Sick Snow: Remake Chapter 31: Aftermath (Taiyōko), a world trigger/ワールドトリガー fanfic

The invasion was over, for the most part.

It had lasted only a few hours, but it felt like the whole day was spent on it for the agents of Border.

Many things had happened during the invasion.

These are the end results:

First: multiple trion soldiers had come through multiple Gates.

This had let Border see the new type of trion soldiers Aftokrator had.

Second: multiple humanoid Neighbors had come through more Gates in order to aide in attacking and capturing C-Rank agents.

This had caused the Border agents to engage in battles all around the city.

Third: the former Border agent Misó Epanástasi had been shown to be a traitor and fled with the rest of the Aftokrator Neighbors.

This had caused a B-Rank squad from being able to do anything and had their captain banned from using his Trigger until further notice on grounds of suspicion.

Fourth: a Neighbor had rampaged through the Border HQ, but had not killed a single person due to one of Border's A-Rank agents.

This had been a cause for his death in the training rooms.

Fifth: the leader of the team of Neighbors had appeared and started taking out one agent after another.

This had started a chase for Amatori Chika; who had a large amount of trion and who had been turned into a cube of trion by the leader.

Sixth: the Autonomous Trion Soldier known as Replica had been sliced in half and the B-Rank agent Mikumo Osamu had been stabbed in two places.

This had caused the end of the invasion.

Overall, multiple C-Rank agents had been captured and Mikumo had been rushed to the hospital. Other than that, the city had some damage and some lower ranked trion soldiers remained.

Those were being taken care of by Kako and Arashiyama squads, as well as Konami Kirie from the Tamakoma Branch.

This was the third best future an elite agent had seen.

This was one of the best outcomes a Combatant-Operator had calculated.

A boy, no older than 16, looked around the area he was in. His general appearance and feeling was something akin to a walking corpse. His outfit consisted of regular clothes that you would be able to find anywhere.

He had been woken up by the loud sounds of the invasion going on and now he was walking towards the Border base.

As he walked, he had noticed a small white-haired child looking through some rubble, as well as multiple destroyed buildings.

He continued his leisure walk for a few minutes and came across a disaster zone with cubes laying on the floor. This was odd since he did not remember ever seeing such a thing in Mikado City before.

"Hm? Did I miiiss out on something impooortant? Maybe I could ask Kiyo-nii abooout it when I see him. Speaking ooof which... Where did Kushi-nee gooo anyway?"

The boy let out a loud yawn as he placed his hands in his pockets.

With a reaction like this, it may have appeared to others that something of this caliber did not leave this boy's everyday lifestyle in the slightest.

He seemed like someone who would constantly stay indoors and never take a step outside. It felt as if he could not do anything but sleep in until he felt like getting up before going back to sleep.

Even so, every few times he would see random trion soldiers roaming around the odd place, he had taken less than a few seconds to destroy them without any hesitation or notice. The path he was walking had multiple destroyed Neighbors along it with each sporting multiple slash marks through it as if five blades had cut through them simultaneously.

"Hey, brat! Why didn't you do as you were told and help out! You saw what was going on and you didn't do crap!"

The corpse-like boy felt someone slam their fist onto the top of his head.

He started rubbing his head while turning around to speak to the person who had just hit him.

"But I did help... I tooook out one of those big booombers. I had just gone to sleep too. Do you knooow how hard that is for meeee, Akasora-san? Besides, it loooks like everything's fine. Although... What are yooou doing way over heeere?"

Akasora let out a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair.

The corpse-like boy could see a black bracelet around Akasora's wrist and could tell it was not active since it was not floating around the older one's wrist like the rings of Saturn.

"One of the Neighbors had a Trigger that opens up wormholes. I ended up passing through one and getting sent across the city. Apparently I'm not the only one, though. Miwa had that happen to him too."

"Wooooow~~... So they gooot the upper hand ooon both of you. What about mmmy brother? Did they geeet him with that as well?"

"As far as I know, he had to Bail Out after defeating one of the other humanoid Neighbors. Sounds like he and Mei had a rough time with that one too. Granted, she was using a general Trigger."

