Light Shines Anew
Chapter 8: Rank War Start!
"Snacks and tea are ready." Yotaro said happily.
"Oh?" Jin glanced towards the living room. "Are you planning to watch the rank war?"
"Of course!" Yotaro declared. "We need to support Osamu and the others. They're going to stay at the top of B-Rank and then aim for A-Rank this season! We have to watch them crush all the competition."
Konami nodded along. This was one of the rare occasions where she fully agreed with what the child was saying. "They're a fully realized, strong team this season. They don't have the element of surprise this season, but that means the other teams will be wary of them from the start. It will be fun to watch."
"Are you joining us?" Karasuma asked Jin as he got ready to make another mug of tea for Jin.
"Ah, no," Jin said, raising a hand to stop Karasuma before he could get farther than pulling a mug out of the cabinet. "I actually need to go to HQ right now."
"What? More secret maneuvers?" Konami asked. "I thought you said everything was settling down now."
Jin turned his back on his friends, scratching the back of his head. Truthfully, he was just hiding the grimace that graced his face after Konami's question. "There are no enemies coming, Konami."
"You should have taken care of it earlier before our cute kōhais match. You're should support them by watching!" Konami scolded.
Jin forced a laugh out. "The Power Elite is always busy." He waved behind him as he left the room.
"Busy with what if they are no enemies to worry about?" Karasuma wondered.
*L*S*A*
Yuma missed his conversation with Izumi. That was such an easy conversation. Maybe that had to simply do with the fact that Izumi didn't know about Jin's prediction and he didn't know about his fight with Kageura. For that reason, Izumi had no reason to bring up Yuma's dying body or an operation he was scared to try. It made it easy to talk to Izumi and for the first time in a while, Yuma hadn't thought about his death approaching. He was just able to speak about the rank wars.
Speak as if he was going to be around for the rank wars to the end.
Speak as if he wasn't going to die soon because it had been put out of his mind.
But that conversation with Izumi was long gone.
And somehow, it felt like his head was hurting. That wasn't possible though. Yuma was in a Trion body. He knew he was feeling stressed the past couple of days, but it shouldn't be making him feel so sluggish.
"If you get killed first because you're distracted, I will laugh at you when this is over." Hyuse warned, dragging Yuma out of his thoughts.
Yuma looked up from where he was sitting to stare at Hyuse sitting across from him. He blinked and looked down at the table which was filled with papers from what Osamu assumed would be Ikoma squad's pick of the map. "I'm ready for the match."
Hyuse scoffed. "I'll believe that when I see it."
Yuma went to retort that he never let himself get distracted when in battle, but the words froze on his tongue because they all knew that was a lie. Granted, the incident with the Mimics was a special case since it involved his father and his guilt so that made him hugely distracted.
This time, Yuma was distracted by what he should do. He had decided to just let his time run out, but everyone around him didn't want that. Everyone he spoke to told him they wanted him to find a way to live. Even if that didn't work, they wanted him to at least try to fight for his life.
"If you've already accepted it, then nothing I do to try to change your mind should bother you." Jin replied. He scooted forward on the Marmod so he was in front of Yuma to force eye contact. "I accept that you think you've accepted your death, but you have to accept that your friends and me haven't accepted it and are going to fight you on your choice."
Jin saw right through him.
Not just him.
They all did.
Yuma looked up at his team.
Everyone saw through him and how he wanted to live, but was too scared to go after it. So, they were going to fight him on it.
They were going to fight him for it.
His mind was in disarray.
Yuma thought he knew what he wanted. He voiced what he wanted, but everything he was hearing from everyone made him start to believe otherwise.
No, that wasn't right.
What everyone was telling him was what he held in his heart. It was what he wanted, but he didn't dare hope that he could actually get his real body back and live a normal life without the threat of death hanging over his head.
An operation that could save him gave him hope.
And then Jin said twenty percent.
Twenty percent success wasn't enough for him. It got his hope up to hear about an operation only for it to come crashing down at 'twenty percent.' If the twenty percent could destroy his hope that much, he didn't want to know how disheartening it would be if the operation failed. He would leave everything he started to love behind.
It wasn't enough for him, but it was for his friends. His friends who wanted him to keep fighting for his life.
"And now you're planning to throw it away without trying to find a way to save it, so since Kuga-san is dead, I'll deal with this."
Yuma raised a brow. "What?"
"If your team loses the match today, you have to start fighting to live." Kageura declared.
Yuma couldn't even tell his team what Kageura said. This was a bet between him and Kageura. He knew his team agreed with Kageura about Yuma saving his life, but he doubted his team would lose on purpose if they knew what Kageura said. They would find a different way to convince Yuma to take the operation.
The thing was, Yuma didn't need any more confrontations. His mind was already all twisted in confusion from what everyone had told him.
Yuma brought a hand up to massage the bridge of his nose. There was an annoying pressure building up behind his eyes making his head hurt more.
*L*S*A*
"Good evening! Welcome to the B-Rank top tier evening match. I am Kunichika from Tachikawa squad and I'll be your announcer tonight." Kunichika said cheerfully. "With me, I have the captain of Arashiyama squad, Arashiyama-san, and the captain of Kazama squad, Kazama-san."
"Thanks for having me." Kazama and Arashiyama said politely.
"Today we have Tamakoma Second, Kageura squad, and Ikoma squad facing off." Kunichika continued. "With Ikoma squad being the lowest ranked, they have the right to choose the match. What kind of map do you think they will choose?"
