Yuki looked down at the crowd beginning to fill in the seats down below. Each one of them had someone to talk to, playfully hit, or just be around. But there was something else they all had in common.

They're excited to see what happens in this match.

That went for the other matches that would happen today.

It was the last match of the B-Rank Wars and everyone wanted to know what the final score would be for all squads by the end of it.

The large screen in the front of the hall had been turned on. The seats directly in front of it had yet to be filled in, but the rows behind it were already filled with other agents. C-Ranks took up the majority, but B-Ranks and A-Ranks could also be seen int he crowd. He took note of some of them as his eyes wandered to the final section of the hall.

The commentators booth.

Four people sat in those seats. He could only see the back of their heads, but he knew each of them well enough by now to tell who they were.

"That's actually a pretty good lineup to have for commentators. Now that we don't have to worry about Mei getting too into her head, she makes for a great person to have around for these sorts of things."

"Are you sure you aren't being too biased there?"

"Of course I am. A good boyfriend is always ready to brag about their girlfriend at any point in time."

From behind him, Kimura gave a sigh while seated on one of the chairs.

With Hogo Squad not taking part in the B-Rank Wars it left her free during these times. Yuki had taken advantage of that to ask her if she wanted to join him in watching the match.

She had been a bit apprehensive at first, but the mention of who was commentating and who was fighting had gotten her attention.

"You know, Mitsuteru is the only person left from our squad who isn't an A-Rank agent."

"Yeah, and?"

He shrugged his shoulders.

"I think it's just good that he's going at his own pace. If he had been with us when we all moved up in rank I don't think I could say I'm all that proud of him."

"Then what are your thoughts on Kotowari Squad? You left them behind too."

"I did, didn't I?" He gave a bitter smile. "I'm proud of them. They are doing much better than they had at the start of the season. They are even working well without either me or Mei around."

Kimura gave a huff and he was sure she crossed her arms with it.

Yuki chuckled at her relaxed reaction and looked at the rest of the commentators. Mei had been placed in the second seat from the left, meaning she was directly next to...

"They really got Yasuko-san to do this. I would say that is pretty amazing, but she is a kind woman. I'm sure she had no problem with doing this."

"Isn't that the woman you had met while on your trip to Germany with some other squads?"

"That's right," he said. "She was kind over there, and was able to keep our rowdy group under control. Also..."

"Also?"

He smiled with furrowed brows.

There was something he had found out before coming to the base. It had been due to messaging Yūko that he found out, but it only made it that much harder to believe.

"She's the reason that unbelievable squad was able to function at all."

"Oh? So you can actually speak of them now without going crazy?"

He lightly waved his hand at her.

"Our group is filled with nothing but crazies. Don't be ridiculous. Oh, but to answer your question: I think going crazy right now is not the best response. That's why I just take my mind off of it as soon as it comes up."

"That's pretty mature of you."

"Even I need to grow up at some point."

"Too bad you never decided on that when I was taking orders from you."

"This is why Mitsuteru was my favorite."

"And now you need to start over with him."

She always knew where to hit him for it to hurt. In a way, it felt nostalgic for them to speak like this once more.

With nothing holding them back it placed the two of them in a comfortable place where they could be like this with everyone else.

That included the others who he could see down below.

On Mei's right was Kanzaki, and next to her was Ketsueki. To him, it felt as if two former squads were making their appearance as their current selves here.

"The only ones missing are Sekai-san and Denji."

"What about Minoru?"

This time he gave a bitter expression without the smile.

There were still things he needed to resolve with Minoru, so bringing him up hurt a little bit.

But that was for him to accomplish.

"He's down there, don't worry. Some others have their own matches going on parallel to this one, so they haven't come over. But I can see some of the idiots down there. They look like they're living it up."

"Which ones are there?"

Instead of answering her with words, he lifted his phone and opened it up.

He could hear her doing the same thing.

White Fox: "Alright, which of you idiots is watching KotoSquad's match today?"

Life: "I just wanted to make fun of Kage! I swear I haven't done anything yet!"

SenSen: "That 'yet' is something to worry about. I'm going to be watching Ōji Squad's match, so I can't make it."

