Now I know you're safe within my heart. You will always be with me, we'll never be apart... The magic, has made us who we are. Don't you see we've come so far. Take my hand. You made me understand.
- Love Survives
Ball of Nostalgia
Two months had passed since Soma's last encounter with Umiko. She had been doing much better since their previous meeting. With her personality finally returned to crush her stoic nature, Umiko was on the way to returning to her old self. However, her memories were still blanker than a fresh-made sheet of paper. It felt like a whole new start with Umiko for Soma, except this time... she kept her distance. Every time he had seen her she had always put a barrier around herself, never allowing anyone to get too close to her. Well... everyone except her three boys.
And now he had the chance to see her again, among other things. Director Garland had put together a gathering for all the Branches to propose the expansion of his Project to the other Branches. Even going the long way by hiring an orchestra to play for the event. If anything it was a fancy get-together for the Branch heads and entrepreneurs willing to sponsor Fenrir's ventures. Branches brought a hand full of God Eaters with them, but that was just for show. Most of the God Eaters were bored and couldn't wait to return to their Branch, Soma was slightly in agreement with the lot of them.
The whole thing was a bore, Garland had rented out the lower floor of one of his Branch's fanciest hotels and made it into a formal wear party. The high end gathered and laughed among themselves without a care, while the God Eaters tried to mingle among themselves. While Garland's two First Unit God Eaters acted as security to the event, signifying their Unit by the color of their gown/suit. Most of the rich sponsors looked down upon them as monsters and pawns, so the God Eaters avoided them to the best of their abilities for the good of their Branch. The last thing they needed was for their Branches to lose funding due to them knocking out an ignorant cur.
Soma and Sakuya were sent to represent the Far East Branch along with their Director. Soma felt like he was wearing a monkey suit as he was forced to wear a tux. He grunted and growled in complaint as the wealthy class whispered among themselves as he passed by and how random girls would giggle when they saw him. Sakuya was in the same boat as he was, sporting a long black dress with a square neckline that had thin straps and a high slit that reveal a lot of leg and her onyx high-heel sandals. Most guys would turn and stare, but looked away once they noticed the ring on her finger. The other bold ones would still come up to her and flirt, forcing her to shoo them off. Soma had to chase off one guy that had the audacity to say he could be her sugar daddy, Soma intimidated the guy away before Sakuya could crush his foot with her high-heels.
Soma sighed aloud to himself. Why was he putting himself through this wretched torture? But he didn't need an answer, he knew why. He took in all the annoyances, stares, and mumbles all for that beautiful New Type with the 02 tattooed on the side of her shoulders. She looked just as bored as he was, twirling her wine cup as she was forced to blend in with the guest. But that would be hard to do with those tattoos she sported and the fact she filled her glass with fruit punch instead of wine. Umiko truly came out of her shell as she sported a formal gown instead of her usual bodysuit.
She was lovely, like a mermaid from the sea, surfacing from her watery domain and sprouted legs like a maiden of the ocean. Her gown was long and shined like white silk, no slit sported her dress as it remained roomy along the bottom half to allow her to comfortably walk. Her shoes were silver high-heel sandals, that lightly tapped as she moved around. Her dress was elegant and sleeveless and hugged her curves nicely just like Sakuya's, but her dress had a sweetheart neckline with thin straps. She lacked make-up and the fancy hairstyles most of the girls were sporting, but she wore a subtle crown of pearls strung together by a silver chain. The pearls dangled in her hair like tears of the sea.
She was breathtaking, even when she looked bored and slightly vexed. Many Gods Eater gentlemen came up to her and asked her for a dance which she kindly declined each time. All with the exception of her brother, who was getting a couple of stares from the ladies himself especially from Iida. He had accepted a dance with her, leaving his sister once again alone. Sakuya gently placed a hand on Soma's shoulder, bringing him out of his musing gaze.
"Why don't you go to her? I'll look after Dr. Sakaki." Sakuya kindly offered to him.
"What makes you think she won't shoo me away like the others?" Soma grunted to her with crossed arms, shying away from the possible chance of rejection.
"You'll never know unless you try." Sakuya reasoned to him. "Come on, ask for a dance. I know you'd rather do that instead of just staring at her."
Giving Soma the light push forward he needed to move, Sakuya left him alone to go join Dr. Sakaki. Already moving this far, Soma awkwardly continued forward to Umiko. She was leaning on the wall and looking down at her glass as Soma approached her. Umiko was startled into attention again when she saw Soma's reflection in her beverage.
