Archive of Our Own

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Meeden
There was not a single soul in HQ that hadn’t heard about the news. Of course, it was quite big, but it really had spread like wildfire, not even the staff that had nothing to do with the agents themselves being left out from it.How had it first spread? Well, it all started in a conference room when the Border directives were meeting with the captains of every single squad above A-rank and Amo, preparing to discuss the course of action they would take. After all, the stupid rice cracker addict had made himself quite the reputation both in and out of Border, and it wasn’t an option to pretend nothing had happened, even if he was always using his Trion body and it was unlikely that anyone would notice, because likely doesn't mean the chances were 0.The chances are never 0.So there they were, discussing it, not being able to disguise their concern and surprise as they listened to the actual story (with some censored information) on how the elite agent Jin’s eye had been stabbed, but also understanding and waiting patiently for their instructions. Would they be told to spread a rumour again? Or would they rather do something else?—We will not talk about it publicly —started Netsuki, looking around the room before continuing—. It would be even worse if we were the ones to spread it so, instead, we will pretend nothing has happened unless someone actually claims to have seen it or asks about it. In that case, you are expected to vaguely explain how he had an encounter with a Neighbor while he wasn’t using his Trion body and got hurt before he could activate his trigger. The chosen Neighbor would be a Marmod, dates will be estimated around the date of his admission in the hospital. Any questions?No one said anything, so Commander Kido took the liberty to do a short summary of the meeting’s conclusion and dismissed everyone, letting the captains leave the room before switching to any other matters he and the rest of directives had yet to address.Unfortunately, one of the captains would start muttering under his breath and ranting lowly about it —the real story— as he made his way to his squad room, cursing Jin around five times before he got there to share all the information with his squad.This person, of course, was Miwa.And, of course, the meeting wasn’t held in the middle of nowhere or in the middle of the night, and the hallways were never truly empty, which led some B-ranks and cleaning staff to hear about it and force the gossip to spread before night time arrived.Furthermore, Border couldn’t afford to manipulate everyone’s memories and start over, so Netsuki had to plan once more the way they would deal with this so that everything would stop going downhill.Finally, an arrangement was done and, since Miwa hadn’t rambled about all the details, excuses could be made about it and it was all calmed down enough by the time Jin reincorporated, Trion body always active —like he always had— and two functioning eyes as far as anyone could tell.Atleast outside of Border.And now, they were at a meeting. No, not in the meeting room and no, not with all the directives.Kido had taken it upon himself to take care of this matter personally, on a simple one on one in his office with the troubled agent himself.—Yo, you needed me? —Jin greeted as he walked through the door, eyes foreseeing how the meeting would go, making him grimace to his insides, but keeping up appearances. He wasn’t an elite for no reason.—Good afternoon, please take a seat and do not dare mention what you have foreseen.—Well, well, well, not in a good mood, huh… —still, he took the seat and listened.—I will try and make this as concise as possible: you aren’t free.—I do know that, you have to pay for my excellence.—Jin.The alluded let out a sigh, fixing his posture. He really couldn’t lighten up the conversation, could he? No, not when it was just the two of them. Fucking Kido.—I thought that we would never discuss it.—We weren’t going to, but this… I want to ensure you understand the unspoken parts of your contract.»As soon as you lost your mother and Mogami, we became responsible for you. You are under our orders in all possible ways: you are our agent, you are one of our aces, you are one of our secret weapons. We gave you the freedom of wandering around, going to a regular school, choosing who would be your tutor and your Branch; as well as a fixed salary. That’s about it. You aren’t free to leave Mikado City, you aren’t free to do everything as you please and it is honestly surprising how we allowed you to go to the away missions before.—Wait, what? What do you mean «before»? —he stared at Kido, face adorned with a strange smile resulting from the mix of confusion, diselief and nervousness. And, still, the other didn't bat an eye— … I was really hoping it wouldn't be true.—Unfortunately, hoping is rarely enough. Jin, from this point on I want you to know that you are not allowed to go on any more away missions, for you are critical for this —he opened his arms, signaling everything— to keep on.»Border will be safer this way.It didn't take too long for the words to fully sink in, but just enough that he was already out of Kido's office by the time it happened, and not exactly close, either. The last thing he needed this week was just this, but it seemed like the world didn't want it to be a good kind of week. If only he could quit… but no, that was against his own objectives. He wouldn't do like Hatohara.He couldn't do like Hatohara.How would he help, though? If the mission lasted too long, he wouldn't be able to foresee everything and aid them not from here. But, of course, it was between protecting the entirety of Mikado and the greatest agents they had… including his kouhais. Oh, dear, it was hard.He’d have to watch them until the last moment, wouldn't he? Until they left.Until the doors closed and they left.And then… report everything. Goodness precious, he really did hate the system. Why couldn't he act on his own? It’d be so much easier. Or would it? Ah, he couldn't really think.Oh wait, how had he gotten this far already? He was standing in front of the Tamakoma Branch. What time was it? When had the sun gotten that low? He glanced up, seeing a pair of dangling feet. No, wait, two pairs. Eh, he’d go straight to bed. He needed to rest.After all, soon the exams for the away mission would take place, and he’d have to pay more attention than usual to absolutely everyone involved.Over a week passed, and he and most A-ranks were called in every day to watch and evaluate how the new teams were doing in the closed simulation space. There wasn't many surprises for him, though he had to admit it was kind of fun to argue with the others in the comments. It was pretty nice.But it went by quite fast. So fast.Phase 2 had already started, and he felt like he was in a daze. Maybe he just needed-He left the room, sitting against the wall beside the door. Somehow, the air felt cooler there, and it was refreshing.—Hey, is everything ok? —Jin glanced up, finding Arashiyama. He'd probably followed him, worried.—Oh, yeah, the air simply felt quite dense, kind of needed a breath of fresh air, y’know?Arashiyama nodded, sitting beside him.—Yeah, I understand you. Too much time focusing on those screens and everything they do… it's a bit too much, also knowing how much they're actually risking.—Yeah, that too. It'd be nice if we had some more breaks and some more air flowing around.—Mhm… Hey, how’s the eye going?—Hm? Oh, just fine, what kind of elite agent would I be if I hadn't recovered already? —was he trying a bit too hard? Oh lord, Arashiyama had a pitying smile on, he was.—Guess so, but still, make sure not to strain the other one too much, yeah? —I'll be fine, don't worry. What do you think I'm doing right now? It's alright.—If you say so… —he got up, offering Jin a hand—. Coming?He doubted for a second, but took it, smiling. He had to keep going, now more than ever.It was a week after the test had concluded.A whole week had already gone by.The results had been given a few days after Phase 2 had reached its end, and now… this was it, it was time to grab a notebook and, one by one, analyze everything he should mention to the directives about the expedition. Would it be calm? Would everything go according to plan? Would they allow Hyuse to leave? So many things to note down… Oh, some were quite interesting, and they were more or less likely. Maybe he should…He’d keep them to himself. Why let them know when it was fine?He'd keep them to himself. After all, it wasn't like it would affect Border’s integrity.He'd wish them a good trip and return before anyone asked why he wasn't boarding the ship. He knew better than to let them.Maybe, Jin thought as he walked down the hall and into the directives’ meeting room, he should have told them some of the stuff he'd seen and taken note of before he saw the group depart.—Jin, I believe you already know why we called you here —the commander started as soon as the elite agent stepped into the room.—I have an idea, but tell me, I’m all~ ears.Jin genuinely didn't know. He had avoided looking at them for a while, including director Rindo, which meant he really only knew that it was probably, probably, related to the things he had left out.He was right.—The Neighbors have behaved in ways we hadn't expected.»Let’s start with Hyuse, who we had been debating for so long if we should be restraining while the ship was around Aftokrator or if we should allow him to leave. He chose to leave but was fast to return after confirming he was no longer welcome.»After talking with him, he agreed to explain the situation in Afto, as well as the reason behind his abandonment and the selection of his master as the new God. He didn't seem to act too negatively about it around the others, so that's good.»On the other hand, Aftokrator wasn’t very welcoming, so it was necessary to leave before it was expected.—Okay~? That’s great, way too great for you to be calling me to the meeting. Where's the but?—The but is that stupid white haired kid! He tricked us! —jumped Kinuta, but he was fast to sit back down at the movement of commander Kido’s hand.Oh, it really was one of the interesting futures. Was it the first one or the second one?—One of the unplanned stops they did, knowing they'd need a plan in order to return to Aftokrator, was in a Nation named Calvaria, which Yuma turned out to be quite familiar with. In a negative way.»His demeanor was said to have changed, being quite on edge and reaching the point where, in some sort of panic, he attempted to run away.Jin noted in his head: attempted, key word. It was number two.—Luckily, Hyuse was quick to stop him and calm him. He had left the ship, but it wasn't hard to find him thanks to people who had recognized him from the previous time he had been there and who indicated to Hyuse how to get to him.»They’ve been away from Calvaria for a few days now but, as you can probably imagine, we don't trust him right now, so tell us.»What exactly did you see before they left?Jin had already relaxed, almost laughing from the relief. This was the fun part about not messing with some features. It was simply… thrilling.—There won't be any more attempts. I had seen a couple futures, in which one done Hyuse didn't even attempt to return or was actually welcomed back, but between the ones in which he wasn't, there were two outcomes: he was either left alone to handle himself or Yuma went talk to him.—What? How does that matter? —Kinuta asked again. Everyone else was too invested in listening to complain or comment on anything.—Because it was a favour and a part of their dynamic. Consider it some sort of camaraderie between them Neighbors. Yuma went check on Hyuse and, in return, Hyuse went look for Yuma and help him.»Everything will be fine from this point on regarding them. The return to Aftokrator is another divergence with quite a lot of paths, but that's not really something we can do anything about, though… I’d say it's much safer like this.—Is that so?—Mhm.Kido thought for a moment, considering ways to proceed, then said:—Right now, how good is the likeliest outcome? How many C rank agents will we be able to bring back?—Hm… I’d say all of them, maybe one or two missing.A lie wouldn't hurt. There wasn't a way for them to find out anyway, so why not? It was better to keep their hopes up. It simply was… the second likeliest scenario. A harmless lie. If they believed it, the likelier he felt the result would be.Breathing felt so unnecessarily difficult, he had no clue why. However, there was also the other, who had forced him to stay close. Who had forced him to return before he got too far and who had now forced him to stay in one spot.
The Neighborhood
A couple days ago, the ship had reached Aftokrator, everyone in it knowing that the «Canadian» had a different objective than they did, their collaboration almost over. They just had to wait until the ship landed… and the doors opened… then he would no longer be part of the crew.And that's more or less how it had gone.More or less.After a brief goodbye, Hyuse had left the ship, returning his Border trigger and activating his Lampyris instead. He was sure that was it. Maybe he'd help any possible negotiations if it all went well, knowing that they had followed their part of the deal… Yeah, maybe he could do that.Except for the fact he couldn't. As soon as he had stepped out of the ship, he was shoved aside by Viza, making him fall in some bushes. The elder man had been once off the first people to see the ship and, after seeing Hyuse, he knew the other shouldn't be seen.—Shh —he ordered, making sure no one else had approached them yet before making his way to the bush—. I'm sorry about that, you know it's not something I usually would do, but listen.»You are no longer welcome here, and I believe it's better if you stay out, too. He’s now gone, Hyuse, and there's nothing to do anymore. There is no point trying to avenge him, for it'll only make it worse for you.Hyuse didn't know how to respond, too shocked to form a proper thought or opinion on it. He had had to interact with meedenites on a daily basis, behaving like one of them, waiting until the day came for him to be able to return, and yet… it has been all for nothing.