The first thing heard Yuki heard from his spot on the mailbox was the shout from the father. It had been loud enough to startle him, but not enough to make him lose his balance.

It did send a thought running through his head, though.

Crap! I just jumped on their mailbox like it was the natural things to do!

Mei might not have minded after she cracked the ground, but her parents would be another thing. They must not have been used to seeing someone disappear like that before appearing a distance away.

Well, it's really just my movement speed being pretty up there, but I can make it look better than it really is.

The only problem was how her parents were looking at him with amazement in their eyes. It was way too different from the way Mei was that it was also a bit off-putting. The only other time he saw expressions like that was when others viewed him as a competent Border member.

And that had been happening a lot less recently.

He felt true pain in his heart.

Kuuuuh! It's those guys, for sure! They like messing with me too much and it's ruining my image! Seriously! What kind of person does it take to make you run an errand, say you were late by .03 seconds, then threaten you by making a doujinshi out of you because of it! I've been hearing them call me "Can Ass Ninja" when they think I haven't been paying attention!

The danger was always around and he needed to remain on guard at all times.

That had been why he was quick to react to Mei's punch. Her speed had gone up to the point where he needed to rely on his Side Effect, but he still had the higher ground when it came to speed and movement.

So when he saw her turn to glare at him while raising her fist, he was quick to jump off the mailbox.

The moment his toes touched the ground he was already moving.

The second punch had tried to reach him, but he reacted quickly.

Simply dodging the attack would mean destroying the mailbox, and blocking the attack was just plain impossible. There was nothing to be done when both results would end with something being destroyed.

So he made a choice.

He evaded.

Instead of a full evasion, he lightly spun his body on his toes. The movement put him in a spin as Mei's fist moved forward. It was on a collision course with the mailbox.

Still in his spin, Yuki slightly increased his speed so that his spin would take him back around to meet Mei's outstretched arm. Once it was directly in front of him, he grabbed her arm and did his best to pull it off its main course.

...Light.

If he had said that out loud then it would have sounded like he was talking about her weight.

I always knew that Mei's hits were hard, but I didn't think they would be difficult to move either. The hit itself is heavy, but the movement leading to it is shockingly light for her. Is this something she learned from my sister, or is it something she learned to counter my sister?

Both of them felt like valid options, so he decided to pick one later on.

For now, he needed to focus on moving the hit so that it would crash into the open air instead of the mailbox.

.

Shitokei Yuzu was amazed at seeing the movements from not only her daughter but the ninja boy who had lightly stepped off the mailbox.

The movements of her daughter had become more fluid, being able to go from a soft speed into a rough punch. That strength had been seen before, but it had always been in order to move heavier objects or keep fights from breaking out between others. People had wondered what was wrong with her daughter, but she only saw it as her daughter being on a different level from everyone else.

But now that she was moving along with this ninja boy...

...They are a perfect fit.

The ninja boy had moved in advance, fully expecting her daughter's next move. That alone was something, but he did not stop there.

He did not want her daughter to end up destroying something as trivial as a mailbox or even hurt her fist, so he had moved to direct that fist away. The mailbox had remained safe and her daughter's fist and only hit the air next to it.

She had not been able to keep up with each movement herself, but she understood what it took to do all of that, especially when the only light available was the one in front of their house and the lights from the adjacent houses.

"That boy is something else," she heard her husband say. She nodded in agreement.

The only person they had thought that could keep up with their daughter was their nephew, and even that felt like it was a stretch. The only times they had seen him truly able to do so was when he had gotten angry for the sake of his sister or their daughter.

But this ninja boy had done it as if he completely knew what to expect when facing her daughter.

"Alright, Mei. I'm sorry I went overboard like that."

"...Next time think before you do something stupid. I know it's hard for you, but even you should be able to manage that."

"Yes, yes. I'm sorry, truly. I only meant to make a good first impression for your parents."

"...You fully prepared that speech, didn't you?"

"Was it that obvious?"

"You aren't good at hiding your stupidity."

The way the ninja boy laughed at himself had made her daughter give another smile.

That was the other thing she and her husband had noticed. Her daughter's expressions could now vary and the ninja boy seemed to get all of them out of her.

There was nothing better to see than that.

"So this is the boy you wanted us to meet? I see, so he is a capable ninja then!?"

"Calling him capable is a bit much, but yes."

"Mei, seriously!?"

Yuzu tilted her head. There it had been again. The name that confused her and her husband. Until...

"Oh, that's right," her husband said, placing his fist into his hand. "I forgot that Fuji-chan decided to go by a different name."

The ninja boy seemed to freeze for a moment before her daughter lightly shook him. He shook his head and gave a bitter smile to her before righting himself to face them again.

"Would you like me to change how I refer to her?"

"Don't be stupid," her daughter said. But it was clear that she was also waiting for their answer.

She looked over to her husband who was looking back at her. Their decision on the matter had been decided on long ago, but these good children were still worried about something like that.

They are so adorable! Yes, they are good, adorable children, for sure!

Hurry for our daughter choosing someone like this!

"Banzai! Banzai!" both she and her husband shouted with their arms in the air.

They may have gone too far with that since the ninja boy had been startled and jumped, his arms coming into a defensive stance.

Yuzu gave a slight laugh and waved off his worries.

They still had a lot to learn about this ninja boy, but the way he seemed to genuinely care for and worry about their daughter was something they could never overlook. Along with that, he showed nothing but respect to them while also retaining his own personality with their daughter.

"Sorry for that, ninja boy. We were just happy that Fuji has someone like you around."

"M-mother..."

This time she had to wave off her daughter.

"But you don't need to worry about calling her by that name. If that is what has been settled between the two of you, we have no reason to go against it. Isn't that right, love?"

"That's right. You don't need to worry about that sort of thing with us around." Her husband crossed his arms, but it was only a failed attempt at being intimidating since his grin gave him away. "If Fuji-chan has nothing to say against it then there's nothing wrong. The fact she had managed to get in this position in the first place just means she likes you enough to bring you in front of us. Granted, it's not like that's much of a trouble."

"I see..."

Instead of being happy about their words, the ninja boy slowed down his movements and began a new action.

It was not something as extravagant as his dogeza, but it held much more power and meaning behind it that both Yuzu and her husband could only focus on that.

"Thank you both for this. And...I'm sorry."

Minoru let out a breath into the nighttime air.

It was not too late, but the street was empty of anyone else. Everyone around had decided to stay in their houses or live it up in the city. As for him...

...I'm excited to see them again, but...

He knew who else would be there.

He let out another breath.

Katerina's words were still in his head. She had scolded him for the way he had been acting whenever it came to Yuki. There was no doubt that she had also told off Yuki for the same thing at some point. Being the one to work on Idōgetsu since getting here, there was no chance he had escaped that.

In a way, that was reassuring to him.

What was really putting him on edge was what he was seeing in front of his face as he walked.

Life: "So we're going to go see what's going on with that ninja, right?"

Pokari: "It's our way of making sure our senpai is fine. Yup, totally the reason why."

Shōgi Boy: "It sounds like a hassle, but I'm fine taggin' along."

Isa: "Ah, good old fashioned stalking. When was the last time we did that instead of just forcing out way into a conversation?"

Zoe: "Hey, it really hasn't been that long! We only force our way in when Umi-kun feels like ignoring rules and regulations."

Umi: "I'll have you know that I always follow rules and regulations. The things I find when following those things just happens to align with these sorts of things."

Almost Everyone: "That doesn't change anything!"

Demon Child: "Hey Kagami, you got all that, right?"

Artist: "I did! The next one is going to be a good seller, I can just feel it!"

He had been glad to not get involved with this one.

It was likely that Yuki was also ignore the chat since he would have left a comment that would then spiral into something worse here.

But there was more than just those guys messing around.

The wolf was trying to protect his friend and former senpai.

Black Wolf: "Um, I would be all for going to see what's happening, but I know that this time it isn't a good idea."

Kage: "Since when have these people cared about something like that?"

Black Wolf: "That's very true... Wait, that doesn't matter! Kage, can't you help here!?"

Kage: "What are you talking about? I'm going to go watch him make a fool of himself."

