The sounds of shots being fired in the sniping range were heard in rapid succession. Each one was quick enough for context clues to give away that Lighting was being used to fire off each shot fired.
It took another minute before the shots stopped completely.
The one firing the shots had been Misaki Suzumebachi. She looked forward to see that there had been only a single time she hit the center of the target while most of the other times circled around it, as if they had no chance at hitting the middle.
She clicked her tongue while turning around.
Satori Ken was standing behind her, silently watching the whole thing. He knew that he would have to help her later on with what he just saw. For now he would just smile at her while they spoke, only having a few minutes before having to leave for the first round of the B-Rank Wars.
"So are you going to watch us go at it? I honestly know this wasn't the best display of sniping, but I'll be able to do better with the real deal."
"I'm so, so, so sorry, Suzu-chan! I really want to, but I'm actually commenting on Tamakoma's battle. The other person is Mikumo and I had already agreed to do it."
"I see... Alright. I suppose you can't really turn them down. Yeah. I would honestly do the same thing if I were in your shoes." Suzume looked up with a smile that seemed a little strained. "Have fun then. No need to worry about us. We'll honestly finish things up right quick."
"I promise that when the fight is done, I'll go straight to yours!"
"No, no. It's fine. Besides, do you honestly think the other teams will last that long against us? We'll be done before you even leave the room."
"I will hold you to that. I will be watching your match."
The two turned to see Narasaka walking up to them. His expression told everything - it told them exactly how much he hated saying those words. It was really a mirrored expression of Suzume's, who looked about ready to walk away.
"You will be watching? Why? So you could honestly find something to make fun of me with?"
"You're mother and sister asked that Shōhei and I watch it with them. They said that since we are your friends that it would be great for the four of us to watch."
Narasaka crossed his arms as he continued.
"I don't know where they got the idea that we were friends, but I agreed anyways. I am not so rude as to deny."
"I would rather you not be around my sister. Shōhei-kun is honestly fine, but you're just going to be a bad influence on her."
The atmosphere around the trio started to grow dark with both Narasaka and Suzume glaring daggers at each other. It was that fact that made Satori take a step forward to defuse the situation before it went anywhere else.
"We have thirty minutes before the first round starts. Suzu-chan, you should probably go meet up with your team before it starts. I'm sure you guys will need the time to come up with something to deal with Ninomiya Squad and Hikigane Squad."
"Yeah. Fine."
Satori let out a sigh, glad that nothing violent had happened.
While he wished to see Kotowari Squad's first match, he had a different match to watch. That meant how much he could see in real time was limited by the three squads he had to commentate on.
Even so, he would try to focus on the match with Tamakoma then make his way to see how Kotowari Squad did.
That was the best he could do given the situation.
Toby Awdry bared his teeth while letting out an audible growl as he stared up at the man before him. His unkept hair gave him a beastly look as opposed to the clean cut look of the man.
One would find it hard to tell that the two of them were parent and child.
"What the hell do you want?"
"Your brother said he wants to see you fight. While I don't care much for such things, I do wish to see how you are doing here. Call it a gut feeling, but I think I will see something rather interesting today because of you."
"Tch. Yeah, right. What are you planning? It isn't hard to tell that your words are nothing but shit just coming out with the flow of this conversation. I already know well enough that you don't give a damn about either of us. So you want to show my fight to someone so that you can be proven right."
"I am telling you now that you better lose. I want to show your brother that being an agent at Border isn't all that great. He seems to think that it is 'cool and heroic' to be a member of Border. I want to destroy that illusion for him. It is better that he continue to focus on his studies and learn how to take care of both our companies. Unlike his failure brother of course."
"What the hell is wrong with you!? Why are you trying to mess him up too!?"
"Do not speak to me like that. I have decided to sponsor Border since I do appreciate what they do, but I do not want the heir to both companies to go off and runaway like his failure older brother. He has some actual common sense. He is still a child. That means he can get crazy thoughts in his head that have no right to be there."
Toby could feel his anger get to the boiling point with every word that came out from his father's mouth.
Everything was starting to accumulate in his mind by this point. The disbanding of Tsukiko Squad and the appearance of his father were both festering in him while the pressure of the B-Rank Wars bore down on him. It was dangerous to hear any more from this man and he knew it.
A single thread of salvation came to him in the form two small people. While their conversation was going on they seemed to have been blocking the path for these two to walk through.
