Hikigane Sekai's group and the Shiraishi group had both been in effective firing range.
As the trion attack suddenly came, the festival at the Kurosaki area ground to a halt and Murakami immediately chose to protect those from Border. He extended his arm out as a yellow glow came over the Black Trigger Portion. Section by section, chains began being produced from the yellow band keeping the Black Trigger Portion circling around his arm. Using those chains, he sent them to crawl along the ground and surround everyone behind him.
Now that he was prepared to act if something happened, he tilted his head.
"Now, what is the meaning of this?"
This doesn't qualify as an emergency just yet, he told himself while looking to Sekai.
Sekai contacted a few people to fulfill his role as supervisor and selected a few prearranged patterns before opening a window on his own tablet. It displayed...
...Someone close to Yuki at being a fox.
Just like Yuki, she held an air of mischief that could hardly be contained. In this woman's case, she could make use of such a feeling. She had much more power in the world than Yuki did and she seems much more comfortable flaunting such a thing, so the excitement of this vixen's dance had led to a sly grin forming on her lips.
She had no restraint, meaning she was of importance. Which meant...
"What is the meaning of this!?"
Sekai glanced over at Murakami as he shouted to the vixen in the window.
"Mogami Yoshiko! Do you not want stability in Mikado City!?"
Mogami Yoshiko laughed into the sky before responding to Hikigane Sekai.
"How wretched."
She spread her teeth, aimed forward, and swept her arms and fingertips around to trigger more trion shots. She felt the arriving impacts as vibrations in the air and she spun her body to switch between managing the left and right sides. The wind swept the sweat from her brow.
"Wretched businesses...do you truly not understand?"
"Are you referring to Taiyōko or Neighbors!?"
When Sekai roared his question on the tablet, Yoshiko bent her body and her back swelled out.
A sound like footsteps walking forward could be heard.
That was when he had appeared.
"Ha ha!"
She laughed. And after that human laugh, she leaned back, split her crescent moon of a mouth as if to devour the sky, and released a series of delighted "keh" sounds while she waved the attack fans with her entire body.
"Keh hah!"
She raised her voice as he started firing his own shots into the enemy's arriving attacks.
Bakuto Denji grinned from next to the laughing woman.
He did chose not to join in her dance and instead focused on firing his own trion shots how he saw fit.
"Is that all you have, Hikigane Sekai!? And you want to name yourself the one to decorate Kurosaki with a nice name!?"
"Damn you!"
As Yoshiko attempted to devour the sky, Denji responded to Sekai's open window with his eyes. They bent in a smile and twisted over toward Sekai.
He looked down at Sekai with a gaze that seemed to swallow one up more than see through them.
"Like ma'am said, how wretched, Hikigane Sekai. ...Can you wait no longer as you blame others for your failure to keep your promise? If so..."
Yoshiaki narrowed her eyes further and formed a small smile on her lips.
She was aware of what he would say next.
"If so, you have set foot on my superficial path down to hell."
Suddenly, a shadow passed by overhead.
It was a Rise falcon Neighbor.
.
Oh? thought Yoshiko as she spun her body.
One Rise passed by overhead and two Bado were following in the distance.
The Rise near the Shiraishi group had left to attack Border, but they must have decided this was the more immediate threat.
...I'm betting that was the user's decision, but they must know all too well that this was a bad choice.
But the Rise falcon Neighbor was clearly on a firing trajectory. A glow began to form in front of the core on its face and was aimed straight ahead and it flew in.
This was no mere warning, so it was an attack that had power behind it. This was most likely simple instructions it had been given.
"Did it stray from its instructions in order to attack us who can defend against them right now? Ha ha! Those who rush make mistakes, but it does make for a nice example of temporary power!"
Yoshiko threw both fans high into the air and faced the approaching Rise falcon Neighbor as the light of the trion attacks washed over her from either side.
"Denji, I believe I can leave this one to you."
"Right, right. This one's on me."
He pulled a sword from its holster on his left side. It was an ordinary sword known as Kōgetsu with no decorations.
However, he placed it across his left side while bending his knees. His upper body started to lower.
