Fox Hunt Fixed

by TheAnimeTrain

The week continues on with new wins for Border. But things are not well with rumors of one of their own doing something they shouldn't continue floating around.

8. The Summit's Flower

"Is he really okay?"

"...I think it depends on what you mean by that?"

"He has been sleeping since you brought him in here. It wasn't that long ago, but it's been long enough that he should have woken up by now."

"I have been worried about that for some time now. Apparently, he doesn't get much, if any, sleep."

"How do you know that? No one really speaks to him, from what I have heard."

"Oshiro has told me that. Besides Tsukiko-senpai, he is relatively close with Tsukiko-senpai's younger siblings."

It was strange, hearing voice like that.

Mukuro felt like his eyelids were too heavy to open, his body weighed him down, and he was relaxed enough to just not want to move.

But there were others talking nearby.

He had been told never to let that happen unless it was someone he trusted a lot.

...But I only trust my siblings.

It made no sense for others to be speaking near him.

But that was not the thing that had caught his attention. That would have been something if his position was one he was used to.

That was not the case.

His thoughts were muddled, his mind has a sort of fog running through it, his sense were dulled, and he felt relaxed instead of tense. It was something he could not remembering feeling in recent years. Maybe back when he was a child, but it was not something that came naturally to him.

So only one thought came to mind, pushing through that fog.

...Was I asleep?

The thought frightened him.

His mind could not register that frightened feeling well, but his body remembered that sort of feeling as if it was second nature to him. Sleeping had always been something he was afraid of doing since before Hoshi had been born and he only had his older siblings and parents to rely on. After all...

...Only bad things happen while you sleep.

You are unconscious and almost completely unresponsive when you sleep. Your body can move and you won't even know it. Someone can come up to you while you sleep or something can reach you while you are laying there. People are always terrible and unreliable, so you can never trust any of them to not do something while you are asleep.

He could feel his mind start to clear as his thoughts continued to flood his mind.

The voices nearby were becoming more clear, but they were also starting to sound more distant than before.

...Your younger sister can be born while you are sleeping.

...Your brother can leave while you are sleeping.

...Your older sister can destroy things while you are sleeping.

...Your parents can easily die while you are sleeping.

...A lot of things can happen while you are sleeping. Things you didn't want to know about, but know you should have been there for. Everything that can happen should be something that happens while you are awake. Being awake means that you are alert and ready for anything. Sleeping is something people need to function, but if you can function without it, just go without it.

I am a genius - that's what I have been told. My brother told me that. My sister told me that. My parents told me that. Everyone around me told me that. I skipped school and joined Border. I know what I'm talking about.

I don't need sleep. I don't want to miss anything. I don't want people to come and go while I'm sleeping.

So then...

Why!? Why was I sleeping!? I hate sleeping! It's nothing but a pain! How did I go to sleep!? Damn it! And now those voices are getting me more mad!

The distant voices were now clear and he could feel his eyelids start to open.

He hated the feeling of waking up.

.

The first thing Mukuro saw after waking up were the lights hanging above him. They were off, putting the room he was in in the dark. The same darkness covered the mat he had been laying on and the other ones in the room.

Turning his head, he saw that the door to leave was not there, only an open passageway could be seen.

...A squad's operating room, his mind supplied.

He was within Border's main base and had been taken to someone's operating room.

Pooling some strength into his body, he began to stand up.

His feet touched the ground, letting him know that he was barefoot. The cold floor felt nice and relaxing, but that only served to make him frown.

The next thing that caused his frown was the jacket that fell to the ground. It landed there the moment he had gotten up from the mat he had been laying on and was now piled up on the floor.

"Huh? I think I heard him get up."

"I will go check."

Two steps were heard before a head could be seen through the open passageway leading to the other rooms.

Mukuro narrowed his eyes as his mind began to fade once more.

There, standing in the doorway, was Ninomiya Squad's Attacker. He was not in his squad's uniform, but he was maintaining a distance.

"Thank goodness."

The relieved sigh that came from the Attacker had him click his tongue softly. The anger that had built up in him was fighting with the tiredness he felt in his body.

Unlike when he first woke up, he felt like he could fight back the tiredness and remained standing.

The Attacker moved toward the switch by the wall, turning the light on.

Mukuro was blinded for a moment, but let it go. Turning on the light would only be the natural move since he was no longer sleeping.

...That's right.

"Why am I heeeere? And why was I...sleeeeeping?"

The Attacker furrowed his brows before responding.

"I brought you here after you had fallen asleep. I didn't want anything to happen to you, so I brought you here to make sure you were safe."

"Then where is myyyyyyy Trigger?"

The Attacker froze.

The first thing that Mukuro had noticed after standing up was the lack of his weapon. Triggers were weapons that Border agents used and was something that allowed for him to stay awake when his body wanted to rest.

Since it was not nearby, it was safe to assume that the Attacker had taken it from him while he slept.

...Just another reason to hate sleeping. Taking things from others becomes so easy while asleep.

He took a step forward, watching as the Attacker stood still. He did not back down, even as he seemed to get nervous with each step.

Once he was within arm's reach of the Attacker, he spoke again.

"Hand meeee my Trigger."

"...So you can help your brother."

It was not a question.

"Yes. If you are on the oppooooosing side, I will take you out ooooon a battlefield. This isn't one, sooo I won't attack you heeere."

"...That still isn't reassuring."

"I wasn't tryyyyying to reassure you of anything."

"Then there is no reason to give you your Trigger back."

Mukuro felt his eyelids begin to fall, but he held out enough to force them simply narrow. He lowered his head and looked up at the Attacker.

This Attacker was not backing down and was not giving an inch. It was something Mukuro would have been fine breaking down if not for how tired he was at the moment. Even since he had come face-to-face with the Attacker he had been feeling more and more tired.

He hated it.

This should not have been a person he should feel tired around.

"...So how was your nap?"

What?

"You still look tired, so you can go back to sleep."

If he could narrow his eyes more than they already were, he would. Instead of that, Mukuro simply took a step back and flicked his wrist towards the Attacker.

"Sleeping aroooound an enemy is stuuuupid."

"Don't worry. while you may be here, meaning you can't help your brother, I will also be staying here. That means our side will also be down a member."

"You don't geeet it. My value on the baaattlefield is more than your's. If I staaay here, it will affect things. If you staaay here, nothing will really happen."

"...And how do you know that?"

He did not hesitate.

"Because you can't fight girls."

A small noise of amusement could be heard past the boy, but he decided to ignore that in favor of staring down the Attacker.

"I am able to fight you."

"You don't think you can win."

"...That's right. But I can still hold you off. Even that much has meaning to it."

That was not wrong, but the amount of time he could take from Mukuro would not amount to much in the long run.

He must have known this as well. There were no movements meant to stop him, but Mukuro did not let his guard down here. This was still the operating room of the first ranked B-Rank squad.

...There's also the fact that he even brought me here to begin with.

It was strange that he had done such a thing. Even so, there was an issue with what had happened and it was something that he could not ignore.

After all...

I have been told countless times to repay any debt. He let out sigh that quickly turned into a yawn. Even if I didn't as to be taken here, I still have an obligation to repay him for what he's done.

He let out another yawn, not bothering to cover his mouth. There was no reason to be polite to this Attacker.

He looked up into the nervous eyes of the Attacker.

"Alright, let's make a deal."

---

"Hey," a voice said.

Toby felt his body continue to relax as he ordered some food from a stall. His reflexes were not acting up so this person was not moving to attack him.

That was good. That meant he could still enjoy himself.

Thanking the food stall vendor, he turned around with four kabobs filled with each. Vegetables were placed between every other piece of meat and there were no extra leaking from the meat. It was the perfect type of food that left no mess after being finished.

He could appreciate that.

"Are you really going to eat all four of those yourself?"

"Did you want some? I don't mind sharing. Although, just letting you know, I was planning on having a barbecue later on in the park, so you might not want to fill yourself up just yet."

"...I might go there if you are the one making the food. Wait, that isn't what this is about!"

"Then what is, Ai?"

Toby took the first piece of meat from the kabob as she saw Kitora take a deep breath. After inhaling and holding it for a few seconds, she released it and narrowed her eyes at him.

Beyond her, he could see a pair of glasses sitting on someone's face, not sure what to do about the entire situation. It always amazed him how glasses tended to find the perfect bodies to just sit on.

Wait, other way around. Forgot that people wear glasses, not the other way around.

He gave a shrug in his mind as he took the next piece of meat in his mouth with the vegetable after it following along.

The taste of the meat was perfect, and there was no added juice to it. It combined well with the vegetable while not overpowering it.

Oh, I asked Ai, but I didn't ask him.

Holding out his other two kabobs, he turned to the pair of glasses and the boy who was wearing them.

"Did you any, Osamu? You're invited to the barbecue too, but these are really worth it. They taste so good."

"...If it's fine with you. Thank you," he said as he took one of the kabobs.

"Don't just take his food like that, Mikumo-kun."

Toby smiled at Kitora's scolding. He had found that her scolding towards Osamu had always been more harsh than when it was towards him, but he also knew her well enough to see that there was at least reason behind that.

He continued to address the pair of glasses as he took another piece of meat from his kabob.

"Just think of that and the barbecue as thanks for being Take's friend."

"Then I still need to thank you for watching out for Chika when you had gone to the underground."

"Nah," he said, waving the half-eaten kabob. "It's thanks to her that we even managed to win. She noticed something before the rest of us and I went along with it. So we still owe you one."

"Chika was the one who helped you, so you can thank her for that."

"How about this?"

He took another bit and savored the flavor.

From the corner of his eye he could see Kitora starting to get frustrated with him.

Oh, watch out there, Ai. I might just use that against you.

"Chika helped us out, so we defended her. You became friend with Take, so I'm paying you back by buying you food. And..."

And.

"I'm inviting you to the barbecue as Takeshi and Ai's friend. Sound good? I'd be down to be friends with you too, but you know those two better than you know me, so we can just call it as we see it."

"I am...fine with that."

"Since when was I friends with him...?" he could hear Kitora mutter.

Swallowing the next piece of meat along with the vegetable, Toby grinned toward Kitora. He had made sure that there would be no food in his teeth, so it was a grin showing off all of his teeth.

He knew that only one thing needed to be said.

"Should I say boyfriend then?"

"Haaaaah!?"

He laughed at her immediate reaction.

Eh. I can see it with the way she bullies him.

Then the realization hit him.

This must be how Suzume feels with her shipping.

He shrugged his shoulders, ignoring the looks he was getting from the other two.

Compared to her, he knew he was nowhere near as bad since he was only teasing Kitora with this. Although...

The lack of reaction from Osamu is pretty sad. Whcih way am I supposed to take that? Actually, now that I think about it...

