Author's Note: Thank you to my readers and reviewers for your continued readership and support (especially in light of my nearly one-year disappearance). I'm sorry for the long hiatus.
To Horizon Dreamer, thanks for the cookies and I promise the only way I'm stopping this fic is with a proper epilogue, so no worries.
To [Guest], yes, poor Yuu (heh heh), and yes, Isane is a shout-out to Bleach, since the doctor is a partial homage to Unohana.
To Yoh Narukami, this chapter covers the "discovery" of Link Burst so I hope you enjoy it! Also, Kota will never catch a break in my fic and Yuu will continue to cluelessly be a total chick magnet, especially where Alisa's concerned (mwahahaha).
To God arcs, handling the in-game dialogue is incredibly frustrating so I do my best, and thanks for the high praise!
To rydia3791, Alisa's reaction to said mission incoming, so enjoy! And I hate the game dialogue too; some of it prove to be really big stumbling blocks when I'm trying to piece everything together properly.
To Foolish Professional, thanks, although now I'm wondering if I started off okay and got better or sucked at the beginning in your eyes...
To Dante, thank you very much! About your request, I might not cover Summer Wars since most of it is from Alisa's perspective already and that feels a little redundant or The Spiral Fate since it's not "Yuu" per se and the plot seems non-canon (at least, I can't figure out where it fits in the timeline), but I'll make references or borrow a few elements where possible - no promises. If the second game gets localised (and I hope so especially since its Burst version is out), I'll probably write something for it. As for 2nd Break... well, we'll see how things go. ;)
To Parthunex, thanks for the praise and as you can see, I haven't quite given up on this fic yet.
To TheNinjaArmy, as mentioned before this, my excuses are at the end of this fic. I'm sorry for worrying you!
To Forever Free Evergreen, I know that gun-type God Arcs in the game aren't able to devour but it's just weird to me that the people who designed the God Arcs would have left out such a crucial and defining ability even if those models are meant for long-range fighting especially as they're reliant on ammo and devouring can help solve that problem mid-battle when the auto-regen they have isn't working fast enough. (Additionally, I vaguely remember doing my research then and finding out that some side material states that they are actually capable of it but it's just that it's never seen/done/implemented in the game proper. Sadly, I can't remember where I stumbled across that info. If I'm wrong, consider it artistic license?)
Now, on with the fic!
The call which had sent Yuu speeding out of her room bothers Alisa well into the next morning like a mental itch she can't quite rid herself of. It's Yuu, after all; surely he would be alright, whatever it was that had gotten him so panicked. Or so she tries to convince herself.
The niggling feeling unfortunately turns into full-blown worry when she fails to spot him in the cafeteria during breakfast and there seem to be no familiar faces she is comfortable enough with asking if they know his whereabouts. The girl tells herself again that she's overthinking the situation as she pushes her empty tray aside and makes her way to the sick bay for her checkup, but... what if she isn't?
Before she realises it she's already at the door to the room Dr Anderson usually occupies and the woman herself is looking back at her. "Good morning, Alisa," she greets the Russian with a warm smile, "and thank you for being on time. I trust you slept well last night?"
"Good morning, Doctor, and yes," the girl answers with a polite nod as she steps inside. "I was told you wanted to see me? Yuu even went to the trouble of reminding me when he stopped by my room yesterday, so I thought it might be something important."
She doesn't miss the look that passes across the doctor's face. "Yes, I did and it is rather important, especially from a research standpoint. I take it you read the notes I sent you yesterday?"
"Yes," Alisa affirms with a nod. "Something about slightly above average Oracle cell activity and... cellular regeneration?" she hazards, wracking her head and feeling as if she was being quizzed.
"Well, that's about the bare basics," the older woman confirms. "As for why you were summoned, it's simple. We need to learn more about this induced Burst state that occurred in yesterday's mission and as the one who caused it, you are an integral part of this process. Of course, being the person who experienced the induced Burst, Yuu is also important in furthering this research."
"Should someone fetch him then?" the girl suggests in a hopefully subtle way of finding a means to convince herself he's alright.
"Oh, that won't be necessary," Dr Anderson responds dryly as she moves towards one of the curtained-off beds in the room and grabs the fabric. In that moment, Alisa feels her worry turn into full-blown alarm. "He's already here."
The curtain is drawn back with a flourish, and the girl can't help but clap her hands over her mouth in shock. "Oh my god."
