Taiyōko Hoshi watched with held breath as the dancers on the forest stage left in flashes of light to make way for the next event.

Instead of those who had elegant and smashing steps, wild ones who opposed each other were now standing on the open stage. Decorations lay around in the form of fallen trees and stumps. It had taken a good portion of the screen with another moving stage being broadcasted on the other side of the screen.

That stage had started to move from a forest stage that held lush trees to a cityscape that no longer had dirt and grass but cement and weeds growing about with buildings taking over for the trees that were left behind.

The second stage had three performers on it. The first was her classmate who had been called Laser-Shooter by others due to his use of his Trigger by the same name. Following him were two girls, each with their own determination evident on their expressions with the one who held the blades moving forward for attacks while the other girl prepared shots to fire.

"This really is amazing. We are the same age and part of the same organization yet..."

Yet...

"Kotowari-kun and Awdry-kun are able to fight on such grand stages with others who they view as equals. Something like that must take a lot of confidence. Enough to go against those new models that had appeared in front of us that day."

She thought of her own helplessness during that time and what could have happened if their teacher had not stepped in to save them.

I am now a part of the Yagura Branch under Akasora-sensei... Oh. No. It is just Akasora-san now. He has been really down when I call him that though, so I am unsure what to do concerning him anymore. I should ask Kushi-nee and Mu-nii at some point if they have any tips to give concerning that.

Oh. But that is off topic. I was thinking that I am still so powerless even when put together with such strong people. Even Tenryū-kun seem to be doing better than I ever could.

She touched the object in her hair, given to her by an upperclassmen who seemed to care for everyone.

She had worn it every day as if it was a charm that would give her some power.

"I suppose someone who only has the appearance of a princess can do as little as possible. What good are appearances when I cannot fight on par with those who treat me so well?"

"Well that's an interesting question. I didn't think I would hear such pessimistic words come from you, Hime."

Hoshi turned her head at the voice next to her.

Minoru was looking at the screen in front of him - looking at the two stages - while speaking to the girl who thought nothing of herself.

"Would you mind if I sat with you?"

"A-ah! No! Not at all! Please!"

She was quick to move over a seat, letting the older boy take her former seat next to the isle. This had been meant for his legs to have room to stretch should he need it.

Minoru took the seat with a smile before turning his attention away from the screen and towards her.

"Is this match giving you problems?"

"Huh? But I am not fighting."

"I meant with your thoughts. I had been sitting near the top when I saw you with a worried look on your face. Are you worried about your classmates? It's fine if you are. It's natural to worry about the people you care about."

Hoshi knew those words far too well.

Even if she did not like them, she knew it was rude not to respond to them.

"No... It is not that. I am..."

She looked towards the screen once more and noticed some movement from the forest stage where the wild ones gathered.

Shor-kun is usually coming by to play with Awdry-kun. I should speak with him when I have the chance.

"I am just wondering what exactly it takes to be on a stage like that. Kotowari-kun, Awdry-kun... Even Shor-kun. They do not look like they have changed. Even though they went through a lot because of Yuki-senpai... No. He really is Kiyo-nii... Oh. My apologies."

"Go at your own pace."

She thanked him from her heart.

"Well... When we are in school compared to now... They are amazing. They are never afraid of putting themselves out there and showing just how strong they are. That alone is something to praise. Then they show that they really do have the strength to pull off whatever feat they are trying to reach. I am just... I am with them. I am in their class. I am with them when we need to team up at school. Yet I am nothing when compared to those kinds of people."

Her mind told her to stop before she could bring herself down. The beating of her heart was a sign to go on.

It may not have been the time or place for it, but she felt like she could learn something by saying these things out loud to someone who knew the same people she did.

"I have the appearance of someone important, but I lack the ability to do anything for others. Kotowari-kun and Awdry-kun are usually told they lack things when it comes to appearances, but they have a great amount of ability to accomplish things for both themselves and others."

.

Minoru gave a mental "Ah" when hearing what he was being told.

