Mitsuteru stepped out from the Yagura Branch's bathroom.

The alarm near him had awoken him on schedule.

...Which is around the time the other should be waking up.

The previous night had been eventful for him. Upon reaching the Yagura Branch, he made sure that Stepney was placed in a spare room before going to the one assigned to him. It had been spacious, but it was comfortable.

"I guess because I knew who would be nearby."

The thought of his first squad being in the other rooms had put his mind at ease.

If it had been a few weeks earlier, he would not have wanted to be near them at all. But now he felt like he could leave himself in their hands once again after so long. So when he started to look at the general area, he could only smile at the sight before him.

"I guess I wasn't the first one to wake up then."

"I had to go over some things for later," said Kimura while looking at her phone.

Kanzaki was sitting nearby, swaying her body as if in a trance. Only after getting a better look did he realize that she was still trying to properly wake up.

In a way, it was nice to know that someone at her level still had mornings like that.

"By the way, I passed by Yuki's room but didn't see him. Where did he go?"

"The hospital." Mitsuteru frowned at the news. Kimura had noticed the silence and looked up. "It's supposed to just be for a checkup. Mei went along with him, so there shouldn't be too much to worry about."

She slowly rolled her eyes and nodded.

"Not more than usual, at least."

I hope everything is okay.

There had been a lot he did not know about Yuki's illness, so it worried him that something could happen.

Instead of letting tension build from worrying, he looked around and asked Kimura a question.

"If it isn't a problem, can I ask what you were looking through?"

"You don't need to be so formal. Remember, we decided to just let things go already."

"My bad. It's a force of habit."

"Don't worry about it."

Mitsuteru took in some air through his nose. If this was how things were now going to be, he wanted to fully embrace it for what it was. So he held his breath for a few seconds before letting it all out from his mouth.

"This really must be something for you to prepare for."

"I don't want to be left behind again."

"As things are, we won't let anyone be left behind again."

Like him the night before, she did not apologize. After all, there was no reason to do so.

Mitsuteru fully understood that now.

"In any case, I was just looking over things that were sent to Hogo Squad. In particular, the notice says that we won't be participating in the exam for the Away Mission."

"Is it because of what happened two days ago?"

"I would imagine so. But it could just be because of general circumstances. We aren't the only ones left out." Kimura continued to scroll through her phone. Next to her, Kanzaki had fully embraced her position and had thrown her head back. "But among the squads that were left out, only one of them took part in the B-Rank Wars. So it's safe to assume that the directors were looking at the ones who took part in the fights more than all squads in general."

If that were the case, then Meishō Squad would also be allowed to take this test. That sounds both exciting and worrying.

Border had been doing some odd things recently, so for something like this to come up worried him. The odds of this being a normal test were slim, so he tried to prepare himself for what was to come.

Then again...I think everything that has been weird has been because of individuals more than Border as a whole.

That was probably the most worrying thing.

"Well, beyond that, there's something that actually has me curious."

"What's that?" he asked.

Kimura looked up from her phone and lifted her hand. Just as she was about to speak, a noise filled the room.

One of the doors leading to the guest rooms had slammed open, and a body came running out. The noise had startled him enough to jump, but both Kimura and Kanzaki remained the same.

How can Shizuka-san sleep through that?

She must have been really tired.

"Older Mitsu!"

What kind of name is that?

In any case, the younger Misaki sister had run out of the room and slammed her body into him. It took some strength to make sure neither one of them would get hurt.

The moment she looked up at him, he lowered himself down to one knee. They were at eye level now, so he could see the scared and worried look in her eyes.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Pie-chan is dead!"

Xeno felt like he was hallucinating in Mikado City.

...This is weird.

He was aware his tastes were nothing like those of his peers.

But for some reason, when he looked around here...

"Why are there so many books, discs, and these strange things here? Are they the discs that they said hold music?"

If so, there was so much vulgar local music.

