An all out attack relying on speed and power.

Ninomiya held nothing back as he fired his next round towards the falling dog.

His own pack of hounds tracked down their target with half moving through the air while the other half tore through it.

Each time they seemed to catch the falling dog, he would step as if bouncing off of nothing.

Instead of simply stepping on the ground, he jumped with each step.

Between that and the wind that was starting to pick up, the falling dog's speed began to falter slightly.

For anyone at an average level or below, it would not be noticeable, but he saw it.

The difference between now and the start was starting to grow and he would soon catch his target.

"You're a really annoying guy, you know that!? Do you even know how much of my movements and brain power I need to deal with this stuff!?"

The falling dog spoke as he fell forward.

That was right, it was not only his speed that kept him from being captured. The amazing reflexes he had mixed well with his thoughts to create a difficult to catch body.

Even so…

"It's only a matter of time."

Pressure was the best way to beat this falling dog, and he was one of the best at applying it.

No matter where he ran, Ninomiya would be able to accurately and powerfully pressure him into a corner.

Even the dog himself seemed to realize this.

.

Toby gave a sigh in his heart.

Enjoying fights was always great, as was running without a care in the world.

What wasn't great was getting chased down like this.

There was no space for him to move properly and the increasing wind was slowing down his use of Headfirst Fall.

This had turned against him in a matter of seconds. It felt like even waiting for his teammates might be an impossibility at this point.

Urg. It's not even like I'm being pessimistic either. I just realized what kind of situation I'm in here.

That first step had shown him what he was lacking.

And it sucked.

For all of his speed and reflexes, he still could not reach the point of beating a high ranked Shooter.

That was just how things were.

It was a fact that he was fine with, for the time being.

So with his resolve on only making it through here, he fell.

He continued to fall so that he would not be caught.

But falling alone wouldn't get him anywhere.

The map in front of him showed where his teammates were. Two of them were already closing in, grouping up as they had planned.

Lobo: "Take, Suzume. Drop an estimate for how long it'll take you to get here."

Colors: "Thirty seconds for me."

Honest Sister: "I'm being careful with the rooftop winds, so I will honestly say forty seconds for me."

That was right, the winds were more dangerous for someone like Suzume than they were for Takeshi.

But that was fine.

Both of them were also here, even if they were still a bit away.

That only meant one thing to him.

I just need to keep things in check while I wait!

Simply falling would not do anymore, so Toby had a certain action to make up for that.

He ran forward.

Instead of letting himself be taken, he forced himself forward. The wind against him had lengthened the activation time for Headfirst Fall, so the extra time it took to activate would need to be made up for here.

As he pushed down against the ground, he activated Headfirst Fall before colliding with it.

The time difference had gone back to normal as the speeding shots chased him and the power shots collided. They turned into momentary lights instead of streaking ones.

Still…

"You really don't plan on letting me go here!"

He got no immediate response.

"In that case…"

Toby held up his hand.

Headfirst Fall only took up one slot in his Trigger set, meaning he still had another Trigger to use.

Scorpion!

Unlike the normal blade she had created, this one was flat. It had no corners, was circular, and up more space than the pointed one he usually fought with.

He held a disk in his hand.

Sorry, but I'm wild, not an idiot. I can think while fighting too!

He reeled his arm back as he looked at the oncoming pack of Hound.

Focusing on a single point, he threw his arm forward as Headfirst Fall activated once more.

Try this!

.

Ninomiya narrowed his eyes at the green disk that had been thrown to him.

It was small, but that only allowed it to move through his attacks. The direction it was going towards was also something that made the size make sense.

Instead of the head or the heart, the disk was going for the center of his chest.

When attacking, the placement of each strike mattered.

For someone like him it was about an attack that reached multiple locations at once. Using that method, along with the trying types of bullets, he could guarantee a hit. If they blocked it, then he would stall them out with his trion level.

But pinpoint attacks like these were deadly in the sense that it forced the opponent to make certain actions.

Dodging was difficult when placed in the center of the body since moving to the right or the left would mean getting hit on the opposite side. The smaller the attack, the more likely this was to happen.

