Standard Disclaimer: "Neon Genesis Evangelion" and "Bio-booster Armor Guyver" are the creative property of Hideaki Anno and Yoshiki Takaya respectively.

Other Standard Disclaimer: This fanfic is rated PG-13 (or T) for violence, swearing, and mild sexual references.

KEY
"spoken"
'thoughts'

Out of Control
A Neon Genesis Evangelion/
Bio-booster Armor Guyver Fusion
By: Mares Guyver

Chapter 4: Testing a Mystery

Thankfully, the ride back to NERV did not involve Misato behind a wheel in any way, shape or form. Using a tram entrance just outside the hospital, the purple-haired Captain and her charge rapidly descended into the Geofront on one of the many underground monorails set up throughout the city. Along the way, a playful Misato was quick to inquire about the depth of Shinji's relationship with his poor, bedridden girlfriend in the recovery ward. This of course immediately sent the boy into a hysterical sputtering of denial while his purportedly mature guardian wiped tears from her eyes. None too soon for the young EVA pilot, the duo reached the hospital section of the Geofront, located near the edge of the immense domed structure. While Misato wandered off to find the doctor in charge, Shinji just stood and stared out the window in one of the building's many pale corridors.

A faint squeaking sound drew the boy's attention away from the scenery, and he turned to spy two males in blue scrubs wheeling a bed and IV rack down the hall. Lying flat on the bed, crimson eyes staring straight at the ceiling, was none other than the bandaged, azure-haired enigma, Rei Ayanami. Asking the technicians to stop, Shinji walked over to the bed while the pale girl titled her head to take in the newcomer. Graciously, the two techs walked to a nearby vending machine to give the two Children some privacy. For several minutes the pair just stared at one another—Shinji trying to work up the nerve to say something and Rei, well, Rei was characteristically unreadable.

Finally Shinji smiled nervously and said, "I . . . I'm glad to see you're okay, Ayanami-san . . ." His only response was a quick flutter of the girl's eyelids, and after a moment he continued with a concerned frown, "Are you still in any pain? I-I know you were hurting a lot earlier . . ." The First Child blinked, then closed her eyes and turned her head back to the ceiling.

"My current condition is . . . tolerable," she stated in her distinctly airy voice. Despite the emptiness of her tone, Shinji found himself smiling, though a bit confused by her verbage.

"That's . . . good, I guess," the boy uttered tentatively, then blinked and grinned sheepishly, an embarrassed blush spreading across his cheeks, "S-sorry . . . I forgot my manners. My name is . . ."

"Shinji Ikari, Third Child, designated pilot of Evangelion Unit-01. Son of Commander Gendo and Dr. Yui Ikari, Birthdate: June 6, 2001, Identification number: 0001-137-22—Clearance level Alfa . . ." the pale girl interjected, her tone never rising or falling during the brief recitation. Sweat dripped down the back of Shinji's head as his jaw threatened to unhinge and plummet through the floor.

'Talk about straight to the point, yeesh . . .' he thought with an uncertain chuckle, the sound bringing the prone girl's scarlet orbs back to him. Out loud the boy stated, "Well . . . I g-guess you already know me then." Once again only the girl's rapid blinks served as a reply, and for a moment the two just stared at each other, both children wondering what the other would do next. Eventually, a red-faced Shinji shuffled his feet and looked slightly off to one side as he uttered his next statement, "I-I know you're an EVA pilot, l-like me, Ay-Ayanami-san . . . I h-hope we can be friends . . ." Sweat dotted Shinji's forehead as the silence between him and the pale girl grew, the boy's anxiety growing as he awaited a reply, any reply.

On the steel bed next to the young Ikari, Rei stared at the fidgeting Third Child, her red eyes as piercing and exacting as a coroner slicing open a fresh corpse. Letting out an imperceptible sigh, she settled back onto the flat surface, her expression fixed as she uttered, "If I am ordered to, then I will." As the boy next to her slumped over with dejection, she sensed the bed shake as the two technicians returned from their break.

Turning to the brown-haired boy, one of the techs smiled apologetically, "Sorry kid, but we really have to get Ayanami-san to her room . . ." Not even waiting for the child's reply, the techs began pushing the bed back down the hall as Shinji looked on miserably. A quick pause, and a sudden expression of determination formed on the boy's face. Without hesitation he jogged to catch up with the medical bed, the techs pausing as Shinji came alongside and looked down at the First Child. Rei just stared back blankly, her scarlet orbs flickering with the same unspoken questions as her first encounter with the Third.