Black Wolf: "Kage!"

SenSen: "I suppose leaving it to only Murakami would be kind of mean. I'll back you up."

Kura-uchi: "To make it a bit more fair, I'll go along with it too."

Life: "So that's Kō, SenSen and Kuracchi against everyone else. Got it. Let's go then!"

Class Rep: "Isn't there something more important than that to focus on here!?"

Manager: "That's right. Kirikari, I just received an e-mail from the manager, who apparently noticed the commotion on the network. Kanzaki hasn't noticed, though, because she's been sleeping in her seat."

Inu: "Ah, that explains that. Oh, and I would help but I'm with Shiro right now. I was thinking of getting him a shrine maiden outfit so he co-"

Connection as been terminated. "Inu" has been put on timeout.

It seemed like the ones who worked on the transmission felt some bitter feelings towards people like that.

So that's how things are going, Minoru thought.

He had also seen the commotion in the network and had worried about Kanzaki, but it looked like everything was being taken care of by the others. It only went to remind him that they were reliable, even if they were terrible when it came to attacking others.

Even so, it was reassuring to know that they were still the same after everything that has happened up to this point.

...But what about me?

.

It was easy to say he was the same, but he knew that wasn't true. Generally speaking, he was still the same, but there had been a lot on his mind to the point that it had started to affect others around him.

The reason for that was the same reason he was reluctant to meet with his cousin and her parents.

He had thought about what had happened between him and Yuki and found that it was not a one-sided thing. The end result of that morning had been because his emotions had gotten to the point that they only showed him what was convenient instead of what was truly in front of him.

Inukai and Arafune had spoken to him afterwards about it, but what had been done left a gap between him and Yuki. The gap only grew larger the more they ignored the issue so that the others would not have to deal with it.

...In that sense, we are the same, indeed.

They had both made this decision with others in mind, but for selfish reasons.

That had been why Katerina was mad at the both of them.

Their situation was really made worse by their friends as well. Both Inukai and Murakami likely new the full details of what had happened, or at least what information was given, but they had yet to make any big moves to bring the two together again. But...

They probably see it as something the two of us needed to without being forced.

Katerina had lectured him and likely chewed out Yuki, but she didn't force either one of them to take any actions. The most she had done was lead them to the right choice of meeting up.

For people like Inukai and Murakami, both of whom were considerate but still had moments, it would have seemed like they were trying to get the two of them to speak with each other using their positions as their respective best friends.

He and Yuki would have thought it was nice of them, but would ultimately be something that would be impossible.

Having someone else do it had been what they needed for this.

And just to make sure something didn't happen, I asked Masataka to stay behind. That way he won't end up getting into an argument with Yuki.

He had also made sure not to tell the others about this out of fear that they would do something. But I guess they're on their way now. Someone had likely spilled the secret to them. That put him on a timer for getting his talk done with Yuki.

At worst, he would save the talk for later and just focus on his cousin and her parents.

"Hah... I guess it really does become troublesome when you hold off on these things until the last moment."

"Doesn't it, though?"

.

Minoru didn't jump and he didn't throw the body that latched onto his back right into the street, no matter how much he wanted to do so.

The only reason for it was because of who it was.

"...What do you want, Denji?"

Grinning from over Minoru's shoulder, Denji faced forward and spoke directly into his ear.

"Don't be like that, you brat. I just want to tell you some things."

The low voice directly in his ear made Minoru jerk away only to be pulled back in by the arm that was around his shoulder.

As soon as he hit Denji's chest, Minoru threw his elbow upwards. His intent had been to make Denji let him go so he could create some distance between them, but...

"Wow. Didn't think you would throw such a hard hit like that to me. Does that mean your hatred towards me went up even more?"

Denji took the hit to his chin. A solid sound had been heard and something had gone out of place, but he spoke as if there was nothing wrong. The arm he had around Minoru remained strong, even as he rubbed his chin and fixed himself up.

After another moment he removed his hand and took two steps back.

Minoru knew that two steps away from Denji was as if he was still directly in his face.

"Anyways," Denji said casually. "About what I wanted to say."

"..."

"Don't look at me like that. I might just want to punch in the eyes for that."

"What, have you turned into Misó now?"

"Funny that you should mention him."

Minoru's heart jumped for a moment at that. If what Denji was implying was true then it would mean he needed to do something.

Instead of continuing that line of thought, Denji only shook his head.

"I'm just saying that. Don't worry, I'm not that bad. I don't really care for pain, I just know when I need to take a hit or two."

"...So why did you take that hit?"

"Butsudō mujin seiganjō."

Minoru's brows closed in on each other.

"What does a buddhist vow have to do with this?"

Denji's laugher quickly rang out in the entire area.

The sounds reverberated across the street and the buildings around them. Some people had gone to look out their window and Minoru could feel his own eyes widen at the response.

Then he saw something that sent a violent shiver run down his spine.

Denji's grin remained in place, but right above it were the eyes of someone who had seen far too much and only wished for everything around him to end.

"What's it matter? Someone like you doesn't need to know about the other things that happen around him. Just deal with it and listen to my words."

Minoru was frozen in place by the voice and the look he got.

The two of them had once been on the same squad together. During that time, he had seen different sides of his former teammates, some of which were similar to this. But it seemed that things had escalated to the point where those sides of them were buried deep enough that others could never see them.

Now that he was catching a glimpse at that again, the only thing he could do was stand still and listen.

"You're going to go see your family, right? And you know who else is there. You're probably thinking of talking to him about what happened the morning after Border gone done with the sponsors situation. Right, right, that's a good idea. I really hope you two patch things up."

"...Why?"

"That way Sekai and I can really kick him out. That idiot still has some stupid ideas in his head, so we want that crap to end."

"So you want to use me and what I plan to do for this."

Minoru was already aware that he should never question how Denji or Sekai got their information. The fact he knew exactly what Minoru was going to do sent another shiver down his spine. He made sure to not let it show, not in front of this man.

Even so, it felt like Denji already knew what was happening.

"Glad you already figured that out. So with that being said... I want you to tell him two things."

The first.

"Bon'nō muryō seigandan. ...There's no longer a reason for him to remain selfless. Tell him to be greedy and lose himself in the pleasures of life."

"What does that even mean?"

Denji shrugged his shoulders, as if to say he had no reason to answer the question.

It only served to irritate Minoru.

"As for the second thing... Tell him that Sekai doesn't have one. Make sure he understands that Sekai is also in the wrong and that I have won in every aspect possible."

.

The way Denji's eyelids lowered in self-deprecating satisfaction was something Minoru had never seen before. It was as if Denji had decided that there was nothing else that was important enough for his full attention here.

It was a terrifying sight.

"Well," he began again. "I'm gonna be leaving now. ...Oh, wait. That's right. The other thing I needed to tell you. Something not having to do with people who don't need to be here anymore."

He was worried about what this would be.

But he let Denji continue.

"There isn't a need to worry about it right now, but make sure to keep Yassan, Jossan, and Michelle safe, got it? At least until everything is settled."

That had quickly set off alarms in Minoru's mind.

He moved to grab Denji, but he had already increased the space between the two of them by a few meters. Moving again now would put him even further away.

He was just that kind of person.

"Hey now, I told you that you don't need to worry about it right now. Nothing should happen to them tonight, so save that for tomorrow, got it?"

"...And you won't do anything, since you seem to know something?"

"I'm going to be doing something, that's for sure. But I can't be around them to do it. So that leaves you and Ketsueki for the job."

"And Sekai?"

"...What do you think?"

He would be involved with what Denji would be doing.

It's happening again.

The two of them were going off and leaving everything else to others.

When they had been on the same squad, the two of them would do this more often than not. Their disappearances would worry Yasuko while both Minoru and Ketsueki would only wonder where they went.

Once they came back it was always the same with them. Nothing had changed from back then. That was clear to see here.

...It's the same as with the sponsors.

Both Denji and Sekai had gone on to oppose Border by working for the sponsors or their underlings. It had placed them at odds with Border, but they did not seem to mind it at all. In fact, Denji had even gone to try and strike him down because of an order coming from Mogami Yoshiko.

