When one sometimes thinks they've forgotten themselves, time and will always brings them back... eventually.
Predator
A month had pass since Dr. Sakaki's, Soma's, and Alisa's visit to the Finland Branch. All contact with the new Branch had been nearly cut off, leaving the First Unit to ponder and worry about their former Leader. At least... what was left of her. Alisa was slightly traumatized by what she saw in Umiko during an accidental Resonance. That was only a mere couple of seconds, they didn't want to know what Umiko was going through being trapped in there for months.
And the fact that they were once again cut off from her and were forced to go on with their daily duties as if everything was normal did not sit well with the First Unit. That is until Dr. Sakaki got a video call from the Finland Director.
"Garland, glad to hear from you." Dr. Sakaki greeted him as he accepted the line connection on his desk laptop. He began to notice that Garland had a tired look on his face. "Is something wrong?"
Garland sighed as he rubbed his fingers on his forehead and rested his arms on his desk. "Ahh, it's No. 1 and No. 2. I fear their basic characters are beginning to resurface."
"Oh? Fascinating..." Dr. Sakaki replied, his interest peaked at the thought of the twins core individuality resurfacing again regardless of the experiments. "And what exactly makes you think this?"
"They laughed for the first time last week."
"!"
"They made jokes, they've been able to get angry, they can even get sad. No. 2 no longer needs to Resonate with Empty Eyes in order to feel and express emotions."
"What do you think is causing this?"
"Time." Garland simply answered. "They're learning, they're opening up. Their memory is still gone but their personalities are mostly returning in tact."
"And that is a bad thing?"
"Hmph, no. As long as they fulfill their duties diligently and loyally, the fact that they can now laugh is of no concern to me. However, I believe that they are becoming more intelligent, more... curious."
"What do you mean?" Garland started to smirk at Dr. Sakaki's question.
"Why don't you come and see for yourself. I'll send you our current coordinates immediately. Bring your God Eaters if you like, I would appreciate it if you brought Soma along with you. I do enjoy our little family visits, even if they are strictly business."
"I don't know, Garland. I can't stay away from the Den for long."
"I can assure you we are much closer to you than last time, and you'll only need to stay for the rest of the day today."
"Today? Where exactly are you?"
"In the middle of the Indian Ocean on a Research Ship."
"What?"
"I think it would be better if you see it for yourself." Garland explained, and gave the final word before disconnecting. "If you're coming, try and get here by 1500 hours."
Dr. Sakaki leaned back into his chair and brushed his hand through his hair as he tiredly sighed. "Good grief, here we go again. Let's hope that this time our visit will be better."
*** Late that Morning ***
The First Unit were hanging out in the Entrance Lounge after the slow day given to them, when Dr. Sakaki came bustling onto the Floor. Lindow recognized that slightly masked look on his face, he was about to ask for something.
"Good morning everyone, that is what's left of it. I do hope your day hasn't been too strenuous today."
"Cut to the chase, Doc. What do you want?" Soma said, not wanting to beat around the bush.
"Can't sneek around you can I, Soma." Dr. Sakaki chuckled while rubbing the back of his head. Jumping right into his proposal, Dr. Sakaki put his hands together in a praying/pleading way. "I need at least two of you to accompany me on visit with Director Garland."
"!" Soma was about to say no at the immediate mention of his uncle when Dr. Sakaki continued to explain.
"Apparently something has come up with Umiko, and he wants us to see it for ourselves."
"I'll go." Soma instantly volunteered.
"I'm in too." Kota said, raising his hand. "I'd like to see how Umiko is doing. That is if that's alright for me to take the slot, Alisa?"
"Go on, it's okay. I'll get the next one." Alisa said, gently encouragingly to him. "Tell me how she's doing when you get back."
"You got it!" Kota said to her, giving Alisa a thumb's up. "When are we heading out, Doc?"
"Right now, if we want to get there in time." Dr. Sakaki nervously answered them as their eyes widened. "We'll be back by tonight. But we need to get going if we don't want the ship to move too far away from us."
"Ship?" Soma and Kota said curiously.
*** 3:00PM at the Indian Ocean ***
The Chopper soared over the blue sea as the light danced on the waters like diamonds. The cold salty sea air brushed on their face as they flew to their location. The sound of seagulls rang out over the propellers as the flock soar through the sky with them.
Soma simply enjoyed the view outside the window across from him as the beautiful blue sky with the occasional white cloud passed by. Soma almost fell into a peaceful nap when a ship came on to the horizon.
"Coordinates confirmed. Now requesting permission to land on the Ship's Deck." The pilot informed his passengers. Kota shot up in his seat at the notion that they were almost there. "Landing approved, prepare for descent."
