A/N: Sorry for another late in the day update! I ended up staying late at an event I was working at. Anyway, this chapter ended up being so much slower than I wanted. I could only go to a certain point, and I found myself with far too few events for this chapter, but things will get interesting, I promise. I'm not sure how I managed to get this chapter out honestly. As it turns out, my entire English class failed an essay from last week, how fun, so we're all stuck redoing it. That aside, sorry for any OOCness, typos, errors and just overall crappy writing. I'll be back next week with another chapter, should things go how I want.

Rindo sighed and rubbed the side of his head, half in frustration and half in exhaustion. He was 101% done with everything at the moment, and almost wished the assassin would just come out and attack them right now. At least then, everyone would still be at Tamakoma, and should be powerful enough to beat the assassin. Konami, Kyosuke and Reiji made up Border's strongest team, and Jin's abilities very easily backed up his self-proclaimed 'Power Elite' title. Yuma was a war veteran with a Black Trigger. Shiori was a dependable operator. While Chika and Osamu weren't very skilled, Chika had tremendous Trion and Osamu had a strategic mind. While they wouldn't be able to do much on their own, they would still be able to contribute to the other's, maybe even enough to tip the scales in their favor if needed.

A chirp from the phone in his hand startled Rindo out of his thoughts, and the man checked to see what had come up. It was a text from Shinoda, containing information on Tamakoma-1's assignment. The man scanned over it, slowly beginning to walk back to the living area. The man glanced up at his agents, who were all still silently watching the show on the television. He almost wanted to leave the group be, give then some time to relax. However, Rindo knew that he would need to say something soon, since his team was due to leave in one hour. Besides, they were Border agents.

"Reiji, Kyosuke-kun, Konami-chan, Kido has a job for you," Rindo said, moving so he stood just behind the chair occupied by Kyosuke. All the agents in the room turned to look at Rindo, even though only three of them had been called.

"A job? Right now?" Reiji asked. Rindo nodded.

"You'll be going to Shizuku City, about three hours from here. You three, along with Shiori-chan, will be there for a week. The reports say that there was a possible Gate there. Kido wants you three to got out an act as the guards for the city. You'll watch for any more Gates, and if none appear during the week that you're there, then it's likely the phenomenon before wasn't a Gate. You're scheduled to leave in one hour," the man explained. Kyosuke and Reiji looked a little unsure, but the two young men nodded and stood. Konami on the other hand looked more than a little upset.

"Why right now? Four-Eyes just got attacked by the assassin, so we should stay here in case it show up again!" she argued.

"Konami-senpai, if you three stay here and nothing happens, but more Gates open in that city, it'll look bad for Border. Then that will reflect on you three, since you refuse to go. You can't tell the public about the assassin, so how will you deflect the bad image you'll get?" Osamu asked. He looked a bit unnerved about the fact that three of the five truly capable combat agents, as well as Tamakoma's only operator, was going to a city three hours away. However, he was still being logical, and his reasoning held all the right questions.

Konami glared at Osamu, not happy that her kouhai wasn't supporting her case, especially when she as arguing that they should not fulfil their duties and instead should stay and protect their juniors. She knew he was right though.

"Just go, Konami-chan. Yuma and I will still be here if anything goes wrong. Leave it to the Power Elite!" Jin encouraged, giving his signature smile. It was more forced, and Konami saw that easily. She could That something was bothering the teen, and he definitely wouldn't be at his best that day. Even so, she knew it was her duty as a Border agent to protect the civilians who cannot protect themselves. The people in Shizuku wouldn't stand a chance against Neighbors. Tamakoma would still have Jin and Yuma, as well as Osamu's mind and Chika's Trion. They would at least have a chance.

"Fine," she surrendered, standing up and walking off to her room. Kyosuke and Reiji followed after her, Shiori walking after them. The rest of the agents in the room turned to Rindo, and noticed that the man's lips were drawn into a thin line. Something was bothering him, and while they were all curious, they respected their boss' privacy and didn't ask. If it concerned them, he would say something.

-000-

One hour later, Tamakoma-1 and Shiori were finishing loading their bags into their truck. Reiji got in the drivers seat and Kyosuke and Konami got in the back, but Shiori didn't get in the truck yet. Instead she walked up to Chika and pinched the girl's cheeks, tugging on them like she tended to do after Rank Wars.

"Stay safe Chika-chan, everyone," the operator said. They all nodded, though Chika struggled a little because Shiori was still pinching her cheeks. When the operator finally let go, she climbed into the truck next to Reiji in the front passenger seat. The agents gave their boss and comrades a wave before Reiji started the truck and headed for Shizuku. Chika, Yuma, Osamu, Rindo and Jin watched them go, not going back inside until the agents had disappeared from sight.

