Shinichi was the first one to make an action.
He jumped backwards.
With his back to the edge of the roof he leaped over and into the open air.
This was followed by Toby's next action.
"Headfirst Fall."
Multiple sign frames appeared along his knee and foot, each being used to remove any obstacle in the way of his speed.
As they shattered one by one, he moved with the intent to increase his speed even more.
But instead of using that speed to catch up to Shinichi he made a different action.
He jumped.
Moving further to the right, he jumped from the building into the open air.
Once he was there he created a shield as a springboard.
In the distance he could see a white light beam tear through the air, but ignored it. His teammates would handle things while he did his job here.
To accomplish that he pushed off the shield and onto the building once more. This time he landed on the side of the building where the concrete was.
He opened more sign frame along his knee and foot before falling forward once more.
This time he raced to the side of the building and back into the open air.
Once he was in that free fall again he saw his opponent.
Shinichi was facing the top of the building with his Ibis ready.
He had expected Toby to chase him off the building by going forward.
Now the two of them were here.
"You're really weird, you know that!?"
"I take that as a compliment!"
"It was meant to be one!"
The two of them smiled to each other before they made their next actions.
.
Sniping from a distance and fighting at mid-range was something Shinichi was used to. It was just something he had to get used to when he was a Sniper with mobility skills.
But fighting in midair was something new to him.
Being put in a free fall with nothing to stabilize him felt strange, but not unwelcome.
It was something new and exciting for him.
But this guy might be more used to this than I am, so that sucks!
The Attacker had thrown himself from the building, pushed himself back to the building, ran along the side of it, and thrown himself back into the air. All fo those actions had been done a moment after he had leapt from the buildings.
That told him this Attacker could make snap decisions and enact them without fear of what would come next.
And that was enough.
I can't waste time trying to react to his movements. By the time he starts his next action he already knows how he wants to end it.
He could not hesitate for a moment or else he would be devoured here.
Being in midair meant he had a bit more time to move, but moving without a proper footing was difficult for him.
Still...
It's just something to enjoy, while it lasts!
He lifted Ibis with a swinging motion towards the Attacker and prepared to fire.
Then he saw it.
Squares that covered his knee appeared in front of his opponent. There were three in total.
A shield appeared behind his feet. He used that shield to throw himself back onto the building.
Without losing his momentum the Attacker ran along the side of the building with a sign frame shattering every few strides. His speed was increasing.
So what if we mess with that speed?
Attacking him now felt like it was impossible with the prior knowledge of what he would be doing. The speed he had at the moment was something that someone who was mostly a Sniper would not be able to keep track of.
So he aimed at something else.
He aimed at the glass of the building. Something that would not hit the Attacker, but would directly effect his speed and positioning.
Fire!
The shot rang out as it traveled the short distance. It crashed into the glass, shattering it and the surrounding area of it.
Light glistened off the shattered glass fragments as they fell to towards the ground. They were small and some broken apart even more, but Shinichi thought it was pretty to look at while he also fell alongside the glass.
With the glass and sections of concrete destroyed the Attacker had no path left to continue his run.
He has to either go into the building or go back into midair.
A path created for running could be messed up. This left the runner to decide on their next actions. Follow that broken path and lose their speed or go around the broken path and lose their speed?
It all ends with them losing their speed and momentum.
It was even more true for something like a speed enhancing Trigger.
Kiyome was a Trigger that "purified" or "pushed aside" anything that would obstruct the user's speed and slow them down. To continue this, the user would need to remain in constant motion to keep up their speed and make sure they had not lost their momentum.
So what if that speed and momentum was altered?
There isn't a ground for him to use and continuing forward means "falling" into the building.
The Attacker would need to make a choice here.
Shinichi watched to see what would happen while preparing another attack with Ibis.
"Next-"
"Headfirst Fall."
His eyes went wide at what he heard over the fast winds and shattering glass.
This Attacker had made his decision. And that decision was...
"I can keep falling as long as my feet can land on something, you iiiiiiidiot!"
