A/N: I don't own World Trigger
Mimics
Chapter 63: Father and Son Part II
A gasp escaped Yuma as his head was lobbed off. His body exploded, returning him to his real body. It wasn't the first time he lost his head, but he still found himself checking that his head was attached to his neck.
A bop to his head had Yuma looking at his father kneeling next to him.
"Dead." Yugo pressed a hand against Yuma's neck. "Dead." He pressed against Yuma's chest to knock the kneeling child flat on his back. "Dead. What was your mistake here?"
Yuma stayed on the ground, staring up at the orange sky. "Heaving an evil father."
Yugo rolled his eyes in fond amusement. "You guarded against my left sword instead of the right."
"I would have lost my arm if I ignored your left sword." Yuma protested.
"So, losing your head is better?" Yugo retorted. "If you can't stop both attacks, then let the one that will do less damage hit. It doesn't matter what kind of battle it is. Your head, neck, and chest should always be your top priority to guard. It's better to lose an arm than your head. Losing your head is instant death and will put you at the mercy of your enemies. That is the last thing you want."
Yuma rolled over onto his stomach and propped his head up with hands. "Wouldn't it be better to stop both attacks?"
Yugo settled down next to his son, laying on his side and staring at the relaxed expression on Yuma's face as he soaked in the last of the sun rays before it turned night. "That is always the best option, so why didn't you do it?"
Yuma's fingers twitched against his cheek as he imagined his swords in his hands. "The blades were too heavy so I couldn't move fast enough to counter both of your swords. It feels awkward holding two swords."
"It's a skill that takes a lot of time to master." Yugo replied. "What can you do to fix that problem?"
"Train more?"
Yugo hummed in reply. "Training more would definitely help. The more you train, the more used to the motions of sword fighting you would get as well as allowing you to get used to the weight of the swords. If you get strong enough to handle the weight of the swords, you can start to move faster to allow you the chance to block both attacks. However, that is only one solution to your problem. Every problem has multiple solutions. What else could you do?"
"Hmm," Yuma eyed the clouds slowly drifting across the sky. Differently? What else could he do beyond just training to make himself strong enough to handle his swords better? He supposed he could use only one sword. Holding one of his swords with both his hands should take some of the strain from the weight off of him, but even with that, he wouldn't be fast enough to block both of dad's swords before they hit him. The problem was speed. It was always going to be his speed.
It was such a cute expression. His little boy had such a strong look of concentration on his face as he tried to think of an answer to what he could do to improve himself. There was no true correct answer since whatever was decided was going to be a difficult path regardless. Yuma wasn't going to become an expert just by thinking on this.
"I need to move faster." Yuma said. "It doesn't matter how strong I am if my speed can't match it. I'll always get killed because I'm not fast enough to defend. If I could throw up a Shield while blocking with my sword..."
Yugo sat up, bringing his son's attention to him. "That's parallel processing and it's something that takes a lot of training and time because of how hard it is to do. You need to take into account the two attacks coming from different angles and make two different moves to defend yourself. Throw up a Shield on one side while using your sword to protect your other side. Because of how much information you're taking in and processing while having to counter, it's hard to master. Typically, you take one thing and get used to that. Once you do, you add a second factor in and master doing two things at once, and then afterwards, you can add another. It is something you're going to have to learn and master if you're to be an expert at some point. Right now, though, it doesn't solve your speed problem."
Yuma dropped his hands from his face to plant them on the ground. He pushed off to roll himself over onto his back so he could stare straight up at the sky.
"And perhaps it was partly my fault."
Yuma twisted his head on the ground to look at Yugo, a brow raised in contemplation. His dad constantly told him that Yugo wasn't always going to be right. It didn't matter that Yugo was an adult. He was still only human and humans made mistakes as none of them were perfect. It was for that reason that Yuma never felt surprised if Yugo admitted to a mistake.
"The Trigger I gave you was a copy of mine. It was a backup Trigger I kept on me in case mine broke and I didn't have time to fix it before I got attacked." Yugo replied. "It was my intention to teach you sword fighting. Using my backup Trigger was good to teach you the basics as it allowed you to learn the basics of sword fighting by copying my moves. I thought it would be easier for you if we held the same weapons. However, there is another lesson to learn."
Yuma pushed himself into a sitting position, curious eyes on his father. He always became intrigued so fast when it came to combat. He was always so eager to learn everything he could about fighting.
"One fighting style may not work for someone else. The best fighters out there know their strengths and weaknesses and what type of weapon would work best for them based on that." Yugo sat up to mirror his son's position of sitting on his knees, facing Yuma. He pulled one of his swords free from the sheath at his side and rested it flat on his knees. "My sword is heavy and durable which makes it great for offense, but on the opposite side, it can make me slow which can affect my defense. I counter that downside by using two swords so if I am attacking with one, I can immediately move to defense with the other. They are long swords that work with my height. However, you're still pretty young, and thus, quite short, so a long blade that is heavy isn't suitable for you. The length of the blade would get in the way of your defense."
"My swords are shorter than yours."
"I made adjustments to the blades' lengths for you, but they are still heavy, right?" Yugo asked.
Yuma nodded. "What you are saying is that I need swords that are lighter and shorter to much my height which is my disadvantage." He pouted at the thought. He knew he was only eight so he was still growing, but he didn't realize it would hurt him so much in combat.
"Hmm, I wouldn't call your height a disadvantage." Yugo bopped his son on the head, ruffling up his hair affectionately. "Being smaller than others means you weigh less so you have more speed and can get around their weapons more ease with some practice. There are disadvantages like your reach won't be as far, but you can take advantage of your height. Winning a fight is more than just being stronger than your opponent. You do whatever it takes to win, even if that is being sneaky and manipulative."
