"Ha ha ha! What I wouldn't give to look at everyone's expressions right now."
"You really are terrible, aren't you?"
"We both decided to stick around, so you will need to get used to it."
Yuki smiled at the sigh Sekai gave.
Yuki was stuck in the hospital for the time being, but he was able to get a clear feed on what was going on. The squads that had been made were shown to him.
"Figuring out why some people chose to do what they did sounds interesting, don't you think?"
"It sounds irritating. There are people who sound like they did it on a whim. Some others just feel like they wanted to enjoy themselves."
"Like Jinsei?"
This time, Sekai clicked his tongue. The difference in reactions was fresh.
"Are you sad you couldn't take part in this?"
"Why would I be sad? This means I don't need to listen to any of them, deal with any of them, and get a break from my squad."
"Oh? But I thought you would want more time with them now."
"...You really are terrible, aren't you?"
He would just have to get used to it.
I've decided that this is who I am. I won't be changing myself anymore.
That was probably why Sekai stayed by his bedside.
Shinoda: "This concludes the orientation."
Yuki looked back at the laptop screen in front of him. Sekai did the same, making sure they could both hear.
Shinoda: "Before you leave, I have two final things to point out to you."
First...
Shinoda: "Contact between members of the same provisional squad before the exam begins is strictly forbidden. You may not get together to discuss strategy with your new squad behind you, nor can you reach out to each other in any way. We won't be monitoring you day and night, but we expect you to honor this rule."
Yuki turned his head to look at Sekai.
Sekai shook his head. There had been no actual instructions for him to watch over this.
That likely goes for Denji too, then.
They were no longer being asked for these kinds of things.
Shinoda: "Second, we will be holding interviews with the captain on the 16th. If you were chosen as a provisional squad captain, please don't forget to show up. That is all. You may leave, starting with the back row."
.
Isa: "What? I come all this way and it's over already?"
Secondary Island: "What did you expect when coming here late?"
White Fox: "Expecting more than that from Isa is more than telling."
Isa: "And where are you exactly? At least I showed up."
White Fox: "I'm in the hospital. The amount of stress I got from you lot was too much for me."
Isa: "No comment."
Almost everyone: "He gave up like that!?"
.
What did they expect? I wasn't going to go easy on him.
Yuki felt a sense of satisfaction well up as the chat died down a bit.
Messing with Tōma had been fun, but there were too many of them missing to make it really fun.
"In any case..."
Netsuki: "Good day, A-Rank agents."
Yuki nodded and noticed Sekai turn his head.
Netsuki: "Now it's time for the A-Rank squad orientation to begin. Each squad should proceed to their indicated conference room."
Being unable to go anywhere, Yuki waited until everything was settled.
"I should go now..."
"But what if I need something?"
"Call a nurse."
"But Sekai-san is more convenient."
"What a mouth on this guy..."
Going any easier than this would create distance between them.
Yuki had settled on this being the furthest he would allow Sekai to go from now on.
"But that just means you have something in mind to keep me here, right?"
"I'm not supposed to let anything spoken here leave the room," said Yuki. And, "I plan to keep it that way. But I also tend to let things slip when I'm talking to myself. It's a good thing that there's only me and my thoughts in this room right now."
"Cheeky brat."
This was what Sekai had done during the situation involving the sponsors. When he had been unable to speak due to the situation, he had said he was only speaking to himself in the hallway. Meanwhile, a different conversation had been going on.
It was a complete coincidence that those conversations had aligned.
So what's wrong with messing with others a bit more?
Once everyone was settled into their seats, Netsuki began again.
Netsuki: "There we are. Let us get to the point of the matter. As you've been informed, you A-Rank agents will act as judges for the sealed-environment phase. Since your participation in the Away Mission is already assured, your job is to determine whether the examinees are fit to be your crewmates. You will be evaluating and scoring them based on their skills and character. We directors will then check over your evaluations, and reference what you have provided to decide who has passed and failed."
"What's with that? The top brass will make the final call anyway?"
"Well, of course."
The conference rooms everyone had been sent to were small enough to be called such, but big enough that the maximum number of squad members could still fit comfortably.
In one of these rooms, Katagiri Squad listened to what Director Netsuki had to say.
Everyone glanced back as Yukimaru complained in his seat by the door.