Neither one of them had regrets over their actions.

Was this their way of living without regrets?

...No.

It was all too clear to him that the two of them had regrets. They just chose not to regret going against Border like that.

Maybe it was because they knew things would work out in the end?

Either way, the had been excused and returned as if nothing had happened.

Now here one of them was, speaking in a way Minoru could not keep up with.

But there was nothing to do about it.

As he looked back up, Minoru saw that Denji had already started to walk away. There were no other things for him to say here, so he was leaving Minoru to continue his night.

.

Thinking about what he had heard more, Minoru continued his walk towards his cousin's house, where he would meet up with her and her parents.

The walk had been relatively short, only a few more minutes before reaching the right street.

The streetlights were lit up and paved a way for him to continue walking.

As he got closer to the house he could hear voices coming from directly in front of him.

And what he heard was...

"Thank you both for this. And...I'm sorry."

Yuki had his upper body parallel to the ground and his arms were stuck to his side.

He was giving an apology to his cousin's parents.

...I feel like this is going to be a long night.

Kanzaki felt her body collapsing from exhaustion.

...Nh!

She could tell she had been sleeping. She had clearly been careless, but when she opened her eyes...

"...Nh?"

The scenery around her and her position were not what she had expected. The last thing she remembered was being attacked on the wooden passageway and being knocked into the air, but now she was in...

...The Red Lightning?

"Oh, are you awake, Kanzaki-chan?"

"Eh?"

She turned toward the voice on her right and found the manager. She does somewhat resemble someone, she thought. I don't know about the nudist, though.

At any rate...

...Huh?

Something was not right. She knew she had left here and started toward the inner city, but then she had been attacked and...

"Shot..."

She had been hit by sniper fire on her left side. She remembered the paper bag acting as a shield, but the impact had still reached her side. She used her fingernails to open her inner suit's stomach joint and peered in at her left side.

But...

...There's nothing there?

Not only did she not have a wound, she did not even have a bruise. The manager smiled bitterly next to her.

"Is your back hurting you after hitting it during training? I did use this on you while you were sleeping, but maybe it wasn't enough."

The manager held up a bottle of ointment. It helped improve blood flow and Kanzaki could feel her exhaustion leaving her.

"I was asleep?"

"You must have been done in by the aroma from this."

The manager placed a bamboo bottle in front of her. It gave off the aroma of cocoa.

"It got cold while you were asleep, so I got you some more."

She lightly tapped the bamboo bottle and a strong smell of roasted sweetness wafted out.

"...Thank you very much."

There was also some wrapped bread on the table. Kanzaki felt a little stiff, but that may have been from sleeping in the chair. Sleeping here would get in the way of business, so she decided she needed to leave.

Then the manager spoke with a smile.

"Kimura-san sent an e-mail earlier asking if you were here. I said you were asleep, but what do you want to do? They're all in the residential area apparently."

What should I do? she wondered for a moment.

"I was thinking of taking action on a different issue tomorrow, so I think I will only stop by briefly so I can get home early to sleep. If I joined the others for long, I would get dragged into staying up all night."

"Oh, dear. Those children are quite the delinquents. ...So what is this 'different issue'?"

"Finding a teacher."

If that incident on the wooden passageway was a dream, then it must have been a sort of revelation, she thought. My mind was admonishing me for my previous loss and for allowing my spear to be damaged.

She knew she had to fire herself up again, so...

"I am thinking of learning to be a brand new person."

"Very good. That's what it means to be a samurai. My husband was originally a student who loved that kind of stuff. When traveling around Japan, we even walked around all sorts of places."

The Manager put her hand on her hip and smiled, so Kanzaki nodded.

"I think I will try working harder too."

Kanzaki realized that the idea of finding a teacher had really worked its way into her heart.

That dream seemed to have been meaningful. She understood without being told that she was lacking something and that she was inexperienced. But...

...I have not reached the level where that understanding feels like a good thing.

Still, she had something to do. She still had something she could do, something she thought she should do, and something that would change things if she did it.

She was not entirely sure what exactly it would change. It could be her abilities, her equipment, her relationships, or even just her feelings.

"That's right."

She nodded to confirm that to herself and then she looked up at the manager.

"I will begin searching for a teacher early tomorrow morning."

"Oh, dear. Then you had better get home to sleep before long. And if you keep up that up... You know what? I think letting you find out without spoiling it is best."

The Manager gave a smile before sending her off.

She had a lot to think about for sure.

"Like this?"

"No no! Like this like this!"

"Oh, so like this!?"

"Yes yes!"

Pyrínas nodded as Sthénos repeated herself thrice, two times for each word. It was something that he had seen some humans do before, so it didn't feel out of place here.

Once he had confirmed that Sthénos was with the trion soldier he had been searching for, they had all followed Xeno to one of the houses within the Forbidden Zone. During that time, he had monitored the area in case one of the squads on defense duty happened to be around. Luckily, none were within the area.

Once they had arrived at the house, Sthénos had taken it upon herself to show Lilith different poses which she had seen from the likes of her teammates, other squads, and even some Neighbors she had fought recently.

A small noise was heard directly in front of him, gaining his attention and turning it away from the two girls.

"I can't believe she's also a trion soldier..."

"...Yes, it can be a bit jarring at times. ...But she isn't bad. ...Actually, she might be the perfect example of what could be when it comes to trion soldiers."

Xeno looked up with a raised brow, so Pyrínas nodded.

"...She has been on Miden longer than I have, so she should have a better understanding of things. ...But in truth, she is still getting used to things here, the same as me. ...Miden is such an interesting and different place that there really is no getting used to it if you are an outsider."

"Even if that's the case, it doesn't matter to us. We aren't here to stay."

"...A lot of people had probably thought the same thing."

"But I mean it."

He could believe it if he wanted, but only time would tell how he felt about Earth. Staying would be hard without someone interfering, but it was not impossible.

As a trion soldier, he would not be the one to be bringing that up. Only humans could judge whether someone was allowed to stay with them.

...That's right. ...Like Akasora had said: human value is determined by humans alone. ...That includes the value of those around them.

He had his own thoughts that were relied on when needing to be optimal, but that was all. Unlike those around him, he could not determine the value of something like a person's life since his own was far different from their lives.

That included Xeno.

"...Disregarding whether you are staying or leaving, there are things you should be aware of while on Miden."

"That doesn't concern me. We are here to lay low for a bit before jumping back."

"...But you will need trion, won't you?"

Xeno turned away, confirming the conclusion he had already reached.

In that case...

"...Call for me if you need trion. ...Leave the people of the city alone."

"Why should we listen to you?"

"...Because causing such a commotion will alert Border to your presence. ...Currently, they are focusing on something else, so you have escaped their radar. ...I am supporting that by making sure this area does not seem suspicious by their standards, so you will not be found out while I am around. ...But besides that, going out in those kinds of clothes will gather a lot of attention. ...I am sure you have already garnered a lot of that."

"Then why weren't we found out by now?"

"...They likely had someone only watching you to see what you would do. ...Even if your outfits don't fit in, they can easily be explained away as cosplay, so the citizens had no real reason to question the two of you here."

"Miden sounds likes it's full of naïve people."

"...Yes. ...But it is because of those types of people this this place is very accommodating and nice to live in."

He had learned firsthand what Miden was like and how they expressed themselves. There were people who hated Neighbors, but there were those who would help them, or at least keep them a secret. It was something he found to be not optimal. But they don't care about those things here.

"Hah! I doubt they would be able to do anything if I set up an Area Stealth."

"...You mean the thing keeping them from finding you on radar, yes? ...A pocket-sized one must have been up for you to last this long, so I'll give you that much. ...But..."

"...You still found us."

He nodded.

Even if it was due to his own abilities, the fact remained that both Pyrínas and Sthénos had been able to fine Xeno and Lilith.

"...We are both Autonomous Trion Soldiers who had been built by extraordinary people, so we have more of an acute awareness towards these sorts of thing. ...Yes, even with how hard you tried, you still couldn't match up to the Wanderer's trion soldier, and their stealth ability far exceeds what you can do. ...Don't mind. ...They are just better than a lot of established nations."

