Chapter 4: Unsure Feelings

Sitting on my bed, I quietly thought back to the days before I even came to the Fenrir Far East Branch, to Japan. Back then, I was sitting in a transportation copter, on the way to the Fenrir Far East Branch…

"Hey, kid! This is your first time to the Fenrir Far East Branch, isn't it?" The pilot said to me. I nodded my head, "Yeah, though I've been to almost every other branch so I doubt they have anything to surprise me." The pilot chuckled then resumed to concentrating on flying the vehicle. What I said was true, I had visited almost every Fenrir Branch possible. From Singapore to Thailand, from America to China, I had gone to most of the major countries for sight-seeing, even managing to get a few souvenirs. I did miss a few places, but plan to correct that soon enough.

Looking over the horizon where the sun was setting, as if a small stream of heaven had revealed itself, I momentarily forgot about the current state of the world, how most of the nature that covered this world was lost, leaving it in a barren state, and the Aragami. But one will always remember sooner or later.

In a time where the Gods have decided to devour this world, what can its residents hope to do?

In a world where the deities have turned on their subjects, who else can humans turn to?

…. God, I hate irony.

A knock on my door relieved me from my thoughts and turned my attention to the present. I wasn't sure whether to let the unknown person come in or send them away, in my current state, I was bound to lash out at people without meaning to.

"Hey Kamino, are you in there? Can I come in?" A familiar voice rang through.

Even though muffled by the door, I could easily pick up the tone of worry in Kota's voice. Sighing, I got up and said, "Yeah, I'm here. C'mon in, Kota."

The usual cheerful Kota was now quiet and solemn as he looked at me with concern on his face. He then forced a cheerful smile.

"Hey, good work… Hey, I heard… that your partner passed away. Mmm… I just don't think it would do any good… for us to be gloomy."

Looking at Kota, I can tell he has no experience in dealing with death, "Yeah, I know. But Eric's dead and that won't change, so we might as well move on."

Kota then had a look of shock on his face, "How could you say that so calmly!" As I blinked in confusion, he continued, "Someone died for crying out loud! And it even happened right in front of you! You should be panicking and screaming and… Oh, I don't know! Anything but calm and collected right now!"

I looked at Kota with a grim look on my face, "Unfortunately Kota, death is something I've seen ever since I was only 4 years old."

"… Huh?" Younger rookie looked me, puzzled.

"Back in Malaysia, the Shield Wall would usually be compromised due to the lack of suitable materials to sustain it. As a result, Aragami would often break through and attack the outer town. To counter this, the Branch posted twice as many teams to defend it but… There were always casualties, both civilian and Gods Eater." I paused to allow Kota to soak in the information before continuing.

"And even though the Wall has been upgraded with materials sent from other branches, after I left to travel the world, I still see the same thing, people getting killed, people getting devoured by Aragami… Over and over and over again, like some sick scene from a horror movie put into an eternal loop. Because of that… I ended getting used to death, like it's something you'd expect to happen every day…" Unable to continue, I trailed off and kept quiet. For a long time, the silence between us had grown so thick; you could tear through it with your bare hands.

"That's… really messed up." Kota said, breaking the silence. I nodded agreement, "I know, Kota. I know…" He then rubbed his head with both hands, "Mmm… don't worry! Let's be more confident! We're invincible!"

"Kota…" I interrupted.

"Yes?"

"If we… if the Gods Eaters really were invincible, none of them would have died."

"Oh…" Kota cast his eyes down, worried that he made things worse. Man, I really have to stop being downer at these times.

I cleared my throat, "Hey, it's cool. I know you're just trying to cheer me up, Kota and I appreciate it. Thanks, pal."

Scratching his head sheepishly, Kota looked like he just remembered something, "Hey, Lindow seemed worried about you. He just went back to his room, so you should go see him!"

Nodding my head, I patted Kota on the shoulder as thanks before making my way to the elevator. Hitting the veteran's floor, I waited for a while, wishing I had brought my Ipod. It was pretty boring, having to wait for your floor to arrive… Wait, it's the other way around. Still, I didn't think Lindow would be concerned with my well-being. He seemed the out-going kind of guy who doesn't care much for the complicated stuff… Then again, my current situation isn't exactly complicated either.

