Author's note: Click on my account name to play God Eater OST No Way Back, once you see a paragraph of lyrics on this fic. No Way Back is originally composed by Masaru (Go) Shiina. Lyrics by Ben Franklin. Credits to MaShiinaG0 on youtube for posting the video of this song.

"You should try singing some songs."

"Please don't tell me you're asking me to sing that opera stuff." he sighed.

"I'm not. And besides, it's not opera. The way you usually see me sing, is an aria style. But anyways, I'm going off topic. Why not trying singing this piece?"

She stepped over to the table, holding a music sheet. She then gave the music sheet to him.

As he looked over on the music sheet, he asked, "What kind of music piece is this?"

"It's more of a rock style song. I think you'll like the lyrics. Since it fits your personality." she grinned.

What's that supposed to mean? Ignoring that last comment, he said, "I'm surprised you have something like this, considering that you mostly do classical music."

"Just because I do classical music, doesn't mean I can't do modern music as well. Go ahead, try singing it."

"Now?"

She nodded eagerly back at him. He sighed, and cleared his throat. Finally, he opened his mouth, and followed her order.

"How can I break the fall
How can I find my way back
To who I was before this shadow fell

I cannot break the fall
I cannot find my way back
To who I was before the dark of night
Conquered my soul.
I cannot break the fall
I cannot find my way back

The future's so uncertain I can't see
It used to be so clear
But I'm caught inside a misty gloom.
I'm fighting crazy shadows
The amber streams growing wild
I must move on and I must not give in to
This insane world. It's catching fire
round me now

I'll rise up,
Won't stand down
To anyone's commands, live or die.
I won't break
I'm always ready for another round yeah
I'm alive!

How can I break the fall
How can I find my way through
This maze of troubles and uncertainty
I cannot break the fall
I cannot find my way back.
The dark is so complete it's blinding me
I used to know the way
But I've lost the prophets word's inside.
Now I've got no direction
Who'll be my guiding light?

I must rise up and I must not give in to
This insane world, it's got a hold of me now
I'm alright
I'm okay

I'll find my way again, end the fall
I won't break
I'm always ready for another round yeah
I'll survive

I must move on and I must not give in to
This insane world. It's catching fire
round me now
I'll rise up,
Won't stand down
To anyone's commands, live or die.
I won't break
I'm always ready for another round yeah

I'm alive!
I'm alive"

"Lieutenant?...Lieutenant Galios! Please, wake up!"

Slowly opening his eyes, Drake spotted the camera man in front of him. "Huh? What?"

"We're now arriving at the Far East Branch."

"U-understood. Thank you."

The camera man nodded and walked into the cockpit. Drake looked out at the window, noticing the den's helipad at the bottom. He then spotted a group of people there. A few persons were waving at him, eager to see him. Drake smiled down at them.

The helicopter descended onto the helipad. As it touched the ground, the interior gave a slight thump, while the rotor slowly stopped, until it became quiet. Drake noticed he was clutching onto the amulet during the ride, while he fell asleep. He hid it back into his pocket. He stood up, getting the case for his God Arc, and placed it in the case. While closing it, the pilot and camera man appeared from the cockpit. The pilot slid the door to the side, opening it. As they all moved out of the helicopter, the pilot closed the door.

"I have the recording of your battle with the aragami here in this camera." The camera man handed the camera to Drake.

"Ah, thank you. I'll take this to Doctor Sakaki."

The camera man nodded.

"Good work for today, lieutenant." said the camera man and pilot.

They gave a fellow salute in unison, and Drake did so too.

"Good work." said Drake.

"Drake!" called Kota.

Drake turned around to see Sakaki and the first unit. He was about to walk over to them, until Kota and Alisa ran into him and hugged him, as they became relieved by their leader's safety. Drake almost fell down as they tackled onto him.

"Thank god! You're okay!"

"Gah! Hey, you two! Be careful! I might drop the camera."

"Whoops, our bad."

Kota and Alisa released Drake, and smiled at him. Drake sheepishly laughed at them.

