Kimura and Suzaku stood atop the evening roof.
They were at the top of the Border base overlooking the city. Looking down from there, they saw people and the lights of the busy city in the plazas and streets, just like a normal day in Mikado City.
The people began to flow into their daily routines as well.
But there were buildings off limits.
"We need to prepare for the meeting..."
The three business meeting would begin in another hour. Some of them would already be participating in the pre-meeting parties.
The meeting itself had begun with those parties. Just like in other case, a gathering before the traditional "meetings" began was not just an event to enjoy dancing and food. Each of the important players would work to include or exclude their areas of responsibility from the upcoming topic of discussion. Normally, they would hint at their priorities during conversation and "lay the groundwork" as it were, but...
...No one out there now is a specialized diplomat or specific member, so things will play out differently.
Instead of making any decisions on the groundwork laid by the other businesses, everyone would send that information back to some special agents and the directors. The directors had to show that they would not leave everything to their agents, so they knew what they had to do quite well. They could make their own decision and consult with the others before sending an answer back to the representatives.
Tenryū was doing an especially good job. He looked like a child, so a kind person would be considerate and those who underestimated him would try to bluff. When the directors sent back a response for him, the gap between the two was apparently pretty awful, so Tenryū's reports were growing more and more valuable.
...Who would have thought how Tenryū-san is accepted would coincide with Akasora-san and the others' job?
He was a strict teacher, so he was probably making a rational decision for the greatest effect based on an understanding of Tenryū and who he was speaking with.
"Whaaaat!? What the hell did you just say!? Didn't I tell you I would be handling all of Shokubutsu's responses!? Meet with the directors!? Why would I do that!? I will be handling it all myself! And lanky PR director! Only a select group may call him Shobu! Even calling him Tenryū-san is too much! You are limited to two letters! Call him Sh-sama! ...Ah! Shokubutsu just sent me a thank you mail! And it is really divine because it contains a comment from Kimura as well! If you want to see it, you'd better start offering up some money and privileges!"
"Chi-chan! Chi-chan! What about Kirikari's responses!?"
"You can do them, Takumi... Think of it as a reward for your hard work lately..."
"Um! Akasora-san! What about the e-mail here from the fox?"
"Who caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaares? He's am iiiiiiiiiiddddiiiioooooot!"
"Hahaha! Chi-chan! I admire how quickly you can switch it on and off!"
Branch directors and the others must be busy, thought Kimura as she continued her mail exchange. I need to pull it together myself. But it was her job to decide what to do next based on those matters.
Manager: "Representatives, do you have any questions about the upcoming three business meeting?"
Deer Prince: "What kind of discussion do you think it will end up being?"
It was a vague question, but she could already see its intention. So...
Manager: "What is our goal? Keep that in mind and look at this again."
Life: "Was it a fight?"
Mi-Kon: "Yes. It was a great fight of aggression so we can protect Mikado City by conquering it."
Manager: "Hold it, you two."
Kuni: "Heh heh heh. But that special student general assembly you took part in awhile ago had a fight ending, didn't it? You had fanned the flames! You just fanned them and fanned them! And our odds of victory were up again! Now they are again right now! All the other organizations should tremble in fear of us Operators!"
TetsuG: "Yeah. She even said we could go out there ourselves."
Shobu: "...D-don't worry... ...I-I-I'm ready for...that..."
Manager: "Wait, wait, wait, all of you. That isn't what I was trying to say! I'm trying to take this seriously!"
Haru: "So you're saying it's time to take going to fights seriously?"
Artist: "It's pretty impressive we made it this far if we were only treating fights like a game. Then again, we do have the B-Rank Wars going on."
Kuru-ma: "Um, everyone, it was Kimura's liking for fights that solved your school issues, so what happens to you guys who go to the same school if you reject that...?"
Demon Child: "I would love it if the end of this line↑was said with his hands on his blushing cheeks."
White Fox: "You're watching! You're watching us, aren't you!? But from where!?"
Mad Hatter: "Some people who are in a relationship have been really open about thing apparently. Is it the impatience brought by fights?"
