A/N: I don't own World Trigger

Mimics

Chapter 38: My Own Weakness

He always told himself that there was nothing he could do for Yuma after he learned about the state of his real body. Osamu didn't have the knowledge or ability to fix what happened to Yuma. Yugo was far more talented with Trion, far more experienced with Neighbor technology, and so much stronger and smarter. If creating a Black Trigger to seal Yuma's dying body was all he could come up with, then what could Osamu possibly offer in return? He couldn't do anything to save Yuma's life.

Even now, when he looked at his friend and saw how his body was falling apart, Osamu could only grit his teeth in frustration. Just going after Yugo and fighting him was hurting Yuma. It felt like they were doing more harm than good at this point.

At the very least, he could return this to Yuma.

Osamu extracted the ring from his pocket and held his hand out to reveal the Black Trigger there. "Miwa-senpai retrieved this for you but didn't want to come give it to you himself." He said, because Osamu was never the type to take credit for something he didn't do. No, he didn't like to take credit for things he didn't do. He had to cover for Yuma in the past, but it wasn't something he would just do without having a good reason to do so. This was Miwa's success and he was going to let Yuma know that because he wanted to make sure his friend got out there and expressed his gratitude to Miwa squad.

Jin glanced over the black ring sitting innocently in Osamu's hand, smiling faintly. It seemed the gamble had worked out. Attacking Yugo had been dangerous, but whether they attacked or not, Yuma was inching closer to death. Allowing Miwa squad to go out there to join in on the battle had a chance of a positive outcome. When he saw Yuma's missing eye, he thought he had miscalculated, but it seemed that it was to be a mixed outcome. Surely, had the agents not stopped the fight when they did, things would have turned out a lot worse.

"Miwa did?" Konami asked surprised. His hatred of Neighbors was very well known. In fact, his distaste of Yuma was obvious to Tamakoma, but since Yuma and Miwa didn't tend to interact and when they had to, they could be somewhat civil, it was something they all let go. None of them could force a friendship between the two. The issues that Miwa had with Neighbors, and with Yuma by extension, was something the two of them had to contend with on their own.

"Kuga and Mogami are Trion Soldiers. He probably saw them as the bigger of two evils here." Hyuse glanced at Yuma which would also explain why he made no snide comment towards Hyuse. He wasn't the current focus of Miwa's rage either. "Yuma's not much of a threat to anyone right now after all."

Yuma's jaw twitched in annoyance, but let the comment go as it was true. Instead, he let his attention stay locked onto his ring sitting in Osamu's hand. He couldn't believe that his father, who had fought so hard to get it, who had been willing to hurt Yuma to take it, had lost it so easily.

It seemed that Osamu was having a similar thought process though.

"He didn't try very hard to get it back after Miwa-senpai cut his arm off." Osamu said. "He made some attempts, but it seemed pretty half-hearted to me."

"Mogami-san didn't even join in the fight until it was nearing the end." Chika added, releasing her hold on the doorframe to finally enter the room, glancing over at her mentor. Reiji nodded back at her with a smile, glad to see that she had returned safely. "It was like he was unconscious."

"Similar to how Lilith was after she fought Giev?" Karasuma asked.

"I suppose so." Osamu replied. "He didn't react to anything that was going on. It seemed like he was pretty out of it."

Konami opened her mouth to make a comment about how they should have taken that chance to kill Mogami but couldn't get the words out. Her hands dropped down to Yuma's shoulders instead, finger digging into the fabric. Yuma turned his head slightly to glance up at her but couldn't get a clear look at her face without turning fully to face her.

Mogami had been the mentor to Jin, but he had still been a dear friend to Konami and taught her and gave her so much. He had been like a dear uncle to her, though Rindo had always been her favorite when she was a kid. Rindo was the one she had always chosen to run to when she had a problem or needed cheered up, but Mogami got just as much love from her.

Her kogetsu went flying through the air, but losing just one of her swords wasn't going to stop her. Konami had worked for a long time to be able to handle two swords at once for this very reason. She wasn't going to let herself become defenseless on the battlefield. Her second blade came up to block the next attack coming for her. Despite the successful block, she felt her knees start to buckle from the weight of the attack pressing down on her. Her eyes looked upwards to stare into the cold eyes bearing down on her. In the Neighborhood, age didn't matter. She may only be twelve, but anyone who held a weapon in the Neighborhood was fair game to all Trigger users. These enemies were out for all of their blood.

There was no mercy.

It was shown all around from the corpses littering the ground.

From the buildings crumbling down.

From the voices singing in pain in the air.

They had come here to help Aristera push back their enemies, but instead of doing that, they were all going to die here.

Where was Rindo? He had been by her side the entire time she had been fighting. There had been a promise that he would remain by her side. This wasn't a battle where any of them should be running off on their own.

When had she got separated from Rindo?

Konami caught an attack coming at her from the side and immediately threw a Shield up to defend herself since her sword was still locked in a stalemate that she couldn't break free from. Unfortunately for her, her Shield didn't have the strength behind it to withstand the sword and shattered upon impact, leaving her open to the slash that cut through her side. It was enough to distract her though and her knees collapsed under her with her sword falling from her hand.

She stared up in horror as the enemy's sword was swinging down on her. If she lost her Trion body here, she would just become another body lying on the ground. She would never get to see her mom and dad again. She wouldn't get to hang out with Jun after she had promised him they would hang out when she came back from her 'trip.' She and Jin weren't going to be able to get up to any more mischief while trying to sneak around Mogami's watchful eye.

She was going to lose every–

Green ribbons of light suddenly shot out of the nearby buildings, slicing through the two enemies towering over Konami. A clanging noise echoed in Konami's ears as their swords hit the ground from the ribbons cutting their limbs off. Before any of them could wonder what just happened, there were more ribbons tearing through their bodies, ripping them in half and destroying their Trion bodies.

