Unneeded

by TheAnimeTrain

The B-Rank Wars have finished and Border's members begin to settle back into their routines however they can. Along with this comes the appearance of new faces along with old ones. Unseen by them all, those who remain unneeded continue to move around.

11. ASM

None of it made sense. It was all something she could not understand as she sat there, noise surrounding the space.

The interior was not too large, but it was open enough that it felt roomy. The comfortable atmosphere was created using smaller pieces of furniture to make it seem like there was more room than there should have been, a technique she had not thought of due to where she had once lived.

Now that she had stayed here long enough, she could see the difference it could make to these sorts of things.

But there was still something that bothered her.

...Why have a big table over there to eat on as a dining room when we're all allowed to just eat wherever we want.

It made no sense to her.

"Um, Miss Shiraishi? Rather, Shiraishi-san. It is about time we start out meeting."

"Is that so? I guess I can work with that here. Just to let you know, the last time I showed up to represent my own place it ended with a lot of fanfare."

"Oh? If you don't mind me asking, what was it like? This will be off the records, by the way."

"Off the records, huh?"

Chisato had to think for a moment before nodding her head and looking to the woman directly in front of her.

"Well, in short, and in sequence... I had a specially made car break down due to some cannibals, a wolf and a fox threw each other under a bus, a man ask me if I was an older sister or had any older sisters, ended up being tossed into a multi-business meeting, fighting with the perviously mentioned man while watching Neighbors try to attack us, then went back home with the man and a boy." Thinking over her words some more, she continued. "By the time nighttime came, I had to run into a garden to beat up a Neighbor, met the man and the boy again, had the man hand me some underwear, then went on to beat up the Neighbor with them. Oh, then we had a talk about the state of things."

"Wh-what an eventful(?) way to represent something..."

"I suppose so," Chisato said with a shrug. "But the better parts came after that."

"Th-there's more!?"

Maybe it was because she had gotten used to Border, but that reaction seemed like a bit much. That was only the lead up, after all.

It was what had come after that things had gotten good.

"Yes. Us sponsors had gone against Border, used whatever we could to win against them, each had our battles against them, then saw their real strength. I personally fought against the mentioned man. He had managed to strip away my armor."

"Oh! That sounds so lovely. He managed to break down your walls?"

"I guess that's pretty true, too. Both in a metaphorical and literal way."

"...Huh? Then does that mean...?"

Chisato nodded and shrugged again.

"Our fight had literally stripped away my armor. I had to use someone else's Trigger afterwards."

The woman in front of her covered her face with both hands. The tips of her ears were red, but that didn't stop Chisato.

She continued to finish it off.

"Once that man had confessed his love to me, we ended up fighting a pretty tough Neighbor. We had some help from everyone around us and a rhinoceros beetle."

"...A what?"

"Yeah. That was a bit of a surprise, but it was helpful with its ramming technique. It had flown in and slammed right into the Neighbor."

"That was what was surprising!?"

When she thought more about it, it really wasn't too surprising. She wanted to apologize for saying that, but figured it would just be pointless by now.

"By the end of it, everything had been settled and I came here to join the Yagura Branch, along with someone I know."

"I-I see..."

Chisato watched the woman look away, turn back to her, nod once, then turn away again. It was a series of movements that felt like they had no real meaning to them.

After a moment, she pulled out her phone.

Thinking about it for a moment, she looked to the woman and raised her phone.

The woman nodded once and motioned for her to do as she wanted.

.

Ortlinde: "I think I accidentally broke her."

Iko: "Not everyone can handle our love story, Chisato."

Viper: "That is a nice way of looking at it."

Izumo: "Um... I don't know if it's the correct way of looking at it."

Viper: "Sometimes the more fun way of looking at it can be the correct way, Kotowari-kun."

Izumo: "Is that so..."

Viper: "On a different note. Is she really okay with you being on your phone like this?"

Ortlinde: "She had said it was fine as long as I'm messaging other Border members. Since this is a meeting between Border's branches and Awdry, it would only make sense to allow us to speak with our members during the meetings."

Viper: "I am guessing that works for them as well?"

Ortlinde: "I had said as much, but..."

---

"But?"

Nasu and Takeshi looked at Ikoma for the answer. He shrugged and looked back to his phone.

Iko: "She rejected the offer?"

Ortlinde: "More-or-less, yeah. She didn't outright say it, but she didn't look like she would even considering doing such a thing."

"That makes sense, from what I've heard," Takeshi.

Without his scarf it seemed strange for him to raise his hand to his neck. After a moment, he began lowering it.

Ikoma moved over and threw and arm over his neck.

"From what Toby has told me, his parents aren't good people. My brother was one thing, but even he seems to be better than them."

Ortlinde: "For them to be better than that guy... I'm feeling a bit sorry for Toby."

Iko: "That's a pretty low bar, but the lil pup wouldn't like you pitying him, Chisato."

Ortlinde: "I'll keep that in mind. Anyway, go on, Takeshi."

"Right," he said with a slight nod. "Toby doesn't talk about them much, but he does complain about their personality a lot. They focus more on their work than their family, only using him and his younger brother when they needed to do so. It's not even for appearances either, so that can't be used against them.

Ikoma knew that Chisato was getting mad at knowing this.

The three of them were in the other room while Chisato was in the general area. Even so, he knew that she would be mad since she and her sisters had a good relationship with their parents.

It's only fair. If Toby's parents are crap like that, someone like Chisato can only be mad at 'em.

She had to hold it in here, but he was sure that she would want to let it all out later on.

"So what this means is that their workers will be hesitant to go to them, even if given the chance. They would be too worried about how these parents would react if they thought their workers could not handle a single meeting."

"That's right. And since that's the case, it would mean that this person is on her own against the rest of us."

It was unfair, but it was the way things were.

"But who is she exactly?" a voice asked.

Ikoma looked over to the door and saw...

"Shishō. Welcome back."

.

Mikumo waved to Takeshi before properly greeting both Ikoma and Nasu. He walked over until he was only a few steps away from the trio.

"I'm sorry for that. I needed to take that call."

"It's no problem, Mikumo-kun. The meeting had only just started, and we were only going over some things we know."

"I figured as much. But I don't know how to feel being here for this when my branch is Tamakoma."

"Both are a part of Border, so there really isn't much of a difference between being there and being here."

"Besides," Takeshi said. "I think it's a good thing to have you here. Shiraishi-san is the only branch member here, so there are some things the rest of us don't really know. And we can't get too involved because of that. Having a branch member from a different branch at least means we can make our way in or make it a joint meeting with Tamakoma."

It would make things awkward with the way things were going, but it would also give them a chance to respond in a different away.

With things weighing in their favor, they would have more options to get through this meeting.

Even so...

"If this is how we are going to go about things, there's someone else I want to call over. I just...don't know if it would be fine to do so..."

Ikoma pulled Takeshi closer to his chest and patted his chest a few times.

Mikumo looked to Nasu, but she could only smile to him. Finding a good way to explain this was beyond any of their abilities.

"Go ahead and just do it. The rest of us can take on anything that comes from that. Just go with your instinct here, Take."

"I would really rather not bring him into this... I'll save that for a last ditch effort."

"Sounds good to me. Makes it sound like you've got a secret weapon ready."

"I wouldn't really..."

Takeshi stopped, knowing it would be pointless to say more.

.

There's something I'm wonderin' about, Ikoma thought while letting go of Takeshi.

It had been on his mind since the news came in, and was only reenforced by a message sent in one of many chats.

770: "Looks like one of those three idiots did something stupid. Anyone else curious to know if the groups in the meetings know about it?"

The news of Denji attacking the outer city had reached them. There was no doubt that the same would apply to the ones they had to face now.

2.7 Maime: "I see that Motocchi isn't holding anything back once again."

Bookkeeper: "I don't know what that guy was thinking. I will make sure to throw a shelf of books at him."

Rampage Dress: "Always the violent one, aren't you?"

Zaki: "Coming from you..."

2.7 Maime: "I'm guessing you weren't the one to teach Murakami those moves then~?"

Rampage Dress: "He learned well. I am very proud of how he handled his own there. I will make sure to give him some treats later."

It was pretty easy to impress her recently, but it came with its own downsides. Ikoma thought that it would be good to meet up with her again.

But there was still something else for them to focus on here.

Iko: "Kancchan, do ya think that'll mess up the meetin's goin' on right now?"

770: "Ho? Didn't think you cared about that stuff. I would have thought you would try and get involved with the fighting instead."

Iko: "I'd want to if Chisato wasn't the one who has to deal with these borin' things."

Gudako: "Considering that she deals with you, it shouldn't be too hard to deal with meetings."

Tough Turns: "Um, can we remember how their first meeting went with each other and everything that followed?"

Gudako: "Crap!"

Almost Everyone: "He got you there."

He remembered it clearly and loved to think about how he came across Chisato. Everything that had happened had been an experience that led to an even more free lifestyle with the girl he had fallen for.

If this was his chance to help her out even more, there was no reason to hold back.

"So," he said.

Iko: "What're yer thoughts?"

---

"What a loaded question that was."

Motoharu Kanchō huffed with a grin. In his hand was a martini while his phone lay in front of him.

He chuckled a few times and clicked his tongue when he thought about the conversation topic.

"I don't even want to mention those three, but it looks like I'm not getting out of this easily. Those guys really know how to drag others through the mud for what they want."

"Is that really any way to speak about friends?"

Motoharu gave another huff and turned his head.

Across from him, Nanamagari Takumashī gave a slight smile and turned his head in the same direction as Motoharu.

A strange group of three were walking around. Two were boys in their teens and the third was a child. The child wore a helmet while one of the teens guided the other around. The music playing throughout the area seemed to be guiding them, but neither one of them took that into account as they watched the two of them.

"Kah. What do I care at that point? I'm only going to answer since this is my chance to complain about them while also helping out Tatsuhito. I could care less about everything else."

"You really get a foul personality when those three are brought up."

"I refuse to be blamed for that."

"It's just something the rest of us have to deal with."

It was good that he understood that so well at this point.

Motoharu nodded his head and took his phone into his hand.

770: "We will go under the assumption that these people know about what happened. Is everyone fine with that?"

Bookkeeper: "It makes the most sense. For an organization - especially one that is two combined - it's hard to imagine that they would be unaware of the situation surrounding them in a foreign area."

Gudako: "We've only got time for one long-winded person. You're going to have to hold off on going crazy here, Yamamoto."

Bookkeeper: "I am not long-winded."

Almost Everyone: "Yes, you are."

Bookkeeper: "Kuh!"

Songstress: "Um, can we get back to the topic?"

Motoharu raised a brow and looked to Nanamagari.

"I didn't expect for that to come from Canaria-chan."

Some things were just amazing without anything being done.

770: "Right, right. We should get this done before those meetings start in earnest."

Iko: "Whatcha mean? Chisato and that lady already started talkin'."

#5 Mountain: "Not all meetings will really start just because both sides begin talking. They might want to test the waters and see where both sides stand before discussing anything really important. I would assume that Shiraishi understands that after having her meeting with Border before."

