A / N -
AN EARLY UPDATE. TO MAKE UP FOR THE LOW QUALITY CHAPTER THAT I CAN'T SEEM TO IMPROVE NO MATTER HOW MNAY TIMES I LOOK IT OVER.
aaaaAAND Another quick thanks to anyone that bothers to follow, favorite, or review! It means the world to me... (And I'm sorry I don't know how to world the reply mechanism thing.) Soooo...
To Fire-Metal-Horse17 - Tachikawa is indeed the creepy stare guy! I think it's seriously underrated how if he lost his naturally easygoing attitude... his eyes would be a lot creepier. And thank you for the compliments, they made my day!
-and to anyone else that wanted a reply to their reviews,,, I'm sorry but I'm awkward,,, I'll ty to respond to reviews when I can, but sometimes It's hard to think of what I want to say if there aren't any questions... BUT UNTIL NEXT TIME, I NEED TO STOP WITH THE OBNOXIOUSLY LONG A/N!
-0-
The hospital walls were blank, so very blank.
Shiori had very rarely had the pleasure of being familiar with these walls.
The last time had been when she was quite young. Yosuke had been a little too confident on the monkey bars and had broken his leg when he inevitably fell. Of course, Shiori's family have been worried sick when they received a call from his parents, but once they paid Yosuke a visit in the hospital…
He gave them a grin and asked them to sign his cast with a wide grin as he messed around with his phone in the hospital bed. Shiori and Yosuke had been too young to understand the crushing worry, seeing someone they loved in that white hospital bed…
Shiori wishes she never had to know. But she can't turn away as she stares blankly through the glass, Mori pale and hooked up to a dozen different machines with various functions, all present for the bare minimum in keeping her alive.
There were others in the room with her of course. With the number of patients the hospital had received, and Border's wishes to keep Miwa and Mori's injuries as secret as possible due to the A-rank agent's distaste towards the idea of being used as a scapegoat for society's pity…
The two agents, suffice to say, were sharing a room. Miwa was situated in another bed directly across from Mori, being put under with drugs long ago as the doctors bustled around, words such as 'surgery' and 'blood transfusions' being tossed around. Miwa looked far too pale and tired to complain about anything they put him through, and Mori was long gone into the clutches of a coma before Yuma, Natsume and Yosuke had arrived.
Long gone.
Yuma was still covered in blood.
Shiori shook herself a bit, mind focusing back on the matter at hand.
After Mori cut off communication, Chika had nearly stolen someone elses Trigger and ran off. Everyone had no doubt she'd be able to keep fighting despite the small dent the Bail out function had put in her Trion reserves, so Reiji and Shiori had to keep her in the operator room as they waited for any news on Mori.
Karasuma barely moved from his place at the door for a long time, uncharacteristically pale as he stared off into space with slightly widened eyes. However, when Shiori turned to him he had hurriedly stepped out while muttering an incoherent excuse as he started down the hall. Shiori didn't blame him, the two of them had gotten surprisingly close to the bespectacled teen in the few months before Border enlistment day. After that first win she pulled off, Shiori was stubbornly adamant in becoming closer to his student.
Still, no one from Tamakoma, Border, anybody… were as close to Mori as Chika and Yuma were.
Oh god, they still weren't talking.
The room everyone was gathered in was separated from Mori and Miwa's hospital room by a thin pane of glass dividing the two. Inside their waiting room, Yosuke, Midorikawa, Yotaro, Karasuma, Reiji, Yuma, Chika, Natsume, and Shiori herself were standing or sitting in various states of disarray across the room.
Yosuke was standing beside Shiori, eyes glazed over as he stared at Miwa sorrowfully, watching his captain's faint breathing through the glass, the oxygen mask placed over Miwa's nose and mouth doing nothing to elevate Yosuke's concerns. Miwa and Yosuke were good friends, Shiori knew. It wasn't just the use of first names that had tipped her off, but the overwhelming fondness Yosuke spoke with whenever he talked about Miwa when describing his day on a regular basis.
Izumi had been found by HQ a few hours ago using the last coordinates they had received from Replica, but still not reverted from his form as a cube. That fact only added to the heaviness in the air as Midorikawa never moved from his spot beside Yosuke, sitting with his back to the wall and not daring to peek through the glass window above his head.
It was far too soon in their lives for any of them to be worrying about if their friends were going to live or not. Shiori wishes she could scream, but the words were lost on her tongue as she simply continued to stare through the glass with teary eyes.
Yotaro was the only one making a sound in the room, quiet as it was. He was sniffling, trying to hide his tears as he shoved his face into the side of Reiji's leg beside him. The latter was staring off into space blankly, hand reaching down softly to pat the side of Yotaro's helmet-covered head almost absentmindedly.
Natsume wasn't too far from him, eyes drawn to the floor sadly as she succumbed to the aura of sadness in the room, barely moving save for the brief, worried glances she continued to send Chika.
Karasuma was leaning against the wall in the corner closest to the door. He flipped the water bottle over in his hand multiple times, only opening it to take a small sip every few minutes. Shiori was quite worried about him in particular with the unnervingly blank look in his eyes, but she could barely keep herself together as it was.
(Jin hadn't said a word since the end of the invasion. HQ had called him back immediately, and Shiori had too busy with other things to receive any messages from him regarding Mori's well being.)
It was Yuma and Chika that worried her the most though.
Yuma had been here when they first arrived. Like Natsume and Yosuke, his clothes were bloodstained (more than the other two, you could trick Shiori into thinking Yuma had swam in the red mixture, whereas Yosuke and Natsume only had small splatters and stains where they had been carrying the two injured teens) and his eyes were shadowed by his hair as his head hung low.
As soon as everyone in the operator's room had arrived at the hospital, being free to go as they could do nothing else to help the invasion's cleanup, Chika's eyes met Yuma's, and as if in a silent agreement, they met in the centre of the room, embracing each other as tightly as they dared.
(Yosuke would later tell her that Yuma had been unresponsive before that. He only moved when his second partner arrived, and Shiori couldn't help but feel the urge to cry as she tried to even begin to imagine the suffering they were going through.)
Once the entire group had met together, the two let up the hug but grabbed each other's hands with a fragile desperation that broke Shiori's heart.
It had been silent since then, and Chika's eyes were unnervingly blank as she stared through the glass window from across the room, her and Yuma standing against the wall on the other side.
Her hands had stopped shaking hours ago.
Shiori worried. When she would finally burst with all of these feelings, when Chika would finally open up and speak again, when Yuma would stop keeping all of his emotions locked up, when Yosuke would lose the haunted look in his eyes, when Karasuma would stop blankly staring at the wall instead of depending on someone else for once…
When Mori would wake up.
Because that was what everything important hinged on, the survival of one, crucial, moronic, amazing person in their lives.
Yosuke from beside her made the first movement anyone in the room had made for a solid twenty minutes, shaking hand reaching out and looping around her shoulders, pulling her into his arms as his voice shook.
"I'm sorry, Shiori."
His voice cracked, and although he never shed tears of his own, Shiori's heart ached for him.
