"If I had known that you ate that much, I wouldn't have offered to buy you lunch." The blonde openly lamented to his companion who had a triumphant look on her face. The male had spent triple than what he usually does just because of the girl who had an insatiable hunger.
Good thing that he wasn't born during the 2010s and before that, he inwardly cringed at the thought of 'dates' and having to spend that much cash for a single meal, to spend money in order to please another person. He began to question why men, or women, during those times were so willing to do all that. He wouldn't bother to spend a single credit if he were in that situation, he was only forced now because of his own words.
Unless of course, it was a certain idol he would go on a date with. He would willingly go broke twice just to be in the mere presence of her. That answered all his questions from earlier.
"You just offered someone, who was out cold for three years, a meal. You should have done the math." She snickered as they walked on, the moping God Eater was now escorting her to the training facilities. The doctor had requested to see her performance after 3 years or being on standby. To see that if she was still a match for her God Arc even after changing Armlet.
She felt nervous, would she still know how to wield the weapon? Or would it reject her. It has been so long after all. Numerous thoughts crossed her mind the moment that they arrived in front of the metallic doors.
"Well, that ends Romeo Leoni's free tour around Friar!" He perked up, breaking the streak of silence that they previously in. He gave a fake salute, making the girl giggle and forget about the thoughts that she had been drowning in. He walked away, bidding her good luck.
It was now or never.
She pushed the door, feeling the coolness spread through her fingers, she had been met with more steel walls, a couple of platforms, and her God Arc in the midst of that all in some sort of storage. The onyx colored scythe, decorated with gold intricate designs called out to her, Auricle was its name. She saw the blast gun that partnered with it, Agrent, and the shield, Cuivre. Her heart began to pound rapidly as she responded to its call. Taking slow and steady steps towards it.
"I assume that you are well enough to take part in simulated combat, Brynn?" The familiar eerie voice of the doctor came through the speakers. The girl being called, paid no attention to her and continued to advance towards the weapon that beckoned her. She grabbed it by the hilt, the storage previously containing it folding itself to the ground.
It was just her and Auricle.
"3 rules: Don't die; if you're in danger, run; lastly, hide. If you catch the enemy off guard-"
"-! Behind you!" The sound of someone's shield being deployed followed by one crashing hard to the ground echoed in their ears.
"Well, there you go. Welcome to this Godforsaken place. I'm-"
The torrents of visions had stopped, Brynn looked around her and saw Aragami imitations around the area. They were all slain. A small giggle had caught her attention.
"That was impressive. It proves that you no longer need extra training or rehabilitation whatsoever." The speaker resonated throughout the entire room, the voice of the woman coming through again. The platinum haired girl look down towards her God Arc and a sense of comfort and warmth washed over her. It had given her a sense of familiarity and of home, despite the foreign place that she was currently in.
"Without further ado, I welcome you to Fenrir's Elite unit, the Blood Special Forces. You will be able to accomplish more than you ever have." The last line had left her in a state of confusion.
'What does she mean by that?'
The girl, unwillingly departed without her God Arc. She had been given the rest of the day to explore and rest. She then began to realize how empty and solemn Friar was. She began to look for the male that had kept her company earlier.
"Where's Romeo when you need him." She muttered to herself before entering the elevator. She decided to check the garden once again instead. The flowers and tranquil aura that the garden gave off eased her and captivated her.
The lift came to a stop at her desired floor, although the garden was encased in a big glass dome, it didn't stop the garden from receiving an appropriate amount of sunlight and warmth. It was serene and peaceful.
"So you've finally awakened?" A voice from the side of the tree had brought her out of a trance caused by the area. Her cheeks stained pink as she looked over to the direction where the voice was coming from. A man with dark blonde hair, sporting regal-looking, violet-dominated clothing stared at her. His grey orbs meeting her caramel-colored orbs. He was sitting beneath the only tree in the garden.
"Why don't you join me?" He referred to the space near him, gesturing towards it. His voice was firm and commanding yet there was a gentle undertone. Brynn did not waste a single second and walked over towhere the male had been sitting, she settled down on the spot somewhat near him.
