CAN YOU HEAR MY VOICE?

"How could I not? It was your voice that made him smile."

Their mission was to eliminate one Kongou at the Tranquil Temples. It wasn't as simple as an Ogretail extermination mission but it sure beats having to take care of those pesky winged Chi-yous. Considering that the person leading this mission was none other that the leader of unit one herself, Tsubaki had no qualms whatsoever about giving her approval.

Lindow didn't even stop to question Vendetta's motive for taking Soma because, frankly, he thinks that he already knew. Being a common resident of the area since birth, Lindow knew that Vendetta had chosen that area specifically for its clear view of the moon. Sometimes even he didn't know what to do with their small laid-back busybody of a leader. Always thinking about other people's feelings above her own.

Although Sakuya did comment that during the time that he had gone missing, Vendetta reminded her painfully of Lindow. Tsubaki had said something along those lines as well. Lindow smiles, thinking that if he ever decided that he was ready to start a family with Sakuya then his son or daughter would be have to be a lot like Vendetta.

Speaking of which...

"You never did tell me why you pulled my arm back there." Vendetta was still going on about what Soma did back in the den. It's been well over an hour now and Soma could just barely contain the itch he felt on his hand. If his moronic idiot of a leader wasn't planning to stop this anytime soon then that Kongou better be one hell of a target or he'll decimate the entire field.

"You're a moron." He growls. Really, he was on the verge of madness. He crosses his arms and directs his gaze to the chopper's metallic floor. Anything was a better sight than the goofy smile on her face right now. It was hard for him to admit but her smile was bad for his heart. Something always seemed to happen whenever he catches even a glimpse of it. It assured him that she always had his back but at the same time it scared him. If everyone else depended on her then who did she have left to depend on? Whose shoulder does she cry on behind her bedroom doors? Kota's?

Suddenly, Soma clicks his tongue at the memory of Kota entering her room the previous night and irritation crept up within him. His foot unconsciously bangs the seat in front of him and Vendetta jumps slightly in her seat. Soma hadn't meant to startle her but the thought of her clinging on to Kota for support somehow disturbed him.

Before Vendetta could say anything about it, however, the pilot alerts them that they were almost at their destination. As the temples finally came into view, the chopper hovers above their usual drop off point and the pilot motions for his passengers to jump. Taking their cue, both Vendetta and Soma expertly leaps from the still hovering helicopter and lands fluidly on the snowy ground with a soft crunchy thud.

Vendetta remembers the first time she was forced to jump off the chopper. She was so terrified that Lindow had to push her out, therefore resulting in her landing majestically on her butt. She snickers at the memory and Soma raises a brow at her.

"What the hell are you laughing about now?" Disregarding the annoyance in his tone, Vendetta proceeds to recount the sad tale of her first experience with the chopper. As she finishes narrating her story, Soma's smiles slightly at the memory of his first meeting with the blundering new-type rookie. She had been so clueless, carelessly shooting away left and right, occasionally hitting even him.

Well, it wasn't her fault to begin with (or so she would say in her defense), she was a rookie who just watched her comrade die and Soma had even intimidated her into staying out of his way without so much as an introduction. So he couldn't blame her if she 'accidentally' shot him once or twice out of spite.

"Hey, Soma. Your birthday's tomorrow isn't it?" Vendetta abruptly asks as they made their way towards an open area.

"Where did you hear that?" He asks uninterestedly. To him, a birthday was nothing more than a date to tell you how many years you've survived in this godawful world. He once truly believed that his birthday served only as a reminder of the day another monster was born but the people around him (he wasn't about to point out a certain red-eyed blathering fool of a leader by name) was slowly starting to make him think otherwise.

"Old man Sakaki!" Vendetta grins, relieved that the tip he gave her turned out to be credible after all. Honestly, she'd be lying if she said that there hadn't been even a moment of doubt for him. She seriously thought that the doc was just pulling her leg again when he secretly pulled her aside and told her about Soma's coming birthday.

'Damn that sneaky old bast-.' Soma stops in his long line of thoughts and curses as he sees Vendetta hold out her free hand which was apparently holding onto something since she had closed it into a small fist. She was grinning again and Soma sets his gaze elsewhere as if on reflex.

"Close your eyes and hold out your hand." She says. Looking evidently pleased with herself, she urges him to be quick.

"No." At the very moment Soma uttered his refusal, Vendetta immediately lets loose her ultimate weapon. The 'puppy-dog-left-out-in-the-rain' face. Knowing that she wouldn't leave him alone until he does as she says, Soma sighs in resignation and closes his eyes. Soon after he holds out his hand, he feels a cold metal-like object being placed upon his palm.

Warm hands suddenly enveloped his icy cool one and Soma internally fights the growing desire to open his eyes. Vendetta closes his palm shut and balls it into a fist. Just when Soma thought that she was finally done, he feels another warmth on his hand which consequently spreads throughout his body. It was a gentle touch, probably the gentlest he's ever known. It was the touch of her lips.

"W-what the hell are you doing, idiot?" By now, Soma's mind went on full burst mode. His eyes shot open and he abruptly pulled his hand away from the source of his rapid heartbeat. He hides his face behind the cover of his hood, unwilling to let her see the tint of pink which bloomed on his cheeks. However, Vendetta was never one to overlook anything, not when it came to Soma, so she easily spots his embarrassment. Another smile lights up her face.

"Open it." Assuming that she was talking about his hand, Soma slowly opens his palm. It was a metal necklace shaped in Fenrir's signature logo but what really caught his attention was the soft and gentle light which swirled at its centre. The light starts to change color as if it responded to his thoughts. First, it shone a bright yellow. Then it swirled into an ocean-like blue. Soon after, it spirals into a spectrum of different colors at once.

"People used to call it a mood ring. I didn't think that you'd wear a ring though so I had it customized into a necklace." Vendetta explains. Soma was clearly at a loss of what to do and how to act. He's never been given a present before. No one ever trained him in this situation. So he chooses to just remain silent. Sensing his quiet distress, Vendetta assures him that it's alright.

"Since you suck at expressing your emotions, I thought a mood ring would help you figure out how to do that. I even brought the list of colors and their meanings! Now, let's see..." Vendetta glances down at the necklace still placed firmly on Soma's palm, to which he does the same. She goes silent at the sight of it and so does he. It was glowing pink.

It didn't take Soma much to know what the intrusive color meant. Before giving Vendetta the chance to comment on it, he brashly shoves the necklace into his pocket and storms off towards the largest temple.

"Wait, I forgot one more thing!" She shouted after him.

"What?!" He was already embarrassed enough as he was.

"Happy birthday, Soma!" He stops in his tracks. Something had shifted in his heart. He knew it. He just didn't knew what.

"Tch. Idiot..." He mutters as if to himself. Still refusing to face her out of embarrassment, he pulls his hood back and quickly puts the necklace on his neck. Vendetta could only gape at what she saw. As quickly as he pulled his hood down, Soma pulls it up again, hiding his face away once more and continues on walking. He glances down at his necklace and sees it glow a deep violet. He still didn't knew it then but that was the color of a person in love.

Aaand there you have it~ Chapter 3 of 'Over The Clouds'!

First off, THANK YOU for all your reviews! it keeps me motivated to do more even though I'm starting to lose sleep because of this LOL :3 Anyways, I love you guys a lot so I'll try to update again soon~

Tell me what you think of this one, yeah? I think I'm losing touch with Soma's character :S I may need to play the game all over again which...doesn't sound so bad now that I think about it. XD (I get to meet Soma again!)

Laters!