Crown of Thorns

Chapter 3: Promise

This took waaaaay too long! I'm sorry! –bows- Anyway this wraps up the God Eater Burst Arc and makes room for when God Eater 2 starts up. I was debating if it should be its own fic as opposed to the third chapter…but in the end I did it like this. If you didn't think Soma was OOC last chapter, then he might be here. Sorry if it ends up being too OOC.

I really want God Eater to come out fast so I can type out this sequel. I'd start now, but I want to get the core story of the Blood Unit right. I especially wanna know more about Ciel and Julius!

Soma walked along the small grassy field. Every now and then stones of shining marble and granite on the ground sparkled against the rays of dying sunlight. His boots treaded silently against the green blades and in his hand laid a bouquet of flowers swaddled in white cloth. The buster blader stopped at one such grave marker, a white marble obelisk, and crouched down on one knee.

"It's been a while, huh…" he spoke quietly. The tombstone gave no reply. He placed the bouquet of flowers, the ones he toiled so hard to grow, against the grave and brushed away some old leaves that strayed from nearby trees. This "cemetery" was erected years ago when his father was a runner up for Director. The last time he visited was years ago when his mother was laid to rest beneath the soil. Since then, he avoided this place like the plague.

His eyes softened as he stared at the name engraved on the stone. Even as he traced the smooth groves of each curve of her name, it felt familiar. It was almost as if he wrote that name hundreds or thousands of times, but at the same time the cold stone made it seem unfamiliar.

"You…" he paused. "I'm not…" he groaned. "God damn it." Soma was at a loss for words and ran his fingers through his hair to help ease the tension he felt right now. No, it wasn't just tension. He knew the emotion all too well: loneliness. The hood fell down to his shoulders. He was never this tongue tied before in his life.

Lindow offered to visit the grave with him. Even Kota, if not to ease the impenetrable silence that loomed overhead. But Soma refused by saying he had to do this. It felt wrong if he didn't do this by himself.

"You'd get angry if I said that I think that it's my fault you died. But I can't help it sometimes. If only I was stronger. If only I could go back. I've been thinking about the strangest things lately," Soma shut his eyes. "But I guess all I have to say is thanks for everything." He spoke quietly to the name on the stone. "I wouldn't be where I am now if it weren't for you. I never said anything until now, and I'm pretty sure you'd hate it if I said sorry, too." Soma chuckled a bit at that and stood up. "I think I've finally accepted it. Not that I'm neither human or Aragami, but that it doesn't really matter. Our job isn't one where heroes get the happy ending. You know all about that, huh?" The grave was silent.

"More than you know." A voice behind him spoke up and he allowed himself a quiet chuckle.

"I said I was going to come here alone, Rin." Soma turned around.

The redhead gave him a sheepish smile and continued walking towards him. Her white colored dress brushed against her knees with each movement and the flowers in her hands gently swayed at her mercy. Her skin was no longer the sickly pallor it was a month ago and her body was as strong as ever. At her throat, a small blue crystal the size of a candle flame caught the evening light.

Like Lindow, the core on her throat supplied her with oracle cells to prevent her Aragami transformation, so she no longer required monthly injections. Some whispered about her 'condition' just as they did back when Lindow came back. They called him the Black King, although that was the least offensive of the titles. Many God Eaters were worried that she would turn any moment. A monster in disguise. A wolf in sheep's clothing.

Carefully she set down the bouquet of flowers next to Soma's and clapped her hands together in prayer. "Hello. My name is Amagi Rin. It's very nice to meet you in person at last, Mrs. Gauche. Or should I say Mrs. Schicksal?" She smiled down at the grave with a soft expression. "Your son is doing well. He's still reckless as ever, but don't worry. I've been keeping an eye on him."

"Hey, just who is the reckless one between us?" he growled playfully and ruffled her red hair. "And you didn't answer my question. Why did you come?"

Rin didn't falter. Instead she stood back up and leaned against him slightly before letting out a sigh. "Soma, Soma, Soma…" she tsk'd and shook her head slowly. "You can be quite the tsundere sometimes."

"Tsundere?" he asked, the term not quite familiar to his ears. Rin's giggle only furthered his irritation and he pressed harder. "What the hell is a tsundere?"