White Fox: "As far as I know, Minoru, Haru and I are the only ones currently in a relationship! Shiro puts up with Haru, so I overlook that. And I don't even want to think about Minoru's right now! No offense."
Haru: "He doesn't 'put up with' me! Shiro-chan looooooooooooooves me! He loves me so much that he overlooks when I try to take candid photos of him!"
White Fox: "Someone throw something at him."
Deer Prince: "I understand."
Was that just his way of saying the fox should stop while he was ahead?
Black Wolf: "What are all of you talking about!? The meeting is going to start soon!"
Murakami paused long enough to take a breath.
Black Wolf: "Listen, everyone. We have no time. Things are already on the move! We need to focus. Okay, Kimura. I agree we need to take this seriously, so how are you going to bring this to a fight?"
Almost Everyone: "You're the worst one of us all!"
Manager: "Dammit... You all must see me as a someone that uses jokes to lure people into a false sense of security before declaring war."
Umi: "There's...there's something off about that view of us! Are you okay, Kimura!?"
They were all cruel, but a sudden thought came to mind.
...Are we gradually returning to a truly normal state of things?
She felt like the recent actions acted as a dividing line.
She had no intention of tooting her own horn, but...
Manager: "I haven't felt this mood in a while."
They could see what they had to do and they had some leeway in doing it, so things were back to normal. She did not like being the butt of the jokes, but their aim would eventually drift to Yuki or Suzaku. Yes, that's right. It has to. I'll make sure it does. But...
Mi-Kon: "Yes. It has been a while...since we had a good fight."
Manager: "Not what I meant!"
After saying that and looking at the quizzical tilt of Krümel's head, Kimura said more.
Manager: "This is business. ...If we can suggest what I'm currently thinking about, I think we can get the three organizations on our side. And it should influence the other businesses afterwards. That is the way I'm looking at it now."
Deer Prince: "In other words, leave it to you?"
Manager: "No, not really. ...You're the ones who will handle the local negotiations. I will provide you with a goal, a policy, and an approach to use, but it's you who will clinch it.
Listen.
Manager: "Do whatever it takes, representatives. Just make sure to fulfill your goals in a way that does not harm Border or the branches. Business here will determine the future of not just Border but Mikado City as a whole. We're going to win here and then keep defending from Neighbors."
Demon Child: "You mean...business here is a form of fighting?"
Kimura just about said "yeah" before realizing that agreeing meant that this would lead to fighting.
...I just about fell for it!
She hurriedly tried to find something else to say, but could not come up with anything. So...
Manager: "No, u-um, that's not it. That's definitely not it. Yes. Ha ha ha. That sure isn't it."
Almost Everyone: "Don't force yourself!"
She wondered what that meant, but she guessed it meant they had understood her.
Manager: "I'll have a plan put together by the time the meeting starts. I'll probably discuss our policies with you in the meantime, but have a good time on the scene."
She expected them to ask "A plan for fighting?", but...
Life: "Okay. We left that with you, so leave this with us."
Her words caught in her throat when he accepted it so readily, so she finally managed a single word.
"...Right."
She simply agreed for the time being.
White Fox: "Hey, I have something else here. Well, not over here, but you all know what I mean."
TetsuG: "What do you want?"
White Fox: "I see someone is ticked off I got a girlfriend before him. This just goes along with me getting my motorcycle license before you too."
Kage: "Hey idiot, stop your dick measuring contest and tell us what the hell you want now!"
White Fox: "I feel so attacked... Anyways. I was wondering about Abe Ruri. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't she the same age as Shobu, Ema, and the rest of them?"
Manager: "She is. And I think I know what you're getting at here."
Black Wolf: "Yeah. Why is someone that young a part of the meeting? Even with her position, the Shiraishi parents or the daughters or Abe's mother herself should be doing this. ...It doesn't feel right to have her be the one to do this."
Kuru-ma: "I can answer that. While my family doesn't have that great of a connection with them, we at least know their system a bit. The reason for this is because her mother is in charge of negotiations and PR jobs. With Abe Ruri being the one to follow after her, should she want to do so, she is being put to the test here. If it gets really bad, there is likely backup."
