I wonder if they will be okay...
Kitazoe hummed to himself as he took off his helmet.
The restaurant was long gone by now and he had made it back home.
Most of them are lost causes already, but Yuzuru seemed especially mad to have to go with them. Well, more mad that Mitsu-kun would also be there.
From what he had seen, Mitsuteru made sure to take extra care with Yuzuru, but the reverse was not true. Yuzuru had some disdain for Mitsuteru and disliked having to be around him. The only reason he had seemed fine for the most part may have been because the rest of them were there.
The more he thought about it all the more he realized just how angry Yuzuru had seemed to be each time Mitsuteru spoke to him.
"Maybe I should ask about that later," he said to himself.
Unlocking the door to his house, he walked inside and started taking off his shoes and jacket.
When he was almost done putting his shoes away he heard footsteps coming from the nearby room.
"You're home already? I would have thought you would be out a bit longer."
It was his brother.
Kitazoe lifted his hand in greeting then picked up the two bags of food he had with him.
His brother raised a brow at the bags but he waved him off and started walking toward the kitchen.
"A senpai of mine gave us a lot of food to take home. This is just a bit of it."
"Two full bags is 'just a bit'? Just what kind of senpai is this?"
"One that scares majority of us."
It may not have been descriptive, but the sentiment had gotten through to his bother.
Now that I think about it...
"Hey, you were on the same squad as Mitsu-kun, right? Uh, Ariake Mitsuteru, that is."
"Hm? Yeah. He's the one I had mentioned a few times before."
I knew it, he thought.
Kitazoe started putting away the food in the refrigerator. His brother walked up and began handing him boxes while he tried to figure out where to put them.
"Do you know if anything happened between him and Yuzuru?"
"He's never mentioned anything happening before. I only know that they both had the same mentor at a point."
He handed Kitazoe another box and rolled up the bag before placing it in under the sink. When he got done with that he started on the second bag.
The amount of food that was brought back felt excessive, even for Kitazoe. Denying it would have led to something even worse, he was sure of it.
Deciding that this was the best option, he continued to find a place for all of it.
"Why? Did something happen?"
"Well, he was one of the people who had gone to eat and something seemed off."
"Off with him or Ema?"
There was a of of things off with Mitsuteru, when he thought about it.
No, no. It's the people around him that were off.
Kō and Kanda had been especially weird while they ate.
"Off with Yuzuru. He seemed really angry at Mitsu-kun for no reason."
"Huh. I'll ask the others to see if they know anything."
Kitazoe finished putting the last box in the refrigerator and marveled at how little room there was left.
"Thanks for the help."
His brother nodded and pulled out his phone while folding the second bag.
Kitazoe took the bag from him and placed it where the first one was.
I hope they are fine...
Ema knew that he was the odd man out.
After leaving the restaurant, the small group had made it through the city into the residential area. They had walked for a while and his feet had started to hurt. The only think that kept him going was that he refused to take Mitsuteru's invitation to carry him on his back. The amount of embarrassment that would come from that would not have been worth it.
Once they had reached their destination they had met up with Yuki as he reached the house.
The timing had been just right.
Yuki had wasted no time in letting them all inside. Once inside they had headed to the kitchen so that they could put the remaining food away. The space left in the refrigerator was almost nonexistent and Ema wondered just who would even be eating that.
With all of that having been done, they made it to the living room where they currently sat. Ema had chosen to sit on the floor. On the sofa was Murakami and Mitsuteru. Behind them, leaning on the back of the sofa was Kanda. The armchair to the side was where Yuki sat. And next to Ema was...
"So why did you want your former squad to spend the night?"
Kageura sat with his back leaning against the sofa. Murakami and Mitsuteru had moved their legs to the side so that Kageura wouldn't be leaning on them.
Yuki looked from the door to Kageura before shrugging his shoulders.
"Don't give me that crap."
"Well it isn't like you're going to enjoy the answer."
"Then why say anything at all!?"
"Hey, the message was for Mitsuteru and the others. You all just came along."
Ema was glad that he was sitting on the opposite side of where Yuki's chair was. Otherwise he would have been in range of anything thrown by the two.
