A/N: I don't own World Trigger
Mimics
Chapter 58: A Glimmer of Hope
"Thank you for everything, Mogami-san. For this life you have given me."
Mogami could only stare at his student as the gratitude left his lips. For the student that has shown him nothing but frustration and distrust the few times they have met these past few days to suddenly change his stance didn't make any logical sense. "I didn't give you this life. You bulldozed your way into it."
"But you allowed me to. You could have pushed me away and told me to stay out of Border's way, but you didn't. You took me into your confidence, gave me a safe place, and listened to me when I spoke of the future." Jin stopped a foot away from Mogami, close enough for his mentor to pierce him through the heart. Even being this close to his enemy, Jin still didn't pull Fujin back out. There was a sword in Mogami's hand that could kill him at any moment, but Jin's attention never wavered from Mogami's face. It would be easy for Mogami to assume that Jin was using his side effect to keep an eye on when Mogami would move to try to kill him, but he wasn't. While the futures were still playing out all around Jin's peripheral vision, he wasn't watching any of them.
Jin was refusing to see the person in front of him as his enemy. He knew he was the enemy, but if he was going to make progress in breaking through his mentor's programming, he had to be completely open with him. Mogami's loyalty to Yugo which tied itself to Yuma brought out his real mentor temporarily so Mogami's own student should be able to pull him out as well. If he was going to do that, he had to display complete trust in Mogami the same way he did as a child. He couldn't flinch or show him distracted by the possibility of Mogami attacking him. This would be just like when they were mentor and student years ago.
Completely open and honest with each other.
"I've always wanted the chance to win against you in a fight." Jin chuckled lightly. "But a fourteen-year-old against someone who had over ten years of experience? It wasn't going to ever happen back then, and it turns out I would never get my chance." He shook his head. "Not this. This isn't how I wanted a final fight between us to go."
Mogami's hand tightened on his Kogetsu so tight that he was sure his knuckles turned white under his gloves. Like Jin, he had all his attention locked on his student as he refused to look anywhere else. He only vaguely acknowledged the fact that his sword was still down by his side. There was a burning his blood that was screaming at him to lunge forward and steal Fujin from Jin's side while slicing his head off to keep him from stopping him. However, the other part of him, the part of him that just wanted to stop attacking his friends, was pulling him back and listening to his student because he felt the same. He would have been amazed and thrilled to see his student surpass him and beat him in a battle one day, but not like this. Not in a fight to the death.
With the student who he brought into Border and formed something like a family with him and the other members of Border, becoming enemies was never supposed to happen. If he could avoid a fight, even just for a few minutes, then Mogami would fight for it and fight against the pain coursing through his blood that demanded he make his move.
"It's a shame we never got that fight." Mogami agreed, feeling a smirk pull at his lips. "Though, let's be honest, you still had a ways to go before you could beat me."
Jin made a small noise that may have been agreement or offense that Mogami thought he still needed more time. If he considered the fact that Tachikawa still never beat Shinoda in a fight, he could perhaps agree that Mogami was right. At this point, Mogami and Shinoda were likely on the same level, but back when he was alive, Mogami had a lot more wins against Shinoda than losses. With how strong those two were, it wouldn't be wrong to think that Jin would need a few years more of training to beat Mogami. In fact, with how Mogami kept getting one up on him this week, it was looking more and more to be proven true, though Jin would argue that he was just out of touch from dealing with Mogami's style since it had been five years.
"It's a conclusion we're never going to see." Jin replied before he was motioning between him and Mogami. "Because this, this doesn't count. I can't count this as one of those matches." Because if, when, Mogami died, it was going to be forever. No Mimic would get his memories again and revive him a second time. Mogami was going to lose here and that would be it forever. Jin would end this, but he would not see it as a win against Mogami because he couldn't. He would not allow himself to forget that it was a Mimic in front of him because Jin didn't need the last memory of his mentor being one of him striking him down. This fight would not count on his record against Mogami Soichi. As far as Jin was concerned, the record book of his fights with Mogami were closed and sealed after Mogami died. It would not be reopened for this.
"You don't want to fight then?"
Just as Mogami asked that, he went to lunge forward, but an Escudo popped up from the ground right between them that he slammed into instead. He slammed his palm into it as he pushed himself off of it.
Jin blinked in surprise at the Escudo that separated him and Mogami. He glanced down at Fujin at his side for a moment before he walked around the Escudo and leaned against the side of it as Mogami readjusted himself. "Didn't need my side effect for that one. It was only a matter of time until you got tired of talking and that was the perfect set up." For someone who just tried to attack him, Mogami didn't move away from the Escudo as he kept his hands planted flat against it.
"I don't want to talk, Yuichi."
Jin's eyes widened briefly before they were narrowing once more and he was pushing off the Escudo. Mogami was the only person in his life after his mother died to ever call him Yuichi, and even then, he did it quite rarely. It was only in significant moments that the name 'Yuichi' fell from his lips. "You're the one who started this fight."
Mogami's fingers curled against the Escudo, nails trying uselessly to dig into metal that would only be destroyed by his wind blades.
Jin studied his mentor for a moment, taking in the pained expression he was wearing as he stared at the Escudo instead of turning to look at his student. It was strange. His mentor was never the type to not look at the person he was talking to. He was the type to believe that if someone was talking to him about something important, they deserved his full attention. The fact that he didn't want to look at Jin, that he didn't want to talk, and he pulled out Jin's first name was telling enough.
