The noise and smell that filled the air had not been something she expected when walking towards her destination.
People were walking around, talking in hushed tones that were covered up by much louder ones, and just overall moved with purpose from one spot to another. No single person was stationary in the slightest and some of them only gave her a passing glance or a small wave as she stood there. None of them were trying to be rude, she knew that, so she responded in kind.
Now what am I supposed to do about this situation...?
"Oh, you're Nasu Squad's Attacker, aren't you? Right, Kumagai?"
Kumagai turned as someone had spoken directly to her instead of giving a simple greeting.
Turning to who had been speaking, she saw that it was a pudgy man with no particular facial expression on his face. The outfit he wore seemed far too casual when compared to the people around them, but she held back from saying anything about that. Instead, she focused on who he was.
"Terashima-san."
"Right, nice of you to come by. Did you need anything particular from us?"
"Um... Well, there was something I was looking for. Rather, I wanted to speak with someone. I was told they would be here today and wanted to see if they were open."
"I can tell you if they're here. But talking to them is up to them."
"That is fine, thank you."
She gave a slight bow in appreciation. All she would need to know was where this person was, from there she would only need to ask if it was fine to have a conversation. It was all a matter of how she went about speaking after this.
As for the person she wanted to see...
"So who is it? ...Please tell me you aren't here to see Shūsei."
"Uh, no. Not him."
"Oh, that's good. I would have had some questions for you if that was the case."
I know he's pretty extreme, but still...
Shaking the thought form her mind, Kumagai straightened herself up.
"I wanted to know if Taiyōko Hoshi was here."
"That makes more sense. I knew she had a fanbase, but I didn't think anyone of the B-Ranks were a part of that. Well, besides that guy from Katori Squad at least."
"Huh? Someone from Katori Squad?"
"Yeah. He's been coming here for a while now and going right to Taiyōko. ...Oh, but I guess the same is happening with the Yuba Squad member too. Although she is very recent to that."
"Is that so...?"
After having seen the girl in action it was not hard to believe that she had some sort of fanbase backing her up. The feeling she gave off along with her appearance seemed like it was enough to make most normal guys want to try and reach out to her. In that sense it felt more like the newest Kotowari Squad member was actually an idol more than a Combatant. But...
I saw how she fights. While not the best, it's pretty insulting if I just say that she isn't a fighter.
That girl had managed to continue going even when outmatched and come to a draw when fighting both Kumagai and Katori. The situation had been stacked against here and she had managed a draw against the two of them.
It had not been by coincidence or force of will that got her to that point. It had been her effort with her squad and the way she went about it that had brought her to that finish.
In a sense Kumagai felt as if she had been outplayed during that time.
But now...
"I just want to talk to her a bit."
There had been no hard feelings between them afterwards, but Kumagai had found no time to speak to the girl. She thought it a shame that was the case, but now she could fix that.
So as she walked towards the direction Terashima sent her, her mind wandered to the different topics of discussions she wished to talk about. But the main one was...
"So you are here about Fujin too, huh?"
.
Teruya turned her head, then her body once she realized that someone else had made their way over. Other times it had been some of the Engineers wanting to speak with the girl in front of her while other times it had been those same Engineers wanting to get a picture of the girl.
Those had been the times she sent them off with a kick to the butt.
This one time it had been different though as it had not been an Engineer who walked forward but the Attacker of Nasu Squad.
Once she realized who it was, she spoke up.
"So you are here about Fujin too, huh?"
The other girl responded with a surprised look, but righted herself quickly.
"Yeah. I guess that means I wasn't the only one who wanted to confirm some things then."
"I wouldn't say I'm here to confirm anything. I came by because I wanted to know some more about it. The description for Fujin is kind of hazy, so I thought that it would be best to go right to the source."
"That makes sense. I sort of went with my gut instinct when I started using it."
"It looks like it worked out well enough for you."
Teruya had checked the logs once her recent match had been done and was amazed by how well the Nasu Squad Attacker had used the optional Trigger. It had felt like she was naturally using it and not putting too much thought into her actions.
That must be that "gut instinct" she mentioned.
There was nothing wrong with that, so she said nothing on the matter.
"Well anyway," Teruya said. "It looks like we have to wait before we can ask anything."
"Why is that?"
Using her chin, she motioned for the open space beyond the two of them.
Where she had Kumagai were had little around it. The chair she was sitting on had been brought over due to there being none in the area and the one in charge of the area too busy to notice her at all. This area was more of a parameter that surrounded the inner circle where different objects were scattered about. Heavy pieces of equipment had been moved to the side and a mat had been laid out so that anything that got thrown would not land on the ground or cause a mess.
It was rather well organized, even if it seemed like a mess initially.
But all of that was not what Teruya had thought of when motioning with her chin. No, she meant what was in the middle of all of that.
.
"Yukari, has there been word as to what has been allowed?"
"Yes! The directors have allowed the use of some of them!"
"Which ones were granted permission by the people close to them?"
"Jin-san has said it is fine to use Fujin. Akasora-san and Tenryū-kun have said that there is no problem. Girikage-senpai has said that he would not mind demonstrating if we need it. Amō-senpai has denied the request though."
"I see. Since things are going well with those ones, we will work on those today. Is that okay with you, Yukari?"
"Yes! There is no problem with that!"
.
"Those two have been that fluffy since I got here. They had only been preparing things until now, probably waiting for a response from others."
"It's pretty amazing that it comes naturally to them..."
"Oh, so you noticed that?"
It was hard to miss when the two girl seemed to be ignorant of the fact they were being watched by Kumagai and Teruya. With that being the case, there left no room for doubt that both younger girls were naturally producing the fluffy atmosphere around them.
Breaking through that sort of thing was difficult to do when most would leave the two be or take out their phones for some pictures. At that point it would be a matter of who would be an adult and prevent that from happening.
From where they stood, Teruya and Kumagai quickly figured out who that would be.
"So cute! Hoshi-chan has always been adorable, but this just makes it better!"
"Right, right!? This is perfect! Obi-nyan and Ho-chama are just the best!"
"Hey, get outta the way! I'm trying to get their smiling faces in the frame!"
"I'll trade you your Hoshi and Obishima Holding Hands picture of my Hoshi and Obishima Eating Together picture!"
"Deal!"
Without alerting the two girls, Kumagai and Teruya turned around to properly glare at each person taking pictures of the girls.
Upon seeing the two of them glaring, each person quickly put their phones away before moving back to where they were supposed to be.
Kuma: "Do these people have any shame?"
Leagues Above: "Considering most people can't see them and those two are too nice, I doubt that."
Tera-zō: "Don't worry. There's an unspoken rule around here that makes it so they keep these things over here. If any of those pictures start circulating outside of this area then the one who started it will receive a Shinto-style punishment."
Kuma: "What exactly does that entail?"
Tera-zō: "I had asked that too. The response I got was from Shintai. He said that, since it was an unspoken rules and not a particularly big one, the punishment would be something light. Something along the lines of being stripped naked in public, made to taste rotten vegetables for a month, then having clumps of rice shoved up the ass while ramen noodles come out from the ass and nose. It would normally be udon, but that's apparently for anyone who embezzles money."
Leagues Above: "Wouldn't that first part be enough?"
From the distance they could see Terashima shrug as if it wasn't his problem.
Shinto-type punishments had turned out to be more dangerous than the crime itself.
Letting that thought hang over their heads, Kumagai and Teruya turned back to see that the two younger girls had finished preparing themselves and now appeared to be leaving. In doing so they had crossed paths with Kumagai and Teruya.
With a sudden start of "Oh!" Taiyōko bowed to them. It was followed by Obishima lowering her upper body in a short bow.
"Kumagai-senpai and Teruya-san. Are you two visiting someone here? I would not have expected to see the two of you here."
Kuma: "Oh... Is this what it feels like to be properly respected? It feels nice."
Was it sad for her to say that?
"We were actually here to see you, Taiyōko-san."
"Me? Oh, but first. There is no need for the honorifics. The two of you are much better than I am, so it would be wrong for you to call me that."
"I am only a year older, so no need for that. Well, you don't seem to like that. So how about we forego honorifics altogether then? Between the four of us."
"I-I couldn't! It had taken a lot to just call Yukari by name! I don't think I could bring myself to be like that with the two of you."
Obishima had reached the same conclusion as she nodded her head.
Leagues Above: "Ah... I would be a goner if I wasn't around Tomoe so much."
It was amazing that Kumagai was still standing.
The older girl seemed to be on the verge of something though as she stepped forward and held out a hand to the two younger girls. The smile that played on her lips was also something different from what she usually had on.
.
"Taiyōko-san, Obishima? There is no reason for honorifics when we are not that far in age."
"But I still can't just-"
"Then we just won't answer."
"Huh?"
Teruya crossed her arms, breath still calm and eyes focused on the girls in front of her.
She spoke with a solid tone.
