Mature Woman: "1000 meters left until the target place."

Tachikawa Kei, Kazama Sōya, Tōma Isami, as well as two members of Miwa Squad all continued to run through the street to get to their destination. They were not alone. There were six other people with them.

The first one was the Shooter of Tachikawa Squad - Izumi Kōhei.

After him were the two other members of Kazama Squad - Kikuchihara Shirō and Utagawa Ryō.

Lastly was the full Bakuto Squad which consisted of their All-Rounder captain - Bakuto Denji. The Shooter - Yamamoto Yorushi. The Sniper - Akakami Mori.

Each one gave off a certain vibe that ranged from Denji having an appearance of a casino dealer to Yorushi who looked like a master librarian.

All of these agents were some of Border's best. The only way to take them down would be to send out ones who were just as strong as they were, if not stronger. What was more was that they were on a mission where they did not have to hold back on.

Some of them would not have held back no matter what they were told.

"Hey, hey, Miwa, you should take it easy. You'll just get worn out."

Miwa gave a small glare to Tachikawa, who was behind him and speaking in an overly relaxed way.

Mature Woman: "500 meters left until the target place."

"Wait!"

Doing as commanded, all of the moving agents stopped in their tracks and looked forward.

A lone figure stood a bit further up the street with their hand on what seemed to be a black handle that was at their side.

"Jin...!"

"I see, so you saw it coming, huh?"

"It's been a while, Tachikawa-san."

Jin faced forward, not seeming to be affected by the large amount of A-Ranks before him.

"Where are you all headed together?"

An unwelcome silence fell over them all.

They each knew how strong the opposing side was, so they did not want to make any mistakes. Even the ones that would normally rush in stayed in their place.

"Oh, it's been a while Jin-san. Why are you here?" said Tōma, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Yo, Tōma. How is your captain doing?"

"Our captain is a bit sick at the moment."

"Don't go on about unnecessary things, Tōma."

Tachikawa straightened up a bit as he gave his usual calm and smug expression.

He already knew how Jin was, so there was no reason to worry about being attacked before attacking.

He would use the time as he wished.

He would see how things turned out before they began.

"For you to have lied in wait for us here means you also know what our intentions are, right?"

"You've come here to stand in the way of my cute little kōhai's training, right? Recently, they've been progressing well, so I'd like you not to bother them."

"Impossible... But you knew I'd say that, right?"

Jin answered back as he calmly put his hand closer to the black hilt at his side.

"I have no other choice then. As a Talented Elite, I have to protect my cute kōhai."

Seeing this, Tachikawa shifted a bit while the others got ready for a fight behind him.

"What's with you, Jin? You're unusually forceful."

"'Except for mock battles, fights between fellow Border agents are strictly forbidden'," said Kazama. "Are you prepared to receive a severe punishment for this violation on the Squads Duty Regulation, Jin?"

"If you want to use those arguments, then I'll say that my kōhai is a legitimate Border agent. In that case, what you're about to do can also be considered a violation, Kazama-san."

"...!"

Kazama was rendered speechless and had no comeback for that.

In a sense, Jin was in the right, meaning that they really could not do much against him.

While on the other hand Miwa was ready to answer.

"A Border agent...!? Don't be ridiculous! You're giving refuge to a Neighbor!"

"There's no rule that Neighbors can't join Border. He applied through official channels, and now he's 100% an agent. Nobody could argue with that."

"That's where you're wrong, Jin. He's not an official member yet." Tachikawa never lost his smug look, even as he spoke to the Black Trigger user. "Even if Tamakoma filed the paperwork... Until Official Enlistment Day... HQ won't recognize him as an agent. For us, until January 8th... Your new charge is just a stray Neighbor. I have no problem with bringing him down."

"Don't get in our way, Jin. There's no point in fighting you. We're going to continue our mission. The power balance between HQ and its branches aside... As Border agents, we can't allow a Neighbor with a Black Trigger to be running around freely. Commander Kido will get Tamakoma's Black Trigger under HQ's control. Or will you use your Black Trigger to declare war on HQ?"

