Author's Note: Thanks as ever to my readers and reviewers. To Yoh Narukami, I felt the same way when I encountered Eric's sister after his death and we were probably meant to feel that way, considering the game's setting. Also, thanks for the high praise! To assault GE, I hope this chapter meets your expectations. To Waldo055, I'll do my best, but my attempts to clone myself aren't bearing much fruit... yet. ;) To rydia3791, redemption is a theme I'll be revisiting regularly (although not so often that you guys get sick of it) and yeah, they should've delayed Eric's death if only to make it more significant when he did kick the bucket. The memorial bar will be somewhat explored further later on, and I'm glad Licca's mischief made you laugh. And yes, Kanon has somewhat traumatised Yuu since it was his first time running into a Borg Camlann but he'll get better eventually. To Arobynn, thank you; I'm doing my best to make my fic true to the game's mechanics while still trying to make it "realistic". To YoumuCircuits, look forward to seeing more of the side characters, and I'll see about having Kotomi making a cameo or something later in the story. Now, on with the story!
Whatever few traces of last night's positive feelings remained when Alisa awakes in the morning evaporate the moment she checks her terminal to find a message from Tsubaki summoning the Russian to her office. It is only through sheer willpower alone that she pushes past her nervousness and goes through the motions of getting ready for the day, albeit somewhat mechanically. The cafeteria is devoid of any friendly faces when she arrives for breakfast, which she thinks is both a relief and not at the same time as she eats whatever is served to her before making her way to Tsubaki's office, internally fretting over how to speak to the woman as she puts one foot in front of the other.
How do you address someone whose brother you helped ensure nobody would ever see alive again?
She thinks of Yuu - of Eric and the story of a little girl who rages against everyone else if only to avoid drowning in the grief of losing someone who means the world to her - and wonders if he saw himself in her when they first met.
(She remembers being that way once, and chooses not to think too much about whether he thought of Eric's sister when he learned about her past.)
She's standing in front of the door of Tsubaki's office before she knows it and the concept of knocking, much less entering takes a phenomenal amount of effort to execute. Alisa feels her fear irrationally spike when the woman's commanding voice tells her to come in and she complies. The office is simple and quietly imposing unlike Dr Sakaki's, although she idly thinks that it is mostly due to the difference in their owners' personalities.
Tsubaki looks up from the reports in her hands as the girl steps in and gestures at the empty seat in front of her desk. "Good morning, Alisa. Please, take a seat." Her nervousness must be glaringly obvious, because the woman's gaze turns sympathetic. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble. I merely want to discuss your current situation. That's all. Alright?" At the Russian's jerky nod, her lips curl to form a slight smile. "Alright then."
"So," the 1st Unit's supervisor continues, shuffling through the papers on her desk until she finds the one she is looking for, "I understand you have been making full use of your limited ability to take part in supervised field missions for the past three days on top of your extensive use of the on-base training facilities. As the senior God Eater you chose to act as your supervisor for these missions, Yuu has of course kept me informed of your progress."
She offers another smile. "Of course, he has had nothing but good things to say about your performance." Spreading out two other reports - they must be the ones Yuu wrote about their missions - before her, Tsubaki proceeds to read out snippets of his opinions. "Sound battle tactics, strong displays of cooperative behaviour on the battlefield, leadership potential... he sings your praises in all of them," she points out with a hint of bemusement in her voice, and Alisa is pretty sure that fighting the blush covering her face is a lost cause on so many levels.
"All in all," Tsubaki concludes as she places the report in her hand back down with the others, "he is convinced you are ready to return to active duty based on the results of your field battles and on-base training. I'm inclined to agree with him, so effective today you are cleared to resume your full duties as a God Eater assigned to the 1st Unit of the Fenrir Far East Branch." At that, her expression dims slightly before she continues. "As no one has been nominated yet to replace... Corporal Amamiya... you will be reporting to Sakuya instead."
With that one statement, it is as if all the air in the room has been sucked out, leaving only a heavy pressure that seems to crush her into her seat. This, Alisa thinks bleakly, is why she'd been so nervous about coming here in the first place... and now she's been proven right.