And Shiori silently cried, because everyone in the room was far too young to have this sort of burden placed on their shoulders.
-0-
A dull splat.
A cry and a scream.
An eerily blank expression.
... What is this feeling? … Am I sad?
Green eyes shifted down and locked on the bloodstained tire track as well the poor kitten that crossed the street at the wrong time.
… I hate it, it's such a terrible feeling… I should've done something more. To save it.
"Go away!"
A slow blink.
'What..?'
"No one wants you here! S-She— The cat got run over, and she didn't even blink! She's a freak!"
'What? No…that's not it. I feel sad…'
But how am I supposed to express that…?
"The p-poor cat! She doesn't even care, she's just staring at it like a—!"
'I…' The tears won't come. 'Why…'
"LEAVE US ALONE!"
'Why don't I work properly…? Mom?'
"…Children are cruel. Come home Mori, I… We can do something together, please don't be sad."
'…I… It hurts. Mom, I don't like it. It's like when the cat died. I'm sad, but I can't cry.'
"That's not your fault. Mori, please don't blame yourself for things you can't control."
-0-
"One of them's regained consciousness, he can have one patient at a time, please stay away from any equipment, especially on the other side of the room…"
The world was unnervingly numb for Miwa.
It had been a blur of pain for him, pulling Mikumo and himself up against the wall, waiting with baited breath for reinforcements to arrive, then…
It was the Neighbour.
Right, the Neighbour trash that had been accepted into the organization that he had put so much faith into.
All thanks to those traitors at Tamakoma. All thanks to Jin.
(What am I supposed to believe now?)
Miwa distantly recalls the Neighbour arriving in the alleyway. He had made a move to try and stand up, but before Miwa could even move… The Neighbour ran over to Mikumo and fell to his knees.
It was baffling, watching the Neighbour reach out and grab her shoulders with so much desperation that…
It the kind of desperation Miwa had seen before.
(It was the kind of desperation Miwa had FELT before.)
Then, there was pain. Because Mikumo's hair had come free of the messy bun she tied it up in.s As her black hair cascaded down her back and soaked in the blood around her, Miwa was very brutally reminded of a similar scene years before…
The Neighbour… Kuga held Mikumo to his chest with enough pain swirling in his eyes to make Miwa freeze.
(That scene… was so very similar. So very familiar to him.)
"…Shuji…?"
It was faint, but so startlingly clear at the same time.
Miwa turned his head slowly. Eyes sluggishly shifting to land on the doorway.
"…Yosuke…"
Yoneya shut the door behind him as loudly as he dared, arm brushing over his eyes as he pulled up a chair with a quick smile.
"Shuji, you really scared all of us. D-Don't do that again, you hear me? That was enough of a shock to last me a lifetime…"
Miwa was still for another few moments, before a slow nod came. "… You carried me here."
Yoneya nodded, taking a seat in the small chair. There was a line of tension in his shoulders that was slowly fading, although it never left completely. "The shrimp—Yuma found you guys first. It was a scare, what were you guys doing in the back of an alleyway?"
It was an attempt to try and lighten the mood, Miwa knew. But his hazy mind accidentally latched onto the first part of the sentence.
He blinked lethargically, before lifting himself up shakily, arms half asleep as he pushed up.
"Whoa—" Yoneya jolted, both arms reaching out to stop him. "Miwa, calm down, lie down—!"
Miwa blinked, sienna coloured irises landing on the bed across the room as he came to a halt.
"—Shuji?"
Miwa took one good look at Mikumo, before slowly lowering himself back down to the bed.
Oxygen mask, heart rate monitor, IV drips, bandages, blood bags, dozens of other pieces of equipment that Miwa didn't particularly care for the names of—
"… So she's… Still alive," Miwa commented, voice muffled by the oxygen mask.
"… They think she'll pull through, but she… She looks dead." Yoneya heavily sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I… Don't know how to react to all of this."
Miwa wasn't paying attention though, because only one voice, one sentence was running through his mind. "… Good."
"I THOUGHT YOU NEVER WANTED TO BE JUST LIKE HIM, BIG SISTER!"
'…Those two are morons.' Miwa thought with an aggravated huff, exhaustion finally catching up with him as his eyelids lowered. '… Mikumo needs to apologize to Amatori later, putting her younger sibling through so much worry.'
-0-
"Why are you crying?! It was just a prank!"
'I don't know… The tears just won't stop…'
"She only cries when she doesn't like something! Remember when the cat was run over a few weeks ago…? She didn't even flinch!"
'Ow… It hurts. Not again…'
"Mori, why do you keep trying to be their friend…? They're trying to hurt you."
'I don't know… I don't know, I just don't want to be alone… I don't want them to hate me either, but I just don't work…'
"You 'work' fine, Mori. You're human, and just because they don't like how you act, doesn't mean it's wrong. Let's go home, I'll make you your favourite fried rice."
'… Thank you, mom.'
"It's no problem. Just… come to me if they try that again, ok? I promise, once you get a little older, I'll let you take the middle school in Mikado. You can have a new start there, people will be nicer. Ok?"
'Ok. I'll wait… I promise, mom.'
"…Thank you for being kind and patient, Mori. Come on, let's go grocery shopping. Do you want shrimp in your fried rice again?"
'Yes, please…'
-0-
Wha…?
"IZUMI!"
Wha—
"Ow!"
Izumi hissed in surprise, flinching as a heavy weight settled itself across his chest.
"…What hit me…? What time is it…?"
"YOU MORON!"
Izumi flinched in shock, just now registering his surroundings.
"Wha—?" He turned his head around confusedly, seeing a few engineers, one of them being Terashima. "What am I doing here?… When did I fall asleep?"
Kunichika (Oh, that's what was on my chest, Izumi thought) continued to sob into his shirt, babbling muffled words with mostly insults mixed in as her fists weakly pounded on his cheek.
"… Tachikawa-san?" He asked weakly, confused. "What happened?"
The older male was silent with a small smile, and most of the engineers hurriedly ran out of the room, spitting incoherent excuses as they pushed each other out the door. Terashima was the last to leave, giving a lazy wave as he passed by along with a quick mutter of 'I'll give you guys some time'.
Tachikawa leaned against the wall, but as soon as the door shut behind Terashima, he too, launched himself at the shooter.
"Wha—What?!" Izumi shrieked, being tackled by both his teammates. "What's happening?!"
"You moron!" Kunichika yelled (again), arms twisting around his waist. "I outta murder you!"
"WHAT'D I DO?!"
"What she means," Tachikawa muttered with a fond grin, both arms latched around his teammates. "Is that we're glad to have you back."
-0-
'…I'm lost.'
Shit. Mom told me to stay with her… But I saw free samples…
(Curses.)
Where am I…? There's the butcher over there… Then the broccoli guy over there…
'… I'm still lost.'
'… Fuck.'
Wait, calm down Mori. Let's— Don't start crying. You always do that without warning, don't start now. You're fine. You're fine.
Take another deep breath.
Alright. You're good.
Just— take a step forward— turn the corner—
"OW!"