"Kido-san has his reasons, but so do we. It might be just a Black Trigger to you guys, but it's more important than life itself for its owner. I don't intend to declare war, but I can't just hand it over."

"So you insist on resisting... I'm sure you know, but teams picked for away missions are selected for their ability to stand up to Black Triggers. Other people might be a different story. But do you really think you can win by yourself against us?"

"I'm not that arrogant. I know what the away teams can do. You've also got A-Rank Miwa and Bakuto squads with you too. Even with my Black Trigger, I'd be outmatched. ... That's if I were by myself of course."

"Finally?"

Bakuto Denji walked forward with a grin in place. He had kept his mouth shut for the whole time, but was ready to take action as well.

"S' th'se pl'yin' Hide-'n-Seek 're f'n'lly r'dy t' pl'y Tag?"

As he spoke, Denji took small glances to the right and left.

When he looked to the sides so did the others. They heard repeated "thud" sounds that came from the rooftops near them.

The ones who landed on the roofs spoke in unison.

"Arashiyama Squad-"

"Tsukiko Yuki-"

"Hatohara Squad-"

"Reporting!"

"Under order from Director Shinoda, we're here to assist the Tamakoma Branch!"

The #5 A-Rank Squad, the recently promoted A-Rank, and the already A-Rank who could both keep up well with any high ranking A-Ranks. Seeing the group, most of the HQ A-Ranks were more alert.

Looking from Arashiyama Squad to Yuki and Minoru, Tachikawa spoke with a bit more urgency.

"They formed an alliance with Director Shinoda... As well as getting Yuki to tag along."

The ones on the roof jumped down and landed by Jin. They apologized for the tardiness, but were told not to worry.

"We were ordered to come here. That's all it was."

"Be careful there, your tsundere side is showing, Kitora."

"I'm not-"

"Now, now. Mino, please stop teasing her. Kitora, there's no need to hide your tsun side."

"I'm not-"

How easily Yuki waved off the girl was a bit frightening.

Jin turned to the group of A-Ranks.

"With them, my side will win. That's what my Side Effect tells me. I don't want to pick a fight with HQ either. I hope you'll withdraw. Tachikawa-san."

"I see. So that's how things will be going."

Tachikawa pulled out one of his blades as he spoke.

Everyone around him prepared themselves.

"I haven't seen you serious in a while. This is interesting. You know... I've always wanted to prove that precognition of yours wrong."

"I thought you would say that."

.

Whether it was a small movement or a step forward, every agent there got ready for the inevitable battle. They were all strong in their own right, but as two groups they could make any opponent stake a few steps back in worry.

After a few seconds they all went into action.

Kazama Squad ran forward with blades in their hands while Arashiyama Squad brought up their guns.

They fired their shots, but were blocked by the Shields brought up.

Being the closest one forward, Utagawa brought out a small blade and lunged towards Jin.

A simple attack like that was nothing for the S-Rank agent to think about.

Jin dodged the strike and shifted his legs. He was able to get Utagawa off balance, making him start to fall. He brought up the green blade in his hands and brought it down.

Utagawa, seeing the attack coming, brought up his own short blade. The easily created blade shattered the moment the two connected. The agent himself also got a cut running down his body.

Jin did not waste any time in his next move.

He brought Fujin back up.

Tachikawa came down on Jin with one of his blades in hand. He was blocked and pushed back a bit. From his peripheral vision he saw Yuki come from the side with his hand on his blade.

Denji ran forward from behind Tachikawa and mimicked Yuki's attack, sending the whole group into the air.

Arashiayama finished this portion of the fight by firing off a Meteora shot at the opposing side.

Jin, Yuki, Minoru, and Arashiyama Squad landed on one of the empty houses before moving back and making a large distance between them all.

"... Th's 's gettin' kin'a b'rin' n'w."

"Denji, please stop speaking and focus on the fight at hand."

Tachikawa ignored the other two as he started to speak.

"With them all together, it's hard to get them."

"Jin hasn't used Fujin once. He's conserving trion."

Narasaka said nothing and looked around the area with a critical eye.

Bamboo Sniper: "They knew who they were going against. So where are the snipers? Without their positions..."

.

