Chapter Text
Like always, the first one who realized something was wrong, was Jin with his hater-lover side effect. There was no particular vision that had shown up for nearly half a week, which never happened before, not since he was aware of his ability.
But as strange as that sounded, Jin somehow was not really worried. His intuition, which had been trained through several life and death situations, was telling him that whatever was going to happen would strongly affect Border, but in a good way. Even though he does not know what it is right now, Jin still allows himself to hope for the best (always, always too hopeful).
Today so far has been a peaceful day, as peaceful as Border could ever be - but really, no one would expect a place that is full of teenagers and young adults who are always eager to fight could be called “a peaceful place”. In Jin’s opinion, it is already good enough for today without any daredevil who would try to explode the base with their creative ideas.
He is definitely not talking about a certain blonde hair shooter who had nearly destroyed the trion system in the east wing of the base in the process of trying out the composed bullets with Meteor and Viper.
Or that one attacker who had cut off the entire flock of houses in his defense mission when testing his furthest range of Kogetsu Senku. And his not-so-helpful members who cheered and encouraged their captain to do it again and again. Poor Maori-chan must have been a saint to indulge those idiots.
It fortunately happened inside the banned area, or rather it was Border's luck to have the permission to wreck up the abandoned area without the responsibility of compensation. Or else they would have gone broke long ago, despite Karasawa-san's terrifyingly good deceptive persuasive skill to ask for Border funding.
At the end of the day, Border is loaded with the worst creatures - reckless teenagers with powerful abilities. Even Jin loved all of them from the bottom of his heart, and even though their ideas are honestly great for battling purposes, he prefers a day without hearing the Trigger engineers and Border staff screaming at each other to keep their base from falling apart.
The Border , or the Neo-Border as the Tamakoma branch stubbornly refers to (will everyone ever learn about the original Border, and its people, who all carried a bigger heart than their body), is only 3 and a half years old, but has developed better than the younger Jin could ever imagine. Regardless of the leader's hatred toward all Neighbors, no one in Tamakoma including Jin could ignore Kido-san's efforts in building the Neo-Border. And no one really has the heart to say that hatred is unreasonable, not after the sacred battle 4 years ago in the other world (not after more than half of their family only 9 survivors in the total of 19 had gone forever) and the Large-Scale Invasion in Mikado City in only 3 and a half years ago.
The well-known story of Border's appearance at that time was so heroic, and it was even more romanticized by the public. No one could imagine how only a handful of Trigger users had fought through days and nights to take down as many Trion robots as possible. No one could have known the way they had blacked out due to Trion exhaustion, and got up to fight immediately after a short-term Trion recovery. At least with how Border is right now, they will have a much better outcome when not if another large-scale invasion happens.
The majority of Border's agents, especially the B-rankers and A-rankers, are quite capable. They have both brute strength and battle tactics to build up the overall power, especially with their continuous creativity, despite how much destruction it comes with. But still, he is expecting more and more (they would never be enough to survive). They need a push to evolve with more strategies. Maybe a new training program would work out, he should talk to Kinuta-san. But he believes those battle addicts would adapt better if there was someone that threatened them with new formations and tactics.
There is a plan between top leaders, not revealing to the public yet, a long and greatly invested Away Mission to rescue the kidnapped citizens in the last invasion, at least the ones who are alive till this time. In order to prepare for that mission, they need to become even stronger.
The last B Rank War was solid, some of the agents proved to be more skilled than their current rankings. And the A Rank War is even more competitive this year. It seems the way the Ninomiya team has been fighting tooth and nail really influences the other team.
Everyone knows the story behind their sudden change of attitude, it is just their way to support their own precious sniper. Maybe Tachikawa shouldn't tease Ninomiya about that too much, although Jin really enjoys watching their bicker. In Jin’s honest opinion, Hatohara is such a good girl, a terrifying sniper if you think about it differently. After all, a human-sized body is an easier target than a weapon.
However, their leaders are not appealing to that idea. Not that Jin doesn't understand, they had lost too much to hesitate to kill, and somebody deserves to die miserably, preferably by his own hands (bad Jin, no violent thoughts today!).
Jin probably has been lost in his thoughts for such a long time, because the person on the opposite side is getting impatient. It has been a great day so far, even Miwa - who has not-very-friendly feelings towards him (another proof of his incompetence to save someone in need again) - did not ignore or snap at him for sitting at the Miwa team's table. A huge step of maturity if he has to say.
But the calm atmosphere is coming to an end with Miwa's darkening expression. Then, Yoneya is here to pick up his captain like always, just seconds before Miwa could blow up the place. Jin could never tell if it is Yoneya being a sadist or a reliable teammate.
Now, Jin has no better things to do, it is just a small drawback that comes with a peaceful period. It might be a good idea to go messing with Tachikawa. They can't duel now with the difference in rankings, and Jin is not entirely satisfied with that decision either. But Tachikawa would even sulk more if Jin played it off and rubbed that to his face about how Jin is a talented elite with no rival. Not that Tachikawa would ever admit he is sulking anyway.
The universe must take pity on Tachikawa or any of his potential victims really, because the next second, Jin is sent to a closed-off space. Not just him but nearly all the core members of Border, from the top leaders to A-rank and B-rank agents, both the combatants and their operators, which also includes all members from different branches such as Tamakoma, Suzunari. If his memory is correct (it is just too good to even forget the things he desperately wants to forget), some of them are not even at the Border headquarters right now with their recruitment mission in different regions, but they are here anyway. So it is not a restricted effect in the Border base.
Strangely, Jin doesn't feel threatened or tense up like the people around him. He can see how his comrades immediately shift into fighting stands, at least the ones with common sense. And the ones without any sanity look way too happy like they are on a field trip. Border agents can really be divided into two categories which are insane and secretly insane.
Before someone could try to explode this space up (weird, how could no one try to scream first?), yes, Jin is pointedly looking at those shooters and gunners that have Meteor installed - and how can all of them come in with their Trigger on is a wonder, the room lights up which gives them a clear look at the surroundings. Is it worse that those guys look a bit disappointed for not being able to give damage to this room?
The light comes from a massive screen in front of them, which causes some of them to whistle at the impressive size of the room. There are several rows of theater chairs with dark color cushions, a set of speakers above the screen and in the corner of the room. This space deeply resembles a movie theater and Border's Rank-War watching rooms but with much bigger size and more comfortable-looking seats.
There are lines that begin to appear on the screen, at the same time a robotic voice comes out of the speakers:
“Welcome to the Time Monitoring and Storage Station. This is G, your AI assistance. The time difference is 864000s/1s between the “Trion World” and “the Accessing Room”. Due to time dilation, the access to recording footage would not interfere with the “Trion World” timelines. Please take a seat for your liking while the introduction process continues.”
