Author's Note: First off, to all my readers and reviewers, hope you enjoyed a good start to 2014, may you have a good year throughout it and thanks as always for your continued support. To Forever Free Evergreen, you are half-right; the good doctor is actually a combination of Unohana and Mizuno Ami aka Sailor Mercury, whose Western name is Amy Anderson, based on the fact that one's a doctor while the other aspires to be one and both are voiced by Hisakawa Aya. To rydia3791, glad you approve of my handling of Kanon and her awesomely destructive (to us players) fighting style! I'm planning to subject Alisa to at least one mission with her in the future, so please look forward to that as much as Alisa won't. Oh, and just a minor correction, but Dr Anderson is female. To Xen Kenshin, I'm happy and grateful you managed to overcome your slump! Now, on with the chapter!
She barely remembers what is served for breakfast, much less eating it - all Alisa can think of is what today means and how she's never been more nervous in her life. Dr Anderson seems to pick up on it the moment she enters the room, although true to her professional demeanor she does not comment on it immediately and chooses instead to address the primary issues first.
"Good morning, Alisa," she greets as she walks up to her bedside while studying the chart in her hand. "Good morning, Dr Anderson," the girl responds quietly, managing a strained smile. "How are you feeling this morning?" the doctor continues, eyes flicking between the Russian's face and the chart as she marks down something on it with her pen - an action that for some reason makes Alisa even more anxious.
"I feel fine," she answers, "no headaches and no dreams. Does this mean I can leave?" While the thought of finally being able to return to her own room is immensely appealing, the knowledge that she will have to finally face the consequences of her actions is something close to terrifying. Even so, it is something she has to do or she will never truly move forward.
"Well, your test results are good so I'm releasing you from my care," the doctor remarks, throwing Alisa a kind smile before her countenance becomes serious once more. "Although if you get another headache you are to come back to see me, understood?" she orders, earning her a nod in response. "Good. Now, while I am officially giving you leave to return to your duties, I have discussed your case with Tsubaki and we both agreed that you're not ready for a full-fledged mission yet."
At that, Alisa's nervousness switches to alarm. "But Dr Anderson-" she starts to protest only to be cut off by the older woman's raised hand. "Let me finish," the doctor states firmly and says no more until she seems convinced that her patient will keep quiet. "Having said that," she continues, "I am aware as a Fenrir employee that if you are to ever be fit to truly rejoin your unit on the battlefield, you need to regain your fighting edge. That's why I've made a special-case arrangement on your behalf which require you to agree to several conditions beforehand."
At this junction, the girl thinks she might even agree to being subjected to Dr Sakaki's lectures for a full month. "What sort of conditions?" she asks, hoping her voice isn't as desperate as it sounds to her own ears. Dr Anderson eyes her critically, and when the silence continues for a few more seconds Alisa half-wonders if the deal's being mentally snatched away before the older woman speaks.
"First, only one mission a day, although you're free to spend the remainder of that day in the training simulator. Second, you are not to go on these missions without at least one senior God Eater accompanying you. Third, upon your return to base you are to immediately come here for a checkup where you will report to me about your condition throughout the mission. Do you accept these conditions?"
"Yes," Alisa answers in a rush, relief at the relatively light terms she is presented with. While the one-mission limit stings a little, she knows that it is both a small sacrifice and a rational restriction. As for the second and third conditions, she'd never intended to risk it by going solo to begin with and a compulsory medical checkup is nothing to kick up a fuss about. "May I leave now?"
After one second or so of eyeing her critically, Dr Anderson nods in satisfaction. "Alright, you're allowed to go. Hibari helped fetch you a set of your clothes from your room; they're in the bathroom. Oh, and Alisa," she calls out, halting the girl's hurried movement to get out of the bed. "There is one more thing I'd like to discuss with you before you leave."
"What is it?" the Russian asks carefully, forcing her fists to unclench despite her sudden nervousness. If the doctor notices, however, she doesn't comment and merely continues speaking. "Yuu told me about the... memory transfer, if you will... that happened between the two of you." Ah. So it was that as she suspected. "It's an unprecedented event - nothing like this has ever occurred as far as our records show - which indicates it may likely be due to the fact that you are both New-Types and this may be something unique to your generation of God Eaters. Of course, we don't exactly have a lot of New-Types to begin with so we can't say for sure until more data comes in." The doctor offers her a small smile. "It's not exactly urgent or important right now, but I thought you deserved to know as I've already told Yuu and Dr Sakaki about it. Now, if you'll excuse me I have other patients to tend to so I'll leave you to get changed and go see your friends."
