#ironrod

If there’s one thing Caesius is good at, it’s making extremely stupid decisions. This was only amplified by him becoming captain and the Director’s requests, solo missions being the perfect opportunity to do the dumbest stuff imaginable. Can’t get yelled at by others if they aren’t there to witness it, right?

But of course, it doesn’t work like that. An interrogation from Hibari with one question too many (one that Soma happens to overhear) is met with demanding Caesius talk to him now.

The moment the elevator doors open onto the Veteran floor (something he really isn’t used to), Soma is already leaning against the wall by the vending machine. The can of soda in his hand is unopened and ready to explode from how tightly Soma is holding it.

“Care to explain yourself?” Soma doesn’t look at him. His eyes are shut to combat the chilling glare Caesius is bracing himself for.

“Not sure what else there is to say,” Caesius replies as he moves toward the vending machine himself. It’s as he’s punching in the number that Soma opens his eyes with that glare he’s come to recognize as his “worried but mostly angry at you” glare. “I overestimated the Aragami and I got the snot kicked outta me for a bit, but it’s done. It’s dead.”

“An Ouroboros and a Vajra? Alone? Are you insane, or just stupid?” In his defense, it was a mission request from the Director. If anyone’s the stupidly insane one, it’s him. “Not even Lindow was that dumb, and he was a dumbass often.” The mention of his name softens his tone but even with that, Caesius still feels the pang of regret gnawing on him.

“Director Schicksal wanted to ‘test my limits’ or something.” His name is spit out. He’s glad Soma also hates the guy. “An urgent mission that must be completed before anything else, is what he said.” Soma sneers.

“Of course it was that bastard.” Soma cracks open the can just as Caesius gets his. It foams up and drips over his hand and down onto his jacket. “Goddammit.”

“Here,” Caesius switches their cans and takes a sip of carbonated foam. “One problem solved, at least.”

“I’m not a child, dumbass.” Soma glares again but doesn’t try to take his original can back. It’s not worth the fight, it seems. Good, Caesius thinks, as he settles onto the couch on Soma’s opposite side. “…Still in one piece?” Finally, he turns away, not wanting his concern to be visible on both face and in tone.

“Other than a few superficial cuts and scrapes, I’ve never felt better. Could’ve gone without the tendril to the ribs, though.” He’s yet to see how badly his chest is bruised, but seeing how he isn’t having trouble breathing, he isn’t that worried. “Almost lost this.” He hooks a finger around the chain on his neck, sun charm glinting in the hallway light.

“Just make sure you don’t get yourself killed before the next mission. Can’t have you bleeding out before we even step foot onto the field.” Soma is worried, he can tell. One of the many Soma-isms he’s come to recognize.

“I’ll go to the infirmary if it makes you feel better.”

“Hm.” Soma grunts, which is Soma for “please do”. The remainder of the interrogation is spent in silence, quietly sipping at their drinks. It’s the longest they’ve been around each other, and it looks like Soma isn’t planning on leaving any time soon. Which is nice, he likes being around Soma.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Soma dismisses himself to check on his God Arc repair. With a reminder to get his wounds checked out, he steps into the elevator. And he claims to not care, Caesius shakes his head with a grin. Who’s the real dumbass?

Spoiler alert: it’s him. It is absolutely him.

The Director assigned him to another solo mission, which is all fine and good, Kongou are annoying when there are more than one, but it’s manageable. It is less so when, not even five minutes into the mission, Hibari informs him a large Aragami has been detected in the vicinity.

“It’s still about ten minutes out and doesn’t seem to have noticed you yet. If it changes course, we might have a problem.”

“Can you tell what it is?” Hibari goes quiet.

“Not from here, sorry.” No matter, he’ll just work on killing these damn overgrown monkeys first.

Another benefit to solo missions is the lack of friendly fire. Mostly from him and his bullets that could destroy a small base camp if not handled properly. He slashes his way through the Kongou and rolls away to fire a bullet when the two are right next to each other. It crashes down on them, the heat shockwave nearly sending his beanie flying.

“Aragami down, and both head bonds broken! Well done, Captain.” Hibari cheers. “Oracle activity is decreasing rapidly, keep at it!” Caesius switches to his scythe and slashes his way through them with the Round Fang. One Kongou finally gives in and dies, the other following shortly after.

As he starts to gather materials, he hears it. A roar that he’s heard once before when they finally avenged Lindow.

“Dyaus Pita! Captain, be careful!” He hates this thing. “It’s not alone, either! Two Vajras are approaching as well!I don’t think this is a good idea. Retreating would be the best option.” He’d love nothing more, but it’s too dangerous to leave them be. Who knows what they’d do if left alone?

“I’ll take care of it.” He’ll make it work. “Are they all coming at once?”

