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"I can't remember the last time we had such a large scale operation!" Kumagai yawned, arms outstretched as she leaned back into the couch.
"Well, it was interesting, to say the least. In my time here in Border, I didn't realise we had that many agents, even if most of them are trainees." Taiki chuckled a little, leaning a little into the couch as well, nervously watching the distance between himself and Kumagai.
Operation Rad Extermination had been concluded two days prior, and Kumagai invited Taiki over to hang out and gossip. The two found themselves retreating to the Nasu Squad break room, when Kumagai decided she wanted a more private setting for their gossip. Taiki was beyond hesitant, but any resistance he put up was deftly ignored by Kumagai as she practically dragged him along with her.
Taiki's anxiousness was only made worse when Kumagai insisted they shared the common couch in the break room. Nasu's recliner was off-limits to everyone else, and that left Taiki with basically no choice but to share the couch with Kumagai.
"Hey, what're you sitting so far away for? Scoot over! Or I'll scoot over to you!" Kumagai pouted annoyedly at Taiki as she noticed he had edged away from her.
"Eh-" Taiki did not have any time to respond before Kumagai casually tossed herself onto Taiki's lap, grinning cheekily at Taiki.
Taiki froze as he stared down at Kumagai lying on his lap, before quickly turning away in embarrassment. Kumagai could not hold back her laughter at Taiki's ears turning bright red as she sat herself back up, and closed the distance between them regardless.
"Oh, you always have the best reactions! I love it!" Kumagai chuckled, throwing her legs across the couch and leaning on Taiki's shoulder, "It's great that you're the perfect height for this too!"
"Y-Yeah, sure. I really could do with less teasing though, Yuuko-senpai." Taiki exasperated exhaustedly as he slumped a little further into the couch.
"Oh don't sweat the small things! Besides, it's only because we've gotten so close that I'm having so much fun teasing you!" Kumagai leaned into Taiki a little as well, chuckling as she reminisced, "Honestly, you were so cold and distant when we first met."
"Ah, is this your new student, Rei?" Kumagai grinned at Taiki, extending her hand, "Nice to meetcha! I'm Kumagai Yuuko!"
"N-Nice to meet you, Kumagai-san. I'm Kudoko Taiki." Taiki awkwardly grabbed onto the outstretched hand and gave it a firm shake.
"So you're a Shooter? I mean you have to be, if you're asking Rei for advice, right?" Kumagai gave Nasu a friendly nudge, eliciting a chuckle from her.
"He's on his way to becoming a 'Perfect' All-Rounder, Kuma-chan! He's pretty apt with the Attacker and Shooter Triggers, and he knows his way around the Sniper Triggers too!" Rei could not help but boast a little about her student.
Kumagai paused for a moment as she tried to process her Squad Captain's words. Whilst All-Rounders were not unheard of in Border, 'Perfect' All-Rounders were. An All-Rounder was only expected to be capable of handling Attacker and Shooter or Gunner Triggers. Most Snipers were almost exclusively Snipers. After all, it was not particularly viable to mix the attacking styles of a Sniper with any other Trigger style.
"Y-You're aiming to become a 'Perfect' All-Rounder, Kudoko-kun?" Kumagai was more than taken aback at the revelation.
"Erm, I guess so." Taiki nodded a little, his gaze darting around but not toward Kumagai.
"H-Hold on. Wouldn't it be enough to just be an All-Rounder? Do you really need to know how to use Sniper Triggers as well?" Kumagai could not get a read on Taiki.
Whilst he seemed awkward, perhaps a little distant, he definitely did not seem arrogant nor flamboyant. Yet the fact that he was on his way to becoming a 'Perfect' All-Rounder was still quite the development. After all, most Border combatants trained and practiced with one type of Trigger. It was the most practical way to go about things for most. Specialise in one type of Trigger set, and improve with their chosen Trigger set.
Of course, All-Rounders were a different story. After all, these were Border combatants that could utilise two of the three types of Trigger sets. More of these All-Rounders could be found in A-Ranks, but B-Rank had its fair share as well. However, the only 'Perfect' All-Rounder in Border belonged to the Tamakoma Branch, and was part of an elite squad of agents - Tamakoma First, also known as Kizaki Squad.
Aside from Kizaki Reiji, the squad's leader and Border's only 'Perfect' All-Rounder, no other Border combatant came close to being a 'Perfect' All-Rounder. And yet here Taiki was, only a B-Rank and supposedly well on his way to becoming Border's next 'Perfect' All-Rounder.
"Well, I thought it would be a good idea to be more versatile." Taiki muttered softly as he turned his gaze to his feet.
"Pretty amazing right, Kuma-chan? It's always good to have powerful allies!" Nasu gave Taiki a pat on his shoulder, "Well, we're about done for the day, shall we go get lunch together?"
"Sure! I haven't eaten yet, so I could use some food right about now! C'mon Kudoko-kun!" Kumagai flanked Nasu as the duo headed for the cafeteria, leaving Taiki to awkwardly trail behind them.
While lunch was filled with conversation, Taiki's participation was sporadic and few. As much as Kumagai tried to make small talk with Taiki, he did not seem too comfortable with speaking to Kumagai, or in general. After a good amount of hemming and hawing, Kumagai decided it would be better to leave the poor boy alone if he felt that nervous and uncomfortable participating in conversation.