"Are you trying to pick a fight!?"

"...If I did, you would lose."

By this point even Pyrínas himself was surprised by the words coming out of his mouth.

He had meant to leave things as an equal level, but he ended up bragging about his creators and their abilities. As a trion soldier it made sense to do so, but he knew himself well enough to know that something like that was strange.

And there was only one thing he could find as reasoning for it.

...That core.

The core from the Autonomous Trion Soldier who had mimicked Yuki had created these emotions inside of him using Yuki as a basis. It had been happening lately, where he would speak out as if having real emotions. This was an extension of that.

He wanted to check his programming for anything he could do about it, but the more he thought about getting rid of it, the more he found that he didn't want to do that.

It was a strange sensation.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!"

"...Huh? ...Yes?"

"Jeez... Are you two really trion soldiers made by the Wanderers?"

"...Technically speaking, no. ...I am a broken off part from the system they had made, so it's more like I am their 'grandchild' instead of their 'child'. ...As for Sthénos; she has no connection to the Wanderers at all. ...She had been made elsewhere."

Information about her was still small, but they all understood what kind monster she could be when let loose and not on their side.

That had been the reason for Pyrínas allowing her to do as she liked here.

In terms of abilities and values, he would have her beat. The Wanderers' trion soldiers, broken off pieces or not, were not ever seen as mass produced products that could lose to a simple blade or bullet. Each one of them had their strengths and weaknesses and they would could use without the aide of direct commands.

Sthénos was a single unit that relied on the trion she had and seemed to be lacking in the combat information most trion soldiers had coded into their cores. Even so...

...I don't want to mess with her.

In a competition of strength and technique, he had her beat.

But only if she fought in her base form.

He had yet to see her in any other form, but he had heard about what could happen if she were to fight unlike a Border agent or in her base form.

"Oh is Pyrí-chan saying cool things about me!?"

"...I am stating facts about you."

"So cool things!"

The energy Sthénos gave had always been too much for the humans around her, but not Pyrínas felt as if he understood them a bit more.

"...Anyway."

"How do you deal with her...?"

"...I don't."

A true understanding had finally come between him and Xeno. The reasoning for it was a bit murky, but not thinking about it was the most optimal solution.

.

How is this one of the Wanderers' trion soldiers? Seriously, he doesn't look like he's even deciding on if he wants to be casual or stiff.

Xeno gave a sigh in his heart.

As someone from an Errant Nation that took pride in their trion soldiers it was a bit of a chip to his pride that the Autonomous Trion Soldier standing before him seemed to be one made by the group who had inspired a lot of their trion soldiers. It was made even worse when he remembered that this was only a broken off piece of their large system and not a direct unit from it.

Then there was small girl with Lilith. She was also an Autonomous Trion Soldier, but one far different from the Wanderers'. The amount of energy she had was something he couldn't keep up with, but she had yet to do anything to Lilith, so he stuck to only watching her for now.

But there was something that stuck to his mind as he looked at the two of them.

...The Wanderers one is pretty weak, isn't he?

By normal standards, he was far above average. Even if he was a broken off piece of the Pyrínas System that Xeno heard about, he was still leagues above even his own trion soldiers. It was a fact he had come to terms with once he saw the Wanderers' trion soldier impale Pneura and overpower it without any issue.

But by the standards of Autonomous Trion Soldiers, he was pretty weak. Xeno had only seen a handful of them, and most had been the Wanderers', but he could tell that this one truly was "a broken off piece" of the Pyrínas System. He may have had his own ego and was able to move around freely, but that was all there to it.

He couldn't do much else beyond that.

"...Is there something wrong? ...Staring at me like that might stir something inside of me that none of us would want to deal with."

"I feel like I don't want to know what you mean by that."

"...That is probably for the best."

They could agree on that.

The Wanderers' trion soldier looked back to the two girls and waited for a proper response from him.

He normally wouldn't be inclined to answer, but he was still speaking to a broken off piece of the system he had admired and envied for some time now.

"How do you maintain your trion?"

"...Is that all?"

"There's more I want to ask, but I want to know this first."

The Wanderers' trion soldier looked over to him before gesturing towards Lilith with his chin.

"...It's because of her, right? ...Trion soldiers, whether they autonomous or not, have a set value due to the amount of trion they can hold within their cores. Once that trion is used up, or their cores destroyed, they are nothing. ...Data can still be salvaged from the cores, and getting them active again isn't a problem, but there's nothing more to that. ...You can upload the data, but that trion soldier won't feel the same. ...So, in order to not deal with that, maintaining the trion in the core is vital to keep that trion soldier as an individual."

"I already know that. I don't need the lecture."

"...I was only reminding you of your reason."

It was a bit pompous of him, but it did strengthen Xeno's resolve.

He could at least be internally thankful for that.

"...Now, to answer your question. ...Sthénos tends to eat the cores or armor of trion soldiers when she sees one in front of her. ...The core obviously has more trion than the armor, but it would be suspicious if the cores suddenly disappeared while she was around."

"And you?"

He was just too curious to know since it sounded like he didn't eat any other trion soldiers.

"...I recycle my own trion."

"...What?"

"...The Pyrínas System has the ability to cycle through its own trion and turn it into an engine that can start generating more as it continues. ...In my case, I need help starting that cycle, but once it starts I try to make sure it doesn't stop."

"Would that be able to work for her?"

He shook his head.

"...I don't know her specs at all, and I doubt you would tell me. ...Assuming you even know them yourself. ...Regardless, that is something that has been made specially for the Pyrínas System and any cores coming from it."

That was pretty disheartening to hear.

Supplying Lilith with his own trion had been the way she managed to function this whole time. If there was a better and more efficient alternative then he would gladly take it.

But it seemed like they would have to continue like this.

"...That's why I said to call me when she needs trion. ...I have more trion than most because of how I function. ...That means it would not be an issue to take some from me."

"You know that I would gladly take all of it if it meant helping Lilith, right?"

"...I know. ...That is similar to how I have people who I would do anything for. ...Even if meant my own destruction."

There it was again.

The Wanderers' trion soldier was expressing something that resembled real emotions, but he held back from fully expressing himself. He was going halfway before pulling back and going back to a standard trion soldier.

It was confusing.

"...Now, I know there is more you want to know, but there is something I want to say here. ...Lilith, this involves the both of you, so please listen. ...Sthénos, please hold on for a moment."

.

Pyrínas stepped forward until he was in the middle of both trion soldier girls and the Neighbor boy. His expression remained the same, but none of them focused on that.

"...I will contact some people and see what can be done for tomorrow and onward. ...My hope is to get the two of you looking more like normal citizens while you stay here, that way you don't have to worry about standing out."

"We don't plan on going anywhere, so that doesn't matter."

"...Leaving aside Lilith needing trion, you need food and drinks to continue going, Xeno. ...People can go without those necessities for some time, but going for too long is not good. ...That is why I am hoping that the end result of this will allow the two of you to go to the city without problems. ...I will try to be near you two as best I can, but I do have my own things to do in the day."

"Pyrí-chan is super popular in Mikado City even if he hasn't been here too long! A loooooot of people know him and he even has kids to take care of!"

Lilith gave an amazed reaction and Xeno turned away, but Pyrínas didn't say anything in return.

Instead, he continued speaking about what he wanted to do.

"...I don't know the reason as to why you two are here, but I will do my best to help. ...If you want a way off of Miden, I will see what I can do. ...If you want to stay on Miden, I will see what I can do."

"Why are you going that far?"

Everyone turned to Pyrínas, the question playing on their faces.

For his part, Pyrínas stayed still for a moment, thinking about the reason for his actions.

There had been no reason to go beyond confirming that there was another trion soldier in Mikado City. Going passed that was something that would lead to a less than optimal end, but that felt like it shouldn't matter here.

So he remained quiet.

"Hah. I don't like this at all. Going along with this sounds like it will only bring trouble."

"Hey hey! Why don't you ask Futo-tsan to go along with you!? This guy is a Wanderers fanboy isn't he!? Then he could meet the former leader of them!"

