The clear white of the area was the first thing Daigo saw when he was transported onto the map.
...Some people would say this is "beautiful", wouldn't they?
No, that wasn't it.
This is a nice sight.
These thoughts were his own and not ones he was copying from watching and learning from others. There was no longer a point in trying to copy others when he had gotten enough help that he was now on the same level as everyone else.
He tilted his head at the realization.
His feet began to move, carrying him to where he could find an opponent.
Kotowari Squad's captain-... Kotowari-san.
Even that felt strange now.
...That also seems off. Kotowari-chan? Kotowari-dono? ...Kotowari-sama? Kotowari-kun.
The felt about right.
Well anyway, Kotowari-kun has been in a similar situation until recently, I believe. That makes the two of us pretty similar, doesn't it?
Their circumstances were different, but the general understanding was that they did not understand people around them. So they had learned. The both of them had done it differently, but they had begun to understand other people better while also getting a better understanding of how to act around them.
And now...
...This fight will be different from the one in the first round.
The proof was clear as day when he remembered the two matches side by side.
Their first match had been meant to cater only to Kotowari. It used his Laser-Shooter Trigger to get around and attack, leaving his teammates to fend for themselves and fight without him.
This match was on a map where he would be the one put at the biggest disadvantage. His Laser-Shooter ran the risk of hitting everything as he moved and it left him little room to move around. The snow around them also stifled fast movement and relied heavily on instantaneous placements or ways to move above the snow.
This is a perfect map and setting for his teammates while collateralizing into his actions. The difference between the two times really shows a lot.
...Have I grown enough like that?
There was no need to think that he hadn't grown when others had already told him that he had.
So if they had done that then it was likely that Kotowari had been told that as well.
Even so...
I think I will let him know that he has grown. From one grower to another. But for now, I should focus on what is currently coming towards my face.
He did not have something like Teleport in his Trigger set, making it hard to move on the snowy plain. So instead of doing something about moving he brought up a shield and backtracked into his previous steps.
The sound of something hitting his shield rang out as a light flashed.
Simple Boy: "Sniper."
Life: "Specific, Dai-chan! Specific!"
Cloudy River: "I already got it locked in. Don't worry."
His teammates continued to be amazing.
Life: "Could you figure out which way they would be going?"
Simple Boy: "Vice-Captain-san, please don't ask for too much. The distance was too far away, the shot was too clean, I had to put up my shield, they likely moved right after taking their shot, the buildings are low but so was the shot, meaning that they were closer to the ground than is likely comfortable, and I need to be ready to deal with any issue that can come up because of your ability to make everything you do turn into a strange and slightly erotic display. Thank you and have a nice match."
Life: "Gah! He's hitting all the right points while getting in a dig on me! I miss the more innocent Dai-chan! Asu-chan, do you have anything!?"
Cloudy River: "I marked where the shot came from. Up to you guys to decide where you want to go from there."
Life: "Sei-chan, what are you doing?"
There was a clear silence, but Daigo did not stop.
None of them had expected their captain to do much during this match. If he answered at all then they would have to fix how they worked here, but if he remained silent then they knew he would be doing nothing.
"..."
And nothing came in.
Their captain remained silent.
So that is how it is right now.
They would not be relying on their captain here.
GM Aide: "Each squad is moving out right away, but the first shot has been fired at Agent Girikage."
Gambler: "Hm... Yeah, I guess you can say that. But it doesn't look like Sekai plans to do anything this match either."
GM Aide: "'Either'?"
Deer Prince: "Well... These past few matches, he's been rather lazy and unmotivated. His teammates had to pick up the slack and everyone else just left him alone for majority of the match, or they took him out right away."
Chisato thought nothing of the commentary at the moment. They were speaking of someone who she already knew well enough.
Next to her, Musashi gave a huff and crossed his arms.
"So that guy hasn't changed at all then."
"I guess not. Maybe he got lazy since Kurosaki finally let him off and he has nothing to do now."
