Kushikage suddenly looked up while lifting the transport truck.
She had heard something that made her feel nostalgic, but not because it reminded her of her past. It had inspired a more primal sort of nostalgia inside her.
"What a great sound."
She heard the clashing of attacks far to the west.
The attacks had a familiar tempo to them. That boy was short, well-built, and had stuck with her idiotic brother, but he could still make a familiar sound. She had thought only her former student could do that.
"But." Kushikage tilted her head with a finger on her lips. "He still has a lot of room to grow. In fact, he is entirely missing one thing."
Murakami focused on attack.
He was catching up. He only had to send out two golden chains and used Shikifuku as his primary weapon.
"...!"
The wolf clashed with his teacher using a burst of acceleration. He used more than just the sword. He also struck with the golden chains, slashed with his claws, and sometimes even kicked with his feet.
He was a wolf. Every part of him could become a weapon when given proper speed.
And when he attacked...
"Hah!"
He would use his entire body to accelerate the hand swinging his claws or Shikifuku.
He liked not needing to hold back with his high-speed attacks. In that sense, it reminded him of his battle against Tachikawa a few hours earlier.
The way he accelerated his feet was most comparable to his battle against Bakuto Denji a few hours ago. He felt it had been really clever of him to use Raygust and Thruster while pushing his own strength to the limit.
He could use all of that here.
After all, hi friend had given him a command.
The wolf leaped and attacked from every conceivable direction. As for Akasora...
"Ohh."
He sounded somewhat surprised as he dealt with every one of Murakami's attacks.
Lights flew from his sheathed sword, but...
...I can't seem to hit him!
.
The battlefield was starting down the paved pathway.
Murakami kept up the attack on Akasora.
A hit would mean a win. A win for everyone, a win for him, and a win for his entire group.
But Akasora was focused on defense and his defenses were solid. Also...
...He's slowed down, but not by much.
Murakami could tell the middle group was moving at about the same speed. So...
"Your tactics were crude, but we still fell for them."
"Oh? I'm not sure what you mean," said their teacher.
Murakami had studied command a bit, so he understood.
"The standard escape tactics are to separate your opponents by movement and speed and then defeat them individually. But our focus is on the overall results, not our personal results, and we have a hard time intervening in each other's battles, so it actually hurts our chances if we try to fight as a group."
Of course, that had been true of all their previous mock battles, but Murakami thought it was obvious what Akasora was trying to do this time. Because...
"You took out the quickest of us first. As soon as the battle began, you dealt with Yoneya and Mei. Then you kept Arafune and Hokari from interfering and defeated the Shiraishi Representative and our #6 Attacker since they could all use shields as platforms. And before any exhaustion set in, you called in reinforcements to get rid of Kanzaki, Takeshi, and Toby who could catch up to you."
And by pulling out far enough ahead...
"Even if Umi tried to shoot you, he would be unable to get a clear line of fire. You haven't had the middle group do all that much, which is unusual."
"And what does that tell you?" asked Akasora.
"Even if a single person survives, our fighters protect the majority, and we defeat the enemy's main force...we can still lose. Because real battles are not a race to a finish line."
"Ha ha." Akasora laughed. "Before, it was only a game of tag where I picked you off one at a time, but you've finally brought it all together enough for an attacker to reach me despite the reinforcements."
"Right," agreed Murakami.
Akasora asked something from behind the lights binding their swords.
"I have a question, Kō. Do you know why you are here?"
He did.
"Because of others' skilled assistance and because your calculations were not quite sufficient. I should really have been the only one capable of dealing with Kushikage-san."
But the Kotowari Duo had taken on that role.
"I think we could have defeated or restrained Kushikage-san if I had worked with the Kotowari Duo, but someone was more interested in the overall battle, not the individual number of wins."
Namely...
"Jinsei."
He had come to realize this while answering his teacher's questions here. He was still lacking some skill in ways so obvious even he could see it, but right now...
"I am here as the final blade of victory everyone prepared."
Mizukami grabbed his right arm and began a quick walk.
The chatter on the trion display told him the middle group was already here, but he could still finish with the rear group even if he only walked.
He had done his job, so rushing here would only amount to a margin of error. However...
"Are you kidding?"
He turned toward the branch office – toward the nature park's forest.
The terrain had been transformed.