Though Konami wrapped her hand around her Kogetsu to have it just in case, she paid no real attention to the enemies who had lost their ability to fight. Instead, she was looking past the downed enemies at the boy standing behind them, holding a sword that had green ribbons wisping around it. Konami lifted her eyes farther up to look at Jin's face which was devoid of any emotion. A completely blank look. No joy. No fear. No anger. Just empty. It was an expression that didn't match her friend at all. There was always some type of expression on his face.

But the tear strains on his cheeks and a strange sword with a black handle was all Konami needed to know what was wrong. She didn't need to voice the question and Jin didn't need to speak the answer aloud.

Her own tears began to cloud her eyes.

Mogami was the strongest fighter they had. No one could beat him.

Konami bit her lip as she turned her head away from Jin to hide her own tears. She wasn't going to let her sobs come out. Not now. Not in front of the enemy. She still had a fight to continue.

Where was Rindo?

If Mogami could be killed...

Where was Rindo?

He hadn't been killed too right?

Shinoda?

Reiji?

Shin?

Kengo?

Kaede?

Where were all her friends?

Jin walked pass the enemies he already defeated to join Konami's side. He dropped a hand to her head before resting the sides of their heads together, clutching the newly acquired Black Trigger in his hand tightly. He had no words of comfort to give her as his own heart had just been shattered into a million pieces. His mind was just completely blank.

At least...at least...

He had been in time to save her from being killed too.

Konami choked down her sobs, muscles tightening, even as she refused to pull away from Jin, taking in any form of comfort he could give her. "We need to move. There are still enemies around." She was proud of herself for how steady she was able to make her voice, but she knew she was not fooling Jin who could see the tears dripping down her cheeks.

"Yeah, let's move." Jin croaked, his own voice still hoarse from the crying he had done earlier.

Konami dug her palm into her eyes to try to force the tears back before she and Jin were running off. She could cry later.

For now, she was going to survive this. She would survive this and get back home. Then, and only then, could she break down. Mogami would say to save the tears for later because nothing was more important than the battle right in front of her. Tears would only be a distraction on a battlefield that required all her focus. Letting herself cry now would only make her another death in this hellish battle.

That wasn't what Mogami would want for any of them. He would want them to stand up, despite the pain of losing him and their other friends, and fight. Fight to make it out of this.

He wouldn't say they couldn't grieve or be depressed. That was a natural part of being human, to feel those emotions in such a disaster.

Tears were for after, never during.

How could Konami say that they should have killed Mogami when he was unconscious? He was a Trion Soldier and Konami agreed that he and Yugo couldn't be allowed to stay. They both needed killed, but it just felt wrong to even think about killing anyone when they were defenseless like that. It wouldn't be how she wanted to see her friend go, but at the same time, if they had the chance, Mogami would want them to take it. Somewhere deep inside that Trion Soldier was her real friend and he would be screaming in agony that they didn't kill him when the perfect opportunity had presented itself. He was already dead, and she just knew that was what Mogami would prefer than to become an enemy to Border.

She imagined that the same would apply to Yugo. He gave his life for Yuma. Stealing that same life from Yuma for himself was the complete opposite of what Yugo would want. Yuma said he didn't want to see Yugo become a slave to Meraki. Well, Konami could say she felt the same for Mogami. She hadn't seen him yet, but she knew that if she did see him, she would feel a mix of joy of seeing her friend and anger at seeing him being used as a pawn by Meraki. Mogami had always been a free spirit and did whatever he believed what was right. From what she knew from Yugo, that ability to decide and do what he wanted wasn't there. She would hate to see her friend reduced to a slave of his programming.

Konami loosened her grip on Yuma's shoulders so she could reach across him to where Osamu was standing and snatched the Black Trigger out of his still held out hand. She leaned down farther over the couch so she could slide it back on Yuma's finger. "There. Now we just need to deal with the Mimics and figure out how to fix your body and all will be right."

"Will having his ring back be enough to help him so we can kill Kuga now without having to worry about it killing Yuma too?" Hyuse asked, looking towards Jin for the answer as he was the only one of them that would have any idea.

Having his ring before was doing nothing to help Yuma so Jin didn't think it would change much now that he had it back. It would hopefully at least help stabilize his body, even if it wouldn't do anything to restore his lost Trion and heal his body.

Rindo glanced at Jin out of the corner of his eyes when there was no reply forthcoming. When it had Jin hesitating to reply, it tended to be either because it wasn't good or he was trying to read the future to get a better understanding of the situation. He clapped a hand on Jin's shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly while also pushing himself to his feet. "Let's all remember that we aren't doing this alone. We share our intel that we have and try to think of an answer together. That's why we have allies because no one can do it all on their own."

Jin turned his head towards Osamu. "You said before that Kuga-san didn't try that hard to get the ring back?"

Osamu nodded. "He made attempts, but knowing what I do about him and having seen the logs of his fights, it was like he didn't try that hard in his fight against us. Mogami-san too when he joined. Their attempts felt half-hearted the whole time." He paused and thought back to their fight. "Kuga-san said he would go all out from the start though since we were trying so hard, but it certainly didn't feel like it. Our fight felt like nothing compared to the logs of his fight with Director Shinoda and Rindo-san."

Hyuse scoffed, crossing his arms. "And then they just retreated. Before we even had the chance to declare our own retreat."

Yugo was there with Yuma's ring. Mogami was there with Fujin once he woke up and joined in on the battle. Two Black Triggers on their side and their years of experience over the Border agents. There was absolutely no reason for the Mimics to want to retreat, especially when Yugo lost his hold on the Black Trigger he fought so hard to steal. He had to want it back, but instead, he ran?

"The night Mogami appeared from Jin-san's memories, they retreated then too." Yuma pointed out, glancing over at Jin.

"That was when they needed to sort themselves out. Mogami-san wasn't prepared to fight then. It's like when Kuga-san didn't approach you the night he formed. It seems they needed time to orientate themselves." Jin replied.

"Except Miwa's sister and Kazama's brother were ready to attack immediately upon their appearance." Reiji said, glancing over at Yuma since he was the one who knew the most about Mimics among everyone in Border. While they were learning a bit more about Mimics every day, there was likely more that Yuma knew that he didn't even consider vital in explaining to them.

