Mimics

by Fallen Crest

Trion soldiers with the ability to transform into deceased loved ones have made their way to Japan. Border will have to face their worse enemy yet...the ones who created Border: Mogami Soichi and Kuga Yugo. In the face of Mogami and Yugo, can Jin and Yuma find the strength to destroy the ones they already loss once before?

69. Chapter 69: Respect

A/N: I don't own World Trigger

Mimics

Chapter 69: Respect

"YUMA!"

Yuma blinked in surprise as Yotaro slammed into his legs the moment the barrack doors opened for him. "Hello."

"You didn't die." Yotaro said.

Yuma raised a brow and looked towards Osamu and Hyuse. As far as he was aware, they were trying to keep as much information about what happened from Yotaro as possible.

"It's your own fault for hinting that you might not come back to Tamakoma when things with the Mimics finished." Hyuse accused.

Yuma held his hands up in surrender. Fair enough. He had been in a bad place all week and so he decided to start telling his friends a bit more about himself. He didn't want to die at all this week, but if it came to be, he at least wanted them to know a bit so none of them would think that anything was their fault.

Yuma pat Yotaro's head. "Everything is fine now, Yotaro. I didn't realize your sister had dropped you off."

"As soon as he heard the battle was over, he came running back." Osamu explained.

"I had to make sure everyone was coming back to Tamakoma." Yotaro said. "It's not home if everyone's not there."

Yuma's expression softened. That was sweet of Yotaro to think. It wasn't a sentiment that Yuma got when he was in the Neighborhood, but to be fair, he didn't consider anyplace home after he left Tropoi. He was just a wandering nomad with his father. It really showed that despite both of them being Neighbors, the environments they grew up in was what made them who they were. A lesson that Miwa needed to learn, but Yuma wasn't going to start up that conversation with him. He was sure Miwa would just snap at him again and leave like he did before.

"Are we going back to Tamakoma?" Yuma asked.

"Tomorrow." Jin replied. "Usami and Konami already left to take care of things."

"So I heard." Yuma replied.

"Karasuma-senpai had to leave for his parttime as well." Osamu added.

Yuma nodded and dislodged Yotora from his legs. He picked the child up and deposited him in Hyuse's lap before sitting on the bed opposite of them next to Chika. "And I–"

"Can leave HQ tomorrow." Jin finished. "The chances of any more attacks is low, Yuma, but I really don't want to take the chance right now after today."

"If you get bored, go to the rank wars." Osamu suggested. "It should be fine now that you got your Trigger back and you're not being drained of your Trion."

It was an idea, but honestly, the reason Yuma wanted to head back to Tamakoma wasn't about wanting to escape the confinement of headquarters. It was because he just couldn't get any alone time here. He wanted to go back home and barricade himself in his room. He didn't want to go see his friends now and smile like nothing was wrong. It was easy to force a smile for a second, but to do it for hours at a time sounded mentally draining, especially when he was already down. Considering his friends all knew what happened, they wouldn't expect him to be smiling so he could go to the rank wars without his usual energy and none of them would comment on it, but he simply didn't want to. He truly wished to just be alone right now.

"It's been a long day." Chika said. "Why don't we go get dinner, Yuma-kun?" As much as Yuma loved the food here, he sometimes forgot to eat when he got busy.

Yuma shook his head. "No thanks. I'm not hungry."

Chika glanced over at Osamu, sharing a look of concern. Yuma was never not excited to eat. He always seemed to have a never-ending appetite.

"Are you not hungry or do you simply not want to go to the cafeteria?" Reiji asked.

Yuma fell backwards on the bed, staring up at the bunk above him. "All of it. I'm just not in the mood to eat right now."

Jin leaned down to duck his head under the bunk to lean over Yuma's face. "I wouldn't normally push you on this, Yuma, as I know you just want time to process everything, but I need to insist you eat something. Eating food is the only way to get nutrition to your real body and right now, your body is in desperate need for that nutrition after that stunt you pulled earlier."

Yuma wrinkled his nose. He knew that. He understood that. Food was the only way for his real body to get any nutrition and energy since it couldn't recover from his wounds or sleep. Eating helped sustain his life. His body's time was slowed down by being sealed in the Black Trigger, but it still needed food as food helped his body's function and energy levels. Right now, he was sure his body was desperate for the food to restore energy after the sudden depletion of energy and life to his real body.

"So, what sounds good to you?" Jin asked, tone booking no room for argument.

Yuma's eyes slid shut. "Solitude."

"Sadly, not something you can eat." Jin replied.

"Kuga, if you want some time alone, we can all go get dinner in the cafeteria while you stay here and bring you something back when we're done." Osamu suggested.

"Hmm,"' Yuma hummed in reply, which Osamu took as meaning he agreed with that plan. A gentle touch to Yuma's hand had him cracking an eye open to see Jin had moved away and now Chika was smiling softly at him.

Osamu shared a look with Jin as he moved away from the bed Yuma was relaxing on. This was about what he had expected from Yuma. When Yuma originally told Jin about his father, he had years to come to terms with what happened. He wasn't going to be ready to talk just a couple hours after his father sacrificed his life a second time for Yuma. That was fine with Osamu. He didn't want to force Yuma to talk about his father or what happened if he didn't want to, but he also was wary of leaving Yuma alone. It's not that he thought Yuma would do anything if he was left alone. He simply didn't want to leave his friend alone to let himself torture himself with his thoughts as that was a difficult place to be, but at the same time, he knew that Yuma needed time to come to terms with the attack from this week. Not only was he attacked by his father, but the attack was also done by the country that killed his mother and stole her Trion Soldier design. He had a lot he had to think about and it was likely he didn't understand what he was feeling or thinking so he couldn't put it into words to talk with anyone about it yet.

"How about we bring you back a hamburger with fries, Yuma-kun?" Chika suggested since she knew how much her friend loved hamburgers. He had been so excited about them the day they met. Knowing he was from the Neighborhood and didn't know about hamburgers until he came here made it very sweet to observe his excitement.

"Okay."

Chika would consider Yuma's tiny smile at the mention of a hamburger a win.

*Mimics*

"When did I become a sacrificial lamb?" Shun groaned as he looked at his decreasing points.

"Pretty sure that role belongs to Kuga, but he's unavailable right now." Yoneya said amused.

Shun snorted. "Since when was he one?"

Murakami looked up from his phone to look at the depressed Shun and amused Yoneya sitting across from him. "Since Kage decided he liked him and we learned he doesn't set off Kage's side effect."

Shun raised a brow at that. "What's that mean? You throw Yuma-senpai at Kageura-san when he's in a bad mood?"

"Essentially. Kage calms down when he gets to fight him." Murakami replied. "Kuga gets to have a fun match and Kage's anger decreases and he is happy that he doesn't have to feel any pinpricks of emotions while they are inside the virtual combat room."

Shun snorted. "And what do you do when Yuma-senpai isn't available?"

"Should just let Kageura-san terrorize anyone in his path." Yoneya said simply because he found the thought of it amusing, but at the same time, he wasn't serious. It had to be rough on Kageura to constantly feel all the emotions directed at him.

"Something feels like pity and I'm going to start knocking heads again." Kageura snapped as he returned, throwing a water bottle at a surprised Shun before throwing himself down on the couch next to Murakami and opening his own water. Since he was sitting across from Yoneya, he leveled his glare directly on him.

Shun stared at the water suspiciously and turned it around in his hand.

Kageura threw his bottle's cap straight at Shun and pinged the younger agent in the head.

"Why?!" Shun cried, rubbing at the spot that had appeared on his forehead.

"He's trying to be a generous senpai and buying you a drink since he forced you into that match. Instead of being appreciative, you're suspicious of a trick from the water bottle." Murakami explained.

"Wouldn't you be? Kageura-san never buys anyone for anything!" Shun protested.

"If you're going to be like that, you can pay me back!" Kageura retorted, holding out a hand expectantly for the money.

"Kage," Murakami warned before sighing. He didn't know why he continued to try with Kageura. He wasn't going to be calm and happy until they knew Yuma was going to be fine. Well, as fine as he could be with his real body sealed inside a Black Trigger slowly heading towards death. "Midorikawa, Kage buys things for his friends. Maybe he is starting to like you."

Kageura snarled and elbowed Murakami in the side. "Shut it."

