Light Shines Anew
Chapter 13: Happy Birthday!
"Let's get this party started!" Tachikawa declared. "I'm starving!"
The agents and operators took that as their cue and separated to not only make space on the bridge to walk down it but also to rush back to their booths.
As the Tamakoma agents were the only ones without booths since they were setting up decorations and making cookies all day, Konami rushed forward and grabbed Yuma's hand to yank him forward. "All the food that was made is traditional festival food. You're going to love it, Yuma."
Yuma glanced at his teammates. "Were you guys setting this up all day? I was surprised to not see or hear from you all day."
Osamu smiled. "Sorry about that, Kuga. It's pretty impossible to keep secrets from you and this took us all day anyway."
"Did anyone make taiyaki?" Hyuse asked.
"You have a problem." Konami scoffed. Somehow taiyaki had become Hyuse's all time favorite snack here. He was always looking for it, but lucky for him, it was a traditional festival food. "Fuyushima squad's booth."
"Where is that?" Hyuse demanded.
"No worries, Hyuse!" Yotaro declared from where he was sitting on Raijinmaru. "I memorized where every squad set up their booth! I can lead you there!"
"Lead the way, senpai." Hyuse said.
"What about you, Yuma-kun?" Chika asked as Hyuse and Yotaro went on their journey for takiyaki with Ruka following since she would want to spend the day with her little brother. "What do you want to try?"
Yuma pursed his lips and looked every which way at all the booths that were set up. There wasn't only food being made by the teams. There were also games set up and other events set up. "I don't know. I don't know what everyone has." And he also just didn't know what most of it was so he couldn't choose.
"Then let's start with the nearest." Osamu pointed to the left and right. "So, takoyaki from Azuma squad or yakisoba from Ikoma squad?"
Yuma looked from one booth to the other. Both options sounded so good so he was going to try both. It was just a matter of which to try first.
"Kuga, get over here." Ikoma demanded, pointing down at the ground in front of his booth, forcibly making the choose for Yuma.
"What's up?" Yuma asked as he walked over.
"What's up. What's up he asks." Ikoma scoffed and planted both of his hands on the table so he could lean down to look Yuma in the eye. "You passed out last night in the middle of our match. Is this how you avoid retribution for kicking me across the room three months ago?"
"Seriously?" Mizukami muttered behind him, but Yuma just laughed at Ikoma.
"One of these days, Kuga. One of these days I will come for my revenge and you will not escape me again." Ikoma declared.
Yuma snorted. "Where's the rest of your team?"
Mizukami pointed down the bridge. "They went to check out the other booths."
"What about you guys?" Yuma asked. "Don't you want to?"
"We'll be switching on and off working here so we can all explore." Ikoma replied. He smacked the table. "So, do you want some yakisoba?"
"Definitely!"
Yuma eagerly accepted a container with yakisoba in it and stepped back so Osamu and Konami could get some as well while Chika opted out on getting some. The air around them was so rich with aroma. It told him there were a lot of food stands on this bridge. He was so eager to try everything that everyone had made.
Chika poked Yuma's arm to get his attention so she could point at the stand next to Ikoma squad which was Kusakabe squad's stand. When they looked over, Shun caught their attention and waved his arm frantically in the air.
"Hey, Yuma-senpai, Amatori-chan!" Shun called.
Intrigued on what his friend's team had, Yuma made his way over to the booth. "What's up, Shun?" He looked down curiously at the boxes on the table. "Cookies?"
"Not quite. You don't eat these." Shun replied. "It's katanuki."
"Katanuki?" Yuma reported confused before he started to shove his yakisoba in his mouth, savoring the delicious taste. Ikoma really was a great chef.
"It's a game." Chika replied, motioning to the box as she looked at Shun who nodded. She took one out of the container and showed Yuma the cherry blossom design. "You take a needle and carve out the shape without breaking it."
"Oooh," Yuma said intrigued.
"It's harder than it looks." Chika warned as she picked up a needle and placed the cookie on the table so she could began carving.
"If you carve it without breaking the design, you get a prize." Shun pointed behind him where a table of prizes sat.
"A prize?" Yuma looked away from Shun's booth to look at the nearby booths. Now that he was looking, he did see that some of the booths near them had stuffed animals and other toys at them.
"You've really never been to a festival?" Shun asked surprised at the confused, but intrigued expression his friend wore.
"I have in the Neighborhood, but it wasn't like this." Yuma replied, turning back to his friend's booth so he could watch Chika try to carve out the cherry blossom.
"You can try too, Yuma-senpai." Shun picked a cookie at random out of the box and handed it to him.
Yuma sent his container of food on the table and copied what Chika was doing. From what he saw with Chika's cookie, he just needed to use the needle to press into the edges of the design to break the cookie around it.
"Eh, it broke." Yuma said confused, staring at the needle as it betrayed him
Shun laughed as Yuma stared at his cookie broken in half. "Amatori-chan did say it was hard to do. It requires a lot of patience and delicate work. You probably pressed too hard, Yuma-senpai."
Yuma peaked over Chika's shoulder to see how she was halfway done with her cherry blossom still in pristine condition. "Amazing."
"Yuma-senpai."
"Hmm?" Yuma looked up from Chika's work to glance at Shun, who was now biting his lip as the two looked at each other. "What is it?"
Shun seemed to hesitate for a moment, staring at Yuma as if contemplating something.
"You know, I'm fine, right?" Yuma asked.
"Are you?" Shun countered. "Seeing you collapse like you did last night was terrifying, Yuma-senpai. I had thought..."
Yuma shifted farther down the table to avoid having Chika hear him. "That I died?" He whispered. He knew most of the official agents knew about his health, but considering everything that had happened recently and the scare he caused his friends, this wasn't really something he wanted to bring up with everyone. "I am sorry about that. It wasn't my intention."
A sharp look entered Shun's eyes, erasing the uneasiness he had been feeling about starting this conversation. "How can you say that when you don't plan to find a way to save your life? I hate seeing you not even try to fight for your life. I don't want to see you ever collapse like that again."
It wasn't just about his friends not wanting to see him die. It was about them wanting to see Yuma want to live and fight for his life. Yuma did want to live. It was just that he didn't want to throw what little of his life was left on a small chance.
But...
"You're scared to take the surgery because of it only having a twenty percent chance of success and you're likely to die, but Kuga was in the same position when he chose your life over his. There was no guarantee he would succeed in saving you when he chose to create a Black Trigger." Kido said.
Everything in life came down to choices and not every decision was going to be likely to work out in his favor.
Since when was Yuma scared to do anything?
"Kuga-kun! Come here!"
Yuma was torn out of his thoughts by the shout. He looked over his shoulder at Kako's shout as her booth was on the other side of the bridge.
Yuma glanced back at Shun.
"Go ahead, Yuma-senpai." Shun waved his friend off. "I know I can't make you change your decision. I just hope you think about it more. Have fun tonight."
Yuma was thinking about it. He couldn't get it out of his head because he understood what his friends were feeling. If he was in their shoes, he would be upset and scared about losing a friend too. Yuma shared that fear because if he died, he would lose the chance to spend time with his friends. He didn't want to leave them behind and for that reason, his fear froze him in his steps.