“The Dyaus Pita is starting to circle the main temple at Point P. The Vajras are still three minutes out, roughly. One at Point D and one at Point G.” Not enough time to kill the Pita, unfortunately. Hopefully the Vajras don’t try and investigate the temple too early, a 3v1 doesn’t sound very appealing. “Do you need me to call in backup?”

“I’ll fend them off as long as I can.” Would anyone even make it in time?

Hibari doesn’t seem to like that answer. “I’ll keep the rest of the 1st Unit on standby.”

“Hey, works for me.”

The Pita does not want to stay down. Its wings haven’t popped out, meaning it’s not close to dying, but it is wearing down. He thinks. The Vajras haven’t shown themselves yet, at least. The map shows them investigating nearby points and it’s only a matter of time before one of them catches sight of him.

He narrowly dodges a barrage of lightning, sliding his way to the Dyaus Pita’s right side to land a devour. It connects, but he’s sent flying again before his Burst can activate.

“Man, you are really getting on my nerves, y’know that?” He hates to admit it, but he’s getting slower the longer the fight takes. At this rate, he’ll have to give in and request that backup. He rolls out of the way, landing just in front of the stairs.

Just in time for the Vajra on that side turn around and lock eyes with him.

“You have to be kidding me.” He groans as the Vajra charges.

“Captain! Please be careful!”

“How’s the Pita looking?” If he can get rid of it, dealing with this will be much easier. “Is the other Vajra heading this way too?” From Hibari’s side, there’s the frantic clicking of keys.

“The Dyaus Pita is weakening, the poison should knock it down to the last quarter of health it has. Right… now!” A gust of wind kicks up snow around the area, and it roars, wings extending as it crouches down to pounce. “The other Vajra has moved to Point A, heading back to Point G. It hasn’t noticed anything yet.” Still time, he thinks, dodging attacks and trying to land his own. Still time to turn this in his favor.

Like most things, it gets worse before it gets better. He’s managed to trap the Vajra and the Pita in the temple itself, which is good because he can see both of them. It’s absolutely, horrendously awful because the area is small, made even smaller with two large Aragami trying to kill him.

…Aragami attack each other, right? If he can get their attacks to hit each other, would that do anything?

Can he get them to kill each other?

If this works out, it’ll be the greatest thing he’s ever done.

“Hey, Aragami, super quick favor. Can you hit each other with those? It’ll be fun, trust me.” The good thing about the Dyaus Pita is that it’s just a glorified Vajra, so the attacks are easier to read. It sucks, because it hits a lot harder, and are ten times more annoying to kill. That, and they’re stupidly intelligent. He adds that last part because it seems like it caught on to this plan. Damn.

And that’s the moment his day goes from bad to worse. While he’s caught up on trying to get the two to hit each other, he fails to notice just how close he is to the temple opening. The next seconds blur together.

First, the Vajra fires off a bolt that not only hits him, but the Dyaus Pita. The Dyaus Pita gives one last swing of its paw to send him flying, it and the Vajra finally collapsing. He’s thrown to the side, comms flying out of his pocket. As he collides with the temple wall, a sharp, cold pain pierces into his side. An iron rod, frozen from being out in an endless snowstorm juts out of his side, blood dyeing the white of his shirt. He can barely gasp as freezing pain fires through the rest of his body.

He inhales what little air he can, gripping the rod with his free hand. “Fuck, fuck, dammit,” he groans. His comms are out of arms reach, unable to call for help. Hibari’s voice is quiet but echoing, able to hear the concern of her voice but not the words themselves.

Something, he needs to think of something. The other Vajra is still on the field: if he doesn’t move, he’ll be an easy target. The longer the rod remains in his side, the worse the freezer burn. Tissues around the wound dying off too quickly, leaving behind a circular pattern of dead flesh and cells.

His God Arc is still in his hand. There’s a chance it won’t do anything but agitate the wound, but he needs to do something now. Taking a shuttering breath, he braces himself.

He activates the Vertical Fang, throwing it to the ground. Then, with one last wince of pain and a Cleave Fang, he tears himself off of the wall.

Ice-hot pain rips through his side, the angle not quite perfect. It tears off a chunk of skin and maybe muscle too, but at least he isn’t pinned anymore. He tries to take a step forward, but the ripple of pain it sends, results in him falling back to the ground, blood staining the snow-covered floor beneath him. Black spots dance around his vision, eyes sliding shut.

“Are you… …hear me? Captain! An- me!” Hibari’s voice calls out to him. He feels around blindly for his comms, finally grasping them after too long of searching. “Captain Caesius, status report now! Please!” There’s another chirp. “1st Unit, I’m sending you his location now. Get out there!”

“I’m,” he wheezes. “I’m here. I’m alive.” It hurts to talk. It hurts to do anything. Just laying here irritates the wound.

Hibari nearly sobs with relief. “Oh, thank goodness! I’ve sent the rest of the 1st Unit out to meet you. What happened?”

