A/N: I almost forgot it's Tuesday because there's no school this week, oops. Anyway, I got this chapter written, with some difficulty. My fight scene writing skills are about as good as my romance writing skills, and anyone who read Doppelganger knows I'm really bad at romance. Also, to clear up any misunderstandings that may have happened with my authors note last week, I will be posting chapters every week. Even though I've been working, I'll still be posting. That aside, sorry for any typos, errors, OOCness or overall crappy writing. I hope everyone had a good week, and I'll be back next we with another chapter :)
Warning - This chapter has a little bit of violence, so if you are bothered by that kind of thing, please be wary and don't upset yourself
Even without his Side Effect, Jin was still good at fighting. He dodged the assassin's attack as he activated his Trigger, a green flash enveloping his flesh-and-blood body as a Trion one took it's place. Jin let Scorpion form in his hands, just in time too, because he was barely able to block the next attack, which was aimed for his head. This assassin really wasn't planning on going easy on him.
The next attack was aimed at Jin's legs, and the teen barely jumped out of the way in time. Without his Side Effect, he hadn't seen it coming, just like when he'd been fighting Hyuse underground in the Second Invasion. Jin had been saved this time only because he caught a blur of movement in the corner of his eye, and had jumped on instinct.
Jin gave the assassin a smile, letting it know that he wasn't afraid. He wouldn't go down easy. In fact, he didn't plan on going down at all.
"If I take you out here, I won't have to worry about you hurting my cute little kouhai," the teen said, voicing his thoughts to his opponent. If the assassin's face was visible, Jin was sure he'd see a scowl. He knew he tended to get under people's skin when he wanted to. It was how he manipulated people to do what needed to be done in order to influence the future to his liking.
A clawed hand swiped at Jin's chest, and he blocked it with Scorpion, though he only used his left hand. He materialized a second blade in his right hand, which he swung at the assassin, who withdrew in a flash to avoid the small sword. Jin frowned. This assassin really was fast, and quite strong. He made a mental note not to block with only one hand again, given it had been a bit of struggle to keep the lethal claw-fingers away as he fought back.
With some distance between himself and the assassin, Jin decided to act a bit more offensively. He feinted going forward to the left enough for the assassin to move just a fraction of an inch before he threw Scorpion as hard as he could, aiming right for the assassin's heart. The blade did not hit its mark. Instead, it buried itself in the wall a few inches to the left of the assassin. Jin sighed an disappointment. A move like what he had just done would work on any Trion soldier, and even a few strong soldiers. He had used that attack on Tachikawa before, back when they did Rank Wars, and it had worked. However, this opponent was no Trion soldier or A-Rank agent. This was an assassin with a Black Trigger and more experience than Yuma or Jin himself. Not to mention Jin had been able to use his Side Effect every other time he tried his blade throwing attack. He'd always known that it would hit its target, and if he foresaw that it wouldn't, he didn't go through with the attack. Now that he didn't have his Side Effect, he had to rely only on his ability to read his opponent's moves and hope his attacks would be effective.
The assassin lunged for Jin again and the teen dodged, but either he was getting slower or the assassin was getting faster, because the punch clipped his elbow. The arm that was affected slammed back into the wall, causing Jin to go a little wide-eyed. He knew this assassin was strong, but he hadn't expected that much force.
Jin had gotten a little too caught up in his thoughts, and it caused him to take a blow to the stomach, which sent him flying down the hall. He hit the floor on his side and quickly recovered by rolling to his feet. He ran back toward the assassin, pushing away unnecessary thoughts and focusing on analyzing what he was up against. The assassin was taller than him, but rail thin. He'd want any attacks to be done horizontally, since that would give him a better chance of hitting. The assassin had claw-like fingers, and from a part of the wall that the claws had dragged over, Jin could tell that they were very sharp. The assassin's feet were long and also very sharp looking. They actually looked a bit like bird feet, very deadly bird feet. Then there was the oddest thing out of all the assassin's features, the cords that stemmed from its head, floating in the air like pieces of driftwood in the sea. The motions were slow, even a bit hypnotizing, and Jin wondered if their purpose was to distract an opponent, or if there was more to them.
When Jin reached the assassin, he swung Scorpion out as he suddenly dropped down, sliding across the floor on his knees. The assassin moved to dodge, but Jin's blades were too long for it to move horizontally out of the way in time, and it was too tall to move up and out of the blades' path. As Jin looked back, he was glad to see that he'd gotten a cut into the assassin's leg. It was shallow, but it was there. The assassin wasn't invincible, and Jin had successfully used it's height against it. While he couldn't do something like that all the time, it was a good surprise attack he could use in moderation.
However, a downside to the attack quickly made itself known to Jin. Trion began to leak from a cut on his cheek, which he likely received as he slid across the floor. While sliding, even though he had a better chance of successfully getting an attack in, he had very little room to dodge, and if the assassin chose to priorize attacking Jin over dodging, Jin could be in danger.
