Akasora Chishi let out sigh while rubbing his shoulder.

Shinoda Masafumi and Rindō Takumi looked at their friend with knowing expressions. They understood why he seemed to be completely tired.

"Takumi, remind me to never agree to this kind of thing again. It only brings headaches and body aches. If I wanted that then I would be better off staying a teacher. I can at least discipline unruly children there. I can't even handle that crazy woman by myself anymore."

"Stop complaining. Even with Taiyōko... Kushikage that is. Even with her there, it shouldn't be too much of an issue. Mukuro should be well behaved enough, and your nephew is always well behaved."

"You also have Yuki there for you. You should be grateful for his help. You have Yuki and this guy here has Sawamura. Where is my direct helper in all of this? Actually, yeah. Where is my helper!? Everyone is doing their own things in my branch!"

"Shut up. I wish I had your group of weirdos. They at least respect you. Besides, you have at least some sane people there. Two of them are even gone for a bit."

"But we also got a few new kids over in Tamakoma. As a matter of fact, it makes things seem even more odd with an albino and a grown man who can't seem to stay in Mikado City long enough to hold a proper conversation."

"Can you two have your pissing contest somewhere else? I don't want to hear this argument when both of your branches seem to give us in HQ headaches most of the time."

Akasora and Rindō were quick in their response of,

"Shut up, you damn fool! You don't understand our hardships!"

Shinoda put his arms up in defeat.

Akasora let out another sigh before sitting back and speaking once more. His words were no longer towards Rindō and instead towards Shinoda.

His body language gave away that he was speaking to get everything off his chest now before he exploded towards someone who would take the words harder than them. His Side Effect always being effected contributed towards this knowledge of him wanted to relax.

"That woman refuses to stay still for even a second. She enjoys making other miserable by annoying them or destroying their pride. Her main target seems to be Fuji, but others have also become her pray. I've gotten some complaints from the general public as the branch who holds her reins."

He gave a hollow laugh at his own words.

"Yeah, right. Like anyone can hold that woman down."

Shinoda and Rinodō knew very well how true that statement was. While Yuki could be out of control at times, he still listened when it came to certain people. Akasora had no problem with his own student doing things. Mukuro, while seeming to also be an issue, had not actually done anything to warrant any animosity from others. He had only been guilty of association because of his sister.

The woman in question was someone who was nothing but chaos in the shape of a busty woman. A walking calamity that never ceases in its destruction. It always amazed the older ones how she had yet to turn on them.

"How she was able to get into Border... We needed as much help as possible at the time. We never thought she would end up like this. Worse than her parents..."

Shinoda and Rindō held their tongues, knowing full well the circumstances behind her entrance into Border. It had not been in Mikado City, but they knew it all too well.

They remembered the King of All Calamities they had seen on that day.

.

The three men all let out a breath they did not know they were holding in.

"Moving away from that subject..."

Akasora lit a cigarette and took a moment to take in the contents of it.

"I've spoken to Netsuki about the upcoming meeting with that representative of the masses. We came to the conclusion that Yuki will be taking my place in that."

"I had forgotten about that."

Shinoda nodded his head while continuing for his friend.

"You were suppose to go and meet with the representative of the masses as the new branch director for the Yagura Branch. In all actuality, it is a meeting with some sponsors to let them know that their money will be going towards the Ygaura Branch for the time being."

"It is also so make sure that they will continue to fund Border, even after the last invasion. There have been some issues with some of the sponsors and I want to make sure that we would at least keep the better ones on our side."

"Kuruma, Yuiga, Kurosaki, and Kobayashi all seem to be fine with supporting us. Even Awdry has come all the way to Mikado to support us directly. We are fine with that much, since they are rather well off with what they do. But the one that Netsuki is mostly worried about is Shiraishi. As a top business group, they are rather important to keep on our side."

Rindō let out some smoke from his mouth while looking at the sky.

It was rather clear with only a few clouds around.

He spoke up to say he understood what was going on.

"So Chi-chan is meeting with someone who represents Shiraishi and who can keep peace with the other sponsors. While I am against it being him, what with how he always acts and his Side Effect, I think that with some help from others, he'll be fine."

"That was our thought process as well. But it looks like things have changed."

Akasora nodded as if to confirm his friend's words.

