Chapter 34: Friends
"You sure you are okay for this?" Yoneya asked Kotaro as the two were looking out across a large expanse of nothingness.
"Yeah...thanks for asking" Kotaro said, as the destroyed landscape seemed almost peaceful.
At the moment, the two of them, plus others, were on defense duty. Somehow this makeshift squad got pulled together, however...
The two looked over at Taichi, the one who was with them on defense duty, as he slept.
"How can he still be sleeping like that?"
"Well, if something happens, we will make sure to wake him up" Yoneya said, as someone else came over. "Oh, hey Okino-kun. Good work the other day".
"Sorry I am late" Kurami Okino said, sitting down next to them. "Although, looks like its a slow day".
"Not that many gates right now".
"Well, peaceful days are not exactly bad" Kurami said. "At least no one is attacking the city. We had a lot of those strange attacks lately".
With no Trion Soldiers to fight, the group sort of just idled there.
"By the way, Okino-kun, I hear your squad faced a humanoid neighbor and a Chimera and managed to win".
"Yeah. They were tough though, we had to use a fallback plan" Kurami mentioned. "Honestly, we were in a tough spot there. By the way, what is this I hear about Shoutaro using a Black Trigger? Is he S-Rank now?"
"Ah, the situation is a bit complicated. As it turns out, quite a number of people are compatible with Phantom. Apparently, its compatible with anyone who tends to be sneaky and deceptive, which I guess Shou counts due to his use of mole claws and such".
"Ah yeah, thats pretty sneaky. So he ended up being compatible...wait, every sneaky person is?"
"Yeah, including every member of Kamino Squad, Jin, Kazama Squad, and others. Its not all that picky, although it seems to hate Miwa and Ryuu".
"Well that makes sense, neither of them are good at putting up a crafty face".
"So, basically anyone who is stealth based can use it, as well as Shoutaro. I didn't think it would be so picky".
"No, there are plenty of people who are stealth based and cant use it. Apparently both Hisato and a number of others are incompatible. If I had to say anything...it might be that greed is a factor?"
At those words, Yoneya looked at him with a befuddled face.
"Greed? Those guys?"
"Greed isn't just about money" Okino mentioned, clarifying what Kotaro said. "Greed is very similar to ambition as well. If I had to guess...considering the amount of A-Ranks, they were ambitious and greedy with getting points and ranking up, right?"
"Exactly. And Shou also tends to be quite careful with money. Dont you remember going with him to Kobayashi's diner last week?"
Yoneya remembered that, having gone to the diner plenty of times. "Ah yeah...now that I think about it, he kept track of everyone's costs and who ordered what. As expected of a master Trion manipulator, his mental acuity is impressive. He could probably pull off using Viper like Nasu does".
"Kotaro prefers fast strikes though, and apparently he finds a gun easier to pull out quickly then a cube that you have to adjust the settings for" Kotaro pointed out. "I prefer cubes myself though, so it might be a matter of preference".
"Speaking of preference, dont you have your first Rank Wars coming up against the upper teams? Who are you facing up against?"
At the moment, thanks to a bunch of new additions and such, it was currently 13 teams in the top, 12 in the middle, and twelve in the bottom. Due to the recent influx of people joining and working hard to rank up, partly thanks to Osamu's speech, the amount of squads bolstered to this, altough there were a number of low-B Rankers who were just starting out and not doing all that well. It took time for them to properly figure out all the matches and how things would happen, and its still sort of in flux. But finally, they settled on these numbers. Additionally, due to the recent increase, it was now the top five teams that would be considered as viable Away Mission candidates, as well as individuals who perform well.
As for their next match, it would be tough for sure.
"Honestly, the next fight will be a tough one. We will have to face Arafune, Ninomiya, and Tamakoma-3".
Tamakoma 3, like themselves, was a rookie team had had made it big, just like Tamakoma-2. And Ninomiya was Ranked 1 in B-Ranks. There was no way they would have an easy time fighting against them. They were all full of monsters. And unlike Tamakoma-2, they lacked a Trion Monster and Kuga, they lacked Tora who was a monster in his own right in T3, and facing up against Ninomiya. And then there was the Sniper team, Arafune, who would have long sightlines and had Arafune himself, master class with a sniper trigger and Kogetsu.
In truth, Tamakoma-2 was actually having a Rank Wars match today as well. Due to the scheduling shifts and everything that needed adjustments though, not all Rank Wars happened on the same day anymore, and Kotaro's was tomorrow.
"Still, Jin told me he had a way to help me..."
