Hoshi felt light in the forest of glass and buildings.

Unlike the previous time she had been here, this time was light and airy, but it did not lack the pressure from the last time. The only difference was that nothing felt as if it was being held down.

Everything that had needed to be let go and gone, everything that needed to be held on to was kept tight.

Nothing is stuck in the past here.

Everyone was here, in the present.

It made her happy to know that this was the situation.

With everything settled it meant that no one should feel bad once the match was over. They would try their best simply to win and would need to accept the results of everything that would happen here.

That went for her as well.

I need to make sure to keep up with everyone. Letting them down in this final round would not be good.

Go, go, Hoshi! Yes, let's help them! Whoo!

Maybe she was getting too excited when it was only the start of the match, but that was fine. The rest of her squad would tend to get excited over smaller things, and her brother and his friend got excited over terrible things.

She only needed to keep up this excitement without overdoing it. Letting it get to a boiling point would mix up her thoughts.

She would remain focused here in order to fight until the end.

That included the moment when she would come across an opponent.

Shooting Star: "Kitazoe-senpai spotted."

Izumo: "Senpai, can you see him from where you are?"

Honest Sister: "I can. JK Operator, make sure we can keep an eye on him."

JK: "I know already!"

It was good to see everyone getting along.

But what else can be done after everything?

That question was something she had been wondering for a while now. Each person she had met and gotten to know once she had spent more time with Border had shown her their way of getting along.

Ones like Ikoma, Kirikari and Inukai seemed to just enjoy their situations and how they could move around in them. Others, such as Takeshi, Asano and Ninomiya seemed to be more comfortable when the situation itself went how they had planned. As for her...

"Heh heh."

She laughed as she thought about it.

This was where she could get along and enjoy herself.

Moments when she was able to work with and be with people she liked, that was where everything felt right to her. Something that made her feel as if she could move with others while having them move along with her.

A place she had come to by herself and with the help of others.

Honest Sister: "Oh, is Hoshi-chan honestly having fun here?"

Shooting Star: "That is one way to put it. But I suppose that it's more along the lines of being pleased to know we can be here without worry."

Honest Sister: "So you noticed it too, huh? That's good. And I agree with you. This is honestly better than last time."

There was no surprise in Suzume knowing what she meant, being the one most aware of other people and how they felt.

It was something that Takeshi might not notice due to his lack of understanding and something Toby might miss because he was falling towards his opponents. Only someone as observant as Suzume or someone who was slow to start, like herself, had been able to see the difference.

That may have been why Suzume gave a light laugh.

Honest Sister: "It's honestly a nice day, don't you think?"

It really is.

The false forest of glass and buildings was basking in the false light from the simulation. False light reflected off of the glass and shone into a lot of places she might not have noticed otherwise. It was a clear difference from the complete darkness that had covered the map last time.

A moving daytime setting instead of a frozen night.

Someone else was enjoying themselves here.

That fact alone made her smile as she ran.

"Is there something making you happy?"

.

Hoshi smiled at Takeshi as the two got closer to each other. Their Bagworms were fluttering from their own movements, but neither one of them seemed to mind it.

Takeshi raised a brow at the smile she gave him, but she answered before he could say anything.

"Maybe I can tell you while we are moving? I would rather we catch up to Toby-kun before he enter a fight. Supporting is what we are here for, and he is counting on us."

"The day that dog really needs us is the day he stops being a rebel."

It sounded like more self deprecation, but the way Takeshi's body remained relaxed as he turned meant that he was joking around.

Hoshi knew this and responded by turning her own body and beginning to run.

Koarai had seen Kitazoe already and even noticed someone running along the roofs up above.

As someone who had started this match on a rooftop, he made sure he could not be seen while activating Bagworm and moving to the door leading from the roof to the inside of the building.

Moving carelessly here meant losing to someone who could shooting you in the head or fill you full of holes. The possibility of coming across someone who can cut you in half at any moment was something else he considered. Okudera had gotten mad at him before for something like that and that had led to another ego fight between the two of them that Hitomi had to stop.

Going about this fight like that was only something natural to him, but he knew that it would only lead to a fight later on that none of them would enjoy.

