A/N: I don't own World Trigger
Mimics
Chapter 22: The Old Trigger
"Oyaji...?"
Yuma stared blankly ahead, mind not processing the fact that the dust blowing away in the wind was his father. All the pain he had felt in his body was gone, though the phantom memory of it was still in his mind, but there was a new pain added to them. When his father had appeared in front him a couple minutes ago, he was barely able to acknowledge that he was there because his body had been in the process of shutting down.
Now, he was wishing that he never came to if this was what he had to return to.
It wasn't making any sense. He should be dead right now, so why was it flipped and he was sitting here, staring as his father turned to dust and blew away in the wind?
This wasn't right.
"Yuma!"
Yuma didn't acknowledge the owner of that voice as he just continued to stare in front of him. Even when the hands fall on his shoulders, Yuma wasn't even seeing Raymond.
Raymond's eyes flickered to Yuma's bloody and ripped clothes and his now white hair before looking towards the spot where Yuma was staring at where a blue cloak laid surrounded by dust. Raymond's eyes closed, defeat radiating off of him in waves as his hands tightened their grip on Yuma's shoulders.
Raymond may have done it out of shock and confusion as to what was going on, but to Yuma the pressure being applied to his shoulders was a grounding force, telling him that this was all reality. Yuma was alive and his father was just gone. He shifted his attention downwards towards his hand where a new accessory had been added, a ring...a Black Trigger.
Why?
"Osamu."
Osamu glanced towards his friend, raising a brow as he took in the gloves and the dark hoodie Yuma was wearing with the hood drawn over his face. "Going out to rob a bank, Kuga?"
Yuma pouted, drawing the hood farther down his face to hide his eyes. "I just don't want anyone to see the cracks on me as I leave HQ."
Osamu had to hand it to his friend. He really was trying his hardest to keep this a secret from everyone else, even though they were currently in the barracks. Still, that didn't stop Osamu from frowning. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to be leaving HQ right now."
"I'm not running off this time. I am right here telling you that I will be back in a short while. I just need to pick something up." Yuma replied, catching Hyuse's eyes on the other side of the room, who had been entertaining Yotaro with listening to him intently explaining what they had been watching on the tablet between them. Hyuse turned his eyes back to what Yotaro was saying, but Yuma had a feeling he wasn't listening to the kid anymore.
Osamu raised a brow. His friend had been in the city all day yesterday and he couldn't have bothered to get what he needed then? "You've been attacked by your father two times in the last two days. Do you really want to get attacked a third time?"
That was a fair argument, especially after Yuma just said last night that he was going to step back from getting involved with his father anymore. He didn't really want to step out of the field completely. His plan was just to step back from getting involved with his father, but Osamu did have a point that both times he got attacked, his father had managed to find him. If he went outside, maybe his father would be able to locate him a third time. While he still wanted answers from his father, Yuma also recognized the fact that he had messed up last night.
From the moment he did it, Yuma felt immensely guilty for leaving Shun and Kageura to deal with the Rabits on their own. He left his friends behind for his own selfish desires. Before he came to Border, Yuma only bothered to look out for himself. Back then, he would have never second guessed his decision to go after his father while leaving his comrades behind to deal with their own problems.
Ever since he met Osamu though, Yuma had been feeling himself change. It started with just caring about Osamu and Chika so his goal was to keep them safe and help them succeed in their own goals. Somehow it went from that to actually liking all the people he met in Border and wanting to help his friends. Now that he was involved in Border, he was seeing why his father spoke so fondly of the organization.
This world was at war with Neighbors, but compared to the countries he visited as a child, it was the most peaceful place he had ever seen. They had their invasions here, but considering their attacks only last a few hours, maybe a few days, at most when compared to wars in the Neighborhood which lasted for years, the peace here was something Yuma wanted to protect. While he enjoyed fighting, all that time in war and meeting his new friends, Yuma has learned to value the peaceful moments.
"I need something from Tamakoma." Yuma said, shoving his hands in his pockets.
Osamu raised a brow. "Tamakoma is off limits currently, or have you forgotten how destroyed it got in the attack the other day?"
"Or the dangers of going back to a place Kuga already knows as a Border base. What if he is staking it out to see if you would come back?" Hyuse butted in. He handed the tablet to Yotora and left him on the bed to join Osamu and Yuma in their corner of the barracks.
"He wouldn't expect me to go back there so soon after his attack on the base." Yuma argued.
"Probably because he trained you better than that." Osamu retorted, leaning over to duck his head as he took his glasses off so he could rub his eyes. After the first couple of days of Yuma being in Japan, he thought they were pass the headaches that Yuma would cause him, and they had been doing so good. Then, this week came and it's been constant headaches caused by Yuma. Osamu wasn't blaming Yuma too much. He understood this was a difficult week for his friend, but Osamu was done letting Yuma run off with his reckless actions. He wasn't willing to lose his friend if there was anything they could do to prevent his death.
"Did he though?" Hyuse asked, crossing his arms and staring at Osamu with a raised brow, not acknowledging Yuma. "This week shows me the recklessness lying underneath."
Osamu put his glasses back on with a sigh. "He's not wrong, Kuga. You're usually a lot more cautious than this. I know your history with your father is hard for you, but I didn't expect such recklessness from you in going after the Mimic of him."
Yuma stared at his captain for a moment as his shoulders slumped. He hadn't just been a bad friend to Shun this week. There was nothing he had anything against Osamu. Osamu was his captain and friend, probably the friend he trusted the most out of everyone he had met in Japan. Despite that, Yuma had run from all his friends and could only focus on his problems and not the fact that he had friends here who were willing to help him.
"Five years." Yuma said softly, dropping down on the closest bed. "It will be five years since he died to save me in a few days."
It will be five years since the passing of Kuga Yugo in a few days. That would explain the mention of five years that Osamu heard about the other day. Having spoken with Yuma before about his father, Osamu understood that the anniversary of Yugo's death would be a difficult time for his friend. Perhaps Yuma was feeling even worse than usual with the anniversary approaching because there was a Mimic of his father roaming about, haunting him. Osamu knew Yuma didn't talk easily of what he was feeling, but his actions spoke pretty loudly to Osamu.