Gudako: "I don't think that's the best example here."

HD: "Is there any other, that we know of?"

Gudako: "I guess that's true."

Shiraishi had told Ikoma and the others about the times she had been put in those kinds of situations, but Ikoma held the honor of being the first to drag it as far as he had. That alone had made him happy enough to know that everything had become crazy after their initial meeting.

Motoharu figured that it was fine as long as everything had worked out fine enough. And now that they were in this position...

770: "So we're going on the assumption that they for sure know."

"Good, that makes my part easier," Motoharu said with a sigh.

Nanamagari nodded along and looked back to the trio on the street.

"Now, then..."

770: "Let's start with the most obvious thing here. The effect this event could have on Border's image as a whole. Jin and Fuyoyuki's appearance alongside Mogami Yoshiko near the end was helpful in the general way, but this event only added on to everything that had been happening recently. Everything that needed to be explained away by an 'event' or 'showing' is starting to add up to the point that others will question why we are doing this so much lately."

#5 Mountain: "My squad and I have had to mention this a few times and have been asked just as many. We try our best to move away from the topic or to appease who we can, but there are only so many things we can say, and in so many ways."

770: "Exactly. Border has rarely, if ever, had these sorts of 'events' happen. And the last time something major happened that involved a lot of us moving out was with the large-scale invasion. That may have passed, but the effects are still remaining here. Look at what happened with the sponsors for that. We managed to get out of that one due to the connections they had with some of us and the connections that were made during that time."

Gudako: "They had used some of our stuff against us, so that was pretty embarrassing."

Songstress: "But we had learned a lot from all of that. Our connections with the sponsors had also gone up a good amount. Ikoma-kun even got a girlfriend out of it."

Iko: "And I ain't handin' her over to anyone."

Girls: "Ooooohhh!"

Zaki: "After seeing them interact so much, I can't really say that it's a one-sided thing with their lunacy."

Bookkeeper: "Thats the worst part of it."

Rampage Dress: "Maybe it's because I am with someone now, but the two of you really sound like you are jealous. If you want, I can have Suzume make a doujin for the single boys here who can't seem to find someone."

Most Boys: "No! We're good!"

Iko: "Ha ha ha! I like the sound of that!"

HD: "Um, I may have started on a story outline for that..."

Rampage Dress: "We can discuss this later, Haya."

Zaki: "When did Shitokei get to be so dangerous outside of fights!?"

Rampage Dress: "How many hours ago was last night?"

Zaki: "Who was with her!?"

...I know where our former underclassmen got it from now.

The way they got off topic so quickly was not something he noticed until he was in his bitter mood.

Nanamagari had noticed this and waved his hands toward him, as if that gesture would calm him down.

After a few breaths he finally cooled his head.

"Right. I just need patience with this."

"There you go. Keep that up and you will only be annoyed with them instead of being mad at them!"

"I don't think that's really better, but whatever."

Letting them get to him now would only raise his blood pressure.

.

770: "The difference between then and now is that this has just happened and it puts an immediate want on knowing the situation of the city. If we are having our own agents fight each others as 'shows' outside of the Rank Wars, they could simply say that we are just performers who are acting like we know what we're doing against Neighbors."

HD: "We have Suzume on our side, so that is only fair to think."

Gudako: "If we disregard her, we also have Jinsei. ...Things really don't look good on this front."

770: "We can ignore those two since they are strange creatures here. So with that being said, my point stands. These sorts of things are turning into a regular thing where people can expect it like some midday television show and not a fight between Border members. And if they do, they might start to realize that there's more to it than just 'training', or any of the other excuses people are using for them."

Tough Turn: "So the directors should crack down on these sorts of fights?"

Bookkeeper: "It would need more than that. Something like that is to be expected from the ones running Border. If they were start it right away, the people cautious of what's going on might suspect that something major has happened for them to slow down the 'shows'. It's hard to find a way to win in this way."

Rampage Dress: "From what I can tell, there are too little options where we make it out without any sort of issue."

2.7 Maime: "Yeah, my Side Effect's telling me that the few options for there need a lot of minor details to work out. The amount of things that can mess those futures up is a lot."

Zaki: "But the two of you can see where it's possible to do that, right?"

Rampage Dress: "I can, yes."

2.7 Maime: "Of course. But it would also lead to other things being pushed to the side that would end up causing more issues. You saw it too, right, Mei?"

Rampage Dress: "That's right. Focusing attention to this would help get out of it without issues, but it would also place us - and I say 'us' as in Border as a whole - in a bad situation later on. Especially with what Akasora-san has in mind."

Iko: "So what yer sayin' is that we need to slow down a bit with figthin' in the city when it doesn't involve a direct attack on the city?"

Bookkeeper: "I honestly didn't think he would understand it to that extent. Good job, Ikoma."

Iko: "Ya need to know this much to be this cool, ya know?"

.

Sometimes Ikoma's logic was strange enough to make sense.

I think that is a bad thing, though. If we have reached the point where we understand him this well... Should we be worried?

Everyone else seemed to have accepted it, so maybe it was fine to just go along with it.

"But that really is what it boils down to, isn't it?" Nanamagari asked as he looked across the street again.

Motoharu nodded two times and flicked his fingers in the direction of the two teens and the helmet child.

Polished Place: "So with no way of getting out of this 'show business' thing without causing trouble, the fight that had happened today really was important."

"That's right," Motoharu said to the open air.

He seemed a bit pissed about it, but Nanamagari understood that this was coming from someone who took pride in what he did. Knowing about something like this must have seemed like an insult to him from the Bakuto Squad Captain.

Nanamagari was going to try and quell that anger, but he was waved off by Motoharu and told to look back at their chat.

770: "That fight took place in Outer Mikado, involved multiple known agents, and introduced us to a new type of Neighbor. All three of those hits make it harder to push it aside as a 'show' or 'event'. ...At least if Border was the one to say it out loud."

But...

770: "It was Mogami Yoshiko who had spoken up about this, and it was Kurosaki who had picked up our agents. What's more... Outer Mikado has a god connection to the Suzunari Branch. Therefore, they also have a connection to Kuruma. With three big names being involved, it's possible that Border can save some face, especially since there have been no known meetings between us and them recently. This way it will seem like a 'spur of the moment action' that Mogami Yoshiko is known for and not something Border has spoken to her about."

"Wait..."

If that was the case...

"Jin and Futoyuki had shown up with Mogami-san. Wouldn't that make people think that Border was involved with her speaking up?"

"That's true. But it all depends on who was around at the time."

770: "Jin, when you showed up with Mogami-san, how many people were around?"

2.7 Maime: "Most of them had moved out of the way when word came of the fight. No one was close enough to properly see us, even as we were guarding Yoshiko-san's sides. The only ones who saw us clearly were Murakami and Denji."

"Keh!"

"Did you really have to react like that from just the name?"

"I wouldn't be me if I didn't."

That made sense in the most weird way.

770: "Well, even if a few people saw you two, we have enough to go against anything they would have to say. Mogami Yoshiko may work for Kobayashi, but she is still viewed as a separate part from them. So even if Kobayashi has the daughter in Border, Mogami Yoshiko doesn't appear to have anyone in Border."

Polished Place: "With Mogami and Kurosaki going out of their way for us, that means we are fine enough then. This fight caused trouble, but we got saved. ...That leaves a bitter tase in my mouth."

Bookkeeper: "Even if it does, the fact remains that we owe Mogami - and by extension Kobayashi - and Kurosaki now. Those favors can be cashed in whenever they want."

2.7 Maime: "Oh, don't worry about Yoshiko-san. We've talked it through and we've already got her request in. I went ahead and accepted it."

#5 Mountain: "What did she want, Jin?"

Nanamagari wondered the same thing and looked up to ask Motoharu what he thought. When he did...

"Going off of what we know about Mogami-san..."

He froze in an instant.

2.7 Maime: "She wanted us to get rid of Denji's notion about being unneeded. She wanted us to help Denji."

Nanamagari slowly looked from his phone to Motoharu once more.

...Oh. He reached that conclusion already.

.

Motoharu could feel himself start to get more and more angry as the conversation went on.

The general topic had been fine, something he knew he could explain and most would understand. Speaking as someone with information was what he enjoyed most.

But there was more than just the general topic.

This is still a topic about those guys.

It had been brought up due to Denji fighting and ended with Jin saying that they needed to help Denji.

And knowing the situation with one of the others, I wouldn't doubt if Kurosaki wanted to help Hikigane.

"Tch!"

He couldn't help but to click his tongue.

What a waste of time. Those guys are already pathetic enough to end up where they are, but now they're dragging everyone else into the mess.

It started with that faker dragging in those around him and extended to these two now. Great, just great.

"Keh!"

Everything was coming out.

Helping out people like them... Urg! That information gathering skill is perfect and it pisses me off! Why does it comes so naturally for people like them!? They refuse to tell people everything while they have the information! It's like-

"—"

"Hey now, don't go scaring others like that!"

Motoharu looked down at the table to see that he had unknowingly slammed his fist down onto it.

"I'm sorry, everyone! Please, he didn't mean to scare any of you!"

Calming himself down, Motoharu let out a breath and slid a grin on his face. Even while he boiled on the inside, he did what he could to appear smooth.

Once he was ready he looked up to everyone around them.

"My apologizes, everyone. It was an honest mistake on my part. Here, how about I pay for all of your current meals?"

The reactions were instant.

"Sure! That's more than enough!"

"Don't just accept that! Hey, don't worry about it."

"What a nice man~ Maybe I could ask for more than this meal~"

"There is no need for that, sir."

Motoharu could see Nanamagari look away into the street as everyone spoke up to his words. Most of them rejected his offer, but there had been some who accepted it.

Being a man of his word, he made sure to note down the ones who had accepted and prepared to pay for them.

"Anyways," he said to Nanamagari. "Sorry about that."

His grin lowered into a honest smile for his teammate.

That was enough for both of them.

.

Iko: "Hey, since we got the general things done for Border, can we get to my problem here?"

Zaki: "I kind of forgot about that..."

Gudako: "To be fair, we were listening to Super Agent's explanation."

770: "Sorry about that, Tatsuhito. Right then, let's go over how this could effect the meetings between the branch offices and Awdry. We can start that by knowing why our previous conversation is connected to this one."

Tough Turns: "Aren't they connected because of the way Awdry can look at this situation?"

770: "That's right. They could use this against us or not use it at all. It's all up to interpretation."

Iko: "What's interpretation got to do with anything?"

HD: "Depending on how they want to view this, they can say that Border is lacking in something or just ignore it to move the conversation to something else. It all depends on how they view this. But due to likely having only general information, they might not use it since there would be holes in the story."

Zaki: "It's similar to what the sponsors had done during that issue, right? Because of one of their own, Shiraishi had gone against us with mixed information and their own interpretation of events."

#5 Mountain: "If that's the case, then that means..."

