A/N: I'm back, yaaay. When I picked up my kindle to start writing this chapter, my mind totally blanked and I though 'where the hell am I going with this'? Then again, that's just been everything from math homework to watching anime for me. I start something then forget what I was planning to do, xD this is what happens when you stay up late reading fanfiction every night and wake up at 5am. Anyway, sorry for any errors, typos, OOCness and just overall crappy writing. This chapter was supposed to have action, buuuut there were some things I forgot about so the action got pushed back (sorry). That aside, I hope you all enjoy the chapter and I'll be back next week with another, unless I freeze to death because it's literally -20000000°F outside.
Tachikawa heard the door to the roof open and instantly stiffened. His hands went to his sheathed Kogetsu blades as his eyes closed, ears tuning into the sounds around him. As the sound of soft footsteps registered in his mind, a quiet scrape following like an echo when small feet didn't lift completely off the ground before each step, Tachikawa relaxed. The young man's hands returned to his sides and he opened his eyes. No assassin. Good.
"Tachikawa-san," said a somewhat familiar voice, one that Tachikawa hadn't ever really heard much of, though he still recognized it. The attacker turned around, his stormy gray eyes landing on ruby red ones that swam with a mixture of emotions that could only be truly described as darkness.
"Kuga," Tachikawa greeted with a nod. He watched as the small Neighbor boy got closer, finally coming to a stop a few feet away from Tachikawa, jumping up onto the edge of the roof to sit.
Tachikawa took a second to look Yuma over, memories of the Black Trigger Retrieval mission coming back to him. Jin had smoked them like a forest fire. At first, Tachikawa didn't understand why Jin would go to such great lengths for someone, a Neighbor none the less. Especially after what happened to Jin's mother and all those years of fightning Neighbors. Even as he looked at Yuma up close, Tachikawa didn't really understand, though the similarities between Yuma and Jin gave him an idea of just what Jin had been thinking.
"Jin-san and Rindo-san said I should talk to you about coming up with a strategy for fighting the assassin. Since Jin-san is hurt, it seems like you'll be my only back up," Yuma said, his tone a bit monotone like usual. Tachikawa nodded, a small frown on his face.
Tachikawa had been informed of the plans for taking out the assassin. A Black Trigger user was required, since they were up against one, and a Black Trigger to combat that would be the best both offensively and defensively. Amo had been ruled out quickly, since he would do too much damage and draw the wrong kind of attention to Border. The candidates were narrowed down again when the reminder that Fujin no longer had an official user was stated. That left Border with one choice, Yuma Kuga. Yuma was their best choice anyway, since it meant they wouldn't have to involve anyone else, and it had been Rindo and Jin's plans from pretty much the start to have Yuma fight if it came down to it. Not long ago, Tachikawa found himself reading a text from Jin, informing him that Yuma would combat the assassin using his Black Trigger, and he would be back up. Jin was also involved in the original plans that had gone through the minds of Border's Directors, but after the HQ incident, that changed.
Personally, Tachikawa wanted to fight the assassin by himself, just to see how strong it was. The situation wasn't a game though, and they couldn't gamble. The assassin was after someone, and there could even be more than one target. For him to play around could cost more than just his life.
"I think it would be best if you let the assassin focus on me. You should try to stay out of it, even if I'm getting beat. Usually its strength in numbers, but I'm used to fighting solo when I use my Black Trigger. Plus, im sure it'll ignore you unless you attack. It would be best for you to stay back and make sure the assassin doesn't go after Jin-san and the others if I get beat," Yuma said, revealing his plan. Tachikawa's frown deepened.
"How do you know who it'll go after?" he asked. Yuma was silent for a moment, no responding immediately.
"I'm the target," the Neighbor suddenly admitted, causing Tachikawa to tense. The older attacker glanced at his rival's kouhai, eyebrows raised. It had been a theory before that Yuma could be the target, that is if the assassin there at the moment was the same one that attacked him years ago.
"In that case, why'd you wait so long to say that you are?" Tachikawa asked, feeling a bit annoyed. They could have solved the issue so much earlier if they had known the target. Hell, if they had known that the assassin was around before it broke into Tamakoma, they could have taken it down before the attacks.
"I was trying to keep anyone else from getting involved. My dad always said that you can't rely on other people when you mess up. You need to solve your own problems. That backfired on me a bit though, and Osamu and Jin-san both got attacked," Yuma explained, his expression shifting to a duckface with the last sentence. Tachikawa nodded and sighed, looking out at the area surrounding Tamakoma. He hadn't seen any sign of the assassin since he began watching over the place, which was good, because the more time they had, the better.
"So you decided to just be out with it?" Tachikawa asked. If Yuma had decided to admit to being the assassin's target after the attacks of Osamu and Jin, why hadn't he done it directly after Jin's attack? Had he been hesitating? Tachikawa glanced at the teen next to him. Yuma was far too much like Jin for him to understand what was going on in the Neighbor's head.
