Different Trigger

by TheAnimeTrain

A call from Germany leads to Border members being sent away from Japan. Along with this trip comes new meetings, old faces, and discoveries of the present.

2. Vorbereitungen für die Eröffnung

At this point it's not even surprising anymore…

Minoru sighed as he went over the message again.

He placed his phone down on the table so that both he and Masataka could read the conversation. Seeing the message, Masataka only hummed and narrowed his eyes.

"How does this guy always manage to come in at the worst times?"

"That's just how it is. Just be glad that you haven't had to deal with him as long as some of us have."

Minoru shook his head and looked down.

I already know what he's going to do, but still…

Deer Prince: "How did you find out about this in the first place?"

Gambler: "That's on a need-to-know basis and you don't need to know. Now hurry up and change the list already."

That was to be expected.

This man was always like this.

WorTri: "This is getting irritating. Denji, next time you want to be an idiot don't pretend like putting it in here was an accident."

Gambler: "You guys aren't worth faking an accident. I just wanted to be a nuisance."

WorTri: "Go jump into some sewage water already."

"Hm. Leave it to Hikigane to tell that fool what we're all thinking."

"Yeah…"

This was a normal conversation for those two so it was hard to say if he really meant it or not. But Minoru is pretty sure that Sekai truly meant it when it comes to Denji.

WorTri: "Getting back to what was being said here. You just went to Germany a few months ago. You wouldn't be allowed to go again so soon."

Gambler: "What? Would you personally stop me from going~?"

WorTri: "Yeah. By slamming your head into the ground to knock you out."

Myth: "Now, now. Keep the violent speech to in-person conversations."

Not having these kinds of conversations at all would be better, but thanks for trying.

None of them could really keep each other in check. That had always been left up to someone else.

Minoru let a second sigh escape and he felt a thumb rub small circles on the back of his hand.

"To think that you were teammates with these three… It's still hard to actually believe."

A weak grin showed on the younger's face.

"I really don't blame you. We disbanded before the first interaction of Azuma Squad and pretty much moved individually. To say we were a real squad…well, that just doesn't sound right most of the time."

Bakuto Denji, Hikigane Sekai, Kagerei Ketsueki and him, Hatohara Minoru, used to be a squad to the disbelief of many others when they first heard about it by the time Border first established. And it was true what Minoru said, they rarely worked together and sometimes caused more harm than good in Mikado City.

So it's really not surprising when newer agents didn't know about that ridiculous squad and the four of them never mention it unless they truly have to, which was almost never.

"So when does it feel right to say that?"

He just hummed.

That was hard to say.

If he were to ask the others then he was sure they would all give differing answers. By the end of it they would all agree that they could not point out any specific examples.

Except for one.

The only times they did work together was when their Operator asked them to.

Since none of them could say 'No' to her.

.

This had been one connecting point for all of them. It had not been there at first, but time had quickly changed that.

Thinking back on it, even if we did change because of that time, we ended up still being the same when it came to each other.

When it came to him, others who had been around at the time could say that he had changed. From back then to now, there had been many things that happened to change him as a person.

He knew he was the same at his core, but even he could tell that he had changed.

But what about them?

The easiest to think about is Ketsu. There's no doubt that a lot of people would be surprised by the way he used to be compared to now.

When people think of the man known as "Kagerei Ketsueki" the first thoughts to come to mind would likely be "upstanding" and "samurai-like."

When Minoru thought of the man known as "Kagerei Ketsueki" his first thought had always been "delinquent."

It had changed over time, and he had even laughed about it with Ketsueki before, but he had known that version before the one seen today.

But then there are those two…

He looked down at the messages again and lowered his brows.

"When you first met him, what did you think of Sekai?"

"He seemed like an unmotivated bum, if I am being honest." Masataka tilted his head a bit as he answered.

"What about now?"

His boyfriend took a moment to think about his answer before nodding.

"He is a reliable, unmotivated bum."

"It really does seem that way now, doesn't it?"

Minoru chuckled and nodded in agreement.

Comparing this "unmotivated bum" to those cold eyes seems unfair now, but I can't help it at times. Now I know it was just him being heavily guarded, but still…

It was a tough introduction to go through when they had first met.

And yet he was still not the worst one. There had been one person who, from the start, Minoru found difficult to deal with.

And of course he's one of the first people to find out…

Gambler: "Anyway. You damn brat, add me to the list already! I need to get in Yassan's good graces again!"

Yasuko Schneider.

That was the name of the Operator of that unbelievable squad.

.

Minoru raised a brow at the sudden message.

It was nothing new to not understand what the gambler was talking about. Most of the time he couldn't even be bothered to use full words.

But this time he had given a name Minoru recognized easily. Even Ninomiya knew that name from conversations he had had with Minoru.

So what exactly does he mean by "good graces" exactly?

WorTri: "This moron got scolded by Yasuko-ane for what he did during your fight a while back."

"Ah… That makes sense."

Ninomiya raised a brow.

That was all that was needed for Minoru to gulp some air before giving a sheepish laugh.

"And what is that supposed to mean exactly?"

"Well, you see…"

---

That checks out.

Sekai let a sigh escape his mouth. The weather was good enough for him to take a nap outside, but the noise of the people around him made it difficult to do so.

Instead, he chose to lay down on the grass and listen as people walked by.

Sometimes children would speak about him while pointing before being pulled away by their parents, other times it would be the parents speaking about him. None of it bothered him so he chose to ignore them.

I didn't expect Minoru to tell Masataka about that fight. From what I know, Yuki was trying his best to keep Denji from speaking.

Minoru was unlikely to keep that part from him. Imagining the expression he would have about that made Sekai snort.

That would have been the second time Yuki had done something for Minoru like that.

I guess I'm also interested in his reaction from being told all of this too. I'll have to have Minoru give me details on his expression later on.

Sekai looked at his phone again and thought for a moment.

After five seconds of this he shrugged and started scrolling through his messages.

Let's see if I can find it again…

---

Minoru waited for something to happen.

He had gotten done explaining what had happened during the night he had gone to help the Tamakoma Branch and Masataka had yet to say anything.

This silence is killer…

As the seconds went by he started to notice something.

Oh… There it is.

Masataka had crossed his arms and a dark aura started to envelop him. His right eye was twitching dangerously. It was unlike what happened near Yuki. This was not any petty anger. So he did his best to calm the other down.

"Hey now, it's fine! I'm good, really! I had help there!"

"From. The. Faker."

That's right…

His words had only added fuel to the fire.

"Yes… But hey, from what Sekai's saying, he got in trouble for it. Oh, speaking of which, how bad was it exactly?"

His voice carried to the phone and typed it out as text. It was an excuse to distract the other, but he was actually curious about that and instead of any words, a picture was sent.

The two of them looked down at the picture to see that it was a screenshot of only two words.

Mom: "Denji. Bakuto."

"His full name…"

Minoru shuddered, understanding what exactly that meant.

Masataka raised a brow again, but Minoru only shook his head.

Myth: "That was not even directed at me and I felt that…"

WorTri: "It got me the first time, too. I remember some messages like that."

Gambler: "Exactly! That's why I need to go! It doesn't matter when the last time I went was, got it!?"

"Even if you say that…" Minoru's voice trailed off.

His choice had already been made and the list of people going was decided on.

WorTri: "Just ignore him. Yasuko-ane isn't even mad at him anymore."

Gambler: "That doesn't mean I don't want to go! Or what, are you telling me that you and Ketsueki wouldn't take any chances you could get to go see them?"

WorTri: "I would, but I also know when not to go. Don't go thinking that we're the same here."

Myth: "Likewise. What is more is that I am sure the ones in Germany can only handle you for so long. I know the rest of us have our limits."

Gambler: "You sure you aren't just scared that you'll get on the wrong plane and end up in America or something?"

Myth: "That is besides the point!"

I hate when Denji has an actual point on one of us…

But it was the sad truth about Ketsueki. Trusting him to get on the right plane was something none of them could do anymore. How that even happens is still a mystery that only Svantje seems to know the answer to.

If Minoru remembered correctly, Ketsueki ended up in Greece instead of Germany first because of that. Making him miss the birthday of Yasuko's daughter, Michelle.

The way Masataka coughed into his hand meant he thought the same.

Well, besides Ketsu's bad habits, there is something that caught my attention here.

