Days until the anniversary of Yugo's death: 5 days

Mimics

Chapter 8: ATTN: All Agents

ATTN: All Agents

There is a Mimic of Kuga Yugo currently roaming Mikado City. I advise all agents to not take this lightly. Kuga Yugo was a former member of Border and a very powerful Trigger user. Along with his normal Trigger, he is able to access the abilities of Agent Kuga's Black Trigger.

I advise everyone to not try to fight him alone.

General Manager and Commander of Self-Defense Unit,

Masafumi Shinoda

"I didn't realize one paragraph could give me so many questions." Tonooka said. He pointed down at the computer screen as he looked over at his teammates. "You guys interacted with Kuga-kun outside of our Rank War. Did you know his dad used to be a member of Border?"

"Tch, no, it must have been before Border became a public organization." Yuba said, crossing his arms. "Though if he had a father skilled with a Trigger, it would explain why Kuga is such a skilled fighter, despite only being in Border for less than a year."

Obishima locked her hands behind her back, staring at her teammates in curiosity. "If Kuga-senpai's father was a Border member and very likely is the one who trained him, why did it take him so long to join Border?"

"That question can only be answered by Kuga-kun." Fujimari replied. "Though it may be possible the loss of his father kept him away from Border. I'm more curious about the Black Trigger that is mentioned in this. Since when does Kuga-kun have a Black Trigger?"

*Mimics*

"What the hell?!" Suwa shouted, practically shoving his face onto the monitor. Osano shoved him to the side in annoyance.

"Get off my screen." Osano said annoyed.

Suwa stabbed a finger at the screen. "Since when does Kuga have a Black Trigger? When did he become S-Rank?!"

"Is that really more important than the warning from the Director about Kuga-kun's father roaming about?" Osano asked.

"They both sound like pretty important pieces of information." Daichi said.

"I think the Black Trigger part is important. We hadn't heard any information about a Black Trigger being created. And if one did get created, why would they just hand it off to Kuga-kun? When they chose Fujin's wielder years ago, they had a tournament, didn't they?" Hisato asked.

Suwa stepped away from the desk, much to Osano's happiness, so he could look at his teammates. "Yeah, Jin won and took Fujin, though he handed it back into HQ a few months ago and no one knows why."

"I can't see the point of dropping down from S-Rank if he's just going to stay as a solo A-Rank agent." Daichi said.

Osano pushed her lollipop around in her mouth, frowning at the screen as she looked at the memo that was sent out. Was there really no more information that Shinoda was going to give them? "Black Triggers aside, Kuga-kun's father has become our enemy and the higher ups are worried enough about it that they sent out a memo to warn everyone to be careful."

"I'm not looking down on Kuga. If he is anything like his son, he won't be an easy enemy, but it's hard to plan anything against someone we don't know anything about." Suwa replied.

"Well, it's Kuga-kun's father, right? Couldn't we just ask him?" Hisato suggested.

*Mimics*

"I'm a horrible friend."

"What are you upset about?" Saeki asked, staring down his depressed teammate.

"I've been friends with Yuma-senpai for months and I never even knew his father was dead." Shun muttered, staring down at his phone where the memo from HQ was staring mockingly back at him. "And now his father is back as a Mimic and we have to kill him."

"That's the job." Kusakabe replied, not looking up from her computer. "Instead of moping about it, go talk to your friend and see about getting information on his father's fighting style. Any information will be helpful in beating him."

Saeki shot his Captain a nasty glare. "I know you're gung-ho about getting the job done, but it would be insensitive of him to just go up to Kuga-kun demanding information about his father to prepare for a future battle right now."

Kusakabe looked up from her computer to look at Saeki over her monitors. "Is it? Kuga seemed like a very focused type person. He doesn't seem like the type to let his feelings get in the way of what is important."

"His father just came back from the dead in the form of a Mimic. That would be distracting for anyone. Just because he knows how to control his emotions, it does not mean he is an emotionless robot." Saeki argued.

"And waiting for Kuga to get a handle on himself is time we don't have. We have no idea of what Kuga Yugo will do while we sit around waiting for Kuga to be ready to talk to us." Kusakabe retorted.