From where he sat he could see Kanda and Murakami nod.
"So what did you need us for, Yuki?" asked Mitsuteru.
"Well, when I was at the hospital, Minoru and the airhead came by."
"Hold on a minute. You both didn't stay there?"
The collective question form everyone else amazed Ema more than it should have. At the same time, he had to agree with their question and wonder how both Ninomiya and Yuki managed to make it out of the hospital without each being in a cast.
Yuki must have understood their confusion since he nodded twice.
"It was a pure miracle. Don't expect it to happen again."
"I see," they all said.
Yuki nodded for a third time.
"Anyway," he continued. "This and that happened and now all three of our former squads will be having a match with each other. Tomorrow."
.
It was amazing how fast the human body could move at times.
Mitsuteru got to see first hand just how fast Kanda and Kageura could move when completely pissed and without their Triggers.
"What the hell is that about!?"
"Don't just dump that on us! And you were going to only tell Mitsuteru that!?"
"Still on probation with the hospital, you idiots! Don't go sending me back right away!"
It would serve you right!" they both said directly into Yuki's ear.
While Kageura made sure to land some hits on Yuki's body, Kanda had him in a headlock to keep him from running away.
Mitsuteru sensed another mood change.
He had noticed that the noise form these former senpai had been different from before.
...It doesn't just sound like a joke now.
They were not just trying to be funny. It was more likely they were trying to enjoy themselves.
They had been casually sitting here until Yuki started speaking. That would cause anyone to go against him, but none of it was out of malice. Kō must have noticed as well.
"Hey, Mitsuteru. Let's grab some snacks as an excuse to not look at this mess."
"But what if it goes bad? And I don't want to just leave Yuzuru with them."
Despite what Kō said, he looked somehow satisfied. He had his eyes on the three who were now wrestling on the chair.
"I was really hoping something like this would happen."
"Even though you aren't a part of it yourself?"
"Well, I'm plenty a part of it. I mean, they aren't trying to hide anything from anyone anymore, right? And..."
And...
"Yuki, Kage, and Kanda are messing around in the same way the rest of us do with each other. If they were here, I'm sure people like Inukai, Zoe, and Arafune would join in. The people I care about are reaching out to others to enjoy something, and that's enough to make me happy."
"You make it sound so simple..."
But Mitsuteru felt much the same. Shigenaga was living a more normal life after the B-Rank Wars. You could easily guess she would start wrestling with everyone else if something embarrassing came up.
...Although with these kinds of people, imagining some fun scene might just set me up for a greater shock when I get hit by the cold reality.
Still, he felt certain that that Shigenaga and the others like her could get by in Mikado City.
...So everyone should be fine even if they do decide to go somewhere else.
Calling it "refuge" sounded wrong, but this gave people another place to return to.
This unique silence was proof of that. He could guess Yuzuru was thinking much the same thing about Amatori. And...
"Kō can rest easy as well."
Yuki and Mei were acting normally now.
The changes in their relationship had settled down and they were using those changes as stepping stones to reach further changes.
...It's so strange.
What even was everything that happened when he first felt forsaken?
Thinking back, it had all been necessary, but he felt like he didn't need it anymore.
He was the same person he had been back then, but those things would never happen to him again.
...So...
Mitsuteru stopped paying attention as something occurred to him.
We inherit things even within ourselves. Our old selves are inherited by our new selves.
.
"—"
Mitsuteru had stopped to think and Yuzuru noticed.
"What's wrong, Mitsuteru? Some new illness?"
"Y-you never change, do you!?"
But that had woken him up. And when he got his thoughts moving again...
...I guess it shouldn't be surprising. We are always changing, whether we are aware of it or not.
When you accomplished something, you did not repeat that same task forever. You started on something new.
Eras, ages, nations, and organizations all worked that way. The same applied to the opponents they had faced and the battles they had fought. Most wars and negotiations were related to the changing of the nations, so they had seen it happen on more than one occasion.
...And there are those like Tenryū-kun's mother who have others inherit a new way of life for them.
Akasora and Tenryū had inherited a new way of life from her and use that to make sure others could have a new beginning. Yuki and the rest of them would not soon forget what they had heard from the Yagura Branch Director.