Blocking it was easier, but it meant focusing on defense for a moment.

While fighting less experienced fighters, that would be no issue at all, but more experienced combatants would easily use that single moment of defense to cut their way towards.

So instead of doing either one, he made a certain action.

"Hound."

He attacked.

If dodging meant taking a hit and blocking would give the dog a chance to advance, then he only needed to pick an option that was outside of those two.

As if there was no time in the creation of the attack, the Hound shots moved forward with precision. Only one shot would be needed to destroy the Scorpion disk, so the others could reach the falling dog.

And once it reached the Scorpion disk…

"—"

It shattered.

The two attacks collided and canceled each other out.

And beyond that shattered light, he saw it.

"…"

The falling dog had moved up instead of the sides.

He had made an overhead leap that created a large arc over Ninomiya.

In response to this, Ninomiya created multiple Hound shots that started from where the falling dog would land to the highest point he would reach.

There was no longer a chance to escape.

But that had not been what the falling dog tried.

Instead of escaping, he shifted his feet midair, as if ready to activate his speed boosting Trigger.

And the moment he reached the highest point, he activated it.

But instead of going down or even shattering it himself, he continued his large arc.

His body turned and curved itself as if pole-vaulting.

The reason or the strange action became apparent a moment later.

"Tch."

A heated noise filled the air along with the building wind.

A green laser-like beam forcibly tore apart the air and crashed directly into Ninomiya's attack on the falling dog.

Said falling dog had managed to escape the attack by using the speed boosting Trigger to create his pole-vaulting movement.

The laser-like bream began to follow the arc that the dog would be taking, cutting down each shot that he had fired in preparation for the landing.

Ninomiya followed the laser-like beam to it's starting point.

The only thing there was a green orb.

.

Lobo: "Hahaha! Thanks for the save, Take!"

Colors: "You really are an impulsive mutt. What would you have done if I didn't show up when I did?"

Lobo: "I would have figured something out, I'm sure. But I didn't worry about it. I knew you were coming by, so I just thought that I would be fine regardless."

Colors: "…"

Lobo: "Don't just go silent on me!"

Toby grinned as he continued his ring movement.

The laser-like beam from his captain had made an exploding pathway for him in order for him to land without worry.

If that attack had not created the path, he would have given up a body part in order to continue moving. Since that was not the case here, he was more than willing to place his trust and survival on his friend.

And it had not just been him who he could rely on.

Honest Sister: "Heh heh heh."

The second round of Hound relying on speed came from the side he had jumped from.

Before any of them could reach him, multiple shields bloomed in the air, taking the hits easily and stopping their advance.

Toby's grin only widened upon seeing this.

Preparing himself for his landing, he turned his body so that he could go directly into his next action.

Now that both of his teammates had arrived, he would be escaping from the fight in order to group up with Hoshi, like they had planned.

Honest Sister: "Jk Operator, send over the information I have to our foolish dog. He can honestly use it to his advantage."

JK: "Already on it! Hey Lobo, get ready for some pretty damn high speed actions!"

What the hell does she think I've been doing this whole time…?

That trivial thought could only be allowed if he was certain that he did not need his brain at the moment.

With both Suzume and Takeshi now ready to help, he was given a bit more freedom in what he did.

His arms and legs all loosened up, and his thoughts became less focused and more trivial.

That was just the kind of effect his team now had on him. They were now a reliable bunch who could allow each other to ease up at a moment's notice.

I can't get too relaxed though. This guy is still someone that'll take the three of us to deal with. And I need to be going as it is.

There was still one person on their team who needed him to be there for her.

Lobo: "Hoshi, have you come across anyone yet?"

Prototype Star: "H-huh? Ah! N-no! I have been maintaining a low profile and staying away from the narrow spaces like I was told."

Toby nodded, taking note of how he seemed to have surprised her by his words.

Prototype Star: "Um… Toby-kun? Will you now be making your way over here?"

Lobo: "That's right. I should be there soon, so don't worry about a thing. Just make sure to stay out of sight of Snipers and play defensively if you get into a fight. A lot of the people here are offense heavy, so building up a defense should buy you some good time."