The guy in question looks up at her somewhat sheepishly and gives her a weary grin. "Um... this isn't as bad as it looks..." he offers in what she assumes is meant to be a placating manner. It would've been convincing if not for the bandages covering his forehead and what she can see of his arms which are for once not covered by his favourite jacket as well as the plaster on his left cheek. And that was only what she could see.
"Not as bad-" she starts to yell before realising where she is - or more pressingly, who is standing next to her - and lowering her voice to a hiss. "You're covered from head to toe in bandages! What happened to you?!"
"It's really nothing major. You're worrying too much," he answers evasively, very obviously lying through his teeth while doing so. He even tries to physically wave her concern off, except that action seems to hurt as well and makes her even madder at him.
Reacting somewhat instinctively, her hand moves of its own accord and smacks the top of his head; considering how stupidly stubborn he's acting, there's no risk of her inflicting any more damage to his brain than he's already suffered.
"Ow! Hey!" Yuu whines pitifully as he draws away. "How could you hit an already injured guy?" Before the girl can retort, he turns to Dr Anderson who has for the most part been conducting her business without paying a whit of attention to their conversation. "Doc, aren't you going to protect the welfare of one of your patients here? She's abusing me. In your sick bay, no less."
"Normally, I would feel inclined to step in," the woman answers mildly without looking up from her writing, "but when said patient runs off - after just coming back from a dangerous mission, I might add - to go fight a Quadriga at the Tranquil Temple while a snowstorm is raging in the area with only one other person on his team, I'm quite sure Hippocrates would let this one instance slide."
"A Quadriga?!" Alisa repeats disbelievingly before she recalls his phone conversation with Hibari from yesterday which seems to have led to Yuu's sorry state right now. "Wait, who was yesterday's phonecall about?" she asks suspiciously. "That was the person who dragged you out for that mission, isn't it?"
The guy nervously coughs and averts his eyes as he mumbles a response under his breath.
"I couldn't hear you," she all but growls.
Another cough, this one louder than the one before. "...Kanon."
She stares. "That almost counts as you fighting two Quadrigas alone."
"I wasn't aware there were Quadrigas that healed their prey," he quips in a feeble attempt to lighten the mood. "Although whether that's a kindness or cruelty is anyone's guess. Besides," he adds before she can retort, "this is kind of your fault too you know."
"Wha- How does that make any sense at all?" she asks incredulously.
"Kanon couldn't help but notice you working so hard so she figured she should do the same and challenge herself," he explains, punctuating his words with a dramatic sigh. "So really, you could even say that you're just as culpable as she is."
"You-" the girl starts, her hand already itching to smack him, but is stopped from saying or doing anything more by the doctor's intervention.
"Alright, that's enough from the both of you," Doctor Anderson cuts in. "There's a lot of work to be done today and having one of you dead at the hands of the other in my sick bay is not going to help with that. Now, this experiment will require resources that obviously cannot be brought here so we will have to adjourn to one of the research labs. The details of what you will be doing will be explained once you arrive there, but give me a minute to send for a wheelchair for Yuu-"
"Wait, wheelchair?" the guy in question protests, somewhat alarmed. "Doc, I'm beat up, not crippled; I can walk down a few corridors."
The woman frowns severely, although it is clear to Alisa that the annoyance is fuelled more by worry than anything else. "You're recovering from two difficult missions which you took part in one after the other and you have injuries all over your body. As your doctor, I cannot in good conscience let you aggravate them in any way."
"Can't I just pop a few Restore Pills to boost my recovery rate and be done with it?" he argues back.
"If I've explained it once, I've explained it a thousand times..." she mutters in frustration almost to herself. "The Oracle cells in your body have been bombarded with enough energy in the past 24 hours that your body - which is still very much human, in case you've forgotten - is in danger of just shutting down on you. Taking even one Restore Pill is likely to trigger that, so the answer is no."
Alisa loses track of exactly how long the staring contest goes on, but it's long enough that she starts fearing that someone is going to get seriously injured... or in one party's case, injured even further than he already is. She almost musters enough courage to try and stick her head into the fray when the two combatants surprisingly solve the situation themselves.
"Compromise?" they both say at exactly the same time, eyes narrowed nearly to slits.
"What sort of compromise?" the older woman asks suspiciously, arms crossed.
"I stay here for a full day with no complaints," Yuu offers.
"Unacceptable," the doctor immediately responds. "Two days here, no complaints, and one day confined to the base - that means no missions. At. All. For that matter, I'm barring you from the training grounds as well."
"Wh- Come on, that's three days of being stuck in these walls with nothing to do!" he whines. "Cut me some slack here! One day here, one more on base with training as an option!"
