User blog:Yuka Ichinose/God Eater: Infinity Paradise, Chapter 17

Soma remembered the last time he challenged her like that. A petty childish game of skip-the-experiments hide-and-seek. It was a distant memory, yet he remembers every detail of it whenever it comes up in his head. Yuka was already a competitive, childish girl at a young age, disagreeing with him when he said he couldn't be beaten at hide and seek. Not even the scientists could find her for the entire day, and he even remembered himself growing tired of looking.

Cruel, but true. Being impatient was a characteristic ingrained to him even in his childhood.

"If they don't get out of the way, I'll really fire at them!" Kota yelled.

Soma smashed his blade right into the face of the Vajra -- rare chance that it was. The Aragami staggered in both pain and surprise, but the Oracle Cells binding its head remained intact. If he could get another chance like that, he surely will be the victor of that hastly made deal. He kept a tight grip on his buster blade, keen in waiting for another opportunity.

Both his blade and shield are the heaviest of their three kinds, and he found himself advantageous to Yuka, for she had to carry along that huge blast gun, also heaviest of its kind. In addition to that, he has greater work experience, fighting in the front lines for six years. He had dealt with Vajras.

Though she wasn't doing a very horrible job herself, utilizing the cons of wielding a New Type God Arc by fighting in both close and long range. Even the blade's predator form was being very helpful in their current condition. That was until he heard him rapidly cuss in German, showcasing her goddamn fluency in it.

That was the last stock of her loved bullets. Her pockets -- two of them -- had been emptied of reserve, now containing only the consumables she would probably make use of later on. Furiously, she pushed the magazine fully loaded of Shadow Haze. The side of her blast gun glowed in corresponding color for Divine. Every shot is important and should not be wasted. As careful and quick as she can, she fired. A radial burst of light erupted from the ground, just as when the Vajra leaped off to perform a back flip. "Verdammt! Sit still, would you?!" The gears clicked, and the gun morphed to its blade form. She pushed herself off the ground, closing in to the Aragami, and dealing a crushing blow on its back. It didn't do much damage to the cape, a common knowledge to every God Eater. Stupid idea, of course. The God Arc shifted in form once more, and she let go of another Shadow Haze, straight into the monster's feet. The Oracle Cells present on its legs shattered to pieces. Yuka flashed her partner a victorious grin.

Soma can't afford to lose. It's his bed at risk here! Behind him, Utsugi provided cover with continuous rounds of homing bullets. Occasionally, he would fire Shadow Haze as well, which Yuka crafted and handed out prior to the mission, but of course, having never used that kind of bullet before, most of the time, he'd just miss, much to the provider's aggravation. He dashed out of his former spot, as a field of electricity appeared on the ground, enlarging to a dome before releasing a strong wave of energy. Sakuya kept yelling instructions at them. Kota was keeping the Aragami at bay with flashy Divine bullets. Well, he was trying to. The Vajra's attention was focused on all three melee, angrily making attempts to clutch at least one of them. Soma could clearly hear their sniper shouting at Utsugi, who had once again gone into his heroic tries to place the large monster's full attention at him. "Idiot," Soma mumbled, just as he smashed his blade into the Vajra's legs. It staggered and collapsed on the ground, struggling to rise back up.

Construct your death wish, Soma Shicksal's blue eyes seemed to say, as it coldly stared at the weakened Aragami, meeting its own yellow eyes. Still, he kept his guard, in case the monster releases its last breath through a fatal attack. The Vajra stared back at him.

"Is it dead?" Yuka finally raised the question he wished to answer with a yes. They had been fighting this Aragami for quite a while now, and he was getting tired of dealing with its shit. He turned to his partner and the rest of his teammates, all hoping that the mission was already over. Sakuya and Kota took the chance to reload.

"It's going to be..."

It was his chance to momentarily flash Yuka a triumphant grin, as he would be the one to put an end to the Vajra's reign in the city. No matter how much the Aragami struggled to stand up once again, it wouldn't be able to. Just one more crushing blow and it will end. Soma pulled down his hood and lifted his God Arc, ready to crush the monster.

"Oof!" He felt himself being pushed away with sheer force that he lost grip of his precious weapon, and his body was pummeled to the nearest obstruction, pain coursing through his every nerve. There was the faint call of his teammates registering to his ears. Soma growled low, cursing under his breath. His head was spinning and a heavy weight was pressing against his body, preventing movement. As he tried to lift his head at the very least, his nose brushed lightly against hair, the sweet scent of shampoo being recognized by his senses. He used his arm for support, but eventually regretted it, as he made contact with a cold fluid. Blood.