"Man, I didn't think we'd ever become friends back then, ya know? You were always so distant and reserved about everything! I'm glad you warmed up to us though." Kumagai giggled softly as she reminisced about the not-so-distant past.
"Well- I guess this really isn't all that bad." Taiki seemed to change his mind about what he was going to say, sighing, "But I really could live without most of your teasing, Yuuko-senpai."
"Man, and it took you so long to start calling me by my given name too! Even though you asked us to address you by yours!" Kumagai ignored Taiki's complaints, as she embarked on another trip down memory lane, "You only started addressing me by my given name that time you were talking about your Trigger Loadout, remember?"
"Ah, I can't spar properly against a loadout like that!" Kumagai grumbled as she regrouped with her squad mates.
"Well, Taiki-kun did say he'd be willing to fight us as a squad but you insisted on taking him on one-on-one, Kuma-chan! I warned you, he's in a league of his own!" Nasu could not help but laugh at Kumagai's demise and frustration.
"And you! What's up with that 'one-man-army' kind of loadout, Taiki?" Kumagai turned her attention to the root of her current woes.
"Eh?" Taiki blinked in surprise as the hostility suddenly turned toward him, "What do you mean, Kumagai-senpai?"
"There you go again! Haven't I told you to call me 'Yuuko-senpai'? Especially after you told us to call you 'Taiki'!" Kumagai puffed up her cheeks in annoyance as she glared dangerously at Taiki, "You know what I mean! You don't have Bagworm in your loadout, and you've filled basically all your Trigger slots with offensive Triggers!"
Taiki could only blink in surprise at the outburst as Nasu chuckled a little. Akane smiled a little as she watched her seniors exchange banter.
"Well, it's only to be expected, isn't it, B-Rank's Lone Wolf?" Nasu smile gently, "Not having a squad to rely on means Taiki-kun has to pull all the stops to survive on his own. And seeing as Taiki is more than capable of facing opponents head on, he doesn't really need the less direct Triggers like Bagworm!"
"Yeah, it really is a style quite unique to Taiki-senpai, isn't it!" Akane giggled, "It's only natural that Kuma-senpai would lose to Taiki-senpai!"
"Only natural, eh?" Kumagai smirked as she wrestled poor Akane into a chokehold, burrowing her free fist into her hair.
Nasu laughed as Akane whined and groaned in protest, while Taiki chuckled nervously as Kumagai glared at him.
"You don't want me to do this to you, do you Taiki? If you don't, explain yourself! And call me by my given name already!" Kumagai finally released Akane, whom collapsed to the ground gasping for air and wheezing a little.
"Al-Alright, Yuuko-senpai!" Taiki half acknowledged, half shouted, not wanting Akane's fate to befall him for various reasons.
And so, over lunch, Taiki talked about his Trigger loadout.
The decision to pick Scorpion over Kogetsu was simple. Not only was Scorpion lighter than Kogetsu and easier to wield, it was far more versatile and flexible. And given Taiki's natural Trion ability, he would not be put at too much of a disadvantage going against a Kogetsu user. He could easily reinforce the durability of Scorpion when necessary.
Shooter Triggers over Gunner Triggers was another simple decision. Not needing to wield physical Trion guns was by far the more flexible option between the two. Of course, Taiki had to train more in order to use the Shooter Triggers efficiently, but given Taiki's Side Effect, picking up the Shooter Triggers proved to be not much of a challenge.
Shield was a necessity for all Border combatants, so no questions really asked as to why it was on the loadout. Grasshopper was pretty self-explanatory as well, given Taiki's combat prowess. It was only natural that he would want to further bolster his fighting capabilities however he could. Grasshopper provided much mobility, allowing for greater vertical and horizontal movements.
All these factors coupled with the fact that Taiki's Trion levels were quite high, meant that Taiki was quite a formidable threat, even as a solo combatant. Hence, when pit against an average B-Rank in a Solo Rank War, like Kumagai, Taiki would have no issues wiping the floor with them.
Nasu had speculated that Taiki could fight at the level of an A-Rank, given his versatility. Taiki was quick to deny the notion, however, insisting that he had yet to actually fight any A-Ranks and it would not be right to speculate. Barring his initiation where he bested Kitora, Taiki had yet to fight any A-Rank combatant at full power. Beating Kitora could have easily been a fluke, considering Taiki had superior Trion in comparison to Kitora and the fact that Kitora was handicapped.
While Nasu decided to stop teasing Taiki about his abilities, Akane piped up and wondered who Taiki had learned to fight from.
"Hi, I'm Kudoko Taiki. Nice to meet you, Yuuichi-san." Taiki bowed, a sign of respect to his senior, but also to hide some of his nervousness.
It was not everyday that Taiki would meet one of Border's top agents, the self-proclaimed Power Elite, Yuuichi Jin. Wielder of the Black Trigger, Fujin, and former No. 2 Overall, Jin was rather well known in the ranks of Border.
Under normal circumstances, Taiki would probably never meet Jin privately, let alone receive training from him. However, due to Commander Shinoda's recommendation and introduction, Taiki was about to undergo some training from Jin.
"Nice to meet you too, Lone Wolf-kun!" Jin smiled widely, sizing up his soon-to-be apprentice, "So Shinoda-san told me you were interested in learning to use Scorpion, is that right?"
