"Well, we made it to today. Got any feelings about it?"

"What's there to feel about it?"

"A good amount of things."

"Really? Then we have two different views on this matter."

Rindō raised a brow as he let out a puff of smoke.

The wind from atop the Tamakoma Branch's office carried the smoke in the direction of the water.

Without turning his head, he held out a pack of cigarettes to the former teach next to him.

"You know I stopped so the brats wouldn't smell it on me."

"Your brats are either getting involved with something or old enough to deal with it now."

"My nephew is still around, you idiot."

"C'mon, let's enjoy this like the old days."

"We aren't that old."

Rindō gave a "Hey!" as Akasora took the cigarette that hung from his lips. In a single motion he put it in between his lips, took a big drag, held it in for a moment, then released it from his nose.

Giving him a glare, he took out another cigarette and was ready to light it.

As he moved to do so, Akasora took it from his lips along with the entire pack.

"I'm confiscating these. You bring out the worst parts of me, so I don't even want to see you with them."

"You can't say that as you're finishing the one I was using!"

"My point exactly."

Akasora made a quick step back to dodge Rindō grab.

He tried for a sideways movement, but Akasora had seen through that and moved forward, placing him directly behind Rindō.

Crap! I'm right in range!

Without any hesitation, Akasora lifted his knee and slammed it into his butt.

"Dammit, Chishi! You never hold back when doing that crap!"

"Then don't patronize me!"

"This is why I never liked out relationship!"

He received another knee to the butt that had him holding both cheeks.

"Keh. Between you and Karasawa, I don't have any patience."

"You never did!"

The way Akasora shrugged made him want to try again for his cigarettes.

No, it isn't worth it after a second hit.

Sitting down would already be annoying because of the second hit he took. Any more and he would be standing for the rest of the day.

.

"Anyways," said Akasora as he stomped out the rest of the cigarette he took. "There isn't a reason for me to worry about my brats. The ones who will be joining everyone today are more than capable."

Rindō gave a hum and looked toward the Border base.

The wind was not too strong, but it was enough that Akasora had to cover his eyes to look in the same direction.

"Then explain to me why you're wearing that ring."

"Don't say it like I can't do this much."

"It just means you want her nearby."

Akasora held his hand as he glared at Rindō.

On his left hand was a silver band with a slight engraving in it.

"You only wearing your wedding ring when you're nervous about your 'brats'. It's your way of feeling your wife nearby."

"Having my sister around would feel like a hassle, so having my wife around is better."

"But you have a nephew who you can call whenever."

Akasora used his ringed hand to rub the back of his neck.

What that meant was obvious to Rindō.

"I would, but, y'know, I would probably end up crushing him with my worry."

"Idiot. Just say you don't want to look uncool in front of him."

"Okay, what about you then? You have some brats involved as well."

Rindō shrugged and pointed to Akasora's hand.

Noticing what he was doing, Akasora threw his hand to his side.

"My 'brats' are more than capable. I know they can handle something like this. And honestly, that's what makes of confused on why you're so nervous."

"What do you mean?"

Rindō gave a sour look before sighing into the open air.

"This isn't like fighting the invasions or the underground. Those are seen as more dangerous than this, so why are you so nervous about this when they did those other things already? The difference really is too vast."

"You idiot," said Akasora.

Rindō wanted to hit him for that one, but let him continue.

"That's exactly why I'm nervous! Those brats are good at fighting, but they're still a wreck when it comes to other people! Especially Hoshi and Takeshi!"

"Ah. So that's what it is."

.

This guy is an idiot at the worst times.

Rindō felt like they were back to being idiots on that snowy plane.

At the time, Akasora had been worrying about his crush. Rindō has called him idiot then, and now he was doing the same thing.

He becomes an idiot when he thinks about things too much.

"Hey, you do realize what you're saying, right?"

"Huh?"

Don't give me that idiotic expression.

Rindō wanted to really hit him now.