"He's been lazy for as long as I've known him, but this is a bit much."
It was true that they expected Sekai to do something during this match, but they had been proven wrong by his leisure stride through the snow covered city.
But it's a good thing for the other squads that he's refusing to do anything.
She knew just how strong he was. They all knew.
Looking down at the commentators her eyes locked onto the back of Denji.
He shifted in his seat, likely knowing of her gaze, and stretched out his arm to the side. His finger moved through the air as if writing something.
Chisato narrowed her eyes at what she saw.
Gambler: "What is important here is knowing what to do. You should always be away of the battlefield and its fighters' wants."
He was speaking to her, she knew that. The first and last words were his way of speaking to her without being found out by anyone not knowing what to look for.
..."What do you want?" Why ask when you already know, you ass?
He was the one in charge of aiding Mogami all this time. The only way he was able to do so was due to Sekai's help and intervention towards irritating situations.
He is also the closest person to Sekai.
So he knows just what that guy will be doing here. If he isn't concerned about it at all then it means that nothing will be happening.
He also knows how strong Sekai is in the first place. I can tell a bit from my interactions with him, but that guy over there knows firsthand what he can do. Yet he is giving nothing away and is following the other twos' lead.
It was unnerving to see someone like Denji act like this.
It was unnatural.
"So it barely started. That's good. It means I didn't miss much of anything."
Someone spoke from the isle next to her.
"Then again, knowing who all is fighting, I could have actually missed a lot without even knowing."
The boy turned to her, waved a hand, and gave a small "Yo".
She knew the boy in orange and motioned for him to sit down next to her. There was an open seat between her and Musashi so he took that with a nod.
"Hey Chisato, who is this guy and why is he getting between our sweet beat up time with each other!?"
"This is Kakizaki. You don't need to know his first name since it would only make you even crazier."
"Is that even possible!?"
Was it a good or bad thing that he recognized that he was crazy?
Anyway.
"You didn't miss much, Kakizaki. Someone had fired a shot and it was blocked by Girikage. Each squad seems to be finding their footing right now."
"Thanks for that." He crossed his arms and turned away from her. "That means I get to watch Takeshi in action from start to finish."
"You aren't here for Tatsuhito or Yuba?"
He raised a brow toward her as if to ask why he would do that.
Tatsuhito had her by his side while Yuba didn't look the type to worry about that sort of thing.
It makes sense that he wouldn't be here for one of them. So...
Musashi from next to Kakizaki bounced twice in his seat before seeming to deflate and look at the ceiling.
She didn't bother to try and understand that.
"You really are here for Takeshi, aren't you?"
"So you call him by name then?"
"Here, switch seats with me. Better this way."
Waiting for a response would take too long so she stood up and waited for him to move.
He was quick to respond by moving over to her seat while she got between him and Musashi.
"Good. And to answer your question: yes, I do. Going by last name would be too much of a hassle since his idiot of a brother is here too."
"The guy next to you is his brother?"
.
"Sadly, he is."
Chisato was prepared for any movement he might make against this.
But nothing came. Nothing physical, that is.
"Hm. So he's the guy... Good. This is going to be a good opportunity. Does Takeshi know that he's here?"
"...As far as I know, no one has been told he would be here."
"Good. That's even better."
That was right. Kakizaki was one of the normal ones among his age group and Border as a whole. Getting an exaggerated reaction out of him would require more than having Musashi nearby.
But he was also not finished speaking.
"You can see how much better Takeshi is than you," he said, addressing Musashi.
"I doubt that. But you know, if you 'care' about him so much, why haven't you tried anything against me yet?"
The idiot was playing with fire, but he had lowered his energy to do so. Everything he was saying had become more serious as he sat stationary in his seat.
Kakizaki only responded with a hum.
"Oh, I don't like you at all. I actually want to punch you for the way you treated Takeshi and how you haven't even bothered to check on him. There are enough people who want to hit you for Border, but my reason is pretty personal after getting to know him more. He's a good kid, but that's only after someone had shattered him and he decided to build himself back up."