"Aww, isn't that sweet?" Yoneya teased. "Kageura-san is going soft."

Kageura's foot slammed into the table between them so he could shove it forward and slam it into Yoneya's knees.

"Oi!" Yoneya lifted his foot and slammed it into the edge of the table before it could reach him when he saw what Kageura was attempting. "You haven't changed at all!"

"When did I ever say I did?" Kageura retorted. His nails scraped at his neck in frustration. Some of the stupid C-Ranks were looking at them from the ruckus they were causing. If they didn't look away soon, he was going to lose it. How hard was it for them to mind their own damn business?

"It's going to get dark soon." Murakami said as he went back to his phone to continue going through his e-mails.

"Huuh?" Kageura asked.

"Despite Mogami and Kuga being killed, Meraki is still in range so Director Shinoda hasn't released the order for the trainees to be out of the Restricted Zone before dark. They'll going to leave soon so just try to ignore them for a bit longer." Murakami explained.

"Considering how fast Director Shinoda and Rindo-san grabbed Kuga when he got back, I doubt they've even thought about releasing that order yet." Yoneya added.

"Tsk, they can't leave soon enough." Kageura muttered.

*Mimics*

Jin stared at the food options available to him. As good as the food offered in the Border cafeteria was, he really couldn't wait to get back to Tamakoma where they could start to enjoy the fresh home cooked meals that they made. A week of the same food options offered in Border's cafeteria got old pretty fast.

"I heard the issue with Kuga-san has been finished." Kako said as a greeting as she joined Jin in line to get food.

"Kako-san, how was defense duty?" Jin replied as he finally decided on what he wanted.

"So boring." Kako said, smiling teasingly at Jin. "It seems there was some huge battle going on in the northern part of the Restricted Zone that drew all attention so my team was just sitting around in boredom with nothing to do."

"How sad, you had an easy day." Jin retorted just as jokingly as her.

Kako quickly grabbed the food she wanted and followed Jin. "It was certainly relaxing when compared to the last few days. It was a nice break. Although," She glanced towards where the Tamakoma members had gathered at a table. "We're not the ones who really needed the break."

"He's not here." Jin replied.

"Is he okay?" Kako asked as she stepped off to the side to stay out of the way of others picking up food so they could finish their conversation before going their separate ways.

"Physically, he is as fine as he can be all things considering." Jin said.

"I see." Kako replied. She didn't need Jin to elaborate any farther than that. She had seen Yuma plenty enough this week to know his mental state wasn't in the best spot while Yugo was still alive and coming after him. Having to fight him to the death today likely only made things much worse for him. "It really was a cruel attack by Meraki and we still have no idea what the purpose of their attack was. Unless you have some idea?"

Jin shook his head. "Nope, not a clue. It's possible they knew we had Black Triggers and sent the Mimics here to simply take them. It would give Meraki a powerful weapon and people who could wield them."

"If that's the case, they didn't plan that well if they didn't account for the flaw in the Mimics." Kako replied.

"Maybe they weren't aware of that flaw. Mimics didn't originally belong to Meraki so I'm guessing they didn't fully understand what they were working with. They thought they could have the perfect weapon without realizing the emotions they would develop." Jin said. "To Meraki, the Mimics, even when transformed into someone else, were still just Trion Soldiers. Yuma hates Mimics and Inchoate and doesn't consider them real, but after what I've seen of them, I would have to disagree with that. They are a lot more human than any of us wanted to acknowledge."

"You think so?"

"A Trion Soldier wouldn't have had so much remorse for his actions," Jin smiled sadly as he recalled staring at Mogami for the last time last night with his sword in his chest. "Or chose death to correct things. Mogami-san and Kuga-san were both aware of the fact that they were dead and that they needed to remain dead. They never wanted to return, not like this."

"Remorse, huh?" Kako asked.

"Did you ever meet Kuga-san or Mogami-san?" Jin asked.

Kako shook her head. "It would seem Mogami-san and Kuga-san managed to avoid me all week. The only time I saw Kuga-san was from a distance when he fought Kazama-san and Tachikawa-kun, but I didn't see much beyond that since I had Trion Soldiers to focus on. I do know he surrendered in that fight and we took him prisoner. It was a strange thing to see from him when he had been showing us no mercy all week."

"It was to protect his son." Jin said. "His actions and words didn't always match up because the Mimic side and the Kuga-san side were not in sync. Mogami-san and Kuga-san both had plenty of regret from their actions. I couldn't acknowledge that until the end because I was angry at the disrespect being done to my mentor's name."

"You're only human." Kako replied. "It's easy to miss things when blinded by emotion. It doesn't make you a bad student or Kuga-kun a bad son. You two were the closest to them. Your emotions were running high all week so it's only natural to miss something."

"If only we hadn't been blinded." Jin said. Maybe then, this wouldn't have gotten as bad as it did and Yuma wouldn't have picked such a dangerous strategy.

Kako hummed softly. "You're really good at what you do, but when you are manipulating our future for us to win, you focus a lot on the tactical aspect of the strategy. There's nothing wrong with that as you shouldn't let your emotions influence you as they could cause you to make the wrong choice.

It wasn't that he didn't acknowledge his feelings. It was simply that Jin pushed them to the side until the mission was over so he wouldn't get distracted. His emotions were pushed down when he was in battle, like in the Aftokrator invasion. He didn't acknowledge his guilt at putting Chika and Osamu directly in the line of fire until he was sitting by Osamu's side in the hospital. He pushed back his guilt of setting Yuma up to fight a dangerous Black Trigger alone in a strategy that Jin knew would cause Yuma to lose Replica.

The worst part of it all was how none of them blamed Jin for anything that happened. Even though he put them all in the path of danger, they trusted him without question.

Kako's expression softened when she saw the faraway look in Jin's eyes. He was looking towards the Tamakoma members, but she didn't think he was seeing them as he thought. "However, considering the personal nature of this attack, perhaps this was the one time we should have factored in the emotions. On our side and theirs."

"Typically, when you're too close to something, you shouldn't be involved because you won't think clearly." Jin replied. "It's the reason why Yuma benched himself earlier this week. He wasn't thinking like the experienced fighter he is." Jin pulled his eyes away from his friends to look at Kako. "The night Mogami-san appeared, Yuma had gone after his father because he wanted to talk to him and get an understanding of him and the situation. Miwa squad interrupted them and then later on, I got in their path. Yuma and Kuga-san never got to talk like they wanted. After everything we went through this week, it's got me wondering, if we didn't prevent them from talking that night, maybe this could have been settled then."

"It doesn't do to dwell on what ifs like that." Kako warned.

Jin snorted. "I'm supposed to be the power elite who can scheme my way out of everything. I should know the answer to my own question, but I don't." And it was all because he couldn't see Mogami's or Yugo's futures when they first appeared.

"I know the week was hard, but you didn't fail anything." Kako said, hating the downcast look in Jin's eyes. "Our enemies are defeated and Kuga-kun is still alive. That is what is important right now. We can't change how we handled the week. We can only move forward from this."

"I know." Jin replied. He waved at Yuri who glanced at him to see what was taking him so long. "Yuma needs some alone time to process what happened, but when he has had the time he needs, you should visit him."

"Oh?" Kako asked amused. "You're willing to let me visit him? What if I take the chance to steal him?"

Jin gave a faint smile. "He'll have fun fighting you off." He started off towards his table. "If it gets him to smile for real, then I'll be happy to see two playing your game again."

Kako smiled softly at Jin's retreating back. That sounded like permission to her. Now, how to get Yuma's attention?

*Mimics*

Yuma rolled himself on the bed to lay on it properly, relaxing into the softness of the mattress. He pressed the side of his face into his pillow and brought his hand up to rest by his face so he could stare at his ring. It had been a long time since his Black Trigger had felt so heavy. When Yugo saved Yuma the first time, Yuma had felt a heavy weight pulling him down, but as the years passed, he got used to the weight which he identified as guilt whenever he looked at his ring.

And now...

Now, it was back, this heavy feeling.

It wasn't quite guilt he was feeling this time though. Yuma forced Yugo into making the same choice of death to end this nightmare week. It was something both sides wanted, just for different reasons. Yugo wanted to die to save Yuma. Yuma wanted Yugo to die to save Yugo. They simply wanted to save each other and the only way to do that was for Yugo to die.