The transparent voice from the speakers and the neat words on the screen clearly don't help them understand the situation very much. In fact, Jin is pretty sure that Ikomachi had tuned out the rest of the content, except the last line “take a seat” if his contemplating expression at those chairs says so. He can also see the confusion in some of their faces when those complex words are thrown out, while mentally hearing all the gears turning in those sharper ones’ heads. Clearly this situation is another example of how crazy their Border agents are.
Before anyone can make the first move, Jin gladly takes a nearby seat which causes Rindo-san to raise his eyebrows and makes Konami flustered, but all the members of Tamakoma branch put their faith in his judgment by settling next to him. The action seems to have a domino effect which makes people start to find their seats. Jin can feel the intense gaze from Kido-san, the curious look from Karasawa-san and the stare of the others on his back, but he is too amazed by the chair's quality to care. Comfortable is an understatement, this must be how heaven feels like.
But the voice interrupts his thoughts, “First of all, we deeply apologize for the inconvenience and the non-consent body's control”.
This is when Jin realizes the long silence wasn't a result of voluntary, but it was because their speaking ability was taken away. He doesn't mind this a lot, in fact Jin is thankful to this “non-consent body’s control” that had prevented his eardrums from being attacked with all the loud noise and questions. After all, many of his comrades are not shy about speaking their thoughts.
The AI continues, “Normally, the Time Monitoring and Storage Station doesn't interact directly with living creatures. Our mission is to observe, record and protect the flow of time in multiple dimensions and universes from being intervened. We are a medium, an invisible force and a non-existent agency to human's eyes. Our philosophy is to let time figure out everything”.
All of the things that happened today don't really make sense for Tachikawa. He is a fighter not a scientist, and definitely not someone who cares about time and space study. It is Jin's job anyway, so it is just plain weird to hear all of this. Their team's shooter, Izumi, probably thinks the same with the boring look and fake long sign.
Kunichika is making a face at them that literally translates to “please don't make a scene”, which is just rude because they aren't even able to speak so what she thinks they might do anyway. Besides, Tachikawa has been teammates with their operator long enough to know how she enjoys their dramatic flares.
They keep making faces at each other while the voice is talking, “However, despite the difference in each dimension and universe, there are certain events that always happen. For example, the publication of Border is determined to occur, not by this person then there would be other people who found it”.
If Tachikawa could regain his ability to scream, he would do that right now just for the sake of annoying this AI - G? That way it would realize how its speech sounds in their ears. Their team's shooter already zones out, and with his knowledge about Izumi, he is probably screaming in his head about all of this nonsense.
Their misery must cause something to change because then, Tachikawa can hear Izumi's voice clear and loud, “Of course something has to go wrong with our timeline, as if the Neighbor's existence is not enough of a problem”.
In a blink, all eyes focus on their team, especially their blonde shooter. Tachikawa can see how Izumi is slowly dying inside with all the unexpected attention. In his last effort, Izumi puts on a fake smile and wave at everyone, while giving him a look “I don't know what the hell is going on but help me”.
Because Tachikawa is such a responsible captain, he gives Izumi a thumbs up and a lazy smile that means “all yours”. He can feel Jin's amused look and the disapproval glance from Kido-san but really, Tachikawa doesn't know what is happening right now either. This movie theater has already surpassed all the weird things in his life to be the first pick in his list of “Top weirdest things has happened to me”. What if it comes with the ability to read our mind, no big deal at all.
G, the AI, is not installed with the ability to read the room. Therefore it smoothly goes along with the question despite the tension in the room.
“The Neighborhood Existence is a part of your world building, right now it is certainly a challenge for Border to face up. There are people who are supposed to join Border in the next few months that would bring a major impact to Border. Their participation is considered one of the unchangeable events in all timelines, however, for some unknown reasons, their future has been interfered with. It is the main reason why we bring all of you to be here today. It is your choice to decide if you want to change the timeline back to its origin or let it flow into a new direction”.
In the effort of saving himself from social dying, Izumi forced himself to focus on the AI's speech instead of the unsubtle glances from other people. That is when the AI decided to talk about making a world-changing decision, which is not pressured at all. With all these unexplainable turns of events, Izumi believes he himself didn't do anything to deserve all of this heavy responsibility.
And he has suspicion that this not-very-innocent theater has the ability to hear and broadcast their loudest thoughts, which is a serious intrusion of privacy. How could it makes them all stop talking but allow their thoughts to be heard is a wonder.
The AI seems to hear his question one more time because it gives off an explanation, “This is the Accessible Room, where you can have temporary access to the future, or more exactly, the recorded footage of a different timeline. One of the basic rules of this room is honesty, which makes any creature in this room not only unable to lie, but also vomit all their truthful thoughts. But the truth is not always appreciated, so we decided to save the ruckus by taking away the speech intelligibility of those who use this room. Nevertheless, the first still exists so it may make your strong feelings or thoughts being heard. Please keep that in mind”.
The explanation really causes everyone to be panicked, no one can ensure their thoughts are positive for everyone to learn about. And if the “silent spell” continues, it will be a terrible watching experience.
“Don’t worry, we also provide an alternative interaction device. Please check the space under your armrest, there is a mobile you can use to send messages to each other. There is a main group chat where all of you can discuss the footage, but you can also start private conversation by tagging that person's name. Just be careful not to spell their name wrongly”.
The warning must be late already when everyone can see Ikoma's messages:
{@jinn what is the cafeteria’s new menu today - Ikoma Tatsuhito}
And another one pops up:
{@ikomacchi dunno i haven't gone to the cafe yet - Jin Yūichi}
Their conversation was so meaningful that Kikuchihara is 100℅ sure it can make everyone speechless without the need of a silent spell. With his sharpened sense of hearing, Kikuchihara can hear how many people in that moment rapidly tap on their devices, mentally, he can imagine how noisy it is if they are talking in real life. And the way the group chat blowing up simply proves how spot-on he is.
{Iko-san I did hear there would be a new curry today - Arashiyama Jun}
{really!? i don't wanna miss it 😭 - Ikoma Tatsuhito}
{Is this really what you are all going to discuss in this chat? - Kazama Sōya}
{i wanna try the new curry tooo Iko-san - Minamisawa Kai}
{So no one gonna talk about all this??? Because I am freaking out right now Q_Q - Betsuyaku Taichi}
{Cute emojis Taichi! I steal it now Q_Q - Usami Shiori}
{Is anyone going to explain? Because for sure I didn't listen to half of the babbling. - Tachikawa Kei}
{Me neither - Tōma Isami}
Tachikawa-san has probably spoken for those idiots who never carried their brain around - no sane person would ignore the suspicious force that could bring all of them to this also-suspicious place without alerting any of them, because next second, the group chat has gone wild with all the “+1”, “+2”, “+21”... nonsense messages. Kikuchihara stares blankly at the mobile-alike device in his hand, wondering if Border's future is doomed with all of those people as their agents. The next message answers him that no, Border's future is still brightening with hope.
