Dancing Beasts
Destruction and panic filled the entire area.
In one of the main halls of Border there were multiple things broken and unconscious agents laying around as if they had been carelessly tossed aside after they had been used.
A group of A-Rank and B-Rank agents stood, cornering a wild beast.
To them it seemed like they were facing off against the king of beasts.
That was wrong.
"Oh my~ Who could ever predict that Fuji would react in such a way~"
A woman wearing almost nothing stood off to the side, watching as the agents continued to move forward in order to catch the beast.
In reality, this woman was the true king of the beasts who gladly danced atop the summit of everything.
The one she was watching getting trapped seemed more like a small cub than anything else.
"Kushi-nee, Akasora-saaaaa~~n said you should stop causing these kinds of prooooo~~blems around the base."
"That old man simply can't see how fucking fun this kind of thing is. Fuji isn't even a part of our branch, so he shouldn't be worrying about such a retard thing like this."
While the king of beasts let out a laugh, the elegant beast next to her could only yawn and rub his eyes.
Unlike the boisterous woman who stood tall and grinned like a crazy person, the shrunken boy slouched where he stood while trying his best to keep yawns from coming out. The woman's eyes also seemed to have a nice mischievous glint to them while the boy's eyes had dark circles and bags around his.
These two beasts were the oldest and second youngest children from the family of soldiers.
They had both come back to Mikado City after the Aftokrator Invasion had happened and were quickly instated as Yagura Branch members.
They had not been able to show what they could do in the latest invasion, but their positions were not something they joked about.
Taiyōko Kushikage had been able to go toe-to-toe with Tachikawa Kei, Border's #1 solo agent and end things in a draw with him. Even the great Takaoto Mei could not best her in a single battle.
Next to that was Taiyōko Mukuro, who had beaten Hatohara Minoru, an A-Rank that was able to keep up with others like Tachikawa and Miwa.
The two were unranked agents, but that meant nothing to them since they already knew just how good they were.
"Well, I've gotten pretty bored with this by now."
"You're the one who caused this panic and you're the one who got tired of it first."
"Your point?"
"Nothing. I was just stating a fact."
"By the way, don't you have to train that dog from Kiyoshi's former team? You promised him you would after all~"
"Please don't remind me of that guy. He's way too energetic for me to handle. I could never get comfortable around him."
"You can't get comfortable around most people."
Mukuro said nothing and just continued to follow his older sister.
It wasn't a known fact, but it wasn't hard to tell that Mukuro had insomnia. He hardly got much sleep' if any at all.
The few times he had been able to actually sleep without one of his older siblings knocking him out was because he was around someone he felt comfortable with.
The number of people who were in that category could easily be counted on one hand.
"You have to admit that the lil' pup is kinda like our lovely piece of crap brother."
"I wouldn't insult Kiyo-nii by comparing that mutt to him."
"You're right. If anything... The lil' pup is more like you."
"..."
"Aw~ Don't give me that look~ Actually, this is the first time you've given me that kind of look~ Aw~ My other lil' bro is growin' up as well~ Isn't that just the cutest thing ever~!"
Mukuro gave a small huff before letting out a yawn.
Even though she was joking around, Kushikage was a bit amazed that Mukuro would go as far as changing his expression to show his dislike for being compared to Toby.
"You really want to say, 'How do you figure?', right~? You can't, though, because you're sooooo smart~~ You've already figured out exactly how you two are so similar, right~?"
"Kushi-nee... Please stop."
"I'm just sayin'~ You both learn so quickly, and even in the middle of a fight as well~ No wonder our lovely piece of crab brother went to you for help~ He also saw how similar you two are~ Wait... Doesn't that mean he thinks that you and Mino-tan are similar~ He did ask both of you to help the lil' pup~"
"Kushi-nee, I said please...!"
"Oh~ You actually raised your voice at me~"
Getting fed up with being teased, Mukuro started walking in the opposite direction from his sister.
It was a rare thing for him to get teased that much by her, so he let it go a few minutes after leaving.
