Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.
The abyss awakened
It was now three weeks after the Aegis incident and everything had gone back to their usual routine. Reports were being made, mission intel was delivered and god eaters went out on missions. All the teams continued to hunt aragami like normal. It was an almost surreal feeling that only a little while ago, the entire base was divided on whether or not they would stay or leave but time marches on without any concern and everyone had to forget the past and move forward.
Which was why on a Saturday night, James and Alisa were slowly walking back towards the far east branch. They had just watched a movie with the rest of the team as well as everyone in the ghetto and had opted to walk back home instead of taking the van like the others.
"You know that sort of movie does bring to mind some interesting points from a superhero perspective", mused James.
"You mean the sex scenes?" asked Alisa with a glare towards him.
"Well it does bring out an interesting point don't you think? I mean she'd have to be extra careful during those sessions with the guy. Think about it, she's in the moment, he's in the moment, they're both enjoying it and then *SNAP, no more romps in the sack".
"Ugh you're such a pervert", she said whacking him on the arm.
"And what about if the guy had those superpowers… holy hell talk about your shattered or broken pelvis", he added but got another shot from her in the arm once again.
"Hey James", she asked looking to the skies "Do you think about things like that? You know, romance or going out on a date?"
"Nah," he replied casually "Got too many things to do right now."
James quietly stole a glance at Alisa who did not like the answer but didn't ask too much about it. Truth be told, when asked about that question he had to lie because recently he started to see one of the members in the far east branch in a different light.
That one person just happened to be walking beside him.
James kept thinking about the dream that he had and the implications. As much as he tried to deny it, it seemed that on some level he was attracted to the Alisa. That being said there was no way of knowing if this was a passing thought that would fade away in time and he did not honestly want to talk about it to anyone either.
"You know I might not be interested in anyone", he said lying again "But that doesn't change the fact that I'm a hopeless romantic".
"What do you mean?" she asked curiously
"Part of me always like romance for some reason. The whole concept of people being able to overcome all kinds of differences and then fall in love… that sounds amazing don't you think?"
"True", she said smiling a little "By the way, I'm thinking about making something for dinner tonight. Interested in keeping me company?"
James first gave out a nervous chuckle before answering "Can I tell you tomorrow? We've got a tough mission ahead of us and I want to focus on that first".
The mission that James talked about had the retaliation team go up against an Ouroboros. James never faced that many with his previous team but he remembered how dangerously big and destructive those things were. The thing was last seen in the plains with the tornado but at its current rate of progress it would reach the temple by tomorrow.
After a good night of sleep and getting something to eat for breakfast, the four of them got in the copters and headed to the frozen temple. They got off and took a moment to collect themselves.
It did not take long for them to feel the ground around them starting to shake.
"Please tell me someone forgot to have their breakfast today", said Kota nervously but no one said anything.
In a moment they saw the aragami in question come around the corner. To say that it was large was an understatement. The aragami would make the quadriga look puny in comparison. More than half of it's body was made of a strange black mass while it moved forward with the help of two gigantic feet. The back of the aragami was hardened with some moss growing on it along with some small spikes. The face of the creature was probably a few inches longer than a human and it had around half a dozen eyes which scanned the area before one eye locked onto the four of them.
"James?" asked Sakuya taking a step back "You have any plans?"
"Same as always, Sakuya and Kota flank it and shoot that thing as much as possible", he said "Alisa and I will go ahead to face it head on. Hit hard, move fast and keep a close eye on that thing. I don't need to remind you that one hit from that thing and it's a week in the emergency room".
They all nodded then moved into their positions. As Alisa and James drew closer, the aragami was bombarded on both sides by fire from their gunners. The bullets did land on the enemy but it did little to no damage at all. The aragami slowly came forward, its body raising to reveal a mass of roots that seemed to take the form of its arms.
The aragami rose up then dug its hands into the ground causing multiple spikes to shoot out all over the ground. This caused everyone to stop what they were doing and move around to avoid getting hit. When the attack stopped James charged forward to stab it with the spear but his weapon barely penetrated the surface of the creature.
"Damn it", he hissed as the aragami turned to him then its arms shot out to try and hit him. He jumped up in time to avoid it and started hacking away at the exposed limbs.
Sakuya noticed that while James continued his attack, the aragami looked visibly hurt by those actions.
