The match had been called and the commentary had ended. Even with that being the case, Sekai did not move from his seat.
With his head in his hand, he looked around to the room to see the others begging to move.
"Fiiiinally! I can get away from this airhead!"
"I should be the one saying that. Getting away from this idiot feels nice."
"Ninomiya-san, Yuki, can we please be civil until we leave the room?"
The twin glares Inukai got was a bit amusing, but not enough to stop the sigh that escaped his lips.
They all seemed to be enjoying themselves, which was nice. If they had been down after that match then it would have been up to him to change that.
But with Yuki here...
Even if he went into action, Yuki would know why he did so. From there, he would fake his own happiness just to make sure Sekai would have less to do, no matter if he got caught or not.
Yuki was no longer Unneeded, but he understood his and Denji's values well enough that he could do something about it.
He let out another sigh.
"Looks like Kō's match is over, so I'm going to bug Kage and Zoe and probably meet up with the rest of the idiots. What about the two of you?"
"I'll join you. The rest of them were watching the other matches, so it's probably going to be a mass gathering."
"I want to join, but we have our match later on. Last minute practice is good, so I'm going to be meeting Tsuji-chan. Plus, I hear that Shiro was with him. Along with Mukuro-kun~"
That was an interesting amount of information.
Without moving positions, Sekai listened in on the conversation.
If Yuki's siblings are getting buddy-buddy with others then I might need to keep track of them. It's irritating, but I don't want something to happen because of my own carelessness.
Getting pulled in by something like that had costed the squads fighting some points. Unlike them, his carelessness could lead to losing more than something as simple as points.
"Well, we probably won't be partying until later tonight, anyway. That way we can have everyone around. I know that Sensei wanted to gather a lot of us together. It's probably so he could make fun of you guys in the BRWs, criticize you all, or give you some pointers."
"Only one of those sounds good..."
"Don't worry. The ones who were actually his students will get the hardest hits. Then it'll probably be the ones who went to the same school, then everyone else. I doubt people like me, Kanzaki, Isa, Kimua and the Suzaku duo will be let off the hook."
"I'm kind of terrified of what I'm going to be hearing later..."
Sekai froze at the new set for the conversation.
Knowing about that cannibalistic group going to party only meant he needed to keep his distance from there.
But hearing about Akasora had changed that thought into something else.
That teacher had been a guiding point for him as someone wanting to do something for others. Someone like him had been through the Gates, seen the other side, came back, and still retained his humanity and was needed by those around him.
That had been his ideal life before.
...That can't happen anymore.
All he would be able to do was try to teach others so that they would be able to make better judgements than him. Mistakes that he had made could be avoided by them and he would be the only person who would have to deal with them.
"Hah... Hey, Yuki."
Would it have been right to say it was amusing the way they all jumped at his voice?
I guess I can't really decide that.
Denji laughed at them, though, so it must have been fine to say it was funny.
"Y-yes?"
"Tell A- ...Tell that idiot I have as a teammate that he better be ready for our match later. If he isn't..."
"If he isn't...?"
Nothing needed to be said for them to understand what would happen if he wasn't there.
All three of them nodded their heads before turning around and quickly walking out.
"R-right! Yeah, I'll let that guy know!"
"Oh, I might go too, just to make sure he knows!"
"I'll send a message right now to make sure he knows!"
.
"And what about you?" Denji asked from his spot by the window.
Sekai followed his sight to look at Ninomiya. He was facing the only other person in the room.
Ninomiya narrowed his eyes towards the door and looked back to the two of them. Understanding his position here, he relaxed in his chair, but Sekai could see that he was poised to take action at any moment.
He was wary of them. That was good.
"What about me?"
"You don't want to go down and see your lover? I'm sure he'll need something before he has to deal with Former #3. Their situation is still bad, isn't it?"
Sekai let out a sigh and motioned for Denji to get closer.
He did so with a grin and a quick "Whaaaaaat do you need?"
Once he was within range, Sekai made a quick jab towards his stomach.
"Toh!?"
Idiot, he thought. If Denji had wanted to dodge the hit then it would have been easy for him to do so.
But the point he had wanted to make came through.
