Chapter 9: Encounter
Kurumi stare confused at a weird cube Romeo was holding. It was multi-color and divided into various sections. Romeo found it outside in the ruins and went to immediately show it to the team and Kurumi was the first person he encounters. Kurumi grabs the cube.
"This thing looks awfully familiar," She said. "I think I read about it, but I can't really remember" Then Gilbert appear and saw the cube. His eyes grew wider when he saw it.
"Hey! A Rubik Cube!" He took it and smile. "Man, I can't believe I'm seeing one after all these years. Those things are weird to come by these days! Where did you find it?!"
"I found it in the ruins the other day" Romeo smile. "Oh! And take a look at this!" He took out a Walkman out of his pocket. "Pretty cool, huh?"
"I wouldn't call it cool... I would call it old" Kurumi pick up the walkman and open it up, revealing an old tape of an, as of today, unknown band. "Queen? Never hear of it"
"In the Glasgow Branch, a lot of people hear old music. Queen is very well known there" Gilbert explains. "To think you'll find a walkman with a tape of Queen inside. Did you hear it?"
"Yes, they are pretty cool. It's... energetic"
"Huh, interesting" Kurumi give him back the Walkman and then they were join by Julius, next to him were Nana, Emil, and Sasha.
"Good, everyone's here. Blood, we have a mission" He said and everyone hears him. "Just like before, this is a joint mission with the Far East Branch's God Eaters. We are heading to the city ruins to exterminate a group of Kongou. There isn't really too much else to say about it. Prepare yourselves, we're heading out in ten minutes" He finish and walks away.
"Simple enough, I guess" Said Kurumi.
There was complete darkness inside the tunnel, but that didn't stop Murasaki. She keeps walking forward. Her eyes were glowing yellow, allowing her to see in the darkness and it was the only light that could be witness in the tunnel. She took her time to reach the end of the tunnel, an old subway station. She jump to the platform and look around, searching in her surroundings. There was nothing worth pointing out, only that the station was oddly untouched by the destruction of the Aragami. She sigh and walk to one of the benches, she sits down to take a break, which prove to be really hard thanks to the tail she now has. Murasaki took out a map of the subway she has under her long overcoat. She then tries to figure out where she was actually standing.
"Let's see... I was here... Then I came all the way here... If this is correct, then I should be back in the city" Murasaki look at the stairs that lead to the exit. "Weird... If I'm correct, then this place should be nothing more than a ruin. Maybe I take a wrong turn... Am I actually lost?" Murasaki then decided to take the stairs and check if she was actually lost. To her surprise, she wasn't. She was exactly where she wanted to be, the ruins of the city she left around a week ago. "Cool... I made it back... Now then..." Murasaki put the map back in the pocket of her overcoat. She shakes a little her overcoat, revealing the white shirt cover in dry blood and her black ripped pants. She walk through the street, calmly, searching...
Murasaki close her eyes for a moment, a small sand storm came and she cover herself and wait for it to pass. She couldn't believe she was going back to the city she so desperately wanted to leave but there was no other choice. She needed to come back and search for something that she actually needs. Murasaki keep walking and it took her around an hour to find what she was looking for, an abandoned Drugstore. She saw the small store and run toward it. She kick down the door and quickly get inside, she then proceeds to search for medicine and a First-Aid kit. Unfortunately for her, all the medicine in the store already expire.
"Goddamit! Please, there has to be something. I can't come back empty-handed, Maria will yell at me and that's the last thing I want. She can be really annoying. Shit, Adam! Why the fuck did you have to get sick all of the sudden?!" After going around the store for the fifth time, Murasaki got stressed out. "I told you, don't eat that, it looks poisonous, but nooo... You had to go and eat it... And don't say you were hungry because I am the one with a constant battle in my stomach! I'm starving more than you and Maria put together! On top of that, the man I kill the other day tasted like shit! Ah! Fuck it!" She yell and grab all the medicine that could be of any use, expired or not. She also got at least three First-Aid kits and medicine books. She put everything inside a big carton box and head to the door. Before leaving, she took out a small walkie-talkie and speak up. "Maria, it's me. I got medicine... a lot of it. I'm heading back. How's Adam?"
