A/N: I don't own World Trigger
Mimics
Chapter 13: Sounds Like Love
Osamu checked his phone to look at the message from Jin then up at the door he was standing in front of. He kept waiting for the message from Shinoda to tell them about their training for the away mission, but he wasn't surprised that it wasn't coming. The Mimics had been a distraction, but it shouldn't have been enough to stall training for the expedition team. He had a feeling the threat of Kuga Yugo in the city just amped up the threat so now the training for the away mission was going to be on hold until this threat was taken care of.
None of that explained why Jin was asking Osamu to come to the conference room for a meeting with some of the other Captains.
Sliding his phone back into his pocket, Osamu entered the conference room. "Morning."
"Good morning." Arashiyama replied, smiling at his friend. "I didn't realize Jin called you here too."
"Do you know what it is he needed?"
"We wanted to talk yesterday about the abilities that Kuga's Black Trigger has, but got sidetracked and then Jin got a vision of an attack at Tamakoma so we had to rush there." Azuma explained. "I suppose this is his second attempt at that meeting."
Osamu nodded in understanding as he took a seat at the table. "I don't know why I'm here then. I understand how Kuga's Black Trigger works already." He glanced at Arashiyama. "Don't you as well? You fought alongside Kuga when he used it in the Aftokrator invasion."
"We fought together briefly, but I don't think he fought too seriously with it. We only saw a little of what he could do with it." Arashiyama replied.
"Makes sense. Even when I watched him fight Miwa-senpai with it, he went easy on them." Osamu replied. "He doesn't use it often, but it's rare for him to go one hundred percent with it." He paused as he thought over the times Yuma used his Black Trigger and how Replica would fight alongside him. "It might be too hard for him to go full out. His Black Trigger isn't easy to use."
Kako raised a brow, looking from Osamu to Arashiyama. "What is this about a fight with Miwa?"
"Oh, uh," Osamu hesitated, looking at Kako and Azuma. That's right these two didn't know about Yuma's Neighbor status. He could only hope that didn't cause too much an issue.
Azuma smiled easily back at Osamu. He did help Tamakoma recently with covering Hyuse's status as a Neighbor. It wasn't hard to realize the truth that Tamakoma was hiding. It wasn't surprising either considering their loved of befriending Neighbors. "Kuga is a Neighbor."
"Oh?" Jin sang, standing in the doorway of the conference room with a smile. "You knew?"
"Why are you always last to arrive when you schedule these meetings?" Miwa griped.
Azuma glanced at Miwa. It seemed no matter how much Miwa changed and matured from his experiences in Border, he couldn't fully let go his attitude. That was okay. There was no need to make Miwa change completely. Looking back at Jin, Azuma shrugged. "When I saw the memo about his father being a former Border member, I had a moment of doubt, but from what I've seen of him the past few months, he is too experienced of a fighter. He has to have been through some tough stuff."
Considering that story that Jin told him yesterday, Arashiyama found that to be an understatement. He always saw Yuma as a strong person, but learning his history of his father and that he was dying put a whole new perspective to what it meant to be strong and overcoming those obstacles in life.
Kako raised both of her brows, looking around the room in shock. Not one face in this room looked shocked at the revelation of Yuma's status as Neighbor. Azuma seemed to be the only one that this wasn't confirmed for, besides her who didn't even have a clue. After that story from Jin yesterday, she really should have seen this one coming. The story of what happened to Yuma would make a lot more sense to her now that she understood it happened in the Neighborhood.
It would also really explain why Miwa had a very obvious disdain for Yuma.
Miwa could dislike Yuma all he liked. Miwa had his own feelings about the Neighbors, and Kako had her feelings about them. If they attacked them, they were enemies that needed taken out. But Yuma hadn't attacked them and instead has been a pretty helpful ally. He was truly a sign that not all Neighbors were bad people.
Besides, Neighbor or not, he was still a talented 'K.'
Him being a Neighbor didn't make her want him on her team any less.
Jin took a seat besides Osamu. "Anyway, Yuma being a Neighbor wasn't the point of this discussion." He paused, taking a look around the table at the gathered captains. "It seems I'm not the last to arrive. Where is Kazama-san?"
"Not here," Tachikawa shrugged. "You didn't see that coming, Mr. Fortune Teller?"
