Chapter 20: After the Battle
Shingai took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.
"I still might need to put a lot of arrows in those assholes later" she mentioned, as she looked over at the piles and piles of destroyed Trion Soldiers. She pushed herself really far, and her Trion was almost depleted. She had even fought Rabbits. But, there was a reason that made her fight beyond her normal limits.
As a counter plan, it seemed Persephone had planned to unleash Trion Soldiers upon the town, with their orders being to murder everyone there. Thousands of casualties could have occured potentially. And one of the first things that they would have come across was a public elementary school.
Because of this, and because Shingai would not allow such things to happen after noticing them, she had gone to single handedly defeat every single Trion Soldier in a fit of rage. She was already furious, so this just made it even worse. But, it was now no longer a concern.
That was when she got a notification, indicating a plan for a battle victory party. She raised her eyebrows a bit at the idea, but decided to go with it. After all, given all their hard work, she wanted to make sure everyone had a good time and relaxed.
"Why again?!" Ayumu complained with a red face as he was sitting naked. This time however, it was an appropriate place, as it was the hot springs resort. However, for a variety of reasons, Ayumu was currently being bathed by the girls of his squad.
"This is our thanks for all your hard work!"
"...thanks for managing everything as always..."
"Its fine, we are teammates after all!"
"Just listen to your oneechan".
The sense of comraderie was strong between them. That said, it wasn't just them.
"Ahh, so many cute Neighbor children. And looking at the ways your bodies developed, small and cute like Tora...I get it, because you use Triggers more, you use Trion bodies more so your physical bodies dont grow as much!" Sarah said, having an epipheny as she hugged a naked Momo and Tora.
"You know, leaving aside the fact you went and got clothes exactly like the ones Persephone made you destroy, you, Leo, and Leia all seemed to get a lot of clothes that..well, expose your collars and shoulders quite a bit" Ite mentioned, worried about the trio's potential to attract perverts.
"Thanks for the concern, but...well, id like most of my outfits to not be near my neck, you know? That said, I kinda grew attached to that first outfit I had, seems iconic for me, so I had to get that again".
"I suppose that is fair".
"Oh, look! They brought it!" Shoutaro mentioned, as some waiters came and served them all sushi and other food while in the bath. Shoutaro immediately picked at his favorites with chopsticks.
"Just be careful not to get any wet...also, dont eat just fish!"
Leia laughed a little. "He reminds me of someone from...what was it? The cat people place?"
"Cat people place?" Sarah asked, interested.
"Ah yeah. Like Afto, they developed some methods to try and enhance Trion. Its not as good, but for some reason, part of the process gave them cat ears and cat tails. Those things are dense with Trion though, and even if they dont use a Trion body, they can still damage other Trion bodies and weapons...the tails at least. The ears give them exceedingly good hearing".
"Oh, that reminds me of Kuchi" Jinsei mentioned. "Or that other cute boy from America, Vale. The boy who always wears headphones?"
"Oh yeah...his hearing is a bit too acute though" Senzai mentioned. "...one time my bad luck affected him, and his headphones shorted out. He ended up grumpy all day since the noise got to him".
"We should have parties like this more often!" Sthenos declared, happy.
"I mean, half of us were forced into this" Tora said, embarrassed.
"I am just surprised no one is angry with me" Leo mentioned.
"Well I mean, its pretty obvious you were a victim. How did you become Persephone's user anyways?" Takio Agito asked, pouring himself some sake.
"Well, I was given two options. Become her user, or die".
"Wait wait...someone forced you to use that Black Trigger?"
"Yeah...some guy wearing a mask and a cloak. He said if I didn't, he would kill me".
"...that sounds odd...someone forced you to use her, and then just let her loose?"
"Hey now! No working!" Ryuu shouted. "This is our victory celebration!"
"Ryuu, why are you so comfortable...oh whatever, you were always ridiculously innocent" Kotaro commented.
"Can someone pass the rice please?" Daisuke asked.
"Ah! Beef for me!" Satori added.
"Too bad Reiji couldn't stick around. Seems like a lot of Agents were rallied to another location".
"Hey, no work! Besides, they want us stationed here in case those strange newtypes of Trion Soldiers appear here and cause trouble".
"Okay. In that case, pass the fried crap please!"
