Children - Adult_at_Work
"Hey, Mei-chan? They landed in a relatively open area of the Forbidden Zone, right? That can't be fun for Shinoda. And we will be getting responses from the sponsors sometime tonight. ...The times are really on the move."
In a building in Mikado City, Rindō sat at a table, viewed a map, and spoke to Mei as she offered him a teacup. He then looked to the documents and envelope on the side table.
"The next city over is apparently having a meeting on their side, so I bet all this trouble is just going to keep going. We can manage just fine, but that doesn't ease the worries of us directors."
"Yeah. Kimura and the others are currently holding a meeting in the Yagura Branch Office to discuss the Wanderers meeting issue. We are currently analyzing the relevant movements of the other organizations and sending them the results."
"You sure are active, Mei-chan."
"Just the other day, we made our magnificent debut as the new Kotowari Squad and reset my mind to 0. I thought I should also reset how hard I work."
"Does that reset also bring Sawamura and Kimura back to 0?"
"No, only my team got something new added in the registration, so I have determined that only I return my mind to 0. Besides that, Sawamura-san is not on a team and Kimura works as a manager, so she can't afford the luxury of going back to 0."
GM Aide: "Mei..."
Manager: "Rindō-san, please avoid saying anything that will provoke her. I beg you."
"Right, right." Rindō smiled bitterly. "What exactly do you think will happen in the fight between Sei-chan and the Wanderers?"
"We need not speculate when the battle should begin soon. It would be faster to simply watch."
"No, it's fun to make predictions. So who do you think will win?"
"Due to having more on their side and already knowing how our Triggers work, the Wanderers will surely win."
"I thought you'd think that."
Rindō sighed and Mei noticed the teacup still on the tray she held.
"Rindō-san, please have this post-meal tea."
"Oh, right. I'll take it, I'll take it."
"You only need to say it once. Unless you want me to serve you 2 cups."
"I always drink 3 cups total when you're around."
"Making sure the water does not cool is not easy. And more importantly," Mei stood next to Rindō. "You have some kind of doubt concerning the Wanderers' victory."
"Oh, well, I'm not sure if 'doubt' is the word I would use. And I think you know what I'm talking about."
"I cannot know unless you tell me."
"That's right." Rindō got up from the table and rolled up the map he had been looking at. "When Border as an organization was starting out, I went at it with all kinds of Neighbors, but...but on the inside, there was a sense of 'We're pretty strong'."
"So you were borrowing authority in that thought."
"Well, Shinoda, Sei-chan, and the others used it pretty well in negotiations, but that actually tended to restrict us. We had to strike a kind of balance."
However...
"Back then, talk of a large organization and so many people didn't seem real. I mean, as a world that isn't reliant on Trion, we come up with some amazing things."
"You are saying negotiations with the Wanderers is meaningless."
"No, not meaningless. It's going to set a lot in motion, after all. And to be honest, I'm more worried about Sei-chan right now. ...Are you listening, Mei-chan?"
"I am. So tell me why you are worried about Tenryū even though he will be defeated here."
"Right. Well you see, Seidō won't back down even after losing at a time like this. He keeps going. So I'm curious how he views this battle with the Wanderers. Yuki was the same when he fought for the others, right? He were thinking beyond his loss and then took various measures against it."
"You are saying Tenryū will do the same."
"I'm not sure. We got through everything by looking only to the future, but these kinds of people should be looking at the present and then looking to the future."
Rindō looked up at the Tamakoma's ceiling and then forward, to the south.
He nodded, took a sip of the tea, and took a breath.
"Just like us, Yuki, Kimura, and the others have at least partially made it this far due to the bright future ahead of us, but they're going to have to continue forward while accepting the feelings of those who are heading toward the past instead."
He laughed and raised his eyebrows a little.
"So they're holding a meeting in the Yagura Branch Office, are they? I hope everything they see there is both meaningful for the future and enjoyable. Why don't you go join them?"
Taiyōko Kushikage was stopped in the middle of the street.
It was partially due to her thinking back to the fight she had earlier that day. It was the most fun she had while fighting, minus fighting against Mei and some certain other people.
However, there was a more immediate reason.
A girl around 5 years old was grabbing at her coat.
The girl had heterochromatic eyes.
...I feel like I've fucking seen her before. Where was it? I think around an annoying as fuck person...
Shaking her head, the woman turned and looked down at the girl.
"What?"
"(Stop those bad thoughts, please. Using language like that and saying things like those aren't something I like hearing.)" The girl spoke in German while looking up at her.
"Huh?"
Kushikage's eyebrows lowered in a puzzled expression.
It wasn't because she didn't understand what the girl was talking about.
How the fuck does she know what I'm thinking?
"(Please, stop using that language!)"
Kushikage was getting fed up with having her coat tugged on, so she decided to censor her language mentally. She felt a little constricted, but thought it was fine since it wasn't like she was around people she knew.
The mysterious mini-girl moved her head to the left and the right slowly as the girl behind her looked at her with a bit of awe.
"(Okay, okay! I can focus on finding him now! Those dirty thoughts were too distracting!)"
Is it some kind of Side Effect like Yūichi?
Not bothering to think about it anymore, she changed her thoughts again.
"(…That's an amazing coat you have there. Woah, what's this? It's covered in thick fur.)" She changed her language so that the little girl could understand her.
"(It was given to me as a present from this guy that has his left eye covered. But your coat looks pretty warm, too.)"
Michelle had grabbed the edge of Kushikage's skirt along with the coat and she was swinging them up and down like flapping wings.
She then realized something.
"(But your underwear looks chilly!)"
"(That's because they're see-through. Being in charge of the sexy side of things has its hardships.)"
After that odd back and forth, the two parted ways.
Kushikage couldn't help but to wonder who the girl was. Now that she thought about it, that girl had made no sense. Her thoughts were not in German, so she didn't get how the girl understood her. The girl had looked at her underwear after getting on her case about bad language.