"Typically, a squad would choose a map that would benefit their team best. However, Ikoma squad can operate in any map and don't have any strategies that would benefit from a specific map. On the other hand, the top ranked team in this match, Tamakoma-2, has multiple strategies that have tripped up multiple teams in the past. A good option that Ikoma squad could go for would to be use a map that would prevent Tamakoma-2 from using certain strategies." Arashiyama explained. "By limiting Tamakoma-2's options based on map, it will let Ikoma squad know for sure what kind of tricks Tamakoma-2 will use."
"That is only based on the strategies we know Tamakoma-2 has. It's possible that they will bring out new tricks this season." Kazama pointed out. "And they aren't the only ones here. Kageura squad has Kageura and his side effect to deal with. With this being the first round of the new season, this is when the squads will be testing each other out to see how their teams have changed since last season."
"Since it is the first round, it's possible the teams won't want to show any new techniques just yet." Kunichika added.
"You wouldn't want the other teams to see all of your new strategies and moves from the first round since you want to use something in the later rounds that the teams don't have time to prepare for." Kazama replied. "However, Tamakoma-2 doesn't hesitate to use new strategies. The moment they learn something new, they will bring it out in the current round. It allows them to trip up their opponent and get as many points as possible before their new strategy is figured out."
"That was true of last season when Tamakoma-2 was racing to the top of B-Rank to go on the away mission. Since they don't have any current plans for another away mission, it's possible Tamakoma-2 will be more cautious this season and stick to their usual tricks." Arashiyama replied.
"If given the chance, they will use their tricks if Ikoma squad sets them up well with the right map." Kunichika said. "So, it will be up to Ikoma squad's map choice to determine just how this fight will play out." As she said that, a map stage selection appeared on the screen in front of the audience. "Oh, perfect timing. It seems the map has been selected. And it is the Exhibition Hall." She glanced towards her fellow commentators. "What do you think the reason for this map is?"
"There are a few reasons as to why this would be chosen and they all lead to the same reason. To seal off Attackers." Kazama replied. "The Exhibition Hall is best for mid and long ranged fighters. The ones who benefit the most would be shooters and snipers."
"For reference, Azuma-san excels the most at this map because of the huge open space." Arashiyama added.
Kunichika nodded. "Because of the open space, the only place to be safe from snipers is to enter the Exhibition hall which is a series of large rooms with not much cover so it makes it hard for attackers to approach shooters and gunners without getting injured. Ikoma squad has two attackers so why do you think they would choose a map that puts half of their team at a disadvantage?"
"Kageura and Yuma are at the most disadvantage on this map. Ikoma has his Senku slash which can reach up to forty meters. It makes him dangerous to close in on and with the support of his team, he can fight a mid-range battle if he wants to." Arashiyama explained.
"That said," Kazama took over. "Both Kageura and Kuga use Mantis. It doesn't reach the range of Ikoma's Senku, but it does give them a mid-range attack. On top of that, Kuga has his curving blade to give himself some range so they're not completely shut out in this battle. Still, they can't move carelessly since there are a lot of open spaces and the shooters and snipers will be waiting."
Kunichika nodded along. "And the other reason for this kind of map selection?"
"It's to stop Mikumo-kun's wires." Arashiyama said. "The wire tactic is difficult to handle because you have Amatori-chan's lead bullets on top of her normal bullets now and when Yuma is using the wires, he becomes even faster. He already proved last season that Ikoma can't keep up with him when he is using the wires. An open space like this shuts out the wire strategy. Without that strategy in place, Tamakoma-2 has one less option they can take here."
"That is why Cronin was added to Tamakoma-2 late last season to make up for the fact that Amatori and Mikumo are still new to combat. When the wire strategy can't be used, Kuga and Cronin take the focus of the battle while Mikumi and Amatori act as support. Since Cronin is an All-Rounder, I suspect he will be at the forefront of this fight with Kuga acting as support." Kazama explained.
Kunichika nodded. "I see, I see. So Ikoma squad wants to seal off Agent Kageura and Agent Kuga and stop the wire strategy."
"That would be my guess. However, you have to remember both Kageura squad and Tamakoma-2 have snipers and shooters. Ikoma squad can't move recklessly either." Arashiyama explained.
*L*S*A*
"That's about what I expected." Osamu said as he stared at the monitor in their room. "Exhibition hall." He glanced at Yuma who looked intrigued at the map selection, even though he was one of the most disadvantaged people for this match. At least it seemed to get his attention enough to take him out of his slump. Osamu was going to keep it that way by not mentioning his death or the operation. There would be time for that later. For now, he needed his team to stay focused. No more difficult conversations or arguments were needed right now.
"Our first priority should be to meet up then." Hyuse decided.
"The best place would be inside the building to avoid the snipers." Yuma agreed.
"The problem is spawn points. This arena is an abundance of large open spaces. If you get a bad spawn point, your opponent can take the Exhibition Hall and cover the entrances to prevent you from getting in." Shiori explained. "It's why Azuma-san excels in this map. Anyone who tries to escape inside gets sniped before they can get inside."
"If I can get to the building first, I can defend it." Chika offered.
Yuma grinned. "By blowing them up with Hound when they try to approach?" He suggested.
Chika smiled back.
"I see the devil in that smile." Hyuse muttered to Osamu. "She learned that from Yuma, didn't she?"
Osamu pushed his glasses up, not replying. It was true when they say that appearances can't be trusted. Despite Yuma and Chika looking so small and innocent, they were strong and dangerous. Yuma was always dangerous, but because of Chika's fear of shooting people, she focused more on demolition last season. Now that she got over that fear, she seemed to find more enjoyment in the rank wars and was eager to show off what she learned.