The girl next to him was someone he had only recently met when passing by the R&D department in Border's main base of operation. He had recognized the girl as someone who both Mei and Murakami spoke about before. Inukai had also mentioned her some time ago.

Now that he had gotten to know her just a bit better, he understood why her words sounded so sad.

I understand how it feels to be powerless.

He knew well how it felt and was quick to realize that what she was feeling was a misguided version of it. There was no true harm in the words of someone who did not know what the other did, so he forgave her for what she had said.

"I see. Well it's good thing that you came to watch Kotowari Squad fight then."

The girl looked towards him once more.

He had turned his head to face the screen once more. The girl's eyes were not missed though, making him even more grateful that she was a good person with an honest heart and a good head on her shoulders.

"Toby had asked me to train him. He was actually nervous about the whole thing, something I haven't seen at all from him. He is usually so upbeat and going at his own pace that others tend to get dragged into it, whether they realize it or not. It's not a bad thing, but it is sometimes hard to handle."

Minoru gave a chuckle at the times when he had been absorbed by the energy the smaller boy had given off at times. There had only been a few people who could fully keep up with him outside of fights.

"Well," he began again, "he had also asked if we could wait for that training until after this match. Those two... Those three are lumped together as the American Trio by some people. It was a bit funny when they learned about that. They took it gladly, but it was still amusing that they did so that quickly. They view each other as equals, even when others see it differently."

"Differently? How so?"

"They only take their skills and power into consideration. If we are just looking at that, Fuzzy Head is technically the best due to his Side Effect alone. It outclasses both Noah-kun and Shana-chan's Side Effects. They are not pushovers by any means, but Fuzzy Head also has some backing from learning how to properly fight from Loki. Even so, they never see it like that."

These words were not his own.

There had been multiple times when Toby had complained to him how others viewed the three of them in such a strange light when there was no real difference between them.

It was always amazing how modest such a wild boy could be.

"Like I said; they view each other as equals. Not because they all come from the same country or because they all have Side Effects. It's because they realize they all have a lot of leaning to do as people and Border agents who want to help others. The same can be said for you. You are still relatively new, right? So that means you can be viewed as equal to either one of those two you mentioned. All three of you still have things to learn."

Minoru had not expected to give a small lecture to anyone else while watching the current match. The intent had been to see how far Toby was so that he could properly come up with a good schedule for their training.

When he saw the look he got from the girl, it made his words worth it. They seemed to stick deep within the girl, taking root and waiting for the right time to fully bloom into something amazing. It created a nice feeling in him.

"I see. Thank you very much for those words, Hatohara-senpai."

"Minoru is fine enough."

He gave a smile in her direction while keeping to the screen.

"Now then. Let's see what will happen here. Even from just watching, you can learn a lot when others are fighting."

It was not hard to see how things were unfair.

Trion, attack, defense, support, mobility, skill, range. Those were all internal factors to take into consideration when fighting with others who could use tactics. That was fair enough when all participants on the wild stage were close to each other in all those internal factors. The odd one out would have been "Lobo" who had the lowest score.

When the internal factors were taken into consideration and plans were made, external factors would have to be added it. Any surrounding forces would need to be added on with the internal factors that each person was responsible for. That had been left up to "Lobo" and his team to decide.

Once the internal and external factors were taken in then a final side factor had to be added into the mix. It was not something that could be worked on like internal factors and not something that could be chosen like external factors. It was a random factor that would attach itself to a person when their trion was high enough to do so.

Side Effect.

A Side Effect would come to those who had high enough trion and manifest in a multitude of ways ranging from things like foresight, super calculation, and lie detecting to enhanced hearing, echolocation, and intimidation. It was rare enough to where your average person would most likely not have one.

Yet the ones who stood on the wild stage shared that in common as well. Each held a form of ability that normal people would not be capable of under normal circumstances going about their lives. They had all been classified as enhancements by the ones who helped to ascertain that knowledge.

That was where it became unfair.

.

Noah Shor was well aware of where he was was placed when it came to the three of them.

His Side Effect of enhanced sense of balance had him squished between Shana's enhanced eyesight and Toby's enhanced reflexes. It made him able to stay close to either one of them as someone who could specialize in both offense and defense.

