Neon Genesis Evangelion: 2nd Branch of NERV Story

by WaivernRiver

This is a side story that took place in the 2nd Branch involving the battles that they had to go through while Tokyo-03 was having their own battles. The story only has original characters as the main focus but it does have a strong connection to quite a few characters from the original NGE. Rating can be considered as either T or M. Enjoy. -Thank you all for reading-

4. Episode 4

Title: Neon Genesis Evangelion: 2nd Branch of NERV Story

Author/Writer: Malkin Rivera

Words from the Author:

As I read my episodes over and over again, I realize that I have to make many changes to work with the image that's in my head and to have a better description for my readers. I will continue to make changes to the episodes as I see fit. So far, I have only one friend, whose name is Kevin, helping me out with the episodes. I think in that case, I'll be doing better in my episodes and capture the true image that I want to display. I have a lot of ideas for this episode and I'm probably going to have to change this episode a good number of times. Well, wish me luck.

Episode 4: The 7th Child

After her experience from Friday-night had ended, Rivka had gone through an entire Saturday doing nothing but think about what happened. She didn't go out that day and then came Sunday, which is her regular day to go to the 2nd Branch to work on her piloting skills. She arrives there with her head in the clouds and doesn't acknowledge anyone. Rivka quickly heads to the locker room and changes into her plugsuit. After that, the blond-haired girl walks to the entry plug and soon gets in it. Her training starts while Dr. Florence *William*, Lt. Mina *Dana* and Major Valqua *Jerry* are monitoring her progress from an isolated room that has a giant, plexiglas for them to see Rivka's entry plug.

Dana's currently sitting in front of a monitor that shows Rivka's progress and status and says with a stern tone, "Everything looks normal. Her sync ratio continues to randomly rise and drop, but it doesn't go any higher than 70% or lower than 60%. There are no abnormalities. She's both mentally and physically fit."

William gradually walks up next to Dana's right, leans forward to see the information being displayed on the monitor and then talks with concern in his voice. "Then why does it seem like she's being bother by something? Her sync ratio was almost 80% when she was fighting the angel. That shouldn't go away just like that." He looks at Dana with an intense expression.

Dana peers at William with worry dwelling from within her. "Well..." She focuses her attention back to the monitor. "It would be understandable for it to go back down since Rivka's no longer in danger and doesn't feel any anger at the moment. I believe that could have caused the increase in synchronization."

William sighs and turns his gaze to the monitor. "That's terrible. We can't depend on Rivka's anger to give us victories against the angels over and over. No wonder the Committee will be sending us that other pilot."

Jerry stands behind the two of them as he was listening to their conversation while intently watching the entry plug. "Rivka could also be like this because of the fact that there's another pilot coming."

William quickly turns his head while straightening his posture. "That's right. You told her about that already." He looks at the monitor that's in front of Dana again. "That could have some affect on her, however, I don't know why it would make such a difference."

Dana turns her chair to the right to face Jerry. "You don't think that's all?"

Jerry diverts his eyes to the left without saying a word and thinks, "It could have something to do with that. But it also has to do with Rivka's anger during that last battle. She won't be able to unlock much more of her potential without being mad since it did bring results last time... But it's true. That isn't what makes a pilot truly strong."

William acknowledges Jerry's silence and maintains his eyes on the contents that the monitor's displaying. "We won't know for sure until the pilot arrives. Once the pilot is here, we'll see if Rivka can reach 80% without any worries or any rage."

Jerry looks at William and then lets out a depressing sigh. Afterwards, the Major scratches his head with his left hand while putting his other hand on his waist. "Good idea. Let's not stress too much about it." He then puts both hands into his pockets. "Tell Rivka that we're done with our analysis and that she can go home."

Dana nods and turns around to focus on the monitor. "Rivka!"

Rivka's voice promptly comes through the intercom while sounding kind of concerned. "Yeah?"

Dana smiles. "You're done for the day. You can go home now."

Happiness immediately takes over as Rivka says with a joyful tone, "Alright!"

William turns around and walks up to Jerry. "Do you think it's actually fine to leave it like that?"

Jerry nods with a sympathetic look. "It's alright. Let's not concern ourselves with this too much."

William looks at Jerry with disbelief and then sighs while shrugging. "If you say so."

Jerry gives William a reassuring smile. "Trust me." He then looks over at Dana. "What's the update on Eva Unit 04?"

Dana glances at Jerry for a moment, looks back at the monitor and then starts to type for the answer. After doing that, she reads what shows up. "Thomas is with the mechanics right now. He's getting the update on the Eva." Dana then slightly turns her chair again to look at Jerry. "Although, they also had to fix the damaged Eva Unit 05. It seems like it will take them a bit longer than we thought for the completion of Unit 04."

Jerry sighs, walks up to Dana and looks over her left shoulder to see the information that's being showed. "We'll just have to hope that we won't need the help of that Eva... And that Rivka can handle the next angel attack. I predict that it won't be much longer until that happens."

Worry appears on Dana's expression. "Please don't say that! The last thing I want is another angel attack!"

William looks at Dana with seriousness resonating within his eyes. "It can't be helped if it does happen. So don't be sadden by the thought of that happening. We must all be strong for that moment."

Dana groans a little. "Alright..."

Jerry smiles at Dana. "We should actually be more positive about the current situation. We are getting another pilot to help out, after all."

