The strong wind in the narrow spaces were strange. That was the conclusion that Taichi had come to.
They would funnel through the narrow spaces, but not always in a single direction.
They would slowly build up, move through the narrow spaces, then blow out everything within the narrow spaces.
It felt like multiple wind tunnels that had yet to be activated.
Until they were.
Once those wind tunnels were activated, they created an impenetrable wall of wind that pushed everything back.
Wind that powerful made it difficult to get the timing right on when to move from a building.
Since the spaces between buildings were so narrow it made jumping over them relatively easy. Height played a factor as well, but not as much as the wind did.
Sometimes the wind would move from one end of the narrow spaces to the other, but other times they would carry a downward draft that would try to suck him in.
The worst times were when two opposing winds collided in a narrow space and threw all of the wind upwards instead.
When that happened it created an upward force that threatened to blow him high into the air.
Any other time it would have been seen as a fun experiment to try out, but now was not the time for it.
"—!?"
So then why did he find himself in this situation to begin with?
With his body far above the ground, he found himself being thrown all around by the wind that had lifted him up after having jumped from the building he had been on.
I thought I got the thing right there! The wind wasn't that strong, so it should have been fine to jump! How did this happeeeeeeeeeeeen!?
It had not been a simple throw into the air either.
The sudden colliding wind had forcibly pushed his entire body into the air with a spin. The spin had then turned into more of strange acrobatics that would have made professionals impressed.
Up became down and left became right before he could gather himself.
"This suuuuucks!"
With that shout into the pitch black, he continued his strange acrobats while being sent flying into the distance.
Shigenaga clicked her tongue and clamped her teeth together.
Each turn she made had been followed by a sword swing and an attack from her rifle, but…
"O-oops! Ah! There!"
Nothing got through.
"Move my foot here and…step!"
"No, no, no! More to the right!"
"Like this?"
"Exactly! Oh! Headfirst Fall!"
The girl she had been fighting was so inexperienced that it was giving her secondhand embarrassment.
All the movements had been sloppy and easily seen through. The only way she was moving around Shigenaga's attacks had been because of the falling dog's guidance.
Even while fighting two members of Ninomiya Squad - who had thrown some of their attacks her way - he still found time to guide this inexperienced girl.
It pisses me off that they can work like this! This girl is even throwing shots over at those two to support him! What kind of crap is that!?
Daybreak: "Um, Shigeko? Try taking a breath. Just a quick one. You should calm down a bit."
You! Shut up! Whose fault do you think it is that I'm like this!?
Regardless of her mental yelling, Shigenaga did as instructed.
While turning around with multiple sword strikes against the inexperienced girl's shield, she took in air.
It could not reach her real lungs, but that was fine with her.
Letting off gunfire with her turning, she released the air.
Shigenaga's arms continued to move while her legs carried her in turning movements, slamming movements, and circling movements.
But it was different now.
All tension had left her body with the breath.
Her movements, while being the same as before, were less stiff and much more nimble now.
Right, I need to make sure I don't lose focus here. Even against an inexperienced person, I can still lose.
Lifting her body with each turn, she drew arcs in the air.
"Excellent instructions!"
"Huh?"
"But keep up with me now!"
The confusion on the inexperienced girl's face was clear.
But Shigenaga ignored it.
She had complimented the fallen dog on what he was doing.
But Shigenaga did so only because it felt right.
The inexperienced girl seemed to have realized that as well since her expression hardened.
But Shigenaga could only feel relief in that.
"Show me your inexperience!"
.
Hoshi knew that she was being supported much more than she was supporting.
The fight in front of her and the fight behind here were two different ones, although they did overlap at times.
Sometimes Toby's blades or inukai's gunfire would reach them.
Hoshi made sure to stay out of the line of fire, but Shigenaga took to those attacks like it was natural to do so.
The older girl threw herself into those attacks, batted them away, then focused back in on her.
Hoshi had seen something like this before.
It used to be a regular occurrence that made her feel bad.
After all…
That is how a natural soldier fights…
Her older sister had done that so many times now that she was certain as to what Shigenaga was doing.
The movements of both girls were fundamentally the same, but Hoshi could tell the difference between the two of them.
Her older sister had more power behind her attacks and that had become something more when adding defense and speed into it.
Shigenaga already had defense and speed in her movements. Instead, she decided to add power and nimbleness into her movements.
While her older sister only added more to have fun, this older girl was doing so because she needed to.
That difference had been keeping Hoshi unsteady the entire time.
Toby had noticed this as well and had been throwing his attacks in their direction to assist her.
But now…
"Right! Thank you for this opportunity, Shigenaga-senpai!"
The older girl had come to terms with something through her breathing.
Her movements were more than just simple reflexive attacks or shield breaking ones.