His mentor was ashamed of his actions.
He had no control of himself. He was forced to do this, but that didn't take away his mind that was composed of memories and emotions of the real Mogami Soichi. Even though Jin couldn't hear it, he knew his mentor was screaming in agony.
What was it that Yuma had said?
They needed to save Mogami and Yugo and the only way to do that was to kill them?
It had always been Jin's plan for the Mimics to be killed. It had been because he was frustrated with these fakes running around with faces and voices from the past while tormenting them, but now that he was looking at his mentor with open eyes, he found sympathy forming for him.
Jin had wanted to protect Mogami's legacy so he was going against his mentor and making sure no one got killed because of his actions, but there was more to it.
"I won't let Mogami-san become a murderer."
That was what Konami had said. It wasn't just protecting Mogami's legacy. In a sense, Mogami was here with them. The Mimic had his memories and emotions just with an added effect of killing intent to get what he desired twisted in. If Mogami wasn't fighting, he truly felt like Jin's real mentor. It was for that reason, this wasn't just about Mogami's legacy anymore. It was about protecting Mogami from doing something he would regret.
Jin stared at his mentor for a moment longer before moving to the roof ledge and staring over it at the river below. "It's funny. You used to lecture Konami and me all the time for using our Triggers down by the river because someone might see us and now, it's like Border agents are stars. The public is always excited to see us now. It's so different than the past." He allowed a grin to form. "You wouldn't be able to yell at us for using our Triggers in public anymore."
It was never the plan to have Border agents be stars or in the public eye this much. Mogami and Yugo always had the dream of growing their organization, but they never expected it to look like this. It wasn't what they had planned for, but not knowing was part of the fun. They were following their dreams by creating Border and seeing where it took them. It was a shame Mogami wasn't here for this, but even with how horrible this situation was..."It was nice to see how Border has grown. I'm sorry I couldn't be here to help it grow." He paused for a moment before he turned to stare at Jin's back. He collapsed back against the Escudo, feeling his Kogetsu shake in his hand. "I'm sorry I couldn't be here for you. I know how much you suffered from seeing deaths in people's futures and not being able to stop them. I never wanted to put you through that with me. I was supposed to always be here for you."
Mogami was the one who took Jin in. He got him out of the orphanage with Kido's help and gave him a home in Border. Gave him a family with the Border members. He became Jin's rock when he brought him into Border so he never wanted to be another one of Jin's statistic of failures.
"I never expected such naïve optimism from you." Jin called over his shoulder. "Though, I suppose we all feel like that sometimes. To hope for a better future. You don't have to feel guilty though." He turned around and leaned back against the ledge as he stared at the slouched figure of his mentor. It was strange. He had never seen his mentor look so weak before. He had always been strong and confident, someone that Jin was proud to learn from and emulate later on. "I never saw your death coming back then. I didn't see anyone's deaths coming." He shifted his attention to the stars above them, wishing that they could be having a less serious conversation than this. That he and Mogami could be like they were years ago. "I was so focused on using my side effect to predict my future so I could survive that I missed everyone else's death. I wasn't looking for them because I was scared. It was my first real big battle as an agent and I only thought of myself. I joined Border to find a way to use my side effect to help others and when it really mattered, I only thought of myself."
"A natural course of action. Especially for a child in his first war." Mogami replied. "You feel responsible for what happened, but the only ones to blame for these tragedies are the enemies who attacked." He glanced down, looking bitterly at his Kogetsu that he used to attack agents and that he tried to kill civilian employees of Borders with. "And that includes me and Yugo."
"No, it doesn't."
Mogami's head snapped up in surprise at the soft declaration. It was so soft that he thought he just imagined those words, but seeing Jin staring pointedly at him, Mogami was certain that they were spoken.
Jin pushed off the ledge, planting his hands down on his hips which caused his hand to brush over Fujin. "It's just like Yuma said. The ones we should truly hate and blame for this are Meraki. They're the ones who killed Yuma's mom and stole her design. They sent the Mimics here. They made you guys into weapons for them. I may be frustrated and hate this, but I don't hate you. I don't want to see you do anything you would regret. I have lived with so much regret since Aristera so I know how painful it is. I won't see you go through it again or let you escape to Meraki. I won't see you forced to be their soldier and live with the memories of what happened here."
He was standing tall and confident.
The image of his student was replaced by a stubborn child holding his Kogetsu in two shaking hands as he refused to back down in training despite being drained from training for hours.
His naïve rookie was now an elite agent who grew and overcame all the challenges and suffering that life had thrown at him. Jin was no longer his cute student that Mogami needed to give reassurance and comfort to. He was an elite agent ready to take charge in battle and issue his own orders. He was the one offering reassurance these days.
"And you'll kill me for that." Mogami pushed off the Escudo, raising his sword towards his student once more. This was perhaps worse than dying on Jin years ago by forcing Jin into killing him, but if he had to go out, he would rather it be by someone who understood him.
"I'll save you." Jin corrected as he pulled Fujin back out, revealing the reactivated blade as he held it out in front of him.
"Hey, do I get paid?"