The wind ruffled Yuma's bangs, blowing them into his eyes, but he didn't even blink as he kept his attention locked on Yugo. It had been a long time since Yuma struggled to wield his father's blades. He may be in the body of an eleven-year-old that didn't change physically, but his strength had still increased. The swords didn't feel as bad as when he was a kid, but they were still something he was unused to since he preferred light weight blades at this point in this life.
The lesson of finding the best weapon that fit his strengths and his physical abilities was one that he took to heart. Sometimes, though, the best weapon was not always available. Like, when he had to use Osamu's Raygust to keep from drawing attention to him by constantly using his Black Trigger. And now, he lost his Scorpion Trigger so he had to use the old Trigger of Yugo's. He just had to make do sometimes.
Yugo was going to be the problem though. He was a master with these blades. On the side though, Yuma was a master with the Black Trigger seals. They were both fighting with the same swords and the Black Trigger seals and they were each a master of one of them. It certainly balanced things out.
This time, Yugo broke the stand off by throwing himself at Yuma, who blocked Yugo's sword again. Seeing movement from the corner of his eyes, Yuma pushed down on Yugo's blade to keep the swords locked while he ducked under the sword coming from his head. Being in the clear, Yuma took a step back, releasing Yugo's sword from the stalemate.
Yuma's hand twitched at his side as he contemplated pulling out his second sword, but he pushed the plan aside. He wouldn't move fast enough if he had to swing both of these swords around. That was the whole reason he chose Scorpion over Kogetsu or Raygust when he joined Border. The Border agents weren't used to speedy fighters. They had some, but when compared to Yuma, they were vastly inexperienced and had nothing on Yuma's speed. Yuma wasn't one to brag, but he was on the faster agents in Border, if he wasn't already the fastest.
A slight twinge of Yugo's lips had Yuma's eyes narrowing, cautious of another one of his tricks.
"Don't look so suspicious all the time, Yuma." Yugo said, a teasing lilt to his voice. "I was just wondering when you would get serious about this."
"I've been serious about this since Mimics first started attacking us." Yuma retorted.
Yugo raised a brow. "Oh? Then, where is the aggression?"
The dagger slipped from Yuma's hand, but he didn't let that deter him. He twisted away from Yugo while yanking on his other dagger. With the wire connecting the two daggers, yanking on it pulled the dagger he lost back to him. The moment it landed back in his free hand, Yuma was back to closing the distance between him and Yugo.
Yugo felt a smile tug at his lips as he stepped back to lessen the weight of the blow from Yuma's attack. His son didn't stop there though. No, Yuma didn't let up as blow after blow came from Yuma, but not a single one of his attacks broke through Yugo's defense. With each successful block, Yugo saw the frustration build in Yuma's eyes.
Well, that certainly wouldn't do.
With the next attack that Yugo blocked, he twisted around to get to his son's side and then grabbed his wrist. He tugged on Yuma's wrist hard enough to off balance the kid which gave him the time to swing his sword up to Yuma's neck. He didn't cut his head off, but did press his sword into Yuma's throat, leaving a shallow cut there. "Dead." Yugo said, not yet releasing his son as he waited for Yuma to accept the defeat.
Yuma stared ahead at the empty spot where Yugo had been before he moved to trap him. His grip on his daggers tightened for just a moment before he relented when he felt the sword dig just a bit deeper into his neck. The daggers fell from his limp hands to hit the ground. As soon as he was free of his weapons, the sword left his throat, allowing the black Trion to fill the air around them, but Yuma took no notice of it as he flopped onto the ground in frustration, hands curling in the grass under him.
Yugo leaned over Yuma, blocking his view of the night sky above them. They had been training for a good portion of the day. Their training session had started so well too. "Getting frustrated isn't going to help."
Yuma twisted his head around to stare off to the side.
Sighing, Yugo stabbed his swords in the ground and sat by his side. "I'm not saying you can't be frustrated, but you shouldn't let it control you in a fight. The moment you stop thinking rationally and let your frustration decide your path is the moment you lose. Your opponent will take advantage of that. You need to remember. Fighting isn't just about physical strength. It is just as much about mental fortitude as it is strength. You need a strong mind to not only keep yourself calm when your plan fails, but to also resist the manipulation tactics of your opponent."
Yuma felt a twinge of annoyance. "Nothing I do works against you." He grumbled. "I thought I was finally getting the hang of it now that I don't have heavy swords weighing me down."
"Just because you haven't hit me once, it doesn't mean you're not strong." Yugo replied. "You've gotten a lot faster in these last few months."
Yuma twisted his head back around to stare up at his father's face, frowning. "Your side effect would be nice to have."
Yugo raised a brow. "Why do you say that?"
"I can never tell when someone is lying to me."
"I can tell whenever someone lies, but even without that side effect, you can learn to read people and from there, you can begin to tell yourself when someone is lying to you." Yugo replied. "But, I am not lying to you, Yuma. You really have gotten stronger since switching to lighter blades."
"But with your side effect, you don't have to even take the chance about being wrong." Yuma insisted, refusing to move past this.
"People are usually jealous of what they don't have and don't realize just what kind of a burden it truly is." Yugo replied.
"Huh?"
Yugo chuckled and ruffled Yuma's hair. "Forget it. My point in this, Yuma, is that you can't let your emotions control the flow of the battle." He pushed himself to his feet and pulled one of his swords free from the ground while motioning for Yuma to rise as well. "The mental part of a battle might just be more important than the actual fight. You charged at me recklessly because you desperately wanted to land a hit, but that was your downfall since you left your side open which allowed me to take advantage of that."
