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?)

21. Papermoon

Ema didn't often get angry.

Actually, not a single member of Kageura squad did, barring their easily aggravated captain himself.

There were a few points in time where someone had badmouthed their captain when they had been around—and all of them had made a silent agreement to make said people regret ever being born—but those were very specific circumstances that were usually swept under the rug fairly quickly.

This was different.

Because when Ema had met Chika a few short days after the invasion, she had been completely and utterly broken up about whatever had happened. She had been alone, she had been running herself into the ground for who-knows-what reason, and he had worried.

She was alone. She wanted to be alone, alone to reflect on whatever had happened. Obviously, that had changed when Touma decided to pick the few booths beside her during sniping practice on a whim, and Ema hadn't let that chance slip once they had met her.

He asked her what had happened, and she had folded. Because she was alone, and with no one to confide in, it was so unbearably lonely for her.

She was so, so regretful that she couldn't help. She couldn't do a thing while her sister was out there, suffering for protecting her, and Chika was tearing herself up over it.

Ema had done whatever he could. He gave her tips on sniping, he tried supporting her, he tried to make her to take breaks whenever she could because she was running herself into the ground, he…

He had… gained a crush on the girl with the determination and power of a thousand suns.

(He had watched her slowly aim through the scope of his Eaglet. He had watched through that narrow glass pipe, as she took a deep breath, switched from Ibis to Lightning, and despite the obvious fear, fear, fear present on her expression, fired at her target.)

And for the first time since meeting her, Ema had regretted giving her those tips in sniping. Because yes, they had helped her grow stronger, but now they were just helping her crumble away.

(He could register the white streak in the sky that signified a Bail out. He understood what it meant, as he watched her slowly begin to crumble, slowly fall apart as her breath came in short.)

Ema rarely got mad.

Rarely did he ever feel that burning rage that made you feel like you could do anything.

(He watched her equip an Ibis. He watched her lift up the heavy barrel once again, determined to keep going despite how quickly she was breaking to pieces.)

Because he would do anything.

-0-

"Inukai's down!"

Kako raised a delicate hand to her mouth, ever-present smile wavering ever-so-slightly. "… Oh. Oh my."

"Eh? What is it, Kako-San?"

"Well, it's just…"

The female captain hummed, twirling a strand of hair between her fingers. "… I was under the assumption that Amatori-chan… Couldn't shoot people."

Ayatsuji gaped for a moment, completely dumbstruck. "W-what?"

"Well, she's never scored a point before, despite having many opportunities…" A heavy sigh from Kako. "I was so sure about it, after that all-out battle between the snipers during their last match... Since she never even TRIED grabbing a point. But I guess I was mistaken?"

"No," Kazama agreed, eyes trained unwaveringly on the large screen in front of them. "I shared that opinion. But something… Something has changed."

-0-

It went by far too quickly to properly comprehend.

Chika… Chika shot Inukai.

Chika shot someone. Oh god, she shot someone.

And as quickly as the thought flew through Mori's mind, it stuck furiously and refused to leave even as the world began to explode around her.

"What the—"

Another blast to the left of the building they were in, and another in the distance that was closer to Yuma's battle with Koarai, Kageura, and Tsuji.

Mori's breath came out as a hiss through her teeth as a hand clapped the side of her head. "Shiori, come in!"

"Chika—Chika just shot at Inukai!"

"I know, I know!" Mori struggled to have her voice heard over the explosions of Ibis shots—Of Chika's Ibis shots. "But we need to pull ourselves together, we need to go stop Chika—"

Mori's eyes flickered from behind the sunglasses as her hand instinctively formed a shield.

A spray of bullets clapped into the shield, and Mori narrowed her eyes and stared—No, glared—at Ninomiya. Ninomiya who had, for the most part, shaken off his surprise and continued the fight.

"I don't have time for you," Mori hissed, forming a cube of Asteroid in her hand. "Get the fuck out of my way."

-0-

"Ho-LY crap!" Koarai used his Grasshopper to jump away from another Ibis shot, which seemed to all be concentrating on both Yuma's fight and Mori's. "What the heck is that?!"

The only response he got was another Ibis shot, which had aimed a bit closer to Tsuji this time. Everyone jumped away from the cannon-fire, not eager to attempt blocking it with any kind of shield.

Tsuji took the opportunity to launch himself at the distracted Azuma squad member, slicing downwards without any hesitation as he chopped off the teen's head.

Without another second, the world lit up with white, and an announcement rang out clearly.

"Combat body limit exceeded. Bail out."

Tsuji took a deep breath, before lifting his Kogetsu to block the incoming Scorpion from Kageura.

Though, Yuma was standing perfectly still on one of the rooftops nearby. Rather than watching the movements of the other fighters in the vicinity, like he should have been doing… His red eyes were trained clearly on the building where all the shots were originating from.

He had heard it over the radio too, obviously. Chika… Chika shot someone.

(How had things gotten so serious, so quickly?)

Tsuji leapt back from the blade, positioning his sword perpendicular to the ground and pointing directly at his opponent before he lunged back forwards, trying to get Kageura to defend.

The spiky-haired teen only scoffed, flicking out a wrist (Mantis) and stretching out a blade to swipe at Tsuji.

Tsuji formed a shield to block the thin blade, still on course to attack the captain attacker, but—

Another explosion, different from the rest echoing around them, blasted into Tsuji's unprotected side, causing critical damage.

His eyes flicker down to the gaping wound, cracks slowly making their way around his body. "… The Mantis was only to make me use my shield, so I would be unprotected."