Trees were flying into the air and crashing back down to aft. The ground rumbled like a dragon was walking by and Suzaku and Kinuta were shouting about something or other in the chat, but Mizukami chose to believe he was imagining that part.
But the trees were definitely flying and the occasional flashes of blue had to be Shikifuku. The wolf was going wild today.
When Mizukami saw it, he sighed, smiled bitterly, and got moving.
He began to jog and scratched his head.
"Honestly, just because one of our idiots can go this way again doesn't mean he made it our group's territory, you know?"
Murakami wielded his power.
He had to win this. He was already doing everything he could, so it all came down to how far that would take him.
"Here goes!"
There had been an important battle a few hours earlier that he had been involved with. This fight felt like it held the same importance as that.
The thick forest was surprisingly poorly maintained, something he thought to bring up with their teacher afterwards.
...There's less wind and sun than on the outer side.
People tended to view the difference between the left and right sides of the nature park as a form of wabi-sabi, but the committee member in charge of upkeep had once been dragged around the nature district by a horse on charges of "using wabi-sabi as an excuse". So...
"I'm just thinning out the forest a little."
He looked to the trees lifted up by the golden chains. He had grabbed four just this one time and he had done this several times already.
"J-just a little!"
He had a bad feeling about this, but he could not afford to reduce the chains' motivation by scolding them, so he kept his smile and threw the trees at Akasora.
Kimura rode on Kanzaki's shoulder while the girl ran at a quick pace. She could see Murakami's battle from the border pathway between areas.
"Hey, wait. That's the park where I always read books."
"Is it? I had no idea there was a park there! Maybe the holes in the forest will make it easier to find."
Kimura sincerely hoped not. Because...
...If everyone starts going there, I'll lose one of the precious few quiet spots in Mikado City.
I'd better prepare myself for that letdown now, she thought before looking to area ahead again. She could see the branch office from here.
"C'mon, everyone. Win this for us."
Murakami slammed the trees down like the front legs of a giant beast pursuing its prey.
He did not bother stripping the trees of their branches.
He would tear them up and slam them down as is.
Even Akasora could not block attacks like that, but the trees were heavy for Murakami as well.
With all their branches and leaves, the air resistance was increased and that slowed their movements. However...
...I can still swing them!
They were useful as heavy weapons, but he mostly just wanted to apply pressure to Akasora.
Making them feel hard to dodge would create an opening in their teacher. A smoothed log would only look like a simple striking weapon. And...
...All of my efforts will pay off down the road!
Murakami moved forward and his vision opened up.
He had emerged onto the central road leading to the branch office. From here...
"The branch office is right up the stairs!"
Akasora began his last spurt. He had to climb the stairs, but that was barely an obstacle for him. Murakami swung his golden chains behind him just once more as he pursued.
"Here goes!"
Hokari checked on the final stage of the mock battle out of the corner of his eye.
When Akasora had emerged onto the road to the branch office, he had thought they had lost, but...
"Murakami!"
Murakami was catching up.
Was this the first time they had managed to close the gap and catch up like this?
That was impressive enough on its own, but Murakami was aiming for more.
It was hard to tell from the sky, but he had gathered up some trees in his golden chains and swung them around once to build up speed.
...Ohh.
He threw them, but he did not simply aim for Akasora.
He threw them toward the top of the branch office stairs, to block the way.
Murakami used a burst of speed.
He had thrown eight trees. Three of them fell down the stairs, but the other five blocked the way at the top.
Akasora would have to clear them at the very end of his last spurt.
That was why Murakami had been laying the pressure on his this entire time.
To make it feel like an obstacle. From there, he only had to run toward the tree wall he had built on the stairs.
"...!"
He accelerated.
.
The wolf ran. He was already starting to feel mentally drained.
But he had cornered his prey.
Akasora was their teacher and he had monstrous combat skills and mobility.
"Ohhh!"
Their teacher was running full speed at this point.
Murakami had the greater top speed. Their teacher could not use these bursts of acceleration, but he did have a stable and unfaltering speed. That continued now. He was more leaping than running up the stairs.
"He's going to jump right over the trees, isn't he!?"
Murakami threw the golden chains out after Akasora.
He was nearly at the top of the stairs. The branch office's front goal was close.
It all came down to this.
He would be defenseless in midair while jumping over the tree wall, but the golden chains could fly.
So...