"Gotta say, you were amazing out there. I never thought you'd be able to actually fight that thing."

Kota gave a light punch on Drake's arm.

"Indeed. It's not every day a God Eater defeats an all-powerful aragami on their own." added Alisa.

Sakaki, Soma, Lindow, and Sakuya joined the three.

"Welcome back, leader." beamed Lindow.

"Glad to be back. Oh, by the way Sakaki, here's the camera that one of the pilots gave me."

Drake handed Sakaki the camera.

"Oh, thank you, Drake. This will be greatly helpful for other God Eaters. Once I'm done looking into this, I'll change the data profile on the Dyaus Pita on NORN. Your speed was really quite a show too."

"My...speed?" Drake became perplexed by that statement.

"The camera wasn't able to properly process the image of you moving around. You were mostly a blur. Well, except when you were blocking those attacks." laughed Sakuya.

"O-oh..Did the recording miss the attacks I inflicted?"

"Not so. Every time you stopped at the Dyaus Pita's front legs, the image of you was clear as crystal. So, the camera was able to record you aiming at the weakness." explained Sakaki.

Oh, that's a relief.

"Don't tell me you were expecting the camera to see a lightning fast person running around?" joked Soma.

Drake felt silly for not realizing his physical abilities as he smiled.

"First things first, I'll send you your payment for helping out and-"

Drake interrupted Sakaki, stopping him. "W-wait, Sakaki!"

"Yes?" Sakaki listened closer, curious by his answer.

"I was wondering if I could have a two-day break, from now on, instead of just receiving Fenrir credits."

Everybody became puzzled by the odd request Drake gave. He never learned to stop and rest, as he was quite the workaholic. If he was even given the rare chance, he would use that time to train, or do paperwork on new aragami. It was quite unusual, especially for somebody like Drake. He simply stared at Sakaki, staying silent.

Sakaki simply smiled, "I don't mind. You can take a break."

Drake was then taken aback by how it easy it was to ask.

"Y-you're not gonna ask why? I thought you would. And besides, isn't it difficult to schedule it, because of my rank?"

"Drake, you've been overworking yourself. You need to learn to rest how to now and then, otherwise it will degrade your work pace. Did you not notice it?"

"N-no, I have. I know my work pace because everybody's always telling me not to over work myself. I'm just asking why you're agreeing so easily." Drake nervously looked down.

"Did you notice your face?"

"What?"

Sakaki moved closer to Drake, getting close to his face. Drake became a little irked as he did.

"Your face is pale; what's more, I can see faint dark circles under your eyes."

"What?!" Alisa shuffled over to Drake, and held his face close to hers.

She further examined his face. Drake blushed slightly.

"A-Alisa, what are you-?"

It's true. He's exhausted.

Drake moved his face away from Alisa, embarrassed by how close she was.

"You see?" pointed Sakaki. "Tsubaki and I were just about to schedule your break and you definitely need it. A two-day break should be more than enough. I'll take care of the rest from here on in. For now, you should head to your room."

"But...What about the workload?"

"Just have doc divide it among the remaining first unit. There hasn't been any change with the aragami lately." suggested Soma.

Overhearing Soma, Drake started to become unsure. He started to have mix feelings by this, even though he requested it. Drake began furrowing his eyebrows. Even so, what about the others?

Alisa noticed his expression, and said, "If you're worried about us, we'll be fine."

Drake became surprised, almost as if Alisa read his mind.

"We'll be fine. Just try to take it easy Drake." smiled Alisa.

He smiled in return. Haha. That Alisa; she can read my face so easily. "All right. I'm going head to my room and sleep. Thanks everyone."

"I should be the one thanking you, Drake." laughed Sakaki.

Drake placed his God Arc in its chamber. His eyes began to droop, including his head. He snapped at himself to be awake just for a bit longer. Drake shook his head, forcing himself not to collapse in the hangar. Urgh, damn it. Sakaki's right. I need to rest. He wandered to the hangar door, entering into the main hall. There, a crowd of people suddenly greeted him, as they congratulated Drake.