So Mitsuteru decided to remember what had happened since coming to Mikado City.
He would never forget it no matter how far they were from that time. That way he would never forget the things they had inherited from the events during that time. And...
"Yuki."
That boy was an idiot and he had a knock for making things difficult, but...
...Has he been inheriting new things and then wondering if that was for the best?
He could be pretty careless, so there was a good chance he would just shrug it all off with an "eh, it's probably fine", but he did appear to be making an effort to actively gain more beyond what he passively inherited and lost. So...
"Things are pretty good right now." But, thought Mitsuteru. "Please tell me why you wanted me here."
"Mitsuteru, do you think you could snipe an airhead?"
"Wh-where did that come from!?"
"It's obvious," said Yuki. "The location, time, and mood in here is perfect for the topic." He crossed his arms and grinned wide. "And the location, time, and mood are perfect out there too, so don't you forget it."
How did things turn out like this...?
Ninomiya tried his best to understand the situation he had thrown himself into.
One moment he had been looking out of the window when he noticed a suspicious figure looking into the hospital room, the next he had agreed to a challenge by the former faker. It had been a complete accident, but now there was no way of escaping it. Especially since...
"Are you thinking about what to do concerning Azuma-san?"
"I wish I was. But knowing how things go, there will be some excuse allowing me to fight with him."
"Do you really think this can all be set up by tomorrow?"
"I do. But," he said. "It won't be happening tomorrow. I let myself get carried away, but no one in their right mind would allow for that to happen."
There was just too much to it that it would be impossible.
"Even if that idiot made some excuses, Shitokei would likely put him in his place."
"Yuki really is good at making excuses, isn't he? It's a good thing Mei's there to stop him."
Minoru had said it with a smile and no malice.
I'm really glad he can do that now...
Not wanting to ruin the moment, Ninomiya intertwined his finger with Minoru's.
"Oh?"
"I need to get my fill before the exam starts."
They would be unable to see each other for an extended period of time. During that time he was sure he would start to feel some withdrawal.
The simple walk they were taking to get back home helped, but there were others thing he wanted to do before he left.
Minoru knew what he was doing, so he happily took his hand and kissed his middle knuckle.
"Then I'll make sure you are extra charged for when you have to go."
It was both sweet and embarrassing at the same time.
To rid himself of the the red likely showing on his cheeks, Ninomiya coughed into his free hand twice.
"Back to the topic at hand..." Minoru gave a laugh and let him continue. "I have no doubt that the idiot's former squad will all agree to this. Likewise, I know my former squad also will. But my real concern is..."
"Denji...right?"
Ninomoiya nodded and Minoru gave a sigh.
"I was thinking that too. The other two may be fine, and things have settled down a bit, but I still can't deal with him for too long. Even with Yasu-nee, issues are bound to come up again."
"We would also be on opposing sides, so I can't do anything to help you."
"You could always target him first."
"Sorry, but I think my instincts will auto target that idiot before anyone else."
Minoru gave a laugh that bounced off the empty street. The sound of his laughter made Ninomiya gave a smile of his own.
"That's true," he said.
It would have been foolish to think he could properly control himself when he knew his true enemy would be on the same battlefield as everyone else.
"I wouldn't doubt it if Ms. Fried Rice actually teamed up with Yuki to take you out."
"Hm... It wouldn't be the first time that happened."
"Then I would just need to come in and save you. Isn't that right?"
Ninomiya jerked forward at Minoru's sudden use of a deep tone. The times he had heard it were always behind closed doors, where no one could hear his own voice.
Minoru gave another laugh as he gently pulled him backwards.
Letting himself get pulled back, Ninomiya was met with a chest. It was sturdy, yet it didn't hurt to run into it.
"I'm only kidding. Taka doesn't need me saving him."
That's right. Minoru would not save him, and he would not save Minoru.
After all...
"We work better as a pair. Saving each other would defeat the purpose of us being together."
"Right... That's why I want you to go all out, if we get to that point."
"Oh?"
It was the second time Minoru had said that.
Ninomiya pulled back a bit to look Minoru directly in the eyes.