—Don't look at me like that, please. That's too big of a ship for just you, isn't it? You came with the agency at Meeden, didn't you? —Hyuse nodded, and Viza smiled— Return with them, then. You must be getting along well if they let you return, so at least you aren't being left all on your own. Go, go with them, I'll keep watching out, just in case. Make sure you aren't seen, and tell them to leave and not return in a couple days. Many people could have noticed your arrival, and they won't be nice about it.It wasn't easy, but he made his way back to the ship, explaining what had happened and the need to leave immediately. Of course, it took an annoyingly, relatively long time to get everyone to agree and help get the ship back to moving, but soon enough they were away from that place known as the Holy Land.And, shortly after that, the shrimp had gone check on the unusually… calm? Not as serious? Neighbor. It was hard to describe. After all, how were you supposed to word that moment when someone who is serious and reserved seems distraught and not as if they had a stick up their ass?Maybe just like that, but that doesn't matter.What matters is that, even though they had different experiences, the white haired boy could empathize with the horned one, and the horned one couldn't help but feel grateful that the other was there, checking on him. It was strangely pleasant for once to actually be cared about.That was probably why they were now on the position they were —both of them sitting on the floor, against a wall, the taller one keeping the shorter one in his embrace, trying to help him recover.That place —that place Yuma knew way too well— was right were their ship was resting right now, and the people from Calvaria had just chosen for the worst spot ever for the new port: right under the very same spot he had almost died at, his father risking his life for him.Wonderful spot to be at. Mhm.Yuma couldn't physically handle it, prompting him to run away and hide far, before the memories came back to crush him all over again. He didn't want to start all over again.Hyuse knew what this place was like thanks to a couple midnight chats about their war experience, and it didn't take him much time to realize what was going on, rushing after the other before he got too fast or stumbled upon someone he could recognize.And that's how they had ended up there, just like that, one forcing the other to remain there and actually process it all.—... This is larger than I thought it would be. Not as big as Afto, but I believed it'd be much smaller than this.—Calvaria is a bit more of a vertical Nation, that's why.—So, kind of like those tall buildings in Meeden. The ones that teach the sky.—Mmm… I guess, but not exactly. This is a tad shorter, but much broader than those… It's a fortress after all.Good, he did it. He distracted the other, he just had to keep going until it was all back to normal. First step, calm, achieved.—Right, it was a defensive kind of Nation. Actually- have you ever been on the other side of a war?—No, not really. Always on the defensive one. Travelers either don't participate or help the country they are sheltering in, but never attack another Nation directly. It's better that way.—Is it?—If you do well, the Nation you protect will be more grateful and will shelter you. It would also be quite strange to go to a Nation to stay at for a while and attack it when another Nation declares war against it, unless you dislike it and rather go with the attacker. Still, the attacker side could mistake you for the enemy and you’d be considered both sides’ enemy, making it much riskier.—Huh… but if they don't mistake you for the enemy, it could go well.—Yeah, but it's still quite unlikely. In case you dislike the Nation, you take advantage of the chaos and leave. By the time anyone realises, you're already gone.—Uhm… guys?Both Neighbors turned, having to tilt their head backwards in order to see the new arrival. Chika had just entered the room.—We just got told we might have to stay here a couple days to recover all the Trion used on going to Aftokrator and here. We'll also use this time to perfect the plan, and they want your help, Hyuse.The horned individual nodded, getting up before verbally responding.—Alright, tell them to get some paper ready, there's a lot to explain.—Huh? Are you going to open up on Afto’s system? —Yuma asked him, smiling. He seemed amused by this change.—I'm no longer one of them, am I? And there's nothing left for me, either, so I guess it's the best I could do —he thought for a moment, then continued—. After all, it's defending the Nation sheltering me, isn't it? It's better that way.The plan was surprisingly overcomplicated. In theory, everything was more complex, covering all alternatives in case other plans failed, the way they would separate and more; but when it came to carrying it all out, there were far less people guarding the building than what Hyuse had warned them about. It wasn't necessary to even start a fight, it wasn't hard to sneak in at all.And yet it could have been much easier if the other Neighbor on board had been allowed to join them, but the directives decided against it. Only a couple hours passed before the directives found out and emitted their opinion on the situation, deciding against letting the white-haired boy out of the ship any more, like an engineer or operator, but still aiding with strategizing.Border would be safer this way.But back to the mission. The agents had separated into three different groups, accessing the building through its secondary entrances, which had been previously shown and explained using Hyuse’s three-dimensional map and some layered maps they drew on paper. This way, they ensured that at least one would get in and find the imprisoned C-ranks.Of course, this location was also known by their guide, and just a couple hours later they had managed to take everyone into the ship, who were amazed by its size. How many people were they in total? 50? 60?That didn't matter. All that mattered right then was that the rescue mission had been carried out successfully or, atleast, the harder part. Now they had to return.—It should take two more weeks to get back —Shiori announced as she showed everyone the route and calculations. It was quite different from the one they had taken to arrive here in the first place, but that was to be expected knowing the Nations were always on the move.—Oh, what's this number, though? —asked Azuma, curious on the calculations that had been made by the operators.—Well, since the ship’s full now, it will consume some more Trion, but the C-ranks are also a source, and their Trion added to our own is more than enough to skip a couple stops and make our return faster.—Hey, could you…? —another voice started.—Woah, this is huge! —another voice celebrated.Slowly, all the voices started sounding the same, becoming a strange mush of background sounds without much of a meaning. No lies or half-truths or anything being omitted. Of course, why would they do so? They just got back with their people.… Mission over, time to rest.…Oh, what's that? Black hair.—Oi, shrimp, what are you doing on the floor? Get up, it's our turn to eat dinner —Kageura snapped his fingers in front of Yuma a couple times, feeling for a short moment a curious prick on his forearm.—Oh, yeah, thanks- wait, turn?—Hm? Didn't you listen earlier? How many hours have you been on your head? I swear, it doesn't do anything good to you… —Kageura complained as he pulled from Yuma’s hand, helping him stand up—. Since we're so many people on the ship now, we had to reorganize everything: from eating schedules to bedrooms.—How did they divide us?—Girls and boys, some leftover C-ranks were mixed with the friendlier, most reassuring people and then there's us.—Us?Kageura was walking down the hall, scratching the back of his neck. He wasn't very happy to return to the usual feeling of many people feeling negatively of him.—The weirder ones that don't inspire much confidence and you since someone must watch over you, and it isn't going to be the same ones taking care of the C-ranks.—Oh, understandable —a duck face—. Did anything else happen? How did it all go?—Oh, there were no people in there! We simply sneaked in and out. You should have seen Hyuse’s face, he was dumbfounded.—No people? —now he was confused, too.—Yeah, why’s it so weird?—Because that’s how they were when they came to Earth since they were looking everywhere for a new God, but now they shouldn't be looking for anyone. So either they actually lost that many people, they haven't returned yet or something else is going on.—Ah… hm. Whatever, we’re out of range already, so there's no reason to worry about it.And maybe, for the first time in history, this would be a completely fine thing to say and that wouldn't jinx everything they had worked on so hard for.Maybe.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Landing back on Meeden was quite eventful, the press rushing to Border to be the first to broadcast it and communicate it to their newspapers, while families were hoping they would be back together with those they had lost so many months ago.And then there were the other agents, mostly B-ranks, who welcomed back their friends and superiors. It was quite the event.The first ones to leave the ship were the mixed group of A-ranks and C-ranks, who were trying to calm the masses to avoid overwhelming the people behind them. Then there came the rest of C-ranks, who rushed to go with their families, who awaited them with open arms. And last, but not least, came the rest of A-ranks and B-ranks, who were soon interrogated by the press as well. However, it had all taken so much time that they didn't care much at that point, letting them go after just a couple questions.Unfortunately, meetings still had to be held to do some proper discussion of the mission and how it had gone, as well as some new problems they had to deal with.—We did expect at least one of them leaving —started Katsumi, tapping his cigarette against the edge of the ashtray beside him.—Yeah, but he also wasn’t really trying to escape from Border or something similar. He was having a panic response to the location where they were, trying to get away from it. He also understood when we gave the order of him not leaving the ship any further and collaborated without a complaint —tried to justify Rindo.—That we know of —added Kinuta, tapping a finger nervously.Kido raised his hand slightly, stopping them before they got on a full on argument. It was not the right time for another one.—Keep monitoring Yuma, we’ll try asking Hyuse for more information on Aftokrator since he’s more willing to share it now and we’ll add it to the information provided by Replica before the invasion took place and the information obtained from Enedora’s horns. Anything else?Everyone looked at one another, and the meeting was dismissed, Rindo immediately grabbing his stuff to leave. Tamakoma 2 having returned meant he had to drive them all back to the Branch. Why? Because he was one of the only three people with a driving license, Reiji was busy with a defense mission with Konami and Yuri was helping them. But hey, he got to catch up with the kids.—Ah, I guess the mission wasn’t completely successful, hm? —he asked as he glanced at the mirror, seeing Chika.—It could have been better, but it would have been too much of a coincidence if they were in Afto, too.—But hey, we managed to join the away mission on our first attempt! We will join them whenever we can and keep searching —Osamu turned to look behind Rindo’s seat, trying to cheer her up, truly believing what he was saying. He felt like it was only a matter of time until they went to the right Nations and got them back.—Mhm… —Rindo took another quick glance, adjusting the mirror to see the other two before returning his full attention to the road ahead—. How was it like to travel back through the Neighborhood, Yuma? I guess you used to stay longer in places with your father, but it must have felt similar.However, there was no response.—Uhm… Yuma?—Don’t worry, I think he’s just tired. Food was rationed into quite small amounts since they didn’t expect us staying that long in Calvaria and all, and knowing he has to eat more than us it probably caused a Trion shortage.—Huh? Well, he doesn’t sleep, so it makes sense for him to depend that much on food for recovering energy. But hey, you’re on your lucky day! I’m sure Jin’s in charge of making dinner tonight.—So, you just went into his room and took it without even asking? —Mikhael asked as he inspected the thing he had been handed.—It’d be weird to ask.—Why not explain the purpose? —he put down the piece along with an identical one on his desk, grabbing his toolset.—I wanted to give him a surprise.—Why? That's not very Aftokratian of you.—I’m no longer Aftokratian, am I?—Hm… still, why?Hyuse thought for a.moment, looking for the right words to use.—It would disappoint him if I told him we would try fixing it and then failed.—Good point, I guess —he kept tinkering with his tools for a bit, watching as the strange Trion soldier seemed to fuse together into one piece almost completely on its own—. How about you go see what he’s doing? Better not to catch him in the middle of something.Hyuse just nodded, leaving the office and heading downstairs and into the living room, watching as Reiji returned with Konami and they welcomed them. Great, more interactions. He was honestly drained, even if his face was the same as always.—Hah! I knew you’d do great. After all, I trained you —Konami said proudly as she put her hand on Yuma’s head, who was already back to his energetic self. It really had been the food that had gotten him all down just a couple hours earlier.—Mhm, your teachings have been quite useful, Konami, but it's still not over: we still have to find Chika’s brother and friend.Konami nodded, a smile on her face.—How about we go for a few rounds, then? If I see you lacking…—Uh… rather not, it's kind of late, and I’m still pretty tired.—Huh? You? Tired?Hyuse felt something against his leg through his pants, find Yotaro and Raijinmaru right there.—I told you, with me you’d soon be able to integrate in the group with everyone else before you went on the mission!—Well, I was still left in the creepy group.—I- what!? Why was there a creepy group!? How did you end up there!?Hyuse shrugged.—I simply was put in it when we rescued the C-ranks. There was a pure C-rank group, one with the leftover C-ranks and the friendlier A-ranks so they’d feel safer instead of just left out and then there was the rest of us, who scared them for some reason.—Scaredy cats!—Well, they were trapped in enemy territory for months, it's normal to not trust many people outside of your group in such situations.—Huh…Hyuse looked again to where the other kouhai-senpai conversation had been taking place, seeing how it was ending, then looked back to the staircase, heading towards it.—Heh? Hey, where are you going? —asked Yotaro, quickly following him on foot while Raijinmaru sat down.—There’s… something I found while we were rescuing the C-ranks —he said nonchalantly as he made his way up, his voice a little lower.—Oh, really? And what is it? Wait, why are we going upstairs? Your room’s in the basement!—It’s not in my basement, it's with Cronin.—Oh? What is it?—You’ll see… —Hyuse knocked on the door before opening it—. You’ve known Yuma for longer, so you’re probably more familiar with it.As the door was completely opened, something could be seen floating near Mikhael, talking with him.No, not something , but also not just someone . Yotaro gasped.—Repli-! —he was immediately interrupted by a hand on his mouth, reminding him to keep his voice down—. Replica, you’re back!—Greetings, Yotaro. It's nice to see you again. And who may you be?—That’s Hyuse, the one I was telling you about.