Here is chapter 9! For those who wanted to know about the Fallen New-Type hinted in Chapter 2 – by Sophia and Sakaki – there is a little clue about it here. So look forward to it!

Chapter 9

Memory of the Fallen

Rena sat on one of the couches in the main lobby of the Den, thinking back on the conversation she'd had with Brendan not ten minutes ago, a pink can of juice in her hands.

"A black Aragami sighted near the Outer Ghetto…" she mumbled to herself. Was it possible it was THAT one Aragami she and her group had seen back in the City of Mercy?

Rena leaned forward and looked down at the can she was holding. That Aragami "How could I have forgotten something like that?" that eye, for some reason it seemed eerily familiar. She brought a hand to her face "But where…"

Rena took a sip of the juice, trying to concentrate. But her thoughts strayed away, no matter how hard she tried. "Really Rena you're hopeless" she said to herself, taking another sip.

"Rena!" a familiar voice called to her, and she turned in direction of the source. It was Kota; he came from the Gates, and ran to her. "You're awake!"

"Yeah, I am"

"We were so worried when you passed out like that! Are you feeling alright?" the way he put it made it sound as though she was sick.

"I'm alright! More importantly, I heard there was an Aragami roaming near the Ghetto" she almost dropped the can she was holding when she jumped at him with those questions. "Is it by any chance the one we saw the other day?" Kota's expression suddenly changed into that of someone who has remembered a horrible nightmare. Rena was taken aback, and held a hand out for him, to comfort him, when suddenly…

"The Units are looking into it right now" a stern voice spoke up this time. She saw Kota flinch and run to hide behind her, as if he'd seen a ghost.

Coming up the stairs was Tsubaki, holding her clipboard in one hand while the other one rested by her hip. She seemed stressed, "I see you made it out of the infirmary"

"Yes, ma'am"

"And I presume you want to go on a mission?" Rena gave a nod; she wanted to see, with her own eyes if that Aragami that she'd heard about was the same one she and her group saw that day. Judging by Tsubaki's reaction, she clearly didn't approve of her answer. "Unfortunately for you, you have been put on a temporary break"

"What!?" Rena's hold on her can loosened from the shock. It fell on the floor, spilling what little juice was left inside it. "What do you mean a break!"

"It's a decision from the Director. Losing consciousness like that is dangerous, and we're not sure if you should go out after awakening this soon" Rena couldn't believe what she was saying. She had to be joking!

"Also" Rena glanced at her "If you see Mr. Fujiki around here, tell him to report himself to the Director's office as soon as possible. The same goes for Lindow" the woman walked away.

Once she was gone, Rena turned around, but found that Kota had somehow sneaked to the back of one of the couches. He peeked his head out from his hiding spot, looking around "Is she gone?"

Rena gave him a nod, leaning down to take the dropped can and shrugging at the 'little' mess on the floor "Looks like you're in trouble…" he froze at her statement "What did you do?" He gave an idiotic laugh, before falling silent *sweat drop*

"Well…" he clasped his hands in a pleading manner "Promise not to tell this to anyone?"

"S-Sure…" what's with him?

"I sneaked off to visit my mom and my sister yesterday"

She nodded, trying to follow "Yes? What's so bad about visiting one's family?"

"There is nothing wrong, but that's not the point. It's when I did it that's the problem" the way he said it, he sounded like he was going to die at any moment. "I sneaked off during a mission and didn't report back until next morning!"

Rena shrugged, is he for real? "You're kidding" she said flatly, he shook his head, "She also asked for Lindow"

"He'll be alright. I hope"

"Did he have something to do with this?" she gave him a questioning look.

"He was the one that let me go, after we finished our mission?" you have got to be kidding me! Both of her companions from last time are on 'detention'!? "More importantly"

Rena turned to look at him, just realizing she had looked away "Sorry to hear that, you won't be going out on missions…" the girl swallowed.

"Well she did say 'temporarily'" which was something good, wasn't it? "It's not like I'll be locked up in here for the rest of my life, without doing anything, right?" she sat down on the couch, clutching the can with both hands, a slight smile on her face.

"I guess" he looked discouraged. Well they didn't get to see each other in actual combat in their previous mission, and Rena was still curious as to how good he was during battle. He was a fellow God Eater – and apparently her Senior – after all. "By the way" Looking up she noticed he was glancing at the can in her hands "Were you… drinking that?"

"Is there something wrong with this?" the young man's face looked as though he had been hit flat in the face with a pan when she held the can up.

"Seriously? But it's the First Love Juice!" he pointed out, looking at her with disbelief when she didn't seem to understand what he meant.

"Yes..?" she answered, puzzled "What about it?" that little sentence took Kota aback. What was the big deal with this drink?

Kota gaped at her "Don't tell me" he started, looking as though he'd realized something "you like that drink?"

"So what if I do?" Rena looked at him, slightly annoyed.

"Well, it's the one drink nobody likes" he said, clearly not believing her words "they say it tastes horrible…?"

Rena shrugged at this; really? This drink? "Really? I think it's really nice"

"Then you're the first" the look on Kota's face was still filled with doubt, and that puzzled her even more… Was this drink really that bad?

