Toby viewed the sky.
He saw only a few clouds in that night sky, but what shapes were floating there were illuminated from below by the festival being held in Mikado City and by the lights in it.
The clouds were moving slowly. But...
...Huh?
Toby felt the cold. And it came from behind. The back of his head, neck, back, arms, hips, butt, legs, and heels all sank into the cold like they had been grabbed.
He heard a quiet splash.
And just as he heard that sound and the water reached his ears...
"...!?"
He sat up while surrounding by spray.
...Umm.
He looked around.
He was in the pool. He could see the rows of festival lanterns along the pool horizon and he saw the roofs of the festival stands below those.
Someone stood there with the scene and lights as his background.
It was Noah.
The held the single blade Kōgetsu in its holder in his right hand and he was smiling.
"Tobio, you are wide open."
"Oh, um, uh."
Toby scrambled to his feet.
...When did that happen?
He had no idea what had caused his current situation.
He only remembered leaping in to make an attack.
But at some point, he had collapsed.
He had not been hit and bailed out.
...Then what...?
He did not know.
He did not understand what had happened to him. But Noah took a breath.
"I can do this as many times as it takes."
"Do what you just did?"
Toby took a crouching position on the duckboard.
"Awdry! Shor! You started without me!"
Just then, Mikumo arrived from the stairs up to the pool area.
He quickly activated his Trigger to switch out his body. He had the Trigger trace and record their movements while being connected to the Tamakoma Branch.
Someone else also climbed the stairs.
"Huh? You're training even after completing your daily quota?"
It was Kitora. She wore a jacket over a simple school swimsuit.
"Well, I don't mind. In fact, it's good to watch."
"Yeah. We will be working hard."
With that, Toby moved forward. He did not understand how Noah had knocked him down, but the recorder had arrived and his spirit had not broken. So...
...Will I find an answer to why I failed during that day!?
He asked himself that as he charged toward Noah.
And a splashing reached his ears.
Shobu was in an unknown place.
...This feels strange...
The place was apparently known as White Rock's guest residence building.
It was a sealed room with several frames called icons on the walls in place of windows.
The Yagura Branch had some similar styling too. He was used to these sealed places because his own home was similar, but this place lacked the strong smells of cooking using fish, soy sauce, and sake that filled the home. The blankets smelled strongly of soap and felt stiff.
He doubted this was because the space was placed in such a strange area. The normal residences likely allowed for the same lifestyle as anywhere else.
The somehow distant aspect of it all was because they were guests.
...Then I guess...it's fine...
They were being separated from the normal "lifestyle" because it was the proper way to treat them. In that case, he wanted to understand what he could while receiving that treatment.
"Right."
He perceived his surroundings. He knew the room's structure and the location of the bed. He of course knew where the door was too. The neighboring room was Ikoma's and he had said he was preparing his heart by playing a game with a cute girl character that used the forceful language. He did not really understand, but he knew it was safest to ignore it. That left...
...The left end of the hallway...has the bath...the bathroom...the vending machines, and...a garden...?
The person who had showed him around had called it the main garden and said he was free to visit it as he wished. So...
"...Right..."
He decided to go there.
He opened the door. He expected the air to be chilly, but it was actually a little warmer. The sounds reverberated through the passageway and told him it was rectangular in shape. The guard standing next to the door faced him, so he bowed.
"...Can I...go to the garden...?"
"Of course. Go right ahead. There is a checkpoint if you try to enter a different section, so please be careful. Try to stay within the main garden."
The guard was a boy. Shobu made a mental note of what he said, nodded, and then said he was going.
A small feeling of self pride bubbled up once he realized what he was doing.
...I am...talking to others...more...!
It was likely that the events that had occurred a day ago left an impact on him.
With that thought, he began walking.
He heard a voice through the neighboring room's door.
