So, I'm back with a massive chapter (around 7.000W this time). And yes, it's a fighting scene. And yes, I hate writing fighting scenes because I...have no idea how to write them or if it's good or not.
Average Persona: Thank you for your review. It really did make my day and I'm glad that you are enjoying this new version of the story. ^^
I will keep it short at here but in the A/N at the end of the chapter, there are some news for you, dear reader if you are curious.
Obligatory warning: Some references to self-harm, some graphic depiction of injury (not too much but I just make to be sure), and some mistakes.
"Flight, lasers, hard outer shell…poison…"
Lucifer had read the text next to the picture of the Aragami for the umpteenth time, but the information didn't seem to stick with her. She pinched the bridge of her nose. The headache got worse. Her hands started to feel sweaty and started trembling as she tried to check up on her God Arc one last time. It was a spear this time around. The Aragami was weak to piercing damage and she had to do something about its armor. That aside, the ability to trigger a charge mid-air was useful for something that could fly.
The beast in her God Arc growled.
She pressed her head against its cold metal of the spear's trident shaped tip. A shiver crawled over her neck as she spotted a shadowy creature in the reflection that was staring right back at her.
"…Fail. That won't be such a hard task for you." It taunted her. "With so many already made, does another failure really matter?"
The claw touched the skin right under her chin.
"Or are we too proud to just admit it?"
She swallowed.
"I'm aware." She thought. The stench of death that wouldn't leave her. The taste of ash was ever-present on her tongue. The creatures that shuffled in her vision and how they couldn't decide to be helpful or demeaning.
"How can I forget?" She wouldn't let herself forget. It was etched in her body with multiple scars and into her mind with phantoms that wouldn't leave. The creature in the reflection chuckled and then let out a burst of roaring laughter that made even her flinch.
"We already did."
She felt warm, hot. The flames licked against her skin again, burning her hair, searing her skin. With shaking hands, she ripped off one of her gloves and teared up the fabric. She knew it too well. They were dragging her away again into a memory that was just a memory.
It was done. It was over and gone. That was what she told herself and made herself believe but she still felt the pull that tried to tear her out of this reality into some nightmarish depiction of her memory. She couldn't allow that. Not now of all times. They could torture her when she slept but not in the middle of a fight. She felt it clawing in her mind, ripping apart defenses in her head like it was nothing.
"No, you don't."
The next thing she registered was a searing pain on the side of her left hand. A warm liquid filled her mouth. It tasted bitter, iron, and like tainted relief. With effort, she pried her mouth open again. Blood was running over her hand. She wiped hastily over her lips and slipped the halfway ripped glove back over her hand. There was no need to inspect it. The injury wasn't worth losing her head over. It will disappear.
The smell of iron still hung in the air. It will give her away.
"I'm used to being the bait…It will be fine."
She looked at herself in the reflection of the tridents of her spear and rubbed off the last traces of blood from the corners of her mouth and lips.
"Pathetic," Lucifer told herself. "I don't have the time for such things."
Failure meant death. Someone had to be a sacrifice, so she could pull her neck out of this noose. It was almost laughable that she even considered it. The director took and did what he liked. He would twist the things in her favor or made things much worse for all involved. If he decided that her being a unit leader served his cause, he would promote her either way through other means.
Or he would simply try to kill her.
She rubbed her eyes. Her scars were itching.
One hand reached towards her collar and slipped her gloved fingers underneath.
"Lucy!" Her hand snapped back as her ears acknowledged that something else was there – something real. She turned a little to the side and spotted Kota who shouldered his gun. He frowned at her.
"Everything alright?"
She let out a sigh as she stood up and straightened her posture.
"…Just trying to make sense of my situation." The woman admitted. "ETA?"
"Twenty to thirty minutes according to Hibari. Alisa and I already cleared our sector and…" He rubbed his neck and avoided her gaze. "I don't know where Soma went. I tried keeping tabs on him but…"
That was typical. The Shinigami ran off somewhere again without notifying anyone. That was going to be a problem if she was officially made the unit leader. If. The possibility was still there that she could avoid this mess, no matter how small it was.
"…Since Hibari didn't notify any of us that he's in trouble, he's probably fine. The Shinigami might be acting like an unruly brat sometimes but he's still a veteran."