Chisato wanted to know a bit more of this story since Ikoma Squad seemed to like the kid, but she had no place in this conversation.
"I-"
"Just watch."
Musashi wasn't used to being cut off like that, but oh well.
She enjoyed his expression as Kakizaki ended the conversation.
She followed his lead and looked back to the screen.
So Dai-chan can react to my shots now. That's honestly good to know.
Suzume smiled to herself as she moved between rooftops.
Honest Sister: "JK Operator, you got a lock on Dai-chan after that, right?"
JK: "Yup. I'll make sure to keep him tagged for everyone else."
Then giving up my location early on was honestly the right choice, she though with a light laugh.
Taking a second shot had been tempting, but it would have given Daigo enough time to figure out exactly where she was instead of where she could be.
If a second shot was not possible then it meant that running away was the best option.
So she did just that.
But you know, I don't doubt that I already have a tag on me after that. It's honestly a hassle to be popular, but tagging a Sniper so soon counts as a win in its own right. All I need to know is who tagged me.
There was the chance that no one had been able to tag her, but that was not likely. These squads were in the top tier for some time, meaning they knew when to take advantage of everything around them.
Suzume gave another laugh as she thought about their opponents.
Those three will need to do the same thing without any issue if they want to remain here. Being at the top isn't a priority for any of us, but it's a nice starting point for figuring out what we want.
...Well, I say that, but that "we" only applies to them. I already know where I honestly want to go.
A place both far away but close enough to reach everyone.
"Heh heh heh."
If she couldn't find the humor in this then she had failed as an entertainer.
This will be one of the last times I work as a member of Kotowari Squad. I should honestly make the most of it now so I don't regret it later.
.
Izumo: "We can confirm that, besides ourselves, five others are currently using Bagworm. With Girikage-senpai being tagged we can tell that one of them isn't him. The ones closest to any of us are two near Toby, one near Hoshi, Girikage-senpai that Suzume-senpai is leaving behind, and two moving away from me. There's also one that's moving pretty slow and doesn't look to have a set path."
JK: "That one's probably Hikigane. If he doesn't want to bother with this fight then he's probably just roaming around for now. Best to leave that one alone for now."
Honest Sister: "Do you honestly want me on standby now?"
Lobo: "Taking over that shrine is pretty big, so it'd be cool if you were near it to drive off anyone else."
Izumo: "No. Suzume-senpai needs to be active around the map. That way everyone else can be cautious in their plays instead of being reassured that there are only two Snipers moving around. Besides that, I want to keep an eye on the slow moving person. I don't doubt that it really is Hikigane-san, but that only makes it more important to keep him in mind."
Shooting Star: "So then..."
Izumo: "Senpai, can I ask you something?"
Honest Sister: "Ask away. Just know that I'll use whatever material I find."
Izumo: "I figured as much... Anyways. Do you think you will have a rematch since the first round for us?"
.
He's aware of that, is he?
That is good. It meant he understood that there was someone else who could match her and her strange tempo.
Others would be able to reach her, she would let others reach her, and there were those who did not want to reach her.
But there was someone who would naturally reach her.
She had seen him do it before during their first B-Rank War match. Back then they had been off their game, but someone had reached her regardless of that.
Honest Sister: "What do you plan to do if I end up in a rematch?"
Izumo: "That depends. Do you want any help or are you find by yourself?"
It was a loaded question, but she forgave him for that.
It's cute to see him ask such a thing from me.
Asking for help means taking attention away from other things. Doing it myself leaves me more susceptible to being found out. It's honestly a hard choice to make.
But...
But...
She gave another laugh.
Honest Sister: "We've honestly been having with each other lately. Let's continue to do that. Let's continue to enjoy ourselves and have fun no matter what we're doing! Can you do that, Take?"
If he could do this much right now then it meant she could leave without any worries.
If he could not...
I will honestly continue to watch over them some more. We can move on from there.
She wanted to be sure that they would be fine.