Feeling the eyes on him, Yuma turned to look over at Reiji in consideration. "Mimics were created in Tropoi but I truly only know what Dad told me about them. I was pretty young back then so my memories of them might be a bit faulty. Plus, knowing that Meraki stole the design and improved..." He trailed off bitterly. Improve was not the right word there. He would not consider the current Mimics who were turned into weapons and transformed into loved ones just to be used as a tool of manipulation to be an improvement. "The way they changed it is affecting what I do understand about them."

"It's likely something to do with the influence of the Black Triggers." Rindo said, pulling out a cigarette, but didn't light it just yet. He just wanted something to roll between his fingers as he thought all of this through. "Black Triggers are created with Trion and life force of the person creating it. Their personality and memories are tied to it. It is those feelings that make it so only someone compatible with the creator's personality can activate it. From the beginning of this, Kuga-san and Mogami-san have been drawn to their Black Triggers. It was likely they were being influenced from the start by them."

"Kazama-san said that his brother felt like the genuine article by the end of their fight." Yuma said thoughtfully. "He didn't have the influence of a Black Trigger to bring out the real him. No, the real him was always there with the memories. The Trion Soldier programming just demanded he fight."

"But at the end, Shin-san came out." Konami said wistfully as she recalled her friend. Since he was trained by Rindo and Konami was always attaching herself to Rindo's side, she spent quite a bit of time with Shin. "You said the answer, Yuma. They are still in there. The real them. Perhaps Kazama-san was able to draw his brother out for a real moment between brothers before Shin-san had to leave."

"How would that work?" Chika asked confused.

"Perhaps the love between the brothers and the exchange they had in the fight was what did it." Osamu said, though he sounded unsure. With how little they truly knew of Mimics, they were just taking guesses at this point.

Yuma turned his hand over to stare at his Black Trigger that was now back on his finger. Having the familiar weight on his finger back felt right. Too bad it was overshadowed by the fact that his body was already in such a dire state. With his Black Trigger prioritizing Yugo over him, he wouldn't get enough Trion back to fix himself. To be fair, having his ring did nothing to heal his cracks the past few days, but having it back would hopefully stabilize his Trion to keep him from losing any more body parts. He probably would have never lost his eye if he didn't lose his ring in the first place.

"Maybe having the Black Triggers physically on them was affecting them and helping them control their actions a bit better." Karasuma suggested. "We know Kuga-san and Mogami-san are here. They just can't control their actions as the Trion Soldier programming is in control, but taking hold of the Black Triggers managed to free a part of them and they decided they didn't want to fight so they left."

"If that was the case, then they should have just let us kill them." Hyuse retorted. "Then this could have been all over."

"I doubt they will ever get their full control back to allow us to kill them." Rindo said, looking off to the side as he thought about everything his agents were saying. He was trying to piece it all together to make sense. Neither Yugo nor Mogami had been against the retreat option when they were part of Border. In fact, they encouraged that option. A fight that couldn't be won or would only lead to problems if it continued wasn't a battle that needed to be fought. Sometimes, a fight just wasn't worth it. "Meraki wouldn't want their weapons to be able to oppose them if they became too aware."

"But perhaps it's giving them a fighting chance to resist." Yuri suggested.

Was it though? Jin looked up at Yuma, taking in the injuries he was covered in. In the vision he had of him and Yugo, he was using a Trigger to face off against Yugo. Yugo had been pointing a sword at Yuma's throat. It didn't seem like to Jin that Yugo had managed to get any control back, but perhaps that had to do with the fact that Yugo only had Yuma's ring for a few hours before he lost it. If he really was getting a sense of self back by having the ring, he would likely lose it now that the Black Trigger was back with his son. If Yugo had it, it hurt Yuma more but was possibly bringing out the true Yugo. If Yuma had it, it would make him a target for a Yugo who would hold no mercy towards his son again.

So, what was left for them?

Standing back and letting Yugo continue to live wasn't an option.

Did they take the risk of killing Yugo and hoping that Yuma's body held out?

That was just too reckless.

Border didn't sacrifice their friends. They did not abandon their friends.

But what else could they do?

*Mimics*

Eleni leaned over her table, brushing her long white hair behind her ear. Her hands were full of tools as she worked on the Trion Soldier on her table.

Yuma used his tiny hands to grab his dad's bigger hand between them as he stood on his tiptoe to try to see over the edge of the table as his mom worked. She looked so focused on what she was working on that Yuma was almost convinced that she hadn't even heard Yugo and Yuma come into her lab.

Almost convinced because Eleni seemed to have a radar in her that told her when they had arrived. This was proven when Eleni finished what she was doing so she could drop a hand down to thread her fingers through Yuma's hair. "My favorite assistant has decided to stop by." A teasing glint entered her eyes as she finally glanced down at her son. "You've been absent from work for a while now, Yuma."

Yuma tilted his head back to look up at his mom's blinding smile and grinned up at her. He detached himself from Yugo's hand to take a hold of his mom's lab coat and buried his face her leg. "Dad and I were playing hide and seek. It's no fair, Mom. I can never find him but he finds me so fast!"

"I see." Eleni looked over at Yugo to give him a mock scolding look. "You could go easy on him, Yugo. He doesn't have the same training."

"Easy? I don't go easy on anyone." Yugo reached down and grabbed Yuma under the armpits to life him up and quickly tossed him onto his shoulders. "He's getting better at hiding anyway." He looked down at the table. "What are you working on?"

Yuma wrapped his finger into Yugo's hair to brace himself as he leaned forward to get a look at the table at the Trion Soldier that was lying there.

"I wanted to see if I could find a way to get the transformation to last longer." Eleni said.

Yugo looked at his wife sharply, briefly tightening his hold on Yuma's ankles. "Eleni, I thought we were pass this." He said softly. "There is no need for Inchoate to be here forever. I know it hurts to lose someone, but we can't play God. Death is a natural occurrence of life."

