(A New Distortion has begun to appear. Let us see where this one leads us and the path it guides it towards.)

Bold = English Conversations

Bold + Italics = Japanese Conversations

Distortion 44

Morning arrived to the NOL headquarters and morning was probably too early for Sora to consider waking up to due to the previous night's events. Regardless of how he felt at that moment, he knew better to waste time in company that clearly he was not needed in. as he checked his equipment for the final time, he heard a yawn go off behind him as Sora turned to see Amy waking up from her slumber.

'Should I greet her good morning...or just leave her be?' Sora wondered as he continued to inspect his gear and ensure that they were ready for what may come his way. As Amy continued to stir awake, Sora continued to ponder if he should greet her good morning as while he did say what he wanted to say to Amy and expressed his feelings, he still cannot help but feel like a sense of awkwardness at that moment as they were still enemies at that moment.

"Good Morning Sora." Amy simply said, surprising Sora at that moment but he took a deep breath to calm himself down before he freaked out any further. He was caught off guard by how casual Amy was with greeting him and he did not expect her to do so. "Good Morning Amy. I trust that you slept well on the bed?" Sora questioned as Amy nodded her head. "I did… I just find it strange to share a bed with a man in the first place?" Amy explained as Sora nodded his head upon hearing that.

"Trust me… that is something that I don't really get used to myself even after all these years. Maybe even more so now with me having not spend enough time with Makoto during that period." Sora explained as his mind raced to a dumb thought in his mind. 'Wait a minute?.. is Makoto going to be mad that I spent a night sleeping with Amy beside me?.. maybe not that but she may think I had sex with her in the process…' Sora's mind thought as Amy could see Sora's mind thinking about several things at once as he nodded his head upon several thoughts that jumped to his mind.

"I won't ask what you are currently thinking in that mind of yours at that moment. But I hope you are at least prepared at the moment for the trials ahead." Amy said as Sora felt glad in a way that he was not given much attention and could focus on the work that was in front of him. "That I am prepared for. You should go and get yourself ready at least. Freshen up a bit before we go. Unless you want to go out with your hair looking like a mess." Sora said as Amy touched her hair at that moment and felt how all over the place it was at that moment.

"Freshen up I will do. Though I wonder, are you just going to linger inside the room and watch me get dressed as well?" Amy questioned as Sora sighed upon hearing that and shrugged his shoulder. While Amy could just get dressed inside the shower, it was clear that she did not want to risk him potentially spying on her and she was not going to take any risks. "If you insist on me leaving the room for a bit to leave you some peace and quiet, then I cannot say no." Sora said as he picked up his equipment and attached the prototype Rev Arm on his stump as he moved it a little.

'Damn… this really feels stiff. Guess that's a prototype for you.' Sora thought as he holstered his revolver on his person before he slowly walked out of the room, ready to leave. "Before you go… once again, thank you for last night." Amy said as Sora couldn't help but wonder why she was saying thanks again right now. "Sure… no problem Amy." Sora said as he soon left the room, allowing Amy to take a deep breath as she walked into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror at that very moment.

"You can stop hiding yourself Es." Amy said as Es phased in out of nowhere, most likely from teleportation. "You know Es, I don't need to tell you this but I can sense your presence looking at me at all times even if you are trying to hide your checking on me." Amy said as Es tilted her head. "I am just doing my duty in ensuring that you are still following your duties as gatekeeper Amy." Es said as Amy nodded her head at that as she understood the girl's reason for doing so.

Amy: I understand that you are just trying to do your duty but I am asking you to place some faith in me at the end of the day.

Es: I do have faith in you Amy, I just wonder why you are behaving the way you are right now.

Amy: behaving the way I am right now? Are you trying to imply that I am being different from what you are seeing me normally?

Es: Indeed. Normally you are more calm and relaxed in your approach, but right now the aura about you is...different, but in a good way. In fact it would be something I would prefer to see you more often as instead of your usual self.

Amy: You know Es, you should really work on your ability to explain things better. But yeah, I kind of get what you are trying to say. And maybe the answer to that is because I feel sorta relieved in a way that I don't have to keep hiding my identity as a Murakumo unit from Sora anymore… even if he's the enemy to the azure right now.