Shun stood up suddenly, distracting his teammates from their argument. They could argue all they liked about this, but the truth was, neither of them knew Yuma at all. They've seen him around, but they didn't hang out with him or spar with him like Shun did. Their arguments of how Yuma was feeling didn't mean anything because the only person who could know what Yuma was feeling was himself. Shun couldn't even begin to guess how his friend was feeling. He thought he would be able to, but sitting here, reading this memo, made Shun realize that maybe he truly didn't know anything about his friend.

He didn't know Yuma's father was dead.

He didn't know when Yuma got a Black Trigger.

Hell, he didn't even know Yuma had a Black Trigger.

What kind of friend was he if he never inquired into anything about his friend?

It was only now he was realizing just how little Yuma spoke of himself before Border.

"I'm going to go find Yuma-senpai." Shun muttered as he walked out of his squad's operation room.

*Mimics*

Kako looked at the memo at her phone, frowning to herself. Is this what Jin was worried about happening? The way he kept looking at Yuma and talking about needing to help him. Was the appearance of Kuga Yugo really that serious?

No, that wasn't the right question.

If this was what Jin was worried about, why did he let Yuma use his Trigger at night?

So, this couldn't have been what had Jin stressed out. There had to be something more going on.

*Mimics*

"Did you know he had a Black Trigger?" Kageura asked.

"No." Murakami replied with a sigh.

Kageura tsked, leaning his head back on the seat. "I don't get that guy at all. He could be S-Rank by now, but he wants to hang around in the B-Ranks." He turned his head on the seat to look at the rest of the cafeteria, scowling at everyone he saw. "It's all the official agents are talking. Kuga. Kuga's Black Trigger. Kuga's father."

"The memo dropped bombshells on all of us. Is it really that surprising that people would talk?" Murakami replied. "It also came from Director Shinoda. From the sounds of the memo, I get the feeling he is more worried about this than he lets on."

"Hey," Kageura raised his head so he could lean forward, resting his arm on the table. "Didn't that memo mention something about Kuga Yugo being a former member of Border?"

Murakami raised a brow, but nodded. "It did."

"Shinoda-san has been with Border for a long time. Sounds to me like he could have known Kuga's father a long time ago." Kageura said.

"It sounds plausible." Murakami agreed. "Kuga is one of the very few people Shinoda-san addresses by first name. I thought it was weird, but if he used to be a friend of his father's, it makes sense why he would be more casual with him." He glanced down at his phone sitting on the table next to him then back at his friend. "Have you heard from Kuga today? I sent him a message earlier, but haven't gotten anything back."

"Haven't seen him." Kageura said, scratching at his face as he turned to glare at the room again. "He's probably around here somewhere. I can't see him as the type to hide his face."

Murakami looked around the room to see all the agents talking in intrigued voices, not even trying to be quiet about it. "I wouldn't want to be showing my face to the agents right now. He would get hounded with questions that I doubt he wants to answer. If he wanted us to know about his father, he wouldn't have kept quiet about it for months."

Kageura scoffed. "Kuga won't let something like this push him down. He'll be hounding us for Rank battles in no time, and knowing him, he'll act like nothing is wrong."

Murakami thought back to the other day when Shun pushed him to fight Yuma when he was in a bad mood. "You know it's just an act he puts on."

"Of course it's an act. He doesn't want to burden other people with his problems." Kageura scraped at his face. "He can't fool me when his emotions are all over the place. That idiot's distractions are probably what got him into this mess."

*Mimics*

"Oh, boy, Kuga's father? I want to fight him. He has to be crazy strong."

"Will you stop treating everything like a game?" Miwa scolded his teammate, looking over his shoulder at Yoneya who was leaning over Ren's shoulder to look at the computer. "If it's that Neighbor's father, he's not going to be easy to beat. Kuga knocked us out of the battle without fighting seriously. Having his father here who can use his Black Trigger abilities isn't a joke."

Yoneya and Ren shared a look.

"Sounds like he respects Kuga's strength." Yoneya whispered conspiratorially.

"You're not as quiet as you think you are, Yosuke." Miwa snapped.

Yoneya grinned at Ren.

Miwa pulled his hand out of his pocket, opening his hand to look at the mini Replica that rested there. The thing just died at the end of the Aftokrator invasion, but Miwa, for reasons he didn't understand, couldn't just leave it lying in the road. He had intended to just toss it out at some point, but he kept the annoying flea on him.

"Arashiyama-san, you'll eventually regret that you sheltered a Neighbor. You guys don't get it. You people whose families or friends haven't been killed by Neighbors can't understand how truly dangerous they are. Jin, who underestimates Neighbors, will definitely regret it someday. And when that day comes, it'll be too late."

