Emotion - Only_for_Others
Kushikage grinned as she blocked another powerful attack from her opponent. The two had been "lazily chucking their swords around" for the whole time they had been fighting. The thing was that to anyone else who would see them fight they would seem like two monsters hacking and slashing to their hearts content.
On the other side of that, Mukuro and his opponent contniued their relentless attacks. Neither one had been able to get a decisive hit in yet, but Mukuro seemed to be winning. If all the Trion leaking from Shona was something to go off of while Mukuro seemed unharmed.
He had a single blade that resembled a blowtorch coming out of his middle finger. Unlike the 5 meter ones he had been previously wielding, this one seemed around 25 meters long. He figured he would go for a single long blade instead of having it get closer.
He already found the range of his opponent's weapon after all.
The multiple whips that came from the single hilt could only reach up to 10 meters. Meaning that the distance of 25 meters was a good distance for Mukuro to be fighting at.
He lifted his other hand in a bored manner. A second blade came from his middle finger. This one was also 25 meters.
The whips made of Trion clashed with the blade made of Trion. When each one got destroyed they would reform. The amount of Trion this took was a large amount that one wouldn't expect from these two who looked like they wouldn't be much into working at all.
Seeing some Trion soldiers come up from the side, the four fighters turned and each took them out.
Kushikage and Yukia slashed at the soldiers and easily sliced them in half.
Mukuro easily and swiftly moved his left hand to cut multiple soldiers with just one blade.
Shona moved her wrist. The whips moved quickly and cut through each soldier.
What is she doing? As a matter of fact, why are they attacking the city at all?
Kushikage let out a small sigh before looking at her opponent with a sharp look.
"Hey, ya wanna get a little serious now? I'm getting bored with this."
"Really? Phew. I thought I was the only one."
"Great! Let's do this!"
Both Mukuro and Shona slightly moved their fight so that they weren't in range of the two animal-like people fighting.
Said two got crazed grin on their faces as they rushed at each other. They clashed their massive swords. While using only one hand, they both moved their blades at a fast pace that shouldn't be possible while using only a single hand.
"Those two are monsters..."
"This is taking too long..."
While swaying, the Neighbor known as Sanshū slowly stood up on the train's roof.
"I'm actually getting kinda mad now..."
The tunnel ceiling grew a bit lower.
Yuki bent his back without thinking, but Sanshū continued standing tall. Seeing the ceiling rushing past just above the top of her head actually worried Yuki a bit.
"You just won't go down... I'm not trying to kill you, but... If that's what it takes then fine..."
Yuki got ready with Idōgetsu in hand. He could tell something might have snapped in the girl's head for her to just suddenly say that.
"If you just didn't come to this world then this wouldn't have happened to begin with."
Yuki had been getting an odd feeling from the start of the whole thing, but put it aside so he could fight. The feeling was as if something was wrong, but he couldn't really tell what it was.
"My creations... I've made a lot while on this world... Now they're being taken control of and destroyed..."
A self-deprecating smile appeared on the girl's face. That smile appeared based on the will of a mother that looks like she had just lost a child.
"I hate using them like this, but I said I would, so I have to."
Talking to an opponent while in the middle of a battle was never something good. It always appeared in managa and anime where they needed to fill in the time or panels for the chapter or episode. It felt odd to Yuki to talk this much while in a fight on top of a train, but he still felt the odd feeling.
He didn't think she actually wanted to be doing this in the first place.
"We've been kicked out of our countries..." Sanshū's voice started to get lower. "And we need to keep moving around, so of course we need to do this..." She looked at Yuki with an almost sad look. "But just waltzing onto another world is bad, right?"
"..."
Yuki let out a small sigh. From what he was hearing, the idea that they were actually "attacking" the world seemed like it was the odd part.
What if they were just stopping to get something they needed, besides Trion, and had gone about it the wrong way?
But that was not the case.
"The civilians aren't in danger in Mikado City, but that other city is a different story. You put up a large barrier while using the Trion from the people there for all of this. While I'm not in any faction, and am fine with hearing you out, I can't overlook what I've been told. That city has buildings destroyed and the people there are scared."
"That wasn't me. I didn't order any destruction like that. My creations have been taken over by an obvious traitor. No... He was probably already like that from when our leader and former leader made him. I'm busy with you here to deal with him though. And it doesn't matter if I want to destroy him completely. Our leader wouldn't allow it."
"Then clearly he isn't a good leader." The image of one of his friends and his sister appeared in Yuki's head. "And how do you know for sure that it was him? Something could be going on that you don't know of, so think about it more carefully."
"I had heard you people have something called Bail Out, but... You really want to die." Sanshū gave Yuki a dark look while pulling out another core. "I know it's him. And if you ever say that our leader is a bad leader again then I'll make sure you die."
Those words sounded more like a sister talking about her older brother than a mother now.
That brought up the image of his own sister now. The younger one who he found to be too innocent.
He let out another sigh and got a more dull look as the crescent blade appeared at the pointed end of Idōgetsu.
"Let's leave the talking during battle to manga."
Yuki heard a sound like something solid being scratched at. By the time he realized something was wrong, it was too late.
"Fine! Just drop to the ground already!"
It came from below. But there was nothing on the roof of the train below their feet. It came from further below than that.