—Ah, I see. Pleasure to meet you, Hyuse; I’m Replica, Yuma’s guardian, but I believe you already know that.Hyuse nodded, amazed by the conversation skills the Trion soldier in front of him had. It's not that he hadn't known Replica could speak, but he believed it'd be much more focused on technical communication than actual, more trivial-seeming conversations.—The feeling’s mutual —he looked again at the door. He was still unsure on how to do this, but it seemed like Yotaro knew what to do.—Let’s go back downstairs. Replica, you stay behind Hyuse, we’re surprising Yuma —he quickly planned, almost on the spot, not waiting for the rest to process his words before he started moving.Hyuse soon followed, the Trion soldier right behind him, as they made their way back downstairs. It was a bit strange to take the stairs so many times in such a short span of time, but he couldn't care less about it at the moment.—Yuma, can you come here? —Yotaro said as he rushed towards the white-haired boy, who had been looking out the window— You missed a lot of stuff.—Hm? How much? Did a lot happen?—Sorta, but here's what happened the most recently, come!Yuma followed, kind of confused. Why were they going towards Hyuse? Had he been so tired he hadn't noticed something going on after they arrived? He couldn't really tell.He couldn't really tell until Hyuse sidestepped and a familiar autonomous Trion soldier appeared, moving towards him.—Replica!—Hello, Yuma. I’m back.Hyuse could swear on his own life he hadn't seen the shrimp-sized boy this excited ever, not even while hanging out with his friends or at matches. It was just… so strange. It made sense, of course; Replica had been Yuma’s companion ever since his father’s death, and now they had reunited, but he hadn't seen the other this happy ever, not even a little close.It was nice, at least one of the squad’s personal objectives had been met. He could go to sleep calmly now.—Oh, Replica! It's nice to see you're back —greeted Jin as he closed the door to the rooftop behind himself, two mugs of hot chocolate in hand.Of course, he had known for a while now, but the chances weren't that high back then. It wasn't until they returned he could confirm it.—It is nice to see you, too, Jin. What happened to your eye, though?—Eh, long story short, I panicked over my own future —he responded dismissively. He was already over it, no more panics since then.—Ah, I’m sorry about that.Jin shrugged it off, then took a seat beside Yuma, who was watching the stars.—You really are tired, hm?—Mhm, but at least it's not that bad. It’d be worse if I had to participate in the rescue mission or had to do… anything , actually. Plus, the food actually lasted for all of us until the last day, so I still had some energy.—Oh, so it isn't the first time it's happened?—Oh, no, not at all. It's pretty normal to overexert yourself during a war, and supplies rarely last that much when most people are defending their Nation rather than harvesting or preparing food.—Is it that common?—Mhm.—Well, forget about that, then. How about I make you something else? See if it helps you recover?—Sure!«It seems like he's still been properly taken care of despite my absence» thought Replica, relieved that others had been doing its job.They went downstairs, keeping on chatting about what the other had been doing during the time Yuma had been on the away mission, though keeping their voices low so that they wouldn't wake anyone up. It was an exhausting day.—So? How's that, hm?—You should make dinner more often, this is too good.—Hmm… I’ll think about it.—Think about it?—I’m busy, and it’ll stop being special if I do it too often.—Aww…Jin laughed, looking aside.—But still, do you feel better now?Yuma swallowed one last spoonful.—I… do feel good —Jin turned at that.—That’s not what I asked.—It takes some time, it's not immediately after I eat.Jin’s face softened, sighing.—Right, I forgot.A silence ensued, but it was soon interrupted by Replica, who knew a tad about human beings.—You should head to bed, Jin. It is quite late already, and you are an early riser.—Hah~? Are you kicking me out? —he joked lightheartedly as he stood up—. Aight, aight, yeah. I’m pretty tired, so good night. Make sure not to be too loud, yeah?—Yeah, don't worry. We already did most of the catching up.—Oh? You’re fast, hahah.He left soon after, heading to his room and crashing on his bed. It had been quite the long day.It was known today was the day they’d get back from the mission, and he had been asked to try and see how many people would attend and if they’d be too busy with the press or not. Above that, he also had to go on a defense mission and wanted to go around the city on order to take some notes on the next few weeks. He even had to suspend a hangout with Tachikawa and some matches he was having with Midorikawa, leaving them for later dates.He let his body sink in the mattress and face in the pillow, pushing any and all thoughts away as his brain started acting drunk, A.K.A. falling asleep.He just didn't expect that memory hitting him —a vision from just a couple minutes ago. It was quite strange. Not because of some new Trion soldier model or an attack or anything, it was simply… off.He had a similar feeling when he looked at Chika, who he had even seen scared for some reason as she saw a gate open. Didn't she feel them in advance?The more he thought about it, the less sense it made. Everyone who had stayed, like Arashiyama, had been just fine until a couple days ago, yet now they all were off, too.Everyone was off in that future, and it was still the most likely, so what was happening?Was it influenced by them returning? Sure, it had been an unlikely scenario he hadn't looked too much into since he hadn't believed everyone would be brought back from Aftokrator, but he would have noticed if they were planning on doing anything…Ugh, thinking was hard with such tiredness. Plus, he knew better than to think about important stuff at this hour of the night— wait, what time was it? Probably past midnight. Well, where was he? Oh, yeah, not thinking about important stuff before sleeping… He could overthink it or misunderstand it and reach stupid conclusions, so it was better if he told the thought central to shut down already and let the dream factory start producing something to distract himself with…Maybe he’d manage to have some calm sleep tonight…If only the sleep hasn't lasted, like, three blink of an eye.He swore he had just closed his eyes when, all of a sudden, the brightness of the sun was going straight through his curtains and attacking his face, forcing him to move in order to be able to see around himself. What time was it? He had an alarm that wake up earlier… Wait, what day even was it? Oh, Saturday, he had the morning free, so maybe he could sleep in…His phone rang. Nope, not today.He groaned, then picked it up, greeting whoever was on the other end of the line with one of his favourite sentences.—What may the agent great Jin elite do for ya?—... What? —a laugh could be heard from the other side. Ah, Kei— Did you just wake up? That made no sense!—Yes, actually, and I was planning on going back to it until you called.—Ah… unfortunately for you, they want you here in… how long? —he could be heard talking with someone else, their voices slightly muddled— Like half an hour, I dunno. They wanna see how the future’s looking.—Can't they wait until working hours, geez?—I don't know, man, I'm just the one they asked to contact you.—Why didn't they do it themselves? They’ve also got my number.—They tried and said the calls didn't go through.—... Right —right, he blocked their numbers every so often so that he could enjoy some calm, alone time with the excuse he didn't know he was being summoned—. Well, uh… tell them I’ll try to arrive in under an hour. Try .—Alright, alright… Also, don't forget you owe me a hangout.—Yeah, yeah, and I owe Midirikawa a match… I’ll see when, okay? Bye bye —he hung up before the other could comment or complain about it, not wanting to waste any more time than extremely necessary.… Extremely necessary like wishing everyone a good morning, sharing some laughs over breakfast, offering help taking the dishes to the sink… Then he could leave the building and head to HQ, changing to his Trion body as soon as he stepped out of the Branch.Oh, Yuma and Replica followed him, the first one with his usual duck face.—Oh, are you coming to HQ, too?—Yeah, you're not the only one they called. I thought they would have also told you.—Oh, about that, it was Tachikawa who called me, not the directives themselves.—Huh? Why?—I may or may not have blocked the directives yesterday so that I could ignore them.Yuma couldn't help let out a laugh at that, Jin simply didn't care, did he? He could sleep calmly at night without people annoying him with their calls and urgency, knowing that things would be fine despite the wait. Not everything about his Side Effect was bad.They got to HQ, dodging people like they had the plague, until they got to the meeting room they knew so well already.—Elite agent Jin here! What did you need me for… 7 hours before my shift started? —he asked as he took a seat.Replica left the pocket it had been hiding in, floating beside Yuma’s head, the directives being unable to help their surprise.—Huh, you’re back.—My missing half was retrieved from Aftokrator during the mission and I was put back together yesterday, yes.—Well, welcome back. Now… let's let this meeting begin. We'd like you to do a full on report for the end of today of any and all events that may happen now that they have all returned from the away mission.—Hm? Just that? Sure.—We would like to have Yuma confirm it. We can't trust you'll fulfill your task since you kept to yourself such important information last time.—Hah~? Seriously? What if I asked him to lie for me, though? —Jin suggested, not being that serious, but curious about the outcome.—He wouldn't.—I thought you didn't trust him.Both Yuma and Replica remained silent, the first of the two frowning slightly.—We don't fully trust him regarding his behaviour, but we do know the truth, Jin.—Heh…? What are you talking about —asked Kinyta this time, confused as usual.—We know his Side Effect, and we know how it acts. He can tell when people is lying, telling half truths or holding back information, yes, but it also makes him pretty uncomfortable about the idea of lying, doesn't it? It's pretty much impossible to lie properly. Am I wrong?The room fell completely silent, the air dense with the amount of tension. It was simply too much. Someone had to stop it.Someone had to talk, and that person was feeling like there was a whole army going against him.—No, you are not —Yuma had to admit. He couldn't just remain silent, and he couldn't lie- no, he didn't want to lie. He really did not. It made him feel terrible, both mentally and physically.How was his father acquainted with the man at the other end of the table? He felt so fucking used. It made him want to be able to sleep just so that he could run away from this reality for a while.Jin looked at him, dead serious. He wasn't judging him, no. He also wasn't mad at him. He simply didn't like what just happened. Even if they knew his father thanks to all Border, using the information from that relationship against his son felt like too fucking much, but then again…What could he even do about it?—So, Jin, are you going to do your report without holding back any information? Yuma, I’d like you to tell if it's true or not.—I will do it and include all the information I deem relevant.Yuma glanced at Jin, then looked away.—Yeah, he is telling the truth.—What you deem relevant?—I won't add if someone is going to slip while showering and get a sprain or will sleep in and be late to some important place.Kinuta rolled his eyes, and after just a couple more specifications about the report they were all dismissed, Yuma being one of the first people to leave the room. He was still upset, and he felt the need to go away from those people.Replica hid again inside his pocket, reminding him to stay calm. It wasn’t a nice move of the commander, but this wouldn't take him anywhere.Jin followed after a few seconds, ruffling his hair.—Come on, let's go do that report, yeah?—Heh?—You can't be left alone, remember?—Ah, right. Alright, let's get going, then —the white haired boy looked up at the brunette, frowning a little—. What is it?—Hm?—You’re hiding something, what is it?—You still look tired.—I’m just not full-on energetic —he duck faced.—If you say so… come on, we’ve got a couple hundred people to check on.By the end of the day, they had gone around HQ over twenty times, had visited the Suzunari Branch and had gone around town, staying at common spots at just the right hours to see as many visions as possible. It was amazing how someone could process that much in such little time, but Jin could, and he kept writing little notes about it all that Yuma could barely comprehend with his limited understanding of Japanese.By the time the sun started setting, they were back at HQ, more specifically inside a library Yuma didn't even know there was. There were computers there, and Jin was passing the notes he had taken using them. Apparently, they were connected to all their Border accounts, so anyone could log in and pass stuff from their phone or tablet to the computer and vice versa.The notes weren't that interesting, come to think about it. Jin was sure that last night’s guess was going to be wrong, but it all pointed towards… nothing? It wasn't exactly nothing, but he didn't know how to properly word the feeling that something was wrong. Not because it was too calm, attacks would keep on happening like usual, but there was something there that he just couldn't quite put his finger on.He emailed the report to all the directives, sitting back in his chair after clicking on the send button. It wasn't a physically exhausting day, but it was enough to fry his brain a bit more.—What was the report’s conclusion? —asked Replica, curious. It had been reading the notes in paper, having a far more advanced knowledge of the written language than Yuma. Probably because of Yuugo’s origin.—I simply used some overcomplicated words to say I have no clue what's going on in the future.—Huh? Is that really so?—Yeah. It was just fine until a couple days ago. I'm not sure what changed, but since then… nothing makes sense, you know? It's not straight up weird or eerily calm, but dimply feels… wrong.—So you only have a gut feeling that something changed, but don't know the details.—Yeah. It's been a while since this last happened, but it's still different from that one, I'm sure.—Maybe something we did in the mission changed everything —commented Yuma, looking up.—Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking just yesterday night, but I thought it was simply my brain overthinking it.—Well, it seems like it wasn't.—Do you believe something will be done about it? —Replica asked again.—... No, I know it won't be. I think the only thing we can do right now is… wait.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Once they were back at the Branch, everything returned to a sort of normality. Sort of. There were new bits, but it felt pretty much the same as before.

