Caramel colored eyes fluttered open slowly, the grogginess was clearly evident as its owner began to rub the crust that formed away. Running a hand through tousled blonde hair before yawning and examining the room. Brynn then recalled that she was not in her old place anymore.
She also remembered what had happened the previous night. Turning to the side, she took note of the captain who was now on his own bed, back was facing towards her.
'Maybe it was just a dream. Dreamception.' She thought with a nod as if convincing herself. There's no way that the captain would do something like that, right? Pushing away these thoughts, she looked towards the clock on the nightstand.
4 am. It's bright red hues glowed in the darkness that consumed the room. The blonde tried to sleep again, tossing and turning under the covers and it was all to no avail. With a sigh, she stood up, stepping as gently as she could on the floor in order not to make too much noise.
She was hungry, starving. Although she ate quite plenty during dinner the night before, she felt extra hungry that morning which was unusual. Having been informed that the cafeteria and the lounge won't be opening until 6 am that morning, she made her way to the small kitchen that they had in order to make some coffee.
The cold marble floor cooled her bare feet as she tiptoed on them. It wasn't that dark that she would bump into something so she didn't bother to open the lights, not wanting to disturb her sleeping companion.
She made a mental note to ask how she ended up the Captain as a roommate. Not that she was bothered by it, she was quite happy and glad that she ended up with him. She would never admit that in public but she began to slightly cheer on the inside.
'Cause it would make paperwork easier, right?' She thought, cursing herself for having to defend her own thoughts. There was a bright red blush on her cheeks as she began to make the coffee. She prepared two mugs - because teacups would never be enough for her and she decided to influence the captain - and began to make each respective blend.
Putting two teaspoons of sugar into the male's mug, her thoughts began to drift to the dream that she had the previous night. If one could call that a dream, that is. A nightmare would be a more appropriate term. It was all a blur now, but she swore that it was as clear as the day when it was happening. Now however, she could only recall the closeness that she had with the Captain. If her face had already been red earlier, it was a shade darker now.
"Would you need me to increase the room's air conditioner, Vice Captain?" Brynn spun around upon hearing the person who she had been thinking about. He was giving her a concerned look when she made eye contact with him.
"You're awake, Julius…" She said with a sigh, trying to recompose herself, "You don't need to do that, why did you ask though?" The question was out of the blue.
Julius merely hummed in response before making his way over to one of the stools. He sat down and propped an arm over the counter behind him as he leaned. His hand steadied his head, Brynn could tell that he was still sleepy. The girl had arrived the room at a late time, and she was certain that he had arrived even later. She grabbed one of the mugs and handed it over to him. He muttered a thanks before bringing it up to his lips.
The look of discomfort had not gone missed by Brynn, cocking an eyebrow at him, she non-verbally asked what was wrong. Julius brought down the mug before answering, "I believe that you got ours mixed up."
She had given him the one that had less sugar, chuckling before taking the other one in the counter and exchanging it with his.
"My apologies." Silence followed that as they individually sipped their own coffee. She found it as the perfect time to raise her concern.
"How did we manage to end up in the same room, Captain?" She asked, noticing how the other's eyes slightly widened before bringing down the mug. Julius cleared his throat.
"When you left for that special mission of yours, the rest of Blood decided on the room arrangements. I was the last to choose and I had managed to end up with you. I didn't protest as it seemed like the most practical decision, it would make work more convenient for the both of us." He explained without missing a bit, Brynn nodded as they both had the same thoughts.
"Are you sure, it isn't because you want to be with me, Julius?" She teased with a slight wink. She was expecting him to become flustered as usual and deny it. Finding it fun to play with his awkwardness from time to time.
A bright blush, that rivalled hers from earlier, began to cross his features as he nearly spat out the coffee that he had in his mouth.
"Of course not, Vice Captain. I mean, it isn't that I don't enjoy your company, it's just-" He stopped midway seeing the girl collapse with laughter. Realizing that she had been playing with him, he sighed before giving a small smile. The girl wiped a stray tear away.
"You're going to be a fun roommate, Julius." She said as she gently placed the mug back down on the counter that she was leaning against. Said male took a sip from his.
"Likewise. How did your mission progress yesterday?" Brynn heard the concern in his voice as he asked.
"It went well!" She sarcastically said before turning her eyes to her wrapped and bandaged arms. She needed to change them before heading out for a mission. "Except for the fact that I had to constantly keep a look out for not just the aragami, but my teammates." Julius chuckled at this.