"Y-Yeah. I heard that Scorpion was the most versatile of the Attacker Triggers." Taiki grinned sheepishly, chuckling a little nervously.
"Well you heard right! Unlike Kogetsu and Raygust, Scorpion doesn't take a fixed shape or form! You can use it in almost any shape or form you need! Although most people practice with one or two fixed forms of Scorpion anyways!" Jin laughed a little at his last statement.
Taiki nodded as Jin led the way to a training booth. Without wasting time on theatrics or further pleasantries, Jin commenced his lesson on Scorpion.
"Well, I'd say try to keep up, but I don't think you'll have too much of a problem! Plus I think you won't need more than two sessions with me!" Jin smiled confidently.
Taiki could not believe how sure Jin sounded, but sure enough, Taiki had gotten the basics of fighting with Scorpion within the hour. By the end of the third hour, Taiki had picked up several of the more advanced Scorpion techniques. By the fourth hour, Taiki came rather close to beating Jin in one duel, out of the fifty they had.
"What do you know! You came really close to beating me that last round! Your movements are really sharp but you lack experience. But I'm sure you'll get much better with time!" Jin gave Taiki a pat on the back, "How about we continue the rest of this tomorrow? I've got a little something to introduce to you I think you might like."
"S-Sure! Thank you so much for your lesson today, Yuuichi-san." Taiki bowed, his breath ragged from the intense training session.
"You can drop the honorifics, Taiki! And just 'Jin' will do! I'm going to be relying on your strength once you get a lot stronger, so keep up the training, yeah?" Jin smiled, "Want to grab a bite before we call it a day?"
Taiki barely had the time to nod as Jin took off for the cafeteria, leaving Taiki with not much of a choice but to follow after. On the way to the cafeteria, the duo ran into Izumi, and Jin casually invited him along as well. By the end of lunch, Taiki had an appointment with Izumi to learn Shooter Triggers from.
"Wow, Jin was right. You really do have an aptitude for this." Izumi could not hold back his amazement as Taiki mastered the basics of the different Shooter Triggers within an hour.
Taiki showed no issues with using Asteroid and Meteor, and even managed to somewhat manipulate the trajectory of Viper. Whilst his control over Viper was still very much lacking, being able to even manipulate its trajectory without prior training was something very uncommon, if not unheard of. And yet Taiki seemed to grasp the theory behind it just fine.
Curiousity of Taiki's capabilities led to Izumi teaching Taiki about Composite Bullets. In less than a week, Taiki was able to create Gimlet. Izumi could never have imagined that Taiki would be able to pick up composite bullets, let alone successfully create any as quickly as he did. And so his curiousity got the better of him and he taught Taiki the rest of the composite bullets.
This time around, Taiki hit a few more snags learning each new Composite Bullet. Although Taiki did not manage to learn and recreate the other Composite Bullets as quickly as he did Gimlet, he had managed to pick up every last Composite Bullet within half a year. And that was a feat Izumi was impressed with beyond words.
In the half a year that Taiki had apprenticed under Izumi, the two had grown rather close. Taiki would anticipate his lessons with Izumi, and Izumi would anticipate the boundaries Taiki would breakthrough. Taiki's name made its way round the upper echelons Border as being one of the few combatants who could use Composite Bullets. Yet despite this half a year of training with Izumi, Taiki just could not seem to get a grasp of manipulating Viper's trajectory on-the-fly.
Hitting a roadblock in training, Izumi decided it might be better to take a different approach and sent Taiki to Nasu. Being the other combatant who had mastered Viper, Nasu was Taiki's next and only hope to learning Viper, seeing as Izumi simply could not impart his knowledge to Taiki for whatever reason.
"Grasshopper?" Taiki was beyond confused when Jin randomly brought up the Optional Trigger on their second day of 'bootcamp'.
"Yeah! Grasshopper! It's a neat little optional Trigger that gives you a lot of mobility and verticality as an Attacker!" Jin had temporarily equipped Grasshopper to demonstrate the Trigger to Taiki, "Even if you were to become an All-Rounder, sometimes being able to close the distance between you and your opponents will be useful even if you have the range of your Shooter Triggers."
Having given his brief introduction, Jin deployed a Grasshopper panel. Without missing a beat, Jin had seemingly flown across the room. Taiki was genuinely impressed at what the little blue panel was capable of, watching Jin leap across the room from Grasshopper.
"Why don't you equip it and give it a try?" Jin smiled as he watched Taiki's eyes twinkle in excitement.
"Uh oh!" Taiki flew straight into the wall, unable to control his motion.
Jin could not help but stifle a chuckle as he helped Taiki up. Before Jin could explain how Grasshopper worked, Taiki had already bounced off another panel, launching himself into the opposite wall. Seeing Taiki pick himself back up with a determination in his eyes, Jin decided to watch silently until Taiki decided he wanted some help.
In slightly over two hours of throwing himself into the floor and walls, Taiki had begun to grasp the workings of Grasshopper. It was possible to deploy multiple panels at once, and the more panels deployed at a given time, the weaker the propulsion of the Grasshopper. With that being said, Grasshopper panels were also only good for one jump before needing to be redeployed for a second jump. By the end of the day, Taiki had gotten the hang of moving around with Grasshopper in an empty space.