Finishing up his first kabob, he pointed the stick toward Kitora. The girl had been leaning forward a bit to get into his face, so he was careful with how far he extended his arm out.

It would do no good to poke her eye or nose.

"What are the two of you even doing here together? I would figure you would be with your squads."

Kitora's response was to sigh while Osamu only continued to eat the kabob.

"Because of everything going on, my squad is in a bit of disarray. Arashiyama-senpai is dealing with things at the base while Satori-senpai and Tokieda-senpai are joining in the festival. Both of them said they would be meeting up with friends later. Ayatsuji-senpai said that she would be busy with something for the time being."

Osamu simply raised a hand as he spoke.

"Chika went with Konami-senpai and Usami-senpai to enjoy the festival. Kuga is with Jin-san and Hyuse, looking around the city."

Toby nodded to respond to both of their answers. They had made sense, and he had even been told about Suzume meeting up with Ken and Mitsuru, so he simply shrugged as if to say that was all fine.

"What about you? Where are your teammates?"

The way Osamu tensed at the question was enough for toby to figure out that he thought about it like any normal person would.

There would be no doubt that Kitora would be going after Yuki. Finding out where everyone on the opposing side was would only be natural for someone like her. It meant that the base would be able to keep better track of the people they needed to look out for.

But Toby saw it differently.

If she really wanted to get that from me, she would have been more forceful. She's really just asking out of curiosity. Thanks for that, Ai.

He began to open his mouth while moving to throw his kabob stick away when a voice came from down the road.

"Aaaaaahhhh! You're so annoying! Fine! I'll let you take this pair of glasses on a date for the game!"

"D-date!? B-b-but I had s-said that I would be giving y-you the game for free, Katori-san!"

The trio turned their heads to where the voices were coming from. Seeing exactly who they were. Toby spoke with a flat hand directed towards them.

"There is one of them."

---

Hoshi felt herself start to get nervous as Katori continued to yell at her.

Wakamura and Miura looked as if they wanted to help her, but the way Katori was moving her arms with each yell was stopping them from moving forward. It was amazing how this girl could go on about something while also seeming to be thankful to her.

...I had only wanted to give her this game. Did I say something she did not like?

It had been meant as a show of good will from her. Buying the game had cost nothing and she had known that Katori like games from what Wakamura and Miura had told her. So then why was she getting yelled at?

"Yōko, just accept the game and get over it!"

"I can't! I don't want to owe this girl anything!"

"Y-you would not be owing me anything!"

"Urg! Then she goes and says things like that! I look like an asshole if I don't accept it!"

"Your yelling doesn't help anything!"

"Fine! Do you want a date with Yūta instead!?"

"Yōko!?"

"Ah, no, that is fine. I very much like Yūta, but he is only a friend. My apologies."

"Uh? Oh, no, it's alright. I feel the same way."

She returned Miura's smile. It felt like she had just gotten closer to him and she could not be more happy about it.

Wakamura's sigh of relief could be heard to the side, but that would be saved for a later time.

More yelling filled the space, but it seemed like Katori had calmed down enough that her teammates could get closer to try and calm her down. The amount of time she took to yell at her could have been spent enjoying the festival, but Hoshi found herself smiling at even this. In a way, it felt as if this was her own dynamic with the older girl.

It was something for them.

It may be a bit presumptuous, but I would like to believe that this means she is fine with this. Does this make us friends? ...Maybe not yet. Acquaintances? Hm... That does not sound right either. What exactly would you call this then?

She had never been too familiar with these sorts of interactions, so she would have to ask someone about it later. But for now...

"...Huh?"

As she prepared to get involved with calming Katori down, she noticed something off to the side.

It was a person.

A familiar one.

The black hair and free clothing he wore was obvious to her. But there was something about him that she did not like.

That told her all she needed to know.

...That person... He looks like how Kiyo-nii is right now, but...even worse. I...don't like that. That person needs to stop looking like that. He is insulting my brother and I don't like that.

Before she could separate from the group and speak to that person, he was gone.

The spot he had been in had been covered by others walking around.

In his place was a delinquent-looking boy with an irritated expression on his face.

She furrowed her brows at this. There should have been no way for that person to leave without her noticing. Yet they had done just that.

...I don't like this.

---

Toby nodded in the direction he could see Hoshi in.

"Looks like Hoshi's having fun over there."

She was with Katori Squad and was talking with them. Even with the yelling going on, she did not seem tense around them.

That's good, he thought while eating his second kabob.

He looked back to Kitora and Osamu as they all began to walk.

The stalls all around them were trying to get the attention of those around them. They had been called out a few times, but Kitora had waved them off. She then proceeded to do the same to anyone who came up to them as fans of Arashiyama Squad or wanting to talk with her.

If they had been more insistent, he would have stepped in. The kabob in his hand could easily be used as a threat should anyone try to force themselves onto her. He knew that Osamu could likely not do much when it came to physical fights, but he would be fine with putting in the work for the both of them.

Yeah, I don't want a repeat of what happened with Ai before. Then again, it's not just her this time. Osamu's getting some pretty nasty looks too.

As he finished the second kabob, he made a point to stick the skewer between his teeth and make sure his hands were always visible to others. Letting everyone know that he would be ready to attack them should they try anything was his own way of protecting these two.

He would play the lead of their current trio while letting the two of them relax behind him. Enjoying a festival was always fine. Mikado City had a good amount of them so he wanted to make sure everyone else enjoyed them to their fullest.

"So we know where Taiyōko is. What about the others?"

Right, they were having a conversation before they had been interrupted.

Toby waved his hand while flexing his fingers.

"Take said that he's going to be going to meet with some people. Something about wanting to talk about Eri. I didn't really pay too much attention."

It was a half truth, but she did not need to know that.

"Suzume's hanging out with Shana and Nasu Squad. She said that they're going to meet up with some others. That's probably who Ken's going to be meeting up with too." She nodded at him, so he continued. "And Shizuka is at the Yagura Branch still. Apparently, she doesn't want to leave for the day."

"Huh? You have a fifth member? What about Takato-san?"

It had been Osamu who asked him that, but he could see how Kitora was also thinking about what he had said.

He remembered that the choice to switch Operators had been decided on today and so could not be spread to others.

"Oh, Mei stopped being our Operator to work with the Yagura Branch. Shizuka is our new Operator."

.

Kitora froze for a moment at hearing that. It was something she had not known about, but something came to mind the moment Toby had said those words.

...That is another person who has left their squad.

When their captain had left it caused most of them to spiral down and go to a place they could not forget.

Kitora had seen the way both Takeshi and Toby had been during that time. Both of them were in terrible positions and looked to only be getting worse as time went on. It had been a time when she could not help either one of them, a time when she could only watch as both boys made things harder for their future selves.

Now the second person was leaving them.

Both of the original members of Tsukiko Squad were no longer there, leaving the others to fill in those spots.

So what would their reaction be this time?

"By the way, what's a 'JK'? Shizuka says that she's one of those, but I never really understood it. Could one of you explain it to me?"

"I can tell you..."

Kitora stared as Mikumo explained the meaning of a JK to Toby while the Attacker listened and nodded when appropriate.

His demeanor had not changed and the way he spoke remained light. It was a far different from when this had happened the first time.

Was it because of who it was this time?

...But he holds then in he same regard. He cares a lot for the people he makes connections with.

Maybe it was because it had happened once already.

...If it had happened back-to-back then he would have been in an even worse position. Is it because it's spread out? Or because he knew beforehand?

But he had supposedly been told without warning.

So his reaction was just less anger-filled as the first time it had happened.

Realizing what this meant, Kitora allowed a small smile to spread to her face.

"AH! Ai smiled! I saw it!"

"Eh? Kitora did?"

"Don't say it like I never smile!"

"But you don't...?" both said while tilting their heads.

She could feel her anger begin to build up at the two of them.

This is what I get for being happy for this dog!

.

Toby snickered behind his hand as Kitora let out a frustrated breath. It was nice to just enjoy the festival and have others to talk to like this.

"So how do you think things will play out today?"

"Hm? Oh, you mean with fights and whatnot."

Toby nodded and moved over to another stall.

Kitora and Mikumo followed behind him, both looking to see that it was another stall selling meat.

"Have you started liking meat more than chocolate? Wait, you said you were going to have a barbecue later, why are you eating so much?"

"I'm going to be playing around today too, so I need to fill my stomach," Toby said while ordering a bowl of meat and rice. "Besides, I'm going to be the one making the food, so I'm going to be the last one to eat. Making myself hungry like that is how I can eat all of this. ...Oh, do you two want any?"

Mikumo shook his head and Kitora sighed. Both had rejected but he still ordered an extra bowl.

He thanked the seller and split apart his chopsticks.

"Back to your question. ...I don't know."

"...What a weak answer."

"I heard that you are considered a genius, Awdry."

"First name's fine. Just ignore any formalities with me. Anyway, other people are the ones who decided on calling me that. I just look at things from my own perspective and go from there."

Kitora moved a step forward and looked down at the bowl of meat and rice.

Without looking, Toby picked up a piece of meat and held it out for her.

She looked at him for a moment, a light shade of pink dusting her cheeks. Multiple pairs of eyes were on the two of them, but neither one of them payed any attention to that.

Knowing there was no way out of this, she opened her mouth and moved her head forward. Taking the piece into her mouth, she covered her chewing with her hand and looked away.

Grinning at his win, Toby followed that up by taking another piece of meat from the bowl. This time he turned to face Mikumo and held out his chopsticks.

The way the glasses-boy tried to back away did nothing to deter Toby's advance. It only increased his want, shaking his chopsticks lightly.

Knowing that even more sets of eyes were watching them, Mikumo resigned himself to his fate and moved forward. Kitora's expression on the side was enough to tell him that Toby would only be winning this.

Smiling at his double victory, Toby continued to eat his own food as he continued their conversation.

"Disregarding what I think about all of this, I know something." He took another bite. "I know that my squad will be fine."

"Why do you say that...?"

"You're friends with Take, but I'll forgive you. Anyway, I say that because I know them like I now myself. We're all pretty annoying when it comes to things like this. Take has already decided on going after Eri. Mei is...well it's Mei. There's no need to worry about her anymore. Hoshi looks like she's having fun back there and Shizuka is free to do whatever she wants. So I have nothing to worry about."

From behind him, Kitora and Mikumo exchanged a look before turning back to Toby.

Kitora was the one to speak up about it.

"What about Misaki-senpai?"

"Well..."

Pointing his chopsticks to where he thought his teammate would be, he spoke with a smile in his voice.

"She can handle almost anything around her. She's the summit's flower, after all."

---

A certain commotion occurred within Mikado City's park. Before continuing to the festival, everyone had gathered on the bridge in front of the main area of the park and a dependent sounding voice shouted out.