He was the one who tended to follow what his two older siblings did by supporting them however he could.
Kushikage was the one he mostly helped since his older brother didn't want to be around him too much.
The more he thought about it the more his mind started to wonder off in a random direction, mirroring his feet at the moment.
Both he and Kushikage had been subjected to standby at the Yagura Branch office since they had been back. Only a few times were the two allowed to actually go out and do something. Even defense duty was off limits to them.
It was understandable to Mukuro.
His older sister would go about doing as she pleased, so that was why she was always kept away from others as much as possible.
He, on the other hand, was nowhere near as destructive as his older brother or as interested in other things as his older sister. He just never wanted to do anything.
Can I really be blamed? There are a lot of others who can do it better than me.
Also,
"This whole things with Neighbors and Border really tires me out. It doesn't even interest me in the slightest."
"Then why did you join?"
Mukuro, at reaching a split in the hallway, slightly tilted his head and gave the person who had spoken a dull look.
"Because my siblings were doing it."
It took a few seconds but Mukuro recognized the person he was speaking too. It took him another few seconds to remember the name of the person.
Tsuji Shinnosuke. Ninomiya Squad's Attacker. Good at supporting others. Terrible with women. A beast lurking in jet-black darkness. With a suit to match.
"We all have reason for joining, but as you can tell, mine isn't something particularly noble or just. Judge me if you will, but that means nothing to me. You will just be waisting you ability to think on something pointless."
As he finished talking, he let out a yawn and covered it up with his hand.
From the corner of his eye he could see that Tsuji was trying to hold in a yawn of his own.
Illnesses can spread through contact with others or through the air when a person coughs or sneezes. Yawns can be spread by simply mentioning them. Seeing and hearing them really make a person want to do the same. Even just thinking about them makes you sigh or yawn.
That fact had been something that was imbedded into his head from all the times he had yawned with others around him doing the same thing.
Tsuji seemed to be no different from others in that regard.
As if seeing the former A-Rank hold back a yawn was a sign for him to leave, Mukuro started walking in the opposite direction Tsuji had come from.
"Have a nice day, I suppose."
"Hold on... Please."
Turning around, Mukuro saw that Tsuji was looking at him.
For someone like Mukuro, who was use to observing everyone and everything around him, it was easy to tell that Tsuji was a bit tense and his eyebrows were slightly knitted.
"Your reason doesn't make sense. Joining in one thing, but aren't you an A-Rank? Following them that far is a bit much. -"
"'Simply being a part of Border would be enough, right? Or are you taking your position lightly?' That's the rest of what you want to say."
There it was again.
The first time them had met, Tsuji had gotten the shivers when around this boy and did not know why that was. It was only after he had left that the former A-Rank understood why that was.
It was like he had been looking at himself.
He wasn't too sure how, but he felt like the boy in front of him mirrored him in some way.
A Side Effect?
"I don't have a Side Effect."
Tsuji jumped a bit.
"And before you think it, I didn't read your mind or anything. I'm not like that little girl from before. It's just written all over your face. You are easy to read. And that's boring."
Tsuji was not someone who expressed much emotion most of the time. He was composed and always kept his cool, unless with a girl.
Having Mukuro say that he was easy to read made him want to take a bit of a step back.
But that would mean the other boy had won.
Not backing down, Tsuji actually took a step forward.
"And as for my answer... It's the same as before. Because my siblings became A-Rank. That is all."
"Don't you think you should join for your own reason? That sounds more like you just want to follow someone and no have to do it yourself. It also sounds a bit lazy."
"That's because I'm a lazy person who wants to follow his siblings. Why bother with others when I know my siblings will be there for me to follow? If they ignore me then that's fine. If they tell me to stop following them then there will be problems."
"Where are they now?"
"..."
That single question seemed to stop Mukuro for a bit.
He opened and closed his mouth at least three times before letting out a tired sigh, making Tsuji copy it.
Whether the question was meant to be literal or to get Mukuro thinking was something that may never be know.