The fact that Yuma was running off on his own constantly this week and the frustration he showed told Osamu just how much he was hurting this week. The Mimic was likely bringing up painful memories of his last moments with his father.
Hyuse raised a brow. "Are you out to kill the Mimic for revenge to cover the pain of the loss or are you desperate to see your father again because you miss him?" Either answer would make sense to Hyuse. He may not know the pain of losing a loved one to death, but he did understand love. He was raised by a kind, loving master who Hyuse would do anything for, even join his former enemy to get back to Aftokrator. It may be seen as a traitorous action to Aftokrator, but saving his master was more important than the politics occurring in Aftokrator. Did that make him a horrible person? Like he told Osamu the other day, emotions skewed everything, so he didn't think he was a horrible person. Everyone had their own personal reasons for doing what they believe in, and what Hyuse believed in was his master. For that reason, he could understand why Yuma was hurting from this. He had to be very confused.
That didn't change the fact that Hyuse still considered Yuma an idiot for his recklessness this week.
"I'm not sure that should be a serious question." Yuma replied. "We all realize at this point that I'm not able to fight him."
"But what is it you want from him?" Osamu asked.
"Would you believe me if I said I want to know why he is attacking us?"
"No." Hyuse said instantly.
Yuma rubbed the back of his neck. "Fair. Though I am after that information." His eyes flickered to the ground. "When my dad died, he was smiling at me. There was no reason that smile should be on his face. He knew he was going to die to keep me alive. I just want to know why he was then."
"Do you really think a Mimic of your father can give you a real answer to that question?" Osamu asked.
"He's the closest thing I have, but," Yuma hand's curled into tight fists. He felt the cracks on his hand pull tight at the action, but didn't shy away from possibly making them worse and just squeezed tighter. "I do recognize the dangers of this. I wasn't expecting Dad to attack so viciously in the city like he did to get to me. I didn't want Border involved in this, but they were better equipped than me to deal with this, and if I avoid getting involved anymore, the attacks in the city will stop."
Osamu stared at his friend in surprise, but felt a smile pull at his face. The Yuma he met months ago wouldn't have cared about the city or civilians that were put in danger. The Yuma that appeared at his school so long ago was so clearly out for himself so it was nice to see him trying to avoid dragging his problems to the city.
"And yet, you're asking to go to Tamakoma." Hyuse pointed out. "That's in the city."
"I need to grab something." Yuma reiterated. "It won't take long."
A sigh escaped Osamu. Right, that was the point of this conversation. He didn't think Yuma would risk going back to Tamakoma in the midst of this attack unless it was truly important. "You're not going alone." Osamu pushed himself to his feet, digging a hand into his pocket to make sure he had his Trigger on him. "Besides the danger of Border's founders being in the city, we have no idea what will happen if your body continues to break. I don't want you going to Tamakoma alone. Just, promise me there will be no running off to handle things on your own if we do get attacked."
A guilty look passed through Yuma's eyes which he hid by pulling his hood down farther over his eyes.
"I'm coming too." Hyuse decided, leaving no room for argument from his teammates. "Where's Chika? We should get her to come with us too."
"She's at a joint sniper practice." Osamu replied, following Yuma who was practically running out of the barracks, probably eager to start moving before Osamu could change his mind about this little trip. To be honest, he was already regretting agreeing for them to head out. There was no specific order for Yuma to stay in HQ, but it was likely because Yuma did make the promise to stay away from his dad.
"Behave, Yotaro. We'll be back later." Hyuse shouted at the child before he and Osamu were heading after their teammates. "A shame. It would have been nice to have a sniper as backup when we inevitable get attacked."
"You're too pessimistic." Yuma shot over his shoulder.
"Is it pessimism when we take your track record for the week into consideration?" Hyuse retorted.
The headache from earlier was making a fast return to Osamu. He was pretty sure Hyuse and Yuma were friends, but sometimes he just couldn't tell with them.
*Mimics*
"Have you heard from Yuma-senpai?"
"Huh?" Kageura rested his arm back on the booth he was sitting in as he turned to find Shun standing by his table. He swears, he had lunch with him once because he and Yuma barged into his restaurant. That was not an invitation for the kid to interrupt him in the cafeteria at HQ.
Shun narrowed his eyes in annoyance, hands slamming down on the table so he could lean more into Kageura's space. "Yuma-senpai! I haven't seen him since he abandoned us at the park yesterday!"
Kageura shoved Shun's face out of his space before scraping his nails over his neck. His self-restraint to keep from attacking people over setting off his side effect had been improving, but if Shun didn't get some control, he was going to lose it and behead him. "No, I haven't. I know he came back to HQ last night with Tamakoma, but I haven't heard anything from Tamakoma all day. They're probably busy."
"Oh, so he's okay?" Yoneya popped up from over at the other booth. He was sitting on his knees on his seat as he turned to face Kageura's booth, forcing Murakami to inch a bit to the side to get Yoneya's head away from being so close to his. "That's good to know. Things weren't looking good last night."
Kageura snarled at the other agent. Why could people not leave him the hell alone? "Yes, he's still alive."
"I didn't know you were involved in that mess yesterday." Murakami said.
Yoneya crossed his arms on top of the booth and leaned his head down on them. "Ah, we just ran into Kuga and his father. His father was not happy about that and called Marmods on us. The last I saw of Kuga, he was gone with his Mimic father. I thought Tamakoma was going to kill us for losing sight of him."
"At least you only had to deal with Marmods." Shun replied. "We got stuck with Rabits that could use Yuma-senpai's Black Trigger abilities!"
Yoneya whistled. "Lucky. Sounds fun."
Shun glared at Yoneya. "Then next time, you can deal with them and I'll take the Marmods. I hate Rabits."
"We don't want there to be a next time." Murakami pointed out.
"Except we're not delusional." Kageura retorted, eyes roaming around the cafeteria to take in the agents and trainees that were milling about. "Kuga's father already shown he's not shy about opening Gates."
"It would have been nice to get some warning that he could do that." Shun muttered.