"Those who spawn inside the building will have the edge in the beginning." Osamu said instead. "If any of us spawns inside, we need to secure it. Wires aren't as effective on this map, but if I'm in the building, I'll try to lay some as a trap for the other teams to trip over." They usually used the wires to boost Yuma's combat prowess. They had never just laid wires as a simple trap to trip up the enemy.
Hyuse nodded. "With this map, the wire strategy to use Yuma isn't effective so they won't be expecting wires to be down by their feet to trip them."
As long as Osamu made the wires blend in with the colors inside the hall, it should fool the other team's eyes. It wouldn't work often though so he had to make it count.
*L*S*A*
"Exhibition Hall?" Zoe said.
"It's good for me and you, Zoe-san." Ema said.
"As long as your spawn points are good." Hikari pointed out. "If you spawn in an open area, you're screwed from the start."
"The field doesn't matter. I'm going after Kuga." Kageura decided. He glanced towards his teammates who looked fed up, but already expectant of this outcome. "I want you to keep his team off of us so I don't have to deal with them."
"As expected." Hikari sighed. Murakami had warned her, but she had hoped he would be wrong and Kageura would get over his fight with Yuma before the match began. While he didn't seem as angry as he was the other day, there was definitely a fire burning in his eyes.
"And what about Ikoma squad?" Ema asked. "They're not going to sit back while we'll targeting Tamakoma."
Ikoma pointed a finger in Kageura's face. "I hear you got into a fight with Kuga."
Kageura snarled. "Where did you hear that?"
"Well, you've been stomping all over base since yesterday." Mizukami pointed out. "And if that wasn't enough your sniper ratted you out at the sniper's range earlier according to Oki."
"That damn Yuzuru. Well, do you actually want something?" Kageura snarled.
Ikoma smiled. "No. Just found it amusing we have the same target for tomorrow." He turned away from Kageura and Murakami with a wave over his shoulder. "It should be fun."
"The hell?" Kageura snarled as Ikoma and Mizukami walked away. "What did they come over here for?"
Kageura scraped at his neck. "Be wary of them, but I have a feeling, we won't need to worry about them from the start."
"What does that mean?" Zoe asked.
"It means keep Tamakoma separated!" Kageura snapped. "The moment Tamakoma meets up is the moment we're screwed. They're easier to deal with when they are separated!"
"Okay, okay."
"We need to win at all costs." Kageura slammed a fist into his open palm.
"Isn't it enough if you just kill Kuga to get over your fight? You don't need to drag the whole match into this." Ema replied.
"Not good enough. Kuga and I made a bet. We need to crush his team." Kageura declared.
Ema's eyes narrowed. They had left their captain alone with his argument with Yuma since they were not children and should be able to handle an argument without any interference from their other friends. Making a bet was not the way to deal with an argument. It seemed more like a way to win the argument by making the loser accept it. "Why are you dragging us into your fight? This has nothing to do with us."
Kageura focused all his attention on his sniper. His team didn't usually go into the Rank Wars with any purpose other than to fight and keep their spot at the top of B-Rank. They had plans to take the No. 2 spot from Tamakoma-2, but right now Kageura had another focus. If he was going to accomplish his goal, he would need his full team's cooperation. "You have a crush on Tamakoma's sniper, don't you?"
Red crept into Ema's cheeks almost immediately. "Amatori-san has nothing to do with your argument with Kuga!"
"Hard disagree." Kageura retorted. "Kuga told me he plans to die without trying to get his real body back."
Any argument Ema had ready slid right away as the blush left his cheeks as the harsh reality that Kageura learned the other day was revealed. He and Yuma were friends, but he wouldn't say he was as close to the Attacker as Kageura was.
"Amatori and Kuga are close friends from being on the same team. If he dies, she'll be really upset." Kageura pointed out. "I want to smack some sense into Kuga's brain that he shouldn't just give up without trying to fight for his life. Don't you want to help me do that so your crush won't get depressed?"
Ema tsked, scratching at his cheek. He would do anything to keep Chika happy. However..."I don't have a crush on Amatori-san!"
"Keep telling yourself that." Kageura scoffed. Honestly, everyone could see the affection he had for the tiny sniper. They were all just waiting for Ema to realize what his feelings were and if he would actually confess to Chika.
"So what? You've been in a bad mood because Kuga told you he was planning to die and your anger the last few days has been you freaking out over that?" Hikari demanded. Though her demand was harsh, a smile was fighting to break out on her face. "That is so damn sweet."
"Kage is being protective of his kōhai. I never thought I would see the day!" Zoe agreed, wiping a tear away from his eye.
"Shut up!" Kageura screamed. "I just don't want to lose a good sparring partner."
"Now who is being dishonest about his feelings?" Hikari teased back.
Zoe wiped his tears away completely before leveling a stare at Kageura. "You should have told us sooner about Yuma-kun."
"What would knowing change?" Kageura retorted.
"You're choosing to tell us now." Hikari pointed out. "So, what changed?"
"You wanted to know why I want to crush Tamakoma so I told you."
"How is winning going to change anything?" Ema countered.
"It's two-fold. I get to smack Kuga in the head and hopefully teach him a lesson that he apparently still needs!" Kageura snapped, cracking his knuckles. He was eager to get this match going already.
Ema scratched his cheek. Back when he expressed interest in going on the away mission to protect Chika, Kageura had supported him all the way and did what he could to make it happen. This time, his captain wanted to protect a friend. It was time for Ema to return the favor. "Fine, but I won't snipe Amatori-san."
