The song that Okami sings to Soma is a remake to a Celtic Christmas song 'In the Bleak Mid-Winter.' Say what you want I like that song.
Chapter 31
"Morning Okami. I have a retaliation request for a Susano'o," Hibari said. "When this request came in, Gen seemed really down. But now, he looks like his worries have left him... Okami, are you alright?"
"Yes, my backs just a little sore. Probably from the position I was sleeping in last night."
"Will you be able to do the mission?"
"Yes, I'll just pop my back on the Chopper."
"Very well, good luck."
"Thanks Hibari."
As I walk up the stairs toward the elevator, I noticed Gen sitting on the couch near the Hanger elevator.
"Hello Gen."
"Hey pup... I hear you're going off to fight my old enemy."
"Yes," then his eyes become a dull haze as if he was in a memory.
"Susano'o, the Type 1 Deusphage... This one's taken a lot from me, you know." Suddenly he snapped out of his haze. "I'll stop here. This'll just make things gloomy. You're here now, and you're skilled. I know we can take him down. Just beware of its giant tail and the Arcs on his arms!"
"Worry not Gen, I shall bare my fangs at this beast in your stead."
"Hm, good. And when you're done. I'll treat you to some good food. Just come back with a body that's able to eat, alright?"
"I'll hold you to that Gen. Don't forget it!" I said heading out to face the beast that may have once been a Gods Eater who craves the blood of God Arcs and God Eaters alike. Well he's bitten off more than he can chew going against me and my partner.
****** Later in the Den ******
Damn those bastards at HQ to all the nine rings of hell, simultaneously! They set her up! Sending her alone on a mission against a Susano'o, it's like they're trying to make her into a martyr.
What a horrible way to start the morning. For once I had a good night's sleep, not plagued by nightmares. Okami's remedy really worked, waking up I noticed her scent on me and on the part of the bed she sat. She must have been there all night, and disturbingly the Aragami part of me liked the notion. Judging by how the scent is fading she must have left an hour ago.
Getting up to see what missions we had today, I was jousted awake when Hibari told me that Okami was sent to fight a Susano'o alone by HQ. They must of heard of her little stunt at the Den and the possibility of her going through the Aragami Transformation. Sending her alone in this fight is their way of testing her stability as a Gods Eater. She will either go through the Transformation under the pressure of a greater threat or she'll come out of the fight in one piece. Either way the chances of her surviving are slim. It's like they sent her off to her execution. And to make matters worse, it's a broadcast execution!
That's right, nothing makes it worse like knowing she's fighting an all-odds battle than actually being able to watch it. All of the Den could watch in horror on the television in the Entrance Okami fighting for her life live on the news!
"We now take you live to the City of Mercy with our Manual Mini-copter cam, where Fenrir has given us permission to capture one of their missions live in action. Gods Eater, Okami, codename 'BEAST.' Leader of the 1st unit Far East Branch, is about to take out a Susano'o. A viscous Aragami known for its taste for God Eaters and God Arcs alike. Facing it alone, will she be able to take it out or will she be another meal for the Gods Eater Eater?"
What the hell kind of commentary was that?! It's a living being put on the line for others, this woman has no damn respect!
The camera circled around her as she came to the center of the open area of the city... Her God Arc has changed, it now has the black sheen of a Ura Tail Swd. It must of change from all the solo missions she did while we were out. But could she handle this mission alone, everyone in the Den sitting around the television asked the same thing. Almost everybody was here, with the exception of the Doc, even Gen had a front row set. This fight was more personal for him.
As she stopped walking she lowered her head for a second then got into a fighting stance. "Let's begin." As the Susano'o came out of the building two fallen Zygotes sprang from the ground. To make matters worse the news lady was commentating.
"Oh no! Two more opponents have arrived, will she be able to handle them?" Of course she could handle those small fries it's the Sasano'o that's the problem.
She turned on one of the Zygotes, knocking it to the ground, taking it out before the Susano'o could reach her. Just as Okami was about to extract its core the Susano'o swung its tail at her, forcing her to block at the last second. Reaching into her pack she pulled something out and threw it to the ground, covering the field and the cam with a blinding light.
"Woe, what was that?! A bomb?!" Man this woman was annoying. "Whatever it was, it knocked the senses out of the Aragami. What's this, taking a bite out of the dead Aragami. It'd probably taste better with ketchup dear!" This is why ignorant civilians who act like they know what God Eaters are or do just pisses me off.
With one Zygote down she went after the other while they all were still in a daze. Finishing it off, she proceeded to extract the core.
"Uh oh, looks like the Aragami are coming to! Can she take a bite out of the Aragami before the Susano'o gets there? Is she going to make it? Is she going to make it?! Oh! A tail to the face, she is down! Better luck next time sweetie." What the hell is wrong with her?! Okami gets up recovering from the smack. "Oh, what's this?! Mouths are forming on its claws!" Gen flinched at this, knowing the damage those God Arc claws were capable of.