"Yuki will be going in my stead. I was against it completely since Netsuki wants to use Yuki's real name as the groundwork for this. When I tried to argue against it, the fool only nodded his head and said, 'Fine. I'll do it. But I am going to do it my way, with the people I want to tell. Is that fine?' So here we are."

Rindō let out a gut-filled laugh.

"Yeah, yeah. Get it out now before I punch those glasses into your face."

"Calm down, Chishi." Shinoda used his elbow to jab Rindō in the side. "We know we can trust Yuki with this. He is one of the best at using words to his advantage. Even if something were to happen, I'm sure he will be fine dealing with it."

"I know that. But since we're going out on a limb and letting him use his inherited name for this instead of his known name, we can get some backlash from other groups. Even if we are in the good graces of those mentioned groups, they will still be watching the meeting go down."

"That's right. With Kurosaki and Awdry watching..."

Akasora audibly clicked his tongue while turning the other way.

Shinoda and Rindō turned to him with questioning looks.

"Sorry. Mentioning Awdry reminded me of my idiotic students."

The two men needed no more context as to what Akasora was talking about.

They had all known about what happened in the first round of the B-Rank Wars. Tamakoma had blown through the first round with little time and all the points they could get. Meanwhile, Kotowari Squad had been blown away in the first round without gaining a single point.

What was more was that the way they had gone about the entire match was also something for them to consider.

Being their former teacher, Akasora could not help but worry for Takeshi and Toby. The two had always been doing something or other in his class to gain some attention, but not in any wrong way. Toby had always been playful while Takeshi was the one to truly handle him when Hoshi could not. There had never been any sort of malice while in his class.

"This is different than I've seen them. According to Yuki, Kotowari shot through Awdry with no problem or hesitation. The kid has always been quiet, but he's never given the impression of someone who would do that."

"It is most likely due to the disbanding of Tsukiko Squad."

"It might be a bit more than that. Remember that Yuki has been busy helping out Chishi. I doubt he's had much time to talk to his former squad besides Mei. He probably hasn't properly explained his actions just yet."

"Ah. So he feels like Yuki really has just abandoned them for seemingly no reason. When in reality he just hasn't gotten around to say the reason."

"Exactly."

"Even so..."

Akasora looked down with furrowed brows. His expression was that of someone who knew what was going on but could do nothing to help. The more seconds that went by the more his face morphed into something almost unrecognizable.

"They should know that there is a reason for it. Yuki isn't the type to do things without one. Those two... They might be too blinded by their admiration for him to see what is going on around them. I would figure that Mei or their other teammate would have told them something by now but..."

"It's possible that they are also deaf to everything else."

Rindō let out some more spoke.

"With his family appearing in Mikado City, Awdry might be overwhelmed by the whole thing. Thinking that everything is against him at the moment. Meanwhile, Kotowari was never one to care too much about the world or anything on it unless it was truly something special."

"That would be Yuki."

"Correct. With the only attachment to everything seemingly gone, things might get out of hand with that boy. Something will probably need to be done for him soon. Miwa was one thing, but this is something completely different."

Rindō's expression changed to a more serious one as he turned to Akasora.

"Chishi, this is most likely something our of your control. Even if you were their teacher, I don't think you can convince them to handle the situation like an adult. If you were to do something, make that something be telling Yuki to fix what he started. He and Mei are the only two who can fix those children."

Akasora knew it was the truth.

No matter how much he wanted to directly help, he had no true authority or place in the minds of Kotowari Squad. He was just a former teacher who would hand them their grades and teach them lessons, not fight side-by-side against Neighbors or hang out during down time.

That was reserved for other people.

He was simply not someone who could do much.

That was why he had made his decision.

"I have completely messed up. I am sorry for that."

Yuki was unsure what he heard.

Takato Mei had just admitted to messing up while also apologizing to him. That would not have been anything strange if it was not for the fact that the two of them would usually refuse to admit they messed up in front of each other.

They had agreed to just take a moment's rest after having to deal with their own problems. While Yuki had a branch to help with, Mei had a squad to take care of. It was more apparent that she had the worst problems after having seen the first round of the B-Rank Wars. It was something to see, but for all the wrong reasons.