So he decided to be more careful here.

Even if I really want to see Takeshi fight here! We only got this one match with Kotowari Squad, so I plan on making the most of it!

Jumping from the roof would have caught the attention of anyone in the area and the Snipers would hit him in midair.

This was what he could do right now.

But how much could everyone else do here?

Meishō Squad had chosen the map and settings, so they probably had the most to do here. I need to watch out for Ariake's harassment, but maybe that gunfire in the distance is him? He would feel sorry if that was the case, but glad that is was not him who had to deal with it in the first place.

Kotowari Squad and Kageura Squad all had capable people on them, but there was a clear weak link in one of them.

Maybe saying Taiyōko is a weak link is a bit much, but it's the truth.

She was new, more inexperienced, and relied on both her teammates and the surprise factor of her Triggers. Without those things helping her, she was just another B-Rank who had no real specialties. The best he had seen from her when others were around was give her teammates some support.

But there was still nothing to dislike about her.

Even if she was like that, it meant that she was trying hard to keep up with everyone around her. That kind of thing earned his respect and his attention.

So we should make sure we don't have to worry about her while we are fighting everyone else.

She would be another opponent they would have to take out regardless of their standing with her. That was just how things were.

.

Okkun: "Koarai, I'm almost to where you are."

Koala: "Got it! I spotted some people earlier! Mako-san, did you get them?"

Demon Child: "I did. They should be marked on your Radar."

First Sniper: "It looks like Kageura is stuck and Kotowari is going to meet up with someone."

Okkun: "The one closest to any of us looks like it would be Koarai."

Koala: "Huh? I guess Takeshi looked like he was coming this way, but I don't see anyone else."

Okkun: "Are you just not paying attention!?"

.

"Huh?"

Koarai looked at his Radar and saw it. An opponent was nearby.

Then came the greeting.

"Volley shots!"

A full round of trion bullets were fired on him as Shigenaga rounded the corner, gun raised and feet already moving towards him.

Turning off his Bagworm, he prepared a concentrated shield to block the attacks. Chunks of the shield broke apart as the distance between the two of them was covered in only a few steps.

Shigenaga's speed had always been amazing without a Trigger, so having that speed backed up by her volley of shots made it difficult to counter when not prepared. This was something Koarai had learned after fighting her in the solo booths.

The next thing that would come was...

A bombardment!

He brought up Kōgetsu as repeated strikes from Shigenaga came.

Starting from her feet, she spun with her arms outstretched, but still close to her body. Her own Kōgetsu was used as a main blunt force strike while shots from her rifle followed it closely.

Each strike was heavy against his own Kōgetsu and bringing up a shield in time for the shots began taking his attention.

It was always like this.

She would bring on a complete offense in order to destroy defenses and prevent opposing offenses. It happened every time they fought, and yet he always had trouble with it.

A repeated offensive style like this one required an opposing force to counter it. Defenses would only hold up if that was the only thing you were relying on while trying to make an escape.

So...

I'll push back!

Even without Okudera, he could fight on his own.

And a way he could do that was by pushing back with something she would not expect.

Hound!

Tossing aside his shields, a cube of trion formed behind him and split up. The size of each one was rather large, but that had only been due to his limited usage of it.

That was not what mattered here, though.

It was what would happen next.

"Something new!? Good!"

He had no time to respond to her shout.

The repeated offense continued to come quickly, even as the bullets were readied.

This was Shigenaga's steadfast style.

Fire!

So when he released the attack he fully expected her to bat it away like everything else.

But...

"!?"

That was not what happened.

Instead of hitting back with her offense, she moved back and slammed her heel into the ground.

She made a leap.

The Hound shots followed her to the side while he was freed from the onslaught.

He felt his body begin to move forward, wanting to check to see what was happening behind the corner she had moved behind.

Wait...

Fighting others head-on had been his usual way of going about things, but losing here due to his recklessness would only leave him bitter by the end of the match.

So he took a step back.

Instead of moving forward, he waited while moving backwards. Seeing what his opponent would do here felt off to him, but it was what was needed of him right now.

Then he heard it.

.

The sound of glass shattering rang out as Shigenaga burst through the door of the building next to Koarai.

