Far East Branch Headquarters - Mess Hall
The week that followed was a somber one in the Far East Branch. Following Eric's death, much of the Den was in mourning. Great sadness hung in their hearts, but few actually dared to address it. Death was a common occurrence among God Eaters. It was a perilous job and unfortunately, one that didn't leave much time grieving. Those that were afforded that luxury had been utterly inconsolable. Lindow had nearly needed to pry Eric's sister off of their new recruit.
"I don't understand! How did he die? He was with you, wasn't he? What happened to him?"
Reaper said nothing, only staring quietly down at the small child. Her expressionless face had only succeeded in frustrating the young girl further. Furious at her apparent lack of empathy, she became increasingly more agitated until her emotions finally boiled over. Enraged, she had rounded on the New Type, beating her tiny fits against her stomach, tears streaming down her face.
"You were with him! Why didn't you save him?! Why?!"
Her screams devolved into unintelligible sobs as she came apart at the seams. Reaper did nothing to stop the child from her assault, nor did she respond in anyway. Instead, she opted to let the child vent her frustrations, taking out her pain and sorrow on her. Lindow had initially watched the situation unfold, concerned for the child's safety when she erupted. Instead, he found himself impressed by Reaper's actions. In her own way, she was comforting her, absorbing her grief like an emotional lightning rod.
Lindow and the girl's father eventually separated the two of them. While she didn't seem to mind, Lindow could not in good conscience allow it to continue.
"I'm so sorry. Erina was very close to her brother, you see." A tall chestnut-haired man whom Reaper assumed to be their father apologized profusely for his daughter's behavior. Silently, she nodded in response and spared the child a glance before turning and making her way to the staircase, where Ichiro was waiting for her.
Now, the First Unit sat in the hall, lunches splayed out in front of them on their metal trays. Days like these were rare in which the entire First Unit was able to eat together. As such, Lindow had insisted that everyone participate in the afternoon luncheon. That was how Soma found himself there, in the middle of the crowded table, instead of eating in his usual solitude. Lindow and Sakuya chatted amongst themselves, laughing occasionally. Kota was pestering Ichiro, pelting him with questions about the North American Branch and their lives there. Reaper was sitting quietly next to him, nibbling on a piece of over-sized corn.
"So Ichiro, how do you know Reaper? You two seem pretty close." He asked, taking a bite out of his sandwich.
Lindow and Sakuya quieted themselves to listen. Even Soma paused his chewing to observe their conversation. He had been curious about their situation himself but hadn't had an opportunity to ask. In fact, he had many questions he needed to ask him, but their schedules had never aligned in a way that he could do so.
"I guess you could say that. Technically, she and I sort of grew up together." Ichiro replied in a matter of fact tone, much to everyone's surprise.
"Oh, you guys have been together since you were kids. So your family is from the North American Branch then?" Kota asked, curiosity building once again. Ichiro laughed at his curiosity and shook his head.
"Not quite. My father, Dr. Hamasaki, was originally stationed here in the Far East. My parents transferred to the North American Branch to conduct some research before I was born."
"Research on what?"
Ichiro tensed slightly at Kota's question, his expression something that Soma couldn't quite place. He never lost his gentle smile, but there was something in his eyes that he couldn't quite place.
Oblivious to the change, Kota continued his rambling with a pensive expression. "Dr. Hamasaki… wait, that Dr. Hamasaki, from the Managarm Project? I read about him in the NORN. Didn't he disappear during the -"
"Kota!" Sakuya interrupted, her eyes drifting nervously towards their teammate who had gone eerily silent. His expression grew dark his utensils ceased their movement. Realizing what he had done, Kota quickly tried to retrace his steps.
"Oh… I - I'm sorry, I didn't mean to -"
"It's fine." Ichiro gave him a kind smile, his face returning to its original state. His tone was gentle, but his eyes betrayed him. Pain was something that Soma recognized, and sadness was evident behind them. He noticed that Reaper had shifted slightly towards her companion. It was a subtle movement, barely noticeable, just enough put the two of them in contact. In response, he noticed his gaze briefly shift towards the girl sitting next to him, who was still quietly nibbling her corn. It happened so quickly, he wondered if he had imagined it. Before he could ponder it further, the woman in question put down her corn and signed a message with her hands.
Almost instinctively, Ichiro immediately moved to translate. "Reaper wants …"
His sentence went unfinished, trailing off as Soma reached across the table, handing her the saltshaker sitting on his tray and returned to his lunch. She signed again, to which he simply nodded his head, leaving the rest of the table in stunned silence. For a few moments, Soma and Reaper were the only ones eating their lunch, seemingly unfazed by the entire situation. Finally, Kota's voice broke the silence.
"Wait, what?!" Kota nearly shouted, startling the table behind them. Emboldened by Kota's outburst, the others decided to voice their curiosities as well.
"Soma… you speak sign language?" Sakuya asked. For all the years that she had known him, this was new information to her. Of course, it was true that she had never asked. She had never had a reason to.
Soma nodded silently, offering no further explanation.
"That's awesome! When did you learn that?!" Kota demanded, leaning forward on the table, his excitement rising again.
He merely shrugged, steadily growing aggravated with the sudden attention. "When I was a kid."
"Why?"
"For a friend."
"You had a deaf friend?"