"I'm sorry," she blurts out for lack of anything better to say - anything that could possibly be enough to make up for taking away the last family this woman has (and how does that make her any better than the Aragami that still haunts her thoughts?). "I... It's my fault. If I hadn't-"
A raised hand, palm pointed towards her halts the jumbled rush of words tumbling off Alisa's lips. "Stop," Tsubaki says simply, the weariness on her face making her look years older. "Yuu has explained to me - quite loudly and vehemently, I might add - about the circumstances that led to your actions that day. I want you to know that I do not hold you personally responsible. My brother died fulfilling his oath - to save the lives of his teammates even if it cost him his own - and you doing anything less than living would dishonour that."
"On a similar note," she continues, cutting off whatever protest the girl is about to make, "we have been searching for Dr Oguruma since Yuu informed me of the situation to hear what he has to say but he appears to have disappeared from the Far East Branch since the day of the mission. We will of course continue the search until we find him but until a new lead presents itself to us I doubt we will be able to locate him anytime soon." She looks at Alisa then, her gaze effectively pinning the girl in her seat and keeping her silent at the same time. "Meanwhile, I trust that you can be relied on to carry out your duties as a God Eater?"
"Y-Yes, Ma'am," the Russian answers hurriedly, stumbling over her words as she tries not to squirm under the direct order implied in the question: she is to leave the matter to Tsubaki and not attempt to do anything on her own. Disobedience is, as always, out of the question.
The older woman nods in satisfaction. "Very well then. I'm glad we were able to have this conversation." Which was not so much a conversation as it was a decree and of course completely obligatory, but Alisa wisely chooses not to point that out. "Now, I have a mission for the 1st Unit - minus Soma; I believe Dr Sakaki has already requested his assistance for the day - and I might as well announce your reinstatement to them at the same time. You can be present for that if you wish, but I will not insist on it," the woman says as she gets up from her chair and begins gathering the reports on her desk.
"I'll come. Here, um, let me help you with that," the girl offers hurriedly, taking a few of the documents herself half out of the desire to be helpful in some way and partially to keep her hands occupied. Tsubaki offers her a quiet word of thanks and with that they leave the office together.
Sakuya, Yuu and Kota are already waiting when they arrive and all three sport varied looks of surprise to see her at Tsubaki's side, although Yuu's expression quickly turns into one that radiates warmth as he seemingly figures out the reason behind her presence at the debriefing.
"Good morning," Tsubaki starts without preamble once she has their full attention; Alisa just tries not to fidget too much where she is standing. "Before I give you the details of your mission, I have an announcement to make." She gives the Russian a curt nod before continuing. "As of today, Recruit Amiella has been fully reinstated as a God Eater and member of the 1st Unit. I hope all of you will help her as you have in the past."
"You can count on us!" Kota exclaims in his typical loud fashion, nearly drowning out Yuu's more subdued "Of course" while Sakuya merely nods.
"Alright then," Tsubaki acknowledges their responses, "if that does not pose any problems for anyone I'll move on and debrief you about today's mission." She shuffles through the reports in her hand until she finds the one she is looking for and begins to read. "A Vajra was encountered by the Research Unit's force reconnaissance but has escaped to the Old City. Blaze or Divine weapons are recommended. Take caution of other smaller Aragami." Seemingly satisfied that there is nothing else relevant in the document, the woman looks up to regard the God Eaters standing before her. "That's all from me. Do you have any questions?"
Surprisingly, it is a very meek Kota who raises his right hand and speaks up. "Um... I wish you'd send Alisa on this mission..." he suggests timidly, dropping his hand to rest both limbs on his hips as if to appear more confident. "I mean, see, she's been, um..." he stutters, glancing to the side then back as if to look for the spectre of bravery that has conveniently left him. "She's been working really hard!" he finishes loudly, compensating for his weak point with volume instead.
It is all the more shocking that Tsubaki does not dismiss him but regards him critically instead. "You too...?" she questions out loud before turning to Sakuya. "What do you think?"
The few seconds that Sakuya takes to cast her gaze down at the floor and contemplate the issue feels like an eternity. When the Medic Corporal finally looks up, she spares Alisa a brief but unreadable glance before speaking. "I agree," she answers simply.
At that, the girl releases the breath she'd been holding unconsciously although the relief is short-lived when she feels Tsubaki turn to look at her. "However, your target for this mission... is the same type as 'that one'," the woman points out, causing her to meet her concerned gaze. "Will you be all right?"
