After War...


As soon as he finished his speech, Kazu and Ami walked into the living room. They casted a quick glance at the photos of the victims and Kazu balled his hands in furious.

Kazu: " Tsk! Ban! Let's fight! We can't just stand still!"

Ban rested his head on his hands while he was contemplating on the situation.

Ami: " Ban..."

Ban: " that wasn't the LBX we fought for."

They all scowled as he continued.

Ban: " even after everything we've done, still LBXs, and now even children, are being used..."

Elie: " Onii-chan..."

Her eyes tore from her brother and flicked back at the footages as they showed again what was happening within the school. She looked at the one with the black and white haired man on it.

Elie: " Jin... Did you know all that?..."...


Gouda: " I won't accept this!"

He slammed his fist roughly on the bare, shaking the glasses on it. By then, they were all gathered in Blue Cats to think of what they can do.

Gouda: " I can't just accept sitting here and watching!"

Sendou: " calm down Gouda, you getting angry will only make things harder."

Gouda: " what did you say! How can you stay calm! People are dying out there!"

He said grabbing the other man by the collar and glaring into his eyes. The purple head merely retained his composed face.

Sendou: " my sister is there, Asuka's brother too."

Gouda's look softened as his words dowed on him.

Sendou: " we're worried about them, but if we lose our temper and act out of anger, we may put them and the other students in a more greater danger. That's why we have to put our minds into our heads, did you understand?"

Gouda closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself before letting the other man.

Gouda: " I'm sorry..."

Mirai: " it got through."

She turned her laptop towards them and the screen showed both Jessica and Yuuya who were in NICS HQ.

Hiro: " anything on your side?"

Jessica shook her head with a scrunched face.

Jessica: " we can't make a move, all the entrances to the island are guarded all 24 hours. Not even LBXs can get through. Our Fire Sweet is trying its best yet..."

That wasn't what they hoped for.

Mirai: " we can't make a move from here as well. And now Yagami-san, Takuya-san, Kirito and Eva are trying to investigate the situation further but..."

Ran: "... Nothing is promising..."

Hiro snapped as he looked back at the girl on his side.

Hiro: " that's right. Ran-san you have a relative there, right?"

Ran nodded her head worriedly.

Elie narrowed her eyes as something crossed her mind.

Elie: " maybe we have a way..."

They all looked at her.

Elie: " we... Have Jin in there..."

They all snapped upon hearing her.

Yuuya: " right, Jin-kun is there! He would be able to do something!"

Mirai: " I doubt so."

She made everyone look up at her.

Mirai: " I doubt he can do anything against a whole army on his own. The best he could do is lead everyone throughout the fight."

Hiro: " which means Jin-san won't be able to do much..."

Ban: " we have to believe in those children, that's all we can do now."

He spoke up, startling everyone with that.

Kazu: " Ban..."

The man propped his chin on his knitted hands.

Ban: " what Seredy said is not wrong though. The fact that those who hold power are using children and LBXs alike as weapons for their benefits, even if there were no losses, still the fact that they used them as soldiers itself is unforgivable!"

Elie: " Onii-chan..."

Ban: " we didn't fight so that LBXs are used that way, we didn't fight to give children hope and dreams so that they can be used in wars. That's not LBX..."...


He wheeled the chair towards the helicopter at the very end of the port. As soon as they approached it, a certain blond came into sight along with two guards.

Jin: " Eva?"

He couldn't help the slight surprise at seeing her there and the young woman smiled at him.

Evangeline: " before I knew it I came instead of Yagami-san, the adults back at the mainland are quite busy at the moment."

Jin: " what happened?"

Evangeline: " I will tell you after we take this gu-"

She looked at the man in front of her and then at the picture on her tablet, rolling her eyes between both.

Evangeline: " is this really him?"

Jin: " ah, his whole body is actually made of Optima organs."

Eva rubbed the back of her head.

Evangeline : " well, as long as it's him."

She nodded at the guards who took him away.

Higurashi: " with this, he will get the punishment that he deserves."

Jin solely nodded before shifting his look to the blonde.

Jin: " so what's happening in mainland?"

Evangeline : " Prime Minister Tougo Gichii fell sick. Takuya-san and the others are trying to hold everything together there."

Jin: " I see."

Eva eyed him.

Evangeline: " you're heading home, right? Jiiya-san and the others are on the edge, they're more than worried about you."

Jin: " as soon as I finish things here I will head back."

Eva nodded and whirled around to get on the helicopter, but eventually stopped.

Evangeline: " just you know, Elie is quite angry at you."

He narrowed his eyes as he looked away. Of couse she would. He did, after all, leave her again without saying a word.

Eva: " you better have a good apology."

She said and boarded the chopper, leaving the island with that. Jin stared after the mainland.

