Below the night sky, the festival lights lit the pool from below.
Mikumo asked Kitora a question while watching the spray rising and Toby rolling along the duckboard.
"What do you mean he has it really bad?"
"Did you think this was a slump?"
"It isn't? Sorry, but I don't know as much about Awdry as you and Shor."
Kitora did not respond and that in itself was an answer to his question.
...If this isn't a slump, then what is it?
Even Mikumo could tell Toby had lost his luster. He had seen the previous matches of Kotowari Squad and his combat result had been missing something since their match against Tsukiko and Shor squads.
What would happen if he was still like this during the next B-Rank War match?
Mikumo had thought he knew the purpose of the training Noah was leading here.
...It's to remove that "cloud" from above Awdry's head...
However...
"If this isn't meant to get him out of a slump, then what are they trying to accomplish here?"
"You don't know?" Kitora sighed with her arms still crossed. "It's absurd. ...Just how much does Shor trust Toby?"
She didn't correct herself there?
"What do you-...?"
"I won't tell you until we've seen the result. There's no point in getting your hopes up prematurely."
There was another splash.
Toby fell next to Noah and water splashed behind him.
But what happened next was somewhat different.
Toby hopped up from his fallen position.
On the first roll after falling, he thrust his hands against the duckboard to launch his body up.
He was in midair with his chest pointed down. He landed feet-first with Scorpion in his right hand.
He moved forward to target Noah's back.
Noah, however, did not look back.
And Toby continued forward to strike Noah on the left side of his back.
He charged.
.
Toby saw the sky.
It was the night sky.
...Huh?
That was strange. He had attacked Noah from behind. And yet...
...Why?
Just he realized something.
He realized an obvious fact about these repeated results.
But.
"—"
He felt something like a dark and harsh shove.
And he produced a 20th splash.
.
Noah saw Toby rolling to his left.
The other boy was now about 7 meters in front of him.
There was a large splash, but the shallow waves were stronger. That would be because he had been collapsed on his side and bounced along the duckboard.
The boy was breathing heavily while lying collapsed on the duckboard.
Oh, I had forgotten we set our Trigger to make things more realistic. We actually will "run out of breath" here.
The ends of his sleeves had fallen through the gaps in the duckboard.
...But.
Did he notice it? wondered Noah.
Toby's movement had been different from before. Before, he had been attacking from the front as a form of "training", but attacking from behind like this meant something else entirely. Even as a form of training, that attack had been in preparation for a real battle and not just to learn some technique.
However...
"You still didn't notice your failure when you made your attack, Tobio. So I hope you noticed it after your attack..."
"Yeah. ...I more or less understand it now."
Noah heard Toby's voice.
He rose from the water as if crawling and then stood up.
His wet brown hair looked more like fur and Noah felt apologetic. But...
...I would be spoiling him if I didn't let him figure it out on his own.
He lacked the strength needed to help his opponent realize how dangerous his mistake was. Especially with Toby who was even more skilled than him.
This might be why Yuki asked for my help. Not just because of my balance.
Minoru was a good person, and could be a good teacher, but this matter was not something that would have come easy. After all, unlike the A-Rank Minoru, Noah was a B-Rank agent who was the same age as Toby and viewed him in a great light.
That was why Noah decided to handle this with speed and accuracy. At the moment, he asked a question.
"So what will you do?"
"Right. I'll be fine."
Toby stood with water dripping from him and with Scorpion in his right hand.
"You are saying my actions have become too patterned, aren't you, you jerk?"
.
It's a simple matter, thought Mikumo.
Doing anything required an action and actions began with a movement which continued on to completion.
Mastering an action meant to find the most accurate and optimal flow of movement.
But Toby had worked himself too far.
"I don't know much about how Attackers do things, but it looks like his movements have become too fixed... Even with his Side Effect."
Safety was a top priority on the battlefield. Mistakes could mean loss, so to avoid pushing himself unnecessarily, he had focused on his own moves.
But what happened when someone knew what those were?
Then the optimal moves would become a pitfall to failure.
"Do you see why it was important to reproduce whatever happened the other day?"
Kitora asked that while viewing the feet of the two boys in the pool.
"The splashing."
"...Huh?"
"Just watch and learn."
Toby lowered his body as if to agree with Kitora.
He was preparing to move forward, toward Noah's right side.
