A/N: TheAnimeTrain assisted heavily on these next two chapters.
Yuki smiled as he leaned on one of the eight Kōgetsu blades stabbed into the ground. The eight were placed in a straight line and led up to the tree at the park near the end of the long road.
He had originally accepted to do this simply because it would have helped Sekai in the long run and because he had wanted to see how these two B-Ranks would be able to handle this challenge.
The two classmates of one of his squad members in front of him had their own respective issues to deal with, but it did not mean they could not be dealt with at the same time. That seemed to be the case from what he could tell.
Because of his position by the tree he had been unable to see what had been going on, but now he could see Daigo jump back up onto the roof with Hisato helping him out. Whatever issue they had come across just now had been resolved and the two seemed to be on the same wavelength for the time being.
"..."
Then there was the man he was doing this for in the first place.
Sekai had kept his eyes closed after having been interrupted by Hisato. The things that had just played out were enough for him not to get directly involved once more. Since he was not making a move against them he must have been fine with the outcome. Since that seemed to be the case, it left Yuki with one thing to do here.
"So are the two of you good to go now?"
"Yes. Sorry for the wait, Tsukiko-senpai. We are fine to continue on now."
"Right, that means you guys can get ready while I prepare myself over here. Just tell me where you want to start and I'll set everything up."
"It would be kind of rude of us to ask you to move over here, so... Tsukiko-san, you can just start over there as we begin to move. We haven't reached the end of the road yet, so you can go on ahead of us."
"Are you sure? I'm getting the sudden urge to not hold back to much here."
"You were holding back before...!?"
"Don't blame him. He didn't even know he was holding back until just now."
They all turned their heads to Sekai.
His eyes were now open and were much less hostile than they had been before.
"It's a bad habit of his to hold back against people like you. Rather...he has become too accustomed to taking it easy."
"Ah...Ha ha ha...I guess that makes sense."
Sekai nodded in agreement.
He looked down to them and Yuki could already figure out what he was going to say.
It had not been because of a feeling or because he knew the man that he was aware of what was coming. It was something far simpler and much more generic than anything like that.
With that in mind, he stopped leaning on one of the blades and easily pulled it out from the ground as Sekai began speaking.
"So now we need a third answer. The question this time is easier than before though, so don't sweat it too much."
"What is it...?"
Sekai let out his famous sigh.
"Can you make these eight leaps without our help?"
It was a question that was asked as a captain. Daigo was his teammate, but Hisato was not, so it may not have been directed at him. But it felt wrong to think that was the case.
Sekai was not the type of person not to bring others into the mix if it meant that his job would be made easier in some shape or form. That was why he knew this question was directed at Hisato as much as it was for Daigo. And the answer came from him as well.
"No. I can't make those leaps at all."
Hisato readily answered.
"Then what will you do?"
Sekai responded with a question.
"I'll do things that someone on my level can do."
Another sigh came from Sekai. This time it sounded much more accepting of the situation.
That was a good answer. I wonder if any of my members could answer the same way…
Now was not the time to be thinking things like that. The two in front of him were very different from the younger ones in his own squad. They had realized what they needed to do while his own squad had yet to reach that point.
It was a bit saddening to him that this was the case, but that was neither here nor there. The current situation was for Hikigane Squad and its own members.
"Alright. It's about time we start anew."
He pulled a second blade out from the ground as if the ground itself was a sheath meant for the blade.
Instead of repeating the process, he used the first and second blade to cut through the air. Both blades were aimed low and with a tilting force.
The first blade struck a third one while the second one struck a fourth one. The third and fourth blades spun up in the air, directly in front of him.
Using the first and second blades, he hit the ends of the third and fourth blades to send them higher into the air with even more spin to them.
This process was repeated for blades five through eight until they were all in the air with their own special rotations added to them.
As the third and fourth blades began to fall again, he raised the first and second blades. Using a reverse grip on both of them, he pushed his arms forward with a great amount of force that did not seem right with the size of his body.
