Unneeded

by TheAnimeTrain

The B-Rank Wars have finished and Border's members begin to settle back into their routines however they can. Along with this comes the appearance of new faces along with old ones. Unseen by them all, those who remain unneeded continue to move around.

14. Audience

Inukai's smile widened as he heard the news from those attending the branch meetings.

The word had come in that they had won. And the reason for this was...

Iko: "Damn, didn't think the pup would tear into it like that. Must've been holdin' back this whole time."

Ortlinde: "With parents like them, it's no wonder."

Inukai was aware of Toby's situation due to Yuki, so it was good to hear that he got some payback.

"Well, that makes another win for our side. And two wins for the Hakkenden. Nice going, Kō-kun."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"You were the one to get the first win for us today."

"In that case, where is your win?" Arafune asked from the side.

Inukai puffed his chest out and made sure to huff at Arafune. He could hear the tongue click that followed.

"Shiro went to go help Mitsuteru, so that counts as an indirect win for me, you know?"

"I know that it must be hard for Hogo to deal with you."

"Actually, Shiro loves dealing with me. He said it makes him feel like I really am a good match for him."

"I guess he's desperate to help the idiotic and needy," Kageura said without turning to him.

Inukai turned to give a response, but was cut off by the collective shout of, "Kage's on fire!" that came from all around him.

He raised a fist at all of them, but most of them started throwing things at him.

These people are messed up!

But it was just how they were, so he didn't say anything against it.

"Hey, Mino! What do you think about all of this?"

.

Minoru turned from the direction he knew Pyrínas would be coming from to look at Inukai.

"Are you talking about everything from today, or just the meeting that happened?"

"I guess whatever you want."

Inukai shrugged, but it was clear what he meant.

We all got to a point where we could answer however we wanted.

The thing that had been weighing him down for so long had been lifted the night before.

That weight had been affecting both him and those around him. With things settled between him and Yuki, it made everything feel lighter than before.

"There isn't much to say about the meeting from me. Little Wolf managed to do something like that because he knew he could rely on Takeshi. If anything, I'm only sad that I couldn't get a punch in on his dad."

"Doing something like that would cause more trouble. But I completely understand what you mean."

They managed to push Toby's parents back with a single action.

A lot of people had spoken about how smart Toby really was, but that would tend to be overshadowed by the way he went about things. Now that he had the chance, he had managed to go against his parents while fighting in a different way.

Minoru smiled at the thought of Toby being excited for the chance he had just been given.

But to bring an end to the meeting like that... He couldn't have had that much time to come up with something. Was he talking as soon as the thoughts came to mind?

If that was the case, it would mean he had come up with counters immediately to their arguments and put them into action as soon as they came. There would be no time for him to think over his answers or about what came after.

Yet he had won.

His parents' words had responses as soon as they came out. From what they had heard, there is little to no time between Toby's responses and his parents'.

I can really see where Shor Squad's nickname for him came from.

"What a good boy he is."

"Hahaha! You really are thinking of him like a dog, aren't you?"

Minoru shook his head with a smile.

"I was only thinking that he went into that fight the same as he does any fight now. There was nothing to worry about after he got in there."

"Figures that you would say that. Oh, and don't think I didn't notice the name you just gave him."

The two of them could only laugh. Being able to be this free again felt nice, but it only felt better knowing that they were all sharing in this freedom.

The recent changes to them all were a breath of fresh air that they all needed.

"You two are laughing, but it's amazing that you aren't the ones glowing right now."

"Really now. He must be so happy with everything that's happened."

"Maybe it's because he started it today?"

"Ah, I can see his tail wagging..."

Minoru heard the commotion going on and looked over to see what everyone was talking about.

There was a light atmosphere around them all, but there was one particular spot that seemed to shine brightly.

"Kō-kun really is glowing, isn't he?"

.

Everyone made it a point to look away or cover their eyes while looking directly at Murakami.

The bright feeling coming from him continued to grow as a large smile played on his lips. In his hands was his phone, but it meant nothing when everyone was trying to look away from him.

The first to try and combat the brightness was Tōma.

"Hey now, maybe you could calm down a bit?"

"Hm? What was that?"

Taking a full assault from Murakami's brightness, Tōma fell to the ground in a ball.

The next to try was Mizukami.

"Yes? Something you need?"

Without saying a word, Mizukami turned around and looked up at the sky.

No one questioned what he was doing as his body faded in the glow coming from Murakami.

"He took out Mizukami and Tōma like they were nothing..."

"To be fair, they really aren't much."

"True, true," came the collective response.

"You people suck at this."

"Seriously. He's just a bit excited."

The third try went to Kageura and Arafune.

With his hands in his pockets, Kageura moved forward.

To his side, Arafune cracked his knuckles.

"Let's get this over with."

"Yeah."

.

Demon Child: "Oh, look. They got taken out."

Artist: "They certainly didn't last long."

Kuni: "They lasted waaaaaay longer than I would have thought."

Class Rep: "Hey! We need to do something! Someone deal with those three! I'm busy trying to get Mizukami to not reach Nirvana over here!"

Girls: "Thank you for that!"

.

The boys shook their heads at Fuyushi and regarded the four who had tried as brave soldiers.

Murakami continued to shine while Kageura and Arafune lay at his feet. Neither of them moved as the light overtook them.

Everyone made sure to maintain distance from the relentless attack that was coming from Murakami.

And when all hope seemed lost, the two saviors finally moved forward.

"Hey, Kō. You must really be happy with everything that's been happening. Haven't seen you like this in a while."

"It's about time. To think that a Teleport user would be this slow."

"Yes, yes. I'm sorry for the wait, Mei."

"One 'yes' would have been fine."

As if there was nothing stopping them, Yuki and Mei walked forward until they were right by Murakami's side. Their cushions appeared to be Kageura and Arafune.

Everyone looked at each other for a few seconds. Akashi raised his hands, counted to three, then brought down his arms.

"What the hell!?"

.

Yuki ignored the collective shout from everyone. He was too busy smiling along with Murakami and Mei.

All of the news for the day was something he had learned from others and enjoyed with everyone else.

"Kō beat Denji, Mitsuteru beat Sekai-san, and now Toby helped to finish the meeting. Things are really looking up here."

"Not everything has been good, Yuki. Kanzaki lost to Ketsueki, a lot of people were used to beat Sekai, and Toby had to deal with his parents."

That was true, and he made sure to thank Mei for telling him that. Not taking the bad with the good would have messed with his sense of what needed to be done.

I'm glad I have Mei to help me out with that. Oh, and she even knows how to use an Arafune Cushion properly. Is there anything she can't do?

He knew what she was capable of, so he didn't say that out loud. Instead, he only gave her a thumbs up while rubbing his feet on his own Kageura Cushion.

It was strange that these sorts of cushions were made, but he had no complaints once he realized how comfortable it was to stand on one of them.

To make sure he kept his balance, he held the head of the cushion down with one foot while his other foot remained on the butt of the cushion.

Oh, and these have a vibration function. Although, it sounds a lot more like a growl.

Considering how strange Mikado City could be at times, it was no wonder that this sort of cushion was made with odd functions.

"U-um... Tsukkun? Takato-san? Maybe you two can move from those spots?"

"Huh? But these cushions are so comfortable, Zoe. Why don't you try one of them? Although, they do look pretty ugly. I have no idea why they made such hideous things. Still, they're pretty nice to step on."

The extra step back caught Yuki off guard.

What happened next threw him for another loop.

"Get the heeeell oooooooffff!"

He was suddenly thrown off the Kageura Cushion and tossed to the side.

Kitazoe was quick to get him before he hit the ground.

Oh. This Zoe Pillow is nice.

He looked over to see that the Arafune Cushion was trying to get Mei's attention and failing miserably.

"Hey, Zoe! Let go of that idiot so I can strangle him!"

Feeling his survival instincts kick in, Yuki did the only thing he could think of at the moment.

He clung to Kitazoe.

"Zoe-saaaan~ Save me from the scary Kageura Cushion!"

"What the hell are you saying now!? Want me to really beat you to a pulp!?"

"Kyaa! Zoe-saaaaan~"

"Now, now, Kage. There, there, Tsukkun."

The Zoe Pillow felt nice to fall into. The comfort from the arms to the stomach relaxed him as he turned to stick his tongue out at the Kageura Cushion.

.

These guys never changed.

Maybe that was a good thing, though. It meant he could always rely on them, as usual.

Minoru let out an airy sigh while watching Kageura try to reach Yuki.

"Getting back to our conversation..."

"Right, about what I asked you?"

He nodded once and thought about everything in sequence.

"All of your former squad members have been pretty active today. I was worried about Shiro for a bit, but I really did trust him to handle himself. Still, he was going against Hikigane-san, so..."