Prototype Star: "I see… Very well. I will hold off until you get here."

That was all he needed to hear as he landed on the ground with light feet.

Before he even began to move his feet, the activation of Headfirst Fall started as something began to push him from behind.

This was what Suzume had been talking about.

This would be his chance for at least one strike before his escape.

With his reflexes and speed, he would be able to at least dodge any close range attacks coming at him.

So with that in mind…

"I'm going!"

He ran.

"So he's really going for it, huh? You have to hand it to him, not many people would go straight for Ninomiya-san like that when they know they can't win."

Noah listened to what his upperclassman had to say.

Once his match had been over, he made sure to rush over so that he could watch the match Kotowari Squad would be participating in.

The match had barely started, but it felt like a lot had already happened. The difference between this match and his own was clear as day and he could only marvel at everything that was happening.

"He probably just wants to get one hit in before he leaves. Tobio only goes into an all-out losing fight when there are little stakes or there's no other choice. But that doesn't look like it's the case here."

The attention of some of the people around him quickly shifted to him.

Some of them continued their conversation, and he could see a crossdresser being dragged back to his seat off to the side, but he ignored those things. Right now he had to speak for his friend who was fighting.

"If he's acting like this, then Mr. Masataka is too much for him to handle. That's probably why he waited until the rest of Kotowari Squad got there."

"Heh heh. No need to get defensive, Shor. We all know what kind of person Awdry is. We are only saying that he has a good amount of determination for even trying it. Kuga-kun was the same during Round 4, but the difference was that he didn't know what he was getting into. Awdry here does. Although, you aren't the only one to feel that way. Right, Kitora-chan?"

"Nasu-senpai, please don't just redirect things over to malice that. Especially not when it comes to that mutt."

"That's right, you and Samu were there when Tobio and I were training. So you know what happened, Ai."

"Even if I wasn't there, he would have started annoying me with the details afterwards."

"Yeah, that does sound like him."

There was someone who knew as much as he did here.

Everyone around them seemed to be watching the match for specific people, and he was no different. While he was watching everyone around the map, he was more focused on supporting one of his best friends.

Kitora appeared to be here for the same reason.

"But even if he is a mutt, he is smart enough to know who not to mess with," she said with a hard expression.

"Yeah, but he usually forgoes that in favor of a good fight."

"He's an idiot like that."

"Actually, he's more of an animal. His instincts usually kick in and it pushes him towards the fight."

"So he's an idiotic animal. Although I knew that already."

"Hahaha. Yup, that sounds like a perfect way to describe him."

Even so.

"This just shows that he's not just doing as he wants for this match. He's actually thinking about what to do and how to handle the situations in front of him. Did you finally beat that into him, Ai?"

The sigh she gave with a head shake told him all he needed to know.

"I won't go into detail, but I'll just say that his family situation has played a part in his changes. It might be hard to see from here, but there is a clear difference now for him."

"Right… Those guys…"

If he could remain this focused and thoughtful during the fight, it meant that whatever his family had done was not something bad for him. The situation had gone in his favor and put him at ease here.

Noah felt his curiosity rise. Having not been told anything, he felt a bit left out on the matter.

Toby was one of his best friends and yet he had not been told anytime about the current situation with his parents.

I guess it's fine though. He doesn't need to tell us everything. And the fact only Ai seems to know just means he's really just telling people really close to him. That just means he'll tell me when he wants to.

For now, he only had to focus on the match.

His own match had finished earlier and Toby had been there to watch it.

The match had been a loss for his squad, but it had still been nice at the end, and he had learned some things because of it.

So right now was a time for his friend instead of himself.

And what his friend was doing was…

"Wait… What!?"

Takeshi saw it form his spot behind one of the tall buildings.

He stood in one of the narrow paths that Suzume had determined to be safe from the wind for the time being.

Both of them had moved closer to Toby in order to make sure he would be able to escape from the fight against Ninomiya.

Comparing the two, Ninomiya had the overwhelming advantage against their Attacker. Even if he took some hits, there was no doubt that Ninomiya would come out the victor.

So that was what they were for.

