Disclaimer: Still don't own Eva.
Shinji walked into the house, closing the door behind him. Yawning slightly, he headed towards the kitchen where he found Rei, Tomoe, Chloe, and Celeste at the table eating.
"Hi Shinji, the foods on the stove so take a seat" said Celeste, smiling at the boy. Shinji nodded at grabbed a plate from the cabinet. Heading to the stove, Shinji took the lid off the pan and scooped the chili and sausages onto his plate. He then walked over to the table to eat.
Dinner was uneventful as Shinji answered Chloe's questions as best as he could without revealing anything from his day's activities. Tomoe raised an eyebrow at Shinji's more elaborate explanations while Celeste and Chloe bought what the Angel said. Rei sat there, quietly eating and not saying anything. Shinji could tell that the teen was listening to every word he was saying. He was curious to know what was going on in the red-eyed girl's brain.
After dinner was done, Shinji helped Tomoe up the stairs while being followed by Rei. Celeste and Chloe cleaned the kitchen and then watched television. After Tomoe went to her room, she closed the door while Shinji and Rei walked into his room.
"Why am I still alive?" asked Rei as soon as the door to Shinji's room was shut. Shinji turned around and stared at the girl while he thought how to answer her.
"Why do you think you are still alive?" asked Shinji in return. The youth still did not understand why he spared her life as well. He was secretly hoping that maybe she would provide an answer.
"I am unsure; is it because I have knowledge to your father's plans?" asked Rei, sonically.
"My only father is our Lord God; do not forget it" snapped Shinji in anger, taking out his masmune and pointed it at the girl. The boy no longer considered himself an offspring of a lowly Lilim.
"Understood" said Rei, fear sounding in her voice. She was still getting used to Shinji's new personality and was still afraid of him.
"Good; and to answer your question, I do not know why you are still alive. However, there is a possibility that you can be of some use to me" informed Shinji.
"And if I become useless?" asked Rei in a monotone voice.
"Then I will finish what I began at the apartment" answered Shinji falsely. In truth, he was not sure that he could kill her, which still perplexed him.
Rei nodded and Shinji sheaved his blade. He motioned the red-eyed teen to take a seat on the bed. When she sat down, the two stared at one another for a couple of minutes in silence.
"What is Gendo Ikari planning?" asked Shinji in a firm tone. He decided that being direct was the best course of action.
"To initiate Third Impact" answered Rei in a monotone voice.
"I already know that; how is he going to do it?" asked Shinji, slightly irritated. He forgot how Rei was in answering questions.
"I am unaware of all the details since the Commander does not trust me as he once did; but they include Adam, Lilith, Eva Unit 01, and me" answered Rei.
"Adam? Where does Gendo keep him?" asked Shinji, very interested in the girl's answer. Shinji knew that Adam was somewhere in Tokyo 03, but wasn't sure to the exact position. He had Tomoe hack into NERV's MAGI but was caught before she could find anything. Tomoe was successful in avoiding the trace when her hacking was caught.
"I do not know; the Commander does keep Adam with him at all times though" informed Rei.
Shinji stood there, thinking to himself. Though it would be easy for Shinji to interrogate or search Gendo for Adam, it would be difficult getting to him. He had no doubts that Gendo would now be aware of him by now and would be ready if Shinji decided to go after the bastard king. Looking down at Rei, Shinji decided to wait a while before heading back to Tokyo 03. SEELE would come first.
"I've made arraignments for you to stay here. You are not to leave the city or communicate with anyone from the outside. If you do, I will know and there will be consequences. I may need you alive for the time being, but not in one piece. Are we clear?" asked Shinji as firmly as he possibly could.
"Crystal" replied Rei, very unlike her which caused Shinji to raise an eyebrow. Maybe taking her away from Tokyo 03 is causing a change in her already.
Opening the door Shinji turned and said "Get some sleep."
Rei nodded and Shinji walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Walking down the hall, he knocked on Tomoe's door and then entered the room. The girl was currently at her computer, typing away at it.
