A/N: I don't own World Trigger

Mimics

Chapter 43: Selfless Concern

Yuma stood on his tiptoes as he was hovering over Shinoda who was leaning back in the couch, head tilted back on the back of the couch as he snoozed away. "What did you put in that tea, Konami-senpai? It knocked him right out."

Konami grabbed Yuma's hood and dragged him away from the sleeping directors. "You hovering over him is just going to wake him up, and I didn't put anything in the tea. That," She pointed at the sleeping Shinoda and Rindo. "Is a result of overworking and pure exhaustion from not sleeping. The moment he sits down and begins to relax is the moment when he passes out."

"He's going to have a horrible crick in his neck sleeping like that." Shiori mused, looking pass Shinoda to look at the other sleeping director. "Are you sure you didn't put anything in the tea? You knocked them both out."

"As if." Konami scoffed. "Look at Yuma. He's fine."

"He's also in a Trion body that can't sleep." Shiori replied, looking at the Attacker suspiciously. They didn't have any sleeping pills in the room so she supposed it wasn't possible for her to have drugged their superiors into taking a break.

"I was out for a good while yesterday. That can be considered sleep, right?" Yuma asked.

"I would call that more of a coma than sleep." Shiori said. "Try not to fall into that again. You really scared us."

Yuma gave a guilty smile, rubbing the back of his head in a sheepish manner. "Sorry."

Shiori shook her head. She knew Yuma couldn't promise it wouldn't happen again. Until they managed to deal with Yugo, Yuma was in danger nonstop. There was no telling what would happen next with him. It was a cause for a lot of concern and stress. For that reason, she could understand why Shinoda and Rindo were so exhausted and weren't sleeping well. They already lost their mentor years ago and now they were so close to losing their mentor's son that they swore to protect, and no matter what any of them did, they weren't getting any closer to a solution to save him.

"They're really not going to sleep well like that." Yuma said, turning his attention back to Rindo and Shinoda.

"And? They are sitting on the same couch. To get them to lie down, we would have to move one of them to the other couch, and I'm not doing that. We're more likely to wake them up and then they will never go back to sleep." Konami replied. "They may wake up sore, but at least they will be well rested."

Shiori seemed to agree as she began to user Konami and Yuma towards the door. "We should leave them alone. Being in here will only disturb. Shoo, shoo. Go hang out somewhere else. Yuma-kun, weren't you supposed to meet Midorikawa-kun at the solo rank booths?"

"That's not for a few more hours." Yuma protested as he was shoved out the door with Konami a step behind him.

Shiori flicked the lights off in the room before stepping out in the hall with her friends, letting the door close behind her. "You can't head there early?"

"Not when the C-Ranks are still here." Yuma replied, grabbing his hood to yank it up over his face now that he was out of the safety of the squad's room. "I suppose I could go find Jin-san. I did want to talk to him about something. You wouldn't happen to know where he is, do you?"

"He could be anywhere right now, but he is definitely in HQ still. He wouldn't be leaving HQ in the middle of this chaos to go to the city and since he doesn't want anyone to fight the Mimics right now, he won't be in the Restricted Zone." Shiori replied.

"That's not very helpful." Yuma muttered. Considering how many times he had gotten lost in HQ, he knew how big it was so Jin being somewhere in HQ was useless information. He could run around this place all day and never find the person he was searching for.

"You have a cellphone. Use it." Konami suggested. "But, if it helps, he's been studying the fights with the Mimics a lot all day, only taking a few breaks here and there. He would do that somewhere he could be alone and focus on it. Considering we were just in your team's squad room and he left my squad's operation room earlier after our meeting, the best place for him to be alone right now is the barracks. If he's not there, then try calling him."

Yuma nodded his head. "The barracks, right." He said to himself, turning down the hall to head there. He barely got a step away when his arm was grabbed and he was being twisted back around.

"Other way," Shiori said with a grin as Konami shoved him towards the other end of the hallway.

"You've been coming to HQ constantly for months now, Yuma. How can you still forget how to get around?" Konami scolded.

Yuma gave them a sheepish grin over his shoulder before he was making his way down the hallway. Once he rounded the corner at the end, the grin fell way to a grimace as he tugged his hood farther down over his face. There wasn't anyone in the hall, but it was better to be careful. He didn't want to risk running into any C-Ranks and having them ask questions.

"So, what did you put in the tea?" Shiori asked teasinly as Yuma disappeared around the corner.

Without looking at her friend, Konami punched Shiori in the shoulder. She didn't use as much strength as she would against Yuma or Karasuma, but it was enough to get her point across.

Even with the hood pulled over his face, Yuma ducked his head as he walked down the hall to the elevators, shoving his hands in his hoodie pockets. Konami had said that Jin was spending a lot of time watching the footage of Mogami and Yugo's fights. That was something that Yuma figured he would be doing. It was possible for Jin to lose. He wasn't an all powerful, impossible to beat agent just because he had a side effect that let him see the future.

A part of the reason for Jin's obsession with this was because of Yuma. He was desperate to save his friend's life, but his side effect was failing him and that was no doubt causing Jin another level of stress and frustration since he hasn't been able to manipulate the future to his favor like he usually did.

That would only be part of it though because as Konami reminded him earlier, Mogami was Jin's mentor. He was a very dear friend to Jin and Konami and the other members of old Border. Yuma had been so focused on his problems and the fact that his body was failing him that he had turned a blind eye to Jin's own suffering with his mentor here.

His friend who had been doing so much for him and giving him all the support he could did not get any in return from Yuma. He was right when he told Shun the other day that Yuma was the one who had been a horrible friend lately. Instead of understanding Jin's stress and concerns, he had just been yelling at him all week. He didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve any of Yuma's frustration being unloaded onto him.