TetsuG: "I'm down here. Our match isn't until later, so we decided to come watch this one."

Pokari: "Also to make fun of Kage."

Shōgi Boy: "Mostly to make fun of Kage."

White Fox: "You people are jackasses..."

Everyone: "Look who is talking!"

Kuni: "I'm also going to watch Ōji-kun's match. I'll see you there, SenSen."

Artist: "I will be going with her."

Class Rep: "If there are a lot of people going to those matches, I will be going to support Murakami. I would have thought you would be there, Tsukiko."

Secretary: "He's busy watching his former squad go at it. Oh, and I'm heading over to make fun of Ōji-kun and Kurauchi-kun."

Umi: "Guess I'll tag along for the Murakami fight then."

Shōgi Boy: "Wait for me. I'll go with the two of you."

Life: "He's really not subtle, is he?"

Everyone: "Not at all."

Shōgi Boy: "Bite me."

Isa: "I wanna watch our mess of a student and Yuzuru."

Umi: "Give me some play-by-play on that, actually."

Competant One: "I'll head over to watch that match in a bit."

Yuki made a quick turn to see Kimura's reaction.

Neither one of them had expected Kanda, of all people, to come watch this match. It would make sense if it had been Ōji Squad's match, but neither one of them had thought he would be here for a match he seemingly had to connection to.

It felt odd.

Life: "I get to grope Omi-chan!? Yay! Yay! Let's cross swords!"

They couldn't hear it, but Yuki saw the solid hit to the head Tetsuji gave the idiot.

Everyone knew he deserved it.

Competent One: "I just want to see how my buddy is doing. I heard his first captain finally got himself together and they made up."

"Wait..."

Kimura's single word response was directed towards him.

Manager: "Since when were you close to Ariake?"

Competent One: "Around the time he was a part of Urushima Squad. We get along pretty well, and I let him know what's going with the rest of you."

TetsuG: "Neither one of you has mentioned this before. Not even a clue."

Isa: "He's complained about us to you, hasn't he?"

Competent One: "Of course he has. It's pretty funny a lot of the time. But Seiji, Zoe, Kanzaki, and Kurauchi knew already. Besides, he's been getting along pretty well with Kageura lately, hasn't he?"

Zoe: "He has, and it's great!"

Kage: "You idiot!"

Zoe: "...Oops."

Of course they would be looking at this conversation before their match began.

There was no doubt that the others who were waiting also saw the chat go by.

And that must have also included Minoru.

"You still aren't going to say anything?"

Arafune looked over his shoulder to check on Minoru's reaction to the messages coming in.

Along with Hokari and Inukai, he had been there for the incident between Yuki and Minoru. What exactly happened as still a bit hazy for him, but he knew that the confrontation had left the two of them on bad terms.

Even after Yuki stopped being a complete idiot, they still haven't spoken to each other. That included messaging. Neither one of them had responded to something the other had put and it usually created an awkward atmosphere around them.

He wanted to help where he could, but it was hard to do so when they knew nothing of the specifics about what had happened.

I guess we can only make sure the two of them are fine enough for the moment.

It was all they could do.

Life: "Wait, how do they know but not the rest of us!?"

2Truths1Lie: "I only learned after Teru-kun joined my squad, if that helps anything."

Zoe: "Kurauchi-kun was a part of the same squad has Kanda-kun, so that makes sense. I only found out because of accident."

Ōji: "I was on that same squad, so why didn't I know?"

Kura-uchi: "Kanda had told me to keep it a secret from you."

Competent One: "I wanted to mess with you."

Ōji: "I'll remember that one."

Manager: "Kanzaki?"

The last one to answer was the girl sitting in the commentator's booth. Her ponytail was held high, but it felt odd to see her without either a sword or a spear by her side.

Maybe we just got too used to her ready for a fight.

It wasn't the first time they had seen her weaponless, but to see her in her uniform without a weapon only felt off.

"What kind of answer do you think she will give."

"It looks like she's debating on answering at all."