Once I reached the veteran's floor, I headed to Lindow's room at the end of the hallway and knocked on the door. "Come in."

Lindow looked at me from his couch, "Hey there, rookie. Never had a comrade die in front of you, huh? Come to think of it, we haven't really talked yet." He gestured to an empty space on the couch to which I sat down. Lindow then continued, "I'm not really much for talking… But is there something you want to ask me?" I thought long and hard on this before giving my reply, finally I decide to ask about Eric.

From what Lindow said, Eric was one of the kids from the upper-class. A bit bratty, but a good guy who looked after his sister… Hearing that Eric had sibling made even more guilty for freezing back then. Lindow then mentioned that by becoming a Gods Eater, you're mostly fighting against the weight of that responsibility. And that in his own way, Eric fought as hard as he could…

Just like me right now… even though I didn't get a good first impression of him, I started to respect Eric a little more now. Speaking of Eric, maybe I should ask Lindow about Soma. There wasn't much that could tell me anything about him.

"What about Soma?"

Lindow scratched his chin at that question, "Soma is one of the top Gods Eaters in the Far East Branch but he is misunderstood most of the time due to him being very blunt. Though you cannot deny he is a brat, nor can you find a kinder person than Soma is." Really, he didn't strike me as that kind a person when we first met. Then again, I did freeze without doing something back then.

"Soma's worst fear is losing comrade right before his eyes, so even if he doesn't show it, he obviously feels guilty about not being able to save Eric. This is why he normally keeps his distance away from others." I muttered to myself as I heard that, "Sounds like Soma has it rough." Lindow then looked at me seriously while placing a hand on my shoulder.

"So, I'm ordering you to make friends with him and prevent each other from ever dying. So you see… I don't want you to be hard on him, got that?"

I was pretty surprised at that last part, but question is how hard Soma will be on me if we meet… correction, when we meet. Nodding my head, I thanked Lindow for answering my questions.

"Hey, it's no big deal. I'm glad I could be of assistance. Anyways, both you and Kouta still have a lot to learn technically. Survive a while and you'll do fine. I'm counting on you….. Just don't get killed. Got that?" Lindow said with concern.

"Don't worry, Lindow. I have no intention of dying." I replied before leaving the room.

Figuring now would be a good time to check if I had any missions yet, I took the elevator to the entrance and went straight to Hibari, who also had that look of concern on her face, "Kamino, are you okay?"

Sheesh, did I really look THAT depressed?

"I'm fine now, Hibari. Thanks for asking. By the way, are there any missions for me?" I asked.

Checking her computer, Hibari then said, "Not yet, but you have a new tutorial available for you."

Another tutorial? I wonder what this one is about.

-Training Room-

Standing in the middle of the white, empty room, I gave my God Arc a few swings to warm myself up.

A short while later, Tsubaki's voice erupted from the loud speakers placed in the top corners of the room, "Welcome recruit. This time we are going into advanced combat. It might sound difficult, but try to follow. The Aragami that you're about to fight has different armor depending on the body part. Whether your attack was effective to that part can be determined by the reaction of the attack. I am sure you have read the manual and have already remembered the 4 reactions and the order in which they are listed, from most effective to least."

"While out on your missions, try to observe the reactions and deal the most effective attacks. I have here, a training target that looks like a Vajra. Attack it how you like for 1 minute."

Almost immediately after this was said, a large Aragami appeared before my eyes. Even though I knew it was just a hologram, I found myself intimidated by the vicious snarl on its face.

I sure wouldn't want to tango with this thing one on one.

I remembered from the manual that a Vajra is capable of generating electric attacks with the cape like organ on its back. I also remembered that it was vulnerable on its front legs, abdomen and tail while weak to Blaze, Freeze and Divine attacks.

Well, I couldn't find a better way to see if that's true.

