"Alright, just shut the hell up."

"Look, it's not myfault Suzume threatened to tell everyone we know that I still like TTTE."

"That's true, but do you have to read that...thing out loud?"

Both Toby and Takeshi were walking to school while the brunet had his phone in his hand with a draft of Suzume's newest idea on it. From the time the two had left their apartment building, Toby had been reading it with his teammate wanting to stab his own eardrums from having to heard something erotic about his upperclassmen/captain and someone he had found interest in recently.

Toby didn't like it any more than his teammate, but he knew the terrors that Suzume could cause if he did not read her idea for errors. While Mei could easily beat him black and blue without a second thought, Suzume would socially ruin him as easily as breathing.

He found that the two combined would possibly kill someone without anyone else noticing.

They were truly terrifying girls when they wanted to be.

"Look, if I have to suffer, then so do you," Toby said with a shrug. "If it makes you feel any better, you don't have to read, and I don't torture you with her 'long, super erotic, lemony, sexy time, make any fangirls get massive nosebleeds' doujins. By the way, those words were Ken's and not mine."

Takeshi turned his head to face Toby and gave an actual look of pity. He knew he would have gouged his eyes out after reading only oneof those stories. On the flip side, he wondered if Toby was either corrupted enough to the point where he doesn't mind reading this, or might actually enjoy reading them, he was just mentally strong enough to read them, or he was mentally unstable enough to read them.

He felt like he didn't want to find out the answer to that.

"She does make up for it from time to time by making some Yuri stuff. They aren't particularly long, but still good nevertheless. Her het ones are pretty good too."

Takeshi shook his head and continued to walk while trying to forget the two had even talked the whole day.

"Ah... Maybe I should ask later..."

The two froze and turned around to see Midorikawa looking uncomfortable. They started to sweat a little while the atmosphere continued to grow extremely awkward.

Without a second thought, the two older ones quickly went to their underclassmen with Toby grabbing him in a headlock and Takeshi holding two overly sharpened pencils at his eyes.

"What did you hear, (you damn little brat)!"

"N-nothing! I didn't hear anything!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes! I was on my way to school and just happened to see you two!"

Letting out a huff, Toby released Midorikawa while Takeshi put his pencils away.

Both looked at Midorikawa and said, "And it'll stay that way. Got it?"

"Yes, sirs!"

With that all being said and done, the three started making their way to school. While this seemed like an odd thing to see, the three could usually be seen walking together every now and then. It would almost always end up with Midorikawa having to run away before Takeshi tried to strangle him.

The two older ones were a little unnerved when they were almost at the school and Midorikawa hadn't insulted Takeshi yet. It was almost unheard of for the younger one to not insult Takeshi at any chance he could.

"Shun... You okay, buddy?" Toby asked as they all walked towards the school building.

Toby and Takeshi had left earlier than usual, so they had time to spare.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I was just thinking about my fights during enlistment day."

"Tch. Of course you would bring that up, you damn mutt."

"Not against you. Those are too boring to bring up anyways."

"So you're talking about the fight you had with Yūma then."

"Right," he said with a nod. "I've been thinking of something after that fight. Mostly about my own fighting style."

"Oh? You want to train a bit after school then? We have nothing else to do, so it should be fine."

"Really!?"

Toby nodded his head with a grin.

The way Midorikawa shot up at that had also gotten a laugh out of him.

"Hm. You two really are dogs. Just going along with your one track mind is annoying as it is."

"Damn. Because of that loss before I need to show at least some respect to you..."

"What's that mean?"

Takeshi waved Toby off with his hand, but Midorikawa was not letting up as he bounced back behind them.

"Oh! I know! Since it's obvious you're crushing on your captain, I'll just call you Yaoi-senpai!"

And so the chase was on.

"That's all for now. If you haven't finished writing what's on the board down then you get to stay here."

Toby let out a yawn as he lifted his arms to stretch and heard the cracks that came with it.

He looked over and saw that Takeshi was just silently sitting at his desk. Deciding he didn't want to be in the class for lunch, Toby stood up and headed for the door. He could hear Takeshi's chair move and just continued for the door.

"Try not to get in trouble," Akasora said, not even looking at his students.

The two just nodded their heads and walked out. Not having anything particular to talk about the two walked in silence with Takeshi reading the latest volume of some kind of light novel and Toby just humming to himself.

They were greeted by a few students, but otherwise kept to themselves. It was one of those rare, yet nice moments when they weren't messing with each other, or just talking too loudly, so no one bothered them to keep the peace.

"Kotowari-kun, Awdry-kun, are you going to the roof?"

The two turned around to see a girl looking at them. She had mid-back length hair with some of it covering her right eye. She had black eyes and a kind smile on her face. Overall she gave off the feeling of a princess who should be protected at all costs.

The two recognized her as a girl from their class. They were always kind to her and vice versa. They also always found her appearance to resemble someone's, but could never think of who. She was also a member of Border, but was only a C-Rank trainee, so she would ask them for advice from time-to-time.

