Night of Shooting Stars
Misaki Suzumebachi, a Sniper working for Border, made her way down the hallway with the speed of a cockroach, descended the stairs, and made her way to the first floor entrance.
She got a few stares from others who had remained at school for clubs and the like. She didn't care though as she rushed to get to her shoe locker before a certain brown haired Sniper found her.
"Instead of running around and wasting time, why don't you hurry up so we can get to training?"
Suzume froze when she heard a voice behind her. She recognized the voice as the voice of someone who didn't go to her school, yet was there.
"Uh... Narasaka? Why are you here?"
She slowly turned around by the shoe lockers and Narasaka Tōru cleared his throat.
"I figured that I might as well come to pick you up for practice so that you don't try to ditch."
"Hm. Look, I'm the one who honestly asked you for help, right? Why the heck would I run away like that? Besides, regardless if I did ask you for help, I wouldn't run away."
"Tsk. I already know how stubborn you are. I guess that excuse was rather pointless," Narasaka muttered.
"Narasaka?"
Suzume tilted her head and shoved a hand inside her shoe locker. She felt something unexpected inside. Whatever it was fluttered weightlessly through the air and she grabbed it before it reached the floor.
It was an envelope.
It was an elegant greenish-brown envelope that seemed to be made of high-quality Japanese paper. It also had cherry blossom decorations here and there.
After looking at the front, looking at the back, flipping it over again and again, and otherwise inspecting it, Suzume completed her appraisal with a tight expression.
"It's a love letter!?"
"Wha-?"
Narasaka's face went a little pale.
"Wha-?"
Satori Kem similarly tensed up while pressed against the wall near the entrance after having decided to eavesdrop on the two.
But Suzume noticed neither boy's reaction.
With the letter in hand, she began to wander toward some place where she could be alone, but she remembered that she still had her shoe locker open, hesitantly moved back and forth, and finally tore open the envelope's seal where she was because she could not resist any longer.
She checked its contents.
The letter was also on high-quality Japanese paper. It was beautiful paper that would probably have been transparent when held up to the light. Slender handwriting covered the paper, but Suzume had trouble reading it. Still, she made full use of her hazy brain to read just the parts she could make out.
"I...am...waiting...on the...roof...top?"
For a while, she had trouble grasping the situation, but understanding finally arrived. It sank in like melting ice. She held the letter overhead in both hands and began spinning around in crazed joy.
"KYAAAAAA! That's so honestly awesome! I mean, usualy a girl is the one to make letters, but this just honestly makes it so much betterrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! He must honestly be a romantic to make something like this!"
I'm going to kill him!
I'm going to kill him!
Both the two male snipers cursed the boy, but Suzume gave that no thought whatsoever.
That was when the cruel side of Narasaka reared its ugly head.
"Th-that's a pointless waste of time! Come on now, let's get going to practice! You need all the practice you can get!"
"Thaaaat is honestly a different issue! Not only was this guy sweet enough to make a letter, but he also used such honestly amazing style with it! Screw Shoujo Basics 101! This guy is a real man who transcends these boundaries of cliché!"
I'm going to kill him and bury him! The mountains should work!
I'm going to kill him and bury him! The mountains should work!
Oblivious to the angry boys, Suzume tried again and again to read the illegible letter.
"Uwaaaaaaaah! He's probably a wonderful and honestly hot Prince Charming~!"
She of course had no idea that a guy who could be considered "Prince Charmings" was curled up and holding his heart just five meters away while another one stood in front of her with a pale face.
"The name. What about his name? ...Oh, there's something at the end. Is this it!? H-Hi-Hiro? That's it! It starts with 'Hiro'! I can't read the next part, but I bet it's the name of some amazing and kind boy! Okay, time to go! The stairs to love await me on the roof!"
In her school clothes, Suzume changed direction with a frightening burst of speed. If she had calmed down, he would probably have started worrying about what to say if a boy really was waiting for her, but she was far from calm. And after being completely left behind, Narasaka (+1) gave a comment of his own.
"That pace is too much to keep up with at times..."
Once the Sniper named Suzume finished climbing the stairs to love, she flung open the door to the rooftop.
The winds of freedom blew through and the rooftop seemed to stretch on forever.
And who did she find restlessly waiting for her?
"Hello. Did you read my letter, Misaki-san?"
It was a large, pudgy man whose dried lips split apart in a smile.
She stared.
"Heh."
Suzume gave a weak laugh.
At the same time, she clenched her fist hard enough that she thought it would break and she opened his eyes in such a ghastly expression it seemed tears of blood were going to start flowing from them.
"I had a feeling it was something like this. I didn't get my hopes at all. Not in the slightest!"
The pudgy boy gave a questioning look as tears started to gather in Suzume's eyes.
She suddenly collapsed on the ground with tears bursting from her eyes like a large fountain.
"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! LIFE IS SO HONESTLY UNFAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIRRRRRR!"
Suzume smiled at memory. While she didn't like what happened, she was flattered that the boy had given her that letter. She had been kind and let him down easy.
Then she punched both Satori and Narasaka for spying on her.