"Come on, you've been in the Far East Branch for years! Surely you should've picked up some Japanese by now!" Rin teased and looked back down at the grave where his mother lay sleeping. "You had that look in your eyes again. The one where you say one thing but deep down you really wanted the opposite. I'm sure you wanted some time alone, but that doesn't mean I can't hang around to support you from afar, right? You all did the same for me."

Soma chuckled and smiled at her a little. "You really are something. What about you? Who did you visit?" he asked and she had the grace to honestly look surprised at his deduction.

"How did you guess?"

"You laid down carnations for my mother, but you smell like something else… Are they the new ones you planted?"

"As expected from detective Soma," Rin smiled but her mind was focused elsewhere. "I visited my brother's grave before I came over here. I gave him some forget-me-not's. I'm sure he would have loved them…"

"Forget-me-not's, eh? Weird name for a flower." The buster blader shrugged indifferently, but she could tell he was interested. Despite how close they were, Rin was still a bit touchy about the subject of her brother. It was a deep wound that, for a while, she only patched up on the surface. He didn't know much about what happened, but he would wait until she was ready to talk.

As for Rin, ever since she learned just how dedicated he was to caring for the flora he planted on the cliffs she started helping out and offered ideas for what to plant next. As she read old files about different plants she learned that in the Old World people would give meanings to flowers. The white carnations she set down for his mother meant pure love and good luck. Judging by the affection she heard on the mini disc Dr. Sakaki from Soma's mother, there was no doubt in Rin's mind that he was loved down to her last breath.

As for her brother, her flower of choice didn't only mean that she would always remember him. That was a given since he was her whole world. But at the same time she wanted to send a message to him to wherever he was right now. That she had found love and a place for herself. A place she wanted to protect, even more so than before. And to that end, she would remain faithful to her family until the end.

Boldly, Rin took hold of Soma's hand and linked fingers with him, a feat that the two have only recently gotten down without looking around for any unwanted eyes. The heat from both their hands seeped into their skin and a silent peace passed. Surprisingly enough it was the buster blader that chose to interrupt the quiet moment and turned to face her.

"How are you feeling? They just finished diagnostics about your condition, right?"

She couldn't help but blush slightly at the care he so openly laced his tone with. He was getting much better at it (when it was just them two at least…). "Yes. The doctors said my oracle cell count is regulating itself fine now. They want me to keep wearing the bracelet just in case something goes wrong."

'Something wrong'. Soma scoffed and narrowed his eyes. He, too, heard the rumors cycling around the den. He would have to be deaf with his ears torn off not to.

Rin lightly touched the Aragami crystal at her throat. It would have been easy to conceal if she just wore a turtle neck or something, but she felt like it would be lying to herself and Shio. She didn't regret being saved at all, so why hide it? "Shio saved us again. I wonder if we'll ever be able to see her to thank her in person…"

Soma brought his hand up and overlapped his with the fingers caressing the blue gem that so closely resembled a small teardrop. "Does it hurt anymore?" When she shook her head he leaned down and rested his forehead against hers. His hands moved to gently hold her by the waist while hers slid on his broad shoulders. "Rin… There's something I need to tell you."

"Hm?"

"I…" he took a deep breath before pulling back and releasing his hold on her. A heavy sigh escaped him and he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Nevermind… C'mon. It's almost time for dinner. Gotta eat up for tomorrow's mission, right?"

Rin was about to protest but the look in his blue eyes told her to stay her tongue. Instead she took hold of his hand one last time and lifted it up between them. "Just until we get to the elevator?"

"Alright."

"Kota, he's coming your way!" Rin shouted as she let loose a homing ice bullet to the running Quadriga. Her friend shouted a confirmation and swallowed an OP vial quickly to load up his next round. The redhead's bullet distracted the Aragami long enough for Kota to put in a good amount of damage. As luck would have it, its missile pods exploded from the impact bullets causing the beast to rear up, narrowly missing Alisa's quick dash out of the way. Rin cheered to herself, but the nearby Ogretail charging at her wanted to change that. A smirk graced her lips nonetheless as she whispered to her god arc. "Come on, partner."