Demon Child: "That's probably why Shiraishi Chisato and Kotowari are there. They are to prevent anything too bad. Besides, we can't really talk about that since Tenryū himself went for this. He has arguably the least amount of influence and we still sent him."
Kage: "Hey, Ema can look at the chat too. The top squads are allowed to see this thing. Anyway, he said not to say anything bad about Kiyoshi's kid. Guess he thought that last comment was an insult."
Demon Child: "It wasn't. But tell him I apologize anyway."
Shobu: "...!"
Haru: "Yuki, you suddenly got quiet there. Is that because of Takeshi?"
White Fox: "...I want to know who that guy that says his name is Kotowari is, that's all. If he's messing around with that name, I'm going to beat the crap out of him. If he really is 'Kotowari' then..."
Haru: "Then...?"
White Fox: "Then he is a dead man."
Everyone: "You need to calm down right now!"
Manager: "No killing a business' employees!"
Kimura let out a sigh as Suzaku stood next to her with a wary smile.
Then the Ōji duo approached from the stairs a few feet away. They both held their Triggers.
"Ōji Kazuaki and Kurauchi Kazuki reporting for today's duty."
The Ōji Shooter stopped at the top of the stairs.
"The party should be starting soon."
Shobu danced.
He did not know much about dancing, so he had asked Suzume about it in the general Border chat:
Honest Sister: "It depends on the music, but when dancing with someone, you should honestly be fine following your partner's lead. If you mess up, it just means your partner did a bad job. Minubuki is pretty incredible as far as that is concerned. ...She honestly finds so many chances to step on your feet or crush you. I honestly can't carelessly sing a duet with her in our band, so I have her sing with Shana."
Yuzu: "This girl is talking on a more intuitive level, so I'll send you a beginner's step assistance tutorial from the Internet, okay?"
The multiple devices around his neck would tell him in advance what step was coming via an earpiece he usually carried. It used a recorded adult's voice.
"Okay! Move your left foot forward and then spin to the lef-...no, the righ-...oh, wait, it's the left. Le-le-le-lef-lef-left? No, it was right! Okay! Okay! And next is the ri-...left! Just a bit further now."
He had figured out he generally needed to do the opposite of what it said.
He had his left arm forward and his right arm around his partner's left arm. It was a gentle dance that took into account the two pouches on his partner's left hip.
"...Ruri...-sama...?"
"So formally informal. It is fine to drop the '-sama' if you are going to use my given name."
"...Um..."
"But what is it, Tenryū-san?"
It was a feeble voice with just enough of a waver to know she had to work to maintain it. Of course, that was something only those close to her or those with hearing on Kikuchihara's level would notice. To others...
...She should...sound the same as always...
The night before when Chisato and Narumi had told him about Ruri, they had said he would be near Ruri before the meeting began and that they wanted him to support Ruri.
The various employees in Shiraishi's business were far from fully settled in and this meeting would likely determine the future of Mikado City, so they did not want to show any weakness. It was weird for them to ask Shobu for help, but he did want to speak with Ruri before the meeting.
But a tremor had run through his body when Ruri had greeted her.
"Nice to meet you, Border Representative," Ruri had said. "My friend Shuryō seems to be somewhere else at the moment, but I'll introduce you once he shows up."
This was their third time meeting, but it was their first official meeting in a public space. And the capture of Ruri's friend Shuryō was being kept secret.
In that sense, nothing she said was a lie. But...
...She sounds like...she really thinks that...
From the information Futoyuki had sent them, Ruri's memories were a byproduct of having her trion directly taken.
...But...he said...it was mostly a...psychological thing...
Shobu did not know if meeting him and the capture of Shuryō had been erased from Ruri or pushed away inside her.
But Ikoma spoke quietly.
"A defense to the cute girl character? ...I'm left with no choice. I've already laid the groundwork, so it's time I got serious."
Shobu did not know what he meant, but he felt provoking him would be a bad idea and simply acknowledged it.
However, his words and will seemed to get through to Ruri, so he spoke. He simply talked.
"...Um..."
He was not a good speaker.