They deserved it. Although that honestly was sweat of him. But regardless of if I liked him or not... I'm not a woman who's good enough to have a happy love life.
Suzume gave a bitter laugh as she walked through Border in search of two other people.
Suzume, while being the Queen of Ships, had never once thought she was worth a significant other. She always considered herself a difficult and obscene woman, far too much for anyone to properly handle. That was why she loved shipping others together, at least she could imagine them being happy in her stead.
"Well, I honestly suppose I shouldn't have expected this to be too easy. Seriously, where are those two? She wasn't in their operating and the other one could be anyone, if not at the booths."
As she continued walking, Suzume folded her arms under her breasts.
She had spent around twenty minutes looking for two people and had yet to seen one of them. She knew that the squads they belonged to had the day off, but she couldn't even find one of the squad members to ask. She had asked around a few times but still came up empty.
She was starting to get tired now and she wanted to get back home. She was now starting to feel a bit down and just wanted to spend some time with her younger sister and mother. The only two biological family she had right now.
Even as she felt down though, she continued to put up her usual appearance I'm front of everyone around. It was easy to remember the looks she had gotten when Tsukiko Squad disbanded. She didn't want to have any looks like that directed at her again.
She didn't think she deserved it.
"Misaki."
Turning around, Suzume came to a sigh she never thought she would see.
There, on the ground, was Narasaka Tōru. He was performing a perfect dogeza.
A dogeza required shrinking down one's entire body using one's flexibility, so it required exercising the entire body as well as anaerobic exercise. To pull them off required three sets of five hundred training dogeza every single day. That being said, Narasaka knew nothing of the different types of dogeza.
Yet Suzume was still amazed.
Although she did bring her phone out to take a picture.
After a few more seconds of this Narasaka stood up and dusted himself off.
"There, are you happy now? I did as you said and gave you a perfect dogeza. Now stop being so annoyingly sad."
Suzume took a quick breath at hearing this.
She gave nothing away about how she was feeling. She had learned how to hide that ugly side of her after the looks she got from Tsukiko Squad's disbandment. There was no possible way for Narasaka to tell how she was really feeling.
And yet...
He was still able to tell that she was feeling down.
The relationship between the two was never a good one. It was by no means a friendly one, but it wasn't anywhere near the level of Yuki and Ninomiya. Even so, Suzume never thought that she was close enough to Narasaka to the point of him being able to do that.
She really wasn't even sure if Satori would be able to tell that she was sad. She had been sad around him multiple times, but he never seemed to notice with her acting.
"Now stop being such a difficult woman and-"
"Heh... There it is... It's honestly nothing knew to hear an insult coming from you, but..."
Suzume gave a pained smile as she looked up at Narasaka.
Narasaka was taken aback by the look he was receiving. He had said worse things to Suzume before, but this time it really looked like he had gotten to her. He found it odd since he could always tell what ticked her off and would use that.
He had never seen her with this kind of expression though.
"Sorry, sorry. I guess this really does prove that I am an honestly difficult woman that... That honestly doesn't deserve someone."
Even though she whispered the last part, Narasaka still heard.
"What stupid things are you saying now?"
The surprises didn't seem to stop for Suzume since she got one of the biggest ones yet.
One of the last things she could ever expect happened at that moment.
Narasaka Tōru, #2 Sniper of Border, enemy and teacher to Suzume, grabbed her by the shoulders and brought her in close. He leaned in forward and connected their lips together.
It was a weird kiss that made Suzume wonder what was going on.
After a few seconds it ended though.
"Look, I don't really care for all of this shipping stuff, but if that 'material' just now gets you to stop acting like that and focus on sniping then it is what it is. It's annoying, but just come to me if you need something that trivial done to focus."
Suzume didn't really pay much attention to what Narasaka was saying. She was far more interested in the lingering feeling that was left on her lips. Touching it with her fingers made her realize that it truly did just happen.
Suzume could only smile a small smile as she folded her arms above her breasts.
"Narasaka..."
As she spoke, Suzume continued to smile. This smile was far kinder and delicate than anything she had ever given.
"I honestly, truly hate your guts. But... I still haven't forgotten what I said to you when I asked you to help me out. I will still strive to become a woman you can't help but to like, as well as one you can't love without."
Suzume moved her hand to the back of her neck.
"Here. Stay still for a moment."
Doing as he was told, Narasaka stood still and didn't move a muscle.
Suzume took off the necklace around her neck that had a musical note on it. She pulled the small chain out of the loop and leaned forward to put it around Narasaka's neck.
"Don't get the wrong idea here. This is honestly payment for helping me out. I still don't want to be anywhere near you. And I still feel bad for Shouhei-kun and Akane-chan since they have to deal with you."
Suzume backed away and gave a quick laugh.
Narasaka looked down at the chain that was now wrapped around his neck.
"Now don't go losing that. I'm honestly going to be asking for it back once I get far better score than you. Do you understand?"
"Then what was the point of giving it to me in the first place?"
"I wonder..."
Suzume turned around and gave a small laugh. She gave a back-hand wave as she started walking away.