The butt ends of the first and second blades moved forward and collided with the third and fourth blades. It had sent the two blades flying through the air once more, this time away from him.
As they had left from in front of him, the fifth and sixth blades reached him. Instead of hitting them with his still forward arms, he lifted his legs. Because his arms were still placed in front him, he could not bring them back in time to hit the remaining ones. That meant using a different body part was necessary here. That was how he would be using his legs.
Putting force into his legs and feet now, he moved his right leg as if kicking a soccer ball. The foot connected with the butt end of the fifth blade and had lifted his body into the air and into a spin of its own.
The sixth blade soon reached him. This time it had been sent flying with a backwards heel kick. The spin he had been in added even more to the kick and sent the blades even faster than the first three.
Yuki landed back on the ground just as the seven and eight blade reached him. Turning the first and second blades back around in his hands, he began a swinging motion. The swing grew within a small amount of time before striking the seventh and eight blades. The blades moved forward as if being hit by baseball bats.
"That leaves the last two."
Using the force from his swing he made a full rotation. He lifted the first and second blades above his shoulders and threw them in the sky. The first and second blades became the last ones to be set free, but now they became the seventh and eight leaps that needed to be overcome for the two boys who wasted no time in moving forward.
"Hey Nee-san, do Border agents normally do this kind of thing?"
A redheaded boy looked back at his sister as he saw the vague outlines of blades being sent into the air.
He knew little about Border agents in general, but he was sure that they did not normally do something like this in public places. It seemed well contained and there had not been a single incident yet that could be worrying. It all looked so nice and like something you would see in a street performance, but even he could tell that this was serious training.
It became even more evident of that when the plain-looking boy taking part in it had landed in their backyard.
He had first seemed to be looking for a way out of their yard without going back onto their roof. It was weird for him to have any reservations to do that when he had just jumped down from it.
The older boy had stopped looking for a way to get out of their yard and instead went to speak with someone. That someone must have been on their roof since the plain and older boy continued to look up when speaking to them. It was difficult to tell what they had been saying because of the backdoor he was behind, but they had been told not to go out during this time. That rule was enforced more by his sister who had made sure he only got close to the door and did not go outside.
From there, whatever issues seemed to have been solved as the boy jumped back up. That meant they would be getting back to their training after they had taken a small break.
Now that he could clearly see them starting up again, he could not help but think about the absurdity of all of this. Why use their road if they had their own training areas? Why did it look so fun and like a street performance instead of training? Many more questions came up as he saw the two boys now being their next actions.
From behind him, the voice of his sister could be heard.
"Not that I know of. I wish we did though! Imagine doing this kind of thing and having all those people watching you!"
"Could you jump on the swords like those guys are doing?"
"I don't know if I could do it like Daigo there - the plain-looking guy - but I'm pretty sure I could do way better than Hisato - the freckles guy there."
"So it's really tough then."
His sister gave a hum while thinking about her answer.
From his perspective, anything like that seemed like it would be a challenge to pull off.
How are you supposed to jump on those swords anyway? I mean I can see it if they were in the ground. Then it would be like hopping stones or logs. But this is different; those guys are doing it while the swords are still in the air.
What did it take to do something like that in the first place?
"I guess you can say it's tough. But I'm sure those guys helping those two can pull it off. That means it's possible to do it in the first place. Then gain, those guys are kinda crazy when it comes to those kinds of things."
"This coming from who again...?"
"Your amazing big sister who could definitely pull this off! With maybe a bit of help... But that's besides the point! Watch! Hisato's about to help Daigo, so it shows that even they need help with this stuff!"
Looking back to the people training outside, the redhead boy could see that the two older boys were moving their way again after having reached the end of the road. That meant they would be trying to jump on the airborne blades again.
Feeling a hand on his shoulder, the redhead boy looked up to see a grin on his sister's face.
"Just watch Kaede, those two will pull it off and show you something amazing."
Daigo was the first one to take action.
Instead of focusing on the blades that had been sent into the air, he rushed towards the base of the tree that Yuki had just leaped away from. The distance that needed to be covered would put him too behind to catch up before the blades needed to be readjusted.