Rifle at the ready, she threw her body forward in a single motion and fired.

Koarai prepared another shield and readied another volley of his own bullets. The distance between them was short, something Shigenaga could cover in a moment.

And she did.

The volley shots from Shigenaga crashed into the shield while the ones from Koarai went off course, crashing into the building next to them.

Glass rained down from above as the two readied their blades.

With Shigenaga already into her motion she had Kōgetsu active.

Koarai brought up his sheathed Kōgetsu as a way to block her next attack.

Then she rotated.

The begging and ending of her attacks were always based on those rotations that normally started with her feet.

Koarai responded to this forceful rotation with one of his own. It was a quick counter to her's.

The two crashed their swords into each other, shaking their bodies from the impact.

The first to break away was Koarai.

He took a step back and waited to see her response to his action.

She moved forward.

Holding out his hand a bit, he placed a Grasshopper plate in front of him and stepped on it. He was sent flying backwards.

Shigenaga moved to cover the distance once more.

Koarai's hand moved to the blade at his side. His position was awkward, but it still worked enough to let out a Senkū.

There was only a few meters between them, meaning the attack would reach her right away and cut through any defense she had.

With another push, she slowed herself down to prepare for the extended slash.

But that was not what came.

"Hound!?"

A cube of trion had formed behind Koarai's back and split up.

.

Shigenaga mentally clicked her tongue as she caught on to Koarai's plan.

...Just as I shift from close- to mid-range, he switches over to long-range attacks!?

Shigenaga had assumed this would be a close-range attack, so she could not react to a long range attack. Koarai had intended to ensure a successful attack by drawing her close before acting.

Shigenaga knew that it was another gamble like he liked so much.

Even for an All-Rounder, activating a Trigger while in the middle of an attack was not easy. If their speed dropped or they screwed up the Trigger activation, they would collapse. Plus, he could not allow Shigenaga to catch on.

That meant this had to have been planned in advance.

"Did you set up this sudden meeting and greeting so I wouldn't have time to prepare myself and put together a countermeasure, Koarai!?"

Koarai did not respond. He simply shook his head to the side while moving further back.

His jacket moved away from him while he moved.

That acted as a signal. While spread out like a cluster of lights, the enemy bullets began to glow as they prepared to fire. They immediately received the order to fire and let the power of the Trigger explode toward Shigenaga.

Eight moderate sized Hounds were fired and they easily filled the gap between the two fighters.

...In that case...

Shigenaga took action. She made a leap. It was a large step forward. It was her way of raising her speed without a Trigger.

Feeling Alive: "Shigenaga!?"

She ignored him as a way of telling him not to worry about it.

The enemy was already attacking, so...

...I have to make it!

She swept her right hand forward and made her charge before the trion bullets could collide with anything. That motion produced...

...My Trigger!

A shield of light appeared. It was a relatively small shield with an intricate design. It was based on something she had seen from a former A-Rank squad captain that blocked an enemy attack with his shield.

"Hikigane Shield!"

.

Multiple activation: confirmed

Shigenaga saw her trion shield split into multiple shields. The light composing each one grew thinner, but a total of sixteen raced out to the left and right like they were being shuffled. They accurately stopped the enemy projectiles.

"Endure!"

They did as she wished. The Hound shots crashed, but they burst out from the surface of the shields. And so Shigenaga sent her body forward to catch up with the outstretched hand.

However, she did not stop there. She bent her elbow again, and…

"Take this!"

By thrusting her right arm forward again, the Hikigane Shield was launched forcefully forward.

This was a shield attack. As Koarai moved backwards and prepared his second shot, the shields collided with him and knocked him away.

All sixteen Hikigane Shields scattered light and gave the open space a coloration different from the false sky.

Shigenaga leaped in while Koarai approached the end of the next building.

As Koarai defenselessly lowered his upper body, Shigenaga drew her sword and charged toward him.

There was still some distance between them, but she accelerated forward.

"Now!"

Koarai did not reply, but he did speak with a grin on his face.

"It's been fun fighting like this, Shigenaga."

Shigenaga felt like the words stabbed into her.

She did not know why, but then Koarai made a sudden move.