"I gotta say, I'm really impressed, Taiki! You've already gotten used to Grasshopper in such a short time!" Jin handed Taiki a bottle of sports water he had gone and bought, "Drink up!"
Quietly muttering a word of thanks, Taiki took the bottle and drank.
"Well, I don't really think there's anything else for me to teach you, so I hope you keep fighting and getting more experience with time! I'm really looking forward to seeing how strong you get!" Jin laughed at how quickly Taiki finished the bottle, "Let's go get some food!"
And with that, Taiki had officially graduated from Jin's two-day crash course on Scorpion and Grasshopper.
"Thinking back about it, it's not a surprise I didn't stand a chance against you, huh?" A half chuckle, half sigh came from Kumagai, as she returned from her trip down memory lane.
Unsure of how to respond, Taiki shrugged a little, forgetting that Kumagai was resting on his shoulder. The little shrug was sudden enough that Kumagai slipped off his shoulder, her head falling back onto his lap again.
"Aw, so you do want me on your lap!" Kumagai snickered as Taiki averted his eyes from her, "You could have just said so! Your lap is just as comfortable to rest on as your shoulder! If anything, your lap is a little more comfortable!"
"No! It's not like that! I just-" Taiki raised a flustered and incoherent objection, but Kumagai did not let him finish as she sat herself back up, chuckling at Taiki.
"I really do love your reactions! They're the best!" Kumagai purred endearingly as she put herself back on his shoulder, "Seriously, it'd be so much fun if you joined our Squad! And it helps that we have pretty good chemistry!"
"Well, you know that's not possible, Yuuko-senpai. At this point, I'd be starting some internal political war if I joined any Squad. I've been scouted by various Squads now and I've turned them all down." Kumagai would not be able to see from her position, but Taiki's lips curled into a weak smile as he spoke, "I'm kinda expected to fly solo. Even Shinoda-san has requested that I remain a solo agent so I can be deployed more freely."
"Yeah, I know! But I'm just saying, it'd be pretty fun to have you in our Squad." Kumagai raised her hands above her head and began ruffling Taiki's hair.
"Gah! Wh-What's that for!" Taiki's unfortunate position did not allow to retaliate in any way, as he succumbed to Kumagai's hair ruffling.
Unbeknownst to the two, three curious pairs of eyes were watching the little show. It seemed word had gotten around that the Lone Wolf was sighted with Nasu Sqaud's Attacker, and curious rumours about the Lone Wolf were spreading. The rumour that brought the rest of Nasu Squad to spy on their friends, was one that claimed Taiki and Kumagai were dating. It was not an outrageous rumour, given how close the two seemed to be. And three curious girls were snooping around to find some answers.
"Honestly, I think everyone in the squad would really love to have you, y'know?" Kumagai sat up, "And it would be so much easier to hang out without all those weird rumours going around."
"Weird rumours? You mean the ones that claim I'm dating you?" Taiki expected a witty quip as he finally had the space to turn over and look at Kumagai.
Except Kumagai had no witty quip. Instead, she seemed a little bashful about the rumour. Turning her entire body away, she was even twirling her hair a little awkwardly. The three curious eyes grew wide at Kumagai's reaction, the silence seemed to carry one thought. Was Kumagai really feeling embarrassed about those rumours?
When the rumours first surfaced, Taiki had been flustered but Kumagai laughed heartily. Taiki was nothing more than a junior and a friend, Kumagai had insisted. Almost every other time that the rumours caught up to her, she had brushed them off without much thought. Except right now.
Taiki was beyond words as he stared at this uncharacteristic bashfulness from Kumagai.
"Y-Yuuko-senpai? Are you okay?" Taiki nervously reached out to tap her shoulder.
Surprise, shock, relief. All these emotions erupted through the room as Taiki's hand landed on Kumagai's shoulder. And with that, the facade broke. Grabbing the intruding arm on her shoulder, Kumagai yanked Taiki into a headlock before guffawing out loud.
"Did you really think I'd be affected by them now? You're going to need to start acting a little more assertively if you want me to see you as a prospective romantic partner Taiki!" With her back to her squadmates and Taiki under her arm, neither Taiki nor the rest of Nasu Squad could have seen the slight blush on her cheeks.
"Gah! Alright, alright! How's this for assertive?" Taiki growled and grabbed the arm around his neck.
Giving it a pull, Taiki easily wrenched himself free of the headlock. All of a sudden, Taiki found himself without anything stopping him from falling. And so, he face planted into Kumagai's thighs. Kumagai took a second to process the weight on her lap. As soon as she realised what had happened, she jumped out of her seat, half in shock, half in embarrassment.
"Ouch!" Taiki's voice could be heard after a loud thud.
"Taiki!" "Taiki-kun!" Both Kumagai and Nasu called out, as Nasu finally gave away her, Akane and Sayoko's position.
"Rei? Akane and Sayoko too? How long have you guys been there?" Kumagai whirled around at hearing her Squad Captain's voice.
"Erm, we just got here! Isn't that right, Akane-chan, Sayoko-chan?" Nasu smiled innocently, gently nudging Sayoko.
Before Sayoko could respond, a soft grumble brought everyone's attention back to Taiki. Slowly picking himself off the ground, Taiki saw the rest Nasu Squad and offered a weak smile.