"We will not answer unless you, at the least, drop the honorifics."
...This is strange. Why am I being so pushy over something this trivial?
It made no sense.
Kumagai must have also been wondering what this was about since she turned to Teruya with a raised brow before looking back down at the two younger girls.
It was nice being addressed with respect from those younger than you, but for some reason it felt strange to hear it from the girl before them. The princess-like girl calling them with honorifics was something that made her uneasy inside and churned her feelings a bit.
It was just strange.
And yet...
"What will it be? I really want to speak with you, but it will be difficult when I can't respond to something."
"Um..."
"Hey, Teruya-"
"See? It's easy for Kumagai. Ah. I even managed it. Right, Obishima? That's two points right there."
"P-points!?"
"That would be another point for me."
"Hold on, Teruya! Now you're starting to sound like our terrible senpai! I hear that their point system is the worst since it's so easy to gain them! But only for them! You might end up calling them over here!"
The way Obishima nodded her head to Kumagai's words were a bit concerning, but she thought nothing of it as she continued to have her arms folded over her chest.
"So?" she asked. "What will it be exactly? Will we have something to talk about, Taiyōko?"
"..."
The way the girl lowered her head was just pitiful. Her long hair fell past her shoulder and covered the side of her face. The only reason her entire face had not been covered up was due to the crescent moon clip holding her hair back.
She felt a want to touch her own braid, but held back to maintain her image.
I'll ask her if I can try and braid it later though. I know that it can be a hassle when it's free like that.
With that decided on, she looked over to see Kumagai giving a sigh and rubbing her forehead. Was that a good thing or a bad thing at this point?
"Um... I guess...I can try... Please do not expect much from me."
The girl turned her head up and smiled with closed eyes.
If she had not been paying attention to herself, Teruya was certain that she would have made a certain action due to that smile.
It's a painful one to just look at. How much does it hurt her to wear it?
And she had been the cause of it.
Teruya's insistence on not using honorifics had caused this pretty girl to give such a smile and close her eyes. Doing so felt as if she was hiding from something and only showing what she thought would be best.
It hurt.
Teruya only felt pain at seeing the smile and knowing that she had been the one to make it happen. It was nothing like guilt, but saying it was also familiar hurt even more. It had been why she remained quiet and slowly lowered her arms to look away from that smile.
I guess that's just how it is for now...
Before she could let out a sigh, the painfully smiling girl spoke up.
"So...what exactly was it that the both of you needed from me?"
.
Obishima was amazed by how quickly Hoshi could recover from the conversation. She had not said their names, instead addressing them together, but that had been amazing in its own right.
As for the two other girls...
"We wanted to talk to you about Fujin. The white one you had made."
"Oh, yes! I must thank the both of you for bothering to try it out. The issues that come with using it are still in progress, so please be a bit more patient. I will be working on it today, so there is at least that to look forward to."
"It isn't anything like that."
"Why does she sound like she's trying to sell us something...?"
Obishima had seen it that way too, but she held back from saying anything. Hoshi seemed far too excited to realize what she was doing.
Teruya must have thought that it was entertaining though as she waved off Kumagai's words and smiled down at Hoshi.
"I can figure why Kumagai had come here, but I am here to say that I am impressed by what you had made. The Trigger itself seems simple at first, but the complexity of it really shines when you try and use it. To make something like that... You are really dedicated, aren't you?"
"Eh? Ah! N-not re... Maybe a bit. But!"
The way Hoshi jumped with her movements had gotten them all to laugh a bit. But they tried to hold it in as she spoke up again.
"It is not near the level of the original Trigger or even the other Black Trigger Replica Triggers that have been made by others."
"'Other'? I didn't know there were any other ones."
"Yes, there are at least two others. One of them is Fuji-nee's Gauge while the other is Kiyo-nii's Idōgetsu."
The two older girls tilted their heads at the names was enough for Obishima to realize they didn't recognize those names.
I wouldn't have known about it either if Hoshi-chan didn't already tell me who they are.
"Takato-san's personal Trigger and Tsukiko-senpai's personal Trigger," Obishima said.
The two older girls made an "O" face while Hoshi apologized for the mistake.
Obishima laughed at all of their reaction but did not fear being looked down on because of it.
While still working on her own issues, she had found that the presence of someone like Hoshi was good to be around since it lightened the atmosphere and made any mistake something that could be laughed off. Nothing would need to be taken too seriously since Hoshi herself knew her own flaws, accepted them, and only thought of moving on from them.
I am not the only who noticed that either.
The slight tension in Kumagai's shoulders and the slight arcing of Teruya's back seemed to disappear as they spoke with Hoshi.
It was amazing in its own right, but Obishima knew that none of them had planned for such an atmosphere to overtake them.
"Well, I apologize. I had wanted to take the time I have here to work on as many Triggers as I can, but there is one in particular that I wish to complete. I do not know if I will be able to get to Fujin."
Obishima nodded alongside the bowing Hoshi. She knew what Trigger Hoshi had been planning to work on for the day.
Although that is why I am here in the first place.
Hoshi had asked if they would remain friends even if she were to make a selfish decision. Such a thing felt like something that did not even need to be vocalized, but that had only showed Obishima how much Hoshi cared for their friendship that had only been recently made. It was her way of saying that she would not want to mess up their friendship just because she was being selfish.
But...
Isn't that where that sort of thing shines?
She had seen how her teammates were with their own friends. Compared to them, Hoshi was still not being selfish at all. That was both concerning as well as something she found relief in.
Still...her way of being "selfish" is helping someone else out. Why do I feel like that isn't really a good thing?
Shaking her head of those thoughts, she focused back on what was around her. Kumagai had been the one to respond to Hoshi's words with a smile and wave. The nonchalant way she went about it gave off a nice impression, so Obishima made sure to try that later on when the conditions were right.
"That's no problem. We just wanted to take about it anyway. No need to feel like we're rushing you."
"Actually," Teruya started.
She moved forward with a smile of her own. Her steps were oddly light, as if she was preparing for something. Her hand had found its way to her chin as she looked to Hoshi.
Hoshi must have thought nothing of it like Obishima did since she only continued to smile in her direction.
"Yes?"
"Would you mind some assistance?"
.
Kumagai glanced over to where Teruya had moved out in front of her.
She had expected something like this to happen and so thought to push the conversation in that direction. She had lost that chance as Teruya came out and suggested what had been on her mind.
"We had heard a bit of what you need and are will to help you out. Isn't that right, Kumagai?"
"Yeah. Like i said; we really just wanted to talk. So if we can make things quicker for you, the faster we can get to talking."
"Exactly. It's beneficial for both sides," Teruya said with a smile.
"I wouldn't want to take your time like that. I am sure you both have other things to do than just speak with me. I would be more than happy to send you anything you would like to know once I am done."
"Then would you except our offer if it was from two senpai just wanting to help out two kōhai?"
"That would make me want to reject even more."
This girl's purity was something else. No matter how they put it, she would only see it as being a bother for them that would should not think about. Anyone else would have jumped at the chance for some extra help, but this girl was different.
Kumagai knew just how she was.
They had crossed blades already and she had seen how this girl truly was. Something like this was not out of the ordinary for her. The hard work and determination to get things done without bothering others was clear in the way she did things.
She likely takes help from people she is close to. That's probably why Obishima is here. They already trust each other to that point.
But that felt wrong somehow.
To not want to be a bother when there no bother to begin with. It felt wrong coming from this girl who seemed to only do thing in an honest, determined, and pure way that left no room for alternative motives. Teruya may have noticed that as well and had been why she was the first to speak up about their assistance.
But her rejecting us like that only makes me want to stay more.
Taking a step forward, Kumagai lifted her body a bit.
She could heard Teruya give an "Oh ho?" while moving back, but she ignored that for now.
"Taiyōko. If you won't think of our help as either of those options, then we will ignore that and simply be on our way. But while we do so, we will go ask for the Black Triggers you had gotten permission to use. Once we have those, we will be back so that we can talk."
She made sure not to ask if that was fine.
Her words had been just what was needed as Hoshi found it hard to reject them. From the spot next to her, Obishima gave a sigh that sounded like relief. She covered it up rather quickly though.
Leagues Above: "Don't you think that was a bit harsh? That tone sounded a bit too pushy."
I'm not a prim and proper girl, so I don't really care about that. I'll leave that for people like you.
Answering out loud would be dangerous in many ways, so she made sure to stick with her thoughts.
Now then, how will you answer?
.
Hoshi felt something begin to well up in her chest as her senpai pushed their wants forward. They had not pushed it onto her, but they had made it perfectly clear that they would be helping her.
It was not the first time something like that had happened, but the intentions had been much different on an instinctual level. There was something about the words and wants of the two older girls in front of her that made it different from all of the other times it had come up in her life.
But why was that?