What was known was that Mukuro was have a bit of difficultly figuring the answer out to that.
He knew that currently his younger sister was with her team, his older sister was probably causing some mayhem somewhere, and his older brother was at the branch office, resting.
That was the simple, plain, and safe answer.
It just didn't feel right.
As if wanting to push how far he could take this, Tsuji took another step forward and continued to speak.
"You follow them without much thought about it, but what do they think about it?"
"They don't care much about me following them. Soooo~ what?"
Tsuji had to hold back a yawn.
"Why follow people who don't care then?"
"It's not that they don't care about me, it's that they don't care about me following them. Were you not listening to me?"
Another step forward.
"If yours someone who follows others and others don't care about you following them then does that mean they don't care about you?"
Mukuro puffed out his cheeks a bit.
He was always tired and hardly felt other things. It was mostly due to him being uninterested by most things.
He was getting mad now.
That alone made him more mad, which continued to add fuel to the fire.
That's different...
Tsuji felt a bit of pride at no longer seeing what felt like a reflection of himself and more anger from the other boy.
He didn't really care what it was, as long as he didn't see that reflection.
"I thought you were a support agent...! You're using unfair tactics to get me mad...!"
"I'm just saying what you might need to hear. Nothing more and nothing less."
By this point the lurking beast stared down at the elegant beast and noticed that he would be roughly three inches taller than Mukuro if he was standing up straight instead of slouching.
This odd debate was not something that either one had expected to occur when they had started the day, but here they were, staring at each. They were just waiting for the other to crack.
Tsuji was currently winning.
He had managed to get the upper hand on the siblings who was called a genius among genius'. That alone was something amazing.
He's usually tired from insomnia so he might no actually be thinking all the way. I really don't want to see what he's like when he's not tired and actually has energy...
The thought of a mix between the other three siblings and his own squad came to mind.
Really don't want to see that...
"I'm leaving...!"
Now that's just childish...
Tsuji watched as Mukuro stomped his foot on the ground like a child.
He figured that the other boy would follow through by walking away.
Instead...
"..."
"Eh...? Huh!? W-wait! Please don't just fall like that! How am I suppose to react to something like this just happening when you were about to storm away like a child!? I wasn't going to tell anyone about it!"
One of the times Tsuji lost his composure.
It was fair on his part. He really did not expect for Mukuro to just fall forward and not get back up after a few seconds.
Once a minute went by Tsuji could easily tell that the younger one was asleep from his light breathing and steady raise and fall of his chest.
"Talk about unfair..."
As soon as those words left his mouth, he heard steps down the hall.
He quickly looked around for the footsteps while calmly lifting Mukuro up so that it didn't look like Tsuji himself knocked the boy out.
"What's this~? Did you knock my poor little brother out? That just means I have to kill you and by strangling you with your own intestines~"
Tsuji felt a shiver run down his spine as a cold sweat started covering his body.
He felt two soft object come up and press against his head.
A voice whispered into his ear,
"If you make a sound then I will devour you~~"
Tsuji didn't make a single move and stood still, afraid of what might happen if he even blinked.
A few seconds felt like minutes to him as he waited for something to happen.
When it did...
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! It's fine, it's fine~~ Use him however you want~ Rape him or sell his organs, I don't really care~ Just make sure that you aren't caught~"
Tsuji quickly turned around to came face-to-face with the king of beasts who gladly dances atop the summit of everything.
Instead of freezing up for a different reason, he actually spoke loud and clear.
"You are the absolute worst sibling ever."
"Why thank you~"
Kushikage put her hand on her hip as she grinned down at Tsuji.
She had been joking around when she told Tsuji he could do anything with her unconscious younger brother, but she was rather disappointed in the reaction.
Being called the "absolute worse sibling ever" is like being called a jerk by a three-year-old kid. It sounds more like a child being mad than anything else.
She gave an sly laugh as as took a step forward.
With some effort because of added weight, Tsuji took a step back.
