A/N: Hey guys, for whatever reason the line break feature wasn't registering at on fanfics Doc manager :/. So I've had to upload and re-upload it a few times, so I apologize if anyone had the chapter disappear on them. Couldn't fix it in the end so I put in a little edit.

Also to the anonymous user and Lienwright who commented on my last chapter, it's very encouraging to see my stories being enjoyed even with my inconsistent update rate so Thank you. With that said I've wasted enough of your time, please enjoy the chapter

Chapter 6

"Well, that was less strenuous than I was expecting" Julius muttered as he withdrew his long blade from the skull of a fallen Ogretail, traces of a black sticky liquid that served as its blood on the edges. The two had taken a small jeep through the back gates of the outer ghetto and drove several kilometres along the route to the sunken grid before going off road and parking the truck at a relatively safe location. From there Julius lead them up a hill in an area where vegetation and urban structures had merged into one where they encountered a few Aragami of which Julius made short work of.

"You sure this route isn't going to have anything too dangerous?" Elika asked from her sitting position on a small boulder she perched herself on when the Aragami showed up. Without a God arc, she didn't really have anyway of defending herself from the Aragami, and her broken arm wasn't helping matters. Injury or it would have been better to have her arc with her if only to stave off the earie feeling of nakedness that came with not having an arc in her arms when she was out on the field, but she had faith Julius was entirely capable of protecting both of them.

"Nothing Too dangerous, rest assured. You can be at ease" Julius said as he flicked the 'blood' from his blade and walked back over to Elika who pouted slightly.

"Ha, easy for you to say," she said hopping down and walking over to Julius, so far this trip had proven to be little more than a roundabout way of getting the cardio in, not that she minded.

At her words, Julius cracked a soft smile and motioned with his sword to what appeared to be an old four-story building that had some parts of its base and roof blown off but was still holding itself together rather well, not that she was keen on testing out its stability. But by the look of things that was where Julius was heading.

"And pray tell why are you taking us to an abandoned building, Captain?"

"You'll find out soon enough" he replied as they walked up the beaten path, making cautious but quick steps up the slippery hill, it was at times like this that those Yoga classes she took back in high school came in handy as she could easily adjust her posture to keep up with Julius. She was curious as to just what Julius was planning as the more she looked at that building the more it resembled the setting of a haunted house. She held her silence though and trudged on until they were right at the building's entrance

She glanced over at Julius uncertainly before opening the door with a loud creak. Julius stepped in first and looked around before motioning for her to follow him down the hall. Now she was getting very curious. "Julius, what is this place?" she asked her captain as they strolled along the corridor.

Without slowing down Julius replied in his usual composed voice "A place of great nostalgia to me" he said as they walked past by a broken wall leading to a room that vaguely resembled a children's play circle with dusty toys and puzzles littering the floor, Elika narrowed her eyes at it before glancing at Julius's back curiously. She didn't want to jump to conclusions but based on his reply she had a feeling it was a place he'd visited or perhaps lived in as a child. Eventually, she decided to leave her questions until after they made it to the wherever it was he was taking her

A few minutes silenced passed as they made their way up the flight of stairs from floor to floor, the sound of their boot heels being the only sounds that echoed between them until eventually, he kicked open the top door leading to the roof.

"Take a look" was all Julius said as stepped out into the afternoon sun and passed her the afternoon sun and gave her small smile. Brow raised she stepped out on the roof with him and took a look around only to feel her breath hitch at the view before her.

To one end she could see the sun shining over the outer part of the far east Branch that stood taller than the massive walls that surrounded the city. And to the other end, one could see the beginnings of the snowy mountains that lead up to the area the locals had appropriately dubbed the 'valley of blue ice' with a backdrop of near pitch blackness due to the clouds shrouding over that region.

It was a beautiful juxtaposition, like they were caught in a limbo between night and day. Sure, she knew that weather around that region was weird, but she'd never taken a look at both the far east and the mount side.

"Oh, the view up here is so beautiful" Elika said, her eyes blinking in wonder as they darted from one end of the horizon to another. So, this was the surprise he had planned for her, it was certainly worth all the cryptic remarks. She glanced at him over at Julius over her shoulder. "Julius? What exactly is this place?" she asked.

"An old building my parents owned before they were killed, it was meant to be a getaway of sorts from the usual politics that their job as ambassadors warranted" he replied with a thoughtful smile. "The geographical positioning wasn't a coincidence either, it was made so we could get a good of the mountains and far east… Of course, back then this region was a lot safer"

Elika wasn't sure whether to show sympathy or not, the way he spoke of it in passing it didn't sound like his childhood was a part of his life he especially minded. But she didn't want to possibly push a nerve. After some momentary pondering, she decided that Julius wouldn't be telling or showing her this if he wasn't alright with it.

"Your parents owned this building, so you grew up here?" she inquired to which he shook his head. Well she supposed his name alone wasn't Japanese at all though his features were unpronounced enough that Julius could vaguely pass as an Asian,

"No, they were diplomats and real estate managers, so we traveled a lot, from what I gather I was born in Italy but neither of my parents were Italian though. I do know my father was Canadian but I'm not sure exactly what part of Asia mother hailed from" Julius stated with a pensive look, perhaps the memories were partially forgotten.