"I'll see you for practice later, Tōru."
Walking around Boder got tiring after a while.
What's more was that he really hadn't gotten anything done!
Wakamura let out a rather loud sigh as he took a seat. He wasn't sure why but he couldn't focus at all on the next match. He knew that he would get told off by Katori later, but that really didn't matter much to him right now.
What did matter was what he had been distracted about.
It had been decided that he would at least take a small peak into the certain operating room to see if that girl was in there. Instead of a princess-like girl there were two boys. They were the hound and laser of the squad.
He had quickly been teased by the hound for looking for the princess-like girl before getting a subtle threat from the laser for some reason. That squad truly was an odd mix that acted like siblings to each other. Anyone could tell that from just a glance.
"You really wouldn't think that they had that falling out just a while ago. How are they able to make up like that anyways? Kotowari is far too stubborn and Awdry is too rowdy for anything to really get done. Although I guess Takaoto-san can make them do almost anything."
A well-formed squad that got things done when they needed to. That squad had been going down in rank once the B-Rank Wars started, but now they were at an even higher position than ever. They had lost their captain and ace but still managed to rise in rank.
"That's amazing."
"You talking about KS?"
Wakamura really had to wonder how he didn't notice all these different people walking up to him without know. In front of him now was the Sniper for Border's #5 A-Rank squad.
Satori looked down at Wakamura with a box of sweets in his hands. Wakamura didn't bother asking about them and instead focused on the conversation.
"Yes. I was thinking about how they've been doing lately."
"Right~? Now that they've been set straight, everything's going fine for them~ Kotowari is getting along with others better, Toby is getting more exercise and Suzu continues to get more beautiful with her Hidden Stinger. Although, the addition of Taiyōko really boosts the squad's power and support. Aren't you two going out?"
Wakamura could only splutter as pink started creeping up onto his cheeks.
"Wh-what!? Of course not! Why would you even think something like that!?"
"Hm? I don't need to be Suzu to see that you and Taiyōko have a thing going on. Wait... Don't tell me... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh man! Suzu's gonna have fun with this!"
"Well... What about you and Misaki!? There have been rumors that you two are dating!"
"Huh!?"
Now it was Satori's turn to go a bit pink.
"Wrong, wrong. We're not dating. ...Yet."
Satori made sure to whisper the last part to himself.
Satori had absolutely no doubt in his mind at this point. It may have been a lingering feeling before, but as time went on he really couldn't say that he ever had the feeling with any other girl he knew. The feels continued to grow each time he was around her and he didn't want it to stop.
It was obvious to him.
He loved Misaki Suzumebachi.
There was a big difference in love and like, especially between Japan's form of it and America's form of it. Or so Toby had told him. He was well aquatinted with both love and like.
He had met multiple girls that he ended up liking.
He had met only one girl that he ended up loving.
Seeing the goofy smile on the sniper's face, Wakamura decided to start talking again.
"So... Is that box of sweets for Misaki?"
"Hm? Oh! Yeah! She won't forgive me or Narasaka until we do a perfect dogeza for her! I figured I would score some points by getting her some sweets too! No one other than me and her family know what kind of sweets are her favorite! Actually... KS probably knows to. But they don't count!"
"Are you going to tell her you like her? Now would be a good chance with those sweets you've got."
"Nope! I'm planning on telling her after the B-Rank Wars. If I told her now then it might mess her up during a match. That being said... You shouldn't do that."
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean." Satori nodded his head as he took a seat and lowered his voice. "Getting it out in the open between you two right now is best for the both of you. You're getting distracted because of her. Even if she doesn't like you back, at least you got it off your chest. It'll help you focus more."
Wakamura thought about it.
It really would make things easier for him, and that's not mentioning the fact Hoshi had already kissed him.
Although...
"Why are you giving me this advice? Not that I'm not grateful."
Wakamura and Satori hardly spoke to each other. They may have given each other passing glances from time to time but they had never really sat down and had a long chat with each other.
Satori didn't seem to mind and just grinned.
"Think of it as one guy hopelessly in love giving advice to someone in a similar situation. We guys need to stick together and help each other out when we need it."
It was a simple thing. They help each other out since they were both hopeless boys. They both tried to go for a girl they thought was out of their leagues.
Wakamura was fine with the reasoning.
"Alright. I'll tell Taiyōko how I feel about her. ... You wouldn't happen to know where she is, would you?"
Before Satori could answer, there was a buzzing sound.
Satori reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. He saw that it was a message from Suzume and quickly read it. Once he was done, he turned to Wakamura and grinned.
Wakamura moved back a bit of the grin.
"No need to worry. Just go by the park by the Yagura Branch in around an hour or so."
Wakamura raised an eyebrow, but said nothing else.
Satori just continued to grin as he stood up, box of sweets in his hands.
"Well, I'm gonna go give these to Suzu. See you later."
"Right..."
Wakamura really didn't know what to think at this point.
Having some closure though he got up and started walking away. His kind was already back into thinking about the next match. As well as what would happen later on.
Kako Nozomi, captain of Border's #6 A-Rank squad and vice-captain of the Shipping Squad, could not help the smile that spread across her face.