{I will explain shortly. This is an unknown force that is referred as Time Monitoring and Storage Station, which apparently has the ability to affect time and space. They decided to bring us here due to an unchanged event in our timeline that is going to be changed, hence, we are given the chance to decide if we want to change it back or let it change. - Sawamura Kyōko}
Right, their assistant director, or rather their leader cast is made up of a bunch of logical and rational adults.
{Sorry Sawamura-san, but I think I don't understand the word “change” anymore 😭 - Minamisawa Kai}
Guess there is no limit for their idiocy.
{One of the most important things everyone should keep in mind is that this agency has an overwhelming power that could literally interfere with our “Trion World”, as they said. Therefore, we should go along with their instructions. - Kitora Ai}
Which is fair, a silent “it's not like we can do anything to stop them” is spreading in their minds.
{Future is an undecided concept, but they were talking about unchanged events, about certain people who could hold a strong impact on the Border, we should consider this information carefully. - Kusakabe Saki}
Again, the suggestion sounds fair enough, but Kikuchihara could never understand how a person can sound so arrogant even through texts.
{Did anyone notice the time difference? It was mentioned 864000s/1s, 864000 seconds are exactly 14400 minutes or 240 hours, which means 10 days in this room is only 1 second in real life. - Somei Hana}
So another smart-ass who pays attention to every little detail. Everything they have learned in this room is one-sided information provided by this so-called AI, who knows if what they said is the truth or not.
{If we believe it is true, does that sound fantastic to everyone? Would that mean when we are back to our world, we are forever 10 days older than the rest of the world? - Ōji Kazuaki}
This one message is even more nonsense. After all, Kikuchihara is not sure if they could ever go back to their “Trion World” - which sucks because their world is named after a source of energy that isn't even a common knowledge in their world. If Kikuchihara weren't a Border agent, he would be dumbfounded when he learned about their world’s name. Not to mention how Kikuchihara learned about it - such a cruelty to witness your kinds being slaughtered by anonymous force, only knew what it was when you joined the defending agency. Trion World? Isn't it sarcastic?
A new message pops up, surprising Kikuchihara with its different color and display.
[@Kikuchihara, give them a break, at least they are really trying to understand what is going on ^^ - Utagawa Ryō]
Kikuchihara must have been through such a serious mental breakdown if he hadn't heard Utagawa texting right next to him. His teammate must have seen through Kikuchihara's anxiety that was carefully masked by a scowl and wants to cheer him up. That's just how Utagawa is, a worrywart and a mother-hen. Not that Kikuchihara need to be worried about.
[@Utagawa, putting up an emoji does not make your message sounds more convincing or cool if that what you're trying to do - Kikuchihara Shirō]
His statement clearly isn't appreciated if the popping vein on Utagawa's forehead is anything to go by. Such a shame. Before two of them can turn there little bonding conversation this into a physical fight, the screen finally starts to serve its purpose - showing a different timeline footage.
A shaking view is shown, a huge white Bamster is ready to attack. Then a young man wearing white T-shirt appears, with a neutral tone “Trigger on”, he changes into a Trion body with Tamakoma-1 uniform.
{Jin?! - many messages are sent at the same time}
In a blink of eyes, from the shaking view, Jin takes down the massive-sized Bamster with only one hit.
{Jin-san is so cool. Next time you have to fight me!!! - Midorikawa Jun}
There are definitely whistles in the room. It is not hard for A rankers or upper B rankers to defeat a Bamster alone, but it isn't common for them to see Jin's showdown, except in the joined defense mission.
The view cuts to a young boy half lying on the land with a surprised expression. From his appearance, this boy must be a middle schooler, a citizen in the Forbidden Zone.
{Oh, a middle schooler! Does anyone know that uniform? - Izumi Kōhei}
{I'm sure it's from the third Mikado Middle School. - Arashiyama Jun}
{A citizen in the banned area? That four-eyes boy (megane boy) doesn't seem like the type to break rules. - Yoneya Yōsuke}
{Jin, have you met this boy yet? - Shinoda Masafumi}
{Sorry Shinoda-san but I have no such memory. Either this is a future thing or that timeline has gone differently from us. - Jin Yūichi}
{I'm leaning on a future event anyways. - Jin Yūichi}
Meanwhile in a private conversation:
[@Jin then did you foresee the meeting with that boy? - Shinoda Masafumi]
[@Jin, ever seen this megane boy in through your side effect? - Rindō Takumi]
Jin can't help but raise his eyebrows, finding this situation hilarious. He quickly sends a message to answer Shinoda-san, while leaning to Rindō-san on his left side to let him see the answer as well.
[@Shinoda, Nope commander, never in my foresight saw such a cutie. - Jin Yūichi]
This text is probably so scandalous that it makes Rindō-san mouth at him “cutie?” questionably, and makes Shinoda-san from a few seat rows away from their seat give him a side eye. So maybe Jin has done that on purpose to annoy them, or he really thinks the boy is a cutie. Who know?
Then, two people sitting next to each other quietly texting each other:
[@Arashiyama, captain, is that your siblings’ school? - Tokieda Mitsuru]
[@Tokieda, yes, it is. I hope nothing would happen on the school grounds. - Arashiyama Jun]
[@Arashiyama, I think your siblings would be alright. After all, the schools and other citizen's areas are far away from the Forbidden Zones. - Tokieda Mitsuru]
The screen changes. A clear, warm voice of a mature man comes out of the speakers, giving a short introduction of this world’s background.
“Four years ago, gates to a parallel world opened in Mikado City. Monsters known as Neighbors began appearing through gates and attacking the city. Normal weapons seemed to be unable to defeat them. In a short time, the city was nearly destroyed with many people dying or missing during the large-scale invasion.” Along with the introduction are several scenes from the invasion.
The content on the screen is unexpected for all of them. Not every member of Border had gone through the Large-Scale Invasion, they only learned from the media and the news about the injured and collateral damages. But no data can show them the cruelty of that period. There are only some flashing images on the screen but it is worse than what they could imagine.
And it hits even harder for the ones who had gone through the last invasion, trauma and bad memories are woken up in their minds. If Miwa were the same boy from years ago, he would have busted out crying to be reminded of those memories. But that doesn't mean three years is enough time for him to look back without any uneasy feelings.
