User blog:Yuka Ichinose/God Eater: Infinity Paradise, Chapter 18

"Alright. We'll take one last look inside and then we could all head back to Den." Lindow Amamiya said in his usual laid back tone, something she had grown accustomed to over the short time she had spent in the Far East. "You guys keep watch outside, okay? Won't take long." He held his God Arc in one hand, a cigarette on the other, and disappeared behind the ruins of the old church, Alisa Amiella trailing close by.

Kota started to stretch a few limbs. "Man, that was tiring, wasn't it? I'll go watch Bugarally when we get home to relieve myself off some stress." He flashed his teammates that cheery grin he was known for.

"But don't forget your assignments on Dr. Sakaki's lectures," Sakuya reminded him, earning a small pout. She then turned to Lenka, who simply nodded in response.

Soma was silent in his own spot, looking around for any Aragami, big or small, that might come across. Well, what else is new? Yuka caught his eyes fixated somewhere, squinting ever so slightly, before pulling his gaze back with a small 'che'. "And he said he won't take long," he grumbled a complain. Still hadn't changed.

There's always a calm before the storm... She was told during her first months of training in Europe. It is important that you're always prepared. The Unit Leader's warm smile was still ingrained in her head, even if it was already years ago. It's better paranoid than dead. The more she looked back to it, the more she slipped away from the present. Her comrades' voices were growing faint in her ears, almost like they were just inaudible whispers of some rookie God Eaters behind her, as her team were being briefed for a mission.

The battlefield is cruel. It was the one thing that differs between Lindow and Ash, their Unit Leader. Ash speaks with utter seriousness and authority, and every conquest is business for her. Once you are tired and cornered, unable to regroup or even find a room to breathe, shaking in fear for your lives and desperate for survival...

Yuka felt a sudden tug at her heart. She momentarily glanced at the building behind her, as if a certain, unnamed force was calling her inside -- pulling her in like a black hole. Her fingers shivered at that nerving feeling, causing her God Arc to shake slightly in her grip. What was that? "Hey, chill down," Sakuya told her, probably noticing how tensed the blonde was.

But that tug only grew stronger. The desire to explore what was making her this uneasy only urged her even more. "Sakuya, I think-"

... That's when it will bare its deadly fangs.

She found herself being grabbed in one arm, physically pulled away from where her shaking knees once stood. Loud roars followed by gunshots then registered to her ears, along with Soma telling her to "Stay on guard, dammit!" He raised his shield, deflecting the paw that was to pounce on them. Three Vajras, feminine in appearance and with blue capes instead, still as deadly and vicious as the other kind, had surrounded their group. It seemed that their attacks were attributes of freeze rather than spark. Lenka was barely able to hold his ground against the female Vajra's continuous icicle attacks, Kota behind him providing support as he fired. "What's taking Lindow too long?!" The Bugarally fan yelled, his own gun working non-stop.

Soma swung his blade at one of the Aragamis, but it quickly evaded the attack. "If we don't get back, we'll be killed!"

And there was a loud explosion behind them. "What was that?!" They asked. Perfect. They're already panicking outside with all these new Aragamis suddenly appearing from nowhere, and something else has to happen inside too? Best day of their lives.

"Alisa! What have you done?!" The Vice Captain's voice echoed through the emptiness of the building. "Lindow!"

"What's going on in there?" Lenka asked. All four of them wished to know the answer to his question, but the Vajras around them kept them occupied for the time being. In the midst of gears clicking, gun shooting, blades slicing through Oracle cells by Oracle cells, them screaming at one another, and the Aragamis howling and roaring at them, they could make out Sakuya's yelling voice, and a bit of Alisa's as well. Yuka found no chance to see what was happening, for a second to turn back from the enemy means death. "Hurry up!" Soma was saying at those inside.