Eleni laid her tool down on the table so she could fully turn to face Yugo. Her hands came up to cup her husband's face, staring into his red eyes that were pleading for her to understand. He didn't want to see her fall down this hill of obsession again. "It's not about the Aionia, Yugo."

"Isn't it? You've wanted to see your mom again for years."

Eleni's eyes drifted upwards to look at their son. "I will always miss my mother, Yugo. That feeling will never fully go away, but I'm not living with the same obsession to bring her back as I was in the past. I want to spend my life with you and Yuma now. What I'm working on now is just a way to improve the Inchoate so those who come to me can spend a bit more time with those they lost."

Yugo glanced over at the table where his wife's work sat. Losing those precious was difficult for everyone who went through it. He saw the grief Eleni dealt with when her mom died years ago, and he supported her the best he could, but through all that, she was still determined to make her Trion Soldier. They had many disagreements over the Aionia over the years as Yugo never agreed with the idea of them. It was perhaps the only thing that they ever argued over. Life and death was never something that should be treated like a plaything.

"Yugo," Eleni gently prodded Yugo's cheek to bring his attention back to him. "I love you. I love Yuma. You were there for me every step of the way after my mom died. You gave me the strength to stand up again after I lost her, but not everyone has that person they need to help pull them from their grief and get them back on their feet so I want to give them this chance. A final goodbye before they let go forever. I want to give them as much time as they can get for that last moment." She leaned forward, planting a kiss on Yugo's lips before dropping her forehead to his. "A final moment to say how much they love them. I know you don't like them and would never want to use them so I will tell you every chance I get how much I love you. My feelings for you will never change."

"I know why you do it." Yugo said, brushing Eleni's hair out of her eyes so he could stare into those loving eyes. "It's your kind heart crying out to give that chance to them. I just don't want to see you get lost in your work again."

"I'm not going to." Eleni promised. "I want to help others with Inchoate, but you and Yuma are still the most important thing in my life. Maybe at one point, my work was more important than anything to me, but," She stepped back from Yugo and reached up to take Yuma from her shoulders to hug him tightly to her chest, planting a kiss on his temple. "I'm not going to sacrifice this new dream of mine. It's too valuable to me."

Yuma looked up at Eleni, laughter in his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her neck.

Eleni's eyes softened as she took the chance to cuddle her son back.

Yugo took in his wife and son with a soft smile. He refused to look away from them to look at the Mimic lying on the table. For him, he would much prefer to see what was real in front of him than what was fake. He understood why she made the Mimics, to help people, but Yugo would much rather face reality, and his current reality was helping Eleni raise their son.

Yugo cracked his eyes open, staring up at the ceiling with a sigh. He turned his head to look at Mogami who was leaning back in a chair with his legs thrown up on the desk, crossed at the ankles with his own eyes closed. He was either just relaxing or was out of it because of Fujin messing with his head again.

Leaving Mogami to his own devices, Yugo pushed himself to his feet and walked around the desk to approach the windows. He planted his hands on the window seal as he looked down towards the grounds of the university that he and Mogami had decided to hide in. It had been such a long time since he had been in a school. He should have been taking his son to school and talking to his teachers about the mischief his child no doubt got up to.

It never got to be though. He had to take Yuma away from Tropoi before he was old enough to attend school and after that, they spent all their time traveling from one country to the next. Since they never settled down anywhere, he couldn't give Yuma a proper childhood. He didn't get to attend school or have fun with friends by playing games and hanging out. Yuma may have made friends, but with his training, lessons on strategy, and the fights they constantly got into in their travels, he had no time to have fun with them.

Yuma didn't get the childhood that he deserved and Yugo didn't get to see him grow up.

Catching sight of his son, Yugo smiled and continued walking down the hall. "Even injured, I didn't think for a second you would decide to hide in HQ during a battle, Yuma. You were always the type to run towards any fight." Yugo said.

Even with his father never stopping his stride towards Yuma, Yuma stood his ground.

A body full of cracks and looking close to its breaking point which would release his real body if it did snap apart, and yet, Yuma refused to back down in fear at Yugo approaching him. Instead, defiant eyes looked up at Yugo. It was a strange look for Yugo to have directed at him, though it wouldn't be the first time he's had Yuma look at him like this. It was just usually in training when Yuma dared to direct this expression at Yugo.

An expression that spoke more of wanting to see Yugo than the normal love and respect that Yuma usually had.

Yugo flipped his hand over to stare at the spot where he had the Black Trigger resting earlier. There was still a phantom feeling of wrongness on his finger from when he wore it. He was the creator of that ring. It was his life force and his Trion that got poured into it so having it on him should have felt right. It was supposed to complete him and that would lead to him being around forever. That was his purpose. That was the only thing that should matter to Yugo.

That wasn't quite right. Surviving at all costs was what mattered to the Mimic in Yugo.

The feeling of wrongness when wearing that ring earlier, the feeling of wrongness now, was because Yugo did know who he was. He's known from the moment he opened his eyes in Mikado City.

Before anything else, he was a father.

He had been so excited to be a father from the moment Eleni told him she was pregnant, but it was turning out that he was a horrible father.

A look of betrayal from Yuma had been completely deserved, even if it had hurt a lot to see that hurt and betrayal in Yuma's eyes.

"A final moment to say how much they love them."

That was how Eleni had described it.

Yugo stepped up to the wall where his son was lying, bleeding out so fast that it was likely he was already dead. Why did Yugo rush all the way here? Was his son even still alive?

Yugo closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the cool window. He never understood Eleni's desire to use a Mimic to get her mother back more than he did in that moment when he saw his son that day. In the first moment when he saw Yuma, he thought it was too late and his son was dead, and from there, his mind had went to a Mimic. A chance to see his son again just so he could hold him tightly in a hug one last time.

The pained grunts that came from Yuma as he approached had been music to his ears. Rather than fall to the desire of using one of his wife's Mimics, Yugo would preserve his son's life with a Black Trigger. Yugo did not agree with the idea of Aionia since death was permanent and was not something to be tempered with but saving his son before he could succumb to death was completely different.