"By the way" Rena looked down, "That question I asked you earlier, about that Aragami…"

"You want to know about it?" his voice sounded off. Had she asked something bad?

"If you don't want to tell me its fine, I was just curious…" a heavy silence settled between them, and Rena regretted saying those words.

Just when Rena though the conversation wouldn't go any further, Kota spoke "Let's just say" he started "We encountered it, once before…"

"Really…?"

"But what happened afterwards… It isn't something I really want to remember" Kota's face was that of someone hurt, and whatever he had remembered had something to do with it.

"I… see" a heavier silence settled, and Rena found herself thinking back on that 'thing'. It was the first time she had seen it, yet for some reason there was something that told her they had encountered once before.

And those images, they didn't last long and just flashed through her mind, but she knew she saw it. A man in a white coat, most likely a scientist, holding a syringe… And that Aragami's eye, it seemed eerily familiar… But the thing she saw in her mind was a human, and that creature was not… So how were they connected?

"Sorry" Kota's voice broke her trail of though, making her look up in surprise.

"Why? You didn't do anything bad" she said, forcing a smile "Besides, I'm the one who asked that question. So I should be the one saying that"

"Huh?" Kota was about to speak again when Rena cut him off.

"Just forget about it" the girl looked down, "More importantly" she gave him a serious look "You should really go to the Director's Office" he froze.

"No way!"

"Why? It's not like they are going to fire you or something" the girl's expression turned mischievous "Or are you afraid of being scolded?"

"Who me? No way" he took a confident stance.

"Prove it" the both of them got into a staring contest. Neither of them blinked, their faces filled with determination. When… Kota turned away.

"Alright" he turned around, hands behind his head. "I'll go"

Rena smile in triumph "Better now than never, you know" she heard him make a humming sound that probably meant 'yes' "I'll see you around then. I'm looking forward to working with you again"

At this he turned around, a wide smile visible on his face "You can count on it" he said before rushing off, disappearing into the Elevator.

When he was gone, Rena's smile disappeared. Looking down again, she recalled his words. He and the others had seen that thing before, and his following words… 'But what happened afterwards… It isn't something I really want to remember'

Does that mean, they fought it, and but didn't win? And the haunted look on Kota… Did something… bad happen?

Rena stretched out and then leaned back on the couch. She wanted to know more details, but to do that she had to go out and encounter that thing. The problem was "I'm not allowed to go out…" which meant she was locked in here, without any chances of going out for a while.

She signed, bringing her right hand up above her head and eyeing the red armlet around her wrist. The medium that connected her to a weapon to destroy the Aragami… God Arc…

Rena leaned forward quickly at realizing something "That's right" she stood up. So was so concentrated in finding out about the events of that day, that she completely forgotten about one important thing "What happened to my God Arc?"

Rena gave a sign, nearly collapsing from her relief.

She had rushed over to the God Arc Storage Area, where Licca was applying maintenance to the Arcs through a terminal. She seemed surprised at Rena's sudden arrival.

After questioning the engineer, she filled with relief at finding out her God Arc was safe. Licca giggled at her reaction, "Don't worry, nothing will happen to these so long as I'm here" she said confidently.

"Thank you, though"

"Just doing my job" Licca answered with a smile, before continuing with her work. Rena's then started to wander to the God Arcs in the room.

There were so many, with different shapes and colors. How did they manage to make this many, anyway? Rena stood up and passed in the room, eyeing every Arc that looked interesting.

Just then, one caught her eye and ran over to it to take a closer look. It was held a little isolated from the rest, and was not receiving the same type of maintenance as the others, may be since it didn't seem to be damaged.

Its blade was black, with the edge a metal white. The shield was an orange color, with green linings that seemed to glow in an unnatural way. It also had a black and grey Gun, which meant it was a New-Type weapon.

Even though she always came here to retrieve her own God Arc, she'd never seen this one before. Had it been kept away? It had a few scratches, probably from battle.

Moving a little closer, she noticed something off about it. She hadn't noticed it before, but now that she was this close she saw a long gash that went from the side of the shield, down the blade and ending right past the edge. It looked almost like something had attempted to break it in half.

"Careful!" Licca's voice reached her ears, and Rena looked at her in surprise. "It's dangerous to touch a God Arc that's not yours"

Touch? Looking down, she noticed what she meant. In her curiosity, her hand had moved on its own, the tip of her finger almost touching the surface of the damaged blade. Rena pulled away hastily, surprised at her own actions.

One more moment, and she would have made the mistake of her life – literally. Eyeing the weapon before her again, she turned to Licca, whose face was filled with nostalgia.

"May I ask, whose God Arc this is?" there was a silence, and she saw Licca bite her lip, as if struggling with something.

"It's his God Arc" looking at her with puzzlement, Licca continued "It's the previous First Unit Leader's God Arc…"

Ok, here is the end of this chapter… it seems a little longer than the other ones. I hope Kota stayed in character, and that some of the reasons why he's in trouble don't sound, off?

Also, the God Arc described in the last part of the chapter is 'Laevateinn'. It's one of the final Upgrades to the God Arc in the game, and all the parts have the same name. (It's a pretty cool one, also)

Well please comment! I will upload the next chapter as soon as I can :)