Knowing what to do against his two opposites, he shifted his position while moving his blade. The Kōgetsu blade that was in his left hand got tossed to his right as he pulled the Trigger holder for Kōgetsu out and held it in his left hand.

Distance is what matters in this fight. The two of them are only good at close range fights. The issues comes in that Tobio has Teleport and Shay has reach with her scythe.

He knew there was more.

Toby specialized in short and decisive battles. His use of Teleport and Scorpion in tandem with his Side Effect made fights easy enough for him. Striking the vital spots of an unsuspecting person and beating them down with sheer power had always been his go-to tactics.

Shana usually had the assistance of her teammates due to her Trigger's weight slowing her down. It left too many openings for others to take advantage of when in battle. Those spots would be covered by her teammates most of the time.

One can cover the distance in an instant and the other has enough reach to attack for a solid hit.

Then there was him.

.

Power was her specialty.

Shana knew that her specialty was terrible when it came to both Toby and Noah.

She was aware of Toby's Side Effect being a hard counter to her. He did not need to think when he moved away from her attacks. There was a chance for her, a weakness that she knew of better than most people, but that was hard to exploit when he was hard enough to catch.

The other problem was Noah.

The balanced boy specialized in a mix between offense and defense, transitioning between the two at will and never losing a moment due to his Side Effect. It was hard to keep up when he would never be at a loss of balance even when there was no footing for him.

This is just on me this time. I wanted this as much as they did, so none of us have any room to complain.

She knew her weakness well enough and knew that her Side Effect was not the best when compared to the other two. That should have been enough pressure to force her into retreat and regroup with her teammates.

But...

Like hell I'll be backing down from a fight with these two.

Shana grinned as she prepared her next course of action.

.

It was strange.

Am I really that slow? Have they gotten faster?

Toby shifted his feet on a stump, feeling around his leg and toes to check if he had somehow taken a hit when he wasn't looking.

No hits taken. So then how did that happen?

He had started thinking about how he had been stopped by Noah a moment ago. It was not unusual for him to be caught like that when it came to those above up on skill. Tachikawa, Midorikawa, Murakami, Inukai, Minoru, Yuki, and even Suzume, had been able to grab his hand at some point, but that had been either because they were faster than him or skilled enough to predict how he moved and react and the exact moment he extended his arm out.

Noah, while being fast and skilled in his own right, had yet to properly grab his hand while fighting and instead only grazed him at best. It was baffling how the previous action had managed to hold him back when his Side Effect would normally have protected him from any sort of contact.

It's messed up of me to think so poorly of the guy, but it's the truth. My Side Effect is better and more versatile than he is. He shouldn't have reached me before I either teleported away or dodged the grab.

But...

That's what happened. Going over everything again, I can start to see it. I was right with my first assumption. I am getting slower and they are getting faster. They are getting stronger while I stay stagnant. They build up defense while I can only try to dodge.

He tightened his grip on both Scorpion blades that had been created in his grasp.

I became too damn reliant on my Side Effect!

.

There was no signal. There was not even a way for them to all agree on it. Yet it happened as smoothly as of planned out by the three of them.

The wild ones rushed forward.

Noah was the first to use what was in his arsenal by placing a blue plate on the ground in front of himself.

The moment he stopped on it he was shot forward with speed that exceeded the other two. That speed made it hard to change course when he was so close to the ones he was suppose to attack. It also gave away that his target had been the one nicknamed "King of Currumpaw," who was fully aware of the forward attack toward him.

In return, Toby had brought us his arms in preparation for the incoming attack.

A clash between the two of them would force both to halt all movement to reorganize themselves. It would take him longer to do so since Noah's balance would never falter for a moment. It left him in the worst position where he would fall victim to an extra attack.

Noah had been well aware of that as well during his initial push forward. The facts were that the battle would go in an obvious direction if he continued forward with the intent to attack his animalistic friend.

"So then..."

"Of course you would do that!"

Noah grinned as he passed by Toby and used his shoulder as a springboard.

