Chapter 14: Uranometria: Part 4

Where the stars converge

Wisteria: "Alright, it's about time we got to finishing things up. Has everyone gotten done what they want? If not, too bad. You were all given enough time."

Honest Sister: "We're good over here. Chika-chan and I just honestly met up with Hoshi-chan and the others."

Werewolf: "Same. Just got to Take and Osamu. We're ready to go whenever you guys are."

Grumpy Cat: "I've already sent the location coordinates out. There are some people already going over there. Although some of them don't seem to be going to help out."

Wisteria: "That's fine. I've already planned for that. We'll leave it up to some others."

American Idiot: "Of course you planned for it."

#5 Mountain: "We'll go ahead of you guys and make sure everything is good to go. You can just leave it to us."

Kitora: "So that means don't go messing anything up until we get everything ready."

Werewolf: "That was directed at me, wasn't it? So rude! That tsundere attitude won't be getting you anywhere with the guys."

Kitora: "That has nothing to do with it!"

Wisteria: "You two can continue this later. I'll go over what is currently going on before we go. That way none of you can complain about not knowing something. So pay attention."

Wisteria: "I've been informed that Miwa Squad and Hogo squad had been facing off against Tachikawa Squad until moments ago. They managed to take out Izumi but Tachikawa had gotten away. He is on his way to get to Yuki. That is due to Lukas sending out a mass-message on where Yuki is. I told him to do so, so no one say anything to him about. Bring your complaints to me afterwards."

Talented Yoke: "Pretty sure none of us are dumb enough to tell you any complaints we have."

Werewolf: "Wanna bet?"

Wisteria: "Along with that message, Hikari told us that Kageura Squad has encountered the imposter who is currently posing as Yuki. It appears that he is not so skilled. At least compared to the original. That being said, there are those like Tachikawa who are going after Yuki instead of the imposter. Most likely to use this whole thing as an excuse to fight him."

Honest Sister: "You're going to honestly smack the crap out of them later, right?"

American Idiot: "Of course she is. They're being dumb by using this kind of thing as an excuse when they can just ask Yuki to fight afterwards."

Sniper Detective: "But not everyone is using it as an excuse. Some others are likely just doing as an order? Someone should have already told the directors about the imposter. So why are we still ordered to go after Yuki himself? It's probably because some of the directors are not convinced that there is an imposter. That means they will still be following the initial orders to take him in."

Voice of Reason: "It makes sense. While we all may be fine with going against orders like these for one reason or another, there are teams who will still be following those same orders out of a sense of duty or just because that is what they do."

Double-Sniper: "Pretty sure teams like Ninomiya and Bakuto are just doing it to go against Yuki-san. Can they be counted as either one of the options?"

Wisteria: "No. Those guys will get a beating from me. Right along Yuki himself."

Honest Sister: "So honestly harsh."

Werewolf: "So harsh."

Color: "So harsh."

Prototype Star: "So loving."

Talented Yoke: "You're definitely weird if you think that's loving!"

Rokkun: "She just sees a better side of this!"

The True Hero: "Shouldn't we let Takaoto-san continue now? I'm sure there will be issues if we don't."

Wisteria: "Thank you."

Double-Snipe: "He saves the day again!"

Wisteria: "What needs to be done is very simple. Some of us will be going to to intercept those who are continuing to hunt down Yuki. Others will be going to help Kageura Squad to take down this imposter. Arashiyama Squad will being doing their best to maintain order in the city. Today has made things a bit strange for the citizens and they need reassurance that there is nothing wrong. It did not help to see lasers flying, Border agents running on rooftops while teleporting all over the place and a sudden performance in the middle of a park that made even the ground shake a bit."

Colors: "...Sorry."

Werewolf: "Was still fun."

Honest Sister: "I regret nothing!"

Kitora: "At least feel a bit sorry!"

Megane: "Should we say something about her also being involved...?"

Kitora: "Mikumo-kun!"

Wisteria: "Back on topic."