Mogami glanced down at his student who was lying sprawled out on the floor, staring up at the ceiling with his sword a few feet away from him. "Paid for what? Taking a nap on the floor?"
Jin flung himself up into a sitting position. "No, for being a member of Border. I'm working as an agent."
Mogami crouched down in front of his student and poked him in the forehead. "You're not working as anything. You're a rookie learning to fight. I'm not sending a kid who is a complete novice in fighting anywhere near fieldwork."
Jin's cheeks puffed out in frustration but he let it out slowly and let the annoyance ebb away. That seemed like a completely fair call, even if he didn't like it. "Okay, once I'm done training and become an official agent, do I get paid?"
A grin overtook Mogami's face. "No way. We're broke!"
"Huuuh?" Jin lurched forward, getting into Mogami's personal space. "How can you be broke? You have some really advanced equipment here."
Mogami planted a hand on Jin's face and gently pushed him away. "We're a secret organization without much money. Any funding we do manage to get is being used to pay bills and keep this place running and designing new tech. And on food I guess since we do have to eat."
Jin fell back on his hunches. "How do you plan to recruit people when you can't even offer them the means to make a living?"
"Certainly, one day we would like to be able to pay you, Jin, but it's not possible right now. We have money issues." Mogami looked at Jin curiously. "What do you need money for anyway? You live here and the funds we do get we use to buy food."
"It's not like I want to spend all my time here. I want to go out with friends and go out to eat or go shopping."
"Ah," Mogami nodded in understanding. "Socializing with other kids. I suppose you would be too embarrassed to be seen with your dear mentor." He wiped away a fake tear. "Still, I thought we had something special, Jin."
"Spending time with an adult that isn't my parent out in public." Jin said dryly. "Doesn't that just sound weird?"
"You're making it weird!" Mogami retorted. "I brought you into Border and gave you a home here. I'm practically a foster parent here and I'm feeling unloved!"
Though he was quite energetic with his speech, Jin could still detect the laughter in his mentor's voice which got him grinning as well. The easy-going, ready to tease personality of Mogami always warmed Jin's heart. He truly loved spending time with his mentor.
Their blades clashed against each other over and over again. The sound of their swords clanging together was the only thing heard between them. No Senkus were thrown. Neither sword had wind blades activated. It was just blade against blade.
Jin danced around Mogami, taking in a more mobile style of fighting as he moved around the Escudo that was now sitting in the middle of the roof. An Escudo that Jin didn't create to block Mogami from attacking him earlier. Since he was currently in a Trion body that was activated by a Black Trigger, he couldn't use anything beyond his Black Trigger.
It was strange, but also silly at the same time. The only person in a position to activate Escudo on the roof at this time was also the person who had been moving to attack. Did Mogami even realize he was the one who created that Escudo earlier? A Mimic using his own Trigger set against himself to protect his student. How poetic.
"Shield, Escudo, Kogetsu, Bagworm."
Mogami lounged on the bench while Jin sat across from him, scrolling through the tablet in front of him and naming off the Triggers that Border currently had completed.
"Gen'yo, Meteor, Asteroid, Hound, Spider. There's not a lot."
"It takes a lot of time and Trion to design new Triggers and we're not exactly experts on it." Mogami replied. "The strongest fighters choose the weapons that best suit them and their combat style."
"Hmm," Jin swiped back to Kogetsu as he knew that would be his main weapon. It was a sword he saw in his future and currently, Kogetsu was the only sword that Border had. "What do you use besides Kogetsu?" Whenever they trained together, they only ever used blades. There were no shields or bullets as Mogami wanted Jin to focus on the basics of swordplay before they introduced other types of Triggers since that would make the fights more complex.
"I'm fond of Escudo." Mogami replied.
Jin swiped the screen until he got back to Escudo and read up on it. "It's a sturdy shield, but kind of bulky, don't you think? And slow. If an attack is coming towards you, wouldn't it take longer to activate Escudo than Shield?"
Mogami smiled as he listened to his student assess the Triggers. He had been spending a lot of time studying Border's Triggers as he tried to decide on what he wanted. "You're only looking at the surface level of Escudo. You're dismissing it as just another shield, but like with anything, you have the main purpose of it, but you need to look beyond that. Get creative with your thinking and use what is available to you in different ways."
Using the Escudo as cover, Jin got out of the open by pressing himself as close to the Escudo as he could. When Mogami came around the Escudo to chase after him, Jin stole his chance to put pressure on Mogami. Unsurprisingly, Mogami was ready for an attack when he rounded the Escudo, but that didn't stop Jin. He was relentless as he stepped into Mogami's space as he attacked without break while forcing Mogami back.
It was going to show up soon.
The future that Jin was fighting for. The one they all wanted, no matter how much it would hurt them all.
"What are you doing here?"
"Is that how you greet your favorite mentor and maybe 'parent figure?'" Mogami asked in mocked offense. "Don't tell me, you really are embarrassed by me!"
"Only because of your terrible acting." Jin teased back as he hefted his school bag more on his shoulder. "You've never came by my school before."
"It's a special day, you know." Mogami replied, holding up a finger. "And with your side effect, we can't surprise you with anything so while they all set up, I'm taking you out for ice cream."
