His and Her Circumstances
Part 1
Yuu, Alisa, Kota and Soma finished a subjugation mission at the Sunken Grid. It was really an easy fight, seeing that all they defeated were mostly mooks and cannon fodder.
"Oh yeah! Costume party, here I come!"
An excited Kota yelled, hopping his way to their rendezvous point.
Alisa rolled her eyes in disbelief and sighed."You're excited about that?" she turned to her left and glanced at their unit leader. "What about you Leader?"
Yuu gave her a grin as he scratched the back of his head. "Well… I'm kinda excited too."
The white haired girl lifted her shoulders in complete surrender and muttered. "I guess boys will be boys."
Kota walked backwards, facing them. "Who do you think thought up of this event?" he asked.
"It's obviously the old man's great idea." Soma answered.
An hour later, the group returned at the Den with Lindow greeting them at the entrance.
"Hey! How did it go?"
Lindow raised a hand to call their attention. He's actually waiting for them to return.
Yuu walked beside him and answered. "Fast and easy." He moved a little closer to him and whispered something that only Lindow could hear. "How was it?"
"It's done." Lindow whispered back.
Yuu gave out a meaningful smile and turned to his teammates.
"Soma, Kota, come to my room later, there's something I need to discuss."
Knowing his leader's personality, Soma just clicked his tongue and grunted. "Fine"
Kota on the other hand, merrily shouted 'yes' and ran towards the elevator.
A few hours have passed; Soma, Kota and even Lindow were having a strategic meeting inside Yuu's room.
Lindow took a long drag on his cigarette and decided to change the subject.
"So, are you're costumes for tonight's party already done?" he asked as he looked at the other three.
Yuu nodded at him and opened his closet. "It's done. See?" A red bulky thing was seen inside his closet.
Kota grinned mischievously and snickered. "Mine's a surprise!" He turned to the quiet Soma and asked a question. "What about you Soma? Are you even coming to the party?"
Lindow's aura suddenly changed and he spoke in an almost cold, serious tone. "Don't worry, he's coming whether he liked it or not."
"Huh?"
"Now!"
"What the?!"
Before Soma could even react, Lindow grabbed his arm and twisted it behind. He then straddled on his back, pinning the buster-blader on the ground. "Kota! Yuu!"
Kota pulled his beanie from his head and wore it on Soma's, dragging it down to his eyes. Yuu on the hand began stripping the helpless buster-blader like a madman. Seriously, those guys looked like hungry wolves that's about to get their meal.
Meanwhile, at Dr. Sakaki's Laboratory. . .
"This is wonderful! It looks elegant! Sophisticated! Perfect!" Dr. Sakaki exaggeratingly said as he praised the huge white costume in front of him.
The door opened and Lumina stepped inside. Her unit just finished a mission. Dr. Sakaki charged at her in delight and presented the white costume that he's holding. "Great! You're finally here! Tell me, what do you think of this costume?"
Lumina stared at the white thing in front her and replied. "It's—"
Before she could even finish her sentence, the door slammed open and a raven haired woman in a revealing white suit entered. It was Tsubaki. Lumina looked at her and gave her a nodded greeting.
Tsubaki nodded back and turned to face Dr. Sakaki. "Where are the reports?"
"Uh. . . I-I'll send it to you tomorrow." Dr. Sakaki replied as he shuddered from Tsubaki's intimidating presence.
Tsubaki's eye's trailed to the white costume that Dr. Sakaki was holding. She raised an eyebrow and rested one of her hands on her waist. "Uh huh. . ."
A cold breeze was felt inside the laboratory and everyone became silent.
Tsubaki opened her mouth and spoke. "Lumina, I heard you're not going to the party."
"Yeah."
The raven haired dominatrix stared at the white costume, curving her lip in a terrifying way. "Is that so?. . ."
Part 2
That night. . .
Veteran's Section.
You bastard's are absolutely,
DEAD!