"One day in here, one day on base - no training. And before you complain about having nothing to occupy your time, I happen to know you've accumulated a significant amount of paperwork from your past couple of missions that you've yet to tackle." Dr Anderson's glare impossibly gains a few levels in sternness along with her tone, leaving no room for further argument.
Yuu lets out a choked sound at that. "How's dealing with paperwork resting at all?" he complains under his breath, but his tone is one of defeat. "Fine," he grumbles, hanging his head, "can we go now?"
Satisfied with her victory, the doctor gives a small smile only seen by Alisa who, having watched this entire negotiation unfold before her very eyes, resolves to never put herself in a similar position if she can help it.
"If you insist," the older woman murmurs with a touch of mild amusement as she gestures for both of them to follow her. Aside from looking a little beat-up and in need of some sleep, Yuu shows no other signs of being in pain; then again, he just might be really good at hiding it.
Just in case, Alisa makes sure to walk closely next to him so she can catch him if he stumbles.
The trip to the elevator is an uneventful one and they don't run into any familiar faces all throughout the ride down to the floor housing the Research & Development department. "As one of the scientists instrumental in the creation of the New-Type God Arcs, Makoto will be the one handling this phase of the experiment before the data is passed to the rest of his team to work on," Dr Anderson explains.
The name sounds familiar to Alisa yet it takes Yuu's next comment for her to recall where she's heard it before. "Don't you mean that once everyone heard we were your patients, the only one willing to run the risk of incurring your wrath if things went wrong was your husband?" the guy next to her points out with a grin.
"I haven't the faintest idea what you could be talking about," the doctor responds blandly as the elevator grinds to a halt and the doors trundle open to reveal a hallway flanked by doors with what appear to be code words instead of proper names indicating what lay beyond each one. "This way. And don't worry about getting lost," she adds as if sensing that very fear in her charges, "I'll be overseeing the experiment myself and guide you back to the elevator when it's all done."
Several turns and minutes later, Alisa is glad for that promise when they finally come to a stop in front of an imposing metal door that looks like the dozens they've passed. It hisses open when Dr Anderson swipes her card through the card reader on the wall and upon their entrance, the two people already inside turn to acknowledge their presence.
"Oh, there they are," the girl chimes as she and the boy next to her, both of who appear to also be God Eaters if the armlets on their arms are any indication, walk up to greet them. Sporting a white heart-shaped choker and decked in a pink sweater jacket, short black skirt and dark brown boots, the brown-haired girl is a stark visual contrast to her blue-haired companion in his light gray jacket, khaki shirt and dark pants whose choice accessory is a pair of clip-on earphones draped across his shoulders. "I'm Yukari," she introduces herself with a cheerful smile, waving a hand at the still-silent person next to her, "and the man of few words next to me is Minato. We're from the 7th Unit. Yuu we already know, and you must be Alisa. It's nice to finally meet you in person; your friend over there's told us quite a bit about you."
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well," the Russian answers after a short beat, suddenly wondering exactly how much and how often Yuu talks about her to others. Before she can ask him about it, however, Dr Anderson claps her hands to get their attention.
"Now that introductions have been made..." she trails off as she glances around the lab which is littered with large electronic equipment. "Where is Makoto?"
"Over here," comes the muffled reply as a figure emerges from behind one of said pieces of equipment. Whatever Alisa had expected the husband of Dr Anderson to look like, she hadn't really anticipated a six-foot man with jet-black hair and red eyes who looked like he belonged on the battlefield instead of in a stuffy lab.
"Dr Tamashiro," he formally introduces himself when he finally makes his way to them, extending a God Arc armlet-adorned hand to shake theirs in turn - a reminder that he'd once served on the frontline like they were now. His rather severe personality makes Alisa wonder how he ended up getting married to the woman standing next to them, but she shakes that irrelevant thought away.
"Just so all of you are clear on why you're here, I'll explain the situation. While the creation of the New-Type God Arc was a great success for us, there are still things we do not fully understand about them and the effects they have on their wielders. One such unexpected thing happened in a recent mission conducted by the 1st Unit where Private Amiella fired an Aragami bullet at Private Kannagi who then went into an induced Burst state, a process which could be repeated two more times and further increased all his combat capabilities. However, this effect could not be maintained safely for a prolonged period of time and Private Kannagi eventually expelled this energy by firing off a shot which was stronger than a regular Aragami bullet, ending the induced Burst state."
Yuu, Alisa notes, has the decency to look a little ashamed when she catches him grinning at the impressed looks Yukari and Minato direct his way.