The five filed back through the door to the base, returning to the living area. They all dropped back down on the couches and chairs, Rindo taking the chair previously occupied by Kyosuke. Chika, Yuma and Osamu sat on one couch while Jin laid down on the other. His rubbed the side of his head discreetly, and no one seemed to notice. That was good for him, since he didn't want add more problems to the long lists everyone already had. His headaches were still getting worse and more frequent to the point that for him to see anything with his Side Effect was rare and uncontrolled. The headaches annoyed him because he didn't know what the source was. However, he had a feeling it had something to do with the assassin.

The Border agents continued watching the show on the television, but they weren't really into it. All of their minds were elsewhere. Rindo wondered if what Shinoda had said about Kido giving Miwa squad some time off was more than just bait. He hoped it was true, since Tamakoma definitely wasn't safe for a five year old. Especially not now that Tamakoma-1 was gone.

On one of the couches, Chika and Osamu were both thinking about those who left. The assassin who was after them could be targeting one person or even the entirety of Tamakoma. If by some chance it was one of those three the assassin was after, then they were in more danger. Just the three of them three hours away from Mikado, where Border was, would prove a bad combination if one of them was targeted. Despite their skill, a Black Trigger could prove to be too much to handle. After all, things hadn't gone the best for them during the Second Invasion.

Next to them, Yuma was thinking something entirely different. The assassin was after him and he knew that. Konami, Reiji and Kyosuke were gone, putting them out of danger. However, that made it more dangerous for those still at Tamakoma. If the assassin was going to lure Yuma out by attacking people close to him, there weren't many options. Anyone in Tamakoma would be decent bait, but Osamu and Chika were the best targets. They were part of Yuma's team, his good friends. Plus they were unskilled and limited when it came to fighting. Yuma had though about that many times over in his head on multiple occasions, and found himself unable to push the thought away. The young Neighbor glanced at the two he was thinking off, his eyes going to Osamu's injured wrist. He couldn't let something like the previous day's events happen again, and he sure as hell couldn't let worse things happen.

On the other couch, Jin frowned when he felt nature calling. He was comfortable on the couch, but at the same time his discomfort was growing. The agents sat up, planting his feet on the floor before standing and heading to the stairs.

"I'll be right back," he said to the four pairs of eyes who's stares he felt on his back. The Elite made his way to the bathroom, doing his business before moving go the sink. He rinsed his hands in the warm water, then turned off the tap and grabbed a small hand towell to dry his hands.

Just as Jin got the hand towel back on its rack, he felt the familiar powerful throb in the back on his head. His hands went to his hair, shaking as they ran through it stressfully, the first waves of pain washing over him. Jin bit his lip to stifle any noise, because these bad headaches hurt. A lot. This one seemed to be even worse than usual. Jin slowly knelt down as he felt his legs grow a little shaky and unsteady, and he just barely made it before images and voice began flashing through his mind. He saw himself going to the grocery store, but he never made it. The purple-flamed being from before was there, the assassin, and it intercepted him. The assassin attacked the unsuspecting Jin, who was rubbing at his head as a small throb began in his skull. The images stopped abruptly, and Jin had a feeling he knew what had happened.

He wouldn't be going to the store any time soon.

-000-

Not far from Tamakoma, the assassin was waiting. It watched four Tamakoma agents leave in a truck, and noted that none of them were his target or good bait. That meant the defence of the building was probably much lower, though the job couldn't be done yet. There was one more person who needed to be taken out of the equation, someone who had kept Yuma Kuga from taking the bait the previous day. It was a person who had caused nothing but trouble.

The assassin looked down at a syringe full of glowing yellow liquid that it held in it's hand. This mixture had a specific purpose. It was meant to temporarily or permanently disable a Side Effect. It blocked the connection between the Side Effect and the brain, rendering the Side Effect useless. The length of the effect depended on the person and their amount of Trion. In this case, the assassin didn't care if the effects were permanent or not, as long as it lasted long enough to take out Yuma Kuga.

Soon, the assassin would corner Yuichi Jin. The teen was strong, and would definitely put up a fight. That could cause problems, and the assassin wanted to lessen the threat as much as possible in order to make the job simple, without bringing the wrath or Border on itself. That's why the Side Effect drug was laced with a sedative. If all went well, everything would be done in a day. The job was already taking too long. The assassin turned its attention to Tamakoma. The time was near.

A/N: Was that ending interesting enough? I hope it leaves at least some one with a feeling of suspense, oreven just something that is not disappointment. That aside, if I were to do a quick one-shot related to the anime filler, would anyone be against it? If a lot of you don't watch the anime or don't like the filler, or even if you're not that far and you want to make sure you avoid spoilers, then I'd wait on writing something like that. Also, thanks again to everyone who voted in the poll. This week will probably be it's last week, since I have break from school starting next week, so I'll be able to get some more written. So vote if you'd like to give your input, but you don't have to if you don't want to