'OW.'
My knees. Christ, fuck, that hurts—!
"Chika? Are you ok?"
There's… Two people.
Oh… I bumped into the little girl.
Oh shit—!? She's crying—!
Wait, no she isn't. She might soon though—shit—have to help—
"C'mon Chika. Does it hurt?"
The little girl shook her head, brushing her arm over her eyes.
"Ok… Does it hurt to get up?"
The little girl shook her head, beginning to stand up despite her scraped knee.
"… Good. You're very strong, Chika."
… Shit, he sees me.
Shit, I'm still flat on my butt.
Gotta get up, I'm embarrassing myself.
"Are you alright? I'm sorry, Chika didn't mean to run into you."
'I'm fine! Don't need to touch me, I'm fine!'
"…? Are you crying? I'm sorry, did you hurt your leg?"
No! I'm fine, I'm not crying—!
Shit, I'm crying. Not again.
"… Are you lost? Here, I'll help you find your parents. Do you remember what they were wearing?"
'…Mom had a pale blue coat. And a scarf that matches mine.'
"Ok, do you want me to carry you? Your knee looks like it hurts…"
'No. Leave me the hell alone.'
The girl gasped. "That's a bad word!"
'It's not hurting anyone. S'not a bad word.'
"Is too!"
'Is not!'
"Now now, Chika… Let's help her find her mother."
"… I'm sorry for being rude… I'm Chika."
'… Mori.'
"… If you won't let me carry you, will you at least hold my hand so you don't get lost again?"
'No. I'd rather hold Chika's hand, you look shifty.'
"Mori would rather hold my hand, big brother!"
"… Shifty…?" He murmured under his breath. "I guess you can hold Chika's hand... I'm Amatori Rinji, by the way. Chika's my little sister."
-0-
Yoneya had left the room a while ago, Miwa having fallen asleep and the doctors shooing him out so everyone else could have a turn. It was fine though, he had confirmed Miwa would be ok, and Mori…
… The doctors gave her the clear a couple minutes before Yoneya had walked in, but apparently, that could change at any moment.
(Yoneya shouldn't have left her behind.)
"Are you still going to meet up with Miwa?"
"Yeah, the rest of the C-ranks need the most protecting right now, are you alright over here?"
"Yeah, we'll be fine! We're bringing back Izumi-senpai too, alright?"
"Yeah, get bullet-brains back to HQ! Stay safe, you two!"
(He shouldn't have left them alone.)
Yoneya was snapped out of his thoughts however as distant, muffled sobs filtered into his ears.
He jolted, walking through the hospital halls, peering around the corner curiously.
"… Midorikawa?"
Said male jumped, nearly tipping over from where he'd been crouching down on the floor. "Y-Yoneyan!"
"Are you ok?"
Midorikawa nodded hurriedly, scrambling to his feet as he wiped his eyes quicker than Yoneya could react. "Everything's fine, everything's fine! Just got something in my eye!"
Yoneya rubbed the back of his head, beginning to lean back as Midorikawa began to flail his arms around. "You're not very good at lying when you're nervous, you know."
Midorikawa froze, hands dropping back down to his sides as he bent down to pick up his water bottle, having been set down beside where he'd been sitting. "… Sorry. Just… tired."
"Yeah, I know," Yoneya pat his head reassuringly. "This has been a rough day, hasn't it."
Midorikawa nodded somberly, slowly pushing Yoneya's hand away as he took a sip of his water.
"… When Yuma and I had the rank battle…"
Yoneya hummed, leaning against the wall beside his friend.
"… He told me to apologize to Mikumo-senpai… I never got around to it."
"You'll get to," Yoneya said, the statement so certain that Midorikawa felt a little better. "She'll wake up eventually, and everything will go back to normal."
-0-
'Ah, no fair.'
"Now, don't say that just cause you lost, Mori."
'This is bullshit.'
Chika sighed, now used to our antics.
"Mori, don't swear around Chika."
'If I'm old enough to swear, she is too.'
"… That's not the point."
'But still. It's impossible, no one wins this many games of monopoly. You're cheating.'
"… I'm not. Mori, maybe you'd win if you just took some risks and bought some property."
'No, that's the opposite of efficient. You're spending money then, so how'd you still win?! Also, I kept getting bad rolls! You rigged the die!'
"I didn't rig it, we both used the same die. Calm down."
'… Fine.'
"Mori, big brother's right. When you buy property, whoever lands on it has to pay."
'I know that. I'm not dumb.'
"So regardless of how much the property cost, you'll get back enough money to make up for it, and more. That's why brother keeps winning."
'…What?'
"You're not very smart, are you."
'SHUT IT, CRAPFACE.'
"Language."
"… Mori, are you alright in there?"
'Oh, mom! Rinji called me dumb.'
"Oi— Don't say it so bluntly!"
"It was all in good fun I hope? I just bought a new knife earlier today…"
"Mikumo-san… that sentence was very unsettling."
'Get him, mom!'
"Now now, let's not be so hasty. Bodies are hard to hide, after all."
"… Saying that with such a bland expression is all the more terrifying…"
"Big brother, you shouldn't have made fun of Mori."
"Wait, this is my fault?"
"Indeed."
'Take THAT! Don't call me dumb again, you hear me?!'
"… Mori, how would you feel about being tutored?"
'Hey, don't change the sub—! Hey, you weren't just implying that I was stupid again, WERE YOU?!'
"… That's actually not a bad idea."
'You too, mom?!'
"You may fall behind when we switch schools Mori, I want to make sure you're transitioning alright."
"Switching schools?"
'…Mom said I could go to the middle school in Mikado.'
"Oh, that's cool. You'd be closer to us, and it'd make things easier for the lessons."
'Wait, I don't get a say in this?!'
"I'm going to middle school in Mikado too, I hope we get into the same school!"
'… Yeah. That'd be nice.'
"… You look like you're constipated."
'Rinji, come over here reeeeaaaal quick. If you don't have anything useful to say, I'll go ahead and murder you.'
"…You need a nickname or something, your normal face is either blank or upset. A cute nickname will be so offsetting for strangers that it'll be baffling."
'Oi, you sound like you're only doing this for your own amusement, bastard.'
"A cute nickname would fit Mori, big brother."
'…Would it really though?'
"Oh, how about 'Ri'?"
'Nope. Too cutesy, too short.'
"… I think that'll do it."
'Wait, what? Seriously?'
-0-
Everything had gone well.
Fourth best future, Jin would usually be treating himself to a nice, long nap with how high on the list that is.
(Over 400 terrible futures. Man, the large-scale invasion was tough.)
But… There was a pit of guilt in Jin's stomach that he couldn't shake, no matter how much he searched for Replica with Yuma, walked around town, eyes flickering through the happy futures, tried to comfort Chika, talked to Shiori, completed tasks for Kido….
(The guilt was overpowering.)
There was a dark, dreary cloud hanging over Tamakoma. It seemed almost inevitable for every branch member to walk through the building at least three times a week, and the cloud seemed to intensify with every person that walked through it. Every person that fuelled its negativity.