"Heh. I like her. Hope to see her more often."
As she started for her destination once more, a grin came to her face.
"For now... I need to see that fucking fight~"
Behind him, Seidō knew there was the large Border building with others monitoring him from that building.
Seidō was currently traveling through the Forbidden Zone. It was the area in the middle of Mikado City and a dangerous place.
The non-glowing Radar he opened in front of his face showed him what was ahead of his path and where he wanted to go.
The main ship of the Neighbors calling themselves Wanderers.
He had heard that Yagura Branch's Director Akasora had gone there. He had bizarrely gone alone with no bodyguard whatsoever, but there was a dangerous rumor surrounding his actions.
He supposedly wanted to meet with the Wanderers and to talk to them about Seidō himself.
And Seidō had decided to escape his confinement to go there. Seeing what the discussion would be about was only natural for someone who was the topic of discussion, but things were different when his friend was the one doing it.
He had decided to punish the Yagura Branch's director and to take his own punishment afterwards.
And...
"I don't want to add any more negative thoughts about me from my own child, you asshole!"
So he would strike at his friend who showed his intent to interfere with the punishment. And he would take said punishment afterwards.
It was simple.
But someone else was trying to interfere with that simplicity.
"Do you intended to get in my way, old man from this Neighbor group?"
"To be honest, I don't. I just can't stand people who think they own what isn't theirs."
The voice came from the center of the path he was taking. The dark figure wielded a pole.
He spread his arms to protect the large door leading to the Neighbor ship behind him and his mouth split left and right in a smile.
"Ha ha. There is also the fact that our leader is rash. ...Every last person we have met has searched through some depths of different worlds and vaguely realized a truth. He is only the most recent one to do so. But..."
But...
"Any previous guesses are most likely correct. ...We do more than simple wander around worlds. We seek help from those worlds and we find truths that shouldn't be found. Some such thing is a 'cancer' that has been created. What can she bring? It is probably 'happiness'. It is probably 'salvation'. It is probably 'hypocrisy'. No..."
"What do you mean, no?"
Seidō asked back as he charged across the Forbidden Zone and Hatomi answered him.
"It was all an undeniable 'deadly sin'!"
.
A moment later, Seidō saw something.
In the darkness, the starlight shone down on them and other outdoor lights shined on away from them.
"It's time you felt the restriction of the Wanderers' Vice Captain, the keeper of the prison."
A wall came up before a tiger appeared in the entire space behind Hatomi.
As Seidō ran head on, it looked like wings.
But it was not.
"...Arms!?"
"As the always second-in-command, I have taken up the Wanderers' - previously only - Black Trigger to use these as cages. I have the arms and thoughts of those who wished to assist us even in death."
There were more than 1000 of them. And they were all one of two colors.
"Those who wished to be preserved after death turned yellow from the change to their bodily fluids, as such, I recreated that same yellow coloring here. Those that wished to be modified turned black as their blood congealed, represented by this very Black Trigger. When they are lined up in this pattern, people start to call it Tígri Fterá, but I prefer another name: Ypókosmos, Blessing from the Afterlife."
In the darkness, the trion arms all held weapons or were unarmed.
"Pierce him."
Four digits' worth of slashes and blows collided with Seidō as a booming roar.
.
Hatomi watched the attack he had sent out.
The ground was shattered, the area were torn apart, and beyond the 1000+ arms that he slowly pulled back...
"Oh?"
Seidō was still standing. His hair swayed in front of his eyes and his clothes had been torn, coat and all, but...
"Can you use your movement to pull off the ideal movement?"
"Even with my age, I am still inexperienced, so it's only a crude attempt."
I see, thought Hatomi. Experts would control their own speed in battle to make the ideal movements, but there was more than one way to do so. Some used martial arts and others made miniscule movements linked to their sense of sight or hearing.
To put it another way, no special technique was needed. If someone focused on their own movements and truly mastered them, they would eventually reach that level. But...
"You must have had quite an excellent teacher. It is rare indeed for someone at your age to pull off even a crude first step toward the ideal."
"...My teacher is no longer with me."
"Is that so?"
It was unclear if that was due to death or a simple parting of ways, but Hatomi had no intention of asking for clarification. Instead...
"Were you loved?"
"Enough to have a child of my own."
"Understood," replied Hatomi to wish peace on that soul.
"Then I'll go with this."
Hatomi activated attack commands with all 1000+ arms of Ypókosmos.
He used wide-range, straight-line, projectile, and permeating attacks all at once to leave no ideal move to take.
"This unavoidable attack is known as Ypókosmos Férnontas ...Ohh, and now I'm laughing at the name I gave it as a joke."
It scored a direct hit.
.
Hatomi saw it happen.
Immense power was slammed into a single enemy in the form of flapping wings. It was extremely large even for the Ypókosmos technique.
But Seidō moved at the center of it all. He simply held his weapon's flat sword end forward, and...
"I just need to fall! Shikifuku!"
With those words, a glow started to appear. A yellow shield appeared in front of Seidō. The attack hit the shield, seeming to bounce off of it. Before it could go back to the attacker, another yellow shield appeared, making the attack bounce back once more. This process continued as more yellow shields formed and compacted until it was in the shape of a new sword.
...The power is vanishing?
The attack continued to bounce around as it collided with the yellow shields. But it was not erased. The intensity, the power, the gravity, the light, and everything else were...
"Stored!?"
"Right. This is the power of the defensive part of the Black Trigger named Shikifuku!"
The power was devoured and torn apart. Beyond it, Seidō was nearly blown away by the portion of the power that escaped to the sides or above.
But he narrowed his eyes and spoke two words:
"Yasakani Shikifuku."
Ypókosmos grew beyond a simple impact and peaked as something more like an explosion, but Seidō accelerated toward Hatomi. This was more than just taking one step at a time. That man could make the ideal movements, so he made definite progress that built up a smooth momentum in a straight line.
