TRIGGER WARNING: Assault

There's no actual assault happening, but it gets a little dicey after the second page break and I realized it could hit too close to home, so better safe than sorry—especially given the T rating I'm trying (and failing) to adhere to.

Yuma inhaled the crisp dusk air as he stepped onto the rooftop, feeling a little more confident than before with Chika's promise ritual. It sure was odd—the gesture was mundane, but the meaning behind it gave him much needed energy for the task ahead of him. In fact, the feeling was so palpable that he wondered if his teammate accidentally gave him some of her trion after they crossed pinkies—though he severely doubted it.

"Osamu-kun," he greeted, though the bespectacled brunette didn't turn around or acknowledge him.

Probably lost in thought again, he thought, walking up to him and poking him in the side causing him to squeal in response.

"What the—" Osamu sighed when he saw who it was. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Not long," Yuma replied casually, "I understand why you'd be so out of it anyway, after what happened at the hospital. At least you were there to—"

"To what?" Osamu asked exasperatedly, turning away and leaning on the railing. "All I did was rush in unprepared and almost get myself killed."

"Well…" in a sense, he wasn't completely wrong—he was kinda reckless throughout the whole thing. "...that's not all you did."

The disgruntled noise Osamu made sounded almost like a growl, making the neighbor realize just how much this bothered his captain. "...I need to be stronger," he muttered, "to protect you and Chika."

Yuma expected "and everyone else" to follow, but to his surprise Osamu stayed quiet. It made the neighbor a little nervous—his captain had always been concerned with everyone's well being, even of those who didn't deserve it. But now…

"I just…I feel as if it was all for nothing," Osamu whispered. "Whatever Dr. Mariposa's intentions were, being in Tharsis was torture in every sense of the word. I honestly don't remember eating or anything, just coming to bound and being dragged off to…"

He trailed off, and Yuma figured he could fill in the blanks. "I get it," Yuma said, "but—"

"I feel like I should've died."

Yuma tensed, looking away from his teammate's back.

"See, that is what you guys have trouble understanding!" the power elite had snapped, "Osamu would survive, yes, but he wouldn't live."

Yuma clenched his fists as he looked at the black trigger resting on his finger.

"I...I know how you feel," he whispered, not taking his eyes off the ring. "After my dad became a black trigger, I was just wandering the neighborhood until I found Meeden. And when Soichi ended up already being dead…"

Yuma closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he let his hands fall to his sides. "If I wasn't here following you, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. You and Chika, Border…it's all I have left."

The neighbor opened his eyes to Osamu staring at him, shock written all over his face.

"I'm serious," Yuma insisted, a smile tugging at his lips. "You probably should have died, but the fact is you didn't. And plenty of people are glad you didn't."

Osamu smiled back ever so slightly, and Yuma decided it was a start. "Maybe…" the brunette murmured, "But…"

Osamu took off his classes and wiped his face, and for a brief moment Yuma saw how truly haggard he really looked—his eyes had bags under them, his normally vibrant green eyes clouded with exhaustion. His jaw was clenched in a scowl as he looked down at the water below, with slumped shoulders and a bowed head. He looked like the personification of sleep deprivation, and Yuma could guess why.

"I just…" Osamu scratched his wrists nervously, probably trying to find the right words. "I…it's hard to explain. It's probably nothing, especially considering everything you went through—"

"Don't do that," Yuma cut off immediately, putting a hand on Osamu's when he noticed the angry red streaks on his wrists. "That's not what I meant. I'm not trying to dumb down what you went through, I know it was terrible—and I could've prevented it and I'm so sorry—"

He cut himself off when he realized what he had just said.

Osamu furrowed his eyebrows, looking confused. "Prevented it…how?"

It's not like I can hide it forever, Yuma thought, withdrawing his hand. Well I could…but I don't want to.

Taking a deep breath, Yuma decided to go with his gut. "...I was there," he said finally, "That day when you and Chika got attacked…I could've stopped it."

Osamu was quiet for a moment, his face unreadable. "Did…it have anything to do with Jin-san?"

Yuma tried not to flinch, but felt his mouth grimace despite his best efforts. "...He knew this would happen," he murmured, "He didn't want you to go through all this, the torture and this side-effect—but your stubbornness decided not to die and now here we are."

Now Osamu was staring at him, eyes wide as saucers. "He...did?"

Yuma nodded, gauging his captain's reaction.

"So...he knew about me getting captured."

His voice was flat and resigned, the way his eyes narrowed in suspicion making Yuma nervous. "...yeah," he admitted, "and...so did I."

Osamu raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"He told me, before it happened," he blurted out, "He said it was either that or a neighbor invasion and you would've came back perfectly fine, but after you got captured things changed. I could've stopped it, but—"

"—but you didn't," Osamu muttered, making the neighbor's shoulders sag.

"...I would've if I knew how bad it was going to be," Yuma sighed, "That's why it's so frustrating that you insist on taking all the blame on yourself—it's not like you've done anything wrong."

Osamu went to reply, but Yuma cut him off. "I've killed people too, you know," he stated, "Does that make me a bad person?"

