"Oh! And this is the part where-"
Brynn groaned before pushing the orange-haired boy with her shoulder to shut him up. This caused the other to wince and consequently, shut his mouth.
"Kota, I know you're excited, but let me watch without you spoiling anything!" She glared at the First Unit Captain before turning her head back to the screen. The duo had found themselves huddled up on the couch in the lounge. It wasn't a busy day today, a couple of God Eaters from other units came by, but other than that, they had the whole place to themselves.
"I'm sorry." He scratched the back of his neck as a sheepish grin replaced the look of pain that previously had been on his face. Brynn simply hummed and propped her elbow over the armrest, and decided that it would be more comfortable to have her legs over his laps.
"Better." Brynn sighed and grabbed a pillow to hug with one arm.
"Hey!" The red head stammered when the girl's toned legs laid themselves over his. "I'm not your-"
"Shhh!"
Brynn's eyes remained glued to the T.V as her companion only groaned in annoyance before turning back to the screen. His elbow, propped on the armrest as he rested his cheek on it.
A couple of minutes passed, the movie that two had been watching was a horror movie that the red head suggested they watch. Of course, both had been preoccupied with their missions and schedules. Kota had also noticed the way that girl would space out, although he did not know about the piece of paper that conquered her thoughts. And the encounter that she had with a certain brunette.
Although, Brynn was reluctant at first, the mention of food and coffee - courtesy of Kota - had instantly changed her mind.
"We certainly are getting comfortable here."
Brynn nearly jumped out of her seat when a voice from behind her had startled her. She scrambled to spin around and saw the Blood Unit's captain staring down at her.
"Ju- Captain!" She corrected herself and stood up. "You're back!" She added with a grin on her face. The blonde male's expression had loosened up and a small smirk shone through the tough exterior.
The Captain had been gone for a week, with no information regarding when his return would be.
"You don't seem pleased with my arrival, Brynn." He stated with a cocked eyebrow. One of his hands had been firmly planted on his lower waist. Brynn dubbed this as the 'Visconti Pose'. The blonde's eyes widened and shook her head no.
"Of course I'm pleased!" The girl had no idea whether her statement was making any sense. "I didn't have anyone to treat me lunch the past few days." She grinned, Julius lightly chuckled which Kota had stared at with disbelief.
"I was beginning to think that you were losing your touch, Vice Captain." He teased, using his free hand to ruffle her hair. In annoyance she swatted his hand away.
"Not the hair, Captain." The grey eyed man apologized, a small smile gracing his face.
Kota, who had been watching the entire exchange, had found it strange how casual the two were acting. The entire time that Blood had been here, he did not see his fellow Captain smile even once. Yet here he was, chuckling even. He did not fail to notice the looks that the other female God Eaters had been shooting the silent man.
He couldn't blame them, if he were a girl he probably would -
"I finished the reports and the files that you requested, Captain." Julius nodded with a knowing look.
"Just as I had expected." Brynn began to take note of the bags that formed under the man's eyes. His stance wasn't as uptight as before, she figured that he must have been tired.
"If you have anything else that you need me to do, just let me know, okay?" There was a slight pause before she continued, "You look tired." Julius' eyes bore into hers after she suggested.
"I'll gladly take your offer." He then gave a nod to Kota, "Now then, I wouldn't wish to further interrupt the both of you. I'll-"
"Why don't you watch with us?" Kota suddenly interjected, scrambling out of his seat to approach the taller man. He offered a cheeky grin.
Grey eyes widened in surprise, he shot his Vice Captain a look as if asking for approval.
"We wouldn't mind you here with us, Julius." Brynn reassured. "That is, if you aren't busy or anything?"
There was silence between the three as Julius remained deep in thought. Brynn knew that he was hesitating and silently hoped that he would join them. It wasn't often that they had the chance to watch movies together or even bond with members of other units.
"I suppose that it would be a great way to relax as well." He gave in, Kota and Brynn exchanged smiles although their celebration had been cut short.
"The Blood Special Forces is requested to proceed to the Director's office." The speakers in the lounge filled the room with Hibari's voice. Brynn's shoulder slumped in annoyance as she muttered a quiet curse. "Once again, Blood is requested to proceed to the Director's office immediately." She reiterated.