He held Scorpion out front on his right while changing the shape to prevent Noah from using Kōgetsu in his right hand. Toby held the weapon with his left hand at the blade end of the now extended blade and his right hand on the blade's butt.
His left hand controlled Scorpion's tip, guiding it toward Kōgetsu.
If Noah attempted to swing Kōgetsu forward, he would use Scorpion to interfere.
But that was not his attack.
A moment later, Mikumo realized what Toby was doing.
He used his right hand to swing the butt end toward Noah, it was the reason he had changed the shape to extend.
It only took an instant.
The left-hand tip was a feint meant to disguise the right-hand attack and it also supplied the initial movement for swinging the butt.
The motion swung the butt and blade horizontally.
However...
"A horizontal swing of a straight line is difficult to dodge. ...You can tell he really wants to hit Shor after failing so many times already."
But what happened next was strange.
It happened just as the horizontally-swung butt was about to reach Noah.
"...Eh?"
All of a sudden, Mikumo saw Toby rise up and pitch forward.
...Why?
He did not know, but his Trigger connected to the Tamakoma branch office was still recording.
Toby bent his body and tried to endure.
"...!?"
But he was blown away.
.
The duckboard had soaked up the water and sunk a bit.
Toby landed on his right shoulder and rolled along it.
He asked a question while the water sprayed up and his body caught on the water, making him bounce.
...Why!?
It was not that he was underestimating Noah's skill.
But this was strange.
That action had been a rare one for him.
Scorpion could block and take an enemy's attack by shattering, so he generally used it for both attack and defense. He never made a horizontal swing using an extended Scorpion.
He had never even demonstrated that movement during training. What was more was that his Side Effect should have also moved him to the most optimal position.
So how had Noah seen through it?
...What is...
He could not finish the question in his mind.
A black flash had reached his collapsed vision.
It was Kōgetsu.
"Looks like I can start moving now."
With that, Noah attacked with his sheathed blade like an actual sword.
.
Noah saw Toby take evasive action.
...He's as sharp as ever. Must be his animalistic instincts. Or, you know, his Side Effect.
Not his reaction. His movement.
His hair hopped up as he jumped backwards while doubled over.
He had chosen not to stand up because he was fearful of a further attack and was thinking of a counterattack. By leaning forward, he reduced the area open to attack and made the first step of his next action in advance.
It was a good movement. But...
"Now, then."
Noah pursued. He closed the gap between him and Toby's movement.
That evasive jump after falling created a distance of two steps, but Noah put on airs and forcibly covered it in a single step.
He caught up. And...
"What will you do?"
As soon as he asked that, Scorpion's tip arrived as a counterattack.
It was perfectly timed for when Noah completed his forced step.
There was no room for criticism in the movement, power, or idea.
...Good job.
With that thought, Noah took action.
.
Mikumo saw Toby fly through the air.
He had been facing Noah, but he flew backwards in the opposite direction.
He was thrown into the water in something of a side flip, but Mikumo did not initially understand what had happened.
...What was that!?
Toby had just launched a counterattack to the front.
So why had he been sent backwards?
Something had been done to match his counterattack.
"What was he hit with?"
When Mikumo asked Kitora, that girl next to him watched the pool as she answered.
"...It's nothing like that."
Kitora scratched her head.
"He really does have it bad."
"Have what?"
"He is going to need to be broken down a fair bit."
Meanwhile, Noah was moving. He slowly walked forward and toward Toby.
But not to pursue. He was approaching his opponent. That was all.
Some water splashed up at Noah's feet, but the gap between him and Toby closed.
"—"
With a single splash, Toby made a jump.
.
Toby took a position that allowed him to confront Noah.
He was to Noah's right, so Kōgetsu would block him from view.
He was about 5 meters away. He had made it so Scorpion's reach was just under 3 meters, so he would be in attack range after only a short approach.
But he did not simply charge in.
Noah knew how to use his Kōgetsu. He would be constantly on the lookout for someone taking this position and he would have trained in how to respond.
And Toby had chosen to jump there.
That was a feint against Noah. Noah would have to question whether he should attack there or not.
And that spot allowed Toby to jump behind him.
"—"
He did so.
It was a low jump and he landed in an instant. The duckboard was below the water's surface, so he did not slip when he landed behind Noah with his knees bent and ready to spring.
He could make an attack, so he stuck his right knee out toward Noah and balanced his body.
He would send his knee out and then his blade. And Toby realized something after taking that stance and moving.
At some point, he had ended up in front of Noah.