Osamu stared at him with wide eyes for a moment, then laughed wistfully as he turned away. "Of course not…" he murmured, "Honestly I can't say I'm surprised…"

"Then why beat yourself up over it if you don't blame me?" the white haired neighbor demanded, crossing his arms. "It's one of the other, not both."

"Because it's different!" Osamu snapped, "Dr. Mariposa has every right in the world to kill me for what I did! The fact that she turned herself in proves she's a much better person than me!"

Yuma stared at Osamu, eyes narrowed. "...how long are you going to keep telling yourself that lie?"

All the color seemed to drain from the brunette's face, the glint of his glasses covering his eyes as he clenched his jaw.

"I know everyone is treating what you did as some horrible thing, but you did what you had to in order to survive," Yuma continued, "You didn't regret it then, so why regret it now?"

The neighbor watched as the brunette tensed up, gritting his teeth as he wrestled with his emotions. It was all in the open now, and Yuma was willing to stand there all night if that's how long it took for Osamu to pull himself together.

Or else I'll swallow a thousand needles.

Osamu suddenly relaxed, letting out an exhausted sigh. "...I don't," he said finally, "But...I feel like I should. How am I supposed to face Dr. Mariposa? I killed her son in front of her, and yet…"

The brunette covered his face with his hand. "...I feel like I'm a terrible person."

The neighbor frowned, not sure how to comfort his captain. He was raised a fighter, and is no stranger to killing—but he also remembered his father talking him through everything, teaching him that sometimes it's necessary to protect himself and others. It was clear that Osamu had not been granted the same courtesy from Border from the moment they first met.

"'Even though my chances of winning are slim, I can't just run away,'" Yuma quoted suddenly, "That's what you told me way back when we first met, remember?"

"...yeah…" the brunette answered, not moving a muscle.

"...I think I know why you survived," he murmured, "you probably would have ran instead of fighting back, and that would have ultimately gotten you killed—but something changed and you decided to fight instead."

Osamu finally removed his hand, nodding subtly. "You're right…" he replied, "...I...had something to fight for."

Yuma beamed at him, patting him on the back. "Exactly!" he replied, "That doesn't make you a terrible person, that just makes you really, really determined."

"...thanks," Osamu said, a small smile forming on his face. "for everything."

Yuma smiled back as the brunette stared up at the sky. "It's getting late," he noted, "you coming in?"

"I'll pass," the neighbor replied, "I'll be inside in a bit."

Osamu nodded, briefly patting him on the shoulder before leaving out the door, leaving the neighbor alone on the rooftop.

Kitora blinked herself awake, barely able to process her surroundings thanks to a pounding headache permeating her senses.

"What the…?" she attempted to sit up, groaning as her entire body protested. "Ugh…"

She was vaguely aware that someone was talking to her, but she still was trying to figure out what just happened—wasn't she on her way home…?

"...ou okay? You seem out of it…"

Kitora's vision finally cleared as she stared directly into the eyes of Saho Arashiyama.

"Saho...Saho!" the ace exclaimed, everything rushing back to her. "Are you alright?!"

"I think we got kidnapped by neighbors…" she murmured, "Someone kept coming in waiting for you to wake up...I think they took some of your blood to look at."

This is bad...this is really bad… Kitora thought to herself, if they find out about that side effect...

"Alright," she said out loud, "How long do you think we've been here?"

"You've been here for at least an hour," Saho answered, "I've been counting since you got here...but I don't know how long its been since I got here."

Kitora put a hand to her forehead, forcing herself to think through the pain. "Fuku-kun came to me I think moments after he realized you were gone," she muttered, "He said he was waiting for...fifteen...no, forty-five minutes?"

Saho's eyes fell to the ground. "He's okay, then? That's good…"

"I walked him home myself," Kitora assured her, placing a hand on Saho's. "I also got in touch with my squad before waking up here saying I'll let HQ know, so they're already aware of the situation."

Saho gripped her hand in return, giving her a tired smile. "Thanks...and I'm sorry for dragging you into this."

"I'm an ace," Kitora replied with a reassuring smile, "That's my job."

The two of them fell silent and Kitora finally took in their surroundings, noticing with dismay that it looked exactly like the practice rooms at HQ. This could be a Neighbor's ship, she thought, for all we know, we might not be in Meeden anymore…

She didn't dare voice her concerns out loud though. Saho was counting on her to keep it together, so that's what she'll do. "You're not hurt, are you?'

"No," Saho answered, "the person who kept coming in kept saying they wouldn't hurt me, but…"

So she's definitely bait, Kitora sighed, looking at the bandages on her hand. Bait that I totally fell for…

Mitsuru told her to go straight to HQ, but she just had to check Shinatose park beforehand...now these neighbors might want her side effect.

I don't want anyone else to go through what I did.

Kitora glanced down at her hands, shaking with fear. She remembered how it felt the first time she used Mikumo's trigger, the thought of going through that terrified her—she hadn't felt pain that intense since the time she fought a rabbit and it completely overloaded her trion nerves, and she wasn't looking forward to going through that again.

