Swapped In

by iibisori

Things feel pretty hopeless when your life feels like the plot of some anime. (Part of her is thankful that, at least it's a good story.) Mikumo Mori seems to just have the worst of luck, sucks that she was the one swapped in for a main character, huh? (Or is it Osamu's bad luck? Did she inherit it? The curse of the main character?)

6. Strike Back

A/N - Just here with another big thanks- HOLY SHIT THANK YOU EVERYONE THAT EVEN BOTHERS TO FAVOURITE, FOLLOW, OR REVIEW! IT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME!

*cough* Sorry about my silly author's note, just a quick warning that this chapter, and likely the rest of the invasion arc, is probably going to be very choppy! I'm still a beginner writer and while I'm improving my writing as I go, but there's not much I can do for this arc for now! Many thanks to those who still bother to read, it means the world to me!

-0-

"Alright, no time to ponder!" Yuma yelled, effectively snapping me out of my daze. "What's the plan, captain?"

I flashed him a quick grateful smile, before turning to Chika with a grave expression. "Chika, Natsume! You two are still C-ranks, you should go help evacuate the citizens!"

"Okay," She nodded seriously, pulling her Trigger out of her pocket.

"No problem, four-eyes!" Natsume saluted, following soon after.

"As for Yuma and I…" I groaned.

"Looks like we'll be right in the thick of it," Yuma smirked, twirling his B-rank Trigger in his hand. "Too bad for you."

"…Yeah, we'll go deal with as many of the Neighbours as we can." The three of us hurriedly walked down the stairs from the roof, and I slipped my hand into my pocket. "Chika, I want you to use your Trigger if a Neighbour comes near you or the civilians… You have the… Ibis equipped, right?"

She nodded. "Natsume has one too."

"Alright, remember," I threw open the door to the ground level. "Protect yourself. You hear me?"

She hesitated, before agreeing. "Roger."

I turned back to Natsume. "Make sure the two of you don't get hurt."

She nodded with a grim expression. "I will."

"Yuma, let's head out!" I called out, and he subtly passed along a mini-Replica to her as we passed by, unseen by Natsume.

"Now you're talking!" He cheered. "Chika, we'll come to rescue you if anything goes wrong!"

Before she could respond, we were off.

"Trigger, on!"

-0-

"Border and the Trion soldiers have engaged in battle."

"Things have started up already?" I asked, shocked. "So quickly?! We barely started moving!"

"Border is quite formidable," Replica commented, voice coming from the Mini-Replica beside us. "The Trion soldiers are quite spread out and have the advantage in numbers."

"They're coming from the emergence area… and spreading out from there," Yuma observed. "It's weird, they're practically backing themselves into a corner."

"Indeed," Replica agreed easily, pausing for a moment in thought. "…As soon as all of the off-duty agents catch up, the Trion soldiers will be swiftly dealt with, this appears too easy."

"Wait, but aren't these supposedly the guys that sent all of the Rads?!" I questioned, unable to stay silent. "Then they should have an approximate guess as to how many agents Border has, right? Why are they still going through with the attack then?!"

"Well, if they're still doing it with no hesitation…" Yuma's expression went grim. "Then they still think they have a shot at victory… Either that or they're desperate."

"And desperate wars…" Replica picked up. "…This is so unlikely for them, since battles like that…"

He paused.

"Usually… lead to the creation of black Triggers."

I sharply inhaled, simultaneously stumbling over my own feet.

"They must have a good reason for scattering their forces," Yuma's hand twitched, as if ready to reach out and help me up if I almost tripped again.

"Good reason or not, we aren't coming out of this war without a victory!" I yelled. "We've seen in ourselves, Border agents aren't exactly pushovers! Tamakoma agents even less so!"

We turned the corner, and at that exact moment, a Marmod showed itself.

It's claw raised menacingly as my eyes slowly drifted upwards towards the eye-like core in its mouth.

"—I think this was a mistaaaaaaWHOAAAA!"

Yuma yanked me out of the way, and the claw shattered the pavement under our feet at Yuma dragged me off towards the side.

"Keep your head in the game!" He yelled with a slight smirk, and I scowled embarrassedly.

I aimed a Meteora towards the Marmods head, and the eye-like-core shattered instantly against the force of the explosion. "SHUT IT!"

He laughed and launched himself towards a nearby Bamster, Scorpion lashing out as he swiftly sliced through its core.

I jumped towards another Marmod, jumping over it as I attached some bullets to the backside along the way. I bent my legs and kicked off, triggering the explosions to boost me further into the air.

As I touched back down to the ground, I glanced around warily. "Is that all of them over here?"

"I think so," Yuma called out from where he was casually crouching on the Bamster's corpse. "I can distantly hear some explosions… either we've got more explosion-happy Border agents—"

"Really?" I mumbled exasperatedly.

"—Or there're some Vanders hanging around." Yuma finished. "I hope somebody deals with those things soon, or else—"

"Shinoda-san! Azuma here!"

Yuma and I jumped somewhat startled, and my hand rose to touch the area where the noise came from.

"A communicator?" Yuma mumbled distractedly.

"We've encountered a new type of Trion soldier. It's over three meters tall, a bipedal humanoid, small, but powerful! It's trying to capture our agents!"

"A B-rank Trigger comes equipped with a communicator and a Bail out function…!" I recalled. "I completely forgot."

"Alright… Try to hold out until reinforcements arrive!"

"There's a new Trion soldier?" I repeated, focusing intently on the communicator.

"I see," Replica hummed. "So that's their plan."

The wire-like appendage slowly trailed out of his mouth and I blinked confusedly as he jabbed it against my head.

"Wha—?"

Yuma shushed me, watching with a slightly amused expression as Replica let out a robotic whirr.

"Connection established," He intoned dully. "Director Shinoda, this new type is probably the capture-type Trion soldier Aftokrator was developing. The Rabbit."

Replica withdrew the wire from my temple, a connection to HQ now successfully established.

"Capture type?! Isn't that what the big one is for?"

I turned to Yuma with a questioning expression, and he mouthed 'Bamster' to me.

"It has the same purpose, yes." Replica agreed. "But the Rabbit… is specifically designed to take on and capture Trigger users."

I cut the communicator off for myself for a moment, allowing Replica to continue speaking with them as I turned to Yuma. "Alright…" I grumbled. "So what's the game plan here?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Up to you. I could probably take a Rabbit with my black Trigger, but…" He hummed. "That would leave you on your own. If another one were to pop up once we get separated, you'd be doomed."

"I want to disagree, but…" I sighed, the distant sound of destruction reaching my ears. "…I'd be captured, no doubt."

"And I don't even have permission to use my Trigger," He chuckled lightheartedly. "For all we know, HQ could try to kill me as soon as this is all over if I use it without consent."

"Wait, that's all that's stopping you?" I asked rhetorically, eyebrow quirked. I tapped the side of my head, turning my communicator back on.

"Commander Shinoda!" I began fearlessly(surprisingly enough, where're all these small bursts of confidence coming from?). "Permission for Kuga Yuma to use his black Trigger to fight off the enemy Neighbours?"

There was a moment of dead silence, in which I imagined Netsuki and Kinuta whipping their heads around to each other in slight panic and pure shock.

"Permission granted!" Shinoda verified clearly, and I flashed my partner-in-crime a peace sign.

"Alright, we got the O-K," I grinned shakily. "Whenever you're ready—"

"Mori."

I paused, turning to Replica questioningly. "Yeah?"