"He's not good! He's pale and cold! Please hurry!"
"Don't worry, Adam won't die. I'll try to make it there as soon as possible. Keep checking his temperature and tell me if he does something"
"Like what?"
"I don't know... Coughing blood? The hell do I know? We don't even know what he did put in his mouth. Keep him warm. I'll be there soon enough" Murasaki then grab the box, but stopped right in front of the door. She saw a group of Aragami walking down the street, a group of Vajras. She hide way inside the store and make sure to not make any noises. Murasaki wait patiently until the Aragami leave the area. She could easily take them down, but she didn't want to risk the things she was carrying. After the group seemingly go away, Murasaki slowly walks to the door and make sure that there was no threat near her. "Good, not a single Aragami. Now, let's go and- Huh?" Murasaki then hear a really awful scream that echoed in the entire ruins, followed by a sudden, unexpected sensation. She felt something, something that she didn't feel before, like a calling... No, more like energy... a power. Murasaki put the box away and notice that what she was feeling was near the abandoned museum. Her curiosity has taken over her and though she has to go back to Maria, she wanted to see what was the source of this weird power she was feeling...
The mission went as expected for the most part. Blood arrives at the ruins and separate into groups to take down the group of Kongou. The battle was hard, mostly because the Aragami try to run away and each group had to separate, leaving each God Eater on its own. Kurumi ended up in the open area near the museum. She found the Kongou she was searching after and kill it in one single swing. The Aragami was already weak, near dead so Kurumi took the opportunity, jump and slash it right in the back. The middle size Aragami fall to the ground and Kurumi extract the core. She then look around and notice that she was far away from the others.
"I'm too far from where I started... I should call the others" Kurumi try to contact her teammates, but at that moment she hears someone yelling. She look in the distance, near the back of the old museum. She saw Emil running away, panicking as a huge Aragami was chasing after him. It was a Marduk, an Aragami that Kurumi have never seen, but she read about it.
"Aaaaaargh! Attention! My God Arc isn't workiiiiiing!" He yells as the Marduk got closer to him. Kurumi run to help him.
"Goddamit, Emil! Keep running!" She yell. The Marduk push Emil away, sending him flying to the side of the old building. The Aragami then proceed to attack Emil, but Kurumi shoot at the enormous Aragami to caught its attention.
"Hey! You want him? Then it has to be over my dead body!" The Aragami roar, forget Emil and focus on Kurumi. "That's it... Come after me, you big, white bastard..."
The Marduk raise its paws and hit the ground right in front of her, Kurumi jump back just in time because the Marduk, when it hit the ground, create a small explosion. As Kurumi touch the ground again, she fail to see the upcoming attack. The Marduk quickly turn around and hit her with its large tail, sending her flying away and letting go of her God Arc in the process. Kurumi quickly stand up and notice that her God Arc was far away from her, almost at the other side of the field. Kurumi look at the Marduk in the eyes, the Marduk did the same. They stare at each other, both of them waiting for the other's first move. Kurumi close her hands into a fist and took a deep breath. Kurumi then, as fast as she could, run toward her God Arc. The Marduk roar and run, trying to catch her, to kill her before she reaches her weapon. Kurumi was not in the best condition after chasing the Kongou down, she was getting more tired by the second, but she tries anyway. If she didn't, she'll die, so there was no other option but to run as fast as she could. The Marduk got really close to her, closing the space between them in less than a second. Kurumi yells as she jumps, extending her arm to reach her God Arc. The Marduk, with its jaw open, was about to bite Kurumi's arm. Kurumi saw everything around her in slow motion. She reach her God Arc, but unfortunately, the Marduk got to her. The Marduk bite Kurumi's left arm. She yelled as loud as she could, her voice echoing in the ruins. She then look at the Marduk, she was face to face with the big Aragami that was trying to rip her arm off.
