Sam stared at the window of his newly acquired Ability as he waited for Ichiko's information to be generated. Her swordsmanship had always been a cut above the rest, but now he was even more confused.
'Did I just make a massive mistake..?' He thought to himself, reviewing the Ability.
[Unique Ability: Swordmaster of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven received.]
[Rank: F]
[This Ability has numerous effects. Passive Effect 1: Increases the cutting power of all bladed weapons. Passive Effect 2: Increases the durability of all bladed weapons. Passive Effect 3: Increases mastery of all bladed weapons. Passive Effect 4: Protects the User against Demonic Attacks.]
'It has a ton of abilities for an F Rank...' He thought, dismissing the window as he stared at Ichiko, lost in thought before concluding, '... It may have a hidden effect.'
╔══The Target has been bound to the User. Soul Ties: [2/2]══╝
╔══Name: Ichiko══╝
╔══Age: 22══╝
╔══Intimacy: Acquaintance 10/100══╝
╔══Likes: Unknown══╝
╔══Dislikes: Unknown══╝
'Ten..?' Sam thought as he dismissed the window, wondering why she started with a higher intimacy than Camille, wondering if it had to do with the battle with the beast.
He turned his gaze to Serenity and smiled as he thought, 'One left...'
Samael looked over the three teenagers and three young women in front of him before looking up to the skies, trying to determine the time from the moon's position.
"I think we should get moving before something else shows up..." Cami said, breaking the silence, prompting a round of approval from the rest of the group.
"Yeah..." Sam replied absentmindedly, nodding once, "You're right; we should get to the shelter."
Before they departed, he made the group wait as he vanished, disappearing for a few moments before he returned carrying a dozen military-grade backpacks and dropped them on the ground.
He reached into one as he explained, revealing the combat knife holstered in a thigh strap from the bag, and told everyone to take two backpacks and the knives.
He had everyone split up, pointing out directions with explicit orders to pick up every Beast Core they found on their way toward Gateway Park. Despite the protests from the twins, he took their already-filled backpacks and explained their importance.
Camille and Serenity went in one direction, Ichiko and Juji went in another, and Kate and Nate went in a third, leaving Sam with the final direction.
Before they departed in separate directions, he grabbed Ichiko's arm and gave her a stern warning in a hushed voice, "Don't let your sister touch one of the crystals."
"You don't need to tell me." She replied, turning as she looked at her younger sister giddily talking with Kaitlyn and Nathan before returning the stern gaze back at him, "I want to keep her as far away from this as possible..."
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that happens." Sam answered, patting her shoulder and prompting her to blush briefly, glancing down before turning around.
[Ichiko: Intimacy +2 (12/100)]
"Thank you." She said, not looking at him before approaching her younger sister, and they walked away.
He himself had another task he wanted to complete before returning to the bunker. He stared up at the moon once more before sighing and shaking his head, muttering softly, "Nothing is ever easy..."
The young man took a step forward as he vanished.
***
Isaac and his girlfriend sat huddled beside one another inside the dark underground emergency shelter, talking in hushed tones underneath the roaring chatter filling the bunker.
Military Police stood next to the sealed entrance, holding automatic rifles as they watched the hundreds of people talking amongst themselves, sitting on small cots with their bags.
Fear and uncertainty filled the room as everyone questioned everything that had happened, speculating on what country initiated the conflict. Children ran around the room playing, having grown bored from the many waiting hours.
An older man with a thick mustache and greying hair approached Sam's mother as she sat alone, surrounded by a dozen bags, far more than everyone else.
"Ms. Sanada, may I have a word with you?" He asked, picking up a bag and placing it on the ground beside his feet as he sat beside her.
"Oh, Kyle! Enough with the honorifics! Isaac and Sam have been best friends since preschool!" She said, waving him off nonchalantly.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Sarah." Kyle said with a wry smile, rubbing the back of his neck, "The many years in office has made it a bad habit."
"You're fine!" Ms. Sanada exclaimed, playfully smacking his arm with a smile, "How is Dora, by the way?"
"She was doing better..." He replied solemnly, staring down at the ground, "She had just come home, but with everything going on, I'm worried her condition might worsen..."
"Quit that this instance!" Sarah scolded him, placing her hand between his shoulders and consoling him, "You must stay in good spirits! It's honestly the best medicine!"
"No..." Kyle shook his head, staring at her with wet eyes and a grave expression, "Skilled doctors and good drugs are the best medicine..."
He shrugged his shoulders, taking a deep breath as he removed his glasses, wiping his eyes on the back of his hand before returning them to his nose and smiled at her, "Sorry."
"It's okay." She smiled, shaking her head, "What did you want to talk about?"
"It's about Sam..." He said with a grave expression, "How did he know about this? Why didn't he warn anybody? We could have evacuated... We could have saved more lives... I don-"
Sarah raised her hand, cutting him off as she shook her head, "Don't do that..."
"But..." Kyle tried to interject, but he was cut off once more.
"I said don't." She stared at him sternly, "I don't know how Sam knew about this, and my mind has been racing this entire time going down that rabbit hole..."
"It's my job to ensure the safety of the citizens... Not even the military knew about the attack, we are going to need answers!" Kyle said, anger filling his voice.
"You will not turn my son into a scapegoat!" Sarah replied, matching his tone as she stood up, jabbing her finger against his chest, "He's a good boy! You think someone that had any part in this would have warned anyone?"
"Well.." He attempted to reply, but his anger was quickly replaced by shock as she interrupted him again.
"I didn't think so! Think of your son and your wife!" She said, anger dripping off every word as she pointed to where Dora lay on a nearby cot, "You should be thanking my son for saving your lives; instead, you want to blame him? I don't think so! You will not! You should be ashamed of yourself!"
Kyle gritted his teeth, noticing the sudden silence filling the bunker; he looked around, realizing they had drawn the attention of everyone. He huffed in frustration and shook his head.
"This is not the end!" He proclaimed, speaking softly with a fake smile as he patted her on the shoulder, "I will have words with him when he returns."
"Get in line." Sarah said, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest.