"Heh heh heh. I sure am popular today."

The wind blew through the air as a girl twirled in place. To anyone watching it would seem like the girl was being carried by the wind. In reality, the girl was producing the wind by twirling in a single direction.

The girl looked at her phone before only using her toes to leap across the space from the bridge railing she was twirling on to the ground below.

Instead of bracing herself for the impact, she used her toes to gently push herself before taking another leap.

She gave a spin while in the air and landed gently on the ground.

"Although, that's honestly to be expected right now. A lot of things have been happening, but I haven't been able to take part in anything. Who knew that leaving Kotowari Squad would cause me to miss out on so many things. It's really a shame."

The girl let herself be tossed to the side by her weight before stomping on the ground three times.

As if responding to her action, the nearby trees rustled in the wind and leaves were blown away.

"If I would have known that things would be this fun, I would have stayed just for the hell of it. But I guess having someone as great as me around would honestly make this all a mute point."

She clapped her hands four times and gave a "Heh heh heh" kind of laugh.

"Yes, having someone as sublime as myself would honestly cause too much of a commotion! Don't you think so, Foreign Girl and Foreign Boy?"

.

Xeno was at a complete loss for words.

The day had started out well enough, but now he was here, listening to some strange girl talk while making erratic movements.

What is she even talking about!?

The only reason he allowed this to continue on was because she had been one of the main people to take on Galopoula's Kigisa while he went to find Lilith. If not for that he was sure he would yell at her to stop her crazy behavior.

As for Lilith...

"Oh, are you someone strong!? Xeno, this girl must be a really strong person!"

"I think she's just a crazy person..."

A sudden wind blew by, but he thought nothing of it.

It was rather windy today, so he figured that it was just the natural weather for Miden. More specifically Mikado City.

Then he heard the familiar laugh and jumped when the girl was suddenly behind him.

She appeared there before I could notice!?

The wind he had thought was natural had turned out to be the strange girl moving towards him.

"If you aren't at least a little crazy then you won't last in Mikado City. You honestly need to enjoy yourself and be free to do as you like."

"Then why have I heard stories about M-... Mikado City's organization holding others down?"

"Is that how you see it?" she asked while turning him around.

When he turned around he was faced with the sight of two large objects in his face.

Feeling himself heat up a bit, he tried to push away. When doing so he noticed the direction his hands were moving.

Crap! I'm going to touch her-

"Heh heh. I know it's tempting, but your girl is standing right there."

Before his hand could touch anything, the girl had spun out of the way. With nothing to support his body, Xeno began to lean forward until he hit the ground.

He could hear Lilith moving towards him, but that laugh came again.

"Nothing to worry about, Foreign Girl. He's just getting in touch with Mikado City's ley lines."

"Ley...lines? What are those, Dancing Girl?"

"Dancing Girl? Oh, I love that! I honestly love that so much! Here, here, let's think of something else for you! You have honestly leveled up! What was your name again?"

"My name is Lilith! And this is Xeno!"

"Oh, I know about Xentaro already. I mean, just look at the way he has his face down and butt facing the sky. I already have him in so many scenarios that it makes me honestly sad my usual helpers will be gone for a while."

That cursed name had come back and struck him in the worse way.

From the ground Xeno could hear the strange girl give a hum before snapping her fingers.

"How about Licchan? No, that sounds like when I'm honestly messing with Hisa-kyun or Dai-chan... Well, for now, we can go with Lilith. Oh, and to let you know, my name is Suzumebachi. I'll be nice and not give you my stage names."

"Then can I call you Suzu?"

"Fine by me. Ken and Yuki-san do already."

The two girls laughed quietly with each other as Xeno started getting back up.

The ground was hard, so he felt he would bruise a bit from the fall.

Still...this girl isn't someone to mess with.

For many reasons, he knew not to try and fight her for real. It would only end terribly for him.

Even so...

"What was all that talk about before, strange girl?"

"Oh? Is Xentaro really that curious about me? Poor Lilith is right here, yet you turn to me. By normal standards I should have you strip and perform a Naked Dogeza. But seeing the size for myself would make the mystery vanish. So we can leave that for when there are at least five volumes of you out."

"What are you even talking about now!?"

He had lost a long time ago. There was no reason to hold back now.

I give up!

.

Suzume smiled a she pulled out her phone.

A large amount of messages from different chats had been sent directly to her.

Decoy: "Suzume! I have a problem!"

Yoshi: "I hate to bring this up with you, but..."

Simple Boy: "Misaki-san, there was something I wanted to speak to you about."

The three of them had all boiled down to the same thing.

She could understand what they were talking about and tried to give them as much help as she could whie also taking notes for her next doujinshi.

If it had just been them, that would have been fine.