"Senkū Kōgetsu."
Something was immediately released from Kōgetsu's blades: light.
A distance of 12 meters would only take just over three seconds for a Rise falcon Neighbor, so the lead attacker knew it had won.
It would fire on Yoshiko.
The Wanderers had forbidden such a thing, but that programming had been overwritten.
After all, the Wanderers knew who to attack and how to attack, so someone like Yoshiko should not have ever been attacked no matter how she went about attacking it. It was a way to prevent unnecessary fighting when greeting others.
But that had been overwritten, so if it could attack here it had to do it. It had been written in to not attack anyone without a Trigger and she now become someone who possessed one for a moment, but even if that was the case...
"It'll only mean its own defeat."
Futoyuki watched from within the Yagura Branch as his group's former Trion Soldier was used once again to attack Border.
Admittedly, we use some simple programming given our small group. It wouldn't be a stretch for someone else to overwrite them given a bit of time.
He glared at the Rise that no longer belonged to him.
As soon as it arrived within five meters, he felt like it was receiving attacks from either side and flew alone along the Kobayashi area. It readied its trion attack and aimed an auto-tracking attacking at the representative.
"...Eh?"
He suddenly felt something even while watching from a safe distance.
It almost felt like...
...Who is that?
Like someone who should not have been there was moving around.
Then he saw something in front of the Rise.
...Is that...?
It was a single man, but he did not seem to be looking at the Rise and was positioned a bit to the side.
Rise was moving right into him.
The man rapidly moved his eyes from side to side, up to down and he slowed down when more Bado came from behind Rise.
Wait, he thought. What is this?
Each time a Bado moved forward, the man relaxed his position, straightened himself, and lowered his blade. He seemed to be thoroughly checking over each enemy.
"Is he searching for something!?"
Then he heard a voice.
"I should be enough."
A moment later, the former leader heard a noise.
...Eh?
It was a noise of both destruction and piercing, but it was not alone.
It came from the low level soldiers. It came from all of the new Trion Soldiers on the battlefield - including the two following behind it.
"—!?"
As their noises arrived via transmission, flowers blossomed in various parts of the sky.
The fellow Trion Soldiers flying toward Border or with it were pierced through before colliding with the air. Green trion scattered as eight Bados exploded in exactly the same way.
The damage was fatal and the image of them colliding with the air before exploding told him just how much damage they had taken.
They would be far from working, but at the same time...
...Why wasn't Rise hit!?
As soon as he wondered that, his vision warned him of the danger he himself no longer faced. Yoshiko was only one meter away now. Next to her, Denji had returned the sword to his hips and she raised her arms.
The shot control fans fell into her hands and she turned to face Rise.
"Kaboom."
Chisato Shiraishi saw it happen.
When Yoshiko pointed her fan at it, the flying falcon Neighbor curled up in a ball. It looked like a crying baby, but it was an unthinkable action on the battlefield.
"She got us..."
But even as the Kobayashi group defended themselves and Shiraishi did not...
...They aren't firing on that Neighbor.
The Neighbor that had fallen victim to Bakuto Denji decelerated in its curled up state. It passed through the valley of incoming and outgoing cannon fire and then entered a downward trajectory. It almost seemed to have fallen, but it was a slow and steady path to the ground.
The Neighbor had almost certainly been cut down. It likely had no way of moving now that it had been defeated by the hired Border member.
The Attacker seemed a bit curious and tilted his head.
"Do you get what just happened?"
"I think so. ...According to our information, that is the captain of an A-Rank team who has also been hired by Kobayashi via Mogami. He is at a high level above most of you, but he doesn't seem to be working with you all. As for what he did... It looked like he had been going after the ones in the back while preparing just in case they got close. His stance with the blade was an extra measure if they got close."
As for his strength...
"He shot them down...all of them without much effort. Instead of a direct hit, he used their movement to have them run into his attacks while lowering himself to drag them in."
That was why the falcon Neighbor had only a single slash mark.
...Instead, he went for a clean win against the stronger one while playing with the weaker ones.
