Murakami sighed as he made his way through the sliding glass doors of the mall. The cool air inside hit him with a rush as the sound of the festival outside became quiet and was replaced with the sound of people walking about and chatting within the mall. It all felt normal to him, but that may have been because what was considered "abnormal" had changed the moment he had joined Border.
Looking around the mall he noticed a nearby bathroom and quickly moved over to it.
Once inside, he made his way over to the sink and looked at himself in the mirror. What he saw was his own reflection staring back at him, eyes more tired than usual, but just as alive as ever.
He turned on the faucet and scooped some water into his hand.
...This might be a bit embarrassing to do in public.
Lowering his head down, he pour the water onto his head. The cold feeling that landed on his head began to spread down to his neck and some water landed on his shoulders. It was refreshing, but sent a small shiver down his spine.
He repeated this process four more times until he raised his head. His hair, which was normally pushed upwards, was now plastered to his forehead. Water dripped from the tips and he could see the small water marks on his jacket.
...I kind of want to shake it all off.
Realizing what he had said, he shook his head and though,
No! That would have them all start calling me a dog too!
Looking back up, he saw the horror of his actions. Water had been thrown around, landing on the other rest of the counter and the large mirror.
Crap, I did it anyway!
He was quick to wipe it all down and sigh as he relaxed his shoulders.
Looking back at his own reflection, he began to move his arms out of his jacket's sleeves. After taking off his jacket, he began to tie it around his waist and pulled a cap that had been tied around his waist until now. He placed it on his head and looked at his reflection once more.
It's not anything fancy, but Yuki's said before that simple things can work easily.
Adding on glasses may be much, so he had decided to ignore those in favor of lowering the cap to shadow his eyes and hair that could still be seen.
Nodding at his own reflection, he began to make his way towards the door.
Stepping out of the bathroom and having his head cooled down, he could hear and see just how active everyone around him was. People walking all around and children laughing with their parents. Some people around his age could also be seen, passing out flyers for the festival going on outside. He had been glad that he no longer had to worry about that sort of thing.
"I think you will do fine without a hat, Murakami."
Feeling someone's hand touch the back of his head, the lights of the mall fully hit his eyes.
He was quick to turn to the person who had taken his hat.
"Good day, Murakami."
It was his senpai.
.
Mei nodded towards Murakami as she placed the hat on her head. Her own hair was set in place by a small clip, so her eyes were obscured and most of her hair was moved to the side.
Murakami visibly relaxed his shoulders at seeing that it had been her who had taken his hat from him. But he quickly raised a brow at her and her actions.
"Senpai, it is nice to see you, but what are you doing?"
"There should be no need to wear the hat when there are too many people around for any one person to focus on you in particular. Some may be able to recognize you, but having your hair down would be enough for them to second guess themselves."
"...I see. I suppose that does make sense."
Mei nodded to him.
Even simple calculations would be able to figure that much out. Something like that would be an obvious and trivial result that she would only say out of concern for him. There would be no other reason for to speak up about it.
It was just her calculations doing something for someone other than her.
And as he began to wonder if everything he had heard about her had been a lie, she quirked her lips up slightly in a smile and spoke.
"Besides that, I think you look much better with your hair down. You are very handsome, Murakami."
"Huh? Eh!? Oh! R-right. Thank you very much, Senpai."
She nodded again, this time lowering the hat a bit.
"Yes, you look nice with your hair down. But with your hair up, it shows just how disciplined and determined you are. I very much like both sides of Murakami."
Mei began to walk away with the hat covering her eyes a bit more now. The way they shadowed her face only showed just how much brighter she was when compared to before.
Murakami found himself enjoying that.
He was quick to follow behind her, watching as she looked around casually with a smile on her face. It was much different from the usual stoic expression she would wear while letting her calculations run when around others.
It seemed that she really had changed.
It was amazing what people could do even given what had already happen. The people who were enjoying the festival continued to do so even after fights had broken out in the city. Border had informed them that it was part of the festivities, but none of them had visibly shown that they distrusted that statement.
Kageura clicked his tongue at the thought while walking through the festival himself.
He wore his squad's uniform while moving through the people walking in the opposite direction or the same direction as him. It had occurred to him that being in his squad uniform might give others the impression that they should move out of his way as he looked to be on duty for Border right now.
But...
"Hey, that guy over, is he really from Border?"
"I don't think so. Maybe just a wannabe who decided to pretend to be with them."
"Heh. I guess even tough-looking guys like him want to make themselves seem important."
"You think he knows how ridiculous he looks right now?"
"Meh. He seems cool enough, I guess."
The multiple stinking feelings coming form behind him were enough to cause him to grind his teeth together as he walked away.
These people were not like the C-Ranks at Border who he could bully or deal with personally. They were all citizens of the city and people who did not know exactly who was in Border or their standings.
Even so, he wanted to turn to them and yell at their faces. The only thing that had been stopping him was that he had already made up his mind on what he needed to do right now.
Yuzu: "Please don't cut anyone, Kage-san."
Kage: "I wasn't going to! I'm just pissed off right now!"
Yuzu: "I know. I can see you through my scope. You're slouching a lot more than normal."
Zoe: "Oh? Is Kage really that mad right now? Do I need to come over?"
Kage: "Hell no! Besides, you would be useless here!"
Zoe: "Now my feelings are hurt!"
Like I give a damn! he thought as he glared over to another whispering group.
Everyone was in a joyous mood, but he could still feel everything they had directed towards him.
Yuzu: "He has a point though, Zoe-san. You can't get much mileage in this kind of setting. There are too many people for you to attack how you want."
Zoe: "I know. You and Kage are the best ones suited for this since you can just snipe people and he uses Scorpion. I just wish I could help Yuki-chan more."
Kage: "I'll deal with that guy myself. You just stay with the others and make sure that idiot nudist doesn't get in the way."
Zoe: "Oh, Jinsei-kun is a crossdresser today, so I can't do anything about a nudist."