But the others had soon come in as well.

Shooting Star: "Um, Suzume-senpai? I would like some advice. Could you help me?"

Izumo: "Senpai, there's something I wanted to ask you..."

Life: "Hey, Suzumeeeeee! I have some funny things to say to yooooou!"

Black Wolf: "If you have any time, there were some things I wanted to ask you about."

Eri: "I know this will come back to bite me in the butt later, but I need to talk to you about something."

Those kinds of messages had made her laugh and organize them in order of priority.

It had been the last ones that made her the most excited.

Fried Rice Queen: "We have some great material here."

Demon Child: "I get to watch things from outside, so this should be good."

Artist: "I wish I could do that, but this will also work for me."

Viper: "At least our king and queen will have time to work on things."

It seemed that everyone was getting riled up in the ways she enjoyed the most. There was something happening that she could only see from an outsider's point of view. Everyone knew that and went to her because of that very reason.

There was no need to be directly involved if she could do something for them outside of all of that.

"Heh heh. They are all such great material. But I sure will have my hands full writing up new doujinshis. I honestly don't know if I'll have time to work on my new music."

"Oh, we can help with that!"

"We can!?"

Xentaro may have been against it, but Suzume could already tell that he was a sucker for Lilith. If she were to say so, he would follow along and end up helping if he was called out for being lazy.

The situation was a guarantee when she thought about how Lukas would at least make him go buy drinks for them. During that he would think about how things would be made and watch them when he thought they would not be looking.

Good boys like him tend to all act the same.

They would say they were against it until they were dragged in.

That was why she said it out loud.

I want to work on some music while I can. But missing out on all of this material would honestly be a bad thing for me too.

These two were just people around at the perfect time.

"You don't have to do anything, Xentaro. I'm honestly sure you wouldn't understand the kinds of things that need to be done for this. Oh, but don't worry Lilith. Lu-kun and I will guide you through everything. At the start you will likely be watching us until we think you can properly start."

"Is that so? Then I will watch closely to make sure I get it right!"

"That's the spirit! Being excited to see who will end up in who and who will still have their clothes on is the essence of making a doujinshi!"

"But wait... I had heard that doujinshis are..."

Suzume crossed her arms under her chest, lowered her head, closed her eyes, and gave a grin. This was always the best part with these kinds of people.

She knew what to say.

"Heh heh heh. There's nothing to worry about. Yes... Nothing at all! This is for the writers and the people reading it! It's all about both sides enjoying everything that is created! If not for that, they would just be naked people on a piece of paper! No one wants to see male or female parts on a piece of paper without them being put to good use! With this much material, we can cover all kinds of genres! Boys, girls, and everything in between will definitely find something to enjoy here!"

Suzume pumped her fist into the air with her final shout.

That kind of rhythm was the type to draw anyone in.

Which it did.

"Yes! We will work our hardest!"


Ortlinde: "Hey, Representative. I just saw that dancer girl give a speech about some BL and GL doujinshis she is going to make. Are you going to do anything about it?"

White Fox: "What!? Um... For starters, I'm in the hospital right now. Second, it depends. Did she say anything about the ratings?"

Ortlinde: "She was saying things about nudity. Oh, she's still going while explaining it to the green haired girl. Xentaro looks like he's lost the will to do anything by this point. She's saying things about hotdogs and taco shells now. I guess she's taking in Xentaro's possible age into considerations. Aaaaaaaand she just screamed out 'GET!' while talking about three of Border's agents."

Almost Everyone: "Stop her already!"

Still Got It: "I don't see a problem with it. She's talking about things everyone her age should know by now."

White Fox: "Can you please stay out of this...?"

Still Got It: "Hey, when you watch out parents go at it at that house at least-"

"Still Got It" has been put on time out.

White Fox: "Forgetting all of that..."

Ortlinde: "You siblings are something else. And that's coming from me."

Red Sky: "What the hell is going on here!?"

White Fox: "Nothing to worry about...yet. Anyways. Shiraishi, just walk away and pretend like you never heard anything. It gives you some deniability."

Ortlinde: "Our representative sure does like to be lax about things."

White Fox: "You kind of have to be around here..."


The day was still around, but Abe Ruri knew that nightlife would start soon.

It was for that reason she walked through Mikado City's streets without a care. The wind that blew through her hair gently lifted it for a moment before placing it back down.

"They should be around here," she said while looking around.

The area was clear of people and the only sounds Ruri could hear were the trees moving in the wind and a strange girl shouting in the distance.

When she looked at her phone because of incoming messages she had found out who was doing that screaming.

Chisato is nearby, but I think she would want to go to Tatsuhito-san more than hang around here. This area is just what needs to be crossed to get to the Yagura Branch's office.