"We won't get involved with any of those situations, so don't worry about it, Masataka."
"You two..."
"Hm?"
Ninomiya's next action was understandable, but Sekai noticed himself trying to respond to it on reflex. He held himself back before Ninomiya's finger was pointed at him.
"How do the two of you get your information? That sort of thing should have only been known by those involved and myself. Inukai made sure that everyone else only saw the general situation."
"...Hah. Don't think about it and don't delve into it. Someone like you doesn't have a reason to worry about something you can't change."
"That doesn't mea-"
"Ninomasa."
Sekai was quick to lift his arm to move Denji away from him.
Instead of that happening, Denji reacted by leaning in closer to him. This caused Sekai's arm to over shoot.
When he was ready to shift his arm to at least hit Denji, he move backwards to meet his arm. This linked his arm to Denji's waist and pulled him in.
With the armrest in the way, Denji fell over and landed on Sekai's lap.
The impact was irritating, but Sekai felt true irritation at how Denji was quick to get comfortable.
Not wanting him to do anything against Ninomiya, he held Denji in place and slammed his elbow into his stomach.
Denji gave a sudden noise, but still managed to get his words out.
"...If you want to...know about that stuff...go ask the Former...#3... Sekai! Sekai! That really hurts!"
"It's supposed to, idiot. Hah. Don't go telling him something like that. Look, he's already scrunched up his face because of the idea."
Denji and Sekai looked over to see Ninomiya turned away with his brows together and his lips pulled tight.
There was next to no one in Border who didn't know about that situation between Yuki and Ninomiya, meaning it was easy to cause this sort of reaction.
But it also meant that the situation was serious enough that they had to resort to it.
...Masataka isn't stupid. And airhead, sure, but not stupid. He will know it's something to look into if Denji had to bring Yuki into this as a counter.
If he did that then it would be up to the two of them to steer him in a different direction before he could find anything out.
Then again...
"Keh."
There was someone else who could find the answer for him.
...We might have to do something about her then.
The sounds coming from the main room could be heard, but Mitsuteru was not focused on that at all. There was something more important at the moment.
Their match had just ended and the commentary for it concluded afterwards. Everything that had been said was something he took to heart and would think about later.
But right now...
"Hey, are you okay?"
"Leave me alone."
"Is this because of your eagerness at the start of the fight?"
Shigenaga looked up to glare at him before putting her head back down on the mat she was laying on.
Ever since she had lost her fight against Kageura, she had been laying on the mat without moving. Now that he was here, it was up to him to figure it out.
The others had decided it was better to give the two of them some space for this.
"Don't worry about it. I won't be giving you empty words or promises. I'll keep things straight with you, seeing as how I want the same here."
"...I don't like this. I don't like the things that happened there. It pisses me off, but I know there isn't anything I can do about it."
"That's fine, isn't it?"
She was stronger than him. Unlike him, she could make up for her mistakes without any help.
"Besides, I'm at fault for needing your help in the first place. I should have been more attentive."
"You shouldn't have been in that position to begin with. It was my mistake to fight by myself that caused that problem in the first place."
Even if that was true, she would have no reason to be acting like this.
So it was something more than that. Maybe she realized something while we were fighting. But what could that have been to leave this impact on her?
"Was there something you wanted to accomplish here? You tend to get hyper focused when that's the case."
"...How is it?"
What?
"How is it in that world of yours? The one where everything can be easily solved with others?"
This was what she wanted to ask him.
In their last major match he had started to reach where she was. The world she had created that had been brought to life and the one where she needed to stay while watching out for him.
During that time, he had gotten a bit closer to her world, but not enough that he left his own. It was a nice enough thought, but he realized just what that meant for her now.
He had not gotten any closer after that.
I see... So that's what Seiji-san meant when he said that she was a like that lonely girl.
Sometimes it was amazing how their captain was able to determine that kind of thing about them but was unable to lead them properly when going into a fight. The duality was nice, but a bit excessive.
"You know," he started. Shigenaga shifted a bit, but otherwise didn't move. "The world you once created inside your dreams will probably live on somewhere, even if you just come over here."
"Don't talk to me like I'm some child. I know how I am, so just say it to me straight."
