A/N: I don't own World Trigger

Mimics

Chapter 3: What the Future Holds

"Were you trying a new tactic or was your head just really not in the fight?" Murakami asked over the computer as he stared at the score of nine to one. He's never beaten Yuma so badly. Well, he guessed that made it up to Shun who got demolished by Yuma earlier. "You have great defense, but you still more of an offensive fighter. Why did you focus so much on defense today?"

Yuma closed his eyes with a sigh. "Trying something new."

"You're a great combatant already with the way you fight. You have a nice balance of offense and defense. Why do you want to change how you fight all of a sudden?" Murakami asked confused.

An image of Kuga Yugo flashed through Yuma's mind. Pushing the image away, Yuma sat up, brushing a hand through his hair. He had to get the Mimics out of his mind. "I don't want to change how I fight. I just wanted to work on defense. There might be a time when I need to rely heavily on defense so I wanted to practice it."

"Something about the Mimics has you worried." Murakami surmised. "This wasn't something you bothered to think about before. What happened last night?"

"Nothing happened beyond the Mimics appearing. I just want to be prepared." Yuma replied, breathing out slowly. Kuga Yugo could not be allowed to appear. That was what Jin said, and Yuma agreed. Perhaps his reasons were different from Jin's reasons, but Yuma did not want his father here.

"Your fighting strategy you have now is fine. You don't need to be more defensive." Murakami said.

Yuma looked down at his hands, specifically his Black Trigger. That wasn't it. He knew the way he fought. He could change it, but that would be something he wasn't used to. He didn't want to change how he fought. Still, if Yugo did someone appear from his memories or from someone else's, Yuma couldn't take that threat lightly. He couldn't risk getting defeated by him. His defense had to be ironclad because he knew. He knew that if Kuga Yugo appeared in front of him right now, he would hesitate. In that moment, he can't afford to be killed. He needed a strong defense to have time to gather his wits about him enough so he could fight back.

Fight back against the one person he didn't think he could bear to lose again.

When he fought the fake Replica weeks ago, it didn't attack him which gave him time to get over his shock and replace it with anger to kill the fake. He didn't have the luxury to freeze if a Mimic of his father appeared. Kuga Yugo did not hesitate. If the opening was there, he went for the kill. Yuma could not afford any faults in his defense. Unfortunately, it wasn't easy to change how he fought. It was only something he wanted to test out in a safe environment.

"The Mimics are concerning, but Yoneya said you've been on edge about them since last night when you first encountered them." Murakami said. "Are you worried about someone appearing?"

A lot of people have lost someone in Border. They could have been killed. They could have been taken to the Neighbor's world. It wasn't strange to have the story here. Yuma just never told anyone outside of Tamakoma since it wasn't something he felt needed discussed. It wasn't important before.

"My father." Yuma replied softly. "He died when I was eleven."

"I'm sorry, Kuga."

"Don't worry about it. It was a long time ago. The thought of him appearing again...it's just throwing me off. That's all it is." Yuma explained.

"You sure? Because you don't try to change to a more defensive fighting style because of a possibility of a Mimic of your father appearing." Murakami replied.

"I have my reasons to be concerned." Yuma said, leaving it at that as he escaped from the booth finally.

*Mimics*

"Where's Yuma?" Konami demanded. "I made curry tonight and he can't even be bothered to show up?"

Osamu took a step back from the irate Attacker. "He stayed back at HQ when we left. I think he's worried about the Mimics."

"Huh?" Konami demanded. "He's not on duty tonight. Unless there's a full on invasion, what happens tonight isn't a big deal."

Osamu just shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know how to explain it to her without telling her the truth about Yuma's body. That was something he knew Yuma still didn't want people to know.

"Get him on the phone and tell him to get back here. If he thinks he can skip our training session and dinner, he has another thing coming!" Konami raged.

"I don't think he'll come back even if I call him." Osamu replied weakly. "Besides, I think he ate at Border's cafeteria."

"He chose that food over the dinner I slaved over?" Konami demanded, slamming a hand on the counter next to the pot of curry.