"Looks like the Susano'o is going for a double course of Gods Eater." This B of a woman better get fired for this. "She better do something quick. Oh, she's reaching for something... another light bomb, stopping the Aragami in its tracks!"
That gave her enough time to devour the last Zygote, eat a Recovery Pill, and take a bite out of the Susano'o. As it was coming to she setup a Snare Trap under its legs.
"Oh my, this is something new. Whatever she did the Aragami seems to be stuck!"
While it was trapped she went for the needle of the tail, still in a burst boost she broke it off. Okami then went to the front to try and break its shield, but it broke through the trap and it was pissed.
She could do nothing but block as it tried to devour her again, pushing her back it shot needles at her from its claws. The only thing she could do was throw Flash Grenades to stall it enough to eat a Recovery Pill and take a bite out of it for a burst.
"Wow, more light bombs. Can't she do anything else?" She's doing what she needs to to stay alive you S.O.B!
"Who does she think she is?!" Kota said in outrage, most likely representing everyone's voice. "Why I ought to egg her house- hey Soma you in?!"
"For once, your idea actually sounds appealing."
"Hey guys the fights still going on (count me in too), there's more important things happening right now than you guy's vendettas." Said Tatsumi trying to express his disapproval while still looking mature in front of Hibari.
Looking back at the television, we see that Okami used the last her Snare Traps to finally break its God Arc claws. But then the Susano'o went on a rampage in rage.
"Uh oh, someone's mad. You better duck for cover girl!" Forget egging her house, let's set it on fire.
"She's only like that cause she's no where near the battlefield," Karol commented. "If she was there, she'd be peeing in her pants."
"Oh come on guys, she's not really that bad." We all looked at her in disbelief as Alisa tried to defend the news lady.
But when Okami went under its legs to try and take out a Recovery Pill but accidentally dropped a Recovery Wall due to edge; the Susano'o dropped to the ground, tail and all, crushing her under it.
"What an idiot! Why would she hide under its legs?! Maybe too many whacks to the head has made her stupid!"
"I take back my words, she's a total bitch." Everyone sitting here knows that Okami was thinking in the mind set of fighting a Borg Camlann. The safest place to hide when you need a second to recover is under its legs since its tail can't get you. The scales on their legs make it hard for them to bend down all the way, the fact that a Susano'o could do that was an unpredicted calculation.
But she recovered by rolling into her accidentally dropped Recovery Wall. Keeping track of the count, I noticed she already used 7 Flash Grenades... She's only got one left. After that she was on her own. She dodged a twirling tail attack only to be struck from behind by a lightning ball it left behind her as the force pushed her back. She cried out in pain, hitting the ground.
"Ouch! I bet she'll feel that in the morning! That is if she isn't feeling it now!"
"What the hell is wrong with this Lady?!" Shun said getting angry. "Does she think this is some kind of sporting event?!"
"There's no point getting angry over fools." Brendan said keeping his cool.
"Right. A woman like her could never understand the process of blooming flowers." Gina said returning her attention to the screen.
"All we can do now is be moral support for her now..." Sakuya said bringing the reality of the situation at hand. That was all we really could do for her now.
"Okami, do your best," said Kanon putting her hands together in a silent prayer.
It was cruel to watch her struggle to get up and be able to do nothing but watch.
"Oh, what's this?! Looks like more Aragami are jumping into the fray!" Crap, that is not what she needed right now.
Looking closely to my horror... they were Vajratails. Not just any Vajratail, but Kage and Shiro. They did not need to draw attention to themselves on live television. If HQ found out about their intelligence, let alone their ability to speak, they'll screw over the protecting the family of God Eaters rule and take them as lab rats with no quarrels with cruelty.
They roared and were about to jump down to her aid.
"Stay where you are!" Okami yelled, finally getting to her feet with a little stumble. "Don't interfere, he's mine!" At her demand Kage turned his head with squinted eyes while Shiro whimpered. In reluctance they lied down, curling their tails around themselves as they watched from one of the openings.
"Wow, look at that! She scared the Aragami into submission! But is she more bark than bite?!"
"I will have to remind Paylor to make a complaint to Fenrir on how unprofessional this broadcast is being aired to the public while representing us." Tsubaki said in her serious tone but her anger was slipping from her voice.
With her brothers out of the way Okami threw her last Flash Grenade, taking a bite to make the burst count while hacking away while the Susano'o was still in a daze. When it came to, it went in a rage. But she changed into her gun-form, shooting Aragami bullets at it which we noticed added up since she didn't use any from her other bursts.