"Forget about us, Kuma-chan! Are you okay, Taiki-kun?" Nasu quickly diverted the conversation back to Taiki, before Kumagai could get any more questions in.
"Yeah, I'm just a little in shock, is all." A single chuckle escaped his lips as Taiki dusted himself off, "It's a good thing I fell straight to the ground. I'd probably have gotten a bruise and scrape or two if I bumped into the coffee table."
"Sheesh, you really startled us y'know? We heard a thud as soon as we came in!" Nasu gave a wide smile, nudging both Akane and Sayoko to play along, "We came rushing over, right Akane-chan, Sayoko-chan?"
"Y-Yeah." "E-Exactly!" Sayoko and Akane both caught on quickly enough and began nodding furiously.
Kumagai looked her squadmates in mild confusion while Taiki laughed heartily at the theatrics before him. Nasu watched Taiki cautiously as she chuckled a little as well.
"Either ways, I'm sorry for startling you all. My bad." Taiki gave Nasu Squad a little bow as he continued to chuckle.
"Yeah seriously! You gave me a scare just pulling my arm like that!" Kumagai gave Taiki's shoulder a love tap, "And that kinda hurt too, y'know!"
"H-Hey! It's your own fault for saying something weird!" Taiki barely had time to react as Kumagai put him into another headlock, "Guess I kinda deserve this one this time."
And that was all she wrote, before Kumagai drove her fist into Taiki's hair. The little bit of extra force was more than enough to make Taiki yelp a little as Kumagai tormented him. Nasu, Akane and Sayoko exchanged glances at each other before giggling.
"Hey Taiki!" The cheery, carefree voice of Border's self-proclaimed Power Elite came from down the hall.
Turning to the voice, Taiki spotted Jin walking alongside Azuma Haruaki, the first Sniper in Border and former captain of A-Rank No. 1 Squad. Catching Azuma's sightline, Taiki bowed as the two walked over.
"Nice to meet you, Kudoko-kun." Azuma extended his hand, a grin one his lips, "I've heard a lot about you, B-Rank's Lone Wolf."
"Nice to meet you too, Azuma-san." Taiki grabbed the outstretched hand and gave it a firm shake, "I'm flattered you've heard about me."
"Quite modest, aren't you. Well, there is virtue in modesty." Azuma chuckled cheerily, sizing up Taiki.
Before the conversation could carry on, Jin quickly explained that he was bringing Azuma to Taiki. Jin wanted to see what Taiki would be capable of with Sniper Trigger, and gave the excuse that as a solo agent Taiki should be plenty versatile in his capabilities. Azuma raised a curious eyebrow at Jin's somewhat shady explanation but chose not to say anything when Taiki readily accepted it. With Jin's questionable motivations for introducing Taiki to him, Azuma agreed to train Taiki regardless.
And much like Izumi, Azuma was quite impressed with Taiki's aptitude at picking up the basics rather quickly. Within a week, Taiki had mastered the basic handling of the Sniper Triggers as well as the situational usages of each Sniper Trigger. By the end of the second week, Taiki was able to consistently hit stationary targets. With Lightning, Taiki was able to consistently hit moving after a week. With Egret, he was able to consistently hit moving targets within two weeks. However, Ibis seemed to stump Taiki for a while, but after a month or so, Taiki could hit moving targets consistently with Ibis as well.
Throughout training with Izumi, Azuma and eventually Nasu as well, Taiki's moniker of 'B-Rank's Lone Wolf' held new meaning. Once known as 'Lone Wolf' for being cold and distant, not working well with others, the moniker carried new connotations. No longer the cold and distant person he once was, Taiki carried the moniker of 'Lone Wolf' with some pride as a recognition to his abilities as a solo B-Rank combatant.
Of course, this new recognition did not go unnoticed. Many Squads tried to recruit Taiki, of which he turned down every single one. When the buzz was all about the Lone Wolf, Commander Shinoda had jokingly told Taiki to continue being a solo agent. After all, he would not be much of a 'Lone Wolf' if he joined a Squad. Taiki had taken the joke a little too seriously and rejected every invitation he got. Even when certain A-Rank Squads tried to recruit him, he had turned them all down. Rejecting even A-Rank Squads, it seemed that Taiki had properly cemented his moniker of 'B-Rank's Lone Wolf' in the ranks of Border.
A swarm of Trion cubes hovered menacingly around Taiki as Nasu Squad took up their positions with Bagworm. Nasu herself was going to face Taiki head on, Kumagai acting as her guard. Akane was supposed to find an opening to do damage to Taiki however she could. That was the battle plan they had agreed upon. But as Murphy's Law dictates, anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.
Before Nasu Squad could get into their positions, Taiki had already obliterated most Sniper sightlines. Their virtual battlefield was in ruins, as most of the taller buildings were blown to bits. The streets they were fighting on were in disrepair as well, plenty of rubble scattered everywhere. Despite being a friendly spar, Taiki was not holding anything back.
"You really aren't holding back, are you!" Kumagai hollered from the protruding rubble she was taking cover behind.
"You did ask me to go all out, Yuuko-senpai!" Taiki shouted back, standing atop a pile of what used to be a shophouse moments ago.
Sayoko could only describe what she saw moments ago as terrifying. The sheer fire power Taiki unleashed upon entering the virtual battlefield was absurd. Granted, the battlefield was only a medium sized cityscape.