"Who cares how it happened?" Kageura scoffed, lifting up his Scorpion one final time to stab into Tsuji's throat. "You're dead, so just shut up."

He jabbed downwards, and the dust clouds around them lit up with the familiar glow once more.

"Combat body limit exceeded. Bail out."

And in the distance, Kageura can see another white streak, similar to the one that just shot up form in front of him. The sight caused him to scowl before he glanced around, eyes finally meeting Yuma's form on the rooftop.

"Sorry Kage, Azuma sniped me the second I revealed my position to shoot at Tsuji!"

"It's fine Zoe, whatever." Kageura re-formed his Scorpion while preparing to jump at the white-haired teen. "I dunno why the cannon girl went psycho, but I better get a rematch with this shrimp."

-0-

"Does 'I don't have enough time'—" Mori was cut off as she tossed up a lazy shield in front of her eyes, barely flinching as the carefully aimed bullets battered into the see-through surface. "—'for this', mean anything to you?"

Ninomiya's narrowed eyes were the only response she got, before another wave of Asteroid bullets—a near equal amount coming from both shooters—cancelling each other out once again.

At some point during the concentrated firefight, they had utterly decimated the walls around them, sending the building crashing to the ground in large and easily avoidable chunks of rubble. It had probably been that along with the handful of the unfocused Ibis-shots Chika was throwing around.

Mori clicked her tongue, eyes darting towards her sister's direction behind her sunglasses.

'If Yuma or I don't leave soon…' Her next breath came out ragged with anger and frustration, eyes burning a hole into the shooter in front of her. '… Someone else is going to go after Chika. Likely Azuma at this rate.'

Ninomiya probably knew that too. But if Chika was willing to shoot people now, she was a force to be reckoned with, and likely not someone he'd be enthusiastic to fight on his own…

'So he's hoping she and Azuma will wear each other out, huh?'

Mori's eyes sharpened, a furious murmur slipping out from under her breath. "This fight is going nowhere." Her hands twitched, preparing to completely switch tactics in an effort to get this battle to go somewhere, to just change something—

Another sniper shot, barely blocked by an instinctual shield from Ninomiya.

Both shooters eyes widened, head snapping to the side where the snipe had originated from…

It was an Ibis, at near-point-blank range.

And there Ema was, standing on the closest nearby roof, sniper rifle still pointed stubbornly on Ninomiya. Another shot sounded out, and another focused, double shield was formed.

A subtle head jerk from Ema, and Ninomiya was the only one to bat an eye as Mori sped away.

By the time Ninomiya had recovered enough to shoot back at anyone, his original opponent was long gone.

"… I didn't know you had a soft spot for Tamakoma," Ninomiya cut in sharply. "Ema."

The sniper glared back, and if anyone else were present, they'd be stunned at the amounts of pure rage being bottled up inside his eyes.

Not another word was exchanged before the firefight resumed.

-0-

"Oi, get back here!" Kageura growled, launching himself over the rooftop and after Yuma. "Stop running and fight, shrimp!"

"I don't have time to deal with you," Yuma called back, unconsciously echoing the words his captain had similarly spoken from far away. "Go away, or go after Ninomiya. I don't care either way."

The brunette's scowl twisted, just as the two of them landed on a roof at the same time. "… What happened all of a fuckin' sudden? It's like a damn switch flipped…"

Yuma didn't yet try kicking off to the next building, and left the moment to hang in the air… Before he began to turn, ever so slowly.

If it were anyone else, they might have cowered in fear at the crimson eyes cutting straight through the air. As it was though, Kageura managed to suppress a shudder—not at the expression mind you, but rather the lack of emotion directed at him… Despite the undeniable poison contained within his eyes.

"… I don't have time for this." The words were clear concise, and nothing more than a statement.

And ultimately, it was what stopped Kageura from chasing after him as he stepped right off the edge of the roof.

A distant light echoed in the background. Ema bailing out wasn't much of a surprise, but he lasted much longer than any other sniper should have—being within the range of a master class shooter.

But Ema had done his part. Mori was going after Chika now, and he could tell without a shadow of doubt that the latter would be fine.

-0-

Yuma huffed, finally having the stubborn attacker off his tail—as he reached up a hand to deploy the Bagworm.

It suddenly occurred to him that the Ibis shots had slowly simmered down, and at one point, had stopped completely. "Shiori, what happened to Chika?"

"I don't know, she cut off her communicator—" Shiori grumbled, a rare frustration making its way into her words as the quick 'tap' 'tap' of her keyboard echoed out. "—Goddamnit, this is the invasion all over again!"

"I resent that remark."

"Oh good, Mori." Yuma summoned up his Grasshopper without any trouble, pausing in his spot as he waited for the words he knew were coming. "You shook Ninomiya off your tail?"

"More like I had help. Seems like Kageura squad has beef with Ninomiya as well—with how furious Yuzuru looked when I had left."

"Hm, Kageura left me alone just a second ago." Yuma's hand tensed, fingers flexing as his Grasshopper charged up. Though it seemed Shiori was just as prepared as he was, as their next words hissed through the radio in perfect sync.

"… Your orders, captain?"

There was no hesitation. There was no pause because Chika was theirs, and this rank wars match could go screw itself to hell for all they cared.

Chika needed help. Right now.

"Deal with Azuma for me, and keep him in place until either Ninomiya or Kageura take each other out."

Yuma was launching himself in the air before his next words were out.

"Roger, captain."