Kage: "Then tell one of the others to deal with him!"
Even if they were not in the area, he was certain that they could easily make their way over and begin messing with everything around. It was something he would yell at them for when eating at his family's place.
The amount of times he had threatened to kick them out had always been more than the times he had actually done so, but that had been due to the more responsible people calming down the crazy ones. At times they would all get sucked into the craziness, himself included, which would result in them getting kicked out and Kageura being let off for the day.
They think they're doing something nice by letting me go with the rest of them, but it's actually more of a pain to deal with them all than stay and work.
"Seriously," he said to himself.
"What else are you supposed to do besides hit those people?"
It was Jinsei who usually took the brunt of it all, but he always seemed fine right after. No scratches or bruises to be seen.
Everyone was always in amazement when they saw him like that.
Zoe: "Oh yeah, Yuzuru?"
Yuzu: "What is it?"
Zoe: "You aren't going to go hang out with Tenryū and the rest of them?"
.
Kageura quirked a brow at the question.
It had been a seemingly random question, but he knew that there was a reason Kitazoe had asked it.
The reason why Ema was helping him at the moment was a bit of a mystery.
They had not bothered to ask him about it at first, thinking that it was because he sided with the rest of them. But now that it had been brought up it was clear that there was a bit more to it than that.
Ema was here because of someone else.
Yuzu: "...Maybe later. I want to get this done with before that."
Zoe: "That sounds like a pity though. You and Tenryū became such good friends in such a short amount of time that I thought that you want to hang out with him like the rest of them."
Yuzu: "Tomoe is there with him, so I don't need to be there."
But...
Yuzu: "I do want hang out with them, but that can come later. There's still the night festival stalls to go to. Those ones tend to have more to them than the daytime or afternoon ones."
Zoe: "Oh, I know what you mean. The food stands tend to really come out at night as soon as the afternoon ones leave. The difference between them is really noticeable, so I try to hold back from eating too much until then."
Yuzu: "Kage-san, you will be having a nighttime stand, won't you?"
He's changing the subject here. The damn brat thinks he can get away from the question that easily. Compared to what he had seen from Kimura and Akashi, this level of wordplay was nothing.
But he decided to play along.
Kage: "That's right. My family will be manning a stall later on..."
Noticing his own words, he looked towards the sky.
The sun was still out right now, but the shadows it was casting had extended far out to one side. If someone were to be in the business district of the city then they would be covered by the shadows of the large buildings.
The day had gone on longer than he had expected.
The afternoon glow would be coming soon and night would follow.
...We need to settle all of this before tomorrow comes.
For the time being, Border was safe from criticism due to having stated that they would have their agents fight as a sort of performance for the festival. The fights that would be going on would be viewed as entertainment and a demonstration more than actual fights meant to end each other.
Carrying on the problem to the next day would mean they missed their chance to remain favorable in the public's eye. They would only be viewed as fighters once the day was over.
So we don't have any time to be screwing around.
Kage: "Hey, don't dodge the question. Answer it and help me find someone who would know something."
He was being rather blunt with it, but Ema was always like that with him. It felt like he was getting even for all of those times.
Yuzu: "..."
Bright Child: "It's because of Mittsuncchi, isn't it? He asked you for help."
Oh. It was because of Kiyoshi's former teammate.
Zoe: "Oh? I forgot that you and Ariake-kun are friends."
Yuzu: "I wouldn't really call us friends..."
Zoe: "You invited him to eat with us the other day, though. He even tried to contribute to what we had to say for the next match. You looked like you were listening to him too."
Kage: "He's got you there."
Yuzu: "..."
The silence was all the answer they needed.
But he doesn't see Ariake as a friend.
They had proven that Ema did not think less of his fellow Sniper, but they had also proven to themselves that he was right in that they were not friends.
What Ariake had said during that time was different than what any of them had said and it had been directed towards who Ema was as a person instead of what the situation was. The words he had spoken were meant to hit a spot he knew about while also touching on the topic in front of them.
Ariake had spoken as someone who knew who Ema was.
This is also leading away from the initial question, but hitting something more important for him.
What would he do now then?
Yuzu: "...Fine. I'll go spend the rest of the festival with Tenryū and the rest of them."
He had chosen the easy way out.
Kageura grinned to himself at the result, but found that they now had a different problem on their hands because of this.
Whatever. We can deal with this problem at a different time. For now...
Yes. For now.
We need to deal with that guy's mess.
.
Everything happening right now was something he had not wanted to deal with, but he knew that it was something that would be unavoidable once it happened.
As things stood, he did not like Yuki for being the faker he was now. It was just something that happened due to his Side Effect, and something their friends understood well enough. They had all accepted this and said nothing more about it.
But there had always been something that they both knew without needing to say it out loud.
They respected each other.
Kageura could remember a time when he had fought with a tough delinquent. That had ended with a mutual respect between the two of them.
That was why Kageura could feel his anger begin to build up as he looked between the mass of people around him.
Because there, walking away, was that same delinquent boy.
The same one Yuki had decided to never become again.
To Kageura it meant only one thing.
Some asshole is using his face!
With a start, he rushed forward.
"Oh, so that's what you decided to go with."
Hokari nodded as he watched Yuki exit the small building in front of him.
"I figured that I would need to see with both of my eyes for the time being. Besides, I need to change my look a bit so that others won't recognize me so easily."
"So what you're saying is that you made Kō and our senpai wait longer because you wanted a haircut?"
The cough into his hand was all he needed for an answer.
Looking back over Yuki, he noticed the differences between how he had been and how he was now. Not only had he changed his hair style to that of something shorter and less cumbersome for his eyes, he had changed his own expression to match something between his current persona and the one he had before changing. It was rather bittersweet to see that sort of expression on his face, but there was nothing to be done about it now. All he could do was nod in understanding.
But...
There was something else he noticed.
