"Okay, it's getting hot and we'll be needing to do things soon. You should be busy once the directors decide on what to do next, so let's get your final exam out of the way."
Kimura wore a spring variation of her squad's uniform as she listened to the Yagura Branch Director's voice up at a windy spot. It was rather nice to feel like she had more impact with the outfit.
Everyone was gathered on the edge of Mikado City. And...
"Um, Akasora-san, we're actually still busy this morning, so I would appreciate it if we could get this exam done sooner rather than later."
"Huh? I thought you were free this morning."
Kurauchi raised his hand in response while Misaki combed her mussed-up hair.
"Not only are we helping with the aftermath of everything, but some of the sponsors have been coming to us regular agents recently. Then again, we're lucky to have that kind of attention in the first place."
"I was also wondering why some of the underclassmen are here. I had thought we would only be having our usual group for this."
"That's right," said Suzaku while opening a trion display. "Usually our tests with you are done with our group in mind and focus on that, so I was also wondering what that was about."
"That's because I wanted to see how Border was doing as a whole instead of the usuals. Think of it as helping your underclassmen out here."
"Got it, got it," said Suzaku.
Kimura knew that boy had not been many places other than the Yagura Branch rec room and the bathhouses for the past few hours. In fact, most of them had been doing that.
...This is a huge burden on us all.
"I won't say I'm sorry, though. Because we have a good reason for all of this," said Kimura. "It means a lot to have gotten done with the B-Rank Wars, have the sponsors so active, and have some things changing with squads. A lot of things have been happening."
"Do you plan on using that as an excuse?"
"Hmm. We would need to do even more for that, so we can't be so open with that."
But...
"We have a lot of other things we can do to make up for that sort of thing."
And...
"We need the sponsors' help as well."
.
"The sponsors'?" asked Murakami.
He had a hunch he knew what Kimura was thinking. If they would be working more on the general public now that they had finished their internal affairs, then they would have to use something for that.
They would have to use their political position and their physical supplies for that. So...
...I can make a pretty good guess.
But he did not know how that could be used to send them in the right direction. Their preparations for that must not have been complete. At any rate...
"We can leave a lot of that to the directors for later," said Murakami. "Sensei, what kind of exam will this be? And," he added. "Mizukami and the other duo are running late, so what about them?"
"Hm, we'll figure something out for them, I guess."
That man was as irresponsible as ever when it came to these things, which did not seem ideal for a teacher.
"I ate a bit too much last night, so I'm in the mood for some exercise."
"Exercise?"
They all tilted their heads and he smiled.
"That's right. So let's make this a quick and simple exam."
Such as...
"I'll run to the base and you win if you can hit me just once on the way. We can take a break there once it's over."
.
Akasora watched their reactions.
They did more than just tense up.
Suzaku hid a yawn with his left hand while raising his right.
Several pieces of metal came up from the ground. They were solid shields to use for defense or for hiding actions in battle.
They contained high defense and could be used as launchers, and...
"Sumiharu."
"I'm tired, so let's say this is enough, Hokari."
"I hate that Ortlinde is fully out of commision, but I can still create the trion lances easily enough."
All of the walls dropped back down and they all got ready from their positioning.
"–––––––"
Then they all came at him at once.
There was no hesitation and no one had signaled the beginning of the battle. But once they had clearly-defined winning and losing conditions, they made their move. Behind them, Akashi already had something open and was sending instructions.
...Did he guess this would happen and worked out some strategies on the way up? If so, well done!
Akasora dashed back and started to jump, but...
"Oh."
He noticed a shadow overhead and then a mass of mental dropped down at him from directly overhead.
.
The crash was a series of metallic impacts and wooden splintering.
Yoneya raised his right arm to say the metal had been successfully launched from wherever it had been.
"We did it! Those guys really don't play around when it comes to needing something dropped out like that!"
He ran forward to find out what kind of outstanding work had been done. The mass of metal had landed just right.
The ends of it were held together for landing and not even the teacher's trion-enhanced strength could have saved him from that metallic stomp.
Come to think of it, maybe this is bad?
"Sensei! Are you all right!?"
After checking, Yoneya ran toward the mass of metal. He heard everyone else's footsteps running up behind him, but as he approached first...
"...Eh?"
The teacher was waving from between a gap in the mass of metal.
He was perfectly fine. In fact...
"Oh-"
The following "no" was erased by the impact to Yoneya's hastily-raised spear.
The teacher had burst from between the mass of metal and swung his sword up from below. The very end of that attack had caught at Yoneya's spear, lifting his feet from the floor.