Yugo dying was them making the situation right. He should have never appeared in the first place as he was long dead.

He wasn't real.

Neither of them were.

Yuma had been an orphan for a long time.

It hurt.

It felt like his heart was being squeezed so tight that it was going to burst.

It shouldn't feel like this.

It had been ten years since he lost his mother.

He lost his father five years ago.

Yuma had already come to terms with never getting to spend time with his parents ever again. It hurt to lose all those moments he could have possibly spent with his parents, but he had been without parents for years. Those moments he lost could never be achieved, but Yuma had come to terms with that fact because he had to.

It hurt, but that was his life.

It couldn't be changed.

It couldn't, but he could be reminded of how much it sucked.

Of how lonely it was.

The worst part though was that Yuma knew he wasn't alone. He had lost his mother, his father, and Replica. Every part of his family was gone, but he wasn't alone. That had been proven this week. Every single one of his friends had been right by his side, being concerned for him. They wanted to help him.

Yuma hadn't felt alone in months.

Despite all the friends around him, Yuma couldn't help the lonely, cold feeling.

Pain.

Every inch of Yuma was screaming out in pain. He couldn't think. He couldn't focus. All that was in his mind was the pain coursing through his body and the way his lungs were struggling to just get air.

The pain never subsided, but a sudden warmth wrapped around him to ground him.

Yuma stared up dully at his father staring down at him with a look of complete panic.

That's right.

He was pushing his dad into a corner.

Yugo's expression shifted into one of determination, but Yuma barely took notice of that. He was so cold and Yugo was so warm. He just wanted to soak in the warmth his father was providing him.

He wanted to be engulfed in his father's warm arms once more.

It was something that could never be though. It was something Yuma accepted years ago and now he was back at square one. He was being reminded of the same despair he was swallowed in when he met the Black Trigger assassin.

Yuma huffed and rolled onto his back to stare up at the bunk above him instead. He dug his hand under the pillow under his head to hide his ring.

He felt cold.

*Mimics*

Rindo examined the Trion levels on the screen that Kinuta was showing him and Shinoda.

"Kuga's Trion levels seem to have leveled out." Kinuta said. "It is much higher than it was the other day when his body began to break. I can't tell you if they are at the same level they were since I didn't have any records about his Black Trigger or non-combat Trion body." At this, he leveled a glare at Rindo.

Rindo leveled a neutral stare right on back. They had already discussed this. It was Yuma's private business so Rindo wasn't going to give information about Yuma's Black Trigger or his noncombat Trion body to anyone. He respected Yuma's privacy so much that he didn't even have them look into it at Tamakoma. Having those kind of records in Tamakoma's systems could risk having other members coming across them and they would ask Yuma about it.

At this point though, there was no hiding Yuma's condition. It got revealed because of Yugo this week and now they were going to gather records about Yuma's body. Since it was such a serious condition, they were going to have to lock down these files as restricted with only certain people having access to them. With Yuma being a Tamakoma agent, Rindo was going to make sure the Tamakoma branch had access to all files regarding Yuma's condition, but in HQ, he was going to make sure they had harsher restrictions. Rindo wanted as few people as possible knowing the full details about Yuma.

Shinoda examined the readings of Yuma's non-combat Trion body. The computer was showing a scan of Yuma's body and the Trion readings were showing an even distribution of Trion throughout his whole body. This was what Kinuta was speaking of a few days ago. Yuma's body had weak durability since the Trion from the Black Trigger was spread thin over Yuma's body to keep it functioning as an every day, all day type of Trion body. The fact that it was currently stabilized without any signs of the Trion levels dropping, it proved that Yugo properly restored all the Trion and lifeforce back to the Black Trigger.

"Even without knowing his levels before, Yuma-kun's current Trion levels are stable." Shinoda cut in before Rindo or Kinuta could argue about Tamakoma keeping Yuma's condition a secret. He understood the frustration Kintua was feeling, even if they were frustrated for different reasons. Shinoda was annoyed that he wasn't told of Yuma's life-threatening situation because not only did he need to be up to date on the state of his agents, but also because Yuma was his mentor's son. When he first met Yuma, he told him to come to him if he was ever in trouble. It felt like he had done something wrong since Yuma never felt like he could entrust him with this secret. Despite that feeling of like he hadn't done enough to earn Yuma's trust, Shinoda's own frustration of not being included in this before this week was not the focus on this conversation.

Kinuta grunted and tapped the top of the monitor. "There are no issues with his Black Trigger or Trion body. For all intents and purposes, he appears as a completely healthy teenager."

"Outward appearances at least." Shinoda replied. "I can see how it was easy for him to fool us for so long."

"It wasn't about fooling anyone." Rindo pointed out. "It was a matter of his privacy. However, I believed Yuma is starting to feel like he can trust us a bit more. He could has easily hidden away the past few days while his body was breaking if he didn't want anyone to know the truth about his impending death, but he chose to reveal the truth of his father and the assassin instead. This is not a choice Yuma would have made when he first came to Japan."

"A wise decision." Shinoda replied. "He shouldn't trust people with that kind of information easily."

Rindo chuckled. He shouldn't, but Yuma did tell Jin quite easily with Jin just asking once. To be fair to Yuma, he had spent years around people trying to manipulate him so that meant he also spent years learning how to read people. It was very likely Yuma was able to read Jin and Osamu quite easily in just knowing them a couple days that he could fully trust them.

"Regardless of that fact, we do know now so we should look into it." Shinoda said, glancing at Rindo.

Rindo bit down on his cigarette, frowning thoughtfully. "Unfortunately, that's not something we can just decide."

Shinoda frowned. "This is about Yuma-kun not wanting to find a way to save himself."

"Yuma had very little reason to want to live before he moved to Japan." Rindo admitted. "It's not that he lacked self-worth, but more about his survivor's guilt and loneliness."

"Once again, I suggest therapy." Shinoda replied, but knew it was a fruitless effort with Yuma's stubbornness.

Rindo shook his head. "That was when he first came here. His team gave him a reason to keep fighting to live and now he's learned how fun living can be again. I think he still has plenty of guilt, but he doesn't want to give up on living anymore. It's okay to need a reason to live if that is what helps him keep holding on."

"Is that reason to live enough for Yuma-kun to let us look into finding a way to save him?" Shinoda asked.

"That reason pushed him to join Border since it gave him something to fight for. However, since then, he has made a lot of friends and trusted allies. That is what he needed and may be what pushes him to want to get his real body back." Rindo replied. "But, it is still something that Yuma has to decide for himself and tell us he wants." When he saw Shinoda's frown deepening, he sighed. "I get it, Shinoda. I want to save Yuma as well, but I won't force the choice on him."

"I understand, but I also want to respect Yugo-san's choice." Shinoda replied. "He made the decision twice to die so Yuma-kun could live. I want to repay what I owe Yugo-san by saving Yuma-kun."

"Regardless of what you both want, Border doesn't yet have the tools available to us to do anything for Kuga." Kinuta pointed out. "I can't even tell you anything about his real body because we can't see it while it is sealed away. Even if we could, Kuga's situation is so unique that I have nothing to compare it to. I can't determine how much time he has left or how much his real body's time is slowed down while sealed away."

"The best way to determine Yuma's condition is through Jin's side effect." Rindo said.

"That just tells us when Yuma-kun's death is approaching." Shinoda replied.

Rindo nodded. "Exactly. We can't see inside Yuma's Black Trigger to examine his real body and we can't unseal Yuma's real body to bring it back here since we don't have any technology to keep him from dying while we try to figure out how to help him."

"Unseal?" Shinoda echoed.

"Yuma's Black Trigger is always passively active to create and power his noncombat Trion body. Yuma was dying when Kuga-san created the Black Trigger and created the body for Yuma. Yuma can't just turn it off. To bring his real body out, he either needs to use his Black Trigger, have his real body die, or destroy his noncombat Trion body by having all the Trion drained from his Black Trigger or by it getting destroyed by a Trion based attack."

"Would a Trion based attack work?" Shinoda wondered. "He has regenerative abilities."

"I've never tested it because of the dangers involved with it, but I believe his regenerative abilities have a limit. If he gets hit with enough Trion based attacks faster than he can heal from them, it's possible it will destroy his body and unseal his real body." Rindo explained. "So, as far as I'm aware, he does not have the ability to turn off the passive Black Trigger mode."