.
I guess that was pretty immature of me, but I don't really care! No way am I going to let something like this keep me from moving!
Calling it a byproduct of his parents' treatment or simply the way he was, but there had never been a time where he did not want to keep moving.
Each movement was freeing and something only he could control. Any mistakes or changes were on him to deal with and no one else. The freedom to control everything about himself was what he enjoyed most out of anything else.
So this one thing meant nothing to him.
He would continue to fall whenever he wanted and run wherever he wanted.
Shattering glass and no path meant little to someone who found themselves in control of everything about themselves.
Now if only I could control myself when speaking to her...
It was the one thing he didn't like about himself. But it was also something not having to do with fighting. That meant it had no place here.
And yet...
I have way too much free time on my hands here.
He was in control of his body, his movements, his responses, and his next action. Yet, at the same time, he left those up to his body and his reflexes. They would be the things giving him this freedom.
That left his brain time to think.
When this match is over it means we won't be having fights like these anymore. We could still ask around for them, but it won't feel the same.
That sucks.
Oh, but I guess it would feel off regardless since Suzume isn't gonna be around after this match either. Well, not as a member of our squad.
That kind of sucks?
But complaining won't get me anywhere. I'll take what I can get and go from there.
That works.
At least I'll have more free time to work on stuff like my fighting and general placement around here.
That would be nice.
Oh! And I have more free time to spend with h- Them! Everyone! Yeah, spend time with everyone! Not any one person in particular! Not at all! Ha ha ha! ...Yeah.
Time with her sounds great.
Besides that, I can see if I can get any time with Step. I haven't been able to hang out with him for a while now and I'm having a bit of withdrawal because of it. I need to give him a biiiiiig hug when I see him and make sure to take him out to enjoy the city. If those crappy parents have anything to say about it, I'll make up some sort of excuse.
Screw them.
Well, whatever. When we get done here, I have a lot of things to do. Some of that even includes-... Oh, I'm already there.
Paying attention to his surroundings again, he realized that he had already jumped from the building.
The shattered glass reflected the light around them as well as both fighters.
White light beams could be seen in the distance and two or three explosions were heard a bit closer than the white light beams. Each one of them felt as if they were meant to compliment his movements, but that might have been a stretch his mind came up with.
But right here, right now, he was feeling a high. It was not just altitude, it was his mind taking everything in and enjoying it all at once.
He would use this high to begin his conquest. One that was meant to devour everything that stood in the way of him and his speed.
Shinichi was only the first one he had to face.
.
Toby pushed off of the concrete lines of the building and moved back into the air.
His feet touched nothing by the air, leaving him with no platform to use Headfirst Fall on.
His speed and momentum would be destroyed.
Shinichi made his next action by turning Ibis around and firing.
The recoil of the shot sent him moving forward in the air while also continuing to fall.
"If you can't land on something, what good is that speed!?"
"Didn't you hear me before!? It doesn't matter what it is! As long as there's something there, I can use it! I'm not weak enough to lose myself just because my entire foot can't land on it!"
Shinichi furrowed his brows at those words, but continued to move back toward the building with his recoil.
While he did this, Toby's next actions came in an instant.
The meaning to his words came at the same time.
Shinichi watched Toby moved forward and saw the glittering reflection of the false sun on the glass. The noise around them complimented this and some of it could even be seen inside of that glass, but the real value of it was what he saw it used for.
Toby did have something to land on.
His whole foot was not required for the continuous movement Headfirst Fall gave him.
He only needed his toes and...
"The glass!?"
"You finally got it!"
Toby's toes landed on the shattered glass fragments falling at the same time three sign frames appeared on his knees.
"But where are you going to fall!?"
"There's more than just down that a person can fall!"
.
Shinichi saw an arcing form fly up into the daytime sky.
It was Toby.
He had pulled himself up from the fall and used that momentum to jump even higher than before.
It was all a series of forcible actions.