"Oh! Hey ,Toby. Are you on your way to your first match too?"
"Hello, Awdry-senpai."
Toby could feel himself start to calm down just a little bit when hearing the voices of the two Tamakoma members behind him.
He looked over while lowering his brows. There had never been a reason for him to glare at either Yūma or Chika, so he did his best to keep his face neutral enough for them.
"Yeah. I was just going to meet up with my squad when... This man just needed to tell me something."
"Humu~ Humu~ Is he your family? You two look alike."
"Please don't say that..."
It was just a whisper, but both Yūma and Chika heard it. That was enough for them to stop asking those kinds of questions.
"So, isn't your round one match also going to start? We should all go so we can make it on time."
Yūma gave a quick bow to Henry before turning back to Toby and Chika. His eyes gave a foreboding look as they moved from father to son, as if to say that should Henry stop them for any reason he would have something to say about it.
Toby felt glad to have Yūma and Chika there to stop him from doing something he would regret later on.
He gladly took this chance to leave with them.
Away from that man.
It was finally time for Kotowari Squad's first match and the whole squad was waiting to start. They were in their uniform, the same ones as before, but without an emblem.
Their first round opponents were the #1 B-Rank Ninomiya Squad and the ever topping Hikigane Squad. Unlike the times before this, Hikigane Squad had a new member on their squad, making it three Combatants and one Operator.
Mei could see that both Suzume and Toby were deep in thought while Takeshi was simply going over everything planned once more.
Takeshi spoke to them with an indifferent tone while not noticing that his two teammates were paying little attention to him.
Deciding to help them out before they went into a fight, she gathered their attentions, making sure Toby and Suzume were actually listening to her. Once that was done she clapped her hands while words started coming out.
"Alright, you three. There's something I want to tell you. You may not want to hear this since it was something Yuki told me... But I want you three to remember these words throughout all your fights from now on."
She went back to when she first heard these words and could see the exact face looking away from her and the exact hand outstretched to her at that moment. She couldn't help but inwardly smile at the fond memory.
"Always repeat the words in your head... 'If you can't do something by yourself, then I'll help you. If I can't do something by myself, then you'll help me. That's what working together means. Helping each other out is the advantage of working together.' You three got that? Always remember those words."
"Right."
Gummy: "B-Rank Battles Round 1! I have the role of commentator today - Arashiyama Squad's Ayatsuji! The color commentators are Katagiri Squad leader Katagiri and Kazama Squad's Utagawa!"
Kata-3: "Glad to be here."
U-T: "It's a pleasure to be here."
Gummy: "Since it's the first day, would one of you mind explaining how these battles work?"
Kata-3: "Sure thing. B-Rank is separated into three groups: top, middle, and bottom. With more teams this time around the three groups are split depending on rankings. Then commences the 2 vs 1 and 2 vs 2 battles, in which participants fight to win points. The ways to win points are to simply take out someone from the opposing squad for one point. Being the last survivor in the end gives a two point bonus."
U-T: "Earning points will increase your team's ranking. The goal is to reach the first position. Those in the first and second positions will have the privileges to battle against those in A-Rank."
Gummy: "Thank you for the explanation. Also, the squads who are placed in positions from last season will already be awarded bonus points according to their positions. Meaning they will have an advantage over other teams."
.
"Hey, hey, look where Nee-chan's team seriously is! That's a great spot! Isn't that right?"
"Yes. It most certainly is. It looks like they are in the top group."
Seihana turned to the two boys who were sitting next to her with a smile.
"You two know my daughter more when it comes to fighting. Would you mind truly telling me about how well she does in this battle?"
"We wouldn't mind at all," Kodera said, a bit nervous while sitting next to the woman. "She is usually near the middle section during practice... When she tries that is."
"Her way of fighting depends on what situations she's put in," added Narasaka with a stoic expression. "She's officially a Sniper, but she can double as an Attacker. There is another person in Border who can do that, but they are very different from each other."
"I see."
.
"Wow! Big brother is pretty high on the list!"
"Hm. I suppose that means he has some talent. He always has been a rowdy child. No wonder he would enjoy such things."
Henry stared at the screen with an almost bored look while his youngest child excitedly watched on.
"I assume he used his comrades to get that rank though."
"If you're talking about Fuzzy Head, you're wrong."