"Oyaji!"

Yugo's eyes snapped open as he reeled back for the window as he twisted around to face the classroom, but he only saw Mogami at the desk, who had cracked an eye open to look at Yugo with a curious expression. Yugo didn't even notice his friend as he stared ahead at the otherwise empty classroom.

There was no one else in the room with him and Mogami, but Yugo was still seeing his son standing there with his blinding smile. It was only for a moment though before the light shining into the classroom blinded him and the image of Yuma was gone.

"Being haunted?" Mogami asked, dropping his feet down from the desk as he stared with knowing eyes at Yugo. "Is the guilt getting to you that much?"

Yugo scoffed, turning his head back towards the window to look at towards the Restricted Zone. "Can you really speak? Did you want to hurt your dear mentee like that?"

Mogami leaned forward, resting his arms on the desk as he looked at Yugo's back while not answering. He knew that wasn't a serious question form Yugo. Neither of them wanted to be fighting Border like this or seeing that look of hurt on their old friends' faces when Mogami and Yugo refused to back down from attacking them. If it was their choice, they would avoid the fights as much as possible.

Mogami had been screaming in anguish the whole time he fought Jin and his friend last night. There was a part of him that was just begging for Jin to be able to defeat him, but Mogami could not stop himself. He would not stop himself from trying to kill Jin and the other agents that dared to get in his way. As much as it hurt him to fight them, they at least had a new system for when they lost to take them back to HQ so Mogami couldn't truly kill any of them. It seemed that Border had really grown over the years to have a system like that.

They lost the fight to Mogami but didn't get hurt physically. He was sure there was some mental pain he was causing Jin through all this, but Jin had always been strong willed. Having to live with his side effect his whole life, Jin had gotten so strong to face the difficulties of seeing all the futures that could be. Mogami had spent so much time with Jin to help build that mental fortitude because he needed that to live with his side effect.

It wasn't the same for Yugo though. Everything he did, just existing, was hurting his son physically and mentally. It would build up guilt inside of Yugo, but was there anything he could do when his Mimic self was screaming at him to prioritize his own survival over his son's?

"Are you going after him again to get your ring back?" Mogami asked.

"I doubt he can leave HQ with the condition he is in." Yugo said. "And that place will be crawling with agents now that they aren't distracted in the Restricted Zone with my Trion Soldiers."

But that didn't mean Yugo was going to give up. No matter the guilt he had for hurting his son, getting the ring back would be the most important thing to Yugo.

Mogami glanced down at Fujin that was sitting at his waist. He made the decision to leave the battlefield and was able to follow through on it because he felt a semblance of control with Fujin in his hand. Now that he had Fujin, he had no reason to want to fight Border right now. The Mimic in him didn't care about the agents. Mogami didn't want to fight. For once, his two sides were resonating and he was able to walk away.

Only for that moment though.

Just as Yugo felt the desire to get his Black Trigger back, Mogami was his partner. They were Mimics in this together. It was his job to help his partner and get his ring back. Until they achieved that, they couldn't head back to Meraki. Not only has Border stalled them from leaving by forcing the Gates to remain close, but they had also stolen one of the Black Triggers back so they couldn't leave now even if the Gates did start to open again

Mogami looked back up at Yugo to see him staring out the window again with a frown. While he was no doubt frustrated within himself and his Mimic self, the look on his face seemed to say that he was waiting for something.

Mogami kicked his chair back again and planted his feet back on the desk to position himself more back from the window. He was not going to stand out in the open, just daring someone to shoot him.

Even if dying and freeing Jin and all his old friends from the burden of having to stop him was what he wanted, the Mimic part of him disagreed with that sentiment.

*Mimics*

Yuma laid on the couch with his arm stretched above his head as he turned it this way and that way to look at the cracks just covering his hand. It was amazing that his hand hadn't fallen off yet with how wrecked it looked. Looking beyond the cracks, Yuma stared at his ring that Miwa squad and his squad had managed to recover. He knew that Osamu was expecting him to make a trip to see Miwa squad to express his gratitude, but he really wasn't feeling like facing Miwa right now. Miwa always seemed to ready to get into an argument with him when they were in the same room. With how many arguments Yuma had been in this week with his friends, he wasn't sure he wanted to add another one on top of that.

"Is lying here how you really want to spend the rest of your day?" Konami asked, appearing over Yuma suddenly.

Yuma dropped his hand to his side with a sigh. "What else am I supposed to do?" He asked. Hyuse had gone off to train in the rank booths with Osamu and Karasuma. He figured that Hyuse had some frustrations to work out because they hadn't managed to finish the Mimics off today. All Hyuse wanted was to get back to Aftokrator but the longer the Mimics were here getting in the way of the squads training for the mission, the longer it would take for him to get home. Reiji had taken Chika for some sniper practice. Perhaps some would consider it strange for them to be training in the midst of the chaotic attack happening, but it would at least keep them busy and get them prepared for the next fight. It was something that Yuma could never do in the Neighborhood. He didn't have virtual training rooms to train in between battles. He couldn't risk his Trion body or waste his Trion in training so when he was in Calvaria, he only fought when Spinthir launched an attack. "Besides, it's not like you're doing anything either."

Konami planted her hands on her hips as she looked down at her student, lips pursed into a frown.

Seeing her expression, Yuma scoffed, turning his head to the side on the cushion. "I don't need a babysitter. I'm not going to die the moment you take your eyes off of me."

"I don't think that is the best thing to be saying with the state of your body. We don't know how much longer you can hold out." Konami said softly. With just the two of them left in Tamakoma-1's squad room in HQ, there was no need to talk quietly as no one would overhear them, and yet, Konami didn't have the energy to want to raise her voice. The stress of this week was beginning to drag even her down.