She could not figure out and so decided to put it in the back of her mind for the time being. What mattered more now was getting everything done so that she would not waste anymore of her senpais' or Yukari's time.
"I see... In that case, you should know where to go, right?"
She knew her tone had lowered even as her voice remained the same. It was hard to hide things when it had been expected of her to always be an honest person.
But that was fine.
"I need to go back to the Yagura Branch Office to obtain Shikifuku. Besides that, Girikage-san had said he was currently in possession of Shukufuku. Fujin, the original ones, is with Shinoda-san. We had agreed to meet up in the main lobby near the training booths."
"This sounds like a poorly planned fetch quest... I'll make sure to have Sayoko tell me if there are any worse ones."
"Well if this is the case, why don't we simply split up? I would be fine going to the Yagura Branch for you. Unless you had a particular reason to go as well."
"No. That is just where Akasora-sensei currently is."
"Then I'll head over to Girikage. I've been meaning to plan some games with him and some others, so this is a good chance for it. Besides, you were the one who planned the meeting with Shinoda-san, right? It's probably better that you go for that one."
"Agreed," Hoshi said. Even as she tried to fix her voice, it only sounded the same to her.
This is bad. I need to make sure I am fine if I wish to keep up with my siblings.
Mukuro was pretty dedicated to listening to their older siblings, but he tended to be overly active when doing as he was told by them. Being like that would have been too much for her. It was why she always thought that she would help him should he ever go to her for assistance.
But that never meant she would keep up with him. Or their older siblings.
Each one of them was on a different level and were relied on differently. Only now was she able to find even three other people properly needing her assistance.
She gave a rare sigh in her heart. The core of her hurt to think about it, so she had normally pushed it aside to make room for everything else. But that had become difficult upon seeing how others were and what they were capable of at the moment.
I really guess I was not ready to pass with everyone else.
Kanda sighed down from his walk.
It was late morning, but he was not out for any particular reason.
...I finally have some extra time here.
He had been working on his education more than his Border duties. It was not something that anyone in Border was against, so he was really glad that he could do as much.
If anyone had been against it...
"Well, I guess those guys would have attacked whoever without a second thought.
Regardless, he was thankful for the time he was able to spend as a Border agent. There had even been talk sent to him about his former teammates being scouted for a new branch he had yet to go see. The broadcast for the new branch was something he had watched, but there was not much he could go off of just with that. So...
Competent One: "The area sure had quieted down. ...Is anyone there?"
He asked that, somewhat hoping everyone would be busy with other stuff, but...
SenSen: "Yeah. Everyone else seems to be doing their own thing around the city."
He had cause Senshi.
.
Kanda whistled before responding.
He had been busy with his educational growth a lot recently, so he had only seen everyone else's voices like a text radio sent in via Border and TSUBAKI's transmission.
...It's been a while since I spoke with one of the normal guys of the group.
And even with his former teammates, every conversation had only been meant as a change if pace before going to do something else, so it really had been a while since he had been able to just relax and talk.
Competent One: "Welcome back to civilization, me. ...So how are things there? The place is awfully quiet."
SenSen: "We have our weeklong break from the B-Rank Wars, so everyone is probably taking this time to relax a bit and only fuss over the unimportant stuff. If they can hold off on the crazy for a bit, no one will have to worry about a verbal attack from the directors."
"I see," said Kanda, viewing the area void of any sort of chaos created by one of those cannibals he had gotten to know. He opened his throat more than his mouth to suck in some of the air.
Competent One: "This is nice every so often. ...But can't people just use what you've all already done? Like with the sponsors."
SenSen: "Yes. But that is less of our issue and more of Border as a whole. It's a bit of a problem, but not by much. ...Anyway, how's your studying going? Are you taking a break?"
Competent One: "In a way it was annoying since there were some people who liked to destroy each other at every chance they got. I ended up commenting as well so that I could join in on some particularly dangerous teasing. That's why I'm taking a break right now and worrying about the rest later."
SenSen: "That sounds like a pain."
"Not as much as you would think," Kanda said with a bitter smile. The general populace would normally begin moving about for all kinds of reasons, so he chose a route that gave them a wde berth.
Competent One: "The things I'm studying for are a bit of a hassle to get the hang of, I'll say that. But you also have it pretty rough in that department, all things considered. Working for the underground must be pretty rough when you learn about all sorts of things you normally wouldn't on the surface."
"But still," he sighed.
Competent One: "When I pull all-nighters, I tend to make a lot of mistakes and I need someone to point them out to me. In the process, I'm usually told that there are some pretty weird things put on the paper that shouldn't be seen by others."
SenSen: "Sounds embarrassing for both of you."
Unfortunately, that was just the unavoidable result of the circumstances.
Competent One: "Well, I'll be freed from this in another hour or two, but I wonder about Akashi. He is trying to balance schoolwork with Border too much, but since he's pretty weird, he's keeping up rather well. Has he found what works for him yet? Hell, has he finished his wants yet?"
SenSen: "He apparently got everyone's help to make sure he doesn't fall behind anyone."
Panicked and asked some casuals for help, did he? he thought, but he knew Senshi wouldn't understand.
Competent One: "I doubt that will end well. But anyway, after getting some nice sleep, I'll be heading over to the base. You want to go a few rounds, for old times? I'll even say 'It's to make sure Kurauchi's in good hands'."
"Thanks, but that's fine," said Senshi, followed by a hesitant pause.
Kanda gave a snort of laughter.
Competent One: "What? Just come out and tell me."
SenSen: "Right. Earlier...my boss finally got permission for Border to enter the underground space unavailable to us before. He said we can choose when to go, though."
Kanda knew what that meant.
Competent One: "Someone wants to finally unveil what's been hiding under everything until now, don't they?"
SenSen: "What do you think?"
That was obvious.
Competent One: "We can always just return to normal, right? I say Border uses that fact to go in without worry."
SenSen: "I'm glad tohear you say that."
"Because," said Senshi.
SenSen: "When my boss was messaged back...the date was decided for some time in the coming days."
Competent One: "I'll prepare myself for something as shocking as your bad luck. This is all up to everyone else now."
"Right," Senshi replied before ending the transmission.
Kanda had wanted to talk longer, but Senshi had to be busy.
And Kanda was busy too.
"Okay."
He had to begin his return soon. He was not traveling as far as he usually did for walks.
He looked over to see Mikado City's surface in the light of the late morning. The area had been so busy for the past few days that a temporary market had opened up, selling excess supplies.
He spotted a familiar face among the people gathered or passing through there.
"Akasora-sensei."
"Now, then." Teruya came to a stop on the porch. "It feels so pleasantly cool over on this side, Sensei."
"Is it really that hot near the inner city this time of year?" asked Akasora, the director in charge of the branch office behind them.
Teruya nodded and took the bamboo bottle Akasora offered her.
"The inner city has a uniquely hot timeframe. I hear you stay away from the inner city at this time of the year?"
"Yeah. An incident happened around this time of the year, so I feel bad if I got over to the city and have too much fun. And there's no reason to go somewhere hot when I don't feel like moving around this cool space."
"Then you've really only been with the cold and away from the heat?"
"You already knew that, didn't you?" asked Akasora with a toothy smile.
Teruya could feel her eyebrows rising in response.
She could always say yes.
She had gathered all sorts of informations from Border's chat.
"There was of course a lot of dubious accuracy, but my style was to gather that information along with the rest."
"I'd rather not know what kind of dubious information about me is out there."
"There was some that honestly makes me want to fill in some holes about your past."
"Oh, really?"
"Right," he started to say, stopped, and then decided to say it after all. "Right. The information line between then and now is a lot more isolated than I had expected. Well, Border does exist to preserve Mikado City. And once that had gotten out, they stopped dealing much with things like that."
"True enough." Teruya smiled bitterly. "Which is why I would love to look into some things related to certain things the general B-Rank wouldn't know about. Yes."
"You have quite the passion for something like this. As a teacher, I have nothing but encouragement for that."
With that, Akasora took a drink from the bamboo bottle hanging from his hip.
Then he viewed his surroundings and checked the time on his phone.
"That concludes your greeting to a teacher, so how about we get down to why you are really here? At least then we won't have to stay out here."
"Not necessary," said Teruya while opening her phone with a smile.
There was text displayed on her screen. The cools black and white played on her screen as she showed it to Akasora. Once it was all in view of the screen, she had become very aware of how odd this really was.
"I came over to speed up the collection process for Taiyōko, so I need this."
"Huh? Doesn't she normally work by herself? Why did she send you over?"
She honestly did not want to say, but...
"It was not up to her. Kumagai and I decided on this of our own accord."
"Is there a particular reason for that?"
"At first, we wanted to speak with her. Now I feel like it is for the best we do this."
"Hm, I see."
It pleased Teruya that Akasora seemed to understand. And...
"It's so strange."
"What is?"
"Right." Teruya spun the phone in her hand and held it to her chin. "She does not feel real when facing her in person."