"...Fall!"
He fell forward.
So Hatomi also moved. He had Ypókosmos flap and gather together.
"I see...!" The corners of his mouth rose in a smile. He raised his staff on the right to intercept the man.
"It's just as that Miden man said! So this is one of Black Triggers and someone who can wield it best! I can see why he wants you to join us!"
Immediately, all of Ypókosmos's power exploded and the two weapons clashed.
.
Seidō realized in an instant that the world had fallen from light to darkness.
Ypókosmos's explosion had ended and darkness had returned to the area.
He stood on the right side of the ship behind Hatomi. He was crouched down on the ship's surface storing up his strength for a leap.
The area was filled with heat and dense wind.
And Hatomi turned back toward him.
There was a black line running from the center of his chest to his left collarbone. It had been torn, not cut. That was the mark from Shikifuku's closed tip piercing him diagonally.
Normally a person would have released a spray of blood and died from shock after their blood pressure plummeted.
But in a trion body, things were different. He was not bleeding, or even losing trion; he merely looked down at the black wound, and...
"The weak points of this false body are the head and heart. That is true for the real body as well, so attack there and you win. I don't believe there is a single fighter who does not understand that."
Of course...
"This Black Trigger won't let you do so easily."
Seidō nodded and dropped down with Shikifuku. He was targeting the points Hatomi indicated.
Seidō thought that anyone who was obedient to battle would respond to an enemy's request to target them. Especially when their life was hanging in the balance.
After all...
...The battlefield is where hopes are fulfilled.
When the battle ended, the victor's hope would of course be fulfilled. So Seidō had wanted the battlefield to be a pure place. He wanted it to be a place that held nothing more than everyone's hopes.
But that was a long time ago.
The air here had been scorched and frozen and the area was filled with wind, but it was being washed clean by a great power.
"!"
By the time his feet landed, he was half a step closer.
He wanted to take two more steps and move to the best of his ability in order to fulfill his and his opponent's hopes, but his speed rejected that. The moment was pure, so his speed told him to hurry up and end it.
And so he took another step and directed an attack toward Hatomi that slipped past even the wind resistance.
But at that very moment.
"Sorry."
A voice reached him from the side and his pure attack was deflected with a loud clang.
.
Hatomi looked to the person standing in front of him.
It was a tall man wearing a track suit with a Yagura Branch emblem on it.
He had intervened in Seidō's speed and deflected his shield's tip with his sword. He was...
"Chishi...!"
"Sorry."
He repeated that word, but his apology was not directed at Hatomi.
He was speaking to Seidō who had tried to attack him.
"Things have already been settled, Seidō."
"...So it's settled then."
Rhinoceros Beetle 07 - now having taken up the name Pyrínas - looked at the screen in front of him.
The screen showed the three men by the Wanderers' ship. He could hear what they were saying and he saw the fight that had just happened.
"...For that man to be able to handle Hatomi's Ypókosmos when it is the first time he has seen it... ...That is really amazing."
Two weights pressed down on his sides as two bodies leaned in on him. Both bodies were extremely small compared to his large stature, making him feel as if he needed to be careful around them.
Especially since...
"...Stepney. ...Mitsubachi."
They were two of the three children who had saved him.
"Is it here?"
"No, no, no! We seriously put it over here!"
"We should just wait for Michelle to get here."
The two bodies lifted Pyrínas's shirt before putting their heads inside. They started to moved around, poking and probing his body.
As an Autonomous Trion Soldier he felt no need to stop them. What they were doing was fine since they had been the ones to assist him in gaining his current body. But...
"...May I ask what you two are doing?"
One of the two lumps in his shirt answered him while poking at his back.
"We are looking for the emblem. The one we put on you. Unless...you took it off."
Even with an ego of his own now, Pyrínas could not fully bring himself to be saddened by the tone of the small boy who was speaking.
Instead of answering with reassurance, he explained himself while slowly taking off his clothes. The children seemed to have noticed this as they started to get out from under his shirt.
"...You three saved me today and even went so far as to say I am fine being one of you. ...I would never get rid of that."
With a full view of the Autonomous Trion Soldier, the two children were able to see all that they had drawn on him while he had spent his time as a beetle. Every things they had drawn was on his body like a tattoo.
"Oh my. Those are from these children? Mitsubachi-chan, it is not nice to be drawing on other people. Have you apologized to this man yet?"
"...There is no need for that. ...While it is a bit...unfortunate that they used permanent marker to draw on me, it really is no issue since I can change my body due to being a trion soldier."
"You need to forgive us for only seeing this as a human side of things. Our children may be a part of Border, but we don't know too much about it."
"...That is also true. ...I will keep that in mind the next time I bring anything like that up again."
Pyrínas lowered his head towards the two women who were sitting at a table a bit away from him and the two children who had decided to hang off of his shoulders.
Even after being told that he was a trion soldier, a part of the original being that helped to test this world, and use to be a rhinoceros beetle, the two women had no issue with him playing with the children.
The two children had introduced him as their friend, stating that their other friend would be coming by soon, and the two women had taken that for what it was. It was only after them asking about him did he answer honestly.
"Pyrínas-san, since we do not understand fully what is going on, would you be kind enough to truly tell us what is happening? As someone who keeps in contact with Akasora-kun and who knows of Tenryū-san, this would truly be appreciated."
"...'-san'... ...That is how formalities go over here, right? ...In that case, you do not need to be formal with me. ...That kind of kindness should be directed towards organic organisms."
"What a wonderful response! Hey, hey, Kasumi-chan, what do you think?"
"It was refreshing to hear that from someone as young as him. Even so, Seihana-san, you don't need get so happy about that."
"...I suppose I did reset myself to only a few hours old since I am no longer a part of the Pyrínas System..."
.
Mitsubachi listened in as her mother and her mother's friend spoke to Pyrínas.