Yuitsuka had answered him quickly, but it was Katagiri who gave a proper response.
"What this actually means," he said, "is that while we're judging the provisional squad, the directors will be judging our judging."
"I guess that does make sense."
Netsuki: "In preparation for this exam, you agents will have another task. You will examine the 15 provisional squads and rank them by how well you predict they will perform. This is effectively a preliminary check of how well you understand Border's current battle assets. For both the Sealed Environment Phase and the Long-term Combat Phase, you will predict the outcome with a ranking system, and enter your predictions on the screens provided."
Everyone looked down at the screens in front of them to see them light up.
Netsuki: "You have 45 minutes, and your conversations will be recorded. You may talk amongst yourselves and discuss your reasoning, points of interest, and causes for concern."
The large screen they could all see was turned off.
With thet, they were allowed to begin.
Katagiri Squad remained silent for a few seconds after that.
Once they had all settled down, Katagiri started putting things down on the tablet in front of him.
"First off," started Katagiri. "Let's consider the issues that may arise in the Sealed Environment Test."
"Issues? Like what?"
"Like, say... Tsuji here gets really nervous around girls, so Kirikari's Squad 12 could have issues because of that."
"Ah, so that's what you mean. In that case..."
"Sayako on Utagawa's squad doesn't work well with boys, so... The Sealed Environment Test will be hard on her. Even more so since Kobayashi is there, so Kimura-san is the only girl he can't get along with."
Kazama nodded.
Without Utagawa and Kikuchihara with them, Kazama and Mikami were left in the same room together.
"Even so, their squad is pretty well-rounded compared to others. That said, I can't remember the last time Urushima worked well with anyone. He could be a potential problem."
"I would say that Utagawa could talk to Ariake-kun about helping with that, but their current situation is a bit..."
Out of the two of them, Mikami was the one who knew what was happening best. Her interactions with Ariake went beyond what Kazama knew.
There was a sudden silence in the room.
Kazama looked around the room, and Mikami tilted her head.
After a few seconds, Mikami put his fist in his palm and gave an "Aha!"
"...I forgot Ariake was around."
"When you put it that way, Utagawa's Squad 1 might have more trouble than you'd expect."
"You could be right. Plus, Yūma was raised abroad."
"But I think Utagawa was kinda born to be a captain. Besides that, he could use the situation with Mitsurin to his advantage. You know, like, say this is Urushima's chance to beat him, or something like that."
"I don't think he would do something like that. Utagawa wouldn't just throw out Ariake-kun like that."
Satori tilted his head, looked at the ceiling, shrugged, then looked back down.
Tokieda raised a brow at the series of actions but said nothing.
He noticed the look and waved him off.
Next to him, Arashiyama made a circle in the air with his finger.
"There is also the fact that Kotarō is a good kid," Ayatsuji said.
White Fox: "I feel like this might be a bit unfair..."
Kanzaki nodded her head.
If there was one thing that they could not do, it was hold a discussion.
The reason for it was sitting across from her.
"I don't plan on using my Side Effect for this."
White Fox: "But you can, and that's already bad enough."
"He does have a point," said Kanzaki. She didn't want to agree with him, but she had no choice. "You would be able to find a clear end result while also figuring out what the other squads could be talking about."
If she did that, then there would be no reason for the two of them to be in this room.
Kanzaki looked down at the screen in front of her. There were already drawings on it that seemed like something other squads would come up with.
But then this brought a question to her mind.
Why exactly are we here?
She was no longer on a squad with either of the other two, and vice versa. There was no reason to bring the three of them together like this.
White Fox: "Hah. Fine, fine. Whatever. Kanzaki, looks like it's up to us to make sure she doesn't just spoil everything for the directors and others."
Kiyome: "If it were that easy, then we would not be needed at all."
White Fox: "Ain't that the truth?"
But with that being said...
White Fox: "The choices made by everyone are interesting. Especially certain ones."
"You are talking about ones like Kakizaki-dono and Kitazoe-dono, are you not?"
"I am," said Yuki from his hospital room.
White Fox: "Since we spend more time with some of those guys, we know some things. In particular, that Inu might have his neck wrung out by Kage. Then there's Minty being too loud for Kikuchihara most of the time. No matter how relaxed Zoe is, that is trouble waiting to happen. That's not even mentioning Kuruma-san picking both Pokari and Shigenaga, or Satoshi grabbing Take."