-0-

With Azuma chasing after Chika, all we needed to do was use her as a landmark, and with a quick scan of the perimeter…

Well, the white-camouflaged Bagworm was rather easy to catch sight of, with a side effect like this.

Once he'd been found, Shiori relayed the information to Yuma, and with him distracted? I officially had my opening to make it to Chika.

(My sister. My friend, my family, my sister.)

And I already knew what we needed to do.

"Chika."

A sharp breath, and a small head of short black hair whipping around.

There was fear in her eyes. There was hesitation, horror, and a glint of determination that made me wince, being coupled with the previous emotions. Her hands were gripping her Ibis rifle like a vice, and her breaths came out shaky. I knew the only thing keeping her from running out of breath was her Trion body's lack-of-need to breathe.

"… Chika." I tried to make my voice as reassuring as I could. I was never all that great with the feelings-stuff though, so I probably failed along the way. "You don't need to do this anymore."

Evidently, that was the wrong thing to say—just guessing—by the way that her next breath was closer to a sob.

I took a few more steps, making my way across the rooftop as I prayed to God that they weren't broadcasting this on the large-screen in the rank wars lobby. "Chika, everything will be fine. I need you to take deep breaths, and I'll walk towards you. You can tell me to stop whenever, just shake your head and I won't move."

She nodded with what looked like as much confidence as I usually had, and I took a couple more steps. with a few more moments of her failed attempts at calming herself, I hesitantly wrapped my arms around her and brought her head to my shoulder. The instant I had my arms around her, she practically tossed the rifle aside before launching herself into my arms.

I combed my gloved hands through her hair, finally murmuring under my breath once she had caught her breath. "C'mon Chika, everything will be okay, I promise. I just need you to bail out for me, okay?"

"… I—I can't. I c-cant, I—"

"You need to, sister." I made sure my voice didn't rise above a whisper. Although with what had just happened, I'm not sure if it could have regardless. "I—fuck—Chika, you're halfway through a panic attack. The battlefield is the last place you should be right now. C'mon, Shiori is waiting for you, you'll be fine—"

"She was… S-she was waiting for us back then, t-too."

I abruptly found my words caught in my throat.

Chika sniffled, but there was a distinct lack of tears as she tried composing herself. "… She was w-waiting for us d-during the invasion… too. And I remember, v-very well, when I bailed out then."

"Chika, if that's what this is about, I'm fine," I swore, suddenly thankful that Shiori wasn't speaking quite yet as I had originally planned. "This is a rank wars match, we're not under attack again—"

"I can't shake off the th-thoughts," She stubbornly interrupted, shaking her head. "It's like when I shoot, 'what if it was real?' 'what if someone could die?' I—I know I'm being irrational, but I can't help it. I don't think I'll ever change, I don't think I'll ever get better—"

-0-

It had been right after I woke up from the invasion—right after my talk with Yuma and meeting Kageura. After all, mom had given me a chance to talk with Chika as well, and I needed to formally apologize to her as well.

"Sorry to… Invite you here so late, Chika."

I rubbed my head sheepishly, shutting the door with some difficulty—considering I was balancing precariously on a crutch on my other side.

"It's fine, I just got here myself," She waved off, a small smile of her own forming. "… I see you made up with Yuma?"

"Geh." I winced, rubbing the back of my head as I collapsed into the couch—my crutch being tossed somewhere off to the side. "You make it sound like we were arguing… We were just hesitant to talk."

"Right, right." She teased, laughing quietly. "… Thank you for apologizing earlier, by the way."

"You're letting me off too easily, Chika." I huffed, opening my arms to silently offer a hug. "I didn't even get to apologize to you directly, it was just a general apology for everyone there."

Thankfully, she took me up on my offer and leaned into my arms while wrapping her own around my torso. "Is that so?"

A small huff of air escaped through my nose, and I gently set my chin on her head. "… I'm really sorry, Chika. I can't express how much remorse I feel for what I did, but… I'm really glad you're okay."

"I'm glad that—that you are too." Neither of us commented on the stutter. "I… I can't do that again. Please, never—"

"It'll never happen again, Chika," I reassured, shutting my eyes slowly. "… After all, I don't think you'd exactly take it lying down, would you?"

She giggled again, and we just enjoyed the comfort of being in each others' company.

I was just glad to have my sister back, to have my friend by my side.

(I thought that day was finished haunting us. Haunting THEM.)

-0-

"Chika." My tone was now firm, as I pulled her shoulders away from me to look her in the eyes. "This isn't about 'getting better'. I guarantee you, I have the best team I could ever ask for already. You and Yuma are more than I could ever ask for, so don't ever talk about 'getting better'. And although I can't fault you for wanting to improve, you are the best I could ever ask for."

A shaky laugh spilt out of her lips as her eyes tilted toward the ground. "Aren't they the same thing? I just—"

"Maybe they are." I denied. "But you keep saying 'better' like there's something is inherently wrong with you. That's what I can't accept. I can't accept—" I choked up slightly. "—I can't accept you thinking like that, because that's what I used to do. I still do sometimes, in fact."

I got the sudden feeling that she would have been calling me a hypocrite, if not for the gravity of the situation.

"Chika… I'm getting the feeling we'll be talking about this later, but with Yuma and Shiori beside us, since they're just as worried. For now, I just need you to know that I'll be fine. That Yuma is beside me, that we're stronger than we were before." A small smile grew, and I made sure my sister could see it. "So… you can Bail out without a worry. Yuma and I will be done soon, and goat-baby can keep you company while we kick ass."