"Always so sweet on her." Hikari teased. "Better hope Tamakoma never finds out. They would definitely use that against you."
*L*S*A*
Arafune played with his cup, rolling it around on the table as he stared at the monitor down below in the stands as they waited for the match to start. He originally had no intention of coming to the viewing booth to observe Tamakoma's match today, but after having Kageura and Murakami ripped into Yuma in his squad's strategy room, he now felt invested in whatever mess this was.
"Did you mean what you said to Kuga earlier?" Arafune asked.
"About what?" Murakami shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Regardless of what you mean, if I had lied at all in that conversation, he would have called me out on it and stormed out of the room."
Arafune snorted. "Kuga doesn't storm out of anywhere when someone lies to him."
"He might have today. I can tell we are stressing him out with this." Murakami replied.
Humming thoughtfully, Arafune took a sip of his drink before fully turning to face his friend. "From what I gathered of the conversation earlier, Kuga plans to let his time run out and die and you and Kage are mad about that. Am I right in my understanding so far?"
"Yes."
"And you think pressing the matter is stressing Kuga out."
"Still got it."
Arafune nodded. "If Kuga was truly fine with dying, then he shouldn't be bothered by his friends trying to convince him otherwise. He says he is fine with dying, but truthfully his mind isn't truly set on the decision he said he has made."
"That's what Kage believes which was why he made this bet with Kuga."
"Even with that in place, a bet like this isn't going to change what Kuga decided." Arafune pointed out. "One, because Kuga is a stubborn person. And two, because no matter how much you want Kuga to change his mind, you can't force him to do something he doesn't want to do."
Murakami stared at the monitor down below, watching as the clock began to tick down as it was approaching time for the match to begin. "I'm aware of that and I think Kage is too. It's just, this is the only thing Kage can think of to try to knock some sense into Kuga's head. Pretty words can only take you so far."
"I suppose. Kuga is a man of action after all. Perhaps, screaming at him while trying to slice him up is what he needs to see things from a different point of view." Arafune said.
Murakami snorted. The way his friend said that almost made it sound sarcastic.
"Hmm, maybe that is where I've been going wrong with teaching Kuga our currency. I should be slamming the lessons in his head while we're sparring. It might actually stick then." Arafune continued.
It was for reasons like that, Murakami knew people might get confused of whether Arafune was serious or not. Murakami knew that Arafune did have a sarcastic nature under his serious nature. It was his form of humor that he used with agents he was friendly with. Though, a part of Murakami had this feeling of dread that he was actually serious about this and was going to throw currency lessons at Yuma during a rank battle. It was something Murakami actually wanted to see just so he could see if it would throw Yuma off or not.
Arafune turned his attention to his phone as they were still waiting for the current match to begin. The results from the day matches were already posted. "Based on the results of the day matches, it seems your team will move up to top tier of B-Rank." He said as he examined the points of the top tier B-Rank day match. He grimaced as he looked at the results. That really sucked for Nasu squad.
Murakami leaned forward to see the points of the days matches that Arafune was looking at. "Seems so. With only two members, Nasu squad wasn't going to stick it out in the top tier. Ninomiya squad, Oji squad, and Azuma squad was a harsh match up for them for their first round in the top tier. They need a sniper to cover their backs."
Arafune hummed in agreement. "They have a replacement sniper in place to take Akane's spot, but she is still a trainee."
"Oh?"
"I believe her name is Natsume." Arafune replied. "Toma-san and Ema help her train."
"Is that so?" Murakami asked surprised. While agents did take on new agents to mentor them and help them train, it was usually after the new agents became official agents. Unless the trainee was basically a prodigy, trainees didn't get much attention from official agents. Since Natsume was still a trainee and lined up to join Nasu squad which meant Akane chose her before she left, Natsume had been a C-Rank for a while now so she wasn't a prodigy.
"She's friends with Chibi-chan." Arafune explained as if reading Murakami's thoughts. "Since she hangs around Chibi-chan and isn't shy, she managed to insert herself in with the official agents and gained some mentors that way."
That made complete sense. Connections really helped to get someone ahead. It was the reason Tamakoma-2 got so high up in the ranks in just one rank war. They connected with Tamakoma as trainees and then made a lot of mentors among the agents while fighting their way through the B-Rank Wars. It seemed being friendly really helped them get ahead.
"So Nasu squad is going to remain a two-person squad until she reaches B-Rank?" Murakami asked. That was going to make the B-Rank Wars difficult for them. Not every team had a sniper, but those that didn't made up with it by having at least three members and a tight formation that let them cover each other.
"If they haven't added another member yet, I would assume so." Arafune replied.
"Hopefully they are training with Natsume now to get her prepared to join the team. Otherwise, she'll probably struggle when she joins up and gets thrown into the B-Rank Wars." Murakami replied. "I sometimes wonder how Tamakoma didn't flounder with how they charged through the ranks."
Arafune snorted. "Because they're insane." He paused and thought about it. "Yeah, they're insane, but they only managed because Kuga was so well trained by his father." He glanced at Tamakoma's team roster on the monitors down below. Tamakoma-2 was carried by Yuma and later on Hyuse. At least, that was the case last season. With their sniper now being able to shoot people and what Osamu learned and experienced on the away mission, it was possible those two might be strong enough to compete with agents beyond just using tricky strategies.
"Strong agents can only do so much when outnumbered." Murakami said. It didn't matter how strong a single person was if they had to face multiple strong opponents alone. Hyuse was amazing when he survived an onslaught from multiple squads for as long as he did last season. It was something that Murakami didn't think he could do. As great as his side effect was for learning and allowing him to become a master fighter, against multiple squads by himself it didn't do much to help.