Alisa nods silently as the doctor takes her leave before getting out of the bed and shuffling off to the bathroom in a half-daze. 'Friends, huh?' she thinks as she changes into her comfortingly familiar own clothes. Aside from Yuu, she doubts if there's anyone in this entire base she can call by that title. Even so... she's promised herself she will push forward, no matter how difficult it may be.
Unfortunately, what little confidence that conviction gives her fades the moment she leaves the sick bay and begins walking down the corridor. The lack of anyone else occupying the lift when she steps in is a small reprieve, but that ends the moment it stops on her floor and the doors trundle open. Silence falls when she walks by only to be replaced by whispers, and she can feel everyone's accusing glares boring holes in her back. Relief washes over her when she finally spots Yuu standing in front of one of the Den's gates, although some of her nervousness immediately takes hold when she notices he's talking to Kota and both notice her when she walks up to them.
Formality, the girl decides, seems the safest and easiest way to get through this. "As of today, I'll be returning to the unit," she starts by way of a greeting, finding herself unable to look any of them in the eye lest she loses whatever bravery she has. "Once again, I look forward to working with you."
Kota's the first to speak, although she's taken by surprise when he says nothing negative or typical of his energetic self. "When are you resuming actual combat?" he asks without malice. "That... hasn't been decided yet..." she answers quietly, caught off guard by the unexpected question. "I see..." Kota murmurs, and Yuu looks like he's about to say something when the sound of people talking nearby grabs the attention of all three of them.
"Hey, did you hear?" The guy's voice is audible over the usual noise surrounding them. "One of the New-Types... she's finally been reinstated!" News spreads quickly and gossip even faster, she thinks, especially when it involves something like... this.
"Yeah, the little wretch who trapped Lindow with a new type Vajra and left him for dead!" his friend replies just as loudly. The words sting, and Alisa feels tears prick at the edge of her eyes.
"By the way, after all those airs she put on, she can't go into combat anymore, I hear," the first guy all but sneers his piece of knowledge.
His response is met with a roar of mocking laughter. "Jeez, so she was all bark and no bite!" he jeers.
She's not going to cry, the girl tells herself repeatedly as she lowers her head and resists every instinct that tells her to just run away. "Why don't you laugh too? Go ahead..." she whispers, her voice trembling slightly as she fights to prevent herself from crying right then and there. "Hey..." Yuu starts, and Kota speaks up again. "We're not going to laugh at you," he says sincerely, and while it's a small comfort it does make her feel a little better.
Of course, in true Kota fashion, the next few words out of his mouth ruin everything. "Hey, um... never mind that," he blurts out in some strange attempt to keep the conversation going, "You know that new type Vajra that attacked Lindow?" That gets her and Yuu's attention; all she can do is snap her gaze up to meet Kota's panicked one while Yuu gives the boy a look that translates into "Dude, what the hell?". Having realised his mistake, Kota opens his mouth again, but instead of an apology he continues talking about the incredibly uncomfortable topic. "Seems like the Europe Branch was able to spot it too... Since we've been encountering more and more of these new-types lately, I've been thinking it may be a sign of something to come. You know?" he blabbers out in a rush, looking more and more panicked with every word as he flails his arms around in a manner that would've been comical if not for the subject at hand.
Despite the regular sound of chatter around them, Alisa has no doubt a pin dropping anywhere in their vicinity would've been as loud as an Aragami's roar. Kota is the first to react, turning to face Yuu and putting his right hand on his left shoulder. "Sorry, take it from here," he whispers gravely as he brings his hands together in a half-apologetic, half-praying gesture before speedily walking away, ignoring Yuu's irritated hiss of "Jackass! Get back here!"