In her hands, her gun switched to blade mode to reveal her curved short sword: Claudia. The metal shone like blue mithril and a thin icy mist surrounded the blade where it made contact with the warm air. An Ogretail leaped at her with snapping jaws. Almost like water Rin stepped to the side and slid her blade into the rough hide of the Aragami mid jump. Ahead of her another Ogretail was revving its tail up to send its spikes into her unguarded chest.

"Watch out!" Soma shouted from above and crushed the beast underneath his blade. The ground broke from the impact and there was no doubt that the Aragami died instantly. "Don't let your guard down, idiot."

Rin grinned and pointed her bugle gun in his direction. "I could say the same to you." And with that said she fired her god arc. Soma darted out of the way just as the bullet flew from the chamber. A ball of condensed ice hit a flying zygote head on and exploded on impact. Black blood rained down, narrowly missing Soma by a few inches.

He glared at her messy performance while she stuck her tongue out. The dying roar of the nearby quadriga met their ears.

"Looks like Kota and Alisa cleaned up for us. Guess we owe them our dessert tonight, huh." Rin nudged his arm. He simply grunted and hauled his god arc over his shoulder. The redhead smirked and bumped her hip against his, but he remained solid in his spot. "It's ok, big guy. You can survive without pudding tonight."

"Don't even joke. That pudding is disgusting." He made a face as he remembered the first time he tried the new recipe. He would rather eat the mutated corn on the cob than eat the overly sweet pudding again.

"Fine. Drinks are on me tonight!"

Soma grimaced at the idea, knowing exactly what she would buy for the two of them. "I will ban you from my room forever if you bring in First Love juice."

"You're no fun…"

"I'm not."

"How about Puppy Love #57?"

"I'm changing the lock code."

"Soma…" Rin shook her head and crossed her arms. "You are the greatest example of being an asshole, you know that?"

He merely grunted again in response. Rin turned on her com device and stared up at the clear sky. "Hibari! We're clear. Can you send in a chopper?"

"On it! Looks like everyone is alright judging by your bio signals." Hibari answered with relief in her tone as she did every time. "The chopper will be there shortly."

"Thanks. Oh, any other missions for the 1st unit today?"

"Hmmm," Rin could hear typing over the com. "Kota is in charge of reconnaissance training after this and Alisa will look after Annie and Federico. Oh, you and Soma have a mission from Dr. Sakaki. I'll let you in on the details when you get back."

"Roger that, Hibari. See you when we get back to the Den!" When the call died down, Rin turned to Soma and gave him a lopsided grin. "Looks like Dr. Sakaki is giving us his dirty work again."

"As always," The buster blader scoffed and hefted his sword over his shoulder. "But why is it always us two? I can handle it alone."

"Oh? Alright then. You can be in the doctor's lab all by yourself while I partake in the rations you think you hid in your room." The redhead grinned slyly and gauged him for a reaction. When he didn't give any she put a finger to her lips and put on a curious expression. "Hmm, should I start with the apples or the pears…?"

Needless to say, once they got back Soma dragged Rin by the collar to the elevators.

The familiar sound of chirping machines and humming tubes entered the God Eater's ears as they opened the doors to the eccentric doctor's lab. What wasn't familiar was the figure of their noir headed friend strapped to a metal table.

"Lindow!?"

The previous 1st unit leader turned his head to his friends and grinned. "Rookie! Soma! Nice to see ya!" Despite his predicament, it didn't look like he was here against his will…

"Uh, what's going on here?" Rin asked as she took a closer look. There was a thick needle buried into his Aragami forearm and nodes were attached to his forehead and chest that connected to a machine that showed his brain and heart activity. Dr. Sakaki walked in from one of the back rooms with his trademark smile as he greeted the God Eaters in the room. In his hands was a cylindrical metal case.

"Ah, good you've arrived earlier than I expected. Good, good. Don't mind this. I'm simply helping Lindow out with a little problem he's been having."

Rin looked back at her mentor worriedly. When she was having trouble controlling her new core, Lindow was the one to help her ease her hunger pangs and occasional lapses of judgment. For a while she was banned from taking normal missions with anyone but Lindow for fear that she would lose control of her Aragami. A couple of times she did…

"Doctor, is something wrong with him?" Rin asked. The doctor chuckled.