"The more I learn of how Kuga did this, the more of a shame is that he never returned to Border." Kinuta said. "I'm sure he had a vast knowledge of Trigger technology and Trion that would have been valuable to us."

"He visited a lot of worlds so it's possible he met people who prioritized using Trion for medical reasons that could help Yuma-kun." Shinoda glanced back at Rindo, raising a brow in question.

"Even if he did, I'm not sure Yuma would remember. He was pretty young which is why he had Replica to help him and Kuga-san keep track of all their travels." Rindo replied.

"It's very easy to just ask Kuga if he knows of a nation like that." Kinuta replied as he closed the file on Yuma and locked it behind a password. "However, that kind of technology is in the Neighborhood." He leveled a stare at Rindo. "I understand Tamakoma is very willing to help Neighorbors and in return ask Neighbors for help, but random nations aren't going to be inclined to help strangers. Not to mention, we are focused on going to Aftokrator in the next away mission. We don't have time to get sidetracked with searching random nations for a way to help Kuga."

"True," Shinoda agreed. "But we have to make stops on our journey to Aftokrator to rest and recharge Trion, we can easily gather intel from those nations and see if they can give us any intel about other nations."

Kinuta snorted. "You sure are hopeful that Neighbors will want to help you at all."

"We've made allies with Neighbors in the past." Rindo replied. "There are nations out there willing to offer a hand to you so you will help them in return when they need it. It's not as simple as them all being villains, Kinuta-san."

"Did I call them villains?" Kinuta retorted. "I don't trust Neighbors, but I have not called them evil. I just see them having their own intentions just as we do. My priority is advancing our knowledge of Trion and Trigger technology to improve our Triggers to strengthen Border and protect the city." He paused as he thought about his wife and daughter who he sent away from Mikado City to keep them safe. It left him estranged from his family, but if it kept them alive, he wouldn't have any regrets. "I may know nothing about this Kuga Yugo, but I will say this. He seemed to be a man that always had his priorities straight."

The whole reason Kinuta chose to join Border, particularly the Research and Development department, was to study Trion and Triggers to advance the weapons they would have to fight Neighbors and keep the city safe. It was to keep his family safe. Disregarding what he saw from Kuga Yugo as a Trion Soldier that attacked him, the man underneath that gave up his life for his son twice, once while fighting through his Trion Soldier programming that demanded him to do the opposite, Kinuta could say the man was deserving of respect. He not only provided Border, posthumously, valuable information about the Neighborhood, but was also a devoted family man that cared deeply for his family.

Kinuta couldn't fault that kind of man.

Shinoda and Rindo shared a look of surprise. For Kinuta, a gruff, grumpy man, that was high praise. It was honestly something neither of them had been expecting. Yugo had been an enemy to Border all week with the constant attacks and almost killing Yuma. The members of Border were well within their rights to hate Yugo for what he did this week. It wasn't what Shinoda and Rindo wanted for their mentor that they both respected so much, but everyone had to form their own opinions on Yugo and Mogami.

*Mimics*

Yuma stared in the distance, watching the sun set. It was twilight. Jin said it was very likely that no more Mimics would appear since Meraki was beginning to move out of range so it was likely that there would be no issue with him being on the roof. He knew Jin asked him to remain inside for one more night, but Yuma needed to be out here, breathing in the fresh air instead of being stuck inside with the walls feeling like they were closing in on him. His thoughts were already trapping him. He didn't need to feel physically trapped as well.

It wasn't good enough though.

Yuma didn't know what he needed, but he was sure it was beyond the Restricted Zone. Having been in danger this week, he had been told to stay in HQ since they couldn't have Yugo attacking him in the city. It felt so restrictive.

He wasn't alone in this.

His friends had stayed at Border, but that was simply because they didn't want to leave when they had enemies lingering around. They could have left whenever they needed to, but Yuma couldn't since he was on strict orders to remain on lockdown.

It was only for one more night, but that felt torturous to Yuma who just needed to get away from the Restricted Zone. Too much had happened with Yugo in Border HQ and the Restricted Zone. Yuma just wanted some time away so he could breathe.

Just breathe and try to remember Yugo's face. He wanted to lock it in his memory because he would never see his father again.

And that was a promise.

As much as he wanted to properly talk to his dad and be engulfed in his strong arms that would always protect him, Yuma wouldn't do it. He wouldn't call an Inchoate to his side. He wouldn't let an Inchoate transform into Yugo. He wouldn't ask his father to forgive him for what happened five years ago. He wouldn't ask him about his feelings or what happened this week. He couldn't anyway since an Inchoate of Yugo wouldn't have memories of what happened this week.

He wouldn't force himself to go through the process of losing his father a third time.

Yuma's hand curled, fingers trying to dig into the ledge he was sitting on. Yuma didn't even like Mimics or Inchoate or Aionia. They freaked him out when he was a child, so why, now knowing his Black Trigger held the data for Inchoate, could he not forget it? Was he really so much of a child that he couldn't let go of the past?

He lost his parents a long time ago.

What happened with Yugo and Eleni wasn't real.

And yet...

Yuma rubbed his arms. While the physical pain from returning to his real body was becoming just a memory, Yuma still couldn't quite shake off the phantom feeling of having arms around him from both Yugo and Eleni. Why did it feel like their touches were lingering?

A tray being set down next to him pulled Yuma from his thoughts. He glanced at the hamburger and fries with a drink.

"Why are you up here?" Osamu asked. He turned to sit on the ledge while keeping his feet on the roof. He knew Yuma was fine with dangling his feet over the edge at Tamakoma, but Border HQ was so much higher. It left Osamu much more uneasy, especially after seeing Yuma this week. Seeing Yuma's body crack and how much he was hurting emotionally because of his father, it showed Osamu that Yuma wasn't invincible. He never believed Yuma was, but he had never seen Yuma as weak as he was this week.

"I felt trapped." Yuma admitted, turning to stare back at the sky. "I know I was outside for a while earlier while fighting Dad, but I just couldn't stand to be inside. How did you find me?"

"Jin-san."

"Of course."

"He asked me to bring you your dinner." Osamu nudged the tray a bit closer to Yuma.

Yuma glanced at the tray again. He stared at it for a moment before picking up a fry and munching on it.

Osamu averted his gaze to stare up at the clouds drifting lazily in the sky. "I don't know what to say to you."

"Why say anything?" Yuma countered.

"Because I know you're hurting and I don't know how to help you."

Yuma snorted. "As usual, you're a 'too caring demon.' You can't help everyone, Osamu, because sometimes there is just nothing you can do. The sooner you come to terms with that, the better." He picked up another fry and tossed it in his mouth.

Osamu already knew that. He knew that from the moment he heard from Replica that Yuma is currently dying. There was nothing Osamu could do to help Yuma. He didn't have the abilities or knowledge to save his friend's life. All Osamu could do was focus on what he could do, and that was currently to get ready for the away mission. That was a few days from now though. Right now, his friend sitting in front of him, slowly eating was his main concern.

"I can't change what happened today, but I can listen if you need to talk." Osamu said instead.

Yuma turned so he was straddling the ledge, but it wasn't to answer Osamu. He simply wanted to pull the tray closer to him so he wouldn't risk dropping his hamburger to the ground below.

Seeing Yuma choose to take a bite of his hamburger instead of answering him, Osamu looked away. He wasn't surprised by the lack of answer. Yuma didn't often bring up his father. In fact, Osamu couldn't recall a time where Yuma mentioned his father without it being related to something they were talking about. He didn't just bring up Yugo freely. It either had to relate to the topic of conversation or he needed to be asked directly about him and that didn't necessarily mean he would answer.

"I met my mother."

Osamu glanced at Yuma in surprise. It wasn't about Yugo, but Yuma mentioning his mother was a shock as well. Everyone knew Yuma's mother had appeared, but only a handful of people knew she created the Inchoate and Aionia, which was for the best. If that was realized, people would begin to realize Yuma was a Neighbor.

"I should feel nothing for her. She died ten years ago so what I know of her is just stories from my dad. She is more of a figment in my memory than anything." Yuma said, eyes downcast as he kept them locked on his food. "How can I love someone who I don't remember?"