...Huh?
This was strange.
Why was he in front of him after circling behind him?
He had not jumped or circled around to that spot.
So Noah must have turned to face him.
He had done so in an instant.
...He predicted this?
That had to be the case and Toby understood how he had predicted it.
That flow of movement was one Noah had often experienced in training.
But, thought Toby. How did he also predict that I would move behind him?
That was strange.
He had moved behind Kōgetsu countless times in training. At Noah's request, he had thought up ways to attack him and discussed possible countermeasures.
But moving behind him afterwards was just one of many options.
How had he predicted that choice?
"..."
Noah moved toward him.
This isn't good, thought Toby.
He found himself in an inexplicable situation. He could not explain how his actions had been so perfectly predicted.
However, he also did not understand why it was inexplicable, so he could not come up with any kind of countermeasure.
At this rate, Noah would attack him and he would lose.
No, he had already lost several times. The number of losses had just passed 20.
There was only one possibility:
...My actions are being seen and predicted.
Toby had a sudden thought: Is that the trick?
.
For now, I will assume that my actions are being seen, thought Toby.
...In that case, my actions are being predicted because they are being seen.
And with that...
"..."
He realized something.
He realized how his actions were being seen.
.
...Ah.
Mikumo realized that Toby's movement had changed.
When he stood up and moved away from Noah's approach, the way he walked had changed.
Before, he had been in a hurry to approach and attack his opponent, so he had leaned forward like he was running. He had leaned forward and raised his hips in a stance that allowed him to kick his legs backwards.
But that had changed.
He was more upright and his legs were arranged side to side instead of front to back. He also kept his hips low.
Mikumo thought it made him look like a dog.
But this dog moved quickly.
He did not run along the water like before.
He did not jump toward his destination.
He first sent one or the other of his legs forward.
He sent out a knee and then placed his toes on the duckboard at his destination. Then his body caught up with his leg.
Instead of kicking himself forward, he pulled himself forward.
It was a lot like crawling or climbing with just one's arms.
...Is that...?
"One of our Border agents, who have since left for their own reasons, moved a lot like that," said Kitora. "You can use your leg and knee as a deterrent and you can also immediately pull it back. It makes quick direction changes difficult, but Toby can overcome that with his mobility."
I see, thought Mikumo before opening his mouth.
He had realized something about the way Toby placed his toes on the water's surface.
"He didn't make a splash."
And...
"Shor will have a hard time seeing Awdry's back leg. That means he can't read Awdry's movements."
"Why is that?"
"There are no more splashes to reveal his footsteps and the movement of his leg is hidden."
"Yes." Kitora sounded unimpressed. "She's reached the point that he needs to follow a silly plan when moving around."
.
Toby moved forward.
But he did not simply advance. He circled around to Noah's left side.
He was turned so his right side faced forward. He stuck out his right leg and pulled his body in with his right knee.
He turned using the left leg behind him.
His left leg was up on its toes and it turned his body as a rear rudder.
He predicted the best time to move forward and back as he continued on.
...This is it...!
His left leg was hidden by his right knee and his body.
He held Scorpion in front of his body as if showing it off to Noah.
It was difficult to use a blade in that position.
...It actually looks more like a spear when I change the shape like this.
When holding a spear in both arms, his own body and the shaft would be in the way.
When holding a spear in front of you, you generally held it so it extended to the side.
But then he could not thrust the Scorpion to the front.
That was a poor position for circling to Noah's left side.
Noah stood directly across from him as he prepared his Scorpion.
He had to think about his own body's interference when swinging the Scorpion.
And he needed to push it forward, not to pull it back to gather strength.
This was not an easy situation for controlling the Scorpion. But...
"—"
.
That is fine, concluded Toby. He had never before done anything so reckless while training with Noah.
...Now he won't be able to "predict" my action.
With that, he charged forward and launched an attack while passing by Noah.
"...!?"
He was filled with instantaneous confusion. Noah had raised his left hand while Toby charged in with Scorpion.
He had reacted.
.
Toby had a thought in that moment.
...How...!?
The angle and movement of Noah's raised left hand told Toby what he was trying to do.
He was trying to grab the tip of Scorpion.
The spaced tip meant it could be grabbed as long as you did not grab the blade.
So Noah was trying to do just that. He was going to calmly grab Toby's weapon, and...
...Knock me to the ground!?
It was the same as before.
Throughout all of this, Noah had not made a single attack.