Denji lazily looked around the area before walking over to his Shooter. He grabbed Yorushi by the shoulder and whispered something into his ear.

Yorushi took a glance behind them and nodded his head. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as cubes of trion appeared around him like a double helix. The cubes of trion flew through the air in one particular direction.

The other A-Ranks turned around to see someone jump into the air. The person in question was a B-Rank captain with black hair with the tips being white.

Miwa seemed to have some kind of soft spot for the boy since all he did was tell the boy to leave instead of attacking him in any shape or form. Narasaka was in the same boat since he lowered his gun a bit.

That simple command from Miwa seemed to make the Hogo Squad Captain freeze.

They could all see his hand start for the blade at his hip, but no one actually did anything to defend or dodge.

"You have no business being here," was all that Yorushi said as he pushed up his glasses.

Oshiro went wide eyed when he was quickly filled with multiple holes from behind.

Cracks started appearing on his body as he gritted his teeth. A cube of trion appeared next to him and fired off multiple shots before he turned into light and flew off towards Border's base.

The A-Ranks didn't seem to see this as a threat since they all moved away to dodge the shots aimed at them.

As if what just happened was like a bug going near their faces, they got back on the topic of the fight.

"Kazama-san."

Everyone's attention turned to Kikuchihara, one of the members of Kazama Squad.

"Can't we ignore them and go after the Black Trigger? At least just our team?"

"Kizaki and the others will be at Tamakoma. It's dangerous to divide our forces."

"Hm. Coul' jus' leave i' up t' ma team. We c'n take 'n T'm'k'ma."

Tachikawa ignored the fellow A-Rank again as he started to speak. He never bothered much to listen to the other in the first place.

"Miwa. Are Yoneya and Kodera here yet?"

"They'll be here soon."

"Izumi. Me, Kazama Squad, Bakuto Squad, and the three snipers will work together on an all-out attack to get Jin. You work with Miwa and Yoneya to stall Arashiyama Squad, Yuki, and Minoru."

"Roger."

"Hm~"

Denji walked next to Tachikawa and gave a bored look in no particular direction.

"Ya c'n use Yoru 'n Mowai all ya wa't 'n h'w'v'r ya wa't, bu' 'm g'nna take 'n th' tw' sin'le 'nes."

"Denji. Now isn't the time for-"

"No. That's fine. He'll hold off Yuki and Minoru. Yamamoto, you stay with us."

"...Understood."

Meanwhile, Jin, Arashiyama Squad, Yuki and Minoru were on top of a roof to figure out what their next move would be.

Yuki looked over at the flash of green light that flew through the sky. A frown was etched onto his face.

Shiro just Bailed Out...

He worried about the younger one for that fact.

"They'll probably split us up next."

Yuki turned back to the others that were there.

"Then what?"

"No problem. Having you take care of a few of them will make it a lot easier for me." Jin turned to Arashiyama and said, "I wish Kazama-san would go after you, but he'll probably come after me."

"If someone's going to try to stall us... It'll probably be Miwa Squad. Miwa-senpai has his Lead Bullets like Minoru-senpai. They plan to stall us if they can't beat us."

"If we can, we should pretend to get spilt up and lure them into our formation."

"Good idea. We'll coordinate with the snipers and engage them."

Yuki looked off to the side and gave a small nod.

He turned to the others and started to speak.

"Suzu-chan's meeting up in a bit. We can leave the snipers to her. That being said, I'll take on Denji and stall him out. That guy is troublesome at times like these since he's indiscriminate on who he attacks. Knowing him... He'll probably leave behind Yamamoto and Akagami-chan to work together with either Miwa Squad or the ones going after Jin-san. I'll just lure him into the wire zone Shiro had set up before we got here."

"I'll help out Loki and take Denji out. After that we'll go help you out, Mr. Elite."

Minoru spoke as he held his hand to his ear.

"Nikko-chan, you also help out Arashiyama Squad."

Detective Sniper: "Roger~"

"Great. With Suzume-chan helping out as well, we won't have too much to worry about concerning sneak attacks."

"Here they come."

Arashiyama Squad jumped down to face their opponents while Jin went the other way and was facing Kazama Squad and Tachikawa.