The Chopper slowly came down for a landing as the pilot turned off the propellers. Once the landing zone was cleared, the crew members of the ship began to strap down the Chopper's landing Skids in order to keep it room moving. Once done they left and made way for the others to hop out, leaving the pilot free to stay with the Chopper or move around the ship to do his own thing.
The three of them walked around the ship's front deck for a while before they spotted Director Garland at the Bow of the ship. He turned around as he heard the three of them approaching.
"Ah, Doctor. Glad you could make it. And Soma too, my this must be my day."
"Tst." Soma clicked his tongue on his teeth and looked away from his uncle. "Where's Umiko?"
"Ah, she's in the back. Checking on her experiment at the Stern."
"Experiment?" Dr. Sakaki questioned.
"It's actually quite a fascinating subject. I'm surprised she thought it up so abruptly." Garland grinned to himself at the topic as he lead them to the back of the ship.
Crewmen, Fishermen, and a handful of Scientist ran around the deck as they went about their business. Soma noticed Akutenshi and Kaminari leaning on the Port railings as they looked out at the sea. Akutenshi sensed Soma approaching but did nothing as he passed by, only following Soma with his eyes.
When they got to the back of the ship they were greeted by the back of Umiko as she stared out at... a life-size replica of a Humpback Whale. And on the sides of the Stern were cannons, similar to the ones of the old days' Navy but lacked the intimidation. The giant bait was attached to the boat like an extra cart on a train as it dragged behind the ship. The thing had the occasional scars and bruises as if it were injured, added on for effect. Umiko fidgeted in her place with excitement and silently giggled as her right foot repeatedly stumped on the floor like a hyped up Jack Rabbit. But her antics did nothing to scare off the seagulls resting on the back of the replica.
"No. 2." Garland called out to her, immediately she turned her head to face him. Excitement was coated all over her face, catching Soma and Dr. Sakaki off guard.
"Hello, Director." She saluted him before going back to her giddy ways. "Can we start now? The anticipation is killing me."
"Almost," Garland chuckled before gesturing toward the others. "I believe it would be proper to explain what you're planning to do out here to our guest."
Umiko sped walk up to them, barely staying outside the barrier of personal space.
"Ah, Director Sakaki, Mr. Schicksal, it's been a while." But she got closer to Kota as she titled her head in curiosity of a new face. "Well hello, you're a new one. And who might you be?"
"!" Kota knew she had forgotten almost everything, Soma and Alisa couldn't sink in that info enough. But to actually see it first hand was positively heartbreaking. "K-Kota."
"Well Kota, I'm Umiko. No. 2 for short." She gave him her old friendly smile, but the smile didn't make him feel any better when she believed that this was their first time meeting. "Nice to meet you!"
She backed away from them and returned to face the giant bait at the back of the boat. There she waited for the others to join her by the railings.
"Look at this, what you see before you is a copy of a Humpback Whale." Umiko explained as she looked down at it. "A species of Baleen Whale capable of reaching lengths of 39-52 feet and weighs of 36,000 kilograms. An acrobatic animal known for breaching and slapping the water with its tail and pectorals. They were mostly known for their magical songs which travel for great distances through the world's oceans. These sequences of moans, howls, cries, and other noises are quite complex and often continue for hours on end. Scientists of the old times studied these sounds for years trying to decipher their meaning. Most likely the songs are a form of communication with other Humpbacks or to attract potential mates."
"All fascinating stuff. But we could've found that information on NORM." Soma mocked sarcastically. "What exactly does all this have to do with anything?"
"Everything." Umiko shot back at him, actually turning her head to look him in the eyes. "Such a large beast doesn't have a predator, aside from when it's young and vulnerable to Killer Whales. Yet records state of them being preyed upon by another form of predator in ancient times. A bigger form of predator."
Umiko gripped on the railings tighter and a shiver ran up her spine in excitement. Before the others could question it, she continued on with her explanation.
"No solid evidence of this large predator has been recorded in recent times, but something out here has been keeping the Humpback Whale population in check... and the Aragami."
"What?"
"Have you ever noticed how Aragami stay mostly around fresh water? Fishermen aren't able to get far out due to the presence of Aragami, but you've notice while flying on the Chopper how calm the ocean is, right?"
They did notice that, it was kind of strange.
"Aragami may be created with regenerative cells, but they're no match for natural selection."
"How-"
"Aragami have rushed so hastily through the evolutionary chain that they have failed to develop radio sonars or electroreception like most aquatic life has." Umiko cut in before Kota could finish his sentence. "They get easily picked off by the predators of the seas that have been around for thousands of years, like sharks and giant octaves."
"So you're out here to see this in action?" Dr. Sakaki asked.
"Yes, that's a bonus. But what I'm looking for in a certain breed of hunter." Umiko was practically purring. "The kind that could take out a Humpback Whale without a sweat. In the old days, scientist have tried to find evidence of this creature but were never able to come up with solid proof. The Megalodon!"
