Regalia - Human_of_Flesh_and_Blood
"Tenryū Aonegai" gave a small whine as she looked around. She had been left by Seidō so that they could spread out and do what needed to be done.
But what needed to be done?
She had been trying to remember what exactly needed to be done. There had to be a reason she fought against Border under the ground and with a B-Rank agent.
What was more was that there were tons of Trion Soldiers walking around at this point. That did not help her to remember at all, yet she felt like it might if she continued on like this.
She held the trident Trigger tightly in her hands as she hid behind a building. She did not want to use up too much Trion, so she stuck to hiding behind buildings and waited for the right moment to move.
Seeing that the area was clear, she started walking out from behind the building. She looked at the ground as she started mumbling to herself.
"He often complains about that family... Does it have anything to do with them? It probably does."
As she continued to walk, she didn't see where she was going and bumped into something.
That something had turned out to be a bear-like Trion Soldier. It turned around and let out a roar before going in to attack her.
Being quick with to reaction, "Tenryū Aonegai" brought up her trident and stabbed the bear-like solder in its core.
She heard some steps and looked around to see multiple deer-like soldiers around her. She quickly got up and got her trident ready.
The first Trion Soldier ran forward.
She easily slashed at it, cutting it in half. She did the same for the other ones that went straight for her.
She moved the trident from one hand to the other while twirling it smoothly using her wrist. None of the soldiers seemed to be a problem for her as she cut through them like sciccors cutting through paper.
"These are so weak."
Just as she said that, a small squirrel soldier jumped onto her face.
Not being able to see, "Tenryū Aonegai" started waving her trident around without a single target. She could feel like she was cutting some of them up as she tried to get the one on her face off, but could not be too sure.
That was all it took.
The deer-like soldier all rushed at her at the same time. They all started hitting her from one to the other. After a few more hits, she was covered in a puff of smoke. Now she stood on the street with a destroyed squirrel-like soldier on the ground and now in her real body.
One of the deer-like soldiers ran towards her again. She manged to dodge by falling to the ground.
The soldiers started getting closer and closer to her. It seemed like they were determined to trample her to death now. Each one started slamming their feet onto the ground.
"Tenryū Aonegai" looked on afraid for her life. She started sweating as she looked at the ones in front of her. She could not rebuild her Trion Body right now, meaning she had no way to deal with them all.
They all charged at her.
Not knowing what else to do, "Tenryū Aonegai" ducked her head and covered her face. Since she could not see she did not see the person that ran towards her.
"Trigger on!"
She heard multiple sounds from ones that sounded like slashes and other that were the obvious roars of the soldiers.
"Are you okay?"
Looking up from her poison, "Tenryū Aonegai" saw Wakamura by her in his Trion Body. He wasn't looking at her, but she knew he was talking to her. She looked around to see multiple fallen soldiers and Hoshi off to the side.
"I'm fine..."
Something finally dawned on her. She had taken a quick look at Wakamura and saw that he was only holding a gun.
She didn't hear a single gun being fired just now.
"D-did she just...take all of them out!?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah. She just saved you." Wakamura gave off the impression that this was nothing, but there was a small something in his tone that sounded like he was amazed himself. "I guess that's to be expected though."
"Yeah... She's a Taiyōko..."
"That's not what I was talking about. I mean she's a good fighter."
"Tenryū Aonegai" continued to look at Wakamura, who was now busy shooting at the Trion Soldier while Hoshi cut through the others. She gave him a deadpan expression, which got his attention. He took a quick glance down as she opened her mouth.
"Hey... Are you two dating?"
"Wh-what!? Focus on the matter in front of us! Don't get distracted like that!"
"Sorry, sorry! That happens!"
"Uh... Thanks for this..."
"This isn't the time for that. We are kinda busy here."
"R-right! My bad! Sorry!"
Wakamura let out a small sigh as he stood next to "Tenryū Aonegai". He was shooting at any Trion Soldier that happened to make it by Hoshi, or any that came from behind. There was actually little for him to do when compared to the girl who was dancing around the battlefield.
He would have told the girl next to him to run and hide, but that wasn't an option as they were completely surrounded.
Even with Hoshi moving from one Trion Soldier to the next there was little room to move about and make an escape. What was more was the fact that these Trion Soldiers had both speed and power, only comparable to that of a regular person, but that seemed to be enough.
"..."
"Um... Shouldn't you stop taking glances at her when you should be fighting?"
Wakamura ignored the girl and turned away to fire more at the soldiers coming at them. He would later come to deny it but his truly were stuck to Hoshi as she continued on with their fight against the small army. Even now he could not help but take glances to the side.
The whole ordeal was not completely his fault as Hoshi made swift and accurate attacks to the point where single hits were all that it took to cut down the core of each one. When compared to any other person she seemed much more like dancer going through a crowd by following the beat than like some person fighting to protect something.
The thought of telling her how she looked both elegant as well as cool came about even as he continued to fire.
"Waka-kun."
Not noticing that the girl had moved back to stand next to the two, Wakamura accidentally jumped a bit, making "Tenryū Aonegai" laugh a bit under her breath.
"I'm going to need you to stop firing for...about a minute...or so. I'm sorry if that seems like I'm asking a lot. I don't mean to be disrespectful or anything like that! Ah... Yeah. I probably seems that way..."
"No! No! Not at all! I'm just wondering why you want me to do that. We need to take them out quickly, so wouldn't it be better for me to keep firing?"
"I know, but... I just want to do something r ally quick... Ah! If that's fine by you, of course!"
"..."
Seeing the girl start to fidget nervously while also seeming to be alter, Wakamura let out yet another sigh.
"Fine. I'll stop firing for a moment. Just please make it quick."
"Thank you!"
With a smile towards Wakamura and a tightened grip on Kōgetsu, Hoshi walked forward with purpose.
When she was only a few feet away from the Trion Soldiers did she make any sort of move.
I was having such a wonderful time with Wakamura-kun. I try to maintain patience when needed, but I am actually really mad right now. You couldn't have given me a few more minutes of that!?
Being calm and collected, Hoshi moved her sword up as multiple Trion Soldiers rushed her. She sliced one of them before quickly slashing at each that attacked her. The whole time she slashed at them not a single step was taken.
Each swing of her sword was made with the same speed and precision as the ones before. Unlike a few seconds ago there was a bit of ferocity in the attacks she was used to take out the Trion Soldiers. As if to show her anger without expressing it with words and expressions.