They were standing on a five-car train. There was a large space inside that giant box. When he had outwitted Sanshū by using Teleport, he had been so focused on supporting his body that he had looked only at the hands supporting his weight. He had never looked inside the train car. But what if Sanshū had made effective use of that space?
What if she had called in a large number of soldiers while fighting Yuki and had fed them all to a single monster to fatten it up?
"70%. Balanced. Shift/ /Ultimate #2!"
Just as the five-car train left the tunnel and appeared outside, Yuki's entire vision was filled with bright sunlight.
An attack came in that instant he was blinded.
Sanshū cried out and something inside the car Yuki stood on ripped it apart like plastic. A much too large golden soldier with the body of a falcon appeared with its wings pointed around its body. Sanshū took three or four steps backwards and moved to the next car forward. By the time Yuki saw that, the entire destroyed car had already been tossed into the air. The following cars were dragged along and derailed.
He thought of using Teleport to land on one of the cars, but noticed how Sanshū kept a keen eye on his own eyes. He would be smashed to pieces along with the back cars being turned to scrap.
"Shit!"
The woman in the transparent dress stood out of reach in front of him.
Like hell I'd lose like this! If anyone saw the rep of the Yagura Branch lose then... Screw it!
Suddenly, the falling motion of Yuki's body clearly changed. This was due to external interference. When he realized that, Yuki finally noticed someone was grabbing onto the back of his uniform.
It was a girl who had fallen from the sky. It was a girl who had carried out the acrobatics needed to jump onto the roof of the train. It was a girl who could jump from from the top of the large hill nearby using her specialized Trigger made just for her.
It was Takaoto Mei.
The A-Rank who had traded in her spot as a Combatant to be an Operator landed on the roof of the train like an arrow stabbing into it.
Only two cars remained.
Yuki clicked his tongue. Not because he was saved by the girl he was a close friend with. No. It was a must simpler reason.
"Pathetic." There stood Ninomiya Masataka. He looked towards Sanshū while speaking to Yuki. "I finally caught up to you, you idiot. Just because Akasora-san isn't around doesn't mean you can go and jump out of the car like that. Not only that, but you look like you're having a hard time.
The girl with a hime-cut hair style sighed.
"Could you two please not argue right now? I had to leave a certain someone to find Mikado City on their own and don't feel like dealing with your stupidity right now. Sorry, Yuki, but I'm joining in this fight. The sooner we get this done the sooner we can get back to Mikado."
He hated the fact he need to ask this from someone he hated. He also didn't want to seem like he couldn't handle the situation in front of the person he had a special relationship with.
But right how he knew that dealing with the opponent in front of them was more important than his own petty feelings. He would not worry about appearances. It did not matter if it was pathetic, or embarrassing. If it would allow him to end the day with their win, he would use anything. He would use anything and get anyone involved.
"Alright then. That girl's Trigger is a stupidly strong one that can create Trion soldiers by using the cores she keeps on her. There's around a 3 second delay from when they are scanned and when they are ready for fighting."
Yuki stood up straight and tightened his grip on Idōgetsu.
I'll stab this guy with a pencil if he tells anyone I said this...
Letting out one more sigh, Yuki changed his weapon from a crescent shape to that of a regular scythe.
"I need your help. I want to end this right now."
In that instant, Ninomiya, the person Yuki hated the most and who hated him just as much, got a small smile on his face. It wasn't a pleasant smile. It was one that someone would wear when they had just seen that they had won against everything that stood in their way.
In that instant, Mei, the one person in the world who knew Yuki the best, got a smile on her face. It was the smile that someone would find on a person who had just been told that their love had been returned in full.
They did not think it was too much to ask. They did not find it to be a bother. They had been waiting for those words for so long.
One saw it as win against a hard fought opponent while the other saw it as the person who knew her best finally understands that he needs her. They both got ready for the end of the fight. They had made up their minds. The answer they had to give here was not something long and unending. They could take their time with that once this was all over.
They knew what would currently feel best as an answer for that boy who felt like he couslnt do this alone and was seeking help.
"Leave it to me."
The two agents took a large step forward to show their own determination.
At the same moment, the train shot back into a tunnel.
Ahead of them was the humanoid Neighbor named Sanshū. Behind them were the sounds of destruction as Ultimate #2 charged into the tunnel. It was clearly too large for the half circle space of the tunnel. If it continued forward, it could easily blow away the two remaining cars of the train. A powerful enemy lay ahead and behind, but Ninomiya and Mei both gave smiles.
They would beat down their opponent and show her that they were some of Border's best agents.
.
It did not matter how many new enemies arrived, Sanshū held a key that ensured her victory. While ignoring the tunnel ceiling growing lower again, she stared at her enemies and shouted.
"20%. Soft. Make/ /Boar."
She threw a core, a scanning occurred around it, and a boar was made. That was all she had to do.
The boar wasn't made with the intent of attacking or defending. It had a completely different function at the time. Sanshū would be forced back into her real body if she stalled when she lands on the tracks below, so that's what Boar was for. It was meant to quickly run away when she landed on it.
Now she merely had to send Ultimate #2 charging in from behind. The attack would fill the entire tunnel and smash the train to pieces. That would annihilate her enemies. Both Sanshū and her enemies would be thrown into the air, but Sanshū alone would have a cushion to allow herself to escape with her Trion body in tact.
