Far East Branch Headquarters - Mess Hall

"She's really that good?"

"Seriously! It was incredible! I've never seen anything like it."

Soma shook his head, crossing his arms as he listened to the gunner pair talk excitedly about Kanon's successful mission. After finding Hamasaki's room empty, he had made his way through the Den, searching nearly every corner for the missing New Type. Unable to find her, his concern for her only intensified. He checked every floor, including the training room and the rooftop and landing zone. He even went so far as to check the underground testing areas and Sakaki's laboratory, but to no avail.

When he finally did locate her, it was in the last place that he would have expected; lying motionless on her own bed… and drenched from the neck down in blood. Worried she made another attempt on her own life, the veteran had rushed to her side in a state of mild panic. Thankfully, he found that the blood caking her body wasn't her own.

After inspecting and waking up an extremely irritated Neo, he learned that she had taken his advice. She focused her attention on the field, apparently taking Kanon along for the ride. And the Second Unit gunner hadn't stopped talking about it for days.

"Think she's even better than Sakuya?"

"Hm… honestly? I think she might be. I've never seen Sakuya strike a target with her gun before…"

"She did what?!"

"Yeah. Then, she put a bullet right into its head. I don't ever want to get on her bad side…"

"I'd like to take a mission with her."

"Of course you would…"

Soma's mouth twitched at the unnerving tone in her voice. Aside from Kanon, the Third Unit gunner was probably the first person he had ever seen that wanted to go on a mission with Reaper. It was most certainly one of the strangest things he had heard in a while. Then again, Gina was strange, so it really wasn't that surprising.

As the women wandered from the hall, his eyes drifted back to the table where the First Unit had gathered at the lunch table. In similar fashion to his leader before him, Utsugi had demanded that all members of the Squad dine together, in the hopes of strengthening their bonds. He wondered sometimes why Lenka seemed to so often emulate the late commander. He seemed to look up to him a great deal more so other members of the Den.

He silently watched the bustling of the lively table. Sakuya conversed casually with Lenka about positioning strategies, while Kota shrunk slightly from Alisa's furious gaze. It seemed he had done something to agitate her again, but Soma wasn't sure what exactly he had done since he wasn't really paying attention. All in all, the table seemed relatively normal. The First Unit had finally returned… almost.

He was keenly aware of their missing member. His eyes drifted to the empty seat at his side as his mind wandered. The chattering of his teammates faded into background noise as he thought over the events of the past few days. Neo seemed to have been showing some improvement from what he could tell, but he hadn't actually seen her aside from their meeting in her bedroom so he didn't really have much to go on.

She had been wandering into the field often as of late, putting most of her focus into solo missions. Considering her emotional state, he wouldn't find that so strange if not for her highly irregular completion times. Neo was probably one of the most efficient God Eaters in the Far East. It didn't make sense for her missions to be taking up most of the daylight hours. What was she doing out there for so long?

"Soma? Hey, Soma."

"Huh?"

Blinking, the veteran turned his head to the voice calling out to him. He found the entire table staring intently at him, as though waiting for his response. Had they been talking to him this entire time?

"What?"

Shaking his head, Utsugi grinned at him. "I was asking if you thought our sixth member might be joining us today."

"Why're you asking me?"

"Well, you seem acquainted with her."

"Says who?"

"Well, you don't really have to say it. Your exchange in the hallway seemed familiar enough. You're pretty much the only two people I've seen in the compound who speak ASL."

Temporarily distracted from poking his pudding, Kota lifted his head. "ASL?"

"American Sign Language. I've seen it on rare occasion in the West, but I didn't get the chance to learn any. Come to think of it… where did you learn, Soma? Have you traveled to North America?"

"No."

"Soma learned it from a friend of his apparently a long time ago."

The veteran dangerous scowl silenced Kota, quickly returning him to his goop.

"Oh yeah? That's pretty cool. Are they still in North America? I might have met them."

Soma gave no answer. What was he supposed to say? He had had this conversation once before some time ago at this very table. At that time, he had told them that his friend had died many years ago… which at the time, he believed to be true. He now knew that she was very much alive, residing in the Far East and in fact, had met every person sitting at his table. But he certainly couldn't tell them that without inviting questions or arousing suspicion, especially from Utsugi. That nosy New Type never did know how to mind his own business.

"Reaper! Come sit with us."

Lifting his head, the veteran shifted his attention, eager to escape the awkward discussion. Turning, he saw Neo in the Mess Hall wandering around holding a tray with a large mound of food. It seemed that she had eaten through Hamasaki's rations after all.

If their comrade had heard Kota, she gave no indication as she continued wandering through the room, her eye scanning the tables searching for an empty one. A frown began to form on her lips as she looked around, seeing none. Kota tilted his head slightly. Maybe she hadn't heard him?

"Reaper! Over here!"

Her eye twitched slightly as she continued searching around the room. She had definitely heard him. Soma watched as she determinedly ignored the sound of his voice and looked pointedly in every direction except for their own. He could see the gears turning as she searched for the best solution to avoid them. Across from him, Kota frowned slightly, looking a bit disheartened. Sighing, Soma shook his head.