"—"
He was launched backwards.
.
Yoneya suppressed his voice in the air.
He had been sent airborne by an attack. That much was fine. Well, no, it's not. But it wasn't right to be thrown from the ground when just the tip of a sword caught you.
...But from what I hear, he managed to spank one of the senpais with it before, so I'm doing better than them to actually defend myself!
Yes, he had gotten his defense up this time. He had only been lifted from the ground, so he only had to stick the landing and continue his pursuit.
They had a lot of fast people, so he could continue on with them and avoid a similar mistake again.
...Like Inukai and even Kō-san, with his special Trigger!"
"Okay, Shiro, let's go for it!"
"Kon, I will carry you with Shikifuku's golden chains! Jinsei, feel free to jump on too!"
Yoneya suddenly felt very lonely. In fact, he felt like those two had become a lot slower than him. Did that mean he was currently the top sprinter because he was single? No, there were still Kanzaki.
...But she acts almost entirely on a whim.
At any rate, he wanted to keep his motivation from dropping quite so rapidly. I'm doing a good job here. I nearly crushed him with some scrap metal and I blocked his counterattack.
That just left the landing.
"Nailed it!"
Just as the teacher slipped past the mass of metal and prepared to dash away, Yoneya pursued, quick on his feet. He knew he could catch up and launch an attack from behind.
Defeating the teacher would be difficult, but even if he failed at that, he could still buy time for the others to catch up. So...
"Here I go!"
"Yoneya!" shouted Suzaku from behind.
What is it? he wondered while looking back.
"Watch out, please."
Mei flew in from behind him with a giant plate held overhead.
She had probably been walking by, but she ended up on the same path as him.
"Ah."
They collided.
.
Everyone saw Yoneya added to the defeated list.
She was lucky that her plate was not broken and Kimura brought a hand to her chin while carried over Kanzaki's shoulder.
"That's the last thing Yoneya needed after a late night. Because-"
"Because he was hit with 'a plate' after being 'up late'?" Mei easily predicted the answer but then hit herself in the head. "I'm sorry about that, Kimura. You were making such a clever pun based on how similar those two pairs of words sound – yes, you must have spent the last three days and three nights coming up with it in the hopes of bringing yourself closer to the rest of us – and yet I went ahead and ruined it for you. Now, if anyone is having trouble figuring out why such a lame pun is funny, allow me to explain-"
"Enough analysis."
But when they all ran over, they found Yoneya collapsed with the large curry plate resting on his head.
"If you ask me, this looks like the corpse of a curry villain from a children's TV show," said Kitazoe.
"If so, it's gonna explode in a few more seconds," said Jinsei.
"How heavy is that curry anyway?" asked Murakami.
"Around 7kg including the plate," helpfully supplied Mei.
"Oh? So his head was crushed by 7kg?" said Kon. "That means Yoneya-kun was taken out by curry, but that is probably how he would have wanted to go."
"Hey, quit standing around and come after me!"
The teacher's voice got their stopped feet moving again. Suzaku sent Yoneya some extra things and Akashi sent him some instructions. Then it was time to move from the edge of Mikado City to the warehouse district below.
"Let's get to it!"
The teacher had already descended the stairs from the bow.
The class rushed after him.
.
Secretary: "Takato has an impressive record against some truly monstrous foes, so losing her and her curry hurts a lot."
Inu: "Yeah, I was thinking that her curry might be able to beat Akasora-san. But I guess it's fine, seeing as how she wasn't supposed to participate in this."
Ortlinde: "Does Border think curry is like a sacred sword or something?"
Iko: "Chisato, can you eat a sacred sword? Ya can't. Does it have mild and spicy choices? It doesn't. Can it satisfy an entire family? It can't. So, curry is better than a sacred sword and it's rude to curry to compare 'em."
Ortlinde: "I appreciate the valuable lesson."
TetsuG: "Anyway, we're going on ahead."
Arafune and Hokari leaped into the open air from the top of the stairs.
They had made platformed for themselves using Shield.
"Go!"
They moved up using those same shields.
"Should we ask for some Grasshoppers?"
"I think these are good enough for catching up and shooting him. And," said Arafune. "We're not stupid enough to challenge Akasora-san to close-quarters combat. We'll move out ahead and shoot him from beyond his reach. Even if we can't hit him, we can at least slow him down."
"Then..."
"We'll set up shop at the base before he arrives."
"Right," said Hokari while getting ready to continue their skyward rush. He activated another Shield, placing it in front of them.