And that went beyond the other Neighbors who had been sent to attack Border. Most likely, there had been preparations to handle the other Neighbors who got too close to the Kobayashi group and their current representative - Mogami Yoshiko.
Her eldest sister had intentionally not hired anyone from Border like this. If they had done something like that, it would mean using someone not important to them. And it seemed that the only two who were hired were ones with a shady and uncertain background.
This was one of the reasons they never made any move against Kobayashi yet never stopped their cooperation either.
Chisato saw a few streams of green trion created by explosions and she saw the Neighbors falling like discarded stones. They had lost their weak force, so their fall would only end in a crash after flying for another few kilometers.
In an instant, many Neighbors who had flown passed Shiraishi had been lost. Also...
"Ōi-nee-san, are you okay?"
"A good amount were taken out. Add in the ones from before, and it's a total of even more."
Shiraishi Ōi's voice sounded unconcerned coming from the tablet. She must be pissed, thought Chisato, but...
"Are you feeling a little down?"
"Yes. I'm completely unharmed..."
"It means you made the right choice, so you should celebrate."
"Right. ...Sorry, Chisa-chan. I was the one who vetoed hiring a member of Border."
"Keeping track of your grudges can only lead to losing your cool."
"Our family of a few people are only calm because we make sure to hold grudges when one is warranted," said Ōi. "But don't stop me. Even without someone as convenient as Hikigane-san and Bakuto-san, we can strike back using the right methods."
"Ōi-nee-san is going to keeping trusting me even when I haven't been able to show off like the others? How much do you want to stay back, eating sweets?"
"I don't think I can deal with that stuff, you see," she said. "But why did Kobayashi create a miniature fortress for themselves?"
"You know perfectly well, don't you? ...They are using Mogami here and she has hired Bakuto to work under her as an extension. The Kobayashi run a business based in building, so she must have wanted to build something. Also..."
Chisato looked to the Attacker and Border's representative who was covering his ears against the cacophony of trion attacks.
"Kobayashi via Mogami has decided to side with Border."
This has gotten tricky, thought Hiura.
"Well, setting aside their emotional issues, it's our job to stop any unnecessary conflicts coming from their history."
Hiura was eating some snacks on the flat of the Kobayashi group's platform.
She was sitting on a cushion in front of a small table below a parasol. A sign reading "Arranged by the Lord of the Castle" stood on the mat.
"Wow, I can see why Kobayashi is considered really nice. The rice cakes in this red bean soup are extra soft."
She grabbed two rice cakes in her chopsticks and found they stretched differently. The Kobayashi girl acting as a waitress narrowed her eyes and explained.
"The Kobayashi family is very hospitable, so they buy some Grade A products to avoid have a bad manners. There is a difference between the products they get, but since Yoshiko-san says they are all cute, we serve them all without discrimination."
"I see."
Hiura was honestly impressed and she sensed something similar to Kako's love of fried rice, but then she faced forward.
"What's the matter, Minoru-senpai? You aren't eating much."
"Um, Akane-chan..."
Akane looked around where the platform was shaking and vibrating from the trion attacks and impacts. The scattering light even arrived overhead, but...
"This is a lot better than getting cut by a Scorpion blade when I am hiding. Besides, being protected by someone else is a rare experience."
This must be how relieved everyone feels when they know we are around, realized Hiura while feeling this place really was different from Border.
"Is that how you view it?" asked the Hatohara captain. "Even if the attacks are being defended against, I can't stand just sitting here without doing anything to help. Especially when Denji is the one fighting over there..."
Hiura wondered if she really understood what that meant.
...It must mean he's an offensive character.
She felt like people's attitudes toward things were coming into focus more than back at the Border base.
"But what is going on?'
While eating some of the azuki bean soup that had a hint of sweetness, Hiura looked up at Yoshiko dancing atop the bridge.
A sudden transmission had arrived from the smiling vixen earlier.
"She said she will prioritize their values in order to keep a sort of promise."
"Does that mean Kobayashi was thinking the same thing we were?" asked Suzaku. "But why did they change their standing so suddenly?"
Kimura nodded on the roof, but...
"...?"
When she heard an explosion in the sky, she and the puppy in her arms crossed their arms and tilted their heads.