"What's up, Kako-san?" Yuma turned to the booth behind him., trying to push the thoughts to the back of his mind as the party was more important right now. He blinked when he got a proper look at her face. "What happened to your face?"
"It's face painting." Kako pointed at her teammate. "She likes art so we decided to make a booth where we could face paint a design of people's faces. Do you want to try?"
Yuma tilted his head in consideration. "It doesn't have to go over my eyes like that, does it?"
"I can do something on one half of your face if you wanted." Mai suggested. "It doesn't have to be a mask like that."
Yuma nodded and took a seat across from Mai, setting his yakisoba down. He did take a chance to quickly grab a few more bites of it before he settled down to sit still for Mai to do her thing.
"Hey, Mikumo-senpai! Want to try the game too?" Shun asked, pointing at the cookies in the box. "Amatori-chan just won."
Chika turned to her captain to show off the penguin stuffed animal that she picked as her prize.
"That's impressive, Chika." Konami said. "This isn't an easy game." It was definitely a game she was horrible at because she didn't have the patience for it.
"I'm not surprised. This is the kind of painstaking task that requires patience that she excels at." Osamu replied, though he was smiling at his teammate as he was proud of her. He was glad she was able to win something for herself.
"Yuma-kun failed immediately and so he went to get his face painted." Chika pointed over at Kako's stand.
Osamu glanced over at his other teammate and was glad to see him looking so relaxed as Mai leaned in close to his face to add art to his face. He knew his friend had been frustrated and stressed out lately so seeing the tenseness begin to ease out of his shoulder was a relief to see.
He turned back to Midorikawa with a smile. "Sure, I'll try your game."
*L*S*A*
"You think I'm going to lose when it comes to sniping?" Tonooka asked.
Arafune picked up one of the rifles and heaved it on his shoulder. "It's not a matter of just hitting the target. You have to beat my score to win a prize."
"So similar to sniper training." Oki said intrigued as he stared at the scoreboards behind Rin.
"Except these aren't Triggers." Rin pointed out as she handed a rifle to Oki and Tonooka so they face off against Arafune. They were perfectly safe fake rifles used for festival games which meant they were not at all what the Border snipers were used to using. "If you beat Arafune-san, you win a prize. If you beat him and get over five hundred points, you get the grand prize. Two tickets to the amusement park."
"Two?"
"So you can take your girlfriend there." Rin teased.
Oki pulled at his visor, ducking his head to hide a smirk.
"Did you really buy tickets to an amusement park for a grand prize? That's expensive." Tonooka asked.
Arafune shrugged. "When no one wins it, the tickets are mine and then I get to go to the amusement park."
"Heh, so this is for you." Oki replied.
Rin stepped to the side to get out of the way for the snipers as they got themselves set up. "On my count. You have thirty seconds. One. Two Three."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
*L*S*A*
Shiori hummed as she held up the ring and looked at where the bottles were set up. She judged the distance and then tossed the ring only for it to miss going around one of the bottles as it got stuck between the bottles instead.
"You're really bad at this game." Kikuchihara said.
"Kikucchy!" Shiori tried to reach over the table to get to her former teammate. "As usual, you say such unnecessary things!"
Kikuchihara stepped at of her reach as he knew that if she got him, she would yank him right over the table. "I only ever speak the truth. It's not my fault you can't handle it."
"Utty! Smack your teammate for me!" Shiori demanded, waving her hand aggressively in Kikuchihara's direction.
"Hey, Usami-senpai." Utagawa greeted, smiling at his former operator as he stood in front of his teammate who never knew how to hold his tongue. "I feel like each time I see you, you are prettier than last time."
"Oh, you're such a charmer, Utty-kun." Shiori replied, smiling charmingly at Utagawa before it shifted to a sharp smile and she was pointing at Kikuchihara. "Don't think you can hide. I know where your operation's room is."
"That sounds like a threat." Kikuchihara replied.
"No, it's a promise."
"Regardless of what it is, losers don't get a prize."
Shiori's glasses glinted dangerously.
Utagawa sighed as the chaos began to unfold. He didn't know why he ever expected anything different with these two.
*L*S*A*
Maki stared challenging at Kodera.
Kodera pushed his glasses up and met her challenge held on. "The game is simple. We start with a karuta game. Tsukimi will read a yomifuda card at random. Whoever finds the card that goes with it first will get the chance to answer a question. Whoever gets five right answers first wins. If you win, you get to pick a prize."
"So, it's like a quiz gameshow." Maki deduced.
"Exactly." Tsukimi replied, shuffling her deck of yomifuda cards. She nodded her head towards the cards set out on the table between Kodera and Maki. "It's Border themed so we are all on the same page with the game."
Maki looked down at the closest cards to her hands. Now that she was looking more closely, she saw that they were hand drawn cards. "I see. I assume the quiz questions will be the same then?"
"Yes." Tsukimi replied. "To make things fair, I wrote the questions so none of my team members will have the answers."
Maki nodded. "Alright. Let's start."
Tsukimi drew the first card. "An agent turned operator, Kusakabe Saki."
Both Maki and Kodera frantically scanned all the cards to find the card of Kusakabe.
Maki's hand slammed down first. She shifted her hand to the side to reveal that she got the right picture.
"First question goes to Maki-chan."
*L*S*A*
"Chikako!" Izuho waved towards her friend.
"Hmm?" Chika glanced at the booth next to where Yuma was getting his face painted. Her expression brightened at the sight of her friend and she rushed over to the booth, hugging her penguin to her chest. "Izuho-chan!" She bowed her head politely to Nasu who was with her friend. "Nasu-san."
"Hello, Amatori-chan." Nasu replied politely.
"Are you working at the Nasu squad booth, Izuho-chan?" Chika asked curiously.
"Shiki-san didn't come so Nasu-san and Kumagai-san were going to have to run their booth alone. Since I'm going to be their sniper in the future, I offered to help them out." Izuho explained.
Nasu smiled. "The help is really appreciated. This way we can all freely explore our little mini festival. Besides, though you're not an official agent yet, you are our squad member. We already decided on that."
Izuho grinned brightly. She couldn't wait for the day when she finally made B-Rank and could get a combat Trigger and don the Nasu squad uniform. "Do you want to try some of our treats?" She asked, turning back to her friend, unable to stop grinning.
"What did you make?" Chika asked curiously.
"We have candy apples and chocolate bananas." Nasu motioned to the trays behind them that housed their treats.
Chika hummed as she thought the two choices over. "A chocolate banana sounds good."
"Coming right up, Chikako!" Izuho turned around to grab one. "We added nuts on top of the chocolate too. Hope that is okay."
Chika nodded. "I'm good with it."
"Oooh," Konami leaned over Chika's shoulder. "Can I get a candied apple?"
"Sure thing, Konami-chan." Nasu said.
"It's a shame Akane-senpai couldn't be here for this." Chika said as she graciously accepted her chocolate banana from Izuho. "Thank you."
Nasu handed Konami a candy apple. "If we had known sooner that we were going this, I would have extended an invite to her to come stay over tonight so she could have joined us."
"None of us expected to be having a mini festival tonight." Konami said before taking an eager bite of her sweet.
"Are those chocolate bananas?"
"Fujimaru-san," Nasu greeted. "Obishima-chan! Good to see you could come tonight."
"Good evening!" Obishima replied.