"Okay, let's go."
He pointed toward the base, but...
...Oh?
Something grazed his cheek at high speed. He knew what it was: a large bullet made of trion.
"That's a weaker bullet used for mock battles."
"Why did it have to be with you?" asked a male voice while a deep sigh echoed down from above. "They are also nothing to really worry about here. ...This is part of my job, so let's get this over with, you cannibals."
Hokari looked up to see a familiar face. No, two familiar faces.
"Mamiya Squad!"
"If you don't hurry, you will be left behind!" The woman that moved closer already had blobs of trion ready. "Your teacher asked me to do this. Sorry if you fail your exam because of me!"
Murakami saw a battle beginning in the air.
He was currently racing through Mikado City. He was pursuing their teacher while Jinsei and Kon sat on golden chain chairs. However...
"Sensei, you asked for help!?"
"That's right," said a voice from up ahead. "It wouldn't be much of a final exam - or first exam for the younger ones - if I didn't up the ante a little!"
Their teacher's voice was already growing distant. The localized buildings were located toward the inner sections and the business and government buildings were spread out behind from there. The building for the Suzunari Branch was there as well, but...
...None of it helps us stop Sensei!
That was why Arafune and Hokari had gone on ahead, but those two had been stopped by enemy reinforcements.
Secretary: "This is a reverse of the usual route, which poses a problem. He normally pulls out ahead in Mikado's nature district, but we catch back up in the residential district. Because we can travel on the roofs. But the area has more government buildings than residences and has less foot traffic, so he can run right through the city."
That was bad. Because...
Isa: "We normally end at the main base or the school... So the 'base' he was saying meant the Yagura Branch! But then this route is shorter by a section or two!"
Kage: "That means an initial head start can make all the difference. We're in trouble!"
Manager: "Uh, is that true?"
"Yeah," confirmed Murakami while moving out ahead. He pulled Jinsei and Kon in close, so they were effectively sitting on his shoulders. "The residential and business districts let us use the roofs and they cover the center of the area's back to front, along with the end of the next section. Sensei's speed will drop there, but he can speed up on the open pathway between sections and he can make a last spurt in the nature district right at the end."
"With a distance this short, his movement is irrelevant and the multiple opportunities to speed up are a problem. In that case..."
"I will take the lead!"
Kanzaki did exactly that.
.
Chisato was among the leading cluster.
The forward Attacker was on the left, the Suzunari Ace was in the center, and Ikoma and Chisato herself were on the right.
They ran down a straight path leading directly to the residential district. And if the teacher was going to lay on the speed...
"Kiyome!"
"Shikifuku!"
"Tatsuhito!"
"Right," he said while accelerating.
That #6 Attacker was plenty tough, but he also rivaled some of the faster people in speed.
Chisato crouched down and moved closer to him.
People like him had their arms on their blades when moving, so he naturally moved his closer to her as he ran, going so far as to grab her and lift her onto his shoulder and side.
...I was always comfortable with this.
She could entrust this rush with him. He even bend his elbow just enough to give her more of a seat.
Then he shot forward. His initial speed was blazing fast. He instantly passed the forward Attacker and Suzunari Ace with a sudden burst.
"Here we go," said Chisato.
Go they did.
.
Murakami saw Ikoma and Chisato's teamwork.
Ikoma was on the left and Chisato on the right.
They were attacking from behind, but there was one crucial factor here.
"Which one will attack first!?"
One was a an Attacker and the other the Shiraishi Representative. Chisato had the greater momentum, but Ikoma had the greater skill. Chisato was not using Ortlinde this time, but...
"That should be fine with her," said Kon.
Just one step after landing, those two shifted to an attack.
They did not even wait for Akasora to look back.
.
Chisato made a short dash to come up alongside the teacher when she saw the teacher had a hand on the hilt of the sword he carried over his back.
The hilt stuck up from the left side of his back, so if he drew it and swung his right hand...
...The attack is directed at me on his right.
That was fine. Chisato created a trion lance into her left hand. Then she repeated the process twice. She drew three of the lances out past her elbow, attached them to her elbow in midair, and swung them.
"Triple slash."
Then she positioned her arm and drew a trion lance with that as well.
...For the real attack.
The Triple Slash had created an opening for this final attack.
Just then, she heard a noise. The teacher had produced a solid clang while running out ahead.
It came from his sword, yet he could not have struck anything with it. Which could only mean...
"—"
Chisato reflexively twisted her body to the right.
She kicked off the ground for a midair spin.
