad lib everything due to the unknown destination makes this difficult."

She sighed and folded her arms as she watched the company workers walk by. Amid the men, she caught sight of the occasional teenager. The young looks stood out among the older workers. Her eye was naturally drawn to them and, once the number of shorter people grew to 8 or 9, she realized that everyone around the stairs were wearing distinctive uniforms.

"...!?"

Having been surrounded, Aonegai looked to the bag on her back. One boy stepped forward from the group of workers and approached Aonegai.

"We are from Border. Do you understand?" The boy, Sasamori Hisato, spoke in a manner similar to a police officer.

Despite the fact that they were still amid the crowd of passersby, he was already wielding a green blade.

In response to that introduction that only those on that path would understand, Aonegai pulled the edges of her lips up in a smile with her arms still folded.

"...So you've already made it this far?"

"Agents who use Chameleon are use to blending in, so finding someone like you who doesn't belong is actually easier than you think. To me, you stand out the most."

"I see. So you've been looking at me? I guess Border just let's in whoever they want."

"We will have you accompany us to the base. The reason I'm saying this is so that we don't run the risk of someone getting involved."

"Whatever."

Aonegai unfolded her arms and put her hands in her pockets. In a motion much like throwing a fast ball, she went into action.

"Until I know where that person is..."

With set up already, Aonegai stuck the tip of her foot into a small hole on the ground.

"I have no intention of being captured!"

She kicked a piece of the ground into the air and grabbed it with one hand. Using that motion as a sign, Sasamori unreservedly struck with his blade. He was aiming to slice off Aonegai's head to end it quickly.

A roar of sliced air resounded. But Aonegai's Trion body was not torn.

This was due to the bag hanging from her shoulder. In response to her will, it tore from the inside and she swung the weapon inside horizontally. The weapon was a long metal pole with five blades stuck on the end. It struck Sasamori's blade causing the two to be pushed back.

"...!?"

Along with the blow the two had made, the people up the stairs pulled out their own weapons. Aonegai was surrounded by different Trion-made weapons, but she still smiled fearlessly. She put even more strength into the hand holding her weapon.

She swung her weapon by rotating her entire body.

Sasamori stood at the ready, but the attack was not aimed for any of the other agents. Aonegai destroyed the concrete wall she had been leaning up against previously.

The stairway down to the subway was surrounded by walls on three sides and Aonegai's intentions in smashing the wall like a biscuit were clear.

She was going to flee.

Sasamori let out a frustrated breath as he attacked with his blade. However, his strike did not pierce Aonegai's body. Aonegai had already gone with the rubble down into the subway station the stairway connected to.

"Hisato!"

"I know! Hanzaki, you and everyone else guard the entrances and exits!" Sasamori yelled in response to his colleague and ran down to the subway station. He didn't really use the stairs. Instead, he just jumped down to the lower floor all at once.

When he landed, he stuck a hand out and a cube of Trion appeared. He started firing around.

He didn't usually have a Shooter-type Trigger in any of his slots, but it was suggested to him by Hanzaki and Taichi, so he had placed Asteroid in one of his open slots.

Hearing that noise from the shots, the passerby's fled from the closed off entrance. They must have thought there was a terrorist or a gunman. Before long, all the panicked people had left the area.

Hanzaki and the others are watching the customer exits. If the girl is still in the area, we don't have to worry about getting civilians involved now.

Sasamori moved his hand to the side and raised his blade again. As a Border agent and B-Rank agent, he was determined to win this fight so that they could get somewhere in this.

He ran down a fairly long passageway with ticket machines and automatic ticket gates at the end. Sasamori jumped over a ticket gate as if it were a hurdle and continued running to the platform.

He arrived right when Aonegai was about to climb down from the empty platform. She was most likely thinking of running directly into the tunnel.

Sasamori's and Aonegai's gazes clashed.

"...!"

"...!?"

In that instant, Aonegai made the first move.

Holding the ground in one hand, she gave a large swing of the 5-bladed weapon that was a spear. She was throwing the sign it was stabbed into.

The sign flew more than 10 meters until it was sliced to pieces by Sasamori's Kōgetsu.

Aonegai moved the lever on the lower portion of the grip and the four blades opened and closed like human fingers.

Sasamori held out the tip of his blade and carefully estimated the distance between them.

As he did, Aonegai spun the weapon around and struck the floor of the platform with the four-bladed tip. The four blades sunk into the tile floor.

With the Trion weapon still stuck into the floor, she swung it forward with all her strength. Like a golf club hitting a bunker, a large amount of small fragments flew toward Hisato.

"...!

Sasamori dodged the barrage that went by and then charged in. But Aonegai spun the weapon around in one hand like a tree branch and immediately attacked.

She trusted the spear forward just as one if the blades exploded.

With a loud blast, Hisato's body was blown to the side. The bottoms of his shoes slid along the ground as he tried to slow himself down and Aonegai jumped up. At about a meter up, she curled up her legs and thrust in rotating vertically.