She wanted Pyrínas' attention on her and Stepney, but she also knew not to interrupt when adults are talking. Instead, she settled for sharing the trion soldier's lap with Stepney as they watched the screen Pyrínas had put in front of them.
"Hey, hey, hey, Step! Do you seriously know who those guys are? They seem really important."
"I don't-... Um, I mean... I do not know who they are. But that man-... I-I mean gentleman-"
"Stop talking like that! It's really, seriously annoying! I want you to talk how you want to talk."
"B-but my parents-"
"Bleh! They aren't here, so you don't need to talk like they do! You say whatever you want to say! My sister always says whatever she wants and she seriously never seems sad when she does!"
"My brother is the same way..."
Stepney tightened his fist and lips before nodding.
"Okay. I will try to speak how I want to speak."
"Yay! And if your parents try anything, we have Pie-chan here to help out! And my mom will also help us out!"
The two children blinked a few times when they felt a weight on their heads.
They looked up to see Pyrínas looking towards the two mothers with his hands on their heads. It seemed as if he was also listening to their conversation and wanted to comfort them after hearing their words.
"Alright! Back to what we were saying! Do you seriously know that guy or something?"
"My brother told me about his teacher and that man looks like what was told to me. A-A-Ako-"
"...'Akasora'."
"Thank you, Pyrínas. Um, yeah, Mr. Akasora. He use to be my brother's school teacher but is now a part of Border. That's all I know though."
"Wooooooow~! So he's-"
Before Mitsubachi could finish her sentence, a knock on the door was heard.
Without waiting at all, Mitsubachi sprung up and went for the door. The sound of her mother's laugh could be heard, but she chose to ignore that in favor of seeing who it was.
When she opened the door...
"Michelle-chan!"
.
Pyrínas looked towards the door, along with the other three occupants of the room, and saw Mitsubachi run back in, holding the hand of another small, heterochromatic girl.
Without a word, she pulled the girl over so that the two of them, along with Stepney, were sitting in Pyrínas's lap.
"Mitsubachi-chan, is that your other friend?"
There was no reason to care about the fact that Mitsubachi was constantly moving from his lap. Pyrínas knew that and so said nothing as she did so to introduce Michelle to her mother.
What held more priority was what was happening on the screen in front of him.
What they were all seeing was not being broadcasted on television or even seen by anyone else. The visuals that were coming through was because of his status as "Pyrínas" and nothing more.
Even so...
...Presence concealment. ...Not from radars of any kind. ...Whoever that is, they are getting rid of their entire being just so that they will not be spotted. ...Who could that be?
He did not want to be associated with the original being that had gone by the name Pyrínas, but he wanted to know who was currently close by but could not be seen.
The first thing to figure out was if one if the children could notice. To be more specific...
"(...Michelle. ...Can you please use your Side... ...Besides us, is are there any other thoughts that are coming through?)"
"(No. I don't hear anything else. Is there suppose to be someone else?)"
He shook his head towards the questioning girl.
Due to his knowledge of the girl's Side Effect, he was using a small portion of the Pyrínas System that he could never get rid of to make it seem like his thoughts were different from what they actually were.
His current thoughts were far from the girl while his secondary thoughts were the closest to her. It was not something he was pleased about doing, but there was still a portion that would not let him have his mind read by anyone else.
...I should apologize later. ...For now, I should try to find out who it is that is currently watching us.
A second function built in to him was communication through other Trion-made objects. That included any Trion Bodies made.
"...If you can hear me, which you should be able to, identify yourself. ...Your presence concealment was top tier, but you chose not to hide yourself from a simple radar."
It took a few seconds before a response came.
The voice was familiar.
"...Tenryū Shokubutsu... ...Yuki-san asked me...to look out...for that girl...while he and the others...are busy... ...I am...sorry...for alarming you..."
It was the boy from the next city over that he had met through a different body.
He seemed to be of no threat, yet there were still some worries that came up when thought about for a moment.
Why did he not show himself?
...There is no reason to be hiding if he knows who I am and he has to watch over Michelle.
How could he completely hide his own presence?
...Every person gives off some indication of their own existence. ...I believe people call it a "feeling" that they get when someone else is around. ...I felt nothing from him, but that can be expected since I do not have "feeling". ...Even so, no one else could tell that he was there. ...And...
How could Michelle not read his thoughts?
...Her Side Effect seems to be indiscriminate. ...Even if proximity was an issue, he seems to be close enough that it should not truly be an issue. ...She was facing his direction as well, yet she says that there is no one else.
"Pyrínas-kun?"
There was no longer time to think about the boy if he was being directly spoken to by someone else. His current thoughts and his secondary thoughts were only meant to prevent Michelle from worrying, not to have a conversation.
The boy posed no threat to anyone there, so there was no real priority in questioning him. All Pyrínas could do was accept that the boy would continue to watch from a distance and choose not to interact with others.
.
Pyrínas looked towards Seihana with a stoic expression.
"...Yes?"
"I truly apologize for the interruption. If you would like, could you please continue your explanation of the current state of things?"
"...Of course. ...Please remember that what I am going to say may not be completely accurate and is technically from a second-hand source."
While it may have seemed rude, Pyrínas turned back towards the screen. It was the best way he could explain while making sure everything he was saying was accurate.
"...Now then..."
"So while we're trying to prepare for our dealings with the meeting, Tenryū and the Wanderers have already clashed."
Kimura sighed in the Yagura Branch Room now that Ōji, Inukai, Oshiro, and Narasak had joined them.
...I'm not really sure what Tenryū-san and the Wanderers are thinking.
"Does this mean the Wanderers are looking several steps ahead to prepare for the post-meeting period?"
If they were preserving themselves as well as Tenryū Seidō...
"This could be trouble."
Kimura started to fall into thought, but she somehow managed to keep her gaze focused.
And she saw Narasaka raise his right forearm.
"Is it really a problem if the Neighbors and Tenryū have preserved their strength going into what comes next? Some of you and them are on friendly terms, aren't you? ...Do you think they'll betray you?"