She remained silent for a moment longer, admittedly a bit mesmerised by the odd rainbow lights that would occasionally shine through the snowy mountains. But eventually she glanced back at Julius who had seated himself on some fallen debree, his legs and arms folded with his god arc leaning against the structure at his side.

"Julius, why did you share this with me, if you don't mind me asking?" Elika inquired as she looked up at him from his perch, a bit of puzzlement in her ocean blue eyes. Wordlessly Julius dropped down next to her and offered an unreadable side glance at her before gazing at the Far East on the horizon.

"Is the view not to your liking Elika?" he asked, grabbing his god arc and standing over the edge. Elika shook her head and placed her good arm on her hip.

"It's not that, the views beautiful but you've never been the sentimental type. At least not openly"

He chuckled lightly and smiled at her while rubbing his chin "Seems you know me well. Better than I thought… Since we moved to this area of operation I've visited this place several times to reminisce, but after a while I suppose the novelty wore off and its grown to be more a source of loneliness than anything else" his voice took on a darker tone as he looked down the Aragami running around the region. "… As a leader, I'm the last person who should ever get emotional on 'what could have been'. I don't want to start thinking bad of this place… Call it selfish but I wanted to bring something else to serve as a source of happiness to balance it out"

His words had a layer of sincerity she wasn't sure she had heard from the man in the last five months she'd been part of blood. "Oh…" she said still caught off guard at the level of trust Julius was showing her. "You, think of me as a source of happiness?" she asked.

"Indeed, I do, as all of us in blood do. There's a light in your heart that inspires confidence in others, a skill I won't deny I aspire to have as a leader"

The heat rose slightly in her cheeks from the praise, so even Julius thought she had that effect on others. At this point, she'd heard the saying a dozen times but hearing from the captain had its own novelty. Other than that she had a new found appreciation for Julius for being so open with her where he hadn't been with others. "Thank you, Julius" she looked up at him and smiled warmly, their eyes making contact. "For sharing this side of yourself with"

"You've proven yourself more than worth having that level of openness with, Ellie," he said as he peered down at the Aragami around the area. "… The surrounding regions more dangerous than I expected. Care to stay sit with me for a few hours?"

"Well if your intentions to make me blush you've more than succeeded, but I'd be happy to Julius," she said with a sheepish giggle which Julius responded to with a slight smile.

"I'm not nearly idle minded enough to try and do something like that" he responded, followed by a momentary silence before they both broke into some light laughter before they both took a seat and began to chat, exactly the sort of idle conversation one would hardly imagine Julius indulging in. Right at that moment, they weren't colleagues, teammates or fellow God Eaters. But two close friends having fun in each other's company.

Perspective shift

They'd been at this for almost two hours now, Ciel would arrange the moving in different formations and Gilbert would strike them down skilfully with his God Arc gun mode and a scope attachment to improve accuracy. Once he'd emptied his oracle reserves they'd have look at the bullets overall level of utility in the spectator's room near the firing range, as well as conversing over the best way to improve on the weapons performance.

She had to admit, she was not expecting this to be half as interesting as it was, granted he didn't understand how to edit bullets as well as Ellie did and seemed to be more interested in the inner workings of the God Arcs rather opposed to the admittedly intricate science of condensing oracle energy into a state that could fit inside a bullet casing, even she couldn't say she really understood back to back. But cracking their heads trying to get the process was always part of the fun.

"Huh, I've got some ideas on some modifications to reduce the recoil on my God Arc" Gilbert said with a smirk as glanced at the blueprints for the basic assemblage and disassemble of a God Arc.

"Oh, what did you find, Gilbert?" Ciel asked as she looked up from her notepad titled 'Bullet editing application manual'. Well at least they were both having some fun, albeit they were at a bit of an impasse on what aspect of their weaponry they wanted to approach, but still bonding.

"Well I always brought up modification plans to Licca, but she'd always say something like 'upgrading a God arc isn't as simple as just thinking of a new idea for better performance. The easiest way to improve recoil is to reduce the arcs performance in other areas like increasing the time for a blade transformation or swap out with a blade entirely form another that consumes fewer oracle cells" he explained as he turned the notepad over for Ciel to see the design.

He sat back with a thoughtful look as Ciel glanced at him from her chair. "… So instead, of trading off one advantage for another I've tried brainstorming ways of raising my arcs performance in all faculties. That means finding rarer, more resilient Aragami cores"

Well, his logic was sound, but acquiring those cores would be tall order. Not just from the danger posed by the Aragami which also tended to be the most dangerous kinds but also the hassle they'd have to go through to convince the Director that the pay off would be worth the resources expended. Of course, on any regular mission, they could hunt whatever Aragami they needed to kill. But in cases where there was little to no information on the target's capabilities, and with limited rewards then God Eaters couldn't simply do as they pleased.

"That would be the most efficient way to improve your arcs performance. But making a case for it may be difficult. Which Aragami are you considering?" Ciel asked.