But I still need to move forward here. I need to catch up if I even want to start again. So that means…
Looking back at the building he had jumped from, he saw Hisato trying to keep up with him. Their heights were not too far off, so this was a simply a show of how different they were in their physical abilities.
"You're fine! Keep going and I'll catch up to you guys!"
Thank you for that, Sasamori-san.
He wanted to belittle himself for going back to calling the other boy by such a formal name, but there was no time for it. The distance was shortening, but Yuki did not seem to be slowing down.
Tsukiko-san and Captain-san were talking about not holding back. This must be what they meant. They will not wait for us and they will not make it easy for us. They are taking this seriously, so we should do the same...!
With no hesitation, an action had started - a flicker.
A path had been set the moment Daigo turned to face forward. The path was a simple line that followed a single course. Once the path was set, his body flickered for a moment and his eyes seemed unfocused. This had started the action.
"Now..."
The moment the action had started was also the moment the action had ended.
A long streak suddenly appeared starting from where Daigo had been to where he was now. The line seemed more like some artistic movement made as a streak instead of any sort of movement made by Daigo.
This was Idaten.
Points reduced by 20. Current points are 0.
It was something that appeared in front of Daigo's eyes as he managed to touch the tree that had been a distance away. The words displayed remind him that there were some hidden rules to this training and that simply reaching those blades was not enough.
A 20 point reduction for using Idaten at the distance, huh? Or maybe it is because I used a Trigger at all. In that case, I need to warn Sasamori-san while I can.
He began to turn his body away from the tree while making a dash towards the blades that had been sent into the air. From where he was running on the asphalt he could see Hisato getting closer. The two would cross paths as one went for the goal while the other tried to reach the checkpoint.
Their strides were completely different and Daigo could not help but notice that there was a small awkward step each time they had gotten closer. The issue was that he was unsure if the step was being made by him or by Hisato.
When focusing on a goal it became likely that a person could forget even simple things and end up with tunnel vision. Such a situation had been avoided before due to Daigo focusing more on Hisato than the goal, but now it seemed that the opposite of that was happening. His mind had decided that the goal itself was more important. That left his body to force its way forward while forgetting some of the simpler things.
This included how to properly move his legs.
His steps were relatively light and the feeling of each step touching the ground came through clearly for him. It all came naturally for someone who had a specialty using his legs after all. But it felt wrong for some reason.
Each step felt as if it was being diverted somewhere else. When his feet touched the ground it felt like they were turning even when he knew they were facing forward. When he wanted to move forward even more he could feel himself pull back slightly.
I really am a terrible person, aren't I? To be so messed up as to have my mind and body acting against each other shows how much I'm lacking as a person.
There was no reason to think about why he was doing what he was doing. The answer was obvious and he was sure that even Hisato could see what was going on as the two got closer to each other.
My mind has been made up. I will reach that goal and my mind to make sure I get to it. But my body is still trying to go to Sasamori-san to help him. I suppose I have gotten so used to helping my friends that I can only physically react by trying to help them.
It was a contradiction that only affected him.
This art of contradiction was something he had heard about before. The most clear example was of the boy who was on the same squad as Suzume. The girl had spoken before about how that boy had a Side Effect that had a major flaw. That major flaw had been stated to be his own mind. When questioned further he had found out that if that boy's mind was trying to do something different from what the body wanted, he would begin to stall and his body would stop moving while trying to figure out which course of action to take.
That seemed to be what was happening here, but to a lesser extent. Unlike that boy, Daigo could continue to move his body since it still tried to follow what his mind had decided. The fact it was moving on its own only meant that there was a part of his mind that was wanting to go to help Hisato instead of reaching the goal.
With that being the case, he began another action.
His body began to flicker once more.
The activation of Idaten would place him past Hisato and closer to the blades.
But at the same time, it would have an effect on his points.
I do not know if I will stay at zero or will go into the negatives, but this is the only thing I can think of doing right now.
It was a last ditch effort to prevent himself from going to Hisato instead of going to his goal.