"The Megalodon?"
"KYAA!"
"!" Soma was taken aback by her sudden fangirlish shriek at his mere repeat of the name. She wiggled around a little as she silently purred.
"It's the greatest natural hunter this world has ever created, growing up to lengths of 65-100 feet. A creature perfectly created for killing! A white bottom to hide its presence to those below and a grayish-blue top to remain hidden to those above until the last moment! A giant beast with monstrous teeth that would make you beg for death before it even bites into you!"
"You're getting carried away again, No. 2." Garland sighed.
"I'm sorry, Sir. I just can't help myself, I'm so excited!" Umiko tried her best to contain herself. "The mere idea that there is an animal out there naturally doing what we had to inject ourselves with foreign DNA to do is ecstatic."
"That's all good and well, but do you even have proof that this thing even still exists?" Kota questioned.
"Ah, but that's when the bait comes in." Umiko turned away from them. "Observe the injured Humpback Whale replica. Attached to this ship's sonar is a copy of a song an injured Humpback Whale uses. The sound will vibrate through the ocean and lure out the Megalodon if it's near the area."
"Yeah, but sharks are drawn better by the smell of blood." Soma pointed out. "We'd be out here for days before this thing ever appears."
"Who says this is our only bait?" Umiko chuckled before turning back to her Director. "Can we start now?"
"(Sigh) All right, I think you've waited long enough."
"YES!" Umiko cheered with a downward fist pump. Then she turned to shout at the crew. "Get the shark bait! Start the Whale song! We're doing this thing!"
The guys on the Deck cheered as they hasten their movement. Many came back to the Stern to leave buckets full of shreds of tuna, pork, salmon, mackerel, and blue fish by the cannons. The stuff looked like murder in a bucket as its juices came out with a blood red color, and it smelt terrible. The whole thing must have been just as horrible for Umiko as it was for Soma since their sense of smell was enhanced.
"Hey, Aku, Kamin! You want a piece of the action?!" Both of them shook their heads at Umiko. "No? Suit yourself, more fun for me!"
"Ugh! Oh God!" Kota said, covering his nose with his hand. "What is that stuff?!"
"Shark bait, it's suppose to lure them here like catnip to cats." Umiko grinned at Kota. "We've got 3000 pounds of this stuff that we're going to shot out around the replica. By the time we're done here it'll be like the Red Sea."
"Temporarily, right?" Soma question in all seriousness. The world was already suffering from an Aragami infestation, the last thing it needed was massive water pollution.
"Of course, the water will dilute everything before tomorrow morning. But sharks in the area will most likely clean up the area before that."
"I can't believe you got the funding from your Branch to sponsor this gamble of an experiment." Kota commented in surprise.
"No, they just signed the approval." Umiko answered him with a waving off hand. "I'm paying for this out of my own pockets."
"What?! You mean to say you're tapping into your storage funds to pull this off?!"
"Yeah. Why does everybody give me that same reaction?"
"Because you're wasting all your money on a monsters goose chase and fish guts." Came the reply of Sora, hanging on to the ship's Foremast as he look down at them. He had a teasing look on his face as he picked on Umiko.
"Bite me, Sora. It's my money, I'll do whatever the hell I want with it!" Umiko slightly pouted up at him. "Just for that you don't get to fire the cannons, Sora!"
"Oh no, what ever will I do." Sora teased, chuckling as his sister got angrier.
Umiko huffed off as she started to load the shark bait into the cannons. Curious about Umiko's familiar behavior around the new face, Kota elbow Soma for answers.
"Hey, who's the guy?" Kota whispered into Soma's ears.
"That's her twin brother, Sora."
"What?! Since when did she have a brother?" Kota whispered in surprise.
"Apparently since he came out of their mother after her." Soma lightly mocked back at Kota.
"Oh ha ha, you're one to judge. You were jealous of Sora the whole time you were over at the Finland Branch. I bet you didn't even know they were siblings until the last minute."
"What?!"
"You can't play dumb with me. Alisa told me everything, she said you were like a jealous puppy."
"Damn you both, shut up."
"Director?!" Umiko called down to her Director from her seat at the Starboard cannon, waiting for the signal.
"Make it rain." Garland simply approved.
"Alright! Let's put a cap in these fishes!" Umiko cheerfully said. She fired the first load of shark bait into the sea, giggling happily as she loaded the cannon for another round. While she manned the Starboard cannon, the crew took turns having fun with the Port cannon. Excitement came over the deck while the three guys from the Far East Branch looked back at Garland in disbelief.
"Is this for real?" Soma sarcastically said as he gestured toward Umiko who was sporting a reach-for-the-cheeks grin as she fired shark bait into the sea.