Replica hovered over Yuma's shoulder, and the boy gave me a slightly concerned glance. "…You're nervous."

I jolted, shifting my arm so that it was clear for me to see that yes, my limbs were shaking like leaves.

"…I'm fine," I mumbled. "I'm fine. We'll get through this."

He nodded. "As long as you know, we'll get through this. I won't let you or Chika die."

A Vander burst through a nearby building, shattered debris falling to the ground as Marmods crawled through the hole, and Bado's crashed through the remaining walls to get to our side. Trion soldiers flooded the area as I took a deep breath.

"Yeah," I readied an array of Meteora bullets, my expression focusing as I counted the Trion soldiers instantly.

"…I won't let the two of you guys die either. Nor anybody else."

'6 Marmod's, 2 Bado's, 1 Vander. Jeez, I guess Yuma didn't quiz me on these things for nothing after all…'

I saw Yuma grin from the corner of my eye, just before he shot off like a bullet towards the nearest Marmod.

"Wait, you're leaving me on my own?!"

A Marmod Charged at me in response, and I ducked underneath it and ran off to the side. I stuck out my hand and created three bullets, watching them soar towards the legs holding its body upright.

"Meteora!"

There were three loud 'BOOM's, and I moved to the side when another claw was thrust at where I had just been.

"We should've gotten more Triggers last night, I wish I had some sort of sword!" I yelled over to Yuma, and I heard him distantly reply with a cheeky 'It was actually this morning!'

My eye twitched and I blew up another Marmod.

"Why are all of these Trion soldiers coming towards us all of a sudden?!" I called out, ducking underneath a Bado that swooped down a little too close to my head for comfort.

"The Rabbits are being targeted by the other agents," Yuma spoke through his communicator to me, Scorpion jabbing into the Vanders core. "Border can't spread out any more than this, or else there'll be too many holes in their defences."

"Once the agents scatter to efficiently deal with the Trion soldiers, the Rabbits will capture them," Replica spoke into my ear. "But if they put all of their manpower into killing the Rabbits, the Trion soldiers will run rampant on the city."

"Oh, lovely," I growled, shooting at another Marmod. "We're being manipulated because their numbers are greater…"

"But I think focusing on the Rabbits is the right course of action," Yuma added, swinging his sword again. "If we were to actually prioritize the Trion soldiers, they'd come after us anyway, and we'd only be distracted while protecting the city."

I grit my teeth and I jumped away from another Bado. "What about the civilians—?!"

I was cut off as another nearby building exploded, the Bados swooping in from the sky and crashing into the nearby obstacles.

I shielded my head with my arms as I dashed towards the nearby Marmod corpse, taking cover behind it. Yuma joined me not long after, the two of us peeking over it as more Trion soldiers swarmed towards us.

"Ok—" I took a deep breath. "If we let them through, Chika'll be in danger," I paused, idly shooting another Meteora at a Marmod that got a little too close to us. "What do we do…?"

"I could clear them out pretty quickly with my black Trigger," Yuma muttered. "I can tell you're trying to be careful with your explosions because of the buildings… But with my black Trigger, I'd be much more agile."

"Yeah, that's probably true." I hissed, glaring at the Bado's circling around our position from way up above. "We can't take all of them on as we are right now… And retreating just isn't an option. We need some kind of boost."

"…All of the B-ranks have been ordered to gather," Replica cut in, being the only one really listening to the communicator. "HQ's plan is to clear out each section one-by-one to avoid being caught off guard by any Rabbits that may appear… some destruction to the city will be inevitable."

My eyes widened, and I swung around to meet Yuma's own shocked eyes. "But if they're doing it by priority—!"

I was cut off as a Marmod crushed the corpse we were hiding behind without mercy, and many others swarmed around us. I cursed and shot off another Meteora, the explosion clearing out enough space so I could get my next words through.

"—Chika's area will be left for last since they're clearing it out much quicker!"

The mini-Replica hummed(how does a robot manage to sound so blatantly irritated?!) from where it was floating around next to me, and I saw Yuma grit his teeth as he swung his Scorpion at a Marmod. I couldn't help but notice the movement a bit more aggravated than usual.

Yuma kicked off of the Neighbours dead body and touched down on the ground as he swung his head towards me. "We need to—"

Once again, we were cut off as a nearby building exploded outwards from the top floor.

My head swung around towards it, but my eyes only registered a white blur, just before I launched myself sideways with a smaller, hastily formed explosion to help boost me.

The white blur landed harshly where I had been not even a moment before, and the dust cleared quickly as my eyes widened.

"It's a Rabbit." Replica warned, and I nodded hurriedly before I circled around it to meet up with Yuma.

"—Aren't these things able to deal with A-rankers?!" I shrieked. "There's no way I'm going near that thing!"

Yuma scowled, readying his Scorpion. "We don't really have a choice!" He launched himself at it without another word, Scorpion twisting around and catching on the edge of its mouth. He jumped off again, twisting his sword upwards as he prepared to cleave it into two.

The Rabbit reacted violently though, it's arm swinging around wildly as it swatted Yuma down the street and into a nearby wall.

"Oh jeez!" I threw up both arms and aimed the Meteora cubes towards its face before spinning around on my feet and bolting before I could see the damage.

'Where the fuck did Yuma go?!' A hiss of air made it through my clenched teeth, and I grabbed my hand with the other to try and stop the incessant shaking. "Replica, could you give me a boost?"

There was a low whirr. "….Granted. Boost, Quadra."

An orange seal appeared, hovering over both sides of my forearms as I stood up and aimed both palms at the Rabbit, which was rapidly approaching me.

"Meteora—" I yelled, one large cube forming in front of me. "—FOUR-FOLD!"

The cube, which I never separated and instead shot itself as a single force, and formed something of a cannon as it launched itself towards the Rabbit.

The bullet hit it head on and I could see through the bright light that it had raised both arms in an attempt to protect itself. The Meteora blew up on impact, the force from the explosion so strong that it caused me to fall backwards.

I struggled against the physical force of the impact, the mini-Replica beside me having fallen to the ground.

My mouth strained to open, but I pressed on and inhaled to yell regardless. "YUMA!"

Through the chaos, a shadowed figure kicked off from their nearby hiding spot, leaping over and above the crumbling Rabbit. I could faintly see an orange seal on the figure, hovering over the spot that I guessed was his arm.

Yuma held his Scorpion in a reverse grip, both hands clutching it as he stuck downwards. The blade sliced clean through the Rabbits head, cutting the core clean in half as its final movements ceased, and it fell limp as Yuma landed heavily on the shattered remains of its head.

-0-

There was silence all around, and I took the pause of silence to glance around the battlefield as the rush of the moment finally calmed down.

Most of the street had been reduced to rubble from my black Trigger enhanced, single-shot Meteora. The Marmod's around had been thrown by the sonic boom caused by the explosion, similar to how Replica and I had been. Their cores had been crushed by flying debris as well as their own weight when they smashed against each other, and the majority that had survived the initial explosion had been swiftly assassinated by Yuma during the chaos.

Yuma stood up from where he was crouching on the shattered Rabbit with a triumphant expression. "…Mori! We did it!"

The mini-Replica beside me raised from where it had fallen, hovering in between us as the seals over our arms faded from view. "…I believe you two are the first to have taken a Rabbit down."

"Oh, sweet!" Yuma grinned as he brutally retrieved the Scorpion from where it was buried in the Rabbit's head. "You hear that, Mori?"

I shakily nodded, hurriedly scrambling to my feet. "I-I think... that was too much excitement for a whole year."

