The first thing Kodera noticed once the commentary had finished was the way Suzume looked toward her former captain.
She must have also taken to those words. Even if she had not fought in this match.
Yuki's words toward Kotowari Squad would of course not only be directed at the ones who had fought. It was meant for everyone who had been a part of it and anyone who would join later on.
They were words meant as insurance for the future instead of words for the moment.
In that case, he was also directing that toward himself. Oh, that makes sense from what Misaki's has told me. Tsukiko-senpai could be the type to be hard on myself because of what he failed to do.
It had just been a guess, but he was sure that he was near the actual truth to that.
Suzume would talk quite a lot about her squad as it was now and how it had been before. Just from those words it was easy to tell how each member could react to certain circumstances.
There were not too many times he came in contact with Yuki, but the times he had, and from what he had heard from Suzume, he could figure some things out about the boy.
Understanding even a bit of the boy would be enough to understand why Suzume would react the way she did.
She is looking for some more guidance beyond what he had just said. I guess she would still look up to him. Oh... And now she is dancing.
.
Kodera gave a questioning look at Suzume as her body started swaying a bit at the same time as she was humming a small tune to herself.
Instead of turning it into a full dance, she slowed down to a stop. She had been thinking about something.
"Okay, okay, I understand. I honestly understand."
"Um, what exactly do you understand?"
"I understand that we still cannot stand on an equal level as Yuki-san. Even Kunichika-chan and Yamamoto-san are way above us."
She looked down to Kodera without looking down at him. The gaze did not extend to Narasaka, but the words were directed to the two of them.
"Even you are far above us, Shōhei-kun. This jerk is also above us. We are indeed trying to get better, but we are not trying our best. I may honestly be at the summit, but you all are in the sky. There is a still a ways to go before any one of us can say that we can look you all in the eyes on equal footing."
"That's not true! Misaki, you are great as it is, and we just saw the rest of your squad in action. I am sure that you could give us a hard time if we had to fight you all."
"Don't try to make her feel better, Shōhei. The fact of the matter is that we would have trouble because they are all crazy. But that craziness is also what is wrong with them. It is something that they need to think about instead of just going with it."
Suzume and Kodera turned to Narasaka, who was getting up from his seat.
He turned to face the two as well, but he gave nothing away with his look.
"I am not saying that them being crazy is the only reason, but the way their crazy works is not the best way for them to do things. Misaki, tell me, once one of you puts an idea into action, and it fails, what do you do next?"
"We..."
"They rely on someone else for help while trying to take care of it themselves. It is a contradictory move that they all seem to go to when it happens."
The trio of Snipers looked over to see a duo of Shooters walking up the stairs.
.
Kurauchi and Kōchō had listened in in the conversation between the trio of Snipers.
The words from Yuki would have an effect on everyone who was involved in some way with the match.
Thinking that the girl in the back would to take those words to heart was only a given.
The question that came from Narasaka was what they had not expected to hear.
In place of an answer, Suzume had hesitated for a moment.
Understanding what the answer was and saying it out as truth were two different things that took a certain mentality.
Answering in her stead was the best solution they had.
"Sorry to interrupt your talk. As 'fans,' we fell like we should get involved with this conversation. At least with the time we have."
That term had only been meant for him and Kōchō, yet he said it without thinking too much about it.
No one seemed to mind.
"So how do you all suppose we fix this 'craziness' you are honestly referring too?"
"There is no fixing your crazy."
That one hit hard.
"But wouldn't it be better to just mix that crazy with each other? You all seem to be lacking in teamwork while also seeming to be all for it. You all are full of contradictions that seem to go against each other. Taiyōko is the only one who seems to be too straightforward to do that."
"Is that why you chose her to support you all?"
"That was honestly a call on Take that we followed. Besides, Mei-san also knew her, so neither Toby nor I had an issue with it."
"I see."
There was not much to see in the first place.
Suzume was latching on to the words directed toward her and her squad as if it would open a new door for them all.
That must have been what let her continue talking even as it seemed that Narasaka was moving to leave with Kodera being right behind him.
"Misaki, there is something going on soon, so there may be less people who can help you all. But from what I know, Awrdy will be receiving some help and Kotowari is already getting help from Nasu and Kakizaki. While you do not seem to need help, I do recommend coming up with a way to incorporate them with each other as well as yourself."