No matter how dirty the method, she would make sure to win for her revenge on the one taking control of her creations. She would not stand for anyone, even her leader, to take over what she herself created.
"Destroy everything, Ultimate #2!"
She gave the final command. That giant falcon gained an extra burst of speed as if crossing the final line. That falcon had used up 70% of Sanshū's own Trion. Even if it ran headlong into a ten-car linear motor train, it would smash the train without taking any damage itself.
However, something happened just before the falcon struck.
"Shut up."
Mei jumped back as if performing a backflip.
The use of her specialized Trigger pushed her forcefully toward the back of the train. It looked like she was throwing a dropkick with the force of a shell. That short and slender girl would be in trouble if she got hit with a Trion-based attack and get smashed the instant she touched any spot on the tunnel with her real body, but she did not hesitate to jump from the safe zone and toward Ultimate #2.
The greatest roar yet burst out. And that roar was followed by many more.
As Mei launched herself horizontally toward the falcon, she could be seen pulling her fists back. She fired shots repeatedly at point blank range. These were powerful shots that mixed Asteroid with Asteroid to create a powerful composite bullet. She had equipped it to her gloves and fired it again and again to her heart's content.
The entire tunnel shook ominously and small fragments fell from the ceiling.
"That's...so damn crazy..."
The giant falcon's advance was stopped in an instant.
Sanshū and the others' on the moving train saw what could only be called its remnants disappearing. The Neighbor's mind had numbed to the point that she could understand nothing more than that.
Now that Ultimate #2 could not destroy the train, Sanshū had to rethink her entire plan.
But Yuki and Ninomiya were not going to give her that time. Just as the tunnel ceiling rose up, the two of them took a few large steps forward with two Trion cubes appearing next to Ninomiya.
"Tch!"
Sanshū scattered many, many cores across the roof. She planned to go all out and use any Trion she had gotten from an outside source. As long as she won or escaped she didn't care about her pride.
"20%. Eat. Make/ /Leo. 20%. Speed. Make/ /Deer. 20%. Sturdy. Make/ /Rhino. 10%. Eat. Make/ /Cheetah. 10%. Power. Eat/ /Boar."
Who would produce what and what would eat what was something she knew. She spread her options as wide as she could. She could force her way through with numbers or she could crush them with one giant monster. She expanded a spider web-like flowchart that allowed her to adapt to any number of situations.
However…
"Hound."
Sanshū's entire body stiffened as the captain of the #1 B-Rank squad said this.
The Trion cubes next to Ninomiya spilt up into smaller, prickly ones before shooting forward. They quickly destroyed each soldier's core, leaving them useless.
The other shots flew in the air and shot right through Sanshū in an instant.
Or rather, that's how it should have been. What really happened was that the shots fired destroyed the transparent dress she had on and nothing more. What's more was the fact that the dress regenerated.
This didn't faze the B-Rank though as another two large cubes of Trion appeared next to him. He had an expression on his face that showed he would win no matter what he was about to destroy. Whether it was the girl, her dress, her creations or even the train itself.
Yuki prepared Idōgetsu for the strike he needed to win. He didn't move forward for the single fact that Ninomiya wouldn't hesitate to shoot him full of holes as well. In a way, Yuki was glad that Ninomiya was so cold.
Seeing that her creation would be destroyed faster and faster, Sanshū started to worry more. That didn't stop her though as she threw a few more cores on the train's roof. They were quickly destroyed by shots before the scanning could even begin, but not all of them were gone.
I won't lose...
A great cry exploded out. It was accompanied by a heavy roar.
A large man and a giant horse had taken a step forward from behind her. They were both looked too large to be anything regular, but were still small enough to stand upright in the limited space of the tunnel.
If any of them thought about it, there was no meaning in this fight. One side just wanted to protect their world, especially since it had just recently been attacked. The other side just wanted to test something out. The girl in front of them just wanted to get back at the one taking control of her creations.
But they still continued on. The reason Sanshū did not back down was because she did not want to lose. She wanted to show just how strong her creations really were. She would win using any methods so long as her opponents saw her creations in action.
"Next time, you should take out all of them. Please do you're job right, Ninomiya-sama."
"Keep that up and I'll fill you full of holes first."
The two bickered like usual. They didn't feel as threatened as they should be when facing an opponent like this.
"That dress she has on is a annoyance."
"And what are you going to do about it?" Yuki grinned as he spoke. He knew what was going to be said.
"... Tsk." Ninomiya's expression turned into one of irritation. "I'll take out her creations and make an opening. Be useful and at least distract her before going into your real body."
Yuki and the soldiers ran full speed toward each other. They didn't clash though as some shots came from behind Yuki and destroyed the two.
While it was an important element that would decide the trend of the situation, it was a trivial matter that did not produce a single scratch. Ninomiya had put aside his own pride to work along side Yuki and take out the soldier being mass produced.
The girl who wanted to show off her creations let out a bestial cry.
Yuki grinned as he swatted away the fallen soldier and continued towards the Neighbor.
"It's over, girl," he said without thinking. "We can talk when you're out of that body!"
.
The battered train left the dark, dark tunnel and it entered the bright, white sunlight.
"... Man..."
The train no longer held any soldiers with the strength to crush a human in a single blow or anyone who would use their Trion to keep the agents of Border away from their city.
"I can't believe I actually lost..."