"I can assure, you, I was as much surprised by the surfacing of these displays of emotions as you are." Garland answered. "It was like some barrier inside them broke when one of their pupils made a joke and they just started to laugh. Everyone thought the world was coming to an end when the both of them burst out laughing."
"And their memories?"
"You don't need memories to retain a personality, Soma." Garland retorted back. "It was bound to resurface eventually. Either way, they still get the job done efficiently. In fact they've become more strategic and intelligent than before. Their curiosity has grown beyond that of our top scientist and has driven them with determination to see the answers through."
"Hey!" Umiko called out to them, getting their attention again. "Anybody want to try this thing?! It's freak'n amazing!"
"Mr. Schicksal?" She looked to Soma, who gave her no response. Just keeping his arms crossed as he stared up at her. Taking his silence as a no, she turned to Kota. "Kota?"
"..." Kota turned his head away and rubbed his arm, resisting the 12 year old in him begging him to let loose.
"Come on, I know you want to." Umiko egged him on, getting out of the cannon's firing seat and patting it. The chair beckoned to him, he couldn't resist.
"Ah! Okay, I'm in!" Kota shouted in excitement, running to the cannon chair as Umiko made way for him.
"Alright! We got a biter." Umiko cheered as he settled in. "Do you need any help or can you handle yourself?"
"This is easy, like firing my God Arc."
"Yeah well this God Arc's got a little kick." Umiko chuckled as Kota pulled the trigger and shot out Shark bait all around the back of the ship.
"Whoa! That was awesome!"
"I know, I know! Fire again!" Kota fired again, bombarding the ocean with fish bits.
"Woo!"
"Wow, you went pretty far that time."
"This is great! Come on Soma, you've gotta try this!" Kota said down to Soma as he fired again.
"No way." Soma grunted as he looked away from the two.
"Dude, you're missing out. It's like Battleship Food Fight but a hundred times more awesome!" Kota said while at the same time trying to out shoot the cannon to the right of him.
"Hmph, big deal. You're shooting fish guts into the sea." Soma huffed out at the two. "You two go on and have your little rifle fest, but leave me out of it."
"Pfft, I guess every party needs a pooper. You're such a poor sport, Soma."
"Leave him be, more shots for us." Then Umiko bumped Kota out of the chair. "And share! It's my turn to fire."
"Aww." Kota pouted.
"Don't worry you can have your turn in a second, there's plenty more bait where that came from. This is going to take almost an hour to dump all this bait."
"Dump?!" Soma exclaimed in surprise. Watching as some of the crew tossed the bait in the buckets out on the sides of the boat while it still moved out. "Then what's the use of the cannons?!"
"For the fun of it." Umiko simply answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Then she turned back toward the sea with glee and began to fire with a rampage. "Say hello to my little friend!"
This went on and on until the last bucket of bait was emptied, the sea behind them was a powdered red with bait floating in the water. The sea was quiet at first as they waited, half an hour had pass before they started picking up a signal on the ships radar.
"I'm picking up heat signals approaching the bait." Came on of the crewmen monitoring the equipment in the Deck Cabin.
"Is it the Megalodon?!" Kota asked in excitement.
"No, it's too soon for it to show. It's most likely one of the regular species of sharks, like the Great White." Umiko replied.
"Judging from the size it most likely is." The man commented. "And it's bringing company!"
"Whoa, it's a whole feeding frenzy out there." Sora commented as he got a good view of the whole thing on the Foremast. Multitudes of sharks circled around the Humpback Whale, devouring the bait in the bloody water with a gluttony. Tearing pieces of bait away from each other as they tried to eat it all til their heart's contempt.
"Whoa..." Kota said in amazement as he watched Animal Planet in motion. Without looking at Soma, Kota elbowed him to get his attention. "Make's you kinda wish that you could see this from the water through a shark cage, huh Soma?"
"Tst, are you mad?" Soma slightly growled, questioning his friend's insanity. Was he really contemplating going into water full of various species of blood crazed sharks?
"We are looking for a species of shark that can bite through half a Humpback Whale like it was buttered toast. It would be foolish to go into a measly Titanium-Steel shark cage with that colossal in the waters."
"O-okay I kinda see your point." Kota nervously laughed.
"We've detected Aragami!" The guy in the Deck Cabin shouted.
"Gboro..." Sora nonchalantly informed as he watched the the aquatic Aragami jumped and leap in the water as they partaken in the bait.
"Yet another reason why you shouldn't enter the waters." Umiko calmly stated.
"Gboros?!" Kota said in alarm, automatically looking for his God Arc on instinct. He watched as they fed on the bait, but noticed there weren't as many as there were sharks.