Yoneya raised a brow. "Jin-san was working on getting as much information about Kuga's Black Trigger together as possible, but I guess they haven't gotten around to sending a memo out about it. Shuji was telling us about it yesterday before that attack in the city happened7."
"They need to get a handle on getting that done. If we can't figure out the Black Trigger, it's not going to be easy for us to win." Murakami replied.
Shun pointed at himself. "I've already seen the Black Trigger. Fought Kuga-san, even fought Rabits that use the same abilities as the Black Trigger. And during all of that, seeing the crazy seals that the Black Trigger houses and it even has the ability to open Gates to summon Trion Soldiers, I can safely say, Yuma-senpai's Black Trigger is overpowered! Like to an unfair level!"
"Shuji said the same thing when we first encountered his Black Trigger." Yoneya said, smirking. "We had the opportunity to fight Kuga using it, and we truly had no idea of what to expect. Granted, we didn't know what type of Trigger he was using or that he would be that skilled at using it since he looks so young."
"Why were you fighting Kuga?" Murakami asked.
"Training," Yoneya lied easily while Shun shot him a knowing look. Interesting. That look was telling Yoneya that Shun knew more now, so maybe he and Yuma finally talked things out. He would have to ask later to confirm though. "Jin-san didn't think it important to warn us it was a Black Trigger Kuga held though."
Kageura snorted. "How badly did you guys lose?"
"Not that badly. Kuga held back in the fight. Like, in the end, he only threw one actually attack at us and that was all he needed to defeat us. The rest of the time, he just dodged us."
"Kuga? Kuga Yuma?" Murakami asked in disbelief. "He's like one of the most aggressive fighters."
Yoneya hummed to himself. With it now being known that Yuma came to Border with a Black Trigger, there were plenty of ways to spin this without revealing any sensitive information about Yum's Neighbor status. "We met Kuga before he was a Border member and just got off on the wrong foot. He didn't actually want to fight us and cause trouble with Border so he held back on us. But there is something I learned." He glanced at Shun. "Don't assume you know everything about Kuga's Black Trigger. Those seals that are used are powerful, but you weren't wrong to call the Black Trigger overpowered. His true ability is to copy other Triggers and make them his own. The only seals we know are the ones that Kuga has shown off to us. Who really knows just how many his Black Trigger actually holds?"
Kageura scoffed. "It is stupidly overpowered."
Shun looked towards the roof thoughtfully. "Is that why he was firing lead bullet at me?"
"He copied it from Shuji." Yoneya explained amused.
"It makes Kuga a great ally to have, but with those abilities in the hands of a Mimic of his father," Murakami trailed off. Perhaps he should take the chance to find Yuma and get into a fight with him using his Black Trigger. If he could use his side effect to at least get an understanding of Yuma's Black Trigger, it would help him against Kuga Yugo using the Black Trigger. It wouldn't be exactly the same since it was likely Yuma and his father fought differently, but just learning how the Black Trigger worked would be a lot of help.
*Mimics*
"How do I keep missing all the action?" Tachikawa complained.
Izumi looked over at his captain in disbelief before looking towards their operator. "Can you believe this guy? The city gets attacked and he's whining about missing the fight."
"I still owe Kuga some revenge." Tachikawa grumbled.
"It was a fair defeat. An ambush is just as much as allowed as a loss in a fight." Yu pointed out.
Izumi waved her off. "Don't try to rationalize with him on this. Nothing will satisfy him until he gets his rematch."
"Will he get a chance for a rematch?" Yu wondered. "He seems to be missing all the battles."
Tachikawa rubbed his chin. "Clearly what I need to do is go hang around Chibi. His father will show up eventually."
"It really feels so demeaning the more you call him that." Izumi muttered.
"Until his father is dead, that is his new name."
"I don't think it's fair to take your frustration out on Kuga." Yu replied as the door to their operation room opened. She looked up, expecting Yuiga, but was surprised to see Jin strolling in.
"Don't you know how to knock? What gives you the right to just barge in here?" Tachikawa demanded.
Jin raised a brow. "Did you and Izumi not just barge into Tamakoma a couple days ago to yell at my kouhai?"
"That's fair." Izumi replied, grinning at Jin. "So, what's brings you here?"
"Mogami-san appeared last night." Jin wasted no time on preamble. Of course, being so plain with what happened left the agents staring in surprise at him. "And to make matters worse, Fujin and Yuma's Black Trigger are currently not able to be used. If we want to beat Kuga-san and Mogami-san, we're going to need to work together."
"We're being attacked by two of Border's powerful founders and we can't use the Black Triggers to end this conflict?" Izumi asked.
"Both Black Triggers are damaged. It's not safe to use them." Jin explained.
"How exactly do you damage a Black Trigger?" Tachikawa demanded.
Jin scratched the back of his head. "Uh, working theory right now is the Mimics of Mogami-san and Kuga-san are weakening the Black Triggers somehow."
Izumi leaned on Yu's desk, planting his hands on either side to stable himself. "So, we just kill the Mimics then. Problem solved! If you knew how bad it was going to get, you should have come to us to work together to fight Kuga sooner."
"I can't predict the future of Black Triggers. I didn't know they were going to start to break. It shouldn't even be possible." Jin replied, taking a seat on their couch. "We only have Amo's Black Trigger now, but..." Amo was strong, but the destructive nature of his Black Trigger wasn't going to help them right now.
Tachikawa raised a brow, crossing his arms. "What is it that you are after?"
"Is the city in danger?" Yu asked. "When this all started, we were told the city wasn't in danger since Mimics can't target civilians, but we've now had two attacks in the city."
"Attacks I missed. The future is shifting constantly." Jin replied, rubbing at his eyes. "If we're not careful in the coming days, the danger can lead to the city. I can't say exactly what will happen, but we're all going to need to act."
"Do you know when?" Izumi asked.
"Could be tomorrow. Could be the day after. It will happen some point in the next few days. I want you guys to be prepared, because I can't see any of us beating Kuga-san or Mogami-san alone when they can both use Black Triggers abilities along with their normal Triggers." Jin replied.
