A/N: I don't own World Trigger
Mimics
Chapter 1: The Mimics
"Cheers!"
The confetti cannons going off left Hyuse staring in confusion while the rest of his team just accepted it with grins.
"Congratulations on passing the away mission exam!" Konami wrapped an arm around Yuma's neck and ruffled up his hair. "But I had no doubt you guys would pass with us as your mentors."
Yuma smirked at his mentor. He pulled himself free and looked over at the breakfast counter to see all the food spread out, lighting up his eyes in excitement. Instead of replying to Konami, he made his way over to the food.
"We really couldn't have done it without you guys." Osamu agreed, smiling over at his own mentor.
"We may have been the ones to train you, but if it wasn't for your determination to get stronger and get on the team, you wouldn't have gotten here." Karasuma replied as he put down the used confetti cannon.
"I don't understand." Hyuse said.
"It's a party to celebrate your success." Jin said as he came up behind Hyuse, who turned to shoot him a glare. "Your difficulties aren't over. In fact, they are only starting as you have not only your training for the mission to go through, but the actual mission itself. It's certainly going to be rough." He glanced over to the kitchen where Yuma was already snatching up a cookie. "Though, it seems some people don't know what it means to stress about the future."
Yuma waved his cookie in the air. "Training starts in a few days and will go on for a while before the actual mission. There is no need to worry about any of that for now."
"True," Jin grinned, reaching across the breakfast counter to ruffle Yuma's already messed up hair from when Konami messed it up. "Stressing too much about the future will make you forget to enjoy the present."
Hyuse's eyes flickered from the food to everyone in the room as they spread out to enjoy each other's company. Parties weren't completely foreign to him. He had just never seen anyone have a celebration for something so trivial. Well, considering he saw taiyaki sitting on one of the plates, he would accept Tamakoma's weird need for parties. He went to snatch one of the taiyaki, but another hand covered the one he was going for. His eyes shifted across the counter to catch Yuma's eyes as the shorter agent smirked at him. "Let go."
"There's more there." Yuma replied.
"That's the biggest one." Hyuse retorted.
"And?" Yuma quickly pulled his hand back and took a bite out of the taiyaki before Hyuse could even think to stop him. He raised a brow at Hyuse as if asking what he would do about it.
Hyuse replied by smacking Yuma's hands away and grabbing the whole plate of taiyaki and walking away with it making Yuma snicker at his retorting back.
"They can be such children." Konami said as she watched Hyuse move to the farthest sit from the kitchen with his plate as if he thought Yuma would follow him to steal them from him.
"Considering his mentor can act like such a child, it's not surprising Yuma hasn't learned any maturity." Karasuma teased.
Konami's brow twitched as she twisted to look at her partner. "I am a very mature young woman!"
"Do mature people normally torment boys who are shy around girls?" Osamu wondered as he thought back to when Shiori and Konami tried to tease Tsuji at the restaurant a few weeks ago. It had been a surprise how easily flustered he got around girls.
Konami gaped, as if surprised by Osamu's daring to even join in. "How can I not tease him? He makes it so easy!"
"Sounds like a lack of maturity to me." Reiji said.
"Is this gang up on Kirie day?!" Konami cried, making the group laugh in amusement.
"It sure is noisy in here."
"Boss!" Came multiple cries as Rindo appeared in the doorway holding a cake in his hands.
"Oooh," Yuma leaned on the counter to get a better look at the cake that Rindo was putting down. It was a layered cake with a chocolate glaze running down the top and sides with cookies circling the top and a sign in the middle of the cake that said 'congratulations.' "That looks delicious!"
Rindo took in the young agent and his messed up hair that he still didn't bother to fix. He poked him in the head to push him back from the cake. "Actual food before the cake, Yuma." He took in the cookie in his hand and shook his head in amusement.
"Doesn't this seem like a bit much?" Osamu asked as he took in all the food and desserts that had been set up for them.
"There's nothing wrong with letting loose and having fun once in a while." Jin replied.
Seeing the smiles on his team's face and feeling the excitement and joy in the air, Osamu had to agree. They had been working so hard the past few months to get stronger and work as a team all for the chance to get on the away mission. It was nice to see that all the hard work was being acknowledged and that everyone in Tamakoma wanted to celebrate with them. In just a few days, they would be training for the away mission so taking a night to relax and have fun before they dived into that intense training was something they all deserved.
Yotaro peaked over the armrest of the chair with the help of Raijinmaru to eye the plate that was in Hyuse's hand. Hyuse caught his eye and nudged the plate a bit his way. Yotaro didn't need any more prompting than that as he eagerly reached forward to grab himself a snack. Hyuse glanced away and happened to caught sight of Yuri who was smiling at him. It was an innocent smile, but Hyuse still felt like he was being teased so he twisted his head away with a scowl.
Chika appeared at Yuma's shoulder in the kitchen as she reached across him to get to the rice. Yuma stepped back to give her more space so she could pile all the plain rice she wanted on her plate.
"You should really try to eat more than just rice." Konami said. "You'll stay small forever if that's all you eat."
Chika smiled softly. "What does that say about Yuma-kun? He'll eat anything and everything that is put in front of him and he's still so short."
Yuma gasped dramatically. "I thought we would be short partners forever, Chika, but now you'll pulling out the short comments too? Who have you been hanging around with that has been influencing you?"
Glancing over at her teammate, Chika gave a teasing smile. "The comments of the midget white-haired devil from Tamakoma never died down, Yuma-kun. It's hard to avoid them."
"It's not like the Trion monster of Tamakoma ever died down either." Yuma retorted easily, grinning at her. "We can be midget monsters together!"
Chika laughed as she and Yuma high faced. "Forever then!"
"Oh yeah!" Yuma said excitedly.
Osamu raised a brow, but made no comment. The only reason Yuma was so short was because his Trion body couldn't physically change. His real body was injured and trapped in his Black Trigger and slowly dying. With that information, Osamu didn't understand how Yuma could joke so easily about his height. The reason for his short statue was nothing to take so lightly, but he wouldn't be Yuma if he let anything truly stress and worry him.