"No need to fret over." Umiko eased to them. "We've got enough bait out there to keep them occupied from us. Besides, we'll be able to see my theory in action."
And like on cue, some of the Great White Sharks began going after fresher meat. With the Aragami's lack of sonar senses and muffled hearing in the water, they never saw the swift attacks of the sharks coming. Some striking alone, others by the two. It was almost like lightning, they took a test bite and they liked what they tasted.
"It's dinner time, boys." Umiko said down to the sharks with glee as she watched on.
"Whoa!" Kota shot back from the railings in surprise as he watched two Great Whites drag down a Gboro.
"Hahaha, I know!" Umiko laughed hysterically. "Nature's a bitch!"
"Well that explains the lack of Aragami activity in the oceans." Garland commented, as he watched the larger sharks rip into the Aragami with a grin.
"Not quite, Director." Umiko corrected. "This is just a lucky fluke. A gathering of sharks driven to a signal area at the prospects of a free meal. Something else must be keeping them in check, something more... fierce."
Hours went by, sharks satisfied with their meal had left the vicinity while new sharks had arrived for the free meal. The Aragami, unable to ignore the possibility of a free meal regardless of the obvious threat, gathered and remained in the area along with the sharks. Some were picked off, others where left alone.
Soon twilight was upon them, the various hues of orange painted the sky like the canvas of God. If you looked pass the carnage going on in the blood red water it was beautiful. And if you think too hard about it, the water looked like a reflection of the sun sinking into the depths. The anticipation was starting to ware off, others began to grow tired from the wait. But that's when... it happen..."
"Hey! The sharks are gone!" The guy by the monitors suddenly informed with alarm.
"!" Everyone shot up at that news, noticing how the sea got so quiet with the exception of the still eating Gboros.
"Are you sure?" Umiko asked back to double check.
"All the heat signals of the sharks are no longer in the area! They just vanished!"
"..." Umiko squeezed her hold on the railings tighter before shooting off to the Deck Cabin. "Detach the bait! Someone go get the Tag Rifle! Everybody move away from the railings to a secure spot! Let's go, go, go!"
The ship came alive again at the death of activity in the ocean. Umiko had returned from the Deck Cabin with a small camera, placed on a bandana that she wore on her head. Also carrying a belt strapped with empty sample tubes and ejection needles. If she was going to get samples from this experiment and proof she was going all the way.
"Sora! Get down from there, I don't want you falling off!" Umiko barked up at her brother as she returned to the Stern of the ship, turning on the camera she wore. The injured song of a Humpback Whale still playing through the sea.
"I think you're over reacting." Soma grunted at her as he remained unmoving from his spot. "There's nothing out there."
Refusing to take his insubordination, Umiko grabbed Soma's wrist and pulled him away from the railings. Suddenly a loud sound rang from under the boat. They all shouted as the ship was roughly shaken worse than a storm at sea. Something had hit them from below and it was strong enough to shake their large ship like it was a toy boat in a kid's bathtub. Suddenly the Humpback replica went under.
"Is everyone okay?!" Umiko shouted to make sure all was well and accounted for.
"We're all here!" One of the crewmen informed. "Where's the whale?!"
"I don't know! Something dragged it down!"
Suddenly whatever it was that dragged it down came back for more. Umiko rushed over to the railings, hanging on the edge as far as she could lean. As a blush of excitement covered her cheeks and an insane full-teeth smile came over her face.
"It's coming!" She said with glee. "I can feel it in my bones!"
She took in a big inhale as she saw a ripple in the water going toward the direction of the Aragami that were still nonchalantly eating the bait in the water.
"This is it! The perfect killer!" That's when it shot up from the ocean like a whale. Jaws wide open as it took in as much bait and Aragami as it could. The lucky Aragami were the one's that fell into its mouth, the unlucky ones got caught in its razor teeth. "God, it's more beautiful than I imagined. Enough to make my systems roll. Welcome to the new age, you ancient predator!"
Then the Megalodon came back down again, creating a splash that pushed their ship back and a wave that nearly knocked them off their feet.
"Whoa!" Umiko cheered at the sheer power of the ancient shark. She ran to the railing, hanging over the edge as far as she could lean, watching the Megalodon circle around the bait and the remaining Aragami. "It's coming back for more. Quick! Somebody hand me the Tag Rifle!"
"Are you sure you want to do that?" Kota nervously asked as one of the crew members handed her the Tag Rifle. Umiko jumped down from the railings to take it.
"That 'thing' out there is the last thing you want to tick off." Soma growled to her in warning. He had doubted her, refused to listen to her when she told him to get away from the railings, and now he was slightly embarrassed. She had most likely saved him from falling into the waters while that thing was going after the fake Humpback Whale. And now he was just concerned about Umiko's actions provoking that ship of a shark.