"Wh-what do you mean, Daigo!?"

It was Hisato and he was currently trying to grab at Daigo's collar.

"Why can't I join the battle even as a neutral side of all of this!? Is it because I'm useless!?"

When he heard he was to stay out of any of the fighting, Hisato felt a weight pressing down in the bottom of his heart. It was a cold weight and it threatened to make him tremble if he let his guard down even slightly, so he spoke to eliminate it.

"Why!? Tell me! Is it because I haven't trained enough!?"

His heart grew icily cold, but his mind was filled with heat. He wanted an answer and he did not understand if his question was wrong, if he had not asked enough, or what.

"If it's my body, l-look! I can move everything properly and I can take those leaps! Daigo, you were the one who helped me, weren't you!? So why are you telling me to stay away!?"

He saw Daigo make a face with the ends of his eyebrows lowered.

"No, um... Hisato?"

He knew that Daigo was going to say. It was the same thing he had said before.

"You're saying that isn't it, right!? But if that's all you say, how am I supposed to understand!?"

Heat started building up in his cheeks, but he did not care. He took a breath and a step forward, but Daigo stepped back. He did not want the other boy to run away, so Hisato took another half step forward.

"Is it because I'm weak!? Is it because I'm useless without being a decoy for others? Is it because I'm just a burden on you now!? Is it because I always lose and people insult me on the network, so you don't want me to drag your reputation down!? Or..."

He trmebled.

"Is it because I'm just your stepping stone now..."

As he spoke, Hisato saw Daigo's expression change.

His unsure demeanor vanished and his eyes opened wide. His eyebrows rose a little and he seemed to want to say something.

However, that expression gave Hisato an internal smile.

...Good. I got a different reaction.

But...

"Hisato."

It was Hanzaki who spoke up and Hisato and Daigo reacted at the same time.

"—"

They held their breath and something happened to the joy rising inside Hisato.

…Crap.

He belatedly realized that he had begun to say something terrible. A hole opened inside his joy, that hole filled with regret, and it all chilled the depths of his being even further.

But, he thought. Without even realizing it, I've become completely hopeless. And right when I thought I was doing good after that attack on the base.

.

He had been terrible during the invasion, he was a burden on Daigo during training, he had been level-headed during his matches and the attack, but when fighting a large Neighbor earlier in the week he had need a lot of help to do anything, and he had not been able to effect his squad as much as Daigo had from the start.

By the time he had come to this realization, this incident had already started.

...But he says I should be proud of what I've done.

It was true that he had not accomplished much of anything and would only trip people up on the battlefield.

But...

"Do you not need me anymore?"

Had the battlefield developed to the point that he could not handle it? Was he now useless and only source of worry despite his previous relationships? Was this also how Hanzaki felt about all of this?

"Are you saying...this is for both our sakes?"

"No, Hisato. Um..."

"That isn't it, right? But... That isn't it!"

As soon as he shouted out, Hanzaki's presence arrived from the right using the gap created when he took a breath. Hisato's shoulders trembled and he took a half step away. He turned toward Hanzaki and found him motionless with the ends of his eyebrows lowered, but Hisato could not grasp the meaning of that expression.

His only thought was that Hanzaki would advise he back down and that thought brought on another thought.

…If I do that, it will mean leaving Daigo.

Daigo would leave. In some unknown place, he would interact with some unknown people and on a deeper level than with him. That was likely a good thing for Daigo, but…

"I don't want that."

After all…

"How much… How much do you think I've done to spend my time with you?"

So if the alternative was to be called useless…

"I don't mind. Even if I have to act as your shield, even while in my real body, I don't mind as long as it will keep you alive. The same goes for you, Hanzaki."

…Do you understand? Would anyone else go that far?

"I'll do anything. Even if it means being beaten to a pulp or killed, it would be for you."

As soon as he said that, something struck his left shoulder.

He felt careless for focusing so much on Hanzaki to his right, so his caution and reflexes mixed together.

"Eh?"

He turned around and found brown hair dancing through the air.

It was Suzume. The girl twisted her body and then untwisted it.

"Yooooouuuuuu coward!"

A slap accompanied by a gust of wind sent Hisato flying.

.

Hanzaki reacted to both Suzume's action and the sound he heard.

…Wow.

He gave a stiff mental comment and looked up at Hisato flying through the air.

…Do big boobs increase the power of wind strikes? Oh, but that probably won't help with my shots even if I had them, so I guess I lost out there.

As he thought, Suzume grabbed Hisato's collar and forced him to his feet. Hisato seemed unable to react, but that was likely more due to the surprise of the strike than any pain it caused.

"You aren't my brother or my sister."

Suzume brought her hand back to slap the other cheek. With a clear sound, Hisato began to collapse to his knees, but Suzume would not allow it. She gathered strength in her hips and lifted him back up.

"So I'll leave it at this."

She pinched both cheeks and pulled.

"Hyah!" said Hisato. "Ouhhhhhhh!"

"Ouch" became "ouh" because he could not close his mouth. Suzume partially closed her eyes to glare at Hisato's face while pulling his cheeks even farther to either side.

Despite Suzume's gaze, which was better described as deep than sharp, Hisato was undaunted.

"Wh-wha ih it?"

As soon as Hisato wrinkled his brow and spoke, Suzume brought her face to Hisato's.

Before everyone could give noises of surprise, Suzume opened her lips a bit and lightly bit Hisato's upper lip. There was a clear sound of tearing flesh and Hisato's neck hair bristled and rose.

Suzume then released Hisato's shoulders.

"…"

Hisato fell and sat on the floor. The small amount of blood from his upper lip flowed into his mouth.

"They say drinking some warm milk can honestly calm you down, don't they, Hanzaki-kun?"

"How about you ask yourself instead of me?"

However, he understood what Suzume was trying to say, so he answered.

"Milk has similar properties to blood, so warming it up and drinking it can remind you what is flowing through your own body."

"Oh? I was trying to say it represents a mother's milk, so why are you honestly giving the safer answer to protect yourself, Hanzaki-kun? We aren't talking about cows! We're talking about people! It's philosophy!"

"What? You're blaming me for ruining this!? Doesn't the blame lie with the one who appointed me as director!?"

"We can just say that you and Hisato are used to giving Dai-chan some 'milk' then! How does that sound!?"

Everyone told her to calm down, so he and Suzume gestured for them to quiet down. On top of that, he looked at Suzume who stood in front of Hisato.

Suzume was looking at Hisato as the boy sat limply on the floor. She did not look down on him, but she did not lower herself to Hisato's level either. The lightly crossed arms and the smile on the corner of her mouth were just her normal behavior.

…She only matches the height of her gaze when speaking with Satori.

Hanzaki wondered if she did that with her squad as well and decided to pay more attention next time.

Suzume then spoke to Hisato.

"Listen. I understand you're honestly on a crappy streak and you're getting desperate, but the battlefield isn't a place to clear your name. Right now, you're underqualified for the job."

"Misaki! Misaki! You're using some of those phrases in a wonderfully wrong way!"

"You're being a bit confusing yourself," cut in the others, but Hanzaki ignored them.

Suzume danced to avoid answering Hanzaki, so they were no different.

"At any rate," said Suzume. "What was it you honestly told Dai-chan just now?"

Hisato reacted with silent eyes that looked both expressionless and hostile, but Suzume only raised the corner of her mouth.

…Hisato knows he can't do anything.

Hisato was glaring at Suzume because nothing he did or said would change this, so he had no other choice. There was no reason to respond to the glare and no reason for Suzume to alter her own pace.

"Listen. You told him, 'I'll do anything. Even if it means being beaten to a pulp or killed, it would be for you.' "

Calm down.

"After all, that means if you honestly died or were beaten to a pulp, it would happen because Dai-chan was there."

.

Hisato had not intended to listen.

An unpleasant girl stood before him. He had to admit he had known the girl for a long time, but he had little desire to be actively involved with her in any way. He could only get along with that girl by staying out of her view when it counted.

That was why he had simply thought he had to keep his distance from what that girl said.

No matter what the girl said to him or did to him, it would not change that he had been deemed unfit to remain in the place he wanted to be.

Of course, it would solve everything if he no longer wanted to be there.

…But that isn't possible.

The fact that he could not accept this was his own fault.

But that was why he had no intention of giving in. No matter what was said, he had decided not to abandon his defiance. After all, abandoning that would be resigning himself to the goodness of the others.

However, he heard Suzume speak.

"Listen. You say you're honestly willing to be beaten to a pulp or killed for Dai-chan's sake. But then if you do die or are beaten to a pup, it means your death or injuries happened because Dai-chan was there. If Dai-chan had not been there, you wouldn't have been hurt or killed. And what would you say to him then?"

The unpleasant girl stopped smiling as she spoke.

"'Daigo, I may have been hurt and killed, but it was for you.' 'I died for you, so rejoice.' 'But I was only beaten and killed because you were there, so remember for the rest of your life what it meant for that to happen to me.'"

She took a breath.

"Another thing, Hisato. Did Dai-chan ever honestly ask for your help? You aren't helping someone who asked for it, so when you say you are saving him or helping him 'for his sake', you are being terribly insulting. It means you honestly view him as someone who is lacking without your help. It is either one-sided charity or something you are forcing on him. You are simply trying to gain a temporary sense of superiority over the people who have the bare minimum of pride in being able to survive on their own. They are honestly doing their best to survive, but you take that from them with an insulting sense of superiority and yet you pass it off as kindness."

So…

"If you are going to do it, say it's for your own sake. Or perhaps because you can't forgive yourself for being unable to honestly save anyone. Forcing that on someone may be hypocritical, but at the very least, don't expect any thanks for it. On that note, what were you honestly thinking?"

"What?"

"You were expecting the greatest reward of all. You wanted him to keep you by his side because you were doing it for him."

The girl did not even give a bitter smile. She simply spoke in an indifferent tone.

"Do you think you can be with someone just because you honestly devote yourself to them? That's an insult to love."

"Stop!"

Hisato was not sure if his shout was directed at the unpleasant girl or himself.

…But…

If he was going to give a shout of rejection, what had he been doing up until now?

.

Hisato thought in a daze.

What had he been thinking and doing?

He had given a rejection to Suzume and himself, so he felt as if he had completely eliminated his feelings for Daigo and the defiance supporting him.

"Why…?"

After far too long, he began to tremble and heat filled in both of his cheeks.

Hr tasted blood and wondered if he was sensing that strong iron flavor because his tension was vanishing. However, that hinted at what was happening inside him.

"Everything is going away," he muttered.

He tried to cover his face with his hands, but a sudden voice from behind stopped him.

"Suzu! Suzu! Can I ask a question here!?"

"Heh heh heh. Foolish boy, do you have something to ask for your wise best friend's Indiscriminate Lecturing and Bombing Corner? What is it?"