They mingled in the comforting aura that the garden brought them, "This is such a peaceful place." Brynn broke the silence that they were in. The man nodded, looking towards the glass dome that they were enclosed in. He gave a delighted and relieved sigh.
"Indeed, this is my favorite place in Friar. I come here when I need to reflect." The silence consumed them again, not that she mided, it was the good kind of silence. The one that she would be comfortable being in.
"How are you feeling?" He asked out of the blue, an attempt to get the conversation going and to break the silence.
'Was that his attempt to make small talk?'
'Give him credit, Brynn.'
'I can't, I'm broke.'
Upon realizing that she was taking some time to respond and that the male was already looking at her with a concerned look, her face flushed once again. She hastily answered.
"I'm feeling better." She gave a small smile, trying to calm him down or stop him from asking more questions, "Just a bit woozy, and ironically; sleepy." She and the other one laughed carefreely at what the former said. With that, they were able to have a light and easy conversation.
"I heard about your performance during the assessment test. Congratulations on getting into Blood." He lied, he didn't just hear about it, in fact, he was there the entire time. He watched and observed the way the girl bonded with her God Arc, the way that she brutally decapitated the false Aragami without batting an eyelash. He saw that all from the viewing deck alongside the lame woman.
Despite the distance between them while he watched, he noticed that the female was dazed the entire time.
"Thank you, uh…" Dead air came as she continued to stare into his grey eyes. "I never got your name?" She awkwardly said in realization. She had been talking with the man for over 20 minutes. And still she never bothered to ask for his name.
"Oh, you're right. I apologize." He cleared his throat before continuing, "I am Julius Visconti, captain of the Blood Unit." What he said had caused her eyes to widen in shock.
"Ah, no need to get tensed about-" He attempted to ease her.
"Your last name sounds like biscotti!" She cut him off with what she said. This earned the other to be taken aback. He began to notice the relevance and the fact that it did sound that way.
"I suppose that you are right." He finally chuckled upon recognizing. He couldn't help but smile at the cheerfulness that the girl was giving off. At first, she had been a bit quiet and withdrawn, but after a few exchanges of sentences, she could easily and unhesitantly talk with him.
"I guess that you already know who I am, but for formality sake." She paused and faced him, "I am Brynn Amaryllis Mercu. Pleasure to be in your team, Captain." They continued to talk after that, it only lasted a few minutes before the male rose from his place and dusted the dirt from his pants.
"Well, I still have some work to finish. I enjoyed conversing with you." He stuck out his hand to help out Brynn. She politely declined with a small smile.
"I'll head back inside in a little while." She waved her hand. "Good luck with work." She snickered.
The other smiled at her statement before proceeding to walk towards the lift, "I am certain that we will meet again and very soon." He raised an arm in the air, waving, then entered the lift fully disappearing from the girl's view. She shifted a bit against the tree, trying to find a position that would be comfortable.
The smile that found its way to her face never wavering, her eyes slowly began to close and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.
"Blood Beta coming in." The voice echoed in her ears, she couldn't tell who it was coming from as her vision had been consumed by darkness. Only the figure of light would appear every once in awhile. "Target aragami is no longer in the vicinity, however, the injured God Eater has been located. The bias signals that you had picked up earlier were precise." She heard the footsteps shuffling near her. "Requesting for immediate pickup. I have already conducted necessary first aid."
She groaned, trying to move and switch sides as she was feeling numb.
"Roger, your pick up will be there in approximately 20 minutes." Came the voice which seemed to be coming from an earpiece. Her hearing had grown to be extremely sensitive, an adaptation of the body as her sight had been limited. "How is he holding up? No signs of approaching Aragami."
"She is stable and responsive." She felt a warm finger press against the side of heard head that joined with the neck, whoever that person was, was feeling her pulse. "Her pulse is faster than the usual, but will most-likely regulate. I will be moving her to a safer location." The person on the other line had said something but she could no longer decipher it. She felt a pair of arms, snake themselves under her legs and back, carrying her bridal style.