"Being that he is fifteen and still so short, I doubt there is much luck for Yuma get much taller, but Chika is only fourteen. She still has a chance to get some height. She needs more food filled with more nutrient." Shiori said before suddenly latching onto Chika into a tight hug around her neck. "But then again, she is so cute being so tiny. Do we really want her to grow?"
Chika ignored Shiori's hug as she happily scooped some rice into her mouth.
"I can see a growth spurt in Chika-chan's future." Jin said.
"Don't even tease, Jin-san!" Shiori threw a cookie at Jin, who caught it with ease and grinned at her as he ate the cookie.
"They certainly are lively." Yuri approached her uncle from behind as he sat at the table, observing his agents with a fond smile. "It's like Osamu-kun and his team are a breath of fresh air to the branch."
Rindo laughed and twisted in his seat to rest an arm on the back of his chair so he could look more properly at his niece. "There was a lot of excitement back when Jin first brought them to the base and it seemed that it hasn't managed to die down. In fact, it has only gotten rowdier in here." Not that Rindo would ever complain about that. The noise of the branch brought back such fond memories of the time when he first joined Border so long ago.
"I heard," Yuri glanced over at Jin, taking in the lack of Fujin at his side. She knew how much Jin admired his mentor and so he wanted to desperately keep his mentor's memento safe so it had to be a very hard decision for him to give up Fujin to protect Yuma. It was a hard decision, but Jin was to be admired for his strength. He never backed down from what he thought was the right thing to do. "It's nice to see Tamakoma accepting more agents to the branch now. It really helps to fill the void that was left after everything that happened."
Rindo glanced over at Hyuse conversing with Yotaro then over towards Yuma who was eagerly scarfing down some food. Border was an organization originally designed to make friends with Neighbors. While beliefs had been shifted over the years from all the pain and suffering caused by the Neighbors, Rindo wasn't going to turn his back on the lessons that Yugo and Mogami had taught him. Tamakoma would always be a safe place for any Neighbors that wanted to be friends with them.
Yuma wandered pass the counter with the cake on it, eyeing it eagerly. He couldn't wait for that cake to be cut into. Just by the looks of it, he was sure it was going to be absolutely delicious. Dragging his eyes from the cake, Yuma continued on his trek to get himself a drink when his eyes caught sight of the calendar on the wall. His steps slowed down as he stared at the approaching week. His eyes moved past each day until they landed on the date that was about a week away.
He took a half step closer to the calendar before retracting it and shaking his head. His grip tightened on his empty glass before he loosening his grip and continuing on his way to the kitchen with an air of nonchalance. He kept his back to the rest of the room as he stood at the counter pouring his drink, but even as he finished with that, he didn't move immediately as he rested his hands on the counter and took a few deep breaths.
When Yuma finally turned around, he was surprised to find Jin standing on the other side of the breakfast counter staring at him with a question in his eyes. For a moment, the two just stared at each other, blocking out the sounds of everyone else talking over one another and having a good time. It was only broken when Yuma shook his head.
Jin took it for what it was, a sign that he didn't want to talk about what caused him to falter a moment ago. He gave his young friend an understanding smile that he hoped also conveyed he was here when Yuma did want to take. There wasn't a reply from Yuma who just snatched his drink off the counter and melded back into the party with an easy smile like he usually did.
As Yuma laughed at whatever Konami said, Jin stayed by the counter just watching his friend. He was truly amazed at the ability at which Yuma could fake his smiles. The conversation about his father and time in Calvaria felt so long ago, but Jin could still easily recall that night on the roof. It was his first insight to the depression that Yuma held inside. If it wasn't for that night, Jin would have a hard time seeing it as Yuma hid it so well behind easy smiles. Over the months he got to know Yuma though, Jin was becoming quite adept at being able to read when those smiles were real and fake.
And right now it was fake.
The joy from earlier was washed away by whatever had crossed his mind earlier when he was staring at the calendar.
And the smile never became real again for the rest of the party.
*Mimics*
Compared to the liveliness of the party earlier, it was quiet on the roof. Too quiet for Yuma's liking, but there was nothing he could do. It was late at night so everyone in the base was asleep. Even Osamu, who had a habit of staying up late to work on their strategy for upcoming matches, was asleep. It was good he was sleeping again. The bags under his eyes were finally receding. Without the stress of rising through the ranks in the Rank Wars and passing the Expedition Exam, he was relaxing and sleeping much more. They still had the training to get through before the Expedition, but the hard part of getting on the team was done.
Without needing to prepare for a Rank battle and strategize for the next Ace he needed to beat, Yuma found himself feeling the loss of Replica even more than usual. During the day, he was always busy doing something, but at night when everyone was asleep and he didn't have a fight to prepare for, there was nothing to keep his mind from straying to everything he loss.
Not only Replica, but also his father.
Sitting on the roof, staring up at the stars, Yuma found himself remembering the nights his father and him would be sitting outside at night. The stars in the Neighborhood were the other nations orbiting around and there were less in the sky than this world, but as a child, he thought it was very pretty. It was such a simple time of sitting under the night sky with his father pulling out the orbital map of the Neighborhood and teaching Yuma all the names of the countries he had mapped out.
Perhaps this was nostalgia he was feeling. The simple days of just traveling the Neighborhood with his father were long gone, and yet, was something he desperately wanted to do, even if only for a few days. It was strange for him to suddenly want this. He was content where he was in life currently. He was enjoying every moment he spent in Border.
That enjoyment didn't take away the pain and guilt he felt when thinking of his father. It wasn't any mystery to him why he was feeling the nostalgia of wanting to travel with his father and Replica again.
In a week's time, it would be the anniversary of his father's death. Even if he was in a different world with a different way of calculating time, he was still keeping track. He wouldn't let himself forget.
And that was why he found himself missing the old days of just the three of them always together.
So much has changed since those days.
Hearing the familiar sound of metal creaking open, Yuma looked over his shoulder real quick to see his boss walking onto the roof before he was looking back up at the sky.
"What are you doing still awake, boss?" Yuma asked. "It's late."
"Just couldn't sleep and knew I would find you up here. I didn't expect to find you looking so solemn though." Rindo teased as he approached the ledge. He held out one of the two mugs he was holding to Yuma. It seemed it was becoming a rule that if someone went to the roof to find Yuma, a drink must be brought. Plus, it felt like a warm drink was something Yuma needed to comfort himself. Jin wasn't the only one to see Yuma falter at the party earlier, but Rindo knew that Yuma would have been closed off about it earlier when they were in the midst of trying to celebrate a happy occasion.