Yugo used the flat side of his sword to nudge Yuma arms into the right position. "For now, when you get frustrated that your strategy didn't work, I want you to take a step back, take a breath, and reevaluate. In a real fight, your enemy won't let you do this in front of them, but for now, between us, I want you to learn to control that frustration because if you don't, your enemy will control it to their advantage."
"So, you want me to attack less and think more?" Yuma asked.
"Hmm," Yugo thought for a minute before shaking his head. "You have good instincts which pairs nicely with the aggressive style of fighting you are going for. However, if you get matched off against someone who focuses on a defensive style, you will never win. It doesn't matter how strong your attacks are against an impeccable defense. If you can't break through, you lose, but a good thing to know is that no one is invincible. This is where you need to not get frustrated as you need a clear mind to think of a strategy."
"I seem to recall a lecture about planning out a strategy to get through my enemy's defenses." Yuma retorted. "And honestly, your defense feels like a cheat since you can sense Trion."
"Everything is fair in war, Yuma." Yugo looked towards another hidden group of agents. "I'm actually quite surprised none of them have taken a shot against me."
"They're not here to fight you. This is just between us." Yuma reminded. Yugo kept commenting on that, but Yuma's answer would not change. The Border agents were not here to interfere between father and son.
Complete honesty. His son truly came here with backup but had no intention of using it. It was complete–"Foolishness."
Yuma smirked at Yugo's pained look. "When do you recall me ever accepting help willingly?"
The pained look turned sour. For all the training he gave Yuma, it was so hard to get him to accept help without pouting about not needing it.
However...
Yugo opened his eyes to meet the confident ones of his son. He moved so fast that Yuma barely got his sword up in time to stop the strike. Yugo leaned into Yuma's space to be by his ear. "You're right that our time together didn't yield good results on your eagerness to accept help, but..."
But?
Yuma forced their swords apart and went for his own attack, but got deflected and forced back a few steps when he found himself back on the defensive.
"I think the lesson finally stuck. From what I've seen when you confronted me with allies around, there was complete trust among you all. That kind of trust only comes from the willingness to cooperate that you lacked as a child."
That wasn't right. Yuma didn't lack it. He did understand the importance of teamwork, but he fought against it when he got saved in battle simply because he wanted to prove himself and get praise for his accomplishments more than anything. He wanted to show his dad his strength and get praise that he could truly believe. The praise Yugo gave him in training never truly felt real because Yuma could never overcome the barrier of Kuga Yugo. Despite what Yugo said, Yuma didn't feel strong after fighting him so he fought so hard to prove himself in battle because as a child, Yuma thought if he received help in battle then it must mean he was weak and in need of saving.
That couldn't be farther from the truth.
Allies simply watched each other's backs.
"You're distracted."
Yugo was suddenly in Yuma's face. Yuma barely blocked the strike in time. As he did, his eyes caught sight of the planted seal on the Chain that Yugo left as it was suddenly glowing. Taking a hold of his sword with both hands for a better grip, Yuma slammed their swords together as hard as possible because no matter how great Yugo was, a two-handed grip gave better leverage than a one-handed grip. The force of the attack caused Yugo's grip to slacken which Yuma used as a chance to jump away from Yugo just as bullets came flying out of his seal. To Yuma's displeasure, as he jumped, the bullets changed trajectory.
Yugo's variation of Hound.
Yuma landed on the side of the building, planting his hand on it. "Chain, triple."
The Chain launched out of the building, heading for the one opposite of it. Yuma didn't even wait for the Chain to connect as he was jumping on it to dodge the bullets. Hound bullets didn't give up that easily, so Yuma threw up his Shield to let the bullets slam into it. The resulting explosion left a cloud of smoke that left him blinded, but not deaf. He heard the telltale sign of a sword slicing through the air and swung his sword to meet it before the sword could meet Yuma's body. Instead of drawing his other sword, Yuma threw up another shield to block the second sword, though he heard it crack under the pressure.
"It truly is amazing how much Border has grown. They have so many interesting Triggers now." Yugo said.
"Sad you missed it?" Yuma retorted. "I bet you are regretting leaving Japan to travel the Neighborhood now that you've seen how much your organization has grown beyond you."
Yugo felt a twinge of something hit him from Yuma's words. His questions just seemed so wrong. "I always expected Border to grow. My presence wasn't needed for that."
"But seeing it now, aren't you upset at losing the chance to be a part of it? If you had just stayed, we wouldn't be in this situation right now. You could still be alive." His own statement caused a ping of hurt to hit Yuma. He was just trying to get in Yugo's head, but if he wasn't careful, he was going to end up getting trapped in his own head with these thoughts.
"It's not good to think about what ifs. The past can't be changed." Yugo retaliated.
"You sound like Konami-senpai."
Ah, the fiery, protective girl who wielded ax weapons so unlike what the rest of the agents used. "You have a good mentor in her. You should listen to her." Yugo broke away from Yuma to gain some distance. "And forget about the past."
"Forget it?" Yuma echoed. "And what would that mean for all the time we spent together?"
"Do you care about it?" Yugo asked, getting Yuma to jerk in surprise. "In your what ifs, you would have never existed if I stayed here. I would be safe and alive though."
That hurt to think about, but Yuma was the one to bring up the idea of Yugo never leaving Japan. What ifs were a truly dangerous concept to play with. However, Yuma wouldn't let his own words dissuade him. He would break through to Yugo. "Those moments mean everything to me. You and Replica were the only constants in my whole life. I will not turn my back on our past the way you have."