Izumi's head snapped up at that. "Both? Mogami-san can use a Black Trigger? You said nothing about that."
"Ah, right," Jin said sheepishly. "He's got Fujin's wind blades on his side."
"How?" Izumi asked confused.
Jin raised his hands weakly, just as confused as Izumi. "Mogami-san created Fujin and Kuga-san created Yuma's Black Trigger so maybe being their creators, the Mimics of them get access to those powers."
"How does that make any sense?" Tachikawa retorted. "They are still just Trion Soldiers underneath that layer of their fake faces."
Jin rubbed at his chin, diverting his eyes towards the ceiling. They were both just fakes. Last night was his first time truly interacting with transformed Mimics, and it was truly amazing just how real they looked, how real they sounded. Unfortunately for the Mimics, Jin was not easily fooled. If he couldn't see the future of someone, he would not fall for thinking they were real. In fact, he just felt anger at seeing Mogami. That Mimic had no right to take the form of his late mentor.
"He is making a good point for once. I can accept that a Mimic has the skills and Triggers of the person it transformed into, but to have access to Black Triggers that the originals created upon death? I don't see how that is possible or how that would wreck our Black Triggers." Izumi replied.
"I'm not the technical expert. You need to ask Kinuta-san about it, but he's still working on it." Jin said. Though, it was probably a good idea for no one to go bother Kinuta. With trying to work out why the Black Triggers were breaking in relation to the Mimics and trying to help Yuma, he was going to be plenty busy without agents interrupting him.
"Heh, well, I don't need to know the answers to that anyway. I'll just go out there and kill them and this will all be over." Tachikawa replied.
Jin glared at Tachikawa. "Don't take this lightly. They will not be easy enemies. I only managed to get one hit on Kuga-san yesterday and I was using Fujin at the time. His reaction time is even better than Shinoda-san's."
"But, you got a hit." Izumi pointed out. "That's more than anyone else can say."
"We can end it today. We use Chibi as bait and draw Kuga to us, then we kill him." Tachikawa said.
"Yuma is dropping from field work for the time being. He needs to stay in HQ for a while." Jin replied.
Izumi raised a brow. "It doesn't sound like Kuga to take time out of the field."
"Normally, he wouldn't." Jin agreed. "But he's not feeling well right now."
"Is he really sick or can he just not face his father?" Izumi asked.
"A bit of both actually, but it's for the best. His Border Trigger got lost and now his Black Trigger is going to be off limits. He doesn't have a means to fight right now."
*Mimics*
The darkness of the room wrapped around Yuma like it was a blanket, his only comfort in the too big for one room. He laid on his side on his bed, hand scrunching up the blankets under him in a tight grip. The side of his face was smooched down on the bed, eyes locked on the ring locked over his finger. New white hair fell over his eyes making his heart clench at yet another reminder that nothing was the same anymore.
"Replica," Yuma's hoarse voice echoed out in the too silent room. Somewhere around the room, he knew his partner was hovering. "What am I supposed to do now?"
"I cannot answer that, Yuma. Only you can decide."
Yuma didn't know what he was expecting. That was always Replica's response when he asked about what course of action he should take. Dad made Replica in a way that Replica could never decide the actions that Yuma should take because he wanted Yuma to make his own choices in life.
It was something he really hated in the moment.
Yuma's teeth gritted, pain somehow radiating through a body that couldn't truly feel pain anymore. "Me decide? The evidence shows that I'm terrible at making decisions."
There was very little that Yuma brought with him when he came to Japan. To begin with, Yuma always had few belongings. When he left Tropoi years ago, Yuma never had a proper home again since he and his dad were constantly traveling from country to country. They didn't have space for anything that wasn't essential. If they couldn't carry it, they couldn't take it with them.
It was a habit Yuma kept up with until he came to Japan and saw people riding bikes. He bought his bike on a whim to try it out with the intention of abandoning it here when he left to go back to the Neighborhood. Though, he never did leave and now had a steady place to live and store his bike.
But he didn't drag Hyuse and Osamu all the way to Tamakoma for his bike.
Yuma kneeled on the floor of his room with his pack that held everything he brought from the Neighborhood. He was pretty sure he never threw it out. It had to be somewhere in his bag.
*Mimics*
Osamu rested a hand on the breakfast counter, or what was left of it, as he took in the destroyed living room and kitchen of Tamakoma. Nothing seemed to be intact. All the furniture was destroyed, wires were hanging around, there were holes in the walls. Having not been here during the attack, he really didn't know just how bad the attack had been. At least Border didn't waste any time in taking out the Trion Soldiers.
Even without seeing the Trion Soldiers, it still hurt to see the destruction that was on the bridge that led to Tamakoma and now seeing the damage that was inside. When he first came to Tamakoma Branch all those months ago, he thought it was a very strange branch since it didn't feel very military when in comparison to HQ. It felt weird, but now that he was a member of Tamakoma, he couldn't see his life in Border being anything but a Tamakoma agent. It was all thanks to Yuma and the Tamakoma agents that he managed to succeed as an agent.
So, to see his branch get wrecked like this wasn't a sight he wanted to see. Tamakoma was becoming a home to him just as much as his home with his parents was. It was frustrating that he hadn't been here to help defend it. By stepping back to give Yuma his space, he hadn't been around to help like he should have been.
Hyuse planted a foot on the rubble by the wall as he leaned forward to look out the hole in the wall to look at the river below them. "Anyone could be breaking into this base right now and stealing Border's technology. Should this place really remain unguarded like this?"
"The only holes in the building are over the river. No one is getting in that way and the doors are still locked so I doubt anyone will be getting in." Osamu replied.
"If someone is really determined, anyone can get in." Hyuse retorted. "You guys should really be more careful."
Osamu shrugged. He was sure the security system was still working which is why Rindo wasn't worried about the base. That, or he was just more concerned with the well-being of his agents than a building. "Since we're already here, is there anything you need to pick up?" As much as Osamu loved Tamakoma Branch, he was not willing to come back here until the base was fixed and they were allowed back here. It felt like they were breaking some rules being here right now.
"My Lampyris would be nice." Hyuse replied.