---

Chisato's gonna have to deal with what she's done, Ikoma thought with a bit of amusement.

From what it sounded like, Chisato would have a tough time here if things went the wrong way. She would have to deal with the same tactic that her family's company used against Border.

The irony of that was not lost on him.

"Ikoma-san?"

Hearing the voice next to him, he looked over to see Takeshi and Mikumo looking directly at him.

"Chisato's gonna have a rough time if things go bad. That's what the other's are sayin'."

"I would imagine so. She had said how she was never too good at these sorts of things, but isn't she the only branch member currently here? She really doesn't have much of a choice here."

"She might go easy on you, but try not to say things like that 'round her, Take-chan."

"...Right. Sorry about that."

There was no reason to apologize to him, but he took it for Chisato later on.

"Ikoma-san, I wanted to ask you something about this situation."

"Hm? What's that?"

Mikumo had only spoken to Takeshi and Nasu the entire time. Having the pair of glasses directly address him caught him slightly off guard.

Just to make sure, he looked over to Takeshi and saw him nodding his head.

"Shiraishi-san... She can handle this...right?"

.

The three of them went quiet for a moment.

The sound of voices could be heard in the other room, but none of them said anything.

It felt like too long before something interrupted the silence.

"Is everything alright?"

It was Nasu.

Coming from another room, Nasu walked forward to the three of them.

"Chisato's strong."

"...Can you say that without turning away?"

"'course I can."

"...Then please do so."

"Don't wanna."

Another silence hit the room.

It was followed by the repeated sounds of people whispering to each other.

Ikoma took a slight look behind his shoulders to see Takeshi, Osamu, and Nasu looking at him while huddled together.

"...Whatcha sayin' over there?"

"Nothing important," they said in unison. They turned their heads away.

"Then say that to my face."

"...I don't want to," they said.

A third silence fell over all of them.

.

Well this is awkward...

Mikumo had meant his question to be a simple one that Ikoma would be able to answer honestly. None of them could have predicted that this would be the end result.

He was glad to have a break when a message came through to him. Three more sounds came through, letting him know that whatever it was had been sent to all of them.

Umi: "Hey everyone, we've got a message coming in from Kurosaki. Make sure to pay attention to it. I've also gone out of my way to exclude the people this could end up screwing over. Just make sure not to bring them in yourselves. And trust me...I'll know if you do."

That threat was strangely terrifying when put into words like that.

But there was something else. In particular...

"Kurosaki has something to say to all of us?"

That in itself was strange.

Kuro-shi: "Hello, members of Border. There is something my company wishes to inform you all of. Think of this as a free service. Something unrelated to the events of today."

GM Aide: "Thank you for the free service, Kurosaki-san. We will send you something nice. This can also be viewed as a free service."

Kuro-shi: "Not at all. I will only be doing this so that you all can do something about this. It is something that involves Border, after all. As such, it is also in our best interest to let you all know of what will be happening."

GM Aide: "And what would that be?"

"Right," the Kurosaki boss would have likely said.

Kuro-shi: "I have been informed that there will be someone who will attempt to stop your current meetings from reaching a state that you would benefit from. Specifically, I am talking about turning it into a joint meeting. Instead of that, it seems that they will try to have it remain as individual meetings. As I had said, having Border do something about this will also benefit the rest of us. So, my business shall support you all in any way possible, even going so far as to empty out the entire city."

Umi: "Um... Why would you think we need to do that? Out of curiosity."

Yoshi: "Hey, someone stop this Power Sniper before we get in more trouble."

Umi: "That's a new one! Where did it come from!?"

White Fox: "Too late for that, Yoshi. It's well past Umi's crazy period, so we're stuck with this for the rest of the day."

Umi: "I resent that!"

Zaki: "I think that was the point."

Anyways.

Kuro-shi: "Again, we will help in any way possible. Just make sure to bring this person back to reality."

White Fox: "Kurosaki Boss, I have just the person for this. He's been going a bit crazy lately, so this sort of thing will be perfect to bring him back down to his base level."

Kuro-shi: "Then I will trust you on this, Tsukiko Yuki. Make sure this works out...or else."

Mikumo felt himself gulp and he could see Takeshi freeze up next to him.

"Or else what...?" Takeshi asked.

Kuro-shi: "Ka ha ha. Yes, I will believe in you here."

Bullet Idiot: "Assuming this doesn't work out... We'll hold a funeral for you, Yuki-san."

White Fox: "Izumi. I'm going to drag you down with me."

"Izumi, Izumi, we pray for you."

The way Takeshi and Nasu were clapping there hands in front of themselves was worrying, but it seemed that they were used to this sort of thing.

As for Ikoma...

"Good, good. Always pray for the idiots who mess 'round too much."

Doesn't that also include him...?

He was no better.

---

Chisato leisurely spent her time in the Yagura Branch.

She had gotten used to the casual and chaotic way they did things. The atmosphere she saw was good, so she tried a number of things using them as a basis.

She could hear the sounds of clapping and voices in the other room while the woman in front of her twitched her nose, so she could tell the others and the various people around the city were having a lively time of it. Since she had already left her family's business, she had no intention of proactively doing anything. She would fight back if attacked, but escaping would count as a win to her. Because...

...Everyone will be worn out after enough time passes.

These people from a foreign land would be tired after dealing with Border and its branches. Even if she were to properly converse with this person, she would easily fall to the whims of her two bosses.

Of course, she had an even bigger reason:

I doubt they realize what it really means to go against Border.

Shiraishi and some others had gone against Border once. Shiraishi was the one to give up the most and had allowed Border to gain a lot, so they would need to get through Chisato's family as well.

The others were the same. Since they had done so much, there was a lot they could do to support Border here.

Of course, Chisato wanted to avoid getting into an unfortunate situation and having to use that sort of support.

...But looking at it the other way around, we would actually gain more if I went on the offensive.

This could extend past just Border and Awdry.

So she wondered if she should go for it. However...

"—"

She decided against it.

She felt indecisive, but she also enjoyed how her feelings would not stay still.

…I would always set out immediately whenever something happened at the business.

From a Shiraishi perspective, she should probably do that now too, but she had left them. Her family had seen her off, so it would be presumptuous of her to claim she acted on Shiraishi's behalf.

So her feelings on the matter would not stay still.

"Which is such a luxury. Don't you think...Awdry Representative?"

.

Emily had frozen in place.

To describe her state, her head was tilted down to look away from everything around her. To describe her situation, the conversation had done her in.

Yes, she had never been able to properly speak with others.

Coming over to the Yagura Branch in order to speak with them had been a mistake.

The mistake had been on her part for volunteering, but her boss had accepted. So...

...Oh, this isn't so bad.

I've really grown up, she thought shortly before she found her vision had inexplicably turned to her lap.

And there was something heating up her cheeks and her arms refused to move.

...Frozen!?

No. It was her body freezing up. She had immediately felt nervous enough to lock up her joints right here. But the seating and table were well taken care of. The Yagura Branch members were hard workers. The workers from a certain other place were also hard workers, but their solution to stains on the table was to pull out a hand plane.

"Are you there, Awdry Representative?"

She said she was. Except when the words left her mouth...

"Ohh..."

"That's a no then."

Oh, no! This isn't good. The nerves are taking over my brain. I could speak human language a moment before, but now I'm no better than the R&D Department.

...I can't believe this...

She realized she had not had much time to relax since arriving in Mikado City.

It had not seemed like the time for relaxing after finding out about the oldest son of her boss.

Also, she did not have the money to relax regularly. She had not forgotten how humiliating it was to have to ask a child for help in saving her boss from a dangerous man a few nights ago. Remember this, other people. Border's younger members were kind enough to help me out when I asked for it without any compensation, but my grudge would be 10 times stronger if I'd been asked for a lot of stuff from some others.

"What are you muttering about? Are you okay?"

"I'h ine..."

She had sort of gotten the words out this time. But it was still far from intelligible.

What was she supposed to do? If things continued on like this, she would definitely lose this conversation.

Please don't go all-out while I'm like this. Not that you would listen.

.

Chisato stared at the woman sitting in the seat directly in front of her.

She pointed at the other room in the branch office to tell one of the other people there something. She remembered the locations without having to look at the wall.

"Mikumo, Takeshi, get me something for her to settled down with. Also some tempura dipping sauce. Can you also get some sake from the fridge?"

The dual "understood" response already sounded nostalgic.

...I've really gotten used to Border.

This nervous woman had to be the same.

She knew why this woman was here: she had to come to an understanding of the Yagura Branch.

They were both from other organizations outside of Border. But during the previous sponsors issue meeting, the businesses belonging to Awdry had stayed away from the entire issue while Chisato had been one of the ones needing persuading.

Awdry was a large business. It was not easily manipulated by the circumstances of other businesses. That made her less sensitive to the interplay between organizations the Border members were.

That would be why she wanted to confirm the state of the Yagura Branch. She was acting as Awdry who had already gone through the main base of Border. And even if that had led to something with Chisato...

...She was prepared to do it.

Chisato liked that resolve.

The businesses belonging to Awdry did not often speak or act to Mikado City.

So if they had come here to check on Border's current situation, were they doing so as a foreigner hitching a ride on Border's power or as a member of high standing?

She probably did not know herself. However...

"You need to have a better grasp of your limits with these situations."

---

...Who exactly is this man?

That was the thought Molly Awdry thought as she stared at the smiling man in front of her.

He had introduced himself as Kuruma Tatsuya, and told her that he was the captain of the Suzunari Branch's first squad, as well as the Suzunari's current representative and child to the Kuruma family. Three positions she could not overlook while in one of the branch offices belonging to Border.

Their discussion had barely started, but she could tell that he was different from a lot of the other people she had met around Mikado City.

...He radiates kindness that it makes you bring your guard down.

Did he apply that to fights as well? It would make sense.

"Awdry-san? Is something the matter?"

"Pardon me. I had only been thinking of unnecessary things."

She froze at her own words.

I really was thinking of unnecessary things, but then...

This man had made her think of those things.

There had been no time since becoming boss that she had thought of unnecessary things. Trivial things, yes. But never had she thought about things that did not need to be there in the first place.

Now she had turned to those thoughts without realizing it.

"There is nothing to pardon. We do not always need to have strong or impactful thoughts. Well...that is the way I see it, at least. So feel free to have those thoughts as much as you want."

"To speak like that while having a meeting means that you are not taking this seriously."

"I only think that it is good to be relaxed while having meetings like these. You already spoke to the directors in the base, right? Then this would only be seen as your company looking over the finer details of Border. That is admirable; going around and checking that everything is fine. You certainly have my respect for that."

"I see. Then I will apologize for my careless words. You seem to have looked into this deeply."

"Please, there is no need to apologize. I will admit that I am still green when compared to a lot of others."

"Is that because you focus more on being a Border member?"

The Suzunari Representative and First Squad Captain smiled to her in a way that made her lower her guard a bit more.

Just who is this man?

.

To keep up with others around, Kuruma had made sure to go into this meeting with his Trigger turned on. Any messages could only be seen by him at that point.