"I have my own thoughts about what Sekai and Denji have been doing today. Sekai was pretty much forced into the position, but it sounds like he took it more seriously than he normally would. As for the other two... I'm sure that Ketsueki has his reasons for doing what he did. If anything, I would hope that he regrets it the most."

"He seems the type. Besides, he was fighting Kanzaki. Those two are pretty similar, so it wasn't like he was trying to trick anyone."

That was right. Ketsueki had been the type of person who was straightforward with others ever since they had been on the same squad together.

Although, I heard that he was much more troublesome before we were on the same squad.

It just showed how much they all changed after that time in their lives.

"The one I'm most worried about is Denji. According to what Yuki told us, he has someone to speak to, right? Someone who knows him better than anyone else? Going on the assumption that he wasn't talking about Yasu-nee, then it means Kumagai is that person."

"It explains a lot, when you think about it. But what does that matter then?"

"It means that there was another reason for him not to do what he did. So doing that after having spoken to me the night before... It's making me think about what he's planning on doing now."

"Placing everything on him has its downsides, you know."

That may have been the result of his own relationship with Denji.

"Hikigane-san must have known about it, right? Him and Kagerei-san."

"I guess I do have a bias, considering he was the one I couldn't be on amicable terms with. Sekai was also pretty rough, but we could at least respect each other."

"Really? I don't think I've ever seen Hikigane-san respect anyone besides Yasuko-san and the directors."

"Hm? Well, I say that, but it's more that I would like to believe that we respected each other. He had never been particularly rude, and the most of the actual conversation we had didn't come until after our squad had disbanded, but he seemed satisfied whenever we had to work together. And Ketsueki has already asked for my help before, so I know how he feels about this."

"You guys... The more I hear about this sort of thing, the more I believe you were all thrown together because no one knew what to do with you all."

That was mostly correct. Minoru had been a planned situation, but the rest of his teammates were add-ons from the directors.

It was no wonder why others always viewed them strangely whenever they found out they were all on the same squad. Announcing it to a hall full of people only caused more confusion, but now he was aware of how some others were keeping a more attentive eye on them all because of it.

"So what do you plan to do about this stuff?"

.

It may have been a bit much to ask Minoru that, but Inukai was genuinely curious about what he would do. The situation had reached a point where he knew that Minoru could not just stand around.

After all...

I have no doubt that Yasuko-san is involved in some way.

"I want to wait a bit and see if we get any orders. The end of the meeting resulted in Yagura and Suzunari going to do something, right? And Tamakoma is sending Ketsueki. With that many people doing something, it may be a bit too much to have someone else go along with them. And speaking of which..."

Minoru turned away to look at the mess that was being made.

Yuki had yet to let go of Kitazoe, but now Kageura had managed to get his arms around Yuki's waist to pull on him. Kitazoe was trying to calm the situation, but it seemed to only be making Kageura pull even harder.

Mei had decided to finally get off of Arafune, but he was making sure to keep a bit of distance between him and her with Murakami between them. There was some dirt on him, but none of them seemed to mind as he continued to keep Murakami between them.

"Hey, Yuki. Since you are part of the Yagura Branch, are you going to be helping them? Rather, shouldn't you be over there?"

Instead of letting go to talk to them, Kitazoe actively turned so that Yuki could face them. With Kageura still pulling him, he looked over to speak.

"It's fine. I'm here because of a direct order from Sensei. The same goes for Kō, so there's no need to worry about us."

Their teacher seemed to still be as laidback as usual.

Minoru had no direct connection with the man, but he had heard a lot about him from his former students. Upon meeting him, he realized just how casual he could be and how his students had turned out the way they did.

"Hey, about Akasora-san..."

"The more we don't get involved, the better."

"Maybe we should tell someone about his students?"

"Won't they get on us for that?"

"That's true," everyone else said.

At least they were all in agreement on that.

"But don't worry, Minoru," Yuki said while climbing the rest of the way up Kitazoe. "Kō and I aren't going to just be sitting around either. We had already planned on dealing with those two at some point after last night and this morning."

Last night and the morning after were...

I see...

Minoru couldn't help the smile that came to his lips.

"How exactly do the two of you plan on dealing with this issue?"

"Huh? Don't be dumb. Of course, we'll be relying on the rest of you to help. More than that, there are some people we need to get involved with. I'm sure they won't have any problems with that."

"Who the hell are you calling dumb here, you idiot!"

They may not have been close, but Kageura defending him felt nice. Even though he was probably just wanting to go against Yuki there.

Those two had been classmates, so this was probably just the norm for them by this point. The others in the same class as them also ignored this as if it were natural.

"I guess we just see how things turn out."

---

"Oh, dear. What to do about all of this...?"

Yasuko held her head in her hands.

She had heard about the incidents that had happened and was glad that everything had been settled peacefully enough, but there was still something bothering her.

"Sekai and Denji... Those two have always been the most trouble. I see they have not gotten over their need to help everyone they can."

"Is that how you choose to view it?"

"It is how I honestly see it."

She tilted her head at the shudders she received from those around her.

"Don't mind them. You just triggered a reflexive reaction to one of our more insane members."

"Oh? Then I apologize for that."

It was nice to get some reassurance, but it was only right that she apologize for her mistake.

After confirming that everyone had forgiven her, she turned to the girl who spoke up for them all.

"I know we had gone over this already, but it is very nice to meet you, Ruka-chan."

"Likewise. Getting to know the person who managed to keep those kinds of people in line is a good chance for me. Especially when a certain someone here can't seem to do it."

"Now, now, I am sure Shinoda-san tries his best."

It was worrying to see a grown man jump at his own name being mentioned, so she waved him over.

Trying to look professional, he walked over with his head held high.

Once he reached her...

"Ye-"

"Thank you for taking care of my boys."

.

The collective sound of people falling over was heard in the entire area.

What an amazing reaction. Oh, look. Even the older people reacted to it.

Sometimes it was astonishing how well Border members could come together for stupid reasons.

But what is more amazing is this woman.

The older woman had been the cause of the entire reaction. Hearing what she said had caused those around her to react by giving their own tsukkomi.

Looking over, she saw that even Shinoda had responded by turning and lowering his head.

Coughing into his hand a few times, he finally turned back around.

"Th-there is no need to thank me. Besides, those two are still treated like any other members here."

"Oh, yes, they have told us all about how much they enjoy it here because of that easy lifestyle."

If this was considered an "easy lifestyle," then there was something wrong with the people who took things more casually.

Ruka found that she could only shake her head at such a thought.

"I suppose that those two are a bit different when it matters the most. We were able to resolve a lot of problems due to them taking the initiative."

"Wouldn't those times be because they went against us?"

"They had been working for other people at the time, so we can't view that as a betrayal."

"Oh? And what about them using Triggers?"

"Training sessions and tests for other agents."

"You sure do like to make convenient excuses for them. Have you been talking to your buddy lately?"

"Shouldn't you be a bit more respectful to Chishi?"

"Kyōko has told me all I need to know about him."

Just going off of what she had been told, there was no reason to go easy on the Yagura Branch Director. Even more so when it involved people he chose to watch over.

She had heard all about the way the Yagura Branch had been acting during recent events. The chaos they had caused spread throughout each event, making her cautious of each member.

"I am honestly a bit surprised that the Yagura Branch Representative isn't the one causing the trouble this time."

"Haven't you spoken to Yuki a lot by now?"

When Denji and Sekai were unavailable, it was Yuki who would inform her of things. That rarely happened, but she still took note of it.

What's more...

He had also been in the shadows whenever I left the base. I am never able to see him, but I can feel his eyes on us whenever I go shopping.

It was part of his job to do so.

But recently he has not been able to do anything like that.

I'll take that chance. Besides, he never followed me when I went to see Yōtarō.

He had been nice enough to give them their privacy.

"There had been word of what Yuki has been doing recently, but I do not know the details. Could one of you explain it to me?"

"I think...it would be better for someone else to do it..."

At least look her in the eye when saying that, Ruka thought bitterly. But she agreed with him here.

"Asking him will probably be the best solution here. Oh, but I think he is with a bunch of cannibals right now, so maybe wait until later to do that?"

"Chishi had said they needed to meet with Pyrínas, so it is being considered an important meeting."

That was yet another excuse they frequently used.

Ruka felt annoyed with that excuse at this point, but...

"It really is an important meeting, isn't it?"

.

Shinoda took a step back before righting himself.

His friend had told him that it was an important meeting, but he had not been too sure about it himself. Even so, he made sure it was registered as such so that they would not be disturbed.

Having Ruka more-or-less agree that it was an important meeting was something he had not been expecting.