She giggled a little at that, and the swell of relief I felt was absolutely incomparable.

"Will you wait for us?"

"… Y-yeah. I can do that much."

With a small voice, still quivering with fear and trauma from weeks back, Chika raised a hand to her ear. "B-bail out."

With a flash of white, I found myself alone once again.

But rather than the hopelessness I was overcome with last time she had bailed out beside me, I was overcome with a wave of determination.

Determination, not to win. But to prove everyone that called Chika weak—wrong.

Because the look in her eyes… Was anything but weak.

I summoned a spider—almost absentmindedly—as I faced the edge of the roof and off towards the battle. "… Yuma, could you buy some time for me?"

-0-

Chika was so, so scared when Mori had appeared next to her and asked her to Bail out.

(I'm sorry I didn't mean to disappoint you just please don't make me leave not like before you almost DIED last time—)

But Mori wasn't disappointed. Not in the least, and looking back on it… Chika doesn't know how she mistook the undeniable worry in her sister's eyes, for anything other than what it was.

She and Yuma and Shiori were worried. Worried about how much trauma Chika was putting herself through, still convinced that she needed to do this all alone no matter what.

But Chika had a familiar lesson that she still needed to learn, one that Mori was still in the process of getting used to.

'You don't need to do this alone.'

Chika would no doubt be fighting off nightmares for a few days, still scared of hurting people, still scared of shooting people…

But she'd get through it. Because she had wonderful, amazing friends to help her with that.

-0-

"… Strange." Azuma quirked an eyebrow, still the epitome of calm and composed. "I could have sworn that Kageura was chasing after you… And I should know that he wouldn't have lost you so easily."

"Ah, how should I know where he went?" Yuma shrugged, hand lifting up to unclip the Bagworm from around his shoulders. "Wherever he went… Is anyone's guess."

A small explosion in the background cut through the air like a knife, a black blur jumping to avoid a round of Hound bullets was seen peeking over the edge of the houses.

(They were closer than Yuma expected. Maybe he should just take a shot in the dark and go for it?)

"… Well, I guess I have a pretty good guess now." Yuma chuckled, now as relaxed as a sloth—since he now knew that both of his teammates were safe. "Looks like he and Ninomiya were tearing the place up, huh?"

"Indeed." Azuma could recognize the eyes of a well-trained soldier anywhere, and safe to say, he wasn't keen on making the first move. "… I was sure that Ninomiya was facing off against Mikumo, as well. Would you happen to know anything about that?"

"Hm, maybe, maybe…" Yuma sighed, forming a Scorpion in his dominant hand and pointing it directly at Azuma—whilst the other hand smoothly slid behind him and out of view.

Azuma was smart enough to not direct all of his attention to the one blade, but the other limb's movement had looked completely natural, and completely slipped out of his field of vision… Without issue.

A Grasshopper formed in Yuma's hidden hand, and Azuma found himself being launched at the nearby battle between captains, with Yuma not far behind.

Azuma twisted in the air, aimed his Lightning at the white-haired attacker, blasting off an arm as both of them touched the ground. Right in the middle of the slowly escalating battle. Right in front of Kageura, right in front of Ninomiya.

The older sniper unequipped the Bagworm in an instant, quickly switching to full-guard and barely blocking the bullets from Ninomiya.

Kageura snorted, sending an offhand Mantis swipe towards Yuma the moment his feet hit the ground. "Nice of you to finally drop in, gremlin."

"Well, I dealt with my business," Yuma grinned, finally gaining some life back in his eyes as he blocked the Scorpion. "So for now, I've been told to deal with you chumps."

Ninomiya's eye twitched, apparently at the end of his patience.

-0-

I buried a cube of Trion in the building crack, Bagworm set comfortably over my shoulders as the sounds of battle echoed from just behind the wall. I prayed to whatever deity was up there, that no one would destroy the wall as I quickly switched Triggers.

A spider bullet formed expertly in my hand, and I spun it around for good measure before aiming it at the Trion cube I had left before.

"Just a little longer. Hang on for just a little longer."

-0-

It was startlingly clear to Yuma that he was at a disadvantage.

Azuma had managed to blast his arm off after all, and he didn't have much luck dodging that blow in the air beyond making sure the hit wasn't fatal. But it still dealt significant damage, and Yuma found himself on the losing end of the battle.

The losing end, where, he was being ganged up on from all sides—A quick Ibis bullet to strike through any focused shields, a Mantis aimed at his throat, and honestly? At this point, Ninomiya was being the least discriminatory with Hound bullets to spare for everyone in the area.

Azuma was targeting him because he was the easiest target, Kageura just wanted the fucking rematch, and apparently couldn't wait. Or was he just upset about the 'chumps' remark?

Temper temper.

'Either way—'

A bullet skimmed the edge of Yuma's foot as he executed an impressive backflip out of the way.

'—I'm going down, and I'm going down soon.'

He still had a job to do though, and until he got the signal, he needed to keep everyone here.

Azuma lifted up the barrel of the rifle, taking his chance to fire at Yuma despite the amount of Hound bullets raining down on the three of them.

A summarily successful shot, seeing as how it pierced a large hole in Yuma's leg before he could kick off the ground. Grasshopper was—sadly—out of the equation, as both of his Trigger spots were being taken up by shields at the moment.

"Don't you guys have better things to do than pick on a middle schooler?" Yuma sighed, feeling his Trion drain much quicker than it had been before. "Seriously..."

Yuma's eye twitched, ears picking up a quiet 'done' over the communications line, before—

'… Ah, I've been beheaded.'

