Shobu stood in front of a power.
...Eh...!?
It had all begun without warning.
Until then, Ruri had been showing him around the main garden. Rui had pulled on his hand with a faint tension in her grasp as she told Shobu the colors of the flowers and why certain trees had been planted.
The main garden had apparently been made by Ruri's mother and it had been made to recreate the summer in Japan. She had very slowly told Shobu all of that as if thinking back on all her memories.
"With a name like Mogami, she seems really full of herself to me. Oh, but the people who have hired her are very nice."
Despite what she said, Ruri sounded almost fond of them. Shobu guessed she loved her mother, but...
"I used to play with my friends here."
A hint of regret entered her voice when she said that, so...
"...What about...Shiraishi...Chisato-sama and...the others...?"
Ruri gripped Shobu's hand a little tighter at that.
"We're not making this easy for Chisato."
"...Not making this...easy...?
"According to the rules set at this company, Chisato can leave the business whenever she wants and for however long."
"...Leave...?"
...I can't just keep asking questions... he told himself, but Kimura had told him it was important to show no shame about asking about anything he did not know. ...Does that mean Ikoma-sama is being...diplomatic when he shows no shame in...loudly asking Jin-sama and the others about how to...complete different routes...? ...Maybe not... ...And he did seem...to be making a threat earlier...
Regardless, Ruri pulled on his hand and answered.
"There are some strange rules here that are in the footnotes, but Chisato herself says she wants to see the world to get a proper view of how things are. At the very least, she wants to properly be free in Mikado City."
"...Is that...so...?"
"Yes. She's trained for a long time to be able to protect herself, so she's spent all her time on training and hardly leaves any of the company buildings. And she's only a first year. She can continue on the common side of things, but if she's going to act as Shiraishi Chisato, the third daughter, she needs to prepare herself."
You saw it, didn't you?
"Her clothes and such are all things she's ordered from different countries for a long trip away or that everyone else has sent her."
"...Is that...why...?"
Chisato had not known how to hold down her skirt and this explained why she was so unaccustomed to wearing one.
But Shobu felt a little happy. Shiraishi's third daughter was a skilled combat-type, but...
...She's like...me...
...Um...Is that...fine to think...?
When Shobu had been given his role as representative, he had been hesitant while also thinking it would be fun. And the reactions from Yuki, Jinsei, Murakami, and the others when they saw him in his representative outfit had been enough on its own to make the whole thing worthwhile.
Shiraishi's third daughter was probably hoping for something that similarly made it all worthwhile.
"...That's...right..."
Ruri had to understand as well. Not allowing Chisato to leave would not reward her for patiently waiting for so long. But...
"...Chisato-sama...v-visited Border...before...didn't she...?"
Ruri's eyes widened a little and she looked up.
"Did that happen? ...Well, it was probably a top secret assignment."
She did not remember. Or had she never known? Shobu could not tell, but there was a smile on Ruri's lips.
"But if she was allowed out, Rusu-san or Kotowari must have determined it was okay. I think it's a good thing."
Her grip on Shobu's hand relaxed a little, which put Shobu at ease, as well as making him look over the mentioned name. Shobu squeezed the girl's hand and she squeezed back.
They were telling each other everything was okay. But...
...Why doesn't...Ruri-sama have her...memories anymore...? And...
Why could they not let Chisato leave?
...Is it because of what happened...during the day...?
Was it related to that falcon Neighbor with explosive levels of power?
"...?"
Shobu suddenly felt that something was not right. Something had suddenly gone wrong.
After all, all strength vanished from Ruri's hand.
"...Ru...ri...sama...!"
Just as Shobu thought about turning back, a power that seemed to blow everything away appeared behind Ruri as she fell to her knees.
.
Chisato was pushed back by a sudden pressure in the main garden.
The explosive pressure was both wind and sound. It was also a trion-warping strength, a light, and...
...Heat!?
It was not hot. It was even refreshingly cool. But each time the low wave of heat washed across her machine's metal skin...
"It's pushing me back!?"
Chisato had jumped down into the main garden from a corridor, but this explosive pressure had immediately struck her.
It was powerful and she had trouble moving forward even after she hurriedly fixed herself. She slowly but surely gained ground and moved to the space between the entrance and the center of the main garden, but...
...I can't go any further!?
She could see it in the center. Ruri had fallen to her knees on the bridge crossing a stream. She was hanging her head, her arms hung limply at her sides, and something appeared near her back.
"The Neighbor gate!"
A green energy leaked from a black sphere there. Like a pulse, like a physical blow, or like something was trying to break through from the other side, the air current creating the great pressure would occasionally gush out.
Chisato knew the Neighbor lurked beyond that gate.