The main new bit was remapping the Branch since Hyuse was now staying for good. They just couldn't leave him in the basement forever, in a guest room, so they drew the maps of the different levels of the Branch on the whiteboard and started moving people around.

Jin was allowed to stay in his room because of all the boxes of rice crackers he had in it and no one wanting to help move them.

Yuma gave up his bedroom since he just used it to store his clothes and his father's picture. However, after thinking for literally two seconds, everyone agreed it could simply be both his and Hyuse’s new bedroom since he didn't have anything other than like 5 outfits and they usually spent night time together, so the arrangement was quick.

Seeing how this main problem was solved, they called it a day and decided no more changes would be needed —it was simply leaving the horned boy to moving his stuff from one room to the other.

Another thing they now had to work on was getting them paperwork. On one hand, Yuma’s father was a meedenite, so they had a reference and was slightly easier to get him paperwork, lying about not knowing anything about his mother whenever he was asked.

And Hyuse… well. They decided to keep going with the whole being related to Mikhael thing, officially adopting his last name. Making up a whole new story about it would do them no good, so why even try? They got along, too, so it was just fine.

And everything else was simply pushed aside, ignored or procrastinated. There was no rush to get anything done anyway, so why bother?

Although something kept pestering Jin, he still couldn't wrap his head around it, seeking help from the autonomous Trion soldier that aided them.

—I still don't know what it is, and it's honestly getting on my nerves. Everything's fine, so why does it feel so wrong? We've had periods of calm before, and yet this feels… wrong.

—I do not know the cause, Jin. However, I would suggest you keep looking through all the details you can perceive through your visions. It could perfectly be something just in the corner of your eye that changes the entire situation, but that you can notice at first glance.

—I've already tried that, but all I see is either everyone being calm or confused… excepting Chika.

—Excepting Chika? Why?

—I keep seeing her shocked, maybe even scared? She was watching a gate open, but it was still within the forbidden zone and it didn't seem like anyone was in danger.

—Hm… Chika can sense gates opening and whatever’s coming, so either she saw something else that we're missing or she didn't feel that gate, but that last one has been proved to be impossible, even more so within such a short radius from the gate.

—Yeah… hm. At least we know more or less when it's happening.

—Oh, really? When is it?

—Well, keeping in mind we are currently in May, it's happening a couples months from now… last days of August, I believe.

—Oh, that's a long period of time for a vision.

—Yeah, it sometimes happens. It's not common, but it does.

—Is there anything else that bothers you? Or do you think it's just that?

—I’m not completely sure, but I’m sure there's more to it. I mean, sure, it's nice it's all calm, but it feels like it's too much. It's eerily calm. Do you know what I’m saying?

—It is like that one saying, the calm before the storm.

—Yes, exactly! But I can't see the storm or the clouds, it's just the calm. What should I do?

—I can't tell you what to do or not.

—A suggestion, maybe?

—Hm… Even if they're not scientifically proven, gut feelings tend to be right, and with Side Effects that percentage raises even higher, so I recommend you warn about it whoever you believe must know.

Jin thought about it for a while, then nodded.

—Thank you, Replica.

May… The away mission tests had taken place in March, the mission lasted pretty much the entirety of the month of April, and now they were halfway through May.

Time has been passing relatively fast because of how light these days had been. If they had to compare, they'd say the large scale invasion was the one that lasted a month while this had only been a day or two. It was honestly messing with them.

But time kept going. Time kept and kept and kept and kept-

A man could be heard complaining, best friend right there to mock the living shit out of him in order to try and distract him.

—Hah! You didn't get a perfect score? Seriously? Please, what kind of lie is that? Or were you sleeping in class? What the hell, Ko? —Kageura kept trying, laughing it off.

But Ko couldn't laugh, not even let his lips move just enough to form a little smile. It didn't make sense. He had never blanked out during an exam. He had never not known the answer to one of the questions he was asked in school.

Not even once.

Yuma tapped Kageura’s arm, telling him to stop trying. They both knew that wouldn't work. Ko was genuinely shocked. Worried, even.

—Did you miss school some day? Maybe there was something new and forgot to tell you about it.

—There was nothing, I had all the answers in my notebook. I hadn't missed anything. During the exam I knew I had that written down somewhere, but I just… couldn't remember it —he was genuinely frustrated, almost at the verge of tears. Was his Side Effect failing him?

Kageura sighed, letting his head drop on his hands, then moved them back to put his hair away from his forehead, trying to clear his mind.

An idea.

—Yuma, why the fuck are you still here? You aren't helping at all.

—Kage- —Ko looked up, about to ask him what was wrong with him, but then realized, looking at Yuma.

Yuma looked confused, but also a bit affected but that. Disappointed.

And Kageura was drowning, but not angry.

—Our Side Effects are failing —he finally said—. I don't feel your confusion towards me, and you actually believed that.

Yuma’s eyebrows raised, all confusion and worry quickly wiped out of his face, replaced by some sort of relief.

Which was replaced as soon as it came with even more concern. How could it be? Why were their Side Effects acting up?

—We have to tell HQ —he was quick to announce, almost jumping from his seat, but immediately fell back down, a bit dizzy.

—And here I thought you’d never fall from getting up too fast, hahah —Kageura teased, and the tension in the air disappeared—. Come on, don’t go so fast, we haven’t even eaten yet, and by the time we’re done there won’t be anyone important in HQ.

Yuma sighed, knowing the other was right. It was better not to rush it, just… try to stop thinking about it for a while, pretend nothing happened.

Pretend everything was just fine, because it still was, and no one could change their minds on it. It was a calm, good evening and that was it.

That was it.

Maybe that wasn’t it.

Maybe it wasn’t it because, just as he got back to Tamakoma, Yuma forgot all that had happened. Not because his memory was also failing him, but because trying so hard to ignore it actually worked, so he didn’t mention it to Jin.

And Jin? Jin swore under his breath, told Yuma to have a nice rest and went to his bedroom, checking his notebook. He had been taking note of the futures lately, not wanting to miss a single detail, but that had also helped him notice part of what was going on on his own.

Futures appeared sometimes, then other times he’d see some of those and some new ones, then just the new ones with the rest of the old ones… It made no sense, but he was quick to start theorizing.

But he hadn’t gotten the full answer yet, nor did he have anyone else’s opinion on it, so there was nothing he could do just yet.

And that meant Chika’s future became, even if it was just a little, likelier.

He sighed, shutting the notebook close before rolling with his chair towards the bed, flopping on it as he threw a ball made with an empty bag of rice crackers to the light switch, the ball falling in a bin right underneath it. It was a movement he had practiced until he reached perfection, and he was proud of it.

Chika was already making her way back with the squad after sniping down the Trion soldiers that had just appeared, their defense missions having almost reached their end already, when it happened.

The alarm played.

The location? Right in front of her.

She hadn’t felt it. She hadn’t felt it appearing, and she didn’t know what was coming, fear crawling up her face as she scrambled back, trying to turn away and run to point she could actually snipe from.

Jin couldn’t be there to help, and he hated it.

Osamu couldn’t help it either, for he had already used up almost the entirety of his Trion, which felt like it had been consumed way too quickly, but he didn’t really notice it actively, so it wasn’t to be mentioned.

Yuma couldn’t do anything about it, being way too far to take the Trion soldiers down.

Only Hyuse could get there in time, using his shelter on her while taking her spot. At least he could wipe them on his own without much effort.

Luckily, there weren’t any more gates opening, and they could make their way back to Tamakoma to rest after it all.

Chika didn’t talk for the rest of the day.

Jin didn’t dare look her in the face.

Not even Ema or Izuho managed to cheer her up or, at least make her open up.

For the first time in a long time, she had felt fear for herself.

It had been… a stupidly long time.

Which translates to it having been a year since their first B-rank wars started.

And, still, they hadn't reached the full conclusion of what was happening. However, Kageura had finally talked with Jin about that night in his family's restaurant, and all their information had been put together in a report they had handed to the directives back in December. The contents resembling the following:

The Calm Phenomenon (CP) is believed to be affecting people with Side Effects (SE) since April 2013, shortly after the return of the first public away mission’s crew with the missing C-rank agents. It is mostly characterized by its effect on SEs, which makes them act up, mostly making them fail partially or completely, both right on the moment of usage as during a prolonged period of time with various uses. It is also believed to be affecting everyone else's Trion, an 85% of the replies to a pool admiring they felt like their Trion was lasting less than it used to, a 12% not being sure about the difference and only a 3% refusing it completely.

And, even though the directives didn't seem to be against the theory, they had no clue on how to study it further, leaving it aside because of the lack of urgency in it. The Side Effects hadn't completely stopped working, and the agents were still able to do their work, weren't they?

And so it was left there.

But it wasn't fine.

—It's been over a year already.

—Mhm… but we still haven't gotten any closer to recovering Chika’s brother or friend.

—We have, though —he rolled over his stomach, looking up at the other.

—How so? —the older one questioned.

—We know of Nations that do

not

have them.

—Unless they trade with slaves.

—I thought those weren't as common anymore, though?

—They had a resurge from what I heard before the invasion, like military parties.

—Wait- those weren't common anymore?

Yuma was confused, and Hyuse couldn't help being slightly amused about it.

—Not really, they were being abandoned since it was thought they just served as another waste of time and resources, but it was proved to being helpful to keep everyone motivated to keep going. How didn't you know?

—Well, I mean, I knew the parties existed, but my father and I rarely stayed long enough on a Nation to indulge in them, and after he died… well, yeah, I never really cared enough to attend them.

—Ah, it's understandable. Those parties are just… too positive sometimes.

—Yeah, annoyingly positive and just… too much. The only nice thing I remember from them is the dances and sometimes the food.

—You liked the dances? I didn't take you for that kind of person.

—Got a problem with it? —it wasn't hostile, it was simply a curious inquisition.

—Not at all. Know the Hizbatmuth?

And, somehow, that conversation went from passing time to both of them rushing upstairs and into the rooftop, laughing just low enough they wouldn't wake everyone up as they remembered the steps to a dance or the other. They were all the kind of dances you’d see in a ball, but it was the only ones taught at the military, no other dance being considered important enough to be known and used commonly, let alone in other territories than their own.

And so they kept dancing, and maybe the thrill would have had them dancing for hours, maybe until the sun rose up the sky, even; but it didn't. Why? Because they had to stop.

Well, no, they didn't just

have

to stop, they couldn't help but stop suddenly as a crack quickly crept up Yuma’s neck and face.

Of course, something had been feeling wrong from the start, but how were they supposed to know what it was? The sound of the cracking body was muffled by their laughs, steps and comments, and it hadn't been felt by the younger one because of his own failing nervous system.

But all that didn't matter. What mattered was that they took a step, then another, then the crack appeared and, suddenly, one of their worlds was consumed by utter darkness while the other’s was a rush of events.

Catching the body.

Running downstairs.

Waking everyone up.

Being driven to HQ.

Having to explain over and over what happened.

The reports about the Calm Phenomenon finally starting to make sense. Partially.

The Calm Phenomenon was a Trion disease. It affected the quantity and quality of Trion, as well as Side Effects caused by it.

And now that disease was threatening one of their lives.

The first thing they had to do was get the emergency surgeons there. If the body was cracking without regenerating like it usually did, it could only mean one thing, and it wasn't in any of their plans to let this be his final breath.

Then came the tough part, which consisted on trying to get him to deactivate his trigger so they could start, thing that took them way too long, but didn't make it all a lost cause just yet.

Having the trigger deactivated was something they had to take care of quickly, anaesthesia being administered as soon as it was done, ensuring the damage from five years ago wouldn't hit him like a truck with a normal body.

And, finally, the complex part started: locating any and all wounds, treating and closing them all as fast as they could, yet keeping in mind the future use of prosthetics, ensuring the compatibility with them; all of this while trying to keep him from dying.

The result?