That was what he was trying to do, but he also wanted to reach her.
After all...
...I can't take back those words from back then.
He had said something horrible to her in the past and he knew that he had to make it up to her.
"I just want you to have a future you want to find and live your life in. We're both pretty unique, like two stars. But you shine way more brightly than I do. That's why we like you the way you are, no matter where you are."
So.
"Let's keep going forward, even if we know we might part separate ways. So for as long as possible, can we just stay as we are? I've put my faith in you and I'll always believe in you."
This was all he could say to her at this point. Something meant to get through to her, but not to distract her or divert her attention away from what was in front of them.
The only thing remaining would be her response.
.
...Not good.
Shigenaga thought in that instant.
How was she supposed to respond to this one? She had an idea, but...
"I guess that won't work."
No matter what she did, answering back to this was not going to be easy. But she never had too many attachments to others, so...
...I guess this is fine.
She decided to get a good view of some scenery in her mind instead of focusing on this.
She was currently inside her own head.
There was a garden, fields beyond that, and a path through the field.
She stood on the path, but where was she to go now?
...What's the sight beyond here?
This is complete escapism, she thought with a bitter smile.
She turned toward the rows of field and cast her gaze beyond them.
"—"
She saw someone there.
They were taller than she was and they sat on the bank of a stream with their back to her.
...Is that...?
Just as she thought that, she felt her vision grow dark.
She feared she would truly leave, but it soon cleared up.
There was a straw hat on her head and a dress instead of her usual clothes. And...
"He's gone."
The person she had seen had disappeared.
After confirming they were nowhere to be seen, she took a breath.
"Could I have stayed with you?"
And...
"It isn't over until I can."
.
Shigenaga opened her eyes.
Inside the Meishō Squad operating room, her multiple thoughts were still going.
She was laying down on the mat while being looked over by Mitsuteru. So...
"Ahh, this is so lame...!"
She stopped worrying about appearances.
She actually let herself appear vulnerable in front of him.
.
"I should have asked for you help!"
She had screamed out those empty words and promises.
"I hate my choices and what the end result had become! I shouldn't have done any of that!"
She was holding on to the her that no one else could ever touch.
"You! And them! Please help me when I need it! And I want to help you all, too!"
She wanted to see the rise of a brand new world light up the dark.
"This is so pathetic... But I need to get it out."
Now that she found out what to do, after having been beaten like that...
"I still want to be your friend, Mitsuteru."
A teardrop fell onto the mat below her.
.
One: "She's crying..."
Feeling Alive: "Mitsuteru made her cry..."
2Truths1Lie: "Now, now, we had said we would give them privacy. Teru-kun said it was fine for us to stay here as long as we don't interrupt them or make fun of Shigeko."
One: "But still, seeing her like this is weird."
Feeling Alive: "Right? She's usually the type of person to just get angry at her losses and try for something else after. And the way she just yelled..."
2Truths1Lie: "We should actually leave them alone now."
.
Mitsuteru could hear the door to their operating room close quietly.
He was grateful for their captain being so understanding about the situation.
Shigenaga had finally let everything out to him and they had been there to hear it all. That alone was bad enough, so it would be up to him to stop Shinichi and Kanji from messing with her about it. But that would be for later.
Right now, the most important thing for him to focus on was the crying girl directly in front of him.
He never wanted to hear any empty words or promises.
He didn't want to look back into things he had left along the way.
But he didn't want to see her world collapse and fade away.
So all he could do was to help her and move away from that.
"You know, since you just admitted to needing this plain guy, does that mean you care about being more feminine?"
Shigenaga glared up at him, but the impact was lessened by the tears falling from her eyes.
He laughed and took a seat on the mat next to her. The glare grew harsher, but he only smiled at her.
"I hate this..."
"Which part of it do you hate?"
"The fact we didn't come in first. I'm pissed that we made it to the top tier, stayed there, then come in first. Even if we didn't get above everyone else, just ending this season by beating Kageura Squad would have been fine. Besides..."
"There's no need to think about my side of things. Yuzuru might not care too much for me, but that's fine with him. He can just join Wataru in that."