"I don't think he's underestimating them." Arashiyama replied. "Jin too, had his mother killed by a Neighbor. Five years ago, his master, Mogami-san passed away as well. The pain of losing someone close is something I'm sure he knows well. Being aware of how dangerous Neighbors are and the pain of losing someone important, Jin has his own plans. That's what I think."

Miwa scowled, closing his hand around the annoying flea.

Was he the one that didn't understand? Jin had lost people to the Neighbors, but he didn't let that pain turn into hatred for all Neighbors. He still constantly tried to make friends with them. They both lost people they loved, but they still somehow ended up on different paths.

"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."

It was frustrating just how blind Miwa was feeling. He only ever focused on his own losses and pain that he didn't ever notice Jin's and he just made the assumption that since Yuma was a Neighbor, he couldn't understand pain or loss. Neighbors were horrible people that just caused death and destruction when they came here. They needed to be killed. That was Miwa's purpose. It allowed him to push his anger and hatred towards something.

But ever since that Neighbor showed up and joined Border, Miwa felt like he was losing all sense of direction. Miwa never saw Yuma as someone who could have lost someone or had a hard life. He just saw a Neighbor, someone who was supposed to be his enemy.

But that didn't feel right anymore.

His father had appeared as Mimic.

If his father was appearing, it meant Yuma had fond memories of him, that he very dearly loved his father which meant the pain and hurt that Miwa felt when he lost his sister is something Yuma also felt. It was hard to tell that he ever suffered like that with the way he acted.

Him and Jin.

They acted so carefree but underneath that exterior was the same pain that Miwa had a hard time hiding.

*Mimics*

"By the way, why did you come to this world, Yuma-kun?" Chika asked.

"Because my father died." Yuma said bluntly.

Taking another shot, Chika hit dead center on the target. Steadying her breathing, she took another shot and got another bullseye.

"'If I die, go to Japan. Someone I know should be working for an organization called Border.' He often said this and so that's why I came to Japan."

Another shot.

"What was your father like?" Chika asked.

"He was unique." Yuma replied.

Another bullseye.

"Both Osamu and I are just doing whatever we want." Yuma told her.

"Then I'll pay back my debt because I wanna do so." Chika replied.

Another shot.

"You knew it was always a possibility that they might be dead, Chika, but you never let that worry stop you before. You kept training hard to get to this point. Don't let those what-ifs stop you from going for what you want. They'll only be a distraction."

Another bullseye.

"Chikako seems kind of scary today." Izuho said, watching her friend take shot after shot at the targets without slowing down or having any hesitation whatsoever in her aim.

"She's always been really focused while training." Ema pointed out, though he shoved his hands in pockets and sighed. "You're still C-Rank so you wouldn't have gotten the memo that was sent out a little while ago."

"Huh? Did something happen?" Izuho asked.

Ema nodded. "Kuga's father has appeared as Mimic recently. It has the higher ups worried enough that they issued a warning to all official agents to be cautious of him. Apparently, the Mimic is able to use Kuga's Black Trigger abilities. It has all the agents in an uproar since no one knew he even had a Black Trigger in his possession."

Izuho hummed thoughtfully. "I see.

Ema eyed her out of the corner of her eyes. "You're taking this easily."

"I knew Ochibi-senpai had a Black Trigger. He was fighting with it in Aftokrator's invasion. Though Chikako had to explain it to me after the invasion since I had questions." Izuho explained, crossing her arms as she thought back to then. "I never knew his father was dead though."

"Can you back up?" Arafune asked as he walked over. He had heard the two talking, but didn't want to interfere in the conversation, but now it was pulling at his interest. "Did you just say Kuga was using his Black Trigger during Aftokrator's invasion?"

Izuho nodded. "He used it to fight some old guy on the enemy's side."

"He was C-Rank during that invasion." Arafune said confused as Toma walked over to join the group.

"Kuga came to Border with a Black Trigger, but wanted to rise through the ranks normally so Kido-san only lets him use his Black Trigger when it's an emergency." Toma explained as he watched Chika continue her nonstop firing on her target. At the rate she was going, her target was going to be nothing but pieces soon. "Only a handful of the A-Rank squads and Tamakoma knew this though. The severity of the situation with his father being back has made it necessary to reveal that information."