"Hm? Fuji-nee-san toooo? I don't thiiink Kushi-nee will be happy toooo hear that. We may have cooome back here because of ooorders but that doooesn't mean we didn't haaave our own reasons to return."

"I'm guessing the woman's reason to see how those two are doing."

"Yeah."

The corpse-like boy let out a loud yawn as he slowed his pace.

Around them were destroyed buildings from a battle that had just ended but neither one of them seemed too interested in it.

This truly did not leave their realm of what was considered "normal". Everything around them was nothing but a byproduct of things they had seen before. The corpse-like boy seemed more bored with the whole thing than the man, as if there really was nothing wrong.

"Hm. Even if I geeeet in trouble... That's fine. These thiiings were just Neighbors. People dooon't care about them. If I caaan't bring myself toooo care about the bodies oooof actual people around a battlefield, why shooould I care about the forgotten aaaand tossed aside bodies of theeese Neighbors?"

Even if he were to be told that he could prevent multiple people from being captured, he would not think anything of it. It would have just been pointless blame that was the fault of himself from minutes to hours ago. He could not change what he did or did not do.

The path had been set for everyone, he knew that, so his intervention would have made things both better and worse.

He knew that everything he did was good, yet bad. The help he provided by destroying the bomber Neighbor had been good for Border, but bad for him since they had asked for more from him afterwards. The help he didn't provide afterwards did not benefit Border, but it kept things to how two people saw it. Everything had a good and bad that he would ignore in favor of what his family wanted.

"Well, I gueeeess I'll go see what's going oooon around here while I haaave the chance. Although that might be toooo much wooork for me. I may end up oooon the ground before I eeeven reach the dooooor."

Akasora shook his head as he pulled off the black bracelet from his wrist and looked down at it.

He made no move to stop the corpse-like boy from moving forward down the streets. He just continued to look down at the object in his hand and let out a small sigh.

He had not expected to use it at all. The circumstances had forced him to go around Mikado City in order to complete the odd Black Trigger before he could use it in his short battle against the Neighbor leader.

Due to his use of it there would be consequences that he would have to deal with. That included the want for it from Border and the directors. Shinoda Masafumi would be on his side, but that was the only guarantee. It would still be hard for him to fight for the rights to the Black Trigger.

Knowing what was to come, Akasora bit back a curse as he looked forward.

He started making his way to the base as well.

While a teacher and a corpse-like boy spoke in the middle of a destroyed street, an argument was in process between two agents who had just taken part in the battle involving the destroyed street.

"If you were there instead of me then Osamu would probably be fine!"

"You just added a defining word to your sentence. Clearly you aren't too sure that I would be helpful. That's not mentioning how much trion I had left. You were the best option to help."

"Helping out Osamu while dealing with two Black Triggers puts a lot of pressure on me! Of course I'm going to do worse in a situation like that!"

"Doesn't that mean you need to work harder?"

"(You piece of-)"

Knowing that things were about to turn into a physical fight (that Mei would have to break up), one of the other two in the room spoke up to interrupt the two B-Rank agents.

"Calm down. You both did well and I'm sure Mikumo-kun will be fine."

Yuki slowly opened his eyes to see the ground. He then looked up to see Toby, Takeshi, and Mei by the computer and blinked a few times to get the tiredness out of his eyes.

He held in a small yawn that made him look like a cat after waking up from a nap.

"Oh. You're awake," Mei said, looking from the monitor to Yuki. "You should really thank these guys for their hard work."

"I'll take you all out for some yakiniku later."

Yuki didn't move from his spot on the floor as he spoke.

"What's the current situation?"

"The invasion is over with multiple C-Ranks missing and Mikumo injured. Suzume is helping around to take care of any remaining soldiers at the moment. That means Arashiyama Squad, Kako Squad, Kirie, Kanzaki, Minoru and Hikigane are moving to deal with the leftovers. There is a confirmed death in the training rooms. It's one of Neighbors with a Black Trigger. These two here tried their best to stop the leader and protect Mikumo so he could get Amatori to HQ."

"So I'm assuming that Mikumo was taken to the hospital then." Yuki stood up and headed for the three. "And Suzu should be back soon."