"And what if I am? He will still follow me even if I leave him on the side of the road~ Didn't you just have an argument with him on this matter~? You should know that how things are for him~"
Sadly, Tsuji knew this was true.
"There's also the fact that there's no one else he would follow. He's way too uncomfortable with everyone who isn't his siblings."
Although...
Kushikage crossed her arms over her rather generous chest as he looked down at her unconscious brother.
Seeing him asleep at all was a rare sight. Seeing him asleep around anyone other than his siblings was just unheard of.
The king of beasts who always danced atop the summit of everything wondered what she should have felt at a time like this. Her brother seemed to be comfortable with Tsuji since he was knocked out, so she should be happy.
She just did not care.
None of this really mattered to her.
I truly am the worst sibling. Oh well~ The truth is always a reality that everyone tries to get away from~ No reason to not just accept it~
With a small huff, Kushikage turned around with a bored look and raised a hand.
"Well, do what you want with him. I'm gonna go see if I can fuck around with some others~ If you ever wanna fight then just ask~"
Tsuji said nothing as he awkwardly held Mukuro up from falling to the ground.
He really did not want to carry the A-Rank around when he was unconscious, but he knew that the older sister would do nothing to help.
She would probably just find a trashcan to put him in...
Maybe I should have at least told him that my worthless brother won't be waking up any time soon if he is around... Oh well~
Kushikage let out a laugh as she walked through the Border hall, Trigger spinning between her fingers.
She had been rather bored since she was confined in the Yagura Branch office with nothing to do but bother Akasora or Arisa. They would get occasional visits from other agents, but no enough to put her out of her misery.
So here she was, trying to find a way to cure her boredom.
"Is there something wrong with them walking together?"
"It's just...weird! Toby isn't the type to just walk calmly like that! What's more is that she looks like she completely enjoying talking to him!"
"Isn't that just rude? And don't the two of you do that with him as well?"
"It's different! Guy friends can casually talk about things like boobs, butts, and things like that without a problem, but for a girl that's different! The only other people don't don't ever seem to get tired of him are us two, Hoshi-chan, and Mei!"
Kushikage gave a small hum as she walked over to the three talking a bit away from her.
Two of the three were trying (and failing) to hide while the third person just looked at them like they were crazy.
She ones that her little brother by two or so years was friends with one of the three people so she decided to mess with them.
As she got closer she made sure her steps were quiet.
Once she was within arm reach...
"Whatcha doin'~!?"
The reactions were instantaneous.
The two idiots trying (and failing) to hide jumped into the air while the third person tried to jump.
Hiyami was quickly captured in the arms of Kushikage with the larger female's breasts coming up on either side of Hiyami's head.
"O-oh! It's just you, Kushi-san. Don't scare us like that! I thought you were Suzume or Mei!"
Inukai held his chest as he let out a sigh.
Kushikage let out a hardy laugh as she put her head on top of Hiyami's head.
It was easy to tell that the smaller girl was very uncomfortable with the situation, but she could do nothing to stop it from happening.
"Anyways~ What are you idiots doing~? Something fun~!?"
"I doubt you'll care about it. We're spying on Toby."
Midorikawa nodded enthusiastically next to him.
"Hm~? The lil' pup? Why? Is there somethin' interestin' goin' on with 'em~? Should I let my shit stain of a lil' brother know of this~?"
Hiyami, who was still stuck in the boob trap, was the one to speak up as she struggled against her restraints.
"He is walking with a girl. That is all. These two are just overreacting for no reason."
"Oh~ Is that so~?"
Wanting to take a look for herself, Kushikage moved forward and looked over to see that it was true.
The Attacker of Kotowari Squad was walking with a girl she had not seen before.
The girl had long, dark purple hair; it extended past her lower back. She also had sunny, pale skin and light eyes. She wore she uniform, which consisted of tight-fitting shorts that stopped a bit before her knees, a semi-tight shirt with a jacket over it that was cut off at her mid-back. The B-Rank emblem was on the back of her jacket.