"LET ME GO YOU BASTARD!" She yell and felt something coming from her God Arc. She feels a power, running through her veins... She was feeling stronger all of the sudden and her God Arc was shining red. "I SAID... LET ME GO YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" She yell and stab the Marduk in the left eye. The Marduk then bite harder and then back away. The Marduk take several steps backs, shaking its head as the blood comes out of its eyes, now turned into nothing more than a gross scar. Kurumi fall to her knees, crying because of the pain. She had her eyes shut for the pain and when she finally open them, found herself face to face with a horrible truth... The Marduk rip out her arm. Kurumi start shaking as she tries to come to term with the fact that she no longer had an arm. She blinked several times, wishing it to be a lie, but her eyes weren't deceiving her, this was real, the reality she found herself in. The Marduk quickly recover, but now with a permanent scar in his left eye.
Kurumi tries to stand up, but the extreme pain she was feeling was taking over her. She couldn't move without falling down again. The Marduk, without hesitation, attack again and Kurumi waits for the attack, accepting her imminent death. She didn't close her eyes, she stares at the Aragami, wanting to take a good look of it, planning on stabbing him again. "IF I'M GOING TO DIE, I'LL STAB YOU RIGHT IN THE FUCKING THROAT! COME ON! DO IT! DO IT!" Kurumi yells with anger and fear, she decided to fight till the very end. She finally stands up, despite the pain, raises her God Arc with the strength she had left and prepare. The Marduk jump with its mouth open, Kurumi was about to swing the God Arc when someone steps right in the middle, stopping the Marduk right in mid-air. Kurumi's eyes widen as she saw a woman with long white hair, stopping the Marduk with her bare hands. The woman then pushes the Marduk away without too much effort. The Marduk roar, defying her, but the woman didn't move, she simply stood there, staring at the Aragami. The Marduk then take a few steps back, acknowledging the woman's power. As the Marduk slowly back away from her, the Aragami hear the other God Eaters and decided to run away. Kurumi fall again to her knees and the woman that save her life try to help her. Kurumi saw her now from the front, what caught her attention were the horns growing from her forehead and the tail that was embracing her.
"Are you alright?!" She asks but Kurumi couldn't reply, she couldn't speak, she was in shock and was loosing too much blood. "That power that I just felt... It's coming from you... What did you do...?" She asks, but Kurumi was unable to answer her question due to the pain.
"Kurumi!" Gilbert voice echoed and the entire Blood Unit arrive. They all stopped as they saw Kurumi on the ground, with the white haired woman embracing her. Gilbert was the first on seeing Kurumi's arm, to be precise, the lack of it, and didn't wait to confront the girl. "What have you done to her?!"
"..." She woman didn't respond, instead, leave Kurumi on the floor. She walk away when Sasha run away from the group and saw the woman as clearly as the day.
"Murasaki!" She yell. "Is that really you?"
"... Sasha...?" Murasaki turn to see Sasha, her old friend that she leave behind. "... It can't be..." Murasaki then look at the Blood Unit, everyone looking at her with a mix of anger and fear. Sasha get closer, but Murasaki yell at her, "Don't you dare taking another step!"
"... Murasaki?"
"Just... leave me alone... Take your friend and leave... Don't speak to me ever again!" Murasaki run away and quickly disappear from everyone's view. As soon she left, everyone run to check on Kurumi's state. Julius was the one on checking her state.
"She's still breathing!" He said and contact the helicopter. "This is Julius Visconte. We need the extraction now, prepare a room in the medical bay, we have an injured! I repeat...!" As Julius try to contact the helicopter, Kurumi slowly close her eyes... wishing for the pain to end...