Written by: Lvl7Loser

Everyone had something to say.

That was what Shigenaga knew once she had joined Border.

Each person she met had something to say after getting done fighting her. The trip from C-Rank to B-Rank had not been a long one, but it had been filled with words from others who disliked how rough she was. It was nothing new to her, so she ignored them. They never had anything good for input anyway.

Even now, with her victory guaranteed here, she could hear some people talking about her. The Neighbors laying around them had been taken out by her, but the squad she had been forced to work with decided that speaking so casually after the fight was a good thing. And their topic of discussion had naturally fallen to how she had been fighting with them.

"She's pretty temperamental, isn't she? The way she attacked the Neighbor was pretty rough too."

"Right? I thought she would attack us if we ended up getting near her."

"Hey, quite your chatting and get moving already. We're finally done with this, so move it along."

She couldn't remember who exactly they were, but that was fine. They were just more people who lived in the world of the ordinary and thought themselves to be in the same world as her. It was what she had come to realize quickly while fighting within Border. People tended to enjoy putting themselves in places higher than where they were. This time was no different.

But there was something else she noticed.

There were ordinary people who lived in that ordinary world who remained there while also wanting to be a part of Border. An example of this had been the boy who had gone up to speak with her in school not too long ago. Their conversation had confused her and she had been thrown for a loop multiple times during the time. Her general knowledge of things had been tested during the conversation, but she had later found it to be worth the trouble.

The boy had said he wanted to be friends and explained himself some more.

It's more like he talked about pointless things to describe himself, she thought to herself while thinking back to that time.

What he had done was what normal people did, apparently. They spoke about everything and nothing, all at once. Their words held no greater meaning and their actions were meant to be casual while also getting something done. As a fighter, she was not used to having those kinds of things be the case. Each word from her held some meaning and every action she took had purpose behind it. Nothing was wasted while she went about her day.

But people in that ordinary world tended to waste a lot of things. Even if she looked past that, they still found ways to make her feel like they could do better. Holding back felt foreign to them, but so did letting everything out.

She was used to letting things go in order to not hold her back during fights. It had resulted in others straying away from fights with her. The only ones who continued to challenge her or accept her challenges were regular agents or idiotic C-Ranks. The difference between the two groups was vast, but she went along with it to continue gaining experience.

So even as these people spoke about her and the way she fought, she only ignored them as someone who was able to do something by herself instead of needing others there for her.

"I will be taking my leave now. I will also take care of an reports, so you all can move along now."

She could hear them sigh behind her and continue to talk behind her back, but that didn't matter. Their thoughts on her were nothing bu their excuses for not being able to do what she could.

It was that simple.

Daybreak: "Are you sure that was the kind of impression you wanted to leave with them?"

Shigeko: "I could care less what they think about me."

Daybreak: "Well that's a good thing. If you could 'care less' then it means you at least care a bit."

Shigeko: "What kind of response is that?"

Daybreak: "Ah, sorry about that. I've been spending a bit too much time with my squad to give you a straight answer."

Shigenaga narrowed her eyes behind her sunglasses. The ordinary boy who she had met before - now someone who called her a friend - had gone through some things with his first squad in Border, but she only saw it has his inexperience not letting him know that they were trouble to begin with. They had brought him a good amount of pain and it only made her mad to think about it.

Now that he was moving from squad to squad she could see that he was more lost than anything else. With his first squad disbanding in such a strange way, it was no wonder he had no idea what to do now that he could be free with his choices.

She found it hard to go against him at the moment. Upon the disbandment she had realized something about her friend that had not been there before. It was something she had wary of since he had entered Border, and something she knew she would hate to see once it came out.

He took a step into our world.

The world outside of the ordinary.

Now that he had experienced a lot with his first squad, he knew what it looked like to be in the world she lived in. One where you could only on into the world of the ordinary. Fights were a simple thing while a simple lifestyle was anything but.

That is just how things go, I suppose.

She wanted to protect what was left of the ordinary boy she knew, but that had become more difficult as he continued to join other squads. Generally speaking, she thought it was good for him to gain some more experience, but she felt as if he was doing it incorrectly by going to squads far lower than his first one.

Shigeko: "Make sure to take care of yourself."

Daybreak: "Huh? Oh...right. Don't worry. We aren't pushing too hard for anything, and I'm just following them around, really."

Shigeko: "That isn't what I meant, you fool."

Daybreak: "Huh? It wasn't?"

Sometimes he was too much to deal with. Yet she did so readily.

Giving a sigh into the open air, she removed her sunglasses, placed them on the table before her, and looked around the area.

Border had filled out a good amount since they had been created and she had joined them when she thought she could handle what they told everyone. Even so, there were people in her entry group who remained C-Ranks while she had gone to become B-Rank rather quickly. It had gained her some ire from others.

Now that she was looking at everyone around her she could tell that she had rushed things just a bit.

"Hello. Would you happen to be Shigenaga-san?"

Without waiting for a moment, she reached for her sunglasses, placed them on, and stoned her face once more.

"I am. What do you want?"

"You really do get right to the point."

"I don't know you enough to not get to the point."

"That seems fair. Even so, thank you for even answering me instead of making a rash decision."