Julius knew that the Vice Captain had been disheartened at the sudden request for their appearance. Gingerly, he put a hand on her shoulder - opting not to ruffle her hair - and gently squeezed it.
"This won't be the last time that we will get to do this, Brynn. Do not stress yourself too much."
The duo apologized to Kota before proceeding to the office. Along the way, they had met with Romeo and Gil who were bickering.
"I told you that we should have hit the forearms first!" Came the blonde's voice as Brynn sighed. She stood beside the Captain as the two argued endlessly behind them.
"Attacking the hind legs helped in disabling the-" Before the Scot could continue his rebuttal, he had been cut off by the younger one.
"Nope! That was my bullets that took down the-"
"You couldn't even fire properly!" Gil cut him off, the two were glaring at each other this point.
"You just kept getting into my line of-"
"Oi!" Brynn stopped in her tracks to face the two. Her head had been pounding because of the bickering the two had been doing. She wasn't going to have any more of it. "What's up with you two?"
"He started it!" Romeo accusingly pointed at the taller man. Who in turn had began to pull on his ear.
"Oi, what are you-"
"Hey! Let me-"
"Oi!" Brynn shouted for the second time, louder this time, managing to draw in curious stares from the other God Eaters. Brynn knew this and sighed in annoyance. "The last time you too fought, the mission that preceded it didn't end too well." Brynn huffed. "I absolutely do not want a repeat of that!"
The den had erupted in a cacophony of noise the moment that a group of three God Eaters walked in. Over Gil's back, was Brynn who wasn't exactly in best shape.
"What happened?" Kanon rushed to them while ushering then to head to the clinic. She was the only available medic that time.
Brynn groaned as she struggled to hold on to the man clad in violet. The clothes that we wore had been stained with blood.
"Well..." Romeo began with a guilty look on his face as he scratched the back of his neck. "Me and Gil kinda got into a small fight."
"A... small fight?" Brynn managed to breathe out as they entered the white rooms of the clinic. They positioned her on the bed as the pink haired girl began to work on her wounds. "The two of you could barely hear me over your damned argument!" She strained.
"Stop acting like children. Gil, you're the eldest here." She pointed a finger at the towering man before turning back to Romeo. "And you, stop aggravating him!"
Although the two wanted to protest, they simply rolled their eyes and distanced themselves from one another. Julius had given her a nod of approval before they proceeded to the Director's office.
"Ah, come in, come in." The four let themselves in the moment that they saw the other two members standing in front of the desk.
They had been quickly briefed about the mission, when midway, a call on the phone had momentarily distracted them all.
"Director, Doctor Rachel is requesting for Nana Kozuki's presence." Came the orange-haired operator's voice. Brynn shot Ciel a look of worry before diverting her attention to Nana.
Sakaki nodded towards Nana's direction, "You may go, Nana. I had been informed regarding your condition. Let us know if you can still participate in the mission." The girl bit her lip before nodding and excusing herself.
A couple of minutes after, Blood had been dismissed. Their mission would commence in three hours. Enough time for Brynn to prepare.
And for her to calm herself down. The thought of Nessa's words taunting her once again.
"Hey, Vice Capt." The platinum haired girl looked away from her notebook - She decided to write the cluster of incomprehensible figures there - and eyes met with bright blue ones.
"Yeah?" She acknowledged. The two, along with the rest of the Blood Unit besides Nana, had decided to make use of Blood's meeting room. They were waiting for updates regarding Nana.
"Do you think Nana is okay?" Despite how much the male scolded the gluttonous girl, Brynn was aware that he had deeply cared for her. She gave a smile, one that contradicted with her own feelings and thoughts.
"I'm sure that she'll be fine. Let's just focus on the mission." Romeo nodded before turning back to the screen. It displayed the Aragami that they would be up against as well as a few reminders that Ciel had prepared.
A sigh escaped Brynn's lips as her eyes bore into the pages of the paper. The ink had smudged, an effect of the sleepiness she had while she was writing. In the other pages were a couple of attempts at deciphering the symbols.
"This might as well be hieroglyphics." She muttered towards herself before closing the notebook and slamming it on the table. All eyes turned towards her.
"What's troubling you, Vice Captain?" Her eyes widened upon realizing how loud she had been. Julius had stood beside her, grabbing a chair of his own and settling in it.