William walks towards a wall that's to the right of the room and leans his back against it while keeping his eyes on the others in the room. "True. It's not like the pilot that the Committee's sending is not going to be doing anything."

Dana responds with a concerned tone while focused on William. "But that's not the point of our concern. The Committee's sending us someone we don't even know. For all we know, that person would be here to watch us."

William contemplates what Dana said for a moment and then replies. "That could be true, although we went through sort of the same thing with Rivka when she was chosen to be a pilot, and it turned out pretty well." He chuckles.

Dana gets stressed out. "At least you guys had information on Rivka when she joined the 3rd Branch though! There's no information in our possession about this pilot!" She gestures with her right hand extended a little. "We don't even know if the pilot is a he or a she!"

Jerry promptly laughs and then stands up straight with his eyes locked on Dana. "That reminds me; Rivka thinks the new pilot is a girl. I didn't even say anything." He then smiles at Dana.

Dana lightly smiles back at Jerry while calming down. "That's the way teenage girls are like. They always think a person they'll meet is going to be a girl, unless they're thinking in dating terms."

Jerry maintains his smile. "It's obvious that she wouldn't think of that. I haven't actually ever heard her say anything about dating." He then thinks to himself while looking upward with a hint of curiosity brimming, "I really do wonder how she would react to the pilot if it is a guy." Jerry gives out a short laugh to himself while still thinking. "In some way, it might be worse than another Asuka..." He then pauses for a short moment with his gaze downward and mutters, "Or maybe not as worse, but it would still be a pain." Jerry chuckles.

The three of them continue to talk as the day keeps moving forward. In the meantime, Rivka has already arrived at the apartment while wearing a green tank-top and white shorts with three green, horizontal stripes. She watches television in the living room for a moment while sitting on the couch until she gets tired and decides to call Betty. While doing that, Rivka shuts off the television with the remote in her left hand and holding her cellular with her right hand.

Betty answers with a curious tone while sitting on the middle of her purple bed with her legs crossed as she's wearing a yellow gown. "Hello?"

Rivka smiles while holding her cellular up to her right ear with the other hand. "Hey, it's me."

Betty immediately gets excited as she tightens her grip on her cellular with her right hand. "Hey, Rivka! I haven't talked to you since Friday. How are you doing?"

Rivka lies down on the couch while putting the remote down on the table that's in front of the couch with her left hand and stares at the ceiling. "I know... I was thinking about what happened and I forgot to call you yesterday. Oh, and I'm doing fine."

Betty laughs softly. "So... Were you thinking of that guy?"

Rivka's briefly stunned by Betty's question and then instantly sits up with urgency showing. "What?! No! I wasn't thinking about him at all!"

Betty playfully giggles while leaning backwards with her left hand on the bed. "You're not telling me the truth. Come on, Rivka. Be honest."

Rivka groans while glancing to the side that the television is located as she blushes slightly. "Uhhh... Okay... Maybe a little bit."

Betty happily shouts out, "I knew it!"

Rivka smiles nervously. "Alright, alright... I admit it." She then looks down in front of her. "Anyway, how's your brother?" Rivka laughs softly.

Betty giggles out of amusement. "How's my brother?! You should ask how my dad is doing! He saw Max and got so mad that Max isn't even allowed to go out for a week! My dad said, and I quote, you were supposed to be an example of maturity, not an idiot who gets his ass kicked by a stranger."

Rivka laughs even more. "Wow! Your dad actually said that! That's so freaking funny!"

Betty responds with content in her voice. "Yeah, and if you think that's funny, you should see Max's face! He has a bruise that's shaped like a shoe print!" She starts to laugh uncontrollably while having thrown herself backwards to roll on her bed for a moment.

Rivka smiles and laughs even harder. "Whoa! Nero must have kicked him pretty hard!"

Betty stops laughing while letting out a mild gasp and then hurriedly sits up on the bed again. "You remembered his name?!"

Rivka slaps her hand onto her face while slightly turning red and then says with a hesitant tone, "Uh... Yeah... So what?" She puts her hand down while trying to regain her composure.

Another gasp escapes Betty's mouth and then asks with a firm tone, "You like him, don't you?!"

Rivka becomes even more red while being very surprised and then talks with a defensive tone. "No! I don't even know him, Betty! I would never be interested in a guy I just met!"

Betty giggles once again while tilting her head to the right with her eyes shut. "But you do. You can't hide it, Rivka." She then sighs with her head now lowered a little. "If only you had gotten his number, then that whole 'I don't even know him' crap wouldn't be an excuse."

Rivka gets a bit annoyed as a scowl appears on her person. "The point is that I don't like him. I doubt I will ever see him again anyway. So, just drop it."

Betty promptly says with a sarcastic tone, "Okay... Whatever you say, Rivka."

Rivka sighs while slouching forward with her eyes closed. "You don't believe me, do you?"

Betty laughs while looking up at her ceiling, which is the same color as her bed. "Nope, but I'll humor you." She continues to laugh with her eyes closed again.

Rivka rolls her eyes. "Fine..."

Betty stops laughing while looking down at the floor that's in front of her. "Hey, I have to go. I'll talk to you tomorrow. I have something to tell you at school, okay?"

Rivka's a bit confused, but shrugs it off. "Okay. Bye, Betty."

Betty replies with a happy tone, "Bye!"

Rivka hangs up and then stretches. After doing that, the blond-haired girl gets up, prepares herself something to eat, finishes eating after several minutes and goes to the bathroom to take a shower. Once she's done and gets out of the bathroom, Rivka notices that Jerry's home as he's looking inside the refrigerator.