Yuma drew his second sword while at the same time creating a seal behind his foot. "Bound, double." The force of the seal propelled him straight towards Yugo. Yugo crossed both of his swords to stall Yuma's attack then stepped to the side to dodge the second blade. The spot where his foot landed had a seal applied to it that sent another Chain flying across the sky.
*Mimics*
"Do you feel like they are abusing Chain? Fighting on the ground sounds easier than fighting like this." Karasuma said as he watched Yugo jumped to his new Chain with Yuma chasing him.
"This is how Yuma fights, but it's not Kuga-san's style." Jin said. "He's letting Yuma set the flow of the fight right now."
"Letting? So, what? Yuma isn't in control and just being played right now?" Konami asked.
Jin watched the exchange of blows between father and son with a frown. "They've barely even started."
"That seems true. I expected more explosions from these two, but it seems they are more focused on the support seals of Yuma's Black Trigger rather than the offensive ones." Konami replied.
"Testing the waters or do you think Kuga-san has a plan in the works?" Karasuma asked.
"Kuga-san chose to surrender to us last night out of concern for Yuma's wellbeing from overuse of the Black Trigger seals. Perhaps, that concern is still in place even now." Reiji suggested.
"Huh?" Konami snarled, pointing aggressively towards the battle happening in the distance. "Are we not watching the same fight? He just tried to blow Yuma's face off with bullets!"
"That was never going to succeed, and Kuga-san knows that." Reiji said. He kept his scope locked on Yuma and Yugo following them all along the Chains that they were running across as they exchanged blows so he could be ready to back up Yuma if he needed. Currently, though, it seemed that Yuma was handling himself just fine. For that reason, Reiji's finger wasn't even on his trigger. There was a rule to not put his finger on his trigger unless he had a plan to take a shot, and he had no plans to shoot. They had promised to give Yuma the chance with his father and he wasn't going to break that promise. "Kuga-san knows Yuma's skill, even if most of the information is years old. It feels like they are getting a feel for each other's current skill level."
"Why would Kuga-san want to give Yuma the time to study him and work on a strategy?" Konami said, frowning. If Yugo really wanted to steal Yuma's Black Trigger to save himself, he would have been going all out against Yuma from the very beginning. That was what Konami had fully expected from the man because nothing she saw from him all week showed the caring, loving father that she knew he could be from Yuma's stories.
She didn't see that loving father so there was nothing to trust in Yugo here. It was why she was so unnerved letting Yuma take on Yugo alone. She was worried about any tricks that Yugo might pull. He had hounded Yuma all week. He had kidnapped him. He had left his son for dead. He had taunted them with Yuma's death.
She hated the man in front of her.
But, not Kuga Yugo.
The man that Yuma spoke of that saved his life was someone that Konami deeply respected even though she never met him. The Kuga Yugo in front of her was not real. Just like with Mogami, she saw how false he was to the true self he was from years ago.
It had been terrifying to see Mogami like this. To see someone she did personally know succumb to the Trion Soldier programming had been so painful. Mogami had been a trusted mentor, not only to Jin but to all the kids in Old Border. Jin had just been his personal student while Konami had gravitated more towards Rindo.
Despite that, Konami would still say she was close to Mogami when he had been alive, which meant she was justified in feeling furious at how his memory was desecrated. She understood it so she could empathize with Yuma's feelings of wanting to save Yugo from himself.
That was why it was so frustrating to just stand here and watch Yuma fight alone. She needed him to know that he wasn't alone.
Why did Jin and Yuma both feel like they needed to finish things with Mogami and Yugo one-on-one?
She understood it was a close, personal matter to each of them, but they were her friends. If it was important to them, it was important to her.
"I know it doesn't seem like it, but I think this is Kuga-san trying to resist." Jin said. "In fact, I bet he was fighting against his programming all week, but it wasn't a strong enough resistance so we all turned a blind eye to it."
Konami scoffed.
"Think about it, Konami. Kuga-san had so many opportunities to kill Yuma, but he never took it."
Konami finally removed her eyes from the father-son fight to stare at Jin with a frown. "What happened between you and Mogami-san last night?"
Jin's hand curled shut tightly as he recalled the phantom feeling of his blade meeting nonresistant flesh. "I saw the man beneath the weapon. Yuma was right the other day."
"What did he say?" Karasuma asked curiously. Yuma had been saying a lot this week so Jin could have been referring to anything.
"That Kuga-san won't kill him." Jin replied. Jin didn't want to believe Yuma's words that night because the vision of his death was haunting him. In fact, ever now, that vision wouldn't leave Jin alone, especially the one where Yugo had Yuma beat and held a sword to his throat. That future still hadn't been beaten. Jin had a very good feeling that today, that this fight, was where that vision was from.
"You can't be serious." Konami scoffed. "Kuga-san may not have plunged his sword into Yuma's chest, but taking his ring which is the only thing sustaining his life is the same as killing him."
Jin shook his head. "And then he practically handed it back to Tamakoma-2 and Miwa squad when they confronted him. Against Mogami-san and Kuga-san, who were both wielding Black Triggers, that should have been impossible for them to achieve." He looked over towards Konami, imploring her to understand. "I saw it on Kuga-san's face last night. When I said his future was for him to survive and that Yuma would die, the anguish on his face was real. He wants us to stop him because he can't stop himself. He's not plunging his sword into Yuma's chest because he wants us to have the chance to undo all his effort to save himself."