"What!? Kiyoshi! Ya mean ya didn't buy this week's FamiMar Tsushin!? And ya call yerself a marriage Japanese gamer!? ...Wait, ya don't? Who was I thinkin' 'bout then? Whatever! Now I won't know which choices to make and I won't be able to clear the cute girl character on the first try! ...What? The distribution to Kurosaki's slow anyway!? Two days late!? Ya mean Jinsei can't get a copy either!? Kh, but I can't bow my head to Jin! ...Oh, to hell with it!"
...Will this really help...Ikoma-sama prepare himself...? wondered Shobu as he walked past his door. The guard was preoccupied with the door and quickly bowed once he noticed him.
"Are you visiting the main garden? Go right ahead."
He nodded and continued walking. Had that guard known he was going to the main garden because it was just that incredible a place for guests? But...
...I guess you wouldn't normally...ask if someone is on their way...to the bathroom or the vending machines...
...Kaze-kun, Kirikari-sama, and Suzumebachi-sama would probably ask... ...And that's in order of how...serious they would be...
But how was there a garden here when it was in a strange area?
"...Eh...?"
Suddenly, a premonition of something incredible filled his heart. It was still far off, but something had escaped the garden and reached him here. It felt like something thick that could not be contained inside and was forced out.
...It's so dense...?
There was no door dividing the spaces. He simply felt a rectangle of heat. That was the entrance. What lay beyond there? He did not know but he wanted to find out, so he continued forward.
It did not feel like he was entering the garden.
"Nn..."
It felt like he was passing through a wave of heat that created a thick surface.
.
Shobu's breath was immediately taken away.
He stepped into the main garden and walked down the wooden slope to the earthen ground.
...It's so dense...!
Several abnormally dense sensations reached his senses: heat, noise, smell, humidity, and air movement. They all arrived so thickly from the ground and seemed to weigh down on him shoulders.
"...Wah..."
He took a step back onto the wooden slope and took a breath.
But even that breath was dense.
...It is like...a bath with plenty of additives...
Mikado City was unheated bathwater just placed in the bath.
The surface was heated bathwater.
This place was bathwater full of additives.
There was a reason this place had a presence so much denser than the surface.
"...It's sealed...near the ceiling..."
That was probably why. Mikado City had parks placed in certain areas, but they were mostly used to let air circulate between the spaces of buildings and thus were well off in the winds that blew. That was why they lacked this kind of presence.
...But this place...is incredible...
There was minimal air circulation. The flowers were packed densely together on the ground rather than in beds and there were also vegetables growing in a similarly dense arrangement. There were occasional trees, but the branches that reached the ceiling were cut away so they would not spread too far and they did not cut off the heat coming from the ceiling.
The soil was the perfect dampness and warm air reached up to above his knees.
An earthy scent mixed with the flowers and vegetables.
...It reminds me of our...special lesson during the...previous year...
They had dug for potatoes. Uncle Akasora had chosen it because he had wanted to make some chips to eat with his sake. Everyone had desperately dug around with their shovels, but for some reason Kirisame had dug up potato after potato without difficulty. According to him, "I put in so much work that I need to be repaid some how after all", so the karma was apparently biased towards his friend's interests.
Shobu gradually grew accustomed to this and he felt like he knew why this place was the way it was.
There were people here. For example, there were some sleeping below the trees.
He could tell from their breathing that they had fallen asleep due to exhaustion.
...That's right...
This was not Border. They did not have multiple branches like Border. Nor was it a small area like any of the branch offices.
This was White Rock.
It was a base filled with ideas, policies, and the technology needed to live in this Neighbor city.
When he cleared his ears and body, he could sense the vibrations of things leaving or arriving at White Rock's parking zone.
With that kind of tension a constant presence, they would have little time to rest. So...
...Maybe they need this...dense and powerful place...
While Mikado City's nature areas provided a sense of nature as one casually passed through them, this place provided the exhausted people with a sense of nature that they could soak in rather than just feel. Shobu thought about what that meant.
"...Yes..."
He placed his feet back on the resilient dirt and began to walk.
It was a large place. It was about the size of four wide blocks placed side by side. The ceiling was about half as high as on one of Border's main training rooms. The small stream stood out because the heat was thinner there.