And from what was being said...

Shore: "Mr. Tatsuya is amazing! He's able to keep someone like Toby's mom on her toes!"

8-Skies: "Wouldn't it be the other way around? She looks to be lowering her guard more."

Taicchi: "He's great, isn't he!? Oh, and I'm almost at the Yagura Branch!"

Mi-Kon: "Wait, who sent you there!?"

Black Wolf: "Did Kuruma-senpai send you there? Try not to disturb them too much, okay? They are still having their own meeting."

Platinum: "Fu fu fu. Looks like things will be getting interesting. Maybe I should have gone to the office instead of waiting around the city. Minubuki is going a bit crazy, so it would have been nice to enjoy some entertainment instead."

8-Skies: "Is something happening? For her to go crazy by your standards...well, it must be something."

Platinum: "Oh, she is only complaining about this song that is playing on nearby speakers. I personally don't care for it, but she seems to be taking great offense to it being played."

Now that he thought about it, something like that had been mentioned before. Suzume had caused a small scene after being annoyed with the music that had been playing.

If it was getting to both Suzume and Minubuki then there must have really been something wrong with that song.

It's a shame I can't do much to help while in this meeting.

These branch meetings needed to get done. They would be pivotal in acquiring even more support for Border.

That had been why he was left in charge of the meeting for the Suzunari Branch. Leaving it to someone who had some experience in these sorts of meetings meant that it would be one less side to worry about. And more than that...

If we can get someone elsewhere, we can turn this meeting on its head.

Border had a way of doing that at a moment's notice, so he hoped that this would be the same.

"I certainly like to keep informed when it concerns important matters. Whether it be involving Border or just someone I know...I want to know if there is something going on so everyone around me can continue on without worrying of what will be happening. That being said, I will admit that I look at things through the eyes of someone who is a part of Border more than I do the son of the Kuruma family."

"I suppose," Toby's mother started. "That can be a good thing in certain cases."

She made no movements, but she looked directly at Kuruma. Their eyes met and he was able to see the hard expression she wore, as if to tell him that she was closed off to everything around her.

It made him feel a bit cold on the inside.

...Comparing this coldness to the warmth when talking to Toby is throwing me for a loop here. But...

But...

They really are the same.

Toby would end up getting angry if he ever found out that he was thinking such a thing, but it was truth he had come to here. This woman held the same determination he had always seen in her son whenever he was fighting a tough or losing battle. Even if they knew they couldn't win, they would put up the biggest fight possible before going down.

This woman understood that she was in a losing position.

That didn't mean she would be backing down.

"Now then, I would like to check in on some things."

"Like what?"

Pulling something from her suit's inner pocket, Toby's mother showed him a relatively small list of things she wanted to go over. There was no hiding what she wanted from him and she was not trying to use word manipulation to get what she wanted.

I suppose that wouldn't work in the first place. Sekai and Yuki made sure to teach me about when someone was using words to get their way.

He had always been glad for those lessons whenever he had to appear at a function alongside his family. It had prevented many people from using him as they liked.

"They are not much, by normal standards, but they are things we would like to know concerning the branches of Border. The Suzunari Branch in particular has a good connection due to your family directly supporting them. Along with that, you all have a good standing with the outer portion of Mikado City. To say that something like that is not interesting would mean overlooking a power spot within the city."

"We aren't anything like that. Like the other branches, the Suzunari Branch is a connecting point for the civilians to properly contact Border. Our reach to the outer part of the city is simply due to events that have already happened. They had taken a liking to our branch, so they are more supportive over there."

"Then that just means the Suzunari Branch has what it takes to gain that kind of attention in the first place."

"That is one way to look at it, yes," Kuruma said with a smile. "But, along with that, I would like to point out that the people of Mikado City are also rather used to the daily life here that involves Neighbors. So, they may also view it as a normal thing to support the Suzunari Branch as a part of Border."

"What an optimistic way of looking at this situation."

Toby's mother may have said it in a low voice, but the words reached him clearly, without any sound blocking them out. It was hard to deny her words, but he knew that it was just how he viewed things.

The fight in the outer city had been concerning, and he wanted to check in with Kō about what happened, but the people in that part of the city had put their trust in his teammate and fellow branch member. There was no other way of describing how things were between those people and the ones who had protected them.

So...

"It may be optimistic, but that is only due to the care that everyone else has brought here."

"You say that, but..."

But.

"Where exactly are the rest of the branch members?"

.

Kuruma blinked at Molly's question.

It had been a simple question, but that had been what threw him off balance in this conversation.

"If you say that they put trust in your branch and it's members, then where are they exactly? Shouldn't they be here - be by your side? If they left because they did not want to be in the way, then they have no confidence in themselves. If they were sent away...doesn't that mean you did not trust them enough to be part of these discussions?"

Molly held nothing back as her stare got harder with each word.

Kuruma gulped and began to sweat in his heart, but he remained calm enough to evaluate what she had said.

What she had said could be viewed as true. Murakami and Kon could be written off because of how their group was, but Taichi was someone others could view as an annoyance or in the way. The same applied to majority of Shor Squad.

Molly was clearly a person with a hardened heart and mind, so convincing her otherwise would be difficult.

But there was a way out of this.

"Mr. Tatsuya, I just finished cleaning up the other room! Oh. Hello there. Sorry, I thought you would be using the other room for this meeting."

Noah had walked into the room, goggles hanging from his neck. Unlike his usual appearance, his expression was more of a forced one. But Kuruma saw why that was.

"And who might you be?" Molly asked.

"I'm the captain of Suzunari-2. Or Shor Squad. My name is Noah Shor. It's...nice to meet you."

"So there was another member here. But would that be all? Does this mean that he is the only one you could rely on for this meeting?"

"Everyone else is doing something else. Meanwhile, I decided to stay here and see if Mr. Tatsuya would need any help."

"Help with what?"

"With Toby's rotten-to-the-core mother! Now stop saying that the rest of us don't have confidence, or that Mr. Tatsuya doesn't have confidence in the rest of us! ...Please and thank you."

It was Molly's turn to blink at what was being said.

As for Kuruma...

.

Kuru-ma: "Uh, Shor-kun? I appreciate the assistance, but you didn't need to go that far."

Shore: "But this lady is the worst! Not only from what Tobio's told me, but just listening to her here! She's trying to get to you and I don't like it!"

Platinum: "Oh-ho? For our captain to react in such a way. This woman must really be something. And I of course mean that in a bad way."

Mi-kon: "Shor-kun really isn't the type to go off on others, so this should be something to hear about."

Shore: "She doesn't understand anything! I can totally see how she's only thinking about what benefits her and how she gets to that end result. This isn't like any woman I've met before. Definitely not worthy of being a mother to someone cool like Tobio!"

Mi-kon: "What would be your standard for that then?"

Shore: "Someone like Sora, of course. He's definitely the type of person I would want watching out for my kids."

8-Skies: "!?"

Platinum: "Good job breaking our Operator! I will make sure to put in a good word with my queen!"

Mi-kon: "I will ask Kagami if she would like to write up that one."

Black Wolf: "Considering how close Shor Squad and Kotowari Squad are, I'm sure that Suzume will want to personally do this herself. Even if she isn't with her squad anymore, she still like Shor Squad a lot."

Kuru-ma: "I don't completely understand what is going on, but... There is still this meeting to attend to."

Almost Everyone: "Sorry!"

---

"What a strange comment..."

"Is something wrong?"

Takeshi lightly shook his head from his spot next to his mentor. His phone showed an odd message from a chat involving two other squads, but the context seemed to have not been sent at all.

That was really nothing new.

"Nothing in particular. Shor had just been saying some strange things over in the Suzunari chat, so now Hachidori-senpai is stuck in another doujinshi."

"Another one...? Just how many as he been in already?"

Takeshi looked to the side, thought about it for a moment, then nodded to Osamu.

"Senpai tends to enjoy those types of characters. Especially when they are mixed together with people like Shor. So I would have to say...at least 10. ...Within the last two months."

That may have been something to worry about, but it was really none of his business how crazy his former teammate was.

Now that I think about it, shouldn't senpai be kicked from this chat? She isn't part of our squad anymore.

With nothing else to do right now, Takeshi pulled up his phone to add his own thoughts.

Izumo: "Question. Why is Senpai still here?"

Honest Sister: "Heh heh heh. Do you really want to end up as a uke again, Take?"

Platinum: "Oh? I didn't think that someone like Take-chin would be so bold. But then, why do you say that?"

Lobo: "I've gotcha, Take. It's because she isn't part of our squad anymore, right? I've been thinking the same thing for a bit."

American Idiot: "You know, that does make sense. I personally don't care if she's still in here, but this chat was made when it was our three squads."

Honest Sister: "Am I honestly being kicked out here?"

Rampage Dress: "That would also apply to me, wouldn't it?"

"That's true," he said to his phone.

He could see Osamu silently questioning him. Feeling that it wasn't an issue, he held out his phone for his mentor to see.

Rampage Dress: "Well, in all honesty, I think me leaving this chat would be for the best. Having someone like me loitering around would not be good for you all."

8-Skies: "Huh? But it is always nice to have you around, Takato-san."

Messy Artist: "Yeah, and who else would step in to stop the abnormally high amount of chaos that runs through here?"

Minubuki-sama: "Minubuki's been hearing that Mei-tsan is rockin' out to a new beat!"

Honest Sister: "Heh heh. That's very true. Mei-san has been very different as of late. It's honestly great to see her like this, but I think she is in a place where she would happily join in the chaos. Isn't that right, Mei-san?"

Rampage Dress: "You all aren't as bad as others. Besides that, I had been here to make sure you were all fine. I doubt any of you need that sort of thing now. You all have grown a lot, so having me here really will be a bit much."

Eri: "I don't see a reason to argue here. If she has decided to leave, that should be enough."

Overprotective Sister: "Eri's just saying that so Takeshi's mom won't see when they are gushing over each other~"

Almost Everyone: "Oooooooohhhhhh!"

The immediate turn of Osmau's head told him everything he needed to know about what his mentor was thinking. To have that kind of reaction was worrying, but he refused to back down from something like this.

Both he and Eri had worked to get to this point, so falling for those kinds of taunts would mean they were not comfortable enough with their new relationship.

Even so...

"It really is embarrassing, being called out like that..."

"I can imagine."

.

Rampage Dress: "Regardless of what you all want to do here... There is something you all are forgetting. Kotowari Squad has changed enough to where they also have two other members. While it's nice to continue like this, leaving those two out would just be rude to them."

Lobo: "It slipped my mind to invite them!"

American Idiot: "To be fair, we've all been focusing a lot on the B-Rank Wars, so it makes sense that you would forget about this kind of thing."

Rampage Dress: "That's right. So make sure to invite them properly and greet them properly. I will be leaving now, so feel free to continue."

Honest Sister: "If no one minds, I think I will stick around. I enjoy being here way too much to leave. And it will honestly get better once they get here."