It's a completely valid concern, she knows as well as everyone else here, and she silently thinks it's a testament to how much she's matured in just the past few days that she contemplates the issue first instead of answering immediately. "I'll go..." she murmurs, raising her gaze from the ground to look Tsubaki in the eye, "please let me go!" She needs this, she realises with sudden clarity - needs to face her fears and doubts, to take those steps forward no matter how much it terrifies her if she is to be able to live with herself.
"Very well," the woman responds, seemingly understanding her plight, although her tone immediately turns cautionary, "but don't overdo it."
Alisa swallows nervously but nods all the same, although any verbal acknowledgement is immediately cut off by the sound of Kota's voice.
"Yay!" the boy cheers, punctuating his exclamation with a double-fist pump. "I'll be with you, so you'll be fine! Right?" he assures her with a wide grin.
"Thanks," she finds herself answering before her mind can even fully process her words, "but you'll have to forgive me if that doesn't make me feel any more confident."
Her words cause him to visibly deflate, but the sound of Yuu bursting into laughter cuts off any apology she was about to make and almost immediately the tension in the air is eliminated as Sakuya giggles at the boy's crestfallen face. Even Tsubaki lets out a soft chuckle, which does nothing to quell the blush Alisa can feel creeping across her face.
"Nice to see some things never change," Yuu chortles, slapping Kota on the back in what she assumes was intended to be comforting but just serves to rub salt into the wound.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh at my expense like always," the boy grumbles as he half-heartedly takes a swipe at his supposed friend which is easily dodged. "And here I thought she'd start to go easy on me..." he mumbles dejectedly.
"Alright, that's enough," Tsubaki interjects before things spiral any more out of control. "I expect all of you to work together on this mission. No heroics, no reckless moves or careless actions. Sakuya, as the most senior God Eater you will be the leader for this. As there are four of you, driving yourselves there would be more convenient so a jeep has already been checked out in your name and you are all to depart immediately once you have collected your God Arcs. Dismissed. Oh," she adds as an afterthought as she turns to Alisa with one hand outstretched, "I should take my files back now since you'll be going on the mission. Thank you for helping me carry them."
"You're welcome. I'll, um, take my leave now," the girl excuses herself as she passes the documents back and turns around to follow her teammates to the lift. Yuu predictably trails behind until he matches her pace.
"Hey," he murmurs as he leans in, "you okay?"
"I'm fine. I think. Well, I hope," she answers honestly with a soft sigh. "Just... a little nervous, I guess. I know it goes without saying, but actual combat and practice are two completely different things... I mean, it's not like the past three days didn't involve actual combat, but this is an official mission and..." She takes a deep breath before confessing her true fear. "I'm worried that if I Burst, everything will go white and I'll end up hurting someone again." The scenario they are walking into is a little too similar to that day for her liking, regardless of how much she herself wanted to do this.
Her companion blinks at that. "But you Burst on one of our training missions and you were fine," he reminds her.
"We weren't fighting..." she trails off and gestures helplessly.
Being Yuu, he understands her immediately. "Don't work yourself up over it. You'll do fine," he reassures her gently. "Just remember our training sessions and don't focus too much on what we're fighting. Plus," he adds with a cheeky grin that instantly and irrationally puts her at ease a little, "you can count on me to be a more reliable source of support than Kota."
"I didn't mean- It just slipped out!" she feebly defends herself, slapping at the jacket-covered arm closest to her out of embarrassment. True to form, all it does is make him laugh. He doesn't stop even when they finally catch up to Sakuya and Kota in the lift, and the still-sulking boy glowers at Yuu when he correctly guesses the source of his mirth.
"Traitor," he accuses, but that only makes Yuu laugh even harder and even Sakuya smiles a little.
When they go to retrieve their God Arcs, Licca only makes things worse when she marks their departure from Maintenance by giving Alisa a thumbs up and hollering, "Good luck! Don't let Kota hold you back, okay?"
"Damnit, I'm not that unreliable!" the boy in question howls in frustration amidst the chorus of laughter that follows them all the way back to the lift.
-xXx-
"Alright, here's the plan," Sakuya calls for their attention once they've exited the jeep and retrieved their God Arcs. "The Vajra could be anywhere in this area and the presence of other Aragami in the vicinity is a given, so we're going to take the slow and careful approach on this one to avoid getting ambushed. Yuu, I'd like you to be at the head of the group and stick primarily to melee duty. Kota, I want you to provide him with supporting fire. Do not rush in unless he gets knocked out and you need to provide Link-Aid, and even then only do so if the situation is safe; we cannot take the chance of either the group getting separated or more than one of us being incapacitated at the same time. Alisa..." the woman hesitates for a moment but presses on, her tone businesslike as it should be, "you're also on supporting fire duty; same rules apply. You and Kota will bring up the right and left sides of the group while I'll serve as rearguard. Only go into melee if you are absolutely sure Yuu needs the backup. We'll maintain this formation to deal with any stray Aragami we run into while we're looking for the Vajra."
