Wilderness

The engines hummed as a group of transport trucks drove through the deserted wasteland. Lenka sat casually in the back, holding his cape to his face as the wheels kicked up swirling clouds of dust. Sakaki had sent him out on patrol today to search for possible recruits and he had reluctantly agreed. Given his own history with Fenrir, he wasn't too keen on trying to draft others into their lifestyle.

Of course, the life of a God Eater certainly beat living outside of the Aragami wall and he knew that better than anyone. But he simply couldn't agree with Fenrir's methods. He had watched countless times, both upon his arrival and on occasion after, as the massive doors slid closed, turning away the ungifted. He had been born with Oracle Cell compatibility, but what if he hadn't? It could have just has easily have been him watching the doors close in rejection.

But they hadn't. He had been lucky. That was what he told himself, although he didn't entirely believe it. Utsugi had spent many nights cursing his compatible bloodline and the suffering it had caused him. More specifically, he hated the painful reality that it wasn't shared with his family. As an adopted son, he shared no relation to his parents or his sister. While Fenrir would have been more than happy to accept him into their ranks, the same would not have been true of Iroha. She would have been left behind and that pain would have been too much for him to bear.

And she had known that as well. It was the driving force behind her decision to end her own life. His sister knew that Lenka would perish trying to protect her in her injured state. She knew that he would never leave her behind, and he would be willing to die beside her, a woman that would have never been permitted in the first place. His eyes grew dark as her smiling face drifted into his mind. Why had he survived? Why did it have to be him? It should have been her.

"Hey, we've got something!"

"Huh?"

Lenka's thoughts were interrupted by the driver's voice as he felt the vehicle turning toward the East. Rising from his seat, he looked over the top to get a better look. He was right. In the distance, he could see three figures walking across the landscape. From their position, he could only see their silhouettes and the difference in size told him that one of them was male. And he appeared to be carrying something very large in his hands.

Hitting the gas, the patrol headed toward the trio at full speed. It was unusual to see such a small group wandering in the wilderness. Refugees often banded together and traveled in caravans to better scout their surroundings and increases their chances to live another day. But there were only three people here. Had they been separated from their convoy or were they sole survivors? How had the three of them even made it this far?

As the trucks approached the trio, Lenka received the answer to his unspoken question. Two women walked cautiously behind the man in front of them. And in his hands was a massive weapon: a God Arc. They had a God Eater with them.

"Hey!"

Lenka called out to the refugees as they slowed their pace. The women trembled, huddling together behind their male guardian. He couldn't blame their distrust of them. It was a reasonable reaction to a group of trucks filled with soldiers surrounding them.

"It's all right. They're Fenrir."

The women relaxed slightly at his words but didn't drop their guard. Utsugi hopped from his truck and made his way towards them.

"Hey, what are you guys doing all the way out here?"

The man ran his hands through his hair with a sheepish grin.

"Actually, we were trying to find you."

"Us…? Did you get separated from your unit?"

"Uh… something like that. I've been trying to get these two back to the base, but we got held up."

Lenka regarded the women curiously. The two of them backed away nervously under his gaze. Up close, he could see how similar the two of them looked. They must have been siblings. The man however, bore no resemblance whatsoever with his light skin and dark hair.

"They compatible?"

"She is." The man gestured to one of the women standing behind him with glasses on her face.

Utsugi sighed with relief. If she was compatible then the two of them were safe, at least for now.

"Alright then. Well we should probably head back. I'm sure all of you are exhausted."

Nodding the God Eater followed him to the caravan with both women following closely behind him. Their eyes shifted nervously between the vehicles. Lenka raised an eyebrow at one of the sisters as she passed him by, eyeing him suspiciously. She was most certainly the bolder of the two, and likely protective of her sibling. The compatible sister did the opposite, avoiding his gaze and huddling close to her guardian. Could such a timid woman be made a soldier…?

Lenka frowned slightly, following the three of them to their waiting vehicles. She would have to be. She didn't have a choice.

. . .

Far East Branch Headquarters - Lobby

A few days passed after Soma's training session in the underground floor. With some positive reinforcement, useful pointers, and relatable analogies, Neo had showed tremendous improvement. She was far from what anyone could call perfection, but at the very least she wasn't woefully inadequate. It was far better than almost never using her shield at all.