Sanshū lay on the train, looking up at the sky. She had been defeated by some of Border's best agents. She currently couldn't make more soldiers to attack, so she was defenseless.
"Now then-"
"Hold up, Masataka." Yuki walked in front of Ninomiya and put his arm up. "Don't go doing something stupid. She can't fight back now, and I said I would hear her out."
"I don't care. Besides, it wasn't like I was going to kill her. What an idiot."
"Tsk. This coming from an airhead. What an insult."
"Both of you idiots, shut up." Mei walked up to them and hit them on the head. She then turned to the fallen girl. "I know very little about what is going on. Now let's hear what you have to say."
"Pyrínas is the bastard who's currently taking control of the Trion soldiers I've made so far." She turned her gaze to Yuki. "That's why they were destroying that city. I commanded them to only make people in Trion bodies go into their real bodies before leaving."
"I see... So that 'traitor' you mentioned was this Pyrínas guy, right?"
"He's also a Trion Soldier, but yes. And to answer your question from before... I know he's a traitor... He's done this before. I just recently found out myself. I had brought it up with our leader, but he didn't believe me. He's the one who helped to make Pyrínas Original, so that's why I said he wouldn't do anything."
Yuki let out a small sigh. He himself didn't even know what was going on, so he felt bad for assuming things right off the bat.
Either way, he decided that they should all go back to Mikado City instead. He wasn't sure if he could get in contact with anyone with how far away they currently were, so he wanted to go and inform them of everything he had learned and about what Mei currently knew.
"Man... This kinda sucks."
There was a sense of unease as Akasora stood in Mikado City.
Once he made it to the city, he had met up with Shinoda to get the second part of Shikifuku.
Director Shinoda was qualified to use this part of Shikifuku yet he waited for Akasora to make it to the city before taking any actions with it. It may have been because Akasora was more adept at using that part of Shikifuku than either Shinoda or Seidō. While at the same time Shinoda was better at using the first part of Shikifuku - the blade - and Seidō was best at the third part - the shield.
This meant that the only two parts of Shikifuku that were in Mikado City were being used by the best. It was an inevitable fight that could not be held off by any means.
That was why Akasora was uneasy.
At the same time, he was a bit excited to fight his friend once more. This sort of opportunity had left him long ago when his friend had left. While it was an important fight that he had to win, it still felt like the competitions they use to have between them and Shinoda.
Maybe it was that sentiment that made him not want to start the fight with Shikifuku.
Akasora was currently in his regular Trion Body with Kōgetsu hanging at his hip. His tracksuit was a different color from his usual one and his stance was leaning towards a very offensive position with only a few places seeming to be defended.
"How strange. I thought that you would have been in a hurry to break those barriers that were keeping the branch offices and HQ from helping out too much. I guess you go a bit senile with age after all. I'm glad that hasn't happened to me yet."
"How strange. I thought that you were in the middle of a fight with some strange opponent. I guess you couldn't win so you decided to come to me. And what about your subordinate? Do you think you can win without her? I guess you go a bit senile with age after all. I'm glad that hasn't happened to me yet."
Akasora looked forward to see a man around his age walk forward. Opposite to his sudden-danger appearance, Seidō had a sort of subtle-danger to him. They were both different from Shinoda's calm-danger feeling and took pride in knowing that fact. There was a feeling of mutual respect between the two as silence overtook them.
It was not the best way to see an old friend again, but they both viewed it as the best way to meet each other again. While it was a bit saddening to see one of them missing, they both knew that if Shinoda was there then it would turn into an unfair match with Akasora and Shinoda teaming up against Seidō in order to protect the peace of the city and their own respective lives.
"So, you have two options here. Before you interrupt me, like you tend to do, let me explain them first. Them you can go on complaining, like you tend to do."
"As a friend, fine. I'll let you finish before smacking you, like I tend to do."
Akasora let out a chuckle.
"The first is to help us out, or stay out of the way, and then go out for drinks so we can talk about the old days while finding a way to make sure you don't end up in prison for stealing. I'm sure that Masafumi and Takumi would love to berate you for your stupidity."
"..."
"The second option is to get ready for a fight. No... Let me rephrase that. The second option is to get ready to lose and then get your ass thrown into prison. Once you're done with your sentence we can go out for drinks. Either way, I need an excuse to get drunk as hell after today."
Akasora already the answer.
He was not the best at using the shield provided by Shikifuku, but he was smart enough to know what his friend would choose. It was obvious that Seidō had not changed too much from when they had fought side-by-side against Neighbors. That much he was glad for.
"That girl..."
Akasora tilted his head a bit.
"I want protection for that girl if I really can't accomplish my goal and lose to you. She has done nothing wrong but follow my orders. Even then, she appears to not have even told me that she met with a Taiyōko. If you manage to capture me, I want it to be known that I have no connection to that girl, no matter what she says."
That was unexpected.
He let out a sigh.
This was not what Akasora had thought would be said. In fact, it made him rather annoyed that these were the words that came out of Seidō's mouth.
"You know, it really pisses me off that you speak of this girl like that while not even asking how your own son is doing. Have you given up on him? If so, that's fine. I've already taken custody of him. I've kept that child informed on you, enough to where he at least knows you exist as a decent person. Right now though... I feel like it's best that he forgets that you even exist."
"..."