Yuma took the mug, holding it in both hands to let the warmth sink into his skin. "Thank you."
"So," Rindo leaned against the ledge. "What has you looking so sad tonight, Yuma?"
Yuma brushed a thumb over the rim of his cup, not quite looking at Rindo as his eyes seemed to trying to do a good job of looking beyond him. "I was thinking about Dad." He eventually admitted, still not able to bring himself to look at his director. "We would camp out a lot and use his orbital diagram of the Neighborhood and try to match the nations with the stars in the sky." Yuma explained as his eyes traced the stars in the sky.
Rindo eyed the young agent out of the corner of his eyes. "I didn't think you were the type to reminisce."
"Perhaps not usually." Yuma looked away from the sky to meet Rindo's eyes. "The anniversary of his death is in a week and with Replica gone, I'm just missing him a lot more." A sad look passed through Yuma's eyes as he glanced down at his ring. "Without Replica, this is all I have left of Dad."
"That's not true." Rindo took a sip of his drink as he waited for Yuma to look at him. "Your ring may be the only material possession you have left of Kuga-san, but it's not all you have. You have those memories of him and the experiences you shared with him that no one can take away from you. Not to mention, you have me and Shinoda. We can give you all the stories you want of your father."
Yuma turned his attention to the direction of the Restricted Zone. While it was still a good distance away, the Gates weren't exactly small. From here, he could see the Gates opening. He wasn't on duty tonight so he had to restrain himself from running towards the Restricted Zone to fight. It was like this almost every night. He's been fighting for so long that it was hard to not run towards enemies.
"Did you know my dad for long?" Yuma asked, forcing his eyes away from the Restricted Zone.
"We knew him for a few years before he decided to leave to go to the Neighbor's world." Rindo replied, a fond smile appearing on his face. "Back then, Border was such a small organization."
"And Tamakoma Branch was your HQ back then, right?" Yuma asked.
"Yes, it was very crowded and noisy in here back then." Rindo looked at his young agent with a warm smile. "With your team and Yuri and Michael being back, the energy and noise of the base is matching the past. It makes me want to reminisce too."
"Things had to have been simpler back then with Border being smaller."
"True, but Kuga-san always dreamed of growing Border into a big organization like it is today. He wanted more allies by his side. Border was always his biggest dream back then." Rindo replied.
"It's a shame he couldn't see what it has become." Yuma said.
"As much as he loved Border, I think he had a new dream that he cared much more about." Rindo said.
Yuma blinked in confusion. "What makes you think that? It's been a long time since you last saw him."
"Because I can see his dream right in front of me." Rindo took another sip of his drink, but his eyes never left Yuma. "Your life was more important to him than anything else."
"More important than his?" Yuma brushed his thumb over his ring. "He's the one who should be here."
Rindo gave his agent a sad smile. "You made a mistake, Yuma."
"Yes, I made the mistake." Yuma stared down into his drink, swirling the liquid around gently. "My father didn't need to save me at all. The consequences were mine to suffer."
"And it was Kuga-san's choice to make to save your life. To him, there was nothing more important in his life than you. He would give his life a thousand times over if you could live." Rindo continued to watch Yuma, but the teenager averted his head in the opposite direction. It was strange to see Yuma hide away like that, but he also was the type who didn't like others knowing when he was hurting. There was always a smile on his face when he was with everyone. "He helped build Border and it was his dream to grow this organization but you became his new dream. It wasn't in Kuga-san to let his dream die when he could prevent it."
"It's not like he prevented it. He only bought me some time." Yuma said softly.
"And it's more time than you would have had. He would rather you get to live a few more years than die at eleven." Rindo replied.
"Is me living a few more years better than the decades he had left?" Yuma retorted.
"That wasn't even a question for your father. I bet he had no hesitation in giving up his life. Besides," Rindo swirled his drink around in his mug as he thought about all the friends he lost over the years he's spent in Border. "Nothing in life is guaranteed. Your father probably had decades left on his life, but it was also possible he could have been killed by someone. He probably thought he had lived a long life already while your life had only just started. He wants you to experience more from life."
From the way Yuma's face twisted, it seemed that he didn't quite believe what Rindo was saying.
"I think he wanted me to experience Japan." Yuma looked towards the city, smoothing out the features on his face. This world was so different from the Neighborhood. In the Neighborhood, he would find himself fighting every single day while here, he wasn't always in active combat. He might train every day, but it wasn't the same as being in the field constantly. He got to take days that allowed him to just have fun and enjoy himself. It was a strange concept compared to his life before. "You're at war with Neighbors, but it is still a lot more peaceful here than anywhere else I've been too. And there are so many interesting things here and your food tastes amazing. I can see why Dad loved it so much."
"Do you think he would have ever come back here?" Rindo asked.
Yuma tilted his head in consideration. "I don't know. He spoke fondly of Japan and Border, but he also really loved traveling through the Neighborhood and seeing the different nations. It was dangerous, but Dad could truly handle anything that got thrown at him."
"Mogami-san was the same way. There was never any hesitation to his actions or words. He and Kuga-san were great leaders." Finishing the last of his drink, Rindo put the mug down on the ledge and relaxed fully against it. "We learned so much from them. It's a shame they both died before they could see Border become what it is today."
Yuma watched him from the corner of his eyes. "Border hates Neighbors and wants to kill them, but that's not what Dad or Mogami saw in the Neighborhood. They both wanted to make friends with Neighbors. I wonder if they would be happy to see what the organization they helped create has become."
"Not everyone in Border hates them. There are groups that do and those that don't. Everyone is allowed their own opinions on it. Mogami-san and Kuga-san wouldn't turn their backs on Border because of differing thoughts. Instead, they would embrace it. They were both very vocal about everyone making their own choices." Rindo replied.
