User blog:One-Eyed Serpent/Untitled GE Fic - Chapter 7 - Sudden Suddenness

''“What a weirdo.” Well said, Gil-san. Well said. ''

--

So.

Emil von Strasbourg.

The only word to describe the guy is… eccentric. Well, eccentric in a funny way for me, at least. Gil-san can never be found in the same place as him (or if it were, Gil-san was quick to about-face and go to another place), Romeo-san didn’t change, Nana didn’t notice (how did she not?!) and Captain… Well, he’s rather laidback about it, so I think he’s good.

Apparently, Emil-san is here as an envoy from the Main Branch. To personally witness The Special God Eater Unit Blood in action, from what he said. Dr. Rachel privately explained to us that Emil-san’s purpose (or rather, the secret side to it) is to report whether if Blood are defected God Eaters, or we are the real deal. If we are danger to humanity, or if we are a boon to it.

There have been many researchers that wanted to produce ‘improved’ God Eaters before Dr. Rachel discovered P66 Bias Factor, but all of those other attempts resulted in either dead people, or people turning into infected Aragami. I still feel a cold chill slither down my back every time I think of that, and from that moment on I thanked that Dr. Rachel was successful in her endeavors.

So far, missions with Emil-san are funny, seeing as he kept raving on and on about ‘justice’ and ‘for humanity’s victory’ and whatnot. He’s a Boost Hammer user to, so our job gets easier, especially in mass extermination jobs (never, ever bring Emil-san on a stealth mission).

There’s this one time I went on a mission with Gil-san and Emil-san, our target was an Ukonvasara I think, and that stupid lizard won’t appear! Then suddenly Gil-san heard a scream - girly-sounding he said – and we rushed off to where it came from.

Only to find Emil-san preaching to the Ukonvasara. I’m shocked that the Aragami didn’t even try to eat Emil-san right then and there – not that I want that –but just simply looking at the guy. Maybe the Aragami was also weirded out? Most likely.

Then Emil-san tried to attack, got smacked, attacked again, got smacked some more, on and on the cycle went.

Admittedly, I was too amused to try and help Emil-san, since he wasn’t even in danger. So when Gil-san tried to help (“Che, this idiot will be the death of us if this would go on.”) I stopped him, explaining that Emil-san needs this to ‘find himself’.

Yes, I had used the air quotes.

I just pulled that out of my butt, a lame excuse to continue watching, but voila! Gil-san and Emil-san believed it! I cracked up internally at that day.

But suddenly… boom, Emil-san went and killed the Ukonvasara.

I don’t know whether to be happy for him, or freaked out.

<p class="MsoNormal">Well, enough about the past week. Today is a normal day, just coming back from a mission with the whole Blood (plus Emil-san) from the Dead City, where a lone Chi-You have been loitering about. Well, used to.

<p class="MsoNormal">We’re here in the chopper; me, Captain and Gil-san on one side, Nana, Emil-san and Romeo-san on the other. It’s a good thing we’re wearing headphones, since the pilot was kind enough to play music privately into our headsets so we could tune out Emil-san’s long-winded and random speeches.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Home in 30 seconds, kiddies. You can chill now.” Yay, just in time for dinner! The cafeteria lady should be serving chicken soup rations tonight, which is my favorite.

<p class="MsoNormal">And a nice, warm soup was a good food to end a tiresome day, which was actually common for God Eaters. Even though Blood got it a little harder than most, bless Dr. Rachel’s kind, compassionate heart for letting us taking every weekend off, unlike other who only other weekends. Mind you, we could still go on missions if we want, but we’re not really pressed to do it, since the Reserve Battalion would be taking over on those days, or the God Arc Soldiers would be deployed.

<p class="MsoNormal">Our casual chattering was interrupted when Captain’s mobile phone rang, and we immediately fell silent. If Captain’s phone rings, it’s a sure thing that Dr. Rachel is calling him, and bearing important news, in fact.

<p class="MsoNormal">Putting it on loud speaker, he spoke aloud for all of us to hear, even Gil-san, who looked on in curiosity. “What is it?” Captain asked in a polite tone.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Ah, good, you’ve answered immediately.” Came Dr. Rachel’s reply, and the satisfaction was evident in her voice. “Please gather Blood and head up to the Director General’s Office immediately. You will be given a ‘special’ mission by General Gremsroi. That is all.”

