User blog:Yuka Ichinose/God Eater: Infinity Paradise, Chapter 11

"Next time, get your eyes checked," Soma grunted at her, just as they both stopped from their tracks, hiding behind what remained of a tall wall. "And make sure to read information in the NORN." It's already too late to call for a copter and retreat. Even if the HQ manages to send in an escape vehicle to their location, there is no assurance that the large Aragami before them would not notice. The only way to progress is to keep on pressing forward. By the look of things, it has already noticed them anyway. Soma doesn't look too pleased with the situation either. "Yuka. There's a large difference between a Quadriga and a Tezcatlipoca."

Yuka had lost count of how many times she told him sorry for that mistake. Indeed it was easy to distinguish the two similar Aragamis by sight, but a while ago, she had fully relied on hearing, but then again, what's the purpose of mentally defending herself? Not like it would do a bit of improvement in their current state. It surely wouldn't make the Tezcatlipoca disappear in a puff of smoke, to be replaced by a normal Quadriga instead. Thankfully, the Aragami that had been bombarding them with endless missiles had finally calmed down, the two God Eaters disappearing from its line of sight. Yuka checked the magazine; it was empty. "Soma," the girl called out to her comrade. "I don't have enough Divine bullets onhand, so when the Tez goes down, hit it like there's no tomorrow."

"Don't tell me what to do."

"The correct answer is 'Roger.'" One by one, she loaded the Oracle bullets into the magazine, before pushing it back into the chamber. ''A few shots should get it down, and then a stun grenade could keep it further immobile. Then, devour it for more bullets.'' Once the blast gun was fully prepared, she carefully aimed for the front gear of the feeding Aragami, before pressing the trigger. The shot released a quick arrow of light that only lasted for a short distance. Soma immediately thought Yuka's bullets had just betrayed her, but when a radial burst of lights appeared on the Tezcatlipoca's feet, he changed his mind. The Aragami let out a loud roar. "What is that?" He asked. He had worked many times with Sakuya in the past, the best gun-user in all of the Far East, but never had he seen her use such bullets.

"Shadow Haze," his partner answered as she continued to shoot. "Deals Crush and Divine damage. A lot. But I only have limited supply to keep it down twice. I'll thrown in stun grenades too, so keep a keen eye."

Her attention never left the large Aragami, as she simply continued her shots of Shadow Haze, keeping the enemy unable to counter her attacks or go on rampage with its tomahawks. A few more blasts and the Tez stomped on the ground with its front legs, its front armor opening up like a present. Soma took the opportunity to leave their hiding place and attack the exposed armor. As it was about to recover from the downed state, there was a sudden flash, and the Aragami's actions became wobbly, as if dizzy. The male never left it alone, continuously dealing damage to the tank-like beast.

However, for reasons unknown, it seem to be somewhat different from others of the same kind, as it was more aggressive, quicker to recover from its downed state, and was still able to release missiles in between his blade attacks. By that time, their hiding spot had disappeared to nothing but rubble and Yuka was forced to fire in the open, spamming the Aragami with what seemed to be an endless amount of Shadow Haze.

''Endless? What a way to jinx it...''

"Bullocks," she hissed. The chamber had just been emptied, and she was right in front of the enemy, the main target of its attacks. She now hates unpreparedness to bits. Her God Arc shifted to its blade form, before unleashing predator mode. But at the same time, the Tezcatlipoca discharged missiles as she was about to devour, rendering her completely defenseless against the attack. Although she did manage to gather bullets, Yuka was knocked off her feet, the attack sending her crashing against a wall.

Her entire body stung. Scheiße. Despite the pain coursing through her body at the moment, she forced her God Arc to return to its gun form, aiming for the giant Aragami with shaking hands and blurry vision. It doesn't matter if it doesn't deal much damage. As long as it hits, it'll help! She pressed the trigger. Miraculously, a head-shot. She didn't stop there. Leaving Soma to deal with the Tez alone would just be plain cruel. Fired. Hit a missile pod. Fired. Another head-shot. Fired. Missed. Again. Missed. She could make out Soma's figure in that blurred field, attacking the Aragami's weak points. The Aragami staggered backwards, and as it tried to recover from the heavy damage it received, the male began to build up the Charge Crush once more, annihilating every bit of existence the Tezcatlipoca possesses.

From his earpiece, Yuka's voice registered in his ears, weak and pained, struggling to even force the words out. "Gute arbeit..." And then there was a thud.