*L*S*A*
"We should celebrate with dinner when the match is over." Ikoma decided.
"Little early to declare we'll win, isn't it?" Maori pointed out.
"It's never too early to think about delicious food." Ikoma declared. "We should go to Okonomiyaki Kageura tonight."
"Oh?" Oki asked amused. "Add salt to the wound after we beat Kageura squad?"
"Is it? We would be supporting his family's business. It repairs the beating we will give them." Mizukami replied.
Kai waved his hand in the air in excitement. "I'm for it. I could totally go for their okonomiyaki right now."
"The pork sobayaki sounds more appealing to me." Ikoma said.
"Hmm, egg dumplings sound better right about now." Oki said.
Maori sighed as she listened to her teammates talk about food. This happened all the time before the rank wars. Her team just would not focus on the match. Mizukami and Ikoma decided on the map settings yesterday and now they just wanted to relax and fool around before the match. There was very little actual strategy talk involved with her team. It was amazing they were as high in B-Rank as they were. She guessed that spoke of her team's strength that no concrete strategy was needed. A simple plan was all they needed to get started.
"Get focused." Maori ordered as she made her way to her desk. "Thirty seconds until transfer."
*L*S*A*
"B-Rank battle, round one begins!" Kunichika said as the time clock hit zero. "And the agents are transferred in! The map is the Exhibition Hall, weather setting snow?"
*L*S*A*
"Snow?" Hyuse raised a hand to let the snowflakes fall on his hand. He glared at the snowflakes as they gathered around him. "This is Yuma's fault."
"I heard that." Yuma's voice buzzed in his ears. "I'm not in control of the map settings, Hyuse."
"You thought it into existence." Hyuse retorted. "'Oh, it'll be fun to play in the snow.'"
"Is that supposed to be me?" Yuma asked. "That's not what I said."
"Close enough."
"Can we focus and move?" Osamu interrupted.
"Already am." Hyuse replied. He had spawned on a staircase that would lead to the exhibition hall. It left him in the open so he had to move quickly to find cover.
*L*S*A*
"What reason would Ikoma squad have to use a snow storm?" Kunichika asked.
"It is to slow down the agents." Kazama replied. "It will force them inside the building or will force agents who have grasshopper into the air so they aren't slowed down. Once an agent enters the air, it will give a sniper an easier chance to snipe since it is harder to dodge in midair."
"Mm-hmm." Kunichika nodded along. "The only agents with Grasshopper are Agent Minamisawa, Agent Oki, and Agent Kuga so it's not likely that was their plan."
"Unless they plan to kill Yuma." Arashiyama replied. "But the snow will pile up quickly so if the agents don't get inside fast, Ikoma squad can close in on them quickly with two of their agents having grasshopper and force this into an outside battle where they will have given themselves the edge with Oki and Minamisawa's grasshoppers. Yuma will be in the way with his grasshopper so it makes sense to take him out before he can become a nuisance."
"Kuga has always been a nuisance." Kazama said. "The problem is that he is a strong nuisance so he is difficult to kill and get out of the way."
"Yes, and that is why in an eight round B-Rank War last season, Agent Kuga was only defeated two times." Kunichika agreed. "And each time, he was the last kill before the matches either ended or became a standstill." She stared at the map to see the locations of all the agents in the field. "Since the Exhibition Hall is a very open field, most of the agents will have spawned in dangerous spots that will get them spotted quickly. Agent Oki, Agent Ema, and Agent Amatori have all activated their bagworms and are moving towards the Exhibition Hall."
"It's likely they all want to secure the building before the other teams." Arashiyama said. "If the snipers get there, they will have an excellent spot with multiple areas they can switch to after taking a shot."
*L*S*A*
"What's with the damn snow?" Kageura kicked at the snow that was piling up at his feet. "Hikari! Where's Kuga?"
"Most of the agents are making their way towards the building." Hikari said.
"I saw Amatori-san. She's on the north side staircase." Ema piped up. "Haven't seen Kuga yet, but with his white hair in this snow, he won't be easy to pick out."
"He's also freaking short!" Kageura stomped on the snow. "With all this snow and how fast it is piling up, if he wants to get around quickly, he'll be flying around with grasshopper."
"Zoe-san lucked out and spawned inside the Exhibition Hall." Hikari said.
"I'm not alone." Zoe joined in the conversation. "There are two other people moving around the floors."
*L*S*A*
Osamu watched his radar from the corner of his eyes. There were two other people who spawned inside the Exhibition Hall with him, but based on their elevation, they were on different floors. This was bad. The rest of his team spawned outside the building on completely different sides of the map.
A spot of orange caught Osamu's eyes and he stopped running to see Oki flying up towards the roof.
"I spotted Oki-san." Osamu told his team. "He's using his grasshopper to reach the roof from the outside. Chika, the roof isn't going to work for your location. Find a floor inside the building to claim."
"On it."
"Our spawn points were horrible." Hyuse said.
Being completely separated and left in open spaces meant his team couldn't move carelessly. Osamu lucked out with spawning inside the building, but Chika or Hyuse would have been better options to spawn inside the building. With their power, they could have claimed this building and prevented the other teams from taking the building. If they could keep the other teams outside in the huge open space, Chika and Hyuse could attack from a distance. Hitting targets in open space with nothing to hide behind would make this simple with Chika and Hyuse's Trion amount. They could do a lot of damage.