<p class="MsoNormal">That… was weird. Usually, Dr. Rachel gives more detailed mission description – leaving none unexplained – but the barebones she gave us just now was somewhat unsettling. Just what is this… ‘special’ mission of the General…?

<p class="MsoNormal">My thoughts were echoed by the others, even Captain as he gave his phone a bewildered look.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Well…” He trailed off, before clearing his throat and continuing in a more even and familiar tone of assuredness. “You’ve heard her. Emil, if you would excuse-“

<p class="MsoNormal">“Nonsense!” Emil-san cut in, and I stared at him. Even now he still manages to creep me out. “Need not to worry about me! Carry on to your Director; as the good lady Dr. Claudius has spoken! We do meet at other times, do we not? So I shall assuage your worries with my encouragement!”

<p class="MsoNormal">Okay… I only understood half of it, to be honest. Not that I’m not uneducated, but there’s a few words that I have no clue what they meant. They’re just too… argh, I give up.

<p class="MsoNormal">Captain dipped his head in acknowledgment of Emil-san’s words, a cue for the man to take his leave with an enthusiastic farewell. After that, we boarded another elevator, Captain pressing a button that would take us all the way to the Upper Floors, where the receiving offices of the Claudius Sisters and The Director General’s Main Office is located. We didn’t do a detour to Dr. Rachel’s office – as we often do on most days – and that proved to be a good move, seeing as not only was the General is in the office, but also the Doctors and a young woman (I noticed she could be no older than Nana or I) with peach colored long hair, and wide olive eyes.

<p class="MsoNormal">Huh, who’s she?

<p class="MsoNormal">“E-eh?! Yuno Ashihara?!” I only noticed now that Romeo-san was frozen at the doorway, mouth hanging open and eyes blown wide. He looked he seen a ghost.

<p class="MsoNormal">Wait, did he say ‘Yuno’-

<p class="MsoNormal">“Show some shred of decorum, boy!” The General barked harshly, making me flinch as Blood fell into a single file, arrayed in front of the General. Romeo-san stepped up hastily beside me, head down in shame and his reddening ears a sign of it.

<p class="MsoNormal">I bit my lip.

<p class="MsoNormal">I never understood why the General has this dislike for Blood. He seemed very cordial with the sisters (fond of Dr. Leah, even, which caused a certain guy to have heart attack because of it) but never their respective charges, and by extension, a bit of Blood. Was it jealousy? That’s the only thing that comes to mind when I think of why the General doesn’t like us, but I could be wrong.

<p class="MsoNormal">Hopefully not, nothing is set in stone.

<p class="MsoNormal">The General let out a loud, condescending ‘tsk’, before turning to the girl who is apparently ‘Yuno Ashihara’ (the singer Romeo-san idolizes, if I remember his ramblings correctly). But to be honest… She doesn’t look like an idol, with the simple (if a little drab in color) dress and colored glass bead necklaces adorning her neck, left wrist and right ankle.

<p class="MsoNormal">For a supposed ‘idol’, she sure looks too normal. I was expecting… presence and eye-catching stuff or whatever.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Miss Yuno, please forgive them; they’re just kids and all that-“

<p class="MsoNormal">“Oh, no, no!” Ahh,  I see. While Miss Yuno’s voice is soft, it was no way weak-sounding. I think I get why Romeo-san idolizes her by a little bit, because till now, I’ve yet to hear a song she sang. “It’s no trouble, really!” She had protested, glancing at us (at Romeo-san in particular, I’ve noticed. Oho~) with an apologetic smile.

<p class="MsoNormal">The rotund man sitting behind the expensive half-circle desk heaved a heavy sigh, and he fixed every single one of us a hard glare, making us know whatever he’ll be saying next is very important. It goes without saying that if ever we failed, questioned him or decline, he’ll be ‘having our ass like a witch with a “B”’, as Ryuuka-san said. It’s crude, but…

<p class="MsoNormal">“You lot will be assigned to guard and escort Miss Yuno here all the way to the Fenrir Far East Main Branch. I would rather have her travel with us, but people need Miss Yuno immediately.” That… Was a strange request. So the escort part- “Tomorrow, Blood will move out with Miss Yuno in exactly 1200 hours, to go straight ahead to Anagura on a land-based vehicle. Transporting Miss Yuno shall be top priority.” The General gestured with his hand, and it seemed that Dr. Rachel shall be taking the stage. Whew, better her than him, honestly.