"This might be the only chance we'll ever have of tracking down the migrating patterns of Megalodon! I have to take the shot." Umiko said while aiming her scope at the back-fin. "Besides, by the size of it, this'll feel like nothing more than a poke."
Pulling the trigger, she took the shot. Remaining unmoving until she got the signal that the tags hit.
"All systems go! The tags are active!" The man in the Deck Cabin informed as the tag tracker came to life.
"Yes!" Umiko cheered, dropping the rifle to the ground as she retook her place on the railings. Akutenshi went to grab the rifle and place it back in the Deck Cabin in place of his partner's negligence, just to be sure that it didn't fall overboard. Finally finishing off the remaining courses of the large feast provided, the Megalodon went over to the ship. Curious, it circled around the ship, much to the crews discomfort. But Umiko happily giggled with glee as she looked down at the moving spectacle below them. "Aw, look whose coming our way. Are you curious or do you just hunger for more?"
Soma did not feel comfortable with Umiko leaning down on the railings with that ancient monstrosity swimming so close to their waters. As if to prove his point, the Megalodon lightly bumped into the ship with its tail, causing Umiko to lose her balance and fall overboard.
"UMIKO!" "UMIKO!" "SISTER!" Soma, Akutenshi, and Sora all shouted as they rushed to the railings. Looking down they saw no signs of her, nothing but the enormous shadow swimming below them.
"Quick! Get her out of there!" Soma shouted at the crew.
"She's probably fish bait by now!" One of the crewmen announced in horror. "I'm not risking any more lives by sending someone down there!"
"!" The boys were shocked and disgusted by the news. Akutenshi was about to jump into the waters to his Gods Eater's aid when Kaminari grabbed him and pulled him back.
"Let me go! I have to get her!" He barked at her.
"You can't! Who knows how much time you have remaining in this form! We could lose you to the bottom of the ocean!" She reasoned to him.
But under the water, Umiko recorded it all. She was either truly a child of the sea or one lucky girl, because she had fell close to the side of the Megalodon's head into its seeing-peripheral. The giant of the sea did not bare its razors or shifted toward her for a bite, immediately recognizing that she was not fish. It's hunger had been satiated, it was simply... curious. She had gripped into the side of its head, holding on as she looked into its eye.
It was large and strangely seemed so gentle to her. She found it funny how the eyes of the world's most ancient and greatest of killers reminded her of a puppy's. They were beady and yet had a ring of brown around them. She was living what scientists and shark fanatics only dreamed of doing. The force of the water from its movement in itself was slightly painful, but it was worth it. Such a magnificent creature, she must have a sample.
Struggling to pull out a needle from her belt, she tried to eject a blood sample from the creature. But it slipped from her hand and fell down to the cold, dark embrace of the ocean. She scrunched her face in frustration, she was running out of time. Her air was running low and she'd need to resurface soon before the others started to panic. Reaching for her belt again, she gripped another needle tight enough to keep it was slipping from her hand.
She smiled at the shark's big eye before injecting the needle in an area a little further off from its eye. The beast did nothing at this as she ejected blood from the creature, if anything it didn't even feel like a pinch. Umiko did her best not to let any of the blood spill out, just in case the shark was susceptible to a blood craze like most sharks.
Getting what she needed, Umiko swam up to the top of the Megalodon, gripping the needle sample as if her life depended on it. As if someone up there was answering her prayer, the Megalodon broke through the water as it leaped into the air. It's jaws remained closed, showing that the shark wasn't going for a bite out of the ship but only to get a starting leap to dive back down. Inhaling a refreshing breath of air, Umiko stood up on the back of Megalodon and began to run down its body as she tried to jump back to the ship.
The others were relieved to see her resurface, but terrified that she wouldn't make it. By the time she reached the end of its fin, she was forced to make a jump for it. Due to the angle of the sharks dive, Umiko wasn't angled toward the ship. But by the unintentional smack of the tail-fin, Umiko was re-angled back to the ship. But she was now coming in at a higher speed, impact with the ship's deck would most likely fracture and shatter bones.
Wanting to break her fall, Soma moved in to catch her. Once he felt her make contact with him, he held her close and braced himself for impact. His back was sore, and his head hurt, once he made contact with the deck's floor. Others circled around them to check if they were okay. Soma still held her even as his body shook in pain.
"Ugh, dammit." Soma hissed as a vibrating pain rang from his back. Umiko slowly sat up, gripping Soma's shoulders as she tried to gather herself. Umiko slightly straddled Soma as she looked down at him. She inhaled a heavy breath as the situation clicked in, Soma had just taken the brunt of the fall for her.