Kageura growled from behind Yuma, having soundlessly moved behind the short teen, Mantis not even needed with how close he had gotten to Yuma.

Though his expression was nothing short of thunderous.

"You assholes shouldn't have forgotten about me."

Yuma chuckled airily as his Trion body split apart, ears faintly picking up the next words that unexpectedly cut through the tension.

"Yeah, well, maybe you guys shouldn't have forgotten about me."

A bright light, the 'thud' of the mattress beneath his body.

'It's up to you now, captain.'

-0-

I stood in the empty street just a little ways off, eyes half-lidded as I stared down each of the captains in front of me.

As Yuma's Trion body became nothing more than a faint light in the sky, each of the three captains turned towards me, each at their own pace, each with their own demeanour.

Kageura, with irritation and anger flickering in and out of his eyes, expression drawn into a tense scowl. Caution, directed at both captains to the left and right of him, but what reason is there to be wary of the one directly in front?

Azuma, with years of experience and skill behind his carefully blank look. Ibis held in a grip prepared to aim and fire at a moments notice, with eyes that could figure out each and every weakness and strength with one look.

Ninomiya, with strategic sense and a determination to return his squad to the A-rankers they once were, before Hatohara had ruined them. With a condescending wariness directed at Kageura and I, and a respectful caution present while he kept an eye on Azuma.

("Because if no one thinks they'll shoot, then there's no reason to be wary, is there?")

… I'm not even a threat to them.

The closest thing to that on our team had been Yuma, with Chika and I being apparently harmless—if albeit destructive. But Chika had proven herself more than capable of setting aside her fear to take the first shot if her teammates were in danger. If her loved ones were in danger.

Now, I just need to do the same.

(I will make them regret underestimating Tamakoma-2.)

"… Well, this is a nice gathering, isn't it?" I began conversationally, a lazy grin tugging at my expression. "Only the captains left. We're running out of time as it is… Any chance we could call a truce?"

"Not a chance." Kageura disagreed, near-growling at Ninomiya. "Fuck this guy, I'm going to chop his fucking head off."

Ninomiya's eye twitched.

"I'm also going to have to decline." A small amount of amusement leaked through Azuma's expression.

"Ah, well that's a shame." I sighed, lifting up my arm—which had been previously hidden behind my back. "Do you guys know what this is—?"

A Lightning-fast shot aimed at my arm—far to quick to be anything other than a Lightning—which I tossed up a shield to block.

After a few more moments of tense silence, I smiled pleasantly at Azuma. Azuma, being the one who had formed a Lightning rifle at the speed of light, pun not intended. "Now, that wasn't very nice!"

He lowered the barrel lightly, neither of us showing any reaction to the now amplified tension in the air. "Well, I learned just a few minutes ago… Not to let anyone from Tamakoma get the first shot."

We didn't pay any mind to the shocked expressions being directed at me either. What, was it really so surprising that I had blocked a Lightning shot at point black range? What, I'm not supposed to be able to do that?

(You don't say!)

"Ah, you're probably correct," I cheered, clapping half-mockingly. "Can I continue, or…?"

The tense silence was my cue to go on, so I pulled my hands out of the clap.

"So, this right here!" I lifted up my hand once again, shaking the wire in my hand back and forth like a trophy. "This here, is what'll mark the end of the match!"

There was utter, dead silence. I shook the Spider-generated wire a few more times for good measure, putting slight emphasis on how the string was pulled taut from where is originated from around the corner somewhere—out of sight.

"… You're joking." Ninomiya's voice was flat, and I took a great deal of amusement in it.

"No, I'm dead serious!" I smiled, lowering my hand again, but keeping the string in plain sight. "Do you wanna test my theory?"

"What do you mean by 'end of the match'?" Azuma pointed out curiously, gun not lowering from where he'd been holding it. "Is that an implication that you can take us all out with one shot?"

Kageura snorted disbelievingly. I was honestly surprised he had been quiet for so long.

"What do you think?" My smile never wavered. "Well, I guess I could toss you guys a hint. I can't guarantee that everyone will die, but I'm confident I can get pretty darn close!"

Oh, they didn't like that.

Judging by Kageura's now slightly bent legs, his clenched hand, Ninomiya's slowly raising arm, his expression thoroughly through with the topic—

I didn't bat an eye, because I had my eyes on Azuma's already aimed gun.

I didn't both trying to dodge, or even throwing up another shield. Because I couldn't give a damn if he stole a point by killing me...

… They're finished.

Azuma's Lighting bullet struck true, blasting a hole straight through my chest—where my heart would be in my flesh-and-blood body, and—

I took note of their expressions, grinned something that felt almost feral, before yanking the string.

-0-

A white light signalled Mori's defeat, and Ninomiya and Kageura stood in stunned silence for a few moments.

Their eyes were trained on the smoke cloud that originated from the bail out, but they were more focused… on what they were hearing.

The instant Mori had pulled that wire—mere instants before Azuma got the point—a sound had begun to echo around the completely dead-silent mass of rubble surrounding them. A harsh 'tic' was the first noise to sound out, causing Kageura's head to snap to the side.

And then, the world exploded in a flash of white and orange light.

-0-

To say that everyone in the rank wars lobby was stunned into silence, would be a lie.

Because they were absolutely wild with cheering, cries of outrage, confusion, outright awe as they recovered from the wall of light and sound they had been hit with—kudos to the explosion being presented on the large screens before them.