Arafune noticed the way Kanzaki was shifting a bit in her seat while slowly moving her hand towards her pocket before pulling it back. It's probably that old-fashioned pride she has that's stopping her from getting out her phone.

Noticing movement from next to her, his eyes directly met with Mei's.

Oh crap, she saw me.

Unlike Hokari, he generally knew her instead of knowing her as his senpai. It created a difference between them that ended up being polite but not familiar.

Even so, it seemed like he was in no kind of trouble as she looked to the spot next to her and saw the way Kanzaki was acting. She tapped her on the shoulder, said something he couldn't hear, then gave a mysterious thumbs up.

Kanzaki's reaction was what made him cautious as she looked at him oddly, but she pulled up her phone, so maybe it wasn't too bad.

Kiyome: "Arafune-dono, while I appreciate the thought, the way you leap from exploding buildings is not something I can condone. Try again later and think about your life choices."

Arafune throw himself up from his seat while the ones around him moved away.

"What the hell is this!?"

White Fox: "What the hell are you planning, Tetsu!?"

TetsuG: "Nothing! It was your girlfriend! She said something to Kanzaki!"

White Fox: "Don't blame your stupidity on Mei!"

Kage: "Hey, keep that up and I'm tossing you out next time!"

Black Wolf: "To think Arafune was like this..."

Shōgi Boy: "I'm gonna take a detour to punch that guy."

Pokari: "I'll get a hit in for you."

Class Rep: "Give him one for me too. Where does he get off with something like that?"

Three consecutive hits reached his back, pushing him forward and over the back of the seat in front of him.

The entire hall stopped to look at him.

"I'm going to kick your ass..."

Getting back to his feet, he glared at Hokari and punched the celebrating idiot.

.

Kiyome: "But I can answer the question from before. I had learned about Ariake and Kanda-dono because Ariake had told me about the situation himself. I had made sure to properly threaten Kanda-dono to ensure that he had no ulterior motives."

Competent One: "What kind of ulterior motives would I have!?"

Isa: "Jinsei?"

Life: "Let's cross swords! Oh! Better yet! Put that sword in his ass!"

Demon Child: "Wait, did the idiot really want to fight you or slap your penises together? I need to know for reference."

Competent One: "I won't ask what the reference is for..."

Demon Child: "Because it's obvious. Anyway, were you going to put Kōgetsu or your penis in Ariake's ass, Kanda? I need to know for reference."

Competent One: "Neither! And what's with this sudden offensive attack from everyone!?"

White Fox: "Just don't touch Mitsuteru if he doesn't want it and we won't have a problem."

Rampage Dress: "Kanda is well aware of what will happen if he tries anything like that."

Everyone: "Since when were you here!?"

"I forgot that she was also in the chat..."

Hitomi held her chest as she leaned against the wall.

Mei's sudden appearance had caught them all off guard scared everyone in the chat. She had been allowed into the chat for their age group, but rarely put things in.

It was probably her way of being courteous to them since she was a year older than them.

"Are you okay, Hitomi?"

"Y-yeah... I just got a bit of a scare for a moment there."

"What was it?"

"Mei-san. She scared the lot of us just now."

Koarai and Okudera wouldn't understand why that would be a reason to be scared, but Azuma seemed to know full well why that was an issue.

Hitomi didn't need to look at her captain to know that he was looking away from her as if he had not heard her words.

When it came to her age group, it was always better to pretend you had no idea what was going on and leave it be. They would always tend to tear into each other at that point and come back better afterwards.

"Well...I hope everything is fine."

"It is. I at least got some material for the next time we need to set up a booth."

This time all three of her teammates stopped at her words.

She waved them off easily.

"It's not about any of you. I'm going to be using Ariake and Kanda for it. Some nice things came out of the conversation I just had."

All three of them let their shoulders sag.

"But I think that's enough of that cannibalistic chat for now. I just checked it to see what all the fuss was about."

"I'm guessing that none of them gave anything away."

"Meishō-kun only put in one thing and both Zoe and Kageura were focused on the conversation."

"Was that them cautious or just a coincidence."

"Considering that age group, I don't think I want to know."

Koarai had a point there, but she kept that to herself.