.
Teruya looked to the inner city's area from the Yagura Branch Office.
She saw the short stairway down, the artificial greenery spread out below, and a massive city formed from large buildings.
Her own home was outside of that inner city, a place where it was not too loud. But the area in front of her now was several times that size.
And it felt much livelier.
Everything was in a well-cared for style, which felt very familiar to her since she had liked to remain organized and the surrounding area had been nothing less than that.
But even so...
"It's so strange."
She had occasionally looked over this area of Mikado City and she had numerically understood everything there was to know about it. She had even seen footage from within it. And yet...
"I never would have thought that Taiyōko comes here daily."
"You're just not used to the freedom I allow for my students."
She could agree with that.
"I always thought she would be in a place that felt more like fantasy and unreal, but now that I see it for myself, I've found out that she is just in a nice place that is very different from the rest of the city. I know it's a little late in to be having this sort thoughts about the city, but here I am."
"You sound just like she did when first coming here, you know that?"
"Really?" asked Teruya.
Also, a message appeared on her phone. It displayed text from someone else who had been in the chat. There was only one person who would message her during this time of day.
A girl who had remained within the Border base.
It was Hoshi.
They had exchanged private messages so that they would not be found out by any of Border's more savage members. She had been fine with it all, but Hoshi had found herself hesitating the entire time they messaged each other.
Based on that kind of reaction, it was clear that she still felt strange about being a sort of equal to her and Kumagai, but she was plenty thankful that she had this sort of experiance.
Hoshi at least messaged her.
"Hey, Teruya."
She looked up from her phone. Akasora had his brows lowered and his smile was something more akin to a parent watching out for their child than anything else.
"It might not look like it, but she actually had it pretty rough due to expectations of her. Try not to push too hard, okay?"
For some reason, Akasora spoke as if he was pleading her to listen to his words.
And once she had realized that and registered it...
"...!"
She felt a pang of familiarity well up. She understood now.
...Honestly.
Was she embarrassed or bashful about this? It seemed childish to try to hide it like this.
Then again, Teruya wondered if she would end up even more childish for allowing this to build up.
...I've already decided I'm not that way, haven't I?
In that case, she decided while turning toward Akasora.
"Sensei, I think I would like to get to know her a bit more."
"Are you sure you can handle what you find"
"I will have to deal with it whether I am sure or not. And if there is even more people around for this, then it's only fair that her troubles be something she can speak about. Also..."
She turned around to look at the branch office. She could see someone standing in the central second-floor window with their back turned.
...That must be Tsukiko-san.
She had not spoken much with the boy yet, but...
"He must have his own thoughts on the matter."
The phone Kumagai was holding in her hand received a notification that Teruya had gotten one of the Black Triggers and was going back to the base. Kumagai nodded to herself as Wakamura looked to her.
"So here's what I'm supposed to give you."
He handed her a black object that seemed to be two hard points linked by a small metal bar.
Kumagai could only stare at the object for a moment.
That was the Black Trigger Shukufuku.
...The name is way too close to that one Teruya went to go get.
Kumagai looked to the boy who had opened his phone in his hand.
"Hey, Kumagai."
"What is it, Lover boy?"
"...Did you hear that from Kōchō and Asano?"
"Yeah. That's what they call you instead of 'Rokkun', right?"
"They are just as bad."
Hearing that, Kumagai's expression stiffened.
"Um, sorry."
"For what?"
"...Do you...know what you said?"
"...I would really rather you just forget what I said. Please."
"Not happening."
"Well," said Wakamura with a nod.
The way he moved gave her the impression that he knew something to hold against her in case she did say something.
But he only watched how she would react.
Still, he did not make a spectacle out of what seemed to be his own harsh reality.
"Why don't we get to a different topic. Such as what that object really is and why Girikage needed me to give it to you."
"Oh, yeah. This thing is apparently a Black Trigger. I was curious as to why you had it when I was supposed to be meeting up with Daigo, but I guess even you don't know why."
"Um. ...I think I know why he had me be here instead of handing it to you directly."
Wakamura's expression froze. After a while, he hung his head with sweat pouring down his face.
Kumagai could tell this was bad, so...
"Hey."
"...Ah. Sorry! Sorry, okay!? Let's get back on topic!"
The two of them seemed to be troubling each other.
Wakamura did not really mean it as a way to make up for that, but he decided to ask what he had intended to earlier.
"Why do you need that?"
"It's a favor for Tai- Sorry, sorry. Wait, wrong person to say that to. Anyway, I'm doing this to help out Taiyōko a bit. Lessen the burden, I guess."
"So I was right then. About the reason I was sent over. ...Damn those guys. It was probably Hisato and Hanzaki who told him to have me do this."
"Sounds like you had it pretty rough before this. Especially since I'm sure Katori had something to say. Akane had told me how your squad had met up earlier."
"Yeah. She was about to go off on Girikage since she doesn't like him too much. Says he's 'too creepy'."
"I see," she said while taking Shukufuku into her hands.
But then Wakamura asked a sudden question.
"What do you think of her?"
"I can't really say." She responded immediately. "Our situations are different. I feel like there's something similar between the two of us, but she had problems I can't really understand."
"You really understand the people with annoying circumstances, don't you?"
"I guess that's way too true to deny."
But Kumagai had another thought.
...Just look at how I am with Denji after all.
She felt like she had dealt with strange circumstances for a while now, but it was still nothing compared to some others.
So she kept speaking to avoid an awkward silence with Wakamura.
"The first thing I thought about when I met back up with her is that she is pretty cute. She was also an idol to the Engineers."
"Make sure not to say that near anyone form the SS. I might get dragged in if you say I was near you. ...But out of curiosity, did she deny them? Did she say there was something she was already thinking of?"
"Make sure not to even think that near anyone from the SS. But no, she seemed blissfully unaware of what was going on. Same with Obishima."
"Oh." Wakamura nodded. "So Obishima was also with her again."
"If you aren't careful, she might take Taiyōko for herself. It might not be on purpose, but it can still happen."
"...I think you're getting too into this."
She could not decide if she should say something for that. But...
"Guess I'll do something about this."
"What are you going to do exactly?"
"Ask you if you want to tag along with me as I go back to the base. If we happen to come across a certain girl, all the better."
"Then," said Wakamura. "I'll take you up on that offer."
"Make sure you don't fall behind. I walk pretty fast."
Canaria Uta walked down a corridor inside the Border base.
She was on her way back from a meeting with the other Operators. It had been more of a small gathering than anything else. But she still enjoyed her time with all of them.
I see Tekitai-san had decided to take Wagner-kun and Hichidori-chan along with him again. Those three must really be close. Oh, but I guess they were just excited since we actually let all of the male Operators sit near each other this time.
She had felt like that was more of a coincidence than anything, but she let them be.
She had ended up waiting until everyone else were done and had left with each other. She was no on the way back to her squad's operating room after that, but...
"—"
She came to a stop and sighed.
She was thinking about her squad.
She had noticed the amount of work placed on the two males lately. To phrase it delicately...
...They are getting it pushed harder and harder into them.
Their positions had seemed to push at their backs, but that was probably part of the process. Plus, Kasumi-kun has some unique styles like firing a ship-destroying Ibis blast when it is unneeded.
Regardless, she had felt bad for them, but...
"Well, can you really blame me for that?"
She gave another sigh.
"Maybe I can calm myself with a song. Yes, that should work well because of my Side Effect."
Nodding to herself, Canaria sucked in some air before releasing it out as words. Each one mixed together with the next and formed a rhythm that echoed out into the hallway and reverberated against the walls. There was no music to accompany her voice, but it felt like there was no need for such things.
Her voice was more than enough to carry everything.
"Teru-teru-bozu, teru bozu."
She had decided on a children's song.
I would have gone with my usual song, but I promised Suzu-chan that I would wait until she finished the music for it.
This was would a proxy song until that time came.
So for now...
"Do make tomorrow a sunny day."
It would shine some light for her and others.
"Like the sky in a dream sometimes."
She had felt a smile play on her lips as the word "dream" came up. It was such a lovely word to hear.
"If it's sunny I'll give you a golden bell."
She could hear the feint sound of a bell in her own head.
"Teru-teru-bozu, teru-bozu.
"Do make tomorrow a sunny day.
"If you make my wish come true
"We'll drink lots of sweet sake."
It is a bit worrying that a song for children speaks of drinking sake.
She was a year under the age limit, but she had already had some before when some others had insisted she try some.
To her luck, she had managed to only drink the lightest and sweetest of sake, so she had not felt too bad by the end of it.
"Teru-teru-bozu. Teru bozu."
The song was coming to an end and she continued to smile.
"Do make tomorrow a sunny day."
But...
"If it's cloudy and I find you crying..."
She would snip the head off of it.
The song, while being meant for children, spoke of cutting off the head of the doll.
