A/N: For those that didn't see my notice in the previous chapter, this chapter is the 2nd Chapter of my DOUBLE Release. If you didn't read the previous chapter, make sure you do. Otherwise, it will be confusing.

This chapter is one of those important chapters in this story. A lot of the extra lore I've created is present and it sets up for the future chapters to come.

CHAPTER IX: MOVING FORWARD

The Far East base saw large signs of activity in the days that followed Alisa and Lindow's mission. News quickly spread that Lindow was missing in action. Reaction was mostly mixed among the Fenrir members. Some were in distraught about his disappearance and urged that his search would be given top priority. Others scoffed at the idea that someone of Lindow's caliber could die in such a way and merely said "give it time and he'll be back." As for the remaining group, they stood in the middle and had adopted a "wait and see" attitude while also preferred that his search should be an urgent matter.

It was during this time that the God Eaters and the other supporting Far East members in the Northern Defense Operation made their long awaited return to the base. Kouta and several other God Eaters were at the helipads, ready to welcome back their battle- weary brothers and sisters. Off to the side were Tsubaki and Gen who were busy discussing something with one another.

"Oh, I see them," Kanon said while pointing to the growing number of objects in the horizon.

"I'm suddenly feeling very nervous," Kouta said, rubbing his arm back and forth.

"Don't be," she said with a smile. "They're all nice people. Although, I didn't know them for that long."

"Well, I've known them for a long time and I can say that they're all nice," Tatsumi said from next to them. "Well, mostly anyway," he added with a grin.

Brendan nodded his head in agreement while crossing his arms. "They are pretty skilled too."

Joining the welcoming party were also Kyoko and Gina.

"I'm surprised that you're here with us," Kyoko said to her aloof subordinate. "I thought you didn't do these things."

"It's because she's here," Gina quietly said. "I need to make sure that my rival is alive."

"We already know that she's not among the deceased. They already made the announcement regarding that, remember?"

"Even then, I need to see it with my own eyes to verify it." Gina was more stubborn than usual.

Kouta leaned towards Tatsumi and whispered, "Hey, who are they talking about?"

The leader of the 2nd Unit looked over at Gina and replied, "Oh, about the Far East's best sniper."

The young God Eater's eyes grew wide with shock. "There's someone even better than Dickinson-san, Sakuya-san and Kannagi-san?"

"Well, I can't speak for Kannagi, but as good as those other two are, she is arguably the best."

Any further conversation was cut short as the helicopters now entered the vicinity and was beginning their descent. The spinning rotors of several helicopters caused a wind current to blast through the area, causing the God Eaters and the others to shield their eyes from flying debris. Once the helicopters landed with a soft thud and the engines turned off, the doors opened and its passengers exited one by one. Based on the uniform, most of the supporting staff members had ridden the helicopters on the left side while the two on the right were delegated mostly to the God Eaters.

Most of the returning God Eaters appeared to be in their very late teens to mid- twenties, but none of them as young as the rookies in Unit One. There was even someone seemingly even older than all of them. As expected, they all showed signs of fatigue and exhaustion. Some small bandages covered parts of their faces, arms, and legs. Their clothing looked like they had seen a large number of battles and haven't been washed for weeks.

The first one to approach the welcoming God Eaters was a blond man wearing spectacles, approximately in his mid-twenties. His handsome features marred by the deep frown on his face. His attire consisted of the standard dark combat pants and a gray bomber jacket. On his feet were simple running shoes.

"You're the welcoming committee?" He asked them in English with a raised eyebrow.

"That's right," Tatsumi replied with a wide smile. "Does that make you happy?"

His frowned curved into a small smile. "Better than I felt in a while anyway," he responded in Japanese.

"Sorry for your loss." The smile suddenly disappeared on the usual cheerful God Eater.

With a small nod, "Yeah, well, I'm not the only one that lost his entire unit." He motioned over his shoulder at the God Eater approaching them. "His loss came just when we're about to head back. It couldn't come at a worse time."

"I prefer that we don't talk about it anymore," the short haired man curtly replied. His clothing consisted of all dark clothes from black leather tights, boots and a tight long-sleeved shirt that hugged his relatively lean torso and upper body. It was hard to see how he was feeling considering the bottom half of his face was covered by a long red scarf. "I'll be reporting in first to the Director." He shot a knowing look over at Tatsumi and like the wind, he quickly left as he appeared.

"That was First Lieutenant Kazuma Kagami by the way," Kyoko explained to Kouta. "He's also the leader of the 7th Unit."

"You mean the one who was part of that Ouroboros…"

"That's correct," she confirmed.

"I don't remember you," the blond man said to Kouta, breaking up their conversation. "Are you new?"

"Y-Yes!" Kouta quickly saluted the senior God Eater. "Private Kouta Fujiki. I just joined a few months ago as part of Unit 1."

"Amamiya's unit, huh. I'm Oliver Winfield, leader of the 6th Unit…or whatever's left of it anyway." Again, a deep frown appeared on his face.

"Please to meet you, Winfield-san."

"Is he one of the new recruits I heard about?" A young woman with short brownish orange hair asked. She had a thin frame which was covered by a short sleeved unzipped brown jacket, purple shirt, and jean shorts.

Before anyone could answer her, Gina suddenly went up to her. The eye-patched sniper looked around the young woman's body as if inspecting a product. "You seem fine, my rival."

"I am fine," she said with a chuckle. "It's good to see you too, Gina-san."

Gina nodded her head. "I'll see you at the shooting range." And with her business done, she walked back towards the base.

"Well, that was weird," Kouta whispered.

"I think she's cute," the young woman replied with another chuckle. "Anyway, I'm Maya Toumi, leader of the 5th Unit."

"Kouta Fujiki," he introduced with another salute.

At this point, the four remaining God Eaters met up with the group. They were led by a man in his early thirties with long black hair tied in a ponytail and a black eyepatched covered his left eye. His uniform was quite different from the others which consisted of a dark brown hakama, blue haori, white tabi and brown wooden getas on his feet. It was like he stepped out of an old historic Japanese drama.

"It's good to be back home," he greeted in a low deep voice.

"It's good to see you all back home," Gen said when he and Tsubaki met up with the now large group of God Eaters. "It helps having Miyamoto's presence during these difficult times."

Gen's remarked drew raised eyebrows and looks of confusions from the newly returned God Eaters.

The man named Miyamoto grunted and then looked over at Tsubaki. "Yes, about Lindow…"

Tsubaki frowned and shook her head. "Unfortunately, we haven't made any progress. We're still looking for him."

"What's this about Amamiya?" Oliver asked. "I didn't hear anything about him."

"Sorry, I just learned about it when we we're about to leave," Miyamoto apologized to the younger man. "I didn't think it was a good time to bring it up."

"My brother-…I mean, Lieutenant Amamiya is currently missing in action," Tsubaki explained. There were a few gasps and quiet chatter in the crowd. "But we can talk about it later at the meeting. All God Eaters that can attend, should attend."

"Understood." Miyamoto then turned to address the other God Eaters. "Let's take this opportunity to pack, shower and rest for a bit. We can save the questions and catching up to until the meeting." That's when he noticed Kouta looking at him. "Before I forget, Fujiki-kun, right? I'm Miyamoto. Koutetsu Miyamoto, leader of the 4th Unit."

"Director, reporting in," Kazuma announced from outside of Johannes' room.

"Enter," Johannes ordered from inside.

Kazuma opened the door and then saluted the Director.

"It's good to see you back," Johannes said with a long face.

"If only I was stronger and more capable," the God Eater said with disappointment in his voice.

"Even loss will come to the best of us. Your unit will be properly honored, but we will need to move forward."

"Yes."

"Are you able to handle those missions alone?" He inquired in a calm voice.

"Of course." Kazuma placed a fist near his chest. "I will complete all of your missions without fail, Director."

"I'm glad to hear it." Johannes took out a few pieces of paper and skimmed through them. "You may leave now. Get some rest. We'll be busier from now on."

Dr. Ogumura was in his office. The lights were all turned off leaving the room in near complete darkness. He folded his arms behind his head as he leaned into his leather chair. The door suddenly opened and he could feel a breeze of air blowing in from the outside. After a few footsteps, the door closed shut. His back was facing the visitor the whole time, but he didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"It ended up differently than we planned, right?"

"Doesn't matter," the visitor said. "The results are still the same for us."

Dr. Ogumura grunted and smiled. "Alisa came back alive."

"It's fine. I prefer to avoid any unnecessary deaths. But, how much does she remember about that?"

"Don't worry," Dr. Ogumura reassured him. "She won't remember a thing."

"Then she's no threat to us," the visitor concluded. "Your job is over. I need you to disappear as soon as possible. I will contact you for your help when it's time."