She shook her head a bit and moved closer to the rest of her squad.

The last match would be starting in a few moments and they only needed to find out which map would be chosen before fine tuning their strategy.

"Azuma-san, do you have nay idea as to which map Meishō Squad is going to choose?"

"I have a few ideas, but nothing too concrete. What about you?"

"I only know Meishō-kun well enough on that squad. I guess Kenzaide-kun and I get along, but we don't seek each other out or anything."

"Last time, they chose one to harass the other squads," Koarai said. "They really went after Ninomiya Squad and Suzunari, but Kotowari Squad got pretty messed up because of it too. Without the other two squads around, do you think they're going to be harassing Kotowari Squad this time?"

"Wouldn't it be better to go after Kageura Squad then?"

"I guess I'm just worried about our buddy."

"You mean the one who rejected you twice, ignored you for me, and who you still bother?"

"Why do you have to put it like that!?"

It was harsh, but it was the truth. Harsh truths like that one were a dime a dozen in Border.

Koarai understood that, same as them. He has to understand, dealing with the likes of Suzume and the rest of them. Even if her age group was probably the worst, there were others who seemed to try and catch up to them.

She should be proud of them or worried?

I guess I can just tell the others to show them what it's really like to be us.

It was dangerous, but none of them really cared. Attacking others was what they were best at.

Seiji laughed into his hand after his heart settled down from the sudden scare Takato had given everyone.

"They all seem to be enjoying themselves before our match."

"That is terrifying for many reasons..."

"I think it shows that everyone can live this happily even while something like this is going on."

Shigenaga raised a brow from behind her sunglasses, but said nothing more on the matter.

Everyone on their squad had been taking the fact that this was their last match of the season in different ways.

Looking around the room he could see that Shigenaga was as calm as usual while the other three...

"So who do you have a grudge on this time, Tsu?"

"No one! Really!"

"Yeah, don't get him wrong here. Mitsuteru is just going to harass everyone this time! Maybe target Kage-san or Kotowari Squad again, but he isn't doing it because of a grudge!"

"Oh, that makes sense! Right, I'll help with any harassment you have!"

"Same over here! Leave it to me! I'll find out where everyone is, that way it's easier for you to harass them!"

"I don't harass people!"

They looked to be having some fun before the match.

Things had been a bit tense during their last encounter with Kotowari Squad, so seeing them able to banter so freely like that was refreshing. Even if it was at the cost of Mitsuteru's sanity.

Seiji laughed a bit into his hand.

This be the definition of Kanji-kun's "Feeling alive!" motto.

It meant that nothing would bring them down so long as they were living life how they wanted.

"This looks like it's going to be a promising match."

"Why do you say that?"

Seiji nodded to Shigenaga's question and called out.

"Teru-kun, they're speaking about you in the chat."

"Eh!? Seiji-san, why would you say that!? That only makes me tense here!"

"But you know how to release that tension, don't you?"

Mitsuteru would take in a breath before releasing it with the tension he would tend to build up. If he held it in after taking a breath then it meant he found it necessary to become tense. But I haven't seen him do that for a while now.

There had been a time when he only held his tension to maintain his shots. Every time it came up it was painful to watch since it was his way of saying that being tense was the only way he knew how to do things.

That had changed recently.

Everyone had seen the way he would loosen up before his shots, gaining them more points than they had before.

"They know about you being friends with Kanda-kun. I was not the one who told them, though, so don't worry about that."

"What!? They know about that now!? Crap! Who told them!? What else do they know now!?"

"Kanda-kun let it slip. And Zoe-kun accidentally confirmed that you have been getting along with Kage-kun."

This was the closest thing to seeing a soul leave a body, he decided. The way Mitsuteru became ridged without any sort of movement was unlike anything he had seen before.

Oh, this is new.

He would not have responded like this before, instead going for a more subdued or nervous response. Did this mean he was growing up or just becoming as crazy as everyone else? I suppose it doesn't matter too much.

He was enjoying himself with everyone else.

"Ah! Cappy, Tsu's completely frozen!"

"Don't freeze up on us like this, Mitsuteru! We still need to go over how you're going to harass everyone!"