If she's being honest with herself, she's a little relieved that Kota's run off considering she wants to speak to Yuu and that in itself is intimidating enough as it is. "I have a favour to ask of you..." she starts timidly, although it's enough to draw the guy's attention away from glaring at Kota's rapidly disappearing back and to her. "Um... Uh..." she verbally stumbles - this is turning out to be harder than she initially thought. "Could you..." Damnit, get ahold of yourself, Alisa! "Could you please teach me the proper way to fight again? I want to protect someone dear to me... This time, of my own free will!" The words fall off her lips in a rush, and she's past caring about how desperate she sounds. At her exclamation, Yuu's reaction is one of surprise before it shifts into his usual warm smile.
"Of course," he answers with a nod. "Shall we head to the training simulator then?" he offers, making a move towards the lift lobby.
"Oh, um... no, I mean with a real mission," she clarifies quickly, inwardly cursing herself for not being clear with her request.
Yuu throws her a confused look. "But I thought you weren't cleared for actual combat yet?" he asks, prompting her to mentally kick herself for her abysmal inability to say anything right today even as she explains the situation to him. "I see," he murmurs thoughtfully when she finishes. "In that case, I'll leave it to you to pick the mission; go with what you think you'll be comfortable with and come find me at the terminals when you've chosen one, okay?"
"Thank you," she breathes, offering him a nervous smile which he returns with a grin.
"No need to thank me; I promised I'd always be here to help you after all," he replies before heading towards the nearby terminal station with a wave. Determined not to waste any time, the girl spins on her heels and heads straight to the mission counter, focusing her attention on her destination instead of the crowd around her. It's a relief when she finds none other than Hibari at her usual post, and the older girl offers her a warm smile when she looks up and spots her.
"Hi Alisa," the operator greets her, "It's good to see you out and about again. Are you feeling better?" At that, the girl feels a little guilty at having not automatically considered Hibari among the friendly faces awaiting her return.
"Hello Hibari," she replies, "thank you again for visiting me while I was in the sick bay."
The woman merely shakes her head. "You don't have to thank me for something like that. Oh, and you don't have to explain your situation to me; Tsubaki has already done that," she continues before Alisa can continue speaking. "She's given me instructions to make the necessary arrangements for whatever mission you choose so here's today's mission listing," she says as she hands over a sheet detailing the various current assignments and department requests. "You'll be going with Yuu, correct?"
The question catches Alisa off guard, causing her to stutter her answer. "U-um... yes, but... how did you know?" It must be her imagination, but the operator gives her a knowing smile.
"He seemed the likeliest option," is all she says, and something in that response gives Alisa the impression she's better off not responding directly to it. A routine suppression mission catches the girl's eye and once she's pointed it out to Hibari she takes her leave to find Yuu.
The brown-haired boy is preoccupied with a terminal as promised when she manages to track him down, although her arrival catches his attention well enough. "Um... about that mission we were just discussing..." she asks timidly, "Would you please accompany me on the 'Tyrant Breath' mission?" The reaction she gets, however, sinks her hopes - Yuu frowns. "Sorry, Dr Sakaki just asked me to run an experiment for him. Another time?" he asks.
"To think that I'd be declined... how awkward..." she murmurs, casting her gaze to the ground.
Yet her dejection is short-lived. "Woah there, that was a joke," Yuu hurriedly speaks up, waving his hands in a placating manner. "Too soon for that I guess. Sorry about that," he apologises sincerely as he meets her baffled gaze with his sheepish one as he scratches the back of his head in embarrassment.
"That... that wasn't funny," she notes when she finally brings herself to speak, and Yuu looks even more nervous. "I'm sorry," he tries again, and feeling a little vengeful she decides to let him suffer a while longer before she relents. "You're forgiven," she huffs, ignoring the sudden rush of heat to her face when he throws her that relieved grin of his.
"Well then, in order for me to start properly making up for this, shall we?" he asks cheerfully, prompting an affirmative nod from her. "I'm looking forward to working with you," she tells him, and he is about to respond when they both overhear her name being mentioned somewhere in the surrounding chatter. "Ignore them," he mutters as he gently guides her into motion and they begin walking, "and for the record, I'm looking forward to working with you again too."
"So," he continues as they make their way to Maintenance to pick up their God Arcs (and isn't this familiar, she thinks?), "what's the mission about?" It's a noble effort on his part to keep the conversation off other less pleasant topics, and that is yet another thing about him for which she's grateful.