"We both know how I am, and we both know how that idiot is. We will probably be the starting points of the fight. So I want you to attack either one of us if you see an opening. Don't hold back. Fight as per usual."
"And here I was thinking that you would say we gang up on Yuki."
"That would also be nice. But..."
He shook his head.
"I-..."
Fried Rice Queen: "A little birdie told me that we would be fighting together again? Care to explain, Ninomiya-kun?"
.
Nino: "And where did you hear that from?"
Fried Rice Queen: "My sources are my sources. Now please stop trying to get away form the subject."
Black Bullet: "I also heard about it."
Mature One: "I have Azuma-san here with me. Due to the exam, I will be the mediator for him since he can't contact Ninomiya-san."
Fried Rice Queen: "The whole squad is back here~ Tsukimi~ Hi~!"
Mature One: "Hello, Kako-san. But I would also like to know what this is about."
.
"Who told them...?"
Minoru lowered his brows at hearing Masataka's groan.
If they all heard about it, then there's no doubt that I'm in for a similar treatment.
As if on cue, Minoru felt his phone start buzzing.
WorTri: "Hah... Minoru, do I even need to ask?"
Deer Prince: "Before that, can I ask something?"
WorTri: "I can't guarantee an answer. But sure."
That was good enough when it came to Sekai.
Deer Prince: "Did you get this information on your own?"
WorTri: "As much as I would like to say I did, I'm still on probation. The directors have a lock on me, so they would know if something came up."
Deer Prince: "Then what about Denji? He's still A-Rank."
Gambler: "D'n' g' dr'gg'n' m' 'nt' 'n'th'n. 've go' th' s'me r'st'i'tions 's Sekai. I j's' l's' m' sq'd s'me p'n's, 's 'll."
Mom: "Denji, please message properly."
Minoru didn't need to be nearby to know how much of a hit Denji just took.
There was no one on Earth who could deliver a hit that strong to him.
Well, besides Michelle, but that's a given.
Mom: "But I was also wondering what this is about. Minoru, could you tell us?"
The mystery of who had told both of their former squad would need to be solved later. At the moment there were two squads waiting for an explanation.
Minoru looked over to see Masataka rubbing his forehead.
I might end up in that same situation...
.
Deer Prince: "In short... Yuki had suggested a fight between his former squad, the former Azuma Squad, and...us. Taka had agreed to it, but I was going to ask everyone about it before accepting anything."
Mom: "Thank you for considering us before accepting."
Gambler: "He probably didn't want to get involved in that mess. And was gonna make sure I didn't find out about it."
Deer Prince: "That's not true, Denji."
WorTri: "When did they plan on having this match? The exam is only a few days away. This would require Masataka, Azuma-san, and Ariake-san to fight. Hah. Assuming they meant everyone."
Myth: "Even then, Masataka-dono wanted to join in. So he could not be excluded from this."
WorTri: "And what are they planning to do about Azuma-san not being able to communicate with Masataka?"
Deer Prince: "I don't know all the details. We were going to sort that out when we got everyone's confirmation on the matter."
Gambler: "That's stupid. What if some of us didn't bother to answer? That would have made everything be put on halt until the exam was over. Even then, there's no telling if something would come up. Even now, it looks like things will have to wait until later."
Deer Prince: "Well I think they want to have it...soon..."
Almost Everyone: "...Excuse me?"
"So that's what's going on..."
Kageura could only feel bad at hearing Ariake's sigh.
The poor guy had to deal with Yuki and Ninomiya's stupidity. He was being placed in this strange position without even doing anything.
People say he harasses others, but it looks more like he just know when to hit others to me.
He could be wrong, but that was the way it looked from his perspective. Then again, a lot of people at Border also like to just tease others.
"Hey, Yuki. Isn't that a bit much. He already as enough to worry about with the exam."
"That's why I wanted everyone to come here. I know Mei's busy, so I'm just going to speak to her about it tomorrow morning. Kanzaki and Kimura just wanted an explanation, so that's why they didn't come here."
"They probably just didn't want to deal with any mess you make."
That was completely fair in Kageura's eyes. The amount of times they have had to deal with Yuki's stupidity was almost countless.