Konami broke eye contact first to turn to look back at the fight happening in the distance in time to see her student duck under Yugo's sword and close the distance with him while swinging his sword in an upwards angle to go for his throat. Yugo blocked with his Shield, stalling the sword just an inch from his throat. It reminded her of a few days ago when Yugo had a sword resting on Yuma's throat, but didn't even leave a scratch on him when he ran from that fight. Yugo could have won that day. He could have taken the Black Trigger from Yuma. Hell, he could have taken Yuma and gotten what he wanted and killed Yuma. Yugo would have gained the full power of the Black Trigger a lot faster if Yuma wasn't around keeping half of the power for himself.
"I understand where you are coming from, Jin, but it is still hard to believe after the attack we faced from Mogami-san and Kuga-san when Yuma was unconscious." Reiji replied.
"Or the attack on HQ last night." Karasuma added.
"They couldn't resist their Trion Soldier programming forever. They were still programmed to accomplish their mission, but we shouldn't undersell their resistance, no matter how little it looked to us. It was thanks to that resistance that Mogami-san healed Yuma." Jin opened and closed his hand a few times and then shook it out as he tried to get rid of the phantom feeling of killing Mogami. He never remembered when he killed his enemies because it didn't matter. It was either Trion Soldiers which were just weapons or people in Trion bodies and they would be fine afterwards. Mogami was just a Trion Soldier so Jin shouldn't feel anything for killing him, but seeing the face of his mentor and putting a sword through him while knowing it would mean he would be destroyed forever was a fresh wave of pain that reminded him of when he first lost Mogami years ago. Of kneeling by Mogami's side, Mogami's blood soaking into his pants, as he watched his mentor use the last of his strength to create Fujin.
Defeating Mogami last night wasn't even something Jin accomplish by his own power. It wasn't a win for Jin, but it was a win for Mogami. He fought through his programming hard enough to give Jin the opening. As painful and horrible as it was for Jin to see Mogami in those final moments and knowing that he was partly the reason for it, it had also felt strangely freeing.
Mogami had died a long time ago, and though there was much pain and grief through it, Jin had accepted it and moved on. He hated having to see his mentor return as an enemy but towards the end, he began to see his real mentor bleeding out and it was through that, he understood where Yuma was coming from last night. There was nothing that would stop Mogami and Yugo forever. Eventually, they would drain the Black Triggers of all power and become permanent soldiers to Meraki. None of them wanted that. They didn't want to see Mogami become a slave to another country. Mogami didn't want to hurt Border. Border didn't want to lose their Black Triggers.
It would have been less painful for Jin if he let someone else fight Mogami and kill him, but there was a sense in relief in Jin by doing it himself. He got to see his real mentor be freed from the anguish he went through the past couple of days. Jin may have had to suffer seeing him die a second time, but a part of him was content to know Mogami was happy to escape his prison of being forced into a life as an enemy to his organization.
It would be the same for Yugo.
Yugo was just as much of a prisoner as Mogami. In fact, it may be worse for him since not only was he trying to steal from Border, but he was also in the process of killing Yuma to accomplish that mission.
If Yugo was to resist like Mogami did, then Yuma was needed. Only Yuma could reach his real father. That was what Jin learned from Mogami last night, and for that reason, Jin would not intervene unless absolutely necessary. He would allow Yuma to handle this.
*Mimics*
Yuma twisted his head to the side to avoid Yugo's sword, but wasn't quite fast enough as he felt it slice right below his left eye. He jumped away from Yugo to get the time to brush the spilling Trion away so it wouldn't impede his vision.
Instead of following his son to give him no time to recover, Yugo found himself backing up a step as the black Trion covered his eye while Yuma cleared it away. It blocked Yuma's eye from Yugo's vision.
A single glazed eye looked at Yugo, though Yugo wasn't even sure if Yuma was aware of anything happening around him. The other side of his face was just a gaping, bleeding hole where his eye should be.
His son was too young for this. He was too young to be ripped to pieces like this. Yugo couldn't believe anyone could be this cruel to a child who had long lost the fight. Were the Spinthir so ready to kill Trigger uses to weaken Calvaria forces that they were prepared to destroy a child's life that only just started?
He couldn't put all the blame on them.
Yugo was the one who brought Yuma into this life of fighting. He put his son in a war because he thought he would be safe with a Trigger and could pull him out when it got too dangerous.
Why did Yugo think Yuma would listen to him? He had always been gung-ho about throwing himself into fights. Yugo should never have left him alone while a Black Trigger user was on the prowl.
Yugo jerked out of his thoughts when he saw Yuma right in front him, eyes narrowed in a sharp focus. There was no hesitation in his movement as he tried to take advantage of Yugo's distraction by trying to stab Yugo through the chest. Yugo swung his sword up from his side to slam into Yuma's blade and force it high into the air to redirect the attack. He kept their swords locked there while their second swords got locked downwards by Yuma slamming his sword into Yugo's before he could move it.
"What happened to not letting yourself get distracted in battle?" Yuma asked.
No reply was forthcoming from Yugo as his eyes were suddenly tracing the cut under Yuma's eye. The Trion had stopped spilling out of it for it was such a shallow cut. It was such a tiny wound that it hardly did anything to Yuma. In fact, the cut was far less terrifying than all the cracks Yugo had seen Yuma covered in a couple days ago when he left Yuma for dead in Border's HQ after stealing his ring.
No.
This wasn't the time for Yugo to be getting distracted.
Yuma had finally come to him.
Yugo didn't have to hunt him down this time.
Yuma came to him, which was practically an offer for him to take his Black Trigger. He could finally accomplish his mission.
"Boost, Double." Yugo lifted his foot as the seal got applied to his leg. Seeing this, Yuma ripped his swords free to escape, but instead of aiming the kick at his son, Yugo slammed his foot into the Chain they were standing on, causing it immediately snap apart. The crumbling Chain left no support for either Yugo or Yuma so both of them were left falling to the ground.