A 'butler' Soma spat viciously as he strode back and forth in front of the elevator. Apparently, his three (male) teammates, took his room key and black mailed him into attending the party. He grudgingly read their note and clenched his fist in anger.
To our cute Soma,
If you have no value for your dignity, then don't come to the party.
Your friends,
Lindow, Yuu & Kota
Soma glared at the picture that came with the note. It was a picture of him, beanie on his head, half-naked, with Lindow pinning him on the ground and Kota together with Yuu grinning proudly at the sides, posing a 'peace' sign. The image almost depicted "three hunters that successfully caught their game".
Soma's blue orbs changed to menacing slits and he tore both the picture and note in a fit of rage.
Tch! I swear I'm gonna slaughter you all like pigs and feed you to the Ogretails.
The elevator finally slid open and—
". . ."
Soma's murderous intent popped like a bubble and he froze solid; his eye twitched involuntarily at the peculiar sight in front of him.
A B-E-A-R?
He pondered whilst scanning the white intimidating mass of fluff inside the elevator. He remembered Dr. Sakaki bragging about his 'magnificent' animal costume a day before, so he entered the elevator and asked, just in case.
"Dr. Sakaki?"
The bear turned its head like a robot and nodded. Soma flinched at its weird response.
"You sure you're the old man?" he raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
The bear cocked its head and kept silent. There's no sign that it'll talk.
"Fine! Forget it." Soma clicked his tongue and crossed his arms in annoyance.
Part 3
The elevator finally stopped at the floor where the party was being held.
The Training Area.
Soma and his bear companion stepped outside the elevator and immediately greeted by the booming music of the entire floor. There were Gods Eaters wearing costumes lounging outside, chatting, while the others were probably partying inside the training center.
Some of the female Gods Eater squealed and screamed in complete delight when they saw the buster-blader in a butler outfit. The others were cuddling and poking his bear companion like a stuffed toy. How cute! They look adorable! they chirped.
Soma glared at them and ran off; dragging the bear by its paw. Tch! Women. . .
The two went inside the training center, exhausted from running. Soma took a deep breath after panting for a few seconds.
"You okay?"
The bear nodded at him and took a bow before leaving him.
Soma's eye grew wide at the bear's response. It bowed?! No way! He immediately followed suit and grabbed its paw again as fast as he could. "Where do you think you're going? DR. SAKAKI?" he asked in a sarcastic tone.
The bear stood still and pointed outside. It seemed like it wanted to leave.
Soma gave out a sardonic smile and snickered. "You're coming with me."
The two searched the training center, seeing some familiar faces along the way.
"There they are." Soma said whilst emitting a frightening aura at the group in front of them. The first unit.
Lindow in an awful cardboard Corrosive Hannibal costume noticed them and waved. "I knew you'd come." he proudly said while guzzling a can of beer. "Eh? Is that Dr. Sakaki?"
Soma tried to restrain his rage by glaring at him. "None of your business."
Lindow whistled impressively and smacked the huge teddy bear on its back.
The surprised bear tripped from Lindow's strength but Soma managed to pull it up and led it behind him. "Don't touch it!"
They moved at the corner of the lounge and took a seat. Alisa, who wore a black kunoichi outfit, saw the bear beside him and gasped in excitement. "Oh my! How cute!" she mauled the white mass of fluff, hugging it—tightly.
The bear flapped its paw desperately as if mimicking a drowning person. Yuu in a Crimson Samurai ensemble saw the bear's reaction and walked towards Alisa. "Hey, you're not trying to kill it, are you?"
Alisa immediately let go; releasing the half-conscious bear who plopped on the couch. Apologizing many times whilst bowing her head, she bombarded the panting bear with questions. "Ooohh. . . sorry, I-I-I really didn't mean it! Are you okay? Did I break any bones? Can you breathe?"
The bear raised a paw, assuring her that everything's alright. Alisa took a deep breath in relief. "That's good then."