"The invasion is not even close to being finished," Replica intoned darkly, and I drooped slightly from where I was. "That was a single Rabbit of many… and the destruction caused to this section of the city…"

I sent a slightly remorseful grimace to our surroundings and sighed heavily when I saw another Marmod twitching from down the street.

"At least that shot didn't take up too much Trion," I shot a bullet towards the Trion soldier as quickly as I could. "Those seals are overpowered… That boost was insane."

Yuma twitched as some noise was heard form over a hill of rubble, and I turned my head as two Border agents stepped up and over.

"Chano squad here!" The boy with the hat yelled out, aiming a gun around every corner as he nodded to us hurriedly. "C-ranks, please evacuate the area!"

The two of them cast a bewildered glance around to the shattered and battered street around us, but their eyes, unfortunately, focused mostly on our not-yet-updated, C-rank uniforms.

I shared an uneasy look with Yuma, while Replica hid behind my back shamelessly. "Uh, we're B-ranks. We just—!"

"Mikumo, Yuma! You two are B-ranks already?!"

I froze, and Yuma turned his head upwards with a whistle. "Ooh, Arashiyama!" He waved nonchalantly, and I composed myself as I nodded back to Arashiyama, Kitora and Tokieda from where they were situated on the nearby roof.

"Yeah, we ranked-up it yesterday," I picked up. "This white-haired moron insisted on challenging me yesterday…" I shot him a quick glare, much to their amusement, and Yuma smugly grinned.

"…Challenging?" Kitora repeated, the three of them effortlessly jumping down from the higher level. "There was a winner and a loser?"

My eye twitched, and I sighed heavily. Chano squad was still watching the two of our squads with a bewildered expression, Tokieda made sure to politely wave to them as he passed by.

"…Yeah, Yuma made it to 4,000 points yesterday, at around 10."

The teen himself pointed at me with a definitely smug expression. "Captain over here, only got to B-rank at 2 this morning."

"You two were up until 2?!" Arashiyama yelled worriedly, hurrying over to the two of us like a worried older brother. "That's not a good thing to make a habit of! You'll be too tired during the day—!"

"Are we disregarding the fact that they made it to B-rank in less than two weeks?!" Kitora interrupted, shocked.

"… Are we disregarding the fact that we're in the middle of a large-scale invasion right now?" Tokieda smoothly cut in, aiming his gun to the side, single-handedly shooting one of the Marmods crawling over the rubble.

Kitora and Arashiyama had the decency to look embarrassed, but Yuma only scratched his head sheepishly.

"Anyhow, nice to see you, Tokieda," Yuma bowed lightly, and the two of us finally reached up to turn our communicators back on.

"Wait, you two aren't keeping your communicators on?!" Kitora began scoldingly, and I waved her away blandly to avoid the impending argument.

Before I could say anything, a garbled mess of static screeched into my ear, and I shut the radio off with a violent wince. Yuma made a similarly displeased noise from behind me, and Arashiyama tapped his own communicator in confusion.

"HQ?"

There was another mess of noise that I could hear from where I was, and he whipped his head around in a flash to glance at the base. My own eyes followed not too soon after, pupils focusing on the large shadows in the air above HQ.

"Holy shit, THAT'S AN ILLGAR!" I yelled, watching in slight horror as the rest of us swung around, eyes wide as they noticed exactly what Arashiyama and I were looking at.

None of us moved as the Illgar closest to the base crashed down, self-destructing against the Trion fortified walls.

"Was it destroyed?!" Chano yelled worriedly, and Arashiyama shook his head certainly.

"No… Kinuta-san reinforced the walls in preparation for the invasion!" He yelled. "With the other two of them though, they won't last!"

"Oh, that's not good…!" I held my hand over my eyes as I squinted, trying to focus on the Illgars. I stared intently on one, noting idly that HQ was focusing their cannons on the other Trion soldier. "Are they ok…?"

I cut off with a choke as my eyes focused on a new detail that I had nearly missed.

"Mori?" Yuma tilted his head as Kitora and Tokieda turned to me questioningly. "You ok?"

I sputtered for a few more moments, just before my eyes flickered over to the small black blur jumping off of the Illgar.

The now.

Very Dead.

Illgar.

"Border is full of monsters," I muttered(I DID NOT WHIMPER). "Yuma, please do not tell me that I just saw a single Border agent cut down that entire Illgar in an instant."

Yuma glanced up at the sky above the base curiously before humming contemplatively. "…Nope, that was definitely what just happened."

"Tachikawa-san cut down one of the bombers!" Arashiayama reported to the rest of us, filling Kitora and Tokieda in on what just happened. "HQ is fine," He smiled lightly as he shot down another Marmod.

"Tachikawa… Oh, that guy," Yuma nodded as he redid his sword again. "No wonder Mori's scared out of her skin, that guy's the top attacker."

I swirled around to him angrily, shooting another Meteora down the street. "I AM NOT SCARED OUT OF MY SKIN!"

"But still, to cut down an Illgar in self-destruct mode…" Yuma hummed as he leapt upwards and kicked a Bamster in the head. "And with a regular Border Trigger, no less."

"Even you're impressed by that?" I turned to Yuma curiously. "By the way, how did you deal with them?"

"I just dragged it down into the river with a chain and a boost, since they're tougher to break through in self-destruct mode," He frowned. "The Trion density is tough, maybe even stronger than the arms of the Rabbit."

"Are the arms that tough?" I thought out loud curiously. "I broke through it with a Meteora."

"Replica and I boosted it for you though," Yuma pointed out. "And you poured a bit more Trion into that shot, it was huge."

I noticed the five from Arashiyama and Chano squad jolt slightly eyes flickering towards the respective side for their communicators. I motioned for Yuma to turn his radio back on, just as my own hand rose to my own ear.

"—orry for the garbled radio." Shinoda's voice echoed, the tail end of the apology filtering into my ear. "So you took down one of the new models?"

"No," Arashiyama denied, and the five Border agents eyes flickered back towards the shattered remains of the Rabbit. "Agents Mikumo and Agent Kuga had already taken it down by the time that Chano squad and my own got here."

"The black Trigger?!" I heard Kinuta yell, and I tapped the radio impatiently.

"No, the two of us took it down with our Border Triggers!" I corrected, and Yuma grinned with a touch of smugness. "But also, I have a request!"

I waited for a denial, before speaking up as the silence reigned. "Yuma and I have a teammate helping to evacuate the civilians with the rest of the C-rank trainees! We need to go provide backup, as we heard that the evacuated areas will be left until later!"

I heard Shinoda start to speak up, but the two of us were cut off by a sharp voice.

"If Kuga Yuma were to go along with Mikumo Mori to support the C-rank trainees… The permission that was previously given to use his black Trigger, would be reinstated."

I distantly recognized the voice as Kido and frowned, just as Yuma's expression morphed into something more irritated."…Why is that?"

"If Kuga were to use his black Trigger around civilians, it's a possibility that he could be mistaken for a humanoid Neighbour. I cannot allow him to use his black Trigger in the city, and he would have to move into the Emergence area to regain permission. If these conditions are not to your liking… Kuga may accompany Arashiyama squad to continue eliminating Trion soldiers."

He paused. "We are still unsure of how effective your black Trigger is against the new models, so I will allow you to protect your teammate if you do not use the Trigger."

There was a pregnant pause, and Yuma turned to me with a slightly remorseful expression.

"…Do you think that you can handle it all on your own?"