When looking at it a moment ago, Shinichi had seen no footholds for Toby to use Headfirst Fall on.
Activating Headfirst Fall in the empty air would only lead to falling.
Even if he could supply a proper direction and shift his position, he could not escape the falling motion.
But that was only without a foothold.
Toby had created a foothold for Headfirst Fall.
He had kicked off the countless shattered glass fragments falling with them.
"—"
And he fell.
He directed his fall toward the building once more and slammed into it.
The rest of simple.
He repeatedly "fell toward" the building's roof and used that momentum to jump.
"This guy is even more wild than Nana."
His brain hair formed an arc a she fell from the daytime sky.
He fell toward the air once more with something else happening.
Their fight was not yet over. So...
"...Here I go!"
Shinichi held Ibis in both hands and took aim again.
He had to clear away this opponent for the rest of his squad.
"Here I go...!"
He made his choice.
.
This is like that time with No, Toby thought with a smile.
Unlike that time, there was no reason for him to give a bitter smile, so he gave one with all of his teeth.
There was no questioning himself or his speed anymore. Everything had been released with his friend's help and now he could feel this freedom without worrying about it.
This was more than just an attack. He had already thought about what to do in case it was deflected, so he was prepared to spin his body.
It was an attack that could be immediately transformed into defense. It was difficult to do so with his hips solidly behind it instead of acting out of hesitant uncertainty.
But this was how he would be fighting since that time.
Attack and defense.
Ever since being reminded of the fundamentals, he never forgot about this.
He had already forgotten once.
When faced with a powerful enemy, he had grown impatient, prioritized defeating them, and forgotten to protect himself.
Ever since he had gone on the rooftop race it felt like he was thinking of new ways to defend himself, just in case.
His thoughts of these battles distorting his sense of defense were shattered the moment Noah had gone in to attack him. More than just lethal attacks, he would now do what he could to erase any damage headed his way.
Because that was how others had predicted his actions.
He had been in such a hurry to defeat others that even splashing some water had been enough to read his actions.
...But...
There had been someone who had pulled him back from that.
That was the point of that night.
When Toby had been ready to let it end, Noah had sent an attack toward his face.
At the time, Toby had intended to let it hit him, but he had dodged it.
His training and experience had given him a sense for avoiding danger.
And it had activated despite his intentions.
Hm. I was really dolling it up, wasn't I? I should just face the facts and say that I was always running away.
...That's how I ended up in Mikado City to begin with.
He gave a bitter laugh at that, but replaced it when he continued to think back.
The balance he had seemingly never had before came to him in that instant.
Noah had been the most relieved. And Toby had been the second most relieved after seeing what was inside him.
But, thought Toby while preparing his next attack on Shinichi.
...I'm really glad that No didn't just tell me.
It would have been meaningless if he had simply been told it.
And Noah had trusted that he would realize it on his own.
Toby understood that now.
And there was one thing he could say now.
"This is it...!"
He had regained enough of himself after that to say this.
He had been weak, but now he was strong.
He had been quick to lose his confidence and show off his weakness to gather concern.
But now he was here.
"I've been getting through to so many people recently!"
He did not fear how he would be judged.
He could stand to remained focused on himself. And...
"...!"
He sent an attack to Shinichi.
Shinichi swung his Ibis with both hands, but it meant nothing here. Toby's attack was meant for someone else, after all.
"Who are you attacking with that!?"
Because...
"That sort of thing isn't for fighting a normal person!"
When he heard that, Toby remembered another person he needed to thank.
Someone else had shown up in front of him recently and...
...That's right.
There was someone who he saw as his equal.
She was not above him, but she was not below him either in fighting ability. So Toby thanked her. And he thanked the girl who had brought that equal to him.
Toby thanked all three of them as his body floated up.
It hovered.
And Shinichi tried to attack him.
His attack arrived to his right in midair.
The two of them were close to reaching the ground and were now facing each other with one being above the other.
Toby looked down and saw Shinichi's brown hair spreading out into the glass-filled air.