Kota's frown deepened. He was used to her not using Soma's name, but it was the first time that she openly voiced her opinion about him. And at this very moment, she didn't have the patience to sugarcoat or choosing her words carefully. Then Kota went pale and audibly swallowed.
"A brat, huh?" The so-called Shinigami's voice came from behind her.
Lucifer closed her eyes, barely stifling a groan. She turned to him and met his gaze.
"Yes, a brat who still hasn't left his rebellious phase. Puberty seemed to last longer in your case."
Kota inhaled sharply beside her. The next sound that he made was between a strangled cough and gasp. Soma was glaring at her but she didn't care.
"You are making a mistake." Something inside her head warned her. She was antagonizing a potential danger source in the middle of Aragami territory. "Control yourself."
"Tall words from someone who trembles like she's scared." He almost sounded smug. Too smug, too challenging. Saying she was trembling in fear because of the strain this task would put on her. Disrespecting her before she even had the chance to prove herself fully.
A low chuckle echoed in her mind before it whispered sweetly: "Don't ever think you will survive. We expect you to fail. Everybody does. Make it at least entertaining. That's the only thing you are good at."
She didn't bare her teeth at him, she didn't sneer, she didn't let any emotion pass over her face. Instead, she tilted her head, her eyes measuring him up carefully.
"And there I was worried that you swallowed your tongue since you were so silent." Lucifer retorted. "I dare say, I almost missed your cute barking. But I would treat carefully if I were you…" Then she smiled. Her tone turned sweet as she stepped closer. "My patience has limits."
"Guys, guys. This might not be the right time…" Both looked at Kota who tried to break up the fight in the making. He almost flinched under their combined stares. He swallowed, lifting his free hand and lowered his God Arc. "Please-don't-kill-me." He quickly added in a small squeaky voice.
Lucifer dropped her smile. Kota had a point. She shouldn't provoke a fight - not here at least and not now. There would be other opportunities. She glanced at the Shinigami for a second and sighed.
"Kota," Lucifer called and Kota's posture immediately went stiff. "Meet up with Alisa in section E and go with her counterclockwise around the reactor. The Shinigami and I will go in the other direction."
Kota frowned at her for a second before the hooded man to their side just shook his head.
"A pincher attack? That one's not going to work, rookie. A Sariel can fly." He pointed out. How he emphasized when he called her 'rookie' almost was akin to demeaning her status as leader and ridicule her order right from the get-go.
Kota looked conflicted for a moment but then nodded. "Hate to say that but he's right. It will just fly away if we try to lock it down."
At least, they ask questions. At least, it wasn't blind obedience. That was what she told herself but her nerves were rubbed and raw. Her hand ached and burnt under the fabric of her glove. It was almost like a test. Lucifer let out a breathy chuckle and shook her head.
"It's not for the Sariel." She explained and motioned with her left hand a small circle. "We have only cleared the southern sections. If something's coming down from the north while we are fighting the Sariel or the Sariel flees north, we could get a nasty surprise if it's more than an Orgetail or a Zygote."
She knew that it sounded paranoid and she was playing this unusually safe but she didn't want to be caught off-guard, especially if the director was somehow involved in this mission. It wouldn't make logical sense to make her mission harder but the people like the director could be illogically petty about such things.
Out of the corner of her vision, she noticed that the Shinigami was following her hand movements, but she ignored it for now and continued. "That aside, we don't know from which direction it will come from since the sensors around here haven't seen any repairs in months."
"Sooo…We are doing a complete clean sweep?" Kota summarized and Lucifer nodded.
"Even if the Sariel can fly, it's an Aragami that isn't known to flee when it comes in contact with God Eaters. It wouldn't try to bail on us that quickly."
The young man with the reddish hair tilted his head to the right and then to the left, letting out a hum.
"Makes sense." He then concluded.
"Then get going. Time is of essence if we want to finish the sweep before the Sariel arrives." She tried not to sound too harsh but she didn't know if she succeeded. Kota, however, didn't seem to be bothered. He gave her a quick mock salute and jumped off of the platform that they were standing on. Lucifer watched after him and gave out a sigh.