Something else happened immediately afterwards.
It came from the teacher.
His speed suddenly dropped. But instead of braking by bracing his feet against the ground, he entered an immediate skid that made him pitch forward.
Chisato did not need to check and see what the previous clang had been.
...The tip of the scabbard.
The teacher had not been preparing to draw his sword. He had instead pushed it down so the tip tore into the ground.
The first two strikes of the Triple Slash had not hit.
He had not even needed to dodge. By lowering his speed, the distance between them had dropped. Then he had used the skidding from the scabbard's tip to send himself just barely airborne. So...
"...!"
Chisato placed her hopes on Ikoma while twirling through the air. No eye contact or verbal signal was needed. She knew he would handle this. So while she twisted around...
...I need to get the timing right.
When she had predicated the teacher's skidding, she had known she too had to reduce her speed. Hence the spin. The midair spin delayed her by about two steps. From there, she only had to launch another trion lance to automatically change her movement from a backhand blow to a tornado slash.
She could slice into her opponent. She knew the timing was dead on. And...
...The third one!
The third strike of the Triple Slash would reach her opponent, even if it was not a clean hit.
She knew Ikoma would use that as a feint to make his own move, so she poured all of her strength into her next move.
The follow-through of the backhand blow made for a horizontal slash.
.
Murakami and Kanzaki, who was picking up speed, saw what happened next.
Ikoma struck with his right arm that doubled as his sword swing. He swung Kōgetsu toward Akasora.
His Kōgetsu would be both large and long. He generally kept the elbow bent to balance his upper body, but when stretched out, it grew to become his Ikoma Senkū.
He pushed that slash out instead of swinging it. The blow also carried all of the speed he had built up.
Chisato's third strike was also going to reach Akasora. It was swinging in low toward his legs from behind.
Would he dodge or deflect the attack to his feet? Either way, Ikoma's attack would reach him while he was dealing with it.
A solid sound rang out.
Chisato's third strike had hit the long scabbard lower from their teacher's back.
Their opponent had chosen to defend.
That caused him to freeze up for the instant of the blow, so she could not make another move right away. And then...
"...!"
Ikoma's Senkū flew in.
.
Chisato had set everything up perfectly for her attack.
The teacher had chosen to defend, which made the next step simpler.
Ikoma only had to hit with his attack. And even if he did not, Chisato was still here.
She created another trion lance from her high-speed spin and swung the lance from her right shoulder.
Chisato made sure to visually confirm the enemy's position. Her intuition had already told her what she needed to know, but it was still worth checking.
The teacher was no longer there.
...Huh?
When she looked back, all she saw was Ikoma.
The teacher had vanished between them. The man was not right or left either.
...Where did he go?
That silent question was followed by two sharp solid sounds.
Then she saw Ikoma's Senkū fly through empty air. That meant his attack had not hit, so...
"—"
She looked up.
Sure enough, the teacher was performing a layout backflip high in the air.
That was not a move made when running forward. And even if you did pull it off, you would not gain that kind of height.
But Chisato did not question how he had done it.
...The third strike!
That final strike had swept low toward the legs. The teacher had caught that on the scabbard lowered from his back, but what if he had meant it as more than just defense?
He had performed a midair backflip to avoid the attack coming at him from behind.
That would normally not be possible, but some extra initial speed could make all the difference there.
He had used the momentum of his skidding to kick himself upwards and then he had caught the blade on his scabbard. The trion had been given plenty of force by a trion arm, so what if he had caught that to boost the initial speed of his flip?
"..."
Not bad, thought Chisato.
She did not mind because she could follow her opponent's moves.
The teacher was going to land in the middle of Chisato's horizontal slash. So...
...I will get this hit.
.
That had been an impressive evasion, but Chisato knew that meant they had driven their opponent to the point of requiring such a fancy move.
The teacher was only moving from one improvised move to another, so...
...I will hit him as he lands.
She did not mind if it was blocked. This time, she was aiming for the torso instead of the legs. Just to be safe, she used a snap of her wrist to give it a somewhat downwards twist. That would push her opponent into the ground, thus preventing him from using the blow to escape upwards like before. That left just one thing.
"—"
Chisato made an immediate decision.
Kanzaki saw Chisato let go of her trion lance.
She suddenly threw her weapon, which could be seen as abandoning the fight.
She had forcibly twisted her wrist to send it rotating up over the #6 Attacker's head.
But Kanzaki had just one thought upon seeing it.
...Well done!
Three actions overlapped a moment later.