"Ah, just..." She struggled to come up with an excuse as her eyes darted from the notebook to the Captain. "Just struggling with coming up with a new recipe. I saw a couple on the Norn that had ingredients that couldn't be found anymore so I was just thinking up for some alternatives." She babbled.
Julius stared at her with a look of doubt but had been quick to dismiss it, he diverted his attention to the book that he had brought with him. "I'm afraid that I cannot extend any help in regards to your dilemma. I highly doubt that they would be useful." Brynn chuckled nervously before displaying a small grin.
"It's fine, Captain. Thank you anyways." She flipped her notebook towards a page that did contain recipes and scribbled notes. Sighing inaudibly as she stared at the words in front of her.
"You know, I'd expect a Garm to be located in the subway. Not in the temple." Romeo piped in, shattering the silence that had formed inside the lounge. Brynn studied the screen.
Blood Mission Notice!
Location: Tranquil Temple
Aragami: Garm (1), Gboro-Gboro (1), Ogretails (?), Zygotes (?)
Description: The research unit has been ambushed during a mission while extracting data from around the area. The aragami that had attacked them were undetected by our radars. Blood is to provide an escape route for them while taking down the indicated aragami.
"That's what the Director found puzzling." Ciel admitted, her focus now on blue-eyed boy. "They speculated that the decrease in food sources in the subway has forced the aragami to migrate."
"Food sources?" Romeo squeaked, eyes widening before he continued. "L-Like... humans?" He stuttered, backing into Brynn who clicked her tongue in annoyance.
With a wicked grin on her face, she leaned into the boy's back and whispered into his ear. "Just... like... you!" Her sudden outburst had caused him to yelp and fall off the chair. Brynn couldn't stop herself from laughing, the rest of the Blood unit had been stopping their own laughs from spilling out. Except for the grins that Gil sported.
"That hurt, Brynn!" Romeo winced as he struggled to get back up on the chair. The Vice Captain repeatedly apologized with a smile plastered on her face, she helped pull him up.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it." She patted the boy's back, who had flinch in return. "What Ciel had meant earlier was the weaker Aragami in the area." She turned to the silvette for confirmation who had nodded.
Before the discussion and playful banter could carry on, the sound of the door sliding open had earned their attention. There stood Nana who gave a timid wave.
"Hey, Nana! You're back!" Romeo was the first to greet her. Bouncing off his seat and making his way over to her, where Ciel had shortly followed.
"Will you be participating in this mission?" The silvette inquired to which Nana affirmed. Brynn watched from her seat as they continued their conversation.
"Yup! Doc Rachel gave me the go signal." She signed a thumbs up to further express the approval and excitement in her face. Romeo cheered while Ciel ushered the girl to one of the seats. Brynn turned to the Captain who had been focused on his book the entire time.
"Will you be doing the briefing or will I be doing it this time?" The past few days during the Captain's absence, she had been doing the briefing herself. She truthfully found it unnecessary at first but after miscommunications that would happen, she realized its importance.
Julius closed his book before answering the blonde, "I would like you to do it this time, Vice Captain. You did offer your help just this morning." He teased, Brynn only rolled her eyes in response before getting off her seat. She walked over to the front of the room, notebook still in hand, as all eyes turned to her.
"We will begin the briefing for Blood Special Mission: "Behind the Mask". As the monitor has listed, our main targets will be the Garm and the Gboro-Gboro." Brynn began, her tone had been serious and unchanging. She only used it during occasions where she needed people to take her seriously. "However, the presence of weaker Aragami have also been detected. We are to exterminate them as well." Her fingers drummed softly against the wooden desk as she carried on.
"Blood will be divided into two teams, prepare your weapons and bullets accordingly. The Garm is weak to Freeze while the Gboro-Gboro will be greatly damaged with the use of Blaze and Spark." The blonde paused to recall the members of each division. "Unit Alpha have Julius, Gil and Nana. You'll be taking on the Gboro-Gboro. Unit Beta will consist of Ciel, Romeo and I." Each member took note of their name and their group before waiting for the Vice Captain to carry on with her explanation.