There had been very little interest in music on Ergates, but the few songs that had been around were either depressing songs from the time they kept losing battles to others or really fancy songs that came about during the more strange times. He found the latter especially annoying since it was so glorified in modern times, and they would add in strange sounds.

This, on the other hand, was more intense than flashy.

It was barbarian music.

It was the insane music that he had heard the morning of the day before that expressed many things in simple words. Roaring noise was placed over string instruments and he especially liked the kind that included some Far Eastern instruments too.

But from Lilith's point of view...

"I had heard there are a lot of original works and musical products that are out every day and it seems that was accurate."

Lilith had escorted him here which had honestly made him feel kind of inadequate as a guy, but now that he was here, he was extremely thankful.

...But we were told to hold back from just taking anything.

Otherwise, they would be put in a cell with the nudist.

He knew he didn't have the best manners. Most people had avoided him back on Ergates and he only avoided friction with most others because he had chosen to ignore them in favor of working on trion soldiers.

He knew he wasn't a virtuous person. He was a brat. And being aware of it only made it worse.

He felt his situation was partly to blame.

The problem surrounding them was that they were now kept within the city while they figured out how to get him back to their ship. But during the previous two days, he had understood that things were not so easy when it came to Miden Trigger users and the way they fought.

...Just one Autonomous Trion Soldier could take on my own trion soldiers.

Normally that would have been understandable, but this trion soldier had done so as if he were simply moving his own body. During the small scuffle, he had used very little to take out his own trion soldier. He also ended up helping Xeno and Lilith make sure they were safe afterwards.

...And that was just a broken off piece of the Pyrínas system instead of a full unit."

Xeno himself didn't have such a nice upbringing, so he had needed to work hard to learn what he did. General etiquette was a real pain. After arriving in Mikado City, he met with some advisers for the area where he would be staying for the time being. That way, he could at least blend in well enough.

"Xeno-kun, why are you always picking at the nearby machines exactly?"

"Oh, that. I'm interested in how things around here work. Things on Miden are different in the way they work, aren't they? That broken off piece told me as much and showed me some things, and now I want to know how they work. It actually works out that I'm around this place."

The adviser had then very politely suggested he would be better served by joining a specialty group. When he had asked which group that was, he had learned it was the same group the nudist was a part of.

What would happen if he went there? He feared he would end up with it painted gold next time.

...But I need to make sure there's nothing dangerous around for Lilith's sake.

His current situation would mean a lot more once they figured out what to do with him. He needed to learn a lot before then, so he wanted to make good use of his time here.

But, he thought.

...I have weird tastes in a lot of things.

"Xeno?"

"Yeah?" He was starting to get used to that response.

"Do you like this kind of thing?"

"Eh? I mean, those guys had me listen to some songs last night and some the night before. So, you see that shop - do you call them shops? - over there selling Hundred-Headed Hydra? I like them a lot. Oh, and I like the one called Plaguer that apparently debuted this year."

"Oh, I know them. I can sing Black Deathmatch by Plaguer."

"Really?"

"Yes." Lilith's lips curled into a smile. "Pyrínas had sent me information on all kinds of things earlier. Plaguer is a band from Mikado City, and someone from his memories saw them perform at a Gagaku Festival that Mikado City held two years ago. When they had their official debut this year, he was like 'oh, I know them'."

That sounds like one of those guys...

"Then, can you do karaoke?"

"If it's in a private room."

"It has to be soundproofed."

He wondered why she needed to specify that, but then she took his hand and squeezed. She's squeezing pretty tight. But I'm a guy, so I won't complain about the pain. I won't pull my hand back either.

But...

"Xeno, I hope I can increase my repertoire of songs."

"What kind do you want to listen to?"

"Do you have any recommendations?"

He considered that and took a look around.

"That spirit band called Lucky You is great to fall asleep to. That's what they had me listen to when I was worried. And I like Blast 66, whose drums sound like explosions."

"Did you suggest those because I was 'sleeping' in a house and because I was going to explode?"