"Defeat one Chi-You in the Grasslands... This mission is probably way too easy for you, I know, but we have to do it," she sighs; if she's to get better, she has to go back to the basics, but she does feel somewhat guilty about dragging him along to something so... rookie-level. "It's fine," he waves dismissively, "I was planning to hunt a few of them anyway."
"But seriously, 'Tyrant Breath'? What's up with that?" he complains as they exit the lift and walk down the corridor that will take them to their intended destination. "There's nothing really tyrant-ish about a Chi-You and it doesn't even have a breath attack! Who's coming up with these mission names anyway?"
The absurdity of it helps keep her mind occupied and draws a soft chuckle out of her. "I know; a lot of them really don't make sense," she admits before falling silent when they finally arrive at none other than Licca's work station.
"Morning, guys! Hibari sent me a message saying you'd be stopping by so your God Arcs are all prepped and ready to go," the mechanic greets them with her usual cheerfulness. "Oh, and those modifications you asked for are done too," she continues, specifically addressing Yuu who offers her a smile and a "Thanks as usual".
Before Alisa can fully ponder what these modifications could possibly be, Licca turns her attention to her, causing to unconsciously tense up… although once again she's surprised by yet another person not reacting to her presence with accusation in their eyes and words. "Hey Alisa, glad you're back on your feet," the goggles-wearing girl says kindly. "Hibari and Yuu have been filling me in on how you were doing, and… you know… don't beat yourself up about it so much, okay? Bad stuff happens. Dad always says the past is the past and the only thing we can do to fix our mistakes is move forward, so… well, don't give up," she finishes in a rush. It takes the Russian no small amount of willpower to prevent herself from tearing up for what must be at least the fifth time today as she lets out a choked "Thank you".
The moment is cut short when another mechanic calls out Licca's name, prompting her to yell that she'll be over in a bit before throwing Alisa an apologetic smile. "Sorry, duty calls. Good luck on your mission, okay?" she calls out as she jogs off, leaving the two of them alone once more.
"Guess we'd better move along; that Chi-You's not going to kill itself," Yuu comments as he nudges her back to the land of the living and they grab their respective God Arc cases. The trip back to the mission counter is quiet and uneventful; having noticed her need to collect herself, the boy leaves her be, only gently prompting her to move when the lift stops at their floor.
Hibari spots them as soon as they come into view and waves them over, choosing to go straight to business in light of the increased human traffic around the counter compared to Alisa's first visit earlier in the morning. "There's a helicopter delivering supplies to an off-base camp of researchers that will be flying close to your mission area so the two of you will be hitching a ride on it. When you're done, radio it in and the pilot will pick you up on her return trip," the woman explains, presenting them with a slip of paper indicating the designated helipad and the pilot who will be transporting them before tending to another task with a quick apology. Yuu mysteriously smiles when he reads the name written on it, and while she chooses not to question it the answer presents itself when they arrive at their destination.
As if on cue, a Chinese girl who looks only slightly older than them pops out of the cockpit the moment they get close and gives them a smile so bright it rivals the sun. "Hey, kids!" she calls out cheerfully, "Looks like I'll be your designated driver for the day!" …Kids?
"Good to see you again, Lin," Yuu greets the human-shaped cluster of boundless energy. "Although I'm surprised your husband isn't here with you like always." …Husband?!
"He would be, except a few choppers were damaged in the recent storm and they've called for all hands on deck," the Chinese sighs dramatically before clapping her hands in a decisive manner. "Anyway, we're on a schedule so let me run a quick systems check while you two get your stuff and yourselves on board, okay?" With that, she hops back into the cockpit, disappearing just as suddenly as she had appeared.
Yuu takes one look at her face and seemingly sees her unasked questions written all over it because he lets out a hearty laugh immediately after. "Lin's actually 31 years old - one of those eternally young people everyone else gets jealous of," he explains as he ushers her into the cargo compartment. "Her husband Adrian's a flight engineer who transferred here from the Spanish branch years ago; you might not get much of a chance to see him since he practically lives in this part of the base when he's on duty but you might not want to - the two of them are nauseatingly lovey-dovey around each other all the time. Oh, and don't let her looks or her personality fool you - Lin's quite the ace pilot. She once flew into a Zygote-infested area to rescue the God Eater unit that had gotten trapped there and made it back to base with minimal damage to her helicopter."