The negativity, that continued to scream at Jin.
'You did this. You could have stopped it.'
(But you didn't. You never even tried.)
Jin always tried. It was his everyday schedule, try, try, and try again. Try to stop this, try to stop that, and for the most part… He succeeded. Most of the time, the worst possible outcome was always avoided.
But this time, the knowledge that this wasn't the end, not even close, wasn't enough.
Because everything was so very quiet without Mori there.
(She's such a loudmouth sometimes… Her presence, or lack-there-of, is really hard to miss.)
'I should've done something more.'
And when he finally brought himself to visit Mori and her mother in the hospital, he couldn't stop the apologies from spilling out.
-0-
"No, you substitute it there."
'Huh? Why do I need to change it?'
"… Here, let's take a break."
'Oh, thank god! My shoulders are cramping up…'
"You should really be making an effort for this, you know."
'I am! It's hard!'
"… Why don't we go out for ice cream."
'Huh? Why so suddenly, are you chickening out?'
"No, you just look tired. We need to get your blood sugar up, have you eaten anything today?"
'… Have I…? I don't think so…'
"See? Let's get something for you to eat."
'… I was busy waiting for you to get here, and tried studying on my own.'
"… So that's what the extra textbooks in your room were about."
'It just— it won't work though! Math just doesn't make sense! And I don't want to bother mom…'
"And it's ok to bother me?"
'Well, I mean— You've always been one of the most reliable people I've known.'
"… Was that a compliment?"
'MAYBE. You don't need to make a big deal about it though— one-time thing only!'
"Thank you. I think that's the first time you've said something positive about me."
'Don't get used to it. Now go buy me ice-cream, you fried my brain with all of this math jargon!'
"… You're not as mean as you make everything think, Ri."
'Huh? Leave me alone, I'm not in the mood for any insults right now!'
"… That wasn't an insult."
'O-oh. It wasn't…?'
"… Ri, are you not used to receiving compliments…?"
'Maybe from Mom, sometimes. I don't know, something about your face made what you said seem condescending.'
"Rude."
'Shut.'
"Well, anyway—"
'Wai—THERE'S A CAR, YOU MORON!'
A screech of tires.
I huffed in exhaustion and relief.
'What the hell?! Why aren't you looking where you're fucking going, the car was RIGHT THERE!'
"… Ri…?"
'Don't look at me with that blandly surprised face! It's annoying, why didn't you move away sooner?! You almost got run over, you idiot!'
"… How did you see that? I didn't even notice the car…"
'Huh? But… It was coming right towards you. How didn't you see it?'
"… Huh. Still, they were too fast for me to catch their licence plate... I would've reported them if I did, shame."
'It was XXXXXX... Did you seriously not see that…?'
"…?"
'How didn't you see that? You could see it when they passed by you, are you blind?'
"… Never mind, let's just go get ice cream."
'Ok…? You better get me three scoops for causing so much trouble, I'll be telling mom and Chika about this.'
-0-
Konami felt awful.
It was a no-brainer, considering what the past few days had led up to, but that didn't lessen the pain.
It almost felt worse.
Yuma had completely immersed himself in training, offering to spar against Konami every once in a while when she passed by the training room he spent his days in. She refused most of the time, having known that she wouldn't be able to focus.
He'd spoken to her before that, before all he thought about was training. He'd mumbled quietly so no one else could hear, asking if she was ok.
She was fine, at the time. Compared to what he and Chika were going through, that was nothing.
(Jin had invited Reiji out for ramen, which was the usual for whenever he was pulling strings again. She knew the drill, he'd leave tracks. Karasuma would pick them up, and go to him next.
But Karasuma continued his day-to-day life, completely unaware of what had transpired.
It baffled Konami, why Jin had so suddenly decided that this was worth hiding, worth covering up. So she cornered him.
"Ah, Konami!" He waved cheerily, a bag of fried rice-crackers in his free hand. "A lovely day we're having, right?"
"Cut the bullshit," Konami cut him off, eyes narrowing. "Why'd you avoid letting Karasuma know that you went to go talk with Reiji?"
Jin paused, movement coming to a halt. Konami only crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her foot against the ground impatiently.
"…Want a fried rice-cracker?"
"Jin!" Konami finally yelled, taking a step towards him in anger. "Get to the point, it's obviously serious if you're working so hard to cover it up!"
Jin paused again, retracting the rice-cracker he had been holding out for her, popping it into his own mouth.
"…During the upcoming invasion," He began carefully. "There'll be multiple black Triggers, that I'm sure of. The battles will be long and difficult… And Kyosuke doesn't really have a chance of changing some of the bad things that might happen."
Konami gave him an unimpressed stare, and he shrugged. "I didn't want him to know that there's nothing else he can do, I guess." He offered another rice-cracker, and Konami accepted it absentmindedly this time. "He'll be under a bit of stress once this is all over as it is, I don't want any guilt weighing him down to top it all off."
"Alright, what about me?" Konami retaliated. "What should I do, to make sure everything goes according to plan?"
There was a long pause on Jin's part, once again.
"…I don't think you'll be able to do much. You'll still be around by the end of the invasion I think, but you just won't be in a position to help.")
That was a few days before the invasion.
And now, knowing the events that had transpired, she couldn't help but feel like Jin was right all along.
She felt helpless. There wasn't a damn thing she could've done to help Mori, and a small part of her knew it.
"Agent Konami, agent Kikuchihara, retrieve the black Trigger and bring it to HQ before going east to cover their previous position!"
What could she have done… betray her orders? It wouldn't have been outlandish for her to do, but leaving Kikuchihara alone with a humanoid Neighbour, done for or not, would've been dangerous.
A fist smashed into the wall, cracking stone and cement.
Konami didn't care. It didn't hurt nearly as much as the pain inside did.
('There was nothing you could do.')
"Yeah…" She muttered, a tear sliding down her cheek. "That's what I'm so mad about."
-0-
"…I'm bored, Chika, Ri."
'Suck it up.'
"Aw, mean…"
"Big brother, don't tease Mori."
"I wasn't!"
'… I'm tired.'
"… Huh. You didn't snap at me."
'… Shut.'
"Mori looks much more approachable when she's sleepy, it's kind of cute."
'Chika, what the heck's that supposed to mean?'
"You look more peaceful."
'… Oh.'
"Are you blushing?"
'No.'
"… I think you are."
'You too Chika?'
"You are… What a sight. Compliments are what get you, huh?"
'Alright, now you're making fun of me.'
"No, don't roll over! I'm sorry."
'… I'm still tired.'
"… Do you guys have anything you want to do when you grow up?"
A change of subject. Perfect.
"… I don't really think about that kind of stuff, you know that, Chika."
'I want to join Border.'
"Really? That didn't seem like the type of thing you'd be into…"
'I'm teaching myself to use a sword. I'm also exercising a lot.'
"… Still doesn't really fit you."
"Brother."
"Alright, alright…"
'… Am I not good enough for that kind of stuff?'
"Brother."