The two of them were the ones who knew Kotowari Squad the best and yet could not find a proper way to help them.

Knowing that there was no way to currently help them, Yuki gave the best answer that came to mind.

"Can we just not start with this kind of harsh reality? Hearing you say that you messed up is like saying there is no more ice cream in the world. It seems rather impossible until you see it for yourself."

"I get it now. You want me to punch you through the tree. Yes. That seems like the most logical conclusion anyone would come to after hearing that stupidity."

"Oh no... Is Rampage Dress coming out again!? I'm sorry, we don't have the militaristic might to stop it like last time. Please hold it in, Mei-san!"

There was an audible noise of wood being broken under the hit of a single fist.

"Please keep talking. I want to see how much you have grown. Apparently it's quite a bit since you think you can dodge my punch."

Yuki was quick to go into a dogeza position while repeating the same phrase of apology.

This seemed to be enough as Mei lowered her fist and sat back down next to him.

Yuki could only sigh in relief.

"Now then," Mei started, "I will be nice and not continue from where I left off. Instead, I will give you a chance to tell me what exactly you have been hiding from me."

Mei looked over to see Yuki give a sad smile.

It was clear to her that he had forgotten how easily she could read him. Even with being a walking lie, she was able to figure out everything concerning him with little to no effort at all.

"Of course. Who else can do it but you? It only makes sense that you can figure it out."

"If we are not talking about cheats, Murakami has you pretty figured out as well. Other than him... It's rather hard to say. I think Inukai always has some idea while Minoru tries. You just seem to try and not notice."

"What point is there in noticing when it doesn't matter by the end of everything? It's like paying attention to the frame of a picture over the picture itself. There is never anything too particular to look at from start to finish."

Mei let out a breath through her nose.

"Very well," Mei continued, "I will be nice and not continue this terrible conversation. Instead, I will give you a chance to tell me what exactly you have been hiding from me."

Yuki shook his head while correcting his expression.

It truly was a terrible conversation.

"Right. It wasn't like I was hiding it from you. There was no reason to really tell you since I don't want you to help in this matter. At least not when you have to deal with those three."

That would have been another terrible conversation.

"Continuing this better conversation... I have been asked by Sensei and Director Netsuki to be Border's voice in an upcoming unofficial meeting with a representative of the masses. I was given freedom to handle it however I wanted. So I am planning a meeting with a few other people."

"I see..."

.

Without any thought of proper action, Mei started calculating how these two meetings would go and who would be involved in them. That would then determine how much she would really need to get involved.

Supplementary information would be needed to fill in the blanks that she was coming across. Asking for them from Yuki would be the best option, but Jin was also an option in this case. It would stand to reason that he would be involved with something like this as well. There was no point in not involving him.

The reason for this meeting was almost completely obvious when given ever a second to think about it. There was no reason to think about that at all.

The next thing would have been to determine the time and date of this meeting. That would lead into figuring out when she could join in to assist however she could. With either her or Jin helping it would go so smoothly that there should not even be a meeting. Yuki's usage of words would be overkill at that point.

There is no point in having anyone else handle this. I will ask Jin to accompany me to this meeting so that we can end things quickly.

No one else would have to use up their time for such a trivial thing when it could easily be handled by only two people. This was even more true when it came to Yuki who, as she knew all too well, had a limited amount of time.

Afterwards the best option would be to let Jin know that there was no longer a reason for him to be so much for others. She would be well off taking care of everything herself at all times. She would only ever need the supplementary information at times to fill in those blank spaces.

After all...

What good am I if I cannot take everything on myself. Everything that makes up this world and everything that lives on this world. I am the best choice to take care of everything.

It was only logical that she would be the one to take everything possible on her own shoulders.

And yet...

"Mei, you need to stop now."

.

"Huh?"

Mei blinked multiple times.

She looked around to see Yuki giving her a sad smile.

It was different from his previous one. This smile had always been reserved for when she delved too far into her mind. It was the smile that was meant to show how hurt he was when he could do nothing to help her.

It was a smile of weakness.

"This is why I didn't want to say anything. I didn't want to see you thinking about it. I was never planning on bringing you into this because I knew that you would try and take care of it yourself."

He gave a pitiful laugh.

