"Mori...? Mori, we should probably get going soon..."

I groaned.

"... 5 more... M'nutes…"

"I guess she's not moving. Should we just... carry her?"

"She still needs to change, Yuma. Why are you two just lying here, anyway? She didn't even change out of what she was wearing yesterday."

I shifted slightly, my brain just now recognizing that, yes, I was lying on the couch, with my head resting against my friend next to me. He probably carried me here when I fell asleep in the training room.

"They probably stayed up until midnight training again, Shiori. That would explain why she's refusing to get up..."

"... I will neither confirm, nor deny that fact."

I reached out blindly for a pillow, before burying it into where I vaguely assumed Yuma's face was.

"Oh, she is awake."

I heard Yuma huff and felt him shift from where I was leaning on him. "You didn't need to throw a pillow at me."

I finally opened my eyes, blearily registering Chika and Shiori standing in front of the couch, and Yuma's bright white hair on the edge of my vision.

I reached out and pat him on the head weakly, before getting up with great effort. "Th'nks for being m' pillow."

Yuma let out a muffled snort, grabbing my hand before helping me to my feet. "I don't think you gave me much of a choice. You fell asleep on me."

"Shh. That's totally not what happened," I denied weakly, grabbing my glasses from the coffee table nearby, hand missing said object a few times before I finally found them.

Yuma only laughed at my struggle. I would've thrown another pillow in his face, but gave up.

I only weakly chuckled as they lead me towards the room's door.

-0-

"...Are you sure she's up for a rank wars match today?" Karasuma questioned from the front, glancing behind him to the back seat with a raised eyebrow. "She looks dead tired."

"Mori always looks tired," Yuma interjected with a grin. "Maybe if she didn't stay up so late all the time, like a weirdo…"

"I can hear you two," I grumbled, before taking another bite of the dorayaki in my hand. I distantly remembered Kizaki telling me that it wasn't a healthy breakfast, but he eventually gave up once everyone noticed how I was practically dead on my feet.

"I'd be more concerned if you couldn't," Yuma returned, from his spot mushed up beside me. I was sitting on the seat on the far right, Shiori on the left, while Chika and Yuma were both squished up beside each other in the middle seat.

"Guys, not this early," Shiori whined. "You three were the ones that wanted to go to Border so early..."

"Mori wanted to train a bit before the match while patching together some last minute strategies," Chika explained, as kind as ever, despite Yuma and I having dragged her out of the branch building so early.

Karasuma twisted in his seat to glare at me, slightly ignoring Kizaki's scolding glance. "Workaholic," He accused with a deadpan expression.

"Whatever you want to call it," I brushed off, ignoring Yuma's amused chuckling.

-0-

"Aaaaand back to the drawing board." Yuma cut me off, jumping off the nearby building and landing with a flip.

"Hey, don't shut down my ideas so quickly!" Shiori protested over the communicators. "I was just throwing it out there!"

"You're smarter than that Shiori, so that was definitely a gag idea." Yuma sighed, before glancing over at Mori, who was seemingly resting in the middle of the Trion-fabricated street. "Mori, do you have any of your 'genius ideas'?"

"By genius, do you mean, 'blow up the nearest building'?"

"Chika, don't drag me like this!" Mori finally jolted up, glaring indignantly at her teammates in sight. "I'm smarter than that!"

"Are you sure about that?" Yuma teased, crouching on his spot from the top of a smaller building. "Because your track record of plans currently stands as; blow up a building, split up, possibly kill yourself, and then, once again, blow up another building—"

"Do you wanna fight?!" Mori sprung up from her slumped spot on the ground, automatically firing off a round of Asteroid in Yuma's general direction. None of them needed to look to tell that he had probably dodged, as his playful cackles rang out in the Trion-simulated world.

Chika sighed, slowly slumping to the ground as her two teammates began to half-heartedly spar. She had noticed that on several occasions, despite Mori's seemingly short-tempered disposition, those two had never actually fought seriously.

"Guys~ We kind of need to think of something... We already went over the stages Nasu-squad was most likely to pick, but that's really all we did," Shiori's voice rang out in the ears. "Reiji-san and Torimaru left a while ago, and we only have one hour until the match starts."

"And as much as I know you two like to go into these fights blind so you can improvise better—" Chika interjected politely, yet firmly. "—I'd like to at least consider our opponents and think about who we might want to fight."

"Also, also, also!" Shiori spoke up again. "I heard a little rumour that Nasu squad got another member!"

Yuma blinked, chuckling finally coming to a halt. "A fourth teammate?"

"Where'd you hear this, Shiori?" Mori spoke up disbelievingly, lowering both arms from where they had been holding up two Trion cubes.

"Heh heh... Don't underestimate the Operator-Girls-Gossip-Circle!"

"... I'll remember that for next time." Mori sighed, before dropping back down to the ground with a grumble. Yuma joined her not even 10 seconds later, leaping down from the building to sit beside both Chika and Mori.

"...Murakami," Yuma finally spoke up, breaking the contemplative silence between the team. "I already said I'd take him down, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but what's our plan for after that." It was phrased more like a flat statement than a question, which Mori winced at. "I'm not good enough to go against Nasu, and I'm not going to pretend I can, not even for a minute. And Chika can't shoot people… So she'll be reserved as cover-fire again."

"Also, people are most definitely going to notice that after this match," Shiori added sadly. "There've been one or two people like her in Border before, so the sharper agents will catch on right away. This is our last round to really have Chika shoot effectively."

Chika didn't falter at their words. They've talked about it before anyway, and she was well aware she could only go so far as she was.

"Not to mention, there are also other people besides Murakami and Nasu. They have their teams too." Mori muttered, also wanting to move on from that topic at the moment. "The best option here would be to divide and conquer, but we don't have the option of picking the map this time. In fact, Nasu squad also gets that honour."

"So they've got two advantages over us," Yuma concluded. "The fourth, currently unknown member, and the map choosing."

"Another member added so soon can sometimes mess them up more than help though!" Shiori cut in optimistically. "It's another part you need to incorporate into your circle of teamwork, so it can be more trouble than it's worth."

"I've got a feeling things won't go so well for us if we underestimate them like that, though." Mori groaned, burying her hands in her face. "What're we going to do...?"

"...Come to think of it, you've had something on your mind all morning, haven't you, Mori?" Yuma asked curiously, although not meanly. "Wanna share?"

Mori was silent, but a small grin began to form on her lips.

"... Ah... Maybe next time."

-0-

"Tachikawa-san... Is it alright if I ask you something?"

The man blinked, Yakisoba noodles hanging halfway out of his mouth.

Said person slurped them up quickly, before turning to face me fully. "Sure kid, what's up?"

'He's already calling me "kid"...' My eye twitched slightly. 'How casual.'

"I was kind of wondering... How do you go about being the captain for your squad?" I paused, a few people coming to mind. "I know a few captains, Reiji-san, Miwa-Baka, I met Arafune-san briefly after our match with his team and Suwa's... But I've never gotten around to asking anything like this. How can I be a good captain for my team?"

