God Eater: Shattered Dawn

Chapter 46: News

It took three days.

Three whole bloody days.

Three days of exhausting missions, whispered conversations and sleepless, empty nights before they worked it out.

Before they worked her out.

And there was no going back.

Soma had become wholly acquainted with the effects of loneliness and genuine loss over this time; both feelings he had never dreamed of experiencing in the past.

But he was fast becoming painfully familiar with them at present.

The First Unit arrived back at Fenrir with a sense of foreboding about them; so much so that the usual calls of greeting stuck in people's throats for all but one person, who gave a half-hearted "Hey.".

The person in question, Tatsumi, who in truth had not been expecting a response, was surprised to see Lindow raise a hand in recognition, giving him a grim smile and a pat on the shoulder before leaning against the railing next to him.

Across from them, Sakuya began trying in vain to speak to the teen who had just arrived back with them from a mission, an effort that was entirely wasted on him.

After some quiet mutterings equating to a short argument, Soma shoved past her and made his way to the elevator, leaving her gazing concernedly after him.

"Geez, that's pretty cold."

Lindow glanced at the Defense Unit Leader who was stood with him before shrugging.

"That's Soma for you." He gratefully took a sip of beer from the can passed over, letting the ice-cold liquid pool in his mouth. "Probably doesn't help that we've got a team member in quarantine though. The whole Unit's not doing that great."

"Sorry man, I forgot." Tatsumi scratched his neck, wincing in apology. "Lupa, right?"

"Yeah." Lindow nodded, eyes on Sakuya, who was making her way over to them.

Tatsumi continued talking over the approaching woman, eyes interested but sympathetic. "Those two were pretty close friends, huh? No wonder Soma's been so down, that's gotta stink."

"Yeah, uh Tatsumi?"

However, before Lindow could find a way to politely end their conversation, a chance conveniently arose in the form of the red-haired receptionist.

Tatsumi's eyes lit up happily when he saw her, and he began waving like a maniac, a grin plastered across his face. "Ah man, Hibari's looking this way- this could be my chance!"

Sakuya joined Lindow, and they both watched as an overly energetic Tatsumi attempted to grab Hibari's hands over the desk, to which she hurriedly leapt back, looking incredibly flustered.

After a quick exchange between the two, Tatsumi left, head hanging in defeat.

Lindow shook his head with a sigh. "Poor guy, just keeps getting rejected."

"I think he's trying too hard." Sakuya chuckled for a moment, but her smile quickly faded again as her previous conversation came into mind. "Lindow, what should we do?"

"About what?" Lindow took a casual sip of beer, raising an eyebrow at her, even though he already knew what she meant.

"Soma's refusing to eat or sleep between missions, Aria's locked herself in her room, the Director's demanding for us to continue with work- it's just too much for us to cope with." Sakuya took a deep steadying breath. Lindow noticed that her hands were shaking slightly. "What do you think we should do?"