That was the only reason Ruri could think of for Chisato to be in the area by herself.

When she thought back on it, Chisato could have been enjoying the scenery. The entire area had been changed recently, so there were technically more things to see now than there had been before. Ruri herself had gotten lost in thought a few times while just walking around.

I'm sure Shuryō would have loved this place, she thought.

It was a genuine thought and not a bitter one. After everything that had happened, it would be rude of she thought like that while living in the present.

"It sure it lovely out here."

"...It really is..."

Because of the grass, the sounds of footsteps was muffled. Ruri only held her surprise because she had a feeling that there were people behind her.

And when she turned around to the voice she knew she was correct.

"Ruri-chan!"

.

Shobu made sure to stay out of the way as Natsume jumped and latched onto Ruri's shoulders. The small laugh next to him told him that he wasn't the only one amused by the situation.

"...I hope you...don't mind... ...I had met up...with them...and Amatori-san and Natsume-san...said they wanted to...speak to you..."

"That's fine with me. We always have fun as a group after all."

"Yay! Ruri-chan likes having us around!"

Natsume was still loud, but both Tomoe and Amatori made sure she would lower her voice a bit.

Ruri's laughter could be heard too, which made Shobu smile to himself.

"I had heard that something was happening, so I didn't expect to see some of you around."

"I don't know how much we can say, but we won't be around in a few days. Well, Amatori-san and I won't be at least."

"So Shobu-san isn't involved with it?"

From what he had been told, it would have been terrible if he were to partake in that kind of selection.

...People would feel like...they have to...take care of me...

Everything would be slowed down because of this and anyone he was with would be marked down. Then there were the people he knew who would probably threaten anyone if they thought something was strange.

...B-besides...I doubt I would...be chosen by anyone...

White Fox: "My Shobu Senses are going crazy right now! Who the hell said something!?"

Umi: "Speak up now and you will be let off with a standard Shinto punishment.

Spear Idiot: "Out of curiosity, what would a standard Shinto punishment be like?"

Umi: "Considering the offense... The one responsible would be spontaneously stripped in the middle of the street, forced on all fours, pelted with any nearby food, then have a nearby light pole teleported into their butt. It happens all at once, so there's no real escaping or preparing."

Daybreak: "Wouldn't the first part of that be more than enough!?"

Ortlinde: "The more I hear about Shinto punishments, the more I feel like there are less and less rules."

Iko: "Thinking there were rules to begin with was your mistake, Chisato."

Ortlinde: "I see. This was a good learning experience then."

Shinto was starting to feel more and more like a sanctuary for lunatic than an actual religion. Shobu decided to keep that to himself just in case it could be used against him.

"Shobu-san, is everything okay?"

"...I was thinking...that Shinto sure is...something..."

.

Seen Everything: "Tenryū approves of Shinto methods. Whoever did something wrong better own up before it gets worse."

TetsuG: "It was probably our student. That guy has a habit of causing problems."

Pokari: "We're still kind enough to train him, though."

Daybreak: "I-I haven't done anything to Tenryū-kun! I swear!"

Isa: "Own up now and we'll have Umi talk to the local shrine about this."

Kage: "Leave the guy alone already."

Daybreak: "Kageura-saaaaaaan!"

Shobu: "...Um...Ariake-sama hasn't...done anything to...me..."

Daybreak: "Tenryū-kun, you are right up there with some of my favorite people."

Almost Everyone: "You mean he wasn't before!?"

.

Something interesting about Border was how the members could come together in the strangest ways. That was what Ruri had learned while being given the chance to look around at the branches and the main base.

Like Chisato, she would be placed in the Yagura Branch. That much was certain. The only thing none of them knew was what position she would be given.

My mother wanted me to be an Operator, but from what Border has said...

"To think it would be this difficult."

"Everyone does like to be difficult," agreed Natsume.

Ruri blinked before registering that she had spoken out loud.

I didn't think I wasn't paying that much attention.

Back at White Rock she would always make sure to keep herself in check by making sure that her true thoughts were only in her mind. The only times they ever came out were when dealing with Musashi and speaking with Chisato.

Now that she had spent time with Border she had let her guard down to where she would absentmindedly speak her thoughts. From what she had heard, having a strong guard was needed to be in Border.

Otherwise a lot of people will tear into you while turning you in a vulgar joke.

That was rather hard to imagine when she considered the people from Border that she had met. Three of which were standing in front of her.

"...Ruri-san...?"

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking about something."

"...About you position...?"

He can still see right through me.

The one person other than Chisato to see through her completely continued to be this boy.

She could not hide anything from him.

"That's right. Sorry, Natsume-chan. I wasn't talking about people this time."

"No, no, no. I assumed you meant people. Considering the conversations we just saw..."