In a way the girl reminded Kushikage of her younger sister. The only difference was that this girl looked to be a bit more confident and not as formal as Hoshi.
Oh my~
As she thought about this, she accidentally covered more of Hiyami with her body.
Inukai and Midorikawa quickly went to work trying to dig the Operator out from under the king of beasts dancing atop the summit of everything.
He enjoyed her laughing.
Toby was not too sure why, but he really liked to hear her voice in general.
He was the type of person who normally did not care about things like that and would focus more on how well they can fight. If they were in Border that is.
"I'm just saying that they could be a bit nicer for others to not assume things. Don't get me wrong, Ainis still like a sister to me, but still..."
"I get it. She always seemed like a butterfly who wields violet poison."
"Yeah. And Yoko is like a cat prowling in the darkness."
"Oh~? Now I'm wondering what you think about me. I mean, to me, you seem like a beautiful beast who dwells in the moonlight."
"Moonlight? That's more for Yuki or Takeshi. If you're going to compare me then it has to be like the raging sun. And 'beautiful beast'? More like 'vicious beast'."
"I dint know about that. I've been watching some of the logs and you look rather beautiful when you're fighting."
"(Ya think so...?)"
"What?"
"Nothin'."
Toby let out a small laugh as he saw the girl walking next to him roll her eyes.
Kashi Kōchō was someone he had known for a while now but never had much time to talk too. He had been busy with training and the B-Rank War matches.
It was nice to talk like this to her.
"So, to answer your question... I would describe you as..."
As he spoke, Toby put a hand to his chest and raised his other one, getting a small laugh from the girl.
"You are like the twitter of a songbird that resounds in the night~"
"Wow~ I didn't know you could come up with such a sweet sounding thing. Are you sure that was original?"
"Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't."
The two laughed as they continued walking.
They had spent around an hour or so just walking from where they had been to the Border base and around the base.
They had both known about the two idiots of the Dog Trio that had been following them, but did not care Kuni about it. They figured that the two would leave when they got bored enough of it.
For now, they would just enjoy the time they had to talk.
It was odd for Toby to talk and walk so calmly with another person like this. He could do it, but he always found something to get a hit excited about or would start running around like a dog chasing his tail.
Yet this girl had tamed him enough to get him to act calmly.
Suzume would probably have a field day if she saw this. I should make sure that Haru and Shun don't tell her about it. Actually... I should make sure they don't tell any of the SS about this.
He let out a small sigh when he started thinking about he was suppose to bribe the two other idiots of the Dog Trio.
Next to him, Kōchō gave a small hum before speaking again.
"Awdry, I was wondering how-"
"TOOOOOOOOBY!"
In only a few seconds, multiple things happened all at once.
Something, rather someone, launched themselves right at Toby, fully intent on tackling him to the ground.
In response to this attack, Toby grabbed Kōchō by the hand and swung both of them around, as if dancing, dodging the attack.
The body that was headed for him ended up slamming and sliding on the ground for around a foot or so.
Before they could look over to see who it was, Toby ducked his head as a hand appeared above him. Seeing it come down towards his head he moved to the side and jumped back a bit.
"Aw~ You weren't suppose to dodge that! I just wanted to try it out~!"
Toby looked over the the body that was now getting up.
The one who had attacked him had been Minamisawa Kai while the one who had tried to get his head was Ikoma Tatsuhito. Both were Attackers from Ikoma Squad.
"You still have a good ten years before you can catch me at all, Kai. And stop trying to pat my head, Tatsu! I'm not an actual dog! Plus, you put too much force!"
"It's yer fault for havin' soft fur."
"I don't have fur! I have hair! I'm not some sort of werewolf!"
"Yer canines look sharper than others."
"That means nothing!"
From her spot Kōchō looked between the three Attackers and placed a hand to her chin.
He skillfully dodged Minamisawa's attack on him, but he dodged Ikoma-senpai with his Side Effect. Was it because he used his head for one and body for the other? Maybe it was just to mess with them a bit...