"My hero!" She cheered at him, coming back down on him to give him a big kiss on the lips. Soma's eyes widened at her actions and his cheeks blushed. Her lips were freezing cold and salty from the sea, but that was no matter to Soma. It tasted like heaven to him, his stomach did back-flips as his inner Aragami roared in excitement. The kiss felt like it lasted for hours, but in reality it was only three seconds. "Ha ha! I've gotta track the tracker!"
She crawled over Soma's body, still careful not to step on him, as she rushed over to the Deck Cabin. Soma was still zoned out in his little piece of heaven from the kiss. Slightly smiling up at the sky without a care in the world. The others slowly moved away after seeing that the kids were okay, and felt slightly humored at what had just happened. Some of the crew laughed and teased at Soma's reaction as they parted. Sora paid Soma no mind as he followed the direction his sister had just left in. Akutenshi, on the other hand, looked down at Soma in agitation. Ticked off by Soma's happy-glaze expression as he had no care that Akutenshi was looking down angrily at him. Having enough of Soma's goofy attitude, Akutenshi kicked him hard on his side.
"Don't get full of yourself!"
"Ugh!" Soma gruffed as he curled away from Akutenshi, turning his head to look back at him with aggravated eyes. "You dick!"
"Hmph." Akutenshi grunted back down at him before walking to join his Gods Eater.
"Soma, you okay?" Kota asked as he helped Soma back onto his feet. "Man, who was that asshole anyway?"
"Akutenshi, Umiko's God Arc." Soma hissed out, slightly sensitive in the side area.
"Whoa, really?! Boy, he must be pissed that you got that kiss from his partner." Kota teased at him. "Lucky you."
"Be quiet, will you?" Soma sighed at Kota.
"Say what you want, I saw that goofy look on your face. I wish I had a camera to show it to the others, it was priceless."
"Spare me, Kota. Just this once." Soma tiredly requested.
"Oh, alright. I guess I can let this slide since you were the hero today."
"Hmph, thanks." Soma grunted to Kota as he helped him walk over to where the others had went.
The Deck Cabin was a decent size, enough to fit 20 people comfortably in it without concern for space. Umiko had just turned off the camera on her head and had taken off the bandana to toss it on the couch at the side of the room. She leaned over the monitor as she watched the tracker go off.
"What's the situation?" She asked the monitor handler beside her.
"Tracker still active. The Megalodon is heading Southwest toward the continent of Africa and still diving."
"How far has it reached in depth?" Umiko questioned aloud as she watched the tracker monitor display a computer graph of the Megalodon's descension. The graph continued to go downward with slight upward bumps, mostly likely due to the tail motion of the shark.
"The target as already reached a depth of 1500 feet." The monitor specialist informed aloud. "Breaching depths of 2500 feet... 3000... 3500... 4200 and still descending!"
"My God..." Umiko gasped in amazement.
"It has breached 5000 feet! Continuing downward to 5500... 6000!"
"This isn't good... the tracker cannot handle that amount of ocean pressure."
"6200 feet... 6400 feet!"
"!"
"6500 feet!" Suddenly the graph just stopped. "Tracker disconnected, last descending level recorded was 6574 feet."
"Damn it!" Umiko huffed, banging her hand into the larger monitor machines. She marched over to the couch, moving the camera over as she slumped down into the couch. She was soaked and still slightly dripping. "(Sigh) No matter, we've got what we needed."
"Have you lost your mind?! You could've been killed back there!" Sora barked at his sister. Extremely livid by her foolish behavior, and positively frightened that he had almost lost her today.
"Well it's a good thing we fed the Megalodon well or else I would be dead." Umiko shot back at her brother. Leaning over to the tiny dresser beside the couch she grabbed for a sketch book... her sketch book. "Oh you should've been there, brother, it was breath taking."
"Literally." Sora taunted back, but his sister ignored him as she shot through the pages of her sketch book, looking for a blank sheet.
"Mock me all you want, Sora. But you'll never understand until you've seen it." Excitement began to run through Umiko's voice as her eyes clouded from the memory. "You should have seen the ancient up close. The rush, the power, the excitement, I just couldn't get enough."
As she flipped through the pages, Soma and Kota noticed how all the pictures she had drawn were of eyes. And not just any eyes...
"Uh... Umiko... what's up with the eyes?" Kota hesitantly asked. Umiko looked back at them, and their eyes widened in shock as she slightly smiled at the sight of the drawings.
"They're... the eyes in my dream." She said affectionately to them as her hand gently caressed the page that contained one of the pair. "They always seem to show up, simply staring at me. I can't put my finger on it but they never seem threatening... almost familiar. Like they're happy to see me. They make me feel... warm inside. They always give me a good feeling, but I get sadden by their disappearance when I wake up."
"Any reason why they look like Soma's eyes?" Kota shot at her, earning a glare from Akutenshi. How could he not notice they looked like Soma's, they had Aragami-like slit irises and spring blue corneas.