At the same time, he also saw the white light beams appear in the distance.
"I need to end this."
"Those movements..."
Osamu hummed under his breath while watching one fo the B-Rank War matches. Around him were the rest of the Tamakoma Branch as well as two members of the Yagura Branch with their director.
To have all of these people here next to him made it feel like he was missing something. But that didn't matter right now.
What he was seeing here was something he had seen before.
"Do you know what's happening, Osamu?"
It had been Karasuma who asked, but the way he continued facing the screen in front of them made him think that there was no reason to look back to answer.
So he answered while still watching the match.
"I do. At least, I understand what is happening."
After all...
"These are the same things he did against Shor. Kitora and I had been watching them at the time, so we saw what happened. It was the night they were racing on the festival stands."
It had been a sight he would not forget.
Both fighters had shown him things he would not have thought would be possible without seeing it in person. Kitora's comments had been harsh, but that was just how she was.
"Oh, I remember that. I had wanted to join so bad!"
"Konami-senpai would have destroyed the area."
"That's not true!"
"She does seem the type."
"Hey, new girl, I can hold back!"
"You can, Konami-senpai? You didn't do that the first time we fought."
"Geh!?"
How did that turn into a question...?
That didn't matter right now either. The older members of the branch liked to act however they wanted no matter who was around.
The ones reacting most to his words, even while not vocal about it, were the three men in the room. Two of them being branch directors.
The first to speak up was his own branch director.
"Are you sure you didn't teach him anything, Chi-chan? That seems like the type of move you would tell your students about."
"Tch. Don't get on me for what I was like before."
"'Before'? That's a good one."
The Yagura Branch Director clicked his tongue again.
"Regardless," he said. "I didn't teach any of the middle school kids anything about fighting for Border. It was only the high school ones before them that it happened with."
"Look how those guys turned out."
"We aren't going to speak about that."
"It sounds like you all have a lot of fun over here."
"That's one way to look at it," both directors said with a wave of their hands.
They seemed to be enjoying themselves.
He could see why.
"What did you think, Mikumo?"
"Huh?"
"What did you think about watching them that night? And as a followup: what do you think about what you are seeing right now?"
He had not expected the Yagura Branch Director to speak to him directly, let alone ask him about his thoughts on what he was seeing.
This would have been the third time he had seen the Kotowari Squad Attacker in action, but the impact he left was still just amazing. The screen may have diminished the impact when compared to seeing everything in person, but he knew that he would not forget those two other times.
Kotowari may be his friend, but his partner left much more of an impact.
It was no different this time.
"That night... It reminded me of what is possible. Shor had been helping Awdry get over something, but I got shown what kinds of things are possible. Maybe not for me, but I got a better understanding after that. It was the same as when I see Kuga or Hyuse fight. Even more so when I think of just the A-Ranks I have seen fight."
"And this time?"
"I am seeing what those possibilities look like. If that night showed me what could be possible, this fight is showing me what those possibilities lead to."
The Yagura Branch Director nodded from his seat. Around him were everyone else giving their own impressions of his words.
But the one to continue the conversation was the Yagura Branch Director.
"That's good. If my students can help others then it makes me happy."
"Heh. You would want that, wouldn't you? Hey, don't mind this guy's words too much. He just wants to make sure his branch is the type to have freedom while helping others out."
"Isn't that like our branch, Boss~?"
"Yeah, but he's just a lunatic. We at least have style."
Majority of his fellow branch members gave thumbs up while the Yagura Branch members and the man with his daughter only looked confused. As for the Yagura Branch Director...
"Takumi..."
"Yes~?"
Osamu tucked in his legs to his chest, Chika and Kuga following his example. As soon as he did everything went into action.
The Yagura Branch Director made a leaping start from his seat to reach his branch director.
The two branch directors circled the room twice before someone stepped in between the two of them.
"...The both of you, please settled down. ...There are children here."
.
The large man with gray hair and two children on his shoulders stood between the two grown man, overshadowing them to the point that they seemed much smaller than they were.