Wisteria: "While it is usually my duty to take care of that idiot, I will be needing assistance. Just in case. My own team, minus Suzume, will be going with me. Mikumo and Katori squad will be dealing with the ones who will be going after Yuki. Svantje, I want you to help out Arashiyama Squad with calming the city down."

Megane: "Alright."

Katori: "Fine."

Sniper Detective: "Got it!"

Honest Sister: "Wait! Why am I honestly being left out!?"

Wisteria: "I have a special job for you. Come over here and I'll tell you more about it. It really is something that I need you specifically to do."

UMA: "What is Murakami-senpai going to do?"

#5 Mountain: "He's with you, right Mei?"

Wisteria: "No. He left when he heard that Kageura Squad found the imposter."

Honest Sister: "I already honestly got pictures of him. That's fine."

Redhead Sister: "You really are the worst, aren't you?"

"It seems like the others are having a pretty harsh time."

Murakami spoke to Yuki who ran ahead of him, but he did not reply.

The Attacker spoke in order to distract them, but the All-Rounder did not play along. He then let out a voice and covered for the All-Rounder.

"-!"

Yuki fired a few shots to the right of an upcoming intersection.

The shots exploded and the C-Rank agents hiding behind the corner prepared their makeshift shields from the buildings, but the two had already passed the intersection by that time. Shots were fired and an occasional Scorpion blade flew their way, but they accelerated and avoided them.

The All-Rounder had straps around his neck and on either shoulder. They were used by him to tell which direction the wind blew or for some special maneuvers that he could manage. They were loose and swayed with every movements, but certain parts of them were tore off or had holes lining them.

Nevertheless, the All-Rounder continued onwards and suddenly spoke.

"Kō, we are coming up on an upwards slope."

"Right. I can see the base up ahead. You should be happy."

Murakami added an extra step to accelerate and closed his friend's slight lead.

"But this has gone surprisingly smoothly considering-..."

He trailed off when he noticed something odd. The straps wrapped around Yuki's shoulders and neck were swaying in an odd way. They were used to determine the way the wind was blowing so it meant that the wind was blowing in an odd way as well. That proved something was coming. There did not appear to be anything around, but if he was under some kind of attack...

"Yuki! That pillar!"

Yuki understood what his tone and words meant.

The two of them charged below the roof of an arcade on the shopping district to the right.

"!?"

The stone and wood roof was destroyed by some kind of overhead attack, but the two of them did not fall back. They continued on through the arcade and up the shallow slope. As they did, some kind of power struck the arcade roof, balconies, and terraces much like footsteps.

"What is this!?" shouted Yuki. "It's just like something from a side-scrolling action game!"

"If so, we can kill the pike units by jumping on top of them. No, this is that."

"Oh, of course. That! ...I'm sorry. I got carried away. What is that?"

"As long as you understand," said Murakami as his hand shot out among the overhead destruction.

He found what he was looking for, accelerated with his feet, and held up a broken Trion arrow.

"This looks like it is a combination attack from Kido's Black Trigger gravity attack and Shingai's special Trigger." He sighed while racing onward. "That was a close one. They increased the overall gravity gradually enough that I mistook it for something else. If I hadn't seen your straps, I might not have caught on."

"Then are they behind this attack that's pursuing us?"

"Yeah. We're running below the arcade, so they switched to putting Kido's gravity on the arrows fired by Shingai. The two of them must be above us, so you're going to owe me one."

"Eh?"

Murakami's words confused Yuki, but he only smiled a bit.

"Most likely, Kido's gravity will return to us once we leave the arcade and he'll try to crush us. But I'll forcibly keep most of it from reaching you, so you just keep running. Got it? I'll take care of things here. I won't be satisfied until I show those two what I can do anyway."

"Are you sure you can handle both of them at once?"

"You just have to carry out the role I've given you." He took a breath. "But this is for my own sake. Everyone in our class really cares about each other, so I'm sure they'll all praise me for this. ...And from time to time, that's not too bad."

"Kō...," muttered Yuki. "Back in the start of the school year when we had never even looked each other in the eye, you suddenly looked at me and said, 'You really are troublesome. Seriously, stop doing this already.' Back then, I thought you would be a lifelong enemy. To make a long story short, I figured you were an asshole. I didn't think you would end up being my best friend."