"Today, we will be attempting to replicate those events not only between New-Types but also for Old-Types and as such hopefully find a safer way to do so in regular combat," the scientist continues, regaining their attention. "In order to accomplish that, you will each wear one of these-" he holds up what looks like a small computer mounted on a bracer, "-on your right arm. I will not bore you with the details of its purpose and capabilities; all you need to know is that it will help us achieve our goal today and any damage to them will be charged to you."
He continues before any of them can express their alarm at his less-than-veiled threat. "First things first: you will all follow my instructions to the letter. Deviating from them will skew the experiment's results and put your well-being at risk which none of us want. Any questions?" At their silence, he nods. "Alright then. Maintenance sent over your God Arcs so grab them from the table over there and put on your respective devices. Amiella and Kannagi, you two first. Grab those Aragami bullets and load up while you're at it, then move to the centre and face each other."
The four of them dutifully do as they're told as Dr Anderson moves off to the side to give them room whereupon Alisa confirms her suspicions about her fellow lab rats' God Arcs: Yukari's Old-Type is a white Sniper Gun with yellow highlights while Minato pulls out an inconspicuous grey Long Blade. Once armed, she and Yuu walk to the designated spot in the lab and turn towards each other. It rather feels like they're being set up for a duel, she thinks, suddenly hit with a wave of nerves. Dr Anderson wouldn't allow that... right?
Thankfully, Dr Tamashiro's next words put those unfounded fears to rest. "I've been made aware that Private Kannagi is not in the best of shape and putting him through an induced Burst state would be... less than wise," he comments with a deliberate pause at the end, the hidden meaning behind it clear to everyone present. "As such, Private Amiella will be the one undergoing the induced Burst state." He turns to address her directly. "Please tell your comrade how you achieved this during your mission so that he may replicate it."
"H-Huh?" Alisa stutters, feeling incredibly self-conscious when everyone's eyes settle on her at that. "I... uh... I'm not really sure..." she manages to get out as she mentally scrambles for the memory of what had happened that day.
"I hope it's not because you were thinking 'Yuu's being an idiot and taking unnecessary risks again so I'll just shoot him' and this was all a happy accident or something," Yuu offers with a self-depreciating grin, drawing everyone's attention away from her and indirectly giving her the chance to regain her composure.
"I can sympathise with that," Yukari mutters as she throws a baleful glare at Minato who awkwardly scratches his head and avoids eye contact.
"Actually," the Russian finds herself speaking up, feeling a little more confident thanks to Yuu lightening the mood in the room, "it was mostly concern for you. I was more focused on how I could protect you instead of harming the Aragami, I guess. Besides," she continues with a burst of mischievousness and a smirk, "why shoot you when I can just tell Dr Anderson and let her sort you out instead?"
Said doctor laughs out loud at that and the other female God Eater present throws her an enthusiastic thumbs up. "Thanks for the idea," she comments with a grin, prompting the blue-haired boy next to her to wince in nearly the same way Yuu is.
"I see," remarks Dr Tamashiro who, true to the stoic person Alisa expected him to be, only smiles very slightly at the humourous tone of the conversation. "It is possible that your God Arc read your intentions and changed its behaviour accordingly."
"You make it sound as if they're... sentient," the Russian finds it in herself to comment, a little unsettled at the thought.
"It's only a theory, but not an implausible one," the scientist responds mildly. "We harnessed the inherent traits of Oracle cells and made them into weapons, yes, but the existence of Aragami alone shows that a consciousness - even if it is rudimentary in nature - can emerge under the right circumstances. But I digress; we are not here to discuss that." He turns to look squarely at Yuu, giving the signal that the conversation is over. "Focus on assisting instead of attacking when you fire. It might help to think of it as mentally reprogramming the bullet from an offensive projectile to a restorative one."
"Roger that," the brunette acknowledges as he points his God Arc at Alisa, something which understandably makes her queasy for more than one reason. Her unease must show because Yuu, bless him, notices as he always does and hesitates. "Hey," he calls out, drawing her attention away from the barrel of his gun and to his face instead. "You trust me, right?"
"With my life," she answers automatically, and she can't help but smile back at his reassuring grin.
Although she thinks maybe she can be forgiven for flinching when he pulls the trigger.
The impact feels less tangible than she expected - if she had to make a comparison, she'd probably go with the gust of wind kicked up by a near-missed explosion - but it's enough to make her stagger from the force. Of course, what fully grabs her attention is the familiar surge of power that comes with going into Burst mode.