Izuho was already grabbing another chocolate banana. "I'm guessing by your shout that you want this."
Fujimaru grinned. "Of course. I love chocolate." She explained as she eagerly took the treat. "What about you, Yukari?"
"I'll have one too." Obishima replied.
"Coming right up!" Izuho said.
Konami took another bite of her delicious candy apple. "So, what kind of booth did your team do?"
"Dango and green tea." Fujimaru replied.
"Mmm, sounds yummy. I'll have to make sure to stop by later." Konami said.
*L*S*A*
Tomoe stared at the gun on Suwa squad's table. It was completely different from the ones they used in combat which made sense. This was just a festival game. "How does the game work?"
Osano pointed at the shelving unit they had set up at the back of their booth. "Take a gun and get three chances to shoot a prize down. If it gets knocked over, you get the prize."
That sounded pretty simple, but Tomoe knew festival games tended to be rigged. However, these were games made by Border agents on a time restraint. He highly doubted anyone here actually rigged the games since tonight was all about having fun.
"I'm aiming for the dog plush." Teruya decided as she picked up the gun.
"What's in the envelope?" Tomoe asked, pointing at the envelope that was dangling by a string.
"I suppose you would have to win it to find out." Suwa teased. He looked over to the side and smirked at Osamu, who was looking curiously at their stand as Chika talked to her friends. "Want to try as well, Mikumo?"
"Well, guns aren't really my forte." Osamu replied. There was more than one reason he became a shooter over a gunner. He had an easier time just using the bullets and aiming with them.
"It's okay if you miss. It's just for fun." Osano placed another gun on the counter for Osamu to take.
Osamu set his empty container of yakisoba down to take the gun. He didn't fire right away as he chose to watch Teruya and Tomoe take their shots to observe how they were holding their guns. The guns weren't like their Triggers, but they at least knew how to properly hold guns.
Suwa whistled as Teruya shot down the dog she wanted in two shots. "All yours then, Teruya."
Teruya smiled happily as the plush was handed over to her.
Osamu looked at the gun in his hands. He could at least try, even if he felt like this was going to go horribly wrong for him.
*L*S*A*
Rindo leaned back in his chair, enjoying a cigarette while he stared up at the sky to watch as the first stars of the night began to come out. He smiled at the noise happening below him as the agents and operators had their little festival. It truly felt so lively having everyone run around the bridge.
Shinoda leaned on the roof of Tamakoma's roof, enjoying the site of his agents actually acting their age. It was good for all of them to get the chance to properly relax and have fun. Being up on Tamakoma's roof, he couldn't hear what they were saying to each other, but he could hear all their voices blending together as the noise rose from their excitement. He could see the smiles that graced all of their features as they ran around from booth to booth to running into their friends from other teams and grouping up with them to them running to their own booths to switch out with their teammates so they could go explore.
It was truly wonderful to watch.
"Do you think Kuga-san ever thought a Border base would be used like this?" Shinoda asked.
Rindo snorted. "Definitely not. Border agents hosting a festival for themselves was not a thought in any of our minds."
"But now that I've seen it, I like it." Shinoda replied. "Our agents work hard all year. They really deserve something like this. It's a shame that not all the teams get to enjoy it." Unfortunately, he couldn't just let all the agents take the night off. He needed the squads out there on defense duty. Making sure the city was protected was always the first priority.
Rindo hummed, basking in the warmth of the summer air and the fairy lights that his agents hanged up here. "Maybe we should do something like this again so the other teams get a chance to enjoy it too."
Shinoda snorted. "As much fun as they are having, this isn't cheap."
"I think a lot of the supplies they are using just came from their houses." Rindo replied.
"The prizes they are handing out are new so they spent some money on this." Shinoda took a bite of his takoyaki he picked up from Azuma squad before coming up here. "Do you think Yuma-kun would feel bad if he knew how much they all spent on this?" It was an unconventional type of birthday party and one he knew for sure that Yuma did not ask for. He might feel bothered about how much they all spent.
Rindo snorted in amusement. "Yuma still struggles with our currency a bit. I don't think he would fully understand how much they spent." He pulled his cigarette out of his mouth so he could take a sip of his beer.
Shinoda shook his head in amusement. One day the use of their currency would click in Yuma's head. He finished off his takoyaki before turning to join Rindo at the table he was lounging at. Just as he sat down, the door to the roof squeaked opened and the two turned to see Kido joining them on the roof.
"Well, this is a surprise. I can't remember the last time you came to Tamakoma." Rindo greeted.
"Your branch is noisy today." Kido retorted. He reached into his suit jacket and removed an envelope which he set on the table and slid towards Rindo.
"And what is this?" Rindo picked up the envelope, turning it over. It was completely blank which gave him no hint as to what was in it.
"It's a check." Kido motioned towards the edge of the roof, but Rindo had a feeling he was actually referencing the chaos happening down on the bridge. "To help pay for some of that."
"That's thoughtful." Shinoda said and he highly doubted it came out of Border's budget. There was no way Kido would use Border's budge for a party. He smirked behind his own bottle of beer to prevent Kido from seeing it and glaring at him.
"I didn't put any money towards that festival down there. The agents paid for everything." Rindo replied. "But I'll make sure this money gets to them." He reached down to the cooler by his feet and pulled out another beer that he set on the table and slid across it towards Kido. "Take a moment and relax, Kido-san."
Kido was already here so he had already planned to stay for a while. For that reason, he took a seat next to Shinoda and accepted the beer. It really had been a long time since he had come to Tamakoma and just sat on this roof with his comrades. It had to be at least four and a half years since he came here. After the large-scale invasion and building Border's new HQ, he left and never came back here. It figured that the reason he would step into this base again would have something to do with the Kuga family.
*L*S*A*
Yuma crouched down by the little pool with floating balloons, eyes narrowed in concentration as Chika coached him through how to play the game.
"Hey, are we gonna mention what's on Kuga's face?" Izumi asked Osamu.
Osamu raised a brow. He glanced at the blue and white flames that Mai had painted around the right side of his face. "It's face paint."
Izumi shook his head. "Yes, cute, but I meant the design on his left cheek."
"Hmm?" Osamu glanced towards Yuma again, but from this angle he couldn't see the other side of his face.
"Ah, shoot." Yuma mumbled as the paper string broke.
"No, worries, Kuga. You can try again." Kunichika said as she handed Yuma a new paper hook. "A little hint. You don't want to get the paper too wet. That causes it to break so you have to be quick."
Yuma nodded in understanding.
Konami returned from disposing of their food containers and stood next to Osamu and Izumi while Chika helped Yuma through the game. She smiled at the intense look of concentration on Yuma's face. It was nice to see everyone having fun.
"Oh yeah!"
A loud cheer took Konami's attention off Yuma and Chika so she could look over at the booth next to Tachikawa squad's booth to see Hikari cheering loudly. "What's there?"
"Miwa squad did a quiz contest." Izumi replied.
"Eh," Konami scrunched her face up. That was not the kind of game she wanted to play. "What kind of quizzes?"
"I think it is all Border related so everyone is on the same page." Kunichika replied. The whole point of this festival party was to have fun so no one here was trying to trick anyone out of anything.
Konami nodded. She grabbed Osamu's arm and dragged him towards that booth. "You and me then, Osamu."
"Huh? Why me?" Osamu asked.