"What's wrong with the food at HQ?" Hyuse asked confused. It wasn't anything too fancy, but he thought it still tasted good.

Yuri leaned her chin on her hand, watching Konami in amusement. "There's nothing wrong with it. It's just the principle of the matter for Konami."

"She's also upset she didn't get to spar Yuma today. He's never missed one of their scheduled training sessions before." Karasuma explained.

"He was in a bad mood anyway. I doubt you would have gotten a good fight." Hyuse replied.

Osamu quietly made his way over to Rindo sitting at the dining room table while the others were distracted in the kitchen. "I don't think he's coming back to base tonight." He whispered so no one would realize the conversation about Yuma not coming back was continuing in a different direction over here. Though he did see Jin tilt his head towards them to show he was listening in. "I think he's worried about more Mimics coming here if he comes back."

Jin rubbed his temples. "Damn it." He muttered softly. Of course that would concern Yuma. His being here would put his team and all of Tamakoma in danger. Somehow, they had all become more important to Yuma than concern for his own well-being.

"He can't hang around in the Restricted Zone until the threat has passed." Rindo said with a frown, glancing at Jin who dragged a hand down his face before standing. "We don't know how long this threat will last."

"No worries!" Jin announced cheerfully, drawing everyone's attention to him. "I'll go pick up Yuma, Konami. Be sure to save him a plate of your curry. That is bound to cheer him up."

The Power Elite bounded out of the room before anyone could reply.

"That was weird." Yuri turned to her uncle for confirmation. "Wasn't it?"

Osamu stared at the door Jin exited through. Jin would normally leave Yuma to his own devices with the assurance that Yuma could handle himself. He trusted Yuma a lot. The evidence of that trust showed when he let Yuma fight Miwa squad alone and even when he left Yuma to take on a Black Trigger from Aftokrator by himself.

This was perhaps the first time Osamu ever saw Jin this concerned about Yuma not being able to handle himself alone. His warning at HQ and now his abrupt exit here was just screaming that he was concerned about something.

With the recent invasions they had, Jin was always calm. He used his side effect to manipulate the future battlefield to lead them to the best outcome. So, the question was, what would rattle Jin? It had to be something he thought he couldn't change.

*Mimics*

Yuma's eyes scanned over the stars above him. This was the first time he found himself on the roof of Border's HQ. Usually he only hung around on Tamakoma's roof since he wasn't usually at Border this late at night.

"This is a familiar sight. Yugo-san loved to watch the stars too."

At the familiar voice, Yuma looked over his shoulder to see Shinoda walking out onto the roof. He tilted his head in greeting before looking back up at the sky. "It was a habit he kept. He would watch them all the time with me. The stars are much vaster here though. Most of the ones in the Neighborhood were just the other Nations orbiting in the sky so they were fewer to gaze upon." Yuma replied.

Shinoda leaned his arms on the ledge next to Yuma, gazing upon the stars with him, smiling softly. "You probably know by now that Tamakoma Branch was the original HQ of Border. It was a location chosen by your father. Do you know why?"

That seemed to be a strange turn in the conversation that was about stars so Yuma shook his head, looking over in curiosity.

"He said you could see the stars better from there than anywhere else in the city. Back then, we would host celebrations on the roof and watch the stars." Shinoda explained. It's hard to believe that was about two decades ago. Has it really been that long since they saw Yugo? "He loved to point out the constellations and tell us their history."

"Constellations?" Yuma repeated confused.

"Constellations are when a group of stars form a perceived shape when you connect them." Shinoda moved closer to Yuma and directed his attention the sky. "Look up and to your left. You can see Gladius. Gladius is one of the twelve Zodiac Constellations you can find in the sky. It means The Sword."

Yuma tilted his head in confusion. "You have to connect the stars to make the shape?"

"Yes, there's a lot of different constellations that you can find in the sky if you know how to find them." Shinoda replied, staring at Yuma who was looking up at the sky with more interest than before. "What has you here anyway? It's late and you're not on duty tonight."

Yuma glanced at him, unsure of how to explain his worries about his Trion body and putting his friends in danger by just being around.