Rivka stands in front of the bathroom door, which is located at the left side of the apartment while wearing a pink blouse that matches with the shorts she's now wearing. After watching Jerry for a few seconds, Rivka plants her left hand on her hip while holding a small, green towel in her other hand. "Hey."

Jerry stops looking at the fridge and turns around to focus his attention to Rivka as he's still wearing his grey-colored uniform. "Oh, hey. I didn't notice that you got out of the shower." He turns his attention back to the fridge.

Rivka smiles while walking into the kitchen without veering her eyes away from Jerry. "Yeah. Are you looking for something to eat?"

Jerry nods while intently searching the confines of the fridge. "Uhuh, it seems like we're almost out of food."

Rivka holds up her towel with both hands and uses it to dry her hair. She then walks to the table and sits down with the towel now on the table. "There's some food that I prepared on the stove."

Jerry turns to the stove, walks up to it and grins at Rivka. "Thanks." He returns his attention to the food and serves himself in a plastic plate. Jerry then goes to the table, sits in front of Rivka and starts to eat. "So... How was your day?" He looks up at her while casually chewing his food.

Rivka rests her back against the chair and lightly shrugs. "It was alright, I guess."

Jerry continues to eat. "Looking forward to school tomorrow?"

Rivka looks away. "Kind of..." She then returns her gaze to Jerry with a small amount of seriousness being displayed. "Have you heard anything about when the new pilot will be here?"

Jerry smiles at her. "Why? Are you interested in the new pilot?"

Rivka immediately glares at the Major. "I'm just wondering if she's here yet?"

Jerry pauses for a moment while looking to the side and then looks back at her. "The pilot hasn't arrived yet." He then thinks while staring at his food. "She's still assuming that the pilot's a girl." Jerry looks at the ceiling while softly sighing and thinks, "I'm really starting to wonder what would happen if it's not a girl."

Rivka blinks with confusion overtaking her expression. "What are you thinking about?"

Jerry looks at Rivka and hesitates for a moment while laughing in a nervous way. "Uhhh... Nothing." He then puts his left hand behind his head and nervously chuckles.

Rivka slants her head to the left. "Okay..." After that, the blond-haired girl looks at the clock that's on the wall behind her to check the time and then back to Jerry. "Well, it's getting late. I'm going to bed." She gets up and turns towards her room, which is on the same side of the apartment as the bathroom.

Jerry puts his hand down and nods with a light smile on his face. "Alright, goodnight."

Rivka simply waves at him while walking to her room. "Night."

The day ends and it's now Monday morning as Rivka has no trouble getting up. She puts on her uniform and then heads to school. It doesn't take Rivka long to get to her class with a couple of minutes to spare before the bell rings.

Rivka walks into the room and quickly sees Betty sitting in her desk, which causes her to smile. "Hey."

Betty looks at Rivka and happily smiles. "Hey!" She then pauses for a moment while giggling. "Are you still thinking about that guy?"

Rivka retorts with a hint of irritation in her voice. "Knock it off! I told you to drop it!" She then leans towards Betty while standing in front of her best friend's desk with a fierce glare.

Betty leans against her seat while trying not to laugh. "I know, but I can't help it. I'm amazed that you actually like a guy." She keeps on smiling.

Rivka makes a confused expression with irritation still being present. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Betty gets closer to Rivka while cheerfully smiling. "You usually aren't interested in any guys at school. You don't even pay any of the cute guys we see when we go out."

Rivka sighs with her eyes closed and head lowered. "It's because all those guys are morons." She pauses for a moment while looking away and then quickly snaps her head to look at Betty as she blushes slightly. "Hey! I never said I liked Nero!"

Betty smiles again and points at Rivka with her left hand. "See? You still remember his name? That's proof!"

Rivka blushes a bit more. "How's that proof?! I remember your stupid brother's name and I hate his guts!"

Betty gives Rivka a sinister smile. "Yeah, but you don't hate Nero, do you?"

Rivka sighs again with her eyes shut while calming down a bit and straightening her posture with both hands on her hips. "True, but that doesn't mean I like him the way you make it out to be."

Betty giggles. "I still don't believe you."

Rivka groans a little while rolling her eyes as the bell rings at that exact moment. After that, the blond-haired girl goes to her desk that's to the left of Betty and sits in it while facing the board. "Just drop it."

Betty turns her attention to the board as well while getting comfortable in her seat. "Oh, okay..."

Rivka briefly stares at the board and then realizes something that makes her look at Betty again. "Hey, what was that thing you were going to tell me?"

Confusion takes over as Betty makes eye contact with Rivka. "What thing?"

Rivka sighs while slightly tilting her head to the right. "Oh, come on. Don't tell me you forgot. You should have just told me on the phone." She returns her focus to the board while holding her head up with her right hand.

Betty stares at Rivka for a moment with a dumbfounded expression while trying to figure out what Rivka's talking about. She then suddenly gasps and smiles shortly afterwards. "Oh! Now, I remember!"

Rivka glances at Betty. "What is it?"

Betty answers while still smiling with her posture now leaning a bit towards Rivka. "I heard that there's a new student."

Rivka raises her eyebrows without diverting her eyes from Betty. "Really?"

Betty simply nods. "Yup, but nobody knows if the new student is a he or a she. It's sort of a mystery."