"That's… that's impressive," Alisa manages to muster as she secures her God Arc case before buckling up and putting on the headset. Any further conversation is cut short when Lin's voice crackles through the in-built communication system.
"Alright, hope you kids put on your seat-belts; report's come in that a storm's building in the Grasslands and I'm going to be going as fast as I can so we don't get hit by the worst of it." The Russian feels the helicopter come to life even as Lin continues speaking, almost like a direct physical indication of her haste. "Anyway, you'd better get your God Arcs ready and jump out when I get to the first landing spot I find. Don't worry about your cases; just leave them with me and you can pack up your gear when I pick you up on the return trip."
"Understood, Lin," Yuu responds, his own voice slightly distorted by the transmission. "Just get us there and we'll get down immediately. We'll try not to take too long."
"Roger that," the pilot replies before another crackle indicates she's terminated her own connection to the comm system and both God Eaters take that as the cue to unpack their respective God Arcs. It is then that she recalls the modifications Licca mentioned earlier; she's not entirely sure of it, but Yuu's God Arc looks markedly different compared to the last time she saw it.
"Was your God Arc like that before?" she asks, drawing his attention and gaze from his weapon to her.
"Oh, you noticed huh? Well, technically the answer is yes and no," he replies as he carefully rests his God Arc on the helicopter's floor. "Mine's what they call a 'Highly-Customisable' model - some sort of crazy super-prototype that allows for its parts to be swapped in and out with zero problems. I heard the compatibility rate is - or was, I guess - insanely lower even compared to New-Type models in general, so I guess that makes me really lucky."
"That must be really convenient," she comments; the way standard God Arcs are, they're restricted to whatever qualities were bestowed upon them during their creation. With the ability to change his equipment, Yuu would be able to bypass that limitation and fine-tune his God Arc in such a way as to fully take advantage of a target Aragami's weaknesses as well as protect himself from their attacks to the best of his ability.
"Yeah, it is," he chuckles into his headset's mouthpiece, "except it's not that easy on my mind or my wallet. In order to make new parts for it, I have to hunt down the materials Maintenance needs for them - and let me tell you, some of them are tough to get - and then pay an extra fee for it to be made. You'd think Fenrir would reimburse me since it helps me do my job better, but by their justification I get paid per mission so I'm out of luck there," he grumbles good-naturedly.
"I see," Alisa murmurs, sparing a small smile at the guy's lamentations even as she contemplates his words and the faint outlines of an idea starts to form in her head. She is jerked out of her musings when her headset crackles to life once again and Lin's voice filters through.
"Get set, kids! The storm's picking up and landing is going to be a costly hassle so I'm only going to hover over a suitable drop point; you'll have to jump the moment it's safe," the pilot explains.
"Roger that," they reply in unison and begin to remove their seat-belts and headsets before carefully moving towards the compartment door, taking care not to hit any of the cargo with their God Arcs. The wind and rain hit them the moment they slide the door open, and the ground they are rapidly drawing closer to is unfriendly at best. For the first of her training missions, the girl thinks, this one isn't shaping up to be an easy excursion at all. "This is where we start," she yells to Yuu in an effort to bolster her own confidence, "Ready?!" Grinning, he offers her a thumbs-up with his free hand. "Always!" he yells back as they both feel the helicopter slows its descent to a hovering pattern.
At the wordless signal, they both jump down onto the muddy ground, their boots almost immediately sinking nearly an inch before stopping. They regain their balance quickly as the helicopter takes off and make their way deeper into the Grasslands, although Yuu's outstretched arm in front of her brings Alisa to a sudden halt. Understanding dawns when the sound of flapping wings, muffled by the wind and rain, reach her ears, and as if on cue the Chi-You they are looking for swoops down from one of the abandoned structures in front of them. Luckily, its poor eyesight prevents it from spotting them immediately, and they take the opportunity to assess the situation first. Her old self, she knows, would have just charged in immediately... but now she has other goals besides exterminating the Aragami to consider.
"Alright, what's the plan?" he asks her, and it takes her a moment to process the fact that he's letting her determine their battle strategy. Yuu seems to key into her mounting panic, because he offers her a reassuring smile. "I know you can do it. You have good instincts and regaining... no, trusting them again is part of your training. Breathe, Alisa. I believe in you."