Dr. Ogumura nodded. "I look forward to it."

The meeting of the God Eaters and upper level management proceeded approximately two hours later. The only notable absentees were Alisa and Sakuya from the 1st Unit. They discussed many topics including all of the developments since the other God Eaters left to the north. Two New-Types joining their ranks, the death of Eric der Volgelweid, the crisis in the western forests, the recovering state of Yuu and recent disappearance of Lindow. As for developments from the north, they discussed the conditions and battles that took place as well as the fallen God Eaters. When the discussions were done, there was a somber and heavy tension in the air. There were more negative developments than positive in the previous months. For many of them however, it was something that they were already used to.

The plan was to slowly get the returning God Eaters reacclimated with simple missions. As for Lindow's whereabouts, his search would now be treated as a priority. The search party will be joined by several God Eaters such as two of the newly returned God Eaters, Shen Li and Thuy Tran. Joining them will also be Kouta who had shown promise as a scout.

Later that day, Maya Toumi walked to Sakuya's room and knocked on her door. When there was no response, she called out, "Sakuya, it's me."

A short quiet pause and then she could hear slow footsteps walking towards the door.

"Maya-san," Sakuya greeted in a small voice. Her eyes were red and swollen. "I heard that you're back. Sorry that I didn't come see you." She moved to allow the 5th Unit leader through.

While keeping a calming smile on her face, Maya made her way into the room. "It's no problem. I just wanted to check up on you." She made a cursory glance of the room and was relieved to see that the room was at least not in disarray. "I heard about Lindow-san…" She cautiously brought up his name and then waited to see Sakuya's reaction.

"I…" She paused and then slowly sat down on her chair, her head buried in her hands.

"It's okay, I understand." Maya placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder and nodded her head.

Sakuya quietly sniffled a few times. "I know that odds are…, but I still need to know."

"Don't worry. We have skilled people on the lookout. Thuy-chan and Li-kun are searching right now. You know that they are great at scouting, right? We'll find something."

"Thank you. Just give me some time. I'll get back to normal, I promise."

"Of course."

Despite Maya's optimistic words, only bad news was brought back from the search expedition.

Several days later, Tsubaki went to the Director's office. Her footsteps heavy and there was a grim expression on her face. When he saw that, Johannes also formed a frown on his face.

"I heard that the search party found something," he bluntly said.

"Yes." Tsubaki was silent for a long moment, suddenly feeling at a loss for words. "About a mile from the battle, from the mountain site, Lieutenant Amamiya's armlet and God Arc were discovered. They're all in a partially broken state."

"…And the Lieutenant?"

"Nowhere in sight."

The room fell into deep silence except for the ticking of a nearby clock. The Director continued to look at Tsubaki who was now looking at something on his desk with a vacant look. "Then I have no choice, but to declare that Lieutenant Lindow Amamiya is dead," he calmly decided. "You understand, right?"

Her fingers tightened into a fist and there were visible tremors in her arms. "…Yes," she finally replied.

"I'll leave the rest to you." The Director got back to reviewing the papers on his desk, signaling that the conversation was over.

Tsubaki made her way towards the door when the Director suddenly spoke up, his voice revealing a hint of sadness.

"I'm sorry for your loss, I really am. He was an admirable person and an excellent role model for the others."

The former God Eater heaved a sigh and said, "Yes…yes he was."

After her talk with the Director, Tsubaki spent nearly an hour reflecting on the current situation and the declaration that Lindow was dead. She calmly announced such developments before, but as expected, when it came to her own family, it was excruciatingly difficult. For someone as mentally and emotionally strong as her, she needed an existence like Lindow to be like a pillar of support. With him gone, there was one less pillar and the possibility of collapsing under her heavy responsibility had increased. But even then, she needed to be strong for those that are still around her.

"Like Sakuya," she murmured under her breath and then leaned back into her chair. It suddenly felt like a rush of fatigue was passing through her body. A wave of grief also accompanied her fatigue and for the first time in a very long time, felt like shedding tears. Before that happened though, she heard a knock on her office door. Her body sat straight up by reflex and took a brief moment to compose herself. "Enter."

The door slowly opened and Sakuya entered the office. A blank look was on her face as if she was doing her best to hide what she was thinking.

"Take a seat," Tsubaki said, motioning to the two sofas that sat facing each other.

After making a few slow steps, Sakuya sat down and placed her hands on her lap.

Tsubaki silently sighed and joined the younger God Eater. "Do you know why I called you here?" She asked.

"It's about Lindow, right?" There weren't any tears in Sakuya's eyes and there weren't any signs that her guard was going to break. This had taken Tsubaki by surprised. She hadn't seen her much after the announcement that Lindow had gotten missing and wondered what happened to her since then.

"We found his damaged armlet and God Arc. There's no sign of him when we found it." She paused and let that information sink in. Just like before, Sakuya appeared unfazed by the news. "The Director had declared him dead based on that."

Sakuya's expression surprisingly, didn't shift much from when she entered the room. Other than her mouth curving into a bigger frown and her eyes narrowed a bit, she still appeared composed and collected. "I understand."

"You're not surprised?" Tsubaki asked, a puzzled eyebrow rose in response.

"I actually thought about it for a few days already," Sakuya explained with a sad smile. "During that time, I cried a lot. I prayed for his safety. And then I asked why did this happened to him? Don't get me wrong, it's still painful here," she said, placing a hand near her chest. "But then I remembered, he wouldn't want me or anyone to dwell on this for too long. Remember how he would say to look up at the sky when things get difficult?" Her smile suddenly grew and appeared to even shine.

"Yeah, he did used to say that." Tsubaki nodded and felt a tear fell down her face.

"I'll continue to deal with the grief, but I have to continue moving forward. Even though as God Eaters, we need the armlets to supply us with the bias factor and without it, we can't survive. I understand the chances on Lindow because of that, but until we find his body, if ever, I'll always have hope. Don't worry though, I won't be blinded by that hope."

After hearing Sakuya's thoughts, Tsubaki wanted to applaud her. The former God Eater felt ashamed thinking that someone as young as Sakuya would be drowning in grief and sorrow. Instead, the person that sat in front of her was a very strong person, probably even more than herself. "I think this is what we should all do in light of all this. I felt like I learned something from you today."

"Really?" Sakuya let out a small laugh as her face grew red in embarrassment. "I don't think I'm the type to teach people things."

Tsubaki smiled. "I think we will be fine in the end. Hopefully, they'll be fine too."

Sakuya smile curved into a frown. "Have you spoken with Alisa-chan recently?"

"Unfortunately, I have not. And then there's Yuu as well."

"Yeah. I hope that he'll get better soon."

It was like the whole world had slowed down so much that everything seemed like they were frozen in place. He knew that wasn't obviously the case as he ran through the Aragami one by one. He was able to jump long distance and reach the physical heights that some people could only dream of. Everything was simply easy. But all good things must come to an end.

The world then became pitched dark and everything came crashing down. All he could feel was the intense burning sensation that ran through his nerves, his muscles, his bones and his blood. For how long was he trapped in this darkness, where invisible forces brought him to the verge of death for countless times? He had no idea, but it felt like an eternity. However, it was no eternity despite how it felt to him.

A sharp pain ran through his forehead causing his body to jolt upwards. It had been dark just mere moments ago, but now there was light, one that blinded his vision. It took a few seconds for his mind and eyes to adjust to his surroundings. The many empty beds, curtains that partitioned the room into segments, and the various health posters on the walls made it apparent where he was in.

"The medical office," he murmured and then suddenly experienced a sharp pain in his torso. Not as bad as how he was feeling for a while now. Despite the low temperature in the room, it felt like his body was still burning. He could see a small puddle of sweat that formed where he was lying down. The sound of a door opening caused his attention to shift away to the front.

"Kannagi, you're awake!" Dr. Thompson exclaimed when she saw him. "Are you okay?" She took out several medical equipment and began checking his temperature, heartbeat, pulse and pupils. While that was going on, Yuu tried to piece together what was going on.

"How long have I been out?" He murmured.

"A little over a week now," she replied while jotting down something on her notepad.

Yuu frowned, but was not particular surprised about it. He wracked his brain to figure out where to go from there. Then the ambush had appeared in his mind. "I'd like a status report on the forest ambush. I guess it's about a week already. No fatalities I'm assuming?"

"No, nothing like that." She gave him a reassuring smile. "A lot of bruises, cuts, and banged up bodies, but they're all fine. Your condition was by far the worst."

The New-Type nodded his head and closed his eyes. "So, what's everyone saying about what happened?"
"You're talking about Acceleration Drive, I'm presuming? Something like a miracle," she said with a laugh. "They just said that they saw some kind of flash of light that devoured the Aragami. They're all shocked off course, but they didn't seem to care to dwell on it too much. They don't know the details, but a lot of them are saying it's related to you."

