Minoru heard two distinct noises to his right and left.

The first was a sigh from Sawamura.

And the second...

"Hey now, don't go pinching me like that."

"(Why did you say those kinds of things!?)"

"Did you fully understand what I said?"

"(Well...most of it.)"

"(Then don't worry about it. There isn't anything I actually said that wasn't nee-...)"

Minoru raised a brow as Denji suddenly stopped and stood up.

He had a tight, but not painful, grip on Michelle as he stood up and turned around.

Holding her to his chest, he smiled and began to wave off to the back.

Deciding to look at who he was waving to, Minoru went slightly wide eyed when he saw Yasuko and Mogami waving back. Behind them was Ketsueki, making sure to not make eye contact with them.

Everyone around they had started whispering about the entire situation. Along with that, the whispers continued from what happened before.

...Oh yeah, they know about us being former teammates now. That might be why Ketsueki is trying to look away.

He wasn't embarrassed, but no one else knew that he had been their final member. Keeping that a secret also meant that the Tamakoma Branch would have less eyes on it for that reason alone.

"You aren't going to wave to Yassan?"

"I plan on having a conversation with her after this."

"She's leaving right now."

"Then you aren't going to her?"

Denji shrugged nonchalantly.

This had always been something that confused Minoru about the man to his side.

Whenever I think he's going to do something, he does the opposite. But every time I think he's going to do the opposite, he does exactly what I would think.

Michelle never said anything about his thoughts, meaning it was just how things were. Denji's entire personality was twisted and something he was never sure of, but seeing him at times like today made it feel like there was more.

Something was there that he could never see.

All he could do about it was deal with it and hope it didn't cause trouble for others.

"Thank you both for helping here. Although...I didn't expect that girl to appear. Or for Denji to be kind to her."

"Hm? Of course I'd be nice. I'd be in so much trouble if I did anything against her. Besides that..."

Denji shook his head and gave his usual grin.

"I guess it doesn't matter at this point. If I'm feeling like this then it's a good thing that Yassan and Yoshiko are leaving right now."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I wonder..."

Denji's expression didn't change.

Minoru looked to Michelle to see if she had anything to say, but she only had furrowed brows while pinching Denji's cheek.

"W'll an'w'ys, 'm g'nna go h'r'ss s'me p'ple and ', t'k'n' th's 'ne w'th me."

"Hah. Do you have to continue speaking like that? I don't want Michelle to learn any of those bad habits."

"(I won't!)"

"You never know with this guy."

She nodded to him, so it was probably safe that she wouldn't start talking like him.

He still worried, though.

I should see if Pyrínas can do anything if it comes up.

"(He's making sure I don't copy Denji!)"

One of the few times he forgot that she could read minds.

"Oh yeah," Denji began again. "Before I forget. Tell that guy who goes to the Tamakoma Branch a lot to make sure their new guy is careful. I don't want to have to move as someone who is unneeded. Got it?"

"What are you-"

Before he could finish, Denji was already halfway up the stairs. The amount of steps he had taken felt off, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

Minoru gave another sigh while standing up. He thought about Denji's words and could only think of one person he could have been talking about.

But how does he know that Maki goes there so much?

It would have been one thing if he knew Maki more, but there was no clear connection between the two of them.

There was no way he could know about the connection Maki had to that branch.

This seemed to just be another thing that Minoru found himself disliking about Denji.

He seems to always know things he shouldn't. And..

Unlike other things, this directly involved a member of his squad.

.

From his spot near the back, Ketsueki carefully watched the interaction between his two former teammates. He wasn't able to pick up on what they were talking about, and sometimes he would lose sight of them due to the small crowds, but he knew that it was something he would like be involved with if not careful.

Both Yasuko and Mogami had left by now, but he had decided to stay in order to watch those two former teammates.

It was only after Denji had left the hall did something happen.

His phone buzzed.

Pulling out the device, he looked to see that it had been Denji himself to message him.

Gambler: "Did you enjoy people watching?"

Myth: "I was only making sure that everything was alright."

Gambler: "It made you look like a stalker."

For all of his flaws, Ketsueki liked to think he was able to handle Denji's personality well enough.

His lack of reaction was proof enough.