"When we find our target, we'll use a revised form of this strategy to take it down. Yuu, maintain your melee role unless circumstances determine it to be easier or more convenient to shoot. I trust your judgement so I'll leave that part up to your discretion. Kota, supporting fire again, but keep an eye out for any other Aragami that might show up in the middle of the fight and... do you have any stun grenades with you?" The boy shakes his head in the negative, prompting Yuu to wordlessly unhook his stash from his belt and toss it in his direction. "Thanks, Yuu. Kota, use those whenever it gets enraged. I'll keep my distance and provide supporting fire and healing if necessary. Alisa..." This time the pause is more pronounced and makes her fidget with discomfort.
The look on Sakuya's face, however, is one of concern - for her well-being, she realises, not how she will perform on this mission - and Yuu's gaze holds that familiarly similar expression. "I don't want you to push yourself, understand?" the woman continues. "Yuu tells me you carry healing bullets with you now, so you can keep your distance from the centre of the conflict and help me keep him and Kota from going down. I don't want to jinx us, but it would be overly optimistic to think that the Vajra will go down easily. Is that okay?"
Alisa swallows the lump in her throat and nods stiffly. "I understand. I'll... I'll do my best."
"That's good enough for me," Yuu chimes in softly with a gentle smile, and his sentiments are matched by their two other teammates.
"Alright then, move out," Sakuya commands and they fall into position as they begin their search through the ruined city.
They run into the minor kind of trouble soon enough when the distinct shape of a Fallen Cocoon Maiden - a Blaze-type, judging by its colour - appears just ahead. Having already been given their marching orders, Yuu dives straight into battle, ending his swift slashes with a quick devour as the other three of them pound it with Freeze-type bullets. While the Aragami dies quickly under their combined assault, its death wail has the unfortunate effect of drawing several Blaze-type Fallen Zygotes to their location and in seconds they are all engaging their own targets.
A series of direct shots into the one barreling down on her sends it crashing to the ground, and Alisa takes the opportunity to swap out Gatling Lore for Avenger before slamming the blade as deep as she can into its body. The Aragami's screams are deafening and her enhanced hearing does little to help in that regard, but the girl steadfastly tunes it out in favour of letting her battle instincts and muscle memory guide her actions. She realises a split-second too late where those usually lead her as she registers her God Arc sinking its teeth into its still-struggling prey and the rush of a Burst engulfing her-
-but nothing else happens as she disengages from the Fallen Zygote which has successfully taken to the sky once more. There is no voice commanding her to act against her own will and her body is not betraying her. She considers it a minor victory.
(A small voice of doubt at the back of her mind points out that, like the training mission, she is not fighting anything resembling 'that', but she ruthlessly squashes it as she takes advantage of her boosted abilities to leap into the air to slash her target back down to the ground.)
The effects of the Burst fade just as she deals the finishing blow to the Blaze-type Fallen Zygote and for a moment she just stands there, Avenger still half-buried in the corpse, as she steadies herself both physically and mentally. There is a little too much truth in the phrase 'battle high' among God Eaters, Alisa finds herself thinking before the thought is abruptly cut off when a hand lands on her shoulder and startles her back to reality. Somehow, she already knows who it is before she even turns around.
"You okay?" Yuu asks softly, his concerned gaze sweeping her for any signs of injury or distress. Movement a short distance behind him catches her attention for a moment and she spots Kota still playing tag with his target.
"I'm fine," she replies when she looks back at him, trying and mostly succeeding at giving him a reassuring smile. "I went into Burst mode," she feels the need to explain, "but nothing happened, of course."
"Am I at risk of being hit if I say I told you so?" he teases lightly before laughing when he lets go of her shoulder and jumps away to dodge the half-hearted slap she'd aimed at his arm. "I'll take that as a yes," he muses with a smile, but she can still see some of his worry reflected in his eyes. Any further conversation is cut off at the sound of an Aragami's dying scream accompanied with Kota's victory whoop. "We'd better get back in formation and continue the mission," the guy notes. "The sooner we kill that Vajra and go home, the better."