He had, but on second thought, he was afraid she might pull something out and cause a scene.

That had been careless of him. However...

"Lucky You does love songs, and Blast usually does songs about determination, apparently."

Xeno had found that he had learned a lot from those two nights with those weird people.

It had apparently been because Mikado City had good entertainers.

Bands tended to have their own personal style, but not every one of their songs would use that style. Especially in recent years when music was evolving so quickly with new instruments being recreated and such. The world was changing as well. If you continued with the same type of lyrics for too long, your songs would sound outdated. Xeno had learned Laborer Emperor from videos he was shown the night before, but now it counted as a nostalgic song.

Music was always changing and showing a new side to itself, so...

"I could help broaden your horizons if you told me what kind of music you like."

"But my taste in music started with you, Xeno."

"I see," he said before it hit him.

...Eh?

He looked up to see Lilith looking up at the sky instead of at him.

...She's still hiding something.

He could tell that much, but this was weirdly awkward. He wondered if there were parts of himself he should change to be more like her. That felt a little too transactional for his liking, but he did want to know more about her and get closer to her.

"Xeno." She pulled on his hand. "What do you think everyone else is doing right now?"

"Who knows. Something exciting, no doubt."

"No doubt." She smiled a little. "Events like this have a way of luring people out to join the excitement."

...Oh, he really is dead, Mitsuteru thought as he saw the large man slumped on the bed.

Mitsubachi had led him to where Pyrínas's supposedly dead body was.

Upon seeing the body like that, Mitsuteru wanted to freak out. To scream and call for the two girls in the other room.

But he remained calm.

That's weird. Usually I would be totally freaking right about now. Am I too used to this sort of scene then?

That wasn't right. He had only seen a dead person at his grandpa's funeral, and it looked nothing like this.

So why did he feel like there was no reason to panic now?

Moving back towards the door, he stuck his tongue out and called to the girls in the other room.

"Kawa-san! There's a dead body in here!"

"I'll let Akasora-san know about it!"

She was very reliable in these kinds of situations.

"Oh... Hey, Mistuteru? He says to just leave it to one of the branch members!"

Oh, yeah. Yuki got his recklessness from his teacher.

Mitsuteru had always liked Akasora, but there had been times when he was too much to deal with. That was why he kept a bit of distance as someone who only knew his students instead of being one.

Still, he thought with a hum. This could be a problem. What should we do about this?

The three children were moving all around, trying their best not to touch the motionless body in front of them. Their panicked voices made him worry about them, so he made a choice.

He clapped his hands.

"Okay, place quiet down. I know how this looks, but we should calm down a bit."

Coming from a tension-filled guy, that's actually pretty rich.

But that was neither here nor there.

The first to listen to him had been Stepney. After a few shaky breaths, he steadied himself and moved closer to Mitsuteru.

After him was Michelle. She took some more time, and Mitsuteru had to rub some circles along her back, but she managed to settle down. She now stood next to Stepney.

The last one...

"Um, Mitsubachi?"

"What do we do!? Pie-chan can't seriously die like that! It doesn't make sense! He's invincible! He's the strongest!"

That's actually pretty adorable, he thought lightly.

Children's viewpoints tended to lean towards a more innocent side.

But this is still a problem. First, I should check on something.

.

Daybreak: "Excuse me, may I ask something?"

Shinoda: "Yes? What did you need?"

Daybreak: "Is that Pyrínas-san person an official Border member?"

Shinoda: "That guy..."

Rugby Man: "I didn't think he would respond like that."

Daybreak: "Oh, um... Did I put this in the wrong place?"

Rugby Man: "No, you're fine. I just had Suzaku patch me through."

Daybreak: "Suzaku-senpai did...? Did he give a reason why he did that?"

Rugby Man: "No, he didn't. Why?"

.

Mitsuteru slammed his hands onto his face.

Of course Suzaku-senpai wouldn't say anything! Now I look suspicious here!

How was he supposed to get out of this?

