Chapter 1: Vulpecula
The silver tongue that inverts truths and lies
How had things come to this?
"Stay still so I can get you to Bail Out."
When did he get in this kind of situation.
"Hound."
All he could think of was how he was the type of fighter who could escape almost anything when he tried.
Tsukiko Yuki jumped from rooftop to rooftop as three people followed him with weapons ready to get him to Bail Out.
Taking a quick look behind he could see that he was managing to keep a good distance away from the three.
Tachikawa Kei - Border's #1 Attacker with nothing going on in his mind except using his Trigger for fights or taking out Neighbors. He was the closest person to Yuki, yet still couldn't reach him with his two blades.
Kako Nozomi - a beauty-Shooter with a beauty mark that was currently the only one really making him work for his escape. She had been firing at him repeatedly, making him use his own Trion to get out of the way of the shots.
Miwa Shuji - the Neighbor-hating captain of Border's #7 A-Rank squad. His Lead Bullets were something to worry about - if they could manage to hit him. He was in the same boat as Tachikawa in the sense that he was not close enough to properly attack.
These three A-Rank captains were the ones who were currently chasing him like hounds chasing after a fox.
The reason for this was unknown by Yuki, but he wouldn't just submit to them.
They said that the Directors want to see me, but...
It just didn't feel right.
The three were already in their Trion bodies, as if they were expecting him to attack them right away.
He had managed to get a good distance from them before using his own Trigger to start his real escape. Using Teleport didn't strain him too much when it came to his reserve of Trion, but having to use it in succession didn't help much.
Knowing that they would just continue to chase him until something else happened, he got ready to Teleport out of sight.
That was until something almost cut his head off.
Using his Side Effect, as well as his honed skill of forcing his body to move how he likes, he managed to slide under the blade that had suddenly appeared in front of him.
Looking up a bit to see who had almost cut him, he was surprised to see a familiar raven-haired A-Rank.
He saw a small opening that he could use to land a hit on the new person but thought it better to just run away. There was no sense in trying to get one hit in while there were still three others chasing him. This would give them enough time to catch up and surround him.
It was moments like these that really showed just why Yuki was a difficult person to catch.
Why the hell is Minoru after me as well!? Should I just ask? But if these guys are just taking the orders and going along with them... I could go to the directors like they want.
It was a wise choice, yet also something he refused to do.
Yuki was the first son and second child of a family of Japan's best soldiers. He had great instincts that had helped him out before, something that seemed to run in his family. Those same instincts were telling him that going back to Border HQ right now was not a good option.
That left him to continue his sprint to a safe location.
"!"
That idea became more difficult when he saw a leg heading towards his face.
He crouched down while sliding to the right.
From his new spot, he could see them.
.
It had been only a few seconds that Minoru and Yuki had been in contact, but that was enough for Miwa and Tachikawa to get within striking range, as well as Kako readying another onslaught of shots.
The two with blades ran forward, fully intent on going all out.
Three blades were used to cut him up while a gun was pulled out, firing Lead Bullets just in case. Behind them was a barrage of Hound that would be difficult for anyone to dodge or block without proper preparation.
Even so, there was something that managed to save him enough to only have to deal with the blade of Minoru instead of the other A-Rank agents.
Teleport!
He looked a bit away for his target.
He used a bit more Trion to get distance once again, but knew that he would still have to deal with another irritation in the form of another All-Rounder.
Tachikawa and Miwa had been in mid-attack so they weren't able to switch their positioning to attack anywhere else. What's more was that the teleportation was done in such a small window of time that they would lose him again if they didn't have the fourth person ready.
Being a bit further away, Kako had redirected her shots towards Yuki once more as Minoru continued to try and land a hit.
I'd rather not pull out Idōgetsu right now. My main concern is getting away again. With one more person here things will just get that much harder.
With that thought in mind, Yuki continued to move smoothly through the attacks coming at him. He already knew how each person fought and how to counter them. His current fight was a simple one that he could use to his advantage.