Es nodded her head upon hearing that, able to sense that Amy was of still sound mind. "So what does he perceive you as now, knowing you are a murakumo unit as of this moment." Es asked as Amy nodded her head before placing a finger on her chin. "He said that he did not think too much about me being a Murakumo unit. Not going to lie, while I am glad he doesn't think about me differently as a Murakumo unit than I was a person to his eyes, the reaction I got from him… could have been better." Amy explained as Es wondered what she could be talking about

"I mean… I would have preferred for Sora Minakaze to be a bit more shocked you know. Something like me being a being created to move through the boundary would be seen as crazy, lunacy even. Yet… he took things without much care and well… that shocked me honestly." Amy said as Es understood what Amy was conveying at that point. "But does it matter that Sora Minakaze was not shocked by your reveal of being a Murakumo unit? It does not play into the bigger picture here." Es asked as Amy sighed upon hearing that.

"Yeah, you're right about that but at the same time, I would like for a little bit you know… surprise. It's a minor thing sure but at the same time this is the first time I have ever revealed to anyone that I am a Murakumo unit and all I got was just… kinda underwhelming." Amy explained as she splashed some water on her face to try and cool herself off. "But yeah, Sora knowing that I am a Murakumo unit or not will not change things, even if our dynamics become different. I will continue to do my duty and that is all."

"And what about your father? Would he approve of your current behavior?" Es asked as Amy pondered about Es's question as she had to place herself on her father's shoes and think about what he would say to her at that moment. "I would like to think he would think my current behavior is logical and makes sense on a logical basis. But the more important thing is that he is gone and I shouldn't be trying to make presumptions of what he would think in my situation without him being here." Amy explained as Es decided to move the conversation to the next important conversation.

"And what about the Error and Balmung? Was he made aware of it's existence and purpose?" Es asked as Amy nodded her head upon hearing Es ask that. "Yes and he is aware of the bigger details. He will need to know more details about Balmung in the future but I have at least let him know about Balmung's past and what it was." Amy explained as Es nodded her head upon hearing that. "At least the Error is aware of the origins for the time being, but please do let him know any further information if needed." Es said.

"Is that really necessary though? Sure we now understand that Balmung is the most likely culprit of what is going on with Makoto Nanaya but don't we want to keep some of the information we have to ourselves so that he is not aware of our plans?" Amy questioned as Es thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. "The Master Unit has told me that Balmung's existence is something that shouldn't be possible and the fact that the Error is hearing Balmung's voice concerns her." Es explained as Amy couldn't help but feel skeptical hearing that

"Are you trying to imply that the master unit thinks that Balmung would try and kill her and that Sora may be the key to discovering why it hasn't?" Amy questioned back as Es nodded her head back at that. "That's fair to consider. With the soul of Makoto Nanaya still stuck inside the blade that is most likely Balmung, the fact that Balmung itself has not come back to life is something to consider. And now I cannot help but wonder if Sora is the key to unlocking Balmung once again." Amy pondered.

"So what does the master unit wish for me to do? Continue being by Sora's side and making sure that he does not do anything bizarre?" Amy questioned as Es closed her eyes, most likely to communicate with the master unit at that moment as Amy remained quiet to let Es do her thing. "The master unit expresses you continue doing your duty… but she has seen that you are beginning to develop a sense of relationship with the man and cautions against doing so." Es explained as Amy took a deep breath upon hearing that.

"Do not worry about that. I promise to not let my emotions get in the way of my duty. This I swear." Amy said as Es nodded her head upon hearing that. "If that is all you wish to say, I shall return back to the Master Unit's side to protect the gate. I will await future news from you." Es said before vanishing through a portal. As soon as she did, Amy couldn't help but take a deep breath as she looked at herself in the mirror once again, Es's words lingering in his mind as she cannot help but think about why the master unit said what she said.

"Does the master unit really think of me of weak will?.." Amy said to herself as she did not know how to feel about what the master unit had thought about her at that moment. Sure she has her past with Sora but that would not impair her decision making and doing what she must to save the world. But as that crossed her mind, she cannot help but think back to the man who basically raised her to be the person she is to this day and cannot help but begin to wonder why that man has been appearing on her thoughts lately

Maybe that is why the master unit is having doubts of her current capabilities? If she's having these bouts of thinking about her father, it may potentially bleed into her ability to think rationally about Sora Minakaze and the threat he posed against everyone else especially the master unit. She may have respected Sora's ideals and how he does not wish to fight against her under hostile relations, she still had to resolve herself to commit fully to her duty as one of the Azure's gatekeepers.