She believes me on this?

There was no lying in his tone, but she would have properly questioned it if she really thought he was suspicious.

"It is. That's also why Yuki hasn't gone to the branch meetings or the fight in which Sekai was involved."

"Um, I would like to clarify something."

He looked to see Yasuko raising her hand.

She was far too polite. Anyone else would have gone to ask without waiting, yet here she was.

"That fight... Do we know the reason as to why Sekai was in it in the first place?"

"From what I know, it had actually been forced upon him. ...At least, the reason was forced upon him. Ikoma had mentioned something to gain the advantage on Awdry, but it seemed like the fighting had started before that."

"That guy doesn't fight without a reason, right? Even in the B-Rank Wars, I heard he had been lazy all throughout."

"That's right," Shinoda said, nodding. It was likely because of Denji that she knew that. "Multiple of our agents had to Bail Out because of that fight, but they seem to be doing well, all things considered. And none of them are holding it against him."

.

"Did you hear that!? I think Shinoda-san is talking about us over there!"

"What should we do about it?"

"Of course we celebrate! Mamiya, you're on board with this, right? You also got a win out there."

"Yeah, let's go all out here! And while we're at it, let's forget about how much of a terrible person Mistuteru has become!"

Everyone nodded in unison and threw their hands up.

"Banzai! Banzai! We got a win! Banzai! Banzai!"

.

They sure are noisy... But it proves that they really are doing fine.

Shinoda chuckled at the noise behind him.

"There was no one around during that fight, so he was excused, isn't that right?"

"That's right. For one reason or another, all of the citizens had moved away from that location while that fight had been going on. Since that was the case, and mostly everything remained intact, Sekai has been let off the hook. We are counting it the same as when he sided with Kurosaki."

Ruka shook her head, but she said nothing to him.

At least she held her tongue on this matter.

But she spoke proudly about a different one.

"So what do you plan to do about what happened this morning?"

That was right. There was another incident in the morning that none of them could ignore.

"People can believe that the fight with Sekai was forced on him, but Denji can't have the same treatment. That goes for Ketsueki as well."

"Denji causing trouble is nothing new, but for Ketsueki to go along with him... Those boys never do change."

Yasuko seemed to be really worried about this.

Shinoda tried to find the right words to comfort her while also maintaining his dignity as the General Director. The problem came in that there was no way of doing both and making it sound reassuring enough to ease her.

So he made a choice.

"I had heard that Rindō is taking care of things for Ketsueki, since he is under his authority. As for Denji... We will properly deal with him. Mogami had made an excuse for him, and both Jin and Futoyuki had vouched for it, but we will only be using that for the public. Taking care of that problem is still something we need to deal with."

It was not up for negotiation. The other directors had agreed with that result.

Shinoda had felt himself lose some years after dealing with Netsuki, but he figured that he might as well be the one to inform Yasuko about that collective answer.

"So what do you have to say about this?"

Ruka had asked Yasuko that question, but it may have been because she knew he wanted to ask it himself.

Yasuko hummed for a moment, placed her hand on her face again, and then shook her head with a sigh.

"It is not my place to decide on the consequences of his actions. And what he did really was not good. There is nothing I can officially do concerning the matter."

They had gotten her promise that she would not participate in the punishment that Denji if she tried, Shinoda had no doubt that Kido would put his foot down on the matter and stomp out any resistance.

She understood and only hummed again.

"So I will not get involved. Instead, I will speak with him myself before that punishment is administered. Would that be fine?"

Shinoda stopped. He could see that Ruka did the same thing.

They had expected some sort of answer after she said she would not get involved, but this was not what they had expected.

Shinoda opened his mouth to see what he could do, but was stopped by someone else.

"A good answer. Even if he needs to be punished, there are still things we need to figure out. If she can get it from Bakuto, then there should be no problem with her speaking to him."

Someone walked up from behind him.

.

"Hello, Kido-san. I did not expect to see you here."

The scarred man nodded to Yasuko, so she smiled in return. It was the polite thing to do, and she did it without any problem.

"And what were the two of you doing, exactly?" he asked while looking at Shinoda and Ruka.

Instead of verbally answering, the two of them stood side-by-side with their arms crossed.

Kido looked at the two of them, but they remained silent.

"Do either of you have anything to say?"

They remained silent.

Yasuko laughed into her hand at the sight.

There had been things that changed while she was gone, but there were also things that remained the same as they were back then.

"I suppose one of the newer things would be the people who have joined Border and the creation of the new branch."

"Yes, they would be considered the newest things. Or were those the circumstances we had to deal with?"

"So you will answer her?" Kido asked with a raised brow.

Shinoda crossed his arms once more and said no more.

The exasperated sigh Kido gave was followed by Ruka moving back towards the smiling Yasuko.

"A brat, same as always..."

"At least this remained."

It may have been too much of an answer, but they all seem fine with it.

"Kido-san, if I may. What information do you want from Denji exactly?"

"Besides the reasoning for what he did today, there are some other things that I think he is hiding from us. We have allowed him and the other two to do as much as they can with the lenience necessary to make sure they can continue. But it seems that Bakuto and Hikigane have taken that to a certain extreme that we cannot ignore."

From her time with them, she understood what he meant.

Both Denji and Sekai were the type of people to go to the line where they were not allowed to cross and tread on it as carefully as possible. They would reach that edge and walk along it until they eventually fell over.

They may be finally reaching that point. Sekai is nearing that with this fight, but Denji is completely in the red now.

And she had yet to speak to either one of them.

They have certainly done their best to keep their distance from me; I am aware of this. Even Jonas has not been able to have a proper conversation with those two. The only one who had been around them enough would be Michelle.

Her daughter had spoken all about what she learned while being around her former squad, even the things that they were trying to hide. Even so, it was clear that both Denji and Sekai were maintaining their guards, even around her.

They made it impossible for Michelle to read their true intentions from their minds.

"I have been meaning to speak with them. From what I understand, they are still within the base, correct?"

"That's right. Sekai had not left after his Bail Out, and Denji seems to be with him," Shinoda said, making sure to stay out of Kido's sight.

It was the answer she needed to make up her mind.

She nodded to the two and started to walk away.

But...

"You may want to hold off on doing that at the moment."

Someone stopped her.

Turning back around, she saw who it had been.

"My apologize. But I need to ask that you leave this matter alone for the moment."

A man in a tracksuit was bowing before her, head level with his waist. His short-cut hair fell forward, and his posture was perfect.

She knew who this man was, but was beaten by Shinoda speaking up.

"What are you talking about, Chishi!?"

"If you want this resolved by your students, you can forget about it. This is still a matter we need to take into our hands."

"I know, Kido-san, but this also isn't something you can settle with professionalism. From what I heard, this is something that can only be settled by the people on the same level as them, or the ones who fully understand what is going on."

What exactly did he mean by that?

Yasuko knew that she understood all of her boys well enough, but Akasora was saying that there were people who understood them as much as she did.

If that were true, she really would have to wait for the moment.

"I am really sorry, but having any of us get involved will only prolong what might happen."

"Chishi, you need to speak more clearly. Besides, she would be the best person to speak to them about the situation. We are in agreement here, so just let it be."

"Masafumi, you are so damn lucky that we're in public right now."

.

Akasora and Shinoda's sudden push against each other caught the eyes of those around them. Most were surprised by the sight, but there were some who were looking at the people surrounding them instead of the two arguing men.

One of the people paying closer attention to those around was Ruka.

Knowing how the two men could be, she looked to see Kido shaking his head and Yasuko furrowing her brows. That one can get them into some trouble if not taken care of. It would have been fine if someone stepped in to stop them, but even Kido looked as done with them as she was.

I suppose I have to be the one to put an end to this.

Moving forward, she reached out with both of her hands and...

"Ow, ow, ow! Ruka, quit that already! Even Kyōko doesn't pull my ear that hard!"

"Th-that's enough. Okay, we get it."

Nodding at their reaction, she let go of their ears and took a step back to stand near Yasuko once more.

"Now then," she started. "I'm going to be trusting that weirdo teacher for this one."

This time, the reactions were exactly as she had predicted.

So she continued on with an explanation.

"He's been helping Sekai recently, right? What's more, he is also used to dealing with troublesome people. Just look at his students for that. And when you think about it, one of his students is in a similar situation as those two, isn't he?"

"He's not anymore. Apparently, everyone else kicked his ass into gear on the matter, and he's settled things concerning himself."

Then there was even more of a reason.

There was someone who had made it past what they knew about Denji and Sekai.

"While I have no doubt that speaking to those two would be a good thing, it just isn't good at the moment. I think they would get too fixated on who was talking to them instead of why they are talking to them. It would only work if they were at a lower point than they are now."