Osamu was amazed by the sight of the man, wondering how he had made it into the branch office without anyone noticing him. But more than that...
...He's tall.
He had thought that someone like Reiji was as tall of a person as he would see around Mikado City, but this man stood even taller than him. The sheer size of the man's build seemed to be roughly the same, but the hight that was added on to his appearance was something that none of them could overlook.
And yet no one batted an eye at him.
More than that, two people in the room instantly reacted to the man's presence. Or rather, to the presence of the two children on his shoulder.
"Mitsu! Step!"
"Stepney!"
It had been the two youngest people there.
The tall man lowered himself to his knees so that the two children on his shoulders could get off and reach their friends.
He also moves to easily.
With his build, Reiji's actions always felt like they had power and intent whenever he moved, even while trying to be gentle. This man, with a similar build and a taller body, moved even better than that and with more smoothness to him.
It was strange to see something like that.
"...Was there something you needed?"
"Ah... No, sorry. I was just wondering..."
"...Pyrínas. ...Affiliated with Border, in a sense. ...I watch these children. ...Feel free to address me in any way you want."
"Hey, hey, RB07! What's up! Meet Little Hyu! Little Hyu over here! Yeah, this guy who thinks he's- Geh!"
The speed at which Hyuse turned, delivered a roundhouse kick, then went back to looking at the screen was also something amazing. It must be his training. But he had learned by this point to ignore the crumbling Yagura Branch member and let Hyuse be.
The tall man - Pyrínas - must have known this already with the way he nodded in their direction. He looked from the comedy duo back to Osamu, all while keeping the two branch directors away from each other.
"...Now, then. ...Can I ask you about what I missed in the match so far?"
Toby was back in the air and was looking down to his opponent.
Instead of giving up, Shinichi was taking aim to try and attack him. That's pretty gutsy, so I'll give that some points.
But that was all he could do for Shinichi.
Everything that came after that was something he had to do for his squad.
He created a shield behind his feet so that he had something else to active Headfirst Fall on.
Shinichi took his shot, but the distance was too great.
Toby's reflexes moved his body while he focused on the best path for it.
The ground was coming up in only a few moment, so he chose the best way to use it.
He pushed off the shield and hit the building again. This time he used it as another springboard while creating a Scorpion blade in his hand.
With a push and a thrust, he moved toward Shinichi.
This should just about do it.
But...
Crap!
His felt his reflexes react again, this time making him lift his left.
Shinichi had lifted Ibis again, but there was no time to move out of the way.
So he touched the top of it with his foot.
I have to make this quick!
The reason for his reflexes moving him had not been due to Shinichi's movements, so he had only a moment to take out his opponent and score a point.
"Headfirst Fall!"
He ran along the muzzle of Ibis and continued once his feet touched the ground.
Spinning on his toes, he turned around and activated Headfirst Fall again.
His reflexes moved him again.
This time he moved away from Shinichi.
A shot came soon after, hitting his opponent in the head.
"Craaaaaaaap!"
"Aw! That was a pretty messed up kill! Sorry about that! Have fun with the rest of the match, though!"
Those had been his opponent's final words.
Bail Out.
Mom: "Even with that display of skill, the one to obtain the point against Meishō Squad was the captain of Azuma Squad."
Myth: "Awdry-kun had likely noticed what would be happening and tried to finish the fight before Azuma-san could fire a shot. He was a moment too late, I'm afraid."
Rampage Dress: "His reflexes had kicked in at the last moment, so he chose to follow them instead of stalling and running the risk of getting taken out as well. While this is the case, it did accomplish some things here."
Kiyome: "Yes, it had cost Kotowari Squad a point, but it left them in a better position than when this match started. In particular, it showed what Awdry is capable of with Kiyome. Something like that can hold back Azuma Squad and Meishō Squad back from attacking him without multiple plans in place."
Rampage Dress: "That's right. Is also accomplished something that could change how this match goes. ...It shows both of those squads that a lot can be done without the use of any other Triggers."