Once in the air, he used the extra time he had to place another blue plate in the air. The moment his feet touched the blue plate he was pushed forward once more. This time his goal was the moment when both Toby and Shana would collide due to the altered attack.

.

Shana had been unprepared for the sudden change in flow of the battle. She had fully intended on attacking both boys at once. If that did not work, hitting Toby would have been a nice alternative.

"!"

She was put into the worst position.

Noah had an aerial view and multiple angles to attack and Toby used his reflexes to twist himself while still moving forward. This put him in a position where he could keep moving while being able to defend against Noah.

It was hard to move with her large Trigger. The weight kept her from moving as freely as the two boys near her.

She would be cut down right away.

Damn it all! I didn't want to do this right away, but...

.

Toby felt his body start to move on its own once more.

The initial attack from Noah had been clear and obvious. It got Shana starting to move in a way to attack whoever she wanted at the moment.

But I got slower.

Noah had managed to use his shoulder to throw himself into the air while also forcing Toby's body closer to the ground. With his chest and head so close to the ground he had no option but to keep moving forward.

That movement put him off balance long enough for both Shana and Noah to prepare anything they had against him. That included the attack that was currently going for him at a pace that was impossible for the girl to be going at.

From his position near the ground, Toby could see what had caused the odd amount of speed and power that came from the girl.

Grasshopper.

A blue plate had been placed where the scythe needed to pass by.

By placing the end of the scythe on the blue plate it had accelerated while being swung around using both arms.

Toby continued to twist his body by the command of his reflexes. He lowered his upper body even closer towards the ground, lifting his lower body at the same time. The moment his upper body started to pass under the accelerated scythe it started to come up, forcing his lower body to lower itself.

The odd worm-like motion created the opportunity to dodge the attack.

Even so...

"Not done!"

With little delay, the scythe was already coming background for another strike.

This time it seemed to be even faster, leaving a bit of a trail behind.

Toby clicked his tongue as he felt his body start to move again.

"!?"

It had been unexpected.

His body froze up after starting a movement. A twisting motion was starting while a flip was also starting from the legs up. The two started to contradict each other, forcing him into a moment of no movement at all.

The reason as to why his body had contradicted itself was currently moving towards them from the sky.

Crap! I need to teleport!

With Shana moving her scythe around at an accelerated speed that seemed to be increasing, Noah had been forgotten about for a moment. While the boy had left his mind for a moment, his reflexes moved to take him into consideration.

With the twisting motion being for Noah, who was now close to the ground as well, and the flip being for Shana, who had pushed Noah away after his hand landed on her Trigger, his body was unsure which one to deal with first. He did not need to take his power, defense, or speed into consideration when his reflexes were a factor. Yet those reflexes relied on his power, defense, and speed. That meant his lack of speed had forced his body to decide on which attack was more dangerous.

Damn. This is making me more mad at myself for being an idiot for so long. I really need to fix myself later on.

Toby let out a small growl at himself.

He looked forward to see Noah and Shana gaining their bearings once again.

.

It was fair.

Noah noticed it in the first few moments of their fight. It showed a bit at the start, but this last action had made him completely sure as to what was happening. It was odd for the other boy in the fight to use Teleport as a means to escape.

His selling points have always been his reflexes, speed and power. For him to use Teleport means that something conflicted with his Side Effect to force him to think about escaping instead of naturally doing so.

Noah let out some air in a snort.

Oh my bad.

When I think about it, that is basically how a dog works, isn't it? In this case, it would definitely be a wolf though. Yeah. Lobo was the right name for him. Although I'll stick to calling him Tobio. Only us two are allowed by him to do that.

He felt a sudden urge of pity for the other members of Kotowari Squad.

It was known how that team worked and how well they would get along when not going through something. They became a strong force when focusing on each other rather than themselves. Yet that was hardly ever the case with their respective fighting styles.

Kotowari Squad had lost their leader and were now in a state where they had no one to follow into battle. That left them free to fight their selfish fights and not worry about working together. It was both a good and bad thing given their personalities and fighting abilities.