"Where is she staying?" asked the girl curiously, not looking up and continuing to type.
"In my room for now; Celeste is still cleaning out the spare bedroom where Rei will be staying" answered Shinji in a monotone voice.
Tomoe raised an eyebrow at the statement of Rei sleeping in Shinji's room; something that Shinji caught right away.
"Nothings going to happen; get your mind out of the gutter" said the teen with an annoyed tone; though he did wonder if that was true.
"Fine; but she is attractive in my opinion" said Tomoe, smiling.
"You want to date her?" asked Shinji, smugly.
"Not my type; but yours…." said Tomoe, not finishing the sentence since she found what she was looking for.
Shinji grunted, not wanting to respond to the statement. He still felt drawn to Rei, even after all this time. Things were going to be difficult now.
"What did you find?" asked Shinji, trying to change the subject.
"Well, it seems that SEELE is on to you. I found SEELE 02, a guy by the name of name of Victor Cronoloz who lives in the country of Georgia. Apparently, from what I have been able to hack, he has a small army protecting him" answered Tomoe.
"I don't see the problem; I can slice my way through any army" stated Shinji confidently.
"Not when they are armed with these" said Tomoe, moving slightly out of the way so Shinji could see the computer screen. The boy raised his eyebrows in understanding what the girl meant.
"This could be a problem; hmm….maybe its time I used them" said Shinji, grinning slightly.
"SEELE wouldn't be expecting it; I guess those cultists are useful after all" replied Tomoe, skeptically.
"There fanatics, not cultists" corrected Shinji.
"Same thing" said Tomoe, shrugging.
Shinji just shook his head. Religion was a sensitive issue with Tomoe and Shinji concluded that it had something to do with her childhood. He never pried and she never divulged.
"I think its time I paid them a visit. Do me a favor and keep an eye on Rei, make sure she doesn't leave the house" said Shinji, turning to leave.
"Do you think she will try to escape?" asked Tomoe inquiringly.
"No; but it never hurts to be sure" answered Shinji as he left the room.
Walking back to his room, Shinji quietly opened the door to check up on the blue-haired teen. She was sleeping silently in his bed. Walking over to her, he noticed that she was sleeping in the nude with one of her breast slightly exposed. A small blush appeared on Shinji cheeks and he was surprised at the growing desire he began to feel. Shaking his head, Shinji covered Rei up and exited the room. Closing the door behind him, Shinji made his way down the steps.
Silently making his way out of the house, Shinji walked to the backyard and extended his wings. Taking to the air, Shinji began to head east towards Europe.
……………………………………………………………………….
Kozo Fuyutsuki looked surprised as he descended down the steps of the plane. Waiting at the bottom was a limo with Commander Gendo Ikari standing beside it. Dressed in his usual attire, Gendo had a very neutral look upon his face. Fuyutsuki was used to the look but he did notice that there were dark spots under the man's eyes. Kozo concluded that the Commander hasn't slept, which wasn't unusual to Kozo.
During the flight back to Tokyo 03, Kozo tried to get used to his new prosthetic arm. Though it was the latest and most advanced design, it looked rather goofy on the man with its supposed look a like skin. The artificial arm preformed not to bad to his neural commands but it was still difficult to use the arm for writing and other things. It made the Sub-Commander wish that the doctors could have reattached his old arm.
"Welcome back" said Gendo in a monotone voice. Opening the door for the older man, the Commander gestured for Kozo to enter the vehicle first which caught the man by surprise. Not wanting to offend Ikari in one of his extremely rare acts of generosity, Fuyutsuki got into the limo. Gendo climbed in after him and the car took off.
"How are you feeling" asked Gendo, not looking at the man.
"As well as can be expected under the circumstances" answered Kozo in a somewhat humorous tone of voice. Gendo raised an eyebrow at the statement.
"I take it that it was the Third Child who did this to you?" inquired Gendo, already knowing the answer.