I...I hate this side effect…

Before her mind can spiral further downhill, a figure stepped through the wall into the room. On instinct Kitora pulled Saho behind her, narrowing her eyes at the neighbor. "Who are you?"

"I should be asking you that," the man murmured, smirking as he slowly advanced towards them. "What is a young lady like you doing with such a powerful side-effect?"

Kitora cursed under her breath. "And what's a man like you doing kidnapping young women?" she shot back, "Is it trion you're after, or something else?"

"Both, actually," the man chuckled, "I was planning on using the young one as bait for the murderer of my son, but it seems I've caught something equally interesting…"

With that he knelt down to their level, causing Kitora and Saho to back away. "This curse you have...you don't need it. It'll only continue to wear you down until you're nothing but a husk of your former self."

Kitora kept her face neutral. "That doesn't concern me," she lied, "All I'm worried about is getting Saho back home."

The man glanced at the girl cowering behind her. "Ah, pardon me—where are my manners?" he chuckled, "I am Lord Araña of Tharsis, my hobbies include conquest and collecting side-effects."

"...collecting...side-effects…?" Kitora repeated, not comprehending.

Lord Araña grinned darkly, holding out his hand. "I have the perfect side-effect," he murmured, "I can take the side-effect of any human—permanently."

Kitora's eyes widened in terror. "T...that's impossible…" she stammered, "There's no way—"

"There most certainly is a way," Lord Araña interrupted smugly, "Meeden has been on my list for a while now, as it has so many unique resources and side-effects…"

Suddenly his mood shifted as he grimaced. "Unfortunately, I cannot take them from the dead," he muttered, "I gave Polilla so many rare side-effects, gone forever—including that one…"

His face relaxed again, closing his eyes. "Until you came along, that is."

Lord Araña suddenly shot out a hand to Kitora, who dodged and shoved her hand into her pocket. "Trigger, on!"

She suppressed a wince as she felt her body shift, an asteroid handgun forming in her hands.

"You mean to fight?" Lord Araña questioned, grinning widely. "You won't get away like that—you'll get Saho killed."

Saho whined as she shrink behind Kitora, who was doing her best not to panic. This was quite possibly the worst way this situation could go—if she gives up her side-effect, she'll be powerless to protect Saho and simultaneously doom Meeden to an unwinnable invasion. If she doesn't, he'll just take it anway, with the same exact consequences. Sure she might have a chance is she keeps her distance, but there was no tellig what other side-effects he stole. There would also be no guarantee he would simply kill Saho either...

Lord Araña stared at Kitora in amusement as she continued to mentally run around in circles. C'mon Ai… she thought, think, think!

I know you're feeling guilty about killing Polilla and want to make up for it, but you don't have to kill yourself in the process!

The memory cut through her like a knife, bringing her panic to a stand still.

You have a death wish...don't you?

Taking a deep breath, Kitora turned her shaking hand and pointed her handgun at her temple.

"Kitora-chan!?" Saho exclaimed as Lord Araña stared at her as if he'd been slapped.

"You said you can't take the side effect from a dead body, right?" Kitora asked, forcing her voice to stay level. "Let Saho go, or you'll lose it again—for good this time."

Lord Araña looked down, his eyes...sad. "You've put us all in a difficult situation," he murmured, "...I understand."

He leaned in close, and Kitora's hand shook more. "A child shouldn't be burdened with such power, the bane of trion as a whole," he murmured, "After all…"

A grin formed on his face as he whispered in her ear, "You've never killed anyone, have you?"

Something snapped in Kitora as she summoned her Scorpion and rammed it in his chest—

—only for a searing pain to ignite her body as he grabbed her wrist, preventing her from escaping.

"Consider this a blessing," he cooed as Kitora tried and failed to hold back a scream of agony, "You don't need this curse, this burden…"

He continued to speak, but Kitora's screams and the feverish pain spreading throughout her body drowned him out. It was much much worse than when she first acquired it—it felt like he was ripping her heart from her chest, her blood boiling as her throat ached from her cries and her fingers bloodied from trying to tear his hand away to no avail.

"S-stop—please—!" she begged, clawing at his grip as he continued to whisper comfortingly in her ear. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I—!"

Suddenly Kitora felt something in her body break, and a cold numbness washed over her as he finally released her hand. She collapsed unceremoniously onto the floor, the handgun melting into a pool of blood beside her. She tasted metal in her mouth in between shaky breaths, and she wasn't sure if that was from the side-effect being ripped from her body or if she accidentally bit her tongue while screaming.

"I'm sorry," Lord Araña murmured, gently caressing her head. "I would have made it painless of I could."

Kitora didn't reply, tears falling down her face as she laid there motionless. All she felt was numb and cold.

"Y-you got what you wanted!" Saho sobbed, and the ace was vaguely aware that she was now standing protectively over her. "Please, my brother is dying anyway, just let us go!"

There was a brief silence as Lord Araña stood back up with a sigh. "Fine," he replied, "I have no more use for you, and killing you now would be... needlessly cruel."

Needlessly cruel… those two words echoed in her mind as she succumbed to the cold, dark void of unconsciousness.

Me: gosh i love writing Kitora, she's my favorite character!

Also me: *writes this*