This time, it was the blonde who took command, "Kota, Lenka, go get them! We'll hold them off!" She furiously pushed the magazine into its chamber, firing a Shadow Haze at that one Aragami that was to leap at the pair, the action nearly knocking her back due to recoil. She caught sight of Soma glaring at her, probably wanting to say Hold them off, your ass! Completely setting it aside for later, she went to cover for them. One swift swing of the buster blade caused the large beast to stagger and howl in rage. And then she released another Shadow Haze. It didn't do much as it does to a normal Vajra, but that was better than nothing, yes?

Both found themselves being forced to step back closer to the building where the others are, with Yuka realizing how right Soma was. The voices from inside were much clearer now, as they drew nearer and nearer. "Get Alisa and return to the Den, damn you!" It was Lindow, annoyance present in every word he spoke. "That's an order!"

"We can't leave you behind!" She was saying, though she doubt he heard from behind those rubble. "Are you stupid?" Everybody else had the same thoughts. But they all know that if they don't go out sooner, all hell will break loose. None of them would return to Den in one piece. Yuka raised her shield to deflect more of those icicles, but as soon as she lowered it, she found another one leaping towards her. "Fick," she cursed.

Soma had never seen anybody do that. In the midst of the chaos, he got the rare second to take a breath and watch. The Oracle Cells keeping its feminine face intact had completely been unbound by a mere punch of Yuka's bare left fist. Lindow had, he'd witnessed, blocked attacks from a Kongou with only his bare hands, but never unbound the Oracle Cells. Even with Yuka's status as an Aragami hybrid, he never thought it was actually doable. The beast growled in a mix of pain and anger, its rage further fueled with Yuka hitting it once more on the face with a strong Charge Crush.

"Sakuya, let's go!" Kota was shouting, attempting to pull the Vice Captain from where she stood. Lenka was there, carrying a rather dazed Alisa on his back. "Sakuya!"

Not like we all had a choice.

Yuka threw in a stun grenade.

The ride home was silent, and the air around them was heavy and in gloom. Even Kota, who was the moodmaker of the First Unit, had his head hanging low. Sakuya was sitting on the driver's seat, Lenka by her side. "He surely will come back, right?" Kota finally said, though there was no sign of assurance in his voice. "I mean, he's Lindow." None of them spoke a single word in response.

Even if Lindow does comeback unscathed, Yuka still felt like they, his entire Unit, had just betrayed him by leaving him there all alone. Maybe... Maybe if Alisa's trauma didn't suddenly attack, or if they hadn't fought a Vajra before that, or if Lindow and Alisa hadn't been there in the first place, nothing would have gone wrong! They could have helped Lindow and return to the Den as a complete team. It was too late to hold back a sob. The only thing left to do was to hug her knees like a child and silently cry, wishing for everything to eventually become alright.

Even after they had arrived to the Den and Tsubaki had assured that the Search Unit will try twice as hard finding the beacon and God Arc, nothing changed, as that heavy air continued to wrap around each of them. Alisa, who was still suffering trauma, was taken to the Sick Bay for the time being... again.

Soma grunted a small sigh, finding anything else his eyes could wander over to. He'd been in that kind of position for about half an hour now, after Yuka had really cried herself to sleep on his chest. "Hey, Yuka..." He had done that about four times already, but fuck, she slept like a rock after a long session of sobbing and crying and blaming herself for what happened when she shouldn't even. If anything else, it was his fault, being the damn cursed grim reaper he was. His fingers gently ran through the strands of her golden locks, the other unconsciously leaning into the touch.

He's tired as well, like everybody else. Physically and mentally, and so damn tired of losing comrades in the battlefield. That damn Lindow, giving out orders he could not himself follow. It's just not fair. If he'd been the one trapped in there, it wouldn't have mattered. He could just die there alone and the world could forget he ever existed. That will be much better. His lips gently pressed themselves against the top of her head, his nose brushing lightly against her hair. His arms took the liberty of moving on their own, wrapping around her torso.

His eyes then slowly drifted off to sleep.