"Contrary to popular belief, I don't use my side effect every waking moment every day." Jin replied. "That's alright. I can find him later." He turned to look at Osamu. "I wanted your help in explaining Yuma's Black Trigger since you've seen him use it the most."
Osamu pushed his glasses up, adjusting them. "That may be true, but Kuga would be the best person to talk to about that."
"Hmm, true." Jin agreed. "But he left the base early this morning and he's not going to back all day."
Osamu's brows furrowed. Jin didn't sound concerned, but Osamu was feeling worried. The Mimic of Kuga Yugo was out there and his main target was Yuma. He didn't like the idea of his partner just running around the city by himself, especially when he was down his Border Trigger. He couldn't very well just activate his Black Trigger if he was in the city and his father found him. Well, he could, but it would lead to a lot of chaos and likely destruction of the city, not to mention the civilians that would be put in danger.
"Don't look so worried. Shun is with him." Jin assured Osamu.
"Why are they together?" Osamu asked. He knew they were friends, but he also knew that Shun's team was on defense duty last night. He didn't think Shun would want dragged around by Yuma all day.
"Shun hunted him down this morning and forcibly included himself into Yuma's plans for the day." Jin explained.
"You didn't think of stopping them so Kuga could come here to talk to us?" Fuyushima suggested.
"If I got in Yuma's way today, he'd be biting my head off." Jin replied, giving an easy grin to the other agent. "Speaking of," He looked over at Osamu. "Tamakoma is having a meeting tonight. Or tomorrow morning, depending on what happens today."
Osamu looked at Jin in confusion. "On what happens?"
"Hyuse and Yuma made a deal, or more like Hyuse forced Yuma to accept a deal. When Yuma ultimately fails to succeed his side of the deal, all of Tamakoma needs to have a meeting." Jin explained.
That did nothing to help Osamu understand. In fact, it was only making him more confused. Yuma and Hyuse seemed to get along just fine, when Yuma wasn't intentionally angering him to tease him. It was strange that Hyuse was forcing Yuma into a deal. Osamu would just let it go though. If Jin said they would talk later with the rest of Tamakoma, then there was no need for Osamu to ask for more information now.
"What did you do to make Kuga-kun so mad? You said he wasn't happy with you yesterday either." Kako pointed out.
Jin rubbed the back of his head, grin turning uneasy. "Yuma is just stressed out right now. He has a lot going on. The Mimics just topped off his stress levels for the week. I hope a day in the city with Shun will help calm him down. It's hard to get anything done when he's snapping at me all the time."
"So, it wasn't just yesterday morning?" Osamu asked.
"I don't begrudge him for it. He has a lot on his mind right now, more than he's told you. It's part of what we're going to talk about tonight when he gets back." Jin explained. "Or, Hyuse is going to talk about it. He and Yuma were arguing about it last night. Hyuse called him an idiot."
Osamu's brows were going to disappear into his hairline soon if Jin kept talking about this. Now he was just really curious about what was going on. Hyuse called people out on things easily, but he never called Yuma an idiot. He didn't even tend to call Yuma out on anything since Yuma was so levelheaded and had plenty of wisdom when it came to battle. Something serious had to be going on for Hyuse to get on Yuma's case.
A frown pulled at Osamu's lips. If Hyuse was feeling the need to get involved and call Yuma out, it also meant that Yuma was keeping something from him. That hurt, especially since Yuma had promised him the other night to tell him immediately when something was going on. Osamu had stepped back the past couple days to give Yuma some space to think about what was going on, but it was with the understanding that Yuma would come to him to talk and get help when he needed it. He thought Yuma trusted him enough to not just keep everything to himself.
"Sounds like you were eavesdropping." Miwa muttered.
"They woke me up with their chatter. If I alerted them to that, they would have halted their conversation." Jin replied. "Anyway, let's go over Yuma's Black Trigger."
*Mimics*
"Nice to see you looking lively."
Shiori looked up from the book she was reading, smiling at Konami trailing in with Karasuma behind her.
"Do you feel better?" Karasuma asked.
"You are all overreacting. I wasn't that injured in the first place." Shiori replied softly.
Konami dropped into the chair next to the bed, frowning intently at her friend. "Sounds like bullshit. I saw Kuga choking you out and then he threw you through that wall!"