Soma approached Yuu as he jabbed—punched him in the side, causing the New Type leader to yelp in pain.
"Give me my key or I'll break you in half."
Their leader, who's still squirming in pain, took something underneath his armor and spoke. "Here"
Soma snagged the key from his hands and glared at Yuu. "What about the picture?"
"The one you received was the only copy."
The buster-blader clicked his tongue and cursed. "Do this again and you're DEAD!"
Kota, wearing a perfect replica of clothes worn by the main character in 'Bugarally'—meaning he looked like a hybrid of cowboy and Christmas tree, showed up and yelled at him.
"Somaaa! Did you like the butler outfit?! I was actually the one who suggested that for you." He patted his shoulder and sat beside him.
"You little. . ."
Something inside the buster-blader snapped and he lunged at the unwary Kota with extreme fury. Screw that, I'll kill you now! He grabbed a can of First Love juice and forced empty the contents of it on the gunner's mouth.
Kota tried to his hardest to escape the young-man grasp, only to get shoved by another can on his mouth. Help me!
Sakuya, who's wearing a blue qipao crept out of the table, waved at Kota and gave him mocking grin. Serves you right, sucker!
Yuu, Alisa and Lindow tried desperately to pull Soma away from Kota; they tried almost all methods known to man. Pulling, grabbing, pushing, pleading, even praying . . .you name it, they've already done it.
Unbeknownst to all of them, Soma's white bear companion already slipped out during the whole commotion. It managed to sneak its way to the elevator.
The bear went inside and pushed a button.
After a few seconds of waiting, the elevator slid open, arriving at the Laboratory floor. The bear leaned its head, looking left to right before stepping outside. It ran straight to Dr. Sakaki's lab, slumping itself on the floor as it entered the room. After rolling for about two, . . . five,—seven times on the floor, the bear stood up, took a huge breath of air and exhaled. "Hot. . ."
The bear finally spoke but it's no voice of an old man. It sounded like a girl.
It began to unzip the costume from behind, revealing a familiar slender figure in white dress as it dropped on the floor. The bear's head was pulled upwards and long ashen blonde locks flowed. The person wearing the white bear costume was at last revealed. It was Lumina. She was actually asked—forced by Tsubaki to wear the costume in place of Dr. Sakaki.
Lumina picked up her costume and threw it inside her room. Need. . .bath.
She repeatedly mumbled 'bath' under her breath as she wobbled her way outside the lab. After getting exhausted from sneaking away from the party, a nice warm bath was what she badly needed before finally hitting the sack.
Part 4
Soma ditched the event after he got his revenge and noticing that the bear was gone. Surprisingly, after 'poisoning' Kota with nine cans of First Love juice and leaving him almost half-dead, he felt better. It's like, he's been reborn. Spawn of Satan.
He managed to get on the elevator safely after slithering, hiding and sneaking his way outside the training area. He was about to push the Veteran's Section button when the Laboratory button caught his attention. He hovered his finger in front of it (second guessing if he should push it or not), before finally setting his mind.
"Damn it!" He smacked the laboratory button and cursed for reasons even he, didn't understand.
The elevator opened and he slowly paced outside. He stopped after a few steps; scratching his head in confusion. Why the hell did I go here?
Soma tried to collect his mind but unfortunately, he's been overpowered by the urge to enter Dr. Sakaki's lab. He opened the door which was unlocked (to his surprise) and entered. He was expecting to see the old man but there was no Dr. Sakaki in sight. He noticed a glint of light coming from the room on his left side. Lumina's room.
He moved towards it and placed pressed the knob on the door. It opened. The door was unlocked. He took a peek inside and noticed a familiar white fluffy costume lying on the floor. "I knew it was you." he mumbled in relief.
Soma entered the room and whispered. "Lumina?"
He immediately found the girl in question. She's on her bed, sleeping.