"...Sthénos, why would you-"

"What!? A former leader of the Wanderers is here!?"

Pyrínas's expression turned to stone as he stared at Sthénos.

As for the other two...

"Isn't that great, Xeno! You can speak with someone that's super important!"

"There's so much I would want to ask them... I...I need to meet them."

"...You can't meet them if you can't go out casually. ...He is currently the part of one of Border's branches, so he will mostly be in the city."

"D-dammit! ...Uh, um... Er... This is a really tough decision... What to do...?"

Off to the side, Sthénos lightly pulled Pyrínas's sleeve, telling him to lower himself.

Doing a she was told, Pyrínas bent down so that his ear was level with Sthénos's mouth, allowing her to whisper to him.

"Are you going to tell him that Futo-tsan is kind of an idiot and way more carefree than what he's probably thinking?"

"...I want to get through this first. ...After that, we can break the news to him."

The two of them did feel bad for Xeno, but it was something that needed to be done.

They both looked to Lilith to see her reaction, but she simply smiled to them with a light wave.

Sthénos waved back and began speaking up.

"Hey I just thought of something! We can pass as siblings! Lil-chan Pyrí-chan and myself! Yeah we can totally be siblings! It's way to believable!"

"Huh? Siblings with you two?"

"...Feel free to ignore her."

"But that sounds like a fun idea! Having siblings really does sound fun!"

Pyrínas's expression turned to stone once more.

This allowed the two girls to speak to each other once more. This time with a purpose.

"I've been on Earth for the longest time so I would be the older sister! Yeah! Just leave everything to me and call me 'Nee-chan'! Or Sthé-nee!"

"Oh, that sounds nice! So what about me and Pyrínas?"

"Let's see..."

Sthénos looked between Lilith and Pyrínas while Xeno continued muttering things to himself on the side.

The atmosphere had changed drastically from before and Pyrínas had no idea of how to deal with it.

The most optimal solution kept changing on him.

So he just let Sthénos continue.

"Pyrí-chan has been on Earth the second longest but I don't know how old Lil-chan is..."

"I can't really say... But I do know something! Apparently, I was being created when the Wanderers came by Ergates. I had been finished after they had left, so they had their Pyrínas System already."

"...My personal creation had been made only awhile ago. ...I am technically 0 years old."

"So Lil-chan is the middle sister and Pyrí-chan is the younger brother! Is all works out!"

"But I do feel bad for Pyrínas if he is the younger brother."

"...Then how about this..."

.

What am I doing?

There was no hesitation in Pyrínas question.

It was strange to allow this to continue. He had planned on not getting involved with this conversation, but here he was, putting his own thoughts before Lilith and Sthénos.

No words could properly describe what he was feeling.

...If this is coming from the core that copied Yuki's past, maybe it is due to his love for his siblings that I am acting like this.

It was the only explanation he could think of.

He would have to ask about it later.

"...Since Lilith has been finished after the Wanderers had left, and I had broken off of the System after she had been created, you simply say that we are of equal age. ...At least for Japan, it is easy to use certain phrasing when speaking of someone, even a sibling, and not giving away specific details."

"I know what you mean! Using honorifics can go to anyone and not worry about specifics!"

"...Exactly."

"So what would I call Pyrínas?"

He had no say in that. Calling him whatever she wanted seemed fine enough to him, if only because she had been using his name instead of referring him by a title, like Xeno.

"Well 'nii' is usually calling them 'older brother' but I've heard that you can also mean it without the 'older' part! And if we're saying you two can switch between older and younger then 'nii' works great!"

"Nii?"

"...We can just say I am the younger one. ...This has become too much, especially since Xeno looks like he is finally coming back around."

Pyrínas could see Xeno start trying to steady his breathing and slowly stand up from his crouching position. It was kind of amazing that he had managed to block out their entire conversation.

"Okay! So that means I'm the older sister! Lil-chan is the second sister! Pyrí-chan is the youngest brother!"

"Yay!"

This was all just them playing House at this point, but he felt that saying as much would ruin the atmosphere they had built up. It felt nice to talk about, but in the end, it all meant nothing. They were trion soldiers and not people. There was no way for any of this to come true.

He knew full well that he was himself and had no true connections with anything other than the Wanderers' System.

.

"Right then," Xeno said, standing up. "We will go along with your idea, for now."

"Even Xeno likes us being siblings!"

"What!?"

Pyrínas waved him off and gestured for him to continue.

Xeno narrowed his eyes slightly, but did as instructed.

"Depending on how things turn out by the end of the night, we will go into the city to better blend in. If what you say is true, we should be fine with you around. Or at the least, have a way to get away."

"...Good. ...Then I will inform the people I have in mind."

"Oh! Who are they!? Are you gonna get the Yagura Branch members to do it!?"

"...I did have them in mind, yes. ...But more specifically, the one who is used to going against what others want."

That sounded worrying, but there was nothing to be done about it now.

...They said they weren't going to listen in, but I know they're going to try something.

That thought passed through Minoru's mind as he sat in front of Yuki within his cousin's house.

This was where they had both been placed.

After getting to the quartet, they had all moved to go into the house with both Minoru and Mei bringing in the bags while Yuki was forced in by his aunt and uncle. From there, everyone else had shown up with Murakami looking ashamed, Senshi looking defeated, Kurauchi slightly winded, Jinsei in a backwards Q shape, and everyone else looking ready to say something.

Once they had gotten inside it turned into madness.

He was placed within the same room he had been in when he spoke with Mei. Yuki was physically tossed in a moment later, all while the others said they would be wandering the house.

With both of them now in front of each other they had no way of escaping. Which had led to something else.

"Minoru... How have you been lately...?

"Huh? Um, I guess I've been fine...enough. Your sister - the younger one - had asked me to test out a new Trigger she had made, so I ended up fighting Kanzaki as a test run. She seemed...pleased, with the results that is. I was glad to help her with that."

Yuki looked back in a shirt-style kariginu that was likely given to him by his cousin's father. He looked skinnier than before and wore glasses. His hair was laying flat on his head, so Jinsei and the others had said he was "taking this weirdly seriously". He claimed he had always been unneeded in everything except movements, but he had heard things like that from Sekai and Denji already. He seemed more willing to talk about his past with them now and only sounded bitter when speaking about his parents, so he must have changed more than Minoru realized.

But he still hung his head lower than others.

Unlike most of their group, he had always held his head lower than everyone else, as if he was trying to go against how he had used to be. That kind of thing had become so common that no one mentioned it. He would respect that took a look around the room again.

There was a single sunken kotatsu in the center of the room. Only the basic table was installed now since it was spring, but Mei had said before the pleasant cooler temperature below the floor would seep through to the sunken space.

The sliding door to the outside was shut since they were given privacy, but...

"You never really liked sitting down for too long," he said.

"That's right. It makes me feel uncomfortable if I don't move around for too long."

But that became harder with his body's current constitution.

"I really want to move around with my real body, but that would only make things worse, wouldn't it?"

It would worry others.

Starting at a certain point in his life, he had been unable to remain in his real body without coughing or getting tired faster than most people. There had been times when blood came out.

Which may have been why...

"I feel bad saying this all of you, but being around you lot really makes me kind of jealous. Especially people like you, who can go around running like it's nothing."

He smiled quietly, but then...

"Oh, right! That's just me complaining now, isn't it? Sorry, sorry, I should pay more attention to what I say, shouldn't I? Yeah, I'll make sure to keep my mouth shut whenever I can, that way no one has to worry about what comes out."

"Yuki, that's a bit too much, don't you think? Everyone else will still make fun of you regardless of if you say anything or keep quiet about something."

"Crap, you're right! Those guys are all terrible people. I guess there really isn't any winning with them. You can just blame me coming in later for that one. It's easy to get used to those guys when you decide to just lose your mind. Maybe that's why I can't really trust when any of them say they have good news."

"Yuki, you're clearly trying to hard, so please calm down."

Murakami had said showing true feelings towards most others was a bit hard for Yuki when he was in awkward situations, but...

"Have you ever really expressed yourself?"

"Eh!? Of course I have!"

...Why does it sound like he's lying again?