Rampage Dress: "That one has my interests. I will make sure to throw him out of a window later, though."
Kanzaki felt like she should stop that from happening, but another feeling came with it.
Kimura may need to vent due to being on the nudist's squad.
There would be others in a similar situation, but they could handle that themselves. For the time being, Kimura would be the one she focused more on.
Oh, that is right...
"Yuki, I am a bit surprised that you are not destroying your room right now. Especially when we consider that Wakamura has your sister on his squad."
"Kanzaki... You know what? Nevermind. We can leave Sekai to that one."
Sekai made a quick grab for the laptop that had been on Yuki's lap.
Without warning, Yuki jumped from his bed and slammed his fist into the wall behind him. Three more punches followed before Sekai checked on what he had sent.
Rapid footsteps could be heard coming from the hallway outside.
Using every ounce of skill in him, Sekai quickly grabbed Yuki, placed him back down, wrapped his hands in the blanket, and then sat back down. The total amount of time it took was 5 seconds.
Damn, I'm getting pretty slow at this.
The door shot open a moment later.
The same nurse from before looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"Sorry for the commotion. There had been a bug on the wall, and it took me some tries to get it."
"How many hits did it take you?"
"Four tries."
"I'll let this slide since you made it under five."
Was that how things worked here? If so, he might need to have Shin check out this hospital to see if they were really capable.
The nurse gave him one more look before closing the door.
Once the footsteps were far enough away, he brought the laptop back.
Yuki accepted it without a word and looked at the rest of the conversation.
Denji sighed while leaning back into his seat.
The entire thing was tiring in a way he didn't like.
Having been an unneeded person until recently, he could figure out what his other A-Rank agents would be saying. Their conversations would be obvious to someone like him, someone who had observed everyone around him for as long as he could remember.
That was why he knew he should follow that line of thought himself.
"T'lkin' 'bo't th d'wns'd's 'f squ'ds 's f'n, b't f'g'rin' o't 'ny g'd p'nts g'ts 's thr'gh th's dis'ssion."
"You say that, but it is clear which squads will be better off, simply due to who they have on their squads. Mizukami and Kodera are loaded with smart people."
"Y'u s'y th't, b't Kototake's pr'tty mch 'n id'ot, i'n't 'e?"
"That's true. Word around here is that he really is an idiot. Mizu-chin picked all the right people except him."
"While that is true, saying it in such a way is quite rude."
"You were thinking the same thing, so I don't want to hear it."
The way Kurome hid her mouth behind her sleeve said it all.
Denji was sure that it was embarrassing for her to be found out, but it was better that it was around them. Anyone else would have been bad, but they never cared about those sorts of things before.
Straightening himself in his seat, he gave a sigh and began drawing something on the tablet in front of him. The drawing itself was rather crude, but he was never one for artistic displays. All he cared about was getting his thoughts across here.
"Y'u kn'w, e'ery'ne pr'b'bly th'n's th' w'y y'u 'll d'. Mizusato's sq'd's sc'ry, s'r', b't th'y r'lly 'r'n't m'ch wh'n y'u l'k 'ver e'ery'ne 'g'in."
"What do you mean, Denji?" asked Yorushi.
Denji wanted to slap his checks a bit, but held back. Fun stuff like that could come when he wasn't so bored.
For now, he made a few more marks and pointed down to the screen.
Everyone reacted the way he thought they would.
"That's right," he said. To get his point across properly, he spoke with full words. "That dog is a genius who thought through all of his choices."
"Anyone who overlooks Toby's squad are the actual idiots."
"Oh yeah, you have been getting along with him, haven't you?"
"I don't like the way you said that, Onii."
"Onii-san is just happy that you made a new friend."
Canaria was also happy about that. There had been too many times when Asuka's personality clashed horribly with others. For her to make a friend was something they could celebrate.
But that was neither here nor there. Asuka's words were what were really important here.
"I only know about what Mei-chan has told me about her former squad. So what do you mean, Asuka-chan?"
"Toby's super smart, so everything he's done so far is probably something he's thought really hard about."
