User blog:One-Eyed Serpent/Untitled GE Fic - Chapter 12 - Mystery Person X!

''Kouta-san and Soma-san are back to their normal selves. Almost too quick, in fact. ''

''… Are they… hiding something? ''

--

It isn’t a few days after that something finally happened. I was having lunch at the Mess Hall when an announcement sounded, and an incredible one at that.

“AT 0730 HOURS TODAY, A PRITHVI MATA CORE HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY EXTRACTED. I REPEAT-“ I paused in amazement, listening to the announcement.

I’ve never seen a Prithvi Mata personally, but I know for a fact that that specie of Aragami is an incredibly powerful Freeze-type, even more powerful than its Vajra variant. I think this is the strongest Freeze Aragami? I’m not sure. Dr. Rachel had given all of us a disk filled with her notes and observations on Aragami – written professionally and cohesively, of course – but with the appearance of Invasive Species, there are bound to be some Aragami which are unknowns.

“Prithvi Mata, huh…” I nearly choked on my spaghetti at Romeo-san’s sudden arrival, the guy sliding into the seat opposite mine. He grinned at me as he handed me a glass of water. “You think we can’t hunt something like that one of these days?”

I gave him a look. “Personally, I’d rather stick to the easy ones…” I muttered. “Fame and glory is nice, but I’d rather keep you guys and myself alive longer.”

Romeo-san hummed, leaning back against the chair.

The next announcement made me choke.

“Dammit, what is it this time??” I don’t care if I sound like some whiny brat. Can’t they call on me without resorting to the public announcements?!

I gave Romeo-san the stink-eye as I got up to leave, the shorter guy sniggering to himself. “Good luck there Hiro.” He said as farewell, and I rolled my eyes, finishing off my drink as I stood up with my tray. I dumped the trash before leaving the door.

To my surprise, Ryuuka-san was outside, though he was busy conversing with a silver haired woman – Licca-san, I remember – enthusiastically.

“Just Guard is simply the best thing that happened to Shield parts, I mean, yeah it’s hard to master, especially in all out brawls, but the pay-off is extremely—Oh, Kamui-kun.” I twitched at the name, though kept silent as Ryuuka-san and Licca-san turned to me. “Ah, Licca, not sure if you two have met, but this is my squad’s Vice-Captain, Hiro Kamui.”

Licca-san gave him a bright smile, before turning to me with a cheerful wave. “We’ve met before; when Hiro here went down to have his God Arc fixed. That reminds me,” She turned to face me and I immediately began to sweat bullets.

When women pin you ‘the look’, better be nervous.

<p class="MsoNormal">“You, young man, need to take care of your God Arc more!” She admonished me, emphasizing her point with a firm, forehead poke. I rubbed the spot, giving her a sheepish look. “All those scratches and nicks made me cry! Be thankful I know how to fix those like putting band-aid on my finger-“

<p class="MsoNormal">“Or smearing your nose with grease- ow.” Licca-san gave Ryuuka-san a none-too-gentle jab with her elbow.

<p class="MsoNormal">“As I was saying, you’re lucky that nothing worse happened to Your God Arc.” She shook her head with an exasperated smile, and I tried to appease her with a grin. “Look after your God Arc better, okay? They’re your patterns for life; it wouldn’t do to simply hack and slash with them.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yes ma’am!” Ryuuka-san didn’t even notice we spoke the same time, and Licca-san and I gave him weird looks for it. Licca-san then shrugged, amused.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Oh well, I shouldn’t keep you guys long. Soma should be tapping his foot repeatedly and scowling at the door by now.” That’s… Informative… “Well, see you guys soon. Oh, Ryuuka-kun, if you wanna have a chat, come find me in the Tech Department, okay?”

<p class="MsoNormal">Ryuuka-san nodded, grinning. “Will do.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Licca-san gave us one last wave, before she turned and left. I glanced at Ryuuka-san, who was also looking at me.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Well, let’s not keep the guy waiting.” I shrugged, then followed the older God Eater.