Henry turned his head to the side, his child doing the same. A man with black hair and freckles was walking up to them casually while looking at the large screen. He did not seem to surprised by what he was seeing.
"And who might you be?"
"I am Hatohara Minoru. A-Rank and friend to your son."
The All-Rounder continued to look at the screen as he leaned on the railing.
"I guess you're here to see how well your son does."
"Hm. I suppose you could say that."
.
Gummy: "Before the fighters are teleported in, I would like to ask for you opinions on how you think this will go down. With this being a fight between top teams there seems to be a good amount of people sitting in the stands, so I'm sure they would like to hear what you have to say."
Kata-3: "Well, that's difficult to say. While both Ninomiya Squad and Hikigane Squad are always at the top, and have the strength to show why, Kotowari Squad is no pushover. They have a Sniper who can easily adapt to her situation, a Shooter who can continuously fire, and an Attacker who is hard to catch on a bad day."
U-T: "That may be true but, since their initial disbandment as Tsukiko Squad, they have lost their ace and captain. As any agent could tell you, the past few days they have seen better days as a squad."
Gummy: "Do you think they'll be able to get passed that to get some points?"
Kata-3: "I'm not too sure..."
Gummy: "And your thoughts on the matter, Utagawa-kun?"
U-T: "While I do agree with all of that, I believe they'll be able to pull this off well enough. That being said, they will have to make up for the lack of a member while also taking into consideration the fact Hikigane Squad has a new member themselves."
Kata-3: "That's right. Hikigane Squad has Girikage on their side now. While he is someone we have information on, we can't say too much on how their tacts have changed from before."
U-T: "We'll just have to wait and see, I suppose."
Gummy: "That's right. But we won't have to wait too long! It seems they have been teleported in already! The area choice went to Kotowari Squad for having the lowest rank and it seems they have gone with an interesting area and high winds for the weather!"
U-T: "That area is a construction area with dangers from supports giving out and incomplete buildings having the possibility of falling."
Kata-3: "They were most likely trying to find ways to block Ninomiya's shots while keeping Hikigane at bay and far enough to where he can't do too much."
How the hell did I get unlucky enough to land on a damn beam with this wind!?
Toby let out an irritated sigh as he jumped and weaved through the support beams of the unfinished building to reach the ground safely. The the wind helped to stop Hikigane Squad from being in the air, but it also stopped Suzume from getting a good shot right away, along with making Toby have to fight against it if he was on the wrong end.
The buildings and dangerous areas all around made it hard to him to focus too much on other things. His defense was not too high since attacking was all he ever needed to do, meaning he was in a bad spot if the support from a building was destroyed while the harsh winds blew.
No one besides Suzume is using Bagworm right now. They're probably as cautious because of the wind and would rather have their defenses ready.
The words he had heard from his father rang out in his head, making him stall a bit.
Wisteria: "Toby, keep your focus on this. Someone is coming up fast... Wait, make that two people... No... Three. Get ready for a melee."
"Gotcha! Suzume, you find where I'm at yet?"
Honest Sister: "Yeah. I'm honestly keeping a good eye out. Just make sure to dodge my shots if they end up missing."
"No need to tell me what I already kn-!"
Toby made an immediate stop before curling his upper body. Two Scorpion blades came from his back as something came down from above him. This defense had been reflexive, but it was enough for him.
The sound of a shot passing by could be heard.
The pressure from the blade on his back was gone.
Honest Sister: "Watch out behind you. It's Inukai-senpai."
Toby teleported into the air, putting his back into the higher support beams but away from Girikage and Inukai.
He had only a few seconds to register that there were only two other people. With reflexes alone, he moved to turn around while a new blade went for his head.
Once his mind caught up to his body he saw that he was now facing Tsuji.
He could feel their balance waver as another strong gust of wind blew through the support beams. The entire structure groaned from the movement as it shook violently.
Gummy: "And there's the first confrontation! It seems that agent Inukai, agent Tsuji ,and agent Girikage are all going after agent Awdry instead of facing each other!"
U-T: "That's understandable. While Awdry is skilled at close combat, and can dodge shots from ranged shooters because of his Side Effect, against three highly skilled agents, it will be difficult for him to land a good hit and defend at the same time."
Kata-3: "And because of the high winds, Misaki won't be able to help out as much as usual. That leaves an opening for others to come in and hit for Awdry's weak spot."