"He's fine. Lindow was just having some difficulty controlling some of his Aragami instincts, so I've been constructing something that should be able to help." He gestured to the case in his hands and pressed a button on both sides. In the middle the metal divided revealing a large metallic armor in the shape of an arm. "This armor should be able to help him control his tendencies a bit more. The metal is laced with the same technology used to make the Anti-Aragami wall, so it won't be so easily broken. Also, to make sure that his oracle cells wouldn't reject the material it is made from the arm guard on the Hannibal species. I'm quite proud of this achievement I must admit. We've also been using some data we still have on Shio as well as testing the substance we found in you upon your extraction from the field."

Rin flinched a little at the memory, but Soma brushed his knuckle against hers to snap her out of it. As strong as the 1st Unit leader seemed to be, she wasn't quite the same when she came back to the Far East Branch. In a sense, she had a small case of PTSD—or Soldier Syndrome. It wasn't bad enough to impede with her duties, but it still raised concerns for those around her. It was ironic how the things that scared her most were the humans she said she would protect.

"Doc…" Soma spoke up with a warning in his tone.

Sakaki set the case down and looked straight at Rin. "I'll be straight with you. Yes, we've been studying the poison that almost killed you. Yes, we've found ways to synthesize our own. But we are not that branch, Rin. I promise you that."

The redhead closed her eyes for a moment before smiling weakly. "It's fine… Thank you for clearing that up. So, what does the substance have to do with helping to control Aragami tendencies?"

"The main cause we know of is a sudden increase in oracle cell production in his core, although we have yet to pinpoint exactly why this phenomenon happens. You've had moments like this as well, however not as much seeing as how Lindow's condition is much more serious than yours. So, you don't require it." Sakaki answered and they both mulled over the information.

Lindow spoke up from his position on the table. "Hey, don't worry guys. If he was doing this without permission you could bet my sis would be here in a heartbeat!"

"Ah, getting her to approve of this was quite the battle." Sakaki chuckled nervously and checked the heart monitor. "You're going to feel a bit numb for a while, about 10600 seconds worth."

"That long?"

"He needs to be conscious while I place this on him so he can tell me if there's any discomfort, but without the numbing, he might squirm a bit too much." The stargazer explained as he grabbed a sharp oracle cell enhanced scalpel in gloved hands.

Lindow swallowed thickly at the instrument. "Uh, doc? What's that for?"

Sakaki smiled wide and lifted to small blade like a madman. "Your Aragami arm might not fit snuggly with the armor so I might have to…make it fit."

Their previous 1st unit leader gave them a helpless look. "Uh…guys?"

Soma shrugged and look to Rin. "Weren't we called over here for a reason?"

"Ah! That's right! Hibari said you had a mission for us." They ignored their friend's unmanly whines.

"Right. I need you two to survey the mountain area another time and take photos and, if possible, samples of any Aragami in the vicinity—particularly the Kongou species. Just in case, be ready to camp out. It's getting quite late out."

The redhead pumped her fist. "Alright! Soma, let's see if we can get this done by lights out. As much as I like that area, I'm not particularly in the mood to stay for long. I still have to raid your rations." Without waiting for his reply Rin hurried out the lab to get her supplies ready. Soma sighed and looked at Lindow with an accusing glare.

"I blame you."

The god eater looked incredulously at his long time friend. "For what?"

"I don't know, but I blame you."

"Oh that's rich. Thank you for telling me that before I get cut to pieces. No offence Dr. Sakaki."

The stargazer shook his head whilst still brandishing the scalpel in gloved hands. "None taken. And don't worry. I'll only be cutting parts of your arm." Lindow shot his friend another helpless look. Soma simply smirked and turned to leave the room to get his things ready as well. Sakaki leaned in close to the panicking god eater with an almost manic expression on his fox face. "Let's get started, shall we?"

When the chopper was ready, the sky was already dark and stars peeked out from their blanket of night. Normally last minute assigned missions around this time would be put on hold until morning since dealing with Aragami at night was practically a death wish. However it wasn't the first time that the two God Eaters traversed to this particular mountainous area. It was Dr. Sakaki's pride and joy—proof that it still might be possible for the world to return the way it was.