Everything was… unusually dark. One moment he had been… what had he been doing? He was sure he had been doing something… what was the last thing he had been doing? When was it? Ugh, if only those voices would shut up…

Those voices? Whose voices were they? They felt familiar, but he could barely understand them. Actually, he only understood what one meant, even without hearing it properly. It was screaming about some cracks, asking for help. Maybe the Nation was shrinking and the edges were starting to fall off?

He didn't understand a single thing, everything felt like it was moving too fast, yet so slow at the same time…

Someone was talking to him? Many people seemed to be, but he understood none of them. Oh, what was that? He understood something. A voice, a familiar one, was asking him something. It took him several attempts, but he managed to understand what was being said… sort of.

«… up… deactivate… body…»

He opened his eyes, even if only a slit, turning his head to the side. It was too bright. He wanted to return to that darkness.

All the voices were now talking to him at once, ushering him to do something. What had he heard earlier?

Oh, right, «deactivate body»… His Trion body.

He tapped the ring around his finger, the movement feeling almost automatic, and a wave of pain hit him, but his eyes were too heavy and his mind was already returning to the darkness, making him stop feeling it just a couple seconds after it got to him.

He couldn't tell what was going on, it was like he had stopped being at some point, but he was there… wait, there? Where was that

there

he was in?

He wanted out.

Opening his eyes…

eyes

? Only one opened. Opening his

eye

was a struggle, the place he was in being too bright, though it wasn't as bright as the one he had previously been in. It was a bit better.

A bit.

There were still people around him, and they were asking him all sorts of things, talking to him all at once. It was overwhelming. He turned his head again, closing his eye.

The voices stopped.

His eye opened again, the lights dimmer now. Now this he could see in. It was so much better.

There were far less people, but there were still a bunch. Some were the same, but there were new ones, too.

He kept looking at them until they noticed, and back they went to their senseless blabbering. Nothing made sense. The sounds they emitted made no sense.

He heard something that made sense, but he couldn't fully understand it.

Unfortunately, he passed out right before managing to focus on the sound of that voice, not being to even identify the source. Why was it so hard to stay awake? He wasn't sure. It all felt…

It felt some way. He felt it more.

And with each passing day, he felt it some more.

—Alright, remember to be careful if you are deactivating your trigger, we don't want anyone seeing your horns.

—I know, I know.

—Got everything?

—Mhm, I do.

—Alright, see ya later, then —Jin waved Hyuse goodbye, leaving him by the hospital room’s door.

He was tired of visiting with other people, and he was tired of not having a break from them other than going to bed. He couldn't even talk with anyone like he used to, Replica being much less of the chatting type than he had thought at first.

He checked the large pocket in his hoodie, where Replica remained hidden from the rest of the world. It would have liked to be allowed to stay, but it wasn't ideal to leave it alone while no one could ensure it wasn't taken away or tampered with by the hospital staff.

Hyuse opened the door to the room, closing it behind himself before letting Replica out. Replica usually sat on the nightstand while Hyuse prefered the couch, sitting across it as he took out some book, notebook and pencil from a bag. He had been trying to learn Japanese, sure that if Yuma had gotten that far having arrived just a little earlier than him, he also could learn it with ease.

He was a little wrong, but that shall not be minded.

—Replica, do you understand any of this? I swear the more I look at it, the less sense it makes.

—I told you it would be better not to start trying to learn katakana without having finished with hiragana.

—But why do they have two writing systems?

—There’s actually a third one.

—That only makes it worse, you know.

The voices, for once, sounded quite clear, even if the words danced for a while in his brain before the message was processed. Was it because there were far less people talking now? Or was it completely unrelated and he simply was doing better?

He tried opening his eye, finding the room was a little brighter than last time, but he wasn’t completely surrounded by people, which was quite the nice change. Looking to his left, he finally saw them. On the nightstand, something…

No, wait.

He could think properly now.

Replica was sitting on the nightstand and Hyuse was sitting on the couch, complaining about one thing or the other while holding a notebook in hand and comparing it to another book.

—Hello? —he tried saying, voice hoarse from the lack of use.

—Good morning, Yuma. How are you feeling?

—Heavy… but also empty. Like I’m missing something… oh —he had looked around, trying to propel himself up just enough to be sitting, making him see his missing arm, as well as noticing he couldn’t move a leg. Then, he remembered when he was told to deactivate his Trion body—. Oh… Wait, what!?

—Calm down, you’re fine. We uh… figured out some more stuff about the CP.

—What is it?

—The Calm Phenomenon has been finally identified as an infectious Trion disease obtained during the away mission that affects directly both the quality of Trion and how much you waste at a time. Since your body required a constant usage of Trion, even if you kept regenerating, you kept wasting more Trion than you could regenerate, eventually starting to break down, hence you finally having a surgical intervention to stop your body from dying.

—So… I’m safe now?

—Yes, you are.

He was safe.

He was fine now.

He wasn’t dying.

His body was…

somewhat

fine.

Sure, he was missing an arm and a leg and one of his eyes, maybe even part of his side, but… he felt alive. He actually felt again, and he felt alive.

—Where’s the others?

—School, missions… yeah. They’re all busy.

—Ah… well, I guess it’s better that way. It was quite overwhelming, if I’m being honest.

—Huh? What was?

—Waking up every now and then, being surrounded by silhouettes that would try talking to me but that I couldn’t understand… until I passed out and started the cycle all over again.

—Huh? You couldn’t understand?

—No, not really. I’m not sure if it was simply because I couldn’t think properly or if there was something else going on… though I did understand someone.

—That was probably Hyuse. You aren’t in your Trion body, so you aren’t able to understand what they are saying, just like they can’t understand you unless at least one of you is using their Trion body.

—Oh… right. I guess I got too used to having no communication problems. This is going to be hard.

Hyuse looked at his book, sitting closer to Yuma before putting it down beside him.

—Back to square one learning Japanese, luckily I’m still on it myself.

—I do know some written Japanese already, though…

—Yeah, but you need to speak it and understand it just by hearing it, so… how about I write it and you try and read it?

Yuma rolled his eye, holding back a laugh.

—At least help me sit up so I can read properly.

For the next few hours, the room was full of playful bickering and laughs, Yuma trying to teach Hyuse his own techniques for memorizing hiragana and some basic words while failing miserably at reading it aloud properly.

At some point, some knocks could be heard against the door, reminding Hyuse to quickly reactivate his trigger to hide his horns before going to open the door, sighing at the sight of Jin.

—Oh, it’s just you. You’re already done?

—Not really, but I didn’t really want to stay there, so I told them I’d go check on you.

—Well… —Hyuse turned to look behind himself, stepping aside— What about checking on him?

Jin’s mouth opened and closed a couple times before he ran in, seeing how the now black haired boy was wide awake and watching him with a smile. He couldn’t help himself but hug him, though remembering to not hold him too tightly as to not hurt him. Yuma laughed it off, patting him on the back, forgetting once more about the new challenge they had to face.

—
Hey Jin, missed me too much?
—he duck faced.

—... What? —and Jin blanked out, confused at the strange sounds the other emitted, only having understood his own name.

And Yuma remembered he was speaking his native language, making him try and switch to Japanese.

—Hello Jin, can you… understand me?
Uhh, this is hard.

Jin quickly caught up to it, activating his trigger.

—Not bad, but I don’t feel like struggling much now. What were you saying?

—Just asking if you missed me too much.

—Hah? Dummy, typical of you —he ruffled the other’s hair—. Yes, I did, everyone does. Thru won't stop asking about you and when are you returning, like we know…

—What about the CP? Hyuse told me about you having figured what it was, but is there anything else to it?

—Hm? Oh, yeah. We believe it comes from Afto.

—Huh-?

—You see, Afto was mostly empty when you arrived, wasn't it? We are starting to believe that all the people without trigger horns started being affected by it quite severely, mostly because all of your technology is based on Trion, so it could perfectly lead to problems with… well, everything, leading to famish, other diseases and over all a bigger vulnerability. Some soldiers remained just fine because of the horns, which are supposed to increase the amount of Trion and its quality, so it probably didn't affect them as much.

»Knowing it is a Trion disease, our Branch has been contacting our allies in the Neighborhood to try and see how to solve it, but for now all we can do is do tests on people to see who's infected and try and isolate them to avoid spreading it.

—I don't believe that isolation is the key. The Calm Phenomenon has been around for a whole year already, and it has proven to us that it doesn't just pass on its own. It would be smarter to figure out how it affects the Trion gland and how to remove or at least, neutralize it.

—That is also being considered already, but I will try to pull some strings so they focus some more on it.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

—Not at all, know the Hizbatmuth?

The Hizbatmuth was a traditional international military dance known in all decent Nations within the Neighborhood. It was a way to brag about status or, at least, pretend to have it.

The dance was taught referencing the cardinal directions, having a member of the couple facing south while the other faced north, starting back to back before turning around and starting.

The steps were as follows:

West, west, south, turn a quarter anticlockwise. North, north, east, turn another quarter. South, south, west, turn another quarter. East, east, north, turn a last quarter, returning to the center and to their original positions.

After that, the couple would do a 360º+180º, a spin and a half, switching the sides each of them was facing, before starting with the second group of steps, which were pretty much the opposite of the first set.

East, east, north, turn a quarter clockwise. South, south, west, turn another quarter. North, north, east, turn another quarter. West, west, south, turn a last quarter, returning to the center and to the other position.

After the second set, the spin and a half would repeat, having a brief interval during which the couple would step west, east, south, north, do a 180º and go east, west, north and south.

After this, the choreography would repeat as many times as the music went on, allowing perfectly synchronized dances with hundreds of participants to take place in a fun, audiovisually satisfactory masterpiece.

Yuma and Hyuse run all the way upstairs and to the rooftop, barely able to muffle their excited laughs as they closed the door behind them. The idea of being able to enjoy something from their culture with the other, something that had been taught to them and they both felt connected to. It wasn’t just them relating to similar experiences and dishes or architecture, but genuinely sharing one thing. One thing that truly connected them.

First, they located the east, which was easy since Yuma had seen the sun rise from that rooftop for over a year now.

Next, they went to what they considered the center and stood back against back, one facing north while the other faced South. Finally, they turned around and the dance started.

After a couple rotations and some humming and improvising lyrics, they switched to another dance. Then, to another. And then, another one. They all shared the way they were instructed, referencing the cardinal directions, but they were quite diverse as well, even if they didn’t seem like so from the naked eye.

Yuma felt like the thrill running through his

non-present

veins could fuel them to keep dancing for hours, maybe until the sun rose up in the sky.

Hyuse felt like something -no, not just one thing, but many things- were off. Maybe a misstep, but that could be justified with the time it had been since they last danced in their respective militaries.

Maybe it was a face or something he misheard.

Maybe it was an auditory hallucination.

Maybe it was the annoying feeling he was getting at the sides of his head, right above his ears, around his horns and following them from the inside of his head.

He ignored it, there were so many symptoms associated with the phenomenon that he couldn’t bring himself to worry about it all that much. What mattered right now was the white-haired devil that was overflowing with energy.

Oh, maybe that’s what it all was. Energy was truly overflowing him.

Hyuse stopped, forcing a halt as Yuma’s eyes looked at his in confusion, then looked down and to his left cheek in recognition. In acknowledgement. In realization, but not complete.

Then it was complete, the sound of his Trion body cracking perfectly recognizable now that they had finally let the silence surround them.

Fake red eyes were soon covered by fake skin that was replacing a real body’s real skin that would usually protect real eyes. A real body that was nearing its end as a living being, shutting down one last time, about to join the world of corpses.

Everything turned black, smoke taking away everything his eyes could analyze from him, forcing him into a state of unconsciousness.

Time became slow, and it seemed to be daytime, and it seemed to be rush hour. Hyuse ignored everything about his environment, catching Yuma’s cracking body before running down the stairs, almost falling twice for each set.

His voice was serious as ever, but there was a hint of despair. A terrified child spoke from behind the mask of a calm individual, voice somehow only shaking inside. Voice somehow lowering as it came out, yet still loud.

His inner child was sobbing, screaming, panicking, begging for help for his little friend. His little white or black-haired friend, who was even smaller, who was just as terrified, who was speechless, who was tired.

He had to save him. Saving the kid was his priority. The feeling from his head was unimportant, almost nonexistent. It didn’t matter. This mattered.

This mattered.

This mattered, and he was the only one that could get help, so he got help.