"I know that you can handle it without any issue, but that's why I don't want you to be involved. Us lesser people need to handle our issues ourself. That being said... I am far below everyone, so that's why I am working with some others."

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean for you to think..."

Yuki shook his head with another laugh.

The two of them knew full well that this was not the first time they spoke like this.

"We both know that I already think like this. Anything you say only helps me. I'm just far below everyone to take that help."

"..."

"Sorry. I guess I shouldn't talk like that to you. Those words just came out too naturally for me. But I can't be blamed for that. You and Kō know so much that whatever I think ends up becoming too much for me not to say."

Mei wanted to argue.

She wanted to hit him and yell at him. It was a natural reaction when it came to Yuki. Akasora and Murakami had said multiple times that they also wanted to do something like that at times. Kageura had even admitted to doing it at one point.

But she always held it in.

She opened her mouth to speak once more. To tell him something, anything, to move away from the terrible conversations they were having.

She said nothing.

She did not have to say anything.

The two of them were well prepared for the moment someone else came into the conversation.

"Yo~ Are you two busy with a date or something?"

Yuki reacted quickly by covering Mei's ears the moment any words came from the mouth of one Jin Yūichi.

.

"Oops! Sorry, sorry~"

"Jin, if she ever hears things like that coming from you, I will be the one to deal with you. Got it?"

"Will some bonchi make it up to you?"

"No."

"How about ice cream?"

"..."

Jin laughed at the reaction he was getting from the A-Rank branch member.

He casually leaned against the tree the two were sitting near.

"I am glad I found you two though. It makes things easier for me."

"Oh? And what would you need from us anyways? I just had to stop Mei from calculating any further, so I won't let you use her like that."

"Don't worry. It isn't anything like that," Jin said as he ate some of the rice crackers in his hand. "It's just for something simple. I need some help and you two are great options. The best ones? No. The most optimal? No. The most fun? Yes."

"I will punch you."

"Hey now! I was kidding! A joke! A joke!"

"I bet..."

"Anyway..."

Jin moved forward so that he stood in front of the two. His grin was in place and it caused the two of them want to just grab his lips and turn them towards the ground.

Knowing what the future entailed, Jin continued to grin with seemingly no remorse.

"Our boss is going to be checking on the Yagura Branch's training rooms with Akasora-san. Mei, can you help them out with that? Yuki is busy enough with the upcoming meeting, so you would be a great option for this."

"Jin, I don't want you telling us to do stuff for my branch."

"You're mistaking something here. I am just telling you guys what you can do for your futures. That's all. She can refuse if she wants."

"It's fine. As much as I hate it... We owe Jin for keeping us updated. If we...have to go with his instructions for a bit then I suppose that is fine."

"Yes, yes. I understand. I understand that you really want to punch Jin as hard as you can, Mei. Lower your arm and stop with the glare, then I'll listen to him."

Yuki looked over to see Jin still grinning as if there wasn't a beast in front of him.

Standing up, he looked up at Jin with a tired look.

"Alright then. What do you need me to do, Jin?"

"Oh. That is easy."

There was something about his tone that made Yuki raise an eyebrow.

"You should go stop Takeshi from blowing people up."

Kotowari Takeshi looked forward with a kind of expression that gave nothing away.

That was more because there was nothing to give away than anything else.

He looked up at the man with brown hair and a pressed suit. His appearance was similar to that of one of his teammates. The main difference was the age and the fact this man seemed to be finding some kind of weakness to him as opposed to just enjoying himself.

Takeshi understood that this man was Toby's father from having hear about the news. Their appearances were similar, yet Takeshi still felt nothing towards this man.

"You are that pitiful boy from the first round."

"Kotowari Takeshi."

"I do not care. Your actions are a major factor in deciding if we truly want to sponsor Border. If they cannot even control an empty and pitiful life like you, what reason do I have to agree to giving my money to them?"

"Likewise, I do no care. Your money is pointless when it can't buy anything really important. As for me being a factor in your decision... That is idiotic at the most basic level. Why you would determine something like that on a single 'pitiful life' is something unknown. That is more because only idiots and degenerates were think like that."

"I do not want to hear that coming from a child who would gladly turn his back on others just to satisfy his own wants and needs. While I too would turn my back on people, that is for the betterment of my company than myself."