"With that out of the way, Shini-…" Lucifer couldn't even end the sentence as he suddenly snatched her hand and pulled her damaged glove off. The injury was half-way gone already but the semi-circular dents on it were still a tell-tail sign. He looked at it and then he threw her a furious glare.
"You can trick those other two rookies but don't think everybody is like that." He spat. She exhaled to ease the tension that had seized her body for a second. Her free hand was already hovering over her belt pocket where she had stored her combat knife.
"How dare he…" The voice inside her whispered but she knew that she couldn't cripple him just like that. Not here. Not now. Her hand twitched and broke parts of the wound up again. Her eyes never left his. She noticed how he looked at the injury again for a second.
"Has the smell of my blood enticed so much that you touch me without permission, Shinigami? How bold of you." She said while her lips spread into a smile. "Did I entice your inner Aragami?"
"Don't switch the to-…"
"Oh, I don't." She stepped closer. "I see in your eyes. The need to sink your teeth into flesh. Truth to be told, I intended to just lure Aragami but it's good to know that the same tactic works on you, too."
He looked surprised at first, but his constant glare returned.
"You are luring the Aragami away from them." He concluded with a sneer.
She chuckled. "Aragami tend to get weak for wounded prey. They are creatures of impulse. If they are already around, they undoubtedly will follow the scent."
"Not every Aragami has a good scent of smell." He argued back. "But you already knew that, don't you?"
For a second, it occurred to her that she could use this as an excuse. She had injured herself – a clear sign that she wasn't of a sound mind and there was a witness to prove it as well. He was giving her a perfect excuse to wiggle herself out of this mess. Her heart leaped in her chest but her sudden relief died off quickly.
"But who would fill this empty place?" The voice whispered. She had to set personal desires aside for the time being.
"That's why you are going with me." She pointed out. "I have read the reports. Aragami seem to be drawn to you without obvious reason. If my blood doesn't get their attention, you certainly will."
He gritted his teeth. "Then you are using me as bait."
"If anything, we both are. Don't worry, I'm not going to coddle the other two. I just want to see for myself if it's true. People tend to extravagate, and I want to see your Aura of Death."
There was a noticeable flinch. She had him – wormed her way right under his skin for daring to put his nose where it didn't belong.
"…And you bite yourself over that?" He spat. "Following me around would have been enough."
"As I have implied before, I don't believe what the others say. It's a precaution so that we draw something out of their hiding spot. When I had the dubious honor to stare an Aragami in the face, I found out that blood is the best lure."
He couldn't argue with that. He wasn't in any position to. He knew as much as her that most Aragami were known for going for blood – Aragami, animal or human blood didn't matter. The Shinigami narrowed his eyes and his mouth opened to give some useless retort but then stopped. The pupils of his eyes narrowed down and he was suddenly staring at nothing in particular. She could tell how his muscles tensed by his fierce grip around her wrist.
Then he was here with her again. His gaze focused as he glanced to the side and in the next second, he ducked. She gasped in surprise as he dragged her with him. She didn't have the time to question him as a glowing orb shot right past them and directly at the architecture behind them.
It didn't leave a dent. It had burnt its way through the massive metal.
"Seems like your plan worked." A sarcastic note lanced with his voice while she still looked at the damage done to the wall. "Congratulations." Then he mumbled something about "thirty minutes ETA…yeah right." under his breath before he cursed.
Then a soft whistle escaped her – not feeling particularly worried but thankful at this beast interrupting their "civil" conversation. "You have to tell me your secret, Shinigami." She spoke while her other hand reaching for her spear. Then she finally escaped his grip. She pressed her fingertips against her earpiece.
"Kota, Alisa, we found the target. Where are you?"
"Section A," Alisa replied swiftly. Lucifer conjured up the map in her mind's eye. She could work with that. While dodging another orb accompanied. Her eyes looked for the Aragami and spotted it in the distance. Hovering over the ground, spinning and dancing silently with the greenish-blue metal wings that sprouted from its hips, it summoned up dozens of shining orbs in the violet mist that it was standing in.
"…Kota, set up the stun traps in section O. Then retreat with Alisa to Section P. Search for high ground and ready your guns and O-Ampules." She commanded and groaned as she barely blocked another laser beam. Her hands shook, her injury pulsed, and she felt the wet, warm liquid coating her skin. The wound was open again.