"Can't he just be going off his wants?" Canaria looked to Akashi before turning back to Asuka. "He's impulsive, right? His Side Effect and all that."
Asuka let out a sigh into the air and muttered something under her breath.
She turned back to them and pointed a finger at Akashi.
"What do you want?"
She quickly turned her finger to point to the side.
Canaria followed her finger and saw that Akashi had done the same. The only person who did not turn their head was Kasumi.
"I only meant to get the idiot, I didn't think Cana-chan would also fall for it. Whatever. That's two points for me."
"Don't just decide that on your own!"
"Then manage to get a win against me first."
Akashi clenched his fist, and Asuka gave a victory sign.
This was the normal way of things for their squad, so Canaria decided to let it go.
"Anyways," said Asuka with another sigh.
"Since the first part of this test isn't one where their physical abilities will be tested, he decided to use his brain. That being said, he'll probably be a fighting fiend for the next couple of days to make up for that."
"Will you be fighting him then?"
"I might as well. But I'm probably going to find him some other training partners."
"Oh, that is kind of you," Canaria found herself saying.
Asuka nodded.
"Anyways," she said again.
"Just look at Toby's squad, and you'll see what I mean."
Doing as she was told, Canaria looked down at the tablet in front of her.
When she did, she saw what Asuka was talking about.
"I see..." This time it was Kasumi who sighed. "His team is balanced from every possible angle. They might not all be as smart as Mizukami's or Kodera's squads, but the balance between them all is actually pretty crazy."
"Exactly. That guy is thinking so many steps ahead that it looks like he cheated."
"When did that kid get so smart?"
Tachikawa raised a brow and smirked towards Yuiga.
Izumi and Kunichika looked at each other, turned to Yuiga, and then stood their fingers together. Izumi twisted his index finger to the right, and Kunichika moved her thumb to the side. They both nodded and spoke to Yuiga at the same time.
"You're the real idiot!"
"Gepyo!?"
"They're right, you know?" said Tachikawa.
From the moment he fixed himself, Tachikawa could tell just how much potential Toby had. Both in his movements and the way he tried to get away from him. All of it mixed together so well that it felt like he wasn't even looking at a human most of the time.
That had been why Tachikawa tried to snatch Toby as quickly as he could.
That plan had ended in failure, but there would be other chances.
"Toby's better than someone like you in every way. Both brains and brawn; he has you beat 100%."
"He doesn't have me beat in age!"
"That just means he has more room to grow than you do."
It was a complete defeat for Yuiga.
Tachikawa waved off the fallen boy and looked over everything on his tablet.
"You know, Ninomiya's squad seems like they'll have some trouble. Getting those middle schoolers to work with someone like him might be a bit much."
"Still, when he's thrown in a small space and forced to play nice... You never know? He may have some plans up his sleeve for this test."
Tachikawa's wishes for nothing more than to have Yuki with them. There would be nobody better to speak about this particular squad.
Instead, it was on his teammates to try and understand the situation.
"There's also Kanji-kun and Azuma-san there," said Kunichika "Azuma-san seems like the type to step up and take charge. ...What's with that look, Tachikawa-san?"
He had not noticed that he was making a face until Kunichika had pointed it out.
I guess I let my thoughts show a bit too much there.
"It's nothing much. Just that...I don't think that Azuma-san will be doing all that much here."
There were certainly others who would be thinking the same thing.
After all...
They had been on the same squad as Azuma.
Miwa and Tsukimi did not even need to look at each other to know what the other was thinking. It was all clear to the two of them.
"Azuma-san isn't a captain in this scenario, so he will leave the leadership to Ninomiya."
Miwa Squad's discussion had spread to different squads. Now that they had made it to Ninomiya's squad, the two former Azuma Squad members could speak more freely than any others. Their understanding of both the captain and their former captain gave them more room here.
That was why they held nothing back when speaking.
"The higher-ups want to see his leadership, which is why they made him a captain."
"So even if Ninomiya-san and Ema start arguing, or whatever, Azuma-san won't step in to break it up?"
"No, not unless Azuma-san is asked to do so."
That was just how he was.
But it was because he was like that that Miwa had become a captain and Tsukimi his Operator. They had found teammates with whom they would not have that problem.
Azuma's way of doing things was his own, and it worked for him.
"But on the other side of that..."