"You have a point. It's being optimistic, but the Wanderers don't seem like the type for that kind of deceit. Especially after what we have heard from unnamed sources. They won't allow it on a personal level and their pride seems to stop them from allowing it on an official level, if this skirmish is anything to go by."
"That's right," said Suzaku. "The Black Triggers and armies choose who to have with them. If they chose to abandon their pride by doing something against themselves, they might lose the ability to use those weapons."
"But, Umi, we need them to cooperate using those things."
The idiot pointed out something troublesome by way of Suzaku.
But he was right and there was important meaning there.
...Using those Black Triggers as negotiation fodder is one option available to the Wanderers.
They had just shown what other Black Trigger they had and what it could do, meaning they were putting Border in their debt by showing the power difference.
"That would give them an excuse to turn on us during other battles..."
I'm probably overthinking it, thought Kimura. But there was no point in being overly optimistic, so...
"Akashi-san, give me an answer."
"...Are you serious!? You don't hold back, do you!?"
What are you talking about? And are you that happy that someone's paying attention to you?
But he was the only one to ask.
"If these Neighbors were going to betray us, why would they do it?"
"Obviously it would be for a major victory that set them up as the ultimate victors."
Akashi answered without delay.
"Listen," he said with his hands on his hips. "They would win with a fighting force overwhelmingly more powerful than anyone or anywhere else. And not just in a short-term fight. They would win the long-term conflicts with Neighbors worlds and any of their own squabbles. ...Listen. I'm talking about being the ultimate victors, enough that they can ensure that no more wars are fought on Earth! If they can do that and they don't need their pride and Black Triggers to do it, then they can easily abandon using those things. After all, if everyone else has been badly beaten, then they don't even need weapons like that. So..."
So...
"For now, they are preserving everything they have while gathering new tactics and a new display of power. That fits perfectly with a desire to be the ultimate victors. That is why I propose we form a definite alliance with these Neighbors. Then our single peace can stop these Neighbors' 'what if' scenario." He took a breath. "What a simple question. ...I kind of wish you had a harder one for me to answer. Do you, Hogo Manager Kimura-kun?"
.
"No, that was sufficient."
He sure is fired up,thought Kimura just before she heard the wind blowing overhead. Then Nakagami's voice echoed through the air.
"Everyone, a flying Neighbor is approaching from overhead. It is giving an ID signal. It belongs to..."
...A Neighbor with an ID signal...?
That's weird, thought Kimura as the answer was given.
"The Wanderers! The Neighbor belong to those weirdos! Got it!?"
.
Immediately afterwards, someone jumped down from the wind overhead.
Once the entire group was outside and in front of the branch office, the Ōji Squad duo and Kanzaki stepped forward to face someone of medium build.
"Excuse me! I am the Wanderers leader Futoyuki!"
The leader of Wanderers inhaled and stared sharply at them.
"I'm sorryyyyy! It wasn't meant as an attack, so please let me be friends with Mideeeeeen!"
"So those Neighbors went to Yagura saying they want to be friends!?"
In the depths of the night and in a Border owned building by a river, a form raised her voice with her hair falling down her face a bit.
She stood in the kitchen of Tamakoma Branch's office. The girl's clothes were casual with nothing particular being special about them and she looked down in front of the counter.
She placed her phone on the counter and it held its position. Also...
"What are they planning on doing?"
Konami spoke to the girl who was a few feet away whose glasses were stightened on her head. That girl, Usami, placed a hand on her chin and spoke with a note of thought in her voice.
"I'm not too sure."
"Why not?"
"It was apparently the Wanderers' leader and the one Jin-san took on who went to Yagura for this. It was not someone else belonging to them."
More people voiced their understanding on the chat provided by Border's network.
Gummy: "Besides the one he rode on, there doesn't seem to be any other Neighbors around. That means he's relatively defenseless. There isn't even a sign of a Black Trigger or any other kind of Trigger on him."
Mi-Kon: "Does that mean they are trying to make themselves seem more vulnerable so they could join us?"
Gummy: "That seems to be part of it. Besides, the Wanderers, what they like to call themselves apparently, stated that they did not mean to attack us, so there is always a chance something can change..."
Had Futoyuki approached the Yagura Branch to demonstrate that he was not their enemy even if it seemed like he was? But what bothered her was...
8 Skies: "Umm, what are they going to do?"
.
Konami just about said something in response to Sora.
The people at the Yagura Branch office were apparently trying to figure out how to respond to Futoyuki's sudden entrance. They would probably come up with something, but for now...
...What are they going to do?
She could only tell him to wait until they got to a point. But...
Gummy: "Ah ha ha. Hachi-kun, wanna come have eat with us? Fubuki-chan and I will feed you together."
Platinum: "Aya, don't say that. When we've done that to Sora lately, he reacts like a girl despite having a guy's body, so it makes me want to upload it to a video site."
8 Skies: "Wh-why do you always try to treat me like a child!?"
...Wait.
Red Picture: "What have you 3 been doing?"
8 Skies: "I-I haven't done anything! I just have things done to me!"
How is that any different? wondered Konami.
Bookkeeper: "You three are disturbing the public morals. You need to do better."
8 Skies: "Yes, sir..."
It was somewhat worrying that only Sora responded.
But he uttered an "ah" soon thereafter.
8 Skies: "And that hasn't just happened here! All of you need to realize I don't go when it is just you girls out of concern for all of you! Due to some limitations and space, I usually try to go last!"
"Yeah," said Konami while placing a hand on her forehead.
Red Picture: "That's true. And we are often running late due to our own stuff..."
Platinum: "No. I do it intentionally because he is fun to mess with."
Umm, breathed Konami as she thought Sora would groan because of that.
I should to bring this conversation back on track.
With this and what happened before, Sora had to have taken a lot of psychological damage today. She had to help cheer him up before he planned out what to do if he was asked for help.