She was grateful to him for his efforts. After the Borg Camlann incident, Neo was more than happy to learn some more defensive battle strategies. In fact, she had been hoping to get in some more practice, but she had been unable to find him. In recent days, Soma had vanished. He was preoccupied with his own personal mission, seemingly too busy to train with her at the moment.

In fact, strangely enough, the entire First Unit had found themselves rather busy as of late. Lenka had been sent off into a patrol in the City of Mercy to scout for possible God Eating recruits. Soma, Kota, Alisa, and Sakuya had all left for the Tranquil Temple, leaving Neo alone in the base. Even Sakaki had disappeared, probably to conduct some testing on Oracle Cells.

She wasn't exactly unhappy about being left behind per se. The mission, aptly named Carnage Feast, comprised of a Vajra and Chi-You in the same field. In her current state, she wasn't too keen on the idea of battling a Vajra, and she hated Chi-You's with a passion. The problem was that she was bored. Very, very bored. And with nothing to occupy her time, Neo had taken to aimlessly wandering the halls in the hopes of finding some form of stimulation.

As she absentmindedly fiddled with her eyepatch, she was vaguely aware of the trio of God Eaters observing her from across the lobby. Two of them she recognized from some time ago and of thar pair, she regarded one of them with particular disdain: the bully. He and his companion had accosted her in this very hall, griping about her usage of the training room. She had nearly torn him to shreds when he had dared to place his hands on her guardian, setting off a wild chain of events that would eventually lead to Ichiro's disappearance.

It was no secret that that God Eater wasn't fond of her. In his grief, he had attempted to condemn her for Lindow's death and used her as a scapegoat to vent his frustrations. In truth, Neo hadn't really minded it, even as Reaper. She was used to people like him ridiculing and mistreating her, often for things that weren't even her fault. She had learned to ignore them and honestly, likely would have left him alone entirely had he not threatened Hamasaki.

In fact, she had left his friend, the coward, alone. The man beside him had posed no threat to her nor Ichiro and as such, hadn't made himself a target. He had backed away, either fearful or clever enough not to escalate the situation further. But the third man was unfamiliar to her. He seemed relatively harmless, but his gaze was beginning to irritate her. She could feel him watching her, eyeing her movements. What did he want with her?

From their position across the hall, the three God Eaters watched Reaper as she made her way to a nearby couch and seated herself. Leaning forward, she flipped mindlessly through a magazine lying on the table. The bully sighed, leaning back against the wall as he regarded his comrade with disbelief.

"Dude, listen to me. I'm telling you she's a freak."

The unfamiliar man shrugged, watching her pause on what he assumed to be an interesting article.

"Yeah, but I like crazy chicks. Did you forget that I dated Gina for a while?"

The bully shook his head.

"No, man. This is different. Gina is weird. This chick is off-the-wall crazy. You do know that she killed someone, right?"

"Yeah, but I heard that was just an accident."

"How the hell do you accidentally kill someone during a medical examination?"

"Come on, look at her. How bad can she possibly be?"

The bully barked with laughter at his ridiculous question. The answer was bad. Very bad. Beside him, the coward looked between the two of them.

"I don't know… I mean, are you sure it's a good idea going after Hamasaki's girl? The guy's crazy strong."

"Hamasaki is dead. I don't think he's gonna be an issue."

"No, he's Missing in Action. They still haven't found his God Arc."

The bully groaned and ran his hands through his hair, frustrated with his stubborn companion.

"Never mind Hamasaki, Reaper is the problem. Have you forgotten what happened in the training room during her recruitment? I hear she defeated Soma, and that guy isn't even human. She'll probably crush both of your heads into a diamond with her monstrous strength."

"Guys, relax. It's fine."

The coward sighed. There was no convincing his friend when he got like this. Once he had his eyes set on someone, he was nearly as persistent as Tatsumi. There was simply no stopping him. It was through that determination that he had gotten Gina to go out with him for a while. But in the end, the two got bored of each other and went their separate ways.

"Even still. I heard she was really upset about Hamasaki's disappearance. How do you even know if she'll say yes?"