"Water! We need water to throw on him!"

"I've got some ice packs here! Let's dump them down his pants!"

"Good idea! Perfect! We'll say this is payback for everyone he's harassed!"

That one might have been a bit concerning. Maybe for a later time.

"Please don't make a mess of our main support before our match, Captain."

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't expect that to be his reaction. It caught me off guard a little."

"One sorry was enough..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing to worry about." Shigenaga pushed up her glasses and he knew things were fine. "But I'm curious about something."

Asking about things like this was something new to Shigenaga as well. Unless it was important, she would keep to herself rather than let herself use the word "curious" so casually.

People like her tended to feel like it was too much pressure, but people like him embraced it and answered however they could.

So he did just that.

"Do you think we can win?"

.

Seiji continued to smile while Shigenaga looked at him.

Behind them three of their teammates were busy living their lives to the fullest. Compared to them, this felt like a stiff conversation topic.

But Seiji answered Shigenaga regardless of that stiff question.

"Would it be fine if we didn't win?"

"Personally, I would prefer we not lose. Overall, there is no major issue with losing here. We would go back to the mid tier of B-Ranks, but that is all. These fights carry little consequences for squads like ours."

"But you don't want that, right? It doesn't matter if there are consequences or not, you just don't want to go backwards after moving forward."

"...That's right."

They had reached the top tier and even managed to remain there for two rounds. Going back now would mean starting at mid tier during the next season and needing to move back up.

Their squad had fighters who were more than capable, but they were balanced out with others who could not move up without them. It was this duality that kept them all in a good mood most of the time, but made them realize that it was hard for them to move any further up.

But one of those people who could not move up had decided to reach a place ahead of himself.

"Teru-kun seems to be doing fine now, so why don't you start fighting for something else instead?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Seiji lightly shrugged at Shigenaga's glare.

"Everything has finally passed for him and his former squad, so he doesn't have a reason to hold anything in. But..."

"But?"

"Yes," he said. "It feels like you are still trying to fight a battle for him. That would be fine if you were doing so as a friend, but the way you are doing things seems to be like you are trying to get something back for him. Am I wrong?"

The silence that came from her told him everything.

Compared to everyone else on their squad, she had always been the one to go into fights with a serious attitude and the focus of winning only. Anything from enjoying herself to showing others something had been put aside in order to obtain victory for someone.

All of them understood that it was the way she worked and would normally say nothing. The only times it would come up were when either Kanji or Asagi wanted to annoy her.

Yet they never felt the need to correct her on this or reprimand her for it.

"Lonely girl, you lost the only thing you loved. Nothing you have is ever good enough. They tried to keep you safe. They tried to stay the same. Lonely girl, it looks like you're out of luck. Your friends have given up. They were on your side, they stood up for you. So go ahead and cry, it's just like you."

"...What are you saying now?"

"They are lines from a foreign song used in one of my movies. I made sure to remember them. Do you know what that means?"

She did.

Seiji had once been an actor, but he made sure to always remember the things that he felt had an impact somewhere. The meaning behind a scene, its music or the characters themselves, he made sure to see what importance it held and remember it for later use.

This was one of those times.

"Teru-kun moved ahead, so try not to end up like that lonely girl."

"If you are going to remember that, remember where I started."

"Not remembering that would be an insult to you, so I made sure to burn it into my memory."

"...Sorry for that."

Seiji shook his head. "No need to apologize."

The three behind them seemed to be wrapping up with Mitsuteru drenched in water while shaking his pants free from the ice packs put down there.

Seiji laughed into his hand and Shigenaga gave a sigh at their antics.

Things were lively for them.

"Oh, one more thing."

Shigenaga turned to him once more.

"This is something that Yukicchi had started to say to certain people, but I feel like it would be fine for me to say here too."

What was that?

"Tell me what's going on, my friend."

Shigenaga narrowed her eyes from behind her sunglasses.

The subject of the Yagura Branch Representative had always been a sensitive one for her due to what had happened with Mistuteru, so hearing a phrase he had said left a bitter taste in her mouth.

But the meaning reached her.

