"Join the team, and I'll even give you my rank."
"Rank...?"
"Yeah. It's something unique to our team. You're probably curious why the nine of us are ranked by number, right? It's
simple, really. It's based on strength. The stronger you are, the higher your
rank."
"I beat Wu San, so I..."
"That time doesn't count. Neither of you was truly trying to kill the other. Making a place for yourself on this team isn't so
easy."
As Qiao Seven spoke, he glanced at me, then pointed at Knife Five.
"You have to beat him to earn a rank. But..."
Qiao Seven lowered his head in thought, then looked at me again.
"You probably won't have a number, will you?"
"Seven? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing... You two carry on. I'm just here to watch. I've already seen what Levi can do, and I accept her
as a member of the team. As for how you
do..."
Qiao Seven smiled.
"She won't kill you, anyway. That's a relief."
"Hey! You make it sound like I'm going to lose! Whose side are you on?"
"Who knows?"
Qiao Seven shrugged, a faint, easy smile on his face.
"You little... Damn it!"
Knife Five spat out a curse and turned to me.
"Draw your sword! I don't care how strong you are. I can't let this go. We're settling it today, or I won't
accept it even in death!"
Then I'll kill you, shall I?
That was what I wanted to say. But Qiao Seven was there, and there was a drone overhead. Even if I wanted to strike a killing
blow, I couldn't. Besides, he was annoying, but that was about the worst of it.
"Mm. Wait... a moment."
I put the M500 at my right hip and moved Kiku Ichimonji