"No one would blame you," they said in unison.

Ruri nodded along with Natsume and Tomoe.

This was just how absorbed into Border she was.

"Akasora-san hasn't said anything about my position, even knowing what my mother has said about it. I will be officially joining the Yagura Branch soon, so I don't really know what to do about this."

"Oh, that's right, Ruri-chan is pretty important."

"Has Akasora-san said anything to you?"

"...He hasn't said...anything to me..."

That would make sense. He was bound to feel bad for Ruri and say something, so Akasora not saying anything to his nephew was the right move.

Even so, it would have been nice to know the answer for this.

Ruri heard a duo of hums and looked to see Tomoe and Natsume tilting their bodies with their arms crossed.

"The two of you really looks like some of the other members I've met."

"They really do, don't they? I have seen some of the other Snipers do the same thing."

"Is it just something to do when making a joke?"

"I wonder."

Ruri laughed alongside Amatori. The two of them had gotten along well enough that they could do this.

It was because of that casual behavior that she felt she was ready to act when a sudden sound reached them.

"Please help us, Hikigane-san!"

.

The first thing Tomoe did upon hearing the dual shouts was to check on Tenryū.

As he had thought, Tenryū was covering his ears and whimpering a bit. Unsure of what to do, he tried his best to calm him down.

From the corner of his eye he could see that Amatori had also been surprised by the shout. Standing in front of her was Abe, seeming to want to protect her.

Natsume was the only one who was relatively unaffected by the dual shouts.

"Who is yelling like that over here?" she asked while looking around.

Doing the same as her, Tomoe turned his head to see who had shouted at the top of their lungs.

When they found out who it was, it made enough sense to him.

Those guys being together is a bit much...

He was not the only one who knew them from the way Abe straightened up a bit.

"Sekai?"

The people in the distance turned at the name. When they did Tomoe could see all of them clearly.

What an...interesting trio there.

.

Ruri watched Sekai give a familiar sigh into the air. Catching his group must have done him some good since he looked relieved.

Out of the people she knew it was fair to say that he was one of the people she felt comfortable around.

But the other two people with him were new to her, making her put her guard up a bit.

"Hey there, Ruri. Amatori, Natsume. ...Tenryū, Tomoe."

"It's unlike you to say everyone's names."

"Hah. I have to say your name, and the two girls there are a special case. Since I will be learning under his uncle, directly addressing Tenryū is important. And Tomoe... Hah. He would be left out."

"You're also talking a lot more than usual."

"And I see you still speak like a boy."

"Toh!"

Ruri gave a swift kick to Sekai's shin.

Normally he would be able to dodge it in time, but there was little room to escape. To his back were the two people he was with and in front of him was her group. Moving to the sides ran the risk of going forward or backwards and moving up ran the risk of him countering.

So he had to take her kick.

"I speak in a way that works best for me. Besides, nobody else complains about it."

"That's because they think you're a boy most of the time."

"Toh!"

Ruri landed another kick to his shin.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she turned to see Tomoe pointing in a certain direction.

"Oh... I'm sorry about that, Shobu-san."

"...N-no...! ...It's fine... ...But you sure do...get along with...Hikigane-sama, don't you...?"

"Is that how you see it? Then that must be it."

While she wouldn't say they were enemies, calling them friends right now was still a reach.

At best I would say we're well acquainted allies.

That seemed good enough for both of them.

"With everything that happened concerning our promise, I would think that he would want even less to do with me."

"Hah. You're the one who called me over."

"You bring up the way I speak while being the one who got me speaking like this in the first place."

"How does that have anything to do with this? Hah."

"...Hikigane-sama, please don't...teach Schneider-san to speak...like that..."

"Oh ho? So you have another kid at the ready, do you?"

.

Yuba watched as Hikigane took a third hit to his shin. It should have been easy enough for him to dodge or counter, but he chose to take the hit.

While already having a good amount of respect for him, this only elevated his status. To take repeated hits to make sure nothing could happen to the girl in front of him spoke volumes to Yuba. Everything he knew about Hikigane was brought to the forefront of his mind.

But there was something that had him remaining silent.

The girl kicking Hikigane in the shins repeatedly.

She's strong.

The power behind her kicks was something of note, but that was not what he was focused on.

This girl is speaking to him like there's no age difference at all. They apparently know each other, so she should know about the kind of person he is. If that's the case, she's speaking to him like this while knowing what he's capable of.

It took both him and the girl next to him a few minutes to even ask for his help.

Yet here this girl was, kicking him like it was nothing.

"Hey, Yuba. I'm bad at these kinds of situations. Do we just wait it out?"

"We have to be careful here since Tenryū-san is here."

"Damn. This is why I hate being in these kinds of situations. But..."