Shobu decided to make a circuit of the garden and began clockwise along a path through the densely growing flowers.
Kimura had told him get as much information on White Rock and the Shiraishi family as he could. But she had said something else too:
"Don't force it or do anything dangerous."
So Shobu wanted to check over everything in the areas he was allowed.
...I need to do...my job...
Another feeling came up. This time it was the feeling of knowing that there were people counting on him.
...I don't have...Shikifuku, but... ...I have to have...willpower...
After a while, the path crossed the small stream.
He turned to face the person tending to the vegetables to the side.
He knew them. He realized they had not been from Shiraishi, so perhaps they had transferred businesses.
Curious, he called out to the person who had their back turned to tend to the crops.
"...Um...Seikai...Kiyoshi-sama...?"
.
Seikai shuddered.
He had infiltrated White Rock the night before and had been planning to contact the Border group and find out what they knew. However...
...That was Yagura's bangs nephew, wasn't it!?
He had known he had excellent senses due to something or other from what he had been told, but...
...I'm straight up using a Trigger to disguise myself here!
He was currently supposed to be a reserve special worker from the mountains and he was using the completely original name of Seekai Closeshi. That might be a little more English than anything else, but whatever.
Regardless, he should look like a foreigner right now.
With the ability to change a body using a Trigger, some of his shoulder bones had been reduced to change his structure. The same for his jaw. The color of his hair and everything else had been changed too. While he was not the best disguiser around, this Trigger body change had been enough to pass through many different areas.
For that reason, he assumed there would be no problem here either and chose to ignore the boy. Nakagami was nearby, hiding herself using Chameleon, but she spoke to him using the limited telepathy provided by their Triggers.
"What's going on here?"
This poor girl got tricked into this...
"Don't ask me. I don't remember getting marked anywhere."
"Then are you getting old all of a sudden?"
"You're the same age as me!"
"Then have you just lost your touch? Sigh, I guess I'll have to be the breadwinner from now on..."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here!"
"...Um..."
He heard a voice.
"...Seikai...-sama...?"
He ignored him, but...
"...Are you looking after...the vegetables...with Nakagami-sama...?"
.
Nakagami shuddered.
...I'm invisible right now!
She would occasionally give herself a visible form to investigate something, but during that time, she claimed to be a newbie worker from the mountains. She went by the strange name of Kilika Kretoshizon. Seikai said claiming to be a newbie was a little much, but he did not know what he was talking about.
At any rate, she was invisible at the moment. She was nothing more than a chameleon.
This is bad! What if he tells the boss! It'll go behind not being able to annoy him anymore!
She even drank matcha and chewed on deodorizing leaves every day to erase her scent.
For that reason, she assumed there would be no problem here and chose to ignore the boy. Seikai was right in front of her in his mountain resident disguise and he spoke to her through the limited telepathy provided by their Triggers.
"Hey, what's going on here?"
"Don't ask me. I don't remember him activist his Trigger."
"Then are you getting old all of a sudden?"
"Y-you're the same age as me!"
"Then have you just lost your touch? Sigh, I guess I'll have to be the breadwinner from now on..."
"Well, that's actually fine with me. It's easier."
"...Um..."
She heard a voice.
"...Are you...working...? ...Seikai-sama...?"
"C'mon, tell him that's what you're doing!"
"Don't ask the impossible!"
"...Are you...? ...Nakagami-sama...?"
"C'mon, tell him that's what we're doing!"
"Don't ask the impossible!"
But Yagura's bangs nephew only tilted his head.
"...You...look different, but...you're the same...aren't you...? ...The swaying...is the same as when...you were at Yagura..."
.
Seikai shuddered again.
...The swaying of our bodies!?
He understood how this boy had seen through to their identities.
The swaying of one's body came from more than just the balance created by the skeleton and distribution of muscle. It came from one's pulse, blood pressure, hydration level, and the footing they were used to in their everyday life.
One could not change their pulse so easily.
Their blood pressure was not something they could just change at will.
Even using a Trigger would not change such a thing since they were always set to closely match the user's real body. And...