She was still holding the Trion weapon and, as before, it was looking like it was going to explode.

"Not good! And that thing's bad enough with her arm strength alone...!"

For an instant, Sasamori brought his blade up to block out of reflex, but then he relaxed his muscles and jumped to the side. It was just too much force to block. Meanwhile, Aonegai rotated twice in midair and used centrifugal force to swing down the Trion weapon. Her enhanced arm strength caused the floor of the subway station to explode like a volcano.

Sasamori had avoided a direct hit, but his body flew spinning through the air.

He had been hit by some of the explosion.

Even so, he did not fall to the ground. Like a figure skater who had failed a jump, he landed on the tips of his toes. Aonegai swung her weapon to the side towards Sasamori.

Sasamori had already lost his balance, so he couldn't move back any further.

The large explosion had gotten him more than before..

"!"

Having received a direct hit that time, Sasamori's body was thrown to the ground and then knocked a good distance back. The blade he had in his hand known as Kōgetsu spun through the air and stabbed into the ground right next to Sasamori's cracked face.

Aonegai leaned the weapon up against her shoulder with the other hand.

"Looks like this is over. We can go on if you like, but I'll be using more powerful attacks from now on."

As she spoke, she gave a regretful look towards Sasamori, as if she truly did not want to fight him.

"That was a nice try, but I'm the stronger one here. Don't think that just because we just got here that we don't know how to deal others. I am really sorry about all of this, though, since we only want to escape."

Sasamori let out a loud grunt, but he did not stand up.

Aonegai fixed her position before speaking again.

"Know you almost be good people. That's why I just need to deal with someone so we can finally leave. Don't hold it against us."

Aonegai placed a blue plate on the ground before stepping on it and going through a hole she had created.

"..."

Sasamori remained motionless for a bit.

Finally, he got up and started to contact the other agents.


Misaki Mitsubachi awoke while riding on Satori Ken's back.

"Mnyah...Ah!? Ken-chan, where have you been all this time! We seriously can't have you getting lost like that!"

"Ow! Don't pull on my hair! And a 7 year old who disappeared for hours and went to sleep on a plaza bench has no room to lecture me! You even left Awdry to watch over you!"

Mitsubachi had been sleeping in front of a station in a part of Mikado City whereas her house was in the western area. Normally, they would have used the train to cross the city, but Satori and the others were still walking through the area.

The girl walking next to Satori had pink hair, Sthénos, let her gaze wander blankly around the area until it landed on an airship with a giant screen on it.

"...Satorin, that says the trains still are not running."

"So did some animal really get loose?"

Next to Sthénos was Stepney Awdry, looking up at Mitsubachi. He had been left in charge to watch over her while she took a nap at the station.

There should have been one more child there yet Mitsubachi could not see her anywhere around. She was going to ask about the other girl but stopped when Satori and Sthénos continued speaking.

"I had us following the tracks as we walked, but at this rate we're going to reach the western area before the trains are back up and running."

"I haven't seen any buses either."

"I think they've intentionally reduced the number of buses running. That way people are more likely to stop by schools along the way."

But then Mitsubachi let out a strange voice from his back.

"I'm seriously hungry!"

"I'm sure your sister is going to be mad, so shouldn't you be more focused on coming up with an excuse? Then again, she'll probably be mad at us too. She'll probably be super mad at us."

"But food!"

"But Mitsubachi, we just had that meat. How are you still hungry?"

Satori was hoping to take off the edge of her hunger at some food stall, but there was none around at the moment.

He felt like they were losing out, but they ended up heading to a gyudon restaurant that served breakfast meals.

"I want roast salmon! For toppings, I want grated yam, natto, seaweed salad, jumbo grated radish, a small bowl of pickled vegetables, mango, and pudding...!"

"Mitsu-chan, you're supposed to choose only one topping."

Stepney quickly ordered a sukiyaki-style gyudon while Sthénos, being an Autonomous Trion Soldier did not need to eat.

When Mitsubachi saw the small bowl the worker brought out, her eyes opened wide.

"That's tiny! What a pitiful woman!"

"Mh."

"The idea of girls not eating much is seriously just an illusion! It's obvious you're putting up with an empty stomach to preserve your image!"

"...Satorin, I need to perform an iron claw on that brat, so scoot over."

As Satori restrained the pink haired girl in the busy restaurant, Mitsubachi looked over to Stepney, ready to ask what had happened to Michelle.

"She said she needed to look for someone she knows. Apparently she had gotten separated from someone and wanted to try to get to them again. We agreed that I would stay with you so that there was someone watching out while you slept."

"I see, I see, I see. That's seriously nice of you guys. Sorry that I went to sleep. I was just too tired after eating."

Stepney shook his head with a smile.