"That's not what I was saying! You just didn't seem like you were too interested in going around and saving random people off of the street."
'I want to protect the city, that's all.'
"Do you even know how any of it works? The system they have in Border? Anything?"
'… Not really. I thought they'd teach me once I joined.'
"I suppose."
"… I'm not sure if I'd want to join Border. I'd just cause them trouble."
"You shouldn't think like that, Chika. You're not inconveniencing anyone."
'Yeah, you're amazing, Chika. You shouldn't ever think of yourself less than you actually are.'
"… Thank you, Mori."
'… Although you could use some toughening up. You're super soft-spoken. I've only ever heard you object to something Rinji or I say, but never anyone else.'
"Ri's right about that, Chika. If someone else is doing something you don't like, you should speak up."
"… I'm not very good at that though."
'… We'll work on it.'
-0-
Chika felt like nothing had changed.
Not one bit.
She managed to speak up, to try her best to stop Mori from saying goodbye at that time… but it was in vain.
She couldn't stop her.
Yuma had barely talked for the past few days, Chika and Konami being the only people he willingly spoke to whenever they passed by. And even then, the only time she'd heard his voice in said time stamp, was when they first arrived at the hospital and he whispered apologies in her ear and they met each other in the middle.
(She'd apologized too. She couldn't say anything else, she was so, so sure she'd be ready to face Yuma, but the moment she saw his expression, her resolve shattered.)
She felt like nothing had changed.
But at the same time, everything had. Because this time, she made the decision that the outcome would never be the same.
A gunshot.
She aimed her sniper rifle once again, eyes narrowed in determination as she stared down the targets.
It would never be the same. Because unlike last time, she was working the hardest she could to better herself. To do something more than sitting on the sidelines, to become someone Mori wouldn't have to strain herself to protect.
Another gunshot.
Chika would never be that person again. She may have moments where she stumbled and fell, like every other human being. But she would no longer require protection from those around her at all times.
She had her own walls, her own burdens she needed to overcome. She knew without a doubt Mori would be there to help her, but Mori would under no circumstances, be the one to carry her over the hurdles.
(She'd be doing that herself. With Mori and Yuma beside her, not dragging her along.)
Another gunshot.
-0-
(April 28th, Sunday)
'Rinji… What the hell is this?'
"A Border Trigger. A weapon."
(He'd always been fairly straightforward when speaking to me. I was usually thankful, but now it just made me mad.)
'… It's a weapon. No shit, why the hell do you have it?'
"I made a deal with someone to get it."
'Who. I'm gonna punch them in the face.'
"Haha, I'm not going to betray their trust THAT easily. You should know me better than that by now, Ri."
'… I hate you, Rinji.'
"You only say that. But for the plan… My collaborators and I are going to check beyond the gates, get a good look at the other side."
'… Why the hell would you agree to that? It sounds super dangerous. You're being a moron again.'
"Not a moron. And besides… it's something important to me."
'… Why? What would you even get out of it?'
"The Neighbours come in through a gate, we know that. We hear the alarm every time it happens, for heaven's sake. But how do the few that survive, get back to where they came from?… Where do the captured people go?"
'I don't like where you're going with this.'
"I didn't think you would, you're too predictable, Ri. But look at this map, we've got a few ideas for possible locations for this so-called… 'return gate'. Depending on what's generating it, we might be able to destroy it."
'… Chika would be able to stop running away from them…'
"Exactly. You get me now?"
'… I refuse. It's fucking dangerous, Rinji. Do you know how devastated Chika would be if you got hurt?!'
"It's worth the risk, Ri."
'No, it isn't! Nothing is worth a human life, you should know that!'
"Mori."
'Contact the rest of your dumbass friends and pack up the fucking project. I'm not letting you do this, Rinji.'
"… You're much more stubborn about this than I thought you'd be."
'Fuck you. This is Chika's happiness you're putting on the line. If you think that you're the only one at risk, think again.'
(This is your life you're putting on the line, damn it)
A heavy sigh. "… I hope you'll change your perspective on this—"
'Promise me.'
"Hm?"
'Promise me. Swear to fucking god that you won't leave Chika. Promise you won't leave us.'
(Don't go)
"… Yeah. I promise you, Mori."
(You lied.)
-0-
For the past week, Kasumi spent most of her time in a hospital room.
It was sombre, sitting in a chair beside her daughter's bedside for as many visitor hours there was all day, patiently waiting for any indication of movement.
She became quite familiar with the agents that would visit all day, never saying a word despite the fact that she could pick most of them out of a crowd without their introductions.
On the first day after Mori had been admitted, Kasumi had been there first, along with Chika and Yuma, whom she had requested stay over after meeting them at the hospital the evening before.
Dragging the two unresponsive teens out of the hospital had baffled the others Border agents with them, but Kasumi couldn't bring herself to care.
(She had left before even introducing herself as Mori's mother. She would have usually remembered, but the stress had gotten to her and she'd forgotten in her haste.)
The next day, upon insistence from Chika and Yuma, all three of them were up as early as they could and off to the hospital.
(Well, it's not like she didn't agree with their request.)
They had been the only ones at the hospital for a long while, Kasumi sitting in the chair right beside the bed, and Yuma and Chika silently communicating on the other side of the bed with their own chairs.
Kasumi didn't know what she could've done for them. She just didn't have the same wavelength that Mori had shared with the two of them, and the best she could do was offer a silent shoulder.
Miwa Shuji, the boy sharing a hospital room with Mori, had been sleeping peacefully on the other side of the room in his bed. Yuma had insisted on taking a seat in the chair farthest from him, although his eyes conveyed no hate when making the offer. Chika had agreed in a heartbeat, so she assumed it was once again, Border business.
The first visitors other than them had arrived at around 9 AM that day. The door had opened quietly with a click, a soft voice muttering a quick 'sorry to intrude' before two teens had walked in.
Shiori and Yoneya, as Chika introduced them, (Shiori-san looked happy when she heard Chika speak up. Kasumi was proud that she felt better than yesterday, although Yuma had stayed quiet throughout the entire visit) were both quite friendly and had a positive aura in the room. Shiori had struck up a conversation with Chika, whose responses were still sadly quite soft-spoken, while Yoneya travelled to the other side of the room in a flash to check on Miwa.
(He didn't look too worried though, she assumed he had already received the news that he would be fine. The soft smile that took over his expression as he stared at the sleeping boy, however… was none of her business.)
Yuma was still silent but showed no signs of being downtrodden at the loss of his partner's attention. He was about to sit back down, but Kasumi pulled up a chair and invited him to sit beside her instead.
(He obliged. She was silent and to most, seemed to not be very good company, but Yuma felt as if she had a soothing presence that filled the silence every time they met, without fail.)
Shiori set down a vase along with a few Orchids to occupy said container, as Yoneya walked back to their side of the room. With no doctors around to stop him at the moment, he softly patted Mori's head, careful not to touch any of the surrounding equipment.
(Kasumi didn't stop him. Although she didn't converse with either of them, the guilt leaking into their expressions told her enough.)