Something that had been implemented into these Trion Soldiers, as opposed to the usual Bambster and Marmod, was the ability to tell when a retreat would be better. It had been put into their coding so that forces would remain after using them for an attack.
Hoshi let out a confused hum when she noticed that they were no longer attacking her and instead were moving back. That meant she would have to take the initiative by taking a single step forward.
Even with her feet touching the ground for only a few seconds she was able to teleport from one of the Trion Soldiers to another with little lag time. Each teleportation was not wasted as each time she appeared a Trion Soldier would end up hitting the ground.
Wakamura and "Tenryū Aonegai" could only stare in amazement as they saw the opposing numbers fall as quickly as the girl moved. It seemed like they were not needed at all when in front of such a sight. It was above the level of a normal B-Rank, Wakamura noted while looking down at his gun.
This seems different than when she's fighting in the rank wars though. If she moved like this then she would probably have been able to take on both me and Katori with little issue. So why did she hold back then...?
"She's pretty amazing. I guess that's to be expected of someone with the Taiyōko blood running through them."
Wakamura's chose to ignore that comment as Hoshi made her way back to them.
"Okay. I'm fine now. I am sorry about all of that.
Wakamura was ready to comment on what they had just seen. It was amazing to watch and there was a need to tell her thoughts came to a halt once he felt the ground start to shake.
The sound of a large object moving towards them could be heard.
Wakamura's and Hoshi got ready for whatever it seemed to be.
What they did not expect was a giant bear that looked like a stuffed animal.
The massive Trion Soldier was a bigger than a Bambster.
"Big, fluffy Kuma-san!"
Wakamura's was surprised to heard the two girls yell out such a thing with a glint in their eyes.
Why the heck would anyone make a Trion Soldier like this!?
Wakamura ignored the two girls and started firing his gun at the giant bear.
The attacks seemed to be doing little as the large bear only scratched its stomach as if it was a real bear.
Wakamura's got prepared to run away with the two girls as he moved in front of them, ready to fire even more powerful bullets.
"That bear is huge!"
"Of course you're with that girl."
Hearing two familiar voices, Wakamura turned around to see his own squad standing there with Ikoma Squad there as well. Well, only two members to be exact. He completely ignored the comment from his captain in order to give a small glare towards the other captain that was there.
He was unsure as to why he felt a bit of ire when he saw Ikoma.
"Do we have to hurt Kuma-san!?" Hoshi whined while ponting to the soldier.
"What kind of stupid question is that? Of course we have to! We're going to break this damn thing apart or it'll mess up the city, you stupid girl!"
Katori landed next to Hoshi and slapped her head.
Hoshi got a dejected look as she looked down. She started mumbling things that sounded like excuses, but didn't actually vocalize any of them loud enough.
Then she felt a hand on her head.
"I'll get ya a big, fluffy Kuma-san to replace this one. How's that sound?"
Hoshi started up at Ikoma with a wide, starry-eyed look.
"Can we just get rid of this already?" Wakamura asked rather forcefully.
"Hey, girl! Hurry up and use that Trigger already!"
Hoshi was shocked when she was suddenly pushed forward by a kick from Katori. She rubbed her butt as she looked back to see the other girl glaring down at her.
She let out a small whimper, but got up and held her blade up.
"What Trigg-"
"Fujin..."
Just as Ikoma turned to the girl she was gone and high into the air.
While in the air Hoshi held her blade back as 7 ribbons of green lights sprouted from the blade and floated behind her. She raised the blade above her head as she fell and brought it down with her fall.
The ribbons of green lights moved around while in the air.
All of them touched the Trion Soldier while the blades went straight down the middle of it.
When she touched the ground, Hoshi turned around.
Just as she turned around, the giant Trion Soldier split into multiple pieces.
More accurately...
It was cut up into different pieces from the Trigger she had just used.
The two from Ikoma Squad and "Tenryū Aonegai" simply stared in shock as the pieces started to fall. They were going to warm Hoshi about the falling pieces, but were too shocked as she slashed at them, cutting them even more.
"Tsk. That girl really pisses me off."
"You're the one who told her to use that Trigger."
Hatohara Minoru ran through the streets of Mikado City while taking out the animal-like Trion Soldiers that had their sights set on him. He had seen that the main base was free from its prison and that multiple agents were going around and taking out the soldiers, but he himself had other things to worry about.
He had been informed that a certain heterochromatic girl was currently in the city with no reliable supervision. Suzume had managed to tell him about Rhinoceros Beetle 07 and the children, or at least what Satori and Kitora knew. It was not something he particularly wanted to hear.
Looking for those children and the Trion Soldier was his current priority. Taking out the Trion Soldiers around him happened to line up in front if his goal, letting him kill two birds with ones stone.
The issue that came up was that he had no clue as to where those children could be. There was hardly any signal for him to follow and the entire city was currently filled with Trion Soldiers of different kinds. It would take more than him to do anything about it all.
"Hound."
Multiple shots from multiple directions rained down on the area around Minoru. The Trion Soldiers that were around him fell to the ground as their cores were destroyed by the rain.
"Ah~ You're really in a rush, Mino. I guess that's fair when you have someone to look for. I can understand since I want to find Shiro-chan right now."
Minoru looked around and saw multiple Shooters and Gunners around. The one currently speaking was his best friend - Inukai Sumiharu.
"Just leave this to us for now. I plan to meet up with Shiro-chan later. For now..." Inukai fired more shots while looking away from Minoru. "There's another fighting going on that you'd be better to handle than here. This isn't the best place for you."
Minoru was sent all the information on said battle and nodded his head. This was all he needed to know at this point.
If he could help to end all these battles then he would not have to worry about the children.
With no other choice, Minoru ran off in the directions the army of Shooters came from.
"These ones don't seem to really be trying. I suppose that's fine when they have numbers on their side. One thing can always make up for something else after all."
"As long as we get this done and over with I highly doubt we'll have any complaints. That being said... Kako-san, don't you think it would be better to focus on the fight over other things right now?"
"Yamamoto-kun, you're too uptight. Maybe those glasses mess with your head after wearing them for so long. Yeah. That's probably it."
Yamamoto Yorushi clicked his tongue while not being able to speak up against the teasing. There was no point in doing so when he would rather focus on the Trion Soldiers in front of them.