.
Asuka sighed without covering her mouth while listening to the running commentary.
What they had been saying was true, but it was clear that they also wanted to give Awdry the benefit of the doubt here. The fact remained that he had lost a point, so they were trying to dress it up like he had still done something while losing that point.
Takato-san I can understand, but what about Kanzaki?
There had been no connection between that Attacker girl and the Attacker boy that she knew of. For her to try and make things seem better than they were was just strange.
Whatever. I know what's going on here. Besides, there's another problem we have to deal with...
The noise directly behind her.
"Aw, c'mon! How did you lose like that, Shi!? You were supposed to win here!"
"Shut up, Minamisawa. You're being too loud here."
"But Shi totally shouldn't have lost! "
"Then complain to him later on. We're trying to watch the match."
"You just want to watch Tokyo go at it! But he's just been harassing Kage-san the entire time!"
That one must have hit hard with the way Urushima clicked his tongue violently.
In a way, it was funny to see how the money lover got told the truth when it was something he didn't like.
Yeah, Kane-shima can be like that.
But it brought a question to mind.
Du-Sis: "So, what's the story with Kane-shima and Ariake anyway?"
Simple Boy: "It is one of tragic love, an assortment of sports, loss, tragedy, comedy, drama, and a hint of melancholic enjoyment."
Du-Sis: "...I feel like I don't even want to know at this point."
Decoy: "Daigo, Daigo! Don't just repeat whatever Jinsei-senpai tells you!"
The loud shout from across the room that followed Hanzaki looking to his phone was ignored.
Whoever it was probably deserved it.
Simple Boy: "I see. Then I do not know the situation myself. Sorry for that, Suzaku-san."
Du-Sis: "You're fine. Anyone else know the story?"
Kane-shima: "Are you people idiots? I'm right here and can see what you're putting."
Du-Sis: "If only one of them were here to answer. Then again, Kane-shima would probably say something that would make me want to shoot him."
A chorus of "ooooooooohhhh" was heard around her and Urushima's narrowed eyes told her everything.
She just shrugged her shoulders and looked back to the screen.
Awdry had turned on Bagworm again and was already moving away from where his fight had taken place.
There was no time wasted in moving on to the next location. It was a decision that was easy to make, but one that took a moment to go over.
I guess it makes sense that he wouldn't want to stay still after he just lost a kill.
For someone like him, it must have been a harsh blow to lose a point like that. She was the same as him in that regard, so she understood just how he must be feeling right now.
Since she could understand his feelings here she also understood what he would be doing next.
Du-Sis: "Everyone is going to be doing even more now, aren't they?"
Old Temple: "Looks that way. Azuma Squad will want to keep up the momentum and Kageura Squad might feel like they are behind now. As for the other two squad..."
Asuka knew what he meant.
Even if Kotowari Squad had not been taken out, their feelings about the situation must have been the same as Meishō Squad. After all...
"They just got humiliated by Azuma-san," she said with a sigh.
Some of the people around her nodded their heads with her words.
Most of them seemed to understand what she meant.
Simple Boy: "Meishō Squad has lost a member, so they need to make up for that by scoring more than they lost. Meanwhile, Kotowari Squad has lost a point after putting in the work and now need to make up for that loss of work by getting more points than they had lost."
Decoy: "From the looks of things, Kotowari Squad seem to be going after Koarai and Okudera. The two there are probably waiting for Toby, but they are also using up trion keeping those two in place."
Minty: "But won't they just be in the way when Toby gets there? Taiyōko and Take-chan aren't good enough to keep up with Toby as it is, if they try to keep pace with him and the other two then I'm pretty sure they would just be in the way."
Torimaru: "They aren't like that, though. Takeshi might think something like that, and even Taiyōko could have a thought or two, but Toby and Suzume-chan would only see it as them all working together. Toby especially. He isn't the type to view others as 'being in his way'."
That was true. Asuka got to see firsthand just what Awdry was like and it never felt like he was thinking less of anyone, no matter if he was better than them or not.