*L*S*A*
"I spotted Mikumo-chan. He's on the floor above me." Kai said cheerfully. "I haven't seen the other person who spawned in the building."
"Both of the other teams are making their way towards the building, likely to escape the snow." Maori added.
Ikoma shielded his face with a hand to keep the snow off of him as he stared at his radar. "This is working out better than I thought it would."
"It helped that our spawn points were good." Mizukami said as he dropped down from a staircase to join his captain at the bottom.
"The signature to the south is Kuga-kun." Oki joined in the conversation.
"Oh, good, you spotted him." Ikoma said. "We got lucky that he spawned outside. Oki, keep him from getting inside."
"Okay. This is so much better than having to target Amatori-chan." Oki said.
"We can't ignore her forever if she starts to become a nuisance." Maori interjected.
"No worries. It shouldn't be an issue. Kageura will want a fight with Kuga so he'll have his team distract the rest of Tamakoma." Mizukami explained. Since they knew before the match that Kageura was going to go after Yuma, they made their pick of map on multiple choices. The first was to prevent the wire strategy that would slow them down and put them at a disadvantage since they couldn't beat Yuma in the wire zone when he had Chika backing him up. The second reason was the snow was used to slow down their opponents by burying them in it. That would drive the other teams to move towards the Exhibition Hall because they wouldn't be able to fight efficiently in the snow.
To be more precise, it was to drive Kageura squad and Tamakoma-2 inside. While the squads were moving to escape the snow trying to bury them, Ikoma squad would be heading in a different direction.
*L*S*A*
A glint on the roof drew Yuma's attention. He knew from Osamu's warning that Oki had made it up to the roof with his grasshopper. He quickly backstepped and threw up a shield to block the sudden shot that came for him from the roof.
That was a reckless snipe. It wasn't going to work against Yuma so all it did was reveal Oki's position to Yuma. Though, Yuma already knew Oki had been heading to the roof. He just didn't know what portion of the roof he would be on until now. It didn't do anything to help him though as he couldn't rush straight to Oki with his grasshopper without getting shot. He would need cover fire from his teammate to force Oki's attention elsewhere.
Yuma was forced to jump over the railing and to a lower staircase to dodge another shot and then another tore into the stairs above him. Lightning. Oki was using Lightning.
"Osamu, Oki-san has me in his sights and is keeping me pinned out here." Yuma informed. "I'll either need a distraction for him or I'll have to take the long way around to get inside."
"The long way around is a huge open area, Yuma-kun. You'll be at bigger risk of getting hit that way." Shiori warned.
Yuma ducked his head when a shot hit the railing above him and he had some debris falling on him. "I'm at risk here. I can't stay here." He replied as he brushed the dust off his head.
"I'm almost inside. I can head to the roof but it will take me time to get up there." Hyuse replied.
*L*S*A*
Kageura watched the blasts of Trion fly through the air. Every shot was aimed towards the same area. "Who is shooting?"
"Not me." Ema replied. "Nor is it Amatori-san."
"Then it's Oki-san." Hikari said. "The two unknown signatures that have met up are heading towards where Oki-san is shooting."
Kageura stand at the roof. He could just barely make out a shape up there that was revealing his location without a single care. He should run after taking a couple shots to change locations to avoid getting closed in on.
Ikoma smiled. "No. Just found it amusing we have the same target for tomorrow." He turned away from Kageura and Murakami with a wave over his shoulder. "It should be fun."
"Huh," Kageura said amused. "I'm heading to where Oki is shooting. Zoe, Yuzuru, keep Tamakoma distracted and away from me."
*L*S*A*
"This is surprising." Kunichika said. "Instead of heading for the building to escape the snow, Captain Ikoma and Agent Mizukami are on their way to Agent Kuga who got pinned down by Agent Oki."
"Not just them. Kageura is also changing directions to go after Yuma." Arashiyama said.
"Is Agent Kuga being targeted this round?" Kunichika asked.
"That seems to be the case." Kazama answered. "He is a strong agent so it makes sense to want to take him out especially since if he meets up with his team, he will become even more dangerous with their support. Tamakoma-2 excels at using everyone's particular strength to make their team stronger."
"Oki is taking a huge risk by choosing to remain in his spot to pin Yuma down. Normally when a sniper takes one or two shots, they move to a new location to avoid being closed in by the enemy. A sniper is in the most danger after they take a shot." Arashiyama explained. "You don't usually see snipers refusing to move from their spot and taking this risk. The fact that he is doing this means he isn't worried about the other agents."
"It could be because he has Grasshopper. He can quickly escape by jumping off the roof if he does get cornered." Kunichika suggested.
"We also have to remember that Oki has a teammate in the building who is making his way to the roof. It seems Minamisawa will be acting as Oki's shield." Kazama suggested. That wasn't too odd of a tactic. It was something Tamakoma-2 did last season when they reached top tier. It took an attacker out of the battle to do it, but a sniper was a valuable player to have so it made sense to want to keep them alive. It would be even better here since Kai and Oki were both grasshopper users.
*L*S*A*
"Watch out!" Shiori warned suddenly. "Kitazoe-san's Meteor!"
Hyuse tsked and lunged under the canopy of the staircase. It wouldn't do anything to protect him though so he put his hand on the railing to form an Escudo above him.
Inside the building, Osamu watched as the Meteor blasts burst from one of the floors above him to go flying towards the area where Hyuse was at. Damn, maybe he should have had his whole team activate their bagworm until they met up.
