What day is it again...?
Kotowari Takeshi let out a groan as he sluggishly sat up on his bed. He took a look around his room to see a plain room with the only thing really sticking out being the four bookshelves that surrounded and took up the space in the room. Each one was filled with different kinds of entertainment.
Letting out a sigh, he got out of his bed and made his way to the bathroom that was connected to his room. As he got ready for the day he remembered that it was Enlistment Day for the newest Border recruitments.
Some of those people involved would be the newest members of the Tamakoma Branch. The same ones they had gone to see before, and who Yuki had told him to keep an eye out for.
It was the only reason he had bothered to get up for it at all.
I would rather talk more with Yuki-senpai, but I guess I should go over since he had asked me to.
His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door and a voice calling out form the other side.
"Hey Take, you ready yet!? We're gonna be late if you don't hurry up!"
Takeshi let out a second sigh when he heard the voice of his teammate just outside his room.
He had never liked the fact his apartment room was right next to Toby's, but Yuki had said it would be better if the two lived close to each other.
The only other reason he was fine with this was because he would usually make the dog-boy cook for him or use his bath so he wouldn't use his own water.
Taking a look at the time, he found that what the dog-boy was saying was true.
Being late to something Yuki had asked him to do was not something he was keen on doing. So with a quick change of clothes, he wrapped his scarf around his neck before moving towards the door.
When he opened the door, he came face-to-face with an irritated Toby and simply turned around to lock his door. When that small task was done, he walked past his teammate and headed towards the Border base.
.
"You know you could at least say 'good morning,' or something," Toby said as he put his hands in his pockets.
"Why would I do that? I don't particularly care about you or the morning."
"(You're a real jackass, you know.)"
"Don't know what you said and don't really care."
Toby clicked his tongue as he started to fall behind Takeshi.
Takeshi couldn't help but sigh and give a small prayer to let his day go smoothly. The other reason he had bothered to go was because Yuki had told the whole squad that he had something important to tell them.
Slightly speeding up his pace, Takeshi ignored his teammate in favor of thinking about how well the C-Ranks would do.
"Hey, do you remember what your time was when they tested you?" asked Toby, easily keeping pace with his teammate.
Contrary to popular belief, Toby did not actually hate Takeshi.
The Shooter's attitude irritated him, but Toby could always admit that he was impressed by the other's power and fighting skills. What he would neveradmit was that he also admired Takeshi for always staying calm and never seemed intimidated by anyone. Even when facing an irritated Mei, the boy seemed to be calm and collected.
"I think it was... Two minutes."
"Damn. That's not too bad. I've heard that Ai finished in nine seconds. Is that true?"
"Yeah. Kitora-san got nine seconds, and Kuroe at eleven seconds." Takeshi took a sideways glance at Toby and continued on saying, "If I remember correctly, you finished in fifteen seconds and Suzume-senpai made it in around a minute and a half."
"Yeah. Not my best time, but that was my first time... Wait, Suzume did that too!?"
"It was when she tried out as an Attacker. After a week or so she started up with sniping."
"Hey, hey, do you know what Yuki's time was?"
"...No... No, I don't know. I had asked him before, but he quickly changed the subject."
As the second member Yuki had allowed on his squad it was a bit of a wonder that he had not known something as simple as that.
There was just nothing there that could tell him something like that. Both Yuki and Mei had kept quiet about their own enlistments.
"Now I'm wondering what his time was..."
"I'm going to do some training. Shun should be around, so I'll go find him."
"You do that. Don't forget, Senpai said to meet him after we're done here."
"Yeah, yeah. See ya later."
Once his teammate was out of his sight, Takeshi let out a sigh before muttering to himself.
"Same age my ass. He's gotta be at least five years younger..."
Deciding that there was no reason to focus anymore on the dog-like boy, Takeshi started to make his way towards the area where he knew the testing would be conducted.
His own time in Border had been rather lackluster compared to what he had heard, so watching others get their hopes up sounded rather dull.