Takeshi controlled one of his trion orbs closer to the fight yet at a distance from himself. That made simple commands the only way he could attack. Anything more than that would require him to be closer to his trion orb, which was too close to Ninomiya for comfort.

But that was fine.

He only needed simple commands for now.

Toby was already moving to take his leave.

And the way he would do so was clear by his movements.

He's going to use the massive amount of wind going in that direction to boost his speed. From there, Headfirst Fall will activate and "push aside" anything in the way of his speed. If we didn't have Senpai here to determine the right timing, that wouldn't have been possible for him.

The three of them rarely worked together.

It was common knowledge that the three core members of the current Kotowari Squad were selfish during battles, so teaming up was always ruled out.

Until they actually did it.

We're still doing this selfishly here, but we decided on at least pairing up for this match.

He fixed his scarf as thoughts of their strategy meeting came flooding back to mind.

"Hah. Sometimes even I wonder what's wrong with us…"

.

"So, are we in agreement here? Hoshi will be backing me up this time while the two of you do whatever the hell you two do."

Toby had said those words without any thought.

He would selfishly charge in for fights, leaving everyone else to do as they please.

It was how he fought.

"Heh heh heh. Foolish dog. I want Hoshi-chan to myself, don't you know? Keeping up with you honestly tires anyone out. For Hoshi-chan to do that, she would need to become wild. And that is honestly not something any of us want. Instead, I'll take her so we have a nice front-to-back combo. It'll be perfect. We'll get the groin while also tagging the ass."

Suzume counted with wiggling hips and a smile.

She wanted to control the battlefield while maintaining a stable range.

It was how she fought.

The strange giggling from their temporary Operator only added to the unnecessarily loud voices.

Takeshi fixed his scarf, deciding not to get involved just yet.

The one who the two had been fighting over had yet to say anything, only looking down with her hands held in front of her. The look she wore while having the ground was a bit unnerving, but all focus had gone to the argument.

Letting out a sigh from his nose, Takeshi stepped forward to get between the arguing teammates.

"You two are making Hoshi uncomfortable. Stop being annoying and listen first. If you are going to be arguing over here, just let her choose who she wants to support for this match. We can work from there and adlib during the match."

"We've been doing that a lot recently, haven't we?"

"Really? I thought our plans usually went well enough."

"Of course you would think that, foolish dog. You got to go for a run with Kurauchi-senpai and a nice go at it hard with Yuba-san. You even had some fun during the attack while I was stuck on the roof. I should honestly smack you for having so much fun."

Suzume gave another laugh, forcing Toby to take a step back.

Takeshi only gave a sigh as he turned to Hoshi.

The girl's demeanor likely had nothing to do with the current argument, but he wanted to take that advantage to make their other two teammates shut up.

"Hoshi, what do you want to do here?"

The girl jumped.

"H-huh!? Ah… Um, I am fine with anything. Please, go on and decide where I should be placed."

"Hoshi-chan, you honest know that's not how we do things. We only throw each other at bullets when it's these two idiots. You and I are honestly safe from that stuff."

"Yeah, because you're usually the idiot you fires that bullet!"

The way Suzume flicked her wrist was akin to reprimanding a dog and none of them could deny what they saw.

"Anyways… Do you have any plans then, Hoshi? Remember that we will listen to what each other have to say."

A quick glare towards the other two quickly silenced them.

They were too obvious here.

"O-oh. Um, right… How about… We could pair up? There are four of us, and while I am the main support, would it not be better to be more cautious against such strong squads?"

"She has a point," Toby said with arms behind his head. "I'll brag about my own skills whenever I want, but even I know that I can't 1v1 Masataka or Kō. Everyone else is fair game for me though."

"I'll honestly say that sniping them is also a bit rough for me. Asagi-kun and Ariake-paisen can be annoying to hit, but Ninomiya Squad and Suzunari honestly know us well because of Yuki-san. Hoshi-chan and our JK Operator are the only two wildcards here, but neither one of them can properly fight on par with any of them without us playing an offensive role."

The complaint from Nakagami was dropped out by the dip of Hoshi's head.

They were all aware that she was not near the level of their opponents, so it would be even more important for someone to be around her during this match.