Gambler: "Anyway, can you really say that anything is alright when you're in the Tamakoma Branch?"

Myth: "That should make my job of keeping everything in check even more important. Why do you bring that up?"

Gambler: "Don't be stupid. You know exactly why I bring that up."

Myth: "..."

Gambler: "No comment? Fine. Then I'll only say that you people have become too relaxed after having the albino join you lot. Keeping another is fine and all, but I know how these things turn out. I saw what happened during enlistment, and just looking at what happened with the other match is enough to tell me everything I need to know. You people need to watch yourselves."

Myth: "The advice is appreciated."

Gambler: "It's not advice. I just don't want to do any cleanup because you people are fucking idiots."

Denji's anger came through all too clearly. His expression was likely light, but that only made it worse.

He knew that the Tamakoma Branch had people like Jin and their director there, meaning they knew what they were doing. That sort of freedom came with something that Denji seemed to never like.

The problem was...

I never know what exactly he does not like. ...They all like to keep those sorts of things to themselves. Things that should really come out. They should know by now that they could tell us about those sorts of things.

But only their former Operator had been able to get that kind of information out of any of them.

"Hah... It really is a shame. I would have liked to have gotten close to them. I suppose some things are just not possible."

"Hah. I guess he did end up doing more than even I expected here."

"Was Captain-san always that capable?"

"Honestly...I have no clue. He's always been like this since I met him. What about you, Asu-chan?"

"It's the same for me."

Sekai turned on the mat he landed on.

The commentary was over, but he didn't think anything of it. Denji was likely to hunt him down, but it wasn't anything he was worried about.

Like Jinsei had said: he had done more than anyone had expected. The amount of work he had put into the match was something he was not proud of, and something he wanted to forget about already.

So he slightly curled in on himself and kept his eyes closed.

Imagines of the past came flooding in, but he remained motionless. They were memories of things he didn't want to remember, and times he thought should have already been left behind.

But none of them left him.

Because of his own stupidity, others had gotten a view of what he wanted to forget. Something he only ever wanted his former squad to know about.

And yet...

"Hey, Captain-san. Good job out there."

He opened an eye to see the brat bent down to look him directly in the eyes.

The only thing he could do was cover his eyes lazily and blink.

"Captain-san?"

"You're expression is creepy. Don't look at me like that."

"Oh? I didn't know I could make expressions like that."

"Hah. It's because you can't that makes it so creepy. Don't try and be expressive when you barely understand yourself."

"I see," he said. "Well, in that case, can I say something?"

He didn't want to hear anything. Especially if it involved the match.

"What do you want now?"

"I think that you were very...cool?"

"...Why was that a question?"

The brat gave a slight hum as he stood up.

Sekai closed his eyes again, thinking the conversation was over.

"Because there are a lot of words that could describe how you are. But during that match... Yes, I am sure. You really showed me why exactly you are my captain, why I have no issues with being on your squad, and just what it takes to be an A-Rank agent. Thank you very much for this opportunity."

The fact this brat didn't know how to joke like that only made it worse.

It only went to make Sekai curl in a bit more into himself.

Sleep was the only thing that felt nice to him at this point.

"...Hah. I'm nothing special. Don't think that I can do much of anything, got it?'

And...

"Don't talk like you know what it feels like to be unsure of someone else."

It was harsh of him to say that after everything the brat was trying to do, but it was how he saw things.

There were people all around him that were moving and play active parts in his life. They helped him and understood his situation.

But for him...

"Hm... That is true. I am never truly unsure of people. That may be because I know the people around me are just trustworthy people.

"Eh!? Even me, Dai-chan!? You trust me toooo!?"

"Yes. I trust you to continue being a nuisance to others and putting on performances that no one has asked for. Yes. Good job, Vice-Captain-san."

"Gah! So harsh! Too harsh! Who taught you those kinds of things!?"

"Arafune-san, Kimura-san, and Kon-san. They have been very helpful."

"I knew it!"

The brat learning those kinds of things was dangerous. But if he was directing them only at Jinsei then it would be fine.

But to what he said...

It must be nice to have that kind of naïve faith in people.

Even if he couldn't express it, the brat was clearly happy with his situation.

If he was happy and the people around him were happy then it meant there was nothing for him to do.