He would predict Toby's actions and send him flying in some way or another: sweep his legs out from under him, pull down on the arm swinging the weapon, or place a hand on his waist and spin him.
That counterattack should not have happened.
When Toby had charged forward, Noah had swept his feet out from under him and rotated him sideways through the air.
It had only taken an instant.
Toby had been placed on top of his swinging leg and forced into a flip. There had been no hesitation in the action and it had not eliminated any of Toby's momentum.
"—"
This was the same.
Just like before, he would be sent flying.
The Scorpion tip would be grabbed and pulled back and that was sure to send him forward.
That was devastating with his legs separated to the front and back. He could not endure a pull to the side and down.
Imagining his imminent loss, Toby felt his reflexes try to pull back.
But it was too late. He had already passed the point of no return for that future. So...
...Kh.
Even after more than 20 losses, he could not figure out why he was losing.
He had thought it was because Noah knew his movements from training, but that was not it.
He had thought it was because the splashes were allowing Noah to predict his actions, but that was not it.
Then what was it?
Why was he losing here?
...I need to think...!
He had no time.
There were only two things he could do: think and move as a reflexive response to that.
So he did so.
.
Well done, thought Noah.
He saw a certain action in front of him.
As he tried to grab Scorpion's tip, it suddenly shattered.
The entire blade from top to base shattered to sent green light around them.
Toby had shattered the blade so it could not be grabbed.
The blade moved back and shattered so Noah could not grab it, but it also seemed to be a threat to him.
This is a bluff, thought Noah.
But his eyes felt his opponent's actions.
He did not see them. There was not enough time to see and understand.
So he felt the movements entering his vision and predicted them.
Toby was not there.
More accurately, only his bouncing hair was there.
The wet hair was circling behind him.
Toby moved quickly.
The speed came from shattering Scorpion, but this was not movement of his legs. There was only one way he could cover that distance in an instant with his legs spread front to back like that.
"Teleport."
No, that was not right.
Teleport was an almost instant transport. There was no way he would miss the clues to its activation.
But he doesn't like using Grasshopper.
So...
This is the Trigger Minoru told me about.
Kiyome.
Toby whipped up the wind.
The wind circled behind Noah.
...Amazing.
Toby swiftly shifted between one action and another in the middle of battle.
He likely had not noticed it himself, but how many people in the current Border could think up and pull off that kind of thing?
In battle, this boy could produce and respond to any movement he could think of. Whatever he could not cover, his Side Effect would fix.
And due to a certain factor, he no longer recognized that ability of his.
Noah had to correct that.
He had to do so in every way he could.
"Yes."
After reminding himself of that, Noah breathed in.
...Now, then.
He had to make sure Noah realized why he could predict and respond to Toby's actions.
...Are you coming?
Toby's wind danced behind him.
He was coming.
.
Toby leaped.
When he landed from the leap behind Noah, he kicked strongly at the water.
That would tell the other boy exactly where he was.
He made the duckboard creak to draw attention to his location.
And then he took another leap.
But not to the front: up above.
He had to launch himself above Noah's head. That was the only option. Any horizontal movement could be "predicted".
And a simple leap above the other boy would also be "predicted".
So he had created a foothold by splashing the water upon landing.
Kiyome could provide acceleration based on any foothold.
He only had to step on a quickly former Scorpion.
He could use "ideal movements" for that. For that technique, he controlled his body and moved it exactly as he wanted, a trick he had learned from Yuki, yet found difficult due to his Side Effect. He could do that to step on the repeatedly shattering Scorpions and use it as footholds.
Of course, he had lost during the match against his friends despite possessing this technique.
He had not wanted to try it against them since it would either create a high advantage or a devastating disadvantage. It was high risk, high reward, but...
"—"
No, realized Toby.
His enemy's movements had been what supported them.
That was all there was to it. And...
...Ah.
I have no weapon, he realized.
His weapon was there.
When leaping with Noah earlier, his Scorpion blades had continuously shattered.
The first one that had shattered had been reformed just as quickly, so it had been tossed up, leaving him with only one other Trigger usage.
So Toby did what he could. He kicked the shattered Trigger and used his falling acceleration to arrive above Noah's head.
He arrived.
He achieved an unbelievable height and distance in the span of a breath, but his path was more important than his position.
Instead of simply leaping, he took a complex path using the shattering Trigger footholds. If anything, he attempted to fall over Noah's head from the sky in front of him.