Both Noah and Shana knew this well since they were rather familiar with the members of the team. Both of them had been told before by their canine-like friend that they were considered two of his best friends, something they were rather pleased with at the time. Besides him, the two knew at least one other member of that team well with Shana putting on some concerts with Suzume and Noah being on relatively good terms with Takeshi.

With the closeness of the three teams it was easy enough to tell when something was going on during a fight between them.

When the fight became truly fair.

Noah adjusted his goggles as he shifted his feet to a balance between offensive and defensive.

Right. Shay looks like she's noticed it too. It's best to test it out and see where we stand at the moment.

.

It had only been a small moment, but it seemed to be enough for the three fighters to gather themselves once more for a second bout.

The first action had come from Noah who, while seeming to be taking a neutral position, pushed forward. His target seemed to be shifting as his Kōgetsu blade was ready to strike while the holster for said Kōgetsu had been removed in order to defend at a moment's notice.

It was another straightforward attack that held an alternative in it that most people would be unable to notice unless having fought against it before.

Toby and Shana responded with their knowledge of this by focusing on their own positions.

Instead of waiting for the attack to reach him, Toby had moved forward as well, teleporting after a few steps forward with a Scorpion blade already in the action of stabbing.

The situation had forced him to change from a cutting and slashing motion to a pinpoint stab. It covered less of an area, but it gave him more chances to change directions and apply more force when attacking. It left him with a bit more defenseless should something come from his sides and back, but it was what had to be done.

Another drawback to the stabbing attack was that it was much more avoidable with its linear path giving the target a chance to respond. An attack like that would usually be followed up by a slashing attack once the target moved, losing some power but making up for it by leaving a gash in them.

There are always ways to cover your attacks before going in for one, Toby though as he extended his arm out.

With his use of Teleport it had left Noah with no possible way of evading the stabbing attack, meaning Toby would not have to give up any power to move into a slashing attack.

But...

"!"

"Tch!"

Toby released his body from his mind, letting his Side Effect to take charge by lifting his foot towards the rising Kōgetsu blade on his left side. Moving up front the foot, his leg got above it and was followed by his knee and thigh. The moment his leg was high enough in the air, he released the Scorpion blade in his hand and created one at the bottom of the opposite foot.

The Kōgetsu blade that was raised up to either attack or defend was pushed down and back by the Scorpion blade protruding from Toby's foot. The owners of the two blades had used their arm and leg respective to push each other back as a large blade made a crescent slash at the now empty air.

The scythe user did not stop in her movements, instead continuing her swing while placing a blue plate in her own path.

The moment the end of the scythe touched the blue plate it accelerated forward. Normally it would have shot forward due to the push by Grasshopper. It did no such thing as it was for fully guided by Shana, who used both of her arms to continue the swing movement, making the scythe continue to cut through the air.

Shana used the power and momentum from the scythe to move her body to the side. Her legs made continued stomps on the stumps and she turned around a few times. Each stomp was followed by a small leap towards a new stump.

The rotating blade moved from stump to stump until it got close enough to one of the two targets it had.

The power and speed had gotten to a point where it was keeping up with either target it went after.

.

Shana continued to focus on each step she took and each jump she made.

After multiple dance lessons with Suzume and Minubuki, she had started to understand how to move and maintain some kind of balance when being pushed or pulled. In this case it was both her pushing and being pulled.

This is really difficult, but I'm somehow managing it. Suzume has told me to think of this kind of attack as a dance. In this case it would be me who is leading but following the tempo of someone else. I guide my weapon but follow it at the same time.

Mei had always been seen as a perfect person in the eyes of everyone who knew her, but Shana saw things differently after having spent an extensive amount of time with Suzume. The strange girl, while not being a role model by any means, was truly at the summit when in action. She became an unstoppable and perfect beauty once she had started moving.

Shana found that she had been lacking in multiple places when she compared herself to Toby's reflexes and Noah's speed, but when she saw Suzume on a stage it had always been a different yet similar matter.