Shore: "As long as you continue to behave, I don't have a problem with it."

American Idiot: "Yeah, just stay like this and you're good."

Lobo: "I have to deal with you regardless, so I don't really care."

Overprotective Sister: "Wow. These Americans are really lax about a crazy person like Suzume."

Minubuki-sama: "It isn't like it would be a bad thing to have Suzu here! I say we keep her around!"

Izumo: "I just told the other two they can come in now. So expect them. And Mei-san, thank you for the help here as well."

Rampage Dress: "It is no problem at all."

"Rampage Dress" has left.

"Shooting Star" and "JK" have been added.

JK: "Oh? What's this? I didn't expect to be thrown into something that doesn't look like it has anything to do with me."

Platinum: "So this is Kotowari Squad's new Operator. Fu fu. This should be fun."

Shooting Star: "If I may. Who all is in here? Just to confirm and so that Kiyo-nii does not worry."

Lobo: "This is for Kotowari Squad (+ Suzume), Shor Squad, and Tsukiko Squad, Hoshi. Don't worry, they're usually at the same level of crazy as us. You should be able to handle them."

Messy Artist: "This is coming from who again!?"

Shooting Star: "I am happy to be here. Please take care of me while I am here."

Almost Everyone: "So polite! But welcome!"

.

"You look like you are enjoying yourself. Has something happened, Kotowari-kun?"

Takeshi and Mikumo looked up at the voice that had just returned to the room.

"Well, how do we look?"

"I don't like these kinds of clothes, but helpin' out Chisato here's gonna get me some extra points."

"Are you not already maxed out with her?"

"There's still some room."

Takeshi was the first to react to the suited duo.

"The two of you look better with glasses than I would have thought."

Both Ikoma and Nasu returned the compliment with thumbs up.

"Turning this into a multi-sided meeting's gonna take a while, so we're gonna go out there to stall for as long as we can."

"We have Mikumo-kun here, so that made things easier. But we are still waiting for someone else."

"I see," Takeshi said with a nod. "That does make sense. But, um..."

"Yes? What is it?"

Finding the words here was difficult.

Ikoma and Nasu were people he respected, so finding the right thing to say to them felt like it was more difficult than it should have been.

Thankfully, Mikumo was listening in from next to him.

"What exactly do the two of you plan on doing? The conversation in the other room might not be one you can just intervene in."

"That is true. But at that point...can't we just say that we are causing some mischief? Neither one of us are part of the Yagura Branch, so this can't be held over them."

It was kind of terrifying how much that excuse worked here.

Takeshi wish he had his scarf to hide in, but he had to face the reality that was in front of him. Likewise, Mikumo was coming to terms with the fact that these were the people he was currently with.

"Now then," Nasu with with a smile. "Shall we get out there?"

---

Emily was shaking violently on the inside.

She had come to the Yagura Branch to speak with their boss. Now she was facing off against a girl who looked bored, yet also ready to attack at any moment. The contrast was throwing her off balance. But more than that...

"We would like to inform you that this girl is someone who has managed to fend off a large falcon."

"She's not someone to mess with. So don't go thinkin' that this'll be easy, got it?"

"She has the power for go for the throat while also eating her lunch. I suggest that you that that into consideration."

"Chisato also looks good in anything she wears, so almost everybody else doesn't stand a chance against her looks. Plus, shorthaired girls are the best when they're little sisters. That mid-length hair ya've got ain't nothin' here."

"Ikoma-san, you need to remember that Kotowari-kun's hair can be considered mid-length as well."

"That's different. Take-chan is the kind of kid that wouldn't look out of place with any length of hair. It's pretty cool that he can pull off the fading-gray-into-black style."

"It really is, isn't it? I should take some more pictures for Eri-chan later."

"Oh, send 'em to me, too. He's more photogenic than I'd ever thought he'd be."

"If you could send those to me as well, that would be appreciated."

Even the girl she was supposed to be having a meeting with had gotten into the madness coming from the suited duo she was seeing.

These two just walked in like it was nothing, cleared their throats, and began trying to intimidate me with weird and pointless words!

And it worked!

It had been less that she was intimidated by what they had been saying and more that they made no sense at all. Their words had reached the point where she had been getting nervous that they were saying some important things without her noticing.

Is this some kind of Border code!? What am I supposed to do here!? None of the meeting ma'am has had have ever been like this! She always seems to be in control of the situation, but how would she deal with this sort of thing!?

In the first place, these two had barged in on her meeting with the current Yagura Branch Representative. If they had been Yagura Branch members then it would have been one thing, but neither one of them were registered as such.

Meaning...

...They are either from the base or one of the other branches.

The former was more likely, so she went with that assumption.

But then how am I supposed to get things back on track with this meeting? The Yagura Branch Representative is busy talking nonsense with these two, so getting her attention might not be easy here. What's more, these two seem to be actively making it hard for me to interrupt them.

The sort of tactic they were using was viewed as rude by most people, but it also effective in stalling for time or throwing an opponent off during meetings. Simple and effective, that had been how she always described this sort of thing.

But she needed to break through that here.

"Excu-"

Emily stopped herself when she noticed something from the corner of her eye.

What is he doing here!?

Off to the side, away from these three crazy people, were two boys. One was a smaller boy with gray and black hair who was covering his face with both hands. The other had black hair and a pair of glasses.

She recognized the glasses-boy from the information she had received.

He's from the Tamakoma Branch!

This wasn't good.

If a Tamakoma member is here, along with base members, then that already is enough to qualify for a multi-sided meeting!

They were likely waiting for someone else to arrive. That would place them in the best position to turn this meeting into something else entirely. With more people from different parts of Border here, it would be up to Emily to inform her bosses of the situation and go from there.

They would be disappointed in her if they heard about this.

In all honesty... Mister will be disappointed regardless, but I don't really want ma'am to be disappointed in me.

This only left her with a single choice.

I need to get this conversation back on track!

With a mental fist pump, Emily readied herself once more.

.

"Excuse me! We are trying to have a meeting here! If you are not a member of the Yagura Branch...please leave!"

Everything in the room stopped.

The Awdry Representative had raised her voice for the first time. It came out as an uncertain firmness, but the members of Border took note of how she had spoke up loudly for the first time.

In response to this...

"She can get that loud!?"

"I'm amazed she lasted this long, honestly."

"Oh, my apologizes for this. But you are also our current opponent."

The members of Border countered.

Each strike hit Emily like an iron rod.

But she did not let that stop her.

"E-even if that may be the case... My business here is with the current representative of the Yagura Branch. If you and that...man continue to act like this... I-I will take some sort of action."

In response to this...

"She doesn't even know what kinda action she's gonna take!?"

"I feel kind of bad with the way she stuttered and hesitated there."

"She had to be ready for this if she was going to go against Border."

The man and the Yagura Branch Representative nodded their heads before sharply turning their heads to Emily.

Their looks seemed dull, but Emily could see the unrestrained mischief coming from them. These people were outside the realm of what was considered normal.

With sudden starts, all three Border members moved to place themselves in different places.

The first one she noticed was the blond girl with glasses who moved towards the two boys watching. Emily worried that she would get the glasses boy to make this meeting a three-sided one with the Tamakoma Branch, but that was not what happened. She instead went for the black and gray boy next to the glasses boy. The blond girl moved the black and gray boy to stand next to the man.

The man himself had moved so that he was standing in front of Emily.

He began undoing his tie and unbuttoning his vest. That was something that worried her the most, but it seemed that he was purposefully doing it slowly.

She found out why a moment later.

"P-please let go of me... This is very embarrassing already," the black and gray boy managed to get out.

"Nope. We need you for this," the current Yagura Branch Representative said while undoing the boy's jacket.

Once she had gotten done with that, the current Yagura Branch Representative moved behind the black and gray boy.

With another sudden movement...

"Bam! Try to beat this, Awdry Rep!"

.

Osamu could feel himself losing all faith in his upperclassmen while also feeling an amazing amount of pity for Takeshi.

Just...what do you even make of this?

The Awdry Representative was also thrown for a loop by what was happening.

Osmau himself tried his best to register it himself, but his brain had been trying to take in everything at once instead of one piece at a time.

So he found a single word to summarize it all.

...Weird...

Ikoma had pulled the side of his suit back to reveal his shirt. At the same time, the Shiraishi Daughter had done the same for Takeshi, who was still in the middle of being heavily embarrassed.

To add to it all, Ikoma had decided to give an explanation.

"I repeat: try to beat this, Awdry Rep! Ya can't, cuz there ain't nothin' cooler than two guys matching their clothes like this! It's even better since I've got the cool guy thing down and Take-chan's the cutest lil' bro you'll ever see! Oh, but he ain't my lil' bro. Not by blood, at least."

"Th-that's...unfair! I am by myself! Of course I can't compete with something like that! Are all Border members this unfair!?"

"From my recent experience, I'd say that this is actually pretty fair when compared to other situations," the Shiraishi Daughter said with a shrug.

Osamu felt like he shouldn't be agreeing with her as much as he was.

Focusing more on Takeshi, he could see that he had decided to shut himself down and resign himself to this fate. I'm actually kind of surprised that he also wore that kind of shirt. But it may have been a present from Ikoma.

But there was still one more person in the room.

Someone Osamu felt like he should keep a closer eye out for from now on.

"Heh heh. Should I feel honored? Well, either way, I am really glad I had gotten this all down on video. I am sure Eri-chan will enjoy watching this all."

Nasu turned away from the group to look directly at Osamu.

Unsure of what could happen, he slowly hide behind the wall.

"Are you also enjoying yourself here, Mikumo-kun?"

"...Huh?"

Nasu smiled to him.

"Things sure are lively."

---

"What kind of order was this...? Seriously...how could Yuki just throw something like this on me without a warning ahead of time."

The crowded streets had been thinning out as the day went on, but now the crowds were returning with the strange song playing. The clutter on the street was worrying and it was causing unusual traffic within the entire area that made it hard to move around.

The worst part about it had been that it was supposed to be the sight of where a fight was to take place.

"Hah... Come oooooon. I didn't want to get mixed up in some more crazy things today. Besides...I don't even know who I'm supposed to be going against here."

Ariake Mitsuteru swung his body around as he walked down the street. His arms hung low and his head was barely held up on his shoulders. The tension that had built up was let out in a breath, but he didn't change his stance.

Yuki had messaged him, telling him that there had been something he wanted Mitsuteru to do. After that, he had been told where he could finish this random assignment.

The street he had been told to go to had turned out to be a long straight that had been filled with people. It was likely that Yuki hadn't known about the crowd, but now it was something that Mitsuteru had to figure out.

I'm going to be taking to the roofs anyway, but all of these people still causes a problem for me. Even it it hinders this other person, the odds are that I won't be able to do much either. Plus, the commotion will only add on to what happened earlier today, so the people might start panicking if I'm not careful.

He let out another breath.

"He really is one of them, isn't he?"

.

Mitsuteru straightened his back and looked around the area.

The crowd was cluttered together in a way that reminded him of vegetables in a pot. No place to go, but no reason to leave.