"I will make sure that girl is protected. My grudge is against you, not someone I don't even know. Unlike you, I can appreciate those who are living as well as those who once lived. I'm glad to see that you care for that girl, but that doesn't make up at all for you being a piece of shit father."
"I was never hoping it would. I already know, for a fact, that I am a terrible father. Even if I tell you that I did not leave because of him, because he reminds me of her, or even because I just wanted to leave, you would not think it's the truth. That boy was always an introvert and I probably made things worse for him. I can apologize for that, but it doesn't mean that I am forgiven for it. Go on, tell me I'm wrong."
"I won't be getting your hopes up by saying that you will be forgiven. Actually, I don't want you near that boy ever again. But then again, that's not up to me. You are still his father and he is always trusted to do things without supervision. He is much more mature than either you or me."
"Is that so...?"
Akasora let out a laugh when he thought of just how true that statement was.
While the two of them, and most likely Shinoda, wanted to have a grudge match, Tenryū Shokubutsu was busy helping others in his own way. While he did not know what exactly his newphew was doing, Akasora knew well enough that Shobu was not just in some corner, keeping away from everything going on. That boy was much more active then he gave himself credit for.
No matter how much Shobu would say that he was a nobody, that he should just fade away, the boy understood what needed to be done, how it should be done and the best way to go about it. He understood everything far better than most adults twice his age and with more experience.
At the same time, he was much more humble and shy than any person around. His tone, expression, body language and way of speaking gave everything away, yet hid the most important parts from the world. Those same parts were only ever shown to a number of people that could be counted on one hand.
Huh. Even if Seidō would want to see him, he would have to deal with Yuki, Mei and those other two first. Even if I let him, Yuki and Mei are guaranteed to pick a fight with him over this. Even Kō might get involved. He's been hanging around our office a bit, and I see him with my newphew a few times.
Akasora was pleased to know that he really did not have to worry about Shobu. That, even if he was not there, people were still around to be with his newphew and keep him both safe and happy.
He felt much more like a parent than he saw Seidō.
"Right. Now then, you need to answer. Which of those two options would you like?"
Seidō let out a sigh while turning on his Trigger.
"That answer is obvious. I will gladly take the third option of beating you then moving on."
"Rainbow yakisoba!" announced Mitsubachi as she proudly showed off a noodle dish that's coloration was obviously much too artificial.
They had visited around 13 "safe areas", but the children were showing no sign of tiring. Given the makeup of their muscle tissue, they had to have been feeling fatigue, but Rhinoceros Beetle 07 determined the chemical secretions in their brains must have been slowing their awareness of that fact.
I wish...
Rhinoceros Beetle 07 thought while an odd cracking noise could be heard from within its body.
I wish I could deal with it in the same way...
It was made from the Wanderers' best Trion Soldier's Trion.
Originally, Rhinoceros Beetle 07 could have easily taken a blast from an Ibis and could have regenerated almost instantly from a blast from a Meteora shot.
But the beetle was not actually all that tough.
It may have been similar to how the skin protecting an animal would rot if it was not made into a sturdy bag.
The slave was nothing more than a wonderful material. It was the master's job to make use of it.
"Mr. Beetle, why are you being so quiet?"
"Oh, no reason..."
"Are you hungry? You can seriously have half of my rainbow yakisoba!"
"I wish to decline that offer with all of my being..."
Rhinoceros Beetle 07 focused on rechecking its condition while hiding its internal destruction.
His fellow rhinoceros beetles and the Wanderers's best Trion Soldier, Pyrínas, had to still be pursuing them. The beetle had input the initial condition that the chance of danger was lower if they remained constantly on the move than if they remained in one place. And on top of that, it had decided letting their path be decided by those children's seemingly random ideas was harder to read than mechanically calculating out the shortest and most optimal escape route.
Then again...
It did mostly come down to the fact that Rhinoceros Beetle 07 and Stepney had simply given in to Michelle and Mitsubachi who were restlessly darting from one place to the next.
"Heh heh heh. I have filled in half the stamps."
Mitsubachi had bought a bag filled with various prism-shaped sugar candies, but after grabbing just two or three of them, she tied up the clear bag with a fluffily decorated wire.
"These are a present. I'll seriously put the, in a storage area."
It seemed the "storage area" was Rhinoceros Beetle 07's cannon barrel. Ever since they had acquired that fluffy wire, the girls had been tying bags filled with sweets to that cannon like it was a clothesline.
"A butterfly would seriously be cuter."
"(You are being prejudiced. Please think about it rationally. You cannot tell them apart from moths.)"
"Hah hah hah. Yes, but a rhinoceros beetle with a black shine would seriously look just like a cockroa-..."
The beetle vibrated its giant thin wings to block out the rest of her comment with a reverse phase sound wave.
There were some things that simply should not be said.
"Um, can we get back to the real issue at hand...?" asked the beetle.
"Hm? What's that?"
"Your earlier comments suggested you wished to take action to save Pyrínas, but how do you plan to do that...? One problem that occurs to me is that we do not know where he is anymore..."
"Mr. Beetle, can't you use some kind of reverse tracking to find out where he is?" Stepney looked down from his spot on the beetle's back. "I figure that you are connected in some way that can track each other, which can be used backwards. If that's true, having you been doing something so they can't track you?"