He cut his hair shorter, but that's not all. The style to the left and right is like Murakami's current one while that tuff of hair in the middle is similar to mine. It's pretty hard to mimic Kage and Mizukami's hair with what he has, but you can tell that he tried with the top and back sections.
It was strange to see such a combination, but he thought that Yuki pulled it off well enough.
To most it would appear that he was simply mimicking his friends like this, but it was all too clear to Hokari.
This was his respect towards them.
He was showing that he cared enough about them that he would go so far as to represent what he had gained because of them.
"It looks good," he shrugged. "My bias showing with what's in front of your head could be it."
"You would say that."
He only gave a thumbs up in response.
Yuki's expression changed to a small smile. He took that as a win.
Considering everything going on, we can't really enjoy the festival in full. Getting even that smile is something of a win for me here.
He nodded to himself three times, each one for the people who had just gained a victory over. In a strange way it was like he had just gotten closer to Yuki than even he had expected to.
.
Yuki viewed Mikado City's streets.
With Hokari by his side, he heard the sounds of festivities and of construction, which sounded like distant thunder. He listened to them both together and spoke.
"I never knew it made so much noise when others work in larger groups like that."
"They are smashing up the area more than working on it it sounds like."
Hokari showed him his phone.
It displayed a silhouette image with Mikado City's cityscape in the background. Zooming in showed him the human silhouettes were moving and changing things around the city while decorated by different wooden objects.
...With just the silhouettes, it looks like the city of shadows.
From the city's perspective, they had to look like a partying ghost city that would soon be enjoying the nightlife.
The day really is starting to end for us all, thought Yuki as he approached a store.
"It's good to know that the fighting is slowed to a stop for the time being, you know?"
"Nobody else starting one is amazing."
"They must have decided that the more capable fighters would be useful for those sorts of things and stayed away. But that makes sense when you consider that most of them are unable to reach certain speeds, even using Triggers."
During the battle underground, Yuki had briefly returned to his world of speed against a Crown Trigger. But he had gone back to how he had been before once the fight had ended and he had gotten some rest.
...That was...
"I can't believe myself."
There had been a good amount of times where he wanted to say that, but this was the first time he had come out and spoken those words.
Hokari must have thought he did not mean to say that since he only looked around as if nothing had been said. Even so, he gave a slight look that he had been holding back from saying that as well. Which, by all means, seemed fair to him.
Of all people to get him to say such a thing, it had been Hokari's quietness to do so.
And he had confirmed that this was really how he felt about himself.
He had wanted to go over everything that had happened without worrying about himself.
According to others, he had been this way for some time now and they were starting to get tired of it all.
That was of course held back from him. Others tended to keep those thoughts away from him once they remembered his situation.
He felt more ashamed of himself for that reason.
"I never imagined I would end up this bad, even with everything going on."
"You tend to jump whenever the rest of us try to keep you grounded and reach too far. Only Murakami has managed to reach you."
"And I have been pushing him away by keeping a secret... Even for someone unneeded, that is low." Yuki gave a bitter smile as he walked. "I wonder what our teacher thinks of that."
"Which one?"
"The current branch director." Yuki sighed. "He was supposed to only be a teach, but he ended up being called in as a director. He generally takes care of things, but I'm glad I can at least be at his side for that. ...Because it might be the only thing I'm good for by now."
They heard a loud and solid sound from above and Yuki felt a throbbing on his head.
"What was that one for!?"
"Made sure to not hit your stomach or back I did, so fine you should be."
Hokari rubbed his fist to ease the slight stinging feeling.
Yuki only glared at him.
"Giving yourself to little credit for the amount of problems you cause you are. Besides, how useful you are and how useless you are Sensei knows, so it's better to trust him with working you to the bone. You can't handle something then he won't send you in."
"That could be said for the incidents that have happened recently and look how those turned out. I only caused more issues for us with the sponsors and created a rift between our own agents. The same goes for when I had to do that demonstration for the branch. All of that has accumulated into what's happening now."
"It's the same for us, isn't it?"
Hearing that, Yuki thought, Is that really true?
...I can't believe it.
"My bad, Pokari. I'm just in a negative mood right now. ...Starting with the incident with the sponsors, I have been at losing streak that I can't seem to get out of. It's like I just can't find any path to winning anymore."
"We feel like that a lot of the time. Still, you feeling so negative I understand why. Because it's the stake that sticks up that gets pounded. Oh, a euphemism that is not."
Yuki could tell Hokari was being considerate and that made him feel both apologetic and thankful.
It improved his mood a bit. It felt like he was opening his head as well as his mouth.
"Even if we have constant victories to look forward to, the possibility of interpretations means we can also face all sorts of things. As long as we're up on the stage, we will have to face others like that. Since we're working for something as big as Border, we have a lot of battles we have to fight."
"Yeah... If only we could just take it easy."
Agreed, thought Yuki., but this was how things were.
"And after we chose these things as an easier way to live and go about doing things."
"A bit mischievous Pokari could be, so pretend that you were joking I guess I'll do."
He had been referring to their own circumstances. Surely he wasn't referring to himself in the third person.
Then they heard another loud sound from the north.
"Noisy they sure are."
"They're probably making the most of what they can while there is still daylight out. They must be thinking about what comes after this festival."
"What's that?"
"You know." Yuki pointed at Hokari's phone. "Even with the decision to have any fights be viewed as part of the festivities, everyone is still worried that it will continue even after the festival. If that happens then it will be viewed as Border fighting itself."
"I've been wondering. Is there any point in having these fights so openly?"
Hokari had a good point.
Doing these fights during a festival is one thing, but doing so where others would see it just felt like Border was asking for more trouble.
But there was a point to it.
"It simply makes it easier to figure out who is on which side. And it also limits me in my movement since I can only get so far before I look suspicious to everyone around me. Even more than that, it limits my older sister in her movements. And if they have another reason..."
It would be...
"So they can divert any attention from one place to another without worrying about an explanation."
"An explanation?"