"Well, you all returned safe, that should suffice." There was a pause as he took a sip from his mug, "But don't forget to take care, Vice Captain." He reminded which earned him a smile from the girl.
She was relieved that he wasn't pressing her on what had happened the previous day. A lot happened. He wasn't a prying person, which she appreciated a lot. The two continued to idly chat.
"I hope that you don't mind if I use the bathroom first. I still have some reports to submit to the Director." She mentally groaned at this. Julius gave a curt nod.
"I don't see the problem with that. I believe that you also have a mission lined up for you and Gil." His voice trailed off as he said the last few words, Brynn didn't give it much context as she thanked him and headed to the bathroom.
She knew it was going to be a long day.
She was having a one-sided staring contest with the piece of toast that she had lying on the plate in front of her. In her hand was a fork that she was using to cut up the bread and shoving it into her mouth in small bites.
The report to the doctor didn't go so bad, he didn't hold her up too much except for reminding her about what he had told her the previous day. Also to inform her regarding another mission which she couldn't decline of course. She was lucky enough that she had been given time to eat breakfast. They would be heading out in a n hour or so.
The blonde softly nibbled on the piece of toast as she stared out the window. She could clearly see the houses and small buildings that surrounded the Far East. It was a refreshing sight as during her stay in the Friar, she would only see demolished buildings and Aragami prowling around. They were of course ordered to kill them.
It was also new to her how they were actually in a still building instead of a travelling fortress. She took another bite from the buttered bread and sipped from her mug of coffee. It was her second mug that day.
Not that the Captain was around to stop her.
"Mind if I sit here?" Came a male's unfamiliar voice, it had gone unnoticed by the female as she was preoccupied with her thoughts.
"If you think too hard, you'll ruin your pretty face." The same voice added, which prompted her to finally looked. Her eyes registered a male with olive colored hair that was unruly and reached just above his back, and brown eyes that eyed her with curiosity. He was clad in a black leather jacket adorned with gold zippers and cuffs, red pants which had a chain hanging by the left side, and grey boots that had leopard print as designs in the inside.
"Like what you see?" A smug grin appeared on the male's face as he settled on the stool beside hers. He rested his head on the palm of his hand as he fixed his elbow on the counter. Brynn only scoffs before turning back to the food.
"Not really." She blatantly replied before going back to her toast, "The toast is more pleasing to the eye." She added before stuffing one in her mouth, trying not to be fazed by the hearty chuckle that the male gave.
"Aren't you a feisty one?" He voiced out, still being ignored by the female, "I suppose that it adds to your charm." He faked a small roar with his hand making a clawing motion, still not giving into the girl's silence.
Although Brynn found the olive-haired male beginning to get on her nerves, she was slightly amused, if she weren't in a bad mood, maybe she would have played along. Maybe.
"Anyways, the name's Haruomi Makabe. You can search for Haru on the Norn in case you want to send me an email or something." The male proudly introduced himself with a slight wink that had not gone unnoticed by Brynn. "I'm the 4th Unit's Captain."
They remained in total silence as Brynn poked at the remaining pieces of toast, she was already thinking of what equipment set would she be using later on. Haru had began talking again and she only responded by nodding after each sentence or what seemed to be a question, not really bothering to pay attention to whatever the male had to say.
She had read that they would be going up against a Vajra so perhaps the Gem Sword would do. Then she could craft more bullets for the Tigris gun that she crafted before leaving for the Far East.
"Ah! Alright, I'll note that down." Haru excitedly said after she nodded, it was probably not important anyways.
She wanted to practice using a gun and backing her teammates up, she's been relying too much on her blade lately that she nearly forgot how to switch to its gun form and how to load bullets. That could have been an exaggeration, at least she hasn't fired at any of her teammates.
The blonde took note of the small movement that her peripheral vision had picked up, she turned to the left and saw a small creature in a small fence. She wanted to rush over to it and play with it but a familiar voice had joined the fray, momentarily distracting her.
"Haru?" The blonde turned to see a tall dark brown haired male standing with a can of beer in his hands. The male beside her had a look of shock then a wide grin on his face before he quickly stood up.
"Yo! Gil! It's been quite some time, aye?" Brynn watched in silence as the two interacted. The flirt seemed to be acting extremely friendly with her teammate and the taller male didn't seem to mind one bit. She began to question how the two of them could actually be friends. They were polar opposites, one was extremely talkative, the other one was reserve.