"You should go home and get some sleep, Yuma-kun. The squads on duty tonight can handle the Mimics." Shinoda promised when he didn't get an answer.

"I'm fine."

"You were helping all last night and you weren't even on duty then. You can't run on adrenaline and a bad mood forever. You need to rest." Shinoda said, giving his agent a pointed a look. The meeting they had that morning showed Shinoda enough that told him Yuma was frustrated by the appearance of the Mimics.

"I don't need sleep."

"Everyone needs to sleep, Yuma-kun. You need to recharge."

That response at Yuma laughing, but there was no amusement in it. It just sounded hollow. Sleep? If only he could, then he could escape the long, lonely nights. "If we're speaking of sleep, you need to sleep as well." He said, returning the pointed look to the Director. "A commander dead on his feet is of no use."

Shinoda smirked. "Another lesson from your father. 'Take the time to sleep when it's available to you. No one knows what the next day will bring so sleep when you can.' Was it?"

Yuma nodded. "And a Commander needs his wits about him."

"The same applies to my agents." Shinoda gave Yuma another look that was ignored again. "Besides, I'm well rested since my agents decided to not alert me last night of the new Trion Soldiers appearing."

"That was on Kazama-senpai. He was the senior agent in the field last night. It was his call to make." Yuma replied.

The door to the roof slammed opened, keeping Shinoda from replying to keep the conversation going. They both looked over to see Jin approaching them.

"Jin, what are you doing back here?" Shinoda asked surprised.

Jin dropped a hand to Yuma's hair, ruffling it. "Here to pick up my wayward charge."

Shinoda smiled in amusement. "You came all the way back here for that? Far be it from me to stop you then. Make sure he sleeps tonight."

Yuma wrinkled his nose in annoyance. He could take care of himself.

"Got it. I'll make sure he takes it easy tonight." Jin saluted Shinoda.

Shinoda nodded with a smile. "Good night Jin, Yuma-kun. Stop trying to work so hard."

"Says the one who isn't going to go home." Yuma muttered softly. He waited until the door closed behind the Director before rounding on Jin. "You know very well that I can't sleep, Jin-san."

Jin held up a finger. "Ah, I said you would take it easy tonight. I said nothing about sleeping. Now," He held out a hand to his friend to help him off the ledge. "Konami made curry for you so let's head back to Tamakoma to enjoy it."

"Except that's a bad idea." Yuma replied, diverting his eyes to the stars, ignoring the hand that Jin was holding out to him. "The Mimics will come."

"Here or there, they're coming either way." Jin pointed out.

"Tamakoma Branch is outside the Restricted Zone." Yuma retorted. Not only would his friends be put in danger when they were trying to sleep tonight, but so would the citizens. Why was Jin ignoring this?

"You said it yourself, civilians aren't their target." Jin said.

"And if the Mimics are more different than what I remember?" Yuma retorted. "Is that a risk you're willing to take?"

Jin stared at Yuma for a moment before dropping his hand and sitting next to him on the ledge. "I don't like telling people what I see in the future. Instead, I like to tell people what to do or try to push them in the best direction with hints. If I go around telling everyone what the worst outcome is, it feels a lot like pushing us into that path since everyone will try everything they can to avoid that outcome. And if that happens, there's the potential of making things worse."

"Like a self-fulfilling prophecy?" Yuma suggested.

"Exactly."

Yuma raised a brow. "Was there a point to that explanation?"

Jin looked down at him, locking eyes with his kouhai. "Within the next week, I see you dying."

"Ah," Yuma turned his eyes back to the stars. "That's too bad. I was having so much fun. The anniversary of Dad's death is in six days. Maybe five years was all the time he could buy me."

Why did he have to accept it so easily? The Yuma who fought so hard to survive and help Border and his team these past few months, where was he?

Jin grabbed Yuma's arm, causing Yuma to look at him with a frown. "Listen, Yuma, until recently, this isn't the future I saw for you. Something's changed it, and I think that something is the Mimics. That's why I'm asking you to avoid going near them."