"Got it!" Yuma grinned as he held up the blue balloon he managed to grab, barely noticing as Konami dragged Osamu away for another game.
"Ooh, good job." Kunichika clapped politely. "You can keep that and you can pick a prize." She pointed above her where there were plushies hanging off the umbrella. "Pick any one that you want."
"Hmm," Yuma didn't really need a stuffed animal, but he did want to properly experience this festival the agents set up. To him, that meant that he needed to do this. "I don't know which to pick."
"Can I pick for you?" Kunichika asked.
Yuma nodded. It didn't really matter which one he got.
"Then," Kunichika hovered her hand over the prizes until she landed on a pink octopus. "This one." She pulled it down and turned to Yuma and Chika. "This is a reversible octopus." She showed Yuma the pink octopus that was smiling at him before she reversed it and showed a blue angry looking octopus.
"Why?" Yuma asked confused.
"Usually it's done to display your bad mood." Kunichika replied.
Yuma took the plush and reversed it back to the happy octopus. "Well then, this is my mood."
Kunichika nodded happily. "Good. That's a much better mood to be in."
"Amatori-chan!" Hikari called excitedly as she finished at Miwa squad's booth with her arm filled with a big plushie. She grabbed Ema's hand with her free hand and dragged him along with her.
"Nire-san, Yuzuru-kun!" Chika greeted.
Hikari shoved Ema towards Chika, snickering at the way her teammate was blushing as he got pushed near his friend. One of these days, Ema would admit to that crush. She pointed towards the other end of the bridge. "There is a sniping game down there. You guys should play it together."
"Amatori-san is spending the night with her team." Ema protested.
"Naw, it's okay." Yuma said, smirking alongside Hikari. "You guys should go play together."
Hikari poked Yuma in the side. "You should go see our booth anyway."
"Uh," Yuma wrinkled his nose. "Is that a good idea?" He and Kageura hadn't exactly shoved their issue since he passed out in the middle of their match. Honestly, that probably made things worse between him. Yuma couldn't really judge since he hadn't seen any of his friends today until he got to this party.
Hikari responded by poking him harder in the side. "Go talk to your friends. Trying to pummel each other into the ground isn't going to solve anything."
"I don't know where the booth is." Yuma protested.
Hikari pointed behind her. "A few booths down on that side of the bridge. Now get going." Like with Ema, she gave Yuma a shove to get him do what she wanted.
*L*S*A*
"Yo, Ayatsuji!" Jin greeted as he found Arashiyama squad getting kakigori from Kakizaki squad's booth. "I heard this whole thing was your idea."
"Hey, Jin." Arashiyama greeted as he accepted his strawberry flavored kakigori from Ui. "Thanks, Ui."
Haruka took a moment to savor the taste of her green tea flavored kakigori before she smiled at Jin. "I only thought of it because of what Kuga-kun said the other day when he was in our room."
"What did he say?" Jin asked curiously.
Haruka waved her spoon in the air. "That he wanted to experience a summer festival."
"How does that translate into turning his birthday party into a festival?" Jin asked. It would have been just as easy, or even just easier, to invite him to a summer festival.
Haruka motioned for Jin to lean in closer to her. When he did so, Haruka whispered, "He told Arashiyama-san and me about the surgery you found for him. He's really conflicted about everything so I just wanted to give him something that he really wanted to experience." She pointed over Jin's shoulder. "I think it's helping. He looks a lot more relaxed right now."
Jin glanced over his shoulder to see that Yuma was at Kageura squad's booth and Murakami had come over from his team's booth that was next to Kageura's. He smiled as he watched Kageura squeeze Yuma's face while ranting at him. Yuma, for his part, just let himself be manhandled with an easy smile.
*L*S*A*
Yuma made his way down the bridge. Hikari had shoved him in this direction so Kageura's booth had to be here somewhere. As he walked down the bridge, he looked all around to see all the booths that he had yet to visit. He would have to make sure to get back around to visiting them.
Everyone, whether they were visiting a stand or working the stand, was smiling and laughter. It was already warm outside as it was a summer night, but to go along with it, there was something warm inside of Yuma. Warm and light.
His heart?
He felt so light right now.
It was like the atmosphere around him was providing him with more energy.
"Oi! Kuga!"
Yuma twisted his head around to see Kageura and Zoe working their booth and felt another smile pull at his face at the sight of his friends.
Whatever Kageura was going to say was forgotten when he saw how Yuma shot a smile towards him. It had been days since he had last seen his friend smile like that. However, despite the smile, Kageura felt his brow twitch in agitation. "Kuga, what the hell?!" He leaned over his booth to grab his friend by his hoodie to yank him closer to him so he could grab his face and twist it around. "Do you realize what is on your face?"
Murakami left Kuruma to run his booth to come lean against Kageura's booth. "Do you have to be so rough all the time, Kage?"
Kageura snarled and twisted Yuma's face towards him. "Do you see this?"
"Kitagawa is doing face painting." Yuma said between squished cheeks. "What's wrong with it?"
"Idiot." Kageura twisted Yuma's cheek being careful to avoid the painting on either side of his face. "You let her paint her team's logo on your cheek."
"Huh?"
Zoe pulled out his phone and opened his camera app and flipped it so it would face Yuma. He held the phone out to him so he could see his cheek.
Yuma stared at the butterfly on his cheek that had a 'K' inside the bottom part of one of the winds. "That is definitely Kako-san's team emblem." He knew that Mai had painted on both sides of his face, but since she wasn't going over his eyes, he just let her do what she wanted.
"Moron." Kageura whacked him on the top of his head. "Don't let that phantom hag near you."
"Kage, be careful. You're going to ruin Kitagawa's hard work." Murakami scolded.
"Good!" Kageura shouted, but he pulled his hands away from Yuma's face. "Never let that team near your face again when they are wielding paint brushes."
"I didn't even realize Kitagawa was in on the game of trying to recruit you." Murakami said.
"Same. I thought it was me and Kako-san playing the game." Yuma replied. "So, what did you guys do for your booths?" He looked over at Murakami's booth and then towards Kageura's which had a bunch of strings dangling over them. With his eyes following the strings, he noticed them connected to a bunch of random stuff.
"We're serving yakitori if you want to try some." Murakami offered.
"Sure. It smells really good." Yuma said. Though, everywhere he walked on the bridge had a delicious aroma as there were so many squads giving away food.
"While Kō-kun gets your food, want to try senbonbiki, Yuma-kun?" Zoe offered.
"Hmm," Yuma stared at the strings again. "What is it?"
"You just pick a string and tug it. Whatever moves on the other end is the prize you get." Zoe explained.
Yuma scanned the items, but they were sealed bags so he didn't even know what he would be playing for. "Then, I choose this one." He tugged on a random string since he didn't really think it mattered.
A bag near Zoe's head wiggled so he grabbed it and pulled it down for Yuma. "Here you go."
"Thank you." Yuma set down his balloon and octopus plushie so he could open the bag. "Let's see." He popped the bag opened and looked inside. When he saw a bunch of candy, he chose to not dump it out so he wouldn't have to put it back in. He did take a piece out to pop in his mouth to enjoy while he waited for Murakami to come back. "Hmm, what's this?" Yuma pulled out a blue amulet.