"Yuma-kun protected me from taking the force of that." Shiori pointed out.
"He did!" Konami dramatically threw her hands into the air, leaning back in her seat. "And the fact that he is up and running around makes no sense. He should be injured from slamming into a wall so hard he went through it. And yet, he doesn't have a scratch on him!"
"That's because Yuma was wearing a set of armor designed by R&D that was designed to enhance his clothes with Trion to protect him getting hurt when getting thrown like that." Karasuma told Konami as he took a seat on the other side of the bed.
"He was?" Konami asked surprised. "I didn't even know Border was designing something like that. It's a good thing Yuma had that to keep himself safe."
Shiori's lips twitched in amusement. One of these days Konami would learn not to trust everything she hears, but that day was not today.
"He doesn't have it." Karasuma replied, staring straight at her. "I lied."
Konami stared blankly back at her teammate for a moment before shock overtook her and she was jumping to her feet. "You lied to me!" She shouted as she tried to grab Karasuma from across the bed, but he just leaned back to stay out of her reach. Konami would never clamber on the bed where Shiori was resting so she had to give up on strangling him. "Don't think I'll forget this!"
Dropping back into her seat, Konami scowled. "It's not something to joke about. He and Shiori could have been hurt horribly."
"Or drowned." Karasuma said. "They did fall in the river. It's amazing Yuma was able to pull them both out."
"He probably activated his Black Trigger when they went under. Not much of a mystery how he got them out." Konami replied airily.
Shiori looked down at the book she put down in her lap, confusion coating her face. When she woke up to Yuma holding her, she was pretty sure she had grabbed a hold of his hoodie. She was exhausted and struggling to breathe at the time, but she was almost certain that Yuma's Black Trigger wasn't active at the time. "So, he's alright?"
Dropping their argument, Konami and Karasuma looked over at her, both frowning.
"Who? Yuma? Did he not look fine to you?" Konami asked.
"He hasn't been by." Shiori admitted. She understood from Jin that it was most likely guilt keeping Yuma away. It was surprising from Yuma since he always seemed very open about not blaming anyone for anything. He worked so hard when Osamu was in the hospital to find proof that Replica was alive to ease Osamu's guilt over what happened, and yet, it seemed Yuma had a hard time easing his own guilt.
"I see." Karasuma replied. "He was fine last night. I haven't seen him today, but I doubt he got into trouble since I last saw him."
Konami scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yuma finds trouble real easily. I wouldn't be surprised if he's in a fight right now, but you don't need to worry, Shiori. He can take care of himself."
"I know, but I want the chance to thank him." Shiori replied.
"He'll show up eventually. I think he just has a lot on his plate right now with his father running around." Karasuma replied.
Shiori wrapped her hands around her book tightly. She needed out of this bed as soon as possible. With Kuga Yugo out there, this was no time for her to be lying around. She needed to support her team as their operator. They needed her to be watching their backs while they dealt with the threat of the Mimics.
"But what about you?" Konami asked. "You're looking better, but how do you feel?"
"Better, not one hundred percent, but better." Shiori replied, massaging her throat lightly as she looked around the infirmary. "I can't wait to get out of here."
"Are you going to head home when you do? Tamakoma Branch is off limits because of the attack yesterday so those who can are staying at home. The rest are staying in the barracks here." Karasuma explained.
"I'll stay here. I want to be available to help the others the moment something happens." Shiori replied.
"Don't work yourself too hard. You need to give yourself time to recover." Karasuma said.
"There will be time for that once we're no longer being attacked."
Konami smirked. "Glad to see you still have the spirit! But Torimaru is right. It won't help if you're collapse because you're trying to do too much before you're ready."
"I'll be fine. From the sounds of it, Jin-san doesn't expect trouble today so I have all of today to recover."
"He could have missed something." Karasuma pointed out. "He didn't see yesterday's attack coming."
Karasuma couldn't begin to understand why Jin missed it since he didn't know that much more about Jin's side effect than the basics. From what he understood, the movements of a Trion Soldier were making it hard for Jin to plan since he couldn't see the future of Kuga Yugo.
But, just as Jin was frustrated that he didn't see Tamakoma being attacked sooner, Karasuma was frustrated that he wasn't there to help Konami and the others in the attack. He had been busy with his part time job and didn't even know about the attack happening until it was too late.