"So then whoever Hoshi isn't supporting will also pair up for this match. In that case, I think she should go with the mutt."

"Bold choice, Take. What are your thoughts behind that? I honestly want to team up with her too, but I'm curious as to why you think we should team up here."

"It's because of our respective range. Senpai, you and I have the best range among us, meaning we can keep the distance fights at bay, if not outright beat them. Toby is a close ranged specialist while Hoshi is a close-to-mid range fighter. So even if one needs help, the other can be right at their back. What's more, they are both way more nimble and flexible than we are. With Toby's Headfirst Fall, his speed makes him a good target while also leaving the two of us in trouble of keeping up."

"But I am not fast enough to keep up either. I also don't have something like Headfirst Fall to keep up either. Teleport is an option, but that leaves me with some time lag before and after use."

"That's right."

He added a "but" after.

"You two would draw your opponents in close, keeping them within a space for the both of you. Senpai and myself would try to maintain distance, putting us at odds with the two fo you."

"I see. So you honestly want us to go after specific targets after pairing up. In this case, we will honestly be keeping Ninomiya-san and Kō-san at a distance since those two are currently out of our reach. Meaning, Take and I will theoretically have to fight Inukai, Ariake-paisen, Asagi-kun, Taichi, and Kuruma-san. Meanwhile, Toby and Hoshi-chan will need to take out Seijin-san, Shigeko and Tsuji-kun. We have more opponents to fight, but they can get it done quickly."

"Exactly. We aren't looking for a huge victory here, but taking out those targets would be our priority. If we end up fighting either Ninomiya-san or Kō-san, we need to run. No point fighting a battle we all know we'll lose. Everyone got it?"

With a resounding response, Takeshi nodded.

They were once again being watched by someone important, so this time they would do better to show themselves capable of fighting with the top tier.

.

This is the end result…

"Hah… Of course it would end up like this."

Their current opponent was Ninomiya Masataka, the enemy of their former captain and currently someone that none of them wanted to fight. While their former captain's thoughts did not linger on them about the man, they still had their own thoughts on him.

But for now…

"Just leave already, you damn mutt."

The wind began to pick up more, blowing his scarf wildly behind him.

The same wind was the one that Toby would be using to make his charge towards his escape, at the same time passing by Ninomiya.

Ninomiya had already responded to the action by firing Hound towards the boy.

The two types of Hound flew forward, yet never reached their mark.

Takeshi gave the command to crash the laser-like beams into the powerful shots while shields bloomed in the air to stop the fast moving shots.

For his part, Toby activated Headfirst Fall, falling forward as the wind reached its peak.

As if moving along with the wind, he rushed forward with minimal steps, weaving through the remaining shots.

Upon reaching a few feet in front of Ninomiya, he forcibly threw his arm out as a Scorpion blade extended out.

It was only for an instant, and even Takeshi was unsure when it happened, but Toby had moved through the entire space between him and his escape route.

Free particles spread out into the air as a shattering light filled the remaining space.

Takeshi slowly turned his head in the direction the line followed.

Toby was already gone by the time he reached the end of the line with his eyes.

But the results were obvious.

The green particles had been from a cute he had managed to land on Ninomiya's side. It was shallow and could be stopped easily enough, but it was there. A hit had landed.

The shattering lights had been a mix of the blooming shields being hit as well as the Scorpion blade shattering after having been used.

It had taken him a few seconds to register all of it, but once he did, Takeshi realized just how amazing the entire thing had been.

Even if it had been Toby making the action and Suzume helping with the timing, it was still amazing to know that Toby had survived his encounter with Ninomiya and even managed to land a cut on him, no matter how shallow it was. It was proof that they had worked together enough to where Toby was safe to do that much and still continue afterwards.

Lobo: "Thanks for the help, you two! I'll make sure to cook us up something nice afterwards! Whether we win or we lose, I'll make sure it tastes great!"

Honest Sister: "Heh heh heh. Don't message while at high speeds or else you'll honestly crash."

Lobo: "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just make sure you two make it out alive, got it?"

It was a tall order considering it took all three of them for even this much.