Oki took one more shot, hitting the bullseye before he deactivated his rifle and turned to the agents talking behind him. "If you know something, tell us. Any information will be helpful if we need to go after Kuga. If he's anything like his son, he won't be easy to take down."

"I tried to snipe him down this morning and was blocked easily, then was gunned down by him using Kuga's Black Trigger ability, Bolt, which is a variation on Asteroid." Toma explained.

"You got killed?" Izuho asked shocked. Whenever they have sniper training exercises, Toma never got hit. He was just that skilled at hiding after taking his shots. No one could ever find him.

"Not just me. Tachikawa-san and Izumi got killed by him too." Toma replied.

"Are you serious? Our top squads?" Arafune asked shocked.

"If you talk to Tachikawa-san about it, he'll just complain about how Kuga ambushed and trapped them so it wasn't a fair fight." Toma said, amusement touching his voice very lightly. The situation wasn't a joke and should be taken very seriously, but Tachikawa's annoyance was a bit fun to watch. "Kuga had a fight with Jin-san this morning to show off his Black Trigger's abilities to give us an idea of what to expect for next time."

"Jin-san and Kuga-kun?" Oki asked interested. "Shouldn't we all have gotten to see that? If we need to prepare for Black Trigger abilities from Kuga Yugo?"

"They didn't fight for long. It was just a quick showing of Kuga's Black Trigger." Toma replied. "And right after it, Kuga ran off and no one knows where he went."

Arafune looked towards Chika who was still firing nonstop at her target. "Everyone is going crazy about the revelations from that memo and now they all have questions. I'm not surprised he's hiding out somewhere. He could have even left to go back to Tamakoma to avoid everyone."

Chika stood up suddenly, turning off her Egret as she turned towards the agents.

"You doing okay, Chikako? You went kind of hard on the target today." Izuho's eyes shifted to Chika's target which was barely hanging up by a thread still.

"I'm fine. I'm heading out for today." Chika said, giving a polite bow of her head to her fellow agents before leaving.

"I think she's mad." Izuho muttered.

"Well, it is her teammate everyone is gossiping about. She's allowed to be a bit upset about that." Arafune said.

Chika walked down the hall, hands clenching and unclenching at her sides. Why did she have to hear the name Kuga coming out of every mouth of someone she passed? Yuma already had to be suffering enough without everyone gossiping behind his back. She understood they were curious about what was going on with the information in the memo about Yuma and his father, but it had to be hard for Yuma to hear all this gossiping. He had to already be having a hard time having his father reappearing. It was hard to get Yuma to talk about his past before he came to Japan which just told Chika that he didn't like talking about it. It couldn't be easy for him to have this getting out now.

"Should you be an operator or a combatant?" Shiori asked.

"Well, of course she should be a combatant, since her Trion is really impressive." Yuma said. "Plus, in case she gets attacked by a Neighbor in the future, Chika should be able to fight."

Shun rounded the corner so fast, he almost ran into Chika. He quickly retracted his forward step by turning it into a back step.

"Midorikawa-kun?" Chika said surprised.

"Ah, Amatori-chan!" Shun greeted after he caught his balance. "Have you seen Yuma-senpai around? I need to talk to him.

Hearing her friend's name again, Chika's eyes narrowed at him, studying him for a moment before her expression softened. Shun was one of Yuma's closest friends. She doubted he was looking for Yuma to harass him about the memo. "Sorry, but I haven't seen him today."

"Oh," Shun said, looking defeated. "I'm not surprised he wanted to hide."

Chika smiled sadly at the other agent. "Is something wrong, Midorikawa-kun? Anything I can help with?"

Shun sunk onto a nearby window seal, just feeling so drained after searching for so long for Yuma. He wasn't the one to become the hottest topic in Border today with everyone gossiping about him, but Yuma was his friend. How could he know so little about him?

"I'm horrible." Chika said softly when Shun didn't speak up. She sat down next to him on the window seal, wringing her hands in her lap. "I was telling Yuma-kun about my fear with the Mimics the other day. The whole time he was reassuring me and telling me I would be fine because I wouldn't be alone. I would have all my allies fighting by my side to help me. He was telling all this to help build up my strength and courage when all I felt was fear in my heart. But I never once thought about him. I knew his father was dead, but I didn't even consider his own fears against the Mimics, and now, his father is the one that has appeared before us."