It wasn't that he had anything against Karasawa, but the man always felt a bit too intense for him. It was subtle, but he was someone that required having Shigenaga to talk to.

For Suzaku to do this deliberately, it could only mean one thing.

I'm being harassed! Take that, everyone! It isn't me who does the harassing!

Once the worry left, a sense of vindication started to fill him.

Shinoda: "Sorry about that, Ariake-kun. To answer your question, no, Pyrínas is not an official member of Border."

Rugby Man: "Why do you ask?"

Daybreak: "No particular reason. I was only wondering, sir."

Rugby Man: "That doesn't seem too convincing."

Shinoda: "Leave him alone, Karasawa."

Shinoda-saaaaaan!

If not for this man, Mitsuteru was sure that he would be in a more awkward position.

Shinoda: "I heard that you end up either being beaten up by his teammate or getting endlessly harassed by him."

"Shinoda-saaaaaaannn!"

There was no holding it in anymore.

But just as he was going to clarify that he would never do that, Karasawa spoke up.

Rugby Man: "Don't worry. I can handle those two just fine."

The scariest part was that those words were the truth.

.

"Hah... I guess I should just let it go at this point."

Dwelling on it would only invite more trouble for him.

"Anyway," he said while locking his phone.

There was still the issue of the unmoving man on the bed.

What to do about this...? Kimu-... Kawa-san had said Akasora-san told her to leave it be, but I need to find a way to ease these kids' worries.

Mitsuteru moved forward while thinking this.

I guess I should figure out if he's breathing or not first.

Once he put his hand over Pyrínas's mouth, he noticed that there were shallow breaths coming from his mouth and nose.

"Okay, that's weird, but it's good to know that he's still breathing."

Straightening up, he turned to the three children who were huddled up together.

"Um, so, Pyrínas-san is breathing, so he's still alive."

Michelle and Stepney appeared to be visibly relaxed. They still seemed shaken, but it was clear that they heard what he had said.

Mitsubachi though...

"Is he seriously dead? Pie-chan can't die, though, right? He's one of those things, isn't he? What were they called...?"

"Mitsubachi! Calm down, please! A-and please watch wh-what you say!"

"Step, the stutter doesn't help her! And Mitsu, he's right! You need to calm down."

I feel like I almost heard something I shouldn't have.

With Michelle and Stepney stopping Mitsubachi from continuing, he would be able to claim innocence for anything that could come up.

But this doesn't really help with what I should do.

Pyrínas had not woken up with all of the noise, so it couldn't have been that he was just asleep.

If that was the case, what could he do?

I guess I could shake him and see what happens. Oh, but wouldn't that be kind of dangerous? Well, he's on a bed. I could just lay him down. That way, his back won't be hurting after sitting like that for who knows how long.

Nodding to himself, Mitsuteru began to move to lay Pyrínas down.

As he did so, he noticed something.

By the time he reacted, it was too late.

.

Defense Mode: Activated. Attacker: Mitsuteru Ariake.

...Settle down, me.

Pyrínas awoke to a sudden sensation.

The automatic function he had set in case someone attacked him had gone off. It would not have gone off if one of the children tried to touch him, but everyone else would activate it, waking him up immediately.

It worked just as programmed.

Someone had tried to touch him, and the automatic function had activated in an instant.

Now he could see the end result of that.

"S-sorry! I'm sorry! I tried to get you to lay down!"

"Oooooohhhhhh! Nee-chan is seriously going to love this!"

"M-Mitsu! I do not... I don't think you should be taking pictures of them!"

Pyrínas had no reason to question why Mitsubachi was taking those pictures.

He was facing down, looking directly at Mitsuteru. Their bodies were close together, and Mitsuteru's arms were being pinned above his head with only one of Pyrínas's hands. The one thing that could ruin the moment for someone like the older Misaki siblings would be the fact Pyrínas had his other hand directly on Mitsuteru's throat.

With a calm movement, he got off of the bed to stand next to it.