The sturdiness of the soldiers seemed to come from an outside source instead of their own cores that were hidden within their bodies. That meant that every time a Trion Soldier got destroyed or get attacked they would regenerate by using an outside source.
"This is rather infuriating."
As that statement filled the battlefield, a bright light shot passed him and was aimed for the Border agents behind him. Some were able to dodge it, but others weren't so lucky and ended up having to Bail Out. What was more was that the buildings they had been standing on were also destroyed.
Yorushi quickly turned to see three giant crab-like soldiers walk forward. They were bigger than a Marmod, but smaller than a Bambster. Each one had what looked to be a small canon implanted into them.
"Is that..."
"These are soldiers made after analyzing a certain agent's style of shooting," a voice said from one of the soldiers. The voice seemed to come from an outside source as well. As if a speaker had been implanted into the Trion Soldier. "You could say that it's my version of that Laser-Shooter Trigger. I really hope you all enjoy."
The canons imbedded into the crab-like soldiers looked like they were storing up power to fire their own laser-like beams. Meanwhile, Yorushi let out a sigh while preparing his own attacks to counteract this new attack.
And then…
Multiple beams of light flew through the air, aiming for the Border agents. The laser-like beams seemed to be on par with the originals they were based off of and would destroy anything in their path. A simple Shield would not be enough to simply block this attack.
"Oh please. This is nothing like the real Laser-Shooter."
Kako let out a huff as she, Nasu and Inukai blocked the attack with relative ease by putting up their defenses. The laser-like beams continued to tear through the air without breaking the defense that seemed to be made thick enough to prevent even cracks from forming.
"Besides-"
Before she could finish, three laser-like beams shot through the middle crab-like soldier, getting both its cannon and core.
The one who shot through the soldier like it was paper jumped up on the top of it and looked around to see multiple smaller soldiers coming forward.
"Gimme a break. What was that crappy excuse for a light?" As he said this, he turned to the one on his right and fired multiple beams at it. "That was a poor, pathetic imitation."
His tone gave away his irritation; as if he had just been insulted in the most obvious and painful way. With his back turned to one of the soldiers, it decided to fire right at him. The air ripped apart from a laser-like beam being fired.
It was fired right into the Trion Soldier.
"Oh, shut up already."
Suzume, Satori, Kitora and Tobh walked onto the scene to see the destructions that had come from the irritated Takeshi. It was obvious that they would not be able to calm him down for a while, making things seem worse by the second,
"Wow. They really were copying Take. That's just asking for it." Toby shook his head as he spoke.
"This is honestly a large amount of soldiers. What do you think si really going on?"
"You people saw me at the mall, huh?" Takeshi spoke while looking at the Trion Soldiers with a dull look as he fixed his scarf. "So you used the data from there to make these dull replicas. Scew you!"
The multiple orbs around Takeshi's head fired multiple beams that quickly took out the smaller soldiers while leaving a trail of explosions that weren't too big.
"Hyuuuu~~"
"Super pretty fireworks," Kako said with a grin.
While watching his teammate fire off relentless attacks that left some of the other Shooters with nothing more to do then clean up, Tobh could only thing of finding his younger brother to tell him see thing important.
That being to stay clear of Takeshi if he happens to see him on the street.
Takeshi looked around, completely oblivious to what Toby was thinking about him and his violent way of attacking.
"Wait…"
The Shooter was not even looking in the Trion Soldiers' direction.
With fellow Shooters on either side of him, the B-Rank captain brushed up his hair and spoke to no one in particular.
"Where is Hoshi? Really now. If you're going to ask us to meet up later on, can't you give us some better information than just the direction where you're at?"
"Well, maybe she honestly had to move to another part of the city to help out."
The agents did not hesitate to walk right into the center of the commotion. It was as if this did not leave the realm of their everyday life.
Meanwhile, the Border agents who had just seen some amazing Trion Soldiers get destroyed let out a small sigh of relief before turning to Takeshi.
"That was a nice sight and all, but that was a bit of overkill, wasn't it?"
"Shut the hell up."
Some of Border agents had no time to react as the laser-like beams shot right through more Trion Soldiers.
They wanted to complain, but...
An explosive noise rang out.
Over ten animal-like Trion Soldiers flew through the air like a part of a joke.
But this was not due to the conflict between the Laser-Shooter user. It had happened in the distant area of the Forbidden Zone.
What was that…?
Some of them frowned and looked around.
They saw…
"This is horrible~"
This area was filled with lights flying around and hitting multiple Trion Soldiers in the process. Six people moved throughout the area while going from one soldier to the next without even looking back at the damage they caused.
"These things are just a waist of Trion. Maybe we can take some from their cores to boost our own supply!"
"Stop being such an irritation and keep destroying these damn! Irritating! Things!"
"Can't you two just stop talking at fight already? You're both annoying."
"Shut the hell up, Kikuchihara!"
They were both high-ranking squads. One was Kazama Squad, a high-ranked A-Rank squad. The other was Hikigane Squad, a high-ranked B-Rank Squad.
They were powerful squads that showed just how they got their ranking.
They were all quick on their feet with Kazama Squad using their united team attacks to take out the larger Trion Soldiers while Hikigane Squad did the opposite and split up to take out as much as possible.
It didn't matter how fast or powerful the Trion Soldiers could attack. One squad had the use of a Trigger that hid them from sight while the other one had such an animalistic style that they easily dodged hits and destroyed the cores of each soldier.
That being said, one particular person from these six decided to go trigger happy (no pun intended) and fire off Meteora all around as he hacked and slashed at the smaller soldiers.
"Jinsei! Stop being an irritation and fire more accurately! You almost blew me up there!"
"Sorry~ Sorry~ Not sorry~"
"I heard that last one!"
Kazama Squad chose to ignore the other B-Rank tea, while giving some credit to Girikage for having survived with that squad for so long.
"All these shits are annoying!"
A loud roar exploded out and several soldiers collapsed to the ground. Several dozen other soldiers were surrounding three other squads. Well, they weren't complete squads, but still there nevertheless.
One was a man with black hair and an outfit to match. He also had sharp teeth for whatever reason. Two others were girls with one holding a large scythe and the other holding a Kōgetsu in each hand. Lastly were two boys with each holding a Kōgetsu.
The two girls and the two males kept their distance from the rampaging man in black nearby. They weren't sure if they should be watching out for the Trion Soldiers that looked like animals or the guy in black that was more of an animal than anything.