"Soma. Why am I not surprised to see you here?" She greeted him rhetorically.
"So you're calling me by Soma now instead of Mr. Schicksal?"
"It's too much trouble differentiating you when Director Garland's in the room. So it saves me the trouble to call you by your name since you're my peer."
"Mph, I guess I'll take what I can get..." He held out his hand to her, waiting for her to take it or decline it. "Would you care to dance with me?"
"..." Umiko stared at his hand, ready to decline him like she did the other boys. But... there was something inside her that pleaded with her to take his hand. An unknown longing that caused the butterflies in her stomach to flutter at the thought of dancing with him. So she accepted his hand. "All right, I guess I can look over everything from the dance floor all the better."
His heart fluttered at the touch of her hand. Neither of them were wearing gloves, it was pure skin contact. Umiko slightly flinched at first from the foreign warmth, but she relaxed into it as he walked her to the dance floor. They stared at each other as they stood on the dance floor, hands still holding. Umiko's eyes slightly squinted at Soma when his other hand found its way to her waist.
"Don't get fresh with me, Soma." Umiko warned him, gripping onto his upper arm with her free hand as they started to waltz with the music.
"I won't," Soma assured her. Dancing in a square as they slowly revolved around each other. Soma began to blush at the feeling of being so close to her after such a long time. He had to revert his eyes away from her for a bit out of embarrassment. "You look ravishing this evening..."
"Why thank you very much." She lightly smiled at him. "It's good to actually see your face as well. Hm, you should show it more often, you're quite handsome."
"Knock it off, will you." Soma grunted as his blush grew. "It feels so suffocating in this damn suit."
"Easy for you to say, look at me." Umiko stepped back a bit to allow Soma to get a good look at her. "This dress makes me feel so exposed, and these shoes are frustrating. I feel like a doll in this get-up, the only thing I was allowed to leave as is was my hair."
"That may be, but... you're still lovely."
"Save your flattery, I don't need words with no meaning behind them."
"I don't waste words on things I don't mean." Soma shot back at her as she glided with him in the waltz. "You're pretty good at this. You have a natural rhythm, unusual in our line of work."
Soma released his grip on her waist and pulled away from her as he lifted their connected hand to twirl her. She slightly laughed breathlessly as she relished in the feeling of wind lightly kissing her skin.
"Ha, no more, I'm getting dizzy." Bringing her to a stop, Soma pulled her in close to him. Her hands gripped onto his chest as she steadied herself. "(Huff) As fun as that was, I think I've had enough."
"Want to take an air break?" Soma suggested, pulling back from her a little.
"Yes, that would be nice..." Moving to wrap her arm around Soma's, they walked alongside each other to the back doors.
While those two went off, the Directors were sharing a drink among themselves at the bar.
"By Joe, Garland, you've done a smashing job bringing this Branch together." Complemented the Director of the British Branch.
"Yes, I agree. I've never seen such an officiant running Fenrir Branch." The Russian Director added in. "HQ did a good job picking you to lead the new Branch."
"You flatter me too much. Most of this is thanks to the hard work of my God Arc Soldiers and my God Eaters. My Project wouldn't be anywhere without my God Eaters and the generous transfers from the other Branches." Garland humbly stated.
"Yes, aside to certain side effects you've come along way." Dr. Sakaki replied, causing Sakuya to slightly flinch in anger at the words 'side effects.' "Your experiments have brought God Eaters to a whole new level."
"That was my intention." Garland confirmed to Dr. Sakaki.
"Your God Eaters thrive inside your Branch. But can they adapt to changes of other Branches at sudden transfers?" Dr. Sakaki challengingly grinned at Garland.
"What are you suggesting then, Doctor?"
"A proposal of a side-experiment really. I would like to see how your God Eaters would react to readjusting to their initial Branches. But the experiment wouldn't be as efficient unless we attempt it on an extreme case." Dr. Sakaki explained to him. "To see their capability at its full potential, I propose you return Umiko, whose memories have nearly been wiped out, back to the Far East Branch for a period of time to see if her efficiency to her duties has increased or decreased since the experiments."
"That sounds like an interesting proposal, I'd like to see that for myself." The Director from the America's East Coast Branch seconded. "I hate for this experiment to go through and our God Eaters would no longer be able to move about to assist other Branches."
