Toby was the first to move, rushing forward with Headfirst Fall and a Scorpion blade in hand.
Once he was a few feet away he pulled out a second blade to block.
Sekai moved forward with his sheathed Kōgetsu and repeatedly struck the twin blades.
Each hit pushed Toby back further and further, never giving him time to react. Even with his reflexes there was a single thought that ran through his mind,
If I try anything else then he'll take me out.
It was difficult to figure out what to do here.
From the side he could also see Hoshi trying to figure out what to do.
There was no opening for her to exploit and getting carelessly involved would only end up tripping him up.
So all he could do was defend while he could.
But each damn strike holds power!
A sheathed blade had more weight to hit, but slowed down the movement. Even so, Sekai swung the sheathed blade with little effort. The power behind each strike shouldn't have been possible with his lackadaisical posture and expression, yet there was no chance to push back here.
Then-
He stopped when he felt something hit his back.
Sekai had pushed him back into a tree.
He could see another attack coming and moved to the side.
He fell into a tumble as Sekai destroyed the tree with the sheathed Kōgetsu.
Using his new momentum, he threw himself up and attacked by swinging both blades at once.
But...
"—"
Sekai reacted before he could hit.
Using a free hand, he grabbed the tree and used some strength to make its fall even faster.
It hit the ground with a start, forcing Toby to fall to the side and begin a roll.
Sekai continued to give no breathing room as he swung the tree along the ground, catching Toby by the back and sending him into a spin in the air.
I need to fix myself!
He righted himself in the air and thrusted a Scorpion blade forward at the oncoming Sekai.
Instead of blocking or dodging, Sekai grabbed the blade with his hand and moved it to the side. The sheathed Kōgetsu in his other hand moved forward to strike.
"Why you!"
Toby bent his knees to his chest as the sheathed blade came closer. Once it was in front of him, he used the sheath asa springboard to throw himself higher into the air.
Once there he created a cube of trion.
I didn't want to have to use this here and like this, but there's nothing else to do!
.
Sekai watched with little interest as a cross-shaped formation of trion cubes was created in the air before him.
The shots were fired directly at him.
But it wasn't anything new.
He moved a step back, letting the shots hit the ground just before they could reach him. The smoke that filled his vision was push aside by a swipe of his sheathed blade.
Beyond that smoke he could see the next attack.
Toby took aim in the air for a cluster shot with a grin on his face.
So...
Shield.
A three-layered Hikigane Shield appeared in front of him.
"I've already seen tricks like that."
"He's too crazy," Toby said while taking a step back.
"Guess I'll return the favor."
Thrusting his arm forward pushed the three-layered shield forward with some extra force. The attack from Toby collided with his Hikigane Shield. The first layer was shattered after taking the entirety of the attack.
The next two layers pushed forward and crashed into Toby, sending him crashing into the main shrine.
.
Hoshi watched, dazed and confused.
...I need to do something to help. Toby-kun can't handle this by himself.
"So you're Yuki's younger sister. Hah. I guess I knew that already, but I never met you in person. Man, this is irritating."
He spoke a she moved forward while fixing his hold on the sheathed Kōgetsu. The blade had remained inside but it was still be used seamlessly by this man.
"I don't know the full story, but you and your siblings seem to have patched things up a bit. ...Hah. That's good. I'd rather kids like you be happy than anything else. It saves me some trouble later on. But still...you're standing in my way of a slow life. If you leave now, I won't do anything."
Shooting Star: "Who...really is this man?"
JK: "That's Hikigane Sekai. I read up more on him since you all seemed to be doing fine enough without any direct involvement from me and saw some pretty scary stuff. At least from this season and previous seasons of the BRWs."
What exactly did she find to make her this calm while speaking?
JK: "Generally speaking, that man was one of the people working for Kurosaki during the conflict with the sponsors and ended up directly fighting with our representatives. It took an effort from Murakami-san to push him back.
Shooting Star: "It took Kō-nii-san...?"
JK: "Besides that, his records in the BRWs boil down to two things. He either gets too lazy and gets taken out or left alone for the match or..."
Or.
JK: "He completely wipes out anyone who crosses him."
She only stared as Sekai lowered his posture and looked around lazily.
He didn't give off any immediate danger, but even she felt the pressure he gave off here.
"You're talking about me with someone, aren't you?"
She stopped.
He continued.
"Hah. Your reaction and response to me is clear enough proof. Don't hide it when it's obvious. You might be Yuki's sister but you're bad at lying. Hah."