Yuba nodded.

At first, he had gone to find Hikigane in order to ask for his help. When he had finally found him, this girl was already walking towards him. It had quickly become a race to see who could Hikigane first, and both sides seemed even. Yuba had to perform some quick footwork to make sure he wouldn't fall.

Then this girl just plowed through her rush when she fell to the ground. She's the same as ever.

It was because of that that his respect for her went up.

But when they had reached Hikigane and asked for his help it had resulted in a single word answer.

"No."

From there they had been following him around while repeatedly asking for his help.

That had led them to this current situation.

"Shigenaga, what do you think of this girl?"

"I like her. She's the kind of spirit that I'm fond of."

"I thought you liked plain people like Ariake."

"They make for good friends. But this girl is something else."

That was true. The difference between this girl and that normal boy was vast.

"...Ruri-san is well liked..."

.

Shigenaga and Yuba froze upon hearing Shobu's words. Everyone turned to look at the two of them.

The first to recover was Yuba. Coughing into his hand, he gave a deep bow in their general direction.

"Hello, Tenryū-san!"

"...H-hello...Yuba-sama... ...A-and you t-too...Shigenaga-sama..."

"Eh? Ah... Right... Hello, Tenryū. Sorry if my stupid partner did anything to you."

"...You saw those...messages then...?"

Shigenaga awkwardly nodded her head and pushed her sunglasses to hide her eyes.

Both of the straightforward duo were unsure what to do, so they shifted their gaze away.

"...Ariake-sama didn't do...anything to me... ...So there's no...reason to apologize..."

"I see... Then thank you."

"...You don't have to...thank me..."

.

Shige-ko: "Hey, how do you handle kids?"

Daybreak: "That depends. How old are they?"

Shige-ko: "However old Tenryū is."

Daybreak: "What!? Do you seriously not know! He's the same age as Tomo and Yuzuru!"

Shige-ko: "That's your group, idiot! Of course I wouldn't know that! Besides, this is the first time I've ever even been within 10 feet of the kid!"

2Truths1Lie: "Oh, my. I really didn't expect this kind of thing from Shigeko so late in the day."

One: "Really? I think it fits her pretty well! If you were to tell me she's blushing right now then I would believe it!"

Shige-ko: "I'm going to screwer you."

Feeling Alive: "Maybe one day she will reach samadhi. Oh, but then she would need to be calm enough to meditate, wouldn't she~?"

Shige-ko: "Don't be stupid. Besides, the only thing I would associate myself with would be Bishamonten."

Feeling Alive: "Why is that not surprising in the slightest!? Our very own teammate wants to be a war god!"

Shige-ko: "We aren't going to be teammates soon. So don't think of it like that."

2Truths1Lie: "Now, now. For the time being, we are still together. Please go easy on Kenzaide-kun."

Daybreak: "Um, disregarding the mental image of Shigeko going Uesugi Kenshin on us... Are you actually with Tenryū-kun right now?"

Shige-ko: "Yeah, I am. Tomoe is also here, along with Tamakoma's canon, a C-Rank, and some tough girl."

Daybreak: "Oh, that's probably Abe-san then. Anyway, there's one thing to keep in mind when speaking with Tenryū-kun. Make sure you're careful to not make sudden noise and lower any tension you have. He's actually pretty sensitive to those sorts of thing."

.

Leave it to this guy to figure that stuff out.

But...

Isn't he basically telling me not to be myself?

One: "Hey, isn't Tsu just saying that Nana should walk away from this interaction?"

Feeling Alive: "Seems that way to me!"

I hate agreeing with these two, but it's true.

She could understand why they would say that. The way Shigenaga was naturally went against what shouldn't be done around Tenryū. Honestly, it's hard for a lot of people to deal with me. That was why she was glad to have people around her who could handle her.

But this group had none of those people in it.

"Hah. That's right. Seeing Amatori and Natsume here reminds me of something."

Shigenaga was snapped out of her thoughts by Sekai's words.

She could see the group of underclassmen look at Sekai, but figured he would tell them what he meant.

"Natsume, you wanted to get in touch with the person I lost to, right?"

"Oh, did you remember who it was?"

Sekai shook his head.

Shigenaga raised a brow. While she thought it was rare for Sekai to lose to someone, she found that him not remembering who it was felt strange, yet oddly familiar.

Don't tell me...

"These two here were fighting alongside that person at the time. Hah. They could probably tell you who it was."

Shigenaga felt a familiar feeling starting to boil up.

Next to her, she could see Yuba preparing the same thing.

And that was...

"TOOOOOOH!"

.

Ruri watched it happen. The moment Shigenaga and Yuba began raising their legs she understood what was coming.

Then it finally happened.