Each movement now carried a sense of want in them, all while never forsaking the basics that kept them balanced.
Hoshi could only respond in kind by organizing herself here.
The bad feeling had continued to linger in her mind, but this older girl's actions had lighted it.
So with new resolve, Hoshi made a certain action.
"—!"
She moved forward.
.
Solid sounds rang out in the area.
Shigenaga moved using only her toes.
Spinning motions were added into her steps as she swung Kōgetsu and her rifle in arcs.
The repeated sound of gunfire could be heard alongside Kōgetsu's thumping against a shield.
Hoshi brought up momentary shields to block the bombardment of gun and sword before moving to the side.
Her momentum was never lost as she rounded the shields to advance on her opponent.
Mimicking the movement of her opponent, Hoshi threw herself into a turn.
Two blades clashed, stopping both of them from turning any more than they already were.
"Kuh!"
Shigenaga pulled up her rifle and began to fire up close.
As she pulled the trigger, a blade came from the side.
The blade pushed against the rifle, throwing it off course.
Hoshi used the chance to duck under the gun and try to sweep Shigenaga's legs out from under her.
Shigenaga made a jump, loosening her grip on Kōgetsu.
The two girls rightened themselves before pushing off the ground to gain some distance.
"Asteroid!" they both shouted.
A cube of trion appeared, split into pieces, and flew forward.
A trigger was pulled that fired a shot forward. Smaller shots appeared in the air to follow the single one.
The two girls ran after their shots.
Shigenaga was the first to react by bringing up Kōgetsu.
The shot collided in the air, some going even beyond that and moving towards the other fight.
"Show me those Triggers you like to use!"
"Very well! Please receive them!"
Shigenaga held herself up as she moved forward.
Hoshi pulled out her Kōgetsu once more. This time she held it in a way that was only seen in the logs.
In the previous matches she had been in, Hoshi held her blade in a certain way to show the activation of one of her prototype Triggers.
Anyone could figure how she would move once she had gotten into the motion for it.
Shigenaga prepared for what was to come.
And as soon as they reached each other…
"Fu-"
"—!?"
Shigenaga made a movement to react just before the prototype Trigger activated.
But it never did.
"I take it back! You aren't so inexperienced!"
Hoshi had made it appear that she fell for the taunt directed towards her. Her actions had been the ones used when activating the special Trigger.
Yet the end result was far different.
Instead of activating Fujin, Hoshi had predicted the slash, took a leap into the air, and used the force of Shigenaga's swing as a springboard.
With a new force under her foot, Hoshi made a backwards leap in the opposite direction she had been moving.
Right to the other fight.
.
Toby smiled on the inside at what had just happened.
The entire time he had been fighting, his opponents had been Tsuji and Inukai.
In a way, they had been evenly matched. Although that was only on a surface level.
Toby could feel himself start to lose traction as the fight went on.
Inukai's ranged attacks could be dodged or blocked easily enough with his reflexes, but Tsuji had been putting more and more pressure on him.
The combination of the two mixed with supporting Hoshi had gotten him a few cuts along his body.
But that situation had changed in an instant.
"My apologies for not properly supporting you!"
Hoshi had made it back to them.
At the moment Tsuji's blade would have made another cut, Hoshi had thrown herself in the way.
She used her own blade to block the attack.
Seeing a new chance, Toby reacted by placing his hand on the ground.
With a new sense of balance, he threw his foot upwards.
Tsuji's blade was sent into the air by the kick.
"And then…"
Toby placed his other hand on the ground as he began to spin with his handstand.
Using his other foot, he locked onto Hoshi to push her back.
Nothing needed to be said for her to understand.
Following the push, she took a few steps back.
Gunfire from Inukai came soon after.
Each one of them collided with a shield.
Tsuji moved back to stand beside his teammate.
.
Lobo: "Nice job, Hoshi!"
Prototype Star: "Thank you very much! Although I do feel bad for spooking Tsuji-san like that."
Lobo: "Don't mind. You're keeping true to yourself, so he won't have any hard feelings."
That must have been what she needed to hear as a sigh of relief came followed.
Something is worrying me about this situation though.
Toby tightened his grip on the Scorpion blade he had created. Headfirst Fall would be difficult to use as one of the narrow spaces had already begun to fill back up.
Honest Sister: "Heh heh heh. Foolish dog, do you need more time to win? Or do you honestly need Hoshi-chan's help there?"
The irritating voice of Kotowari Squad's Sniper came through clearly for them.
He felt like there was. A lot of things he needed today to her, but that would be saved for after the match.
For now, he would focus more on what was happening.
Lobo: "It's pretty hard to deal with both Sumiharu and Shinnosuke by myself here. But we can't have Hoshi stop Shinnosuke since he can't fight girls."