Yuki knew this, so denying it was not an option for him.
"But that's why I'm so glad Mitsuteru agreed to come here! I know I can rely on him!"
"To be completely honest, I just wanted to see what your house was like."
"Have you never been here?" Kageura found himself asking.
He hadn't known about Ariake until recently, so he assumed that he would have been to Yuki's house before.
Ariake gave an awkward laugh. That alone would have been nothing to pay attention to, but then Yuki followed it up by looking away.
"Back when we were on the same squad, I had never gone to Kiyoshi-san's house. Not just his. I had never been to Mei's, Shizuka-san's, or Kawa-san's houses either."
"Really? With the way you people talk, I would've thought you would be there a lot."
"Things weren't that easy, Kage," said Yuki, waving his hand back and forth.
He could imagine. Just from what he had heard, things were pretty chaotic for that squad as a whole.
That was why Kageura made a decision of his own here.
"If that's how things are, I'm not letting you drag the guy into this."
"Huh?" The dual response form Ariake and Yuki was refreshing.
But both of you are idiots if you give me that look.
"The exam starts in a few days, and the captain meeting or whatever is before that, right? This guy's been chosen as a captain. No way should be getting into big fights before all of that starts up. Even if you want to do something about it, I won't let you."
Kageura expected a lot of things. At the top of that list was for Yuki to start arguing or making excuses. Under that, he expected Ariake to say that it was fine.
"..."
Instead, he got a sigh from both of them.
The one from Ariake was one of relief.
As for Yuki...
"Yeah. I went a little crazy with that. Probably because I was talking to that airhead."
He turned to Ariake with a smile and lowered brows.
"Sorry for putting you out like that, Mitsuteru."
"It's fine. I was trying to find a way to deny the request, but Kageura-san did it for me." He nodded down at Kageura with his own smile. "Thank you for that. I should have been the one to say it first, but this also works out."
There was nothing to thank him for. They all knew that, but they also knew Ariake would not accept that.
There are at least two other people in this room who would have put a stop to it right away.
It was still uncertain if Ema would have tried anything.
But he would probably ask me to do something about it.
That was just how things were with him.
"In any case," said Yuki. "Would you be fine with it after the exam, Mitsuteru?"
.
"I'm leaning towards a 'yes,' but I would like to see what happens during the exam first. Would that be fine?"
"Yeah, I have no problem with that. Besides, I might end up getting dragged back to the hospital at random times, so having the better timeframe is good."
Yuki finally settled back into his seat. He made sure to keep an eye on Kanda and Kageura, but otherwise he remained lax.
It had been far too long since he felt comfortable enough around others like this. The time spent at Mei's house had been chaotic, but fun. But this time he could just sit back and talk to the people in the room. One of which being the boy he had once forsaken.
I don't want to do that again... And not just him. I don't want to leave anyone else behind.
Back when he had helped Hisato and Daigo with some training he had done everything he could to help them. Later on, Daigo had come up to him and thanked him for helping him. At the time, Yuki had thought he meant with the training, but he had been wrong.
Daigo went on to tell him that he had managed to gain something he was missing because of that training.
Yuki had not understood what he meant with that.
It was only after everything I've been through with everyone can I understand what Daigo meant.
A want and understanding that no one needed to be left behind or used. Everything was fine if everyone was right next to each other. They didn't need to be walking the same path, only standing next to each other was enough.
And a good way of doing that was listening to his once forsaken teammate.
.
Yuki noticed something while listening to Kageura and Kanda calling him an idiot while Mitsuteru and Murakami tried to calm them down.
It was the final person in the room.
"What do you think about all of this, Ema?"
Everyone else was quick to answer.
"Don't get him involved with this!"
"Please leave Yuzuru alone."
"Now you're going after a kid?"
"Alright, out. Let's go."
Yuki was just as quick to throw the closest things at everyone in the room besides Ema.
Once he settled back down he glared at each of them.
"This is my house, by the way! You can't kick me out!"
Kanda only shrugged as if it wasn't a problem.
In all actuality, it would likely not be a problem. Someone only need call Mei and he would be evicted in an instant.
"What do you mean by 'all of this'?"
