"Whoo, whoo! Shinnosuke-kun! Whoo!"

The sound of cheering from a single boy was followed by a strong one and weak one from two small dogs.

Next to the dog with the two dogs, Mukuro let out a tired yawn.

A few more seats away, a group of people were watching.

He had decided to stay away from those people, as well as the terrible group even further away, and yet he still could not be left alone.

"Are you not going to also cheer?"

"Why would I? Frooooooooom what I found out during the attaaaaaack, that guy is useless. He's even more useless when there is a girl invoooooooolved. Since Hoshi is a girl, he won't be able to wiiiiiiin, unless he gets support that is. But even then, he will stillllllll only be dead weight."

"The two fo you seemed fine enough to fight in the hall that time."

"Thaaaaaaat's because…"

"Hm? 'Because'?"

When Hisoka looked over, the expression Mukuro had on his face was one of confused annoyance. Or that was what she thought it was at least.

It's rather hard to tell with him. He looks like he doesn't want to show emotion, but then throws it all out there. But I've only ever seen this when it comes to Shin-kun, so…

She tilted her head.

What exactly does that mean?

Looking past the boy's lowered head, she saw Oshiro lifting the paws of Take and Krümel. So he could not be asked.

The group containing everyone else also seemed to be messing around a bit with each other, so she could not ask them either.

The last option was to go to the final group of upperclassmen, but…

"Heh heh heh~ C'mon, Tet-su-ji-kyun! Just a little wiggle will do! Yes, just a small wiggle! Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, like you do for the jiggle! Yes, like this! Shake it aaaaaaall around like Suwa-san is- Guwah!"

"Shut up already! You're already in trouble for NTRing the prez, so don't make things worse here!"

"But doesn't it make me a player if I manage to also NTR you too!? Guwah!"

"Alright, I guess I'll take him outside this time."

"Oh, try to make sure everything lands on where I already aimed. That way it's easier to clean up afterwards."

"Got it."

The crossdresser over there was being carried like baggage, so it might not have been the best time to speak with them.

People with overflowing emotions were not the best match for her when it came to conversations. They usually could apply both logic and emotion to their words, while she could only use logic for her own.

But this boy was different.

He seemed to have problems with his own emotions while being someone who used only logic in his actions. Questionable logic, but logic nonetheless.

"Because…"

Mukuro still could not find the words to explain himself here.

Oshiro was busy cheering with the dogs, so Hisoka felt it was on her to take care of this problem.

Particularly by patting Mukuro's head.

Inukai-senpai usually does this to calm Shiro-kun down. Maybe that's just how this works.

It seemed to be the right choice since Mukuro only loosened his face and blinked.

He turned to her after a moment and narrowed his eyes.

Nothing needed to be said between either of them, both already knowing exactly what the other was thinking through their silent language.

And what she got from the conversation was…

That was the wrong choice.

Tsuji threw his body backwards upon seeing the small girl move towards him.

There had been someone on the map and he wanted to see who it had been.

What he did not expect was for it to be Tsukiko's younger sister and Kotowari Squad's newest member.

The girl herself was nice and unlike those one who liked to mess with him, but that did not stop his own anxieties to surface upon seeing her.

Her charge at him had been noticed but it did not fully register in his mind. The only thing that he could notice was the distance between them shortening, so he had made a snap decision to curl up tumble backwards.

This is just like last time…

During the attack from Galopoula, he had thrown himself backwards once he saw that his opponent was a woman.

He had been sent to that battlefield because he could work together with Hisoka since Oshiro was busy elsewhere, but had not been told the specifics. To say he was thrown for a loop was an understatement.

Hisoka had to take charge and initiate the fight once more while he could only stay behind the corner, watching and worrying.

But unlike this time there had been someone else there for him.

Well, he was really there because of Tsukiko-senpai. All he did was criticize me.

Tsukiko's younger brother had appeared so that he could fight alongside them.

While Tsuji was having his issues fighting against a woman, that younger brother seemed to have trouble keeping himself upright while in the presence of Tsuji himself. It was another factor that could have made them lose just because of him.