I don't like that at all. I suppose there is no one around to hear me change the lyrics a bit. Suzu-chan does it all the time, so I should be fine.
Smiling to herself again, she finished the song.
"Then I shall give you a friend to stop your crying."
Clapping her hands twice, she lifted her head with a bit of excitement. Once she did, she became aware of a presence close by.
In particular, directly in front of her,
Canaria looked up to see who this was and saw smooth skin and a lean figure in front of her. She was aware that she had a similar figure, but this was even better.
And with that came the head with long black hair held up by a crescent moon clip.
This person's outfit was casual, but wore the Border logo on it.
.
Canaria looked down at this person upon seeing that they were shorter than her.
"Y-you have such a nice voice? Um, uh..."
She nodded at the quiet voice she heard.
This small person was one of the Border Combatants like her teammates.
"You heard me sing!?"
"Y-yes! I had only happened to hear it as I was walking and wanted to see who it was, but, um, uh, I very much like your singing."
The girl raised her right hand in a European-style salute. But with her head lowered a bit, she did not stretch her arm out.
Even so, her elbow was visible enough to be proper. It almost felt like she was trying to be overly respective, so Canaria actually chose to move closer to her. And when she did...
"Um, uh."
Oh, realized Canaria. She had moved forward too quickly.
After a moment of thought, she stepped back from the small girl. She felt a little guilty for putting distance between them, but...
"Th-thank you very much. I tend to find it better to be at a distance when speaking with those who have higher priority than me."
Canaria nodded at the honest relief she heard in the girl's voice.
And she finally looked her directly in the eye.
"It is a pleasure to meet the newest Kotowari Squad member, Taiyōko Hoshi-san."
.
Hoshi nodded when she heard her name. Her head felt a pang on the fast way back up, but that was fine.
"I hope I can live up to everyone's expectations. Oh, but." She asked Canaria a question. "How did you know who I was?"
Canaria responded with a quiet "eh?" and then...
"You look exactly the way you were described to me, Taiyōko-san."
"Do I?" she wondered.
Her general image was definitely a defining trait. However, that did not mean much in this madness that was Border, so...
"But there are a lot of people who look like me, Uta-san. I'm glad you didn't mistake someone else for me."
Canaria smiled and nodded before speaking up herself.
"Taiyōko-san? Um, since you are a Combatant and I am an Operator, you should probably avoid calling me Uta-'san'."
"No, no, no. You see, I'm still new and only in my third year of middle school."
"Yes, but...you are actually more experienced than me, aren't you?"
It was happening again. She felt a bit of resignation as she decided to say so.
"That is only due to my family..."
That embarrassed her. She could tell she was blushing, but hanging her head would only make it more visible from below. On the other hand, the ceiling felt too low to look up.
Oh, I hate this.
She was only experienced in practical combat, yet everything else was new for her. It might sound like she would be bragging, but she had actually been late to start any sort of combat training for Border. Still, she had expected to earn more of a reputation beyond just being a princess or her family name and everyone around was still very nice and relied on her.
She did not have the proper experience, but she was knowledgeable in other areas.
And it pained her when she was viewed as someone.
Starting with an "um" was a form of self-defense. It made her sad that was all she could manage at this point, but the natural part of her made her seem louder. So she preferred to think that keeping her voice low was the considerate side of being who she was.
Nevertheless, there was still a clear gap between her and everyone around her. She had to act like one of them. And for that matter, there was a five year gap with the person in front of her now.
...I am very glad I had asked Yukari to go back so that Teruya and Kumagai would not have to wait.
"B-but I can't just call you 'Uta'."
She had no real rank and she had not truly shown herself in combat.
This girl had to understand that, so she placed a hand on her chin and responded.
"Then please call me 'Senpai' based on our respective school years. Meanwhile, I will call you 'Hoshi-san' based on our combat experience."
That was simple enough.
And she did not push as hard as Teruya had, so there was not much welling up inside of her this time.
...That's Uta-san for you! No, I mean Senpai!
She corrected herself and then spoke up to agree. But...
"Oh, yes, yes, okay!"
She hated how nervous she sounded. But...
"C-can I really just call you Senpai?"
"Most people just call me 'Cana' or 'Canaria', but you don't look like you would be comfortable with that. So just go with 'Senpai' until you can call my name."
There was another incredible thing.
Canaria was referring to all of the people she had gotten to know due to Border who Hoshi knew she would likely not meet normally. She had heard that her senpai in Border were on a completely different level and had taken a lot to reach that point.
"No, you can't compare me to people like that!"
"Don't worry. You were placed in a squad with Mei-chan. She is very clever when it comes to data, so I doubt she would make a mistake," said Canaria. "But data alone cannot see someone's heart."
.
Hoshi felt herself tense up at those words.
Canaria had hit the bull's eye.
Hoshi knew she was not psychologically cut out for the battlefield. She spent all her time trying not to bother others and she doubted that was going to change anytime soon.
Plus, she had a concern that she was almost certain was true.
"Fuji-nee only allowed me to join because of our familiarity with each other."
But...
"Can I really be useful when that's all I have?"
Canaria did not hesitate to respond with a smile.
"No one is chosen if they lack something."
"—"
That was true of course and Canaria said more as if to explain.
"Joining a squad generally requires consent from the person in question. Currently, no one in Border was forced to join the organization or squad they are on. So why did you take your position as a Combatant and squad member?"
"Oh, um, well, you see." Hoshi placed her right hand on her cheek that never seemed to stop blushing. "I had watched Kotowari Squad once they were getting better and before that even. The first time, I had been worried about them and wanted to check on them."
"And the second time?"
"Right. Th-the second time, I decided not to approach them due to being afraid of them at that point."
She recalled how she had frantically shaken her head when she had been alone.
It was after school and she had sensed there was no one waiting for her while she was alone.
She could not imagine how she would feel if they rejected her.
And what if she ended up getting in people's way?
She would always feel guilty and be unable to see herself as their equal.
Besides, that was how it had always been for her.
Sh would thoughtlessly go along with people around her, and even her own siblings did not go to her when they tried to take care of things.
Even when she tried to speak up for herself, nothing would happen and people would bat her away with coos and compliments.
That was what happened when she was not getting in people's way.
And after she spoke to them, they would apologize for it.
They did not have to do that.
She had feared receiving that same reaction on a much larger scale, but then her homeroom teacher had spoken to her:
"Don't feel like you need to push yourself too hard, or that there is even a need to do so. Your actions are something decided on by you and only you. People can guide you, but it's all up to you to decide what would be best for only you."
She had still shaken her head because this was not something she thought was worth those words.
"I don't like it on a more instinctual level."
The thought of not giving everyone what they wanted scared her. Because...
"—"
At that point, she focused on the world around her again.
Canaria stood in front of her while directing a smile her way. And she asked a question.
"Yes, speaking up is a scary thing, isn't it? In a way, it is similar to fighting. You wonder if isn't acceptable and allowable for you to damage and destroy things. Whether they are physical or mental, it is all the same. And this is an emotional response that hits you before you can try to justify it for yourself."
"Y-yes. That's right. That's exactly it."
"In that case," began Canaria before pausing. And then, "What do you like?"
The answer to that question came as a mental image.
And oddly enough, it was more of a "scene" than a specific "thing".
She saw herself walking home from school with her friends.
She saw herself seated on the grass in the nature park with the birds and foxes gathering around.
She saw herself shopping while conversing with the store managers she knew fairly well.
And...
"There was a third time, wasn't there?"
Canaria asked a sudden question.
...Ah.
The images in her mind were cut off, but she no longer felt as cornered as before. She recalled that third time more through the good memories than the pressure.
"Yes." She placed a hand on her chest. "That time, I had managed to gather the courage to finally ask if I could join them."
.
Canaria understood what Hoshi meant.
That was back when Mei was still able to function normally. And if Mei was capable of deciding what to do rationally, it had to have been within the time of the B-Rank Wars.
They had learned of Taiyōko Hoshi's joining of Kotowari Squad through a chat notice, but...
...Mei-chan can be really stubborn.
According to everyone in Japan, anyone from the Taiyōko family was skilled in both literary and military matters.
They had originally served Japan as soldiers, but they had decided to semi-settle down, quit, and withdrew from society for a bit, claiming they were not meant to live in that era.
It was the appearance of Neighbors that had brought them back out into the spotlight. After Border offered to have them join as Combatants, they decided to fight against them for the normal people of the world.
Since they were soldiers, the Taiyōko family were always fighting for the people. They followed the rules set by anywhere they were, but they had been brought back to a battlefield where they could continue to fight.
With a place like that active again, raising children when they fought was something a lot of people had been against.
That was why Mei had acted in advance.
...I thought she was a more nervous and hesitant kind of girl.
Giving Hoshi her points after the Aftokrator invasion was a complete show of her decisive side.