Both of them kicked the back of Sekai's legs, sending him to the ground with a strange sound.

Even after that, they didn't relent.

"What the hell's that supposed to be about!? You don't even remember that guy firing on you!"

"This is why we decided to help him, dammit! Don't go wasting all of our effort like that!"

"You better apologize him! He worked hard for that win!"

"Even if he was harassing you, don't you think you can just forget him!"

The two of them held nothing back when they stomped on Sekai repeatedly. Their words mixed together with their hits.

In a way, she was proud of them for doing this.

But how is Shobu-san doing?

The noise and sight must have been a lot for him.

Even if he was able to handle the situation at White Rock, this was something much more mundane. Things like that tended to affect him much more than fighting Neighbors or going against one of Border's sponsors.

There had been nothing to worry about from the way the others responded. Tomoe had already covered his ears and Natsume covered Amatori's ears.

A few more seconds passed by before Shigenaga and Yuba seemed to finally run out of steam. Both of them took a step back with Yuba pushing up his glasses and Shienaga huffing into the air. Shigenaga was the first to turn to them, gesturing that they were done.

"So you want to know who beat this guy then?"

Oh, it looks like any respect she had for Sekai is out the window.

This mentioned person must have been close to Shigenaga.

"If it wouldn't be a problem."

"It's fine," said Yuba. "He's the type of person to meet new people before being problematic."

"What do you mean?"

The way Shigenaga and Yuba looked at each other was worrying, but Natsume didn't seem to back down.

"You will know when you meet him. Just make sure that there are eye witnesses around."

"Are we sure this guys is normal then...?"

"He is the most normal, forgettable, unoutstanding guy you will ever meet."

Ruri was taken aback by the sudden response from the two of them.

Not only had they not shown any hesitation in their answer, they verbally berated this person so easily.

But it also told her something about them.

"The two of you are close to this person, aren't you?"

.

To say they were close felt a bit off. Shigenaga knew they were close, but it felt wrong to think of it like that.

After all this time, it felt like there had not been that much actual distance between them from the start. At times she would try to put some distance between them, but he had always closed that easily enough just to reach her.

This was done while he was still boiling from his past.

...What an idiot. I should have been the one to go to him, not the other way around.

That may have been his way of coping with his situation and ignoring the things around him to focus on what was right in front of him.

"He really is an idiot..."

"Yes, but he's not a bad guy."

She had to agree with Yuba there.

"To answer your question," he said. "He is good friends with one of my teammates and a former teammate to someone I know, so I'm looking out for him. Besides that, like I said, he isn't a bad guy. Just troublesome a lot of the time."

"Then can I ask a followup question?" Yuba nodded to Abe. This may have been his way of apologizing to Tenryū for the shout earlier. "Was the thing you were asking Sekai for help with something that involves this person?"

Shigenaga halted in all movement.

Yuba was much more free in his actions.

"No. We were both asking him to help us, but I have my own reasons for that. We may share generally the same question, but I'm sure Shigenaga's reasoning is different from mine."

That was right. They had both asked Hikigane to help them, but she had done so because she had been uncertain of herself. Yuba knew what he was doing, but she had next to no experience concerning her situation.

But then why did she go to Hikigane?

What did she need help with again?

"I needed his help since I will be on the same team as one of his teammates. I need to know how to handle that kind of thing. I figured there was no one better than him to ask about this."

"Does this have anything to do with what's happening at Border?"

"It does. But I won't go into further detail with that."

"I was only curious, so that's fine with me."

If that was why Yuba had gone to Hikigane then there really was a big difference in their reasoning.

After all...

Why didn't I just go to him instead then?

Maybe this was her chance to actually speak with Hikigane. Something like that had always seemed impossible, but now she had a victory against him. That much would allow her to go speak with him, even if it was only for a moment.

But that felt wrong.

That may have just been an excuse she made so that she would not be bothering her partner anymore.

We had said that we would be relying on each other for things, but we will be on opposing sides this time around. Besides, he's a captain this time around. Someone who is actually in charge instead of just someone who spoke his mind. There is a lot more for him to be thinking about.

She would need to follow orders while he would need to give them out. From her own experience with him, that sort of thing was not normal for him. He had always been a follower and left the leading to those around him.

That normal boy was being placed in an abnormal situation.

If she were to go to him, she would increase that burden and weigh him down.

That was what she felt from the bottom of her heart.

But...

"Shigenaga-san, right?"

"That's right, we haven't introduced ourselves yet."

There were others who could have been in the same position.

.

Yuba nodded down to the ones standing in front of them and spoke his name.

After him, Hikigane took back up, lowered his shoulders, and gave a deep sigh.

Any remaining respect for Hikigane had already left, leaving Yuba to slap Hikigane's back.