She could only hear the crushing of dirt under the other's shoes. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, until the unknown person had laid her down on grass. She felt bandages being wrapped around parts of her body that was going through a lot of strain. The male had stopped after a couple of minutes, when the sound of helicopter propellers had made themselves known. The strong pair of arms had picked her up once again.
Her eyes fluttered open to reveal that she was no longer in the garden, rather, in a dim and new room. She presumed that it was her own room. She checked the clock and saw that it was already 3 in the morning. Heading outside to explore was the least of her options.
Or she thought so.
She struggled to fall asleep, she tossed and turned, forcefully closing her eyes, counting Ogretails jumping over some pseudo-fence, it was all to no avail. She sat up, in the process, knocking down some pillows that had been arranged around her bed.
'Who brought me here anyways?' She noticed that she was in her nightclothes, consisting of a pair of shorts and a grey tank top. She dismissed the thought and continued to scan the empty and silent room.
"I must have fallen asleep too early yesterday." She figured. She stood up before she could think of deeper and more serious thoughts that would deprive her of the capability to sleep. She stretched, feeling some of the joints pop with each action, yawning loudly. Her stomach made a loud growling sound that she thought could rival a Vajra's.
"So apparently, I can recall Aragami names but not the people who I knew? Nice one, brain. Well played." She argued with herself while walking towards the door that was the exit. She was met with a hallway that had more doors, and at the end of it, was a lift.
She whimpered and trudged lazily, "Where am I going to find food here?" Before she could reach the elevator, the smell of something delicious had caught her eye, or nose.
She followed the scent, her sense of smell had multiplied, and was lead to one of the rooms that the door had been slightly ajar. Her manners and courtesy had been stripped away by her hunger, she pushed the door open and peaked inside. There she saw a girl with short black hair that had been formed to resemble cat ears. She had dark pink eyes, matching the pajamas she had been wearing. In her hand, was a foot long sandwich that Brynn had been gazing at with longing.
"Ah!" The black-haired girl noticed her, stopping as she was about to bite into her sandwich. "You must have smelt my odenpan!" Her pink eyes widened in panic. "I'll give you one if you promise not to tell anyone that I've been sneaking food in the middle of the night!" She taunted while pulling out another one from aragami-knows where, and flashed it in front of the starving girl.
'Don't mind if I do.' She thought to herself as she let herself in and closed the door behind her. She walked up to the girl and got the bread that had been handed over to her willingly.
Talk about restrain.
"Thank you…" She breathed as she looked at the sandwich in awe.
"No worries!" The other grinned genuinely. "I was planning to give you one anyways." This earned a quizzical look from the blonde. 'What did she mean by that?'
She cocked her head to the side, nearly forgetting the sandwich in her hand.
"You are Brynn Amaryllis Mercu, right?" The black-haired girl asked to confirm, said girl nodded in response to her name. She took in the sandwich. The bread was soft as well as the shrimp and other seafood that was inside of it, the delicate taste making itself known in her mouth. "I'm Nana Kozuki! Blood's newest recruit. I arrived the day before you woke up. Romeo told me allll about you!"
The last part nearly made her gag, the male probably ranted about her appetite and that probably prompted the girl to giving her a sandwich.
They both finished their sandwiches, Nana finishing first in a pace that made her appear beast-like. Brynn took double the time, finding it hard to shovel down the bread into her mouth despite the hunger that she was going through.
The two continued to talk a bit more, before the intruder had noticed that Nana was growing to be sleepy. Her eyes slowly drooping as each second passed.
"Nana, I really appreciate the food and your time, but I don't want to deprive you of your rest." She made her way towards the door, and just as she was going to say goodnight, the girl that she was talking to had already zonked out on the bed. She smiled in amusement, gently closing the door without a sound, and went back to her room with footsteps echoing down the hallway. She plopped down on her bed, and allowed the darkness to take over her. She drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
~'~'~
In one of the spacious rooms that had been constructed on Friar, someone had been going through confidential articles and locked files.
"Ah, who would have known?" The whimsical voice resonated with the metal pipes in the room's ceiling. Figure looming over the laptop that had multiple tabs opened.
"Allow yourself to bloom in peace one last time, little flower on the hill. The strong winds of terror are bound to whisk you away very soon."