User blog:Yuka Ichinose/God Eater: Infinity Paradise, Chapter 10

What would you do if they die, God Eater?

Engulfed in the darkness, a cold voice questioned from the depths of the void. As she stood, trembling despite not wanting to show, Yuka suddenly felt a quick chill slide down her spine. Not from that deep voice, no, she was not in fear of it, but rather, at the thought of losing her comrades once more, with her being utterly useless and unable to save them. "What... would I do?" She asked, as if in daze. But her heart erupted from a mixture of grief, anger and pain. She wanted to scream at that voice. She wished to declare that she will never let her friends die again. It wasn't fair. Not one bit. Those who deserve to witness peace shouldn't have met such terrible fate. It should have been her.

It should have been...

Her thoughts were pushed back at the deepest parts of her mind, as a strong gust of wind seem to make attempts in toppling her off her feet. Yuka held her arms up to at least deflect it and remain upright, but when she had placed her arms down, she gasped. A wasteland. No other words could be more fitting for a place littered with trash and infested by Vajras. And then there were shots. And voices. Turning around, she found Sakuya and Kota, sending bullets after bullets towards a Vajra, providing support for Alisa and Lenka who were.dealing with the large Aragami with their blades. Her lips parted, but no voice came out of her mouth. Another try yield nothing. Her voice vanished, blown away by that wind.

Having no option but watch, she did, until Kota shot the Vajra down to its final breath, and Sakuya ordering Lenka to hurriedly devour the core. Alisa was running to follow another Vajra.

A deafening silence as the rest of the team followed their Russian recruit.

It was a mistake to even blink, for the next thing Yuka knew, she was standing with Sakuya and her team, watching in shock as a being towering tall and surrounded by a menace fed on the three Vajras that had surrounded the God Eaters. It turned to them with eerie golden eyes, its entire figure emitting an aura that meant destruction. She had seen this Aragami before. In the NORN. The European branch. Although information was limited and incomplete, it was obvious that it is one god that God Eaters need to steer away from.

But escape would be impossible.

She needs her God Arc. The only thing that kept her in sane in front of a terrible enemy. But her hands were empty. Her weapon wasn't present with her. How come she hadn't noticed earlier? What would you do if they die? That very same voice repeated in her head. Is this that heavy feeling from earlier? Was it to say that something as deadly as this was about to happen? Once again, her gut-feeling was right. How come she never believes it?

"Dyaus Pita..." Alisa's voice registered in her ears. Yuka almost lost her balance as Alisa passed through her as if she was some sort of ghost, engaging in a battle with the Aragami. What are you thinking, she wished to scream, but again, there was no voice.

It was a battle that could never be won.

Stop, stop, stop! The words echoed in her mind endlessly. ''Retreat! Retreat! Return to the Den! Don't even try fighting it!'' And yet she was silent. The ground where they stood suddenly erupted, covering them in smoke. Lightning crackled. ''Is this a dream? Or is this really happening?'' Those were just two of the questions that soared her head, as she stared at Sakuya and Kota, paralyzed and immobile after the attack. For some reason, it sent a dread feeling all over her body, and her legs felt wobbly. Across her, Lenka stood, watching her comrades fall in battle. Both Dyaus Pita and Alisa were already out of sight.

''They're not going to die. They're NOT going to die! They can't die! They can't-''

A sudden warmth on her cheek jolted Ichinose Yuka awake, and she found herself staring at a very familiar face. Soma... Soma was just inches away from her. The warmth coursing through her body just now was from his comrade's hand, the back of his index finger just below her eye. Great. She was crying in her sleep. However, the fellow God Eater's face showed no sign of concern. It remained what it always is.

And she was staring right into his eyes.

"We have to go home," were her first words, ruined by her voice cracking halfways as she spoke. "We have to-"

"So now you're ditching the operation?" Came a different voice that was way too familiar. When Soma had retreated to his seat inside the copter, Yuka quickly wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

Just a while ago, in the European branch, she had declared a new operation for a total of 27 God Eaters. Operation: Tornado. Forming five groups in total, five members for each, except for two that will have six. Each must contain a support and a melee. After the sort-out, Yuka's team was consisted of Soma, Claire, Maine and Ivan. One support, two melee, and two that could be in-between. The task? As what Soma says, 'Whatever appears, just slash it to hell.'

"Extract the core of whatever Aragami you could find. Size wouldn't matter. A core is a core, and whatever the size is will be helpful in the construction of the walls. If you deem it is dangerous for you to go forth, then retreat. Find a new target. Steer clear from those that are too much for your level. The goal is to return all twenty seven of you in the European branch."

"We're closing into the target area," reported Claire. The three others stood up and went to take a look.

"How many do you think there are?" Yuka was asked.

She didn't even stand. "About forty or fifty. Ogretails alone. And about ten to fifteen of the same species had already adapted to the cold weather and are impervious to Freeze attacks. Quite a good find, I might add. This is basically just their lair." Her God Arc shifted to its gun form, and Yuka began to fill her cannon-like gun's cartridge with bullets, pushing the cartridge close afterwards and standing up.

"It's impossible to find a place to land..." Their pilot reported.