.

Deer Prince: "Do you guys know why Germany is asking for more squads to be sent over?"

"Of course," responded Denji and Sekai.

That was too quick!

That was not a real surprise but even Minoru felt that they should have given it a few more seconds.

Myth: "This time it was not just those two. I also know. Yasuko-san had let all of us know. That being said, we - or at least Sekai and myself - understand why all of us cannot be requested."

WorTri: "There's also the fact you just came back from Germany."

Myth: "There is that too."

Gambler: "Pah! This brat just needs to pick our squads and Ketsueki. It really isn't that hard to figure out. You people are just being idiots about this."

That was true. It was still early enough that he could change his choices.

The number of members would even out, if not be less. That would make it easier on the directors to set everything up.

It would also not run any risks when it came to Yuki's health.

Even if he had his issues with Denji, the rest of Bakuto Squad and Hikigane Squad were people he was fine with.

Wait a minute…

Going through the list of people again, he shuddered at the mental image of a crossdresser posing. And the reason why he rejected the idea in the first place.

WorTri: "I will never let the idiot on my squad meet Yasuko-ane or Michelle. I'd rather die."

Gambler: "You know…that's fair. I'll give you that one."

This had been one of the few times Minoru could agree with Denji. He still refused to say that for others to hear.

Gambler: "But that doesn't mean your squad has to go. Hell, it just means Ninomasa's squad can still go and we just go as individuals."

Myth: "I feel like your vice-captain would have a problem with that."

Gambler: "Do I care? Nope."

That was to be expected with someone like him.

More than that really, there's still the way the directors acted when I had mentioned them during the meeting.

All of the directors had their varying reactions, but Commander Kido and Director Shinoda, two people who had fully seen their squad at the start, had been unfocused the moment he brought up the idea. It was because he used that as an excuse that he was able to get Yuki to go with them.

He had almost let slip that entire event but stopped himself once the mental image of Denji's grinning face appeared in his mind.

Giving that man an inch meant he would take miles while he had the chance.

.

WorTri: "Just deal with it, Denji. Besides, Yasuko-ane has already told us that she will be visiting soon. If anything, just think of this as setting things up so she can visit without any problem."

Gambler: "Then I want to be the one to make sure it works out for her!"

Myth: "Would it not be better to set things up over here then? Make Mikado City safe enough for her to come here."

Gambler: "Oh, don't worry. I've got that covered. I already have plans to deal with a certain pest who keeps trying to delve deeper than he should."

Myth: "And who would that be?"

Gambler: "No one you should worry about. Just be ready in case anything happens."

Myth: "That is not very reassuring…"

Gambler: "Anyway, my point still stands! I've got things covered here! So I'm going!"

WorTri: "You idiot. We can't go. Even if we disregard everything that we just said, there's one glaring issue that's apparent here."

Gambler: "And what's that?"

WorTri: "Yuki is going with them."

.

Ninomiya could only question what Hikigane meant by that. His words had stopped Bakuto immediately, something that only he and someone else could manage.

Gambler: "Dammit. Why did you have to bring that up? Urg. Fine, fine. I'll back off this time."

WorTri: "I know you didn't do it on purpose, or for the right reason, but good job getting Yuki to tag along with you, Minoru. But good luck dealing with him and Masataka."

Deer Prince: "Uh, yeah… No problem? Thanks?"

There had been a slim chance that Minoru knew what he was referring to, that seemed to have also not been the case. But the brief movement of his eyes told him that Minoru may enlist Svantje's help with this.

Even Kagerei was thrown for a loop from the questioning message he had sent.

Still…

What exactly does it mean to have that faker go to Germany with us?

Asking said faker would get him nowhere. Since that was the case, he had resolved to keep an eye on the faker to see if anything came up.

Gambler: "Whatever. Hey brat, if this is how it's gonna be, I'm giving you a job. You can't deny it either."

"Urg… That's not up to you to decide," responded Minoru with narrowed eyes.

Bakuto didn't seem bothered by the words and just continued on.

Gambler: "You're going to be taking all of the gifts I have ready for Yassan and Michelle, got it? Oh, and that old man, I guess."

He sounds like a whiny teenager when he puts it like that…

All things considered, that was not too far off when describing this man.

Myth: "Oh! Please do the same for me! I have some things I have been meaning to give them. I also still feel bad for having missed out on Michelle's birthday."

WorTri: "Take mine too. It's the least we can do since we aren't able to see them too many times."

Kagerei had followed it up with a "Please" and Hikigane was not being as demanding about it. Bakuto was always a lost cause, so he didn't think much about it.

Minoru felt the same way from the way he sighed.

In the end, he agreed to that much before the other three went offline.

.

Ninomiya looked down at the screen, feeling himself more drained than he had expected.

As if sharing the same pain, if not more, Minoru slumped down to rest his upper body on the table, their half eaten food pushed to the side.

Along with their kisses, this day was filled with Minoru's sighs. Another one was let out, his eyes closed while doing so.

Ninomiya could only shake his head while going over the messages again. He tried to ease Minoru by petting his head gently, but even he knew this kind of conversation took a toll on him.

"But to think that those two hold your former Operator in such high regards…"

Hikigane was alert when speaking about her and Bakuto had made it a point in wanting to go to Germany. Kagerei was always like this, but those two were not the type to act in such a way.

Minoru had told him vague things about his time with his former squad. Most things were omitted, but he made sure that it was known their former Operator had helped him during that time.

But the other three were a complete mystery to him.

"I can't imagine Bakuto ever relying on or getting attached to someone. Even more so when it comes to Hikigane."

"Yeah, well…"

"Hm?"

Minoru had trailed off and refused to lift his head. It was unlike him so it had Ninomiya worried.

After another few seconds went by he lightly shook his head before turning to look at the end of his arm. More specially, at his wrist.

"It isn't my place to say anything about those guys. We all had our own things going on…"

Ninomiya hummed and followed his eyes until he reached the same wrist Minoru was looking at. It was covered by the sleeve of his shirt, but it was clear what that look meant.

Not caring much for appearances, he moved his hand from Minoru's head to start caressing that hidden wrist with his thumb.

After doing this a few times, he slowly began moving his hand down until it was placed in Minoru's.

"Still warm," he said with satisfaction.

Minoru smiled knowing what the older man meant and curled his fingers into Ninomiya's fingers.

"I suppose I should give a full explanation for myself, at the very least."

"There's no need to push yourself."

"Don't worry, I'm not doing that."

Minoru lifted his body, still hand-in-hand with Ninomiya, and looked him directly in the eyes.

.

"It was when I first joined Border."

That would have been around four and a half years ago. Even so, he could still remember it clearly.

It had started with a meeting. At the time, her husband had been in a coma due to the very first large-scale invasion.

At the same time, he had been figuring things out after the very first large-scale invasion.

A lot of things had been going on for a lot of people.

"Even so, I would say our actual meeting was normal…enough."

"Are we using the usual Border standards?"

Minoru tilted his head.

"Yes?"

"Then it should be fine to call it normal. If you can compare it to any of our first meetings with that faker, everything can be considered normal."

"I guess that's true."

Border's normal standard had definitely become more lax and skewed over time, but Minoru had always thought that it was better this way. After all…

Back then was when a lot of us were unsure about what we should do…

That was the basis everyone seemed to go with when they had first entered Border during those times. It was how they managed to make it through everything and arrive to the present day.

Any uncertainty back then was turned into stealed resolve and determination over time.

"That's probably why we all 'fell for that trick' so easily."

Minoru gave an airy laugh, but found himself enjoying it more than he thought.

It was because of that trick that a lot of them had even decided to take that first step.

I don't really think I can call it a "trick" at this point.

He had not been attentive when talking to her, too wrapped up in his own mind at the time. She had asked him many questions and he had absentmindedly answered her. By the time he realized what was happening, she was smiling at him and telling him that she would get everything ready.

What was she getting ready for?

"Because of how I had been, and what was happening at the time, I had ended up forming a squad because of her. The start of that was pretty awkward, and I wasn't sure what to do exactly." A soft snort escaped him. "Didn't help that she made me 'captain' for that squad despite being 13 at that time."

"From what you have told me before, and what those three say in their drunken stupors, you all were the basis used for today's squad's right?"

Minoru just nodded.