Instead, he gave another sigh and spat down into the water.

"What you're saying is that those 'brats' haven't grown up at all and our own people aren't trustworthy. Basically, you think that you are still kids who need to be coddled, something your student had been doing to the point where they were overly reliant on him. Besides that, you're also saying that our own agents will use that against them. Even after some of them had gotten closer to those 'brats'. Good to know this idiot teacher thinks so little of his own 'brats'. Yeah, that's good."

Maybe he said too much, but there was no other way to get through to this idiot.

There had been too many times when they needed to go beyond what was considered normal just to deal with him.

In that sense, he really is the same as his student.

The two of them liked to make things more complicated than they should be.

But that was what made this easy.

Because...

"..."

They were simple people afterwards.

"Shit. You're right... Shit."

"Careful there. There's still a child in the building below."

Akasora's glare had turned weak enough that Rindō waved him off.

He's not scary after you throw him down like that.

It was why he made sure to hit him where it hurt.

"Fine, fine... Hah. Yeah, that's fine. Go ahead, you deserve it."

Hearing those words, Rindō perked up and started to move.

In only two steps, he was directly behind Akasora.

With as much force as he could muster, he slammed his knee into Akasora's butt.

"Seriously, right in the middle! Ah, shit! That hurts, you asshole!"

"Serves you right! Now give me my cigarettes back!"

Akasora said nothing as he held out the pack.

Just as Rindō moved to grab them, Akasora closed his hand.

Everything moved slowly as the pack was crushed in an iron grip.

"Noooo!"

"Right, now then," said Akasora with a dark look. "Let's go take my mind off of those brats. I want to see if you've gotten rusty or not."

Rindō gulped as he was grabbed by the front of his shirt.

A beast had just been let loose by his own actions.

"I'll even let you pick the map."

There was no escaping.

Yuki gave a sigh as he sat in a hospital bed. The heart monitor next to his bed continued to beep in the way he always hated.

I might actually lose my mind this time.

The doctors had told him that he would need to stay at the hospital for a few days due to his health declining.

When he thought back on it, it made sense that this would happen.

I've been doing a lot recently, so I might have been forcing my body to work more than it should.

Even Nasu had been taking things easy when compared to him.

The use of his Trigger had also caused that part of himself to come to the forefront.

"Hah... I guess this is what I get for going overboard with my duties."

"If that's the case, I'll take some blame for that."

Yuki lifted his head as the door started to open. Once it was fully open he saw the person who had come to see him.

"Why are you here?"

"Should I not be?"

Sekai gave a sigh that Yuki could only describe as uncertain.

He shook his head and motioned to come into the room.

Nodding his head, Sekai closed the door behind him with one hand while he held something else in the other.

"I was told that you like puzzles, so..."

"Oh, uh, yeah. I've been getting into them recently and have been having fun with them."

"Then I guess I got the better gift. Hah. Flowers felt like they would be too irritating for a sick person."

"In a way, they are. A lot of people come by with them, so having something different is nice. Especially something I can actually work on."

Yuki found himself smiling at the sigh Sekai gave. It was different from the usual ones he would hear and gave away more of his thoughts than he would normally like.

Usually his sighs are his way of hiding himself from others.

Something began building up when Yuki heard it this time.

It was something he had only ever seen in someone like Kazama before.

Yes! Whoo! I got Sekai-san to show more of himself to me! Whoo! Whoo! I played a part in getting this out of him! And even when he's just sighing, he makes it look so cool! Adults like him are so cool!

"Can you stop looking at me like that...? Hah. All of your thoughts are written all over your face."

"Gyup!"

"'Gyup'? Is that some new dish they serve here?"

Yuki quickly threw his body backwards.

The heart monitor's beeping increased at an alarming rate.

The sound of footsteps could be heard outside of the door. A moment later a nurse rushed in.

When she looked at the situation, Yuki heard Sekai ease her worries.

I should probably calm down now.

There was already a warrant for him through this particular hospital.