...It's still hard for me to properly move right now. ...That just means I'm not done installing everything.

Mitsuteru slowly did the same, but he chose to simply sit on the bed.

"So, uh... Nice reflexes you've got there."

"...I'm sorry about that. ...I had hoped to finish all necessary installations before waking up."

"Ha ha ha... Right..."

It was clear to see that Mitsuteru was still shaken up by the entire event.

Pyrínas felt bad about the whole thing. ...I should have set better parameters than just for the children. After all, there were a lot of people he would allow to touch him while he was in that state.

Mitsuteru was one of them.

...I haven't gotten to know him in person, but I understand a lot from Yuki's memories. ...In that sense, I know him quite well.

But the desire to speak with him properly was also there.

...Before that...

Three bodies quickly latch onto him.

A pair of arms wrapped around his neck. Another pair jumped onto his arm. The final pair wrapped around his midsection.

They were the children he would watch over.

"Don't scare us like that!" they said in unison.

"...I'm sorry for worrying you three like that. ...I will make sure to let you and some others know when I do something like this again."

"You better! We were seriously worried!"

"Yeah! Step was crying the whole time!"

"Michelle! You don't have to say that!"

"You're still crying!"

Stepney let go of him with one hand to wipe away any tears.

Pyrínas patted his head with his free arm and lifted his other one. He started to do the same with his arm, making sure Stepney was held tightly enough to not fall.

Mistubachi and Stepney squealed as they were lifted into the air.

"...Now, I know that I'm to blame for this, but I want you to delete those pictures, Mitsubachi. ...I don't want to cause even more trouble for Mitsuteru."

"Okay!"

They were good children.

"Well, this is unexpected. I would have thought that Mitsuteru would have had you on your knees in embarrassment by now."

.

Kimura raised a brow as she entered the doorway.

Kanzaki stood behind her, finally starting to properly wake up.

"...I still don't really know what it feels like to be embarrassed yet."

"I see," she said. "In that case, make sure you let us know when you do. We'll send over our idiot to give you the full human experience."

"...I would rather not have that particular experience in my memory."

If they all had to deal with it, so would he. It was just how things worked in Mikado City.

But that's for another time.

Right now, there was something she wanted to know.

"Yuki told me everything last night. So, are you done settling in with that new version of yourself?"

"...Not yet. ...There is a lot to take in with that core, so I don't think I will be ready to do much for another day or two."

"That's fine. There isn't an immediate issue."

Even though that can change in an instant with this place.

For now, she would keep that to herself.

There were things she could look deeper into now that things were finally moving at the base.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but I have a question," said Mitsuteru with a raised hand.

"Yeah? What is it?'

"Right," he said.

He took a breath and immediately released it from his mouth.

"From the way you guys are talking... Is Pyrínas-san not a human?"

.

Manager: "Hey, you idiots! Did no one tell Mistuteru what was going on with Pyrínas!?"

White Fox: "Huh? He didn't know!? I thought he did!"

RB07: "...I had thought he was aware of my situation as well."

Rampage Dress: "All you need to do is be honest with him. He'll understand right away."

Manager: "Okay, but... Isn't there something else to worry about with that?"

White Fox: "Hah... Just tell him, Kimura. I'll take responsibility for anything that happens."

Rampage Dress: "You idiot. We will take responsibility."

White Fox: "I really do love you."

.

Kimura and Kanzaki held their jaws as if they had a toothache. They turned their heads, pretended to spit something out, then put their phones away.

What a series of motions...

His former teammates seemed much more free than ever.

"Anyways," said Kimura. She looked ready to walk away but stayed in place. "Sorry, but a lot of us thought you already knew the situation with him."

He shook his head. The two of them had never really spoken to each other when he came by, so he knew very little about the man.

That was probably why they were all now acting cautious.

But...

"Well, to tell you the truth... Pyrínas can make a pie that is nice."

The room froze.

Ouch... That one was a killer.

Kimura looked like she was expecting a reaction, but he couldn't find it in himself to give one.