The happiness of everyone else was what came before any of his wants or needs.

...Yeah. That's why being needed is irritating. Being so unneeded is-

"You have a lively squad, Sekai."

His eyes opened with a start.

.

Daigo watched as his captain shot up from his laying down position and stood at attention. His eyes were more wide and there was no relaxation in his posture.

It was unlike what he knew of his captain.

And the reason for this reaction was...

"Oh, hello there. We haven't been properly. I am Yasuko Schneider. It's nice to meet the rest of Sekai's squad."

"Girikage Daigo. It is nice to meet you as well. And..."

He looked beyond the heterochromatic woman to see a blond foxlike woman. Next to her was someone he recognized.

The foxlike woman placed a finger to her lips in order to keep him quiet. He understood that much.

"And I apologize if you have met our Vice-Captain-san already."

"Hey!"

"No need to apologize. He is a fun person to be around," she said without any hesitation. She was a true saint if she was able to put up with their vice-captain.

Her eyes moved from him to his captain behind him.

He moved to the side so that she could properly speak to him.

"Now then..."

She took a few stride forward and raised her hand.

Am I about to witness a true non-mother mother-like reaction? Praise maybe?

It would be interesting, but he hardly knew this woman and her connection to his captain. This action could mean just about anything.

But there was something he noticed along with this action.

...Captain-san isn't moving.

If he thought it was something against him then he would have taken action already.

Then he saw it.

"Care to explain what that final moment was about?"

She started pinching his cheek.

His captain remained silent.

"You had been doing so well up until that point. Why would you go back to your old habits at a time like that?"

Seeing his captain saying nothing and not stopping her was a sight to behold.

Their vice-captain seemed to be quietly speaking with the foxlike woman, but it was hard to hear what they were saying.

"Michelle had been watching the entire fight. I would image that she is not pleased with what happened. You will probably need to apologize to her later. Oh, but she is enjoying some time with Denji at the moment, so try not to go right now. Even she would have trouble making sure the two of you don't do something."

"...Yes, ma'am."

"Hey now, there is no need for that."

"Of course...Yasuko-ane."

Was it just him or did his captain just turn into a delinquent? Seeing this side of him was strange as it was, but that only added to it.

This woman made an immediate action after smiling at the name.

She cupped his captain's cheeks.

"Very good. Now then, I came by to tell you that it was a good match. Denji had some...words about it, but I think you did a fine job out there. It is good to see that you were watching out for your teammate as well. I am proud of you for that."

"I really wasn't..."

"Hm?"

"...He...was able to take care of himself. So I..."

This was probably a good time to intervene.

His captain looked uncomfortable talking about him, so he raised a hand and spoke.

"Pardon the intrusion. Captain-san was my saving grace. I appreciated him coming in when he did. He was my knight in explosive, shining, and possible erotic, armor."

"Oh?"

"You brat...!"

The noise by the door wasn't any better.

"He really said that! Dai-chan really said something like that! Right! Asu-chan, we have a mission! We need to tell Hisa and Yoshi-chan to dress up in our squad's uniform! That will really get Dai-chan onto them!"

"It would be nice to get something for the next deadline. Fine, I'll message them right now."

"No need for that, Operator-san. Both Hisato and Hanzaki have already told me that they will be coming to pick me up."

"Then I'll have everything ready for their Triggers."

"That would be appreciated."

A chorus of "Ooooohhhh!" could be heard outside of the door. Worrying about that at this point would be meaningless.

His captain seemed to think otherwise.

"Hey, who else is there?"

The woman gave a nice laugh as she guided his captain towards the door.

Daigo moved back another step to let the two of them through and waved to the ones at the door.

The first to react was the one he recognized most.

"Sekai!"

.

Everyone watched the Nasu Squad Sniper leap forward in a rush.

Sekai was quick to open his arms and grab hold of her. It took no strength to balance them out so neither one of them would fall over.

"I couldn't watch all of it, but I got to see the last part of your fight! You were great!"

"That wasn't... You aren't still mad at me?"

She shook her head into his chest and looked up at him with a smile.

"I got over being mad at you after that, but you kept staying away from me!"

"You shouldn't do that, Sekai."