The start of her dances and the build ups in them would always make her start to think about how far behind she was from everyone she knew. Her fellow Americans had advantages in their Side Effects, her fellow music girls had achievements as both musicians and Border agents, and her teammates were considered dual-aces while she was always the first one taken out. This created a pit in her that made things seem more dull.

But the moment that build up ends, I always feel so free.

The chorus from the song and the movements from the dances were always things that seemed to get to her core. It forced the thoughts from the build up to destroy themselves so that they could make way for better ones.

If her fellow Americans had advantages in Side Effects, she would use hers to find their weaknesses. If her fellow music girls had achievements as both musicians and Border agents, she would try for her own at her own pace. Her two teammates were considered dual-aces, so she would continue to improve so that she could continue fighting with them for as long as possible.

By the end of the song and dance she would always smile towards the ones who continued to encourage her and help her move forward.

That was why she was giving this her all.

.

Something that had started to occurs by the viciously rotating blade was that it had started to slow down. The speed seemed to be leaving it as the girl controlling it found that she was coming to a slow halt that made no sense considering her great momentum and use of Grasshopper.

It was as she stopped that she noticed the reason for it.

"Grasshopper!?"

There had been multiple blue plates around her, hanging in the air. Each one was angled in a way where if someone touched one, like she apparently had, they would not maintain their momentum or balance unless other factors were thrown in to assist them.

It was due to these Grasshopper plates that Shana had started to lose speed. The moment she would touch one, her rotation would be thrown off. This had created a cycle where she would start to lose control when being tossed around violently by her own attack.

It was probably my body working on its own to slow me down so that I wouldn't end up destroying myself here.

She found it rather selfish to thank herself for knowing what to do, but it was a short lived as something new appeared.

Noah had taken the chance to move forward again from her right while Toby teleported from her left.

She had been left in a defenseless state as the Grasshopper plates disappeared, leaving the space open for the two boys to attack from the sides.

"I'm not done here!"

With a shout to encourage herself, Shana used her arms, wrists and hands to start turning the scythe she held. This time, however, she only lifted it half way, pushing the blade towards the sky and the butt towards the ground.

The timing had to have been perfect as Toby used two blades to defend from the blade, sending him back a bit, and Noah to lean in towards the ground, stopping him for a moment.

The two boys were quick to fix themselves with Toby's reflexes correcting his position and Noah maintaining his balance.

The latter followed his momentum and did a flip, landing on the tail end of the scythe. He lifted one of his legs and pushed off of Shana's body.

A cube of trion appeared next to him as he flipped through the air. It spilt apart into small cubes before firing at the grounded Shana and the airborne Toby.

Songstress: "Wow! The battle is getting more and more intense here! All three of them are moving so fast and fluently that it's hard to know who you are suppose to be looking at here! No one is letting up and even after an attack from Captain Shor, Agent Lee and Agent Awdry are still fine!"

Bamboo Sniper: "Seeing Lee and Shor pull off those kinds of moves really shows just how much they have trained for this. Both of them have a lot to do if they want to take out Awdry, so they must be prepared for that kind of thing."

Kitora: "Toby... I mean Awdry... He is not actually doing well here."

Canaria and Narasaka turned to look at the young girl as she glared towards the screen.

From their points of view as an A-Rank Operator and A-Rank Sniper they figured Toby was going all out like usual.

The looks seemed to have been noticed as Kitora looked over to the two of them.

Kitora: "What I mean by that is... Well, I suppose it's fine if you don't know this. But Awdry has always had a tendency to use his strength and Side Effect only. It was fine enough when he was with Tsukiko-senpai, but now that is catching up to him. His training has always been by battles alone. Shor and Lee-senpai have been training by working with others. Narasaka-senpai, I'm sure you know what that means."

He did.

Kitora: "It means they have been improving themselves and how they work with others. On the other side of that is Awdry. He has not improved at all and is not using everything he has. Whether it is consciously or not, I don't know. You know him much better than I do."

Bamboo Sniper: "Right. Let me elaborate a bit on something. That being the state of these three. They are viewed as a trio since they are all from America. While we do have some...foreigners with us, those three are put off exclusively. As such, they are rather close to each other. So if they notice what we have, they might end up working to fix it during the battle.]