"...?"
That effort had been stopped.
A sound rang out as the asphalt in front of him was hit and small pieces went into the air for a moment before falling back down.
A single message came through right after.
Yoshi: "I couldn't take it anymore. I really want to just fire at you now, you idiot."
Arafune blink in surprise at the message he was seeing on his phone. It was one from Hanzaki and it seemed to be directed to someone in particular.
The guesswork as to who that was had been taken out since he had been paying attention to one of the live streams that had been going on that showed the training that was currently happening in Mikado City.
He had been interested in it and was amazed at what he had been able to see so far. This sort of training had been mentioned before by some of his friends, but he had never seen it for himself. The idea itself sounded easy enough, but he was aware just how much trouble it could be seeing as how Border's #4 Attacker could not accomplish it.
With each jump that had been made a certain amount of balance needed to be had and the person's focus had to solely be on the actions they were doing. Anything half-hearted would make the blades move towards the ground before another step could be taken. That much Arafune could figure out from what he was seeing on his screen.
"Yuki can manage that form what we've been told. But he probably has a lot of practice with that stuff, so I don't doubt he only needed to particularly focus on that stuff. Body weight also has to come into consideration too. He's so thin and lightweight that it's likely he has more time for his steps then the rest of us do."
It could be viewed as a good thing that that was the case, but he knew better than most. Yuki's thin and lightweight body was not because it would help him out. If that had been the case, Arafune would not have given a harsh laugh at the thought. The reason for his body being that way had been because of how it was deteriorating as a much more rapid pace than anyone else's.
"I guess that's why he tries to be nice to the people younger than him and know less. Hanzaki's already taken a liking to him because of how he loves ice cream. Speaking of which..."
He looked back at the message that had appeared on his phone. It came through Border's own chat created for its members. The message had gone through the main chat that could be viewed by just about anyone and was open to anyone who went on to it. This was strange since Arafune knew for a fact that Hanzaki was in multiple separate chats with other people in them. Daigo was also someone who was in those same chats, which was why he was confused as to why the message had been sent here.
Yoshi: "I just got a hit to the head for that shot..."
"That was probably from Hokari then..."
Yoshi: "But I don't regret firing at you. I can see you from where I am and it's so easy to tell that you're being an idiot again. Hisato, I thought you dealt with this guy already!"
Decoy: "I did...? Um, you know we're kind of busy right now, right?"
The two of them were indeed busy from the way they were running along the road.
From the angle he was given on his screen, Arafune could see that Hisato had just made it to the tree and Daigo was only a few feet away from the swords that momentarily hung in the air. He lifted his leg higher than before and pushed it down with more force than a normal step.
The kick hit the ground without losing any height.
That was the first step of a dash.
Without losing any of his speed, he raced forward. Instead of using a Trigger like he had just done, he threw his body forward until he was only one jump away.
Yoshi: "I don't really care. That idiot is still trying to go after you while also trying to do these jumps. It's making him look like some sort of drunken money who can't move properly. Normally I wouldn't really care, but this is pissing me off. You two are taking longer to do this than you normally would."
Decoy: "Well what do you want us to do about it? We are a bit behind here!"
Yoshi: "For starters, hurry the hell up and catch up to that emotionally stunted idiot. As for that emotionally stunted idiot... Forget Hisato is even there. If you don't then I'll shoot at you again. And next time I'll make sure I don't miss."
Pokari: "I'm kind of inclined to just let him do that too."
There was no reason to stop them.
Arafune knew what was going on and found absolutely no reason to talk Hanzaki out of this or tell Hokari to hold him back.
He was proven correct in his choice when Daigo took a leap into the air. It was a bit hard to see from the angle he got, but he could see that the Attacker had managed to make it on top of the first blade.
From there he started his next jump without waiting for his balance to come back. This had worked well enough as he managed to make it to the second blade while gaining his balance mid-leap instead of waiting for his foot to touch the butt end of the hilt. His body looked to be rotating a bit, but it could have easily just been the way the camera was angled to make it seem that way.