Yuma had been so selfish lately, only thinking about himself, but that was who Yuma was. Ever since his father died, Yuma made concern for his own wellbeing his top priority. Coming to Japan and meeting Osamu had taught Yuma what selfless concern for others was, but Yuma was, and probably never would be, not like Osamu. He couldn't just always prioritize others like Osamu did, and this week was clearly proving that.

Upon reaching the barracks, Yuma found that they were dark, but with the light from the hallway, he could make out Jin sleeping on the bed he had claimed as his. Even though the barracks were dark, there was still something flashing that created a source of light. Making his way around the beds, trying to be as careful as possible so as to not wake Jin up who no doubt needed the sleep as much as Shinoda and Rindo did, Yuma found the laptop sitting on the floor that was displaying Tachikawa and Jin fighting Mogami.

Yuma had come here to talk to Jin, but he really didn't want to wake his friend up. Any of his comrades that he found sleeping, he wasn't going to disturb. They had all been working so hard all week. They deserved the chance to sleep whenever they had the time to.

Still, Yuma came all this way and it wasn't time to meet up with Shun. There was a chance Jin would wake up and he could talk with him before he had to meet up with his friends. Until then, Yuma sat on the ground and picked up the laptop to put it on his lap to watch the fights that he missed yesterday.

*Mimics*

"Hey, why are we going to the solo rank booths tonight?" Kageura demanded, waving his phone in Murakami's face. "I was planning to go home and actually sleep in my bed for once." Irritation seeped from every inch of Kageura. He had barely gotten any sleep in the last couple of nights because of the chaos the Mimics were causing. With his side effect constantly going off, he wasn't able to relax as easily as he wanted in HQ so the sleep he did get wasn't very restful.

"That's rude." Murakami pushed Kageura's phone away from him. "Don't wave things in people's faces." Murakami had a feeling he was going to spend his whole life trying to teach Kageura manners and he was never going to succeed. "And I didn't send that text to you so you could come hunt me down to yell at me about it. See? It's because of reactions like that which is why Midorikawa asked me to tell you instead of doing it himself."

"Huuh?" Kageura snarled, looking around the hall they were in as if Shun was hiding around a corner. "What does he have to do with this?"

"He's the one who asked us to meet him tonight."

Kageura looked ready to hit his friend. "And what? You just agreed for me? I want to sleep in my bed."

Murakami resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his friend. "No one said you couldn't, Kage. We're not going to spend all night in the rank booths. Just a few hours having matches. It's not for Midorikawa anyway. It's for Kuga."

Kageura's eyes narrowed at Murakami for a second. Now, Yuma was involved in this? "Are you an idiot? You just said we were going to the rank booths tonight. Where the hell did Kuga and Midorikawa come into this? Kuga doesn't even have his Border Trigger right now to have matches with us." Even if he did have it, Kageura would downright refuse to a match against Yuma if he did ask for one. With his stress this week and the condition of his body currently, it wouldn't be a fun fight at all. Yuma would just probably end up getting worse if he did fight. No matter the joy he got out of fighting Yuma, Kageura refused to be the reason he got worse.

"Kuga isn't fighting. Midorikawa thought it would help cheer Kuga up if we all hung out tonight and he could tease Midorikawa for getting creamed by us in a fight." Murakami explained. "Apparently Kuga's situation got worse and his body began to break more so he ended up losing an eye. Though, I guess there is a positive in that Miwa squad got his Black Trigger back for him earlier today."

Kageura had spent the whole morning resting in his squad's room. As soon as the mission last night was deemed a failure, he had returned to HQ and just passed out in his squad's room until lunch time, trying to get any amount of restful sleep he could. It seemed, though, that a lot of the agents had still been on the move and refused to accept that failure from last night. That was just like those damn A-Ranks, never taking a damn break. They all needed to learn to take some time for themselves to rest. They weren't going to be of any use to anyone if they were all exhausted out of their minds. It would just lead to more failures.

"...Did you just say Kuga lost a damn eye?" Kageura demanded.

"Yes, keep up, Kage. Kazama-san sent out a memo a little while ago telling us not to engage with Kuga-san and Mogami-san right now. Midorikawa said the reasoning likely had to do with Kuga and Kuga-san being more closely linked now. They hurt Kuga-san earlier and it seems to match the time that Kuga's eye broke. Kazama-san sent out the memo but I believe it actually came from Jin-san who needs time to figure something out." Murakami explained.

"I should have stayed sleeping. This all sounds too complicated." Kageura complained. That stupid shrimp. Even when he was sitting obediently in HQ, he was still getting himself into trouble. They should just wrap him in bubble wrap, but even that wouldn't stop Yuma from almost dying constantly. For such a strong, competent fighter, Yuma got himself into trouble so easily. "Fine."

"Knew you would agree which is why I didn't explain earlier." Murakami said with a smirk.

Kageura pulled out his phone. "Stupid shrimp causing so much trouble." He muttered as he typed away at his phone.

"What are you doing? Calling Kuga? He's going to meet us in a few hours." Murakami asked.

"Why would you think I'm calling him?" Kageura snapped.

Murakami raised a brow. Kageura was the one muttering complaints about Yuma so what else would Murakami think?

Kageura paused in his typing, thumb hovering over the keyboard. "Everything we are doing is to stop the Mimics. Whoever is attacking us can't be allowed to get away with this, but it's also to save Kuga. I'm not the type to turn away from the reality of the situation though. It's getting worse and worse with each day. At this point, it's very likely we won't save Kuga."