"Is that so?" He responded, not sounding particularly fazed about it.

"Just a heads up, but Dr. Sakaki knows about it. He apparently talked to Dr. Schmidt."

"The Doctor's gotten soft," he said as he rubbed his eyes.

Dr. Thompson returned the medical equipment to her bag and continued to jot down some more things. "Everything appears fine. How are you feeling?"

"Fine," he bluntly replied. "Not full recovery yet, but it's fine. Anything else I missed?"

The usual harmless question caused Dr. Thompson's hand to freeze in mid-air. Yuu's eyebrows rose and figured that something significant had happened. "So, there was. What happened?"

The young doctor frowned and then struggled with whatever she was trying to say. "The other God Eaters in the Northern Defense campaign have returned. There were a few deceased among their numbers."

"This was announced before the mission. There's something else then."

Dr. Thompson heaved out a heavy sigh and continued. "Before they returned, Lindow-kun was on a mission. He didn't come back."

Whatever Yuu had thought would've transpired during the time he was out, he didn't expect to hear about Lindow being declared missing in action.

"And that Aragami's appearance too…"

He ran over to Tsubaki's office and barely remembered to knock on her door.

"Enter," she called out from inside.

Without waiting for an extra second, he entered the room and met with a surprised Tsubaki. "You're awake," she said.

"Yeah, just now. And I'm doing fine if that's what you're going to ask. But more importantly, what happened with Lindow?"

It sounded like he was barraging her with a dozen questions that she couldn't even properly respond. Fortunately, she accepted that he was doing fine and skipped past the conversation about his condition.

"Did you hear it from Dr. Thompson? Then all of what she said was true." The Captain spent the next few minutes explaining the mission that occurred several days ago, the Prithvi Mata target, the surprised appearance of the Dyaus Pita, Lindow's fall and then finally, his retrieved God Arc and armlet.

After she was done, it felt like a thousand thoughts were running through Yuu's mind. "Lindow is…gone." He quietly said, sounding unusually melancholy.

"We already made the announcement about his death. If you need time off to mourn or just take a break, then I can accommodate that."

Yuu closed his eyes and thought about the man who was like an older brother to him. A wave of sadness flowed through him, but he fought against it. "It's confirmed that it was the Dyaus Pita?"

His question had taken Tsubaki by surprised. "From what Amiella had reported, that does appear to be the case."

"It's been a long time since it surfaced and to think this happened when it did." Yuu balled his hands into fists and felt anger welling inside him.

Tsubaki frowned when she saw Yuu's hands. She moved over to sit down on the sofa and motioned him to follow after her. "Speaking of Amiella, she's dealing with mental shock from that battle. From what I hear, she secluded herself in her room this whole time." When she noticed that Yuu was just staring off into somewhere in the distance, she continued. "About Amiella's involvement in this whole situation, you're the only person that knows. I didn't tell Sakuya about it or even Momota-san. As far as they and the others know, Lindow and Amiella both engaged in battle with the Dyaus Pita and at some point, Lindow and the Aragami fell off the cliff. This is one of those times that the truth will just make things worse." She suddenly frowned and began slowly tapping her finger on the table. "We don't need a repeat of that time."

"It's your decision, after all," Yuu said and then got up.

"Where are you going now?"

"To get more answers. But first, I'll need a master key."

On the way to Alisa's room, Yuu met a few staff members along with several of the 2nd and 3rd unit members. Their conversations mostly came down to, "Hey you're finally awake. How's your body holding up? We're sorry about Amamiya-san, etc.." It was clear though that they were still adjusting to the loss of the God Eater veteran.

He also crossed paths with several God Eaters he didn't recognize at first glance and assumed that they were part of the returning God Eaters' group. They didn't appear to recognize him as well so he made a quick pass through and eventually reached Alisa's room. Not the type to be overly cautious about entering a young female's room, he quickly knocked on the door.

"It's me," he curtly announced. There were sounds of shuffling before the room became silent again. "I need to talk to you." He was again met with silence. With a sigh, he reached into his pocket. "I'm coming in." With a swipe of the card, the door unlocked and swung opened.

As expected, the room was dark, pitch black in fact. Even though he couldn't see or hear her, he knew she was there. He flipped on the nearby light switch and the room immediately luminated. His attention quickly went to the back corner of the room where he heard a sharp gasped.

Alisa pulled her red blanket over her head and then slowly lowered it so that her eyes and the top of her head were visible. Her hair was mussed, tangled and disheveled in places while the dark shadows under her eyes revealed a lack of sleep. "You shouldn't barge into a girl's room uninvited," she said with a hint of irritation.

"Drastic times calls for drastic measures," he replied with indifference and then looked at the dozens of clothes laying on the ground. He didn't expect a tidy room, but he didn't expect to enter a mess either. Even taking into consideration of her current mental state, the mess was likely unrelated. Food wrappers were scattered around. Various books rested on her bed and piled near the trash can. Food crumbs were sprinkled on her work desk and from what he could see, lots of dusts. He hadn't seen many teenage girl's rooms before, but he didn't think this was normal in comparison to someone of her age. "You need a vacuum cleaner…among many things."

"Did you come here to talk about my room?" Her anger level was noticeably increasing.

"No."

When she noticed that his expression had suddenly turned soft, she averted her eyes. "I-It's good to see you up now. Everyone was worried about you…" Her voice trailed off into an inaudible murmur.

"Is that so?" He sighed and then got straight to the point. "What happened with Lindow on the mountain? What happened with you?" His question shook her to her very core.

"I-I-I…didn't…no…my body…" Her incoherent words eventually became ramblings. She threw her blanket over her entire body as if to seclude herself in a small safe area.

As Yuu watched Alisa descent into a mentally broken state, he tightened his fists and clicked his tongue. "I didn't want to do this, but I have no choice now." He quickly approached her and flung off her blanket. She was wearing only a white t-shirt and shorts underneath. Her eyes grew large and wide with shock at the sudden intrusive act. It was so shocking that her ramblings had completely stopped, leaving her with a mixture of fear, shock and embarrassment.

The New-Type didn't stop there as he grabbed ahold of her hand. Before Alisa could react, dozens of images bombarded his mind. Like a ghost bystander, he witnessed what had occurred on the mountain in vivid detail from the sidelines. He saw the appearance of the Dyaus Pita and Alisa's break down afterwards. Then the shot that created the avalanche and Lindow's eventual dropped to the unseen darkness. Yuu saw everything. The memory wasn't just limited to what he saw, but he felt what Alisa felt. Experienced what she thought.

Then, the scene changed and shifted to a new location that was familiar.

Alisa and Dr. Ogumura entered the Medical Office B and she could hear the door locked behind her. She sat down on a chair, facing the currently blank wall.

"Close your eyes," Dr. Ogumura told her as the lights began to dim. "Relax your mind, forget about the Aragami and the God Eaters."

She could feel her heart slowing down and the tension leaving her body. The troubling thoughts that occupied her mind were dissipating and slowly drifting away from her mind. It was as if her spirit and soul were getting detached from her body.

"You're an empty state now," Dr. Ogumura continued, his voice becoming quieter and quieter. "What is your name?"

"Alisa," she replied with little emotion.

"What are you?"

"A weapon."

"For what purpose?"

"To destroy my enemies."

"Good. Now open your eyes."

She did as she was told and she quickly noticed a projector screen on the wall.

"These are your enemies. Remember them well."

The images on the wall began flipping through several images, all the while she took them in through her vacant eyes. The images mostly consisted of one single large beast like creature full of black fur and an imposing face.

"And lastly…" Dr. Ogumura leaned towards her left ear. The image changed again, but this time to a person who was wearing mostly black clothing. His identity was undeniable. "This is your enemy. Remember it."

There was a little girl of about six years old. With long silky gray silver hair and wearing a small white frilly dress, she had the appearance of a beautiful child that many parents would like to show off as their own. With a large smile that could warm people's hearts, the girl skipped around happily in the large living room.

"Can we play a game?" She asked, her eyes growing large with anticipation.

"What kind, dear?" The woman asked from her seat on the sofa, picking up the girl and then placing her on her lap. The older woman's hair was nearly identical to the little girl and she shared the same attractive features in her face. It was almost as if the future of the little girl could be seen in the woman.

"Um…" The little girl placed a finger in her mouth as she thought. "Hide and seek!"

The little girl's priceless expression made the woman smile with great delight. "Okay, then how about Papa?"

Both of them turned their attention to the dark-haired man wearing a blue collared shirt with long sleeves. He was sitting next to the woman and was busy typing on his laptop. When he heard the women talking about him, he stopped what he was doing and looked over at the little girl. "Should I join too?"