"She wasn't deaf!" He snapped, startling nearly everyone at the table. What was with all of the questions? The others rarely inquired about his affairs in general, let alone his childhood. Why the sudden interest?
Taken aback at his sudden outburst, Kota frantically apologized. "I - I'm sorry! I wasn't trying to… never mind. Was she here in the Far East Branch? How come none of us ever met her?"
Growling, Soma stood sharply from his seat, successfully startling everyone yet again. Even Reaper's eye lifted from her corn to observe him. While prone to sudden fits of irritation, it was out of character for him to lose his composure in such a way. Had Kota pushed him too far? Turning his back to them, he answered Kota's questions in their respective order. "No, she wasn't. She was in the North American Branch. You never met her because she died. A long time ago." Having lost his appetite, he stormed from the Mess Hall, leaving the table in a tense, awkward silence.
Kota hung his head and remained still even as the others slowly returned to their meals. His mouth had landed him in trouble yet again. His eyes drifted towards the New Type, who had remained relatively still throughout the entire conversation. Now, she remained frozen, with her corn hovering a few inches above her plate and her dull eye fixated on a fascinating kernel. What was going through her mind, he wondered? His attention was diverted by the appearance of a green jacket.
Shun stopped beside their table and turned his scrutinizing gaze on their new recruit. "Old man Sakaki wants the New Type in his office."
When Reaper didn't move, he shifted his weight uncomfortably. "Like… right now." He tried a second time. Again, he was met with no reaction. Was she ignoring him? "Um…"
"Reaper. Go." Ichiro commanded, his eyes remaining on his own food.
She rose to her feet immediately, her corn left forgotten as she walked briskly towards the exit. As she disappeared through the doorway, she passed Tsubaki who was entering the hall. Noticing her, Shu turned his attention to Ichiro. "Oh, and the Major wants to see you."
Standing, Ichiro excused himself from the table. He could see the distinct white pantsuit standing near the doorway. Once he was out of earshot, Shun returned his attention to the First Unit. "So… what's up with her anyway?"
No one at the table needed to ask who he was referring to. Kota shrugged his shoulders, knowing just about as much as he did. Sakuya shook her head. She too had no information to offer. The only one remaining was Lindow who had become oddly quiet. Her crimson eyes observed him carefully. He knew something, that was for certain, but for some reason he wasn't willing to share. She wanted to ask but knew that there was no point. He would simply evade her questions and change the subject.
Feeling the tables eyes on him, the Corporal sighed in defeat. "Reaper has a… unique situation. The kid's had a rough time of it."
Shun scrunched his nose, clearly dissatisfied with his answer. "Hmph. Who hasn't?"
"Look, just go easy on her, yeah?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "If you say so. I just don't understand what all of the fuss is about. She doesn't seem all that different from the rest of us. What makes her so special?"
"More than you know."
Everyone at the table jumped. At some point during their conversation, Ichiro had finished his discussion with the Major and returned to the group. Shun turned around to face him, squaring his shoulders in defiance. He was no stranger to the rumors surrounding Ichiro Hamasaki; that he was a talented combat specialist and fiercely protective of his New Type companion. The fact that he had been overheard made him nervous, but he wasn't about to show it.
The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife. On one side was Ichiro who wore a warm, yet dangerous smile. On the other was Shun whom despite his best efforts to look unphased, was visibly uncomfortable. The racket in the Mess Hall lowered as others began to notice the standoff. With nearly every pair of eyes in the hall watching the pair, Lindow decided that it was time to intervene.
"Anyway… Shun. You said Sakaki wanted to see rook, right? Any idea what that's about?"
Grateful for the distraction, Shun shifted his attention. "Yeah, um… he mentioned something about samples. I think he wanted to run some tests. I don't know, it's always hard to follow him when starts getting into one of his -"
"What?" Hamasaki interrupted, startled by the sudden revelation. "What kind of tests?"
"I told you I don't know. He was muttering about some nonsense. What else is new?"
"Shun. Listen to me. What kind of tests are they running?"
The table grew still. Ichiro's tone had shifted. His gentle demeanor was gone. His eyes were nervous and his voice was cold. This was the first time that anyone had ever seen him loose his composure. Lindow felt his stomach drop as he recalled their conversation weeks ago.
Growing irritated, Shun raised his own voice as well. "I'm telling you I don't know. Look, Old Man Sakaki called me into the lab room and asked me to find the New Type. They were carrying needles, so maybe they want to do some bloodwork."
Ichiro's blood ran cold. His mask gone, his eyes widened and his mouth fell open. They were going to gather samples from Reaper? And without notifying him? Shun noticed his expression and raised his arms in appeasement.
"Relax, dude. I'm sure our precious new recruit will be fine. They had anesthetics and some table straps though, so that was kind of weird. I don't like needles either, but…" In his attempt to ease the tension, Shun successfully made it worse. Ichiro's expression turned from nervous to panicked. "Hey man, calm down -"
The God Eater turned on his heel and took off at a full sprint, startling everyone inside.
"Ichiro!" Sakuya called out to their panicked team member to no avail. Her words didn't reach him as he vanished through the doorway, nearly bowling over two other God Eaters in his way. What had gotten into him? She turned to ask Lindow only to realize that he was missing as well. She had no time to react as she caught a glimpse of his retreating form disappearing through the doorway.