Quietly sitting beside her, he traced her soft lines under the blanket.
"—?!"
A sudden movement on the bed took him off-guard and he flinched. Lumina shifted sideways, revealing her bare legs.
Soma scratched the bridge of his nose and snorted. "Careless."
He pulled her blanket and covered her exposed limb cautiously, trying to prevent her from waking up. Lumina shifted once more; she's now facing him.
Soma chuckled inwardly at the girl. Fidgety sleeper, he thought.
He stayed beside the sleeping Gods Eater with his cerulean orbs focused on her lips. He led his hand to her face as he gently outlined her lower lip with his thumb. It was soft. He remembered the first time they met, when she abruptly kissed him.
The buster-blader planted one of his hands on her side to support himself; he leaned closer… and closer… and closer… then he stopped. He's literally a few centimeters away from her; enough to lean in and steal a kiss.
"That was my first. You little brat." He affectionately ran his fingers through her ashen blonde locks.
"—?"
A glimmer from her ear caught his attention. It was her earring.
Soma turned his head to take a better look but his nose whiffed a sweet essence coming from her. "How intoxicating." he whispered and everything went blank—or perhaps it went overdrive.
Soma never really liked anything sweet, be it in taste or in smell but somehow, Lumina's scent drew him in. It stirred up his senses and charmed his soul. He could almost hear his heart pounding furiously with each breath felt like a monumental undertaking.
The buster-blader set his eyes on the girl's neckline and murmured almost disappointingly. "I'll claim this part for now."
He lowered his head even further and closed the remaining space that between them.
Part 5
Next Day.
Cafeteria.
The unit 1 members were having their lunch together (much to Soma's dismay) at the cafeteria. They sat in front of a long table where Lindow, Sakuya and Soma seated on one side while Yuu, Alisa and Kota were opposite to them.
"Hey Lumina!" Yuu called, as he saw Lumina passed by their table.
"—?" The girl stopped from her tracks and turned to the New-Type leader. "Do you need something?" she asked, maintaining a 'cold' eye contact.
Yuu almost faltered from the girl's expression. "No, um. . .I heard you weren't able to make it to the party last night."
It's not rare for them to see Lumina exuding a stoic aura, in fact, she's been like that from the very beginning. Serious, distant and reserved. A kind of trait easily misunderstood as 'prick' unless people got to know her better.
Lumina averted her eyes from the New-Type leader and answered. "Yeah" her voice echoed in monotone.
Yuu grabbed the unsuspecting girl's wrist and pulled her beside him. "Since you're already here, why don't you eat with us?" He held her shoulder with both hands and fixed her on the chair, "there" he added.
Lumina (with no time to react) just let herself be dragged and forced into seating. She stayed silent the entire time but her eyes betrayed her stoic demeanor. It glimmered with surprise, or maybe confusion.
Lindow, who was sitting opposite to hers gazed at her almost instantly."What's with the sudden change of look?" he queried whilst pointing at her hood.
Lumina wore her clothes 'differently' that day. She had her hair parted on both sides and her hood covered her head. A complete contrast to her 'hood down, hair on the back' look. Lumina took a short glance at her hood and held a strand of her hair afterwards."This is temporary. At least until the insect bite is gone."
The team (with the exception of Soma) looked at her with curiosity. Alisa, who was sitting on Yuu's other side leaned on the table to took a glimpse of her. "Insect. . . bite?"
Lumina nodded her head and began to pull down her hood; she parted all of her hair to one side, revealing a part of her slender neck that had a red mark on it.
Unit one members, with the exception of Soma again moved closer and stared at her neck in silence.
The deafening silence continued a minute or two before Kota broke the stillness with his declaration. "That's not an insect bite—THAT'S A KISS MARK!" he roared.
The others returned to their seat whilst Lindow smacked his face with his palm, dragging it downwards. "Seriously, who would do such a bold move on her?"