Rash decisions would only lead to unwanted problems. It was because of this that she made sure to get a full look at who was speaking to her.

It was a boy a bit taller than her. His red hair and handsome face stood out enough that the people around them were speaking about him. His expression gave nothing away, but she knew that he was aware of the words moving around them. He was an observant person who seemed to not mind when others spoke behind his back.

She felt more caution come on a she took the seat across from her. She had never said that he could join her, but he had done so regardless. It was a casual gesture, so she let it go without getting on him for doing something like that.

"I am Meishō Seiji, captain of Meishō Squad."

"Shigenaga Naki. Solo agent and Attacker, at the moment."

"Do you plan to become an All-Rounder?"

"I do. I have already reached master class with Kōgetsu and am working my way towards earning more points with Gunner Triggers. Soon enough I will be qualified to become an All-Rounder."

"That is certainly impressive," he said with a smile. "But that now brings me to why I came to you."

"You want me to join your squad."

"Indeed, I do."

"And I want to refuse."

"I had figured that would be the case."

"But you have something to try and convince me."

"You really are as sharp as I have heard."

She narrowed her eyes. This boy had walked up to her because of rumors but ended up getting an answer simply by talking to her. His way with words was different from her friend's, but that only meant that he knew how to use them to his advantage. Meanwhile, her friend used them to actually get to know her. It was because of that that she was glad to have met him at all.

With Seiji in front of her now she could see that he held himself with care, but he remained alert to what was around him. If she made a sudden movement then he would notice it. After that, it would all be a matter of who would be better at moving.

And I think I have him beat there.

He was alert, but she was on guard.

Keeping up her guard was the only thing that kept others from moving too close to her. Even with her friend she held her guard strong, making sure nothing happened to either one of them. This boy was only making her put her guard up even more with the way he held himself and the way he spoke to her. It was an instinctual feeling that made her think that there was more to what he was saying than what was presented to her.

So she naturally strengthened her guard and spoke up. It was the only thing that felt right to her.

"Why do you want me on your squad exactly?"

"Because my teammates have been saying ingenious things like 'Let's enter the BRWs!' and 'The B-Rank Wars sound fun!' Currently there is only me, a Sniper, and our Operator. While I do think we could do well, having someone like you around would make sure we gain more traction."

"So you simply want me for my battle prowess."

That made sense. She was well off when it came to fighting, so adding her into someone's squad would elevate them to at least mid-tier with little issue. If there was support or others who could fight alongside her, they would only be able to go up.

Seiji must have known that and accounted for it.

"No. I also think that having you in a squad would also help with the people who are speaking around you. Your harsh exterior is off-putting for others, but I think it would be a nice balance for my squad."

"...What do you want from me?"

"Only your assistance and cooperation. If you want to hang out during free time, or if you just want to talk to us, that would be completely up to you."

This boy was different from her friend. The difference could not be any more prevalent than right now. It made her think that she was getting too used to her friend being the only one speaking freely with her. With this boy here, she felt like there would be a reason to focus more on what others had to say. And there was something else.

Shigenaga took a breath and lowered her shoulders as she released it. Placing her sunglasses on the table, she looked to Seiji with still narrowed eyes.

"As long as you understand that I will retain my freedom, that is fine with me. But there is something else I want to add on here."

"What is that? I would like to hear it before agreeing to anything."

That must come from his time as an actor.

It was fair, so she continued.

"There is someone I know who likes to hop between squad ever since his first one failed him. If it ever comes down to it, and I see that your squad is good enough, I want him to meet your squad to see if you would allow him to join to."

"Oh? That one is unexpected. So there's someone you care for that much. That does make sense. Even you would have someone like that."

"He's the only person I'll call a 'friend', so he holds more value to me than most others."

"That's fine. Everyone should have at least one other person for them."

He had not brought up her parents and he did not sound like he would use this against her in any way. That was a good start to getting to know more about her soon-to-be captain.

She had worried that he would reject her offer since it sounded like she was trying to force her wants onto this conversation, but he seemed to understand the importance her friend had to her. Accepting that from her with a smile was easy enough for him, but the mirth coming form him could not be missed as he stared her a bit more. The slightly guarded position he had during all of this had lowered enough that showed her that she could do the same.

For the time being, she would do no such thing. It was still unthinkable for her to lower her guard just because the person in front of her had done so. There was still the danger of the people around them doing something when seeing that from her, so she continued to stay on guard as the boy continued speaking. He spoke of his squad, the members, how they had been working together, what they were trying to figure out, what they did in their downtime, and many other things. It was to inform her of what she would be getting into and she appreciated it.

This would be new for her. Being in a squad would be different since there would be others for her to properly work with and look out for. It was something that she had not expected to be a part of, but now the opportunity had come for her to see what it was like to be with others. People who would likely try to keep up with her.

She felt like this was part of that other world she had caught a glimpse of. The world where her friend mostly lived in, where being part of a squad was a norm and enjoying the time with others came naturally. It would not throw her into that sort of world, but she knew that she would at least be able to keep a better watch on it to see what they were like.

And that was fine.

"So would you like to go meet them now?"

"I suppose I should."

With that being said, she knew she could only watch that world turn while her own continued in its stagnant form.