Yuma smiled sadly. "You know that's impossible." He brushed Jin's hand off his arm and looked back towards the sky. "I know you try so hard to manipulate the futures you see because you want to protect your comrades and the city. But no matter how hard you try, there are some things you just can't change. I accepted my death as inevitable a long time ago."

Jin stared at his friend, taking in the youthful face that would never age older than eleven. Even if Yuma survived for years, everyone would get older and change while he would forever be stuck in a child's body with his death looming over his head. That wasn't an easy life to live, and yet, Yuma still found the strength to smile and enjoy each day. Was it really just a front to hide how little he cared about living?

"There was so much more I wanted to do." Yuma continued, smiling sadly up at the stars. "Beat Konami-senpai in a ten round match, try all the amazing food your world has to offer, ride a train, reach A-Rank, fulfill my promise to Osamu and Chika, get Replica back..."

"Yuma..."

"I never cared, you know?" Yuma cut Jin off quickly before he could say anything. "When Dad gave up his life for me to live, I knew it was only temporary and I would die eventually. I never once cared my life had been shortened so much. I was the one destined to die when I was eleven. Dad trading places with me left me with nothing but guilt. What was I supposed to do without him? After I finished the war, I wandered aimlessly without a true purpose til I came here. I wished desperately to somehow bring Dad back, but it was all for nothing. There really wasn't a reason for me to live, but I couldn't bring myself to throw away this life that Dad gave up everything for me to have."

Jin watched Yuma silently, not daring to open his mouth and interrupt, lest it got Yuma to stop spilling his guts. Yuma rarely spoke of his past, but he even more rarely spoke of how he truly felt. If he interrupted now, Jin fear that Yuma could clam up once more.

"Then I came here and met Osamu and you and Chika and everyone at Border. It's ironic that when I finally learned how to be happy and have fun again that I'm destined to die." Yuma ripped his eyes from the stars to look at his ring. He ran his thumb over the smooth metal before he turned to lock eyes with Jin. "For the first time since Dad saved me, I don't want to die."

Jin closed his eyes with a smile. He wasn't sure where Yuma had been going with that, but the end of his little speech had relief spreading through every inch of his body. The fear that Yuma truly didn't care about living was washed away. "Then here's what you're going to do. Firstly, you're going to retract the statement about me not being able to prevent some things."

"Uh...did that really bother you?" Yuma asked.

"Yuma."

"Fine," Yuma held up his hands in surrender. "I take it back. You can accomplish anything you set your mind to."

Jin nodded, satisfied. "Good. Secondly, I want to hear you say that you want to live."

"I mean, I basically already said it." Yuma mumbled, glancing off to the side to avoid looking at his friend.

"Yuma, are you just going to argue with me about all of this?" Jin asked.

"I..."

Could he really say it?

"There's nothing wrong with wanting it. This is the gift your father gave you." Jin said gently. "I know it hurts to live without your father and you feel guilty for what happened. You can feel that pain and still desperately want to live. Pain is a gift, not a curse. Your father knew it would hurt you to go on living without him because he felt that pain when he found you dying. That pain means you're alive. You're not betraying your father by wanting this. Instead, you're embracing what he gave you."

Yuma brushed his thumb over his ring. Jin was able to read him so well. It hurt so much to open his eyes and find his father turned to ash in front of him. The knowledge that his father was dead because Yuma couldn't keep himself out a battle he was ordered out of just increased his pain. If he just listened to the orders given, his father would still be by his side. He was haunted by that painful knowledge, and yet, coming to Japan was giving him a new outlook on life. There was so much fun to be had here and so many new things to experience.

He went through the motions of living and fighting in a war to keep himself busy with something. Honestly, he hadn't even realized until he came here that he hadn't experience any real happiness or fun since his father died. It's like he forgot what it meant to truly live until he came here.

"I want to live." Yuma murmured softly. The words tasted bitter like betrayal, but also felt freeing. "I want to live!"

"That's more like it." Jin stood up from the ledge, holding out a hand to Yuma once more. "Thirdly, we go enjoy Konami's curry. The rest can come after." When Yuma looked hesitant, Jin smiled. "Trust in my predictions, Yuma. There won't be any more harm than if you're here or at Tamakoma."