"Very true." Yuma smiled fondly, looking up at the stars once more. "Growing up Dad gave me orders when out in the field, but whether I followed them or not was up to me. That's how I got into the situation I'm in now." He looked down at his hands, opening and closing them a few times before looking back at Rindo. "But he never got mad when I made a choice contrary to what he wanted. He let me do it and if I got into trouble, that was on me and I had to sort it out myself. It's why I can't understand why he traded his life for mine. I disobeyed his order and got killed for it. He didn't need to pay the consequences for me. Why would anyone throw their life away for someone else? Osamu does it all the time too. He puts himself into perilous situations he can't handle for the sake of others."
"Can you really say you're any different though, Yuma? Care to tell me again how you beat Viza during Aftokrator's invasion?" Rindo retorted.
Yuma jerked in surprise, twisting around to meet his boss's stare. "That was completely different. I can handle myself alone in a fight. I took a calculated risk and it turned out fine. I couldn't waste any more time in that fight when Osamu needed my help."
"It was a reckless move, and you and I both know that." Rindo retorted. "But, sometimes, recklessness is what we need."
"It was strategic recklessness, and like I said, it worked out in our favor."
Rindo smiled at the offended look on Yuma's face. "Just between me and you, I respect your strategic nature and sometimes a reckless move is needed. It's a lot different than what your father probably taught you about strategy and warfare, but as you grow and gain more experience, you'll understand your own skill better and know when a reckless stunt like you pulled will work or not."
"Well, to be fair, if I had to fight Viza again, I wouldn't win a second time. It was a reckless strategy coupled with the element of surprise on my part. He didn't know about my body, but after that fight, he does now and if I have to fight him again, I couldn't pull off that maneuver again." Yuma admitted.
"He sounds like a very tough contender." Rindo said.
Yuma hummed in agreement before drinking his drink. "Probably one of the strongest people I've ever fought."
Rindo covered a yawn with his hand.
"Hmm, getting tired now, boss?" Yuma asked, even though he wasn't looking at Rindo to see that he had yawned. "You should try to get some sleep before morning comes."
"Sounds like a good idea. Don't stay out here all night, Yuma. You can spend time in your room." Rindo said.
"I'll go in eventually." Yuma promised as Rindo picked up his mug and headed back inside. Now that he was alone again, Yuma pulled his eyes back to the Restricted Zone. He didn't see any more gates opening at the moment.
*Mimics*
"You okay, Shuji?" Yoneya asked, spear resting on his shoulder as he stared at his captain in confusion.
Miwa looked down at his sword that he had dropped to the ground, blinking away the fuzziness that had suddenly clouded his mind. "Fine," He muttered as he picked up Kogetsu. He wasn't sure of what had reminded him of his sister, but the memory of her had shocked him so much. The reason he was an agent was to kill Neighbors in return for them stealing his sister from him, but he didn't tend to let the memory of her distract him while he was working.
"There's still no sign of any Trion soldiers. I can't figure out what that Gate opening was for." Ren's voice came over the communicators.
"Is it possible we had some Humanoid Neighbors coming through?" Narasaka asked.
"If that's the case, we already lost them." Kodera said.
Yoneya looked down the street they were standing on. This reminded him a lot of when they found that Bamster destroyed in the Restricted Zone and no one was able to figure out who did it. Well, they knew it was Kuga now, but back then it was hard to figure out. They still don't know how he got here. How did they keep missing these things? Their operating system was very top notch in alerting them of problems, and yet, they were starting to miss so much lately.
"If it were an invasion, Jin-san would have alerted us already." Ren said.
"That doesn't rule out the fact that Neighbors could be milling about right now." Yoneya replied. "If it's not a full on invasion, Jin-san would probably want to make friends with the Neighbors."
Miwa sheathed his sword, frowning. "Jin would be active right now if he saw something about to happen, but he's been taking it easy lately. The fact that he's not out here either means he didn't see anything or..."
Rubble shifting around had all the agents on full alert as they twisted towards the sound. Yoneya dropped his spear from his shoulder, twisting it around to grip it properly while Kodera and Narasaka backed up as they got ready to move to their position if they needed to.
From the shadows of a building, a young woman stepped out, smiling softly at the team.
"A civilian?" Yoneya lowered his spear, but didn't drop his guard completely.
The young woman raked her eyes over the group to take each of them in before landing on Miwa. Her smile grew as she looked at him. "Shuji, I've missed you so much. It's been too long."
"Uh...what?"
*Mimics*
Yuma looked down at his mug, swirling his drink around. He was feeling uneasy all of a sudden, and it wasn't because of the loss of company and being alone again. Shifting his mug to his left hand, Yuma slipped his right hand into his pocket to take hold of his Trigger. It was completely possible he was just being paranoid, but if there was something he learned in his experiences in war, it was to never ignore his bad feelings.
So when he felt a gentle breeze sweep across the back of his neck, Yuma didn't even think. He simply moved on instinct and launched himself to the side. His mug went flying through the air and down to the river below, but Yuma didn't notice as he used his left arm for leverage on the ledge to flip himself as he pulled out his Trigger.
"Trigger on!" Yuma's body switched over to his combat form as he was still flipping backwards. His feet hit the very edge of the ledge as he landed from the flip. He glanced over his shoulder as he teetered on the edge. His eyes shifted forward in time to see a shadowed arm reaching for him. Scorpion appeared in his hand as he twisted his body on the ledge to get better footing and move out of the way of the attack.
Yuma jumped off the ledge and a little away from the arm, landing in a crouch on the roof. Eyeing the arm, his eyes followed it back to where it came from.
A shifting in the shadows drew his eyes and as he looked over, a shadowy figure stepped out. It was a shadow walking towards him. The only thing that told Yuma it was a Trion soldier was the eye on the head where the face would be.
Eyes narrowing, Yuma stood up from his crouch, calling forth a second Scorpion in his free hand. The shadow tilted its head at Yuma as if in consideration. As for himself, Yuma shifted his foot back. This was truly the last thing they needed right now.
The shadow suddenly threw its arms forward towards Yuma, but they didn't stop when they reached their maximum length. No, instead they extended forward even farther. Using his sword, Yuma knocked one of the arms away and ducked under the other before pushing himself off the ground to move to the side just as the arms retracted and tried to swing towards him again.
Yuma crossed his blades in front of him to block the arms as he tilted his head back to make sure nothing touched him. Putting a bit more strength behind his blades, Yuma forced the arms back as he jumped onto the ledge behind him. He turned off one of his swords as he crouched down, eyes never leaving his enemy that just continued to look at him. The yellow eye flashed, purple rings circling it. Yuma hid his arm behind his back as he activated Grasshopper behind his foot.