"That does sound like something I can manage. But I might have to do that after they have honestly gotten more help. A person's rhythm rarely changes, but it can honestly change under the rights conditions. That can effect what I can do for us."
Kurauchi nodded with a small smile.
He looked over at Kōchō to see what her reaction to all of this would be.
Instead of what he had expected, she was simply staring at Suzume in wonder.
Oh.
Is she wondering if she should say something? Normally she would be joining Misaki in a song, but she does not seem to be like that.
Kōchō stepped forward once she noticed the look he was giving her.
From his spot on the stairs, he could see that Narasaka had stopped his movement to see what would come from this as well.
"Suzu-... No. Misaki. If it is fine with you, I can watch from the outside and tell you guys if there is anything particular that changes. Seeing things from the insides tends to create a sort of bias that could skew your sight on things, but an outside view will see things from a different angle. That is why you wanted to watch this match as well, right Narasaka?"
The Sniper said nothing in response. His eyes slowly trailed to the side as if confirming what she had said.
It was a way of showing his support even when someone like Suzume had become a part of it.
"Why do you want to do that, Kōchō-chan? I'm sure that Toby would enjoy that, but it still seems odd for you to go out of your way for the rest of us like that."
Was it really that odd?
It must be because she is only use to Tsuki... Yuki and Takato treating them like that.
Kotowari Squad had many people on their side, but they did not seem to realize it.
"Narasaka over there may hate me saying this, but you already know how my squad works. We are not particularly fighters. But that means we can be supporters instead of fighters. So I would like to support Kotowari Squad as their 'fan' first."
"Oh my. That does sound interesting. I did not think we really had any 'fans'. Uh, yeah, sure. We would appreciate someone like you honestly supporting us. Yes. If that is the case, I am sure that we can only get better. None of us like to look bad in front of someone watching out for us."
It was a fact that none of them could deny.
They would all work hard for each other, but it was when they were being watched by someone else that they truly shined.
Someone else supporting them could only lead to great things.
I should let Senshi know about this kind of thing. He may not get it, but I can explain in a way he would understand.
"You three understand what this means. Don't let his words get you down or else you will end up in a bad place."
Mei looked over the three youngest members of Kotowari Squad.
Neither of them seemed particularly bothered by the words, but they could not hide the subtle feelings they had.
Yuki's words would always get to Takeshi and Toby as their former captain. For Hoshi it would be because it was her brother's words.
She was certain that somewhere inside of her, those words hit something. It would have been unfair if she was not also responsible when it came to Kotowari Squad.
But she knew well enough what his words meant and what she could do to help.
Her experiences had helped her come to an understanding of multiple ideas and concepts that the rest of her squad had yet to realize.
That was why she continued looking at them, waiting for an answer.
Takeshi was the first to speak.
"Mei-san, we can't guarantee that we won't get upset... But we can promise you that we will not stay that way. We did not have Suzume-senpai here with us, but we can't blame that for what happened."
"I apologize for the failure of the Triggers and for my lose as well. I should have taken my leave as soon as I could to prevent that from happening. B-but even so, I will do my best next time!"
"That is fine, Hoshi. We all understood what could happen when entering this fight. You had also gotten permission to continue fighting. We are all responsible for what happened in this match."
Their Shooter and new member seemed fine enough.
Nasu had been helping Takeshi as much as she could, so there was no need to worry when they had to fight each other.
Hoshi had been involved with something concerning Katori, but her actions had been fine and rather level headed. Everything that had happened was more than they could have asked for from her.
The two of them were sticking to Takeshi's words. They would feel down due to losing in some way, but that would not be keeping them down.
But...
"Toby."
The boy looked up to her, smile nowhere to be seen.
His expression was unlike what they had seen before.
Unlike with the time after Yuki leaving them, and unlike the time with his father, he genuinely showed what was bothering him. It was on his face as clear as day.
"I will not be holding back. You do understand that."
"...Right."
"Good," she nodded.
Mei continued to look at Toby while he arms began doing something else.
"You look like you want to go for a run. But that won't help you get your speed back. Your power does not seem to have lessened, but your speed was wailing. You also could not fully focus on the match."
She began fixing something with her hands as she continued.
Each word came out rather harsh, but an undertone of calm and caring was heard.