Yuma twisted in the air to ensure he landed right side up. He hit the ground and brought up his swords up crossed in front of him to block Yugo's attack. He looked up, hissing in annoyance at the dark look that had crossed Yugo's face. "Where did you go?" This was the same look that Yugo had shown Yuma when he stole the Black Triggers from HQ the other night. It was the dark, greedy look of the Mimic programming demanding his survival above all else. The Yugo he met in the church today and up to this point was still a Mimic, his facial expression had been far less ominous. There had been a sort of warm feeling to his expression and voice up until now. He had tried to kill Yuma, yes, but the intent had felt less hostile.
Mogami had been right.
Yugo didn't want this.
Yugo was trying to fight it. Perhaps, like Yuma wanted to see his father, Yugo just wanted to see his son, but they were forced into being enemies.
This was why Yuma pleaded his case to be the one to go after Yugo alone. According to Mogami, Yugo didn't want this but was losing himself to his programming. Yuma was the one who needed to be here because he was the one who would be best at pulling at the real feelings of Kuga Yugo. They need Yugo to come out.
Yuma needed his dad to come out.
"Oyaji."
"Oyaji." Big, childish eyes stared up at Yugo with a big grin place.
Yuma dropped one of his swords and pulled his other sword away, leaving no leverage for Yugo's swords which off balanced him and caused him to tilt forward. Before his swords could accidentally cut Yuma, Yuma rolled out of the way and planted his free hand on the ground. "Bolt, Double."
Instead of shooting his bullets upwards, Yuma planted the seal downwards and unleashed his bullets onto the ground, resulting in an explosion that rocked the whole area and left the road crumbling beneath their feet and sending them both falling through the rubble to the tunnels underground.
*Mimics*
Shinoda found himself staring out the window of his office. He couldn't see anything except for the Restricted Zone, but he knew that somewhere out there, Yuma and Yugo were fighting. He wanted to believe he had no reason to worry as Yuma had multiple agents working as backup should he need it, but considering how Yugo has been running circles around them all week, his concerns couldn't be completely erased.
"I know Yuma-kun said he could do this, but it feels quite cruel to put this on him." Shinoda said. "It shouldn't have been put on Jin to kill Mogami-san last night either." Not that they had any other choice but to leave it in Jin's hands last night since they hadn't been informed until this morning that Jin and Karasuma went out last night on a hunch on how to find Yuma.
"As painful as this is for them, both Jin and Yuma are very strong. I believe if anyone can recover from this, it will be those two." Rindo replied, taking a drag from his cigarette. "And they have all their friends by their side to help them through it."
"I suppose that is true. Though, I can't believe these Mimics." Shinoda crossed his arms, allowing his finger to tap against his elbow as he thought. "I knew Neighbors could be vicious with their need to grow their strength to protect their nations, but to use something like Mimics is on another level. We've seen how harsh that world can be, but that was in terms of war. This can basically be seen as a mental attack, and what for? Why attack like this?"
"It's an answer we will probably never get. Only Meraki could tell us that and they don't seem keen on coming here themselves." Rindo replied. "It's no different than any other attack from Trion Soldiers."
"I would argue there is a huge difference. Those attacks don't put a huge mental strain on my agents."
"Or us." When Shinoda gave him a look, Rindo raised a brow, as if asking his friend to argue with him.
After a moment, Shinoda turned back to continue staring out the window. "It's been a long time since I've had memories from past haunt me like this, and Yugo-san isn't even targeting us and trying to kill us like he is with Yuma-kun. If we didn't have the away mission to prepare for, I would give him a vacation after this."
Rindo chuckled. "I'm not sure Yuma would know to do with himself if he didn't at least train a bit every day."
"Strange." Shinoda murmured. "Yuga-san would have ingrained the idea of rest days in his head."
Rindo laughed again. "Yuma just enjoys fighting for sport. He finds it fun, and without a real body, it's not like he can get exhausted from non-stop training. Though, I am convinced he needs a hobby. He spends too much time thinking of battles and strategy."
Shinoda hummed, shifting his eyes to sky where clouds were lazily drifting across it. There was a night, just a few days ago, where he was on the roof and found Yuma there, watching the sky. "He is fascinated by the stars, just like Yugo-san. Sometimes, when I look at him, I see Yugo-san. I hear Yugo-san. But it's not fair to Yuma-kun to always compare him to his father. He is his own person."
"Yuma spent a majority of his life with Kuga-san. It's only natural he would pick up a lot of his habits. However, I can tell. Yuma isn't a carbon copy of his father. He has his own likes and desires."
Shinoda smiled. "It really shows in his fighting style. The way Yuma-kun fights is nothing like how Yugo-san ever fought. At the same time though, seeing Yugo-san with his swords and using the Black Trigger seals, I can clearly see the influence he did have on Yuma-kun." The smile was wiped away when he glanced over at his computer on his desk that was showing the active state of the agents. He normally didn't keep an eye on the agents in the field unless he happened to be free and went to the war room or if a major battle was taking place so he couldn't relax until he knew the threat had been taken care of.
Maybe Yuma wasn't the only one who could use a break.
They had all been working extra hard to deal with the threat of the Mimics.
Perhaps a day or two of rest before training for the away mission could be given. So many of his agents had been practically living in HQ while dealing with the threat of Yugo and Mogami. They all needed to go home at some point, and preferably before he had the parents of the younger agents thinking something was wrong and starting a riot.
