HER TEARS

A/N: Set after the first Fangoram fight in the second game. For those who read this after reading my GGAM works, do note that those works are set in the anime universe.

Grave is Brandon's alias as a necrolyzer/deadman in the anime and the game. He's called "Brandon" more often in the anime, while he's almost always called "Grave" in the game.

Deadman/deadmen is the term for necrolyzers in the game.

Mika is 18 in the second game.

Written for Writers Anonymous One-Word Prompt Challenge. Prompt: tears.

All disclaimers apply.

A swirling portal of light lay in the distance, providing some illumination to this world of darkness with its brilliant glow. How could he be here, floating like a cloud in the sky? Looking down, he found no single wound on his body. He couldn't find any trouble breathing either. Had he...truly died?

Grave remained still, trying to recall what had happened to him. After a moment, he remembered the blinding flash of light before everything went black. What had caused such a luminescence? A flashbang couldn't possibly kill him, could it?

Explosion, he finally remembered. It was a massive one, caused by a giant missile as it struck his chest. That time, even if the blast hadn't killed him, the shrapnel would've finished him off by shredding his heart and lungs. The severe blood loss would shut off his regenerative power.

He had died indeed. Perhaps that portal would lead him to another world.

As he swam towards the light, tiny darts of water pelted his right hand. Like a drizzle, only that it was strangely localized. Then he heard some quiet sobs.

Someone was crying for him.

He only needed a few milliseconds to figure out who that was. Among his entourage in the world of living, only one person would cry: Mika, the child he had sworn to protect even when she was still inside her mother's womb. Having taken care of her for years, he knew what her tears meant. They represented not only her sorrow, but also her need for his presence, be it his protection or his embrace.

He whirled and swam away from the light. Forget about eternal peace; he did not deserve it as long as Mika suffered. But how could he get out of this place?

"His regeneration system is trying to reactivate itself, but there isn't enough blood in his body."

That voice belonged to Spike, his caretaker. Reactivation of his dead regeneration system? It seemed like moving further away from the light brought him closer to the world of living.

"Get me the blood donation kit, Spike!"

"Mika, you can't give him your blood forever. You'll die."

Teeth gritted, Grave bolted through the darkness like a supersonic aircraft. This wasn't right! A frail human girl should never risk her life for a reanimated corpse!

Suddenly, he heard Mika say, "Hang in there... I'll give you my blood."

As he rocketed through the darkness, the image of his last meeting with a pregnant Maria flashed across his eye. "Brandon," she once told him, "if anything happens to me, please take good care of Mika." He had responded by placing a hand on her shoulder, reassuring her that he had etched, "I'll protect Mika at all costs," in his heart.

Unfortunately, he was now failing in his duty.

His heart pounded wildly at the thoughts of a dying Mika. If she died for him... Damn, he wouldn't know how to face her mother if he ever met her in another world.

After about a minute of swimming, he came across another swirling portal of light. Unlike the one he saw earlier, it glowed with dull gray light. Perhaps this one would lead him back to the world of living...but he felt like it was moving away from him.

"Let me go, Mr. Jyuji! I must help him!"

Although Mika's strength could never measure up to a deadman like Jyuji, Grave kept moving at top speed. She never took her failure lightly, especially when it came to taking care of him. Usually, when that happened, he would give her a comforting hug or a gentle pat to the head. Because, he thought, if she's hurt and I don't do anything to comfort her, it means that I'm not carrying out my duty properly.

A mighty thrust of his feet launched him into the distancing portal, and everything went white.

Grave's eye snapped open at the sudden sharp pain from his chest. Regaining his focus, he found himself lying on his recliner - his bed - in his trailer. He felt like he was crushed under an orgman's colossal foot, but when he looked ahead, he decided to hurl that invisible weight away. Amid the blurred environment, he could see that Mika was struggling to break free from Jyuji's grasp. A gloomy Billy stood still beside them, unable to help Jyuji since being a ghost prevented him from touching anything.

He reached out his trembling arm and seized her wrist. Mika turned to him in response, her eyes widening in shock.

I'm fine, Mika.

He slowly rose, fighting against the unseen force that tried to push him back. The searing and stabbing pain in his chest threatened to knock him out and created a lump in his throat, but when he saw Mika's teary eyes, he gained the strength to shrug it off. The toil sent that lump out of his mouth in the form of blood.

"Please," Mika begged, "don't push yourself so hard! Let me give you my blood first!"

Panting with sweat dribbling down his face, Grave shook his head. He didn't need- no, he could never accept her blood. She was the one who needed care and protection, not the other way round.

Something tore his chest from the inside as he continued his physical struggle, creating another lump in his throat before forcing it out of his mouth.

"This is too much for your body! Stop it!"

Despite having blood dripping down his chin, Grave pushed on.

In less than a minute, his feet struck the metallic floor with two glorious booms. Sickening squelches echoed as scraps of metal ripped out of his bloodstained shirt and clattered on the ground. At long last, the pain in his chest subsided, and his vision regained its stability.

"But how?" Spike wondered out loud. "How could he get up? And his wounds... They're all regenerating!"

"Determination is what keeps us deadmen going," Jyuji commented, releasing Mika, "but he appears to be one step above the other deadmen. I guess he isn't called a legend for no good reason."

"Whoa, man, you're amazing," Billy told Grave. "You are, hands down, the world's strongest deadman."

Grave suddenly felt something warm around his forearm. When he looked down, he could see a smiling Mika hugging his arm. For a moment, he saw her as his beloved Maria, who gave him a proud smile for his triumphant return.

Noticing the tears around Mika's eyes, he smiled and wiped them off with his free hand.

Mika looked up at him. "You look really good now. I'm so glad."

Grave replied with a nod. Dry your tears, Mika. I am here to protect you...forever.