JK: "People like Azuma-san and Ninomiya-san have a record of rarely Bailing Out because of how good they are. It takes a lot to get them to lose, and sometimes leaving even becomes a win. But this man is different. He has Bailed Out a good amount of times, but they are all because he had been too carefree in what he was doing. Every time he felt like doing something, he had managed to stay until the very end or win without needing any of his teammates."
Sekai shifted on his feet as he fixed Kōgetsu again.
With a clang, he hit the ground with it a few times.
"So irritating."
He hit the ground a second time.
"Just take your teammate and leave already. I really don't care about these rank wars anymore and just want to be left alone. Hah. So leave me alone and I'll leave you alone. If you still want to fight...don't blame me if I start finding a reason to fight here."
His eyes had become more focused on her as he spoke. It shook her to her core.
The man in front of her was someone she could view at the level of her sister, held the same want for a reason to fight, and even had the kindness to let them go here.
But...
JK: "Hoshi-chan, he is a bona fide monster, capable of matching A-Ranks easily when he wants to."
Shooting Star: "Suzuka-san, help, please."
JK: "As you are now, you don't stand a chance, Hoshi-chan! If he wants to let you guys go, then-"
Shooting Star: "I know, but..."
This was their key point for the match.
They had been told about their opponents, been helped by their upperclassmen, and had come up with a plan that could help all of them win. As an emotional person, she felt like there was something to be had there, even if everyone else would scold her for it later on for her choice.
But this also fell in line with what others thought of during fights.
Their tactic had been to take this shrine and use it to give themselves an advantage.
This man had been able to fight against Toby and his Side Effect with little effort, but there was still something to be done here.
JK: "My goodness. You sure are hardheaded for the weirdest things."
Hoshi saw it appear in front of her. Information on the man standing in front of her, waiting for her reply to his words.
It showed his known Trigger set, his attack patterns that had been used before, what he could do, and even suggestions.
So she rushed with a start.
Toby-kun is still buried under the ruble of the shrine, so holding out until he can get out is best.
So that was what she would do.
Gambler: "Looks like #3's sister made the wrong choice."
Deer Prince: "And knowing how that squad works, Toby is going to follow along with that."
Gambler: "Looks like Kotowari Squad's gonna lose 2 points after gaining 2 points. ...What a bunch of idiots. Ow, ow, ow! Alright, alright, sorry for saying that."
GM Aide: "It would be better to say they are inexperienced."
Deer Prince: "They just need to set aside their feelings a bit to make choices in these kinds of situations."
Gambler: "And this is coming from who?"
"That boy's power comes from a Side Effect and you have your prototype Triggers. Hah. This makes things so irritating."
A hexagonal figure appeared in the palm of Sekai's hand as he lifted it.
"Regardless, you made your choice here. Well...shall we get started?"
With a single push off the ground he was thrown forward, right hand extended out.
Yuki's sister moved to the side just a she passed by.
The two of them turned around to face each other once more.
"Asteroid!"
A single shot was fired at him.
He used a Shield to block it before shattering it.
"Asteroid!"
A scattershot was fired as she jumped back to create more distance between the two of them.
She created a shield to take the brunt of it and pushed it forward to bat away the rest. Nothing had stopped his charge.
"Then..." she said while moving further back.
She fired at his feet with two shots.
A veil of snow was thrown into the air, blocking their vision of each other.
But he didn't stop.
He pushed forward through the veil of snow.
"Senkū!"
It was new to see her use that Optional Trigger, but...
"—"
He stomped it down with a shield.
Not letting her react to it, he threw himself forward and began swinging his sheathed Kōgetsu. Each strike was followed by a first that pushes her back, barely avoiding his attacks.
.
Hoshi felt the pressure of each attack that she dodge.
It was only when one of those attacks came did she realize just how heavy they were. It was different from seeing it hit since it looked like the attacks weighed nothing, but they were extremely heavy.
She had brought up her own Kōgetsu to block one of the attacks from the sheathed Kōgetsu. The sheathed blade couldn't shatter her own, but it pushed her back from the sheer force of it.
"You have better reflexes than I thought."
This man is really strong. My attacks aren't working at all!
JK: "We already knew this, but you don't have enough power for your attacks. Though, in a way, that's good for us. When fighting him, you need to never use strong attacks or uncertain tactics, no matter what."
Shooting Star: "What do you mean?"
Sekai rushed her again, this time using the sheathed blade and his fist again.
She created a shield to block the first attack. A crack appeared.
The second strike shattered it completely.
It gave her a moment to push away and begin to run the opposite direction.
JK: "No time to explain. You'll just have to fight back."
Shooting Star: "Fight back how?"
A shattering sound was heard.