It is a sentiment she shares and Sakuya voices the same, ordering them to regroup and resume the search once all of their enemies' cores have been removed. Switching out Avenger for Gatling Lore, Alisa notices the devouring of the Blaze-type Fallen Zygote has yielded a handful of Aragami bullets - three Flame Shots, to be precise - which should come in handy when they finally find their target.
They run into a few more Blaze-type Fallen Cocoon Maidens and one stray Blaze-type Fallen Zygote which provides her with three more Flame Shots before a tremor in the ground heralds the appearance of their prey - who found who, exactly, is a matter of opinion - and fear seizes the girl for a moment as she looks at a face that is all too similar to the one in her nightmares.
"Disperse!" Sakuya commands and they all leap apart except for Yuu who runs straight at the monster, swinging his blade at its left front leg when he is close enough. There is no time to panic or freeze, not when Yuu- when her teammates need her, so she grits her teeth and tightens her grip on Gatling Lore before taking careful aim and firing.
Acting almost on auto-pilot, Alisa keeps her focus on the idea of the enemy instead of what it is (don't look at its face) as well as her teammates. Kota, thankfully, is being less reckless than she remembers him to be from the last mission (no, don't think about it) while Sakuya is making every last shot of hers count. It is Yuu, of course, who worries her with the way he's almost dancing between the (Aragami, just another Aragami) monster's legs as he slashes at it, focusing his attacks on its front legs while scoring a lucky hit on its face and tail when he can get away with it. His movements make her job easier and harder at the same time as she focuses her fire on the Aragami's torso and hind legs considering he occasionally weaves in and out of her line of fire - her duty is to (keep him safe) help stagger and possibly bring down the target so his job will be that much easier.
"Grenade!" Kota yells as a warning when the Aragami lets out an enraged roar, and they all take the risk of closing their eyes as the stun grenade leaves the boy's hand and sails through the air before exploding. Momentarily blinded, it swipes futilely at the empty air in front of it and doesn't run, giving them an opportunity to inflict some serious damage that they take full advantage of. Concentrated fire on their target's hind legs unbind the Oracle cells there and further cripple it, allowing Yuu to devour it and enter Burst mode before it recovers.
This is a battle of endurance, however, and they are running out of time to win it, Alisa realises with a start as a quick glance at her God Arc's gauge indicates she's close to running out of bullets. While Kota and Sakuya can take advantage of the Oracle cell generation which is one of the few benefits that comes with being an Old-Type gun user, that would require them to stop firing for a while - an action that would place their sole melee fighter in grave danger. The fading of Yuu's Burst mode is another mark that the odds are slowly but surely being stacked against them. They've managed to unbound several of the Aragami's body parts, but there is still a great deal of fight left in the hulking beast. It is as good a time as any to use those Flame Shots, so she switches to them and aims, hoping she doesn't end up hitting Yuu instead. She needs to (protecthimbehisstrengthkeephimsafe) do everything she can.
Unexpectedly, the guy in question rolls and ends up right in her cross-hairs just as she fires. Panic causes the girl's hands to slip and the shot goes off before her actions can fully register. All she can feel is horror as the projectile seems to home in on the blue jacket-wearing individual in slow motion-
-except instead of engulfing him in a cloud of fire, his body seems to absorb the shot and displays all the signs of him having entered Burst mode. "What?" she murmurs under her breath, barely hearing Kota let out an awed exclamation of "That was awesome!".
True to form, Yuu only lets his surprise get the better of him for a second before he takes advantage of the unexpected boost and continues his assault on the Aragami. "Alisa!" he yells, snapping her out of her stupor, "Again!"
"What?!" she all but screams back in shock; to her left and right, Kota and Sakuya have resumed firing, making her the only inactive team member right now.
"Shoot me again! Or whatever it is you did earlier - do it again!" he hollers back, barely managing to escape as the air around the Aragami begins to crackle with lethal amounts of electricity.
"FINE!" she caves; Sakuya has not voiced any objections, so she's going to assume she's being given permission to go through with his crazy request. "I hope you know what the hell you're doing, you lunatic!" Even though her words are directed at him, it feels more like a prayer than anything else.