I hesitated but nodded after a moment. "I don't think I have a choice. Are you fine with Arashiyama squad?"

He brushed his forearm against his cheek, frowning slightly. "…If somebody's in danger, I won't hesitate to use my black Trigger. I'm better off using it where I'm allowed to anyway… or else I'll end up causing more trouble for you and everyone at Tamakoma."

I inhaled deeply, letting a scowl twist my face as I slapped my hand against the side of my head harshly, not pausing to regret the action as I noticed Kitora and Arashiyama wince. "Fine! I'll go alone to go protect agent Amatori, is that to your satisfaction?"

Kido didn't seem to find my sarcasm amusing, as his tone was icy. "You might want to take somebody else with you, or you'll be killed off by a new model in no time at all."

Yuma made a quick duckface to try and lighten up my mood, which I greatly appreciated. He turned on his black Trigger idly as I composed myself, preparing to run all the way to Chika and defend her, with only Replica by my side.

"Arashiyama-san, Commander Kido."

I jolted slightly, surprised at the new voice.

Kitora stood up straight, steeping slightly ahead of me as she looked Arashiyama in the eyes. "I request permission to accompany Mikumo. You see…" She tilted her head, glancing at us from the corner of her eyes.

"I owe these two."

"Kitora..." I hesitated. "…-san."

"Sure! Protect the city for us," Arashiyama agreed with a smile. "Is that alright with you, Director Shinoda?"

"That's fine, I'll leave it up to you!"

"Good," Arashiyama nodded. "Chano squad, join up with the rest of the B-rank squads."

The two of them saluted. "Roger!"

Arashiyama paused before turning back to both me and Kitora, hand on his communicator. "Also, Satori, would you accompany Kitora and Mikumo?"

"WHAT?!"

-0-

I tapped Replica(who had been hiding in my uniforms collar), slightly ignoring Kitora's surprised and questioning glance.

"Replica's a Trion soldier that's attached to Yuma's black Trigger," I explained quickly, before turning back to Replica. "Connect me to Chika."

He 'nodded' and hummed for a moment as we jumped along the house roofs.

"—ori? Mori?"

"Hey, Chika," I greeted as normally as I could. "There were some complications, I'm heading back towards your position to help protect you."

"Hey, we're here too!"

I nodded agreeably. "—Yeah, Satori-san and Kitora-san from Arashiyama squad are also heading over there with me. See you soon."

I heard some shuffling cloth, before Chika's voice sounded through again. "Yeah, I'll be waiting for you."

Replica cut off the connection with a hiss of static, and I let out a sigh of relief. "Alright, she's still safe."

"She may not be for long," Kitora pointed out bluntly. "This place is crawling with Trion soldiers, definitely more than there were for the first invasion four and a half years ago. Satori, how are things on your end?"

The communicator in my ear hissed slightly. "Still good! I'm trying to snipe any of the Neighbours that are taller than the houses, so I'm still lagging behind slightly."

"…It still does not make any sense," Replica thought out loud, connecting his voice to my communications line once again.

"Ooh! Is that the Replica-guy you mentioned?" Satori asked, and I muttered back a quick 'yeah'.

"What do you mean by that, Replica?"

He hummed lowly, and Kitora glanced to him curiously. "I analyzed the amount of Trion invested into the Rabbit while you all were watching the Illgars attack HQ," He paused. "To say the least, the amount of Trion is immense. And with the amount of Trion soldiers scattered across the map at the moment… why are they sinking so much effort into this one attack?"

"Why wouldn't they?" Satori asked and Kitora twitched just slightly as if she was used to slapping him at this point in time.

"Because an attack like this leaves their country's defences quite… low. With all this risk, they're still scattering their forces so easily. New models or not, this is far too risky and dangerous for them. And still, their intentions are unclear."

"We know what they're after," Kitora interrupted semi-politely. "They're using the scattered Trion soldiers to lure the agents in, before allowing the new models to capture them."

"Yes, but Border has the 'Bail out' function," Replica cut in, and I paused slightly to think. "And as speculated earlier by Mori… Our enemies are the same as the ones that sent the Rads in to get an estimate of our forces. So why would they overlook something so simple?"

"…Because they're dumb?" Satori offered.

Kitora's hand twitched towards her gun, much more violently this time, and for a brief moment, I worried for Satori's wellbeing in the future.

Replica continued, unperturbed(probably too used to Yuma and I's antics. I kind of feel bad…)"…Behind all of their actions, I fear the true motive to be something much more sinister."

"Oh right, didn't you mention earlier that they don't want to corner us so quickly?" I recalled, speaking into the communicator for the two A-rank agents to hear. "Because… driving the enemy into a corner is said to have lead to the creation of more black Triggers…?"

Kitora paled slightly at those words, and I heard a clatter over the radio that sounded suspiciously like somebody tripping, as well as a yelp.

"Tables can turn very quickly during wars like this, especially with black Triggers thrown into the mix. Backing us into a corner now would be much more dangerous, due to the fact that they have no backup ready to assist their side."

"—Wait." Kitora cut in, hand against the side of her head. "…I apologize for interrupting, but Trion soldiers have broken through and out of the emergence area, in the south-west."

"Ah, shit!" I yelled, pushing more force into my steps. "That's where Chika is, step on it!"

Satori yelled an affirmative over the radio, yet Kitora scoffed. "Don't order me around!"

-0-

"A TRION SOLDIER!" A C-rank screamed, backing away in a panic.

"RUN!" Somebody else yelled their voice lost in the sudden chaos that enveloped the air around them.

The Rabbit stepped through the cloud of dust threateningly, the core within its jaws glowing eerily as it charged up for a shot.

However, it was interrupted when Kitora stomped on its head ruthlessly with a Scorpion formulated boot.

I jumped over its head not too far behind her, Meteora circling around me as I glared at the Rabbit.

"I-It's Kitora from Arashiyama squad! And th—the four-eyes girl!"

I gave a quick, clipped wave over to Chika, who smiled gratefully from beside Natsume.

"This one's a different colour form the one you and Kuga dealt with," Kitora observed calmly.

"The design's different too," I mumbled, loud enough for her to hear. "The other one couldn't fire any beams from its mouth."

A Marmod broke through the nearby building and I twitched, about to run towards it.

"—Got it."

I paused suddenly when two sniper shots fired out. The Neighbours core shattered against the force of the shot, while one of the claws aimed towards the nearby C-ranks was simultaneously shot off.

"Hey, did you two see—"

I stared in awe at the sight, before turning back to the Rabbit while speaking into my communicator. "Satori-senpai, that was awesome!"

"—my double-sni—wait, really?!"

"Yeah, that was so cool!" My mood successfully brought up, I aimed the Meteora at the Rabbit with a slightly shaky grin. "I've gotta see that up close some time, I didn't get to get a really good look just now, but it was still cool!"

"KITORA, DID YOU HEA—?!"

"Yes, yes!" She grumbled through the communicator. "However, we're in the middle of an invasion! Protect the C-rank trainees, I will—" She cut herself off, sparing a glance over to me. "…Mikumo and I will take down the new model!"

She shut off her communicator and glanced to me. "Mikumo… Make sure the C-ranks are not targeted, don't blow up any houses. We're no longer in the emergence area, you can't go destroying the street like before."

"I'll try," I mumbled embarrassedly, lifting my hand as a large cube appeared. "Anything else you want me to not do in particular?"

"Don't blow up the houses," She ordered, and used her gun to shoot out a few… strings? "And don't get within its range, do you have any other Triggers besides the Meteora?"