...Why did they?
"Hmm," she groaned, but then the Kotowari Sniper turned toward her after drinking the tea sitting on the roof's table.
Wait, when did she get here!? And where did Kunichika-san go?
"Heh heh. It would seem not even you honestly know everything, flat-chested wannabe-politician. I like that uncertainty. A woman with some mystery to her is a wonderful thing. Secrets are the flowers of life. And if you honestly show someone a flower garden, they have no choice but to do some gardening. Everyone should hold at least one flower that one would want to take to bed, and doesn't the hint of a secret make you want to find the answer?"
"Misaki, Izanagi turned back when he found the truth of Izanami's secret in the underworld. And when did you get here?"
"And my foolish former captain pursued Mei-san and even honestly rushed out to her."
"And are you going to answer me now?"
"Kuni-chan was tired from having to do commentary and then dealing with yesterday. ...I honestly came here because I had been asked a question and need an answer myself."
"I see, I see."
The Kotowari Sniper smiled bitterly at Suzaku's dismissive tone, but then she turned back to Kimura.
"Perhaps this means we can build up a mutual relationship."
"What do you mean?"
"You know, the old Far Eastern saying sashitsu sasaretsu. In English, they honestly call that 'in-in put-put'!"
"Misaki, that word doesn't mean 'input'. It means 'penetra-..."
Suzaku trailed off and quickly waved his arms back and forth.
"Forget that! Forget I said that! The saying you want is mochitsu motaretsu, right!? And that means 'give and take' in English, right!?"
"I think someone is having trouble dealing with that meter, so do something about it."
But...
"I know I shouldn't be saying this as the one in charge in charge if these kinds of things, but I have no idea what this means. As you said, we were thinking of making the same suggestion to Kobayashi. I was going to ask them why they are involved with this when they have a child on Hatohara Squad. After all, they are suppose to be decent people, according to my captain. I thought they couldn't possibly ignore it if I put it like that. But..."
But...
"I never expected them to do it on their own."
"Maybe something that was building up within Kobayashi just now reached its limit for some reason? Oh, but haven't Hikigane-san and Shiraishi-san been referring to this as a choice by Mogami-san? So much so that she went out of her way to hire Bakuto-san."
Kimura agreed with that assessment.
...But what was it?
What has caused good natured people and this Mogami Yoshiko to rush things? Based on a few transmissions they had heard...
"Do you remember hearing about a promise, Kimura?"
"Right. I don't know what that's about, but it's probably the key to all of this."
"Well done." The Kotowari Sniper nodded and asked Kimura a question. "You know how to honestly end this, don't you? When a man causes some trouble, a proper woman knows how to gently convince him to leave, you know? That way some nice memories await them when they next meet."
"Yes, I know. But there's something we have to do first."
Kimura had Krümel open a window and then she sent out some instructions.
"Representatives, the conflict between Kobayashi, or at least Mogami-san, and Shiraishi predates these conflicts, so do not get involved. But if the two companies wish for a peaceful resolution, assist them there. On the other hand, Shiraishi made not obvious resistance toward Kobayashi. The one using these Neighbors may be using them as a way to represent these companies. If that is the case, we can view this as going too far with that Rise Wanderer Neighbor."
So...
"The representatives sent to Shiraishi are to stop the Neighbors closest to them from attacking Kobayashi."
"Right. According to Kimura, your current try at a fight against the Neighbors is an acceptable part of things. But..."
The Suzunari-1 Operator spoke in the artificial festival ground on the western end of the attacks
"We believe it is about time we started for your building."
The red-haired man raised his eyebrows and gave the Operator a sharp look.
"Suzunari's Kuruma Squad Operator, are you telling Kurosaki to fall back?"
"No, I am telling you to go, Hikigane-san. Go to Kurosaki's workplace."
The naked yukata boy raised is head next to the Operator.
"How about you just tell him, Yuka?"
"Okay."
Kon looked the red-haired man in the eye and pointed to the southeast.
"Go!"
"Why do you have to twist everything I say!?" complained the idiot. "You don't play fair these days!"