They left shortly after, one last promise to Chika and Yuma to visit again later. Yuma, once again, had not said a word as he bid them farewell.
Kasumi had gone to retrieve some water for the flowers. However, on her way back, there were a few lilacs and daisies set down in front of the door, both bundles carefully wrapped with clear wrapping and two ribbons each. A green ribbon, and a unique sienna-coloured ribbon respectively.
(She couldn't help but stare at the green ribbon tying the lilacs together for a long while. The colour didn't match the flowers themselves, but were eerily similar to the shade of green that painted her daughter's pupils.)
She picked up the lilacs and daisies, three carefully chosen flowers in both bundles.
(She brought both miniature bouquets inside, setting them down in the same, large vase as she watered all three bundles of flowers. She ignored the curious glances that Chika and Yuma sent her, she wouldn't know the answers to any of their questions anyway.)
The next guests, arriving at around 3 PM the same day, consisted of a strawberry blonde girl, an earnest brunette, and a polite young lady.
The blonde's name was Konami Kirie and apparently Yuma's teacher. The male teen had muttered a few words to Konami when she dashed over to him, but not loud enough for anyone else to hear.
(Kasumi and Chika were just grateful he'd spoken at all, honestly.)
Konami gave an exaggerated wave, murmuring a quick reply before her arms looped around him and guided him back to his seat. She passed by Mori's bed on the way, absentmindedly dropping a stuffed bear on the table beside the vase as she continued to chatter on to Yuma distractedly.
The young man walked in with the short-haired girl next, and Kasumi absentmindedly recognized them as the ones that popped up on TV quite often to advertise for Border. He introduced them as Arashiyama Jun and Kitora Ai, while the female teen bowed and greeted Kasumi.
Her own introduction was met with some disbelief, first with the familiarity of her surname, then her age.
"You're her mom?!" Konami shrieked, volume uncharacteristically low to avoid waking up Miwa. "You look so young!"
Kitora had given a small apology for failing to rescue Mori, despite not having been remotely in the same area (Chika had informed her) while Arashiyama had done the same.
Konami stuttered and fumbled for words for a moment, before offering the same. An apology.
Kasumi accepted their words, despite telling them that it wasn't necessary. Arashiyama and Kitora had hesitated after that sentence, but the strawberry blonde seemed weighed down by another matter entirely.
Arashiyama set down a small book on the bedside table on his way out, as they left the hospital not long afterwards.
(A cookbook. She'd enjoy that.)
That evening, Yuma and Chika had stated that they'd be staying at the Tamakoma base as to not inconvenience Kasumi further. She didn't object, knowing that they were more stubborn on that front than anybody would expect, and allowed them to leave.
(The house was so quiet, so lonely.)
The next day, Kasumi had returned to the hospital at the same time, sitting at Mori's bedside for an agonizingly long time.
However, this time, there was a difference in the everyday schedule before anyone else could arrive.
"… What… day is it…?"
Kasumi glanced up in surprise, just before getting up and retrieving a cup of water for the teen that had just awoken.
"The 17th," She responded quickly, handing Miwa the cup as he sat up slowly. "Don't strain yourself."
He blinked blearily, leaning back against the pillows situated behind his back and against the bed's headboard. "… You're," A cough. "Not a nurse."
"I'm not," She agreed coolly, watching him take sips of the water as she returned to her chair. "I'm Mori's mother, Mikumo Kasumi. Pleasure."
He blinked, eyes flickering to the bed beside her quickly. "… Hm."
"You just woke up, you should relax for a bit," She suggested blandly. "You may still be disoriented."
He nodded slowly, albeit reluctantly as he leaned back further against the pillows as his eyes scanned the room absentmindedly.
"… What's this?"
Kasumi blinked eyes catching a small dog plushie being crushed in Miwa's grasp. Her eyes drifted to a small indent in the bed, right beside his pillow and slightly hidden by blankets.
"Ah, Yoneya-kun must have left that for you," She thought out loud. "He visited you yesterday."
"He did…?" Miwa glanced at the plushie for a moment longer, before he set it back down beside his pillow. "… Moron."
"Would you like me to put that on the table with the rest of the gifts?" She offered politely.
Miwa paused, before rolling over. "… It's fine where it is."
Many more people came to visit. It was almost tiring, seeing so many expressions dropping with the weight of guilt as she stated her relation with Mori. It was tiring, hearing so many apologies come her way when they weren't warranted.
But she recognized every single face, every single personality. Because for as random as Mori's descriptions over dinner seemed, they were scarily accurate as she finally met each person that her daughter had.
"Arashiyama-senpai's so friendly, but not in an annoying way! It's unnerving though, he's like the big brother of everyone!"
"Tokieda-san's nice, in a super quiet way though… Very friendly though, and really patient."
"There's Kitora too! She's mean, and I feel kind of shitty half the time I'm around her, but she's been less of a bitch lately... I guess? She's polite to elders, and is relatively pretty."
"I met an A-rank named Kikuchihara today. Kikuchihara-senpai was really blunt, but not in a mean way. Super honest, and he seems rude even though he was actually super helpful."
"Oh, there's Yoneya too. He and his teammate attacked me the first time we met, but there was a small... misunderstanding? I don't know, it was Border stuff. I met him again though, overly friendly. Miwa's kind of a dick though."
"Midorikawa-san's loud and boisterous…? Yuma was kind of mad at him at first though, I don't understand why. They're friends now."
"Jin's annoying. I like his sunglasses, but his personality is naturally nosy, and he's a know it all. I'm envious of him… The rice-crackers are good though… Maybe one day… I'll apologize for being an ass to him."
"Yotaro stays at Tamakoma, even though I don't know why yet. He's childish and likes to brag, but it doesn't bother me much, and I like him."
"Rindou-san's our boss. He's not strict or rude like Commander Kido though, so he's more like our dad or uncle than anything. I like him too."
"When I first met Kizaki-san, I was kind of intimidated. He's smart and kind though, and he cares about everyone at Tamakoma."
"Konami's super sweet, gullible, and pretty. Strong too, and a little blunt when you first meet."
"Karasuma-senpai's my mentor. He's patient and seems to know everyone… he has a million part-time jobs too, I think. Jin mentioned it at some point, I was only half listening. Karasuma-senpai's always making sure that I'm learning properly though, even though sometimes it's chaotic."
"Shiori's our operator! She's cheerful, kind, while also offering help whenever she can. Even though she's super fixated on my glasses…"
(Mori, when will you wake up…?)
-0-
(May 2nd, Thursday)
"…Evidence that they used a Trigger…"
"…Remains haven't been found…"
"…So they were probably captured…"
I grit my teeth angrily, wide eyes staring at the house. My green orbs met with another man's, his narrowed eyes just barely passing over me as he held an umbrella high over his head.
(The rain was falling around me)
His eyes left me just as quickly, and I felt like I couldn't breathe.
I ran past everyone gathered at the entrance, pushing aside another blonde teen as I dashed into the house. I ignored the indignant 'hey!' as I slammed the door shut behind me, prying my shoes off in an instant and running through the halls.