"With that being the case, please go for that run. I have informed your mentor about it and he will be joining you along the way. It may not help, but sadly...neither can I. I am not the best person to help you out here. So I will be relying on your own will and his guidance for this."
She stood up with boxes in her arms.
Using light steps, she reached Toby in no time and with as little movement as possible.
She held out one of the boxes to him while the others were placed neatly on top of her open palm.
"Without my calculations... I know you can get through this."
He looked to the box for a moment before reaching out to grab it.
"Mei, what is this? A bento?"
"It would be hard for you to eat my cooking right now. No, this is a new Trigger."
"What? Why would I need this?"
"It is actually a training Trigger, so I don't recommend going into a battle with it."
"Does this mean you want me to fight using only Scorpion?"
"It does not have an offensive Trigger in it. I will not tell you what it is, but just know that it was what I thought would help you out. You don't have to use it, but it is just a thought."
"...Okay...? So are those also for those two? To help them out?"
"These are actually bentos I made."
The sigh that Toby let out made it hard not telling him that it was a joke and that they were just small gifts for the two as well.
Before she could correct her words, Toby had started speaking again.
She had missed her chance to make him feel better.
"Yuki said that I was comparing myself to someone, but I don't know who that would be. There would be no point in comparing myself to someone like you, and anyone else that comes to mind would feel like an excuse."
"It could always just be Yuki-san or another person you're close with. Maybe even someone like Kanzaki-san, considering you are both speed oriented."
That was not right.
As someone who knew the mentioned girl, Mei was certain that it was no Kanzaki who he had been comparing himself to this whole time.
"..."
No other words came from him besides a quick "Thank you" and a small bow. It was his way of saying that he was finished with the conversation.
That was fine with her. She allowed him a chance to walk out of the room.
Mei was well aware that she was getting looks from the other two in the room and so answered their unasked questions while splitting up the boxes in her hand.
She held them out for the two to grab as well.
"Takeshi, you know better than Hoshi what he is like during times like these. They don't come up too often, but you have seen it at least once."
"Yes. His energy was completely drained from this match. The words from Yuki-san seemed to have also gotten to him a bit."
"Good. Since you know, you are free to go. I will be leaving as well."
"I think I will stay behind for a bit. I want to go over some things."
"I will stay with him. Assisting in this is all I can do at the moment."
Mei nodded once more.
There was no reason to stop the two.
With that, she started for the door.
When she turned the knob and opened the door, she was greeted with a familiar face who held out two boxes of his own.
Making sure the other two could not see the boy, she made her quick escape before closing the door behind her.
.
Takeshi fell back into a nearby chair with a sigh.
They had won their match, but the feeling of victory was not what hung in the air.
"That dog boy's emotions really show, and Mei-san looks like she is also uncertain on what to do. For her to look like that... Did we do something wrong by her standards?"
There were many more things he had started to question.
Suzume had clearly seen their match. So what did she think of it?
How had Nasu Squad and Katori Squad viewed the match?
Was it really their best showing as a squad?
The title of captain was just for show to the members of Kotowari Squad, yet a feeling of self disappointment started to surface.
Their actions had been because they agreed on what to do, so the responsibly would be shared throughout their entire squad.
So why was the feeling of self disappoint so evident to them right now?
"If I may..."
The spot next to him was taken rather quickly by the newest member of Kotowari Squad.
The look Hoshi gave was also one of uncertainty. But it was not the same as any of theirs.
"Oh, uh, yeah? Was there something particular you need?"
"Ah? No, no, no! My apologizes. It is just that I wanted to see if you were alright."
Takeshi's only response was to blink.
It took a moment for him to collect his thoughts. Once that was done, he started to speak again.
"I'm fine. I said I would stay behind to look over some things, but I just wanted to rest a bit before leaving. Since we have everything here, I'll still go over it, but for the most part I just want to sit here."
"Ah. I must be disturbing you then. My apologies for that. I will leave if you want me to do so."
"It's fine."
He blinked again, this time only thinking to himself.
Am I just assuming everything is fine? Huh. I don't think I have viewed anything like that before.
There was a difference between his former choice and his current ones. Knowing that was more than enough for him.
"You are a part of this squad now, so this room also belong to you."
"That is right. I was told that we are free to say things as we like... If that is the case, I would like to say something that may help you. ...If that is fine."
