Chapter 6 - Bonding Exercises

Fenrir Far East Branch - God Eater World - Three days after the end of the previous chapter

(Scáthach's P.O.V)

It's been three days since the Ouroboros kill and Xigbar's offer. I've been mostly spending that time either in my room (Or rather, in my Pocket Space Manor) working on the Dual Blade God Arc blueprints or working solo to kill Aragami to boost my fund reserve.

Speaking of funding, my contractor salary has finally exited its broken state, and now I can actually use that salary to buy stuff. While it's not much due to the fact I have yet to actually get anyone in my possession, just having it in the first place is so much before than what I had to deal with before.

Although I have also been using that time to capture and sell more "Shadow Ogretails" while no one is watching over me. With me capturing at least 3 Ogretails to turn into Shadow Ogretails for the last three days, I've managed to get a grand total of 24 credits from selling them on the creature markets over those three days with a final total from selling all the Shadow Ogretails I've gotten since I got to this world being worth 26 credits in all..

This means I have managed to have a reserve of 34 credits. Not gonna lie though, I am extremely tempted to purchase a companion as while I do enjoy the company of the God-eater cast, It's just not the same as having someone who is truly at my side and who can comprehend the true scope of things..

However, as much as I would like to purchase a tier 4 companion to work alongside me, I know full well that it would be difficult to explain to Fenrir exactly where said companion came from. So unfortunately I may have to wait until the next world before I can freely acquire such a companion..

Of course, I could ambush one of the members of Fenrir if I so desire and can easily set up a scenario where I'd be able to get a successful capture, I want to refrain from doing so without good reason.

A certain Russian God Eater who will be arriving at some point, however, is one I do have my eye on currently. Although I can see that finding the opportunity may require some level of craftiness and some liberal amounts of abusing access to God Eater 1 youtube videos in order to figure out the perfect chance.

Not to mention I have finally managed to make up my mind on what to do regarding Xigbar's offer and gave a response yesterday. As for what the response was, let's just say that it was both expected and unexpected for the man..

Yesterday - Scáthach's room

(Scáthach's P.O.V)

"...So, let me get this straight kiddo…" Xigbar says, having been called over by me to personally give my response to him. The eye-patch-wearing contractor takes a moment to rub his temples before staring flatly at me with his one visible golden eye.

"You are willing to take the mission, but only when you're ready to leave this world…did I get that right…?" Xigbar asks me, gazing at me for even a hint of this response just being a poor joke. I simply nod and the man looks contemplative as he processes my counteroffer, staring at the No Name Keyblade he put on the coffee table..

Xigbar then sighs before staring back at me and soon says.. "You know Kiddo, I'm glad to hear you're at least willing to play ball on this idea…" before he picks up the No Name Keyblade and stores it in his pocket space.

Before I can question him as to why he's putting it away, he turns to me and simply says.. "Originally I was gonna give you the Keyblade the moment you accepted the offer, however since you asked for time before accepting the mission, I hope you don't mind if I instead make it a reward for when you're done..?"

Honestly, I more or less expected this response to my counter-offer but simply nod my head as to be fair I don't exactly need the No Name Keyblade right now anyway. Seeing my agreement he smirks and simply says..

"Glad to see you're not unwilling to compromise on your end as well, shows that you got a good head on your shoulder for negotiations kiddo.." After saying that though, he does get up from the couch he's sitting on and goes to take a beer can from my still unused beer ration.

As he opens it, he takes a sip before deadpanning and looking at the label. Once he's done examining it, he shrugs and takes another sip before saying.. "I really shouldn't be surprised that post-apocalyptic beer is so painfully average…"

He walks back to the couch and takes a seat before taking a moment to stare at the couch opposite him as he gathers his thoughts while taking occasional sips before he turns to me and says..

"Are you certain you don't wanna make your first jump yet…?" Xigbar looks at me intently as I can tell he is making sure about my choice here. I simply nod and reply by saying.. "As I said before, I barely just started my first world and I am not about to make the jump just yet.."

Xigbar sighs and nods at my reasoning before standing up and finishing the entire beer can in one go. The man then crushes it in his hand and throws it into my room's trash can and smirks at me, opening a corridor of darkness behind him and simply saying one last thing as he walks backwards into the shadowy gateway..

