User blog:One-Eyed Serpent/Untitle GE Fic - Chapter 2 - Izanami-san is a Pilot?!

“Welcome, to the Birthplace of the God Devouring Soldiers.”

-

“Ahahaha! Overdramatic today, Ryuuka?” Romeo-san asked, throwing his head back and laughed out loud, clutching his stomach as he bent over in mirth. Izanami-san’s grin widened, hands coming to rest on his hips.

“I was going to say something like ‘welcome to the crib’, as these bad boys behind me-“ He jerked his head in the direction of the R&D. “-are practically given birth here.” He turned to face the towering machines, arms spread.

“These wonderful children are simply beautiful!” He proclaimed with as much devotion as a fanatic. Our Captain chuckled.

“You’re starting to sound like Dr. Rachel, Ryuuka.” He cautioned, and Izanami-san ran a gloved hand through his hair, a crooked grin on his face.

“Heh, am I really? Anyways, I see you’ve brought fresh blood here.” He paused, and then chuckled. “No pun intended.” He added.

Huh… He did.

Nana straightened, saluting Izanami-san who looked at her in surprise. “Greetings, Ryuuka-senpai! My name is Nana Kouzuki, and I look forward to working with you!” She greeted. Or yelled. Wow, Nana can be loud.

Izanami-san approached and I discreetly inched away, as he towered over Nana, his only visible eye squinting down at her. “Hoh, we got a kitty?” He asked, glancing over his shoulder at Romeo-san and Captain Julius. “I wonder if the nyanko knows how to unsheathe and use her pretty little claws. Can you Nyanko-chan? Or are you just for show?”

I gulped, eyebrows furrowing. Isn’t… Izanami-san being mean…?

“I-I know how to use it, you know!” Nana protested, her cheeks all puffed up and her hands clenched at her sides. “I’m no scaredy cat!”

Izanami-san was practically motionless as he stared at Nana, and Romeo-san and Captain Julius were staring disbelievingly. And then there’s me, sweating bullets as I waited for the axe to fall.

The opposite happened, though.

Izanami-san laughed, bringing a hand up and patting Nana on the head, almost gently. It was my turn to stare disbelievingly. Nana blinked in surprise, touching her head when Izanami-san had pulled away to walk down the narrow catwalk off to the side, followed by an amused blonde duo. Okay, what?!

“Okay, okay. Kitty-chan can fight. Good to know.” He chuckled, glancing back at us as me and Nana hurried to catch up. “Let’s just hope you and Eiyu-kun can keep your words once you’re faced scarier monsters.”

<p class="MsoNormal">I frowned at the ‘Eiyu’ bit. For one, just because my name is ‘Hiro’, which is extremely similar to the English word ‘hero’, doesn’t mean I’m an ‘Eiyu’. If anything, I’m just a simple guy who got lucky and got assigned to Blood, the Special Forces of FRIAR.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Oh yeah, Julie, Rachel-hakase and Leah-hakase are waiting for you guys at the Monitoring Room.” Izanami-san suddenly said as we passed a God Arc Soldier being repaired; the upper torso appeared to have been bitten by something with a large mouth. Maybe a Gboro-type? The holes are rather jagged, just like what I’ve seen in the Gboro-Gboro’s mouth we fought the other day. “And bring popcorn with you.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Captain sighed, shaking his head. “One; stop calling me ‘Julie’, and two; why?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“I’ll be taking the kiddies for a fieldtrip. Small pack of Kongous led by a Fierce Kongou and its right hand Fallen Kongou spotted by the Scouting Unit in the Dead City.” Izanami-san answered, casually returning a salute given to him by one of the personnel we passed by. Huh… So Izanami-san is a high-ranked guy, then? “Extermination Squads One and Two were originally the ones that should take care of the monkeys, but Leah-hakase managed to convince General Gremsroi to use the Soldiers. This is just a test run for the new upgrades installed, which you’ll see in the live-feed demonstration straight from my optics.” He added with a grin, tapping the corner of his right eye.

<p class="MsoNormal">Wait… What?

<p class="MsoNormal">“I see.” Was all the older man said.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Well, this here is where we part. I’ll be initiating Merge soon so you guys better head on up.” The ‘up’ he referred to was the flight of stairs to his left, leading up to a large room with a view overlooking the whole R&D department. I looked back at Izanami-san, who had moved to the side to quietly talk with Captain without us noticing.

<p class="MsoNormal">Whatever they were talking about, it seemed very serious, judging from their expressions.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Oi, you two, c’mon!” I looked towards the stairs, and saw Romeo-san already striding up the steps, stopping only to call down at us. “Tick-tock, people!”

<p class="MsoNormal">Nana wasted no time in skipping up the stairs, while I follow more sedately. Hm, Captain doesn’t seem to be finishing soon, I guess I’ll just go on ahead. I hope he doesn’t take offence.