Scorpion reached his outstretched right hand.
It was there.
He grabbed it and pulled it in.
It was Kōgetsu.
.
Mikumo saw a strange sight.
Toby was hit by an attack in midair and slammed into the water.
But that was only the result. It was the process leading up to that which was strange.
...What...?
Noah had sent Kōgetsu flying through the air to match Toby's leap.
At the same time, he had grabbed Toby's not shattered Scorpion and dropped it down. He had not let Scorpion escape after its tip had shattered to escape his grasp and then was abandoned.
He eliminated the enemy's weapon. Next, he had tossed Kōgetsu's actual blade to Toby in the air and circled around above him.
He had used Grasshopper to leap above Toby in an instant.
From there, he had only needed to make his attack.
But, thought Mikumo.
...What was that?
Noah had jumped from directly below Toby, so Toby should have seen it.
But from Mikumo's perspective Toby had looked like a clown that could not see what was right in front of him.
"Shor sure is thorough."
Kitora spoke quietly.
"Was it familiarity from training? —No.
"Was it his footsteps splashing in the water? —No.
"Then was it simply that he's cleverer than Toby? —No.
"Those are all wrong. But they are all things that amateurs and somewhat skilled people will notice and take advantage of. Against an expert or a monster, they are more than just openings. They lead directly to loss."
"Then that wasn't why Shor set this up?"
"No, this wasn't some fancy stage meant to point out the splashing or the training. ...It was to point out that it isn't any of those."
Meaning...
"It was to show Toby that his failure is something more fundamental."
.
...Why...!?
Toby questioned everything while kneeling on the duckboard.
Why was he losing?
It was not just Noah's familiarity with his training and it was not just that his movements were being predicted. Even his clever ideas were being cut off.
What was he supposed to do?
Noah picked up Kōgetsu's fallen blade. Water dripped from it as he used just his right hand to place it back in the holder he already held.
Then he used his left hand to lightly spin around what he had already collected: Scorpion.
The blade sliced through the water and reflected the vermillion festival lights, but he did not so much as glance at it.
He simply aimed Kōgetsu's tip at Toby.
"Toby. ...What do you have to say about this situation?"
Toby thought about how to answer that question.
But he already knew the answer.
Ever since Kotowari Squad had been fixed, he had completely lost his luster. It felt like the thread he used to grasp victory had snapped.
Until then, he had been able to pull off the ideal movements of an expert.
But now he was not even confident he could do that.
No, he felt like his "ideal movements" were different from those of the experts.
They would spin and dance as if they were swimming through the flow of battle, but he was simply moving and finding places to attack.
He felt like a real animal.
He felt pathetic for being weaker because he had been helped.
But during that terrible period, he felt...
"Complete and utter defeat."
This was the same. No, this was far worse.
"I can't win."
"Okay. Is that so? Then..."
Noah swung his right hand.
He purposefully drove Kōgetsu through Toby's face.
.
He's really smashed him now, thought Kitora when she saw the attack.
...Shor isn't holding back.
Was that how much he cared for Toby, his friend at the top?
But that attack had contained no mercy whatsoever. The snap of his wrist had looked light, but that was what gave it such great speed. And a blade like Kōgetsu would cause Bail Out if it simply hit you.
A direct blow to the face could easily smash the skull for a regular body, so in this case it would be Bail Out.
This was Mikado City's main area. It was a great distance from Border. A Bail Out from here would mean a great amount of time before coming back.
It would take that time to return, but there was also time to reform his body.
Of course, the battles would be over by then.
That was the meaning held behind the attack Noah so casually sent Toby's way.
It would do greater harm to his future than his physical body.
And...
"Awdry!"
Shut up, Mikumo-kun. Why are your hands on your cheeks like a girl? Although using me as a baseline, the girly reaction is to keep your arms crossed.
But what happened to Toby? wondered Kitora.
She looked up and saw something other than fatigue or a lack of motivation. Their dog was captured by something else.
"...Fear."
Anxiety also described it.
He was afraid of losing.
If he lost some important battle, his companions would have to bear the weight of his loss along with him.
And more importantly...
...He will remain a failure in the eyes of his parents.
But if he let that fear consume him, it was all over.
"Figure it out," said Kitora.
Her eyes were on Noah, who had a grim look his her face as he finished swinging Kōgetsu.
He had guts if he could do something like that without an even worse look on his face.