...The swaying, huh?
People who lived on the surface always had solid ground beneath their feet. The ground provided an immense reactive force, so they only had to think of their own balance.
But the Yagura Branch and other branch offices were different. Their footing was constantly shifting. It could shift and it could kick back at them when dealing with the different floors set up in the building.
Some time after leaving the branch office, that habit should have left, but...
"We thought about that..."
Yes. Along with others who had gone to the branch office, they had readied themselves. They had become costumed and then...
...We continued moving while thinking about those loose floorboards.
If those movements were still noticeable, it may have been because this place was built in a strange way. Even the slightest swaying of his body would stand out more in this solid place.
Nakagami was were off. She was constantly in that branch office due to working for them as their Operator and she had made sure she would fit in nicely to not cause a commotion, so...
...This is bad.
Seikai was glad that bangs nephew had come here. If he had stayed at the Yagura Branch, he would have definitely detected anything else off. In that case...
"We have a chance to get away."
Seikai stood up. He looked back with a smile and spoke to him while gesturing as if explaining the vegetable garden.
"It's been a while, kiddo. Do you need something?"
.
Shobu was glad.
He was glad they had not forgotten him, he was glad they were smiling at him, and he was glad he was not in the way. And with that in mind, another thought came to him.
Seikai and especially Nakagami had different forms from before, but he did not mind since there were a few people like that. Pyrínas had changed forms within a day, so when he had first perceived him, he had thought he was some kind of artifact that had placed something inside bathwater.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
"...Seikai-sama...and Nakagami-sama... ...Are you...working...?"
He was glad he had found someone he knew in this unfamiliar place. He had not spoken with them much back at Yagura, but he had noticed them help clean the inside of the building and work as waiters outside of Border, so...
"...Are you...working again...Seikai-sama...? ...Nakagami-sama...I am assuming...Uncle sent you...for fun...?"
.
Seikai mentally held his head in his hands.
...Um, when he says "working"...?
"Well, kiddo, we are working in our own way."
"Sabotage?"
...This boy's voice carries surprisingly well!
"Hey! Hey!" shouted Nakagami in their limited telepathy. I think this might be the biggest crisis of our lives!"
"It must be nice being invisible!"
But the boy clasped his hands.
"..Do your...best."
Could he really agree to that? Did he think this was some kind of sport? In fact, who had taught him the word sabotage? This seemed like their fault.
First he says he "assumes" and then does something like that! When did this boy become such a badass when compared to before!?
Kuruma smiled bitterly while waking forward and looked over toward the person who had sneezed quietly.
"Yuki? Is someone talking about you? You usually cough instead of sneeze."
They were moving through the Kurosaki festival ahead of others since they would were the representatives and Kuruma saw Yuki hold his palm out toward him. It was a signal to wait.
Yuki then brought his hands to his ears and twisted them.
"Phew. That suppressed it."
"Ehh!? Yuki! Is that a new ninja technique!? That's so cool!"
"What are you talking about? Snot suppression is a standard thing I needed to learn. It's the default, Jinsei."
Murakami hung his head to hide his expression and waved his hands back and forth, but what did that mean? Kuruma spoke up while lending his back to Kon who was sound asleep on his back.
"We will be getting there soon, too. ...Perhaps some of the other representatives are speaking about us."
Nakagami listened to the explanation given by Yagura's youngest member.
It mostly only supported the information they already had, but seeing the links with Kobayashi, more specifically Mogami, and Kurosaki was helpful. And...
"...So the business with those Neighbors yesterday infects today," she said so only Seikai could hear.
"That might be boss lady's doing since she had been out that same night, but even should have a hard time with Neighbor tech since she ignore what others say."
They had also heard that Awdry and their group had started to monitor others. The problem was that there was even less data in the Wanderers and their technology than the normal Bambster or Mormod.
"Border is stopping Futoyuki from saying anything right now because of trust issues... This isn't good."
"But there aren't many people who can just throw out information..."
This meant there was no safe ground left for them.