"That's right. Although, when looking at it all properly, it was the squad Azuma-san made with you that can be considered 'the first squad.' The one we were on was not a joint effort in the slightest."

Even now, calling them all a single unit felt wrong. One of the many reasons they don't talk about that time with people who joined after their disbandment.

Minoru thought back on everything and decided that Sekai and Denji would dislike calling them a squad and Ketsueki would only look away. It was just that kind of situation.

"Then you all were a sort of prototype squad. A 'zero' to our 'one.'"

That was one way of looking at it.

But I should focus back on the main topic here. I might end up letting some things slip if I'm not careful.

It was fine if it was only Masataka, but their public location made it hard to speak freely.

"In any case," he said.

Masataka subtly looked around and understood his tone.

"Since I was the first one on that squad, I had gotten to spend the most time with her out of all of us. During that time I was pretty bad, in my own way. It was because of that."

There was no need to elaborate on what that meant exactly. Masataka already knew of his issues and only gave a light squeeze into Minoru's hand.

"Maybe because of how I was, or maybe because of how she was, I had started letting down my guard. …That was what I had thought at the time. Now, for sure, I understand that it's just because of the way she is that it happened."

"Meeting her will show me that in full, won't it?"

"Yeah. I have no doubt about that."

The motherly figure she is had been apparent even back then, maybe even more to him when his own parents left Mikado city.

It had been because of that nature that he had been able to feel secure around her. As if anything going on with him could be dealt with, simply because he knew she would be looking out for him.

It rang true when he thought more about it. The way she had seemed to just know of certain things, how she had spoken to him about them, and how she had helped to guide him.

A sigh escaped from Minoru.

It was…

"Hah... Going any further than that will only end up making things sour."

"No need to push yourself."

.

Ninomiya lips curled up a bit while giving Minoru's hand another squeeze.

It was clear that the topic had turned into something deeper than either one of them had expected.

But it does show that even thinking of her can get that deep for him. Meaning that he really does care that deeply for her.

The same likely applied to the other three, but they were not his problem. At best, they were people he had to deal with more often than not.

"I'm looking forward to meeting her and her family. Especially if they have been so good to you."

"It's not to see who was able to keep Denji and Sekai in line?"

"There is that."

There was no denying that.

That felt more like a secondary reason, though. Those two mattered less than Minoru, so he would be the main reason for this.

Minoru must have understood this from the way he grinned at him. A genuine one.

"Well, I know that Michelle is going to like you, for sure."

---

"Tachikawa Squad, Ninomiya Squad, Arafune Squad, Tsukiko Yuki… Looks like everything is in order then. He got it all sent in well ahead of the time limit."

Shinoda hummed at Karasawa's words as he looked over the paperwork in front of him. The other directors were in the meeting room.

Once they had gotten told by Karasawa that Minoru had sent in the list of accompanying squads they had all gathered to look over it all. Now that he was hearing the choice he could only be amazed.

"Hah. While I do have some worries about this, it is better than having Hikigane and Bakuto join them."

"Hm. It isn't like Schneider wouldn't be able to handle those two. If anything, she would put them to work better than we can."

"Even if that's true, she has more responsibilities now than she did back then."

"You say that, but aren't you the reason for most of the issues back then, Shinoda?"

It was true that he had been vouching for some of the members back then, but there was only so much that Kinuta could put on him. That was why he had used a light tone.

"Be that as it may, because of that squad, we were able to figure out what needed to be done in order to make that sort of situation workout."

"In hindsight, there was a better way to go about that," said Karasawa without looking up.

Shinoda sent a glare to him, but he only shrugged.

"So many times… There were so many times where it took more than simple apologizes to appease the masses. Every excuse we had to make for them only got more…imaginative." Netsuki groaned as he got paler with every memory he remembered when it came to that squad.

"The only good thing that came from all of that was that we were able to figure out how to strengthen areas to deal with heavy attacks on the city. …We had to figure it out. Otherwise the city would have been destroyed by them."

Netsuki looked at the ceiling with a far off look in his eyes still very pale and Kinuta had a deep frown on his face not looking that much better.

"We were lucky that we had Schneider here to handle them," they said together.

"It did not help that there were some pretty loud people trying to figure things out at the time."

Shinoda made it a point to turn away from Netsuki's words.

"Please don't remind me of that," said Kinuta.

Karasawa chuckled from his seat, getting all of their attention.

"When you actually think about it, it's rather adorable how that squad flocked to their Operator like that. At the same time, it's easy to see how they ended up like that."

He took a glance up from the paperwork in front of him before focusing back on the papers.

"Besides her skills as an Operator, she was the type of person to take care of others. With those boys nearby, there was no chance she was going to leave them alone. Isn't that right, Shinoda?"

"And why are you directing that in my direction exactly?" He asked as he raised his brow.

"I wonder."

Karasawa shrugged again. He chuckled again and had an amused expression while going to the next paper.

"But I have to say that it sure is something to see those guys so tame. Especially someone like Denji."

"That's the work of a miracle right there."

"I wonder about that."

Kinuta raised a brow. Across from him, Shinoda sighed and shook his head.

Karasawa chuckled and also shook his head.

"Think nothing of it. Just some mindless comment as I finish up the paperwork."

"Coming from you, that's pretty hard to ignore."

There was nothing to be done about it. Karasawa was refusing to say any more, so all they could do was accept it.

Netsuki gave a sigh and started looking at the papers in front of Karasawa.

It was when the silence set in that someone spoke up.

"The advancement of Germany's Border is something to note."

.

All of the directors looked at Kido, who had been silent up until now.

Even now, he had his eyes closed, fingers laced together in front of him.

"To our knowledge they don't have a Mother Trigger yet they have advanced as much as we have. Restricting how much Bakuto and Hikigane are allowed to go see them is all we can do in these situations."

The silence in the room became even more apparent as they all thought over Kido's words.

The silence lasted for a minute before Kinuta huffed and crossed his arms.

"That's not all that surprising when you consider that they have a once in a lifetime genius for an R&D Department director."

That was true.

Kido had heard about that genius and understood that very few could keep up with her when it came to advancement. Their own Border had its fair share of smart people, but only one person came to mind when he thought of people who could match that director.

It's no wonder that the husband of Schneider was so confident that they could build up their own Border in Germany.

He hummed when he thought back on the conversation. It was unofficial, so all he had to go off of was his own memory.

Thinking more about it, he found his reason for certain choices he had made during that time.

Yes… It really is better to limit how many times those two can go to Germany. Considering how adamant they had been in leaving back then.

It causes trouble at times, but that trouble is always in front of us.

The prototype squad that had originated during that time was different from the squads they had now. Because of that, Kido knew that keeping them in check mattered the most at the time.

If not for Schneider herself then things would have most certainly been worse for all of us. She had also prepared us to handle them when she and her family left for Germany.

There had still been some trouble, but it seemed like it worked out for the better. They could manage that former squad well enough and Germany had been able to advance with someone that capable.

Kido was pulled from his thoughts as Sawamura's voice could be heard. It came from where Shinoda was sitting, but it was only her voice.

"A video call from Germany?"

"Patch them through," he said.

Shinoda nodded and told Sawamura just as much.

.

All of the directors looked at the large screen as two people came into view.

The first was a woman sitting in a chair with shoulder-length blond hair, amber colored eyes. Wearing a pair of glasses and a simple white blouse.

Next to her was a man standing with red hair tied into a small tail. There were some piercings in his ears, but none of them thought much of it. He wore a casual navy three piece suit, but removed the blazer from the outfit.

"The Commander and General Director of Germany's Border… I would like to greet both of you for all of us."

"Likewise. It looks like all of your HQ directors are there."

"That is right." Kido nodded and made sure to make eye contact with his fellow commander. "Our Foreign Relations Director was just finishing up everything concerning the ones who will be going to Germany. Is it a far assumption that that was why you called."

"It is. We had thought it would also be good to get some information on these agents from Japan's directors too." the female commander answered.

Karasawa tapped the papers on the table to gather their attention. He raised his hand and smiled at the two foreign directors.

"I have just sent you the official documents concerning the agents. Feel free to look over them before asking anything."

Both the Command and General Director nodded before looking down at the screen on their desk. Their eyes looked over the information while the Japanese directors looked at each other.

"I see," said the Commander.

The General Director remained silent for a moment. Upon getting to one in particular he raised a brow.