Shun stared at Chika for a moment before turning to face the wall across from them. "I can't even say that. I didn't even know his father was dead. We've been friends for months and I'm only now realizing I don't know anything about him outside of Border. He never told me anything. Maybe...maybe we're not as good friends as I thought."

"No!" Chika said so passionately that it surprised Shun into looking back at her. "Don't think like that. I know Yuma-kun values his friendship with you a lot." She stared back at Shun with so much determination in them that it surprised him. He wasn't expecting such conviction from her about this as she always seemed so gentle and soft-spoken. "Yuma-kun is a pretty private person. I only know a few things about his past and I had to ask him about that stuff directly. He won't ever share anything out of nowhere, but if you ask him, he will tell you." She looked down at her hands, frowning softly. "He told me his dad died when he was eleven and he acted like it wasn't a big deal, but I think he just likes to act strong so as to not burden people with the pain he is going through. I don't think he had an easy time growing up and rather than talk freely about it, he keeps it to himself. I don't know all that he went through, but sometimes when he thinks he is alone, he gets this sad look in his eyes."

Shun stared back at her, eyes softening. "I had no idea. He always seemed so happy all the time." He replied as his attention drifted back to the opposite wall. "The other day I was talking with him and Yoneyan and they kept mentioning stuff from before Yuma-senpai was an agent and even about Aftokrator's invasion. They gave me answers to my questions, but they didn't feel truthful, or at least not fully truthful. It felt like they were hiding things behind the answers they were giving me, so I stopped asking questions because I didn't want to hear the excuses anymore. I want honest answers, but I guess Yuma-senpai doesn't trust me at all."

"It's not because of that." Chika looked down the hall, glad to see they wasn't anyone nearby trying to eavesdrop on them. "Yuma-kun helps the higher ups with sensitive information so he can't share everything that goes on. They ask for his help with the understanding that he knows how to keep secrets. It's not that he doesn't trust you, but that he isn't allowed to tell this information to people. Like his Black Trigger." She glanced back at Shun, giving him a gentle smile. "That was a secret that wasn't meant to be shared unless it was absolutely necessary. Try again, Midorikawa-kun. Now that it's known he has a Black Trigger and his father was a Border founder, Yuma-kun might be able to find it in him to talk a bit more freely with you."

Shun blinked. "A Border founder?"

"Huh?" Chika said shocked.

"The memo only said he was a former member of Border." Shun explained.

Chika gaped at the other agent, covering her mouth with one hand. "Oh, no."

Shun smiled, a light laugh coming from him. "Don't worry. I'll keep it a secret that you told me. I don't see what harm that tidbit of information could do anywhere. It doesn't change the fact that Kuga-san was once a Border member. Hey, listen, whoever finds Yuma-senpai first, we tell him we both looking for him." At Chika's confused looked, Shun shrugged. "I figured you could use a talk with him too. I don't think Yuma-senpai would fault you for not taking his feelings about the Mimics into account, but I think you still want to talk to him."

"Right," Chika nodded. "If I see him, I'll let him know you need to talk to him."

Shun glanced at his phone to see a message from Murakami, one from his captain, and one from Izumi, but still nothing from Yuma. "If only he would reply to me."

"When you find him, good luck with your conversation. And please don't be mad at him for keeping secrets." Chika requested.

"I was never mad at him. I'm just disappointed in myself for not realizing sooner how bad of a friend I was." Shun scratched his cheek, an almost ashamed look crossing his features. "I don't know anything about him before Border and when he was in a bad mood the other day, I pushed Murakami-senpai into dealing with him, instead of trying to talk to him myself."

"Yuma-kun probably respected the fact that you did that. He has a hard time talking about himself, but I think it will be good for him to open up. He always helps me and Osamu-kun when we're feeling down and need to vent out what's wrong. Yuma-kun needs that too. He puts on a brave front, but even he needs people to talk to. I think Osamu-kun and Jin-san can usually get him to open up, but..." Chika trailed off, frowning once more. "I think something's been wrong lately. He and Jin-san have been having arguments about something lately. I don't know what they're about though."

"It's natural for friends to disagree sometimes. I'm sure those two can work out what's wrong." Shun assured her. "And I don't think he would be mad at you for not recognizing his own worries about the Mimics. It's hard to realize what someone is feeling if they don't want to speak up."