"But isn't it cute? It's like speaking to a dog."
"I-I am not a dog. And I thought that joke was just for Toby," cut in Murakami. "And Kon? I know you were pointing in a random direction just now, but that was right toward the base!"
Then the red-haired man asked a question while glaring at the Operator.
"Why?"
Kon nodded and gently tapped on the idiot's chest with the back of her hand.
"Now, answer him."
"Y-you're forcing this stuff on me again!? Are you trying to pick a fight!? Are you!?"
"Um, Jinsei? You are technically Border's representative."
"Fine then," said the idiot. "Hey, Seikai-chan, I'm not sure why you're helping out Kurosaki, but I'll play along. It'll be a story to tell Dai-chan later. Anyway, there was talk of a promise earlier, right? I don't know what that is, but can you keep that promise like this?"
"—"
Sekai stopped moving and the idiot looked up into the sky as if he saw that as his answer.
"What's stopping you? It isn't that fox lady, is it? She's another one stressing out over not being able to keep it. So is it Shirashi?"
"No!"
Sekai's shout shook the festival air, but Kon responded expressionlessly.
"That settles it then." She pointed to the southeast. "That is what is preventing all of you from keeping your promise, isn't it?"
They all looked in the direction she was pointing and spoke the name of what they saw there.
"Border?"
As they exchanged a puzzled look, Murakami silently grabbed Kon's waist and slowly turned her so she pointed south. Then he looked in the new direction Kon was pointing.
"O-oh, my! Kon! You were pointing at those new Neighbors, weren't you!?"
"Is it just me or is Kō becoming a pretty awful person...?"
"Just roll with it!"
As the black wolf bared his fangs, the B-Rank captain stepped forward.
"What will you do?"
Kuruma spoke with a smile, but he was not really pressing Sekai for an answer. He simply wished to confirm what option the red-haired man had chosen.
There was a short pause and Murakami used it to step forward.
Rather than protect those behind them, the two of them only stood there and filled their lungs with air.
Then...
"A shot almost go us that time! The damage reached the barricade!"
With that area-wide announcement, another Neighbor shot hit nearby. All shadows were erased by the light that appeared a few dozen meters into the courtyard's eastern sky.
The impact whipped about as wind and the festival stands shook, but the ninja-like boy stepped forward.
"Sekai-san. You have already showed what you wanted and sent out your transport truck. Wouldn't that be enough to satisfy others? If fact, exposing yourself to any more of these kinds of attacks could qualify as as the creating of a bigger conflict with others that should come after everything is settled, which would be inconvenient for whoever is attacking. If you do not want to worsen your position with others and such a decision would be difficult to make for the supervisor on the scene, I would think the best option would be to put some distance between yourself and everything else to maintain the current lack of conflict."
"Does Border presume to lecture Kurosaki on its policies?"
"Not at all. I merely thought Kurosaki would have already taken that much into account."
"Why are these visitors so meddlesome?"
"Because." Kuruma smiled. "People place a lot of weight in the word 'promise'."
"Unneeded people also place a lot of importance on the word 'promise'."
When Sekai heard the two Kuruma Squad members, he raised his eyebrows a little, but...
"I shouldn't have let you hear that word."
He lowered his eyebrows, looked away, and turned his back. He then walked toward the festival with casual but uninterrupted movements. He raised his right hand along the way.
"All personnel and all areas, the primary mission of our group is to welcome and entertain our important guests. To continue with that mission, we must all provide a warm welcome. A Kurosaki group will not view such a trivial obstacle as an attack. If we are to cross the iron-splitting cold, we must welcome a wind such as this like the spring wind."
"Yeah!"
"Now." Sekai looked back over his shoulder and spoke to the Border group. "Festivities are short to Kurosaki. This is a special place meant to provide that ultimate luxury, so enjoy yourselves. Once that is over, we will travel to the workplace...our constantly cold workplace. And..."
He opened a tablet window which displayed Shiraishi's group and the Neighbors near them.
"I will be watching how Border responds to Shiraishi and what they are going through. I'd like to know just how much resolve you have. Kobayashi and Shiraishi are both major players here, so uncertain strength will not be enough to stand up to them."