There were quite a few things that amazed her, like Mei in action, how terrible Kushikage could be, and the lengths Suzume would go for material.
"So we're putting it on later tonight. Would you honestly help us out, Kako-san?"
What was going on what none of that.
Although Kako was amazed nevertheless.
In front of her sat the captain-commander of the Shipping Squad and two of her friends. These two friends were Shashin Minubuki and Shana Lee of Shor Squad and Tsukiko Squad respectively. Together, these three girls made up what was known as the Rock Girls Trio.
They were rather well known for putting on random concerts and even putting up some song online. All three had wonderful voices and both Suzume and Minubuki could play any instrument after a while of learning how to play. They took on any sort of genera asked of them, but they mostly stuck to rock music, giving them the title Rock Girls Trio.
What had Kako amazed was the piece of paper in her hand. The paper had song lyrics on it for what seemed to be a Pop song instead of their usual rock. Although, the song wasn't for them to sing in the first place.
Suzume looked at the older woman with almost pleading eyes while the two next to her were chatting away.
"You know I'm always fine with helping out. Besides, all you need me to do is spread the word of this concert, right? That should be easy enough. Although... If this song is for who I think think is then you'll need to find a way to keep her 'dragon' away."
"Don't worry. I've honestly asked Mei-san for help already. Oh yeah, and could you also help her get ready after telling a few people? The outfit is in a box near Mei-san's desk. I've already asked someone others for help, so the latter part is honestly the only issue."
"Let me guess, you asked Satori-kun for help first."
"But of course. He's honestly the one I trust the most to get things done."
Kako's smile turned into an almost pitiful one.
That poor guy.
Shaking her head, Kako turned to the two who were sitting next to Suzume.
They had been chatting with each other the whole time and not said a word about the plan. They also helped out when they could with taking pictures and the like but this was different.
"So, how do you two feel about this?"
The two girls turned to Kako.
"Minubuki is fine with it as long as she gets to rock out afterwards!"
"Pretty much. Besides... It could be pretty entertaining with those two being the targets~"
Kako nodded her head, already well aware of how these three girls thought.
She faced Suzume once again and couldn't help but to remember so etching about her.
Suzume may have been known as the Shipping Queen by others for her massive amount of impressively drawn doujinshi and writing of stories that could rival and actual author, but her title was really shown when she was trying to get others together. She had created multiple,e plans for multiple people that had actually ended up getting those people together.
Those people had just been classmates and others who Suzume saw regularly, but this time was different. One of the people in question was someone that Suzume saw as another younger sister now. That meant she would give it her all and then some.
The males of the current Kotowari Squad and former Tsukiko Squad had a tendency to show affection to those they were close to by being rough in some shape or form.
The females of the current Kotowari Squad and former Tsukiko Squad had a tendency to show
affection to those they were close to by meddling in some shape or form.
Suzume was currently meddling in someone's love life, so that showed just how much she cared. She had done something like this before and had gotten Director Netsuki to take things slow for a while when with came to Arashiyama Squad and their PR jobs. That had just been because their Sniper had been tired and their ace not being far behind on that.
Kako herself had dealt with this affection before as well, by both Suzume and Mei, so she understood exactly what this meant.
"Alright then. Shall we get to this? You only have a few hours to get this done, right? I'll help to make sure it is a success."
Suzume beamed at this and gave a deep bow.
"Thank you very much!"
Kako could only smile.
Taiyōko Hoshi certainly was a girl someone could be envious over. Her beautiful, pale skin, beautiful, soft hair, beautiful, dark eyes. It was rare to see her ever step on an ant or a spider and would often be seen giving up her food for random animals around her. It was no wonder to anyone why she was called a princess at times.
But even she had some things that set her apart from other girls, more so than her beauty and kindness. One if those things was how she loved tinkering with different things and creating new things. She would often focus on making something out of trash or scrap and could be seen at times going to the engineers at Border to assist them. She had even created a few prototype Triggers that have now become part of her and her squad's arsenal.
She was the meekest of her siblings, but she was generally the better one as well.
So, knowing all of this, one would have to wonder why exactly she was getting told off over text message by the captain of the B-Rank Katori Squad.
Hey, stupid, idiotic little girl, stop getting Wakamura worked up. He's not focusing, meaning he's getting on my nerves. Actually... He does that anyways. Whatever. Just quit your crap and go smack him or something.
Hoshi was really confused.
Then she felt her phone vibrate once again.
Oh yeah. And tell him to get his ass over here. NOW!
Not only did Hoshi not know what Katori was talking about, she also didn't know how the B-Rank captain even got her number.
"Miura-senpai, maybe?"
Not knowing what else to do, Hoshi typed back a message before putting her phone back in her pocket.
She wasn't sure what was going on, but now she started to worry about what was wrong with Wakamura. She had been able to admit to herself that she had a crush on him but she never did anything else about it. She was much too kind and quiet to say anything about how she felt.
What's more, Wakamura had said that they should stay clear of each other. Hoshi would do exactly that until Wakamura walked up to her and said it was fine to be around each other again.