U-T: "If the wind was not a factor then they would be in a better position. Misaki would have a higher chance of attacking and Awdry could move through those kinds of structures with little issue."
Gummy: "That brings the question of why they chose this specific setting. It seems to be working against Kotowari Squad, doesn't it?"
Kata-3: "Not all of them..."
.
"How do you suppose that boy will get out of this?"
"I know just how strong he is from solo matches before. He also has Suzu-chan with him in this case. It'll be a bit tough but he can get out of this."
"I see. So he bothers other agents to fight with him..."
"He doesn't bother anyone. We all enjoying having matches with him."
Minoru wore a sour expression as he spoke to Henry. The words coming from the man's mouth felt more like poison than that of a parent watching their child. He wanted to just leave the man but he felt like he should stay to explain things to the man.
Then there was the child by their feet.
"Come on... I know he can win..."
Minoru glanced down at the youngest boy and got a small smile on his face when he saw how he watched his brother fight with an expecting look.
"Calm down. No need to be excited over that...failure."
Minoru truly felt like leaving this man before he punched him.
Toby was well aware of the bad position he was put in.
Against only Tsuji it would have been manageable, that was what he knew. With Girikage and Inukai lingering around closer to the floor it was made more difficult. He was stuck in the higher area while the winds blew the unstable structure.
He was well aware of what Inukai was capable of from fighting him multiple times. There were no secrets to either one on that matter. The same went for Tsuji. Girikage was the unknown factor to him. They had fought enough times to count on one hand, meaning he was no well suited to fight him right now.
It was at times like these that he was glad to have teammates.
Suzume is in a good position right now. She's not too far from us but she's not close enough to be spotted. I'm better at combos with Takeshi, but Suzume has better synergy with me since our Side Effects match up well.
Nodding to himself, Toby continued his fight by moving forward.
The wind was an issue for both of them, meaning they were out on an equal footing when it came to the field. That seemed to be the best he could ask for at the moment.
Aerial tactics were put to a halt as footwork was forced to become a focus for the two of them.
Wisteria: "Toby, Takeshi is fighting off against Ninomiya right now. See if you can lead these three over to that area so you three can pick them off."
"Roger."
Toby jumped down from the support beam he was on and went for Inukai. He brought out two blades to block the bullets headed for him and could see Tsuji headed for him from the corner of his eye.
The distance between the two was only a few feet away from each other.
Toby had the ability to move through the air with relative ease due to natural way of fighting while Tsuji held the advantage in covering the distance due to his longer blade.
Knowing how the both of them could fair in their current position, Toby twisted his body so that it clashed with Tsuji's oncoming attack.
The two of them felt the winds pick up again and tossed them aside after their blades connected.
Tsuji was able to land of a horizontal beam, maintaining his natural composure.
Toby felt his feet touch one of the vertical beams.
Now!
.
Tsuji saw the attack coming from where he stood.
The wind tried to force him to the side. It did the same for Toby yet it looked like it didn't bother him in the slightest. The odds of it being because of the force he used to push off the beam was high.
There was enough room for him to steady himself enough to brace for the incoming attack.
He found that if Toby were to make another immediate attack after this block then it would end terribly for him.
That was why he was ready to also make a grab for the smaller Attacker the moment their blades clashed.
It did not matter how well Toby could normally move while in mid-air if he also had to be careful of being blown away by the wind.
Now.
.
Toby and Tsuji moved their arms at the same time.
While one had easily broken blades that could be reconstructed just as easily, the other had a sturdy blade that was not so easily broken.
The difference between the two could be seen with how Toby tried to push through the other with little effect.
Tsuji used this chance to raise his other hand up, intending to grab hold of the brown hair in front of him.
Without needing to register the grab, Toby forced his body to the left.
The wind blew once more.
His body was carried by the wind and the force his body created by moving in the direction.
His fall was slowed down to the point where he could resister what he needed by his brain.
A blade came from his foot, stabbing into the horizontal beam under the two of them.
From his odd angle, he swung his body completely around the horizontal beam until he was not on the opposite side of where he fell.
Tsuji prepared for the attack as best he could with his blade barely making it in time to protect him from having his head cut from his body.
The action caused the two of them to get blown off of the horizontal beam due to the harsh winds that ran through the unfinished building.
.
Toby was unsure as to how he had ended up on the position he was in without noticing.
Even so, he knew just how to handle it while doing as he had been told by Mei.