If they could remain happy with the way things had turned out by this point then it only meant they would live trouble free and carefree lives.
So...
What will your answer be?
She got her answer in seconds.
Izumo: "What are you talking about, Senpai? Whether I'm stuck with you lot, with people like Asano-san or Nasu-san, or just by myself, I know that I should be enjoying myself at all times. I had thought it went without saying that we would be enjoying ourselves here too."
There it was.
He had given her everything she wanted.
Lobo: "That's the spirit, Take! We can go wild, have a plan, do what we want, worry about nothing, win, and have fun! Everything can be done at once!"
Shooting Star: "I will do my best to help where I can!"
JK: "You people are weird."
Coming from someone like her, that was a hard pill to swallow.
But...
It means I can honestly leave them in a carefree and trouble free way!
So with that being said...
She landed on the next rooftop with a single foot.
Her toe sunk into the snow on the roof before begging to turn into a slight spin.
"Heh heh heh! You're honestly making me feel special with the way you decided to go all out from the start!"
.
Green shields bloomed in the air before shattering and scattering all across Suzume.
Suzume ignored them all as she continued to spin.
Someone moved from beyond the edge of the roof, stepping on a blue plate in the air.
Smiling to herself, Suzume brought out her other leg and took a small leap to the side.
The person was pushed forward, blade ready.
His attack missed by her spinning leap.
He made a quick and smooth second attack. With movement close to Suzume's he twisted his body as if in a dance.
Kōgetsu moved through the air, only stopping when coming in contact with another blade.
"Heh heh heh!"
Suzume had wrapped her middle finger in a Scorpion blade. Her spin had come to a sudden stop once she clashed with his blade.
"Are we here to put on a show for the opening act?"
"Sei-chan is off doing something boring and you went for Dai-chan right away. I don't really care about that kind of stuff, though. I came to find you to see if you wanted to play for a bit!"
"You certainly decided to enjoy yourself here, Jinsei!"
"If I couldn't do that much, what else is there for someone like me!? I'm the type of bunny rabbit to die when left alone for too long or will end up dead because he feels sad!"
"That just makes you adorable! Don't try and outshine Dai-chan when I already have a doujinshi planned for him!"
"Give me...a copy!"
The two moved back in fluid movements.
Jinsei fired multiple shots without turning around to see Suzume's response.
The sound of shattering and scattering shields was heard. The green color filled the air as shard rained down in a brilliant display.
.
Life: "Bell-san found! Engaging!"
Simple Boy: "I had been under the impression that you swung the other way."
Cloudy River: "Not the time for that."
Simple Boy: "My bad. Let me try again. Ahem... Vice-Captain-san, you better win or you will get beeeeeeeeeaten!"
Life: "Still wrong."
Simple Boy: "I only have one other thing then."
Life: "What's that?"
Simple Boy: "Do your best."
Life: "You too!"
.
Suzume smiled as she swayed on the pure white canvas.
This nudist crossdresser had decided to seek her out and now she would respond in kind.
Shattering shields appears all around her as they were destroyed by power shots.
Honest Sister: "Here he is. Jinsei is in front of me."
Lobo: "I'm making my way to the shrine! Have fun!"
Shooting Star: "I am also moving towards the shrine."
Izumo: "I'm on my way."
The performance had already begun. Others had likely seen them by now and figured out that both she and Jinsei were here.
Takeshi would be joining them soon enough, but she was curious as to who else would try and force their way in.
Let's begin anew then. We won't just be at the summit this time. We'll be above the summit and I will create a great stage here!
"Suzu looks like she's having fun."
"If it was anyone else, it would be hard to keep up with her. But Jinsei has the same thing she does. Something that she didn't figure out until recently."
Yuki smiled towards Mei.
He had known what she meant since the first time he had compared Suzume to Jinsei. The two were alike that he could have mistaken them for siblings if he was not careful.