...Yet deep down inside her heart, she cannot help but keep the doubt inside her heart alive, whether she intended to or not…

As Amy got herself ready to leave the NOL base, Sora himself decided to go and see Bullet. He figured that he might as well see what she was planning to do now that she had learned what she needed to learn from the good professor. While he is not sure what was said the previous day, he cannot help but think that Bullet would have learned what she wanted to know and probably would have moved on from her trauma.

'Where could she be right now? Maybe she took a walk out for a bit?' Sora thought as he decided to go and check the NOL gardens as the first spot he had checked, the cafeteria, did not have her having her breakfast there. Maybe she had a bit to process and decided that some fresh air was what she needed at that moment. This small hunch of his would prove right when he found Bullet, mindlessly staring towards the sky in front of her as Sora scratched his head upon seeing this sight.

He did not know if he should go to her and have a chat with her at that moment or leave her be and let her mind continue to wonder. He at first considered giving her some time to be with herself but soon realized that she probably has had a lot of time by herself at that point and instead decided that chatting with her at that point would probably be a better choice at that point. "Morning Bullet. Did you have a good night's rest?" Sora questioned as Bullet got startled off her seat and looked at him in surprise.

"Oh… it's you. Good morning." Bullet said, her voice having some shock as Sora raised his eyebrow upon seeing her shocked expression but decided to first start by helping her relax a little. "You had your breakfast? Are you ready to head out?" Sora asked as Bullet looked towards the sky as soon as he asked his questions as she nodded her head. "Breakfast? Yeah I had that. As for if I am ready to head out? Well, I need to leave anyways but I don't think I am ready personally." Bullet explained.

This made Sora's eyes lift as he couldn't help but be interested by the choice of her words. "Did you have something good in the kitchen that made you want to stay in this base a bit longer?" Sora questioned, hoping to lighten the mood as Bullet took a deep breath and when she did so, Sora immediately knew that Bullet was not really in a good mood at that moment. "I thank you for trying to lift up the mood… but I am not really in a good joyful mood today." Bullet said as Sora nodded his head and decided to stand beside her, figuring that she would not want to have him sit next to her at that moment.

"Come on man, there's a free seat right here. No need for you to stand around like a wooden log like you are doing right now." Bullet said bluntly as Sora simply nodded his head at that moment and sat by her side, hoping by doing so, she would feel more at ease as clearly there was a lot lingering on her mind at that moment and if he can do anything to help her calm down that would be for the best instead of doing everything in his power to aggravate her mood.

"So what is on your mind… if you don't mind me asking. It's fine of you want to stay silent and just have me by your side. Whatever gives you comfort." Sora explained as Bullet processed what she had just heard as she at first took the time to consider what he had just said before deciding that sharing would be better than keeping it bottled inside herself. "Well… remember what I wanted? How I said that I wanted to know the truth of what happened to my group?" Bullet said as Sora nodded his head, remembering the burning desire she had to seek the truth.

"That was something you told me and your main reason for teaming up with me. Did you learn something that you do not like?" Sora questioned as he tried to not come off as forceful towards Bullet as Bullet smiled at his consideration and nodded her head. "Yeah I did… and sorry if I am coming off as secretive but I would rather not talk about what I learned too much." Bullet asked as Sora understood why she was being secretive in the first place.

'Whatever the professor told her, it must have really struck a nerve within her.' Sora thought as he decided to remain quiet for a bit before asking his next question. "So what is next for you? Are you going to get back to mercenary work again?" Sora questioned as Bullet looked at her hands, wondering the same thing herself as she couldn't help but ponder where she was going to go from here. "I… I guess that is something to think about for a bit. If you don't mind, I'll just tag along with you for a bit while I get my bearings straight."

"Are you sure you want to tag along? If your mind is still thinking about a lot of things maybe we can split from here and you can go and do your own thing." Sora suggested as he had always thought that their relationship was that of a working relationship, once they had achieved their respective goals they would separate from each other and do their own things, free to do whatever they wished as their new goals dictated them to.

"Trust me, I considered doing just that but… at the same time I feel like if I do so I will be doing nothing and be lost. As much as I need more money to have a stable life, I also feel like I need some time before I go back to that rodeo again." Bullet explained as Sora processed what he had just heard before nodding his head to what he had heard. Now he knew whatever Bullet was told was particularly sensitive to her and she did genuinely wish for some human company no matter how brief it may be.