The falcon was a Neighbor who could open Gates around the Forbidden Zone without a command.
It was currently appearing in an out-of-control state, so someone was battling it. Meanwhile, the Gate that allowed its appearance was trying to open on its own.
While they drove back the falcon that had appeared outside, calmed it down, and got it to retreat back into the Gate, they also had to close up the Neighbor Gate that appeared behind Ruri.
If they failed to do both, the Neighbor would appear behind Ruri in its out-of-control state.
That was why the Neighbor had suddenly appeared behind her during the day.
They had to avoid that. If it happened now...
...The rampaging Neighbor will appear inside White Rock!
That would mean more than just the destruction of White Rock from within. The Border representatives and the personnel inside would be in danger. But...
"—!"
A noise reached Chisato's ears. The eruption of green pressure sounded like a screech.
The powerful wind and screech shook her body as she continued forward. She repeatedly and rapidly recreated Ortlinde's semi-circle and took a definite step forward.
Dammit! We have no way of knowing how to close a Gate! ...We will need Border for this!
On the other side, she saw members of the company rushing out from the corridor leading to the HQ.
"Chisato-sama! Are you okay!?"
"I'd stay back if I were you! You'll be blown away at best! Wait... What is that in your hand!? Did you take that from the Border representative's room!?"
"M-my apologizes! Once the alarm went off, I went to check on the representative and found that he was not there! Then I noticed he had left his Trigger there! I intended to return it to him so that he could help, but..."
"Right, fine! Hand it over!"
She did not have time to brush back her hair as it danced in the wind. Holding a trion lace forward to slice apart the pressure was the most she could manage at the moment. But the others...
"What, is this all!? This isn't enough to stop the workers of Shi- gwaaah!"
"Ahh, are you okay!? Okay, that just means I have to break through for the both of- gwaaah!"
"What are you two doing? And when the youngest daughter rushed in so quickly she's only wearing a shir- kyaaah!"
Are they unable to learn? wondered Chisato in a fairly harsh assessment of her family's employees.
Using the time she had, she activated the Trigger belonging to the Border representative. The strange armor of Ortlinde peeled off her skin as her body was changed out. Unexpectedly, her clothes had not changed to that of a Border uniform and stayed as they were.
Had he set it like this to make it seem like he would not be using a Trigger?
Even if that was the case, Chisato knew that she was no longer using her actual body for this. With that thought in mind, she began commanding Ortlinde once more. This time something unexpected happened.
Unidentified Trion Source: Connected. Limited Usage: Trigger slots currently unusable.
So I'm block out from using any of Border's Triggers. Probably as a safety procedure. Fine. Ortlinde is what I'm best at anyway.
Nodding to herself, she readied her body and braced her feet with this unfamiliar body. Then she noticed someone fallen onto their butt in the stream behind where Ruri had fallen to her knees on the bridge.
It was Border's representative.
Chisato had no idea what that boy was doing there, but he was directly below the Gate that had appeared behind Ruri.
And as soon as Chisato realized how dangerous that spot was, the Neighbor Gate grew in size and the pressure grew.
.
"It's getting even more powerful!?"
Chisato felt herself slipping backwards.
Her legs were strengthened by a Trigger as well as Ortlinde, so they had not given into the pressure. Instead, the wind pressure was pushing her entire body back.
...Oh, no!
It was more like a powerful force than a gust of wind.
The thick force pushed her body back like a massive surge of water pressing against her all at once. The falcon's screech rang loudly beyond the Gate in the distance.
...Not good!
Border's representative seemed to have come to after falling onto his butt in the stream. He shook his head back and forth to perceive his position down in the shallow stream. But the Gate above his head was growing larger.
The Gate continued to grow and the current of pressure began spilling out and spreading even further.
Border's representative noticed this and looked up toward the pressure that had to be building up and pressing down on him, but...
"—!"
Chisato heard a shout. Or she thought she did. And that shout had said...
...Ruri...-sama...?
Border's representative was calling to her. That was how it sounded to Chisato.
Even in this situation, Border's representative was more worried about the child of an employee than about himself. That told Chisato something as the daughter of the bosses.
"I had no choice but to come here."
Ruri was like a little sister to Chisato. Their positions in the company were different and she was to take over a division while Chisato was just a daughter, but Chisato had given her a lot of advice in the past and had managed her training. So she could not abandon her. So...
"Forward!"
Chisato thrust her trion lance out ahead.
She felt the difference in power while using the Trigger.
She broke through the pressure to reach Ruri and Border's representative as quickly as she could.
But the falcon easily foiled her plan. The noise it produced was no longer a screech and seemed like an infinite amount of sound.
...It's melting?
The dirt below her feet burst up like ocean spray. The ground sank down below her feet and her feet reached the gravel crust below, but even that gravel trembled and flowed.