He knew that Minoru could use Chameleon to hide from sight then strike when he saw the best opportunity. The flip side to that was the fact that he wouldn't be able to use any other Triggers while using that one.
Minoru was known for having a Trion Body similar to Reiji and Mei's, in the sense that his regular punches and kicks could still do a good amount of damage. That was exactly why Yuki knew he was safe, at least against this opponent.
The person in question would have to hide themselves and get up close to attack him.
Yuki wasn't going to actually fight.
So long as Yuki would not fight back, using Chameleon would give him the perfect chance to use Teleport to move away from everyone and not have to focus too much on an unseen opponent. He just had to see where he was going and he would be set.
That was the idea at least.
"!?"
Yuki went wide-eyed when he saw Minoru jump back as something came raining down on him and the rooftop he stood on.
Thankfully they were fighting within the Forbbiden Zone or he would be more worried about any people nearby.
When he looked up his first instinct was to Teleport away while putting up the sturdiest Shield he could.
There, raining down on him like a storm, were multiple Hound shots.
He knew who it was coming from and knew that he was getting help from Kako to let out this much of an offensive attack. The range was wide and there wasn't really any room to actually move around.
This attack would put him in a difficult position.
Letting out a disgruntled noise, he quickly grabbed the Trigger that was swinging at his hip with every move he made.
This is my best bet at escaping now!
Reeling his arm back as much as he could, Yuki got ready to throw Idōgetsu like a javelin. His target wasn't the one who had just jumped back, the other three keeping their distance, or even the one who started the rain.
His target was the sky.
Using his whole body, and all the artificial strength he could muster, he threw his Personal Trigger into the sky while forcing himself not to Teleport away or put up a Shield.
Once Idōgetsu was high enough in the air, and it looked like the rain of Hound was going to get him, he said a single word.
"Teleport."
The rain of Hound came down hard and relentless. The buildings that got hit easily collapsed under the attack while the ground started to shake a bit with the holes being made in it.
Even with all this destruction, Yuki had not been hit by a single shot.
.
High above the battlefield, Yuki watched with Idōgetsu back in it's holster.
He had managed to teleport away thanks to Special Teleport. The mark at one of the ends of Idōgetsu disappeared as he let out a relieved sigh.
His relief was short-lived as he saw someone flying towards him with two blades in their grasp.
Dammit, Kei-san!
Forcing his body to move the way he wanted, Yuki twisted in the air so that the blade at the right just barely missed him while the one on the left passed under him.
He grabbed Tachikawa's left arm and spun himself in the air so that he kicked the #1 Attacker away.
There's no way I would lose to him in a midair battle. I'm more use to moving at odd angles than he is. Not to mention using Kōgetsu messed him up in the air since they weigh much more than Idōgetsu.
Being satisfied with their current position, Yuki looked off to the horizon and got ready to Teleport away.
It would be easy enough at this height. Even dodging Ninomiya and Kako's shots wouldn't be too hard.
Once he got away he would be able to figure out what was going on, and why they were chasing him to begin with.
It was odd since he wasn't on bad terms with any of them - excluding the airhead - so this really made no sense to him. They all seemed to have a good amount of hostility towards him when they were attacking him. Even the easygoing Tachikawa and ever friendly Minoru were attacking him like a true enemy. Ninomiya was understandable, but he didn't even remember doing anything to get on Miwa's bad side.
All of this was just confusing.
I'll think about this later.
"Nope!"
Yuki was surprised when he felt something grab his ankles.
He looked down to see Tachikawa holding on to his ankles with a smug grin.
It would have been easy enough to use Idōgetsu to cut his arms off, but from the way the #1 Attack was grinning it seemed that he had already thought of that idea. That meant that this was definitely something bad.
.
Yuki and Tachikawa slammed into the roof of another building. They broke it, but did not create any holes to go through. Whether that was a good thing or not was still up in the air.
Yuki was quick to get up so that he could get away once again.
"!"
Feeling that his feet couldn't go anywhere, he looked down to see two blades stabbed through his feet and into the roof.
He was prepared to cut his legs off, but knew that it would be pointless now since he was surrounded.
