DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gods Eater Burst.
Hai guise! I posted chapter 8 fast to make up for the days I went hiatus ;-; I'm really sorry, I was kinda busy. Anyhow, thanks for the reviews! I appreciate them all!
Shiro's POV
Today, I'm going on a mission with Kota and Lindow. I clutch the locket close to my chest, praying for another safe mission. It somehow became a charm, I always hold onto it whenever I felt weak.
"You've been staring at that for quite a while now." Lindow patted my back to catch my attention.
"Oh, erm, sorry." I let go of the locket and let it dangle freely. Lindow smiled at me.
"You and Axe are really close, huh?" He chuckled a little, a sad look crossed his face the moment he said his name. I guess we all haven't completely recovered from his death.
"He's like my brother." I nodded feebly. "My older brother."
Noticing the change in my mood, Lindow immediately tried to sound upbeat. "Hey, don't be sad. I'll be your brother!"
I looked at him questioningly though I can't deny the fact that it made me jumpy, "You will?"
"Yeah! I mean, I don't mind having a little sister." He shrugged casually. "I'll protect my lil' sis during missions!"
"Really?" I asked, a smile dancing on my lips. Again, I was amazed by how he lightened up the atmosphere.
"Reminds me, what's taking Kota so long?" He asked, rubbing his chin. As if on cue, Kota came running our direction.
"Sorry for being late!" He exclaimed while gasping for air. "I...I can't believe the merchant ran out of Restore Pills!"
"I'll back you up." I replied confidently. I've been practicing with my gun, so I guess I should try shooting 'Recovery Bullets'.
"Hm, so we're short on resources again? That's another reason for us to go on missions..." Lindow said in a serious tone. Must have been 'leader vibes' kicking in. "Let's go!"
The Den Gate opened and the three of us went forward.
"Ack! I'm all out on Restore Pills!" Kota yelled as he glanced worriedly at his HP bar.
"Shiro, give him Recovery Bullets!" Lindow yelled back while crushing the Quadriga's missile pods with his sword.
"My OP bar is empty!" I replied as I inched away from the Aragami. I tossed a Restore Ball at Kota and jumped back before the missile hit me, "Here!"
"Thanks a bunch!" He said as he climbed a platform and started shooting lasers at the Quadriga's face. I sped up and joined Lindow in busting the missile pods, refilling my OP bar at the same time.
When my OP bar reached its limit, I backed away and shot a Recovery Bullet at Lindow, knowing that he took most of the attacks from the Quadriga. He didn't seem to notice though, so he just kept on attacking.
Eager to refill my OP bar, I started slashing the Quadriga's mechanical legs, or whatever you call it. Green sparks flew whenever my sword makes contact with the Aragami. It didn't do much damage. With a loud groan, I ran below the Quadriga and started slashing its stomach. It was a risky move, but its stomach didn't have any armor to protect it.
The next thing I knew was I was covered in blood.
"Shiro! Shiro! Where are you?" Lindow yelled, not noticing the blood bath under the Quadriga. I didn't want to answer back, I wouldn't dare open my mouth in a situation like this. I wouldn't wanna know how Aragami blood tastes like.
When the Quadriga was defeated, I watched in horror as I realized that I was soon gonna be smashed.
Lindow tackled me to to safety and landed next to me. I stared at him, wide-eyed...then he bursts out laughing.
"Hey guys! Are you ok-Shiro, what the hell happened to you?!" Kota started laughing as well, clutching his sides to ease his cramping stomach.
"W-what's so funny?" Then, I remembered I was covered in blood. My purplish-white hair was now tinged with scarlet, my white formal top and bottom are now blood red, my whole body was drenched in blood.
"Y-you look like you're getting ready for H-Halloween." Lindow stammed as he covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing.
"Look who's talking." Kota smiled slyly as he pointed at Lindow's clothes.
"Aw man! This was my favorite top!" He cried while clutching his precious commander top. He must've gotten them stained when he tackled me.
Looking smug, Kota dusted his 'clean' clothes and gestured for us to follow him back to the Den.
I glanced at Lindow, then he smirked. Okay, I got the message. I tackled Kota from behind whilst Lindow dried his bloody hands using Kota's top. Now Kota looked like us.
"Good heavens, you three!" Tsubaki glared at the three of us, she's a little scary if you ask me. "You got us all worried sick! I thought you failed the mission! And what did you guys do? You ran around and played like little kids! Don't you understand that these missions are serious?"
"Chill out, big sis." Lindow said while sticking a cigarette in his mouth.