She had reactively put up a shield behind her that was destroyed after a single attack.
The sudden attack had surprised her, making her turn around and take a step back.
By the time she had fully turned around he had already made it behind her.
Another attack came from the sheathed blade.
She narrowly dodged it before creating multiple shields that continued to be destroyed upon impact.
Front, back, left, right, up, down. Every place that he could attack from came a heavy swing of his sheathed blade or an unordinary strong punch.
By the time she had closed her eyes without realizing what was happening, a Full Guard had been put up around her to defend against the assault coming at her from all directions.
JK: "All you can do right now is focus purely on defense! But, if this keeps up, eventually..."
"Like a turtle. Then..."
Something appeared on the end of the sheathed Kōgetsu before it was thrusted forward.
A shattering sound was heard as the sheathed blade pierced through the defense with ease.
"This ends it."
There was no time to hesitate.
The Full Guard was tossed aside as multiple shields appeared between the two of them.
The thrusting Kōgetsu pierced through them before reaching the last one.
"Tch."
The next three strikes were consecutive hits. Each one shattered a newly formed shield.
At some point it had become a dance as green fragments scattered around the two of them and the white plain.
Using some acrobatic movements, Hoshi continued to dodge and defend against each hit, never focusing on how long her defenses had lasted.
Each time distance had been made between them, he had covered it to reach her.
This isn't good enough.
Still... Still too much waste!
I can't beat him using my trion for defense!
I need to be more precise! More effective!
The next attack came.
.
Sekai rushed forward, arm already in the motion of swinging the sheathed Kōgetsu.
All of the hit shad been blocked or dodged, but each one had barely been able to do so.
This time it would hit.
"—?"
But something stopped that.
Something had stopped his movement and wrapped around his wrist.
A green shield had captured his arm and restrained him with a physical barrier.
It had been more precise than he had expected to see from Hoshi.
He struggled to escape the hold, and once he thought he could destroy it another shield captured his second arm.
He was held in place by both arms with shields mean to restrain instead of defend.
This was a tactic he knew well enough after using it before.
"There's still something I can do here, even with how inexperienced I am!"
A cube of trion appeared in front of her.
A cluster shot.
"—"
Twisting his fingers and shifting the sheathed Kōgetsu became the priority.
With a solid sound the shield restraining his wrist was shattered.
The cluster shot fired at him skimmed his side while he turned to dodge the attack. The clothing covering his right side tore, but his body was fine after such an attack.
"He dodged it!? In that state!?"
He shattered the second shield.
"Had your restraints been two-fold, you might have won."
"Then, one more- Hey!"
A new veil of snow appeared between the two of them.
Sekai gave her no time to react a she tossed the snow into the air.
With a sudden rush that ignored his footing he thrusted his sheathed Kōgetsu into Hoshi's stomach, sending her into the air and a good distance away from him.
.
Hoshi was motionless for a moment.
Sekai wanted to feel bad for what he had done, but he couldn't afford to do that when he knew that she didn't feel any pain form his hit.
The only thing keeping her down know what the mental knowledge of what he had done to her and what he could do if they weren't using their Triggers.
It was something he was all too familiar with and found himself hesitating to see what she would do next.
Unlike what he expected, she had pushed forward and fought him as best she could. Even the use of shield was something he felt he could praise here since others only viewed it as a defensive Trigger to hold out in front of themselves. She had been the first inexperienced person to do such a thing to him before.
"Well it's whate-"
Turning in an instant, he brought up his sheathed Kōgetsu.
Something came from the main shrine and rushed him in an instant.
It was Toby.
With two blade in hand he flew towards Sekai, poised to strike with both blades.
"So irritating. You recovered already?"
"I wanted to chill for a bit longer, but I can't stand knowing that a teammate took such a body blow."
Sekai felt the push of the blades leave as the Scorpion blades shattered before him.
Toby had activated Headfirst Fall, moved behind him and thrown a speed-filled kick.
He felt himself move through the air.
.
Toby watched Sekai crash into the rubble of the main shrine he had once been in.
"Toby-kun..."
"I'm going to need your help, so right yourself, Hoshi! If we're going to be fighting him then we need as much firepower as we can get!"
A noise came from the main shrine.
Unlike Sekai's initial strike, Toby couldn't provide enough power to bury the man under the building.
With a simple push to the fallen structure he was back to standing up.
"Hah. So irritating."
"I plan to be as irritating as possible until I lose!"
Mental fatigue was something different from physical fatigue, he knew that all to well. If Hoshi had worn herself mentally then it would take a bit for her to right herself for this fight.