Once again, the shot seems to home in on him, and now that she's expecting it she can see that it looks more like a condensed energy bullet than the fireball it should resemble. Her target's body once again absorbs it upon impact and somehow the energy just... feeds his Burst mode. He's moving a little faster than before and his swing seems more powerful because his blade is cutting deeper into the Aragami's flesh and that's just insane-
"Again!" Yuu yells, but this time she hesitates for a different reason. God Eater or not, the human body is not made for this sort of... of... power, and definitely not this much of it. Even at this distance, she can see that he is straining to handle the immense amount of foreign energy flowing through it; adding another level would-
"ALISA!"
She fires, and this time she really does pray.
It is almost blinding, the way he is practically glowing with power when the third shot hits him. The Impulse Edge he pulls off this time is testament to the unnatural boost this assisted Burst mode he is in, as the strength of the attack unbounds the Oracle cells on the Aragami's face and sends it reeling at the same time. But all she can think about is how much longer this can go on.
Yuu, it seems, is thinking the same thing as well because he follows up with another flurry of attacks and ends it with one more Impulse Edge before jumping back and switching out his long blade for his gun. Then he seems to channel all the energy in his body into his God Arc and fires off a shot of his own.
The result is an impossibly large fireball which generates so much heat she can feel it where she's standing. It is also apparently so powerful the recoil blasts Yuu right off his feet.
Being the target of the shot itself, the Aragami fares much worse - as big as the beast is, the blast seems to slam into its side with the force of ten charging enraged Kongous combined. The resulting explosion and inferno radiates a second wave of heat that washes over the area and carries with it the smell of burnt flesh and fur, making Alisa instinctively gag. It takes almost all her energy to not throw up at the stench, and whatever is left of her strength is used to watch the still-ablaze monster fall on its side in slow motion through watery eyes, roaring in pain and flailing angrily all the way.
The team sans her run towards it to finish the job - even Yuu, despite how incredibly beat-up and exhausted he looks - but before anyone can get close enough the Aragami has extinguished itself and is already leaping away, most likely to find a way to heal itself. Of course it had to survive that shot. Life wasn't that kind.
"Don't let it get away!" Kota yells unnecessarily. "We're going after it!" She's not sure if that was meant to be a declaration or an order - which he is in no position to give anyway - but it's a sentiment everyone seems to share if their expressions are anything to go by.
Against her will, Alisa feels the cold grip of fear tightening around her heart again as she runs up and joins the group; she knows where this is headed.
"It'll come after us if we stay together like this," Sakuya warns grimly, glancing at all of them for a brief moment in contemplation before continuing. "Disperse for now!" she orders. "Everyone, watch your back!"
Just like that, her three teammates break off and run in different directions. Yuu spares her a quick worried glance as he turns, but that is the only acknowledgement she gets before all she sees is his rapidly retreating back. The girl tries to take a breath to calm herself, but the sound that escapes is more panicked than anything else. Split up, Sakuya had said; everything in her screams in protest but orders are orders and her legs mechanically move her forward. Kota is the only one still in sight so she decides to follow him until he takes a right turn ahead and is immediately lost to her among the dead city's streets. She's on her own now.
This is not an issue. She really wants to believe so, at least.
Her footfalls echo off the dull grey structures around her and every shadow out of the corner of her eye seems to have gleaming yellow eyes so really, the fact that she's gotten this far without falling apart is an achievement all on its own. Panting from both the exertion of the run and the stress of not reacting rashly to imagined enemies, the girl stops and leans against the nearest wall for a quick rest.
Then she feels the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
She carefully looks around the corner for a quick scan, but Alisa already knows what she's going to find. Sure enough, the Aragami they're hunting stalks out towards the gaping hole in the building.
Of course she had to be the one to find it. And of course there would be nobody else nearby to help her.
"Daddy... Mommy..." she breathes, feeling the fear overcome her as she remembers- No, she won't think about it. She can do this. She will do this. She's going to kill the stupid thing and they can leave and she can give Yuu an earful for that stupid stunt once they're all safe and home. Gathering her courage with those thoughts in mind, the girl comes out of hiding and aims Gatling Lore right at the beast.
She makes the mistake of looking into its eyes.
The panic overwhelms her as she stares at the thing that killed daddy and mommy no no no, not the same not the same not the same and Gatling Lore wavers in her hands. The Aragami roars it killed them it killed them don't kill me please I don't want to die
Her legs fail her and Alisa buckles, sinking to the ground helplessly as she looks up-
Movement. A dash of blue coming around the corner draws her gaze away.
