Once More with Feeling

by Crazy-88

Third Impact AU. Shinji Ikari survives Third Impact only to find out that the end of everything is just the beginning...

10. Israfel

This didn't take as long as I had feared.

Well today is/was my Birthday and after getting slightly drunk with some friends, I've come back to upload all of this.
This chapter has an Angel engagement, but its main purpose is to set up some new players and change some stuff around for future events.
I've gotten a few emails claiming that the Angel engagements are really too small and short and I can accept that, they really form the backdrop to this story rather then the driving force, at least so far.

But they will serve as key pivot points in some ways, especially the 12th, 15th and 16th. And of course, the 17th, duh.
Well and Zereul, the 14th, mostly because he is a bad ass mutha who don't take no crap from nobody and likes beating up on Evas.

Characters are probably starting to change a little fast now, but well, time is getting on and things are going to start changing.
Oh and as a slight side note, we get to view a Calender in 'Both of you Dance..." which puts this Angels attack either in September or December.
My view is that this takes place in September, then we reach the new year around about the time of Bardiel / Zeruel, with Tabris arriving around about March, given the rough amount of time suggested as taking place between some of the Angels showing up, time to repair/construct Evas, Shinji vanishing into LCL for a while, other events and so on...

It might not be entirely canon, but well, screw it :)

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The rise of the post Second Impact United Nations had shifted the world stage of power dramatically. Some of these changes were never seen by the people the UN purported to represent, such as the resources directed to and the growing influence of GEHERN then NERV - let alone SEELE itself of course. Others changes were rather plain to see and hotly debated, such as the formation of the United Nations Combined Military Forces.

The UNCMF was the ultimate outcome of loosing half the world's population to the Second Impact and post Second Impact wars. Most of humanity hadn't really given a damn about longer term issues such as conflicts of authority between the UN Government and the existing powers; they were simply happy to see the world stand down from the brink of an all out no holds bared nuclear exchange. This feeling had only increased when the UN, in stark contrast to its pre Second Impact slothfulness, had rapidly and efficiently redirected resources, expertise, and personnel in a global manner to start rebuilding, saving countless millions of peoples lives.

These positive outcomes didn't mean however, that the –surviving- major nations didn't have 'issues' with the extreme shifts of power. Over 70 of the standing military forces of the world were to be integrated into the combined UN military, answerable directly to the UN chain of command over their own Governments in an attempt to keep any one nation from getting any stupid ideas when faced with the threat of massive, unified retaliation.

With that said, this new force wasn't a major threat to the world. The simple fact was that it was unlikely in the extreme the UNCMF would be deployed against a nation whose own troops made up key components of the force, even more so if you looked at just how difficult it was to legally authorize the use of force. Really, when you got down to it, the 'UN military' was just a way to tie up the major striking power of the world and keep it out of everyone's hands, equally. By treaty, all nations were allowed to keep their own limited defensive forces, such as the USMC or JSSDF…but with overt force no longer much of an option, much of the ability to manipulate foreign policy once again returned to the domain of Intelligence Services.

Which was why SEELE had been careful to compromise as many of the worlds intelligence services as possible of course having, correctly, predicted that Governments would attempt to infiltrate NERV after the Evangelion project had become known to them.

And so what if some agency worked their way through one hundred and eightdifferent front companies and found out that the Marduk Institute was nothing more then a front for NERV itself? That would only lead to dozens more questions about 'why', setting off a whole new cycle of investigations that would go nowhere.

So what if they found out that the Angels return had been anticipated by NERV? That would only justify every cent spent on developing the Evangelion technology to fight them in the first place, further reinforcing the perception that Evangelion was strictly an anti Angel technology.

So what if Governments didn't entirely trust NERV, despite their UN mandate, the huge leaps in technology NERV/GEHERN had produced and the massive economic benefits that had come directly and indirectly from their operations around the world? The fact was that the Angels were a mortal threat to humankind who had to be stopped and NERV was the only organization who could do so, something that had become even clearer with the pathetic UN and JSSDF attacks against the Third Angel.

And when you got down to it, even with the Evangelions what could a hostile NERV possibly hope to accomplish against the world?

The answer to that, only the SEELE council and perhaps a handful of high level people in NERV knew…which was the problem.

SEELE wasn'tan evil organization of bad guys with well dressed henchmen and a secret mountain base to infiltrate, computers to hack or phones to tap. It was a true cell of networked individuals spread throughout NERV, the UN and other major power structures; a parasite clinging to those hosts and diverting resources to its own ends. The core 'Instrumentality Committee' operated under the public goal of 'artificially evolving humanity through science to better suit its environment', a broad statement of nonsense that no-one took seriously…but no-one was able to disprove either.

Hiding their true goals in plain sight, how clever of them Major General Shigeru Ishiba, the Director of the Japanese Defense Agency (Intelligence) thought to himself as he studied Ryoji Kaji from across the table, working to absorb the titanic shift in his world that had just been delivered.

Shigeru Ishiba had fallen into his position at the top of the Japanese Governments intelligence arm through rather unusual chain of events that had started back in 2007 after NERV had been formed. The Japanese Government, increasingly wary of GEHERN and now NERV had decided they wanted to look more deeply into the project, directing the JDA to set up a secret long term task force to investigate NERV from top to bottom. The taskforce however had gotten precisely nowhere, primarily because the Japanese Intelligence service had been long compromised by SEELE to make sure the Japanese Government 'knew' NERV was a harmless organization, firmly under the control of the UN. In fact, the Chairman of JDA Intelligence, Yamada Tarō himself was a SEELE mole…and he wasn't the only one. Tarō had built up an internal network of traitors in the JDA over the years -with SEELE's help of course, most of who were attached to the NERV task force. It would have probably been amusing from an external perspective; 'turned' JDA personnel ordering their subordinates to penetrate the organization they secretly worked for.

Of course, the lower level people often succeeded to their credit, smugly turning or inserting people into the lower levels of the Second Branch of NERV in Hanoke –soon renamed Tokyo 3- or the UN, occasionally even turning a mid level officer on track for higher office and higher security clearances.

SEELE was promptly informed of these successes, but the aforementioned traitors were very rarely killed. Even disregarding the fact that the intelligence business was generally a polite, orderly society where shooting enemy agents was frowned upon -as it would start an endless cycle of reprisals, it was far more convenient for SEELE to simply incorporate these new traitors into the project; using them to 'officially' feed false information to the JDA, which then reported NERV didn'thave an agenda beyond R&D of the Anti-Angel Evangelion project, and this 'SEELE' they occasionally heard whispers about was little more then the boogie man; a modern day Majestic Twelve or Illuminati.

Shigeru himself had been of that same perception until one Ryoji Kaji, an apparently 'do nothing' Section 2 agent from NERV's Third Branch in Germany had turned up one day at a sushi restaurant in Tokyo 2, flashed one of his trademark smiles and sat down next to the plain clothes General.

He had shown nothing either in his face or his body language beyond mild interest as the younger man had quietly and casually explained who he was, what his position was and the fact that he wanted to work for the Japanese Government…at least until the Section 2 officer had handed over a sheet of paper, which Shigeru had unfolded to read the name of every single infiltrated agent and contact the JDA taskforce had managed to insert, turn and run inside NERV and the UN.

But even more terrifying, was that on the other side of the page were the names of two dozen mid level bureaucrats inside the JDA, followed by a handful of senior people up to -and including- the director himself!

To say this had almost ended his world had been something of an understatement, but Shigeru had kept his composure as the unshaven man smiled, place his sunglasses back on his face and exited the restaurant, leaving behind only a card with a hotel room number written on it.

Shigeru Ishiba had taken the time to finish up his lunch as if nothing had happened, heading back to his office, anger and rage competing in his mind for predominance behind the bland mask on his face, telling his secretary to hold all his calls as he had sat down to think this all through.

Unlike his apparently traitorous boss, Shigeru hadcome up through the ranks of the military, then civilian Intelligence divisions and was well trained in both tradecraft higher level strategic issues. His post of Deputy Director effectively made him the 'boss' of ongoing operations, leaving the major strategic and political decisions to his superior. It meant he technically didn't have any real authority to start the kind of sweeping Counter-Intelligence investigation that would be needed to clean up this situation…but when you got right down to it, he ran the place.

His first considered act was to destroy the piece of paper Kaji had supplied after memorizing the names of the compromised JDA personnel. He had an excellent memory –a useful trait for a spymaster- and he spent the next few hours moving through the list in his head as he tried to recall everything about those people; specifically how SEELE and NERV might have either persuaded –or forced- them into becoming double agents.

It hadn't taken long.

The director himself, a former JSDF General had been rumored to have been involved in some very dark criminal activity back in the years following the Second Impact. He wasn't really alone in that of course, Shigeru remembered the chaos of those years well. But the whispers never repeated outside of JDA Intel were that the director had gone even further, using his JSDF command to both enforce and cover up his highly illegal dealings. His career move into the JDA High Command provided ample resources to tie up the loose ends of his dealings with the Yakuza and Zaibatsu…but he had a feeling SEELE had gotten their hands on the proof and threatened to expose him, unless he agreed to keep things on the 'up and up' on their behalf.

The head of Counter-Intelligence, hadn't she just brought that new sports car a few months back? A suspiciously flashy purchase for someone who had a family to feed, kids to put through school, more or less lived week to week as far as he recalled…

Several suspects in the operations department he saw had applied for several weeks' vacation throughout the last six years. Of course, that wasn't necessarily strange compared to other people in their departments…the fact however that every one of these vacations had been to Europe or US where they had stayed in five star hotels, was.

In fact, he could find some very odd issues with all of the personnel on Kaji's list that stuck out like a sore thumb, with only a few hours work. It was utterly amazing that it had all gone unnoticed, but then again as the aforementioned list included the Chairman, Director of Counter Intelligence/Internal Security, several people in the financial department, several people in the small internal investigation arm, which Shigeru darkly remembered had been cut several times due to 'budget constraints' at the behest of the Chairman over the last few years…

The only conclusion he could reach after several hours work was that SEELE had utterly compromised the JDA…and they had done so well in advance of any Government investigations. He was playing almost a decade's worth of catch-up now. The bastards had used the JDA to root out turncoats and traitors in NERV, then make them a part of their own plans, sending back false data which the JDA then honestly reported to the Japanese Government.

Professionally and dispassionately, Shigeru had to admire the shear balls of the operation.

Of course, it didn't appear that they had counted on someone 'in the know' about this whole scheme to betray them.

Which begged the question; why had Kaji done this?

There was the possibility that this was just another play by SEELE, but Shigeru couldn't see the angle. Unless they were expecting him to denounce everyone without proof, get fired and let one of their pawns move into his job…but the evidence he had been shown today put paid to the idea that SEELE were anything like that stupid.

The second possibility was that this was all some kind of strange internal loyalty test onhim. But it was unlikely, there was no way the JDA would risk a deep cover agent like Kaji –assuming he was working on the side for JDA- just to test one of their own personnel. And frankly, Shigeru was utterly loyal to his job and his country, had made very few enemies by generally staying out of the political side of things, so he dismissed that theory.