"A city of Mikado's size will already be used to strange things happening around it."
"Then," said Hokari as he looked up into the sky. He viewed the lamp lights hanging down overhead. "For defense if someone asks why things have converged to a single point?"
"Yes, that would be one thing. After all, if everyone started fighting and it gathered more like a snowball effect then people would question what was happening. They also have an advance notice on if something is happening somewhere else. But in addition to that..."
Just as Yuki said that, a voice reached them from the stairs leading up to a bridge.
"In addition to that, it provides cover for the agents on Border's side."
It was Meishō Seiji.
.
Hokari had some issues with Seiji but also quite liked him.
His issues were with Seiji's attitude. He was always enabling ones like Yuki and Ariake and Hokari would honestly have no idea what to do after that, so he would need someone else to figure out what to do.
...I want to believe that doesn't mean I'm dumb...
He figured he was fine as long as he was still worried about it. And if he was not fine, he had already decided he would blame it on fighting too many battles and call himself a victim of the current age.
But what he liked about Seiji outweighed those issues. After all...
"Seijin. Are you on this guy's side for this one?"
"Yes, yes. Mostly anyway."
He was carefree.
Seiji would enable others at times, but he would readily stick to those same people without hesitation. That came from his time as an actor and what he had gone through with that, which Hokari quite liked. He did not hide anything when it involved the people he liked and he did not hold grudges against anyone. On top of that...
"Do you want to go join in the nighttime events?"
"I do, I do."
Seiji held up a flyer for what would be happening during the nighttime festival.
He was apparently saying to come and get it. When his current partner raised his hand in preparation to walk over to him, Hokari held out a hand to stop him and then moved forward.
"Come to think of it, the nighttime tends to be more lively, doesn't it?"
Hokari and Seiji had similar tastes in festival activities and they tended to get along in conversation as well. Seiji was the type to nod in agreement and then pinpoint target exactly what Hokari did not know when he asked questions. It was easy to tell he was smart.
Ten steps away, Seiji held out the flyer for the events and his shoulder-carried bag was hiked up a bit. Hokari approached.
"So how are things?"
"Right, right," said Seiji while putting on a pair of sandals and throwing his coat over his shoulder.
He wore something stylish below that.
...I guess that goes with being an actor.
He had been worried about his belly during physical examination, so this may have been similar.
But Seiji pulled his phone from his pocket and some nausea medicine from his bag.
"Well, to put it simply, I'm on Yukicchi's side because Teru-kun decided to be on his side and I'm thinking about what comes after that as well."
"Cover for agents you mentioned you mean?"
Hokari arrived, gave a waves of thanks, and took the flyer from his hand.
"So what is Border doing while they fight?"
"Right. ...They are setting things up for both sides, but it mostly works for their side at the moment. They will be able to better make a cover if their agents get in trouble because of these fights."
He opened his phone and drew a circle around certain parts of Mikado City with a line running through each one of then. And...
"What we use for Neighbors is what that looks like..."
"Pokari."
Hokari smiled bitterly at the voice reaching him from behind.
"Yes, yes, I won't say anything."
"Ha ha." Seiji laughed bitterly. "You have a lot to worry about, don't you? ...Anyway, it would look like this." He drew a thicker line through the perimeters as well. "If they can carefully section off which locations they want to fight in, they will be able to better cover for the chance that their agents cause some damage. Border will of course be doing this for the opposing side as well, but they will focus more on the ones in their side."
"Only people like our directors can think of something like that. Anyway, Seijin, are you using Mitsuteru as a way to help out?"
"I want him to finally let everything go."
"You want me to give him permission to do that?"
"I can't force you to do anything, but I wish for him to feel better."
Hokari frowned at what Seiji said.
"Let things go?"
He was supposed to have let everything go in his last match against Ninomiya Squad, Kotowari Squad, and Suzunari-1.
If he was still holding on to something concerning any of them then it would mess with his sniping ability.
That would be how it worked, but...
"Holding on to what exactly is he?
"What exactly is he still holding on to? Let go of everything after harassing Ninomiya-san and Suzunari during their recent match together didn't he already? Even there Kotowari Squad was, things to worry about there should have not been."
"No, no. Someone had told him to continue holding on to something."
As usual, Hokari felt that Seiji was enabling Ariake.
...I really have issues with this.
But he heard a voice from behind him.
"Pokari, you know that he's referring to me."
"Oh, sorry."
He had been holding back even when he gave himself away easily here.
They still had to get going so that Yuki could meet up with their senpai and Murakami. And they would have some things to talk about there that he would likely understand at a basic level while the other two would fully understand. It was just how things were. So...
"Right, right. Deliver this delicate package I still need to do.
"He looks ready to hit you now."
"Something new that isn't, is it now?"
"That's right," said Yuki as he walked up next to him.
...Ooh, did I hit a nerve with that one?
"Well, anyway," Seiji started. "I can't follow the two of you along, but there's something I want to confirm with Yukicchi."
.
Something to confirm with me?
Yuki titled his head slightly. His new haircut had put him slightly off balance, but he was starting to get the hang of it after moving his head a bit more.
...Oh, I guess this backfired one me too.
But now was not the time to wallow in his own self deprecation.
"What is it?"
Seiji had wanted something from him, so he responded.
In return, Seiji gave a bitter smile.
"What is it that you want to do?"
"What I want...to do?"
With that, Hokari stood by Yuki's side. The two looked back to see Seiji continuing to give them his smile and something was clear about that.
"Seijin. Giving that fake smile is not needed. Being an actor there is no reason for either."
"Don't worry. This is just a habit of mine."
Does that actually mean anything? he wondered, but he had something else to say.
"If you keep showing that kind of smile to others, they'll probably start to distrust you."
"I'll be fine. But I suppose you would know more about that than me."
"Now you just want to hit it where it hurts, don't you? I suppose that's fair, all things considered."
"So moving back to my question."
"You really didn't transition into that..."