Hearing her cough brought him to reality. A large gash on her waist continued to spit blood on the ground. "Ah, dammit," she cussed, forcing herself to stand with her God Arc as support, but to no avail. "My jacket's torn." It's funny that she was suffering a heavy injury and yet all she cares for is that stupid jacket. Kota, Sakuya and Lenka came running to their aid, after seeing that the Vajra had lost interest in them and went out to feed on something else instead.

"Yuka, are you alright?" Sakuya asked, kneeling down to her side for a better view of the wound. Obviously not, the male grunted to himself, but instead averted his gaze from the sight. "It's quite big..."

Soma slowly slid away, careful so as to not make her force herself into any kind of movement, lest he wishes her to hurt more. Lenka assisted her to lean on the a sturdy wall, debris all around them. Yuka was in a terrible state -- hair a complete mess, blood on the edge of her lips, eyes obviously in pain, jacket torn that it now revealed the black tube she wore underneath, skirt drenched in her own blood. "You should stay here and let us just finish the Vajra," Kota suggested. "You're in no shape to fight anymore." Soma could very well agree to that. She could barely even stand! Sakuya was already working in stopping more blood from staining the ground, and she did so, she kept on suggesting that they abandon the operation and take her back to Den instead. But Yuka herself refused.

"`m gonna be fine," she replied, waving them off just as Sakuya had finished her work with the bandages. "You guys go ahead. They did say this mission's a now or never."

But he wouldn't risk it. He could not return to Den with yet again, another... The male sighed in frustration, picking up his buster blade. A wounded person saying she's fine is not very convincing at all, especially if the thick roll of bandage over her wound had been visibly stained by blood. "I'm not going to die, silly," Yuka laughed at Utsugi who had voiced out Soma's concern. "At least, not today. Trust me. I still have six lives, I think." Her eyes clearly said that she wouldn't want any more arguments. Her decision will stand, whether they like it or not.

Sakuya was still clouded with worry. "Kota, stay behind and--"

She pouted. "I'm no kid that needs to be looked after. You guys go ahead. I'll follow when I feel better."

Everyone but Soma objected, and refused to believe she can be better in matter of moments. But they both knew, that a wound as small as that, is not a big case to the P73's gift. It would heal like it never actually existed. That's how it works. "Let's go. There's no use arguing." While they worry, the Vajra is out somewhere, regaining strength.

He could feel the beads of sweat trickling down his dark-toned skin. The Vajra -- still the same Vajra from earlier -- had learnt how to become a true pain in the ass. He doesn't comprehend how one could be a difficult opponent in comparison to the others he fought before. It's still a Vajra, isn't it? Soma was beginning to get even more annoyed, and everyone is pretty much knowledgeable as to how short his patience is.

Utsugi raised his blade and jumped, focused on the Vajra's tail. Soma placed himself in charge of its head and legs. Though he doesn't really care, and would honestly have preferred working by himself than have someone yell orders at him in the heat of battle.

Whatever comes up, just slash it to hell. Yeah, right. Regardless of how big or dangerous it is, it'll surely go down in just a few good strikes -- or maybe one, even better. He swung his blade.

And it did go down. The Vajra that had been the source of his irritation was at the verge of its death, desperately clawing at the ground. For real, just one last strike and it's over. His comrades nodded at him, a signal for the completion of their mission.

Soma found himself pummeled to the ground, yet again, the Vajra's pained yelp going along with his own. "What the-?!" He rose to his feet, angrily looking back at the assailant. "Killsteal!"

Yuka blew off some smoke from her blast gun. The large wound she had received from the Aragami was nothing now but a mere scratch, the bandages Sakuya had covered it completely out of sight. "Whoever deals the final blow... gets the bed, right?" His blue eyes watched as her God Arc shifted form in a quick pace, now brandishing its predator form. It extended itself towards the monster, stealing its final breath along with its core.

"You cheated!"

Lenka and the others exchanged confused looks.

"You never said anything about how to win, yes?"

Soma was at a loss, and the rest were just damn clueless. He rose, fuming. The core of Knightfall glowed, indicating the absorption of the Vajra's core. "How about we take another round before declaring the mission a success?"

Sometimes, he really hates her and her weird ways. What annoyed him more was Kota being too noisy for his liking, inquiring about how quick Yuka was able to resume work. The wound, a spring of blood a while ago, had been reduced to nothing but a red mark. Even her was struggling to both explain and keep the Managarm Project a secret. Wouldn't this Kota just shut up? He was leading both Sakuya and Lenka to become intrigued and curious. "I'll just tell the story when we get back home, alright?" Even though she was physically healed, she was still beat up, and tired.

The scouting was about to come to an end, when all five of them stopped from their tracks.

"Eh?"