"Ayanami-san, ma-maybe you don't like me or something, and tha-that's okay, but I just want you to know . . ." Shinji's eyes glowed with resolve as his mouth settled into a serious frown, "What I said in the EVA cage, I meant it. Whatever happens, I'll protect you." If the boy was expecting a reply, some sign that the girl before him understood, he was sorely disappointed as the techs once again wheeled the mysterious young woman away. For a minute, Shinji watched the group until it disappeared down the corridor, then hung his head sorrowfully as he internally chastised his actions. Caught in his own, dreary inner world, it was little wonder when Shinji started to the soft, feminine voice just behind him.

"Don't take it personally, Shinji-kun—she's like that with just about everybody." The boy in question whirled around to find a petite, short-haired brunette in a snug tan uniform standing just a few meters away. Holding a clipboard loosely in one arm, she was looking at him with a friendly and sympathetic smile, and Shinji's eyes dropped to the floor as his face flushed pink to a surge of various emotions. This action brought a pleasant giggle from the older woman, which in turn caused Shinji's blush to deepen to a near maroon.

Glancing at the auburn-haired newcomer out of the corner of one eye, Shinji quietly said, "I-I'm sorry, Miss . . . I don't think I've met you before . . ." The brown-eyed woman blinked, then chuckled and tapped the side of her head.

"Ahh . . . I'm such an idiot. That's right, you have no idea who I am, do you?" Smiling, the slender female held out one hand towards the younger child, "I'm Maya Ibuki—Doctor Akagi's assistant." As the EVA pilot shook her hand, Maya continued, "Senpai is still a little busy with the repairs to Unit-01, so until she gets here I'll be taking care of your medical exam." Nodding with a slight blush, Shinji began walking alongside the tan-suited tech as she started down the hallway.

Looking up at the short-haired woman, Shinji asked, "Does Akagi-san take care of all the check-ups?"

Nodding, Maya replied, "Yes . . . when it comes to the EVA pilots at least." Glancing at the brown-haired boy with a smile, the tech continued, "These check-ups actually serve two purposes—1. To get a baseline measurement for a more efficient connection between pilot and EVA, and 2. To make sure the pilots aren't receiving any harmful side-effects from synchronization . . ." Maya's face frowned with concern, "Speaking of which, how are you doing, Shinji-kun?" Looking away to gather his thoughts, Shinji paused a moment before finally speaking.

"I-I'm okay, Ibuki-san . . . actually, there's a lot about what happened that I don't remember," the boy admitted. Next to him, Maya thought, 'That's probably a good thing . . .' and shuddered internally as the horrific images of the Berserk Unit-01 entered her mind. Stopping at one of the many empty exam rooms, Maya pressed the door control and gestured for Shinji to enter.

Following the boy inside, the auburn-haired tech hit the light switch and motioned for Shinji to sit on one of the metal exam beds. Jotting a few notations on her clipboard, Maya looked up and smiled to calm the somewhat anxious-looking EVA pilot. Grabbing a few instruments from a drawer, she walked over and stuck a thermometer in Shinji's ear. As soon as the unit beeped, Maya removed the device and made a few more notations on her pad.

Fidgeting slightly, Shinji asked, "Ano . . . Ibuki-san . . ."

"Maya," the woman in question cut in, her chocolate eyes twinkling as she peeked over her clipboard at Shinji, "Maya is fine, Shinji-kun . . . Ibuki-san makes me sound old." Blushing slightly, the young EVA pilot looked down at his lap.

"O-okay, Ibu . . . Maya-san . . ." Pausing a moment to get control of his embarrassment, Shinji asked, "Ano . . . Maya-san, I d-don't mean to be rude, but . . . do you usually do this sort of . . . ?" Trailing off, the boy looked back down at his lap as Maya grinned.

"What, I'm not doing a good enough job, Pilot Ikari?" chuckling at Shinji's sudden, panicked stammering, "I'm kidding—you're right, I'm actually trained to work with computers, but I've learned to do some basic nursing to cover for Senpai. That's how I know about the way Rei usually treats people—I gotten the same cold shoulder myself a number of times. It's just the way she is . . ." While Shinji nodded his understanding, Maya couldn't help but think, 'Well, she's not that way with the Commander, but somehow I doubt you'd appreciate knowing that, wouldn't you? Poor kid . . .'