The voice continues, “Suddenly, a mysterious group of people defeated the Neighbors by using Neighbor technology called Triggers. They said “We had prepared for this day”. An organization, called Border, was then founded in Mikado City to defend the city against Neighbors.” The images of younger Jin, Konami along with Shinoda-san and other co-founded members appears on the screen, which thankfully changes the content to a more positive look.
Jin can't help but grinning at the photo on the screen. It feels like forever to look back at them over 3 years ago. Although he doesn't forget what a terrible period it was, at least all of them in that photo have survived until now. And if he understands correctly, in this footage, they have even passed the 4-year-mark!
Then the screen turns black. A small line appears “Four years later”.
This information causes many messages to pop up in the chat. Apparently, this “different timeline footage” is going to show them the future. A potential outcome of the future for sure. Some of them, if Jin had to name, Ōji, Mizukami, Yoneya, Kako-san etc look more than delightful to learn about the future, while others like Sōhei, Kitōra, Somei have a contemplative look on their face.
The voice explains, “After 4 years, surprisingly, the majority of citizens decide to stay in Mikado City. It's all thanks to the efforts of Border in protecting the city.”
And this particular information seems to ease most of them. It's never getting old to be recognized for their hard work. The way Mikado city is at peace right now is their pride. The humble ones like Kurama and Suzunari-1 have a hard time keeping themselves from smiling, while the ones like Tachikawa, Konami just nod along confidently.
Then the scene switches to a normal classroom which is full of students chatting idly. Some of the students are talking about the Border with admiration. One of the boys even wishes to become a Border agent someday with his imitation “Trigger on”. In the background, a group of troublesome students with unruly uniforms and dyed hair are making fun by taking another student's pencil case.
To the higher-ups, the exchanges of those students on the screen don't really cause any strong emotions but it is a completely different story for Border agents who are mostly students. The school set-up is just too familiar for them to identify themselves with, which directly causes the frantic chat.
{Ahh, those jerks are so annoying!!! - Konami Kirie}
{Are those guys bullies? - Kuroe Futaba}
{It's not funny to take other people's things. - Teruya Fumika}
{They don't even look like proper bullies, just some rebellious idiots. - Kikuchihara Shirō}
{Schools always have those kinds, they try to make themselves look cool by making fun of others. - Ema Yuzuru}
{OMG, do you get bullied in school Ema!!! You know you can talk to me about anything, right?? - Kitazoe Hiro}
{What are you, Kitazoe - his mother? - Tōma Isami}
The messages keep going on, complaining about how school bullies are the worst, and how childish - stupid - for some of their peers try to act like bad guys to get attention.
Before the frustration spreads out, those guys are stopped when that pencil case hits another student wearing glasses, who appears to be the same boy Jin had rescued before. That boy ignores the taunting from the bullies and gives back the pencil to its owner.
That boy's appearance successfully distracts the chat topic:
{Oh the same four-eyes boy (megane boy) gives back the pencil case. Isn't that cool? - Yoneya Yōsuke}
{Now you sound exactly like the punk boys, Yōsuke Q_Q - Usami Shiori}
{That's his true color, Usami-senpai! - Midorikawa Shun}
{You guys are ganging up on me T_T - Yoneya Yōsuke}
Before the chat goes far away, a more informative message pops up:
{Sorry for the interruption, but does anyone think the footage's focal point is that Mikumo-kun as his classmates called him? - Teruya Fumika}
{You don't have to apologize for speaking up your opinion Teruya-chan. And I do agree with your view. - Azuma Haruaki}
{Yeah, Azuma-san is right. Y'all shouldn't worry about those idiots messing around. This Mikumo-kun has been on the screen for the second time, it would be strange if he turns out as a side character. - Suwa Kōtarō}
{Side character? Are you treating this as a movie, Suwa-san? - Midorikawa Shun}
{What can I say, we are in a movie theater-like room, while watching an unknown story. It IS a movie to me. - Suwa Kōtarō}
Suwa's opinion actually gets many people’s agreement. The chat once again is filled up with a long list of “+1” or “same here”.
The screen changes to the outside view. It appears there was a car accident with the policeman and how torn the car looks. However, the white hair boy, who is being questioned, looks fine without any injury. So the car's owner must have avoided him on time. Things get weird when the boy - Kuga Yūma, as he tells the policeman, has difficulty in telling his address. And a weird device (?) whispers the address into his ear.
The chat gets excited when the strange boy is shown. His appearance is definitely standing out with the unique hair and eyes’ colors. But the attention is changing to the black device that just appears on the screen:
{So anyone knows what that blackie thingy is, because it is creeping me out. - Konami Kirie}
{It must be the newest AI guidance from that company you know, Konami-senpai. - Karasuma Kyōsuke}
{That company!? I didn't know about it!! - Konami Kirie}
{Sorry senpai, that was a joke. There was no invented AI guidance that looked like that black thing as far as I knew. - Karasuma Kyōsuke}
That certain device - Replica as Yūma calls it - reminds a small number of Border’ agents of a Trion soldier, despite the difference in size and function, especially the ones who had gone on mission in the Neighborhood, they had experienced more kinds of Trion soldiers than anyone. But again, the discussion isn’t happening in the main group chat, rather in private ones.
Then, Kuga Yūma casually asks Replica “Can I use my Trigger?” when he knows he has been late for class by about 25 minutes. Replica answers, “The only one who can make the decision is you”. At the end, Kuga decides to run without using Trigger, which is praised by Replica as “A thoughtful decision”.
Immediately, the chat blows up with several questions, after all, Trigger is not common in their world, and not even Border agents can use it for casual purposes such as helping them while running late to school. This turn of events has given them more questions than ever.
An idea appears in some of the high rankers' minds who have more experience with Neighborhood in general - a human form Neighbor - which is so unusual that no one brings it up. Or they are just too immersed in all the chaotic theories that are being poured into the group chat.
To name someone, Inukai from Ninomiya team has been secretly enjoying the wild discussion: someone even mentions the potential of Kuga being a leader’s illegitimate son - whoa, that real bravery from you Taichi-kun - which gets a scolding from their top leader. Kinuta-san even goes as far to claim that he only has a daughter, which is a wrong thing to say, because now they are screaming in the chat that Kuga Yūma is a girl. The leaders are probably tired of their shit, because now they are straight up ignoring the frenzy texts.
The screen turns back to the early classroom. It seems the teachers are late because of a new transfer student. Mikumo - the glasses boy - pipes up when someone mentions how unusual it is for them to have a new kid this time and how likely that student is a Border agent.