"Why the hell is he even this mad?" one of the girls asked. She was the captain of her squad, that squad being the B-Rank Tsukiko Squad. "I know he always looks pissed off, but this is crazy."
"Don't go asking me. As long as he doesn't cause us to Bail Out then I'm fine with it," the girl with the scythe said. "Seriously though... He supposedly gets back to Mikado City and the first thing he does is force us to fight with him."
"You four!" the one in black yelled out. "Get your asses moving and take out more of these things!"
The four let out simultaneous sighs as they destroyed more Trion Soldiers.
One of Border's unranked A-Ranks, Bakuto Denji, looked puzzled as he placed a hand above his eyes.
"Oh? L'ks li'e a cer'n some'ne is a lil' mad~ Wonder wha' crawl'd up 'is ass th's time~"
He should have been taking out Trions Soldiers that he saw, but there were none to speak of around him. He was already standing above a large amount of destroyed Trion Soldiers.
When he had gotten trapped in the base with most of Border's agents he had simply relaxed and did not lift a single finger to help. Even when his own squad tossed him out to help, he simply slept in the hallway.
"W'll, si'ce 'm d'ne w'th ma job 'ere, I migh' a'swell go see wha' els' th're's at do."
He spoke with such a lazy and choppy style that anyone hearing him would have to have a translator at hand to try and figure out what he was saying.
"Th'se toys 're pre'y borin', so ma'be a Neighb'r wou' be a fun pl'yth'ng.
Despite how urgent the situation currently was, the 20-year-old man simply walked around as if he was taking a walk through a park. He knew other agents saw him, but he also knew that they wouldn't say anything against him.
Well, actually, one person refused to keep quiet about it.
It was Kumagai Yūko who ran up behind him.
"Wait! Wait just a second! You need to help out too! Shouldn't an A-Rank be more alert in times like these!?"
"Oh? S'rry 'bout tha', Kumako. I coul'n' care less ri' now. Th'se th'ngs 're borin' me ri' now."
"Are you kidding me!? Didn't you refuse to help the civilians so that you could fight these things?"
As she spoke, Kumagai cut through a few more Trion Soldiers that were headed for them. She was tempted to let some of them attack Denji, but figured she would take them out herself.
"Di' I r'lly do tha'? Hm. Can' 'member."
"Why you...!"
The two continued to go through Mikado City with the B-Rank taking out the soldiers that attacked while the A-Rank had a look that showed he couldn't care less about every single thing he saw.
The two were equals when it came to the sword, that was a given. The power scaling between Akasora Chishi and Tenryū Seidō was not large enough for either one to take advantage of without outside help from others.
Each attack with their Kōgetsu would be blocked as if they could predict exactly what the attack would be. The trading of blows did not seem to stop as the two continued to counter each other. They had fought multiple times before and currently held a tie between the two of them. This fight would be decided when one of them could get passed the other's defense and get a solid strike in.
Even when fighting this person, Akasora could not help but to wonder if Yuki and Ninomiya had made it to the city. He knew how they were and so worried about them while also wondering in the car he had left them with was even still on the road, as opposed to some didn't have due to their argument.
Being too busy thinking about the two he had left, Akasora could not focus on the man in front of him for a moment.
Seidō used that moment to his advantage.
He brought out a Scorpion to try to land a slash at Akasora while he wasn't paying attention.
Noticing the blade at the last moment, Akasora jumped back. He got ready to go for his own attack but halted once he noticed multiple shots fired at him. Asteroid was the best Trigger to use at such close range without it being a double-edged attack so knowing that cutting it would be an option.
The Asteroid shots fired provided enough time for a follow up attack.
Seidō moved forward with minimal steps; Kōgetsu already in a motion to run through Akasora.
With little thought the attack was stopped.
"!?"
Akasora moved his arm to the left.
"What the hell was that...?"
"Did you think I was going to be the same as before? That's actually something I learned from my student."
"...Now you can't use Senku."
"And you don't have a blade to fight with."
Akasora grinned at his friend's scowl.
While he could not use Kōgetsu to attack anymore, Seidō still had Gunner-type Triggers to use. Those were something to watch out for when the man was able to get in close with little effort.
Still... Nice going, Yuki. Without you showing me what to do I would never have thought to use my own scabbard to sheath his Kōgetsu. Hm. Leave it to that guy to think up something to crazy.
It was moments like these that made Akasora proud to be a teacher. Not only did he get to watch his students grow up but he also leaned new things from them, realizing just how useful they were.
More accurately, he got to see just how smart his students were.
Seeing someone perform an action was different then actually performing the action. That was all the more reason he could be proud of his students. They would continue to create actions that he could only see and not perform. By the time he was capable of doing those actions they would be moving on to the next.
That may have been why he was glad not to have a Side Effect like Toby or Yuki where his body would move on its own.
"Sensei?"
Akasora halted for a moment upon hearing one of his student's voices.
Hm? Yuki? Did you make it yet?
"If I was there it would probably too far away for me to contact you like this. We did make it there, but we started to make our way back to Mikado City. The reason being that we are going to help out there, as well as inform you about something. We managed to take out one of the Neighbors that came here. She was the one creating the large amounts of Trion Soldiers."
Pride started to well up in his chest once more.
That's good. By 'we' you mean you and Masataka? Now that's amazing.
"We had Mei to help out as well. But I need to tell you to not come to the city. Kushi and Mu are fighting two other Neighbors that are in the other city, but the soldiers won't listen to them or any of the other Neighbors. The one we beat told us that someone took control of the Trion Soldiers, so we're going to go find them when we get back."
I see... I'm already at Mikado City. Actually... I'm in the middle of a fight right now. You guys hurry up over here to the workload can be lessened.
"Oh thank you... Now I don't have to tell him not to take the train."
...Hey, idiot student of mine, you're still coming through loud and clear.
"Geh! Ah! Hahaha..."
You guys destroyed the train, didn't you? Of course you did. I really shouldn't expect anything else from you lot.
"It wasn't us! Whatever! We'll see ya then."
Letting out a small sigh, Akasora focused back on the fight.
While he had been conversing with his student, Akasora had not noticed that he had been attacked by Asteroid, or that his opponent had been using that time to run towards his discard blade.
He said some cures under his breath towards his student while cutting through some if the shots as others were dodge.