Of course, Nakagami knew that was true of themselves as well and then Seikai asked a question of Yagura's youngest member.
"Anyway, kiddo, let's make a deal. ...If you'll agree not to tell anyone that we're here, we'll do something for you. What will it be?"
"You...!" shouted Nakagami.
"It's fine, Naka. People like this always keep their promises. Fulfilling a boy's request isn't a bad deal if it will protect our activities here."
"...You never say that kind of thing about me."
"You keep your promises, but you keep them a little too much."
"What does that even mean?"
"See? You forget all about it, which is what makes it so frightening."
She did not know what he meant, but there must have been something in the past that she had not thought of as a promise but he had. She was a little disappointed she did not know what he meant, but...
"Was it something bad?"
"No."
Well, as long as I didn't guide him to bad luck as a person, she decided. They could both cause each other trouble at times.
Then Yagura's youngest member opened his mouth.
"...Th-then...can I ask something...of you?"
"Sure. What is it?"
Nakagami and Seikai listened to the boy's request.
"...Help...Yuki-san...!"
.
Seikai realized he could not immediately reply.
That was partially because he did not understand what he meant by that, but it was also because he did not have a clear view of their own future.
According to what he had learned from others, this "Yuki" had once been known as "Kiyoshi", same as him yet with a different kanji use. As someone who let grudges go rather easily, he did not care much for the beating in the past. But the sister of that same "Kiyoshi" was not something he could look passed.
...So I don't really know what will happen.
Kushikage was not someone weak and was indeed powerful. Her power over him remained the same: a fear if that power.
People like him were simply swept along by that power.
But even if he did not know about themselves, there was one thing he did know.
"Kiddo, why do you want us to help that guy?"
"...Because..." The boy lowered his eyebrows a little. "...Yuki-san is helping everyone...but he isn't...helping himself..."
So...
"...I want a lot of people...to help...him..."
That's all the more reason, thought Seikai. All the more reason I can't help him. He's my current boss's brother, meaning an enemy, and I can't let someone like that escape if I know how important he is.
But...
"I'll take care of that request."
The chameleon answered by his side. It was Nakagami. She spoke to Yagura's youngest member without showing herself.
"I just have to help your mentor by any means within reach, correct?"
"...Yes... ...Please do..."
"That's how it will be," said Nakagami in telepathy. "So if the a time to fight him comes, do it on your own."
"Thanks."
He replied to her and then faced Yagura's youngest member again.
"Well, you heard her. And don't worry about me either."
He saw some slight tenseness leave the boy's face and he asked a question on a whim.
"Is Yagura's rep that important to you?"
"Yeah."
He answered immediately and Nakagami spoke to him in a tone that made it clear she was swinging her arms around.
"Nice! How innocent! No wonder the other Border guys and girls like him!"
"This is why people call you old."
"I just feel the winds of maturity blowing into me when I see someone a little younger than me!"
"Is that so?"
Seikai sighed and the boy in front of him spoke.
"...But I still...don't know...about myself..."
"What don't you know about yourself?"
"...M-Mei-san is...who he loves... ...Kō-san is...his best friend... ...Kotowari Squad are...his family... ...Kimura-sama is...h-his supporter... ...Uncle is..."
After that last name, he tilted his head a little but continued on.
"Everyone's the best...to Yuki-san...in something..."
"That's how he divides up his connections to people. I do that too."
In this age, everyone with a certain level of achievement had a group of people that had helped them accomplish that. It would be friends, teachers, or a group, but...
...It all comes down to connections to individuals.
Love and family were nothing more than one of those connections.
In that division of relationships, anyone who had reached the highest level of trust would become "the best" of their division.
For example, romance could be part of the process toward obtaining a family and it was very important. But in terms of maintaining a family line, matters of children were important. That was why families had arranged marriages so they could have a guaranteed way of producing children.
...What a troublesome age. Although that kind if thing is not really seen, is it? Maybe. Maybe?
It looked like the goal and the means mattered more than anything else, but...
"That's why it's important to gain trust and become 'the best' in something..