The three blades were where the difficulty came in. Reaching it had been no problem, but this time Daigo did not look to have gotten his balance back in time for his landing. That left him leaning more to the left side than before, putting him even more off balance. With his balance as bad as it was, he took the loss and fell from the third blade as if trying to do a cartwheel. His feet easily touched the ground though, so there was on worry about an actual fall.
That was the worst run so far. At least when it comes to how many jumps he made. It looked like he got the hang of how to easily get through the start, but he fell off by the third blade.
Yoshi: "You could have made that if you weren't moving towards Hisato again. It pisses me off more that you look like you know you're doing it."
There was no way of being able to hear Hanzaki right now, but it was clear that he was reaching his breaking point now.
He always seemed to be pushed to this point whenever Daigo was brought up. Arafune had seen it before when it involved something that happened, something that was said, or something that was possible but was held back. It always involved the Hikigane Squad Attacker and Hanzaki always seemed ready to criticize or comment on anything he was doing.
"Looks like your kid is pretty mad at Hikigane's kid. I didn't think he would shoot Girikage when both Yuki and Hikigane are right there to see what's going on. Must have done something really major to piss off Hanzaki like that."
"Knowing their relationship, I would say that it's the way Girikage is moving that pissed him off. Just looking at it kind of hurts me right now."
"Oh, because you were an Attacker before?"
Arafune jolted as an arm was thrown over his shoulder and a larger body was pushed up against his back.
Turning to the offender, he glared at the older man in a green uniform.
Suwa ignored the look he was receiving in favor of watching the screen in Arafune's hands. Taking up most of the screen was the Border network's chat while a small window was tucked in the corner of the screen that displayed the training that was going on at the moment.
"Yeah, Hisato's told us about those two before. From what we could see over with my squad, Girikage and Hisato get along well on the positive side of things. Compared to that, Girikage and Hanzaki get along well on the negative side of things."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Who knows?"
An overwhelming want to elbow the man on his side came up.
Instead, he pushed Suwa off of him before turning to face him. To his surprise, the older man looked to actually be thinking about what he had just said.
"That's sort of how all of Hikigane Squad is though, isn't it? You get along well with that crossdresser and he gets along well with some others. Hikigane's annoying for some others, but gets along with the same people he annoys. Kumokawa is really hit-or-miss most of the time, but even she has some people like that. At least from what Tsutsumi has told me."
"I wouldn't say I get along with that guy. It's more like I put up with him."
"That counts as 'getting along with' in my book."
"That means we are 'getting along' right now."
"Arguments and disagreements work like that. It's how I 'get along' with those other guys."
Who he was talking about specifically was up in the air, but it was an almost guarantee that he had been referring to the ones in the same age group as him.
"So how do you think they will 'get along' to get through this? It's supposed to be training for Sasamori and Girikage, but Hanzaki probably won't be staying out of it anymore."
"He's your teammate, isn't he? Shouldn't you know the answer to that?"
Simple Boy: "Hanzaki-san, while I appreciate the thought, will you be trying to join in our training? I don't believe Captain-san would appreciate that since it is just supposed to be for me and Sasa-... Hisato."
Yoshi: "Are you going to continue being an idiot?"
Simple Boy: "I don't see how I am being an idiot, but I will try my best."
Yoshi: "Not good enough."
Daigo had to move back before he got shot. It seemed to be another warning shot, so he had not been afraid of Bail Out at a time like this.
From behind he could hear the sound of approaching footsteps while in front of him he could see Yuki starting to fix the blades once more. The two sounds intermingled to the point of happening at the same time and at the same speed.
Then there had been his captain.
"..."
Sekai made no sound, no movement, and his glare was directed at Daigo and only Daigo. It has lessened to an extent, but it was still enough to put a normal person on edge. His ability to deal with that glare showed just how behind others he was, but at the moment it was a good thing.
That glare likely had a similar meaning as to why he was being shot at by Hanzaki from a distance. It was just another reason he had to get through to finish this training.
But how could he get over something he had little control over?