"Wonderful," she hears Dr Tamashiro murmur off to the side. "Again, please."
The next one makes her dizzy. It's as if her mind and body have been shifted into high gear while the rest of the world has decided to slow down. Even her God Arc is positively thrumming in tune with the strengthened beat of her heart. 'So this is what it felt like for Yuu,' she thinks almost hazily but shakes off the thought immediately; twice as much power means twice as much focus is needed, no matter how difficult it seems.
Only in the immediate aftermath of the scientist's command to fire the third shot does she fully realise the sentiment. Power the likes of which she has never known rips through her veins, and if she thought that her God Arc had been humming before that was nothing compared to how it is now. She might have gasped; she can't be sure, not with the way her ears are ringing with the roar of her frenzied blood. Still, she will not allow herself to lose control. Never again.
However, it all comes to a screeching halt when the computer strapped to her arm explodes.
She shrieks and drops her God Arc, blind instinct driving her to claw at the contraption with her now free left hand in a panicked attempt to get it off her. Yuu appears next to her in an instant, his face twisted with concern. "Alisa, calm down and let me help," he urges as his hands pull hers away from the device. Both Dr Tamashiro and Dr Anderson run up to her, Yukari and Minato following right behind, as he carefully unstraps the machine from her arm.
"Let me see," Dr Anderson orders quietly as Yuu dutifully steps aside so that she can inspect the wound. "First-degree burns and some small cuts..." she murmurs her diagnosis before looking up and giving her a reassuring smile. "Just superficial wounds; you'll be alright in a day. There's a first-aid kit in here for occasions like this; I'll get what's needed."
"I apologise for this," Dr Tamashiro says with an undercurrent of deep regret in his voice. "It's clear that even with the contingencies I created in place, I underestimated the amount of energy that would arise from a three-fold Burst mode being invoked and you were hurt as a result."
"It's okay," the Russian shakes her head lightly as she offers him a smile. "It's just a flesh wound, right?"
"I have a Restore Pill," Yukari offers as she reaches for one of her pockets but is stopped by a returning Dr Anderson who is armed with bandages and a bottle of ointment.
"Excessive reliance on those to heal even minor injuries can have long-term effects," the doctor scolds as she tends to Alisa's wound. "I had thought I'd trained you better than this, Yukari."
"S-Sorry," the brunette girl stammers, chastised, but Alisa thanks her for her kindness all the same.
Their attention is brought back to the subject at hand by Yuu. "Maybe we should reschedule the rest for another day," he suggests worriedly.
"No," Alisa surprises them all with her vehemence. "Like I said, it's only a small injury. I can keep going. Please, don't stop the experiment on my account."
At that, they all turn to look at Dr Tamashiro who merely sighs and massages the bridge of his nose. "Very well, we'll continue," he sighs, "but I'll be making some changes to the plan. We'll work off whatever data we managed to get from your device before it... expired... for the three-fold Bust mode and move on with the rest of the experiment."
"Works for me," Yuu voices his agreement which is then chorused by the other two God Eaters present.
The rest of the experiment turns out to be rather mundane and routine. After getting outfitted with another of the wrist computer things on her uninjured arm, Alisa finds herself and Yuu taking turns firing the Burst shots and the occasional recovery bullet at Yukari and Minato, both of who are made to participate in a mock fight with a holographic Ogretail.
"Alright, I guess that's enough for today," Dr Tamashiro calls out once Yukari's and Minato's induced Burst modes die out yet again. "Thank you very much for your cooperation, all of you. You're dismissed. Keep away your God Arcs; Maintenance will send someone over to pick them up."
"Geez, I thought it would never end," Yukari whines in exhaustion as she practically falls to a crumpled heap on the ground and all but drops her God Arc in the process. Minato himself does not look much better although he at least is still standing albeit with some help from his own God Arc.
"You guys okay?" Alisa asks worriedly as she walks over to apply some Link Aid and help the girl to her feet while Yuu does the same with Minato. "Sorry the two of you had to do all the heavy lifting."
"It's fine; part of the job and all that right? Thanks for the healing by the way. Not bad for a frontliner, and this is coming from the dedicated healer of her unit," Yukari comments, her genuine respect evident in her warm voice. "But seriously," she continues as the four of them begin the process of packing away their God Arcs, "I feel like the moment my head hits anything that can pass for a pillow, I'm going to wind up sleeping for a whole week."
"That settles it then," Dr Anderson announces with a clap of her hands. "You two are going to follow Yuu and I back to the sick bay and rest there for the remainder of the day. Alisa, you'll have to come along too for a routine check-up but you'll be free to rest up in your own room after that."