"Leave her alone. If she doesn't wanna be bothered, then don't bother her."

Suddenly, Neo's head turned, her eyes fixating in their direction. Soma's voice alerted her like a dog whistle, cutting through the din of the lunchroom and reaching her sensitive ears. She hadn't noticed that he was sitting with them, as she had made a point to avoid looking towards their table.

Kota blinked, a bit surprised at her immediate reaction. If she couldn't hear him shouting, surely she couldn't have heard Soma's muttering… could she?

She stood frozen, watching them intently as though unsure of what to do. In truth, she was conflicted. She wanted to approach Soma, but she wasn't interested in conversing with the rest of them, especially their new Captain. Their last interaction had left a sour taste in her mouth, and his attempt to take Ichiro's room had placed him immediately on her list of foes.

Unfortunately, she didn't have many other options. She didn't feel like carrying her massive meal back to his room and the only other option was to sit at a table with a completely unfamiliar group. And she had a pretty good feeling that those new faces would dislike the idea just as much as she did. Giving in, she turned and approached the rest of her unit. She was far too hungry to continue pondering on the matter.

Arriving at their table, she promptly seated herself next to Soma and placed down her tray. Lifting her fork, she turned her attention to her food and began to eat without a word. Every member at the table watched her slowly engorge herself, the rest of them completely forgotten.

Deciding to break the ice, Lenka made the first attempt at conversation.

"So you're Reaper, huh? I don't think we've had a chance to officially meet."

Neo ignored him, her attention focused entirely on her meal as she shoveled food into her mouth. Soma's eyes drifted between the two of them as he felt a familiar sensation once again. He had experienced this interaction as well, many months ago when Alisa had attempted to converse with the New Type. At the time she had been incapable of speech, or so they thought, and had left the veteran to translate for her.

And much like the last time, Sakuya intervened, hoping to move the conversation along.

"Reaper, there's no need to be shy. We're all on the same team here. Why not introduce yourself?"

But unlike the last time, she said nothing. Disregarding their Vice Commander entirely, she continued eating as though she hadn't heard any of them at all. Sakuya stared, a bit taken aback by her reaction. For Reaper to disobey orders was rare. In fact, due to the effects of potent brainwashing, doing so should be almost impossible. Yet, this woman had brushed her off without a second thought as though she had never been conditioned in the first place. Her eyes narrowed slightly in thought as she watched her inhale her food. Did her change in behavior have anything to do with Hamasaki's death?

"Neo."

The New Type finally shifted her attention. Her hands continued to move, working tirelessly to fill her aching stomach, but her eye drifted in Soma's direction. She was listening.

He said nothing else. Instead, he tilted his head slightly in their direction, gesturing for her to acknowledge at least one of the people talking to her.

Sighing, she halted her consumption and finally looked up from her plate.

"Hi."

Having said her greeting, she immediately returned to her meal, which had nearly vanished entirely. The table simply watched her, uncertain of what to do. Sakuya broke the silence.

"Neo?"

"That's her name."

Her eyes widened slightly. She wracked her brain, trying to recall their earlier conversation of months ago.

I don't know

She recalled that Reaper didn't have a name from the last time they spoke. More specifically, she didn't know what her name was. Had she remembered it at some point? When did it happen?

"Oh, so Reaper is a codename."

Lenka nodded his head in understanding. He had thought Reaper was an unusual thing to call one's child but decided not to question it. Every person in Headquarters seemed content to call her as such, so he saw no reason to deviate from everyone else's path.

The Captain frowned as once again, Neo ignored him as she neared the end of her plate. He had been paying close attention to the New Type's interactions with everyone from the moment she joined them at the table. She had been apathetic to Kota, ignoring his attempts at engagement. She disregarded Alisa entirely, offering no reaction to her whatsoever.

Strangely enough, Alisa behaved in a similar fashion. It was though they were trying to avoid one another, refusing to meet the other's gaze. Her reaction to Sakuya was neutral at best, and her reaction to Soma had been by far the warmest out of any of them. She had only come to join them at the sound of his voice and she offered attention when he spoke to her. She had even gone so far as to humor his request for a greeting.

But her reaction to Lenka was far different from the other four. She didn't simply ignore him. She was entirely averse to him, refusing to acknowledge his presence in any way whatsoever without prompt. It was certainly the most negative reception of the group, bordering on the edge of hostile. Was she angry with him?

Utsugi recalled their previous interactions over the course of the past week or so, trying to pinpoint what particular instance could have made her so prickly towards him. Their first meeting had been only in passing as she tore through the lobby like a tornado. Their second interaction had been in the hallway of the veteran's floor where she had tried to take his head off without warning. She had clearly been upset, but he wasn't sure what he had done to warrant such an aggressive reaction.

"She lost her boyfriend a little while ago…"

"Yes well, the previous Captain used to reside in this room."