Yuki and Minoru circled around and kept their eyes locked on Denji.

.

Just as he landed, Jin brought his Fujin up and blocked an attack from Tachikawa.

He brought his blade back up to block an incoming attack from Kazama.

He bent back and dodged the two Scorpions that came from Kazama's arm.

He twisted his body so that the three bullets aimed at him would miss.

Old Temple: "We're not hitting him, Narasaka-senpai!"

"Just keep shooting. Jin-san's Side Effect is Foresight. Nothing can be done. Don't think of it as trying to hit him. We're limiting his mobility. We're overwhelming him with constant bombardment."

He heard a sigh on the other end and already knew who made it.

"Tōma-san, why don't you shoot for once?"

Isa: "Me? How can I shoot when I know it won't hit? My pride as a Sniper won't allow it. 'Nothing can be done'? That's how you end up being second best forever. I'm going to join Miwa. You take care of Jin-san."

"What!?"

Kōgetsu: "It's fine, Narasaka. Tōma will be more useful that way. But I can't afford to lose you guys too."

"What are you honestly whispering about? Well, I suppose it honestly doesn't really matter. I'm gonna end this quickly."

Narasaka went wide eyed when he heard the voice. He then heard the sound of a shot being fired while moving out of the way from a strike to the head.

Kōgetsu: "Narasaka, what happened?"

"An extremely annoying opponent has just joined the fight."

He looked forward and saw Suzume standing where he was while holding a Lightning in one hand and something on her middle finger of the opposite hand. He gave a small glare at the girl and the Scorpion that was wrapped around her middle finger.

"Well that's not a very nice thing to say. Honestly," she said with a grin on her face. "I feel bad for shooting Shōhei-kun like that, but I have no problems stabbing you in the face."

Old Temple: "I'm sorry, Narasaka-senpai, I didn't see her shot coming until the last second."

"It's fine. If you saw it before it hit you then it wouldn't have been an attack I'm use to fending off. Although..." Narasaka kept his eye on the hand that had Scorpion on it. "The fact she brought out her blade... Being an Attacker-Sniper is fine and all, but the way you fight by swinging those around is what pisses me off the most."

"And your point?"

"I've always thought you were a disgrace to Snipers and hate your style."

Narasaka let out a sigh and stood up straight.

"Looks like I've got no choice. Akagami isn't close enough for me to make an escape so... Bail Out!"

He turned into light and shot towards the Border Headquarters.

Narasaka opened his eyes to see the light from the room in his eyes. He let out a sigh and got up from the mat he had landed on.

He walked over to where Kodera and Tsukimi were sitting by the monitor.

"Not only did Tsukiko join in but so did she... Well, I suppose we are technically lucky that Kotowari and Awdry aren't there. That would cause too much of a commotion."

"But can't Misaki take them down too?" Shōhei asked, confused as to how there would be much of a difference.

"Not particularly. Most know that a Shield is useless against her, but they also know that it's actually easy to dodge her shots. Her use of Lightning is why she's a good Sniper, but her blade is what makes her a slightly better agent."

"Her blade?"

"Right, I forgot you haven't seen it yet," Narasaka turned and looked at the screen with an irritated expression. "That blade is what pisses me off the most about her."

Denji stayed back a bit and watched as the fight against Jin went on.

He did not have a sense of urgency about him.

He was the type of person who would switch sides on a dime simply because they offered him his favorite snack. While being on the side of Border, he was also not ranked or in any factions, that gave him the chance to fight anyone and everyone.

This was why two specific people were going to fight him.

He could see his team's Shooter glance back at him as small cubes of trion floated around him like a double helix.

"..."

Glancing to the side, Denji brought up his blade to block a strike from Yuki. Neither one really seemed to be putting much force behind their swords so it was hard to gauge exactly which one had the upper hand here.

Yuki did not relent and went for more strikes, but was blocked.

A cube of trion appeared next to him and split up before heading towards Denji.

For his part, Denji jumped back and dodged the shots fired.

He knew that there was a certain opponent that would be as difficult to deal with in a situation like this. The combo his two opponents could make was one that would be difficult for even other A-Rank agents.

So he just waited.