Karasawa hummed from his spot.

Shinoda looked over at him. He lifted a finger and began writing in the air. That was enough for Shinoda to go wide-eyed before looking back at the two German directors.

"This person… No. From the looks of things…there is no connection, is there?"

"I'm sure he would appreciate it if you viewed it that way," said Karasawa. He ignored the looks from Kinuta and Netsuki. "It wasn't like I could cut that from the record, so it's up to you on what you want to do with that information."

"Hm. I have nothing to say on the matter."

Shinoda let out a breath through his nose and glared at Karasawa.

"Besides him," said the General Director. "Are you really fine with sending your top A-Rank squad over?"

"I can tell you that Tachikawa - the captain of that squad - would not have left us alone if they did not go."

"Kei really can be like that… Especially when Yu-... Tsukiko and Ninomiya are going."

If things could be handled that easily then that was that. It gave them all some time away from the chaos that could come from having those people around as well.

The German General Director must have understood this from the chuckle he gave them.

"So besides Hatohara Squad, you are sending your top A-Rank squad, two B-Rank squads, and a newly promoted A-Rank agent. That sure is a good amount."

"Don't worry about it. If anything, you are doing us a favor by taking them for a bit."

"Karasawa! Please don't mind him. They are all capable agents who are sure to be helpful."

"I have no doubt about that," said the Commander. "While it's easy to understand people while they are in front of you, I would still like to hear some things about them from you all."

.

This is probably just a way for them to prepare for what's coming. Karasawa did nothing to hide the fact that this group is actually more troublesome than they seem.

Shinoda knew that he shouldn't sigh in this situation, so he made sure to let out a long one later.

"Were there any members in particular you were wondering about?"

"I was only asking for your thoughts as directors. We have heard a few things told to us by Hatohara Squad already, but that should be separated from what you all would have to say."

"So a view on these members as the ones who are in a higher position, huh?" Karasawa shrugged and looked between Shinoda and Command Kido. "In truth, I can say very little. If you want opinions on their true skill, then asking these two would be best. If you want to know about the trouble they cause, Kinuta-san and Netsuki-san would be better for that."

He was having too much fun with this. Karasawa knew just as well as they did how much trouble these members could be. Instead of saying anything himself, he was putting the rest of them on the spot to see what would happen.

If not for being in a meeting, Shinoda was certain that Director Kinuta would have said something to him.

And now we have to deal with this while he can sit back and listen…

Thankfully, and worryingly, Commander Kido spoke up before Karasawa could add any more.

The thing that had him worried was what Command Kido had to say.

"Would a report on those kinds of things be fine to send? There are still some preparations we need to finish up, so we do not have too much time at the moment."

"Yes, of course," said the Commander. "In truth, this call was mostly to thank you for granting our request on such short notice. Now that I'm seeing the list of members, I'm certain that our agents can learn a lot."

Shinoda was certain that he would have taken a moment at those words, but Commander Kido was unfazed and simply nodded.

"Our own agents can learn a lot from you all as well, so this will be mutually beneficial. I hope that our agents can provide enough help on their stay."

With Kei, Yuki, and Ninomiya going… They might cause more trouble than anyone else.

There were some other worries, but those three in particular could make a large mess when they were in the same vicinity as each other.

All Shinoda could do was send a silent prayer and properly warn them to behave themselves.

"With that being said, I wish you the best of luck in this."

Germany's Commander thanked Commander Kido and gave some parting words before ending the call.

A silence came over them all.

While this happened, Shinoda slowly turned to Karasawa, who seemed to be typing something on his phone.

Director Kinuta looked ready to say something to him, so Shinoda left it at that and looked back at Commander Kido.

What he saw was…

That's one hell of an expression…

---

A sigh filled the room.

Germany's Commander looked at the blank screen for a moment before shaking her head.

The words she had said left a bitter feeling in her.

"Try not to feel so bad about it. We know how they feel in Japan when it comes to Neighbors. It might not be all of them, but it's prevalent enough."

"Even if that's true… I can't help but wonder how long we can keep this up. With how many people are being sent, it's only a matter of time until they find out."

The General Director could only give a bitter smile before turning to look out the window. The sky was still dark, but full of stars.

Something had already caught his eye to make him think about the situation. Having something else add to that only made him think of it more.

"I wonder… Just what kind of people these agents really are. I'm looking forward to meeting them and seeing how we will work with them," he said, his smile turning into a genuine one.

---

It was quiet with the only sound being the shuffling of papers.

A woman with red hair tied in a high ponytail was looking at the papers that had been sent to her and her squad. Each one of them showed a picture with information about them.

Next to her, a girl with long straight pink hair leaned in, also looking at each piece of paper.

Neither one of them said anything as they looked from one piece of paper to another. So far, everyone they had seen was their own strengths and weaknesses that were more obvious to the red-haired woman.

It was only when they reached the papers for what appeared to be the #1 squad did they start to slow down.

Once getting to the captain of the squad, the red-haired woman stopped and stared at the piece of paper.

She continued to stare at the paper with an unreadable expression.

It was only when the pink haired girl looked up did she give a shy smile, already understanding what the red-haired woman was thinking.

---

"Aaaaahhhh~ Minoru's coming back, and bringing some friends! Can't wait to see what they're about!"

"I saw that there was a full squad of Snipers on the list. I'm looking forward to meeting them."

A large man with darker skin nodded as he sat on the roof of Border's base. He looked out at the city and leaned back on his hands.

The red-haired man next to him pointed off to the distance with one eye closed.

"From what Minoru's said before, we've got some pretty different styles. We'll probably both have some fun things to look forward to when they get here."

He threw his arm up as if firing something before looking over at the larger man.

"Which reminds me. They will be here for Minoru's birthday, too."

"Oh, yeah! Thanks for the reminder!"

The red-haired man saw the grin on the other's face. A plan was already forming in his head and he was sure that would also be fun.

---

A woman lay on a sofa, one arm behind her dual-colored hair and the other in the air. An ace of spades playing card was moving between her fingers as she played with the card.

She had been pouting since finding out about the people who would be coming over to Germany.

"I guess Denji couldn't wiggling his way into this one."

If someone like that was unable to force his way into this then something major had to have come up for him to stay behind.

Still, she was annoyed with the outcome of that.

But…

"Lukas is coming back. And he's bringing his crush, isn't he?"

She stopped fiddling with the playing card, gabbing it between her thumb and two fingers.

She slowly started to sit up, a feral grin replacing the pout she had been wearing. And a dangerous glint appeared in her eyes.

"I should help him out a bit, since the chance is there."

Even if Denji couldn't be there, there was still some fun to be had with the people coming.

---

In a silent forest, strings of lights could be seen.

On one end of the strings was a trion soldier, trapped completely and only moving when the strings of light moved.

On the other end was a man with an eyepatch and copper colored hair tied in a low ponytail sitting on one of the branches.

The man looked at the trion soldier with a dull expression and moved his fingers a bit. The strings of light moved with his fingers, forcing the trion soldier to move along with them.

After another moment of this, the man closed his hand into a fist.

The trion soldier stopped moving before falling down like a puppet whose string got cut off.

The man looked up, between the trees and into the sky.

And he just smiled.

---

A woman with long wavy brown hair smiled down at the picture in her hands.

Her blue and brown eyes were full of love when she always looked at these kinds of pictures.

This particular one was of her and four boys together. None of the boys were looking at the camera, but she had always been fine with that.

There had been many other pictures with all of them in them, so having one like this was nice.

"They are still the same boys as always."

---

It was a strange, but familiar sight.

Tsuji had gotten far too used to this scene, but he still couldn't help the sigh that escaped.

"U-um…Haru-san? E-e-excuse me, but d-don't you need to get ready!?"

"Not yet! I need to overcharge my Shiro-chan Meter! If I don't I might die before I even make it onto the plane!"

"Yes, b-but is it r-r-really necessary to d-d-do this in public!?"

Many girls were taking pictures of the two of them. If not for them, he would have gone over to help Oshiro out a while ago.

All he could do was stare as Inukai held Oshiro close, arms wrapped around his neck and waist. They were sitting down at one of the tables, everyone else surrounding them.

Well, it's more like Inukai-senpai is sitting down. Oshiro is just being forced to sit on his lap.