Within the hour, the forest was within sight in the darkness. The river that stemmed into the mountains cut through the trees and opened up into the large lake they both knew so well. Rin grinned like a child at a candy shop and tugged on Soma's sleeve, who in turn grumbled and told her to sit down before she fell out of the open chopper.

The pilot turned and Rin suddenly had a frightening case of déjà vu. Soma felt so far away and the scenery changed. Claudia morphed into her beloved Trovatore and the forest below switched to a ruined city. She could feel a sharp burning pain in the scar on her side where a blade cut through flesh…

"This is where you monsters get off."

"…ght? Amagi?"

"Huh?" Rin blinked and the illusion vanished. Soma's hand on her shoulder felt warm and comforting unlike the touch of those at the branch she was reassigned—no, imprisoned to. The pilot looked at her. Only the bottom of his face was visible, she but could tell the line of his lips portrayed concern for her. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I just said that we're at the jump point. But I was also wondering if you'll be ok wearing that…" The pilot repeated, albeit with embarrassment laced in his voice. He gestured to the bare skin on her arms. "The temperature drop won't be too bad tonight, but it might be a bit chilly later on." She was touched at his concern but before she could reply her companion beat her to it.

"She'll be fine." Soma growled and pulled her by the arm to the opening in the chopper. Without another word he jumped out. Rin sighed exasperatedly. She turned back to the pilot and gave him a friendly salute before falling backwards into the dark. The cold wind sliced through her but she twisted her body to right herself. In the darkness she could faintly see Soma's white parachute nearing the ground. Quickly she pulled the cord on her bag and her own white chute released itself from her back. Immediately the rushing wind eased up and lifted her into the air like a father that raises their child in the air gingerly for the first time.

After a few moments she joined Soma on the forest floor and took off the parachute bag. They didn't land too far from their usual camping spot judging by the subtle markers they set like a mark in some bark or a dark ribbon on a branch. Back when Rin used to survey the forest with Soma, she would need night vision goggles in case any Aragami were prowling around. Now with her honed senses, she could smell the subtle scents in the air and her vision wasn't half bad either.

"Sense anything?" Soma asked. He already knew the answer, but every now and then he would ask to help her get acquainted with her abilities.

"Nothing new…I think." She frowned uncertainly as they continued walking towards the campsite. "There aren't any Kongou nearby, but there's something similar here."

"Must be that they've changed even more since the last time we've been here." Soma set down his things and rolled his shoulders. "But there's no telling if whatever those scientists give them will backfire and turn them back. Don't—"

"—let my guard down, I know." Rin finished the sentence for him and earned a hard glare in return. "I'll be fine. Now let's make a fire. He was right about it being chilly." She grabbed a firestarter pack from her bag and placed in the fire pit. Soma took lighter and started burning an edge of the package. Luckily they kept a steady stack of firewood nearby so that they didn't have to forage to keep the warmth from the blaze alive. Rin rubbed her arms and put her hands closer to the fire. "Ah, much better…"

"Hey, catch." Soma spoke up and threw something in her direction. Her hands fumbled but she managed to catch the round object. Its surface was smooth and shone in the orange firelight. When she looked back at him he bit into a similar object to hers, revealing a pale flesh within.

"How generous of you to give me one of your apples." The redhead took a bite out of the fruit and relished in the refreshing burst of flavor.

He scoffed and took another bite. "You were going to take one anyway."

Rin pouted and rested her cheek on her hand. "That was your chance to say something romantic and you blew it." The firelight brightened her features and Soma found himself staring a bit longer than he intended. Her hair was messy in her clip from the parachute drop. Rin caught his stare and smiled slyly. "Something wrong?"

"Tch, you wish." He looked away and finished the rest of his apple before tossing the core into the fire. "We probably won't be able to get any good samples or pictures until morning. Let's rest up for tonight."

"You sound like a leader." Rin nodded approvingly. The buster blader definitely had gotten better over the year that she's known him. Compared to how he would rush in alone, Soma took into account the members of his team. When Rin or Alisa needed those few precious seconds to switch between gun and blade mode he would distract their enemy. Whenever Kota ran out of bullets, which was more often than not, Soma would knock down the Aragami aiming at the gunner. With rookies he was strict but he made sure they came back alive. In fact, the teams he went out on missions with tended to have to lowest casualty rates. "I'm proud of you, mister don't-you-dare-die."