He got help and, as he waited, he wondered if this first time would also be the last one.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Knowing Yuma had already awakened, Border requested to have him moved to HQ, wishing to monitor his evolution closer up while also adding to all the vitals the Trion levels. It was a much easier way to investigate what was currently going on and compare the results with healthy individuals that way.

It was quite the relief for him, for this meant more people would probably have their triggers activated when talking to him and Replica wouldn't have to be hidden all the time, so he would stop feeling so lonely. It had been quite boring to listen to all that meaningless ramble directed towards him after he finally woke up completely. At least he could talk to Hyuse.

—How’s it looking? —he tried asking more than once, but the staff usually didn’t use their triggers, they just had them in case of an emergency.

Of course, no one would understand, telling him to wait and ask someone else once they came, that they’d surely be able to respond to the question. Either that or to wait until a translator came.

As soon as people were allowed to visit him again, the first group almost ran inside the room: the angry crow, the gray-haired poker face and the brown-haired, hyperactive puppy.

—Hey! We heard you’re… oh —Kageura cut himself off. The others didn’t talk, either. They hadn’t really seen Yuma since a little before he passed out that day with Hyuse, and they had barely heard of what happened.

Seeing their friend with actual black hair, like he had sworn over and over he actually had, a missing arm, an eyepatch and the shape of only one leg under the bedsheets was quite strange and mind-breaking. At first he had seemed to be this young to them, of course, but they had gotten so used to it that seeing him again, now with his actual body, was once again scratching at their brains the wrong way.

Kageura broke the silence first, feeling the soft prick of disappointment on his arm, accompanied by the need to make shit less moody as soon as possible.

—You fucking idiot, this is why we don’t play around in rooftops. Look at you now, you’re not gonna be able to fight us anymore for a while, you dummy.

In any other situation with literally anyone else, this would have hurt quite badly and would be found almost insulting.

In Yuma’s case? Finally hearing other people? Being greeted with jokes? It made him crack up immediately with a chuckle, followed by a couple laughs. Oh, boy, that felt good.

—Not like you’d last enough to even land a hit on me before running out of Trion —he rolled his eyes, immediately getting flicked by Kageura.

—You’re lucky you’re bedridden right now. Otherwise, I would beat you to a pulp right now.

—You started it, and it’s not nice to leave people unanswered.

—Uh huh.

Midorikawa had taken a seat near the bed, from where he asked.

—Are you feeling alright? Seriously.

—Hm? Yeah, I… I

feel

, which I barely did before, and it’s pretty nice. On the other hand, I’m a little tired of taking so many painkillers and being told constantly to wait until someone can translate what I’m saying and all that, like- it gets so frustrating.

—Wait, people don’t understand you?

—Not really. Since I was constantly getting automatically translated and vice versa, I just learnt written Japanese, and barely, so I have to start all over again.

—Well, luckily for you, we can now come visit! So you won’t be as lonely anymore.

—Yeah, and I won’t have to deal with you two whining about being so damn bored out of your mind —finally spoke Ko.

—I don’t whine —both of them complained at the same time.

—You tell the stupidest lies.

Now

that

had been missed.

The phenomenon started becoming less of a burden, a cure being in the works for a few weeks already. Everything had slowly begun returning to a certain degree of normality with an ounce or two of adaptation, and that also included the state of Tamakoma.

Yuma was allowed to return home finally, though it was a bit of a hassle because of how easily he could fall over if he wasn’t constantly supported because, of course, he wasn’t planning on leaving on a wheelchair. He didn’t want to stay still any longer.

And like that, and with a healthy amount of laughs, they got to the Tamakoma Branch. It looked the same as when they had left that night, and it was comforting. It was welcoming.

—What took you so long? HQ ain’t that far! —complained Yotaro as soon as they came in, having gotten tired of waiting after the first 20 minutes.

—Sorry, my fault, didn't feel like using a wheelchair and fell over a couple times —Yuma duck-faced, getting a pat on his shoulder from Reiji—. Hm?

—Enough standing for now, you’re still supposed to rest, you’re just stable enough to be back home.

—Fine, fine —Yuma finally gave in, eyes landing on the living room’s couch—. Over there?

Reiji nodded, taking him there. As long as it was sitting, any place was fine, he guessed. Raijinmaru dropped Yotaro there, too.

—Ow. Also, since when is your hair black?

—Always been, it simply turned white after I switched to the Trion body. Since I’m no longer in it, it just… reverted.

Yotaro nodded twice, arms crossed, in approval. That seemed to be a good enough, sensical answer.

—Anyways, where's the rest?

—Well, it's Thursday, so everyone else is still at school.

—Aren’t you old enough to go to school, too, though?

—But I’m special, heheh!

—He does usually go, but today his class had a field trip he forgot to tell us about, so no one signed the authorization and he can't go —Reiji explained as he went to the kitchen, starting to make lunch.

—What about Hyuse?

—Well, since he can't go to school because of his horns and the amount of stuff he already missed out on, he is being tutored by Rindo… but, since he's a directive, Hyuse is studying in the corner of the meeting room most of the time.

—What about Replica? —asked Yotaro this time.

—Since it runs on Trion, it is currently on saving mode, so it's just… off, more or less. It then turns on for a little, checks out what's going on and returns to saving mode.

Yotaro left the room for a little, looking for some board games to play since he had some company now. In the meantime, Yuma thought for a little, asking Reiji afterwards.

—Does Yotaro have a trigger, too? We can talk without a problem.

—It's just a training trigger we gave him so he could also understand you. By the way, do you have any food limitations now?

—Hm? No, not really. They said anything’s fine, I just don't eat as much since I don't need it anymore.

Reiji just nodded and went back to cooking, keeping an eye on the children to make sure everything was fine. A toddler and a chaotic amputee were just the right mix to fuck up everything in the blink of an eye if so they wished to do so. Luckily for him, there weren’t any messes, and soon other members of Tamakoma walked in through the door, welcoming the Neighbor. No big celebrations or similar needed, just being back and behaving like usual felt better.

—What the hell do you think you’re doing? —Hyuse tried asking Jin, confused as the older guy dragged him out of the meeting room.

—Were you doing anything important? Learning anything?

—What does that matter? Once that was over —he was cut off.

—That wasn’t going to be over in a couple more hours, and you really should come with me somewhere else.

—And why should I? What if I don’t go with you?

—Now, now, is that the future you want for yourself? In the situation we are in?

—I don’t even know what you are talking about, you just pulled me out and didn’t tell me a good reason for it. For all I care, it could be just a stupid decision, so why do you even care?

—Look, I work for Border, but I also work towards having nicer futures around us. Don’t you want that? A better future?

Jin turned to look at Hyuse, a slight smile on his face that did not quite reach his eyes. What kind of game was he playing now?

—Excuse me, what? What are you on about?

—I already told you, I’m working on a better future for us.

It took everything within Hyuse not to punch Jin, he was being so little specific it was unnerving. Why couldn’t he just explain whatever it was like a normal person? Did he really need to keep repeating himself? Hyuse scoffed, turning to walk away. He was dismissed from the meeting, might as well go away if he wasn’t getting any more information on Jin’s stupid future.

—So you’re choosing that future, hm?

Hyuse stopped in his tracks to stare back at Jin, this was becoming infuriating. Jin’s naturally annoying face wasn’t helping at all.

—Oh my fucking goodness, mind shutting up already!? You keep repeating that, just tell me what it is about and

maybe

I’ll listen!

—Well, it’s really not the best spot to talk about it.

Not the best spot? What even was it about?

—If we go elsewhere, will you stop dodging the question?

—If we go

somewhere specific

, I will answer your question.

That… was tempting. Annoying, since it had to be wherever he said, but not bad enough to not sound tempting as well.

—Lead the way.

Another win for the blue glasses guy! And another loss for the blondie… At least he was getting used to it after a whole year of this kind of bullshit.

It wasn’t long until they reached the squad rooms hallway, entering one of the first doors they found. It was smaller than other squad rooms Hyuse had seen, closer to the size of the solo rank wars’ rooms. This couldn't really be Tamakoma I’s squad room, so which squad’s was it?

—Alright, here is a much better place.

—Which squad’s room is this?

—This? This is

my

room. I have one in HQ for when I have to stay for long periods. Welcome! Take a seat —Jin offered, signalling with his hand that he was free to sit wherever.

Hyuse looked around himself again, the room did include a normal bed and a floor table with a couple pillows around it to sit on. He chose to sit down and watched as Jin did the same.

—Okay, now tell me what is it that’s worrying you enough to want to pull me out and talk privately.

—You’re not safe.

—... Well, yeah? I’m in a military agency.

—No, not that. You’re not same from the phenomenon.

Hyuse had to take a couple extra seconds to process that, then reopened his mouth.

—I have barely had any problems with the quantity, quality and consumption of my trion. When we went to Aftokrator, the soldiers with horns remained healthy and on guard.

—The horns only offered you bigger resistance to the disease because of their effects on trion, which meant that even if infected, you wouldn’t notice much of it at first, if at all. However, it’s like some diseases that can’t be noticed until they’re in their final stages, worsening the individual’s condition all of a sudden.

—You say it like it’s a lethal disease and not just a trion-related one.

—Maybe that’s because it could be lethal to you.

—How exactly would it be lethal to me but not to others?

—Well, maybe because you have trion horns in your normal body?

—...

The air had grown dense. Soldiers were aware they were risking their lives on the battlefield. Soldiers with trion bodies and weapons were a little less aware of it, but they still were. Soldiers with trion bodies and weapons never considered death because of diseases.

Dying because of a stupid trion-draining disease… How lame could that be?

—Have there been any reported casualties already?

—From what our allies told us, yes. The Holy Land is nearing its fallout. Both commoners and soldiers alike are suffering from it and taking some big loses.

Hyuse rested his face in his hands, sighing. What to do now? Well, if Jin was warning him about choosing the wrong future, it must mean that it could still be helped.

—My future isn’t determined yet.

Jin smiled, calm.

—It is not. We’re close to the divergence, though.

—And what would the choice to make be? Definitely not get up and walk away.

—Well, the thing that could kill you is the horns. The rest of us are just weaker in trion bodies and have trouble with our side effects, but are fine otherwise.

—Weren’t there more loses in Aftokrator, though?

—Because of the lack of defence, healthy Nations are attacking it now.

—Ah… Well, then. The horns are my problem, so that would mean that they have to go. If they are removed, only trion thing in my regular body would be the trion gland, which would be the same as the rest and, therefore, would put me out of danger.

—Exactly. See? If you hadn’t listened or had gone elsewhere, you’d have gone down the death path. It wasn’t that hard, was it?

—I…  guess not.

—Alright, so, how about we go talk with the I&D department so we can start looking into it?

Hyuse just nodded, it’d be fine.

—So, you’ll be safe. That’s great news!

The night was enveloping the entirety of the sky, voices lowered to avoid disrupting others’ sleep. Yuma and Hyuse were sitting in their bedroom, talking about the day’s events. While Yuma didn’t have much to tell, other than the amount of times he had fallen over, Hyuse did have his news to share, and so their night-time chitchat had some actual new information in it.

—Yeah, but I’ll probably lose trion capacity and quality.

—Hmm… that’s true, the horns would take it with themselves. However, weren’t you chosen because you already had above average trion levels?

—Well, yes, but I don’t remember how big the difference is. For all I know, the standards could be extremely low compared to Border’s.

—Only one way to find out… we wait and see.

They stayed in silence for a while, then Hyuse spoke again.

—You sure are getting to recover all those years without sleeping.

—Ehh… somehow, the idea of it no longer sounds as appealing.

—How so?

—Well, being alone with my thoughts can be quite troublesome, but it also felt like I wasn’t wasting much time since I could think up strategies and stuff for rank wars. Now, though? I need so much sleep it feels like I’m just wasting space. It’s also scary.

—Scary?

—Yeah, because you can miss important stuff or have nightmares or even night terrors. Those are the worst.

—But it’s necessary to sleep in order to rest and get more energy.

—I know, I know, but that doesn’t make it any less scary.

—Sleep gives you a break from real life and, if lucky enough, rids you of wars and battles.

—Do you see that as being lucky? I find battles and fights fun. Only wars are so terrible that I wouldn’t want anything to do with them.

—I personally see none of them as fun, only when it’s for practice or in the form of a “game”. The rest of the time, though? They’re a job. A job that makes you lose it all sometimes. A very painful one.