"Kuga, Kitazoe-san is pinning Hyuse down with his Meteor so he's not going to make it to Oki-san for a while. I can try to head up–" Osamu saw a glint from the corner of his eye which caused his train of thought to be cut off. He twisted around a wall, slamming his back against the wall just in time to watch a shot fly past him and tear a hole through the wall. "Never mind, Kuga. Ema's here as well."
"Doesn't matter anymore." Yuma replied. "Ikoma-san, Mizukami-san, and Kage-senpai are moving in on my location from different directions. I was trapped anyway."
Osamu cursed in his head. He knew that Kageura was going to be targeting Yuma in this match, but he didn't think Ikoma squad would also be going after him. "Chika, found a room on the south side of the building and watch Kuga's back. Hyuse and I will deal with Ema and Kitazoe-san."
"Got it, Osamu-kun." Chika replied.
"Hyuse?" Osamu asked.
"I got it."
Back where he was, Hyuse activated his Viper. Zoe's Meteors were like bombs and typically went all over the place as he just shot them with no clear target in mind. The purpose of them was to cause chaos amongst the agents. However, this wasn't how Zoe usually used them. He was firing his Meteor only in Hyuse's general area so he was trying to either distract him or hopefully kill him in this mess. It was messy, but Hyuse could figure out from the line of fire and with his radar where Zoe was firing from inside the building.
From his position lying on the stairs to use his Escudo as a shield, he didn't have the best space to do this nor the time as Zoe's Meteor was eventually going to hit and destroy his cover. Viper was his best shot at this, but he didn't need to angle the bullets right now. Just sending them straight to where Zoe was firing from would be enough to distract the gunner and give Hyuse time to clear the steps and get inside.
The whole area was rumbling. It was making Oki's shots sloppy and making his aim off. That was okay though. He didn't need to hit Yuma, just keep him in the area. Really though, Hyuse and Zoe going at it with their attacks on the other side of the building behind him was really making it too bright for Oki.
"Oooh, they are really going at it. It will be amazing if they don't bring the whole building down on us." Kai said as he arrived at Oki's side.
"They're monsters." Oki said as he took another shot at a puff of white. With this snow and how much it was piling up, it was possible he just aimed at snow. This was the problem with the snow setting and making Yuma the target. He just blended in. "We're lucky Tamakoma hasn't decided to have Amatori-chan just destroy the whole building and make this into a brawl."
"The Tamakoma and Kageura agents below you are busy trying to kill each other so you have until they finish to kill Kuga." Maori said. "Kageura-san is also heading to Kuga."
"About what I expected Kageura to do." Mizukami's voice came over the comms.
*L*S*A*
"Yuma-kun, what do you want to do?" Shiori asked.
Yuma stared at his radar, frowning as the Trion signatures blurred. One person was coming from the left. Two were moving in from the right. On the roof, Oki was in position with Kai by him. He frowned when he saw the signature on the roof that was Kai disappear. He must have equipped his bagworm to hide like Oki was which meant they were likely going to move when Ikoma and Mizukami arrived. He could use their arrival as a chance to escape to the building. He couldn't fight out here because it was highly likely Oki was simply planning to change position to try to shoot him from a different spot. He needed to get out before that became an option.
"I need to get inside the building. I'll wait until Oki-san moves to change locations." Yuma decided, massaging his eyes. He didn't recall a time where his eyes ever bothered him like this since his father saved him.
"Alright. Chika-chan will cover you when you move." Shiori replied, dragging Yuma's focus back onto the match.
"Would make my life easier if you just threw a Meteor at them, Chika." Yuma said.
"I'd be worried about blowing you away with them." Chika pointed out.
Well, Yuma would be fine with that if it took Kageura, Ikoma, and Mizukami out with him. It would be a sacrificial play, but he wouldn't voice that aloud. Chika did not like sacrificial plays like that and would freak out. She overcame her fear of shooting so she could properly protect her team so they wouldn't die. The idea of sacrificial plays were not for her.
"I'm going to move now, Chika." Yuma said instead. He couldn't see Oki or Kai on the radar, but the shooting had stopped so he assumed they were on the move now. Ikoma and Kageura were closing in fast. He didn't have time to waste.
A Grasshopper pad appeared and he tapped his foot on it to send him over the destroyed stairs from Oki's onslaught. He had just landed on the next staircase that escaped Oki's murderous intent when he found himself retracting his step forward as two slashes from opposite directions slammed into the staircase where he had previous landed. He watched as the staircase broke into pieces and fell to the ground. It was easy enough to use Grasshopper to make it over the sudden hole, but instead of doing that, Yuma backed up another step to get Kageura and Ikoma and Mizukami in his eyesight as they were on different sides of him. They were down on the ground so he could try to escape up the stairs, but with Mantis, Senku, and Mizukami's bullets, he knew he wouldn't get far.
"Finally found you, Kuga!" Ikoma declared.
"Oh? Were you looking for me?" Yuma called down at him, resisting the urge to rub at his eyes again. Something really didn't feel right.
"Yes!" Ikoma shouted up at him. "Don't think I've forgotten! I will get my revenge?"
Yuma blinked, glancing from Ikoma to Mizukami in confusion. "Revenge?"
"Did you dare to forget how you kicked me halfway across the room?" Ikoma asked offended.
"Seriously? That is why you're targeting me right now?"
"That's the reason we're going after him?" Mizukami asked at the same time. He knew it. He knew Ikoma's reasoning for choosing to target Yuma this round was going to be ridiculous. "That was over three months ago. Are you still holding the grudge?"
Ikoma pointed his sword up at Yuma. "You never even apologized for it!"
Yuma gaped for a moment, so completely flabbergasted at the audacity of the captain below him. "You're snuck up on me! It was a natural response to that!"