The Aragami was above them. The body above its winged hips and massively armored legs resembled a statue of a beautiful woman with a crown-like structure on its head. Beautiful, silent, alien. It was almost uncanny how much it tried to resemble a human. Then the middle of its crown parted, and a gigantic yellowish eye stared at her. The Shinigami already lowered himself, weapon ready to use the short pause to launch a counterattack. Immediately she put a hand on his shoulder.
"Not now…" She whispered while her eyes still locked with the massive one. "Follow me."
He clicked his tongue, but she didn't wait for his retort. Instead, she took off towards section O. Just a moment later, a laser beam just barely missed her shoulder, singing some strains of her hair. She zigzagged her way through the debris, dodging another one with a jump to the side. Hurried steps behind her told her that the Shinigami was following her. Then Alisa and Kota came into sight, perching on abandoned containers, and waited for her sign.
She jumped over the line of poorly covered traps, rolled off on the ground to face the Aragami. The Shinigami stopped at her side, lowering his stance again but this time he waited. Slowly Lucifer lifted her injured hand and balled it to a fist at her head-level.
"Hold."
The blood was running down her wrist. The air filled with the smell of copper and iron.
Her eyes were still on the prey that steadily approached, occasionally twirling in the air to conjure glowing orbs in the air. She deployed her shield, catching the laser beam. A grunt escaped her as the force of the direct hit shook through her arm while the other remained in position.
Then it made the fatal mistake to twirl directly into the traps. She stretched her arm out and swiped it forward in a rapid motion. It took a second, maybe two before the air filled with static. Bright beams exploded over her head. Soma sprinted past her towards one part of the structure and jumped. With a swing of his massive sword, he hit its skirt but the weapon bounced off with a dull clang. He made a backflip, used the wall as a base to jump off and launch another assault. This time, the black creature of his God Arc emerged and tried to gnaw away at its armor.
She followed from the other side. She swung her spear but only managed to chip a small peace at the edge of its wing. She redirected the tip of her spear towards its big eye but was redirected by one of its arms towards its human body. The metal skidded across as if she just hit a stone. A bullet exploded against its armor, searing into it a little bit but did only leave a dent on it.
After three more strikes from Soma's God Arc, there was a small cracking sound.
"It will give away. Be patient." The voice in her head whispered. It was a battle of endurance as they were pelted with laser beams and the Sariel occasionally trying to body-check them. Her spear tried to find the cracks in its armor, starting to chip away small pieces with each hit.
"Be patient."
Alisa joined the front after her bullets ran out. In a daring move, she tried to have her God Arc creature to check on the armor. The fangs ran across the wings and then caught something and locked its massive jaw around it. Splinters of crystal wings rained on the ground as the creatures ripped out a chunk of its wings. The Sariel screeched and tried to move back but then was hit by an explosive bullet straight into its massive eye. It reeled back, lost the balance, and fell to the ground.
"Now."
There was nothing elegant at hacking away at the Aragami that laid on the ground. Black, acid smelling blood splashed in all directions, accompanied by pieces of armor. Somewhere in the back of her head, Lucifer registered how Hibari reported that the Oracle Cell response was weakening. Just a little more. A little more and it would be over.
But maybe it made her too greedy in getting more hits in. Suddenly the ground vibrated. Alisa and Soma already dodged out of the way, but Lucifer was a little bit too late. The searing heat from the ground pushed her back. It hurt to breathe. Just as she tried to steady herself, she was enveloped by a purple cloud that robbed her sight.
It took a second to register what the cloud was, but it was already too late.
Her nostrils, mouth, eyes, and throat started to burn almost immediately as if she had swallowed gravel and rough sand that rubbed every raw and bloody. For a moment something disturbed her vision. Something warm escaped her nose and eyes and a bitter taste filled her mouth. She spat it out and saw red.
She smelled the copper.
Poison.
Suddenly something sized her body. An old feeling that was setting her veins ablaze moved through her body as he violently coughed and tried to spit out the poisonous spores in her airways. There was still a fight going on. The Shinigami let out a curse.