Lying down, doing nothing, wasn't how Yuma wanted to spend what could possibly be his last moments either, but he didn't want to disturb his teammates when they were training. They needed all the training they could get for when they went after the Mimics again. This was going to be a battle that required skill and wits. His team, Tamakoma, his friends in HQ were the ones who were putting in all the work while he just laid around HQ doing nothing.

Ever since Yugo died for him, Yuma was never the one who needed protected or saved. He always did everything on his own.

Which was why this was so frustrating to him.

Yuma's eye slid shut as he dug his cheek into the couch cushion. "You must hate me right now." He said, surprising Konami.

"What nonsense are you speaking?" Konami demanded harshly, finding a bit of energy in her to prepare to knock Yuma around if he started saying something stupid. There was never anything that could make her hate her cute student. Nothing in this world.

"You hate weak people." Yuma said. "I haven't felt this weak and pathetic in a long time." Not since that assassin attacked him and he was at his mercy and then was forced to lie there, bleeding out and in immense pain, without being able to do anything for himself. He needed his father to come in and save him. Since then, Yuma swore he would never need protected or saved again. He could only rely on himself.

Until now.

Until Border decided to step up and show him what it meant to have allies who would always have his back.

Konami's anger dropped immediately as her eyes softened down at her pupil, not that he saw it as he had closed his eye. She stood up straight and moved around the side of the couch. This wasn't something she wanted to discuss while towering over Yuma. She nudged Yuma to get her point across that he either needed to sit up or scoot his tiny body farther down the couch if he wanted to keep lying down so she could sit. He chose to scoot down as he didn't feel like getting up.

Sitting down heavily, Konami stared off into the distance, hands clenched into tight fists on her lap. This was perhaps something she swore to herself that she would never tell anyone. It was her own problem to deal with. Everyone had their own burdens to bear. Some of those burdens needed shared since they were too heavy to handle alone while other burdens were private and she could use it as her own way to pull herself up.

"I've been with Border for a long time, longer than Jin in fact." Konami said.

"Hmm," Yuma hummed. "You said that before."

Konami brushed her hair over her shoulder. This was never what she wanted to speak out loud, but just as she had wanted to keep things quiet, so had Yuma. Yuma's past was private to him which was why he never told them about it before. It was difficult for him to speak of, but he had to because the situation they were in was just that dire. Yuma trusted them with his past. She could trust him with hers. "Five years ago, we went to Aristera to help them as they were being attacked by another nation."

Yuma cracked his eye opened to stare up at his mentor, who wasn't looking at him. Though she was looking off the side, Yuma could still see the anguish on her face, which surprised him. It was a look he had never seen her have before. Anger. Joy. Embarrassment. A teasing attitude. A serious attitude. He had seen them all on her, but there was never a lot of absolute distress. She always stood strong and ready to defend. It was who she was.

But, if she was bringing up Aristera, then the expression made sense. Yuma didn't know much about Aristera, other than what Jin and Rindo had brought up to him, but just from those small bits, he could tell that it had been a horrible experience for everyone.

"It was my first time going to the Neighborhood." Konami said. "I had always wanted the chance to go there, but we weren't going there for a fun trip to see the country that our allies lived in. We went to fight in a war, to help them protect their Mother Trigger from getting stolen."

"But you failed. The nation was destroyed and Yotaro and Ruka escaped from the collapse by having Border bring them here." Yuma replied.

Konami nodded. So, this wasn't the first time that Yuma had heard about Aristera. That made sense. She was sure Jin would explain it to Yuma at some point. Seeing as he was from the Neighborhood, there really was no reason to keep Ruka and Yotaro's history or the Mother Trigger that Border used a secret to him.

"Boss said you lost a lot of your friends there." Yuma continued.

Konami swallowed heavily. Aristera was not a time she liked to think about. "Yes, Border wasn't a big organization back then, and half of them were killed in Aristera." She briefly closed her eyes as Aristera flashed in front of her eyes and she saw the corpses of the people of Aristera strewn all about and mixed among them, her friends. "It was the first real battle I ever found myself in. Before then, I had spent all my time just training. I was nervous to go into the battle, but I had thought myself to be prepared for anything." She glanced down at Yuma, meeting his eye. "Nothing can truly prepare you for that first battle. In the Neighborhood, age doesn't matter. If you can fight, you can be killed. There is no mercy to be had over there."

That was a lesson that Yuma didn't need. Konami's eyes flickered briefly to Yuma's missing eye than to his right arm that he had said that he lost years ago. Yuma knew how cruel the Neighborhood was. He lived there for fifteen years.

"Bail out didn't exist in Border back then so when we entered Aristera, we went knowing the dangers, but didn't truly understand it until we stepped onto the battlefield. I was scared." Konami admitted softly. "I stepped off the away ship, ready to fight, and at the first corpse I saw, I froze."

"You were twelve on your first battlefield. It's a natural reaction." Yuma said soothingly. He would never mock anyone for getting scared. Did he ever freeze on a battlefield? Yes. When he met that assassin, when he felt his killing intent, Yuma had frozen. It may have only been for a second, but it was all the assassin needed. It was his opening, and for that, Yuma paid the price. No one should ever freeze on the battlefield like that, but it was something that happened, especially in those inexperienced in real combat. Training was nothing like the real thing.

"Boss promised to stay by my side the entire time, and though he did his best, it was chaotic and there was so much going on that we lost track of each other." It was never something Konami blamed Rindo for. She couldn't expect to have an ally to have her back at every moment in a battle, especially one as chaotic as Aristera. Border had gotten split up so fast between the chaos of the battle, the buildings collapsing around them, and having to save the royal family. "I did my best on my own, but being alone in that situation, my own fear was beginning to get to me."

Konami's eyes were wide as she watched the sword swinging down to cut her in half. Those cold eyes promising no mercy for the young girl.

Konami shook the memory away. She had known in that moment that she was going to be killed. She had lost both of her swords and even if a Shield has managed to protect her, it would have only lasted for one attack. It didn't matter though as she had been trembling in so much fear that she couldn't even think of how to get herself out of that situation. Being alone in that moment, on her first battlefield, she had just frozen. "I was almost killed in Aristera, but at the last minute, Jin appeared to save me, holding a Black Trigger."