The man's question caused the little girl to jump up and down in joy. "Yes! Papa must play too!"

With his strong arms, the man swooped the girl up into the air and lifted her up and down. "Who does my little princess love?"

"Alisa loves papa!"

"What about mama?" The woman asked with a grin.

"Mama too!"

"Okay, then let's play." The man kissed the girl on the forehead and then put her down to the ground. "Papa will be it so hide well."

The girl's smile grew wide as she disappeared from the room in a flash before her father could even begin counting. She entered the kitchen and her eyes darted from my part to another. She opened a cabinet on the bottom, but then quickly closed it. "Papa will find me in here for sure."

Continuing her journey to find the best hiding spot, she left the kitchen from the other end and as she ran past the staircase, her feet suddenly stopped causing her to slide and almost fall down. She walked back behind the staircase and observed several china cabinets placed right below the staircase. Her mouth formed a small circle as she peered through the darkened cracks between the cabinets. The curious expression on her face then turned into a mischievous one. After looking both left and right, she squeezed into the cracks and then rested in the darkness, waiting for her father to find her.

Only a few seconds had passed when she heard her father stopped counting and began his search through the home. Just as she thought, her father didn't notice her at all when he made his way past the staircase. She giggled while placing her hands over her mouth so that it sounded like a tiny muffle.

The seconds continued to tick by until she heard her father announcing that he had found her mother. It was then that her heart began to quicken as now there were two people out looking for her. It felt like her heart was going to leap out of her chest when both her parents walked back to the staircase and stayed there.

"I wonder where she is," her mother asked. "Did you search everywhere?"

Her father nodded. "Upstairs, the kitchen…I don't think she went outside." He frowned as he fell deep into thought. "She really likes this game, doesn't she?"

Suddenly, there was a banging from the front door. The suddenly loud noise disrupted the tranquility in their home.

"Are you expecting any guests, dear?" Her mother inquired.

"Not that I'm aware of," he replied and then exchanged a quizzical look with his wife. Without saying another word, her father headed out to the front door with her mother following right after.

The girl was curious about the knocking too, but she was adamant in remaining hidden. She couldn't hear what was going on outside, but she could vaguely make out the voice of another man. He sounded frantic and terrified. It was right after that her nightmare began.

The ground shook violently and there was screaming near the door. The loud noise she heard had frozen her in her spot. Even when she didn't know for sure what was happening, her body was still overwhelmed with fear. Despite her now strong desire to see her parents, she wasn't able to move from the safety of her hiding spot.

A few seconds past and then she saw her parents frantically run towards the staircase. "Alisa! Alisa! Where are you?!"

The girl wanted to call out that she was here, but then her voice was caught in her throat when she saw the horrified expressions on her parent's face. Afterwards, it all happened so fast. The wall from the room where her parents had come from, had collapsed and appeared the most terrifying thing she ever saw. The face of a massive beast of mostly black and dark gray. Even though it wasn't looking directly at her, she could feel the frightening demonic red eyes piercing through her.

Her parents tried to run away, but it was too late. With a short dash, the monster scooped them both up into its large mouth. The screams mixed with the crunching bones that ensued after had turned the girl completely pale and sick to her stomach. She had a strong urge to throw up on the spot, but her body wasn't even allowing her to do that. Her eyes were then forcefully glued to the gruesome scene in front of her that lasted for probably a minute long. Her large child eyes took in every single detail.

When it was done, there was a large pool of blood at the monster's feet. Its eyes moved from one side to another until it stopped right ahead of where she was hiding. It was as if her heart stopped at that point. Just when she thought she was going to suffer the same fate as her parents, the monster's mouth curved into an evil grin, exposing the oozing bloodied sharp teeth underneath and the remains of her beloved parents.

The girl couldn't remember exactly what happened afterwards except that the monster had left and that her bottom was completely soaked. Somehow, she had survived.

Yuu violently pulled back his hand as the scenes faded and he found himself back in Alisa's room. His breathing was heavy and sweat poured down his forehead and body. From the corner of his eye, he could see Alisa exhibiting a similar reaction to himself.

Feeling suddenly queasy, he placed a hand on her desk to maintain his balance. The experience took a stronger toll on his mind than he'd thought. When he found that his body and mind began to stabilized, Alisa let out a blood curling scream.

"No! Stay away! Don't come near me!" She flailed her arms back and forth and slid herself into the corner of her bed. From the way she was looking, it didn't seem like she was talking about Yuu.

"Is her mind still trapped in that memory?" Yuu quickly reached over to Alisa and covered her mouth with his left while grabbing ahold of her left wrist with his right hand. She continued to struggle and smacked Yuu a few times, but at least the screaming had been reduced to a mere muffle. "Shhhhh," he breathed out in a low calming voice. "You're fine. That was just all a bad dream. Nothing is going to hurt you. You're safe." The younger New-Type continue to flail her body, but gradually got weaker as Yuu continue to repeat his soothing words. Eventually, she stopped moving entirely and just had a puzzled look in her eyes.

He was fortunate that her screaming went unnoticed since he wasn't sure how he would start to explain the situation. After heaving out a sigh, he removed his hands from the now docile girl and backed away. There were traces of tears in her eyes that formed, but wasn't enough to actually shed.

"What was that?" She quietly asked.

"That?" His eyebrows rose, but he was quite sure what she was talking about.

Turning her gaze away, she said, "Those images that popped into my head. My memories, but they were so vivid…"

"Resonance," he replied.

"Resonance? What do you mean?"

He was hesitant about how to answer and also just wasn't in the mood for overly long explanations. Because of the situation though, he couldn't just keep his mouth shut. "In short, it's a phenomenon where two New-Types are able to connect on a spiritual level so to speak. The connection allows certain things like memories to be experienced by the other person."

Her face was initially blank after he finished his explanation, but as she tried to process it further, her eyebrows furrowed and then afterwards, her face grew red with embarrassment. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself as if she was somehow now naked without any clothing.

"Well, it's not that I don't understand, but…"

Almost as quickly as she became embarrassed, she reverted to the terrified state she was in just moments before. There were no more screams, but in place of that, her body violently trembled.

"It was because of me that the lieutenant died. It was because of me that my parents died."

"It's not your fault," he calmly reasoned, but was met with surprising anger from the girl.

"Of course it was!" She spat with intense anger. The fire in her eyes had been lit and the room's temperature was heating up. "I was powerless then to save my parents and I was the reason why Amamiya-san died on that day. I caused the avalanche that trapped him! You wouldn't understand the guilt that I have!"

Her accusation had struck a nerve on the usually calm and collected God Eater, much to his surprise. "I understand a lot more than you think."

Alisa opened her mouth to further deny it, but stopped halfway when she saw the seriousness in his eyes.

From there, the First New-Type briefly told her about his own tragic past and one of the darkest days at the Far East. When he was done, Alisa's mouth opened and then closed. That continued for several seconds as she struggled to find the right words.

"I…how could you…?" She mumbled under her breath and then backed away.

"Are you afraid?" Yuu asked in a tone an unusually chilling tone. "Your guilt isn't as heavy as mine." He turned his back on her and made his way towards the door. "There's nothing you can do, but move forward. If you continue to dwell on this, then you'll just be useless to everyone. You should quit as a God Eater if that's the case." He was about to leave at this point, but he suddenly remembered something. "About Dr. Ogumura's sessions…"

"…What about them?" She quietly asked.

"She doesn't remember?" From what he could see in her eyes, it didn't seem like she realized that there's anything meaningful about his question. "Never mind. I was thinking about something else."

"So, how did it go?" Tsubaki asked Yuu after he returned to her office. The frown that the God Eater had when he left had somehow grew even bigger.

"Could've been better," he mumbled and then plopped onto the sofa.

"That bad, huh?"

"I think that's all we can do for her. The rest is up to her. Although, she has a lot of deep-rooted issues that needs to be resolved." He mumbled the last part so that Tsubaki didn't hear what he said.

"I see," she said with a small smile. "But thanks for trying anyway."

Yuu crossed his arms and looked up blankly at the ceiling. "About withholding certain information about what happened, I think that's the correct decision."

"Oh?" Tsubaki's eyebrows rose up, suddenly interested in where the conversation was heading to. "Do you see yourself in her?"

"Maybe…," he vaguely replied. "She won't be able to handle the pressure otherwise I think."

She nodded in agreement. "I planned on keeping that matter confidential of course."

"And about that doctor…"

"Dr. Thompson?"

"No. Ogumura. Where is he now?" I stopped by his office when I was heading back here, but it looked empty."