"And you, Lindow, I sent you there to help them defeat the Aragami! Not to goof off!" She shouted at Lindow. It was a bit embarrassing to get lectured in front of everyone else (including Hibari, the Merchant, and the little kids).
"S-sorry." I squeaked out, flinching under Tsubaki's glare, then she sighed.
"It's okay, Shiro. It's not your fault, your leader is just such a goofball." Tsubaki patted my shoulder. I let out a sigh of relief. Lindow gave me a thumbs-up.
"Hey, hey, am I excused too?" Kota asked, a little excited. Tsubaki glared at him, "No."
"Seriously Lindow, if you're gonna be a leader, start acting like one." Tsubaki scolded. Lindow just gave her a lopsided grin.
"Okay, big sis." He replied, earning another glare from his sister. "Okay, I'll stop calling you that."
"Now you three, get yourselves cleaned! That's an order." Tsubaki straightened up and waited for our reply.
"Yes ma'am." We said in unison. Tsubaki left after hearing that.
"My big sis is so mean." Lindow murmured, making both me and Kota giggle. "Good thing my lil' sis isn't!"
"Lil' sis? You have one?" Kota cocked his head curiously.
Lindow put an arm around my shoulder and grinned, "Shiro is now my lil' sister, so they mess with her, or I'll mess you up!"
"My, my, what a unique leader-rookie relationship!", exclaimed Sakuya as she got out of the elevator with Soma.
"You guys look pathetic." He snarled, eyeing the three of us. What's the big deal? I thought he's a nice guy now.
"Uhm, I'm gonna go freshen up." I slipped away from Lindow's arm and headed for the elevator. In the corner of my eye, I saw Soma and Sakuya giving Lindow weird looks. This had been a long day.
Soma's POV
It may seem out of character, but I woke up late today. I've been taking a lot of mission lately, most of them sent by my father.
I shook that thought away and took a shower. After dressing up in my usual clothes, I went outside and bumped into Sakuya.
"Oh, hey, you're awake." Sakuya smiled and greeted me. We both went inside the elevator and waited.
"Hey Soma, have you been eating properly?" She asked. I lifted my eyebrow, "Why do you ask?"
"You look thinner, I just noticed." Of course, being the Medic-lady she is, she would be concerned about our health status.
"I'm fine." I lied, just as the elevator doors opened.
"Shiro is now my lil' sister, so they mess with her, or I'll mess you up!" I heard Lindow announce as he put an arm around the rookie. What a perverted leader he is. After a short chit-chat, the rookie left to clean herself up. Sakuya and I looked questioningly at Lindow.
"What?" He asked innocently.
"Er, I'm gonna let you guys handle him. Bye." Kota (another rookie) dashed off, leaving the three of us behind.
"You're such a flirt, Lindow." Sakuya teased, but it was obvious that she was jealous.
"Am not." Lindow replied firmly.
"You are." I said in response. He was being too close to the rookie after all.
"But I did tell her that I was gonna be her big bro!" Lindow reasoned. Sakuya looked taken aback. Did he actually want a little sister that badly? He must've gotten tired of Tsubaki.
"Don't worry, I won't completely take her away from you." Lindow gave me a sly grin. What's his problem?
Sakuya seemed to forget about being jealous, so she decided to join Lindow. "Oh please Soma, everyone knows."
"Knows what?" I asked, giving them a confused look. Both of them smirked, hell I didn't even know Sakuya could smirk.
"That you have a crush on Shiro." Sakuya finished. I felt my face flush for the first time.
"What the hell?" I blurted out, lowering my hood so that they don't notice the red streaks that appeared on my cheeks.
"Don't deny it! You were all stuttering and red when she hugged you!" Lindow laughed, Sakuya pinched his arm.
"Wait, how did you-"
"Forget what I said." Lindow said, wincing as he rubbed the area where Sakuya had pinched him. "I'm gonna go change clothes."
Even when Lindow left, Sakuya still had that sly smirk on her face.
"What?" I grunted, annoyed that she won't budge.
"You like her, don't you?" She asked again.
"So what?" I replied nonchalantly, not realizing that I had just agreed to what she said.
"You're not denying it!" Sakuya gasped and started squealing.
"Wait, that's not what I meant!" What had I gotten myself into?
"Don't worry! I'll keep it a secret!"
"Soma, Sakuya, where's Lindow?" Tsubaki suddenly asked, she was a little out of breath.
"He just left, why?" Sakuya asked, Tsubaki waited for her breath to even out before speaking.
"A new recuit will arrive this evening."
And I will leave you guys with that cliffy because I am an evil writer. Mwahahaha! Anyway, special thanks to
kozunamiyuki for the helpful review! Thanks a lot!