"Just remember Scáthach, I am just a single message away if you change your mind!"

Before I can say anything in response, he's already disappeared into the shadowy portal which quickly disappears not long after. Well then, all things considered, I figured that he took the counteroffer quite well..

Present time - Fenrir Far East branch

(Scáthach's P.O.V)

Still, today is looking to be particularly uneventful so far as I continue walking down the halls of the branch headquarters. As I wander about though, I do eventually come up to see Lindow talking to Aki and Sakuya as they seem to be discussing something I am too far away to hear.

As I get closer, the three notice me, and Lindow smirks before he soon says.. "Well look at that, we were just talking about you Scáthach.." Making me tilt my head to the side in confusion before Lindow chuckles and elaborates by saying..

"The three of us were talking about your skills in a fight and Ms. New Type here wants to see you fight up close, so what do you say we borrow one of the larger testing chambers and go at each other in direct combat..?" The sparring request surprises me but seeing no reason to refuse, I give a confident smirk and simply respond by saying..

"Oh, I don't mind that at all, I just hope you won't regret it when I end up beating you quite soundly~!" The goading response made Lindow burst out laughing before calming down a bit and bearing a wide, eager grin and responding to my words by saying..

"Lookie here, aren't you confident Ms. "I Killed an Ouroboros", I hope it doesn't end up being an empty boast!" Lindow's words hide a deeper urge to test himself against me and my spears, I can already tell this is going to be quite interesting to be sure!

Lindow turns to Sakuya who looks startled by him staring at her before he says.. "Mind getting the Director's permission for this..?" To which Sakuya smiles and nods, all too eager to see things unfold herself as by this point she can see Lindow will not back down even if she were to try to dissuade him.

One Hour Later - Far East Branch Test Chamber 1

(General P.O.V)

As it turns out, word had spread fast that Scáthach was gonna be sparring with Lindow and soon people wanted to watch the fight, none more so than Director Johannes and Doctor Sakaki who are part of the in-person crowd at the very front to watch the fight.

"Before we had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Scáthach, we wouldn't even conceive of the idea of a human that's not a God Eater fighting a God Eater on their own, and yet here we are, staring at the impossible made possible…" Dr. Sakaki says, enamored by this unexpected prospect as he is incredibly eager to see how the fight will unfold.

Director Johannes smirks and nods at Dr. Sakaki's words as he too is quite eager to see how the fight turns out as it will allow him to see Scáthach's capabilities in person, the prospect being far too tempting to pass up witnessing with his own eyes rather than just reading another report.

As both Lindow and Scáthach both walk into the chamber itself with their weapons ready, both of them look eager to face each other, Lindow has a confident smile while Scáthach has one of her own, the two combatants sizing each other up as they prepare for the battle..

Director Johannes walks forward and using a microphone to speak to the combatants in the chamber he soon says.. "The Match between one Lindow Amamiya and Ms. Scáthach will now begin the moment the buzzer flares, fighters be ready…" It's a tense few moments for both those who are merely watching and the fighters themselves..

And then the buzzer sounds, blaring like a loud foghorn..

Scáthach is the first to move as she rushes Lindow, the man in question is quick to move his long-blade god arc to swing wide in an effort to force Scáthach to halt her advance. However, instead of stopping, Scáthach instead leaps right over the blade, front flipping over it before she attempts to thrust one of her lances forward after coming out of the flip in an effort to disable one of Lindow's shoulders..

Only instincts born from fighting many Aragami as a Captain-Ranked God Eater allow him to narrowly dodge the incoming spear, but not the unexpected knee slam to the face that Scathach has primed already before the spear was fully dodged.

Lindow lands on his back as Scáthach's knee managed to break his nose while the woman herself merely lands on both feet without issue, looking at Lindow with a smirk and saying.. "Is that all you got Captain Amamiya..?"

Scáthach watches as Lindow is quick to get back up and is now the one to rush at his opponent instead, his long-blade God Arc coming in for a vertical downwards slash as the pain of his broken nose is clouding his sense of restraint..

While this may be cause for concern for most, Scáthach only welcomes the blatant lack of restraint as her twin spears immediately come up in a Cross-guard above her head to block the incoming strike from her opponent.