"Kh...!"
Ortlinde sank down into the earth up to the ankles.
The surrounding flower beds and water were all blasted into the air where they were hit by an attack.
A mist formed, but that was likely due to the stream's water scattering from the vibration. Meanwhile, Chisato was slowly pushed backwards.
The ground below her feet vibrated, shook, and flowed, so she could not hold her ground. Planting her feet more firmly would only cause her to sink down. She tried to move forward nonetheless, but...
"There's more coming!?"
New pressure arrived. It became a great wave of light and it came all at once.
The black Gate was trying to open up as if it were being torn apart.
Meanwhile, Chisato was carried backwards along with the trion lances she hurriedly tried to hold at the ready.
As she was blown back, she had to wonder what was happening to the person as they fought the Neighbor outside.
Several veins of light ran through the night sky.
They were trion strikes.
The moon was out and the sky was full of moonlight, but green trion struck in every direction. The blasts of light did not all start from a single point; they ran in every direction within the vast space and the intense light was constantly approaching one strip of the sky.
The trion airspace covered several kilometers and it contained a falcon-like yet upright Neighbor known as the Blaze, and...
"-!"
Pyrínas, the Wanderers' former trion soldier, was also there.
The one who helped to create him stood below them from a distance.
"Self Modification!"
The trion soldier he had been with had rid himself of his body's extra space to change himself so that he could keep up with the falcon in the air. If the connection to the Pyrínas System had been strong, then there would not have been a need to move his body's extra space and he would have just needed to create what he needed using the trion.
Several small pods were ejected from the falcon that drew out paths of light in advance. The color of them had changed from the crimson color to a pure white one, but the power had been upped compared to last time it had appeared.
As Pyrínas dodged the attack, he fired constantly.
Futoyuki watched from the ground with his small new friend being sent inside of the Yagura Branch once more. He had realized the situation going on the moment the color of Blaze had changed and its body morphed along with it. It was no longer a simple falcon colored a great crimson.
It was a falcon meant for the stars.
I think the people on Miden would call it "Satellite".
The overlapping sounds of attacks defied the screech of the pods.
After flying a few kilometers, the rapid-fire homing shots would grow a tail of fog, but the homing protection would kick in the instant they arrived within a kilometer of the Satellite. Hundreds of shots blossomed around the Satellite like a storm of blowing cherry blossoms and pursued it from every direction.
Some of their trajectories were gentle, some moved toward the flying target like a nail, and some shot sharply in along a shallow arc.
The Satellite moved quickly and generally tried to shake them from its tail.
The falcon seemed to swing around the airspace surrounding it as it took large but calm movements to break free of the pursuing homing lights. It did not open its wings all the way and the homing light trailed behind it like hair.
They could not reach it.
As they were swung around by the Satellite's evasive maneuvers, a few of the shots collided with each other and detonated.
"—"
The storm of blowing cherry blossoms expanded in light.
A chain of explosions combined into a single muffled noise and a shockwave warped the sky.
The group of homing shots was instantly lost, but...
"-!"
A great form clashed with the Satellite.
It was Pyrínas. The Wanderers' greatest trion soldier crossed paths with the Satellite with his body reformed into that of a rhinoceros beetle.
"Oh, not bad."
The light far in the sky was visible from Mogami's rooftop.
Minoru saw Yoshiko's eyes sharpen, so he looked in the same direction.
"So this is what we could have fought before?"
"It appears so. Although it seems to have lost control and gone into some kind of overdrive."
"Oh," said the Sniper as she folded up the bag of karinto. "So it's like one of those RPG characters that can use a really powerful move but gets weakened when they join your party?"
"Well, based on what Mogami-san said before, it has a connection with Abe Ruri..."
"Ko ko," laughed Yoshiko. "As far as any of us know, it is using her as a power source and posses the basic traits of attacks. But that being fighting it seems to have experience here, so I'm sure they have put together a countermeasure. And Shiraishi's Kotowari will not be overlooking any of this."
So...
"So however this turns out, the thing is the one doing 'not bad' for the moment. ...Just watch."
"Wait a moment... Can you repeat that name you just said?"
Minoru narrowed his eyes and watched the lights in the distant sky.
Just as the airspace seemed dyed in the colors of light, they were dyed in another color and they split apart.
"Oh, you mean Kotowari? I figured you would have known by now that someone like that worked for Shiraishi. Of course, Sekai and Denji here just have already known about him and withheld it. After all..."
Red, the color of explosions, could be seen in the distant sky.
"After all, he is the brother of one of you, right?"
The space contained nothing but destruction.
The light-filled air shone in the night, the two figures in the air continued to move, and the attacks made of trion that seemed to weave through the gaps scratched at the air like an act of rage more than another else.