<p class="MsoNormal">She pressed something on her the armrests of her chair, and suddenly a hologram appeared was projected over the desk. I recognized the seed-like figures in the fuzzy image as Zygotes. And… I winced. Here was a lot. Not just the ten-twenty Blood would often encounter in mass exterminations, but rather hundreds of the Aragami were in the image.

<p class="MsoNormal">I saw larger figures – a humanoid looking Aragami that seemed to be wearing a dress (… but why?) – at the edges of the image, and I felt a little weak in the knees when I think I’m getting why Dr. Rachel showed us this picture.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Recent Aragami activity showed mass movements towards the southwest, for reason yet to be known. In any case, this never before seen ‘migration’ takes the Aragami perilously close to FRIAR’s. Aragami of this number is simply and utterly impossible to eliminate, even if we deploy every single God Eater and God Arc Soldiers and request complete assistance from the Main Branch.” The Doctor paused to let her words sink and the gravity of the situation make itself clear. “Blood’s objective is to safely escort Miss Ashihara to the Main Branch separately from FRIAR, which will be taking a longer route to avoid the oncoming Aragami. Prioritize escaping from exterminating.”

<p class="MsoNormal">We, Blood, chorused an affirmative. If anyone noticed that our affirmative was stronger (by a little, but still) when we responded to Dr. Rachel than the General, no one commented.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Good, you lot are dismissed.” Dr. Leah stood off to the side, beckoning us to follow her. We said our farewells to the General and Dr. Rachel first though, along with Miss Yuno – Romeo-san did his with well-hidden enthusiasm – before turning on our heels to follow Dr. Leah.

<p class="MsoNormal">Instead of her office, we entered Dr. Rachel’s, where the red-haired woman directed us to sit in the couch. Good thing all of us are sticks, because we fit in just snuggly, like a bunch of kids squeezing in just for the fun of it. Though looking at Gil-san and Captain, we’re not exactly kids, are we?

<p class="MsoNormal">“First off; Romeo,” Blue-violet eyes pinned Romeo-san a hard look, and the blonde flinched, ducking his head. “I know you’re a fan of Miss Yuno, but please, retain your professionalism, at least in the General’s presence. Don’t do it again, okay?” The rebuke was not harsh, but firm enough to get the warning across.

<p class="MsoNormal">Romeo-san nodded, his ears going red once again. “Yes ma’am.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Dr. Leah nodded, satisfied, and this time she addressed us as a whole, her voice serious. “Normally, we wouldn’t do something like this, but Miss Yuno is a vital key in keeping the people’s morale up. She may just be a singer, but in truth she’s more than that.” Romeo-san was nodding enthusiastically, so I think he gets what the Doctor was saying. “The masses need a person to see as a beacon of light, an embodiment of hope. That’s what Miss Yuno is. But I believe the General and Rachel have stressed the importance of your mission earlier, so I wouldn’t say more about that, making everything redundant.” She waved a hand, as if physically dismissing the topic. The motion seemed familiar, and with a little internal laugh, I realized that Ryuuka-san does the same hand motion often.

<p class="MsoNormal">“For this mission, all of you who still have Rank 2 God Arcs shall be given special permission to have an advanced Artificial CNS upgrade ahead of the supposed Rank you need to obtain in order to acces this level of Core. It’s a permanent upgrade, but be warned that an unfamiliar Core is prone to rebelling. Take caution in using your God Arcs and you’ll be fine.”

<p class="MsoNormal">‘Prone to rebelling’?? Why does that sound ominous? I raised my hand tentatively, and Dr. Leah nodded for me to speak. “Um… ‘prone to rebelling’…? Does that mean it might… Devour us, Doctor?”

<p class="MsoNormal">She shrugged. “Yes.” I felt myself get drained of blood, and seeing the others’ reaction made me a lot more scared. “But you pretties are special snowflakes, so don’t worry much, hm? A 3rd Generation God Eater has higher compatibility rate with their Matched Bias Factor, and that means you’ll be able to adapt to your God Arc soon enough, without worrying about being Devoured.”

<p class="MsoNormal">I swallowed, thanking every single holy deity I could remember for that fact.