Yuu.
He spots her, and despite the distance between them she can see his relieved smile fade into a frown of concern. He runs towards her, unaware of the Aragami which has spotted him and lunged at him and it's happening again not again please not again-
Never again.
She's on her feet before she realises it, Gatling Lore gripped tightly in her hands as she aims.
"OUT OF THE WAY!" she screams as she pulls the trigger and the last three Flame Shots fire all at once, seemingly combining mid-flight into a single powerful shot that slams into the Aragami in mid-air just as Yuu jumps clear of the explosion at her cry. The monster lets out a dying roar as her shot engulfs it in flames and seemingly finishes the job, its charred body landing where its intended prey had been standing a few seconds ago.
There is a strange sensation in her chest accompanied by an unusual sound which Alisa belatedly realises are signs she is hyperventilating, but it doesn't matter. What matters, the girl thinks as she sinks back down to her knees, is that Yuu is alive.
The tears flow unbidden and even though she covers her face with both hands she can't stop herself from sobbing in relief and a hundred other emotions she is feeling all at once while the world blurs. There is the distant sound of footsteps which become louder then a brief pause before they start up again and someone comes closer to her and kneels down. Sakuya hugs her, and it's only natural to hug back as tightly as possible as she keeps crying.
"You did good, Alisa," the woman whispers warmly, and really, she can't be blamed if that makes her cry just a little harder. Eventually, the tears subside into sniffles and Sakuya pats her gently on the back. "Feel better?" she asks quietly. Not trusting herself to speak just yet, Alisa offers a slight nod. "Alright then, let's go home now." With the medic's support, the girl finds herself back on her feet and surrounded by her teammates who all sport understanding smiles.
They are roughly halfway into their trek back to the jeep when Alisa feels the need to speak up and break the silence. "By the way, Kota."
"Hmm?" the unsuspecting boy hums in response. She almost feels guilty.
Almost, that is.
"I hope you realise you took the longest to defeat your Blaze-type Fallen Zygote just now."
Kota's miserable howl of "Oh come on, gimme a break!" is accompanied by the sound of Yuu and Sakuya breaking into laughter, and even she manages a small smile. Maybe, she thinks, she's already home.
-xXx-
The girl only realises she'd fallen asleep on the trip back when Sakuya gently nudges her awake using the shoulder she'd been resting against. Yuu had volunteered to drive them home when it became obvious that the moment Sakuya let her go Alisa would crumple from sheer exhaustion alone, much to the Russian's embarrassment.
As one, they all troop over to the medical wing where they are immediately separated and checked over by a team of nurses under Dr Anderson's command. Yuu, however, must have given a short report via radio on their way back because the good doctor accosts him personally and drags him off to a separate room.
"If you're worried about him, you shouldn't be," the nurse tending to her whose name-tag identifies her as Isane tells her with a smile. Blushing slightly at having been caught staring at the door Yuu had been hauled through seconds ago, Alisa redirects her gaze back to the amused nurse's face. "I don't think Dr Anderson will hurt him." She pauses for dramatic effect. "Well, not by much anyway."
"That's not really reassuring," she mumbles as she lets the woman fuss over her.
"He'll be fine, just like you are. The doctor would like to see you too but not today. For now, you're to get some rest. I see no need to hold you in the sick bay for the night so consider yourself lucky," Isane declares with a final once-over glance before letting her slide off the bed. "His examination might take a while so you should go back to your room first; I'll let him know where to find you, alright?"
"Alright," she answers somewhat grudgingly. Kota and Sakuya, having needed less scrutiny from the staff, are gone by the time the girl exits the sick bay, most likely back to their rooms. There's nowhere to be and nothing to do, so she decides to heed Isane's words and heads back to her own room. Perhaps some self-prescribed retail therapy was in order.
It is only when she boots up her room terminal that Alisa remembers she's been neglecting something: her diary. She hadn't written anything in it since... that mission. Shaking her head to throw off the dread threatening to settle over her, the girl unlocks the password-protected file and begins typing. She refuses to run away anymore.
She's unsure how much time has eventually passed when she finally finishes, but her fingers are threatening to fall off and she impossibly feels even more emotionally exhausted than after the day's mission. However, the girl decides the lightness in her heart more than makes up for it.
The knock on her door startles her out of her reverie. "Alisa, it's me," Yuu calls out. "Can I come in?"