Honest Sister: "You two are honestly too nice. Just use that to your advantage and take him out. He's a pretty good support, so I doubt you would make it out of that fight without using a limb."
Lobo: "I won't make Hoshi do that if she doesn't think it's fair to him."
Prototype Star: "I am very sorry."
Colors: "It's fine. We understand why you want it like that. Instead of those two, try and get Shigenaga to go after Inukai-senpai."
As long as Toby could handle Tsuji, it would be fine to involve girls into the fight. That had been what Takeshi was telling them.
Toby looked back at Hoshi.
The two of them were sliding along the ground, not wanting to stay in place, but not wanting to mov too far ahead.
Prototype Star: "I can try and bring her back over here. But now that we are between both Meishō and Ninomiya squads, it might be difficult to not just have them use gunfire against us."
Lobo: "Fine, we'll widen the space to make sure we can bring both sides closer to each other. From there it'll be a bit of a free-for-all, but that means we just have to have each other's backs, got it?"
Prototype Star: "Understood!"
Toby heard the sound of Hoshi's footsteps moving back towards Shigenaga.
There was a need to move each person around properly, so he would wait for Hoshi to bring the fight with Shigenaga over to his fight with Ninomiya Squad.
"Shigenaga-senpai, please have a dual with me!"
He immediately turned around.
"That's not how you start the next fight!"
As he turned, Toby felt his body begin to move without any commands from his mind.
Starting from his head, his body began to lean backwards.
Knowing what the action was meant for, he lifted one of his legs into the air.
Since it did not go against what his body wanted, there has been no stagnation in his reflexive movement.
Toby threw his leg to the side as his body continued to lean back.
It came in contact with Hoshi's back, kicking her to the side.
"Crap! Sorry, but-"
His words died down as a flash of light tore through the space between the two of them.
.
Inukai watched in fascination as Toby reflexively dodged the sudden shot that had been fired.
More than just dodge it, he had managed to kick Hoshi out of the way of the shot as well.
It felt like a good time to attack the two of them, but the surprised look from Shigenaga told him that moving would only gain her attention.
So instead of attacking, he followed the line the shot was following.
And then…
"—!?"
It hit.
Tsuji had gotten shot right in the head.
"Crap!"
With Hoshi being as close as she was it was obvious why he had not been able to react in time.
The cracks running along his head began to grow as his body fell backwards towards the ground.
Bail Out.
The sound of something else hitting the ground in the distance could also be heard.
Turning towards the sound, Inukai lifted his gun. The Kotowari Squad members had also seemed to be surprised by the outcome as they also turned towards the sound.
"Ow ow ow ow ow ow… I got sent pretty far, didn't I? Wait! Did I hit!? Did I get the shot!?"
The sound had come from Taichi hitting the ground, they all realized.
The younger boy had quickly gotten up to check his surroundings and brought up his guard once more.
What just…happened?
It made little sense.
Where did he even come from? Oh man, someone might not be happy with this result. It's pretty funny, and I know those guys will be going for the throat once this match is done, but damn does that suck. Now Kotowari Squad has the advantage in numbers here.
The fight had just made a drastic change.
Since Kotowari Squad still had two members left, they had to make a choice.
With that advantage, they could team up with someone else to take out the others.
But they could just easily become the targets and fight everyone else as well.
In his own opinion, Inukai would want to team up with them for the time being and simply fire at them if the chance appeared.
But before he could try anything…
"—!"
One of the two Kotowari Squad members had disappeared.
No, it was more like he had covered a great distance in an instant.
Toby now stood at Taichi's side, hands on both of his shoulders.
This might be another change coming up. The fact he didn't attack Shigeko or take out Taichi right there means that he is planning something.
But what would that something be?
Toby was unpredictable as things stood, so adding this new element could change the fight into something completely different.
And what came next from him only proved Inukai's thoughts right.
"Hey, Naki! How about you have that dual with Taichi here while Hoshi and I fight Sumiharu over there!?"
.
That could not have been right.
Shigenaga was sure that she had not heard the dog properly or else she would have already attacked.
But the way he was looking seemed to be the reality of the situation.
The entire battlefield around the had come to a halt with what had just happened.
"Eh!? Eh!? Wait, what are you talking about, Toby!?"
Taichi's nerves seemed to be getting the better of him since he had just realized that he had not been taken out the instant Toby got in range of attacking.
Shigenaga was also curious as to why the dog had not simply cut off the head of an opponent, but she made no movements yet.
"Huh? All I'm saying is that I want to make sure that we can take out Sumiharu over there before Masataka gets here. Or just as bad, your teammates. So do me a favor and fight with Naki for a bit?"
"That's not how things work here though!"
"I'm giving you a chance to score another point though. I could just take you out right here, go into a fight with Naki, and probably get another point with Hoshi's help, but I'm being a good guy here and giving you a chance to core another point for your squad."