No one questioned the excessive use of force.
With that in mind, Yuki forcefully slammed Idōgetsu into the roof of the building.
It had a tremendous effect.
The roof was made of ceramic material, so it mercilessly crumbled under the weight of the form Idōgetsu had taken known as Mangetsu. Yuki and the other five on the roof fell inside of the building.
The inside of the building was a vast area. In fact, it seemed a little too vast. It was even larger than a school gym. He was knowledgable about the different areas in Mikado City, but even this place seemed odd with the lines of rectangular boxes the size of industrial refrigerators.
They fell into that space from directly above.
The fall from about two or three stories up was nothing for the group in Trion Bodies.
So, the five A-Ranks standing there remained unfazed.
Tachikawa Kei.
Ninomiya Masataka.
Kako Nozomi.
Miwa Shuji.
Hatohara Minoru.
All of them were a great force that represented Border and they were all either an A-Rank or the possessor of an equivalent level of power. They were all top agents within Border with their own way of fighting that, if gathered together, would give anyone trouble.
"He really has taken hostile action this time."
They all turned toward Tsukiko Yuki who stood in the center.
The battle would likely end in an instant.
"You will probably have to really try now."
.
The primary premise behind this fight was Yuki's inability to counter them all at once.
He could put up a good fight against one or two of them, but there were far too many people to take on himself. Miwa and Kako were leaders of lower ranking A-Rank squads while Ninomiya was a B-Rank captain, but that didn't mean they weren't formidable opponents right now.
That left nothing for Yuki to do even if he grabbed his Trigger and faced them.
He was at a disadvantage in pure numbers. This was a poor match for his usual style of fighting, so it was blatantly obvious what would happen if they approached all at once.
Under all those conditions, there was only one thing he could do in the instant the five figures tore through the air and approached.
Out of Tachikawa, Ninomiya, Kako, Minoru, and Miwa, he chose to target just one of them.
He kept his gaze fixed and took a step forward, knowing he couldn't keep up.
He moved toward Hatohara Minoru.
As said before, there was nothing he could do in a fight against so many people and this one in particular did not wholly rely on multiple Triggers. He would be unable to evade the first strike, not to mention land a hit.
Then what was he trying to do?
The answer was simple.
In that instant, he moved into the path of Minoru's strike while turning off his Trigger. He intentionally moved to a position of a sure-fire attack.
.
Minoru himself was likely the most surprised by that decision.
"What!?"
When he saw his much too reckless decision, he stopped just before bringing out Scorpion blades.
He was a part of a certain faction.
Shinoda Faction.
That meant he would prioritize Mikado City and it's citizens over fighting and defeating Neighbors.
Just like the others in this faction, he would watch out for civilians.
The other issue here was the fact that Minoru knew just how weak Yuki's real body was. The special Trigger-user was amazingly good when in a Trion Body, but his real body was a deteriorating one that could fail him at any moment.
He used that against me?
He thought while working to rein in his own power.
No matter where he tried to run, I could correct my course and land a hit on him. That meant my greatest blind spot was the point directly in front of me where he would be hit no matter what he did!
Yuki immediately made his next move.
But from the perspective of an A-Rank who could move at great speed, it would be more accurate to say that he began to make his next move.
His decision was simple.
He did not punch or kick. He crouched down and curled up in a ball.
Oh, no.
One method a ninja would use to escape pursuit was to suddenly stop and curl up on the spot. The pursuer would be unable to brake fast enough, so the ninja would escape the pursuer's swinging sword and trip them.
Minoru could not eliminate his momentum, but striking him with his foot at this speed would undoubtedly break something. He immediately hopped up to jump over him, but the tip of his shoe caught on the edge of his clothing.
Minoru could feel the boy's ribs crying out through his foot, but focusing on that had been a mistake.
Tachikawa, Ninomiya, Kako, Miwa, and Minoru had rushed in from five directions to deal with Yuki.
There was naturally another attacker on his other side.
"Ah."