Hyuse though, back in Tamakoma-2's operator room, had recovered from the light show nearly-immediately. No, the thing that was still keeping his stunned to silence, was…

"Did she—Mikumo set up a ring of Meteora around the entire battlefield while the battle was happening!"

"Which means that, when Kuga had used Grasshopper to send Azuma into that fight, following soon after… He was trapping all of them there so she could set the trap."

"My my, what a crafty team~ Maybe I could get Kuga to join my team, hm?"

The sheer audacity of it.

(Yet somehow, it worked.)

"Wait—The smoke is clearing!"

Hyuse's eyes snapped back to the screen, him being the only one in the room actually at the desk and keeping an eye on the proceedings. Yuma had left as soon as he had Bailed out, a quick 'I don't care what the outcome is' spewed out before he was speeding off to the other room where Shiori had brought Chika to.

Mori had Bailed out just a moment ago herself, though she was still lying down, completely motionless, on the Bail out-mattress. She hadn't moved a muscle nor spoken a word since landing there roughly, and Hyuse was content with leaving it there until his pseudo-sister spoke up.

Regardless, the screen was finally re-focusing, and Hyuse made sure to keep a steady eye on the screen.

"Aaaaannndd—! The only survivor of that last explosion— IS NINOMIYA MASATAKA FROM NINOMIYA SQUAD!"

Hyuse kept his eyes open to verify that, yes, Ninomiya was the only one left standing. Not that he had gotten off easy though.

His shields—he had gone full guard at the last moment, impressive—had large cracks running through the middle of each of them, a few chips having been completely destroyed in the blast.

A whole leg—the left—was also missing, white Trion fizzling out a steady rate as he slowly pushed himself to his feet. As his shields dissolved out of existence, Hyuse could also catch sight of the white fog faintly lifting from his hand. Or, what used to be a hand, since it was now a stump.

The Border-hating side of Hyuse narrowed his eyes approvingly at the wounds, although that was dampened by the fact that this was a virtual simulated battle, and none of these overconfident and cocky agents would actually get what was coming to them.

(The completely stunned expression of Ninomiya's was enough to be slightly satisfying though, it seemed he hadn't been expecting much from Tamakoma-2.)

"Looks like Ninomiya was the only one to get through that final explosion, point-blank range…! Though he's definitely taken some damage from it."

"It's probably just because of how much Trion he has, to make the shields strong enough to withstand the blast. Other than that, it was blind luck."

"Pity, I would've liked to see the look on his face when he lost to a newbie."

"Kako-san, you sure are vindictive…"

A hiss of air passed through Mori's clenched teeth. And Hyuse listened with unexpected patience, because this girl—this person had somehow just earned his respect during this match, even if neither of them had yet recognized it.

"… I… I really wanted to win."

And Hyuse nodded. Because loss was comparable to betrayal in that sense, where they both stung unbearably while also giving a rough wake-up call.

Only with loss, you could overcome it and use that experience to grow.

The pain of betrayal would never really go away, unlike that.

(... Or it could, if you're willing to let go. But Hyuse wasn't yet willing to let go of the rope, especially if he didn't have a grip on anything else. Because doing so would mean falling, falling down into the waters below before drowning.)

-0-

I composed myself soon after, and for some reason, with Hyuse following after me, made my way into the other room where Chika, Shiori and Yuma were apparently waiting.

Hyuse was being surprisingly quiet—and less snappish. I don't know what happened, but in any case, I'm thankful for it now.

I stepped into the next room, knocking against the doorway twice as my eyes quickly scanned the room.

"Alright, the match is over and wow when did you guys get here?"

Kitazoe rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, an apologetic expression taking over his face. "Sorry, are we in the way? We can leave—" He glanced back at the two youngest in the room, before sending another sheepish glance. "—Sorry, I can leave."

"No, it's fine," I accepted, eyes lingering on Ema and Chika a little longer than anyone else. "I don't know if you guys were listening or not, but the match is over. Ninomiya won."

Kitazoe drooped a little at the admission, while Ema only narrowed his eyes slightly. Both seemed disappointed with the outcome, and it took more effort than I was willing to admit in pushing back my emotions regarding the topic.

Yuma waved me over, sitting on the floor across from Chika—and Ema, who was sitting beside her. I could've sworn those two were all jumpy and nervous around each other, seems their crushes took a back seat while they were dealing with Chika's panic attack.

… Well, at least it didn't make it worse.

"When did you two get here?" I asked, sitting on the pillow behind Yuma, and tossing my arms over his shoulders as he leaned back onto my torso. "Kageura isn't here, so…?"

"… We asked Hikari to buy us some time," Kitazoe admitted. "We have around 5 minutes before he comes tearing down the halls."

"Lovely," I huffed, sighing heavily. There was a short pause, where I turned to address my team. Shiori (leaning up against the wall) and Yuma as well, even though I couldn't turn to him directly. "How's Chika doing?"

Shiori sighed, tilted her hand in a so-so motion. "She feels better than before at least. I think that her inability to breath, coupled with her Trion body's lack-of-need to breathe… It kind of messes with the brain's signals, so it was probably for the best that you had her Bail out before it got any worse."

"She might've gone into shock if it went on for much longer," Yuma guessed offhandedly. But there was an underlying tone of worry and slight fear—which evidently could be heard by even the members of Kageura unit.

I dug my chin into Yuma's head, snapping him out of his worry. "I don't think that's how 'shock' works, Yuma. Doesn't that happen when someone is losing a lot of blood?"