"You don't have to." Osamu said. It was a harsh thing to say, especially about someone's parent. "Loving someone is liking their personality. It's liking their heart and jokes. It's loving the way they smile or laugh. It's about enjoying the time you spend with them so much that you can't wait to see them again. If you can't remember what that feels like or remember who they are, there is no reason to love them."

"I remember loving her, but I can't remember any moments we spent together." Yuma said. "And yet," He brushed a finger along his temple where his mother planted a kiss. "I've been reminded of what a mother's touch is." He looked up from his dinner to stare at Osamu. "I saw it from your mother at the hospital. The expression in her eyes, the anger when the press was attacking you, the way she touched you in a gentle manner. At the time, I didn't understand."

Osamu's brows furrowed in confusion. "Didn't understand?"

"I haven't had a mother in years. I saw her actions and words and thought she cares deeply for you, but in a way like Konami-senpai watches out for us." Yuma admitted.

"Kuga," Osamu said softly, catching up quite quickly.

"I had forgotten what a mother's love feels like." Yuma looked back down at his tray, mindlessly playing with one of his fries. "And now that I've been reminded, I can't forget the way she hugged me or the kiss. I didn't even turn to return the hug." He rubbed a hand up his arm. "I feel cold."

"You don't have to be averse to hugs." Osamu replied, observing his teammate curiously. Since he was in a Trion body, he couldn't feel the cold so he had to be speaking figuratively in reference to his mother's hug. "I'm sure Konami-senpai or Usami-senpai would be thrilled to give you hugs whenever you need them."

Yuma knew what those hugs felt like. Konami's hugs started out harsh and rough but would become gentle when she realized how much he needed them. Shiori's hugs always had a playful nature to them. "They wouldn't be the same."

"I suppose not." Osamu said. "A mother's love is just different."

"It didn't bother me before because I didn't remember her at all." Yuma said.

"But after seeing your mother, you've been reminded of what you lost and are jealous." Osamu guessed.

Yuma shook his head. "It's not jealously. I'm glad you still have your parents. It's a horrible experience to lose your family which is why I can understand why there are Border members who hate Neighbors and blame them for taking their families from them. It's just..." He trailed off, glancing out towards the Restricted Zone again. "I can't miss something that I didn't know existed, and now that I've learned what my mother's love feels like again and knowing I can never have it again, it hurts."

Osamu observed his friend sadly. He hated seeing that downcast look on Yuma's face. Knowing how difficult Yuma's life had been, he much preferred to see Yuma's smile or the laughter in his eyes. He deserved the chance to be happy.

"I think..." Yuma rubbed his thumb over his ring. "My mom died when I was five so I don't remember her, but I'm sure I moaned her when she died. Eventually though, my memories of her vanished and I stopped thinking about her. I suppose if she did somehow cross my mind, I imagined her to feel like my dad." Yuma twisted his face to the sky, not sure of what he was looking for right now. "She didn't though. Their hugs felt so different."

Yuma's arms curled around himself in a self-hug that he leaned down into. His dad had strong arms that engulfed him completely and made him feel so protected. Those strong arms pressed in on him on all sides and left him grounded to reality. On the opposite side, his mother had been so gentle and soft. Yugo's hugs were like a cage that protected him. Eleni's hugs were easy to escape from, but Yuma didn't want to.

Osamu stared at his friend for a moment longer before averting his gaze to the sky to give him some privacy. Yuma was not a person that was often vulnerable in front of others. He had a life that dictated he be strong all the time so that was what he showed people, but the truth was, he was human. He had his own weakness and didn't show it easily. This week, the struggle with Yugo, forced the weakness out of Yuma and showed it to everyone. Osamu didn't believe for a second that anyone would mock him for it, but still, Osamu had to look away if only to give Yuma a sense of control back.

"I'm sorry, Kuga."

"Don't apologize." Yuma said. "You, none of you, did anything wrong and none of you are to blame. I just need a day or two to get back on my feet."

Osamu highly doubted a day or two would be enough, but this also wasn't the first time that Yuma lost his parents. Neither Yugo nor Eleni were the real ones as they both died a long time ago so maybe Yuma didn't need as much as he did when they originally died.

"The world doesn't stop moving." Yuma said, glancing out towards the Restricted Zone though he was staring far ahead. Being so far in the Restricted Zone, he couldn't see the city beyond it where people were going about their days, but he knew they were out there, studying, going to work, hanging with friends, laughing. "My life may be shattering around me, but the rest of the world is still moving. I can't let myself drown in grief when we need to get ready for the away mission."

Osamu frowned. This sounded just like when Replica told him how Yuma chose to fight in Calvaria after Yugo died. He was just throwing himself into the next thing he needed to do without giving himself the proper time to grieve. "There's no rush, Kuga. Director Shinoda said training would take place in a few days. You should take that time to recover. You don't need to push yourself all the time."

Yuma snorted. He twisted his head around to level a steely glare on Osamu. "Sounds hypocritical coming from you."

Osamu winced a bit. Yuma wasn't exactly wrong. He was so weak compared to the rest of his team so during the rank wars, he had been trying to rush in his training so he could contribute more to his team. He pushed himself too hard because he felt so weak on a team of strong fighters. He realized his mistake when he lost too easily in round four and when Kitora scolded him and showed him a better method.

"That's why I know you need to give yourself a break." Osamu said. "Keep pushing yourself through all your pain and eventually it will just get to be too much for you and you'll fall."

Yuma stared at Osamu. "That's what you and Chika and Hyuse are for."

Osamu stared at his friend in surprise.

"I know you'll catch me when I fall." Yuma put a hand behind him to lean back and stare up at the sky that was starting to show stars in it as it got dark. "I know that this week I haven't been acting like the best team player. Despite that, you all stuck through this with me and gave me your support. Thank you for that."

"Don't thank us for doing what your friends are supposed to do." Osamu replied. He gave a nudge to the tray. "And Jin-san said to eat all your food since your real body is in desperate need of energy and nutrition."

Yuma sighed, but sat up properly and picked up his burger again. He would rather not get into it with Jin again this week by not eating. It was nice enough of Jin to not come up here himself and hover over Yuma while badgering him about eating.

"Hyuse went to the solo rank wars. Do you want to go join him after you finish eating?" Osamu suggested.

Yuma took another bite of his burger, chewing on it slowly as he stared at the silent Restricted Zone. After the past week where there were constant attacks from Trion Soldiers, Mimics, and Yugo and Mogami, the silence felt unnerving. He knew the attack was over, but the silence felt like a calm before a storm. He knew from Jin that they were safe now, but he would need some time to calm down fully.

Seeing his friends would distract him from his thoughts, but Yuma's heart still wasn't in it. He didn't want to push his parents out of his mind. For some reason, doing so felt too much like betraying their memory by trying to forget them.

"You don't have to, Kuga." Osamu replied. "I understand you might not be in the mood to have fun after everything."

"I just need to be alone right now." Yuma admitted.

Osamu nodded in understanding. "Alright. I won't crowd you anymore." He stood up and pointed at Yuma's tray. "Be sure to eat it all."

Yuma rolled his eyes in a fond manner. "Yes, yes."

*Mimics*

'You're on your own.'

Hyuse stared at the text from Osamu. It was a response that didn't surprise him at all. It had become a habit of Yuma's to run off this week because his emotions were all twisted. On top of that, he was likely to get a lot of stares from the agents who saw his real body. It was no longer a secret that Yuma was trapped in a Trion body, but none of them were expecting to see his real body today or the extent of his injuries. Yuma wouldn't want to deal with that on top of dealing with the loss of his parents.

Unfortunately, that meant Hyuse had to play messenger.

Hyuse looked up from his phone to look at the Attackers that he was going to request a match from. "Yuma is taking some time for himself. Who wants a match?" Hyuse said by way of greeting. His blunt greeting was met with blank stares so Hyuse just stared right on back.

"I'm not surprised." Murakami was the first one to break the silence. "He's not going to just jump back to his feet after that."

The reminder of 'that' got the agents grimacing. By the time they got to Yuma on the street earlier, he had been sitting up and talking, but nothing was going to hide the amount of blood on the ground.

There was nothing okay about what happened. Yuma almost died and only didn't because the Mimic of Yugo chose to sacrifice himself. It would have truly been impressive to see a Trion Soldier defeat his programming if they weren't all freaked out about Yuma.