"Well," answered the Sniper. "Is it wrong to do something for someone's sake? Is it really that terrible?"

"What's this? Foolish boy, do you honestly want a serious discussion?"

"Hmm." Satori tilted his head and raised is right hand. "For example, when I'm playing porn games, I always have an ulterior motive when I'm working to win the girls."

"But when you fail to win them, it's because of that ulterior motive, right? Just make sure you honestly save regularly."

"Oh, that's right! So my question was the true end! I guess that settles everything!"

"Don't end this yet!"

.

Kumagai thought a bit about what Satori had asked and then huddled together with the others.

"Hanzaki ended up chaotic, but Satori actually asked a surprisingly decent question."

The others nodded and turned toward Suzume as she shrugged.

"Well, when you aren't asked to do something, you're generally doing it for your own sake. It's wonderfully and honestly egotistical, but human history has prepared something convenient for the ego beginners who find that too difficult."

Kumagai caught on because it was something she had heard some people pray for at the local shrine.

It was something human history had created that one could channel their ego into.

"Eros! Heil eros! What a wonderful fusion with German! A hail of eros! It's raining eros! Everything is honestly for the sake of eros! Well done, mankind! Let it wash over you!"

"N-no! You're supposed to say love or peace or something like that!"

"C'mon, Kuma. Who would give a serious answer here?"

"Kuma, you really can be boring sometimes."

…I'm at fault here!? And does that mean I'm usually interesting!? Why!?

She had a lot of questions, but she felt responsible here and thus needed to correct this. She was embarrassed to speak again after that, but she did so while blushing.

"U-um… Basically, i-if you do it for l-love or…"

"Right, right."

The artist and her gofer nodded in unison.

"Kuma-saaan, I can't hear, so speak uuuup."

She prepared his Trigger and the two ran away. She used that chance to take a breath and speak.

"So, um. Those things don't have misunderstandings or their own thoughts like a person does. They're formless and they have no responsibility or rewards. They're also important to people, so I think it's safe to use them as a driving force."

Kumagai was proud of how well she had rattled off something that sounded straight out of a shrine's collection of example sermons, but then she heard the others whispering.

"Are we being deceived here?"

"It is true that people like her have persuasion Triggers."

"And wasn't this about me? Why is everything progressing so much without me?"

The comments annoyed Kumagai, but Hisato actually had a point.

She looked down and saw Hisato sitting on the ground with drooping shoulders. However, that was not due to dejection. He exhaled as if to let out everything that had built up inside him.

"Daigo."

"What is it, Hisato?"

"It would be a problem to hold almost religious faith in something uncertain, wouldn't it?"

Daigo momentarily looked to the others. The others exchanged a glance with him and for some reason Suzume gave a gesture of sticking something out from either side of her chest, but that was the behavior of a crazy person and could be ignored.

Daigo merely nodded in response.

"I'm not sure I would call it a problem, but I might give a reaction."

"I can't have you doing that because of my misunderstanding. I need you to answer who I truly am."

So…

"Do you need my help?"

Daigo shook his head.

"No, not as you are right now, Hisato."

.

…That's right.

Hisato lowered his head with the flavor of blood on his tongue and he felt that was not a bad answer.

"Yeah. That's right. I want you to give me what I want, but then we wouldn't be equal and it would all be over."

"Yeah. I'm always the same way. After all…"

Daigo sat down next to him as he spoke. It felt like forever since they had looked each in the eye from the same height, but that was likely because Hisato had been keeping everything so one sided.

But Daigo did not abandon, slap, or the bite the lip of his partner. He only gave a calming smile and similarly calming words.

"We are together because we stand side by side, not because we help each other. You had been the one to help me realize that. Well, you and one other person here."

That's right.

"Hanzaki really does complain a lot about you, doesn't he...? He can get pretty annoying himself with it."

"Hisato, I think you're getting back to your usual self pretty quickly," Hanzaki said from in front of them.

"What's wrong with that?" asked Hisato. "And will we always stand side by side, the three of us, no matter where we go or what we do?"

"Didn't we become something in order to make that happen?"

"Did we?"

It could be a problem just how positively and conveniently Daigo could now view things.

However, there was important meaning in going along with it now.

…If he's handling it like this, it means he's trying to remain with me.

So Hisato decided to trust him without abandoning the dissatisfied part of his own character.

"Then…I'll put my faith in that. A decoy has faith in his partner, right? That has to be the best option for me."

He took a breath, held up his right hand, and spoke to Suzume who smiled down at him.

"I'm too unsteady to stand thanks to a certain idiot hitting me, so can you help me up?"

As Hisato stood and everyone breathed a sigh of relief, the sound of footsteps came closer from two side.

"Huh?"

Everyone turned toward a new person.

"Oh, hey Tokyo! What do you need!? If you want to join the fun, you're pretty late!"

"Minamisawa-kun, you can calm down here. But that's not it. Um...you guys might have a problem coming up."

The second set of footsteps had began to slow down until there was now someone there.

A gust of wind followed her movement.

.

As Mitsuteru walked toward the middle of the bridge gapping the area in the park, he saw a certain sight.

The butt end of a spear was hit the bridge in a defiant way as if to say that no one should move.

The wind that had flown into the area was actually a spear-wielding girl with black hair tired in a ponytail.

"I am Kanzaki Shizuka, A-Rank agent Attacker for Border," she said.

That name caused Mitsueru to move from where he stood at the end of the bridge.

"Kanzaki-senpai?"

He looked back for a moment before turning back to the female warrior standing at the other end of the bridge.

"You really are doing this."

"Ariake. ...We have not spoken much lately."

But Kanzaki did not turn her full attention toward him. As he wondered why, he heard someone speak up from the side.

"Are you trying to interfere!?"

"Which one of us is doing the interfering?"

No one on the bridge or the area behind answered those questions. The response came from the people around the park who had gathered below the stairs of the bridge. Mitsueru heard voices coming from far below the stairs behind him.

The surprised voices changed to cheers.

"...!"

As he turned toward the commotion, he saw Taichi was already looking down the stairs.

Wondering what was causing these voices, he followed his gaze and saw two people climbing the stairs.

And Taichi called out to them.

"Hey, hey! Isn't that Kurosaki's CEO and Daigo's Operator!?"

"Show some respect! I am the one in charge of my business - Kurosaki Shin!"

Kurosaki had already passed by the people standing on the stairs. The Hikigane Squad Operator accompanied him while dressed like a civilian.

"I hope all of you have not forgotten that we are the ones who have set things up in this park for people to enjoy themselves!"

"Oh. You spent your money to set up all these booths to help everyone here relax, but we completely forgot about you so now you're taking center stage yourself? I understand. Sorry for the fuss, Kurosaki bossman!"

"Heh heh heh. Ken-kun is honestly enjoying himself here."

"Okay, okay, okay." Mitsuteru stepped between Kurosaki and the group. "Calm down, calm down. Um, Kurosaki Boss, what do you need?"

"I am here to admonish you Border members for your reckless actions, Ariake-kun!"

Oh, he knows who I am, he realized.

He was normal in every aspect when compared to all of the other strange people in Border, so it was not uncommon for people to remember faces but not names.

Meanwhile, Kurosaki arrived at the top of the stairs while holding his cane.

"Person hiding in the trees, come out now!"

The person in question followed the order and Mitsuteru felt something bitter build up upon seeing that it had been Shigenaga.

"Border. If you can hear us, then please have this person leave."

"Oh? And why would you need that? You may be a sponsor for Border, but this matter is one that involves our agents who are there and not the citizens who supply the money to us. Not to sound rude, but that is just how it is."

The voice of Commander Kido could be hear nearby.

They were being watched by the base.

Kurosaki spoke with his back to the other civilians.

"We have met an interesting girl who is acting as a sort of bodyguard."

...I see.

Mitsuteru turned toward Kanzaki's front. She had not moved, but Shigenaga had lowered her arms and taken a step back.

And then Kurosaki continued speaking.

"This girl is a member of Border and someone who has a history with important members. She has come to us asking something through Sekai. She has told me about what is going on and stated that she is an A-Rank agent for you. I would like to see if any of the agents who are on your opposing side can defeat such a great warrior."

"And what will you do if she ends up losing? Kurosaki, what proof do you have that this girl is not in league with the other side of Border's agents? Well?"

That was a good question.

"In other words, Kurosaki-san, you want Kanzaki to fight one of us?"

He felt that was absurd. He knew how strong Kanzaki was from his time in Taiyōko Squad.

They had not been together while in school, but they had often been spoke about together due to being on the same squad.

Misuteru had failed to bring anything for their squad, but it was said Kanzaki would certainly continue to A-Rank.

The squad may have disbanded, but Kanzaki had made it to A-Rank.

But...

"My special movement Trigger is unable to keep up with my former captain's speed."

"..."

Mitsuteru saw some of the cannibalistic upperclassmen gathered by the park's entrance. They were looking at Kanzaki worriedly, but they said nothing.

They must have been unable to stand having Kanzaki as an enemy.

And another person walked forward from behind them. It was Shiraishi Chisato.

"Things sure have gotten complicated while I just watched on." She clapped her hands. "I will speak up as a representative for Shiraishi, meaning I won't be taking part in any fighting here, but it sounds like both sides have their own reasons. That's fine, right?"

She turned toward Shigenaga to speak properly with Commander Kido.

"This is a decision making choice for the people who are here, so I ask that the base stays out of it. Besides, this is all for show and fun, right? No need to get so serious about it."

"...I will be more careful in the future.

"Right." Shiraishi nodded. "Now, time for that fun I spoke about. How about we put on a show for everyone here?"

She turned toward Kanzaki and nodded. Kanzaki nodded back and took a breath.

"If you cannot defeat me, know that your blades will never reach your enemy. If you cannot do that..."

She turned toward Mitsuteru.

The afternoon wind blew in. It shook Kanzaki's hair. That hair blew against the newly formed spear's blade and was cut.

"If you cannot do that, I will cut through all of your hopes and dreams."

Now...

"Who will be my opponent!?"

.

Kanzkai's call for an opponent caused everyone on the other side to exchange a glance.

Kurosaki and Kumokawa were walking over from their side to stand behind Kanzaki and onto the steps leading up to her.

They all slowly gathered, formed a circle, and began to whisper.

"How about I head out as an Attacker? Just leave it to me and - wham! - she'll be done for."

"Hm. Or I could call in a favor and have something dropped from the sky - crash! - that would settle that."

"No, I should use Ibis from a distance and - boom! - problem solved."

"...Why do the people around here like onomatopoeia so much?" complained Sasamori.

"A dispute among students is fine and all, but I'm not sure anyone seeing an foreigner like you, Kumagai, would support you if you went against Border," said Hanzaki. "Also, I doubt a surprise attack would work on her and Tono can't really do much without setting himself up first."