Not only her, it had reached Mitsuteru a few days ago.

"Hey Shigeko," Mitsuteru said after getting rid of the ice packs. "Tell us whatever you want."

Mom: "Welcome to the final round of the B-Rank Wars. I am Yasuko Scheinder, and I will be your commentator for today. I am pleased to be here and see what everyone will be able to do today. For added commentary, I have three guests here with me. Would you please introduce yourselves?"

Rampage Dress: "I am Takato Mei. It's a pleasure to meet someone who has taken care of my cousin."

Mom: "Oh, my. What a nice girl you are."

Kiyome: "Kanzaki Shizuka. Attacker. I am honored that you would ask me to be here today."

Myth: "..."

Mom: "Hm? Is something wrong, Ketsueki? Are you not feeling well?"

Rampage Dress: "He's quiet because he's disappointed he can't be right next to you."

Myth: "T-T-T-T-Takato! Even if that is the truth, it does not mean you need to say it out loud like that!"

Rampage Dress: "I am still learning. You will have to forgive me. Oh, and I won't change seats with you. I am already comfortable."

Myth: "I wasn't-"

Rampage Dress: "Looks like Kanzaki wins. Good job. I knew you could do it."

Kiyome: "I will take this win with pride! Thank you for this fight, Kagerei-dono! ...What were we fighting for?"

Rampage Dress: "You were able to maintain that formal speech much longer than him."

Mom: "I had been wondering when you changed your form of speech. You must have been trying something new. That is good to see from you."

Myth: "R-right... Well, I am Kagerei Ketsueki of the Tamakoma Branch... Thank you for having me..."

"Ouch. That's rough for Ketsu-san."

Kimura could only nod her head. The attacks from Mei always looked painful, but that one in particular seemed to leave a big impact.

Isa: "That one ran real deep there. Especially since I think most of us didn't know that he was actively speaking like that."

Shōgi Boy: "What did we miss?"

Pokari: "Rip Ketsu-san's pride."

Umi: "Pride as a man or pride as a Border member?"

TetsuG: "Probably both."

Umi: "The poor guy."

Now if only they meant their pity.

Even that might be asking too much from them.

The idiot seemed to be enjoying himself while also making fun Kagerei down below.

Inu: "Hey, is anyone hanging out in the observation rooms?"

TetsuG: "Majority of us are down below or watching the other match."

Kimura looked over to see what Yuki's reaction would be to this.

She personally had no issue with Inukai joining them, but the way he was around Yuki always seemed to turn things into a mess.

White Fox: "Kimura and I are up here. I guess you can come over."

Inu: "Oh, um... About that..."

White Fox: "Got something to say, punk? Get your ass over here if you're coming."

Inu: "Uwah! Yuki's gone back to his delinquent days! Help! Help! Kō-kun, help!"

Black Wolf: "I'm about to go into the match. Yuki stop being a nuisance. I'll be back once it's over."

White Fox: "Damn you, Kō!"

This probably meant that Inukai was coming. He was been wary about it, but they knew that Yuki would only be more of an annoyance if he refused to meet them in the observation room at this point.

"I doubt we will get much from majority of them at this point. This match is about to start too, so Kanzaki, Kageura, Kitazoe, Hitomi and Meishō will be busy fighting."

"Yeah. We need to use this time to make fun of them all as much as possible."

The others were likely thinking the same thing.

My mind when in a similar direction. Does that mean I've gotten too used to them all?

Thinking about it any more than that would put her in a bad place, so she stopped that thought process and focused on the ones down below.

Mom: "This match will have Kageura Squad, Azuma Squad, Kotowari Squad and Meishō Squad fighting in it. From what I have been told, you used to be the Operator for Kotowari Squad, Mei. Is there anything you have to say about this?"

Rampage Dress: "I am looking forward to see what they can do. The last two rounds had been during a bad time for me, so it had been hard for me to watch. I did watch the logs, but this is a good chance to see how they have grown without having me or Yuki around."

Mom: "I can understand that. Let us hope that they have gotten better with you leaving."

Myth: "..."

Rampage Dress: "You are doing fine, Kagerei-san. I am sure no one is disappointed in you."

