PARAGON OF NATURE

He had been bracing for them just... Hitting him again. But that wasn't what happened. Sure, they did kick him. Stomp on him. But also held him down and tore each one of his fingernails off. It was agonizing. By the third one, he was on the cusp of passing out. And when he started to, they would dunk his head in freezing cold water until he thought he might drown. The pain of the water in his lungs... The pain of his nails being ripped off. But the time they finished his right hand, Takumi had started to break his promise. He started to rambling complete nonsense. Anything that came to his mind. Not of it important to the mission. He strayed away from that. But... it didn't stop.

It went on for a long time. Until they had finished both of his hands and threw him back on the ground. They dumped the remaining water over him before they left. And he laid there, freezing and in pain. His hands were bleeding. He was.... in horrible pain. He had screamed himself hoarse. He was shaking. His clothes were soaked and.... he could already feel his resolve starting to get shaky.

She  isn't  sure  how  well  she'll  be  able  to  treat  him  through  the  bars  of  his  enclosure,  but  she  planned  on  doing  the  best  she  can.  Trembling  hands  carry  the  food  and  supplies  as  she  sneaked  in.  Kneeling  down  to  his  level,  Eva  whispers  to  him.

He looked at the food. Starve to death? Takumi hadn't given up yet. As long as his heart was beating, there was a chance to fix things. He didn't want to die. But he didn't want to eat either. Even if he did want to, he couldn't move his arms. He'd have to eat it like a dog. How humiliating. He calls upon every bit of bravado he had in him.

"Fine. I'll starve." He says coldly.

Her voice was familiar. Even if he didn't speak the language last time. He tried to remember, but it was hard to tell. He needed his strength. Yeah. He probably did. Being beaten was awful... His entire body ached. Dark bruises covered much of his skin and he knew some of his bones had broken. But as long as he survived...

Well,  maybe.  The  boy  looked  so  pitiful,  Eva  couldn't  help  but  feel  sorry  for  him.  Enemy  or  not,  this  wasn't  easy  to  watch.

He had come back to make things better, but now here he is. He never expected to get jumped by this many invaders when he was exploring with only a few others. He had distracted the enemies while the others escaped. And he had almost managed to lose the ones chasing him when a commander found him. He wasn't even sure which one it was. It happened too fast. Already tired from fighting and completely alone... Takumi lost that fight. And he thought for sure they would kill him.

But they didn't... Instead, the brought him here. He knew it must be one of their bases, but outside of the tiny room he was locked in... he couldn't tell much. His wrists and ankles had been bound together. The fear he felt was unlike anything he had ever felt before. And it didn't take long for two of the commanders (again, he didn't know which ones. He knew their transformed forms more than anything) approached him. They asked him questions and he said nothing. Even when they hit him. Even when he heard his ribs crack and felt pain shoot through his entire body. The man was loud and angry. It was different from combat. There was some amount of control in being hurt while fighting. But here, Takumi was restrained and beat. At a certain point, all he could do was curl into a ball and wait for it to be over.

They left him in the dark after that. And he didn't know how much time had passed before someone else came in. He tried not to show his fear. He knew more than anyone else on his team... But he wouldn't tell them anything. No matter what.

He gritted his teeth. He was sore from the beating earlier. But... He would still stay strong. He had to. As long as he was alive... He had a chance. He glanced up to the familiar commander. It looked like she had come to bring him water and food. At least they were feeding him. Though he didn't want to eat it. What if there was something in it that would make him more... Agreeable. He shifts, the chains rattling as he did. His wrists were bruising under them.

"Wh... what do you want?" He pretends the food isn't for him. He would go hungry versus get drugged and made to give any information. Not that he knows if the invaders have anything like that. Still... which commander is this...? He feels like he should know... Was it... the one they took prisoner?