"Then we have no choice but to send me!" declared Taichi.

"As an upperclassman, I'll put this realistically," said Kōchō. "I think that would end with her stepping on you and splattering you everywhere."

"Kōchō-chan and I take a moment to use our Triggers and her cutting would reach us at a distance."

Everyone exchanged another glance. For an instant, their gazes gathered on Sasamori, but he frantically shook his head. No one even considered Tokieda or Satori.

Finally, Hanzaki sighed and spoke.

"I guess that leaves me. I can use alternating Triggers and stay hidden."

"I would be a better choice than you," said Girikage quietly. "She is a samurai which is a poor match up for someone like me, but I can try."

As he spoke, Koarai peered down at them from the bridge.

"No, no. Dai-chan can't do it! That's hopeless."

"Why would you say that sort of things at a time like this?"

"Because of the way she speaks. She speaks in a super old-fashioned way while you half-ass it. You lose from character density perspective before the fight even starts."

Girikage tilted his head for a bit. Hanzkai and Sasamori gently patted his back but said nothing.

As Kanzaki watched, she called out from over the railing.

"Do you need something with me? Does that dull boy want something?"

"Dai-chan, do you think you can speak like her without trying?"

The Attacker furrowed his brows, fell to his hands and knees, and repeatedly slammed his right first against the ground.

"D-dammit... I-I just can't do it that seriously..."

"D-Daigo! Don't just go along with him using what you've seen in media!"

As everyone commented on how he took it pretty far as well, someone suddenly raised their head.

"Heh heh heh. The pathetic Attacker, the pious upperclassmen, the unsociable fighters, and all these overly-offensive girls are honestly hopeless."

It was Suzume. She raised her eyebrows and let out a laugh.

"Listen, all you foolish people. Simply sit there drinking tea. Foolish boy, this honest girl will save you and all these lacking companions. Most new older brother, come down from there. It is honestly dangerous."

As she spoke, Suzume left the ground and walked toward the stairs up to the bridge.

As she walked by, she snatched something from under Sasamori's shirt, causing him to go wide-eyed.

On the bridge, Mitsuteru looked down at her with a confused look, but Koarai spoke up.

"Oh, Suzume-chan gets scary if you don't do what she says, so you should probably go down."

"A-are you sure this is okay?"

"Yeah. Oh, but based on what she said, I think she really likes you, Mittsun-san. You don't have to be scared."

It explains our second proper meeting, he thought as he descended the stairs.

"Heh heh heh. Foolish people, you can start thanking me now. You will honestly be thanking me afterwards as well."

"Suzume-chan, you're always amazing with that sort of thing! Have you gone a little insane!?"

"Heh heh heh. Foolish boy, just admit you cannot keep up with this honest girl. Of course, there is no way you can keep up with this excellent girl who was born so much better than you."

"C'mon, Suzume-chan. You can't brag about that sort of thing. Come to think of it, you're the older sister, so you might've been due to an accident on your parents' part. On the other hand, I'm an only child, so I was born because of a planned effort on my parents' part."

"Heh heh heh. You scum."

Mitsuteru listened to their smiling exchange as he joined the others down below.

"Are those two okay?"

Oh, yeah. Suzu-chan and Koarai are always like that. You could say this is how they interact."

"But if you ask me, I think Suzume-chan is at her best here."

"Heh heh heh. The people down below are talking about us, foolish boy."

"C'mon Suzume-chan. A lot of the people down there are my friends, so don't get them mixed up."

"True."

As they spoke, something happened atop the bridge.

Kanzaki slowly moved forward from the stairs while Koarai moved to stand near the Kurosaki boss.

That left two.

That left two. Suzume and Kanzaki faced each other at a distance of five meters.

.

As the two faced each other, Kurosaki heard his intern's voice as he reached the edge of the stairs.

"Boss."

Her words reached his ears as the ends of her eyebrows lowered and she fixed her position.

He knew what she wanted to say. He should have been careful.

On one side was a warrior. On the other...

...Is a strange girl.

That was a member of Kotowari Squad who walked next to the boy. He had heard her speak, but he was not sure what she meant. However, he was fairly certain she was strange.

A warrior against a strange girl.

The latter could not win. And if she could not win, she could only lose.

And losing against a warrior would most likely mean receiving some form of injury. It did not apply when Triggers were involved, but she did not seem to be pulling out her Trigger. That was why his intern was unsure about this. He felt his intern was a kind person. That satisfied him and he decided to give her a bit of a raise some time soon.

"Hey, Kurosaki man! Why are you staring off into space? does your brain work differently or something?"

"Do not be so ignorant!" shouted Kurosaki. "Are you not going to stop her!? She is not going to use a Trigger!"

"It's fine. Anyway, I have a question."

Kurosaki listened to the boy's carefree voice.

"If Suzume-chan wins, will you do me a favor?"

"..."

What nonsense is this? he wondered. Asking a favor from someone of my position is very presumptuous.

However...

"Kurosaki bossman, you know the other sponsors, so you can talk with them. There's someone who is in Shiraishi that needs to do something. I just want to make sure my friend doesn't get hurt if that guy does something. So..."

"So?" asked Kurosaki wondering where this boy was going with this.

...If he's asking me for this instead of Chisato over there, it might be something she cannot do for him. But...

For some reason he was involving himself in one of the sponsors for Border because of a friend. His motive was simple. He simply wished to help his friend and make sure that friend would not be hurt later on, but that had nothing to do with Border's current situation.

I suppose I can see what I can do.

There was no way this girl could win the battle beginning before their eyes.

As he looked up, Kanzaki took a slow step forward.

"Now then."

She approached in order to begin the battle.

.

Kanzaki looked at the girl standing before her.

Her wavy hair was dyed light brown and she had a confident smile on her face. Her name was Suzumebachi and she was supposedly the Sniper for Kotowari Squad.

The sleeves wrapped around her arms and the exposed top of her breasts led Kanzaki to a certain conclusion.

"Are you a shirabyoushi?"

"Heh heh heh. Such an honestly boring girl with no knowledge of art. This is much older than that. Are you truly that ignorant?"

"Unfortunately, I have no interest in the arts."

"Heh heh. You will waste your life. How very boring. …Bubbles, come on out."

Once its name was called down, a small slime-like creature appeared on her shoulder. The slime had two green dots resembling eyes, but it was not certain that that was what they were.

"This is the slime that Hisato-kyun had befriended earlier in the week, but I am going to teach it to enjoy some entertainment."

"Don't just take it from me like that!" Sasamori yelled from below the stairs.

"Anyway, while not be religious, the main shrine I like to visit is the Tsubaki Shrine, but that is more because of me enjoying the goddess Uzume. ...Do you understand how Uzume-type people work?"

"Not in detail. I only know it involves conveying emotions by causing commotions and laughter."

"Is that so? Then I shall teach you."

Suzume began slowly shaking her body along with Bubbles on her shoulder.

This was the beginning of a dance. Kanzaki took a defensive stance while thinking Suzume was going to try something.

"Let me make myself clear: if you surrender, I will not treat you roughly."

"Heh heh. What a fool. A girl who honestly says she does not want to be treated roughly is a girl who has never even been treated mildly. Or do you think lenient treatment will delight your partner?" Suzume shook her body in the opposite direction, returned in the first direction, and smiled. "Even if you are able to honestly delight your partner, you could never win them over. You have never seriously faced someone, have you?"

Hearing that, Kanzaki gulped.

…Well…

At one point, she had challenged Hatohara Minoru during a test session. She remembered how that had overturned everything, including her standpoint. She felt that was the best she could have done in that situation, but...

"..."

She slowly shook her head and drove the memories from her mind.

...There is no reason to let her shake me.

She had to calm down. Her opponent did not appear to have trained her body for combat. Nor did she wield a weapon. She had not brought out her Trigger and had only produced a slime, so she would likely use something else. It was possible she had already used it.

However, the girl's hands were covered by her sleeves. She could not operate any sort of weapon like that. She could still use other things by communicating with others, but that added more time to do anything.

In that case, it had to be a Side Effect. She would have a sort of protection from her Side Effect.

...It will not be combat oriented.

There were different categories of Side Effects because their abilities were also divided. If two Side Effects were close in type, their abilities would be similar to each other, but what she was seeing here was simply too far removed from the practical category.

"Oh, just so you know, my Side Effect is honestly related only to eroticism and dancing."

...She really has no combat abilities!?

In that case, she would use a her bodies natural abilities.

By using only a dance, she could move in multiple ways a fighter would not normally think of.

In that case, thought Kanzaki. I need to be on my guard.

And once she put her guard up, she thought. If her attack hit, she would defeat her opponent. That opponent's movements were slow, so she could grab her if she tried.

...That leaves countless means of winning.

She would not even need to use the cutting power which was her spear's true essence as a distance attack. She could easily cut this girl with the actual blade. Or she could jab her with the butt of the spear. She could also sweep her legs out from under her, grab onto her arms and throw her, or pull her to the ground with her hair which was carelessly waving around.

Almost anything would work.

But that was why she decided to use speed.

That technique had not worked on Hatohara Minoru days before, but she wanted to check it again. She felt it was immature to use it on an opponent who was far below her level, but that opponent was irrelevant when it came to testing her own ability.

And so Kanzaki lowered her stance, held up her spear, and faced Suzume as the girl swayed.

"Prepare yourself!"

And she took a step forward.

.

Kanzaki used the handle.

Her spear was normally 3.6 meters long plus a 40 centimeter blade, but it could vary between six meters and one meter using its ability to extend and contract.

It was currently approximately 2.7 meters and she found that length easiest to use.

Simply holding the center of the handle was enough to give her a blunt weapon over a meter long on both the right and left. If she passed by her opponent with a movement Trigger, it would be no different from hitting her with a metal rod.

Kanzaki moved. She travelled forward to pass by Suzume on the left as the girl continued to sway.

She swung the handle at ankle height. She had thought about going for the abdomen, but the cost would be too great in the off chance that her opponent truly had nothing at all prepared. A high speed strike to the gut of an untrained person could easily break bones or rupture organs.

The ankle could still break bones, but the odds were higher the girl would merely trip. Her balance was unsteady due to her swaying, so she would trip if Kanzaki scooped upwards as she hit.

An untrained body was easily damaged. After the fall and the pain in her ankles prevented her from walking, Suzume would likely surrender.

And so Kanzaki carried out her plan.

She ran forward with her Trigger. She lowered her body and swung the handle down.

"…!"

And she swept it across to take out her opponent's ankles.

.

Kurosaki saw Kanzaki suddenly appear before his eyes.