The difference between their captain's and Inukai's relationship in public always amazed him, to a certain extent. They were so different, but both of them worked very well in their own way.

Tsuji shook his head and watched Inukai shove his face into Oshiro's neck without a worry in the world.

I wonder how I will act if I ever get into a relationship.

It was hard to imagine himself not freaking out with almost every female, and he knew that he had no feelings towards any male person he knew. At the moment, he was fine where he was.

The thought still lingered on his mind as he thought about it all.

"Do they need assistance?"

Not feeling any sort of panic, he looked over to see a blue-haired girl walk up next to him. Her expression was neutral, but Tsuji understood her well by this point.

They both watched Inukai tighten his grip. Even if it caused some worry for others, the two of them knew that he would do nothing to hurt Oshiro.

"Not really. It's probably embarrassing for Oshiro, but that is all."

"I see. In that case, I won't go over."

Hisoka-san is the same as ever.

That wasn't a bad thing to him. It meant he didn't have to worry about getting flustered around her.

There was a deep silence between the two of them as noise from the crowd continued to grow. Even Inukai's words were getting drowned out by their noise.

Tsuji shook his head and looked over.

Hisoka just blinked.

"Yes, he should be getting ready."

She tilted her head.

"As easy as that would be, we both know that Oshiro wouldn't do that."

A nod from her.

"I suppose that's true," he said.

It was another strange, but familiar thing to him.

Even while not saying a word, he had gotten to the point of understanding Hisoka's none spoken words just fine.

There were very few girls he was able to be around with no problem. It had taken a considerable amount of time, but Hisoka had become one of those girls.

Thanks to that, and Oshiro's assistance, they were able to communicate on this kind of level with nothing to worry about.

"We really should get Oshiro away from him first, though."

.

You can try, Tsuji-chan, but I'm going to be holding on as long as I can!

Inukai tightened his grip on Oshiro and rubbed his face on his back. He made sure not to put too much pressure, even when he heard an "Oh?" he made sure to keep a good grip.

"Haru-san, don't you think you should be getting ready to leave?"

"Does Shiro-chan not want me around? But I need to get overcharged to I can survive the trip without him~"

"E-even so… We are causing a scene. Also, we can still talk over the phone."

"Yeah, but the timezone difference is still something to think about!"

"I…can be up at any time. …If it means being able to speak with you."

The reaction of the people around them was drowned out by the noise Inukai made while rubbing his face on the back of Oshiro's neck.

The smoothness of his skin just right there was burned into his memory and the feeling of his stomach moving as he breathed was always relaxing. Even the heated feeling that started to rise and spread to his ears was something that Inukai took in.

It's so unfair that Mino gets to have Ninomiya-san go! Why can't I just take Shiro-chan with me!?

Despite complaining about it in his head Inukai does know why he couldn't as his best friend already told him. Besides, there was nothing he could do about it. If Oshiro were able to go then the rest of his squad would be able to go. Two of those other three members were fine, but no one could argue about the last one.

To let someone like Misó go on such a trip would only bring chaos. Chaos was something most of them were used to at this point, but that would have been different.

Having his mind wander in that direction, Inukai held himself back from tightening his grip too much.

"I'll make sure to bring you back something nice, Shiro-chan! Just watch! You will have nothing to say because of how great it's going to be!"

"Thank you for thinking about me, but you should really think more about your family. They should come before me, don't you think?"

"They'll be fine. My present to my sisters will be that I can't bring you with me."

"I was thinking of visiting them while you were gone…"

It may have been too honest for Oshiro to tell him that. So many different scenarios came to mind about what they could talk about without him there.

The most worrying thing that came to mind was what they would say about him.

Oshiro had already seen most of the pictures taken of him as a child, so that was fine. The only other thing he didn't want happening was having his sisters allow him to go through his room thoroughly.

I should make sure to hide a lot of things where even they can't find them…

He would of course clean his room so that Oshiro could stay in there, but there was some deeper cleaning to be done before he left.

"Oh yeah, I forgot that this means you are going to be by yourself at the house."

"That's right. With Onii-san going with you I won't be having anyone else at the house. I suppose I can ask Hisoka-san if she would like to go, but that may be all."

As things were, Oshiro was living in the same house as Yuki. The house they were using was paid for by the Tsukiko Squad Operator, but there was no problem with the both of them living there for free.

Normally, he would have been worried about that, but he trusted Yuki enough to find no issue with this. More than that, he knew that there were some things he knew nothing about.

A lot of us are hiding things from each other, but that's just how things are. Secrets are meant to be shared with only the people who know. Even with Yuki and Shiro-chan, I have my own secrets.

That extended beyond just the three of them, but that was just how things were.

"In any case," he said. "I need to fully charge myself with this! I'll make sure to send you pictures and video call you while over there! And, one day, we can go together!"

"Oh, that would be nice."

Yes, it would.

A time for just the two of them.

Inukai sighed into his neck.

"I really do love you, Oshiro…"

His skin heated up a bit more, but Inukai knew he was smiling.

He spoke in a small voice, one that only Inukai could hear.

"I love you, too. So make sure to enjoy yourself for the both of us."

---

Arafune hummed as he read through the information he had gotten from the directors.

The duration of the trip itself, the flight times, and where they would be arriving. All of it had been sent to his squad and anyone else who would be going.

Along with this information, he went over all previous documents concerning Germany's Border. It aligned with the things Minoru had told them about, but it was missing the more personal in-depth parts.

"Then there were the things he had said about the Snipers over there… What exactly did he mean?"

Minoru had mentioned how the Snipers over there were different, but he had not elaborated on how they were different. And strangely the documents also didn't tell much, only that their numbers are surprisingly small, smaller than their own Border. The same were with their Gunners compared to their Shooters.

Arafune had wanted to ask about it, but thought it would be pointless since he would get to see it firsthand.

"Maybe they can help me figure out how to get that guy's ass in gear."

"Whose ass do you want in gear?"

Arafune managed to hold his ground as an arm was thrown over his shoulder. The weight did push him a bit, but he kept his feet on the ground.

A familiar head of blond came into view, looking directly at his phone.

"I was just grumbling to myself."

"You usually speak like that when it comes to you cannibals."

"Compared to the rest of them, I'm one of the sane ones."

Suwa looked at him with a certain look, but said nothing.

"Right…" He looked to the side for a moment. "Anyway, who were you talking about?"

"That lazy student of mine."

Suwa blinked in confusion.

"When did Murakami get to be lazy?"

It was Arafune's turn to give Suwa a look.

Suwa looked forward for a moment, turned his head, then snapped his fingers.

"Oh, you mean Ariake! I forgot you lot were helping him."

"I would be more surprised if you remembered." Arafune couldn't help but to sigh after he answered.

Suwa nodded his head and Arafune could only feel bad that it was the truth. Neither one of them could deny what he said.

His student was someone forgettable. So much so that even he and the other Snipers forgot about him at times, even while they were mentoring him.

"So what's the issue there?"

"With me and Hokari gone, he might become even more lazy. Or worse, he could learn more bad habits from Tōma and Suzaku."

"I hope he doesn't end up being like Suzaku. I heard about what happened last year…"

So had Arafune. It had been news that Suzaku had ended up firing one fake arrow after another during his school's opening ceremony last year. Some like Mizukami had escaped that fate, but most others had been hit dead on.

Being part of a different school, he had no chance of being hit, but he could imagine what kind of mess that looked like.

A chill ran down his spine as he thought of a second version of that mess.

"Well, you're on your own there. I can't do much when it comes to that guy."

"Not even if I asked you to keep an eye on him?"

Suwa shrugged but didn't remove his arm.

"I guess I could do that much, but speaking directly to him would be pretty hard. I would first need to remember he existed first. Then I would have to either deal with you cannibals or Shigenaga."

"Oh yeah, her…"

That girl was an oni who guarded his student whenever she could.

Getting through Tōma and Suzaku was easy enough, but having to deal with that oni girl would be difficult for most people.

"Then I won't ask you to do anything."

"I'll see what I can do on a whim."

Thanking him for that would have been pointless, so Arafune remained silent.

Suwa gave a chuckle and pointed down at his phone.

"Moving from all of that. You looking at the info from the other base?"

.

The information Arafune had been looking at was still displayed on his phone.

"Looking at this stuff and thinking about that student of yours would be easier at your house, wouldn't it? Besides, you should be preparing for the trip."