Takeshi continued to look up at the man with no particular expression.

He could not say he hated this man, but he just as much could not say he enjoy his company. The words that came from his mouth were simply robotic ones that speak the truth as to what he was thinking. There was little time for his kind to process what he was saying before they came out.

The same was said for Henry who, at the current time, was finding himself getting annoyed by the the B-Rank captain.

After having seen Kotowari Squad's first round match he had started to truly consider his choice in supporting Border. While he was grateful for them and their help, seeing Takeshi made him think that they had no real control over the people they employed.

The two continued to stare each other down as the sound of footsteps rang throughout the hall they were in.

They slowly turned their heads to see a glasses-boy walking in their direction. He did not seem like he would be joining their conversation and instead was just walking in that direction naturally.

.

Lukas Wagner raised an eyebrow when he saw the two serious males standing in the middle of the hallway.

His first thought was to slide by them but noticed that they left little space for others to get through. That left him with no other choice but to directly talk to them so that they could move to the side.

"Pardon me."

Seeing both males looking directly at him, Lukas left like he should keep speaking to a minimum.

The older one of the two gave a huff before turning his body to the side. His steps were fast, yet dignified. Each one was heavy and felt like they had purpose behind each one.

There was no reason to find out what was going on and no reason to stay in the hall for longer than needed, so he started for his walk through the hallway once more.

That had been the idea at least.

"Wagner. I want to ask you a question."

"I would rather not talk to you right now."

The words were harsh, but they were the truth.

"Why is that?"

Lukas knew that it would be best not to answer and continue walking. What had stopped him from doing so was the bit of knowledge he had on Takeshi and his current mindset.

That left him with the only option being to answer back.

"Because you are being childish in the worst way."

"Elaborate."

Lukas could feel a headache coming on.

"Because of you tantrum towards Tsukiko Squad's disbandment. It's childish and idiotic. There is no reason for you or your squad to be so hung up over it. Things like that happen all the time. If you stay on something so trivial then I have no business with you."

He was well aware of how Suzume was slowly getting over it and how Toby currently had better things to worry about. His use of words had come out due to a moment of forgetfulness.

"Is that so...?"

There was a sudden ominous feeling in the air as Takeshi tilted his head to the side. His expression had not changed and neither had his body language. The only thing that seemed to have changed was the general feeling around the boy.

Lukas stood firm with his words, not wanting to back down on what he knew was the truth.

It appeared that there was no winning in the given situation. If he had walked away like planned, something may have happened behind his back. Since he stayed and answered the questions, something was happening in front of him.

"What exactly would you know?"

An orb of trion appeared near Takeshi's head.

"No. I don't actually care for that answer."

Two more orbs of trion appeared near Takeshi's head.

"I really don't care anymore."

Something was happening.

Lukas noted how the orbs of trion were no longer perfect spheres that moved around. Now each one seemed to be fluctuating, seeming to bubble at random parts. This was different from someone like Kako who created her attacks as blobs.

These looked ready to explode.

"What's going on over here?"

.

Lukas turned his head to see Kakizaki rushing towards them. Once he reached them he got between Takeshi and Lukas, looking ready to defend the latter.

"Kotowari, you were planning on attacking him, weren't you?"

"Yes."

The simple answer unnerved both Lukas and Kakizaki.

"You know full well that fighting outside of matches is prohibited. You can get punished for doing this. And from the looks of things... It might be from more than just Border."

"I am fine with that. Besides... You are both in trion bodies."

"That's..."

There was a moment of silence between the three Border members.

Kakizaki was ready to make a move against Takeshi should he continue his attack.

Everything going on was not something he thought would happen. Kageura had gone and attacked others before, earning punishment from the Border higher ups, but this was completely different.

This went beyond just points getting taken away.

There was something clearly wrong with Takeshi and the way he was acting. It went well beyond someone who was just angry at a single person. His display of an uncaring person was boarding something dangerous that needed to be taken care of as soon as possible.

Kakizaki was ready to make a move against Takeshi while thinking of his current actions.

"Look... You need to really calm down. Even if you are still mad because of the disbanding of Tsukiko Squad-"

Things would get extremely dangerous.

Or they would have.

But...

"-!"

The sound of something cutting through an object was heard for only a fraction of a second.