Some concern shows itself on Rivka's face. "That's odd. How long did you know about this?"

Betty gets a little closer to the blond-haired girl. "Since yesterday. People say that the new student will start school today."

Rivka's eyes stay locked onto Betty with curiosity coming forth. "Which class will the new student be in?"

Before Betty has a chance to answer, the teacher enters the classroom and everyone quickly greets him. Rivka and Betty greet him as well, which results in their conversation ending right there. The teacher is a middle age man with short, red hair, light skin and green eyes as he's wearing a white buttoned shirt that's tucked into his grey pants. *Quick description because he's not too important.*

The teacher stands in front of the chalk board with a composed demeanor. "Good morning, class. Today we have a new student."

Rivka and Betty instantly look at each other with an immense amount of surprise being displayed. They then quickly turn their attention back to the teacher with a profound amount of interest.

The teacher smirks. "So, please be respectful and welcome him to our class." He then slightly turns to his left, which is where the door is located, and calls out, "You can come in and introduce yourself."

Nero calmly enters while wearing the white, polo shirt and grey, khaki pants that the boys must where as the uniform. After entering the classroom, the black-haired boy walks up to the teacher and faces the class. "Hello, everyone." He puts his hands into his pockets and contentedly smiles. "My name is Nero Akaya. It's nice to meet you all."

Rivka's overcome with disbelief and shock. She then hurriedly gets up from her seat while leaning onto her desk to get a better look of Nero and thinks, "It's him! I can't believe he's the new student!" Rivka looks at Betty out of the corner of her eyes with shock still being present.

Meanwhile, Betty's also shocked to see Nero, but then looks at Rivka and makes a devilish smile when she sees Rivka's expression. "Look who's here." She giggles.

Rivka glares at Betty and shouts with an aggravated tone, "Shut up!"

That outburst causes the teacher to direct his attention to Rivka and sternly asks, "Is there a problem, Ms. Genster?"

Rivka quickly looks at the teacher with a nervous expression as she stands to the left of her desk. "Huh?! Oh, it's nothing, sir!"

Betty giggles quietly while watching Rivka and thinks, "Busted."

The teacher sharply nods. "Good." He then turns his head to Nero. "You can sit down in front of Rivka Genster." The teacher points at Rivka with his right hand.

Rivka's eyes widen out of surprise as she double-takes between the teacher and Nero. After that, the blond-haired girl thinks while trying to compose herself with her head lowered a little, "He's going to sit in front of me?"

Nero focuses his gaze towards Rivka and nods. "That's fine with me." He then casually walks to his desk and smiles at Rivka while standing next to it. "Good to see you again."

Rivka smiles back at Nero in a shy way while turning red a little. "Yeah, me too."

With that, Nero sits down and calmly looks at the board. At the same time, Rivka sits back down with her eyes locked onto Nero from behind while Betty leans towards the blond-haired girl and whispers, "Me too." She giggles.

In response, Rivka gets annoyed again and glares at Betty while whispering back, "Shut up!"

Betty nonchalantly grins. "Okay." She then turns to look at the board.

In the meantime, Nero turns his head to the right to look at Rivka with an amused smile. "What did I tell you about restraint?"

Rivka returns her gaze to Nero and smiles slightly. "I know. I'm working on it."

Nero nods without losing his smile. "Good." He then turns to face the board again.

Rivka keeps smiling as she's staring at Nero's back and thinks, "I can't believe he's here... In the same class as me." She lightly bites her lower lip while putting her right hand under her chin to hold her head up. "This is going to be nice." Rivka then pauses for a moment and looks down at her desk with a confused expression. "Did I just think that?" She returns his focus to Nero and sighs while moving her right hand to her right cheek.

The school day continues on to the point of it being the students athletic hour as all the students are outside, wearing their mandatory purple shorts and grey t-shirt. They have the choice of running the track, playing basketball, playing volleyball, playing soccer, swimming or just observing everyone else. (Of course, those who do nothing will lose points) Rivka had just finished a game of volleyball and is resting against a large, metal fence that goes around the entire volleyball court. She watches the other girls play while talking to Betty, who's to the blond-haired girl's left and Jonny, who's sitting next to Betty's left.

Jonny looks at Rivka with mild curiosity while being curled-up into a ball. "So, Rivka. Betty tells me that you like that Nero guy."

Irritation immediately appears on Rivka's face as she looks at Betty while blushing a little and growls with a low tone, "Betty...!"

Betty covers her mouth while giggling with her eyes on Rivka and then puts her hands down so she can respond. "What? Why are you blushing? I thought you didn't like him?" She smiles in a malicious manner.

Rivka gets a bit more irritated while getting close to Betty with her left hand planted on the floor. "Shut it!"

Jonny sighs while maintaining his eyes on the two girls. "Alright, enough." He directly focuses his attention on Betty. "Just stop it, okay?" Jonny then gives Betty a charming smirk.

Betty looks at Jonny with a content smile, nods and then gives Rivka an apologetic look. "Yeah... I'm sorry for pushing it."

Rivka sighs while calming herself down and then moves a bit away from Betty so she can rest her back on the fence with her left hand still on the floor. "It's fine. Just promise that you won't do it again."

Betty pauses momentarily to contemplate something as she quickly scans her surroundings. After that, the brown-haired girl looks at Rivka with a small amount of concern. "Hey, speaking of which, where is Nero?"