The halls I was so familiar with now, having been here a million times.
I passed by the kitchen, coming to a steady halt at the doorway of the living room. My breathing was heavy, and my footsteps were loud enough for Chika to hear as she jolted and stood up, eyes swinging around to meet my own.
'Chika.'
"Mori—" She choked out. "—Rinji—My brother—!"
I walked around the couch to meet her in the middle, her own shaky legs carrying her closer to me.
"—He's gone!" She broke, the first tear of many slipping down her cheek. "It's all my fault!"
I grabbed her around the shoulders, my own tears welling up in my eyes as she buried her head in the crook my neck.
"It's all my fault!" She repeated, a sob escaping her lips as I sniffled along with her.
She tried to force more words out, but the only thing that came out was a heartbroken cry.
(That… was the first, and last time I ever saw Chika cry.)
My hand buried itself in her hair, tears escaping my eyelids quicker than I could stop.
'Rinji…'
Chika could barely hear me over her own sobbing, my own voice weak and near-silent.
'I HATE him… H-he lied to me… He p-promised, he wouldn't go….'
Chika sobbed harder.
(And nothing was ever the same.)
-0-
The Tamakoma branch building was eerily empty.
Gatherings were minimal, and everyone was too caught up in their thoughts to hold a long enough conversation to be noteworthy.
Jin left often, travelling around the city by himself whenever it was most convenient. Konami was caught up in her thoughts, Kizaki had gone out to help the city as soon as his Trion was replenished, and Karasuma seemed to bounce between tasks, leaving no free time whatsoever. Yuma was training non-stop separately from Chika, who was doing the same. Shiori was looking into Replica's situation by request from Jin and Yuma, the job taking up most of her waking hours.
Every time one of them spent just a few moments to go visit Mori and Kasumi in the hospital, they returned just a bit more weighed down. Weighed down by the knowledge that Mori was still unconscious, still not alright.
It was startlingly clear that both her and Miwa's injuries hadn't hit the HQ agents (barring Yoneya, who visited Miwa in the hospital nearly every day. He had gotten a lot more cheerful after having a proper conversation with his teammate, and it only managed to bring Shiori's spirits up a little bit) nearly as hard as it hit them. Most HQ agents were also distracted with the situation around the city, checking areas for stray Trion soldiers, patrolling to comfort the citizens more, cleaning up the destroyed emergence zone a bit, helping clear the rubble in the city, and more.
Tamakoma was hit hard by the invasion though.
"I THOUGHT YOU NEVER WANTED TO BE JUST LIKE HIM, BIG SISTER!"
That was the first issue. The elephant in the room that they continued to put off dealing with.
(Big sister? Since when?!)
Chika and Yuma's mood had greatly affected everyone else, making the general awfulness everyone felt even worse. They had silently agreed not to bring up Chika's words form the invasion until Mori was up and going again, for the sake of both of them.
The air was thick and heavy, and Rindou had the pleasure of watching it all unfold.
-0-
The teen tapped her shoes against the floor, fingers reaching out and making sure the back's weren't tucked in.
Kasumi stood behind her, eyes flickering sadly as she gazed at her daughter near the door.
"Mori," She began, watching said teen pause before her hand touched the door handle.
"…Are you going to be alright?"
Mori paused.
Before spinning around and nodding to her mother, bland expression now shifting.
'I'm fine.'
And she shut the door behind her, running from the house as her mother frowned sadly.
She never made any friends at school after that. Anyone she had been friendly with before, now stayed away from her like the plague. She gave clipped responses at anyone that spoke to her, and her tone was unnaturally monotone.
(She lost a part of herself. She wanted so desperately to become close to others, to have a group that she could trust and lean on, but she couldn't find them.)
(No one wanted to try getting close to her again.)
-0-
"Shiro?" Utagawa asked curiously. "Where're you going?"
Said teen tapped his shoes against the floor, eyes slightly narrowed and trained on the floor as he grabbed the door handle. "… Shiori's been pressuring me to visit."
He was carrying a small bag in his hand, the plastic rustling quietly as he walked.
"Huh?" Utagawa gave him a curious look. "But I haven't seen you two talk for a while, other than the invasion. And why would she tell you to visit her—?"
The door shut with a soft click, cutting him off halfway.
Mikami gave the door a strange glance, setting down cups of tea in front of her two teammates, taking the last cup for herself. "That was unusual behaviour for Kikuchihara-kun."
Kazama set his hands on the cup, giving his operator a grateful nod as he sipped the warm drink. "He's just doing what I did."
Utagawa and Mikami both blinked in confusion, sending each other questioning glances as their captain ignored them.
(After all, Kazama had been the one to recognize Kikuchihara's talent for what it always was, the teen had only just started to do that for someone else. It wasn't too unusual.)
-0-
"The aptitude test will begin in five minutes. Please take your assigned seats."
Mori took a seat in one of the many rows, bringing out her pencil as she scanned the sheet of paper in front of her blandly.
It was a simple sheet full of questions, with a scale of 0-10 for each question.
(Is it really worth it?)
5.
(You might end up dead, just like Rinji.)
7.
(He was the most reliable person, right? If he messed up so badly, what makes you think you won't fuck up even worse?)
2.
(What makes you so special? You've been practising for this moment for so long, and what has it amounted up to?)
4.
(All of these people are simply worth more than you. In a statistical sense, they provide more for the city. They'll be better Border agents than you ever will.)
1.
(After all, who wants someone to protect them when they can't even get their emotions across straight? Just sit down, you'll be better off on the sidelines.)
8.
(Useless. Just like you've always been. You had one job, stop Rinji. And where'd that get you?)
7.
(Can't even protect one of the four people that ever cared about you, how do you expect to protect hundreds of strangers all around the city?)
2.
(Human lives are valued differently from each perspective. To society, to Border, to everyone else in the world? You might as well be the dirt on their shoes.)
4.
(But for Chika, you're priceless. She cared about you and Rinji so much, you saw it yourself. It's not even you being conceited for once, she was one of the few to hammer that through your thick, dumb skull. When you die, are you really willing to put her through that…)
…0.
(…All over again?)
Her pencil cracked.
A door shut loudly, just as Mori pulled her shoes off absentmindedly.
"Mori? How'd you do on the test?"
A quick, insincere nod.
'I didn't do too well. Sorry about that guys, it was all just a waste of time for me.'
Kasumi gave a slow nod after a prolonged silence, just before leaving the room.
Chika stared at Mori, eyes saddening as she took in the sight of her friend's blank expression.
"…You're a terrible liar."
'Hm?'
"Nothing."
-0-
"Most of the destruction was limited to the emergence zone, so casualties were avoided in that department. There were, however, 29 C-rank trainees that were kidnapped by the Neighbours during this large scale invasion."
Rindou was unusually serious, sitting up straight in his chair as he looked over the crowd of people.
"That concludes the report, there is more detailed data in your handout," Netsuki spoke from the podium, expression smoothed over and generally unconcerned. "We will now answer any questions you may have."