Knowing that only made her more irritated at the commentators for trying to make things seem better than they were for Kotowari Squad.
"But I guess there's isn't anything I can do about it."
"Is that really how you want to look at things?" Tokieda asked from his spot next to her. To his right was Satori, but he seemed more focused on paying attention to the match than talking with them.
That was fine. He had someone he wanted to see in the match, after all.
As for her...
"There isn't any other way to look at it. Anything I have to say about this match is just going to be overshadowed by what others have to say."
"I can hear what you have to say."
"Then I won't say anything. I'll just ask a question."
"And that would be?"
She had already asked it before, but she got no real answer from it.
"What's the deal with Kane-shima and Ariake?"
.
Everyone listening to the conversation turned from Asuka to Urushima. That was what Rika saw as she sat with the others her age.
Even though she wanted to watch the match alongside Urushima, the others had called out to the two of them and split them up to be in their respective groups.
She was fine with this, but...
...I want to make sure he doesn't accidentally say anything bad about Mittsun-san.
Everything Urushima had to say about Mitsuteru was not an accident, but putting it like that lessened the impact of them. It left her feeling as if there was a chance for the two of them to make up and put them back to how they had been before.
But that was more difficult than she had expected.
Mitsuteru had always remained there, ready to accept the two of them. There was never anything but patience and understanding, even now.
In return, he had only gotten ire from Urushima and apologizes from her.
6Ri: "Um, are you really going to tell them, Tokieda-kun?"
Toki: "Not if you two aren't fine with it."
Kane-shima: "Doesn't matter to me. Holding back from speaking about a pathetic person is just a waste of time that could be used on something else."
TetsuG: "Like making money?"
Kane-shima: "If you already know, you don't need to say it."
Life: "It sounds like Kane-shima's trying to hide his feelings! Yeah! His feelings on how he really feels about feeling these feelings for Mittsun! Well too bad! Yuki already has dibs on him! Yeah, even if things are weird, the two of them definitely-"
The solid noise that rang out in the hall made Rika jump and look around.
From where she sat she could see the crossdresser against the wall with his butt out and both legs crossed behind him.
Sometimes it was amazing to see how the human body could contort when it needed to.
Isa: "You guys can ignore that guy."
Simple Boy: "Please make sure to stack something onto Vice-Captain-san's butt. He tends to feel lonely if he if left alone like that."
Kuma: "Is he some sort of rabbit...?"
Pokari: "I take some offense to that."
It must have been a minor offense if Hokari got up to place three shoes on top of Kirikari's raised butt and a fourth one on his head.
...I am a bit confused, but bringing that up might not end well.
She left herself to remain confused instead of causing another scene.
The group a year younger than her seemed to have taken the pause as a chance to stop Kirikari's teammate from saying something else before looking to Tokieda.
Toki: "So is there any complaints about me explaining the situation?"
It was up to her for this decision.
Urushima chose to ignore everything about Mitsuteru, so it left her with this choice to make.
6Ri: "Could you not go into too much detail, please? This is more so between those two."
"Got it," he said.
Toki: "Then, to make it short: Urushima and Ariake-senpai had a falling out."
Lobo: "Sorry for messing up there."
Honest Sister: "If losing a kill to Azuma-san means you need to apologize then so many people honestly need to be forgiven."
Even if that was true, it still hurt to lose a point to someone else.
He had worked for that point and had fun fighting against Shinichi, so losing it that easily hurt more.
...I need to get to a point where even Mr. Azuma can't take it from me!
He would need to climb even more. Even if it meant he needed to fall for a bit.
Izumo: "Just make up for it by getting over here."
Lobo: "Are the two of you actually fighting them now?"
Shooting Star: "No, but it is becoming harder to remain out of sight since Takeshi-kun's attacks tend to draw attention. I have split up from him to place some traps, though. May we get some assistance to show Toby-kun where they are placed?"