"It's not like we have to rely solely on Jin." Konami replied. "Things turned out just fine yesterday. It could have been a lot worse."
"You were lucky Chika was on her way to the base and saw what was happening so she could cover you guys." Karasuma said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to provide help."
"You were at your part-time. It can't be helped." Konami assured him. She could never blame her allies for not being there to help her in battle. No one could make it to every battle every single time. This was why the agents needed to be able to handle themselves in fights, but also be able to fight alongside their allies that weren't their teammates. None of them who they would be with or where when a surprise attack happened.
"A part me wonders if we could have ended this yesterday if I had just been there."
Konami shook her head. "I doubt it. Yuma's father was tough and he was doing a good job of keeping us away from him and Yuma. To him, we were just an annoyance while his son was the target." She griped, punching her fist into her hand. "If I see him again, he's dead. He's not going to get the chance to ruin Yuma's memory of his father."
"I see no problem with you wanting to help, Konami-senpai, but I don't think Yuma is looking for help. To me, it seems like he is lone wolfing this."
"My dad. It was my fault he died." Yuma admitted. "I blatantly disobeyed an order he gave me and got hurt because it. My father died to save my life. If I hadn't done that, he would still be here with me."
The father that died to save Yuma's life. That was the father that Yuma needed to remember. They couldn't change the fact that Kuga Yugo was here, but she could prevent the memory of him being corrupted in Yuma's mind.
"I don't care what he wants. I know he is strong and can handle himself, but having to fight his father as an enemy that we need to kill. That isn't something he needs."
*Mimics*
"Calm down, Shun."
Shun paused in his pacing as he spun on his heels to stare at Yuma. "Calm down? Calm down?! You can't just say you're a Neighbor and not expect me to freak out!" Whatever secret he thought Yuma had, it definitely hadn't been this one. This was bigger than anything he could have thought of and just hearing those words from Yuma had given him a burst of adrenaline, which is exactly what he needed right now to wake himself up a bit to deal with this conversation.
"I didn't think it would be so surprising. I am part of Tamakoma, which is a Branch that makes friends with Neighbors." Yuma pointed out, relaxing back on the stairs by leaning his elbows behind him on the top step. He was hoping by showing how calm he was that Shun would relax himself.
"I can't believe this. I have to have fallen asleep somewhere. Like on the train." Shun muttered. "This is all a dream."
"It really isn't." Yuma replied, only his eyes moving as he watched Shun started to pace again. "You were worried that I didn't trust you so I told you a secret that most people in Border don't know."
Shun glanced at Yuma, but didn't stop the pacing. At this point, the pacing was the only thing keeping him sane. "Most?"
"Well, Tamakoma knows, the higher ups know, and about half of the A-Ranks know." Yuma explained.
Half of the A-Ranks knew about Yuma being a Neighbor. Half of them knew. Why didn't Shun know before this? No, that didn't matter. Yuma was telling him now about it. He was telling Shun personally to show the trust he had in him. He was trusting Shun to not turn on him now that he knew he was a Neighbor and to not tell anyone else.
Not that Shun would. Neighbor or not, it didn't change who Yuma was to him or the last few months of their friendship. Shun was never really bothered by the Neighbors. If they attacked here, he would fight back. If they came here without any ill-intents, then whatever. They could be friends.
It was just unexpected, but at the same time, Shun was now feeling like an idiot for not realizing. All the tidbits of information that he had that made no sense originally were all falling to place and completing the puzzle for him.
Shun collapsed onto the steps next to Yuma, sighing. "You fought Miwa Squad back in December because they found out you were a Neighbor."
"Yep."
"The money thing at the train station earlier was because you're still not completely used to our money."
"I still get confused sometimes."
"Your experience as a fighter comes from what you went through in the Neighbor's world."
"You got it."
"There were so many clues, but I missed them all."
Yuma glanced over at his downhearted friend, who was staring down at his hands. "Isn't the point then that I was just really good at hiding it?"
"You know that I don't care, right? I never would have, no matter when you told me." Shun replied.
A smile broke out on Yuma's face when his side effect didn't activate. He shifted his eyes to the sky, feeling happy for probably the first time in days. The past few days had been hard and stressful for him so to be able to just sit here, telling his friend one of his biggest secrets without any judgement was just a huge relief to him. At least one thing was going right this week. "Thank you, Shun."