That was when Kanzaki stepped up.

"If we ignore Kimura's bad joke-"

"Hey!"

"-then I would be glad to let you know!"

Thank you for having some resistance. Mitsuteru was relieved to get past that bad joke.

Now he would be able to figure it out.

"Pyrínas-dono is a trion soldier who watches over those children! He is also the guardian of the Yagura Branch, the one adored by many civilians, and the one most likely to be popular in a lot of Suzume-dono's doujinshis!"

"That last part is the more worrying part, isn't it!?"

He had to somewhat agree with Kimura's shout.

But that was only before he took everything else in.

Once he did...

"So Pyrínas-san is a trion soldier...?"

"That is right."

"And he watches out for those kids...?"

"Correct."

"I see. I see."

Mitsuteru nodded three times before letting out a long breath.

The air that came down hit the floor and created a small amount of wind.

"Thank gooooooodness!"

.

...Oh? ...That was unexpected.

Pyrínas felt like there should have been a bigger reaction than that.

From the memories obtained from Yuki, Mitsuteru would have normally started to panic after hearing that.

Not this time.

"You're taking this better than I would have expected," said Kimura with a raised brow.

"Oh, I'll probably have a proper mental breakdown when I leave. I'm choosing to focus on the fact that he's taking care of those kids and helping the Yagura Branch."

"That's a pretty mature way of doing things."

"Now you're starting to sound like Schneider-san." He scratched his head and closed his eyes. "But that's not really true. I think I'm just pushing aside the more difficult part of this to focus on the easy part. I don't really have anything against Neighbors, and he seems human enough. After today, whenever I see him, I'll probably think something like, 'Oh, right, he's a Neighbor,' but nothing really more than that."

That was a pretty relaxed way of thinking. Compared to what he knew, this Mitsuteru was different from the Mitsuteru in Yuki's memories.

The difference was a bit staggering.

"Besides, when I think about the people I know, having someone be a Neighbor isn't all that special. It's more—oh, like there's a foreigner around. And we already have a lot of them around as it is."

"I guess that's true. We're crazy enough that people like that aren't all that much to deal with."

Kimura added a "but."

"You still need to keep this to yourself, got it? We screwed up this time, but that's only because we already thought you knew. Certain directors know about this, but the majority don't. Only because it doesn't matter too much when Pyrínas normally doesn't get involved unless it directly involves him."

"...Even then, I try to use my rhinoceros beetle form for that. ...It is much easier to say that I am not around when I do so."

"That's true. Thanks for making our jobs easier like that."

It was done more to make sure he could stay with the children, but he said nothing about it.

The most recent fight he had been involved in had required him to be in his humanoid form, so it would have been hard if someone who didn't know him had seen him.

"But that really is a surprise. I had thought he was another Border member when we were running yesterday, so I never thought he would be a Neighbor."

"...Oh, right. ...I had been talking to you."

"Oh, so you're really strong then?"

The way Mitsuteru said it made it seem like he was bitter, but Pyrínas felt that it was an actual question for him.

Before he could answer, the three children did so in his place.

"Yeah! Pie-chan is seriously strong! He's the strongest and can't be beat!"

"He saved us when met, so we know how strong is he!"

"Pyrínas can protect a lot of people."

They had a lot of faith in him.

...I intend to meet those standards as well.

It had been why he accepted a new core in himself.

One that he could feel even now.

"...This is nice, but I still need to finish what I was doing."

"You can't do that while 'awake'?"

He shook his head.

"...Technically, I can. ...It just becomes easier when I choose to shut myself down and focus solely on that."

"I see," said Kimura. "In that case, we can stay for a bit longer to make sure nothing happens to you."

"...I would appreciate that."

That was kind of them. Even if they were part of a dangerous group, there were only two of them.

Mitsuteru started to get up from the bed while Pyrínas lowered himself to let the children get down.

"In that case, I can keep these kids' attention away from you for the time being."