In basic terms it sounded easy enough to forget that Hisato was there or just force his body to move how he wanted, but in practice it was hard. There was a slight pressure there that continued to remind him that Hisato was there and that he should be helping the boy instead of the other way around.
"Hey brat, you aren't doing that on purpose, are you?"
The sudden question from his captain had actually startled him a bit. No one had expected him to say anything, let alone use a relatively calm and neutral tone for it.
The words had come out as a question, but it did not feel that way once he ran it back through his head. His captain had asked a question that sounded nothing like a question. It was hard to figure out what it truly sounded like and if not for the current situation he was sure that he never would have found the answer.
"I'll repeat only once: you aren't doing that on purpose, are you?"
Daigo readily replied, "I am not."
"So you know what you're doing wrong then?"
"I do."
"What will you do about it?"
"Correct it to the best of my ability."
"And what if you can't?"
It was a likely thing that he could not overcome his own issues with his own abilities. That much was proven here and showed to him by Hisato. It was then pushed further by Hanzaki. Now it was being confirmed by his captain.
But he had already given his answer. Now he just had to reiterate that answer.
"I will ask others for assistance."
"Will you do that with the best of your abilities too?"
"I will. I will ask wholeheartedly and work with them to the best of my abilities."
"What is the best of your ability?"
"I don't know. That's why I want to stay on your team... Oh."
The hardened glare meant to hold people back loosened even more.
Sekai's brows shifted back, his eyelids dropped a bit, his lips loosened up, and his posture became much more relaxed. The attitude the man carried this whole time was gone, replaced with a much more relaxed one that he had most of the time. It was the one Daigo had gotten so used to at this point.
Sekai said nothing in return to his realization, so he decided to respond to his own words before anyone else could.
"I will do my best."
This time he did get an answer.
"Then you better hurry up. This was not a break time for you."
Titling his head a bit, Daigo registered the steps that had caught unto him and the sound of shifting blades and a body up ahead. The two were still moving together, but the former was now right next to him while the latter was further ahead of him.
"Uh, Daigo, I'm glad to hear all of that, but there's not really any time left, so..."
He looked to see Hisato passing him by. That was enough for him to start moving his legs again to maintain his previous pace. At this pace he would reach those blades one last time and would only be allowed one final jump into the air while Hisato would still be behind him, trying to keep up.
After that final chance he may have been able to extend it out into a second last chance, but the end result would no doubt be a sloppy finish that no one would enjoy watching. That had been why he pushed off the ground even more as he ran so as to catch up to those blades once more.
"Sasa-... Hisato, please assist me here."
"Of course!"
Sekai looked at the chat that was displayed in front of him.
The previous words from the youngest Arafune Sniper were displayed there. A new line of text appeared right under them with his own chat name appearing before it.
WorTri: "Hanzaki, is that good enough for you?"
Yoshi: "Yeah. I guess it is..."
WorTri: "I don't really like that brat, so don't expect me to thank you."
Yoshi: "I don't really like him either, so I won't be expecting much from either one of you. Besides that, I don't really like you either. If I had to pick... I would say I don't like you more than I don't like him. So don't use him like the others do or I'll do something about it."
TetsuG: "Hanzaki!"
Now would be the time to be amused, but it had become too irritating to be amused by a brat's attitude. Any threat coming from those kinds of brats were ignored without issue and he would continue on how he liked.
If he wanted to use his teammate then he would use him however he liked. If he ran the brat until there was nothing left then it was something he would not look back on. Anything he did to a brat who wanted to stay on his team would be because they made that choice to stay and take what was to come with it.
It was for this fact that Sekai let out a sigh while replying.
WorTri: "It's fine, Arafune. That threat is too irritating to even pay attention to. What's more irritating is the fact that I would have to deal with it if I did something. At the same time, doing something to that brat down there would be too irritating, so I'll just let Jinsei continue his harassment on him."
Yoshi: "That's not any better!"
WorTri: "So irritating."
He repeated those words with a sigh.