"James, keep hitting it", she shouted and James got the message.
"Alright everyone switch up on the offense", he called out "Kota and Sakuya, hit it's face. Alisa help me with the limbs."
They nodded in compliance then moved to their new positions, Kota fired a constant stream of bullets while Sakuya went for precision shots that were aimed for the eyes. Just like the limbs underneath, they found that the face was another weakness of the aragami.
"Keep the pressure up", he shouted as the team pressed forward, increasing the intensity of their attack. The aragami continued to take on the attack for a while before it stood on its feet. Alisa and James watched helplessly as the Ouroboros let its hands fall down before it suddenly spun around, using its limbs to knock the two attackers into the air.
Kota and Sakuya cried out at this but quickly went back on the attack. Meanwhile James shot his grappling hook into one of the buildings then swung towards Alisa, catching her in the air and turning himself so that it was his back that hit the building and not her.
"You okay?" he asked looking at her She nodded and he lowered the both of them. Now safe on the ground the two of them resumed their attack. Luckily for them Sakuya fired a few healing rounds, mitigating the damage they sustained.
They saw the aragami rise up again about to use the ground spike attack from earlier which was good news for them. James threw a barrage of knives in ascending order to create his platform. He used that to get high into the air then unleashed a torrent of spear thrusts into the aragami's face, preventing the attack from happening.
At that time, Kota and Sakuya fired a concentrated barrage of fire at the right leg of the aragami, causing the bonds it has to break and force it to fall down. The gunners continued firing at its head while Alisa hacked away at the eyes, trying to weaken it.
Still in the air, James chose his spot carefully then came down with his spear extended. This translated with him hitting his spear and him shooting through the head of the aragami, putting it down once and for all.
Alisa and Kota cautiously came towards the hole in the aragami's head then hopped back when they saw some aragami blood shoot up. Luckily for them, the only thing that happened after that was James slowly got out of the hole he made in his target.
"Man that was a wicked one", he said still a bit shaky. He slid down the head of the opponent where the others met him then said with a smile "We should do that again".
On hearing this, the two sighed a little. The team met back with Sakuya and after that they got on the copter and came back to the base. Unfortunately they found that when aragami blood dries, it emits a terrible odour. This was why when they landed on the ground, James was immediately carted off to his room and was not allowed to come outside till he washed the stink off of him.
"Yo", said James poking his head through the door.
"Have you got that smell off you?" asked Alisa narrowing her gaze
"Yes", he said with his expression turning sour "You know you're the tenth person to ask me that".
"With good reason", she said "Nearly everyone thought something died her and was rotting for a month."
"Well that's pretty articulate", he said with a now glum expression "Can I come in yet or are there more questions?"
"Yes you can come in", she said and when he was inside she asked "By the way James, why did you come here?"
"Ah you forgot", he said sitting on one of the chairs "You invited me over for dinner, remember?"
It was at this point where she remembered her proposal from last night and immediately became red in the face, causing her to apologize profusely.
"Relax it's not that big a deal", he said getting up "I'll get something from the cafeteria."
"Wait James", she called out just as his hand neared the door. After that it took a little convincing on her part to remind him that he was not troubling her but eventually he did agree to stay and wait for her to make dinner.
It did not take long for the girl to return with two plates of food in her hand. She set it on the table and James took his place while examining the ingredients. There was a thick dark red gravy with some greens thrown in for aesthetics. There was also a generous serving of meat and a well baked potato beside it. All in all, the whole thing looked pretty appetizing.
"Wow", he said in admiration looking at the food. He noticed Alicia giving him an expectant stare and immediately took a spoon and scooped up some of the gravy.
"Well", she asked waiting for him to respond "What do you think?"
"Amazing", he said in a sing song voice and smiled from ear to ear "This is amazing Alisa".
"It's nothing", she said trying to calm him down "Just a little something I put together that's all".
"James…" she asked, an errant thought entered her mind "Are we… on a date?"
The teen immediately stopped what he was doing and looked at her a little confused then answered "No… this is us, two friends just hanging out".
"Yeah, you're right", she replied despite feeling a little hurt at his answer.
While Alisa continued to eat her meal, James stole quick glances at her and did his best to keep his expression neutral. He did that because he knew that deep down, he was starting to develop a romantic interest in the girl opposite to him.