That left him to fight for the moment.
His two blades moved through the air, something so simple that he hadn't thought of doing in some time.
Each strike had been blocked or dodged. His reflexes kept him moving but an opening never came.
Sekai was someone who always covered his weaknesses and never gave an opponent a moment to exploit anything. It was something he had realized here.
There was nothing to be done as he used the sheathed Kōgetsu as both an offense and defense. Doing something like that meant he wasn't actively using any Triggers, saving his trion, and fighting fully prepared for anything. There was only person who he could compare this too.
Yuki.
His former captain was someone who did similar things to conserve trion and information while fighting, but this was something else. The difference in their skills, power, technique, and movements were far different.
By this point his former captain would have had to started using Triggers to fight, but Sekai was only using them to push him and Hoshi back. The only thing he seemed to need here was that sheathed Kōgetsu.
So it shook him up when he tried to attack and saw that sheathed Kōgetsu moving towards him.
He stalled.
Damn! Taking on multiple people at once is one thing for me, but having this much pressure from a single person is just crazy! Even fighting people like Ai and Yōsuke isn't anything like this!
There was only one fight he could remember that came close to this one.
One where he felt so excited and willing to move.
But there was a difference between those two as well.
There had been a fight involving him and two of his teammates against a large Neighbor in the underground. It had been a tough fight, but they had managed to defeat that Neighbor by showing off some teamwork that they rarely showed.
That Neighbor had been large and powerful, enough to excite and scare him upon first meeting. As things moved along he felt the fear die down as excitement filled him. His movements during that time had gotten a bit lighter once he knew he had his teammates there to help him.
This was different.
The excitement was dying down and he was feeling pressure from every movement. His actions became heavier and there was only a single person here to help him. That person was also currently dealing with the mental strain of having to fight this man.
He came to a realization when he thought about his current situation.
This was what a former A-Rank could do.
Someone who had dropped down to B-Rank. It was not due to lack of ability, rather, something else had happened to drop him down here.
He would use everything he could here to see exactly where he stood with these people.
So with a start he shattered one of the blade in his hand and disappeared. He made sure to time it right to where Sekai wouldn't be able to see his line of sight as he activated Teleport.
But...
"Kh!"
The end of the sheathed Kōgetsu rammed into his stomach the moment his teleportation was complete.
Sekai hadn't even turned around to look at him.
Countering my teleportation! What reflexes!
Toby needed his Side Effect for that.
Sekai naturally had such reflexes.
It was terrifying to think about.
So he thought less about it.
Tossing himself into the air, he created a cube of trion that split into multiple pieces.
Each one was shot down.
Sekai faced them head-on.
Obishima could see it from where she stood in the trees.
The two Kotowari Squad members were fighting against the Hikigane Squad captain and were losing.
It slightly scared her to know that the Hikigane Squad Captain was doing all fo this without even using any offensive Triggers or unsheathed Kōgetsu.
She had only meant to use the shrine as a shortcut to get to the main location where her captain was fighting. She had been placed the furthest from others and so took more time to regroup or find anyone else.
But now that she had found someone...
...What do I do?
She had Bagworm on, but moving could easily alert the ones currently fighting.
Gudako: "You need to speak around them and not catch their attention. Use the louder sounds to try and get around them."
Polished Place: "Hikigane-san is too observant of his surroundings to let that happen. Damn, for you to come across them like that...!"
Her own captain was not checking with her to see what she could do here and instead was lamenting on her situation. That alone made her worry for her situation.
The noises in the distance continued as the snow on the pathway was tossed aside, revealing the path itself.
She was surprised by how long the Kotowari Squad Attacker was lasting before remembering that the Hikigane Squad Captain had yet to attack with Triggers.
It's not that he's holding his own, it's more like...Hikigane-san hasn't finished him off yet.
For some reason the Hikigane Squad Captain chose not to bring out any Trigger that would finish his two opponents.
The way he acted didn't give him the appearance of someone who enjoyed messing with others, and the records had shown that he would readily take others out. So why was he acting like this now?
Polished Place: "Obishima, move-"
Obi-nyan: "I want to help them."
Polished Place: "You will lose for nothing!"
Obi-nyan: "He looks like he is refusing to take out Awdry-senpai and Hoshi! If the same happens with me then it means we can at least hold things out for all fo you to fight the others without worrying about him!"
Polished Place: "..."
There was no guarantee that she could do anything here, but it didn't mean that she couldn't be dragged into the fight. If he was caught before leaving then that would be that.
But they were also saying that she would be noticed if she moved away.
So she had made up her mind.