She had of course travelled there, but it had looked like she had instantly teleported. The motion of the wind and the waving of Kanzaki's clothes and hair allowed him to just barely guess the direction of her motion.

…She is fast.

But that thought made him recall a certain fact.

…But there was someone she could not catch up to with that speed.

In that case, this opposing group had to be stronger than Kanzaki at the least.

But even if they could demonstrate that strength…

…It does not mean they can overcome the ones who defeated her.

As he thought, Kanzaki adjusted her lowered stance, spun her spear around, and held it normally once more.

"It is over."

Kurosaki looked back toward where Suzume had stood.

There, he saw Suzume standing casually and swaying with her arms crossed.

…What?

Suzume stood there.

She was unharmed. She did not have a scratch on her.

…What just happened?

As he gasped, his intern tugged on his left sleeve with her eyes wide.

Kanzaki noticed how the two of them were acting.

"What is the matter?"

As she asked that, she followed their gazes and looked behind her.

In front of Kurosaki, his intern, and Kanzaki's gazes, Suzume stood with a smile on her face.

She was simply swaying lightly as if nothing had happened. She swayed with the tempo of a dance step.

After a moment, Kanzaki nodded. After another pause, she nodded again and then a third time.

"I never thought reality would lie to me."

"Heh heh heh. Try not to take so long to honestly reach such a simple conclusion. …Foolish hat boy, how would you react in this situation? Give her an example!"

Next to the railing, Kurosaki, his intern, and Kanzaki all turned in the direction of Suzume's gaze. There, they saw Taichi peering into a bucket and muttering to himself.

He sat down, occasionally laughed toward the bucket, and lightly stroked its wooden surface.

"Heh. Hah hah. Wa ha ha. You're so cute. So very cute. Heh heh heh. You're soaking wet."

"…Has he gone beyond cross-species romance and reached inanimate object romance? You have quite an advanced friend."

"Heh heh heh. He has done surprisingly well for my friend. Skipping past the middle steps honestly makes for an excellent visual. I will knock him into the sewage later. …Now, Kanzaki Shizuka. You are currently the least interesting girl in the entirety ofJapan." Suzume raised her eyebrows and smiled. "You are just as hopeless as I thought. …You are honestly making the idea of speed cry."

In that instant, Kanzaki vanished from Kurosaki's vision.

.

Kanzaki made her second attack.

She charged to the left and swung the spear as she passed by. She pulled in her shoulder and raised her bent elbow like a crank to scoop up her opponent's legs.

And she hit.

She felt the blow connect. She used her entire body to brake and stopped after traveling seven meters. While almost sliding forward, she lowered her upper body and turned around so as not to turn her back to the enemy.

With the butt end of her spear turned toward her opponent, she raised her upper body to look.

"Heh heh. What are you doing? Is that supposed to be fast? Or painful? Or simply…meaningless?"

Despite supposedly having been hit, Suzume faced her with a smile.

…What?

"What sort of ability is this?"

"Who would be foolish enough to ask? And who would be foolish enough to answer? …But I am willing to honestly brag about it."

While taking swaying steps, Suzume stretched her right arm directly out to the side. While lightly spinning, Bubbles travelled along the arm and then back. The slime rotated atop her breasts and then travelled along her extended left arm.

At the end of that arm was a black object tied by a yellow rope.

With the slime's movements decorating her, Suzume spoke.

"Didn't I tell you? My ability is honestly related to eroticism and dance. But do you think being erotic means you will give your body to just anyone?"

With the slime named Bubbles on the end of her left sleeve, Suzume slowly held the arm forward. She held her right arm forward as well and Bubbles hopped to her right hand.

"The summit's flower is only seen by those who honestly reach that summit. And it cannot be brought down without it withering. And thus the summit's flower continues to bloom in isolation. As long as that mountain remains inviolable, it can only be collectively worshipped by those who have honestly reached that elevated place."

Suzume laughed from her throat.

She then rotated her arms behind her and let Bubbles hop to her left arm.

"My Summit Dance is a movement using my Side Effect that does not allow anything inelegant to touch my body. It ensures that the flower cannot be picked by a fool who does not honestly realize it will wither. Only someone I approve of, someone who I wish to wither away for, can touch me."

Kanzaki carried out her third attack, but Suzume's voice continued as soon as she had dashed and swung her spear.

"How inelegant. Flowers are meant to be picked, not reaped."

Kanzaki turned toward the voice behind her.

She saw a smile amid the waving hair and swaying body.

"Do not think I have no means of attack. Even beautiful flowers have thorns or poisonous roots. Let your guard down and I will slap you. And I will not stop until you are completely paralyzed," said her opponent. "Now, show me whether you can honestly reach this summit or not. As long as I continue dedicating this dance, I stand at the summit."

And she moved.

"I am the summit!"

She swayed, stretched her gently moving body, raised her arms, tossed Bubbles into the air, and opened her mouth.

"—!"

With a smile, she let out a voice. It was a type of tuning that seemed to call in something.

Bubbles performed mid-air acrobatics and Suzume swayed as the slime began to fall. But this was not the gentle swaying from before. She made clear steps.

She moved up and down, her hair, clothes, and body waved about, and her sleeves audibly struck the air.

And something else joined that noise.

"Take it."

Bubble fell to her shoulder, but her body swayed once more.

"We are dreamers."

Her voice was higher and more drawn-out than before.

"So it's trigger."

Her words passed through the air.

Kanzaki did not recognized the words. This was likely a song that Suzume had created during her own time. It was something only she knew, could sing to, and...

...For dance!

Not good, thought Kanzaki. what should I do?

"It's up to you.

"Beyond that, it's dawn dawn dawn."

Her words were picking up pace. This was not the normal tempo for a song. It was a quick four-on-the-floor arrangement meant for dancing. As the tempo rose and the dance picked up speed, the density of the dance rose dynamically.

…And its value as a defense rises!

The summit's flower was attempting to blossom in an even higher place.

And Kanzaki had yet to reach the current summit. The fact that her attacks could not reach Suzume proved that.

But she knew one solution.

…Her defense is not perfect.

If her opponent was raising her movement value by speeding up and singing, Kanzaki could reach her by making an action that exceeded that level.

Her spear's cutting power would accomplish it in one shot. The weapon had been created as a Trigger based off of Yoneya's. The amount of trion power consumed when activating it was greater than the amount of trion used for a standard Trigger.

But, thought Kanzaki. I do not want to use that if I can avoid it.

Her opponent was two years younger. If that opponent was dancing, she would use speed. She wanted to outdo this opponent with speed and leave her spear as a last resort.

"…"

She stood up and took a step in preparation for that.

As her opponent sang and gently built up speed, she built up her own speed with a step that used her movement Trigger.

"It's like a meteor.

"It's like a meadow."

And she moved forward to reach that summit.

.

A sound rang out.

The wind blew and shadows danced.

A black and white dance blossomed in the center and a wind repeatedly rushed through the surroundings.

In the wind, only human shadows and a green arc were visible. The wind did not hesitate to use its blade.

The shaking of the bridge and the stepping of feet created a reverberation, hair whipping in the wind created a rustling, and clothes flapping about creating a beat in the air.

"The force within is inevitable.

"It's a meeting like never before and never again."

She sang with a smile in her voice.

"To the very back of my eyes I was touched.

"Powerfully, by a soft jewel."

The surrounding noises provided accompaniment.

"Our tomorrow is a light we have yet to see.

"Sure, there will be times when we get frustrated."

But the noises attempted to drown out the voice.

"But let's escape from this labyrinth.

"Without stopping."

Again and again, the noises rang out.

"My heartbeat, it's arrived

"Whoa, whoa"

Black and white clothing danced in the center.

"I want to protect you and the future

"Whoa, whoa-oh-oh"

The surrounding air enveloped her.

"Fighter, to the other side now.

"Try, with you, yeah.

"Higher, we can fly."

The park's trees and the nearby buildings' windows produced noise.

"Before the day comes when I eventually lose sight of it

"Before I lose you"

However…

"We are dreamers."

She began the second loop.

She did not stop, she did not cease, and she did not pause. Her speed only grew.

"…!"

The sounds and her movements overlapped.

.

The speed grew. As if the noise had grown, the wind blew again and again.

"Hey… Look at that," said the people watching.

The looked within the wind noisily surrounding the dance.

"I can see shadows now…"

As several people made similar dumbfounded comments, many different human figures began to appear within the wind.

High-speed movement and attacks repeated again and again. The movement could not be seen, but that movement stopped slightly in the instant of attack. Repeating this so many times produced a visible afterimage of the wind's form.

Kanzaki Shizuka could be seen around the dancing black and white flower as she attempted to reach the summit for her spear.

The location of her attacks changed based on the movements of the dance, so she did not appear in just one location. She became visible in two, three, four, and then suddenly seven and eight locations.

"Wait a second…"

Once it surpassed twelve, the afterimages became impossible to count as they began to appear behind and mix together with other afterimages.

But she could still not catch up. The dance was quick, accurate, singing, and noisy.

"She's smiling…"

The flower danced while ignoring the blade that should have stabbed into her countless times. The people then noticed that the type of dance was changing.

"She's dancing with her opponent."

She was using Kanzaki's movements as a part of the dance. Having seen through the movements of the girl's arms, legs, and body, she would draw back when the girl moved forward and pursue when the girl moved back.

It was as if she had taken the girl's hand.

And the dance changed to match. As she matched the dance to the attacks, it sped up even further.

"She's swallowing her up."

Suzume included Kanzaki's attacks in her dance and raised the movement level. The more Kanzaki raised her speed, the higher the summit of the flower that devoured that speed.

And so the sound of the wind grew. Dust flew, the wind burst, and…

"Oh!"

That voice was accompanied by an action. This was Kanzaki's cry as she attacked.

"Ohhhh!"

Her speed added power to the strike and flowers scattered.

Those flowers were yellow sparks. Both of their powers were strengthened by a Trigger. The trion protecting them collided and produced those glowing flowers.

Kanzaki was catching up. As she tried to take the lead in the dance, those yellow flowers flew amid a great noise.

"Ohhhhh!"

Her tearing shout produced color.

That color was green. As Suzume danced, several green lines raced across her skin.

The wind was reaching her. The wind's blade attempted to forcefully pick the flower.

"…"

Gas of trion joined the flowing sweat on the dancing flower's skin and it drew lines as it dripped down.

But the flower did not end its dance.

Even as the summit's wind raged about, the flower continued looking higher.

The song entered a new loop.

.

As wind blew through the park side and the noise shook the ground, Mitsuteru asked the others a question.

"Is she okay!?"

He felt the situation had gone beyond a battle between allies and reached a deadly state.

…If Suzume's defenses are broken…

Kanzaki would likely stab straight through her.

He felt a bad feeling in the bottom of his gut.

"She will be fine," said Satori as he stood next to Taichi.