Which left the possibility that he had a genuine 'walk in'.

Deciding there was nothing to be lost by pursuing this, he had gotten back to work – there was more to the Intelligence world and his Job then SEELE and NERV after all- then 'borrowed' some equipment from the technical department before he headed home. He had changed before heading back onto the town through a long roundabout and confusing route, using every technique he knew to detect and shake a tail, before parking his car, taking a train, then a taxi and only thenheading through a pair of shopping centers linked underground into the Hilton Hotel and up to the sixth floor.

Kaji had been waiting inside, understandably more then a little nervous, but they both professionally swept each others equipment, then each other, then the hotel room for any unwelcome electronics, before mutually activating tiny white noise devices that would play merry hell with any microphones they had missed, getting down to business for a long, frank talk.

Kaji had been agreeably direct with his motives; he wanted to know the real truth behind NERV and its masters after he had become increasingly sure that SEELE, the people backing the Katsuragi expedition, had deliberately set off Armageddon and wiped out half of the human race. The good news Kaji had to report was that SEELE hadn't bothered to touch the political figures in Japan, correctly deeming them too unreliable.

Japan hadn't exactly had the most stable Governments post Second Impact, changing on a year to year basis that made it damn near impossible to find a politician to stick with and 'turn'. Add to that the fact that most Japanese politicians were already brought and paid for, be it by the Zaibatsu or the Yakuza – or both- so they had contented themselves with controlling the flow of information to the Government instead.

Shigeru had decided not to bother them either - at least not immediately and without hard evidence. Instead, he used his post of Deputy Director to carefully build his 'own' network of people inside the JDA, mostly experienced field officers and controllers; people he had worked with and he knew he could trust, who in turn formed their own elite teams of people they knew they could trust. Gathering the evidence against the traitors however, had proven almost painfully easy as few of them were actually trained in field craft.Oh sure theyused dead drops, secret signals, brush passes and so on, but in the most amateurish ways that had the surveillance teams moaning in despair at how badly the reputation of the JDA was suffering at their hands…even if they were technically traitors.

It was a matter of professional pride after all.

But the upside was that it had only taken six months to gather rather unimpeachable evidence against all of them, as well as their agreeably small cell of SEELE 'handlers' who were professionals, but far too confident in the fact that they had the JDA Counter-Intelligence network neutralized and took stupid risks and made sloppy mistakes.

So much the better of course.

By a lucky twist of fate, a new Government had been elected to power shortly before Kaji had come forward and, surprisingly, it was holding together as the world slowly regained a measure of stability. Shigeru had finally decided the time was right and, quietly, slipped into the house of the Defense minister one night, a no nonsense ex-cop who utterlydespised corruption. And after almost giving the minister a heart attack, Shigeru had presented his evidence.

The response had been swift. The Defense minister, then the Prime Ministers first instincts had been understandable; arrest the traitors, seize NERV Central and take it apart brick by brick until they figured out what was going on. Shigeru however had quickly brought them around to his own way of thinking, an idea that would also have the bonus of avoiding a major international incident.

After all, exposing a ring of double agents was nothing more then the necessary pre-requisite to create a ring of triple agents.

The next day, he had given orders to move everything into phase two, 'his' people taking all the traitors aside to have a chat over a long weekend.

The majority of the turncoats had simply been greedy fools, selling out their nation for a new car, boat or trip to a tropical island their wives probably wouldn't have approved of. The JDA took the simplest solution to them, telling them they could keep the money SEELE was paying them, so long as they agreed to work for the JDA…for real this time. As long as they followed their new instructions, everything would go just fine. But, if they tried in any way to warn SEELE, they would find themselves locked up in a run down prison on the Siberian / Chinese border Japan rented for almost nothing from the PRC, for the rest of their miserable lives.

To a person, this group of 'lower level' traitors agreed lots of money was better then freezing slowly and were released back 'into the wild' under a close watch.

Most of the higher ups who had been blackmailed into working for SEELE were offered the ultimate deal; a full immunity for any past crimes committed –sealed in their file until all of this was over- if they turned against their masters. Again, the majority of this group was all too happy to do so, having found themselves in an impossible position. They were not truly disloyal, at least in their own minds…just utterly terrified and without a shred of moral fiber in their bodies to do the right thing, regardless of personal consequences.

However a small minority had proven more difficult.

It had turned out that the Director of Internal Security was something of a true believer in SEELEs plans, whatever they might be, and had said nothing for the two days she was held despite all kinds of dire threats being directed against her. Too high profile a figure to have 'vanish' without a trace for a more 'rigorous' debriefing until they broke her, she had been ruthlessly killed in a tragic car crash the next day, her body paraded carefully past numerous SEELE moles, then given a splendid public cremation, allowing one of her underlings, a SEELE spy now working for the JDA, to be moved up into her position.

SEELE hadn't really cared, simply paying her replacement more money to do his new job for them. The unexpected did happen after all, even in the most carefully laid plans.

The last person Shigeru had had to deal with, personally, had been the Chairman. He had been similarly reluctant to betray his masters, but after the pointed example of the Counter Intelligence chief, he had decided that early retirement to a nice comfortable villa at the Northern end of Honshu wasn't such a bad idea.

He apparently did enjoy it according to all reports, even though it amounted to little more then a luxurious prison, 'his staff' watching him 24/7 and allowing almost no communication with the outside world.

Ultimately, by the start of the year 2014, newly promoted Major General Shigeru Ishiba had completely cleaned house at the JDA without cleaning house, no small feet. He had even cut 80 of the funding to the unit 'publicly' investigating NERV to SEELE's delight, reinforcing the perception that while the JDA didn't entirely trust the organization, all their evidence conclusively suggested there was little to them a bunch of paranoid and half crazy scientists, who none the less had generated significant technological breakthroughs.

In reality the efforts againstNERV and their backers had only increased, but in a more subtle way. Abandoning the idea of large scale infiltration, JDA instead had turned their forensic accountants loose, focusing their efforts on following the money, identifying where the resources were going, monitoring communications between higher ups, trying to identify the higher members of SEELE and keep tabs on them, while Ryoji worked on the other side, promoted to Section 2 Bravo, 'Special Investigations'.

But progress was slow.

Oh they gained a great deal of low level information, but slowly it became clear that the true motives of SEELE were simply impossible to get at, not without getting to the council itself as frankly, only they knew the 'why' and the 'what'.

So, JDA had switched focus to one Gendo Ikari.

Their investigationshad uncovered that there was some kind of friction between SEELE and their point man at Central. As far as Kaji had understood and explained it, the goals of SEELE and Gendo meshed well until some undetermined point in the future, at which point…things would probably happen.

Both sides pretended it wasn't the case, but both sides knew the truth and were constantly maneuvering for position even as they worked together closely on what they needed to cooperate on.

Kaji, a 'known' SEELE agent had approached Gendo with an offer of an alliance against them…for a price of course. Gendo, being no-ones fool, had demanded proof of his fidelity, which Kaji had delivered yesterday. Shigeru had given grudging approval for the operation to steal Adam from NERV Germany and it had gone off without a hitch, SEELE unaware the sample in the Third Branch was now only a plastic mockup inside Dura-Bakalite, the real First Angel now in a cryogenic vault deep in Central Dogma.

If they ever found out what Kaji had done however…

"So" Shigeru said after the silence had become heavy. "To summarize this…information; the Angels ultimate goal is to initiate a Third Impact, to 'evolve' artificially to the next stage in their evolution at the cost of wiping out the human race".

"Correct".

"And SEELE are also looking to artificially evolve humankind to what they consider the next stage of human existence through their own Third Impact, a single perfect being suspended in some kind of primordial soup?"

"You got it".

"And this is the ultimate purpose of the Evangelion project, especially Unit One which is not engineered from Adam's genetic material, but from the second Angels?"

"Three for three Boss".

"Oh yes, and the aforementioned Second Angel was not found dead at the South Pole as GEHERN reported, but is sitting deep in NERV Centrals Terminal Dogma…and the entire Geofront in fact is apparently this…Liliths 'egg'?"

"You're taking this rather well" Kaji pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

"No, this all makes perfect sense. You see, when I was on my way here, I saw this rabbit step out of a building carrying a pocket watch and asking me to follow him down a hole. So I stupidly decided to have a look" Shigeru said with a roll of his eyes that still retained a glint of humor as he took a sip of water. "First impressions?"

"He's on the level" Kaji said simply.

"That's a very strong vote of support" Shigeru responded, leaning back in his chair.

"I know and I don't make it lightly…but I've told you what he told me…what he knew. Either SEELE have utterly compromised Operation Wallpaper if he is under their control, or, he really has traveled back in time".

"It's possible he represents a third faction in this game" the General speculated, enjoying playing devils advocate for a while. "Or perhaps this is a play from Gendo himself, to see how you would react".

There was a hint of accusation in that voice, Kaji noted. He had broken almost every rule in the book by screaming up to Tokyo-2 and asking for a face to face meeting after just getting feet dry in Japan. Oh he had been careful to ensure he neither had any tracking devices on his person, or that that he had been followed, but it was still a very poor habit to get into for a covert agent.

"It's not impossible" Kaji admitted honestly, after reflecting on the possibility. "But all our evidence suggests that neither SEELE nor Gendo have anything like the knowledge of the Angels Shinji did. Our best evidence suggests they have some kind of scenario developed from the complete Dead Sea Scrolls, giving them little more then a timeline. Add to that what he knew about…my…background, that I have not told either SEELE or Gendo and wasn't recorded, anywhere…"

Shigeru grunted.

"Well, the truth Ryoji is that this story answers a great many questions we've had about Shinji".

"Oh?" Kaji inquired in interest. Hehadn't been informed of any investigation of the Third Child, but there was such a thing as 'need to know' after all.

"Consider. We've kept a loose eye on Shinji as you might expect, given whom his Father is. But all our reports suggested he was an emotionally fragile boy, introverted, lacking confidence and deathly afraid of his Father. Yet according to our reports, he stood up to his Father in public without hesitation or fear, has extorted a rather generous retainer from him for his services and he has been working hard to reach out to older, senior people in the organization. This is notthe same Shinji Ikari in our file. Now, add to that his astonishing skill in his combat debut which NERV officially put down to the unit 'Going Berserk', a very strange out of control Evangelion that puts down the hostile with almost no collateral damage and protects some other kids who were in the area…"

Kaji nodded. Even the distant Third Branch had been buzzing with the news about Shinji's first combat performance, then his second and third battles, showing a coolness and skill that no-one had ever expected from someone with only very limited training.

It had been the choice topic around the water cooler for weeks in fact.

"But his skill in combat makes sense, if you allow that he has extensive 'real life' combat experience against these same Angels before and knew exactly what they could do".