Even as she tried to be forward, the star girl had managed to be formal with him.
It was still something he was getting use to seeing.
"Go ahead..."
"R-right. Well, Koto... Take...shi-kun, I believe that there is a misunderstanding among you senior members. Specifically about responsibility."
Is she trying to get out of her responsibilities?
No. That was far too out of character for her.
Even he was aware that he had just thought something extremely rude about her and would apologize for it once they had finished speaking.
"Please feel free to disregard my words as I lack experience and understanding. This will be coming from a girl who can only view things at a basic level."
"That is not always a bad thing. But I appreciate that you are saying that."
Was it the right thing to say she appreciated those words?
Something else he was uncertain about.
Even so, he let her continue.
"You and Fuji-nee have said that we will all be sharing the responsibilities of choices made. But I do not think that is right. At least for certain matters. As an example: the shared responsibility this time should be the usage of the prototype Triggers, the tactics employed during the match, and the value level set for our opponents." She held up three fingers for each reason. Using her other hand, she raised three more finger, starting with her index finger. "The individual responsibilities this time around would be who we chose to fight, how we went about those fights, and the result of those fights."
"If that is the case, it would me that you and I share a good amount of responsibilities. I am responsible for allowing your continuation of the fights after Toby and I had to Bail Out and for guiding and using you during my fight."
"Meanwhile, I am responsible for continuing to fight and asking for approval, introducing the prototype Triggers, and losing us a point. There are other things to consider, but on a basic level, I hold more responsibilities here and would like to be held accountable for them. They were not responsibilities that should be shared when I am the one at fault."
Takeshi blinked at the words.
I see. So that is how she is trying to make things better.
By saying that most of the responsibilities were to be split instead is shared, she was lightening any burden on the rest of them and taking it for herself.
Normally that would also be frowned upon, but he could see that she now being held down by those responsibilities like the rest of them were.
We have gotten use to weighing ourselves down because we have more experience. Since she lacks experience and is much newer to all of this, she feels it less.
It had not been building up on Hoshi like it had the rest of Kotowari Squad. There was so little on her when it comes to things such as the B-Rank Wars and solo matches that she could afford being held accountable for the actions they all thought they should share.
.
When he thought about it, her previous words to Mei had been similar, but they were different then when any one if them had said it.
While they all said something along the lines of "I will do my best," it had always meant they "I will do my best to catch up." It was a way for them to remind themselves that they should be catching up to something.
For Hoshi, saying "I will do my best" was a way for her to say that she will do everything she can, but she will not be trying to catch up to anyone. Her best would be what she could accomplish and not what would be expected.
In that case...
"Hoshi."
"Yes?"
He looked toward the girl, feeling like some of his burdens had been taken.
His feelings toward his title were the same, his self disappointment did not go away, and he knew that he had a lot to work on. But...
"I will do my best."
She smiled back in response.
They had come to an understanding of what they needed to do.
"Yes! I will also do my best!"
At the Kotowari Squad operating room, cleanup time was been put on hold for the captain and newest member.
Each member had gone their own way with one of them never showing up. That left two members to quickly leave and the remaining two to stay.
"Okay, I would like to go over what happened from both our standpoint as well as the commentator's standpoint. Is that fine with you, Hoshi?"
The captain gave his question and looked toward his teammate.
They would leave later on when they were satisfied. However...
"...You brought this for me." muttered Mei on the way to exit the Border base.
The fox-boy walked beside her. He carried a large bento box full of leftovers.
"Want some crab with cheese?"
"Sorry, but I had a similar dish earlier."
But he was only giving her a chance to speak. Probably, anyway. She seriously hoped he was not just going to open up that bento box.
He continued to walk.
That meant her hope was granted.
...Now, then.
He had started a conversation so she could speak, so how was she to respond?
Around them, the other agents were walking around without a care.
But after he took a few more steps...
"Should we sit down and eat?"
"...If that is what you want."
"I cannot fight on an empty stomach."
Hearing that, Mei sighed as she walked.
"There were no chicken dishes."
"There was some soy sauce fried turkey."
"Then I'll have that."
There were surprisingly few locations available to sit in the area.
She was still not used to life without her calculations going rampant, but she did not think they could sit in the middle of a hallway. And the rooms around them belonged to other squads who may not want to be interrupted by them.