"Oh, sorry. I don't remember that at all. But I do remember I ended up next to you after the seat change in the second term. I didn't know who you were, so I avoided speaking to you. That was pretty painful."

"Y-you're absolutely horrible! Don't think you can get away with that kind of excuse with your Side Effect!"

"You like getting worked up over nothing, don't you?"

"And whose fault is that!?"

As they spoke, the roof overhead crumbled and the two of them continued forward.

They had almost reached the top of the slope where a plaza created a break in the arcade.

It was the perfect place to bring the gravity down on them.

"That's where the enemy plans to get us, so let's use it to our advantage!"

.

Kido Cody and Shingai Ite stood in the plaza atop the hill. As they monitored the enemy's approach, they saw two figures charge out from under the roof of the left arcade.

"Kido! Crush them!"

"Got it."

Cody lifted the black blade in his hand and the surrounding landscape grew slightly distorted.

He was adding weight to everything.

His aim was to crush the two who had just climbed the slope. As they ran from sloped to level land, their postures and their running both changed. The great weight would disturb their running and cause them to collapse.

To ensure that happened, Cody lifted the blade up even further.

And...

"—!"

The two enemies arrived and they were both colored in darker colors.

One was an All-Rounder, the other had a large green shield, and they both wore their own Border uniforms.

The weight pressed down on them, but the one with the shield opened his mouth.

"Go!"

Shingai watched as the All-Rounder ran through the plaza without anything weighing him down.

...What!?

Wondering how, Shingai looked closely and saw through the trick.

The Attacker remained on the other side of the All-Rounder agent.

He was taking all the weight. Cody's weight could not be rejected even if it was understood. The target's waist would drop, their body would creak, their feet would stick to the ground, and their speed would drop.

However, he used his arms to hold up an object: his Raygust.

His whole arm and the shield groaned, shook, and trembled in the gravity, but it remained over the All-Rounder's head.

Cody's added weight came from above. If something cut off its path, it would hit that obstruction and not reach what lay below.

"You are using your shield to create a protective roof over the ninja!?"

He could not do so forever because he would eventually be crushed.

But he clenched his teeth and supported the All-Rounder despite being on the verge of collapse.

"Kh!"

He was successfully protecting his best friend from Cody's weight.

"How forceful!"

.

"I know," muttered Murakami behind his clenched teeth.

What was this? He groaned, raised his eyebrows, took a bracing stance, and practically crawled along the ground rather than running.

...How pathetic. It's disgraceful and nothing about it is worth seeing. And what's with this situation? It makes me think of friendship, trust, solidarity, and other words I wouldn't associate with Kiyoshi."

"But this is the best way to get back at those two!"

He really is rubbing off on me. I don't know why but I really want some kind of win against these two. After all, I've experienced this weight before and he hasn't. He's a weight virgin, so a weight adult like myself needs to give him a helping hand. ...Honestly, what a terrible role.

He smiled even more.

But Kiyoshi, there's something else I remember. It's true that you were cautious around me. I know that. It made things easier for me, so I was actually thankful. But whenever we would gather for the school festival or anything else, you may have seen it as your duty, but you would never leave me out when you went to buy things for everyone. It was probably annoying, but there are times when I need a break or something to drink and I don't want to be left out. Even I can be selfish, so that's just how I feel.

But you never omitted me.

I'm not the type to forget that. Rather, I can't forget it.

I'll pay you back five times over, so make sure to pay me back the excess four times later. Yes, up until now was about 12 years, so four times that would be 48 years. All you have to do is go along with my selfish whims and not leave me out for that long.

"Kh!"