The problem was that this was not something he could overcome easily.

There was just too much built up for him to reach the level of trust he had with Hiyami and Hisoka for every other female around him.

Even this kind girl in front of him was no different.

Taiyōko was right to mock me… To have something like this hold me back is just embarrassing and terrible.

As if to agree with him, the girl in front of him spoke.

"…Would you like for me to leave?"

It really is bad if she is asking me something like that.

If it had been a guy, he would have felt a bit insulted by it, but thought nothing of it afterwards. But since it was a nice girl like this he could not respond and had no time to hold any sort of grudge because of it.

So instead, he only shook his head rapidly.

Slick Girl: "We have a problem."

Inu: "Did Tsuji-chan come across one of the girls?"

The fact he knows that right away is kind of bad too.

Slick Girl: "Yeah. He's with Kotowari Squad's Taiyōko."

Inu: "I don't know who to feel bad for in that situation…"

In all honesty, he could understand that.

Tsuji was pitiful here, but Taiyōko was a nice girl not knowing what was happening right now.

She had even paused in her advance to make sure he was alright.

That would get her killed right away, but it would not have been the first time it happened.

The logs had shown her doing the same thing during Kotowari Squad's match against Katori Squad.

This girl was just too nice.

Meanwhile, Tsuji couldn't bring himself to even respond to that niceness.

Inu: "Well, I'll be there in a bit. Just try not to die, Tsuji-chan. Also…you should take a look at your Radar."

"Huh…?"

Doing as he was told, Tsuji took a glance at his Radar.

A dot blinked furiously as it moved closer to his location.

And once it was on top of them…

"I found you! Commence the march!"

A new girl sprang out from the narrow space behind him and fired her rifle.

"Another girl!?"

White Fox: "That is what he said…"

Manager: "…"

WorTri: "Hah."

Manager: "It appears that Agent Tsuji is having…issues with his current opponents."

WorTri: "He's bad at dealing with girls. Hah. Have fun tearing into him after this match, you degenerates."

White Fox: "Sekai-san, that was a bit rude…"

Shigenaga rushed Tsuji without any more warning.

Her shout had only been overpowered by the sound of her rifles firing shots at him.

Her steps held power in them as he dragged out Kōgetsu from its scabbard.

The attack itself was easy enough to defend against, but the surprise of having to fight another girl was too much for him at the moment.

So the moment she approached him, he prepared himself to lose.

What happened instead was different though.

"Excuse me!"

A quick wind rushed by him before he could look over.

Hearing the sound of something colliding brought his attention behind him.

Turning around, he came to a strange sight.

Hoshi was using her entire body to push against Shigenaga as shards of shattered shields fell to the ground in front of him.

Shigenaga must not have been ready for the attack since she was holding Kōgetsu in a reverse grip while pushing back against Hoshi.

"Please wait until he has been able to gather himself before attacking!"

"This is a fight, little girl! You take whatever chance you can get!"

"I am still inexperienced, so I do not fully understand fights! Please excuse my rudeness, Senpai!"

"The name's Shigenaga! And that inexperience will not be forgiven!"

"In that case, please allow me to fight you, Shigenaga-senpai!"

The two girls were having their own shouting match right in front of Tsuji.

This was a perfect chance for him to attack, yet he could not bring himself to get any closer to either one of them.

"Tsuji-chan, look out~"

Hearing his voice being called, he moved to the side as shots came from behind.

The rapid-fire noise from a gun could be heard from behind him, but he did not need to look to know who had fired it.

The two girls had also heard the attack coming, but only one of them had been able to react.

Since she had been using her entire body, Hoshi could not move right away. Every part of her body was held in place because of her own attacking method.

The same could not be said for Shigenaga.

The rough girl lowered her blade while moving in for a turn.

Hoshi's blade came down, landing a cut on Shigenaga's side, but the girl ignored that.

She continued to spin while throwing herself to the side.

Shigenaga had managed to dodge the barrage of shots before they could reach her.

As for Hoshi…

"—!?"

A green shield appeared behind her as a body landed between her and the shield.