He straightened up, moved his hand to the side, and moved even further back. It was...

"A signal!?"

Some people liked to make pointless movements and this could have been one.

But Koarai did not stop there. He brought back his arm and calmly leaped up.

He had not attack, but...

...So this is what he was after!

Shegenaga was blown backwards by an impact for powerful than her acceleration.

An attack had reached her.

Myth: "That was unexpected. I would not have expected Koarai-kun to make retreating a part of his plan."

Rampage Dress: "Okudera was likely the one to think of it while moving towards Koarai. He only decided to go along with it and move into the position."

Kiyome: "The use of Hound from Koarai was unxpected. As was Okudera's own attack."

Mom: "I had gone back to look at some of each squad's matches, but I don't know them as well as the rest of you. Do those two not use Shooter-type Triggers often?"

Myth: "That's right. Those two have been true Attackers up until just now."

Rampage Dress: "Another point for Kanzaki."

Kiyome: "Thank you very much for this!"

Myth: "!"

Sekai sighed into his hand.

By this point it should have been obvious as to what was happening, but he was still being too much of idiot to notice it.

Rampage Dress: "Anyways."

"Hah. She really has changed."

"Just leave her be and you won't have to deal with it as much."

That's not how that works, but whatever.

The nod Kimura gave told him all he needed to know here.

The two idiots glaring behind her were already irritating enough. Dealing with anything else right now would only make him leave.

Rampage Dress: "Azuma-san likes to make sure his students are well off with where they are before letting them learn something new. If they are showing this here, it means he approved of them learning more."

Mom: "He certainly has remained a responsible mentor."

Rampage Dress: "Yes. Now if only he could handle one plate of curry."

Mom: "Oh? Does he not like your curry?"

Myth: "Um... Yasuko-san, that is..."

The way Kanzaki was looking away felt like it would be the only proper response in this situation.

But beyond that...

"She is really going after whoever she can hit. Mei-san is even scarier now."

"It makes me glad that I have a the squad I do now."

"Yeah, Shiro is great, isn't he?"

She wasn't talking about only him, but getting involved would have been more irritating.

Looking at the screen, he sighed again and shook his head.

The first to notice him had been Denji.

The moment he opened his mouth, someone spoke up.

"What do you think of the situation, Hikigane?"

It had been one of the idiot fighting behind Kimura. Ninomiya, to be exact.

Without turning away, and seeing Yuki flip him off before walking away, he sighed before speaking.

"If things had ended here then I wouldn't have bothered coming to watch. Shigenaga isn't done, but those two did get a good hit in."

"How much damage do you think it did?"

"Hah. Just look."

He gestured with his chin and placed it in his closed fist.

.

A broken shield and a cracked rifle was what everyone saw on the screen. Behind those stood an unharmed Shigenaga.

The first to react to this was Yuki.

"Mitsuteru was right. That girl is hardcore."

"Did she use her rifle as a shield there?"

"It was a secondary shield," he said. "She used a quickly made shield to block the initial shot, but that didn't hold up. The rifle probably came up the moment she noticed that. In a way, it's similar to SenSen's offensive-defense. But..."

"But?"

"I had thought she was trying to copy Sekai-san."

Kimura and Inukai made "o" expressions at the same time. Behind them, Ninomiya clicked his tongue, but said nothing.

Denji nodded and motioned for him to continue.

"Sekai-san is someone who prepares everything ahead of time. If there is not time for that, he works on a defensive style to see what he needs to do in any situation. Shigenaga is the opposite of him in personality, so this probably carries into her fighting too."

"So she's been holding herself back by trying a defensive style while being a heavy offense type?"

"That's right. But that might why she chose to copy Hikigane Shield. It applies a defense while also letting her attack. Looking at that, it's the perfect attack for her."

"Then do you think she could get to SenSen's level of offensive-defense?"

Yuki shook his head.

Inukai raised a brow at him, but he let him continue.

"His build and abilities without his Side Effect are way different from what she can do. That's probably why she uses speed with her offense. It's what she's good at. Besides that..."

He stopped himself from continuing and motioned for the screen.

Inukai looked at the screen again and saw Shigenaga's next actions.