He blinked again, the motion quick yet seemingly drawn out. "You just asked me two questions."

...

I tilted my head, already confused.

"...Huh?"

"Well, you asked me how I was a captain—" He took another bite of the tray of yakisoba he was holding. "—And you asked how you can be a captain. Different."

"Ah, I… I guess. I didn't really think about that, if that makes much sense?"

"No, it's fine," He replied, slowing his pace slightly to linger behind the group we were with. Our group, including Karasuma, Izumi, Kunichika, and Yuiga. "Cause every captain is different, obviously. I'll offer some examples, just because. Did you really think that… Let's just say, Miwa would lead his team the same way I lead mine?"

I paused at that, feeling slightly stupid. "Well... I suppose not. That was a bad question."

"No, you're on the right track," He hummed.

(I almost face-planted at how casual he was despite this being the first time we've officially met, and the strange circumstances behind our first... 'meeting'.)

"Still, this is nice. Whenever I get asked for advice of any kind at all, it's usually sword fighting stuff." He picked up another bunch of noodles from the tray. "Which I guess, isn't really bad, but it's kind of redundant. Most people don't get that fighting power isn't everything."

My eye twitched, just slightly. 'It kind of lacks meaning coming from the No. 1 attacker AND the No. 1 squad captain...'

"Most people don't expect it from our team in particular I guess, cause they don't think it's our forte." He lifted up a finger. "Teamwork. With people like Izumi and I, they assume that we're completely lacking in teamwork, and make up for it in raw fire-power. And then with Yuiga... Well, it's hard to imagine any kind of teamwork between us four."

"... I can't see that." I paused, before realizing how rude that might've sounded. "I mean, I don't really think it'd be easy to coordinate with Yuiga either, but the 'no teamwork' thing is something I can't agree with... I guess?"

"Right?" He elbowed me, attention briefly leaving the plate he held in front of him while walking. "You get it. Most people don't notice it, but Izumi actually works best with other people."

"Yeah, I kinda got that feeling." He nodded for me to continue, despite probably already knowing everything I was about to say. "I find that there are mainly two types of shooters... People that are good backup, and sometimes have trouble getting points on their own. But they can make up for any weakness in that department once they're providing cover fire for a teammate... And then there are people that mainly go on their own, and gain points mainly through strategy and-or raw-firepower."

"Yeah, that's about it." He glanced back down at his chopsticks. "Izumi's right in the middle there. Ever since he came to Border, he's been a natural in the shooter department. Everyone noticed right away how he could provide perfect cover fire, but also come up with innovative ideas that make him a force to be reckoned with on his own. And he had pretty high Trion levels, being one of the highest Trion levels besides Ninomiya and Amatori. And this was before he even came up with the composite bullets."

(... Ninomiya? Why does that name sound familiar?)

"But he had a wild reckless streak when he was starting out." Tachikawa laughed loudly.

Almost as if sensing he was being spoken about, Izumi swung his head back with a curious glance. Tachikawa quickly waved him off while regaining his composure.

"... You actually kind of remind me of him, you know. I watched the log from your last match."

"... Oh." My face burned, and I didn't really doubt anymore that I was probably blushing. This happens way too often.

(In my defence, blowing up the building SEEMED like a good idea AT THE TIME! And it WORKED, so no one can complain!)

"Don't worry, it was pretty cool to watch," He assured, finally finishing the plate of yakisoba. He leaned over to quickly toss the empty tray in a nearby trash can, before returning. "Anyways, I got side-tracked bragging about my team. The point is, our team is vastly different from... Let's just say, Miwa's team. His squad is largely teamwork oriented, and most people think of Miwa—Or Kazama squad when they initially think 'Teamwork'. So I don't get asked about that kind of advice often."

"... Interesting." I paused, before squinting and pointing an accusing finger at him. "You still didn't really give me an answer though."

"Ah, maybe next time," He laughed, watching Kunichika slowly lag back to walk beside us. "... I'm starting to realize why Kazama likes to keep things secret like this. It's kind of fun."

"You're getting amusement out of my confusion?!"

-0-

"Welcome to B-rank wars round 3... The day match is about to begin!"

Mikami smiled, sitting up straight in her spot. "I am Mikami from Kazama-squad, and I'll be doing the play-by-play today. For commentary, we have..."

She gestured to the seats beside her, smile slightly brightening. "The No. 1 Attacker, Tachikawa Kei, and Kageura Masato from the No. 2 B-rank squad!"

"Why am I here?!" Kageura yelled, punching the desk out of rage. "I didn't sign up for this shit!"

"Sorry Kageura-san, but the first person we thought of just so happened to be absent," Mikami apologized formally, although she was completely unaffected by the crude language.

"You just so happened to be unlucky enough to be passing by." Tachikawa grinned from beside him. "It's been awhile since we last talked, huh?"

"Stop smugly grinning at me, you fu—!"

"Moving right along," Mikami continued, unperturbed. "So, the stage that Nasu squad has picked this time is... Riverbank A. What do you think their strategy is?"

She nodded to Tachikawa first, just so the two of them could give Kageura enough time to calm down.

"No jokes?"

"No jokes."

"Ah, you're no fun," He laughed, before returning his eyes to the screen. "Well, I'd say this is mostly to hold off the attackers. They'll regroup before destroying the bridge... And use the river to separate themselves from the attackers." He paused. "Though terrain won't be the deciding factor of the match, you know? With cover-fire, any attacker can easily cross the river... Well, I'm not sure about Kuga though. He is pretty short."

"Tachikawa-san," Mikami's scolding tone cut in, though both Tachikawa and Kageura had snorted at the white-haired attacker's expense. "I thought I said no jokes."

"Sorry, sorry. Kageura, your opinion?"

Said spiky-haired teen was silent before he crossed his arms with a scoff. "I've got a weird feelin' about this match. Nasu's probably got more than just than that up their sleeves. Not that it'll help."

"Oh, he's finally accepting the commentator position~" Tachikawa teased, before pulling out a candy bar from his pocket.

"LIKE HELL!"

"Send in all squads!" Mikami ignored the two rowdy attackers to her right once again.

"All agents are in place! The stage is Riverbank A! Weather conditions are... Foggy storm!"

-0-

A few stray raindrops landed on my head harmlessly, and I sighed heavily before equipping a Bagworm. "Guys, you're in?"

"Obviously," Yuma teased lightly. "Well, I've checked the radar... Hey, I'm on the same side as you, Mori."

"Along with both... Kumagai, Nasu, Kuruma, AND Murakami!" Shiori shrieked in disbelief. "All of the snipers have been separated from the mid-close range fighters, people are definitely going to figure out Chika at this rate!"

"Well, there's not much we can do about that, is there?" I sighed, nearly slipping on the sidewalk I was running on due to the light rain. I could barely see 10 feet in front of me, which was definitely going to be an issue later on. "There's something else I'm worried about though."