"You're also giving me a chance to take a point here too," she added in.
The conversation made no sense.
Well, this entire situation makes no sense either. And why is Inukai just sitting back there with Hoshi!?
As if to answer her question, rapid gunfire could be heard coming from behind her.
Hoshi's footsteps had been added into the mix as well, letting her know that it was now just the three of them who had stopped.
This is still really weird!
But the two boys seemed to have been ignoring her inner turmoil in order to figure things out.
"So how about it? I'll owe you one. Do it for your pleading underclassman."
"Right! You're younger than me! Okay! I'll hold her off here so you can fight Inukai-senpai!"
"That's the spirit! And by the time that's all finished, you'll have the help of Mr. Tatsuya and Kō! So you'll get even more points!"
The amount of things wrong with that reasoning was amazing.
Shigenaga knew that there would be no chance of Taichi winning against her, especially at such close range.
It all felt more like a set up against Taichi instead of one to help him.
Well that's fine either way. It just means a point for us then.
Toby had looked over at her and gave a look of understanding.
He knew what he was doing.
The dog had somehow managed to chance the situation of the battle in a matter of seconds.
"Bring it on!"
Now it was time for a simple duel for a single point.
.
As soon as the duel began, Shigenaga judged the distance between herself and her opponent.
They faced each other from 16m apart.
They stood in the pitch black ground as the wind turned to the east and the hardened ground was almost perfectly flat.
She thought there could be no better location for a duel. And…
…He has guts starting without a greeting!
In her life, a greeting always preceded a clash. Starting without that opening greeting was a way of showing true hostility.
Of course, she lived around strange people. She had a forgiving heart, so she made a mental note to not forget her own greeting after the battle.
"Here I come!"
She responded to his shout and started to take her first step forward.
But then…
"Hold on, idiot upperclassman."
Toby karate chopped the back of his head from his position directly behind him.
"Don't tell her to 'bring it on' when you're right next to me. That's dangerous for all of us. I might end up reacting and attack the both of you."
.
Inukai breathed a sigh of admiration as he watched Toby's lecture and fired at Hoshi from a distance.
He had his hands on his hips and scolded the older boy by clearly explaining what he should have done.
It was true the older boy had been careless earlier. It was probably a sign of nerves and fear rather than a desire to rush into battle. He had lost sight of everything other than his opponent.
…He would have lost if the battle had continued like that.
After all, Shigenaga was abnormal.
A first step was meant to do more than just carry you forward. It lifted your body to put you into the pose to begin a sprint with your second step.
But with her first step…
…She closed in on him quite a bit.
They were 16m apart and her first step had covered 2/3 of that.
So instead of a sprint focused on initial speed…
"Her movements are specialized for quickly approaching an opponent. I doubt her speed would have risen much with the second step."
After all, her hips were positioned low.
Running required raising the hips. Since she had not done so, her first step was not meant to prepare for a sprint.
In that case…
…Her step was likely meant to bring her close to her opponent and immediately launch a stable attack.
She had jumped for distance this time, but she could also do it low and quick over a short distance.
"By staying low, her movements carry a weight and speed that isn't easy to stop. …I can see why Kō-kun and Kuruma-san were having trouble with her."
Shigenaga was a close-range fighter. Her primary weapons were her rifle and sword, but she also had the Hikigane-style Shield attack after having learned it from the Hikigane Squad Captain. By firing that at close range, she could hit people with a wall, but she needed to stabilize herself before firing a large shield at someone.
Circling around was not enough.
Firing that shield required the extra time and strength to balance herself. There was a reason she could normally do so without issue.
"She normally fights on deep battlefields where her feet are buried in something."
Inukai could imagine how the battle with Suzunari-1 had gone.
Each time, Shigenaga was sure to have used the strength demonstrated by this "step" to escape, control her body, and then attempt to circle around and attack them once more.
She was short and she was not using any significant acceleration Triggers.
That was a power and skill that only she possessed due to her former training.
But this time, she had jumped. Given that…
…She must believe she has the advantage here.
But her usual movement technique might have cost her this opportunity.
So she had switched to the best method for winning here. But in that case…
"Toby is the most impressive one here."
…I had originally thought he was just a delinquent who could think a little bit, but there's more to him than that. I realized that after getting to know him better.
Kitora thought Toby's timing had been surprisingly good.
Fights were often decided in the very first moments. Especially when there was a difference in skill or in a head-on clash.
Shigenaga had tried to settle it immediately.
She had gone in for a direct attack.
Had Toby smacked Betsuyaku because he really was concerned about being caught in the crossfire, or had he been trying to alter the timing of the opening clash?
"It's hard to tell."