"It's going to flee!" She heard Alisa called out. There was a sudden gust of wind that cleared the field and all she saw was the wings that quickly escaped into the building in the center of the area. Alisa and Soma were standing in front. Their posture was lowered as if they wanted to dart after it but didn't.
Instead, they looked at her.
Alisa looked horrified for a second and then worried. The Shinigami frowned at her. Lucifer quickly rubbed with her right sleeve over her face to clean off whatever was on her face right now.
"What are you standing there? Follow it!" She barked. The hooded man didn't wait, Alisa did.
"Go." Lucifer pressed. "I will be with you in a second."
The girl was still hesitant but left. Behind her, she could hear how Kota ran up to them. She looked over her shoulder. Kota flinched back.
"Holly molly…" He whispered under his breath with wide eyes. "That poison is really no joke. Do you need some to clean your face, rest a little…or something?"
Lucifer took a deep breath and steadied herself. "No, we should chase it, asap."
"Dude, you are…kinda…bleeding out of your eyes." He pointed out and she just gave him an annoyed look. It explained her swimming vision, but it should be fine. In response to his retort, she shoved a health syringe into her thigh. She felt the needle piercing her skin and a warm, fuzzy feeling spread through her body, numbing the pain a bit.
Then without another word, she sprinted into the building. Kota yelled a "wait" after her but she was too mentally occupied in getting this mission done. She reached a large circular hall with a tree in the middle and pools of water lining the sides. Alisa was already firing away at the Aragami. The Shinigami had trouble due to having less ground to move on. The yellow eye of the Aragami stared at them. It spread its massive wings and heat was building up in the air.
"Move back!" Lucifer shouted. Alisa turned slightly to her but then gasped as the Shinigami got hold of her shoulder and pulled her back.
Lucifer already had already one stun grenade in her hand and hurled it at the Aragami. The leaves of the tree began to sear but the area remained small as the grenade exploded. The thing screeched and it was so much worse than the first time as it echoed through the broken walls and ceiling.
"Please die already," Lucifer muttered under her breath, not even attempting to engage the thing right now. She would just be in the way of Soma's swings on that small platform. Kota was already firing away beside her.
Yet, with every tiny piece of armor destroyed the Aragami let out another barrage of laser beams and forced them back. She deployed her shield and pulled Kota to her to block the attack.
"Thanks." He let out a deep breath. Then he looked up and her eyes followed his gaze. The Aragami was out of reach, flapping its broken wings to get more distance between them. Lucifer ran towards the platform. Alisa tried to fire at it but it didn't seem to be deterred.
It tried to escape through the ceiling.
Lucifer gritted her teeth. They were so close, and it would escape them. She swallowed the taste of copper down as the adrenalin surged through her body. It was enough. Enough to kickstart her brain to process everything around her through the pain in her lungs. Her eyes mapped out her surroundings. She had to do something and fast.
"Shit." She heard from her left.
"Kota, Alisa! Fire away. Distract it." Lucifer commanded before she turned to Soma. "Shinigami, can you give me a boost?"
He turned towards her and she nodded towards the ceiling that caved in on the side to build a ledge. He gave her a sharp nod. He took position on the opposite side of the ledge, held his God Arc at an angle just over his head. He pressed his other hand flat against the blade to absorb the impact. She took a run, jumped, and jumped off as her feet met his blade again. Her spear buried itself below the ledge and she hurried to climb the last bit up.
The Aragami didn't let itself deter that much, gracefully twirling out of the way and darted towards its destination – and out of her reach. Lucifer took another run, activating the charging device on her spear to bridge the last bit of distance between them, aiming towards the ceiling.
The Aragami's eyes locked at her. The body already in movement, it started to lean towards the side. She was going to miss it.
Time slowed down.
Her hand reached for her pocket.
The stun grenade felt hot to the touch.
She hooked the safety pin against one of protruding metal pieces close to the handle of her God Arc and pulled. Then she just let it go, hoping the blast radius would be large enough. She felt the searing heat at her fingertips as it ate through the fabric her cheap gloves. The Aragami screeched. Her legs found ground on the ceiling. Through the blinding light, the only thing she saw was something red to the right. She aimed her spear, activating the charge again.