Tono: "Kotowari Squad could target you while this happens."
She trusted in what she knew of the two fighting here.
Gudako: "Fighting someone like him could put some strain on you."
That already came with fighting as things were.
Polished Place: "Obishima?"
Obi-Nyan: "Yes?"
Polished Place: "Do you think you can accomplish something there?"
That was where she had to think for a moment.
The question that was currently most important for her to answer.
And what she came up with...
Obi-Nyan: "I'm not sure, but..."
But.
Obi-Nyan: "I will do what I can while not giving anything up and making sure not to be in the way, sir!"
Polished Place: "Then hurry up and go already!"
He really is the same.
Minoru hummed as he watched the match.
Gambler: "That guy really needs to decide on what to do here. This is just cruel to those two."
GM Aide: "Knowing him, he might just be seeing if they will leave him alone. ...But this really does seem bad."
It was hard to deny what they were saying when he knew it was true.
From the corner of his eye he could see Michelle pouting on Denji's lap.
Ah, you're mad at Sekai, aren't you?
She nodded her head, confirming that she was listening to their thoughts.
Deer Prince: "That's most likely what it is. He had always been pretty...relaxed during our own fights with others, only getting directly involved when asked by someone."
Gambler: "Just come out and say he was lazy as hell."
GM Aide: "As his former teammates, do you think he will get to taking them out?"
The hall became eerily quiet at that.
The silence is killer...
It was a bad choice on Sawamura's part to say that, but he was at fault for speaking the way he did.
The only thing moving within the hall was the screen in front of them and Michelle, who was looking around at the suddenly quiet hall.
What broke the silence first was a loud noise behind them all and in one of the observation rooms.
A faint noise of "WHAT THE HELL!?" could be heard in that room.
Then the noise broke through.
Shouts from all around could be heard as people yelled out their thoughts on what had just been said.
Making sure he was right in his assumption, Minoru turned to see Denji covering Michelle's ears and not caring about the chaos going on around them.
Gambler: "Hey, hey, can you two not do things like that? Do you know how much hate I would have gotten if I was the one to say it?"
It was true. If Denji had been the one to out them as teammates then there would have been at least two people mad at him for it. The fact it had been Sawamura to do it only brought the chaos with it.
In a way, this was a nice win that turned into something he regretted.
Hoshi watched as Sekai walked back over to her. In the distance she could see Toby pinned to some of the rubble from the main shrine.
It was only when he was directly in front of her that she got to see his expression.
Sekai had never changed his expression the entire time he had been fighting them.
"You still don't seem to understand that I've been going easy on you? Hah. If I wanted, I could have taken you both out and left you with no way of fighting in this match. If you won't leave this place now... Should I continue until you decide to just force your own Bail Out?"
If they simply left him here then they would still be able to help their other two teammates. No points would be lost because of them and they would have a chance of gaining their own points.
But that wasn't what she wanted.
It was completely pointless and foolish for them to continue this fight when their opponent was giving them so many chances to leave. They were either not worth his time or he was simply being kind to them. But that was not what mattered.
I am putting too much heart into fighting, I know that.
We should retreat now and help Takeshi-kun and Suzume-senpai, I know that.
They would not reprimand us for that, I know that.
But...
She didn't want that.
There was no reason to fight here, and there was no one to try and keep pace with anymore, but that was why she didn't want to walk away from this.
Everything she was doing here was because she wanted to do it.
She was selfishly deciding to fight here.
"In that case, get ready."
Her opponent had seen that from her attitude here and was responding accordingly.
He lifted his sheathed Kōgetsu to strike.
And while bringing it down...
"—"
Something came in.
.
Sekai noticed it immediately and reacted by bringing up a shield and jumping back.
Trion bullets had been fired from somewhere.
Someone moved out from the trees, already in a movement to strike.
"Yukari!"
The small body of Yuba Squad's All-Rounder rushed him with Kōgetsu already going to attack him.
Behind her came a volley of bullets.
He knew her skill level by this point and knew that she wasn't able to perform a rush attack and time her bullets this perfectly.
But there had been someone behind her.
So he thinks that it's better to help her here than to take her out.
Kotowari Squad was a team build on their emotions, wants, and selfish desires. That meant that they would fight if they wanted to, regardless of their chances of winning, and would repay any favor in full, if not adding extra.
In that sense, they were the perfect squad to work side-by-side with Yuba Squad.
This was proof enough.
Obishima was rushing him with her Kōgetsu, trying to keep him busy. While this happened, Toby would support her from behind, giving him no breathing room with well-timed Hound shots.
But...
That's not enough.