"Tempura for me!"
""I want some of the port cutlet!"" the twins shouted together.
"...exactly, how much food did you all order?"
That was the sort of festive hot springs dinner atmosphere, which allowed some of the more reserved agents to be comfortable with a mixed hot springs dinner party. Of course, this was decided on since they figured it would be festive, relaxing, and also, if they split it between boys and girls, then half of the agents could not party with the other half, so they were using the ridiculously large mixed section.
Kido and Jin faced each other, with Jin smiling as Kido sighed.
"I must say, this suggestion is coming quite at a convienent time. We have the other Trion Soldiers we have to deal with, and the threat posed by this group is quite small now. I must say, if the situation was different, I might not accept such an idea or proposal. But as it stands, with the Trion Soldier threat elsewhere still an issue, I don't have much of a choice" Kido commented.
"So then, you agree with me then? That we should let that group come and go as we please, and we should provide continuous shelter for the children and other prisoners they abducted?"
"The existance of humanoid neighbors was already exposed thanks to Agent Tsukiko. And Border's reputation would plummet if we treated abused children as enemies, and not victims" Kido mentioned. "So if we dont, it would bring us ruin. However...the idea of letting a Black Trigger ship go...we could use that for the upcoming expedition. Rather, having something like that would be vital".
"Its a Black Trigger though, and the only capable pilot is a kidnapped little girl from Aftokrator" Jin pointed out.
Normally, the idea of taking or not taking a second ship, a larger ship, wouldn't even be up for debate with the Border Executives. But they were already stretched thin, and simply put the issue in the other area was growing, so they lacked the resources to fully deal with it.
"Yes, but if you take it, you would deny yourself a good ally...and a powerful resource" Jin said, putting down two triggers. Kinuta almost jumped out of his chair.
"Are those...new triggers?!"
"Yes. Aruu-kun seems to be quite capable at negotiation, and understanding bribes. He is a Master Thief after all...and if he is traveling freely between here, and various areas of the Neighborhood, he thought bribing the local officials to let them come and go as they please would be good. Also, who knows what they might decide to 'donate' in the future?"
Kinuta looked as if he might start drooling. Shinoda himself was also pleased, since new Triggers would be a great assist to defending Mikado City. Rindo was of course on board with the plan. And Karasuwa...well, he was a greedy man in a way. A potential secondary resource of getting new things, new information, and all of this without endangering any actual Border Agents.
When it was put like this, even Kido could see what was happening. A group that was not tied to them. No one would complain if they succeeded or failed, or got lost or disappeared for a long time, and they would not blame it on Border, because they were not Border. Only benefits if they succeed, no drawbacks if they fail. Utilizing resources without risk or fighting, and potentially bringing issues to Border's public image. The argument was well constructed, and hit every single point.
"Very well...we will let them come and go as they please, provided they follow the rules and dont get caught committing crimes while they are here. You will have your alliance, and they will have their freedom and ship".
"Happy to do business with you, as always" Jin replied, with the negotiations successful.
"So we wont have any more trouble from Border" Aruu asked, as he was fiddling around with a terminal on the ship, named Expero. Loud noises could be heard in the background with every tap.
"Yeah" Kotaro said. "Looks like they will accept your bribe".
"Well, they are getting free stuff at no risk. It seemed pretty straightforward" Aruu mentioned, making another tap as the entire ship shook.
"What..are you doing exactly?"
"Altering the layout of the ship" Leia said as she walked into the room, snacking on some fried rice crackers. "Ah, please make sure you put a kitchen on this floor. And a large enough bathtub for us plus company".
"Right" he said. "These paranoid people all had seperate vaults which was a waste of space. And since we dont need any slaves, the slave area was removed as well. Also the torture room, the abuse room, and such we also got rid of. Its a lot more Trion efficient then before, and while we are at it, we are editing the layout of the ship".
"Yeah...anyways, one big bed for us all should be good" Leia mentioned.
"Wait, you are all going to share a bed?" Kotaro asked.
"Yeah...its...eventually we will get seperate rooms, but..." Aruu started.
"We need the mental support of having people close to us sleep with us" Leia mentioned.
"Its not something you just get over in a day" Leo added. Kotaro could only nod and understand...considering he still sleeps in the same bed as Ryuu, and sometimes has nightmares still after his incident.
