Yeah. Okay, this time I really did forget about the chapter, sorry. And you'll notice that a lot of things will happen. Maybe a bit too much for your taste, it could start to get slightly confusing. But that's the point, because everyone in the fic is getting confused with the events, too. Cheers!
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"It's been one week." Yukikaze said and Ayanami looked up. He was once again sitting on the chair, but not bound to it anymore, since to him, it was hard enough not to fall off.
"I'm so sorry that I can't do anything to help you get out of here, Ayanami-sama."
It's fine. As long as you're here with me, it doesn't really matter.
"There's one thing I can do, though." Yukikaze smiled. "Listen to me. Next time the men are going to come back with a knife again. They'll just beat you at first and then they'll tell you that they're going to cut you open like an animal. Then one man is going to stab the knife into you stomach, but leave it there. If you were to crouch together, it should be possible to reach the knife with your mouth. They aren't expecting any more resistance."
At that, Ayanami just smiled.
What would I do without you?
There was no need to question any of the information, Yukikaze wouldn't lie to him. Yukikaze, he could trust. With his life, with his soul.
And that he did. Everything happened as his begleiter had predicted. He took the blows without flinching, but when he heard the first man tell how they were going to cut open and gut him like a pig, he closed his eyes. A few seconds later he felt the blade dive into his abdomen and doubled over from the pain - yes, he could indeed reach the knife. So he caught the handle between his teeth, ripped the blade out and in one movement jumped up and cut open the first man's throat. The latter was a lucky coincidence; the man had been standing close to him.
The second one just stared, as if he didn't believe what was going on, and soon followed the first man's fate. Ayanami hit the ground not far from the soon-to-be-dead men, fighting to stay conscious himself. He scraped together some more energy to turn and grab the dropped knife with his still chained hands, trying to get the shackles off, and eventually he got lucky and found a weak spot of the old, brittle material.
Now, that he could feel his power come back - it wasn't much, most of it must've left his body with the rest of his energy, but it was more than nothing - he tried to heal some of the wounds, but the results didn't quite satisfy him. His eyes were healed, but his right one was still blind. The cuts and burns were probably infected by now, he didn't even start thinking about his chest and abdomen.
Slowly the silver-haired man got up and dragged himself over to the door. He had no idea where he was, and how many more people were waiting if he left the room.
"Don't worry." Yukikaze was standing next to him. "Just wait a bit. There are others, but they're going to leave soon. Seems those two where the only ones who had fun with his kind of thing, the others always leave shortly before they come back from their 'work'. They don't want to have to listen to their stories."
You're a lifesaver.
"I'm just doing my job as your begleiter."
I guess so. Ayanami smiled at the bloody ground in front of him. Yes, Yukikaze and no one else was his precious trusted person.
So he waited, trying to gain back some more energy and heal some small wounds, so that he at least could speak again. His body was mostly numb, but just because he didn't feel it that didn't mean the cold was gone. He slid over to one of the corpses and started pulling the coat of, what was considerably more difficult than he wanted it to be. But going out like this was no option, his shirt and pants were ripped and there was no real use to them anymore. For some reason his boots were practically unscathed, though. Probably the men hadn't bothered about them.
The coat was a bit too wide and terribly heavy, standing up hadn't been easy from the start, but now, with the extra weight it felt close to impossible. Still he managed it somehow, as for failure wasn't an option to Ayanami. So when Yukikaze informed him that the place was cleared, he made his way out as fast as possible...
...And was standing in the white again. He looked around, but there were no signs that could lead him back to the ship, so he just started walking, away from the place to where other men would surely come back later. Shortly after he was completely lost, he couldn't even see much anymore, since after being in the dark for so long, the bright sky and snow blinded his one healed eye yet again. He didn't feel the cold anymore, since there was practically no heat left in his body, and hadn't been for the last few days.
Both Hyuuga and Konatsu immediately looked up startled, when they could feel their superior's dark power again. Before his begleiter could say anything, the major had left the room and was hurrying down the hallways in order to finally bring his Aya-tan back.
All the bigger was the shock for Konatsu, when also on the seventh day Hyuuga returned alone.
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Hyuuga didn't particularly dislike snow, but right now, he hated it. It was too deep and slowed him down to a speed that was still amazing, but in his eyes unbearable, especially now when he wanted to gain every second he could.
He didn't look back, always ahead, following the weak feeling of dark power.
Weak, yes, that it was. Nothing like what he was used to, he found it disturbing and unsettling, but there was nothing to be done. At least it was there, that was better than nothing.
Still, he didn't expect what he'd find.
Ayanami for his part didn't expect the major to suddenly appear in front of him, either. Obviously his body was too tired to sense anyone's power, if it had been an enemy he would've been killed for sure. Maybe he was lucky. Yeah, lucky. Oh irony.
He slowly looked up, which was an irritating effort in itself, and could barely make out the figure in front of him.
Strange, why wasn't Hyuuga smiling as usual? Everyone was still alive; he should value that, shouldn't he? Now that he looked a bit closer, the major didn't look like he was injured, at least not badly, so why did he look like he was in pain? Ayanami didn't understand, but wasn't in the mood to try harder to get it, either. There was something more important, anyway, and sice Hyuuga just stared without saying a word...
"Major. We have to talk." He was pretty sure his voice didn't sound as it usually did, either, but at least it seemed to work somehow.
That seemed to end whatever thoughts Hyuuga may have had, he blinked and stepped closer.
"No, Aya-tan, we have to go back quickly! What happened?"
"There's time for that later..." He was in no mood to explain that now. "There's something more important."
"What are you talking about? Where have you been? What happened? What are you doing here all alone?" Normally he would've just dropped the subject, like his Aya-tan wanted it, but right now he was too confused to do anything else but voice the questions that had stuck in his mind for the last days.