"Both answers are a yes. She said that once she is done helping the others, she will be back here to check on you all."

"We're sorry, Yuki. Take was running out of trion and I couldn't do much to help Osamu out... Even Jinsei and Daigo did more than me to protect him..."

Toby looked down while tightening his fist.

Takeshi looked away and fixed his scarf from next to him.

They felt that they did not just let their leader down, but also Mikumo - and in Toby's case, Tamakoma as a whole. They heard a sigh and felt something land on their heads before ruffling their hair.

"You two did great. As did Suzu and Mei. You were all terrific out there, and I highly doubt anyone is going to blame you. Since Mikumo was sent to the hospital, why don't you two go and see what you can do for Tamakoma? If you're really sorry then you can also apologize to Tamakoma while you're there. I'm sure a simple dogeza will be enough for them."

It was not hard to tell that Tamakoma would hold no grudge against the two for something like this.

Jin had probably seen something like this happening, so to say that at least one of them was not prepared would be a lie.

Yuki knew this, so he tried his best to cheer up his two younger team members.

The two responded well to his words by taking their leave silently.

Yuki let out a sigh as he sat against the wall behind Mei's chair while she continued to work.

"So? Have you figured out your answer for the stupid thing you've been wondering about?"

"Yeah. If I couldn't do that much after all this then I would just end up being sentimental. And while being sentimental isn't particularly a bad thing, I think it's best not to deal with it when it comes to them. They're the type who needs both tough and soft love. This might be just that. Will you help and support me on this?"

"More stupid things are spewing out of your mouth. You should watch that."

Mei's tone was soft and low, as if she did not want to run the risk of anyone passing by the room to hear.

"Of course I'll support you. If I didn't then you would most likely do something even more idiotic and mess things up for others. That will never do."

Yuki let out a small laugh.

Mei was right, once again.

He would do something that would put more of a burden on the other agents and the higher-up.

It was not like that was some kind of goal for him, but he cared much more about certain people than the organization as a whole.

There was no way he could say that Mei was wrong when she is almost always right.

"Now then... Would you like to tell me what you skipped out on? From your tone, I can guess, but I want to hear it from you."

Mei let out a sigh through her nose.

"I should have known..."

She started typing on her keyboard once more.

Yuki tilted his head.

"It took so many people to deal with the leader. He had help, but that is besides the point. Takeshi, Izumi, Toby, Miwa, Kanzaki, Akasora-san. Even Akasora-san using Shikifuku could not do much. It took a collective effort at the very end to even stall him. That woman who was creating portals was also something that was hard to deal with."

"Where are you going with this?"

"During that time, I had confirmation of two people close by that could have also helped."

"..."

"Yes. Taiyōko Mukuro and Taiyōko Kushikage were within the area during all those fights. They had moved back at some point, but they did nothing to help. While I do not like the idea of them fighting near anyone, this was not a time where they should have been sitting back."

"I refuse to ask about that woman, but what about Mukuro? What did he say afterwards?"

"He had been one of the two people to take out the bombers when they were attacking the base. As for not joining in on the attack... He said that he did not want to do it because of the possibilities that were involved."

Yuki let out something that sounded like a growl.

Hearing the excuse alone was enough to make his blood boil. It was no real reason to not help against the Neighbors who had attacked them.

That was why Yuki was mad. It was because he knew that it was not the real reason as to why the boy did not help. They both knew the exact reason as to why the boy had made no move to assist any of the agents who had fought against the leader.

"This sucks... To have my younger brother and older sister back..."

Mei turned her chair to look directly at the sulking Yuki.

She shook her head while reaching out for a piece of paper. What was on it did not matter as she crushed it under her grip before throwing it at Yuki with deadly accuracy.

"Hey, don't go thinking about pointless things. Even if they are back, I am here for you. I will be there to deal with them alongside you. And even if you don't want them to help, you know that we can ask Murakami, Akasora-san, and some others to help us out. We aren't alone this time."

"I already owe those two basically the world at this point. I can't ask anymore of them. That would be too much."

"Oh? Then what do you owe me?"

Yuki was quick to look up.

"Everything. I owe you everything from the universe to my life."

Mei went red in an instant.