"Go, golden chains! Go, Shikifuku!"
Murakami sent them out in time with Akasora's jump.
But not at the teacher himself. He had them grab the trees below.
"Ohh!"
And he flung those up toward their teacher.
.
Akasora made a split-second decision.
...Not bad!
In the past, Murakami would have attacked by having a golden chain wield Shikifuku's blade.
But not now. His form was far from perfect, but he had prioritized victory. No, victory had been everyon's command, so he would do whatever it took to achieve that.
But Akasora made a move in midair.
The rising trees were given plenty of momentum.
If he continued his jump like this, they would crash into him from below. Even if he kicked off them to jump, all the branches would make it hard to claim they had not "hit" him.
...And a teacher can't start making excuses against his students.
So Akasora made his move. He reached for the hilt on his back.
"How about I give you a special treat?"
Kushikage's ears twitched as she threw out the transport truck.
"Oh?"
Her ears were enhanced by her Trigger. She had made sure to pay attention to everything. But this was her attention as a Border agent, not as a soldier. Why had this happened on a simple day?
"That was an awfully clear sword strike."
She tilted her head and turned toward Mikado City's other side. She had heard an attack from her brother's friend's opponent, but that opponent had not previously drawn his sword this entire time.
He must have drawn it for just an instant and immediately resheathed it, but...
"How sharp is that blade? It sliced through those trees like paper."
Mizukami had seen their teacher's attack.
He had honestly failed to perceive the sword strike. It had been too fast. But just as Akasora had gone behind the rising trees, he had seen...
...A light?
It had looked like a flash of light circled around from behind the trees. It had been an inconspicuous and calm light, leading Mizukami to believe it had been a weak attack. However...
"That is disturbing."
All five trees had been sliced right down the middle. Akasora then kicked off the slice and jumped diagonally toward the branch office.
The two halves of the bisected trees crashed together, making a solid noise that seemed to push their teacher toward the goal. But...
"Kō!" shouted Mizukami. "Clear yerself a path to victory!"
After putting away his sword, Akasora checked the air behind him.
His opponent was there. And...
"I knew you'd aim for this moment!"
The black wolf used the split trees as midair footing to catch up to him all at once.
The difference between a leap and a midair dash was made plain by the shrinking distance between them.
In the span of a breath, the wolf arrived within a few meters of Akasora. By then, Akasora had seen how the wolf intended to attack.
Two arcs trailed behind him over a few dozen meters.
Those were golden chains. They were being swung like whips – one free and one with Shikifuku's blade.
How nostalgic! It's like my sister's trying to beat me up! Just like when we were brats!
Now...
One of my own brats is trying to beat me up!
They used their maximum centrifugal force plus the wolf's full strength to send first the tight arm toward Akasora.
That trion fist was meant to send him airborne.
Akasora readied his sheathed sword in response.
Then the black wolf twisted around. He shifted his head to the side, sliding his body one body-width to the left. That pulled strongly at the Shikifuku chain, but...
...Oh.
A high-speed attack shot through the spot the wolf had just vacated.
It was one of Suzaku's anti-Illgar arrows.
"Hit!"
Suzaku put away Ibis in front of the paved pathway, on the long block that connected the nature park's wide blocks. Since he was not in his full squad uniform, he had not used the leg anchors and such, but the directional purification had worked perfectly. This shot had greater power and accuracy than the previous one.
And Murakami had blocked it from view.
He could not imagine how Akasora could dodge it. So...
"Did it work!?"
Something exploded in the sky above Mikado City's land.
Trion light sprayed out over a massive area.
"...U-up above...!?"
Tenryū was correct. Suzaku looked up to see light exploding at a point 200m above the branch office. He knew exactly what had caused that trion light.
...My bullet!
Akasora had not dodged it. Instead...
"He bounced the speeding bullet up into the air!?"
The spectacle in the sky was as eloquent as answers came, but Suzaku did not bother lamenting this failure. Instead...
"Hogo!"
"Right, it is already on its way."
Suzaku looked back to see the Hogo Squad Captain showing off his two empty hands. The Raygust he had held was gone.
"I sent it off with as much power as Sumiharu and I could use."
Murakami kicked off the final log.
He aimed for Akasora who had thrown a kick in midair and used his momentum for a backflip.
He was about to arrive in the branch office's courtyard.