Jin looked at his mentor with a curious look, but went along with it anyway. He did see a party in the future, but he couldn't figure out what it was for. None of them had birthdays coming up and Mogami seemed to be implying it was for him. He knew for certain that it was not his birthday. "I'm always up for spending your money and depleting our funds even more."
Mogami never should have told Jin about their struggling funds. He just would not stop teasing Mogami about it.
"What are we celebrating anyway?" Jin asked.
"Oh? You don't know?"
"I know there is a party tonight, but I don't know what for."
"Then why should I tell you? It can still be somewhat of a surprise."
"Mogami-san." Jin whined, grabbing his arm to tug on it even as they continued to walk down the sidewalk. "There is no surprise at this point."
"I suppose." Mogami grumbled to himself. A side effect to see the future really took the fun out of things. "It's been one year since you moved into Border and though still a rookie, we are inducting you from trainee to official agent tonight."
"Seriously?!"
The bright eyed, excited look that Mogami got was more than enough reason for him to not mind that he spoiled the reason for the party. Watching this kid grow from a trainee to agent and even beyond that was a new dream of his. Border had been a big dream of his and now around that dream, he was building new dreams.
The bright-eyed recruit was now an elite agent that had lost that childish youth from his eyes. Jin was now a lot different from the child he remembered, not that there was anything wrong with that. He had grown into a powerful fighter and a leader.
It was time for the student to succeed the master.
Jin may not count this fight, but that didn't mean Mogami couldn't.
And it wasn't going to be a fair fight.
It wasn't even going to be a fight.
Jin was right when he said earlier that Mogami had no strength left. He gave all he had to save Yuma earlier and than gave the last of his strength to fight Yuma. He was running on fumes at this point. As he blocked another attack from Jin, Mogami observed the glowing green blade of Fujin. He didn't realize it in the moment, but a few seconds after it happened, he had realized he created the Escudo that stopped him from attacking Jin earlier.
A subconscious move on Mogami's part, though the fact that Mogami had managed to create a wall between him and Jin was a sure sign. His resistance was still with him.
Perhaps it was a good thing that Jin had no plans to count this battle between them. This was a win he would never accept.
As soon as Mogami's foot hit the ground behind him as he continued to retreat from Jin, he activated his Escudo. It wasn't a single Escudo this time. No, Escudos popped up all around and above him and Jin to enclose them in a box. A narrow box that allowed neither of them to move around freely. They could only move towards each other or retreat backwards. By trapping them inside the box, neither of them could see the other. That didn't stop Jin nor Mogami from closing the distance between them and continue exchanging blows by following the glow that was being emitted by Fujin and Kogetsu. Since they couldn't see each other, they were both aiming their attacks towards each other's sword.
A twinge of pride wafted over Mogami. Jin didn't even hesitate in attacking despite being engulfed in darkness. If this had been years ago, he would have needed a minute to adjust to the new setting while figuring out what to do in the dark. None of that hesitation or needing to think was here. Jin was adjusting on the fly which showed just how much of an elite he was now.
There was nothing more that Jin needed from him. He had already long surpassed the need for a mentor, especially a mentor that could barely resist the urge to attack his own organization.
One second.
That was all Mogami would need.
One second of resistance and it could all be over.
"You're going too wide." Mogami scolded as he rested the tip of his sword under Jin's chin, instead of taking the chance to kill him. They were in a training room so Jin would recover immediately if Mogami killed him, but he wasn't going to take the easy kill here. He was trying to teach his student how to fight. Killing him over and over would only do so much. He needed instruction and taught the forms and the difference between offense and defense. Both were important but Mogami would say that defense had an edge over offense. Without defense, losing a fight and getting killed would happen more frequently, and right now, that was all that would happen if he and Jin just fought each other. "Swing too wide, take your sword away from you center of mass." Mogami used his hand to wave circle over his chest. "And you're going to find a sword in your heart very fast. Same with your head." He tapped Jin on the top of his head with his sword before walking away. "Offense gets you the win in combat, but it is useless without proper defense. You need to protect yourself before you think of countering. You see an attack coming, you focus on defending against it and then turn that attack against your enemy to force yourself onto offense. If you can't do that, you'll either get killed or be stuck on defense the whole time."
Jin raked his hand through his hair to fix it. "And how do I do that? If I have to block an attack, won't I just get stuck in defense?"
"When someone attacks, they are opening themselves to retaliation. Imagine you're in a two against one fight. If your opponent attacks you, they are leaving themselves open to an attack from your ally. If you're fighting alone, when your enemy moves in to attack, they will have openings as their weapon is in your space. I'm going to teach you to spot those openings and how to exploit them." Mogami explained.
"But we have Shields. Can't we use that to booster our defense?"
Mogami nodded. "Shields were designed for that reason. Or even using a second weapon to booster your offense as well as your defense by giving yourself a way to guard yourself in the midst of an attack."
"A second weapon?" Jin looked at his Kogetsu, turning it over to examine both sides. "That sounds hard. I'm not sure I could wield two of these."
"It's not recommended. Kogetsu's weight makes it difficult to wield two. Not impossible as Masafumi-kun is eagerly teaching himself to use two and is getting quite good at it." Mogami explained. "It's also not something to concern yourself with. You need to learn how to wield a single sword properly still."
"Hmm," Jin hummed in agreement. "But what about you? Can you wield two swords?"