Shun glanced at his friend then back at his hands. Somehow his friend was a Neighbor and yet his father was a founding member of Border. Was Kuga Yugo a Neighbor that traveled here and decided to form an organization to fight Neighbors? It didn't really make much sense. Kuga Yugo was difficult to understand, but maybe it was because he only met a Mimic version of him and hadn't heard anything about him from Yuma before.
Chika told him to ask Yuma anything directly.
Yugo said to ask Yuma about him sometime.
Yuma just told him his huge secret of being a Neighbor so there shouldn't be anything forcing him to choose his words carefully anymore.
"I told you earlier that I met your father last night."
"Yeah."
"He said to ask you about him." Shun said, glancing at Yuma out of the corner of his eyes, but his friend kept his eyes lock on the sky. "He was talking of killing you and when I asked why he would want his son to die, he said to ask you about him. Mimics need fond memories to be able to transform so you have to have loved your father, but from the way he spoke, it sounded like something happened between you two."
That was right. Shun was worrying earlier over the fact that Yugo wanted him dead. That wasn't too surprising from a weaponized Mimic. It's pretty easy to guess that a weaponized Mimic that was transformed into someone had the goal of killing. There had to be more to it than that though if Yugo was telling Shun to ask him about his father.
The thing was, what was Yuma supposed to say to it? Was Yugo expecting Yuma to tell Shun about their relationship as father and son? Was he supposed to tell Yugo how it was Yuma's fault he died? Was the point here to tell Shun why his father would want him dead?
Did Yugo want him dead?
It was Yuma's fault that Yugo had to give up his life to create a Black Trigger to save his son's life. Was the Mimic version of him feeling resentment for that and that was leading him to wanting to kill Yuma? If so, Yuma couldn't blame Yugo. It would only be natural to feel anger about that.
"Yuma-senpai?"
Pushing himself to his feet, Yuma walked away from his friend, keeping his eyes locked ahead on the Gate. He couldn't look at his friend right now.
"Something did happen between you and your father, right? That's why you're not answering?" Shun asked. "But whatever happened, it can't have been too bad, right? I mean, the Mimic was able to transform into your father. That is proof of the love you guys share."
"No, it's not." Yuma said softly. "The Mimics need fond memories from you to transform. It's based on your feelings. The person who the Mimic transformed into doesn't have to share those feelings."
"Do you really think it's possible for someone you loved so much that a Mimic can steal their form wouldn't love you back?" Shun asked, staring at his friend's back in confusion. If his friend was hesitating this much in talking about it, then his relationship with his father was much more complicated than he realized.
"You wouldn't understand."
The confusion Shun felt quickly turned into a scowl forming on his face. "How do you know?"
"You've never lost someone you love."
"Good thing this isn't about love." Shun retorted. "You seem to think your father doesn't love you so try again about why you don't want to talk about this."
When Yuma didn't reply, Shun just sighed. While it seemed that Yuma trusted him enough to speak of his status as a Neighbor, he still didn't find it easy to speak of his problems.
"You've been stressed and frustrated so much this week, Yuma-senpai. You relaxed a bit when we all went to lunch the other day, but then you closed back up. Yoneyan told me to fight you in ten-round matches to help distract you from your thoughts, but I don't think it is a good idea to just keep trying to distract yourself. It won't solve whatever is bothering you. If you don't want to talk to me, that's fine, but you need to speak to someone. Just to get the thoughts out of your head. Maybe you won't get an answer, but you can have someone listen to your worries and provide comfort."
"I was talking to Konami-senpai yesterday, but Dad interrupted our conversation."
Shun nodded. "Your mentor is a good person to talk to. I think she can help you better than I ever could."
"I don't need help. I need to find Dad." Yuma walked closed to the Gate and looked down towards the city.
"Is that such a good idea? He wants to kill you." Shun pushed himself to his feet, but didn't approach his friend. "I know you're strong and that you have your Black Trigger, but your father is really strong and can use your Black Trigger. Do you really think you can succeed in beating him?"