Go. The arcade across the plaza is only a few more steps. Is it twenty more? That's a long way. Couldn't it just be ten? Is this city trying to mock me here? Ahh, I can't lift my legs anymore. But I still have nineteen, eighteen more... Raygust is heavy too! I'll complain this once and say this sucks! Seventeen, sixteen. Yes, fifteen, when I get back, fourteen, I'll make him buy me food and then get to bed! Thirteen, twelve, eleven... Damn! I can't stand straight! Ten... I don't have to worry about the last ten steps, right? Right? Kiyoshi's already moving on ahead, so it doesn't even- nine... Wait. What am I doing? I need to stretch my arm forward and make up for falling behind, but eight and seven and...This really sucks! If this was my real body my arm would have already been destroyed. It's going to be useless after all of this! Oh, honestly. I'm dragging my feet. And I'm falling forward. But making it to six is good enough, isn't it? The class president will praise me for making it this far, won't she? If I make it five...no, four, he'll treat me to a mini-feast tonight!

He let out a small groan.

I made it! I made it to three! I'm gonna eat! Dammit, Kiyoshi! Get going already!

Two. Just a bit further. One...one...one one one...

Murakami felt something going on with his legs.

Oh, no. The ground is straight ahead. I'm falling. But raise your Raygust. Only the tip of the shield can reach him, it's only for your own self-satisfaction, and you're probably going to collapse, but...

"Kiyoshi!"

Say it and that guy is sure to carry out your errand.

"The imposter! Three minutes!"

"Right!"

Idiot. That makes it sound like you're asking him to get you an imposter.

But...

I guess it doesn't matter now.

One.

.

Shingai saw the All-Rounder dash across the plaza.

"!?"

The Attacker running with him fell from his low stance and into a roll. He made a complete rotation while his arm groaned under the stress.

However, the All-Rounder continued on. The Attacker's arm had barely been reaching him toward the end, but the shield he put up above his head had covered for that.

He cut past Shingai and accelerated into the arcade leading to the area where Kageura Squad was.

"Fire!"

Multiple Trion arrows pursued the All-Rounder, but he lowered down and accelerated as if crawling along the ground. The arrows caught up and swept across the area, but they shot over his head. And by the time the second set of arrows had been loaded...

"...!"

The All-Rounder had already dashed down the street.

"Shingai!?"

Cody's cry brought a moment of hesitation, but Shingai did not pursue. She was ashamed to have let him escape, but another member of Border lay ahead. Pursuing an enemy she had let escape would say she did not trust her fellow agents.

"I shall deal with the opponent I can deal with here!"

Shingai turned toward the collapsed Attacker. One enemy had escaped, but one had been stopped here. This was not a problem, so she waved toward Cody.

"Crush him, Kido. And hold him down to restrain him."

Hearing that, the Attacker stood up while trying to balance himself.

"What's this? Attacking out of spite?"

"Please be quiet. I already defeated you."

"No, you made me fall. Don't get ahead of yourself."

The Attacker slowly rose, but Cody was already pinpointing the weight on him. He gave a small groan and sat back on the ground as if pulled by his arms.

However, he looked over with strength in his gaze.

"I win. Kiyoshi will definitely carry out his mission."

"How can you be so sure!?"

"Because that moron is like a ninja."

He laughed while placing his arms on the ground to help withstand the weight.

"This is what you get!"

.

Now, I've said it, thought Murakami with an inward smile.

He had not actually gotten his revenge, but this was good enough. If Mei had heard him, she probably would have scolded him for going too far.

...But this weight really is-

"Eh?"

He suddenly felt as if his body had jumped upwards. The weight had vanished and the arms, back, and body he had been using to avoid being crushed suddenly regained their freedom. As he wondered what had happened, he heard a voice.

"Oh, dear. Don't push up from below so suddenly."

Someone stood above him with their legs straddling his back. He looked up to see who it was.

"Misaki!?"

Why? He wondered in surprise.

"To enjoy the nightlife," answered the smiling girl.

.

Shingai gasped at what occurred in front of her. Not only had a girl dressed like a pseudo-prostitute casually walked up, but...

...She is taking Kido's weight without issue!?

The girl's hair decorations and skirt were definitely affected by the weight, but the girl herself was light. She swept up the weight on her entire body and faced Shingai with a smile.

Shingai recognized the girl. She was the one who had defeated Miwa Squad and Arashiyama with a dance during the day.