Calling it perfect decisiveness felt rude, so Canaria silently apologized.
And I bet I would have done the same thing, she added.
Plus, Kotowari Squad had already been something of a strange powerhouse when the B-Rank Wars started.
Mei would support those three she thought of as children, so Canaria was curious about the person who would become a new support for the squad Mei watched over.
She was sure to reveal what she could do during the B-Rank Wars. And she had.
However it turned out, it worked to support Kotowari Squad's future.
And Canaria spoke.
"Mei-chan decided to choose a god future for you kids, didn't she?"
.
Hoshi was a little confused about what Canaria meant.
…A good future?
She was essentially Kotowari Squad's support. She was aware Mei was convinced she had something that could help them even if she was not convinced of it herself, but...
…But what about this?
"Were you not aware of that?" asked Canaria.
"Eh? Oh, well, that came as a bit of a surprise is all."
"But I think Mei-chan - and all of Kotowari Squad - expects a lot from you."
How am I supposed to know if that's true? But…
…The people around Fuji-nee must be good people.
They were considerate of Mei and of Hoshi as well.
"I'm glad."
"Hm? For what?"
"When I greeted Hana-san, she told me I should meet you, but I'm glad I was able to do so. You've helped me get over some of my worries about Mei-chan."
"I am glad to hear it. We will be taking similar paths from here on, so let's do our best."
"Okay," she said with a bow just before the floor shook below her feet. Canaria looked around, and...
"It seems another earthquake is going on. This one is less than the what has been happening, but it is still something to think about."
"Has it been happening? The Engineering Department is braced rather well so that nothing falls over at times like those, so I had not felt anything recently."
"That makes sense. Yes. There have been strange earthquakes happening recently. We can try ti blame that on Neighbors, like the strange one Suzu-chan and Sasamori-kun had to fight, but we just don't know for sure. Kikuchihara-kun and Kasumi-kun have been checking things over with sounds while I help with my own tuning, but there have not been any good results on the mater."
Hoshi was well aware of what Suzume had dealt with the day prior. She had been told, along with the rest of Kotowari Squad, about the strange Neighbors.
"I wonder if something big will be happening soon..."
"So she had told you to wait here for us, huh?"
Obishima lightly nodded her head.
Teruya and Kumagai had made it back to the starting point for them, but Hoshi had yet to return. Along with them was the Katori Squad Glasses Gunner.
He must be here so he can be with Hoshi-chan.
She was not ignorant to the boy's feelings for her friend. It was hard to miss with all of the help he offered them when he was over. The role of assistant had gone to her once she accompanied Hoshi for the third time here. Everyone seemed to enjoy having her around, at least more so than having Wakamura.
She felt bad for him since it felt like she was taking his job, but he had waved off her worries.
He had been nice enough to not blame her for anything.
I want to help him and Hoshi-chan, for sure! They both seem to like each other very much. Hoshi-chan has even mentioned him when she thought I was not paying too much attention.
It had actually been amusing to see the two of them acting the way they did when around each other. What had made it all the better was the way they did not hide it from each other.
Obishima had seen the way Hoshi and the Wakamura expressed themselves to each other. Nothing was kept from each other and they understood how the other felt. All that mattered at that point was simply letting that out properly.
That was why she gladly shared a look with Teruya and Kumagai.
Obi-nyan: "Thank you for bringing Wakamura-senpai here, Kumagai!"
Kuma: "No problem. I figured I would get some good blackmail out of this, so I'm glad it will work out."
"Yes. She had gone to get Fujin herself and asked for me to make sure the two of you were okay here."
Keeping the hidden conversation from Wakamura was a priority right now, so Obishima did her best to keep the vocal one going on. She made sure to keep her eyes closed when speaking so that her expression would not give anything away.
Teruya and Kumagai seemed far too use to this though as both looked natural as they took seats from the side.
As for Wakamura...
"Yeah, that sounds like her," he said. Without any hesitation, he had gone to the papers Hoshi had laid out before they left.
Obishima watched him carefully as he looked through the papers. From the corner of her eye, she could see Kumagai looked at him too.
Kuma: "What even are those papers?"
Obi-nyan: "The current research information Hoshi-chan has taken. I wasn't here for the majority, so Wakamura-senpai might know more about what's on there than I do."
Kuma: "Wouldn't it be funny if there was actually some hearts or something that he had put there and wanted to check if they were still there?"
Leagues Above: "Or maybe a confession?"
"Oooooooooohhhhhh!" Obishima and Kumagai said in unison.
Wakamura turned to the two of them, but Kumagai waved him off without looking away from her phone. This was enough for him to raise a brow, but think nothing of it.
Kuma: "But seriously, has she been working on this kind of stuff for a long time? I don't know when she joined Border, so I don't want to make too many assumptions."
Leagues Above: "Do you know, Obishima?"
Obi-nyan: "I never thought to ask. I know that she only recently became B-Rank, but nothing more than that. I am sure that she would answer if we asked though."
Leagues Above: "There is always a quicker option, for the moment?"
What would that be?
Obishima looked over to Teruya, but she was still looking down at her phone. Her fingers were moving across the screen and it didn't take long before she finished.
The message she had sent was not one for their private chat but instead for the general.
Oh, that's right. They are not in the chat for Engineers.
She had been allowed general access to it since she had been helping out Hoshi. Wakamura had also been put in, but that had been before she became friends with Hoshi, so there was nothing to think about there.
Focusing back on the chat, Obishima read through the message.
Leagues Above: "Terashima-san, when did Hoshi-san start work over here?"
Tera-zō: "I'm guessing neither Wakamura or Obishima gave you access for today to our chat."
Obi-nyan: "M-my bad! I had forgotten to do that!"
Rokkun: "I didn't know they would even be here today."
Tera-zō: "That's fine. I'll send it to them. Teruya, Kumagai, just know that, unless you get on the level of those two at least, you'll only be allowed in for the day."
"Is that how it works?"
"It is just to make sure that nothing particular gets out to people who are not normally involved over here."
Obishima nodded along with Wakamura's words.
She had only just thought of that now, so she would make sure to apologize later. But until then, she changed chats as messages form her squad captain and some others came in against Terashima.
I guess this would be one of the "internal attacks" I have heard about here. But they seem to be lax about their words, so it should be fine.
With things settled in the general chat, she moved to the one meant for Engineers and anyone helping them to the extend Obishima was with Hoshi and how Wakamura had before.
.
Tera-zō: "So what did you want to know again?"
Leagues Above: "When Hoshi-san came to you Engineers, and when she began this work on the prototype Triggers."
Tera-zō: "Why didn't you just ask her directly?"
Leagues Above: "I have tried. She seems to be busy at the moment and is not responding."
A sudden sound filled the area, causing the three girls to looked up.
Wakamura was semi-sprawled out on the floor, one hand on the ground while his back was arced upwards and his legs were stretched out. The semi-bridge he was making seemed like it would collapse if he did not let go of the papers in his hand and balance himself more.
Kuma: "Oh, careful there. Wakamura almost ran out of here because of that."
Rokkun: "I didn't! I saw something and moved away from it! That's all! B-besides! I also needed to get the next stack of papers!"
Tera-zō: "That guy is making me feel old..."
Anyways.
Tera-zō: "I can't remember the exact date - you can probably ask one of her fans - but she came by roughly around the time after the second large scale invasion. At first, she had only been loitering around, thinking we wouldn't notice her. I called out to her while I was busy with something else. From there it kind of became a snowball effect where she would come by, one of us would bring her in, she would look around, then leave with a nice feeling to her."
Kuma: "Why do I get the feeling the majority here were a bit too friendly with her...?"
Tera-zō: "Take that up with all of the people who were acting shady during that time."
Kuma: "I just might."
Leagues Above: "Getting back to the topic at hand."
Teruya gave a hum as she typed.
Something particular had come to mind, but she had been a step behind on her thought.
Rokkun: "Wait, I didn't know that either. But that brings up a question."
"Right," Teruya nodded.
Rokkun: "You just let her in? Especially after the invasion? I mean, we know she is one of the nicest people around, but shouldn't you have all been wary at the time? I hear you guys had taken a good amount of damage because of an attack on the base."
Tera-zō: "Oh, that. Yeah. It was pretty bad. But our losses were mostly mechanical ones and not flesh and blood. As much as I don't want to say it... It's actually thanks to Bakuto that we didn't suffer casualties like that."
"That guy... Heh. He really never changes, that stupid idiot."
Teruya raised a brow at the smile Kumagai gave her phone. To speak of that man with such fondness, that was not something most people could overlook easily. Something like that only brought more questions to mind.
But the current conversation was still going, so she would have to put those new thoughts aside for the moment.
Leagues Above: "That is pretty surprising. But we can save questioning on that for later. For now, let's stick with the main subject here."
Tera-zō: "You're really diligent, aren't you, Teruya? Keep that up."