"…No," I shook my head with a low grumble, and she narrowed her eyes at our opponent.

"Then strictly stick to cover fire," She glanced at me for a brief moment before kicking off of the pavement. "Don't get in my way. There may not be any room for you to assist."

-0-

Boy, did she not need any help.

"She's so quick!" I distantly heard a C-rank yell, all of them staring in awe at Kitora, who was jumping around nearly as fast as Midorikawa as she leapt from string to string, the Trion-formulated wires forming a makeshift cage around the Rabbit.

"Don't just stand there, keep evacuating!" I yelled at them in a hurry, not taking my eyes off of the Rabbit even for even a moment. "Replica, how's everything going?"

"…The C-ranks are slow to evacuate," He admitted and I let out a low growl in frustration. "Satori is helping them along from where he is, but there's not much we can do, since trainees have no operators to help guide and escort them collectively… Arashiyama squad's operator is doing what she can, but there's not much she can accomplish while also keeping an eye on her own squad."

"…Where's Shiori-chan?" I asked. "Maybe we can get her to work for helping with that…"

"She is not yet available," Replica hummed somewhat impatiently. "Some of the off-duty agents are still collecting themselves. However, Shiori will be ready in a few minutes."

I scowled but hurriedly wiped away the upsetting expression as quickly as I could manage. "Alright, call her as soon as she's set up."

I was cut off as the Rabbit abruptly launched itself in the air, some type of heat discharging from its backside to propel itself into the air.

It pried its mouth open, and the ground shook as it shot a beam around the radius of its position, the houses in the distance exploding and releasing smoke and fire.

"Why you—!" Kitora's voice echoed in the distance, and I tapped my communicator twice.

"Is it high enough to hit?!" I yelled, causing her to freeze where she was. She had been about to launch herself into the air but instead turned around to face me with a bewildered expression. "Can I hit it from here, without damaging the houses?!"

Her eyes twinkled in realization, and she hesitated slightly before nodding. "Yes!"

"Alright," I aimed both of my arms into the air and towards the Rabbit. "You'll get the finishing blow!"

"Hurry up and bring it down!" She ordered, and I shot off the Meteora bullets directly afterwards.

The first hit the Rabbit in the face, stunning it slightly. It turned to me without hesitation, but the follow-up shot blew up straight in the face, unfortunately missing the core. The third was adjusted to be slightly slower, but with more firepower, and exploded in its stomach area.

"One more—!" I fired two more bullets with high speed and range to circle around its back, and I could clearly see the two shots explode against the back turbines. It sputtered in the air for a moment, before the force of gravity brought it down heavily a second later.

"Coming down!" I yelled, watching Kitora ready a Scorpion with a slight smirk.

"I can see that!"

She leapt into the air, and jabbed the blade straight into the Rabbit's mouth, shattering the core instantly.

-0-

"Kitora-san!" I called over to her and she landed on the ground, meters in front of me. "That was—!"

I hesitated as she looked up, purple eyes cutting through the tension as she stared at me with an undecipherable emotion swirling around in her eyes.

There was loud cheering from the nearby C-rankers, but I ignored them as I tried to think of what to say to the person that seemed to only find hate and scorn when looking at me.

I lifted a hand slowly, waving it back and forth hesitantly, trying to pull my lips into what I wished could be considered a grin.

"…That was actually kind of cool."

She paused in slight shock, the Scorpion blade in her hand shifting.

"…I suppose you didn't do too bad either."

She nodded decisively before turning her head off to the side slightly. "But there's no time to celebrate, we have to begin the evacuations that Satori couldn't finish—"

There was another black crackle of Trion filled electricity from behind Kitora, and my mouth fell open in horror as three large portals opened up.

"KITORA-SAN!"

She turned around in shock as three large, differently coloured Rabbits fell from the gates, shattering pavement under their feet as they landed.

The first Rabbit lifted its head up, looking down on us as if we were just bugs that needed to be crushed underfoot.

Natsume shrieked from behind us, evidently not having left quite yet. "There's three of them!"

"If there's so many focused here...!" Kitora yelled. "They're after the C-rank trainees!"

My eyes flickered instantly as I noticed the black one's arm bubbling, and reaching into and under the broken road pieces where they had landed.

"Kitora-san, move!"

She thankfully listened, jumping back just as some sort of black spike solidified where she just was, stabbing into nothing but air.

"Each one has different abilities?!" She yelled, loudly enough so everyone could hear her observations. "Mikumo, Satori! Protect the C-rank trainees!"

"I'm ready to fire!" Satori hurriedly muttered into the radio.

"Replica's alerting HQ as we speak!" I yelled, readying more bullets. "We may not get reinforcements though, so we should just try to take them out right now!"

The Rabbit in the very front jumped over both Kitora and I, heading straight for Natsume and Chika.

"Oh, no you don't!" Kitora used her wire gun to pull herself over to them, pulling both girls out of the way a millisecond before the Rabbit crashed into the ground.

"All of the C-ranks are in danger!" I yelled into the crowd of trainees around the street, all of them having been watching the battle between Kitora and the first Rabbit. "Gather into one spot and start retreating towards HQ!"

I prayed that most of them would listen as I began to tune them out, focusing only on the Rabbits and Kitora.

'Kitora's arm was just hit by that blast, we can't protect the C-ranks while also killing the Neighbours. We don't know how long it'll take to get help from HQ, so Satori, Kitora and I might as well be on our own in terms of offence. The Rabbit that just launched itself at Chika and Natsume seems to be the same colours as the one Kitora and I just killed, and I think I can see the shape of the Turbines on it's back. The black and purple one that attacked once it got out of the gate has some sort of long range abilities, and seems to be able to use sneak attacks from under the grou—!'

I hurriedly jumped sideways to avoid another wave of black spikes.

"Kitora-san, are you ok?!" I yelled in a rush, sending an explosion at the black Rabbit that it seemed to shrug off with ease.

I saw her stand straighter from where she had been ushering Natsume away, Scorpion already forming in her hand as she faced the Trion soldiers. "Don't underestimate me! The three of us will take on these Neighbours without an issue!"

I focused on the sudden gunshot that struck dead centre of the light blue Rabbit's face. "You heard the woman," Satori's voice rang out as the Rabbit shook off the impact and stared eerily into the distance where I assume Satori shot from. "All of the C-ranks are gonna be fine, guaranteed!"

I nodded, with more certainty this time. "A-Alright. The C-ranks are running, but most of them are trying to stick together—" I was cut off as the dark yellow Rabbit charged all of a sudden, passing right by me. I glanced around in confusion for a moment, before noticing a very small form standing, frozen yet still shaking as she stared at me hopelessly.

"CHIKA—!"

She snapped out of it at the last moment, and managed to kick off to the side as the Rabbit's side grazed her.

The Rabbit crashed into the house, dust being kicked up from the wreckage as Chika froze once again, head turned back to stare at the slowly rising Rabbit.

"CHIKA! RUN!"

She couldn't hear me, eyes wide and terrified as my cries went ignored in her fear.

I prepared to make a dash over to her, but I was forced to abort the action as the purple Rabbit created spikes underneath my feet. I dodged the attack clumsily, being barely missed as I stared at Chika in horror.

"HEY, BIG, YELLOW AND UGLY!"

My tunnel vision disappeared in an instant though, as a thick bullet landed itself in the Rabbit's snout.

The Rabbit leaned back from the impact, recovering itself quickly as it swung its head towards the source.

Natsume sat crouched in the middle of the road, Ibis raised bravely as she aimed at the Rabbit now approaching her.