"Maybe that's what she meant... The reason he is acting weird now, as well as the reason behind him saying we should keep a distance might be the same! But what is wrong...? I can't go to him, but maybe I could get someone else to do it!"
The poor girl had know idea that she was the reason for Wakamura's current issues. She alone had been the reason he said that to her and she alone had been the reason he couldn't focus on his next match.
"Let's see... Toby-kun may be too straightforward... Takeshi-kun won't really care enough... Mei-nee might be the best option... No! Suzume-senpai! She will be able to get the answer while also being subtle about it!"
Hoshi couldn't help but feel happy that she now had a plan. She would get to know what was going on with Wakamura and try to help him as best as she could.
If was perfect!
"Oh. Girly-Kiyo."
Hoshi jumped up, her feet actually leaving the ground, when a voice spoke behind her. It was a voice she was familiar with. It was also a voice that made her go a bit pink.
Standing behind her was the captain of Ikoma Squad.
He stood there, looking down at her. He didn't give any particular look, but Hoshi could still feel her cheeks heat up a bit from just his presence.
No!
Hoshi shook her head and slapped her cheeks a few times.
If I really do like Waka-kun then I shouldn't be acting like this just because a handsome man is in front of me! Lust should not be a sin I fall prey to!
After hardening her resolve, Hoshi looked up with a dazzling smile that only she could pull off.
"What can I do for you, Ikoma-san? Is there something you needed from me?"
"Suzu-tan said ta spread the word 'bout the concert that RGT is puttin' on later. She texted me before, but ah barely got it."
"Concert? RGT? I'm sorry, but I don't really understand..."
"RGT means Rock Girls Trio. And yeah, they're puttin' on a concert in the park near the new branch."
Hoshi gave a hum as she held her hand to her chin.
This was the first she was hearing about any sort of concert for all the time she had been a part of Border. Apparently it was something that happened often enough for people to be casually talking about it.
She would make sure to ask another squad member about it later. For now though...
"Alright. Thank you for telling me about it."
"No probl'm. See ya around, Girly-Kiyo."
"Ah! My name is Hoshi! Taiyōko Hoshi! It's fine if you forgot..."
"Ho-tan, right."
Hoshi couldn't help the blush that suddenly appeared on her cheeks this time around. This time, though, it was from having called her that so casually. Someone she didn't know too well.
That's when it finally hit her.
She had forgotten to tell him something very important.
"I forgot to wish him luck in the next match!"
"You really are too nice at times."
Hoshi quickly turned around to see Kako walking up to her, arms folded and a smile in place.
Hoshi had absolutely no time to say anything since Kako had quickly walked up to her and started dragging her away by the arm. She had tried to get some words in but they were drowned out by the sound of fast moving footsteps that the two were making.
This is yet another problem that Hoshi wasn't sure about. First it was Wakamura, now Kako was dragging her some place for no apparent reason.
This truly is an odd day!
"Rokkun! How are you!?"
Wakamura saw a boy with black hair with a white "halo" on top that seemed to work well with his heterochromatic eyes of blue and red (contact). In his arms was a small puppy and behind him was Wakamura's mentor.
Wakamura met up the three half way and gave a greeting to the halo boy while pretty much ignoring his mentor.
"Hey there, Shiro."
"Um... I'm here too. No 'hello o great mentor of mine'?"
"What are you doing?"
"I am actually looking for...Taiyōko from Kotowari Squad."
Inukai quickly fell to the floor with a dark cloud over his head. He was apparently pitiful enough since the puppy that had been in Oshiro's arms patted his leg.
Ignoring the older male, Oshiro and Wakamura continued talking like the friends they were.
"Oh. You're looking for Hoshi-chan? I'm sorry, but I actually don't know where she is right now. We were..."
Oshiro stopped for a moment and went a bit red.
"Anyways... I suggest you make sure that Onii-san doesn't know you are looking for her. That would give both Mei-san and Akasora-san more to do."
"Yeah. I know. Only you and Satori know I'm looking for her."
That seemed to be some sort of signal for Inukai to add in his two cents since he jumped up and gave a thumbs up. He seemed to have gotten their attention since they both stared at him as if he had just suddenly appeared and had not been there the whole time.
Inukai continued to grin as he started speaking.
"As an awesome mentor, I shall help you out in this endeavor, my poor little Rokkun. I happen to know where our young Taiyōko Hoshi-chan will be in an hour or so."
"Does this have to do with that message you got from Misaki-chan earlier?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. She and the other two of the RGT will be putting on a concert in the park near the Yagura Branch. That, my lovely Shiro-chan is where I wish to take you on a date tonight. Not only that but, apparently Hoshi-chan will also be there."
"So she'll probably be there with the rest of the Yagura Branch. Now I see."
Even as he spoke, Oshiro continued to have the blush on his face at the mention of their date.
Meanwhile, Wakamura was finding this a bit bothersome now.
If they were playing by the Yagura Branch then that meant that Yuki would be there. If Yuki was there then that meant she would be hanging around Hoshi. And that meant Wakamura would have no chance at being able to tell her how he thought he felt.