"Yeah, I know how much of stickler for safety the Director can be. But I'm thinking of going after a Hannibal" he stated and prompting Ciel to give him a look. Hannibal's weren't the most dangerous rare types they'd faced but their shockingly high stamina, mobility, and brute strength did put them in a class of their own. It was the sort of Aragami that required extensive preparation, and even then in order to kill one God Eaters needed to be committed to long haul for if there was one thing every Hannibal excelled at, it was battles of attrition.

"What? That's too dangerous for just an upgrade" Ciel responded giving him a worried look.

"Then I can go alone, I've done it with Vajras lots of times" he responded.

"Gilbert. I know your strong but not even veterans like Lindow go picking fights with that Aragami. I can't in good conscience support that course of action" she replied more sternly.

"I know that, but my second option was an Ouroboros. And I know I can't take that on-" he said when they were cut off by the sound of the room doors sliding open for a slightly exhausted looking Julius and Elika to step in. Julius's God Arc in hand with traces of blood along its bladed edge. Other than that, they were also noticeably drenched in water, from the rain most likely

Ciel had almost forgotten they'd been out for the better half of the day, time tended to fly like that. "Oh. Welcome back" she said as she glanced at the duo. Julius responded with a nod as he made his way past them, to the God Arc storage room while Elika remained at the doorway, the left arm cast still visible and the redhead no worse for wear, much to Ciel's own relief since she wasn't at all onboard with Elika being defenceless

"Yup and glad to be, you wouldn't believe how spontaneous the weather can be sometimes…" the redhead said with a smile as she noted the unusual pairing of Ciel and Gilbert, resulting in her smile only widening. "And what are you guys up to?"

"Just thinking up new ways of improving field performance" Gilbert answered first with a shrug as his glanced at Elika's cast. It was only a half-truth, and though Ciel could feel the temptation to tell Elika his exact plan she chose to hold her silence. "Feeling better with that sling?"

"Still stings but it's not as sensitive anymore, thankfully" Elika replied as she placed her hand on the sling. "Oh, I'd love to hear about that, we shouldn't ever get too complacent on what works with all the new type Aragami emerging every day"

She gave Gilbert a momentary glance before looking back at Elika. As the vice-captain Elika did have the authority to stop Gilbert from taking a mission on that level but at the same time she didn't want to put herself at odds with Gilbert when she was actively trying to build a stronger friendship with him, and considering all the threats they'd already faced there was no question that his skills were considerable enough that he could hold possibly his own long enough to kill a Hannibal, but in this line of work 'possibly' would only get one killed.

"Likewise," Julius said, just walking in on the conversation and wiping the water off his body with a towel while giving Elika a spare. "We always keeping growing as a unit, if we are to stand any chance against new threats looming just over the horizon…" he trailed off as he glanced at Elika's sling briefly before picking up again "That being said it is necessary to pace ourselves. I'll be in my office if anyone needs me and Elika I strongly encourage you take the rest of the day off"

And with those words Julius walked past Elika out the door. "Gladly" Elika responded as she rubbed her neck before smiling at the two once again. "Its good to see you both taking this sort of initiative. Can't join you this time but have fun" she said with a wink before turning on her heel, but just before she could walk away Ciel spoke up.

"Where did you two go, by the way?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. After all, Elika was supposed to be off duty so why Julius would have her accompany him out there was odd. Elika looked over her shoulder thoughtfully before replying.

"Sorry, its a secret between Julius and I," she said with an apologetic smile. It was a bit off-putting, having her girlfriend who had never once bothered keeping any secret from her refuse, but she couldn't let the slight sting show and kept her face straight

"Oh, I understand" she replied with a nod while Gilbert raised a curious brow as Elika turned back and kept going.

'Stop being a possessive idiot' she thought to herself as she brought her gaze back to her notepad. Julius and Elika were good friends and they had every right to have secrets that she wasn't and wouldn't ever be privy too… This line of thought wouldn't lead anywhere healthy, she needed to get a grip.

Exhaling she turned back to Gilbert "So, you wanted to take that missi-" she said when he cut her off.

"You'd think those two would just come out with it" he said, seemingly not even noticing her comment. Ciel's paused briefly before tilting her head.

"Pardon?" she said to which Gilbert looked at her dead on.

"You know? Elika and Julius". She already knew where he was going with this but asked anyway.

"What about them?"

"Maybe its just my imagination but almost everyone thinks those two are seeing each other, privately behind everyone's back" he stated as he rubbed his chin.

She was usually the last person to ever resort that line of thought but at that one moment Ciel felt the temptation to fling her notepad in his face and storm out, she wanted to so badly… But… She was better than that.

Redirecting her sudden annoyance to something productive she looked back at her notepad.

"They're simply rumours Gilbert, no use in assuming. Lets' just focus on the task at hand" she said to which he chuckled lightly.

"It's all work and no play with you Ciel. Alrighty, back to it then" Gilbert said, letting the matter

Even though she just managed to come off as indifferent to his words they had effectively filled her head thoughts of what her two superiors were up to. Of course, Elika wouldn't ever do that to her but thanks to Gilbert she knew that was all that would be in her mind for a while now.

With an exasperated sigh Ciel carried on where they left off.