"Oh," he said.

"That's right," Yuki answered.

Shigenaga was moving forward without any reservation.

Even with Okudera having not been found yet, she was running forward regardless and preparing her next attack.

Koarai was already a good distance away, so it gave anyone the chance to respond to her movements. Moving in like that was reckless and pointless against opponents who uses Grasshopper like how Azuma Squad did.

The distance became even more important when they knew that Koarai had Hound to use instead of his his blade.

But that was only if everything was to be viewed as face value.

The first thing Okudera noticed was how Shigenaga put away her rifle. She will have to remake it after the damage it took.

It would cost her trion, but she must have thought that the effort was worth it here. There was still something wrong with her actions, no matter how he thought about it.

The time it takes to do that while moving forward doesn't seem worth it.

She had decided to recreate her rifle while also charging at the moving Koarai. The distance would close, open up, then remain stagnant at times. It was not something he was expecting from these two fighters.

Both of them were the type to rush into battle, thinking that retreating was something to be disliked. Fighting until the end was their way of doing things and it was off-putting how much they thought that to be the truth.

But recently, there was something that had changed. It could be seen in his teammates, but clearly missing from their opponent.

Koarai knows when to retreat now.

He might dislike it, but he knew that there times when that was needed. It was a development Okudera had been glad for.

But what about Shigenaga?

She was rushing forward with even more force than before. It was a complete offense without any plan of retreating and only defending when absolutely necessary. Even that felt like it was too much from her.

From where he hid, Okudera could see how both Koarai and Shigenaga would continue their pace, only getting faster as they went. It was starting to make it hard for him to simply jump in to start fighting with Koarai.

This was where he had messed up, he realized.

After that initial attack I should have gone in right away!

The speed of the battle had raised to something that would require him to get the right timing, forcing him to hide until that time came.

Koala: "Hey, you can come in at any time, you know!?"

Okkun: "The two of you keep moving around so much! I'm trying to make sure I don't end up getting hit!"

Koala: "Just take it like a man!"

If only everything was as simple as that.

"But..."

He had a point.

They worked best when fighting together. Holding off on doing so meant it would be easier for Shigenaga to fight here.

Now it was his choice to go in and fight or not.

Toby heard two distinct noises as he continued to fall forward.

The first was a fading sound of shot ringing out. That one was pretty far away and sounded less like a fight, making it obvious that someone was just messing with others.

Mitsuteru was the one to come to mind for that.

The other was...

An actual fight.

It sounds like it's right behind me, so it happened after I passed someone by.

Damn. That suuuuuuuucks! Why couldn't they have come out to fight me!?

He clicked his tongue, but continued to fall.

There was something he needed to do first, then he could worry about anything after that.

Honest Sister: "You're getting closer~ Just a little bit closer and you'll honestly be there~"

Lobo: "Stop talking like that, you lunatic! It's creepy!"

JK: "Alright, put it on."

He clicked his tongue for a second time.

Holding his hand to his chest, he activated a Trigger. The activation began with some sparks and were followed by a clothing coming down his back, starting from his neck.

Lobo: "I hate this so much."

Izumo: "I don't get what your problem is with Bagworm."

Lobo: "It takes up a slot I could use for something else! I had to toss out the second Shield so I could fit this and Hound!"

Izumo: "This mutt sure likes to bark a lot."

Lobo: "Go throw yourself into a sniper shot, you jackass."

It would be better if he didn't do that, but the idea that he might just do it to spite Toby did come up.

If he does, I'm going to wring his neck.

That sounded like a fair trade off to him.

"Anyways," he said.

Lobo: "I'm going to finish this quick then head over to whoever is fighting behind me. Take and Hoshi, make sure to be there when I get to it."

Izumo: "Don't tell your captain what to do."

Lobo: "Act like one first!"

Shooting Star: " Understood! I will quicken my pace while being careful!"

Honest Sister: "Hoshi-chan is honestly the best."

She isn't wrong.

Toby nodded at his own thoughts.

The noise behind him had reached a new point, but he could not look back to see what it was about.

Not being able to partake in that fight until after he gets done with his job felt bad, but this was something needed to be done. Out of their entire squad, he was the best choice for it, meaning he had no choice here.