"It sounds like you're pretty famous here."

"It's...complicated. They have people going to the office at times looking for me, so I periodically have to make sure there is no one around or hide where they can't find me."

"That sounds like you're making trouble again."

"It's not that...exactly. I just don't like having to sit still. That's all I end up doing whenever I come here."

"In that case, just figure out what you can do in bed."

If only it were that easy.

There had been too many times when he tried to do something while sitting in the hospital bed, but he always found himself wanting to move.

That was why he was grateful for Sekai being here.

"Mei had to go do something, so I'm really glad you came by, Sekai-san."

"If I had known you would turn into Kazama, I would have hesitated more."

"Gyupi!"

"Is that the side dish's name?"

Yuki had to force his heart rate to remain steady.

That was the second time he had embarrassed himself in front of Sekai.

"Anyways, there was something else I came here for."

Huh?

Just having Sekai here meant a lot to him. If there was something else then he would make sure to listen.

"I still haven't properly apologized to you yet."

.

"Wait, what do you have to apologize for?"

Sekai lowered his head with both hands on his knees.

Normally, Yuki would have had him raise his head, but this was not that kind of situation.

Sekai was showing true vulnerability now.

"Our fight... You had gone back to the way you were before, right? I made both you and Ketsueki do that. I know how neither one of you like thinking about those sorts of things, but I forced it out of the both of you."

Yuki blinked three times before...

"Oh, uh... That's right. I had forgotten about that."

"You forgot?"

He turned his head to the side with a sheepish look, but he didn't deny anything.

"I'll admit that knowing that Ketsu-san has a side like that to him too is surprising, but that's about as much as I remember of that fight."

"You don't need to be nice about it."

"In that case..."

Yuki took a breath in that made Sekai lift his head.

When he did, Yuki made sure to lower his.

"Please be my mentor! The way you fought against that many opponents and barely lost was super cool!"

"That's not what I was going for, you idiot!"

Sekai gave a sigh while Yuki laughed.

He had been caught in the antics of a lunatic.

"Actually, I was already thinking of asking your teacher to my mentor."

"Depends in what. If it's in fighting, good luck with that."

"Honestly, that was something I was thinking of. But more than that, I was thinking about getting a solid job now."

"If you manage that, it would make us both his students."

Yuki's smile widened while Sekai raised a brow.

He had realized something amazing about the person he admired.

"Ha ha... It would." Sekai gave his own smile. "But I thought you only learned fighting from him."

Yuki shook his head.

"I learned more than just that from Sensei. Someone with his life experience can be overlooked. I make sure to always pay attention to him whenever I have the chance."

"Is that why you agreed to be his right-hand man?"

"You could say that. But more than that, I wanted to continue to stay by his side to repay him for all of his help."

"Doesn't he think that sort of thing is irritating."

"I never said it wasn't a bit of payback."

Yuki stuck his tongue out in a way that had Sekai give a chuckle.

The teacher and student really weren't that different.

"Well, if we're going to be students under the same man, there's no reason to be so formal with me."

"Huh? Wait a minute now!"

.

Just accept it for what it is, thought Sekai.

But doing so would go against who Yuki was.

So he said nothing like that.

"We aren't Unneeded anymore. You even made it there before I did. I have no reason to accept your respect of me."

"My respect of people comes from my own views. Don't try and decide that for me."

"That's right... Hah. Sorry about that."

"And don't try and think I'll just accept those pathetic apologizes."

He's grown, hasn't he?

Was it because he had so many people he could go to after this?

It was a nice thought. Sekai tried to put himself in that place, but it was still hard to do that.

His thoughts must have been showing in his expression from the way Yuki hummed.

"If you don't like the way things are, you can come out and say it. I recently learned it's fine to do that."

"Is that so...?"

"It is."

So.

"What exactly do you want from me? I won't be accepting your apologizes, so think of something else."

What he wanted from Yuki?