At least someone had taken him seriously.
"I mean the exam. No need to think about some decision I made on a whim."
Ema must have really not given it too much thought with the way he hesitantly shrugged his shoulders. As an A-Rank, Yuki was aware of the squad choices made by provisional captains. As such, he knew that Ema was placed on the same squad as both the airhead and Amatori.
It's a double-sided thing for him.
There was no hiding how feelings towards Amatori.
At the same time, there was no secret concerning his feelings towards the airhead.
Maybe it's because I also don't like that guy, but I'm a it worried about him.
From the looks of things, it was hard to say that out loud. His competition consisted of both Kageura and Mitsuteru. Both of whom were doing everything they could to look out for Ema.
There was just one problem he noticed with all of this.
"Hey, Yuki. Do you mind if I jump in the bath first? That way it can get going for everyone else?"
"Hm? Oh, we just have a shower here. No need to get it ready."
"Then could I shower first? If everyone doesn't mind."
Most of them shook their heads, but Yuki saw it. This was an escape.
The only other person who had noticed was Kageura.
"That's fine. If you go all the way to the end of the hall, that's where Shiro's room is. You two should be roughly the same size. Feel free to take any of his clothes. Oh, and Ema. Shobu also has some clothes here, so you can use some of him."
Ema nodded, but Yuki saw the scrunched up face Mitsuteru tried to hide.
He didn't say anything after that, so he must have accepted that he would need to use Oshiro's clothes if he wanted anything clean.
Once he was out of the room, Yuki looked directly at Kageura.
You saw that, didn't you?
Kageura nodded as if reading his mind.
.
White Fox: "I thought those two got along? Or at the very least Ema is only annoyed with Mitsuteru."
Kage: "They've been like this all night. I thought it would pass when we left the restaurant, but looks like things are still the same."
White Fox: "Weird. With the way Mitsuteru talks about it, I had thought they were pretty close."
Kage: "I haven't heard a word about Ariake directly until I met him. And even then, it's mostly from the other two."
White Fox: "Ema hasn't said anything at all!? Then what exactly..."
Kage: "I decided not to pry into that mess. Besides, Ariake doesn't seem like he minds all too much."
White Fox: "That's true... And there's no way he hasn't noticed something like that. Maybe something about the past then?"
Kage: "You're the last person who should be getting involved with another person's past. You should just stay away from that stuff."
White Fox: "Urg... This is frustrating."
Kage: "Now you know how the rest of us felt, idiot."
.
It was the painful truth that Yuki had to accept.
A lot of people had been put in awkward positions due to his own carelessness and selfishness concerning his past. IF he were to get involved with someone else's past it would be close to stepping on their own feelings on the matter.
All he could do here was accept what was happening and provide an environment for them.
...But I know exactly what that look Ema has been giving Mitsuteru means.
It was a similar look he had gotten sometimes when Mitsuteru was facing him. That time had gone but he could clearly remember feel unease whenever he had noticed that look directed towards him. Now that he had hindsight on the matter he knew what that look was for.
...So that's what Ema thinks about their situation.
There was no room for him to say anything.
Yuki held his phone to his mouth and gave a smile he hadn't given in a while.
...It should be fine to go back to being "Yuki" for a moment, right?
As long as he went back to being himself then this was fine.
"Ema, if you want, there's another bathroom in the master bedroom - my room. You can use that."
"Huh? Oh, that's fine. I can wait."
"We're going to be talking about some things that you probably want to plead innocence on."
That got Ema moving.
With a bow, he thanked Yuki and started for the stairs.
Everyone remained silent until they heard a door close upstairs.
"Oh yeah," said Yuki, feigning innocence. "We never figured out the sleeping arrangement."
"You're an asshole," was how the other three responded.
Yuki only shrugged is shoulders and watched as Kageura took the spot Mitsuteru had left behind.
With everyone settled back in, he moved his phone and placed both hands on his bent knees.
"Now, there really was something I wanted to talk about."
"You really can't stick to one thing for too long."
"That hasn't changed."
Yuki shrugged again.
At this point he understood himself well enough to agree with them.
"I want to know what's up with you...Kō."