"Ko ko ko. What a foolish boy he is. I would smack you right now if not for the current situation."

Everyone seemed to be having a good time hitting him for his choices today.

As the one to bring up the possibility of having Akane and her parents move after the large-scale invasion, he had been worried that she would hate him the entire time.

So his only response was to look away. When he did, the idiot got into his field of vision.

He turned away again, but the idiot moved to smile directly at him again.

He glared at the idiot and reached out to grab his head.

The idiot moved back enough for him to miss, knowing he couldn't do anything unless he wanted to lose his current position.

"Hah... Well...are you fine, Akane? I would have thought you would be with someone other than..."

He looked up to glare at the smiling Yoshiko.

She responded by giving her signature laugh and placing her fan in front of her mouth.

"Is something the matter? I have been having a great time speaking with your niece here. She is just a good girl. Very much unlike her uncle."

"Of course she is. Akane is great. I just don't like having someone like you around her."

"And why is that?"

"So irritating... If I have to say it then it would be giving you a win."

"Ko ko ko. What an observant boy you are."

"I'm not a boy anymore."

"Then how about being a cautious boy?"

"I am described as a man now."

"Real men wouldn't hide from their nieces."

That shut him up right away.

The air between the two of them grew stiff with neither one backing down from what they had said.

Taking pity on him, Akane moved a step back, out of his arms. His arms seemed to want to reach out again, but were held back from doing so.

She continued to smile up at him as Yoshiko and Yasuko's soft laughter was heard in the room.

"Kumagai-senpai and some others were also watching, but they went to go see Kotowari Squad. I wanted to go to see Suzume-nee, but I also really wanted to come and see you!"

"You should have gone with them..."

"You don't want to see me?"

Sekai made a quick movement but stopped himself partway through. He moved his arm back to his side.

Yoshiko gave a hum from near the door and hid her expression behind her fan.

As for the others...

"Hey, help me out over here, Dai-chan."

"Very well."

The two moved closer to the uncle and niece duo. They rounded them, gaining everyone's attention.

Daigo moved over to Akane, gently moving her closer to Sekai.

The idiot grabbed one of Sekai's arms and moved it forward.

Once Akane was back within range, the idiot moved the arm around her shoulder before going for the other arm. He repeated this process and took a step back.

The two Hikigane Squad member looked at their handy work and brightened.

"Now then..."

The idiot nodded and cupped his mouth.

"'I'm sorry for being a bad uncle, Akane. Here, let me give you a hug. After this, we can spend the whole day together. I'll even let you invite those irritating friends you have...' is what he says."

"Oooooohhh. Very good, Captain-san. That is surely the way to earn some points from Hiura-san. But you forgot one thing."

"Oh, right! Ahem... 'Please start calling me Uncle, Akane.'"

"Both of you can go jump in sewage water."

The idiot jumped into the air with a grin.

"Yay! He didn't tell us to go die! We win this round, Dai-chan!"

"Yes. It is very nice to know that he only wants us to smell terrible."

Sekai could only sigh and relax into his hug with Akane.

Around him were the laughs of everyone else in the room.

"What a lively squad. I would have thought this boy would have had a dreary group, but it's nice to know that he's in such an energetic squad."

Yasuko found herself only nodding with the statement.

It was nice.

It was chaos.

"Stay away from me, you!"

"C'mere, c'mere, lil' pup!"

The chaos extended to the hallway outside of one of the rooms within the Border base.

Each time someone stepped on the floor it would reverberate and create an echo in the hall.

The ones making most of the noise were the Ikoma Squad Captain and Kotowari Squad Attacker. Both were in a tough fight wherein one would move forward while the other leaned back against each grab. This was the tempo set by the two of them in the hallway.

At the door to the room belonging to Kotowari Squad stood the rest of said squad and the Nasu Squad Attacker.

"So what's going on here?"

"Iko-san came by at mach speed and honestly went to pet Toby."

"So the same as usual."

"That's right," the Kotowari Squad Captain and Sniper said.

While this was going on the remaining members spoke to each other, ignoring what was going on outside of the room.

One was the Operator and the other was their support member.

"Yukari said that she wants to meet up, so I will be out for the rest of the day."