"I don't take much to get ready. I can get it done quickly enough."

Arafune rolled his eyes at the second chuckle Suwa gave.

His arm had been on his shoulder the whole time, but he felt that it would be pointless to remove it. If anything, it felt nice to have the weight there.

Arafune lightly shook his head and closed his phone.

"The rest of us heard the announcement about the trip and who all are going. Have fun dealing with that mess."

"Which one are you talking about?"

Suwa shrugged, but Arafune understood well enough. The groups going was strong, but the personalities of a lot of them clashed.

On the battlefield, they would have no problems. It was when those personalities clashed that they would start to see the downsides to going.

"Not even mentioning Ninomiya and Yuki, a lot of you cannibals are going. Are they sure sending so many of you at once is a good idea…?"

"Mino has given them some advance warning, having been there many times already."

"A few warnings isn't much when it comes to meeting you people in person."

He couldn't deny that. The only good thing was that the nudist wouldn't be joining them.

"In any case," he said. "I'm going to be getting everything I need ready later today. No reason to worry about that."

"Is that so?"

Suwa started to pull his arm back. As he did so, he grabbed hold of Arafune's hat and pulled it off.

Arafune turned to him and saw him grinning, hand held out to the side.

He moved to try to get the hat back.

Suwa moved quicker than him and placed a hand on his head. He started ruffling his hair, making him stop for a moment.

"That sounds just like you. Make sure you don't fall behind any of those cannibals while over in Germany, okay?"

Arafune's eyes widened for a moment before snatching his hat back and putting it back on. Grabbing the bill of the hat, he lowered it down to cover his eyes.

There was just no hiding the color that dusted his cheeks as he turned away.

"It's a bit annoying, but you can never fall behind when it comes to those guys. You will end up being eaten alive if you do."

"Hahaha! That's the truth!"

---

WorTri: "I need you to check on something while you guys are in Germany."

Gambler: "Same goes for me. You have no right to object."

Yuki had not expected to receive these kinds of messages as he was packing his bags.

Knowing how he should appear, he made sure to pack as little as possible. Taking too much would result in a shift in how others could view him.

Keeping this up is always tiring.

But that was just how things were. He had chosen to be like this, so he had to keep it up.

It was only at moments like these that he felt he could lower it all and speak as someone more akin to how he had always been.

After all…

These two are just as unneeded as I am, if not more…

All three of them could fade away without anyone noticing or worrying for more than a week. Because of that, he knew that there was no need to act when it came to the both of them.

But I still hate having to deal with Denji. Especially after what happened during our fight.

Just thinking about it was annoying. Making sure nothing more was said to Minoru had been difficult when he had been focusing on the fight as well.

The fight itself had ended in a draw, but there had always been lingering thoughts because of it.

The fact he could take us both annoys me to no end…

There had been a bit of a handicap because of his words, but that was all. Yuki was well aware of how skilled Minoru was. Fighting to a draw between them while only using basic Triggers against the both of them showed just how outclassed he was compared to someone like that.

From his own experience he knew that Denji was skilled. It went further when he had seen the movements Denji had taken during their fight and had been unable to copy them.

Due to his Side Effect, his body had tried to mimic the movements of Denji at the time, but the speed and precision that he had used for those movements had made it impossible. Even Yuki, who had once boasted great speed and flexibility, found himself outclassed.

It really annoyed him to no end.

And Sekai-san has said that they are pretty equal in terms of overall strength. Then there's Minoru himself…

Yuki had to stop himself.

Dammit. This is what happens when I let these sorts of things come to mind. I need to focus on what's in front of me and not what's already happened.

It was a bit hypocritical of him to think that, but it had more to do with Denji than it did himself.

"Might as well see what Sekai-san and that asshole need."

White Fox: "What exactly did you two need? I'll check for Sekai-san, but I'll only think about what Denji has to say."

WorTri: "I'll send you what I need. Besides that, I have nothing else I need you to do. You can even mark this down as me owning you a favor."

Gambler: "I'm not going to be as kind on the matter. Unless you want some pretty annoying things to happen, you'll have to do it anyway~ Oh, and I'm going to mark this down as you repaying what you owe me."

White Fox: "I don't owe you anything!"

WorTri: "Denji, just let him off the hook. You already caused more than enough trouble for him and Minoru with that fight. Or what, do you want me to message Yasuko-ane about the other things you've done?"

Gambler: "Geh! Fine, fine. You don't owe me anything, #3."

Yuki had to stop and stare for a few seconds.

The name Sekai had brought up was one he had heard before. Minoru had spoken of this person before, but Yuki was unsure how it could affect Denji to this level.

That same name had come up when looking over the information on Germany's Border as well, but he found no connecting points between her and these two except that they joined Border around the same time.

"Maybe there are some things I should look into myself… Asking Minoru should be the first thing I do if I want direct answers."

There were other ways of going about this, but he would rather save those so as not to expose himself too much.

WorTri: "Oh, that's right. While it's on my mind. I should give you a warning, Yuki."

"Huh? A warning for what?"

He could almost hear the click of a tongue when Denji responded.

Gambler: "That would be no fun, Sekaaaaaai~! Let him deal with it himself!"

WorTri: "Knowing how she can be with his type of person? Especially since you aren't going? Even you should know that won't turn out well."

Gambler: "And that's what's so fun about it! I want to hear aaaaaaaaaall about it from either one of them!"

WorTri: "Hah… Sorry, Yuki. I can't go into detail or this idiot is going to be more irritating than usual."

That's fair.

If Sekai knew it was going to cause more trouble, it was better to leave it be.

WorTri: "All I'll say is that you should be careful with certain people you meet while over there. Make sure not to be intimidated and…"

Huh…?

It was unlike Sekai to trail off like that when giving out warnings. He would tend to get tired from doing that, but he would never hold anything back when it comes to them.

He could almost hear the sigh when Sekai continued.

WorTri: "Just…try not to think about someone you know when meeting this person. Okay? And if worse comes to worse, just call me up. I'll deal with her."

Gambler: "That's no fun! Call me up first! I'll make sure you get the full taste of it! In fact, I'll let her know aaaaaaaaaall about you, #3! Have fun!"

Don't let him win, me! If you let him know that you are annoyed with him then it lets him get the upper hand on both you and Sekai-san!

That was just how things were when it came to the three of them.

.

"Besides all of that… Anything else I should know about?"

Typing how words out would have been a hassle, so he continued using his voice to send the messages while he figured out what to pack.

Gambler: "Nothing at all. Just go as you are and there'll be no problem at all."

WorTri: "The only other thing would be to watch what you think. Hah."

Yuki stopped and looked towards his phone.

He got tired of typing…

But what did he mean by that exactly?

"Sekai-san?"

WorTri: "Haaaaaaah…"

The sudden silence made him more curious. Moving over, he picked up his phone to see if something was wrong.

When he picked it up he saw a new message.

WorTri: "That idiot showed up. I have to deal with him."

---

"Ow ow ow ow ow!"

Tachikawa watched with a mildly amused expression as Izumi continued to squeeze Yuiga in an octopus hold. They had been like this for a full minute now.

Something had happened while he was looking at his phone and was only now noticing that Yuiga was trying to tap out.

Izumi was refusing to let go.

"I already told you! Next time it would be for how many times you called him that!"

"I forgot that wasn't his name! I give! I give! They sound so similar!"

"You owe him now! That was the agreement!"

"He said I didn't have tooooo!"

The entire conversation was going over his head, but Tachikawa was satisfied just watching it all happen.

In truth, this was nothing new, and he could figure out who the two of them were talking about. It was just that he found no reason to interrupt them.

Although, I probably misread his name when I first read it.

He couldn't really picture the person or the name itself, but he knew that this situation was too familiar to him.

"Urg. Fine. I'll let it slide this one time. But you still need to go and apologize to him before we leave."

"R-right… Ow…"

Izumi shook his head and started to move towards Tachikawa.

He looked down at him with a flat expression.

"You forgot about him, didn't you, Tachikawa-san?"

"I probably did. I don't think I'm forgetting anyone, but no one is coming to mind when you ask that."

"It would be too much to have you apologize to him too. I'll just message him for you instead."

"Thank you~"

Izumi waved him off and turned to go on his phone.