Wakamura crossed his arms and let out a frustrated sigh.
"Well, we're going to get going now. We'll see you later, Rokkun. Oh! And good luck with Hoshi-chan!"
Wakamura gave a nod while he waved at the two.
Those two... He and her are actually alike, now that I think about it.
That random thought had actually got Wakamura thinking about that now. Not only were the two of them very friendly with very few people who didn't like them, one of the main people who didn't like them was his captain. They both knew pretty much the same people as each other and even their appearances weren't too far off from each other.
It made a person like Wakamura wonder if those two were related instead of Hoshi being related to the obscene Kushikage, wild Yuki, and the genius Mukuro.
"I suppose none of that actually matters, though."
It was finally time.
At the park near the Yagura Branch a large crowd had gathered in front of a stage. There had been a complete set up for the stage and some people could see a brown-haired boy moving around the stage while a black-haired boy with a scarf was behind the stage.
A drumset was on the back end if the stage with a microphone in front of it. Two more microphones were also set up on the sides of the stage. A banner that read "RGT" could be seen hanging from the rafters.
All this work had been in little to no time and every single time it happened a lot of people wondered how this could be done so quickly without others noticing.
That was easy to figure out though.
Thanks to Suzume and a few others, Director Netsueki had been persuaded to get help in fixing the stage up whenever the three girls wanted to put on a small concert. They had said this would be great for Border's image. That was more enforced when Suzume had been able to get well known agents to perform. Kitora and Karasuma had gone up in popularity with the opposite sexes once they got on stage.
.
"Good, good~ Alright! Everything's set up! Take will be taking care of the lights, so we'll honestly be fine!"
Suzume grinned to herself as she stood ready for the concert in the park. She looked out into the crowd and easily recognized a large amount of people.
There has never been a fee for watching them play, but small booths had been set up to get some money. It never mattered to the girls though since all three loved putting on these sorts of concerts anyways.
There was an issue though.
"Where is that guy!? I honestly made sure to get Inukai to tell him that this was going on! No way he honestly didn't come!"
Suzume continued to grumble as she scanned the crowd for a fifth time.
"Alright. I was finally able to get her to come here."
Suzume quickly turned around to see Hoshi and Kako standing there.
Hoshi held her hands in front of herself while she looked down with a blush. She was no longer wearing an overly modest dress but rather she was wearing a dress that seemed to be made of ribbons. The ribbons wrapped around her body nicely and gave off the impression she only had those ribbons. Thankful, for Hoshi, the ribbons were sown together and the most that was showing was her shoulders, stomach and her legs from the knees down. In a way, it made her seem like an exotic dancer.
Kako, on the other hand, still wore what she had been wearing for the day.
Suzume looked over Hoshi for a bit and nodded her head.
Off to the side, Shana and Minubuki were talking once again.
"You know," said Shana, "this feels more like a shoujo fanfic instead of a WT one. Not to mention we hardly get any lines in this whole thing."
"Minubuki doesn't really care. So long as her music is here, she is fine with it."
Shana shrugged her shoulders and continued to get ready.
Now back with the others...
"Now then... Hoshi-chan, I would really like you to go on stage and open up for us. We honestly aren't-"
"Hey, Suzume, we're ready to go over here!"
Without turning around, Suzume grabbed the nearest thing, which was a drumstick, and threw it as hard as she could at Shana, making her fall to the ground.
"As I was honestly saying... We honestly aren't ready yet. We really need you to do this for us. Don't worry though. You honestly don't have to dance if you don't want too. At the most we need you to honestly just sway with the music."
Hoshi thought about it, and thought about it, and thought about it some more.
She finally came to a conclusion and pulled out her phone. She dialed a number and whispered some things in it before showing it to Suzume.
The voice on the other line could be heard loud and clear saying,
"Fuck it. I guess I'll do it. But remember not to be such a bitch next time and just tell me beforehand."
Hearing the cursing, Hoshi quickly ended the call with a red face before turning back to Suzume.
"Yes. I will do it."
"Great!"
Being at a place like this with this many people around was not something Wakamura wanted to do right now. He had just wanted to find Hoshi to talk to her. Now he couldn't even find any clue as to where she could be.
What's more...
"Wha-!? Suzu... I'll make sure to have a...talk with her about this..."
"Just stop already. She looks good up there. Although the ribbons may be a bit much."
Wakamura was currently hiding behind a tree while Yuki and Mei stood on the other side of said tree.
The last thing Wakamura wanted to deal with was a raging Yuki pulling out Idōgetsu and threatening him with said Trigger.
He did have to admit that he was curious as to what the two were talking about. At first he thought that it was Suzume, but the way Yuki sounded was like...
No way...
Wakamura quickly pulled his head from behind the tree. From there he could see Yuki and Mei facing the stage. And who should he see on the stage except-
She's going to sing!?
Wakamura felt somewhat defeated right now. There was no way he would be able to talk to her at this rate. The best he could hope for was to wait things out until he could get free from the tree and Hoshi would not be singing.
Before he could even hope to try and speak away, he heard Hoshi start speaking from the stage.