While Jinsei embraced everything about himself, ran with it, drove everyone crazy, and showed himself off completely, it had still been different from Suzume. She only ever focused on herself and the stage she would set up for herself. Nothing else mattered since she could be able to see any Rhythm the moment they stepped onto her stage.
But this was different.
He could see it in the way she held herself.
"It's good to know that she had changed from the crying and lonely girl from back then."
This is honestly different from the first round, Suzume thought as she took two steps back and continued to sway.
Jinsei followed her movement while swinging his Kōgetsu horizontally.
She deflected it using her Scorpion blade.
I hadn't noticed how dedicated you were back then. I had thought that you had a changing Rhythm back then, and that may still hold true, but that's not fully the case.
If that were how things were, I would only need to adapt.
But...
I don't need to do anything like that. I only need to be myself here. I only need to continue on being my sublime self.
You know, I had heard about that day your age group spent your time in a training session with Akasora-san. None of the others had been able to land a hit on him. Not until the very end, when he was ready to fight Shinoda-san. One of you had managed to "land a hit" by moving in a way that seasoned fighters would never expect.
There had been a reason for that.
She had not known what it was at the time, but she had figured it out recently.
I let myself truly be myself and saw it.
She gave a "heh heh heh" laugh as she spun and the shield fragments scattered around her.
Jinsei had moved forward once more, but she clearly saw what he was doing and spun again.
Her feet were light as she danced atop the roof.
You honestly have an Entertainer Rhythm.
She was able to categorize every person's movements in genres, but this boy was different. It was the same reason why she could never categorize herself to any single genre.
They could be anything. No single genre could accurately describe them.
They were true entertainers.
No true entertainer is so terrible that they can't adapt to any situation and turn it into an opportunity. They take note of the situation and work to add in their own actions so that no one gets too absorbed into something they shouldn't.
It's honestly refreshing to see this kind of thing around.
It meant that Hikigane Squad had someone to keep them grounded.
Minoru watched the screen with a smile on his face. Not only had things begun in full here, they also got to see just how much Suzume and Jinsei were enjoying themselves here.
Their movements were smooth, functional, and almost completely unpredictable. The tempo of each movement had started off different from each other, but that had slowly began to change as they continued to move on that rooftop.
Gambler: "Looks like we've got two weirdos on our hands here."
GM Aide: "I still don't know what to make of this..."
Deer Prince: "Try not to think too much about those two and focus on what you see here. Both of them would be happy to hear that others enjoyed the show they're putting on."
But they weren't the only ones moving here.
The screen showed different locations where others were moving around.
Daigo, Minamisawa, Obishima, Yuba, and Takeshi were moving as solo units in preparation for a fight.
Ikoma and Mizukami had already grouped up while Oki was finding his own position.
Toby and Hoshi were moving to a single location.
And Sekai...
He's not really caring about what's going on around him.
But there was someone else who was moving in an even more smooth way than everyone else.
Deer Prince: "The Snipers for this match want to be more active, don't they?"
Gambler: "They're a bunch of lunatics. Yeah, weirdos who like to be crazy. Oh, just that girl? Makes sense. She has the feeling of someone who doesn't know what she's doing? Right, right. A stupid little girl who doesn't know what she's doing."
Hitting Denji right now would amount to nothing, so he held himself back here.
Although there was something he could hear from the seats around him.
"That guy doesn't know anything..."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"That dumb girl knows exactly what she's doing. Even if it's annoying to see...she is only staying there because she knows what she can do here. It's what makes her the second dedicated Sniper I know who can stay behind to fight without worrying about being taken out."
"Didn't expect you to come to her defense like that."
"...Only because I hate that guy more than I dislike her."
He recognized that voice and looked over to see that he was right.
Narasaka was there with Yoneya.
"Looks like there's some fool who admits to hating me~ Win, win~"
The idiot next to him seemed to have also heard what Narasaka had said, but his personal win didn't matter when he thought about the win Suzume might have felt after hearing Narasaka come to her defense.
Even if he wasn't directly speaking to Denji the fact remains that he still said something here.
That alone showed him something amazing in its own right.