"I thought you got that back?" Osamu asked.
"I used it briefly to help Yotaro, but I gave it back to him when I made the decision to join Border. With the situation we're in, we shouldn't be opposed to using any powerful Triggers we have on our side." Hyuse turned away from the hole to look over at his captain.
"I understand where you are coming from, but not only do I not know where it is locked up at, it's dangerous to be using it right now. We don't know what is going to happen in the next few days, but using Lampyris could draw unwanted attention, especially if any more of these attacks happen in the city and civilians see." Osamu replied. "It's too dangerous to just whip out that Trigger."
Hyuse raised a brow. "Are keeping secrets really more important than surviving?"
"You said before that none of this affects you." Osamu retorted, narrowing his eyes at Hyuse, trying to read him. "Using Lampyris puts you at risk. What do you think will happen to you if it is learned that you're a Neighbor?" He shook his head, not bothering for an answer to that question. "I'm not making light of the situation we're in, but we can't just focus on the present. We need to look to the future as well and we need you on the away mission."
Hyuse shrugged. "The problems of this world don't concern me, but Yuma is a part of our team. It's problematic for us if he dies before we can begin the away mission."
Osamu leveled a stare at Hyuse. From the moment he joined Border, his goal had always been the away mission. To him, it was never about making friends. He had made that perfectly clear to all of them. His job was to make their team stronger and get them up the ranks so Tamakoma-2 could qualify for the away mission.
Not only did Hyuse improve their strength by being their second Ace, he went above and beyond to push Chika into doing what Hyuse was sure she was capable of–shooting.
Everything Hyuse did was for the good of the team.
But the fist bumping with his teammates after winning a rank war...
Training with Yuma and getting competitive with their scores...
Entertaining Yotaro by listening to him go on about whatever had his attention and just spending time with him...
Osamu didn't care how much Hyuse tried to deny it. Tamakoma, minus Jin, were growing on Hyuse. He could protest all he liked, but his need to help right now wasn't just about his desire to get to Aftokrator. He wanted to help Yuma. There may be no love he felt for Border so he didn't care that they were struggling with Mimics, but there was a care for his team that was slowly growing, not that he would ever admit it and Osamu wasn't going to try to play therapist with him about it.
Besides, he had other important things to focus on.
Stepping into the hall, Osamu looked up the stairs. What was taking Yuma so long? He was expecting this to be an in and out kind of stop.
*Mimics*
Mogami slid his Kogetsu out of its sheath. He held the sword out in front of him and watched as he activated his wind blades. The gold semi-transparent blades blew around his main blade. He could make out fifteen wind blades that were at his disposal.
Yugo lounged back on the pillar he was sitting by, eyes sliding shut. "A blade with the ability to produce wind blades that travel through surfaces before striking anywhere. It seems quite fitting of you."
"Well, not anywhere." Mogami said, swinging his sword and sending three slashes through the ground at his feet. The slashes traveled through the ground before protruding out of the wall on the other side of the train tracks and slamming into one of the pillars over there. Those three strikes were enough to break the pillar and knock it over. Without the support, part of the roof on that side of the track was knocked down. "I can only send the blades through surfaces that I can see. If I can't see the enemy, I won't know when to have the blades to strike."
"Your prodigy seemed quite adept at handling it. He even blocked your attack." Yugo replied.
"He does have a side effect that allows him to predict the future. It will be hard to hit him." Mogami explained, getting Yugo to open his eyes to look at him in surprise at the information.
Yugo hummed to himself. "How convenient it was of you to leave behind a Black Trigger that worked so well with your prodigy."
"It wasn't necessarily for him. I wanted to leave behind a powerful weapon that would help make Border stronger." Mogami said.
"Which is why the weapon is so fitting for you. But, what forced you into that position?"
Mogami diverted his attention to the sky, watching the clouds slowly drifting by. He could clearly recall going to Aristera. It had been absolute chaos with all the fighting, buildings collapsing, the screaming from civilians, blades swinging through the air...
"I was in Aristera." Mogami said slowly, trying to recall everything that happened back then. "They were being invaded and called us for help. We gave all our strength into helping them."
Yugo cracked one of his eyes open to look at his friend. Aristera? He knew that Aristera was one of the nations that Border had made an alliance with a long time ago, back around the time that Border was created. He hadn't heard anything about Aristera ever being attacked, but with how large the Neighborhood was and how he was constantly traveling, it would be easy to miss that information, because had he known, he would have gone straight there to assist his friends.
"But it wasn't enough." Mogami said softly. That was right, wasn't it? They got to Aristera as fast as they could, but even with Border assisting, it was overwhelming. They did what they could to push the invaders back, but... "It was a horrible war. I created a Black Trigger in it as a last resort."
"War is unforgiving."
Mogami glanced at Yugo out of the corner of his eyes. It was a simple response, but one that Mogami felt spoke volumes about Yugo. His friend had spent a lot longer in the Neighborhood than anyone else in Border. Yugo loved the Neighborhood and always wanted to know more about it, but it was not a safe place. There was so much war over there. "What kind of Black Trigger did you leave behind?" He asked curiously.
"It was armor with the power of seals and it can copy other Triggers to add to its arsenal." Yugo explained.
"Armor?" Mogami repeated, looking over at Yugo with a raised brow. "And seals? What was your goal when you created your Black Trigger?"
Yugo tilted his head down, eyeing the sword at his waist. "To save my son. I wanted to protect him. That's what I was thinking at the time."
"You are a warrior who is a protector at heart. Your Black Trigger makes sense." Mogami replied as he turned his sword over, watching as the blades blew in the wind. "What about Black Triggers? Can yours copy these abilities?"
"No, there is a limit to even what Black Triggers can do."
Mogami smiled. "True, there is a balance to everything." He lowered his sword, pointing the tip towards the ground as he turned to his friend, who was still relaxing on the ground. "It's been a long time. What do you say to a spar?"