"Ah... Hello...! Oh. Too loud... I apologize. A-apparently there seems to be some issues and... The wait will be a bit longer. But I... I have been sent out to... To open up for them... Although this song... I apologize if it is not what you wish to hear..."
Wakamura from behind the tree and Yuki from in front of the tree seemed to have the same reaction and thoughts at that moment.
Give it your best! If anyone has anything to say then I will face them myself!
From his spot he could see Hoshi take in a deep breath as the music started playing.
The music playing was far from the usual music that people would hear from the RGT. This was very much a Pop song that seemed to go well with Hoshi and her current appearance.
As she started to sing her voice carried out wonderfully through the park as the lights started to move around before landing on her.
Hoshi could be seen just standing there with her eyes closed, lips moving as the music continued to play.
Wakamura's grip on the tree strengthened a bit when he saw that Hoshi looked rather awkward on the stage.
The song itself combined with Hoshi's voice was truly something that captivated all who were listening to it. There were some who looked like they didn't care much for it, but they remained respectfully silent as the song continued.
Once Hoshi had made it passed the first chorus she looked like she was getting more and more into it. Yet she still seemed rather awkward.
"Gah! What's she honestly doing!? She isn't going all out!"
Kako had to suppress her laugh as she watched Suzume fume over the fact that Hoshi was hardly doing much when it came to moving her body.
Suzume herself had said that they only needed Hoshi to sway with the music, but this was as if she was just moving because she was being hit with a breeze.
"Looks like I'll need to take the stage for a bit."
That was when Kako stopped laughing and actually went into action.
She wasn't the only one either. Once Shana and Minubuki noticed Suzume starting for the stage they all but dived to stop her from going on.
It was too late though.
Hoshi truly felt embarrassed.
She had been trying to do as she was told but the lyrics and her current outfit made it all too much for her. She really thought that she would rather face off against a humanoid Trion Soldier than do something like this. At least then not many people would see.
As she waited for the next part of the song she noticed someone walking onto the stage.
Misaki Suzumebachi.
Hoshi didn't have a chance to start singing again since, as she walked on, Suzume started singing the next part of the song.
The crowd seemed to start up once they saw Suzume walk onto the stage.
Suzume gave a dazzling smile to the crowd as she walked next to Hoshi with a microphone in hand and hips swaying almost erotically.
As she made it next to Hoshi she gestured for the younger girl to continue singing.
Doing as ordered, Hoshi began singing once again.
Meanwhile, Suzume started speaking into the microphone.
"I'm going to release her limiters! Is that honestly okay!?"
The crowd went even crazier once they heard this. Hoshi had no clue why but she became very wary all of a sudden.
You see, when Suzume said "limiters" she meant clothes.
By "her" she meant Hoshi.
And that's exactly what she did. Just not in the way most thought.
Suzume had gone up to Hoshi and pulled a single ribbon that was tied behind Hoshi's neck. Once that had been undone it all happened.
The ribbons that Hoshi had thought were sown together came apart and swayed with her movements. Under the ribbons was actual clothing that seemed to sparkle each time the lights hit her.
"Hoshi-chan," Suzume whispered, "move more like this. Just follow my lead."
Suzume started singing right along with Hoshi and started moving her body much more than Hoshi ever had while on the stage.
Suzume moved her hips from right to left and left to right in time with the music. If she had her long hair then it would have been moving right along with the body and swinging in a sort of beautiful-violence sort of way. Her shoulders moved just as much, making her seem like she was dancing some sort of foreign dance that was meant to captivate everyone who saw it.
Hoshi saw the movement and tried her best to copy them, but she was struggling too much with her pride right now. She had tried so hard not to be seen as the "Princess among those siblings" so it was plain to see that this was just getting rid of all of that work.
She felt a quick jab to the side and saw Suzume giving her a look that basically said, "If you don't finish this yourself then I shall honestly make sure to include you in all of my yuri doujinshi."
Giving a small nod that only Suzume could see, Hoshi tried once again to copy the moves.
This time around she was getting the hang of it. The reason was that she was focusing more on Suzume and the music than the crowd that was watching her.
She had gotten so into it that she didn't notice that she was making her own moves, or that Suzume was no longer on the stage.
As she continued singing she added more movement and raised her arm so that it would move along with her body. She moved across the stage on light feet as the ribbons that had once made up her outfit moved around as well.
The ribbons did not give off any sort of impression of a princess, like Suzume had first thought. Instead, each ribbon looked more and more like those you could see on either the Black Trigger known as Fujin or the optional Trigger by the same name.
Many agents who had seen the two Trigger by the same name could tell right away that it indeed looked like it. That just added much more appeal to the whole thing since Hoshi had quickly become known for using the weaker version of the two Fujin.
Overall she looked like a shooting star going across the pitch black night sky.
Wakamura could only stare in awe as Hoshi finished up her song. The lyrics were certainly something that suited her, and the dancing captivated him far beyond any other dance he had seen.
His glasses even started to fog up a bit.