She watched as Minamisawa continued to try and tackle Toby to the ground while Ikoma continued to try and pat Toby's head.
Something that she found interesting was that while the two Attackers from Ikoma Squad were in their Trion Bodies, Toby was in his real body and moving around as if it was nothing.
.
Toby could feel himself getting more and more irritated as he was getting attacked by the two other Attackers. It was easy enough to dodge Minamisawa's tackles, but Ikoma was starting to get a bit tricky.
His mind was conflicting with his reflexes and messing him up a bit, making him get grazed by the two of them at times.
Even if this is good practice for the match...
"This needs to stop!"
After dodging one more tackle from Minamisawa, Toby turned his full attention to Ikoma and his moving hand.
He had started to notice the time delay between the tackles and the hand, so he knew how long it would take until the next time Minamisawa would try and tackle him.
Using his focus on Ikoma, he saw the hand heading towards his head and moved his body the way he wanted it to move.
Using something simple he had been taught by Minoru (after he had been bouncing around), he readied his body by twisting it as the hand got closer.
Once Ikoma's hand was in the right place, Toby grabbed his wrist and pulled him a bit forward before getting his upper arm. He easily lifted the body that was now behind him into the air and above him.
With a loud sound, the larger body slammed into the ground.
Knowing that he was about to be attacked by Minamisawa again, he went into action as soon as the body hit the ground.
While still on one foot because of the toss, he spin on his toes and moved back, dodging the attack.
Lifting his leg, he used the momentum from the spin to land a hard and solid kick to the smaller body's back.
Minamisawa went forward and ended up hitting the wall.
Toby and Kōchō did not bother asking if the two were fine since they knew that the two Attackers were in their Trion Bodies.
Toby let out a huff as he crossed his arms.
He glared down at the two of them.
"I'm fine with playing around, but there is a limit to these kinds if things. Learn that limit then come back so we can have some fun together and play. Got it?"
"Hm~ Hm~ Ya sound like Kiyo did. 's he Rubin' off on ya?"
"No offense to Yuki, but I'm far different than him."
"Really? Ya don't seem too different. Same animalistic eyes."
"(Do you want to end up on the floor again?)"
"Huh?"
Toby could only let out a sigh as he thought of a way out of the conversation.
Luckily, Kōchō was was to save him.
"Well, it was interesting to see what I did, but the two of us need to get going. I don't want to keep Awdry away from his team for too long."
Minamisawa jumped in front of them and smiled up at Toby.
The smile reminded the brunet of both his younger brother and Midorikawa when they were excited.
His expression softened a bit at seeing the younger's face.
"Hey, Toby, make sure you don't think this means you can beat us in the next match! That's when I'll really go all out!"
"A one-on-one match is fine, but not during a match. Each team tries to win, so you need to actually fight as a team. If you go after me then you'll need to deal with the others too."
Toby was about to pat Minamisawa's head like he did to his younger brother, and sometimes Midorikawa, but held back in case he was tackled or head patted himself.
Minamisawa on the other hand lowed his head a bit, as if expecting to have his hair ruffled.
Toby couldn't help the small chuckle that came out.
"Well," he started, "like Kōchō said, we should get going. We can play around later on. I'll need some exercise so I'll be looming for you two."
With that being said he started walking away with Kōchō right beside him.
The two waved back at the two from Ikoma Squad.
Toby could only think about how he really did want to fight the both of them during their next B-Rank War match.
.
Kōchō was amazed by the way Toby had went about the whole ordeal.
She knew that he loved "playing around" with others by have fights with them and instead of doing just that he stayed with her. It actually did make her feel a bit special. Just a bit.
Noticing that he was being looked at, Toby tilted his head.
"Is something wrong?"
"No. Not really. I was just thinking that you seemed like a big brother to Minamisawa back there. Like you're use to dealing wit that kind of stuff."
Toby let out a sheepish laugh.
"Me as a big brother for others? I think you're giving me too much credit there. I'm hardly a big brother to my own brother, let alone for others. I would say that Yuki and Minoru have me beat at that. They're both more reliable when it comes to that stuff."