Yugo raised his head to take in his old friend. The last time they had fought was right before Yugo had left Border to go to the Neighborhood. It was a fight that came to be because Yugo had said he was leaving and there was no guarantee that he would come back to Japan. Since they had been friends since they were kids, practically brothers at this point, it had upset Mogami that Yugo said he was leaving. Their last fight was probably the most brutal, but also most emotionally invested one they ever had. They had each been so determined to win what could have possibly been their last fight ever.
It was ironic that it was their only fight to ever end in a draw.
Pushing himself to his feet, Yugo planted a hand on one of his swords, smirking at his friend. "Sounds fun, but no Black Triggers. We don't want to draw attention to us."
Mogami replied by turning his wind blades off and taking a few steps back away from Yugo.
Yugo slid one of his swords from its sheath.
*Mimics*
Jin's eyes roamed around the room in confusion before settling on Yotaro, who was relaxing on his bed with Raijinmaru and his tablet. "I didn't think Yuma would want to leave the room."
"He went to Tamakoma." Yotaro said without looking up from his tablet.
"Tamakoma?" Jin repeated blankly. Their branch that was currently off limits?
"Osamu and Hyuse went with him." Yotaro added, a pout in his voice. He should have asked to go with them, but when he heard their conversation, which he started to eavesdrop on when Hyuse left to join it, there was a small part of him that was scared to see Tamakoma after the attack. He's seen the destruction caused to the city by Neighbor attacks, but somehow that would be different than seeing it done to his home.
Jin pinched his nose. At least there was a positive. Yuma wasn't running off on his own. It was slightly better he went with his teammates, but not by much since none of them were supposed to be at Tamakoma. He had assumed when Yuma said he would take a step back from field work for the time being, that he wouldn't be running off into the city. After that attack from Kuga Yugo yesterday, no one in a Trion body was supposed to be in the city. That meant Yuma was not allowed to leave the Restricted Zone until the Mimics were done with.
Leaving Yotaro alone, Jin turned around and pulled his phone out, hitting speed dial without much of a thought. "Hey, Captain Four-Eyes, Tamakoma, really?" He said by way of greeting once the phone stopped ringing, not even giving Osamu a chance to say hello. The groan he received in response to his greeting was enough to tell Jin that Osamu knew what a bad idea this was.
"Kuga needed to pick something up." Osamu replied. "I am sorry, Jin-san. I know it's reckless to be here right now since Kuga-san knows about the base, but it seemed like it was important to Kuga and he was going to come alone originally."
"Well, is everything fine at least? You haven't run into any trouble?" Jin asked.
"No, it's been very peaceful."
Jin nodded, even though Osamu couldn't see him through the phone. "Just have Yuma get what he needs and come straight back to HQ, no detours."
*Mimics*
"Mistakes are a part of life, Yuma. It is how you learn and grow from them that matters." Replica said.
Yuma's hand curled tightly into the blanket under him.
Something dropped onto the bed. The slight added weight that bounced the bed by his feet had Yuma cracking his eyes open to stare down at his feet to see a Trigger lying down there. "Is that...?"
Yuma stared down at the Trigger resting in his hand. His father's old Border Trigger. He always claimed his Black Trigger was the last thing he had left of his father, but that wasn't necessarily true. While Yuma's Trigger back then was destroyed by the Black Trigger assassin after he was defeated, Yugo's Trigger had survived the day. There was never any need for Yuma to need it, but Replica had picked it up before anyone had seen to give it to Yuma.
His father's old Trigger that Yuma always held onto, but never used as he always had his Black Trigger. In the war, it was far better to rely on the Black Trigger, then a normal Trigger. There was honestly no point in keeping Yugo's Border Trigger back then, but Yuma could never bring himself to toss it out. If he wasn't going to use it, then it was just taking up space so he should get rid of it.
That was the logical course of action, and Yuma was a logical person.
Usually.
Yuma slid the Trigger in his pocket as he rose to his feet, sweeping his eyes over his room. It was technically the guest room that Rindo let him take. Despite being here for months, the room was still bare of any personal effects. All he bothered to keep in here were his clothes and his pack with the stuff he brought from the Neighborhood. He truly saw no purpose in decorating a room that he spent no time in. Honestly, the only reason he even had a room was so he had somewhere to put his clothes. Even if he wanted to decorate the room, he didn't know how. He's never had a space that was actually his to do with what he wanted.
Even his room in Calvaria was never truly his as it was just handed to him so he had a place to sleep when he first went there to help them. He always knew he wouldn't stay in Calvaria forever and the room wasn't his to keep. It was never something that bothered Yuma before, and it still wasn't. A room was just a room. He could live without having a personalized space for himself because what he truly cared about were his friends.
Even with that being the case, Yuma was feeling so helpless as of late, a truly foreign feeling to him. His friends were constantly being attacked by his father, and Yuma was doing nothing except trying to find his father to talk to him. If he couldn't bring out the strength to fight his father to stop him, then he needed to step back and allow Border to take care of it, which was not how Yuma tended to handle things.
There wasn't another choice though. With his Border Trigger missing and his Black Trigger at risk of breaking, possibly because of the Mimics, there wasn't much he could do. It was a horrible position for him to be in. He hated that there wasn't anything he could do.
Yuma gripped the Trigger he picked up tightly in his pocket. Even with this Trigger, there wasn't much Yuma could do. At the very least, the Trigger at least gave him a weapon to use to defend himself. He was sure he could still activate his Black Trigger, but since Kinuta gave the warning that it could be dangerous and it was tied to his current Trion body, Yuma was going to try to avoid being put into a position that would force the use of a Black Trigger.
He came here to find his dad's old Border Trigger, not because he was going to go back on his word to step back from the field, but because he would not sit back with no way to defend himself. Just because his body was damaged, that did not mean he was a helpless damsel.
"Kuga! What's taking so long?" Osamu shouted up towards him.
The shout woke Yuma up from his thoughts and he was turning and running out of his room without another thought. "Sorry, sorry." He shouted back as he jogged down the stairs. "You guys ready to go?"
"You're the only one who wanted to come here." Hyuse grumbled, slamming the door to the living room shut behind him as he joined his team in the hallway.
Yuma raised a brow, but didn't comment on Hyuse's sudden shift to being in a bad mood. He would be over whatever it was that was bothering him in a few minutes. Hyuse seemed to never stay in his bad mood for long.