"Merely a coincident, nothing more." Umiko immediately shot back at him before turning to a blank page and proceeded to draw. "But you should've seen it. I've never seen a beautiful brown eye like that in all my life!"
She giggled as she began to draw the eye, it was like a regular shark's eye but much larger. She put in as much detail as she could as she brought the eye to life.
"Ooh I should give it a name!" Umiko began to banter as she tapped her coloring pencil on her chin as she playfully kicked her feet into the air. "Mmm. How about Jaws? No, too over done. Ooh, ooh, wait! The Cruncher? No, no, that won't work! Wait, I've got it!"
Umiko began to write down something at the bottom of the eye and then lifted the sketch book over her head as she admired the finishing work.
"The Predator. Yes, that's a perfect name! Ooh, I'm in love with that name!" Umiko began to giggle happily as she rolled off the couch. She continued to roll along the floor, slightly purring as she hugged the sketch book along with the drawing to her body.
"Careful, sister. One might wonder if you're turning to bestiality." Sora teased down at her, making her stop in her motion to look up at him.
"Of course not! I'm just excited that there's another predator out there more deadlier than me." Umiko said with a voice of silk.
"Hmph," Akutenshi huffed and turned away from her, his slightly upset feelings caused him to lightly blush.
"Aw, are you jealous, Aku? This is all legitimate fascination as a researcher, I assure you. You're still my number one killing machine." Umiko responded to him affectionately with a hug before turning serious again and flopping back onto the floor. "I'm just lucky to have gotten it all on tape and that blood sample. But what exactly am I going to do with them now?"
"Allow me to help?" Dr. Sakaki jumped in, drawing her eyes to him as she got back onto her feet. "Your recording would be of great importance to the science community, if we download it onto the Terminal database. I can return the film to you once it's done. And as for the sample, I have a friend in the Biology field who would love to get their hands on that. Perhaps we can find why the consumption of Aragami has no permanent or lethal effect on this animal."
"Hm, that sounds good to me." Umiko happily said, gathering the sample from her belt and picking up her camera to hand over to Dr. Sakaki. "Send me the report when they're done, okay?"
"Sure, I'll make sure you'll be the first one to get it." Dr. Sakaki chuckled to her as he held out his hand for her to shake. Unlike last time, when she moved away from human contact, she accepted his hand without hesitation. Giving him a firm hand shake.
"Oh we're going to get along just fine, Director Sakaki." Umiko grinned at Dr. Sakaki. Not in that familiar grin, but the business partner kind of grin.
"Well No. 2, you've gotten what you wanted. I suggest we head back now." Garland commanded.
"Sir! Thank you Sir for allowing me to go on this endeavor aside from my regular duties!" Umiko saluted to him in her usual way, nonetheless respectful since she had regain her personality.
"It would best if we get going too, if we want to make it back to the Den before midnight." Dr. Sakaki brought up as well. "Good seeing you again, Garland. Take care."
"Yes, do come visit again Dr. Sakaki. I enjoy your visits, along with Soma." Soma was too tired to do nothing more then turn his head away from his uncle. Kota was no different than Soma, he didn't like the guy after the way he treated Alisa. "Your Chopper will be ready for you before you get there. Oh and do send the video to the Terminal soon, I'm looking forward to seeing what No. 2 was talking about."
"So are we all." Dr. Sakaki agreed. "Well, take care."
As promised, their Chopper was ready and unsupported-down by the time they reached it. They took off into the sky with Garland to greet them off. But unlike last time, Umiko was there to send them off as well... looking up to them to the very last second her eyes could still see them. It was mostly a quiet ride back, that is until Kota broke the silence.
"Say Doc?"
"Yes?"
"That tape, Umiko had it recording until she went into the Cabin, right?"
"Yes."
"So the last part... can I get a copy of it before you edit the video?" Kota asked. "I want to show it to the others, they're not going to believe it unless they see it."
Dr. Sakaki grinned widely, realizing what moment Kota was talking about.
"Oh yes, I'd find it hard to believe that anyone in the Den would believe you when you say Soma had a goofy love smitten smile on his face without video proof."
"What?! You bastards!" Soma growled at them, then turned to Kota. "You said you would leave me be."
"I did... for that moment. But now is a different moment, and you're fully recovered, making you free game."
"Traitor."
*** Author's Notes ***
Question the necessity of this chapter all you want, but I felt like Umiko's name-sake needed to be put into the theme. And I will definitely do it again, in later chapters... much more elegantly though. I just really love sharks and that's what gave birth to this chapter. God bless shark week, I love those tigers-in-water.
But would I swim with one? Hell no, I'm just the kind of a person that loves to admire them from afar... Outside of the picture and undisturbing of their natural habitat.