Lukas and Kakizaki looked with wide eyes as Takeshi's head fell from his body for a second before he was forced into his real body.

The attention moved to the person standing behind him.

"I'm sorry, Wagner, Kakizaki. This is my fault."

"Yu-"

Yuki was quick to knock out Takeshi and catch his body before it hit the ground.

Kakizaki and Lukas could see the regret in Yuki's eyes as he held the younger boy in his arms. He was aware that this current problem was his fault and needed to be fixed.

"I won't be asking you two to forget this. It happened and I can't change that. Do what you will with what happened."

Those were the final words Yuki said before disappearing with the body.

Kakizaki and Lukas only watched as he was gone from their sight in an instant.

Their immediate thought was how the use of Teleport was implemented right before their eyes.

Once the initial shock of everything settled down, Kakizaki let out a breath.

He was expecting a fighting against the Laser-Shooter. The outcome was easy enough to figure out given their current environment and the general standing of the both of them. Takeshi would easily tear holes through his false body without even having to blink.

.

"The next round is going to be a challenge..."

"Are you fighting them?"

Kakizaki looked over at Lukas who, for everything that just happened, seemed rather calm.

I suppose each person does take everything in differently.

That thought applied to more than just Lukas.

He shook his head for a second before giving a tired smile.

"Yeah. I found out today that our next opponents are Nasu Squad and Kotowari Squad. And I think I just made an enemy out of Kotowari..."

"That match is not going to go over well with either your squad or Kotowari Squad."

They were simple but true words.

Kakizaki looked toward once more, thinking about what he had seen. The cold and dead eye of Takeshi were unnerving as it was, his answer and actions made things far worse for him.

The next match would need to be more planned out than any before for them. Not because of who the opposing teams were, rather, because of that single boy who had an overwhelming Trigger that he could use against them all.

I hope we can get through it...

"So something like that happened..."

Akasora was quick to take the lit cigarette from Rindō's hand. Putting it in his mouth, he took in a good portion of it before blowing it out of both his mouth and nose.

"Hey!"

"Wow. What was sent to you for you to do that, Chishi?"

"Whatever it was, it better be a good enough reason to take my cigarette. That was my last one too."

"Smoking is bad for you anyway. I was doing you a favor."

"Don't spin thievery like it's something helpful!"

He ignored the complaints with a wave of his hand.

Looking back down at his phone, he put the cigarette back in his mouth and finished it off.

"I just got word from Yuki that there was almost an incident involving one of those idiotic students of mine. Apparently it also involved Kakizaki and Hatohara Squad's Operator. He managed to get there before anything happened, but that's about all he sent."

"Something needs to be done about this. I can't turn a blind eye if he is causing problems around the base like that. You realize that, right, Chishi?"

"Yeah, I get it. And since he isn't part of my branch I have no real way of protecting him from this sort of thing."

"Would you do it if he was a part of Yagura?"

"Of course not."

There was no hesitation.

Hesitating for something like this meant that he would be trying to smother his former students instead of helping them. There would be no helping if he only protected them when they had done something stupid.

Shinoda and Rindō understood this and so both made a certain decision.

"I will pretend to have not heard anything then."

"You sure that's a smart choice?"

"This is off the record anyway. At this point it could be said that I just made up that story after having seen the first round. But if either Kakizaki or Wagner come to me or one of the other directors about this, I won't do anything to go against them. For the time being, I have to worry about the city and its inhabitants instead of someone a friend decided to tell me offhandedly."

"This doesn't have anything directly to do with my branch, so I'm the same. I'll just say that you stole something from me and that's the only incident that I know of."

"Okay. ...But why?"

"Are you that stupid?" they both asked.

Akasora quickly raised his fist in response.

The two other men waved off his threat easily enough.

"From what you said, Yuki was the one who told you. That means he had gone there to make sure Kotowari didn't do anything else. So long as Yuki fixes the problem he started, it should all work out fine enough. Everything after that will be personal problems that will not be involving us or Border as a whole."

"Yeah, just sit back and see what happens first, Chi-chan. There isn't much you can do when it comes to these sorts of problems. Besides, you have other things to worry about. Besides Kushikage and the meeting coming up, you were also given another task."

.

That's right... I need to see who else I can recruit for this new branch of mine.