The brown hair that seemed more like fur blew with the wind as a full teeth grin was shone. A single canine tooth could be seen as the boy straightened himself up.

"Mad eat in time! Sorry, Sumiharu, but I cannot just let you take her out that easily!"

"Hahaha! Don't worry! It's way more fun filling you with holes than a nice girl like her!"

"In that case…"

Multiple sign frames opened in front of his knee and foot.

The moment Tsuji saw this, he moved.

Pulling out Kōgetsu, he straightened out his face while leaning forward.

He felt tactical feedback on the end of Kōgetsu.

"Tch. That damn Shinnosuke… Hoshi, back me up whenever you can, but let me focus on Shinnosuke!"

"Of course! And thank you!"

Tsuji knew what was happening.

Inukai and Shigenaga likely knew as well from their respective expressions.

They were all aware of his trouble with girls, so two of his opponents had made it so that he would not have to fight a girl.

Hoshi would fight Shigenaga while supporting Toby. Toby would fight Tsuji and Inukai.

The two of them were giving him a chance to fight.

.

These pups are really too honest for their own good.

Inukai could not help the smile that came to his face as he fired at the falling Toby.

Instead of the two most mentally troublesome people of Kotowari Squad, they had come across the most likable members.

They had both come to an agreement on this battlefield that put them at a disadvantage simply because it felt like the right thing to do.

It was something that would likely get them taken out, but they had still chosen this option for themselves.

Yuki, you better be watching carefully. I don't know the extent to what you went through, but this is what you wanted. They are making choices without you, aren't relying on you, but are still remembering their time with you. You made a selfish choice back then, but this is the end result. Don't look down on it or you'll just end up regretting everything.

That had been what caused the current chaos.

Seeing the familiar hollowness in Yuki's eyes a few days ago had been a shock. Something like that should not have been able to appear anymore, but it had.

Yuki had placed himself back into a dangerous space while forcing Minoru to do the same.

It may not have been intentional, but it had happened. Inukai had witnessed all of it and could not do much concerning it.

While Minoru he could talk to, Yuki was still a great distance away from him.

The entire time he had known the boy, he had tried getting closer. Even if it was just a step or two.

There were people for him that seemed to do that as easily as breathing, but he did not hold that against them. They just had a better affinity for Yuki.

But he did not stop.

Even now, he tried to reach that place.

He may never reach the same level he has with Minoru, but there was still a place he could reach. A deep part that could get him to understand what was going on better.

No matter how many times he had to try and mediate for Yuki and his captain, he continued to see both side's viewpoints. It was his place as someone who knew so much, but did not know everything.

And I'm not the only one here trying to reach a place.

Someone had long since reached a place even deeper than he wanted while another one was pushed aside before he could even try.

His captain had also reached a special place, but it was not one that Inukai ever wanted to go to.

But for now…

I will use these pups to reach the place. I'll even bring them with me. They deserve that much for everything they have been put through. So…

So.

You better be watching closely, Yuki!

White Fox: "…"

WorTri: "Something you want to say?"

Yuki held back his arm from moving again.

Having lost control of Side Effect already, he was making sure that he had full control of his body once more.

It would be bad if he couldn't do that much.

White Fox: "Hah… It looks like Kotowari Squad has given Tsuji a chance to fight."

WorTri: "Yeah. For someone like Shigeko, it must be infuriating. But that is what makes it worth it. For Taiyōko and Awdry, this only seems like something natural. Hah. But for someone like her, this is just some stupid, inexperienced kids messing around."

Manager: "Admittedly, I don't know much about the Kotowari Squad members or Agent Shigenaga. So how do you think that decision will affect the battle?"

White Fox: "It depends on how they take the fight. Toby is already difficult for Gunners, but Inukai has Tsuji with him. That close range ability will keep them from being taken out. As for the other one… Hoshi will need to be maintaining more of a defensive stance if she is going to be supporting Toby here."