Fuyutsuki looked over at the man in surprise. The Sub-Commander had not told anyone on who the culprit was. He suspected that something else had happened in his absence from Tokyo 03.
"Rei has been taken" stated Gendo in a solemn manner. Kozo's eyes widened.
"By who?" asked the man, already knowing the answer.
"The Third Child" answered the younger man. Fuyutsuki was taken aback by his lack of emotion. It was no secret that Rei one of the key components in Gendo Ikari's scenario.
"Do we know why she was taken?" asked Kozo. He doubted that Gendo knew the reason to why Shinji took Rei, but he was curious to what his former students' train of thought.
"I don't know; this was not in the scenario" said the Commander, stating the obvious. Fuyutsuki knew that the scenario went up in smoke on the day that Shinji supposedly died.
"Did you know that Shinji was going to be the last Angel?" asked Fuyutsuki.
"No, I did not. The scrolls were very cryptic on the nature of the last messenger. All what was said was that it would be born of pain and suffering as well as being the most powerful" replied Gendo in a neutral manner.
"Well from what I've seen and experienced, the boy fits all those qualities. However, why hasn't he gone after Adam like all the other Angels have?" asked the older man out of curiosity. It was something that continued to bug him.
"I don't know; SEELE has no answer as well" answered Gendo, frustrated.
"The council knows?" asked Kozo.
"Yes, they found out before I could inform them of the abduction" replied Commander Ikari.
"I see; how are they taking it?" asked Kozo.
"Not well; especially since the boy is hunting them down one by one. Now that they know what they're dealing with, what's left of the committee is in hiding" informed the speckled man with a smirk.
"That understandable; what are we going to do when he decides to go after you?" raised Fuyutsuki. The man knew sooner or later Shinji would come for Gendo.
"We will use the Second Child to deal with him" answered Commander Ikari.
The Sub-Commander snorted "Despite what the girl thinks, Asuka Langley Sohyru is no match for Shinji. He will cut her down before she even lands a hit on the boy."
"He would never harm her; the boy is too weak to harm one of his friends" said Gendo with a somewhat confidant tone.
"Are you kidding me? Your son in the last year has killed half of SEELE, sliced his way through various Section 2 agents to grab Rei, and ripped my arm off. How the hell do you think that boy is weak?!" exclaimed Fuyutsuki louder than he wanted to.
"The scenario will be maintained. I will not let some Angel, let alone my son, deny me from being with Yui!" screamed Gendo in a crazed manner, glaring at the Sub Commander in fury.
Kozo flinched, and stay silent at his former students' outburst. Gendo's unexpected rants were happening more and more often. There were times when he would act normal one second and then fly off the handle the next. Both Major Katsuragi and Agent Kaji did well to weather the storm, knowing that Commander Ikari could not afford to rid himself of the two. The Second Child just glared back and balled her fists while Rei took it in with her usual blank expression.
Doctor Akagi was another story. When she was released from confinement, Ritsuko had revealed that she was pregnant with Gendo's child. Commander Ikari of course had tried to force her to abort the child. However, Akagi had sought protection from the Japanese government who were more than willing to grant it.
Over the years, Gendo Ikari had stepped on a few toes and now it had came back to haunt the man. Doctor Akagi was under the full protection of the law with the threat of harsh penalty to the Commander if he tried anything. Gendo had complied reluctantly, knowing that he could not do anything to jeopardize his plans.
Ritsuko Akagi now stayed at home, nursing her soon to be child. The woman had plans to leave the city once the child was born, not wanting to have anything more to do with her former life. Fuyutsuki was happy that she was leaving, hoping that the Doctor would be happy.
The car ride continued in silence. Gendo had calmed down but did not speak anymore on the issue. Fuyutsuki stared out the window, resisting the urge to scratch his shoulder where the artificial met flesh.
Still wasn't used to it.
Please R&R and a thanks to Sideris for the pre-read.