Looking around the room, Tachikawa turned his head until he noticed the absence of their squad's Operator.

Not bothering to look at him, he asked Izumi about it.

"She said she would be with Arafune Squad's Kagami."

"I wouldn't doubt that they're coming up with ways to mess with the boys."

"You sound like an old man."

If he didn't feel like being lazy, he would have smacked Izumi.

From the corner of his eye he could see Izumi take a slight step back, eyes never leaving his phone.

"But I also don't doubt it. Those senpai can be pretty brutal when it matters the least."

"Even when it actually does matter," he corrected.

Time and location never mattered when it came to those cannibals. Even the person would normally not matter. Anyone was fair game to them.

Probably because of that, he found himself looking forward to what could come from having so many from that group going to Germany.

Especially when it comes to Minoru's former Operator.

"Well, a lot of us need to get ready to deal with the problems that are bound to come up because of Ninomiya-san and Yuki-san."

"Is it really that bad?"

Both of them turned to look directly at Yuiga.

He had recovered from the pain Izumi inflicted on him and was looking at them with that question still in the air.

It was too difficult and pointless to hold back his laugh.

.

Tachikawa threw his head back and let out a loud laugh.

It didn't seem like he would be stopping, so Izumi only shook his head.

He looked over to see if Yuiga was serious, saw that he was, then shook his head for a second time.

"Are you just stupid or do you really not know?"

"I have…heard about the situation before. I haven't seen it happen before."

"Then you're going to be in for a sight," said Tachikawa before Izumi could say anything. "Just make sure to keep your distance, or you might end up as collateral."

Yuiga shuddered at the thought and Izumi gave Tachikawa a thumbs up.

He returned it before letting out a hum.

"I need to make sure to record it for everyone else."

"Won't you have other things to worry about?"

Tachikawa waved his hand nonchalantly.

"Should be easy enough for me to handle."

"I wasn't talking about the actual situation we're dealing with."

"Hm? Then what are you…?"

As if on cue, Tachikawa's phone rang. The noise traveled through the room, but the only one who knew what it could be was Izumi.

After all…

"You're kind of dumb, Tachikawa-san."

Izumi pointed down at the phone.

Tachikawa picked up the phone and looked down to see a single message.

Sniper Detective: "You can at least speak English, right~?"

---

Svantje hummed to herself with a smile as she put her phone into her pocket.

She had sent a message to Tachikawa, knowing full well how that would turn out. It was because she knew the end result that she had sent the message in the first place.

Not being worried about what she had done, she continued down the hall.

As she continued to walk she saw a familiar black head up ahead.

Wanting to catch up, her steps turned into skips. They carried her down the hall until she was next to the familiar black head - otherwise known as Miwa Shūji.

There was no greeting, but he glanced her way as if to tell her he knew she was there.

That was good enough for her.

Looking at him more directly, she lowered her brows and her smile turned more into a worried one.

The bags under his eyes were very clear on his face and caused her to worry more, but she knew saying anything about them would just cause trouble. The cause for them was also clear to her, but that was an ever more sensitive topic than the bags themselves.

Svantje kept quiet, choosing to just walk next to Miwa down the hallway.

It was only after a minute of this that the silence was broken. It was done so by Miwa.

"Did you finish packing?"

Svantje couldn't help but to smile.

"Yup! There are just some things to take care of!"

Her smile turned into a grin and moved a step forward. The German girl turned around to look at him but said no more than that, the grin not leaving her face.

Miwa gave her a flat expression and shook his head.

"Just…try not to trigger your curse."

The blonde could only shrug, knowing full well that there was no actual control over it. Even Miwa knew this, yet he still told her to try to hold it back.

Too many times she had found herself involved with situations that should have only involved the police because of her "curse". Even without trying, she would end up getting involved with solving crime cases that had many adults thrown out for a loop.

Each time she had been involved, she had been the one to solve the cases before being told by either the adults or her friends to be more careful.

Miwa himself had witnessed it before. Moments wherein she would be walking just fine before disappearing the next. Each time resulted in Svantje getting involved with criminal cases.

"I can only guarantee that I'll try to possibly do something about it~"

"I guess that's the most I can ask for here."

Miwa sighed, but she only giggled at that.

She took another step forward and put her hands behind her back.

"As a reminder… It's because of this 'curse' that we became friends."

He could only hum, not being able to deny it at all.

It had started that way, but things seemed to align with both the people they knew and the situations they found themselves in.

.

"Hey, I also give you info on how Teru is doing."

"I can ask Shigenaga about that whenever I want."

Svantje gave out a hum.

"Yes, but I can find more than she can."

"I could also just ask him what's going on," he said with a deadpan tone.

"That's true," she said with a snap of her fingers.

Miwa nodded and let her continue.

"Then how about this? I let you in on a secret about some people around here?"

Miwa raised a brow, but continued to remain silent.

"Hey, now. Giving people's secrets is my sort of thing. Best you stay out of this kind of business, Little Miss Sunshine."

.

This guy…

Miwa narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything.

The man turned around the corner lifting his hand as a greeting, but made no move against them.

Svantje just waved to him before giving him a high five.

The strange curl in his hair at the front bounced and his semi-suit uniform ruffled a bit. Other than that, he managed to keep his appearance pristine.

"What do you want, Motoharu?"

Miwa was aware how cold his voice sounded, but he particular didn't care when it came to certain people. That guy belonged to one of them.

"Still no respect to my name, huh…?" A sigh. "I guess there's no helping that by this point."

Motoharu Kanchō - captain of the A-Rank Motoharu Squad - was this type of person. There was no teasing or malice in his words, but the way he held himself always made Miwa shift slightly. Svantje was fine with him, but she understood him better. Since they are similar when it comes to a certain ability of them.

Motoharu shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. The strange curl shook as well, catching most of his attention.

"Well, if you really want to know, then I'm here to question little missy's captain's choices."

Miwa gave a hum.

"You wouldn't be the first."

"And I doubt I'll be the last." He pulled up a tablet and gave a hum as well. "Besides the fact that you will be taking our #1 A and B ranked squads, you will also be taking another B-Rank squad and…"

And…

"You are also taking someone as pathetic as Takato's captain with you."

There it was.

Miwa knew this would be how it turned out the moment he saw the list of participants for this trip.

"Look, I trust in your captain's choices a lot of the time, but this one makes no sense to me."

"How so?"

Svantje had asked the question with a tilt of her head knowing full well what the answer would be.

As predicted, Motoharu gave a bitter expression as his lips turned downward slightly and looked up from his tablet. The light from the screen shone on his face, but there was no telling what could be on it.

"While I'd say not bringing those other two useless fools is the right choice, taking one of those three is still not a good idea. They're the type of people to go off and do whatever they please at a moment's notice."

It was Svantje's turn to let out a hum still a smile on her face.

"You can say that about a lot of people in Border."

"True. But at the same time, those people aren't as nosy as those three. I have no doubt that that pathetic fool will be doing things he shouldn't be while over there."

"Minoru-nii has already said that he would take responsibility for whatever happens." The girl said with a nod.

"Isn't that a bit much? We know how some of those people can be."

Her smile turned wider, no hint of mocking.

"It means he knows what he is taking on."

As expected, these two were able to hold this conversation without raising their voices or getting mad at each other. It was a semi-normal conversation, one that you could have with just about anyone.

Or that was how it appeared to be.

Miwa knew exactly what he was seeing.

Two people who are able to get all kind of information speaking about something I have no clue about.

This was not the first time this was happening.

All Miwa could do was let them get it all out.

"Couldn't you say the same about that…" Motoharu trail off for a moment, seemingly try to find the right words "...Interesting squad he had before? That one had two of those stupid fools in it. Really, I felt bad for the rest of them. To have idiots who care so little about themselves on a squad like that…"

"They aren't that bad…is not something you can believe, right? Maybe just saying to trust in Minoru-nii is the only thing I can say."

"It's the only thing indeed. I can't change the choices and I can't speak for your captain. All I can do is hope that he really does know what he's doing." Motoharu sighed.

It was no secret that Motoharu despised the captains of Hikigane, Bakuto, and Tsukiko squads. There was little he could say about the Tsukiko Squad Captain, but there were many reasons he could find concerning the other two. As he knows them since they formed that squad.

The thing was…

I feel like any reason I could give is not the right reason here.