"I don't." Shrugging, the unfamiliar God Eater walked away from them.

The bully shook his head incredulously.

"Idiot."

The pair watched their bold companion make his way toward the New Type. She was starting intently at her page, her eye running over an article about Fenrir's research. Scoffing, she closed the magazine, growing tired of the journal's falsehoods. She knew better than the lies the organization had spread about the fateful crash. She had been there. Sifting through the pile, Neo grabbed a different one. This magazine was much more interesting, discussing recipes from the better times. She paused, skimming over a page about pastries. This particular page was describing something called a 'cupcake.'

"Hey."

Neo frowned as a shadow cast over her document and a voice interrupted her reading. She wasn't really in the mood to socialize at the moment, far too concerned with learning about what she assumed to be a delectable treat. Lifting her head, her blue eye met with a pair of green ones gazing down at her with curious interest. He ran his fingers through his short blonde hair, reminding her eerily of another overly-confident God Eater she had briefly met long ago.

He waited patiently for her greeting, but she offered none. Instead, she watched him. He had her attention and so he should speak. Thankfully, the blonde smiled down at her and correctly took her silence as affirmation.

"Name's Gunter, Germany Branch."

"Neo."

His eyes widened slightly for a moment at her response. He had expected her to pull out a notepad or sign to him, apparently she was capable of speech. He felt slightly relieved. That would make his attempt much, much easier.

"Neo, huh? That's an interesting name. You're North American, right?"

"Yes."

"I've never been to that branch. How'd they treat you there?"

"Terribly."

"Ah, I guess that's why you're here then, huh?"

Gunter laughed jovially, smiling at what he had believed to be a light-hearted joke. Neo's expression however, didn't change. She simply stared at him, waiting for him to get to his point. He obviously wanted something from her and she was growing impatient. Sensing her irritation, he decided it would be best to get on with it. He knew tough women well and knew better than to make them wait.

"Right. So, here's the thing. I've seen you around the Den for a while and you seem kinda cool."

Neo raised her eyebrow at him, bemused by his phrasing. She had been described as many things throughout her short lifetime, but never once had 'cool' ranked among any of those words. He was definitely a strange one, that was for certain.

"The Second Unit hasn't had a lot of action lately, so I found myself with a lot of free time. I was wondering if, ya know, you'd wanna go out with me sometime? It definitely beats sitting around here, yeah?"

The woman perked up, her eye growing curious as she regarded him. He watched Neo ponder his offer with bated breath and took that time to get a closer look at her features. She was actually a fairly attractive woman, albeit a little odd. Her left eye was hidden by an eyepatch, dangerously similar to his ex, and covered with thick bangs. Her violet hair was probably her most striking feature along with her blue scarf. It looked a little damaged, and he wondered why she would still wear it. A keepsake perhaps.

Neo observed him, her mood elevated sightly at the mention of going out. She was dreadfully tense and could probably benefit from some time in the field. It would take a while for her injuries to regenerate, but her pain had subsided well enough at this point. He seemed confident enough and as a member of the Second Unit, he couldn't be too incompetent. At eh very least, could make a useful distraction if necessary.

"Tomorrow."

"Ah, okay then. Well… wait, what?"

"Tomorrow. We'll go out."

"Oh, great! Where did you wanna meet up?"

"Morning. Here."

"Cool. Well, I'll see you then."

Deciding it best not to press his luck any further, Gunter waved and walked away, leaving Neo to her cupcakes. He made his way back to his friends who stared at him in bewilderment. Unable to handle the suspense, they had slowly made their way over to eavesdrop. Both had expected him to fail miserably and were stunned beyond belief. She had actually said yes. It seemed there really was no woman alive that Gunter couldn't charm, if he was able to get even Reaper's attention.

"Well, guess I've got a date tomorrow."

The coward smiled and patted him on the shoulder. He was happy for him, although he was still a bit concerned. The bully just shook his head.

"I'm telling you this is a bad idea."

"Lighten up, man. She's harmless."

The bully narrowed his eyes at his lackadaisical attitude. His friend was playing with fire and he was worried for him. That woman was anything, but harmless and he had seen it firsthand.