However, Lindow is not done as he uses the fact he can release one of his hands on the God Arc to manage a sucker punch in Scáthach's abdomen, breaking her concentration briefly as her grip on her spears slackens enough to allow the cross-guard to falter and force her to jump back to avoid getting carved in two..

As Scáthach stares at the now cocky Lindow, she realizes that she's grown perhaps a bit too used to fighting Aragami and as a result, she's unintentionally treating Lindow as just another fight in the wild..

"That will be the last hit you will ever get Lindow.." Scáthach says sternly before she decides to stop holding back so much and while she doesn't intend to use her noble phantasm still, she ultimately wants to make a point for all who witness this..

As such, Scáthach suddenly rushes at Lindow again who is surprised at how quickly she bounced back into the fight and how fast she got all of a sudden as her speed is increased compared to when she started the fight.

However before Lindow can respond fast enough, Scáthach suddenly is right next to Lindow and thrusts one of her spears at Lindow's right arm, forcing him to let go of his God Arc as he leaps back to avoid having a crimson spear go right into his arm.

It's right after Lindow leaps that he notices that the other spear had been channeling an Ainz rune just out of sight behind Scáthach while Lindow was busy trying to avoid getting his arm stabbed. Scáthach points the other spear right at Ainz and releases the rune as an explosion sends Lindow flying into the test chamber wall..

As Lindow crashes into the wall and falls down onto the ground, slowly trying to stand up due to having the wind completely knocked out of him due to the sudden impact to the wall, he sees Scáthach toss her right-handed spear into the air..

What Lindow sees next surprises everyone watching as Scáthach flat out grabs Lindow's god arc and throws it at him, forcing the man to quickly dodge the incoming blade that would nail him to the wall if he didn't move..

Several seconds later, Scáthach catches the spear she tossed into the air before and twirls it in her right hand before she rushes forward and has her spears at both Lindow's throat and his left foot's Achilles heel.

"Yield.." Scáthach says, Lindow just looks stunned at how things turned out before chuckles and despite how badly he lost, he can't help but find that it was quite the experience. As such it is inevitable for Lindow to end up simply saying..

"I yield Scáthach, you win.." A content smile on his face despite the fact his body is practically aching badly from the bruising and broken nose. As those above in the viewing room see Scáthach help Lindow up, most of the crowd cheer while two very specific people gleam at the spear-bearing woman with a calculating look..

"Not just capable of fighting Aragami it seems, but humans just as well too…this is becoming quite fascinating to witness, don't you say Director..?" Dr. Sakaki says as while he is smiling, he also knows that by Scáthach basically beating Lindow so publicly, there is no way Fenrir HQ will not take some form of interest in the strange woman now..

"Indeed, the prospects her existence holds for us and humanity at large are….staggering to say the least.." Director Johannes says as he knows that both he and Dr. Sakaki saw how easily Scáthach had picked up Captain Amamiya's God Arc without any issue or risk of being devoured..

This sparring match only further reinforces Director Johannes's desire to have Scáthach not be the last of her kind and hopes to talk to her about whether or not she can teach others this power or if it's genetic..

Of course, if it's the latter then it's a good thing he's already moving to implement the least unethical strategy at his disposal as he plans to have his son Soma and Scáthach constantly partner up in future missions in hopes that the two may start something..

While it is a strategy that has the most uncertainty in his eyes, it is also the plan with the least chance of alienating the woman that may be Humanity's best chance to truly turn the tide against the aragami..

Even without outright saying it out loud, both Dr. Sakaki and Director Johannes are quite pleased to have been able to watch as Scáthach performed "magic" in front of their very eyes, giving visual reference to her seemingly supernatural abilities.

"It would be best to grab a record of the fight to analyze in detail so we can see if there is anything we've missed due to not being close enough, I am quite certain that there is more to the fight than what we were able to witness up here.." Dr Sakaki says, with the director soon nodding his head in agreement as the two soon go to find the surveillance footage for that particular chamber and see if it managed to record the fight..

One day later - Fenrir Far East branch "The Den"

(Scáthach's P.O.V)

"Director, please repeat that as I believe I just heard you say that you're assigning Soma as my partner for the next few missions going forward.." I say, slightly annoyed that Director Johannes wants Soma to come along to my hunts as I was planning on attempting to capture a Vajra to see what that would result in..