He spoke in surprise and collided with Miwa at tremendous speed. Even if the boy's attacks could not cause much damage when not in a Trion Body, another Trigger-user was a different story. The sound of destruction that burst out rivalled that of Yuki's ribs a moment before.
While still curled up and vomiting, Yuki grabbed his Trigger to enter his Trion body once more.
Using this chance, he looked off to the side and managed to teleport away before he could get shot by either of the Shooters or Miwa.
The five watched as Yuki used Teleport in succession from their mixed up spots in the destroyed area.
Ninomiya was the first to react by jumping out of the building to catch up with Yuki. The others just watched him leave.
Minoru and Miwa got up while Kako and Tachikawa watched with different expressions.
Kako was the first to speak up.
"So, does anyone here actually believe this? Yuki-kun did look confused as to why we were chasing him. I seriously doubt that he actually knew the reason for all of this. Any thoughts on this?"
"I'm pretty sure that even Ninomiya doesn't believe his orders. At least the reason behind them. We all know that he isn't the type of person to do that kind of thing. And even if he was, I'm sure that Mei-chan would end up beating him to a pulp."
"Exactly."
"She is probably the reason why HQ lost any connection with his Trigger, as well as the reason why they can't force him to Bail Out." Everyone turned to Miwa, who was putting his weapons away. "As for believing this or not... All I can say is that we have our orders."
"Even so, Loki still watches over his former team. The directors could link them to this, so I doubt he would do anything that would put them in that kind of situation. They are safe from that kind of thing right now since Meimei and Shinoda-san are watching after them."
Kako nodded towards the others. She closed her eyes and started thinking about everything that was currently going on.
She knew that Minoru was doing the same as her when going after Yuki - that is, pulling their punches. Tachikawa and Miwa were treating this like any other assignment. Ninomiya was just being himself by trying to let out any and all frustration on the younger agent. All of this was being done because of something they had all been told.
It was an assignment given to all A-Rank captains, and Ninomiya, but it seemed that their current group were the only agents to actually follow through with it. She shared a reason with Minoru while Tachikawa and Miwa did the same.
All she could right now was follow after Ninomiya while letting out a small sigh.
I just hope that everything is solved quickly. Things will turn nasty if those women enter the fray.
Yuki looked around to make sure that he wasn't being followed anymore. He had Bagworm on so that they wouldn't be able to find him using Radar.
He was currently hiding between branches in a rather large tree. The tree was located in a park near the Yagura Branch. It made getting to his branch easier, but that also meant he would have to be more careful.
The idea that Border had contacted his branch to make sure he was captured ran through his mind a few times.
I'm sure that Sensei wouldn't let them do something like that. Even Kido-san has trouble dealing with him. No way he would-
"O stupid, piece of shit brother~~ I've come here to rip you fuckin' head off your shoulders~!"
That voice was something Yuki could not ignore.
He looked down to see Kushikage staring straight up at him. It was hard to tell if she was staring at him directly or just in his general direction. Either way, he knew the look in her eyes all too well.
He could hear her start counting down from three while getting her large blade ready to cut the tree down. That was something he wanted to keep from happening. The tree was an important part of the park, meaning that there would be trouble from both sides if it was cut down like nothing from a Border agent.
Knowing that there was no proper way out of this, he did the sensible thing and jumped out of the tree and on to the ground behind her.
Idōgetsu was already within his grasp, being held in a reverse grip.
He could see her just about ready to strike the three, and looked ready to go through with it just for the fun of it.
This is dangerous enough already. The others could show up at any time, and this woman is something else altogether. If I don't leave now... I won't have a chance to leave at all.
With that thought in mind, Yuki prepared to use Teleport again.
At this point it was a bit risky since he had taken some hits already. He had stopped the leaking Trion from his feets, but he was still at a lost when it came to Trion. That meant he needed to be more conservative when it came to attacking and escaping.
There would be a very small window for him to escape, so he had to make the most of it right now.
He got ready for the exact moment she went in for an attack.
When she was only a inch or so away, he would have his chance.
"...!?"
He was surpsied when he saw her raise her blade above her head.
The situation just changed drastically.