So she spoke up to prepare things for that:
Red Picture: "Sora, I feel bad that you have to work so hard not to look at us when that happens."
8 Skies: "...You noticed?"
Red Picture: "Yeah. ...I guess it isn't fun when we stop you from being moved to tears when reading a shoujo manga on your free time, hum as you lightly kick your feet while on a stool, and go 'nn' as you start eating using only spoons."
8 Skies: "That's even worse than before! Way worse!"
Gummy: "Wait, why do you eat only using a spoon? Why not use a fork and knife?"
8 Skies: "Someone keeps taking mine whenever I go for it! I don't know who it is, though!"
Light Body: "Huh, huh? I thought...those were always extras. Were they not?"
8 Skies: "No, they're not! They were mine! Besides that, I usually get stuck between people like Misaki-san and Shirogane-chan, so I end up getting teased a lot! Even Kunichika-senpai is not the best! I can't even leave since it would be rude and they never let me leave!"
Platinum: "Yeah, being trapped between those giant tits would be pretty deadly..."
Red Picture: "Even if you don't want to look, I don't think you should just stare at your food the whole time everyone is having fun."
Light Body: "Right, right. It's okay, Hachidori-kun. If you have any dirty thoughts, I'll use a purification to temporarily castrate you. If you ever need something, just tell me. Although I do wonder why they usually bring me along as well..."
8 Skies: "I don't get any rights, do I!?"
"Calm down," sent Konami.
Red Picture: "We can fix any seating arrangements next time. Pretty sure you get top priority on the matter since none of us want Noah to be on our case. Now, about what's going on at Yagura..."
Sora responded to her words.
8 Skies: "Oh, right. The shrine maiden that's there is killing time by speaking with me for some reason."
.
When Yagura and the Wanderers began speaking, Sora was receiving advice from Yagura's normal shrine maiden.
"That's right. The girls I know never, ever see me as a guy."
"Oh, dear. Then do you want them to see you as a guy, Hachidori-kun? Romantically, I mean?"
"Eh? Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that. Um, how should I put it?"
He appreciated how she would nod and wait for him to continue. She gave him time to think without pressuring him to speak.
Acting as a male Operator had taught him something: a lot of people would pretend to understand what he was saying while actually using clever words to guide him toward a certain opinion or toward agreement.
...Some people would have phrased that earlier question as "So you want them to see you as a guy, don't you?"
They would pretend to understand while seeking agreement and trying to force everything to follow what they wanted.
They placed their conversational partner in their own framework and then forced that partner to follow that.
This shrine maiden was lewd, but she did not say things like that.
She asked questions to learn what he thought. So when he said...
"I think I do want them to treat me like a guy."
She responded...
"And what do you mean by treating you like a guy?"
She did not decide for him what that meant and she did not simply parrot back the phrase as if what it meant did not matter.
She urged him on and focused on his opinion in order to bring their thoughts closer together.
It almost felt like facing a mirror.
And so...
"Well..."
He thought about something he had only had a vague idea about. And...
"Hachidori-kun? Boys and girls are different, but asking people to change how they treat you because of that can be a difficult thing, so be careful. And it seems the girls around you aren't the type to change how they treat you, but do you know why that is?"
"Well..."
Once she said that, he caught on.
"Because emphasizing that I'm a guy wouldn't mean much..."
"Why not?"
"Um, because I'm not very manly."
"Have you ever tried crossdressing or been forced to?"
"I-I will become more manly!"
"Oh, so you have."
"I-it was a long time ago! And only because none of the boy's equipment fit me..."
Sora blushed when she giggled in a husky voice.
He could tell he had said too much and made her laugh at him.
Umi:"W-wait, Jinsei! Why are you beginning a Shinto counseling session!? From what Shintai has told me, you're not licensed!"
Haru: "That's the problem with this?"
Life: "What are you talking about, Umi-chan? How can the lewd shrine maiden of a shrine ignore this boy's youthful worries!? Just leave it to me. If he's troubled because he gets mistaken for a girl, then it's only logical for a crossdresser to give him advice, right?"
Honest Sister: "Heh heh. That's honestly right, foolish man! Win his heart with your crossdresser's charm!"
TetsuG: "Is this a new genre?"
Honest Sister: "Since it's with one of the male Operators I can wait until the pre-festival event."
#5 Mountain: "But, Kirikari-kun! That is some excellent counseling!"
Manager: "Stop doing unauthorized stupidity!"
.
"Honestly..."
While the crossdresser was wasting time by talking with Sora, Kimura had to figure out what to do with the person standing in front of her.
...Futoyuki, hm?
They had dealt with the Neighbors during the day already. And this was the leader of said Neighbors who called themselves Wanderers.
He was fairly tall and not exactly bad looking, but there was a certain confidence in his actions.
Iko: "He seems like a weirdo to me."
Bamboo Sniper: "His line when he appeared was certainly weird. Oh, Ikoma Squad's Shooter, your captain is answering again, so take care of it. A repeat of the sponsors wouldn't be favorable."
Shōgi Boy: "Narasaka... Do you have any thoughts on this matter? Your views of Neighbors is unfavorable, but it shouldn't be as bad as Miwa's."
Bamboo Sniper: "Unfortunately, I really am not the best to ask since I'm not on a neutral ground with this subject. ...But I do know one thing."
Which was...
Bamboo Sniper: "Most likely, these guys have a lot of experience with gaining allies on their side. They also have a lot of confidence in themselves since only their leader came out here to see us with almost no protection around him. It can seem like we can just take him and interrogate him, but that can also end badly if what we've seen today is anything to go by. Even the fight between them and that man showed just how strong they really are. We could feel the quaking from over here after all.
Secretary: "So this leader is not the smartest, but has a lot of faith in what he has built up."
"That's right," said Narasaka and Kimura nodded in agreement.
...I see.