However, much to my own annoyance at that, the Director only confirms my summary with a simple nod and says.. "Indeed, I am hoping you might be able to bond with Soma as you may be one of two people who may be able to break through his shell.."

I can't help but get the feeling of an ulterior motive as Johannes isn't normally this concerned about Soma's mental state, although truth be told I can't help but agree with his assessment…

Considering my skills and what I recall from my meta-knowledge on Soma, he's only so anti-social due to how he was an experiment of some sort and the fact that so far every time he's had a dedicated team, that team gets wiped out with him as the sole survivor, so if I show I can survive his "Curse" so to speak, perhaps I can get through to him..

I sigh and nod, soon speaking up by saying.. "Very well Director, I'll see what I can do but I can promise nothing but at least the attempt…" Director Johannes nods as he walks away to go find Soma since he'll be joining me on my mission to slay some Vajra Aragami..

While I am still very much wary of why the Director decided to push Soma onto me, I decide it's probably not some grand scheme to bump me off and force myself to relax. Besides considering what vague memories of the first game I recall, he wouldn't try it so bluntly anyway, especially due to the recent public showing..

Regardless of any of my misgivings for this sudden change, it is time I got ready for the mission ahead..

Somewhere in the Far east sector - An Hour later

(Scáthach's P.O.V)

The Vajra roars as it finally goes down under our combined assault as Soma walks over to begin harvesting the Aragami while I watch out for the second one that is supposed to be skulking around somewhere..

"Hmph, why the director wanted me to come with you to hunt these is just confusing to me, I mean doesn't he know….tch.." Soma says as he cuts himself off before he says anymore, not happy to be partnered up in a more dedicated fashion once again..

I myself am not exactly happy either but I did agree to it after all so I might as well put in the effort and say.. "Probably wants us to form some sort of partnership, like a tag team or something to deal with Aragami…"

Soma scoffs at the idea but internally he can't help but see the reasoning behind his father's plan, or at least what he believes is his plan as he goes to say.. "Tch, he would have been better off pushing you on Lindow or Sakuya than making me get involved, I'd just get you killed.."

Almost as if to prove his point, the Vajra that we were searching for suddenly comes rushing from around the corner to try and ambush me in a rapid fashion. Soma's eyes widen as he thinks he's about to watch history repeat itself but I leap above the incoming Vajra Aragami and nail it's eyes with my twin spears..

The pain causes the Vajra to roar in agony as it recklessly claws about, trying to find the source of its pain. I land on top of it with an Ainz rune ready and activate it, using the explosive force of the rune magecraft to propel me away from the beast as it gets heavily damaged by the blast.

Soma finally comes out of his stunned state as he rushes the Varja himself, landing the killing blow and finishing the primary objectives of our mission himself. As he takes a moment to catch his breath and the immediate rush of adrenaline fades, he slowly turns to me as I walk over to him and say..

"Do not be so quick to believe that I will be so easy to kill, you've seen what I can accomplish several times already if you recall, so please do have more faith in me….ok?" Soma just stares at me for a bit as he gives a short, amused chuckle while giving a very faint hint of a smile..

"Perhaps, but don't think I'll be so quick to believe you won't fall like the rest just because of your abilities….I really don't want to get my hopes up just yet.." Soma says, for the first time in a very long time, he finds himself with a small silver of hope..

I chuckle and find myself smiling as well before saying.. "Then I'll do my best to ensure I can keep seeing that smile I just witnessed Soma, you look much better doing so.." Soma blushes before going back to his usual stoic self, however, I can't lie I do want to see Soma smiling again like that, he does deserve some hope after all..

Soon enough the two of us return back to the Far East Branch, the two of us having idle banter with each other for the first time since we met. Even if Johannes does have an Ulterior motive, I can't bring myself to just ignore the plight of someone who is clearly needing some form of stable bond that isn't his father..

And to be fair, I myself find that I can't exactly keep trying to remain at a distance from the cast at this stage. So for now I resolve to at least get to know the others better, starting with Soma of course..

Far East Branch, Scáthach's room - That Evening

(Scáthach's P.O.V)

I read through the God Arc manuals on the terminal in my room, trying to get every bit of information on the construction of God Arcs as I can get access to in order to further refine the Blueprints for the Dual Blade God Arcs..