"You do know that I may not be here for long now right?" Sora questioned as Bullet couldn't help but scoff upon hearing that. "Of course I do, you're about to toss yourself into a bloody cauldron. Regardless of what you are trying to do, not even I would do such a thing." Bullet said as Sora couldn't help but laugh a bit upon hearing that, understanding that he looked like a lunatic to her at that point. "I'm serious. A cauldron is not something one person jumps into. After all cauldrons power up the hierarchical cities and even now nobody knows how it does so other than it produces seithr." Bullet explained as Sora nodded his head, realizing that she was being serious with him at that moment.

"I know Bullet… but I need to take on the risk otherwise I may never be able to get back home. Home to people that I truly care for." Sora explained as Bullet took a deep breath and sighed upon hearing that. "Don't get me wrong, I am very familiar with how one person can be so driven to get what they want. It's just that I cannot help but think that what you are planning on doing is just insanity." Bullet explained as Sora scratched his head upon hearing that.

Bullet meanwhile couldn't help but process what she had just heard Sora say after giving her answer. The hope that was present in voice told her everything she needed to know. The truths of the world she had learned just yesterday that this man was able to take with what seemed to be with stride. She cannot help but think that Sora must have been dealing with situations like this for the longest time when he could talk about stuff like jumping into a cauldron without much worry.

"You think I am crazy for wanting to take such a risk?" Sora questioned as Bullet remained quiet before nodding her head at that. "Yes I do. But at the same time I can understand that you are doing this for someone you care about instead of being for some other crazy reason like seeking wealth. That I can at least understand." Bullet explained as Sora nodded his head, able to see that Bullet was using her experience with trying to find out the truth about her old mercenary group to relate to what he was trying to do at that moment.

"It still doesn't change the fact that at the end of the day, I am going to be jumping into what is considered no man's land. All for you know, I could just jump into this cauldron and never come back, dying in the process as an insignificant spec in the universe. But it's at least good to know that you understand why I am taking such a risk in the first place instead of calling me a lunatic like the average joe would." Sora explained as Bullet chuckled for the first time today to Sora's comment.

"If you ever do come out of the cauldron alive, I'll make sure to pay for a pint or give you a meal of my treat." Bullet said as Sora scratched his head upon hearing that. While sure that was probably Bullet's way of saying that she will support him, he wasn't sure if he could ever return back to this timeline once he got back to his timeline, let alone if he would even consider such a thing when his life would be thrown into danger once again with the gatekeepers of the Azure constantly seeking to end his life.

"Sure, if I ever do make it back out of the cauldron, I'll give you a call." Sora answered. He could have told Bullet the truth but he sensed that Bullet was just saying that in order to help make herself feel better. Rather than be serious and tell her the truth of the matter, he would humor the woman and her request as Bullet smiled at the side, able to understand that Sora was just obliging her inner desire as she stood up and stretched for a bit.

"So what are you doing out here? Didn't just come out here to look for me didn't you?" Bullet questioned as Sora looked at her with honesty in his eyes. "Actually that is the reason why I came out for a bit, I know that yesterday Amy left you by yourself in the room and I cannot help but think about what you going through." Sora explained as Bullet was surprised to hear such a comment come from the man as she scratched the back of her head upon hearing his statement. "Is that wrong for me to do?" Sora questioned as Bullet couldn't help but laugh greatly upon hearing that, Sora able to feel a sense of tension leave her body at that moment.

"Nah… there's nothing wrong with that Sora. The only thing that is worse than what you just said is if you really are just trying to give me some comfort as some way for you to take advantage of me or worse, try to flirt with me while I am processing things." Bullet said as Sora couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing that, scratching the back of his head in the process as he was glad that his intention of checking on Bullet was actually wholesome and not in any way shape or form hostile.

"Well that's a good thing to hear, I often get told by the people around me that sometimes I make choices that can be considered weird to people and often times that can be hard to actually correct before they become worse." Sora explained as Bullet sighed. "I get you. Working within an almost all male organization. I am often told by people that I am not...girly/womanly enough." Bullet explained as Sora couldn't help but be interested by her saying that.

"I guess that will be a thing most people would say, especially since they wouldn't know how you grew up." Sora said as Bullet nodded her head at that. "I know the way I raised makes me weird to most people. I cannot really change who I was raised into nor do I really care to do so. It's what makes me me at the end of the day." Bullet explained as Sora couldn't help but smile upon seeing that Bullet was slowly lightening up as he and Bullet could have spent more time talking with each other about all of this for much longer.