The Wanderers had a chance to later become a link to others in the Neighborhood. Their leader and most likely main fighter, representative of the side that would try to ally with them, had paid them an emergency visit and there was no sign of movement from the side that could turn against them.
Futoyuki's appearance was disrespectful to his own position.
But it also indicated a certain fact:
Manager: "The Wanderers are looking beyond today and have already decided on how to help both sides."
Secretary: "It would seem so. I'm sure they are use to joining one side after another side's destruction, but then join a completely different side at certain battles after some deaths. But they might ultimately oppose those sides and also oppose others due to other alliances. And after that side with a new group, they might reconcile with the first group and finally join them. ...Then they can split up however they want!"
Demon Child: "What is with all that back and forth, betrayal and reunion? It sounds like melodramatic fanfiction."
Kimura placed a hand on her forehead and thought.
...This is troublesome.
After all...
"From what we could gather, most of them seem to listen to that old man more than this guy. That means this guy who is their leader wouldn't be here to apologize for their misconduct during the day. And even if he was, it would mean that he is treated more like a gofer and he wouldn't be a very valuable ally to keep around."
Thus...
"This Neighbor leader came here of his own free will. If not, he is not even worth speaking with. That about sums it up, I believe."
"Um, Kimura?"
Murakami smiled her way, but Kimura had no idea why.
"What is it, Murakami-san?"
"Right. You were saying all that out loud."
She checked down in her arms and saw Krümel nodding off. The way he would sometimes start to fall out and quickly right himself was quite cute, but that was why she lost focus and stopped messaging through the chat.
That isn't good, she thought as she looked forward to see Futoyuki looking at her.
This really isn't good, she thought again. And on the Border chat:
"This isn't good. I let out too much of my honest thoughts there."
"You haven't entered the chat!" cut in Murakami. "You're really saying it! Hurry up and rouse that dog!"
"But I'd feel bad forcing him to wake up. He's all tuckered out. He was working hard throughout that entire battle."
Murakami stepped back and formed a quick scrum with the others. After a while, Kon left the scrum and faced Kimura. The female Operator spoke with her usual calm voice.
"Right. ...We will just keep going like this."
"Kon! Kon! I thought we just decided to apologize even if we didn't really mean it!"
Suzaku was saying too much as well.
But then someone else joined the conversation: Karasawa.
Rugby Man: "Hogo Manager. If we can get those wanderers to join us here, it will benefit us in 2 ways. You have clearance for this by a vote from the directors, so don't worry about getting in trouble."
Inside the lit Border base, people sat with their attention focused on the meeting happening in front of the Yagura branch's office. They had received advanced warning of the sudden meeting, so the directors had started to discuss what to do.
Karasawa, the rest of the directors, and some squad captains continued to pay attention to the feed they were being fed by one of the agents near the meeting. Shinoda and Jin had been exchanging words via eye contact, but he easily heard some of the others speaking out loud.
"Ah, ah~ That landing might have rattled off some pron games hidden in that building."
"Wait, where did that shudo doujinshi tilted Shingen-sama's Mass Multiplication III fall out of!?"
"How the hell could you tell the name from just this feed?"
Netsuki had opened a notepad to write up the morals violations they were all hearing, so that would be dealt with in due time. But for now...
Manager: "Karasawa-san, what are the 2 ways accepting the Wanderers will benefit us?"
Rugby Man: "Right. The first is that we can gain information about Neighbor worlds by having people who only travel around. Even if it is only in name, this boy in front of you is their current leader. His movements support will support any resolution they come to or give us enough reason to go into a good resolution."
That would be the biggest benefit for our own world at the moment, thought Karasawa.
But there was another benefit from another point of view.
Rugby Man: "We can eliminate the threat of more attacks on us."
.
Kinuta mentally agreed with Karasawa as he looked at what was being put down.
...That is indeed important.
The threat of attacks to which he referred was something that would always be in their mind after having been attacked by Aftokrator already.
Kinuta: "That old man we saw can be seen as the true commander of these Neighbors and he gave a man like Tenryū trouble only moments ago and could have done that to us before. About earlier in the day in particular, we could have actually suffered some great losses if he had entered the fray and been on the offense."
Secretary: "Exactly. They are a dangerous enemy for us."
The secretary-like boy said more.
Secretary: "As I said before, there is a chance they like hopping back and forth between various powerful people whenever they have the chance, but we have no records of ever encountering them during our expeditions. We can't have them attacking us with others each time just because we rejected them. So if this Futoyuki person wants to side with us here, we can use his authority as leader to get around having to deal with anyone attacking us because of them. If we do that, it would save us from a lot of trouble."
Du-Sis: "It makes sense, but it sure is cowardly."
Secretary: "Not all of us have an idiotic brother who we try (and fail) to impress!"
Almost Everyone: "For once, I agree with him..."
Kinuta also agreed.
...It is indeed cowardly, but it also makes sense.
The Wanderers were a small group. Their personal was also small and was supposedly composed of only a few people there. Everything else seemed to do sit of Trion Soldiers made by that small group. Even if some of those Trion Soldiers seemed as qualified as some of their own A-Rank agents.
They had little idea on how their Triggers worked or if any of them even had any Side Effects they could use. It was hard to figure out when the fights that had broken out were more direct and with agents who were difficult to deal with.
That group was telling everyone to take this offer if they wanted any information.
"Hey, lets provide the information we do have. But..."
Kinuta spoke to the other directors who were seated around him.
"This relationship with these Neighbors will likely be really troublesome.
Kimura sent back some words of thanks when she received information on the Wanderers from the directors and Jin.
Krümel was still fast asleep in her arms, so Suzaku had put together an easy way for her messages to be made while the dog slept.
At any rate, she had one thing to think about.
...I think it would strengthen Border to bring these wanderers under our command.
That would provide them with more backing from Neighbors than what little they were getting from Senzai Squad.
So she spoke to Futoyuki who stood in front of her.