In response to Betty's question, Rivka starts to check around to see if she can find Nero while standing up with her left hand holding onto the fence. "I don't know."

Jonny gets on his feet with his eyes on Betty. "I heard he's swimming in the gym's pool."

Surprise takes over Rivka's expression as she gazes at Jonny. "Really?!"

Jonny looks at Rivka and nods. "Yeah."

Betty promptly gets up while facing Rivka. "You want to go see him?"

Rivka instantly becomes defensive with her eyes now narrowed. "What?"

Betty smirks. "I don't mean it like that. Let's go check how he's doing?"

Rivka's face eases up as she talks with a nervous tone while looking away. "O-Okay..."

Betty turns her head to the left to look at Jonny from behind herself. "You coming?"

Jonny calmly nods at Betty. "Yeah. It's not like I find this volleyball game interesting." He laughs.

Betty laughs as well. "Alright. Let's go."

The three of them all exit the volleyball court and casually walk to the giant gym that has the swimming pool. As soon as they enter, they all notice a huge crowd around the pool and this causes them to become quite curious. They then make their way through the crowd to see what's happening and were all quickly shocked to see Nero swimming at an incredible speed.

Betty's amazed by what she's seeing with her posture slanted forward a little as she's near the edge of the pool. "Whoa! Look how fast he's swimming!"

Jonny watches Nero swimming while being to Betty's right. "That's amazing! How fast do you think he's going?"

Rivka stands to Betty's left with a content smile while being very impressed by Nero's speed. "I don't know, but he sure is fast!"

Then, a man walks through the crowd and stops next to them. He's the coach of the swimming team and looks like he's in his late 30s as he's wearing a purple cap over his short, blond hair with a white T-shirt beneath a purple jacket covering most of it and blue shorts. After that, the coach looks at the three teens with a firm expression while standing to the left of Rivka. "Do you all know who that boy is?"

Rivka turns her attention towards the coach and replies with a composed tone. "Yes, sir. His name is Nero Akaya. He's new to the school."

The coach takes off his cap with his right hand to briefly scratch his head with the same hand and then puts it back on with his focus on Nero, who's still swimming. "Well... He sure is making a good first impression. I want him to join our swimming team."

Betty quickly steps in front of Rivka while being surprised by the coach's words. "You want him to join the team?! Really?!"

The coach looks at Betty while smiling. "Of course." He then points at Nero with his left thumb as the young man continues to swim back and forth across the pool. "Don't you see what he's capable of? He's so fast that he completed twenty laps within a minute and a half. That's roughly four and a half seconds per lap."

Shock overtakes Jonny's face. "Wow! That's unbelievable! He's faster than most professional swimmers in the country!"

The coach nods. "I know. He can win us the gold medal." He then turns his gaze to the pool with sadness now showing. "Unfortunately, he doesn't want to join the team."

Jonny becomes even more shocked while taking a step towards the coach. "What?! He can't be serious?! Why won't he join?!"

The coach shakes his head while shrugging and looking at the three teens. "I don't know. Can you convince him since you know him?"

Rivka hesitates for a moment with worry being displayed. "Well... We really don't know him too well."

Jonny starts to walk to the right side of the pool where people start swimming from while yelling out, "Oh, don't worry! I'll convince him!"

Betty raises her right hand up ahead of herself to try to stop him as she had gone around Rivka to stand to the blond-haired girl's right. "Wait, Jonny!"

Jonny ignores Betty and stops at the edge of the pool with his eyes locked onto Nero. "Hey, Nero! Get out of the pool!"

Nero stops swimming with his back to Jonny, casually turns to face him with a dumbfounded expression and then hurriedly swims to the pool's side that Jonny's standing at. Meanwhile, Rivka walks up next to Jonny while having her left hand on her hip with her eyes on the black-haired boy and thinks, "I wonder why Nero won't join the team."

After that, Nero gets out of the pool and walks up to Jonny as he's only wearing light, blue shorts with water dripping off his body. "What is it?" He then briefly scratches the side of his head with his right hand and puts it back down afterwards.

Jonny answers with an upset tone as he points at Nero's shorts, "Look at that! You're going that fast with shorts!" He then puts his hand down. "Why won't you join the swimming team? You would be a big help to the team and actually win us a gold medal!"

Nero gives Jonny an emotionless look and places both hands behind his head. "I don't care about that. So just mind your own business." He turns around and walks to the same side of the pool where Betty is standing.

Jonny sighs in disappointment with his head down while calming down and then turns his attention to Rivka. "Can you convince him to join the team?"

Rivka stares at Nero as he continues to walk away and then looks at Jonny. "If he doesn't want to join, then that's it. Just leave him alone."

Jonny becomes fairly irritated by Rivka's words with both hands tightly clenched. "Oh, come on!"

Betty walks up to Jonny and grabs his left arm while being very upset. "Knock it off, Jonny! Just let it go!" She then changes her expression and talks with a sweet tone. "Come on." Betty pulls him to walk with her.

Jonny whines. "But...!"

Betty looks at Jonny while lightly tugging on his arm. "Don't say anything. Let's go." She pulls him passed Rivka and they both exit the gym.

Rivka watches them leave and then sees Nero walk out of the dressing room, which is where he had gone to change into the uniform. After that, she rushes towards Nero while shouting out and waving her right arm, "Hey!"

Nero simply looks at Rivka with no real emotion as she stops in front of the black-haired boy and says while being a little out of breath, "Sorry about that. Jonny has a lot of pride for our school."