"Did you find what you wanted?" Osamu asked.
"Yeah, ready to go."
"Straight to HQ. Jin-san called while you were up there and he wasn't happy we were here." Osamu replied.
"Oh? Did he have a vision?" Yuma asked.
"He said nothing about that, but you did make the promise last night to step out of the field." Osamu replied.
Yuma folded his hands behind his head, looking away with a frown. "This isn't actively taking part in any field work. We just went back to our base."
Osamu glanced down at his phone in his hand. "And now we're heading back to HQ before Jin-san feels the need to call me again."
"You could just not answer. That's what I do."
"That's a horrible idea, Kuga. We're in the middle of an attack from an enemy we know nothing about and who currently have two of Border's founders on their side. It's not a good idea to not respond when someone is trying to reach you. They might think something is wrong." Osamu scolded.
Yuma raised his hands in surrender. There really wasn't any way for him to respond to that since he had been in plenty of danger this week. Normally, his friends wouldn't worry about him when he was off on his own, but because it was his father and Yuma couldn't bring himself to fight his father, they did have reason to be concerned, as frustrating as it was for Yuma to find himself in this situation.
"Lead the way then, Osamu."
The sunlight was blinding as Osamu led his teammates out of Tamakoma. It was disheartening to look at the destruction on the bridge from the attack the other day, but at least all the Trion Soldiers were gone. When he agreed to come with Yuma to Tamakoma, he had been worried there would be workers here fixing up the base and bridge, but it seems Border hadn't gotten around to sending them out here yet. They might be waiting for the issue with the Mimics to be resolved so they didn't risk any lives at Tamakoma's Branch in case Yugo did come back.
"Do you have anyone that the Mimics could transform into?" Yuma asked.
Osamu glanced over his shoulder, but when he saw Yuma was looking at Hyuse, he looked back forward and continued walking, though he did keep listening to the conversation.
"No." Hyuse replied. The only person he probably cared about enough for the Mimic to be able to transform would be his master, but his master was still alive. Even if Hyrein managed to make his master into the Mother Trigger before he managed to get home, his master would still be alive. Though being made one with a Mother Trigger and being forced to sustain the nation did not sound at all like living to Hyuse. Considering they had a few more years before their current God died, Hyuse's master should still be safe. It shouldn't take them years to get on the away mission and get to Aftokrator. There was no need to rush. Their team had already been selected for the next mission. Once they had dealt with the Mimics and get through their training for the mission, they would be on their way.
There wasn't much that Osamu knew about the Neighborhood, apart from what Yuma had told him. From the way that Yuma spoke, Osamu was under the impression that there were a lot of wars over there which led to a lot of causalities. It was impressive that Hyuse hadn't felt any of that pain or loss yet. Though, perhaps that was because Aftokrator was the military powerhouse of the Neighborhood. They probably rarely felt the suffering that other countries were hit with constantly. Though, from what Enedra told them, that wouldn't be the case for much longer if they didn't get a new God soon.
"That's good. I imagine everyone you know is pretty strong." Yuma replied.
"I doubt the people you've met over the years are slackers." Hyuse said. "Especially your father. I've been around the base quite a bit the past few days and everyone is complaining about him, but I think they are also very impressed with his strength."
Yuma hummed in agreement. While he had always been amazed with his dad's strength, never once in all their training sessions had he been able to get a clean hit on him, it was a pretty big problem for them all now.
Hyuse stared down at Yuma, frowning. They both had really different childhood, despite both growing up in the Neighborhood. The past few days had really shown Hyuse just how different they were. He didn't think it would be this difficult to get Yuma to open up about it though. Hyuse was just genuinely curious, but he didn't expect it would take prying for him to learn anything. "Japan is your father's home, but Tropoi is yours. Why did you choose to come here after his death, instead of heading back home?"
"To Tropoi?" Yuma asked surprised, as if the idea of going back to his home country had never been an option for him.
"Where else would I mean?" Hyuse asked annoyed. "You're certainly not invited to Aftokrator being your home."
"Eh, been there, seen better." Yuma shrugged, making Hyuse glare at him.
"Like Tropoi is any better."
Yuma shrugged again. "I'm partial to Liberi myself. It was fun there. I don't remember enough about Tropoi to argue that it is better than Aftokrator."
"But it's your home country?" Hyuse said confused.
"That I haven't seen since I was five." Yuma pointed out.
"Do you not consider it home anymore because of that?" Osamu asked.
That question was apparently important enough to get Yuma to freeze in answering right away as he mulled over the answer. He had nothing against Tropoi. He didn't remember enough about it to really have much of an opinion. He remembered their Tsuchigami because they had been such a constant in the first few years of his life and because his father would tell him things about Tropoi growing up since he said it was important to know his heritage.
But, it was just information. Yuma wasn't going to form an opinion on Tropoi without seeing it again. So, without many memories of Tropoi, the only thing tiring Yuma to it would be his mother.
However...
"The only thing that would entice me to go back to Tropoi would be my mother, but the night my father and I left Tropoi, she was killed. I have nothing left to tie me to Tropoi."
Osamu was now founding himself under the impression that life was just out to get Kuga Yuma. He cannot recall one good thing that Yuma told him about his life before Border.
"I've never called anywhere home since I left Tropoi. I never stayed in one place long enough."
"Not even Calvaria?" Osamu inquired.
A dark, unpleasant look crossed over Yuma's face.
Osamu grimaced. "Sorry, Kuga. I know that war was unpleasant for you, but you had your friends to help you and be your support so I thought..."
Yuma shook his head, dismissing the rest of Osamu's thought. "I'm not selfless. I didn't help Calvaria out of the goodness of my heart or because I felt for them." He looked to the sky, a scowl forming. "I don't care what Kido-san says. I'm nothing like my father."
Osamu's steps came to a halt as he turned to face his friend, catching his eyes. "I never knew your father personally, so I can't compare you two, but I also don't think Kido-san would make that comparison lightly." He broke eye contact before Yuma to look at the sky, feeling a sense of calm wash over him. "Besides, I seem to recall Replica saying your father helped Calvaria to return a favor to an old friend. He did it to help a friend, not because he was selfless enough to help a country that was being invaded. Just as you chose not to get involved in this world's Neighbor problem until I needed help."