"Futoyuki-san, should I interpret this as a request to join Border?"
Futoyuki nodded. In fact, he did so a second and third time. Then he opened his mouth to produce a somewhat hoarse voice and got down on one knee.
"Yeah! I visited here today to start down a connecting path with Miden as soon as possible!"
"I see."
Kimura sat down to put herself on eye level with Futoyuki and she opened her mouth.
"...We reject your offer."
.
We need to deal with the Wanderers quickly, thought Kimura.
She glanced over at the idiot jiggling his fake boobs and wiggling his butt while talking to Sora.
"Um, Wanderers Leader."
"Yes, what is it!?"
Leader Futoyuki's tone grew rough and he stood up. She remained sitting, but he did not look down at her and instead tilted his head.
"Why would you reject my offer!?"
This is probably more about being angry than strong willed, thought Kimura. He isn't looking down on me and he actually knows how to calmly stop himself, she added.
...He can negotiate.
Understanding that, Kimura lightly swept her right hand outwards.
She gestured toward Kanzaki behind her.
She then heard the girl lower Kōgetsu.
They had no intention to attack and this man would be able to realize what that meant. So Kimura opened her mouth to tell him something.
"If we were to accept your request, your life would be at risk."
"—"
After seeing him fall silent at the word "life", Kimura continued.
"Currently, Border is on the verge of losing its backing from this world due to a former Neighbor attack. Do you know what that means?"
"You mean...you won't be able to perform as well as usual?"
"That's right," she replied while looking back at him.
He looked her right back in the eye.
...I see.
"You don't want to die, do you?"
"Of course not!"
That was likely true. But within their network, there was a chance they would be overpowered by others. After all, it would take an impressive force to reject an offer of a whole army made of Trion Soldiers, even if it could be beneficial.
So she knew their leader's status was in name mostly.
The Wanderers were preparing themselves for multiple connections and rejections, so he had essentially been trying to solidify a bond.
Yet right now he had no real power and nothing to defend himself.
But there was also their own people to think about as a powerful presence in the world. Humans would be against this choice and could use him by capturing him.
And so he would not want to be captured or killed.
...So ensuring his safety will be the first step in negotiation with him.
Kimura felt like she had found one of the bargaining chips to use with him.
"So do you want to leave your group and come here because you don't want to be rejected or be captured by other Neighbors?"
But Futoyuki reacted to that in a surprising way.
"..."
He avoided answering.
.
Murakami watched Futoyuki's silence.
...Eh? Why isn't he answering?
He had a simple reason for his confusion.
...I mean, when Kimura asked him if he didn't want to die, he said "of course not"...
And yet he fell silent when asked if he wants to leave the Wanderers for a similar reason.
"...?"
When he gave him a questioning glance, he remained silent.
But he was not entirely motionless. He would occasionally twist his lips and look down awkwardly as if he wanted to say something.
It looked like he really wanted to say something about Kimura's question.
But he remained silent.
...Why? He risked his life coming here, didn't he?
And as he thought that, he heard someone else speak.
The crossdresser said something with his back turned while he gave advice and wiggled his hips while speaking with Sora.
Life: "That guy's pretty strong."
.
When he saw that, Murakami finally understood.
...Ah.
It was a simple matter. Leader Futoyuki's silence was not out of obligation for the Wanderers or any other reason.
No, thought Murakami. In that case...
Black Wolf: "Right. I know what this must be..."
Suzaku, Suzume, and Kon turned his way.
It was funny how all three of them nodded without paying any attention to each other. That meant they had been in similar circumstances and understood this.
So Murakami spoke.
Black Wolf: "Kimura, you too should understand how Futoyuki feels."
.
Kimura nodded.
...I did more or less understand.
Futoyuki's silence most likely applied to a position she had once been in.
In fact, some of Border's members had once been like that. But...
...We stopped beinglike that.
So she had briefly hesitated in responding to this man who had not stopped.
Manager: "I agree with all of you."
And so she spoke to Futoyuki while still seated.
"We have information and guesses concerning what the Wanderers will do next. ...Specifically, that you all are already preparing for afterwards. Can I ask about that?"
Futoyuki's reaction was the same.
"—"
Silence and motionlessness.
He did not respond. He did not nod or shake his head. And seeing that, Kimura thought to herself.
...I was right. He reallyisn'tfulfilling some kind of obligation to them.
That was not what this silence was.
"No, that is right."
Kimura made that contradictory statement, and then...
Manager: "Hey, idiot. I am going to say the rest."
Life: "Don't tell me; tell the guy in front of you. Tell him he's experiencing the same thing you did."
That idiot is as hard to deal with as ever, she thought with a bitter smile.
..."The same thing you did"? Don't just put it in the past tense like that.
That'll force me to realize it really is only in the past now.
But she replied with "right" and spoke.
"Leader Futoyuki. My apologies. ...I seem to have asked the wrong question."
"...?"
He wrinkled his brow in confusion and she stood up.
His eyelevel was indeed higher than hers. But their stance was equal now. They were not creating a difference in position as part of their bargaining.
And as they faced each other, Kimura nodded and opened her mouth.
"Leader Futoyuki. ...Border Defense Agency has decided that your visit and request were made on your own discretion."
"You mean...?"
"Needless to say, the Wanderers's decision to join us on our end belong to no one else. And the Border Defense Agency has accepted that you made that decision as their leader as well as someone who cares for the people he is with and you visited alone as a sign of good faith."
So...
"Border will eventually receive your support, so we thank you for your bravery."
.
Everyone watched as Futoyuki listened to Kimura's words.
"..."
He remained silent, but he did react.
"Heh."
He closed and hid his eyes with a smile.
He was happy.
But he made sure to let anyone see.
"I am in your debt...!"
With those words, he lowered his body to one knee in front of Kimura.
He lowered his head and breathed in.
"I, Wanderers's leader and head inventor to said group Futoyuki, shall entrust myself to Miden!"