"Aren't you still mad at him?" Okino asked.
"Yeah, I am. Despite knowing this though, he came to me anyways...so I decided to listen, at least a little" Kotaro said.
"I wonder what his plan is though?" Okino asked.
"Well, he shouldn't do anything to piss me off again, so it shouldn't be too annoying" Kotaro said, when suddenly, a gate opened up right in front of them. They got up for a moment, but...it was a single marmod.
"Not even a group?" Yoneya muttered.
"That doesn't even require two people" Kotaro added.
"Thats rather...meek".
Kotaro summoned up a huge cube of Meteora, and threw it at the Marmod, destroying it instantly and leaving no trace of it, or anything else, there. It was just one large crater.
"Right, so where were we?" Kotaro asked, when the trio looked at Taichi, who was still snowing. "Just how deep is his sleep?"
"I think we were on the fact Jin had some plan. Although, unless he suddenly decided to demote himself and join us, I dont see that happening. So unless there is some sort of trigger about to finish being developed, probably it means he knows someone who would be good to join your squad. You have three people right? You should be able to add one more, so that is probably it".
Kotaro did not look enthusiastic though.
"What is with that face?" Yoneya asked.
"Well, if Jin is going to force people together, wont it probably be bothersome?"
"Yeah, but you think Ryuu will let you say no to a new friend?"
"...good point. I should just give up" Kotaro said, realizing he wouldn't be able to stop or convince Ryuu anyways. "I wonder who it will be though?"
"Well, lots of Border Agents come to my parent's hot springs so...I have a good idea who" Okino mentioned, as one boy came to mind.
Takeru Sasami walked into the Solo Booths of Rank Wars, to see a strange sight. A lot of various people, mainly attackers and all rounders, had come together.
"What is going on right now?" Takeru asked Koarai and Hisato.
"Ah, Takeru-kun" Hisato replied, using Takeru's first name.
"Hisato-sempai, what is going on?" Takeru replied. The two used each others first names, because of the fact their last names were so alike, even if it was addressing each other it seemed silly.
"There is this C-Rank Trainee who made it to B-Rank in a single day!"
Takeru's eyes widened, showing more expression then he usually did, although Hisato was the exception. Takeru was slow to trust, but Hisato and Koarai, along with Tomoe and Obishima, were growing on him.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah! We are all having matches with him now, no points, cause its really caught our attention".
"Eh? Is what I heard true?" Yushikaru asked, running behind them. With him was Zuukichi, along with Yuki, Jin. "Who is fighting him right now?"
"Shou-kun is" Hisato mentioned.
"Really? Kurobe-kun?" Zuukichi asked, as they looked to the monitor. Right now, the score was two to four, with Hyuse winning. The first round went to Shoutaro, as well as the third, but now he had three straight losses in a row.
Hyuse managed to dodge the Mole Claws, but Shoutaro didn't look like he was serious with them. Then again, he was only using a single Scorpion blade, but even then it seemed half hearted.
"Even if its single blade, Kurobe-kun is better then that. He is just keeping Hyuse-kun on the move" Zuukichi mentioned, when he noticed Hyuse was leaking trion. Small wounds, but still. "Hold on, is Kurobe-kun, who tends to prefer fast paced combat, playing a long game?"
"He managed to use Scorpion and Mole Claws to get Hyuse-kun in the first round, and then pulled off an unexpected attack in the third one, but ever since then, Hyuse-kun has perfectly predicted his mole claw attacks and countered or dodged".
"Impressive. Even I cant do that so reliably, Kurobe-kun is fast and trcky".
"Yeah, but he pulled off a grazing attack this time, and it appears he plans to make Hyuse-kun lose to Trion loss".
"The issue is that I think Hyuse-kun has a lot of Trion. His reserves never seem to give out, and his Kogetsu blade is strong".
"Kotaro seems to have discovered that, but look".
As they said that, Shotuaro dodged another slash, and even managed a Mantis like effect with a single Scorpion, getting another wound on Hyuse, however small. Hyuse went full offense, but Shoutaro was putting all his effort into dodging or running, or occasionally using Scorpion to block.
"This is actually the longest anyone has lasted in a fight against Hyuse, so Shou-kun has already broken a record" Hisato mentioned.
"Yeah! Shou is really giving it all he has!" Koarai added.
"Hmmm...his movements are impressive" Takeru mentioned.
"Glad you think so" Jin replied, as they watched the match. Hyuse suddenly rushed forward, leaving himself open as he attacked, seemingly annoyed. And so Shoutaro dodged again, and got further away.