Realizing what he had said, Yuki corrected himself while sprouting inaudible words.

The rest of the day for those two was spent with their back-and-forth that only they would understand. Words that meant so much to only the two of them.

They did not move from their spots the whole time, no one ever tried to enter the room. No one tried to contact them.

They both knew it was not the time for something like this, but neither one really cared.

It was just them two.

A woman in her twenties happily skipped through all the destruction of Mikado City. The area she was in could not be considered a part of any sort of city. It looked much more like a nuclear sight.

Craters were everywhere and permanent scars could be seen left around the area. A clear sign that a major battle had occurred there within the day.

"My, my~ Some son of a bitch was having fun here~ Wish I was here so I could fuck them up instead~ I could always ask Akasora about what happened~!"

The woman had fiery red hair that went down to her hips with multiple pieces sticking up and out.

Her appearance was what most would call "extreme", and only the kind you would see in works of fiction. Yet it worked so well for her that it really did not seem too out of place. Her appearance only made the entire area seem that much more dangerous.

"I wonder what my piece of crap brother and lovely little sister are doing right now~ I wonder if they've gotten better to the point of actually doing something in a fight~ Oh my~ Just thinking about it makes me want to punch the crap outta something~"

The woman continued to skip through the wreckage of the area with a smile on her face. It felt like everything she was seeing was a part of her everyday life. Like anything and everyone invoking destruction just came naturally to her.

She lifted her nose into the air and took a large breath.

"Ah~ This wonderful smell~ It's easy to tell that something beautiful bloomed proudly here~ Lust, anger, and...contradiction? Uwah~ Some of my favorite smells~!"

Then again...

"Maybe I could even have some fun for myself while I'm here~"

She was also the eldest among four special siblings.

A certain C-Rank agent put all the strength she had into helping lift a large piece of concrete in order to assist. She looked like a delicate princess, which was why some people looked uncertain about her helping.

Once she told them that she was with Border they had thanked her for the help.

She could not do much to help her classmates when they needed it, so this was what she could do to assist in an area involving the invasion. She had been told, like the other C-Ranks, that she was to make her way back to the base, but she knew that others needed help.

She could not bring herself to think of her own safety when she knew that others should always come first at times like these. Others were busy with the remaining Neighbors, which left her to do the assisting towards the civilians who had not been so lucky as to evacuate in time.

"Thank you, miss."

The girl turned around to see a mother(?) with her child next to her. They both seemed rather familiar, but she would not be assuming family ties when she did not know who they were.

Either way, the girl bowed with a smile.

"It is no problem. I am simply trying to assist in any way I can. I should be the one who is thanking you all for being so cooperative. I realize that it is a bit frightening right now, so I deeply apologize that this is all I can do."

The woman and her child could not but help feel a bit of pity for the princess-like girl. They knew that what the girl was going through was something neither one of them could deal with. They looked at the girl with a good amount of respect.

The woman smiled at the girl before speaking.

"I will gladly put in a good word for you at Border. My daughter is actually a member as well, so I can get her to do it."

"A-ah! Please! That may be too much! I am just a foot soldier. If anything, I'm sure your daughter needs that more than I do. Those in B-Rank and A-Rank need that kind of praise much more than me. It is only natural that I would be out here helping everyone I can."

"No need to be so humble. You are helping us right now of your own volition. That is truly something to admire."

The woman looked down at her child.

"Go on, Mitsu-chan. Thank this nice girl for helping us all."

The little girl smiled up at the older one.

"Thank you, ma'am!"

The princess-like girl smiled back down at the little girl. Being the youngest of four siblings, the girl upon seeing this little girl look at her with such eyes made her heart flutter a bit.

With one more bow, the girl left the mother and her child to go assist in other areas that needed it. She never thought of herself as much of a soldier, but seeing the smiles of those she had helped made everything involving the invasion seem less frightening to her.

After all, one of her three older siblings had most likely been fighting in the invasion as well.

The invasion on Mikado City had been over for a while now, but there were still some remaining trion soldiers.

Six important things had happened throughout the entire thing with other things happening as background issues. The specifics were things others might not believe, so they would not be mentioned to civilians who would not believe.