Yuma couldn't imagine Yugo being stronger than Viza, but then again, his father didn't have access to a Black Trigger when he was alive. Their fight on the bridge yesterday gave him a small taste of what his father was capable of with it. It was strange just how capable Yugo was with the Black Trigger. It took Yuma months of constant fighting to get used to handling the Black Trigger. Yugo was a much more experienced fighter than him, but that shouldn't make using the Black Trigger that easy for him. Then there was the ability to open so many Gates. With how many Gates he was opening and pulling so many powerful Trion Soldiers through while using other seals to fight Yuma, he should have depleted his Trion so fast. So, how did he manage to last so long in the fight?
It was easy to understand that when using a Black Trigger, a person's Trion got amplified way passed their natural Trion levels. That was easy for Yuma to understand, but Yugo didn't have access to the Black Trigger. He had access to the seals, but he was still using a normal Trigger. Yugo always had more Trion than Yuma, but it was never to this point.
The longer he and Yuma hung out, the more exhausted Shun was feeling by the minute. With his Trion body getting destroyed last night, he had the spend the day in his real body and the lack of sleep last night was catching up to him. He could probably reactivate his Trigger soon, but there was no point in doing that since there was no threat. Instead, he would just smack his face and try to keep himself awake. He had expected to talk to Yuma at HQ, but instead found himself on a field trip with Yuma opening up to him little by little.
No matter how tired he was, Shun was doing his best to give this conversation all his attention. Chika was right. If he just asked directly, Yuma would talk to him. It might take a while to get to the answer, but he was talking. Considering how Yuma never talked about himself before, Shun wasn't about to let his tiredness end this conversation.
The fact that he was tired was nothing compared to how Yuma was feeling. The frustration and stress Yuma was under was more important than his desire to take a nap. Perhaps he couldn't offer any solutions to his friend's problems, but he could at least provide a listening ear.
"I killed my dad before."
That was an answer that had Shun raising his brows. There were a few things that had him confused with that statement, but the biggest was, "No offense, Yuma-senpai, but I fought your father last night. There is no way you would have been able to kill him."
Yuma looked over his shoulder at Shun, lips pulled down into a frown. "I don't mean I struck a killing blow on him. He was my father. I could never do that to him."
Well, that at least fixed some of the confusion Shun had. If Yuma had really killed his father, then he had trouble seeing how a Mimic could transform into Kuga Yugo. There would have had to have been a lack of love if Yuma really did kill his father. So, if it wasn't a killing blow from Yuma, then Shun didn't understand what he meant by killing his father.
"Dad told you to ask me about him. I'm guessing this is what he meant." Yuma raised his gloved covered hand that hid his ring. "My Black Trigger was created by my dad."
Shun stared at the hand. There was always a ring on Yuma's finger on that hand. Since he always wore it, Shun just saw it as part of Yuma's aesthetic, but perhaps it was more to it than that. Was his ring really a Black Trigger? Shun had to admit, that if that's what it was, he was impressed at how Yuma hid it so clearly in plain sight to all of them and none of them were any the wiser. "How does him creating a Black Trigger pertain to you killing him?"
Yuma looked up at his hand that he had raised over his head. "I was in a bad way, only got that way by disobeying the orders from my father. To save my life, my father created a Black Trigger. If I had just obeyed his orders, I wouldn't have been injured to the point that he had to do that. Why would he not resent me for that? He should hate me for putting him in that position, yet he was smiling as he did it."
It felt like there was more to that story, but Shun wasn't about to press Yuma for more. He was already trusting him with so much that he kept hidden about himself. If Yuma wanted to tell him the other part of the story, he would have by now. Instead of focusing on what was left out, Shun would take the parts that he did hear. "Sounds like love to me. People don't go around giving up their lives like that for anything other than love."
When Yuma didn't reply, Shun frowned and moved to walk around his friend to see his face. Yuma was no idiot, but seeing the look on his face right now, Shun felt like his friend truly didn't understand this concept of love. The kind of love where someone would sacrifice everything for someone else. "This Mimic of your father speaks of killing you and said to ask you about this so you're assuming its leftover resentment from what happened that caused him to die in the first place."
"Why wouldn't it be? There was no reason for my father to die then. He had to be mad at me for disobeying his orders and putting him in that situation."
Shun stared at Yuma's eyes. Yuma's eyes were usually very intense or held laughter in them. It depended on whether he was in a fight or was just hanging around. This was the first time Shun was seeing any sort of other emotion in them. It was disheartening that his eyes just looked so sad, but it wasn't surprising. Yuma may not have spoken about his past before to hide the fact that he was a Neighbor, but Shun also suspected it was because it was truly just hard for him to talk about his dad.