"If he comes back with another offer, know that I'm going to fire on him."
He gave another laugh. This time Shigenaga only let out a breath instead of a glare.
The tension that had built up in her body began to fade with the breath, so Mitsuteru did the same.
"Hah hah. You might not like it, but I think it's pretty good that we even got to that point in the first place. We had been in the mid-tier for so long that fighting ones like Tsukiko Squad and Arafune Squad were just getting repetitive."
"Hm. You just got tired of having to fight your terrible mentors."
"I swear that they have a target on me... Whatever. Hanzaki-kun and Kagami-san are fine, so I guess they all balance out. Oh, and I hear that Takeshi is going out with Asano-san now, so I'm actually glad I don't have to fire on her. I would feel kind of bad about it."
"I suppose you would, you chivalrous idiot."
"Chivalry isn't dead, but I don't really practice it. I'll fire on a girl if I have to. It's my way to show respect to them. Especially since the girls in Border are all pretty tough in their own right."
This time it was both of them who laughed.
The air had cleared and the atmosphere around the two of them felt lighter than before.
...This is just like our first meeting.
As someone who hated forgetting things, he made it a point to always remember the important moments in his life.
One of the most important had always been making friends with that rough girl who others stayed away from.
At the time, he had tried his best to remain normal when speaking with her. She had been forceful in what she said to him, but he remained casual and refused to treat her differently from anyone else he knew.
I'm glad I did.
This was a result of that.
She wanted to stay his friend and he refused to leave her alone.
It was something they both found enjoyable.
Now if only I can get back to this with Yuzuru and Wataru...
Mitsuteru was pulled from his bitter thoughts by the sound of a loud banging at the door.
.
The first one to move was Mitsuteru. He stood up and held a hand out to Shigenaga.
"I'll go get it. You should clean up a bit."
She nodded and began to steady her breathing. The streaks along her cheeks and the redness of her eyes could be dealt with using her sunglasses and wiping her face, but the mental preparation she needed took some time.
Mitsuteru moved around the mats and went into the next room. He got to the door and opened it, being tackled immediately upon opening the door.
Feeling himself begging to fall, he tried to steady himself and the person who had tackled him. They had wrapped their arms around him and were putting all of their weight on him.
The only thing that saved him from the fall had been an arm reaching out for his own and a body pushing him from behind.
"You're such a jerk, Mittsuncchi!"
"Eh? Nire-chan? Why are you jumping me!?"
"That's my payback for being a jerk in the match! Bleh!"
Nire moved back from her tackle-hug to stick her tongue out at him.
From behind him, Ema walked out. He had been the one to prevent him from falling. And the second one to help him had been...
"Kageura-san!? I'm so sorry! Please don't beat me up! I'm pretty sure my mentors would be mad, thinking they can be the only ones to hit me!"
"Tch. Those guys really are terrible..."
"...Huh?"
Ema sighed and moved to stand between him and Nire, making sure he wasn't tackled again.
He looked up at Mitsuteru and shook his head. The disappointment coming from him was clear, but he made it more prominent by hitting him on the chest.
"I won't be helping you with them, but just know that I doubt they will leave you alone after this match."
"You won't help? Not even a little bit?"
"I will make sure to record it."
"Then I would rather you weren't there at all."
"Well, either way," Ema said with a shrug. He moved away from between Mitsuteru and Nire, allowing his captain to move forward. "Kage-san wanted to come see you. I just tagged along to see what would happen. Oh, and Zoe-san wanted to come by but he went ahead to tell those terrible senpai that Kage-san would be here for a bit."
Mitsuteru's body light shook as Kageura moved closer. Ema and Nire had taken a step back to allow the two some space, but he felt that it was to make sure he could not run away.
The difference in height and physical abilities meant that he would be unable to escape to the side. With Kageura moving forward, he was directly in front of the door, giving Mitsuteru no place to move forward.
That left one place left.
He would need to move backwards and create room between them.
"This should be fun," he heard Nire say from the side.
Kageura looked over at her for a moment, giving him the chance he needed.
With two quick steps, he moved backwards and into the connected room.
Kageura had been quick to react to this by reaching out again and grabbing his wrist.