But that was fine.

Because I doubt there won't be more fun afterwards.

He's finally there.

Kumagai watched from her seat surrounded by others. The fight between Shigenaga and Koarai had finally brought in the hiding Okudera.

The pace the two of them were keeping had reached a point where Okudera could not wait for the right moment and instead had to make the right moment for himself.

With Okudera getting involved it placed Shigenaga in a position where rushing in would not be enough.

But...

"That's what she wanted."

Kumagai looked to her side.

Everyone around her had come to watch the match, but the one who had spoken up had been Yoneya.

He was sitting next to Izumi, who was sitting next to Kōchō. The three of them were classmates of Shigenaga, so it was understandable as to why they were here to watch the match.

Beyond that, though, were two members of Tsukiko Squad. The first one, the one sitting directly next to Kōchō, was Asano, while Shana sat a seat behind her. It felt a bit cramped when she thought about it, but each seat was wide enough that everyone was fine to sit where they wanted.

Something that was clearly noticeable from all of this was not the three classmates, or even what had been said. It's the fact that Asano is wearing Takeshi's scarf. There's no doubt it's his.

They had all seen her take her seat with that scarf off, but bringing it up now felt like it would gain the attention of the cannibals on the other side of the hall.

But we all want to say something!

Everyone had been squirming in their seats to say something. For her, it was even harder to not say something when she had been helping Takeshi this entire time. Holding back here took all of her willpower to do.

But they managed.

All they could do now was listen to what was being said.

"Shigeko hates when things like that happen, so she wanted to drag out Okudera. Keeping up the pace and speeding it up even more meant she could leave him with no choice here."

"She's pretty impatient like that. It helps out when we need someone to get something done, though."

"Yeah, but we ended up being the ones she forced to do something. It sucks."

"It sure does," the idiot duo sighed while leaning towards each others.

Next to them, Kōchō smiled and lightly waved her hand.

"I will make sure she knows about your complaints."

The idiot two were quick to wrap their arms around each other and cry out in agony.

Kumagai felt her own eyes roll at their antics, but found them to be pretty funny.

Kōchō laughed lightly into her hand before looking at to the screen.

"But, with what Yone-kun said," she began. "That sounds right for Shigeko. She's a tough person to deal with. It usually makes the rest of us feel bad for Ariake-kun when we see the way she goes at him."

"Oh, don't worry about that. Mittsun is always fine with it. The two of them get along, so he understands that's just how she is."

The way Miura laughed at his own words eased things a bit.

But it was still a wonder as to how people like them got along as well as they did.

"What about you, Miura-kun? Do you and Miwa-kun get along with her?"

This time there was no immediate answer from him. Even Miwa, who was sitting directly behind her, only looked to the side.

The two of them clearly found it hard to answer such a simple question.

And that was what made it even more interesting.

After a few more seconds, Miura spoke up again.

"We...find it hard to deal with her. That rough personality is usually hard to get along with. Mittsun is normally our go-to whenever she comes up. Nire-chan is able to speak to her regularly, though."

"What I'm hearing is that you two are wimps."

"I'll make sure she knows about what you said earlier, Yōsuke."

"Nooooooooo! I'm sorry, Shūji!"

Maybe she could ask about what he said so she could use it against him some time.

"Hey, there's actually something I've been meaning to ask here. Maybe Miura-kun or Miwa-kun know?"

"It depends on what it is."

Kōchō nodded and asked, "Ariake-kun has been getting along pretty well with Kageura-senpai recently, right?"

"That's right. Apparently, he's been helping out Kageura Squad at times and knows Ema pretty well. Why?"

"If that's the case..."

The way she raised her brow while facing the screen had Kumagai following her line of sight.

When she looked to the screen she understood what the question would be.

"Why is he harassing Kageura-senpai so much?"

There was a silence around their group that was only surrounded by the noise around them.

At this point, everyone had reached the conclusion that this question had been on everyone's mind now.

The thing that made the question scary was the chorus answer that followed.

"Because that's how he is."

Shige-ko: "Are you done playing around with Kageura, you idiot!?"

Daybreak: "Sorry! I'm seriously sorry! It just happened!"