"Oh, gotcha, gotcha. Boss is calling me in for some things concerning the branch, so I guess my day's going to be totally spent on that too. It sucks, but I don't really have a choice here."

"I will make sure to get you all something nice while I am out."

"Thanks! You're the best, Hoshi-chan!"

They really didn't mind the noise outside of the room.

Although, their conversation did catch the attention of Kumagai.

"Hey, you mind if I tag along?"

"It should be no problem, but I will ask Yukari if that is fine. Please hold on a moment."

"Thanks."

Hoshi only needed to smile in response.

Kumagai nodded to the smile and turned back to the small chase going on in the hallway.

She spoke up over the noise.

"So what about the two of you? Do you have any plans after this?"

"Heh heh heh. What, do you honestly want me to go along with you?"

"I would rather you didn't. Curiosity is the really the only reason I'm asking."

"Then there isn't a need for me to answer. I suppose I can, though." The dancer girl did a small twirl and began to sway. "I will be going to meet up with some others. Hisa-kyun and Hanzaki-kun will probably be with Dai-chan, but there are still others I can go mess around with. Ken-kun said he wanted to hang out, and Taichi got done with his match, so I want to hear about that."

It made sense that she would be doing nothing particular after she had fun in her recent match.

That only left her captain to answer.

"I also don't have anything in mind. But if I had to decide... I might go to see how Shishō's match went. His squad was against Betsuyaku-senpai's squad and Okkun-senpai's squad. It would be nice to know what all happened there."

"I didn't know you were that close with Okudera."

"He's the only one of that duo who isn't high energy."

"Do you not like that?"

Takeshi remained silent. He lifted his scarf to hide his expression, but both girls knew that he was fine with it.

They smiled down at him and looked back to the chase.

"Koala is a good guy, no matter how loud he can get."

"...I don't dislike him."

"That's a good boy."

Kumagai patted Takeshi's head as a new noise got closer.

Ikoma had missed at trying to pet Toby's head and was now standing in front of them. It felt like he towered over Takeshi with his goggles covering his eyes and hiding them from sight.

Takeshi's only response was to look away and lift his scarf even more.

Then Ikoma opened his mouth.

"Alright, let's go then."

.

Takeshi blinked at the words directed towards him.

Everyone around him came to a stop. Toby could be seen behind Ikoma, staring with furrowed brows.

This was strange, even for the squad captain.

"I'm gonna kidnap Take-chan now."

Everything became quiet.

No sound came from anywhere.

Until...

"HUUUUUUUUUHHHH!?"

Kumagai was fast to pull him back while Suzume took a step forward, a smile on her face.

Toby rushed forward to stand between them all and the two in the room got up to see what was all happening.

"Y-y-y-you l-leave T-Take alone! (Alone!) Take is ours, so d-d-don't go trying to (take him away) like it's nothing! You hear me, Tatsuhito!?"

"Heh heh~ Even if it's you, don't think we won't fight you. Take is honestly someone we won't be giving to anyone."

He wanted to say something here but found that he couldn't move his scarf with Kumagai's arm wrapped around his neck. It wasn't suffocating, but it left little room for him to move.

Thankfully there was someone who was actually sane around.

She was nice to add to that.

"Do you plan on taking Takeshi-kun from us, Ikoma-san?"

"Yup! After our match today, I've decided that I'm gonna be taking Take-chan with me!"

"Your squad already has four Combatants, doesn't it?"

"It does. But we can make room for Take-chan. I was gonna show off how cool he is during the match, but he ended up doing it without any help. Plus, I wanna make sure he stays away from that idiot Musashi."

That name.

Takeshi halted at hearing that name. After all, it was the name of...

"You met my brother..."

Ikoma gave a strangely solemn nod.

"Another family member from our squad that we need to hit?"

"Yeah. The guy's a douche. Only reason I haven't punched him in the face is 'cause Chisato was doin' a good job at that already. I didn't like the guy since he was goin' against Border during the sponsors issue, but now I just hate him for the way he talks 'bout Take-chan."

"What does he say?"

"Crap like-"

"Ikoma-san!"

Takeshi gently removed Kumagai's arm from around his neck and moved past his teammate. He stood in front of Ikoma, looking directly at him with his scarf pulled down.