"GET AWAY FROM CHIKAKO!"

She lifted the rifle once more, making a decent shot that would have landed itself in the core of the Rabbit. But instead, the Trion soldier raised its armoured arm and deflected the shot effortlessly.

"Satori!" I heard Kitora raise her voice into the communicator. "Help the C-rank agent!"

Natsume dropped the Ibis as the Rabbit scooped her up, chest cavity opening threateningly as it pulled her towards itself.

"WHOA, bad touch, bad touch!"

"I can't get a good shot from here that won't hurt her!" He yelled back in a rush. "Without a Bail out, I'd just be putting her in more danger!"

Natsume let the cat down from her shoulder, turning to Chika worriedly. "Chikako, run!"

I fired a weak Meteora in their direction, but the explosion was practically non-existent as the purple Rabbit attacked me mid-shot. The spikes cut a thin line on the edge of my foot, and I hissed in frustration.

"CHIKA!"

Her head snapped over to my direction, and although I didn't dare turn my back on the Rabbit in front of me, I somehow knew exactly what expression she was making.

"YOU'VE—" I cut myself off as the Rabbit launched itself at me again. "—YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT FOR MONTHS NOW!"

I heard a small gasp from her direction, and I pressed forward.

"YOU'VE BEEN TRAINING FOR MONTHS, SO THAT WHEN THE TIME CAME, YOU COULD FIGHT FOR IT—!"

I was smacked down the street at the exact moment that my last shout made it through the chaotic, yet near-silent battlefield.

"—SO PICK UP A WEAPON AND FIGHT! I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO FIGHT, TOO!"

I could barely see her short form nodding determinedly and dashing towards Natsume's gun, just as I got up from the rubble I had been buried in. The purple Rabbit ran towards me once more, and although it did nothing in my Trion body, cracked my neck threateningly.

"Alright," I hissed, hearing the loud sonic boom in the background as Chika fought for her life. "It's crunch time."

-0-

"AND STAY DOWN!"

I blew up the last explosion from underneath the Rabbit's stomach, launching it up into the air on an angle from where it had been hunched over. The Rabbit flew across the road, and the deadweight corpse smashed its way through the half-dead Rabbit Chika had brought down herself.

"Whoa, are you ok, Mikumo-chan?"

"'-chan'…?" I repeated dully, before shaking my head to myself scoldingly. "—Wait, yeah. I'm fine, just aggravated. Thanks for helping me out with that one, I don't think I could've done it alone."

"Well, the other new model's almost done for too…. as expected of Kitora, she gets the work done quickly, even without any cover fire!"

I jogged over to the two C-rankers slowly, tapping my communicator impatiently. "Commander? Replica? Am I connected?"

"You are," Mini-Replica responded, floating up from… wherever they had been hiding.

I nodded approvingly, giving him a thankful expression with a thumbs up.

"Director Shinoda, Kitora, Satori and I are currently fighting with a few Rabbits over here! They're definitely after the C-rank agents, and more Neighbours might be sent our way!"

"We see what's going on, Replica-san sent us a report like you and Kitora requested." He called back through the earpiece, and I breathed a sigh of relief. "New models are popping up in the south and east as well, hold on a little while longer. Border's strongest squad is on the way!"

I blinked, finally reaching Chika and Natsume. "Border's… strongest squad?"

"They'll be here soon," Replica replied while Kitora stepped out from around the corner, evidently having taken down her own Rabbit with Satori's help. "Kitora—"

"I just heard," She summarized. "We'll be receiving some powerful reinforcements very soon, but for now… Be on guard. New models could appear at any moment, especially with the irregular gates lurking around. Satori?"

"I'm on the case!" He replied quickly. "As for any of the smaller Neighbours… I don't see any at the moment, but I'll try to keep an eye out."

"No shame if you can't catch one," Kitora reluctantly reassured. "They're small, and you're trying to keep an eye on the whole battlefield around us. If one slips through because it was hiding, it's only a matter of life-or-death."

"Kitora!" Satori shrieked through the earpiece. "Don't joke around like that, I'm doing my best—! Oh, a Marmod."

I heard a distant crash, a few screams from civilians that were just evacuating, a gunshot, a Neighbour-like hiss and-or scream, and a loud thud as if something large was hitting the ground.

"—Ok, got it! I'm watching the perimeter, just like you asked!"

I paused, face paling just slightly that brought a bit of humour to the situation. "…Snipers are scary."

"What?"

"Nothing, Nothing," I shot a weak glare at Chika for laughing slightly under her breath, but inwardly felt relief when a bit of colour returned to her and Natsume's faces. "…Just mumbling to myself."

'…They're not ready to be on the battlefield like this.'

I glanced down at my shaking hands, before trying to hide them by crossing my arms over my chest nonchalantly.

'Then again, doesn't seem like I am, either.'

"Ehh… It's over already?!"

I jolted, a Meteora cube forming in front of my face as I panicked minutely. Kitora shot me a scolding and disbelieving glance as I hurriedly made the bullet go away with a slight blush. The small chuckle I heard over the radio from Satori made my face burn with an even larger blush.

The truck came to a sudden halt, the tires screeching against the pavement as Konami jumped off and in front of the vehicle.

Her hair was cut shorter in her Trion body, which nearly made me do a double take, and from the combat-oriented green clothing to the displeased scowl on her face and back to the Trigger holster blades sheathed on either side of her hip…

"Konami, you look badass." I blurted out suddenly, before my face returned to the furious red it had been not even a few moments ago.

"Oh?" She smirked at her two teammates victoriously. "See?! Someone can recognize awesomeness around here— Wait, where's Yuma?" She glanced around confusedly, short strawberry blonde hair swishing side to side as Karasuma stood behind her, blank-faced as always.

"He must have died already," He commented without a shred of hesitation. Konami froze, eyes wide in horror as she turned to him robotically. "Too bad, he never even got to see all three of us in action… it seems we'll have to have a grand battle Royale between Tamakoma members to see who'll gain ownership of his will—"

Konami's face had been paling rapidly in horror, but before she could make the motion to turn to me questioningly, Kizaki stop tall behind the two of them and chopped Karasuma in the head.

His face was startlingly blank as he stared at the two of his teammates in disappointment.

"…Konami, Kuga isn't dead," He muttered, and Konami jolted before whirling around to face Karasuma in a fit of fury. "And Kyousuke, don't mess with Konami during an invasion." He paused, deeming that enough of a scolding, before turning to Chika with a slightly worried expression. "Amatori, are you alright?"

"Karasuma could fool Konami-senpai so easily…!" Kitora murmured, heard by only Chika, Natsume and I. "As expected of Karasuma, after all, Konami-senpai is the No.3 Attacker!"

"Ah, Mori," Karasuma waved to me, eyes scanning the nearly unnoticeable, tiny cloud of Trion that rose from the cut on my foot. "…Seems we're going to have to up the training then, hm?"

"Konami-senpai!" Satori's voice chattered over the radio, somehow being heard by all of Tamakoma-1. "Kitora and I took care of all of your kohai, did you see?!"

"Eh heh heh heh…" Shiori's voice snickered over the connection, loud and clear for all of us to hear. "I've finally arrived! I worked together with Ayatsuji-chan to get the communicators connected! And now, with Miku-chan and I, all of the glasses can combine to fight off the invasion!"

Natsume stood frightfully still, before pulling Chika and herself closer to me with a slightly terrified expression. "…Is it always like this."