But intentional or not, he had altered it. He was lecturing the older boy now, but…
"'Listen, you need to pay more attention to your surroundings. Got that?'"
"'Y-yes, I get that.'"
"'No, you don't! If you did, you wouldn't have nearly dragged me into the middle of your duel! Look both ways before you start! Both ways!'"
The words had come from Yuki, who had been trying to keep some laughter out of his words.
And based on what Kitora could hear of that lecture…
Kuma: "Am I being overly generous if I say he's trying to help him relax?"
Twin-Snipe: "Shigenaga-san looks a little confused as well."
He apparently saw it the same way as her.
Shigenaga was an expert fighter. That was why she had tried to end it in a single attack. The longer the fight dragged on, the more their surroundings would be dragged into it.
But she had lost her chance to do that.
"'Okay.'"
Toby ended her lecture. He lightly slapped the top of Betsuyaku's head a few times while standing between the two combatants.
He stepped back out of the way while crossing his arms over his head.
…This can't be fun for Shigenaga-san.
Her initial timing had been stolen from her.
This had been set up as best as it could for Betsuyaku.
He could now move at the same rhythm as an expert like Shigenaga.
And then Toby raised his voice.
"'Begin.'"
Inukai heard a voice and two distinct blasts of sound.
Taichi had put aside Bagworm in order to bring out Lightning alongside Egret and he fried both of them.
…A quick draw!? Since when could he do that!?
When viewed as a gun, Sniper Triggers were surprisingly troublesome weapons.
It was hard to see what exactly was happening due to Hoshi's shield blocking his attacks.
But from what he could tell, the fight had started and Toby was already moving closer to him using Headfirst Fall.
Taichi would soon become background noise, but right now Inukai was interested in how the boy had managed something like that with Sniper Triggers.
"Ah."
Taichi's voice was drowned out by a second and third shot.
He sent an attack from hip height on the left and right, which made for an attack that was not easy to dodge.
Shigenaga responded by moving forward.
How would she dodge the pairs of bullets as she advanced?
"Well done."
She lowered her hips, and tilted her upper body further forward, taking it below her hips.
The forward lean of her upper body eliminated her normal silhouette. It was a lot like…
Inu: "Reminds me of how Mukkun moves at times."
Dino Boy: "When he does it, he presses his upper body down in order to run. That means he is also raising his heels. Shigenaga-san is leaning forward to avoid taking a bullet to her upper body, so she keeps her feet flat on the ground so she doesn't fall forward."
You know a lot about how he moves from just a single fight, don't you?
It was interesting how they took it in opposite directions, yet it looked so similar.
But for Inukai, both Shigenaga and Mukuro's movements were food for thought.
…For someone like Mino, lowering the stance is difficult with his acceleration.
That restricted most of his evasive action to the horizontal directions. He could include the up-down axis by jumping into the air, but then the enemy could aim for him when he landed.
If possible, he wanted to help Minoru get a definite technique for dodging downwards. Because…
…You can crouch down while moving forward. And then I can use that to deal with people like Toby here.
Swinging himself quickly to the left or right was an easy way to dodge, but that moved him away from the enemy.
At present, he only had one way to dodge while moving forward.
If possible, he also wanted to learn this forward-leaning evasion.
He was watching an example right this moment.
"Here I go."
A bullet passed by a bit above Shigenaga's lowered head.
Taichi took a certain action in response.
"Kh."
He stepped back.
He opened some space between them so he could fire on her again. He also further drew Egret and Lightning and fired them.
But Inukai had this to say about his decision:
…Bad idea!
Kura-uchi: "The back step and gunfire were not a good idea. Because, well…"
TetsuG: "Falling back doesn't really accomplish anything, does it? He should have, um…"
Mad Hatter: "E-everyone really sounds like they want to help him out, don't they!?"
Life: "So what was wrong with what Taicchi did? Hey, Akashi."
Secretary: "Well, you see, Kirikari-kun, falling back only builds things up in a negative direction. For example, if you were fighting a user of dark summoning magic and they had summoned a portal to the abyss behind you, you would have jumped right into the void. The enemy can see behind you, after all. In other words…"
Twin-Snipe: "SenSen-san!"
SenSen: "Right! Jinsei? Since his opponent is advancing on him, falling back keeps him in the same situation he is already in. He already tried firing directly at her and she dodged it, right? So even if he fires again after stepping back, he is only repeating what he has already proven to be worthless."
Twin-Snipe: "Then, SenSen-san, what would be the correct course of action?"
SenSen: "At the very least, moving to the right would have been better. Because Shigenaga is carrying a rifle on her right side."
Shigenaga aimed her first attack.
The rifle on her right side was meant for use after approaching at high speed.
If she charged straight in at her enemy, they would expect her to use a close-range attack. Especially if she had lowered her hips.