As the tan-suited woman continued her examination, both the NERV tech and Evangelion pilot contemplated each other. For Maya, the slight, hesitant, and courteous bishounen slouched before her was a surprise, due to the strength she knew had to lie within—given his earlier performance in EVA. To Shinji, Maya was yet another beautiful woman to suddenly come into his life, more refined in character than Misato, and less overbearing than Ritsuko. Still, the boy knew in his heart that Maya's kindness was just a sham generated by pity, because nobody could love a monster like him. But before Shinji could sink into his usual self-depreciating cycle, Maya stepped away and said, "Okay, off with the shirt."

Eyes bulging and face flushed, Shinji sputtered a loud, "W-W-WHAT!" Giggling like a much younger girl, Maya held up a stethoscope so that Shinji could see her intent.

"I have to listen to your heartbeat, silly," Maya explained with a grin, "So don't be shy . . . now, off with it!"

Shaking thoroughly, Shinji grabbed the edges of his shirt and said, "D-d-do I have to? Can't you ju-just listen through my shirt?"

Raising an eyebrow, Maya smirked impishly, "What's the matter, Shinji-kun? Got something you don't want me to see? I'm hurt." Expecting a laugh, or at least a groan, the auburn-haired tech was shocked when the boy before her bowed his head and sobbed. 'W-what the . . . ?'

Sniffing between tears, Shinji said, "I . . . I have m-marks, on my back, from an old a . . . accident. I don't . . . I can't . . ." The boy finally just broke down, and Maya immediately felt tears of her own sting her eyes as she realized what she had done.

"Oh, Shinji-kun, I didn't mean . . ." stepping over, the brown-eyed woman put her hands on the child's shoulders, "Shinji-kun, I'm sorry . . . I didn't know; I didn't mean to hurt your feelings . . ." Smiling sincerely, Maya tilted the boy's deep cobalt eyes up to at her before saying, "You don't have to be scared of me, you know . . . I won't ridicule you, or make fun of you—I'm not like that. Please trust me, Shinji-kun." Sniffing, the young EVA pilot nodded, and as Maya stepped back he reached down and pulled off his sticky white shirt, a downcast expression still on his face.

The first thing that Maya noted was, despite the boy's small size and skinniness, what muscles Shinji had were remarkably well-developed and toned. Knowing that his plug-suit's spandex quality would only enhance these qualities, she mentally chuckled as she imagined how popular he would be among other little girls his age. Returning to reality, Maya moved forward with a reassuring smile and pressed her stethoscope against Shinji's chest. That task done, the woman patted Shinji's shoulder, then walked around the bed to his backside.

Stifling her automatic exclamation, Maya swallowed and pressed her stethoscope to the middle of Shinji's back, her eyes never leaving the sight that the boy had tried so desperately to hide. Just below the base of his neck, along either side of his spinal column, two swollen, angry red sores stood out from the rest of his pale skin. The blistering masses reminded Maya of her high school days, and pictures from one class of the cancerous skin tumors on the victims of dirty bombs used heavily just after Second Impact. As the doe-eyed woman finished her listening, she reminded herself what Shinji had said about the sores being an old injury, then reached her hand out towards them.

"Shinji-kun . . . I'm going to have to touch your back, okay?" Maya said carefully, a quiet whimper being her only reply. Gently as she could, she brushed her fingertips against the crimson swellings, eyes widening at their hard, leathery feel. Pressing down on one, she watched the bulge sink then pop back out, never once loosing its shape. Placing a warm hand comfortingly against the boy's cool back, Maya asked softly, "Do they . . . hurt?"

Shinji shook his head, "N-no . . . most of the time, I don't even feel them . . ." the boy bowed his head, "Sometimes though, they tingle a little . . . kind, kind of like my arm." Maya raised an eyebrow.

"Your arm?" she asked, and Shinji raised his left forearm.

"Y-yeah, my arm . . . where the Angel broke it, on Unit-01," the boy paused, and unseen Maya's eyes softened as he continued, "Wh-when I think about the battle, it tingles a little, though I'm glad the pain is gone . . ." Unnoticed by either of the two, Maya's hand began softly rubbing the boy's back in a soothing gesture.

