CHAPTER 1
"Aren´t you going to eat anything?"
Asuka snapped out of her trance and looked down. A tray with some baked beans, spam and preserved peaches lay at her feet, untouched.
"I´m not hungry," she mumbled, without looking at the boy. "You can have it".
"But Asuka...you have barely eaten anything for a week!"
The redhead finally looked at the source of that annoying voice. Shinji Ikari. The idiot. The moron that should´ve been the first to die. Asuka couldn´t remember what she saw in the frail teenager sat next to her. Probably just hormones.
"Why did you bring me back?" she asked. The boy flinched at her accusing tone, as if slapped. "Why didn´t you pick the doll instead?"
"I...Asuka..." the Shinji stuttered, "You were the first person I thought about!"
Matsuo observed the teenage couple bickering in the distance. It was the first time he´d seen the girl talk loud enough for someone aside the boy to hear. He sat back against the wall and smiled. To think that, a week or two ago, he´d have shot both of them point blank without even blinking. Them, and any of the Nerv people. Yet now, they slept and ate under the same roof. The irony. The captain glanced at Ishimaru. His jaw still hurt when he chewed, and the girl had yet to attempt and apologise to him. Their trips to the geofront had mostly been silent. She´d point at an area and suggest searching there, and he´d agree. The rest of it would be in complete silence, each immersed in their own thoughts. Matsuo couldn´t help thinking back to his days in West Point, 2 years ago. Only now did he appreciate what he had back then.
The captain finally stood up and made his way towards the kids, zig zagging salvaged mattresses and futons. In the dim light, he could see the girl had turned her back on the boy, who was still attempting to get her to eat her meal. Matsuo didn´t like the boy. He was one of those he´d class as "spineless"
"Looks like you two are better now," he said as he stood by the boy. "Time for you to meet Gunny."
"Gunny?" the boy asked startled. A feeling of disgust ran through Matsuo as he heard that voice filled with insecurities.
"Yes, Gunny. The gunnery sergeant. The man in charge." Matsuo paused for a moment, looking at the redhead. She showed no signs of hearing a word of what he just said. "Help your friend up, will you?"
At this, the girl turned around and glared at Matsuo. For a second the captain felt threatened, suppressing an urge to reach for his sidearm.
"I don´t need no help from that idiot," she snapped as the boy attempted to grab her arm. "I´m perfectly capable myself."
Matsuo lead them outside the shelter, walking in front of the girl while the boy trailed behind her. As the captain stepped outside, he remembered how he still wasn´t used to this new world. The sky was no longer dark at night, but a scarlet colour, the stars decorating this red mantle. In the horizon, the giant eye in a sea of red stared at Matsuo. Sat in leather armchairs, Dr. Barry, the Nerv engineer, and Gunny were silhouetted against the sky.
"Hope I´m not interrupting," Matsuo said as he approached the two men. Gunny looked up, and Matsuo saw the assault rifle in his lap. Dr. Barry was fast asleep, head resting on a fist.
"Not at all," Gunny answered. He was in his late 30s, in excellent shape. Tanned skin, and the wrinkles appearing on his face made him look a lot older. The man sported a shaved head. Although he had told Matsuo it was his "prefered" haircut, the captain suspected it was more due to the fact that he was balding.
"Looks like these two are ready to have a little chat with you," Matsuo nodded at the two children.
"Let´s have the introductions first. I´m Gunny. JSSDF, 4th Rocket Artillery Dvision, 11th Brigade, Havok battery. I´m the man that runs things around here. Mastuo, who you´ve already met, is my 2nd in command." Gunny paused for a moment, looking at Shinji and Asuka. "Now you".
At this, Shinji opened his mouth in an attempt to speak, but was quickly interrupted by Asuka.
"I´m Hikari Horaki, and he´s Toji Suzuhara."
An awkward pause followed as Shinji stared at Asuka in disbelief, not understanding why she´d say such a thing.
"Uh...yeah," Shinji finally managed to babble. "We are middle school students."
"I see..." Gunny gave a slight smile and stood up. "Welcome to our group, Toji Suzuhara and Hikari Horaki. Head back and get some rest, tomorrow you will start your duties within the group. Matsuo here will assign you later on."
The captain and Gunny watched the children walk away and head back inside the shelter, the red sky casting an unnatural shadow after the couple. Finally, Matsuo broke the silence.
"They are lying," he said. "Trying to hide their identities from us."
"Indeed," Gunny replied, "and I don´t blame them. The answers will have to wait."
The man turned around to gaze at the nine mutilated corpses crucified along the coast. He was getting used to the smell of blood, but he´d never get used to that giant staring eye.
"Shinji Ikari and Asuka Langley Soryu...they know a lot more than we ever will."
Michishige Kazuwa sat in a sofa atop the ruins of a house, watching the waves roll in. He was a man in his early twenties, and his body reflected the fact he was in the prime of life. Unlike many of his friends, he didn´t dye his hair or wear contacts in an attempt to look more caucasian. Lying next to him, a little girl, his companion, was fast asleep curled up holding his free hand. His other hand was around the barrel of his assault rifle, propped against the sofa. It was his turn to stand guard, and the girl would not allow him to leave her with anyone else.
Kazuma stared into the distance as he pondered how drastically everything had changed. A week ago he was still driving his ambulance through Tokyo-3, getting payed for his services as paramedic. Life was different from what he could remember as a child, before Second Impact. But it was still routine. And routine took things off his mind. Now, the world had changed. Again. His mind was in turmoil, and he couldn´t even get his thoughts straight. Before, there was no need to think about a future. He had his job, he could support himself, he could go back home visit his parents every now and then. That was all he needed to think about. In this new world, there were so many unanswered questions, matters which worried him and scared him. He admired Gunny for his ability to put things aside and focus on their present situation. He admired Matsuo for his ability to plan ahead with a clear mind, without fear of failure. However, he, Michishige Kazuwa, did not have such gifts. What troubled him even more, were the two days of time he seemed to have simply lost. The two days prior to waking up were completely blank except for some voices he was unable to understand. Whenever he looked back and tried to remember, all he´d get was an unintelligible jumble of voices overlapping each other.
The young man eventually looked away from the hypnotic rolling of waves, and looked down at his companion. He still knew nothing about her. The girl wasn´t deaf, and he was pretty sure she wasn´t mute. However, she still hadn´t spoken a single word, or made a single sound. The girl had never let go of his hand, from the moment he found her lying next to him on the beach. Kazuwa himself had gradually grown fond of her during the course of the week, taking care of her as if she was his little sister. Gently squeezing her tiny hand inside his, Michishige Kazuwa continued watching the waves roll in.
Asuka and Shinji sat back down on their mattresses, Asuka going back to her isolation. For a while, the couple sat in silence, until Shinji could no longer keep his questions to himself.
"Why did you lie to them?" he asked the redhead. Shinji felt guilty for lying to the people who had given them food and refuge, but not guilty enough to refuse playing along with Asuka.
"You really are stupid, aren´t you?" Asuka replied in a flat tone. Deep down, Shinji missed her temper, her outbursts of shouting and rage. Now, she´d still insult him, but the insults hurt a lot more when they were so emotionless. "Why did you think I changed out of my plugsuit into normal clothes? We can´t let people know we are Eva pilots."
"Asuka?"
"What?" she answered slightly irritated.
"I need you" Shinji cleared his throat, at this point, voice slightly trembling. "I brought you back because I need you."
Asuka´s silence prompted Shinji to add a quiet "Don´t leave me," after which he lay down in his own mattress. Behind him, silent tears slowly ran down Asuka Langley Soryu´s cheeks.