Oh no, I forgot about how everybody made such a big deal about this.

Everybody gave Drake a pat on the back, or said, "Congratulations!" or "You were amazing out there!" Some wanted to interview or talk to Drake about the mission. He couldn't keep up with the number of people talking to him all at once.

"Hold it right there everybody." Called a young man.

He was wearing a red jacket, while another man beside him wore a blue one. It was Tatsumi and Brendan. They passed through the mob, and approached Drake; Tatsumi stood in front of them, while Brendan stood behind Drake.

Brendan whispered to Drake, "Let me and Tatsumi take care of this. You need to head to your room." chuckled Brendan. He placed his hands on Drake's back, while pushing him to the elevator.

"What? But how-"

"Director Sakaki told us, since things were chaotic at the end of your mission. Besides, we know how you're always working all the time."

"OK people, that's enough. If you wanna know more about the mission, head to the director." As Tatsumi announced that, he gave a thumbs-up to Brendan and Drake.

Brendan returned it, while Drake smiled.

"Go to your room." As he said that, Brendan gave a final push to Drake.

He stumbled onto the elevator and looked back at Brendan. Drake gave a short wave, while Brendan grinned at him. Thanks you two. And with that, Drake opened the elevator. He stepped inside and pushed the button for the veteran's section. As the elevator opened, Drake stepped outside, and wandered to the door of his room. Before he opened it, he took out the golden amulet. The day after tomorrow, will be here. I'll need to see if I can find some incense in the outer ghetto.

Drake opened the amulet, revealing a picture of a woman. Her long dark brown hair tied in a side ponytail fluttered about in the picture, while the gentle sunshine gleamed on her smiling face. Her pale-blue eyes hypnotized Drake. He glanced at the backside of the lid, beside the picture. Small letters were engraved.

Happy birthday Cain

May 17 1999

He continued staring at the amulet. ...Close it, you damn fool.

And so he did. Drake opened the door, and stepped into his room, locking the door behind him.

IN THE HANGAR...

"Hey doc!" called Kota.

"Yes Kota?" answered Sakaki.

"Is everybody's schedule open for the day after tomorrow?"

"It is, Kota, it is." chuckled Sakaki.

"This is going to be one heck of a birthday party for Drake. I can feel it." laughed Lindow.

"I wonder what he likes, though. We still haven't gotten his gift. Hey Soma, do you know anything Drake would like?" asked Sakuya.

"Can't say I do..." shrugged Soma.

Alisa, who was listening to everybody's conversation, became baffled. "Wait, Drake's birthday is almost here?"

Sakuya, who heard Alisa's question, says, "Did Kota not tell you?"

"Tell me what exactly?"

"Ah, seems like he didn't. See, Drake's birthday is coming up, which is 2 days from now. Kota asked doctor Sakaki to hold a party for him."

"What?!...Drake... never told me that his birthday is almost here." Wondering why, Alisa looked down on the floor.

"He didn't?"

Alisa shook her head. "No. By the way, how did Kota found out?" Since Kota planned this, he must be the one who knew before anybody else.

"He said he found a calendar, lying on Drake's table in his room, when he was watching Bugarally with Drake. It was a week before, and he found that May 17 was marked. It said his birthday."

"But how can he tell that's actually Drake's?" Alisa glanced at Kota.

Kota, overhearing the girls, proudly grinned, and mockingly waved his finger, "Tut, tut, Alisa. I know that guy better than anybody else. Knowing him, he probably tried to keep it a secret."

Alisa gave him a doubtful look.

"It's true!"

That's true... Drake can be secretive at times... But, still, why would he keep his birthday a secret?... Maybe he just forgot instead... I should ask him later. But in any case, I should find a present for him, and I should hurry; I don't have much time.

"Anyways, make sure to be ready everybody."

Everybody nodded at Kota's words.

End of Chapter 4: Bitter Feelings