A/N: I'll start off by saying that this wasn't even supposed to be a chapter. All of this was supposed to be in the last chapter, but then I had to add something in and it got too long, so I decided to make this one kind of like a prologue chapter for Yuma's actual fighting. I'm kind of glad it worked out this way though, because I got to throw in some sarcastic Jin and gave Osamu some time to shine, even if it's just a few lines. He's such an underappreciated character, and I hate people who hate him because he's weak. In reality, not everyone is an overpowered super-soldier, and I prefer shows/books where the character has to work from the ground up, rather than starting at the top and going to ridiculously impossible heights of strength. Okay enough ranting, sorry for any errors, OOCness, typos and just overall crappy writing. I hope you guys like this chapter, even though it's a bit short.

A few minutes after the meeting in Rindo's office came to a close, Chika, Osamu, Yuma, Jin, Rindo and Tachikawa were on their way out of Tamakoma. They began following Yuma toward the location where he planned to fight, unable to take the car. There were too many of them, and they wouldn't all fit.

The walk was silent to begin with, the only sound being the quiet tap of the footsteps of the six border agents as the walked on the pavement. Red eyes scanned the surrounding area vigilantly, keeping watch for a familiar purple flame in dark alleyays.

Behind Yuma, Tachikawa and Jin were both watching their surroundings as well, hands hovering near their pockets, ready to draw and activate their Triggers at any time. They couldn't be too safe in a situation like the one they were in. Rindo had his eyes on Chika and Osamu, who watched their Neighbor friend with a mixture of emotion. Confusion toward the situation, fear of what Yuma was soon going to do, understanding that this was something that needed to be done, trust that their friend wouldn't let them be hurt again, and hope that Yuma would not leave them behind, that he wouldn't lose.

"Rindo-san, have you talked to Kido lately about the plan to take care of the assassin?" Osamu asked, breaking the silence out of the blue. Rindo looked down at his subordinate, a bit surprised by the sudden question. Chika and Osamu weren't well informed, not aware that Yuma was the target, and it made sense that Osamu especially would want to know as much as he could. As someone who relied on creativity and knowledge to make up for his physical weaknesses, Osamu was more of a curious person. However, he hadn't shown any signs that he wanted to be involved in the current matter, likely because he thought he would just get in the way.

"I discussed it with him and Shinoda not long ago. That's when it was decided that we'd have Yuma fight, because he has a Black Trigger and far more self control than Amo," Rindo said with a nod. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette, sticking it between his lips before pulling out a lighter and holding the flame to the end. He had been smoking more frequently lately.

Jin looked at his boss from the corner of his eye and noticed the states lines that had appeared on Rindo's face. The man was usually so carefree, but as others had noticed many times, he seemed to have aged teen years in the past few weeks alone. Jin almost opened his mouth to comment on the fact, but decided against it when he remembered that he probably didn't look too good himself, with his injuries from his attack just a few days ago. Even without factoring in the stress and exhaustion that showed on his own face, he knew he didn't look like his usual self.

About halfway through the walk, Jin's pace slowed down enough to be noticeable. He blamed his lack of physical activity over the past few days. Rindo looked back at his subordinate and sighed.

"You didn't forget to take your painkillers this morning, did you?" he asked, knowing Jin hated the medication, and was likely to decide to deal with the pain rather than choke down two or three giant, chalky, sour pills each day.

Jin put his hands up defensively, slipping a smile onto his face.

"Of course I didn't forget, Rindo-san. How could you think I'm so irresponsible?" he asked with mock hurt, drawing chuckles from the rest of the group. The one joke alone seemed to instantly lighten the dark mood that had clouded the agents for weeks, rarely fading and getting heavier by the day.

"It wouldn't surprise me if you forgot, Jin-san," Yuma said from the front of the group, his signature duckface out for all to see. Chika and Osamu both smiled at their friend, who's duckface disappeared, replaced by a smile. He was getting ready to fight someone who had basically killed him once, and who was very likely capable of doing it again. Still, there were five people behind him and even more hours away in another city, who had not abandoned him and told him to deal with the situation himself, even after they were hurt, and even after they found that it was in fact his problem. Yuma had no idea how he found such a good group of people, but he was glad he had decided to come to Mikado. No matter how the battle ended for him, he didn't think he'd have any regrets.

"I'm hurt, Yuma!" Laughter rang out again once more.

-000-

Too soon, the group of Border agents reached their destination, and the attitudes of the six grew serious. Yuma paused in the middle of the open space, tilting his head back slightly as he looked at the tall buildings in the distance. The rest of the group spread out around, surveying the area. Chika and Rindo mostly stayed in the same place, not exploring the scene very much. Tachikawa immediately began looking for a good place that would keep him close, but not close enough to get pulled into the fight involuntarily. However, the space also needed to keep him hidden from view while still allowing him to watch what went down in the open area.

"The old industrial area. Good choice," Jin commented as he looked at the buildings around them. The place was about as empty as the Forbidden Zone, the old factories having been closed years ago but still not demolished.

"Hey, Kuga, what do you plan to do? When you're fighting the assassin, I mean," Osamu asked as he stood facing one of the larger factories, which looked to have collapsed partially.

"I was just going to make it up as I go, just do what I can to win. It's what I usually do," the Neighbor admitted, adding in a little shrug. Osamu nodded, his eyes turning back to the factory, narrowed into critical slits.

"What about using this part of the factory that collapsed? It might be a little hard to get around, but you should be fine in a Trion body. Your Trigger has mostly ranged attacks, like the lead bullets you copied from your fight with Miwa-senpai and your chain, but to actually do damage you have to get close, right?" Osamu asked. Yuma stared for a second before nodding.

"Hmm. Your right. I didn't even think of that," he said, crossing his arms. Osamu pointed to the rubble.

"It looks kind of like a maze from here, probably with lots of tight corners. You could probably use that to surprise attack the assassin and land some hits, and you would have the walls around you constricting some of the assassin's movements, since its bigger. You'd have an advantage," the teen explained.

Jin chuckled, walking up behind Osamu and dropping a hand on his shoulders.

"Not bad, Four-Eyes. If Kuga uses his ranged attacks out here, then lures the assassin into the rubble, he'll have a pretty good chance of winning," the older teen added. Osamu gave the brunette a smile at the compliment. Yuma nodded.

"I think I'll try that. It'll probably make things a little harder for Tachikawa-san if he has to fight in close quarters with the assassin, but-" the Neighbor began, though he sudden cut off when a shiver went down his spine. Slowly turning his head, Yuma saw purple flames appeared from behind one of the old factories, the flames in the same direction as the eyes that he felt burning holes in his skull. The others followed his gaze, and their eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"This wasn't part of the plan, but it looks like we'll just have to go with it, Kuga," Tachikawa said, waving for the others to move away from the two Neighbors while backing up himself. Yuma narrowed his eyes at his opponent. He didn't want to fight with the others around, since it could endanger them, but the opportunity was perfect. Besides, Yuma knew Tachikawa and Jin would protect the others the best they could, even with Jin's injury. A chance like the one in front of him likely wouldn't fall into his lap. He needed to take it, despite the risk.

"Trigger, on'"

A/N: I really need to stop messing up the timeline I set up for this story...