He took a breath, knowing that his teammates were right behind him.

"I-"

A third noise reached them in an instant.

It was the sound of flesh hitting something hard.

Every turned to see three people down the hallway.

.

The noise Musashi made when hitting the wall was a solid and satisfying one. There was no blood, but Chisato didn't doubt that he would be feeling the pain for the rest of the day.

And the one who had delivered the first hit was the same man who had been holding back the entire time.

"Just to reiterate: you'll be fine, Kakizaki. I'll take responsibility for this guy getting hurt. He won't be able to lay a finger on you using his position in my parents' company."

"Thanks, Shiraishi," he said while shaking his hand.

The punch Kakizaki had given him had a lot of power behind it and she could tell that he had not held back in the slightest.

The anger on his face was clear as day, too.

"I'm real sick and tired of you speaking like that about him. Say anything like that again and you really will regret it."

Musashi looked like he was going to say something, but she stopped him before he could.

"Kakizaki is one of the more chill ones who would do something. Don't push your luck, because I won't be holding Tatsuhito back either."

"Urg... What even gives you people the right to hit me when Takeshi's my own brother."

"As a younger sister, I take a lot of offense to that."

"You're talking crap about my girlfriend now?"

Chisato felt an arm wrap around her shoulder and a weight press against her side.

She had known that there was and audience to the entire scene, but she believed that they would be fine with it.

How right she was.

"Didja get a good hit in, Kakizaki?"

"For all the stuff I had to hear during the match...not even close."

"Want me to get my own in there?"

"...Please stop."

More than Tatsuhito, the entire group that he had been with reached them to see what had happened.

Among that group was...

The younger brother.

This would be her first time meeting him. With him being right in front of her she could see just how different he was when compared to fighting on the screen. The way he held himself here was nothing like how he did while firing those white light beams and was nowhere near as intimidating as when he fired the Viper shots into the air.

Compared to the loud and brash Musashi, this boy was small and seemed to try to hide in his own clothes.

She felt like he was a good younger brother.

She wanted to say something to him, but he moved before she could.

He moved right in front of Musashi.

With Musashi still being on the ground he lowered himself into a crouch so that he was at eye level with his brother.

He doesn't want to make it seem like he's looking down at the idiot.

Maybe it was due to how they were as a family, or maybe it was just how he was, but she thought it was rather mature for him to do so.

"...It's been awhile, Musashi."

"Urg... Y-yeah. But you aren't going to call me 'Nii-san' like before?"

The younger brother shook his head.

"We aren't really that close, are we?"

"Then why are you down here?"

"Because I want to make sure that you're fine enough after that hit."

"Normal people would try and help someone up after getting hit."

"I can't touch you. We aren't that close, after all."

So that's how this conversation is going to go, she thought bitterly.

She would feel terrible if she were to ever say that to her own sisters.

"Musashi, why are you here? It would have been fine if you never came to see me."

"Would you believe me if I said it was because I care about you?"

"If that's what you said, then yes."

"I see... Takeshi, you're still always wrong. I guess I was right to come and see you."

Majority of the group made an action to move.

She made sure to stop Tatsuhito and Kakizaki from doing anything while the Kotowari Squad Operator and supporter did their part well.

As for the younger brother...

"Yeah. I'm still someone who is always wrong," he said with a bitter smile. "But..."

But.

"That's fine. I don't need you to be right for me. And it's also fine for me to always be wrong. Being wrong meant that I got to meet people who can deal with that wrongness and help me."

"So you don't want my help anymore?"

The younger brother shook his head.

"That's not it at all. But we aren't close enough to where I can accept that help. And we aren't close enough to where you can give that help as my brother. Honestly...I would prefer to have Tadakatsu or Yorishige here instead of you. The two of them didn't like me all too much, but they didn't like me in an honest way that only family can. You don't like me always being wrong since you're always right, but that's because it's how you are."

"So even if I think of you as a brother, you don't think of me as one?"

"If I did then I would be wrong in the worst way possible."

The younger brother stood back up and looked over to his teammates. In particular, he looked directly at the dancer girl and the wolf.

He lifted his scarf to hide his expression, but they could see it in his eyes.

It was all clear to them.