"Stepney, that sounds seriously complicated! What are you even saying?"
"That is..."
Rhinoceros Beetle was going to finish with "...strangely accurate", but it did not put that part to words.
Even someone who had no reason to target Michelle, Stepney and Mitsubachi directly could use that as a reason to target the children in order to pursue Pyrínas.
Also, Michelle, Stepney and Mitsubachi seemed to want to help unconditionally, so they had given no thought to what would happen once they found Pyrínas. The beetle approved of the idea of saving him, but approaching him unconditionally was like asking to be attacked. They needed some kind of plan.
"Anyway, we bought a bunch of presents, so let's go seriously meet him now."
"(I already told you I get to go first! Don't run off like that!)"
Rhinoceros Beetle 07 heard the sound of a large crack forming as it began pursuit of those girls who had run off in some random direction once more.
Measuring self collapse pattern. Adding burden caused by travel method. Beginning simulation... Some ability to control direction of crack advancement proven...
Rhinoceros Beetle 07 could not avoid the cracks from forming, but it seemed able to control where they formed and how quickly they spread with its own actions.
The beetle called up a few tactical patterns and came to a conclusion.
Cutting off crack advancement towards body surface... Readjusting direction of collapse towards inner portions of body... I need to remember that Stepney is on top of me...
Even if it was made of Trion, no one would normally decide to allow their inner structure be eaten away to protect their outer appearance.
And yet Rhinoceros Beetle 07 chose to do so.
If its damage was discovered, Michelle and Mitsubachi's random movements would be restricted.
The beetle had determined one of the reasons they had yet to be attacked was because of the randomness of their movements that no adult could predict.
That meant the worst thing they could do was stay in one place.
The beetle saw no meaning in drawing out their utterly useless emotions in that moment.
"Hey! Hurry up! The rainbow yakisoba is going to get cold before we can give it to him!"
"Understood..." said Rhinoceros Beetle 07 using the artificial voice created by its giant wings.
It then began to think.
According to the data related to Pyrínas that had been inputted into it as general knowledge, he was trying to acquire a large amount of information by consuming Michelle.
Once he had seen his "target", he would head straight for it while ignoring any obstacles in the way. It did not matter if there was lava or a concrete wall in between.
But if Pyrínas only knew how to head straight for his target without taking any danger into account, could it be possible to set up a trap?
Or could something cause him to no longer view Michelle as his target and stray from that path?
But in both cases, I have too little sample information... And it is much too dangerous to attempt to gather information on the scene...
The beetle of course could not entrust the children to such a reckless plan.
If it came to it, Rhinoceros Beetle 07 would have to place itself in between them.
In its perfect state, Rhinoceros Beetle 07 was a monster supported by the Trion Soldier they were trying to help. It was possible it would be able to acquire some information during a fight with Pyrínas that could be used as a hint. Even if it broke itself apart for breaking an unspoken rule.
But...
Ominous cracks were beginning to run through Rhinoceros Beetle 07's body.
How long it would last was an unknown value.
In the worst case, it could even shatter like a piece of glasswork during the clash.
From the beginning, I had incorporated into the plan that I will eventually be destroyed...
Rhinoceros Beetle 07 thought silently while speeding up its legs to catch up with Michelle and Mitsubachi.
It had to make sure the children suspected nothing.
But I hope to find some method of ensuring their safety before I am destroyed...
It looked up into the sky.
The sky was entirely dyed blue. Its shade was as clear as an answer reached via proven formulas.
But a large building was also in the sky.
For some reason, the large screen on its side was showing an image of schoolgirls in swimsuits.
"The beauty contest at the main stadium is causing lots of excitement on this day! The amazing freedom of allowing outsiders to participate and allowing the contestants to bring their own swimsuits has really raised the level of the competition! I'm sure some of you are wondering if bandages or bandaids really count as swimsuits, but let's not worry too much about that! But of those with normal swimsuits, the two with the most focus are definitely Border's Tsukimi Ren-san and the well-known and busty Kunichika Yuu-san! I've gotta say, they are pretty damn amazing!"
"I am only up here because my friends forced me."
"I just need to ask: why did I all of a sudden find myself on this stage doing this?"
Rhinoceros Beetle 07 did not want the girls staring at that, so it opened up the pieces of armor used to store its giant wings and blocked the children's view.
Having that formulaic blue sky filled with the color of skin seemed to ruin it in a few different ways.
He had a plan.
Akasora already figured out what his plan was. As he ran through the city, being followed by Tenryū Seidō, he put his plan into motion. He secretly spread out wires. He put two types out. One was for Seidō to see and dodge while the other...
"Meteora."
The first shot came.
Actually, it was less of a shot and more of a bombardment.
An explosive noise split the air.
Those who knew the area the two were in would know that the buildings around them were actually quite large. A blast of green smashed into the one of buildings that Akasora hid behind. The building didn't stand a chance and started to fall.
Seidō had tried to take out Akasora with the first hit to get him in his real body. The other shots were fired in order to take him out while in his real body.
His measurements had been off due to the wires spread out through the area.
The second layer of wires that were thin.
Originally, Akasora had been intending to use them for a trap to tangle up his opponent, but he ended up using in a different way. As a result, the wires sliced straight through the buildings they were connected to so they would block the trajectory of the blasts.