"There are some benches up ahead."
That was exactly what they found in the area connecting some hallways and leaving a space.
It was still rather early and not close enough for the lights to even go dim.
This atmosphere isn't exactly conducive to talking about advice, she thought as they found an empty seat looking out toward a large space with other walking around.
They had a nice view from there.
They could see others going about their business and others relaxing how they wanted. The artificial lights gave each person a shadow in multiple directions, but no one ever noticed that.
This a nice place, thought Mei.
He clearly knew a lot of the people in this area. That was likely because he would work gofer jobs part-time. People would occasionally call out to and greet him while Mei placed the bento box on her lap.
...Oh, this crab with cheese is seasoned with olives.
It was fatty and oily, which did not seem very healthy, but it provided a nice accent when eating something else.
The soy sauce fried turkey was also quite good, but she decided that was enough fatty foods.
"This egg and bean rice is pretty good."
"Because you end up wanting a staple food."
"Yes," she agreed while scooting the bento box so it sat on both their laps. She was on the left and he was on the right. His right arm was in the way, so he placed it behind the bench and skillfully used his left hand to grab things with his chopsticks.
"We're going to finish this off before we get home," he said.
"We can always head to the Red Lightning," she replied.
Then she expressed her thoughts on her current situation.
"This has become a lot of trouble."
.
I am no good at talking about myself, thought Mei.
So she talked about the surrounding situation instead of herself.
"It is so much trouble."
"Because you are the only member of Kotowari Squad who cannot go out to fight and you have to just sit back and let them figure things out or you run the risk of going back to how you were?"
"You figured that out quick. Also, take a breath."
"I sort of understand you."
"I see you have learned how to be noncommittal."
"Please, enough praise."
She thought about that for about 3 seconds. And then she brought a hand of understanding to her forehead.
"Oh, my bad. Sorry for praising you."
"As long as you understand. But, Mei. ...This is part of what it means to leave your power, for lack of better term, so you should help them out when you can. Isn't there anything you can do? Other than money. We're running short on that since I already ordered my prescriptions for this month."
"I am aware. We share the address you use to order them, after all. ...And just to be clear, I do not have that kind of need."
"I see..."
That was apparently a disappointment, but she was not about to keep that thread of conversation going.
She reached her chopsticks toward the asparagus in sweet soy sauce as she continued on.
"You can prepare yourself for anything, but you still end up complaining."
"Did you want Western food?"
"Yes, but this is not what I meant."
Mei sighed and grabbed some boiled fish with tomato sauce.
"I don't like how I feel like I can't keep up with you now."
"Yes, you did give up on trying to keep pace with me, didn't you? And I just had to use a mirror."
"How you did that is irrelevant. It's the situation that matters."
I am hopeless, thought Mei. He is trying to be nice, but I just snapped back at him.
"Can I have these?"
"You can have two."
He readily took three, so she glared at him.
But he did not seem to care as he spoke.
"My age group is always cannibalistic, so you don't need to worry about it."
"Someone could get hurt if I cannot bring myself to do anything."
"Oh, that is not a big deal."
Before she could ask how, the fox-boy calmly continued.
"Border tends to have people who cuts bridges in half, jumps out a window to get to lower levels and other stuff just because we find it fun."
"We never hold back."
"Indeed. We have learned to live entirely in the moment. Some of us even curse when we mess up by just small margins."
"You were doing something else."
"A bit before that, I had had some fun making dust explosions. Dust explosions are great. They really clean out your windpipe."
"What a wonderful place."
"You only just now figured that out?"
"Yes," she nodded.
"So what is wrong with not being able to fight?"
"It is exhausting."
"Why?"
"Because after watching this match and hearing your words, I understand that I am leaving it up to the young ones I care about. It is rather sudden, but that is only because I have been thinking of other people instead of those who are immediately involved with my life."
"Then could you cut me?"
"I could cut you."
"Then that is good enough."
She did not know what he meant, so she said something instead of asking a question.
"You could cut me."
"I could."
"Even if I was using my normal body and you a trion body."
"You would not die."
He was confident.
"No matter what I did, you would find a way to remove all possibilities of getting hit and use what you can to fight back without fighting. And if that was not enough..."
"..."
"I would protect you, so do not worry."
"You would protect me from...yourself. That's a new one. Fox brains must be nonexistent."