"They're omamori." Kageura replied. "A few of these bags have them inside them."
"What's an omamori?" Yuma asked confused.
"They are amulets said to bring good luck and ward off evil." Zoe explained. "Director Shinoda picked up a few of them for us while we were on defense duty so we could put them in some of the bags."
Yuma turned the amulet over to look at it curiously. Japan had such strange things. In the Neighborhood, things like amulets for good luck didn't exist. The only kind of luck that could be found in the Neighborhood was the luck they created for themselves.
And yet, Yuma found himself slipping the amulet in his pocket. He wondered if something like this could actually work. Yuma wasn't sure if he believed in getting good luck from an amulet, but it was something his friends believed. It was likely his father believed in omamori too. Yuma wanted to be closer to this heritage. To this half of his heritage so he would try to share their belief.
"Here ya go, Kuga. Fresh yakitori." Murakami had returned with the food for Yuma.
Yuma smiled at the sight of chicken on a skewer. It reminded him of nights in the Neighborhood with his father. They would hunt and cook what they caught over a campfire. "Thanks." He took the offered food graciously.
"Are you having fun, Yuma-kun?" Zoe asked.
"Mm-hmm. Loads of fun." Yuma said around a mouthful of yakitori. "This is delicious."
"I'll send the compliments to the chef." Murakami replied. Not that Kon didn't already know she was an amazing cook, but it always lifted her spirits when she got it from someone new.
"So are festivals always like this?" Yuma asked, glancing around the crowd of his comrades who were seemingly glowing with how bright their smiles were. Or maybe it was the lanterns shining on their faces to make it seem like that.
"Our festivals are usually bigger and more extravagant than this." Kageura replied.
"But on a time restraint and budget, I say we did an excellent job." Murakami added. "And it's definitely a party that fits someone who didn't want to be gifted any material possessions. An experience like this can also be considered a gift."
"What?" Kageura snapped. "You say that after I already got the brat a gift?!"
Yuma snorted at Kageura's affronted expression. "Just keep whatever it is for yourself, Kage-senpai. Murakami-senpai is right. This party is more than enough."
"Or, better idea." Kageura smacked Yuma on the head with an envelope. "You graciously accept the gift from your senpai."
"What is it?" Murakami asked curiously.
Yuma opened the envelope and stared in confusion at the slips of paper.
"It's five fully paid meals at my family's restaurant. Come in whenever you want with one these and your meal is on the house." Kageura explained.
"How generous. Why don't I ever get that for my birthday?" Murakami teased.
"Shove it, Kō."
"Kage is being such a good senpai by taking care of Yuma-kun." Zoe said, wiping away a tear.
"You can shove it too, Zoe."
Yuma stared at the slips of paper. They truly said paid in full for any meal he wanted when he went. He went there all the time with his friends, but he truly enjoyed all the food he tried there. He could go there by himself or with friends that wasn't Kage's friend group and not have to pay. Yuma wasn't hurting cash wise, but it would be nice to not have to worry about how to pay for five trips. It meant that he could avoid fumbling with making sure he paid right.
After that thought, Yuma quickly glanced around to make sure Arafune wasn't around to somehow read his thoughts and threaten him with currency lessons again.
"Thank you, Kage-senpai!" Yuma said once he determined he was free of Arafune's lecture gaze. "I'll definitely use them."
"Yuma!"
Yuma almost tensed up at the sudden interruption until he realized it was Jin's voice and not Arafune coming to torture him. "Jin-san." He turned to face his friend. "You disappeared earlier."
"I had you all to myself all day so I stepped back to give your team and friends a chance to spend time with the birthday boy." Jin said. He pointed towards the building. "But for now, it's time for cake, Yuma. You can play more later."
Yuma took the last bite of his yakitori and chewed it slowly as he stared at where Jin was pointing. Down by Tamakoma's building, a table had been set up and as he watched, Yuri and Michael came out of the building with a cake to place on the table.
"Looks like they are still getting ready. They haven't even cut the cake yet." Yuma said.
"Of course they haven't cut it yet. We have to sing first." Zoe pointed out.
"Sing." Yuma said blandly.
"Remember at my birthday and Kyosuke's how we sung happy birthday." Jin said.
"I knew you had a shitty childhood, but did you really never sing happy birthday?" Kageura asked.
Yuma sniffed, offended. "Of course my dad sung it to me. There are just a lot of people here so it seems unnecessary to sing."
"Everyone here knows it's your birthday so they expect there to be loud noise of singing at some point." Murakami replied.
"What's it matter anyway?" Kageura said. As he stared at Yuma, a sudden glint appeared in his eyes. "Wait, are you embarrassed to have everyone sing for you?"
Jin blinked and leaned down towards his shorter friend. "Wait? Really?" He didn't think that was something that would get to Yuma. He wasn't a shy person after all.
"Of course not." Yuma protested. "There's just a lot of people here. It would be too difficult to get everyone's attention so I think–"
Kageura vaulted over his booth and snatched Yuma's wrist in an iron grip. "HEY EVERYONE! TIME TO SING HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KUGA!" He shouted at the top of his lungs as he dragged Yuma down the bridge.
"Why are you like this?" Yuma asked as he saw his comrades turn to look because of Kageura's shout. He didn't hide his face from their gazes, but he could feel his brow twitched in aggravation.
"Think of it as my revenge."
"For what?"
Kageura gave a harder tug on Yuma's wrist, making him stumble a bit. "For the heart attack you gave us last night."
Yuma opened his mouth and then closed it. He really couldn't argue that. As embarrassing as he found it fainting in front of so many eyes, on his friends' end, it was terrifying since they had no idea of what was going on. While Yuma was completely out of it since he passed out, his friends had to stew in worry until he woke up.
Yuri looked up at Yuma with a smile as Kageura planted him in front of the table. "There you are, Yuma-kun. Just in time."
Yuma's brow twitched. There was no way she didn't just hear Kageura scream to get everyone's attention. He scratched his cheek, already feeling the embarrassment creeping up. It was easy to be in the center of attention when he was actively doing something. He had eyes on him all the time when he was in combat, but being sung to really felt so childish. The last time someone sung 'happy birthday' to him was when he was eleven.
The last birthday he shared with his father.
"Come over here," Yuri waved Yuma forward.
"Um..."
Chika was suddenly by Yuma's side as she had finished the sniper's game with Ema and Arafune just as Kageura had shouted. "Come on, Yuma-kun." She took his hand and pulled him around the table so he couldn't keep his back to the crowd of Border agents and operators that had begun to gather as they temporarily abandoned their booths.
As Yuri put the candles in the cake and began to light them, Chika pointed down at the cookies that sat on either side of the cake. "What is it?" He asked before he noticed the cookie she was pointing at in specific. A smile pulled at his lips when he noticed that the cookies had a Replica design on them. When he looked back at Chika, he saw her smiling back at him with sparkling eyes. "You really are the best, Chika."
Chika blushed and rubbed the back of her head. "It was harder to do then I thought it would be so I only managed to decorate a few like that."
"It's more than I was expecting." Yuma replied, squeezing her hand in return as she was still holding it. "What kind of cookies are they?"
"They're just sugar cookies."