The first was Chisato kicking off the ground to move a step away from Akasora.
The second was the teacher landing.
With an exclamation of surprise, she dashed forward.
And the third...
"Kh."
Something flew down toward where Chisato had just been and where the #6 Attacker still was.
They were a pair of trion lances - two of the three Chisato had used earlier.
...Did Akasora-sensei knock them upwards when he made his flip!?
Kanzaki had heard a solid sound then, so that must have been the tip of the scabbard forcibly catching at the two lances. That had guided the two lances toward the path Chisato and the #6 Attacker would be taking.
At the same time, Chisato had thrown a lance over the #6 Attacker's head.
"..."
With a solid clang, the two lances scattered through the air.
Then Chisato shifted to the right and the #6 Attacker to the left. Their speed had already dropped, so the teacher pulled out ahead.
"Chisato, Tatsuhito," he said. "You two make a lot of moves and weave your attacks together well, but that tends to fall apart when someone forcibly intervenes. So watch out for that."
That applied to Kanzaki as well.
She was reminded of the training she used to receive while a part of Taiyōko Squad. They had always given her some advice after defeating her. Whenever her captain gave some advice, Shitokei would generally correct him with, "Incorrect. What he did was also a poor lesson for you, so just assume that he got lucky this time, Kanzaki." Her captain would then insist "N-not true! It's all about getting a feel for it! Don't think - feel!" Shitokei would then roll up her sleeves and chase after the man.
...That really takes me back.
She had not been taught by anyone before they had been attacked before, but she had a feeling that instance was not strictly the same thing as training. So...
"Please train me!"
She moved forward.
The surrounding city was changing. They were leaving the area full of business and government buildings and entering a residential district with lots of longhouses. The city grew a lot shorter here and there was more foot traffic, so the teacher made a great leap.
He landed on the rooftops.
.
Murakami was concerned about something while he accelerated.
A middle group was forming and following behind his leading group. They were primarily the more normal ones. In gym class terms, these were the ones who were satisfied simply finishing the race.
The ones like Akashi and Kitazoe were low prior- No, I shouldn't think about my friends that way. But regardless, some of that group created their usual "main formation". However...
Black Wolf: "Umi."
Murakami asked Suzaku a question while he ran.
Black Wolf: "You have Ibis ready to fire."
So...
Black Wolf: "Why are you back in the middle group?"
.
Umi: "Eh?"
Murakami listened to Suzaku's response.
Umi: "What are you talking about? That's usually where I am when I use my Ibis. I use Zoe's shoulder. Yeah."
Black Wolf: "Hm, I guess you're right. Then can I ask about something else?"
Umi: "Ask away."
"Right," said Murakami as he smiled and did so.
Black Wolf: "You can use your enhanced Radar to tell when Sensei's reinforcements are approaching, can't you?"
Umi: "No, no, no. The trion detection is triggered by far too many things in Mikado City, so that would be a challenge."
Black Wolf: "But you have a general idea, don't you?"
Murakami was certain of it now.
...This is dangerous.
But just to be sure, he asked anyway.
Black Wolf: "Umi?"
Yes.
Black Wolf: "I take it she actually went through the joining procedure, didn't she?"
Secretary: "Hold on! I don't like the sound of this!"
Akashi interrupted from the rear group just as they passed through the gate to the residential district where there were actually people on the streets. They would be traveling on the roofs from here, so Murakami searched for some footing up above.
"—"
That was when he saw something.
A beam of light shot in from behind. That was Shikifuku's blade. It flew to him from Oshiro back in the middle group. He snatched its hilt from the air.
"Sensei's reinforcements have arrived, haven't they!?"
Shikifuku had reacted to a threat.
It came in the form of two pieces of destruction.
From the front came several bursts of air that tore into the roofs near Kanzaki before disappearing.
And from behind...
...The ground!
The crust block sprang up from below and someone emerged from below, wearing a very risky outfit.
"Kushikage-san!?"
Shobu sensed the enemy force from Kitazoe's shoulder in the middle group.
...I don't...believe it...
No, he had to accept that this was really happening. But it still seemed ridiculous. His response was closer to exasperation than surprise or anger. After all, the ground behind them had launched skyward and someone had jumped from below.
"Oh? I was trying to hit your middle group from behind, but they're faster than I thought."
...Y-Yuki-san's...older sister...!
The Yagura Branch's strongest member was lifting a crust block with her right hand while inexplicably wearing a tracksuit. And to the front...
"Heh heh. Kids these days have so much energy!"
It was a man.