Toby, meanwhile...
"He lost."
Or he should have.
"Heh." Kitora laughed quietly. "Why can't you lose, Toby?"
.
Toby felt something cold on his right cheek.
What was touching him there? He slowly moved his gaze to the right and saw it.
His face...his eyes could see it there: Kōgetsu's holder.
If the thick holder was next to his face and touching his right cheek, then he had not been smashed.
Noah had missed. Then...
...Was that just a threat?
Had he come within millimeters of hitting him in order to open his eyes?
But his view of himself suddenly distorted.
Kōgetsu was pulled back toward Noah.
And Noah spoke.
"Even with your Side Effect, please don't dodge."
.
...Huh!?
Toby questioned what Noah had said.
He had not tried to dodge. He had seen the sudden attack and prepared himself for what was to come: I really am a lost cause if I have made No go this far.
So he had resigned himself to taking this attack as a rebuke.
He had not dodged.
...I swear it...
He tried to promise he had not dodged.
But then the holder arrived again. He saw its color in front of him.
"—"
Yes, he said in his heart.
He had lost and had no hope of recovering, but he had a companion who would end it for him.
So he leaned forward to accept that ending. Still seated, he moved to let the holder hit him as a way of taking responsibility for his friend and companion's effort.
.
Mikumo realized something had ended.
Noah's second attack sliced through the air.
...He is serious.
He sent Kōgetsu forward with his wrist, yet it heavily pierced the air.
And along the covered blade's path...
"Why...?"
He could see Kōgetsu's holder.
It was next to Toby's face. It had seemed to graze his left cheek and passed behind his shoulder.
It had not hit him.
Mikumo commented on the Attacker Trigger's failure.
"Why...is he dodging?"
"Training," said Kitora with a quick laugh. "I recognize that movement."
And...
"It's a survival instinct that functions at a subconscious level. That's what's dodging all of these. I guess his Side Effect could also be an option, but he seems like he doesn't really want to move his body."
"But." Mikumo frowned. "Isn't that what guided him to failure before?"
"Figure it out."
Kitora said that to him, but then...
"Ahh."
She must have decided he was the type who could not figure it out.
With a look that could only be disgust in her eyebrows and mouth, she opened her mouth.
He felt extremely apologetic as she explained.
"Balance."
That was all.
Then he saw movement in front of them. Noah had made his third attack.
It was a deep jab with his elbow behind it.
.
I dodged it, realized Toby.
The first time, he had not even noticed.
The second time, he had been unable to believe it.
The third time, he had understood what he had done.
And the next jab was coming.
"—"
Noah stepped forward for the fourth one.
...Kh.
Will I move? thought Toby about his own body. He had reacted subconsciously to dodge the previous three, but what about when he was conscious of it?
"..."
He dodged it.
It carved across his right cheek and it felt like having a bug crawling along his skin. His trion skin was sliced one after another. Trion spilled from where he felt the bug's legs.
But he had dodged it. He had dodged with his own conscious will and his own actions.
But he still had questions.
What good was dodging?
It was not like he would lose his life if he did not dodge.
Was he afraid of the pain?
That was not it. Normally, an attack like that would knock him unconscious. In fact, a scrape like this would have left him with more pain than that. But none of that mattered when he was in a trion body. There would be no actual feeling to it.
Then had his pride not allowed him to give up here?
That was not it either. He was more afraid of being unable to continue fighting. If he was concerned about the trouble he would cause his companions...
...Giving up here would be easier for everyone.
So why had he dodged it?
He did not know. But...
"—"
A fifth and sixth attack arrived.
Toby dodged the blade tip atop the water.
His stance had crumbled.
He quickly crawled, rolled, kicked water up at Noah, and attempted to stand up.
He could not manage it.
Toby kicked at the duckboard and his footing collapsed.
He simply produced a splash, fell to his knees, and tried desperately to move away.
...Kh.
If he was hit, it was all over.
And that would make everything so much easier.
He fought as his team's ace, his position pitted him against the strongest of opponents, he had taken his title of an animal since it gave off some power, and most importantly...
...I have my duty as Kotowari Squad's ace!
My friends will get rid of that pressure.
That will be the end of it.
Yeah, Noah is more suited for the better position than me.
After all, he has managed to overpower me when I am supposed to be reaching for him. For Yuki.
So I can pass that kind of thing to others and use my loss as the proof.
That is for the best.
So why?