Sounds of crashing and bowing mixed together as the wind and pressure collided as if everything had been swapped around.
But Pyrínas had not escaped the airspace. He had activated a shield to block the attacks that were fired at him as his wings came from under his shell.
"...The Satellite!?"
The Satellite's entire body was wavering. The explosion had disturbed the light enveloping it.
If he were going to attack, now was the time.
This opportunity had reached him because they had chosen not to escape even if it meant being destroyed by their his attack.
"...I'm going!"
The explosive blast passed him by and Pyrínas ascended from directly below the Satellite.
Futoyuki continued to watch from below. Pyrínas has used a good amount of trion in order to attack earlier, so his only weapon was the large horn on his head he had created after changing into a rhinoceros beetle.
But as he flew in, the Satellite made a forceful counterattack. Even as it was shaken by the explosion, it flaps its six rod-like wings and fired trion from its cores. While flying upright, it fired seven blasts at a time.
An instant later, the seven blasts tore through the sky and the night as they each split into dozens of pillars which took both weaving and straight paths toward the single rhinoceros beetle. The single rhinoceros beetle activated shields by its body as it flew.
As he watched the fight go on, Futoyuki thought about what he was holding back.
He could not speak about what he was seeing even when the falcon flying about had attached itself to someone from Miden.
He had realized quickly that this falcon had not been created by Sanshū and it had not been made by either him or Hatomi. The creation of it had been by someone else and had been sent out by someone else.
The Pyrínas System could not connect or interfere with it due to it have predate the system altogether. That meant there was no way anyone from the Wanderers could stop it internally. It also meant that they knew who had made it to begin with.
"Shuryō."
The Wanderers' former leader.
Immediately afterwards, a staticky but definite voice appeared behind him from the Yagura Branch. A screen displayed a fuzzy and distorted image of someone.
"Oh, I'm just not sure whether I should thank you or complain that you disturbed the airspace here! Vice President Kotowari Musashi-kun speaking! I hope you'll cry tears of joy that I brought you under my attention in such high spirits! Are any of you girls!? No!? Then screw it! I don't have to worry about what you think of me, so just listen to me!"
Musashi gave his instructions.
"Time to use my high spirits to help out!"
White Rock shook.
This was due to the battle between Pyrínas and the Satellite near the main garden. But in the air control room at the center of the building, Musashi used the large stepped room to spin his entire body around.
The control room was entirely filled with a group of screens scattered around the room in an unorganized mess. They hid the room's walls, ceiling, and even floor as they illuminated Musashi from every direction.
As he stood in the center of the light, he swung both arms to open new windows.
Musashi: "Hello, hello!"
The text instantly appeared for his record of the conversation.
Musashi: "Okay, Yagura! Are you still alive!? You are, aren't you?"
The following words were directly linked to his voice, so they arrived far too quickly to just be called "fast".
Musashi: "Okay, so you're alive! Good job! You really are a part of Border, aren't you!? But oh, now you're dead! Don't stay focused and you're dead! So give up on trying to go out- oh, you're dead again! But before you die, how about raising that right arm just a little!? Let's see that beautiful armpit! And with that beautiful armpit-...that's not enough! You suck at this! Raise it like you mean it! Okay, that's one of you with a beautiful armpit! Now someone tell me what you want to tell everyone, no holding back since it will be known all over! Hold on! Make sure no one else around can hear you so that people not related to all of this will be spooked! Ah!? One of you is a girl!? ...Might I ask your hand in marriage, miss? What!? The others are waiting behind you!? Oh, shut up, all of you. I'll listen to what you have to say so that Border doesn't get mad at you spilling all if the green, black, and orange beans!"
After shouting, Musashi flicked the screen providing information on the fight going on outside, but he immediately began shouting some more.
Musashi: "Okaaaaaaay! You also look to be having some issues with that Neighbor! You are, right!? Well, if you are you're dead! Spin right around! Like this: zwoosh! Write it out as a letter and it's δ! Hey! Who just said that wasn't a zwoosh!? I was thinking the same thing, so I'll have to have Narumi-sama, age 42, wear the Spanish summer uniform I've started to think is pretty nice and make a ton of profit for the Shiraishi family! But for now, spin! Spin right now! Ah? What is it, Boss Narumi!? Age 12? I would expect nothing less from you! Okay, you there! Tell me aaaaaallllll about what's going on! And how we are connected to you!"
Musashi nodded.
Musashi: "This is a pain, but let's get all of us through this together!"
The pressure of the raging wind and light grew within the main garden.
The battle outside was likely intensifying. Chisato could tell the explosive pressure grew whenever the Neighbor felt it was in danger. But...