Moments after the four were transported into the battlefield, Taiki had released Meteora into the skies. Keeping to its namesake, the explosive Trion cubes pelted the battlefield, obliterating the taller buildings, leaving the rest of the landscape in disrepair. Taiki's plan was to disrupt Akane from the get-go by removing any height advantage she could utilise.
"So what now, Rei-senpai? Do I still find a spot to snipe from?" Akane sighed over their comms.
"Stay put for the time being, Akane-chan. Taiki-kun can easily shoot you down if you made a move now." Nasu spoke calmly, her voice betraying no worry, "Let me and Kuma-chan distract him. When you see an opening, find yourself a position to support us from."
"Roger that!" Akane's cheery voice came back as Nasu looked over to Kumagai.
"Ready, Kuma-chan?" Nasu peeked out from behind the fallen shopsign.
"Whenever you are, Rei." Kumagai nodded at her Captain, Koegetsu drawn.
"You guys better move fast, you've already given Taiki plenty of time to work out an attack plan." Sayoko nagged over the comms.
As if on cue, a few of the Trion cubes detached from the formation and flew right between where Nasu and Kumagai were hiding. The explosive force of the Meteora threw the unsuspecting duo out of cover and Taiki leapt straight into action.
Deploying a trail of Grasshopper panels, Taiki began closing the distance between him and Nasu quickly.
"No hard feelings, Rei-senpai." Taiki grinned as he flew toward Nasu.
Still recovering from the blast, Nasu barely had time to react. As imminent elimination approached, Nasu was saved by her guard. Having slightly better agility, Kumagai managed to recover just in time, bringing her Kogetsu between Nasu and the oncoming Scorpion.
"Not fast enough, Taiki!" Kumagai held Taiki in a bladelock as they stared each other down.
"Tch, I guess I'm about to pay for underestimating you guys, aren't I?" Taiki grumbled, quickly dislodging himself from the bladelock.
"Oh? And whatever could you mean?" The smile on Nasu's face looked quite intimidating against her backdrop of Trion cubes, ready to fire.
A sigh was everything Taiki had time for before the hail of Trion bullets whizzed at him. A Grasshopper panel quickly put some distance between him and the onslaught of bullets, buying him just enough time to defend. Retaliating with Meteora, the explosions soaked up some of the Nasu's shots, and whatever got through were largely kept at bay with the Shield.
But at such a distance, Meteora was bound to deal both recoil and splash damage to both parties. Having a Shield up already, Taiki took a significantly less damage as compared to Nasu and Kumagai. All three found themselves knocked to the ground, however.
"Really? You'd try something so risky?" Nasu's coughing could be heard through the dust as she picked herself off the ground.
"Nothing risked, nothing gained. That's how the saying goes, right?" Taiki chuckled as Kumagai grunted.
"Sheesh, as chaotic as always, aren't ya Taiki." Kumagai laughed in bouts of coughing, "And it's 'nothing ventured, nothing gained'!"
"Well, that's about the only way I can hope to win against a coordinated team, isn't it? Create disorder and strike at weak points." A heavy sigh escaped Taiki's lips as he shook his head.
"Taiki-kun does have a point. It's difficult to face a coordinated unit head on with just brute force." Nasu nodded thoughtfully.
Whilst Taiki had exchanged blows with Kumagai and Nasu, Akane had relocated. Amidst the banter, Akane found an opportunity, leaving Taiki with just his left arm. Nasu and Kumagai could not hold back a smile as the arm fell to the ground before disintegrating. Taiki frowned a little and glanced in the direction of the shot. Summoning two Asteroid cubes, Taiki merged them into Gimlet before returning fire. In the distance, Akane Bailed Out.
"Is he for real? How did he get me from that far?" Akane grumbled as she walked over to Sayoko's desk.
"Well, you didn't exactly shoot him from too far. That, and you didn't move immediately after taking the shot. Given Taiki's skill, it's only normal he'd be able to shoot back at you and take you out." Sayoko shook her head, "The two of you are the same age and look at the difference in skill between you."
"Gah! Don't remind me, alright?" As Akane pouted at Sayoko, Nasu and Kumagai could not hold back a chuckle as they overheard the exchange over comms.
"A-Akane-chan?" Taiki could not hide his embarrassment as he practiced calling Akane by her first name.
"That's not that bad, right Taiki-senpai?" Akane laughed as Sayoko walked in.
"Erm, I've been meaning to ask for a while, but why do you keep calling Taiki 'senpai', Akane?" Sayoko tilted her head questioningly.
"Eh? It's cos he is?" Akane stared at Sayoko as if she said something weird.
"Aren't the both of you the same age?" Sayoko raised her eyebrows in doubt, the edges of her lip slowly curling into a smile.
"Eh? Aren't you the same age at Sayoko-senpai, Taiki-senpai?" Akane turned to Taiki.
"Uh. I'm a year younger than Sayoko-san, Akane." Taiki finally understood why Akane kept calling him 'senpai'.
"Eh? EH?!" Akane gasped in shock, her eyes almost popping out of their sockets.
Sayoko burst into laughter as Taiki sighed a little. Taiki had assumed Akane was younger than him, considering how she kept calling him a 'senpai'. But he never would have guessed that she was just mistaken. They hardly ever talked about their age or anything related.