For each swing of Kōgetsu he would block it with his own sheathed one. Each Hound was pushed aside by his shields. The amount of room he had to move was still more than enough that he could be lazy with his actions, never once thinking that he was in any real danger.
At least for now.
"...?"
Then something landed.
It was only his clothes, but something had managed to scrape his side.
He was normally hyper aware of his surroundings, especially during a fight, but something had come through and nicked him.
Yuki's sister, huh?
She had seen his relaxed fighting and taken her own shot.
I really have gotten lazy with this match, haven't I?
No, that wasn't it.
He had always had a difficult time raising his hand against children. With three of them standing their ground here, he could only lament over his situation and hold himself back from destroying them at any chance he had.
It was one of his flaws. But one he had been praised for before.
.
I would rather have Yasuko-ane say kind things about me than go back to how I used to be.
He didn't deserve that praise, but he had still received it.
All of his previous actions had been praised, but they were all hollow praise for a job he was always supposed to do.
Even if former teammates had said nice things about him, they felt like words only meant as polite comments or facts.
But there had been someone who praised him for how he was instead of the actions he took. His flaw that he had wanted to hold onto no matter what others thought about it.
In the end, holding onto the flaw of his had brought him to one of Border's directors, introduced him to a squad, then came with sincere praise that had him speechless. By the time he accepted that praise, a child other than his niece had become important to him. Someone else he could only think to protect.
Now that flaw was coming back up, dulling his senses during a fight. These three children were fighting against him and putting up as much of a fight as they could muster.
He was still above them, even after all of that.
They were still children so weak that he was dulling and holding himself back so that he would not go against his own flaw.
Ah... This is seriously irritating. Times like this make me wish to be like Denji. That guy has problems, but he's always free in what he does and how he does it.
Telling him as much would only be more irritating so it would remain only in his thoughts.
But it did nothing for his current situation.
Life: "Hey, am I patched through? Yeah? Whoo! Cool! Hey, hey, Sei-chan! You look like you're having fun here!"
WorTri: "What do you want, idiot? I'm busy here."
Life: "I was just going to tell you about something that happened to me today! I met someone special today!"
WorTri: "I don't care about who you decided to harass."
Life: "That's not it this time."
He still didn't care, but Jinsei continued anyway.
Life: "I met this super nice lady before meeting up in our room today. She was seriously something else, not saying anything about my usual jokes and even laughed as some of the ones I thought were pretty bad."
WorTri: "Get to the point already. You're so damn irritating."
Life: "Fine, fine. When I was talking to her, she found out that I'm on the same squad as you. She asked me a lot about you and we started walking to the base. By the time we got to the base she told me that she was going to be watching our match. So you need to look good here."
He already had an idea on who he was talking about.
More than anything, he wished that Jinsei was messing with him this time.
Life: "She wanted me to pass on a message to you."
If she was asking something from him, there would be no chance for him to deny it.
Jinsei holding out on telling him meant that he planned on using this if he got in a situation like this. One that could affect him both in the match and outside of the match.
This would be something that could change the entirety of the match.
Life: "Directly from Yasuko-san, 'Tell Sekai to do his best. I will be rooting for you all during the match.'"
He had no choice now.
.
It was amazing to see how Yukari was able to keep attacking Sekai with a steeled resolve.
Toby had started helping her as soon as he could, so she followed his lead here.
JK: "If you two move in close to fight then you might end up fighting against Obishima-chan. Keep your distance and keep supporting with your attacks. He looks like he's losing more focus as the fight goes on, so you might be able to stall him out here."
Lobo: "I don't like this style, but we don't have a choice here. Yukari coming in when she did was helpful, so we need to make sure to help her back as much as we can. Don't let up for a moment."
Shooting Star: "Right!"
She was already planning on doing that for the sole fact that she would be helping a friend who had just helped her.
So she used what she had to attack here.
Each attack was meant to further corner Sekai, moving him into a position that would make it hard for him to counter and fight back.
But even that was difficult at this point. More of their attacks seemed to be getting through as he focused less with the battle going on, but nothing had been a direct hit. Each attack from Kōgetsu and each attack from their shots only scrapped him by. More than that, he had yet to use any other Trigger than Shield.
After all of this, he was still able to hold them off while sustaining minimal damage and using small amounts of trion.
During all of this, she noticed something.
Yukari was attacking differently during this.
Shooting Star: "Yukari isn't fighting like she normally does."
Lobo: "It's because she's using a more charging force than switching between moving forward and backwards. It's less like how she fights with Yuba Squad and looks like it's more suited for fighting with us."
JK: "Hoshi-chan, you've been training with her, right?"