Seidō had managed to grab his blade at the same time, putting them back to where they had previously been in their fight.
They both stood their ground for a few second.
"..."
"..."
It began a new.
The two rushed at each other with their blades at the ready. Like before, they easily countered each other's attacks while coming up with new strategies.
As the two traded blows they both thought back to when they use to fight. They started comparing how the other moved compared to their younger days. The difference could be seen from an outside view but only understood by the two currently in combat.
If they just used Kōgetsu that is.
Seidō managed to push Akasora back a bit and slammed his foot onto the ground.
Akasora brought up Kōgetsu to block the solid wall that came up from the ground. He was sent into the air from the push the barrier gave him.
While in the air, Akasora saw multiple shots fired at him from the ground.
I'm not so adept at this as Yuki but...
While his student was amazing in midair fighting he himself could only manage to twist his body enough to where the attacks only grazed him instead of landing direct hits. That was enough to survive that volley of attacks.
Seeing another chance, Seidō used Grasshopper to get above Akasora to slash at him.
Alasora was sent towards the ground, Kōgetsu facing the sky.
As he landed, Seidō combined two Asteroids together to make the powerful composite bullet known as Gimlet. He didn't waste any time in firing the composite bullet at the man.
All Akasora could do was roll on the ground while pushing himself up. It provided enough of an escape from the composite bullet but not from the attack coming from Seidō.
Teleport!
Seidō knew what happened.
He turned around to properly face his opponent once more.
"Chishi, why don't you use Shikifuku? You have its 'emotions' don't you? Shouldn't you use it to attack me? That could end this fight quickly. Afterwards you can make your way to the actual battle going on."
"And what about you? You have Shikifuku's 'knowledge' after all. We know that you can stall as much as you want with it. Or even better... You can attack me with it. We both know that you have found a way to do so with it in such a small amount of time. That's how you had been fending off that Trion Soldier's attack, correct?"
"Hm. You're right. I guess it just feels off to use any part of Shikifuku if we do not have all the parts of it with us. We are still missing its 'willpower' after all. My chi... Shokubutsu has it, right? I guess we won't be having that fight, will we?"
"Right."
These things were not said because it was a Black Trigger. These words were spoken simply because that Black Trigger held such significance to both men.
That Black Trigger should have meant everything to the two men. Yet they refused to use it even now.
After all, they could not fight each other using the legacy that was left behind to them.
"...!"
"!"
Nothing more needed to be said for them to attack once more.
In a similar fashion as before, Akasora thrusted his blade forward with the intent to end it in a single strike. Unlike before, he did not have his blade taken away and thrown aside.
Not caring about being blocked, Akasora turned his body completely around and landed a solid kick to Seidō's side. While the kick didn't actually hurt the man it did send him sliding to the side.
It also gave Akasora the chance to use Teleport.
With a click of his tongue, Seidō brought up his hand to put up a Shield and block the attack.
There was no time to hesitate for Akasora; he continued to use Teleport to move around Seidō while said man continued to block or land a hit of his own. He was able to defend against most of the strikes, but still ended up with a few scratches that started leaking Trion.
Something like this was not something he had fought against before.
Having enough of circling around, Seidō shot Asteroid around him to keep the other at a distance.
He looked around for Akasora. When the man could not be seen on the ground it meant he had to look up to see him coming down to take him out.
Using brute force, Akasora now stood above Seidō with Kōgetsu pushing up against his defense. Seeing that he was about to get cut from the side, he put even more force and manged to break through the Shield.
He had taken an arm off of Seidō before jumping back.
Seeing that now his arm was gone, Seidō gave a small huff. He didn't seem to care since it was just a Trion Body.
He could take multiple hits. He could get body parts chopped off and send them flying, but it wouldn't matter since it was just a Trion Body. Only something made of Trion could hurt him in his Trion Body. Even then he wouldn't have to worry.
Not caring if he got a leg, or even his other arm, cut off, he ran forward with his Kōgetsu ready.
Akasora also ran forward with Kōgetsu ready.
There was a difference between the two.
A very distinct one that was obvious.
Akasora wanted to win and still be on his Trion Body. He would be able to go help around Mikado City without having to wait for a new Trion Body to be made or the Black Trigger known as Shikifuku to be put together.
Seidō wanted to win and did not seem to care about his Trion Body. Fighting was not his priority and he did not need to help anyone out during their time of need. Everything would be fine if he managed to take what he wanted while escaping.
The two clashed again.
They traded blows again.
For every slash made, a counter was made. For every counter, a defense was made. For every defense made, a trick was thought of.
Seidō had managed to push Akasora away.
He extended his severed arm forward. A long Scorpion blade came out from it and went for Akasora's head.
Akasora moved even further back to dodge the attack.
He thought of different plans to use, but he knew they would be countered. At the same time he was thinking of how to counter any attacks made towards him.
They both got ready for another round.
"..."
Seidō had to moved back as someone appeared above him.
Two attacks crashed into the ground. The person who made those attacks landed on top of them.
"Masafumi."
One person said the name in a small amount of shock.
One person said the name in a dull tone.
"Seidō, get out of that body and surrender." Shinoda held his Kōgetsu at his side while he spoke. "You can't take the both of us on. Especially like that. You won't get any lenience for leaving and stealing those Trigger, but the punishment won't be as bad as it would if you continue. We can even get a drink after you're let out of prison."
"A ferocious tiger with a soft heart."
That was all the man said as he threw his Kōgetsu forward.
"And what's with you guys and drinks?"
Letting out a small sigh, Shinoda easily blocked the attack and sent the blade flying off to the side.
He moved forward with the intent of ending the fight.
"Shikifuku."
Shinoda was surprised the moment he was trapped inside a yellow box.
Only a few seconds later was he freed when the yellow box started to crack from a well placed punch.
It had begun at last - the fight involving a single Black Trigger.
"Shikifuku."
One of the three pieces of Shikifuku rotated around Akasora's wrist like the rings of Saturn. It moved along a pink thread of Trion while lighting up his hands with the same color.
One of the three pieces of Shikifuku rotated around Seidō's wrist like the rings of Saturn. It moved along a yellow thread of Trion while lighting up his hands with the same color.
"I thought we weren't going to use this? Lying usually your thing."
"I had used it against Masafumi, so I'm not the one in the wrong here. You were the one who broke through with your piece. You are the one to use it against me first."