"Oy vey…" I pinched the bridge of my nose tiredly, nodding along with whatever everyone else was saying without listening. "It's actually sometimes worse, with Yuma and Jin-san lounging around…"

"Anyways, let's get a move on!" Kitora spoke up. "The C-ranks still need to be evacuated to a safe location, now that it's clear that they're one of the targets!"

"Right," Konami nodded with a confident smile. "This kind of lineup can take any new models coming our way, no problem!"

"—Wait a second!" Satori's voice suddenly shrieked over the radio, and all of us were on guard in an instant. "I see a portal opening up near you g—!"

A Rad hiding on the inside of a nearby house suddenly clattered with noise, the gate mechanism working its magic as Trion crackled ominously.

The dark gate opened momentarily for two cloaked figures to glide out, heels touching the ground with a soft, subdued 'clack'.

"…Oh dear," The older man sighed wearily. "I'm not sure I feel quite right about abducting children."

"It's our duty." The brunettes dull blue eyes sharpened on Chika, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. "Viza-sama."

"Horns…!" I muttered, one foot stepping back against my will, with the smallest hint of fear leaking into my mind.

"Do we have a plan?" Karasuma's calm voice filtered in through the communicator, and I struggled to not move my head towards him.

"Uh… I guess… Protect the C-ranks…?" I trailed off unsurely.

Konami huffed, a slight smirk drawing on her lips. "Good a plan as any. Kick their asses, get the trainees to HQ."

I could see the two humanoid Neighbours talking over where they were, but I tried to focus on the conversation more while also keep my eyes on them.

"The C-ranks will get distracted by the battle, no doubt," Kitora scoffed. "It seems that action is all that's on their minds at times…"

"Some of us will have to hold off the Neighbours, while the rest of us escort the C-ranks." Kizaki added. "Konami, Kitora, Satori and I will hold off the Neighbours. Kyousuke and Mikumo will protect the trainees. They're the top priority."

He paused and sent me a quick glance.

"Mikumo, protect Amatori with your life."

"Yes sir," I nodded just as the Neighbour activated their Trigger, what looked like metal swirling around and flicking around in the air around them.

"Although now we know who the adversary is," Replica spoke up as we all faced our enemies. "Without a doubt… We are facing off against the planetary nation of Aftokrator."

"Horn-enhanced Trion or something or other, right?" Konami asked. "Higher-ups already told us."

"Indeed," Replica agreed. "Do not underestimate them."

We were cut off as some of the metal pieces shot towards us like bullets. Karasuma protected us with a quick shield and a low mutter of 'Escudo'.

Kizaki leaned around the side of the shield as a large machine gun formed in his hand as it instantly began firing off loud and heavy bullets.

"Alright, let's get going," Karasuma gestured to me, and a bead of sweat went down my temple as the loud gunfire in the background increased every second. "We've got to go defend the C-ranks, more Trion soldiers could show up to attack them any second now."

Chika and Natsume nodded beside me, and the four of us hurriedly left the battlefield.

-0-

"The shield is quite tough," Kitora observed calmly, shooting off multiple Asteroid as Karasuma's shield dropped slowly. "Should I stop firing?"

"There's a possibility he's just trying to lure us into close combat," Kizaki pointed out as the gunfire increased once more. "We don't know how they work quite yet or the exact functions of their Triggers, our best option is a sniper shot from around the back."

He paused. "Satori, can you circle around behind them?"

"Sure can!" Satori chimed in from the communicator. "Should I leave the trainees up to Karasuma and Mikumo-chan?"

"Go ahead!" Shiori cheerily stated. "I've already told them that you're not covering for them anymore, and you can turn around at any moment if something goes wrong!"

"Alright, it'll take me a few minutes, if I want to stay out of their range," Satori warned, a tinge of regret in his tone.

"Hey, what do I do?" Konami whined, lifting both Sogetsu from the holsters at her hips.

"…Attack whenever you want," Kizaki ordered clearly, much to the disbelief of Kitora and Satori. "Just don't get hit."

"I'll help with that!" Shiori offered excitedly. "I can outline the trajectories no-problem!"

"Great!" Konami smirked, connecting the two blades and twirling it around expertly as they morphed slowly into a monstrous battle axe. "Let's start already!"

-0-

I could distantly hear the gunfire, which had not stopped growing louder and louder, suddenly drop in sound.

"What happened?" I turned my head back worriedly, but Karasuma only flicked my temple from where he was jogging along with us.

"Don't get distracted," He scolded blandly. "Konami's probably joining the fight, they can't just fire without consequence when adding an attacker to the mix."

"Why didn't you stay behind then?" Chika asked curiously, while Natsume jogged over to join the rest of the C-ranks, satisfied that Chika was safe. "Wouldn't it have been better, since you're also a gunner…?"

"That's true, I would've been useful for fighting them off," Karasuma agreed. "But we can't allow any other Neighbours to get close to the trainees either. If an attacker were to engage with any enemies on this end…"

"They'd either have to battle close to the trainees, which could prove to be dangerous for them," Replica picked up seamlessly. "Or fight them further away from the C-ranks, which could endanger them even more. Having a gunner on either side would be for the best at the moment, but Mori isn't—" He cut himself off hurriedly, but I got the message.

"—A good enough fighter, yeah, I know." I muttered. "You guys don't trust me to protect the C-ranks all on my own, and-or to not screw up the dynamic by helping them fight the Neighbours over there."

Replica paused, somewhat surprised by the slight bitterness in my tone. "…While that may be true, you shouldn't beat yourself up about it."

"I'm literally too weak to help out anywhere, it's hard not to," I grumbled, not heard by either Chika or Karasuma. I clenched my hands crossed over my chest, still making futile attempts to stop shaking. "Helping take out the Rabbits or not, sometimes it seems like I haven't changed at all."

Replica paused, a mechanic hum slipping from… wherever his voice comes out from. "I think things have changed. After all, nobody's had to protect you. You haven't gotten yourself into a situation where you needed to be saved, unlike before."

"That really doesn't—" I groaned, slapping my arms harshly in frustration. "Never mind, let's just—"

There was a distant flash of light from the east side, and Shiori's surprised gasp filtered in through the communicator.

"KAZAMA JUST HAD TO BAIL OUT!?"

-0-

Konami's battle axe scraped loudly against Viza's cane, just as Shiori's startled shout filtered in through the radio.

Kitora jolted, only hand instantly raising to touch the device. "Usami-san?! What happened?!"

"I don't know!" The frustrated voice came through, along with the tell-tale tapping of a computers keys. "Kazama and Kaho-chan are just writing the report, I'm skimming it right now… There was a black Trigger!"

"Seriously?!" Konami scowled, voice sounding out although her mouth never moved. "By the way, I'm not too sure about this old guy in front of me, he's giving me a bad feeling…"

"I'm in position," Satori said suddenly. "The old guy is still kind of in the way and might interfere with the shot, but I can fire at the other one whenever!"

"Fire as soon as you get a better shot," Kizaki ordered, lifting his gun. "We can keep them over here, and you're far enough out of their range that you don't need to run after you shoot."

"It'll still be disadvantageous once they know your position though," Kitora warned. "Don't mess up the first shot."

"Jeez, so much pressure!"

-0-

"The baby birds are getting away." Hyuse muttered to Viza, just as the elderly man stepped away slightly. "We can't afford to be delayed."