The pad launched him forward straight at his enemy. Before the Trion soldier could hit him with his arms, Yuma was using multiple Grasshopper pads to launch himself to the side then behind the Trion soldier. The shadow's arm twisted around behind him as if it didn't have joints. Yuma knocked the first arm back as he called Scorpion to his free hand. He twisted his body to avoid the second arm, but didn't move his body enough. The hand of the second arm just barely brushed against his cheek.
'You fool...why were you defeated? Hang on a second. I'll save you soon.'
Ignoring the twinge he felt that was screaming at him to give in and bringing forth memories he didn't have time to think of, Yuma brought his Scorpion down through the Trion soldier's head and all the way to the ground.
Yuma didn't waste time waiting for the Trion soldier to collapse to the ground as he was already launching through the air with Grasshopper towards the Restricted Zone.
*Mimics*
"Someone you know?" Narasaka asked, eyes shifting back and forth from his captain to the woman in front of them.
Miwa's hand shook violently from where he was gripping his sheathed sword. He had been prepared to pull his sword back out, but now he couldn't even find the strength to pull out Kogetsu. This wasn't possible. He had to be hallucinating right now.
"Shuji, are you okay?" The young woman stepped forward to get closer to the team. "I'm sorry that I'm in the Restricted Zone, but I couldn't wait to see you again. I wanted to talk to you again."
"Shuji, who is this?" Yoneya asked confused.
At his voice, the young woman turned towards him. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm being so rude. I'm Shuji's older sister."
"Older sister?" Kodera repeated, brows pulling down in confusion as he looked at his captain.
"Tsk, it's rude to interrupt people." The woman scolded gently. She put a hand to her chest. "My name is Miwa-"
The woman was cut off as a sword came slicing down through her body, surprising all the agents. As her body split in half, Yoneya could see Yuma crouched down behind the body.
Her body split cleanly in half and just fell to the ground. The face of his sister has been maimed again. She was lying in two pieces, dead on the floor.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Miwa screamed.
Standing up, Yuma's Scorpion dissipated from his hand. "That thing was calling itself your sister, wasn't she? We all know your sister is dead." He looked over his shoulder at Miwa. "Hate me if you like, but you would have eventually gotten over your shock and would have realized it's not possible for her to be here. Even if that thing was a fake, it still had your sister's face. It would be cruel to force you to be the one to strike her down. You don't need the memory of your sister's death being your fault."
"A fake?" Kodera asked. "What are you talking about? That was a human, wasn't it?"
"And what are you even doing here, Kuga? You're not on duty tonight." Narasaka added.
"We have a problem." Yuma turned to full face the team. The last time he faced the full Miwa squad like this, they were trying to kill him. When in the base, they were fine since there were eyes everywhere, but out here, it wasn't the same. It didn't mean anything since none of them were willing to break the rules, but it was just eerie to him. It was only a few months ago when they fought. Back when he still had Replica by his side. But that wasn't here or now. They had more pressing matters. "We're being attacked by Mimics."
"Mimics? I've never heard of Mimics. Are those Trion soldiers?" Yoneya asked.
"You wouldn't have heard of them." Yuma sighed. "I only know of one nation that uses them, but that's not important right now."
"Correct. What's important is the fact that you just killed a woman." Kodera said.
"That woman was a Mimic. Mimics can take the forms of humans." Yuma replied, glancing down at the body he just split in half.
"That thing was claiming to be my sister." Miwa snarled.
Yuma glanced at him. At least the anger in his face wasn't directed at Yuma this time. "Yes, that's what Mimics do. You probably had a Mimic touch you at some point tonight. They're shadowy figures that can't take form until they touch someone and look into your mind to find fond memories of someone you loved that died. They take that person's form. She may have looked like your sister, but that thing was about to kill all of you."
"Can they take the form of anyone?" Yoneya asked.
"No, they have to be dead and they need the memories you have of them, but they have to be someone you truly care about and love. So if it's an enemy that you have memories of that is dead, the Mimics can't copy them." Yuma explained.
"What's the purpose of a Trion soldier like this?" Narasaka asked.
Yuma didn't bother to answer the question as he turned his attention to the other end of the road. "Unless the Mimics take the form of someone, they can't stay in the sunlight. We only need to hold them off for a few hours."
"Like they're vampires?" Kodera asked.
Yuma's brows furrowed in confusion. "Well, I don't know what vampires are, but sure."
"You really should look into what we have in this world if you're going to stay here for a while. Everyone knows what vampires are." Yoneya said.
"Hn," Yuma shrugged. "Who else is on duty tonight?"
"Kazama squad." Kodera replied.
"Ren-san," Miwa said. "Connect us with Kazama squad." He paused and glanced at Yuma with a frown. "And add Kuga as well."
"Already on it, Miwa." Ren said.
"So, you didn't answer, shrimp. What are you doing out here?" Yoneya asked while they were waiting.
Yuma tilted his head. "I got attacked on Tamakoma's roof and just immediately ran over after handling it. I figured you guys didn't know what Mimics were."
"So what you're saying is that you ran out here without alerting your branch that you got attacked at your branch." Yoneya clarified slowly.
"It's fine. They're not going to get attacked." Yuma replied confidentially.
"Even if that's true, you ran here without any backup, not even your operator." Kodera pointed out.
"They were sleeping. I didn't want to wake them." Yuma said. "Also, didn't really have time to wake them."
"Why weren't you sleeping? It's almost three in the morning." Yoneya point out.
Yuma shrugged in reply.
"What's wrong?" Kazama's voice came through the coms.
"Ah, good evening, Kazama-senpai." Yuma greeted immediately, happy to get away from the conversation about why he was awake still. It wasn't something he wanted to explain to anyone.
"Kuga? You're not on duty."
"So I've heard." Yuma said, a twinge of amusement brushing his voice at the constant reminders. "But we are having a problem. Been attack by any shadows tonight?"
"Shadows?" Kazama repeated.
"Apparently, we have a new Trion soldier appearing tonight. According to Kuga they're called Mimics and they're shadowy figures." Yoneya explained.