Songstress: "Oh~! They care about each other so much~!"

.

"This is weird..."

Hoshi tilted her head when she heard Minoru mutter something under his breath.

"What is weird, Hato- Ahem. Minoru-senpai?"

"You're a good girl."

Minoru nodded at her question.

"Toby is not moving how I thought he would. Maybe it's because his attitude has changed, seeing as how he is fighting like how he normally does, but he looks like he is much slower than before. What's more, his attacks are also lacking in power."

Hoshi furrowed her brows at what she had heard.

It made sense when said, but it still seemed odd.

It is likely that I cannot understand since I am still naïve when it comes to things like this.

From how she saw it, all three of the fighters were moving so well that she truly did believe they had organized the entire thing. The speed, power, tactics, and overall fight they had been showing off exceeded what she knew she was capable of under any circumstance.

To hear that one of them was not doing something right made her feel as if she was unfit to watch the fight.

The difference in abilities and rankings came into play when she thought about how they viewed the ongoing fight.

"I guess it is a bit rude of me to say this, but..."

Minoru gave a slight laugh, knowing that Toby would only whine to him later on for his words.

"He really can be compared to a dog with the way he is. I've seen him before in his real body and both Loki and Haru-chan have told me some of his exploits at random times. I guess he was born with a good body. Healthy and capable."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, sometimes there are just people who are born with a better body than others. Oh. I'm not talking about Side Effects either. My cousin is a good example of that. She doesn't look like she works out or has much muscle, but she is admittedly as strong as a good amount of guys. Me included. So she was one of the people who was born with a better body than most people."

"I see. So you believe that Awdry-kun is one of these people then? That he was born with a better body that gets other people to compare him to the likes of a loup garou?"

"Huh?"

"Ah!?"

Hoshi looked to the side when the words left her mouth.

"A loup garou? That's an interesting ways of putting it. I didn't think you would use that kind of example, Hime."

"Ah! That is my bad! I like the French language and that is simply the way it came out. I am sorry for that. Um... I meant as a dog. Yes. Even our classmates tend to say he is like a dog."

Minoru waved a hand, clearly amused by the girl and her vocabulary.

"May I change the subject back to what we had been talking about? About how you see that Awdry-kun is weaker than he should be?"

"That's fine," Minoru said with a laugh.

Hoshi was grateful for the change.

She looked over everything they had spoken about and prepared her next question.

"Why..."

She thought through her next question.

"Why do you think that is so?"

The moment those words came from her mouth she went red and covered her mouth.

Minoru and a few others listening turned to her with blinking expressions. It took only a few seconds before they all gave relaxed smiles while saying, "Ah~! What a refreshing and nice girl~ We need some more like that in Border~"

It went unnoticed by the majority of people, but Kitora had heard the comment said in unison and found that a sense of irritating suddenly welled up.

Hoshi was quick to give an apology towards everyone.

"Why do I think that?"

She was grateful for her wonderful upperclassman who took pity on her by reforming her question.

"It's like what was said by the ones up there." He directed her attention towards Kitora. "He is use to following others and using what he knows for the one he is following. Before it had been his captain, but this time he isn't following anyone. What's more is that he has no real need to direct his strength towards speed instead of power. He always had Loki and his team to have his back when he could not out speed someone. Even so..."

"Even so?"

He gave another nod.

"I think we are all realizing how bad he really is at times like these. How little he has actually trained. He seems to also be realizing it."

"Wow. You are really taking a liking to being his mentor, aren't you? But that is the reason why I am fine with that arrangement. I know that you are a good person, Mino."

.

Minoru and Hoshi jolted up at hearing the voice directly behind them.

The two of them turned their heads to see a smiling face with one eye covered.

"Kiyo-nii!?"

Yuki's smile lowered when he heard the forgotten name.

He let out a breath through his nose and returned the greeting, patting the girl on the head.

"When did you even get here? I didn't notice you at all."