She was a strange girl, but that strange girl faced Shingai and spoke.

"He heh heh. Fellow boob woman and weighty boy, you honestly look like you have a question. I will answer anything you ask. But the deadline is one second from now. ...One. That's it! I won't answer anything more! Heh heh heh. Now, ask me your question!"

...I have no idea what she is saying!?

Yes, I understand, so I will tell you. Mikocchi! My name today is Mikocchi! After all, my lovely sister honestly made a cheese Doria made with celery for dinner last night."

...Oh, I kind of understood that one! But it was completely pointless!

"Wait a second!"

"Just a second!?"

"W-wait at least three seconds!"

"We'll be here all day at this rate. Then again, it's already night. ...Is that okay? Oh, it isn't, is it? How lovely!"

...Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Do not get caught up in her pace, Shingai Ite. Follow your blood pressure's example and calm down at a bit above normal. If there is anything to say here it is that I cannot believe the other people have been able to put up with this!

"But how can you ignore Kido's weight!? Wait... You're in your real body, are you not!? How is that even possible!?"

"Ha ha. How stupid can you be? Of course I honestly won't tell the enemy that. ...Wait, Kō-senpai. What kind of look is that for gazing upon a goddess? Gaze upon her with more of a smile. What? You honestly don't understand either? My god allows makeup and fashion for substitutions, so just by being me, I am not effected by all sorts of trivial things like a Black Trigger! But that's honestly a trade secret!"

...What does that even mean!?

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Of course I'm kidding! I am my own goddess! I'm honestly just kidding~! This black thing around my wrist was a gift from Mei-san. I'm just borrowing it though, so don't honestly think I'm above you all, got it? I can't do much with the amplifier or the sword, but this defense is honestly all I need."

This was dangerous. Shingai could tell this was a dangerous person, but that dangerous person did not stop speaking.

"Now, Senpai, you deal with that boob woman. Okay? And I will take care of that one getting a nice breath of fresh air."

"Wait! Aren't you a normal agent!? You do not have the right to-..."

"What? In that case, I will honestly continue on to watch that plain ninja plainly fail after he got carried away and ran off. I doubt the agents up ahead can lay a finger on the summit's hornet. You honestly understand that much, don't you? You really are stupid. I was lowering myself to your level, so why are you getting carried away? Honestly, this is why humans are so hopeless when they get arrogant! ...All right! That was a pretty good line, wasn't it!? I pass! Yeah!"

Shingai felt dizzy for a moment.

...Oh, no. And I already have to deal with Sthénos.

Meanwhile, the strange girl helped up the Attacker.

"Now, if I don't do anything, the others will come crying here and try to interrupt me when I'm showing off, so let's honestly get this over with quickly."

"How dare you say that!?"

"Heh heh heh. Make no mistake. I'm actually in a pretty good mood right now."

The crazy person said something unbelievable.

"After all, my foolish former captain and our lovely Operator are having an honestly fun day. Mikado is a wonderful city. I'm thankful. They both asked for our assistance and I understand that's something I could normally never hope to be asked for, so I'll honestly let you off with a nice beating."

Even the calm Attacker stared blankly at the dancer whose smile deepened.

"C'mon," she said while slapping the Attacker on the butt. "You go over there. I honestly won't help you, but no hard feelings, okay? If I did help you, my foolish former captain would complain and say you could've handled it on your own."

And...

"It looks like the situation in the sky has honestly advanced a stage, so go on ahead to ensure we can advance as well, Murakami Kō-senpai. Go and release some of that stress."

Yuki ran.

About one hundred meters down the road and to the right, he could see the base of Border.

He was on his way to the northwestern area where he heard that Kageura Squad was, but he could not see the top of the buildings from his current position.

He let out a heavy breath as he wished for it to be closer.

He continued on. It was just one more road. Just one hundred more meters. Once he crossed the buildings, he would have arrived.

And so he ran.

But a group of agents were guarding the area in front of the base.

They did not move toward him. That was only natural as they were fortifying that one position, but Yuki remembered that this was the spot where he knew someone was at.