"Well someone had to take over your job when you'd get yourself in the sick bay; which was pretty often because you're too reckless."

The redhead blushed. She was proud of her abilities on the field, but she did have a tendency to rush in; especially in her rookie days. More often than not she was saved by a recovery bullet from Sakuya and Alisa or a skillful block from Tatsumi or Brendan. Rin pouted in embarrassment. "Key word: was. And hey, I got better at least…"

"I'm not so sure about that…" Soma leaned back on his log to look up at the stars from beneath his blue hood. Before Rin could speak a retort he cut her off. "Hey, I got a question for you."

She blinked in surprise. "Yes?"

"Back then in the sick bay… How were you so sure? You answered it before, but I want to know how you feel about it now."

"You mean…when I had the chance to turn human again?" Soma nodded slowly, still not making eye contact with her. Rin sighed and stared into the fire instead. "Would you mind if I showed you instead?" At last he looked away from the stars and found that she was now standing in front of him with her hand outstretched to him. Resonance. Soma stared at her ungloved hand hesitantly, but her almost sad smile goaded him on. The buster blader took off the glove on his right hand and let their skin touch. The resonance occurred almost instantly.

"The bottom line is, you've gotta survive."

"You see…the greatest god eaters…tend to die young."

"Daddy…Mommy…I didn't mean it!"

"You've got that look of panic…just like Lindow did when he became a leader."

"I was alone for so long. I didn't have anybody. So now… Um…so now… So now I'm happy that I found you, Soma!"

"If I could live like you…live without having to think about myself at all, I bet things would be so much easier."

"Hey, why don't you think about yourself for once?"

"There you go, deciding everything on your own again…"

"Did you…kill it?"

"Lindow! Open your eyes!"

"I thought you'd already made up your mind?"

"I won't leave you again…and I won't be left behind again. I just won't… Lindow…"

"You're being reassigned."

"I'll come find you. It doesn't matter where either. I'll find you no matter what."

"Do you trust me?"

"I don't want to hand you over to those bastards…"

"Don't listen... Don't hear it..."

"This mission was never meant to be completed."

"No hard feelings, Amagi."

"Take a deep breath."

When the resonance ended, he realized that Rin had sat down next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder during his daze. Her eyes were half closed and the orange flames shone in the blue crystal at her throat. She looked a bit…conflicted. "To tell you the truth… Not everything I said in the sickbay that day was how I really felt. I mean, I really did want to stay with you all. I still do. But…" Rin fell silent.

"You're still scared, aren't you?" Soma finished her sentence and it took a few moments before she nodded.

"Unfortunately," she sighed and sought his hands with hers. "It's not the monsters I'm scared of. It's the people. How many lives can I save? How many lives will I have to let go? If I simply went back to living in the Ghetto… If I was never chosen to be a New-Type…I wonder if things would be so much simpler. I could settle down, have kids to love and care for, and just look forward to the next day." Rin squeezed Soma's hand and looked up at him with questioningly. "Would it be so bad to believe that one day I could do that?"

"You're not going to go AWOL are you?" Soma attempted to lighten up the mood and she laughed a little.

"Not unless I'm suicidal." She replied. "But I wonder if I'll be alive when the world won't need God Eaters anymore. Haha, I probably sound like a broken record with the amount of times I tell you this."

Soma chuckled. Rin never got tired of its low timbre. "It's fine. A little bit of optimism in our line of work couldn't hurt." He paused as if thinking over her last couple words and stood up. "Do you want to take a quick walk?"

"Why not? Let me grab something warm to wear." Rin grabbed her white jacket and hastily pulled it on. He patiently waited for her and they headed out. They didn't need their God Arcs since they hadn't sensed anything nearby for miles and even then the creatures here weren't that aggressive. The night air was crisp and Rin went a little closer to the buster blader. Her hand gripped his and she was pleased when he didn't make a move to pull away. Then again, no one was watching so they had nothing to worry about.