"...You're an only child, right? ...Is that why you enjoy these sorts of things?"

"I am, yeah. And I guess it can be seen that way. Before, Yuzuru was the only one I considered that close, but I think it's just fun to play around like a kid at times. I try to get Shigeko to join in, but she's pretty tough, so that becomes difficult."

That made sense. From what he could see in Yuki's memories, that girl was steadfast and hardheaded. It had been a miracle when Mitsuteru befriended her.

.

Kimura looked back at her phone when she felt it go off.

It was from Meishō.

2Truths1Lie: "Does anyone know where Teru-kun is at the moment? He isn't answering his phone."

TetsuG: "Tell me about it. I've been trying to reach that guy for a few minutes now."

Should I give him away? she thought cautiously.

Doing so would cause a new mess.

Not doing so would cause a new mess.

There's really no escaping it, is there? Oh, well.

Manager: "He's at the Yagura Branch right now. Me and Kanzaki are with him, so I'll let him know to look at his phone."

2Truths1Lie: "Thank you."

TetsuG: "Tell him that he's in for a world of pain if he doesn't answer soon."

2Truths1Lie: "Now, now, Tetsu-chan. Maybe go a bit easier on him?"

Kage: "Yeah, leave him alone already. Why are you so pissy when it comes to him anyway?"

TetsuG: "You would understand if you knew what it's like to train him."

Pokari: "I want to point out that it only applies to Araune. I like the guy."

White Fox: "All of you Snipers cause him a lot of problems, so quite your crap."

Almost everyone: "Look who's talking!"

Black Wolf: "You kind of did one of the biggest hits on him, Yuki."

White Fox: "Geh!"

They never stop, do they?

She had gotten used to it by this point. No need to dwell on those sorts of things anymore.

"Hey, Mitsuteru. Your captain has been trying to reach you. Make sure to answer back, okay?"

"Huh? Oh! My phone was on silent because of last night! Thanks for letting me know, Kawa-san."

"No problem. But I think I know what it's for."

Mitsuteru tilted his head, and Kimura was instantly reminded of Krümel.

She lifted her phone to show a certain message.

"The schedule for the upcoming exam is up."

And...

"My name is apparently on there."

"So orientation is on Thursday, and interviews for the captains are on Sunday."

Kotowari Squad's Combatants listened as their Operator read off what they knew.

They had settled into their operating room moments ago, but they were listening intently.

"Phase 1 of the test runs for a week, starting next Monday. Immediately after, we move to Phase 2, which is for two days. Before the orientation, we have to fill out this participant survey. It's only three questions, so at least it should be simple."

They all scrolled down to continue reading.

As soon as they did, Toby gave a hum and furrowed his brows.

"Hey, this last part..."

"Hm? What's up? Too many for you to pick, Lobo?"

"No, it's... There aren't as many to pick from. And some of them are strange."

"Oh, you're right. Leave it up to our genius to notice that."

"Don't call me that," he said bitterly.

Takeshi and Hoshi scrolled through the list of people and noticed what he was talking about.

The number of people involved did not add up to what this test seemed like.

"What do you think of this then? I know you don't really like showing that side of yourself, but you can't physically do much about it."

"I know that. Urg. It's just annoying. Having a simple brain makes it easier to enjoy things."

The other three tilted their heads to the side, and Toby waved his hand while looking away.

"Anyway... From what I can tell, the B-Ranks on this list are people who took part in the B-Rank Wars. A-Ranks probably have some weird thing to tell, which would explain Jun's squad not being here, besides Ai. But on that first part, I said, why aren't Minu, Mr. Sekai, and Senzai Squad on here?"

"That's right, they aren't here. I didn't even notice that."

Toby nodded and continued to think about it.

"From what has happened recently," said Takeshi while lifting his scarf. "It's probably safe to assume that Hikigane-san isn't allowed to take part in this exam. As for the others, I would think that Senzai Squad can't join because their Side Effects might just not be good fits for what is planned."