Yuma turned his head on the couch to stare up at the ceiling. A Black Trigger, which meant that Aristera was where Mogami died. For the Old Border members, Aristera was their true hellish moment. It drove them to a point where they knew they needed to be better, but didn't yet have the resources to get stronger.

"Seeing Jin holding Fujin in that moment, I knew without needing to ask who it was from." Because that look on Jin's face and knowing that Mogami would do his best to stay near his own mentee in that situation, it couldn't have been anyone else. "It had been devastating to see, but it also awoke another fear in me. Who else among my friends had died while I was trembling in fear?"

Konami turned herself on the couch, bringing up one leg to adjust herself as she sat sideways so she could look down at Yuma. "When I got back from Aristera, I made a promise to myself that I would never falter like that again. I hate weak people because of my own weakness back then. I can't help but think, if I hadn't frozen, could I have saved one of my friends?" There was no way she alone could have saved all her friends that had died. She had already acknowledged that much, but maybe she could have saved one or two of them.

Save yourself by yourself. Don't rely on others to save you.

It was about getting strong enough that needing protection wasn't needed, but if friends were nearby, then they could help in battle, but when in a fight, no one should just expect that an ally was going to be nearby to save them at the last minute. Konami had been lucky that Jin had been able to make it to her in time, but she also realized that she couldn't just expect that so she trained herself to be stronger and to not let her fear rule her again.

Yuma pushed himself up to his knees as he turned around. Before Konami could react, his arms were wrapping around her neck. It felt a bit awkward for Yuma, who never initiated physical contact like this, but he wanted to return the favor to Konami, who would pull him into hugs whenever she thought he needed it. "The past can't be changed. It doesn't do well to dwell on what ifs." He said, repeating the same words she had told him the other day on Tamakoma's roof.

Konami blinked in surprise at having her words thrown back at her, but found herself smiling as she wrapped one arm around Yuma's back to return the hug. This was the first, and probably only time, Yuma would ever initiate one of their hugs. She was going to enjoy it. "When did you decide you wanted to steal the title of mentor in this relationship?"

"About the time you picked me to be your mentee. I've been planning in the shadows to reverse our roles at some point, and now that I'm about to die, I had to swoop in to do it now." Yuma said jokingly. Though a joke, he felt Konami's arm around him tightened its grip.

"Don't make those kind of jokes." Konami growled into his ear. "I don't want to lose any more friends."

Yuma unhooked his arms from her neck to pull back from the hug, but couldn't quite get away as Konami didn't release her grip. Instead, she dropped her face into Yuma's fluffy hair. Yuma stared pass her shoulder at the wall behind her as he waited for her to regain her composure.

"Sorry. You do know I don't want to die, right, Konami-senpai?"

"Of course you don't." Konami retorted without an ounce of doubt in her voice.

"It's just...I'm just so mad at myself for being so helpless in the face of my father. I know, in my heart, this wasn't how my father was when he was alive. He would never come at me like an enemy or try to hurt me like this." Yuma said. "I met a fake Replica in Shizuka City and didn't falter like this so I thought that I would be fine if a Mimic of Dad appeared. I was more worried about his skill and experience as a fighter. But I was wrong to think like that." He dropped his head down to Konami's shoulder. "I'm weak in the face of him, and that weakness is going to kill me."

"Everyone has a weakness." Konami replied. "That's why we form squads, to make up for those weaknesses. Who among us can do everything alone?" It was true she, Reiji, Jin, and Shinoda could all be considered a squad on their own for their strength, but there were times when even they alone would not be enough to survive. Allies were an added strength that everyone needed. "When your strength isn't enough, they will make up the difference."

"I get that. It was what my dad taught me. Rely on your strength first, but if you have allies, they can give you strength to help win the battle." Yuma said.

"Which means, let us deal with this for you. You're not weak for having emotions. Anyone would falter at seeing someone who is supposed to be dead." Konami reassured him. "And your history with Kuga-san is going to make it difficult for you to face him. What right do any of us have to scold you for being human? We all falter at some point. I've done it in the past and promised to overcome my weakness. I know how strong you are, Yuma. It's alright that you struggled to face Kuga-san the past few days. I know you can find the strength to stand up again. In fact, you already have."

Yuma shifted his head on her shoulder in surprise.

Konami looked down at him, locking her eyes with his. "Earlier you said, you didn't want to see your father or Mogami-san being used like this. Just as you are suffering, just as Jin is suffering, they are suffering from this as well. I'm certain that neither of them want to be at war with us."

Yuma blinked, staring down at Konami's shirt as he continued to lean against her shoulder. That was right. He had to remember that this wasn't just about him. He had his own problems with Yugo, but just as Yugo was his father, he was a friend to Shinoda and Rindo. It was the same with Mogami. It wasn't just Jin having difficulty with his old mentor and friend appearing. Konami, Reiji, Yuri, and the directors. They all had connections with Mogami too. He was a dear friend to all of them. Just as Yuma found it hard to face Yugo, how was Jin facing off with Mogami? It surely had to hurt him to see his mentor like this.

Yuma had been pretty selfish with how focused he had been with his own problems lately.

"I hate Meraki for doing this to them." Yuma said bitterly. "Because of them, Dad and Mogami have been corrupted. My memories of Dad are getting defiled."

"Don't think like that." Konami whispered. "You can't let this Mimic of him steal what you feel for your father."

"That is easy to say, but this Mimic has his face so it's adding new memories of Dad to me and now my understanding of Dad is getting all distorted. I know in my head that he died five years ago and this isn't him, but my emotions are getting all twisted around." Yuma pushed free of Konami, breaking free completely by knocking her arm off his back so he could get some distance between them. "When I was a kid..."