Saying he wanted the same thing as Denji felt like it would hurt his pride too much. Besides, those two have their own thing going on. It was better to have his own sort of relationship with others.

This could be a starting point.

It was something who had once held similar values as him, after all.

Then hurry up and make up your mind, me.

Sekai took in a large amount of air before releasing it all.

It was something he had seen the Meishō Squad Sniper do many times now.

So he would take that for a moment.

"From now on, I would like for you to call me by name only."

"Sure, that's fine with me."

Sekai felt himself freeze for a moment.

The sincere apologizes he had given were denied readily, yet this one thing was accepted without problem.

I thought he said he still respected me, though?

When he thought about it, this was also who Yuki was.

Someone who accepted both a casual side of things as well as his own respect for others.

"You really are something times..."

"I've been told that. But still, I'm glad you came here. Sekai."

.

Yuki smiled at the grumbling he heard from Sekai.

This was a form of payback he had decided on once Sekai had started talking.

"With that settled, we can start from the same space."

"What do you mean?"

"I think you'll understand when you find someone for yourself. Maybe it's even an entire group." He easily shrugged. "I don't know."

It was a bit rude of him to do this, but Sekai would never be able to reach this side of things if he was told what to do.

The only thing Yuki could do was direct him in the right direction.

He must have understood that from the sigh he gave.

"Fine, be that way."

As he spoke, he pulled something from the nearby bag on the floor.

That's the one Mei left here after dragging me to the doctor.

"Moving away from that irritating conversation... Hah. Your girlfriend had asked me for a favor."

"Oh, what's that?"

"That I act as your assistant while you were stuck in here."

Of course she did, he thought with an eye roll. Mei would remain the same now and he would accept that version of her.

Sekai pulled out a laptop from the bag and opened it.

A second of typing later, Yuki was looking at a familiar screen with a logo he knew all too well.

"I wasn't able to join in what's happening due to what I did. That's why I'm going to sit through this with you."

"Then let's get started."

The entire room was filled with seats and people sitting in them.

A few days ago everyone in the room had been doing their own thing. Now they sat there, waiting for instructions and talking to each other.

"So that idiot girl wasn't allowed in. I told her to calm down before she really pushed the limits."

"To be fair, her concerts tend to get out of hand without Misaki or Lee there."

"You know, I'm a bit surprised that the crossdresser made it when that rocker girl didn't."

"I guess they really needed to fill out space to let him in."

"Yeah, he sucks."

"Oh, it sounds like our Vice-Captain-san is pretty popular."

"That's one way of putting it," majority of people said.

The noise was buzzing but not overpowering. A simple word from one of the two at the front would have been enough to silence them all.

Even so, they let things continue as they were.

"The place is already pretty full," said Noah while looking around.

"From the looks of things, Osamu's squad hasn't come yet," answered Shana from the seat above him.

"I guess everyone else is either a hard worker or just nervous about this," said Maya.

True to their words, Tamakoma-2 was the only one missing from the room full of B-Rank agents. Meanwhile, a lot of them were shifting slightly or keeping a neutral expression on their faces.

The only thing they could do right now was wait and see when Tamakoma-2 would arrive to start everything.

By normal standards, they would still be early if they made it in only a few minutes. There was nothing wrong with the amount of time they were taking.

Commander Kido and Director Shinoda remained silent, so no one bothered to think about the missing squad.

After another minute wait, the doors at the top of the seats opened. Four pairs of footsteps were heard, and Mikumo's voice came over them all.

"Looks like everyone's here," said Shinoda through his microphone. "It's a bit early, but let's get started anyway. Please sit down."

Tamakoma-2 did as instructed. They moved to their seats.

Then it started.

.

"I am Border HQ Commander Kido Masamune, and I am here to explain this exam."

The room was large, and most of the seats were filled by the agents. The lights shone down on all of the rooms.

But there was no noise from any of those agents.

The only noise came from the two men in the very front of the room.

"Some among you opted out of the Away Mission Selection Process. So why were you asked here today? No doubt, some of you are wondering this."