Shinoda watched both Akasora and Seidō as hugely slowly moved their arms. He was always amazed at the yellow and pink that came from using these pieces of Shikifuku. They had always been nice and radiant with no sort of blemish in their coloration.
He had a similar feel when using the final piece of Shikifuku, but that was neither here nor there. That piece was currently somewhere else and they could not go look for its holder at the moment.
What mattered right now was preparing for the fight between a single Black Trigger.
"Masafumi, get ready. You'll be the one to land the attacks. I'm just going to open a path for you. It's all I can really do since Shikifuku will just counter itself."
"Right. Just make sure to continue to put in the pressure. Don't mind me at all and keep moving forward. That's how I'm going to deal with both of your Side Effects."
When compared to the two of them right now, Shinoda Masafumi seemed much more like a regular member of Border. He had his regular Trigger and normal feeling while both Akasora and Seidō had Side Effects that continued to put pressure on anyone else with Black Triggers adding more for them.
Even so, he was the deciding factor in this fight. It did not matter how much emotion or knowledge a person had; Shikifuku would balance itself out if two of its pieces were to clash with each other. A person using Shikifuku could raise the power to max with their own humanity but that would all be dropped to zero when facing another user of Shikifuku.
When compared to the two of them right now, Shinoda Masafumi seemed much more like a regular member of Border. In reality he would be the strongest fighter between the three of them because he did not have the Black Trigger with him.
He would not be dropped to zero.
Two of them were taken out.
"Wow~ Wow~ Wow~ You three are still here! I'm especially happy to see you are still here!" Futoyuki looked directly at Jin as he spoke. "But are you sure you want to continue? I mean, I'm fine with a tie."
Even with multiple cuts and leaking Trion all over his body, Futoyuki spoke as if he had already won. His tone, his expression, his posture and even his general aura was that of someone who had won a long long battle. The right hand that had taken their attacks was lower than before, as if to say it was not needed anymore.
Contrary to that, Jin, Miwa and Tachikawa all sported missing limbs with Trion leaking from every open area of their bodies. Their ferocious attacks had been taken and fired back at them in some shape or form - be it Izumi's composite bullets or Fujin's remote slashes. They had managed a sort of stalemate at the moment but could not deal the finishing blow.
This opponentwas not all they had to worry about. The Trion Soldiers above their heads continued to move ominously while the other Neighbor had only been watching them from afar instead of taking any sort of action against them.
In a way that made things better for them seeing as they were having so much trouble with only this single person and this single Trigger.
No.
A single Trigger would be the wrong way to put it. It was more like they were fighting against all of the Triggers they themselves had used to attack the Neighbor.
"Now what? Even Jin's foresight isn't helping much here."
"Hey now..."
"Do you guys want me to give you a hint as to how to beat much Trigger?mi don't really mind too much if that's the case. It's actually only fair since I now know exactly what your guys can do with the ones I've taken in."
"That's fine. We've got a good idea as to what you can do. Rather, how your Trigger works."
"Oh?"
The future was open to Jin. He saw a future where this man told them what his Trigger does and how it works. A future where this man thought his words were just bluffs and nothing more. A future where they had all lost and yet won at the same time. A future where they won and lost nothing.
Tachikawa and Miwa looked over at Jin with varying expressions.
"I kinda get what he does. He just takes in different attacks so he can fire it back. Something you wanna tell us, Jin?"
"In general terms you're right, Tachikawa-san. If we go into specifics then it's a bit different from that. It's true that he can take our attacks, but it's more like a snowball effect. He first needs to take on some weaker attacks and then he can take stronger attacks. He can't take large attacks right off the bat."
"But he's already taken most of our attacks. That means we can't exploit that snowball effect anymore. How annoying."
"True. But I saw it. My Side Effect tells me that there are two other weaknesses to this. The first being that if he doesn't take in attacks... No. Not attacks. As long as it is considered a weapon for him then he can take them. Anyway, if he doesn't take what's considered a weapon in by the time three minutes are up then he has to start from zero."
"So his absorption ability is infinite until forced to zero. Interesting. But we can't really just stay here for three minutes and not attack him. Not when other things are going on."
"That's the other thing. Another weakness to this Trigger. He can't take body parts, even if they are from a Trion Body. So direct attacks can land hits without running the risk of getting taken."
Tachikawa and Miwa quickly understood what this meant. The grin on Jin's face now made sense to them.
"!?"
Futoyuki went wide eyed when he saw his arm go flying off to the side.
He jumped to the side and fired off the shots that rivaled Izumi's. Something moved through the smoke while kicking it around a bit.
"I guess you guys really did figure it out. That's great!"
Futoyuki fired more shots towards the figure that moved through the smoke. It seemed to move back while he tried to get closer.
"Well, this really is the fight I need to be at more than the other one."
"Oh~~ A handicap!? A person who's good against me! This is really helpful!"
Minoru turned his attention from the Neighbor in front of him to the multiple soldiers still in the sky.
Even after having all of the Snipers and Shooters attacking them, they were still in the air. The laser-like beams from Takeshi could also be seen, but there were still so many in the air that it worried the All-Rounder.
"Don't worry."
Minoru turned to Jin.
"We have people up there to take care of those ones while we're busy down here. I can't really say this guy is an enemy, at least not one we can hate, but he still needs to be dealt with. Just focus on that. Especially since you're our ace in the hole."
"Hm? If you say so. I'll just trust whoever is up there. After all... I apparently have something to go over at the end of this."
As Minoru turned back to their opponent he missed multiple lights fly through the air high above them. They did not come from the ground but started in the air and ended when clashing with the flying Trion Soldiers.
Three figures moved around above them while others fell to the ground.
High above the skies of Mikado City...
"Come on! Keep up, you damn airhead! We need to take these things out!"
Yuki swung Idōgetsu around as he used Teleport to get from one Falcon to another. He cut through each one with an expression of a kid having fun playing a game of Tag.
"Keep talking to me like that and I will blast you full of holes!"
Ninomiya fired shot after shot as he fell. He would use each Falcon as a springboard and go higher into to the air before destroying more of them.
"Both of you idiots need to stop."
Mei destroyed multiple Falcons with a single hit. Like Ninomiya, each one she hit was used as a springboard. The only difference was that she destroyed them the moment she used them to gain higher ground. She sent them falling to the ground at such high speeds that it was hard for the Shooters at the ground to keep up with her.