As I am amount to move to another written manual on the operation of God Arcs, Dr. Sakaki enters my room and sees all of the scattered papers strewn on the floor. "Oh my, whatever are you working on my dear..?"

I look startled as I was so invested in my work that I didn't hear him come in until he spoke up and say.. "W-well, I was working on potentially making a new kind of God Arc.." Dr. Sakaki hums as he picks up one of the discarded early blueprints for the Dual Blade God arcs as his eyes widen in excitement..

"Oh my, I didn't know you had such interested before now but this is quite a detailed schematic you have of your prototype.." Dr. Sakaki says in light praise, making me blush before shaking my head and soon saying..

"Even so, It feels rather incomplete to me so I have been looking through the terminals for anything I can use to augment the schematics to be a fully-fledged prototype.." Dr. Sakaki hums to himself as he looks through the scrapped schematics in his hands and looks through some more as he marvels are the form shifting of the Dual blades..

"This new prototype God Arc, if completed might I add, has the potential to potentially allow Old-Types to have a taste of the potential of a New Type, this is just simply ingenious.." Dr. Sakaki says as he soon looks right at me and smiles before he soon says..

"Now I was originally going to ask you for some tests regarding your magic, but considering the potential I've just stumbled upon, I simply must ask that you allow me to help you work on this new God Arc Type.." I just stare at Dr. Sakaki, thinking carefully as to whether or not to accept his assistance but ultimately I end up deciding to say..

"Very well Doctor, I'll allow you to help me complete this prototype.." My response has Dr. Sakaki brimming with excitement as he quickly begins to help me bring the discarded papers and the current prototype schematics to his own lab..

It seems that my previously solo project now has quite the assistance behind it now, perhaps with his higher access compared to me, I can get more detailed knowledge that would be immensely helpful..

Time can only tell I suppose..

Author's Notes

At long last, it is FINALLY finished.

I am so sorry for this taking so long to finish, this was a mix of two problems occurring at the same time, the first being writer's block hitting me hard and the second being the fact I accidentally set up all of my stories to drop on roughly the exact same time, so by the time I realized this I needed to get a move on FAST

I will be working to rectify this so this won't happen again for some time at least, I am not foolish enough to believe I won't end up making a mistake somewhere else later down the line..

Anyway, let's get the plot points out of the way

Xigbar's Mission

With the polls showing a majority of people agreeing for Scáthach to take the mission, I decided I also want to address the concerns of those who say that it is too soon for Scáthach to leave yet.

As such Scáthach chose to change the timing of when she'll take the mission but is still going to take the mission at some point. Ultimately this means that when Scáthach is ready to leave God Eater for real, our next world will be Akame Ga Kill!

However, it won't be happening for a while yet, so don't worry about Scáthach being too quick to jump.

Scathach VS Lindow

I had Scáthach hold back a lot at first to try and at least give Lindow a chance, but even with the Queen of Shadows holding herself back greatly, it was clear that she was the superior of the two.

So Lindow had to get creative to get that ONE punch in, as a result, this showed that Scáthach had gotten a bit too used to killing Aragami and decided to stop holding back as much.

The rest was a simple beatdown that also revealed that Scáthach is capable of picking up another's God Arc without issue. Hooray Contractor Defenses!

Director Johannes manipulations

With the latest showing from Scáthach, it was high time that Johannes started to try and ensnare the Queen of Shadows in his own plans, using Soma to try and foster a bond between the two in hopes that may lead to something down the line..

Whether or not that will succeed, depends on how things go down later..

Continuation of the Dual Blade God Arc side story

By this point even with the resources at her disposal, Scáthach lacked the fundamental understanding of the true mechanics of how God Arcs work to make her prototype work in real-time.

As such Dr. Sakaki is probably the best to swoop in and help Scáthach get the prototype to a functional and realistic state while also having the authority to start having it tested to see if it can work.

Side Hustle of Shadow Ogretails

Well, Scathach has been quite busy regarding the use of her Shroud of power to bind Ogretails to sell off. Still, I am tempted to see what she might be able to do to something like a Vajria or even an ouroboros given the chance..

Alas, we must wait until another time perhaps..

Now then, next time on Wrapped in Shadows: Further bonding with Soma, Relaxing with the female cast members, and the arrival of a Russian New Type God eater

See you all on Monday everyone!