His parents had sent him here a good amount of times to look over some buildings, or just to get something from the stores. While not well known, he had some connections to shop owners here that viewed his family's small business favorably for their low prices and efficient work.

That was why he was able to tell that something was off here.

The stores he would usually visit were specialty ones that involved construction equipment or repair materials. They were not stores that most people had any business being in. Even more so for ones with their small families who were simply going for an outing.

"And from what I've heard, this isn't the first time this sort of thing had happened. Sasamori-kun's group, Suzume-san's counter, and Lee-san right now are enough to know that something is going on."

He fixed the earbuds that were loosely in his ears. The music coming from them coming through over the song playing all along the street, yet not taking his attention away from other things.

I had asked around to see if anyone else noticed something, but the most I got was from Köhler-san and Kikuchihara-kun. Neither one of them was available after that, so I decided to be a bit cautious here.

Suzume had told him what kind of songs would be good to keep his mind away from the one playing throughout the city.

He had taken that advice and brought along his set of earphones.

"Oh, my. Someone else who seems to be fully aware of themselves and their surroundings."

"This person has a Trigger on them, so they must be a Miden Trigger User as well."

"Would it not be better to simply say they are with Border?"

"We think that is pointless when this person also appears to be aware of what is going on. So we will simply say things as we see fit."

"I see. Then I will also do what I think is best and simply leave things as is."

"We would appreciate that."

Mitsuteru held himself in place. The feeling of someone watching him came over him along with the feeling of being spoken down to. Neither one of them were new to him, but this time it felt different from the usual way his mentors spoke to him or about him.

There was something hidden beneath the words being said.

Then came the sound of footsteps.

Separate from the crowd walking all around him, someone's footsteps could be heard coming up from behind him. They resounded as if they were being placed on a different texture of the world and not on the same plane as the rest of them.

Then came the buzzing noise.

Like the footsteps, the buzzing noise was something that did not seem to fit in with everything else. It held a separate sound from everything around him that made it easy to tell that it was even there, overlapping with everyone else.

"Is something the matter? I would have thought that someone from Border would enjoy knowing that there was someone else who was not being affected like everyone else."

"We believe that it is for that very reason that this Miden Trigger User is frozen stiff. The way we - and we mean the two of us - are moving is different from everyone else, so it would appear strange to someone else who has not fallen victim to this pathetic attempt at clearing areas."

"You sure do get talkative whenever you are defending that group."

"It is to be expected when our creators are being insulted in such a way."

The footsteps stopped directly behind him while the buzzing was only louder now. The two who had been speaking were now behind him, causing tension to build up in his body at a rapid pace.

The only thing Mitsuteru could think at a time like this was,

...Are they Neighbors?

That seemed to be the case, with the they were speaking. People who did not belong here and lived in a different type of place as the rest of them. Even their manner of speaking was unlike what he had heard before.

If that was how things were, how should he approach this situation?

If they wanted to attack, he would have already been taken out. Just from their respective sounds, he was able to tell just how different they both were when compared to the trion soldiers he had taken out before.

They were Neighbors who gave voice to their thoughts.

Inhaling deeply, Mitsuteru held his breath and closed his eyes. The thoughts and fear that flooded into his body swirled together for a moment before being let out in a single breath.

The tension that had build up was not completely gone, but enough of it was to where he could turn around to face the two who had been speaking.

And once he did...

"...What?"

He saw a strange sight.

...Just what kind of creatures are they?

That may have been rude of him to think, but it was the only thing that could come to mind.

One was a man with long hair and a scarred face while the other was a rhinoceros beetle. That explains the buzzing noise... To see the two of them standing behind him without a care was strange enough, but what had caught his attention was everything around them.

No one is paying attention to them.

Even with that sort of strange sight, no one turned to look at the duo or even acknowledge their existence. The only one had been Mitsuteru.

"We believe that staring is considered rude on Miden. For you to do so means that we should counter that rudeness in some way."

"He may just be surprised to see us, is all. Can you forgive him on my behalf?"

"...We suppose that is acceptable. But only this once."

"How generous."

The man gave a shallow laugh from behind the book that was in his hand. Mitsuteru took note of the intricate design that seemed to be etched onto the book's cover, standing out over the entirety of the black object.

Now that he was able to think a little better, he could tell just why he had been worrying about these two walking up to him.

"...The two of you are really strong. And yet..."

The man hummed in response, but did not cut in.

"Neither one of you ignored me."

The man gave another hum, this time questioning his words.

As for the Rhinoceros Beetle...

"We had wanted to ignore you, but we were told to refrain from doing so. Compared to everyone else around, you are nothing that we would find special. A pathetic use of flesh and blood that would not stand out if you were to be the only person in existence."

The words were spoken in a robotic sort of way, but it was clear that the rhinoceros beetle held some spite and disdain for either him or humanity as a whole.

But...

"We are aware that people on Miden are strange in the way they go about things. Even someone as pathetic as you may be capable of something no one else can accomplish. So," it continued. "While we would like for nothing more than to ignore your existence, or to truly wipe it off the face of this world...that is impossible. You are someone who lives here, so it would go against our creators' wants to attack you."

"How...painfully blunt and honest you are."

"That is something that your kind cannot seem to be."

Instead of getting angry at the rhinoceros beetle for himself, it felt like getting mad for all of mankind seemed to be the proper response.

But there was still someone else who had yet to voice their opinion here.

The scarred man.

.

Mitsuteru waited anxiously as Trochískos smiled down at him, book in hand. The rhinoceros beetle had already spoken about the system's thoughts on him as a person, so that only left Trochískos to speak of anything he wanted.

So he did.

"You remind me of someone. Rather...of some children. ...No. Saying it like that is rude to all four of you. Comparing you all is also pretty rude. Would you mind if I took my words back?"

"Sure, I don't mind," Mitsuteru said with a shrug.

Trochískos and the rhinoceros beetle shared a quick look before turning back to Mitsuteru.

"You seem to have gotten over your initial shock rather quickly. We would have thought that you would continue to be nervous during our conversation."

"Oh, I'm still still nervous about all of this, but I'm regulating that with some breathes. Don't mind me."

"We never would."

It sounded harsher than it was likely meant to be, so Mitsuteru let that slide.

"Now that I think about it, there is something that is kind of putting me off from being terrified, too. Even when I'm guessing that the two of you are Neighbors."

"Oh? Well that is surprising...or maybe not. It would not be hard to surmise that when given what is happening."

"Yeah, anyone with half a brain would figure it out. But that might also be because I've decided to just take a lot of things in after everything that has happened to me."

"I would like to hear some new stories, so do tell me at some point."

"They might be a bit too lackluster..."

Trochískos waved him off, smile never falling. The difference between them was clear, so there was no point in hanging up on that sort of thing.

But that difference was something that one of them had to question.

"Even if you decided to take things as is, it is a bit curious to see that you will not be attempting to attack us - by that we mean the two of us. Is it not the job of you Miden Trigger Users to fight against us and push us back?"

"That's normally the case, yeah." He gave another shrug. "But the two of you aren't doing anything that's harming others...that I can see. Besides, I'm not in the Kidō Faction, so it's not like I hate Neighbors. If anything, I'm more within Shinoda-san's faction. I just...want to make sure my parents and friends have a good place to live. So I don't have a reason to attack every Neighbor I come across. Only the ones clearly trying to get rid of our peace here."

It had been something he knew for some time now, but hearing himself speak those words only solidified his feelings on the matter.

The rhinoceros beetle gave something akin to a huff.

Trochískos only nodded with a small glint in his eye.

"Miden truly does have some interesting people. A sentiment like that is completely normal, but it is due to that normal response that I think it is very reassuring. Not everyone needs a grand reason to do things, so I would not mind knowing that you are continuing for such a simple reason."

"Thank...you? Um, yeah. Thank you for that. I'm told stuff like that a lot, but I guess... Yeah. Heh heh. It's nice to have my own stupidly simple life accepted like that."

.

"Now, then," Trochískos said with a light clap. "You had said there was a reason you are being prevented from being terrified. May I ask what that reason is?"

The way the boy jumped told him all he needed to know, but he waited for an answer anyway.

"Oh, about that... It's because I'm really curious as to why no one is reacting right now. I'm guessing that it's some sort of camouflage Trigger - something like Chameleon - but I don't really know for sure. And the fact no one is looking at me like I'm a weirdo for talking to air...I'm going to assume that I was also taken in by this camo trick."

"My. What an observant person."

"Huh? But shouldn't that just be the natural thing people come to?"

Is it? Trochískos asked himself.

Many others could question it, but they would only think it was a sort of trick on the people themselves instead of the surrounding area. They would disregard what was around them. and only focus on him, but...

This boy took note of both of us, as well as the people around him. He is more attentive to his surroundings than others and takes more note of the people around him instead of himself.

That could be worrying in its own way, but it was something he would not get involved with. However the people of Miden wanted to do things was up to them.

"Huh...? Is this place also blocking out sound?"

Trochískos saw the boy look around, take out the strange things in his ear, then look around a second time. He tapped his ear a few times before shaking his head. It was an odd sight, but not something he could say was weird.

If anything, it was amusing.

"No, I can still hear that song. But then... This is weird. A subspace? A phase space? Second storage? ...A different texture? That would explain the sound being different when they were walking up..."

"Excuse me, but what are you muttering there?"

"Huh!? Oh! Sorry, sorry, sorry! I was just thinking... What exactly is this camo space? It isn't blocking anything, but it feels like a different place."

"Hm? This is just...an illusion. That is all. I use it to move around without being noticed."

Speaking of his abilities was a risk here. It could be used against him, but it would also amount to nothing against him.

...But this is still a risk.

So.

How will you respond?

Depending on what this boy would do, Trochískos would take proper action against him.

"An illusion...? I guess it would be something like a mirage. But then...what about the sound? Excuse me, but are you doing more than just an optical trick?"

"I am not."

"Are you fully aware... No, sorry. Of course you would be. Then what...?"

Trochíkos now found himself interested in what the boy had to say.

Before he could express his thoughts out loud, the Pyrínas System Unit moved closer so that only he would be able to hear.

"We have confirmed that you are indeed putting in more trion than what would be required for a simple illusion. Before, we calculated out how much it took for you to simply walk around without being seen, but the trion output coming from you is higher than that."

"What would you be saying then?"

"Perhaps...you are indeed doing more than creating an optimal illusion. You may just be simply unaware of it due to using your instincts to modify how much trion you are using and how you are using it. ...That is the conclusion we have reached."

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that there could be truth in that.

Having lived with this Black Trigger for so long, he had reached a point where the only times he would truly need to focus on what he created was when fighting. Using his illusions for trivial matters seemed to be second nature to him, something as easy as breathing.

If that was the case, it was completely understandable if someone did not understand what was going on when he said he was only creating an optical illusion.

Miden truly is a place where everyone can discover something new. Even about themselves.

He let out a laugh from behind his book before gently patting the boy's shoulder. This got his attention like he wanted.