"Hm? What?"

"...We figured Nasu was going to pick this map due to the circumstances, so they could distance themselves from the attackers..." I paused, eyes warily scanning the fog. "...But this weather is just going to make it more difficult to shoot accurately. I can barely see where the buildings are..."

"Oh right, Nasu gets the jump on people by using the nearby buildings as footholds, right?" Yuma added, along with the buzz of static that came with his voice. I could distantly hear an echo of rainfall from his communicator. "Then Kumagai helps block any attackers from getting near her from the ground, and then they'll tag-team people like that."

"Kind of— Good enough." Shiori hummed. "We put the Spider into Mori's Trigger slots so she could climb up the side of buildings easier with the string, but it's hard to properly aim at the buildings with the fog..."

"But still, how are they supposed to find us like this?" I thought out loud again, humming quietly in thought as I ran towards Yuma's location, as according to Shiori's directions. "... Something isn't adding up—"

A bright flash in front of me was the only thing that alerted my side effect to danger. It was so sudden, but my brain reacted without a second thought as I threw myself to the ground.

A sharp blade soared over my head harmlessly, just as my eyes caught sight of a dark green and black uniform through the fog.

Murakami.

"Oh crap oh crap oh crap—" I hissed, steadily scrambling back to my feet as Murakami reared his sword back once again. "Yuma, I'm gonna need to get back to you on that 'meeting up' thing—"

Murakami's Bagworm slowly disappeared from around his shoulders as he swung again.

-0-

"... Well this isn't very lucky, is it?"

Nasu hummed, currently standing just a few meters in front of Yuma. Large cubes of Trion hovered over both of her hands, slowly splitting up as the bullets began to circle around her form. "Maybe. I do have other things I need to do though, so as much as I hate to do this... I need to get past you."

"What a coincidence!" Yuma cheerily sang, Scorpion twirling around in his grip. "I've got places to be too! Maybe we could just get past each other, call it a day?"

Nasu's lips twitched. "Unfortunately, I cannot allow that. I need as many points as I can get."

Yuma hummed, although the tone was a bit strained. Unseen to his opponent and the audience, he spoke wordlessly into his communicator. "Sorry Mori, I'm a bit caught up too."

-0-

"Ah, Chika-chan. Sorry, Both Mori and Yuma are stuck on the other side of the river... So I don't think you can count on them coming over here to help."

Chika nodded from her spot, although no one could see. "It's fine. I checked the radar earlier, I figured it wouldn't be so easy."

"... I think they've got some difficult opponents, but Mori has some semblance of a plan brewing. She asked me if you think you can just prevent people from getting many points on this side?"

Chika nodded, hands gripping the Ibis tightly as her eyes scanned the terrain closely. She couldn't see any of the other three agents on this side... Well, that was to be expected of snipers. They were fairly decent at hiding.

"By the way, are you... Ok with fighting this time?" Shiori asked worriedly. "Your friend, Natsume... She is part of Nasu-squad now. If you don't want to attack her—"

"On the contrary," Chika cut in softly, eyes still gazing intensely at her surroundings through the sniper rifle. "I'm glad she made it to B-rank, and I'm so thankful that she worked hard enough to get invited to a good team. So I want to fight this match no matter what, so I can see how much she's practised."

There was a short pause, just before Shiori finally returned.

"... You're really strong, Chika-chan. Ok, I'll leave this to you then. I'll keep an eye out for if you need any help though."

"Thank you, Shiori." Chika smiled. "I just need to keep people from getting any points, huh?"

-0-

"All of the Snipers got caught on one side, huh?" Tachikawa grinned. "Pure luck, but it might turn out to be interesting."

"Huh?! It'll be fucking boring, they're just going to be hiding the whole goddamn time!" Kageura yelled, kicking his legs up and onto the desk. "The first one to shoot is essentially going to be the sacrificial lamb, so the rest of them can get a move on and start shooting. Whoever reveals their position first is gonna die, so no one will move carelessly with that in mind."

"...A surprisingly in-depth analysis on Kageura-san's part," Mikami muttered, ignoring his offended growl. "But I have a feeling that isn't going to be the case. Have you ever watched any of Tamakoma-2's logs?"

"Who has the time to go through all of those fucking videos?!"

"Ah, Mikami has a point," Tachikawa nodded along. "Amatori's cannon-style method of sniping may shake things up on that side. Also, Nasu squad now has two snipers, so one of them can use their position as bait, while their other sniper can pick off anyone that goes after them. Even if someone manages to steal a point from Nasu-squad, the other sniper can still move around to get more points."

"... I guess that's not a half-bad point, for YOU."

Mikami leaned over to peer around Tachikawa. "You're not very good at this 'commentary' thing, are you?"

"YOU'RE THE ONE THAT FUCKING DRAGGED ME HERE, YOU—!"

-0-

Murakami had struck me as the kind of guy that rarely ever got irritated.

But then again, I suppose anyone would get frustrated, after this long of nothing progressing.

(God, this is a mockery of a fight. Yuma would cry.)

"Eh—" I threw my head to the side, barely avoiding another swipe of Murakami's blade. I barely registered his eye twitch.

"Just a few more blocks!" Shiori called out, currently speaking into the communicator to both Yuma and I. "There are just 3 more intersections in between you two—"

A loud 'boom' rang out in response in the direction that Shiori was indicating through her directions.

"Ah, so Nasu's in that direction, huh?" I hummed, flipping a few times away from Murakami. "I'll be going then—"

Murakami lunged this time, quicker than he was moving before. I had a split second as my eyes widened before I threw up a hasty shield in front of my neck and heart.

'I can't see his sword, fuck, why is he blocking the sword with his body—?!'

The blade cut a deep gash straight into my shoulder, Trion leaking out in an instant.

Murakami regarded the shield in front of my neck with narrowed eyes. I'm pretty sure it blocked the last bit of his attack that had aimed for my head, but that wouldn't have worked if he had equipped Senku Kogetsu.

"Shit shit shit—" I dematerialized the bagworm without a moment of hesitation, before readying 1 cube of Asteroid in the other hand.

His eyes widened at the bullets, and he immediately lifted his Raygust to block all of the shots.

(Ah shit we're too close no shooter should be this close to the fucking No. 4 attacker—!)

The Spider-bullets I had been forming with my other hand were noticed at that moment, the bullets floating near-unnoticeably around us.

('Didn't notice that with all of the Asteroid being fired, did you?' I couldn't help but snark in my head.)

The bullets all flashed at once, before firing off the strings directly at the teen in front of me and into the ground. Taut strings formed between the two targets, immobilizing the attacker for the moment.

With him successfully tied to the ground beneath us, I took a few steady leaps back to spread some distance between us.

(It won't hold him for long, I need to get a move on—!)

The concrete wall to the left of us abruptly exploded.

My eyes barely caught a flash of white hair, before my partner was launching himself away from his opponent, and towards Murakami.

-0-

"Oh, something interesting is finally happening!"