"—"
He had to have dodged more than 20 attacks already.
Why?
Why did he continue to dodge when none of his attacks could get through and he had given up?
The answer was obvious.
Because if he was defeated here, he would never know why he had dodged earlier.
If he gave up, he would never solve the mystery of that moment.
...Why?
Why had he chosen not to sink?
And just as he isolated that question inside himself...
"You leave me no choice."
Noah began to pull out Kōgetsu.
Toby looked back atop the duckboard and saw a different stance from before.
Noah held the sheathed Kōgetsu at his side and he spoke.
"Senkū...Kōgetsu."
.
Toby reflexively took action.
He grabbed the duckboard section floating to the right of the one he was kneeling on.
"..."
He swung his entire body around and used the momentum to throw it at Noah.
The collection of boards flew up from low in the air. The duckboard section was the size of a tatami mat and it strained under its water-laden weight, but...
"Kh...!"
Instead of throwing it at Noah, it was more like releasing it as a horizontal, axe-like swing.
.
Noah predicted that action.
But the look Toby gave him was far more painful than seeing the right arm reaching for the neighboring duckboard section.
He saw Toby desperately trying to think up something to do and he felt a sense of self-loathing.
But there was a good reason to push Toby this far.
However, his action had been poorly timed.
Kōgetsu was already prepared to slash and dodging the duckboard had shifted its aim.
"..."
He had intended to hit Toby with a somewhat horizontal blow.
But now the tip was aimed somewhat downwards.
...Not good...!
The impact tore into the pool.
It crushed and shook the water while smashing the dozen or so duckboard sections in an instant.
"—"
The pool exploded.
.
The ruptured water was dumped on Mikumo.
Kōgetsu's attack had not hit Toby.
For one thing, it had not released its normal form of attack. The sparring settings had fired an impact instead.
And then Kōgetsu's impact had hit the water at Toby's feet.
It had not dug through it.
It had compressed it with an impact.
But after it was pushed down, it had to return to its original shape.
The compression heated the pool water until steam rose from it.
But that was as far as the water lasted.
The compressed water exploded from the center of the attack.
The impact would have diffused in the air, but in the water it functioned properly and reflected back.
The water sent itself scattering through the air and carried the duckboard sections with it. And then...
...Wah!
The impact that had struck the pool was launched upwards.
It was an explosion.
The waves burst and Mikumo saw Noah leap back as if pushed by the mountain of water.
A moment later, the airborne water fell back down as rain.
The splinters of the duckboard also fell while Mikumo realized Toby was nowhere to be seen.
"Awdry...!"
The falling water threatened to drown out his voice.
Next to him, Kitora spoke while equally soaked.
"He fell."
She gestured toward the sky to the edge.
"Let's see how this turns out."
.
Toby thought, I have seen the sky a lot recently.
In recent match, he had looked up into the sky as Takeshi had fired his laser like beams for their advantage.
At midday that same day, he had looked up into the sky from Minoru's lap after his battle with Seikai Kiyoshi.
At the current night, he had looked up into the sky after being blown away by Noah's Kōgetsu.
It mostly had to do with a good person, he thought, but now was not the time.
After all, he had fallen from the building's roof.
They were on the top floor. Up to the end of of the area were others lined up.
Someone was holding a festival in Mikado City and building up people's spirits before something big happened.
He had fallen from there.
That was a drop of about 50 meters. He would not survive a fall of that height in his normal body.
But he had no way of saving himself either.
He could not find it in himself to counteract this fall, but even so, he was wearing a swimsuit. And he was sure that something happening after lightly dressing himself.
He had thought anything extra would cause him to overlook what he was doing wrong.
...Such an incompetent mistake. Oh, that is what my parents would always say about me, isn't it?
He could blame no one but himself if he caused a major scene here.
And a thought occurred to him only now.
...Won't this leave some mental scars with me here?
He must have been a lost cause from the moment he had failed to understand what he was doing wrong.
He thought he was fairly strong for his age of only 15, but it had not been enough. Worse, he had lacked the power to even understand what he lacked.
So he had lost to someone who never had a chance to make a comeback: himself.
That boy had always been off his game when he fought, so anything that counted as a "win" had been a mistake. After seeking more fights and impatiently demanding more, the true value of his strength had become all too clear.
Toby sighed and spoke to himself as he fell through empty air.
"I..."
If possible...
"I want to redo all of those fights..."
He wanted a direct clash with his former self to see just how much of a mess up he had always been.