Yuma nodded. A simple cookie, but an intricate design made specially for him by his friend. She really went out of her way to do something special for him, but it wasn't just her. All of his friends came to Tamakoma and created a festival. It was for his birthday, but this was something that everyone could enjoy. He saw it as he was making his way down the bridge when he saw all the smiles and heard all the laughter. Everyone was simply enjoying the night without any concerns for what tomorrow would bring.
The future was so bright for all them.
He wanted to share a bright future with them.
Yuma blinked and pulled back slightly. Where did that thought come from?
"Yuma!"
Yuma looked towards the shout to see Konami had shoved through the crowd, dragging Osamu with her. They were both smiling so brightly.
"Ready~" Yuri sang as she lit the final candle. "And...Happy birthday to you!"
Yuri started it off, but everyone soon started to follow her lead. Everyone singing together made it loud which made it more embarrassing for Yuma. The only one to ever sing to him was his father. The happy birthday song wasn't normal in the Neighborhood and since he had been busy fighting a war after his father died, his birthday wasn't something he focused on which was why he hadn't been concerned with his birthday like all his friends had been.
He wasn't used to something like this.
And yet, as embarrassing as it was, seeing all his friends front and center and just singing with smiles or smirks in Kageura's case meant so much to Yuma. Seeing each and every one of them here now made Yuma see something that he hadn't realized.
How full his life was of people now.
It was always him, Replica, and his father.
And then it became just him and Replica.
But from the moment he entered Japan, Yuma had been connecting with so many people. From allies to friends to those he saw as a family. His life was no longer empty like it used to be.
They all gave him something to fight for.
To fight for...
Japan felt like a home to him now. That was what he told Osamu the other night, but it wasn't because of the country no matter how much he loved everything he saw and experienced here. No, what made Japan his home were all the people he met and connected with.
Something he had been so callously saying he was fine leaving behind when he died.
Yuma tilted his head down, staring at the cake in front of him. He stared at the red icing that read "Happy Birthday, Yuma!"
Yuma.
His name meant to play for real.
He was named by his parents to have a life full of fun.
All everyone wanted for him was for him to have fun and to enjoy life.
Chika nudged Yuma's hand under the table. "Blow out the candles." She whispered under her breathe.
Yuma stared at the sixteen candles burning on the cake. After his father saved him, he never thought he would get this far in his life.
Sixteen.
To him, it seemed like such a long life when he had expected to die so long ago.
But according to his friends, he had barely experienced what life had to offer.
Yuma blew out the candles.
Yuri clapped happily. "First piece goes to the birthday boy. We have chocolate and white cake, Yuma-kun. Which flavor do you want?"
"Hmm," Yuma glanced at Chika. "What flavor do you think is better?"
"I like white." Chika replied.
"Then I'll eat white too." Yuma said. While Yuri got to work on cutting the cake and getting him his cake, Yuma also snatched up a couple of the Replica cookies.
Once Yuma got a plate handed to him with his cake on it, he stepped away from the table to give everyone else space to get cake and cookies.
Pop! Pop!
Yuma blinked as confetti suddenly fell on him from where he stepped back to. He looked up to see Karasuma and Konami grinning mischievously at him from nearby with used party poppers in their hands.
"Happy birthday!" Konami ruffled Yuma's hair affectionately, digging the confetti deeper into his hair.
"Thank you, Konami-senpai, Torimaru-senpai." Yuma said, brushing some confetti off his shoulders.
"I know you didn't care about celebrating your birthday before today, but I hope this has changed your mind." Karasuma said.
Yuma blinked and looked over to where everyone was getting cake and cookies. "It's an experience I don't think I will ever forget." He looked back at his seniors. "I may not have cared, but I really do appreciate this. It's more fun than I could have ever imagined."
"That's right. Your loving senpais know what you need better than you do." Konami said, poking Yuma in the cheek. "Without having ever experienced a birthday party here, you can't say you don't care when you don't know what it is like."
Yuma snorted. "I've seen your birthday parties. They are not this." He motioned to everything that was happening on the bridge. "I don't know what this is."
"A once in the lifetime birthday party that will likely never happen again. It was your sweet sixteen party." Karasuma replied.
Yuma was sure that meant something, but he didn't have a clue as to what it was. He wasn't going to focus on it though. Eating this delicious cake was much more important.
"Ah-hem! Let me have your attention!"
Yuma glanced over towards the Tamakoma building again and found his brows raising at the sight of Ikoma standing on a strange.
"While you are all enjoying cake, let me give you some ambiance." Ikoma announced.
"What does that mean?" Yuma wondered.
"It means that Ikoma-san brought a karaoke machine." Konami explained. She had seen it earlier, but it had been inside earlier. How Ikoma suddenly had it outside and along with it a strange was completely baffling to her.
"A karaoke machine?" Yuma questioned. He got more and more confused every day. He thought he was supposed to be getting less confused with each passing day.
Ikoma cleared his throat again as Mizukami selected the song for him to sing.
"The more important the thing is
The more I hope I don't lose it"
Osamu. Chika. Hyuse. Shiori. Jin. Konami. Karasuma. Reiji. Rindo. Yotaro. Yuri. Michael.
Midorikawa. Yoneya. Murakami. Kageura. Zoe. Toma.
Arafune. Suwa. Kakizaki.
Arashiyama. Kitora. Tokieda. Kako.
Kazama. Utagawa.
Everyone he connected with.
All those he considered close friends and beyond them, all the dear comrades he acquired by joining Border.
All of them flashed through Yuma's mind.
"The time and heart that was robbed
I still don't have the skill to take them back
I painfully know that"
Oyaji smiled at Yuma. "Hang on a second. I'll save you soon."
A blinding light overtook Yuma's dimming vision.
"In the mirror, I feel dark and lonely"
The darkness of the room wrapped around Yuma like it was a blanket, his only comfort in the too big for one room. He laid on his side on his bed, hand scrunching up the blankets under him in a tight grip. The side of his face was smooched down on the bed, eyes locked on the ring locked over his finger. New white hair fell over his eyes making his heart clench at yet another reminder that nothing was the same anymore.
"Replica," Yuma's hoarse voice echoed out in the too silent room. Somewhere around the room, he knew his partner was hovering. "What am I supposed to do now?"
"I cannot answer that, Yuma. Only you can decide."
Yuma's teeth gritted, pain somehow radiating through a body that couldn't truly feel pain anymore. "Me decide? The evidence shows that I'm terrible at making decisions."
"There is something to protect
I have thousands of wishes to carry"
"Yuma," Jin said slowly. "This doesn't have to be the end."
Yuma blinked and redirected his attention to Jin. To his friend who turned those sharp, focused eyes to Yuma's. Yuma shifted to straddle the ledge, never breaking eye contact with Jin. "What do you mean?"
"There is a small chance of survival." Jin admitted. "I saw this chance a while back but the pieces hadn't been properly laid for us to take this course until now."
"The future illuminated by the feelings of connections
Light that embrace, the overlapping history"
"I think you should listen to what your friends tell you." Arashiyama said. "Gather information and acknowledge what your friends think about doing this and then make a decision. I understand you said you don't want to do it, but you can always change your mind later after you talked to people, Yuma."
"I am swaying between good and bad,
slightly towards bad"
"The longer you put off going to Galopoula, the less likely the operation will succeed." Kinuta warned.
"Well, that's fine since I don't plan to do the operation."