A man he did not recognize held a book on a roof.
"...Someone my uncle...must know...!"
.
This is bad, thought Akashi. Very bad. How is it bad? By being really, really bad. Because...
"Akasora-san! Are you trying to fail us!?"
"Hm, I just wanted you to put some real effort into it."
"That doesn't answer my question!"
Still, this was a very dangerous situation.
They were well aware how absurd the Yagura Branch's strongest agent's combat abilities were. The rear group was primarily the indoorsy types, so they would do little to stop that woman from catching up.
"Fine. I'll do it."
Nanamagari had stuck with the rear group as their guard, so he bumped his fists together and then turned around while still running.
"Can you really do this, Nana-san!?"
"I don't have much of a choice."
Everyone watched as he took a fighting stance.
Just then, a message appeared in front of him.
Everyone else and Kushikage watched curiously as he nodded toward it and then smiled back at them all.
"Ha ha ha. Shingai's mad that I was thinking of hitting someone so strong without a plan. Guess I can't do it after all."
"Then how are you supposed to attack Akasora-san!?"
"I'll just ask her again if it comes to it."
He answered with a smile, so Akashi silently removed Nanamagari from the list of fighters. Then Tenryū gasped and looked back.
"...Sh-she's...coming...! ...The sister...the sister is c-coming...!"
Mi-Kon: "That is not inaccurate, but try to calm down."
Black Wolf: "What even is Kushikage-san at this point?"
Still, it was true Kushikage was running toward them.
Her rooftop movements looked carefree, but she was moving quite quickly. This is bad, thought Akashi again.
"Kitazoe-kun! You put down Tenryū-kun and be our shield! Now go! Buy us as what little time you can!"
"I was afraid you'd say that!"
At any rate, Akashi knew what that teacher was doing here. The rear group would always take a command or support role, but this was a way of getting them to fight as well. But...
"You could have eased us into it a little more than this!"
He decided to try asking.
Secretary: "Murakami-kun! What is that woman doing!?"
Black Wolf: "D-don't ask me!"
Mi-Kon: "Akashi-kuuuuuuun!"
"Eh?"
...Th-this was my question!
Just then, someone grabbed the back of his neck.
"Eh?"
He was lifted up and dangled down, so he looked up and saw Kushikage's face.
"Caught you."
"Oh, uh, h-hi."
She held him with her left hand and held something else up with her right hand, all while continuing to run.
The thing is her right hand was a white dog that looked like a machine. It was panting and wagging its tail in excitement.
"I had our Pyrínas make this for the day. It'll be destroyed by the end of today. When one catches you, it'll suck you dry."
"Of our trion, you mean!?"
Du-Sis: "Can't even give an amusing reaction to that, can you?"
Shut up, he thought.
"Now, play nice, you two."
Kushikage pressed her arms together, bringing the large wolf toward Akashi, and then she tossed them both to the ground.
"Gwaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh…"
Murakami heard a scream that started off powerful but gradually faded away.
Akashi was being loved on by a dog behind his friend's sister.
TetsuG: "I took a peek while fighting, but it's clearly just playing with him, isn't it?"
Pokari: "Yeah. I took a peek while fighting too and it's definitely just playing with him."
Du-Sis: "Excuse me, but could I get a photo of that? A video would be even better."
The messages that opened told Murakami more or less what was happening, but then he heard Kon's voice.
"I shouted his name to warn him of the danger, but I never imagined he would mistake it for part of our running gag."
"Eh, he would have been taken out sooner or later anyway. He's obsessed with famous people."
Then they received some last words from the obsessive.
Secretary: "E-everyone...d-don't worry about me."
Almost Everyone: "We weren't."
Kage: "The thought never crossed my mind."
Inu: "Worrying would be dangerous given the situation."
TetsuG: "You didn't even manage to buy us any time."
Secretary: "Wait! Did you really think I failed to accomplish anything before I was taken out!?"
Everyone exchanged a glance while running and ultimately turned toward the Ninomiya Squad Gunner. The Gunner made a "why me" gesture and Oshiro tilted his head.
"Sumiharu?"
"Right. I'll find something useful Akashi did!"
Murakami thought he heard a sarcastic "good luck" in Arafune's voice from the sky, but maybe he had imagined that.
Inu: "D-don't worry, Akashi. I-I know what you set up here?"
His statement became a question since he did not in fact know, but the Shooter seemed to believe him. He managed to give a thumbs up from behind the happy dog.
Secretary: "Good...so it wasn't for nothing."
Black Wolf: "What are you saying you did?"