"Um, y-yes! Just... give me a second!" she answers, internally cursing her stuttering as she hurriedly locks her diary again and pulls up the fashion catalogue she'd gotten in her inbox a few days ago to... well, she's not sure what she's trying to hide. Yuu would never invade her privacy like that anyway.
"Hey," Yuu greets her with his usual smile the moment the door opens. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
"N-no. Come in," she gestures as she steps aside and- why hadn't she tidied up a little before she'd let him inside? "Excuse the mess," she mumbles in embarrassment.
"It's not that bad," he waves off with a grin. "You should see Kota's; it's a wonder he can find anything in that junkyard he calls his room." His grin fades. "But making room comparisons isn't why I'm here. How are you feeling?" he asks in concern.
"I... I think I'm calmer now," she answers, hugging herself. "I had no idea what was going to happen today. I just wanted to prove to everyone and myself most of all that I could do it. And I did, in the end. But you-" almost died. She cuts herself off belatedly, although he picks up on what what she intended to say anyway if the wince is any indication.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," he apologises as he scratches the back of his bowed head in contrition. "I was a bit worried about you, and when I saw you kneeling on the ground like that I forgot to keep my guard up."
"Thank you for your concern, but please stay on your toes!" she scolds him, unfolding her arms to poke him in the chest. "It's not going to help me if I see you get hurt or worse."
"Okay, okay, I promise," he chuckles, holding his hands up in surrender. "You seem to be in a much better mood than before if you can yell at me for being an idiot, if that makes any sense."
"I have you to thank for that," she admits, suddenly feeling shy. "I'm really grateful to you. If not for your help in our training missions and encouragement, I don't think I would've been able to succeed today." She pauses for a moment as something occurs to her. "Come to think of it, Kota picked me up as well. Well, that makes me happy, but I'm also a little frustrated," she mutters in irritation.
"I'd say you had your revenge, justified or not, with that line about his skill at the end," he laughs. "Oh right," he continues with a serious look on his face, "there was something else I wanted to talk to you about. Dr Anderson did a..." he coughs, "...thorough examination of me and she thinks we might've stumbled across a new ability unique to us New-Types. She ran a battery of tests on me since I was the one who experienced that induced Burst mode, but she wants you to remember to see her tomorrow morning all the same. Oh, and she also said she'd send both of us a few notes from her preliminary findings for our own knowledge. Here, let me show you." With that, he moves towards her terminal.
She remembers what she was doing before his arrival a second too late.
"Ah, w-wait!" she squeaks as she all but shoves him away from the machine. "Don't look!"
"Woah there, okay, okay!" he acquiesces, backing off with his hands held up in a placating manner. "I didn't realise your shopping list was that top secret."
Wait, what?
Oh. Right. Her diary was entirely in Russian. Why was she so worried about this again?
"I just... um, don't like people looking at my stuff," she lies feebly, making a mental note to shift her diary file to a hidden and password-protected folder of its own later.
"Sorry about that then," he apologises sincerely. "Anyway, you should give the notes a quick read at least. I-" A ringing tone cuts him off. "Sorry, one second," he says with a sheepish smile as he answers his phone. "Hello? Oh hi, Hibari... Wait, slow down... She WHAT?" he exclaims incredulously. All Alisa can do is listen to half of the conversation and wonder what the operator could possibly be telling Yuu to make him yell like that. "I'll be right there; just don't let her leave, okay?" With that, he ends the call and gives her an apologetic look. "I have to go. Someone's about to do something really crazy and I seem to be the only one who can do anything about it. See you tomorrow," he says in a rush before dashing out of her room.
"...See you tomorrow," she mutters to the empty space where he stood not a minute ago, a little dejected he'd left so quickly. Sighing, she turns back to her terminal and opens her inbox; it wasn't like there was anything else to do besides read those notes and get some rest anyway. Hopefully whatever it was he'd just been called into wasn't that dangerous.
I AM NOT DEAD AND I HAVE NOT ABANDONED THIS STORY. I just wanted to make that clear. It's just that I've been assigned to a new department at work and now handle something like two extra projects on top of my usual workload, so I've been pretty exhausted. It didn't help that this chapter had a lot of small details that needed to be woven in properly without them sticking out like a sore thumb. Here's to hoping the rest won't be as difficult... although I feel I may have jinxed myself by saying that. As always, please look forward to the next chapter (whenever I get that done, that is).