Miwa casually tapped his tablet's screen.
"Ariake's squad seems just right for someone like him."
"Right? I was thinking the same thing!"
"I only know him from our dinner, so could the two of you elaborate on that?"
Miwa and Yoneya turned to Tsukimi. At the same time, Narasaka sighed into his arms.
Without hesitation, Miwa and Yoneya spoke together.
"It's a completely average squad."
Ketsueki nodded, moved his finger across the screen, then nodded again.
The discussion had been going smoothly enough. Every point that had been made was sensible, and everything was brought out properly.
There was only one problem.
I am still not used to this...
"Oh, this guy is super plain! I was wondering who he was, but then I forgot to ask about him!"
"Next time, just write it down when it comes to mind."
"But then it loses importance!"
"Then ask right away."
The two other people in the room were not ones he was used to having around.
To his right was a female his age with brown hair and eyes to match. The smile she wore gave away all of her feelings and intentions, letting Ketsueki know what to expect from someone like her. The way she continued to move her body also gave him the information he needed.
To his left was her complete opposite. A boy with black hair and blue eyes sat quietly with a calm smile on his lips. The lack of motion from him contrasted with the girl's and gave little away. Even so, Ketsueki could tell that he was also a bit guarded due to not being used to having him around.
These two were his new squad members.
To think that my punishment would be taking on a squad with these two...
He could remember his introduction to these two. It had not been sudden, but Rindō had made it a point to introduce them before today. Likely due to the discussion they were currently having.
At first, Ketsueki had been unsure as to what he should do concerning the two. Denying this was out of the question, so they only needed to work together from now on. Trying to find some sort of loophole would only lead to more trouble for him.
And I am nowhere near as good at that as those three.
The people who had been the reason for his situation would have found some way to get out of it. But that was out of the question for someone as straightforward as he was.
That was why he would accept this as a fact of his life and try to work with it.
There had only been one thing that he felt like he should have fought against.
I really wanted to stay in that branch...
.
It is only fair that I would be transferred to a different branch after the mess I helped to cause. Having me in Tamakoma would only mess with their image. There is already an issue due to them not disliking Neighbors, so having someone who fought our own openly in their branch would make the view of them worse.
Denji had called in an important favor, so he could not reject it. Even so, he knew that it was still his choice to go through with the fight.
His opponent had been Kanzaki at the time. The fight had ended in a strange and unsatisfying way. Even if it had been a favor, Ketsueki had gone all out against the striker girl and tore through the city alongside her.
Once everything had been settled, he knew that he had done something rather unforgivable.
And yet...
She has bounced back and is even better than before. Having a fight with her now would likely lead to a completely different outcome.
That was something that came with that age group.
Even more so for that former squad.
Every member of that strange former squad had a tendency to fall hard before coming back and soaring so high that others could never see them.
Now they were arguably at their peak.
It was for that reason that Ketsueki knew something.
"Kirikari-kun's squad and Ariake-kun's squad are rather well off."
"Oh? What makes you say that?" the energetic girl asked him.
"Is it because of what you have seen, or do you know them personally?"
It could have only been the latter.
"I had dinner with Ariake-kun and Kimura-kun and got a good understanding of their characters. Because of that, I can say that having Kimura-kun's intellect and Kirikari-kun's general disposition make for a good mix that can get them far. As for Ariake-kun..."
That boy had been something else in a completely different way from everyone else.
There was not much to say.
"The best way I can put it is that he has a good understanding of who he is."
"What do you mean?"
This time it was the boy who asked him.
.
"Toshiro-san, Yamada-kun. Make sure not to underestimate Ariake-kun. If you do...there is no doubt that he will end up harassing you in the worst way possible."
Yamada Daiki was the type of person who patiently waited for things. Whether it was for results or for something to happen, he would wait things out and see what happened.
That was why he waited for Kagerei to continue his explanation.
If he is saying something like this, then it must be important.
Kagerei had said that Ariake was someone who understood himself well. In that sense, he should be similar to Daiki himself.
"I have only properly spoken to him when having dinner with him and others, but I witnessed his final match in the B-Rank Wars. That alone told me more than enough."
"Oh? If Ketsueki can say these things, then this could be interesting."
"There's just one thing you need to try to keep in mind."
