A/N: I'M SO SORRY FOR UPDATING A DAY LATE! I forgot about the tests my school is doing this week, and I wasn't at home much yesterday. Last night when I went to post, I uploaded the document only to find that the original draft of this chapter was half the size of the new draft and so OOC I couldn't even read through it. I figured it would be better to just post a day late rather than post the crap I had. In the end, I got my five hours of hell -I mean testing- out of the way and wrote this chapter up today. Sorry for any errors, typos, OOCness and overall crappy writing. I hope you guys aren't disappointed by this chapter, and I'm sorry again for being late.

Yuma knew things wouldn't turn out well for him when he felt the assassin's claws pierce his chest. The thick, lethal weapons went right through his body, poking out just a little through his back. Given how close Yuma was to the assassin, his face just inches away from his opponent's, he hadn't even seen the claws until they were buried in his chest.

The young Neighbor had known about this possible outcome, though not exactly. To be precise, he knew that is was very likely that, should he be able to defeat the assassin, he'd sustain considerable damage to himself. It was almost amusing how he had gotten his hopes up a little, just to be taken down once again by the same thing that already took his life once before.

The assassin's Trion body exploded into smoke in front of Yuma, shrouding the teen in fog as his feet hit the ground, along with a pile of ashes that doubtlessly came from the assassin.

'Looks like whoever it was wanted to keep their identity a secret," Yuma concluded, before a wave of dizziness pulled his attention back to himself. The smoke cleared around him, allowing him to see his comrades for just one second before his vision flickered and his legs gave out, his body collapsing into the dirt.

His mind became foggy and his senses cut in and out like a bad television signal. Yuma was able to come to the conclusion that the connection between his Trion body and his flesh-and-blood body was fading as his Trion body lost power.

'You spent too much Trion while fighting, and there isn't enough left to mend the injuries you have. Even with all your Trion, it would have been a close call.' Yuma could hear the echo of his Trion Soldier chaperone's voice in the back of his cloudy mind, informing him of the problem like always. It made Yuma want to laugh. If Replica were there, he would doubtlessly scold Yuma for being so reckless in his fighting.

Unfortunately, Yuma was unable to even get out a chuckle. His usually-light Trion body had become heavy, as if he was wearing a suit of bricks. His eyes were sliding closed, though they stopped when just a sliver of red was still showing, allowing the blinding light of the sun above to force it's way into Yuma's artificial eyes, only to be blocked out by a light gray cloud that was the vanguard of an incoming rainstorm.

Yuma heard voices, and they were very familiar, but he couldn't place them. It sounded like he had his head buried in a pillow, muffling all the sounds around him. Even the hand that landed on his shoulder, giving him the slightest of shakes, nearly went unnoticed.

As Yuma's senses continued to dull, his thoughts growing muddled to the point that he could barely think, a memory came back to him. His current state was familiar, similar to how he had felt four years ago when he 'died' the first time. The only real difference was that there wasn't really any pain, a huge contrast to the mind-numbing burn he had felt before with his severed limbs and missing eye.

With the last of his conscious thoughts, Yuma thought of his only regret. He wanted to stay with his new friends longer. He wanted to fight alongside them and challenge harder opponents, like Kazama. He wanted to fufill his promise to get Chika and Osamu on an Away mission to bring back Chika's missing brother and friend, as well as Replica. The situation was unfortunate, but Yuma couldn't complain. He'd already lived four years longer than he should have.

The last of his strength slipping from his grasp like water, Yuma hoped for the best for those he was leaving behind.

'Goodbye.'

-000-

The muscles in Osamu's face had been itching to pull into a smile when Yuma landed the fatal blow on the assassin, turning the being's Trion body to smoke. The happiness was short lived though, and when Yuma dropped, Osamu's stomach went with him. A cold, heavy feeling filled the captain as his eyes widened in shock behind his glasses. He was confused and afraid at the same time at the sight of Trion, black as night, seeping into the air and blowing away in the wind.

"Kuga?" Osamu mumbled, his voice inaudible to those around him, who were also frozen where they stood. They hadn't seen Yuma get attacked, and they were all as confused as Osamu.

Jin regained his ability to move first, moving forward with heavy footsteps as he jogged over to his kouhai, kneeling down as Yuma's side. The others were quick to follow, Tachikawa dropping down next to Jin near Yuma's legs, while Chika and Osamu knelt across from Jin and Tachikawa, Rindo ending up behind the former two.

"What happened?" Rindo asked, not understanding what had happened at all. No one else really did either, but Jin had a good guess.

"The assassin must have brought up the hand it hadn't previously attack with when Yuma jumped toward him. It probably did it as a last-ditch effort. I can't imagine Yuma wouldn't have noticed, but if he noticed and attacked anyway, then this opponent was as tough as we thought," the brunette said, running a hand through his hair, which was damp with sweat.

Jin had been pushing himself the entire day, but he wasn't planning on resting, not with what was going on. He ignored the blood droplets that slipped out of his opened wound before being absorbed by his shirt, and he didn't care about the lecture he'd get from Rindo later.

"Why isn't Kuga's body healing? Whenever it gets damaged, it always fixes itself, but it isn't right now," Osamu pointed out, his voice dominated by confusion.

Jin frowned and shook Yuma's shoulder, trying to wake the teen up. He knew Yuma didn't sleep, and while he suspected that the incident from weeks ago in HQ when Yuma passed out had been stress-related, it was for that reason that Jin knew something was seriously wrong when Yuma didn't even stir.

"Yuma!" Jin called, gaining no response. "Yuma!" Jin tried again, only to get the same result. He brushed his bangs out of his face again, the stress of the situation catching up to him. He didn't know why Yuma's body wasn't fixing itself, and he didn't know how to solve the problem, nor did he have his Side Effect to help or let him know how the situation would end. He only knew that if Yuma's Trion body was as similar to a normal Trion body as he thought, the Neighbor would die when his now-damaged Trion body disappeared.