"True," Chika looked down at her hands, opening and closing them a few times. The feeling of holding a rifle had been so foreign to her when she first joined Border, but now she couldn't imagine not having her gun in her hands. "When I first said I wanted to join Border, Yuma-kun was the only person to tell me to fight. I could tell by Osamu-kun's face that he didn't want me to join, but he accepted my choice. During Aftokrator's invasion, everyone was telling me to run. To get away from the Rabits and Neighbors. Honestly, I wanted to. I wanted to run so far away. It was what I was best at. Because of my Trion levels, I've been hunted by Neighbors practically my whole life. It's a miracle I survived this long." Chika smiled at Shun. "Standing on the road that day Aftokrator attacked, I was so terrified, I couldn't even move. Osamu-kun and Kitora-kun fought so hard to protect us and without any fear, Izuho-chan picked up an Ibis to protect me. The me who couldn't even get my knees to stop shaking. All the while I kept hearing the word 'run. Run away.' Then I remembered Yuma-kun's words. He was the first person to ever tell me to fight. To protect myself. When that Rabit was staring me down, it was his words that reminded me of why I joined Border in the first place. Yuma-kun has done so much to help me since I met him. I want to pay him back for all of it."

"It must have been really hard for you back then, being alone against the Neighbors." Shun said, smiling at her. "It's hard to believe no one told you to fight before. Your Trion levels are insane! You're amazing."

Chika blushed, rubbing the back of her head. She didn't think she would ever get good at taking compliments. "Well, no one knew about my Trion levels back then. It was because of Yuma-kun that we realized why I was being hunted by Trion soldiers."

"This was before you joined Border?"

Chika nodded. "Back in December."

"Why is it always December?" Shun muttered.

"Huh?"

"Yoneyan said that is when he met Yuma-senpai too."

"Oh," Chika laughed lightly. "That is when Yuma-kun came to Japan."

"He wasn't in Japan before?" Shun asked surprised. "Guess that would explain why, despite having a former Border member for a father, he didn't join Border into recently. I wonder if Jin-san knew who his father was and that's why he chose to recruit him."

Chika leaned forward slightly, tilting her head to look better at Shun. "Yuma-kun refused Jin-san's offer to join Border. He and Jin-san had a long talk on Tamakoma's roof after his refusal, but his answer stayed the same. Osamu-kun is the one who convinced him to join. He and I both knew that we couldn't achieve our goal of getting on an Away mission without a lot of practice and probably years of work so we asked Yuma-kun to help us."

"Why is it that I'm learning more about Yuma-senpai just talking to you then I did from the months of knowing Yuma-senpai?" Shun asked, folding his arms behind his head. Yuma didn't want to join Border originally? That was strange. Looking at his friend, he seemed to really love his time in Border. The dude was a fighting maniac.

"When you find him, just walk right up to him and be blunt about what you want to ask and be truthful. He doesn't like it when people lie to him."

"Ironic for someone full of secrets." Shun said amused, making Chika smile softly at him.

*Mimics*

"I am sorry." Arashiyama held out a cup of coffee to Jin. "You look exhausted by the way."

Jin smirked in amusement, taking the cup. "You were the one on duty all night. I just spent half the night worrying." He rubbed his tired eyes, leaning back in his seat. Of all things he figured would happen today, he didn't expect Arashiyama to drag him into a conference room without warning.

Arashiyama smiled, taking a sit on the other side of the table, wrapping his hands around his cup of coffee. "My tiredness will hit me when I deactivate my Trigger. But back to my point, I want to apologize to you. I promised you I would protect Yuma last night, but it seems we messed up. I left Tokieda watching him since I wasn't expecting Mimics to attack us in the base."

"That's not your fault. There was no good solution in keeping Yuma safe." Jin replied taking a sip of his coffee, relishing in the caffeine that he was going to need to get through the day. "I can see the future but each action we take shifts that future. Asking you to watch over Yuma yesterday wasn't guaranteed to keep this from happening. And even if you succeeded in keeping the Mimics away from him, that didn't mean the future where Kuga Yugo appeared wouldn't happen. It would only delay it."

"It would have been nice if we would have been able to delay it until the nation that is sending Mimics here was out of range." Arashiyama replied. "So, just how bad is the future as you see it is now?"

A grimace crossed Jin's face at the question, and was honestly all the answer that Arashiyama needed.

"Alright, do you have a plan of how to beat Kuga?" Arashiyama asked.