"Worry not. ...None of my training would make my blade unstoppable. Remember that Sensei is also really weird."
"Think of my immediate counterattack."
"You can only stop my blade because you are not the kind of person who would do so."
"Right." She nodded. "So you are telling me to keep fighting even when I don't have to fight."
"Yeah. As long as you can fight, you can manage somehow. So only think about not losing anyone. And, Mei?"
"..."
"I believe we just need to help you more."
"Yes," she said with a nod.
As long as it looks that way, she thought while keeping the thought to herself.
"These are going to be some busy times."
"I will ask Sensei for some help before I have to leave."
"Okay. I will rely on you some more then."
Mei tilted her head toward the Kotowari Squad operating room which was no longer in view.
"All of a sudden revelations is a very 'us' way of doing things."
Murakami Kō had soon received a notification that had been sent by Yuki concerning Mei. It had been followed up by a second message saying that he should get ready for their meeting with Kurosaki.
A third message came through from his teacher.
"...So I need to be prepared."
The meeting was very close by.
He would be with the majority of his squad as well as an idiot and his best friend.
They would know what to do.
...It seems almost pointless for me to be there.
Murakami looked to the boy who had stopped in front of him.
"Kaede, was it?"
"What is it, Kō-san?"
"...Did you get that from Hoshi?"
"Yup. That's what they call you around here, right?"
"Around here, they call me Kō or Murakami."
Hearing that, Kaede's expression stiffened.
"Um, sorry."
"For what?"
"...Do you...like jokes?"
"...I do watch TV variety shows with my squad and friends."
"Such as?"
"Well," said Murakami with a nod.
His younger and older teammate knew a lot about those shows from their friends in their respective age groups.
But he only watched them because they did. His own age group was too busy fighting each other.
Still, he knew which show his younger and older teammates most enjoyed.
"Teacup Dash, where 5 people get into a serious fight over tea supplies."
"Oh, yeah. They did one on a Mediterranean desert island recently where they were chased around by the primitive man, didn't they? It takes a show like that for no one to accuse it of being staged."
"Yes. ...I'm still trying to figure out why people enjoy that show."
Kaede's expression froze. After a while, he hung his head with sweat pouring down his face.
Murakami could tell this was bad, so...
"Hey."
"...Ah! Sorry! Sorry, okay!? Let's get back on topic!"
He was troubling an underclassman.
He did not really mean it as a way to make up for that, but he decided to ask what he had intended to earlier.
"You came to ask me about something for Hoshi?"
"Kind of. I came to meet up with my sister, but she had asked me for this favor since I still have to wait a bit. She had messaged me saying that she would be with her squad captain for some time and that you don't have to go for the testing right now. ...Is that fine?"
"I have no complaints if she wants to know something. It is also nice to meet Maya's younger brother and another friend of Hoshi's. A bit surprising that you don't have glasses though."
"Oh, right... Likewise. Thank you for the nice greeting. ...I appreciate that you are also staying until my sister comes by."
"I see," he said while getting back to checking his messages.
He did not want to seem rude, but his teacher always came first when it came to messages. Well, depending on if his captain had messaged him or not.
But then Kaede asked the question for Hoshi.
"Besides not having to do it right now, are you still fine to test something out for her?"
"That make sense." He responded immediately. "I am wondering why she doesn't message me, but I can ask about that later. For now I just need to answer her question."
"Do you have a complex with her?"
"That would be her actual brother. I just watch out for her."
But Murakami had another thought.
...I don't fully deny that, do I?
He felt like he had talked a lot today, but it was still nothing compared to Yuki and the others.
So he kept speaking to avoid an awkward silence with Kaede.
"From the looks of things, I actually won't be able to help her out. I have a bit of a busy schedule change recently and my teacher has just said he needed to see me for something."
"That sure is a difference in values... Or at least that is what I have heard from others."
"It might be best not to always repeat what you hear. Some people I know would take great advantage of that."
"Oh." Kaede nodded. "I will keep that in mind then."
"But that is mostly my age group. So anyone who is eighteen years old is who you should be careful around."
"...I think you've managed to convince me already."
He could not decide if he should thank him for that. But...
"Back on topic. I will need to apologize to her later. For now I need to focus on something else."
Two important things had just come up for him.
"Um, Toby?"