"Precisely" Shigeru nodded. "And he was kind enough to bring back a degree of proof, which I am expecting the analysis back about…ah" he smiled as a soft knock came from the door behind them. "Come"

The door slid open to reveal a casually dressed middle aged Japanese man whose name Shigeru knew was Chion Yamada, as everyone else at the JDA did, but called 'Q' after the infamous James Bond character, a nickname the Agent had picked up then worn like a badge of honor for his entire career. His formal position was that of senior analysis and forensic specialist, a trusted 'insider' who had been told to drop everything and dissect the cross Kaji had brought with him. "Q you have a report?"

"Hai" Chion nodded, pulling out a crème folder and passing a thin riff of stapled A4 sheets across to first the Director, then passing another to Kaji. "It is all in this report Sir, but the short answer is that cross is the real deal".

The two intelligence officers exchanged a look at that.

"Go on".

"The blood on the necklace is a positive ID for Captain Misato Katsuragi, at least for the genetic file in her UN records which, before you ask, my computer people assure me has not been tampered with since it was created in 2000. The pendent also had trace samples of blood that was nothers. We sampled it as per your orders against personnel of the third JSSDF division and got a match" he said, handing over another sheet of paper. "Specialist Kaikou Nishimura".

The two men looked into the eyes of a man who, according to Shinji, would gladly gun down an unarmed 14 year old kid with a chuckle and a smile…

"The necklace was also coated with trace amounts of gunpowder residue, consistent with point four zero Smith and Western cartridges, which matches the USP the Captain carries as her personal side arm. Also, the splatter pattern suggests a close range-"

"We get the picture" Shigeru broke in, flicking the personnel page onto the glossy black surface of the table in front of him. "But so far none of this is necessarily impossible to recreate and fake, just difficult".

"That is because I have not got to the best part, Sir" the agent smiled tolerantly. "You see, the cross was heavily irradiated".

"What?!" Kaji and Shigeru demanded, sitting up straight in their chairs and looking slightly alarmed both having handled the bag before passing it off.

"Nothing harmful" Chion added, drawing a relieved but un-amused look from his boss. "As you may know, it was discovered shortly after Second Impact that anything within a five hundred kilometer diameter of ground Zero had been irradiated by an exotic new type of radiation never before seen. Harmless to humans and with a very long decay-"

"Yes, I've read NERV's reports on it" Kaji broke in. "Something about how the level of radiation fell off at a perfectly constant rate the further you got from Ground Zero, regardless of all other factors that proved this wasn't a natural event".

"Indeed" Chion nodded. "The UN was lucky; very little physical evidence was recovered from the area, so few people know about the radiation. But the distance from ground zero defines the radiation level; thispendant has exactly the same radiation level as was recorded on the clothing and body of Misato Katsuragi fifteen years ago. Which means it was, to the decimeter, the exact same distance from the epicenter when it was irradiated as Katsuragi."

Chion paused to take a breath as his boss and Agent Ryoji exchanged a look, finding the next bit of his news still hard to believe, but he had run the test ten times and the results were not in doubt.

"In short gentlemen, this pendant has a clear decay pattern proving it was exposed to the Second Impact sixteen and a halfyears ago. Not fifteen".

There was utter silence in the room for at least ten seconds.

"Is…there any chance of this radiation being artificially duplicated? Or that thiscross was also there, perhaps further out and received a lesser 'dose' of radiation?"

"No" Chion said flatly. "All our reports suggest even NERV can't duplicate the radiation. I know CERN have been working on it for some time without success and they have the best particle physics people in the world, not even NERV are in their league. And as for the second half of your question, well we can determine to within a micro-grey, what the initial exposure was and I ran the test ten times".

Again, the group sat in silence, this time for twenty seconds.

"Well" Chion said after the silence became uncomfortable. "I think we have little choice but to proceed on the assumption that Shinji is telling the truth" was about all the General could say in reply to that, after pausing for twenty long seconds in thought. "Do you have anything else for us?"

"It is all in my report Sir".

"Then you are dismissed".

Chion bowed, which Shigeru acknowledged with a polite nod, the lab technician backing quietly out of the room and closing the door behind him.

There was another long, long minute of silence between Kaji.

"Now you know how I felt yesterday Boss" Kaji finally commented, trying not to smile at the look on Shigeru's face,.

"How long does it take to go away?" Kaji shrugged.

"About four and a half hours at the bar, I'd guess closer to six drinking alone".

"Noted" Shigeru commented, leaning forward and flipping through his notes as he tried to ignore the fact that his hands suddenly felt numb. "Well, suffice to say, we need to get Shinji professionally debriefed, ASAP".

"It'll be very difficult to get him away long enough without being detected" Kaji commented with a raised eyebrow. "NERV keeps a very tight watch on the pilots for obvious reasons. Even as Asuka's guardian and a member of Section Two, I was always tailed by at least two agents in Germany whenever I took her out.

"I know" Shigeru admitted. "But he approached us, no I'm sorry, Shinji approachedyou. Clearly he trusts you in looking for help to stop this…insanity from ever happening. I'm sure that you could arrange for a day doing 'guy stuff', and we could arrange to loose your shadows at an appropriate moment".

"Well it beats having to take Asuka shopping again" Kaji muttered under his breath, getting a snort of genuine laughter at his discomfort from Shigeru.

Kaji really did love Asuka like the daughter he never had, but the way she hung off his arm and flirted with him in public was getting increasingly uncomfortable…even more so with the rate her hormones were increasingly firing off these days, with the risk of turning a harmless crush into something rather more dangerous…

"We've set up a series of new Safe Houses in Tokyo-3" the General continued, breaking into Kaji's thoughts as he handed over a card with several addresses on its back. "The local JDA Intel group isn't aware of them. I'll have Koga and his team on standby, as soon as you can work out a day, we'll move him down".

Kaji studied the card, memorized the writing on the back, then flicked it into the nearby fireplace to be consumed. Koga was probably the best damn interrogator in the entire JDA; he had cracked the former Chairman and 'flipped' everyone else working for SEELE when on their case.

Behind his back, everyone called him 'The Warlock'.

He had a frightening ability to see right through lies and deception faster and more accurately then any lie detector invented to date. During his day long interviews with subjects, he maintained a calm, polite and downright friendly attitude, sadly pointing out falsehoods when necessary and gently, almost regretfully pointing out when people were lying through their teeth to him as he slowly broke them down. Combined with an almost perfect memory, he was just as skilled as an analyst behind a desk, so much so in fact that he had become too valuable to let out into the field…which said much about how seriously the General was taking this.

It wasn't the beginning of the end of SEELE or Gendo Ikari, Kaji knew in a moment of dispassionate analysis. It wasn't time to move against them yet, especially as the Angels were the primary thereat humanity had to band together against.

But that was fine. Let NERV and SEELE place their money into the pot and wonder at the strength of each others hands…

JDA will soon have already seen most of their cards.

"From this point on" Shigeru continued, Shinji's codename is...Balcony" the General declared. As a matter of course, he pulled codenames randomly from objects around him as needed, which had utterly nothing to do with the 'compartment' in question. It was a basic security procedure to isolate an agent from the information they produced. After all, information was often laundered –relatively- far and wide inside the intelligence services and a codename might be all that stood between an undiscovered mole and a valuable source. "Right now, only five people really know about this. We'll keep it that way for now, but bring in Koka when needed. Anyone else gets a full background and current Counter-Intelligence checkup, the works, before they get in. I don't care how many times they've been checked before".

"What about the PM?" Kaji asked. Shigeru shook his head.

"He doesn't need to know yet. He can wait until we get some additional supporting evidence, after we've debriefed Balcony properly". The Director of JDA Intelligence now looked up. "And as for you, get the hell out of here and don't come back".

"It's nice to be loved" Kaji smirked, standing up and heading for the door, knowing his boss wasn't actually being rude, but both of them knowing he had already taken far too many chances in coming to him, even if he had had little choice.

And in their job, taking unnecessary chances appealed to them about as much as being sent to fight the last Angel in scuba gear with a harpoon.

---

"Asuka, Asuka Asuka! Have you been listening to all those kids?" Kensuke muttered to Toji shortly after another satisfied customer walked away from their small shop front, pocketing the considerable amount of money they had made off yet another sale. They –or more accurately Kensuke- had set up the business in a rarely visited part of the school grounds not that far from the main gate, well before the start of school. From this location they had a clear view of all the approaches, giving them time to hide the evidence before a Class Rep or a Teacher saw them, or in the worst case, dump the evidence down a nearby drain and quietly walk away.

Sales had been brisk, even though Kensuke didn't have anything really saucy to offer the student body. For reasons only known to himself, Shinji had vetoed the idea of trying to take any pictures of the fiery exchange student inside the locker rooms, then flatly forbidden any attempt at 'up-skirt' or otherwise inappropriate shots.

Why precisely he was being so protective of the Red Haired Demon as Toji had christened the Second Child neither of his fiends knew, but they accepted the restrictions out of respect for their best friend…if not out of respect of the latest NERV alumni to move into their class.

"Well we're just lucky these shots don't reveal her personality" Toji responded to his friend's exasperated sigh over the craze Asuka had stirred up.

Both young men freely admitted she was hot, that simply wasn't in question. In a school of generally polite, reserved young Japanese girls, she was a living, breathing firestorm, an impression helped along by her red hair that whirled around her like a burning halo as she moved about the school at speed. Add to that her stunning looks and the fact that she publicly had announced –and Shinji had confirmed- that she was an Evangelion pilot…

Toji and Kensuke however, were not fooled for a second. They had seen the 'other' side of Asuka up close and personal, finding a curious historical parallel with the 'Sirens' they had learned about in Mythology class last week…but with a telephoto lens, they didn't have to get close.

---

The irony that those two will end up spending more time with Asuka then any of her rapidly growing fan club…now that's the textbook definition of irony Shinji smirked to himself as he entered the school gates and spotted his friends deep in the shadows running their brisk trade, easily guessing at the thoughts going through their head from their expressions.

And if they had known the thoughts moving through Shinji's mind at that moment, Shinji frankly estimated there was an even-money chance they would have dragged him away and started an intervention to save him from himself.

"Hullo Shinji! Guten Morgen!"

The cheerful voice rang out across the area near the school gate, the kind of voice that the wind and waves would stop at once the listen to, a tone that simultaneously demanded and expected instant attention to be paid to it…or else.

"Guten Morgen Asuka" Shinji replied with a somewhat shy, but very real smile on his face as he turned to face his fiery wingman. "Wie Geht Es Ihnen?"

"Wundervoll!" she smiled as she stepped up to him. "Ich wußte nicht, daß Sie Deutsches sprachen Shinji?"

"Uh, actually, I don't speak German" Shinji replied with a somewhat sheepish look, guessing the gist of her question from one or two key words. "I just learned a few words here and there after I heard you were coming over".

"Ah" she said, a slight smirk staining her smile as she stepped up next to him, ignoring the looks from the students around them. Mostly love struck stares from the guys and 'grinding of teeth' looks from the girls, the later directed evenly at the aforementioned boys who were ignoring them in favour of her, along with her, for stealing the boy's attention away from them. "Well, I appreciate the gesture Third Child, even if your accent is atrocious" Asuka said, throwing her hair back over her shoulder with a flick of her head. "Whoever taught you German needs to take some lessons"

Shinji caught himself before replying 'You taught me', cursing the circumstances that prevented him from delivering snappy comebacks that were oh so perfect…

"I'll let her know" he said instead with a dry tone.