"Kh!"
Chisato stabbed her trion lance into the ground to hold her position when she was almost blown off her feet. She shifted the lance and her arms again and again to force her position further forward, but the falcon's screech rang out as if to ignore all that. Its attack pressure was loud enough to blow away the main garden's flowers and send clumps of dirt dancing through the air.
The river's stream became an even thicker mist and...
...Is my body going to give out? No, it would have done so already. Triggers truly are amazing.
The ground was shaking beneath her. Both the crust and the pallet below that were beginning to break apart from the shaking. At this rate, the main garden's floor would break through and it would all fall to the story below.
That would mean Ruri fell too, but the Gate's opening was a spatial issue and the Neighbor was in control at the moment. When the floor broke through, the screech would continue and the destruction from attacks would swallow up even Ruri as it propagated out from the main garden like threads and reached each floor's frame.
In the worst case, White Rock itself would collapse.
So Chisato moved forward. She moved forward as much as she had been forced back. She raised her thighs and used her one means of continuing ahead. She rapidly recreated her semi-circle and used her lance as a cane. That was the only option.
But the screech continued, and...
"—!"
The explosive pressure became a cry powerful enough to distort the surrounding scenery.
The Neighbor knew it was cornered. It had sensed danger. But...
...It's crumbling!?
She suddenly felt nothing from the ground below her feet. Either the foundation pallet supporting the main garden had shifted out of place or the frame had fallen away. The ground was undulating more than tilting.
...Oh, no!
Even so, Chisato tried to continue forward. She sharply narrowed her eyes and worked to not lose sight of her goal.
"Honestly!"
This isn't like me, she thought as the second blast arrived.
It was an attack of explosive pressure just like before.
Her hair trembled first and then grew faintly electrified. She ignored the crumbling ground and held her lance out toward the following shockwave. She knew she would be caught in the collapse like this, but...
"I can't give up, can I?"
A different cry seemed to answer her question.
It came from the corridor behind her that led to the guest quarters. First, she heard a door behind kicked down, and then...
"What's the meanin' of this noise!? I just got to the confession scene, so how 'bout some peace 'n quiet!?"
Someone charged in with that loud complaint.
It was Border's #6 Attacker.
.
Chisato saw something strange.
The space was being pushed back by explosive pressure, light, and trion, but the Attacker broke right through the wind and everything else.
This position in Border was said to mostly be offensive-types who relied on their blades more than defenses. Over at Border, they had ranked their Attackers like any other position, so they had a set value to their fighters.
...Such as...
Tachikawa Kei being the #1 Attacker, an extremely offensive-type of personality that manages his spot at the top by viewing the battlefield and shifting to how it works. If the top ten Attacker were like that then it would mean so was this #6, but it seemed all that was true.
The front of his jacket was open and he breathed in the raging wind with his goggles on his forehead. And once he reached Chisato...
"Is that what's causin' all this noise!?"
He released a slash from his blade at his hip, parting the explosive pressure approaching from ahead. As for the crumbling footing...
"Easy there!"
He used a defensive Trigger. It was a simple Shield that a lot of Border agents used to defend against attacks. For several meters around them, the ground instantly solidified due to the shield and everyone in the opposite passageway cried out in surprise.
"The hell is that!? Cheats!?"
"It's...y'know! That weird Attacker! The really weird one!"
"Oh, you mean the source of all that weird shouting about loving cute girls!? The one who doesn't know how to use walkthroughs!?"
I can't really argue with that, thought Chisato as she looked up at the Attacker standing in front of her.
"Thanks. You saved me."
"I'm a reliable Attacker. It's the least I could-..."
The Attacker looked back but then gave a snort.
"Not that I want a non-cutie like you relyin' on me."
"I think you should pay more attention to the situation before you speak. ...Look."
Chisato and the Attacker both sent attacks to the center of the main garden. She used a lance and he used the same slash attack as before. The double attack shattered the trion attack flying toward them as pressure.
"You can do more than I thought."
"Ho ho? Meanwhile, I was thinkin' 'Is that all you can do?'"
"Right. I forgot to add 'not that that's saying much'."
"Why do you insist on pickin' fights with me? I'm pretty scary when I'm angry. I'm a real fighter, after all."
Please spare me this, she thought from the bottom of her heart. So...
"Let's go. I feel like getting this over with and drinking some nice juice."
The pressure had weakened a little, but she did not know if that was confusion over the previous destruction or if the one fighting outside was having some success. Regardless, Border's representative looked up while hiding down in the stream.
"—!"
Chisato could not hear him over the wind and pressure, but the Attacker nodded.
"'Onee-san', huh? Good job, Shobu..."
"How strange... I never knew someone could leave me at such a loss for a reaction..."