Yuma smirked. "Those same predictions just said I'm dead by the end of the week." He replied, but took Jin's hand anyway and let himself be pulled off the ledge.

"Ahhh, nope." Jin said. "That's part of the rest that can wait til we had curry."

Yuma rolled his eyes, but smiled good naturedly and let Jin drag him back home.

*Mimics*

"This is freaking insane!" Suwa complained loudly. "Didn't they only have to deal with five of these damn things last night? Why is it that when we're on duty we get a huge ass army of the things?"

"They'll called Mimics." Murakami corrected as he sliced an arm of one off. When they stretched their limbs to touch them, it was easy to cut them, but other than that, it was hard to get close as an Attacker. There was too much of a risk of getting touched if they got that close to them.

"I don't care what they're called. Why do we have to deal with...argh, what's the count?" Suwa asked.

"I've counted thirty so far." Osano replied.

"Yeah, that! The A-Ranks got hit with five last night and we get thirty?"

"It is strangely excessive when compared to last night's attack." Kuruma agreed as Murakami blocked another arm from hitting him. Their new strategy of Murakami working on defending Kuruma while Kuruma went into full attack mode seemed to be working out well here. Since Shield didn't work against Mimics, it made defending against them harder and the large group of them made it hard for Attackers to approach and cut them down. It was for this reason that Hisato and Murakami were standing in front blocking the attacks and doing their best to the cut the limbs off that were approaching them. This gave Kuruma, Daichi, and Suwa time to focus on trying to gun them down.

"You can wonder about why later! We have a problem." Kon said. "A group is breaking off and trying to leave the Restricted Zone!"

Taichi ducked behind a wall, rifle held tightly in his hands. He could take a shot. It would be hard to miss hitting a Mimic in that large crowd, but it would reveal his position to them so fast. "But the file said civilians weren't the target!"

"Tell that to the Mimics." Kon retorted.

"Nothing to do, but split up then." Murakami said as he and Kuruma ducked behind a wall. "We can't let them escape to the city."

Hisato blocked an arm. His sword pieced the arm a bit, getting stuck in it and giving Daichi the chance to shoot the Mimic's eye. With it dropping down dead, Hisato ripped his sword through the rest of the arm and stepped back.

"Even if you say that, these things aren't going to let us pass easily." Suwa replied as he fired onto the Mimics again to keep them from approaching Hisato anymore.

Green slashes suddenly rippled across the ground and walls all around the surprised agents. The slashes ripped free from the walls to pierce the Mimics. The Mimics dropping down dead at their feet left the agents staring in shock.

"Guess it is that easy." Kuruma said.

"Now this is fun." Kako stepped onto the scene behind the agents, holding Fujin in her hand.

"Kako-san," Murakami greeted the A-Rank who was standing in the middle of the road, facing the Mimics without fear.

"Oi! Did you get permission from HQ to use that?" Suwa pointed at Fujin.

"Nope," Kako replied. "But Jin asked me for a favor. How could I say no?"

"Of course that's the reason." Murakami smirked.

"I won't complain. The help is greatly appreciated." Kuruma added.

"My job is to keep the Mimics from escaping the Restricted Zone tonight. You guys take care of the ones here." Kako said.

"Need any help?" Kuruma asked.

Kako smiled. "No, I have this. Good luck."

With that, Kako jumped up to the nearby roof. The Mimics followed her movement, but Suwa, Daichi, and Kuruma took that chance to use the walls for cover and fired back on the distracted Mimics.

Taichi popped up from his hiding spot and took aim at the Mimics. He didn't hesitate to take his shot this time. After a few shots, he would have to run to avoid getting attacked by the Mimics, but this would be enough to cover for Kako to get pass this group.

"At least we have an A-Rank agent out here now. Can't really complain anymore, can you, Suwa-san?" Taichi piped up.

"Shut up."

Leaving behind the B-Rank squads to battle the Mimics that were left, Kako ran across the roofs to reach the group trying to escape. It didn't make sense why the Mimics were going this way since they weren't supposed to be going after civilians. They needed Trion bodies to gather memories and transform. There was even the assurance from Jin that civilians weren't in danger.