"He's a tough opponent, but no one is unbeatable. Some people are just much harder to beat than others." Jin replied.

"Which means you don't know how to beat him yet."

"I'm working on it. My top priority the past few days was to try to avoid this outcome. Now that it is here, we need to kill him. Need to find him first though. Besides killing Tachikawa squad and Toma this morning, he's not making any flashy moves to help us locate him."

Arashiyama hummed to himself. "If we knew what he was after..."

"By someone claiming to be Kuga Yugo, and he also happens to be looking for his son." Izumi gave a pointed look to Yuma, who simply closed his eyes in defeat.

It was Yuma. The Mimic of Kuga Yugo was looking for his son, but Jin wasn't about to use Yuma as bait. That would be the last course of action he would suggest if nothing else worked.

Instead of saying any of that, Jin just took another sip of his coffee.

"There was something else I wanted to talk to you about, regarding what happened last night." Arashiyama added, drawing Jin's back to him. "About Yuma-"

"There you are, Jin. You think you can hide from me." Kako said as she walked in the room.

Jin leaned back in his chair, looking over his shoulder at the girl in the doorway. "Would have been more dramatic if you slammed the door open."

Kako glared at the door. "Right, stupid automatic doors."

"Is there something wrong, Kako-san?" Arashiyama asked.

"Right," Kako joined the two at the table, taking a seat next to Jin. "Kuga Yugo. This is what you were worried about the other night, wasn't it?"

"He's been worried about it all week." Arashiyama pointed out.

Kako glanced at him, then back at Jin. "Okay, then, if this is what you were worried about, why didn't you just send Kuga-kun out of the city?" Kako asked. "Whatever you saw in the future, involved him and had us falling down a horrible path. If we subtracted him from the equation, couldn't we have avoided this altogether?"

Jin gave a bitter laugh. "It wouldn't have worked. The Mimics would have still found him. So, I thought, if I kept him here where we could watch him, we could keep him safe."

"Still find him?" Kako repeated confused. "If you sent him away and told him not to activate his Trigger, he would be fine."

Jin shook his head, smiling bitterly at the other agent. "He wouldn't have been."

The Mimics would still find Yuma if Jin sent him out of the city. The Mimics only went after Trion bodies because that's what they needed to get memories. Last night, Yuma's body was all broken and cracked and right in front of his eyes, Arashiyama watched those cracks heal.

"Because he's in a Trion body." Arashiyama said, all the pieces finally falling in place. While Kako looked at him confused, Jin was shocked. "Jin, he was thrown through a window last night and then crashed into a building without his Trigger active. He stood up like it barely fazed him. His body was all cracked and broken, but I watched it heal right in front of my eyes. So, if he isn't in a Trion body, then tell me what he is?"

Jin stared at his friend before sighing softly, raising his hands to show he was giving up. "You got me, Arashiyama. You're right that he is trapped in a Trion body."

Kako looked from Arashiyama to Jin, eyes widening just a faction in surprise. Coming into room was leading to more confusion and questions than she was initially prepared for. "We can leave the story of how that is possible aside, but will you answer some other questions for me? Because I am suddenly finding myself very shocked."

"Depends on what the questions are." Jin replied, rubbing at his eyes and silently apologizing to Yuma in his head. It had never been his intention to let people find out about his body, but he couldn't very well lie to Arashiyama after what he saw. There wasn't another explanation for how Yuma's body broke and healed like it did.

Kako and Arashiyama shared a look. Arashiyama tilted his head at her, allowing her to go ahead with her question.

"Has he been trapped in his Trion body for a long time?" Kako asked.

Lowering his hand from his eyes, Jin glanced at her, raising a brow. "That is your question? He was eleven when he got trapped in a Trion body."

Kako nodded her head. "I was curious about why he was so short for being fifteen. If he's been in a Trion body for four years, then it makes sense since Trion body can't change."

"Closer to five. The anniversary is in a few days." Jin replied.

"And what does it mean that he is trapped in a Trion body?" Arashiyama asked.

Jin took a sip of his coffee. "Not much. He doesn't change physically. He can't sleep. His physical abilities are greatly enhanced. His body's durability is weaker than a combat Trion body, but in return, his body can heal almost instantly. His Black Trigger is what is sustaining his body."

Kako's brows furrowed in confusion. There wasn't too much there that was surprising if Yuma was truly in a Trion body, though none of it helped ease any of her curiosity. "That causes more questions. Where is his real body right now, Jin?"