Nero shrugs while having his head turned to the left to look away from Rivka. "It's alright." He then looks at her. "I'll see you in class." Nero gives her a small smile while turning away and walks.

Rivka stares at Nero as he's walking and mumbles in a sad way, "See ya."

Athletics ends and then the school day moves forward to the point that it ends. Everyone leaves the classroom except Rivka, who's doing clean up duty since it's her turn. What she doesn't know is that someone is watching her as she cleans.

Rivka thinks to herself while looking up at the ceiling as she's sweeping the floor with a broom. "I can't believe that I completely forgot it was my turn to clean." She sighs with her eyes briefly shut and then turns her attention to the floor.

Nero watches her clean while leaning against the wall that's next to the door with his arms crossed as he's contentedly smiling. "Looks like you're having fun."

Rivka gets startled, drops the broom onto the floor and frantically turns around to face Nero while being overcome with surprise. "What are you still doing here?!"

Nero keeps smiling with no change to his demeanor. "I needed to talk to you about something."

Rivka becomes confused for a moment and looks at the broom. She then quickly picks it up and returns her attention to Nero. "What is it?"

After hearing Rivka's question, Nero puts his hands in his pockets and gradually walks up to her. "Rivka Genster. I knew I recognized your name when you told me it on Friday night." He then reaches the blond-haired girl and stands pretty close to her while making his face be near Rivka's face.

Rivka blushes slightly due to how close they are to each other while her mouth is a bit open and drops the broom again. "What do you mean?"

Nero tilts his head to the left while examining Rivka's face. "You're the famous 6th Child that I heard from the Committee." He smiles again as he looks deep into the gleaming, green eyes of the 6th Child. "They say that you and the 2nd Branch of NERV need my help."

Rivka's immediately shouts out with disbelief all over her face, "Wait! You couldn't be!"

Nero chuckles and backs up a bit from Rivka while straightening his head. "You got it. I'm the 7th Child that the Committee sent to pilot Eva Unit 04." He continues to smile.

Rivka almost falls backwards and then becomes very upset. "So that whole thing from Friday was a set up?!"

Nero flinched as he takes a step back with his left foot while pulling his hands out of his pockets. After that, the 7th Child waves his hands in front of Rivka in a nervous way. "No! I wasn't setting you up or anything like that! It was by sheer luck that we met. Honest!" He laughs nervously while scratching the back of his head with his right hand.

Rivka glares at Nero while placing her hands on her hips. "How do I know if you're telling the truth?"

Nero smirks while putting his left hand behind his head and keeping his right hand in the same spot. "Because I would never lie to such a smart and beautiful girl."

Rivka blinks in a confused manner and then blushes again while looking away with embarrassment brimming. "Ummm... O-Okay... I believe you." She looks at him while still lightly blushing.

Nero contentedly nods. "Good. I look forward to being involved with such an interesting person. I'm actually happy that I came here." He tilts his head to the right while staring at Rivka.

Rivka looks down at the floor while being a little red. "Really? Well, that's nice to know." She looks up at Nero and smiles shyly.

Nero turns around, walks to the door and before exiting, turns his head to the left to look at Rivka. "Tomorrow after school, I'll be going to the 2nd Branch to see my Eva. Would you like to accompany me?"

Rivka momentarily hesitates. "Oh... Well... Okay, but we normally don't do any testing until Sunday though."

Nero nonchalantly shrugs. "Well... I have to go and give your Commander some information from the Committee anyway."

Rivka gets a bit confused, however, brushes it off quickly. "Alright."

Nero lightly smiles. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

Rivka smiles back at him. "Okay." She then waves at him while saying with a cheerful tone, "Bye!"

Nero turns his head to look in front of himself and raises his right hand to wave. After that, the 7th Child puts both hands in his pockets and leaves.

Rivka finishes clean up duty and then heads home. The blond-haired girl doesn't see Jerry when she gets there and she's too tired to stay up. So, she takes a quick shower and goes to bed while thinking about the fact that Nero will be her fellow pilot and classmate. That night ends and the following school day goes by quicker than ever. After that, Nero and Rivka go to the 2nd Branch's HQ, where everyone is located.

Jerry turns to see Rivka with his arms crossed as he's standing where he usually does. "Rivka? What are you doing here?"

Commander Skylark walks in from the same entrance that Rivka and Nero had just came through with the Sub-Commander right next to her. After that, both her and Norwood stand to the right of the blond-haired girl while at a small distance away from her. "Yes, and why did you bring your friend with you? This isn't some place you can come to hang out, Ms. Genster."

The other 2nd Branch personnel promptly look at Rivka and Nero.

Nero takes a step forward with a light smile on his face while standing to Rivka's left as he makes eye contact with the Commander. "I forgot the Committee didn't give you any information on me."

Everyone is instantly surprised by what they just heard while having their eyes on Nero.

Commander Skylark briefly veers her gaze to Norwood while having a surprised expression and then looks at Nero with some of her composure returning. "So, you're the pilot that the Committee sent us?" She turns her attention to Rivka. "It appears that you have already met Rivka."

Nero keeps smiling and firmly nods. "I was given orders to enroll to the same school as her. Fortunately, I was placed in the same class as well. Although, I really doubt that was a mere coincidence." He chuckles.