He felt like people who could do this without issue must be able to see the meaning and form of his words between the time they left his mouth and the time they reached the listener. Murakami and Mei had smiled and said he was mistaken, but he felt like their words had a way of encouraging him or bringing a visual scene to mind even when they were simply reading a book.
...Mei-san can be confusing sometimes... ...She always goes...into a lot...of detail or...starts going without stopping...
...I wonder how...Ema or Sasamori...-sama do things...
But in general, his point was valid. So...
"...A lot...happened..."
"Yes, I have heard it began with an invasion."
"...Right..." agreed Shobu.
He talked about the Aftokrator invasion: How the Gates opened, how everyone had been fighting hard, how different strategies came out to push back the Neighbors, how Tachikawa had cut down an Illgar...
"Oh, how brave of him."
Ruri seemed to enjoy that part a lot. Shobu felt bad for Tachikawa, though. But as he talked about it and remembered it all, he realized he may have been less than useful during the attack since he had only been a C-Rank.
That was a while ago at this point.
And occasionally he would get so lost in the story that Ruri would stop walking to follow the conversation.
He knew the girl was resting and that she did not want Shobu to notice. He also noticed Musashi, Chisato, and the others breathing sighs of relief behind them. So he decided to keep talking.
"...Um..."
He felt something like anxiety. It was about Ruri but also about the guess at Shiraishi's policy that Kimura had sent over just before the dance.
...The Shiraishi family most likely wants...to advance relations without Ruri...
.
Shobu had a thought.
...Will that mean...deceiving Ruri-san...?
Ruri was more or less under the Satellite's control. If she did hold relations like that, it could easily lead to issues with her decisions and they would have to be more mindful of the other businesses in their territory. If that increased the odds of a good deal for Border, Shiraishi would likely find it safer to leave Ruri out of the relations. That was Kimura's conclusion.
Shobu did not know what, but Kimura could apparently see a great many things.
Which left only one thing for Shobu to do.
...Right... ...I need to do my best...in every way I can...
After giving himself some silent encouragement, something occurred to him.
Did the current Ruri have any enjoyable experiences or memories to share?
Shobu felt it would be a shame if there had been things like that in the memories he no longer had.
...What does...Ikoma-sama think...?
He had mentioned a cute girl character, so was he worried about Ruri?
But Ikoma was speaking with Chisato.
"You fool! That is not what I meant! Why do you want to touch my leg so badly!?"
"What're you talking about? You're the one that stepped right into my path."
They were spinning and weaving through the hall in what was clearly "high speed movement".
...Yes...
The two of them seemed to get along quite well.
.
Chisato was definitely engaged in a battle.
She was glad she had chosen a red dress that gave her the leeway to move if need be. She would not have been able to move like this in the tight skirts the others were wearing.
She was engaged in a fight in which they tried to take each other's hand and place their feet in each other's spot.
To win, she was using quick footwork and striking with both arms.
Her opponent was striking with the edge of his forearms and his knees.
She generally deflected his blows outwards from within and he generally struck inwards from without. She had the superior movements, but he had the superior speed.
She attempted to take his hand.
This was a dance, after all. By taking his hand and pulling him in, she could seize the initiative.
As the representative of the Shiraishi family, she could not afford to lose to Border's 6th Ranked Attacker. But...
...What a pain...
When she thought about it, she realized that victory in this dance meant to embrace the Attacker in front of her.
It was extremely irritating.
...But.
They gently spun around, made a strike, swept each other's blows away, and kept up their footwork. When one placed their hand on the other's wrist, the other would make a snap reversal to grab at them instead. They would grab up to the elbow and use their other hand to keep their opponent's movements in check.
They would sometimes sway their bodies, their hands would cross paths, they would attempt to grab their opponent's fingers while blocking their vision, and they would be forcibly deflected.
That's right, thought Chisato within the wind created by their actions. Doesn't this Attacker play guitar? In that case he should be skilled in this sort of thing to pluck something and secure them.
One was a business daughter skilled in combat over business and the other was a 6th Ranked Attacker. In situations that called for their specialized skills, how much of a difference would arise between them? While Chisato thought about that, they exchanged blows and traded positions in a slow push and pull.