She lowkey cringed at the thought of them being in one place together.
"You two know each other?" She found her voice after silently watching the two converse. They both turned to her and gave different reactions. Haru winked while Gil gave a curt nod indicating that her statement was true. She held back the urge to aim the fork that she was holding at Gil's throat.
"We used belong to the same branch." Gil explained while Haru slung an arm over his shoulder. The platinum-haired female held back the urge to chuckle at his attempt, Gil was a bit taller than him after all.
Haru's grinned widened even more as he continued, "Then this nitwit didn't even bother to tell me that he was coming to the Far East! If I hadn't had the opportunity to talk with this lovely lady here, I wouldn't have been able to run into you. I do have another mission with my unit anyways." He sighed, withdrawing his arms from the taller male. Gilbert cocked an eyebrow at Haru's words but decided to dismiss them.
"Speaking of mission, it's about time we left for ours, Vice Captain." He reminded before turning back to Haru, who looked as though he was about to head out instead. The olive-colored haired male was looking behind him, Brynn followed his line of sight and saw a girl who he was checking out. She whistled lowly to catch the attention of the female. Upon turning, she looked back at Gil that made the random girl assume that it was Haru who had done that.
As if adding fuel to the fire, Haru winked at the girl. The brown-haired girl gritted her teeth and chased after him, his demeanor had not changed as he turned to his companions, "Looks like that I've been sticking around too much. I'll see you both around! Especially you, Brynn. Don't forget about that date you promised me." She rolled her eyes at this and watched as the coquettish male fled to wherever he needed to be.
'Wait, what date?' Brynn's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
Like the previous missions, exterminating the Vajra had been a success. Although the new blade she was using didn't really feel comfortable with her, the Assault gun managed to make up for it. As well as the new bullets that she and Ciel had worked on.
She had been used to the extreme fire power and reserves that her Blast Gun provided her with, but the assault gun, she felt more agile and could use the gun more often without consuming much OP. She also hypothesized that it helped with her Bias Factor and the oracle cells from overloading.
Maybe she should use Assault guns more often.
As she extracted the core, the black mass of oracle cells chomped down on the Vajra with ease and delight. She felt a surge of energy run through her veins while watching the pseudo-aragami devour.
"Date, huh?" Her ears picked up the same gruff voice that had saved her from the flirt from earlier. She didn't turn and merely shrugged her shoulders.
"I may have been nodding to everything that he was saying earlier." She honestly answered. The truth was that she couldn't even remember 80% of the one-sided discussion that she had with man from earlier.
Her God Arc's core glowed blue indicating that it was done with its feast. Effortly raising it up in the air, she clicked her tongue upon seeing the materials that she received. She took note that she could use some materials for upgrading her Tigris gun.
Maybe Gil would be willing to trade some materials with her. She could bribe him with beer or scotch. Julius' rations seemed to be untouched and she was sure that he wouldn't mind her stea- borrowing some.
"Your daydreaming is going to get you in trouble one of these days." The Scottish reminded with a sigh as he brought his cap down and shouldered his spear. Brynn only gave a grin before answering.
"Trouble is my middle name."
"That sounds so cliche." Gil rolled his eyes and began walking away, putting his hand over his receiver, ready to inform the operator that the mission was a success and that they were ready for extraction.
"And that's my last name." She cheekily added while bouncing behind him, she reached up to grab his cap and wore it invertedly. The male huffed and began to speak to Hibari, completely ignoring the girl. Ciel approached them, not sparing a questioning look to the Vice Captain.
She loved that the silvette never pried.
"How were the bullets, Vice Captain?" She asked with her typically monotonous voice.
"They were great, I'm starting to love my gun because of you, Ciel." Brynn excitedly answered as the three of them made their way back to the starting point. She didn't miss the soft remark that Gil made.
"Julius was right, you shouldn't be having too much coffee." This resulted with a punch to his arm from the caffeine-addicted girl. He groaned and glared at the blonde.
Gil was referring to how she decided use her gun for nearly 3/4ths of the mission. She had been to immersed and was raining bullets down on the enemy without regarding her surroundings too much. Fortunately, the only nearby Aragami were Ogretails and Zygotes that decided to meddle with their mission.
She nearly got impaled once and poisoned twice. She owed her survival to her reflexes. The adrenaline that the gun was feeding her had got her too excited. He wasn't going to scold her for that, he knew by now that she was capable of standing her ground.