Shooting Star: "Ah, not really? We tend to get involved with the Triggers or are simply relaxing. We have exchanged stories of our squads before, but we really do minimal training."
Still...
Lobo: "Even that could be enough. She knows how we fight because we've fought Yuba Squad before, but you telling her even more probably gave her a better understanding of how we do things. Hoshi, have you figured out how we really do things by now?"
She liked to believe that she has, but Toby was saying that there was something she was missing here. Yukari had found it out and it was working in their favor, but she had yet to do so.
Instead of wasting time on thinking about it, she selfishly asked about it.
Shooting Star: "I don't think I have. What exactly do you all do?"
JK: "I'm super proud of you for asking!"
But that wasn't important.
Lobo: "We focus on what we're good at when working with others."
That made sense.
When she thought about it, she could see how that was the truth. When working as individuals, they would tend to add in whatever they could to their fights. But when working together, each member had focused on their strengths and let the others cover for that.
Yukari had seen that was using it to their advantage here.
She and Toby were using their Shooter-type Triggers to support while Yukari focused on the charging attacks that were unlike her. Even if they were on opposing squads, she was trusting in them to continue being how they are.
That was enough for her.
Hoshi moved around the area, circling behind the sword fight so that she could get a better look at things.
From there she could see just how she wanted to attack.
.
Obishima felt pride in not only herself but for Hoshi and her resolve here. The selfish want from her friend came through clearly as she continued her charging attacks. Each one was focused on full offense that was meant to resemble her captain's attack at a closer range.
This sort of attack was unlike her, but it was something that Kotowari Squad excelled in when working together. A relentless attack meant to put pressure and force behind each strike, leaving the opponent little time to react and only have defense as an option. It was mostly done by their Attacker, but she had seen something similar before by someone else.
And yet...
"So strong..."
Her opponent was still taking little damage and using small amounts of trion.
She understood that the Hikigane Squad Captain was not someone who you could just beat on a whim. Her own captain always had trouble fighting him when serious, yet he had not gotten serious at all against her. That fact hurt more since she could not reach him beyond his defenses.
Then she felt it.
It was only for a single action, but she felt some push when her attack connected.
Unlike the simple blocks he had been using this one felt like he was actively going against her, threatening to attack her.
It shook her for a moment.
She hesitated and had to move back as he used that moment to swing his sheathed Kōgetsu.
"Hah... I guess that's that. I don't have an option anymore. Sorry, but you already missed your chances to leave me alone and keep fighting. Are you all fine with that?"
Something had changed.
None of them said anything and Obishima prepared herself for the next attack. She could not directly contact Hoshi or her teammate, so she could only trust that they would help her when she went to attack.
If he was starting to get serious then it meant they had to do something right now before he actively went after them all.
Holding Kōgetsu at her side, she prepared.
The next attack would use a heavily offensive Trigger instead of just the blade to attack.
Gudako: "What are you doing!?"
It was worrying to hear Fujimaru say that, but it would only make her hesitate here.
She needed to be ready to move the instant she released her attack. If the two Kotowari Squad members helped then it only meant she needed to move fast.
So with a start, she attacked.
Senkū!
She released her attack.
Gudako: "Yukari, wait!"
She couldn't wait.
She rushed forward the moment she had attacked with Senkū.
Multiple lights shone around her. It was somewhat blinding, but it didn't stop her from moving forward.
Gudako: "Don't use strong attacks against him! Yukari!"
"—!?"
By the time the warning reached her, it was too late.
"Responder."
Sekai had already begun to move.
.
It was only a moment that it all happened.
A three-layered shield appeared between the cutting power and Sekai.
It rotated violently as it fanned out to create three walls on the right, left, and center of his vision.
The trion bullets coming from the right and left crashed with the shields, but did not shatter them. No cracks appeared and nothing moved them at all.
The center shield held strong against the cutting power and gained nothing from fighting back. Each one held strong as they rotated.
Unlike attacks before, this did not even create a veil of snow. The space was clear and they could all see Sekai as he faced forward.
Directly towards the running Obishima.
A light traced then tore through the air as the three rotating shields shattered into fragments before solidifying once more. They moved in three directions before converging onto a single point.
That point was Obishima.
A blade had cut through the air, piercing her right in the chest and halting her charge. The shields closed in, slamming into her and holding her in place.
Sekai made the next move himself.
He grabbed the blade in her chest.
With a single pull, the blade tore through her body at came up through her left shoulder.
Obishima's Trion Supply System had been damaged.
She did not seem to register what had happened as cracks appeared along her body. Each one of them started from the damaged areas before fully covering her body.