The Sniper was invited to the Kobayashi's platform as the trion attacks continued.
She sat on a cushion as a large form danced before her.
It was a woman with a foxlike body.
She was taller than the Sniper and she waved fans and danced with large sweeping motions. With each motion, attacks would roar, lights would roar, and noise would shatter. Upside-down torii-style lights would appear and shatter in the sky on the left and right, either allowing the noise in or cutting it off.
Nevertheless, the fox danced calmly and the Sniper spoke behind her.
"You really do have great rice here."
She was nibbling on a rice cracker large enough to hold in both hands. A sound of destruction stickier than the roar of attacks came from her mouth and the fox asked a question.
"Would you like more?"
"Yes!"
"Good, good."
The fox tossed her fans into the air as she danced. While they danced on their own as Denji fried attacks, she pulled a paper bag from her side.
"What would you like?"
"Something like that wafer! It was great!"
"Then let us save that for last. How about this instead?"
"Ohhh, that rice cracker smells like azuki! It has honey inside, doesn't it!?"
"Good, good."
The fox rubbed the Sniper's head, caught the falling fans, and crossed her arms to the opposite sides to signal Denji to fire even more. But...
"So Hikigane has fallen back, has he? The boy is growing up."
"Do you know my uncle?"
"Oh? He is your uncle? That is news to me. Well, to tell you the truth, he is my uncle's mother's son's grandmother's sister's daughter's grandchild's child's friend."
"Oh, so he's a friend of your child."
"I was only kidding."
"Eh?" said the Sniper with a tilt of the head.
"You seem quite gullible."
The fox gave the Sniper a rice cracker wrapped in seaweed, rubbed her head, and then waved her fans around.
She danced. Sounds of attacks and sparks passed through the sky in tune with her playful dance. She made a great spin as if passing through the sky and the wind filled her sleeves.
"My mother and father were both taken down by Neighbors long ago. I had no family. That is why I hired Denji."
"Is that so?"
"I was only kidding."
"Is that so?"
The Sniper nibbled at the rice cracker and the fox rubbed her head with a smile.
"I was only kidding about that."
The fox made a "ko ko" laugh in her throat and turned her back on the Sniper, Denji being seen sighing from the side.
"Oh, a deer."
"Please don't call me a deer. I know someone who already goes through that treatment."
The response came from the lower platform below the fox and the Sniper. Denji was firing and fighting the Neighbors in the stead of Mogami and stood there with...
"How are you anything but a deer with that expression? I wonder that every time I see a picture of you."
"Huh? You two know each other?"
"I have not met her personally until now, but I have heard about her from Kobayashi-san...both the mother and the father. Soka sometimes tells me about her and sometimes she chooses not to say anything."
The deer used the bare minimum of motion to give a good smack to Denji, but it was still more than enough for the man to get back to his fight.
"So do you plan to stop this?"
"Are you not going to stop us with those amazing fighting abilities?"
"Kobayashi's use of Denji here against those Neighbors are apparently fine. It's necessary for this to be a display for both Kobayashi as well as Border, so there is no issue as long as you don't cause too much damage."
"Is this an attempt to make me feel indebted to you?"
"It is."
The Sniper asked a question while still nibbling on the rice cracker.
"Indebted?"
"Ko ko." laughed the fox. "Shiraishi and Kurosaki had several skirmishes with Kobayashi in small attempts to expand. But with Neighbors always moving around Mikado City, we cannot carelessly create anything too important and thus we cannot advance ourselves. So..."
"Border will approve Kobayashi's actions as part of Bakuto-san's protection? In other words, Kobayashi will have the stamp of approval from Border, the organization that will be protecting Mikado City from Neighbors?"
"You're a clever one."
The fox rubbed the Sniper's head and gave her some three-colored rakugan.
"For a while..."
The fox waved her fans around once more.
"For a while, we shall keep things the way they are."
"Why?"
"The same reason as you. ...The higher grade ones never let their prey escape, even if it means being cursed."
The fox continued her dance.
"Now."
She asked a question of the rumbling sky.
"What will the bothersome ones do?"