"Good job. You had noticed something that I overlooked after so long. A simple view of things really does provide some terrific results."

"Uh...? But I didn't do anything..."

"Regardless of if you think you did, we will say you did. So, then, I will allow you to name this phenomenon that I seem to be creating without noticing."

"Eh!? B-b-but I can't! Sir, you're the one who is doing it! B-besides... It's something anyone could have noticed! Yeah! So..."

"So then you can name it. As the one to point it out."

The boy seemed to deflate, but not out of resignation. It seemed as if he finally began to relax here.

"Then, if you don't mind, how about calling it...the Reverse Side?"

.

"What an interesting name. But not one I am against."

"I'm glad..."

Mitsuteru let out a breath that released the rest of the tension in his body.

"Now I believe it is time to do something about this situation."

"Huh? What situation?"

"Did you think you were being quiet with your words before, Miden Trigger User? It is quite easy to determine what you were muttering about before."

Mitsuteru cover his mouth with a start. He had thought he was the only one who could hear his own words. To know that these two had heard his words was enough to cause some embarrassment to rise.

To cover for him, Trochískos moved forward a few steps with a light laugh. The book in his hand was pulled forward and began to open as strings of text began pouring out of it in a mystifying sort of way.

"Allow me to open some space for you. Think of it as a favor to someone who has shown me something interesting."

The strings of text fell to the ground before blooming and spreading. They moved all along the ground, seeming to skip along the entire street. Soon enough, the entire street was covered in these blooming strings of text, seeming more like flowers than anything else.

Mitsuteru watched in amazement as this happened. Likely due to Reverse Side, no one paid the strings of blooming text any mind.

And once they had covered the entire area, it happened.

"The radiant stage is now here."

---

Sekai released a dragged out sigh.

The bustling area was unusual, but there was something he had to do before checking on the reason for that. Even then, he would need to figure that out after his personal plans. That left him with little time to actually figure out why the are around him was moving in a much more rapid pace than usual.

It was for these reasons that he gave out his sigh.

Why the hell does Shin want me to come out here?

The crowd was annoying, but Shin knew that Sekai could handle it. Even so, this area had no real connection with Kurosaki, meaning there should have been no reason for Shin to call him over here as a favor.

But if it was Shin doing it, there will little room for him to deny.

I may not work for them anymore, but Shin and his company really has done a lot for me. I don't want to screw them over by not following through with something this simple.

So that left him to wander around the area until he was told what he needed to do.

"Excuse me! Excuse m- Ah!?"

Using his natural reflexes, Sekai took three steps back and held out his hand as the voice got closer to him. It was familiar and he didn't want to see an accident caused due to the person crashing, as he so often did.

When he got the right timing, he leaned forward and took hold of something. The feeling of clothing in his grip was felt and he pulled on it until the person leaned back with a "Whoa!?" and stabilized himself. Even after making sure they were both righted, Sekai put extra power into his arm, lifting up the person with relative ease.

Once they were eye-to-eye, the person's express morphed into a large smile.

"Hikigane-san! Thanks for helping me!"

"Hah. Why are you in such a rush, Taichi?" Sekai asked. "And without your usual handler."

It may have been rude of him to say that, but it was the truth.

"SenSen-san is busy with something else, and I'm going over to mess around with-... I meaaaaaaan... I want to go see Takeshi over at Yagura!"

"Is that so...? You do know that they're having a meeting with someone right now, right? Even if Kotowari is there, I really doubt that you would be able to get in easily."

"Oh, yeah! I was also sent there for that! Shiraishi-san should be the one in that meeting, and they asked if someone from Suzunari could go over for something! Kuruma-san sent me to go!"

"So they want to turn it into a multi-sided meeting... Hah. A smarter choice than what I would expect from people like them."

"What do you mean?" Taichi asked. With his position, the way he tilted his head made him seem much more like a lost dog than anything.

Sekai could only sigh in a different direction.

He placed Taichi down and began scratching the back of his head. For anyone else it would have been a simple action, but Sekai saw this movement as a sign that he really was tired of everything around him.

"You going to the Yagura Branch right now would be like inviting the Suzunari Branch into the meeting being held there. Since your branch is also in a meeting, it would connect the two meetings together. Hah. They would be able to take on the opposing side easier with two branches there. And if I'm right... Hah. They have someone from another branch there as well. What's more, if it's Chisato in that meeting, it's likely that the irritation known as Ikoma is also there. Hah. That means that the main base can also get involved."

Overall...

"Everything is set. Hah. Those meetings sound like they're a real irritation. ...I'm glad I don't have to deal with them."

"They sound more like fun to me!"

Of course he would see it like that. In the eyes of someone like him those meetings were just another fight they had to get through.

Sekai saw it for what it really was.

Maybe I'm a bit jaded, but that's to be expected by this point.

Letting out another sigh, Sekai looked around at the crowd again. It had thinned out a bit while they were talking, but the amount of people there was still something he saw as an irritation. What's more...

Shin hasn't told me why he needs me here.

That was when he noticed it.

.

Running all along the sides of the street were things that could only be described as strings of text. From those strings of text came a blooming flower unlike anything seen on Earth. No one took note of them, all of it seeming to be invisible to the walking crowds.

But there was one person who noticed it all.

Sekai narrowed his eyes at the strings of blooming text. The way they were blooming seem like someone was doing it, but they were not being forceful about it.

As the strings of blooming text continued to travel down the road, the people all along the road began parting. Their conversation remained the same, but they seemed to finally be separating from each other and going down different routes that began opening up the space more.

"Hikigane-san?"

"It's nothing," Sekai said while patting Taichi's head. "But you should probably get going now. Hah. You still have something to do."

"Right! Kuruma-san has been saying how he wants to hang out with you again at some point, so can you talk to him about that!?"

"Hah. I'll see what I can do."

That was a good enough answer to get Taichi going again.

With a wave and a smile, Taichi began running in the direction of the Yagura Branch. The strings of blooming text can not reached him, so it felt more natural for him to go than all the other people.

Sekai let out another sigh as he turned on his Trigger. No one else had noticed the strings of blooming text. That left him to be the one to deal with it.

"So irritating... I guess I'm either being singled out, or noticing it makes me unaffected by it. Even so..."

Before he could finish his thought, a solid wall of trion appeared in front of him. It cracked under the weight of the attack.

"...Hah. So damn irritating."

He was being attacked.

---

Well this is a predicament.

Karasuma lazily spun the cup of water in his hand. It was a casual movement that helped him keep his mind off of what he was seeing in front of him. And what that was exactly was...

"What a tasteless company."

"I wouldn't say so. They might have their own reasons for this, so it feels more like they are enjoying the entire thing. Mikado City has times like these, so people choose to enjoy themselves instead of dwell on the bad side of it all."

"Then that only means the city itself has a problem with how they view things. A city that has to deal with these creatures constantly should be more alter and attentive to what is going on around them. Relying on Border is fine, but if the people within the city view these sorts of things as nothing more than trivia... This city certainly does have a lot of free time on its hands."

Director Rindō have a relaxed hum and Karasuma felt like that was a bit too relaxed for the conversation.

Then again, what else can you expect when all we know for certain right now is that an entire area of the has mysteriously cleared out while the rest of the city continues to crowd together.

It was a strange phenomenon that Karasuma felt he was too desensitized to fully take in for its weirdness. Everyone else must have been even more relaxed about it if they had seen as much as Director Rindō had in his lifetime.

But for someone who was not used to these sort of things, like the Awdry Boss, then this would be as if they were seeing that the world itself was rejecting that part of the city while wanting to fill up the rest of the city with people. This sort of phenomenon was unlike anything ordinary people had seen. There was no clear explanation for why it was happening, something that most people would be looking for right away.

With nothing there to look at, the Awdry Boss had taken to criticizing the city itself for not doing anything right away for it.

Torimaru: "I know this may be a bit presumptuous, but does anyone know about the people clearing that just happened?"

Daybreak: "News got to you that quickly!? I mean..."

Red Picture: "You seriously just gave yourself away that quickly..."

Torimaru: "So what happened?"

Daybreak: "Okay, no one get on me for this."

TetsuG: "No promises."

Daybreak: "Geh! I mean... Hello, Arafune-san. How has your day been?"

TetsuG: "Don't give me that. Now, speak up."

Daybreak: "Urg... My stomach isn't feeling so good now... But, about what happened, well...I don't really get it myself."

Almost Everyone: "What good are you!?"

That one brought in more people than I thought, Karasuma thought with some pity.

He always liked Ariake, so he felt like he should help out a bit here.

Torimaru: "Ariake-senpai, is it something hard to understand, or did you just not really see what happened?"

Daybreak: "There's actually someone here who is nice... Anyway, Kyōsuke-kun. I saw what happened, but it's pretty hard to believe. I can't really explain what happened, but I can at least say that it was pretty amazing. Oh, and also that most of you shouldn't bother trying to come over here. You won't make it far."

Red Picture: "That sounds like a challenge to me. Now I want to go over there."

Maybe it was to continue helping out Ariake, or maybe because it was fun to do, but Karasuma made sure to get a word in before anyone else.

The results were as he expected.

Torimaru: "Konami-senpai, if you go over there now then you will magically disappear. None of the people there had been Border members, so they were fine, but you might disappear if you have a Trigger on you."

Red Picture: "Eh!? Seriously!? Okay, okay, I won't go over there! That's some seriously scary stuff."

Blue Widow: "If that is the case, then how is Ariake there?"

Torimaru: "He harassed his way in."

Daybreak: "Kyōsuke-kun!"

As much fun was it was to mess with Konami, there was also merit in messing with Ariake. The both of them had different ways of being messed with, but both were fun in their own right.

At least now we know that it really was a strange phenomenon. Well, at least to the point that we don't know exactly what happened.

That was a good thing as much as it was a bad thing. The lack of information was worrying.

.

Honestly, Henry thought. What is this city?

They took things in stride, but managed to also be alert enough when Neighbors came through. The duality of that made him aware of just how lax they could be in most situations.

Viewing it as being prepared was giving them a lot of credit, but that was exactly why he had decided to come to Mikado City. Supporting Border gave him the best chance to see if they really were prepared or if it was just a set of coincidences that got them through everything.

Everything had already gone well with the main base, but he knew that it was more than just the main parts of an organization that mattered. Any branching parts of an organization could have their own problems and their own thoughts. That had been what led him to look into the branch offices that littered Mikado City.

Now that he was sitting in one of those branch offices he could see just what they were about.

The Tamakoma Branch had a director who seemed too relaxed, but did in fact take thing seriously. The casual expression he wore hid experience that even Henry had to respect here.

The boy off to the side, one of the members, had remained to keep track of the meeting as well, but he felt much more like a guard than anything. The way he had constantly been looking at his phone told Henry that he was either inattentive or speaking with someone else. The frequency with which he looks at his phone leads me towards the latter. What mattered was the importance of those conversations.

But the thing that had caught his attention the most was the lack of a child in the building.