For a second, she suspected to have miscalculated her attack as she was blinded by the light itself.
Then the spear met resistance. Then she heard the sound of something splintering. There was a pull that dragged her forwards and then down. Her hands gripped her spear as gravity finally seemed to remember that she was bound to it.
A sharp gust of air hit her and the next thing that she registered was something wet enveloping her. The blinding light disappeared and was replaced by yawning, distorted darkness. Her mouth and lungs filled with water. She could still see the red glimmer of the Sariel's eye.
Then nothing but darkness.
Without waiting for another moment, Lucifer called forth the black creature of her Arc. It darted out and tore through it. Lines of black and small Aragami parts sailed through the water and mixed with the bubbles rising to the surface. Her lungs burnt. The darkness crawled up her vision as she sunk deeper into it. Her heart started to thump painfully against her chest as she stared into the abyss below. For a second, her grip on the spear lessened almost letting it slip out of her grasp.
The black creature yowled in her mind and shocked her out of her sudden stupor.
Her hands got hold of her spear and dislodged it with a sharp movement. It was easier than she expected but she didn't question it at the moment as her gaze went upward immediately.
The surface. Light. She had to move up.
Her muscles started to burn like her lungs. The bubbles that escaped her mouth and nose drifted upwards. With a last quick stroke, she felt air hitting her hand and soon her head broke the surface with a strangled gasp. The first words that she registered were 'not particularly deep'. The Shinigami gave her a look and just made a hand motion that said 'See?'.
With one hand she clumsily swam to the edge of the pool, threw her God Arc over it, and then pulled herself up with two shaking arms. Water was gushing from her uniform. The fabric clung to her skin, rubbed against her scars as she moved. Her left hand was burnt and bloody. It hurt as the gravel buried into it as she heaved herself out of the water.
Or she tried to, as halfway through the act, she vomited out the water that she had swallowed and landed back in the water with her hands digging into the edge to keep herself afloat. Something red slithered with it. Her throat felt rubbed raw and hot. Quickly, she started a second attempt and succeeded.
"The core?" The Shinigami asked. Lucifer didn't answer as she was busy spitting and coughing out the water that had collected in her lungs. She just motioned him an okay with her right arm before she finally got a break and inhaled sweet, frigid air.
It almost made the pain in her throat worse. She sat on the edge with her legs still in the water, not bothering how it collected in her boots. She could breathe. That was all that mattered to her. Her lungs burned from poison and air deprivation and she didn't trust herself to speak just now. Through the boost of adrenalin, her feeling of pain was weakened but because she could still feel it now, she knew that it would be hell later.
"Yes! We made it!" Kota shouted. "Mission accomplished!"
Just to emphasize his words, he slapped Lucifer on the shoulder. It sent a hot, searing pain through her nervous system and she audibly winced and flinched.
"Oh damn, sorry!" The young man apologized immediately. "Are you alright?"
"Of course, she isn't, you idiot!" Alisa shouted as she stalked closer and crouched down beside her. The glare that she gave Kota was downright deadly. "She almost drowned!"
That was an exaggeration, but Lucifer just focused on breathing for now. It took not even two seconds for Alisa to go from mentally strangling her comrade to mother hen.
"Did you get hurt?" Then she emitted a soft gasp as she looked at her left hand. "Should I get a look at it?"
Lucifer finally found her voice. "No. It's alright." She leaned backward and slicked her wet hair back. Her hand wandered to unbutton her uniform. The dark turtleneck shirt was soaked through. Everything was. Completely and utterly.
"Do me a favor and tell Hibari to send us a chopper, Alisa." Her voice sounded hoarse. She swung her legs out of the water and pulled off her shoes to empty them. The girl watched her quietly at first.
"Even if I call her now, the chopper will be here in an hour at best." Alisa pointed out. Lucifer rose an eyebrow at that comment.
"Is that a problem?"
"Well, not for us but you look like a drowned rat," Kota said, still crouched down her right. "And you got poisoned." Lucifer wrung out her jacket and shrugged.
"I will just dry them back at camp."