"Her?" Asuka asked with a raised eyebrow. "Misato?"

He must have imagined the slightly sharp tone in her voice at the word 'Her'…

"No it…wait, Misato speaks German?" Shinji asked in genuine surprise. He couldn'tever recall Misato speaking German around him, though come to think of it…

"What are you, stupid?" Asuka inquired with a roll of her eyes. "Misato was my guardian for a few years back home; she joined NERV at the Third Branch. It sure would have been rather difficult if she couldn't speak the language, nicht denken Sie?"

"Oh I don't know" Shinij said, keeping an utterly straight face, unphased by Asuka's sharp look. "Just as long as she could say 'how long to Oktoberfest', everything would have worked out fine".

Asuka actually giggled at that, generating an envious look from the males around him at his ability to hold more then a three second conversation with Asuka. Finally however, the Second Child recalled what she had been thinking before spotting Shinji, looking around and ignoring the crowd as she searched for someone. "Say…the other one is here too, isn't she?"

"If by 'the other one' you mean Rei Ayanami…" Shinji let his voice trail off, his gaze flickering to the other side of the street. The school actually straddled a road thanks to its huge growth over the last few years, with much of the younger kids' classrooms on the opposite street and an escalator walkway connecting them. Right next to the escalator on the far side, Rei Ayanami sat calmly reading a small book, oblivious to the world around her. She had been out of class the last few days after Asuka had arrived, only just getting back this morning…

Asuka followed his gaze, smiled, then happily skipped off towards Rei, causing Shinji to shake his head slightly in amusement as 'the hoard' followed her off, more then a few shooting him envious looks.

Well, at least this time he had been able to hopefully somewhat prepare Rei…

"You know Ikari, I didn't expect you to be the one to make a deal with the devil" Toji suddenly spoke up as he moved up next to Shinji with the retreat of Asuka. "What did she promise you? Money? Women? Precious jewels?"

"Eh?" Shinji asked in confusion.

"I mean you looked so happy then in her presence and she…she smiled at you!" Kensuke pointed out in a betrayed tone.

"Ah. Asuka isn't so bad once you get past the daily beatings" Shinji smirked as he saw Asuka leap off the escalator into Rei's sunlight, her fanclub following down the escalator.

"Your funeral Ikari" Toji snorted, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he shook his head at the growing crowd at the bottom of the escalator. "You're the poor bastard who has to work with her after all".

Laugh it up Forth Child,Shinji thought back, watching as Asuka started to interrogate Rei, curious to see how this would go…

---

Rei Ayanami was reading.

This was a typical activity for the First Child.

Without any real friends, she had spent most of her infrequent hours at school in study of one kind or another, seeing little reason to waste time doing nothing. In fact, to many Japanese parents she would have been the perfect child, able to dedicate her entire attention to academic pursuits at this critical age, with an IQ that registered easily at the genius level.

But things were…changing.

The critical revelation that she owned her own life and that the purpose of life was to live it as she chose had thrown an Eva sized wrench in Rei's day to day activities. While Rei was still perfectly capable of directing her entire attention into any one academic or Evangelion related activity at a moments notice, secretly she wished to live in the same way the people around her did. She read and studied mostly out of inertia as it was something she knew how to do, but behind her blank mask was a slowly growing desire to be up there right now, with the rest of the school, laughing and chatting away freely about what she thought were utterly irrelevant and trivial, but everyone appeared to hold in great value.

Friendship was a concept she was slowly starting to learn, beyond the textbook definitions she had studied and not entirely understood. Shinji professed feelings for her because he found her unique and worth protecting. Rei did not quite see why this was so, but found she could accept he did, such was human emotion. Other classmates such as Classmates Suzuhara and Aida appeared, through Shinji, to be increasingly finding something similar in her to respect and she increasingly wished to find a way to return this; Shinji's suggestion that she would 'take' Aida to this upcoming dance sounded like an acceptable first step in that direction.

However…she still lacked friendships with any of the girls in her class…or any women at all for that matter. For all the textbooks suggesting the relationships between males and females was the most complicated and intricate, she was finding those few she had much easier to maintain then opening up to any of the girls in her age group.

For years she had ignored them, if not out of malice -though she didn't know if they understood this- and they had ignored her in return. The few interactions she had had were generally brief, and in the case of people like Classmate Tanaka, chilly. As much as she wanted to try and participate in the whirlwind of emotion she perceived around her, Rei Ayanami II simply did not understand how to open up or where to start. After all, it was unlikely in the extreme that a female classmate would suddenly approach her without warning and-

"Hey! You must be Rei Ayanami, the pilot of the prototype. I'm Asuka! Asuka Langley Soryu. I'm the pilot of Eva Unit Two. Let's be good friends!"

On the other hand…

---

Doctor Ritsuko Akagi sighed slightly as she leaned back in her chair, wondering if Shinji Ikari had some kind of grudge against her, given that damn near every time he went into battle, she was left with more questions about him and the Evangelions then ever before.

It took several minutes but she decided, grudgingly, that Shinji probably wasn't trying to make her life miserable. At least on purpose.

With that settled, she returned to her almost complete report on the 6th Angels engagement with Unit Two.

Shinji's sudden Synch Ratio collapse, simultaneous with Asuka's brief explosion to a perfect ratio for six seconds was strange to say the least, but yet again, all too convenient answers existed for her to draw conclusions from; specifically that Shinji had been rather 'aroused' by Asuka's overwhelming, smothering presence and had had been distracted to the point he couldn't concentrate with her body pressing against his.

Though this strange data on his neural channel just before he had been knocked unconscious…

Gendo of course had all but rolled his eyes at her when she had brought up her suspicions in front of him, telling her bluntly to stop wasting time on irrelevant data and get back to work on critical projects. She didn't know if this dismissive attitude was because he found it impossible to think his Son might be in any way worthy of his attention, or, if he had actually looked at her data and dismissed it as rubbish…but in the end she didn't really have any choice but to just move on and get back to work on Gendo's pet projects.

Any further mussing over the Third Child was rudely interrupted by a pair of arms suddenly passing over her to grab her gently around her waist, a familiar scent of light aftershave announcing the identity of the man behind her and calming her biologically instinctive reaction to yelp in surprise at the unannounced contact.

"You've lost weight" Kaji said easily, causing Ritsuko to smile. It had been quite some time since anyone had had really tried to flirt with her. Her probably deserved reputation of her being a real bitch generally kept most people away these days.

Of course, Kaji was only flirting for fun as a friend, the two of them went back a long way with this kind of teasing, meaning for once she could simply relax and enjoy the attention for what it was.

"Have I?" she asked with a slight smirk as she leaned back into the embrace.

"Oh yes" he agreed with a tone of a Doctor delivering bad news to his patient. "You must be enduring an unrequited love"

"How did you know?" she gasped back in mock seriousness.

"Ah, you see Rits" he said, gently turning her head and brushing a finger lightly across the mole on her cheek, actually causing her to shiver slightly in pleasure at the touch, "A woman with a mole in the pathway of her tears is destined to a life full of them".

Rolling her eyes at the absurdly corny statement, she glanced up enough to focus her attention on the beaming man above her as she caught some movement outside the room.

"If you're trying to put the moves on me" she smirked, before turning her gaze back to the floor the ceiling glass wall in front of her office, now with a purple haired Captain pressed up against them, the window steaming up slightly from the heat coming off her angry face, "I'm afraid we're not alone".

Kaji let go and stood, smirking slightly at the window and causing Misato to stomp towards the access door, her body language threatening severe retribution to her ex-boyfriend within the next several seconds.

"So. Long time no see Kaji" Akagi smiled, twisting her chair around slightly to better take in the man who had snuck into the room.

"It's been a while" Kaji acknowledged, crossing his arms in front of him and holding his grin in place with a practiced ease.

After all, if Shinji was right, Ritsuko, good ole Rits herself was fully aware of the ultimate goals of the Evangelion project.

Hell, she was up to her ever so pretty neck in it.

Meaning he had no choice but to treat her as an enemy. Someone he had known for close to a decade and he thought he knew well…and thought of as a friend.

It was no easy shift to make in ones thinking, even for him.

"You're a little less subtle then I recall Kaji" The doctor continued with an amused tone in her voice as she observed the Misato hammer her access code into the door lock with enough force to dent the keypad. The relationship between these two was a little more then just 'complex' to say the least, Akagi always found it both fascinating and highly amusing watching them interact.

"He's never been subtle in his life" Misato growled as she entered the room, her eyes balefully glaring at the slightly unshaven and perpetually untidy man who stood and returned her glare with a smirk on his face. "You've finished handing over Unit Two haven't you? What the hell are you still doing here?'

"Well actually" Kaji drawled with his famous grin, "I received orders this morning that I'll be staying here on loan for a while. It'll be fun, us three can hang out together, just like we used to!"

Misato's right hand slowly clenched into a fist.

"Who in the hell would want to hang out with-"

Misato Katsuragis carefully prepared speech about the hundred and one reasons why she would never again 'hang out' with Kaji was rudely interrupted as the screens along one wall of the darkened room suddenly flashed into life with bright red ALERT icons, a screaming electronic siren joining in a split second later.

"Enemy attack" Misato gasped before spinning on a heel and making for the door, Akagi right behind her.

Kaji stayed behind for a second before following, feeling that same chill down his spine he had felt when Shinji had talked to him on Over the Rainbow…and warned him the 7th Angel would arrive today.

Score another one for Agent Balcony Kaji thought before heading towards the Command Center.

---

"We've just received a report from the Battle Cruiser Haruna" Aboa said several hundred meters away as the sirens continued to scream, personnel calmly flooding into the command center to take up their duty stations. "Huge submerged object detected off Ki'i peninsula. Sending data".

Given that so far every Angel to attack Japan had come from the direction of the Pacific Ocean –and at least one from under it, several ships from the UN Pacific Fleet had been extensively upgraded over the last month to include hastily built sensor equipment, designed specifically to try and find Angels hiding deep under water. Similar to the detectors in place around Tokyo-3, the sensor system was an add-on on to the towed sonar arrays dragged behind surface warships for detecting submarines, able to detect the subtle disturbances even a low powered AT field made in the Earths own electromagnetic field.

The system hadn't even been tested yet, so a false positive was likely, but-

"Got it. The data has been analyzed" Huyga said a few seconds later, text scrolling up on the main screen as CASPER chewed through it.

AT FIELD DETECTED.

BLOOD TYPE/WAVEFORM: PATTERN BLUE.

DESIGNATION: 7TH ANGEL.

"The pattern is blue. It's an Angel" the technician said unnecessarily in a grim but professional tone, causing the Vice Commander behind him to exhale deeply, suppressing a curse. Yet again Ikari just happened to be away talking to SEELE…

"All personnel; go to first stage alert!