"I have some practice with it, but I'm not an expert at it." Mogami turned around to face Jin again, swinging his blade down into his ready position. "Two swords, one sword. It doesn't matter how many you have as long as you can expertly wield them."
Mogami stepped to the side as he held his sword vertically by his side as Jin's sword scraped pass it. Their glowing swords passing by each other put the two of them close together and allowed each of them to get a faint sight of each other's faces. It was a shame. Even the small glimpse of Jin's face that Mogami could see held deadly serious eyes. In the few times he got to see his student the past few days, he never got the carefree, energetic eyes staring at him with adoration and respect. It was expected, but still disappointing.
Even if he couldn't get that expression from Jin, Mogami could be satisfied knowing that he got to see his student and the other kids all grown now. It was a shame he never got to see Rindo and Shinoda again, but this wasn't a friendly trip to visit old friends so he couldn't truly be upset about it.
"Jin."
Jin didn't stop moving this time as Mogami opened up conversation again. He couldn't see beyond their swords in the dark so he wasn't willing to stop his momentum. He was going to keep attacking until he was forced to go on the defensive when Mogami decided to finally counter once more.
It was strange.
Mogami forced them into this confined space, but he wasn't attacking at all. Jin could understand Mogami defending until he found the opening to exploit but with no way to see each other, he would just be wasting time staying on defense the whole time.
"I'm sorry."
The sword moved the wrong way.
That was the only thought that passed through Jin's mind. Mogami's sword didn't move like expected and Jin didn't think beyond that. His own sword just continued on its own path.
Jin felt his blade met resistance, but not the usual resistance of his attack being blocked. No, he felt his sword plunge into flesh, a familiar feeling that he felt constantly over years from all the training and battles he found himself in.
He saw this future coming, but it's not a future that should have existed.
The Kogetsu should never have moved the way it did.
Mogami would never make such a rookie error.
With his sword buried in Mogami's heart, Jin found himself standing so close to his mentor that he could feel his breath on his skin. It was still too dark for him to see his mentor though. What he did see was Mogami's sword not making a single move. Mogami had a few seconds where he could have retaliated against Jin, but he chose to do nothing. He just kept his Kogetsu away from his student.
"...Why?" Jin asked, but no response was forthcoming. What he did get in response was the sound of a sword clanging to the ground. The last of Mogami's strength, instead of being used to attack, was him dropping his sword and withdrawing his Escudos. As the Escudos slipped away, leaving Mogami and Jin basking in the moonlight, Jin was finally able to see his mentor again.
See the gentle smile that had overtaken Mogami's face.
The relaxed expression with his relieved, gentle smile that someone with a sword through his heart and black Trion spilling around shouldn't be wearing. Cracks began to snap into existences starting at where Jin had stabbed Mogami and moving up to his face where Jin's eyes were drawn to as he stared at the fondness in Mogami's eyes.
An expression that Jin had never seen on his mentor in the past couple of days, but one that was reminiscent of the mentor he knew years ago. Even as Mogami went slack and all his weight began to drop, pulling Jin with him, the content expression never left. Instead of going crashing down with his mentor, Jin released his grip on Fujin so he could guide his mentor to the ground. Even as cracks spread over his body, there was no bail out or Mogami's Trion body crumbling away and leaving him in his real body. It was more proof than ever, not that Jin needed any, that the person in front of him was just a Trion Soldier with Mogami's face and voice.
Just a Trion Soldier.
A Trion Soldier that purposefully left himself open to allow Jin's sword to pierce him.
A Trion Soldier that Jin was holding gently while crouching on the roof and watching the last of the life drain out of him.
Mogami's eyes flickered to Jin, taking in his expression one last time. The last time he was dying and Jin was leaning over him, his student's eyes had been full of tears with anguish coating every inch of his face. This time, it was just confusion staring down at him. He supposed that was a better expression than last time. He would hate to have his student go through the pain of losing his mentor a second time. "We may have been enemies the past few days, but I am so proud of what I have seen from you. You've really grown into a fine agent, Yuichi."
"This will be your room." Mogami held the door open, waiting for Jin to step into the bedroom. "All our rooms are designed the same so I figured it didn't matter which one I gave you. You can decorate it however you like. This is your private space while you live here."
Jin's duffel bag fell from his shoulder to drop to the middle of the floor in the bedroom. He looked around at the plain room with a single bed and a desk by the window. A room all to himself. It wasn't something he had since before his mother died. "It's perfect."
Mogami raised a brow. "Is it?" He looked at the bland room, not sure what was so great about it. "You have simple tastes. Seriously, if you want to paint the walls or hang anything up, go for it. Make the space your own."
"Do you live here too?" Jin asked.
"Yes, a good number of our members do." Mogami replied.
"Konami and Reiji-san don't."
"That's because they have somewhere else to live. You'll still get to see them a lot since they come by often for training." Mogami explained.
Jin nodded. He expected that. He had already been coming and going from Border for a while now and really enjoyed hanging out with Reiji and Konami. It was comforting to have people closer to his age here with him. "Will I get to train with them?"
"One day, sure, but they've both been in Border for a bit already and so they are ahead of you in training. Let's get you understanding the basics of fighting before we throw you into a match with either of them."
Jin whirled around suddenly, eyes bright and full energy. "Can we train right now?"
"You haven't even settled in yet."