"But we don't have any spare clothing," Alisa spoke up again. This time, Lucifer turned to her with a frown. She didn't see a problem with that. If she had to strip naked to escape exposure, she would do it – no questions asked. If a God Eater could even have something like that since they could frolic on the top of a mountain with minimal clothing and only see it as mildly inconvenient.
"Can I even catch a cold?" Lucifer mused to herself. That was something that she should probably search on Norn later.
"That's a problem," Kota muttered to himself as he shouldered his gun. Lucifer continued to ponder on the question if and how God Eaters could get sick, drowning out the whispered discussion of Alisa and Kota out for a moment. She heard of God Eater taking pauses because of overworking themselves and physical injury but none of them got sick. Or she didn't hear of it. Then background noise stopped and it was that kind of silence that drew her attention back to the rest of the unit. Both of them were staring at the Shinigami now.
Who just looked back with a raised left eyebrow – similarly confused as to why their attention turned to him now.
"What?"
Kota and Alisa smiled at him.
Sakuya walked up and down. Or rather towards and away from the door that led from the landing platform back into the building. The mission was a success. Hibari already told her as much but she couldn't help but notice that an uncomfortable feeling in her gut. The sharp wind kicked up as the workers guided the chopper down to the ground.
There was no rush. No medics insight. Nobody got seriously injured. Sakuya let out a relieved sigh and waited patiently for the first person to step out.
Lucifer was the first, bare-feet, and with a hooded jacket that definitely didn't belong to her. The piece of clothing reached over her thighs; the sleeves were pulled up to her elbows. The medic blinked surprised as the woman then noticed her. Sakuya's hand went up to cover her mouth to stifle a snicker. It looked almost comedic with her small stature and stern expression.
It only got better when Soma followed behind her. He looked downright annoyed while Alisa and Kota looked at him with bright smiles. The medic cleared her throat as she hurried towards them. Lucifer lifted one of her hands to greet her. Before Sakuya could even ask what happened, Lucifer cut her off.
"Jumped at the Sariel, miscalculated my landing, and landed in one of the pools."
"Ah." That was the only thing that left her mouth. There wasn't anything else that she could say.
"And Soma donated his jacket so that she doesn't catch a cold." Kota chimed in with a positively shit-eating grin on his face.
"Yes, he can be quite a gentleman when he doesn't glower at people all the time," Alisa added with a smile. To her side, the 'gentleman' in question was now glaring at her, muttering something under his breath. It seemed like it wasn't a quite…willing donation on his part.
"What both want to say is that they emotionally blackmailed him into giving me his jacket because we hadn't any spare clothing at the camp," Lucifer explained and rolled her shoulders. "For the record, I would have been fine without it. I told them so."
"And I told you before that you can't just strip in front of people." Alisa chastised her in an almost motherly tone. Lucifer rolled her eyes at her.
"Don't act like you wouldn't have enjoyed the show when I was halfway through with stripping the clothes off." She said casually as if it was just an offhand comment. Alisa's jaw muscles ceased to function, and the blood crept into her face. Kota blushed, feigned a cough, and turned away. Soma just hid his face behind his hand and let out a long-suffering groan.
Lucifer didn't dignify their reactions with a response. Instead, she turned to Soma.
"I will return your jacket tomorrow, Shinigami. Washed and all that."
He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes but just gave her a nod before he walked towards the exit. Lucifer watched him go with a sigh. It seemed everything was in order aside from the little mishap.
Sakuya took that thought back as soon as Lucifer started to cough, and the coughing fit seemed to last longer than necessary.
"Don't worry…I got a little close to its spores. The aftereffects should be gone by tomorrow." Lucifer handwaved the issue of her health as usual. Just like taking the tail of a Borg Camlann to the ribcage, getting almost disemboweled by a Chi Yu, or slammed through two walls by a Kongou with her subpar regeneration abilities.
She was "fine". Sakuya resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose as she felt a headache starting to form. Lindow had been exactly the same. He would wear a large, albeit pained grin even after his arm was broken in two places and had his shoulder dislocated. And he still claimed that it was just a scratch and that he was fine.
There was a reason why she signed up for the medic course as soon as she had the clearance to become a God Eater. That man had been a walking health disaster in his rookie years and had been such a common sight in the sickbay that he had known every nurse and doctor there.