---

"The recent battle against the 5th Angel severely damaged Tokyo-3's intercept system; only twenty nine percent of the repairs have been completed to this point. Therefore, we are going to forward deploy and intercept the target, right at the waters edge. Units One and Two will engage in a coordinated assault at the moment the Angel makes landfall in a series of waves. In other words, get in close and take turns!"

Misato's speech sounded rather professional and, perhaps, even rated as somewhat stirring in an enthusiastic 'kick that Angels ass' kind of way, at least in the Captains opinion. The Operations Director, for perhaps two full seconds, even wondered if Shinji and Asuka would show true professionalism as they headed towards their drop zones by simply acknowledging and starting their pre-drop checklists.

Predictably however, the children, well…acted their age.

"This sucks" Asuka declared with a grunt from her entry plug. "My first combat mission over Japan and I don't get to handle it solo". Turning from the fantastic view of Japan from 15,000 feet wrapped around her on her super-high resolution displays, Asuka glanced across at the Boeing 909 Evangelion Transport in formation next to her own. "Why do I have to bring him along?"

Predictably, a communications window opened up from Unit One at her taunt.

"Perhaps because every military theorist since Sun-Tzu has suggested that it's better to engage the enemy with superior numbers? Or would you'd rather I just stand in the background and hold your coat while you deal with the Angel on your own?" Shinji replied.

Asuka narrowed her eyes slightly at the insolence coming from Shinji, wondering not for the first time how he was able to get under her skin so damn easily. Her barbs simply washed over him without any effect, hell he often smiled at her when she insulted him, like he found them enjoyable! The rest of the time, he was courteous, polite…and had an answer for every insult she threw at him…

Damn it.

Unlike every other guy her age who she categorized as either an idiot not worth her time or a pervert – or both, Shinji defied any easy classification.

She had only met him four days ago…but already he was…what?

Granted he belonged to the same elite group she did as an Evangelion pilot. And even if his 'natural' ability to get an easy 94 synch ratio still infuriated her, she at least had pride of place in reaching 100, even if only for six seconds.

She knew it was a weak defense, a fluke she didn't understand how she had achieved or how to do it again…but it still let her hold her head up high at him, even if her ratio was back down at a solid 79.3.

Yet here she was today with a chance to prove, as Shinji had suggested, that a decades worth of training -and a superior Evangelion- made her the 'Alpha Pilot' in their little trio, irrespective of their Synchronization ratios…

So…she was seekingapproval from the Third Child? Respect from him?

Growling slightly as she buried her confused emotions, she finally directed her gaze to Shinji who, infuriatingly, was just looking at her as if he knewexactly what was going through her head…

"Just stay out of my way Third Child".

Shinji simply smiled.

"Just stay out of my crosshairs Asuka" he said in the exact same tone, before waving with a smile and closing the channel with a snap.

"I'll show you Dummkopf" she bit out, but was cut off from blasting him as the Aircraft Commander called out the ten second warning. Focusing back on her job, she stabbed the holographic 'Commit Docking Release' button, turning her Evangelion over to Unit Two's flight control computer, and then felt the lurch as thousands of tons of cyborg was cut loose, freefalling towards the Japanese coast.

Instantly her mood brightened. She loved this part of her job!

Linked through the A-10 clips to her Evangelions perceptions, it felt like she was falling towards Earth in a freefall, the LCL holding her in almost a perfect zero-G environment as an altitude indicator on her HUD wound down like a possessed clock.

Closing her eyes for a second, she shivered in pleasure at the feeling of complete and utter freedom, even from something as omnipresent as gravity, before a loud two-phase buzzer started to scream and forced her to open her eyes with a sigh and brace herself.

The rocket packs in her shoulder blades ignited and slammed her into her seat as Unit Two decelerated, the thrusters firing in a carefully controlled pattern to orient Unit Two's feet right at the marker on her HUD that was her LZ before starting to change her velocity from terminal to a more survivable level of speed. The rockets cut out at just under a hundred feet up, dropping Unit Two into the soft sand, its knees absorbing the last of the momentum easily. Even as Unit One crashed down next to her, tracked utility vehicles were rolling up with their power cords ready, patched into a backbone grid station a few kilometers away to ensure they would have no lack of power.

"Two against one is hardly a fair fight" Asuka muttered, mostly to herself as she held her unit perfectly still, impatiently waiting for the techs to hook them up already.

"Asuka" Misato said, sounding slightly exasperated as the Captain in her command vehicle realized the Second Child had utterly ignored everything Shinji had just tried to gently point out to her, "this is war, not a game. The last thing I want to give the Angels is a fair fight".

"I guess" Asuka grunted, unable to dispute the logic, but burning with a desire to put Shinji and Rei in their proper places with a quick, clean, flawless victory.

Not that there was anything wrong with them providing…appropriate support of course, so long as they understood who was 'top dog'.

Power indicators hesitated, then surged as energy flowed into the Evangelions, the twin titans standing up and retrieving their chosen weapons from an airdropped arms cache; a standard issue hundred-five millimeter rifle for Shinji, while Asuka eschewed her choice of guns for an elegant progressive spear, hefting it and testing the balance with a quick toss as Shinji spoke up.

"And here it comes".

Glancing up, Asuka caught the tail end of a huge explosion of water half a kilometer out from the shoreline, blasting into the air among the ruins of what had been a shopping center before the sea level had risen. A monstrous figure emerged from the cloud to unevenly and almost sluggishly make its way towards the giants awaiting it, flights of AV-14C gunships serving as fire support giving it a wide birth for the time being, their pilots getting ringside seats for NERV's first attempt to meet the enemy head on, away from Tokyo-3.

"Commence the attack!" Misato ordered; keen to hit the Angel before it reached solid ground.

At once, Asuka drove her unit into a stomping run.

"I'll handle this one Shinji, cover my back!"

"Wait Asuka, hold back until-"

"Ladies First!"the Second Child declared with emphasis over his protests, Unit Two showing utterly no sign of slowing down as she thundered down into the water.

"That'll be the day" Shinji Ikari muttered to himself, stepping to the side to get some separation from Asuka as he opened fire, probing his AT field as far as he could…but it was no use, the Angel was still too far out to equalize the phase space.

The mixture of High Explosive and Armor Piercing slugs that lanced out from his rifle crashed into the 7th Angel with about as much use as the weapon usually had against a target shielded by an AT field…which was to say not much. The light tank rounds did however do a fine job of distracting the enormous gray and white monster standing in the shallow water, holding its attention as Asuka leapt into the air screaming before bringing her weapon down with all of Unit Two's considerable might, a loud crack ripping out as the business end passed Mach One and tore the Angel in half, milliseconds before she crashed back to Earth.

Asuka smirked at the suddenly silent Angel, the two halves rather pathetically sagging slightly to the left and right, her pride –or ego- welling up rapidly.

"Well, what did you think of-"

"Asuka, get the hell out of there" Shinji snapped, gripping his weapon tightly. This isn't over yet…

"Dummkopf, its deadnow and…" Asuka's voice trailed off in surprise and not a little fear as with a rumble and deep groan, the Angels 'remains' started to shake violently, as if enraged-

"MOVE YOUR ASS ASUKA!" Shinji snapped in such a tone of command that Asuka obeyed on pure reflex, moving back towards the shore in a bounding run, her cable automatically retracting as she headed back to her starting position-

-Just as the two halves of the Angle shuddered, then 'cast off' their skin like cocoons; a pair of smaller Angels looking identical to the original stepping out; one green skinned with orange highlights and one orange skinned with green highlights in a ying/yang pattern; two Angels ready to fight perfectly as one.

"That…that's a load of BULL!" Misato all but screamed in the distant Type-14 Command van. Luckily, she had managed to destroy the headset clenched in her fist at roughly the same time as she swore loudly, the official NERV logs would thus omit the rather unprofessional comment…and several others as she grabbed for another headset, though to be fair almost all the NERV and UN personnel watching the generally had the same thoughts as the Angel duplicated itself.

"This just got interesting" Shinji commented over the tactical channel he shared with Asuka and Misato, watching as familiar gray spheres punched through the skin, the 'two' Angels then twisting in perfect unison to face the shoreline and their primary targets.

"Okay, uh, we're probably going to have to fall back here and" Misato started to say, but-

The Angels attacked.

Again acting in concert, the two halves of Israfel took to the air, hunched over slightly as they arced towards the shoreline Asuka was trying to reach. Despite how deceptively weak they looked, with their arms hanging down almost loosely at their sides, Shinji knew the two sub-Angles were incredibly strong, recalling how each half had half buried him and Asuka upside down before heading off to get nuked…

Of course, that time he had stood there like a dumb idiot at the sudden chaos of the Angel coming back to life, splitting and leaping at him.

Not this time.

Shinji's AT field exploded outward with incredible force, the sky around the two human champions turning a dark purple as light was refracted through the barrier. Sand, half destroyed buildings, water and a huge wave of air slammed forward, focused directly at the twins leaping towards them…

The Angel –or Angels- took the blow dead on, heavily falling to the 'ankle' deep water fifty meters short of their prey before, in perfect unison, raising their arms-

And suddenly the wave of debris and matter stopped, then fell into the water as Israfel's AT fields met Unit Ones, the fields crashing, then pushing backwards towards Shinji as two separate AT fields powered by two separate S2 engines started to overwhelm him, Shinji gasping against the sudden building of pressure he felt against his head-

-that suddenly cut off as a new field meshed, combined and pushed back alongside Shinji's, Asuka's indomitable will made manifest as Unit Two moved up shoulder to shoulder with him.

"Now who's trying to be the hero Third Child" Asuka demanded, a standard issue Evangelion pistol held ready in her right hand.

Well well. Perhaps we're not so hopeless together after all Shinji thought as the blaze of lights that were four AT fields continued in front of them.

"Hang on you two, help's coming" Misato said into their channel, before flicking her new microphone to another frequency and barking a command.

A few seconds later, the gunships which had backed away from the impressive pyrotechnics swung into action.

Hyrda rockets, Hellfire missiles and 30 millimeter cannon rounds blasted the naked flesh of the Angels backsides, doing little true damage as fire and smoke engulfed them, but succeeding in knocking the Angels around and keeping them hopelessly off balance as the quartet of AT fields neutralized each other-

"Asuka, go for Greens Core!" Shinji shouted as the fields collapsed fully, opening fire with his rifle towards the core on 'Orange'.

"Got it" Askua replied, her confidence back as she blasted away with her heavier caliber weapon, emptying the magazine in rapid fire, before breaking into a run. Shinji made a quick decision and threw Unit One into motion, as he focused harder then he had in quite some time on her blurred, balanced gait-

And just like that, he was back in Synch with Asuka.

The 'training' he and Asuka had been put through to fight this Angel the last time had not, as Toji had so gleefully put it, been an attempt to destroy the Angel 'through the power of rhythmic gymnastics'. It had in fact been an attempt to force both he and Asuka to learn to predict each others moves and guess each others actions in combat, to let themfight as two separate halves of the same attack plan, dynamically. In the end, Shinji frankly admitted hehad synchronized to Asuka far more then she to him, her force of personality had ensured it.