Something had happened before he even joined Border for Motoharu to feel this way about those two.

That disdain he felt towards them had lasted all the way to this day. Svantje had noticed it right away and made sure to let him know that it was best to stay out of those kinds of conversations.

Looking at the two of them, he could see Svantje never letting up on her smile.

On the opposite side of that, Motoharu sighed and pulled something from behind his tablet.

"Fine, here. If anything comes up, just go ahead and show this to him."

His words have less disdain.

Motoharu held out a small envelope.

Svantje took it without even glancing at it.

He had no doubt that she already knew what it had inside. If that was the case, there was no need to hand it to anyone other than her captain.

"This won't be needed, but thank you anyway, Kanchō."

"Sure thing, little missy."

Motoharu waved her thanks off, before he lifted his hand and patted her head with a smile of his own, causing Svantje to giggle at the gesture.

This was also nothing new.

Miwa had seen the way Svantje was able to make most people brighten up with just her presence.

Even he felt like he had lightened up after all of this. Even if only a bit.

"Well, I should be going now. I still have some things to get done before we leave. Especially since I won't be doing much when we need to wake up early." She said as her smile turned into a sheepish one, scratching her cheek lightly with her finger.

Miwa shuddered, knowing full well what Svantje could be like after waking up. As he was her victim a lot of times.

He felt sorry for whoever it was who had to carry her.

---

Noise traveled throughout Mikado City as the sun started to set. The cool colors of the day began to turn into a warm mix between orange and red.

In this mix of warm colors the sound of a zipper being closed was heard.

Two people and a dog looked at the suitcase on the ground, relieved that it managed to close.

"Just how much did they want us to bring…?" Ninomiya asked in annoyance.

"The fact this isn't everything really says a lot, doesn't it?"

"It's annoying that they just put this on us without any sort of remorse."

"Well, it makes sense for Denji and Sekai, to an extent. But we both know that Ketsu actively held back from giving us too much stuff to take."

Ninomiya huffed while Minoru laughed. He was petting Taka as he watched Ninomiya try to fit everything given to them by the others to take to Germany.

Crossing his arms, Ninomiya followed up by glaring at a smaller bag that was put to the side.

"There is also that thing there."

"I would just leave it alone. I know he didn't say it, but it's best to leave it alone, considering it was Denji who told us to take it."

"That goes without saying. But if it isn't for that family, who is he sending it to?"

"I wonder…"

The way Minoru looked away was enough to tell that he knew the answer.

Ninomiya knew better than to delve further, so he let it go with a sigh.

Moving over to the nearby table, he took the Border issued tablet that was there and took a seat next to Minoru on the bed. He pulled up the information they had received and began to go over it again.

"It really is one annoyance after another… First it's those three, then I have to deal with that faker going, as well as…"

One name in particular stared him right in the face causing his eye to twitch, before looking at Minoru.

"Why does that idiot Tachikawa also have to go?"

"To be honest, I wasn't expecting it either." Minoru chuckled and continued petting Taka. "But I'm pretty glad about it. I don't really know about the nation that might approach, so this is good safety."

Ninomiya could only sigh.

Minoru raised a brow with a small grin.

"Have you been spending too much time with Sekai recently?"

"Shouldn't I ask that to you?" Another sigh escaped from Ninomiya. "You only need to spend a minute with that man before this happens."

It was good that he was aware of how much he had been sighing this whole time. Minoru laughed it off and Ninomiya continued to go through the information.

.

A moment of silence comes over them, the only noise being his and Masataka's breathing and Taka's tail repeatedly hitting the bed.

They quietly enjoyed the moment for themselves.

Moments like these were not rare, but they were always nice to have. The chaotic nature of Border's members was a constant, so the quiet that followed was the break they always needed.

Minoru felt himself relax even further, taking solace in not hearing anything but the small noises in the room.

They sat in silence for a few more minutes.

The thing that broke it was the hum that Masataka gave.

Minoru looked over to see him staring down at the tablet. He was no longer scrolling through the information, instead just staring at it.

After another beat, he looked up to face Minoru, who only tilted his head in question.

"The days we are going to be staying… Your birthday will be one of them."

Minoru paused for a moment. His hand had stopped moving and Taka let his legs down and spread them out.

He sighed as he put his head on Masataka's shoulder.

"Did you feel like celebrating it?" His boyfriend asked in a gentle tone.

He thought about it for a moment.

"I'm not against it…"

But…

"Without Mirai around, it feels kind of…wrong."

Even if they had been going to different schools, they had always been together during their birthday.

And more than that.

"It reminds me of what happened…"

There was nothing that could be said to that.

The silence returned in full. This time with a heavier atmosphere.

There were many people who would gladly celebrate with them. Friends who would empty their schedules readily to make time for it.

His own cousin would most certainly make it all perfect as well. Her parents, his uncle and aunt, would no doubt be sending him a full shipment of gifts.

Even his own parents would send something and call him despite how distant they grew over the years.

But his sister would still be the one missing from that.

Both of them understood that well.

Taka let out a small huff before standing up. He looked between the two of them and likely understood enough. Jumping down from the bed the dog moved out of the room.

"If you want, we can wait until we get back from Germany. That way it can just be the two of us."

Minoru looked back up with a smile and leaned in to kiss Masataka on the lips.

.

There it is again, thought Ninomiya.

The warmth he always felt while holding Minoru's hand was nice. A reminder that Minoru was on the road to recovery. Yes, there were sometimes setbacks, but remembering how cold Minoru's hand used to be was nothing he couldn't handle compared to the cold hands and empty eyes the younger one used to have.

And they had kissed a lot during the day already.

Now that they were in the privacy of the room and the day was soon to be over, the warmth turned into a new heat as he deepened the kiss.

Putting the tablet to the side, he moved to put himself more in front of Minoru. His lips moved in a gentle motion.

Once in a better position, he placed a hand on Minoru's chest and started to push him down, he followed after without breaking the kiss and landed gently on Minoru's chest. His other hand found one of Minoru's intertwining them together.

Normally, Minoru would be the one to lead them into this kind of situation, but this time it just felt right to take the initiative.

He felt Minoru squeezing his hand, before shifting a bit under him. Tilting his head lightly Ninomiya felt Minoru's tongue licking against his lips and without hesitation he opened his mouth to let the other in enjoying the taste of his partner.

A soft sound escaped from Ninomiya as Minoru started sucking his tongue. The free hand from Minoru was placed on his waist gently squeezing it from time to time.

I can never get enough of this…

The heat he felt at first started to warm up in the way he always liked. It started from somewhere in his chest and continued to spread until it reached both his top and bottom. Especially when Ninomiya felt Minoru's knee shifting between his legs.

The older took it all in and enjoyed as much as he could until they needed to separate.

When they did, it was Minoru who pulled back first. Both of them were panting softly and Ninomiya knew that his cheeks were the same color as they were the same as Minoru's.

The smile on the younger lips was a teasing one. He closed the distance between their faces, but didn't go for another kiss and just let him feel his breath gently against his face.

"We do need to be up early tomorrow."

Ninomiya hummed at that, but he really didn't want to stop now after getting worked up like this already.

"I can deal with everything on the plane. And besides…"

He gave a weak glare that Minoru seemed to find funny.

"You still owe me for having that stupid faker join us. Not only that, you even went and had that idiot join as well."

There was likely going to be a massacre if they weren't all careful. Making up for that sort of thing would take something only Minoru could provide. Especially when the both of them are sure that they won't get that much time alone between the two of them.

Minoru knew that as well and chuckled from his spot under Ninomiya.

With a smooth and careful move, Minoru managed to swap their position. His hands were on either side of Ninomiya's head and his face was once again centimeters from his own. His knee shifted again, earning another sound from the older.

Hearing that sound Ninomiya watched how Minoru's eyes darkened and his smile turned into a dangerous grin causing the former to shiver slightly at the sight.

"If that's how things are going to be then I guess I better make it all up to you…" Minoru whispered in a husky voice before closing the space between them and went in to press his lips against the other again immediately deeping it by pushing his tongue against the other.

We really have been kissing each other a lot today.

But he had no complaints about that.

Instead, Ninomiya returned the kiss fully and wrapped his arms around Minoru's neck pulling him even closer. The sounds of them carrying through the room and continue during the early evening.

This would be a time just for them.