<p class="MsoNormal">Upon arrival at the Laboratory, I was shocked that Licca-san was spot on. Though she didn’t say that Soma-san’s scowl was very frightening. I did my best not to hide behind Ryuuka-san, who didn’t seem to care about the murderous aura. Actually, he seemed pleased by it. Ryuuka-san is crazy.

<p class="MsoNormal">“So judging by that announcement about the Prithvi… that’s our final member, then?” Ryuuka-san asked, hands in the pockets of his (ridiculously) baggy pants.

<p class="MsoNormal">Soma-san’s eyes narrowed for a moment, before obviously deciding arguing with Ryuuka-san is not worth it, if his exasperated eye-roll is anything to go by. He simply looked at Director Sakaki.

<p class="MsoNormal">Who was gleefully rubbing his hands together like an evil mastermind or something.

<p class="MsoNormal">… What am I thinking about…

<p class="MsoNormal">“Well, well! It seems that the final participant to our little experiment has made themselves known! I’ve taken the liberty of personally preparing what you youngsters would be taking for your overnight stay, and if there’s anything that you feel that you might need, please refer to the list here and put forth requests immediately, hm?” Here, he pulled a small list from inside his clothes, the piece of paper – Director Sakaki is still fascinated by old fashioned thing, it seems -  was accepted by Soma, who looked it over. Apparently he had nothing to add, so passed it onto Ryuuka-san. Same result.

<p class="MsoNormal">It was passed to me.

<p class="MsoNormal">I squinted down at the stupidly small letters, though I shook my head when I finally deciphered the items and found they’re good to go. Well for me, Soma-san and Ryuuka-san. No clue about this ‘mystery person’.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Oh! Before I forget!” The Director stood and leaned over his desk, grin wide while his eyes were narrowed to the point they looked like they’re closed. Wait… I think they are closed… but that’s not the point. He just resumed speaking. “You three should go and fetch your God Arcs and finish up whatever business you have left. We shall regroup here in half an hour with the last member present for final instructions, and off you kids go! Now, shoo!”

<p class="MsoNormal">That was our dismissal, and though we really weren’t required to, Ryuuka-san and I still snapped off a salute, while Soma-san didn’t even bother, before leaving to ‘go about our businesses’.

<p class="MsoNormal">It was a little bit hard to track down every single member of Blood, so Ryuuka-san and I opted to fetch our God Arcs first, and then look for the others. Nana was in the Lounge with Ciel, playing with Kalbi the Capybara.

<p class="MsoNormal">Romeo-san was in the Hangar too, so he was the easiest one to find.

<p class="MsoNormal">Gil-san, apparently, was asked by Kouta-senpai earlier to a mission with the other members of his 1st Unit, so he’s obviously unavailable. Shame – on Ryuuka-san’s part, and hooray – on my part. No body to call me ‘Baby Captain’, hahaha!

<p class="MsoNormal">A-ahem, Captain was in his room all this time, much to our frustration, as our route took us all the way down to the Hangar (16 floors down), Lounge (10 floors up), running around looking for Gil-san (4-7 floors, I think), and then finally back to the Blood Floor.

<p class="MsoNormal">Captain merely raised his eyebrows when we complained at him for not announcing his presence. When he blandly pointed out that his door was open all this time, I smacked myself in the forehead and Ryuuka tried for a jump kick, only to receive the hardbound to the face.

<p class="MsoNormal">We left, and were kinda pleased to find we’re the first ones to arrive. Our God Arcs – in their ‘coffins’, of course – looked kind of ominous, standing there in the corner in their glory with their plain black paint and towering figures. Directory Sakaki didn’t mind, though, so I guess its okay.

<p class="MsoNormal">Soma-san finally arrived, though he wasn’t alone. Behind him was a small figure, vibrant hair – almost white, to be honest – very, very much eye-catching.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Brought the brat here.” Soma-san didn’t sound happy, though he seemed a bit satisfied. At what, I have no clue. As usual.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Really! Even at this age, you still refer to me as a child?” The voice was obviously female, and when Soma-san moved aside to plunk down on the couch my observation was… very confirmed.

<p class="MsoNormal">A platinum blonde woman – in her late teens, if I would have to guess – with Cradle’s unique white-and-gold color scheme for her… er, vest with red plaid skirt, along with a small beret sitting stop her head.