It kept trying to jump on her in its rage. But she would roll out of the way and fired as it came down. And it continued in a jump-roll-and-fire cycle until the Susano'o started to ware down. After a while it turned tail and ran into the church.
"Wow, talk about turning tail! I wonder if she will be able to catch-"
"YOU WILL NOT WITH-STALL MY JUDGEMENT!" Okami said interrupting the news lady, bursting into a sprint toward the church with the rest of her Burst while the camera lagged behind in the air.
"Man, talk about anger issues, how rude! Interrupting someone in the middle of a sentence... What?... Oh, the sound's a one way." First of all, of course she's angry she just got done fighting one of the legendary Gods Eater Eater. And secondly, the lady had no right to judge Okami for being rude since she has been doing nothing but insulting Okami non-stop as she fought for her life.
"While she's chasing it down, let's find out more about this 'BEAST'... What?... According to my superiors. All information on 'BEAST' other than the given is classified. Any attempts to dig further will be considered an act of treason." She turned pale as she started to realize what she was dealing with.
Okami followed the Susano'o into the church, changing into blade-form. As silent as a wolf stalking its prey she snuck behind it and took a bite. She kept striking it in burst mode until it started to fail at its attempts to attack. Tired, it fell to the ground spent.
What followed next was out of character for Okami. With the Susano'o at its last breath instead of striking it now to get it over with. She changed back into gun-form, pointing her Ibaraki Bow at it.
"This is for Gen," was all she said as she concentrated her burst into that final shot. Forcing it to its back to curl up like a dying spider.
She changed her God Arc fighting style in the end, as if honoring Gen's style of Old-type pistol Gods Eater. Looking at Gen I noticed that he said nothing, through the whole thing he said nothing and missed nothing. He never took his eyes off the screen. With the Susano'o finally dead, Gen grinned and only uttered three words.
"Good job, kid."
On screen Okami changed back into blade-form to devour the Susano'o and began to walk out of the church. The news lady was left speechless... for once.
"Well... I... uh."
"Yeah, now that's what I call sticking your foot where your mouth is!" Kota said jumping up and down. "She did it guys! She did it!" They all started cheering.
Suddenly I noticed Okami reach for her head set followed by a ring from Habari's desk. Everyone quieted down.
"Hibari here."
"Okami reporting in. Mission cleared, requesting for a Chopper." We heard on the television and Hibaris speaker.
"Understood, the Chopper is on its way."
"Thanks," turning off her connection she plopped on the platform looking at the sky, waiting for her ride to arrive.
The Susano'o is said to be a Gods Eater who went through the Aragami Transformation. A possible fate that might befall Okami. She fought that fate, and she won.
****** Later returning to the Den ******
Coming back to the Den, I was beat. That weird thing on a tiny helicopter kept following me in the sky. It didn't attack me so I didn't attack it. Besides, after sometime after the fight it flew away.
As soon as it left my brothers came out to check if I was okay. I was fine, tired but fine. They were wondering if they could eat the Gods Eater Eater, but I told them no... that Aragami was a cursed one. I didn't want to risk my brothers.
Entering the Den I was bombarded with hugs and cheers. Alisa was one of the first to hug me.
"You did it! You won!"
"Of course, even the biggest of beast tremble in fear when I bear my fangs."
"Alrightie! We should throw a party at your safe return!
"No party for me tonight Kota. Gen promised me a dinner if I came back with a stomach."
"Right, pup. You can eat all the food you want, dinner's on me."
"Yay! What are we waiting for then, let's go." We were about to leave the Den through the elevator when I caught Soma in the corner of my eye. As the door was closing I caught it. "Wait a second Gen. I almost forgot something."
I walked out of the elevator to head toward Soma. I was hoping to do this in private so he wouldn't be embarrassed. But on the bright side, there are witnesses present to prove that I did it and stop him if he tries to kill me.
"Ah... sorry Soma. Don't take this the wrong way but an old friend of mine asked a favor of me and I've been stalling to complete it. He has a message for you, he says..." When I finally reached him I sombered my face and deepened my voice, trying to imitate Death. "You know nothing of my work. I grow tired of you blaming me for my job."
I punched him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him for a second, making him bend over clutching his gut. That done I ran like hell to the elevator, leaving everyone in shock. Catching his breath again, a fire was in Soma's eyes as he looked at me.
"Why you! Get back here you brat!" I kept clicking the 'close door' button on the elevator, desperately trying to hold back my laugh as he dashed toward the elevator. The door completely closed just as he was just about to reach it.
"Was that really necessary pup?"
"It was a dear old friend who asked the favor. Besides, I did Soma more of a favor than he'll ever know."
"You do realize that he's going to get you for that later."
"Most likely. But, in a way, the wait makes the game more fun."
"Ha, kids today."