People did not even treat others as people at times. There would always be betrayal, resignation, and giving up on not just others but on oneself.
But in some cases, what if someone had the same goal as you and showed trust in some means you were capable of?
What if that person was more or less the leader of a group and was setting something in motion?
Couldn't you live your life to its fullest and leave your mark?
If so...
"I can't believe this," Seikai said to Nakagami.
"What is it?"
"This made me think of the past. ...When we were wondering what to do now that we were free to choose."
"That isn't like you. Don't worry. After all, you aren't 'the best' where you are now."
"That's true," agreed Seikai.
Was the boy in front of them thinking the same things they had in the past?
...No, he isn't.
He had realized the people around him had their worries and that they were using those worries to build some large connections. So...
"Don't rush things, kiddo."
He had just one thing to say now.
"It sounds like your mentor has a lot of 'bests' supporting him. And remember this: it's someone with a lot of 'best' people that can become a great person."
"What about you?" asked Nakagami.
"I've got someone behind me who's the best at two or three different things."
"That isn't cooking, bathing, and sleeping, is it?"
"You don't trust me very much, do you!?"
He took a breath and spoke to the boy again.
"Keep trying at whatever you can. You might find an unexpected 'best' of your own. And even if you don't, those that aren't the best can still gain and understand a lot."
"...Is that true...of you two...?"
He heard a bitter smile behind him.
"You could say we're still on our way."
"That's true." Seikai smiled but did not stop gesturing as if telling him about the vegetables. "Now, how about a bonus? Your request might be a little difficult, so I'll give you one more thing for free."
"...What is it...?"
"Right." Seikai held up a large radish as he answered. "I'll make sure you come across the Shiraishi family's main problem without actually directly coming into contact with it. ...We plan to visit Kobayashi and Kurosaki too, so this is a parting gift."
"...A-are you sure...?"
"We'll make sure it works out for you. I'm not interested in making anyone else so indebted. And if you cause some trouble here, that's only a plus for us."
So...
"Come here tonight...yes, at eleven."
"At eleven?"
"Yes. I'll keep the guard from monitoring you so you can get here undetected. And then..."
He smiled.
"Yes, you should see something interesting. It'll be the best thing you could find as a representative."
"That's 17 times."
Mikumo heard Kitora's announcement and another sound: a splash.
...Wow.
He had seen this pool before when asked to view this sparing by Noah, but it now had a duckboard laid over the surface, creating a simple water-top stage.
The duckboard sank down a bit, so the people on it had their toes sinking into the water.
But one of those people was not standing in the water at the moment.
That person was Toby.
He had fallen over and been soaked with the splash he had created.
The other person on the water had remained standing throughout.
"Shor..."
He was facing away from Mikumo, so he could see his black hair dry and blowing in the wind.
He had yet to make an obvious swing of Kōgetsu. And yet...
"Why can't Awdry stand up to him at all?"
"Are you asking me?" Kitora crossed her arms and tilted her head. "I don't know what Shor is doing, but he's definitely keeping To-... Ahem. Awdry from doing much of anything."
She corrected herself there...
"So it's affecting the start of his techniques?"
"Look into it yourself."
That told Mikumo that his fears were grounded in reality.
...Kitora is surprisingly nice.
She was probably trying to be strict, but it actually made her easy to read.
She was probably aware of it, but she likely thought going further would be too much work and she must not have seen a need to make herself any more of a villain.
Mikumo knew she was watching the other two train as her way of showing concern.
...Yes, Kitora is a good person. Or at least not a bad person.
After all, she had gone to help him during the Aftokrator invasion. She did also kept things straight with him and spoke her mind without restraint.
Of course, he had gotten a feeling of anger from her at times.
But, thought Mikumo. I have the feeling she gets like that with a lot of people.
"Mikumo-kun, keep your eyes on the pool."
"Oh, s-sorry!"
What did it mean if he was being scolded by such a girl?
But he heard the same sound again.
Toby had attempted an attack on Noah and had been sent flying.
"18 times. If he doesn't catch on soon, then he has it really bad."