God Eater: Shattered Dawn

Chapter 8: The longest winter

Soma's POV

I rushed to the landing point, seeing the small figure in the distance grow closer and closer, till I stood, steps away from her, staring at her back.

And then I waited.

She would turn when she was ready to.

Seventeen breathes later, she turned her head over her shoulder, acknowledging me.

Three breathes later, she faced me.

She was now kitted out in modern clothes; black leggings under a forest green scater skirt, a dark blue vest top and light blue hoodie topping off her look. She wore blue-black fingerless gloves over her hands, leading to her silver armlet.

So she was a God Eater now.

"Hey." she finally murmered, drawing my eyes up to her face. "Long time no see."

I grunted softly in reply, my eyes scanning her face. Her right eye...it was glowing a deep red. Aragami red. "You okay?"

Lupas eyes flicked to the ground and there was a pause before she answered. "I'm fine, just worn out."

"...Good." I folded my arms and scowled. She was lying. I despised lies.

She flinched under my gaze and bit her lip. The proud angel I had seen before had been stripped away, leaving a weak, trembling girl who was unsure of herself.

Unknowingly, my gaze had softened a little. "It's good to have you back, soldier."

She looked up and grinned, both eyes brightening once more. "Hmph. Good to be back."

We held each others gazes for a while, the longest winter finally having melted into a hopeful spring.

Lupa's POV

Relief washed through me as we stood, no longer back to back, but face to face.

The past three weeks had been hell, though most of my time was spent nocked out, but the angels secrets...were still safe.

The scientists had performed a great number of experiments on me, trying to find out why I had soul chains, how I could fly, how my powers worked...

But the information they received was, as the director put it, "rather odd". My body was human in almost every way. Through my veins ran normal blood; type O to be exact.

My powers were triggered automatically at my call, and with no explanation.

This scared the c*** out of the poor scientists, I was something unexplainable, bizarre and insanely powerful. But at the same time, I was the perfect weapon.

Staring once more at Soma, I realised just how similar we were. He must have been hurting just as much as I was now, but for far longer.

He now wore light brown cargo pants, boots in a darker shade, a yellow shirt and black tie and...a dark blue hoodie, pulled up over his head.

I liked it, yet I didn't. The blue highlighted his aquamarine eyes, his tanned skin and fair hair, but also hid his face: it created a barrier between him and the outside world.

A barrier between him and me. One that didn't exist before.

Maybe this was my plan when I decided to save him: to break down that wall?

As I mused this, I spotted two people approaching us. I had been so distracted, I hadn't heard them coming.

"Hey Soma!" The young man called over, walking up to us with a smirk.

Soma clicked his tongue in annoyance before turning towards the new company.