"Would it have done any good for someone like you?"
Finishing his act towards them, Seiji lightly swung his arms as if cutting something in the air. Yuki ignored that in favor of looking to the side.
...He does have a point. At this point I don't even know what is going on with me.
This was something that Yuki thought he liked about Seiji. He could figure out what to say and when to say it even with people like him. It came with the fact that both were actors in their own way.
"You don't have to answer me directly."
"Is it my actions that you're looking at then?"
"I wonder about that," said Seiji as he turned around. "The nightlife is really wonderful, don't you think, Moonlight?
He's trying to avoid answering me, thought Yuki as Hokari spoke to him from the side.
"I'll be joining later on."
He was speaking lightly so that the question would not be overshadowed.
Yuki began to open his mouth to speak, but was stopped by Seiji. He watched as Seiji spun lightly on his feet and spoke to nothing but the open air.
"Yes, Moonlight, give your answer to the one who properly asks you everything they want to know. Enjoy the nightlife as soon as it appears then leave once the sun rises for the rest of us. Oh, but the sun has yet to set, so you still have time. Go prepared to enjoy yourself and live the life you want."
He recognized those words.
They had been lines from one of the movies Seiji had been in before and had been shown to him some time ago.
...They are lines that he took to heart as soon as he saw them.
They held true meaning, even if they were simple lines.
So Yuki shut his mouth and thought.
What do I want to do?
The first thing Kageura felt was a rush of nostalgia.
Once that had passed him by he felt his rage begin to boil over from what he was seeing.
Someone with a face similar to a dead boy's could be seen in the crowd.
He had wasted no time in moving towards that person. The people between them had not been an issues as he was used to moving through crowds like that after having spent some time racing through them against a boy who had once looked like the one he had just found.
Kage: "Don't lose sight of him!"
In response to him, a shot was fired.
The crowd of people began to panic, but he could hear a voice in the distance.
"This is just another presentation, don't worry! Everyone, please step aside and move to more open areas! This street will be the location of the presentation, so make sure not to walk carelessly here!"
"Hey, hey, are we going to get to see something amazing here!?"
"Is that why that evil-looking guy was walking about looking like a chuuni!?"
"No way! He has to just be some super fan of Border!"
He could hear the words moving around as everyone made space on the next road. It had only added to his annoyance, but that had to be for later.
At the moment he was more focused on the one trying to blend into the crowd so as to not appear suspicious.
You aren't getting away, you idiot!
With an arm pushed forward he used Mantis to grab hold of the person's wrist and throw them overhead onto the now open street.
"There you are!"
"Hey, what's the big idea!?"
"Kiyoshi!"
"What!?"
Kageura felt himself pause. He had not expected for the person to answer like that.
Everything he had been feeling up until now had been a simple hunch or feeling of nostalgia. This person had decided to look like a long dead boy, but should have been no reason for him to answer to that name. It should not have been a name associated with that face and that body.
So then why?
Why did he answer to my calling him!?
Before he could say anything else the person in front of him clicked his tongue and looked to the side. The way he leaned to one side while scratching his head with one hand and held his hip with the other was exactly how that dead boy would position himself before speaking.
It was too weird.
"What do you want, Kageura? I'm pretty busy right now and don't have time for this!"
"..."
"Huh? Why the fuck are you staying silent now? Close your damn mouth before I throw some peppers in there and really piss you off."
"Stop talking!"
"You're the one who brought me here, you fucker!"
The voice and the way he spoke was the same.
The way he moved his head while yelling was the same.
Kageura could only stare as he watched this person move and speak exactly like that dead boy.
"Why do you look like Kiyoshi!? And why did you answer me when I called out!"
"Did you hit your head, idiot? 'I'm' 'Kiyoshi'! Now what do you want? Because of you, 'I' got dragged into this presentation!"
"I-"
Yuzu: "Kage-san!"
Feeling a sting on his neck, he moved to the side.
Something crashed into the ground next to him. The sound reverberated for a moment before it caught up to him.
Kage: "What was that for!?"
Yuzu: "You lost focus there! You didn't move when I called out, so I fired on you!"
The urgency in Ema's voice was concerning, but it brought something new.
...Was I spacing out?
For him to do so when something like this was going on was strange. It didn't matter what was happening, he had been ready for a fight. Spacing out right before a fight was not something he ever did, no matter who the opponent was.
Wait... The sound I heard next to me doesn't match up with his shot. Even Ibis doesn't make that strong of a sound!
Turning his head showed him why he had found the noise strange.
Instead of a small hole from a sniper rifle, the ground had been smashed and destroyed. The concrete from the road was spread out as if something had broken it and thrown it carelessly around.
If not for Ema's assistance and his own natural fighting instincts he would have been hit by that and taken out.
He looked back up to see that person looking around lazily.
But his stance was a combat ready one.
This guy is dangerous, he thought while shifting his own stance.
Ema was still backing him up and he could hear the people around him express their surprise at the sudden attack.
The one who had ushered them all away from the street and explain that it had been a Sniper's attack that had come from a distance. They were being told that it would be safe since the sniper would only fire on the road and the fighters.
This guy already saw the attack, so telling him that there's a sniper nearby loses its value. I guess even they realized that, otherwise they wouldn't be saying it here.
As he thought that, he heard the person speak again.
"Ah, ah. 'I' guess that tactic didn't work. That makes sense. The 'Kageura' 'I' see wouldn't fall for something like that. Oh, but the 'Kageura' here had lost his focus. That's not something that 'Kageura' would do, even for a moment." He tapped his head twice before looking over to where the shot had been fired. "So over there should be 'Ema'. I'll make sure to remember that he's there during all of this."
The person had even known who exactly it was that had supported him here. It should not have been that hard to guess if it was someone else from Border, but this person was not someone who should have even been here.
So how did he know Ema was here? And how had he known where Ema was?
"'I' guess 'I' should see his response to this then."
Kageura saw no movement, but something had flown past him.
