Far East Branch - Lobby
With Sakaki's experiment in food manufacturing at an end, the Far East returned to some semblance of normalcy. God Eaters continued operations as normal, with the 1st and 2nd Units primarily focusing on assisting the brass with the Hannibal Initiative. All members were functioning, for the most part, normally, with the exception of Soma, who was tasked with the Remnant Facility. It was through those operations that he discovered a disturbing piece of information.
The Arda Nova was showing signs of recovery.
Remembering full well how much damage his father's creation had wrought previously, he had no intention of allowing it to strike again. After alerting Major Amamiya and Director Sakaki, he immediately reached out to his other teammates to see who was willing and available to help him stop this rising threat. As had become the norm, Lenka and Kota were preoccupied on a separate mission, surprisingly, with Alisa supporting them. It seemed that, despite their seemingly endless bickering, the two of them had been spending an increasing amount of time in the field together as of late.
This left Sakuya and the dynamic duo at his disposal, and thankfully, one of them was more than willing to participate. After what happened at Aegis Island, Sakuya had a bone to pick with that particular creature. All that remained was to collect the remaining two. Unfortunately, as with most things involving Neo, doing so wasn't easy. Upon arriving in the Den lobby, he found the hall in utter disarray, as curious onlookers observed the bizarre scene.
And as his eyes followed the gaze of the crowd, he quickly figured out why.
Near the corner of the lobby was what could only be described as an explicit display of intimacy. At least, that was what it appeared to be from a distance to the untrained eye. But Soma knew very well by now never to assume anything with Neo. And as he approached them, he was proven correct.
Pinned against the couch cushion, holding the woman back, was Neo's guardian. Straddling his waist, trying desperately to climb up the rest of the way, was the New Type herself. And clutched tightly in his hand, just out of her reach, was a can of her favorite addictive beverage, the First Love Juice. Soma couldn't tell how long their wrestling match had been going on but based off of the state of their clothing and the sweat beading Ichiro's forehead, it had been at least a few minutes. Drawing closer further revealed the nature of their struggle.
"No."
"Ichi!"
"No, Neo. You've had more than enough."
"Come on!"
"No."
The scene would almost be comical, if not for her unusual attire. Once again, the New Type had chosen today to pick a strange, and likely unintentionally, provocative outfit. And as Ichiro struggled against her temper tantrum, pinned beneath a petulant battle maid, Soma couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for the guy. In the pit of his stomach, he felt another strange emotion before quickly discarding it.
Deciding to put the poor man out of his misery, as well as get the New Type off of him, he navigated the curious crowds towards them. "Neo, what the hell are you doing now?"
At the sound of Soma's voice, Neo halted her assault. Leaving her tired guardian alone for the time being, she sat up and turned her attention to the other veteran. Dawning her fiercest glare, she responded in the most serious manner possible. "Ichi won't let me drink his Love Juice!"
"Neo, for Gods' sake!" Ichiro shouted back. Why did she insist on talking like that?
Soma twitched slightly at her suggestive phrasing before crossing his arms. "Any particular reason?"
"Yes! She's already exhausted her entire supply and half of mine."
Soma blinked, giving the pouting woman a pointed look before shifting back to her guardian. He could now understand Ichiro's concern, and he was certainly right to cut her off at this point. Even with Neo's unique biology, it couldn't possibly be healthy to drink that much of the stuff. Even still, they had an urgent mission to complete, and they didn't have the time to argue with her. "Neo, get off him. We have a mission."
"But -"
"You can have one of mine. After we get back."
Neo's face lit up, hopping off of her guardian and rushing towards the stairwell. As she vanished beyond the doors, Ichiro groaned, sitting up from his position. "You're not seriously gonna give her more of that stuff, are you?"
"Who knows? Maybe we can make use of it." Turning, he followed after Neo towards the stairs.
Ichiro sighed, climbing off of the couch to follow after them. Much as he loathed the idea, Soma had a point. If Neo was this crazy over the unusual beverage, perhaps they could use it to help keep her line. With any luck, they might even be able to keep her out of trouble… maybe.