He seemed quite rushed with his answers. He would probably provide an amusing reaction if he put him on the spot some more and he got the feeling he would take to it in a strange way. That was a relief since it meant he was trying here.

But he had different business with him tonight.

"Um, Yuki?"

On his way here, he had mentally simulated how to broach this subject and segue into it, so...

...Okay.

He was prepared to get started, but Yuki turned his head further down and spoke before he could.

"Minoru, I am the only one to blame for what happened that morning, so I want to apologize."

.

How had he known what he was going to say?

He gasped in slight surprise, but he must not have expected that reaction because he immediately said more.

"It was my fault for being careless with the situation and not understanding the real consequences of everything. I understand that."

"That's..."

He's putting all of the blame on himself, he thought with a mental sigh.

He could not help but worry about Mei. Even if he had known some things about it all, he was sure to worry over her. So Yuki was telling him that he was not in the wrong for feeling this way towards her and to continue worrying about her.

He then lifted his head to look in Minoru's general direction.

"Then again, I guess my words shouldn't mean much since it's coming from a faker. So, if there's anything I can do to prove it, just let me know. Even if there isn't, I wouldn't blame you at all. I should have been more attentive. Especially since it concerned my older sister."

"Um, well, uh..."

He had brought up the reason for this. So...

"Why?"

He meant a number of different things with that question. Then it struck him.

...This is the same as the time with Mei.

Both Yuki and Mei were similar in the way they wanted to approach him.

It felt like he was speaking to a single person.

"Here's the thing, Minoru. I say this while looking back on my own mistakes and on Mei's mistakes too." This too had been what she said when they spoke. "With me and Mei, I had known what she was capable of and what she could accomplish, so I had thought she would be able to do something to my older sister. ...To Kushikage. Once I had heard the news of the situation, I had been bombarded by the 19s about the situation, but we had just gotten done speaking with the sponsors."

"Yes, um, I have heard about that situation from them..."

"I thought as much," he said. "I had mentally shut down because of it, only focusing on the situation as the representative of the Yagura Branch. Tetsuji called me out on that, but I decided to ignore that and accept anything that anyone had to say about me. ...I knew that dealing with Kushikage was important, but I also scared to do so because of past experiences."

"Yes, well, she doesn't seem like the type to notice those sorts of things."

"And another thing."

...Of course there's more.

"Hmm," he groaned before tilting his head. "I have a tendency to get a little...self-deprecating without noticing it myself."

"I had noticed."

"For the time being, I need to stay that way or else I might end up doing something more stupid than usual."

"I see."

He nodded and he looked him in the eyes.

"My point is that my way of living...it always brings trouble for others."

"I see."

He just about asked "what's your point", but then it hit him.

...Huh?

"Do you get it now, Minoru?"

He did. Or rather, he had realized something anew.

It didn't matter what Minoru did or what had been caused by others since it meant everything could be blamed on Yuki, so...

...Just how little does he think of himself!?

While he sat there in shock, Yuki continued.

"So right now, I think it's fine for you to make excuses just to put the blame on me."

.

Yuki hung his head in bitterness as his own voice reached him.

"Anyway, as Mei's boyfriend, I'm really glad that you're so ready to look out for her to the point of hitting me. If you're willing to get into that kind of fight with someone like me, I welcome it. Besides, the fact that you two are ready to go at it as fiercely as you do means you're already doing more than I ever can."

He was unsure if he should have really said that or not. But he did feel an odd sort of sweat. Whether it was from relief or exasperation though, he could not say.

...I really can't believe myself.

However, it looked like Minoru had a question about something he he just said.

"Um, Yuki? When you say 'you two', who else are you talking about?"

"That idiotic airhead, of course. We fight all the time, but it feels like he's been even harsher than usual. At least until recently."

"Okay, but what does he have to do with anything?"

"That idiot almost started a fight as bad as our first one." He smiled bitterly. "He would have won, but someone had stepped in before we could even start."

And you know what?

"I would have fought back like usual, but I would have ended up in a worse position. That guy is an idiotic airhead, but he got more pissed than ever after he had learned the entire situation. He blamed it on me at first, but I think he changed his mind on some things. I don't know what they were, but it was easy to tell."

"...That explains a lot of what I've been seeing from him recently."

"I'm just saying that he cares about you as much as you do Mei."

"I see," was all he could say. And...

"Minoru, if it feels like you should never trust me again, then follow that feeling. I'm not someone people can naturally like without my facade up, so don't feel like you need to try to forgive me or get along with me anyone, okay? I can even leave the chat if it would get you to be more active again."

"Are you really fine with doing that?"

"It won't work for everything, but I at least could make it so that you guys don't have to feel awkward about this."

He could definitely appreciate the kindness but it didn't matter to someone who would fade away if they could stay with everyone else or not, since they normally had a time limit.

But then he asked a question.

"Yuki?"

"Yeah?"

"Why?"

He knew why he was asking. He had asked that same question to himself countless times already.

And the answer was simple enough.

"Because I'm just unneeded."

And...

"I realized I was okay with that lifestyle."

.

"I see," said Minoru.

He nodded a few times before continuing.

"You really are as much of an idiot as everyone says."

"I guess that part of me won't ever leave then, especially since you all want to remind me."

"And you're saying this after deciding that you would rely on others. That makes you sound even more like an idiot."

"Well...I can still rely on others even while being unneeded." He nodded. "So I can still enjoy a bit of things with everyone else."

"Glad to hear it." Minoru lifted his shoulders. "That means you aren't as bad as Sekai or Denji, so that means I can still say this to you and hope that it gets through to you."

So...

"You aren't the only one to blame for that time. It had been your sister who caused that problem by thinking she was the pinnacle. Mei had fought against her and lost, but by this point I can tell that you really were worried about her and cared for her."

But...

"I now know that your real personality is the type to take that kind of stuff and make the right moment for you to express it. But you also find it hard to get to those people you care about without being forced to do so. You did that with your former squad, with Mei, and now with me. So it's easy to tell that you're lying here."

"Um, to say that, it makes it sound like I'm actually a good person..."

He reached up to fix the foggy glasses on the bridge of his nose. It was his way of being unable to use his Side Effect here.

But Minoru had more to say.

"But you really are that kind of person, aren't you? Calling you a 'good person' might be a stretch, but calling you 'selfish' is a perfect way of saying it. I can see why Denji said that about you, since it's a self-destructive way to live your life."

"Wait...what did he say about me?"

"Bon'nō muryō seigandan. He said you don't have a reason to act like that and that you should lose yourself to the pleasures of life. To be greedy and as selfish as you want."

...Oh, that's completely in line with what he would say.

But if he's saying that about me then it means he thinks I'm not unneeded anymore, he thought, but that was probably Denj's way of showing he cared.

"Now, Yuki...one more thing."

"Hm."

He tilted his head and Minoru responded with his head beginning to lower through empty air.

"I also want to apologize for what happened during that morning. You were the easiest person to blame during that time. I knew that Mei relied on you a lot, and I felt like it was all up to you to keep her safe in that situation, but it was wrong of me to think that way."

"W-wait! Um, Minoru!? It really was my fault!"

"Kō and Haru had told me some things about you."

...I feel like I don't want to know, he thought, but he expected this would be something important for those two to get involved. He set up a filter inside himself and then spoke with his right index finger raised.

"Well, Kō might seem like a good guy, but even he has his moments, so try to not take his word completely. ...Let's just say he can be more of an asshole whenever I'm involved."

"This is only making me more worried for you."

Yuki sucked in a lot of air upon hearing those words from Minoru. He was confident they were words meant to only make him feel better about the situation and what things were like, but Minoru was not as bad as him when it came to these things.

...Does that mean he is worried, or am I just trying to counter Denji's words?

At any rate, there was still something missing and it put him at ease. So long as Minoru didn't know about what words truly meant the most to him then this could be looked as a simple apology session. The blame would still fall on him, but he could at least make Minoru happier by letting him think things had been settled.

"By the way."

"Huh? Something else? Oh, right, I guess you would want to spend time with everyone else. I'll be hanging out too, but I actually do have some things to do later."