{Oh, I thought for real that Megane boy holds no interest toward Border. - Yoneya Yōsuke}
{Really? Why is that Yoneya-san? - Midorikawa Shun}
{Megane clearly didn’t care when his classmates discussed other things involving Border. - Izumi Kōhei}
{Oops, guess I was wrong. Maybe he just pays attention to important things like a Border agent? - Yoneya Yōsuke}
Now, Kuga, who has arrived at school, is introducing himself to the class, which causes the murmurs between students to learn that Kuga had been abroad and this is the first time he’s been to Japan. Then the problematic students from before point out how Kuga is against the school’s rule for wearing a ring. Which leads to the teacher asking him to give up the ring, however, Kuga refuses to do that, and goes straight to the exit.
This is actually funny to watch if the laughter from the crowd is anything to say. There are already complaints about how the dress code is stupid, which leads to more complaints about schools and things from Border agents again . It is weird and maybe disturbed for the higher-ups - especially the ones who have their own kids - to be reminded how young their agents are - still kids who are annoyed by homework and such civil things but already too used to fighting.
Mikumo, for the rescue, stands up and tells the teachers that Kuga may have a reason why he can’t take off his ring. The punks call him such a prince and heroic for his words annoyingly, while the teacher asks Kuga about his reason. But after hearing Kuga “This is my late dad’s memento” and other boys’ taunting how their taken away things are their relative’s memento, the teacher gets angry and doesn't believe in Kuga.
The scene is definitely not for the agents’ liking by the way the chat gets heated immediately:
{How can they’re so annoying?! - Konami Kirie}
{Which ones are you talking about, Konami-chan? - Inukai Sumiharu}
{Those brats who keep mocking others and the teacher for not believing Kuga too!!! - Konami Kirie}
{What was the point of asking if you are not going to believe him?! - Konami Kirie}
{Really? I can understand how the teacher didn’t believe Kuga-kun. Although I have to say it’s very insensitive to dismiss his reason like that. After all, worse things happened in this city y’know. - Inukai Sumiharu}
{I wish the teacher considered more carefully about the potential of the student telling the truth rather than getting all defensive like that. - Arashiyama Jun}
{Eck, you know it is terrible when even Arashiyama-san gets disappointed. - Satori Ken}
{Only me notices how Megane-kun likes to stick his nose in other business? - Izumi Kōhei}
{Never expect you to be the mean type, Izumi. I don’t think it’s wrong to help out others though. - Kumagai Yūko}
{You got it wrong, Kuma-chan. World would be terrible without people like him, but it’s one thing to help people, it might not be very pretty for him though. Those punks don’t seem like the styles to let things slide. And not to be mean but I don’t think Megane packs a punch himself. - Izumi Kōhei}
{Nothing to worry about. If Mikumo got hurt, he deserved that for not thinking carefully about the consequences of his actions. - Kikuchihara Shirō}
{Gah, this is the real meanie here. - Izumi Kōhei}
{Ma maa, we all know Kikuchihara just secretly cares for the kid though. Usami Shiori}
{I wholeheartedly agree. - Tokieda Mitsuri}
{I'm not! - Kikuchihara Shirō}
Despite Kikuchihara’s harsh words, the majority agrees with Izumi. Mikumo, from what the screen has shown them so far, is the typical example of a good kid. But from the way he silently avoids the bullies and how slim his appearance looks, they do worry for his well-being if things get intense.
The male teacher looks strongly disturbed or even scared by Kuga’s intense expression, so he lets Kuga wear his ring. And coincidentally, the only seat left is the one next to Mikumo, therefore the female teacher asks Mikumo to help the new student settle down. This time, Kuga gives off a duck face, a rather relaxed smile when shaking hands with Mikumo while Mikumo himself seems surprised at how things turn out.
Kikuchihara can’t help but think, “Definitely a side effect, maybe a voice-based” when he sees Kuga’s exchange with the teacher. But he doesn’t mention that in the chat, letting those idiots fuss about the weird BGM (background music) when Mikumo and Yuma look at each other.
Again, annoyingly, those punks in the back of the class, who happen to sit right behind Kuga, start to throw paper balls at him. When Kuga turns back and asks what this means, they laugh and say “It's a Japanese greeting”. Mikumo stands up and asks them to stop, which makes him earn a book into his face.
You can see the frustration in the way some agents try to tear their hair off while watching the screen. Then a storm of texts are sent:
{Those scrubs are unbelievably irritating!!! - Katori Yōko}
{If I were there, I would give those punks an unforgettable lecture about why you shouldn't disturb others - Katori Yōko}
{And the Megane is so annoying, why try to help if the only thing you can do is get hit in the face!????- Katori Yōko}
And the scramble goes on. At that moment, several agents share the similar thought: “Finally , someone snaps”. Katori is a surprise-but-not-unexpected person to be the first to explode. Her temper tantrum is as well-known as her remarkable capacity in combating. The slow spacing of the footage and irrelevant content seem to get on people's nerves consistently. Somehow, the blow up loosen up the tension in the room.
Kuga stares at the guys in the back of the class, a disturbing sound can be heard in the background when his eyes change to void black in a second. The boy simply returns a favor with an easy smile - except there is nothing friendly about this - by sending back the crumpled paper ball with enough force to make the receiver fall off his chair.
The room falls silent for a second then the group chat explodes with questions after questions and occasionally “so cool” expressions. You can even hear the chorus “What?” and “Whoa” linger in the room, which must be the effect of the truth spell.
{No way that just happens in real life!!! This is so fake, even faker than how Border sounds in the news!!! - Satori Ken}
{What is this??? Can we even do this in our Trion body? - Taichi
{Wait wait wait, I have to try this out. Anyone have a paper? - Ikoma Tatsuhito}
{Really Ikoma-san!!!! - Minamisawa Kai}
{Really Ikoma-san? - Tsuji Shinnosuke}
The chat is contaminated with idiocy, Kikuchihara thinks to himself coldly, and it is spreading in the room if the way Ikoma is trying to steal a paper from a confused Kashio but being stopped by a smiling Ōji. They should pay more attention to the screen, the way Kuga handles those bastards is showing his posture - this boy is definitely experienced in combating - which is a serious problem when you think about it. But somehow, trying out the fancy trick is more appealing to those air headed guys.
The worse thing is no one looks ready to stop those idiots from going too far. The higher ups are sitting in the back of the room, acting all cool and uncaring while the ones nearby the Ikoma team are all chaotic people who enjoy watching Ikoma’s havoc too much to stop him. Kikuchihara personally doesn't even want to be near that noisy area, so there is no hope already.