"I was actually planning on taking the assassin out myself, sometime very soon. Turns out Jin-san found me out though, and talked to Rindo-san about it. I was just talking about it with them before I came out here. I guess nothing's really changed from before they knew though. The plan already involved you and I fighting the assassin anyway, and if I wanted to, I could sneak out and fight it myself," Yuma pointed out. Tachikawa nodded. "I don't think that would be smart though. At best, the assassin and I will be matched. I should have the upper hand if we're in a good location while fighting, since I can keep my distance, but I can't guarantee that I'll win. It'll be nice having back-up there, just so I don't have to worry about it going after anyone else if it beats me," Yuma added. Tachikawa sighed.
"I don't like the idea of hiding from the Neighbor. Are you sure I'll just get in the way?" Tachikawa asked. A fairly large part of him still wanted to fight the Black Trigger assassin if possible, even though he knew it was risky, and even a bit selfish. Even if he clashed with it for just a moment, Tachikawa was sure it would be quite a thrill. Yuma nodded.
"I don't want to accidentally hit you when I'm fighting. I won't be holding back at all when I go against the assassin, so if you were fightning it up close, there's a strong chance that I might hit you rather than the assassin, and I plan to do as much damage as I can with every attack. The longer the fight goes on, the worse it'll be. Sure, I plan on fighting on the outskirts of the city away from civilians and other Border agents, but Border will no doubt notice what's going on. Kido-san, Shinoda-san and Rindo-san want to keep the assassin a secret, which is a smart move, but they'll only be able to stall other agents for a few minutes. Even if they say I'm fighting a Black Trigger user, someone will investigate, and that would cause trouble if they managed to get involved," the small teen said.
"True. If they were willing to let more Border agents in on the assassin issue, it wouldn't just be you and I against the assassin," Tachikawa said. Yuma nodded, hopping down from the ledge.
"That's all I can think about for dicussing when it comes to planning. I'm going to go practice with my Black Trigger in the training room. I haven't used it in awhile. I recommend you practice a little too, working with something speedy. I'd say you should fight me, but one of us should be watching Tamakoma while the other is busy," Yuma reasoned. Tachikawa nodded, his eyes returning to the area around the Tamakoma base.
"I'll keep watching for awhile then," the young man said, not pulling his eyes off of the city. Yuma made no sound, but out of the corner of his eye, Tachikawa saw the teen nod before leaving. Quiet footsteps got quieter and quieter before disappearing along with the sound of the roof door being pulled shut.
Tachikawa glanced at the door Yuma had gone through, unspoken words swirling through his mind. Even if Yuma wanted him to stay out of the battle, even if it would help the Neighbor fight easier if Tachikawa didn't help, he wouldn't just stand there and let Yuma be killed, should the fight go south. Tachikawa didn't know Yuma much, but he did know Jin. He knew that Jin wanted Yuma to have a good time in Border, and he knew the older teen had a lot he was willing to give up to make that happen. Tachikawa knew that if he could, Jin would try to solve the problem himself, just like he had a few days ago. Jin had given up a lot already, including Fujin, for Yuma. Tachikawa wasn't going to let that sacrifice go to waste. He also wasn't going to let Jin down. Despite being rivals, he and Jin were good friends. That meant Tachikawa would always have Jin's back, just like Jin always did. At the moment, both of them weren't of much use, but protecting Jin's kouhai was the least Tachikawa could do, both for Border and for his friend.
-000-
Just as he said, Yuma spent the next few hours in the training room, fighting fast-moving opponents of Shiori's creation. He used his Black Trigger, doing the best he could without the aid of Replica. If he were being honest, Yuma would admit that without Replica, his chances success were low. He still had to try though. He couldn't back down from a fight just because he didn't know if he would win. Osamu had taught him that.
When Yuma finally grew tired, he switched with Tachikawa, who took some time fighting the same opponents Yuma had faced. The agent wasn't doing as well as Yuma, but Yuma had a Black Trigger. That was a large part of the reason why it was Yuma fighting the assassin. While Tachikawa fought, Yuma stood guard. No signs of the assassin appeared, which was reassuring but also very stressful. No assassin meant it wasn't coming yet, but no assassin also meant it could come at any time.
Only a few hours after starting, Tachikawa walked out of the simulation room. He didn't want to use all his energy in case the assassin showed up soon, but he had still gotten in a decent amount of practice.
Returning to the roof to tell Yuma that he could keep watch again, Tachikawa was a bit confused when he saw no one. The Neighbor was not on the roof where Tachikawa had left him. Wondering what Yuma was doing, and assuming it had to do with Rindo and Jin, Tachikawa headed toward Rindo's office. As expected, Yuma was there, along with Rindo and Jin.
"Hey, Tachikawa-san. Yuma was just saying that he wants to bring us to where he plans to fight. I think it's a good idea, especially because it will give you the chance to come up with some proper strategies, since you'll know where the fight will go down," Jin explained, filling the older attacker in. Tachikawa nodded, glancing at Rindo. The man looked at the three attackers in his office, their faces frozen in all the same expression.
"Well, you three look like you plan on doing this. I'll get Chika-chan and Mikumo. I would rather they come with us than stay here when no one else is around," the Tamakoma Branch Director said, getting up from his chair. Yuma and Jin stood as well, following their boss out. Unfortunately, none of them knew anything of what Jin's missing Side Effect would have told them of what future was lying in wait, claws out and ready to pounce on the unsuspecting Border agents.
A/N: I am 99.9% sure Jin and Tachikawa are actually good friends. Hate me if you want, but I think they are friends, so in this story, they are bros.