"You always seem to be keeping yourself busy, even when you say doing things usually leads to problems. Your contradictions are always made by you, so maybe you should just leave it with us at times. I know you can rely on others some more now."

This was progressing a lot faster than he had expected. But...

"Minoru, will you be okay? I won't ask about what I saw, so I will ask this generally instead."

"It worries me more to think you might be using me as an excuse to suppress how you feel. Knowing you, you probably still can't think it's not all your fault. You need to be aware of that. And..."

He looked to the door into the hallway.

"Everyone else is worried about you too."

So...

"Tell me what's going on, my friend."

.

It hurt.

But it also felt nice.

Yuki knew those words were the most important thing that Murakami and Inukai had told him to say, but there was also nothing false about the way he said it.

He was truly wanting to know what was going on. And it wasn't just for the moment.

...Damn them. ...Seriously, damn them all.

There was no longer any winning here. Everything he had been told only went to show him something that had probably been true the moment he decided to completely rely on others.

...I'm not unneeded anymore...am I?

It may not have been for anything important, but it felt like so many people wouldn't just let him go anymore. There were ones like Kotowari Squad, the former Taiyōko Squad, and a lot Border. Even these terrible people would laugh in his face before dragging him back in to join in their parties. At this point, there was just no escaping any of this.

There was no longer a single person who found value in him. Multiple people, a lot of which were still here, had found it hard to let any of them go. That included him.

Letting out a laugh mixed a sigh he relaxed his shoulders while tossing his glasses toward the sliding door.

"I bet they're over here."

It hit its mark and opened the door.

"We told you to wait over there, so what are you all doing here?"

The paper sliding door rolled straight upwards.

"Oh!? Ohhh!?"

And all the people crammed up against it tumbled into the room.

.

Kagami faced forward while she and Fuyushi got up from Kitazoe's back.

"I-I never imagined a sliding door could roll upwards!

The shutter style has stronger defenses and being able to open both sides means better ventilation, so our business had developed it for them. The sliding door's large frame makes for a large roll, but there's also a bamboo screen size which is a huge hit with the wealthier families."

It was just like Suzaku to begin explaining all about the product with a smile on his face.

"But then Yuki stood up and stopped in front of them.

"Really though, what are you all doing? This isn't even your house."

Mei had been in the very front of the the group, so she rotated her body 180 degrees to look up at the ceiling. That allowed her to look up at Yuki too, but...

"Yuki's hair is blocking his face from view. That means I am in his blind spot!"

"Yeah, I didn't cut it enough for that not to happen." Yuki crouched down to look at Mei and then shooed Kunichika and the others away. "Look, Mei. Saying that at this point doesn't mean much."

Kagami looked over to see Mizukami beginning a game of shōgi on a tablet with Minoru.

"W-wait, Minoru. Satoshi is supposed to go with me to get something, so stop playing shōgi with that guy and toss him over here!"

"Yuki, you should probably be careful with some SS members here."

Don't worry. We have it marked down already.

Since Mizukami made sure to save the game on the tablet, he apparently intended to continue it eventually. He gave a sigh and waved to Minoru before approaching the others.

Once he got back to them and stood next to Kageura, Mei wordlessly got up. And...

"Umm," said pretty much everyone.

"Is something wrong?" asked Mei.

"Mei, you're backwards."

She looked down at herself to see she had accidentally gotten up in a strange position since she had rotated her body 180 degrees.

"Oops. I guess getting mixed around can happen at times."

She rotated herself back around to face the other way. And once she was back in place...

"There, all fixed. Now, Yuki."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Thank you for allowing me to witness such a valuable scene. My mother and father have just come back here, so they are probably happy to see something like that since they missed my talk with Minoru."

"Oh, well, as long as it was useful for you."

Mei shook her raised right hand side to side.

"It's mostly because of me, but you are basically part of the family now. I will experience and feel all of your fortune and misfortune as if they were my own. And that is why I will be able to believe that I too could experience such things if the situation was right, which helps put me at ease."

So...

"Do you know how happy I am to learn that you can finally be here?"

.

Yuki nodded at Mei's question. With a slight smile on his face.

"I do. And it makes me happy to know you're happy too, Mei."

Everyone nodded at that. Some of them turned their backs, so this must have been an embarrassing scene for them. But Minoru sat down on the veranda next to him.

"Hm, how should I put it? I guess I can feel the same way if you end up being part of the family, Yuki."

"What do you mean, Minoru?"

"If you're part of our family, that means I can accept your happiness and hardships as my own. I mean, a lot of us tend to do that already, but this is a good reminder."

...Wow.

That one was powerful, he thought while shrinking down, but Jinsei began speaking with a smile from the side.

"At this point there's way you can hide things like that from us. We complain a lot of times, but we're all just a group of terrible people, so you have to stay with us."

"Ho ho?" said Kon. "Then why not try complaining to me?"

"With you, I don't even have to say anything cause you're already putting me in a good mood. That's a good way we're parallel, y'know?"

Hearing that, Kon got up and then spat off the veranda.

"Peh. ...Oh, what's this? Are you done being poetic now, Jinsei?"

"D-dammit, why do you switch from a nadashiko to a tsundere when it involves me!?"

Kuni: "I'm not sure there was any dere there."

Demon Child: "Shh. Just let him dream, Kunichika."

The Operators were being pretty mean, but Yuki mostly agreed. And then he heard another voice.

It was Hokari and his words came with a slight laugh.

"You knowing it isn't just you makes me glad, idiot ninja. The same goes for you too, Minoru. Family and parallel relationships, there's more than just that. Accept us by your side too."

"Yeah. There's all of you too, including Haru and Masataka."

Some of them blushed and shrank down while he placed a hand on his chin.

"I already knew that, but knowing it and actually getting closer to someone are two very different things. It's like the difference between knowledge and experiance. So that's why I'm glad I tried to do that and succeeded."

Because...

"There are things I would've lost if I hadn't known about this. So I'm glad I tried."

Yuki found himself hanging his head more and more here.

The heat in his cheeks was quite something too.

Had they noticed that?

Then Kon suddenly raised a hand toward Yuki.

"Oh, there is hair in the way."

Yuki had no idea why Kon had done that, but he felt like he had gotten in the way of whatever Kon was trying to do. So...

"Oh, uh, sorry..."

His voice trembled as he apologized.

...Ah.

In his panic, he consciously reached up to his own eye.

Kon had been reaching her hand toward the corner of his eye hidden behind his bangs as he lowered his head, so he brought his own fingers there.

He found something wet.

Once he realized that, he could hold it back no longer.

"Crap..."

He began rubbing his eyes with his arm, but through the top, he saw Kagami exchanged a glance with the others, Akashi raise his hands to provide the timing, and everyone shout at once.

"You can cryyyy!?"

.

Murakami smiled as everyone teased Yuki.

...This is the first time, isn't it?

Kon gave Murakami a thumbs up from below Yuki's arm where Yuki could not see her.

Murakami knew Kon had noticed Yuki's tears and tried to wipe them away. It may not have seemed cool to cry like this, but he would have attacked anyone who seriously meant their teasing words here.

As someone who knew all about the three unneeded people of Border, he understood what exactly this meant for Yuki and he felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders along with Yuki.

Mei and some others had known him for a long time and part of them probably believed that he was restoring himself. That was certainly true, but...

...Being accepted as a part of it all is a different matter.

"I'm pretty glad to know you can actually cry, Yuki," said Murakami too quietly for anyone to hear.

That boy had changed a lot.

Most likely, it was back when he disbanded Tsukiko Squad he had started to think about his loss again. He had constructed an entire life just so that he could live with everyone else, but that had slowly broken apart.

By expressing himself more and more because of the situations he had been in, he had sealed away the resolve he had felt when he had first left that hospital room. He had probably believed that he was only doing his job.

But after the attack against Border's base, while everyone was trying to get settled back in, he had spent his time as the representative of the newly made Yagura Branch and the feelings he had sealed away came rushing back to him.

Murakami had been a little too considerate about that, but Yuki must have remembered what happened during each event. After remembering everything his sister had done back then, the relief of knowing Mei was at least physically fine had filled him with relief.