When Chisato said that, the Attacker handed her something. What? she wondered while grabbing it so it was not blown away in the wind. It turned out to be a cloth separated into a few different parts.
"That's a thong. The wind's been leavin' you rather exposed and I thought that might not be appropriate for a lady."
"...You just charge right on in with everything, don't you?"
"You don't get it? This's a bonus that came with the porn game I'm currently playin'. Oh, but don't worry. It belongs to Jinsei, so I didn't pay anythin' for it. Direct your thanks to the makers and put it on while sayin' nothin' else."
A number of thoughts came to mind, but she decided to put it on since it might help increase her defenses.
...Eh? Why is the fabric so nice?
Our brand is supposed to be pretty good, so is this just a good match for me?
At any rate, the Attacker swayed a bit and started forward.
"Let's go. Afterwards, you'll get to explain why you have Shobu's Trigger and what that armor's all 'bout."
"Wait. ...I want to check something first."
"What is it?" he asked. "My birthday's April 29 and my favorite food's eggplant curry."
"That wasn't what I wanted to know. ...This Trigger is used for defense, isn't it?"
If so...
"Aren't you using it incorrectly by just using it like the ground?"
"Don't worry 'bout it. I'm usin' it like any normal person would. After all, you haven't seen what Kiyoshi does with a single Shield. 'n 'bout the ground, I just wanted a place to stand. That's all."
"Then," said Chisato as she thrust her lance out toward the Attacker. "Hurry up and release any restraints on this Trigger so that it can fight Neighbors. ...Then I'll help you, Attacker. And I'll have you help me, Ikoma Squad Captain. Help me retrieve one of our employees' daughter and next boss."
"I'm not good with complicated things, so sum it up in five words."
"Just do what I say."
"Right."
The Attacker grabbed her wrist with his left hand. An automatic voice came up for them to hear.
Temporary Trigger Link Established. Usage of Trigger Allowed by Authority of Ikoma Tatsuhito.
She felt as if a small weight had been lifted as she moved her arm for a moment. Thinking of the same Trigger the Attacker used, a shield appeared in front of her before disappearing.
Then he moved forward. She followed and as if in response...
"—
Light expanded in the center of the main garden.
The Gate for the Neighbor was clearly opening. And something arrived from the void within.
"The Neighbor...!"
.
The upper body of a Neighbor appeared in the main garden.
Shobu saw that form while cowering down and using the edge of the stream like an umbrella.
The Neighbor was shaking and wrapped in heat. Its metal-like body clattered together with itself like a musical instrument. But Shobu noticed something odd.
...Why...?
He noticed something like anger or rage coming from the Neighbor via the devices around his neck as well as his own instincts. Its cry was shaking and the heat came from within rather than without. Also...
...You can't...restrain it...?
The answer came as a powerful cry.
The Falcon screeched as if to say all it had was strength and that stopping would mean its destruction.
"...!"
Unable to bear its own power, it shook and released a scream-like cry. It seemed to be saying it had no choice but to be driven on by its power even if it did not know where that power was headed.
...Why...?
Shobu did not understand. But as the Falcon continued going even as it cried out in pain, he noticed something other than anger and rage in its screech.
...Why are you...apologizing...?
Shobu realized something: ...This Neighbor is...sad...
That kind of thought would not have came if not for some recent encounters. A Neighbor, a trion soldier to be exact, with free will, an ego, and feelings was now something he could imagine due to seeing one himself. One that had defied everything to become himself.
So to him, it seemed that something sad must have happened and it wanted to do something about it but it did not know what to do. However, it had power, so it was simply trying to do something with that power.
Shobu understood.
A long time ago, something sad had happened and someone had wanted to do something but they had not known what to do. However, they had not had any power, so they had tried to get rid of themselves.
Back then, Shobu too had not known what to do and been unable to do anything, but that person had finally learned to take everything, something had changed, and something had returned. Now he was not longer on Earth, but Shobu knew that was fine.
This was the same. It had to be the same. This falcon was the same.
Something sad had happened.
But because it had power, it had trusted in and clung to that with the same determination that had once made someone try to get rid of themselves.
And in Shobu's opinion, this falcon's screech was not a sorrowful wail.
...It's saying it has to...save someone...
With that thought, Shobu began to move. He had been knocked over by the pressure coming from the Falcon and even the deepest part of the stream's water splashed up onto him, but he still moved. He crawled along the artificial stream bed and spoke to the falcon's keeper.
"...Ruri...-sama..."
Immediately, the Falcon leaned forward overhead.
The heat raced through Shobu's senses and even more air was blown away as it arched back and screeched.
"...!"
Shobu was knocked below the small bridge over the stream. Ruri still sat atop it, unmoving and with her head hanging limply down, but Shobu rolled out the other side and perceived something there.