"They would ignore my words because it would be me who would be speaking to them..."

Ruka wanted to smack Akasora for making Yasuko make such an expression, but what he was saying was also true. It may have been a rough way to say it, but it was the truth.

There was no way around that.

"Yuki had given me a small summary of what they had discussed last night and early this morning. There is a lot more to the situation than I would have thought. And considering you haven't been back for a while..."

"She wouldn't know what's going on much either," Ruka confirmed. "Even more so if Sekai and Denji were actively keeping it from her."

"That is... Well, I would hope they would at least go to Minoru or Ketsueki for that sort of thing, but then again...they were not all on the same page most of the time."

It was sad to hear Yasuko's voice turn into a whisper, but there was little Ruka could do about the situation. She was not too involved with it herself, and besides, I can't really leave this place for too long. There were too many reasons why she would need to stay at the base.

All she could do here was agree with what Akasora had to say in order to get the others to take action.

"Right then, if that's the case, it's really up to the directors to decide what to do."

.

The area went silent at Ruka's words.

The Commander and General Director had all eyes on them as those around them waited.

And then...

"Hah. Very well. If you can guarantee that things will be settled without causing too much trouble, we will hold off on any sudden actions. We will leave it to the people you have decided on."

"I can't say that it'll be peaceful if that's what you want. There's no way my idiotic students can resolve anything without making a mess, but..."

But...

"They will get it done. You guys will just need to be prepared for what comes after that."

Those were Akasora's honest words. As well as his promise to them.

It was his way of making sure they knew he was taking full responsibility for what would happen.

And more than that, it was to make sure that someone else understood what this all meant.

"Are you fine with that, Yasuko-san?"

She would be the deciding factor here.

She nodded.

"There is no reason for me to doubt Akasora-san, or the people he is relying on. I don't know you that well, but my husband has told me about the meeting you had with him. You seem like someone reliable."

"Well, I mean, if someone like you says that... Ahem... Right, my apologies. Yes. I will do all that I can to make sure-"

"You can stop with the act, Chishi. No one is buying that sort of thing from the guy who refuses to take off his tracksuit."

"Masafumi, you are so lucky that we're in public!"

And so a new fight began.

No one cared enough to stop it.

---

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah, you can start by shutting up and staying still."

A hard kick reached Denji's stomach.

Instead of doubling over, he took it and retaliated by lifting two fingers.

Moving his hand up, he pushed his two fingers into the butt that was directly next to his face.

"Let me go, you idiot. I can walk fine on my own, so I don't need you carrying me like this. And stop touching my ass before I stab you in the eye."

"Keep that up, and I'll have no choice but to really take advantage of this situation."

Turning around, Denji closed the door to the operating room before leaning forward and slamming the butt into the door itself.

"Ow... Alright. You can take a stabbing or two."

A sharp object pierced his clothing and went into his side.

Denji gave no indication that he was in pain besides the small grunt that accidentally left his lips.

A second, piercing feeling came from his other side.

"Woooooow~ You really have decided to just be angry, haven't you?"

"And you're more energetic than usual. Without a bed around, I'm not sure how I feel about this."

"Jump off the roof of the base, then get back to me."

There was malice in their words, but there was something else hidden underneath that.

Fondness.

Each word and each action held something in it that showed just how close these two were to each other.

"So, how far ahead have you thought exactly?"

"I know the directors will want to do something about me, so I need to get going. You're probably off the hook, but I'm going to be using you as insurance. Just in case I need an extra brain."

"I'd rather just take what I can and go without you."

"Then I really will be dragging you around. Be deadweight if you want, but I'm going to make sure that you end up having to deal with the same things I do."

"And why's that?"

Denji shook his shoulder for a moment, felt some retaliation, then settled back down.

He began walking down the hallway with Sekai over his shoulder. The weight was nothing to him, but he made sure to memorize everything that he was touching.

"I thought you would be using your brain more than this. Whatever. It's 'cuz we both saw what's going down in the city. The way people are moving, the Neighbor that appeared, the movement of Yagura's trion soldier, and the malicious idiot who isn't even trying to hide himself from us."

"Hah. Leaving it alone would have made it easier to drag him out of the building."

"Sorry, but I don't really care if you hate me right now. Today, I'm going to be the one who hates things."

"Does that mean you have given up?"

"No. That's why I'm going to be staying clear of people. The end of the day is where I end things with myself. Same as you."

"You don't see me trying to be happy."

"Because then you would be too far gone."

Sekai looked up from Denji's back to see someone at the end of the hall. A handsome man was waving towards him with one hand behind his back and a smile on his lips. The thing that stood out more than either of those was the pair of horns on his head.

A sign of someone who did not belong.

But there was still something wrong.

"Who are you? Rather...you don't want us really going for your throat, don't you?" Sekai asked with a neutral expression.

The horned man laughed. It was hollow, but both Denji and Sekai were used to that sort of thing.

The person Sekai was looking at had not really been there from the start. It was more like an image of the horned man than the man himself.

"Ah~ It's still great to speak with you two. There was a certain amount of ecstasy I got whenever I got to see you two fumble around with your lives. Especially when it came to the idiots around you. None of them knew anything until Yuki had to say something."

"I doubt that. They might be idiots, but you know that we had some pretty decent people here. Some of them even managed to get to you, didn't they?"

"Man, hearing it before would have probably given me some sort of internal pain. But it's pretty useless now. Yeah... Now that I've gotten something better from my home."

"Could you call it a home when nobody wants you?"

"And what would you know exactly?"

"I know your personality."

Denji had not said anything, but Sekai could feel his shoulders shaking while trying to hold in his laughter.

The horned man's image remained smiling, but it felt more forced than anything. The signs of annoyance were prevalent on his face.

That annoyance quickly transformed into something else: enjoyment.

---

It's always been fun to watch these two idiots just throw themselves around. They always think it's just them that I'll mess with because of their unusual status.

That didn't apply anymore.

Misó had left Miden once Aftokrator's invasion had arrived. He had shown himself to be on their side and had gone against was nothing for him to come back to.

Well, I guess that isn't completely true.

Besides his initial plans, there were two people he had been planning to meet up with while he was here.

But I might as well screw with these two while I'm at it. They're on their last legs anyway.

It was a pastime for him to mess with others around him for no real reason.

Throwing things into chaos and watching as fires burned everything around him had always caused him some enjoyment. Everything going in the worst possible way felt like it was just fun to watch, something to enjoy.

It had been that part of his personality that he had to tone down during his time on Miden.

Things were different now.

He could cause as much chaos as he wanted. Just because he could.

"Right, right. I'm pretty sure the two can figure out that I'm doing stuff in Mikado City. But you haven't said anything to the directors, right? Man, are you two really going to try and do something without their help? Fight me without anyone knowing, maybe? I guess now would be a good time. I don't have Págos on me. I've been needing to change how I do things lately."

"You still talk too much. It's irritating."

"I have nothing better to do. Everything's been working out pretty well for me, so it's been boring. Besides, why would I care about telling you two anything? You who refuse to go to the directors, instead playing the pathetic parts you decided on yourselves. Even then, there were parts forced upon you, weren't there?"

"I'm fine with it. It helped Border out, in the end."

That sort of pointless thought process was why he knew he could win here.

People like them refused to view it as something that was forced on them and instead saw it as something that could benefit others.

Even so, Misó had to give the two of them credit. Neither one of them had expressed any of their true intentions. Even after finding out that he had managed to trick even them before, they gave nothing away.

It was that type of person he had tried to be while living on Miden.

"Regardless, the other reason why this is fine is because you two are going to be helping me. No reason to not say anything else, you know?"

He saw it through the camera he was using.

They both stilled for a moment, but still refused to give him much of anything.

"Oh, yes, yes. This is where I tell you why you're going to help me, right? Fine. I guess we can do things simply like that. I just want to make something clear before that. The job I have for the two of you really isn't too much. Actually, from the looks of things, you two look like you were going to unknowingly do it in the first place."

"Were you always this talkative?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he said with a laugh.

Sekai had always been the one to not do or say anything pointless. Only the laziness of his speech made him seem less important than he really was.

Denji is the one who should be giving more of a reaction here.

It didn't matter to him. Any sort of reaction from them was fine enough.

So...

"Would it be enough to bring up the name 'Michelle'?"

---

Sekai felt his body slam on to the ground.

Ow... he thought lazily.

From his spot on the ground, he looked up to see what Denji's reaction to the question was.

It was what he expected.

Instead of showing the anger he had been proclaiming he had this whole time, he wore the same expression as the one he showed to those around him. To the people who knew nothing about him.

