Chapter 25: Optionen
"I need a medical team to my apartment now!" Misato screamed into the cellphone.
To the woman's credit less than a minute passed from her discovery of Shinji's condition and her hitting the emergency call button on her cell.
"Ma'am, can you and the pilots get to base?" Hyuga responded. "The MAGI just detected a pattern blue."
"A-shit! I'm coming in now, but I need a medical team on standby! Something's happened to Shinji-kun!"
"The-the Third Child? What's going on ma'am?"
"I don't know! Get that team on standby now! And alert Amanda!"
Misato slammed the phone shut and began running.
"Asuka, Rei, get my clothes and meet me down by the car!" Misato ordered.
"What the hell is going on!?" the redhead demanded. "Where are you going!?"
"WE are headed to HQ," Misato said. "The MAGI's detected an Angel incoming."
The girl's face paled. She dashed off. Misato quickly wrapped Shinji in his sheets and gently picked up the boy.
"Everything's gonna be alright Shin-chan," she said. "C'mon, stay with me here."
Shinji's head rose ever so slightly as the boy tried to meet her gaze but it quickly slumped back down. Grimacing, Misato carried him toward the front door where the other two pilots were already waiting. Outside Misato could see several of the Section-2 agents.
"Move it!" Misato ordered. "Once we're on the road clear the way!"
"Yes ma'am!"
Another agent was standing by the elevator, having already called it up and keeping the doors open. The other agents did not even bother, charging towards the staircase. That might well have been the faster way out, save for the boy Misato was cradling in her arms.
"Asuka, Rei, go with them," Misato ordered. "Get in their cars, I don't want us wasting any time down there all trying to pile into my car."
The two girls nodded and dashed off after their details. Misato took in a deep breath. Things were going to be okay, she told herself. They had to be.
Gendo had returned at the end of last week to find Tokyo-3 caught up in the midst of the auditor-general's latest scheme. For the most part Amanda's antagonization of the JSSDF meant little to him seeing as those elements that did serve as conventional support for NERV had all transferred to the UN. Besides, having her distracted with her little crusade meant she stayed out of his affairs so he considered it a worthwhile trade. There were more important things requiring his attention however, including the development of the dummy plug. Akagi was making progress, the tests recording the baseline patterns of the EVA pilots had been completed. In truth they had only needed data from Rei and Shinji but excluding the Second would have prompted awkward questions. The girl was too inquisitive by far.
Ikari frowned. In the middle of the tests Sommer had gone to the command center and ordered the sensitivity of the pattern sensors significantly increased. So significantly in fact they had begun taking up a substantial percentage of the MAGI's compute cycles. The only reason Gendo could think of for doing so was if the auditor was expecting an Angel to make an appearance. Or at least something that generated an AT-field. What did she know that he did not? It would not be unheard of for SEELE to conceal information, was it possible the old men knew, or thought they knew, far more precisely when Angels might emerge? And if so, what did it mean that one had not appeared when their agent apparently expected it to? So many possibilities. So many opportunities. If SEELE's control over their scenario was indeed more tenuous than what the old men believed, perhaps that was something he could exploit. If nothing else he needed some way to distract SEELE's dogs when the time came.
Alarms began blaring. Ikari stood and proceeded calmly out of his office as the detection of an Angel was announced.
"We still haven't localized it?" Ritsuko said as he leaned over Maya's shoulder.
"It's, it's narrowing down and is definitely moving, but, it's already inside the city?" the younger woman said in confusion.
Ritsuko frowned. "That's, the residential district Misato lives in."
"Doctor," a voice sounded behind them all. "Status."
Ritsuko spun around to see Gendo settling into his seat. "We're trying to localize, but the Angel is throwing up a lot of interference. Its wave pattern keeps shifting so we're having trouble locking on."
"Wait, I've got it!" Maya suddenly cried out. "It's definitely on the move, pulling up CCTV feeds!"