"I've been here plenty of times already." Jin already had his hand in his pocket where his Trigger was, eager to begin his training once more.
"Yes, yes," Mogami planted his hands on Jin's shoulders and pushed him back a step. "To learn about Border and to train, but today is about you moving in. There's no need to throw yourself into training every moment you're here. This is your home now so you can do stuff here besides training. Like cooking."
"Cooking?" Jin questioned in confusion.
"The members here take turns making dinner for everyone. Now that you live here, you can get added to the roster."
Jin blanched, shaking his head and dislodging Mogami's hands from his shoulder. "No, no, can't do it. I don't know how to cook!"
Mogami grinned at his student's frantic look. That was a new one. He never got that in training. It was always an excited look in the training room. "Well then, I guess I'll have to teach you that too. As your mentor, I should teach you more than just how to fight. Life skills is an absolute must."
"Do we have to?"
"Yes, we must. We have to share the burden of cooking meals. Besides, cooking is a great way to someone's heart. It will really help you later in life to have this knowledge." Mogami replied, giving his student a sly wink.
"Huh?"
"Ah, to be young and oblivious." Mogami teased.
"Hey!"
Mogami grinned, ruffling up Jin's hair as he turned to leave the room. "Put your stuff away and then come meet me in the kitchen. As it so happens, it's my turn to make dinner tonight so we'll get started on those lessons right away."
When he heard a groan behind him, Mogami laughed, not pausing in his stride as he headed down the hall to the stairs. "I know you'll do me proud, Jin!"
The sounds of battle faded to nothing as Jin dropped to his knees, not taking notice of the blood soaking into his clothes. "You're alright. You're alright, Mogami-san." Even as he said it, Jin saw the truth reflected in the visions flashing before his eyes.
A smile formed on Mogami's face. "You'll be alright." His hand gripped his Trigger tightly, feeling his power well up inside of him. If this was his last moments of life, then he would leave a parting gift to Jin that would hopefully get Border out of this war safely. "You're far stronger than you realize, Yuichi. You've made me so proud."
Do him proud.
Made him proud.
Why were Mogami's dying words always about him being proud of Jin?
The first time he died.
And now the second time.
It should have meant nothing. Mogami died a long time ago. Killing Mogami tonight was just setting things right by ridding the world of a Trion Soldier that was trying to steal Mogami's identity and ruining his legacy. He wasn't supposed to feel anything for him.
It was supposed to be easy to move on from this.
"Jin-san?"
Jin closed his eyes briefly before opening them back up as he lifted his head to see Yuma hopping off the window seal he had been sitting on. For a moment, his attention drifted away from his young friend as the windows of the future began to appear around Yuma. He had seen Yuma earlier, but since they were in a confrontation with Mogami, he hadn't noticed it before. He had focused his side effect on Mogami earlier, but now that he was paying attention, he was seeing it.
Yuma's future had returned to him.
It was no longer a hazy mess like it had been.
Was this a result of Mogami healing Yuma earlier?
Each window around Yuma was showing a different future to Jin. One of them was showing Yuma's body breaking to pieces and a mangled body with black hair appearing in its place. Another one was full of all their friends dressed in black, tears all around with a funeral picture of Yuma being front and centered. The one where Yuma gets stabbed through the heart by his father.
All futures that Jin had seen before tonight. All of them were about Yuma's death this week, like the future was trying to tell Jin that Yuma's death was inevitable. The futures that propelled him forward at the beginning of the week to save his young friend because the future was only inevitable when they did nothing to try to change it.
Another window popped up in the corner of Jin's eyes and he immediately zeroed in on it. On the laughs and smiles. On the way all of Tamakoma sat in their base having dinner and just teasing each other. On the way it shifted to Yuma hanging out with his friends from headquarters and the roughhousing they all were getting into. On the way Yuma sat on the roof with Jin while they took comfort in the presence of each other.
Yuma took a step closer to his friend to lean in a bit into his space as he looked up at Jin's face. "I would ask if you're okay, but considering you were just out fighting Mogami, I think that's a stupid question."
"Are you here alone?"
Yuma blinked at the strange question, but leaned back as he looked around the empty hallway they were in. The only reason he was on this floor was because the barracks were on this floor and he didn't want to stray too far from his sleeping friends. "Torimaru-senpai went to bed a little bit ago. He wanted to wait until you got back, but it is really late so I convinced him to try to get some sleep. Since I don't sleep anyway, I had no problem waiting for you."
Jin nodded absentmindedly, turning to stare out the window. Yuma's future was returning to Jin's sight. He should be relieved that somehow the future was beginning to shift in their favor, and he was, he just didn't feel like he had the energy right now. It was a good thing that everyone else was asleep or somewhere else in the building. He just wasn't feeling up to putting on the confident, power elite act right now. Yuma was one of those people who could see through people and Jin trusted him greatly so he could just let himself feel the moment right now. "He's dead."
Yuma didn't need to ask who Jin was referring to and he wasn't going to. When Jin spoke, his voice was rough, rougher than Yuma had ever heard it before. It was a lack of control which was something that never happened with him. "I see." It was a stupid thing to say, but he had no idea of what else to say.
No, that wasn't true.