<p class="MsoNormal">I winced when someone stepped on my foot, and when I turned to the side I saw Ryuuka-san give me a wolfish grin before doing a gesture that mean ‘eyes up’. I looked away, mortification at being accused of looking at… where I shouldn’t be and embarrassment. Goddamn one-eyed.

<p class="MsoNormal">The girl saluted, heels clicking together as she spoke in a prim voice.

<p class="MsoNormal">“2nd Generation God Eater, Alisa Illichina Amiella reporting for Mobile Corps Cradle!” She lowered her arm, though she kept she posture straight and in position. “As per request from Acting Director Paylor Sakaki, I am to accompany God Eaters Lt. Soma Schicksal, SSgt. Ryuuka Izanami and V-Cap. Hiro Kamui on operation ‘Generations of God Eaters’. I look forward to working with you.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Silence hung in the air for a moment, before Soma-san surprisingly snorted. “What’s with the introduction?”

<p class="MsoNormal">The Alisa girl turned to Soma-san, and an expression that’s kind of a crossbreed from embarrassment and indignation on her face. “Lindow-san told me it would be good to make good first impressions! Don’t tell me otherwise!” She protested.

<p class="MsoNormal">I noticed… that her name and accent is definitely not that of a Japanese, yet she used ‘-san’ to refer to this ‘Lindow-san’… Oh, wait, never mind. Soma-san called me ‘-kun’ once, so I guess it’s just a thing.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Fine, fine, whatever you say.” Soma-san turned to Director Sakaki, who was watching the proceedings with poorly-hidden amusement. “So, we’re all here Old Man. Speak up.”

<p class="MsoNormal">The man nodded, pushing his eyeglasses up his nose. “Very well. Now that everyone is here – thank you Alisa-kun for coming on such a short notice – I’d like to go over some rules before you depart. First and for most; play nice to everyone, hm? For two days and a single night, you shall be teammates and thus the only ones you can rely on for the duration of the mission.”

<p class="MsoNormal">All of us responded affirmatively, and Director Sakaki nodded in satisfaction.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Wonderful, wonderful! Second order of business; as much as possible, do not stray from your campsite exceeding 5km, and only engage Aragami in the immediate vicinity. Yes, in order for us to gather data, we need authentic combat setting to bring out your full potentials, but I’d rather not risk your necks for that.” Director then straightened up, Eyes opening a fraction to look at us sharply. “Lastly… If one of you are rendered incapacitated while on the mission, everyone – every single one – of you are to prioritize getting back behind the wall.

<p class="MsoNormal">Do not let your pride or demands for revenge cloud your judgment; in fact, it would be good to keep your emotions in check while in missions like this. You and your teammates’ safety are always the top priority.” The one speaking was the Director, not the Doctor, and his serious voice told us that this was really an order and not a request.

<p class="MsoNormal">I nodded, equally serious. That was always my line of thought. The lives of people before mission. Withdrawing is sometimes the best tactic, after all.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Good!” And the cheerful Doctor is back, clapping his hands enthusiastically.”Now, off you go, then! I wish you success on your mission!”

<p class="MsoNormal">This time all of us saluted, and we left the Director’s office.

<p class="MsoNormal">I guess this is where we say ‘let’s get this party started’, right? But nonetheless, I couldn’t help being excited and gleeful.

<p class="MsoNormal">First mission as the Vice-Captain involve staying outside the wall for a night? Just awesome.

<p class="MsoNormal">--

<p class="MsoNormal">I’m surprised that I was able to write this chapter in less than 6 hours. While I was grinding my Pokémons to face off with the Elite Four one more time. Huh.

<p class="MsoNormal">Aaaaand I ended up writing Alisa! I guess the guys could appear at a later date, as this fic is severely lacking in females. Ciel, Nana, Alisa… Hm.

<p class="MsoNormal">And points to anyone who can figure out the reference :D

<p class="MsoNormal">P.S: Random question: If Hiro were to be given a color theme, what would it be? The in-game color scheme was… maroon, right? (frogs I have no clue what that is D:)