“There’s -- Vajra took itself and the Pita out, and it sent me flying,” The dull ache increases to a thudding that matches his pulse. “Landed on an iron rod. Went through my side, I pulled myself off but… It’s bad. Really bad. Frostbite.” The black spots return, and with it ringing in his ears. He can feel his consciousness slipping through his fingers. “It’s… I’m…”

“No, no, Captain! Don’t die on me! You need to stay awake, please! …1st Unit, get to the temple! He needs immediate medical attention and quickly! Medical Unit on stand-by, now!” As his breathing shallows, he thinks back to his friends. To Lindow. To Sakaki, and the Far East.

A hand rubs his shoulder. “C’mon, rook. No time to be dying. You’ve still got work to do, yeah?” It’s a familiar voice, calm but assertive. “You don’t get to meet me just yet. Keep going. I believe in you.”

“Lin…dow?” Is the last thing to leave his lips as his awareness cuts out.

It’s cold. Disinfectant burns his nose. Wherever he is, it’s uncomfortable. If this is what the afterlife is like, he feels a bit cheated.

“Any news?” Sound echoes softly around his skull, so close and yet incredibly far away.

“He’s still stable. They say he should be waking up soon.”

“They said that last time.” He knows these voices. But he can’t reach them.

“C’mon, buddy. If you wake up now, I’ll give you my limited edition Bugarally poster!” He wants to answer. Words die in his head long before they can reach his mouth.

“Please, Captain. You don’t even have to open your eyes, just… squeeze my hand, move your eyes, something! Anything!” A hand grips his own, squeezing enough to hurt.

“…I don’t think he’ll be waking up today.”

“If not today, then when? It’s been almost a week, and only four days since he stabilized! He’s… he has to wake up, he has to!” A knock on the door halts the conversation.

“I’m sorry to bother you all, but…”

“What?”

“The Director has assigned you all to a mission.” The Director? With just the mention of him, the fog clears the smallest bit. Lucidity is far from his grasp, still.

“Seriously? Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.”

“But…”

“The sooner we’re done, the sooner we can check on him. Let’s go.” The hand gives his one last squeeze, then the footsteps fade out into the hallway. “…Wake up soon, Caesius.”

Even when he can’t remember their names or faces, the concern is unheard of.

“And he claims to not care,” he thinks before drifting off again.

The next time he wakes up, he actually opens his eyes. The room is dark, the faint beeping of a monitor cutting through the silence. Underneath it, however, is the sound breathing that isn’t his own. He blinks the cloudiness from his eyes and cranes his next as far he can. Slumped against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, is Soma. Even in his sleep he looks angry. Would it really kill him to unfurrow his brow? That’s gotta give him a killer headache.

And with his lucidity comes the pain. His side twinges, the dull ache making his teeth hurt. He moves the blanket away to check the damage. The skin that’s uncovered by the dull white gauze is a colorful array of pinks and blues and purples. It also really fucking hurts. It’s still a bit hard to breathe, everything is sore, his mouth is dry, and his bandages itch. He groans something intelligible.

“Don’t try moving yet,” Soma grumbles, voice rough from sleep. “So you really are awake.” He moves off the wall, arms still crossed. “Scared the hell out of everyone, y’know that? You’re lucky you’re still alive.” He knows Soma is included in that “everyone”.

“God forbid you admit you care too.” Is what he tries to say.

“Grngh.” Is what comes out.

“Don’t bother talking. Just, shut up.” The demand lacks his usual bite. “…hah. The hell were you thinking out there? Two Vajra and a Dyaus Pita? Are you trying to be Lindow that desperately? That’s more than reckless, that’s borderline suicidal.”

“You…you’re one t’ talk.” Caesius fights past the dryness in his throat. Soma just rolls his eyes.

“Whatever. Get some more rest. I’m sure the others will want to check on you.” Caesius grabs his hand before he has a chance to get up.

“Soma?” I’m sorry for worrying you. You can admit you were afraid too. I miss him. Can I beat the shit out of your dad? “…Thanks.” Soma raises a brow.

“For what, exactly?” He doesn’t know either. There’s a hint of a relieved smile on Soma’s face as sighs. “Sorry about your necklace. Alisa and Sakuya tried looking for it, but all they found was the chain.” That would explain why his neck feels so light. A shame, he liked that charm. “Sleep. We’ll be back to check on you later.” Don’t have to tell him again. Already, he can feel the exhaustion creeping up on him.

It’s as he starts to fall asleep that he notices Soma has yet to leave and to let go of his hand.

He smiles. Despite how Soma presents himself, he can’t hide just how considerate he really is.

Through the haze of infection, Lindow finds himself standing in the temple. A moonbeam filters through a crack in the ceiling, illuminating a small, shining object on the ground. He grabs it, turning it in his claw as he tries to remember where he could’ve seen this from.