'Why isn't it fixing itself?' Jin thought to himself, his face blank despite his inner turmoil. He felt that he knew the answer to the question, but he couldn't think of it. He needed answers immediately, and while he usually had them, he didn't now that it counted. He strained his brain, trying to think of a solution, not wanting yet another person close to him to die. His mother and mentor had been enough.

Next to Jin, Tachikawa shifted his gaze between the others. Chika looked completely lost and ready to cry. She knew little about Yuma's Trion body and how it worked, but she did know that if the damaged Trion body failed, Yuma would die.

Rindo had a strained look on his face, and his glazed-over eyes were resting on Yuma's unmoving face, his eyebrows drawn together like he was recalling a memory.

Jin and Osamu on the other hand both looked to be deep in thought. The difference between the two was that the fear Osanu felt was evident on his face, while Jin's expression looked completely blank. The only thing that showed what the brunette really felt were his tired, icy blue eyes and the smallest creases on his face as he thought hard about what was going on.

Tachikawa himself only knew that Yuma was in trouble, but he had no idea how to fix the problem. In most situations that required thinking like the current one did, where he didn't know all the information, he'd ask someone to fill him in. However, the heavy, stressed, upset mood that had settled over the group made him keep his mouth shut. Even if he couldn't help, he had half the brains to not make the situation worse. He only hoped that Yuma wouldn't die, because Tachikawa himself was supposed to back the Neighbor up and prevent such an issue. The guilt he already felt gnawing at his stomach was enough, despite the fact that he had been told to keep out of the fight.

"Jin-san, Trion bodies break when the user runs out of Trion, right?" Osamu suddenly asked. Jin's head jerked up, and he stared for a moment before nodding slowly.

Osamu's face grew more determined rather than stressed, taking up the expression that always came following a brilliant idea from his bright mind.

"Chika, remember in the Second Invasion when you gave me Trion, since I wasn't powerful enough to fight our enemies?" the teen asked. Chika stared for a moment before nodding, not understanding what her friend was trying to say.

"I remember," she confirmed. Osamu nodded back.

"Do you think you can do that to Kuga? For him, it's over if he runs out of Trion, and his body isn't fixing itself like it should. He did use a his Black Trigger a bit even after losing his other Trion body, so I wonder if he didn't have enough Trion left and his body couldn't heal itself. Maybe if you give him some of your Trion, we can help him," Osamu explained quickly, a small wince creeping up on his face when a small crack appeared next to one of the holes in Yuma's chest. They were cutting it close on time.

Chika noticed the new damage as well, and was quick to agree. With just a nod of agreement, she picked Yuma's hand up off the ground, holding it in her own as she brought back the memory of giving Osamu Trion way back in the Second Invasion. She felt the same feeling now as she remembered from then, like energy was flooding from her hand to the one she was holding as green lines appeared on Yuma's hand, snaking upward before disappearing under his sleeve.

It took a few seconds before the punctures in Yuma's body started to shrink, slowly but surely, easing the tension in the air as they got smaller and smaller.

Chika continued to give Yuma her Trion until the holes closed completely, leaving familiar pale skin in their place. Chika didn't even have a chance to release Yuma's hand before ruby red eyes blinked open, white pupils studying her face.

Rindo, Osamu, Jin and even Tachikawa let out a collective sigh that contained the breaths they hadn't known they had been holding. They were all as glad as Chika to see Yuma awake, alive and energetic as always when he pushed with ease.

A smile crept on Jin's tired face, and while he dreaded the walk back to Tamakoma ahead of them, his legs already heavy like he had just run a marathon, he was ready to return home. Though thoughts of the future aside, he was proud of Osamu. The teen had saved Yuma himself, a feat Jin had tried and failed to manage in his muddled state. Despite his lack of physical power, Osamu was a valuable person with a creative mind. That was exactly what had made him stand out to Jin.

Osamu himself had a soft smile on his face, one reserved only for his close friends, one that was completely genuine and, at the moment, happier than ever before. He was happy because Yuma had survived the battle, even though it ended in a tie. Yuma was alive, and the assassin was gone.

It was finally over.

-000-

Just as darkness enveloped Yuma, he suddenly felt something tug at his conscious. A wave of energy hit him, followed by a steady flow. He instantly began to feel lighter, his dulled senses returning slowly at first, but then exponentially as he felt more and more power seep into his body. Soon, he could feel familiar, warm hands on one of his own, the warmth coming from the same place as the power he felt rushing into his body. He didn't even need to see who was helping him to know the person's identity, but he still opened his eyes anyway.

Chika was staring down at him with surprise on her face, along with some relief and happiness as she noticed that Yuma was okay. Yuma gave her a small smile, the ends of his lips turning up in thanks, but he knew that while Chika wasn't stupid, she also wasn't the mastermind behind his 'resurrection'. All he had to do was follow Chika's line of vision as she glanced to the side in order to find the man behind the plan.

Yuma's eyes landed on the familiar leaf-green orbs that belonged to his first Japanese friend and his smile widened. The Neighbor planted his hands on the ground before pushing himself upright without difficulty, his strength totally renewed.

"Thanks, partner.'

A/N: Important! The next chapter will be next week, and it's the last one *sobbing* It's an Epilogue, and while I know many people don't like those, I recommend reading it, because I will be tying up loose ends, including Tamakoma-1 who I abandoned in Shizuku and totally forgot about, and at the end I'll put in an authors note regarding the original plans for the end of the story, in case anyone is interested in seeing how different things ended up.