—Hm… I guess so, yeah, but… I dunno, I enjoy the thrill. Finding someone you haven’t fought yet, learning how to counter them on the spot… It’s just great.

—I think that that's just the adrenaline high.

—Still makes me feel good, though.

—Hm, if you say so.

They both looked around, Hyuse reminding himself why he started on the sleeping topic. Since they were supposedly sharing the room and Yuma originally didn’t need to sleep in it, there was only one bed in it. However, after all of this, they had to take another bed there so they could both sleep.

The only problem left to address was how would they arrange themselves since sleeping meant chances of falling off the bed and reopening wounds. On the other hand, even if Yuma disliked the idea, he needed mobility aids, and being in the inner bed, beside the wall, meant struggling to get to the edge and be able to move around.

Hyuse sighed, they’d talk it out in the morning, when they both had their minds clearer and weren’t absolutely exhausted from the long day they just had. It was a heavy one.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Waking up and seeing the ceiling was... strange.A couple weeks had gone by, and it all seemed to be stabilizing already. Everyone seemed to be more calm, rearranging schedules so larger groups would take care of Trion soldiers and wouldn't suffer as much from the Trion restrictions, as well as how the engineers seemed to be finally finding a cure.And then there was Tamakoma, where the losses seemed to be larger.Hyuse sat up, patting the back of his head, feeling the lack of horns. It was nice to sleep on his back again, he had to admit that, but otherwise...Looking in the mirror, he struggled to see himself. He struggled to see he who he had become, only seeing who he used to be, who he had now become. Was it good? Or was it terrible? It was hard to tell. It really was. And he didn't know whether he liked it or not.That wasn't the only thing going on, though. It was, in fact, almost the least important detail of everything happening in the strange branch.Yotaro, for a start, seemed to be having more and more disagreements with Raijinmaru as he started misunderstanding her, even though Raijinmaru somehow managed to find other ways to communicate with him and make things up, acting a bit human-like. It was a bit strange, but also relieving to see nothing went overly wrong in the end thanks to this.Yuma had finally healed enough to be allowed to use prosthetics, regaining independency, somewhat. He had also found out about the wonders of coffee, using it as an aid regulating his sleep as he got used again to it. Finally, he had dyed his hair back to white, not really comfortable with black anymore. Too many memories.Then there was Osamu. He had really been trying his best, but having such low Trion levels by default, the disease had made him utterly useless, making him join Shiori in the operator's room during missions to help with planning and giving orders to the squad from a safe spot.And Chika... well. Chika was having a messy time, the disease not really leaving her with less Trion but with a more chaotic one, shots with her Ibis being completely irregular, ranging from soft ones to bomb-like ones.And then, the worst one, Jin. Despite how badly Hyuse disliked the guy, he couldn't deny the fact that looking at him now was depressing and made you almost, almost, feel bad for him.—Hyuse? —a head peaked in the room from the doorframe—Oh, good, you're awake. Come here, yeah—What's up? —he asked, getting out of bed and stretching his arms over his head, his now hornless head- he needed to stop thinking about it.Yuma was at the door, taiyaki in hand pointing at Hyuse, who grabbed it automatically.—We're going over to the base, wanna come as well?Border, seeing agents could no longer use their Trion bodies and training rooms like they used to in order to preserve Trion levels and avoid contamination, had resorted to using paintball copies of weapons when possible, as well as digital systems like those used in laser tag, allowing safe training with physical bodies in the simulation rooms, which had been filled with the boxes these had come in as to make different physical scenarios. They were getting quite creative.Hyuse decided to join in, these new training formats being found to be... surprisingly thrilling. Something about using your real body, even if using safe equipment, made it terrifying to step into the rooms against others.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Upon arrival, everyone pretty much jumped off the car, some more excited to leave already than to even meet with the rest of agents at the base.—What are you gonna do, Osamu? —Yuma asked, following the taller boy.—I think I'll stick to regular physical training, I need to build up some more resistance.Yuma nodded in response with a concentrated yet approving -3- face, then looked at Hyuse and Chika.—Guess that means it's the three of us again?—I guess so, yes.In previous trainings, Border had mixed the sniper trainings with some of the agents going for solo rank wars. The result? A massive training simulating the team rank wars. However, often they either mixed the teams or dropped them, making it into a sort of battle royale: everyone against everyone, treaties allowed but never truly enforced.They started entering the training room, weapons all over the entrance in order to let everyone choose their own before starting, as well as grabbing a sort of uniform to avoid staining their regular clothes.The speakers announced it was going to be a battle royale, so everyone split and hid away until the alarm announcing the start played.Chika had gone for a side. That way, she wouldn't be easily cornered. Her heartbeat started fastening, making her take a deep breath. She just had to keep calm, shoot and run. Keep calm, shoot and run. Keep calm, shoot-And run!She jumped behind a box, avoiding being spotted, before running to the side. If she was lucky enough, they wouldn't have noticed just how far the shot had come from. Maybe no one had paid enough attention to that first shot!She found a torn box, deciding to hide there as she stabilized her breathing.Her heart was no longer beating within her chest, but pounding. She was small and agile, she could easily run away and hide without being spotted, but it was tough.It was tough.It was-She hear a couple shots, as well as some curses. She'd swear it was Toma who had been taken down now. It sounded fairly close, maybe she should run before-She stared at the opening she had entered through, she had heard something moving outside. She held up her rifle and shot as soon as something passed by it.As soon as someone passed by it.Frigid blue eyes looked down at where the paint had stained, then stared at her.—Your reflexes improved —commented Ema, going in and taking a seat by her side.—It's like being in our real bodies enhances attention to details like steps.Ema nodded, sighing.—It is quite unnerving, we know we won't get harmed, but it's still terrifying. It's like our brains are yelling at us not to let our guards down.—I mean, I guess it's better that way. If we grew desensitized it'd be fatal.Chika stood up, checking her rifle before nodding to herself and listening outside. Some slams and screams could be heard. Someone had either fallen or been thrown. That was probably the part that scared them all the most.Usually, snipers were the terror of the trainings. They controlled everything. However, in their physical bodies, low range was the scariest. They were genuinely strong and fast without needing any actual weapons. As long as they could sneak up on you and kick away your weapon, they could eliminate you —their weapon was their own hands, maybe a fake dagger or a sword, but their hands tended to be enough. They carried liquid paint on them and stained their hands with it, only needing to tap you to win.Some, however, wanted the thrill of an actual fight, and that's how most of them only used their paint once they had actually left their current enemy immobile or armless.Before Chika could leave the box, she felt a finger on her.She looked towards the torn side of the box.Another set of familiar eyes, red eyes, smiled at her as a red finger pointed at her shoulder.Yuma was one of the terrifying ones. He was no longer the white devil or white nightmare. He was the silent terror.

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Both Chika and Ema left their hiding spot, taking out from their pockets a black piece of cloth to wave around. Along with the equipment they had been given came two pieces of cloth: a white one and a black one. White ones were for giving up, being a substitute for voluntary bail out, meanwhile black ones were for those who had been eliminated and were still in the training area.Once they reached the entrance, there was an option to go sit in an upper level and watch the rest, mostly if you were planning to stay for another round. These trainings weren't really controlled by any supervisors, so as long as the base was still open and people wanted to participate in another round, another round would be held. Then how was the type chosen? An automatic wheel program had been set up so that it'd automatically spin once a round was about to start.From the upper benches, it was hard to tell if everything was calmer or even more terrifying, being able to see pretry much everyone.—Ow... oh, you two as well? —asked Toma as he saw Ema and Chika seating by his side in the first row.—She got me when I tried to sneak up on her.—And Yuma got me. Who eliminated you?—I'm not sure, they were too fast and ran away after pushing me off my box. They should place something soft on the floor or those beasts are gonna leave us a few broken bones.Chika was gonna respond, but a string of shots went all across the are from one of the further corners, speed-eliminating a huge bunch of snipers and mid rangers. Short rangers had gotten used to these sudden attacks, evading them and hiding just in time, their reflexes improved from the constant fear of this fake battlefield.Yoko was hiding right under the box the corner sniper ha attacked from. A quick glance up revealed who it was: Taichi. That hat's side flaps could be recognized by absolutely everyone in Border with an ounce of memory.She had about 5 seconds before the shooting stopped and he dropped down to run to a safer spot. She'd grab his leg as he jumped, she had already stained her hand.3...2...—One.By the time Taichi heard the «One», it was already too late —he had already jumped. A thin yet experienced hand grabbed him by the leg, yanking him down and onto herself. She didn't mean to hurt him too badly, nor to make another slam be heard. Everyone should already know someone was by Taichi, by this time of the training everyone had spotted atleast one sniper and was after them, so she had to make this fast.—Aw man... atleast I got a good bunch...Yoko nodded before running along the back wall, going to the center from that corner was far too risky, they'd get her in no time.She just had to run a little bit further.She just had to run a little bit faster.She just had to run a little bit closer.She just had to- she stopped. It was far too silent. It was impossible no one was around her. She quickly slid in a box and took out her gun, pointing it at that box's only entrance from the side. Whoever was after her wasn't going to get her, not just yet.It had been a while, she thought to herself as she waited, since she had felt this adrenaline rush. Regular rank wars and defense missions had their scare factor, of course, as well as were each more dangerous than the last, but...These guns felt heavier on her hands. The knife in her back pocket felt strangely sharper. Her heart felt closer to her throat than usually, as well as thicker and weaker. It had been so long sonce she had been faced by an actual challenge, it almost made her want to quit.And, still, she did relatively well. She was not the best, and by far, but she wasn't the worst either. And she had improved. And she felt herself more confident.Of cpurse, she didn't feel as confident as the first time. That first time humbled her. The horror she felt that first time, once she was around the center of the battlefield, and saw the brutality-She gave up immediately, out of utter fear. Not even her pride was enough to make her stay through that. She had taken victory like that for granted, when it was far harder than with Trion weaponry. Everyone was an easier target, but she was easier to get as well.Usually, a challenge like this one would be enough to make her give up instantly, changing to another training program, like the physical condition one or the strategizing one.But... there was something thrilling keeping her anchored right there.And so she stayed.And so she took a deep breath and stabilized.And so she pulled the trigger as soon as someone took a peak in her box.