"And now the agents are showing the influence Yuma has on them." Rindo added. "The rank wars not only help the agents get stronger, but also allows them to watch other agents and take inspiration from them." Tamakoma-2 clearly made a splash in the most recent B-Rank season and showed these agents how a good strategy can make up for lack of experience. Though, it did help to have Yuma being the ace of the team and him being quite willing to learn from the senior agents as well as him willing to follow his captain's strategies and decision to improve the team.
"They've all truly brought out the best in each other." Shinoda smiled, though there was a sadness to it. "Mogami-san and Yugo-san would have loved it. This was always what they dreamed of."
Rindo threw his arm over the back of the couch and rolled his cigarette between his fingers. He stared at his friend for a second before moving his eyes towards the ceiling. "Yuma said when his mother created Mimics, they were meant to be a final goodbye to those we have lost and a way to help with grief. I understood where he was coming from when he explained it, but the idea of it still made me uncomfortable. Perhaps part of that reason is because we have only seen the Mimics as enemies. Yuma had a different viewpoint of them since he saw them as a child in the way his mother intended."
Shinoda stared at Yuma's icon on the computer that showed him in close quarters with the enemy that Shiori had marked as Kuga Yugo. It wasn't often that Yugo removed his bagworm and let them see him on the radar. "You're thinking you would like to see the version Yuma-kun's mother made so we could show the true Mogami-san and Yugo-san how much Border has grown and gotten stronger."
"Maybe it's childish sentiment to want to show them what we managed to accomplish with the organization they started." Rindo replied.
"Heh," Shinoda smirked. "Yugo-san took us in Border and helped both of us so much. We both always wanted to pay him back and make him proud. Maybe it is childish, but when have you ever turned away from having a bit of childish spirit in you? All work and no play leads to a stressful, boring life."
"It's not just about pride. Kuga-san and Mogami-san loved Border. How could they not when they put so much time and energy into laying down the foundation for it? I want them to see how their hard work has blossomed." Rindo explained.
"When Yugo-san left all those years ago, it had been difficult to take the news. It felt so out of the blue when he made that decision, but we had his promise."
Rindo looked up, catching Shinoda's eyes and seeing his strained smile. A promise from so long ago that he had practically forgotten about it as it was never mentioned.
"You're leaving?!"
Yugo raised a brow at his two students shouting at him at the same time. "That's impressive. I think that's the first time you two have ever been in sync."
Shinoda's chest puffed out in annoyance. Rindo and him had been partners for a few years now. They were not the mess of a team that they were when they first joined Border.
"Don't joke right now." Rindo snapped. He glanced pass Yugo at Mogami who was leaning against the table, gripping the edges tightly as he stared out the window, like he had been the whole time since Yugo asked to speak with them. He must have known about this already and was having trouble accepting his best friend and rival just up and leaving. "You can't just leave. We still have so much to learn from you."
Yugo laughed and clapped both of his students on the shoulder, squeezing affectionately. "Both of you are nothing like the rookies I met years ago. You have both gotten so strong."
"We haven't even beaten you in a fight yet." Shinoda said despondently.
"You two aren't the only ones growing stronger. Let that be a lesson. No matter how strong you are, you can always learn more and grow. Never get complacent because your enemies aren't. They will be getting stronger so you need to as well."
"It's hard to do when our teacher is abandoning us." Shinoda muttered.
Yugo shook his head, still smiling at his students. He wouldn't let their last few memories of him be tainted by sadness or negativity. He would smile for them. "Takumi-kun, Masafumi-kun, you are both at a level where you don't need me anymore. You need to focus on your improvement on your own now."
Rindo huffed in frustration. "It's not just about that."
"It is for me. I wanted to beat him." Shinoda argued.
Rindo elbowed Shinoda hard in the side to get him to shut up, getting Yugo's eyes to sparkle in amusement as his pupils turned back to white as Shinoda's lie faded away. "You're a friend as well, Kuga-san, and now you're leaving for another world and leaving us all behind." He saw Mogami nodding along in agreement behind Yugo so Rindo felt right in his earlier assessment that he didn't want to say goodbye to his friend.
"Is that so?" Yugo asked. "Hmm," He looked up at the ceiling as he thought. "Strange. I don't recall saying I would never come back." Before Shinoda or Rindo could perk up too much at that, Yugo raised a finger to silence anything coming from that. "I'm going there because of my interest in the world and dream to explore it. That is the reason I'm going alone. This isn't a simple trip to visit one of our allies. I don't know how long I'll be there so I can't ask any of you to uproot your lives for my selfish dream because that is what this is. It's me chasing my dream of exploration, but it doesn't make Japan not my home. As long as Border is here, I know I will always have a place to return to. I don't know when it will be, but I will come back some day, and, in return, when I do, we'll have to fight again and I expect to be blown away by your skill, so there better be no slacking in your training."
"You won't even know what hit you the next time we fight." Shinoda declared.
Yugo smirked. "I can't wait for that day."
Rindo bit down on his cigarette. "That was so long ago. I began to think he just gave us pretty words to give us something to latch onto while he was gone." He glanced at Shinoda, studying the far off look in Shinoda's eyes. "When did you start to give up on him returning?"
Shinoda's head snapped towards Rindo with a steely glare in place at the mere thought of Yugo's promise to return being a lie. It only lasted a second before defeat had his shoulders sagging. "It was around the seven year mark."
"Heh, you did better than me. I lasted six years." Rindo replied. It had been around the five year anniversary of Yugo leaving that his name faded from their lips. It was at that time that Rindo and Shinoda stopped talking of ways to beat Yugo when he returned and instead put all their focus to trying to beat each other. His promise was never discussed after that so they never talked of how they each slowly started to give up hope on seeing their mentor again. "I asked Yuma about it before. If Kuga-san ever spoke of coming back."