That anger he wanted to show had receded, so he wouldn't succumb to the horned man's taunt. It simmered to the point where it forced a smile onto Denji's face, forcing his face to freeze into something that others would be afraid of.

Sekai had been used to seeing this face, though. There was nothing new about it.

I'm trying pretty hard to not give in to this.

Beyond himself and Denji, and even beyond the majority of Mikado City, that girl was to be protected by them at all costs. A person so special that both he and Denji were having to force themselves to settle down before they did things they knew they would regret.

Granted, what's one more regret for us?

Our conversation with Ketsueki and Tatsuya was pretty short, but I think it left some sort of impression on us.

It was likely that they were giving in to sentimentality when they thought about the conversation, but Sekai was aware that he was still looking for the answer to the question that was posed that night.

They could not live without regrets, so they would be finding a new answer for themselves. That girl was a starting point that they were always refusing to directly look at.

...We've been ignoring a lot of people lately, haven't we?

That could not be helped at this point.

"I'm going to skip over the pointless stuff and just come out and ask it. What do you want from us?"

"I just need you two to be bodyguards for a bit. With you two around, there's nothing to be done about suspicion."

It was a simple job. One that both of them had done numerous times before. Nothing about it sounded any different from their times spent with Kurosaki or Mogami. Even at Border, they had been asked to do this sort of thing before.

The job itself was fine. But there's no way it will be simple if it's coming from this guy.

The one they were supposed to view as an enemy.

Sekai wanted to refuse as soon as he heard what was being asked of them. There was normally no reason for them to even think about this sort of request, regardless of their status as Unneeded. An enemy asking for their help meant that they knew what to say to him and Denji.

And Misó knew this.

He had actively brought up the girl, which they could not deny. With her being part of the conversation, they could only wait to hear what was needed of them while they did their best to keep track of that girl so that she would be fine.

If this was any normal person, we would just go for their throat. Denji looks ready to do that already. But this guy is someone who will go to extreme lengths just because he's bored. If he has something in mind, it means he is fully prepared for everything we can throw at him.

Asking Misó what else he could gain from this would have been pointless, so he made sure to keep the question to himself.

.

"Hey, what do you want to do about this?"

"Can't we just kill that guy? I'm sure nobody would miss him. Plus, it would make a lot of people happy."

"Keep talking like that, and I'll stab you in the eye."

"As violent as ever."

Denji and Sekai spoke to each other in low tones that only they could hear. Their lips moved as little as possible, and their voices only went so far.

It was a type of speaking they had learned for their former fellow Unneeded.

"I'm curious as to what he's planning, but he's likely in Mikado City already. If that's the case, we wouldn't be able to reach Michelle in time."

"We could always ask Minoru or Ketsueki to get her. I'm actually pretty sure one of them is already with her, and Yasuko-ane is in the base, so we would just need to let the directors know."

"I can't face Ketsueki anymore, so I wouldn't be able to do it. And the same more-or-less applies to Minoru too. Although, I'd probably end up skewering him with words if we met up at this point. Maybe even see that special wrath he's always hiding."

"That's a beast you probably don't want to touch."

"Have you seen it for yourself?"

Sekai shrugged from his place on the ground.

They had talked a lot about themselves but were hesitant to talk about other people. It went beyond their own lives to do so.

"Well, we could always agree and just have someone else make sure Michelle is fine. There really is no reason for us to go along with this guy."

"That's true, but this could also work in our favor. He's an idiot, but he's not stupid enough to just ask this from us. Even if it's us, that's more of a reason for him to be cautious."

"He wants us close by. At the same time, we can be close enough to properly deal with him."

"You understand me so well~ It's really no wonder why you're the only one I let inside my a-"

Sekai delivered a sideways sweep with his leg, which Denji jumped over.

With a sudden laugh, Denji pushed all of his weight down.

The resounding noise from him hitting the floor made them both whistle.

"Wow. I only meant to break your ankle."

"You must still be pretty pissed. Good thing I moved in time... Hah. That would have been irritating to deal with."

The two nodded and looked back at the horned man.

"Fine. But you better leave Michelle and her parents alone," they said in unison.

---

"Now then," Henry said from his seat across from Rindō.

Karasuma and Rindō froze at his words. The meeting had ended, but it seemed that he had more to say here.

"Now what does he want from us!?"

"Konami-senpai, maybe it would be best to not say those kinds of things out loud."

Konami looked over to Henry, clicked her tongue, then turned back to Karasuma.

"Please stop pointing your finger at me and not saying anything."

"What do you expect from me here!? This guy has been a hassle this entire time!"

"He is also a sponsor for Border," Rindō said from across Henry.

He let out a sigh and faced Henry again.

Unlike what he expected to see, Henry was only looking down at his phone, expression even.

"I apologize for her behavior."

"It is fine. I am aware of how others view me already. Besides, our meeting is over, so there is no need for me to save face."

"Oh... Yes, of course. Still, I'll make sure she is kept in line."

Henry only gave a grunt and a nod.

Unlike how he had been during the meeting, he was being rather considerate and undisturbed by being talked about.

Rindō made sure to respond properly.

"If I may?"

"You want to know why I said that, don't you?"

Henry saw the nod and placed his phone down.

"You are still on the line, aren't you? Our troublesome child?"

---

"What kind of asshole talks to his son like that?"

"What kind of ungrateful child addresses his father like that?"

Toby clicked his tongue and turned his head, but it was clear that he was still paying close attention to what was being said.

From her spot, Kitora could tell that it was taking everything Toby had to not go on with this sort of pointless conversation. It would only incite more incidents that they would have trouble coming back from.

"My wife would like to have a word with the one who helped her a few nights ago."

"That would be Kei then. I remember helping someone out, but I doubt it was her."

"Then I suppose that the offer I have concerning Stepney will have to be addressed to this 'Kei'."

The triple back-step into a double spin was amazing for many reasons. Kitora had to move back herself so that Toby wouldn't crash into her by accident.

Don't just spook me like that!

She yelled at him out loud too, but he seemed to focus more on his phone now.

"Fine... I'll hear you out."

.

"I want you to be the representative for us."

Toby stopped everything.

His body refused to move, and his mind went blank. A blanket went over him entirely and covered him to the point of making him unable to properly understand what he had been told.

Memories came back a moment later. Each one flashed in his mind, reminding him of when he had been even younger, a time when he thought he could gain something by being even worse than he had been while part of Tsukiko Squad.

"Screw off! Both of you! I'm not doing something like that! That's why I ran away in the first place! (Piss off!)"

It had been amazing that he refused to curse them out properly. But he couldn't think of that at the moment.

The only thing that filled his mind were the thoughts of what he had been through.

Neglected and forgotten about until needed! These two are still the worst!

They only cared about how well he had been doing with his studies. If it was anything else, they would stomp it down until there was no longer a desire to do such a thing.

So he fought back.

Toby had refused to let them crush his desires.

Each person working for them who had tried to assist him had been scolded, making them distance themselves from him or repeat what they had been told by his parents. None of them had made it past a single conversation with him, even when they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

It was something he could never forget.

"Is it because of what just happened!? Did this meeting make you reconsider, or something!? (It doesn't matter...) Yeah, screw that! (I'm not going to be doing anything for you two!) You disowned me, and I gave up on the both of you! The only reason I keep my last name is because I want to hold some sort of connection to Stepney! (So you two can go-)"

"If I may."

Toby stopped himself when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

It would have been nearly impossible for someone to have put their hand on his shoulder in this simple kind of setting.

His Side Effect should have kicked in to keep him away from any sort of contact. If someone had gotten by that, then he had been focusing more on yelling at his parents than he realized.

"I know this is no place for me to speak up, so I would like to say something that is disconnected from Border. Please forgive me and separate this from my being part of Arashiyama Squad."

It had been Kitora who reached him. She had placed her hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

Toby looked at her, only to see that there was something in her expression. It was hard to tell since it was mixed with a lot of other types of emotions, but he understood that she wanted to help him here as someone who knew about his situation.

"May I?" she asked in a low voice.

She held out her other hand to him.

He slowly handed his phone to her.

It was then that he realized just how hard his grip had been on the phone.

"Would it be fine for me to speak as someone who understands the basic situation here? And as someone who knows this boy well."

"Very well, this will have no effect on our agreements with Border or our perception of Arashiyama Squad; you have our assurance and permission to speak."

.

Kitora was glad that she managed to gain those two important things right away.

Leaving this up to him would only end badly. It's clear that his parents don't act based on their emotions, so they are a bad match for him.

She knew that from having been around Toby for as long as she had.

So long as she could have a say here, it would be fine.

"Why is it that you want him to be your representative? From what I can see, you have many others who could be better options for this. The girl at the Yagura Branch is already representing you over there, isn't she?"