"He noticed it was a trap" Yuki mentioned. "That was meant to tempt him in. That said...it seems Hyuse knows how to play the long game too".
As Shoutaro backed up, he suddenly noticed he had hit a dead end. This forced him to block with Scorpion, but the way the slice came and the strength behind it shattered it, and cut him in two, resulting in his defeat. Final score was 5-2, Hyuse wins.
"Man...I was so close. Sorry I couldn't avenge you guys".
"Its fine" Okudera mentioned. "You did manage to get two hits after all".
"Still better then my one" Hisato mentioned, as the two hit their forearms against each other.
"I will go next!" Yushimaru said, blushing a bit as he spoke out, a determination in his eyes. It was rare for Yushikaru to be so ascertive, so the others gave way to the normally timid boy. The thing about Yushikaru is that while timid, he was hard working and dependable, and was actually lower in the rankings then he should be because he spent more time training and learning new techniques and ways of fighting then in Rank Wars. He likely had the skills to be more around the N. 9 Attacker, although the N. 7 Attacker, Yuyan Ashido, was the same, since he had switched from Scorpion to Raygust after reaching A-Rank once he could request modified triggers.
As such, he and Hyuse entered the booths. Incidentally, he used Nikaze, the dual wind blades. So his single blade was actually a double. And different then Shoutaro, the battles went much faster then the last one Shoutaro had.
Hyuse got the first point right off the bat.
Then he got the second point, right off the bat.
Yushikaru managed a revenge score, and scored a point.
He then carried that momentum, and got a second one.
Then he lost a point to Hyuse.
Hyuse, who was learning his style, got another point from him.
Yushikaru managed to get a point back though.
But then Hyuse finished him off and won.
The final score between Yushikaru and Hyuse was 5-3.
"Hyuse-kun!" Yushikaru said, coming over to him.
"Yes?" Hyuse asked.
"That disarming trick you used to get your fourth point? I wanted to confirm. Did you analyze my swing time, and the way my arms move as I swing, to determine the proper time and angle you would need for it?"
Hyuse stopped for a moment. This boy...he learned my trick from seeing it in that one match? So his change in movement wasn't a fluke when he scored his last point, he learned that technique from seeing it once? He isn't there yet, but...this boy has great potential. Uncommon even for Aftokrator...
"What is your name again?"
"Tetsuki. Yushikaru Tetsuki".
"I see. Yes, Tetsuki-kun, but there is another element as well. I recommend figuring it out for yourself though, you will learn and understand it better".
"Yes! Thank you, Hyuse-kun!" Yushikaru responded, before running off, likely to analyze the results.
"Thats rare, for you to talk and help someone like that" Jin mentioned.
"He reminded me of someone...and his skill is worth giving advice to".
"Ah, can I try? If you can do that, and given what I have seen so far, seems like the match would be good" Zuukichi asked.
"Sure" Hyuse replied, and so the two entered the booths.
Also unlike the battle with Shoutaro just there, the battles went a lot faster. But unlike Yushikaru, he was more hard pressed.
Zuukichi sliced through Hyuse rapidly in the first hit.
Hyuse predicted his movements and got a point back next.
Zuukichi adapted to Hyuse, and scored another point.
Learning from his last fight, Hyuse retrieved another point.
Zuukichi learned from that, and defeated Hyuse again.
After that fight, Zuukichi again managed to defeat Hyuse using different traits he noticed.
Hyuse catches Zuukichi in a fake trait, and gets a point back.
Hyuse changed his sword style completely, and got another point back.
Zuukichi adapted to the fault, and defeated Hyuse using a fake habit he has shown for a number of previous matches.
Final score was 5-4, Zuukichi won, if only barely.
And then, Ikoma came by, curious as well, as Zuukichi came out and towards the others.
"You managed it!"
"Barely. I had an advantage of being familiar with the weight of Kogetsu, and how it could be used" Zuukichi mentioned. "Frankly speaking, if Hyuse gets more practice with Kogetsu, I doubt it would be as easy".
"Well, you still managed it, so take the win" Hisato mentioned.
Then they watched Ikoma, who nearly had Hyuse...and then used Senku by mistake in the last fight.
"Ikoma-sempai..." Shoutaro said with a cold stare.
"Sorry sorry, force of habit".
And then, while Hyuse went in with someone else, Momo came by and saw what was going on.
"Are you all picking on a newbie?"
"Nah, this guy made B-Rank in zero days!"
This caught Momo's attention, especially when he noticed who it was. He went over to Jin, and took the Trigger from his pocket. "i am borrowing this".
