| тне • сатаIуsт |

Connection (Part III)

(y/n)'s POV:

     Poor Mika...my face softened slightly as I looked down on him. He's been through just as much as me, but he'll never know if I don't share my memories with him. I reached down and grasped his face, steadying it and holding him still. Mika shot a disturbed and disgusted look at me, struggling to get out of my grasp. I gritted my teeth. He's making this harder than it needs to be, I thought, my annoyance growing. Finally fed up with his movements, I slammed his head onto the ground, hard, stunning him momentarily. I put my face close to his, our noses close to touching. 

     "I'm trying to make this fair, vampire. A memory in exchange for a memory. Maybe you'll understand me better after this."

(y/n)'s Memory: The Death of Her Family

     My family was one of the lucky few who managed to get to the Japanese Imperial Demon Army before the vampires got to us. After the virus killed off the adults at the Hyakuya Orphanage and vampires slaughtered the remaining Seraph of the End test subjects, it was just me and Ryouta left. We had hidden in a chest up in the attic of the Orphanage.

     Ryouta and I made our way through the ruined remains Kyoto, all the while running and hiding from passing vampires, psychotic children, and various Horsemen of John. It wasn't easy, but we managed to get to the main gates of the JIDA training facility, where we were taken in as recruits to serve humanity and fight the vampires. 

     We rose quickly among the ranks of the recruits, probably due to being experimented upon at the Orphanage, and in no time we were chosen by Lieutenant Colonel Guren Ichinose as candidates to earn a Black Demon Series weapon. And then, on that same day, we were sent out on our first mission: to slay the vampires keeping humans as livestock near Shinjuku. Ryouta was on the same squad as I was. 

I still remembered the way he died.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(y/n)'s POV:

     "Alrighty guys, is everyone ready to kick some vampire ass?!" Mashiro cheered enthusiastically, hyped up for our first mission as a squad. 

     "Aw hell yeah!" Tomone and Sosuke roared right back at her. Even Ryouta, our squad leader, who usually showed little to no emotion managed a faint smile. I frowned slightly, remaining silent. Something didn't feel right about this mission...

     Mashiro noticed my troubled expression. "What's got you so down (y/n)-chan? Aren't you excited?"

     "I just don't have a good feeling about this mission..." 

     I noticed Mashiro's doubtful expression, and I tried to elaborate a bit more on my explanation. "I mean c'mon, we just got our Cursed Gears today and haven't even managed to properly wield them. Coupled with the fact that we've never been in actual combat before, well, things just don't seem so good to me." 

     "Aw, don't worry so much! Ryouta's the squad leader, he's the one in charge of that sort of thing! Besides, we're all wielding Black Demon Series weapons, so we're pretty over-powered as a whole team! Especially if we work together! And don't forget: the Lieutenant Colonel is a strategist. I'm sure he knows our capabilities and experience levels. He probably assigned us this mission because he knew it'll be easy!"

     Tomone joined in on the conversation. "That's right! And you of all people, (y/n), shouldn't be worried! You've got the most powerful Demon here out of all of us! And plus, I'll always be there for you to patch you up!"