"..."
Chisato had a sudden thought. As the two of them attempted to take each other's hand, she suddenly realized the two of them might be able to stop the Satellite if they worked together.
"—"
She lowered her gaze to his feet which slowly pursued hers and then pulled back. As she watched that, a clear thought came to her: If only I had a fighter like this on my side.
He was about the same size as her using Ortlinde and he had the same level of mobility. There was no room for complaint in his strength and toughness. He had a definite eye for fighting and he could understand and fulfill his role while working with her.
He was the ideal partner. But...
...I would blatantly be using him, wouldn't I?
Their relationship would exist solely to defeat the Satellite. And Shiraishi did not want to be indebted to Border. They were indebted enough already after the night before. That had been fine because it had left no records, but if they made definite plans to destroy the Satellite, she would have to separate his presence from Border's authorization.
She had considered hiring him as a mercenary, but at the normal Border agent level, he could not make an individual contract. The two organizations would need to approve it.
That left only one option.
...Have him join Shiraishi...
But how?
No, the method was simple. He only had to transfer organizations and change his job.
But what would draw him to them?
"...?"
Chisato suddenly thought of Ruri.
Ruri was a cute girl character.
But she was off limits. Truly off limits. Ruri was being to the test to see if she could take over for her mother. She was also younger than him by five years. Besides that, Chisato did not want to leave with that kind of thing hanging over her.
...Eh?
Another option occurred to Chisato: What about me?
.
Shobu saw a sudden movement.
Ruri also seemed to notice while dancing with Shobu. The two of them looked to the center of the hall. A high-speed battle was still underway there, but...
"...Ah..."
The movements of the two combatants' legs and bodies had changed.
Instead of using all their strength and speed to move front and back or left and right, some slower and more hesitant movements had appeared between Ikoma and Chisato. And they seemed to be coming more from Chisato than Ikoma.
...Is she conflicted...?
But the way she was moving was reminiscent of something.
"She seems to be dancing."
Ruri sounded relieved as she said that.
.
Chisato thought while intercepting and attacking.
Could she sacrifice herself to help the business?
This Attacker was hopeless, but he was an excellent fighter and would make the perfect partner in a battle against the Satellite. Her judgment as a fighter told her that.
But she could only describe his personality as "unfortunate".
The first time they had met was on the edge of the Forbidden Zone. He had immediately asked if she liked guys who could play guitar and started to leave when she said no.
The second time they had met was on the platform near the Forbidden Zone. He had simply watched as the wind blew her skirt around and then he had groped her breast.
The third time they had met was the night before. It had been an emergency, but he had handed her panties.
...Huh?
Chisato realized he had never actually done anything that harmed Shiraishi.
That was right.
On their first meeting, he had expressed his understanding of Shiraishi's difficult position before leaving. On their second meeting, he had only groped her breast on accident and he had saved her life when the Satellite - at the time Blaze - attacked.
On their third meeting, he had arrived with the intention to help her defeat the Satellite.
He had been helping them all along.
From the very beginning to now, he had at least tried to understand them and to not harm them. And he had even helped them.
And so far, Border had not demanded anything in exchange for what he had done. His help had been on an individual level and had not been on orders from anyone.
In that case, wondered Chisato. Why?
Why had she seen her relationship with the Attacker in such a hostile light?
...Because I am the youngest and lack experience.
She had to protect Ruri as well as her family and she had to maintain her pride as the representative of Shiraishi's ability to fight.
So she had misread someone like him.
If she had made a direct attack on the Satellite the day before, she would not have survived.
The night before had been little different. Even if they had resolved the problem, White Rock would have been badly damaged.
But if she bowed down to him now and asked for assistance, would he help?
He likely would.
So why was she doing this? Why was she being so hostile to someone who would help them?
"You're mine!"
Chisato trembled at the sudden voice.
Lowering her head had been a mistake. Instead of stepping forward, the Attacker reached his forearm around her body from the side.
.
Shobu noticed Ikoma making a major move.
He thought that his arm had grabbed, forcibly lifted, and embraced Chisato's conflicted body and soul. But...
"...Eh...?"