And it all came flowing back.

Suddenly, everything was moving in slow motion as he broke into a run alongside Unit Two, 'his' feet hitting the ground in perfect unison with 'hers' as they closed distance.

To the relatively few people watching, it was an incredible, majestic sight; the Red and Purple giants thundering towards the half stunned Angels with clouds of sand and water thrown up around them as they crashed forward. The empty rifle and handgun spun off to the side, discarded as the Units thundered through the shallow water, the gunships ceasing fire and backing away in slow 'haste' with perhaps four seconds passing as Units One and Two reached close combat range, the Angels starting to gather their wits, but not fast enough-

Shinji saw the subtle shift in 'her' torso which he mirrored without thinking, both pilots firmly planting their front 'feet' and shifting the considerable momentum they had built up from their sprint into their back foot, which scathed out and around in perfect synchronization into their targets-

The two halves of Israfel were blown backwards from only God knows how many Newtons of force, colliding in a blurred warp they 'fell' into each other and re-assumed the familiar gray form of the 7th Angel, now with the twin cores exposed as it crashed backwards, tripping on a half destroyed building and falling heavily onto its back with a huge wave of water. Seconds later –if it had looked up in time- it would have seen a pair of red and a pair of purple fleet descending towards it-

And crash into the two cores.

Several thousand tons of mass accelerated at a rate significantly greater then 9.8 meters a second squared all focused on only several square meters was just too much momentum for even the tough Core material to resist.

The cores cracked-

The Evangelions rebounded, leaping clear to the left and the right, utterly shattering the cores as they pushed off-

The cores started toglow -

The VTOL's climbed away in haste, knowing what was coming-

The Angel exploded.

A huge column of fire blasted up into the stratosphere as the Angel efficiently converted itself to vapor, joined by a large chunk of the seabed and hundreds of thousands of tons of seawater; shaking several of the VTOL's, but luckily not downing any as for several nanoseconds, a second sun was unleashed on the Earths surface.

---

"And you still don't think there is something odd about your Son?" Doctor Ritsuko Akagi muttered softly to herself as the staff on duty all started cheering, clapping and smiling at each other at the stunning, fantastic victory over the 7th Angel. Even the normally reserved Vice Commander had a tolerant smile on his face as the fireball faded from the main screen, showing the two Evangelions slowly trudging back towards the shoreline, stopping only long enough to retrieve their previously discarded weapons.

Indeed, a great victory once again against the Angels.

A victory where Shinji had shouted at Asuka to get clear after she had apparently destroyed the Angels, where he had not been stunned into inaction as Asuka had been, where he had then moved into perfect synch with her in destroying them, duplicating her every move exactly…

No, she wouldn't just shrug this time. She was missing something…something big…something she still didn't have the answer to.

Unfortunately however, Gendo was off consulting with SEELE about the new UN funding being finalized to expedite construction of Evangelion units Three through Five…not to mention get some more cash for Tokyo-3 to finish clearing up the 5th Angels corpse. Unlike the rest of its brethren, Ramiel hadn't self destructed, almost as if it was trying to drain their resources, even in death…

"If you think Shinji is odd, you should spend a few years looking after Asuka" Ryoji Kaji broke into her thoughts suddenly, causing Akagi to jump in shock. Once again she hadn't heard his approach as he moved up next to her. "Though I have to admit, they do make quite the team together".

"Yes. Quite a team" she said as the Evangelions reached the shoreline and started to 'pack up', like an improbable couple out for a nice day at the beach about ready to go home. "I would have thought those two would be more likely to kill each other then work together as well as they just did".

"Yes, Shinij is…an odd person" Kaji shrugged, probing subtly while keeping his eyes focused on the screen, but sensing the Doctor glancing at him.

"What do you mean by that?" Akagi asked after several seconds.

Kaji shrugged, deciding to make a slight push against his onetime friend.

"He's just not what I was expecting. He's so completely unlike his Father…I can't help but wonder if he took more after his Mother".

"He never really knew his mother" Agaki replied almost defensively.

"Interesting" Kaji said with a slightly cocked eyebrow that said much without saying anything at all.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

"Nothing at all" Kaji smiled, turning away from the screen towards the Doctor. "Just thinking about something Shinji said to me on Over the Rainbow…about how every time he got into Unit One, he told me he could feel his mother fighting along side him, that she gave him the strength to keep fighting". Shaking his head with a look of sadness on his face that wasn't entirely fake, Kaji none the less caught the look of pure, raw, guilt that flashed through Akagi's eyes for a split second at his recollection.

Well. That confirms that he thought, respect for his onetime friend continuing to drain away...and he couldn't help but feel diminished for the loss of it.

"I know Japanese people often believe their ancestor's spirits remain where their bodies have fallen" Kaji continued in the same tone, "I never really brought into it. But hey, if it helps Shinji keep fighting, then it's all good, right?"

"That's a little harsh, isn't it?" Ritsuko asked, to hide her relief at the fact that Kaji wasn't actually probing about the horrible truth behind Unit One…and her shock that Kaji sounded almost like Gendo in how he was dismissing the Children as mere…components.

Kaji just raised an eyebrow at her.

"Don't get me wrong Rits. To say these kids are getting a raw deal would be a huge understatement. We're putting the weight of the world on their shoulders; the lives of three billion people. I'm sure you'll agree that if we had any choice in the matter…"

"I know" Ritsuko replied shortly, forcing the guilt that started to well up again back down with brutal force, somewhat pleased to find Kaji shared her more practical outlook on the project. Not that she thought of the children as mere components…but they were necessary to make the Evangelions work. And that was simply that.

"At least until we can find some way to get those kids out of the cockpit" she continued, her thoughts at once flashing to the Dummy Plug project, on schedule deep inside Terminal Dogma …

"But until that day" Kaji continued in a suddenly serious voice, looking over at her, "we have to do whatever it takes to keep these kids stable and functional. Even if it means buying into delusions of long dead mothers cheering from the sideline, letting Asuka beat up on half the kids at school…um, whatever Rei does with her free time…" Kaji shrugged, clearly not able to think of anything about the First Child. "Whatever it takes, we have to do it when playing for these stakes".

"Whatever it takes" Ritsuko echoed, fighting to keep a level face at the shiver that went up her spine at the words she had repeated to herself so many times over the last few years…missing the look of pain in Kaji's eyes as he saw the depth of her soul in that one moment, realizing just how much she had sacrificed to NERV and Gendo Ikari, who she didn't realize was just using her, just as he had used her Mother before her…

Kaji was starting to understand the simmering hate he had seen in Shinji's eyes, when the Third Child had told him that he utterly detested his own Father on a level Kaji could not possibly understand…

"Well, I'm off to go welcome the heroes' home" Kaji grinned leaning over to give a surprised Doctor Akagi a quick peck on her cheek. "I'll catch you later Ritsuko" he said, walking out of the upper Command Center level quickly enough that she couldn't see the look that had threatened for a second to come out as he said goodbye to one of his few remaining friends.

---

The UH-60 Blackhawk flared as it oriented on the Tokyo-3 High School Number 3. Half a dozen NERV personnel were on the ground to ensure the perimeter was closed off for the arrival of the UN transport, and a yellow smoke marker showing wind direction was noted by the pilot, who subtly adjusted his approach to he ease down onto the sports field, offload his two passengers and take on the ground team before he thundered back into the sky.

The two Children watched the Helicopter leave, the downdraft sending the girls long red hair everywhere, but she had come prepared and carefully ran a small brush through it a few times to get it back under control before 'humphing' in satisfaction and turning to the person patiently waiting next to her.

"Well Baka, lets get going, we have an entrance to make!"

Shinji tried not to smile too much. The idea that anyone could have missed the thundering great transport helicopter landing on the sports field seemed remote, but Shinji had a feeling that Asuka wouldn't have been satisfied arriving in anything short of her Evangelion.

Fortunately, Asuka had retained enough sense not to askif she could do that.

Also fortunately, they had been able to quickly shower and change back into their school uniforms at the airbase. Shinji had been inclined to accept Misato's offer of the rest of the afternoon off, feeling tired and wanting to just lie down. Asuka, of course, had vetoed the plan insisting that they should get back to school and continue their education. That an Angel was no excuse for slacking off.

Slacking off my foot, she just wants to return as the Conquering Warrior Queen of legend…

Not that Shinji could begrudge Asuka her grand entrance. Perhaps she hadn't exactly covered herself in glory today…but by the same token; he couldn't have done it without her. Not for the first time, he smiled slightly at that thought, working side by side with her again; Asuka the burning sword, Asuka the raging, unquenchable firestorm-

"What's so funny?" Asuka suddenly demanded as they walked up the long steps that linked the sports field to the lower level of the school playground.

"I was just thinking about us" he said without thinking, then winced slightly as he realized what he had just said, Asuka halting dead in her tracks and turning to glare.

"Do go on Third Child" she said in a tone that suggested he should pick the next words out of his mouth, carefully.

"I was just thinking" he repeated, somehow keeping the fear he was feeling at that look out of his voice, getting enough courage from somewhere to return her stare, "that when we, you and I actually work together against the Angels…we do great things" he said simply, before turning and continuing past her up the stairs.

Asuka stared at his back as he passed her, before jerking back into motion after him, stunned, as that statement had hit at something she had been denying all day long…

The long flight back had given her time to think…mostly over Shinji's shouted warning for her to get the hell away from the Angel, her face again flushing red as she realized she had probably come within several seconds of getting her backside handed to her, thanks to shear overconfidence.

Misato had said nothing after they had disembarked from their Eva's, smiling at them and hugging them in congratulations…but some of her comments about teamwork had just been a little too pointed, along with her congratulations of Shinji for staying cool and in control. Even if Misato had smiled at her, calling her opening attack 'very impressive' Asuka had seen it for what it was, a nudge to her vanity and ego, which made it all the more of a letdown. Asuka expected 'words' in the near future over her actions, in quiet without Shinji around.

If that frigid Doctor Akagi had been there instead of back at NERV manning the second line of defense, she probably wouldn't have gotten off so easy. And as much as she wanted to lash out at Shinji for screwing up her debut battle…something held her back.

It was that same damn itch he had given her since she had first seen him, this time whispering to her that everyone else was right, that she had gone into the battle for the wrong reasons…that if she really was the best, well, she would naturally prove it without having to showoff in some stupid, childish display.

So for the rest of the ride in the helicopter, she had sat, glaring at the far bulkhead, wondering what Shinji would say, trying not to recall her own comments on the way to the battle as she had asked why Shinji had to come along…

And he had finally spoken.

And he hadn't criticized her battle tactics. He hadn't called her on her utter disregard of tactical procedures. There was no calling to account for how close she had come to getting herself killed…

He had just smiled and told her that when they worked together…they did great things.