And 7 minutes later, a pale-faced Mitsubachi pushed three bowls the size of a watermelon sliced in half towards Satori. As she held her mouth as if she was about to explode, she managed to get out a small voice.

"...S-seriously. The rest is up to you."

"It looks to me like you did nothing more than scrape a bit off the surface of the bowls."

In the end, Satori had no choice but to do battle with the ridiculous bowls Mitsubachi had ordered.

But once they had all finished eating and were preparing to leave the gyudon restaurant, Mitsubachi suddenly said, "I'm seriously hungry again. I'm starving!"

"...Satorin, I am going to stuff red pickled ginger in that brat's mouth, so scoot over."

Satori once more had to restrain the pink haired girl. The four of them somehow managed to leave the gyudon restaurant.

It seemed the time had finally come for others to be let into around the area so the flow of people had clearly changed from before. It seemed they had chosen the worst possible time for food.

But Mitsubachi did not care in the slightest about the changes to her surroundings.

"I'm tired now... Ken-chan, can you seriously carry me?"

"This brat!"

"Sthénos-san! Mitsu-chan is at a fickle age! Actually, why are you even mad this time?"

Just as a confused look appeared on Satori's face, his head was tugged back from Sthénos like a cat. As Satori was knocked back, Mitsubachi casually climbed up his back.

"This is where I can seriously be the most relaxed..."

"That is my spot!"

"W-wait, Sthénos! Please tell me why you're dragging that bus stop sign behind you in one hand!"

Suddenly, Mitsubachi's small head shot up from where she was clinging to Satori's back.

Her gaze accurately captured something she could not afford to overlook.

"Seriously..."

She saw a black-haired, eye-covered man, a man who looked like someone with experience and was known as a former friend to Akasora and Shinoda.

She saw a black-haired girl cut short who was in a long coat that went with her prep school-like appearance.

But Mitsubachi was focused the girl who appeared to be a year or two younger than her who was walking along between the other two.

She saw her. They saw each other.

They spotted each other's faces, pointed across the street, and shouted out.

"It's seriously the kid!"

"(What was that, you child!?)"


"...Found you," muttered a figure from a building rooftop.

He was a bulky man wearing clothes that you would be able to find anywhere. He was suppose to not seem like any race, but he gave off the feeling of some kind of human race. If he were to wear something like an American jacket then it would look good on him and if he wore a traditional Chinese shirt then it would look good on him. There was no true distinctive n between any one race.

He was Pyrínas.

He was a Trion Soldier made by the group known as the Wanderers.

It did not matter if there was an intense battle in the past, or if some sort of horrible research had been performed, he could not lose something like internal organs. He would just turn a situation around by using other materials to make up all of those lost parts.

"Found you, found you, found you. So that's the man who is meddling with us."

When he opened his mouth, a deep feeling could be felt that clashed with the pale coloration of the rest of his body.

An oozing dark coloration could be seen filling his eye sockets as well. Even though this added to the number of colors making up his body, it created a bizarre balance that exacerbated the empty instability of his appearance.

His fingers and nails were made of the same kind of material as the rest his body, so the extremities of his flesh were much too unnatural to be human. In one such hand, he held a cell phone.

Unlike Border or Seidō's group, Pyrínas was pursuing Michelle as a member of the Wanderers. He was to quickly capture that which was an enigma in their plans and get rid of it before anything could continue further. And he was expected to do his very best to accomplish that task.

However...

"That doesn't matter to me. I'm just going to do this the way 'I' want to."

"Yes, yes," agreed someone on the other end of the phone.

She was a woman wearing a cheap suit and a lab coat. The woman claimed to be a another member of the Wanderers and she replied in an incredibly carefree manner despite being well aware of the risks. Despite everything she knew, she showed no concern in her response.

"Do this however you like. And try to smash even the worst case hypotheses we Wanderers have come up with. That is what we hope for. ...This destruction is sure to have wonderful meaning to science. I am sure of it."

"Oh?"

With that arbitrary response, Pyrínas let go of the cell phone.

The delicate device was easily smashed when it struck the rooftop floor.

His gaze was not following his top priority target of Michelle.

He was looking at something else nearby.

He was looking at a certain person standing in the middle of the crowd. Pyrínas silently watched Tenryū Seidō, that unknown monster.

Someone who stood on equal ground with Shinoda and Akasora, not that he would know that. He was yet another enigma in their plan.

"...Let's get this started."

He snapped his fingers.

Something silently stood up from where it had been waiting nearby. There was one to the right. There was one to the left. And it did not end there. Figure after figure stood up. The building's entire rooftop was filled in no time at all.

No.

That was not all.

It did not end with that one building. It covered the entire area. Building rooftops all over the place were filled with figures.

They were all white.

They had the exact same coloration as Pyrínas...or more specifically, as the material he had used to create his body.

He cracked his neck.

As the Trion Soldier looked down at the peaceful world below, he muttered the same words once more.

"Let's get this started."