Some nodded while others continued to remain silent.

So Kido continued.

"This exam will determine the expedition squad that will set off into the Neighborhood, which will result in a broad reduction of staff at HQ. As Such, we will be unable to hold Rank Wars and Advancement Battles as we have done in the past. Instead, this is the perfect opportunity to determine the strongest members of Border. From those who are midtier B-Rank and above, we intend to take measure of your aptitude and abilities. That is the primary reason for this."

No one even moved.

"Furthermore, since the next Away Mission will involve far more participants than ever before, even some members of squads that did not qualify for this mission may in fact be selected to join as individuals. Ultimately, participation in this mission depends on your willingness and other factors. But even if you should turn down the opportunity, the fact that you qualified will remain on your record as a standout accomplishment. The agents who choose to not join this mission should realize that this test will be a significant factor in future evaluations."

TetsuG: "So it's also serving as a skills exam for the best and brightest of Border."

Yoshi: "It's a pain in the butt."

Others spoke in their area about what they had heard.

Shinoda waited for their silence to begin speaking.

"I will now give a breakdown of the exam." The screen behind him displayed two boxes with differing images behind him. "Phase 1 is one week in a seal environment. This will simulate the extended period of time you will spend in the expeditionary ship. As you learn to operate the equipment inside the ship, you will be judged on your aptitude for long-distance voyages."

Some spoke about it being a week, while others only questioned what they hadn't already known.

"Phase 2 will be a lengthy combat simulation that will last up to 36 hours. This will simulate the battles you may encounter at your destination. The specifics of Phase 2 will be announced just before it begins."

Tomo: "Can you imagine fighting for 36 hours straight...?"

Zaki: "Those with low trion will be at a huge disadvantage."

"As Commander Kido just explained, the results of this exam will be the basis for future evaluations. The exam begins four days from now, and barring extenuating circumstances, I hope you all participate."

Finally...

"During this selection exam, agents will be placed in different squads. In other words, we're going to shuffle the squads."

Talented Yoke: "HUH!?"

Megane: "They're shuffling squads!?"

It was a moment later that Katori and Mikumo realized what they had done.

A majority of the room looked back at them as they shrank back a bit.

"There is no need to worry," said Shinoda while looking at the two of them. "We are monitoring the chat, so you are fine to speak in it so long as it's general."

Katori and Mikumo settled back into their positions, this time more cautious.

"Now then," continued Shinoda. "The names I'm about to call out will serve as captains. Each new squad will have one captain, one Operator, and three additional agents, forming fifteen squads of five members each. And now, to announce the fifteen provisional captains."

.

"If I call your name, please step forward."

Mitsuteru let out a breath before being lightly smacked by Shigenaga.

Shige-ko: "Pay attention. They might call your name."

Daybreak: "Why would they do that? Out of everyone here, I'm pretty sure I'm one of the lowest on the list."

Shigenaga jabbed his side, making him have to hold his noise in.

"Just pay attention," she said quietly.

He did as he was told and listened as everyone was called out.

"For this selection exam, the captain of Squad 1 is Utagawa Ryō."

Oh, nice going, Ryō-kun.

"Squad 2 captain is Ōji Kazuaki."

"Sure. Number one would've been nice though."

That sounded more like the Ōji he had known back during his time on Taiyōko Squad.

"Squad 3 captain is Kakizaki Kuniharu. Squad 4 captain is Kitazoe Hiro."

It would be pretty nice to be on Kitazoe-san's squad. Even Zaki-san's sounds nice.

"Squad 5 captain is Kuruma Tatsuya. Squad 6 captain is Kodera Shōhei. Squad 7 captain is Suwa Kōtarō."

Mitsuteru had to marvel at the choices that were made for captains.

Being on any of their squads would be great.

"Squad 8 captain is Ninomiya Masataka."

Eeeeeeexcept that one! I'm still too scared to be near that guy!