Werewolf: "Suzume! Do you think you can take those ones at the time down?"
Honest Sister: "Yeah. Give me a few more seconds to get the timing right, but I can honestly manage it."
Toby was grateful for at least one of his teammates working with him.
Now it's my turn again.
Using his knowledge of Scorpion and the harsh winds, he twisted his body in the air. He started to rotate faster than Tsuji could fix himself, meaning this was his best chance.
His foot same down on the older Attacker with more than enough force to send him crashing into the ground. Right into the fight between Inukai and Girikage.
Werewolf: "Suzume!"
Honest Sister: "Honestly on it!"
The sound of the shot had been canceled out by the winds, but it was still made.
The few shots that had been fired were not directed towards the fighters on the ground and instead at some wires that had been holding up beams around them.
The beams started their fall towards the ground.
Their speed was faster than Toby's to the point that he knew when to get his timing right for his plan.
With little hesitation, he teleported above of the beams, making sure to be balanced enough to step on it.
The moment he stepped on it, applying more force to it, the beam fell even faster than before.
He repeated this process with the other falling beams. Each one increased in speed as they were pushed down by the Attacker who had little regard to the things around him.
.
Inukai, Tsuji and Girikage looked up as the multiple beams came raining down in them in different angles.
They all prepared by moving as best they could. Each one tried to find ways of attacking while they moved but found that difficult when they had to be mindful of what was above them.
"Wow~ Toby is really trying to destroy us here, isn't he?"
"Aren't you the one who had told us about how he has been acting recently? This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise."
"I didn't say it was surprising. All I am saying it that we should probably talk to Yuki after this concerning Toby."
Looking over the best he could, Inukai could see that Girikage was moving relatively well on the winds and the rain of beams.
This too did not surprise him in the slightest.
"Hey, Tsuji-chan, can you take care of Dai-chan for a bit? I think I can handle Toby for now."
As if to put emphasis on his words, the last beam came smashing into the ground behind Inukai. It imbedded itself in a slanted position that seemed to give Toby a ramp to slide down on.
Inukai reacted by turning around and start firing up.
He watched as Toby jumped from the beam towards Girikage.
I guess he wants to take out the unknown factor first. He already knows how to deal with us two. Dai-chan is something who can actually be a real threat to his Side Effect.
Inukai grinned at these thoughts.
He's really acting like an animal who is relying on his instincts.
.
Tsuji moved to keep up with both Toby and Girikage. That was hard on its own when the former could use Teleport and the latter had an odd way of fighting in his own right.
Before he could reach his target, Tsuji brought up his blade to block the shots fired at him from Girikage. It appeared that he would be kept at bay while Girikage would handle Toby at close range.
With his body being pushed from side to side, he had more trouble dealing with the shots than he normally would have. This also created a small opening for something to come from somewhere and strike him in the arm.
Misaki.
He saw the hole that had been created due to a shot fired at him.
She has better patience than I figured to take that shot and land a hit.
.
Seeing the shot land, Toby knew what to do.
He turned his eyes to the side for a single moment to appear in front of Inukai - blade ready to cut his head off.
The two had little time to do much after the teleportation as a sudden flash raced towards them from where Toby had once been.
Both Toby and Inukai were surprised when they noticed Inukai start to fall. His leg had been cut clean off by the flash and now forced him to fall.
That seems to be both a good thing as well as a bad thing.
Toby now had to defend from Tsuji's next attack while Inukai prepared to catch himself and kept an eye on Girikage.
Two blades came from Toby's body as he caught himself on one foot.
Using what little momentum he had, and wind that ran through the area, he started to spin rapidly while still in close proximity of both Inukai and Tsuji.
This should be enough to-
"You should be careful when you do that. It could also end up hurting you."
"-!?"
Toby went wide-eyed as he forced his spin to move enough to send him flying towards the unfinished building again. This time it was far too uncontrollable and forced him to crash into the building instead of simply stopping him.
He looked down to see that his arm was now cut off and smaller cuts were on his body.
So he didn't go after Takeshi... Crap.
Toby looked forward at the one who had used his attack against him.
"How nice of you to give advice to our opponent, Captain."
"Tch. Damn. I guess I'm still in the mindset of a teacher when around people like him."
The new arrival took in some air, making them all try and find some way of escape. He let out that breath in a sigh as he quickly turned around and took off Tsuji's head.