"I'm sure that didn't take long." Hyuse mumbled.
"It truly didn't." Yuma agreed, amusement rolling off of him in waves. "He was running after Neighbors as an ill-equipped trainee."
"I thought trainees weren't allowed to fight?" Hyuse held no care to Border's rules to trainees since he knew he was going to rush through that phase, but he was sure he heard a rule about no fighting Neighbors with a training Trigger.
"They're not, but Osamu has no regards for the rules."
"Clearly. He did accept two Neighbors into his squad."
Was he being insulted? Osamu couldn't tell with these two. They were both usually a lot blunter about it. He didn't think either of them learned the meaning of subtle recently.
*Mimics*
Mogami took a step back to better brace himself as he took the force of Yugo's strike, locking their swords together. He looked at the second sword still sheathed at Yugo's waist before he was meeting Yugo's smirk with one of his own. As it wasn't against the rules they set, Yugo could pull his second blade out, but he would be waiting until he could catch Mogami off guard with it.
That wasn't going to happen though.
Adding a second sword to his arsenal was something Yugo originally did to one up Mogami years ago. He wasn't ashamed to admit it caught him off guard plenty of times, but Mogami had since mastered the art of fighting Yugo.
Besides, Yugo wasn't the only one improving over the years.
Mogami's sword scraped along Yugo's as he forced them apart, putting distance between the two fighters. When he pulled his sword to his side, Yugo hesitated in moving towards him and instead backstepped, looking on curiously. It had been a long time since he last saw his friend so his fighting style had to have improved over the years.
Seeing it for the first time, the extending blade slash was a surprise but it would have worked better if there wasn't a set up for it that Yugo could see. It gave him more than enough time to block the slash.
At least, the first slash. Mogami didn't let up after one Senku. He sent multiple extending slashes flying towards Yugo, who took a step back with each slash he blocked. With Yugo distracted with the Senku slashes, Mogami used the nearby bench as a stepping stone to jump over the last of his slashes that Yugo was contending with and swung his sword towards Yugo's head. It was not at all surprising when Yugo's second sword was swinging up to meet his sword to stop his swing.
"My best time yet." Mogami said.
Yugo raised a brow. "At what?"
"Twenty-seven seconds to force you to draw your second blade."
Yugo snorted, swinging one of his swords up to rest it on his shoulder. "You kept track of that?"
"You wouldn't? It was a sense of pride to force you into drawing it, but you don't seem to hold back on pulling it out anymore." Mogami may not have seen the fight he had with Jin and Yuma, but he did see the swords he wasn't hesitating with.
"I don't make a habit of holding back in a real battle." Yugo replied. "I held back on using two swords against you because I enjoyed our spars and wanted to have them last, but you were never an easy match. It wasn't easy to learn to wield two swords, but I was determined to learn it just to throw you off in one of our matches."
Mogami stepped back from Yugo, sheathing his sword as there was no point in continuing the fight. "You consider Jin and your son a real battle?" He didn't wait for an answer as he turned away from Yugo and walked down the platform, looking up towards the sky. He had asked for a spar with Yugo because he has been itching for a fight. It hadn't even been a full day since he arrived in Mikado City, but the burn to hunt down the Black Trigger that Jin was carrying last night and destroy it was getting strong. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep himself from going to Border to find Jin and that sword.
"I don't see them as the enemy." Yugo admitted, sheathing his swords. "But I can only hold back the urge to destroy the Black Trigger for so long. I don't understand this need to destroy them, but I do know I dread this feeling." He looked down at his empty palm, imagining the feeling of his Trigger being there while looking at his injured son. "I know when I can't hold back the urge anymore, I will go after the Black Trigger, but that Black Trigger is the only thing keeping my son alive. If I can't fight this programming, I am going to kill him."
"You've always been so strong, Yugo. If you can't find the strength to resist this programming, there is nothing we can do." Mogami planted a hand on the hilt of his sword, gripping it tightly. He wasn't sure what Yugo was referring to about the Black Trigger keeping his son alive, but if Yugo wanted to tell him, he would. "So perhaps, we should just make a move while we're still thinking clearly."
"Except, it's not that easy." Yugo replied. "Even if I approach Yuma with a clear mind, the closer I am to the Black Trigger, the more my mind fogs up and I lose sense of myself and what I want. All I can think of is that the Black Trigger needs destroyed."
"What will come of destroying it?" Mogami asked.
"Maybe I'll found out when it gets destroyed." Yugo replied. He looked down at his hand, opening and closing it a few times. With each battle he found himself surviving, he felt stronger after it. And he didn't mean that each battle was giving him more experience which was helping him grow.
"Thought you didn't want that."
"It feels inevitable at this point."
Mogami could offer to kill Yugo right now to prevent it, but he wouldn't be able to succeed in striking down Yugo. In that short thirty second spar, he felt a pull in his muscles that wanted to pull him back from fighting Yugo. It was never a feeling he had when he fought his friend in the past, so he had a feeling this was part of the Mimic programming that Yugo was talking about. It was hard to throw those few strikes at Yugo since it felt like something in him was fighting against him, like the programming in him was fighting with him about attacking his fellow Mimic, even though it was just a spar with no intention of killing.
*Mimics*
Finding himself alone on Border's roof, Yuma pulled the hood of his hoodie down, letting the sun bare down on his face. Ignoring everything around him, Yuma pulled out his father's old Border Trigger.
"Trigger on."
A few sparks of Trion frizzled out from the Trigger, but nothing else happened.
Yuma stared in displeasure at the Trigger he went out of his way to pick up. "Trigger on!"
Trying to activate the Trigger a second time yielded in the same results. A few sparks, but no transformation into a combat body. What he did get was the feeling of the cracks on his neck spreading up his neck and reaching the left side of his face as in warning to not try that again.
Yuma dropped to his knees, Trigger falling to the ground near him as he grabbed his face in shock.
"Damn it."