However, as this was going on, Aruu noticed something.
"...the training room is still in use?"
Everyone blanked for a moment, before they realized.
"We forgot about Gallo!"
The group quickly ran downstairs, Triggers active, as they kicked in through the door. However, what they encountered was Gallo with his wrists and ankles tied up behind his back in his flesh body. He wasn't even wriggling at this point, he was just laying there with an annoyed look on his face.
"You assholes".
"...what exactly do we do about him?" Aruu mentioned.
"He was a slave...but also, he is kinda bonkers".
"He absolutely seemed more complicit".
"Also...he will probably try to murder us all if we let him go".
The group turned towards Kotaro.
"Uhg, fine. We will deliver him to Border...hold on, Agito-sensei just left him here?"
"He did, it seems".
"Huh..."
"...oi oi, leaving all that aside, I seriously have to go to the bathroom you know? And im starving? And thirsty?".
And so, the group had to give Gallo his basic human rights.
"So, out of all the possible futures, how well did this turn out?" Momo asked as he watched the starry night sky from the top of a skyscraper.
"About second best" Jin mentioned.
"Second?"
"There was a future where less damage occurred to the town, and Trion Soldiers didn't appear at the water amusement park".
"Ah, I see" Momo said, looking at the stars. "You know, that group...they will probably get into a lot of trouble. As someone who travels accross the Neighborhood on my own, you are expecting me to clean up after a lot of their messes aren't you?"
"Well of course. After all, you are the reliable 'Warrior of Justice', are you not?"
"Ahg! Dont bring up that embarrassing title! Anyways, whatever. I will keep an eye out for them. Still amazed you got Kido to give up the ship".
"That was the singular hard part of the negotiations, but I managed to swing things my way. By the way..."
"No, I am not helping you with your Tamakoma-2 issues. I have enough on my plate as it is, and I am exhausted".
"Well, actually..."
As he said that, Trion Soldiers appeared on the streets below.
"...so they are attacking here as well? Uhg, fine! I will deal with them" Momo said, activating his Border Trigger. It was clothes similar to his normal ones, but on the side he had a Tamakoma Emblem. "But you know, someday you should tell them...that there is a Tamakoma-0 as well. You know that, right...Captain?"
"Yeah, I get you" Jin said, activating his own trigger. The two then jumped down, and began the fight.
"So, dad" Cody mentioned as his dad exited the meeting room, last as always. "Everything go as you wanted again?"
"I don't know what you mean" Commander Kido replied, keeping watch of his surroundings.
"The order to steal Kuga's Trigger, the deal made with Hyuse...you put up a good act, but one of these days everyone is going to realize just how soft and nice you can be".
"You are just saying that as my son" Kido mentioned. "After all, as family, I will always seem nice and warm to you, no matter what".
Cody smiled. "Thats true. No matter how hard I defend you, my opinion wont break the ironclad defense you have for Border. But you know...you really are like Agent Mikumo, sacrificing yourself to save others. I would like it if you could be just a bit more selfish at times, you know?"
"Says the one who clearly is buttering me up to have his favorites for dinner".
"Hey, I can multi-task".
Aruu, Leia, and Leo walked onto the bridge, with Atro floating behind them. There were three chairs, though two more in the back at other consoles. Or if they just had guests. Leia took the Navigator chair, Leo took the support chair, and Aruu took the captain's chair.
"We stock up on Meeden's goods?"
"Clothes, food, entertainment, all check" Leia said.
"We are refueled on Trion. Thanks to our adjustments, the ship will use a lot less Trion then it did before" Leo added.
"Excelent...then, what worlds are in range right now?"
"Leoforio, Argantis, and Syrlan are all a close distance, but we have quite a bit of range, so we can reach farther. I am also detecting worlds not in the navigational log that we can go to".
"Then, set a course for the unknown. Let the adventure...and the treasure hunt...begin! Set off, Phantom Thieves!"
"Rodger!"
"Understood!"
And so, the Expero opened a Stealth Gate, and flew right through it and onto their adventure.
Author Note: So that was a fun arc! Out of all the Neighbor Triggers introduced during all this, what was your favorite? And who was your favorite Neighbor Character seen throughout all this?