"Don't sell yourself short like that. If anything you seemed more like an animal looking over his pack. Would saying that make you feel any better?"
"Not at all! I'm not an animal! Why do people keep saying I'm like an animal!?"
"Maybe because you act like one. Actually, you seem more like...a beautiful beast dancing in the light~"
"Gah! That's just messed up!"
Kōchō let out a laugh when she saw Toby start to pout.
"Well, at least I'm not poisonous like Ai is."
"What are you saying about me?"
The faced forward and saw Kitora walking near them in the hall with two boxes in her arms.
Being the person he was, Toby started forward to get a box from the A-Rank's arms.
She took a step back and glared at him.
"I was just trying to help."
"Hm. You say that after saying I'm poisonous behind my back. You are very contradictory at times, you know."
"Yeah, yeah. Just let me help out here. I'll look like an ass if I just let someone else do this stuff while I just stand around them."
Not bothering to argue with him, Kitora let him take the top box.
That seemed to be the heavier one since Toby gave an almost silent grunt while Kitora let out a sigh.
That was when she noticed the other person there.
"Hello, Kashi-senpai."
"Hello, Kitora."
Putting on a kind smile, Kōchō continued on while looking at Kitora.
At this point both Toby and Kōchō were just following Kitora to wherever she needed to drop the boxes off at.
"It's actually a good thing you are here. Now we can clarify something that's been between us for a while now."
Toby let out a sigh while Kitora raised an eyebrow.
Taking that as a sign to continue, Kōchō did just so.
"Would you or would you not say that Awdry here is like a beautiful beast dancing in the light when he is fighting? I say he his while he disagrees."
Kitora looked over to Toby and saw him giving her a pleading look.
Deciding to have some fun with this, he spoke up with a small smirk.
"'Beautiful beast' is not what I would call him. He's more like an animal who always wants to fight."
"Oh~ And what kind of animal would you say he is?"
"I would say dog-"
Toby clicked his tongue.
"-but I would have to say he's more like a wolf."
"Still a dog in the end..."
"He's as ferocious as one, that's for sure. But he definitely cares for others like a wolf would their pack. What's more is that he understands that he needs others' help if he wants to achieve victory. Well, at least he does now. There's also the fact that he's starting to move more smoothly and with purpose. His training with others is really getting him to improve."
"Ai..."
"But even a dog is still smarter than him."
If it wasn't for the fact he had a box in his hands, Toby would have started going off on the A-Rank, reminding her of different times he had actually done better than her when it came to smarts and whatnot.
Instead he grumbled under his breath while the two girls just laugh at his misery.
He knew that the two of them were teasing and so let it go easily.
It was also a thing for him to let go of things directed at him easily enough, so him being called a dog and an animal was fine by him. It was never said to him with malice, so there was no reason for him to take it with any malice.
Besides, there was no reason to ruin the two girls' fun when they seemed to be having fun teasing him.
.
After a few minutes of walking, Toby decided to ask a question while looking down.
"By the way, Ai, where are we even taking these boxes?"
"We're actually taking them to your squad's operating room."
"Hm? Our operating room? Why? What's in them?"
"I don't know. Apparently Misaki-senpai had asked for Satori-senpai to deliver them, but he was out at the moment. I offered to do it since Arashiyama-senpai had something else to do. Tokieda-senpai also offered, but I declined the help."
"Suzume did...?"
In only a few seconds Toby dropped the box he was holding on the ground and quickly bent down while going into his Trion body.
The two girls stopped and looked back at him.
Kitora was about to scold him for just dropping the box, but stayed quiet once he had used Scorpion to cut open the top of the box.
Next to her Kōchō held in some laughter.
"Th-that... (That damn woman! When I see her again...! GAH! How many are even- Wait! There's different ones!)"
There, sitting in the box, were doujinshi with different covers, yet all having Toby on the front of each one.
The first few had him with his squad's Shooter.
The next few had him with his squad's latest member.