Midorikawa hummed, staring up at the screen excitedly. "Yuma-senpai! Take him down!"

Kitora stared at the two boys sitting in front of them, eyes slightly narrowed. "Could you two be any more obnoxious?"

Tokieda pat her on the arm comfortingly. "Just ignore them, Kitora."

"Isn't that a bit much?" Arashiyama laughed nervously.

"We will not be silenced!" Yoneya screamed, standing up in his seat. "Kick their asses, Four-eyes, Shrimp!"

"You can do it!" Midorikawa followed enthusiastically. "Moriyan! Yuma-senpai! Fight on!"

"I can't see!" Satori wailed, trying to look around the taller teen in the row in front of him. "Move out of the way!"

"Since when have you been on good terms with Mikumo, Midorikawa?" Kitora finally huffed, just as Yoneya and Midorikawa sullenly sat down. "I don't recall you having given her a nickname..."

"Oh, we all had a snowball fight!" Midorikawa cheered. "Moriyan, Yoneyan, Izumin and I!"

"It was fun," Yoneya grinned, closing both his eyes. "I thought she was gonna kill us at first, but we all had a lot of fun. Shooters versus Attackers."

"Ah, that does sound fun..." Satori commented. "I wish I was there..."

"Midorikawa got sick for a day," Tokieda bluntly shot back, causing Satori to droop. "That's why he didn't go to the festival."

"You always rain on my parade like this..."

"Guys, please quiet down a little—" Arashiyama finally cut in, wearily glancing around at the slightly irritated B and C-ranks sitting around them. "Don't you guys want to watch the match?"

"Oh, right." Yoneya shot right back up. "KICK THEIR BUTTS, SHRIMP!"

"You can do it, Moriyan!"

Kitora face-palmed.

-0-

Yuma shot off like a bullet towards Murakami, who had reverted his Raygust to dagger-from so he could slice off the strings around him with ease. He lifted his Kogetsu just in time to block the incoming attack from Yuma.

The rubble from the collapsing wall was slowly falling, with the cloud of dust obstructing the parts of my vision that hadn't already taken away by the fog.

"Yuma, we need to regroup," I muttered into the communicator. "Nasu was with you, right? I can't see her anymore!"

"Fine, fine."

Yuma tapped the side of his own bagworm, the lengthy fabric slowly disappearing into the air as a second Scorpion formed in his other hand. Murakami's eye immediately caught sight of the blade, as he separated from Yuma before he could even move.

Yuma kicked off of the ground right after, landing in a crouch beside me.

"Alright captain, what's the game plan?"

I circled around so we could be back-to-back, while also warily glanced around the fog. "Don't have one yet. As much as I'd like to leave you to fight off Murakami as you wanted, I can't reliably do so with Nasu lurking around."

"Not to mention, Kuruma and Kumagai are also on your side!" Shiori reminded helpfully. "In fact, I'd bet that Kumagai just met up with Nasu, and that's why they've disappeared."

"That's not good." Yuma scowled, although he didn't take his eyes off of Murakami for a second. "It was kind of unavoidable, but with the way that I met up with Mori... Nasu and Murakami can easily catch us two between them. And then Kuruma can easily make his way over to Murakami with our attention diverted—"

I cut him off with a hasty shove, the two of us barely being missed by a steady round of Asteroid.

"I could barely see that coming!" I yelled out-loud, still scanning the fog. "This fog is seriously messed up!"

"Well, now we know that Nasu's still around." Yuma glanced down the street, eyes still trained on Murakami. The attacker seemed to be waiting patiently for us to wear ourselves down with Nasu, enough that he could get an opening.

"He's probably counting on you to run out of Trion, Mori," Shiori sighed, tapping a few keys on her keyboard. "It's reasonable, considering the hit he got on your shoulder earlier, but I think you have a reasonable amount of Trion that you don't need to worry quite yet."

"Thank god for that."

I waited, and waited, and waited.

The tension was killing me, why was Nasu taking her time before shooting at us?

"Yuma, did you get a good hit on her?" I questioned. "Like, at all?"

"Cut off a hand. Couldn't do much more or else she would've killed me."

I groaned, just as I saw a hazy light through the fog. "Here it comes—"

Rather than a spray of bullets like I expected though, I was abruptly cut off as a flash of black and white lunged from the right.

Yuma, catching the slight panic on my expression, Grabbed the back of my collar and yanked back—Just in time for a blade to suddenly form and slice both of my hands off.

Kumagai, who had quickly switched off the bagworm she had previously been wearing while also obscured by the fog. She immediately retreated back to Nasu's direction with a confident smirk while Nasu stepped out of the fog herself, both on the opposite side of the street as Murakami.

Murakami, who was now joined by his captain, Kuruma.

Yuma glanced around with narrowed eyes, and I grit my teeth.

'We're trapped in between them... Shit.'

Yuma paused, assessing the situation, before speaking out-loud to me.

Probably loud enough for both teams to hear him.

"Golly captain! You didn't see that coming?"

My eye twitched, and I slammed the stump of my forearm into the top of his head.

"My side-effect hardly matters if my reflexes aren't fast enough to match, you fucking smartass!"

-0-

The first movement was key.

The first move, similarly to Tachikawa's prediction, was made by Nasu squad.

But unlike his prediction... it wasn't their squad themselves doing the moving.

They did need bait, after all, they just decided to use someone else for it.

Namely, the closest person to them, Betsuyaku Taichi.

One grasshopper on Natsume's part, and the chaos had officially started.

The plan was simple. Find someone, shoot them out of the building with a Grasshopper, and steal the points JUST before the other team aimed and shot at the 'bait'. Then, they could chase the second person once they'd given away their location.

(Natsume, of course, didn't tell her new squad about Chika's weakness. She didn't feel it was right, and she stands by that.)

Betsuyaku was the closest person, so Natsume snuck up on him, before activating a grasshopper underneath him, among for a nearby window.

Hiura took aim at the startled sniper, and set her finger on the Lightning's trigger in preparation.

(Chika had been watching though. And her orders were clear. 'Try to delay any point grabbing, for as long as possible'.)

One cannon shot, just before everything was reduced to a mess of assorted sniper shots as the snipers rapidly switched hiding spots, searching, and firing at the closest person.

And screaming. Mostly on Taichi's part though.

-0-

"Alright alright alright alright." I took a deep breath. "I have... Some semblance of a plan."

"Oh, goodie," Yuma grinned, loosely twirling both Scorpion in his hands. "What is it?"

I took another deep breath.

(If only there was a way to have a Meteora that could move around like a Viper... That would've been real useful right now.)

"Well, I know how Nasu was planning on shooting at us." I lifted up my forearm, both of our eyes quickly finding the small contraption on the side of my arm. It clung to the fabric stubbornly, and I heaved a heavy sigh. "Kumagai shot this at me the exact moment she cut off my arms, so it would be less noticeable."

A starmarker stuck to the side of my arm, and didn't seem like it was coming off anytime soon.