Of course.

Suddenly, the basis of her scorn seemed obvious. She had locked herself in the previous Captain's room after warding him away from it earlier on. She had lost her boyfriend relatively recently. The room belonged to Hamasaki, who had apparently gone Missing in Action during a mission in the Infernal Subway. Putting the pieces together painted a clearer picture for him as he watched her shovel the remainder of her food into her mouth. Her boyfriend must have been Hamasaki, the previous Squad Leader… and he had tried to move into his room.

"Neo… Listen, I'm really sorry."

Placing her utensils on the table, she finally acknowledged him. Lifting her head from her plate, she glared at him, her eye focused intently on his own. It was at that moment that he realized she was missing an eye. Beneath her thick cluster of bangs, he could see the fabric of an eyepatch placed carefully over the left portion of her face. His mind drifted to the faces of the people in his own caravan, beyond the Aragami wall. Situations like hers and far worse were commonplace outside of Fenrir's protection. It was why he wanted so badly to return to combat and aid the completion of the Aegis Project. So that no more would be lost.

But first, he would need to bring his Unit together. And that started with repairing the damage he had unintentionally done.

"I… I heard about your boyfriend."

Neo watched him carefully, his words piquing her interest. Her head tilted slightly as she listened. Taking her reaction as a greenlight, he continued.

"… Hamasaki. I'm so sorry, I didn't realize."

Her eye narrowed, her lips pulled tightly into a straight line. She didn't like this new member nor did she trust him. Despite her attempt at avoiding them, she had been listening intently to their conversation. From what she had gathered, this person was from North America. Either that, or he had spent a considerable amount of time there and neither one of those options boded well for her. But his eyes didn't look deceitful… at the very least, he wasn't her enemy. Not entirely.

"Never again."

"Of course! I would never. I'm Lenka, by the way. Lenka Utsugi."

"Neo. Tread lightly, Utsugi."

Offering no further response, she rose from her seat. Having finished stuffing herself with a monstrous amount of calories, she was ready to rest. Nodding to Soma, she turned and took her leave, heading towards the exit. As Lenka watched her violet head disappear through the doors, he let out a sigh. Kota was right. Neo was intense. Really intense. Even their short exchange had left him on edge. He could feel the malice radiating from every one of the six words she had spoken to him. After a few minutes, the table slowly resumed conversation, minus Soma who simply leaned against the wall.

"Boyfriend, huh? I had a feeling, but I didn't want to press it."

Sakuya placed her fingertip against her chin in thought. She had suspected that something was going on between those two for some time. Of course, the entire Den had suspected as much, but she had witnessed it firsthand. She could see the way that his eyes came to life whenever Neo entered the room. The New Type herself was nearly impossible to read, so one could never tell if his feelings were reciprocated. But her reaction to his loss however, left no doubt in her mind.

Kota shrugged, picking at his corn.

"She didn't deny it."

Alisa said nothing, her fork fiddling mindlessly with her beans and Soma turned his head toward the exit. He frowned, his eyes narrowing as his mind drifted once again. He couldn't tell if her abrasion was a part of her personality at this point or a result of her grief. Grateful as he was to have his friend back, she was merely a shadow of her former self. He wasn't sure if he would ever see the old Neo again. And that thought deeply troubled him.

For now, it seemed best to leave her alone. She would return in her own time.

. . .

Wilderness

An ear-splitting screech echoed across the wastelands as the final adversary fell. It's large blue body floated to the ground, it's third eye closing for the final time as its core was extracted. Stepping away, the God Eater lowered his weapon and turned his attention to the group of people behind him. They bowed deeply to express their profound gratitude. They would live to see another day.

"Th-Thank you so much!"

"We thought we were goners…"

He smiled sheepishly, running a hand through his hair.

"It's no trouble at all. Really, I'm happy to help."

"Ha. Well that's a first. Don't get many patrols this far out."

"I imagine you don't. What are you guys doing out here?"

"Not like we're out here by choice. After Fenrir turned us away, we've been trying to survive as best we can."

His smile slowly fell. He could feel the bitterness in the man's voice. It was rare to find survivors in the wilderness these days, but stories like theirs weren't unfamiliar to him. He was well aware, as were all members of their organization, that those without Oracle Cell compatibility were not permitted within Fenrir's walls. Those showing promise were directed to the facilities. Those without were left behind. It seemed that this caravan was compromised of the latter.

"You've all been tested then?"

"Not all of us. We just picked up those two not too long ago."

The man gestured to a pair of brunette women of pubescent age. The pair looked no older than 17 with light skin, brown eyes, and brown hair. From the similarity of their features, it was obvious that they were related. Most likely sisters. In fact, their only differences were a few shades between their locks and a pair of glasses adorning one of the women's faces.

Reaching into his bag, he slowly retrieved a pair of patches. It was customary for officers to carry a small supply of testing kits, in the off chance that they were to encounter life outside of the walls. With any luck, they may be compatible.

And he sincerely hoped that they were, as it was their only chance for survival.