"We are planning on leaving Mikado City soon, now that our business here is done with. Even so, we wish to have someone here to have a direct connection between Border and our company. An ocean away is already a large enough distance; adding landmasses makes it that much longer. Having someone who is here and can act immediately is beneficial to both sides. What is more, we wish to have a connection to Mr. Kuruma and his family. But that is also something to speak about with Mr. Kuruma himself."

"Oh, I will make sure that we can have some time before you leave to talk about that," she could hear Kuruma say over the other end.

It may have been a sudden decision considering he sounded a bit rushed, but he had noticed what it meant to have an immediate response to this. There had been no hesitation in his response, so Kitora knew that it was better not to bring it up further than that.

That left something else to focus on.

"As for why we cannot use Emily. It is because she will be in charge of watching over our second son while he is in Mikado City."

Kitora stopped.

She could see Toby stop for the second time.

"To give away our intention like that," the father said with a sigh.

"This would become a pointless endeavor if we were to try and hide it," the mother responded.

This was the first time that Kitora had heard any sort of emotion from either one of them. A simple sigh and its response were the closest things she could find to any sort of emotion from them.

For that show of emotion to not be the most surprising thing is really saying something, Kitora thought bitterly.

Still, what they had said must have been heard by a lot of people.

.

Iko: "Hey, the girlie sittin' here just started to freak out."

Viper: "Do you think that she didn't know she would be staying in the city?"

Taicchi: "No, no, no! There's no way these kinds of people wouldn't know these sorts of things, right?"

Izumo: "They are related to the mutt, right? Yeah, I can see something like this happening. Something so on-the-spot that even their own work would think them idiots."

Megane: "You really do change when you have Awdry around, don't you?"

Izumo: "Not at all, Shishō."

Ortlinde: "Make sure to keep that up, Takeshi. And Tatsuhito, don't worry. Women like this tend to be frightened by just about anything."

Iko: "Does that mean you'll be frightened like that, Chisato?"

Ortlinde: "Of course not. I have you here with me, so I can't afford to be frightened by something as small as a large-scale invasion. So something like this would be nothing for me."

Iko: "Cool, cool. Well then, if ya ever just want me around, call me up and I'll come over."

Ortlinde: "Oh, if that's the case. I wanted to go eat with Takeshi and Eri again."

Iko: "Will do. Ya hear that, Take-chan?"

Izumo: "! help."

.

"Are these people even taking this seriously...?" both Kitora and Toby said at once.

They looked to each other before nodding.

That side was the one filled with crazy people.

"As my wife has said, Emily will be staying here to keep watch over our son. Since that is the case, she will not be able to act as a representative. Saying that Stepney would be our representative would be easy, but he is far too inexperienced and lacking in what is needed to act as such. With that being the case, it would be best to have our first son act as our representative. He is still young, inexperienced in this sort of thing, and runs on emotion far too much, but we saw here that he has some worth."

"So you're only saying this because I went against you guys and won? Of course you are... It's only about what can be gained with you guys, right? 'Turn everything into a victory'. I always remember what you said. Especially whenever it came to business."

Toby let out a long sigh and settled down. His shoulders slumped, and his demeanor returned to what it had been like during the meeting.

He was taking this seriously as a genius.

"That is why we will be leaving Stepney there and having Emil watch over her," the mother said. "He will gain experience while in the city of oddities. At the same time, you will take over his position as our representative. This will be the case until he has reached the age for middle school. Then he will return to America. But for this to happen, we will need someone to act as our representative."

"And why's it gotta be me? You have at least two businesses to pick from. There's no reason for me to be the rep for you two."

"It would be much easier to have a child of ours be our representative than an employee who can be bought out at a moment's notice."

"You're saying this like I won't turn against you," Toby said with narrowed eyes. This deal had seemed too good in his favor for it to be that simple. "Besides, I'm a disowned brat, aren't I? Won't it look weird to have me be your rep."

Others would not look favorably on them if they were using their disowned child for this. It would seem much more like they lack the ability to rely on those around them and instead think of the ones they have discarded.

Kitora and Toby made sure to remain quiet for their answer.

"We personally disowned you, yes. But you are still our child. We had not done anything or spoken of such things outside of where you can hear."

"So you just say that to bug me... I hope you know that makes you two even worse by so many standards?"

"However, it is still just a personal matter that you are disowned; officially, you are still our son."

Toby looked to Kitora with an expression that clearly said, "Can you believe these two?" She could only turn towards the sky as if this was not her problem.

"These two are still terrible..."

---

"Konami-senpai, should you really be laughing right now?"

"How can you not laugh!?"

Karasuma looked over at the giggling Konami, who was hiding her laughter behind her arm. Some of the louder laughs made their way through, but they never seemed to reach Director Rindō or the Awdry husband.

They had all just heard something pretty amazing.

"It's pretty hard not to start seeing the similarities between Awdry and his parents at this point. Maybe it's just because we have been spending time around his father."

"They are still pretty crappy people, but knowing that they are actively messing with Toby... Hahaha! That's too good!"

The ones at the Suzunari Branch must have also been enjoying their time hearing this.

More than them, he was sure that the Yagura Branch group was going crazy in their own way.

"So, what do you say to this agreement? While we would much rather not have Stepney near his failure of a brother, this is still the best course of action for us. It becomes that much better since you are part of Border already, and now a branch member for one of their more...troubling branches."

"I don't think you realize how much trouble you will cause by saying that. Mr. Akasora is the type of guy to get on you for that."

The way Director Rindō nodded sagely was more than telling.

But...

"Fine. We can settle on the agreement when you speak with Mr. Tatsuya. But be prepared for me to fight for every right possible. I am going to have my freedom while doing this. And I'm only doing this so Step can stay over here."

"We were under no illusion that you would do things our way. With that being said, you should also be prepared for every sort of counter and offense we can provide as business owners."

It was strange to hear someone say that to a person much younger than them, but Karasuma figured it was just the way this family was with each other.

They would not like each other, but they would keep it within their family.

"You know, I can really see how Toby turned out this way."

"It's pretty obvious when you look at his parents. Here's to hoping that his younger brother turns out to be the best of them all."

"When he's hanging out with Yōtarō. Fat chance of that," Konami said while moving forward.

"Senpai?"

Without answering, Konami grabbed him by his sleeve and began dragging him over.

It was only after she was a few feet away from the seats that she spoke up.

"Hey, you! Toby's dad!"

"What is it? There are still things to decide on for us."

"I know, so I'm going to help out here. If you're going to be leaving your kid in Mikado City, that means he's going to keep Yōtarō busy and out of our hair, right? If that's the case, then you can leave us knowing that he'll be just fine."

"And what exactly does that entail?"

There was little chance that what Konami would be saying would make any sense. This was likely something she had decided to come up with at the last moment to get a word in before she would never have to see him again.

He had no idea what that meant for bringing him into this.

All he could do was wait and find out.

"As long as he's in this branch office, or we're just around, we'll make sure that he's safe and sound! So no need to worry about bodyguards! He would have the best ones right by his side!"

"So that's what you had in mind..."

This was added protection for the younger Awdry brother.

Protection from his parents' watchful eyes.

If they were to leave with this in mind, they would likely not have their own members following him at all times. If there weren't multiple people watching him from somewhere hidden, the amount of space he'd be able to get would be much greater.

Instead, the younger Awdry brother would be able to enjoy himself in the open, with others he could enjoy himself with.

And Konami had tried to make it that way.

"I see... So the Tamakoma Branch will take full responsibility if anything were to happen to our son? And here I thought he would be staying near the Yagura Branch."

Karasuma could see the tiredness in Director Rindō's expression, but he held it back to finish this unofficial meeting.

"That's right. Your son likes to spend some time with our resident child and is enjoying himself with one of our members, so they can be informed that this is the case. Oh, but the Yagura Branch will still likely be a place where they will be, so I would say that we take joint responsibility, should anything happen. Does that sound fine?"

"I'm cool with it," Toby said over the phone. "But it's also up to Take to decide here. And we already know that Mr. Akasora is all for having Step around."

"That's why it's pretty pointless to have me say it," was Takeshi's response. "But yes, we will take on joint responsibility."

There would be no reason for the Awdry parents to deny them.

They would not charge them and would instead ensure the safety of their child.

So...

"...Very well. We will accept this."

---

Something amazing had just been agreed on.

That much Stepney was aware of.

As he was registering what he had heard over his phone, he was being squeezed by Yōtarō while he screamed out in joy.

"Emily, you will be staying in Mikado City with Stepney. We will make sure the two of you will be well off when it comes to money, so make sure that you find a good place to live. We will not be finding a place for you, so make sure you contact us with the necessary information."