...What is...that...?
Two figures were breaking through the explosive pressure and approaching her. They used brute force to approach at high speed.
They were Ikoma and Shiraishi Chisato.
.
Chisato weighed the danger against the result as she ran.
She was no longer moving along the crumbling ground. She instead used anything her feet could catch on like fallen trees and garden stones that seemed to float there.
The loosened ground should have sunk down with each step she took, but she followed after the Attacker by controlling her strength with rapid adjustments made by repeatedly shifting Ortlinde. Meanwhile, she thought to herself.
...I didn't think the Neighbor would actually appear.
It had only been the Gate during the day, so they had only needed to destroy that.
Even if we don't know how to do that ourselves, we have a member of Border here. And a top Attacker at that...
Since the Neighbor had come out this time, it must have gained much more power. That was why they had to force the Neighbor back through the Gate.
She knew that would not be easy, but they had a chance.
Someone had to have done quite well against the Neighbor. The current of trion that surrounded it was almost entirely gone. Its upper body was exposed, but it could not move much while fixing itself. So...
"Where should I aim!?"
The Attacker's question was sharp. No, perhaps it was only natural for an attacker. Even though he could not see her, Chisato brought her empty hand to her neck as she spoke.
"Shouldn't you know the answer to that? Those cores look like a good spots but... Cutting off the head would be easy, I think. At least running it through the neck should hit it hard."
That was just the option of someone not in Border, but the situation left her with no other choice. Plus, that spot seemed to be a good target as opposed to the small cores imbedded in the head.
"With the way it's tilting it's head and moving its wings... Are you confident you can hit it?"
"I could hit that with incredible ease, but I'll leave it to you. So..."
The Attacker suddenly lowered his speed. There was no point in wondering why. To obtain acceleration power, he had began building up strength and started taking in the air.
"This place's pretty nice. It's not as good as the training rooms, but everything here makes it cool."
With that, the Attacker took a light step forward. He placed his foot on the loose earth of the crumbling ground for an impossible step. But he took it all the same and moved forward.
"Can you keep up with me?"
"Do you think I can't?"
"I see."
He nodded and did something unexpected.
He turned to the right and grabbed her empty hand with the five fingered hand on his left.
"...Eh?"
As soon as she raised her voice in confusion, the Attacker launched himself powerfully forward while still turned to the side and holding her hand.
He used all of this strength and movement for a great acceleration which was void of hesitation.
.
Chisato was certain they would be blown away.
She was currently hanging in midair. While holding her hand, the Attacker thrust his right front leg forward and accelerated as if preparing to knee someone.
The Neighbor was up ahead. So was the stream, the bridge over it, and Ruri on that.
The Neighbor noticed them at a distance of twenty meters and faced them.
"...!"
Its screech was a beam attack. The attack pressure of its trion flew toward them as a visible green light.
The Attacker did not care. He pulled his right arm back just a little.
"Ohhh! That doesn't have crap on Take-chan's lasers!"
And he made full use of the accelerator on his right elbow. Acceleration light gave greater speed to the Attacker, his attack, and Chisato.
...He's breaking through!?
He smashed the attack with brute force alone.
The sound split, several lines of trion raced out, and those tore shallowly into Chisato and the Attacker's false skin.
But the Attacker's acceleration was not stopped.
A stable acceleration with adequate weight pulled on Chisato who was already accustomed to keeping her balance.
The Attacker in front of her kept his back to her, broke through the obstacles up ahead, and unilaterally accelerated.
And he was on a collision course. As he moved in a straight line ahead, he asked her a question through the blowing wind.
"I have one question! ...Is that Neighbor related to Abe!?"
"As far as I know!"
She did not know how he reacted to her answer. But after a short pause, he gave her instructions.
"I'll pull that Neighbor's body forward. You circle below it and poke its weak point."
At the same time, he let go of her hand.
He doesn't look like that type to come up with strategies, but-...
Her thoughts were cut off from the messages coming in right before her eyes. In a Border chat, someone named "Wisteria" seemed to be giving him guidance.
I take back everything I just thought about him!
He was going in without any doubt. They had a chance at victory, so he leaned his upper body forward while implicitly telling her he was counting on her. He finally thrust both arms forward.
"I! Blast! Off!"
He achieved even greater speeds for the remaining distance of less than ten meters.
Musashi observed the video and audio arriving at the control room. It was filled with static, but...
...So that's how he's doing it!
The Attacker had placed his sights on Ruri.
It seemed as if the Neighbor was connected to Ruri even if they were unsure. The Neighbor was influenced by and receiving power from Ruri, so it was trying to "obtain" her rather than protect her.