"Because it's a Mimic. I never met your father before, but I can't imagine someone who gave his life for his son would feel this kind of resentment and want to kill the son he gave everything for." Shun said, locking eyes with his friend, lips set in a determined frown. "He's a Trion Soldier designed with the purpose to kill. I can't believe the person who raised you would say he wants to kill you otherwise."
That was what Shun truly believed. Yuma knew that without a doubt. Just because it was what Shun believed was true, it didn't mean it was true. Some truths were easy to read since some things were just set in stone. Other truths were subjective. What one person believed to be true did not mean someone else would believe it as true as well.
In this case, it was something Yuma wanted to desperately believe.
He understood that the Mimic was coming for his life. That was the job of the Trion Soldier.
It hurt to see his father coming for him, and part of him was believing it was because he was mad at Yuma. The other part of him was hoping that the Mimic wasn't portraying his father's real feelings. Unfortunately, there was no real way to tell. He doubted a Mimic could give him the answer he wanted.
"Did he say anything else?" Yuma asked, not wanting to focus on the true intentions of his father or the Mimic.
"Why are you attacking us? We're Border agents. I heard you were one of the founders of Border so why do you want to attack us?" Shun asked, surprising his team.
"Why?" Yugo repeated. "If I'm being honest, I don't really have anything against you guys, but I know attacking Border will anger my son and drive him to seek me out."
Shun didn't want to put the idea of seeking Kuga Yugo out in Yuma's head. He didn't want him walking straight into the arms of the person who wanted him dead, but he had a feeling that was already his friend's plan. Yuma had been agitated this morning and likely going to seek out his father. "No, there wasn't anything else said."
Black smoke surrounded Shun as Yuma's pupils turned black and a scowl overtook his face. "I just told you how much I appreciated how you haven't lied to me since we met and so now you decided it was a good time to start telling me stupid lies?"
Shun's eyes widened. Right, he was so stupid. Yuma had just told him about his side effect. Hiding a grimace at the reminder by turning his face towards the trees, Shun gnawed at his lips. Yuma was giving him personal information about him to show that he did indeed trust Shun and valued their friendship, and at the first opportunity, Shun tried to lie. He didn't want Yuma to start to regret opening up and showing his trust to Shun, but with how Yuma had been acting all week, he was scared his friend would do something stupid and get hurt.
"Fine, I just don't want you to do anything stupid." Shun muttered. "Kuga-san called Border agents collateral damage. He thinks by coming after us, he can anger you enough into going to him."
"There's no need for that." Yuma said, though he felt a twinge of anger making its way through him. He did not want his friends involved in the dispute between him and his father. "I am going to kill him."
A pain looked was the reply Yuma got from Shun. It was really getting irritating how everyone was reacting when he said he was going after the Mimic. This was his problem and he would take care of it.
"By yourself?" Shun asked.
"You think I can't?" Yuma asked, allowing some of his frustration to pour into his voice.
"If I'm being honest, no, and not just because he is really strong. He's a Trion Soldier, but it's still your father we're facing off against."
"Does everyone really think I'm incapable of killing a Mimic because it is my father?" Yuma asked, trying to force the anger down. It wasn't fair to Shun for Yuma to snap at him just because he was concerned for Yuma.
"Yes!" Shun snapped back, surprising Yuma at the harshness of it. That was unusual for Shun. "Are you blind to how you are feeling right now? Or how you've been acting the past couple of days? You're already struggling with the fact he is here and just talking about his death is causing you pain. Do you really think you're capable of killing him? There is no doubt in my mind that even if you managed to get him to the point, you would hesitate to deliver the final blow and you should! You don't need the memory of him dying by your hand."
The words he spoke to Miwa the night this all started. It seemed he wasn't the only one to see the cruelty in forcing someone to do that. The difference was that he was already at fault for his father's death once. What did it matter if he caused it a second time?
"Who else can do it?" Yuma retorted. "He's not an easy opponent."
"Which is why it's a stupid idea to say you want to do it alone." Shun retorted. "He wants you dead. I'm not about to stand by while you try to fight him alone, not with your life on the line. Why is that so hard for you to understand? I'm your friend and I want to help you! So, stop trying to push me away!"