Murakami shifted to lean against the window seal and turned his head to stare out the window. Kageura wasn't exactly wrong. Neither of them, no one in Border actually, would stop fighting the Mimics until this was over. That said, they knew the risks involved and with each bit of information they were learning about Yuma and the Mimics, the situation was only getting worse. They had to face the reality that Yuma might die soon, but even with that knowledge, Murakami wasn't going to stop trying to help his friend until there was no hope left. The only time there was no hope left would be when Yuma was dead. "And your point is?" He asked.

"If Midorikawa wants to let Kuga have fun tonight, we should at least have some good food to go with it." Kageura replied.

Murakami raised a brow, but smirked. "Your treat, right? Have to treat your kouhais." He teased, but it was sweet of Kageura to go out of his way to get food from his family restaurant and bring it all the way out to HQ. He was quite proud of his family's business and how good their food is so he was always really happy when any of their friends or fellow agents showed up at the restaurant and really enjoyed the food, not that Kageura would ever admit that to anyone. It was why he typically greeted any agents that showed up without warning with irritation. The only people who got greeted with anything less than his usual irritation was someone from their group of friends that usually hangs out together. Yuma quite loved the food there so he would be so happy to get it tonight.

Kageura snarled at his friend before looking back down at his food. "I'm telling my mom what I'm going to need to pick up. Do you know what Kuga's favorite dish was?"

"Kuga loved everything he tried there." Murakami replied. "Our goal was to go there once a week together so Kuga could try everything on the menu. If there is a chance this is his last time to get food from there, get him one of the things he didn't get to try yet."

The more this conversation went on, the more irritated Kageura was beginning to feel. He hated talking about how these could be Yuma's last days. He was facing the reality of the situation, but that didn't mean he wanted to talk about it like this.

"Too dark of a topic, isn't it?" Murakami said when no reply was forthcoming. "That's why Midorikawa wants to do this tonight. Since we can't go after Kuga-san right now, then having some fun and destressing seems like the best idea."

"It's just like him to come up with this kind of idea. Stupid, excitable puppy."

Murakami chuckled. "You're the one bringing food into the mix."

"Shut up."

*Mimics*

"Geez, I can't believe you let yourself be killed." Suwa said.

"I didn't let anything happen." Arafune said annoyed, gripping the back of Kagami's chair as he leaned down to look at the computer as he spoke to the other captain. Kagami had pulled up the map of the Restricted Zone so he could see the blips that were Suwa and Wakamura making their way back to HQ. "The real question is how you two didn't get killed by Kuga."

"Because I am a survivor. I'm quite skilled at living through these kind of things." Suwa replied.

"You got turned into a cube during Aftokrator's invasion." Arafune argued.

"I was just taking a nap to rest before I had to fight a damn Black Trigger in HQ." Suwa retorted. "Why do I always get stuck with the shitty jobs?"

Arafune smirked. Suwa's complaining never got old. It was always amusing to listen to. He may complain a lot, but he was quite efficient at his job. "You didn't have to come with me in my hunt for Kuga and Mogami earlier."

"Like you could succeed in anything on your own." Suwa retorted. "Besides, I'm not in the mood to sit around while a friend is slowly dying because of the Neighbors."

"I bet you are thinking of ways to make Kuga pay you back for this." Arafune teased.

"Like you can speak. You are going to nag him for a rank war when this is over."

It was true that Arafune wanted to face off against Yuma in a rank war at some point, but he didn't think he was being transparent about that. Even if he didn't broadcast it, it seemed that Suwa was able to read him easily.

"Katori, though. I'm going to have to repay her whole team for the help they gave me." Suwa muttered. "Maybe I'll get them all lunch. In return for buying them food, I'll nag Kuga to buy me food for this."

"You're going after the orphan's money?" Arafune asked reproachfully. Yeah, Yuma was an agent for Border, but as a B-Rank, he only got paid for the defense missions he went on and any service awards he got for any accomplishments he got during invasions. It was the only income Yuma was able to make so it was good thing that he was able to live at Tamakoma since he didn't have any family to stay with.

"Hey, that kid is loaded. His father left him a shit ton of money." Suwa replied.

"And that makes it alright?" Arafune said in disbelief.

"Trust me, Kuga doesn't care. He just threw his money around the other day when we all went to lunch." Suwa replied with sudden laughter coating his tone. "You should come with us next time. It will be really funny to watch Kuga throw 100,000 yen on the table and ask if that is enough to cover the bill."

Arafune made a face at the screen, even though Suwa couldn't see him. He knew Yuma grew up overseas, but it seemed like common sense to never carry around that much money. Surely he knew by now how the currency in Japan worked. "Why the hell is he carrying that much cash around?"

"Hell if I know. Yoneya had to count it out for him and give him the rest back and he was just so confused."

Arafune silently mouthed 'what' to himself as he was having such a hard time comprehending what Suwa was telling him. From what he understood, Yuma's dad had been dead for years so he was pretty young when it happened. He had been on his own for years and no one had bothered to teach this kid how money worked? Who had been taking care of him after he lost both of his parents? Hell, why hadn't Tamakoma nipped this problem in the bud a long time ago?

"Okay, he has trouble with money. Why hasn't Tamakoma helped him to understand it?" Kagami mused, seemingly having the same thought process as her captain.

"They'd rather hone his battle skills than his life skills? Rising in the ranks seemed to be their top priority above everything else." Suwa replied.

"It certainly isn't helping when other people count out the correct amount for him and hand him the rest back." Arafune muttered. "Fine, I'll teach the shrimp all about money since no one else will."

Suwa snorted. "Invite me along when you do. I want to see this trainwreck."

"It's not a circus show." Arafune scolded.