Mitsuteru felt a tug from the hold and found himself being pulled much harder than he had thought.
"...Eh?"
He fell forward instead of backwards.
His face came in contact with something hard.
.
Ema watched from the side as Mitsuteru fell into Kageura's chest after being pulled harder than expected.
From his perspective, Kageura had gone in to keep Mitsuteru from falling backwards but found himself applying too much for in his grab. It made him pull back his arm so he wouldn't end up jabbing Mitsuteru, but he had grabbed his wrist on instinct.
The force from the accidental jab turned into a pulling force and threw Mitsuteru off balance. I guess Kage-san is still in fight mode from having to deal with him during the match.
He had come along to see if Kageura would do anything to Mitsuteru for his harassment during the match, but it seemed more like he wanted to check on something here.
As for Hikari...
"Ooooohhhh! Material! I could use this to make sure Suzume-chan doesn't get me at least one time!"
It was worrying to know that this kind of thing only amounted to a single save.
"Crap! I'm sorry, Kageura-san! Please don't kill me!"
The moment Mitsuteru tried to back away, Kageura threw his arms out and around him, keeping both of them in place.
The position clearly showed Kageura hugging Mitsuteru, but Ema knew better.
Kageura was keeping Mitsuteru from running away.
"Just shut up already and listen, you idiot!"
"Kage-san, that might not be the best way to say that."
"Mittsuncchi is around some pretty rough people, so I think he'll be fine."
"Both of you need to shut up, too!"
There was no heat in Kageura's words, so Ema backed away by a step and continued to watch what would happen.
It was not too often that Kageura met someone he was fine pulling in, even if it was an accident.
"Looks," he said. He pushed Mitsuteru to arm's length, but held him in place. There was no escaping. "I'm not here to git you, kill you, get revenge, or whatever your brain decided to come up with. As long as you don't bring any of that crap outside of the fight, we're good."
So that was how he wants to put it.
Ema nodded, but kept his words to himself.
"Then...why are you here? ...Oh! Uh, ha ha. Sorry. Seiji-san just went out. I think they should still be nearby, though. You should be able to catch up to him."
"You really don't waste time on these things, do you?"
"Mittsuncchi has always been like this," Nire confirmed. Ema could vouch for that one.
Thinking about all of the way Mitsuteru was different from them would have taken too long, so Ema only patted Kageura's shoulder and moved back.
"Huh? What other reason could there... Ooooooohhh!"
Did he finally understand?
The way Mitsuteru put his fist in his hand made it seem like he did.
.
Kageura Squad was sweating in the chilled room. Nire watched Mitsuteru raise her right hand, smack himself on the head, and turn toward them.
"You're here because of Shigeko!"
Ema clearly wanted to say something and poked at Nire's arm and Nire felt the exact same way.
But Mitsuteru crossed his arms and continued.
"Hm, hm. That makes sense. That fight, even with how it ended, was pretty cool to see. Both of you were really awesome there."
"You can't really be this back, can you? It should have been a given by this point," said Kageura. "Even after you helped us a few days ago."
"Did you leave me some hints here? What a blunder!" said Mitsuteru. "But I really can't think of what you would be here. I actually thought you had forgotten about me already."
He's the real deal alright, thought Nire as Ema poked at his arm again.
.
"You thought he was enough to be around. Isn't that right?"
Everyone turned to the new voice coming from one of the other rooms.
Shigenaga lifted her arm, but did not way. This was her form of greeting outside of battles.
"That's right. This guy was pretty annoying to go against, but he didn't do things the same way others did. Whatever he did ended up being weird, but fun to deal with."
"Putting it that way, it sounds like you took a liking to him."
Shigenaga narrowed her eyes at the hands that held Mitsuteru in place. They were not gripping him hard, but the simple fact they were there made her irritated.
He knew that.
Kageura saw her glare and matched it with a grin.
Going into action first, Shigenaga moved forward. It took half a step to reach Mitsuteru.
She reached out her arm to grab him, but she missed as he was pulled away from her.
Looking up, she saw where he was.
Kageura had moved at the same time as she had and used both of his arms to pull Mitsuteru back towards him.