That was the goal.
If he arrived there without taking a hit, they would lose.
Of course, losing did not mean death here. They would only lose points. Murakami would get points for completing the race and he would probably get more for the fight he put up along the way. But his friend was in a bit of trouble there. No, a lot of trouble. That would also put Kon in trouble and it would throw a wrench in any plans they had for enjoying the coming days together.
...I have to do this!
He sent Shikifuku in on the right and the tight arm in on the left. And...
"Raygust! I missed you!"
The additional sword flew in past his shoulder and he caught it in his right hand without even looking back.
He moved in to attack his teacher with this triple midair attack.
.
Murakami watched their teacher's movements while rushing toward him in midair.
Akasora appeared to be falling back-first toward the schoolyard, so Murakami first sent the left tight arm in on a collision course.
But their teacher raised his sword just before it hit.
...Huh?
Murakami honestly thought he was defending against the tight arm, but he was not. Akasora then let go of the sword. And...
...It can't be.
Murakami gasped as their teacher sent his right hand outwards.
The tight arm was going to crash into his hand from the outside.
But Murakami did not see a direct hit to or destruction of the teacher's hand.
"Shikifuku!?"
The chain rolled through the air.
He understood what had happened, but he had difficulty accepting it.
"He 'unbalanced' the chain!?"
.
Akasora answered Murakami's question with a nod.
"Yes," he said while sending his left hand out as well.
Shikifuku was rushing in from that direction, so he matched its movement and swung his wrist.
"I can knock these off balance."
He deflected it.
The sword had made a powerful and speedy attack, but it did not matter. A series of straining sounds rang out just once.
"...!"
And it was knocked away. Neither chain had managed to harm him. Because...
"Kō?"
It was just like that boy to be staring at him with strength in his gaze instead of with dazed surprise. Thanks to that, Akasora felt comfortable speaking plainly.
"One thing you lack is a proper technique for using your movements. You could sense that here, couldn't you?"
"Yes," replied the wolf, approaching with Raygust resting on his right shoulder. "I can give myself bursts of acceleration, but the chains cannot do the same since they lack a skeleton and muscles."
So...
"Once I swing them with my strength, my opponent can knock them back if they know how."
.
That's right, thought Murakami, finally accepting what he had seen.
The golden chains could carry his strength, but then they had to rely entirely on that strength.
And this is with a Black Trigger. If I tried anything beyond with my regular Trigger, it would be even worse.
His bursts of acceleration required a body that could function like a spring or make use of leverage. He could swing the chains with his great strength or even use his own burst of acceleration to throw them, but...
...He immediately picked up on the flaw in my hidden tactics!
But Murakami did not stop there.
"Then how about this!?"
He lifted Raygust from his right shoulder in midair.
"I can accelerate this sword!"
The teacher responded by grabbing the sword floating in front of him.
And just as the two of them were about to reach the courtyard...
"–––––––"
A mass of metal crashed down toward Akasora.
"Yoneya has reached his destination!"
In Border's Engineering Room, Jinsoku informed the others his task had succeeded.
Terashima gave a performative sigh and turned toward Jinsoku.
"Well done, Jinsoky. I did not expect him to want a second launch after the first one failed. I can only assume the repeated blows to his head have 'knocked a screw loose' as the saying goes, but scoring a direct hit on a moving target from where they started to the Yagura Branch was impressive work."
Everyone applauded with minimal movement, but one of them raised a hand.
"What is it, Müller-san?"
"That looked like a direct hit on the guy, but are we really supposed to crush the agents?"
Terashima looked away from Katerina.
He turned toward the front of the room where the scene outside was displayed on the wall.
Or it should have been.
The image from the room's front sight devices had a thick black line down the center.
That was the scar left by the transport truck collision. He stared at that and spoke with no emotion in his voice.
"This is nothing compared to what the city has endured."
Yoneya hopped out of the mass of metal.
...I did it!
There was nothing Akasora could do when he was hit in midair. So...
"Well, Akasora-san!? How was that for a direct hit!?"
He peeked below the mass of metal to see what had happened to the teacher.
He knew it had worked out this time. Because...
...I learned my lesson last time and moved the legs behind it this time!
There was no gap below it, so if Akasora was below there...
"–––––––"
He spent two seconds in silent contemplation.
...Wait.