WorTri: "Hah. And for Shigeko, it all depends on who she has supporting her. Asagi isn't the support type, so that may cause a conflict of wants for Meishō Squad. If it's Ariake who is helping her, she will have a higher chance at taking out at least two of her opponents. Hah. That squad is made of offensive fighters, but Ariake is their main, best, and only support. But he does that job well."

Manager: "That's right. Back when we were on the same squad, he was also the only support. During that time he was still new, so he was not the best. But he did manage to get us some wins because of his support. I can only imagine how much stronger he has gotten since then."

The two turned to Yuki for any reaction.

None came to him.

WorTri: "In any case, Shigeko could also go for a full offense with one of her teammates. It would put more pressure on Taiyōko than she can handle, which will then force Awdry to move to help her. So if Meishō Squad goes with that plan, Ninomiya Squad will have an easier time picking people off."

"Haaaah… These guys really aren't giving me a good opening to attack here. Are they even human with those kinds of skills? Seriously, what kind of people just throw their attacks as defenses when they don't know there's an attack there to begin with?"

Mitsuteru watched as the amazing light show went on in the distance.

Shattering flower shields bloomed as Hounds crashed about the area. Straight line beams that gave heated sounds tore through the air while orbs of green light flew in arcs, lines, and circles.

It did not feel real, but he knew that what he was watching was a fact of reality.

For someone like him, firing a sniper rifle was already something out of the ordinary. Watching the lights that could destroy his body only made him come to realize how unprepared he was for fights with crazy people.

He took a breath before letting it out through his mouth.

The tension in his shoulders was released and his body sagged a bit.

"Still…"

The three fighting there were people he had his own grudge against.

Whether they were monsters from a different planet or just people so far beyond the norm that he could never catch up, he had to do something against them for him to release everything that built up over the time he had known about them.

Attacking them would give his position away, but that was fine.

They would forget all about him once he moved away from his firing spot.

"But to think that Misaki's Side Effect could also figure this much out. I figured she would use Shigeko and Seiji-san's movements to decide on what was happening, but to think she is able to see the entire battlefield for what it really is. Heh. Guess that just shows how much Kiyo-… No. That just shows how well she uses her Side Effect."

Bringing in someone who was not here felt much more like an insult than a passing comment.

"Well, I guess I can just leave her to Ninomiya-san then. I've already spotted Kotowari, so I might as well target him. So in that case…"

He sucked in a breath as he lined up his sight with the light show battlefield.

There was no tension in his movement, but he released the breath regardless.

He had been patient so far and this would be where he showed that patience.

.

Ninomiya did not relent on his attacks, instead he focused more on directing them properly.

Powering through these two opponents would not work due to their specialties.

If he relied on fast moving bullets then the blooming shields would block them in order to give the laser-like beams a chance to tear through him.

If he relied on power bullets then the laser-like beams would tear through them and give the Sniper time to attack him.

He had the advantage in trion, so he would use that.

The entire space behind him was filled with green lights as he prepared each shot. Simple commands were ordered for their speed and power, something that he was grateful for.

In his eyes, everything was set up in a certain amount of time, but he knew that it was different for anyone on the outside.

His attacks were meant to bring him to victory, so when he attacked it was a quick and clear decision. At times it even looked to them like he had not even created the attacks and that attacks had simply come at his signal, already being in motion before he even registered his own attack.

Of course that was not the case and he prepared the attacks.

The shining lights behind him followed multiple lines, but unlike before, they all converged to a single point.

There would be only one target for his Hounds instead of two.

Each one of the Hound shots flew through the air.

Some were stopped by the blooming shields while others crashed into laser-like beams.

But some had made it through.

Those remaining bullets crashed into one of the tall builds as the wind picked up once more.

In the harsh wind, he could make out a silhouette leaping from where his attack had hit.

Green particles floated into the air behind them.

The attack had hit.

"Now then," he said while turning.

Two laser-like beams were already moving toward him after having collided with his previous attack.

Defenses were a bad choice against the heated noise coming at him, but…

"—"

The two laser-like beams vanished.

An explosion went off, carried by the wind and sent towards him in place of the attack.

If I'm right then…

Not looking back at what had caused the explosions, he took light steps forward.