Natsume and Tomoe watched it in amusement while Tenryū tried to calm them down.

Amatori and Abe only looked to Shigenaga, waiting for her to say something. They were in no rush and only waited silently.

What a fool... I'm seriously a fool.

Responding to this sort of thing was something anyone could do. Both the strong and weak could speak up. The normal and abnormal could both tell others something as simple as this.

Yet she had forgotten something like this.

I need to make up for this later. Thinking isn't something I need to worry about during a fight, so I started to overthink things here. We had already spoken to each other about this sort of thing after our loss in the final round.

There was no reason to be stuck to something so stupid that it would make her overthink everything.

Feeling a certain emotion start to rise to the surface, she stood her ground, held up her head, pushed out her chest, and looked at the two girls beyond her glasses. They were smaller than her, but she did not look down at them. She made sure they could see her eyes.

"I am Shigenaga Naki. All-Rounder of Meishō Squad."

.

Ruri blinked a few times while trying to register what just happened.

Once everything was properly organized in her mind, she only had one thought.

She's so cool!

Chisato was also a pretty rough girl, but she felt more like a sister than someone to actually look up to. That made it easy to speak with her, but the gap created from that sort of relationship was far different from what could come from speaking with others.

Now Ruri was seeing just how different that sort of gap was.

"Oh, looks like she finally got over whatever slump she was in. As short lived as it was."

"She probably doesn't need my help anymore, so I'll just leave that be. Hah."

Sekai was saying something strange, but Ruri understood what he meant. The girl in front of her didn't look like someone who needed help from anyone and would take on anyone who dared to think so. It was for that reason she could only stare in awe.

I've made up my mind.

"Excuse me... No, that isn't right."

Ruri lightly shook her head and resolved herself.

With a new sense of determination, she looked up to properly face Shigenaga.

"Shigenaga-san, please be my mentor!"

I don't know exactly what I want to do, but I do know that I want someone like his looking out for me. She seems the type to look out for those weaker than her, so that could also extend to him.

The boy she had gotten to know so well was strong in his own right, but she wanted him to have more people on his side.

From what she could see here, Shigenaga seemed to have someone who held that kind of position with her as well. Someone who she chose to stay by no matter what happened and who should felt the most comfortable with.

So...

"It doesn't have to be fighting, and it doesn't have to be directly, but I want to watch you and learn more things. More things that don't involve my family, the business they work for, or even Border. I'm still young, so I want to grow up to be someone who I won't regret becoming or looking back on with disdain."

"And what those around you?"

"I want to watch you as a starting point. I'll be looking out to see how others are as well, but I want to see how someone strong like you does things to see if I can't become like that."

"And what if I turn out to be a weak girl who needs the help of some completely normal, forgettable, but reliable guy? Can you say that you can watch as I get dropped down just to be picked up by some idiot who is like any other civilian in the city?"

That was the kind of person Shigenaga had by her side.

Knowing that only filled Ruri with a new sense of resolve.

"As long as it's an honestly life, that's fine. No empty word or promises. That is where I'm finding myself before even going to the starting line."

Ruri held her breath as Shigenaga's body tightened up.

Had she said something wrong? Was that sort of thing the kind of lifestyle she disliked?

"Haaaaaaaaah!"

All tension seemed to leave Shigenaga's body in a single breath. Everything from her shoulders to her legs loosened up as air was released from her mouth and nose.

Once that was done...

"Ha ha ha! That works for me! That's the best thing I could have heard as a response!"

Shiegnaga held out her hand with a grin on her face. It was unlike how she had been the entire time - stern and rough seemed to be her natural disposition.

Even so, Ruri knew that this was just another part of that. A side that showed when someone she liked came before her.

"I don't know about mentoring, there's a lot of people better than me at that sort of thing, but I'm fine if you want to watch my pathetic lifestyle go on. Make sure to learn from it, figure out who you want to be, then stick to it. Hopefully, by that point, I can get over myself and find myself with your kind of thought process. One that lets you do this and be with everyone else."

"In that case, I'll make sure to help you come along with everyone else around us. Both these guys here, and the ones who you want to stay with."

"Hah! I knew there was a reason I liked you from the start."

Ruri could freely say she felt the same way.

From the start, this rough girl was someone who seemed to be in a similar position to Ruri herself. Their circumstances were different, but the way she felt about her situation was likely the same way Ruri felt about her own.

It made things easier this way.


"With that being said... Natsume, was it? I can introduce you to the guy you were asking about. He's my teammate, so I can get in contact with him easily."

"Thanks a bunch. I really want to meet him now, if he has someone like you looking out for him."

"Just try not to hold him in high regards. That's my only warning. Just think of him like any other person around."

Someone gave a laugh into the air as they watched the interaction between the girls a short distance away.