Once Hyuse left the room, he saw a familiar face heading towards him, and walked back in as Momo entered his own.
First win went to Hyuse this time.
Second went to Momo.
Third went to Momo.
Fourth went to Hyuse.
Fifth went to Momo.
Sixth went to Hyuse.
Seventh went to Momo.
Eighth went to Momo.
Momo won 5-3.
"Momo-sempai, you should do more Rank Wars, up your Attacker Ranking" Hisato mentioned.
"He is right" Shoutaro mentioned.
"At least you avenged me" Yushikaru muttered.
Hyuse came out, but as he did, Tachikawa appeared.
And so, Hyuse lost to Tachikawa 5-1.
Seeing that, Takeru was impressed. Not just for Tachikawa, who beat him like such, but for Hyuse who scored a hit on him. And then, his appraisal of those who fought Hyuse also rose.
"Is this what you wanted me to see, Jin?"
"Now you have a better understanding right? Of Kurogami Squad's attacker?"
"The fact he got two wins in on Hyuse is impressive. Hisato-kun only got one, while Yushikaru-sempai just managed three" Takeru mentioned, using Yushikaru's given name because Tetsuki-sempai is what he refered to Rukio Tetsuki, Yushikaru's older brother. It would be far too confusing if he used it for them both, and so since Yushikaru was younger, he used Yushikaru's given name like most people did, and used the family name for Rukio Tetsuki, the older brother. "That means he is inbetween those two in terms of skill. So not quite at Ikoma-sempai's level, but...without a doubt, he isn't all that far off either".
As that was said, Shoutaro came over to the two of them.
"Jin" he said, coldly.
"I know saying sorry wont be enough..." Jin mentioned. "But, I was trying to avoid a worse future, so I stand by my decision".
Shoutaro looked at him, and then sighed. "Fine, whatever. Its not worth causing a scene anyways. So what did you want?"
"Well, I was thinking that for the next mission, you could add Takeru here as your fourth member" Jin mentioned, his hands on Takeru's shoulders as he pushed him towards Shoutaro to meet.
"This is way too forced Jin-sempai" Takeru mentioned.
"Agreed".
"No, what is forced is if I try to warn you about what will happen next, but neither of you two listen to me" Jin mentioned.
"What the hell are you talking about..." Shoutaro started, when suddenly a few C-Ranks ran past, pushing into him and falling right into Takeru, with their lips accidentally coming together. The two kissed while in shock, before they finally seperated. "Jin!"
"You are still so mad at me, in every future I try to warn you, you ignore me and it happens anyways. And in one of those futures, your pants accidentally get pulled down while reacting, and it gets worse".
As the two wiped their lips, Jin decided to introduce them fully.
"Shoutaro Kurobe, meet Takeru Sasami. The Eighth Ranked Gunner in Border".
And so the fourth and final member of Kurogami Squad entered the fold.
Incidentally, including OCs from various people and things, I ended up coming up with these rankings. I used what information I could get from the canon to make these as best as possible.
Top Ten Attackers:
1: Kei Tachikawa
2: Soya Kazama
3: Kirie Konami
4: Ko Murakami
5: Yukimura Ichijo
6: Tatsuhito Ikoma
7: Yuyan Ashido
8: Zuukichi Haruda
9: Erika Kamino
10: Tatsuki Akuma
11: Yuichi Jin (absent for several years due to being a Black Trigger User)
Top Ten Shooters:
1: Masataka Ninomiya
2: Kohei Izumi
3: Nozomi Kako
4: Kotaro Kurogami
5: Hibana Futatabi
6: Nasu Rei
7: Eri Asano
8: Sthenos
9: Takeshi Kotowari
10: Satoshi Mizukami
Top Ten Snipers:
1: Isami Toma
2: Toru Narasaka
3: Azuma
4: Shinichi Asagi
5: Yuzuru Ema
6: Ken Satori
7: Shohei Kodera
8: Yuri Takamoto
9: Hayato Uno
10: Suzume Misaki
11: Chika Amatori (She had a bunch of points transfered to her, and then has placed very well in every sniper test so far, so she ended up getting a ton of points)
Top Ten Gunners:
1: Kazumi Satomi
2: Takaaki Katagiri
3: Takuma Yuba
4: Sumiharu Inukai
5: Hiro Kitazoe
6: Kotaro Suwa (Factoring Points gained thanks to Invasion Awards)
7: Jūhō Tōnyū
8: Takeru Sasami
9: Kotaro Tomoe
10: Seiji Meisho