Umi: "H-hey, was Akasora-san just squashed flat!?"
TetsuG: "It would seem we finally have a criminal in our organization."
Iko: "Pretty sure we already had one of those."
Life: "Hey, hey, hey! Why's everyone staring at me!?"
Gambler: "No, no, we're the new hotness there! We're the latest criminals!"
Pokari: "The nudist and the losers are our criminals? Gotta admit, that does feel pretty Apocalyptic."
"C'mon, our organization has been like that forever," said Yoneya as he quickly checked below the mass of metal.
There was something below it: Akasora's Kōgetsu. The long black scabbard was stabbed into the courtyard, pushing the mass of metal out of the way.
In other words...
...He caught the metal on his sword and escaped?
That would mean, he thought before a karate chop hit the back of his head.
He could not say anything at all before the teacher's voice reached him.
"That was a good try. I honestly would've been in trouble if I wasn't already raising my sword."
He looked back to see Akasora standing there.
The teacher smiled down at him.
"Okay, I've reached the goal without taking a single hit. There are no more attacks in progress, so I guess that ends our mock battle, doesn't it?"
.
Murakami sighed as he landed in the same schoolyard Akasora had reached unscathed.
Once the breath had left him, his knees fell to the ground.
...Ugh.
He was mentally worn out.
He had managed to ready that final sword strike, but he had honestly not had the strength left to swing it.
Not after running full speed the entire way here, throwing trees and such on the way.
Endurance will be my next task. And that's honestly saying something, he decided while turning off the Black Trigger, giving it his thanks. Akasora turned his way, so he asked a question.
"What will happen to Kon and the others?"
"Hm, let's hope they can get here in time. I wonder if the trees down there will cause any trouble for them."
"Oh, that could be a problem."
And once he had Akasora's attention, he gave a quiet command.
.
"Suzume."
Two hands suddenly thrust out below Akasora's arms.
"Ah."
Akasora tried to escape, but the hands were slow but accurate.
The fingers reached for their targets on his body and squeezed at the chest of his shirt.
And with those grabbed...
"Heh heh. Got you, Akasora-san."
It was Suzume and she shouted down the stairs with a smile.
"There, mission accomplished! See that, foolish boys and girls!? And Kon!? You have your wise sister to thank this time!"
.
Why am I not surprised? thought Yoneya as he pulled the sword out from under the mass of metal.
Suzume was here because she had been riding within the mass of metal.
They had come up with this strategy when they all began their run. It had been Akashi's idea.
"We need to get an attack in on Akasora-san at the finish line. That is our top priority."
And he had known who could pull it off.
"Kirikari-kun, your entertainer's timing has bypassed Akasora-san defenses before. I would love for you to do that again, but I doubt repeat material would work on him. So instead..."
"Heh heh heh. That leaves me."
So they had needed to get Suzume to the courtyard finish line, but the timing was key there.
"It can't be after we all gather there like last time."
So it had to happen sooner, when the initial rush was arriving.
The rest had been simple. Ikoma and Shiraishi had rushed in to keep Akasora from noticing the discussion and the rest had followed after them.
They knew what they had to do in the end, no matter what obstacles awaited them along the way.
...Which is why we won.
This was different from before. The result was similar, but there was a clear difference. Because...
"We won!"
"You did," admitted Akasora. He smiled bitterly, slipped away from Suzume, and lightly held his own shoulders. "There's not much you can do when a Misaki family member lays a trap for you."
"You are full of openings to me, Akasora-san."
"Am I?" Akasora smiled bitterly. "Then I have a lot of studying to do myself."
He looked out to the distance for a moment.
"Make sure to tell your mother that I appreciate everything she has done for me."
Iko: "Hey, someone stop him. We'll never graduate from this if he gets any stronger."
Mi-Kon: "Wouldn't we have to defeat him to stop him?"
Inu: "And he powers up each time we defeat him!"
It did seem that way. But the rear group was leaving the paved pathway now.
They still had time, so that settled it. Yoneya clapped his hands and announced the result.
"No one fails! We all reach the finish line, so we all pass!"
.
Suzaku arrived at the schoolyard a little after the rest of the middle group.
He had been slow up the stairs due to Ibis and any support equipment. Jinsei and Kon were also slower, but only because they did not bother rushing.
They really have changed, he thought, remembering what had happened during the last time. He had thought they would keep the past in the past, but they had instead commented on the stone memorial.