But that was a feint.
Her first attack would be a rifle attack - equivalent to a canon blast using Meteora. The Hikigane Shield could be seen as her clincher, but there was a time lag between when it was activated and when it was launched.
The Meteora blast was weaker, but it could be fired instantly. It did have recoil, but since the stance to fire it resembled the one to launch a Hikigane Shield, she could use it as a pseudo Hikigane Shield and she was used to that stance.
So that was what she did.
She had charged in while staying low and flat-footed because she needed the stability to fire the rifle.
She had leaned forward in order to hide the rifle she was preparing to her right. However…
…Kotowari Squad's Attacker did a really good job here!
Shigenaga had been pulling out the rifle when Toby had stopped her initial step earlier.
Had her opponent noticed that or not?
She did not know.
But he had stepped straight back.
She knew he was an inexperienced fighter. He was a first year in high school, after all. When someone had yet to develop combat habits, their split-second decisions often became extensions of their movements in everyday life.
That was what had happened here.
Upon seeing his enemy headed straight toward him, he had stepped back.
That was a mistake. It changed nothing while she continued forward.
Besides, the double Sniper Triggers at his hips were drawn and fired diagonally upwards. If he aimed from hip height while drawing them, he would have difficulty immediately firing on an opponent ducked below hip height.
This was likely a quick attack attack style that he had learned from watching his Gunner captain.
A simple step was a bad choice against an opponent approaching along the ground.
He should have bent his body toward her a bit. That would have angled his hips and directed the muzzles toward her.
But he had instead bent back as a part of his step away from her.
If she had been right up on him, a sway back would have worked.
However, bending back from an opponent situated lower than him would only aim the guns higher. And for her, it also stretched her target in the vertical direction. So…
"Step 1."
She covered approximately 3 meters.
From that position, she fired a rifle blast so it would pass by his right side.
Tono: "What're you supposed to do when this happens?"
Ai: "Use a defense Trigger?"
Asano: "That's what I would do."
Twin-Snipe: "With the right movement, you can use an acceleration attack to fire a counterattack."
Leagues Above: "Instead of cutting or slicing, I suppose I would stab at the opponent."
Mad Hatter: "The Giant Breasts Defense if you're Suzu-nee! Or the Flat Chest Evasion if you're smaller chested!"
SenSen: "That attack's small enough I would probably just take the hit."
TetsuG: "Yeah, I'd say that's only a 0.7 on the 'owww' meter."
Kuma: "Wh-why is no one suggesting just dodging out of the way!?"
Viper: "S-sorry, but I think I would block it with some shots too…"
Kuma: "No, that's different because it's you and you have great accuracy protecting you. And if you ever need to dodge something, just leave it to me."
Tono: "You mean you would be her shield?"
Kuma: "I mean I would move her out of the way! This is about dodging!"
.
Obishima saw Taichi dodge the attack.
…Oh?
But he did not simply take evasive action.
He tried to move out of the way of the Meteora blast by leaning back, but…
"—"
He fell right onto his butt.
.
Huh? thought Kitora as she took a second look.
Anyone at least at the top tier B-Ranks would have picked up a habit of reading the shifts in the battlefield. When watching someone else's battle, they would subconsciously construct a prediction of how things would go and then compare their prediction with the reality.
But this was not at all what she had predicted.
So she blinked once to throw out her prediction of the future. She had been picturing a certain outcome for about 30 seconds now, but she made an adjustment to rationally view what was happening before her eyes. And…
"He tripped?"
That was exactly it.
The boy had bent back too far and lost his balance. His legs had not kept up with his upper body.
His reaction speed was not bad, but he had not been trained in how to move. No…
…He has not trained for or fought against an opponent on Shigenaga-san's level.
In normal training, no one would use a rifle blast feint. You might be taught that an enemy could make a surprise attack with their first move, but you would not be actively trained for it.
But that was what Shigenaga had done.
…She assumed he was at her level and did not hold back.
If it hit, it hit. If it did not, it would act as a show of force. The attack was meant as a warning.
The boy had managed to react, but his initial reaction was of surprise.
He was surprised by what Shigenaga did and it caused him to fumble his response.
"Yes," said Kitora while aware her brow was wrinkling. "I recall some terrible upperclassman groping someone's chest when he should have been attacking her."
Green River: "Tenryū says that it was an accident."
"If he had done it on purpose, would he have been beaten half to death?"
Green River: "He says probably not. …If it did seem intentional, she would have asked why he had done it and he would have answered truthfully."
"That's terrible," she said while relaxing her shoulders and resuming her prediction of the battle before her eyes.
The boy had fallen. That had been a surprise for the onlookers, so…
"It must have surprised Shigenaga-san as well."
Shigenaga was confused.
…This isn't good!