"Is that so?" Shinoda wasn't sure if he wanted to know what answer Yuma gave. To know if Yugo really didn't mean his promise all those years ago.
"He said he didn't know." Rindo replied. "Kuga-san spoke about Japan and Border a lot to Yuma, but Yuma never recognized any sign that he was planning to come back here."
Shinoda raised a brow, a smirk slowing starting to form. "This is the same boy who didn't realize his father was a part of Border until we told him."
Rindo laughed. "Yuma can miss the obvious signs sometimes. Though, it is usually regarding things our world has to offer since he isn't used to them."
"I don't think he would miss if Yugo-san said he wanted to come back to Japan though." Shinoda took one last glance out his window, but still saw nothing, so he sat down in his chair at his desk. "It's not like we can blame Yugo-san. He did say he didn't know how long he would be gone. I just think none of us thought he would want to stay over there for as long as he did."
"Or that he would die over there." Rindo added. "In a sense, you could argue he did return. It was just in a way that we didn't expect or want."
"As a Black Trigger." Shinoda said. "Or, are you referring to his Mimic self that is causing havoc."
"Both, I suppose." Rindo pushed himself to his feet to walk over to Shinoda's desk. He rested a hand on the edge of the desk as he stared out the window. "He didn't return the way we wanted, but we did get the rematch we promised back then."
Shinoda leaned back in his chair, averting his eyes to the ceiling as he thought of that fight against Yugo. "It's not the fight I wanted. We were supposed to fight for fun with no stolen abilities."
"Not to mention, we lost." Rindo added. "We were supposed to blow Kuga-san away with how much has changed since he was here last."
"And instead we got blown away." Shinoda shifted his glare to Rindo. "However, I–"
"That was not my fault." Rindo interrupted before Shinoda could finish his train of thought. "One time when we were rookies. Let it go already. Kuga-san was at fault for us bailing out the other night."
"Sure, blame Yugo-san for everything happening this week."
"Sadly, it is quite appropriate. Mimic Kuga-san has been causing a lot of harm."
*Mimics*
Yuma pushed himself up, brushing the dust out of his hair. He took a moment to adjust to the dim light in the tunnel before he was able to locate his father crouched on the other side of the tunnel as he got his bearings back as well.
Looking around, Yuma picked up a piece of rubble from the mess he caused by blowing the street up and lobbed it straight at his father, hitting him square in the back. It didn't do any damage, but it got Yugo glancing back at him. "Didn't sense that, did you?"
"Really? That's the method you're going to go for?" Yugo asked.
"If it was, I would have aimed at your head instead." Yuma picked up his sword and pushed himself to his feet. "But your head is already screwed up enough as it is since you're letting your programming dictate everything for you."
Yugo regarded his son for a moment. "Throwing rocks isn't going to help you."
"And letting the program control you won't help you." Yuma said bitterly. Without warning, Yuma deactivated his Trigger and held up his hand to show off his cracked ring. "The other day you chose this over me. I have been suffering for days thinking that you hate me for making you make the choice you did in Calvaria. When you took this without a moment of hesitation, I was so certain that was the answer. You didn't want to trade your life for mine and now you are here to reclaim what should have been yours. Between the two of us, I'm the one who should be dead. I can't hate you for trying to take your life back when it was never mine to have."
Yuma didn't give Yugo any time to respond to that. He ripped his ring off and threw it at his father. Yugo's hand twitched at his side. His sword clanged to the ground to free his hand to catch the Black Trigger. Before it could land in his hand, his arm made an abrupt motion to avoid it and the ring went sailing past him.
Father and son stared at each other as they listened to it bounce across the ground.
"What's wrong?" Yuma taunted. "That's what you want, isn't it?"
Yugo stared in disbelief at his son. That was so...so...so damn reckless. These agents spoke of how Yuma wasn't the reckless kid he remembered, but then he went and did something like this!
"When it really comes down to it, it's not so easy to stick to your convictions." Yuma pulled out his father's old Trigger. "Trigger on!" Back in his Trion body, Yuma pulled both of his swords out of their sheaths and fell into the ready stance his dad taught him so many years ago.
A steely glint in ruby red eyes that spoke of determination to win. Yuma's eyes hadn't changed. Yuma was as determined as he was all those years ago when they trained together. "How do you expect to win, Yuma? You just threw away your Black Trigger. You're not like me. You can't use your seals without it on you."
"I guess you'll have to face me to find out."
It was the smile Yuma gave as he said that. It was the smile he had as a child when he was having fun in training as fighting always gave Yuma such a thrill. That happiness, the joy and determination shining in those eyes. That was what Yugo had been protecting all those years ago. He wanted to save that smile because when his son was happy, then Yugo was happy.
Seeing the smile now caused Yugo's heart to clench in pain.
Yugo scooped his sword up off the ground. There was a burning itch in his body screaming at him to turn around to go for the Black Trigger. The Black Trigger was what was important. This was never about Yuma or how he felt about his son. It only seemed like that because Yuma and the Black Trigger were deeply connected. If the Black Trigger was fully to be his to leave him revived, Yuma needed to die.
Despite that, he was still driven by the power of the Black Trigger which was his programming screaming at him to find it and take it for him.
However, if he listened to his instincts and turned for it, Yuma would steal the chance to attack his back.
It was to protect himself. This wasn't the child scared to face his father that he met a few days ago. The child in front of him was a warrior ready to exploit any weakness he saw to win this battle.
If he thought like that, Yugo could resist the programming screaming at him to focus on the Black Trigger and go pick it up. Doing so would kill him so it was only logical to focus on the dangerous agent in front of him.