They were the shots that had been used to attack him earlier.
Each one moved forward, but none of them were directed toward him.
They all moved to where Ema would be.
The first thing Ema did after firing his shot at his captain was run.
He ran from the roof of the building and moved to jump to the next one.
This spot has been compromised, so just move.
He did as he had been taught and moved.
But that had been when something unexpected happened.
Lights rushed forward from where that strange person had been standing. He had made no obvious move to attack, but he had fired an attack that had gotten past Kageura and was now going to him. The damage it would do to the building was something to worry about, but there was something strange about the attack.
Asteroid? He had used that against Kage-san just now, so it would make sense that he would use them as his main ranged attack.
They would crash into the building, so he would need to make sure the people below would not get hit by any of the debris that came from it.
But...
"!"
They did not hit the building.
They curved and chased him.
Hound!?
He tossed Egret to the side, dematerializing it. A shield formed to behind him as soon as it was gone.
The Hound shots crashed into his shield, piercing them and bitting into his arm.
I was too late! But at least only one shot had made it through!
The attack had held power behind it, so he was uncertain that he would have been able to block the attack in full regardless. His only solace was the fact that he still had Bagworm on and so could not be found out because of the single attack.
But who was this person who could attack him so readily like that without giving himself away?
There were some people in A-Rank and top B-Ranks who could do that, but this person was not someone he easily recognized.
...Kage-san seems to know who he is, though.
"Is something wrong, Tenryū?"
Shobu did not look when his name was called, but he slightly shook his head. His attention was elsewhere as the festival continued to move around him.
The noise was a bit much, but he had been constantly reassured that he would be fine from the three people he was with.
"Hey, Midorikawa, don't annoy Tenryū like that. If he starts acting up, just let one of us know, okay?"
"Tomo, I'm not annoying him! I'm asking him if he's fine!"
"Right..."
It was good to know that they could still act freely like this.
If not for Mei and Mistuteru's assurance that he could go and enjoy himself, he would have been out looking for his mentor. He felt that it was more important to help him out then enjoy the festival, but he knew that he would not be able to go against those two and their words.
So here he was, walking through the festival with Tomoe, Obishima, and Midorikawa. Ema was supposed to be with them, but he had said he would do so later on. Helping his squad with something had been his priority.
...That is...really good...for him...
But it left him with no one else who was particularly quiet here.
"Well, disregarding Midorikawa and his weirdness."
"Hey!"
"Is there anything wrong? You can let us know if something is, then we can work to fix it."
Would telling them be a burden now? But holding it back would cause them to worry.
Gathering some courage, he turned away from where he had been staring to look at Tomoe.
"...There is...something going on...over there..."
"It's a festival, so of course something's going on."
Tomoe was quick to jab Midorikawa in the side. He decided that was something only friends could do and put it to the side.
"What kind of something?" Obishima asked from behind the two boys.
"...A fight..."
He noticed the way the three of them froze for a moment and added something to his explanation.
"...The area is...being clear...and a shot from...a sniper rifle...was fired..."
Tomoe was the first to move forward, pushing Midorikawa back. He wore a smile on his face, but Shobu could sense the tension in that expression.
"Do you want to go check it out?"
He was going to shake his head, but stopped once he noticed how Obishima and Midorikawa were mirroring that smile behind Tomoe. This had been their way of reassuring him that they were fine with this and take whatever answer he was going to give.
So he changed his answer.
"...I would...like to go and...see what is happening..."
Kageura made the next move once he confirmed that Ema was fine after the attack.
He had been a bit dazed by everything going on, but he knew that there was no longer any reason to hold back anymore. It did not matter who this person was or what they looked and sounded like. They were attacking him and his teammate. All that they would need to do now was strike back and figure out what to do with him afterwards.
So he moved forward.
"The 'Kageura' 'I' know is from roughly two years ago. The 'Kageura' who is here right now is someone who knows more now. 'I' guess that means 'I' need to look into some things before doing anything major. But 'I' should also look into what 'I' can find out about 'Ema'."
He ignored this person's words as he threw his arm forward.
A double Scorpion attack was launched, overlapping with each other and combining into a single attack - Mantis.
The extended whip-like attack cut through the air to the right.
A shot came from behind, attacking the left.
If this person wanted to not take either hit then he would need to move forward or backwards down a single path. From there they could narrow down his path even more and strike twice.
The first attack would be something he had to dodge or defend against. After that, the second attack would come and hit.
"So 'I' should move like this."
The person moved forward.
He rushed in between the two attacks. Down the middle was where he would be susceptible to attacks from Kageura, but moving forward seemed like the better choice as it also blocked Ema's shots by using Kageura as a shield to block his view.
It was something that dead boy would do.
It would be followed by a specific action.
"!"
Instead of attacking the person in front of him, Kageura threw his arm back.
Scorpion had been thrown backwards.
His movement was followed by a sound. Then, in front of him, the air seemed to collapse in on itself. The body that had been there was gone, leaving a vacancy in the place he had been at.
This person had used Teleport as a followup to his movement.
Just like that dead boy would have done.
"—"
He felt the feedback from his attack.
Something had been used to block the attack.
It felt like a blade.
But this person had been empty handed the entire time. The attacks that had come from nowhere made sense when given how this person was fighting, but to have a blade at the ready felt like it was too much.
But...
"That's just how he is!"
"So 'I'm' like that too!"
A flash cut through the air as Kageura's transformed his Scorpion into something else. Something that could grab hold of that sword and keep it in place.
With the blade being held tightly now, this person would not be able to move away without giving up his blade.
And that was what he did.
Kageura felt the weight pushing against him loosen as his body began to lean forward.
Pushing off the ground, he created a distance between him and the person behind him. The blade this person had used flew through the air as he pulled Scorpion forward.
The sound of something moving then the air filling back in could be heard from behind.
Yuzu: "To your right."