Crap! What the hell am I suppose to do now!?
With the way she stood now, Kushikage had access to a range of attacks. She could bring down her blade for a large strike, swing it around while using the downward momentum to get everything around her, or even use it as a quick defense. If Yuki used Teleport, which would still put him within her range, he would be cut in half so quickly that he wouldn't have a chance to defend or escape.
His only choices were to take the risk of Teleport, attack her right now, or wait for the others to appear and apprehend him.
There was no way for him to win or escape at this point.
He tightened his grip on Idōgetsu as frustration consumed him.
Attack and take the risk of being held back?
Take the risk of using Teleport to escape?
Get captured and take the risk of getting in trouble he didn't deserve?
These were all his options, and none of them were winning situations. Everything was a risk at this point. Nothing guaranteed his safety.
"Get ready to run."
Hearing a voice go through his head, Yuki did as it said by putting Idōgetsu back in its holster.
He could see Kushikage tilt her head a bit to the side as he did this, but paid more attention to the thing that was coming towards them at an amazing speed. It was just out of view, but he managed to get a glimpse of it from the corner of his eye.
That thing was Takaoto Mei.
Like a rocket, she appeared before Kushikage with her fist ready to strike.
This had forced the older woman to lower her large blade in order to block the powerful attack. She felt the struggle between the two more than usually. Probably because she had not been prepared for the strike.
Yuki was going to ask her what was going on but had no time as a rain of shots came towards him once more. It was more concentrated on him, so Mei and Kushikage didn't worry about being hit.
"Don't run yet."
Yuki wondered why she had told him that.
But he listened her and stood still.
As the rain came down, something tapped his back as a large, green dome appeared around him.
Looking back, he saw that it was Murakami Kou with his Raygust in hand.
He linked his own Trion with Murakami's so that the rain of shots only cracked the strong defense, but not actually break through.
"Damn."
"You fuckin' suck at taking people out~! Don't worry... I can handle them all!"
"..."
Just as Kushikage moved to change her position, Mei brought up her other arm, forcing the flaming-haired woman to move at an awkward angle once again. This time there was no chance of her moving withing getting hit by a powered punch.
"Mei, Kou, do either of you know what is going? Thanks, by the way."
"Listen, I have already placed Teleport Markers for us to get away. Murakami had changed his Triggers for this, so he'll be fine as well. Just get ready to teleport to one of them. I'm sending the locations to you two. We'll meet up at the marked area later, got it?"
"Yeah!"
Murakami continued to keep up the defense, with the help of Yuki, as the other four chasers came into view.
They could all see blobs of Trion around Kako, cubes of Trion around Minoru, and Miwa with his gun out.
All at once, they fired their shots. None of them seemed to care about the area and just let loose everything they had. Everything was directed directly on the green dome containing Yuki and Murakami.
If this made it through then there was no chance of of the two being protected surviving. Their Trion wouldn't be enough to stop the whole barrage.
That left only one option.
"Now!"
Without a single word being said, the three on the defensive were gone.
The barrage of shots slammed into the ground with enough force to break the ground apart.
Kushikage ended up leaning forward without anything there pushing against her.
The other landed on the ground while Ninomiya clicked his tongue.
He looked more mad that any of them had seen before. This was a side they had not seen too often. He was always the type to stay calm and not betray his emotions, so this was something else.
Meanwhile, Kushikage started laughing like she had been told the something very funny.
"We have to report this."
Miwa was the one who decided to speak up and say what was on their minds.
"We just clarified that he is getting help. Takaoto was a given, but having Murakami helping him... Things will get more difficult."
The other three could only nod their heads in agreement.
Five people sat at a large table in a lightened room within Border's main base. All of them had a range of expressions, or lack of, but they were all thinking something similar. They had gotten a report from the captain of Border's #7 A-Rank squad telling them how their assignment was going.
The news was anything but good, although it was what they expected.
"We had already planned for Takaoto to help him. What was unexpected was Suzunari-1's ace showing up."
"In a way, that too was obvious. Tsukiko and Murakami are very close to each other. Of course they would help each other out. We should be glad that Taiyōko decided to help us out."