But that wasn't the only conversation going on.
One was taking place to the side, the ones involved all being terrible people.
.
"Looks like that idiot's having the time of his life."
"Are you jealous?"
"Pah! Why would I be jealous of that kind of guy?"
Arafune narrowed his eyes at the screen. Hokari and Kurauchi gave hums from his sides, but they were ignored.
He had wanted to go and see how Murakami and Kageura were doing in their own match, but this one felt like it could hold something else to it. Someone new had appeared for Tamakoma, but there would be something here that he could not miss out on.
So he watched the match himself.
"From the way you're talking, it sounds like you have certain feelings about this."
"Is that right? I guess I do feel like I want to see Misaki hit him or something, but he would enjoy that and turn it into a different show altogether."
"Yeah, he can be like that," Kurauchi said with a smile.
Arafune wanted to question that smile but kept to himself.
The way he's moving really gives him away, he thought as he watched Jinsei perform another slash.
Unlike the other times he had seen Jinsei fight, this was something he could only do with someone who could keep up with him in multiple things. It was something that brought a bit of sadness, but that was gone the moment he could see the smile on Jinsei's face from his seat.
"Entertainers can be so troublesome."
"They like to take things at their own pace, but they don't forget to invite everyone to enjoy themselves."
"Even if we don't like him to invite us, we still go to that guy. He's the type of person who can bring others to him while Misaki is the type of person to go to anyone she wants. The two of them fighting here is proof that they are completely different and mix well together."
Was that really a good thing?
The only other person who could bring this sort of thing out of him had been Kon so it was likely fine that this fight was happening.
"Hm. I guess even he can have someone else to enjoy himself with."
"You know what this means, right?"
Kurauchi was enjoying things too much for him to ask such a question. That was also fine with him.
The three of them knew the answer anyway, so he decided to look over to where he could see Minoru watching the fight with a fond smile of his own.
That's right. Those two will probably invite everyone to enjoy themselves with them. In that sense, it feels like this is just the opening for them.
Mizukami held his hand to his ear as he watched Ikoma lean over the edge of the low roof. Some lights could be seen in the distance and the two of them could see that they would not be stopping for some time.
"Oooooohhhh! Looks like someone's havin' fun over there!"
"It's probably Jinsei and Suzume-chan. The two of 'em like to mess around whenever they feel like."
"You think they'll let us join?"
If they weren't careful they would end up starting aa festival here.
I guess this match itself is a festival in its own right.
When he thought of it like that he could only say that they would be the ones enjoying themselves the most at this festival.
Shōgi Boy: "Oki, didja spot anyone else?"
Okay: "I see Girikage running a few meters away, but that's still pretty far from the two of you."
Minty: "Oh, can I go over to fight him!?
Shōgi Boy: "You think you won't lose like when you went against Kashio?"
Minty: "Can't promise that!"
"Huh?"
"That's weird. What's Kai talkin' 'bout now?"
"That's what I wanna know."
He wasn't the type to just up and say that he would lose. For him to say something like that here meant that he knew something.
Okay: "You feelin' fine there, Kai?"
Minty: "Yeah! I'm justing saying that Dai-chan is different now, so I don't know if I could beat him quickly!"
Well that was something interesting. For someone like Kai to notice that made it something so obvious that no one would be able to miss it.
But...
He isn't much trouble when we have Iko-san with us. Jinsei likes to brag as it is, and Kai sees things more on the shallow side, but Oki and I would notice it more.
Ikoma was not someone who they could say was easily beaten by others. Even more so by others who had less experience than him.
Besides that, there was one other reason why there was nothing to worry about.
Chisato is watching, so he wants to look as cool as possible for her.
Holding his hand to his ear still, he spoke up as he watched the lights in the distance.
Jinsei and Suzume were probably having the time of their lives right now, and Girikage was moving forward, so they only needed to do one thing.
The one thing they did best.
Shōgi Boy: "Let's keep going at our own pace and take out whoever we feel like."