<p class="MsoNormal">Upon entering the Monitoring Room – so many consoles, wow – what Izanami-san said was true; Dr. Rachel was there, along with a red haired woman who I assumed to be Dr. Leah was waiting for us. Captain Julius joined us after a while, when the announcements of ‘Merge in 100 seconds!’ along with ‘all systems checked and ready’ and the occasional ‘part something is A-okay and in perfect condition’ began.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Merge complete! Initializing Sensory Link channels and clearing auto-pilot prompts. Soldier ‘Shuuten Douji’ is ready to mobilize!” Then that’s when we saw it; a God Arc Soldier slightly different from the one’s we’ve seen.

<p class="MsoNormal">It was the same size and bulk as the others, but instead of the blacks, grays, and chrome colors of the ones we’ve seen, this one had red streaks on it, like war paint I’ve seen on a picture about an ancient warrior, nearly a thousand years ago. It was standing at the head of a dozen regular God Arc Soldiers, facing a large door. The way it stood was also different, straighter, and more human.

<p class="MsoNormal">A smaller screen appeared to the side of the main viewing one, and there were two point-of-view camera’s, one showing us Izanami-san inside his Soldier – is he sleeping?! – and the other showing us the coarse surface of the door the mobilized Soldiers were facing.

<p class="MsoNormal">Ohhh, so that’s what he meant about the ‘live-feed demonstration straight from my optics’ statement earlier huh. This is very amazing, but…

<p class="MsoNormal">“Um… Dr. Rachel?” The blonde woman turned to me with a soft smile, her eyes questioning. “Is… Izanami-san asleep?” My eyes were on Izanami-san’s form, who was loosely curled up in a fetal position, with various wires connected at particular spots in his armored bodysuit. What the heck is Izanami-san doing?

<p class="MsoNormal">I was expecting her to laugh and admonish me for my stupid question, or to correct me and then give an in-depth impromptu crash course about the complex workings of God Arc Soldiers, but I was surprised by her soft, tinkling laughter, and then a nod. My jaw dropped.

<p class="MsoNormal">“In a way, yes, he is.” She replied, amused. “Though normal God Arc Soldiers do not require their pilots to be asleep, that particular model Ryuuka is using is a prototype. Prototypes need to ‘Merge’ with their pilots – ‘be one in mind’, as they say – for them to be functional, not like the newer ones which only requires manual driving and/or commands issued remotely.

<p class="MsoNormal">“At the moment, Ryuuka is in a control suspension-coma, where his consciousness is removed from his human body and transferred in to his Soldier ‘body’. That way, the mental strain for controlling an external, semi-organic body is drastically lessened. Not to mention that Ryuuka would have an easier time controlling the Soldier ‘body’ due to his brain assuming it’s ‘his’ body.” Dr. Rachel wove her fingers together and rested her elbows on the wheelchair’s armrests, smiling. “Such a talented boy, that one.”

<p class="MsoNormal">And I have to agree. To match with an extremely difficult type of God Arc Soldier? Wow.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Ano… Rachel-hakase… What if the God Arc Soldier gets hurt?” Nana seems to be getting thoughts that I fail to have. I wonder why?

<p class="MsoNormal">“Simple; he gets hurt as well. Though it is significantly lessened, thanks to the armor.” Dr. Rachel replied. Dr. Leah took a step to stand beside her sister, leaning over and typing a few things into the computer in front of us.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Removing the Prototype’s pain receptors have proven to be detrimental to the pilots instead of beneficial,” Dr. Leah began, looking at us. “In the human mind, pain acts as a warning and prompts our body to resist it and avoid it to ensure its survival. If our ability to feel pain is gone… Well-“

<p class="MsoNormal">“-We’ll be reduced to broken, useless dolls.” Dr. Rachel suddenly interjected, smiling up at the tall woman, who chuckled. “Am I right, Sister?”

<p class="MsoNormal">Wait, what?! “Of course, dearest.” She chuckled. “Now, let’s watch our little pilot play.”

<p class="MsoNormal">---

<p class="MsoNormal">I really should’ve brought popcorn.

<p class="MsoNormal">The demonstration was awesome and I want to have my own God Soldier now! I feel like crying abit, actually.

<p class="MsoNormal">I now know why Izanami-san was rather well known with the people working for the DEMAS Project; he was the ace pilot. Not only he had a good record as a DEMAS Pilot (though Captain Julius said his career as a Pilot was not as long as his career as a God Eater), he also had a rather unique case of confirmed compatibility with two other God Arc Soldiers, another Prototype that Izanami-san had the honor of christening  it ‘Gashadokuro’ and a regular God Arc Soldier which is simply called Blood δ (Delta).

<p class="MsoNormal">And I found out Izanami-san’s work time is worse than a workaholic’s! Talk about dedicated. Yeesh, for someone who keeps warning others about giving up on being God Eater (namely those who are enlisting to become God Eaters, like me three weeks ago), Izanami-san seemed to love his work. Not sure if mentally unstable, or he’s just like that.