The shot hit one of the buildings which slightly altered its trajectory. This prevented Akasora from going back into his real body.
But…
"That," said the cold man chasing Akasora, "won't work again."
Another single shot came flying toward Akasora. It was likely simply being shot as a large blast to take out anything with brute force.
But Akasora knew what to do.
By making it past the first shot, he had gained the important information of which direction Seidō was aiming for. He also knew how quickly the shots flew. With that much information, he could deal with them as long as he focused.
Akasora's right hand naturally reached for the sword hanging at his waist.
With his quick movement and strong blade, he thought he could deal with the shots as they headed his way.
However, just before he pulled the blade from its scabbard, Akasora's body stiffened.
He knew the feeling he had right at the bottom of his gut. It was the feeling he saw in every opponent who he had used his Side Effect against.
His Side Effect was, in basic terms, an enhancement in his intimidation. It was a Side Effect that could only work on things that understood danger.
He was facing a person with a similar Side Effect.
Akasora just barely managed to sneak himself out of it and avoid the shot by bending backward. It had slightly grazed him as it passed.
With him being on the edge of a building the balance he had was gone, making him start to fall. Having missed its target, the shot once more struck a building. It held just as much destructive power as the previous one.
"Wow~ I guess you're just as good as ever."
"The same can be said of you."
This time, no attack came.
Instead, the attacker himself charged toward Akasora with tremendous speed. He just barely remained below the speed of where he couldn't turn or change direction if necessary.
The theory that the attacker might be Seidō, and not someone who was using a Trion body to look like him, had been more or less proven with that bombardment and overwhelming speed. Seidō's capacity was about equal to Akasora's and Shinoda's. That being said...
Since it really was Seidō, there was not enough of a gap between their strengths for Akasora to defeat him in a single strike.
"Tsk!"
Just as Akasora drew his sword, a heavy push was felt on the blade. It was due to the blow from Seidō's blade that approached silently at high speed.
Seidō, the attacker, was a man with black hair that ended just below his black eyes. He was the same age as Akasora and Shinoda. He wore an outfit that seemed to mix different styles with Indian, Chinese and American mixed in.
He gave an odd impression. And yet, as a whole, it all had an odd sense of unity. It looked as if he had multiple tricks up his sleeve and execute each one with much room to spare.
He was always a bit of a show off.
Akasora pressed his sword as far forward as he could and looked at Seidō's sword. It was an like the ones used by agents who wanted more power in their strikes.
It was Kōgetsu.
"It's been a tie between the three of us," Seidō said as he gripped the hit with both hands. "We're each at 50 wins with each other."
"Let's fix that now."
Seidō moved his arms. The movement was to pull his blade back. He did this to create a gap of a few centimeters between the two blades and then being swung in a curving arc toward Akasora once it was free.
It was not simply being swung down with no real thought being put into it. It was a refined attack.
The strike was fast, sharp, and heavy enough to be referred to in that way. Akasora just barely managed to catch it on his own sword. Even after fighting this man for a long time he just barely manged that block. Immediately after Akasora realized that fact, Seidō began sending blow after blow with with blade.
The exchange caused showed Akasora just how much the other had changed.
That wasn't all.
At some point, Seidō had pulled out a Scorpion blade. He was now attacking with what could be called a Trion-made Daishō pair of swords.
Not only that, but he was not just fast. He was not just raining blows down. Each attack was thought out and tried to slip through Akasora's defenses and the blows against his blade held a murderous intent that wore on one's mind. Akasora's eyes grew sharp as he felt that intent and swung his blade repeatedly at the same speed.
Seidō did not just force his way through using his power. He could only produce such blows because he had decided he would win and had trained and trained to bring himself to this point.
Meaning he was now on the exact same level as Akasora.
Akasora put even more force and speed into his blade.
But Seidō was able to keep up. Having fought multiple times wasn't any help at this point.
Then something changed.
As they clashed something felt off.
Akasora had a more animalistic style that seemed to be smashing through Seidō's own attacks.
"Tch."
Seidō jumped back seeming to have realized something.
Akasora glared he held his sword out at the ready. Seidō switched to a two-handed grip on his blade and looked down at it.
The blade had chipped in places. Like a poor-quality comb, it had thin, irregularly spaced gaps a few centimeters deep running along it. During their exchange of blows, Akasora's own blade had eaten into his.
When it came to a fight of equals who used the same weapon, the best bet one could hope for was that they would have more Trion to destroy their opponent's weapon.
"So you have the same amount of Trion as before, huh?"
"Like I'd let it rot away. I've only been a teacher for a year, but I still continued to train with the agents I helped in Border. Not to mention that score you said before was wrong. My score with Masafumi is 71 to 70 with me in the lead."
"I see."
There was no major visible change, but the murderous intent he had been sending straight forward receded. He had changed to a defensive stance or perhaps one for retreat. He may have been thinking of leaving while the damage was minimal. Seidō had completely switched out his strategy.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Don't get me wrong here. My objective isn't you... Yet. I only came after you because I wanted to know if you really did get better than before. I've got another top priority to attend to."
"So you thought that I really didn't have Shikifuku on me."
"It appears that I was wrong."
Seidō smiled.
As Seidō started to turn away, Akasora lowered his hips slightly and focused on Kōgetsu. He had been on top in the exchange of blows with the same weapon. If he pushed forward, he could break the sword.