With a narrow space in front of and behind him, he prepared his next attack.

As he did, the narrow spaces began to fill up with sound.

And soon after…

"There you are."

A body was pushed in front of him.

Two great winds had appeared in these narrow spaces, forcibly pushing out anything within those spaces.

The space behind seemed to have contained nothing more than garbage.

The space in front of him was different.

It contained a body.

Around the body's neck was a scarf, and along its arms were straps.

"—"

He held nothing back as he fried at the body.

Manager: "And with that, Captain Ninomiya begins his attack against Captain Kotowari! It looked like he was prepared for it, so his attack is already in motion while Captain Kotowari seems to still be gathering himself!"

WorTri: "Masataka had probably figured out what was going on from the start and just knew how to use it to his advantage. Hah. The thing about this particular match is that the Operators need to be ready to modify every member's sights depending on who is currently fighting."

Manager: "That's right. Doing something like that in mass is easy enough, so long as everyone's sights are the same. But with this pitch blackness, it becomes a hassle for the Operators since they would need to be constantly changing the lighting for their teammates. The lights produced by each Trigger is relatively the same, but the difference comes in how much they appear. A battle using Kōgetsu and Scorpion is easy since those blades will continue to stay lit no matter how they move. But gunfire is repeated flashing lights that could hurt someone's eyes if they have the settings wrong."

WorTri: "Hah. How well do you think you could do in this situation?"

Before Kimura could answer, Yuki lifted himself up a bit to answer.

Neither one of them responded negatively to his action, so he went on.

White Fox: "Kimura's usual processing rate is actually pretty high. I would say the moment the attack is made, she will have already figured out the right setting to use. And even if there is a new element added in, she could get it done relatively easily."

WorTri: "Is that so…"

It was a statement more than a question, but Yuki responded to it regardless.

White Fox: "We're talking about someone who enjoys taking in large amounts of data just for fun. Kimura here is the type of person to stack a bunch of books on top of each other, read through them all quickly, and still manage to find every important part of them."

Manager: "I would normally take notes on the important stuff, but having use of our transmissions and technology in general is really convenient. I've been teaching Krümel how to swipe the screen when needed and he has started getting the hang of it. Recently he has even been keeping up with me. I'm glad I don't need all that paper anymore."

Sekai's relaxed expression changed, a rare sight for most people.

His eyebrows rose a little and his lips parted.

These two former teammates had just just gone on about something amazing as if it was an everyday thing and nothing was wrong.

His own squad's Kumokawa was well off as an Operator, but he doubted that even she could manage that much data without feeling exhausted.

Back then, I never really interacted with their squad, so I don't know the full gist of what they were like, but this… Really, what were they like back then?

His attention was quickly drawn back to the screen in front of them.

One of the former members of that squad had already begun fighting here.

So…

What does that make him compared to them?

Suzume gave a whistle. The sound was easily drowned out by the raging wind below her.

The trion leaking from her leg had been quickly dealt with, but it was obvious that it meant little in comparison to what was happening.

After having attacked her, Ninomiya seemed ready to either go for the kill or move to deal with Takeshi.

Then she had noticed a change.

It was a change in both Ninomiya as well as the surrounding area.

No way… Has he figured it out already!? Honesty, this guy is something else. No wonder he's the only one Yuki-san sees an enemy.

The movement of walking forward showed her everything she needed to know.

He had figured out how to use the environment.

Each step taken put him in the right position to not be hit by the strong winds that would soon be coming through the two narrow spaces in front and behind him.

So instead of Ninomiya being hit by those strong winds, she watched as her own teammate was forced out due to those strong winds.

Before that had happened she had seen an explosion go off. The smoke it had created was carried by the strong wind from the narrow space behind Ninomiya.

The explosion had seemed random at first, but it was clear that it had come from the trion orbs that Takeshi used for attacking. The laser-like beams that had been fired from those trion orbs had been shot through and caused an explosion that resulted in Ninomiya's end back to be covered by smoke.

The sudden exposure to his enemy must have caught Takeshi off guard since all he had done to defend against the new attack was begin to move backwards.