"Do you hate piloting, Shinji-kun? Does it hurt too much?" Maya asked quietly, and her eyes widened slightly as Shinji shook his head.

"I'll admit . . . I don't like the pain part, but . . . there's something about EVA . . . something inside of it that's warm, comforting," a faint smile lit up the boy's face, "I like that feeling, and I like . . . being able to help people." 'Even though I'm no good at it . . .' he thought loathingly. The young woman smiled at the boy's words, and looked slightly off to the side before speaking.

"I was in the Command Center, you know, when you fought the Angel—along with Captain Katsuragi and Senpai. I thought you were incredibly brave, and all of us here are proud and honored to have you defending us." Shinji bowed his head, his face falling as the tech's words of praise sunk in.

"Tha-thank you . . . for your kind words, M-Maya-san," the boy said somberly, "And . . . sorry . . . that I'm not the person you thought me to be." Maya's eyes widened as she whirled and looked down at the crestfallen child.

"Oh, Shinji-kun . . . I didn't mean . . ." the tech started.

"Oi, oi, oi, Maya-chan . . . I didn't know that you and the Third Child were so . . . close," a catty, feminine voice called out. Blushing a deep crimson simultaneously, Maya leaped away from Shinji as the boy pulled his shirt back down, both looking at the open doorway with identical expressions of shock. Arms folded, and taping one finger against her shoulder, the lab-coated blonde genius known at Ritsuko Akagi popped an eyebrow at the shared look between the brown-haired duo.

Shaking her head, Ritsuko coolly entered the room, glancing over at her still blushing assistant with a vaguely contemptuous expression, "I'll admit, Shinji-kun here is quite the catch, but this is a big chance you're taking. What will people say?" The faux blonde internally smirked as the pair turned nearly fuchsia with embarrassment.

Struggling to regain her composure, Maya said, "S-S-Senpai, don't joke! It's not like that at all!" Out of the corner of her eye, Maya noticed Shinji's face crumple painfully, and her heart wrenched as she realized her folly. 'Oh, Shinji-kun . . . forgive me . . . but you, a-and Senpai, auuuuuuuuuuu . . .'

Allowing herself a miniscule smile, the blond scientist patted her assistant on the shoulder, "You're fun to tease, Maya-chan . . . regardless, thanks for covering for me. I'll take over now." Maya nodded and as Ritsuko walked away to ready her own instruments, the auburn-haired woman turned to the miserable-looking child next to her. Shame clouded her face as she furiously tried to think of a way to apologize and raise the boy's spirits. Reaching across, she put one hand on Shinji's shoulder, wincing as he stiffened under her touch.

Leaning over, Maya said carefully, "Shinji-kun, you were right when you said you weren't what I expected . . ." The EVA pilot's face began to fall again, but his eyes immediately shot open as he felt a feathery moistness brush the side of his forehead. Eyes wide, Shinji turned to look into a blushing Maya's doe-brown eyes. Smiling gently, the young tech whispered, "You're better . . ." and squeezing the boy's shoulder once, turned around and walked out of the room.

Caught in a haze of warm and fuzzy feelings, Shinji started as a loud snap brought him back to reality. Looking up, he gulped at the lab-coated form of NERV's Chief Scientist looming over him. With a dangerous gleam in her emerald eyes, Ritsuko almost sensually donned the other latex glove she was holding. "I hope you haven't made any plans this evening, Shinji-kun," she stated as she snapped the glove into place, "Because it's going to be a long night . . ." Spying the predatory grin twitching at the corners of Ritsuko's lips, Shinji felt his heart plummet and dissolve at the Earth's core, and for a brief instant he felt a kinship with a certain Light Hawk Sword-wielding temple priest.

'Whyyyyy meeeeeeeeeeee?'


Yawning mightily, the bleach-blonde Leader of Project-E stretched her arms wide as she walked down the corridor to her office. Raising an undyed eyebrow at the slit of light underneath her door, Ritsuko keyed in her password, then leaned against the doorframe with an irritated grimace as the entry wooshed open, "Well, well . . . look at what my cat dragged in."

Belching loudly, the purple-haired wonder of Tokyo-3 crushed the Yebisu can in her hand, then pointed one shaky finger at Ritsuko. "I knew you were a masochist with the hours you've been pulling, but DAMN Ritsuko, who knew you could pull off the other side of S&M too!" Misato exclaimed with a chuckle, "What did you do to that poor boy?"