"Anything with Kuga involved is amusing to watch." Suwa retorted. Well, any normal situation at least. Everything that Yuma was involved with this week was just a nightmare to deal with and all of Border was getting dragged into it. Although, knowing his past now, Suwa was amazed at how much joy Yuma was able to express every day. Suwa was no fool though. Despite what Yuma was willing to tell them, he was sure there was stuff that he had left out. Not that Suwa cared about that. It wasn't any of his business to begin with.

"Just get back here already. You're lucky Kuga and Mogami chose to not chase after you." Arafune said.

"We're ten minutes out. Stop trying to rush me."

*Mimics*

"Got any big operations planned for tonight?"

"You sure are nosy for a C-Rank." Ema muttered.

Izuho glared at her friend. "Shut up! I'm going to rise to B-Rank before you realize it and I'm going to put a bullet through your brain when our teams match up!"

"With your horrible aim?" Ema scoffed, brushing Izuho's threats off. While she was improving greatly, her aim was nowhere near perfect. He doubted she could get a perfect headshot on anyone yet. "And your inability to stay properly hidden when in the field?"

Izuho's cheeks puffed in frustration before she was lunging forward to grab Ema's cheeks and was tugging on them roughly. "I am not as bad as I was in the past! I am getting a lot better. The next time we have a sniper training session, you are going to be my main target to hunt down!"

Seeing as he was in a Trion body, Izuho's tugging did nothing to hurt him, but Ema still shoved her hands off of him. "It doesn't really work if you announce it to me before it even happens. Now I know to keep on the lookout for you and shoot you first. I beat you in skill and speed."

Chika stared at her arguing friends, a laugh escaping her. It was nice to see those two never change. Ema was always so blunt and Izuho still had such a sharp tongue. It actually helped with those two getting along as neither was afraid to say what was on their mind. It was a form of normalcy that she really appreciated having right now after the stress of the week just kept piling up.

Izuho rounded on Chika for her laugh and advanced on her, roughing her hair up. "Stop laughing, Chikako, or you'll end up on my hit list too!"

"That's not very nice, Izuho-chan. Yuzuru-kun and I haven't done anything to earn such wrath." Chika teased, brushing her hair down in an attempt to fix the mess Izuho had caused. "And as far as I know, we aren't going out tonight. Jin-san said to not go after the Mimics currently so we'll be taking the night off."

Izuho's brows furrowed in concern. Knowing about Jin's side effect and how skilled and knowledgeable he was, she was sure if he made that decision, it was for a good reason. They could always trust Jin's decisions as he always did what was best for Border, but that didn't ease her worries. She knew from Chika that Yuma was not doing well so taking a night off seemed like a waste of time they didn't have. "I see. I still have to leave the Restricted Zone before dark." She pouted.

"It's for the best. The Mimics are dangerous. Even being here during the day when Kuga and Mogami are still running around is dangerous." Ema replied. "Even though we're inside HQ, we're still not safe. Kuga proved last night he can get in here."

Izuho nodded in understanding. She saw how strong Yuma was. It was obvious that his father would be stronger than him since he had been fighting for far longer, but with how strong Yuma was already, his father must be insane. "I mean, I know what is going since Chikako and I are best friends!" She suddenly latched onto Chika, hugging her from the side. "But the other C-Ranks are a lot more confused. All they know is something about a new Trion Soldier, but not much else."

"And?" Ema asked sharply. "They don't need to know anything else. It's none of their business. Once this is all over, things can go back to normal."

"I know, I know." Izuho said placating. "I'm just saying. They're not idiots. They have questions and they don't all like having to be out of HQ before dark."

"It keeps them safe though. They really shouldn't complain about that." Chika said softly. She didn't have as much contact with the higher ups as Yuma and Osamu did, but from talking with her friends, she knew that a lot of what determined Shinoda's orders were the safety of his agents and protecting the city. Back when Aftokrator invaded, a huge part of his orders about having agents regroup was to keep them safe from the Rabits. He did what he could to prioritize his men, but it wasn't enough as trainees still got captured. It was the same here. He couldn't order his official agents to stay away as he needed all of their strength to deal with this invasion, but he could at least keep his trainees safe this way.

"They don't even understand what they are being kept away from." Izuho replied.

"It would only cause chaos if it was learned that two of Border's founders were back as Mimics and attacking their own organization." Ema replied. "Even more so if it was found out those founders were connected to two of Tamakoma's agents. Tamakoma is already considered the black sheep of Border. This would only make it worse if the trainees found out and spread it to the public."

"True. We don't need to make Netsuki-san's job any harder." Chika replied as she shifted her attention to Izuho who was still attached to her with her hug. "When do you need to leave, Izuho-chan?"

"Hmm, about half an hour from now." Izuho said.

Chika nodded, looking around the room for her mentor. "Do you want a ride? I was going to have Kizaki-san take me home. I didn't go home last night because of the mission so I really should tonight and see my parents. They were never fond of me joining Border to begin with. I need to show them I am alright."

"Do they know what is going on this week?" Izuho asked. "If they knew you were busy..."

Chika shook her head. "I don't tell them anything about Border. If they knew we were being attacked right now, they would be freaking out, even more so if they knew the attack was happening close to me since Yuma-kun is being targeted by a copy of his dead father."

"Well, obviously, you wouldn't tell them all that." Izuho replied.

"I don't want to let them know we are in a state of emergency." Chika said. "It would only cause them to panic. I don't want them to worry and ask me to quit Border. They don't really understand why I want to put myself in danger like this."

Izuho hummed thoughtfully. "Is it that surprising? They already lost their son. They don't want to lose their daughter too."