Bail Out.
Gummy: "Captain Hikigane takes no time to take out his opponent!"
U-T: "With him around, Awdry is going to have trouble with his Side Effect. This kind of pressure will be bad for him. He was having enough trouble with the other three, but now that Hikigane-san has arrived... His Side Effect is basically useless."
Kata-3: "But why did he give advice to Awdry?"
.
"Side Effect? What is that?" Henry asked, looking from the screen to Minoru.
"Basically speaking, it's a special trait a person has depending on how much trion they have."
"I see. And that boy has a Side Effect. What exactly-"
.
U-T: "For those of you who do not know, Awdry's Side Effect is an enhancement on his natural reflexes. We don't know much more than that due to him not saying anything particular about that. But he seems to be able to dodge any sort of attack without even realizing that he is doing so."
Kata-3: "But he has to take time to register what's going on when that happens. What's more is that, when out under pressure, his reflexes slow down."
The likelihood of escaping the current situation was low.
Mei's Side Effect was not needed to know that the amount of people around the area meant that Toby would not be able to move how he wanted.
He used his arms and legs, his momentum and the wind, yet he felt like he was only putting himself into a corner at this point as Hikigane moved just as well as him while Inukai and Girikage were following behind. The distance between them all continue to close as the time went on.
Each attack made on him by one of the three opponents was blocked to the best of his abilities.
The strike from the blades were blocked by weaker blades.
The shots that came from a distance were dodged by using the beams.
Each person had their own defenses and offensives on this front as sudden shots appeared from seemingly nowhere and laser-like beams tore through the air.
.
"Jinsei, where are you? You should have caught up by now," Sekai said as he broke one of Toby's blades.
He knew that under normal circumstances he would not be having such an easy time in this fight.
It was sad to see the dog-like boy so unrefined in his fight, but everyone on the battlefield understood that it meant they would have a better chance at getting points. None of them would go easy simply because of personal issues.
Life: "Sorry, sorry~~ I decided to go after Suzu-kun! Hope you don't mind~"
WorTri: "Just make sure you get her in one go. If you let her escape, even for a few seconds-"
Life: "I know, I know. Just leave it to me and have your fun over there."
Sekai let out a sigh as he jumped down from one beam to a lower one in order to dodge some shots Inukai fired off.
.
Damn! Suzume can't get good shots in while we're here!
Toby jumped back far enough to where he was now falling from the unfinished building.
His position had become worse as all three fights turned to him while firing their shots at him without any hesitation.
This forced him into action at a pace where he could not move how he wanted. The best tactic he could think of was to look in the direction of Inukai.
He was gone from his spot in the air.
His destination was clear enough for Inukai to turn around and block the attack by using his gun.
Even with the attack properly block, he was forced back by the attack itself.
"I already know that trick because of Yuki. You need to either be faster or more tactful~"
"Shut up!"
"!?"
.
Inukai was surprised by the sudden laser-like beam that tore through the air.
Using some knowledge he had from how Yuki would move at times, Inukai created a shield to use as a platform to move out of the way of the laser-like beam.
From his new position in the air, he could see Takeshi moving about with Ninomiya a good distance away.
His shots had a new target.
The FN P90 gun was forced to move while firing shots towards the Laser-Shooter. The wind and distance did not matter with attacks coming from both the front, back, top, and sides. That kind of attack could only be dealt with by a handful of people.
That would only apply if the target was alone.
Inukai was fully aware of the next actions that would be taken by Toby and prepared correctly.
"You're open."
He was prepared for the surprise attack from Girikage.
But...
"So are you."
Inukai continued to grin as he saw the Attacker get shot through by the multiple Hound shots that were fired from a distance.
Bail Out
.
"Sorry~ Next time check your surroundings~"
"I'll make sure to reprehend him for that."
Inukai used what he could to twist his body in the air so that his attackers could pass by him.
His efforts were not wasted as both Toby and Hikigane went under him while also attacking each other.
An arm flew through the air.
A leg started for the ground.
Gummy: "It looks like things have been turned around! Now agent Awdry has more support while both Hikigane Squad and Ninomiya Squad are down a member!"
Kata-3: "At this point, it might not mean much."
Gummy: "Huh? Would you mind explaining?"
Kata-3: "It's simple. While it is true that Kotowari Squad has all three members currently out, none of them have managed to score a point yet. Not to mention Kirikari hasn't gotten involved yet."