Secretary: "Eh?"
Silence fell over the entire transmission.
Du-Sis: "Did you only say that to feel better about yourself? Surely you aren't going to say you were buying them time. That excuse was already rejected."
Secretary: "No, um, well."
"Kushikage-san!? The Secretary hasn't been defeated yet!"
"Okay, fine," said Kushikage while calling out for three more dogs from somewhere. They finally silenced the Shooter, but...
Mi-Kon: "Well done, Kō-kun! You prevented his sacrifice from being in vain and revealed the process by which she calls the dogs!"
But that's all it accomplished, he thought before noticing his friend's sister lightly skipping along and blowing him a kiss.
"With that, I have taken out your chain of command!"
Everyone thought about what that meant. And after around 5 seconds, they all reacted just like Akashi had earlier.
"Eh?"
.
Iko: "He's our entire chain of command!? Really!?"
SenSen: "A frightening thought."
Du-Sis: "Thank you very much for making my brother work today, Taiyōko-san. However, your assertion just now is extremely concerning, so please refrain from repeating it in the future."
Umi: "She only uses that sort of speech when it really is an offense..."
Manager: "In his defense, other squad members in his position often are the ones who put together their strategies."
Black Wolf: "That is a defense of what Kushikage-san said, not of the Secretary."
Mi-Kon: "Anyway, this is a dangerous situation, but what is our next move?"
Kushikage saw Suzunari's Operator turn back her way while carried by a golden chain.
...Well, then.
That was her brother's friend's Operator. That made her an important person to them. As a weak person, her brother would find people like them more comfortable. Kushikage wondered if she would have seen people like them if she had decided to stay with the weak people around her.
But after the Operator raised a hand in greeting, she raised her voice.
"Motoharu-saaaaaaaan!"
That was Motoharu Squad's Captain. Thanks to some recordings and seeing him after beating down Fuji, she knew how he fought around others. She had heard he had received the ultimate udon punishment, but he must have been pardoned.
He was not a threat to Kushikage, but she still had to be cautious. He had use non-direct sniping before and if he were to use that here-
"Oh?"
Sensing a shadow overhead, she looked up.
She saw the front of a large truck.
It was coming towards her fast.
"Yesssss! I'm so glad we called it in from its original route!"
Kasuka and Motoharu sat in the two seats of the supply truck they had sent.
They had used one of the supply trucks from around Mikado City. It was one of the one-way trucks that was to be abandoned after making its delivery, so they had planned to use it as a mobile warehouse when needed. However...
"Any supply vehicle capable of moving throughout Mikado City needs solid protection!"
"Right." Motoharu crossed his arms. "Kimura Kawaguchi! Here is a free service to thank you for your help so far!"
With that, the truck shook. They knew exactly what the vertical shaking meant.
A direct hit.
"Yes!"
.
Kasuka snapped her fingers at the supply truck bull's eye.
"We did it, Moto-san! Perfect aim! We're bound to get some reward money for this!"
But then she noticed something.
...Huh?
This wasn't right. Because...
...Why did it's movement stop?
After a direct hit, the truck should have at least broken through the houses. Yet they had not moved a centimeter since hitting. Then what was going on?
"Eh!? Wait!"
The truck swayed backwards. Or so it seemed.
That was inaccurate.
It had been lifted and was moving forward. The supply truck was running forward while being oriented vertically. And with a skipping tempo.
Kasuka could guess what had happened.
"Sorry, everyone!" She laughed from within the supply truck. "The Taiyōko Older Sister is running toward you while holding the truck!"
Chisato watched it all from a few breaths behind the others.
She was about two blocks to the right and a bit behind them.
From that distance, she could see more clearly what was happening.
"She really is carrying the supply truck while she runs..."
Chisato was the type to just accept things, but even she trailed off in disbelief this time.
The Taiyōko Older Sister was running along the street in one of Mikado City's residential districts and she was holding a 16m supply truck overhead. And yet...
...Why isn't she slowing down at all with that thing?
Martial arts were the only possibility.
Did it take being an embodiment of strength to pull this off, or was it a simple matter of using a Trigger's boosted strength? Chisato did not know, but...
"I don't like this."
A fellow branch member was doing this. Of course, there were plenty of things Chisato could do that this opponent could not, but the gap between them still felt massive.
"Tatsuhito."
"You need Full Powered Ortlinde," he said from the other side of the Taiyōko Older Sister. "Never hold back against this organization's opponents, even in your imagination."
"Fair enough."