There were plenty of things he could say like, 'I told you so.' It was easy for Yuma to see that Jin was getting hit hard with what happened between him and Mogami. Jin had pushed off feeling anything for the Mimic of his mentor until this moment and now that he was dead, his thoughts and emotions were getting all twisted and confused. However, Yuma of the present who had learned from Osamu and Chika the past couple of months was holding his tongue to avoid being bluntly rude about this. If this had happened when he first came to Japan, he would be saying so much right now and most of it would have been taken as rude and inconsiderate when he was just trying to speak the truth.
In this context, Yuma wasn't too sure of what to say to a friend who had just killed a Mimic of his dear mentor.
Jin took his eyes off the window to look down on his hand, opening and closing it a few times. "He let me kill him. He moved his sword and let my sword stab him through the chest, smiling all the way to the end."
"Wonder why." Yuma mused. "Dad was smiling at me five years ago when he traded his life for mine. Why do they smile when they die?" He didn't wait for a reply from Jin. He stepped in front of his friend to block his view of the window, or at the very least, distract Jin to get him to look down at him since Yuma was too short to actually block the window fully from Jin. "Because they want to protect you." He turned his head to the side to look down towards where the barracks were. "Or, that's what Rindo-san tells me anyway, but I know he believes it cause there was no lie. They're happy to die if it means their death will protect the ones they love."
Jin didn't need to think too hard about what Yuma said. It made perfect sense from what he knew of the Mimics, especially in the last few hours where Mogami and Yugo were making actions contrary to what they were doing at the beginning of the week. It could only be explained by who they were in the past when they were alive. They didn't want to fight anymore. They never wanted to fight to begin with. The only way to end it was with their deaths and Mogami ended up getting his way. He forced Jin's hand at the end and then resisted at just the right moment to let Fujin penetrate his body.
"Even saying that, it doesn't make it any easier, does it?" Yuma continued when Jin didn't say anything. He turned his back on Jin and leaned his arms on the window seal so he could stare out at the dark buildings below them, though he wasn't really seeing the Restricted Zone. His vision was filled with a hazy image of Yugo crouching in front of him with that smile of his. "Because you know that it is the last time you will ever see them and it hurts. They are giving it their all to protect their friends but the ones left behind when they die are the ones that have to live with the misery of their passing and wondering if there was anything they could have done differently to prevent this."
"There wasn't." Jin said softly. "Mimics can't be allowed to exist, Yuma."
"Still seeing him as just a Mimic?" Yuma retorted, tilting his head up a bit so he could meet Jin's eyes through the reflection in the window. "Then why are you hurting so much from killing him?"
"He felt humane."
Yuma's brows furrowed in confusion. "And that means?"
Jin's mind flashed back to seeing Mogami slouched against his Escudo while just looking so exhausted and defeated with the whole situation. It was something he never saw from Mogami before as he always seemed so strong. He never thought about it as a kid, but as an adult, he understood the act. It was the same act that Jin put on every day. The act of seeming strong and confident in every situation and only allowing his doubts and guilt come out when behind closed doors. "I saw the anguish he felt doing this, but I also saw his wish for things to be like they were years ago. Despite his actions here at headquarters earlier, he's not a stone-cold murderer that he tried to be."
"Because it goes against his very being." Yuma replied. "I don't know what Meraki is doing, but Mimics as weapons is just a stupid idea. They don't work because they will always try to resist hurting their friends and family. Mogami proved tonight just what that resistance can do."
"By letting me kill him."
Yuma glanced over his shoulder to see Jin looking down at his hand. The hand that held Fujin when he killed Mogami. Could Jin still feel the life leaving his mentor as he stabbed him? "It's what he wanted." Both Mogami and Yugo. His talk with Mogami had cleared up a lot for Yuma while also leaving him frustrated in other areas. The important thing though was that Mogami did confirm to Yuma how much making enemies of Border was hurting him and Yugo. They wanted this to end as much as Border did.
Jin stepped up next to Yuma to lean on the window seal, mirroring his friend's posture. "Knowing that your dad gave up your life for you to live because he loves you doesn't make what he did any easier. It's the same for me." His hand curled into a fist on the window seal, drawing Yuma's eyes down to it. "It felt like watching him die the first time all over again. I know Mogami-san never came back. It was just a Mimic..."
"I'm sorry." Yuma turned to look back out the window. "I chose to fight Mogami-san tonight because I didn't want to put the burden on you to kill him because I knew it would hurt you. I shouldn't have pushed it on you in the end."
Jin stared at Yuma for a moment, feeling his heart clench in pain. Nothing that happened this week had been Yuma's fault. None of them were at fault for anything. Not for any Mimics transforming. Not for any fights lost. It was just an unfortunate situation all around. "You don't need to apologize, Yuma. We're agents fighting enemies that are invading us. I've known for a long time how difficult of a path this was. Maybe, naively, I didn't know when I first joined, but Aristera opened my eyes and I made the decision to stay involved in Border. You were right before when you talked about how guilty I feel when I put people in danger to get us to the best future. I've seen a lot of horrible futures so I intentionally make plans that put my friends in jeopardy with the belief that they can survive it and lead us to the best future. For as much of an elite as I am, I just can't do it all by myself, but I hate myself when I throw everyone in danger."