These three agents currently ruled over the entire sky with their relentless and powerful attacks.
Minoru ran forward while muttering some words under his breath.
He could no longer be seen with the eyes and only be found by Radar. The only ones able to tell his location were those on his side of this fight.
Not wanting Minoru to fight on his own, the other three A-Ranks went on the offensive again.
Jin, already knowing where Minoru was, released three slashes with Fujin. The green lines ran along the ground, forcing Futoyuki to take caution when moving.
Just as predicted, Minoru came from behind with a Scorpion out while Miwa and Tachikawa were on either side on him.
Jin jumped into the air as soon as Futoyuki did and was able to get a cut into the Neighbor's open side. Once on the ground he made two more slashes.
As he landed, Futoyuki swiped his hand on the ground.
Five green lines appeared on the ground and headed for the three that had just tried to attack him while the other two followed the same line as Fujin's.
The speed seemed faster than Fujin's which made it harder to dodge for the three regular Trigger users.
Minoru went back to using Chameleon as the other three went for frontal attacks. He circled around again prepared to use Scorpion to cut the Neighbor's other arm, but decided on a different tactic.
They were prepared to take some damage when seeing Futoyuki move back to fire another round of shots towards them. Even the blade of Trion that was created in his hand was planned for by Jin.
There was a three second delay for them all once the shots were delt with.
That was all that was needed.
Futoyuki felt a pressure on his back that sent him towards the ground.
A blade had ran him through before he reached the ground. It came through his chest while two slashes ran along a green line before coming up to take off his head.
A puff of smoke covered the two.
Tachikawa and Miwa waited with their weapons ready.
Jin only watched with a calm expression.
When the smoke cleared the two could be seen with Minoru standing up and Futoyuki sitting on the ground, letting out a laugh.
"You beat me! You beat me! Nice going there!" Futoyuki gave a big grin while looking up at Minoru. "Kinda short, but it was still a fun fight! Either way, I admit defeat here."
"You really aren't-"
Trion supply damaged. Bail out.
Trion supply damaged. Bail out.
Trion supply damaged. Bail out.
Jin jumped back in time to dodge something that would have taken him out. He looked over to Futoyuki and saw a tall man with short gray hair walking up to him.
"Hm? Pyrínas? That was messed up. That guy standing there still had tons of fight in him. Besides, I've already admitted to my loss. Now I just look like a sore loser."
"I know that. That's why I took him out right away." Pyrínas Original looked around with a raised eyebrow. "Where Hatomi?"
"He's just watching. He's decided not to fight. It really sucks, but I'm not about to force him to do something he doesn't want to do."
"I see..." Bending down, the Trion Soldier took the black wrist watch-like item from Futoyuki's wrist and out it on. "I hope you don't mind. I'll be borrowing this for a bit."
"Actually-"
"Prosforá."
Jin got ready for the next fight. He saw all the possible futures for this next fight and didn't like most of the outcomes.
"Jin-san!"
Looking around, Jin saw agent after agent land in on the flat area around him and the two opponents. They could see Futoyuki stand up with his arms raised and moving out of the way while Pyrínas simply stood there with a bored expression.
"Now!"
"Hold on-!"
Before Jin could stop them, all of the Gunners, Shooters and Snipers let out a bombardment of shots ranging from the explosive Meteor to the powerful Asteroid.
He saw the futures that involved that mistake.
"Thanks for the amo."
In a whirlpool of Trion every attack that he been fired at Pyrínas was taken in by his hand.
"Everyone, that Trigger can take in any attack Trion based and make it it's own. It has a snowball effect when it comes to its absorption."
Just as he said that, two massive Trion cubes appeared above Pyrínas.
The cubes spit into smaller ones.
The cubes spit into smaller ones.
The cubes spit into smaller ones.
"Fire."
Using his bare hands, Akasora drew back his fist swiftly. Once he had closed the distance, he released several punches, each one in a different method.
The color was pink - it was a punch meant to hit the face.
"Turn to zero."
The color was yellow - a concentrated shield meant for a single hit.
"Turn to zero!"
The color was green - there was a slash that came came from behind.
"Turn to zero."
The color was yellow - the shield used as a platform to go into the air.
"Turn to zero!"
The color was pink - a kick from higher ground to knock someone out of the air.
"Turn to zero."
The color was green - three slashes meant to attack once the target hit the ground.
"Turn to zero!"
The colors were pink and yellow - a single fist striking a protective shield.
"That's already been turned to zero!"
Akasora and Shinoda moved back when their attacks had no effect.
Each time Akasora's body came in contact with Seidō's shields the two would turn to zero and break apart. It created an opening for Shinoda to attack if not for the fact that Seidō was still quick enough to dodge.
This left the three of them at a stalemate that could not be delt with unless countermeasures were taken beforehand.
"Are you sure you should be focusing on me? There are Neighbors attacking the city, isn't there? It seems like they're having fun over there. Shouldn't that be your top priority?"
"Maybe for Masafumi, but not for me. I am going to be selfish and continue fighting you. This is for both personal reasons as well as for Border. Don't try and slink away when we aren't looking. You had that one chance to do it and you took it. It won't happen again."
"And you? What do you plan to do, Masafumi?"
"I'm also going to keep fighting you. I don't hold as big of a grudge against you as Chishi, but I can't just let you go again. Like he said, you had your one chance."
"I see... In that case, let's just continue then. I refuse to discuss anything with you two while you two refuse to let me escape. Nothing else to do but fight."
Seidō raised his hand while Shikifuku continued to rotate around a yellow thread of Trion. He prepared to move as Akasora rushed him once more.
Instead of turning the attack to zero, he moved around each attack, only barely managing to dodge. More came from behind in the form of Senku from Shinoda. It put pressure on him as he tried to focus on his task.
With enough space between them all now, he created what he wanted using the protective power of Shikifuku.
"Turn to zero."
The attack from Akasora had been rendered useless. That meant the next attack would come from Shinoda.
Seidō turned his body so that it was facing Shinoda. He lifted his arm to block the strike from Kōgetsu.
"What!?"
"You need to always think of new things when fighting people on equal footing as you. Even more so when outnumbered."
Seidō continued to push back against Kōgetsu and Shinoda using a yellow blade of his own.
That was incorrect.
What Seidō held in his hand was not a blade but a shield in the shape of a blade. The edges were made to be as sharp as a blade while the end was slender enough to hold with a single hand. This created the image of a sword that was colored yellow.