"I heard he returned to the Russian base. I was told it was an urgent matter. It was only a few days ago too. Why the interest though?"

Yuu heaved out a sigh in response. "I was just thinking about the counseling sessions he had with Amiella."

"It's a shame about the doctor's departure since Amiella could really use his help now."

"I don't know how much of Ogumura's sessions actually helped her, but this is something you should pay close attention to. The trauma that she has from before is significantly worse than we would believe. It's different from just reading about it. You should bring in another counselor to help her."

"I wasn't aware that you knew about her history, but I'm not surprised." Tsubaki folded her arms and fell deep into thought. "I read about it and was already cautious on how we would deal with her. But, what makes you think that we should pay even more close attention to her?" She looked him squarely in the eyes as if trying to read his thoughts.

"Just a feeling," he replied with a shrug and then got up.

"Before you go though, keep in mind that the funeral for Lindow and the others will be tomorrow."

Yuu silently nodded and then left the room.

Shortly after leaving Tsubaki's office, Yuu ran into the resident eccentric scientist.

"It's good to see you up and about," Paylor said with his usual wide smile.

"I heard you talked to Doctor Schmdit."

Paylor was momentarily surprised, but kept his composure. "In fact, he did. It's been such a long time since I've talked to him that I'm glad he contacted me. I was able to learn a lot of things." His smile grew wider.

"I'm assuming that you're not satisfied with that?"

"A scientist is never satisfied with the knowledge he acquires. So that being said…" He leans in closer to Yuu. "We should have a long talk someday. But for now, you should rest up. I'm sure that you're dealing with a lot of things right now." The quirky scientist walked away without waiting to hear the New-Type's response.

Yuu sighed and continued to the maintenance room where he met Licca.

"Hello Kannagi-san," she greeted, her face covered with oil and grease. "It's terrible about what happened to Lindow-san and to the ones that left to the north."

"Yeah," he replied and then walked over to the table with the damaged God Arc and armlet. There were a multitude of scratches, dents and cracked parts on them. "Were these in the same condition as when you got them?"

"That's right." She handed him a few photos. "We normally take pictures of the damages and such before attempting to fix them. As for these though, we haven't begun to do any maintenance yet."

"Why not?"

"Director's orders. He said that considering the situation with Lindow-san, it would be a better use of our time to fix the other God Arcs." She kicked the leg of a table and grumbled. "I know what he means, but to leave it like this?" She shook her head angrily.

Yuu returned his attention to the God Arc and armlet and paid closer attention to the damage. Then, an image of the large black Aragami appeared in his mind. His body's temperature began to rise as his hands were balled into fists. He almost exploded when Licca suddenly tapped his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" She asked with concern. "You don't look so well. Maybe you should go back and rest."

It took a few short seconds afterwards for his body to calm down. "No, I'm okay." He walked over to the table where his God Arc was sitting on. "What's the status with mine?"

"Perfect condition I'd say." Her face was beaming with pride. "But why are you asking?"

"I'm going on a short trip, that's all."

With his God Arc in hand, Yuu went to the underground garage and checked the scheduled trips on the nearby board. When he was satisfied with what he saw, he walked away and approached a group of young men and women in the standard Fenrir scouting uniform that consisted of dark camo pants, jacket, beret and a t-shirt.

"Lieutenant, what are you here for?" The closest one asked after giving him a salute.

"Are you guys traveling to sector E5?"

"Indeed we are."

"Then can you drop me off at a nearby location?"

"Of course we can. But how long do you intend to stay over there?"

"Just for a few hours."

"There is a group heading back through there around the same time. You can get a ride back from them."

"Sounds good then."

The scouts made some room and then Yuu placed his God Arc in the back. That was when Kouta appeared and placed his God Arc next to his.

"What are you doing here?" Yuu asked.

"Seems like you're going on a mission," he replied with a smile. "Let me join you."

"It's not really a mission."

"Either way, just let me come with you. It's serious right? I can see it in your face when you were carrying your God Arc over from the maintenance room."

"And that's when you followed me?"

"Kind of?" He scratched the back of his head and didn't even pretend to deny it.

"It might be useful to have him around for this."

"Okay, fine. We're leaving right away."

After a few hours had passed, Yuu and Kouta arrived at their destination.

"So, we're back here again," Kouta said with displeasure. "I still have nightmares about this place." He wrapped his arms around himself and shivered to make his point.

The scouting group had dropped them off near where they were originally dropped off in their recent mission in the forest. From what Yuu could see, nothing appears any different from last time.

"Let's quickly start," Yuu said and made his way back to where they were ambushed.

"H-Hey, wait up," Kouta called out after him. "Can you remind me what we're looking for again?"

"It's not like you need reminding since I said I didn't know what we're looking for to begin with."

"Oh right…I just thought you were kidding so I just ignored it." Kouta let out a laugh, but the New-Type didn't seem to find it humorous at all.

"Just keep any eye out and let me know if you see anything strange."

"Yeah…okay." Kouta rubbed the back of his neck as he looked around him. "I guess this is something important?"

"It is," Yuu quietly replied.

When it didn't seem like he was going to elaborate, Kouta changed the subject. "By the way, did you see that crazy white light that totally destroyed the Aragami?"

Yuu stopped in his tracks and cast an indifferent expression at Kouta. "No," he lied.

"Well, I guess not since you were knocked out, right?" Kouta let out another laugh. "It really saved our hides though. Whatever it was, I just wanted to say thanks to it."

"Just focus on the task."

"Yes, sir."

The two retraced their steps from their prior mission. They soon found themselves where they were first ambushed and the God Eaters were forced to separate. Not knowing exactly what to look for, they split up and branched out. They searched through every nook and cranny. Inside bushes, up in the trees, and leaving no stone unturned. The minutes flew by under the bright sky. Minutes then turned into an hour, then another hour. Yuu could hear Kouta's frustrations over from the distant. He didn't blame him since he was feeling frustrated himself.

"There's no guarantee that there's anything here," he muttered as he checked his watch. It was getting close to when the scouts were due to return. He sat down on a rock and rested his head in his hand. While he was running through his surroundings in his head, he heard a faint shout. His ears perked up and followed the voice to where it was coming from. It seemed like his imagination was playing tricks on him until he heard it again. This time, he squinted his eyes at the source and was barely able to make out Kouta jumping up and down from the distant.

Yuu took out his radio and pressed a few buttons. "You have a radio, right? Did you find something? Over."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Anyway, I think I found something."

That was all it took for Yuu to sprint toward Kouta and meet up with him within mere moments after. "What did you find?" Yuu hurriedly asked.

"That thing," Kouta replied, pointing to a device with a large round base, a thin pole protruding from the center and it was surrounded by circular disks. "Where did you find this?"

"There's a small underground hole a feet away from here. I found it mostly buried in the dirt. I had to dig out most of it. I almost missed it, but the top part somehow caught my eye. So, is this what you're looking for?"

"Maybe…" Yuu replied with uncertainty, continuing to examine the unusual object. He lifted it up and it could feel it was about 45-50 pounds. From the looks of it, it didn't appear to be on.

"What do you think it is?" Kouta asked, bending down beside him.

"Don't know, but we should head back now." Yuu stood up as he lifted the object. "Remember to keep this little venture a secret."

"Of course." Kouta closed his mouth and ran a finger across it.

"Thanks."

"Actually, thanks for taking me along."

"What for?"

"You know, I'm still thinking about Amamiya-san and the mood back at the base is pretty depressing. But at least with this, I'm able to take my mind off of those things. Even if this had been a wasted expedition. So, thanks." Kouta flashed him a large smile, almost like a grin.

"No need to thank me. I wasn't even thinking about that when I let you come with me."

All Kouta did was laugh at Yuu's response and the two then returned to where they were dropped off. The God Eaters were careful in keeping their discovery hidden from the scouting group until they returned to the Far East base. By then, the skies had darkened and a large number of the staff members were heading off to sleep.

Several feet under the Fenrir base, footsteps could be heard traversing through its dark hallways. Yuu walked down the hallway in a brisk, but controlled pace, masking the concerning thoughts he was carrying as he returned from his secret trip. When he reached the medical office that Dr. Ogumura was using, he quickly looked to the left and then to the right before quietly entering the room.

He stopped by this room earlier and did not noticed anything out of the ordinary except that some of the doctor's personal possessions were gone. This time however, he intended to do a much more thorough search.

"You left in a hurry, so I hope that you weren't as careful as you'd like," he murmured as he opened and closed drawers and cabinets. He sifted through various medical books, reports and files, but they were nothing unusual about them.