If the situation wasn't so serious, Konami would have made a joke about Yuma still being a kid, but she resisted and instead leaned back on the armrest as she watched Yuma. He may be young, still technically a kid, but everything he went through as a child caused him to grow up so much faster. It was the same for her and Jin. Their time in Aristera forced them to grow up because they had to face the reality of that situation. Their friends had been killed. Aristera had been destroyed. The people of Aristera had all lost their lives from the destruction of their home. Who could still call them kids after what they saw and did?

"I saw Mimics quite a bit, but I always felt unnerved around them. When I saw people come to my mom to have access to a Mimic, I never knew the people who they wanted to see. I saw the Mimics transform into them but didn't know who they were. Even so, when I saw them, they looked so real and by the expressions on the people's faces that asked for this, they were so overwhelmed and happy but at the same time, morose since they knew it couldn't last. Despite that, they took all the time they were given to spend time with their loved one to just talk and hug and cry together. It was just a Trion Soldier, but the idea was to see the person it transformed into as the real deal, and it always worked. By the end of their time, they would have forgotten they were sharing their last moments with a Trion Soldier."

Yuma collapsed back into the couch cushions, sinking back into them. He tilted his head back to stare up at the ceiling. "Perhaps it was because I was so young back then, but part of me truly thought they were real when the Mimics transformed into them. I didn't truly understand what was going on or why the people were so upset when they came to my mom asking for access to one of her Mimics." He turned his head on the cushions so he could look at Konami. "I hate to admit it, but I've always been bad at dealing with Mimics. I know in my head that they are just Trion Soldiers under the face they took, but I truly never been good at distinguishing them."

"You've been adamant all week about not getting fooled by them and telling everyone to remember they are just Trion Soldiers." Konami pointed out.

Yuma nodded. "I am in need of the constant reminder myself. I need to remember that Dad isn't coming back and the Mimic of him isn't real." There was that thing his dad said about Aionia last night that had Yuma curious as he never heard of anything about Mimics transforming into someone and staying around forever. His side effect hadn't activated when his father explained it, so it meant that his mother really had planned for Mimics to replace the ones who died. It was just even more nonsense with the Mimics to mess with his head.

"To a degree, they are real though." Konami pointed out. "Underneath their skin, there is a Trion Soldier, but once they transform, a part of them becomes that person. They just can't say what they truly want to."

"Were they my mom's original design, they could say what they wanted. I want to be able to talk to my dad properly, but I can't, not like this. Instead, I just want to free him from this torment." Yuma said. "If he were to kill me like this just so he could survive forever as a slave to Meraki, it would destroy him. I can't let him live with that torment. Though, there was a time when I wanted to give Dad his life back. Use the Black Trigger and revert it back to giving him his life. Since my life is tied to the Black Trigger, this would kill me, but I've always lived with this guilt of getting him killed, so I was fine with that."

Konami's eyes widened briefly before she was smoothing out her expression. With the way Yuma said that, it wasn't how he was feeling anymore so she couldn't let any fear at the admission get to her. "Do you really think Kuga-san would want you to do that? He gave up his life for you to live, not just so you could go and reverse it."

Yuma hummed in reply. He knew that his father wouldn't want him to do that. To Yuma, it was just something he wanted to do to ease this guilt that was eating at him since he saw his father die. His father gave everything to save his son because he couldn't bear to live without Yuma. Yugo had to have known how much it would hurt Yuma when he did that, but perhaps, to Yugo, he was of the belief that Yuma was strong enough to be able to overcome everything that happened in Calvaria. "It was for my own selfish reasons. My guilt was telling me I didn't deserve this chance at life again when it was my own fault that I got hurt. My father shouldn't have died for me so it was only partly about wanting to save Dad that I wanted that. The other reason was just to ease my guilt by giving life back to him. All I wanted out of this exchange was to know why Dad gave me that smile when he was dying for me."

Konami's eyes softened as she looked over at her pupil. This was what had been weighing Yuma down for years. When she first met him, she saw the strength that he held, but strength wasn't something anyone just got. Strength grew when someone was forced to overcome a heavy burden that tried to beat them down. Yuma went through hell, but it was also that hellish experience that made him who he was. It was the same for her and Jin. Aristera had been a horrible experience, but they wouldn't be who they were if it wasn't for that. They learned the true value of life and both of them became so much more determined to protect the lives of those they love for it.

"That guilt will never leave me. I already told Jin-san this, but I want to say thank you." Yuma said. "Coming to Japan was probably the best decisions I made in years. You guys taught me how to want to live again and you gave me such a fun time. I think, if I had to face a Mimic of Dad on own, before I had met you guys, I would have given up a long time ago. Because, in the face of Dad, I am weak. He's my weakness so if it wasn't for you and Jin-san and everyone at Border, I would have saw no reason to fight against this."

Konami forgot to breath for a second at Yuma's confession. Yuma always acted so strong and level-headed that this was so shocking to hear. She had never felt like that, because despite the hell she went through in Aristera, she didn't suffer from guilt over blaming herself for someone's death. She wished she had done better and didn't freeze in fear, but what happened was never her fault. She just hated that she froze, but she had everyone in Border that survived to help her through her own grief. What happened still hurt to this day, but she was able to recover quite well, all things considered. It seemed that the same could not be said for Yuma though. It sounded like he never got the proper help that he needed, and now that was coming back to hurt him as he couldn't face his father properly. Though, even if he did get help in recovering from his guilt, it likely would have still been hard for him to face Yugo after what happened in Calvaria.

"It's not like that anymore." Yuma assured Konami when he saw her distress. "You all gave me something to live for. Osamu asked for my help, and I intend to give it." He smiled softly as he thought back to those first few days he was in Japan and it was just him and Osamu. "I owe him a lot for helping me find my way to Border." Osamu may think he owed Yuma a lot for saving his life and for using Yuma's strength to rise through the ranks, but Yuma felt it was the opposite. Osamu gave him a purpose and helped him find the reason to want to live. It was a debt that Yuma could probably never repay. Osamu may not be able to save Yuma's life, but he gave him a purpose and reason to strive to live.

"And you have to continue helping him for a long time." Konami said. "Which means making it through this week."

Which might end up being one of the hardest things they ever had to accomplish.