Feeling Alive: "It's his harassment impulses again! Let him be!"

Daybreak: "I stopped! I stopped! Seriously, I stopped! ...Oh, crap. Kageura-san looks mad."

Shige-ko: "Anyone would be after that! Now get your ass away from there!"

Daybreak: "...Oh."

Shige-ko: "What now?"

Daybreak: "Just made eye contact with Yuzuru."

Shige-ko: "I'll kill you if you Bail Out! You idiot!"

.

Shinichi laughed to himself as he heard the argument coming through.

He was looking through Ibis's scope and could see Shigenaga's fight against the Azuma Squad Duo. Holding out against the two of them seemed to take a lot from her, but it also continued to show just how skilled she was as a fighter.

2Truths1Lie: "Shin-kun, watch out when firing. Someone had gone off radar."

Feeling Alive: "It was in the direction of where Shigenaga saw Awdry."

2Truths1Lie: "He hasn't used Bagworm before, right? If he's using it now, he might be going for the Snipers. Make sure to watch yourself."

Feeling Alive: "Maybe it's to sneak into that fight?"

Kanji liked to give people the benefit of the doubt, but they all knew that Toby would never sneak into a fight. Everything was straightforward with him, making his actions more suspicious.

But that was fine.

Even if he was found out, he could get out of it.

There was nothing to worry about.

So he fired.

His aim had been correct and Shigenaga's timing was as great as usual.

The moment she moved backwards, he had fired.

The shot crashed into a shield, shattered it, and clipped Koarai's leg.

Shige-ko: "I'm retreating for now. Even with Asagi, I don't want to run the risk of Azuma-san or Kotowari Squad showing up."

As if answering her words, something shot into the air, leaving a trail behind.

It started as a single object.

Then it become two.

Then three.

This continued until there were six trails in the sky, each with a different trajectory.

One: "Looks like Hiro-chan went with grenades this time. Weird, since there are a bunch of tall buildings."

Daybreak: "Ah! I see one coming for me!"

Shige-ko: "That's because you put a fat target on yourself, idiot!"

One: "One's going for you too, Nana."

Shige-ko: "Tch. I figured. He wants to take the three of us out here."

So what would she do here?

He already knew that answer even while looking through Ibis's scope.

She continued to move back.

The grenades launched from a distance came crashing down. The first few made explosions off in the distance, but the one going for Shigenaga and the Azuma Squad Duo made it third to last.

The explosion shook the ground and the glass from the buildings. It landed in the middle of the trio, but it was hard to tell who had gotten hit due to the smoke that filled the space.

Shige-ko: "That was annoying."

Shigenaga had made it out of there.

So that just leaves...

Daybreak: "I made it! I made it!"

Feeling Alive: "Saaaaaaaafe!"

One: "Nice! I didn't lose my partner in crime!"

Daybreak: "I'm not commit crimes! Wait..."

Feeling Alive: "The mastermind has spoken up!"

2Truths1Lie: "You all are really enjoying yourselves here. Maybe I should follow up with that."

Shige-ko: "You idiots need to pay more attention!"

Right, they were in the middle of a match.

Their fun could continue during the match, but the best parts should be saved for once they had won the match instead of the start of it.

So that was what he would be aiming for here.

The grenade Meteoras had not reached him, but they were annoying to think about.

"That was a bit unexpected. Toby-kun should be fine, right?"

"The day that guy gets hit by a halfhearted attack like that is the day I start praising him."

Lobo: "So I just need to get hit by those attacks to get this guy to praise me!"

Takeshi clicked his tongue from under his scarf. He hadn't expected Toby to pay attention to what he was saying.

But that was also where he messed up.

Honest Sister: "What's this? The foolish dogs honestly wants praise from Take? That's perfect! I'm using that for the next one!"

JK: "A dog boy wagging his tail, asking for praise from his tsundere master. That sounds like it could totally be a hit with the right audience."

And now I'm the collateral...

Toby was guaranteed to get it after this match.

That was for later, though.

Right now there was the match itself to think about.

And the problem he found himself in with Hoshi was a rather annoying one.

...We can't give away where we are yet, but it's also the perfect time to attack them.