Shaking her head slightly to clear it from the sudden surge of emotions, she increased her pace up the steps after him, catching up as they crested the hill together-

-Right into a thundering round of applause. Shinji felt his mouth drop as he gazed at the long length of the main school building in front of them, students packed into countless windows along it in large numbers, breaking into applause. Cheers and more then a couple of wolf whistles from the boys –which Shinji fervently hoped were directed at Asuka- washed over them as the student body applauded NERV's latest victory.

Asuka of course was far faster on the ball, putting a look of utterly innocent surprise on her face, as if she had not expected anything like this and was appropriately flattered, turning her legs slightly to deliver a stunningly cute abbreviated curtsy, which strangely appeared to cause most of the male population to collapse backwards into their classrooms.

Shinji, coming out of his surprised stupor grinned sheepishly and waved, generating more then a few appreciative cheers and wolf whistles of his own, this time of a distinctly female nature…at least until Asuka, with an oddly possessive grip, grabbed his wrist and yanked him towards the building, the chears falling off as the teachers started to get their people back under control.

"Enough time playing to your harem, Hentai" she declared as she pulled him into the deserted lower corridor, though the tone in her voice was slightly subdued and the look she was gave him for a split second…

What in the…

Was that jealously? On Asuka Langley Soryus face

Nah, he had to be going crazy. Sure she might have started to appreciate him at a level beyond 'scum under my shoe' but that was a long way from thinking enough of him to get jealous at attention from someone else…

Still…it was a nice fantasy for the thirty seconds it lasted.

Asuka dragged him to their classroom at speed, her hair wonderfully bouncing around her shoulders as they ran up the stairs, reaching their level - at which point she let go of his arm, all but throwing it away in haste as they skidded to a halt, coming face to face with Rei Ayanami

"Uh…hi Rei" Shinji blinked. "You just got back too?"

Rei had been on standby back at Tokyo-3 during this whole engagement. The repairs and upgrades of Unit Zero to full combat rated performance still underway, and though it could still be deployed in an emergency, it was still a week or so away from being declared fully operational, hence the decision to leave it behind as a backup, in case the Angel got past units One and Two.

Presently, Rei nodded slightly at his question, glancing at the two of them, then down at their hands - which had been held together until a second ago, before looking back up again.

For whatever reason, Rei's direct look made Shinji's face start to flush.

"You both fought well against the Angel" Rei offered.

Asuka smirked slightly, placing her hands on her hips and lifting her head.

"Jealous you were not invited to come along?"

Rei cocked her head in thought before, to Shinji's great surprise, nodding slightly.

"Yes"

Clearly, Asuka had not anticipated that response. And in typical Asuka fashion, moved to correct that gap in her knowledge.

'Why?"

Rei cocked her head slightly.

"I was not able to protect my friends when deployed in the reserve position" she said, causing the other two Evangelion pilots to blink, albeit for slightly different reasons.

"Who precisely saidwe needed your help First?" Asuka said with a slight narrowing of eyes that sent warning bells ringing in Shinji's head.

"No-one" Rei answered, glancing at Shinji for a second before looking back at Asuka. "Pilot Ikari has freely risked his life to save mine on several occasions, without hesitation or reward. If this is part of what friendship means, then I am…uncomfortable with being in a position where I am unable to do so for either of you when in combat".

Asuka frowned and her eyes lost focus for a few seconds as she mulled over Rei's comments, before apparently deciding they were acceptable and didn't dismiss her abilities as a pilot in any way, but reflected a genuine –if strange- concern.

"Well, you don't have to worry about us today Rei, we make the perfect Angel killing team here

"Indeed" Rei replied before hesitating, as if finding something hard to say…"and I am pleased that you and Shinji complement each other so effectively".
Instantly seeing where Rei was heading, Shinji jumped into the conversation.

"We both made mistakes in that battle Rei" Shinji said smoothly, getting a look from Asuka, but one that came without words. "Things could have easily gone far worse then they did, no more or less then the other battles we've fought so far. Every engagement with the Angels is two parts preparation, two parts skill and ten parts luck".

Rei considered this for several seconds before frowning.

"That is not logical" she pointed out.

"What the Baka is trying, poorly, to say" Asuka said, and Shinji felt a chill at Asuka's almost matter of fact tone, "is that we all have to look out for each in combat…we've all made nearly fatal mistakes. Shinji getting blindsided by the 4th Angel when its arm re-grew, you getting fried by the 5th when you launched…"Asuka took a deep breath. "And my showing off a few hours ago almost getting us into deep trouble".

Shinji just stared in shock.

Asuka was admitting she had screwed up? In front of Rei?

"You could not have known what would happen" Rei said almost at once in a clinical, but strangely…soothing tone. "Against the Third or Forth Angels, the probability is that your tactics would have eliminated them in minimal time and cost. If this Angel had lacked the ability to duplicate and engage, your attack would have no doubt destroyed it as you had presumed.

Now Shinji's face turned back the other way.

Rei wasapologizing for Asuka?

Has the world started rotating from West to East since last night? Why the hell wasn't I informed? Shouldn't there have been a memo or something?

"Well" Shinji said into the slightly awkward silence as Askua smiled ever so slightly at Rei's vigorous defense of her actions. "Um, we should probably get to class…I need some sleep".

The two girls nodded and the trio headed into Class, some part of Shinji's stunned mind that wasn't reeling at the damn near unholy interaction between the First and Second Children, decided that he just may have seen the most significant change to date in this second chance he had been given.

And woe to the enemies of humanity if this fragile new friendship grew into the simultaneously awesome and terrible weapon it could become…

---

Fifty minutes later, school had ended for the day. To Shinji's annoyance, as he had predicted, everything had been a blur, his mind was utterly useless after the huge adrenaline surge from the early morning combat had faded, meaning he had ultimately picked up no knowledge at all from the lessons today.

Then again, as he hadn't been chewed out by the Vice Commander for screwing up the battle with the 7th Angel, nor had to dodge Misato in a foul mood after having ten tons of paperwork dumped onto her desk, so he guessed he could move this entire day into the 'win' column.

"Hey Shinji" a familiar voice called out as he headed out of the gate, dodging backslaps and 'V for Victory' signs from countless people he didn't know, looking around to see Kaji hovering on the road outside the school, a rather slick looking sports car beside him.

"Kaji" Shinji spoke up in greeting, before suddenly feeling a jolt as he was pushed aside.

"KAJI!" Asuka shouted, waving in joy before all but sprinting out the gates to grab onto his arm, beaming. "You came to pick me up!"

"That's right Kido, you and Shinji and Rei too if she wants a lift for that matter".

Asuka's beaming smile faded ever so slightly as she was told Kaji hadn't come just for her, but it soon returned to full brilliance.

Turning to Toji, Kensuke and Hikari who had followed them, Shinji shrugged.

"Its okay" Hikari said for all of them, stepping over and hugging Asuka, who of course hugged her back, the two girls friendship Shinji was very pleased to see already growing rapidly. With lots of promises to call each other tonight, Asuka turned to step into the car, halting suddenly as she noticed Rei was still standing well back and not moving.

"Well come on First, we've got a lift!"

Rei didn't move.

"I do not require a…lift" she said. "I can walk home".

Asuka rolled her eyes and muttered something in German Shinji didn't get.

"No, we all have legs, but when a friend offers you a lift, you take it! Especially when it's someone as wonderful as Mister Kaji here! He does work for NERV you know, you can trust him".

Rei appeared to think about it for a second before nodding and walking up to the car, pausing before moving to sit in the back next to Shinji. Asuka wondered at the strangeness of Rei for a second before shaking her head and claiming the front seat 'shot gun' position for herself.

"Hey Ikari, we'll catch you tomorrow" Toji and Kensuke called together.

"See you then" Shinji shouted out as Kaji sat in the front seat, gunned what sounded like an enormous engine and threw the car into gear.

Five minutes later, Ryoji Kaji's car screeched to a halt and Shinji finally knew why Asuka had never appeared flustered in the slightest by Misato's insane driving.

It was because it had been Kaji who had taught her to drive, the God damned son of a…

Stumbling out with everyone, Shinji found it depressing that Asuka had a look of thrill rider glee on her face and Rei's face, as always, just had a calm, level expression.

"What's the matter Third? Scared of a little car trip?" Asuka taunted with a smirk.

"Of course I am" Shinji spluttered.

"Hah, whimp" she snickered, quickly reaching around as Kaji got out to latch back onto his arm and sigh contently. "He's just a perfect driver".

"I'm sure" Shinji said, getting his fear –and sense of balance- back under control. "You coming to drop Rei off?"

"Well…I guess" Asuka said, the smile on her face slowly fading as she looked up at the monolithic block in front of her. "Rei…you live here?'

"Yes" she said, heading for the nearby elevator, causing the trio of people to follow her. With a typical lack of tact, Asuka spoke her mind.

"Why?" she demanded as they stepped into a dangerously run down elevator, which started to creak up the side of the building.

Rei looked confused at the question.

"Because it is the block I was assigned".

"So, move somewhere else!"

"To what purpose?" Rei asked in genuine confusion. Did not her home meet the requirements of a bed to sleep in, with the basic necessities?

"Because…well…this place is a dump" Asuka declared, calling it like she saw it, Shinji trying not to wince at how bluntly Asuka put down Rei's home…not that Rei appeared to mind. "It can't be safe or healthy to live here; a home is much more then four walls and a bed".

The doors opened onto an exposed hallway with doors down one side and a railing on the other, leaves and other light debris littering the concrete as Rei led them towards her apartment.

"I do not understand" the First Child responded, sounding slightly confused at Asuka's statement.

"A home is a reflection of your personality, a place of comfort and refuge, a place to relax and enjoy yourself, for the sake of enjoying yourself when needed" Shinji broke in smoothly, having had time to think about this very issue for a while, getting a surprised look from Asuka and a suppressed smile from Kaji at his elegance, as they stepped up to Rei's apartment.

"Don't you ever check your mail?" Askua asked with a slight tinge of sarcasm as Rei pushed open the door, only for Asuka's jaw to drop in horror as she stared inside Rei's apartment.

"OH- mein Gott, was die Hölle ist dieses?" Asuka spluttered as she pushed past a slightly surprised Rei to look around in horror at the state of her apartment, before whirling around to face the First Child. "Who in the hell is forcing you to live here…WHY are you living here in this mess?"

Rei's face actually blushed ever so slightly, Shinji guessing that it was more because Rei was slightly uneasy under Asuka's molten glare then because she was embarrassed at the state of her apartment.

Though Shinji couldn't disagree with Asuka's anger at the state of the apartment of the First Child.

Used bandages, soiled clothes half used prescriptions and all manner of other debris cluttered the apartment, in addition to a general 'grimy' feel to the place, not helped by the lack of natural light.

"I…I was assigned this apartment when I started to live on my own" Rei said in a slightly more quiet and unsure tone then she would normally answer in.

"Who the hell did that?"

"Commander Ikari"

"Well" Askua growled, "I have more then a few words to say to him" she said, turning to glare at Shinji and pointing in accusation. "How could you let her live like this Baka?"

"Wrong Ikari" he protested holding up his hands. "I didn't know!" he lied through his teeth, almost grinning at Asuka's rage being directed on Rei's behalf.