Minoru called out to his right as he ran.
They were near the industrial area of Mikado City.
Mei had informed him that once the match had concluded, the commentators finished their comments, and their squad spoke, Toby had gone for a run. He had what'd to try and regain some of his speed and this seemed to be his way of doing so.
While that had been where he joined the young Attacker, Minoru and Toby ran along a walking path marked out with rope.
They were not in a hurry anywhere. They were simply running to maintain their physical condition now.
They had already done this once before, when they both just wanted to have some fun, but the way they held their bodies changed compared to then.
During this time, the temperature loosened their muscles.
To adjust and tighten their muscles, they ran. They could normally perform this conditioning with equipment, but this was for a different reason.
They wanted to familiarize themselves with Toby's speed.
...Or is that a sign of how worried I am?
Minoru followed that thought with spoken words.
"Unlike the other areas, the sun will shine on us when we move toward the city, so be careful."
Some areas of Mikado City were some kilometers long. Taking a wide circle around them was a great distance. They were making two circuits at their own pace, but...
"Toby?"
The other boy was not responding.
Minoru saw that Toby was staring forward and a bit down as he ran.
He was obviously lost in thought. And...
...Oh?
The ground at his feet was shimmering.
The wavering light looked a lot like a heat haze and it was not an illusion.
While he ran, Toby would sink lightly down on his ankles and have his toes cross from either side. Each time, he seemed to be attempting to make a certain movement.
"—"
But he would cancel it partway and it would mess him up.
That action created an odd image that seemed like a heat haze.
A large wagon carrying materials passed them by.
It contained materials for the scaffolding that would be used to construct the walls for a nearby building. Metal beams stuck out onto the walking path, so Minoru moved out of the way.
Toby, however, did not.
He lightly twisted his body and continued facing forward.
"..."
"Toby!"
Minoru was sure it would hit him.
...Huh?
But then he saw something.
Toby's body passed right through the scaffolding material that stuck out to the side.
It was not that it did not hit him.
To Minoru, it looked like Toby had continued running forward, hit the material, and yet "passed through" it.
...Eh?
He did not understand, so...
"Toby!?"
There was a sharp tone in his voice now.
Just then, Toby's shoulders shook.
"What is it, Minoru!?"
Rapidly turning around was a mistake.
He slammed the side of his head into a different metal beam that had been passing by behind him.
With a dull sound, Toby crouched down. The cart's driver looked back.
"Hm? ...Huh? Did I hit you, young man!?"
He sounded so confused because that should never have happened.
But Minoru recalled what had happened just before that: Toby had strangely "passed through" the beam.
...What was that? And why didn't his Side Effect stop the second one?
This was not the time to analyze that.
But he realized they were gathering even more attention.
Now was not the time to be worrying everyone. As Border agents, they needed to seem like they were the offense and the core of defense for the city, so he bowed to them with a smile.
"No, he just tripped over my foot by accident."
They all nodded in understanding.
An elderly man shouted over at him while loading a cart with flowers to decorate the inside of a building.
"You're just the epitome of grace, aren't you!?"
The driver and everyone else laughed at that and Toby stood back up.
"My bad. ...Please continue working immediately."
"Right!"
They all replied in unison and resumed moving.
Minoru looked to the high rise buildings and sighed.
"Um, Toby."
"Huh?"
"You dodged the metal beam sticking out from the cargo passing by, didn't you?"
Toby looked back at him with no change to his expression.
His shapely eyes remained motionless for a few seconds, and then...
"...Huh?"
He looked troubled. Also...
"I dodged a metal beam? ...But I hit it. Which is weird given my Side Effect."
"No, not that one. You dodged the first one that was in front of you."
"Well, I do sometimes subconsciously dodge because if my reflexes."
...Umm, that's not what I meant...
How was he to explain this?
"You see..."
"What is it?"
Minoru held his left arm up in front of his eyes.
"Think of my arm as the metal beam."
"And what did it do?"
"Right. It approached your forehead like this."
Minoru pressed the arm against his forehead but moved his head forward, as if pushing the arm out of the way.
"You went like this and seemed to slip through it or pass through it, so you ended up on the other side."
Toby watched as Minoru pressed his arm to his forehead a few times.
They were below the clear sky, but also in the giant shadow formed by the buildings. And after a while...
"...Pff."