The feeds popped up on the main projectors, revealing a mini-convoy of Section-2 SUVs surrounding a blue Renault Alpine that everyone there recognized.
"What's going on?" Hyuga said. "The, AT-field is moving along with the colonel?"
Ritsuko's eyes went wide. "Misato called in a medical team for Shinji-kun."
A deep chill swept the men and women manning the stations. All of them remembered an eerily parallel event that occurred just a few short months ago. An event that ended in an extremely painful tragedy.
"Have assault teams six, seven, and nine meet with the colonel," Gendo said. "They are to escort her and the Third Child to the medical wing and then establish a cordon around the area."
Hyuga blinked in mild confusion at the order, his mind taking a few moments to realize that the commander had not ordered the termination of his own son in order to eliminate the Angel apparently infesting him. Instead he was ordering that Shinji be taken to the medical bay.
"Dr. Akagi, you will examine the pilot after he is secured to determine the extent of his condition and whether he can be safely rid of the Angel."
Another surprise, though this one was made milder by the commander's previous orders. He seemed willing to at least try to save Shinji instead of killing the boy as a liability. Was this a sign of fatherly concern? Or did he simply not want to lose Shinji's usefulness as an EVA pilot? For now that question remained unanswered.
As Hirokawa was let out of the car, in cuffs of course, he noticed that the base was a flurry of activity. Quite a few units were obviously marshaling for deployment and several AFVs were already rolling into the city.
"What's happening?" he asked the soldier escorting him.
"Nothing that concerns you," the private responded.
Hirokawa scowled at the man but the soldier only snorted. It was obvious none of the former JSSDF soldiers that formed the UN regiment thought highly of him, especially if they bought all the nonsense the UN auditor and inspector had been spouting. Then again these were the same men and women who had abandoned their country to serve the so-called multinational coalition that was the United Nations. As far as Hirokawa was concerned they might as well have been traitors.
Looking around he noticed many people in civilian dress streaming towards the hospital. For that matter he himself was being led that way. From what he recalled the base had its own shelters buried deep beneath the hospital, which was for some reason the most heavily armored building on site. And if everyone was headed for the shelters, that could mean only one thing. An Angel had been detected. But if that was the case, where were the alarms? Was this a drill of some sort? Hirokawa frowned thoughtfully. Or was this an opportunity? He would wait, and watch, and prepare for any openings that emerged.
When Misato finally reached the Geofront she was greeted with the sight of over a dozen heavily armed soldiers in full tactical gear.
"What the hell is going on!?" she demanded as she got out of the car, ignoring the fact that she had yet to have a chance to get fully dressed.
"Ma'am," the lieutenant in command saluted. "We've been ordered by Commander Ikari to escort you and the Third Child to the medical wing."
Misato's eyes narrowed but as the soldiers made no move to try and relieve her of Shinji she was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, for now.
"Alright then, let's go. Asuka, Rei, get suited up, if we need up needing an AT-field, you two need to be ready."
Rei nodded and immediately headed off to the lockers. Asuka gave the boy one last pained look before hurrying after. Misato allowed herself a slight smile. The German girl was not hiding her concern very well. That said volumes about how much she had matured. And how much she cared about Shinji. Grimly the major marched toward the medical wing, doing her best to be gentle with her boy. She took comfort in the shallow breathing she could still feel.
Ritsuko and surprisingly Amanda were both waiting for her when they arrived, the trip cut down to mere minutes thanks to a cart the tactical team had commandeered.
"Get him onto the bed," Ritsuko ordered. "Then you need to go through decontamination."
"I'm fine," Misato insisted.
"Misato, do what she says," Amanda said. "We can't risk both you and Shinji getting infected."
The woman opened her mouth to protest again but Amanda cut her off.
"Please. Go. Ritsuko and I'll take good care of him."
Misato closed her mouth and shifted her gaze to her other old friend. She finally nodded.