"If you really think she did that just to help us then I would have to tell you to get out. Her helping us out was just a coincidence. She was probably just using that as an excuse to attack her brother."
"I'm just glad that they were fighting in a less populated area. That makes the cleanup easier."
Director Shinoda listened to the conversation happening between directors Netsuki, Kinuta, and Karasawa as they spoke about the report they had just received. While his ears were on those three, his eyes were on Commander Kido.
The man in charge continued to face forward without looking at anyone else in the room. His attention was solely on what was in front of him, namely the door at the other end of the room. Even then, he wasn't even paying any attention to the door itself.
Every since they had given this assignment to the A-Ranks, and former A-Rank, Commander Kido was stayed silent and focused. It almost seemed like he was thinking about the whole thing in general.
They were all questioning the authenticity of what they had received earlier in the day, but it would seem that there was really no choice. The source wasn't some random person or even a low-ranking agent. The ones that had sent the evidence were the police.
This brought about many issue.
1) One of their high-ranking agent had done something they shouldn't.
2) It reflected poorly on Border as a whole and brought worry.
3) Getting the police to stay quiet about the whole thing until they figured it out.
Director Shinoda let out a sigh as he turned to the other directors.
"Damn that brat! Why couldn't he just come quietly!"
"That's probably because we had sent people to 'capture' him instead of calmly asking him to come over here. He's already a cautious person to begin with, having people tail him like that while also forcing him to do that would set off alarm bells for any sane person."
"That is exactly why we sent those guys out. Isn't he on good terms with Tachikawa, Hatohara, and Kako?"
"To be fair, didn't you tell them to do this very carefully, Kinuta-san? Like what was just said, he's a very cautious person. If those guys were too careful he would see right through it with no problem."
"Tch. It's that damn blood running through his veins. That whole family gives us all unnecessary trouble."
Director Shinoda was having a bit of trouble keeping calm at these comments. The respect for the former soldiers wasn't there, and even less respect was shown to their children. One of which he was very fond of.
Even so, he kept everything in check.
He didn't let his emotions show.
All he did was turn back to Commander Kido and asked, "What's next?"
There was a moment of silence. No one said anything as they waited on the next order.
Commander Kido rubbed his scar for a few seconds before looking over at the one who had asked him the question.
"What do you think would be best at the moment? You know him rather well, so you should know how to properly deal with him."
Director Shinoda nodded.
"We should take a much less aggressive approach. We have tried his cellphone already, no answer. He probably left it at home. Since that seems to be the case, we should contact one of the ones helping him. Tell them what is going on and go from there. Once they get him here we can discuss what was brought in from the police."
One look around showed that the other directors seemed to be on board with the idea. Director Kinuta was mumbling under his breath, but had no objections. Director Netsueki looked relieved to have a way to end this peacefully and without any more destruction to the city. Even Commander Kido seemed to like the idea. The only one that didn't look too sure was the last one.
"That's a great idea and all, but isn't he the only person any of us know who can actually turn his truths into lies and lies into truths?"
Director Karasawa spoke up with a look of uncertainty.
"Since that's the case, who is to say that he won't be lying to us the whole time while speaking as if it's the truth? We can't rely on Takaoto since she's helping him out right now. And even if we hooked him up to a lie detector, he knows how to get around that. He never shows any sign of lying when he does."
That got things going again.
They all knew that it was the truth.
Tsukiko Yuki had once been known as Taiyōko Kiyoshi - although that was awhile ago. That was a lie that had been there since he changed himself. He still had the personality of Taiyōko Kiyoshi, yet played the part of Tsukiko Yuki so well that his lie had become the truth. At the same time, his truth was also a lie.
He was the only person in Border who could turn his truths into lies and lies into truths without a single thought, and so well that even something like a lie detector could not prove him right or wrong.
Director Shinoda didn't want to have that kind of thought in his mind - the thought that Yuki would lie to them on a matter like this - but he knew that it was still a possibility.
"Very well."
They all turned back to Commander Kido.