"B-But you address Sayoko-senpai as 'Sayoko-san'!" Distraught, confusion and denial erupted from every pore of her tiny frame as she looked at Taiki and Sayoko.
"Yeah, I asked him to address me that way to trick you." Sayoko pretended to wipe a tear from her eye, "But it just doesn't sound right for Taiki to address you as 'Akane-chan' when the both of you are the same age."
"Now everything makes so much more sense." Taiki facepalmed as Sayoko continued laughing her butt off, "I'm sorry Akane, I didn't mean to deceive you. I thought you had some other reason for calling me 'senpai'."
"All this time. Your height, the way you spoke. I thought- Oh I feel like such an idiot!" Akane half cried, half groaned in embarrassment and frustration, "How could you play such a prank on me, Sayoko-senpai!"
"I'm sorry Akane, but I thought you would have figured it out. I couldn't get along this well with Taiki if we were the same age." Sayoko finally calmed down and sighed, "I was definitely wary when I first met him 'cos of his height. But how quickly I warmed up to him didn't strike you as odd, Akane?"
And Sayoko was being rather generous in saying she was 'wary'. The truth was somewhat distant from that.
"Wh-Who're you again?" A soft voice came from behind what Taiki would assume were the Operator's screens.
"Uh, I'm Kudoko Taiki. I'm looking for Nasu-senpai?" Taiki could barely make out the girl behind the mass of screens.
"R-Right. Erm, sh-she's out for the moment, b-but you can go wait in our l-lounge in the m-meantime." The shy girl did not emerge from behind the screens, and Taiki could barely make out what she was saying.
"If you're not comfortable with me Senpai, I can wait outside?" Taiki had heard from Izumi that the Nasu Squad Operator was a very quiet and reserved girl, especially around members of the opposite gender.
"S-Senpai? Are you younger than me?" The girl finally peeked over her screens, cowering a little as she saw how tall Taiki was.
"Erm, from what Izumi-senpai told me, I believe I'm a year younger than you, Senpai." Taiki bowed a little to his supposed senior.
"R-Really? You're younger than me? You're bluffing, aren't you?" The timid girl retreated behind her screens again.
"Erm, here." Taiki reached over and put his identification on her table, "You can check that if you don't believe me, I guess."
As soon as Taiki's hand retracted from the table, the girl slowly reached for the identification. After looking at the date-of-birth, she seemed a little less tense.
"R-Right. W-Well, erm, Kudoko-kun, please wait in the lounge for Nasu-san. Oh, and I'm Shiki Sayoko." Sayoko finally mustered the courage to introduce herself to her junior as she peeked out from behind her screens to look him in the eyes.
"Thank you, Shiki-senpai." Taiki nodded as he headed toward the lounge, "And pardon my intrusion."
"Hey, why does Akane call you 'senpai'?" A familiar soft spoken voice caught Taiki by surprise.
"Sayoko-senpai! Erm, isn't she younger than me?" Taiki raised a curious eyebrow at the sudden question.
"No? I'm pretty sure you guys are the same age." Sayoko wore a mischievous grin, "But nevermind that. You haven't called me 'senpai' in front of her, have you?"
"No, I don't think I have, why?" Taiki sensed something was up with a bizarre questions, but he could not quite put his finger on what was wrong.
"Well, in that case, can you start addressing me as 'Sayoko-san' instead?" The mischievous grin was replaced by a sheepish smile, "I think it might help with my issues if you started addressing me that way."
"Oh, you mean how you don't talk to guys very well?" Taiki set aside the momentary suspicion as his senior seemed to be asking for help with something rather serious.
"Y-Yeah. That." Sayoko sighed sheepishly, "I mean, no offense, you don't look younger than me. But having you call me 'senpai' reminds me that you are younger than me. So I was hoping maybe you could address me differently."
Watching Sayoko shuffle around in silence, Taiki was reminded of the day they first met. Understanding what Sayoko was asking for, Taiki agreed.
"Well, if it might help you deal with that better, I don't mind Sayoko-san." Taiki smiled warmly at his senior, "Just let me know if you're too uncomfortable, alright?"
"Erm, yeah. I think this is fine. You're a big help, Taiki, thanks." Sayoko seemed grateful to Taiki's willingness to help.
Little did Taiki know, he had just agreed to being an accomplice in a very grand yet pointless prank.
"No way! You tricked Taiki into helping you?" Akane was in utter shock as Sayoko revealed why Taiki had addressed her as 'Sayoko-san' thus far.
"No, I didn't trick him. I was kinda seriously asking him for help, and pranking you in the meantime just came naturally!" Sayoko betrayed none of her intentions as she giggled a little, "And if you don't mind, Taiki, I would still appreciate if you could continue to address me this way. I think I've gotten a little better at dealing with guys after you stopped addressing me as 'senpai'."
"R-Right. I don't mind, Sayoko-san." Taiki could only sigh a little as he recalled the same incident, "Well, now that we've cleared up this little misunderstanding, you can stop calling me 'senpai', right Akane?"
Akane was beyond words as she buried her face into her hands, squealing softly. Sayoko laughed harder at Akane's embarrassment, eliciting a whimper from Akane. Uncertain about how to react, Taiki could only sit in awkward silence as he watched the two.