"Perhaps we can have Hairein call somebody over," Viza suggested nonchalantly. "He himself is not busy, and I'm sure Mira can transport Ranbanein over if need be… Though there is also—"

Hyuse lifted his gauntlet covered hand with a slight frown, unintentionally cutting off Viza. "I'm sure we can complete our task without their help. We don't need—"

They were cut off suddenly as a bullet silently soared through the air, triggering their war-honed sixth senses. Viza stepped back leisurely, while Hyuse leapt hurriedly to the side.

He didn't come out of it without consequence though, as the sniper shot blasted off his hand with an explosion of black Trion smoke.

-0-

"Indirect hit!" Satori groused. "Should I fire again?"

"Don't bother." Kizaki stated, watching cautiously as Hyuse's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Try to get to another building for the next shot, they'll definitely be on more guard for the sniper."

Kitora lifted her gun, shooting multiple times at Viza to distract him. The old man lifted his cane and expertly deflected all of the bullets, idly watching Konami dash past him and swing her axe towards Hyuse.

Hyuse scowled and conjured a shield to block the attack, but flinched with wide eyes as Konami's Sogetsu cut through the metal like butter.

He backed up, lifting his arm once again as the metal pieces around him swirled to life.

"Don't get in my way." He growled, sending a large clump of metal towards Konami, who watched in mild fascination as the metal morphed and twisted into a giant shuriken. She dodged easily, smirking openly as she saw the blurred outline of her quick teammate, right behind the distracted Hyuse.

"Then don't underestimate us." She muttered, watching as Kizaki punched through the metal shields swirling around Hyuse, effortlessly launching him down the street with a single hit.

Kizaki glanced down at his hand, metal shards embedded into the Trion body's skin painlessly. Konami landed in a crouch right next to him as the two of them faced the Neighbours, while Kitora stepped up beside them with her gun still aimed at Viza.

"I just figured it out." He murmured to the two of them, as well as Satori, who was still listening from the communicator. "It's magnets. That's how the metal pieces are floating around like that… and how it negated the force of my attack."

"Ah damn," Konami scowled, watching Hyuse get back up easily, only a crack down the side of his face present to show the effects of Kizaki's attack. "How're we going to deal with them? The quicker we do, the faster we can go back to escorting the C-ranks."

"The trainees and the city are our first priority." Kitora reminded. "And they still need more protection, Karasuma is the only A-rank helping them right now…!"

"We are getting quite tired of this." Viza spoke up, putting a halt to any conversation. "…The baby birds are getting away. And there are simply too many of you, not to mention the sniper…"

"What are you going on about?" Konami frowned, lifting up her two Sogetsu, having split them to conserve Trion. "Get to the point."

Viza paused, hand brushing over his cloak slightly. "Well now, that was quite rude. Interrupting me like that… maybe listening to what I had to say would have left you better off."

There was a sudden, loud 'BOOM' as the nearby building, situated directly behind both Viza and Hyuse, exploded in a flurry of concrete and debris.

Konami and Kizaki's eyes widened in horror as they watched the Trion soldier's head lift up and above the house's roof.

The large Bamster roared, not even hesitating as it crawled past the Neighbours and Border agents, heading further and further into the city.

"That basta—!" Konami hissed, lifting up her blades angrily.

"Satori, why didn't you warn us about the Neighbour?!" Kitora yelled into her earpiece, receiving only static in response. Her eyes widened in panic, and she tapped the communicator again desperately. "Satori?! Respond!"

"I'm—ittle busy—! So sudde—eighbours—!"

"I apologize for the sudden interruption…" Viza chuckled. "But the sniper shots were just a little… too unexpected. A simple swarm of Marmods should keep them busy for now, hm?"

Kizaki stared off into the distance, watching as the Bamster continued to ruin the city was it crawled along the pavement and roaring towards the sky.

"Konami," He began, but she only shook her head in frustration.

"I know." She forced out through gritted teeth. "That Neighbour… is heading in the direction of Torimaru's house."

"Karasuma?!" Kitora exclaimed worriedly. "What do we do?!"

"…We've got no choice." Kizaki began reluctantly. "Konami, head out to deal with the Neighbour. Kitora and I will hold them off here."

"What?!" Konami spun around to him in shock. "No way, you—!"

"Konami." Kizaki cut her off, sending her a stern expression. "…Protect the city. Kitora and I will hold them off here… Satori will go defend the city along with you."

She jolted, her incredulity morphing into sheer surprise. "You mean…!"

"When you finish dealing with the Neighbours…" He continued, lifting up his Trigger. "…Join up with Kyousuke afterwards. Protect Mikumo and Amatori."

She nodded, hurriedly leaping off to follow the Bamster trekking along and into the city. "I won't keep them waiting long."

Hyuse and Viza made no movement to stop her.

-0-

"Shiori-chan, is everything ok?!" I repeated, hand held up against my ear as I walked over to join Karasuma and Chika at the front of the crowd.

"Things are getting very mixed up!" She responded. "There're some complications over with Reiji, Kitora and Konami, and Satori is dealing with some more Marmods! And Kazama squad has confirmed that the humanoid Neighbour they fought was a black Trigger— I'm trying to get everything in order right now, but I need a second!"

"Take all the time you need, Usami," Karasuma said, eyes scanning the crowd of C-rankers behind us. "You're doing a lot, don't stress yourself."

"I'll try…" She trailed off. "All of you guys, stay safe." The audio shut off with a click, and I lowered my hand once again, worriedly.

"…The mini-Replica I left behind with Kizaki and Konami is currently having difficulties picking up any details regarding the battle." Replica murmured, hovering over our shoulders. "At the moment, I can confirm that a Bamster showed up, as well as a few Marmods to occupy Satori." He hummed contemplatively. "Their next course of action is unclear… But it seems like Konami and Satori have split off to defeat the Trion soldiers."

"Everything's gone to shit." I muttered to myself, clenching and unclenching my hand spastically.

"…For now, let's continue protecting the C-ranks." Karasuma ordered, gun shifting around in his grip. "The door to HQ isn't too far away, we need to keep moving forward."

Chika glanced up at the two of us worriedly, but I only pushed the mini-Replica towards her. "Replica, help me keep Chika safe, okay? Stay beside her."

"Roger." He intoned without hesitation. "The door to HQ is just up ahead."

Karasuma, Chika, Replica, the trainees and I were right there. We could see the door from here, it was startlingly close.

"—Reiji and Kitora have bailed out!"

We were so close.

A black blob descended on the entrance like an avalanche, the bubbling force crushing the steel door like an ant under a shoe.

"ALRIGHT, PUNY SMALL FRY…."

My blood went cold as a dark figure twisted and bubbled into existence above the wreckage of steel and concrete.

"COME OUT…COME OUT…WHEREVER YOU ARE! I'LL CRUSH YOU ALL!"

There was a harsh, jarring 'CLANG' from behind us, and everyone's heads swung around.

"Well now, it seems that Enedora… has come as back-up, hm?"

Behind us, two figures touched the ground gently, metallic, wing-like attachments on their backs.

The two Neighbours from before.

The two Neighbours that were supposed to be fighting against Kizaki and Kitora.

"Perhaps Hairein felt like we needed some hurrying along." The old man chuckled under his breath, lifting his cane ever so slightly.

The other Neighbour scowled. "I suppose with no time to spare… we can't afford to be picky with our allies."

"HEY, what're you saying about me over there?!" The black-haired Neighbour yelled, back in front of us. "I can hear you talkin' shit, small fry! I'll be dealing with you, right after I kill all of these Meeden monkeys!"

"T-THE ENTRANCE TO HQ HAS BEEN DESTROYED!"

(We were so close.)