Oh honestly. These guys are making it hard for me to make my decision here. Don't look too shocked, Take. Moving forward instead of backwards. If you do that then I wouldn't have this hard of a time making up my mind.

With a sigh and a twist, she held herself against the edge of the roof.

Ninomiya had prepared power shots instead of ones reliant on speed. Her shields would do little against those and Takeshi could not fire his laser-like beams.

So as easily as breathing, she held herself in place and lined up her shot.

The target wasn't Ninomiya, nor was it one of the bullets.

It was the space between Ninomiya and Takeshi.

Honest Sister: "Take, you don't need to aim or even fire. Just honestly make one of the orbs between you two. But make sure it's a far enough distance that you won't get caught in an explosion."

.

Ninomiya narrowed his eyes at the actions of his target.

At first he had only been moving back, too surprised to even launch his own offense or defense. But then he made a certain choice that put Ninomiya on guard.

He held out his arm.

In front of that arm an orb was created.

His own attack had already been halfway to reaching his target, but now the single orb was in between them and the target.

It was too late for any sort of attack, his Hound bullets would have reached him before any beam could be fired.

So creating the orb now felt like it was just a pointless use of trion.

With the violent wind only barely starting to subside, he wouldn't even be able to move that far back.

Teleporting was also an option, but Ninomiya was too well versed in how to counter that particular Trigger for it to be useful here.

So then what reason could he have for making that orb?

Unless…

Realizing what the new action meant, Ninomiya clicked his tongue as he turned his attention elsewhere.

Before his previous attack could reach the target, he released a new onslaught of bullets onto a different location.

As he did so, a flash struck down in between him and his target.

It struck the orb.

From there, a sudden flash filled the area.

The visual setting that Hiyami had set for him lessened the impact of it, but the light that filled his vision, although brief, had blinded him and faced him to move backwards.

The strong wind that had been coming from the narrow space behind him caught onto his leg.

As the new explosion filled the open space, Ninomiya was dragged along by the dying wind.

Each one the flying lights that he came from his Hound shots had been caught in the blast and were no more.

But…

Slick Girl: "I confirm a hit."

A flash of light moved through the night sky, seeming more like a reverse shooting star than a simple light.

Before he could determine who exactly it had been, another flash came into view.

This time it was difficult to notice as he was pushed into the narrow space opposite of where the dying wind had been coming from.

But the target for that flash was clear.

A third light filled the air as it flew off in the same direction as the first one.

Slick Girl: "…Trion signature is gone. Kotowari-kun has been taken out."

"But now by me."

Bail Out.

Bail Out.

Manager: "And with that, two members of Kotowari Squad have been taken out for the first two Bail Outs of the match!"

WorTri: "Masataka must feel cheated right about now."

Manager: "It seemed like Agent Misaki was going for a violent way of defending her captain, but it gave away her position to an already cautious Captain Ninomiya. Her loss is going to him. As for Captain Kotowari…"

A single point appeared on the screen next to a certain boy's image.

Kimura lowered her brows as she glanced over to Yuki.

Manager: "Having been caught in the explosion, Captain Kotowari could not react in time to the attack coming from Agent Ariake. It was a clean headshot that had managed to take him out."

WorTri: "Now I see. Hah. You guys had some pretty scary support back in the day, didn't you?"

Manager: "While I am happy to agree with that, why do you say that?"

Mumbles of "She can't be serious" filled the room, making her look all around.

Her eyes landed on the crossdresser, who was waving at her, and the Arafune Squad Captain, who was maintaining a strong hold on the idiot.

Having figured out that his teammate was causing trouble again, Sekai bent down to lift up his shoe. Without a second thought, he threw it.

"Ow! What was that for, Sekai-chan!? That could have heard my head and actually put some brain cells into it! Then what would happen if I actually became smart, huh!? Huh!? Gyah!?"

"Sorry about him, you guys! Go on! I'll make sure to pound his skull in if he keeps it up!"