Shun had been so close to disregarding the order from Tamakoma to not move no matter what the moment he saw blood flying through the air. The only reason he didn't was because of his teammates holding him back.

Right now, Shun really wanted to see Yuma. He saw him after the battle, but they didn't really get time to talk. When they got to HQ, Shinoda and Rindo swept him away so fast they didn't even get the chance to blink. Shun just wanted to see Yuma with his own eyes to confirm he was alright. However, if Hyuse was saying Yuma wanted to be alone, he clearly wasn't alright and Shun couldn't fault him for that. It had been horrible enough for them to witness what happened so Shun couldn't even imagine what it was like for Yuma who had to go through it.

"So, mentally, he needs time to heal. What about physically?" Yoneya asked.

Hyuse sighed. Somehow he knew he wasn't going to escape these questions with his blunt way of arriving. "He said he got a clean bill of health."

A bark of mocking laughter escaped Kageura. "You can't seriously expect us to believe that. We all fucking saw his real body fall out of the sky."

Hyuse rolled his eyes. He didn't understand how Yuma dealt with these people.

Kaguera snarled. "Watch it." He snapped, fingers scraping in annoyance at his neck.

Hyuse sighed. "Look, I'm just telling you what Yuma told me. He either doesn't have any answers regarding his real body or he doesn't want to discuss it."

"It's not like we can do anything about his injuries anyway." Murakami said. "I'm sure Director Shinoda and Rindo-san aren't going to let it go so we shouldn't badger Kuga about it."

Kageura shifted his angry glare to Murakami. "Until all this shit went down, no one outside of Tamakoma knew about Kuga's situation. He clearly doesn't care about fixing this."

Murakami held up a hand, asking for peace.

"Actually, even before this week, I'm pretty sure only Mikumo-senpai, Jin-san, and Rindo-san knew about Yuma-senpai's body." Shun glanced at Hyuse for confirmation.

Hyuse nodded. "It was a very well-kept secret even in our branch."

"It's not now." Murakami leveled his gaze at Kageura. "I'm certain they will look into it to help Kuga."

Kageura scoffed. He knocked his head back to rest it on the back of the couch so he could stare at the ceiling. "What was Kuga doing to even get targeted by an assassin that would that do to a child?"

It really was awkward sitting here knowing the answer to that question, but not able to say anything. Murakami and Kageura couldn't know the full truth, at least not from Shun. If Yuma wanted them to know, he would tell them one day.

"I think Yuma-senpai is amazing to still have the strength to smile after everything he has been through." Shun said instead.

"Or he's hiding his pain behind the smile." Kageura argued.

"Oi!" Shun protested. "Why are you like this?"

"Because I felt Kuga lose control of his emotions this week!" Kageura snapped. "And I know he doesn't want to die, but after seeing his real body, tell me what kind of hope do you think there is that he can be saved?"

"I'm going to believe there's a chance." Yoneya said.

"Huh?" Kageura glared at him, but Yoneya stared back at him, unfazed.

"Otherwise, why did we try so hard to save him from his father?"

Of the agents present here, Murakami could promise he was the one who knew Kageura the best which was why he could say that Kageura was being snappish the way he was out of concern. They had only known Yuma for a few months, but despite that, Murakami knew that Kageura had grown to really like their young friend. The reasoning was quite obvious. Yuma didn't set off Kageura's side effect so Kageura could be more at ease around him and have a lot more fun when they trained together because it was more a challenge since he couldn't rely on his side effect. Yuma was the only Attacker that could offer this challenge to Kageura.

Kageura was snappish because he didn't want to show his true concern and fear at the thought of losing his friend. He wouldn't say it directly, but his harsh words spoke volumes to Murakami.

"To give him a little more time." Kageura retorted.

"That could be the case." Yoneya agreed. "Or it's because Jin-san needs more time to try to find a path to save Kuga's life. I choose to believe it's the latter."

As much as Hyuse disliked Jin, he had been keeping a wary eye on the power elite he didn't trust or like so he had been coming to figure out what kind of person he was. He could tell that Jin always had a scheme brewing behind his eyes so Hyuse had a pretty good bet that Jin was going to try to help Yuma. The reasoning behind it was that Jin just seemed to be doing a lot to help Tamakoma-2 with how he wanted Hyuse to join the team. With that being the case, Jin was likely to offer more help to Tamakoma-2 for whatever they needed.

"In any case, this is out of our hands." Murakami said. He pushed himself to his feet. "There's nothing we can do but trust the higher ups and Tamakoma." He glanced over at Hyuse. "I'll give you a rank match."

"I do first to five wins fights." Hyuse said.

Murakami nodded. "Alright. Lead the way."

*Mimics*

"I never got my revenge."

Izumi eyed his captain out of the corner of his eyes. "Are you still on about that? After what happened today, can't we just not mention Kuga Yugo ever again?"

Kunichika watched her teammates curiously. They had explained to her what had happened out there when they returned since all she saw on her monitor was that Yuma was no longer on her radar when he switched to his Black Trigger, soon afterwards Yugo disappeared from the radar as well, and then Trion Soldiers showed up. It had been a shock when Tachikawa and Izumi returned to hear how Yuma had defeated Yugo. Then again, it didn't sound like Yuma won the fight at all to her. Yugo hadn't been defeated. He gave up his life in the end.

"Did anyone beat Kuga Yugo at all this week?" Kunichika wondered. "It sounds like he was one step ahead of us in every confrontation."

"Technically, we outmaneuvered him when he surrendered to us last night." Izumi said.

"No." Tachikawa argued. "Kuga gave us a fight, but by the end, he chose to give up the fight to protect his son. We had him surrounded, but he didn't make any attempt to escape or fight us off because at that point, he was only thinking of Chibi."

"You can stop calling him that now." Izumi said.

"He was a master swordsman who knew how to use the Black Trigger exceptionally well to give himself the advantage he needed in combat." Tachikawa continued, ignoring Izumi's comment. "He ran so many circles around us." To the surprise of Izumi and Kunichika, Tachikawa began to smirk in an amused manner. "It's just what I would expect from a man who spent years traveling through the Neighborhood. His experience far out matches pretty much all of our agents."

"Did our captain get replaced by a fake while our backs were turned?" Izumi muttered out of the corner of his mouth to their operator.

"I wouldn't rule out the possibility." Kunichika whispered back conspiratorially. "Maybe he went after Kuga-san by himself without us knowing and got killed and someone unknowingly brought him back as a Mimic."

"Couldn't be." Izumi said. "Kuga said transformed Mimics don't last more than a few hours."

Tachikawa suddenly appeared behind the two and swung his arms around their shoulders. "Neither of you are as quiet as you think you are."

"Well, then tell us, captain. When did you start to respect Kuga-san?" Kunichika asked.

"Probably the same time as everyone else who had developed hatred for him this week." Izumi suggested.

"Ah," Kunichika smiled. "When he gave up his life for his son." She nudged her captain in the side. "I didn't think something like that would change your mind about someone."

"I don't hate Kuga Yugo. I hate the Mimic that stole his appearance and has been disrupting our lives." Tachikawa replied. "I don't know anything about the real Kuga Yugo to know if I like him or not, but the end of the battle today showed me what kind of man he was supposed to be before Meraki got their claws into him."

"And that was by seeing what it is like when a Black Trigger is created." Izumi said. "Or faux created since the Black Trigger already existed and he was just returning Trion and lifeforce back to it. Though, what he did was likely how Black Triggers are created anyway."

"Mmm," Kunichika hummed thoughtfully. "Most agents don't know how to create Black Triggers. We all know it requires giving up your life to do so, but having seen it now, I hope no one gets any ideas."

"It kills the creator to do it so it's not likely anyone would dare to attempt that." Tachikawa replied, releasing his teammates to go sit on the couch.

"In normal circumstances, true, but when pushed into a corner, desperation is what causes someone to create one. It's the whole reason Fujin, Amo's Black Trigger, and Kuga's Black Triggers exist." Izumi replied, turning to face his captain. "But it is dangerous to do and there is no guarantee it will succeed, so I can see why the old members of Border don't give too much information out about Black Triggers."