"But without you, things would be worse. Yes, you put people in the path of the enemies," Yuma paused as he thought about how Jin had Osamu and Chika on the path of the Aftokrator Neighbors or when he made things line up for Yuma to fight Viza. "But that is no reason to hate yourself. You give us a fighting chance because without your manipulations, we would still run into those enemies but we would likely lose because we're not set up with the best agents to handle it. That's why everyone trusts you and why no one hates you when you put them in the path of the enemy. They know you are doing everything in your power to save our future."
"Is that why you were never angry at me for losing Replica?"
Yuma's brows rose in surprise before furrowing in frustration. "I never realized just how similar you are to Osamu. You two are so stupid with your need to feel responsible for everyone and everything that has happened." He pushed off the ledge and turned to walk away. "I expected more from the power elite of Border. I guess I never realized what a stupid nii-san I have."
Yuma had just wanted to tease Jin with that line, to maybe get a smile out of him since they had been joking about it all night. Karasuma gave Yuma quite a bit of insight into what Jin was talking about and while Yuma still didn't fully get it all, as he never had a family that wasn't blood related, he did know it was important to Jin. Jin was down right now from his confrontation with Mogami so Yuma just wanted to do something to cheer him up.
What he didn't expect was for the pair of strong arms to suddenly wrap around him, forcing him to a stop as he was pulled back into Jin's chest with Jin leaning down to bury his face in his hair.
"You weren't meant to cry." Yuma kept staring forward, not only so he wouldn't knock Jin off by trying to look up at him, but also because it was Jin. While Jin was more open with Yuma about his feelings since they trusted each other and understood the pain the other was feeling, Yuma also knew that neither of them truly broke down. They were strong fighters who rarely let anything get to them, or at least, didn't let it show often. He would continue to stare forward to give Jin a sense of privacy.
"I'm not crying."
And Jin's voice, while sounding a bit rough, did sound as strong as ever.
"Mogami-san gave me a home in Border. I hunted him down, accosted him because of my visions, and he still opened the doors to Border and gave me a home and a new family." Jin explained, tightening his hug ever so slightly on Yuma. "And I never got to repay him for all that he did for me."
"You set him free tonight. You saved him. Isn't that repayment?" Yuma asked softly.
"The worst kind." Jin admitted. It wasn't until his sword had gone through Mogami's heart and he was staring down on his mentor's smile that he realized how much he wished it could have been real. He wanted a real conversation with his mentor, just one more time. It wasn't until that moment that Jin could understand what Yuma's mother was going for when she created Mimics in the first place.
"Repaying someone back is never easy."
"No, it isn't." Jin agreed. "And maybe that's why I stayed in Border after Aristera. Mogami-san spent years training me, giving me a home and family. I couldn't just leave Border after all he did for me after he died. I had to step up and take his place to protect everyone. To welcome new friends into Border and give them a place to call home like he did for me." He enunciated his point by tightening his grip on Yuma. Knowing his young friend was in a Trion body meant he had no fear of hurting him. "I didn't just invite you into Border because I knew we needed your help with Aftokrator's invasion. Your future wasn't a happy, fun one if you left Japan. I wanted to give you the chance to be happy and give you a place to call home. The same way Mogami-san did for me. Living my life my way while sharing Mogami-san's morals and believing in the good people that the Neighborhood has. That is the way I can repay him for all that he has done for me."
Yuma brought a hand up to one of Jin's wrists and gave it a squeeze. "He would be really proud of you."
"We may have been enemies the past few days, but I am so proud of what I have seen from you. You've really grown into a fine agent, Yuichi."
Jin squeezed his eyes shut more tightly and buried his face deeper in Yuma's hair.
"And you have my complete gratitude. Maybe, if I never joined Border, I would still have Replica by my side and it hurts greatly to have lost him, but I could never blame you or Osamu for that." Yuma replied, looking down at his hand that was squeezing Jin's wrist so he could examine his ring that had cracks in it. "I haven't felt like I belonged anywhere in years. I was alone, going through the motions of life, but not truly living. I forced my smiles for so long so no one would see the pain I was in that it wasn't until I came here and started smiling for real that I realized just how much I have been suffocating beneath the fake smiles. Or how much my heart screamed in pain when I tried to act cheerful. Being here, actually being happy and the smiles coming so easily, it feels like a weight has been lifted off of me that I didn't even know was there."
Yuma knocked Jin's arms off of him as he suddenly twisted around and wrapped his arms around the surprised Jin instead.
"Thank you, nii-san, for giving me this opportunity."
Jin stared down at Yuma in shock, never expecting that he would get two 'nii-sans' from him in the span of ten minutes and probably never would again. His shock wore off quickly as he went to return to the hug. Yuma didn't hug people like this ever so he was going to steal the chance to relish in the moment. A moment that could only exist because Mogami took a chance on some strong child accosting him in the streets all those years ago. "We all deserve to be happy, Yuma."
"That means you too." Yuma mumbled in Jin's stomach. "I'm not saying you have to get over what you did tonight, but whenever you need to talk, I'll be here. I owe you that much."
Jin tightened his hug on Yuma. If Yuma was to keep that promise, they needed to deal with the last problem down in the basement. Without releasing his hug, Jin looked down at his waist where Fujin was at his side.
The Black Trigger that was completely free of any cracks or deformities.
The Black Trigger that had healed and recovered all its power when the last of the life had drained from Mogami.
A glimmer of hope.