"They'll have a yellow eye where the face should be." Yuma added.
"I haven't seen anything like that." Utagawa said.
"Danger level?" Kazama requested.
"As shadow figures, their offensive capabilities are nothing to be concerned with, but that doesn't mean to take them lightly. It's when they transform that they get dangerous." Yuma replied.
"What kind of transformation is that?" Utagawa asked.
"They transform into our deceased loved ones." Miwa snapped angrily.
"That's some anger. Did your sister appear or something?" Kikuchihara asked.
"That's didn't need said." Utagawa scolded quickly before Miwa could explode. "I'm sorry about him, Miwa."
"He wasn't wrong." Yuma piped up. "Mimic Miwa did appear. If the Mimics touch you, it will absorb memories of lost loved ones you have and transform into them. They might attack you. They might leave after that with their new forms. If they manage to get a form, they can stay out in the daylight. As the shadow forms, they can't survive in the sun and will go into hiding."
"They transform into dead people from our memories?" Utagawa asked.
"Why is that the part you all keep focusing on?" Yuma asked.
"Because a lot of people in Border have lost people, Kuga. We don't need Trion soldiers throwing those losses in our face." Utagawa replied.
Yuma sighed. "It's less about throwing it in your face and more about manipulating your emotions. It's not going to be easy to strike down something that has the face of someone you already lost once."
"Should we alert Director Shinoda of the situation?" Kodera asked.
"He won't be in until morning. If Kuga is sure the Mimics won't stick around once the sun rises, we can handle this until then. There's no need to wake him up this late in the night." Kazama replied. "Afterwards, I'll be sure to talk to him personally about the Mimics."
"What if the Mimics head towards the city?" Utagawa asked.
"They won't." Yuma promised. "Mimics can only access memories from Trion bodies so they don't have any reason to head to the city. Right now, we're the only ones they can target."
"When the Gate opened earlier, I couldn't get any readings on Trion soldiers coming through. It would be helpful if we were able to analyze one to get their signal on our radars." Ren said. "You just killed one there, right? Can someone bring its eye back to HQ so we can analyze it?"
Yoneya glanced down at the body at their feet. "Um, nope. It's dead, but it's still transformed into Shuji's sister." He looked around the body. While the outside looked like a human, the inside was just a hollow void. So the transformation only affected the outside appearance. Good to know there wouldn't be any organs or blood flowing around when they destroyed the things.
"What about the one that Kuga left abandoned on Tamakoma Branch's roof?" Kodera suggested.
"You left a dead Trion soldier on your roof?" Utagawa asked confused. "You just said the Mimics wouldn't leave the Restricted Zone."
That was true, but the situation was unique. Yuma was always in a Trion body so the Mimics would be drawn to him. "There were extenuating circumstances in play that brought the Mimic to the base. Those circumstance no longer exist so the Mimics will be staying in the Restricted Zone to target us."
"Sounds like you're don't want to tell us something." Narasaka said.
"It doesn't involve you and doesn't affect the situation." Yuma replied.
"It's not important anyway. Wake someone up in your Branch to get the Mimic looked at." Miwa ordered.
Yuma tilted his head in thought. "Michael-san would be the best equipped to analyze it, right? I don't have his number. Guess I could just call Boss, but he just went to bed. And I don't want to wake up my team. They need their rest."
"Just call Jin-san. He'll probably want to take a look into this as soon as possible anyway." Yoneya suggested.
"I suppose." Yuma deactivated his Trigger and moved away from Miwa squad as he pulled out his cell phone. He felt uneasy standing in the Restricted Zone without his Trigger activated. He wasn't safe in this body or with his Trigger activated with Mimics running around. Not that Miwa squad knew that. Even so, they probably thought he was in his living body so at least Yoneya would watch his back. The other three he was unsure of since they had grudges against Neighbors, but at the same time, he felt they would watch his back. He was the only here who knew the most about Mimics after all. They needed his information.
"Your room isn't that far from mine so why are you calling me at three in the morning?" Jin asked groggily.
"I'm sorry to wake you, Jin-san, but we have a bit of a problem. I'm in the Restricted Zone right now. I need Michael-san, but I don't have his number." Yuma replied as his eyes scanned the buildings around him.
There was a ruffling sound on the other end as Jin pulled himself out of bed. "Explain it to me, Yuma."
"Short version or long version?" Yuma asked.
"Short version for now. You can tell me the rest later." Jin said.
"Okay, there's Trion soldiers called Mimics here right now. One attacked me on the roof earlier. We need Michael-san to analyze it and get it on our radars so we can scour the Restricted Zone for them until sunrise." Yuma explained.
"O-kay, I have many questions, but we'll save that for the morning." Jin replied. "I'll get Michael-san and we'll contact you in a bit."
"Thanks, Jin-san." Yuma ended the call and reactivated his Trigger. "They're going to take a look at it."
"You did leave it intact enough for it to be analyzed, right?" Yoneya asked.
"I only cut it once so it should be fine." Yuma replied. He twisted around to view the buildings again. It didn't help much since he couldn't see through the shadows of the buildings in the dark, but if anything stepped out, he could at least see them. Mimics were easier to take out before they could transform, but they were also fast. Their attacks needed dodged or blocked perfectly.
Miwa looked down at the face of his sister split in half. If it wasn't for the dark hollowness inside the body, he would think it really was his sister lying dead at his feet. That alone just pissed him off extremely. It was a sick joke to transform into deceased loved ones. Even worse, he was angry at himself for freezing. He was shocked to see his sister standing in front of him and couldn't think or move. Then there was the small smidge of desperation he had felt that it was real. That she was really standing in front of him and he was wrong about her death.
Kuga wasn't wrong.
He didn't have it in him to strike down the fake in front of him. If there was the slightest chance she was real...he couldn't be the one to end it.
"Yuma."
Yuma perked up at Jin's voice coming through his coms. "That was fast."
"Why did you feel the need to leave a Trion soldier on the roof and just run off?" Jin asked.
Yuma grinned sheepishly. "I kind of ran off without really thinking about it. I was worried about the Mimics in the Restricted Zone."
"You were more worried about that then alerting us that we might be attacked in our sleep?" Jin asked.
"That wasn't a concern. Mimics go after people in Trion bodies. You were all sleeping so you weren't targets to them." Yuma explained.