As the day goes on, the class finally ends. Kuga agrees with Mikumo's offer to go home together casually. But things become ugly when those guys from earlier stop them with even more people and make them go to the forbidden area.
If Kikuchihara had to vote, he would say the worst thing is to deal with unreasonable citizens. Despite the danger warning and a clearly forbidden sign, some people just never understand not to go in those areas. Maybe he is still irritated from the first scene when that Mikumo was in the forbidden zone helplessly looking at Jin for the rescue, or Kikuchihara is just done with all this nonsense. Because right now, he finds the urge to scream desperately.
The chat this time speaks for him:
{Why couldn’t they follow the rules? There's a warning sign?? It’s for their own safety!!!! - Konami Kirie}
{I thought middle schoolers could read but guess I was wrong. - Yoneya Yōsuke}
{This is the reason why I think we should have surveillance cameras outside of the headquarters and inside the forbidden zones. Not everyone is self-disciplined. - Tokieda Mitsuru}
{I can already imagine how the media would blame us if those guys got hurt, even though anyone knows it’s their own fault T_T - Satori Ken}
The agents become more annoyed to see Mikumo fail to persuade the students to leave the forbidden zone. It’s even worse to hear those students say that they chose this forbidden place due to its lack of people.
{Woah, such a smart thinking process. Don’t they think about the reason why no one comes into the forbidden zone? - Izumi Kōhei}
{Their little brain must be incapable of thinking about such an important thing. - Kikuchihara Shirō}
{Respect for Megane-san for even trying to talk some sense into those guys. If I were him, I would have left already. - Midorikawa Shun}
{Remember Kuga? Mikumo doesn’t want Kuga to get bullied so he comes along. Though I have a feeling that little guy (chibisuke) isn’t the type to let people walk all over him. - Tachikawa Kei}
The thing is, the majority of them share a similar opinion with Tachikawa. After all, this white head is the one who was ready to use Trigger to get to school, had no hesitation to drop the class when he was told to give up his ring, and waited no time to give the bullies’ the taste of their own medicine when they messed with him. Honestly, right now they are more worried for Mikumo's well-being than Kuga's. They know better than judging a person's ability based on their body only, considering how a huge number of Border's combatants look.
However, “Megane seems to be more of a pacifist than a fighter, the one who prefers dealing with problems by nonviolent solutions” is what Yoneya or many agents are thinking. And the screen proves them right when it shows Mikumo getting beat up by the punks. But really, no one feels happy that they turn out right.
Maybe justice advocate is a strong word, but everyone in this room - who had joined the Border while knowing the threat of dying existing, despite their own quirks and personal purposes, are all big-hearted and good souls. No one finds joy in watching a group of guys ganging up on a kid.
Mikumo’s protest “Let him go. It isn't fair for a group to gang up on a person” not only meets with Kuga’s disapproval but also making him the target for the bullies. While Mikumo is beaten down and half lying on the land, the bullies are laughing and mocking him for intervening despite being a weakling.
All the laughter on the screen causes tension in the room. Watching a beaten kid, who appears to be a helpless citizen, is totally not a great experience. Especially it reminds them of some bad memories from the Large-Scale Invasion over three years ago. The tense posture, the grimace expression, the look-away face and the hidden fear is awakened in the heart of the war witnesses (was it considered a war when they were helplessly killed-) . Mikumo's speech of unfairness certainly doesn't give them their peace of mind.
The screen continues as those guys are satisfied with beating up Mikumo, they mock Kuga why don't you help your dear friend and get a nonchalant response “Why? Megane (four-eyes) decided to stick his nose into this. He has to do something about it.”
In other circumstances, Kuga's response may face lots of criticism due to the lack of sympathy. But this room is full of people who became Border agents because they decided to take matters by their own hand, whether it was revenge or protection of precious ones. Many of them, like Miwa and Arashiyama, although having completely different personalities, silently agree with Kuga's point of view. However:
{For real!? Nooooo, I can't watch this. How can Kuga stand by and say that? Mikumo did try to help!!!!! - Konami Kirie}
{Hate to break it for you Konami-chan, but Kuga-kun is right this time. - Inukai Sumiharu}
{He is old enough to be responsible for his own actions, it’s just a consequence for an idiot. - Kikuchihara Shirō}
{Although I think Kuga is right, I still believe we should have people in need. In this case, it's not Kuga's responsibility to help but us, who are supposed to guard the forbidden zones. - Arashiyama Jun}
{Gah, you're 100℅ right!!! What is the stupid team on the defense mission doing??? How come they don't realize citizens are there yet? - Konami Kirie}
{Irresponsible. - Maki Risa}
The blaming messages keep going longer and longer. Most of them aren't serious, rather a way of distraction to keep people from falling back to their miserable memories. At the end of the day, they don't know which team is it yet, so the topic becomes boring quickly. This time, Tamakoma branch is the one who ends the topic:
{How could two people have such different views? I’m worried Kuga and Osamu are going to be at odds with one another. - Usami Shiori}
{Nooo, they're such good kids. They're not going to end up as nemesis, right? - Konami Kirie}
{I don't know, Konami-san. It’s like the universal rule for two polar opposites who first are friends then turn to be enemies. - Karasuma Kyōsuke}
{All movies are like that, Konami. People love the tragedy of a destroyed friendship. - Jin Shuichi}
Thankfully, Reiji stops those idiots from bullying Konami any further, but not soon enough because now, Konami is trying to strangle Jin. The chat wisely decides to ignore the chaos of Tamakoma and comes to the conclusion that Mikumo and Kuga, in such a short time, have shown how different their ways of thinking are.
The serious atmosphere is cut off with a chorus of cheering and whistling. While they are discussing, the screen has changed to, for no better word, quite a satisfying scene - Kuga gives the bullies the “real life” lesson they deserve.
In a few seconds, Kuga has taken the pipe from the guy, skillfully defeats the leader of the group in one hit and successfully scares other guys.
{Finally!!! I'm sick of all the annoying scenes of beating Megane. - Katori Yōko}
Again, Katori's opinion is true for all of them, but maybe for different reasons. At least they can have some time off to relax from all the traumas.
Or not.
Suddenly, the siren is ringing with a coming announcement. A gate is opened right in front of the crowd. A huge, white Bamster steps out of the gate. Immediately, all the boys, except Kuga, turn pale and run on their tails. The leader of the punks falls behind and gets eaten by the Bamster.
Many of them can't help but scream “deserved” in their heads despite their morality. The honesty spell chooses that moment to act up because now, the sound of “deserved” gets spread in the room and bounces back loudly. The chat is too busy to even mention the accident:
“Oh FOR GOD SAKE! A Neighbor right now? Where is the team on the defense mission!?” is literally the summary of every message getting sent into the chat. Panicking, upsetting, raging, all emotions mixed-up creates an insane chat.