"Ah, nothing gets past my captain, that's probably why she turned off her bagworm." Yuma grinned, lifting up a blade. "Should I cut it off?"

"Put the sword down, for god's sake." My eyes flickered between the two teams, who seemed to make a mutual truce over our heads. They were probably planning on double-teaming us before fighting each other. "... If they already know where I am, there's no point in moving. I'll just stay out in the open, the Marker is likely just a last resort if I try running away."

He paused, before glancing up at me with eager eyes. "... Sounds like you've got even more in mind."

"Maybe, I have no clue how well it'll actually work." I tapped my communicator once. "... Shiori, how easy is it to connect both Yuma and I's vision receptors?"

-0-

Shiori was having a ludicrous amount of fun with Tamakoma-2.

But this?

Oh, this took the cake.

An inhuman grin stretched across her face, and she excitedly tapped at her keyboard.

"Ohoho... Mori, I hope you know what you're doing." She hurriedly connected the two Trion bodies, overlapping their vision systematically to be seen easier. "Because this is going to get disorienting reeeeeaaaal fast. I'll have a ton of fun though."

"I'll be standing still, so it should be less to deal with for Yuma," Mori commented, although her tone grew weak at the morbid excitement in Shiori's voice. "Also, please try not to take too much excitement in our pain."

"What do you mean? I can deal with this no issue." Yuma chuckled over the communicator. "You're the only one that'll be having difficulties, I hope you can aim properly with two points-of-view."

"I hope you suffer in hell."

Shiori laughed, louder than she'd ever laughed before.

Yeah, she was having a ludicrous amount of fun.

She hoped it never ended.

-0-

"What the fuck."

"Language—" Utagawa paused suddenly, his reprimand falling flat. "... Are... Are they doing what I think they're doing?"

"I think they are." Kazama hummed, leaning forward in his chair. "Interesting."

Kikuchihara stared at the screen. "What the fuck."

Mori and Yuma, who were standing beside each other in the middle of the foggy street, swayed dangerously for a few moments before slowly coming to a halt. Just as they finally began to balance themselves again though, Yuma kicked off of the road and launched himself at Murakami with a Scorpion in hand.

Utagawa watched sympathetically as Mori swayed once again, almost drunkenly as she wordlessly screamed something in Yuma's direction. He winced in time just as Kumagai swung her sword down towards the back of Mori's head, who barely threw up a shield in time to block it.

"... Those two sure like to improvise on the spot, hm?" Kazama sipped through the straw of the milk carton. "I'm sure that Shiori is having fun."

"What the fuck."

Yuma looped around with a Grasshopper, just in time to throw up another shield over Mori's head to block out the sudden rain of Viper bullets from Nasu. Mori spun around and readied a cube of Asteroid to cover for Murakami's attempt on attacking Yuma from behind.

Utagawa winced, once again, as both Yuma and Mori stumbled in unison. Though Mori's stumble was much more pronounced.

"I don't think that was the best thing to try out in the middle of a match..." Kikuchihara huffed, resting his head down on the table as he slumped down. "This is gonna be a mess."

"I think they'll still pull it off though," Kazama smirked lightly.

-0-

"Damnit Yuma—!"

I tried to not spin around too quickly as I shot another round of Asteroid at Murakami.

At least one of us is doing their best to not make things too disorienting for the other.

Yuma however, gave no regard for my visions well being as he leapt off of the ground, jumping over my shield and slicing downwards to attack Kumagai.

She reluctantly lifted up her Kogetsu from its attack on my shield, lifting it up to block Yuma's strike. The force of impact between the two swords shattered the Scorpion on contact.

Yuma reached over with his hand to use my shield as a platform, stabilizing himself with the surface before twisting and kicking his foot towards the side of Kumagai's head.

(—Mole-claw—)

A Scorpion blade shot out of Yuma's foot, barely coming within a few centimetres of Kumagai's head... As a bright luminescent shield formed and protected her from the stab. The sword bounced off of the shield with a loud, jarring noise that made me wince.

Nasu stood a few meters behind her teammate, a hand outstretched towards us to project the shield in Kumagai's direction.

My vision, already split into two points of view into a mash of confusing scenes, shifted.

"Yuma, for GOD'S SAKE—!"

Said teen had kicked off of my shield once again, landing in a crouch beside me as he looped an arm around my waist.

"Wait, nononononono—"

"Senku... Kogetsu!"

Yuma used a Grasshopper to jump away from our previous spot, just as Murakami's Kogetsu sent a large cut down the road. Kumagai didn't manage to lower her sword quick enough to block the cut, which resulted in her hand being split clean off.

We landed a short ways away, but Yuma launched off of the ground once again to avoid the spray of bullets from Kuruma's direction.

"I'm gonna throw up!" I yelled into the communicator, watching my two views of the world move around sporadically. "I'm gonna throw up, stop the ride—!"

Yuma abruptly dropped me, the two of us now an equal distance away from the two squads as they were from each other. The three of us were now in a makeshift triangle in the middle of the wide street, with Yuma and I closest to a building on the side.

At least we weren't trapped between them anymore.

I hurriedly scrambled to my feet, watching my own point of view spin uncontrollably, while Yuma's held still for the first time in the previous few minutes.

"You ok now, Captain?" Yuma teased, quickly brushing off a layer of rain from his shoulders while a thin cloud of Trion leaked from a cut in his arm. "You looked pretty sick there for a second."

"Oh, fuck you—" I raised my hand to my mouth as my vision spun again. Yuma also swayed uncertainly, although it was much less pronounced. "—I thought you would... Give me some time to get used to it..."

Now that I had a second to breathe, I could comprehend the two parts of my vision slightly easier. It wasn't like a video game, where it would just split the screen in half for two-player mode, but rather... It was like they were overlapping. I could see through both sets of eyes in the same place, at the same time.

"Yuma, look left," I politely ordered as my eyes swung to the right. He silently complied, and I groaned as our visions spun. "Oh, now that's horrible. Fuck, maybe we should just give up. This was a stupid idea."

"No no, you guys were doing great!" Shiori objected excitedly. "Didn't you see Yuma swing right back around to shield you from Nasu's shooting? And you shot at Murakami to keep him from attacking Yuma, that's cause you both shared your vision! It made it easier to protect each other's backs!"

"C'mon Mori, are you just gonna half-ass it?" He smirked slightly. "You should at least stay committed."

"Alright, FINE!" I sighed, attempting to drag a hand down my face, before being abruptly reminded of the stump of what once was my arm. "We'll keep this up... But if you grab me and start jumping around like a gremlin again, I'll get Shiori to turn it off."

"If I cut it off so suddenly, especially if Yuma's trying to run, it'll just cause more trouble then it's worth."

"Fuck."

-0-

"...Is that allowed?"

Mikami sighed, glancing at the screen. "It's not like it's against the rules, most people just don't even think about it. My squad is the only squad that's actually been able to successfully pull off shared senses, after all. It's not an easy thing to do, and most just don't see much merit in it."