Sakuya narrowed her eyes. Discolored skin, her eyes were slightly glazed over, a sheen of sweat on her forehead, coughing fits due to a sore throat, her breathing pattern was a little bit high. It looked like she was running a slight fever. At least, Lucifer didn't seem to be lying since it was exactly what the poison did to a God Eater. Fever like symptoms that would be gone in a couple of hours. Sometimes they even got the sniffles because the poison attacked the respiratory mucosa. Some God Eaters even started to bleed from the nose or eyes for a few seconds after inhaling the poison but it often looked worse than it actually was.
It was better what normal people had to deal with when they inhaled the spores. Depending on the amount, they could either get a high fever to the point of vomiting up blood because the spores start to damage the respiratory system. In one particularly bad case, the spores had eaten themselves through a part of a lung. The patient didn't survive the night. Lucifer should be fine with just a good night's rest to let the Oracle Cells do their job. But then again, she didn't regenerate as fast as a normal God Eater.
"You should fetch some of the anti-poison tablets that we have in the sickbay," Sakuya said. "Just to be safe."
"Will do." Lucifer retorted and gave her a nod. Then in return, she mustered her carefully. "I hoped that you would rest well, but…"
"It's fine. Things…take time but a day off duty was probably the best choice." Sakuya couldn't help but smile a little. "And you did well."
The smaller woman in front of her closed her eyes and inhaled. She looked slightly irritated. Considering that she was less than pleased with the announcement, this had to feel like a nail to the coffin. If she only had been more collected about the whole situation, Lucifer wouldn't be in that position.
"Better me than someone we don't know."
She remembered Lindow saying the same along the lines. He hadn't been glad about the promotion either but just sighed and gave in all while smiling. From the outside looking in, it was the natural progression of things. He always convinced others to do mischief, always at the lead. Charismatic, charming, and unafraid. People came to him like moths to a flame. It felt like it was supposed to happen that he was promoted to become a unit leader eventually.
She never questioned it and somehow, she knew, even if she had done so, Lindow would give her vague answers at best. Especially after the director gave him more and more work. Even if she wanted to ask, Lindow just waved her off with a smile on his lips to not break her pretty little head over it. After a while, she caught him sneaking towards the sickbay without telling her a word.
"Am I that unreliable and weak? That you never confined in me?" The thought came over her again and again.
Lucifer observed her but was quiet.
"I will turn in for today. Tsubaki will receive my report tomorrow morning." She said. "…I will need your counsel once the promotion is official."
Lucifer punctuated her words with a small smile. Sakuya froze for a moment and then mirrored her expression
"Of course. Get a good night's rest and if you need anything, just call me." Sakuya offered but knew that she probably wouldn't take it, but she couldn't force her. She had to be patient with her, even more than she had to be with Lindow. Trust and reliance would come over time.
"Did it ever come with Lindow?"
Her heart pulled together painfully but she kept smiling.
Lucifer started to frown, and she opened her mouth to say something. But then her attention was drawn away to a person that hurried up to them. From the gear and helmet that obscured his face, it was one of the pilots. He gave them a quick salute before he slouched into a more relaxed posture.
"Hibari asked me to deliver you a message. First off, congrats to your promotion. Second, the director wants to talk to you, asap."
Lucifer nodded but Sakuya shook her head.
"She needs rest. I will tell Tsubaki…"
But then Lucifer interrupted her. "No, Sakuya. It's fine. I will tell Hibari that I'm ready in an hour and then I will meet him."
Alisa let out a sigh. "I agree with Sakuya. You should rest for today. I'm sure that it can wait until tomorrow."
Lucifer let out a chuckle and there was something strange flickering in her eyes. Sakuya had seen it before but it still made her skin crawl.
"…I highly doubt that."
I hope you enjoyed the chapter...overly long as it is. I'm thankful that all of you are so patient with me and my messed up writing schedule but I have some good (?) news. Chapter 26-28 are already finished (I will take 1 or 2 days to iron out some things to make them flow better). Chapter 29 is shaping up to looking good to. And yes, its plot. A lot of plot. Things are going to get hectic for everyone involved. xD
Have a nice day/night. Please stay healthy and well in times like these.
Lg TheNocturnalHunter