"Who has the natural response of kicking someone when they get snuck up on?" Mizukami countered.
"People who are traumatized." Kageura called back.
Yuma shifted his look of disbelief to Kageura. Why was he getting involved in this nonsense? "What is your deal?"
"My deal?" Kageura snarled, amusement turning back to rage. "Again with that dumbass question! You know what you did, Kuga!"
"It was two days ago. Let it go, Kage-senpai!" Yuma shouted back.
"I'll let it go when you're dead!" Kageura retorted.
Yuma's mouth opened and closed a few times, no sound escaping him.
Ikoma and Mizukami froze in their actions of getting ready to attack while Yuma and Kageura were arguing so they could just stare at Kageura in disbelief.
"Wow." Ikoma said.
"Like my Trion body or my real body?" Yuma asked.
It was Kageura turns to gape back at Yuma as he processed what he said and what he was being asked.
"Really poor choice of words." Mizukami said.
"You know what I meant!" Kageura shouted.
*L*S*A*
"Are they arguing with each other?" Kunichika asked confused as the captains and aces just stood around and talked after finally running into each other.
"This is the kind of thing I expect from Ikoma squad, not Kuga and Kageura." Kazama said blandly.
Arashiyama shook his head. Jin had told him that Yuma had gotten into a fight with some of his friends. After talking with Yuma the other day, he had a pretty good idea of why Kageura and Yuma got into that fight and why an argument was occurring. They couldn't hear what was being said in the field, but based on the frustration on Yuma and Kageura's faces, it wasn't good. "A rank war is not the place to be dealing with personal matters."
"Personal matters?" Kunichika repeated.
"They brought an argument into the field where they both need to be focused on the battle taking place. This kind of distractions are something to be left outside of battle because they can cause you to be distracted and make you make mistakes which can cost you dearly." Arashiyama explained.
"Oh," Kunichika watched as Kageura flung his Mantis towards where Yuma was which Yuma dodged by jumping backwards, taking him away from the building he had previously been rushing towards. "Well, it seems they are turning their argument into a physical fight now."
*L*S*A*
"Like children." Arafune flung his head back in despair.
Murakami chuckled. "Kuga is technically a child."
"And Kage is nineteen! He should be able to handle this in a more mature manner."
"You're expecting a lot from Kage when he has always been known to have an attitude." Murakami replied. That mostly had to do with his side effect keeping him on edge though. There was always a tipping point because of that. Except this time, Kage's side effect wasn't the cause for his aggravation. For as long as Murakami knew Kageura, he never saw him do anything rash unless his side effect was bothering him. This was the first time where Kageura purely got mad out of concern for a friend who he thought was beings stupid and reckless.
Arafune eyed Murakami out of the corner of his eyes. "You want Kageura squad to win, don't you?"
"If I actually thought Kage's bet would do anything to change Kuga's mind, sure I would want Kage to win this." Murakami replied. "Because he's not the only one friends with Kuga."
"So, what are you going to do?" Arafune asked.
Murakami watched as Yuma was forced to retreat back down the stairs and to the open area as Ikoma squad and Kageura pressed him. "Nothing. I've already said my piece to Kuga. I'll leave him to think on everything we said."
"It might not turn out the way you want." Arafune pointed out.
"Maybe, but I think Kuga does want to live. He's just scared." Murakami smiled bitterly. Yuma admitted to being terrified the other day, but he just couldn't see scared and Yuma going together. It didn't seem right. "He needs a push in the direction of that path that will save him. Right now, he can't see it so we have to show it to him."
"It's likely he knows the path is there. He is just holding himself back from taking it for some reason."
"It's possible. During the Mimic incident, we saw how much guilt and pain he has that is holding him back. He said he wasn't holding back from looking for a way to save his life because of guilt he still felt, but I don't know what else it could be. I don't feel like the reasons he gave were very concrete to stop him. In which case, Kage's plan to shove him towards fighting for his life might be what he needs." Murakami explained. "Because when it came down to it during the Mimics incident, despite how reckless he was, he was desperately fighting for his life. He was reminded of what it meant to fight for his life and now he needs that reminder again of what this life has to offer."
Arafune stared at the fight going on currently. He stared at the way Yuma kept backing up from the advancing enemies. It was strange for the type of fighter that Yuma was. He was always very aggressive when it came to combat. He was, after all, known as a speed attacker. He didn't backup from his enemies like this, though that may be an issue with the type of open area battlefield Ikoma squad chose.
"Kuga is the happiest when he is having fun. If you want him to fight for his life, don't let him forget all the fun moments." Arafune said at last.
"What?"
"He was depressed and frustrated today." Arafune pointed out. "Even now, he's not smiling. He enjoys the rank wars and though he is very serious when he fights, a smile does sneak its way up when he is in the fight. I haven't seen him smile all day."
"You think so?" Murakami asked.
"I didn't expect that." Murakami said when he found Yuma waiting for him on the bank. "Were you waiting for me?"
"Our leader allowed it." Yuma wiped the rain off his face and revealed a smile. "I'll have fun with you this time."
"Yeah," Murakami smiled sadly. "I suppose you're right." He looked at the fight taking place again. There wasn't a hint of a smile on Yuma's face right now. He looked absolutely miserable as Ikoma squad and Kageura came after him. This kind of challenge was something Yuma would normally enjoy.
"If he's not happy, he's not going to want to put the effort into fighting for his life. Something caused his smile to slip away. You have to find it again."
That was easier said than done when Yuma was in this kind of mood.
This was when he was most stubborn after all.