"I do understand that." Chika replied. She glanced down at the ground as she fiddled with her glove. Her parents just wanted her to be safe which was why they didn't want her to join Border originally. They thought it was too dangerous and she knew they had fears that she would get hurt or killed. It would be so hard on them if they ended up losing her after Rinji disappeared a few months ago. A parent's love, the need to forever protect their child. It was the same type of love that Yugo gave Yuma when he gave his life to save his son. Her parents weren't fighters and knew nothing about Trion so they would never be able to do what Kuga Yugo did, but they certainly would do whatever they could in their power to protect her, but she didn't want them to. It was time for her to start to learn to stand on her own and protect herself. "But I want to be able to be strong on my own and help my team. It's like Yuma-kun said before, he and Osamu-kun are just doing whatever they want. What they believe they should be doing. I want to do the same."

"Well, I guess I can get that." Izuho replied. "We all want to be able to stand on our own and survive in the field."

"Except you're not allowed in the field yet." Ema said.

"Shut up! You don't need to keep reminding me!" Izuho shouted, making Chika laugh and Ema smirk. "Before you know it, I'll be out there fighting by your side."

"I'll be glad to have you out there with me one day." Chika said. Even though she was just a trainee, Izuho always seemed so brave to Chika. Unlike Chika, she didn't freeze when Aftokrator attacked. Even though she lacked a combat Trigger and didn't have bail out, she was willing to stand in front of the Rabits and defend Chika. She truly had nerves of steel. "Before I leave, I want to go check on Yuma-kun. Once I'm done with that, we can head out, Izuho-chan."

"Can I come with you?" Izuho asked. "I haven't seen Ochibi-senpai in days. With how worried you've been lately, I feel the need to check on him too."

"Sure," Chika said brightly. "Yuma-kun would love to see you."

"Oh, yeah!" Izuho cheered. "Lead the way!"

*Mimics*

Even though he had promised Kazama and Tachikawa that he would take a nap before meeting up with them tonight, that didn't stop Jin from grabbing his laptop the moment they left and watched the fights from last night some more. Jin did realize he fell asleep at some point since he didn't recall closing the laptop or even laying down to sleep. He had just been lying on his bed, head dangling over the edge as he stared at the laptop that he had set on the ground so he didn't accidentally knock it off the bed in his tired state.

Now, though, he opened his eyes. The barracks were still dark, the only light being from his laptop that was still flashing with footage of the fights. The only difference was the head of white hair that was sitting on the floor with his back leaning against the bed as he watched the videos.

Jin's eyes flicked over Yuma's shoulder to look at the screen to see it was showing his final confrontation with Yugo last night before he bailed out. He was forever glad that he had turned off the sound from the footage. Yuma didn't need to be hearing any of the conversations that had been taking place last night.

Even though he just woke up, Jin wasn't quite awake yet. He didn't feel all that refreshed after the nap so it was likely he needed another couple hours of sleep, but seeing as he had woke up, he was going to stay up. He took a nap like he promised and now he needed to get back to work. Still, he was pretty comfy in this bed and wasn't quite ready to move. Instead, he reached forward and dropped a hand to Yuma's head, threading his fingers through the younger agent's hair. Yuma briefly tensed up at the sudden touch, but relaxed a second later when he realized it would be Jin. "You really going to choose to sit here in the dark and watch footage of some fights? I thought you would want to hang out with your friends."

"I don't think you're really one to talk, Jin-san. You were sitting in the dark, watching it first. In fact, you're the one who has been studying the fights all days." Yuma replied, keeping his eyes locked on the laptop screen. "Are you trying to figure out how to fight Mogami next time?"

"I have no other reason to want to watch that fight again."

Yuma turned his head slightly, but not enough that he could seee Jin behind him. "You make up the stupidest lies."

Jin's brows shot up in surprise at Yuma's catchphrase that he hadn't expected to come.

"You're so far in denial, you're even lying to yourself." Yuma muttered. He carefully set the laptop back on the ground so he could turn around to face his friend, dislodging Jin's hand from his hair as he did. "I'm not denying your anger at having your mentor back as an enemy. I do understand why it upsets you since I feel the same way, but I can at least acknowledge the fact that a part of me wishes to see Dad and just talk to him, to get that closure. That we didn't have to be enemies every time we saw each other."

If possible, Jin's brows rose even higher. He was so comfy that he didn't want to move, but he ended up sitting up on the bed anyway. It gave him a higher ground than Yuma who was choosing to remain sitting down on the floor, but Jin didn't think that really mattered. Even with only one eye, the intensity in it gave Yuma a sharp look that was burning into Jin's soul. He could certainly understand why some people would be unnerved at Yuma staring at them.

"The fact of the matter is that they are our enemies." Jin replied.

Yuma made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat as he resisted the urge to grab a pillow and whack Jin repeatedly over the head with it. "We're not talking about facts here!" He snapped before sighing as he let his anger go. He was not going to turn this into another argument with Jin. "You've been putting in so much effort to help me this week and all I've been thinking about is my dad. I've hardly stopped to acknowledge the fact that you are having to help me and deal with your own problems regarding your mentor being here."

Jin's expression softened. "Yuma, I'm fine. I promise."

Yuma jerked his head to side, staring into the darkness of the room. "People who are fine don't sit in the dark, obsessing over something that hurt them. Trust me in that. I'm an expert in that area."

Jin stared down at Yuma, trying to get a read on his expression. "How many nights did you sit in the dark room after Kuga-san died?" Considering how often he saw Yuma sitting on the roof at night with a lonely, pensive expression on his face, Jin would say that he never truly stopped doing that. He simply moved locations.

"This isn't about me." Yuma retorted quickly.