"She really isn't holding back here..."

It hurt to see how Mei was tearing into Kagerei at every chance she could find.

Yuki must have been thinking the same thing since he turned away from the window to look anywhere other than the commentators. For someone like him to look away meant that it really was painful to watch.

"I guess that just means you really did a number on her. What did you do to mess up someone like her?"

"It wasn't me! It really wasn't! She must have been holding it in the entire time!"

"You say that, but..."

There was no way around it.

"Going through everything she has, it's to be expected that she would want to attack everyone around her. In that sense, she really is 'Rampage Dress'."

"So that's how you want to put it."

Yuki's shoulder slumped in relief. That's not what I expected.

She had thought he would come up with a counter to her words in order to protect Mei.

This was different.

"It looks like she has embraced the nickname someone gave her long ago. The name itself had always been a sore spot for her, but it looks like she decided it would just be another part of her."

"So what does that mean for you?"

He gave a bitter smile and answered "Right".

"What it means is that I don't have to worry about that side of her. It also means that I will need to step up my game and catch up to someone who has been given a dangerous name like 'Rampage Dress'."

"So that's how you see it."

She was mimicking his words while changing them to fit her view of the situation.

Yuki's decision here meant that he wanted to move on with others instead of keep to himself and find his way to where everyone was.

This is the captain that I had wanted to follow back then.

It was a bittersweet thought that made her think about the rest of their former squad.

As she did so, a noise reached them.

The door was opening. Along with it was a familiar sound of someone letting out a breath.

"Hah. There really was someone else here."

.

Sekai knew his sigh would reach the other two inside of the room, he just didn't find it in himself to care about that.

From directly behind him he could hear Denji give a whistle while looking over his shoulder.

Seeing only Yuki and Kimura in the room was the kind of chance Denji liked to look for.

Feeling some pity for them, and because they had barged in thinking no one else was in the room, Sekai lifted his hand to cover Denji's mouth. They walked into the room, ignoring the twin looks they were getting.

"What are the two of you doing here?"

It was Kimura who had asked him, but that may have been because Yuki was doing his best to not look directly at him or Denji.

Great. This guy is uncertain because of what Denji said during the last match.

It had been annoying to have others question him about his former squad. The only thing he found more annoying was having that same squad get on him for his actions during the previous match.

Because of these things he had been laying low and only going out for defense duty.

"Hah. We heard that Yasuko-ane was doing the commentary for this match, so we decided to come by. We didn't think there would be anyone here."

"Just to let you know: Inukai is also on his way."

Sekai raised a brow and looked over at Denji. The grin he got in return made it clear that they were thinking the same thing.

He let out another sigh.

"Whatever. It's not like it matter to us what happens."

Taking a seat a bit away from Kimura, he looked over to see Yuki fully turned to the window.

"I'm guessing that, besides your terrible age group and Kotowari Squad, you're here to watch Ariake fight?"

"That's right. It's the final match and a lot of people we know are involved with it. It only makes sense that we would be here."

"I guess it does. But..."

Kimura turned to him, but he only sighed.

"I remember your squad well. An irritating bunch who liked to go at your own pace. Hah. Watching you all got me tired out."

"H'y n'w, y'u c'n't say that a't'r o'r m'ss of a sq'd."

It was the first time Denji was speaking and he already wanted to punch the man in the face.

From where he sat, Sekai could see Denji moving closer to Yuki, only be to be kept at arm's length once Idōgetsu was pulled out and held between the two of them.

His reflexes are still sharp. That's good.

Even if Yuki was less like them now, he still had his value as an Unneeded. If Denji had managed to touch him before he reacted then it would have meant all hope was lost for him.

Even if that would be a good thing for him, I guess it would still hurt to lose him like that.

He gave a sixth sigh as Denji continued.

"'s'des h'rin' wha' Yassan h's t' s'y h're, th's g'y w'nted t' w'tch Shigenaki fi't."

"Stop telling lies, you idiot. She's just someone who tried to copy the way I use Shield. Hah. I don't even know what she wants from me here."

.

These two are hard to deal with at once, Kimura thought.