Sighing tiredly, Ritsuko sat down and glared pointedly at the woman across from her, "What exactly are you insinuating, Captain? This is a fourteen-year old child we're talking about."

Misato opened her eyes in mock astonishment, "Why Doctor, I was just wondering about the nature of the tests you conducted. You really need to get your mind out of the gutter . . ." Chuckling as her old friend growled with exasperation, Misato leaned back in her chair with a slight smirk, "So Ritsuko . . . I take it that you conducted a thorough examination?"

Leaning back herself, Ritsuko nodded professionally, "Verythorough." Noticing the purple-haired woman's lecherous expression, the scientist adopted the ghost of a smile and continued, "Extensively thorough . . . invigoratingly thorough . . ." Guffawing at Ritsuko's jest, the NERV Operations Director picked another can of Yebisu off the floor and also handed her friend an already warmed mug of coffee, which the lab-coated woman accepted gratefully. Pausing to sip from their respective drugs of choice, Misato eventually looked up with twinkling eyes.

"And how did our boy . . . measure up?" The blond across from her nearly choked on her drink, and glared scornfully at the leering Misato Katsuragi.

"You really are sick, Misato . . . you know that, don't you?" Ritsuko stated shortly. Taking another drink from her Yebisu can, the woman in question just smirked wider.

"True, but I don't have any another way to get my kicks. So, gimmee. If I don't hear something juicy, I'll bug you the rest of the night," Misato finished with a toothy grin. Sighing loudly, Ritsuko took a moment to down a large quantity of caffeine, and without looking up finally spoke.

"I will only say that it seems puberty has yet to shed its graces on the Third Child . . ." A moment passed, and then the empty corridor outside echoed with the hysterical peals of laughter of NERV's beautiful tactical genius. After several minutes of non-stop mirth, panting and a little bit of crying could be heard as Misato struggled to regain some sense of dignity, Ritsuko looking on disdainfully. Wiping tears from her eyes, Misato took a long swig from her beer and then settled into the office's easy chair.

Face still flushed, Misato smiled lightly and asked, "Seriously though, Rits-chan, is Shinji-kun all right?" Holding her mug in both hands, Ritsuko leaned forward and looked at her own reflection for a moment.

Frowning slightly, she said, "I don't know, Misa-chan. On the one hand, he's perfectly fine after his battle in EVA today—no neurological damage, no adverse biochemical reactions, nothing. As we saw before, he's in top-notch shape, with amazing levels of muscle density and stamina for someone his age and size. His organs work at the high-end of every known measurement, and his recuperative abilities are the best I've ever seen." 'Save for Rei's . . .' Ritsuko added internally, and out loud uttered, "That's the problem though—he's too good. Taken as a whole, Shinji-kun's physiology is beyond every normal level for what we define as Homo sapien. You could almost call him 110 or 120 percent human."

Across from the scientist, Misato had paled considerably as Ritsuko's words hit their mark. It was with a wavering, hesitant voice that the usually confident Katsuragi asked, "He-he's still human though, ri-right?"

Ritsuko sighed, "My first instinct would be to say, 'Yes'—even though the Third Child reads as physically superior on every known statistical table, he's still within normal limits. And talking to him, you can tell that mentally and emotionally Shinji-kun is very much a regular, human child . . ." Misato let out a breath of relief, but as she did do Ritsuko frowned, "But then . . . there's the details."

Misato gulped, "Details?"

The blond scientist nodded, "Little things . . . strange, almost indiscernible abnormalities that I can't easily explain. And you know how much I hate being unable to explain something . . ." Despite the seriousness of the conversation, Misato laughed.

"Yeah, you're like that Ines Fresange character in that way," the purple-haired woman quipped, and Ritsuko felt an eye twitch before she smirked.

"Oh really, 'Yurika' . . . would you like me to get our ruby-eyed 'Ruri' in here to call you an idiot, or would you rather go tend to 'Akito' down in the hospital wing?" Misato choked on the beer she was sipping for a minute, then glowered her so-called friend as the other woman grinned, "Regardless, I'm probably going to have to run Shinji-kun through another battery of tests after he wakes up tomorrow morning." Misato's eyes bugged out as her jaw clanged to the floor.