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Just like flies in a spray shower, one by one all agents started falling, each of them more grateful than the last. They were reaching the moment everyone just wanted to be eliminated with a tap or a shot rather than by the low rangers. Anything, they said to each other, but the low rangers.This, of course, didn't refer to absolutely all of them. Some were actually civilized. Some were half-half.A civilized one was Ko, mostly because he depended more on larger weapons and was terrified of facing the rest. Because of this, mid rangers adopted him as a honorary member.A half-half was usually referring to Yuma, for at the start he tended to go softer and quickly eliminate those who wouldn't handle what was coming, and then went full on energy and to the middle of it all. Depending on the time they had been on the stage, Yuma was either just a normal attacker or a low ranger.And then there were the actually terrifying ones, mostly consisting of Hyuse, who didn't seem to have any fucks to give about others while on the battlefield, and Kageura, who never had any fucks to give about anyone. Full stop. Open parenthesis, maybe Ko and the shrimp, but those are simply more bearable. Maybe add in the puppy boy, depends on how bearable he's acting that day. Close parenthesis.Yoko had shot Arafune. He tended to last a lot during these trainings since he could be both a sniper and a low ranger. He started as a sniper and, when stuff got out of hand, he abandoned whatever gun he had chosen and took his sword from his belt.—Already abandoned your gun? —she asked in a whisper.—Just left it behind, guess I'm going back for it —Arafune complained as he grabbed his black cloth, removed his cap and tied the black cloth around his head. He used that as a signal that he was retrieving the gun.Arafune left in a silent sprint, there was a sort of camaraderie between those who had been recently eliminated and their attackers, the eliminated moving fast or hiding at first so others wouldn't spot their attacker right away. Some said it was for fun, if they were spotted and eliminated as well quickly, it wouldn't last much. Some others said it was, when hiding with them, to make them some company. The battle royales were incredibly lonely and, thus, worse than a nightmare. Too terrifying. There were no better words to describe.«That's it,» Yoko decided, «I am not moving from this spot. Everyone keeps on moving, they won't suspect I'm here. Then, when the last low ranger is left standing, I'll attack them from the back, then I'll win.»But it was hard to tell. Maybe it wasn't gonna start yet. It was too silent. It was still too silent. When was it going to start? What if it was already over and she was already the last one stabding? What if, as she shot Arafunez the fight had been going on and she hadn't heard it?Why was it so silent?Stop it.Make some noise.Not the silence.Please, not the silence.
End it.
The truth was, the noise was about to start, but it wasn't anywhere near her. She wouldn't hear it. The fight would happen, and she would know nothing about it.Yuma was the first to arrive, proudly sitting on top of a vertical box. It was yet another signal that had developed over the recent days: if he sat up high, it meant there was no one left for him to eliminate. A quick glance to the upper level and the exit was enough to guess that.Then there was Kageura, who made his way to the center proudly and slowly, knowing no snipers were left and no gunners were nearby, mostly because he didn't hear their ragged excuses of a breath or their nervous running around. He had lost most of his Side Effect, so he had trained his hearing. It worked almost just as well, so long as people didn't practice their stealth. Dealing with Yuma had already been annoying enough.And then there was Hyuse, who was watching the area from inside one of the torn boxes.—Who do you guys think will win this time? —asked Izuho, who had joined the snipers shortly after they had sat.—Well, Yuma has been working with Cronin a lot in order to improve his prosthetics.—Huh? Improve them how exactly? He's already a beast!—Apparently the grip wasn't tight enough so even if we couldn't see it, they apparently kept on slipping so he had to pull them back constantly during center.—So I was right, huh? He was actually worried during those other matches.—I wouldn't expect any less from my kouhai but a great eye for detail.Ema rolled his eyes, then sat closer to the edge of his chair.—Who'll win? I say Kage.—I dunno, they look equally scary to me... —Izuho said as she picked up the cat, who had been going around the upper level and trying out people's hairs.Osamu arrived right then, sitting with the group.—Hey guys! I haven't missed much, have I?—Not at all, it's about to start.Osamu looked around again, frowning slightly.—It doesn't add up, though.—Hm?—I didn't see Yoko go outside, and she also isn't up here. Is she gonna center?—Now that you mention it, I haven't seen her in a while.Arafune joined in, leaning forward from the back rows.—I think she hasn't moved since she eliminated me, the others must have forgotten about her since she's kind of far from them.—Where is she? —Osamu looked at Arafune, who pointed to the box she was hiding in.Hyuse left his box, stretching. Kageura was almost beside him, it was time to make some distance between them again. Yuma didn't wait a second before jumping off his box.It wasn't rare for all of them to fight at the center against each other, so they all knew what the others would do. Yuma would control the high ground of the boxes, Kageura would go full in from the start and Hyuse would try to get Yuma off the boxes while dodging Kageura's attacks.Except that Yuma was on the ground now, and Hyuse and Kageura stopped when they saw him. A change of strategy? Whatever it was, they weren't going to waste the chance. Both of them rushed to Yuma, trying to be the first to reach the white haired boy and eliminate him.Of course, it had been a trap. Yuma quickly jumped over their heads, making them bump into one another before clinging to a box's edge and staining one of his hands, he always left paint over some boxes. The next happened in under five seconds: Yuma leaped towards them both, Hyuse reacting by grabbing him by the wrist of the stained hand and attempting to throw him aside so he wouldn't get eliminated, but then he got himself thrown as Yuma held with his other hand onto Hyuse's arm. Luckily, they fell mostly against a box, the slam being kind of softened, even if it was just enough to not be the cause of a few broken bones. Had it been previously calculated? That was not only unknown, but also unimportant. It was the perfect moment for Kageura to eliminate them both.But he did not. That'd be boring.He watched as they got up, then threw them to different sides, turning to look at Yuma as he stained both his hands. It was gonna be a fast center.He went all in, quickly reaching his hands forward to eliminate Yuma, but the smaller teen jumped up and, using the box beside him, propelled forward and past Kage.Hyuse didn't stay behind, though, and grabbed him by the leg, yanking him down to the floor before staining him. Yuma was out.He sighed, seating up carefully as he watched the other two. That slam had hurt quite a bit.The other two kept on, though. When it was just the two of them, it was kind of like watching two bulls fighting one another, whoever got his hands on the other first being able to throw them aside and immobilize them, unless the other reacted fast enough to roll to the side.This time it was different. Kageura already had his hands stained. If he got either of his hands on Hyuse, that was it.He'd jump, the no longer horned teen decided. Once he got close enough, he'd grab Kageura by the wrists and jump over his shoulders, falling on his back and forcing him onto the floor.It went just as planned. He stained Kageura.The three of them waited a second. Then two.They all looked up and to where they had learn the speakers were hidden.The sound that marked the end never played.—I thought you never left people behind —Hyuse looked at Yuma.—I usually don't. Whoever's left, I didn't hear them.—Guess I've got to sweep then...Kageura helped Yuma up, both of them leaving the area in order to go watch from the upper level. They were curious.Who was left to face Hyuse?

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It took a couple minutes for Hyuse to find the remaining one, not having expected to find her so close yet so far from the center. However, once he saw her, the sound marking the end of the training played from the speakers. Hyuse looked confused up, then down and saw the new stain on his clothes, and then he looked at Yoko, her gun held by both of her trembling hands, her face consumed by utter terror. Hyuse looked around before sighing, slipping inside of the box in order to grab her by the arm, pulling her out.—Come on, stand up.Yoko obeyed, shakey, unable to complain. She barely heard his words, just followed his lead or, well, let him drag her to the exit, where some people were already awaiting.—Katori? Is everything alright? —the voices around her asked, maybe changing a word or two, but all meaning the same.And all she could do was cover her ears, seeking silence. Peace and silence. Time to process.Hyuse pushed people away and led her to a chair. He remembered it. He remembered it perfectly. He remembered his first days in the Aftokrator army, before he was given even a practice trigger, when he was on his flesh and blood body with real weapons in front of him. When he was given his first trigger and couldn't believe just how real it all still felt.It was the terror of war.—It wasn't real, just paint. You won.—It took so long... it was so silent...—We were off the center, so it was harder to hear it, specially from a box.—I thought- I-I really thought-—It's fine, it was fake. You made it out, and you won.—I won...?—You won, but you paid the price.—Eh?—The price of victory on the battlefield.—I think... I don't want to be a winner anymore.—You'll be fine, when the Trion disease is gone it won't happen again.—It won't?—It won't.

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As the day reached its end, everyone returned home, excepting Yoko who was sent for a psychological checkup after Hyuse managed to bring her back to her senses, calming her down.But let's go back to Tamakoma, shall we?As dinner was being prepared, two bodies let themselves almost drop on the rooftop, sitting just under the small barrier that kept people from walking off into the river. A third body followed, coming out from the inner pocket of a jacket.—Ah, Replica, you're on? —Jin asked, curious. It was rare to catch Replica functioning these days.—Yes, I am. Good evening.Meanwhile, Yuma sighed, head dropping back. It was the first time in hours he had actually relaxed, his body exhausted for the overexertion. He still hadn't found the balance back.—I told you it'd be better for you to rest today.—But then I'd be overenergetic now.—So you rather be exhausted than too energetic?—Well, I mean, I'm supposed to fix my sleep, am I not?—Hm... I guess that's true.They remained silent for a while, then smiled.—No one?—No one.Jin stretched his arms over his head, glad for the confirmation.—What will you do?—Go, what else? If I stay, I'll be trapped here. They'll be able to find me in no time.—But when will you go?—Well, if I were to go ASAP, I'd just be dooming the people by bringing the disease. I'll wait until it's eradicated, at least from my body, then leave.—But the longer you wait, the tougher it'll be. I mean, Border will be back to its full ability by the time the disease is gone, won't it?—But, and here's the thing, I'm taking the Fujin.—But will that be enough, Jin? After all, there is a black trigger under commander Kido —intervened Replica.—They won't use Amo to take me back, it'd cause more trouble than benefits.—But where will you go to? —asked Yuma this time, a yawn escaping his mouth. He really needed to regulate soon, this was becoming troublesome, and the pain not quite subsiding wasn't helping his will to stay awake.—Well, remember what our emblem means? —Yuma nodded— Three Nations collaborating with Border, one of them now gone, but two are still there.—But that's as far as you know, maybe something happened and we didn't hear about it, or maybe they won't take you in if you're running away from it.—Or, on the contrary, relationships will be cut with Border and there will be another enemy on the list —added the Trion soldier.—I know, I know, it's risky, but... my Side Effect tells me you guys will be fine.—You tell the stupidest lies, your Side Effect is wonky right now.—And so is yours.—You learn a thing or two about lies with mine, though.Slowly, Replica started lowering from the spot it was hovering around, lights dimming. The bickering stopped, Jin gently taking Replica and handing it to Yuma as it powered off. It had set up some time of inner alarm or programmed task so it'd start powering off after certain percentage of Trion had been used up, keeping itself from completely draining Yuma.—Guess that means it's over for tonight —Jin got back up, lending Yuma a hand, who groaned as he was yanked back up—. Oops, too strong?—Nah, I mean, kinda, but it ain't just that. I got slammed against the floor pretty hard earlier today.—And who warned you that maybe it'd be a good idea to skip today?—Your Side Effect is still pretty wonky, not really something you can rely on.—Uh huh... well, just make sure to rest, yeah? And skip tomorrow or you'll end up bedridden again.—Not like I was planning to go with this pain.—Good.

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—Yuma.—Mm... —the younger complained, not quite opening his eye.—Yuma, come on, wake up —Hyuse was trying to awake him with quite some urgency, confusing the shrimp further.—What's wrong? It's the middle of the- oww —he complained as he tried to sit up, his back felt somehow worse than earlier. That stupid slam.Hyuse stopped for a moment, watching him carefully.—The slam?—Yeah.—Sorry about that, but there's something going on.—What is it? You're too nervous.—They're saying Jin's disappeared.Oh, so it was about that. Yuma sighed, he couldn't pretend to care, he knew what was going on.—He sometimes has to do stuff at night for the future.—They're saying he left his trigger behind.—... Oh —he still struggled to pretend, he'd just waken up—. Since when do you care that much about Jin anyway?—Why don't you care? You both have been acting weird lately.—He may or may not be planning something, that's it, let me sleep, I'm in pain -`3’-—...Jin had reappeared by the next morning, safe and sound. He had spent the night at Kei's, and Kei had imposed the rule of no triggers. That's what they said anyway.—Hyuse's suspicious, you know.—Eh, let him be, it's fine.—Were you at HQ?—Nah, can't go to HQ without a trigger, remember?—Oh, yeah. Then?—I really was with Kei, just telling him some stuff.—The same stuff or lies?—Truth, it's not like he'll tell the big guys. He knows it all, after all.—Hey, you two! We're going to HQ, are you coming? —Reiji called from the hallway, making them look at one another before declining the offer— Suit yourselves.They waited a little, then sighed as they heard the front door close.—Kei told me something weird is going on at HQ.—Is it? I haven't really noticed.—A large scale invasion.—Heh? Another one? It's only been-—No, not coming for us, but us invading the Neighborhood.Commander Kido's real objective was that? Was that his way to making Nations stop attacking Meeden?It was bad.

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An engineer jumped up from his spot, running to where the others were, screaming. The others looked at him confused, then they heard his words. One of them grabbed her phone and dialed Kinuta.A remedy had been found —no, not found, created. He'd created the solution.Kinuta looked up from his phone in his office, then called an emergency meeting with the rest of Directors. They could regain their agents' original stats, and then they could keep going.It took almost no time for it to happen. Not even a week. Jin had been one of the first to receive the remedy, his foresight one of the most missed assets Border could count on, but it wouldn't stay for long. Not according to his own plan, anyway, but the recently acquired knowledge of a possible large scale invasion to the Neighborhood... something had to be done before it happened. Something like checking out everyone's futures.Or maybe something like giving out one last ominous message before leaving.—Damn, it looks tough. But maybe... —was all he said, thinking and wandering off and away, the directors having no time to realize what just happened. Was it so bad he needed more time to think it through calmly? Or maybe he was planning on avoiding it some other way, just like when he negotiated with Galoupula?And as he walked away, no one noticing the missing black trigger he had taken, he looked back to the base, just this one last time.—So long, and good luck.