Still…

Colors: "Just go meet up with Hoshi. You need to make up for the time lost here."

They would try to meet those expectations.

Yuki stared wide eyed at the screen.

His hand was frozen to the side, directly in front of a confused Sekai.

At some point he had lost his focus and his body began mimicking the actions on the screen.

Since his eyes traveled to Toby, he began to move forward, only being stopped by Sekai's arm.

Both the older man and Kimura had turned to him with varying expressions of shock, but he had not been able to see them as he continued to mimic the movements before his eyes.

He had lost control of his Side Effect.

"Kimura, keep going with commentary."

Listening to Sekai, she did just that, even while seeing the expressions of the group off to the side.

Manager: "U-uh… It seems that Agent Awdry has managed to get away from the fight against Captain Ninomiya. It required the help of his teammates, but it saved one of their best assets in this match."

WorTri: "He had managed to get a hit in as well. While it wasn't a major one, it just shows us that they are actually something if they manage to work together. Even now, they still seemed to only be working at the same time as each other, instead of working a single unit."

Manager: "In your opinion, who do you think they can best be compared to right now?"

WorTri: "Saying Kazama Squad or Azuma Squad's Attackers would be too much. Especially since we haven't seen them truly work together. I guess it would be better to say that this escape plan was what you should have expected from a normal squad, but is strange for Kotowari Squad in particular."

The two of them looked over to see what reaction Yuki would give, but his eyes continued to focus on the screen in front of them.

Feeling worried for him, Kimura looked up at Sekai to see what he would do.

His expression was not good.

"Kuu! Kuu! Heeeeey! Kawa and Yuki are doing some staring things! What are they staring at!? Blood and guts, and boobs and butts! Yeah! They're the type to do that! Especially since one of them has a girlfriend now! Yay! I'm not the only one going down the NTR route anymore! Welcome to the club, Yuki!"

"Shut up, you."

A new sound filled the air.

Laughter could be heard cruelty below them, but Kimura saw the true impact of the crossdresser's words after that.

"Uh…"

Yuki blinked a few times before shaking his head.

With his eyes no longer on the screen, he looked around to confirm his surroundings.

Once his eyes landed on Kimura, he shrank down a bit.

"Sorry about that… I wasn't focusing and lost control of my Side Effect there."

"You lost control…?"

He gave a weak smile while nodding his head. It was far different from what she had come to know of him, yet it seemed to be genuine.

"Now's not the time to talk about that though. We need to keep commenting on the match."

"R-right…"

Kimura cleared her throat once. In her head, she gave a thanks to the crossdresser for what he had done.

As if he knew what she was doing, he turned to her to wave frantically. Arafune had stepped in to slam his first onto the crossdresser's head.

Next to her, Yuki straightened himself up and Sekai shifted in his seat.

White Fox: "Toby may have gotten away from that, but that leaves Suzu and Take to deal with him. They can hold off for a time, but they aren't suited to beat him. His way of fighting splits them up to where they both have to defend form specific attacks. If either one of them messes up, they'll get taken out."

WorTri: "Masataka isn't the type to just wait things out like that either. At least not when he knows he can win. His trion reserves are larger than theirs, so it would make sense that he would use that to his advantage."

White Fox: "Suzu is a tank type, but that won't do much for her here. Likewise, Take is a heavy offensive type, so all he can do is attack what's coming at him. These things are difficult to get around when it comes to someone like him."

Manager: "But those two should have an easier time escaping than Agent Awdry, right? They can keep their distance, so they just need to make sure they don't get too close."

White Fox: "Normally, yes, that would be the case. The only issue is…"

Sekai nodded from Yuki's other side.

WorTri: "He's fought Yuki so many times now that even that might be irritating for them. Hah. They learned from Yuki, but he had faced off against Yuki. In a way, they are perfect opponents for him. Ones he can beast easily because of how they were trained."

White Fox: "I actually think they tossed everything out during their 'reset'."

Yuki did not make any movement as he continued on.

He was perfectly still.

White Fox: "Yeah… At the start of the B-Rank Wars, that would have been the case. People who followed my lead and stuck to that without question. The perfect targets for someone like him. But as things stand, they aren't like that anymore."