"We will continue the hunt. From now on, every agent in Border will be on the lookout for Tsukiko Yuki. If any C-Rank finds him then they will report it. If a B-Rank agent finds him, they are to follow him while contacting us. If an A-Rank happens to find him, they are to try to capture him, inform us, and wait for backup. If needed."
This was not good.
The whole situation had changed to something drastic.
Director Shinoda was truly worried about what would happen within just the day.
Yuki staggered as he landed on the ground.
This whole ordeal was mentally taxing on him.
He was grateful for the help he had just gotten from his girlfriend and best friend, but he couldn't focus too much on that right now. He decided to get out of his Trion Body and walk around in his real body.
He clung to the nearby wall while also clutching his ribs. The pain from getting accidentally kicked by Minoru was still there, and throbbing. He felt like he could pass out at any moment, but that would cause him issues.
He just had to deal with it and hopefull make it to the spot that Mei had said was the meetup spot.
The only thing was that it was around three miles away.
I can make it. Just focus on my destination and nothing else.
His legs felt weak and his breathing was getting shallow.
Due to a certain incident, his body had taken in things that it shouldn't. Now his body was a deteriorating one that could fail him at any point in time.
One of those times was now.
Without any warning, he felt everything in his body start to hurt and coughs start to come up. Trying to keep everything in was in issue as well, although one that he could manage. A hand over his mouth kept him more focused.
"..."
Even with the determination to continue on, and a focused mind, his body continued to be in pain. His heart was pounding, his pulse racing, his stomach twisting and turning, his face getting more pale, and his whole body started to shake. What's more was that his ribs were in even more pain than before.
It became far too difficult to continue on like this.
His conscious was starting to go as well.
The pain was too immense for him right now.
So he started to fall forward.
"What the hell are you doing out if you're this sick? Shouldn't Shitokei or Murakami be watching over you?"
Someone had caught him just before he hit the ground.
The person was rough when handling him, but he could feel the person trying to be careful so that he wouldn't be in more pain.
The voice was easy enough to recognize, so a smile came to his face.
"Why the hell are you smiling? Hey! Don't go passing out on me now! Where's your Trigger! Get in your Trion Body so you can make it back to your house or something!"
Yuki coughed a few times before slowly opening his eyes.
"Kage... I can't go back in...my Trion Body... I'm about to Bail Out... I need to reform it... But I also...need to be ready...to run..."
"What kind of crap are you saying? Look, just use your Trigger so we can actually talk! I don't want to have to carry you to the hospital again!"
"... Fine... Just...go somewhere...private..."
Doing as he was told Kageura Masato put Yuki's arm over his shoulder before moving between two buildings. The visable was terrible if someone were to try and look through from afar. It would be fine if they were there.
He placed Yuki on the ground as the other brought out his Trigger once more.
Once he was in the Trion Body, Kageura could see the damage he had taken. He was surprised that his friend had taken so much damage. It made him wonder just what he had faced to get to this point.
Yuki let out a sigh as he pulled out Idōgetsu and put it on his lap.
He looked up at Kageura.
"Thanks, Kage."
"Yeah. Now tell me who, or what, did this crap to you. They had to be crazy strong. Or were you just not trying?"
"Long story short, Kako, Miwa, the damn airhead, Kei-san and Mino were after me for some reason. I ended up in a tree, Kushi found me and almost cut the tree down. Mei and Kou saved my ass and I ended up teleporting here. Then you found me."
"That jackass Ninomiya and Tachikawa I can understand, but Phantom Hag and those two? What kind of crap did you do to them?"
"Nothing. Nothing that I know of at least. They had said that the directors wanted to talk to me, since I left my phone at home, but they were way off from seeming natural."
"Of course you would be able to tell."
"Whatever. They gave the feelings of being unsure. It was basically coming off of them like sweat."
Yuki let out another sigh as he stood up.
"I'm suppose to meet up with Kou and Mei, so I guess I'll be seeing you."
"Hold up a damn minute. No way am I just going to let you go. With all the shit you just told me, and what I just saw, no way I'm not going with you. Besides, you apparently need back-up if those five are after your ass."