"The Garm is found to be resting in Area P, while the Gboro is in Area F, although they might change their location, the possibility of it is unlikely. Unit Beta will be the first to engaged. With the help of Ciel's Blood Power, status can be determined through the maps so make use of it. Garm's hearing is more sensitive. This is to prevent chances of them drawing their attention to other units. That's all. Understood?"
The God Eaters affirmed to which Brynn smiled at, she turned towards the Captain who face hosted approval. "Shall we begin?" Julius stood and so did the rest of the members.
"Let's commence the mission, Blood." With that being said, they all filed out of the room, murmurs and various statements echoing as they walked the halls. Only Brynn and Julius remained in the room, soon following their unit.
"I never thought you could be serious, Vice Captain." Brynn shot him an offended look, it was a joke, of course.
"Ouch, my ego." She pretended to wince as she put a hand over her heart. Turning her eyes away from the Captain who looked at her with amusement.
"I didn't intend to offend you, Brynn. I'm not implying that your cheerful demeanor is... a bad thing. I suppose I'm not used to it." Brynn could only smile at him and dismissively waved her hand in the air.
"We can't have a Vice Captain who jokes around 24/7, right, Julius? I know how and when to act." She winked, wrapping her arm around his as they walked on. The elevator had left them so they were given no other choice but to wait. Julius was no longer bothered towards the gesture. He knew that the Vice Captain had the tendency to be clingy towards her other comrades. He was no different.
"You do have a point," he hummed as the elevator door opened, "I'm pleased that you're adapting to your position. Couldn't have done it better myself." Brynn only smiled while the two walked into the elevator. Using her free arm to press the lobby floor.
"Flattery will get you everywhere, except when it's with me, Captain." She teased with her tongue stuck out. She knew that she hit a button when the other's face burned up.
The man began to explain, stuttering as he did, "I-I was simply-"
"I was kidding, Julius. You should see your face." The rest of the elevator ride was filled with a giggling Brynn and an embarrassed Julius who had been hiding his face. The two walked out, still arm in arm, earning the attention of those around them.
"Getting chummy, are we?" Romeo teased to which Brynn rolled her eyes at. She decided to ignore the teasing boy, she would get back at him sooner or later.
Brynn uncoiled her arm from his and they walked towards the God Arc storage area. They couldn't waste anymore time.
The entire unit managed to fit themselves inside the helicopter, upon nearing the area, Brynn nodded towards Julius, who was in charge of Unit Alpha, they were the first to jump. A few meters away from their target. The blonde clicked on the eyepiece to see whether the Aragami had took note of their presence. She sighed in relief upon seeing that they have gone unnoticed.
"Unit Alpha has successfully landed. We are awaiting Unit Beta's engagement with the Garm." Julius' voice came through the earpiece.
"Get ready to jump, God Eaters." Came the pilot's voice. Brynn nodded at the rest of the members. Ciel nodded back, being the first to jump down with her God Arc in its gun form. The blonde followed, the feeling of falling was definitely something she would never get used to. Her midsection felt like it was trying to escape through her lungs as the sudden increase of acceleration made her close her eyes as she waited to land on the ground.
Her eyes fluttered open the moment that she felt her feet on the ground, her legs instinctively bended to prevent her from damaging them. The breath that she kept had been released. She heard the thuds of the rest of her members.
"Unit Beta has successfully landed. We are ready to approach the Aragami. Good luck, Unit Alpha." Ciel informed the rest through the earpiece, pressing on it to activate it. They didn't wait for a reply and rushed into the ruins. Brynn holding tightly unto the Ice Katana that she equipped.
The wolf-like Aragami had been devouring the deceased Ogretails that were scattered in the temple. Brynn could smell decay wafting through the air, she nearly gagged, the smell of dead Aragami definitely didn't smell any better than the corpses of humans.
But the sight of dead Aragami was definitely something she prefered.
She raised a hand and slowly used it to usher them to come close. Romeo to back her up and Ciel to begin sniping. They walked slowly, their footsteps had been covered by the sound of snow heavily falling outside. Brynn positioned herself with a smirk getting ready to devour. At the press of a button, the black creature appeared and with a shriek, it bit down on the hind leg.
The Garm roared, bucking up in pain as flames began to ignite around the area. Brynn felt the power surge throughout her body and quickly switched to her gun, passing the bullets to her comrades.