Manager: "Why do you say that?"

White Fox: "Easy."

He moved.

Yuki turned his head to face Kimura proper.

White Fox: "They managed to let Toby escape."

Hoshi saw light scattering through the sky.

…Wow!

The defense shields and the bullets striking them produced mutual destruction. The laser-like beams that flew parallel to them only added to the scenery.

Suzume caught all of the incoming bullets with defense shields and they both shattered.

A similar situation had occurred during their match against Nasu Squad and Katori Squad. Nasu had fired at a distance from the overpass they had been atop of.

Kotowari Squad had defended against it by cutting them down with the laser-like beams from Takeshi.

Thanks to Katori Squad's desperate fighting, Toby's charge, and Hoshi's sudden fall to the ground, they had successfully denied access to Nasu Squad.

Thinking back, her tendency toward doing strange things seemed to have begun there.

"But this is much different!"

The enemy was only targeting them this time.

Whether or not they were hit was entirely up to Kotowari Squad. From her seat at the monitor, Nakagami was quickly analyzing the situation and giving way for them to meet up as they had planned while they all moved to find each other instead of fighting losing battles.

Nakagami was perceiving and dealing with the situation on the map in real time.

JK: "Yawn."

That yawn was concerning, but while Hoshi continued running…

…Um.

As a support member, there was something she had to do more than the others headed toward new fights.

Prototype Star: "Excuse me, Toby-kun!"

Lobo: "Right!"

The fast paced Attacker had chosen to run along the ground and vacant narrow pathways after having made his escape from Ninomiya.

"Watch out for the third building to the east!" he shouted back at her.

She accelerated toward that third building.

She had used Fujin a lot since joining, but they were in a hurry here. Since her upperclassman and captain were already in the midst of fighting someone, she could not use that faulty prototype Trigger here.

She was confident in how quick she was on her feet. A lot of people were moving around a lot, from what she had been told, but based on unassisted running speed, she was directly behind only Shigenaga.

…Okay!

Her own acceleration style was different. She threw her legs forward, caught the stone pavement with her heels, and pulled her body forward.

Then she leaned her body forward.

"Support Hoshi is on the move!"

She ran.

A moment later, someone stepped out from behind the third building.

They wore a suit and tie uniform. It was an ambush.

…I knew it!

The enemy had more than just the bullets to stop them.

JK: "Hoshi-chan! Attack! Attack!"

Lobo: "That's not what we agreed on here!"

JK: "But it's Tsuji-kun! This is the perfect chance for her! Even a support type like Hoshi-chan can win this fight! It doesn't matter how much stronger he is than her or how much faster he is! The fact of the matter is that she is a girl!"

Lobo: "Oh crap… That's right."

JK: "Damn right that's right! Mukuro-kun told me all about it! Tsuji-kun is weak to girls!"

Maybe I should apologize once this match is over, thought Hoshi, but she had to respond to things here on the scene.

She moved herself to within a few steps of the enemy.

She slid her Kōgetsu's grip back in her right hand to hold it closer to the front.

She stabbed it straight out much like a long sword but also held it below her arm. In that moment she got a good look at the enemy.

…I am really sorry, Tsuji-san!

The distance between them was covered easily, yet he had been able to spot her rushing at him.

Upon seeing her, she had expected for a counter attack to come. No matter how weak to girls he was, she would not think it would slow him down much.

So she was prepared for his next action.

And that action was…

"…Ah?"

He disappeared from her sight.

No, it was not something as amazing as that.

He had moved fast enough that it made it seem that way to her.

In reality, he had fallen to the floor, grabbed a hold of himself and-

He's rolling!?

Tsuji's entire body began rolling away from her as if having been kicked like a soccer ball.

Once he came to a stop a few feet away, he jumped back and faced her.

The expression he wore was hard to properly see in the pitch black night, but even she could tell that he was comforting his face in a strange way.

Holding out her hand, she spoke exactly what was on her mind.

"Um, Tsuji-san?"

"…Y-yes?"

He did not look directly at her, but she continued anyways.

"…Would you like for me to leave?"