Yuki could only shake his head and resign to this.
There was no way that he could argue against Kageura on this matter.
Not like it's a bad thing. I'm not dragging him into this, so he can't complain. Besides, I do need more people on my side.
Yuki gave a grateful smile to his friend, which was returned with a grin.
With someone else at his side it would be more difficult to capture him without being liable for property damage. That would then slow them down because of Director Netsuki.
It was at times like these that he was glad to have friends like these - ones he could rely on in dire situations.
"So, Kage-"
Yuki was stopped when something fluttered over his head, covering his sight.
Thinking that it was another attack, he grabbed Idōgetsu and prepared to teleport away again.
His worries were eased when he heard another familiar voice speak as the thing on his head was taken off and put on his shoulders instead.
"...Apologizes. ...I missed. ...Please. ...Put this on. ...That way you can be more concealed."
Yuki did as he was told and out his arms through the coat that was over his shoulders. He grabbed the hood to put it up as well, covering his face in the process.
The one who had put the coat over him was a tall man with gray, grassy hair and a plain expression. Without his American-like jacket he was left with cargo pants and a Chinese-style traditional shirt. Even without the jacket, he still pulled off the look better than anyone else.
Pyrínas nodded his head as he looked at Yuki.
"...Very good."
"Thanks, Pyrínas. But how did you find me? I figured Mei cut off any connection to my Trigger."
"...She trusted me enough. ...To keep track of you, that is. ...That is how she found you before."
"I see."
Kageura looked at the Autonomous Trion Soldier with a lot of caution. Even if Yuki was fine with him, that didn't mean that he wasn't after his friend. After all, he wasn't getting any kind of feeling from the guy.
That meant this man - Pyrínas - felt nothing towards him.
Yuki looked over and gestured at his Branch's babysitter, already knowing what the #2 B-Rank squad captain was thinking.
"Kage, this is Pyrínas. Pretty sure you two haven't met yet. He's fine."
The tall man gave a bow, but otherwise said nothing at all.
That's when Kageura felt it. That strange feeling that only came from a very few amount of people. Yuki a moment ago being an example of it.
Gratitude.
This man was grateful to Kageura. For what? He could only guess that it was helping out his friend.
That was a rather stupid reason, in his opinion. Of course he would help his friend when he really needed it.
Not dwelling on it anymore, he got ready to head out with the two of them.
As he did so, he felt something vibrate in his pocket.
He pulled out his phone to see that he had gotten a message. Once from Border.
Everyone, be on the lookout for Tsukiko Yuki. All C-Ranks are to report in on his whereabouts. All B-Ranks are to follow him and report in on his whereabouts. All A-Ranks are to capture him, report in on his whereabouts, and wait for backup, if needed.
Curious as to what Kageura was looking at, Yuki took a peak and frowned. Now it wasn't limited to just those who had been chasing him before. Every Border agent would be looking for him now.
This was different than dealing with only a few A-Ranks. Now that he had all of Border against him that would mean that he was far outnumbered, even with the added assistance.
All of this was being done for a reason that neither Yuki nor Kageura knew. This manhunt was being conducted on some unknown factor that seemed to be spreading like wildfire. It may have been from the directors, but that also meant that they had spent a good amount of time contemplating this all.
He looked up at Kageura to see his reaction to this.
He was unsurprised when the B-Rank angrily typed on his phone with such ferocity that it threatened to break his phone.
It took only a few seconds for his phone to vibrate three times.
Kageura only took quick glances at the messages before speaking up.
"Kageura Squad will back you up!"
Yuki gave his own grin at hearing this.
Three more people on his side.
From: Kageura Masato
You all better ignore that message! We're helping Kiyoshi out! Got it!?
From: Kitazoe Hiro
Oh~ I'm fine with helping Tsuki out~
From: Ema Yuzuru
Alright. I'm guessing you are with Tsukiko-senpai?
From: Nire Hikari
Right-o! Tell him that he owes me some of Suzume-chan's latest doujinshi though!