JK: "Already on it. With everyone working in the same general area my job is made totally easier. Keep it up and I'll be able to be ready for anything!"
Honest Sister: "So you will honestly be ready to tell us when someone is coming to attack?"
JK: "That's right!"
Honest Sister: "Then tell me why I can see Koala and Okkun already moving towards Take."
There was complete silence, even as Toby ran to catch up to the others.
It took another moment before someone spoke up.
Shooting Star: "I-it is fine! It is really fine! I will go support him!"
Izumo: "Hah... I'll deal with them, I guess. Toby, hurry over here."
JK: "Don't judge me!"
Honest Sister: "Too late."
"Someone looks like they're having fun over there."
Feeling Alive: "Says the one who barely escaped getting blown up."
That one hurt, but Kanji was right. Mitsuteru had only escaped Kitazoe's explosions by leaping from the building he was on and changing his positioning within the following smoke so that Yuzuru would not be able to find him.
He chose to not regret his choice and let out a breath through his nose. Any tension that had built up had been released as he tumbled into the room after shattering the glass in the way.
With no one seeing where he had gone, he moved closer to the center of the building and towards the stairs. The glass that covered the buildings gave the outside a perfect view of the insides, so he would need to remain hidden as best he could.
With the situation being what it was, he no longer had the luxury of moving carelessly.
"Why did Shinichi-kun have to go and get taken out!? It makes things so much more awkward for me!"
One: "My bad~ I didn't think two of the powerhouses here would come for me!"
Shige-ko: "Did you get everything out of your system, you idiot?"
Daybreak: "Yeah. Sorry about that."
"But," he continued.
There was something he had noticed while on his harassment spree.
Daybreak: "I was right."
2Truths1Lie: "So you really were testing out that theory. Have you come to a conclusion?"
Daybreak: "I have. The next time we go after Kageura-san, I can provide some good support."
Shige-ko: "Good, because you're our only support now!"
That was true, but he still felt bad for Shinichi.
Shigeko can really be rough at times. This time there was a good reason for it.
Looking down the hall, he saw a mirror and stopped. He looked into the mirror and saw the reflection of the glass and outside through it.
The buildings he could see see through that reflection didn't seem to have anyone around them, but he could not clearly inside of them or below them.
He knew what kind of things could happen with that little information, so he moved around to make sure his own reflection could not be caught in the mirror.
Right, even if there are still things that I would rather not want to remember about back then, there are a lot of things I learned from back then.
...Even if there are a lot of things I learned back then that I would rather not remember...
Kimura-senpai's jokes are particularly painful to remember...
...Wait, what exactly do I want to remember?
He froze for a moment at the thought of all the things he had retained because of his first squad.
There was one thing he remembered in the mix of information.
All of them were pretty terrible!
They seemed to all get worse with time, but that was just how things were with them.
But...
There were good times with them. And beyond them, I had good times learning things with those other squads.
That's right...
It was not just that squad where he had learned things.
He would be able to show that here.
Daybreak: "Shigeko, where are you headed now?"
Shige-ko: "I'm going to take out those annoying grenades."
2Truths1Lie: "Oh, would you like me to head over too? It looks like Kotowari Squad and Azuma squad are going to be going head-to-head soon and I don't think there is a place for me on that battlefield."
Shige-ko: "That would be helpful. Kitazoe is slow as it is, so your Lead Bullets will be good to hold him in place."
2Truths1Lie: "Very well then. And you, Teru-kun? What will you be doing in the meantime?"
The answer he had ready would not be one that Shigenaga was going to enjoy, but he had made his choice on the matter here.
After all...
Daybreak: "I need to show off what I've learned already."
Shige-ko: "You better not do what I think you're going to! I'll beat you to a pulp if you do!"
Daybreak: "I guess you have to beat me up then. But don't worry, I don't plan on confronting them head on."
He could imagine Shigenaga clicking her tongue at him.
That would be fair. I have to make it up to her later, though.
He smiled inside at that simple thought and nodded.
"I should get going now."