Jin stared at Yuma in consideration for a moment before he found himself relenting. "When we came back from Aristera, I hid in my room a lot, barely ate because that meant having to go downstairs and facing everyone. Konami started to bring food up to my room and we would just sit in the dark, not talking as we ate together." Jin smiled at the memory, though it wasn't a happy smile. It was more melancholy than anything. "It took me months to realize that she had been making that food she brought up for us. She later told me cooking helped her get her mind off of what happened. She needed a distraction and I needed the company, even if I didn't realize it at the time."

Yuma stared at Jin for a moment before he was leaning forward to cross his arms and rest them on the bed, dropping his chin down on top of them as he focused his attention ahead at the wall. "I had Raymond. My dad's friend. Replica did what he could for me, but he couldn't provide the comfort of a warm touch." He admitted, feeling his tongue burn as the words fell from his mouth. It was something he swore he would never speak of. After his father died, he had felt so weak. He didn't know which direction to turn in those first couple of days as he tried to adjust to his new life. "I couldn't hide away in my room all the time as I had to meet with the military echelons and the nurse and engineers that were helping me figure out what my dad did and how it would affect me, but when I did stay in my room, I didn't let anyone in. I just wanted to sit in the dark and wallow in my own grief and pity."

"But, well, Raymond seemed to think it was his responsibility to look after me after Dad died. I think part of him felt it was his fault since he was the one who asked Dad and me for help to begin with so he decided to step up for Dad and kept a close eye on me. In those first few days, I was in a bad spot and like you, I didn't want to make the effort to get food. Raymond wasn't having it though and brought me food three times a day." Yuma continued. "I never asked, but I bet Izukacha made all that food. She and her brother were just as concerned for me as their father was."

A dry chuckle escaped Jin. "It seems we are both a mess." He leaned back on his hands, tilting his head back as he closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. "Rindo-san and Shinoda-san and Reiji-san helped a lot too. We all suffered in Aristera and we all pulled each other out of the darkness. Somehow, we all helped each other, maybe in ways we didn't even realize."

"I'm not surprised about that." Yuma murmured softly, curling his fingers into the blanket. "Osamu probably doesn't realize it. How much he's helped me. None of you probably have, especially since everyone didn't know what happened in Calvaria until recently, but you have all taught me how to enjoy living again and it's something I'll forever be grateful for. This chance to have happiness again."

Jin stared down at Yuma. Though his words sounded uplifting, there was still a sad expression in his eye. Jin didn't need to ask why. Yuma was finally having fun and being happy after years of living with guilt and fighting in a war only for it to possibly end in the next couple days because of Kuga Yugo.

Jin dropped his hand back to Yuma's hair. "It's not over yet. We can still find a way to end this without it ending with your death."

"So, you've been saying for days." Yuma muttered softly as it was just for him and he didn't want Jin to hear it. "But that's not why I came here. You can't tell me a part of you doesn't wish for the chance to talk to Mogami and have it be like before he died."

"Of course I wish that. Who wouldn't want that chance with someone they love? It's the same reason as to why the Mimics were created to begin with." Jin replied. "But I don't have the luxury of wishing for the past when I have a future to look at."

"Just because you can't wish for it doesn't mean your feelings aren't there and aren't valid." Yuma retorted sharply.

Jin sighed. "Then how about this. I'm not letting myself focus on the past or letting myself feel anything for this Mimic because I can't afford to get distracted. I do understand your desire to have your dad back, but I am keeping my focus on the goal. Save you and kill the Mimics. If I lose that focus by thinking about Mogami-san and how much it hurt me to watch him die, I won't get anything accomplished."

"So, you're just shielding yourself." Yuma mused. He could understand that. It was normally what Yuma would do as well. Shield himself, destroy whatever was hurting him. Perhaps he would be hurting on the inside, but it would always be anger he let show on the outside and he would take what was causing the problem out. He would never let anyone see beyond his mask to know that they were getting to him.

Yuma pushed himself away from the bed, dislodging Jin's hand from his hair so he could stand up. "But now I know that there is a part of you wishing for your mentor back. Refusing to think about how much you care about Mogami and only about what you need to do will only make it less painful in the moment, but when this is all over, it will haunt you. It's why I killed Miwa's sister for him. He didn't need the memory of striking her down and the same could be said for you and all the others who were friends with Mogami and Dad in the past. No one needs that memory, the feeling of their blade slicing through an old friend and watching them fall to the ground dead for the second time."

"Perhaps," Jin agreed, throwing his feet over the edge of the bed so he could stand up next to Yuma. "But this is also personal. No one had a right to my memories of my mentor or to use them to make a copy of him to try to trick me."

"Be angry. No one is saying you can't be, but if you go after Mogami with just anger in your heart, you will regret it. It's not who you are and it will just lead you to more pain when this is over since that is when you will have time to stop and actually think clearly. Right now, you're just constantly moving and thinking of your next step but when this is finally over and you can sit down without worry of when the next attack will happen, that is when your mind is going to start to focus on what you did." Yuma retorted hotly.

"Oh? Is that why you don't stop, Yuma? You joined a war in a country that wasn't your home for three years and then came to Border and have been fighting to help Chika-chan and Osamu ever since." Jin replied.

"Because I need a focus." Yuma shifted his eyes off to the side as he thought for a moment before he looked back over at Jin. "While you are all sleeping at night, I spend each night on my own with nothing to do but mull over every mistake I made and think of how I could have been better. I know what it is like to have those thoughts hound you after the fact which is why not confronting how you feel about it in the moment will make it hurt worse afterwards because you would be letting it hit you all at once."