Mitsuteru turned toward him and saw Satori's eyebrows raised as he looked up at the bridge. His expression belied his words, so it seemed he had been speaking to reassure himself.

"She will be fine. Everyone believes she will, so you believe in her too, Mittsun-senpai."

"But…"

"Suzu will not lose."

The instant Satori said that, he closed his right eye. Mitsuteru looked over at the boy's right cheek.

"Cloth…"

It had reached him after being scattered by the wind. It was not much, but the color was clearly there.

However…

"She will be fine," said Satori without moving away the cloth. "As I am sure you all know, Suzu has only ever cried once."

"When? And for who?"

While looking up at the wind on the bridge, Satori gave the answer.

His words told him his answer, but his finger pointed to the side.

Mitsuteru followed the finger to see a mother and daughter watching on from under the bridge.

"A long time ago and for her mother and sister. …That was the only time."

So…

"As long as they are watching, she will not lose."

.

As Suzume sang and danced within the wind, she thought.

…This is wonderful. Great!

This was a good opponent. Not many people in Border could reach this speed.

Such a wonderful opponent, she thought. If it was a boy, there would honestly be a sensual side too, but with a girl it is…um… What do you call it? Let's see… Oh, well. I forget. But that is fine. I make the rules after all.

…But this is honestly wonderful.

Her opponent was keeping up, so she brought her dance to the next level.

But her opponent kept up with that as well. She forcibly kept up as if clinging to Suzume.

…This is fun.

She did not feel she was being forced higher. After all, a girl was supposed to run away and have her opponent chase after her. There was beauty in running away so she could not be caught.

At the moment, she was moving.

Her body flowed, her hair shook, and her heat leaked from her skin. All sounds seemed like the beating of her heart.

She felt as if speaking out would expose her passion, will, beating heart, and everything else to the outside world.

It felt wonderful.

Her movements reached their peak, she demonstrated her will as much as possible, and the beating of her heart grew to the extreme.

"—!"

And she exposed it all. All of her was defenseless. This was not something she could do often.

Black Triggers are honestly amazing. I only need some knowledge and trion to create these shields.

It had been been lent to her, so she make full use of it.

She felt alive the more she used it.

But, she thought. This is not enough.

There was a time long ago when she had cried with everything she had.

…Even this dance is nowhere close to that.

There had been a few times when she had tried to reach that point again, but she had never been able to reach that truly defenseless state a second time. No matter how far she took the dance, she could not catch up to that instant in the past.

...A pity. I had heard that Chika-chan was similar from one of my conversations with Osamu-kun. The girl should not have that sort of strong will at her age.

She recalled what she had been exposing back then.

She recalled the past.

…That was…

She thought about what had once happened.

…That was a few months after my idiot of a father left us.

She remembered.

.

"It seems her family received a serious hit when her father left due to something he had done at the time. While still on speaking terms with her mother, he was kept at a distance from Suzu and her sister while around them. But that was because of Suzu."

Below the great noise and crying wind, Mitsuteru listened to Satori.

"For a while, she stopped attending school. She stayed in her home for several months and it seems she never said anything."

"Suzume did?"

"Yes. toward the end, she stopped eating and lost a lot of weight. At the time, her mother was in the hospital and no one could contact her. When we came to see her, she would refuse to come out, so we wondered what was going to happen."

Satori's words spilled from his mouth.

"...But Tsukiko-senpai was the one who woke her up."

.

That day was no different from any other day, thought Suzume as she moved.

Her mother and sister had been gone, so she had been living on her own until they could come back from the hospital.

She had been able to stay up late without anyone getting mad at her and she had been able to eat whatever she wanted as long as she stayed within the budget.

But she had been in a bad state. She would not speak, she would rarely change her clothes, she had stopped cleaning her room, and her expression would never change, but she had said something just once to herself.

"Was it my fault?"

She had not been able to say it was unexpected. At the time, she had thought about it too. She had understood that she thought it was her fault her father had left them.

And so she had answered herself while doing the best a child could to feign calm.

"I need to stop that."

And she obeyed herself. She had not done anything to make herself think about that.

...But I stopped eating.

She would come down to make herself food at mealtime, but she would only sit in her chair and do nothing. She would hang her head and stare through her unkempt bangs at the table as if she could see straight through it.

Eventually, she had stopped making herself anything to eat at all.

She would tell herself she would be fine since it would make her skinny, do nothing, and then return to her bed.

...Did I do that because I was afraid?

She did not know.

But even though she had not been eating or drinking anything, she had the urge to vomit in the bathroom late at night. And not because she had been feeling sick or had eaten something funny.

...I would stick my hand in my throat.

She had been attempting to vomit up her entire being during that time and remembered her own whistling of her breathing while obstructed by her hand.

She had always ended up covering her ears, but it had not done anything. After all, she could still vividly recall the noise even now.

The time she had spent motionless had increased.

She had done her best to appear fine when Ken and his parents came around to check on her, as per her mother's request. They had made her food and brought her drinks. But she had not even touched it once they left.

Her classmates at school had been concerned at first, but they had eventually stopped coming to check on her or speaking of the real issue.

She had been able to reach her mother at the hospital, but her father and been unreachable no matter how hard anyone tried. It was only after everything was said and done that she had found out that he had broken his phone and had been trying to reach her himself.

Even the people in her neighborhood had been understanding and supportive.

But something that had changed had been when she collapsed on the road to the hospital where her mother was at.

When she tried to get up herself, she had been shocked at how light she felt. It had felt like she was hollow inside and her body did not want to break.

The day had already begun and no one in their neighborhood would be home at the time.

She still remembered what she had thought back then.

...I should get out of the way.

"Let me help you," a voice had said after helping to move her from the road and towards the side.

Someone had began to move her toward her house.

She had not noticed that she had left the front door open.

Thinking back, she felt she had vaguely understood what she had been doing, but it had not occurred to her at the time.

"I'll make something for you to eat. Sorry for the intrusion."

She had not responded no matter how many times he had spoken to her, so he had placed her on the couch gently.

In that moment, she had heard herself speak toward the floor.

"I am the reason people leave."

.

Satori took a breath and looked up at the wind wrapping around the bridge and the flower at the center of the dance.

"It was amazing. On that day, I had reluctantly gone to meet Suzu because my dad told me to. I was supposed to ask her to come to the school with me. when I approached, the door was wide open and someone came out of the house and into the street. To my surprise, it was Suzu."

And...

"A moment later, a boy older than her had moved out of the door and held Suzu close. It looked bad from an outside view, but they didn't seem to care. ...It was all very intense."

---

"There seems to be something going on at the park near your branch office. Kurosaki is putting on a show using a fighter and a strange girl. The two seem to be dancing."

Yuki twitched at those words.

He knew who that strange girl was.

"Suzu must be having fun if she's dancing in the park with someone."

"Oh? You know this girl? What will you do then?"

He did not need to answer her question, but he chose to do so anyway.

"Nothing. She is not that same little girl I had helped out before. Rather...the one that 'he' had helped out."

"Good. If you had said that you would be going over there, I would have beaten you to a pulp."

There was no need to go when he knew what would happen.

Suzume would be just fine. Like she always was.

She has grown up so much from the girl who refused to eat or drink anything.

After he had made her food, he had come to see that she had left the spot he put her in.

The door was wide open again and so he had rushed out to see where she had gone.

It had only been a few steps outside of her house, but it was troubling to know that she could make it that far in her state.

He could clearly remember that day in his mind. It was something he knew about and knew that she was using this dance to reach that point again.

.

That boy had grabbed her from behind and wrapped his arms around her stomach.

He knew that it had looked terrible for anyone who could see them, but that had been something to worry about later on. The only thing that mattered was stopping Suzume from forcing herself to move any more than she already had.

"Why do you want to leave so bad!?"

As his voice had filled the air, she had swung her fist at him.

"Listen! You can't go anywhere in your current state!"

She had punched him, but she had known she was not doing much damage. Words would not get through to her and the physical blows had only been shaking him.

But he continued speaking as if telling her to remember.

"If you want to see someone, you need to be in good shape!"

Her empty eyes had then turned toward him. Her gaze had said that was not true.

Her gaze had exposed her will much more than his words or her blows. Her gaze said she was completely at fault.

"To hell with it!"he had yelled.

He had released her with one arm and lowered himself to scoop her up and into the air. She had tried to hit him all over the place, but none of it did much.

She continued to beat on him.

She had hit his cheek, his forehead, his ear, his hair, his nose, his eye, even his throat.

"!?"

But her had not stopped.

He asked her where she wanted to go and found out through her mixed words.

...You don't deserve this pain.

He had honestly thought that. He had known that he was a complete stranger to her, but he had not wanted this to happen to his sister.

She had wished for her current self to die and disappear.

And a moment later…

"…!"

Suzume's body had shaken and she had forcefully thrown her head into his shoulder.

"Ah...!"

She had raised a torn voice and cried.

Hearing her voice properly for the first time had him begin to tremble, thinking of what it would have been like if his own sister had been like this.

People had started gathering around, people from the neighborhood who had not gone to work or school. But he had not cared. All that mattered was taking that poor girl to where she wanted to go.

Whether she had been frustrated, regretful, disappointed, or maddened, she had indicated herself by raising a voice not much different from a newborn's. He had taken another even deeper breath when he heard her cry.

"Yes."

The older boy had lifted this poor girl and gently yet awkwardly embraced her while walking away.

"It's okay. Just let it all out."

The neighbors around them had come to ask what was going on, but the only thing that needed to be done was have a single boy walk forward, telling them that he would accompany them to a hospital.

She had cried harder.

"That's right," he had said. "Just honestly let out your cries when you need to do so."

She may not have known why. She might have thought it had been to act foolishly to trick them, but whatever the reason, her own crying had spread to him and his heart sank the more it had come out from her.

She had cried loudly.

---

"On that day, Suzu did not come to the school either, but they were both at her house when I came to check on them. Suzu looked incredibly refreshed and she was pulling on Tsukiko-senpai's hand as she cried."

"Did they make a connection from that?" asked Mitsuteru.

Satori closed his eyes and nodded.

"And ever since, they have been like this. We may have grown accustomed to it, but I think they have even powered up since back then."

But…

"The rest of us can't thank Tsukiko-senpai enough for keeping Suzu with us."

The voice Satori used was only filled with a bitter tone, but the gratitude underneath that was clear to him.

Mitsuteru then heard a noise.

The speed and the dance collided on the bridge. It began with flying sparks and a great high-pitched noise.

Kanzaki's speed had caught up with Suzume's dance and was beginning to overcome it.

And he heard a voice. It was Kanzaki's shout that could be called a battle cry.

"Ohhhhhh!"

Immediately afterwards, an especially loud noise and an explosion of bright sparks burst from atop the bridge.