"Hey, Hoshi. Yeah, we were going to the roof. You wanna come with us?" Toby asked, looking at her with an oddly calm expression.

"That sounds nice. Okay."

"Oh no..."

Takeshi lifted his scarf when he saw a certain someone walking towards them and not even seeming to be looking at where he was going. He had a hotdog and a cup in his hand as he enjoyed his lunch.

"That mutt again."

"You really don't get along with Midorikawa-kun, do you?" Hoshi said with a small giggle.

"It's not my fault he's a mutt. Although that's why he works so well with Toby and Inukai-senpai."

"Ah, it's you guys again. Hello, Taiyōko-senpai," Midorikawa said as he walked up to the trio.

"Hello, Midorikawa-kun. How are you?"

"I'm fine. Why are you hanging out with Yaoi-senpai?"

"'Yaoi-senpai'? What do you mean?"

Takeshi quickly grabbed Midorikawa in a headlock and tightened his grip while Hoshi tilted her head in confusion.

Toby shook his head once he saw Hoshi's confusion.

The school day was done and almost everyone had left the school grounds.

Hoshi had said her farewells to her friends before walking to her home.

Along the way she was greeted by a few people she had seen before. She gladly returned the greeting and finished her walk to her home.

Once she reached the place, she got changed into something more comfortable and fixed her hair a bit by putting a hair clip to hold up the hair that was blocking her right eye. She left the home with a bag over her shoulder. She figured she would go out for a walk since the day seemed nice to her.

She walked with the grace of royalty and held herself in such a dignified manner that passing people could not help but to stare at her for longer than they probably should have.

This was nothing new for her. But that wasn't to say she enjoyed it. She had gotten use to the staring, even when she was young people would stare. Nothing had ever really happened to her so there was no need for her to be on guard.

Even so, she did keep some guard up, but that was more because of what family she came from.

She continued on with her walk she walked towards a bridge and that's when she noticed it happen.

Mikumo Osamu heard the sound of water.

What confused him was that the sound was coming from his own mouth.

He had lost his balance while standing on a bridge and he had ended up in the middle of a river. He couldn't feel the bottom below his feet. He wasn't great at swimming, but he wasn't particularly bad at it either. However, with his clothes soaked and lack of breath due to already jogging for a while, he wasn't floating very well.

There was no sign that anyone was nearby.

He had no idea how deep the water was.

It was possible it wasn't very deep at all, but it was definitely enough for Mikumo to drown in given how disoriented he was. The water wasn't doing anything except making him panic.

He began paddling the water with his arms at a rate 2 or 3 times slower than his racing thoughts.

His arms were shaking terribly.

The shaking was due to his muscles being tired, the water robbing his body of heat, and the fear that he would never get his head out of the water. All of this put together made him feel like something was restraining his movements.

Oh, crap.

The air he had stored in his mouth came spilling out.

He could see the light of the sun shining on the surface above his head.

The dancing light threw his sense of distance out of whack.

Is this really how I go out...?

As Mikumo stared at the surface, he saw what looked like an odd revolving lantern coming down towards him.

The surface burst open with a large number of bubbles.

...!

Before Mikumo could be surprised, a slender hand reached out from the white curtain of air.

Just as he realized someone must have dived into the water, the white hand grabbed his wrist.

He was then pulled up by a strong force.

Mikumo's body was oddly limp as he was pulled towards the surface as if by a rope.

It didn't even take 10 seconds for his face to breach the surface and meet the air.

He heard a loud splash.

He had a hard time breathing in the oxygen he had been wishing for so badly.

The muscles moving his throat and lungs weren't working properly.

"A-are you okay!?"

He heard a girl's voice nearby.

His clothes continued to act as a weight pulling Mikumo's body down. The girl raised her voice as she supported both their weights.

"I'm going to head for the bank. Just stay limp like that!"

When they got near the riverside...or rather a shallower portion of the river, Mikumo managed to sit down. Due to his clothes absorbing so much water, he felt very heavy.

"I-I'm sorry about this!"

The girl stretched out her slender hand.

Mikumo heard something rip and felt cold hair hit his bare chest.

He then slowly stood up from the portion of the river he was in that was no deeper than a puddle.

He looked up and saw the sun in the sky. But there was no one else around except for Mikumo and the girl. This area was never that populated to begin with, so that was to be expected.

He looked around.

There was an arch-shaped stone bridge nearby.

The girl may have jumped into the water from there.

Mikumo then turned towards the girl who had saved him.

She looked about the same age as Mikumo.

She had straight black hair and a hair clip keeping a part of it from covering her right eye. She was wearing a pink tank top and white knee-length pants. She had an overall slender silhouette.

"Did you swallow any water...?"

The girl looking at him worriedly looked familiar.

He was pretty sure she was...

"Cough. Taiyōko?"

"Ah, yes. Nice to see you again."

Hoshi cutely bowed her head.

But she lived pretty far from the area. She shouldn't have been within a mile radius of this place.

Why is Taiyōko here?

Mikumo slightly tilted his head this time.