And that was?
"Do your best not to forget him."
That one statement caught Daiki's attention more than anything else.
There were some people who left a mark on people's minds easily, while there were others who would tend to be afterthoughts. But from the way Kagerei spoke, it sounded like they would have no choice but to forget about Ariake altogether.
Even with an average memory, it should have been easy to remember a single person.
Just in case, I'll make a proper note of this.
It would be for both himself and Rina.
"Well, besides Ariake-kun himself, his squad seems to be well off when you look at who they all are."
"You mean that trio of fighters he picked, right? I've heard some things about them while we were away!"
"Yes, them. While I cannot say much for Hachidori-kun, I know that Sasamori-kun and Girikage-kun are well off in both phases of this exam. Hanzaki-kun is also a good support for them."
Daiki also knew about that.
Other Snipers had been keeping in touch with him to let him know how things had been going.
From what he could tell...
"It is a squad with two frontal Attackers who can keep up with each other and two support Snipers who can act as offense if need be. Does that sum it all up?"
"It does. And since you summed it up well, that brings my attention to a different squad with a sort of opposite problem."
"When it comes to Squad 5, their fighting capabilities is concerning."
"Oh? How's that?"
Without turning away from her screen, Kusakabe Saki continued speaking.
"Snipers aside, the others move at very different speeds. It'll be difficult for a squad so hastily put together to come up with strong formations and keep up the firepower."
"Considering Kuruma-san's relative slowness, won't they be fine if they're careful?"
"That wouldn't make proper use of Shigenaga and Koarai's strengths, get it? Besides..."
Besides...
"I gotcha," said Kazama with crossed arms and a nod.
There was a glaring point that all of them could see.
And that was...
"Koarai can keep up with Shigeko physically, but I haven't seen anyone besides Mittsun keep up with her personality."
"That's true," said Ryūji. "That girl is always at her own pace, which makes it hard for everyone else to do much of anything while on her side. Other Snipers can probably keep up with that pace, but Mittsun is the only one I've seen who can match her that well."
"Besides that, I think she would be butting heads with Koarai most of the time."
Kazama and Ryūji spoke as people who knew Shigenaga better than just another Border member. Their own friend was friends with her, so the amount of contact they had with her gave them more information than the rest of them.
Midorikawa gave a hum from his seat.
"I've fought her before, but she seems to always be holding something back."
"It's because she's trying too hard to copy Hikigane-san," said Kusakabe. Her shoulders relaxed as she let out a breath.
Everyone was reminded of someone but chose not to say anything.
"Well, if we compare them to other squads, I suppose having Shigenaga and Koarai at the same pace is better than having too many at different paces. For example, Squad 4 and Squad 7 will be at a disadvantage in the Combat Phase. The other squads don't have such a wide range of relative mobility. And I suspect that some others intentionally assembled members that move around at the same pace. We already see a gap in strategic thinking here."
Midorikawa moved back in his seat but said nothing.
That left Kazama and Ryūji to fill in the space.
Lukas let out a sigh into the air while looking at everything in front of him.
After a few moments of taking everything in, he spoke. His tone was even, but there was some exasperation mixed in that only his teammates would be able to pick up.
"Will our teammates be okay?"
"Hm... I would like to think so."
Minoru's tone was a bit concerning. The way he refused to look at Lukas also had him shaking his head.
The only saving grace had been his own cousin.
"I think they will be fine. Their squads are pretty well off when it comes to taking care of others."
"It looks like it's half-and-half with that."
"When I look over everything, I would say that only Kimura, Wakamura, and Hosoi would be the only ones who wouldn't know what to really do. Everyone else has either worked with them or understood how to be patient with them."
"The most concerning one is that crossdressing nudist. Having him as a captain... I have no idea what the directors were thinking. And in truth, the same applies to Rokurō as well. I would say that if he gets far, then it will be because of his teammates."
It was harsh of him to say, but it was the truth he believed.
Having the Tamakoma newbie and Maki there will be a huge advantage. While she isn't the strongest, Hoshi is also a good person to have around. The only bad part is...
"'She will follow his pace too closely...' right? That's what you were thinking just now, wasn't it?"
"Please leave the mind reading to Michelle," he said with a head shake.