This was a real battle. Their standings as a B-Rank squad relied on this fight as much as any other.
But this boy had rushed into the battle in a way a normal person never would.
Why was that?
She knew he had little combat experience. Nothing else would make sense when he was only first year.
She had taken his skill level into account, and yet…
"—"
His surprise and fall had made her rush some things too.
She was quickly reconstructing her thoughts after her predictions had been entirely shattered.
…Kh.
Leaning forward as she advanced had been careless.
She would not arrive in time.
She had planned to use her Hikigane Shield while he was crouched down with hips low. She had even pulled her right hand back in preparation when she fired the rifle.
But the height would be wrong now that he had tripped and fallen.
She thought she should use her forward motion to make a kick, but…
"…"
The boy had not let go of the triggers. His fall had caused his half-drawn sniper rifles to bend and the barrels were aimed her way from the ground there.
His shots were accurate and she would be the perfect target if she approached while he sat looking up.
"Ah."
She heard his voice and the gunshot it triggered.
In that instant, she took a forceful action.
She used the recoil of the Meteora blast from her right side in order to turn around with a leftward spin.
That slid her exactly one body width to the side. However…
"His shots are accurate!
The high-speed bullet of Lightning raced by on her right just like she had expected.
It was too obvious.
And that was not exactly a good thing.
He was her enemy right now, but she felt his talents were currently wasted. His reaction speed was decent, but his lack of experience was a major flaw.
After his demonstration in previous matches, she had expected him to be a bit more experienced than this.
But he was not.
…He must be an "always trying type" built up in training!
Border was not particularly shorthanded. In fact, they had gotten many more people trying to join since the large-scale invasion and trained them properly. He should have been in Border longer than them, but for some reason he was still lacking this much. Even if he was a Sniper, the experience he was missing felt like too much.
Now, she thought while acting on reflex.
She had shifted herself left using a spin.
What came next would be a pain.
Her enemy had tripped, but he could still fire. She wanted to avoid getting too close.
She could always send out a Hikigane Shield with her right hand, but the rifle was active on her right side.
The rifle would get in the way if she swung her right arm down to hit her fallen enemy.
So what was she to do?
…Circle around toward his head!
He had fallen backwards, so he would have difficulty looking back in the overhead direction.
So while she put away the rifle, she only had to circle toward his head and launch a Hikigane Shield as she passed by.
The rifle was rotating a bit for the cocking phase to load a new bullet.
Her right arm was free by the time she was passing him by.
If she ran and spun again, she could diagonally launch a Hikigane Shield at him from her left side.
She could defeat him.
"Hikigane Shield!"
White Fox: "Must be nice… Having a technique named after you."
Manager: "To have someone go so far as to use your name in their attack. It really does sound nice."
WorTri: "Hah. You two really are just as bad as the others. She asked for my help, so I gave it to her. Not my fault she took to that name."
Kitora realized she needed to update her battlefield predictions again, even while ignoring the trivial commentary.
Once again, something odd was happening in the Shigenaga vs. Betsuyaku battle occurring directly in front of her and yet behind a completely different fight.
…Huh?
It was something Kitora would never do.
Someone turned tail and fled.
Inukai saw the boy attempt to run away.
First, Shigenaga launched an attack on the fallen boy as she passed by above his head.
Just as she passed by and turned back toward him, she sent a Shield down at him.
She had already demonstrated her ability to lower herself to the ground, but making a backwards horizontal attack low to the ground was not easy. So she instead made a diagonal attack as a safety measure.
But the boy moved before it could hit.
He casually got up.
He did not spring up or roll. He simply sat up like he had just woken up in the morning.
"…!"
The Shield crashed into the deck where his face had been.
The destruction this caused pushed him forward in something of a roll.
"Wah!"
He was now turned completely away from Shigenaga. For an experienced fighter like Inukai, it was an impressively blatant attempt to flee.
…Incredible.
He could Bail Out at any moment.
After all, showing your back was a tactic for running away without fighting. In other words, he would Bail Out if he did not escape. The boy likely did not understand the risk of forcing himself into that dilemma. Unless…
"Does he have a way of dealing with this?"
Just as he asked that, two actions occurred on the duel battlefield.
First, Shigenaga successfully stopped herself with the soles of her shoes screeching on the ground. She had turned back around toward the fleeing boy.
Second, the fleeing boy swung his arms.
"—"
He held both the Lightning and Egret that had been used as his Gunner-type offense. He barely had control over his arms and they wobbled on his shoulders.
He was panicking. That was clear from his forced movements, but…
…How will this turn out?
The two barrels fired behind him roughly 36 times.
.
The boy raised his voice as he ran away.
"Ah, ah, ahhh!"
The rifle barrels responded by hopping up with loud roars.