"Sounds dumb," Kageura huffed. "Half the time, you don't even get to meet up with your teammates before you end up needing to fight someone. So depending on a teammate for something like that is stupid."

"The shared points of view can help, sure, but there's not much value in it otherwise since it can be disorienting…" Tachikawa rubbed his chin with his thumb and pointing finger. "I wonder... There's not that big of a bonus in sharing senses, especially in the middle of a Rank wars match... The only reason Kazama does it is that of Kikuchihara's side effect..." Tachikawa suddenly stilled, all movement coming o a halt as his eyes narrowed in thought.

"What?"

"... Well, it's not that big of a deal, but there's just something that came to mind." Tachikawa rocked back in his chair, before pausing and shaking his head. "Nah, never mind. S'not important."

"It's when you say something like that, that makes it seem that much more important." Kageura let out an aggravated sigh. "Whatever, I don't give a fuck."

Mikami only sighed tiredly, before turning back to the screen.

Tachikawa laughed.

'... Well, that would explain why Kikuchihara picked Four-eyes of all people to take an interest in. Cool.'

-0-

The stare down was tense, everyone waiting patiently for someone else to make a move. Mori took a second to assess her surroundings.

The fog has settled somewhat, with everyone being much easier to see now. The fog seemed to reach just the edge of the circle they had formed since everyone was now out in the open to be seen.

The fog had lost some of its effect by now, making the Starmarker Kumagai tagged her with, essentially useless. Not that it wasn't already, particularly since Mori had made the decision to stay out in the open while providing cover-fire in the first place.

Mori had both hands cut off from the forearm down, and a slightly deep cut in her shoulder that had stopped leaking Trion a few minutes ago. Yuma had the thin cut on his arm—but other than that, looked none the worse for wear.

Murakami was sporting a few bullet holes in the leg opposite to the side he was holding his Raygust on, presumably from the moment Mori had shot at him to prevent any attacks on Yuma's back. Kuruma behind him, still looked unharmed as he held his gun at the ready.

Kumagai's presumably non-dominant hand had been cut off by Murakami's last attack, and she seemed slightly off balance as she held her sword with her remaining hand. Nasu also had a hand cut off, although it wouldn't affect her much with her status as a shooter.

"... Hey, Nasu-chan and Kumagai-chan are also missing their hands!" Shiori teased. "You three can be the 'got a hand cut off' club, Captain!"

"Oh, not you too." I groaned, before readying two large cubes of Trion beside me. "... I'll deal with Nasu and Kuruma. Yuma, can I trust you to take—?"

"—The attackers?" Yuma smirked, lifting up a hand—palm face-up— as he readied himself to kick off. "Are we keeping the shared vision?"

"It'll be quicker than warning you if either of them tries to shoot at you. Keep an eye out for that, by the way." The bullets in my hands, which I offhandedly regarded as Meteora, blasted off in an instant.

The explosives launched themselves into the concrete around us, spraying dust and chunks of tarmac into the air around us.

Yuma leapt forward, a Grasshopper immediately forming underneath both him, Murakami, and Kumagai—all aiming towards the left side of the street. The fog had kicked up once again, and all three of them were out of 'my' sight in an instant.

I tried to shove my view of Yuma's fight out of my mind, for now, only half-paying attention to the details I knew I wasn't seeing with my own eyes.

Kuruma, regarding Nasu as the tougher enemy at the moment, aimed his gun at her and fired.

-0-

Kumagai was almost astonishingly easy to take down.

Yuma felt for her, he really did, when she bailed out with that expression of frustration and regret on her face. But he had his own set of orders to be following at the moment.

Regrettably, Murakami gained the point for her Bail-out. It was acceptable, Yuma supposes, as long as he takes out the attacker himself before heading back over to help out Mori.

A clash of blades, the shattering of a Scorpion, dodging the follow-up blow, it was beginning to become something resembling repetitive as Yuma once again dodged a swipe of Murakami's Kogetsu.

(He could see Nasu attacking Kuruma and Mori with a steady stream of cleverly orchestrated Viper bullets, the former having troubles shielding himself with just one shield.)

Murakami finally broke the repetition, switching his Raygust to dagger form in an instant, activating the thruster as the blade soared towards Yuma's head far too quickly to be dodged.

Yuma's eyes widened, but he didn't move to equip a shield.

(On Mori's end, Yuma could faintly register his captain lifting an arm towards Yuma's direction with an Asteroid cube quickly forming. Some quick adjusting—Speed 70%— before releasing the bullets.)

Murakami looked slightly confused when Yuma readied a Grasshopper behind himself. He could see his thought process clearly, 'is he really planning on launching himself at the dagger?'

The answer to that... Is no.

A herd of bullets not only kicked the Raygust straight off of its course, but additionally destroyed Murakami's now unprotected legs. The attacker fell to the floor, just as Yuma launched himself towards him.

'Aaaannd— That's a wrap.'

Yuma sliced Murakami's head clean off of the Trion body.

"Combat body limit exceeded. Bail out."

And in the distance, Mori too bailed out. She shouldn't have gotten distracted while fighting a master-class shooter, but at least she helps Yuma get a point.

-0-

Nasu smiled near-unnoticeably, watching a bright light erupt from where Mikumo had been previously standing.

'I don't know what that was, or why she aimed to the side... But she left herself open.'

Nasu turned around quickly, already preparing a line of Viper bullets to take down Kuruma, who was surely going to be an easy target without Murakami shielding him, or Mikumo's intercepting shots...

She was cut off by a round of Asteroid bullets landing themselves in her hastily conjured shield, and then—

Hound bullets from all sides—Above, right, and left—left bullet holes clean through Nasu's body before she could even react.

Just as the cracks in her Trion body began to grow and stretch, she threw out a hand and aimed a steady stream of bullets towards the gunner down the street, who above all else, was not the easy target she thought he'd be.

"... So it seems you lost any trace of hesitation... After the invasion, hm?"

Before she could even form any bullets, she too, bailed out.

"Combat body limit exceeded. Bail out."

-0-

There wasn't much to be done after that. Yuma snuck up behind Kuruma while he was distracted, and the two snipers still surviving on the other side of the river bailed out the moment Yuma was the only one left.

"...Chika, you did well." Yuma staggered, waiting patiently for the Trion world to deconstruct as their victory was announced. "You held on for a decent amount of time... Too bad I couldn't get any more points from that side though."

"Natsume really has gotten better." Chika's voice echoed from over the communicator. "She didn't even hesitate while shooting me... I should've been more careful."

"She missed, like, 6 times—"

"She's improved so much, wouldn't you say, Shiori?"

"A-Ah. Right."

Yuma laughed quietly, before abruptly realizing something. "Where's Mori? I haven't heard back from her in a while."

"W-well, Mori... Mori's currently trying not to throw up."

"Ah."

-0-

"... Mori-chan's fighting style has completely changed from the invasion, huh?" Izumi sipped on his drink, a small grin forming. "She used to just throw around explosions like it'd solve something evenetually, now she's actually starting to learn support-shooting. I guess she really did learn something from that whole invasion business."