There had been many things that were not officially stated to him upon being signed up as the new Yagura Branch director. One of those things had been that he needed to find some reliable recruits for the branch.

He would need to scout out others, send it to HQ, get the permission of the directors, then speak with the recruits himself. If they rejected his offer, that would be all there was to it. If they agreed to it, they would join the branch as soon as possible and no questions would be asked.

The reason for this had been explained to him only recently.

"The Yagura Branch was made to be a combat branch."

"That's right," Shinoda said.

"Because of the fight we all know you would put up to keep Shikifuku with you, it was decided that the Yagura Branch would be made as a combat focused branch instead of a simple connection point for the citizens. You all will still act as a connection point, but the members in your branch will be the ones who we wend out right away should another invasion or just an attack occur."

"Wouldn't it have been better to have Tamakoma be like that, all things considered?"

The Tamakoma Branch already had members who were considered the best and their own director knew his way around a battlefield already. Besides that, the history of Border resided in that branch while the Yagura Branch would only now be starting it's creation of history.

Rindō gave a hum as he faced the clear sky.

It looked as if he was thinking something similar to Akasora.

"That's a good point. But the Yagura Branch has more freedom than we do over at Tamakoma. Since you guys are new, it creates opportunities. My branch already has a base line, as well as a faction, surrounding it. The Yagura Branch has neither of those, as of yet. Since we know you well enough, the rest of us know that a branch under your guidance will be one that creates a new... Well, calling it a 'faction' may be a bit much, but that is basically it."

"You never like to take sides, so that means a branch you control will never takes sides unless there is a good reason for it. In that way, should something come up like with Tamakoma, we know that you all will either stay out of it or pick the side you think is right."

"So you want the Yagura Branch to be an separate party for inside affairs while giving the appearance of another part belonging to Border's HQ to others."

Akasora gave a bitter look to the two of them.

When said out loud it was as if they were only using this new branch to solve their own problems or problems that had yet to come up.

Shinoda had spoken those words with confidence, but that had only been to hide the motives behind all of this. It was something that had gone through all of the directors, and clearly the branch directors, but it was only now that this had reached him.

It was insulting.

But...

"That's fine."

He could not deny them.

"As long as you two know that we will not always be taking your side on matters, then I only have trivial problems with this. I expect the others won't take kindly to this, so I'm going to keep this a secret from them. That being said, I just want to know something."

"And what's that?"

"Is this also because of Seidō?"

.

Shinoda was the first to react upon hearing the name.

Between the three of them, he and Akasora and been the ones to always react first when that name came up. It was always followed up by everyone else's reactions and thoughts.

This time was not different.

"...Yeah. If anything comes up with him, we want to make sure you know about it first. If you are a separate party in the inner affairs of Border, some people will be wary to bring things up to you. But since I am a director at HQ, I can get you the information right away. From there, you would be able to do something before the rest of us."

"I thought so. Takumi, your thoughts on the matter?"

"Heh. You're really asking me that? Tamakoma will be reacting the same way as everyone else if he shows up, so it's better that it's this way. I can't say I disliked the guy, but you two are his friends while I'm just a guy he got along with. The difference there is enough to figure out what the end result would be if we got the information at the same time."

"Does that mean you wouldn't help if I asked you to?"

"Sure, I'd help out, if it's within my power to do so. If it's an impossibility, I would have no choice. Just keep that in mind when the time comes."

"Good to know."

Shinoda let out a sigh in his heart at those words.

There were still things they needed to go over, but the most harsh subjects had already been covered. For the time being he would only need to view their discussion as talk between friends instead of directors so that none of them would get in trouble.

With that thought in mind, he chose to change the topic as he pulled out his phone.

"Now that we got through that, there are some other things I want to check on."

He turned to face Akasora once more, this time with a blank page opened.

"Chishi, do you have some people in mind for recruits?"

"Actually, there are a few. But the first ones that come to mind would be those fools who should have been at the top."

"Oh ho? You're talking about Yuki's former squad, aren't you?"

That's right. I had forgotten that none of them belong to any branch or even any faction.

"Correct. I wanted to look into them more and see if they, along with their respective squads, wanted to join. And more than that... I wanted Yuki newest former squad to join as well."