Waves of recoil ran through the rifles as 36 bursts of sparks were fired behind him.
He did not check behind him as he fired. Needless to say, these shots lacked his previous accuracy.
But that blind fire used its great numbers to create a barrage.
Meanwhile, Shigenaga had only just turned around.
She had no speed, but she lowered her hips and aimed at the running boy's back and hips.
"Hikigane Shield!"
She launched two horizontal attacks, one high and one low, to act as a barrier against the barrage.
The trion light shields caught the bullets as they sliced through the air and attacked the boy.
Yoshiko saw two supposedly incompatible actions fit together from the feed being sent to her by Border.
At first, the boy had tripped due to inexperience and Shigenaga had hesitated to launch her attack.
But now, Shigenaga was pursuing the fleeing boy.
"Their strategies developed naturally."
At the very beginning, the falling dog had stopped the flow of battle.
After that, the boy had naively sought a clash and failed.
Shigenaga had been forced to rethink her strategy twice.
But that had changed. The boy's flight had created the dual strategies of the chased and the chaser.
The boy had run away because he was inexperienced, but…
…This only made things worse for him.
He was capable of running away.
But there was no surprise there. That meant Shigenaga could fight the way she wanted while pursuing him.
…That may be why Shigenaga is fired up again.
Launching two shields so they covered her own view was overkill against such an inexperienced opponent.
"Yoshiko! That Shigenaga woman is pissed off, jeez!"
"It's nice having you around, Denji. I don't have to think about myself too much."
Nevertheless…
"Nevertheless, Shigenaga will win this."
Mad Hatter: "Will she? I think he can manage a win if he struggles enough."
"And," said Akane.
Mad Hatter: "Stacking two Shields on top of each other only blocks her view, right? She got a little too fired up in her rush to rid herself of doubt."
"Just watch."
As soon as Yoshiko said that, the actions on the battlefield fit together again.
In the path of the Shields, the running boy suddenly threw himself forward.
He did so without looking behind him.
I knew it, thought Kitora.
Most likely, that Sniper boy had not noticed the Shields behind him.
But he had guessed that there might be an attack behind him, so he jumped forward.
That was fear.
Fear was felt by someone aware of their lack of power when they faced someone with power.
But there were two kinds of fear.
The first fear came from one's own sense of powerlessness.
And the second…
…Comes from the great power you sense in your opponent.
When you felt the former, you would simply run away. But when you felt the latter…
"You resist."
If your opponent was powerful, you would run away while looking for a way to win.
You would never push yourself too hard. You would not display any foolhardiness that mistook recklessness for courage. You understood that your enemy was powerful and you would be destroyed if you stood up to them normally, so…
"Move!"
Kitora saw Taichi moving. He slid headfirst, but he swung his arms forward to catch himself as he landed.
The Shields passed by above him.
He had dodged them.
For an instant, his body tensed up and his jump lost some of its speed.
But the sniper rifles in his hands flew in an arc as he swung them forward.
"Is that your clincher!?"
Kitora saw one of the rifles disappear.
The weakest sniper rifle had vanished into the air, but a new one that held more weight and power came soon after.
Taichi was panicking.
…What is happening!?
None of this made sense.
No, it did make sense for him to attack an opponent during a B-Rank War match to gain some points for his squad.
But why was that suddenly happening here?
"Dammit."
He remembered a number of things.
He hated to admit it, but he was here to achieve a certain goal.
It was imperative he achieved that goal. He could not lose until he did so. These matches were critically important for him since they were also for Suzunari, so he could not afford a serious loss here. However…
…What am I supposed to do!?
He only knew one thing: he had Ibis in his grasp.
He had guessed that scary young woman behind him would attack him and he had been right. He had started sliding headfirst and he thought his next move should be getting up and fleeing to the right.
But he felt the weight of the sniper rifles in his hands.
On a simple suggestion, he had changed the placements of his Triggers and had forgotten to change them back.
It worked out here.
The way he had swung his arms forward was also how he controlled both Triggers.
…Will it work!?
He felt like it would.
If he set up the barrels while getting up…
"It'll work!"
.
Taichi made up his mind.
He would fight back. And with the biggest move he had.
That was his decision.
While sliding headfirst along the floor, he twisted his body around.
He worked his legs to rotate his body while still sliding in the same direction.
He was now on his stomach with his legs somewhat spread, which was…
…A sniping pose!
He faced forward to view the enemy.
He swung his arms forward in order to bring together the two long guns.
However…
"—"
It was no use. There was something between his arms.
No, to be more accurate…
…It moved in between my arms!?
Something butted in from straight ahead and he saw what it was.
As he quickly turned around and took a sniping pose, a thick white panel rushed toward him.
…It's a wall.
It was a shield made of ether light.
It scored a direct hit.