The way the crossdresser seemed to be smiling as he was repeatedly hit with the shoe was a bit concerning, but Kimura pushed that aside to focus back on the match.

WorTri: "The guy really isn't anything special, that much is for sure. If he wanted to join the top Snipers then he would probably need another two or so years of training. But… Hah. From what I know, he is usually talking about Special Tactics with Yuba Squad's Tonooka, right?"

Manager: "Now that you mention it… Yeah, even back then, those two were good friends."

WorTri: "He looks like he has the patience for it, and mix that with the fact that those guys seemed to have forgotten he's even there, you have a pretty difficult person to deal with. Hah. I wonder if it's a Side Effect or just how he is, but to make even Masataka suspicious of what happened just shows that he's more of a player here than most of his squad."

Manager: "The problem with that has always been that he can never get back-to-back points. Like we have gone over multiple times now: he's a support type. For him to go out of his way for this one point means that he was deliberately targeting that single point."

.

"Uwah~ When she puts it like that, it sounds kinda scary, don't you think, Tono?"

Tonooka gave no response.

With his eyes on the screen, he chewed on his lip while shuffling slightly in his seat.

From her spot a few seats away from him, Obishima gave a worried look over to her teammate.

Watching the match while others spoke around him was normal for him, but the expression and his movements were not something she was used to seeing.

"…Do you…want to…bring him over…?"

Blinking in surprise, she turned to face the line of boys on the other side of her.

To her immediate left was Midorikawa. Next to him sat Tomoe, who had Ema then a final boy sitting there.

The small group had come together upon seeing the final boy and Ema sitting in seats away from the larger groups.

When asked about their reasoning, Ema had told them that the other boy was not comfortable with a lot of people being around him, but he wanted to watch the match in the hall.

She had reached the same conclusion as Tomoe in that they could sit elsewhere. It was only when Midorikawa dragged them into the seats did they relent to watch the match.

And now that the match was underway and the vices filled the hall, Obishima found herself caught off guard that she had even heard the last boy's voice to begin with.

Ema introduced him as "Tenryū", so I should make sure to call him directly when speaking to him. Right, it's just like Hoshi did for me, so I'll make sure to do that here.

Giving a smile to the last boy, Obishima looked over the boys between them so that her words could clearly reach him.

"It's fine, Tenryū-san. I doubt the trouble he is having is because of those upperclassmen. It's just…"

"…He is worried…for his friend…"

"Yes. Ariake-senpai comes over a lot, so I can understand why he's so worried."

"…Then he…is a good…friend…"

Obishima wanted to agree. It was the truth after all, but before she could, he continued to speak.

"…Nn… …You all are…"

"Huh?"

The questioning voice came from Tomoe who, up to this point, had been relatively quiet.

It made sense as to why since he had not been particularly close with any of the combatants currently involved with the match.

"Tenryū, I think you're looking too far into this. Only Obishima and Midorikawa are here to watch people. Tomoe was probably just dragged along by Midorikawa."

"Eh heh heh…"

"Don't just rat me out like that, Tomo!"

"As for me…"

Huh?

Obishima found herself starting to get dizzy.

Off to the side was her teammate, on the screen was her new friend, and a few seats down was Ema, who had just turned away from the rest of them.

That's right. He doesn't like Ninomiya Squad and has no real connection with any of the other three. Why is Ema here?

A small wave from the last boy seemed to have done enough to bring Ema's eyes back towards the screen.

Following his line of sight, she came across a certain face.

Oh.

"I don't like Ninomiya Squad, so I want to see what Ariake-senpai plans to do to them. At the least, I want to see him take out that jerk. …Although he missed his chance and took out Kotowari instead."

"Oh, so you do know Ariake-senpai?"

"Hm. I wouldn't say we're friends or anything, but we have something in common. I have my own thoughts about the guy, but he's fine enough."

"…Ema is being…tsundere…"

"Eh!? Where did you hear that word!? Don't use it for me like that! Tell me who told you that! I'll make sure to let Kage-san know right away!"

"Tenryū isn't on Kage-san's hate list? I would have thought for sure he would be."