. . .
Aegis Island
As it turned out, Soma's plan to use Sakaki's invention to their advantage was a brilliant idea. With her precious purple drink on the line, Neo entered the battle with a ferocity that surprised both her guardian and her childhood friend. Sakuya, having less of a benchmark for Neo's behavior to begin with, was simply amused.
Surrounded by familiar allies, The New Type fought freely with no restraints. Her eyepatch was left discarded in the transport along with her gloves. With her claws free, she was happily using them and everything else at her disposal for round two against the Arda Nova.
"Neo, 6:00!"
Sakuya's voice alerted her, the sound of rushing wind accompanying her warning. Disengaging from the Goddess, Neo darted to safety, feeling the ground quake behind her at the God's landing fist. With the New Type safely out of the way, Sakuya took aim, firing round after round of piercing bullets towards the vulnerable Goddess.
While she had ultimately decided to use spark bullets this time for the sake of safety, the Sniper was still uneasy firing in Neo's general direction. After accidentally striking her during the battle with Johannes, she had grown exceptionally aware of the danger her God Arc posed. Talented as she was as a marksman, the New Type simply moved too quickly to risk firing when in range. As such, she made a point to select areas a reasonable distance from Neo's radius, much to her appreciation.
Her melee allies did the same, as both were already well aware of her susceptibility to their blades. Leaping into the fray, Soma and Ichiro set their sights on the God component, using its slower speed and large size to their advantage. With Ichiro sweeping from the bottom, Soma came down from the sky. With their combined efforts, the pair shattered the bonds, destroying the God's armor.
Its roar echoed through the arena, signaling their success… and in the following moments, its rage. Turning, the God called on the Goddess, striking Soma with an upward swing of her bladed arm. Snarling back with equal ferocity, he leapt away from a second swipe, distancing himself from the pair and leaving a trail of crimson fluid behind him.
Shifting targets, Sakuya loaded recovery bullets into her chamber. Following his movements with her barrel, she fired, striking him with all three and expediting his recovery. Soma grunted his thanks, going on the defensive as the God and Goddess gave chase.
Rushing after them, Ichiro called to his New Type companion. "Slow her down, Neo!"
With a silent nod, she reengaged. Bolting across the landscape in Level 2 Burst, her scarf glowed ominously around her neck. With its focus on Soma, the Goddess was trailing at the rear. A vulnerable position. Appearing behind her, Neo unleashed, engulfing the woman and herself in a cloud of icy mist. The Goddess's screech told her she had served her purpose. Continuing forward, she passed underneath, dodging an incoming punch from the enraged God.
With Neo out of the way, Ichiro followed close behind, placing a swipe along the Goddess' hair as he passed. With an echoing shriek, she staggered, swiping at him with her elongated arms. They were getting desperate. A good sign.
Seeing an opportunity, Sakuya took aim once more, ordering a final coordinated strike. "Let's finish this!" Firing all of her rounds, she struck the God with every single bullet, successfully drawing its attention and giving them an opening.
With the God focused on the Vice Captain, Ichiro took to the sky, lifting his buster high above his head. Near the edge of the arena, Neo skidded to a halt. Pivoting her body with a clawed hand, she changed course, charging straight for Soma, scythe in hand.
"Soma, catch!"
The sound of Neo's voice behind him told him how quickly she was approaching. And as he heard her feet leave the ground, he paused. He hadn't a clue what she had intended to throw at him, but his instinct told him he would require both hands. Dropping his God Arc, he readied himself for whatever she had in store for him. And as he felt the sudden weight, he was startled to realize, what Neo had intended for him… was Neo herself. Shifting her scythe in mid-air, the New Type threw herself at him. With both arms, the veteran managed to catch her, holding her in his arms as she trained her rifle.
The battle was over in an instant.
With Sakuya keeping the Arda Nova distracted, Ichiro came down, striking the God with all of his might and bringing it to the ground. With the Goddess's protector out of the way, Neo performed an impressive stunt of her own, with Soma's assistance. In a similar fashion to the Arda Nova, the pair took a page out of the Aragami's move set. Just as the God held the Goddess, the veteran held the New Type in his arms like a chair. And like the Goddess, Neo fired, sending bullets soaring across the distance to the exposed Goddess and striking her with every single one.