"I see. So no more Mimics will leave the Restricted Zone since you're there." Jin replied.
"Mm-hmm, you've got it." Yuma planted his foot on a piece of rubble and started to roll it around under his foot.
"I understand, but Yuma, you don't need to do this alone. You can ask us for help."
"I know. I just didn't want to wake you guys, especially Osamu. He's been wearing himself out with the Rank Wars and Expedition Exam stressing him out." Yuma explained before kicking the rock towards the nearby building. His eyes stayed locked on the shadows of the building, but he didn't see any movement in it. "You didn't wake up Boss, did you? He just went to bed like half an hour ago."
"As far as I know, he's still sleeping. What is with your obsession with us sleeping?" Jin asked.
"You guys need to get more sleep. You all tend to stress and not sleep." Yuma replied.
"Says the one who apparently hasn't gone to bed yet tonight." Yoneya interrupted the one side conversation they were listening to, but Yuma just waved him off.
"Tends to happen when we get busy." Jin replied. "Who are you with right now?"
"Miwa squad and Kazama squad is out here somewhere." Yuma said.
"Alright, one sec."
"Good evening, Miwa squad, Kazama squad. Great night to be on duty, huh?" Jin's voice rang over everyone's coms a minute later.
"You sound far too awake for someone who just got woken up not even ten minutes ago." Yoneya said.
"I'm the Power Elite. I only need a few minutes to be ready." Jin replied.
"Yuma, are you sure this is a Trion soldier? I've never seen one like this." Michael's voice crackled over the coms.
"I'm positive. They're a bit different from what I remember, but they're definitely Mimics." Yuma replied.
"It certainly is an uncommon design. It must be unique to a certain nation." Michael said.
Yuma hummed in agreement.
"Are you able to analyze it and get it on our radars?" Kazama asked.
"Sure, it will be easy enough, but it will take some time." Michael asked.
"Jin-san, you didn't activate your Trigger, did you?" Yuma asked.
"I did, why do you ask?" Jin replied.
"You might need to deactivate if you don't plan to come to the Restricted Zone. Mimics, at least when I last dealt with them, have something like a radar in them that led them to Trion bodies. If you've active, they'll find you and come back to the base." Yuma explained.
"I think I can handle a Mimic, Yuma."
Yuma pursed his lips. "If it touches you before you manage to destroy it, it will transform. I'd rather not risk having Mogami show up. If he did, can you really say you could beat him?"
"What do you mean?"
"Mimics don't just transform into someone. They have all their skills and experiences of that person. If Mogami shows up, he's going to be as strong as you last remember him. And even if you could beat him, could you really strike down your mentor or even your mother? They're fakes, but they look, sound, and move like the real thing."
"I get the point, Yuma. We can't let them transform." Jin replied.
"You didn't mention the skill thing earlier, Kuga." Miwa snapped.
"How many people in Border know agents that have died and would be the ones recreated with Mimics? Mimics in general when transformed are stronger, but when you add the skills of the person they transformed into on top of that, they've very dangerous. From what I've heard, Mogami was very strong. I don't think it would be good for us to have him appearing." Yuma replied.
"Jin-san isn't the only one with memories of Mogami-san. It would be dangerous for any of them to get those memories absorbed." Kazama added.
"So what you're saying is for me to turn my Trigger off?" Jin asked.
"Just until morning." Yuma said.
"What will change in the morning?" Michael asked.
"Unless they transform, Mimics can't be in the sun." Yuma explained.
"That's a new one for me. Why would anyone make a Trion soldier that can only operate at certain times?" Michael asked. "Got it. I have the Trion signature for the Mimics. I'm only see three at the moment. I'll send the data over to Tsukimi-kun and Mikami-kun."
"Thank you, Michael-san, and sorry for making your get up in the middle of the night." Yuma said.
"Just don't leave anymore Trion soldiers on the roof, Yuma." Michael replied, making Yuma smile in amusement.
"Only three, huh? Sounds pretty simple." Yoneya said.
"Don't take it easy. The enemy can easily open more gates and send more through." Miwa replied.
"Then we'll each take one? Kuga, you're fine on your own?" Kazama asked.
"I'll be fine. Oh, and watch out for the Mimics. Long range attacks work best, but the Mimics can extend their limbs. All it takes is a touch and they'll have the memories." Yuma said before he was jumping up to a building with his Grasshopper. "Where exactly am I going?"
"I'll lead you, Kuga-kun." Mikami said. "There's only one near where you are right now so we'll leave that one to Miwa squad."
"Much obliged, Mikami-kun."
*Mimics*
Yuma crouched on the edge of the building, a dead Mimic lying on the ground below. They were truly easy to deal with when they hadn't transformed yet. Still, it was strange. Why were they being attacked by Mimics? The fact that only five came through the gate was also very confusing. Once Border knew what to do, they could handle the Mimics. Though if more than five got sent, it would be easy to overwhelm agents and get them transformed. So why weren't more than five sent? Were they waiting to send more?
"Pretty sure I got a promise last night that you would go back to your room at some point."
Yuma perked up at the voice ringing in his ears. "Boss, the sun is barely up and you're already awake?"
"Well, there's work to be done, even more now as Jin has informed me." Rindo replied.
"Hmm, it wasn't too difficult last night. There were only a few Mimics hanging around."
"But more could still come. We don't know who sent them, but they're most likely still in range to send more."
"That is true." Yuma agreed.
"You didn't need to stay out all night either. Miwa squad and Kazama squad had it handled after you explained it to them." Rindo added.
Yuma looked up to stare at the rising sun. "It's not like I had anything better to do."
"Are you sitting on a roof?"
"How'd you guess?"
"Yuma, you don't need to spend all night on the roof. We can find you a hobby."
Yuma laughed lightly. "I'm fine, Boss. Besides, it wasn't all night. I hung with Miwa squad for a bit then found my target of the night to take out. It was quite eventful. I got three kills last night."
"Well, make your way back to base. We'll have breakfast before we head to HQ to report if you're sure we won't have any more issues with Mimics until tonight." Rindo replied.
"Got it, Boss." Yuma agreed as he rose up, stretching his arms above his head. "Hey, Mikami-kun, you still there?"