Their back was to a tree, but they were hiding behind it so as to not be spotted by those people who were talking to each other. The light breeze that came by moved their hair, but they were still focused more on what they were hearing.

WorTri: "Is there a reason you aren't showing yourself?"

2Truths1Lie: "I suppose it makes sense that you would notice me. Being someone who is similar to Yukicchi sure has its advantages, doesn't it?"

WorTri: "I'm not that nice. He wouldn't have said anything to you."

"Fufu. That's all too true, isn't it?"

Meishō Seiji laughed into his phone before holding it out in front of him.

The image reflected on his screen was that was a group speaking with each other. Among that group was a red haired man who was glancing in his direction.

"Border has some scary people. I am sure glad I took Yukicchi's side that time. Although, it's always amusing to be on Teru-kun's side, so that was mainly my reason during that time." Seji pulled back his phone and looked directly in front of him. "Oh, and thank you for helping me find Shigeko. With Teru-kun being busy with other things, I thought it would only be right for me to check in on her."

A buzzing noise vibrated the air in front of him. The white rhinoceros beetle flying in front of him continued to flap its wings in order to stay airborne.

After another moment, the white rhinoceros beetle gently moved up and down.

"...I did this for myself as well. ...Since my main body is still organizing data, I had thought this would be a good opportunity to observe humans from a different perspective. ...This way I'll be able to input more data while everything is being organized in order to better adapt to living in Mikado City."

"If that's the case, you should take a look around Border's base more than the city itself. You normally go into the city, right? Well, there are just some things you can't understand without going to Border first. I learned that myself."

"...Is that why you made your squad?"

Seiji gave a hum into the air and shook his head.

"That was less of it being my choice. But I don't regret it. After all, Kanji-kun and Shin-kun make things lively, and Shigeko keeps everyone on track."

"...And Mitsuteru? ...You seem rather fond of him."

"Oh, that one should go without saying," he said with a slight laugh. Even if no one understood his answer he knew exactly how he wanted to answer. "Teru-kun is the most amusing person I have met so far. The contradictions that come with being around him, the way others react to him, and the way he chooses to live his life is so different from others I have seen. I really can't get enough of it. But it extends out to more than just him."

He pointed his thumb to the area behind the tree.

The white rhinoceros beetle had no reason to move, but it understood what he was doing.

"Take Shigeko for example. She seems to always be having some sort of problem because of Teru-kun. That alone is something to watch since she always seems to find a way out of it. Along with that, keeping her in place also means that Teru-kun continues to stay around. I watch over her as well because I know how the two of them are intrinsically linked to one another. That makes for such an enjoyable show."

"...Is this what humans call 'showing your true colors'?"

Seiji had to stop.

I let it slip since I had thought of this rhinoceros beetle as an object.

It had been an accident, but this white rhinoceros beetle had seen a side to him that only a few amount of people had ever seen.

"...My apologizes. ...I didn't mean to criticize you. ...I was only wondering if you are one of those types of people who hide their real selves."

"No reason for that. I suppose I have been acting up recently. My innermost thoughts are surfacing more and more lately. Likely due to everything that has been happening recently."

There was no doubt that being with Border for long had softened his mental guard. The one he had once placed on himself so he could not be taken advantage of while working as an actor. The same mental guard that he used to maintain himself while around his own squad.

That side that's unguarded and instead locked away is still as nasty as ever. It's better if I make sure the lid to that is kept on tight. Letting some of my thoughts out is fine, but I need to continue playing my part with everyone else. That way we could all enjoy ourselves.

The white rhinoceros beetle continued to gently bob in the air while Seiji thought to himself.

There was nothing familiar about it, but the movement calmed him down enough to focus back on the conversation.

"Well, I have done my part here. Shigeko seems fine now, so I will be leaving. What will you be doing?"

"...There are still others that I want to observe. ...Do you have any recommendations? ...I can fly fast, so distance is no issue, and my main body is still updating, so I have no reason to return just yet."

Seiji thought about everyone he knew. A lot of them would likely be fighting or doing something that was not worth watching. A lot of people on that list were also the type to move around too much, meaning he had little idea where they could be at the moment.

Doing a second check, he began narrowing down the options until he finally found something that could work.

"It would take you to the base, but you could try Ikoma Squad. When choosing our squads earlier, there seemed to be some issue with Satoshi-kun picking Kotowari-kun to be on his squad. I would love to know what is happening, but I don't have the time for that. But maybe you could pick up something useful from that."

"...I see. ...Then I will be off."

"I hope you enjoy yourself there."

Seiji took one final look at the group a short distance away before turning away and beginning his walk home.

This lid of mine may come undone with someone like Abe-chan around Shigeko when we are also around.