Funnily enough, why did Aya-tan give him this bewildered look?
"What are you talking about? I'm not alone."
"Well, yeah..." Hyuuga scratched his head awkwardly. "Not anymore... But before I arrived."
"Neither."
"What?"
"Yukikaze is here with me." Ayanami said deadpan, while giving his major an annoyed glance.
To Hyuuga, time seemed to freeze, if only for a moment. Then he felt anger boiling up within him, though he didn't know where to direct it. He wasn't really angry at the Chief of Staff, who probably didn't have any idea what was going on - even if that sounded crazy, it was probably the case this time. He was angry at Yukikaze, though. For some reason or the other, but heck, that guy was dead and had been for years. So it only left himself to be angry at, but that didn't help them in the slightest, either.
Take it slow. Take it slow. That's what he kept telling himself over and over again, he knew he had to say something, but he couldn't allow it to be the wrong thing, that could probably destroy everything.
He decided to speak the truth.
"Aya-tan... You know. Yukikaze's dead."
"What are you talking about? He's standing right next to me." Ayanami said, a bit annoyed but mostly tired. Why did that candy-devouring major have to start a discussion now?
"No he's not." Hyuuga stepped closer. "It's no one there, and you know it."
Ayanami just looked at him unimpressed.
"...You know it..." Hyuuga took a step back, confused and a bit shocked by what was just coming to his mind. That he was right.
"It's not the right time for stupid pranks, H-"
Ayanami blinked, something was missing. Wasn't he just about to say something? Yes, the man standing in front of him, his name. What was that man's name?
He couldn't remember it.
Hyuuga hadn't even noticed, he'd already gotten angry after the first five words.
"Oh, come on! Who are you lying to? Me? Yourself? Or are you trying to trick the snow? Guess what, not even the ice is going to fall for it." He growled, raising one arm and pointing next to his superior.
"Where's he standing? Here? There? Well then, does he leave footprints in the snow? He doesn't, does he? He's not here, Aya-tan! Did you try to touch him? No you didn't! Because you know your fingers would go right through, and then that stupid dream would end. Come on, try it! I know it and you know it, too, he's fake."
Ayanami didn't move, just continued to look at Hyuuga indifferently.
Hyuuga had expected a lot, he'd even expected the Chief of Staff to give him some kind of punishment, or just act as if he hadn't listened, but the reaction he got still managed to hit him right in the face.
"So what?"
This just couldn't be true. This had to be a dream, a really bad one, too.
"You've got to be kidding me." Hyuuga managed to pull a confused grin on his face, a rarely seen expression. That day should be marked in the calendar a hundred times. "Ah, I get it, but it's not funny, sorry Aya-tan."
"I'm serious. What's wrong with you?"
Now that was just too much.
"What's wrong with me? Do you even listen to your own words? You can't seriously tell me tha..." The words died in his throat, thanks to the way Ayanami was still looking at him. No, he was wrong. "No... You can..."
With that, he took another step back, but before he could say anything more, the other man spoke again.
"There's something else I wanted to tell you, though. I'd like you to stay further away from me than you did before. From now on, keep your distance. And that's an order that you shouldn't ignore, if you want to live."
Hyuuga couldn't even think of any possible answers anymore. He turned on the spot and returned to the ship without looking back even once. He completely ignored the poor Konatsu, who looked like he didn't get anything anymore. And maybe he really didn't. The major ignored the questions, the looks, the soldiers in the hallways. He really didn't want to see or hear anything right now. He went back to his room, slammed the door shut, locking it, and went to sit on a couch, staring at a table in front of him. In the next second, that table was no more, but instead could be counted as firewood or even matches.
But still, that was nothing. He could chop up something of the size of their ship and it probably wouldn't be enough.
Damn it all.
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"Ayanami-sama, mind if I say something?"
"Go ahead." Ayanami said while walking back to the ship himself, following the footprints Hyuuga left in the snow.
"I don't think that's going to go well, the way it is now."
"He'll get over it, he's not some stupid kid. He has to deal with the blows against to his pride."
"I don't really think that the major's pride is the problem here, Ayanami-sama."
"Oh really." No more words were spoken until the ship came into view and Ayanami found himself relieved that it wasn't far anymore, forcing his body to stay strong all the way surely wouldn't go without consequences. But since it was either this or staying back in the white desert he was willing to bear them once he'd reached his destination.
He'd expected Konatsu to be the first person he'd meet, the young blonde was terribly confused by everything that happened and Hyuuga's strange behavior, but the Chief of Staff clearly lacked the endurance to put up with it now. He just left the begleiter behind with a few words - that he'd explain later - and went to his room where he immediately dropped the heavy coat off and went to sit down at the edge of the bed.
After a few seconds examining his own appearance he made the effort to get up again and search for a new shirt, with the old one ripped and bloody, missing one sleeve completely, you could only guess what it originally was. He found one that was a bit wide, but he didn't care about the exact size right now. On his way back he locked the door and finally ended up on the bed, lying on his back but with his eyes directed to Yukikaze, who was standing beside the window, watching him.
"You look like you want to say something. Just speak."
"I think you already came to that conclusion yourself, but I can't stay here forever."
"I guessed so." He smiled slightly. "Still, thanks for visiting."
"If you wake up, I'll be gone."
"If? So it's that bad with this body?" He was already past the point where he could estimate the damage he'd taken himself, but he hadn't planned on letting that be of any importance. He blinked a few times as he noticed that now that his willpower had faded, his consciousness was also rapidly slipping from his grasp.
"I'm afraid so. But there's one last thing. If you wish so, you can come with me."
"With you...?"
"Yes. But you have to to make your choice now." Yukikaze said, while giving the silver-haired man a sad smile.
And so, Ayanami made his choice.