His words, as usual, calm her, and she takes one shaky breath to calm her nerves as best as she can before speaking. "I think... considering our God Arcs and the terrain we're dealing with, we should take turns - one person attacks it with their Long Blade while the other provides suppressive fire," she offers timidly, feeling relief wash over her when her brown-haired companion nods in approval.
"Good idea. I brought laser-type blaze and freeze bullets so I'll take up the firing role first and hopefully unbound parts of it to make your job easier. Is that okay?" he asks, glancing over at the oblivious Chi-You which has taken to consuming some wreckage nearby.
"That's fine," she answers, mustering her courage only to be thrown off by the cheeky grin Yuu suddenly throws her.
"If all else fails, we'll just find you a building to jump off so you can stab it in the head," he suggests teasingly. The girl feels heat rise to her cheeks despite the chill of the rain that has pretty much soaked through her clothes.
"Are you ever going to let that go?" she whines in embarrassment as she resists the urge to just smack his arm with her free hand.
"Probably not," he replies a little too honestly for her liking before going into business mode just as she is about to mentally revise why she shouldn't hit him after all. "Alright, we better get a move on or we're going to fall sick in this weather, Oracle Cells or not."
Mindful of the Chi-You's exceptional hearing, Alisa does her best to be as silent as possible when approaching it, although that does not stop her from mentally grumbling to herself about Yuu never letting her live that one fight down for a very long time. Still, it helps keep the nervousness at bay and before long she's finally sneaked up behind the appropriately nicknamed 'Birdman' Aragami. She exchanges nods with Yuu, who's standing a reasonable distance away with his God Arc in gun mode, and tightens her grip on Avenger before swinging the fiery red blade at the monster's lower body just as a chilling beam hits its head.
The Chi-You screams in pained rage at the surprise assault, its knees buckling slightly under the weight of both attacks before it recovers and the battle officially begins. The girl focuses her senses entirely on reacting to the Aragami's attacks, slashing repeatedly at its lower body and rolling out of the way when it swipes at her, sparing only a fleeting moment to wonder whether Lin would be upset about them dragging so much mud into her helicopter and how one of the first things she wants to do when she gets back to base is take a hot shower.
"I'm out!" Yuu yells; at the signal, Alisa rolls away and switches to Gatling Lore, firing several rounds even as she backs up and Yuu runs past her to attack the Chi-You with his Long Blade. The nervousness comes back full force when she realises the familiar situation she's in: once again, someone is fighting an Aragami in front of her and she could end up shooting him - no, don't think about it, don't think about it - even as the now enraged Aragami steps up its efforts to kill them; they're maintaining a steady and strong offensive, and the Oracle Cells on several parts of their target have been successfully unbound-
Yuu comes out of a diving roll only to look up at her with sudden panic in his cobalt eyes, visible to her even at this distance. "Alisa, watch out!" he shouts, switching his God Arc to its gun form and firing off a bullet in her general direction. Time seems to move in slow motion as her vision focuses on the projectile, tracing its trajectory as it sails through the air and hits the Blaze-type Zygote that had been about to attack her. The explosion, which knocks the flying Aragami down into a stunned heap on the ground, is oddly echoed by another which is followed by Yuu's howl of pain - a sound which makes her blood run colder than the rain falling on her. At that, time goes from sluggishly slow to lightning fast as she turns back to see him struggling to get up even as the Chi-You bears down on him.
"YUU!" she screams and please no this wasn't supposed to happen again do something it's my fault DO SOMETHING fires off a round that hits the Chi-You and interrupts its advancement on the boy who's still on one knee and a swishing sound next to her draws her attention to the Blaze-type Zygote which has recovered and is about to attack her-
There is another smaller explosion and everything goes white. For a moment, Alisa thinks she's either died or fainted until a strange smell hits her and a familiar hand grabs her wrist. "Run!" Yuu's voice urges her as he pulls her along; her vision still lost to her, all she can do is trust him - something that comes all too easily to her. When she finally regains her sight, the girl discovers that they have taken refuge in one of the small derelict buildings that dot the Grasslands. "Sorry about that," the boy gets out between ragged breaths, "I used a stun grenade without warning you beforehand and the new stench is thanks to the Disguise Scent I threw on for good measure so there'd be no chance they'd follow us." But that is the last thing her mind is focused on.