Curiosity appears on Skylark's face while mildly rasing her left eyebrow. "Oh, really?" She then relaxes her expression and says with a stern tone, "Since you're here, it will be very helpful to have your support. Tell us about yourself."

Nero sighs while rolling his eyes and then closes his eyes for a moment. Afterwards, the black-haired boy returns his focus to the Commander with a hint of seriousness being displayed while placing his left hand on his waist. "I'm not allowed to give you any information other than my name, date of birth and what ethnic group I'm a part of."

Commander Skylark's curious takes form again. "Is that so? What if I were to order you to tell me?"

Nero softly laughs while tilting his head to the right. "You can't overrule the command of the Committee. If you want to know more about me, ask them yourselves. Although, by the time they receive your request to get information on me, three months would have already passed due to how busy they are. In that case, it wouldn't even matter." He then smiles.

Rivka covers her mouth while trying not to laugh with her eyes on Nero.

Having seen this, Jerry walks up behind Rivka and whispers into her right ear with a stern tone, "Don't laugh. This is a serious matter."

Rivka looks at Jerry while being a bit startled and then whispers back, "Oh, sorry." She then turns her attention back to the one's who are talking.

Commander Skylark smirks. "You got a point there. So, tell us what you're allowed to tell."

A cold look suddenly overtakes Nero's expression as he straightens his posture and says with a composed tone, "My name is Nero Akaya. I was born September 6th, 2001 and I'm Japanese... Although, some of that information may not be accurate since that's what the Committee gave me as my information when I was younger due to there not being any actual evidence of my birth."

Commander Skylark looks at the Sub-Commander with a small amount of concern as Norwood's giving her a firm look and nods. She then looks back at Nero while saying with a satisfied tone, "That's good enough. Welcome to NERV's 2nd Branch. This is the holding facility for Eva Units 04 and 05." Skylark warmly smiles.

Nero grins with his eyes shut. "I'm happy to be here." He then opens his eyes to look at the Commander again. "By the way, I got some news that the Committee wanted me to inform you about. It involves the things they want you to do."

Worry can now be seen on Commander Skylark's person. "What would that be?"

Nero reaches into his left pocket, pulls out a folded up piece of paper, casually opens it with both hands and looks at everyone with a nonchalant demeanor. "This concerns all of you as well. So, I would listen if I were you."

In response, everyone listens carefully at what Nero's about to say as the 7th Child focuses on the paper and starts to read out loud the most important parts. "First off, they want you to improve on the schedule of the pilot's testing days and training exercise."

The 2nd Branch personnel looks at each other and quietly talk among themselves while Skylark continues to display worry as she places her right hand on her hip. "Why is that?"

Nero peers at the Commander. "They believe that the victory Rivka obtain over your first angel battle was a narrow one. They want a better performance and decided that there should be two testing days a week and two physical training days. I heard that Rivka takes fencing class on Wednesdays, correct?"

Commander Skylark gives Nero a sharp nod with a serious look taking over. "Indeed."

Nero returns his gaze to the paper after receiving that answer. "Well, they want her to be taking another day of fencing class. They also want me to participate in those same classes with her." He then looks at the Commander again. "In addition, the testing days will be taken during the weekend."

Commander Skylark diverts her attention to focus on Rivka. "Do you have any problems with that?"

Thomas *Capt. Russell* mutters to himself with a hint of skepticism showing, "That's an understatement." He softly laughs.

Rivka glares at Thomas since she was able to overhear what he said with irritation brimming while tightly clenching her hands into fists. After that, the 6th Child calms herself and looks at the Commander with a composed demeanor. "No. I have no problem with that at all." She then turns her head towards Thomas and sticks her tongue out at him due to her feeling that she proved him wrong.

Commander Skylark shakes her head in disapproval and then looks at Nero again. "There you go. What else is there?"

Nero starts to read the paper again. "Well, they expect my Eva to be done by the end of next week. If not, they're going to cut your budget."

Thomas immediately shouts at Nero out of anger. "That's not fair! I just saw your Eva a couple of days ago and it still isn't near completion! It will take at least a month to be prepared!"

Nero looks at Thomas out of the corner of his eyes with sincerity emitting from his being. "I'm sorry, but that's the Committee's decision. There's nothing I can do about it"

Commander Skylark looks at Thomas. "Calm down, Capt. Russell. I guess we'll just have to hustle."

Nero turns his attention to the Commander while gradually folding the piece of paper. "I want to see my Eva, if you don't mind."

Commander Skylark locks eyes with Nero and firmly nods. "Alright. Major Valqua and Rivka will take you to see it. Is that alright?"

Nero nods while putting the folded paper in his right pocket. "That's fine. There's one more thing I have to inform you before that."

Curiosity establishes itself on Commander Skylark's face again. "What would that be?"

Nero hesitantly smiles while slanting his head to the right. "Well..." He then scratches the left side of his head with his left index finger. "The thing is... I don't really have a stable place to stay."

Rivka looks at Nero with disbelief and then hurriedly gets closer to him. "You don't have a place to stay!"

Nero gives Rivka a plain expression. "Yeah. I'm actually staying at a shelter right now. Though, I can only stay there for so long."

Jerry smiles at Nero from behind Rivka with both hands in his pockets. "You can stay with us."

Rivka swings her body around to face Jerry with immense surprise on her face. "What?! Really?!"

Jerry turns his attention to Rivka while grinning and nods. "We have an extra room that he can use."

Nero gives Jerry a content smile. "Thank you."