He had thought himself the problem during all of that.

And at the time, Murakami had thought Yuki was not aware of himself.

So there was no need to hesitate.

At any rate, Yuki had changed.

He was not stuck with the mindset that had come about due to his family's teachings. He had finally released everything that had built up in his life through these tears.

These tears were ones of happiness instead of from anxiety or relief.

Mei must have been thinking much the same thing because she nodded and placed her hand on Yuki's head.

"This means my parents can finally invite you to be a member of our family. A proper member. And at the same time, they can enjoy themselves with Minoru too."

That was right.

"Mei, you and Minoru are cousins. That explains why he was coming here in the first place."

.

Murakami watched as Yuki froze in place immediately.

...Don't tell me...

"...I forgot they were related..."

Everyone froze after that. It had been Murakami himself who broke the silence.

"What do you mean you forgot!?"

"L-look, you! Inu and that airhead had mentioned it when I was still thinking about other things! I had a lot on my mind, so I put that away for later! Sorry I can't have a convenient Side Effect like you, Kō!"

Murakami felt himself groan as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

It was not much of a secret that Mei and Minoru were cousins, and he knew that most people didn't know, but that had always been because the two never actively told anyone who didn't ask about it. Even so, he had fully expected Yuki to know that kind of thing and remember it.

How wrong he had been.

"Look, it isn't my fault at all! Not at all! ...Then again, it makes sense... Yeah, he's one of the few who can actually stand Mei's curry. I had just thought that it was because he was trash at cooking at he didn't care about it, but it still never made sense how he didn't insta-die from eating it. I guess this means he can eat it because he's related to her? Would that extend to someone who's entering the family and not already a part of it? I hope so! I don't want to die because I let Mei cook! Oh, but she's not bad when it comes to other dishes... I guess fried rice would also be off the table with how often she hangs around Kako-san... Maybe I should say something about that? No, no, no. That would only get me in trouble. Even more so since I have Minoru to worry about now too when it comes to food! Urg... Just thinking about the three of them making something is starting to get me sick... Wait... Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait a damn minute! So that means... Minoru has too many connections with some pretty damn strong people I know!"

TetsuG: "Crap, he's going on his rants again."

Pokari: "To be fair, it's pretty surprising to find out these two are cousins."

Class Rep: "Yeah, but his way of thinking about it always leads to these annoying bursts. I would rather he just stay in shock and shut up."

Kage: "I second that."

Almost Everyone: "Agreed."

It may have been bad that Murakami felt like he had to agree with it.

Giving a sigh, he motioned for Yuki to stop, but he seemed too busy in his own mind to pay any attention.

"Now that I think about it, that explains why Denji gave Minoru that message for me. They were teammates before. But that doesn't explain why he didn't give it to me directly, or why he didn't just rely on Yūko for this... Ah, that guy is terrible! Oh, but Sekai-san is fine! Completely fine! So does that make Denji the only terrible one from that squad? But how did that squad work in the first place!? I know Sekai-san never liked working with others much, and Ketsu-san told me all sorts of stories, so it just doesn't add up! Minoru, Minoru! Tell me how things were like back then! I need to know now! It just doesn't make sense to me, y'know!? There's no way something like that can be true! ...But there's no way you guys would like about it. Denji, maybe, but not the rest of you! Daaaaaaammiiiiiiit! Urg! This is annoying now! I don't wanna believe that a squad like that existed and I had no idea about it! Kuuuuuuh! It would have been so gooooood to see what it was like in the first place! It's always been like this when it comes to you people who joined earlier than me! It only makes it worse when I think of how late I even made my own squad!"

That's right, even I joined before him.

Out of their entire group who had been in Border for a while now, he and Kanzaki were the latest to join. They had come in after Murakami had already gotten experience in Border and formed their squad only a bit after that.

It brought a bit of nostalgia to mind when he thought about everything that had happened from then to now.

A lot has changed, hasn't it?

Both for the good and the bad. But those things had been what brought them to this point in the first place.

And now...

"Besides! They, um, they... Ya know! Yeah, you know exactly what I'm talking about, Kō!"

"Sadly, I do..."

"Oh? This is something I hadn't considered," Mei said from the side.

They all turned to her, some already knowing where she was going with this.

"I didn't think that my main competition for Yuki would actually be Kō. Now that I think about it, it makes perfect sense. The two of them know more about each other than I do either of them, they are always speaking quietly to each other on certain topics, and both of them have done this and that with each other."

"M-Mei, please stop!"

"Don't just say things like that! Hey, put the pen down, Hitomi and Kagami! It isn't like that!"

Instead of being helpful, maybe as a way to mess with them, Minoru looked up with his chin between two of his fingers.

"I guess it really does make sense. But Mei, does that mean you aren't fine with Kō also being a part of our family? I personally wouldn't mind."

"That doesn't sound too bad, actually. Alright, I will gladly welcome you to our family as well, Kō. Oh, but this does mean the three of us would be together instead os the two of us competing. Is that fine?"

It had finally reached the point where they were double-teaming him here while Yuki tried to make his escape. Instead of letting him escape, Murakami reached out to grab the back of Yuki's shirt-style kariginu to keep him in place.

"Mei, Minoru, that sounds nice and all, but there's no way I would be like that with this guy. I deal with him more than enough, so anything beyond what we have might drive me crazy."

"I'm going to throw you in an entire dam of sewage water, Kō. Just you wait."

"We already loss since the girls are drawing doujinshis already. Deal with it."

There was no longer anything they could do to get out of this.

That left them with the only way to get through this being to deal with it all.

Oh, honestly.

A smile still played on his lips as he thought about this situation as a whole.

The fact they were able to joke around like this again meant that things were back to normal. Back to the way they had been, but this time with more freedom than before.

"Oh, that's right. There was another thing Denji wanted me to tell you, Yuki."

Murakami loosened his grip on Yuki as he stopped struggling. From behind them, Jinsei also looked on in interest.

Taking those reactions as a sign to go on, Minoru spoke with a bit of worry in his eyes.

"He said that Sekai 'doesn't have one'. He says that Sekai is in the wrong and that he has won."

Murakami was the first to react.

With a sudden movement and turning motion, he grabbed hold of Yuki again and moved to get Jinsei.

But as he moved for a second grab, Jinsei tilted his head and spoke.

"Huh? I thought you two knew that already, Yuki and Kō."

"At any rate, this means there a lot of things going on right now."

Trochískos thought about this while he got up from the bath.

...Does this mean that trion soldier has found what he wanted?

It meant a lot that a simple trion soldier like him had gained a hook to involve himself with other situations.

It anyone tried to do something against those two, he would almost certainly put a stop to it.

So it was best to assume that right was a sure thing for him.

Given that, the only remaining problem was the two people here.

"Hm," said Trochískos as he dried the water off his hair and turned around.

He spoke to the woman who was drying off with two towels.

"What rules shall we use for our duel?"

"I'm fine with a physical battle, but in that case..." She pointed toward the entrance. "How about we go to the Forbidden Zone. We should see some things on the way. When we do, we can adopt their own methods for our duel. If we take multiple things into consideration here, we can find something that makes for a fair fight. I mean, I would have far too much of an advantage in a normal battle."

"Is that so? ...I was thinking the same thing about myself. A devious person would never lose to brute force."

"Heh heh. What a scary person you are."

"I could say the same about you," said Trochískos with a bitter smile.

He slid open the door while planning to get dressed and see what kinds of things were underway between here and the Forbidden Zone.

"Hisato? This older lady and I are about to leave here, so-..."

He was going to ask the boy what he would do, but he trialed off when he saw Hisato, Hanzaki, and Daigo having a duel of sorts.

The three of them had dragged a ping pong table to the center of the open room and they were engaged in a high-speed rally.

When Trochískos appeared, they all looked over and Hisato missed the ball.

The hard paper ball flew to the floor and Daigo turned the blackboard containing the score toward Hanzaki. And...

"We're just resting right now, so we decided to have some fun," said Daigo. "What is that look for?"

"I see," said Trochískos with a nod, but the older woman spoke up behind him.

"...This is it. This will be our fight."