Stepney had spoken of the child we made him befriend. He was always clearly leaving things out, but he has been doing well in what he told him to do.

I had expected that child to be here, but it seems that this man has decided it was a good idea to empty out his building of anyone else. That boy had walked in, likely not fully aware of the situation. The fact he remains here means that he should be enough of a guard, and this man understands that he will not mess things up here.

It was more of that experience coming into play.

Henry had decided to come into the building alone, but his own guards were stationed outside of the building, away from clear view. The difference between their guards was clear. While Henry relied on human guard who fought with human weaponry, Border's members were their own guards. They were humans who used otherworldly weapons.

I have heard that there was a foolish family of soldiers who wished to spread those otherworldly weapons to the masses. They wished for everyone to have a way to fight back against these Neighbors.

He could not help but scoff inside.

As soldiers, they must have understood just how idiotic that idea was. Humans are not creatures who will kindly get along when power like that is so readily available. New wars will start over who will have more weapons, and the general people would then be in fear of both Neighbors and the people around them. At that point, the Neighbors would have an easier time getting to humanity. We would be fighting each other instead of focusing on them.

It was a simple conclusion to come to when looking back at humanity's history. While Neighbors had strange technology that human weapons could do nothing about, humanity was fighting on their own world. Their history played a part and could be used to counter these attacks. They would not win without that same technology, but they could survive.

This was their world to take care of.

That was why Henry was here in the first place.

The present and the future can take care of themselves, but Border is required to make both of them flourish. And so, I decided that we would support them. We will not ask them for their weaponry, but we need the general understanding of what we are going against and what would be the best way to counter that. Be that with their technology, or by the technology of human hands. What matters is surviving.

Surviving had been his priority from the start of his life, so he would hold true to that while facing Border as another opponent.

Him and his business could not fight them in actual combat, but they could take things down to a human level by judging if Border was worth supporting. If not, they would need to continue on as humans when facing off against Neighbors. And so far...

The main base is fine enough. We need to check on these branch offices now.

And from what he had been told, Border was also viewing this as a new fight.

While keeping these meetings to their base levels, they were using their experience from going against their sponsors to turn this into a multi-sided meeting. There had been no news of someone coming to the Tamakoma Branch, but there were people moving towards one of the other branches.

The branch office where his wife's assistant was assigned.

That girl is still young and foolish. I have no doubt that they will be able to turn this into a multi-sided meeting by using that foolishness to their advantage. Molly would be aware of this as well. This means we need to prepare for this multi-sided meeting and not let it get to us.

That had been why the Tamakoma Branch Director had been so relaxed and why he was keeping things light. He knew that they would succeed in turning this into exactly what they wanted.

In preparation for that, Henry made sure to not give anything important away here. He would not even go over the reason for his visit.

This was how he would keep things on even ground.

Now, then. How will you perceive this, Border?

.

"Awdry-san, there is something I would like to go over."

"I would like to confirm something before going over the more important things."

"I guess this could be viewed as important. But it doesn't have much to do with your business or Border."

Henry raised a brow as Rindō learned forward a bit. The glare from the lights above covered his eyes, making it hard to tell what he was really thinking about.

Figuring that this was something trivial, Henry nodded and lowered his shoulders slightly.

Rindō and Karasuma caught the small movement, but said nothing about it.

"What is it you want to go over?"

"Let's not beat around the bush here. We are on a direct path to making this a multi-sided meeting. Since that's the case, I want to get this out there before that happens."

Rindō lowered his own shoulders, but a small amount of tension could be seen there.

He looked directly at Henry, allowing for his small amount of disdain to show behind his glasses.

"...What exactly do you think of Border's members?"

.

Torimaru: "Um...?"

Megane Director: "Sorry about that. I almost let my personal feeling slip there. I had to take a moment and come up with something else."

Torimaru: "Was that because of Yōtarō and the brothers?"

Megane Director: "That's right. I'm pretty mad at this guy for the way he treats his kids. But I also know how important this man is. That's why I made sure Chishi wasn't the one to meet up with him."

Torimaru: "That really wouldn't have ended well..."

.

It really wouldn't have, Rindō thought with an internal sigh.

Yōtarō may not related to him, but he had still decided to take care of the child. The others, while annoyed by him at times, also viewed him as a member of the Tamakoma Branch. If something was happening with him that was done by humans, it was on them to take care of it.

Likewise, they all had a favorable view of the Awdry Brothers. Knowing that their parents cared little for them put them on edge when those parents would be meeting them in person. It had been one of the reasons for why he had told them all that he would take care of it while they were out of the building.

At least it was one of the sensible ones who remained here. Konami would have gone off on him, while the others would most likely be as passive aggressive as possible.

It would have been a coin toss on who would react in which way, but Karasuma, Reiji and Yuri would have been fine to have around.

"Border members should be respected for what they do. Fighting against those sorts of creatures and pushing them back is something that cannot be overlooked when speaking about them. Their abilities on that matter are something that has caught our attention. That is why I would like to support them."

"That's good to hear. I'm glad our power in defending against Neighbors is viewed in such a way. But..."

But.

"What about the members you have met? Disregarding their abilities, how do you view Border members as people?"

The Awdry boss halted in any movement or speech. The question had likely not caught him off guard, but he had decided to take a moment to think about the question.

From what he had heard, it had been Arashiyama, Kitora and Toby who he had first properly met within Border. It had escalated from there while Border was dealing with the sponsors and their B-Rank Wars.

This was how he would figure out just how this man thought of the interactions he had. Including the ones involving his own child.

"From my experience here, I see the members of Border as any other organization. There is no set standard for how they should act outside of important matters. There should be no complaining from me on how they act in casual settings. Each person should be free to act as they like when speaking to others in trivial matters."

"That's a good way of looking at it."

I would expect that from someone who runs a dual business.

But there was more to it than that.

"However, moderation is still something to be practiced. While I am aware that Border cannot control their members like dolls, they should still make sure to do something about those who act too freely when in any setting." The Awdry boss narrowed his eyes in a way that made Rindō bring his guard up. "I have a general understanding of what happened during your issue with your sponsors. From what I understand, you all took good action to win that. At the same time, you had sent members who could only fool around while on important business. They had been your fighters, not your directors. They had not even been businessmen. To do such a thing... I cannot fathom why you would do that. It looks much more like an insult to me."

That was it.

Henry had showed part of how he thought about their members who could not contain themselves well enough.

That goes for his son, too.

There was no doubt that he was also referring to the race that had happened during the incident with the sponsors.

"It was a situation that called for specialized action by Border. Sending the directors or aides would have worked as well, but our agents have something to them that helped get through that much better than us directors could do. They know how to go into action right away, both discussions and fights. That is what it had taken to get through all of that. By the end of it, there was no doubt that it was because they were not businessmen and the like that we had won out."

"Be that as it way, there was also destruction caused due to it. The sponsors had also taken it upon themselves to point things out against Border. If there had been no issue, they could continue to support you all. What happened with the people you had sent clearly showed they also took issue with that."

"There was a surprising amount of actual fights on the side of the sponsors. Even ones who had taken to use trion-based weapons. If we had not sent in those Combatants, it was likely that we would have had hostage situations who had to follow those meetings according to their rules with no way out."

"I see. Then it is simply Border's way of doing things that causes their members to think they can do as they please with little to no repercussions. Like, shall we say, punch the leader of a dual organization in the view of the public."

"That same person may also save another leader of said dual organization. And someone associated with said organization could be put in a bad position while still a child. But, of course, that would not be the case, would it? After all, said child would end up feeling bad for using others and end up crying after thinking he had lost a good friend."

Rindō could see Karasuma looking directly at him, but he refused to cut the eye contact with the Awdry boss.

They had finally reached the point he wanted.

He could not fight this man in combat, so this was how he would get revenge for Yōtarō and those brothers.

I may not be Chishi, but I can still get pissed on behalf of some kids.

And that seemed like it was enough.

The Awdry boss backed down after registering what his words meant here.

They could not go into specifics, but now both of them knew about what the younger Awdry brother had gone through due to his father's actions and orders.

.

"I see... Then shall we end this conversation by saying that I can only view Border members in a favorable light when looking at their combat abilities?"

"That seems fair to me."

The two men shook on the agreement and settled back into their seats.

To the side, Karasuma let out a shallow breath and leaned back in his spot as well.

The tension had risen a bit by their short talk. Now that everything on that was settled for the moment, they returned to a neutral state where neither man would make sudden actions.

I'm glad that's over with... I'm pretty mad for those brothers, but I have no room to say anything to their father one the matter.

Still-...

Feeling another vibration in his hand, Karasuma looked down to see that another message had come through.

Daybreak: "Hello? I would like to ask any of my former squads if they could help me for a moment."

Karasuma raised a brow at this.

He had been aware that Ariake had moved between squads multiple times, but for him to ask for their help here meant it was something he felt could not happen with the help of people he was not used to.

Other Zō: "Tell us where we need to go."

Yes: "I'll grab Itsuki and we'll head over."

3o: "We're coming."

The responses had been instant.

Karasuma wasn't even sure that he would receive such quick responses if he asked Tachikawa Squad for any help.

I guess I should feel a bit jealous, in that sense.

But he found it hard to do when he understood that having people like these ready was just due to how Ariake was. The accumulated trust that came after having been on all of those squads finally showed during times like these.

The only problem was when there were others who refused to take that trust.

Kane-shima: "Even if you pay me, I won't help an asshole like you."

Karasuma could feel himself sigh. He quickly covered it up when he noticed the two men glance over in his direction.

I need to be more careful here.

Still...

What does Urushima have against Ariake-senpai?

It had been a bit of a mystery for a long time. There were those who knew what had happened, and most of them just guessed it involved money, but it still felt like there was a lot to that story. Something that they would need to dig deep to find out.

Until then, they would all have to watch as Urushima rejected everything about Ariake.

If he's even denying pay just to not help Ariake-senpai, it must have been something pretty big.

The animosity felt from Urushima was always one-sided, and it lacked a certain kick to it. In that way, it was clearly less of an issue than ones like Yuki and Ninomiya. That made it easier to settled down when the two of them ended up like this.

Daybreak: "Kanji-kun is currently out, so could I connect with the Operators?"

Asakusa: "I'm ready over here."

Blue: "Give me a few seconds and I'll be set."

MeTo: "You're good to go over here."

Daybreak: "Thanks, all of you."

6Ri: "Um, I will try to get him going, Mittsun-san."

Daybreak: "Thank you for your hard work, Rika-chan."

Everyone was ready for him.

Karasuma couldn't help the smile that formed on his lips.

They didn't know what they would be doing, but they were ready for this. All they could go off of was that Ariake was in the area of the city where everyone had left, leaving the space completely open.

But that seemed to be good enough for all of them here.

With his smile still in place, he began typing out his own response to this mass message.

Torimaru: "Good luck out there."

Daybreak: "Appreciate it, Kyōsuke-kun! Have fun with the meeting!"

It would be hard, but he would manage, somehow.