"Oh, crap. That memorial's still there."
"It gives the sense that Past Classic is buried there, so I would like to do something about it."
"Like what? Take it with you?"
"Would I earn any points for hitting Akasora-san with it?"
They had discussed the issue with hands on their chins, so Suzaku had kindly guided them toward the branch office. And if they were going to deal with it over a break...
...Mura can carry it and I can handle the land problems after it's removed and the ground adjustments wherever they put it.
Memorials tended to become a local symbol. People had left flowers at that one, so it carried a lot of emotion. So...
"How about we place it in front of the Red Lightning to commemorate any return, Suzaku-kun?"
"Umm..."
That would prove difficult.
They used that discussion to relaxed at the finish line. By the time the rear group arrived, Kanzaki, Kimura, and Akashi had caught up too. Akashi arrived last while biting a food pouch, presumably for emergency nutrients.
"So what happens now, Akasora-san?"
"You commanded that strategy, didn't you, Akashi? I'm a little surprised."
Rugby Man: "In other words, we can blame all of this on him."
Kinuta: "If only I could ban him from ever getting into the base."
Life: "Akashi, try not to be such a nuisance, okay?"
Shinoda: "Kinuta-san! Karasawa! As infuriating as Kirikari-kun's comment was, a physical attack is an inappropriate response from the directors!"
...I feel bad for the directors
Meanwhile, Kimura raised her right hand.
"Suzaku, can you give me a list of the foreign VIPs in Mikado City? This turned into a really big deal."
"Protection-wise, they're automatically given a temporary contract unless they do something wrong or ask me for something else."
"Hm. Then can you just give me a list of names and nations for everyone foreign in the city?"
"Oh, that I can do." Suzaku opened a display. "Our business has a list of contracts to be used as ID when participating in festivals and such. You can view that if you want."
But...
"It's a long list."
"Sir! That group is yet again oppressing us by sending an extensive list of names and demanding you 'find the suspicious people on this list'!"
"Stop making such a fuss. Now, I'm not going through the whole list, so narrow it down to anyone who arrived after Mikado City dealt with the invasion. I'm sure that's what she wants."
"Netsuki-san! You shouldn't have to read her mind!"
"Okay, he should give me what I want."
Murakami heard Kimura's comment while seated in the schoolyard.
...She's troubling the directors again, isn't she?
But that division of labor was something they had developed over the past few months, so why not use it?
"Here, Kō. You did great."
Something cold pressed against his cheek. It was a paper cup with a lid and bamboo straw.
"A sports drink, Jinsei?"
"It's from Umi, so it should be safe to drink. Also, lift your butt."
He did so, wondering why, and Jinsei placed a handkerchief below him. He had sat directly on the ground out of exhaustion, but...
"You don't have to do that."
"I had it, so I decided to use it. That's all."
He could not argue with that. I need to wash it and return it later, he decided while he moved his face in close.
"W-wait, Jinsei. Suzume is right over there."
"But what's this smell? It's nice."
"Really?" said Kon, approaching and sniffing at Murakami's hair. Suzaku, Suzume, Yoneya, and more also walked over to see what this was about.
"Is this creme?"
"No, I think it must be vanilla essence."
"M-making me smell something so tasty after so much exercise is torture!"
If it's received this well, I need to make it an official product, he decided while a display appeared next to Kimura.
"What's that?" asked Akasora when he noticed. "Worried about what happens next?"
"Yeah. We're about to have a drought of things to do before the directors at the base can let us know what is going on. We can just train, but do you think it can be that simple?"
"Yes," agreed Suzaku. "Ever since yesterday, when we had two unwanted guests come into the city, I've been checking for that and making sure we can respond if need be. They're free to come into the city, but if they try to cause trouble...well, I don't think they'll like what happens."
What did you set up? wondered Kimura, but it was possible that was the work of his father instead. Those things must be tricky, she thought before asking something.
"Anyway, Kimura, you said we can train, but it would be simple?"
"Yes. At least from my own perspective, at least."
The second large-scale invasion and attack on the base had happened too close together.
A lot has changed since then, thought Murakami as he looked at the group gathered here. And...
"Then how about we take a break in the Yagura Branch's rec room or the dining hall while Sensei grades our performance?"