Following Ema's words, he began to rotate his body. His left leg was the first to hit the ground, pivoting him to the left and forcing his front to face the right.
Not wanting to lose any momentum, he released Scorpion from his grasp. The blade being held by the combined blades went moving through the air, no longer having anything restraining it.
Kageura moved his left hand towards the right, already preparing to catch the blade again.
With his current momentum, he would pull the blade inwards while his body would rotate him the opposite way.
His movement would synchronize with this person's and the blade would be used to strike.
As if to confirm this, that person appeared in front of him as he prepared to create Scorpion again. The distance between them was enough for him to grab the blade and strike.
Yuzu: "..."
Ema did not need to say anything for him to know that he would be firing in time with the movement. This left no space for this person to move without taking a hit.
And yet...
"—!?"
That person disappeared.
.
Kageura's eye went wide as he watch that person disappear from where he had teleported to.
It had not been due to Teleport being used or even a speed-enhancing Trigger being activated. It was something much more simple than any of that.
Shukuchi!
When someone referred to that word they would tend to speak of it as a sort of teleportation movement that the user would do to move from one place to another. A seemingly unexplainable phenomenon that should not be possible, no matter how a person moved.
It was known as "reduced earth" by anyone speaking about it, and even Yuki had called it as much when joking around. He had always spoken of doing it easily because of his speed, but it had never made any sense to the rest of them. Now that it had happened before him, Kageura had figured it out. This seemingly unexplainable phenomenon made sense to him as someone who witnessed this world of speed for a moment.
It really is based off of speed!
He thought this as he watched that person grab the blade - Kōgetsu, he recognized now - and moved to cut down Kageura.
The space that had been between them had been reduced to nothing in an instant and he could not move fast enough to dodge or counter the attack.
I'll just take him out with me then!
He had finished creating his Scorpions and was already in the process of moving to grab the Kōgetsu. All he would need to do was change his angle to an offensive one instead of a passive one.
That was exactly what he did.
He slammed his right foot down while throwing the Scorpion forward with a quick snap of his wrist. The combined blade shot out like a whip and moved to strike at the person's neck.
Then he saw it.
This person had reduced the space between them again.
He had moved further into Mantis' range and held the blade forward, as if it was a butcher knife. The bladed end was moving towards his stomach, so he brought up his right arm to defend.
Without blinking, this person twisted his wrist to turn the blade in a clockwise motion. The blade swung upwards and in a single swift motion managed to cut off Kageura's arm that had been using Scorpion.
Using his left foot, he pushed off the ground to move back. A realization of what he had been doing came to him, but he had no time to think on it as the blade was rotated again. This time it was aimed in a piercing motion meant to stab through his heart. In this case would be his Trion Supply System, but the thought of it being his real heart did appear for a brief moment.
"Shit!"
As the single word left this mouth, something flew in front of him.
A single light pierced the small space between the two of them.
This person had been the first to react by teleporting away.
The air in front of him collapsed and fell back into itself as the sound registered in his ears.
.
Who did that!? was the thought Kageura had as he turned around.
Ema would not have been able to fire at the angle due to where he had been before. Even if he could, it would not have been as straight as it was and would likely have hit him by accident.
That was not to say that Ema would do so because of his lack of ability. It would have been due to a rushed shot that he would have to make in order to assist his captain. So it made no sense that it would be him who had fired that.
But there was no time to ponder on that as he saw the person standing on the other end of the road.
"Who else was here? 'I' thought that it was only that one kid..."
So even this person did not know who had fired that shot.
"Oh well. It's just another person 'I' need to look out for. So for now, let's just-... Huh?"
Kageura saw his chance to attack again in the form of a small boy.
The boy was a familiar one with a head of hair that covered his eyes. He had appeared from seemingly nowhere and taken this person's arm off.
His action had been followed by a rush of black, orange and white. Each one of them held a blade in their hand as they converged toward the person.
In response to this, the air collapsed on in itself as a sound filled the space. He had teleported away.
"Aw, man~ We were too slow on the attack."
"Sorry about that. Tenryū suddenly disappearing like that threw me for a loop."
"...I am...sorry..."
"Oh, no, no! That's not what I meant. It's my fault for not paying enough attention!"
Kageura watched as the younger Border agents moved towards each other and began to speak. None of them seemed to have noticed the crowd around them and began to go into their own world.
Clicking his tongue, he placed his hand to his ear and looked to where he assumed Ema was.
Kage: "Hey, do you know who fired that shot?"
Yuzu: "...Yeah. I'll bring him in."
"Daybreak" has been added to the chat.
Daybreak: "Eh? Yuzuru? Why did you add me in?"
Kage: "Who is this guy?"
Daybreak: "I-it's me, Kageura-san. Ariake."
It was the same person who Ema had invited to their gathering earlier in the week.
Yuzu: "He was the one to fire the shot from the side."
Daybreak: "Oh, uh, sorry if that messed you up. I was trying to take him out, or at the least disarm him. I messed up and only shot the space between you two. My bad."
Yuzu: "Stop that already. You ended up helping Kage-san."
Daybreak: "Eh? I did?"
That was true. Even if he wanted to take that person out with him, there was no guarantee that he would have made it in time. Because Ariake had fired that shot, he had managed to create more distance between the two of them.
The support from the children behind him served to scare that person away as well. It was enough to hold him back.
Kage: "Yeah. Thanks for that."
Daybreak: "...Huh!? Oh! Yeah. No problem..."
Kage: "But..."
But.
Kage: "You were Kiyoshi's teammate once, weren't you? So that means you recognized that guy, didn't you?"
Daybreak: "...Yes."
Mitsuteru released some air through his mouth as he read the message Kageura had sent him. The tension in his shoulders left him for a moment before coming back.
There was no doubting what he had seen.
...That face was Kiyoshi-san's. But I know that was not really him since...
Since he should have "died" back then.
He shook his head.
It's because I know that he will be going to the mall to meet with my senpai. He couldn't be here if he was going over there.