"Hey, Kako-san," Jin greeted cheerfully.

Kako looked over her shoulder to see Jin approaching her. Behind him, waiting a bit down the hall was Yuma who was leaning against the wall. "Something wrong, Jin?"

"I need a favor." Jin asked.

"Is it important? I was just about to leave for the night." Kako replied.

"I know you're not on duty tonight, but I need to stay here. There's going to a problem with the Mimics." Jin explained.

Kako raised a brow and leaned against the wall. "Shouldn't we alert Director Shinoda and get more agents on duty tonight?"

"I have every confidence in Suwa squad and Suzunari First being able to handle it, but there will be another problem that requires a bit more help. With you there, the situation will be handled just fine. There's no need to risk any more agents getting memories taken by the Mimics than necessary."

"You can't take care of it?" Kako asked. It's not like she was opposed to helping Jin out, but it was strange that he didn't want to join in on the battle.

Jin looked over his shoulder at the waiting Yuma. "Let's just say the week is going to be pretty long and I have to work out how to keep things from going horribly wrong."

Kako followed Jin's eyes to Yuma. "Is there something wrong with Kuga-kun?"

"Let's just say if you can keep the Mimics from leaving the Restricted Zone tonight, it would be a huge help." Jin replied.

"Seems to me like this is more for Kuga-kun than you." Kako said.

"As smart as ever." Jin smiled, shrugging back at her. "This isn't going to end tonight, but our counter attack tonight will be a good step if we win the battle."

She could settle this battle. If winning tonight could help Jin change the future he saw, then Kako would win. It was for this reason she swiped Fujin from HQ. Jin didn't tell her to use Fujin, but perhaps he saw her taking this course of action and didn't feel the need to tell her.

Kako came to a stop on a roof that gave her a good vantage point to see the Mimics that were gliding silently through the area. It was almost eerie how silent it was over here compared to the battle she had just left behind.

There was no point in waiting.

She activated her wind blades and sent them skating across the rooftops. It was truly amazing what the range on these blades were. If she could see it, Fujin could slash it. With the distance she wanted to stay at until she could learn how Mimics fought, her Hound bullets wouldn't quite reach.

Kako's slashes tore through the first few Mimics but the rest threw up Shields to defend against the slashes she had aimed at them.

"Trion Soldiers having Shields. It's becoming too common." Kako mused. She was hoping to take more out with her first attack before they noticed her. Still, attacking them like this would get their attention.

Or, that was what she thought would happen.

Of the six Mimics left, only four of them turn to her. The other two continued to head for the edge of the Restricted Zone.

What were they so fixated on?

It was a question Kako would need to ponder later. For now, the job Jin asked of her was to keep them from escaping the Restricted Zone, and that was what she was going to do.

Unfortunately, Kako used all her slashes in her attack earlier to help the other squads and her first attack here. As she reloaded Fujin, she ran across the roofs again. Fully loaded, Fujin had fourteen slashes. The lessons from Jin on how to efficiently use Fujin were locked in her head, though this would be her first time using those lesson in a real battle.

As she approached the Mimics, their attacks came. The arms shot towards her, but Kako wasn't going to give them the chance to look into her memories. She brought Fujin up to block the first arm as she eyed the other hands approaching her out of the corner of her eyes. Before they could reach her, the blades she set in the ground at her feet shot straight up into the Mimics' arms which dropped heavily to the ground. With that threat temporarily gone, Kako added more pressure to Fujin to slice cleanly through the arm she had blocked.

As that arm landed at her feet, Kako stared pass the four Mimics confronting her to the two trying to leave. Those were the target. None of them could be allowed to leave. Kako jumped off the roof, going flying over the four Mimics blocking her on the ground and landed neatly in a crouch between the two groups.

Kako calmly stood up as the blades she laid down as she jumped down shot out of the walls and pierced all six of the Mimics.

Kako slid Fujin back in the sheath as the Mimics feel to the ground in pieces. She looked in the direction that the Mimics had been heading. They were still pretty far in the Restricted Zone, but she had a good guess of where they were trying to get to based on their general direction.

