Chapter Text
They met by pure chance; she had just entered the training room while he was leaving it and they accidentally bumped into each other. It was a rather normal encounter, with them apologising to the other before going on their way. In a base like this, it was not strange for that sort of thing to happen and both simply went on with their lives— wishing to focus on their duties.
“Ah, sorry about that.”
“Don’t worry, it’s fine.”
Then they bumped into each other again; it was in the base’s cafeteria on a packed day. She ended up finding a seat next to him and they ate together in relative silence. Or rather, he tried to make small talk but Hua couldn’t respond much. Eventually, he gave up and simply finished his lunch before leaving her alone.
“Excuse me, but is this spot empty?”
“Hmm? Oh, no. Feel free to sit here.”
The third time, it was on more professional terms: a mission that paired their squads together. Her mentor led the party and partnered them together for the duration. She internally questioned why she wasn’t paired with a squadmate but she held her tongue and introduced herself to her mission partner.
“Hua of Squad V. I’ll be counting on you.”
“Likewise, and it’s a pleasure to meet you, Hua. My name is—”
After their brief stints as partners, he would occasionally seek her out and try befriending her. He was the friendly sort, and she thought he was out of place in an organisation like theirs, especially since they seemed to be the same age. She did not question him about it however and assumed his reason for joining was the same reason as hers. Regardless, despite her usual lack of interest in making new connections after everything, he kept trying.
“Will you stop trying? I don’t need to make friends around here. Not when our next mission could be our last. For our mission, I think it’s better we just focus and not get distracted by emotions.”
“And that’s precisely why I’m trying. I think it’s better to hurt than to not feel anything at all.”
Eventually, she got used to his presence. He never got too grating on her and kept things simple— a “hi, Hua,” and “how are you doing?” before going on his way while in the halls. Sometimes they sat next to each other in the cafeteria. But always, he was the one to initiate a conversation; then one day, when she joined him for lunch…
“Good afternoon. Did you have a pleasant morning?”
“Huh? Oh… yeah… It was fine, Hua.”
She never truly opened up to him, and he seemed fine with that. He would ask her a bit about herself from time to time, like what she liked and other trivia, but for the most part let her open herself on her own. Most of the time, they settled on just talking about their day and whatever was currently happening in the organisation.
“Is there something on your mind?”
“I don’t really want to jinx it but… it’s been a while since an Eruption, hasn’t it?”
The seventh Eruption came and gone. The status quo of their fight had always been one similar to David and Goliath but this time, it was against one of their own. The person she admired became the next cataclysm and slaughtered her entire squad… besides her. And when it seemed they might have been able to save her mentor, the final decision was for the Herrscher of Flames to be killed. It angered her to no end, but what felt worse was what happened afterwards. Because she got lucky and survived , nearly everyone looked at her differently. Those judging eyes and whispers as she passed made it clear she was no longer wanted around by most. There were a few who did not mind her, of course, whether it be the higher-ups who still saw her as useful or the ones who actually believed she got lucky and thought nothing more about it. However, while before she was usually alone, now she was really alone… except for him.
“Hey… how are you doing…?”
“…Terrible.”
He was always too kind for a place like this, yet he was the type of person needed here; someone still willing to help cheer another up. While before it was the occasional conversation with her when they had time, he started seeking her out whenever he could. It was slightly overbearing but she knew his heart was in the right place. One day, while both of them were given free time following a stressful but successful mission, he invited her out to hang out in town. He didn't call it by that word, but she believed that may have been his intention. Whether she was right or not, she never quite figured out. She accepted the offer after some deliberation, deciding she’d rather not be stuck on base for the whole day.
“Days like these are what we’re fighting for, don’t you agree?”
“…Yes, these days are why we’re fighting.”
Soon after, the 8th Eruption occurred. It came at a great cost as always, but they succeeded in stopping the cataclysm incarnate. Because of what was going on, she didn’t realize her birthday had come and gone. Sometime after, she ended up mentioning that fact in passing to him. That led to him giving her a weird look— it was a mix of sadness and… pity? He said her not realizing something as important as that happening was sad and promised to make it up to her next time. A part of her didn’t get why seeing as there were more important things going on beyond her but also felt touched.
“February 9th, right? I’ll mark it on my calendar.”
“It’s nothing. Besides, for all we know, there might be…”
The 9th Eruption came and went too. Another part of humanity fell, but they continued on as always with regret— then came time the 10th. A few months later, it was her birthday again and she had long forgotten his promise to her… but he didn’t. He asked her to meet him by the cafeteria late at night and once she arrived, he presented her with a self-baked cake and a small present: a bracelet with her name on it. When she asked why he did this, he only answered that he made a promise.
“I… thank you… If I may ask, when is your birthday?”
“You’ll have to wait a long while for that. It’s the—”
Then came the experimentation. She was one of the first to become a MANTIS; although she was infuriated at becoming a guinea pig and lied to by that woman, she ultimately accepted it as necessary considering how terrible things were going. After the initial tests, more of the soldiers became like her— including him. Fortunately, there weren’t any major complications with his and he came out cheery and excited; he even got a tail out of it.
“It feels a bit weird but I could get used to it.”
“I see… and they used Nagaraja genes with you, right?”
…It was painful. She thought she would get used to pain like this after all that happened but she was wrong…
The 11th Eruption and the Tragedy of Binding… that’s what it was called now. Only 13 MANTIS remained after the Tragedy… and he was not one of them. There was a moment of hope when she heard they managed to pull a couple more survivors. She should have known better than to let hope like that get the best of her but when she visited the medical bay… he wasn’t there.
That person who had tried her best to be by her side through it all was gone now, just like the others. She could only recall his words from all that time ago about forming connections— that it was better to hurt than not feel anything at all —as she fought the urge to cry.
“It was easy for you to say… you’re not the one hurting right now…”