Flattery would be getting him nowhere, but she still felt pride in being acknowledge like that.
Tera-zō: "The thing with Taiyōko is that she doesn't give off any threatening feeling. I'm sure the majority of you have noticed it too, but, even as a Combatant, she doesn't give off the same feel as others who are fighting. Instead, there's something else. I can't really put it into words, but it's there."
Kuma: "Yeah, I know what you mean. That girl is strange when you end up fighting her. I can't say much about fighting alongside her, but as an opponent, she doesn't have the same feeling as others."
Obi-nyan: "That's right. Hoshi-chan...makes you want to keep going. She does not put anyone down and she only builds up those around her. Even if they are opponents."
Rokkun: "Oh, I get it now. So that's why you let her in like that."
Teruya furrowed her brows as Kumagai and Obishima seemed to come to the same realization as Wakamura.
The three of them had fought or been around Hoshi while she only had secondhand experience. The only interactions she had with the girl were the ones starting from her appearing at the start of the day to now. There was not much to say about her from only that, so she found herself lacking in knowledge about how the girl was.
Everyone else seemed to know though.
None of them seemed to have realized this and instead continued with their conversation.
Tera-zō: "So there's the answer to the first question. As for the second one..."
Shooting Star: "I can answer that myself, Terashima-san."
"My apologizes for taking so long, everyone."
.
Hoshi bowed to everyone in the room. Her tardiness had been her own fault and she knew it. Not apologizing for it would have been too rude for her.
"That's fine, Hoshi-chan. Did you do everything you wanted to do?"
"Yes! I got Fujin from Shinoda-san! I also had an interesting chat with someone. That may be where my time had gone."
"If you had some fun, that's fine. We were only talking about some things over here."
"By the way, Hoshi..."
There was no need for her to question Kumagai since she already knew. It was something so trivial that it just did not fit with her. But...
"You changed your chat name. What exactly did you do while you were gone?"
"It is like I said, Yūko-senpai. I only had a chat with someone before going to retrieve Fujin. Oh, but I did have time to think about how to touch up some of the Triggers!"
It felt easy to say her name now.
Hoshi had thought of trying it out with Teruya as well, but there was no need. She knew that she would feel lighter than before when saying their names.
It would be unfair to them if I did not treat them like the others.
Her eyes turned to Obishima then Wakamura. The both of them seemed confused by this, but she only gave them a smile in return.
Yes, I should make sure to maintain this for now. If my squad is expecting things from me, I can't be holding back because I don't like the results. So for now...
"I will be asking you all to be patient with me for just a bit longer. If that is alright?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. No worries. We can wait a bit longer for Fujin."
Hoshi could only giggle at the misunderstanding, but did nothing to correct it.
That means I am able to have a casual conversation after all.
.
Wakamura watched from a distance.
He had not been able to be around Hoshi too much recently, but the time he had been around he had seen some tension start to form in her. The movement of her shoulders down to how she took her steps. Everything was filled with tension that had not been there before.
But that was not there anymore.
No, it's still there, it just isn't as prevalent as before. She still has something on her mind, but whatever it was has lessened. ...That's good.
Realizing his own thoughts, he turned around to cover his face before any of the girls had time to notice.
But he had been too late.
The grin Kumagai wore while facing him told him everything.
Crap!
There was no longer any sort of escape from what would be coming. Even if she was a nice enough person, Kumagai was still someone who would take her chance to get a hit or two in.
"Is something the matter, Waka-kun?"
"Nothing in particular. I just realized how close some of us are to being terrible people..."
"Hm? But I think you are a great person!"
"Um, Hoshi-chan, I think you should stop now."
He could not even bring himself to face the girl as his face burned from the combination of her smile and her sincere words.
He was grateful for Obishima and vowed to make sure she would not end up like the other terrible people around him.
Granted, I doubt Yuba-san would allow it. And if she is here, there is nothing to worry about.
"By the way, Waka-kun..."
He took the chance to turn around and look at Hoshi. What he saw was not was he was expecting.
Standing between Obishima and Kumagai now, she held her hands behind her back, eyes turned away from him, but still in his direction, and feet shuffling under her. The two next to her seemed to be enjoying what they were seeing, but likely for different reasons.
Before he could even speak up, she resolved herself and turned back up to properly face him. Her arms fell to her side and her feet straightened out. It was like someone standing to attention and maintaining their posture so they would not be looked down upon.
But I don't think I could that even if I tried...
Still, he would refrain from speaking until she got everything out.
"Can I stop calling you 'Waka-kun'?"
"...Huh?"
That was a surprise.
"Yes! I have learned that being casual with people is nothing something particularly bad, no matter if they are someone you are barely meeting for the first time. Since that is the case, may I stop being so...not casual with you? Um, well, like using your first name... And of course! Of course you can use mine first name as well! Use it however you like! Yes, that is only fair and right!"
The feeling in his body that had been warming him up only got hotter as those words came out.
She even repeated herself there! How do I handle that!? See? See!? Even Kumagai and Teruya aren't sure how to handle that much! That is being directed at me!
There was no break for Wakamura as Hoshi continued speaking, more so to herself than anyone in the room.
"Wait... But then would Kiyo-nii and Kō-onii be mad...? Wait, never mind that! This will be a me choice! Yes! I will be a bad girl and do what I like this time! So please, call me by name!"
The deep bow Hoshi gave had tossed her hair over her shoulders and head, making her resemble a black tube or curtain that was hiding her features. Even so...
Too cute! Way too cute! And that is what she thinks it means to be a "bad girl"!? Yōko is way worse than her! I'm so glad this is the worst she can think of for something like that!
This time it had not just been him who had to turn away for a moment. Kumagai, who had been standing next to Hoshi, had turned her head to cover her mouth. This wort of thing had a wide effect of range that seemed to hit even the more tomboy like people.
That much he was glad for.
But there were still other people who were barely effected.
"Does this mean you are more fine with being less stiff when speaking with us?"
Teruya had walked forward with a grin on her face as moved Hoshi's hair back over her shoulders.
It was strange for her to say that, but Wakamura only assumed it meant something from earlier in the day.
"Well, no matter that case, there is something you want to do here, right?"
"That's right! I still need to work on the Triggers!"
"Speaking of which, there is still that question you had said you would answer."
.
Kumagai looked calmed herself down and turned to Hoshi. Teruya had a point in that they were promised an answer to the second question. But when she looked over...
Does Hoshi just not mind, or has she just not noticed yet?
Teruya had apparently sat Hoshi down on a stool while combing her finger through her hair. Once she seemed satisfied with that, her finger began moving to collect portions of hair before threading them together. The intertwining groups of hair were held in place once a new overlap was made. At the moment, only the left side was being used, meaning the right side would begin once that was over.
Next to her, Obishima was watching with curiosity at how Teruya had begun braiding Hoshi's hair with the latter being completely oblivious to it.
I don't want to think of her as an airhead but...
Shaking her head, Kumagai pulled out her phone to send a quick message.
Kuma: "How are you holding up?"
Rokkun: "I'm fine, for now. I can't say promise that will be the case once Teruya is done though."
Kuma: "Thought as much. Well don't worry, I'll make sure to record your reaction so I can show it to you."
Rokkun: "I would rather you didn't..."
But that was not how things worked here. Wakamura must have understood that since he only sighed in defeat.
"Right, the question was about when I started making the prototype Trigger, right?"
"That is correct. We got a general idea of when you started coming by here, but that just means you didn't have much time to work on this. And yet your first time appearing in the B-Ranks was when we saw three new Triggers that had come from you."
Kumagai remembered that without issue, and it seemed like Wakamura was the same. It had been Nasu Squad and Katori Squad who had been the first people to officially fight against those Trigger in the B-Rank Wars. The showing Kotowari Squad had done during that time was something rather amazing in its own right.
To know that this single girl had managed to make those Trigger was one thing, but the way two boys of Kotowari Squad had seemed to understand and use those Triggers was another thing. That had been something new to them, yet they managed a tie when they had been lacking a teammate, taken themselves out, and gone up against people stronger than them.
But...
Those Triggers had been what did us in.
The unexpected factor of them had made up for what Kotowari Squad had been lacking during that time.
So Kumagai made sure to properly listen to what Hoshi had to say here.
"They really are nothing special when compared to the originals. They are just imitations of something amazing."
"But you took little time to try and copy those amazing Triggers, so don't sell yourself short there."
"Not completely. I had known of Black Triggers for a bit due to my sister and brothers, but not much. I had the idea to try and mimic those Black Triggers for standard use. I simply had no way of doing so until I found myself here."
"And where exactly is 'here'?"
Kumagai tilted her head at Teruya's question.
It was natural to assume Hoshi had meant the time she came to the Engineers, but it seemed like there was even more to it than that. Once she thought about it more, she understood what Teruya was really asking. After all...