"Oi. Don't you dare die on me! Yuka!"

There was no response.

"Oi!"

The other end was silent. "Verdammt." Dropping everything he held, he rushed towards where she had last fallen. She didn't exhibit any signs of movement. If she dies right here and right now, the people at Far East would have another addition in his Death List.

"Made you worry, didn't I?" Came a rather amused voice. It was followed by a playful giggle, to which he hissed in aggravation. "I'm glad... You worry for other people too."

Soma glowered at her, unpleased. "Get up there. Let's deposit the cores before another large Aragami comes up." As he turned his back to pick up the God Arc he had recklessly ditched a while ago, he was stopped by her response.

"Can't. Can't move at all."

That was the part she didn't manage to understand at all. How come her legs refused to cooperate all of a sudden? It wasn't helping that Soma kept telling her that she was heavy, and should at least keep her food intake in-check, basically hinting that she's fat. "I don't even know what happened..." She mumbled against the fabric of his coat, her head buried on his shoulder. "Sorry to be a burden, Soma..." She sniffled.

"Forget it."

"But-"

"It's over... There's no use lamenting over things that are already done." Thankfully, that prevented a breakout of tears.

When they finally had rode the helicopter back to base, Yuka remained unusually silent. She simply stared out the vehicle's window. It took a while for her to once again part her lips in question. "Soma... Rumors in Anagura said that... All of your partners in the battlefield... die."

He only averted his gaze and scoffed. Rumors are things worse than an Aragami. They spread fast like a disease, yet could never be obliterated.

"Then... Wanna be partners?"

A brow arched. "What, do you want to die too?"

Eyeroll. "You know what I mean."

"I guess... It wouldn't be bad to let you give it a shot."

***

As soon as they had deposited the cores, both were anxious to fly back to the Far East, as Yuka was curious regarding the Operation Meteorite. Although Soma had already crushed her hopes of being involved in the project, saying that she wouldn't be able to fight alongside everyone if she could not even walk, the blonde still has high hopes and looks forward to seeing its success. After all, it is for Aegis, isn't it?

"You really manage to baffle me every time, Yuka..." Paylor Sakaki said after the diagnosis, eyeing the results in his hand. "As a genuine carrier of the P73 Bias Factor, you are showing better results than you did when you were young..."

"But, Doctor, I thought you were-"

"Carefully analyzing the results, one can easily infer that the Bias had learnt how to adapt as you grow." What met the statement was a pair of confused blue eyes. "Much like an automatic program, it checks if there is something wrong with you, and quickly fixes it before further damage can happen. It explains the quick regenerative abilities that you two P73 Bias carriers possess." He leafed through some of the papers, resuming speech after he had found the sheet he was looking for. "But to think that you managed to return from Europe without even realizing how many of your bones had been broken, it's a wonder!" Broken bones? But... That's preposterous, for there exists no pain right now. Yuka felt around for her chest and back, wincing afterwards due to stinging pain. "B-But... How could that be...?"

"You boldly took in two tomahawks without any cover, and was thrown to a wall. Do you realize how much damage you received? Consider yourself a computer program. Once you've malfunctioned, the system, the Bias Factor, would immediately find out what is wrong and make an attempt to fix you. In your case, it made your body enter a state of complete numbness, as you are being repaired. Of course this doesn't make you and Soma immortal, but... How should it be put? Well, you do have advantages in compare to those possessing the P53 Bias Factor." He sighed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "That aside, I highly recommend you being taken off-duty in the meantime."

As the doctor was just about to leave the Sick Bay, Yuka questioned, "Sakuya, Kota, Lenka and Alisa... How are they doing?"

"They have returned from their mission, after having to deal with an unknown species similar to that of a Vajra. Sakuya and Kota are both fine. Lenka and Alisa, however, are both discharged due to reasons. Lenka's God Arc snapped into two during the battle, while Alisa is undergoing medication."

"His God Arc... was broken?"

The Stargazer nodded. "I'm still making further study of it, as there seem to be something unusual with what had happened to it." The door slid open and Paylor met an unexpected visitor. "Oh, Soma!" Her attention spun from the window to the figure standing by the doorway. "Ah, everyone is here too..."

In walked Lenka, Kota, and Sakuya. Yuka quickly expressed her relief, happy that they were all able to return safely from such a dangerous task. Although, Sakuya somewhat scolded her for worrying about them rather than herself, learning her current state.

"It's part of being in the front-lines."