"From the time I got used to loneliness"
Yuma found himself sitting on the roof, staring up at the big moon that was watching him. Everyone was asleep right now. With no one to talk to, all he could do was stare up at the moon. The B-Rank Wars were finished so he didn't even have a fight to strategize for. There was nothing to distract him tonight.
He was completely alone tonight.
"The wound that straddled the left eye hurts
I can disappear just like this"
Yuma collapsed, feeling the pain his eye get stronger. There were faces above him, hands on him, someone shouting his name.
Multiple voices calling out to him.
His mind was going foggy.
Their faces all blurred together.
"I hope a ray of light shines in this darkness
And I'll be surrounded by warmth"
"I want you to take the operation." Osamu declared.
"I don't want you to leave." Chika pleaded.
"I hate seeing you not even try to fight for your life." Shun begged.
"Because I don't give up. Since when do you?" Kageura snapped.
"You always beat the odds, Yuma. It's why I always bet on you." Jin reaffirmed.
"What is being passed down
Isn't just correctness and mistakes
But also footprints of someone's living life, smiles and tears"
"You think that is funny?" Kageura demanded, scorpion coming to life in his hand. "We're getting our number two spot back, Kuga!"
Yuma smirked. "You can have it because my team is going to move up to A-Rank!"
"Someone sure is confident." Murakami said, drawing his Kogetsu out. "You think we're going to make it easy for you?"
The amusement only seemed to dance harder in Yuma's eyes. "I would hope not. It wouldn't be any fun if you just laid down and took the beating."
The response was instantaneous.
Murakami unleashed Senku.
Kageura sent Mantis flying.
And Yuma?
He just activated a grasshopper pad under his dangling foot and went flying into the air to the dodge the attacks, his laughter ringing in the air as the three-way fight finally began.
"The future illuminated by the feelings of connection yeah eh eh
Light that embraces the overlapping history
Yeah, eh eh, yeah eh eh
Until the day we can laugh together"
Laughter surrounded Yuma.
Blinding smiles.
Cheers.
Whooping.
Yuma blinked back to reality to hear everyone cheering Ikoma on with his song. They were all so bright and full of life. They were all racing towards a future that was slipping away from Yuma.
He was being left behind.
Yuma's grip on his plate tightened. This wasn't what he wanted to think about. He had been having so much fun all evening. So much fun that he didn't even have to think about what it would mean in a few weeks, and now it was coming back to hit him completely in the face.
"Kuga?"
Yuma turned to face his captain.
His captain who was staring at him in worry.
Yuma hated having people worry about him and pity him, but that seemed to be all he was doing lately. "It was a good song."
Osamu's brows furrowed in concern. "I suppose so. Ikoma-san was a better singer than I expected him to be."
"Until the day we can laugh together." Yuma murmured under his breathe.
"What was that?" Konami asked.
Yuma shook his head. "Nothing, Konami-senpai. Go get yourself some cake already."
*L*S*A*
Laughter was the best sign to show how much enjoyment there was. Laughter was even better when everyone was laughing together. When they finally got it under control, it just took one look at a friend for the laughter to come back as they remembered what caused the laughter in the first place.
A plate was placed down on the ledge next to Yuma's elbow. "Did you run away from your party?"
Yuma's eyes shifted to the side to acknowledge Shinoda there before he was looking back down at the festival going on down below on the bridge. "No. I just needed a moment."
"Hmm?" Shinoda took a bite of his cake. "I thought you were having fun." At least, it certainly looked that way when Shinoda was watching his agents socializing earlier. Yuma had been jumping between the booths sent up by his allies with such a big smile.
"I am." Yuma dropped his face to rest it on his crossed arms as he watched everyone laughing down below and how they took turns using Ikoma's karaoke machine. Right now, Tachikawa was singing some song that Yuma didn't know. There was so much he still didn't know.
Shinoda raised a brow. "Then why do you look so sad right now?" He had seen Yuma rush up here soon after he finished his cake, taking the moment when everyone was distracted with getting their own cake.
"It's not going to last." Yuma whispered. Right now, as he stared down at all his friends, he saw a world that he would no longer be a part of. He was being torn out of the picture.
"Nothing ever does."
Yuma slid his eyes shut. A harsh reality that no one ever wanted to face.
"But, that is why we are constantly fighting for this." Shinoda continued, setting his fork down on his plate to reach into his suit jacket. He pulled out a picture and slid it across the ledge to Yuma.
Yuma cracked his eyes opened to stare at the picture that Shinoda pushed towards him. The fairy lights that were hung on the roof made it easier for Yuma to see what exactly it was a picture of.
It was a picture of Border members in front of Tamakoma.
Shinoda pointed to the person in the middle of the photo. "This is our first Commander in Chief, Kuga Yugo."
Yuma stared at the picture, tracing every feature of his father's picture. "He looks so young here."
"Well, he was in his mid-twenties here." Shinoda replied.
The dad Yuma remember was much older and had some gray strands developing in his hair. His face was also older and had more stubble to it than his younger self in this picture.
Shinoda moved to point at the person standing next to Yugo who had his arm swung around his friend's shoulder. "That is Mogami-san."
Yuma smiled. They were younger, but Yuma did recognize his father and Mogami from when he saw them a few months ago. It also helped that Mogami had his signature sunglasses resting on his forehead. They both looked so happy and full of life here. It wasn't something that Yuma had seen from either of them a few months ago. Both them had been so miserable when they were forced back as Mimics, but in this picture, they looked so full of life and hope without any idea of what the future held for them.
"On the other side of your father is Kido-san." Shinoda continued.
Yuma blinked as he saw the big smile on Kido's face. That was a sharp difference from the commander he was used to. He didn't think he had ever seen Kido smile nowadays.
"And let me guess," Yuma pointed at the two teenagers kneeling in front of the older members of Border. "That is you and Rindo-san?"
Shinoda grinned. "Got it in one."
Yuma's eyes scanned all the members in the picture. Besides the people he knew, there were only a couple of others. He knew Border had started out as a very small organization when his father and Mogami had first started it, but he didn't realize just how small it was.
"I told you how your father recruited me, right?" Shinoda asked.
"He saved you from Trion Soldiers, but was too late to save your parents." Yuma replied, recalling the conversation that felt like it happened so long ago.
"It was one of the darkest periods of my life." Shinoda said, staring down at all his young agents running around. "But Yugo-san still reached out to me. He never told me how to feel about Neighbors after what happened that day. He simply guided me along and let me find the answers on my own. Back in those days, he was like a shining beacon of hope to me."
"A shining beacon." Yuma echoed, staring down at the brightly lit bridge. Beyond the lights though, he saw all the agents and operators shining with a glow on them. It was simply a glow that was cast by the lanterns, but Yuma did see what Shinoda meant. It was like how his father was there for Shinoda to pull him into a different life after his family got destroyed by the Trion Soldiers.
For Yuma, it started with Osamu, but soon it was Jin and then Chika and then everyone at Tamakoma and beyond that, it was the agents at Border HQ as he slowly got introduced to all of them. Yuma had said it before, but none of them would ever know how much they have all truly helped him in a way they would never understand.
By coming to Japan, he was given a chance at a new life.
A new life he was scared of losing.
He wanted to have more fun.
The door to the roof slammed opened.