"You're hurt," she says numbly, looking at the state the boy before her is in. Aside from being mostly covered in mud, the front of his usually white shirt is singed - most likely from the explosion - and dotted with blood where stones and other shrapnel-like things have cut into his skin, with his pants being in roughly the same condition. As for the person wearing them, he is breathing harshly while holding his arm to his ribs as if to physically hold back the pain. "I did this," she mumbles numbly, "I- this is my fault. I should've paid more attention to my surroundings, I should've-"
Impossibly, Yuu springs forward despite his injuries to grab her by the shoulders. "Hey hey, none of that, okay? We both made a mistake. We were too hasty and didn't stop to consider or check that there were no other Aragami in the area before we started. No buts," he cuts her off before she can even say a word, "and certainly no beating yourself up about this. We're still alive and that's what counts the most. Got it?" Having been silenced so efficiently, the girl can only nod hesitantly, a gesture which brings the smile she is so used to seeing back to his face as he releases her and leans back again. "Good. As for my injuries, they're not as bad as they look. A couple of Restore Pills and I'll be in fighting shape again."
It's not exactly reassuring, but at least it's something... even though she feels a little useless being unable to help in this regard as she watches him remove a pill case from his pocket and pop two of its contents into his mouth. "So, what's the plan now?" he asks, suppressing a slight shudder as the pills kick his Oracle Cells' healing abilities into full gear.
"You still want me to decide our course of action?" she questions incredulously.
"Consider it part of your training," he counters easily with that grin of his. "Mid-battle plan revisions are par for the course; being able to quickly assess the situation and react accordingly is a skill all God Eaters need. Your first plan was good, but what will you do now that there're new variables?"
His trust and patience are emboldening, and more than anything she feels the need to live up to his expectations. "Um... we should take out the Blaze-type Zygote first and scout for other nearby Aragami while staying out of the Chi-You's range before taking it on again," she suggests hesitantly.
"Alright. Let's get going then," Yuu states as he gets up and heads for the entrance with her trailing a little behind. "But you know, we've got to have some really crappy luck to be attacked by Blaze-type Zygotes on a rainy day," he comments wryly. "I mean, the rain must've agitated them out of whatever hiding spot they were in, but we just had to run into them, didn't we? Our luck can only get better from here... or else I've jinxed us really badly," he continues, eliciting a weak chuckle from her.
Thankfully, Yuu's words turn out to be prophetic instead of calamitous and they manage to eliminate the Blaze-type Zygote that had attacked them earlier as well as another in the vicinity before they find the Chi-You consuming a broken wall with its back turned towards them. It is another stroke of luck that a majority of the damage they inflicted earlier has not been repaired, and before long the Aragami is delivering its death cry as she delivers the final blow. Yuu defers the honour of extracting its core to her, calling it a mark of the end of today's mission before they make their way back to the building to seek shelter from the rain that's still falling and radio for their ride home.
Lin's helicopter appears over the building's roof not long after and they hop on, all too grateful to be out of the rain and on the way home. "Goodness, you kids look like you've been through hell," she states bluntly through the comm system the moment they put on their headsets. "Don't worry, I'll have us home before you can sneeze - and by that I mean I hope you two don't fall sick. Best make a trip to the sick bay the moment we get back to base, okay?"
"I think Dr Anderson would have our heads if we didn't," the guy mutters in resignation.
"I promised I'd see her after my missions so we can go together," Alisa offers before an earlier thought comes back to her. "Hey Yuu," she starts, catching his attention, "after that... if you don't mind, that is... could I ask for your help with one other thing for today?" she stammers, keeping her gaze on her efforts to secure her God Arc back in its case.
"Of course," he offers readily, himself similarly distracted, and they say no more until they return and drop their God Arc cases back at Maintenance before heading straight to the sick bay.
True to form, Dr Anderson takes one look at their sorry state and orders them to take a hot shower immediately - an order they all too happily comply with, although they both decide not to question how there are a fresh set of their clothes waiting for them once they're done. Thankfully, the blue-haired doctor gives them a clean bill of health and shoos them out with a warning not to push themselves or face the consequences. "So," Yuu asks once they're out of the lion's den, "what did you want my help with?"