<p class="MsoNormal">You see, if Izanami-san isn’t away on missions, he spends most (90% actually) of his free time helping around stuff with the DEMAS project, whether it be maintenance or testing.

<p class="MsoNormal">Anyways, we – Blood, excluding Izanami-san who has to stay behind for the night to be monitored by Dr. Leah, who is apparently Dr. Rachel’s older sister – were headed to the Dining Hall to have lunch, which put Romeo-san and Nana in a good mood. Nana especially.

<p class="MsoNormal">They were chatting animatedly, their topic about how the Kongous were torn apart viciously by the squad of God Arc Soldiers led by Izanami-san.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Then Ryuuka was like ‘dokkan!’ and ‘zan!’ and that Fierce Kongou’s face Oracle Cells were practically ''obliterated!” ''

<p class="MsoNormal">“I know! I know! Did you see that one God Arc Soldier punch the stupid out of the Kon-“

<p class="MsoNormal">Yeah… The two were still pumped up by that demonstration.

<p class="MsoNormal">“So, what do you think?” I was surprised when Captain suddenly appeared beside me, eyes straight ahead though I know he’s listening attentively to what I have to say.

<p class="MsoNormal">“It’s amazing.” I replied simply, referring to the Soldiers, FRIAR’s ingenious invention of them, and Izanami-san’s piloting skills. It was the true; even though we were just watching through screens, the adrenaline pumped through our veins as if we were there.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Then good for you,” I looked at the older man in surprise, my face bearing the question I didn’t voice out. “Ryuuka approached me earlier and gave me rather favorable news; finding a match with a God Arc Soldier is now imperative – Dr. Rachel and Leah’s command – for Blood. They’re running our Bias Factors through the Soldiers at a rapid pace, so by the time Blood is a complete Unit, we’ll have our respective God Arc Soldiers.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“No way…!” I can’t help but say. That’s awesome news! Not to mention really cool!

<p class="MsoNormal">“You better believe it.” Captain replied, pulling ahead as I stood there trying (vainly) to process the words in my head. “Ryuuka has no reason to lie to me. I trust his word.”

<p class="MsoNormal">I quickened my pace, now again walking beside our Captain. “No, it’s not that, Captain, but… are they really going to trust us Rookie God Eaters with something as valuable as the God Arc Soldiers? I mean, yeah, Dr. Rachel had confirmed that Blood God Eaters have higher chance of matching with a God Arc Soldier earlier, but…” I trailed off, not sure how to word my thoughts.

<p class="MsoNormal">“You think we’re not ready?” I bit my lip, before nodding hesitantly when Captain Julius managed to say what I couldn’t.

<p class="MsoNormal">I wasn’t prepared for the reassuring pat on the back, which nearly made me fall on my face – much to the guy’s amusement – if Captain hadn’t reached out and grabbed the back of my collar to steady me. This time, he merely smiled at me confidently, a small smile that was gone as soon as it appeared. But nonetheless; it was full of warmth.

<p class="MsoNormal">“You have nothing to worry about,” He said. “We’ll help each other out, you’ll see. I’ll make sure none shall be left behind, as my duty as your Captain.”

<p class="MsoNormal">With that, he patted my shoulder one final time, before entering the Dining Hall after Romeo-san and Nana.

<p class="MsoNormal">I can’t stop the smile the invaded my face. “Yeah.” I said out loud, to what Captain Julius said. “No one’s gonna be left behind.”

<p class="MsoNormal">That seemed to be a good promise to make.

<p class="MsoNormal">--

<p class="MsoNormal">I got no clue how God Eaters pilot the Soldiers in the game, so I made a version of it. And the fancy jargon I spouted off here has no proof, and was thus pulled straight outta thin air. Just… Go with the flow.

<p class="MsoNormal">Random facts!

<p class="MsoNormal">Nyanko – a nickname used by Japanese people (if I remember right, mostly children) for kittens. Here Ryuuka used it in a mocking fashion. For a moment. Also means 'catgirl'. Ahahaha

<p class="MsoNormal">Shuuten Douji – the chief of an oni tribe, who lived in Oueyama (Mt. Oue). During the Emperor Ichijou’s reign, Shuuten Douji was known to abduct people, particularly maidens, to enslave them and eventually feast on their flesh and blood. Minamoto no Raikou was sent to kill the oni, along with Fujiwara no Houshou and his Shitennou. Shuuten Doji’s murder was a success.

<p class="MsoNormal">Goshadokuro – A monster from Ancient Japanese legends. An enormous skeleton which devours people who died of starvation. I chose this guy because I played on the ‘food’ theme of God Eater, like the Aragami ‘Devouring’ anything and everything, while Goshadokuro ‘Devouring’ those who didn’t eat anything. Apologies in advance for lack of humor. (“.____.)