"Does that sound good, Iko-san?"
Ikoma looked back to him with a thumbs up.
Sounds filled the air as scattering lights moved along lines. The blooming flowers shattered upon coming in contact with the Hounds, each one turning into a light display for the two entertainers to see.
It was not a single point where the shattering flowers and Hounds were: it was everywhere.
A single rooftop had not been enough and the two leading the performance jumped from one rooftop to another; each light following them and leaving a trail of lights.
From the distance you would be able to see the glimmering lights above the white canvas, but looking within that light show was enough to see that an even denser version of that show was being made.
No voices came from the two of them, but that had only been because they already knew what tempo they wanted to keep.
A long blade moved through the air with with a harsh rotation while a single stinger swatted it away with movements from top, bottom, right, and left. Each action was taken with a smooth rhythm that made it all seem more rehearsed than it actually was.
"Heh heh heh. You honestly want to keep this going longer, don't you?"
"What's that supposed to mean? I'm just enjoying myself here!"
"What a foolish and foolhardy boy you are! I love it! Yes, I love that stupid look on your face! It's what every entertainer strives for!"
"You like to go on like this, don't you!?"
"I am honestly in my Golden Time here! The summit has never looked so beautiful from this viewpoint! I can honestly do this forever!"
The two performers continued to moved across rooftops and through the air, leaving trials of light behind them. Scattering flowers fell towards the ground, a blade of light cut through the air before being pushed aside, and the quick tempo of the fight only continued to escalate the more they moved their bodies. The thumping of each strike, of each shattering, sounded out into the open air, continuing to add music to the dance between the two of them.
For every shield Suzume made, Jinsei would create a pack of Hound to shatter them.
With each swing of Kōgetsu, Scorpion was used to swipe it away effortlessly.
It was not a regular fight that Toby loved so much, and it was not one where strategy came into play, something Takeshi would find interesting. Even a full on assault was incorrect, as much as Sekai would sigh about it.
The two performers had reached a peak that they could only do with someone like them.
So...
"Let's move this to the next stage! We seem to have an audience on this battlefield, so we should show them even more!"
"Ha ha ha! I like the sound of that!"
"Oh, but don't think I will honestly let up just because I'm enjoying myself here!"
"I'd feel insulted if you did!"
She smiled.
He smiled.
But they were not the same.
There was something fundamentally different between the way the two performers smiled.
The pumping of the music and dance was something the both of them were enjoying. The festive feeling was unlike anything else.
But...
"Heh heh heh! A reminder! We have a devourer on out side!"
"We have a one-man army on our side! Even if he's suuuuuuuuper lazy!"
"Right, right, he is honestly troublesome, but there's more it than that!"
Suzume moved her body into a sideways spin starting from the left. She used her entire upper body to throw her weight around as Kōgetsu moved for her torso.
Jinsei followed that tempo with his own. The blade in his hand was released from his grip.
With the blade in a free fall, he lowered his body into a swiping motion from the top right moving toward the bottom of his left.
All it took was a single fluid motion to grab Kōgetsu once more and create an arc through the air.
Suzume lifted her leg before stopping on the snowy rooftop.
The white power was lifted into the air between the two of them as he stood a leap backwards.
Jinsei followed the action by creating another pack of Hound.
They were released.
The pack of Hound moved past the tossed up snow and towards Suzume.
But there was something different this time.
"Heh heh heh."
Instead of defending, instead of continuing their performance, she was another leap.
This time she moved forward.
"It can be viewed as an arrow. It can also be viewed as his resolve here. But..."
But...
"I honestly like to believe that this is our trust him him showing."
.
Jinsei heard it after a moment
A heated sound came from somewhere near them.
He had fired Hound, thinking that Suzume would followup with the same shields she had been using, but that was not the case.
She had chosen to move back towards him instead of going towards a different direction.
Noticing the difference, he moved to strike in a different way.
Hound was rounding behind her to attack from behind, so he had to strike from the front. And the only way to do so was with his blade.
So he moved forward.