Jin: " a good apology, huh..."

He didn't have one...


Although the result of this fight was the destruction of the Second World, the students didn't mind that since the war officially ended. Even insisting that their school continues to exist for the sake of their love for LBXs.

The black and white haired man packed his things and casted one last glance around the room. Although he would miss all his students and the place there, but he was glad he can go back home. He thought as he walked to the port.

Unexpectedly, his CCM rang. When he saw the caller's ID, his heart sank. He picked up and placed the CCM next to his ear.

Elie: " did you know about it?"

Her voice was so cold.

Elie: " the truth behind that school, did you know about it from the start?"

It took him a while to untie his tongue.

Jin: "... Ah, I did..."

Elie: " even though you did, you still agreed to it! You still agreed to use the thing you love as a weapon of war! You agreed to deceive the children and use them!"

He wanted to speak but refrained, he had already decided he won't make any excuses for himself.

Elie: " you've left us so worried for almost a whole year! You've promised you won't leave like that again! And then, what were you doing! Practically tainting LBXs more! And..."

It seemed she was in a loss for words or maybe chocked on them. She eventually ended the call at that and he stared blankly at his CCM.

Jin: " she was angry... More than she was worried..."

He returned the CCM to his pocket and walked to the port with in a heavy gait...


She closed her CCM violently, gritting her teeth in anger as her hands flew to her eyes, wiping away her tears.

Ban: " Elie..."

Elie: " he knew it! He knew about everything! But he agreed to all of that! How can he agree to that!? And to think we were so worried about him this whole year while he was playing along with that war!"

Ban: " Elie, calm down, you know he had his reasons."

Elie: " but that doesn't mean to agree to the wrong thing! All the bad guys you fought had their reasons too!"

Ban sighed as he knew she wouldn't listen to him.

Ban: " I will go and wait for him on the dock. Do you want to come with me?"

Elie: " I don't want to see his face ever again!"

Ban softened his look.

Ban: " are you sure?..."

When she didn't answer and looked away, he sighed as he stood up and trudged out of the house...


Jin: " will you be fine on your own?"

Arata: " don't worry, a relative of mine will be picking me up and I'll stay at her place for a while."

Arata, who had some problems with his papers, had to wait for a relative from the main land to come pick him 'cause the staff didn't allow him through.

Jin had to bid the boy goodbye there and walked off. His eyes fell on the brunette who was waiting for him.

He sighed as he walked to him.

Jin: " Ban-kun..."

Ban: " before you say anything, I'm just glad you're alright."

He said with a bright smile. Hearing that, the man widened his eyes slightly before that he drew a small smile.

Jin: " thanks."

Ban: " now let's go somewhere, we have a long talk."...


They eventually walked to the Blue Cats Coffee. Although the board said it was closed, Ban pushed the door open and stepped in, followed by Jin.

Gouda looked up from behind the counter where he was cleaning some cups and mugs.

Gouda: " yo Ban! Jin is here too!"

He blinked twice as the man gave a small smile.

Gouda: " do you want something to drink?"

He asked.

Ban: " the usual. We will be down for a while and we will be back soon."

He told him with a smile before walking to the side door of the cafe, Jin following him.

They reached to the arena, and surprisingly it was empty then.

Ban walked to the diorama in the center while Jin merely trailed off.

Ban: " it was here, right? Our first battle."

Jin: " ... Yeah."

He knew exactly where his friend was trying to get. Ban turned back while holding up Odin.

Ban: " Jin! Battle me!"

Jin narrowed his eyes and nodded before walking to the diorama. That was Ban's way to talk things out, an LBX battle.

They stood against each other, their LBXs in hands.

Ban: " Odin!"

Jin: " Zenon!"

They landed their LBXs on the diorama.

" Battle Start!"

Ban: " go! Odin!"

Ban was first to make for attack. Zenon quickly brought its hammer in defense while Odin kept thrusting at him, pushing Zenon back.

Ban: " how do you feel about this whole incident, Jin?"

He said without taking his eyes from the CCM's screen. The other man gritted his teeth before that Zenon flung his hammer at Odin, knocking it backwards and giving the purple unit some space.

Jin: " it frustrates me, the thought that I couldn't do anything."

It was Zenon's turn to attack and press on Odin, the other LBX had to block the attacks with its shield.

Ban: " you know what you've done, right?"

Odin jumped back and landed on a hill.

Ban: " regardless of the reason, you used the LBXs you once fought for as a weapon! You just took part in a war that used innocent children and LBXs!"

It was the first time Ban looked up from his CCM and his gaze leveled that of his friend.

Odin darted forward to attack and Zenon blocked it. He grabbed the other LBX by the arm and threw it away.

Jin: " I know! And I don't intend to make excuses for that! But..."