"Is this really such a good idea?" asked Seidō even though he did not seem too interested. "Remember that Mikado City is still trapped within itself. Border HQ and the branches are covered in Trion and it will be hard to escape."
While the branches around Mikado City were strong they couldn't handle every soldier that was there. If the base had been under lockdown then the branches could be overtaken and something bad could happen to them. Not to mention his own branch, along with Mei and Ninomiya, weren't even at the city right now.
"... They will get out..." Akasora got a dark look on his face as he readied his blade. "The agents of Border will definitely get out and take out each and every soldier."
"If you say so."
Like Akasora had said, every agent that had been trapped on the main base were now free and going around Mikado City to help out. Multiple B-Ranks went to see if the civilians were fine while the A-Ranks and remaining B-Ranks went on the hunt for the humanoid Neighbors and Trion soldiers.
The Attackers started to take out the animal-like soldiers running around the city while the Shooters and Snipers targeted the falcon-like ones in the air. Everyone moved so well in synch that you wouldn't think there had been panic a little while ago.
The Operators quickly relayed any new information to their squads. It didn't take even a second for them to quickly say the new information. This helped to get any squad from one point to another.
The branches that had been freed were grateful for the backup and continued to take out the soldiers around them.
It couldn't be seen from a single point, but with an bird's eye view one could see that the Border agents managed to get both in front and behind the soldiers. They started pushing the Trion soldiers towards the Border base.
To be more accurate they were pushing them into the Forbidden Zone.
The agents had been told that the civilians were crowding around certain parts of the city. They decided that they would start to regulate the civilians back into their natural routes, so moving all the fighting towards the Forbidden Zone was the best option.
While this was going on Shinoda was making his way to the area where his two old friends were fighting. He had gotten a message saying what had happened to Akasora and that put him right into action.
He had been their friends for a long time now so he knew what was going on with the two of them. He also figured out what Seidō was really after, making it all the important for him to reach the two.
Meanwhile...
"Looks like you're having some trouble, Jin."
The brunet gave a grin as Tachikawa, Miwa, Yoneya and Izumi arrived on the scene. His face had some cracks running along his cheeks and his right leg was no better. Fujin was held tightly in his hand, yet not so much that it was useless.
"Glad you guys got out," Jin said while facing forward. "This guy has a Black Trigger too. It can take in any attack that touches his hand and recreate it for him to use freely. It was even able to take Fujin's ranged slashes."
"Whoa~ Now that sounds like a tricky Trigger," Yoneya commented as he readied his spear.
"We just need to stay away from his hands, right?"
A cube of Trion appeared next to Izumi as he spoke. The cube split up into smaller ones before being shot towards Futoyuki.
"If it was that easy then that man would have won by now," Hatomi, the old man, said from the side. He didn't seem like he would be getting involved in the fight at all. "Please think through things better than that."
Futoyuki just gave a grin as he held out his hands. He looked like he was going to catch the shots, but missed when they changed direction and headed for his back. He quickly turned around and swiped at the shots.
The shots were gone.
"So that's what it's like, huh...? That's rather irritating."
"Thanks for the new amo!" Futoyuki said energetically.
He swiped his hand in front of him.
Multiple shots of Trion shot forward.
The Border A-Ranks tried to block the shots. The thing was that the shots changed direction and came at them from the sides. They were all able to escape the shots without any hit though.
Hatomi watched on with calculating eyes. He watched each person's movements and started to think about if he had to enter the battle or not.
He's still too inexperienced with his Trigger. Only using his hands to take in the attacks...
The old man let out a sigh as he crossed his arms.
Regardless, he's winning while only using his hands. These agents aren't too bad though. That long range one's shots are pretty accurate and that man with the glasses has lasted this long.
Futoyuki swiped his hand across the ground. Marks started running along the ground, making the agents jump up to dodge the slashes that had been taken from the Black Trigger known as Fujin.
Miwa didn't say anything as he started running to the side while shooting his Lead Bullets. He could see that the others were also running to cage the Neighbor in and leave him with no openings.
Futoyuki brought up his hands to use his Trigger's unique ability. The Trigger that was able to make another Black Trigger almost completely useless and take on multiple A-Rank Border agents.
He was a little shocked when the weights appeared all over his arm. He fell to the ground as the weight of them all was too much for him.
The agents took this as their chance. Izumi shot out Hound while Tachikawa, Jin, Yoneya and Miwa went in with their blades. Each of them were determined to take this opponent out was quickly as they could.
They had already figured out that he could only take in attacks from his hands, so they used it to their advantage and tried to cut off his hands.
But...
"Thank you."
Jin, Tachikawa and Miwa jumped back before they reached the Neighbor. Yoneya on the other hand was now missing the blade of his spear. It reformed by using Yoneya's Trion, but that just meant he had to use up more to reform it. Any Trion waisted was never a good thing.
Especially against an opponent like this.
Futoyuki stood up, now free from the weights. He swatted the shots that headed for him, making them disappear like the ones fired before that. He moved both arms in the air horizontally and the effect it had was that of Hound.
The bullets followed each agent, but were dodged.
Except one.
Yoneya blocked one of the shots with his spear and went wide eyed when he had to drop it. A weight was embedded into it, making it too heavy to hold.
"Now then, let's continue."
"An irritating Trigger indeed..."