"What is it, Kuga-kun?" Mikami asked.
"I'm heading back to my Branch, but I'll be at HQ later with Rindo-san. I suppose we'll be speaking to Director Shinoda about what happened. Can you relay that to him?" Yuma requested.
"I believe Kazama-san plans to speak to him as soon as he gets in. I'll have him pass your message along." Mikami replied.
Yuma smiled. "Thank you, and thanks for being my operator last night!"
"You're welcome. Have a good day, Kuga-kun." Mikami replied pleasantly.
*Mimics*
Walking towards his office and seeing Kazama standing by the window, looking out it, as he waited made Shinoda sigh. If he had an agent waiting for him, it meant something happened recently. The plan had been to start training preparations for the chosen Expedition team, but it seemed that would have to wait.
"Good morning, Kazama. What can I do for you today?" Shinoda asked he neared the agent and motioned for him to follow him into his office. "Normally, you would just submit your report after defense duty. Did something happen last night?"
"I want to get ahead of this as fast as possible. Do you know what Mimics are? I don't see anything in our records about them, but Border has been around a long time so I wanted to know if you knew of them." Kazama started as Shinoda got himself situated behind his desk.
"Mimics imitate other people, do they not? But I have a feeling you are not asking about mimics in general." Shinoda replied.
Kazama shook his head. "Last night, we got introduced to a new a type of Trion soldier. Kuga appeared in the Restricted Zone last night to warn us and he called them Mimics."
Shinoda raised a brow in confusion. "Yuma-kun wasn't on duty last night."
"He said he got attacked at Tamakoma by a Mimic and rushed to the Restricted Zone because he was worried about the Mimics." Kazama replied. "Honestly, the way he described Mimics made me think the idea was farfetched, but according to Miwa squad, they faced a Mimic that had transformed into Miwa's sister.
That seemed to get Shinoda's attention fully as he leaned back in his seat and stared at Kazama. "His deceased sister showed up last night?"
"I wasn't there, but that's what Miwa squad and Kuga said happened. It was the only Mimic that managed to transform last night. Michael-san at Tamakoma analyzed the Mimic that Kuga left dead on their roof and got their signal on our radar for us. Using that, we found the ones that were left last night. I've added an image of them to the report I wrote." Kazama explained.
Shinoda leaned forward to access his computer to find that report.
"Kuga also wanted to let you know he would be arriving with Rindo-san later to go over this in more detail. I believe they are concerned this is only the beginning. I'm inclined to agree. It's strange to only send five Mimics here. They could have overwhelmed us with a surprise attack and gotten them transformed pretty fast, but they chose to only send five. It's strange."
"I'll get a meeting set up for later this morning then. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I'll want you and Miwa at the meeting as well so we can gather all the information both your squads have." Shinoda replied as he opened the file for Kazama's report. He would read it fully later, but for now he scrolled to the image attached to the file. It was rare to see Trion soldiers that walked on two legs, but it was feeling like it was becoming quite commonplace in the last couple of weeks.
"Yes sir." Kazama replied before pausing as he thought before adding, "It will perhaps put you at ease to know that Kuga says unless they transform, Mimics can only come out at night. We don't have to worry about more Mimics until tonight. That should be enough time to get the intel together and alert the other squads of the situation."
Shinoda nodded. "Good to know. Unless the Mimic of Miwa's sister is still out there?"
Kazama shook his head. "Kuga took care of it apparently."
"Then we have until sunset to get a plan of action into place. I'll plan the meeting for 9:30. That should be enough time for Yuma-kun and Rindo to get here." Shinoda replied.
Kazama gave a small tilt of his head in reply. "I'll alert Miwa of the meeting."
*Mimics*
Yuma landed outside Tamakoma and deactivated his Trigger as he stood up. He straightened out his hoodie as he walked inside the building. As he walked, his stomach grumbled at him. Ah, he was so hungry. He didn't eat anything all night because he went to the Restricted Zone. Normally he would have grabbed a snack at some point in the night. Speaking of, now that he thought about it, where did his mug go last night?
"What are we having for breakfast? I'm starving." Yuma said as way of greeting as he walked into the kitchen, only to pause when he found Hyuse and Osamu waiting for him. "What?"
Shiori looked up from where she was cooking. "They're mad at you. And I am too for that matter. I have half a mind to not give you food."
Yuma blinked. "Are you upset that I left last night?"
"We're your team, Kuga, but you didn't alert us to the problem and just ran off on your own." Osamu said.
"I can handle myself so there was no need to wake you up. I didn't really want to waste time with that anyway. I was in a hurry." Yuma replied as he walked around his teammates to approach the counter. He climbed onto the stool and leaned over to see what Shiori was cooking.
"I don't care what you do. I'm sure you had no trouble last night, but I am curious about these things Jin was calling Mimics." Hyuse replied.
Osamu looked at Hyuse, but just sighed. He really didn't know what else he expected from Hyuse. Actually, Yuma acted the exact same way he expected as well. "I know you can handle yourself, Kuga, but we're a team. You don't have to do everything by yourself."
Yuma sat back on the stool and looked over at his captain. "I rely on you guys. I don't think I'm invincible, but like I said, I was in a hurry. It would have taken time to get you guys up and out the door. Plus, I can move faster by myself with Grasshopper. I wanted to get a jump on the Mimics as fast as possible."
"And what about me? I'm your operator, Yuma-kun!" Shiori scolded.
"Mikami-kun helped me last night. We weren't on duty last night so I didn't want to disturb you guys." Yuma replied.
"How considerate of you." Konami said from where she was sitting at the dining room table. "Now explain to me why you know what Mimics are, but Hyuse and Michael-san don't. They're both Neighbors too."
Yuma looked over at his mentor with a frown. "Hyuse is from Aftokrator. They spend their time conquering or destroying other nations whereas I spent my childhood traveling through the Neighborhood and learning about the nations. Just because we're all Neighbors, don't assume we have the same experiences."
"So Mimics are unique even in the Neighbor's world?" Osamu asked.
"Back when I was a kid, I only knew of one nation that used them." Yuma looked off the side, frowning deeply as he thought about it. Mimics were never sent to other nations to attack. The purpose of them was never to be used as weapons in other nations, so why were they attacking?