"I... I want to start using healing bullets," she blurts out in a rush. "I want to be able to provide support to my teammates when I'm on a mission and after today..." she pauses before shaking the dark thought away, "I need to know that I'm doing the best I can however I can and this is something I can do. I know you have healing bullets, so I thought you could advise me on what kind I should be using."
Nodding, the guy rubs his chin thoughtfully. "I can't argue with that logic. Well, I guess it's off to Maintenance to pick up your God Arc then the training area," he comments as they retrace their route. "Your combat style's a balance of range and melee like mine, so there's a pretty simple but effective bullet recipe I'd recommend. It's not going to heal a ton, but it should be a good lifesaver in the thick of battle," he continues speaking while they walk. "That's fine," she replies gratefully as they reach their destination.
Licca is understandably surprised to see them again, although after a brief explanation she hands over Alisa's God Arc without fuss. "I haven't gotten around to fixing it yet, but it didn't sustain much wear and tear on your mission so you're good to go for now," the engineer explains. "Just bring it back once you're done and I'll get on it immediately."
"Thanks, Licca," the Russian answers, hesitating a moment before turning to Yuu. "I need to speak to Licca about something so could you please go ahead?" she asks him earnestly. "I promise I won't take long."
The guy understandably gives her a look of puzzlement but shrugs. "Alright, I'll be waiting outside the firing range," he responds before walking off. Alisa waits until he is out of earshot then turns to the equally mystified Licca.
"I... I need your help with something," she admits, and when she explains her intentions the engineer's face lights up with understanding.
"I'd be happy to lend you a hand. Alright, I need your help getting some of this stuff-" she says as she grabs a scrap of paper and begins scribbling on it, handing it over to Alisa when she's done, "-and I'll handle the rest. You can count on me!"
"Thank you so much, Licca," the Russian murmurs as she offers the engineer a grateful smile which is waved off.
"It's no trouble," Licca waves it off with a small grin. "I'll get started as soon as possible, so you'd better not keep Yuu waiting any longer." With one last parting "thank you", Alisa slips the paper into her skirt pocket and dashes off in the direction of the firing range, having no trouble spotting the person she's looking for thanks to his blue jacket.
At the sound of her footsteps, Yuu looks up and greets her with an apologetic smile. "Hey. Sorry, but I can't stick around after I've helped you out with this; the 2nd Unit's supposed to patrol a weakened part of the Outer Wall and Brendan's asked me for a helping hand. If that's alright with you, that is," he amends, scratching his head in awkwardness.
"Oh no, it's fine," she responds, viciously squashing the feeling of disappointment that reared its head all of a sudden. "I was planning on doing a few solo training sessions after this anyway. Plus, I think your bigger concern is how Dr Anderson will react when she finds out you went on another mission after she told you not to stress yourself."
"Hey, it's just a standard patrol mission - nothing stressful about that," he retorts defensively as he heads for the terminal next to one of the firing range lanes. "Moving on, I've already keyed in the specifications for the bullet so go ahead and try it out. Since it's a homing shot, you won't have to worry about aiming it that much; just fire it in someone's general vicinity and it'll do the rest of the work. Anything else you need?"
Alisa shakes her head at that. "No, I've got it. You should go; I can handle the rest on my own," she assures him with a smile.
"Alright then. Good luck with your training," he calls out as he jogs off with a grin and a wave. The girl stares at his retreating back until he is lost in the crowd before steeling herself and marching up to the terminal. Eyeing the display screen, she punches the green button and waits for the machine to create the test bullet before picking it up. One more step forward, she thinks as she slides it into Gatling Lore's chamber and aims. She's made it through today and while tomorrow will likely bring its own set of stumbling blocks she knows without a doubt that with Yuu supporting her she can overcome them all.
So ends the first chapter of this fic's Training Mini-arc and man did it just kept growing and growing as if it were an Aragami. Hope you guys enjoyed it and look forward to the rest of these training mission chapters. I'm having equal amounts of fun and frustration writing them, so hopefully that translates into something you guys will enjoy reading.
PS: I've heard that there are points in the game where you get asked questions about your past. Can anyone tell me anything about this? I need this info for a future part of the story and could use any help you guys can offer. Thanks in advance!