He also didn't want another argument with her.
The trio made their way to the van that they parked in a safe place. Ciel popping in first, followed by Gil as Brynn scanned the surrounding areas. No other life forms could be see amidst the dreary ruins that had been coated with blankets of snow. Satisfied, she made her way to the driver's seat. It was a miracle that Gil had allowed her to drive, he would usually insist that he would do it and steal the wheel away from her.
"Must have been a place bustling with life before the Aragamis appeared." She whispered while turning on the engine making it rev. The two silently nodded.
"As indicated by the name, it was a temple, Vice Captain. I'm just not certain of what belief." The silvette informed the both of them. The car began to move. Brynn felt the soft vibrations through the wheel.
There was silence, they were nearly halfway through when Brynn spoke up again, "Do you two have beliefs?"
Gil, who had been sitting beside her, gave her a quizzical look, "With a world like this?" Brynn simply shrugged her shoulders. Her eyes trained on the path ahead.
"It just crossed my mind." She stepped on the clutch, then shifted the gear. They had been provided with a manual that day, she was better at handling a matic but she couldn't complain.
"It must be nice to hold on to the faith that there will be a god out there will save you." No one spoke after that. Only the van's rumbling could be heard as they drove on.
The Russian gazed at the red armlet that was encased in a metallic container. It was placed against the wall, with a small shelf underneath it. Her fingers traced the name that was embellished on the metallic frame.
Saerin Tsukasa
Her fingers had dust when it glided across the name. With a gentle sigh, she fished out a white hankerchief from her uniform's pocket and gently wiped the dusty surface.
"It's been awhile since someone visited, huh? How are you doing, Leader?" A smile graced her pink lips as she continued to wipe away the accumalated dust.
She made it the point before to visit at least twice or thrice a week. However, eversince Cradle had been formed, she was swamped with multiple tasks and rarely had time to do anything besides work.
It had been awhile since she last had sleep as well. At the thought, she yawned, covering her mouth with her free hand.
"Now I know why you thrive on coffee." Her leader had always been on the edge, hyper and lively. She looked as though she was never tired and constantly had something to do.
"Leader, aren't you going to sleep yet?" The silvette asked as she peered into the captain's room. Out of surprise, the black-haired girl had dropped the papers that she was carrying. Muttering a soft curse, she frantically rushed to pick them up.
Guilty, Alisa let herself in to assist with the papers. Her eyes widened upon seeing the 1st Unit's Former Captain's photo on one of them.
The black-haired girl noticed this and pulled it away, tucking it in between the other papers clearing her throat afterwards, "I just have some things to finish." She gave a smile of reassurance. The Russian could only accept it, knowing that nagging the girl wouldn't do her any good.
"Alright," She hid her curiosity whilst turning to make her leave, "don't stay up too late." Her companion merely chuckled at this.
"Alisa?" Said girl had been snapped from her thoughts, she turned to see a familiar blonde looking at her so concernly. Her shoulders sagged in relaxation before she gave a smile.
"Brynn, are you lost again?" The blonde blushed at this before turning her eyes to the side. They then met with the small 'altar' that had been created for her dear friend.
The previous question had been discontinued by both as Alisa realized that the other was curious, "Saerin was our previous Captain." Her voice trembled slightly, it had gone unnoticed by the newcomer as she approached the metallic tribute.
"Saerin Tsukasa…" Her voice trailed off as she read the name, Alisa only nodded before continuing.
"She was a great person. Daring, witty, charismatic, although reckless at times." She chuckled at that and Brynn couldn't help but think that the other was describing her.
"A little bit like you." The blonde only nodded while biting her inner cheek. Her eyes trained on the red armlet. She recalled having a red armlet before, perhaps it was with Rachel? She needed to ask as she was beginning to feel suspicious.
Could she be Saerin? She shook her head at the thought realizing how ridiculous it was.
Alisa continued to gaze at the tribute when a gesture had caught her eye. Her companion was paying her respects and she couldn't help but smile. She did the same, placing both her hands on her chest before whispering a short message. The two remained, lingering in the silence that the hallway provided.
"We should head back…" Alisa announced, breaking the silence that the two had been enveloped in. "Let's go back together. You might not be able to make it back on your own." She teased which earned her a groan from the other.
"Give me a few more days." She whined which earned her chuckles from the shorter female. The two made their way back to the Den's lobby. Discussing about what they had to do and Aliss informing her regarding Cradle's next projects.