He did not have to wait long though as something invisible smashed into his stomach and sent him flying.

Yuki jumped down from one of the roofs and faced Denji with his blade in hand.

"L'ks l'ke I g't ta pl'u w'th ya tw'."

Yuki and Minoru gave small glares to the older man and got ready for the fight. Regardless of if they hated his guts, the two were still on guard.

Denji is still an A-Rank after all.

"Alright. Mei-san, should I help Jin-san or Arashiyama Squad?" Suzume asked as she looked at the fight between Jin and his opponents.

Wisteria: "If you could try and take out Tōma-kun, that would be helpful. With him around, Miwa-kun and Izumi-kun don't have to worry about Arashiyama's teleportation as much as they should. Before that though, I would suggest finding a way to deal with Akagami-chan. If she finds you then Yamamoto could also be an issue for you."

As she jumped from the roof, Suzume looked around to try and find her fellow Sniper.

She knew Radar was useless since Akakami had put on Bagworm.

"...Jin-san, you mind if I go help out Arashiyama Squad? I'm sorry to leave Akagami for you to deal with, but I honestly don't think there's much I can do about her."

2.7 Maime: "Go ahead. I've got things here."

I might as well leave a little something for them.

Suzume brought up her Lightning and pointed it at one of Jin's opponents and fired.

Sorry about this, Yamamoto-san.

She gave a satisfied grin as the target's head was shot and ended up in a Bail Out.

2.7 Maime: "Thanks for that."

"No problem. See ya later."

Suzume turned and started for where she was told Arashiyama Squad was.

Before she could make any distance she tumbled down the roof of the building and quickly made her way inside.

She clicked her tongue as a larger shot destroyed the wall closest to her.

Staying in the room would mean her loss, so getting out was the best course of action at the moment.

"Sorry, Suzume-chan, but I need to take you out."

"You are honestly not sorry..."

Before the fight could continue any longer, something sped through the air and pierced through Akagami's head. She quickly turned into light before flying off in the direction of the Border base.

"Thanks for that, Nikko-chan!"

Detective Sniper: "No problem."

Suzume put away her Scorpion and tried to stay out of clear view. As she got closer to the spot where Arashiyama Squad was having their battle, there was a flash that sped by and two more Bail Outs.

She automatically pulled up her Lightning.

She looked through and saw Tōma in a building.

She stopped where she was, focused in on him and fired a shot right after the one that had taken a part of his arm before going on the move again.

"I was only able to get his leg. Damn. That was honestly a pretty bad shot."

#5 Mountain: "Ken, Suzume, Nikko. Still there?"

Twin-Snipe: "Yup. Inconspicuous and everything."

Detective Sniper: "Yeah, I'm here. I got my arm shot off though."

"Yeah. I'm headed your way right now."

Twin-Snipe: "Nice shot, by the way, Suzu-chan. You too, Nikko-chan."

"Thanks, Ken-kun. But honestly, you haven't done much, have you?"

Twin-Snipe: "There's no line of fire! Tōma-san's edging this way too!"

"We were able to get a shot on him."

Detective Sniper: "We were able to get a shot on him."

Suzume could hear her best friend groan as he was getting teased by bother her and her fellow female Sniper.

#5 Mountain: "Ken, increase radar precision for ten seconds. I'd like to know exactly what they're doing."

Twin-Snipe: "Roger!"

#5 Mountain: "They're heading for Jin."

Twin-Snipe: "That's Miwa-senpai and Izumi-senpai. Tōma-san's wearing a Bagworm, so we can't tell."

Detective Sniper: "It's a trap."

"In that case, I could just use a certain something to blast both of them away."

Suzume stopped running and waited. Her stance wasn't one that showed she was on guard, but rather that of someone just waiting for their order.

Twin-Snipe: "Are you crazy!? Do you want to blow us away too!?"

#5 Mountain: "No, it's better if you save that for another time, Suzume. Not to mention I doubt Yuki gave you permission to use it."

Suzume flipped her hair and let out a huff.

She had wanted to use her best move, but Arashiyama was right about her not getting permission to use it. She listened to the plan they had come up with and let out another huff.

Honestly... Just let me have some fun.