"... Are you kidding me?"

Izumi spun around in his seat, turning to face his companion. "Aw, don't be like that... It was an interesting match. Especially with that 'shared-senses' thing at the end there."

"Please tell me you're joking," Ninomiya scowled at his pseudo-mentor. "There was no skill in what the shooter did, whatsoever."

"You don't think so?" Izumi hummed, setting his drink down and resting both arms on the chair. "I think she did pretty well."

"There's a clear difference between skill and pure luck." Ninomiya scoffed. "And that match was undeniably part of the latter."

"... I think Mori's still improving," Izumi decided to avoid breaking out into an argument. Or, as much of an argument as you could have with Ninomiya, anyway. "But what about Amatori-chan? Her Trion levels are above black Trigger levels… She could do other things besides sniping if she wanted—"

"That pint-sized cannon," Ninomiya interrupted sharply. "Can't shoot people. Today's match made it more than obvious, the only ones that can get points are the shooter and the attacker. And the former still relies on the latter's assistance for even that."

"... Hey, Nino," The blond teen hummed, eyes darkening just enough to show his displeasure to the other. "Don't you have anything... Positive to say, maybe?"

"The only thing about that team that's positive..." Ninomiya stood up, clearly not backing down. "... Is the attacker himself. The rest of the team is absolute trash. There's no semblance of good strategy to be found, and they clearly can't take the situation seriously. The attacker should just give up and find a better A-rank squad to join."

Izumi stayed silent, and Ninomiya took that as his cue to leave. But before he could cross the threshold, a clear voice rang out from behind him.

"Hey, Ninomiya?"

Ninomiya froze.

(Because for all everyone remembered Izumi and Tachikawa's status as No.1's, it was difficult to take them seriously with those childish facades in place all the time, and seeing either of them truly angry was reserved for the dangerous moments few and far between—)

Izumi put down his cup, the sound echoing within the empty room. Ninomiya resisted the urge to slam the door right then and there.

"... Don't go near Mori, you hear me? She doesn't need someone like you going near her."

The man being addressed was silent for a few more moments. Just before a loud scoff signalled the start of his response.

"I don't follow your orders."

And the door shut, as loud and passive-aggressively as someone like Ninomiya could bring himself to do.

Leaving Izumi alone in the room, still glancing down through the window into the lobby area.

The commentating was just beginning to wrap up, with Tachikawa adding a few more final statements before he'd be let go. Tachikawa and Izumi had agreed to go congratulate Tamakoma-2 once they got the chance, so...

'... I should probably start making my way to the lobby... Huh?'

-0-

"Well, Tamakoma-2 steps away with the victory once again." Mikami nodded, before facing the other two commentators. "Do you two have any thoughts in particular regarding this match?"

"Murakami sucked." Kageura scowled, harshly jabbing a thumb downwards. "He should've noticed that the shrimp had something up his sleeve when he didn't try dodging the dagger. Instead, he ended up losing the fucking point to Kuga."

"Well, I'd agree with that for the most part." Tachikawa sighed. "Murakami didn't really get a chance to shine, which is a shame considering he even had the upper hand on Kuga... Since they had a match against each other the other day, and he got the chance to use his side effect." Tachikawa paused, before shooting a cheery thumbs up that greatly contrasted Kageura's stormy expression. "Well, on the other hand, great teamwork on Tamakoma-2's part! Though it did end up getting Mikumo killed in the end, she managed to cover for Yuma even from that distance due to the shared sight. It was the better choice in the end though, since Yuma managed to take down Murakami with her help, and also managed to steal a point with Kuruma at the end."

"Murakami would've curb-stomped the rest of them if he managed to kill the shrimp at that point." Kageura angrily pointed out (Though he looks angry all the time, so it's hard to tell if it's just his neutral expression or not...) "Suzunari's captain—"

"Kuruma," Mikami helpfully pointed out.

"—The bitch-baby," Kageura continued, unperturbed. "Pulled off that last point at the end, taking down Nasu before she could even react. It was a pretty good move, considering the guy's only ever been cover fire for Murakami up 'till this point. Guess fighting in the invasion helped him grow a spine."

Mikami gave Kageura a dirty look for the name-calling, but didn't call him out. "… And opinions on Nasu squad?"

"Ah well..." Tachikawa hummed. "It's hard to tell just how far the fourth member affected their general team's fighting-style since the team was split in half for this round. But their two snipers had fairly solid teamwork, and the fourth member even managed to get a point for the first time from Amatori."

"Considering Natsume's status as a C-rank up until a few weeks ago, I think she performed admirably." Mikami played back a scene on the screen of Natsume aiming and firing at Taichi, just barely knocking him off balance for Hiura to snipe. "They played into their strengths and weaknesses, with Hiura having relatively better aim than Natsume, so using the latter's semi-accurate shots to limit the opponents' movements was a good choice."

"And the cannon..." Kageura jabbed a finger at the screen, the scene now showing several Ibis-shots being used to mess up everyone else's aim. "... She didn't really try to get any fucking points, but the cannon-fire was making it pretty damn troublesome to aim and get points properly. If she wasn't taken out when she was, I think she could've kept the rest of Nasu-squad from bailing out—"

"—So Kuga could head over the bridge to get the points." Tachikawa finished. "Taichi didn't do much this round… But he was put in a hard spot from the very beginning, when he was first spotted by Natsume and Hiura. I think this match will be a good thing to learn and grow from for Suzunari-1. Things are finally beginning to change for them ever since the invasion."

"All three teams made strategic choices, so it's relatively difficult to determine whether someone's loss was due to someone's inadequate ability, or a wrong strategic decision somewhere." Mikami hummed and nodded, turning off the large screen at the front of the room. "And final thoughts on Tamakoma-2?"

Tachikawa was silent, before he added his final input.

"... Though the shared sight did help in the end, I really think they shouldn't have tried it. It was pretty risky."

"—Almost to the point of being stupid." Kageura continued with a grumble.

-0-

"Do you hear that, captain?" Yuma cheerily asked me, crouched beside the mattress. "It was risky, almost to the point of being stupid!"

"A-alright, first of all—" I leaned over the side of the mattress, trying to fight off my nausea as I slowly got used to my vision returning to normal. "—You two were the ones that insisted on committing, so shut the f-fuck up."

"We didn't really give her a choice," Shiori sympathetically agreed, reaching over to rub my back. "We thought it'd work out in the end—"

"—And it did!" Yuma gave a laid-back thumbs up. "You really saved my ass at the end there."

"Language," Chika scolded in my place.

I don't think any of us were listening to the commentary at this point, since my entire team was gathered around the mattress I was currently lying on.

"Second of all..." I prepared myself, before sitting up slowly as to not get dizzy again. "... That was the coolest thing I've ever done, in my entire life. We need to do that again."