The last few had him with his squad's former captain and the captain of Hatohara Squad.
Deciding that he needed to see what else she had made behind his back, he took the box from Kitora's and related what he did to his own box.
The top few had him with Kitora.
Her reaction had been to go bright red.
She calmed down a bit after he had told her it was just some fluff.
Next was him with Inukai and Midorikawa.
The next five were with him and Noah.
The last few were with him and some of the male A-Rank agents.
"..."
"Awdry?"
"..."
The two girls were a bit worried at this point since he was just sitting there and shacking.
"(DAMN HER! AND WHAT'S WITH THAT CRACK PAIRING CRAP ON THE LAST FEW! SHE CAN GO ROT IN HELL! THERE'S PROBABLY A SPECIAL PLACE JUST FOR HER!)"
Quickly jumping to his feet, Toby grabbed the two boxes and started running down the hall.
"I'm gonna go see her right now! Come if you want, but it'll be messy!"
Kitora and Kōchō gave each other a quick look before running after Toby at top speed.
After they finally caught up with him, they came to the sigh of Toby with a Scorpion blade in hand while Suzume had a Scorpion blade wrapped around her middle finger.
"What's with this crap, Suzume!? And what's with all of it involving me!? What did I do to deserve all of this!?"
"It's honestly not my fault that you've been going around making new material for me! And what's more is that the fan girls seem to like that wild side of yours! Be happy! Most if them are you honestly being the seme!"
"So I'm the uke in some of them!?"
Kitora rubbed the bridge of her nose while Kōchō face-palmed.
Both were feeling a good amount of second-hand embarrassment right now.
Apparently the two idiots fighting right now had decided to start said fight in the middle of a large amount of other agents.
Some were cheering for Suzume, most wanting to read the doujinshi she had made.
Others were cheering for Toby, most having been subjected to a similar thing themselves.
"Well~ At least this'll honestly be a good way to find out who has the better Side Effect~"
"Ready..."
The two girls started forward to stop the fight but only one made it on time.
Kitora rushed up and lifted her leg when she was in reach.
A green blade came out from her foot and stabbed right into the brunet's crotch.
She looked over at Suzume and saw that a large object made for Snipers had landed on her head.
Although neither one of the Kotowari Squad members were actually hurt, there was a good amount of shock at the places they had been hit that they both left their Trion bodies and backed away.
Toby quickly covered his testicles and gave a shaky look towards Kitora.
Many guys were also covering their testicales at this point.
Off to the side Suzume was complaining to Narasaka, the person who had hit her with an Ibis.
"A-Ai... No matter wh-what was going on... There was no reason to stab me there! Do you know how traumatizing that is!? That's from some kind of horror film that only super sadists would watch! A-are you one of those people!?"
Behind him the boys were nodding their heads and agreeing with him.
Knowing that it was better to ignore him altogether, Kitora walked over to Suzume and Narasaka.
"I know this isn't how you wanted them to be delivered, but if hope this is fine. I need to spend the next few hours calming that guy down from his weird and idiotic panic attack."
Suzume let out a sigh as she placed her arms under her breasts.
"It's honestly fine. If you need any help with him then just call. I'm sure Mei-san or Take would be happy to beat him up a bit."
That's not really what I was going to do...
Wanting to leave this discussion quickly, Kitora gave a quick bow before walking back over to where Kōchō was was trying to calm Toby down.
She didn't think she had actually done anything too terrible.
Feeling had about basically traumatizing him for life, Kitora lifted her hand and placed it on his head.
There was hesitation on what she was going to do, but she figured it would help him calm down a bit from this.
Maybe she was just going soft.
...
She liked to think otherwise.
She started her hand a bit until he looked up at her.
He jumped back and gave a small glare.
"Ai! I'm! Not! A! Dog!"
The two girls could only sigh and go along with everything at this point.
Off to the side, Suzume seemed to be writing something down while looking over at them and being dragged away by an irritated Narasaka.
He is definitely as a simple as any dog I've seen...