Next, he logged into the computer and searched through its files and documents. To his disappointment, there wasn't anything there either. With a frustrated sigh, he crossed his arms and leaned into his chair. Just like with his secret search mission, there wasn't any guarantee that he would actually find something. With that in mind, Yuu continued to sit back in the chair and reviewed the situation in his mind. All the while, continuing to hear the faint clicking of the clock on the wall.

That was when his attention suddenly went to the clock. It was situated across the room, just over the door. The clock was the standard circle ones that could be seen throughout the base, but even in this dark room with barely any light, he could make out that there was something sticking out from below.

His heart began to race as he walked up to the clock and reached up. There was a paper-like material sticking out. With a slight pull, something dropped out of the clock and onto the ground with a soft thud. It felt like some kind of small booklet, but he had to bring it over to the light on the desk just to make sure.

The blue booklet had no writing on the front or back, but when he flipped through its pages, he saw various designs of a familiar object. "A blueprint," he said out loud as his heart quickened. After flipping through all of its pages, a smile appeared on his face. "Seems like you were in too much of a rush after all."

In the middle of the night when nearly everyone at the base was deep in sleep, the New-type God Eater quietly left Anagura and traveled to a nearby hill that overlooked the small fortified town. He took out a small device that resembled a phone and then punched a few buttons. There was a brief static noise and then he heard a woman's voice. It was the type that he would hear from automatic phone systems.

"ID and Password please."

Lieutenant Yuu Kannagi, identification number 4658375."

"Password and voice recognition accepted. Connecting now."

After several seconds passed, Yuu leaned into the mouthpiece. "Joker, are you there?"

"Are you at a secured location?" A man asked in a low couldn't pinpoint the man's age based on his voice, but figured it should somewhere be from twenty to thirty-five years old.

"Of course," Yuu replied as a matter of fact.

"Great!" The man named Joker suddenly became cheery. "Isn't it nighttime over there, Ace? What do you want at this hour? Do you have an update regarding the mission?"

"Sort of, but first, I need you to run a check for me."

"Okay, what is it?"

"I found a device of some kind and I need the ID's R&D to run an analysis on it. I think it's related to the mission."

"Okay, I can do that. Send it my way."

"Already on the way."

"Great, anything else?"

"I need you to track Dr. Daigo Ogumura's location ASAP. He likely has relevant information that we need. Just remember that he's likely gone into hiding."

"You mean the person that came with the Russian New-Type? I've seen a picture of him. He's obviously a suspicious fellow. But if he's gone into hiding like you said, it'll take some time to track him down."

"That's fine. I also need a favor."

"A favor?" Joker asked, sounding skeptical for a moment. "It has to do with the mission?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe," Yuu replied with uncertainty. He could hear a chuckle at the other side of the line.

"Okay, let me hear it. You owe me one for this."

"It's fine."

"You might regret it, you know?"

"I said it's fine," Yuu repeated, feeling his anger level rising.

"Then shoot."

"About Lieutenant Lindow Amamiya, I'd like you to search for him."

"Amamiya? Didn't he die?"

"It was declared as such, but his body has not been found. So, there's always that possibility that's he alive."

"The Lieutenant's armlet and God Arc were found, right? There's no way he would survive out there without the armlet. Even someone like you would need the armlet to survive. This would just be a big waste of time."

"Even then, please do it." Yuu could hear Joker heaving out a heavy sigh.

"Fine, I got it. But remember, you owe me. I'm assuming this is it, right?"

"Actually, do you know of a good psychologist of sorts?"

"Huh? That's really from out of left field. Who is it for?"

"You know about the New-Type from Russia, Amiella?"

"Yeah, so you want to help her deal with the trauma?"

"Something like that," Yuu murmured and then looked back over at Anagura.

"It's not like you to get involve in other people's business." When Yuu remained silent, Joker continued. "Since it's not a big deal, I'll look this up and let you know. That'd better be the last of your favors since I'm not going to hear any more."

"That's it."

"That's good. But before we sign off, I'm just letting you know that King wants this done soon."

"Like this is easy," Yuu replied with irritation. "If he wants the investigation done quicker, then he should come down here and do it himself."

Joker laughed out loud and then said, "I'll let him know what you said."

The call ended, leaving Yuu alone under the dark starry sky.

The funeral and memorial for Lindow and the other fallen God Eaters commenced the following day as planned. The weather was mild, but cloudy as if reflecting the heavy feelings and emotions that plagued the Far East base. Chairs were set up all over the courtyard and nearly every Fenrir member and a large number of Anagura residents were all there to pay their respects. They dressed mostly in black formal clothes, or for those that didn't have such clothes, just black clothing.

The attendees were all looking straight ahead where a podium was brought next to the memorial monument. There were also pictures of the God Eaters placed on stands nearby. All of them taken during their downtime so that it showed them as ordinary people, rather than the God Eaters that constantly faced dangerous perils.

To Alisa, the faces were of complete strangers other than Lindow. Even then, she could still feel the heavy tension around her, almost to the point of being suffocated by it.

"I'm glad that you're able to attend," Sakuya said. She was standing next to her and was wearing a long black dress.

"Yeah," Alisa murmured and then turned to face the Director who was now making his way towards the podium.

He scanned the audience and then began his speech. "I thank you all for coming here today to honor and celebrate the lives of our fallen warriors. It pains me to have to give this speech, but it is the least I can do for these great people. They will all be missed and may they all find peace in the afterlife. Now, let us take a moment of silence and offer them a prayer so that they may find peace."

Several of the attendees closed their eyes while the others continued to look at the pictures at the front. Alisa had her focus on Lindow's picture and pains of guilt pricked at her heart once again. The atmosphere had become heavy so she took this opportunity to slip away from the side and towards the back. She wasn't sure where she should go, but she just knew she wanted to get out of there.

After leaving through the back, she noticed a lone figure observing the funeral from atop of one of the towers that overlooked the base and the outer Ghetto. With a destination in mind, she climbed several sets of stairs before opening the door to the rooftop. Despite noticing her presence when she opened the creaking door, the young man didn't budge from his position.

"Mind if I stand here?" She asked.

Yuu continued to remain motionless as he watched over the funeral, about fifty feet away.

It might have been her imagination, but she was sure that he grunted in response. Just like the many times she'd seen him, she couldn't read what was he thinking at all. Unconsciously, she reached out and almost grabbed his hand that was resting on the ledge. However, he pulled away at the last moment.

"What are you doing?" He asked, finally see her eye to eye.

"Just wanted to know what you're thinking."

His eyebrows rose up. "There are better ways for that, don't you think?"

"There may be other ways, but you can't deny this is the best way, right?" Her lips curled into a half-grin.

"You would only be chewing off more than you could bite," he said with displeasure. "You already have a large scar so don't add any more to it." When he noticed the heavy, almost sick look on her face, he added. "It seems you've gotten better though."

At that, a small smile appeared on her face. "Yeah, probably. After you left, I've been thinking a lot. I don't want to keep wallowing in despair and I want to continue being a God Eater."

"For revenge?"

"That's part of it, but I also don't want anyone else to go through what I did when I was little."

"Lindow…doesn't blame you for what happened. He's that type of guy."

"I think I know that too." Alisa returned her attention back to the funeral where the Director had already left the podium. There's a melancholy expression on her face. "He said to not be dragged down by the past. It'll take a while to really forget, but I think I can continue to move forward."

"You don't have to worry about anyone knowing about what you did on the mountain. You can thank the Captain for that."

"I see." She looked at the side of Yuu's face and felt her mind easing from her guilt. She didn't say it out loud, but she was actually felt comforted knowing that there was someone who actually understood what she was going through.

A day after the funeral, Tsubaki and Gen met in the former's office to discuss an issue that they had been putting off.

"Regular God Eater activities will resume soon so we should select Unit 1's new leader," Gen said after taking a sip from his tea. "We should also decide what to do on the remaining units that returned as well."

"I've been thinking about this for a while, but I think Kannagi should be the first unit's new leader."

The older man grunted in disappointment. "I'm against that, Captain. I don't think he's capable of being a good leader."

"I understand why you think so, but from what I've seen, he's changed. Besides, it's not like we have many alternatives, do we?"

Gen shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I was against it when it was decided that he would replace the retiring Miyamoto as the 4th Unit leader and I still am against him being a unit leader at all. But as for alternatives…" He rubbed his chin as he thought about the situation. "Tachibana could plausibly lead the 1st Unit, but I'm not sure that she's ready for it. She hasn't been a God Eater that long. There's also Makabe. He's capable and experienced enough, but he recently told me that he's not currently interested in leading a unit and that there's still more for him to learn under Koutetsu." He let out a heavy sigh as he realized the futility of an alternative.

"Between Kannagi and Tachibana, Kannagi has much more combat experience and can analyze various battle conditions. Despite his past, I would go with him."