To the falcon, was its very source of life nothing more than a meal? Musashi did not know, but the Neighbor - the Satellite, as he was told - would be forced to focus on the Attacker's charge if he targeted Ruri herself.
"So he's trying to snatch her up to move the Satellite."
It was unclear whether the Satellite was aware of it or not, but Ruri was its master. Even in the trion supply to the Satellite, she was treated as the master.
If Ruri was moved away, the Satellite likely would try to follow. Since only its upper body stuck out from the Gate, that would mean leaning far forward.
That was the Attacker's aim.
He would move Ruri, which would move the Satellite, and Chisato would charge into the gap.
Chisato was accelerating forward as well. She stepped along the stakes driven into the stream's bank at even intervals, she held her lance down and to the left, and she charged in from the Satellite's right.
Then the Attacker accelerated straight in toward Ruri.
"That cute girl character's mine!"
He smashed through the bridge's railing and reached both arms toward Ruri who was down on her knees.
His aim was accurate, just as expected. So Musahi gave a cry.
"Ah, you fool!"
The Satellite had perfectly predicted the Attacker's move and hit him with a casually backhand blow.
...You idioooot!
Chisato just about tripped as she ran along the stakes.
She heard an impact like metal objects colliding and she saw the Attacker spin five times through the air.
The plan had failed.
The Neighbor had not moved its upper body in the slightest. It had only swung its middle right wing outwards.
This means I have to do it on my own, decided Chisato. And...
"—"
The Neighbor turned toward her as she charged in.
It pulled back a little in preparation to screech. The explosive pressure of an attack would be launched just a moment later.
She could break through the attack by charging in with her trion lances. Then she would have to target the weak point.
...Can I do it...?
However, she was not the one to answer her own question.
It was the Attacker. Even after he was sent flying back, he forced his body around to right himself.
"Shobu!"
.
Shobu moved. He got out from under the bridge that the pressure had knocked him below.
...Ikoma-sama...did that...for me...!
Ikoma had destroyed the bridge's railing in his charge, so he just had to reach out his arms.
"...Ru...ri...-sama...!"
He grabbed Ruri hand, so he pulled. He pulled not with his arms, but with his back and his entire body.
"Nnn!"
The girl left the bridge. He suddenly felt all weight vanish from Ruri, but that meant the girl's limp body fell toward him. That was a success. Shobu tried to catch Ruri but had trouble and was knocked to the ground below her. However, Shobu thought he had to be tough, so he tried to roll on top of Ruri to protect her.
That was when pressure reached them from overhead.
It was the falcon Neighbor. It leaned far out to pursue Ruri, but Shobu breathed in. It did not matter that the falcon was trying to send its attack their way.
"...Shiraishi...-s-sama...!"
His cry received a definite response.
Someone flew in from the side. They swung a giant lance upwards while rotating their body for the strength of momentum.
"Right."
It was Shiraishi Chisato.
Her attack slid through the air and struck the top of the falcon's throat.
A moment later, Musashi saw the Satellite leaning far back on the staticky screen.
"...!"
It destroyed the ceiling with a great screech and attack, but it was also falling down to the depths of the Gate.
There was an explosion of light and the screen shattered. Musashi clenched his fist just once, but...
"Oh, right. I'm in low spirits right now," he muttered while listening to everyone cheering in the control room. "Honestly, we haven't actually defeated it, you know? ...What do we do now?"
But as he sighed toward the floor, he walked toward the exit while returning the guys' requests for high fives.
"General Affairs Committee, call the Administrative Committee's construction team and have them get on those internal repairs ASAP! And other divisons, pass news of this onto the team looking at the area where the original fighter was and the others! ...We're going to be busy starting tomorrow!"
They all nodded at that, but...
"Starting tomorrow? Don't you mean starting today?"
An unexpected voice reached Musashi from directly ahead.
Both the people in the control room and the people in the hallway came to a stop.
"Boss Narumi!"
"Yes," confirmed a woman with a single beauty mark and a red western-style summer uniform in the dimly lit hallway.
This was Abe Narumi. She was Ruri's mother and she gestured Musashi over with her chin, so he pushed up his sleeves and spoke.
"What do you need, Narumi, Age 12?"
"I'm glad to hear you remembered. Let's head to the main garden to pick up Ruri. And...how about we tell the Border group a number of things?"
"Are you sure?" asked Musashi as a representative of the silence surrounding them. "That will mean getting into the issues surrounding Ruri and Ortlinde...as well as Mogami's Shurō and Kurosaki's Hikigane."
"And what's wrong with that? Trying to hide it is pointless. ...Also, a wonderful woman from a flower shop just sent me a request."
Namely...
"She said Border is most likely unbelievably good-natured, so we should look after them."