Rindou soundlessly tapped his foot against the ground under the table. Although his expression seemed focused on the matter at hand, his mind was only partially paying attention.
It was simple to brush aside most of the media's criticism. After all, he'd known form the start what Netsuki was planning on saying. Throw out some fancy numbers, read off the statistics, boast about our success. Fantastic.
But Netsuki was kind of an ass like that, in which that just wouldn't be enough.
(Everyone at Tamakoma has picked up some semblance of Mori's swearing in the past few months. Jesus.)
He needed someone to blame, a scapegoat to shuffle off some of the issues so Border would be better off.
Miwa would cut his head off, no regard for the consequences if Netsuki used him to get pity from the public. Also, Rindou didn't know all of the details, but apparently Netsuki and Mori's mother had gone to school together at some point…? And he was terrified of her.
So, those two were out.
Rindou felt like he might use the C-rank from last year, the one from the attack on Mori, Chika, and Yuma's school. But one could never be sure, as that trainee had already been punished accordingly.
But regardless, the conference would be a cakewalk, under normal circumstances. The press had nothing to complain about, everything went much better than the last invasion. Rindou should just sit there, be quiet, and wait for all of it to pass.
But no. That just wouldn't do.
(Wasn't it mentioned how everyone picked up Mori's swearing? Well, most of them picked up her reckless and ridiculously fantastic ideas too. Her behaviour is infectious.)
So, before the conference ended, Rindou stood up. The press was still upset about how this meeting had gone (especially regarding the loss of the C-rankers, not that he could blame them), and he had an idea about how to shake things up a bit.
He just needed to give them something to talk about. It was what Netsuki was originally planning to do, there's nothing wrong with shaking the tree to get a few good apples, was there?
He ignored the bewildered and confused glances all of the directors sent him as he walked up to the podium, and adjusted the microphone nonchalantly.
"Regarding the 26 trainees…" He began easily. "…To take responsibility, we at Border are beginning to proceed with plans to recover the abducted people… that were taken to the other side of the gate."
Rindou would never admit it, but he was internally cackling during the entire speech, watching out of the corners of his eye as Kinuta and Netsuki drastically paled.
-0-
"So, you really did it."
I was sweating, eyes stubbornly trained on the papers in between us.
"…Mori, look at me."
I hesitantly obliged.
She was standing up straight in her seat, narrowed eyes trained on me. I nearly shrunk under her scrutiny, barely managing to hold strong.
"I'm not mad, Mori. Please understand that."
I paused.
'…You're not?'
"I'm not," She repeated, nodding as her eyes scanned the papers. "I'm simply curious. What made you change your mind?"
I paused, mind flashing back a few weeks.
'…I met someone.'
"Hm?" She wordlessly encouraged me to elaborate.
'They're… really amazing. Smart, strong, and carefree. He—for some reason I don't know—seems to... want to be my friend? I don't know how this works anymore…'
"So it's a boy."
I nearly did a spit take.
'Mom, it's not like that at all—!'
"I know, I know. You just made it easy to tease you." She nodded seriously. "It's obvious you have no romantic interest, I just felt the need to make fun of you."
'…That was rude.'
"Maybe," She agreed, before setting our conversation back on the proper track. "…I hope you don't regret this."
'I won't, I promise… I'll have Chika and Yuma beside me when we get to A-rank.'
"…'Yuma', huh?" She wondered. "…You should bring him over, I'd like to meet him sometime."
'Eh? Why?'
"He seems interesting."
-0-
Teaching was not something new for Karasuma.
After all, before he moved from HQ to Tamakoma, he had Kitora. It wasn't anything new in his life.
But teaching Mikumo had been… a strange experience. Completely unlike anything else.
Jin had insisted though, that Tamakoma-1 be their mentors, and Jin being Jin, he already knew who'd be teaching who.
He also heard Jin commenting on multiple occasions, 'Kyosuke's a good teacher he won't let you down'. If Jin was so sure about it, well then…
But teaching Mikumo had been… like previously stated, an experience.
She had the worst, reckless plans that usually, somehow managed to work, she swore constantly to the point where each word had normalized itself to the residents of Tamakoma, she was brash, and Karasuma had noticed her getting her emotions scrambled up on more than one occasion.
It was exhausting at first. At first glance, you might mistake her for self-assured, or at the very least, humble. Her neutral expression was bland enough to make you think she didn't care about anything happening around her. When she had apologized and told him he drew the short straw in terms of students, he rethought his first impression.
Then they got themselves set up in the training room, and he purposefully gave terrible explanations for the different shooter Triggers.
(He did notice her disgruntled glance. It was slightly amusing.)
The first battle they had, however, was slightly jarring.
She had good battle instincts. And while everyone at Tamakoma had said that many times, it was never enough o describe exactly how much that affected her fighting ability.
Nearly everything she did during a battle was thought up... practically on the spot. Her adaptability is nearly the best in the branch, although everyone felt like she could do without panicking nearly as much. (She didn't even NEED to panic. There was no reason to, she just did if something didn't go according to her predictions.)
When Jin came up to him and nonchalantly let it slip that she had a side effect, he wasn't even fazed. It should have been expected, someone didn't get untrained skills like that without some kind of unnatural ability.
However, the rest of their conversation was what threw him off kilter.
"Mori's fragile. In a way that most fighters should never be, but it's obviously something she was raised with. The two of us should be careful, huh?"
And the worst thing was, he knew exactly what Jin was talking about.
He had a feeling the moment he saw how well she fought. If she had been telling him he drew the short end of the straw, then she was seriously underestimating herself. But why?
Again, when he first saw her grip on her emotions slip. They had been practising, and she had been eerily calm as he first used Geist in the sword shift, coming to her as quick as a missile. But just a few moments later, she screeched in terror and bolted when she accidentally blew up the house he had chased her into.
She'd been, not only in her Trion body but also in training mode, for heaven's sake. There was no reason to panic.
It was baffling, seeing someone switch between emotions that really didn't fit the situation. She had apologized hurriedly after the match, and seeing the fear leaking through her expression caused him to take a step back and think about it.
He brushed off the issue and told her it was fine, before letting her off to have lunch with everyone else. But he thought about it for a while.
Why would she react like that?
When she walked up to him after she'd composed herself, she was apologizing, so hurriedly, so scared. Like she'd made a terrible mistake.
Like he'd blame her for what happened.
It was really no big deal, there was nothing to throw the blame around for. But she'd been so scared that he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was very, very wrong with that expression.
"—it's obviously something she was raised with—"
The truth wasn't nearly as kind as he hoped it'd be.
(Honestly, it should have been obvious. She did mention that Kuga was her first 'friend' barring Amatori, they all should have been tipped off by that.)
The past wasn't something he liked to think back on too much without a proper reason though, and he rarely thought about how lonely his student must have been before Border came barreling into her life.
Yes, mentoring Mikumo had been an exhausting experience. But it was also enlightening, and fun in a way that he hadn't initially thought it'd be.
And as her mentor, once she woke up and started to feel better, he would lecture her on being stupid. She'd complain a bit, but she'd always listen to everything he had to say.