"I never thought I'd be happy to be ordered to spend a day in the hospital," the pink-clad girl groans, eliciting a chuckle from her blue-haired friend.
"Speak for yourself, Yukari," Yuu grumbles with a baleful glare, earning him twin glares from the doctor and Alisa herself.
"We had an agreement," the woman reminds him with a touch of warning in her tone. "Or would you like a fresh round of negotiations to be called?"
"You, mister, are going to get your rest even if I have to knock you unconscious myself," Alisa threatens, punctuating her statement with a jab of her finger into his chest which elicits a wince out of him.
"If I were you and two angry women were the ones issuing the commands, I'd obey whatever the order is, boy," Dr Tamashiro calls out mildly without looking up from the stream of data running across the computer terminal's screen. "Especially if one of them is my wife and the other is your girlfriend."
The out-of-the-blue statement stops both her body and her thoughts in their tracks as she whirls around the stare at the scientist. "W-wha- T-that- W-why- W-w-we're not- I'm not his girlfriend!" she stutters out her denial as she feels her face heat up in embarrassment.
"Ah, is that so? My apologies then," he responds in that same unaffected tone, genuine remorse for his 'mistake' nowhere to be heard in his voice.
The thought of how much trouble she might get into if she were to fire on him and whether it would be worth it is only interrupted by the sensation of a gloved hand coming to rest on her arm. "Don't," Yuu, who turns out to be none other than the owner of said hand, mutters without looking at either her or Dr Tamashiro, his face dusted as red as she's sure her own are. "It's really not worth it, trust me. Let's just go."
"Really Makoto, sometimes you take your teasing a bit too far," Dr Anderson scolds as she herds them all out of the lab. The utter lack of a response even up until the moment the door slides shut behind them only serves to help Alisa convert her embarrassment into something a lot more manageable: anger.
"I can't believe he's really so... so... childish," she fumes as she tells herself that the remaining heat in her cheeks is due to her rage and not anything else. "And he's supposed to be a respected scientist and former God Eater?" She catches Yukari and Minato glancing back at the two of them but they both seemingly make the wise decision to not contribute to the conversation.
"Just leave it be," Yuu sighs as he trudges alongside her, his own blush having far from faded. "He's been like that for as long as I can remember. I've learned that it's best to just weather it; any kind of response is just more ammunition for him to needle you with."
"Well, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind if I ever see him again," she vows as they finally reach the lift and get in. "You can count on it."
"Oh boy..." he groans, no doubt imagining how that scenario might play out. "Don't mind if I try to prevent that from ever happening... and heaven forbid you ever run into Aki... or both of them at the same time."
"I'll have you remember that you're talking about my husband and daughter like that in my presence, Yuu," Dr Anderson chips in bemusedly, her voice only slightly louder than the sound of the lift's trundling. At that, Alisa catches Minato and Yukari none-too-stealthily shifting to the far wall away from them as if worried about being caught in a potentially dangerous event and scowls at their cowardice. Some help they were turning out to be.
For his part, Yuu blanches but holds his ground rather admirably. "It's not like what I'm saying isn't true..." he mutters, almost daring the woman to object.
True enough, all the doctor does is chuckle as the lift grinds to a halt and the doors groan open. "I'll spare you further torment and not tell them about this conversation," she responds as she gestures for them to follow her once again to an all too familiar destination.
"One disaster averted..." he sighs in relief before a thought seemingly occurs to him and he turns to Alisa with a look of worry on his features. "Ah, I meant to ask earlier... are you okay?"
"Why are you asking that all of a sudden?" she answers with her own question quizzically.
"Having experienced the three-fold Burst mode myself, I know how it feels and I also know how you feel about going into regular Burst mode, so I was worried about how you were handling it," he clarifies.
"Oh," she replies eloquently, giving herself a moment to think about how to answer before continuing. "It was... a bit overwhelming for sure, but I think I handled it well enough. In order to make sure no new tragedies occur... I've got to keep it together, don't I? I think of that to stay calm during a Burst. Plus, it lets me Link-Aid really well and I can even control my recovery bullets so that I can shoot more than usual."
"That's great to hear. I'm glad for you," Yuu responds with a warm smile, and suddenly it's hard for her to look him in the eye for some reason she can't pin down.
"Um, th-thanks," she mumbles, self-consciousness causing her to blush and look away. Luckily she's saved from speaking any further by the familiar sight of the sick bay's entrance.