.

Kanzaki thrust the tip of her spear toward Suzume's chest.

She did not hold back. She added the force of the thrusting spear to her own speed to increase the speed of the attack. She could not reach this opponent without doing so.

Her speed was already near its limit. Her legs were filled with heat and she was horribly unfocused. She was also gasping for breath. Her movement Trigger was a type of bodily movement and it functioned using substation abilities from several personal precept settings.

The bottom of her foot audibly struck the ground and that force added to her speed.

"Ohhhh!"

Sparks burst out.

"!"

She made it through.

The tip of her spear continued past that special barrier that felt gentle and viscous.

She continued on. And the blade arrived at Suzume's chest. For just an instant, the tip pressed in the white skin and flesh, but the elasticity of the skin quickly caused it to return and the blade stabbed through.

Her weapon pierced her opponent.

She did not hold back. A few green gas of trion rose up between the tip and the rest of the blade. They rised out and then spilled out the front of Suzume's cleavage.

And yet Kanzaki saw a smile on Suzume's face ahead of her.

She showed off her teeth and seemed to be enjoying herself.

But…

"—"

As her lips moved, she was no longer singing.

Her dance had stopped and her movements had taken a different form.

Kanzaki had caught up, but Suzume had not stopped.

"Why don't you shout out as if crying?" she asked while still smiling.

Kanzaki heard her laugh.

And then Suzume loosened her flushed cheeks, bent her eyes in a smile, and drew back her head.

She twisted her body, held her arms forward so as to lift up her breasts, and stuck out her tongue.

Her tongue licked up the trion gathered between her raised breasts and then she placed the tip of her tongue on the spear tip sticking into her chest.

"Heh heh."

The spear tip created a shallow split in her tongue.

Above the slimy pale red object, the color green welled up and spread out as if soaking in.

But Suzume shuddered as she let the color cover her tongue. She seemed to be greatly enjoying the flavor on the tip of her tongue as she licked her lips as if applying lipstick. She licked her lips again and lightly bit her lower lip to even out the coloring.

"…"

She let out a breath that was filled with the same heat as her flushed cheeks.

She took in a shallow breath, opened her lips, and narrowed her eyes.

"I am an indecent girl, don't you think?"

A realization then came over Kanzaki.

…Don't tell me this was part of the dance!

Her question had been the same as the side shows and talking used in the pauses of songs and dances. When a dancer had a partner, she would perform a dialogue with that partner.

And Kanzaki realized that this was very bad.

…I was asked the question while playing the role of the partner.

But she could think of nothing to say in response.

"Kh…"

Her spear's handle bent in her hands. A counterforce was sent back toward her.

The spear had been repelled because she had been unable to reply to Suzume during her dance.

Suzume gently raised her arms in preparation to continue the dance.

"How disappointing. I was honestly hoping to teach you how this tastes."

As soon as Suzume spoke, Kanzaki heard a high-pitched noise burst out and she was blown away.

She had been rejected because she had interfered with Suzume's dance yet been unable to keep up.

.

After being blasted several meters away, Kanzaki made an instantaneous decision.

Her speed had been defeated, so she had only one other option.

…I will win!

She had already stopped holding back.

But this decision went beyond the level of holding back or not.

"Senkū!"

She would use her spear's cutting power. That Trigger used slashes and other things to cut, so it was a sure thing.

Unlike Yoneya, she was not an expert at using the Trigger. She could not use it while making extra motions. However, she could use it's normal cutting power the same as when she had used Kōgetsu and her multi-cut attack.

If she used it, her opponent would be cut. She had to understand that likelihood.

Her opponent was a Mikado City citizen and member of Border. The true enemy she needed to face was someone else.

...But that enemy is not a single person who I can fight.

Border losing the earlier chase after her former captain meant he had not lost. However, the enemy who had opposed him was still going.

He had only escaped.

...Why!?

Were they that much stronger, that they had been able to push him like this? How powerful was this single spear Trigger?

...Why?

Her question produced a shout.

"If you wish to take the fight to the others, you must at least surpass Senkū!"

The blade pointed at Suzume and Kanzaki called out to the weapon.

"Senkū - Kōgetsu!"

The user rights had already been set to her and she had tested it out in secret. She had been scolded for the furniture she destroyed, but she had simply been a bit unprepared. She had decided to try it on something smaller than a table next time.

…How could I make a mistake like that!?

As she thought, she saw light run along her spear's blade.

The cutting power raced out.

.

Kurosaki had stopped moving.

His hand held forward to stop them and his opened mouth were both frozen in place.

"…"

He returned his hand to his side and closed his mouth.

As he watched, no one else was moving. Kanzaki who stood with her back to him while holding her spear, Suzume standing beyond her, and his intern by his side were all motionless. The same was true of everyone on both of the park sides.

He heard a voice from behind him and to the right.

"Heh heh. You're more hairy than I thought. Quit blushing. I know a dirty beast like you isn't innocent."

"Dirty? Dirty? Dirty joke?"

But those voices did not count, so he ignored them.

He focused forward.

…If she used that cutting power…

Suzume would have been unable to avoid it.

"…"

Just as he had expected, the sleeves hanging from Suzume's arms had been cut in two horizontally.

As the sleeves fell down, the wind caught them and tossed them through the air. The body of her uniform and the waist of her suit had been cut in two as well, so they too fluttered in the wind.

However…

"Oh, dear. What if I honestly catch cold?"

Suzume calmly stroked the exposed skin from below her breasts down to her navel.

Her fingers wiped trion from her skin, but she was unharmed.

Yet the cut clothing proved that the cutting power had reached her.

"…?"

Kurosaki's question must have reached his intern because new strength filled the hand tugging on his sleeve.

Kanzaki's back swayed a bit in front of his eyes.

"What?"

Her voice held clear surprise.

Kanzaki tilted her head as she watched Suzume stroke her clean skin.

"Heh heh heh. Hopeless girl, what has you so surprised?"

"But…"

For a moment, Kanzaki seemed to be thinking, but she finally made up her mind.

"May I try again?"

"What kind of ridiculous request is that!?" shouted the surrounding crowd in unison.

Kanzaki flinched back, but Suzume looked down at her outfit which had been slit top from bottom and contained the remains of the sleeves on the wrists.

"Could you cut this part away from below the chest? It's all ruined."

"I just need to adjust the angle. …Can you do it, Kōgetsu-Spear?"

"I can," replied the spear.

"Okay." Kanzaki prepared herself. "Senkū Kōgetsu."

As Suzume held her arms diagonally outward, the remains of the sleeves split in two and fell off. The area of the uniform below her breasts was cut once more and a tube-shaped piece of cloth opened up and fell away from her abdomen.

Suzume's body was now fully exposed from below the breasts down to below her navel.

But…

"…You are unharmed."

Hearing Kanzaki's comment, Suzume tilted her head and used a finger to wipe up some of the trion on her injured chest.

"Heh heh heh. What a fool. Of course I am unharmed."

"How can you be so certain!?"

"That blade there - Kōgetsu Spear, is it? - is modeled after the same Black Trigger that I have around my wrist. So it's cutting power is determine by specific means. You call that Senkū, and I believe it is, but it is more than just that."

"W-wait!" shouted Kanzkai: "How would you know that in the first place!? Only those at the base would be aware of how this Trigger works!"

"Oh, because I know Hoshi-chan. And I know that the cutting power in that spear is supposed to honestly do something stupid like cutting a name or whatever. I know it's just an upgraded Senkū though. Besides, even if it could do something like cut a name, you would still be out of luck here. Since I use stage names."

"Then what are those stage names to you?"

"A fashion. They are no different from clothes. That is why they were cut along with my clothes."

Kurosaki heard Suzume laugh.

"A flower's name has nothing to do with the flower itself. It is merely something someone else honestly gave it. No matter how much that name is defiled, it means nothing at all to the flower. …If you are going to rely on that when you attack, your power will honestly need to increase a thousand-fold before you can reach me."

As she spoke, Suzume stepped forward.

"Yes, and that is if you had something that could cut names. Since this is just a normal blade based off a Black Trigger, it goes without saying that part of that original Black Trigger would be able to easily defend against something like a copy."

Kanzaki tried to back away, but Suzume continued forward and stood in front of her.

"Open your eyes."

She slapped Kanzaki's cheek.

Kanzaki was immediately thrown from her trion body.

.

Such a pain, thought Suzume as she threw another slap. She had released Shikifuku's trion body to make sure this became personal.

As she felt the clear noise traveling through her hand, she knew what she had to say.

"You made three honest mistakes."

She slapped in the opposite direction.

"To begin with… Heh heh. It was all over for you from the moment you opposed a girl as wonderful as me. After all, a proper girl will not lose to anyone but the one they have fallen for."

Another slap, another high-pitched noise.

"Secondly, it seems speed is your main selling point, but you honestly cast it aside after someone as dignified as me rejected you just once. Even if you know I am a poor match, you are supposed to show your will power by attacking again and again. If you cannot do that, I will never let you reach my body or heart."

She threw a backhand slap and placed her fingers on Kanzaki's cheek.

Her cheek was swollen from the slaps and it was covered in blood that had scattered from Suzume's fingers.

Suzume wiped off that blood and spread it on Kanzaki's lips as lipstick.

"Are you listening?" began Suzume. "Lastly, you should not be obeying that gap moe sponsor CEO over there, the Border base, or your own insufficient brains that told you this is for the sake of Mikado City."

"But…"

"If you are a former member of Taiyōko Squad, then isn't it honestly your duty to help those who watched your back!?"

Suzume placed her hands on her hips and thrust out her chest along with Bubbles on her shoulder.

"As a former teammate, it is your duty to help Yuki-san! Just how badly do you have to mess that up to actually make him your enemy!? If you understand, then honestly prostrate yourself before me! Sit!"

As she shouted and pointed, Kanzaki paused and then lowered her head.

"Right!"

She forcefully placed her knees and hands on the floor and she swung her hair forward.

"I gave this too much thought and was on the verge of making a horrible mistake! You may have an indecent body, but you gave me, your enemy, accurate advice! I am in your debt!"

"Heh heh. Foolish girl, as long as you understand."

Suzume then turned toward her friends who were smiling and one was embracing a bucket.

"Heh heh heh. Foolish people, do you have anything to say?"

"Yeah. Thanks a bunch." Some of them continued on. "We're glad to have you as our friend."

Suzume did not stop a gentle smile from welling up from below her cheeks.

"I see." She nodded and turned toward Kurosaki. "Heh heh heh. CEO, what will you do now? I have won."

He nodded in her direction and slammed his cane onto the steps.

"Yes! A great show! Everyone, let us give these performers a round of applause!"

The park was soon filled with cheers and clapping that reached out into the city.