Tamakoma Branch.

It truly was curious. She wondered what Jin was up to this time.

"Kako-san already defeated her portion of the Mimics." Osano informed the squads.

"Yeah, well, great for the agent who stole a Black Trigger from HQ." Suwa said.

"These things get creepier by the minute!" Taichi planted a foot on the ledge and aimed his rifle down towards the Mimic that was scaling the wall to get to him. "Can we be done yet?"

"Senku Kogetsu."

Murakami's slash ripped through the air, slicing through the Mimic trying to get to Taichi. Assured that his attack would hit it, Murakami was already turning and blocking an attack from another Mimic as Kuruma gunned it down.

"Thank you," Taichi said.

"You need to find better cover." Kon scolded.

"I ran after my last shot. Their ability to track us is ridiculous." Taichi complained. "I'm wearing my bagworm too. It doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe they aren't using radar to find us." Daichi suggested.

"Well, they're using something."

"A question for another time. We're almost finished here." Murakami replied.

"Better hurry up before Kako-san comes back and steals your kills again." Kon said.

*Mimics*

Yuma stared in the direction of the Restricted Zone. He couldn't see anything or hear anything, but he had a feeling there was a battle raging tonight. Being at Tamakoma was making him unnerved. Granted, he had a feeling he would be unnerved even if he stayed at HQ. It was why his hand was shoved in his hoodie pocket so he could hold onto his Trigger.

"I told Hyuse about your father. Not everything, but just about his connection with Border and that he created your Black Trigger. He wanted to know about him and Mogami-san."

Yuma looked over his shoulder at Osamu who was walking towards him. "Does no one know how to sleep?"

"It's hard to sleep knowing that we're being attacked by Mimics." Osamu turned his attention to the Restricted Zone. "It's one thing when it's normal Trion Soldiers the agents on duty are dealing with, but when it's unique Trion Soldiers attacking us, it's more worrisome. Like when Aftokrator was scoping us out before invading us."

"You shouldn't let it affect your rest. Taking care of yourself will help keep your wits about you." Yuma replied. "And we will all need our wits about us in the coming week. The Mimics will try to deceive you so you need to be able to focus."

"When we face them, we'll be using Triggers so the conditions of our physical bodies won't matter." Osamu pointed out as he leaned against the ledge next to Yuma.

"That doesn't mean you should neglect your body's physical needs." Yuma said. "This isn't going to end tonight. We're still only just in the beginning of this attack. Just because you're worried about Mimics doesn't mean you can forgo sleep all week."

"The Mimics are concerning, but they're not where most of my concern is." Osamu looked at Yuma. "You act concerned about the Mimics, but will they really come here again if you're here?"

"Do you know why one appeared here last night?" Yuma asked, staring in the direction of the Restricted Zone. He was waiting for a Mimic to just appear at any moment. "Mimics can't really see in their shadow forms so how do they find their targets?"

"You said they locate Trion bodies and since your body is a Trion one, that's why you're worried, right?" Osamu asked.

"But how do Mimics find the Trion bodies?" Yuma stressed. "Unless you have a radar, you can't locate anyone, so how do Mimics? They don't quite use radar. Instead, it's more of a form of echolocation."

"Echolocation is the location of objects through sound. Bats and dolphins use it to get around." Osamu replied.

Yuma nodded. "What the Mimics do is very similar to that. It doesn't seem that it has changed since they were first created. They don't really use sound though. They use Trion to send out waves to locate Trion bodies and their range is far, probably the whole city. It's the only thing that can explain how they found me yesterday."

"So if the Mimics get out of the Restricted Zone, they will come here?" Osamu asked.

"Mm-hmm, the danger is that to get to me, the Mimics will have to traverse through the city. While civilians aren't their targets, seeing those Trion Soldier will terrify them, especially since Border has no intention of alerting the city to what is going on." Yuma explained.

"It would cause unnecessary panic, especially since they won't be targeted by the Mimics." Osamu replied. "I'm sure Jin-san is working hard to figure what the best course of action we should take is."

At Jin's name, Yuma looked back over at Osamu with a frown.

'Within the next week, I see you dying.' Jin said.