There would hardly be anyone who could figure him out as well as his cousin could. That was why he chose not to hide his own thoughts.
But that also gave way for Minoru to speak.
"I don't know about that one. When we look at things, she has a tendency to follow someone's pace, which is true, but she then starts accelerating that pace in small strides. If anything, I think she is the best person to have on a squad like that."
"That's true. We can look at her previous opponents for that."
"But with that being said..."
Lukas looked over to see Minoru giving him a smile with his brows bent.
He knew what that look was for.
"Are you sure there isn't someone else you're actually worried about here?"
.
Ah. That hit the mark, didn't it?
Minoru knew he was right the moment Lukas looked back down at the tablet.
It took a few seconds and a quick glance at Svantje before he decided to look back up.
When he did, he gave Minoru a deadpan expression.
"I'll just say...his progress has been good. The changes are clearly there."
"That's good to hear from you."
But there was more to it than that.
They all knew it.
And if I had to guess...
"I'm worried that he will revert back to how he was because of this."
That was not what he had expected to hear.
A worry like that would only come if there was a relapse at some point. As far as he knew, Takeshi had been working hard to keep up with those around him.
So why is Lukas talking like that?
"It's because of his teammates, isn't it?"
Leave it to Svantje to figure things out quickly.
Lukas did nothing to refuse her question, so that must have been it.
"You're going to use this as a test for him personally. There is no one on his squad who understands him like the people who have been helping him, so he will need to work his way through this. At the end, when this first phase is done, that's when you will decide how you feel about him, right?"
"You're not leaving me any room here... But yes, that was my plan. It may extend to the Combat Phase, but this is where personalities are tested more than fighting capabilities. Teamwork is important in both phases, but this places more of an emphasis on each person."
"I see, so that's what it is," said Minoru.
Lukas was just that kind of person. Minoru didn't criticize him or view him any differently because of this choice.
It was completely up to him.
If I did anything like that, then I would need to take a closer look at myself.
But he had a good understanding of himself at this point.
So he would leave it to Lukas to figure it out for the time being.
"Aaaaaahhhhh! My work wasn't wasted! I'm so glad that none of those idiots can participate here!"
The rest of Motoharu Squad looked unimpressed with their captain, as he threw his hands into the air.
Kasuka was the first to get done with him and kick his leg under the table.
"You have said that five times now. When are you going to shut up about it?"
"And wouldn't you prefer to mark points down from them? I would think that you would be sad about this."
"What are you talking about? This means all of the things I did against them that night made this happen."
"That would mean you had helped out the Yagura Branch Representative."
A silence fell over the room.
Kasuka and Nanamagari looked at each other with matching smiles.
If there was one person who could bring their captain back down, it was their Operator.
"Why do you like ruining my fun, Mo-san?"
"Someone has to. Especially since Senzai-kun tends to let you do whatever you want."
"That's why it's fun to be around him. Oh, speaking of which... Are you glad that your hubby isn't taking part in this exam?"
"We are not married, so please refrain from saying such pointless things."
.
Kyaa! Do we really look like that to others!? Uwah wah wah! That means we are perfect for each other after all!
Mokuromo Tatsujin felt her mind start to wander in a wonderful direction.
The only thing that brought her back down were the words from her teammates.
No, no, no! Focus here! This is a serious matter! I can think about any dates with Tekitai-san later on!
Feeling a new sense of rejuvenation, she straightened her back and stared directly at Motoharu.
"Getting back to the topic at hand. If we look at the squads, I would have to say that the one who got the worst of it would be Asano-san's Squad 13. She had all but one member of her squad forced upon her. For her to work with them in the first phase will already be challenging, but the second phase is where it will be annoying for her. They would need to have an understanding of each other and each other's skillsets to work properly."
"At least she is smart enough to figure those things out. The only thing would be that their personalities might be too much for her. I mean, Taichi is there with them."
"Hey, that's a bit harsh, don't you think?"
The way Kasuka shrugged her shoulder made Mokuromo glance her way, but she said nothing. Due to the age difference, Kasuka would know more about that than she would.
Motoharu must have been thinking the same thing since he only hummed and leaned back into his chair.
"At least she has Okkun and Kagamin with her. The two of them are used to handling troublesome people. Okkun more so since he is the same age as both Taicchi and a year older than Shirogane."