Jin smiled. It was just like Yuma to express his concern in this way. He was always so straightforward with his words. There was no beating around the bush, just a blunt honesty. "I'll understand what you are trying to say, Yuma, but I'll be fine. Whether it's me who kills him or someone else, it was always going to hurt when this is all over. I may not be focusing on it now because I can't afford the distraction, but I do know this."

"You must be a masochist if you're willing to fight through all the pain at once when this is over." Yuma said.

Jin choked out a cough of surprise. "Who is teaching you words like that?" He demanded. Yuma struggled a lot with written Japanese, but his speaking of the language was quite good, but still, there were a lot of words he didn't know or understand the meaning too. There was no reason for masochist to be in his vocabulary. "Was it Kageura? He seems the type to be that kind of bad influence on you."

Yuma snorted. "No, it was Yotaro."

A small part of Jin died on the inside. Where was Yotaro learning these words? Why were his sweet innocent juniors being so horribly influenced?

"You know, that word exists on the other side of the Gate." Yuma pointed out. "Well, the meaning of the word at least. It is actually a different word."

"I figured as much, but seriously," Jin muttered to himself. He supposed it wasn't strange for his little war veteran of a junior to be speaking like that. A harsher tone, meaner words, it was probably what Yuma was like, but he was actually trying quite hard to be more polite now that he was out of a war setting and adopted a formal style of Japanese to speak.

Yuma grinned at his friend.

The door to the barracks sliding open ended their conversation as light poured into the room, taking both of their attention to it.

"Woah, Ochibi-senpai, you lost an eye!" Izuho shouted.

Yuma blinked for a moment before he snorted. "She is the most straightforward of everyone." He pointed at Izuho as he glanced back at Jin. "The rest of you don't want to make a comment about it and just blatantly stare. Well, except Shun. He was ready to have a panic attack."

"What about me?"

"You don't seem to be freaking out to me." Yuma said.

"I am on the inside." Izuho muttered. "How is no one else panicking right now?" She looked around the room from Chika to Jin to Yuma. "Your body is broken!"

Yuma blinked in confusion. His body had been like this for days now. "Did you not tell her what was going on before you brought her here, Chika?"

Chika gave a weak smile. "I kind of forgot she didn't know about your body. It's all I've been thinking about the past few days so I forgot that not everyone knows the story. Sorry for just springing this on you, Izuho-chan. I'll explain it to you while Kizaki-san drives us home." She glanced over towards her teammate. "If it's alright with Yuma-kun having you know."

Yuma waved off Chika's concern. "It's not like it's going to remain a secret much longer with more and more people figuring it out. Just, keep it from the rest of the C-Ranks, alright?"

"Of course. I don't go around gossiping about people anyway." Izuho promised. "But, damn, I can see why you wanted to check on him before we left, Chikako. He looks one step away from death."

Chika gave an unnerved smile at Izuho's statement. She didn't realize how close she was to the truth. If she did, it would be a statement she didn't dare voice aloud.

"Are you heading home?" Yuma asked.

"Yeah, it's been a while since I've been home. I want to show my parents I'm fine to not cause them any worry." Chika replied. "So, until I come back in the morning, try to avoid getting into any more trouble, Yuma-kun."

Yuma shrugged. It's not like he was asking for all this trouble. "I should be fine. I'm just going to go hang with Shun and the others at the Rank Wars tonight."

Jin perked up at that bit of information. "You too? Tachikawa-san and Kazama-san are dragging me there tonight too."

"Aww, that sounds fun. I wish I could fight tonight." Yuma pouted. Tachikawa and Kazama, Border's top two ranked Attackers. Was he ever going to get his chance to fight either of them? Even Hyuse already got to fight Tachikawa once.

Jin laughed, ruffling Yuma's hair. "You can get all the fights you want when this is all over."

"Ochibi-senpai is a battle maniac. Even with those injuries, all he thinks about is wanting to get beat up even more." Izuho said.

"I just want a decent fight. I haven't had one in days." Yuma whined.

"Didn't you destroy a hoard of Trion Soldiers last night?" Chika asked.

"I wouldn't count that." Yuma said, soundly completely unconcerned. "That was just a few Bolt seals to get them out of the way."

"If you can't fight, what is even the point of going to the rank booths tonight?" Izuho asked confused.

Yuma shrugged. "Shun invited me to watch him get slaughtered by Murakami-senpai and Kage-senpai. How could I say no to that?"

By the amused smirk on Yuma's face, Chika was able to tell that he was planning to have a lot of fun tonight. For all the stress and worries hanging over his head this week, he certainly deserved the chance to have that fun. Though, with how much he loved to battle his friends, Chika was certain a part of him was disappointed that he couldn't engage in the battles with them. Once this was all over and Yuma was back in top condition, she was betting that he would be hounding all of his friends for a match.

Jin snatched a notepad off the table so he could scribble a quick note. He tore it from the page and began to fold it. "Chika-chan, can you give this to Reiji-san for me?"

"Sure," Chika accepted immediately, taking the note from Jin and sliding it in her pocket. She was curious why Jin wanted to send a note to Reiji, but if it was important, she was certain Jin wouldn't be sending a note. She wouldn't snoop on what Jin needed from her mentor. "Be sure to have as much fun as you can tonight, Yuma-kun."

"You sure you don't want to stick around?" Yuma asked.

Chika shook her head. "I really do need to see my parents. Besides, watching the others train doesn't interest me as much as it does you."

Yuma nodded in understanding. Chika wasn't a big fan of fighting. Everything she was doing was simply to achieve her goal and because she was now invested in wanting to protect her friends. She could handle the missions in the field, but she didn't get a thrill like Yuma did when in the rank wars. He supposed that applied to Osamu as well. They didn't see it as fun like Yuma did. They were both very serious and quite intent on reaching their goal, though even Yuma only really enjoyed fighting when it was in rank wars where no one could actually get hurt.