Neo wandered through the recruit's floor, with a small bag tucked beneath her arm. Having run out of clothes, she had returned to her room to collect more of them and bring them with her to Hamasaki's room. In passing, she ran into a familiar face. Purely by chance, she had been rounding the corner to the lift around the same moment that the other God Eater had been exiting his room and nearly collided with him. Irritated, the foolish man let his temper get the best of him.

"Watch where you're going."

The New Type ignored him, stepping around him and continuing on her way to the lift. She was prepared to let the interaction end there. She had no interest in engaging with him further.

"Got nothing to say? Oh… right."

"I have nothing to say to you."

The man blinked, startled by her response. Neo's voice was not common knowledge and many of the Den still believed her to be mute. The discovery that she wasn't was more than a little surprising.

"So you can talk."

"As can you."

"Got a sharp tongue, don't ya? Well your boyfriend isn't here to protect you this time. You should be careful before someone makes you bite it."

Every muscle in her body tensed at the mention of her lost friend. She had been more than tolerant of his provocation and had even gone out of her own way to avoid him when given the opportunity. But now he had crossed a line. She could feel her rage reaching boiling point as her mind drifted to Ichiro. She remembered what appeared to be his final moments as he smiled at her and left her behind. She remembered her joy with him and her laughter. She remembered her pain and her anger. The thoughts swirled endlessly in her mind in a raging torrent, quickly reaching fever pitch.

Then something snapped.

Her voice lowered to a threatening hum and her eye darkened. Her fingers twitched and her lips pulled into a tight line.

"I encourage them to try."

The other God Eater froze. He had felt the sudden shift in her demeanor and seen the dangerous look in her eye. He had seen it once before in the lobby prior to her attack… but it was different somehow.

Back then, her eye had been wild and unrestrained. She had leapt at him like a crazed animal with no regard for the safety of herself or anyone else in her way. This time, she was far more controlled. There was no anger here… only malice. Growing nervous, he tried to ward her off, rising to the challenge in the hopes that she would back down.

"I'm just saying it could happen. You've got a lot of enemies around the Den. You should be careful."

But Neo didn't back down. She rounded on him, dropping her bag to the floor, and stalking forward, with her eye filled with venom.

"And what exactly are you going to do? Are you going to shove me? Hit me? Beat me?"

The man backed away from her approaching form, trying to create distance between them. Something was very wrong with her. He couldn't quite place it, but there was something foreboding about the look in her eyes and her movements. Something dangerous and predatory. Something menacing was hiding just beneath the surface of her calm exterior.

"I - that wasn't -"

"Cut me? Stab me? Shock me?"

"Wait, that's -"

"Burn me? Choke me? Rape me?"

The man looked utterly appalled. What the hell was wrong with her?

"Wha - no!"

"Then I assure you…"

His body stopped moving as his back hit the wall. He was cornered. But she didn't stop her approach. She continued forward, stopping merely inches from his position. Her eye looked up at him with the fiercest glare he had ever seen in his life. There was something sinister here. He felt every hair on his body raise as alarm bells rang thunderously in his head.

"… there is nothing that you can do to me."

The God Eater fell completely still. His mouth snapped shut as he stared down at her uncertain of what to do or say. He was no longer nervous… he was afraid. His breath caught as she leaned against him, rising slightly on the balls of her feet. A shiver ran down his spine as her body pressed against his. Her breath brushed against his ear as she whispered her final warning to him.

"They say don't fear the reaper… but maybe you should."

He felt the blood drain from his body, his face turning white as a sheet. She was the very essence of terror and at that moment he was certain that she was going to end his life right there in that hallway…

Then, she stepped back and turned around. Returning to her bag, she lifted it and made her way to the lift. The presence was gone. It had vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"What the fuck…"

His breath escaped him as he exhaled. He could feel his body trembling as she walked away from him as though nothing had happened. As the doors closed behind her, a disturbing thought came to his mind.

Reaper had always been best described as Hamasaki's shadow. She followed him everywhere like a lost puppy, obeying his orders without question. She depended on him. He was the other half that made her whole. He was her guardian, her protector, and her lover.

But what if he wasn't?

Had Hamasaki truly been protecting her from all of them?

…Or was he protecting all of them from her?