"Soma!" Yuu hammered the table and shouted.
The buster-blader, who's been currently sipping a can of soda, gave a startled jerk and choked on his drink. He desperately pounded his chest a couple of times, trying to cough out the soda that entered his nose.
"Oh, uh. . .sorry? " Yuu looked around him and scratched his head apologetically. "I was just gonna ask you to hand me that can of First Love juice."
Soma glared at him for a few 'frosty' seconds before slamming the notorious can of juice in front of his leader.
Kota unexpectedly flinched when he saw the detestable juice and almost fainted on his seat. He shook off the horrible events that happened last night and bolted up like a commanding officer; glaring at his teammates and pouting his mouth in jealousy.
"What, even insects gets a girl before me now?! Lindow have Sakuya, Yuu got Alisa—"
"Hey?!" The two New-Types retorted in surprise but Kota just continued with lecture.
"And Soma—well. . ." he slowly moved his eyes towards Soma who was actually waiting for him to finish. The buster-blader was giving off this talk-and-you-die aura and it's all directed at him. Yipes! Kota wiped the sweat that formed on his temple and gulped to clear his throat."—yeah, anyway, WHY DO I HAVE TO BE THE ODD MAN OUT?! WHERE'S THE JUSTICE IN THAT?!"
Lindow sighed at the young man's bawling and prodded him to get seated. "When you're older Kota. When you're older."
Kota pouted his mouth even further and slumped on his chair.
Sakuya leaned forward as she inspected the girl's neck. "Lumina, when did you notice the mark?" she asked.
Lumina unconsciously touched her neckline. "This morning." she answered.
Sakuya raised an eyebrow and asked again. "I see. Who told you that it was an insect bite?"
"Kanon"
Sakuya narrowed her eyes, placing a finger on her chin as though she's in deep thought. She unconsciously looked at her side, only to notice Soma seating away from them, facing the opposite direction. Normally, Sakuya and the others ignored this 'aloof' side of him but today, it's different, Sakuya had this nagging feeling that something's wrong with him.
It's as if fate answered her concerns, Sakuya caught him glancing at their direction (specifically, Lumina's direction). He was about look away when his eyes unexpectedly met Sakuya's causing him to flush deep red in unexpected surprise. Sakuya pondered at his reaction for a good minute before her womanly sadistic instinct kicked in—meaning her face lit up, curving her lip into devilish sneer.
She leveled herself on the chair and began explaining—like a boss.
"Ah yeah. . . I remembered now." she stated in a cool manner. "I think I knew what kind of insect did that."
The group turned to her in anticipation for explanation but Soma had other plans. Her statement gave him a sudden chill down his spine so he pulled himself out and trailed at the vendo. "I'm going to get another drink."
Sakuya kept sneering at him as if she knew he was just avoiding the discussion. "A mosquito." she said.
Lumina blinked her emerald orbs and tilted her head in wonder. " A mos-qui-to?" .
"Yes, a blue mosquito—" she specifically said and she heard a distinct sound of can getting crushed from somewhere."—and a grumpy one too."
This time, they all heard a clear sound of someone spitting their drink; it came from the direction of the vendo that Soma went into.
Sakuya noticed the approaching buster-blader and threw him a looong impish look. "It's probably marking its territory."
Soma jerked from her words and furrowed his brow in extreme annoyance. Damn you Sakuya! His clothes were soaking wet in what looked like a spill of soda (a lot of soda).
Kota looked at him and tried to open his mouth— "Som—"
"Shut up."
"Oh c'mon! I haven't said anything yet!"
Author's Note:
Lumina is my OC in Kindred Spirits. This story was supposed to be a filler chapter but I decided to change it into one-shot.
The costumes worn by Soma, Sakuya and Kota were from DLC, I wanted to keep Alisa's DLC outfit but it's pretty much impossible that she would wear a swimsuit in a costume party.
Anyway, R&R if you have time. :3