{That’s what they get for sneaking in the forbidden zones. - Kikuchihara Shirō}
“NOT NOW KIKUCHIHARA!” is screaming in the chat in sync. No need for the salty or sassy when they are too worried for the boys’ safety. Border agents are committed to the task of protecting the city and every citizen, it would be really traumatic if they have to sit here and watch them get killed.
Kuga quickly picks up his and Mikumo’s backpacks and hurries Mikumo to run. As Kuga says, they're lucky the Bamster goes straight to the punk.
The calm Kuga somehow fuels the frustration and anger of many agents, who have to sit and watch helplessly as the Bamster wrecks the area. If they could, they would shout straight to Kuga's face “You're NOT helpful at all!!!!”.
Mikumo doesn't run away, in fact he tells Kuga while keeping his eyes on the Bamster, “You run first, I have to help him”, which by all means, causes Kuga to ridicule Mikumo, “That guy gets what he deserved for entering the forbidden area, so why are you saving him?”. Mikumo, loud and clear, answers wholeheartedly “Because I believe that is something I have to do”.
{Sorry, but what the hell??? No, run away, what can you even do? - Kikuchihara Shirō}
When even Kikuchihara can't keep his calm, we know that we're fucked up. The chat since the Bamster appeared has been loaded with countless messages. Thanks to the unreal technology, the chatting devices still work smoothly. Their mind may be the first thing to stop working when they see Mikumo run to the Bamster, or to his own death, they can't be sure.
{If this were under any other circumstances, I would love to talk about Megane's philosophy but now? Please run away for your sake!!! - Izumi Kōhei}
{I sort of understand Mikumo-kun, though at the moment I'm worried too much about his well-being. - Arashiyama Jun}
Maybe after all the ruckus goes away, they can calmly discuss what the boy's talking but now, watching a Bamster attacking those guys isn't an idealistic background for them to wonder about Mikumo’s motivation.
Mikumo takes out a small device and with a shout “Trigger on”, he changes to his Trion body to the surprise of Kuga.
And to the surprise of almost everyone in the room. A collective “what?” shows how unexpected everyone is.
{Wait wait, this is way out of character for such a weakling!? - Katori Yōko}
{And I was so sure Megane boy's ready to do anything but being a combatant. - Yoneya Yōsuke}
{You have too many wrong guesses already, Yoneya-senpai. But Megane-san looks nothing like a Border agent!!! - Midorikawa Shun}
{There is no such thing as how a Border agent should look like, Midorikawa. Although I'm beyond surprised too. - Arafune Tetsuji}
{So y'all are not going to mention the fact that Mikumo-kun is a C-ranker? - Osano Rui}
{It is against the rule for a C-ranker to activate training Trigger outside of the headquarters! - Kinuta Motokichi}
{Kinuta-san, this is clearly not the time to talk about punishment!!! - Satori Ken}
Before the debate whether Mikumo should be held guilty for his actions can go further, their attention is caught by the screen.
Mikumo runs and uses his weapon to attack the corner of the Bamster’s mouth, successfully making it relieve the boy in his mouth. The boy, after falling down, immediately runs away, leaving Mikumo behind, who now becomes the target of the Bamster.
No one has the heart to criticize that boy’s action. Their hearts are beating so fast that they have to hold their breath. All attention is paid to the screen, desperately hoping Mikumo makes it out safely. However, it isn't for their liking.
As Kuga watches and Replica comments “He doesn't have enough power to pierce through the Bamster’s armor.” And this is the truth. Even with his Trigger, Mikumo struggles to deal with the massive Neighbor. He seems to be unable to defend himself against the Bamster and gets tossed into the wall.
Midorikawa grimaces when he hears the loud sound of the body collapse with the wall. A quick glance around shows that many of them sympathize with Mikumo on the screen.
C-rankers aren't allowed to use triggers outside of the base for many reasons. Not just because of their lack of skill, even though Midorikawa sure it’s the most crucial one, but also because the training trigger isn't qualified enough for fighting Trion soldiers.
Some of the elite combatants can make up the difference between the C-rank trigger and the ones above by their skills, but it's not an easy job at all. Midorikawa still remembers how surprised he was at the power of his new trion body when he first changed to the B-rank trigger - the real trigger .
Kuga on the screen seems to share their worry by the way he stops trying to leave. Despite the lack of shown emotion and his harsh words about Mikumo “This world is full of fools, but he's the top”, Kuga asks Replica if he can use his trigger, which receives the same answer as before “Only you can make the decision, Yūma”. This time, Kuga spares no time to say “Trigger on” and changes into his Trion body - a full black armor.
Kuga's transformation definitely catches everyone’s attention. All the suspicions from before rise up. The ones who had thought about Kuga as a humanoid Neighbor feel like they found the core evidence to support their theory. However, one of the worth noticing points is:
{Is that a black trigger!?? - Midorikawa Shun}
{Better question, what is black trigger??? - Katori Yōko}
Right, black trigger isn't common knowledge in the Border. In fact, due to the young age and the nature of Border - a military force using alien technology, many things are kept secret or exclusive inside the organization.
Midorikawa only knows black trigger exists because of his A-rank friends and because Jin-san owns one. As the biggest fan of Jin in the Border, Midorikawa has to learn every little detail of his idol. Did he make a mistake by speaking of it easily? The chat is certainly not letting Midorikawa get away with his last messages.
{Alright kids, guys, just pretend not to see Shun's message. It's confidential information, which is boring anyway, another type of trigger. Just keep in mind that black trigger users are scary opponents like me, okie dokie? - Jin Shuichi}
And with Jin's words, even though many agents still aren't satisfied, they accept the explanation grudgingly and drop the topic at that. The content of the screen is also mesmerized enough for them to stop pouring questions as Kuga starts to fight.
Kuga in his trion body, runs toward the Bamster as it's trying to shoot Mikumo. As Kuga shouted his commands: “BOUND”, “BOOST”, “DOUBLE”, the corresponding Triggers were activated through different concentric projections in electrical blue and yellow.
The trigger let Kuga jump over the Bamster. Changing his position midair effortlessly, Kuga land a direct hit on the Bamster that creates a deafen loud noise as it shattered to pieces. Causing a stunned Mikumo staring at him with wide eyes while ling on the ground.
The room is silent before it breaks into chaos. There are familiar screams “WHAT!?” being broadcasting by the honesty spell. The chat magically still works despite all the messages being sent at the same time.