And so...

"There!"

He simultaneously fired five shots into the shadow created by some eaves up ahead.

In that instant, the shadow rose.

"..."

It took on human form and performed a swift slash.

It was Kagerei Ketsueki.

...Even this guy!

As he stood up, he had already struck with a long trident. He did not name himself or take a defensive stance. He merely attacked.

It was a falling iai attack from the right shoulder yet performed with only the left arm.

There were no gaps in it and yet it had speed.

…He's fast!

A horizontal strike targeting the waist cut quickly through the air and yet it seemed to linger. Even if Yuki tried to flee to the side, an attack from a second blade on the left would reach him. Even if he fled under the eaves to the right, the long trident would likely cut through the columns holding up the roof.

...In that case...

.

Yuki made the correct decision.

He accelerated and lowered down to slip beneath the long trident.

A shadow was falling on the road. It was cast by the trident's shaft and the area below that straight line was a safe zone, so he charged just below it and spun to match the sweeping motion of the trident.

The movement would bring him behind Ketsueki's back.

However, he saw the man let go of the long shaft.

"...!?"

The trident's shaft struck the front of the house under the arcade and began to roll, but Ketsueki used the lack of that excess weight to spin around even faster.

The movement would bring him in front of Yuki to block the boy's way.

He spread his legs and extended his left arm to tell Yuki to stop.

At the same time, his right arm made two movements. First, a snap of his right hand tossed a Scorpion blade from his left side and down his left sleeve.

Second, he created a different Scorpion blade with his right hand.

"...!"

As the twin attack arrived, Yuki gave a shout. His heart decided on the right and he swung his body in that direction.

"Kuruma-san!"

"Got it!"

Something burst from the back of his body like a bullet.

It was the man named Kuruma Tatsuya.

.

The team captain charged towards the right of Ketsueki who was in the process of swinging down his blades.

The man spread out his body a bit but did not stop himself.

"You don't know how to settle anything, do you!?"

He collided with Ketsueki's body as if embracing it.

"Go, Yuki! Go and get the imposter! We will take over everything you leave here!"

Ketsueki may be an A-Rank agent, but he was still a single person. In that case, he would have to deal with the body that was now attached to him. His speed meant nothing when he was held still by someone.

"That's enough to throw off his senses!"

Ketsueki did indeed hesitate slightly. Kuruma had captured the spear users and he briefly moved to tear Kuruma away with his right hand. However, Kuruma moved back before an attack hit.

The two of them were only a foot away.

Realizing he could make it through, Yuki accelerated. He seemed to throw his body forward as he raised his speed.

However, Ketsueki took action in return. He used the motion of the hips he had lowered in his confusion.

"...!"

And he performed a large and quick back step.

He fell back a good bit in order to retry his attempt to capture Yuki. He also spread his legs with a twisting motion to throw a solid iai strike in the instant he landed.

However, Yuki fearlessly charged on.

...This is the action I wanted!

He continued forward, but he did so by throwing his legs forward, falling to his butt, and sliding.

"Here I go!"

He slipped through the legs Ketsueki had spread to support his attack.

.

It only took an instant.

Ketsueki had not even launched his iai strike.

There was a simple reason why Yuki managed to pass by so quickly. Even if Ketsueki was well off in iai, his balance would be tilted a bit toward his back after a jump backwards. Even if he tried to land in a forward stance and launch an iai strike, his stance would rise up a bit in the front.

As a result, his legs were spread a little more and his body raised a little more than with a standard iai strike.

That was why Yuki was able to slip through.

Showing an obvious intent to accelerate while Ketsueki's sight was impaired had been Yuki's way of luring the man into doing this.

And so he continued on.

Nevertheless, Ketsueki pursued him. The man swung his wrist as if to punch the boy slipping beneath him and he tried to forcibly bring his sword directly down.

In response, Yuki reached out a hand while sliding. He reached toward the but of the blade Ketsueki was swinging down, placed his hand on the blade, and forcibly tugged it over his head.

"!?"

This pulled Ketsueki's balance forward, but he let go of the trident before he fell.