"Y-yes! Of course, ma'am! I will also make sure that he is well taken care of!"

"Thank you for being reasonable."

His mother was continuing to speak, but it was to speak with her worker.

Stepney had always liked the woman. She was kind to him, no matter how much was told to her by other workers.

"Hey, you should smile for something like this, Rich Bug."

"Is it really a good thing to have him here?"

"Sssshhhh! Hyuse, you're not supposed to say that after what we just heard!"

"I was only telling the truth."

Mikado City was dangerous for multiple reasons, Stepney knew that.

Not that long since coming here, he had gone through quite a lot. The end result of all of that had turned into something he could never forget. A memory he had planned to take with him back to America.

But now...

"Maki, he's staring at you."

"I was trying not to focus on that..."

Feeling a slight wave of embarrassment, Stepney turned away.

A moment later, he looked back at Maki with a slight smile.

"U-um... Is this okay, Mr. Takahashi?"

"How many times do I... Look, if you're going to be staying in Mikado City, don't you think you should start being a bit more casual? At least with us?"

"Oh, r-right... My ap... I am sorry?"

He was not used to not giving his all with his politeness. It had been something that was etched into his mind from the moment he could speak.

The most he was allowed to show with others was to speak to them with a professional and polite smile.

But people in Mikado City did not care for that at all.

His own friends had been trying to get him to be more casual. The same seemed to apply to the older people he had been around recently.

So he made a decision.

"I will...try my best. To be casual. So...i-is this okay...Maki?"

Even while being squeezed by Yōtarō, he could see the slight change in Maki's expression. Some final stiffness left his body while his shoulders went down a bit.

He looked away before looking back at Stepney.

"That's fine, Rich Bug. ...Keep at it."

---

"I did more than my share of things, so I'm going to be going now."

Mitsuteru nodded at Urushima's words. There was no doubt that the only reason he had come to help was because he was getting paid to do so.

I guess he still doesn't like me being nearby.

All the work that he had put in to mend their relationship was ignored again.

Mitsuteru felt his tension leave with his next breath.

There's really nothing I can do, is there? He won't even let me talk to him about it either.

Well, to be fair, I left his squad twice already. It makes sense that someone like him would hold a grudge against me.

"Thank you very much, Urushima-kun! You helped us a lot here, so feel free to ask if you ever need any help! Oh, but I say this only for myself. I am sure that Ariake-kun would help you regardless of what you have done."

"H-huh? Oh. Yeah. You can rely on me whenever, Wataru-kun."

"I'll hold you to that, Hogo."

He was ignored once more.

The sound of their voices carried pretty far as they left the building they had been standing on for their fight.

The entire area was still clear of people, but he could see the damage that had been done from his attacks against Sekai and vice versa.

That reminds me. It was because of that man's Reverse Side that there were no people around, right? I should really thank him, if I ever see him again.

Nodding to himself, Mitsuteru looked back over the damage to the city.

Except for the one he had been on, the buildings were almost all safe. The ground was what had taken the majority of the damage, with cracks along the road and smoke rising from certain alleyways.

The damage would likely come from his own salary as a Border member.

I guess it would make sense. I was put in charge here, so I should be the one to take the payment cut. But...

Mitsuteru let out an internal wail.

With that money, I was hoping to buy some new manga that had been recommended to me! ...I guess it's fine. As long as I have enough to give to my parents to help them out with bills, I can wait.

It was still annoying that he would have to wait to get what he wanted.

He let out another breath and looked at the damage again.

Figuring out how much things would cost could get rid of some of the tension he felt himself starting to build up up.

But when he looked at the damage for a third time, he saw something different.

"Huh?"

"What is it, Ariake-kun?"

"The damage to the city..."

Pointing to the road, he saw the road begin to reform back to the way it had been at the start.

More accurately, there was a string of text that circled the space. The air around the string of text wavered for a moment before dissipating, revealing a completely intact road.

This happened all along the road.

"Wait, does this mean the alleyways are fine too!?"

Rushing over to one, he looked down the alleyway to find that the entire space was as it should have been.

Seeing that everything was fine now, he lifted his arms and gave a shout to the sky.

I can afford those manga now! Yes!

"But wait... Those things I saw around the damage..."

He had seen those strings of text before.

Then the words he had heard from the scarred man came back.

"The radiant stage... If he did something, then I should really pay him back now."

---

Trochískos smiled behind his book.

Flying above his shoulder was a white rhinoceros beetle.

"Was there really a need to go beyond simply covering up the area and clearing the people? We have concluded that it was a waste of trion to do this much."

"I wanted to make a space for them to fight without worry. But I made the decision not to say anything. I wanted to see how they would treat these fights."

"And? What conclusion have you come to?"

Trochískos laughed into the open air.

There was no one to see him laugh, so he did so freely.

"Miden has a lot of good people. They all made a point of not destroying their own homes for the sake of a fight. They took precautions to ensure that they would still have a place for themselves while also trying to defeat their opponents. People like them are the ones I enjoy watching the most."

"We have evidence showing that they are not against destroying their own home either."

"I believe they view that as enjoyment while doing what they want. I am not particularly against that either."

"You have an interesting way of viewing things. Does this come from being a long-lived?"

"I wonder about that."

The final strings of text dissipated into the air before the two of them. Trochískos watched them fizzle out of existence as he closed his book.

"With that, people should be moving back into that part of the city. I assume that everything has been settled for them all, so there is no need for me to be around here anymore."

"We think that you may have done too much this time. Could it be that you think you have too much time on your hand?"

"No, no. Although, thinking like that is certainly something I would expect from a great Pyrínas System."

"Choosing words like that only makes it sound like we have said something wrong."

"Not at all."

Reverse Side began to fade from the area around them, enclosing back around them so that no one noticed them walking or heard their conversation.

Pausing for a moment, he looked back over the area.

The space was clear, but the area remained a horrible mess. Even with his illusions gone, there was something lingering that made him begin to feel uneasy.

"We have confirmed that one person has already moved into the area. More specifically, a large amount of trion is moving in the direction of the three remaining Miden Trigger Users.

The white rhinoceros beetle had scanned the area at the same time he had focused on what felt wrong.

Doing any more than this would be overstepping his bounds.

"I cannot do much more than this without causing problems for Miden... This is quite troubling. Is there anything more that you can say from your scan?"

"It seems that the mass of trion that is moving has an extra extension to it. Rather, there are receptors that are focusing on trion usage and reduction. In some ways, it functions similarly to your...Reverse Side. Yet it is nothing like it at all... This is very strange."

"Would you be doing anything about it?"

"There is no reason for us to get involved. If this becomes an issue, it will be up to Miden to resolve it. We are simply here as part of the Pyrínas System created by the Wanderers."

"I suppose that is fair."

Still...

"It is worrying to know that something like that is moving towards those children."

---

Urushima had followed Mistuteru to the alleyway out of curiosity. It had been his plan to walk away, but even he wondered why the damage done to the road had begun reforming until it looked as it had before.

The alleyway where he had placed his Dummy Beacons should have been destroyed due to Sekai's attack on it, but he saw nothing of that destruction there.

What's happening here?

It seemed like Mitsuteru knew what was going on. There was only one problem with that.

I really don't want to be around him more than this.

The memories of their time on the same squad would always return. The atmosphere they use to have around them, how much he had actually put into boosting the power level of their small squad, and how he would take care of both him and Rika. Everything would flood back before turning into a biter feeling after having been left behind twice.

The first time had been forgiven.

The second time left nothing but a grudge.

Urushima knew he was wasting energy on this, but there was nothing to be done after find out everything about Mitsuteru.

But even that grudge couldn't take him away from the curiosity of what had happened here.

"It looks like someone put up their illusion for you guys. Isn't that great~?"

.

The first to react to the new voice was Oshiro.

Without hesitation, he turned on his Trigger and slammed his hand into the wall next to him.

Walls began springing out from the side of the building, slamming to the side of the next building over, but not destroying the wall.

A large string of walls now separated the three of them from the opening to the alleyway.

"He's here... I isn't just me...right? He's here...?"

Mitsuteru and Urushima watched Oshior begin to shake. With rage or with fear, neither one of them knew.

What they became aware of was that they had heard the same voice as him.

The voice belonging to someone that made their blood run cold.

They turned on their Triggers as well.

"Aw~ My captain is blocking me out like that now~? And here I thought he would keep trying to help poor, pathetic me. You're making me sad O-shi-ro."

"Don't say my name... I am not your captain... You are more than a lost cause... You are someone who should never exist... Leave... Leave... Leave..."

The odds of the person hearing Oshiro were slim with the way he muttered it to himself.

Still, Mitsuteru and Urushima heard him.