A thought came to her at that moment. What exactly were they? They never quite discussed if they were dating, but there was definitely something there—a need for each other's company. Yes, they've kissed. And yes, this and that happened. It's obvious they care for each other. She was even lucky enough to hear him say he loved her, although it was only once. And yet…

Rin wanted to openly display how she felt, but at the same time she knew just how dangerous it was. Emotions were, more often than not, a liability in battle. There were times they were an asset, yes, but she could understand why it was unrealistic as well. You could worry about someone's status too much and that could cause a fatal error in judgment. Or worse. Enemies of Fenrir could exploit this weakness. Although the Far East Branch managed to reclaim her, there was no guarantee that a reassignment couldn't happen again. No doubt they would both be able to make sacrifices if it came down to it. The question was if the sacrifice would be worth it.

If she had to sacrifice him for the greater good, could she live with herself afterwards?

If it was the other way around, could he?

"If you keep thinking so hard you're going to get a headache." Soma pulled her out of her ruminating. She sighed heavily and leaned a bit closer to him for comfort. He knew her too well.

"Stop reading my mind. If you do, sooner or later you're going to be craving tubs of ice cream on a monthly basis."

"Not my fault you think too hard about stupid things." She blinked at his reply. Stupid? How could thinking about the future be stupid?

In a matter of moments she stopped her train of thoughts to survey the lake they always visited. The moon was bright in the sky, and the forest was lit up from the wildlife surrounding them. Little lights flew around with warm yellow glows. Dr. Sakaki told her that they were called fireflies. At first she worried that they could actually set things on fire, but he promised that they were harmless. She saw them the last time she visited the lake. They flew all over and seemed to waltz on the water's surface, oblivious to the horrors outside the forest.

Soma let go of her hand and walked a few steps ahead of her before pulled something out from his pocket. Immediately his body language changed. His shoulders sulked and he scrutinized whatever object was in his hands with a glare.

"Soma?" Rin spoke up. His body tensed up and he turned around while tucking his hands in his pockets. The redhead caught a glimpse of something shiny in his palm before he hid his hand. She tilted her head and offered him a cheeky grin. "Whatcha got there? Another treat?"

"It's nothing," he turned his head to the side while she pouted before positioning herself beside him. Her fingers laced behind her and she looked up at the forest canopy.

"It's beautiful. I wonder if the entire world looked this way before." Rin cupped her hands to the sky and caught a firefly. Its tiny legs tickled her skin. Another firefly flew towards her and tried to find an opening. "No one had to hide behind walls. No one had to send their loved ones to war. No one had to die a meaningless death. A world like that had to exist somewhere…" Her hands slowly opened to release their captor. The two insects escaped into the air and joined the ball orchestrated by the cricket's violins and the water's percussion. "I'm surprised you wanted to take a scenic walk despite the work we'll have to do in the morning. I figured you'd want to sleep in until we had to finish the mission."

"You make me sound like I sit on my ass all day."

Rin smiled cheekily. "Ah, so you admit it?" He scoffed while elbowing her lightly. This only brought on a set of laughter as she tried evading his jabs. "I'm kidding!" The buster blader huffed and shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. Rin caught her breath and stared up at him. "But thanks. You convinced Dr. Sakaki to increase how many times we survey the place because it gets me out of the Den, right?"

"Tch, where did you get that silly idea?"

"You big softie." She bumped her hip against his, once again making no progress in making him budge. "As antisocial as you can be sometimes, you can be quite the romantic boyfriend; especially with the flowers you planted for me." Rin inserted that magic word just to see his reaction at being called that. Upon that last remark he turned around and started to stomp away in an almost childish fashion. He probably thought it looked like a cool exit. Although the action stung a little since he didn't quite accept the title, Rin still laughed and began catching up to him.

"Hey, wait!" Just when Rin managed to grab hold of his sleeve with her fingertips he turned around with a strange, irritated expression on his face. "Wh—"

He quickly took hold of her left hand and slid something thin and warm on her finger. Rin stared at it in wonder as she brought it a bit closer to her face to inspect it. The band was simple and there weren't any stones in it or anything, but the metal was smooth and seemed to shine like pure silver starlight. A part of her was delighted at the ring, but she fought hard not to think too heavily on it.

Rin looked back at him with a warm smile on her face for the gift. "Thank you." Her brown eyes softened even as his expression seemed to grow even more uncomfortable. "But…why?"