"If we consider how difficult it is, it's also likely they just don't know fully how it is done." Kunichika pointed out. "Or how to raise the chances of success."

"Shinoda-san doesn't give that kind of information out because he doesn't want his agents throwing their lives away." Tachikawa said. "Most of them are still kids after all. It's the reason the higher ups were so on board when Kinuta-san created Bail Out. It's a guarantee the agents won't get killed when in the field."

Or, as much of a guarantee as Border could offer to the agents and their families. There were certain circumstances that made Bail Out not useful like when Black Triggers were used, agents turn their Triggers off when in the field, or when their enemies had a way to bypass their Bail Out like Aftokrator with the Rabbits. Those circumstances weren't mentioned to non-Border members as it would cause fear and outrage at the idea of outliers that didn't come into play often. Every member of Border understood what was confidential and why they couldn't share it with civilians.

The higher ups did whatever they could to keep information secure so they could deal with an enraged public as little as they could. Of course, that wasn't the only reason Shinoda gave the orders he did when commanding the agents in invasions. Tachikawa knew his mentor had lost friends to wars with Neighbors before Border went public. He knew his mentor did what he could to keep his agents safe because he didn't want to lose any more comrades, especially the kid agents who still had a whole life ahead of them. He wouldn't want any of them to make the sacrifice to create a Black Trigger so agents only got the most basic information about Black Triggers.

"Chibi is so reckless though." Tachikawa continued. "He almost threw his life away on the slim chance he could get the Mimic to do what he wanted."

"Tamakoma seems to be a branch that takes in the most reckless agents." Izumi said, thinking back to the Aftokrator invasion when Osamu turned his Trigger off. It was completely insane, but it was impressive how far Osamu was willing to go to get what he wanted. Yuma was no different. Sure, it was a lot more reckless for Yuma as his real body was already severely damaged and he was relying on the enemy to make the choice he needed, but well, in both cases, they likely would have lost if Osamu and Yuma didn't make the choices they did in both cases.

"Good for them." Kunichika said. "Because Tamakoma agents know how to get things done."

Izumi snorted. That was certainly true. Whether the Tamakoma Branch was the one to start something or not, they knew how to finish it, and honestly, it was becoming a lot of fun to watch. Except for today and during Aftokrator's invasion. Those weren't exactly fun to witness the outcome of, but it really showed the drive of Tamakoma's agents. Jin really knew how to recruit the best agents, though his cheat code really helped a lot in that regard.

"And what? We don't?" Tachikawa asked offended.

No. No. No. Not this again. Izumi was hoping they were going to be moving past this.

"Kuga Yugo ambushed us! Maybe if we had known Chibi's dad was dead, we wouldn't have been blindsided by meeting someone claiming to be his father and getting killed because of it." Tachikawa argued.

Izumi stared at the wall across from him, contemplating how it would help if he just slammed his head into it. On one hand, it would distract Tachikawa from his rant. On the other hand, it would give Izumi a headache and once Tachikawa was sure he was fine, he would go back to his rant so Izumi would have to listen to the complaints while dealing with a headache.

"Kuga's personal life was none of our business." Izumi said instead, deciding to just allow his fate to happen and start this conversation once more. "And honestly, we should have realized his parents were deceased. A fifteen-year-old Neighbor kid isn't going to move to Japan for no reason. He likely doesn't have anywhere else to go."

"Chibi is so damn cheerful all the time. It's hard to realize behind it is such a dark past." Tachikawa said. He knew Jin said Yuma had a hard life, but hearing that and then seeing how Yuma was always smiling and having fun, it was hard to believe Jin after he said that. Knowing he had a hard life, Tachikawa expected a more depressed child. When he didn't see that, he didn't give it much thought as he simply assumed that whatever made Yuma's life hard was something he had moved past and Tachikawa didn't know the kid well enough to care to barge into his personal business. Tachikawa was already deep in the knowledge of Jin's difficult past. He didn't need Yuma's as well, especially when he was sure Jin and the rest of Tamakoma had Yuma's back. "It's a shame we can't meet a true version of Kuga Yugo. I would have liked to meet the real mentor of Shinoda-san and actually had a real one vs one fight with him."

"No." Izumi said immediately. "No more. Good for Kuga having such a great father, but I personally never want to meet any version of him ever again. Him and Mogami. This was a nightmare week."

"A shame. Kuga-san had proven himself worthy as a grand master. It would have been nice to talk to him properly without the influence of the Mimic programming on his brain."

Kunichika raised a slender brow, a sly smirk starting to form as she glanced at Izumi. "Kuga-san? Are we allowed to show respect now?" She asked, eyes aglow with amusement as she recalled Tachikawa saying Kuga Yugo deserved no respect earlier in the week.

Tachikawa twitched a bit, but did his best to get it under control to hide it from his team.

"He is suddenly all proud of his grand mentor." Izumi said. "Too bad I didn't know he was going to say that. I would have recorded him and sent it to Kuga."

Tachikawa huffed at his shooter. "Chibi doesn't need to hear anything."

"Disagree." Izumi replied. "He just had a really difficult week with everyone being frustrated with his father. After what happened, I think some positivity towards his father will help him."

"What we think of Kuga-san shouldn't matter to Chibi." Tachikawa replied. "In fact, it most likely doesn't at all. It's not going to take him out of his grief."

"While that is true, sometimes hearing something positive can bring a smile back." Kunichika said. "Instead of hearing our complaints about Kuga Yugo, he can hear good things to remind him of how good of a father he had and help him recover because he is reminded of the good times. Right now, he is likely lost in grief and only thinking of how his father died for him again. Being stuck with those thoughts will make it hard for him to get back on his feet."

Izumi nodded in agreement, glad to have Kunichika here with him as she could explain it much better than him. Both of them stared expectantly at their captain, who just groaned.

"Don't you want to do something nice for your cousin mentee?" Izumi teased.

"Is it cousin mentee?" Kunichika wondered. "It started with Kuga-san who mentored Director Shinoda, and then Director Shinoda went on to train Tachikawa-san while Kuga-san got a new pupil in his son."

"If we put it in family terms, that would make Director Shinoda Kuga-san's eldest child and Kuga would be his youngest. Tachikawa-san would then be considered Director Shinoda's son. The child of your sibling would be a nephew or niece." Izumi deduced before getting excited. "Oh! So Kuga is your uncle!"

"It's weird having an uncle that is younger than you, isn't it?" Kunichika teased their captain who looked completely done with them and their antics. She was just doing it to tease him, but Kunichika would bet all her video games that Izumi was doing it as revenge for having to listen to Tachikawa's complaints about Kuga Yugo all week only for their captain to suddenly speak of respect for him at the end.

"You're destroying my sanity." Tachikawa said.

"Are we or did Kuga-san do that a long time ago?" Kunichika countered. "You've been off since he ambushed you."

"There's a certain thrill about being caught by surprise." Tachikawa said, surprising his team who had heard nothing except complaints all week in regard to that ambush attack from Yugo. "Jin and Shinoda-san are the only ones who could ever catch me off guard like that." He tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling, smirking in amusement. "Jin's comment about having the most fun fighting each other rings so true. Chibi and his father are definitely up there for giving me a thrill in battle. It's a shame I never got a proper one-v-one against Kuga-san."

Kunichika poked Izumi in the side to get his attention. When she did, she glanced down to get him to look at her phone that was now recording.

Izumi grinned and looked back at his captain. "You didn't get him, but you can fight our Kuga as much as you want."

Tachikawa suddenly found himself reminded of a conversation from so long ago.

"I had the most fun when I was fighting hard with Tachikawa-san and the others." Jin admitted. "In Border, there are endless playmates. He'll surely enjoy every day. He reminds me of myself in the past. I'm sure he'll soon move up the ranks. When the time comes, do take care of him."

"I see. So, he's pretty skilled, huh. I'm a little excited about it now." Tachikawa replied.

Tachikawa recalled the one and only chance he got to face Yuma in combat. He chose to use his Black Trigger seals on top of his normal Trigger while fighting multiple agents. It was the only time he ever got to face Yuma in combat and it had been quite impressive, but Tachikawa would have preferred to face Yuma in solo combat with him using his own fighting style instead of copying Yugo's.