"There you are! Who does the birthday boy think he is that he can hide during his party?"
Yuma smiled as he just knew...
Yep.
There were the arms from his mentor wrapping around his neck and pulling him into a tight hug.
"I just wanted a moment to breath." Yuma said.
"Well, you chose the best seat in the house." Jin appeared at Yuma's side that Shinoda wasn't on. "It's about to start."
"What is?" Yuma asked.
"Just watch the sky, Kuga." Osamu said.
Yuma twisted around in Konami's hold to see that his team and everyone in Tamakoma had come up here with Konami and Jin.
"Turn around." Karasuma urged. "You don't want to miss it."
"Hmm?" Yuma did as instructed just in time to hear the first deafening boom that was then followed by a beautiful display of colors that exploded in the sky. Multiple booms filled the air followed by more designs that just lit up the sky. "What is–"
"Jun and his team bought fireworks." Konami explained, dropping her chin on Yuma's head. "Just shut up and enjoy."
Yuma stared up at the amazing display happening above him.
"I want to experience more that this world has to offer." Yuma said softly. "My father loved his home and I want to see more of it. I heard at school that Japan has summer festivals that have really good food and games and fireworks. I want to attend one."
Yuma felt himself smiling and relaxing in his mentor's hold.
*L*S*A*
"Hmm, this sucks." Inukai complained. "I bet everyone is having fun at Tamakoma." Hiyami had told them about the text that Haruka had sent, but since they had defense duty today, they had ignored it as they were busy.
Tsuji turned his phone to Inukai to show a picture of Futaba and Shun with their faces painted as they enjoyed dango and green tea. It seemed Kako took the picture as she was posing from the side with her own face painted.
"That's just rubbing salt in the wound." Inukai moaned.
"There will be plenty of summer festivals you can attend." Ninomiya replied.
"Not the same as Border agents goofing off at one they created." Inukai complained.
BOOM!
Tsuji and Inukai jumped off the rubble they had been sitting on, but froze in any action as they saw fireworks lighting up the sky in the distance.
*L*S*A*
Katori had completely disregarded the text from Haruka about going to Tamakoma. She would have loved to have gone there because it meant she could see Karasuma, but she had prior engagements. She made sure to get her team off today for Hana. Hana, who lost her parents in the first large scale invasion and chose to save Katori's life, came first to Katori.
For that reason, her whole squad was out tonight to hang out to celebrate Hana's birthday.
BOOM!
"Are those fireworks?" Wakamura asked surprised.
"Look, Hana!" Miura shouted, grinning eagerly at his cousin. "It's fireworks for your birthday."
Hana stared up at the sky in surprise. Her birthday is in summer, but she had never seen fireworks on her birthday. With her birthday being at the beginning of summer break, there were never any festivals on her birthday as it wasn't yet time for the first summer festival.
"Come on," Katori tugged at Hana's wrist as she pointed towards the nearby hill. "Let's sit and watch."
Hana let her friend push her into sitting down on the hill, getting comfortable as her team sat down around her.
Katori leaned forward so her friend could see her smile. "Happy birthday, Hana."
*L*S*A*
"Fireworks!" Ichijo shouting, grinning widely from where he was standing on top of the Marmods his team just defeated.
Katagiri adjusted his glasses, smiling at the sight. "That's where Tamakoma is. Just what were they doing today?"
"If it involves fireworks, it must be a lot of fun." Amakura said, grinning as she relaxed back on her roof to enjoy the show. They may not have been available to help Tamakoma with whatever Haruka said they needed help with, but they could at least enjoy the show that Tamakoma was putting on.
*L*S*A*
"No enemies nearby?" Oji asked.
"Nope, we're clear right now." Kittaka replied.
"Awesome," Kashio bounded up to the highest roof in the area he could found as it would be the best seat for the sudden show they were getting. A moment later, Oji and Kurauchi joined him, taking seats on the roof with him to enjoy a summer night until the next Gate opened.
*L*S*A*
When there was a pause in the fireworks, Yuma found himself looking down towards where they were being launched from. It was too dark to see who was down there, but Yuma saw their silhouettes. Since he knew from Konami that Arashiyama squad bought the fireworks and he didn't see them having a booth on the bridge, he guessed those silhouettes were Arashiyama squad.
"It's death either way. At least with the surgery, they have a chance to fight for their life." Arashiyama explained. "I understand your reasoning of making their last days the best they ever had, Yuma, but I can do that too. Before the surgery, give them a very fun time so they can go into the surgery with a smile. And then after that, all I can do is pray. Pray that they will make it out and we can go out and have another fun day where we can build more memories. If they do die, then we at least have those last few days together."
He couldn't believe they took a passing comment while he was upset and they rolled with it to turn his birthday party into festival. There was no need to do this, but he could say from the bottom of his heart that he thoroughly enjoyed tonight. The smile that pulled at his lips all day felt so foreign after the last few days where he had been in a depressive slump and unable to smile cheerfully as he watched everyone walk to a future without him.
...but they weren't.
Despite how much he argued that he wasn't going to fight for his life, all of his friends still turned to face him. They weren't walking ahead of him.
They had been right by his side every day.
And yeah, they were arguing with him about his choice, but he knew it just came from a place of concern. Concern that he had been throwing right back in their faces because he was scared of the surgery. Despite his fears and arguments, his friends still showed up today and threw him a giant festival to give him the chance to experience one of their summer festivals for the first time.
That was all the proof he needed that they weren't going ahead to the future without him.
Yuma relaxed in his mentor's hold and brought up a hand to one of hers that was still wrapped around him. He curled his fingers around her wrist, feeling the steady beat of her pulse, something that he lost when he got this body.
"Yuma?" Konami whispered.
Yuma stared up at the next set of fireworks that exploded in the air, the colors dancing brightly in his eyes.
"He chose to fight for you knowing that either you would both die if it failed or you would survive. Even as he was dying, he never stopped fighting for what he wanted." Kido pointed out.
No one had stopped fighting.
Except for Yuma.
He had stalled because of his fear of losing everything again. He already lost everything when his mom died, and then his father, and then he lost Replica. He didn't want to lose everything again because the operation failed because if the operation failed, that was just it for him. He wouldn't get another chance.
Yuma's eyes flickered away from the fireworks to look down at the bridge.
At all the agents and operators.
Well, their silhouettes as they had turned the lanterns off to see the fireworks better.
Yuma's eyes then shifted to his friends and teammates from Tamakoma.
As if sensing his gaze, Osamu, Chika, Hyuse, and Shiori glanced at him with smiles.
Yuma couldn't help but smile back at them.
No one had left Yuma behind yet.
Perhaps, Yuma should return the favor.
He so desperately didn't want to lose any of this just yet.
There was still so much he wanted to experience.
BOOM!
Yuma looked back up at the sky with a heart feeling so much lighter than it had in days as he watched the dazzling gold explosions that lit up the night sky.
His smile slipped into place seamlessly as the flashing colors lit up his eyes.
A/N: I don't own the song in this chapter. The song Ikoma's song is Time Factor by Kami wa Saikoro wo Furanai. He sings the full song. I just cut out some of the lyrics to avoid issues with having the full song here. If you want to know the full sections of lyrics that goes with each of Yuma's memories, I think I left enough of the lyrics in that you can find where it goes with the translation of the song.