With a final cry, the Goddess fell silent beside her God… and the Arda Nova was no more.
"Wow, great work everyone!" Sakuya exclaimed, lowering her rifle. Neo nodded, looking rather proud of herself as Soma let her feet reach the floor.
The veteran growled at his childhood friend with a stern gaze. "Give a better warning next time."
"…I said catch."
"That's not -" Soma's temper flared. He was prepared to argue, but quickly thought better of it. One look at the New Type's curious expression told him that any debate would get him nowhere. Instead, he turned his attention to his fellow veteran to demand that he talk some sense into her. But as his eyes fell on the older God Eater, his thoughts paused. "…Hamasaki?"
Standing in front of the Arda Nova, drenched in its crimson blood, Ichiro stood still. His body was rigid, his eyes fixated on the still form at his feet. His eyes clouded and his lids drooped, an indescribable expression on his face. He looked dazed. He looked detached. He looked… hungry.
Neo's eyes narrowed at the sight of him, her senses going on high alert as he continued to stare. Something was very, very wrong. Placing her God Arc on the ground, she quickly crossed the distance between them, sliding to a stop in front of him as he made to take a step forward. The next moments proved the most unusual of all as Neo gazed upward into the eyes of her guardian. She spoke no words to him at first. She only stared, slowly moving her head to the side. Then, to the others' surprise, Ichiro began to do the same. His head tilted to the side, matching he movements as she slowly raised an eyebrow at him. He was mirroring her again.
"…Ichi?"
"Hmm?" At the sound of her voice, light returned to his eyes. Righting his slanted head, he stared down at her, a look of confusion dawning on his features. When had she come over to him?
"Are you alright?"
"Huh? Yeah, fine." Her guardian offered nothing further, instead maneuvering around her towards their fallen foe.
Her eyes followed him as he moved, narrowing suspiciously as he went to work collecting the core. She had seen the expression on his face, and she knew that, above all, he was not fine. But she also knew from the finality in his voice that he had no intention of sharing anything with her for the time being. Frowning, she turned away from him and headed towards the large lift. She would speak with him another time.
. . .
Far East Branch - Research Floor
Later that night, all God Eaters had returned to Headquarters. Those late arrivals headed for the showers, looking to cleanse their bodies of filth and grime. Others made their way to the Mess Hall for a midnight snack. Some went to the training rooms for some practice. The majority returned to their quarters for some much-needed rest. But one soldier remained, wide awake, and wandering aimlessly through the halls.
Following Fake Sun, Soma had found himself even more aggravated than he could have possibly imagined. While the use of mirroring had tremendous benefits in combat, he couldn't help but feel aggravated with his lack of understanding of it. He had never been bothered by it initially, finding Shio and Neo's copycat routine to be somewhat endearing. Even watching the three of them follow one another with Ichiro as a base had been rather amusing at the time. But this was different. Now, Ichiro was mirroring Neo.
And for the life of him, he couldn't figure out how or why.
Yet it wasn't the practice itself that irritated him. It was his own failure to do the same. Much as he was loathe to admit it, Soma was envious. It made little sense to him how Hamasaki managed to utilize this unique phenomenon, when he himself could not. He was an Aragami hybrid, no different than Neo. Ichiro was human. The practice shouldn't even be possible for him. How was he doing it? And more importantly, why couldn't he?
Frustrated, Soma scoffed and changed his direction. Making his way towards the Director's office, he decided to pay Paylor Sakaki a visit. The old man would undoubtedly be awake at this hour, likely conducting some wild experiment. No one seemed to understand the phenomenon better than him. Perhaps he would have the answers he sought.
'The hell?'
His journey was paused as a familiar sensation began to wash over him. The same feeling he had honed and utilized countless times in the field. The same that he used to track Neo when she had gotten away from him. An Aragami was near.