This was the potential of knowledge.
When compared to the infinite feelings of emotions or the limitless heights of willpower, a person's knowledge was finite in what they could do. Some things could not be understood and memories could be forgotten. That meant the protective shield of Shikifuku was not as strong as the sharpened blade or the raging amplification it provided.
Hardened knowledge isn't the only way for this to work. I've learned that by now.
Seidō gave a push toward Shinoda.
"Turn to zero!"
He created a shield to block the strike from Akasora while moving forward with his defensive sword.
Creativity and imagination can also be classified as "knowledge" at times. In a way... Even a person's "knowledge" can be limitless. We can learn endlessly, even if we will forget it.
This chance in pace created a new dynamic between the three fighters.
Seidō was now able to block attacks from Shinoda while also making his own. At the same time he was able to turn all of Akasora's attacks to zero so that he would not be damaged.
Now he had a better chance.
Seidō ran. In a straight line. Without making a feint. As if he had decided on his target merely by who he had spotted first, he headed straight for Shinoda. The other two specialized in close combat right now, so he seemed to be full of openings, but the problem lay with his yellow shield and sword.
Shinoda pulled out his Kōgetsu from his hip, but...
"You won't make it in time!"
Akasora's leg cut in from the side.
He kicked at Shinoda rather than Seidō. The yellow weapon cut through empty air. As Akasora circled around Seidō, he shouted a warning to Shinoda who had gotten back up.
"Just stay back for a bit and let me scout things out! Find the right time to strike so we can finally end this!"
"Yelling out your plans is a terrible thing to do. Maybe the age really has gotten to you after all this time. Whatever. Things still remain the same and I only need to keep an eye on Masafumi while fighting you."
If you were hit even once, you would eventually lose your body at this point.
Even a single counterattack while trying to throw him or grab him would be the end of it. I guess my only option is to fight focusing on building up damage!
"A passive strategy, hm?" Seidō had seen straight through him. Keeping your distance would be the best way of avoiding my shields, but it would be difficult to get within range and then take me out in a single blow, wouldn't it? The standard is to try to counter and build the damage little by little. Well, if you have some stronger technique like a high kick or something, that would be different, but...I don't need to say more, do I?"
In a battle without rules, a high kick aimed for the head came with the risk of having your leg grabbed and being dragged down. Even if that did not happen, once you were supporting yourself on a single leg, your quick footwork giving you a longer reach would be unusable.
In other words, it simply added the risk of a counterattack.
In the end, continually using your one safe card is nothing more than slowly trapping yourself.
Seidō pointed his protective sword toward Akasora's head.
The man raised his eyes and said, "This is not an issue of who is stronger anymore. From your thought patterns alone, you cannot reach passed Shikifuku."
Immediately afterwards, the situation greatly changed.
Seidō and Akasora both charged forward at once.
"Ah...?" as Seidō charged in, he let out that slight voice of confusion.
Akasora dove toward the ground like he was diving into a pool and "stepped" onto the ground with his hands.
This is just a shogi problem. Akasora's body twisted around and rotated while he was upside down. You are not necessarily safe just by distancing yourself from the enemy pieces. The trick is to move to a position where the enemy pieces cannot move no matter how close it puts you!
The yellow sword that Seidō's immediately swung passed by Akasora's legs by only a few millimeters and his heel shot up toward Seidō's jaw. It got turned to zero. He swung the yellow sword again, but Akasora's legs were no longer there. The weapons merely flew through empty air.
"!"
"What do you think you're following there!?"
With his hands still "standing" on the ground, Akasora had folded up his legs as far as they would go. It looked like he was storing up all his strength like a spring, so Seidō's swung his upper body as far to the side as it would go.
Another shot is coming for my jaw!
"Is that what you thought? It looks like my pride is going to swell by quite a bit here!"
Akasora spun his body while still upside down. His legs wrapped around Seidō's right leg.
That had been outside what Seidō had expected.
With the threat of the yellow sword and shield, Akasora should not have been able to make that attack.
He had gone for something other than a blow.
He had used a locking technique.
Without knocking his opponent to the ground, Akasora started to destroy Seidō's right leg by amiplfying his strength while the man still stood.
A strange feeling passed through Seidō and his head.
But before the leg was completely destroyed, Seidō swung down the yellow sword. Akasora did not stick around and instead let go with his legs and rolled backwards. Seidō tried to follow after him, but his right leg would not move properly. He lost his balance a bit even when trying to turn the hold to zero. In the end, the fact his leg had gotten trapped meant that even with Akasora's power turning to zero he still applied the pressure needed.
"I didn't get to completely destroy it," said Akasora as he stood up by swinging his legs around like a break dancer and scratching the back of his head. "But it looks like I still managed some damage."
"How could an uncategorized person with two arms and two legs do that...!? I even turned that power to zero!"
"Is four areas to strike from not enough for a decisive blow?" said Akasora as he folded his spread arms.
It looked like he was defending his upper body, but it was actually a stance used for attacks with emphasis on the elbows.
"Then I will bring that up to eight with my two elbows and two knees."
"...!"
"Have you calculated out just how much this expands my possible strategies?"
Akasora forcefully kicked off the ground and charged straight for him. Eight striking points irregularly assaulted Seidō in a way that would be impossible for a normal martial artist.
Seidō was not all that used to hand to hand combat.
However...
"I can still trap you!"
Akasora was forced to stop his advance when four yellow walls appeared around him. They quickly enclosed on him, forcing his entire body turn to zero due to the counter balance of Shikifuku.
Seeing Shinoda finally take action, Seidō turned around while bringing up a shield to defend himself.
The yellow shield had been able to block the strike. The moment it touched Kōgetsu it started to twist and turn until it expanded out and go right for Shinoda.
"Crap!"
"...Turn to zero..."
In only a few seconds, multiple things happened.
The yellow color that surrounded Shinoda and Seidō seemed to fall off completely. At the same time, Seidō was forced back while Shinoda was grabbed by his clothes and tossed over to Akasora.
"...I am...sorry...Shinoda-san... ...I am also...sorry...for being...late...Boss..."
"It's fine. And haven't I already said that you can just call me Uncle instead."
Akasora stood up to stand next to his friend.
He looked forward with a smile.
"...Tenryū Shokubutsu...ready for battle...!"