...If only I could do that...
That was when Toby realized something.
...I still have something I have left undone.
Of course he did.
He was stepping down from the stage early, so nothing was complete.
But now a voice escaped his lips.
"Kh..."
How many times had his vision been blurred by tears now? Even in this trion body, he felt it too unrealistic if he could not do so much as cry.
Even as he realized how weak he had always been, he converted his groan into a voice.
"I hate this."
.
Toby was aware he lacked strength.
But the result of that mistaken battle had twisted something inside him.
He had become unable to accept it.
He had not properly learned how much strength he did have. He had experienced incomplete victories and defeats, but then powerful enemies had appeared before him.
"Yes..."
He was not strong enough.
But it was his own naiveté that had grown distorted.
So he would end it here.
He would fall and hand over his Trigger after.
And yet...
"Why?"
Why? thought Toby.
Why had he not closed his eyes?
Why had he not stopped shifting?
Why had he not given up on himself?
Why?
"Why...!? Why, my stupid body!?"
Why was he reaching his hand out into the empty air?
The answer was obvious.
A single straightforward shape was falling toward him.
"Scorpion...!"
.
Noah said nothing.
He simply hurried to the edge of the deck and tossed a blade down.
The blade could not stop the fall.
Scorpion, while being light, lacked a fall reduction protection.
But, thought Noah. Toby can't wake up without his fangs.
That trion weapon had always been his attack power and his fangs. No matter how many were destroyed and shattered, he would create new ones.
A bite much worse than any bark.
If seeing that was not enough to wake him...
"He will be as good as dead even when he survives."
"You sure are nice, Shor."
Kitora's voice reached him from behind.
"You can judge this based on life."
"Yeah." Noah felt a smile inside himself as he answered. "That must be because I judge myself based on simple things."
.
Toby grabbed Scorpion in his right hand.
The word "why" was ringing in his heart.
No, the power in his hand had been thrown to him by Noah.
Noah was telling him to come back.
Throwing down Scorpion instead of a protection or defense was proof of that.
He was telling him to come back up himself. But...
"—"
Toby wondered if he was really allowed to not give up.
Even though he was weak.
"Kh."
His companion was telling him to use the power in his hand.
He was aware of his weakness. There was no point in looking away from it now.
And his companion was attempting to clear away the distortion within him.
So the rest was up to him.
...Right.
With that word of understanding and of a contract, Toby began to think.
Why was he desperately searching for a reason to continue on when he had been working so hard to let himself end just a moment ago?
The answer to that question was the question itself.
Because he did not want to end. That was all there was to it.
He truly did not want to end, but he had thought it might be better to end and had tried to obey that thought.
He had simply been trying to look good.
But that had all been turned around by nothing more than Noah's message of "don't lose".
So had he just wanted that boy's concern?
Pathetic. But...
"...Right!"
Would the others forgive him for trying to end it all until now? And...
...Honestly.
Toby wished for it with no hesitation now.
...I can't just appear up there. That is because I'm not "me". "I" would just teleport up there as a way to imitate Yuki.
He wished to not end.
"I" have only wanted to be like him. Like the person who took me in. But that's wrong... There was never "right" in what "I" was doing.
He shook the tears from his eyes, shattered Scorpion himself, and raised his voice.
This will be who "I" am now!
"...Headfirst Fall!"
.
Noah saw an arcing form fly up into the night sky.
It was Toby.
He had pulled himself up from the fall and used that momentum to jump even higher than the others.
It was all a series of forcible actions.
When looking down earlier, Noah had seen no footholds for Toby to use Kiyome on.
Activating Kiyome in the empty air would only lead to falling.
Even if he could supply the proper direction and shift his position, he could not escape the falling motion.
Teleport had been his only option.
But that was only without a foothold.
Toby had created a foothold for Kiyome.
He had kicked off the countless pieces of Scorpion that he had shattered.
"—"
And he fell.
He directed his fall toward the side of the building and slammed into it.
The rest was simple.
He repeatedly "fell toward" the building's walls and used that momentum to jump.
"So he made it back."
His brown hair formed an arc as he fell from the night sky.
He fell toward the edge of the pool that had lost most of its water.
Their training was not yet over. So...
"...Here I go."
Noah held Kōgetsu and its holder in both hands and moved forward.
He had to clear away and straighten out his companion's distortion.
"Here I go...!"
He made a high-speed charge.