Gen took about a minute to think about what was already said. "When we both disagree on something, it's customary that we have the Director decide."

"Then so be it. Now what about the 6th and 7th Units? They are currently composed of only their leaders."

"We really can't do anything about Kagami since the Director has control over that Unit."

"As for Winfield, he said he wants to participate in solo missions for the time. I think we should leave the 6th Unit as is as well."

Gen nodded. "So, no changes for those units then."

After her meeting with Gen, Tsubaki called up the 1st Unit, minus Yuu to the 1st Unit's meeting room. As expected, they had no idea why they were called and why that Yuu was purposely excluded.

"I'll get straight to the point," the Captain said. "Sakuya, what do you think about becoming the new unit leader?"

"Me?" The sub leader's eyes grew wide with shock. "I think Yuu-kun is more suited for it."

Tsubaki nodded her head. "What about you all?"

"I'm okay with Kannagi-san as the new leader," Kouta said while raising his hand.

"Well, he does seem to know what he's doing," Alisa replied with supposed indifference.

"I don't care whoever becomes the leader," Soma grumbled. "It's going to be the same anyhow."

"Then I'll take this as you are all in agreement of Kannagi becoming the new unit leader?" Three of them responded with nods while Soma just folded his arms.

"Has it been decided yet?" Sakuya asked.

"No, it's up to whether the Director will agree to it. But if he doesn't, then I don't know who would lead the unit instead."

It was a busy day for Tsubaki. First, she had a meeting with Gen, then went to talked to the Director about the conflicted opinions and then talked to the 1st Unit members about it. Now, she had to meet with the interested individual in all of this leader talk.

"So, what do you think?" She asked the New-Type.

"I'll pass," he bluntly replied.

They were sitting alone in the cafeteria. The lunch rush was over and the last person eating had just left.

"Why not?" She asked, clearly not happy about his decision.

"I don't think I'm cut out to be a unit leader." He looked outside the window at the staff members hurrying from one location to another.

"Didn't you lead that elite unit, Einherjar while you were at headquarters?"

He scoffed at her question. "Elite? We weren't a normal unit. Just a group of New-Types brought together to defeat Aragami. We did our own thing most of the time."

Tsubaki sighed and shook her head. "Just reconsider. If not you, then Sakuya would likely be the unit leader instead. You don't want to have her be burden by that, do you?"

Yuu remained silent, but it was obvious that she grabbed his attention.

"Lindow would've wanted it too," she quietly added.

Now it was Yuu's turn to let out a heavy sigh. "It's fine if I just reconsider, right?"

Yuu left Tsubaki in the cafeteria and made his way towards his room. As expected, his mind was preoccupied with the unit leader discussion. If it was any other unit, he would just agree to it and wouldn't think much about it, but for unit one, it didn't sit well with him to be the one to replace Lindow.

As he rounded a corner, he saw Gen standing in front of a vending machine. The aged retiree looked displeased as usual.

"I heard that you're up and about," he began. "I trust that there's no complications?"

"There aren't any," Yuu briskly replied.

Just like the many times with the two of them, there was a heavy tension between them.

"We're deciding on who will be the new leader of the first unit," Gen said, continuing to shoot the younger God Eater with a piercing gaze.

"I've heard."

"I'm against you being the leader," Gen bluntly revealed.

"I'm not surprised." Yuu remained unfazed by the older man's intimating gaze and tone. The mood grew heavier and it seemed like sparks could fly anytime soon. A few of the oblivious staff members nearly walked right into the minefield. As soon as they saw the two of them, they quickly retreated to back where they came from.

"You've been doing fine since you've returned honestly, but it's not easy for me to change my mind like that." As if suddenly feeling tired, Gen sat down on the nearby bench. "People don't change easily either, no matter how many years have passed."

"You're right about that."

Yuu's agreement had visibly taken Gen by surprised. "And you're not going to deny it? I don't know whether to applaud you for your honesty or to admonish you for your lack of growth."

"Pick whichever you want, it's not like it changes anything between us, right?" Yuu shrugged his shoulders and ordered a coffee drink from the vending machine. "In the past, you always preferred people speak with their actions, not with their words."

The scowl on Gen's face lightened as he crossed his arms, nodded his head and grunted in approval. "That's right. I don't mind being proven wrong. In fact, I want to be proven wrong about you. Regardless of how I may feel, the Director has the final word on the matter." He got up to his feet and Yuu could hear his legs cracking in the process. "Before I forget, I am glad that you made it out okay. Even if you're not a unit leader, you can still do good for the Far East."

Yuu watched as Gen left after making his closing remarks. Their talk did very little to convince him to become the unit leader. Which was probably why he decided to talk to him. "How long are you going to stand there?"

"Oh, I didn't think you'd notice," a voice called out from behind a corner, approximately twenty feet away. In its place, a man in his early thirties appeared. His appearance stood out like a sore thumb. Wearing mostly traditional Japanese clothing, he looked like he belonged in a different place.

"Or a different time," Yuu thought.

Amused by getting found out, the man smiled and approached the New-Type. "You have excellent senses, as I've heard. Your name is Kannagi, right? I'm Koutetsu Miyamoto, the leader of the 4th unit." He extended a hand to Yuu who hesitated for a moment, before finally shaking it.

"Yuu Kannagi, first lieutenant."

"I know you probably get this a lot, but I've heard a lot about you," Koutetsu said with a laugh. "News of a New-Type joining, I mean, returning back to the Far East had reached our ears up in the north. If you don't mind, would you have a sparring session with me?"

The two God Eaters went down to the training room that Yuu and Kouta used for their morning exercises. Whatever he was expecting from the older God Eater, Yuu didn't expect to be asked for a sparring session.

"You may not know this, but Ogawa is a student of mine," Koutetsu said as he tossed a wooden curved sword at Yuu. "I heard that he was no match for you in a sparring session so I'm intrigued at seeing what you can do. But, we could talk more after." He assumed a stance with his right foot slightly extended and his two hands gripping the wooden sword. "Come at me whenever you're ready."

Yuu got into his own stance as he felt the strong pressure emanating from the older God Eater. He didn't know the man for a long time, but he could tell that he shouldn't underestimate him. The first move was by Yuu. He dashed forward and started a downward strike, but Koutetsu's sword thrust shot out towards him in a flash, targeting his upper torso. Before the attacked reached him, Yuu turned his body and parried the quick attack. In a split moment after the parry, he continued off from where he left off with the downward strike.

This time, it was the older God Eater's turn to parry the attack. Once the parry had left Yuu momentarily off balanced, the two God Eaters leaped backwards and created some distance between them.

Koutetsu grinned and then grunted in admiration of their exchange that seemed to occur in just a flash. Without voicing any words, they slowly circled around each other, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. This stare down continued for the next minute until Koutetsu broke the impasse and charged at Yuu with a sweeping swipe at his legs.

Yuu jumped up in time, but was quickly faced with another thrust aimed towards his abdomen while he was in the air. With abnormally great reflexes, he met the thrust head on with his sword. The two wooden weapons clashed, the edge of Yuu's sword with the tip of Koutetsu's sword. While still remaining in contact with the blade, the younger God Eater exerted additional strength in his push to knock Koutetsu off balanced. Out of the corner of his eye, Yuu noticed his opponent's left foot rising about an inch above the floor.

"Now!"

Closing the distance between them, Yuu stepped forward and then swept Koutetsu off his feet using his legs. By reflex, Yuu thrust the sword down at the fallen God Eater, but amazingly enough, he rolled out of harm's way and quickly got back to his feet.

"That was a bold move," Koutetsu complimented with a smile. "Let's continue."

From there, the two exchanged series of strikes that were all met with parries and blocks. None had landed a clean blow against the other. It eventually came down to the final exchange. They stood about twenty feet away from each other. Koutetsu maintained a defensive stance with his sword hanging near his waist.

Yuu had his sword raised slightly to the side. Similar to how it was near the beginning, the two of them carefully watched each other's movements and waited for the right time to react. The session had caused sweat to accumulate and pour down Yuu's forehead. He was more into the match than he initially thought he would be.

"It'll be over with this next attack."

The New-Type inhaled and then like a bolt of lightning, blew towards Koutetsu and delivered his finishing strike with all of his might. A flash of light covered the two God Eaters upon impact and the next thing they knew, their wooden swords were sent flying across the room.

"Why don't we call it a draw," Koutetsu suggested with amusement.

"Agreed."

"Those movements don't appear to be driven by just reflex and instinct. I can sense some martial art discipline in there. Did you have another teacher besides Gen Momota?"

"For a time, I had a teacher named Masamune Takeda," Yuu admitted.