Upon their arrival, Isane and two other nurses appear as if having been summoned telepathically - and for all Alisa knew the doctor was actually capable of such a feat - to attend to the three of them while Yuu has the good fortune of being taken care of by Dr Anderson herself. It is probably only his bare-bones participation in the experiment that saves him from further confinement to a hospital bed, she thinks.
"Hey Alisa," he calls out once his check-up is done. "Could you do me a favour after you get out of here?"
Looking up from the sight of Isane fussing over the burn on her arm, Alisa spares him a curious glance. "What is it?"
"Could you check up on Sakuya for me please?" Her surprise at his request must show on her face as he hurries on to continue. "I know you might be a little nervous about talking to her especially on a one-to-one basis but I've been a bit worried about her-"
"Alright," she agrees with only a little hesitation, cutting him off. "I'll go see her. You don't have to worry about me."
"That's great! Thanks- ah, you probably don't know where her room is. Hold on," he says in the span of a single breath as he grabs a spare pen and paper from the bedside cabinet and scribbles down the directions before handing it over to her. "Here you go. Thanks again."
"Okay, you're all done," Isane announces just then as she finishes applying the fresh set of bandages on Alisa's wound. "You're free to go although I still recommend resting for the remainder of the day after your errand."
With a parting expression of gratitude towards the nurse and a sympathetic smile at the forlorn look on Yuu's face at being stuck in the sick bay, Alisa finds herself traversing the base as she makes her way to Sakuya's room. Although she spends the walk there steeling her resolve, her nerves are understandably still a little jittery by the time she's standing in front of the door. 'Nothing to it, Amiella,' she tells herself as she presses the button at the side to announce her presence. 'Nothing at all.'
"Who's..." Sakuya's voice comes through from the other side of the door.
"I know it's late. I'm sorry. It's me," Alisa finds herself stumbling verbally, her words leaving her mouth in a rush as she tries to calm herself.
"Oh, it's you," the older God Eater responds, sounding almost relieved. "You scared me! Don't just stand outside. Come in!" At that, the mechanical sound of the door unlocking reaches her ears.
"Excuse me," Alisa murmurs politely as she enters the room. "I apologise again for intruding especially at such a time; Yuu was worried about you but couldn't come by himself so..." she trails off, aware of how feeble her words are.
"That boy's always worrying about everyone but himself," Sakuya sighs, shaking her head. "But thank you too for checking up on me. You can tell him I'm fine later. Since you're here, have a seat. Can I get you a drink? I just brewed a fresh batch of tea."
"Ah, that would be fine, thanks." Despite being the one to initiate this encounter, Alisa finds herself swept up in Sakuya's pace even as she dutifully does as she's told and takes a seat. She's not sure if that's good or bad.
"So," Sakuya starts as she sits down as well and places a cup of steaming coffee identical to her own in front of Alisa. "How are you feeling?"
She's totally lost control of the conversation now, the girl thinks, and that's assuming she had it to begin with. "Fine," she murmurs hesitantly. "I'm all right now. I'm sorry I made you worry."
"You know... you're a strong one after all," Sakuya observes, her voice warm with respect and praise.
"Oh no," Alisa finds herself quickly denying, "I have all of you to thank for that."
"I just wish you could be as sweet in front of Kota and the others," the woman adds wryly at her rebuttal.
Unbidden, Yuu's grinning visage appears in her mind, causing her to blush and look away. "But I..." she trails off, unsure herself how exactly to respond to that comment.
As if sensing her discomfort, Sakuya changes the subject to something decidedly more serious. "About Dr Oguruma," she starts, and by mentioning that name alone she fully captures Alisa's gaze and attention, "who came over from the Russia Branch with you... Just when I realise who he was, I heard he'd transferred out of the Far East Branch. I tried to find out where he'd gone, but there's only a report that he was on his way back to Russia when an Aragami attacked and killed him."
"Oh, no!" As much as she'd begun to resent him for his involvement in what had been done to her, Alisa still feels some measure of despair upon hearing his fate. Furthermore, that meant that no answers regarding the purpose of his actions could be gotten. It's truly a loss on many fronts.
"It's unfortunate," Sakuya acknowledges bitterly as she lowers her head to stare at the steam rising from her cup, "but something's not right about it, you know?"
Maybe it's paranoid to think that way, but Alisa can't help but agree. Paired with the exposure of his involvement in her brainwashing, the timing of his death seemed too great a coincidence to ignore. In light of all this, there is only one course of action that she should take. "Sakuya..." she begins, causing the woman to raise her head to look at her, "Will you... let me help you?" she speaks in stops and starts, her courage warring with her uncertainty. "At least... let me do something to atone for..." her voice cracks then and she turns away but forces herself to finish speaking, "what I did..."