"Yeah." Kimura nodded and crossed her arms. "We're done with our exam now, but we need to be ready for everything that's bound to happen once we get told something. Before long, I want to speak with the two new visitors our city has about where our relationship stands and then we need to discuss how we will deal with the two of them, which does include her."
Everyone tensed at this topic and Shobu looked up.
"...W-we can...send them back...there...?"
"We need to make sure we're safe first."
So...
"We can send them back whenever, but we will pave our path to a good ending for everyone. And to do that..."
Kimura looked to the east – to the city. Mikado City's buildings was there and everything else were past that. And even further than that, a shadow was visible in open land.
"The Gates," said Kimura. "We'll be dealing with more."
Everyone nodded.
But at that very moment, Murakami noticed Akasora make a sudden move. He had received his sword from Yoneya, but...
...Huh?
He suddenly raised that sword next to Kimura. And...
"Oh?"
A solid clang reverberated out.
.
Kimura had no idea what had happened. She simply felt the wind blowing and saw the teacher move.
...To protect me?
That was certainly what it felt like, but given their positioning, the attack must have come from...
"The branch office building!?"
That confused her further.
Manager: "Why would anyone from Border want to attack me?"
"Netsuki-san! Break something if you want, but not the one you're working on! Here, I will open as many as you like, so break them to your heart's content!"
"No. It's an impulsive act. You lose interest if you have to prepare."
"I see, so you are an anger connoisseur!"
What did I do to deserve this? wondered Kimura after needing protection from an attack.
But she could definitely hear a scraping coming from down by Akasora's hands. Whatever had been meant for her was still being pushed forward.
She saw it now.
There was a line of metal on the other side of Akasora's scabbard. The red line was...
...A scabbard?
That meant the attacker and defender had locked sheathed blades. And that attacker stood there in front of Akasora.
"It's a good thing you can keep up, Akasora Chishi."
It was a man.
An unfamiliar tall man spoke with a deeper male voice with black hair blowing in the wind.
He looked younger than Akasora and he wore casual clothing that was styled to fit a Japanese style.
Kimura was familiar with the concept of changing the style of clothing and she had a more pressing question anyway.
"Who are you?"
The man smiled down at him, but the first thing from her mouth was a laugh.
"My apologizes for that. I had wanted to make sure this branch director would still be alert after this exam."
"Even in a trion body?"
"Yes, especially so."
...I see.
Kimura felt even more certain than before that this was not something she should get involved in, but the situation was still awkward. Which may have explained what happened next.
"Hey."
Akasora pushed out his scabbard to repel his opponent. But...
"No, you."
His opponent pushed his scabbard back to resist.
TetsuG: "What, is he telling Akasora-san to yield?"
Pokari: "Why does everyone have to make everything so difficult recently?"
Umi: "W-why are you looking my way!? I've gotten over that!"
No, you haven't, thought Kimura, but then Akasora pulled back and looked over his shoulder.
"Sorry, Kimura. He's after me, not you, so stand back."
He had an unusual look in his eyes - one of fondness.
Everyone must have picked up on it because when Kimura and Akasora stepped away from the mystery man, Murakami got up and readied his hands.
"He's after Sensei? Who is he?"
"Oh, that is also my bad." The man looked over at Kimura and Akasora before resting his scabbard on his right shoulder. "I am the PR and General Affairs director for a different Border." He introduced himself with a thin smile. "And a current visiter. My name is Jonas Schneider."
.
Mi-Kon: "Who is that?"
Secretary: "Meeee!"
Du-Sis "Calling yourself now? That's new, at least."
Secretary: "Let me do this one!"
Deer Prince: "He is Michelle's father."
Secretary: "Nooooooooooo!"
.
Jonas felt a slight tickle of satisfaction when he notice everyone's reactions.
"Again, I'm sorry about what I did. Honestly, that attack would have never hit, and he knows it."
"What do you mean?" asked the Hogo Squad Operator.
He had to nod in response.
"I just wanted to test Akasora to make sure my daughter would be completely safe. In other words..."
In other words...
"I was testing your tester to see if I can completely, fully trust him."
.
Akasora chuckled lightly while lifting his Kōgetsu.
The first ones to react to this were Murakami, Toby, and Kanzaki. They moved to swat the Trigger away.
"I think it's fine and all to test me, but make sure to never think of doing it like that again. I completely understand your reasoning, but you should have gone for me instead."