Shiori shrugged out of the corner of my eye, though her eyebrows still had a worried crease to them. "Trion and Triggers can do a lot of weird stuff, I wouldn't be surprised at half the stuff they could do."

"Yeah, like with me," Yuma whispered, low enough not to be heard. "My black Trigger's keeping me alive, despite me being literal inches from death. I'd say that anything else is pretty justified, eh?"

I laughed weakly at that just as I saw Hyuse leave the side-room out of the corner of my eye. He wasn't making a move to exit out into the hallway though, so I let it slide.

But something about Yuma's words stood out to me. They stuck like glue in my mind, and I couldn't get them to leave. Not even when Kageura came tearing into our operator room, demanding his teammates back—while the two stragglers reluctantly left.

I pretended not to see Ema's last shoulder touch with Chika before they left, or their small smiles. Ah, young love.

-0-

At some point, between dropping Chika and Shiori off at one of the doors to be picked up by Kizaki, and heading over to the cafeteria to have an admittedly cheap dinner, we found ourselves being picked up by a group of Border agents.

A group of people that were mostly enthusiastic to converse with Yuma, which I was primarily used to. So I stuck to the sides and zoned out a little, absentmindedly having my side effect pick up the offhand observation as I tuned out the world.

I barely even noticed someone turning towards me.

"Still, four-eyes, how'd you dodge that fuckin' shot?"

I blinked, drawn out of my distracted observing as the brash and rough voice filtered in through my awareness.

Oh, that was Kageura.

"Huh?"

He rolled his eyes at my response, apparently expecting me being too distracted to listen. "I asked how the fuck you dodged Azuma's Lighting shot. Point-blank range. Pretty much impossible."

I barely registered a few people eagerly leaning forward in the background. "Well, I didn't dodge, I blocked it with a shield. Considering the speed that anyone can switch Triggers, it's obviously not impossible—"

He took a quick swipe at my head, a growl escaping under his breath. "Just shut up and answer the fucking question."

"Is 'fuck' the only swear word you know? Because I'll have you know—"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

"Well, if I shut up, how can I answer the question?"

Kageura made a wordless, half-growled mess of incoherent words while twisting his hands as if he were imagining strangling me. Very vividly.

"It was very impressive, Mikumo-chan!" Inukai chipped in, leaning forward to block Kageura from my view—and apparently unbothered of how Chika had shot his head off just a few hours ago. "I knew you had good awareness from our matches, but that just took it to the next—"

Kageura screamed something incoherent, before launching himself at Inukai with the honest-to-god intent to kill. The latter only laughed cheerily, batting away any attempts to strangle him with a smile.

"I'll admit, I'm curious too," Arafune added, hand against his chin. "The Lightning is supposed to be the fastest sniper Trigger there is, and at that distance…?"

Murakami sheepishly rubbed the back of his head but didn't deny his curiosity. Although if I wasn't imagining it, there might have been a glimmer of… knowing in his eyes.

… Well, if I can tell people have side effects, I guess it's reasonable to say that some of the more aware agents can do the same.

'Is there really any point in hiding it anymore…?'

I inwardly shrugged, facing the now slightly curious audience, as well as the subtly smirking Yuma. Our group, summarily comprised of Kageura, Inukai, Tsuji, Arafune and Murakami.

"Well, to tell the truth," I sheepishly grinned, waving a hand as nonchalantly as I could manage. "I kind of… Have a side effect."

I didn't get another word out before I was hit with a wall of noise—mostly yells of shock—but if I wasn't fighting off tinnitus…

Then Yuma's laughter might have been mixed in too. Now that I'm thinking about it, that was probably the case.

"—Since when?!" Arafune finally exclaims, being the first coherent question I could make out.

"Uh, a few months ago? Yeah, it was just after the two of us got recruited by Jin…" I turned to Yuma for clarification, to which he nodded. "Yeah, that. Jin noticed it first and ended up bringing it to our attention, and here I am."

"I kind of had a feeling all along…" Murakami admitted quietly, a small smile rising to the surface as his fellow agents turned to him in shock. "Would it be alright if I asked you to share?"

"No, I can tell you guys about it." I shot a quick glance at Kageura, who had paused in his attempts to murder Inukai. "To be honest, I was more surprised that Kageura-senpai didn't notice it…"

"HEY."

"No offence," I waved off, before returning to the topic. "Anyways, it's enhanced sight-to-brain connection. So I can process whatever I can see in basically no time flat…"

I realized that I was getting a few confused looks, and sighed. "Let's just… Get something for an example. You know when you need to stare at something for a few seconds before it actually starts to register in your head? It's like that, but I can do it—" I snapped. "—Just like that."

A few 'ohhhhhs' of understanding.

… The teenagers of Border, everybody.

"So you unconsciously noticed Azuma aiming with the Lightning, and raised a shield…" Murakami nodded with a small smile. "It wouldn't have worked if you tried to dodge though, right?"

"Exactly," I nodded along, somewhat glad to finally share my side effect. It was interesting to talk about with people that could understand. "It doesn't really help me at all if my reflexes aren't quick enough to keep up with my mind… But the only thing you need to switch Triggers is the thought of doing so. So technically, any Lightning or Eaglet snipe that's aiming from in front of me… Well, I'll see it. Unless I'm otherwise occupied, and can't block no matter what."

"Eh, are you re~ally okay with sharing this?" Inukai slung his arms over my shoulders, having somehow escaped the spiky-haired attacker after his blood. "It's just going to make it easier to beat you, Mikumo-chan."