Even so, he had been asked to do this by his captain. If not for that fact, he would have liked nothing more than to do nothing for the entire day.
But here he was, ignoring the obligatory greetings he was getting while moving close to the wall of the Border base. If he would be getting these greetings so often then it was better to just ignore them and be on his way.
Most of them are boring as it is. Any of them who manage to catch my interest are usually snuffed out once I ask either the mutt or Suzume-senpai about them.
There had been many people who had been viewed as special by him, only to end up being nothing more than normal people who showed nothing but normal lifestyles.
Those people held no value to him.
So when one did appear before him...
"Good morning, Takeshi."
He would make sure to keep an eye on them.
"Hello, Lukas."
.
Lukas fixed his glasses as he greeted the Tsukiko Squad Shooter.
The way the boy had been keeping close to the walls while he walked had started gaining some unwanted attention from those around him. The people around had begun to speak badly about him due to his seemingly rude behavior towards everyone.
They were quickly silenced by a well placed glare.
Now that he stood in front of Takeshi, he could see that the boy actually had a destination in mind as he walked.
"So where are you going? Your squad has the day off, so it's kind of strange to see you here without your teammates."
"I'm here to check out the new recruits."
"...For your captain, right?"
Takeshi nodded in conformation.
Lukas inwardly sighed at that.
Minoru-nii-san and Svantje are fine with the guy, but there's no way I can trust him.
While he was friends with Takeshi, Lukas found it hard to like the other boy's captain.
Everything about him seemed to contradict another part of him. His words were lacking in any sort of impact, and his expressions were all false ones he would put on in front of everyone else.
That was what he had thought whenever around the older boy.
But...
His squad is too attached to him to see that. Well, all except their Operator. Suzu seems to be aware of it to some extent, but she is also pretty attached to him.
If something were to happen to that older boy, there was no doubt that his squad would be up in arms.
It was a worrying thing for people like him who saw things for what they were and would speak up about it.
But for now...
I'll see where things go. I don't want to make any decision that causes more trouble than necessary.
With that decided, he focused back on Takeshi.
He had been about to speak up when Takeshi took the initiative by fixing his scarf.
"I heard that someone you might know is also taking part in enlistment."
The only way he could know is by his captain.
But he did not deny it.
"That's right. I won't give all of the details, but I can say that someone who is being added to our squad will be taking the test today. They have been training due to being placed on our squad, so I expect they will do fine."
"So I will see them when I go over there."
"That's right. Look for Takahashi Maki and you will have that person. He will probably be hard to miss."
"Is that so."
The fact it had not been a question did not go by Lukas, but it had always been best to ignore that as nothing more than the other boy understanding the situation.
"By the way, do you know if Suzu will be over where the Snipers are testing? There are some things I need to go over with her."
"I would assume she would be over there. She didn't sign up to help with the testing, but Yuki-senpai likely told her to look over there too. One of Tamakoma's recruits is going for a Sniper position, so that would be the reason for sending her."
"If I remember right, and from what Svantje told me, the ones helping out over there are Ken, Tetsuji, Mitsuteru, and Azuma-san. Yeah, that sounds like a group she would want to be around."
"...?"
It was not often that Takeshi expressed his confusion, so when he did so by tilting his head it had put Lukas a bit off balance.
What made it more strange was that he had not said anything out of the ordinary.
So then why did he look confused.
"Lukas... Can you go over that list again?"
"Sure...?"
But why...?
Taking a breath, he made sure to enunciate enough that there would be no mistaking his words.
"The ones who are assisting with the Sniper training are Ken, Tetuji, Mitsuteru, and Azuma-san."
"...?"
"Okay, what don't you get there?"
"I heard you right, that much is certain. It's just... Who is that third person?"
"...Huh?"
That was unexpected.
It would not have been strange for people to be unfamiliar with others they had not interacted with, but appearing so confused by that made everything feel off.