"Dang, all Akane was worth was one arm?" Kumagai sighed a little as Nasu and herself faced Taiki in a standoff.
"It's better than nothing." Nasu sighed as well.
Akane could only grumble to herself as she heard her teammates comments over comms, whilst Sayoko helped herself to laughing at Akane's expense.
"Well, a guy can do a lot with an arm. And my right arm to boot." Taiki had to offer his two-cents as he sealed the Trion leakage the best he could.
"Are you making a dirty joke?" Kumagai snickered a little, Nasu also giggling along.
"Not -really." Taiki leaped off a Grasshopper mid sentence, Scorpion clashing with Kogetsu.
The sheer force was more than enough to knock Kumagai over. Coupled with how sudden the attack came, Kumagai was knocked to the ground before she could even blink. Green and yellow flashed across the battlefield as an extended Scorpion blade flew one way, while some Viper came from the opposite direction.
Nasu could only sigh a little as she stared at the Scorpion piercing through her chest, cracks emerging from the point of penetration. Looking over at Taiki, it seemed her Viper had done enough damage as well, the Scorpion piercing her began disintegrating as Taiki's Trion body leaked from various wounds.
"Trion Supply damaged. Trion Body limit reached. Bailing Out." Nasu could only flash Kumagai a smile as a green light consumed her before shooting off into the sky.
"Substantial damage received. Trion Body limit reached. Bailing Out." Taiki sighed as the green light consumed him as well.
"Friendly Mock Battle between B-Rank Kudoko Taiki and B-Rank Nasu Squad has come to an end. B-Rank Nasu Squad is victorious." The automated system announced as it closed the virtual battlefield, ejecting Kumagai.
"That was a good fight, Taiki-kun! It's a pity you didn't take Kuma-chan down with that attack." Nasu received a bottle of sports drink from Sayoko, "It would have ended in a tie otherwise."
"Well, I never planned to take Yuuko-senpai out with that attack though." Taiki chuckled as he also accepted a bottle from Sayoko, "Thanks, Sayoko-san."
"Really? I find that hard to believe. You came at me pretty fiercely, y'know?" Kumagai had already taken a few sips from her bottle.
"Ahh!" Taiki gasped as he gulped down the cool, refreshing sports drink, "Yeah, I had to clear a path to take out Rei-senpai. I was planning to finish you off after I took out Rei-senpai, but I guess I severely underestimated my Trion reserves."
"Oh? And why come after me first?" Nasu's gentle smile curled into a more cunning grin, "Did you want some one-on-one time with Kuma-chan?"
"Pbrfft!" Taiki choked on his drink, coughing out whatever liquids he had yet to swallow.
"Sheesh, do you really have to tease him while he's drinking, Rei?" Kumagai gave Taiki a gentle tap on his back, as he wheezed and gasped for air.
"Oh dear. I didn't expect Taiki-kun to react so violently!" Nasu chuckled a little, handing Taiki a towel to wipe himself.
Taking the towel between bouts of wheezes and coughs, Taiki gave his mouth a wipe.
"Y-You know that's not the reason, Rei-senpai!" Nasu caught the towel aimed at her as she continued chuckling at her unfortunate junior.
"Well, maybe I'd be more inclined to believe you if you didn't react so strongly, yknow?" Nasu smiled innocently as she watched Taiki catch his breath.
"I think anyone else would've reacted so strongly to something so sudden, Rei-senpai." Finally catching his breath, Taiki gave Nasu a blank stare, "And besides, I'm sure you already know, but I'm gonna say it anyways. You're a bigger threat to me than Yuuko-senpai is, Rei-senpai. The obvious decision would have been to eliminate the bigger threat first."
"I totally get where you're coming from, Taiki, but do you really have to say it so bluntly?" Kumagai's gentle demeanor cracked, her eyebrow twitching.
"Uh- Gah-" And Kumagai was on Taiki like white on rice, wrestling him into a chokehold.
The rest of Nasu Squad broke into laughter as Taiki grumbled and groaned at the abuse. Kumagai did not relinquish as the group decided to get lunch. Taiki was finally released after the girls decided they wanted to freshen up a little before lunch, and he was then quite forcibly ejected from the Nasu Squad premise. What with being a guy and all.
A/N: Hi guys, apologies for the really slow update, but it took awhile for me to decide on what I wanted to expand on in this chapter. My original plan was to let this chapter follow the events of the Black Trigger Retrieval Arc, but as I wrote my different iterations it felt weird to just jump straight into such a major event seeing as I ended the first chapter on the Rad Extermination Arc. So eventually I decided that it would probably be a better idea to further expand on Taiki instead. The relationships he has with other Border agents, how he got to becoming a "Perfect" All-Rounder and all that kind of stuff. Because as much as I established some context to Taiki in the first chapter, I realised there's still a lot more that I needed to establish before I can put him into active roles in other major plot points of World Trigger. So yeah, hopefully you guys can forgive me for not having too much action in this chapter as I was really just trying to add more context to my OC and how he fits in with the World Trigger universe. Also, feel free to leave your thoughts on a potential OCxKumagai romance in the future! It's something I might do, and I have hinted at it this chapter, but if you guys don't think it's appropriate or you guys rather just have them be close friends, do let me know as well! I'm also open to other ships you guys might be interested in, let me know and I'll try to include some "fanservice" for those who are interested! ;p