"I'd like to make a formal request for you to kiss my ass." And like the mature adult I was, I stuck my tongue out at him whilst shaking him off my shoulders. "You'd beat me either way, and I've already told you all that my side effect exists. You'd figure out a way around it eventually."

"She's not wrong about that," Tsuji spoke up, and wow, he's still hiding behind Arafune. I suppose I could count myself lucky he even tried speaking to me at all, considering how shy he is around girls, but still.

"Still, it's one of the lower ranked side effects, isn't it?" Arafune asked. "And it seems the uses are quite limited… Can it do anything else?"

I lifted my cup of soda up, an absentminded 'uhhhh' falling out of my mouth before I could stop it. "… I can recognize bullets pretty much instantly? But anyone could do that with enough time and experience under their belt…"

"Yeah, but you can do it quicker," Yuma cut in, now having recovered from his previous bout of laughter. "And in the middle of a fight, no one really has the time to be looking too closely like that, you know."

"That's right," Murakami backed up. "Besides, a side effect is better than no side effect. Take the advantages when they present themselves."

I frowned contemplatively at that, sipping on my drink to think.

"Hey, I just thought of something!" Inukai piped up, raising an arm from where he'd finally sat down. "If she has enhanced sight-to-brain connection, wouldn't that be useful for programming Viper trajectories?"

There was dead silence at the table, before Arafune blinked and spoke up.

"Inukai… That actually sounded half-way to intelligent."

"Hey!" The gunner barked indignantly. "I go to prep school with you, I'm not dumb! You of all people should know that!"

"Moving on…" Kageura growled, sitting exactly opposite from where the blonde gunner was. "It's actually a decent fucking point. Would it help?"

"You don't know?"

"I'm not a fucking shooter, you asshole. Get on with it."

Tsuji coughed, interrupting them. "… As far as I know, programming Viper trajectories on the spot is something only… Izumi and N-Nasu-san can do, correct?"

Yuma whistled. "Impressive."

"Well, that's because it's stupidly difficult…" Inukai sighed. "The question is, would her side effect help? I've seen Ninomiya try making Viper trajectories and let me tell you, it wasn't exactly—"

"Didn't Ninomiya-san tell us never to speak of that day ever again?" Tsuji interrupted flatly, causing Arafune to quickly smother a snort, before gaining back his composure.

"Uhhhh…" I hummed, rubbing my chin between my fingers. "… I've actually never tried programming it on the spot…"

I paused, deadly serious as a thought just occurred to me. "Actually, I can't remember If I've ever even used a Viper at all."

Kageura shot me a flat look. "Are you fucking kidding me."

"I assure you, I'm being as serious as a funeral right now."

"Callback~!" Inukai sang while lifting up a hand, allowing me high-five it with matching grins.

Murakami and Tsuji sighed in unison, while Arafune gave the two of us a disturbed glance. "You two are sick."

Yuma gave an appreciative clap.

Bless my best friend, for enabling me and my sick humour.

-0-

A/N -

Alright, I've left this little note for the end of the chapter, because as far as I know? It's probably going to be a bit longer than usual.

To start off on a light note, a recent review was wondering how long the chapters were on average-to which I reply, I aim for approx. 10K words usually. It's been a bit on the lower side lately due slightly slower pacing and other reasons, but they usually reach at least 9K.

Secondly, and the last thing I guess I'll be talking about... I'll be putting Swapped In on Hiatus in a week. I've been thinking about it for a while, and I guess this is just a quick heads up-I have one more chapter pre-written, so I'll put that up next week-before I go on hiatus. There are a couple reasons, but I'll summarize it for now.

1. I'll be catching up with canon soon, and if things keep going at this pacing, I'll need to pause for a while between chapters anyway. But at that point, I'll just be reacting to whatever the original comic throws out, and it'll be kind of boring. I also need to wait and learn a little more, at least up until the expedition arc, to learn some more about some of the stuff I wanted to write. With World Trigger off of it's hiatus, my 'fuck it, I can do whatever I want with canon' attitude has simmered down a bit.

2. With some of the new chapters, as well as my own growth as a writer over the months, has made me realize quite a few mistakes I've made while writing this. I know the saying goes as 'You're your own worst critic', but I can't help it. I've noticed that I've underplayed a lot of the characters within the story strictly for the sake of pushing the story forward, which was something I'm a little disappointed about. Also, most of the character development was rather rushed, and feels generally sloppy.

Now, I'm not saying that I'll stop writing this out of shame because I can't take a few mistakes, it's actually the opposite. I'm relatively proud of what I've done here, and it was my first fic for a reason. I'll use it to improve my writing next time.

3. I've left this for last because it was actually one of the big reasons, but also something I was hesitant to put in strictly because I don't want to seem accusatory. But the comments and reviews I've gotten on both this site-and AO3, where this is also posted-have been my driving force for when I feel less-motivated. And I've been getting less, or next to none lately, which has left me feeling just a bit worn out. Again, I'm just listing reasons, so I don't want to make this seem accusatory or ungrateful.

There were a lot of other stray thoughts on my mind while I was making this decision, but that's what it all boils down to. I definitely won't leave the fandom, I love it FAR too much for that, but after the next chapter, I'll be putting it on hold. Thank you so much for all of the love and support this fic has gotten, it'll probably leave an impact on me for whenever I'm writing in the future. I know it already has. Who knows, maybe my next fic will also be a WT one, and I'm without a doubt being all melodramatic with this authors note, but for now...

It's almost time to say goodbye to Swapped In. Only time will tell if I'll ever go back to it.