"All Asano-kun needs to do is think about things a bit harder than other squads...is what you're saying, right? I suppose that does make sense. If she is put in charge of thinking things through, then it might be better than having her go off of her gut feeling. People like her work best when they think about things more than feel them. It's a wonder that she managed to get Kotowari."
Mokuromo paused in all movement.
"It's a shame that Mizukami picked Kotowari-kun before he could be passed down to Asano-kun."
Her body tensed up, and her fingers began twitching.
"Maybe he just wanted to be a jerk to her. From what I understand, that age group is pretty bad as it is."
It all hit her at once.
Something inside finally snapped.
"She will be fine. If anything, there might even be a grudge against Mizukami because of that. Yes, she will be just fine. Having Kotowari-kun on a different squad means that she can focus on what she is doing and improve herself here. The chance has been given to her, now it's up to her to take that and find out what she wants to do."
Everything finally came out in the same professional tone she always had.
And when it did, everyone reacted.
"There it iiiiiis! Mo-san's full verbal beatdown! Mizukami is screeeeeewed!"
"Whoo! We get to watch as she has an eagle eye on him! Her Master Plan is working great!"
"Mo-san! Mo-san! Mo-san!"
Mokuromo hid behind the glare of her glasses and made sure not to show her inner feelings.
That left her to think to herself.
Mizukami, you're deeeeeead meat! Asano-san, I'm completely on your side here! How dare he take Kotowari-kun away from you like this!
"Squad 4 has Kikuchihara, so they will find a way to give him an advantage in a drawn-out battle," said Risa. "Since the fight could last up to 36 hours, it's likely they will be up battling it out at night. Continuous use of night-vision slowly drains trion, so everyone will be wary about relying on that."
"Yeah, that makes sense. If Zoe destroys the lights with his Meteora..."
"...Then Kikuchihara's special ears give him the advantage in the dark."
"They aren't the only ones who are in such a position."
"Oh? Are you talking about my pitiful student?"
Risa raised a brow that had Tōma start sweating and looking away.
Fuyushima made it a point to look away.
"I had meant Awdry. But please, tell me why you brought him up."
"O-oh... Um... Well, you see, it's because...he already showed what he can do in pure darkness...? And! And... He had Girikage on his squad! He has a Side Effect, doesn't he?"
Risa changed her expression to narrow her eyes at Tōma.
Keeping up with his neutral stance, Fuyushima looked to the ceiling in hopes that he would not be dragged into this mess.
It took a sweating Tōma and a moment of silence for Risa to finally settle down.
"I will take that answer. Just be more careful when speaking."
"Yes, ma'am!" both Fuyushima and Tōma said at once.
Time was up.
Directors Kinuta, Netsuki, and Karasawa looked over the results.
"We might have expected this, but it's clear which squads are the fan favorites to win the long-term Combat Phase. Even the ones under them are pretty even."
"For the Sealed Environment Phase, Kodera's squad, Murakami's squad, Mizukami's squad, Ariake's squad, and Kuruma's squad are expected to emerge on top. Wakamura's Squad 11 had placed exceptionally low. Those who know that Hyuse is a Neighbor have all put Wakamura's squad in last or second to last place."
"Are there any squads you've got your eyes on, Karasawa?"
Karasawa uncrossed his arms and pulled the cigarette from his mouth.
The screen showed the list of participating squads, letting him view them all numerically. The list was longer than he would have liked, but it was how it was and it could not be changed. It was also for that reason that he hummed.
"I don't know much about combat, but if we're talking about the Sealed Environment Exam... I'm looking at Suwa's Squad 7 and Ariake's Squad 15. Although, the latter is due to personal reasons, so we can exclude them."
"Then we won't ask about the latter, instead focusing on the former," said Netsuki. "But then, is that because they have Mikumo?"
"That megane really is a favorite of yours, Karasawa."
"That's not why." Karasawa shook his head. It was fair for them to assume that, but he had his own thoughts on the matter. "It's because Squad 7 is the only one...with three agents who have experience as captains. Having people who know what it's like to give orders could prove to be a huge asset."
It made enough sense for Kinuta and Netsuki.
There would be more than that reason, but it being the main one was a good enough response for them.
"Well, either way," he continued. "It's going to be a fun week."