He began his swing in earnest, but stalled when he noticed where she was looking. It was not at him and not at his blade.
Her gaze was to the side.
It could have been a bluff, but taking that chance here could cost him more than he would like.
Using his entertainer tempo, he shifted so that he could dodge her frontal assault by rotating to the side. His Kōgetsu was brought up as a flash sped through the air.
The trion bullet struck his Kōgetsu, putting it out further than he had wanted.
Someone had stalled him even further.
But that was not the thing he was paying attention to here.
From where he was moving, he could see his pack of Hound still targeting Suzume. She made no movement to dodge or defend and that told him everything he needed to know here.
That heated noise still hasn't reached us!
As if to correct his thoughts, a white beam of light torn through the air from the tossed up snow. It was thin, but the speed was what he had noticed.
There was no time to dodge it or defend.
It struck him in the chest.
"Ha ha ha! Guess this means you guys really have grown! That's great!"
Green lines began tracing his body as he gave another laugh.
The same white beam had been the source of the heated noise and it had torn through both him and his pack of Hound.
.
Bail Out.
GM Aide: "And the first point of the match goes to Captain Kotowari. He had used the fight between agents Misaki and Kirikari to his advantage to fire a surprise attack."
Deer Prince: "It looks like Suzu-chan was moving them towards his location instead of him just happening to be there. But it still took a good sense of timing for him to fire and take about Jinsei."
GM Aide: "That's right. Before his attack took out Agent Kirikari there was a shot that had been fired. It was hard to see with everything going on, but someone had fired on him after he had dodged Agent Misaki."
Gambler: "That one looked like it was Tonokazu with the way it was fired. The timing was fine enough and the only thing that stopped it was that weirdo's tempo."
Deer Prince: "It forced Jinsei to guard the sniper shot first and have no time for Takeshi's attack. He took the chance of not firing right away and it paid off well for him."
.
"That idiot got too focused on what was around him."
Arafune sighed as he shook his head.
Next to him, Hokari nodded and Kurauchi gave a hum. Out of the two reactions he thought that Hokari's was more definite.
"It's hard to tell from this angle if that attack would have done more damage to him than Kotowari's attack."
"This is why idiots shouldn't think. ...No, I take that back. He's too stupid to think about that kind of stuff. He let his instincts move him. More than that, he was still in the tempo he had with Misaki, so switching over in an instant while having to face three opponents might have been too much for him."
"You're being a bit harsh with that."
"If I went any easier and this got to him then he'd turn it into something sexual."
The other two nodded this time.
They all knew how that idiot was and knew that this was for the best.
But besides that...
Looking back at the screen showed Misaki put her Bagworm on before jumping down to ground level.
It was probably Kotowari who decided their map and settings, but he's following what Azuma Squad did during Round 4.
The color of Misaki's Bagworm had been turned white and the laser-like beam had been the same color. It had been hidden well when Misaki tossed up the snow of the roof, but it was easy to point out when viewed at the right angle.
Kotowari Squad had used it to their advantage in a different way than what Azuma Squad had done.
That's because of how proactive they are as people, he thought with a nod.
Azuma Squad used it as pure camouflage and to stunt their opponents' movements. They were able to move around since their Attackers have Grasshopper, but it basically left it alone. But Kotowari Squad is actively using the snow to their advantage by changing their own color scheme, changing the color of their trion, and using the snow for cover or a smokescreen. It's something that only people who are used to their surroundings can do.
Misaki is the type of person to tell what can be done around her because of her Side Effect, so it makes sense that she could figure Tonooka was ready to fire on them. That smokescreen with the snow was a nice counter, but now that they had done it once, I don't think it would be a surprise to see the rest of Kotowari Squad do something like that.
He gave a laugh at the thought.
Both Hokari and Kurauchi turned to look at him, only to waved off as he crossed his arms.
He gave a grin towards the screen as he spoke.
"Yeah, it wasn't a bad idea at all to come and watch this match. I can't wait to see what else comes from it."