Command deck, 10:00pm

XXX

"Night shift…wonderful." Shigeru rolled his eyes and took a quick swig of beer.

"Don't complain, the Supreme Commander might fire us. So shut up, and let's play cards." Makoto huffed, handing out a deck of cards to his fellow bridge workers.

"I really don't think this is a good idea-" Maya tried to add, but Shigeru cut her off.

"You don't think anything's a good idea you pansy. What's life without a little risk?"

"…I'm working for an organization that combats horror stories straight out of Lovecraft, and if we fail everything dies. I think I've stuck my neck out quite enough."

"Eh, whatever…"

"Just how did we end up here?" Having finished dealing out the cards, Makoto leaned back with eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"How do you mean?" Maya asked.

"Well, we don't exactly share the same hobbies or interests do we? And yet we've all ended up in this extremely specialised and well-paid line of work."

"You answered your own question there. The pay's good, and the job's relatively stable. Hell, even though Motichka put the economy back together and wrapped it up with gaffer tape for good measure, you don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Now what are we playing, poker, blackjack?" Shigeru tried to move on, at least a game of cards would probably take his mind off the mind-numbing boredom that was nightshift.

Pay's good. Just think of that. After the next Seraph, whenever it comes, I'm going to treat myself to some more tunes for my stereo.

"We'll go with poker, and yes, that means a bit of betting is allowed." Makoto sighed, amused, at the sudden sparkling in Shigeru's eyes.

"Well I'm in. Let's say, 1000 yen to start off…"

They played into the night, chasing away the desire to sleep via enjoyment of the game. After all, was it not a most human of concepts to find creative ways of escaping boredom?

Maya gave some praise to the heavens for air conditioning down here. Where it not kept constantly functioning in top condition by their effective yet cantankerous A.I that served more as care taker than anything else, she might well have left years ago. Heat was something the young woman was not overly fond of, having always liked the cold.

The cold made being snug a wonderful thing, sitting on the family sofa and watching the snow fall outside as Christmas neared, wrapped in a dressing gown and mug of hot chocolate in hand. It pained Maya to know that so many would grow up without even knowing a good winter and a snowball fight.

I probably shouldn't think of that. I'll treasure those memories, but I can't let them rule me. That's exactly what my family would want me to do so I'm doing it.

Second Impact had taken something from everyone. Anyone who said otherwise was clearly a liar. For Maya herself, her family had all perished in the aftermath of it. Whilst they survived the initial earthquake and Tsunami, their lives were snuffed out by a landslide. Her mother, her father, her older and younger brothers, all gone in the blink of an eye. And as the extended family had all lived by the coast…she was the only one left to carry on the Ibuki name.

Looking around at her colleagues, having to gage their thoughts via their faces (as poker is quite a psychological game) Maya knew what they'd lost. After working with them for years, these sorts of things slipped out. Quite helpfully, as it gave them common ground.

Makoto still had parents, whom he supported with this job. Of course, they were kept far away from here, out of harm's way if the Seraphim weren't let into Terminal Dogma. But his elder sister…his best friend and inspiration had, like many young Japanese, enlisted to fight the Communists in 2005.

She never came home.

At least half his school friends perished in the initial aftermath of Impact, and as a teenager he'd had to survive famine, bandits, gang wars and all the rest. Beneath that nerdy exterior, resided the spirit of a survivor who believed nothing was given in this world, only earned.

Shigeru meanwhile, had never known his family. He'd simply been abandoned to the world not long after his birth. The orphanage he was dumped at was however, whilst harsh, was ultimately fair and the fondest memories of his life originated from there. Then on September 13th, 2000 AD, his home was crushed by earthquakes and washed away by Tsunami. Leaving him the sole survivor.

If ever there was a reason for someone to have so nihilistic an outlook on life, Shigeru Aoba had it.

His brown eyebrows furrowed, soon followed by a tut.

"In trouble?" Makoto chuckled.

"No, no. I've made worse work." Shigeru dismissed him arrogantly.

"Says the man who loses at least half his games."

"Also the man who wins the other half."

"Well I win more games than you…" Maya fell silent when the slightly older and harsher looking man scowled at her.

"Come on, Aoba-san. Don't be mean to Ibuki-chan." Makoto admonished, playfully yet with an undercurrent of severity.

"As if that were possible." Shigeru grumbled, taking a long look at Maya then sighing in exasperation. "And there it is, the hurt puppy eyes. Look, I'm sorry. Let's just enjoy our game."

The "baby of the bridge" was a sensitive soul. In fact, some of the staff who worked closely with the Evas compared her often to the Third Child. Quiet, nervous, and sweet. No one really disliked her, or any of the Observation deckers. Makoto was always helpful and ready for a laugh, whilst Shigeru usually kept to himself and occasionally made a dark joke or two.

Of course, the Supreme Commander looked down on them with his usual cold detachment which occasionally veered into "aloofness" every now and again. Though the staff of NERV were grateful for the salary he provided, and the importance of their jobs…no one liked him. Even Section-2, some of the scariest people Maya knew, probably felt no love for their immediate superior. And vice versa.

He didn't even flinch when the 6th Seraph almost burned his son to a crisp…his own child. What sort of a man is that?

It was troubling, to know the one at the heart of the world's protection could be so heartless. Maybe steel was required in some way, survival at any cost and whatnot. But if humanity cast aside its…humanity…simply to keep on living…was survival worth it?

They continued to play, quietly observing one another for any signs of tension or uneasiness. Whilst Maya was almost always these things in such games, the other 2 knew well enough that she didn't let it interfere with her considerable intellect.

All of a sudden, Makoto began to look quite cocky and confident, something he only did when he was winning…

Shigeru guessed the danger, and folded as quickly as he could. In this game, one should always bug out before things went wrong. This left only Maya and Makoto, the latter of whom, as the contest came to an end, was proven to have an incredibly weak hand.

"Gah, kuso kurae!" Shigeru exploded as Makoto roared with laughter at him. The Otaku could bluff, and bluff well when he wanted to. Said laughter soon died down, when both men realised what that meant. Whilst Makoto maintained a smile, Shigeru looked as if his world was now falling apart.

"No." He whispered, horrified, as Maya scooped up all her winnings. The young woman smiled a sweet smile, one of gloating and genuine delight.

"Yes." She nodded, beaming all the while. In a world that had seen so much misery and loss, it was most telling of mankind's spirit when even in this age…there was laughter.