Her lifted body was lowered once more.
After capturing Chisato, Ikoma set her back down so she stood upright and then he bowed down on one knee.
"I screwed up and didn't match the serene tempo of your dance, Shiraishi fighter. Sorry for messing with your movements."
Noticing a new message in one of the devices around his neck, Shobu took a glance down at his own chest.
Honest Sister: "That's the way, Iko-san! Keep at it!"
.
Restraining her racing pulse was the most Chisato could do.
The sudden embrace reminded her of the day before. He had grabbed her from the side and saved her life then.
And he had done it again now.
She realized her movements had to have grown disturbed and indecisive.
That was due to her conflicting thoughts, but anyone watching would think she had simply fallen behind in their exchange of attacks. It had become something of a dance, but the Attacker would have won.
That was why he had brought a premature end to the contest himself.
As he stood up and breathed a sigh in front of her, she asked a question.
"...Why?"
She felt it was unfair of her to ask so quietly, but her heart pounded in her chest as she waited for the answer.
Not even she knew what she wanted him to say, but there was one thing she did know.
This Attacker was an idiot, but...
...He always tries to understand and help those in distress.
She did not know if that was due to his stance as a man or if it was just a part of his personality. But because of that...
"Why did you save me?"
"To finish the cute girl character route...or that's what I wanna say."
She was slightly out of breath as his gaze moved from her neck to her feet.
"Looks like you chose somethin' you wanted to wear this time. It'd be messed up to not let you dance and show it off to Abe and everyone else, y'know."
"Where-...?"
She tried and failed to ask where that had come from so suddenly, but he turned his back and walked to the break area by the wall as he said one last thing.
"It looks way better than what you wore yesterday. I like it, Shiraishi Chisato."
"So there's a party at the White Rock and a festival in the Small Forest, huh?"
When the crossdresser made his comment, the Suzunari Operator lowered her shoulders while walking down the hall next to him.
"...Sigh."
"Th-this girl has learned how to sigh while looking down on me!"
"Calm down," said Yuki as he walked without leaving footprints on the red carpet. "We are about to have a meeting with Kurosaki boss and overall CEO Kurosaki 'have to hire Sekai' Shin, so listen up. ...Jinsei, this is Kurosaki's work site. It says Shin looks after the botanical garden and animals, but I believe that is to soften his image as a CEO."
Everyone looked at the screen where a tall man silhouette was backlit by lightning. There were rabbits at his feet, but...
"Doesn't this just make it look like a business of terror?" asked Murakami.
"The shadow over his face does give that impression..." agreed Yuki.
Sekai spoke to them from a half step away.
"You people have quite a gap between your serious and casual moments. ...And I thought you did a decent job greeting our committee heads earlier. Well, all of you but the crossdresser."
"Hey, WorTri, my crossdressing is the real deal! I tricked your negotiators, didn't I!?"
"And that's why our employees are feeling so depressed, which I feel like gave you an advantage!"
Sekai bared his teeth and glared at him, something they all figured he did regularly with the crossdresser, so Yuki held out a hand to calm him. He then raised his right index finger and spoke.
"Well, we will have him change before we move from the negotiation site, so he will be dressed as a boy. Don't worry. In a way, I doubt anything weirder could happen."
"You do know that I am on a team with him..." He looked back at them over his shoulder. "Anyway, don't get careless. Kurosaki CEO Kurosaki Shin is a high-level man. To use someone you know, he is comparable to the Akasora Chishi."
"Wouldn't he be far more powerful as far as strength is concerned?" asked Murakami.
Sekai smiled bitterly.
"I am talking about another organization. If he is stronger in pure technique, let me put it another way. They are both grown men, but one is one of people who have strengthened and established themselves using Neighbors and the other is one of the normal people who have reached their current life after branching from normality. Their strong points are different."
Sekai then turned his back on them.
He reached his hand out toward the large door with red decorations that stood in their way and he spoke to the heavily-equipped guard protecting the door.
"I have brought the visitors from Border. ...Open the way."
"Right."
The door opened and Sekai stepped into the dim light beyond. The Border representatives followed.
"—"
They walked straight in.