We are also "here" now. A lot of us haven't made it until just recently, so for someone like her, who only started recently, it must have been quite the trip to reach it.
Nasu Squad had started going for that place they wanted once their Sniper had told them that she would be moving. That place was different from where Hoshi was trying to get to and where Teruya felt like she was. Even Wakamura seemed to understand that his squad was only now getting to the starting line.
"Yes, it is such a nice place to be. I am only at the edge of it, but that is why I wish to try harder and make sure I can stand here comfortably. Along with that, I want others to be comfortable as well. That may be why I can't figure out the remaining pieces to finishing these Triggers."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the thing is, the effects of these Black Triggers are so unique that I can't find out how every part of them work. That is why I feel bad for them and feel like I am insulting the ones who had made them."
Was it wrong to say that she did not understand what Hoshi meant?
Well Teruya seems to understand from the way she's nodding her head.
There was something that felt unknown to her, but she did not want to voice that. It may have been odd to the others, so instead, Kumagai spoke up about something else.
"Why do they need to be exact copies?"
.
"Huh?"
Hoshi felt a pull on her hair, but thought nothing of it. At the moment she focused on what Kumagai had to say.
"Yeah. You said you don't fully get how these Black Triggers work, but isn't that fine. If you don't understand them, don't try and copy them in full. Just make what you want and be happy with the end result."
"Heh heh. That sounds like something you would say."
"Is it? I'm just saying that there's no need to focus too hard on something like that when you can't help it, no matter what you do."
It sounded nice and easy, but there was something there that did not sit right with her. Doing so felt like it was not an appropriate response to the people who gave their lives to make the Black Triggers. From what she had been told, people had to give up a lot to make the small black objects they now had with them. The power they held was also something she could not overlook so easily. That was the reason for her being watched while working on the optional Triggers, and why she always needed to make reports as soon as she was done for the day.
They were important objects that someone could not just look past when speaking about Triggers.
She was already doing something as disrespectful as trying to mimic their abilities for standard use, so the least she thought she could do was make sure they were exact copies.
But...
"It's fine to selfishly want to be proud of yourself for something!"
At first Hoshi had thought that it was Teruya or Kumagai who had said those words to her. But the fact of the matter was that neither one of them had spoken up after giving her time to think.
That meant it was the other girl there.
Obishima Yukari. The girl she could say was her friend.
"Uh... Hoshi-chan, we're friends, right?"
"Of course!"
She was being so bad that Obishima was questioning their friendship.
She could heard a giggle from behind her as something pulled on her hair again. It was light, but it did not hurt, so she thought nothing of it.
"Then I want to say something."
"Please do."
"Here I go... Hoshi-chan, please stop being so nice!"
"Eh!?"
"Oh? That was unexpected," she could hear Teruya say.
But Obishima ignored her in order to continue speaking.
"Hoshi-chan, you're very nice, but I think you're mixing that up with something else!"
She did not describe what that was, but even she may not have known that yet.
"After watching Minoru-senpai and Kanzaki-san fight, you had asked if we would still be friends if you made a selfish decision. I had said that we would since that was nothing to end our friendship over. I was even a little happy that you were making a selfish decision. But..."
"Don't hold back now, Obishima. Let it out."
Obishima nodded, so Hoshi made sure to pay close attention to what she would say.
"You are mistaken! Your 'selfish wants' are still nothing but helping others for the sake of others! You should do things for yourself at times too! So... These Triggers... You should make them because you want to, and because you like it. Then you can be proud that you were able to do it. You seem to enjoy working on them during the process, but get sad afterwards."
.
Teruya smiled as she finished her job from behind Hoshi.
The entire time this had been going on, she had braided Hoshi's hair into two sections, all while the girl was focused on something else. She did not even seem to notice that her hair was being played with.
Kuma: "Do you want her to be like you, or something?"
Leagues Above: "Does it look bad? I figured that I would go with two braids so that she doesn't look like she's copying me."
Rokkun: "I think it looks good."
Kuma: "Yeah, but you have a biased and will think anything looks good as long as it's her."
Rokkun: "..."
And so he doesn't deny it.
But that was not what was important right now.
That would actually be...
What was happening in front of her.
Obishima was a bit red while Hoshi's expression was one of pure shock.
She isn't use to being told that it's fine to be truly selfish at times. That's a bit sad when you consider everyone she is around.
Teruya would readily admit that she had her own selfish wants while both Kumagai and Wakamura looked to be the same. Both of them had already showed the extent of their selfishness to others, so there was no hiding that. But Hoshi was not like that.
Her selfishness was not true and was still something that was meant for others. It was something so strange that even Obishima had to comment about it and yell at the girl for it.
Kuma: "You think we should get involved?"
Tera-zō: "While this is nice and all, especially since Taiyōko is a good girl, this probably needs to move on soon or else the others will have a hard time working."
Rokkun: "You could always threatened them by saying you will tell her siblings."
Tera-zō: "That would add pointless trouble to the mix."
Like what?
She had become aware that the Yagura Branch Representative was Hoshi's older brother, but that was all. Who else were her siblings was something Teruya did not know.
But Terashima did have a point. There were other things that needed to get done and she wanted to be prepared for her next match. If that meant pushing the process along by a bit, so be it. She had done what she wanted with Hoshi's hair, so this would be the last thing she could do here.
Moving forward to stand next to Obishima, she crossed her arms while looking down at Hoshi.
"Hoshi-san, you might not see it as such, but your kindness can be viewed as a weakness. While it is good and all outside of a fight, it makes fighting you far too difficult. Isn't that right, Kumagai?"
"Uh... Well, yes and no."
"I am relying on you here since Wakamura is relatively useless when it comes to Hoshi-san."
"..."
And he does not deny it. This would be the second time. One more time and I might just tell Hoshi-san what is going on myself.
It would be something to see, that much was certain. But for now, she needed to focus on the girl before her.
"I have not fought you yet, but I can see what exactly is wrong when you do fight. When fighting you, the opponents seem to gather themselves better, but it also makes things awkward for them. Even more so once they realize that you are being genuine with them and fighting for your teammates."
"Hey, Teruya, maybe you should have put that better."
"Then can you help, since all of you have already fought her?"
"Guess I have no choice."
"Too late. I have already decided on what I want to say."
"You're pretty bad yourself, you know that!?"
.
Hoshi understood what was going on as the others poke to each other.
She had begun to understand what issue they had with her as Obishima began looking away from her. It hurt to see that, but she understood why the younger girl was doing that.
So she spoke up before any more could be said.
"I can't..."
"Hm?"
"I can't guarantee that I will be more selfish in my wants. So instead, can I ask for something?"
"What is it?"
"Can I ask for you all to be a bit patient with me? If you can...I believe I may get to a point where I can be considered 'normal'."
"Hoshi, you're in Border. There will never be anything 'normal' about you."
That was true. And the way Kumagai had said those words did not hurt in the slightest, so Hoshi was glad about that.
But...
"That's fine. Even people who think they are normal soon find out just how abnormal they are when they are here. So none of us have issue with waiting for you. We're going to different places, but for the moment, we are all here."
That was right. They were all in the same place while she had only started to get there.
Knowing that they would wait for her made her feel lighter than when she had first come back. Even the new expression Obishima wore was something that lifted her mood a bit.
The entire time they had been talking time had gone on and she felt bad for taking up that time for herself. It was her selflessness coming up again, but she chose to not speak on it.
Looking over at the clock, she saw that it was a little past noon. Kotowari Squad did not need to meet up today, so she had planned to spend the day working with the Engineers. Seeing that little proper work had gotten done, she straightened her back as she stood up. Two objects lightly hit her back, making her turn her head to see her hair put into two braids.
When did that happen?
It looked nice to her and it kept the rest of her hair from falling in front of her.
I may just keep it like this! The clip had even be near the top. If so, I should get a second one for the second braid.
Hoshi blinked at her own thoughts.
They were trivial ones that had nothing to do with anything important. They were simple thoughts that most normal girls would likely have about their hair and the accessories they wore. That had been what made it so strange to her.
Smiling to herself, she looked around to see that Kumagai and Teruya had started holding off some of the Engineers while Wakamura had his back turned to her. He had been organizing everything around them, likely to make things easier to find. The final person there looked up at her before slowly morphing her expression into a small smile.
Hoshi had been smiling at her without noticing, only now seeing that they understood each other enough to know there was nothing wrong with what had been said.
With a new found vigor, she spoke up so that everyone around her could hear her words.
"I will now get to work on those prototype Triggers! While I am still rather unsure about my feelings towards them, there is something I am sure of!"
Everyone turned to her.
"I wish to make sure they are finished so that everyone can be protected! Please help me so that everyone can be protected!"
She gave a bow to all of them.
There was a moment of silence that was quickly broken by a hum.
Instead of each one giving their own thoughts on the matter, there was only a chorus of those Combatants and Engineers.
"Right! Thank you for this opportunity!"