"I guess that's true, but then wouldn't they want to test things out with Senzai Squad? And having Mr. Sekai closer would be better for them, right? Hah... Whatever. Thinking about that won't help much. At least, that's what my gut is telling me."

"Doesn't that just mean you're hungry?"

Toby flicked his fingers toward Nakagami and went back to his phone.

"Well, knowing how he does things, I think Minu's in some trouble again with the directors. They probably don't want her taking part in this because of that."

"That really does make sense."

Minubuki-sama: "A special note here! After having done nothing wrong, I don't get to participate in this exam!"

American Idiot: "If you didn't go up to Mr. Netsuki while and head bang him into oblivion, then they might have considered letting you join."

Minubuki-sama: "So it wouldn't even be a guarantee!? In that case, Minubuki-sama has no regrets about her actions."

Shore: "I've been getting a lot of messages about how to deal with you, Minu. Can you slow it down to only 10 cncerts a day?"

Minubuki-sama: "But that's only half of Minubuki-sama's quota!"

I am so glad I don't normally interact with him, they all thought together.

At least they understood why her name was not listed there.

"With that mostly settled, I've got mine down. What about you three?"

"I have mine," said Hoshi.

"Same over here," agreed Toby.

Takeshi only nodded.

"Good. With that settled, who wants to go first?"

"Like hell, I'm letting you know who I chose for this."

"C'mon! It's totally fair if we all say who we chose!"

"But I don't trust you to keep your mouth shut about it."

"That's why I'm saying we all do it!"

Toby huffed and turned away.

Nakagami rolled her eyes and looked at the other two in the room.

Takeshi was looking away and hiding his face with his scarf.

That only left one of them.

"Hoshi-chan? Would you please tell me who you picked?"

"Of course!"

Nakagami was quick to jump over to Hoshi and give her a hug.

"So whatcha got here? Lemme see."

"I picked Rokurō, Katori-san, Kō-nii-san, Yukari, and Yūko-senpai. I wish I could have picked more, but they were the ones who first came to mind."

"I can see why you want to work with all of them, except for Talented Yoke. Doesn't she hate you or something?"

"Not at all! Katori-san and I are very good friends! so much so that we can continue to have our own back-and-forth!"

The rest of Kotowari Squad turned away in an instant.

Hoshi looked at them all with curiosity, but they waved her off.

Saying anything at this point would just ruin a lot.

"M-moving on! It's my turn, as some payment."

By this point, Toby and Takeshi had moved closer to the girls.

Doing this much was all they could do as a squad.

"Glad to see the change of heart," said Nakagami. "Anyways, for the people I chose. It was pretty easy. Iko, Dino Boy, Pokari, 2Truths1Lie, and Second Dragon."

"If those don't have the most simple reasons..."

"Hey, I'm not judging anyone here. Don't do that to me. I like my guys hot, so what do you expect?"

"For you to be a normal human being," said Toby with half-lidded eyes.

Nakagami shrugged and waved her hand.

Toby huffed and leaned toward Takeshi.

"Guess I'll go next then. But it's pretty obvious, really. I picked Ai, Asuka, Minoru, Sumiharu, and Shun. They're all people I easily get along with."

"I'm curious as to who you picked for people you don't want to work with."

"Kei and Tatsuhito. Neither one of them leaves me alone when they're around."

"Right, so that just leaves..."

Everyone turned to Takeshi, who had been quiet the entire time.

He lowered his scarf for a moment and gave a sigh.

No one said anything as he seemed to prepare himself.

"My choices aren't all that special either. Eri-san, Kakizaki-san, Karasuma-senpai, Shishō, and..."

And...

"Wagner-san. The first four I get along with. As for the last one..."

"No need to tell us," said Toby while putting his weight on Takeshi. "We get it. Our idiotic Operator was just generally curious about who we chose. Isn't that right?"

Nakagami nodded. There was no real meaning to her curiosity.

This was just something for them to go over as a squad.

So...

"Now we just wait things out until they start."