"Ahh, there you are." A voice called out as Sora and Bullet turned to see it was Amy calling out towards them. "Morning Amy. Sorry for giving you the cold shoulder." Bullet spoke, her mind feeling more at ease as both her and Sora approached Amy as she walked up to them. They were about to make the suggestion they go and get breakfast while they still could before leaving for the hierarchical city with the least amount of NOL soldiers guarding a cauldron that they could use to try and see what would happen.

"If you want to start some small talk now, that can wait, the professor was looking for you two and she has a favor to ask of us." Amy said as both Bullet and Sora looked at each with a serious look before nodding to each other. They knew that whatever the good professor was thinking, that couldn't have been a good thing as their feet took them to where the good professor was waiting for them, inside Kagura's office as she was staring at the outside world while holding a lollipop, her mind thinking of a few things.

"You wanted to see us professor?" A voice called out as she turned to see it was Sora who asked the question as he quickly entered to make his presence known. Amy followed before the door closed behind them as Kokonoe knew that the last person, Bullet was just waiting outside as she probably did not want to see the professor at that moment for various reasons. "Yeah, you are leaving today to try and get to a cauldron you are not?" Kokonoe quickly questioned as Sora couldn't help but feel a sense of concern but decided against quickly questioning Kokonoe's intentions as he figured a question was better to be asked at that moment.

"Are you trying to ask us to help you with something that you do not want to send Tager out to help with?" Sora questioned as Sora being quick to cut through whatever intentions Kokonoe had to get to the answer he needed to get to was something that Kokonoe was slightly surprised by but she did not allow her face to show it as she nodded her head upon hearing what he had just said. "Yes, I would like not to send out people like Tager, Hunter and Noel to investigate on the matter because they have more important matters to deal with. So care to listen in?" Kokonoe questioned as Sora decided to look at Amy at that moment as she shrugged her shoulders, allowing Sora to make the decision for himself.

"If we do this for you, you won't sent people after us to eliminate us?" Sora questioned as his choice of words was enough for Kokonoe to be made aware that he was being cautious at that moment and did not want to make any wrong choices at that point. "I can promise you that I will not send anyone to try and have you be disposed off if you do this for me. Can I ask you for your help please?" Kokonoe questioned as Sora heard what he wanted to hear and nodded his head at that.

"In that case, I'll help you out wherever I can… at least until I can't." Sora said as Kokonoe knew what Sora was planning on doing as she decided the less she knew the better. "So what do you want me to do? Check on a cauldron to see if there is no NOL presence there so that you can use it later?" Sora asked, trying to guess the favor that Kokonoe was asking out of them as he had a feeling that if Kokonoe was desperate enough to ask him of all people a favor then something had truly gone wrong.

"That would have been simple enough for me to ask the others to do as that would have been both quick and relatively stress free. What I need your help for goes a little bit deeper than that." Kokonoe explained as Sora sensed that he was not liking the direction of where things were going. Regardless, he had no say in the matter and has to just trust that the information that is about to be given to him will be accurate and not compromise him in any manner. "So what do you want us to do?" Sora simply question as he awaited Kokonoe's answer to his question.

"...I need you to investigate the cauldron at the 5th Hierarchical City of Ibukido."

GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION!? HOW IS EVERYONE DOING ON THIS FINE DAY!? A little update on my laptop hinge. Well, I have been having trouble actually finding people to repair my hinge on a timely manner and with that being an issue, I have decided that maybe repairing it by myself may be a bit of an issue. Since this chapter was going to be a much shorter chapter than normal, I figured that I would at least finish it up before I attempt any repairs. I just hope that things go well and nothing spontaneously combusts in my face in the process. If it does, well I will be sure to let you know in a future Author's note. Other than that, life is starting to get busy for me again so I may be posting shorter chapters depending on how heavy my work load becomes. Just thought I would let you guys know before things get worse.

SO WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT FOR SORA MINAKAZE!? WHAT WILL HE FIND ON THE 5TH HIERARCHICAL CITY OF IBUKIDO!? WILL BULLET BE FINE FOLLOWING SORA TO DO HIS THING WHILE SHE HAS HER OWN DEMONS TO SORT OUT!? AND FINALLY HOW WILL AMY HANDLE THIS NEW DEVELOPMENT!? All this and more shall be revealed when the next Distortion forms