Bolting down the hallway, the veteran rushed towards the source, with little idea of what he was going to do when he actually found it. How had an Aragami gotten inside the Den? How did no one notice? Was it Neo? It shouldn't have been. The signatures were too strong… too unrestrained. Unless…
He pushed his legs to carry him as he made his way towards the source. He could feel it. He was getting close. The signal was coming from the chemical lab. But Neo detested laboratories. Why would she be in there? Bursting through the door, he found his answer.
Far East Branch - Chemical Laboratory
"Damn it…" Ichiro grumbled, tossing the orange concoction in the bio bin. His experiment had been unsuccessful yet again, the compound failing to stop the spread of the Oracle cell. It had come closer than his previous experiments, but so far, none of them had had the correct potency. He had contemplated utilizing Utsugi's vaccine, reversing the process to decipher the components, but quickly thought better of it. The Captain had a limited supply, and the less contact they had with the North Americans, the better. Besides, there was no guaranteeing that it would work in the first place. As he and Utsugi had two vastly differing conditions, it was possible that the same compound that helped one, could in practice, be deadly for the other.
Even so, he was running out of time. He wasn't certain how much longer he could sustain, let alone keep his condition from the other members of his unit. Groaning, he stepped away from the microscope, grasping his head in frustration. What was he supposed to do? Even if he were to find a lead on his experimentation, it wouldn't be possible to conduct any feasible trials without access to the base. And his supply was running very, very low. Then, a dark thought began to cross his mind… a horrendous thought that made his stomach twist into knots.
"N-No… I… Grgh… Grah…!" The world began to blur as he stumbled backward, gripping his head. His heart threatened to burst from his ribcage as the world faded to grey. Then… it turned to red. Coughing, he fell to his knees, the room spinning out of control.
"…saki." A voice in the distance. "Hey!"
Ichiro didn't recognize it. It was loud and foreign. He wanted to silence it. He wanted to kill. He wanted to…
"Hamasaki! Get ahold of yourself!"
"…" Then, the red began to fade. Color slowly returned to his vision as he came to his senses. His eyes drifted slowly around the room. The microscope laid shattered on the floor, alongside of an array of medical supplies. Glass littered the floor along with splotches of red. Was that blood? His blood? Blinking, he suddenly realized he was standing. And in front of him was a familiar face, currently alarmed.
"S-Soma…?"
With Ichiro back to his senses, the other man backed away, letting the arm he was holding fall to his side. Upon entering the laboratory, he had been startled to find a researcher. They had been on the ground, thrashing, the sounds escaping from them barely human. And as he noticed his presence, he went on the offensive, charging him and taking half of his supplies right along with him. Soma thanked his other half for the extra strength as he had needed almost all of it to subdue the rampaging God Eater. Strangely, once calm, the Oracle cell signal disappeared, leaving the room in total silence.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" He demanded, glowering at the other man who looked dazed and confused.
"Ugh… what did I…" He looked slowly around, utterly lost as he brushed the spilled compounds from his coat. A quiet hiss escaped him as shards of glass brushed against his palms.
"Hamasaki." At the sound of Soma's voice, he focused, returning from his haze. "That's it. I don't know what the fuck has been happening lately, but it's getting dangerous. You are going to tell me, right now, what the hell is going on. Otherwise, I'll get Neo in here, and -"
"Stop, stop… that won't be necessary." Ichiro waved him off, sighing as he leaned tiredly against the counter.
Soma glared at him, crossing his arms and waiting impatiently for the other God Eater to explain himself. But Ichiro didn't say a word to him. Instead, he rolled up his sleeve. Beneath the smooth, pale skin lay dark, spidering veins. And like dark tendrils, they slowly began to fade before vanishing into a pale grey. For a moment, he was stunned. He wasn't sure what to make of it, as he had never seen a phenomenon quite like it before. But as his mind drifted to their Team Captain, he began to realize. "…You're infected."
"Yeah."
"Since when?"
"Since the Infernal Subway."