“Please,  you  need  to  eat.”  The  commander's  voice  was  timid.  Nobody  else  wanted  to  bring  the  prisoner  food,  and  so  Eva  was  tasked  to  do  it.  It  wasn't  feeding  him  that  was  the  issue.  It  was  the  fact  that  this  prisoner-  a  boy  no  older  than  her  was  being  relentlessly  tortured  for  information.  She  didn't  like  it,  but  that  was  what  it  meant  to  be  a  prisoner  of  war.  You  get  captured,  interrogated,  and  beaten  when  you  don't  give  the  information  they  want. 

She  knelt  down,  setting  the  tray  on  the  floor.  It  didn't  look  like  he  could  move,  but  Eva  would  urge  him  to  do  so  anyway.  She  wasn't  supposed  to  be  here  long,  or  talk  to  him,  let  alone  show  any  shred  of  kindness.  But  her  bleeding  heart  wouldn't  allow  for  her  to  do  anything  less. 

"So the humans came from space and attacked your home first." Eito summarizes. "Interesting. Very Interesting."

A smirk grows on Eito's face. Already, this is turning out to be a lucrative idea. He scans the courtyard again for any sign of Sirei, but the egg shaped robot must be busy elsewhere. At the very least, it's easy for Eito to tell that Eva is telling the truth, as far as he can discern from her ticks and habits, as monstrous as they look. Looking for the signs that someone is lying is always the hardest part of negotiation.

Still, he can hold back his vomit for now.

"Though, as much as I would love to offer similar information in turn, I'm afraid I can't answer your question. The other members of this unit and I only woke up at this school a little over a couple weeks ago. We've been given no information on why it was us who were chosen to wield this power, or how we got it," Eito admits.

Trading knowledge is crucial for information gathering like this, but Eito is admittedly short-handed on what he can offer in regards to who the SDU are and how they gained access to hemoanima.

“So  they  are  withholding  information  from  you,  and  forcing  you  to  fight  ?”  How  awful.  Of  course  the  enemy  would  do  something  so  dreadful.  All  of  them  looked  to  be  around  her  age  as  well,  perhaps  even  younger.  That  realization  makes  her  heart  sink.  “…I  see.  Then,  perhaps  you  could  answer  my  next  question.”

She  braces  herself.  What  her  neighbor  is  about  to  say  next  may  very  well  decide  whether  she  will  give  information  to  their  leader  or  not,  should  he  ask  for  it.

"YOU never wanted this war?" Eito quickly perks up at those words.

Eito isn't stupid, after all. He knows that Sirei is lying to them. But now, they had a commander in captivity with them, one that isn't affected by whatever Sirei's been feeding them to get them to do what he wants.

Looking rapidly around the courtyard to see if that egg robot is around anywhere, he leans in closer to Eva's cage, hands on the bars. "That's not the story I was told. But, as you can see from me being locked in here, I'm not really inclined to believe anything our commanding officer tells us."

"So, what's your side of this little story?" Eito finds himself asking. Knowledge is power, after all. And this is probably the best opportunity he has at getting an upper hand on everyone else in the SDU in that regard.

“That's  right.  We  never  wanted  this  war.  We  only  wanted  to  live  peacefully.”  She  anxiously  fidgeted  with  her  hair,  quickly  scanning  the  room  in  case  that  strange  egg  shaped  creature  were  to  suddenly  appear. 

Her  cage  neighbor,  for  lack  of  a  better  term-  wanted  to  know  her  story  ?  she  supposed  it  made  sense.  If  even  his  own  comrades  cast  him  aside,  who  else  was  he  to  turn  to  ?  Eva  let  out  a  shaky  breath.

It's unfortunate, really, that Eva still looks like a hideous monster to Eito. Despite clearly being a non-human invader, the sound of her voice is just as despicable to listen to as anyone else's would be. Eito knows she isn't human, and yet, still....

"Oh, me? Yes, the team leader of this operation, Takumi had me locked in here under suspicion of being a traitor." He replies honestly. What does he have to hide now that his righteous eyes are exposed? "See, I want much the same as you do. I'm sure we can both agree that humanity has long run its course and should die out like they deserve to, yes?"

It  wasn't  like  she  wanted  the  enemy  wiped  out─  just  that  she  wanted  them  to  leave.  Eva  would  go  on  to  say  as  much.