"We don't have to." As the mission leader, she started to give out the necessary orders. "Listen, they might just be Ogretails, but it is better to remain aware of your environment. Return to the copter if you think you must, especially you, Claire."

"Roger."

"... Ah. Scratch that," she grumbled. "Just stay alive."

From the corner of her eyes, she saw Soma smirk. Oh, great, did she just sound like Lindow right there? The pair caught the rest of the team by surprise when they leaped off the vehicle in unison, drawing all attention of the enemies towards them. Soma spun around with his blade, while Yuka blasted four of the Ogretails off their feet.

At least the enemies were scattered. If they weren't, Soma and Yuka would have both been Aragami chow. "Claire, shoot from the copter. Don't jump down until we've lessened their number." She didn't want to make another dangerous mistake.

A few words and they had discussed their roles: Maine would support Ivan, while Claire would keep their backs covered. Yuka and Soma would watch each other's backs (even if Soma hisses at her that he could work on it alone).

Strong blasts of bullets kept the Aragamis away at a safe distance, while Soma prepared his Charge Crush. Upon release, it destroyed all seven Ogretails clumped in one place. "Whoa..." Maine and Ivan's mouths were agaped.

The male God Eater's voice growled from their earpieces. "Don't just stand there..." Work resumed. "Yuka, keep them at bay. When I say move, move." Is it for another Charge Crush? But without any questions, Yuka complied, sweeping past Soma to do as she was told. "Now, move!" Came his voice, after she had attracted enough number of Ogretails close to her with continuous blade attacks. Upon the orders, she leaped out of the way, just as when a red glow destroyed every bit of life from their enemies. Landing on her two feet, Yuka devoured the cores.

"Show-off," Maine's voice stung right there. Soma hurriedly ran past her, tearing apart with his Sawblade a Fallen Ogretail that was just about to jump on Maine. The next thing the Blast Gunner received was a piercing glare from Far East Branch's Shinigami. "If you have time to jab insults at other people, why don't you focus on the battlefield instead? You are nothing but burdens."

Ivan opened his mouth to make a retort, but was interrupted by Claire from the helicopter, who was just descending from their rope ladder. "Some of the remaining Ogretails are beginning to evolve! One at twelve o'clock!" Her Assault Gun went to work, rapidly firing straight ahead. "Are we here to argue or mass murder Aragamis?"

For a fourteen-year-old, Claire was more mature than all of them combined. Yuka pushed herself forward, almost as if racing with Soma and Ivan. Each blade met a different Ogretail, slashing through their own ways and splattering blood all over the place. They went for another, and another, and another, while Claire and Maine made sure there were plenty of spaces for the blade users to move around. "We've downed them to around ten..." Yuka told Soma when their backs met for a moment to rest. "A quick work, if you ask me." She had devoured all the cores of the mutilated Ogretails, Fallen or not, just before their corpses could disintegrate into a black smoke-like mass. "Shall we get it done?"

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Six.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two. One.

Claire's hand finally left the trigger of her Assault Gun, as she let out a tired sigh. "I think my fingers are numb. I can't fire anymore." She looked back at her companions, each pair emanating an aura that screamed their dislike for the other. The youngest shrugged. Maine had always been angry at Yuka since that incident, for Eustace was her younger brother. Ivan, who is as short-tempered as Soma is, seemed to have grown irritation at the other male, after Soma gave him a strong punch that almost knocked him out of the helicopter while they were soaring the skies. "Phalanx is tired too..." She added, for the sake of breaking the deafening silence that hung low in the cold air.

"Let's get going then, and check how the others are doing."

Their helicopter made a safe landing and Claire hurriedly leapt in with her God Arc. Maine and Ivan followed without a single complain, strapping their weapons to their respective cases. Yuka was about to do the same thing, when Soma grabbed her by the wrist, his eyes narrowing far at the horizon. "Wait." And then his voice raised. "Fly! Now!"

"W-What-? Soma, what are you-?"

Out of panic, their pilot kicked the vehicle to work, and as it left contact with the ground, the male deployed his Tower Shield. Confused and bewildered, the blonde raised her own too.

A humungous missile caused both to stagger backwards, despite their shields deployed. But if they hadn't done that, who knows? They could have been sprawled on the ground now, weak if not yet lifeless. "Another one!" Upon the impact, Yuka lost balance and her weapon flew from her grip, its God Eater falling on the ground. Soma cursed, and placed a finger over his earpiece. "This is a direct order. Return to the base immediately before it notices you and sends another destructive missile." He was perturbed to have received protests.

"We can't do that!" Claire cried.

"We'll ask for another copter to pick us up," it was Yuka, her voice reassuring. "We'll distract this one while you all go. Now, GO!"

A hand helped her stand back up, and the blonde picked up her God Arc. "This is gonna take time... wouldn't it, liebe?" Not too far from where they stood, the head of the Fallen Quadriga slowly came to view. Its deafening roar filled the emptiness of the snow-filled battlefield. "Hey, Soma, you think his tracks got stuck on the snow?"

"Tch, lame."

It's fun working with Soma.

As for now, the thought of Lenka, Sakuya, Alisa and Kota had been pushed at the back of her head.