This time, he turned Mitsuteru around, throw an arm around his shoulder, and leaned forward over the other shoulder.
She glared harder at him.
"Sorry about that, but I've decided that I find this guy too much fun to leave alone. I'll be taking him with me, to learn some new things."
"Uh? I don't really think there's anything you could learn from me, Kageura-san. Oh, but please don't mess with Shigeko too much. She's my friend, after all."
The way Kageura clicked his tongue was satisfying.
She wanted to move to get Mitsuteru back, but she knew that Kageura would be able to move away before she could reach them. It didn't seem to matter if he had to move Mitsuteru with him.
So this was where she would need to do things differently.
.
"Yeah, that's right. I'm the one who is his friend. You're just some opponent he thought was cool. I can continue to show him how cool I am so long as we are in the same squad together. Getting bored with the likes of you should be easy."
Oh? Ema thought as he saw Kageura's expression turn bitter.
This was not what he had expected.
"Huuuuh!? He'd get more bored with someone he sees more often! I can keep showing him new things while you run out of things to show him!"
"That doesn't detract from the fact that I am his friend - his best friend, I will add!"
Ema looked over to see Mitsuteru tilting he head before nodding, as if to confirm her words.
He knew that Mitsuteru had never thought about things like "best" friends, but this was a good way to see that he at least understood that he had one. No matter how rough she actually was.
"That's true but, if Kageura-san is fine with it, I can be his friend too."
Ema threw his hand over his face and heard Nire do the same next to him.
Saying something like that here meant that he was feeding himself to two sharks without even knowing it.
...This can also be a form of harassment.
It was harassment directed at both Kageura and Shigenaga.
"Heh. That's fine with me. So what's next, Shigenaga? You just lost one of your points."
"I didn't lose it all, you barely-made-it friend."
"Even your comebacks suck! Ha!"
At this point Ema could Kageura's arm had loosened up around Mitsuteru's neck and seemed to be dangling more than holding him in place.
He looked over at Nire to see her tip toeing closer to Mitsuteru's other side. It was clear what she was trying to do.
Letting out a sigh, he followed her plan by moving closer to the door.
.
"It doesn't matter if they sucks since I am still ahead of you!"
"That stuff doesn't mean crap if you can't even save him from those assholes!"
"He never lets me help him! Otherwise I would thrown all of them out a window by now!"
"Then it just means I have to do it instead. Doesn't matter to me if he doesn't let me help: I'm gonna do it anyway! Those guys are all cannibals, so he can't deal with them easily!"
"I already know that!"
The screaming from the two of them had reached a new point where Kageura had let go of Mitsuteru's shoulder and Shigenaga's sunglasses had fallen low on her face.
Nire took the chance to grab Mitsuteru by the arm and pull him out of the way.
Mitsuteru looked at her, but was reassured by a wink. He nodded and looked over to see Ema opening the door to the room.
"We can just leave the two of them here for now. Let's go hang out with some of the others."
"Sounds good to me."
"You really aren't worried about those two, are you?"
Mitsuteru shrugged his shoulders and smiled, not once turning back.
"They're both rough, but I know Shigeko won't get physical. And, even though I don't know him to well, I'm pretty sure Kageura-san won't do anything either. The two of them are good people, so I don't feel like I need to worry."
Being pulled into a hug by Nire, he blinked and looked over to see Ema shaking his head.
The two reactions were contradicting, but not mean spirited.
"Miwa and Miura are gonna have a field day dealing with you."
.
Shigenaga was ready to deliver the final blow.
She and Kageura had been yelling at each other this whole time, but she felt like she understood him a little better now.
...He really isn't a bad guy.
That pissed her off a bit, but it made her realize that it would be fine to have him around Mitsuteru.
But it was now time to end this.
And she knew just what to say.
"You don't even know how he likes things around him!"
"What the hell's that supposed to mean!?"
"You don't like when people are false with their emotions, right? I hate over praising and being overly or pointlessly praised. That guy has something like that too. Something he won't back down on."
She understood what that was too well. It had been because of his first squad that he had even come up with it in the first place.
...And this guy is friends with those people.
Most of them had been fine enough, but the captain had done too much.