Takeshi only made it more strange by seeming to think about the name while also appearing to not care about it.
So...
"Well... You should be going now. The training has already started. If you want to catch any of them in action, it would be best for you to go watch now."
"Right..."
Lukas moved to the side so that Takeshi could walk passed.
As he did so he made sure to get a good look at the younger boy's expression to see that it had not yet changed.
What was that about...?
"Suzu-chan, you know I like having you around, but this is just some testing for the new recruits. You don't have to be here."
"Heh heh. I know that, Ken-kun. But I honestly made a promise to check things out today. Besides, after what I had to help you guys with, I want to make sure everything is fine with you guys."
Satori wanted to give a laugh in response, but it was hard to find humor in the current situation.
Having Suzume around was indeed something he would not pass up under normal circumstances.
The issue came in the way she normally went about doing things.
If she gets too into this, or gets too excited, she will start barging in when we need to explain something. And more than that...
Looking over his shoulder, he made eye contact with Arafune before looking over to the side.
TetsuG: "So how are you going to deal with her?"
Why does it have to be me!? You can come and help at some point, you know!?
But that would be expecting too much from someone from the most cannibalistic age group Border had.
So instead, he looked over to Azuma.
First Sniper: "Sorry, but that is on you."
Azuma-san!
There was only one hope, but...
Daybreak: "Sorry Satoken, you know I can't deal with that squad. Also..."
Yeah, yeah, you don't need to say it.
It was likely that Suzume had not even noticed the presence of the other B-Rank Sniper there.
Relying on him here would do nothing for all of them.
So it only left Satori to deal with the situation before him.
Thankfully they're all practicing before we go over the different Triggers. If I can just get her to at least move to the back, we should be good to go.
Twin-Snipe: "Right! I've got this! But I want some compensation for this later!"
TetsuG: "Your compensation will be that you get to talk more with her."
First Sniper: "I'll take us out for some BBQ later. Sounds good?"
Twin-Snipe: "Azuma-saaaaaaan!"
Daybreak: "Wouldn't giving him a reward for the girl he's attached to just make matters worse? If anything, he should be the one paying for it."
First Sniper: "Then how about I drive us there and he pays?"
Don't do this to meeeeee! It's not my fault that Suzu-chan is like this!
But it was and he knew it.
Daybreak: "Sounds good to me."
TetsuG: "Mitsuteru, this is why you're my second favorite student."
Daybreak: "That doesn't actually mean much, all things considered..."
It served him right for turning things around like that.
Sometimes it was worrying how much others were effected by the cannibals who attacked every chance they got.
"Ken-kun, I won't comfort you when you're crying if it's honestly for a stupid reason."
"Yeah... I know... The world is just that kind of cruel..."
Takeshi held his scarf to his mouth as he entered the room containing the training rooms.
The sound of people fighting could be heard, along with some murmurs here and there. Nothing of note had been going on from what he could above it all.
"Oh, Kotowari."
Hearing his name be called, he looked over to see Kitora and Mikumo standing off to the side.
He began to make his way over to them while glancing down to see who would be next. What he saw was an orange haired boy step into the training room. The way he held himself without any obvious blade or gun told Takeshi all he needed to know.
A Shooter. I'm guessing that's the Takahashi person Lukas was talking about.
The orange haired boy began his test by creating a cube of trion.
The cube split into four as he ran to the side.
Each one of the cubed bullets were fired as he moved.
One of them had caught the edge of the Bambster's mouth as a second one got it's head. The remaining two had gotten closer to the mouth, but did not reach the core.
But that had been enough for Takeshi to figure it out.
That was a Free Viper. The attacks were too different, but also accurate to be the simple patterns most people use. I see, so this guy is able to do that much.
"He's a Shooter like me and Kotowari...-san."
"There's no need for the honorific, Mikumo," said Takeshi, reaching them with a few steps.
Kitora gave him a nod that he returned.