"Sealed in the Black Trigger."

"So, someone sealed Yuma's real body inside a Black Trigger and he somehow has another Trion body to live in that isn't the combat body he uses when he uses his Black Trigger?" Arashiyama said slowly as he tried to wrap his head around what Jin was saying. He was sure he would understand better if Jin told them the full story of how this all happened, but he didn't want to pry that much.

"Yes."

"No, yes is not a good enough answer to that. That makes no sense. By doing that, the Black Trigger got tied to Kuga-kun. Why would anyone want to tie a Black Trigger in that way? Normally people want to get their hands on a Black Trigger, not tie it to someone." Kako argued.

Jin rubbed his chin, trying to think of how to explain this. He didn't think Yuma would appreciate any more of his life being revealed but if he avoided the specifics of what happened and just went with the general information, it would be fine. "The Black Trigger was created by Yuma's father to save Yuma's life. You read the memo that said Kuga-san was a skilled Border member in the past, right? Well, he was very powerful and was able to create a Black Trigger while sealing Yuma's dying body inside it and creating a Trion copy so Yuma could go on living."

Dying...?

"You keep dropping bombshells." Kako said, eyes narrowed. "What do you mean dying?"

Jin grimaced. Perhaps he should have left that word out of it, but it would be hard to justify Yugo sealing Yuma's real body away like this without a good reason. "Yuma was gravely injured when he was eleven. The only way to save his life was for Kuga-san to create a Black Trigger." He explained.

Kako shook her head. "Is that saving though? It doesn't solve the problems of his injuries. He can't go back to his real body with the wounds there."

"Hence, the reason he is trapped in a Trion body." Jin replied. "Could you two do me a favor and not mention this to anyone? I only told you since Arashiyama figured it out, but the truth is, only myself, Osamu, and Rindo-san know this. Yuma was keeping it quiet, even at Tamakoma."

"I can keep it quiet, Jin, but if Yuma's body is damaged enough that his father saw this as the only option, what does that mean for Yuma? He can't live in a Trion body forever." Arashiyama asked.

Sighing, Jin ran a hand through his head, leaning back in his seat again. Why did Arashiyama and Kako have to be so smart and read the situation as well as they were doing? "What Kuga-san did prevented Yuma from dying in the moment, but that's all it did. It was only a temporary solution. Even now, Yuma's real body is slowly dying. From my understanding, when his body dies, his Trion body will disappear as well. It will probably be in that moment when his real body will come back to this world, but at that point, there will be nothing we can do for him."

"I see." Kako said softly, hands curling into fists under the table as she recalled her first meeting with Yuma and how carefree he was with those easy smiles. "Your kouhai is truly amazing. The strength to face every day with the knowledge that he will die one day hanging over his head. I don't think it's something most people could handle."

After his talk with Yuma the other night, Jin had a feeling that Yuma made it through each day, not because of strength, but because he just didn't care about his life. He was living with the intention of walking to his death. Yuma hid it well, but Jin could tell his words that night on Tamakoma's roof when Yuma told him about his father. While Border needed Yuma's help, the more important reason that Jin wanted Yuma to join the organization was because he wanted Yuma to learn to enjoy life again. He didn't want Yuma to just focus on the bad.

"He lived with the knowledge for four years before he came to us. I can't begin to imagine how he dealt with everything when it first happened to him." Jin replied.

"True," Arashiyama said, staring down into his coffee. "Not only was he gravely injured, but his father had to give up his life so Yuma could live." That would be so horrible. Arashiyama was a Border agent so he could protect his parents and siblings. Everything he did to protect the city was because he couldn't bear to lose his own family. It was asking a lot of an eleven-year-old to go through that, but that troubled past of his was what built Yuma into who he was.

"Thank you for the honesty, Jin." Kako said. "Now, perhaps we should make a plan of how to stop this Mimic? I imagine the father of Kuga-kun, who gave up everything for a son he loved so much, wouldn't be happy about a Mimic of himself running around and terrorizing Border."

"Probably not." Jin agreed. None of them knew Kuga Yugo so they couldn't say for sure, but from what he has heard of Kuga Yugo and knowing his son, he imagined he wouldn't want be happy about this. Not only was it attacking Border, but it was also putting Yuma in danger. "I don't want to cause a panic, but counting today, we only have five days until the horrible future I see comes to pass."