"He doesn't want to hear any empty words or promises."
He never wanted to look back at the things he left behind.
"So keep that in mind whenever you are around him. If you even do something like that, I will tear you down, no matter what."
"That's some threat. Anything to back it up?"
"My fight with you."
It must have been the correct answer for Kageura to snort and cross his arms.
She had been off in their thoughts during the time and used more trion than needed, but that had been due to her own faults. Even if she had not been in a trion body, she was certain that she would have been able to put up more of a fight against him.
He knew that too.
"Ha! Looks like he's got a good person standing by him." Kageura waved his hand, but didn't look away from her. "Don't worry. I won't be calling him 'Kiyoshi's teammate' or 'those guys' student'. Hell, I won't even say he knows Ema, and that's why I'm doing what I'm doing. That guy is the one who faced me, shot at me, helped me, didn't throw any of those annoying emotions at me, and the one who decided to be my friend."
That's right. He wasn't someone who was connected by others.
Mitsuteru is his own person, she thought confidently.
"Like you said: I hate idiots who like when their emotions easily give them away. He doesn't seem like the type of guy to do that, so I'll go along with that. I won't give him any empty words or promises."
...Is this okay? Suzuka thought as she looked around the roof.
The match had ended in a complete failure for them. The single point they had managed to get was a sad sight when she knew that everyone had tried so hard to get as many as possible.
With the way Kotowari Squad was, they should have been devastated by it. Maybe to the point of going quiet. But that had not been what happened.
A sight unlike what others would have thought was right in front of her.
"You were great out there, Toby. I could really tell you were having fun."
"Th-thank you v-v-very much!"
"Too bad about the kill steals, though. We can probably go a few rounds, if you want."
"Nah, I'm fine, Asuka. There's still something to do for us."
It was a strange way to put it, but it was not untrue.
"It's a shame about the loss, but you really seemed to be doing your best out there. Koarai and Okudera really looked shocked when you came in to attack them."
"Yeah, taking a limb from them in that situation was nice work."
"It was nothing, really. The two of them working together was a wonderful sight. Managing what I did had been the most of what I could do."
"I doubt that. But, if you want, we can practice some to you can improve your skills."
"That would be lovely! Thank you very much, Yūko-senpai!"
"Do you want to join us, Wakamura?"
The speed at which everyone turned to the trio was amazing.
"Here's your scarf back."
"...I can't take it back. I didn't win, so our promise isn't finished."
"Then-"
"Please take care of my scarf until I can prove that I win and continue to win."
"I see... Right, then I'll make sure nothing bad happens to it."
The collective "awww" throughout the roof got her to lower her guard a bit.
"Heh heh heh. Looks like everyone is having fun. They should honestly enjoy themselves here, because once we leave we know what will happen."
"Oh? What's happening, Suzu-chan?"
"Foolish Ken-kun. You should understand what I'm talking about. ...Yes, it's obvious."
"Do you mean you leaving the squad after this?"
"They can get over that now, so I'm honestly not worried about it."
No, that wasn't it.
Suzuka understood what the dancer girl was really saying to the Arashiyama Squad Sniper.
Everyone looked like they were doing fine here, but...
They only "look" like they are doing fine.
Kotowari Squad was not a team who liked letting others down or showing their hurt. If someone knew and understood them, that was fine. But they would never show it themselves.
That was what was happening here.
More than them, the people around them understood what was happening and were choosing to play along.
Everyone could have their pity parties once the entirety of the B-Rank Wars were done.
...What a childish way to look at this.
But that was fine.
I don't hate that at all!
Once everything was said and done, they could cry alone or with others. Their frustration would be let out later on, but for now they would show their best faces for those around them.
Especially for the ones who had yet to fight.
.
Suzuka covered her mouth and turned away from everyone. The screen before her had been used by someone else before and now she was the one in charge of it.
She had never wanted to be on this squad, instead being sent off to the Yagura Branch. Everyone on this squad was just someone her fellow branch members knew, nothing more than that.
That was why she had thought she would feel nothing if they had lost.
Each member was just someone for her to look at to see if they could fit in with the rest of the Yagura Branch. She had been judging them the entire time, making sure her boss had made the right choice in wanting them in his branch.