Commander Skylark smirks due to being pleased by what just transpired. "Now with that settled, you can go see Eva Unit 04, and afterwards, you all can head home."

Nero looks at her with no change to his composure. "Yes, Commander."

Jerry motions both of the children to follow him. "Let's go."

Nero and Rivka both smile at each other and promptly follow Jerry.

They all go to see Eva Unit 04, and after Nero gets the simplicities of the Eva's condition, all three of them head home. While on their way, they got all of Nero's stuff, and when they got home, the first thing they do is get the leftovers together to have something to eat as they're at the kitchen table. Jerry has a pile of beer cans accumulating on his side while Nero and Rivka are sitting next to each other on the other side of the table as they're watching the Major.

Jerry suddenly blurts out while being drunk and raising up a beer can with his right hand, "Yeah! That's the best stuff there is!" He then lets out a loud burp.

Nero watches Jerry with confusion as Rivka looks at the 7th Child and lightly smiles. "Don't worry. He's a good drunk." She giggles while putting her hand over her mouth.

In response, Nero turns his gaze to her with an amused grin. "I can tell. Especially, when he's been drinking an empty beer can for the pass 5 minutes." He chuckles.

Rivka snaps her head to focus on Jerry with astonishment on her face and then throws her head back with her eyes shut while hysterically laughing. "Oh my God! Really?" She keeps on laughing until she decides to grab her grape juice that she has in front of her with her left hand and starts to drink it.

Jerry grins and gets up from his chair while grabbing a couple of more cans of beer that are placed on the right side of the table. "I'm going to bed..." He burps again while walking towards his room and points at the two children as he tries not to fall over. "Now, you two don't be running off and be doing things that God wouldn't." He closes his eyes while giving the two children a big smile.

Rivka's caught off guard by his comment, which causes her to spit out her juice while blushing a little bit and then looks at Jerry with an exasperated expression. "What? No way! We wouldn't do that!"

Nero leans against his chair and starts laughing with both hands behind his head.

Jerry turns away from them while walking into his room and yells out with amusement in his voice, "Goodnight!" He then shuts his door with his left hand.

Nero and Rivka both say goodnight to Jerry, even though he's already inside his room. After that, Nero turns his attention towards Rivka with a light smile. "That was interesting."

Rivka looks at Nero while trying to hide the embarrassment caused by Jerry's previous statement. "Yeah, I know. So, did you like the food?"

Nero swallows the last bit of food that he had just put in his mouth. "It was pretty good!"

Rivka giggles with her left hand over her mouth. "That's good." She then lowers her hand to rest it on the table. "We have to get some more food though."

Nero yawns while nodding in agreement. "Well, I'm going to bed." He stands up while reaching for his plate with his left hand.

Rivka stops him from picking up the plate. "Don't worry about it. I'll wash them."

Nero picks up the plate and walks toward the sink. "I always wash my own plate."

Rivka smiles again and nods. "Okay."

Nero quickly washes his plate and then goes towards the door of his room, which is located on the opposite side of the apartment. "Goodnight, Rivka." He says that without looking at Rivka and opens the door.

Rivka continues to smile. "Goodnight, Nero."

Nero goes into his room and shuts the door behind himself. Rivka then washes her plate and Jerry's plate. After that, the 6th Child goes to her room while thinking about how her life is going to be like with Nero living in the same apartment. While she thinks about that, Nero is talking on his cellular with Chairmen Keel in the confines of his room after having changed his clothes so he can wear a beige-colored shirt with a cross on the lower left of it and matching pants.

Chairmen Keel talks with a serious tone as he's in his office that's only being lite-up by a laptop that's in front of him and placed on the fairly large desk the Chairmen's sitting at. "So, you gave them the news?"

Nero responds while leaning against the wall that's next to his bed as he's holding his cellular with his left hand with the other hand in his pocket. "Yeah. I'm even living with the other pilot and the Major."

Chairmen Keel replies with approval in his voice. "Good. Keep tabs on all of them, understand?"

Nero nods while now staring down at the floor. "I understand."

Chairmen Keel clears his throat and then asks, "How did they feel about the budget cut threat?"

Nero yawns, rubs his left eye with his left hand and then puts his hand down. "There was one man in particular that was making a big deal about it, but the Commander shut him up. She seemed very professional about the whole thing." He smiles. "I guess it's her way of showing her commanding skills."

Chairmen Keel talks a bit more serious again. "It would seem so. Just make sure they don't screw anything up until our preparations are complete."

Nero looks to the side while pausing for a moment and then speaks. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Bye." Chairmen Keel promptly hangs up.

Nero briefly focuses his attention to the cellular while turning it off and then puts it on top of a desk that's at the end of the bed. After that, the black-haired boy lays down on his bed and stares at the ceiling with both hands behind his head while softly saying to himself, "Things can never be simple for me, can they?" He then closes his eyes and falls asleep not too long after that.

To Be Continued...

Brief Statement:

I'm going to try to keep this short since I'm really freaking tired. Obviously, you all can tell there are some feelings that Rivka's starting to have for Nero, but is that a good thing? In the first battle that Eva Unit 04 will be involved in, that will be when I give you the description of the Eva, though I bet you all already know what it looks like. I will also tell you why I chose to have Eva Unit 04 be apart of my story, but that's when the time comes. I hope you all enjoy this long episode and action will soon come, so don't complain too much, okay? Hopefully you all agreed.

That's it. Talk to you all later.