Humming to himself, Yuma moved his eyes back to the Restricted Zone.

"Is something wrong?" Osamu asked.

"Yeah, what was that you said when you first came out here about telling Hyuse about my father?" Yuma asked.

"Oh, that," Osamu rubbed the back of his head. "He was asking about why everyone seemed worried about Mogami-san and your father appearing so I was telling him about them. It's impossible to hide anything from you so I just wanted to tell you as soon as I was able to."

Should that make Yuma feel guilty? It was making him feel guilty that Osamu was being so honest with him, but he couldn't bring himself to do the same. Osamu was finally relaxing now that the Rank Battle and Expedition exam were over. He couldn't put the stress of his impending death on him on top of the Mimics worrying everyone.

"I didn't tell him everything. He doesn't know the truth about your body or that you're dying." Osamu assured his friend.

It was strange that Osamu told Hyuse anything when the rest of their squad was still pretty much in the dark about everything. Chika only knew a little about his father, but nothing about his connection to Border and Shiori didn't know anything at all. Shiori was scared enough when she thought Osamu was going to die after Aftokrator's invasion. He didn't want to put her through that again.

"Kuga?" Osamu asked, frowning at his distracted friend. With the way Yuma had angled his body to look at the Restricted Zone, he couldn't see his face to figure out what he was feeling.

"It's fine, Osamu. I'm not mad about it. There're only a few hours until sunrise. You should try to get some sleep." Yuma replied. He really wasn't in the mood for a conversation with his friend being so honest while Yuma was hiding things.

"You're not going to run off the moment I leave the roof?"

Yuma pursed his lips. "No trust. I don't have any reason to run to the Restricted Zone tonight. I already alerted Border to what Mimics are."

"Just...if something happens, just alert us this time, okay?" Osamu asked. "Don't try to keep us in the dark."

"I never do, Osamu. There just wasn't time last night." Yuma replied, looking over at his friend. "But if something happens again, I promise I'll tell you right away."

Osamu nodded, looking satisfied.

*Mimics*

"Behind you," Kon warned.

Murakami sidestepped as he turned to see the Mimic's arm flying pass him. Though it missed, the Mimic didn't retract its arm. Instead, the arm swept across the area to try to hit them. Kuruma ducked while Murakami's Kogetsu sliced through the air to pierce the arm. These weren't difficult to fight, but the sheer number could overwhelm them. Just a single misstep or distraction could lead to a Mimic touching anyone of them.

"Where did those ones come from?" Taichi complained as he took aim and took his shot at the farthest one, leaving the closer ones for the gunners to take care of. "I thought we were almost done."

"Did another Gate open?" Kuruma asked.

"I didn't see one, but one must have. They weren't around before." Kon replied.

"Only a few hours until sunrise, and Kako-san is on her way back to help you guys." Osano added.

"Makes for a long night still." Suwa said.

"Let's just hope our Trion last that long." Daichi added.

*Mimics*

Jin sat on the steps overlooking the river at the base, staring up at the moon. He had every confidence that the squads in the Restricted Zone could handle themselves tonight. It would be a war of attrition, but they could survive. They would survive tonight, but this war was only beginning.

He made a promise.

He told Yuma he could save him.

Using his side effect, he has manipulated so many battlefields to lead Border to their wins.

But how was he supposed to lead them away from Yuma's death? So many paths he saw lead to Yuma dying. There had to be one somewhere that lead to his friend surviving. He could manipulate any bad future into a good future. He just had to find the right path.

Note: I am trying my best of addressing people in the story by how they address each other in the manga/anime. Unfortunately, they are a lot of characters and not all of the characters have interacted in the manga/anime yet. And those that have interacted may not always say each other's names or it's hard to find a scene where they say names. I'm trying my best to be accurate but it's hard and also they might change how they call someone, like with Yuma and Shun. Yuma started out addressing him as Midorikawa but switched to Shun later on. It's gets confusing and I don't always have time to hunt through chapters or episodes to figure out how people address each other. It would honestly be easily to just take the honorifics out of the story, but I like them so please bear with me if I get them wrong.