The two of them must have been here the whole time from how they were relaxed against or near the railing.
This guy... I would have come earlier if I had known that Kitora-san would have this free time.
But that was just how things were.
There would be more chances.
For now...
"The fact he can fire a Free Viper like that means he's probably one of the more skilled ones here."
"I don't know what the reason was, but Takahashi-senpai was sent to the Tamakoma Branch for a bit to train. He looked really skilled when we fought him at times."
"He will be joining Hatohara Squad, apparently."
The click of a tongue got both boys' attention.
Kitora had her face turned to the side and a bitter expression placed on her face.
"Kitora-san?"
"It's nothing. I just remembered all the times Hatohara-senpai teased me. It was annoying."
Takeshi looked over to Mikumo to see that he also understood that she probably deserved that teasing.
Even he would admit that she could be much at times.
"In any case..."
Looking back down, he saw the orange haired boy finally land a direct hit on the Bambster's core, making it go down.
A voice came over the loudspeaker that told them the time they could already see. Both Takeshi and Kitora recognized the voice right away.
Mystery Smoker: "57 Seconds."
.
"That sounds about right if he is going to be joining Hatohara Squad."
Takahashi had mentioned that squad when he had been over at the branch office, but knowing who they were was far different from them being mentioned.
There was still a lot about Border that Mikumo found he had no clue about.
It had only been recently that he had been told about the account he could make for the chat Border had. A squad captain by the name Suzaku Kasumi had been the one to assist him in dealing with that issue.
But from what I've heard, it might be best to keep that chat to a minimum.
There had always been strange expressions when he had asked about it.
But this was different.
There were only a few people from the Border base that he knew, and even they were kept at a distance when compared to some others.
It was just how things were at the moment.
"Looks like it's Kuga's turn. This should be good after seeing him in action already."
"Oh, so you know what he can do, Kotowari?"
"That's right. Suzume-senpai had fought him the first time we went to Tamakoma."
"Misaki-senpai... How did that turn out?"
"It was only a single fight, but she won. This was after she had figured out his Rhythm though, so it was a bit unfair."
From the explanation he had been given during that time, Mikumo could only agree with that.
He was not alone as Kitora nodded her head in understanding.
The sound of the buzzer going off had gotten them to turn back, but when they did...
.
It could only be viewed as an instant.
In less than a second, the large trion soldier fell to the ground.
The trio at the railing watched as the new recruits only stared in shock by what they had seen.
Mystery Smoker: "0.6 seconds!?"
Mikumo and Takeshi only watched on with straight faces.
Between them, Kitora looked down with clear irritation.
She and Suwa were not the only ones showing their surprise by this.
"Did that just happen?"
"No way it did!"
"This is a dream, right?"
"Damn it! That means I need to wake up and come back here to do the test in real life!"
"Don't say that! I don't want to take that time for a second time!"
"Can't we just say we're hallucinating then?"
"Let's go with that," a majority of the recruits nodded.
It was scary that it was still nothing when compared to some of the actual agents.
A certain trio at the very bottom of the stairs had decided they would also go along with this as one of them held his head low.
"No way. That's not even possible. It was a fluke! The clock must be broken! Do it over!"
"You want me to do it again? Sure thing," said Kuga.
.
Mikumo gave an unimpressed look as his soon-to-be teammate redid the test without issue.
Actually, he had even less issue this time...
Kuga's score was 0.2 seconds less than his original try.
The ones who had called him out the first time seemed to have taken the fact that this was reality. Something that only Arashiyama Squad and Kotowari seemed to have believed from the start.
Although the small muttering from Kotowari was a bit off-putting.
"If he could do that then I know that Yuki-senpai could do it in even less time..."
From what he had been a part of recently, Mikumo did not doubt that the Tsukiko Squad Captain could do that well. The only thing keeping him from imagining it was the way Kotowari had said it under his breath.
But he had not been the only one to say something about this new result.
"Now it all makes senses..."