She felt a strange urge rising from the bottom of her chest, but she used his words to suppress it. That was why she appreciated him. Back in the company, she would have faced this battle like it was nothing, but now she could face these battles with the importance they deserved. She felt like she had changed a lot, but...
"It isn't a question of when, because I have to do it right here and now."
She might never fight this woman again, but if she did poorly during their one and only battle, she would only be creating a bad memory for herself. So...
"Watch this, Taiyōko Sister. Watch and see how we respond to your absurd strength."
"Everyone's already respondin'," he said. "Those that predicted it are already on the move."
And...
"Only he can launch a real counterattack here."
Shobu sensed a powerful attack.
16m supply trucks were a familiar thing in Mikado City. They would move between the city's areas even during combat and they could be used for transporting personnel, defense, or offense if need be. There were specialized areas and vehicles that functioned based on Neighbor appearances, but Shobu thought the supply trucks were the real hardworking MVPs. However...
"...H-here it comes...!"
A supply truck was oriented vertically and skipping this way. No, Kushikage was supporting it from below and running this way, but something of that size had never felt so real to Shobu. He felt bad for anyone who had used them for ramming or luring anyone else to fight these things. He decided to make sure someone like Sekai would go for something less frightening next time.
But the skipping was picking up speed. And...
"Okay, I hope you're ready now!"
Joy was the only emotion Shobu sensed in that carefree voice. ...Oh...Yuki-san's sister...isn't a bad person...
...O-or wait...? ...Does this maker her...even worse...?
But just as the supply truck's movements sped up, Shobu raised his voice.
"...Suzaku...-sama...!"
Chisato could not detect any haste in the Suzaku Squad Captain's movements.
There was no hesitation or delay in them either and it all flowed together as naturally as breathing.
Chisato finally understood why that boy was with the middle group.
The Suzaku Squad Captain managed transmissions, so he would have known that the Taiyōko Older sister and the mysterious man were joining in.
So just in case, he had chosen the middle group this time. From there, he could snipe the enemy whether they came from the front or the back.
...That's why the Suzunari Ace questioned it earlier.
He stood on Kitazoe's shoulder while attacking with his own Ibis that had been specialized for him, so he could not use his direction fixation. However...
"With the ground below and the supply truck above, the target had no way of avoiding this."
He aimed for the Taiyōko Older Sister.
"Hit!"
The shot flew perfectly straight.
Kasuka could feel the result of Suzaku's shot. First...
"Ohh?"
She floated up. She definitely felt herself rise up to knee height. And then...
...We're sinking!?
She fell back down. The fall was exactly what she had expected to happen during the initial crash.
The front of the supply truck had destroyed a bit of the ground. So...
...Did he take out the Taiyōko Older Sister!?
"You deserve a reward for that, Suzaku!"
She shouted with her hands on the dashboard, but there was no response. She realized why after looking down.
"—"
Kitazoe with Suzaku on his shoulder and the others were all running. At full speed.
They were clearly running away from here, but based on how far the supply truck had sunk, Kasuka could only assume the Taiyōko Older Sister had been squashed. However...
"Huh?"
A light shined behind her.
She looked back but could not see past the rest of the truck. Still, she knew what that light had to be.
It was trion light. And from a powerful attack. Since it was directly behind her and Motoharu...
Misty: "Is that light below us from Suzaku's shot!?"
Umi: "Oh, did it self-destruct like I wanted!?"
It had not hit. It had done well for a non-homing shot, but if it had not hit, then what had happened?
...We floated up a bit at first.
That must have been the Taiyōko Older Sister tossing the supply truck up.
However, that was not enough to dodge Suzaku's bullet. And now the truck had cracked the ground. Kasuka could only think of one possibility.
...Did she abandon the truck and dodge to one side or the other?
No, that not explain one thing.
Why were her fellow agents fleeing directly away, like they wanted to put as much distance between them and the truck as possible?
A thought occurred to her and then something happened.
She heard a straining and another odd sound. And...
"Whoa!?"
The supply truck was moving. Forward. While breaking through the air like it was nothing.
The Taiyōko Older Sister was holding it from the bottom and dragging ti forward.
...She broke the ground herself when she tossed the truck!?
She was at some risk up top since she could not use her hands or dodge, so she had gotten creative. She had lowered herself by tearing into the ground. So now she was running lower while carrying the supply truck that stuck up from there.
She knew the path ahead was perfectly straight, so she didn't need to really see.
The supply truck tore through the surface like a giant shark fin.
"The bill for all this destruction had better not go to us!"