The "them" he referred to had been the Azuma Squad Duo who were moving out from the cloud of smoke that filled the open space.

He and Hoshi had made it to where the fight between Azuma Squad and Meishō Squad was taking place. The open area had been hit by the grenade Meteora, but none of the fighters seemed to have taken much damage from it. More than anything, it had been a smokescreen for the fighters.

Now it seemed as if the Azuma Squad Duo was preparing for what to do next by turning on Bagworm.

This was where he would need to make a choice.

"What do you want to do, Takeshi-kun?"

"Facing the two of them as we are will only end in our loss."

Honest Sister: "But if you let them escape then it would honestly give them more freedom."

JK: "They turned on Bagworm, so if they leave your sight then I doubt we'd see them until another fight breaks out."

"Thats true," he said under his breath.

Their squad was based on equality, but he still had his part as captain to make decisions at times like these. More than that, this relied on his thoughts as their main strategist here.

I'm pretty lacking as a strategist, even with Eri-san and Shishō's help.

But...

He took a breath and let it out.

An orb of trion formed in front of him. Hoshi's expression steeled before he waved off her thoughts.

"Toby, how soon do you think you can get the job done?"

Lobo: "Hm... Probably in 5 minutes."

Honest Sister: "Oh?"

She had noticed it too.

Honest Sister: "You're being generous with that one, aren't you?"

"What does she mean?"

Takeshi looked at Hoshi before making sure the Azuma Squad Duo was still within eyesight. It was understandable if she didn't know about their conversation topic.

He wanted to explain it to her, but they needed to keep going with the match.

So he made a second choice here.

Izumo: "Alright, he is what we are going to do."

Everyone was paying attention to him.

Izumo: "While Toby works on his job, Hoshi and I will be keeping Koarai-san and Okkun-senpai here. Once he's done, he can join us for a real fight."

"And Hoshi," he said, facing the girl again.

She nodded, so that was a good thing.

"I'll explain the situation while we keep moving."

Shinichi faced someone.

They were right in front of him.

But the angle was different.

This person was positioned perpendicular to him.

The enemy stood on the wall that was raised on the edges of the buildings.

He aimed his Ibis at that perpendicular opponent from a distance of 16 meters. He leaned out over the edge of the roof and readied one of his Triggers while preparing to remove Bagworm.

He aimed at the center of this opponent's torso and then asked a question.

"How many Snipers have you offed so far?"

"At close range, none. I leave taking out Snipers to Suzume."

Someone must have started talking to him and Shinichi asked a further question while watching his opponent persistently wave his hands from side-to-side.

"Do you think you can take me out here, then?"

"That's right!" The opponent crossed his arms while standing on the wall, raised his right upper arm, and raised his index finger. "It's because I refuse to lose to a distance fighter in close combat!"

Shinichi responded with a bewildered "huh?" and a gunshot.

.

"H-hey! Surprise attacks are cheating!"

"You looked like you wanted to move around, though!"

"I was only expressing my emotions! I'm a very expressive Attacker! Got that!?"

After making his claim, Toby took a fighting stance.

...Well, despite everything, I have to do this.

He had to win here.

He wanted to avoid fighting with ones like Kageura and the Azuma Squad Duo coming up, but he had no choice. He would do what had to be done and he would achieve the necessary results. That was what it meant to fight in the top tier.

"Now, then."

He controlled his breathing.

He kept his hips a bit low, but lifted his heels.

He gathered strength in his downward-pointing toes to support himself on the wall. And...

"Bring it!" shouted Shinichi.

That's the spirit, thought Toby.

This was the same as the fight between Taichi and Shigenaga Naki. That had happened two matches ago. It had been a painful loss for Taichi, but Shinichi appeared to be on a different level. So...

...Right.

Toby thought, This guy is the same as me here. We are going to enjoy ourselves to the very end and continue looking to the future no matter how badly we lose.

It was possible most of the people who were in the B-Rank wars were like that. After all, they would fight past the B-Rank Wars and fulfill themselves there.

Which meant...

...We all have a reason to not want to lose.

With that thought, Toby stepped forward.

The next gunshot signaled the beginning of their battle.