"Hey, Taiyōko. What were you doing all the way over here?"

"I was on a walk. I suppose I wasn't really paying much attention to my surroundings though. What about you?"

Betraying Mikumo's expectations, Hoshi cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"Cough. I was going on a jog with my squad. They went on ahead since I had to catch my breath. I guess I got a bit lightheaded and lost my balance."

Hoshi brought her hand to her mouth in surprise.

"You should be very careful, Mikumo-kun. You should always keep track of how you are doing and make sure that you are not over doing it. Where were you and your squad heading on this jog? Any place in particular?"

Mikumo was faced with an even more basic question.

He scratched at his hair that was wet with dirty river water as he answered.

"Not really. We left from the Tamakoma branch office and headed back there. I don't know if you know this already, but I'm now part of Tamakoma."

"I see. That is very good to hear. I myself have thought about joining the Suzunari branch, but decided against it. Ah! I am sorry! You did not ask about that!"

"..."

Osamu wasn't really paying attention. But then he blinked.

"Suzunari branch?"

"Hm? Did you not know? There are multiple branches in Mikado City, not just Tamakoma. In total there are 6 branches in Border. Personnel that are not aiming for A-Rank, most of the time, are associated with a branch. They are placed on the outside of the danger zone, and act as a contact point for locals. Tamakoma. Suzunari. Wataayu. Yumite District. Hayanuma. Hisama. They are the branches."

Mikumo slowly nodded his head in understandment.

"Not to sound rude, but why would you want to join a branch?"

Hoshi pushed her hair back a bit.

And then she remembered something.

"A-ah... Can I go get my bag before I answer that?"

"Your bag?"

"I left it on top of the bridge. I-I'm a little worried it might get stolen."

She must be referring to the arch-shaped bridge that was nearby.

Apparently, she really had jumped from the bridge.

"I see. Oh, and thanks. I really would have been in trouble if you hadn't saved me."

"No, no! It was nothing, really!"

Hoshi shook her head back and forth at an amazing speed and waved her hands in front of her face as she said that. Small droplets of water flew from her fingertips.

Seeing that, Mikumo asked her a question.

"Oh, one more thing, Taiyōko. Do you have a change of clothes in your bag?"

"Eh? W-well, as a member of a military family I must always be prepared."

She was confused by Mikumo's sudden question, but a bit of pride could be seen in her expression as she gave that explanation.

"My home is a bit too far away, but I do have a change of clothes with me in case I got too sweaty and needed to enter a store or restaurant. I haven't had to use it so far, though."

"I see. Good."

"?"

Hoshi still didn't understand what he was talking about.

But Mikumo was reluctant to directly tell her.

So he moved his gaze from Hoshi to the blue sky and pointed at what he was talking about.

"..."

Hoshi followed Mikumo's finger with her eyes and saw what he was pointing at.

Her chest.

More specifically, at her pink tank top that had gone see-through and was sticking to her from being wet and thus was causing her full silhouette to be visible.

Now, Hoshi was a girl with a peaceful and honest personality.

Even with Mikumo directly pointing out the issue, she made no eccentric actions such as slapping him, biting his head, or anything else. Her face merely turned bright red and she gave a strained laugh. She merely said, "Ah. Ah ha ha. Sorry about showing you that. Ah ha ha ha ha," and crossed her arms to hide her chest and jogged off towards the stone bridge the bag with her change of clothes was on.

She was smiling, but there was a hint of tears in her eyes. It felt like a quite sensible and adult reaction.

"Hmm..."

For some reason, Mikumo was left feeling really awkward about the whole thing.

He stared off into the distance wishing she had at least screamed or something.

Ten minutes later, Hoshi was back wearing different clothes leaving Mikumo wondering where exactly she had changed. She was dry now, but she must have still smelled of river water, because he could tell she had put on some perfume.

"S-sorry for keeping you."

Hoshi had a large bag over her shoulder.

She was wearing a pale ice cream-like green blouse and dark brown pants short enough to leave her calves visible. The blouse was made of material so thin it almost made you think you would be able to see through it if the sun was shining on it.

That shirt was all she was wearing on her upper body.

"...Taiyōko-san?"

"I-I had no choice! I only had it to put on over the tank top to make it look like a different outfit! So please don't say anything!"

It seemed she was telling the truth, because on closer inspection the blouse didn't even have buttons. Tying the front was the only way of keeping it closed.

She must have known that she was pushing it with that outfit, because she curled up a bit to avoid Mikumo's silent gaze.

But she was stuck in this situation because she had jumped into the river to save him.

Mikumo used all the limited resources of his brain to try and find something to say.

"Would you like to come with me back to the Tamakoma branch office?"

Why that had come out if his mouth was something the glasses-boy didn't understand.

Regardless, he looked at her, waiting for an answer.

"A-ah! If you d-do not mind... I would much like to dry my clothes before heading home..."

"It's fine. I'm sure no one would mind. Besides, you saving me back there is certain to have everyone on your side."

"Ah. That is nice to know. Shall we go then?"