However, Yuki used the downward-swinging motion of Ketsueki's arm to accelerate his slide.

"...!"

He passed through.

He left the A-Rank warrior behind him and began running as he rose to his feet.

The All-Rounder tilted his body forward and accelerated all at once.

However, someone turned around behind him.

He knew the man would pursue him. After all, this enemy had experienced the collapse of his own life, so he would do whatever it took to stop an enemy attempting to do something against his current life.

For that reason, Yuki began his run by swinging both arms to throw his shirt behind him.

He only had to rob the man of his vision. He only had to slightly obstruct the movement of the small swords.

He heard the sound of tearing cloth behind him, but he did not look back.

He felt something strike his back from the top left to the bottom right, but he paid it no heed.

He had received a wound on his back, but he could tell one thing from the sensation.

...This one is not deep!

This was only a Trion Body. As long as that was true then he could continue on.

"...!"

The All-Rounder quickly raised his speed.

Kageura could feel his irritation increasing with each passing second.

He had been attacking the imposter who called himself "Tsukiko Yuki". Each attack was meant to end the battle quickly. Even going so far as to used team attacks with Kitazoe and Ema. Yet each attack missed.

The team fought as if they were fighting a regular person, they fought as if he was a strong person, they fought as if he was the actual Tsukiko Yuki. Nothing they did worked.

"This guy is terrible! He moves like an idiot and can't even hold his sword properly! Who the hell is this idiot, thinking he can pose as Kiyoshi!"

"To be fair, he seems to be doing well enough since we haven't landed a single attack on him."

"Shut the hell up, Yuzuru! I know already!"

"But really, is this some kind of strange luck like Shingai-chan's? If so, we might have to really do more."

They could not tell from where they were. Both Kitazoe and Ema were at a distance when they attacked. Kageura was close enough to know that it actually was nothing like luck messing them up. It was something much more subtle than that.

Each time Kageura got ready to attack, "Yuki" would moved a bit to the side. His feet slid ever so slightly on the ground, enough to make it almost unnoticeable. His stance was terrible and he held his sword far too lightly to be considered a threat.

His defense was something different.

Almost as if he had some sort of skill that made it so he could evade every attack. While the real Tsukiko Yuki was almost a master at this kind of thing, this "Yuki" was no professional at evading. That was exactly what was throwing Kageura off.

After getting so use to someone like Yuki dodging his attacks he was not ready to these simple ways of dodging.

"Hey, why don't we try and get some information from him? If we can't land a hit them we might as well try and get him to say something."

Kageura clicked his tongue while giving a harsh glare towards "Yuki".

He did not want to speak instead of fighting in this case, but he knew that it was probably a better option. They may even be able to catch him off his guard.

He clicked his tongue again.

"Hey, asshole, what the hell are you getting out of this? Being Kiyoshi is an idiotic thing. He has a crazy life and a crappy illness. Who the hell would want that kind of thing?"

"Hm? Who is Kiyoshi?"

Kageura took a moment.

He remembered that not everyone knew his friend had changed who he was after a certain incident. That was what made it even easier for him to attack. Just knowing that this person was playing the part of "Tsukiko Yuki" without knowing everything made him feel even better about attacking.

"'Yuki'. Why the hell would you want to be 'Yuki'?"

"I don't want to be Yuki-san. I know I never can be. I want him to be more famous! Yuki-san is so cool and so nice that he deserves the spotlight way more than anyone else! I just want people to know more about him!"

Kageura clicked his tongue.

"This moron doesn't know anything at all. Kiyoshi would hate to be in the spotlight. Doing all of this is just causing more issues for him."

"To be fair, Tsuki doesn't even know all of his issues. He denies that he has a sister complex or a height complex."

"I don't know him too well so I won't say anything on the topic."

This is not what he wanted.

Kageura knew he should not have started talking during a fight. He should have just continued to fight until they finally landed a hit. Now he was stuck with people talking about pointless things.

That may have been why he got ready to attack once more.

"Screw it! Let's just get back to trying to hit this guy!"