He had even gotten confirmation from Hokari that he was with him.
Kage: "At least we know that the idiot really is clear. If there's someone like that running around then they could just say that they're him."
Yuzu: "But Kage-san, it's Tsukiko-san who we are suppose to be looking for. Even if that guy looks like how he used to be, it is very different from how Tsukiko-san is right now. The directors wouldn't make a mess up like that."
That was true. Even if it was nice to think that things could be solved that easily, the fact of the matter is that they were supposed to be looking for someone who looked like the current "Tsukiko Yuki" and not the former "Taiyōko Kiyoshi".
Kage: "This really pisses me off. The fact he can move like how Kiyoshi does makes me feel like crap. Only a few people should be able to move like that."
Yuzu: "Oh yeah, I wanted to ask about that. What did he do there that caused you to freeze up, Kage-san?"
Kage: "...So it looked like I froze to you, did it?"
Yuzu: "That isn't it?"
This time he let out a normal sigh.
He knew exactly what had happened and it had been the reason why he had been sure where to fire before.
Kageura must have known about this as well since he was quick to speak up.
Kage: "Hey, Ariake. You know what that all was, right? Explain it to him. I don't have the mentality for that kind of stuff."
That was fair, he thought.
Daybreak: "Uh, that was Shukuchi, I believe."
Yuzu: "Be serious."
I am!
Was it a bad thing that Ema thought he was joking? Maybe this was just a way for them to grow closer.
It's a pretty bad way, but hey, what else is there to do?
He would take this and continue.
Daybreak: "I am being serious, Yuzuru. Even if it's not like what's shown in media, that's what it was. I had asked Kiyoshi-san about it before and he explained it to me.
It has been a while, but he could still remember it.
The memory was part of the things he should not let go of yet.
Daybreak: "It's not so much a speed thing as it a movement thing. He had told me that it's about moving in the right way at the right time. Getting into your opponent's blind spot or an area where they would not expect. The speed part of it is reaching the location you want to get to before anyone notices you made it there. I guess calling it 'Shukuchi' is a bit much, but it's the closest thing to it that a normal person can do."
Yuzu: "Is that how it was for you, Kage-san?"
Kage: "I guess. I wouldn't lose focus during a fight though, so I don't know how he got to Kōgetsu as fast as he did."
He had given the best answer he could, so there was nothing to say about that.
Still...
It's very concerning that there's someone like that out there. I'll tell Senpai about it so that they can figure out what to do. And...
They needed to tell Border.
"Huh? That's strange."
"What is it, Murakami?"
A message from Mitsuteru had come in and he could only stare it at oddly. The words were clear, but what it all said had made him uncertain of if this was a joke or not.
"Well, uh, Mitsuteru had just told me something that should not be possible."
"Before that, there is something I want to discuss with you about."
"Huh?"
What was this about?
Instead of answering him right away, she only took a sip from her drink before staring him directly in the eyes.
"Murakami, I would like to start calling you by name. And have you do the same with me."
.
Murakami was thrown for a loop with that one.
The way he respected her had always been as an underclassman and someone who knew about both her mental and physical strengths. It had gotten to the point that even addressing her as casually as he did felt a little wrong.
Now here he was, being told that he could call her by her name. Likewise, she wanted to call him by name as well.
"Um, Senpai, what brought this on exactly?"
"That should be obvious."
And yet it was not.
She likely understood that since she lowered her brows as she spoke.
"Sorry. I guess I moved too far ahead with that one." She nodded and smiled towards him. "You have been there for both me and Yuki, so calling you by your surname is starting to feel a bit insulting towards you."
"But I'm fine with that, really."
"Yuki calls you by name."
"Well he's a bit much, so there's that..."
There was no doubt that they both understood that much.
Yuki had always been someone who spoke casually with them and did not hold back. They had both been involved with him enough times to know that how he is with them should not be what they look at here.
"So if we disregard that idiot, we can see that the two of us have a clear relationship then."
"We can?"
"Yes," she nodded.
The way she was going at her pace was a bit concerning, but he preferred this version of his senpai over the one focusing only on calculations.
"And since I was with a group of children until just recently, I have decided that I will be taking care of you too. I have grown attached and refuse to be detached."
"Wait, I'm happy that you're focusing more on your emotions now, but that is rushing things too far!"
"Is it."
"At least ask that one!"
Murakami slumped his shoulders as Mei took another sip from her drink.
How have things gotten this far...?
Even with that thought he could feel himself smile.
This type of interactions would not have been possible before, but things have changed and he could not speak like this with her.
It really feels nice. Maybe I can let go of some things as well and just go along with it all.
There were not many things he put a lid on within himself, but there had always been one when it came to Yuki and Mei. With the way things were going recently it seemed like he would be able to remove that lid.
And the start of that would be here.
"Alright... If you are fine with it, I will call you by name."
His smile only went further as his felt his heart start to beat a bit faster.
Once he did this, there would be no going back.
They would be a bit closer.
He was feeling some excitement from that small accomplishment.
"Please continue to watch out for me. Mei."
"Oh, no honorific? Very good. This side of you is also good. I like it very much."
Now he could feel a blush start to creep up. But that can be for later.
Right now...
"Please continue being yourself and show me all of those lovely sides to you. Kō."
The two of them smiled as the words finally came out.
Something new had come from this and he could not be any happier.
"What's this? Is Kō trying to steal Mei away from me?"
.
"It's been awhile, hasn't it?"
"...Huh?"
The first thing Mei did upon Yuki making an appearance was stand up.
The question had thrown him off guard, so she used that chance.
With one swift motion, Mei raised her arm.
Murakami prepared for what would be coming next by moving towards the back of Yuki.
It only took a second before Mei brought down her first onto Yuki's arm.
The force of the impact had thrown him back a bit.
Murakami was quick to catch him before he fell.
Smiling at the two of them, Mei spoke.
"I am glad that I can finally see you again. Yuki."