"Those two are old siblings who have younger siblings that love them completely. Tadakatsu and Yorishige loved you like that, but I don't. So that makes me wrong on so many levels. But that's fine," she shrugged. "I'll just be wrong and go to them instead. It's nice to at least see them interact with their siblings. And besides..."

He walked over and pointed a finger at the wolf. It got swatted away a moment later, but both boys were smiling.

"This guy has parents who are way worse than you. I need to focus on how to get back at them than try to be right in your eyes."

.

Are you sure this is how you want things to be?

Takeshi asked himself that as he moved back over with everyone else.

Musashi had stood up and began walking away without another word. The hand on his stomach was worrying, but it wasn't up to him to worry about that anymore.

He had already decided that it would be too right to help Musashi at this point.

This is really the most I've spoken at once. I'm pretty tired from it.

Laying down and taking a nap sounded like a good idea.

But there was no time for that as everyone crowed around him.

Multiple hands went to pat his head while others went for his back. Then there were the ones who hung back to just smile at him.

This amount of affection was something he wasn't used to, so...

"Pah!"

He turned red as the strange noise left his mouth.

And of course the dog had to be the first one to react to it.

"Hahaha! It's fine to be shy, Take! We'll be here the entire time to mess with you!"

"I would rather you left to go chase a cat or something."

"I'm not a dog!"

His actions proved him wrong.

"Hey, Kotowari."

"It's fine to use my first name, Kakizaki-san."

"Then feel free to be casual with me, too."

That felt like it was a bit much, but he would at least try.

But he was still trying to say something.

"I just wanted you to know that I forgive you."

Wait.

"Huh? What did you do to Zaki-san?"

That was something that he shouldn't have been forgiven for.

What he had done was something that both Kakizaki and Wagner should never forget or properly forgive him for.

"You-"

"I won't forget it. But I can forgive it. You've changed a lot from then, so I know how you feel about that. You can be sincere now and I know how much you're probably beating yourself up over it. Don't worry about it. That you and this you are different now."

Everyone else was wondering about what he meant, but Takeshi could only focus on the words themselves.

Kakizaki was forgiving him for something he couldn't forgive himself for.

Did this mean it was fine to get passed that?

No...

Kakizaki knew there was something else here, so he only gave a bitter smile.

"It's fine. You can make up with Wagner over it first, then decide what you want to do after that. How does that sound?"

"...It sounds...possible," he said while lowering his head. "Thank you, Kakizaki-san."

"Hey now, you're giving Misaki ideas by doing that."

"Heh heh heh~ You two already get one made from all of this. The angles here just make it easier for me."

That was always scary to think about. Giving Suzume less to work with was always right no matter who you asked.

"In any case... Ikoma-san, why are you picking me up?"

"I toldja that I'd be kidnapping you."

Takeshi blinked down as the area went quiet once more.

Only a moment later did everyone begin again.

The yelling from everyone had came so quickly that none of it made sense in his ears.

What he noticed in all the noise was that he was being placed over Ikoma's shoulder, giving him a full view of everything that was behind him.

"Hey Chisato, ya mind if I take him as our kid now?"

"Hm? Oh, right. Go ahead. I'm too young to be a mother, but being an older sister sounds fun. Especially after everything I've been put through by my own sisters."

"Cool, cool. Why are you lookin' at me like that, Kakizaki?"

"What the hell are you doing now?"

"I just said what I'm doing. Take-chan's out kid now. Make sure Yuki and Mei know. Just don't tell them where we are."

"Don't worry, I'm telling them exactly what you're doing."

.

Zaki: "Hey, Yuki and Takato. Ikoma's going to steal Takeshi. Do something about it."

Rampage Dress: "Yuki is currently rebooting after it hit him for a second time that Sekai used to be on the same squad as Denji and Minoru. Please wait for a moment before he comes back online."

TetsuG: "Is he some sort of robot now?"

Rampage Dress: "That would mean he's smart."

Kage: "Damn. Really laying into him there, aren't you?"

White Fox: "Tatsuhito, leave Take alone! Don't try and steal him or I'll kick your ass!"

Iko: "Okay, Probation-san."

Everyone: "Oof."

White Fox: "Consequences be damned. I'm kicking his ass."