"That legendary God Eater hmm? I'm envious." Koutetsu rubbed his shoulders and then his neck. "Just like what Gen-san said, you're very talented. I can see why Ogawa was no match for you. I do have another student as well who may be more of a match for you. I believe he will surpass me someday."

"Is that so?" Yuu wondered if that other student was one of the returning God Eaters.

"I also like to offer to teach you as well, but I don't think there's anything else I can teach you." With a laugh, Koutetsu said down on the floor with crossed legs. He invited Yuu to join him by tapping the floor with his hands. "About the 1st unit leader position though, you were supposed to replace me instead as I entered retirement. I'm not so young anymore to run with the others."

"But you changed your mind?"

Koutetsu nodded. "That's right. After the Northern campaign, I think I still need to remain as the 4th unit's leader. I feel sorry about my wife and son though." He flashed Yuu a sad smile. "Honestly, I know why Gen-san is against having you as the unit leader. I may have been abroad during your initial time here at the Far East, but I'm privy to what happened then. Like Gen-san, I'm skeptical as well with what happened then."

Yuu's expression of indifference remained the same despite what Koutetsu had revealed.

"Kannagi. Do you know that a long time ago, warriors used to be able to communicate their thoughts and feelings by crossing blades? Well, through our little skirmish, I believe that you are more competent than what Gen-san has made you out to be." Koutetsu rose to his feet. "Regardless of what happens afterwards, I look forward to fighting with you on the battlefield."

When Koutetsu left, Yuu remained lying on the ground. His face looking straight up at the blank ceiling. The conversation with Tsubaki earlier had been circling in his head.

"Lindow would've wanted you to."

Yuu sighed and then closed his eyes.

On the following day, Tsubaki and Gen proceeded toward the rarely used large conference room. The decision on the new 1st Unit's leader had been decided and they summoned all of the other unit leaders together.

"I'm surprised that Miyamoto-san changed his mind," Tsubaki said with a small smile.

Gen grunted and his usual displeased expression was present on his face. "I hope that he's a better judge of character than I am."

The Captain quietly chuckled as they reached the room. "It's time that we all move forward."

"That I can agree with."

They entered the room and the unit leaders' faces all turned to them.

"As you are all already aware, the decision to appoint the next leader for the 1st Unit has been decided," Gen announced. He looked at each of the veteran God Eaters and then turned his attention towards the door he entered from.

"Please come in and introduce yourself."

Several days later, Yuu and Kouta were up early for their training session.

"Are you sure that you're not at 100% yet?" Kouta asked as he continued to dodge the shots fired from Yuu's makeshift God Arc.

"I already said no."

"Doesn't seem like it," Kouta disagreed before being hit by a rubber bullet.

Since they started this exercise, they had several guests that stopped by, but chose to not participate with them. This morning, they were suddenly greeted by a familiar face.

"Oh, Alisa's here," Kouta announced. "What are you doing here?"

The two God Eaters turned their attention to Alisa who remained near the doorway. She was dressed in red shorts, a sleeveless red and black shirt and running shoes. Her face tinged with a light red. It was probably the first time Yuu had seen her since the funeral.

"I want to become stronger so I'd like to join in on the training," she quietly said, her face growing redder as her gaze headed downwards.

"What was that?" Kouta shouted. "We didn't hear you." His remark had made her body tremble with anger.

"I said…I-want-to-join-you-guys," she repeated with greater emphasis.

"I'm sorry, I still didn't get that." Kouta began walking up to Alisa whose restraints had apparently fallen off.

"I WANT TO JOIN IN THIS TRAINING SESSION!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, leaving Kouta and Yuu both speechless.

"…Oh…I see…" Kouta murmured once he got over his shock.

Yuu sighed and said, "Don't just stand there. Training's not over yet." He tossed a God Arc replica to Alisa who caught it.

"Y-Yes!" Alisa exclaimed and then ran over to join the two of them.

After about an hour, Kouta and Alisa both laid on the ground, breathing heavily. Yuu sat on the ground and drank from a bottle of water.

"What is this…Spartan training?" Alisa asked in between breaths. "Is he some kind of demon?"

Kouta laughed and almost choked at her question. "Finally, someone to share my pain with."

"I thought I was already used to the training back in Russia, but…"

Yuu finished his drink and ignored the complaints as he returned to a run. When he finished, he found the other two back on their feet. Alisa noticeably had a frustrated expression on her face. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"The gap between our abilities are apparently much wider than I thought." She balled her hands into fists as she bit on her lip.

"So, what?"

"So what?! What do you mean by So what?" The Russian took several steps towards him and stared him straight into his eyes. "It's easy for you to not care, but everybody expects more out of me. I'm a New-Type, but I'm nowhere near your level. They're all disappointed that I can't be that great God Eater that they expect me to be! Everywhere I go, I hear whispers and talks about how I'm nothing special even though I'm a New-Type."

"W-Wait, that's not true-." Kouta attempted to diffuse the situation by getting between the two New-Types, but Yuu didn't back away from the intense conflict.

Yuu rubbed the back of his neck as a small irritation was sprouting in his mind. "Look, you're not me. All New-Types are not the same. I may be a lot stronger than you, but so what? You're only 15, barely a full fledge God Eater. You know what I was doing when I was 15?" He placed a thumb on his chest. "I was fighting a pack of Vajra."

"Yeah, but-." Alisa was cut off as Yuu continued his speech.

"As far as I'm concern, you're on the same level as Fujiki."

"Wait, what?" Kouta asked as the room fell into silence and during that time, the two New-Types continued to look at each other with animosity.

"Was that supposed to make me feel better?" She asked, a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

A rare flustered look appeared on Yuu's face. "Lindow was always better at these speeches," he mumbled. "Anyway, you're not terrible from what I've seen. The potential is there and you just need experience and polish."

Despite his first failed attempt on making her feel better, his assessment of her brought a faint smile to her face.

"Fine! I'll keep working hard and I'll surpass you someday." She pointed a finger of defiance at Yuu and then turned around to drag Kouta away by the arm. "Come on Kouta, let's get back to training."

"Already?" Kouta moaned. "I'll need a few more minutes."

"These guys are so lively," Yuu murmured as he watched Kouta and Alisa resumed their running.

The following days flew by in a flash. The grief and sadness over Anagura had been lifted and its people welcomed the hopefully brighter days to come.

Yuu fumbled with his steel container as he waited inside his room. His body had gotten back to normal condition and yet, there were still a number of things that remained on his mind. An image of the large Aragami with dark fur was ever present on his mind.

There was a small beeping noise that suddenly came from his communicator. He hooked it over his ear and pressed the button on the earpiece.

"Kannagi-san, it's time," Hibari said.

"Got it." Yuu put on his jacket and left his room. "Run through the briefing with me one more time."

"Yes, sir. The location is approximately thirty miles to the southwest. The area is covered with city ruins. The targets are two Kongous and Ogretails. Nothing too difficult for the 1st Unit."

"Okay, I expect that we'll be back by evening," Yuu said as he stepped into the elevator.

"As usual, I'm looking forward to being the 1st Unit's support again."

A few more minutes, Yuu made his way to the helicopter where he saw the first unit members already there waiting for him.

"You're late, leader," Kouta called out.

Yuu's lips curled into a small smile. "Ready?"

"All good to go," Sakuya said.

"Then let's move out." Yuu climbed into the helicopter with the others following suit. The helicopter ascended into the air before transporting the 1st Unit to their destination.

In the past few months, the 1st unit went through a number of unfortunate developments. Just when it got better for them, they were brought back to reality as they faced new hardships. The 1st unit now enters a new stage with the change in leadership. From there, they will continue to fight and struggle to maintain their place in this dangerous world. Regardless of where they end up, they will look towards the future, hoping for a better and brighter tomorrow. This is just one chapter of this tale of fearsome creatures and those who challenge them.

Red Eyes: The First New-Type Part I

The End

A/N: And with that, this chapter comes to a close. People may be wondering what's up with that final part. Well, the way I see it, this part concludes the first major arc of the God Eater story. Those that have played the game (I'm assuming everybody that reads this) will know what the next major arc will be about. As a limited preview, expect more focus to Soma, Project Aegis and even the new OC God Eaters that were present in this chapter.

Also, I'll be taking a break from this story. How is it different from those long previous breaks you may ask? Well, it will probably be a substantial one since I don't expect to return to this story until I finish my other long ongoing story. I put that one on hiatus for too long now. At least this chapter didn't end on a cliffhanger. :)

As always, I'd appreciate to hear your thoughts on these two chapters and the story so far. They are always entertaining to read. Who knows, maybe I'd be motivated to update this story quicker.

On a last note, has anyone tried out Code Vein yet? I've been playing it recently. It's a lot of fun and there are connections to the God Eater world. It's giving me ideas for this story.