"Good thing she's great like that. Bad thing so many guys saw her like that. I'll have to make sure to burn every last doujinshi, story, and anything else that Suzu has. Once she properly apologizes to Hoshi then I will consider forgiving her for this."
Wakamura blinked a few times, bringing him back to reality.
He saw Yuki looked ready to hit something, but instead of doing that he decided to glare daggers at every guy he saw.
Thinking this was his chance, Wakamura took a step away from the tree. As he did so he noticed Mei slightly move her head and give him a small look.
He held his breath, worried that Yuki would also notice he was there.
"Alright, Yuki. Time for you to sleep. You need to keep your health up."
"But I'm- BYAH!?"
Wakamura flinched when he saw Mei land a solid punch to Yuki's stomach, knocking him out. If there was one thing Wakamura knew well it was that Mei was definitely stronger than any guy he knew.
Mei turned to Wakamura and gave a slight nod.
"Good luck, Wakamura. And don't worry. I'll make sure Yuki here doesn't end up killing you for this later."
All he could do was give a weak nod as he watched Mei carry her boyfriend away like a sack of potatoes.
He shook his head and turned around, determined to get to Hoshi.
"Sorry for the wait! Did you like our opening!?"
The sound if the crowd was overwhelming once the three girls who were the main show come on.
"W-wait! Katori-san-! Oh, I'm sorry! Katori-san, please stop pulling me! I really want to get out of this outfit!"
Katori Yōko could feel her eye twitching as she dragged Hoshi along the edge of the large crowd.
She had gone to listen to the music, along with Miura, but she instantly got annoyed once she saw Hoshi come onto the stage. She had watched the whole opening and became increasingly annoyed when she heard the lyrics.
She did know who they were for after all.
"Shut your mouth and follow me! There's a moron you have to have a talk with! I already told you this!"
All Hoshi could do was continue being dragged along, stumbling as she did so, and give quick looked back to Miura, who was following them. She hoped that he would be able to help her out by either calming Katori down or getting her free from the vice grip, but he was no help.
Miura had decided to let his captain take care of things.
One thing that he was not expecting was to see his captain dragging a certain girl by the hand and pretty much tossing said girl in his direction like she was throwing a javelin at waist height.
Wakamura was quick to react and grab Hoshi before she fell face first into the ground. He could see Miura giving him an apologetic look from his spot near Katori.
"Alright. You two idiots better start talking to each other. I'm going to be over there, listening to the concert. If I come back and you two are still like this them I swear I'll kick both of your asses."
Wakamura and Hoshi could only blink as Katori walked over to the crowd to listen to the rock song that was currently playing now.
It took another few seconds for them to realize the position they were in and move back. And as if they were in some crappy shoujo managa, the two of them made damn sure not to look at each other no matter what.
"You were nice out there."
It was Wakamura who stared the very idiotic and cliché conversation.
"Your brother is ready to pretty much kill half of the boys here. If it wasn't for Takaoto-san then I would also be in that group."
"Well, you can always leave it up to her to take Kiyo-nii down."
Completely awkward was the perfect way to explain the situation.
Since this author is running out of ideas, and he doesn't want this to be so damn cliché, Hoshi decided to make her move.
She had faced off against Trion Soldiers, was currently in a high ranked B-Rank squad for Border, was going up against two stong squads in her next match, and was also a part of a family of soldiers. She had most definitely built up enough courage to say something to the megane in front of her.
"Kiss! You aren't mad, right!? Lyrics! They were forced on me! But it was I who sang them for you!"
Words were certainly something Hoshi was bad at in the moment.
"But... But! I like you! Kiss again! Can I do it with you!"
Wakamura had pretty much lost his ability to think by this point. He couldn't be to sure of he heard her right, but no words actually came out when he tried to speak.
Meanwhile, Hoshi was having a similar issue. Deciding that every word was against her at this point, she gave up trying to speak at all.
That left them back to the absolute awkwardness.
Until...
"For the love of-!"
The two awkward idiots went wide eyed when they felt a hand grab the back of their heads and push them towards each other.
They could feel each other's lips and, after getting over the shock, actually started enjoying it.
While next to them stood Katori, hands on the back of their heads.
"You two idiots like each other. Just kiss and get this mushy crap over with. I need this crappy megane for our next match, so he can't be distracted by those feelings.
After seeing that they were starting to get into the kiss, Katori pulled her arms back and clicked her tongue.
While this was going on, Kako appeared and walked up to Katori. She gave the younger girl a sly smile and she held up a camera with once hand.
"Thank you for this. Suzume will make sure you are compensated for this later."
"Like I care. They were annoying me."
"Oh? But I thought you were the type to just give up when something annoyed you? Or may its that you care about their relationship?"
"Yeah right. I only did something about it because I know that Tsukiko will beat the crap out of the megane once he finds out. I could at least get some entertainment from that."
Kako simply nodded as she took more pictures.
And there ends this story of crap piled onto even more crap.
The author sincerely hopes you enjoyed this steaming pile of crap. Now he thinks you should find an actually good story to read so you can purge yourselves of this.
Oh. But one more thing.
You must never forget...
The real hero of this story is...
Miura!