"Sorry about that. But someone like me doesn't need to be noticed. Unneeded people can come and go whenever they want without being cared for, okay? There is nothing wrong with your perception of reality, so just stay the way you are, Mino."

Yuki could see that his words had ended up confusing the both of them.

His intention had not been to mention confusing things. There were just times when his words would come from his comfort towards people he liked and the person he hated. This was just an odd case where he was looking forward to something later on and let his tongue slip around the two of them.

He decided to take pity on the two of them by changing the subject by covering what he had said.

"Anyways. Hoshi, you made the right choice by watching this fight with Mino. He can help you with your questions."

"Hold on. Are you fine enough to be out here, Loki? Last I heard, you weren't feeling too well."

"Thank you for that. I'll admit to not feeling to well today, but I wanted to get out for some air. I'm in my trion body right now, so no need to worry about that. What's more..."

Yuki lowered his head so that it was laying on his arms above the seat in front of him.

"I wanted to watch the two matches going on right now. After all, this is my former team and Kō is one of my best friends. I need to support them whenever I can."

He closed his eyes for just a moment.

"This is all I can do... For those of you who are needed."

.

Minoru was once more confused by the words coming from his friend.

He understood well enough that Yuki fully and wholeheartedly supported the ones he cared for. It was proof enough that he would come out to see his former team and friend fight. Which one he had seen already was up on the air, but that was fine.

There were things that always came from the other boy that made perfect sense and absolutely no sense at the same time. His words towards everyone who wasn't himself tended to be a combination of both.

"Well, back to your discussion."

He's trying to cover it up again.

"I will take the blame and responsibility for Toby's performance here. It's my fault that he is so bad at fighting right now. Mino, please help him get better and take care of him as best as you can."

It was a simple request that was spoken with the tone of someone having a casual conversation. Yet Minoru knew what those words really meant. It was a true request from someone who wanted to see someone they cared about get better without them.

He knew from experience how a request like that sounded.

The girl with them seemed to think of it as just a regular request as she nodded along.

"That was the plan. He went and asked me for help, so I intend to give it."

"Thank you."

.

Hoshi could only watch the conversation go on between her eldest brother and her upperclassman. It was not that she was being left out, she knew that they were talking about something she could probably never understand.

It was another difference between her sheltered life and attitude and their experiences as ones older than her.

I understand that they want to help Awdry-kun get better. That may be something I can learn. I know that working as a team is important, but maybe just getting help from others is also something that can help me as well.

It would be rude to ask either one of the boys for help when they were already helping Toby.

Even if I cannot ask them, maybe there are other things I can do that can equal that kind of request. I can see if Kotowari-kun is busy after this. There may just be something I can talk to him about that can improve me. Oh. Of course this may also help him as well.

She turned back to the screen in front of her and noticed that the three fighters seemed to be sizing each other up once more.

After watching them fight and how they moved she did in fact learn something new.

1) Relying on only one thing such as talent will make you weak later on.

2) Getting to know your opponent can help out quite a bit when fighting them.

3) People seem to view Awdry-kun as a sort of canine.

Hoshi blinked a few times.

I knew that one already.

Pleased with what she learned, she looked over at the two boys to see if they were still talking.

Their conversation may have gotten to a point where she could not understand them, but she would try to at least give some sort of response when speaking to them. It would only be right to be respectful to those older than her.

"Well, I think I'll be taking my leave here. I want to go see how Kō is doing. Hoshi, I think it would be best if you stayed here to watch this than go to see Kō. I will tell you about it later on, if you want."

"Ah! Yes! Thank you very much, Kiyo-nii."

"Good girl."

Yuki smiled towards her while sitting up straight.

Before either she or Minoru could ask if he was going to really leave, he was gone.

Hoshi blinked in surprise as her brother disappeared from before their eyes in an instant. It was sudden and unexpected, not letting her get a moment to understand what had happened.

She was glad when Minoru gave an explanation.

"I see now. He got behind us using Teleport."

It made sense now.

"But..."

But...

"That was too accurate... How much is he going to push himself...?"

She may not have been meant to hear those words as they were said under his breath.

Now her mind could only think about the meaning to those words.