Just as Jin got to his feet, the assassin was in front of him again. Jin was able to block one of it's hands, but the other wrapped around his left arm, before cleanly slicing it off. Jin frowned again, then kicked the assassin hard enough that it stumbled, or more accurately, floated back a bit. Jin lunged forward, holding Scorpion out in front of him. It was a risky, greedy move, but it could end the fight in one shot. Unfortunately, the assassin knew what Jin intended to do, and it side stepped, before clawing Jin's side. Jin sighed in frustration before putting some distance between himself and his opponent once again.
"I'm persistent, aren't I? You're no rookie, though," the teen said, slightly annoyed. The assassin seemed to be getting faster and stronger with every attack, and Jin began wishing someone would come looking for him. Yuma or Tachikawa, preferably. He would even take Amo, despite the fact that he would face the risk of Amo accidentally attacking him as well as the assassin. It was a wonder no one had come to investigate what was going on, because Jin knew neither he or the assassin were being quiet.
Jin slid one of his feet back a bit, getting ready to spring forward. His eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the assassin carefully, looking for any type of response. He got one when the assassin suddenly stilled, leaving Jin to make the making the split-second decision whether or not to attack. The assassin could have just raised it's guard significantly, or lowered it, maybe to do some sort of special attack. There would be a risk in attacking, but waiting could mean passing up a huge opportunity. Jin decided that his best bet would be to attack, and if he noticed anything at all that seemed dangerous, he would stop. Unfortunately, he didn't even get to move.
The headache he'd been feeling before the fight suddenly returned, though it began to intensify. Jin knew what was coming next, and he wanting to slap himself. This was the worst time for a headache. It would be better for him to have one in front of the entirety of Border than in front of the assassin. Jin tried to fight the waves of pain, but that was like trying to still a raging ocean. The agent's hands shook as his vision was filled with spots. He barely registered dropping Scorpion before he fell to the ground, teeth clenched against the pain as images and voices erupted in his head. He saw Tachikawa staring at something with wide eyes, Chika crying, whispers of 'an attack', 'not life threatening' and 'dangerous'.
The assassin watched as his opponent suddenly collasped, eyes squeezed shut and teeth clenched. It wasn't quiet sure what was going on, but it's didn't care either. Yuichi Jin had been a persistent, difficult opponent as expected, and while the teen hadn't been able to do a ton of damage, he had been able to defend himself well. If the fight had continued much longer, there was a chance of back up arriving.
With slight wariness the assassin approached Jin. This could all be an act, but due to the fact that the teen's Trigger was laying out of reach made it seem like that was not the case. The assassin chose not to take any chances, and remembering that the Border Triggers had an escape function, opted to take out the Trigger rather than the Trion body. It picked up the small device from the ground, not giving it more than a single glance before bending it until the insides snapped in half. On the ground, Jin's body flashed as his real one appeared where the Trion one had been.
In Jin's head, the pain subsided enough for him to see, though that was just in time for him to notice the green light around him. The teen tensed, coming to a realization. He was back in his real body. Knowing he had to leave if he wanted to live, Jin moved to get up, but found he could not. One of the odd cord-like things that were connected to the assassin's head was wrapped around Jin's neck. It tugged as the assassin pulled Jin up off the floor until he was dangling a few inches off the ground. The brunette tried to pry the the cord away from his neck, but it got tighter the more he struggled.
Jin's vision began to become spotty again as black began to eat away at the edges. He choked, unable to breathe properly with the assassin's tight grip cutting off his airway. He glared at the assassin, and kicked out with the strength he could gather, nailing the assassin in the stomach. In returned, the assassin swung a clawed hand across his chest, only one finger out, cutting through the skin. The wound wasn't deep enough to kill, but Jin wouldn't be fighting back anymore. Said teen tensed, his mouth opening slightly as a sound tried to escape, but there was no air to push out more than a raspy 'tch'. Finishing the job, the assassin pulled out a glowing yellow syringe and plunged the needle into Jin's neck, causing the teen to jerk away a little. The assassin pushed the plunger home, emptying the contents of the syringe into Jin before pocketing it again.
When Jin's eyes drooped, the effects of the fast-acting sedative kicking in, the assassin unwound the cord and let him fall to the ground, face down. The assassin turned away and disappeared down the hallway, leaving Jin alone. The teen gasped for air, glad to be released, but the pain in his chest was horrible. He tried to reach for his phone in his pocket, but his arm refused to move. Using what energy he had left, the teen managed to grab the device from his pocket and move it into his line of vision. He went to his contacts, typing in a T, searching for someone who he knew would answer the phone, and who would be able to defend themself if the assassin came back. Tachikawa's name came up, and Jin went to click on it, but he could barely see. His fingers were shaking, and he was just barely able to touch the 'call' button before his hand dropped to the ground, all his strength gone.
Jin's eyes slid closed completely just as he young man on the other end of the call picked up. Jin heard a voice, but it was muffed, his sense of hearing slipping through his fingers like water as he fought a losing battle against the sedative.
When the voice on the other end paused, Jin choked out what he could, his voice no more than a weak whisper.
"T-Tach...ika-wa-s...an..."
A/N: Sorry Jin, but I can't have you winning every fight.