"Huh?" he and Kotowari said in unison.
"When Neighbors attacked your school...he was the one who defeated them. Am I right?"
"So those rumors were about you, Mikumo?"
"Um..."
It was not a secret of Kuga being a Neighbor to someone like Kitora, but...
I'm guessing that Kotowari doesn't know about that.
It was hard to tell from the plain expression the other boy seemed to constantly wear. Either option could be true and he would never know which one to believe without asking.
But that would not be good if he did not know about that information.
So instead, he went with a safe and easy answer.
"Yeah..."
"I knew it!"
Sometimes it was a good thing to have someone like Kitora barge in when proven right.
"So that's how it is! I knew that you couldn't pull off such a feat!"
Why does she seem so happy?
"Kitora-san, toning it down a bit might be better here. I won't say anything, but others might misinterpret how happy you are at being right."
"Ahem... Right. My bad."
Was that supposed to make things better?
It was probably the case from the way Kotowari looked over to him.
.
So Kuga took out some Neighbors before even joining Border and Yuki-senpai has helped Mikumo out already.
That was already two of the three members they had met before. And both of them had something amazing going for them.
Beyond that, they would be part of the Tamakoma Branch, meaning they would need to be strong to keep up with the standards of the branch. From his own experience, he knew that something like that was not as easy as just saying it.
Still...
Compared to a lot of others, they really aren't much. I guess they do have a bit of my interest though, so I'll at least watch them until the B-Rank Wars end.
Even that felt like more than they deserve to him.
But with that in mind, he fixed his scarf and turned around to where he could hear clear footsteps moving closer to them.
.
"Osamu. Oh, hey Kitora, Take. I was caught up at work, but how are things going?"
Karasuma had been referring to the testing going on below them all.
Mikumo and Takeshi were going to properly respond, but...
"Karasuma-senpai!"
"Things are going well so far. Kuga's standing out though..." said Mikumo while looking back down at his soon-to-be teammate.
Karasuma gave a lackluster response - "Of course he is." - but none of the trio reacted to his words in the slightest and Karasuma felt like he had said something pointless. At any rate...
"Arashiyama Squad is overseeing again? Must be tough."
"Aren't they use to this stuff by now? They look like they're even getting some minor help from Suzaku Squad's Captain."
"Is that so?" said Karasuma while also looking down at everyone.
"Karasuma-senpai... You haven't shown up in the Rank Wars recently. I'd like to have another lesson with you when you have the time!"
Kotowari tilted his head to the side, but once Karasuma waved him off with a hand, he fixed his scarf and turned away. Is there something going on there?, thought Mikumo.
"You're plenty good enough. There's nothing more for me to teach you."
"But I still have so much to learn!"
Karasuma responded by pointing his thumb towards Mikumo.
The conversation had been going smoothly enough, but it seemed he wanted to change it a bit.
And in doing so...
"You three are the same age, right? That's perfect. Osamu is my student. Can you two help him out a bit? I know Yuki-san already asked you, but now I'm directly asking you, Take."
Mikumo looked away from the two of them while apologizing for his lack of ability.
.
Takeshi could only sigh as he fixed his scarf.
The clear jealousy from Kitora to Mikumo hurt a bit, so he turned away instead of facing it.
But when he did turn...
"Let me borrow a training room, Arashiyama."
Someone unexpected was already making their way down the stairs.
"I want to see for myself what Jin's charge is capable of."
"Who's he!?" asked Mikumo. He and Karasuma began moved down the stairs.
And the response he got was...
"Kazama Squad Captain, and A-Rank #3 Attacker.
Well this is something new. Although, Kazama-san isn't anything new for me.
It was a pity since he had already found some interest in one of the two Tamakoma Branch members.
"Hold on, Kazama-san! He's still a trainee! He's using a training Trigger!"
"No. The one I want to fight is..."
Takeshi followed his line of sight to...
"You. Mikumo Osamu."