<p class="MsoNormal">“So to put it simply; just treat our God Arcs the way we always do.” Captain surmised, which earned a pleased look from the Doctor.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Correct. Now,” She clapped twice, a signal for us to stand. “Hiro, Nana, Gilbert; would you follow me to the Hangar we shall be having your upgrades.” Dr. Leah must’ve caught my immediate glance towards Captain and Romeo-san, because she suddenly said. “Ah, don’t worry about the big boys; they’ve advanced their weapons farther than you three. Now, march.”

<p class="MsoNormal">So we did, and I mouthed a farewell to Captain and Romeo-san as we left.

<p class="MsoNormal">--

<p class="MsoNormal">3 upgrades, 5 test sessions, 1 dinner, and 30 minutes later, Blood was reassembled in Dr. Rachel’s office with…

<p class="MsoNormal">A new Blood member.

<p class="MsoNormal">A ''new. Blood. MEMBER. ''

<p class="MsoNormal">Ciel Alencon is her name, a God Eater at 16 years old (whoa, younger than me and Nana!) and apparently Captain’s former bodyguard and a more practical Sniper than Ryuuka-san, who only uses his God Arc’s Gun form if the target is far away; never less than 250 meters between him and the Aragami.

<p class="MsoNormal">Ciel had been raised in a militaristic fashion (evident by her greeting a few moments earlier and the way she held herself), and had been working in the American Branch before being transferred here to FRIAR when a Match had been found.

<p class="MsoNormal">Along with her arrival, was Blood completion as a Squad. Proper ranking for us (except for Captain, who is – duh – already ranked) would be moved at a later date, once Ryuuka-san is back from Glasgow. Why? I have no clue.

<p class="MsoNormal">But anyway, Dr. Rachel was quietly talking to the white-haired girl to the side, and I looked up when Captain tapped me on the shoulder, drawing me out of my thoughts.

<p class="MsoNormal">“May I ask you a favor?” I blinked in surprise at the peculiar opening words, but nonetheless managed to nod my agreement. “Ciel is… Though I’ve grown up with Ciel as a constant presence, we’ve never really been friends; acquaintances at best. What I’m trying to say is please befriend her, you and Nana. She’s a good girl, but lonely.”

<p class="MsoNormal">That’s an… odd request. Apparently it must’ve shown on my face what I was thinking, because Captain quietly cleared his throat, a faint red hue to his cheeks. Uwaah. I’d thought I’d never see the day that Captain would be ''embarrassed. ''

<p class="MsoNormal">“It’s not that I’m pushing her onto you, but the two of you are well-versed in socializing, along with Romeo.” He explained. “I’ll also try to reconnect with Ciel on friendlier terms – not as protector and charge – but it’s best that I leave her to your hands, Hiro.”

<p class="MsoNormal">I gave Captain a careful look. “… Permission to speak, Cap.” I began. He blinked several times, surprised, but nodded nonetheless. “Are you admitting in a very roundabout way that you’re no good in social stuff?”

<p class="MsoNormal">I couldn’t help myself, and my face broke with a grin when Captain averted his eyes. I smothered a snicker behind my hand. “Don’t worry, Captain, you can leave Ciel with us,” I promised. I wasn’t like wasn’t planning on to, anyway, but I guess I could take Captain’s words as a blessing or something.

<p class="MsoNormal">Captain gave me a grateful smile and a pat on the shoulder. “Thank you.”

<p class="MsoNormal">I took a bold move and returned the gesture, but when the corners of Captain’s mouth only twitched upwards even more, I smiled myself. “That’s what squad mates are for.”

<p class="MsoNormal">--

<p class="MsoNormal">''I. Am. DONE.''

<p class="MsoNormal">Oh my god this was late because as I’ve said before; FFType-0. Damn game overflowing with feels. Ugh, why did I play it just to cry? *smacks forehead*

<p class="MsoNormal">Anyways, BOOM! Gang is complete, bwahahaha! And the plot; shall move! And for the record, this was kinda improvised, since I forgot (how the hell did that happen) that you meet Yuno before Gil arrived in-game. Ugh. Anyways, my improvisation skills haven’t failed me, and gave me a rather brilliant way to insert Ciel and introduce Yuno! Hah! Take that, inconsistent and forgetful mind!

<p class="MsoNormal">Ja na!

<p class="MsoNormal">--

<p class="MsoNormal">''“Saa… hajimemashou ka? ''

<p class="MsoNormal">--