He commended the black and purple LBX to ambush and Zenon swiped his hammer down on the falling Odin.

The purple and white unit eventually managed to roll to the side and escaped the onslaught. It quickly stood up and drew back.

Jin: " I had no other choice but to agree to that! I had to be part of that system!"

Both LBXs exchanged blows.

Ban: " how did you feel when you witnessed them getting gazed?"

Jin snapped at that question and Odin jabbed its lance ahead. Both the hammer and lance clashed together as both LBXs tried to overpower each other.

The memory of his students yelling and crying as either they tried to rush out their pods or they got gazed played through his mind.

Jin: " I regretted it, regretted asking them to fight."

His head hanged down with a broken look.

Jin: " I didn't want to use them, I really didn't... all the students who came there, they had their dreams and hopes for the future, they trusted us with their precious feelings. They were like us... But I did use them, and I'm not going to deny my fault."

He clenched his fist on his CCM before that he ordered Zenon to jump back.

Jin: " Hissatsu Function!"

Ban merely smiled at his glimmering eyes.

Ban: " I see. As long as you feel that way, then it's fine."

Odin pulled back too.

Ban: " Hissatsu Function!"

" Attack Function! Impact Kaiser!"

" Attack Function! Gungnir!"

They both launched their special moves and there was a big explosion. When the dust cleared up, both LBXs broke over.

Ban lowered his CCM with a smile.

Ban: " you're as tough as ever, Jin."

Jin blinked before smiling at his friend.

Jin: " you too."

Ban's smile widened in satisfaction at that.

Ban: " then, I would be glad to hear the reason that dragged you there in the first place."

Jin nodded. They both retreived their LBXs and trailed back to the cafe with Ban resting his arm on his friend's shoulder.

Ban: " you can tell me the whole story while having a drink, my treat."

Jin: " you don't have to."

Ban: " well, you can consider it as an apology for dragging you to a battle right after you came back."

Jin couldn't help but smiling.

Jin: " well, I can't say I didn't enjoy that battle. I hadn't the chance to battle on the island."

Ban: " eh! Really? Then how did you get to spend most of your time?"

Jin: " billiard."

Ban: " eh!"...


Ban: " I see, so in order to help her find her father, you both didn't have any other choice but to enroll there."

Jin nodded as he took a sip of his coffee.

Ban: " it must have been hard for you both."

Jin: " well, not as hard as dealing with children."

He sighed while Ban merely sweat dropped.

Ban: " I still can't capture you as a teacher at all, Jin..."

He furrowed his brow slightly.

Ban: " ne, Jin..."

The other man looked up.

Ban: " what will happen to the school? Now that the Second World was destroyed, there is no need for it to exist right?"

Jin let a small smile form on his lips.

Jin: " well, those children need it to exist. And they will keep it there, for the sake of their dreams, and their love for LBXs. They will rebuild it to a real LBX school."

Ban's face lightened up hearing that.

Ban: " that's right, then why don't we lend them a hand?"

Jin snapped at that and crooked his eyebrow.

Ban: " we can help fix that system, right, with everyone this time?"

Jin's eyes closed as his smile returned again. That was something the brunette would say.

Jin: " maybe we can have a week to teach those children how to turn that school to a real LBX one. I will talk to Yagami-san and let him arrange things for us."

He suggested and he didn't need to look at the man in front of him to know he was exotic about the idea.

Gouda: " if it's so then I would like to take a part in this. I'm sure the others will too."

He walked to them with a tray as he placed a glass of orange juice in a front of Ban and a cup of coffee in front of Jin before taking the empty ones.

Gouda: " it's the least we could do for those brave children."

Ban and Jin bobbed their heads at him.

Gouda: " by the way Jin, don't think you will get away easily! You know you owe us all an apology! We freaked out when no one could reach or find you!"

Ban sweat dropped and had an awkward smile as he whirled his head back to Jin.

Ban: " if Yagami-san didn't tell us you were in a mission somewhere. They would have searched the whole planet to find you."

Gouda: " no jock there! We were about to call out a searching mission for you!"

The man felt bad as he heard that, he didn't think his friends would actually get that worried about him. Yet again, his stay over at Kamui island took longer than he had originally expected.

Jin: " I'm really sorry."

Ban: " I'm afraid that won't work with them, Jin."

He said with a shrug but Jin looked down for a second as he was thinking of something else. He rose his look towards Ban's eyes.

Jin: " what about Elie?"

Ban blinked at him.

Jin: " ... How much she is angry?"

Ban shook his head with a sigh.

Ban: " your problem is a big one Jin. She reached the ultimate level of anger, one I never saw."

Jin: " I see..."

He looked down at his cup.

Ban: " don't worry, I'm sure she will come around soon."

Jin heaved a sigh.

Jin: " I hope so."...