Soma continued to avoid eye contact with her as his tanned face was betraying a heavy blush. He took his hood down in a very slow, deliberate motion. The moon took this chance to peek past the clouds overhead and basked the lake in light. It was then that she noticed something shiny on his left hand. Rin unconsciously took a step forward. He never wore any accessories like that before. Not only that, but it resembled the ring on…

"Before you get any ideas…" Soma interrupted her train of thoughts and scratched the back of his head nervously. Even Rin had to admit that he looked horribly out of character, but for some reason he was facing his embarrassment head on. Just what was going on…? "I don't think we're both ready to go through with…getting married. But if the worst case scenario happens, then I don't want to just wait without wanting to know how you feel about it. If you accept…I'm doing this as a promise that it will happen one day."

"No way…" Her eyes began to water up as she brought her hands up to cup over the gasp that still escaped her. Her cheeked warmed but more than that she felt like her heart would leap out of her chest. Rin rushed up and jumped, throwing her arms around him whilst resting her head in the crook of his neck. Soma easily supported her weight.

"I can't promise you much. I can't say we'll never argue or that I can make you happy all the time. And…there's no guarantee we'll be able to have kids in our line of work but… I had to ask," he lifted her a bit higher so that she had to look down at him. His blue eyes shone with an expression that could only be described as hopeful and Rin could have sworn she saw the reflection of the stars in them. "So what do you say, leader? Want to take the bet on me?"

The bottomless pit of fear felt like it was getting filled bit by bit. Yes, she was still scared. She doubted the fear would ever truly disappear. If she said yes to this, then more fears would definitely pile on. After getting married, the worry Sakuya had for Lindow never dissipated. In fact, they multiplied; especially after the traumatizing experience they both had when Lindow went missing. With other branches of Fenrir after her hide, could she subject Soma to the same trauma again, and again, and again?

And yet, as she looked into his eyes that were slowly losing hope at her agonizing silence, the fears slowly went away. Surely she could trust in him just as he trusted her now. It must have taken a lot of courage for Soma to present this chance for someone to destroy him completely. His fragile heart that was usually so protected was presented to her on a silver platter (or ring, in this case) and he was giving her a choice. The answer was simple.

How could she ever live without this man?

The tears overflowed and she joyously nodded. "Y-Yes…! Yes, yes yes!" With blurry vision, Rin brought her lips down onto Soma's in a messy kiss that made his face wet with her joyful tears. He gladly turned his head, molding their mouths together and pulled her as close as their clothes permitted them. When they broke apart they pressed their foreheads together and laughed a little.

If Rin could look beside her and find her friends and Soma by her side…If she could look to the future and hope for the happy ending that eluded her so…

Well… Maybe continuing on this path wouldn't be so frightening after all.

From across the lake two transparent figures watched the two with happy eyes. One with long hair and azure eyes leaned against a tree while the other sat in its branch with her legs dangling. Her gold eyes watched the two in childish curiosity and giggled.

"That looks fun! They look so happy!"

"Yes, well it is about time."

"Jun, what's marriage? Is it tasty?"

"Well, Shio. When two people love each other very much they make a promise to each other."

"A promise? To what?"

"To stay by each other's sides. Til death do they part."

"Hmmm, that doesn't sound right."

"Why is that?"

"I think they should be with each other all the time!"

"Hahaha. That they should. Those two definitely deserve it, after all."

A/N: AND IT IS OFFICIALLY OVER! God damn this took so long. I was kinda planning a different approach on the ending scene but it somehow played out like this at 2am. If there are any errors I'm way too tired to fix them right now… Anyway, they are not married. This point will become important in the sequel fic for God Eater 2. Plus they're only like, 18/19—definitely too young to think of marriage despite the fact they could die any day. I figured it wouldn't be realistic to get married. Yet.

Oh, as for Lindow. If anyone has noticed, he has been confirmed in God Eater 2 and it looks like his God Arc has undergone a transformation. Since we have no idea how this happened, i'm taking a risk and putting in a bit of my own explanation as to how it will go from red and black to gold. Plus my risk has lots of room to accommodate how it really evolves 3 years later so I think I did a good job...

Review and let me know what you think! I apologize for those that don't like walls of text, btw. I tend to do that my accident...