Everything he had kept inside during this training was coming out and showing of full display now. It was a relief to get it all out with his sighs as he watched the two younger B-Rank agents run on the street.
He juggled a rock in his hand for a few moments before tossing it in the direction of the running boys and the flying blades. The rock crashed into one of the blades as it became the same height as the second through eighth blades. The impact had hit the tip of the blade, sending it moving upwards and into the second blade.
The second blade turned from being hit and moved to the side. Instead of hitting the third blade with the full length and or width of the blade, it hit the end of it instead, sending it moving in the opposite direction of the second blade's turn.
The process repeated itself with the fourth blade, then to the fish blade, then to the sixth blade, then to the seventh blade, and finished with the eighth blade.
The appearance of the blades was not longer that of a clear path that they would simply jump on. Now that the blades had been turned and shifted, it seemed much more like a foothold on two walls that would continue to turn until they were horizontally facing each other. From there they would continue up until they were upside-down with the tips of the blades facing the sky. From there gravity would take full effect and for those blades to move towards the ground.
There would be no time after that horizontal movement to step not the hilts of those blades to complete the training.
Sekai could see Yuki looking over to him in question. It had not been their plan to do this, but neither one seemed to care with Sekai letting out a sigh and Yuki simply shrugging his shoulders while moving ahead of the blades.
"If you are going to do your best here then I won't hold back either. Go through this unstable footing of blades and then we can decide on if you can really stay with Hikigane Squad, you damn emotionally stunted brat."
Hisato's eyes grew wide once he saw how the blades had been turned.
He knew from trying himself that doing these leaps when they were normally set in a clear path was hard enough. Trying to jump onto these blades now and perform a perfect Hassou Tobi would be nothing but amazing to accomplish. He was sure that someone like Sekai could pull it off, and it had already been stated that Yuki had done so, meaning it was possible.
But was it possible for Daigo?
Daigo had already failed the leaps when they had been set as a clear path. Each time had shown just how he had been getting used to it, but nothing had been enough to make it pass the halfway mark of those blades.
They did say they weren't holding back, but…
This was unfair to him.
Something was still bothering Daigo, that much he was sure of, so doing this kind of thing while still being bothered could only result in failure. This was the last chance he had to do this and it would end in a failure. That failure would then have Sekai force him out of Hikigane Squad and out of a squad that could likely use him. That could help him improve. That could properly manage his issues that even he knew he could not deal with.
The rock that had been thrown into the first blade had come from behind. Daigo and Yuki were ahead and no one had broken the rule set to leave their houses. That meant there was only one person who was close enough to throw that rock and force those blades into an impossible position meant for failure.
Hikigane-san! He wants Daigo to fail! Just so he can kick him off of his squad! That guy...he is the worst! The absolute worst!
This had been planned out by the man. His glare had been showing the entire time and his sighs always sounded like he was relieved about something. It was truly not surprising that he was ready to change the plans so that he would not have to deal with someone like Daigo when he showed just how much disdain he had for the boy.
Everything Hanzaki had said about the man came to mind at that moment. The reasons he did not like Sekai and the reasons he did not feel fine with Daigo being on the same squad as him.
I need to focus!
Why focus on the impossible?
...He will give up, won't he...?
Because he knew that he was too simple for this.
Even if I try to help, it would just mess him up.
He would get in the way of that failure.
So I should just-
"Hisato, you have slowed down. This may sound rude coming from me, but please do keep up. I need your assistance if I'm to finish this training. You did say you would help, right? It is fine to take it back. I won't hold anything against you."
That put a new anger in him. This would be the third time Hisato had gotten angry during this training.
The first time was at Daigo, who could not see his own value.
The second time was at Sekai, who wanted to get rid of that value.
Now he was angry with himself. The reason? Because he was underplaying that value.
"I'll help you out like I said I would! Hanzaki would shoot me next if I didn't!"
Yoshi: "Damn right I would."
It was a bit terrifying that he knew that so well to be the truth.
His answer seemed to be enough for Daigo to move forward once more. His pace picked up and he was now within jumping distance of those strange blades.
"Let's do our best."