"No, no... Alisa..." For some reason, Sakuya's voice is sad. "You don't have to make up for anything anymore," she assures her, although the girl privately disagrees. "I'm sure there's something else going on behind it all. But you're right," she continues, surprising Alisa, "this does involve you, after all. The thing is-" the woman reaches into her pocket and pulls out what looks like a small flash drive, waving it in the air as she does so, "-I haven't been able to open a note Lindow left and it's driving me crazy. It's the final clue, but in order to read this letter, I'm going to need Lindow's armlet. Will you help me look for it?"
"Yes!" Alisa's answer is immediate, the joy of being presented with a way to begin directly atoning for her actions bringing a smile to her face.
Sakuya smiles back at her enthusiasm, but her expression dims as she looks away. "You know, I never thought he'd still be making me run in all these circles... even after death..." she sighs, sounding as if she were making a half-hearted complaint to no one in particular.
Unable to bear the woman's quiet grief, Alisa finds herself averting her gaze as well as she struggles to think of what to say when words from her home country resurface from the depths of her memories. "Горе не океан; это бутылка что можно слить," she murmurs.
As expected, the sound of Alisa's mother tongue catches Sakuya's attention. "What's that?" she asks curiously.
"'Grief is not an ocean; it's a bottle that can be drained'," the girl explains, meeting the woman's gaze. "It's an old Russian proverb."
"Is it?" she chuckles in response. "Thank you, Alisa. Not just for sharing that with me but also for agreeing to help me with this. So, in honour of the man sending us on this crazy treasure hunt, I propose a toast," she suggests with a smile as she holds up her cup. "To Lindow. Who, I think, would have preferred we do this with beer instead."
"To Lindow," Alisa echoes as she does the same before they both take a drink and share a laugh over the truth in that statement.
"Now then, while I do appreciate the company, it's late and we could both use some rest," Sakuya points out after glancing at the clock on the wall. "You should probably let Yuu know that I'm fine too or he'll probably worry himself to death."
"You're right on both counts," Alisa agrees as she gets up from her seat. "Especially about Yuu. Honestly, the way he gets all worked up about other people's well-being but ignores his own just annoys me to no end," she complains.
"Ah, but that's one of his strong points," the woman notes fondly. "And that's where you come in, I think."
"I... I suppose," the girl murmurs, feeling her face flush against her will. "A-anyway," she continues in a rush, all too eager to change the topic, "do you want to bring him into this too? I don't really feel comfortable keeping things from him."
Sakuya frowns as she ponders the matter for a moment before ultimately shaking her head. "No. If whatever this is was dangerous enough that Lindow felt the need to hide it so well, the less people who know about it the better. We'll keep it between us until we find something more solid we can use. I'm sorry Alisa; it's safer for Yuu if he doesn't know, at least for now."
"I understand," she answers, and while she gets the need for secrecy, the idea of keeping secrets from the one person in the world who knows her better than anyone else is just... unthinkable. But if it's to keep him safe...
With that lingering thought, she bids Sakuya goodnight and heads down the corridor-
-only to run straight into the one person in their Unit she has not seen since that day.
"Soma," she utters disbelievingly, surprised at his presence only to remember at the last moment that his room is on the same level.
"Amiella," he mutters in his usual expressionless voice.
They both remain standing where they are, the lack of anyone else's presence nearby a factor that further adds to the growing palpable tension around them.
"I-" Alisa finds herself the first to break the silence but is immediately cut off.
"If you're going to apologise or say anything along those lines, save it," he interrupts her. "That guy made his own choice. It's over. Move on."
With that, he continues his journey past her and down the corridor she just came from, disappearing around a corner only a few seconds later. Having watched his departure with a heavy heart, Alisa finds herself remembering the very words she'd told Sakuya only a short while ago.
"Not an ocean, huh..." she murmurs to herself out loud before shaking away the melancholy feeling that had descended upon her and making her way to the lift so she can visit Yuu to report that Sakuya is fine.
I deeply and sincerely apologise for the one-year delay. Suffice to say, a lot of things happened in both my personal and professional lives - new fandoms, new job responsibilities, new job... the works. All that matters is I'm back to working on this fic and I hope you guys have not given up on me just as I have not given up on this fic. Please look forward to my efforts in that endeavour and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. On a sidenote, is anyone else watching the anime? What do you guys think of it?