"I knew he wasn't in Mikado City anymore, but that's all. For Hogo to react like this..."

"I can't believe that guy would show up like this... Crap. He can't really be here for that, right?"

"Wataru-kun, pay attention to what's around us."

"I paid him back in full. There's no way he wants more, right?"

Mitsuteru looked to Oshiro and Urushima. Neither one of them were paying attention to much else, only speaking to themselves.

With a released breath, he moved forward.

"What do you want? You are Epanástasi-san, right?"

.

"Oh? That's a name I haven't heard for a bit. I don't really remember who you are, but you can just call me Misó. That name you just said was a fake one anyway, so no point in having to say that mouthful."

Mitsuteru felt his body freeze for a moment.

There was no seeing the man from behind the Escudo walls, but the voice he heard sent something through him that he had not felt before.

A memory returned to him. A forgotten one that he had never felt guilty for getting rid of.

The memory of what the rest of his first squad had told him about this man.

More than what he had been told, he remembered seeing him around Wataru a lot. Both words and money were passed between the two of them while Rika stood by his side, worried about the outcome.

As for Hogo...

He had been on his squad. Right before he left.

The details of that had never been told to him, but he knew that Hogo Squad had been kept on watch ever since that.

"Actually...who even are you? I really don't remember your name or face. Were you a recent addition to Border?"

That told him enough.

This person was strong.

But Hogo looks angry and traumatized, so I can't have him do more than this. And Wataru-kun is busy talking to himself.

This person's voice alone terrified him. It made him want to run away and never look back, but his feet were also stuck where they were.

It was not a case of wanting to stand up for the two boys he was with. There was just no way he could run away.

He could not even drag the two of them away from this.

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter. While it's fun to mess with my former captain, he's not the reason I'm here. So that means two of you are pretty useless. You can leave, if you want. You turned on your Trigger, right? Then yeah, I can't really hurt you right now. So you're pretty useless to me."

From the corner of his eye, he could see Hogo freeze and Wataru jump.

If this person didn't care for him or Hogo, it meant he was here for Wataru instead.

"Wataru over there still owes me a good amount. I wanted to get that back in full here."

"I-I paid you back already!"

"Is that what you think? Well, technically, you did. But I'm talking about the extra I had added on for even helping you out as much as I did."

"What extra!? We didn't agree on that!"

"Isn't it obvious? As long as you know everything I taught you about collecting information...you will owe me."

Without thinking, Mitsuteru rushed to the side of the wall, modified Ibis already in hand.

He put the muzzle through the hole and prepared to fire.

As he did...

"—!?"

Someone had grabbed the muzzle of Ibis and pushed it back.

The end of Ibis slammed into Mitsuteru's face, making him let go of the Trigger and fall back.

There was no pain, but he remained on the floor.

"You should quit before I really decide to start hurting you. I'm just here for Wataru."

That was more than enough reason to keep going.

The problem was the clear gap in their abilities.

"Hey now, you should be careful now. Keep talking to him like that and you will be in for it, Misó."

Mitsuteru looked over to see Wataru, head tilted towards the sky.

He let out a breath of his own and turned his head back down. He was now facing the wall of Escudos.

"I remember finding out that you could never beat Hikigane-san or Bakuto-san, right? Well this guy here managed to take one of those two out. What's more, he managed to harass him all the way through the fight."

"Oh? Is that so? Sounds like someone I would enjoy stabbing a few times."

Mitsuteru found that he could not longer let out any breaths. All the air that was taken in made him freeze and hold his breath.

This person was saying he would be fine stabbing him just for being able to do something. Something he had not actually done all by himself.

"If you stab him, you will have some pretty dangerous people going for you."

"You say that I don't already have dangerous people after me."

"That's true. But this would include an oni girl, a kitsune, a shark, and a lot others. Not to mention how much harassment you would get from him."

"Now I'm a bit interested. Destroying someone like that sounds fun. Both mentally and physically. Would he cry out, or would he be whimpering the entire time? Ah~ You got me a bit hard now, Wataru~"

Mitsuteru wanted to vomit.

The words coming from this man made him want to curl up and forget about everything that was happening. The thought of that man following through with that made him want to hide away from everything.

What hurt more than the thought of that was how Wataru was encouraging it.

Does he really hate me that much now...?

Was this the extent that Wataru would go for his grudge against him?

.

"I won't let that happen... He should not exist, but since he does...I will make sure he can't do anything to others..."

Mitsuteru looked up to see Hogo speaking to himself again.

Unlike before, the mental fight he seemed to be having finally settled.

Now it was clear what he was feeling.

Anger.

"Ariake-kun, I will make sure to protect you from him. And Wataru-kun..."

"I know. Sorry, Mistuteru, but we need to hold out just a bit more. I will pay compensation for any trauma you might get here."

Their voices were low enough that they could not reach the other side of the wall, but loud enough for Mistuteru to hear.

It was their reassurance.

"You don't like hearing any empty words or promises, right? Well then, know that we're telling you the truth here."

Wataru was giving his guarantee here.

A guarantee that they could get through this.

"We need these walls lowered, but a defense still up. So get ready to surround us with a Shield."

"I will have Raygust ready as well."

Mitsuteru watched as the walls lining the entryway receded.

At the same time, Wataru and Hogo created a dome around them.

The more the trion was spread out, the weaker it became. But if both of them took a half of it, it would become easier to manage.

So he did the same.

A double-layered dome was formed with Raygust holding down the front for them.

.

"You guys are really prepared, aren't you?" Misó asked with a whistle.

The double-layered dome of trion was sturdy enough to take multiple strong hits. That much was clear.

It would have been too much trouble to try and break through it right now.

"So you're the one Wataru was talking about. I can finally get a good look at you. And what I'm seeing is...nothing special. You're pretty lackluster, you know that?"

"I do... So what?"

Misó shrugged and turned away from the lackluster boy.

"Now, about my payment."

"You just got it. New information."

"But you still know what to do and how to do it. So you still owe me."

"Why would I pay for such an outdated method?"

"Outdated, huh? You sure are looking for an eye to be taken out, Wataru. Maybe a missing arm or leg."

There was something in what was being said that made no sense.

Misó understood that Wataru was telling him something without being direct about it.

The answer to his unspoken question came a moment later.

"I'll let you in on something, Misó. I wasn't going to be a part of it, but I'm getting paid to help him. My payment is coming from someone who can gather information far better than you can. Can you guess what my payment for joining was?"

"Hahaha! You sneaky fucker! Alright, so who are learning from now? That fox? Or maybe those two other idiots? Okay, okay. Fine. I give. If you aren't going to use my methods, you don't owe me anything. Does that sound about right?"

"It does. I have nothing to give you anymore."

"Right, right, right. Yeah, that makes sense. And since that makes sense, there's no reason to even have you alive anymore. You have lost absolutely all value to me. So, I think I'll let out some stress on the three of you now."

A violent feeling came over Misó a moment later.

An arm wrapped around his neck tightly as two harsh strikes hit his legs, making it hard for him to continue standing.

"Finally have a chance to get some of my own revenge here."

.

Mitsuteru looked on with wide eyes as Misó was held in a tight grip by Yuba.

Two shots had been fired into Misó's legs. There would be no real damage to his body due to the way their Triggers worked, but it was clear that he was now having trouble standing.

"Ah~ That feels so good~ You know, I wouldn't even hold it against you if you took off-"

Another shot was fired. This time into his arm.

"This remains the same. You never shut up and only make disgusting comments. At least now we got a hold of you."

"Yes, yes, good for you. Yeah, this is a great accomplishment! Now it's my turn, right? Right. Border likes its jokes, right? Well, here's one for you."

With a snapping motion, Misó thew his head back.

Yuba made a quick slide backwards and lifted his revolver.

"Oh, that was pretty good~ I didn't think you would actually dodge that one."

Mitsuteru watched as Misó clapped twice, smile never leaving his face. It was a twisted thing to see.

They had a defense up right now, but having a fight here meant using more trion than they already had.

He had heard that Kanzaki had fought against this man and still needed help to finish it. The chances of them defeating him here were more slim than that.

But as he thought that...

"Wish I could stay and screw around with you lot. But since Wataru doesn't owe me anything anymore, I'm just going to be leaving."

Yuba was the first to react, firing multiple shots at him.

The attacks struck their double-layered dome of trion instead of Misó's body.

The space between them seemed to fill back up with air. The sound they had all heard before that finally registered as the ring in the air closed in on itself.

"He used Teleport..."

"So he has a Trigger on him... Of course he does."

The dome of trion began to fall apart around them as they released the shield.

The threat had finally left.

"That guy really never changes," he heard Yuba said while turned around.

Mitsuteru felt himself finally release a breath he had been holding.