Now that she was able to get a grasp at who they were, she understood what he had been looking at and the reason as to why Mei had asked her to take over her job as Operator.
Everyone involved with this squad had something that kept them anchored here. Friends, crushes, or helpers, they had something they wanted to see. It was what they used to remain by Kotowari Squad's side, but not what they used to enjoy their time with them.
She had never felt like they were that important. But now she felt as if she wanted to see them grow even more.
She wanted to see where they would go from here.
.
JK: "Hey, is anyone around?"
Still Got It: "Oh, haven't heard from you in a while. Having fun messing around with Mei's kids?"
JK: "Of all people... Anyway, yeah, I actually have been having fun. These guys aren't too bad."
Still Got It: "They better be able to put up some sort of fight if they wanna be in this branch. I personally don't care, seeing as how they're weaker than even my idiot brother, but still. Oh, and I'm talking about the ones who aren't my sister."
JK: "I figured as much. But don't worry, they can definitely put up a fight."
Red Sky: "Looks like Kushikage got on before I did. That sucks."
Still Got It: "You might be my boss, but I don't have any problem fucking with you."
Red Sky: "I won't go against my wife like that. Plus, I know how you are."
JK: "Is that really how she meant it?"
Red Sky: "She could mean it any which way and the answer would still be the same. Regardless, what did you need, Nakagami?"
JK: "I just totally wanted to say that I'm going to be sticking with Kotowari Squad for a bit longer. Their crazy dancer is going to be leaving them after today, so I don't want them to be down two members here."
Red Sky: "I see. That's fine. Just make sure to take care of them when they need it."
JK: "They don't look like they need it from my perspective, but I'll keep an eye out. Oh, but there was something else for you, Boss."
Red Sky: "What is it?"
JK: "...I think they'll fit right in with Yagura."
"Heh. That's good to hear. But I highly doubt they are going to want to join after this loss."
Akasora leaned back into his seat with his phone in hand.
Everyone had split off by this point, the only ones still around him being Rindō, Pyrínas and Jonas. From what he could see, the latter two were keeping an ear out for the children elsewhere and Rindō was enjoying the space.
"Are you still going to be inviting them?"
"Not right now. There are still things I want to see before I do that. Besides, they might think they haven't caught up with my idiot student or Mei yet. That would make things awkward later on."
"So you want to make sure they feel comfortable while also making sure your branch members are fine with it." Jonas nodded with a smile in place. " That's some good leadership. But, what if you need to force it on them? Can you do that?"
Akasora clicked his tongue and motioned for Pyrínas to move closer.
Pyrínas raised both arms, lowered them, then slid to the side without moving his upper body.
Everyone watched him do this and raised a brow at him.
"...Is that a good enough answer?"
"What even was that!?"
"...I see that even Akasora is unable to grasp what it means to be a truly be relevant. ...A shame."
"That isn't even relevance! That's just stupidity!"
Pyrínas followed up by making a large circle in the air. He looked to grab it, move it to the side, then finish by shrugging his shoulders.
Akasora groaned into his hand while Rindō laughed into his.
"This seems lively. I never asked, but is he also a branch member?"
"Urg... No, he isn't. He's well acquainted with a lot of us, though, so you don't need to worry about him."
"Well, my daughter seems to like him, so he can't be a bad person."
Calling him a person was a bit of stretch. But I guess he has been acting more like a human than before, Akasora thought.
Unlike how he had been upon arriving on Earth, Pyrínas had been acting out, doing his own comedy routine, and even expressing his thoughts like anyone else would. Futoyuki had been confused by it at first, but he was just glad that his own creation was able to do such things.
When I think about it, Futoyuki might be viewing this like a father would with their child growing up.
He would have to ask about it later
Akasora understood that Pyrínas had taken in the trion soldier who had been posing as his idiot student, so that may have played a part in this situation.
Well, regardless of that, there's still something to do here.
The man sitting across from him had wanted to meet with him.
With his students' match being over, he had time to do just that. They could converse with each other now and speak freely within the Tamakoma Branch Office.
"So let's get to it. What do you want to talk about, Jonas Scheiner-san."