"That long?!" Soma shouted, no longer caring for the volume of his voice. "That doesn't even make any sense. Was your Armlet damaged? Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"Primarily, because they'd react like this." He replied with a small smirk, earning a scowl in response.
"How are you even alive? No, better yet how are you still human?"
"Relax, Soma. Nothing is wrong with my Armlet. It is functioning, for the most part, as intended. Although, the tracking beacon is damaged."
"Then what the hell is going on?"
A tired sigh. "…Alright. I don't think I need to remind you of what happened that night." Soma said nothing, only waiting for him to continue. "After you took Neo to safety, I realized that there was no way I was going to last more than five minutes on my own. I could barely lift my God Arc, let alone swing it, and if I didn't bleed out in the next few moments, the Vajra would've finished the job for me."
"Yeah. I've been wondering about that myself. How the hell did you survive out there all this time?"
"You are well aware that Neo isn't entirely human. And to defeat her in battle, it would take a lot. You remember, you fought her. It took three of us just to manage her, and that was with a broken leg. No human could possibly hope to best her without extreme circumstances. So… I brought along a compound, just in case. Should the worst happen… should she go into Overdrive… it would enhance my capability, hopefully giving me an edge."
"A compound?"
"Yes. It's entirely experimental. And to be honest, I never got the chance to actually test it on a human subject. But I figured, fuck, I'm gonna die anyway. Why the hell not?"
"…A compound of what exactly?"
"Various reagents… and of course, the E3 Bias Factor as a base."
Soma paused, taking a moment to let the words sink in. "The E3… wait a minute, you mean Neo's Bias Factor? You're telling me the base for this drug is Neo's blood?"
"Correct."
Now, everything made perfect sense. His ability to sense Neo, specifically. His increased durability, speed, and strength. His ability to mirror Neo, despite bearing no Bias Factor in his DNA. He was able to connect with Neo, and only Neo, because she was literally a part of him. Her blood coursed through his veins. "Hamasaki, you have idea how dangerous that is? You scolded Neo for using an unfamiliar God Arc. You injected one into your own body."
"Like I said… it was my final stand. At best, I take out the incoming threats and ensure your safety. At worst… well, you may have been slaying me instead of the Susano'o. Not that you would have recognized me."
"And you had no idea if it would work?"
"None. Thankfully, it did." Ichiro picked up a scalpel from the counter. Angling it downward, he carefully placed a small cut along his forearm. Then, he lifted his arm, allowing Soma to watch as it fused shut. It was far slower than the New Type's regeneration, but it was Neo's all the same. There was no mistaking it.
"Yeah, but at what cost? Hamasaki, it's poisoning you."
"I know. That's why I've been trying to find a way to stop it. Or at the very least, slow it down. But it's getting harder. Harder to remain in control."
"You need to tell someone. Sakaki may be able to help -"
"Sakaki knows. He's been assisting me in this. Hell, he's the one who gave me this nifty coat."
Soma paused, taking a moment to look over him. Ichiro was, in fact, wearing a white lab coat, no different than the ones he saw the other researchers wearing. In fact, he had looked so much like one, that he hadn't recognized him initially. "Why are you wearing that anyway?"
"It's Oracle-resistant. It's safer." He shrugged, tossing the instrument back on the counter.
"Well, at the very least, don't you think Neo has a right to know?"
Ichiro laughed, giving him an amused look. "You tell Neo about this, and I promise you, she'll end it for me."
Soma sighed. He knew the other veteran was right. If he were to tell Neo about this, she would be beyond livid. It was possible she may even lose control. And the last thing she needed her in her current condition was undue stress. "…You can't hide this from her forever. Even I felt your shift. That was how I found you."
"I know. Just… give me a little more time. I will tell her. Just not now. I'm gonna have to soon enough anyway."
"Fine. I'll leave the decision up to you. But Hamasaki -"
"I know." Ichiro offered him a grateful smile, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Nodding, Soma turned, and made his way back down the hall.
. . .
**AUTHOR'S NOTE**
New costume unlocked!
Neo's outfits: h-t-t-p-s-:-/-/imgur -.-c-o-m /a/oRN8qWj