"And you didn't try to find out?" she demanded, stepping forward. "What are you, stupid?"

Rei watching her two fellow pilots argue felt her face redden yet again. She disliked plot Soryu blaming pilot Ikari for her apartment, especially as she simply did not understand why they clearly both found it so unacceptable…but none the less, she felt…gratitude?

Yes.

Gratitude.

At the fact that her two…friends…clearly cared about her so much that they had gotten angry at the state of her tiny house.

Once again, she didn't understand why this was so, exactly, but the fact that they could generate so much emotion over a concern for her…

"I am…sorry" Rei spoke up quietly, causing her two fellow pilots to shut up from their argument and turn towards her as she looked hesitatingly back at them. "I did not mean to cause offence…"

Asuka hissed her breath out from between her teeth. God, she hated people who apologized for everything, even when it wasn't their fault!

"We're not angry atyou Rei and I'm not angry at Shinji, we're angry at the people who left you in this state" Asuka sighed, letting the anger go and stepping closer to the clearly confused and embarrassed Rei. "Look, we'll get this sorted, I'm sure we can find you somewhere better to live and…." Asuka paused as she paced around and found herself in front of Rei's wardrobe, which was open to show nothing but a half dozen school uniforms. "Uh Rei, where are your clothes?"

"There" she answered, once again confused.

"No I mean your otherclothes" Asuka asked in a straight forward manner, waiting for the answer.

"…what other clothes?"

Asuka stared at Rei.

Okay. She could get the run down apartment block.

She could even get the mess, perhaps Rei was just a slob.

But the utter lack of any kind of material possessions?

The utter lack of CLOTHES? For a teenaged GIRL?

Asuka's eyebrow, twitched, causing Kaji and Shinji to take an instinctive step back.

"Rei" she said in a voice that was strangely calm. "Have you ever been shopping in your life?"

"I…occasionally purchase limited supplies if I need them" Rei offered, causing Asuka's eye to twitch again.

"I see" Asuka replied, still glacially calm. "And who has been looking after you all these years? As your guardian I mean?"

"Commander Ikari" she answered once again. Asuka nodded as if expecting that answer, before turning to Shinji.

"I'm starting to see why you don't like your Father very much, Third Child" she said, anger blazing in those brilliant blue orbs of hers. "Tomorrow, we're going to have a little talk to him".

"The Commander is currently out of the country" Rei pointed out, something for which Shinji found himself thanking Gods he didn't really believe in. A showdown between Asuka and his Father?

It would be safer to watch someone start playing with the arming codes for N2 bombs, in his opinion.

"Then we'll talk to the Vice Commander" Asuka said, not to be dissuaded. "Then after we sort out a new place for you to move into" and here Asuka's face became almost dreamy, "we're going shopping!"

"…Thank…you" Rei decided to say through her surprise and…yes, it was definitely gratitude, what an odd sensation…

"Welcome" Asuka beamed, before turning back to Kaji, who unnoticed to everyone had carefully 'liberated' a bandage with a bloodstain on it into one of his pockets. "Well, let's get going, we need to drop Baka home!"

Shinji couldn't help but notice Asuka had deliberately omitted any idea of her then leaving Kaji at any point in the future, smiling slightly at Kaj, who clearly had caught the same hint and smirked back, before Shinji turned to Rei and bowed slightly.

"I will see you tomorrow Ayanami-San".

"Hai" was all she could get out, her face still flushed ever so slightly.

The trio backed out of Ayanami's cramped apartment and closed the door behind them, heading back to the car.

They rode in silence back towards Misato's place.

Shinji because he was holding on for dear life as Kaji expertly weaved around, through and once almost over traffic, part of him noting with a detachment the rest of him didn't feel, that Kaji was truly able to thread things just that much finer then Misato could, often missing opposing cards by mere centimeters, Shinji decided then and there to NEVER drive with the lunatic again.

Asuka because she was still so utterly shocked at the state of Rei's apartment. Granted, Shinji lived with Misato who she knew was the übersloth of übersloth's, but she assumed he had a nice enough place to live. In Germany, she had lived in a variety of places, most recently in modern and clean quarters inside the Third Branch facilities in Munich, clean and orderly buildings where she had become quite self sufficient in looking after herself. Tokyo-3 was a large city, with from what she understood to be a dropping civilian population…andthat was the best NERV could do for someone as critically important as an Evangelion pilot?

Didn't they have the slightest clue how important they were damn it?

Kaji was silent mostly because he was dodging traffic at absurd speeds and violating just about every law on the books doing it.

They made it to Misato's apartment in record time again, screeching to a halt in a backward power slid into a parking space that violated at least two laws of physics and, Shinji thought, at least one of causality, but didn't appear to implode the universe.

Shinji once again got out with slightly shaky legs, drawing a scornful but playful glare from Asuka as she laughed and once again attached herself to Kaji, though this time he gently kept her to only grabbing his lower arm as they got into the lift. They exited at the appropriate floor and headed down to the apartment, Shinji looking forward to his soft bed and…wait…

What were all these DHL boxes outside?

The ones that all said 'A.L.S'?

Oh hell-

"Hey hang on, wait, is that my-"

"You got it!" A voice came from the door as it opened, revealing a Misato cheerfully smiling.

"What is MY stuff doing HERE?" Asuka demanded, letting go of Kaji in annoyance as he shot a grin at Misato that the NERV operations director ignored.

"This is your new place. You'll be living with me from now on!"

"You're kicking me out?" Shinji asked in disbelief, hiding the huge grin he wanted to put on his face with a great deal of effort.

"Hmph. So, the Great Third Child is being dumped for the new model" Asuka smirked. "Well I suppose it makes sense when you consider my far superior abilities".

"Actually, you'll be living together" Misato corrected her with that same smile on her face.

"Say WHAT?" Asuka demanded, stepping forward dangerously. "A boy and a Girl should not sleep under the same roof after the age of seven!"

Misato smiled tolerantly, but a slight edge came into her attitude as 'professional' Misato came out a little.

"After your performance today, we decided that you two need to learn to work together properly as a team. To that end, for the next week you'll be out of school and undergoing rigorous training in teamwork and tactical coordination. Both of you know how to fight alone against the Angels, now you're going to learn to fight as a team".

"Pft. We beat the crap out of those two Angels today, together, didn't we Shinji?" Asuka spoke for the both of them, clearly expecting a supportive response.

"Well uh, I guess we won, but um we kind screwed up as a team-"

"Exactly!" Asuka declared, taking Shinji's stuttering response as a complete confirmation of her claim, folding her arms in front of her and smirking slightly.

Then it actually caught up with her what he had said and she slowly turned to face him, a look on her face promising bad times ahead for the Third Child, who prudently stepped back behind Kaji.

"Thank you for proving my point" Misato said dryly. "This is an order, but don't worry Asuka. We've lived together before. Shinji is housebroken-"

"I am notHousebroken?" Shinji muttered in protest, though no-one listened.

"-and I don't really want you living by yourself anyway".

"I don't have to live by myself" Asuka said quickly, trying to turn the situation to her own advantage. "I can live with Kaji!" she said, directing her most awesome smile at her other ex guardian.

Misato grinned as well, but it was the grin of a hunter who had just been given an opening.

"And whose idea do you think it was to start this training Asuka?"

"It was…no…NO!" she said with a gasp, turning a look of utter betrayal on Kaji. "Howcould you?!"

"Come on Asuka" he said soothingly. "You need to live with someone, you're mature, far more then most other kids your age, but you're too young to live by yourself…and I'm too busy to look after you". Turning away from the pouting Asuka who almost looked like she was about to cry –a look he knew was utterly fake- Kaji shot a grin at Misato.

"I'll see you later Katsuragi" he smiled before turning to Asuka and smiling more gently. "Asuka, it'll be fine. You're just moving in with Shinji. You don't have to be scared"

"I am not scared" she ground out, glaring at everyone as if daring them to challenge her statement.

At which point she realized in shock that she was scared of Shinji, on some level.

Not physically or anything stupid like that…she simply didn't know how to relate to him, how to deal with him, how to control him or manipulate him like she could almost anyone else around her.

And she didn't know how to deal with the feeling of butterflies in her stomach whenever she thought about four days ago, pressing herself into Shinji's back and reaching -hugging- around him as she rested her head on his shoulders, placing her hands on his on Unit Two's controls as the 6th Angel was dragged up to the surface….the feeling of her body against his-

STOP IT!

"I'm sure" Kaji grinned as he saw the minuet hesitation inside Asuka's eyes, correctly guessing its cause before turning to Shinji. "Oh Ikari, can I have a quick word while Misato gives Asuka the grand tour?"

"Of course Kaji-san" Shinji nodded, stepping away with Kaji to the end of the balcony as Asuka stepped inside, the older man sighing as he watched the sun slowly continue on its arc towards the horizon, the sky already taking on the slightest red tinge from the approaching sunset, still an hour or so away.

"You know, Asuka is going to take Rei shopping this weekend" Kaji smiled. "You'll probably be invited along by them, to carry all their purchase and all that".

"Oh…good" Shinji replied in a tone that suggested he had just been cheerfully told Asuka would try to poison him tonight as he in depression tried to calculate how much stuff Rei could be forced to buy with several million Yen sitting in her bank account.

The answer was not good.

"For that matter, they'll probably have Misato come along as well, you know, women's stuff and all that. So perhaps you might want to hang out with me for the day and do guys stuff?"

Translation, we need to talk, privately Shinji thought.

"I'd be honored…I have more then a few questions to ask about…well…" he trailed off with a glance back at the door to the apartment, Kaji quickly catching his drift.

"Ahhh" he said with a knowing smile. "Yes…Asuka is quite the girl. I hear she has made a rather impressive impact at your school".

"I know" Shinji said softly. "And um…there is this dance coming up at school in a couple of weeks…and uh….now I'm going to be living with her and…um…well…"

Kaji couldn't help but smile at Shinji, contrasting the red faced, almost stuttering kid in front of him with the adult who had confronted him on Over the Rainbow. It was somewhat comforting to see that there was more to Shinji then the haunted young man who had approached him,pleading for help four days ago, that the horrors he had been put…no, forced through hadn't destroyed him as Kaji had secretly feared.

Under all the horror, there was still a 14 year old kid, asking for advice on dating.

Well. Perhaps, there is still hope for the human race yet Kaji thought, his smile widening slightly.

"Oh, that I can help with…if you could help me with something" Kaji offered as he stood up and turned back towards the apartment.

"And what might that be?" Shinji asked, smiling slightly in resonance with Kaji's infectious grin.

"Well…" Kaji said, placing his arm around his shoulders in a friendly, almost fatherly way that Shinji found he didn't mind. "About Misato…do you think you could find out for me what her current dress size is?"

Do they issue spies suicide pills? Was Shinji's first response to that question before he stopped and thought about it.

After all, he was the person who did all the damn laundry at their place…

"Kaji", Shinji said with an increasing smirk on his face, "This could be the start of a beautiful friendship"…