I started by attacking the front parts, watching for the type of reaction it gave out. The face for some reason, was the most effective place to attack while decent damage could be dealt with to the front legs. The cape on its back was very hard, resulting a large "clang", as if I had struck metal. I also found out that the abdomen was indeed an effective place attack. Since the tail it was high up in the air due to the stance the dummy Vajra was in, I had to repeatedly jump to reach it. A bright white flash as I hit it confirmed the information.

After attacking the parts I found most effective in dealing damage, I noticed that the part I attacked soon broke off and that my attacks became even more effective.

"Okay, stop there. Were you able to find the spot where your attacks were most effective? Generically speaking, the tail is a weak spot and capes are strong against any attack. It'd be a waste of time attacking the cape. Try to move around to find that weakspot. Also know that Aragami armor can change, when Aragami is Enraged or its Oracle Cells are Unbound. When the Oracle Cells of the training target's front legs and head are Unbound, the armor becomes weak. Sometimes, it could get harder, depending on the situation. Just know, it requires observation."

I nodded while thinking about the new information. So, besides the fact that their Oracle Cells can be unbound, Aragami can get angry? I'm surprised that they knew anything other than devouring. Looking at the dummy Vajra, I ended shuddering at the thought of the real thing getting Enraged.

Things could get ugly should that ever happens.

I soon got out of my thoughts in time to hear Tsubaki giving me more advice, "The time you will spend in battle will change drastically if you attack the weak spot. Observe carefully, and make sure you attack that effective spot. But remember, that soft spot you're aiming for will change depending on your weapon too."

So the type weapon I use will also affect how much damage I can give them? Looks like I need re-check some weapon manuals…

"Alright, that is all for today's tutorial. You are free to continue with your schedule."

Bowing my head, I exited the training facility and went to the cafeteria to get something to eat. All those missions and training made me hungry. Settling on a light snack, I sat down at an empty table at quietly ate my food before noticing someone right behind me. Turning around I noticed that it was Soma, with a tray of food in his hands. He looked annoyed.

"Do you mind, you're in my spot?" he growled.

Remembering the conversation with Lindow, I shrugged, "There plenty of empty seats, you can pick one of them. Or… you can go find somewhere else to sit. It's your choice, Soma. But if you can wait, I'm almost done with this so I'll be leaving soon." Giving me cold glare, Soma resigned and sat in the corner opposite me. I tried thinking of something to say, but my gut tells me it was best to leave things as it was, quiet.

After finishing my snack, I tried again to say something but couldn't think of anything that might not piss him off. Sighing, I got up and was just about to leave when I heard, "So rookie, how are you coping with the death of a comrade?" I turned around in surprise, staring at Soma. I certainly wasn't expecting to him to ask me that.

"Honestly? I've seen a lot people die growing up, most of them were just strangers to me. Eric's death just… I don't know, hit me a lot harder than it normally would." Soma looked down as his tray, "I see."

Well it might not be what Lindow expected, but at least I talked to him, "There's nothing much we can do now but to move on…" I soon muttered more to myself than to Soma, "Dying is not the hard part, it's getting left behind." Soma looked up in surprise, "Huh?" Crap, don't tell me he heard me… "Nothing, just thinking about stuff. Anyway, I gotta go so I'll see you around." I heard a grunt as a reply and shrugged.

That probably couldn't have gone any better.

Even though it was still early, I decided to retire to bed. There wasn't much that could be done now, besides hoping that tomorrow would bring something better. Lying on my bed, I turned on my Ipod and put on the earpieces. Choosing my favorite song, I blankly watch the ceiling while the lyrics appeared in my head…

Kanashimi ni nureta Tsuki ga shizuki ni,
Daichi wo akaku, Akaku somete kieru
Boku no koe ga Kikoe masu ka?
Satsubatsu to shita Kono Jidai de?
Boku wa boku de Irare masu ka?

Kokoro afure dasu Namida wa,
Kitto mirai wo, Motometeru Akashi na no
Ima no muryoku wo nagekanaide,
Mae wo mistumete…

You can get it over, Over the Clouds…

And done, I got a bit of a block trying figure out what to write in this chapter. But I guess it worked out. Oh and before I forget…

Disclaimer: I do not own God Eater Burst or the song "Over the Clouds", each belongs to their respected owners.

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