Garland had to grin at this, they were trying to back him into a corner. So they wanted to put his Project to the test? He'd give them what they wanted and more.
"Hmph, very well Dr. Sakaki. I trust No. 2 will serve your Branch to your liking. Maybe even better than she did before the transfer."
"Wonderful. So we'll start the transfer papers tomorrow?"
"Of course. However, there will be no need of transferring her Terminal Storage." Garland stated, laying down the ground rules. "She won't be staying at your Branch for too long. All that she'll need she'll be able to carry with her luggage."
"Hmph, agreed." Dr. Sakaki conceded, drinking his glass of wine along with Garland to seal the deal.
Back with Umiko and Soma, the glass doors lead to the hotels balcony which gave a lovely view of the Branch's residence lights below and the Finland Den. The cold night air brush through them as a greeting once they exited the warmth of the party's activity. Once outside, Umiko broke free from Soma's arm to walk over to the balcony's railings. She looked off into the night to admire the Branch's night lights and the woods beyond the Anti-Aragami Wall.
"Beautiful isn't it?" Umiko asked over to Soma as he walked beside her. She didn't tear her eyes away from the view as she continued to speak to him. "You know, for such a long time I've never been able to appreciate the beauty around me. I was so numb to the world, I couldn't feel a thing. The lack of memories had clouded everything around me, to the point that now that I think back about it it's frightening."
"Umiko..."
"I've spent so long in the darkness, I nearly forgotten how much this world has to offer." Umiko then tiredly sighed. "Maybe I'll never truly get out of the darkness. There's a huge gap in my life that leaves me empty and confused. Who was I, who made me, and why did they leave us? (Sigh) Maybe I'll never get over this. Maybe I don't need to get over this. I've lived the life I do know following a purpose with the people I know and hold dear, and I don't have any regrets."
"But your past, the things you've lost... don't you want them back?"
"I've lived without them so far, I can continue to survive without them."
"But aren't you curious?" Soma sympathetically said to her, caressing her cheek with his hand as he looked into her crimson eyes. "Don't you ever wonder what might have once been?"
"W-what do you mean?" Umiko was slightly startled at how her heartbeats increased by the mere touch of his hand on her cheek. His hand was so warm and gentle as he spoke to her with a tender voice.
"There are things you no longer understand. People you don't even remember anymore..." Soma slid his hand down her face to cup her chin. "People that hold you dear."
"Really?" Her breath was taken from her as he slowly pulled her closer to him as he lean in to her as well. "Who?"
"Many people care about you, they miss you." Their lips were only an inch apart as Soma's soft words tickled hers lips with his breath. Umiko's eyes clouded in the moment as Soma was closing in for a kiss. "Including me."
"!" Umiko's eyes shot wide open at Soma's words. With that, Soma had destroyed the moment. Again this young man had mistaken her for someone else. He was so desperate to regain what he lost that he was willing to have anything replace them... even a poor girl who had no memories. She pushed Soma away from her, detesting him for using her in such a way. However, something inside of her was happy to hear those words coming from him but at the same time it caused her pain. Something told Umiko that his words were meant for someone else, someone she never was or ever could be. "How dare you toy with me like that. I will not be used so you can relive the past."
"!" Soma's eyes widened in shock and hurt at her words. It didn't help relieve the pain in his chests when a stray tear ran down her cheek.
Umiko wiped the tear onto her finger, shocked that she even produced one and confused about why she did. It was as if something inside her wanted his words to ring true. But in reality he was just playing with her emotions like the cruel lead-on of the Sky King to the Sea Queen. She looked at the tear and then back up at Soma, a look of nervousness and a hint of fear graced her face. This boy was dangerous, he caused her emotions to spiral out of control with barely a wisps of a word.
"You're dangerous..." She then turned serious and looked at him with subtle anger. "Don't ever mess with me again."
She dashed off, slightly lifting the hemline of her dress away from the floor as her high-heel sandals clicked with her moving storm. Umiko's pearls rained down in her raven hair like tears, as if crying for her for being played for the fool again. Soma tried to reach out and grab her, but she slipped from his fingers... yet again. Soma brought his hand back to himself and clinched it into a fist. In frustration at himself and Umiko's lack of understanding, he punched his fist into the wall of the building as he watched her disappear into the crowd inside.
"Dammit..."