"I'll have to hunt him down. His dad escaped a rematch with me, but Kuga won't be so lucky. It'll be a lot of fun." Tachikawa said. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Izumi and Kunichika making vague motions to each other and rolled his eyes. They truly were not as sneaky as they tried to be, but he would leave them be. He wasn't sure how they thought what he said would help Yuma, but it's not like he said anything embarrassing.

"Send that to me later." Izumi whispered. "I'll get it to Jin-san to give to Kuga."

"Okay." Kunichika nodded in agreement.

*Mimics*

Why was he out here?

That was a stupid question. Yuma knew why he came out to the roof earlier. He wanted the fresh air as he was feeling trapped inside the barracks, but now that the sun had set, he felt his heart constricting. He was laying on the ledge, staring up at the stars above him and he just could not get Yugo's face out of his head.

This week had been miserable as he was forced to recall all his past mistakes and confront whether his father blamed and hated him or not for Yuma forcing him to make that choice five years ago. Through much mental struggle and coming to terms with his emotions, he got to remember the love Yugo had for him. In fact, he got to feel that love again when Yugo caught him and didn't hesitate to make the choice to save Yuma's life a second time.

Yugo fixed the Black Trigger and saved Yuma's life.

Yuma forced the decision on him by wasting every last drop of his Trion. That was all Yuma did. He didn't beat Yugo in combat at all.

It didn't matter.

Yuma gave up on the dream of some day besting his dad in combat a long time ago. It was a childhood dream created because his dad was always so strong and was a wall that Yuma couldn't overcome. It became a dream to one day beat him in a match and have Yugo give him such a proud look at how far he came.

That dream died with Yugo five years ago.

Even when Yugo returned as a Mimic, Yuma's dream of besting him in combat did not because there was nothing fun about this week. Training with his dad was fun. Fighting for his life against his dad was not.

As much as Yuma hated his mother's plan as it was contingent on Yugo breaking free of his Trion Soldier programming as well as Yugo's love for his son to make that choice a second time. At the beginning of the week, Yuma would not have gone with the plan because he had been so unsure of whether Yugo truly loved him or not after what happened five years ago.

These past few days had been about him coming to realize it, and it was only partly from Yugo himself. The rest came from everyone around him who couldn't fathom why Yuma would think Yugo didn't love him. Everyone who spoke about Yugo with him was of the firm belief that Yugo loved Yuma more than anything and since they all believed in it so much, Yuma would trust they were right and hope it would pay off.

And it did.

It paid off so well, but now Yuma was left with a hole in his heart.

Yugo and Eleni would not leave him alone.

They were both long gone, but their lingering touches would not evaporate.

Perhaps, this longing that could never be fulfilled was punishment for forcing his dad into the same choice a second time.

The Mimic of Kuga Yugo brought Yugo's face back to Yuma who had forgotten what it looked like and now he would be forever haunted by it. He could never escape what he had done in the past or the present.

*Mimics*

Jin stared at the tv to watch Murakami and Hyuse's final match. It was hardly a surprise to see Murakami winning the fight. He had already learned Hyuse's style from the B-Rank wars and the away mission exam. There were very few people who could outmatch Murakami once he learned their style. Even Yuma, who had spent a lot of time fighting Murakami in solo rank wars, hardly ever won against him.

"I'm surprised to see Tamakoma in here." Arashiyama said by way of greeting as he joined Jin on the balcony.

Jin dangled his arms over the railing as he looked below them to see the usual group of agents that Yuma typically hung out with. Since Yuma was with all those agents so often, it felt weird to see them without him. "Arashiyama," He greeted.

Arashiyama stared at Jin, frowning at the distracted look in his eyes. It wasn't the look that said he was looking at the future. It was simply a worried expression on top of distraction.

"Yuma wants to be alone so we're staying away." Jin explained.

"Is that a good idea?" Arashiyama asked.

"Did you have anyone like that for you?" Jin asked.

Silence came from Yuma for a moment before he was shrugging lightly. "Dad's friend tried his best to help me, but I wasn't after help in grieving Dad's death. I just wanted to fight."

Jin's eye slid shut as he turned his face to the sky, feeling the light breeze brush pass his skin as he smiled sadly. "Far be it for me to tell you how to find the ability to continue to live after going through what you went through. It's not easy to find the strength to stand up after losing someone you love. It's good to be able to stand back up, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't take time to grieve. Grieving helps with recovering from the deaths."

"Just because I didn't spend months crying didn't mean I didn't grieve." Yuma replied.

"Grief isn't a process that you can just move on from after a week. Some people can move through the grieving process quickly while others take years to accept the death of a loved one." Jin said softly. "It took me months to accept what happened. Things started to get better after Border starting to grow, but even before that first large-scale invasion..."

"Probably not." Jin admitted. "Everyone grieves differently though."

"Yuma is naturally a social butterfly so him wanting to be alone now makes sense. He doesn't want us to see his grief." Arashiyama said.

"His emotions got ripped raw open this week and shown to everyone so he wants some alone time. I can understand that." Jin admitted. Sadly, it seemed him and Yuma were more similar in more than one way. He had told Kazama and Tachikawa that he saw himself in Yuma, but that was referring to their fun, social attitudes that enjoyed a good fight. Now, though? He saw the depression and grief in Yuma and how they both dealt with it in similar ways by closing themselves off and wanting to be alone. The difference was that Jin learned to not hide away over the years. Rindo, Shinoda, and all of old Border helped so much to get each other through the grief of what they went through in Aristera. They all grieved differently, but as they all healed, they had each other to lean on. There was no mockery or downplaying their emotions. They were allowed to be weak and lean on each other when they needed it. Yuma never got that. He was expected to always be strong after Yugo died because Calvaria relied so heavily on his strength for the war.

"We all know how strong Yuma is. He doesn't need to hide the fact that he is suffering." Arashiyama replied.

"Sometimes it's just easier to hide and push the pain down then to talk about it."

Arashiyama stared at Jin with a frown. "That's not a healthy way to cope."

"Never said it was." Jin replied, pushing off the railing. "But kids don't tend to know how to properly deal with their emotions. It's something we learn with help from others. Unfortunately, Yuma was always expected to be strong and never had a chance to learn how to manage his negative feelings in a healthy way."

"How are you going to deal with it?" Arashiyama asked.

"No special way. Yuma has been doing really well with opening up to Osamu and me when we ask and this week, he has been talking with Konami and Boss a lot so just being here in Border is helping him." Jin said.

"But everything is alright?" Arashiyama asked, eyeing Jin contemplatively. "And not just with Yuma. You haven't exactly had an easy time either."

Jin's hand curled around the railing, squeezing so tight that his hand turned white. "It wasn't easy seeing Mogami-san or killing him last night. It was painful to recall what I've lost, but I know I can heal from it." He looked back at the tv to see Murakami getting his fifth kill off of Hyuse and claiming the victory. "I have to stay focused on my goal. I can't protect Border and our future if I'm stuck looking back at what I've lost."

Arashiyama hummed thoughtfully. "You don't have to ignore your past either, Jin. Mogami-san was a big part of your life that you just can't ignore."

"I'm not ignoring it." Jin replied. "I'm acknowledging what Mogami-san would want for me and that is looking to the future. I stayed in Border after his death because not only was I too invested at that point, but also because Border was his dream. I wanted to help advance Border into the future and protect it as I feel it is part of his legacy. No matter how painful it was for me to kill him, I know it was what I had to do to protect Border and Fujin. It's what he wanted."

Arashiyama smiled slightly. "I see. The best way to deal with the loss of your mentor a second time is to continue improving his legacy." It didn't take away Jin's grief, but it gave him something to work on in honor of his mentor.

"And helping my cute brother." Jin added.

"Brother?" Arashiyama mouthed to himself in confusion. Sometimes, he really felt like he was missing things when it came to Tamakoma, which wasn't at all surprising to him. Tamakoma really did things at their only pace.

"It's definitely something Mogami-san would want as well." Jin continued, either oblivious or just ignoring Arashiyama's sudden confusion because he found it funny. "Even though he was a Mimic, Mogami-san wanted to help Yuma as well."

"I'm not against you helping Yuma, but don't put all your energy into helping him that you forget to take care of yourself." Arashiyama warned.

Jin gave a small laugh. "You worry too much, Arashiyama. Yuma and I are going to be just fine." He grinned at his friend. "That's what my side effect tells me."