"Not today though, even when we get back to the branch." Shiori's eyes narrowed into a light glare. "Or else I'll lock you two out of the training room at Tamakoma—"

"Is right now a bad time?"

I twisted my head slowly, a little too slow to see the people at the door before any of my teammates did.

"Yosuke, Midorikawa," Yuma waved with a grin. "How'd I do?"

"You were badass!" Midorikawa cheered, stepping into the operator room so that they could see Arashiyama squad behind the two teens. "You two took out Murakami! That's so COOL—!"

"—Stop blocking the door!" Kitora finally burst out, shoving Yoneya into the room so that her team could enter.

Once she was safely within the room, she stepped slightly in my direction before hesitantly waving.

"You... You did well, I suppose. You both have good teamwork."

I smiled at her, nausea quickly fading once I had sat up. "Ah, thank you! That means a lot, coming from you..."

Yuma hummed in approval at our interaction, evidently seeing no reason to interfere... (Unlike previous encounters). He instead turned to Arashiyama and Tokieda with a raised hand. "Were you guys watching from the lobby?"

"Mhm," Tokieda nodded, high-fiving the white-haired teen. "Quite a match."

"And you didn't blow up any buildings this time!" Satori teased.

"Though what you did instead was just as flashy." Arashiyama nervously laughed. "You guys are big on taking risks, aren't you?"

"I like living life on the edge," Yuma jokingly stated, resting his chin between his thumb and pointing finger.

"... Speaking of which, you still haven't given me that match I asked about." Yoneya pat Yuma on the top of the head. "When're we gonna get around to that, huh?"

"Probably never."

I snickered at their conversation, before falling back to lean back on the mattress again. Chika sat beside me, and pat me on the shoulder lightly.

"Sister, are you feeling alright?"

I nodded a little tiredly, closing my eyes. "I'm still a little dizzy, but I'll live."

"Oh, Izumin! Tachikawa-san!"

I opened one eye, watching Midorikawa peek his head out the door and frantically wave at who I assume to be the aforementioned people.

A few seconds later, we had two more additions to the steadily growing crowd in our operator room. "Yo, Mori-chan! Shrimp, Amatori-chan!"

"Hey, kiddos."

Shiori snorted, pointing teasingly at the latter. "Tachikawa-san, you sound like an old man."

"What?!" His mouth opened in shock. "I do?! Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"I just did."

"I swear I didn't sound like an old man…"

"It's probably just the way you said 'kiddos'."

"Yeah, that's probably it."

"Izumin?" Midorikawa tilted his head curiously. "I thought you were with Ninomiya...?"

Izumi shrugged, easy-going grin not wavering. "He's been kind of prickly near Tachikawa and I, probably since captain got off with such a light punishment from the invasion. He's just sulking."

"Somehow, with someone like Ninomiya, I get the feeling that it's not just 'sulking'…" Yoneya shrugged, before tossing an arm over his friend's shoulder. "Meh, whatever. He can be a prick if he wants to."

"Calling him a 'prick' is a bit much, don't you think...?" Satori asked slightly nervously. "I swear, that guy has a sixth sense for when someone's badmouthing him. It's the worst."

"Now Satori, the only reason you'd know about that is if you've badmouthed him yourself!" Izumi sang, causing Satori to rapidly pale.

"Still, congrats on the win." Tachikawa stepped over to ruffle my hair. It kind of messed up the ponytail it was in, but I only grinned. "You did good, I'm looking forward to your next match."

"Wait, did they announce what teams we're fighting against next?" Shiori asked with a raised eyebrow. "We weren't listening."

Chika smiled innocently. "Sister was too nauseous from the shared-sight, and we were making sure she wouldn't puke."

I groaned at the reminder, just as Arashiyama cleared his throat.

"Well, you guys have a whole week to prepare this time." Arashiyama paused, before sending both Chika and Shiori a bright, reassuring smile. "Next Saturday, you guys are up against the upper bracket... They still have some matches today, so nothing's finalized quite yet."

Yuma nodded along, before grabbing Mori's hand and pulling her off the mattress. "We can talk about the results tomorrow, right? Ok then, I've got somewhere to be."

"Wait, why are you dragging me along with you—"

That was all she managed to get out before Yuma dragged his poor captain out the door.

…

"... Do you think we should stop him?"

"I think I saw him texting Rindou-san... I'm sure they'll be fine...?"

"You sound very uncertain about that, Shiori-san."

-0-

"Over here, over here~"

"Yuma, are you up to something shady again—?"

Said teen swung his head up from where he was, mock-indignant expression sealed properly in place. "Me? Shady? How dare you Mori, I would never!"

"It's when you stay stuff like that, that makes me all the more suspicious..." Mori huffed, before slumping in resignation. "Whatever. Drag me wherever the fuck you want."

"Aw, I'm so glad you're resigned to spending time with me!" Yuma cheered in a tone that was far too sing-songy to be genuine. "Unfortunately, we've reached our destination, so I'll be dropping you off here."

Mori blinked, watching the teen that had been dragging her along suddenly come to a halt. "What? Where—"

Yuma threw open a nearby door, before shoving his captain into the dark room without a word.

Mori cursed as she stumbled over the threshold, only regaining her balance just as Yuma slammed the door behind her.

She pounded on the door, confusion multiplying rapidly as she fumbled with the locked doorknob. "Yuma, what the fuck is this?"

Yuma audibly gulped on the other side of the door, but regained his confidence quickly. "I got some help from Rindou to pull this off! Pretty fancy, eh? It's an electric lock, so he can unlock it whenever he wants from his phone... Whatever that means. Why does Meeden have such complicated devices?"

"Border's got some pretty modern tech, so it was no biggie." Rindou stepped around a nearby corner, evidently having been hiding there until the glasses-wearing captain was locked inside the nearby room. "You've got your phone, so just call Yuma when you two are ready to stop acting like angsty teens."

"Is this your idea of a prank, Rindou-san?" Mori's voice was sickly sweet. "I'm really tired and stressed after that match, and I was planning on heading back to the branch office to lie down and do nothing for the rest of the day. Don't you think that'd be a good plan? Let me out."

"No can do!" Rindou backed away from the door cheerily, Yuma following behind not soon after. "Call Yuma to open the door—since he can tell if you're lying or not—and head back to the office when you're ready!"

Mori could hear their rapidly fading footsteps as they walked down the hall casually. Mori was tempted to slam her fists on the door again but figured that anyone that comes around wouldn't have the authorization to open the door anyway... And she certainly didn't want anyone find out she had been trapped in a goddamn empty meeting room from a prank-gone-wrong.

'No, this isn't a prank gone wrong. Who the fuck knows what they wanted out of this, but this is apparently all according to their plan.'

"Oh, for fuck's sake—" Mori rattled the door-knob one more time, before sighing in aggravation. "There goes my good mood. And what did they mean by—?"

"... Mikumo?"

Mori froze.

She couldn't even muster enough strength to turn her head around, all courage leaving her to fend for herself as the voice registered in her mind.

'...'

'... Jin...?'