Gummy: "But isn't that usually his style? 'Wait for the right moment and take them all out,' as he says."
Kata-3: "That's true, but he had multiple opportunities to come out and take one or two points."
.
"This Kirikari person seems like a coward if that is how he does things. A clear offensive strategy would be best when facing others of the like. Keep that strategy behind a powerful defense and winning is as easy as snapping."
"Each person has their own style. Working on that style, refining it, and making it suit you best is what it takes to really get stronger," Minoru said with a small tired sigh.
This had not been the first comment from the man made that forced Minoru to give a similar reaction to Sekai.
I guess harsh tactics and single-mindedness is how he works.
"So does Big Bro's style work against these people? He lost an arm, but he doesn't seem fazed by it at all," the kid said, looking up at Minoru.
Wow... This kid looks like a kid version of Fuzzy Head...
Getting a small smile on his face, Minoru answered.
"He isn't fazed since we can tone down the pain in our trion bodies. As for his style... He's actually the worst one off here. He relies heavily on those makeshift blades, but they don't stand a chance against the more sturdy blade that are being used, or against people who can attack from all around."
"So he will lose because he is weak against his opponents and can't find a way around their attacks. Hm. Sounds about right. In situations like that it is best to either give up right away or have a backup plan for dealing with such people. A true failure it seems."
"Take-kun is with him there," Minoru said with a small sneer. "And he's been able to last this long with little backup."
"Even so, if he was good enough, he would have taken at least one person down by now."
This man...
"So what's the plan now?"
"..."
"Hm?"
"You try and get close to Ninomiya and Inukai. I'll do something for that while also holding back Hikigane."
"Right."
Putting the plan into action, Toby ran towards the two remaining Ninomiya Squad members withhold kind ready to take out a blade from anywhere on his body. The two of them knew how his attacks worked, but he could manage with that handicap.
The two started to fire at him.
"—"
Each shot was taken down by the heated noise laser-like beam. This created an opening for him to cut through so that he could reach the targets.
His main target had become Inukai the moment the two older fighters moved back.
The wind forced their bodies to move in awkward ways as they pushed against it. It left a small window for Toby to attack with his Scorpion blades.
Just need to-
"!?"
His easily broken blades were destroyed by the solid blade of Kōgetsu.
Hikigane moved forward towards him while firing shots at Inukai.
The two noticed each attack and moved accordingly.
The distance between Toby and Inukai was even greater now.
The three fighters planted their feet into the ground for a few seconds. It was the only break they could take before it started again.
The moment they moved forward, multiple shadows could be seen on the ground.
Laser-like beams went for Inukai once more at the same time as Hound shots were going towards both Toby and Hikigane.
The effect each attack had on the area could be seen as the unfinished building creaked noisily before breaking apart above them.
Each fighters used what they could to dodge the onslaught of the building.
Toby and Hikigane weaved easily through the entire things, Inukai, being the furthest from the building, moved back to a safe position while the two Shooters destroyed what they could before it hit them. The area was littered with destruction all around, no one seeming to mind in the slightest.
"There has been less Sniper shots heading for us..." Hikigane noted to himself. "Guess Jinsei got to her."
Honest Sister: "We have a problem, you two. Suzume is trying to get away from Jinsei, but he keeps catching up."
"Urg... I suppose if we make a big enough distraction, the two of us could go help and get a point, but..."
"Very well. We will do that," Takeshi said as one of the orbs by his head went off elsewhere. "I'll keep one of them ready from behind you. Try and get Hikigane and Inukai close again so I can destroy one of the buildings..."
"Fine."
.
Toby faced the direction of Inukai before mentally activating his Trigger.
He went for another attack towards the Gunner's head, this time seeming to have the advantage by not being noticed.
A shield was quickly made to block the attack.
He could see Inukai's gun pointed at him the moment he touched the shield and prepared to teleport away.
This action did not go unnoticed by Hikigane, who was in front of him a moment later.
Toby was prepared for the laser-like beam from behind him.
But...
Wisteria: "Takeshi, don't-!"
"Asteroid."
"!?"
"...!"
Bail Out.
Gummy: "I-! I can't believe it! Agent Awdry was taken out by what seemed to be a slash from Captain Hikigane and a shot through the body from his own comrade - Captain Kotowari!"