"Use them well!" She faced the Aragami, rolling over to dodge the paw that it swiped at her. The enraged Aragami used it's other paw to slam it down on her, narrowly missing her.
"Yikes that was close." She pulled the trigger and watched the brilliant blue bullets rain down on the Aragami. Brynn had emptied her OP gauge and began to sprint as she changed into her blade.
The Garm locked down on her, trashing about as it aimed fire at her. She dodged them, but a few stray ones had singe her clothes.
She gritted her teeth as she charged, narrowly missing the paw that was about to strike her. Raising her blade up, she skidded underneath the wolf's stomach and cut through. Blood pouring down as it growled angrily, she felt the blood stain her clothes and drop on to her skin. A grin almost appeared on her face but had been quickly replaced with clenched teeth.
The aragami stood on its hind legs, blocking her attempts to pass under it, it reached down with a paw and swiped at her, successfully knocking her against the wall.
"Fuck." Brynn didn't feel the pain but she knew that it had damaged her. "This is gonna take a while to heal." She muttered as she struggled to stand.
"Brynn!" She heard Ciel's voice and felt something envelop her. Green began to feel her vision and knew that she had been healed with a recovery bullet.
"Thanks, Ciel." She was quick to get up the moment that she saw the Garm ready to fire at Romeo. Determination and fear was the only thing that kept her from collapsing on the ground. The recovery bullet had managed to provide enough energy, but she still felt weakened.
"Out of the way!" She stood in front of her teammate and brought up her shield. The fireball had managed to knock her a few feet back.
"Sorry, Brynn." Romeo then switched to his gun and fired an Aragami bullet at her. She nodded appreciatively as she felt the power surge through her once again. Checking her OP gauge, she saw that it had been filled once again.
She slowly lifted her blade to Zero Stance and waited for the Garm to run towards her. "Romeo, back me up. Aim for the front legs, use your Charge Crush!"
"Gotcha!" He began to position himself and Brynn saw the violet energy begin to consume the Buster Blade.
"Ciel!" She called her attention, "Focus on the hind legs!"
"Affirmative."
3.
It was a few seconds before the Garm could reach her. She saw how it began to lift its paw in attempts to swipe at her.
2.
She gripped the handle of the guard arc tightly, hoping that the Blood Art wouldn't fail her.
1.
The pushed the button and a series of electric blue lights came from the barrel part of the gun. She fired, not bothering to stop until she would run out of Oracle points. Romeo had released the Charge Crush and she heard a roar escape from the beast.
The lights and dust died down to reveal the wolf-like aragami sprawled on the floor. The oracle cells had become unbound to reveal bright orange that shone through the cracks. Brynn stared right into its lifeless eyes as she sighed in relief.
"Glad that's over." Romeo remarked as he leaned on his God Arc. "Thanks for covering for me back there, Brynn." Brynn gave a smile as she approached the fallen aragami.
"That was quite the fight we had." Brynn muttered, pulling on the God Arc's handle to reveal the mass of black cells. It bit down on the aragami, chewing greedily until it reached the core. "How are the others doing, Ciel?" She managed to stuff the eyepiece into her pocket before the fight began. The blonde managed to lose many already. It wasn't doing good to her budget.
"They're still engaged with the Gboro. It's icon is rapidly blinking, indication that it will soon be defeated." The silvette remained focused. "They have successfully terminated the main target." Brynn sighed in relief. Her God Arc had finished extracting the core.
She pressed on the earpiece, "Unit Beta is ready to rendezvous with Unit Alpha." She waited for a response, the waved for the other members to begin walking.
"Roger that, Unit Alpha is making their way towards the point of rendezvous. Don't let your guard down." Came Gil's voice before there was silence once again.
"Blood Unit to branch, mission has been completed with zero casualties. Secondary targets have been taken down by the main targets before we arrived. We are ready to go back to base. Updates regarding the research unit?" She carried her God Arc with her right hand while the other pressed against the earpiece.
"Message received. Good job, Blood. The 1st unit has successfully recovered the ambushed unit. A pick up is on the way. Remain on your toes and will update you the moment that your pick up arrives." Hibari's voice was clear through the lines. Satisfied, Brynn let go of the earpiece and the walk towards the meeting point had been silent.