Yuma blinked in surprise as he stared into those angry eyes. Shun was an energetic and happy kid. The only time he really saw him get mad was when Yuma was defeating them in their first ten-round match. Since then, it's been nothing but smiles and a cheerful disposition, unless he was in the field. It was strange to see him get mad because Yuma wanted to keep him safe and out of his problems.
"The Mimic may be of your father, but he is an enemy to all Border. All the Mimics are. This isn't on you alone to fix, so please, instead of biting our heads off and trying to do everything alone, talk to us. Tell us what we need to know about Kuga Yugo and how he fights. I'm sure everyone is tired of bailing out because we don't know how to fight him."
Staring into the earnest eyes of Shun was making Yuma uncomfortable.
It was clear to Yuma that it wasn't Shun.
It was looking more like maybe Yuma was the one being the horrible friend lately.
Everyone was only trying to help him, but he just kept snapping at them all. Jin was getting the worst of his frustration the past few days.
The cracks spreading up his arm to his shoulder became all too noticeable to Yuma. The impending prediction of his death by Jin had unnerved him more than he admitted. He put on a strong face in front of Jin so he wouldn't realize how uneasy he was about it.
He told Jin the truth that he desperately wanted to live now, but he couldn't see a way out, even less so now. He knew Jin was working hard to save him, but there was never any guarantee in life, so Yuma set out with the purpose of finishing things with his father on his own so time wouldn't be wasted on anything unimportant. If his death was incoming, he needed to take Kuga Yugo out with him.
Deep down though, he knew the truth, the truth that everyone was shouting at him lately. He lacked the strength to kill his father. If he tried, he could probably beat him, probably. He wouldn't know until he tried, but they were right, and Yuma knew it, that he couldn't deliver a killing blow.
At least not fast enough.
Yuma's hand curled into a fist as he looked down at it, imagining a Scorpion blade there. He would hesitate to strike the killing blow.
In his heart, Yuma knew this. He realized it when he fought Yugo on the bridge yesterday.
And more than anything, it was just so frustrating to him to know that in his heart.
His Dad was a fake. Yuma knew this to be fact, but hearing his name come from that familiar voice, Yuma was blinded. He couldn't find the strength to fight seriously.
He didn't want to see his body dead on the ground.
Seeing him turn to dust the first time was horrible enough.
Sighing, Yuma turned away from Shun and went back to the steps, collapsing down onto them.
"Yuma-senpai?"
"Turns out, you're not the one being a horrible friend." Yuma admitted. "It's me." He shut his eyes, rubbing at them in frustration. "I've been taking my frustration out on everyone lately. Jin-san said something that has had me worried and I've been letting that, among other things, distract me and dictate my actions. I had forgotten..." He trailed off as he opened his eyes to look at Shun with a smile. "That my allies here aren't just using me for my Black Trigger. They are willing to help me. It only took how people yelling at me to remind me?"
Shun was confused about Yuma's statement of being used for his Black Trigger, but let that go since it wasn't the important part of what they were talking about. "Trust me, we've all noticed your frustrations lately. We let it go since it's you and you don't really get mad like ever, but perhaps you should still apologize?"
Yuma scratched his cheek. "Probably. For now, though, I have some things to take care of."
Shun gave his friend a wary look. "And that is?"
When there wasn't an immediate reply, Shun scowled at his friend. "I swear, Yuma-senpai, if you're about to run off on your own after that speech of yours about remembering you have people by your side willing to help you, I'm going to smack you."
"When did you get so aggressive?" Yuma teased, but the lack of amusement on Shun's face had him sighing and lifting his hands in surrender. "Fine, you got me. I'm going after my dad."
Shun groaned. "That's what he wants."
"This isn't about what he wants." Yuma argued. "I want to go after him."
Shun stared back at Yuma, trying to get a read on the situation. Was it because he wanted to see his father? Or was it because he honestly felt it was his responsibility to kill his father? Honestly, at this point, the answer didn't even matter. What truly mattered was that his friend was an idiot and trying to walk towards his death that much faster.
Unfortunately, he was seeing the stubbornness shining in Yuma's eyes that told him that nothing Shun said or did was going to talk him out of this.
"Fine, but I'm coming with you. Can't have you dying in a ditch somewhere."