The thing is, no one prepares to see how powerful Kuga is. It is no joke to beat down a Bamster, let alone doing that with one hit and shattering it to pieces. Even the A-rankers, not all of them can confidently say they could have done it better than Kuga, and that's just how impressive his show-down was.
The thing is, compared to the Bamster's gigantic body, Kuga seemed like a defenseless lamb against its predator. However, there was no mistaking the one in control of the battle is Kuga.
'He wasn't fazed at all. No, actually isn't this guy too accustomed to fighting?!'
With just a few seconds, Border immediately reevaluate the threat posed by Kuga Yūma. The fight was short, but the way he carried himself reminding other agents of a veteran. Like Jin. Tachikawa. Even Shinoda-san.
Not to mention this is the first time for the majority of them to witness how a black trigger works, and powerful is understatement. It's not only different from their trigger but, even if they don't want to admit it, it's also more advanced and superior. The airheads are gushing about how cool it is, while the serious ones feel nauseous by thinking about how their world, Border, still falls behind the Neighbor technology far away.
{What a show! Look, even Megane thinks the same. - Jin Shuichi}
And that's true. Once everyone pays attention to the screen again, they can see Mikumo’s flashback for seconds. Jin's carefree attitude may be annoying sometimes, but this time it helps calm down the ones who are overthinking. Jin doesn't even worry, why should they panic first?
The way Kuga effortlessly defeated the Bamster and said “You okay, Megane?” reminds Mikumo of a certain elite agent who also saved him before. But he comes back to reality quickly and corrects Kuga “My name isn't Megane. It's Mikumo Osamu”. Which causes Kuga to grin widely and say “Okay, Osamu”.
{So he's Ossamu, ne. I have been wondering for a while. - Ōji Kazuaki}
{Right, we finally know Megane boy's full name. - Yoneya Yōsuke}
/now we could find him when we go back/
{It's Osamu, Ōji. O-SA-MU. Don't just give people weird nicknames! - Konami Kirie}
{Haha, I thought everyone got used to Ōji's habit already. - Kanda Tadaomi}
After a stressful period since the boy got into troubles with bullies and A BAMSTER (little did they know compared with what they are going to see, this was just a nice warm-up), the room finally has a little relaxed time as Kuga and Mikumo
Kuga, now has returned to his normal body, keeps a laid-back attitude while telling Mikumo “You charged in there all cool and stuff, but even with a Trigger, you’re weak. Shouldn’t have run in like that” that makes Mikumo let out a hurt grunt. But he recovers quickly to ask about the others, only to be ensured by Kuga that the bullies had made it out safely. Mikumo’s attitude really confuses Kuga and makes Kuga admit that “You’re such a weirdo”.
Kuga’s statement undoubtedly meets with much agreement, although people add in their own opinion ‘You’re a weirdo too, Kuga’. Someone with the habit of looking after the young ones, like Azuma or Jin raises their eyebrows at Mikumo’s attitude ‘He seems to worry about the others too much that may shoot himself in the foot one day’. And the following conversation really bolsters their argument.
Kuga bluntly asks, "Why didn't you use your trigger earlier? You could beat those runts easily with a Trion boy."
{Ikr, sometimes I have the urge to 'Trigger on' and beat the shit out of the ppl in front of me, like when those media jerks get too nosy. - Satori Ken}
'Satori, WHAT?!'
Despite still looking a bit shaken from the earlier attack, Mikumo answers, “Because Triggers are forbidden to use against civilians. Besides, that’s not how I do things.” Somehow that response brightens up Kuga’s face unconsciously.
‘Oh? It seems like Kuga had take a liking in Mikumo, despite how different their views are' - that is Jin's conclusion while watching Mikumo and Kuga's interaction. Jin finds it amusing that Usami and Konami’s earlier worry about these two boys would go against one another but the truth turns out to be the contrary. As the saying goes, opposites attract.
{It's in the basic rules when you receive a Trigger. If Mikumo couldn't even obey that, I see no worth in him. - Kikuchihara Shirō}
{That's true to follow the rules but you don't have to voice it so harshly. - Usami Shiori}
{I don't have to listen to a traitor’s word. - Kikuchihara Shirō}
{Traitor is a strong word, Kikuchihara. It's normal to change your team. See, Karasuma moved to Tamakoma too, but no harsh feelings there. - Izumi Kōhei}
{I still think Mikumo is admirable. He had no hesitation to break the rules to help people in need but he never once thought about abusing it. - Arashiyama Jun}
{You shouldn't praise the rule breaker so highly, Arashiyama-san. - Kitora Ai}
{Did I misunderstand? But I think Arashiyama-san is praising Megane-san for being a rule-breaker as long as he has good intention??? - Midorikawa Shun}
{Nope, you understand Arashiyama perfectly. - Jin Yuichi}
Everyone leaves the conversation at that, after all, you don't accuse someone for things they haven't done YET. The leaders must think the same because they didn't share their thoughts about Mikumo's action or punishment. Then, the light atmosphere becomes uneasy as the boys’ conversation keeps going.
Mikumo says “So you're in the Border too” but Kuga quickly denies “No no, this trigger is from my late dad. He used to tell me to come to Japan ‘cause his friends are in an agency called Border", which makes Mikumo a little confused.
{Okay, I'm getting a little lost here. Do ex-Border agents get to keep their Trigger? -
{The admission paper clearly stated that you had to return Border trigger when you leave -
{Kuga's Trigger didn't even look like our standard ones. Maybe the rules don't apply for Black Trigger? Jin-san did say it's a different type before. -
Confusing, Mikumo keeps asking “So it's your father who was in the Border then?”
Only for Kuga to deny it again “Nope, my dad had nothing to do with it, it's his friends who were in Border.”
Certain agents who know more about Border history are starting to get where this is going, but the others are still clueless.
Mikumo is honestly too confused, “But that can't be. Only a Border agent can have a trigger,” which meets Kuga's unwavering reply “That's only applied in this world, right? I come from across the gate. I'm what you call a Neighbor”.
Mikumo’s shocked face speaks for everyone. Maybe not everyone, there are some agents who thought about the potential of Kuga being a humanoid Neighbor before, at least Jin already predicted this even without his side effects. Although no one had imagined Kuga would speak of his “background” like this - too nonchalantly.
And for the ones who didn't think about the suspicious things about Kuga, this statement is like oil to water, a bomb that fires their brains to shut down. Even people who have taken notice of Kuga's oddity never imagine Kuga as a Neighbor. Maybe the reason is because Border restricts information so well. Jin's sure someone is going to ask if humans also exist in the Neighbor World.
Oh well, it seems this isn’t a case of “Honesty is the best policy”. Without using any foreseen ability, Jin can already envision the headache and chaos that are definitely going to happen.