"WHAT! Hasn't that kid suffered enough?" Though Ritsuko had an almost infinite level of patience when it came to her former college chum, it quickly wore away as she glared heatedly at the other woman.

"This isn't a laughing matter, Captain!" Ritsuko snapped, "That 'kid' is, right now, the only thing standing between life and the total annihilation of mankind! And I don't know about you, but the next time we have to sortie Unit-01, I'd feel better knowing who, or more importantly what, we're dealing with!" Shocked by the ferocity of the faux blond's roar, Misato had pushed herself as far back into the chair as possible, her eyes as wide as an EVA's waist size. As Ritsuko leaned over to hold her head and regain composure, Misato tentatively eased back down and put a light hand on her friend's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Ritsuko . . . I'm really not trying to make light of your concerns. I'm worried too, believe me, and you know me—when I worry, I joke about it," the brown-eyed woman said carefully. Her soothing tone had the desired effect, as the green-eyed scientist chuckled and then looked back up at her friend with a tired smile.

"You're incorrigible . . ." Ritusko muttered, and her companion just shrugged her shoulders.

"Meh, I've been called worse in my time," Misato said with a wink, and as both she and Ritsuko leaned back in their chairs, Misato added, "I have been wondering one thing though . . ." Sensing the blond's questioning look, the russet-eyed woman continued, "When you are done with Shinji-kun tomorrow, where does he go from there? Does he have a place to live?" Ritsuko blinked at the sudden shift in conversation, but then frowned slightly as she pondered an answer, running one finger along the edge of her mug.

"I'm not sure . . . I doubt it'd be with his father—there aren't many good feelings between those two." Purple locks nodded sagely across from her, and taking a sip of coffee, the blond continued, "My best guess is that he's been set up in one of the dormitories here in the Geofront, or maybe a single in the apartment complexes." Misato took a sip of her own beverage, and holding the can in front of her mouth glanced off to one side.

"All by himself, huh?" she murmured. Ritsuko nodded, her emerald orbs fixed on her own drink.

"Don't worry about it too much—after all, Rei lives by herself. And she gets along just fine," Ritsuko affirmed. Still looking off the side, lost in her own thoughts, Misato nodded.

"Sure . . ." she uttered quietly, and after a pause, smiled and stood up. Stretching her arms, Misato yawned noisily and made for the door, hapilly proclaiming, "Thanks for the chat, Rits-chan! I think I'll hit the hay while I'm still conscious enough to drive." The signature crimson jacket was almost out the door when a firm "Misato" made the woman pause in her stride. Turning around, the NERV Captain looked down at the blond scientist, still quietly sipping coffee from her mug.

"Whatever you do, be careful . . ." eyes like jade pools opened and looked up just the purple-haired woman was about to speak, "I know you, Katsuragi, and disregarding the tests that I conducted today, disregarding the fact that there is something terribly off with that boy, he is still your subordinate, and you are still his superior. Along with that role comes a certain distance that must be maintained, or otherwise both parties are liable to get hurt . . ." Misato frowned at the all-knowing tone in her friend's voice.

"I'm not a child, Akagi-sensei," she stated coolly, "I know what I'm doing." The blond-haired scientist smirked slightly.

"The last time you said that, you spent an entire week in the same bed . . ." Ritsuko drawled, and Misato's eyes narrowed to slits.

"Now that's just pure dang nasty evil . . ." the NERV Captain all but hissed. Her blond friend's smirk grew wider, but her emerald eyes remained dull.

"I know . . ." Ritsuko said softly, and then her mask of cynicism fell away, revealing the full worry just beneath, "Misa-chan, please . . . it's your decision, but look to yourself first." The mauve-haired beauty nodded understandingly, and then finally turned and walked away. Sighing, Rtisuko took another long swig of her coffee as she prepared to work into the wee hours of the morn. 'Tread carefully, Misato . . . if you try to have a heart around here, you'll suffocate under the weight of the horrors still to come . . .' Her thoughts trailed off as the phone on her desk buzzed, and the oft-collected scientist felt of shiver of both dread and excitement as she recognized the blinking Caller ID.


Leaning on the railing to one of Central Dogma's moving walkways, a sullen Misato Katsuragi pondered the events of the faded day. Like a movie reel, events flashed by in the theater of Misato's mind, and almost all of the images seemed to have a common element: a twin pair of dark cobalt eyes.