"In all honesty-..."
"...H-he did...Uncle..."
Shokubutsu stood in front of Jonas, making sure Akasora could not do anything.
"...U-um...Schneider-sama... ...H-he had been going f-for...your arm, but...y-you moved it...in front of Kimura-sama..."
Akasora looked from his nephew to the man behind him.
He gave a hard stare before letting out a sigh.
The three who had moved slowly lowered their arms.
"I see... If my cute nephew says it, I have no reason to believe otherwise. His observation skills are nothing to laugh about."
Shokubutsu was blushing where he stood, so Akasora waved him over.
The few steps it took were covered easily.
Once he made it to Akasora...
"Hey, is it fine to pat your head?"
.
Jonas watched with interest.
They were related, but Akasora was still asking if it was fine to pat his own nephew.
That boy must be really shy.
His daughter had told him a few things about that boy, but seeing it for himself was a different experience.
Now what will happen?
From what he understood, the nephew would likely be reluctant to be touched. Even by his uncle.
But the uncle was understanding of this, so it may be fine.
Instead...
"Whoa!?"
The nephew had spread out his arms and wrapped them around his uncle's torso.
Oh?
This must have been a completely new reaction. At least according to the reactions of everyone else.
"Go, Tenryū-san!"
"Sensei, give him a hug back!"
"Whooo! I need to take a picture of this!"
A lot of others nodded and began taking pictures of the two.
The uncle and nephew hugged each other for a few seconds before the uncle held his nephew to his side. A large smile plastered to his face.
"It is good to see this from a family."
"I'm sure it looks that way to others when you are around your daughter and wife."
.
Was this what Sensei needed?
Murakami had to wonder that when he heard his teacher speak about a child and wife so readily.
He looked down to see the black object in his hand and moved forward once more.
"Excuse me. Sensei, I believe this belongs to the Yagura Branch still."
"Oh, right. Thanks, Kō. And I also mean for giving your thanks to her earlier."
It would have been wrong to not do so when that Black Trigger had been such a big help recently.
Murakami looked on with a fond smile as his teacher handed Shobu the Black Trigger. He gently held it to his chest and moved closer to his teacher's side.
That's right, Kushikage-san was enjoying herself in the same way. Looks like the troublesome families are finally dealing with their issues.
That was good to know. Especially since most of them involved people who were constantly in his life.
The man who had tried to attack his teacher must have thought the same thing from the way he tried to gently get attention back to him.
"There was another reason I had come here," he said. "There were a few people I had wanted to invite for dinner with my family and some others. I had been told they would be part of this exam, so I had waited at the end goal. With that being said, you and your nephew are free to come along as well."
"I'm fine with it, but it's up to my nephew."
Murakami looked to the boy pressed to his teacher's side.
"...I wanted...to eat dinner with...Uncle..."
Is he trying to get out of his comfort zone!?
"Sorry, but we'll have to decline."
Life: "Dai-chan is getting a run for his money by his fellow student here!"
Simple Boy: "That is fine. Tenryū-paisen has been very kind since the beginning. Unlike a certain man who decided to let Hisato and Yoshito wear our squad's uniform."
Life: "You enjoyed that!"
Mi-Kon: "It seems that someone needs a beatdown."
Life: "Before that! I just want to point out that Yuki's missing out on this!"
White Fox: "Kon, Kon! Please beat him up! Kō, you better record this for me! I want to see how Shobu's doing!"
Murakami felt like this was too much work, but he knew that Yuki would be annoying if he did not do this for him.
"Anyway," his teacher said, deciding to ignore the chat. "Who did you come to get exactly?"
"Well, it won't be until later, but..."
The man looked around until he landed on the girl standing next to Murakami.
"Kanzaki Shizuka and Kimura Kawaguchi, specifically."
Everything went downhill fast.
.
Almost Everyone: "Another fight is starting! Kimuraaaaaa!"
Manager: "I haven't done anything! Don't blame me until I do!"
TetsuG: "So she was planning on it..."
Kiyome: "Do not worry! I will make sure to protect you!"
Daybreak: "Um, if I may... It really is just a dinner. Miwa-kun and I were also invited."
TetsuG: "Yooooooooou!"
Pokari: "Get over heeeeeere!"
Daybreak: "Eep!"