"I wish I could stick around." Izuho pouted. "Those fights can be pretty amazing."

Jin chuckled. "As soon as Meraki is out of range and Kuga-san and Mogami-san are no longer a threat, the order that C-Ranks need to be out of the Restricted Zone before dark will be lifted."

"Man, I can't wait until I'm B-Rank." Izuho said.

"You're getting really close." Chika encouraged. "I'm sure you'll be in the ranks by the time the next rank war season begins."

"You bet I will. In fact, by the time you guys return from the away mission, you'll see me in the Nasu squad uniform once you land back here." Izuho declared, making Chika laugh lightly. She kept changing when she would make it to B-Rank. Ema said by the middle of the next rank war season, but it seemed like Izuho wanted to make it faster than that. She sure was excited.

"Well, now that you said it, you better accomplish it." Yuma replied. "Don't say things you can't manage to do."

"I'm going to do it." Izuho reassured. "And then I'm going to fight Kageura squad in a match and shoot Yuzuru through the head!"

Yuma blinked in surprise at the declaration. He pointed at Izuho while looking at Chika. "I thought you guys got along well with Ema."

"We do, but I think Yuzuru-kun teases her a lot for being C-Rank still so Izuho-chan is ready to go to war when she reaches B-Rank." Chika explained.

Jin grinned, nodding happily at that. "Friendship and rivalries like that are pretty common in Border." He patted the top of Yuma's head. "Right, Yuma? Isn't that how all of your friendships with other agents is?"

"I suppose it is." Yuma looked up towards the ceiling as he thought about it. Surely there was at least one attacker he was friends with that didn't have some sort of rivalry attached to the rank wars with it. He supposed he had the A-Rank agents, but he didn't tend to hang out with too many of the A-Ranks outside of HQ, but he was still friends with plenty of them. Not that he ever fought anyone like Arashiyama or Utagawa in solo rank wars. He really should try to see if more of the A-Ranks would accept a challenge from him.

"I can practically see the gears turning in your head, Yuma." Jin said.

Yuma grinned at his friend. "Just thinking of the future."

Jin blinked in surprise before an easy smile was taking over his features. That was exactly what he wanted to hear. Yuma thinking of what he wanted to do when this was over. The drive to survive was still in there even if he was already trying to accept the worst outcome. If he prepared himself for the worst, at least it wouldn't come as a horrible shock if it did come to pass.

Chika checked her phone before tugging on Izuho's arm. "It's about time to leave if you want to get out of the Restricted Zone before dark."

"Ah, okay. See ya around, Ochibi-senpai, Jin-san." Izuho waved at the two as she began to walk out of the barracks, dragging Chika with her as her friend was still holding her arm.

"Bye! Stay safe tonight!" Chika called over to them, smiling at the small wave Yuma gave her.

"Shun mentioned it earlier today about the C-Ranks having to be out of the Restricted Zone before dark. I never saw that memo." Yuma mused once they were alone again.

"Have you even been paying attention to any of the e-mails being sent out?" Jin asked. "You've been so distracted with your own problems that you probably missed it."

"Ah," Yuma scratched the back of his head, grinning sheepishly. He had been in his head a lot. It was the reason he was feeling bad about not acknowledging Jin's own feelings in regards to his mentor being back. "Right, I really need to get back on my game."

"No rush." Jin said. That wasn't exactly true as they were in a really bad, time sensitive situation, but Yuma couldn't fight right now anyway. There was no reason for Yuma to rush to recover from the pain and heartache he was dealing with this week. Although, that vision he had of a possible future of Yuma and Yugo fighting was still haunting Jin. Yuma had managed to activate a Trigger to get into that fight, but he couldn't do that right now. He needed to figure out what got them to that path. To be able to use that Trigger and fight, Yuma needed more Trion.

With Yugo around, it didn't seem likely that Yuma's Trion would recover on its own, so where would he get it from? The only answer had to be an outside source.

Jin glanced at the door that Chika and Izuho left through with a curious expression. It couldn't be. They had agreed to not give Yuma any Trion from anyone since it had the potential of causing a problem like it did with Osamu's Trigger in the Aftokrator invasion after he borrowed Chika's Trion.

*Mimics*

"Kizaki-san!" Chika called in greeting as she and Izuho approached the jeep that Reiji was waiting besides.

Reiji nodded at Chika and Izuho.

Chika grabbed her friend's hand and pulled her forward. "Is it alright if you give Izuho-chan a ride home, too?" She asked, surprising Izuho since she had thought her friend had already asked her mentor if it was okay.

"That won't be a problem." Reiji agreed easily.

Seeing Chika smile brightly up at her mentor, Izuho raised a brow. She had no doubt there wasn't a malicious or manipulative bone in Chika's body, so her friend just had to be oblivious to her cute, sweet nature getting her friends to want to spoil her.

"Oh right, before I forget." Chika dug around in her pocket for the note to hold it out for Reiji. "Jin-san said to give this to you."

Reiji raised a brow, but took the note anyway. Jin could have just as easily texted him. As he read the note though, his brows rose higher. "He can't be serious right now." He muttered, confusing the two young girls.

"Huh? Is something wrong?" Chika asked. She had felt so confident when Jin handed her the note that it wasn't anything important or anything to cause any type of worry.

"No, don't worry about it." Reiji folded the note and slid it in his pocket. "Are you ready to go?" He opened the back door of the jeep for the two girls to climb in.

As Chika and Izuho settled themselves in the backseat, Reiji made his way around to the driver's seat, shaking his head at the note that Jin had passed to him. It was an easy task to get done. He was more just wondering about what Jin was thinking.