Holding her head with one hand, Misato closed her eyes as the images began assaulting her consciousness. Shinji, standing by the side of the road with a look of fear and confusion. Shinji, his eyes teary from her apparent betrayal in the EVA cage. Shinji, screaming in pain as the Third Angel cracked Unit-01's wrist in half. Shinji, sobbing in her arms from undeserved blame that he still took as his own. Shinji, wide-eyed and stuttering denials to her jokes about his love life. Shinji, Shinji, Shinji, Shinji, Shinji!

Still moving forward, the NERV Captain fell to her knees, one hand still on the rail. It seemed impossible that one small boy could affect her this badly, especially since she had only met him that very day. But there he was, hiding in every nook and cranny of her consciousness, pushing himself to the forefront of her thoughts with those endlessly sad, deep blue eyes. Only one other man had made this lasting an impression on her, Ritsuko's comment earlier having brought his face to the surface as well, and not wanting to think about him all she could turn to was Shinji.

'Why . . . why does that child haunt me so? What is it about him that makes my heart feel like it wants to cry, to burst?'

"You know, that means we have a lot in common then, Shinji-kun

Misato's eyes widened as her own words came back to her. Clutching the white cross around her neck, the purple-haired woman turned her gaze heavenward, as if hoping to find answers in the dark surface of Central Dogma's low-lit ceiling. Closing her eyes, Misato pondered the various similarities between herself and the Third Child, both from what she knew and what she had observed.

'We are alike, a pair . . .' she thought, opening her warm eyes, 'He's as alone as I am—tossed away, discarded, forgotten like some broken toy.' Tears rolled down Misato's cheeks as more similarities came to mind, 'His eyes, so familiar, so empty. They have the same emptiness I feel in my own soul, and he's just a kid! Just a kid, but as tired with life as a twenty-nine year old woman . . .'

"Along with that role comes a certain distance that must be maintained, or otherwise both parties are liable to get hurt . . . it's your decision, but look to yourself first."

With a sigh, Misato stood as her conversation minutes ago came back to her. She knew her friend was just looking out for her—the blond's advice designed to keep Misato from the pain of growing too close, too attached, to a boy that could die in an instant. It was sound advice, good advice, wise advice, rational advice . . . but since when did rationality and emotions ever get along? For Captain Misato Katsuragi, Tactical Operations Director of NERV, logic was all well and good, but if her gut told her something was amiss, she would follow that instinct to the bitter end.

Bowing her head, Misato rummaged around her pockets, thinking, 'Ritsuko . . . I know you told me to look to myself, but that's what I've been doing for a long time, and I'm tired of being alone. Maybe you can deal with it . . . but I don't want Shinji-kun to have to go through that Hell—to have his soul slowly eaten away, day by day . . .' Her hand finally found its target, and emerged tightly clutching a slim cell phone. Staring at the grey piece of technology, Misato allowed a tentative smile to grow on her face.

'Maybe, just maybe, if . . . if I can do this one thing . . . do this one, good, selfless thing, and make another life better, even if only for a little while . . . maybe then, the pain will go away.' Whipping the cell phone open, Misato dialed a series of numbers from rote memory, then brought the unit to her ear. Her familiar grin lit up her face as a tired voice picked up and answered.

"Hello, Personnel Division? Yeah, I'm sorry—I know it's late. Listen, this is Captain Katsuragi from TACOPS . . . I was wondering, who do I have to sleep with to get a housing relocation for the Third Child?"

END CHAPTER FOUR

TRANSLATION GUIDE
Senpai: Roughly translates to "senior"; used by a person of lower standing to a person of higher rank/class/position.
Ano: Sound of uncertainty; equivalent to "uh".
Bishounen: Pretty boy; often used in reference to male anime characters.
Oi: Equivalent to "hey", the meaning depends on the context in which it's used.
-san: Equivalent to Mr./Ms./Mrs.; used when formally addressing an individual, and almost always when a subordinate addresses a superior or elder person.
-kun: Used in causal/friendly relationships, typically with males, and most often as a sign of light affection from a superior to a subordinate. Also used between people of the same age who share friendly relations.
-chan: Similar to -kun when used between individuals who share a casual relationship, and typically used with females. Can also be used to express deep affection between two individuals, where the word becomes the equivalent to "Darling".
-sensei: As an honorific, used to refer to teachers, doctors, or any sort of professional or expert.