Both of them had their own strange ways of speaking and spoke without any reservation. Everything coming from them was likely their thoughts directly reaching their mouth, not caring about what they could be saying.

But she knew better.

Yuki had spoken about them before, and she had seen them in action when dealing with the sponsors.

...They aren't pushovers.

The Hikigane Squad Captain had said he knew them when they were a squad, but she does not remember a time when she had seem him as anything other than how he currently was. Even back then, he was the same as he was now.

The former squad that had contained both the Hikigane Squad and Bakuto Squad captains had been before their time and lasted a short enough time to not reach them.

That thought alone worried her.

"Mitsuteru told me about how she got agitated at Daigo once she found out that he had joined your squad. She really looks up to you."

"Hah. You already know why that's a problem."

"I do..."

Yuki had finally turned to look at both squad captains, but now he looked unsure about how to interact with them.

Maybe it had to do with the events from a few days ago.

She would have to look into it.

"But maybe you can do something for her?"

"Hah. I'll see if I feel like it later. But this is only because you're helping out that brat by mentoring him."

"He gets along well with Shobu, and I like him too, so it isn't a problem."

"Take it for what it is before I change my mind."

"Of course. Sorry about that."

It was always strange to see how Yuki would interact with these two squad captains.

It's clear that he respects both of them, but it always feels like he's putting in a lot to speak with them. Why is that?

There had always been something between the three of them, usually something that made her see Yuki differently.

Each time she witnessed it she had thought that Yuki turned into a child looking up to someone instead of the delinquent former captain or the troublesome white fox.

Seeing this side from him always frightened her a bit. It showed just how much power the two squad captains had over him.

"Well it's all pointless and mindless things, in the end. Hah. That girl or that brat, they're both people who need others to continue improving themselves and give them a reason to fight."

"What do you mean?" Kimura asked. It had been a sudden response, but the Hikigane Squad Captain waved off her worries.

"I mean that both of them can't find a reason within themselves to fight or to improve. Hah. They have different personalities, but they're both fundamentally the same as people. You noticed this too, right?"

He looked to Yuki, but all he got in response was a small nod.

The Hikigane Squad Captain's next sigh felt like it could be directed at anyone in the room.

"Sasamori and Hanzaki... Ariake... It doesn't matter who the person in question is, there is someone that they view so highly that they need to fight for and put themselves out there for. Hah. Not once has there been a time when they are fighting for themselves or deciding to better themselves because they simply want to do so. It has always been because of someone else. In a sense, that was how this guy was. The only difference being that he was selfish the entire time."

"Hey now, that's a bit much, don't you think? True, this idiot fox changed and ruined things, but he's also staying true to himself by doing that. Even if it's pathetic."

"Hah. It's just how things are. He has to deal with his own choices here."

The way Yuki slightly shrunk into himself was something Kimura would have thought would never happen.

The words coming from both squad captains was reaching him to his core and shaking him up enough to turn him into this child before her.

It was frightening.

And she could do nothing about it.

"Hah. Whatever the case, that's just how it is with those two. I don't have a reason to watch that girl fight since I already know that she can't do much as long as she has someone like Ariake around. People can say that everyone else on that squad enables him, but it's clear that he enables her without even knowing it."

"Wow~ For you to speak so much without a major reason is something to watch~ Maybe this means you really do care about her."

"Don't be an idiot. This is just how I have to deal with things."

If that was the case, maybe it was a good thing he chose not to be active with other events going on.

Letting out a breath of her own, Kimura listened in as the commentators began again.

Mom: "The squad who has picked the map for this match was Meishō Squad. And their choice is Cityscape E."

Rampage Dress: "That is an interesting choice."

Mom: "How so?"

Kiyome: "Ah. Is that not...?"

Ramage Dress: "It is. That is why this can be interesting."

Kimura watched as both Yuki and the Hikigane Squad Captain nodded their heads. She knew why they had and stopped herself from doing the same thing.

After all, the three of them had been the commentators for the turning point match for Meishō Squad.

That means...

Rampage Dress: "This is the same map they used to harass some pretty tough squads two matches ago."