"Squad 9 captain is Mizukami Satoshi. Squad 10 captain is Murakami Kō."

Kō-kun! Whoo! Being on his squad would be the best result here!

But that may have just been some bias coming up. Mitsuteru tried to settle himself down.

Shigenaga did the same by giving him another jab.

Daybreak: "Stop that!"

"Squad 11 captain is Wakamura Rokurō. Squad 12 captain is...Kirikari Jinsei."

An audible "Eh!?" could be heard in the room. Everyone quickly turned away, but there was no hiding the fact that even Director Shinoda seemed unsure about the choice.

Mitsuteru watched as the Hikigane Squad Vice-Captain skipped down to where everyone else was.

That sounds like a terrible time...

"Squad 13 captain is Asano Eri. Squad 14 captain is Awdry Toby."

Daybreak: "Last one, Shigeko."

Shige-ko: "A quick bet then. If your name is called, you owe me as much curry as I can eat. If your name isn't called, I'll cook food for you three times."

Daybreak: "Deal!"

Mitsuteru smiled to himself.

There's no way I-

"Squad 15 captain is Ariake Mitsuteru."

.

Seiji watched as Mitsuteru got up from his seat and began making his way down with a single word.

Oh, my. This is something.

There was no clear expression on his face. Even when Murakami greeted him down below, his expression remained the same.

It was only when that had all been settled that he said something.

2Truths1Lie: "He's freaking out on the inside."

One: "He's totally freaking out!"

Feeling Alive: "I wanted to hear him freak out!"

Shige-ko: "Yes! All I can eat curry!"

That was probably the most dangerous part of all of this.

I do wonder how he will deal with this, though.

.

What do I dooooooooooo!?

Mitsuteru held his breath as he stood with all of the other captains.

Kō, Toby, and Asano were kind enough to welcome him down, but that did nothing to stop his racing mind.

Why did they choose me!? Now I have to follow through with this and the bet I made with Shigeko! Aaaaaaahhhhhh! This isn't good at all!

But there was nothing he could do now.

There was no solid reason for him to decline, and doing so would be insulting to the directors.

They chose me, so I need to at least keep going! Right! Yes! You can do this, Ariake Mitsuteru! You are the daybreak* to the future!

But also a forsaken* one.

Gaaaaah! Mom! Dad! Why did you name me thiiiiiis!?

There was no helping that at this point.

.

"Those are the fifteen captains. Next, I will call out each squad's Operator."

As Shinoda spoke, Murakami and Toby were busy easing the stiffness in Mitsuteru until he let out a silent breath.

Shinoda ignored this and continued.

"Operator for Utagawa's Squad 1 is Shiki Sayako. In Ōji's Squad 2 is Nire Hikari. In Kakizaki's Squad 3 is Fujimaru Nono. In Kitazoe's Squad 4 is Somei Hana. In Kuruma's Squad 5 is Ayugai Kuni. In Kodera's Squad 6 is Rokuta Rika. In Suwa's Squad 7 is Ui Madoka. In Ninomiya's Squad 8 is Kenzaide Kanji. In Mizukami's Squad 9 is Kon Yuka. In Murakami's Squad 10 is Hiyami Aki. In Wakamura's Squad 11 is Hosoi Maori. In Kirikari's Squad 12 is Kimura Kawaguchi. In Asano's Squad 13 is Kagami Rin. In Awdry's Squad 14 is Osano Rui. And in Ariake's Squad 15 is Hachidori Sora."

All of the captains turned to look around for their Operators.

"That's all. The Operators whose names I didn't call. That's Usami, Kittaka, Hitomi, Kumokawa, and Nakagami. You three will help administer the exam from behind the scenes."

The three mentioned nodded, some with uncertainty.

"Have fun, girls!" Jinsei shouted out with a wave.

Ōji and Mizukami were quick to shut him up by throwing his head down.

*"Ariake" means "Daybreak"

*"Mitsuteru" means "Forsaken"