Shobu: "...Please don't... ...No more...bad publicity...for the branch..."

White Fox: "Tch. Fine. You got off lucky this time, Tatsuhito. Sorry, Zaki-san, I can't do anything right now."

.

It was worrying to know that Yuki had to be monitored that closely. But it was also something he deserved at this point.

As for Mei...

Rampage Dress: "As long as I get visiting rights, sure. Just make sure he's fine."

Ortlinde: "You can visit whenever you want."

She seemed fine with the entire situation.

There was only one hope left at this point.

Izumo: "Help."

Toby was still trying to get him while he was on Ikoma's shoulder, so that counted as help.

But the help he wanted came quickly.

There was only one downside.

Eri: "I was planning on meeting up with him after their match. Can you please let go of him, Ikoma-san?"

Iko: "Come over then. We can go on a double date. You and Take-chan with me and Chisato."

"Are you making plans without asking me about them?"

"Would you really be against us going?"

Shiraishi seemed to think about this for a moment before shrugging and turning back to her phone.

He had been hoping that she would reject the idea, but that didn't seem to be the case.

Now he was left blushing behind his scarf in hopes that no one could see his reaction.

Eri: "We aren't... Are we...? Um..."

Overprotective Sister: "Hey, hey, your phone's catching everything, Eri!"

Viper: "Why don't we ask Kotowari-kun what he thinks you two are now?"

It was frightening how quickly everyone turned to him.

But they would soon be disappointed by his reaction.

"We...um..."

"You don't really know, do you?"

"I do! It's just... I think I do? Um...Asano-sa- Er... Is that right?"

Everyone quickly took to their phones.

Honest Sister: "Ooooooookay! Let's settled this here and now! Eri and Take! Tell us how you two will be honestly calling each other from now on! On the count of 3! Ready...?"

Lobo: "1!"

Overprotective Sister: "2!"

Viper: "3!"

Izumo: "I want to call her Eri-san..."

Eri: "Takeshi sounds nice..."

His face was quick to heat up as he realized that he played right into their hands.

Knowing that they were all looking at him, he wrapped his entire scarf around his head, leaving only his eyes visible.

The next set of messages came up.

Viper: "Congratulations, you two!"

White Fox: "I'm so proud of you, Take!"

Rampage Dress: "I trust that the two of you already know limits to what can be done."

Megane: "Congratulations, Kotowari."

Even his master was saying things like that now.

Everyone around him seemed to be in a buzz over what had just been said.

Thankfully, there was a single voice of reason out of them all.

"Um, my apologizes if I am misunderstanding here. Do we not all call him by name? So then it should be fine if Asano-senpai does the same."

"That's true. But Hoshi-chan, this is different. You see, there are eye witnesses of a certain event that happened yesterday. In that event, a certain someone honestly handed over his scarf to Eri-chan. For him, that as the same as declaring he likes her!"

"Oh! I see! That does seem to be the case! I am very happy for you, Takeshi-kun!"

No words could come out.

His own hope for salvation had been tricked by their terrible upperclassman.

All he could do now was pound his fists on Ikoma's back and give a weak reply.

"Please go now. I don't care if you kidnap me, just get me away from here."

"Roger that!"

.

Takeshi felt himself begin to move away and opened his eyes to see the ground quickly passing him by.

Behind Ikoma was the rest of his squad, either waving or being held back by the ones who were not part of his squad.

Next to him was Shiraishi, running alongside Ikoma and not seeming to mind in the slightest.

"I'll carry you next time, Chisato."

"It's fine. Carrying kids tends to take priority over things like boyfriends or girlfriends."

Was that how it worked?

Maybe I should save that for later...

Later for him or someone else?

He covered his entire face once more at the realization.

There was a small buzz in his hand, signaling a message had come in.

It was a private one.

Eri: "Things will be getting more lively, won't they?"

Izumo: "That's true. And I want to apologize for the mess, but..."

Eri: "Don't say it. It will just make both of us embarrassed."

It was too late for him, so she must have been talking about herself.

That was fine.

He was hoping that he would soon be able to learn more about her.

But first...

"Are we...really going on a double date...?"

"Now we are. Thanks for inviting us."

He could see what kind of influence Ikoma really was to his girlfriend.

And it was bad.