And...
Bail Out.
Gambler: "Looks like Sekai finally decided to get involved."
Deer Prince: "That's worrying in its own right..."
There was a slight commotion in the hall as everyone watched how Sekai had defeated Obishima. There were complaints about his roughness with the situation, but none of the commentators said anything about it.
They knew that this was just a matter of course.
There was no real beauty in fighting, so seeing something this this should not be an issue.
But among the crowd they could hear some other voices.
"What did he just do...?"
"It was hard to really keep up, but I understand what happened. Still, that doesn't explain the speed at which he did it all. I thought there were limits to activation for Triggers and their uses. So how did he...?"
"Urg... That guy still sends shivers down my spine. And not the good kind. How did Kurosaki even deal with him?"
As Sekai's former teammates, they understood what this was and understood why other skilled people would be confused.
After all, Sekai had done something that required more from a person than normally possible.
GM Aide: "It's still amazing to see him pull something like that off when he gets truly involved in a fight."
Gambler: "Out of everyone in our squad, he always was the one who could mentally organize and react best to sudden situations. I don't hate to admit it, especially since it's him, but that's something even I can't do."
Deer Prince: "Denji likes to use power to make up for it, and I can move how I want, but Sekai is the one who can mange multiple things in rapid succession. It doesn't all happen at once, but he manages to make it seem like that's the case."
GM Aide: "In another sense, it can be called his real counter."
That was right.
They had seen it before while fighting against or beside him.
Deer Prince: "It's a full counter meant to disrupt an attack and use the slight moment after attacking to take out the opponent. It doesn't matter how skilled someone is, there will always be a moment after attacking that can be exploited. The bigger the attack, the bigger the moment is. That's why using big attacks or finisher attacks is a terrible idea against Sekai."
Gambler: "You can call it an inverse attack. He's the best at countering and defending, as far as I know, so this only goes to show that. You either want to use small attacks or just don't attack at all. But even that doesn't do anything if he decides to attack for himself."
There was no winning in situations like that.
And now Obishima and Kotowari Squad had seen that for themselves.
GM Aide: "Regardless, that is a point for Hikigane Squad and a member lost for Yuba Squad."
The way Michelle shifted on Denji's lap had caught their attention, but none of them said anything about it. Doing so might have caused a bit more of a scene.
With the screens still playing they needed to focus on the match and on the ones who now had a new fight on their hands.
"That makes one. That just leaves..."
Toby and Hoshi froze for a moment.
The first one Sekai turned to was Toby. He had ben the one more experienced here and could put up a fight.
"Last chance. Leave me alone and run away, or stay here and lose. Hah."
"Ha. Sorry, but I don't even think I have the mental capacity to try and run away from you. I don't like turning my back on people like you."
"In that case..."
A sound reached him. It was the sound of Kōgetsu being prepared.
"I refuse to be blamed for anything that will happen from here on out."
.
JK: "Lobo, you two need to run away now!"
The pride Hoshi have shown must have worn off from the panic in Suzuka's tone.
Toby couldn't help the bitter smile that appeared with that.
It was only the start of the match, they had been toyed with, and now they had no chance of winning.
But what's with this guy!? He's super tough and doesn't even try for anything!
His instincts were telling him that running was the best choice, but also something he shouldn't do. His reflexes were moving him away from here, but he couldn't move. Everything was causing him to stall here, leaving him open to be attacked.
Even with how he normally was he knew that he was still smart when compared to the average person. Others had told him before that he was actually a genius.
Yet.
Yet... Yet...
It wasn't there.
Why? Why can't I see the answer, when I'm doing everything I can to think of it!?
He could only stare as Sekai moved forward with his hand on Kōgetsu's hilt.
The distance was closing and he was losing time to activate any Triggers.
Then he saw it.
Someone was standing beyond the man.
It was Hoshi.
Shooting Star: "Toby-kun, we will continue to fight."
It was strange to hear that from her.
Lobo: "What are you trying to say!? We don't stand a chance against this guy!"
Sekai turned his head to look at Hoshi.
Something appeared within Hoshi's hand, signaling the activation of a Trigger.
Toby scoffed at himself.
...I really did let him get to me. If I'm saying things like that here then I'm really just hopeless as a fighter.
He gave a sigh.
"You really decided to put your pride on me, didn't you? Oh, well."
Two Scorpion blades quickly formed in his hands.
His stance was lowered and his arms were held out.
His teammate was still fighting. So as someone who made decisions based on emotion and thought he prepared for this fight.
"Then I guess it's my duty to protect you!"