"He was at the start. But that was due to circumstances. Now it's different, so I need to let him know if anything comes up with Tenryū."

"Why do I feel like seeing them together would give me nightmares…?"

Obishima found herself nodding along with the sentiment.

The last boy's entire being seemed to contrast with the B-Rank Captain's, so even thinking of them in the same room felt like it would only lead to a downward spiral.

Her thoughts were cut off as Ema finished up his words while giving the screen a hard stare.

"Back to the topic here. I'm not really here as a friend. I'm only here to see what the end result is. After all…"

He let out a breath.

"Ariake-senpai still feels like he owes something to someone."

"Hah… I didn't think I would feel this down after having taken one of them out."

Smoke rose from the end of Ibis after a successful attack.

Mitsuteru continued to stay down even after confirming that he had gained a point for his squad.

The entire night was dark now that the distant lights had been extinguished.

Sound soft a different fight could be heard in the distance, but the lights from that location were far too light to be seen.

The Bagworm that he wore was black to blend in with the entire night. Even if the Operators could figure out the right visual settings for their squads, it would still be difficult to find him if he ducked his head and withdrew his legs.

It was these kinds of tricks that he had learned from his mentors.

They can be terrible at times, but I did pick up some nice things from them. Yeah, like…

What could terrible people teach a play person like him?

Only terrible things came to mind the more he thought about it. Each one seeming to be worse than the next and never looking like it would be going to a good place.

That was just how his mentors were.

Um, should I be worried about myself? I guess it's a bit late for that though.

Resignation was the only out.

Well either way, I should get moving now. Shigeko is mad again, so supporting her might be best.

"Alright then, let's-"

Feeling something pierce through his legs, Mitsuteru ungracefully fell to the top of the roof again.

The wind had died down and Kenzaide had long since modified their visual setting to fit their surroundings.

Looking down at his legs, he saw trion leaking from a hole in his right leg.

"…Eh?"

A sound rang out in the air. Without any wind to cover it up, he managed to notice it.

Instead of turning to face the sound, he moved his body to roll around the roof until he was flung off the edge of the building.

Someone found me!? Even if they have visual settings right, they shouldn't be able to find me regardless of if I just fired!

Using the walls of the two buildings, he made a soft landing in the narrow space.

Since the wind had already died down in the area, he did not need to worry about it suddenly picking up for a few minutes.

Using that knowledge to his advantage, he moved along the wall towards one of the open spaces.

Tilting his head against the edge of the wall, he looked over the side.

"—!?"

He immediately ducked his head as a flash flew past his face.

Again!? My face should be hidden to the point that they shouldn't be able to see me!

But they had.

One of his opponents had managed to find him and fire an attack against him.

At the start of this match there had been fourth Snipers, two of which consisted of him and his teammate.

One of them had been taken out by Ninomiya Squad's captain, so that only left three of them.

If he was getting attacked like this then it only meant…

Taichi!? Seriously, I'm being cornered by Taichi!?

He could feel some of his pride start to slowly rot away at the realization.

He had nothing against the boy and would not place himself on any pedestal, but it was only natural for someone like him to at least think himself better at sniping than one of the clumsiest people in Border.

Ah, crap! I forgot that he's just that weak! He wouldn't forget me that easily! And in a setting I chose too!

Each thought only seemed to rot away his pride even faster.

The night setting had been put in place to better hide him. Winds were thrown in to mess with everyone else. The narrow spaces and tall buildings were there for him to have a better chance at sniping. Everything concerning this map and its setting had been done so that his squad could have the advantage.

And then he was spotted and sniped by Taichi.

"Fine then…"

He was average in everything, including his pride and thoughts.

"If he destroyed my pride like that…I only need to do one thing in return."

So when a normal person's pride had been completely destroyed, what would become of them?

"I'll return fire and take him out! Right! I haven't had a sniper shoot off since those terrible mentors decided to use me for target practice!"

They became desperate to gain that pride back.

Mitsuteru took in a breath before releasing it using his entire upper body. Instead of coming from only one place, the air was blown out through both his mouth and nose.

"Let's go!"