"I'm trusting you to take good care of my, Ritsuko."
The doctor returned the nod. She still had enough of a heart to do that much at least.
Soren, was having a very bad day. He had gotten back to Tokyo-3 late the night before, or maybe really early in the morning was more accurate, after having dropped off the recording of the yakuza-JSSDF meeting with Kaji and had gotten maybe two hours of sleep before his connection with Shinji damn near blew up again. The infection by Ireul had struck like lightning and it had taken a great deal of power and energy to stem it. It was a damn good thing Misato had checked in on the boy when she did as otherwise Amanda would have needed to fake a call to the boy to get their attention. Either way with much of his energy focused on keeping the boy alive Soren himself was almost effectively bedridden. Almost, but not quite. He had just enough concentration left over to discuss with the others just how they were going to get themselves out of this latest and damn near catastrophic mess.
"Okay, what are our options?" Klinge began.
"It depends on whether Ritsuko is able to come up with something," Amanda said. "We know that if Ireul had attacked the MAGI like it was fucking supposed to, she'd have come up with a solution."
"And assuming she's as inventive this time around?" Klinge said.
"Then we're fine. The problem is if she can't figure out a way to kill the Angel without also killing Shinji," Amanda said. "If that's the case, we're going to need to intervene. Either by giving her enough information so that she does come up with something, or we deal with it ourselves."
"How long do we have?" the general asked.
"Twelve hours," Soren answered immediately.
No one asked if the man was sure or whether the deadline could be extended.
"Do we have any ideas on how Ritsuko could deal with this?" Klinge asked.
"Yes, we do," another woman said, a Caucasian who was actually blond instead of the faux dye the doctor in question used. "We apply a similar principle as was used to defeat Ireul when it infected the simulation bodies, trick it into identifying itself as part of the system instead of as an outside attacker."
The others regarded the woman in mild confusion.
"You're going to have to explain that one Rachel," Klinge said.
The woman adjusted her glasses even if none of them were physically here. "The concept is straightforward. Ireul is a cell-based Angel, one that is constantly evolving. When it infected the simulation bodies, it was tricked into self-terminating by evolving into a dead end. We need to do something similar here, trick it into evolving to perfectly suit its environment, in this case one Shinji Ikari."
The others, all the others, looked at the woman.
"That's your brilliant plan?" Amanda exclaimed. "Turn Shinji into a human-Angel hybrid?"
"Well at that point the Angel's cells would be effectively indistinguishable from that of the boy's, so he technically would not be a hybrid."
"No offense Rachel," Klinge said, "but that has got to be one of your more insane ideas."
"Your opinion is noted," the woman said dryly.
"Excuse me Dr. Ackermann," Soren said, "but why can we not simply trick Ireul into self-terminating like with the MAGI infection? Why do we need to, effectively integrate it into Shinji?"
"Because it never actually infected the MAGI," Ackermann said. "It infected the simulation bodies in the Pribnow box and was hacking the MAGI from there. I assure you if it had actually infected the MAGI systems directly, a different approach would have been taken."
The others pondered the point, sifting through the collective memories and verifying the doctor's words. The conclusion was, ultimately, inevitable.
"Alright, I can try to point Ritsuko in the right direction," Amanda said. "Doctor, could you also put something together as a fallback?"
Ackermann shook her head. "I'd need direct access to do that."
"Damn," Amanda muttered. "We need a backup. Ritsuko's capable, but she's not perfect."
"Soren, could you kill the Angel without harming Shinji?" Klinge asked.
The German man's head tilted slightly. "Thirty-seventy, not in our favor."
"Then we use Terminus."
Heads turned, this time towards the Japanese brunette in combat fatigues.
"It's too early," Amanda said with a scowl. "And it's only supposed to be used in the direst of circumstances."
"And Shinji dying on us doesn't count?" Kayabuki retorted.
The woman had a point, but was it good enough?
"Amanda is correct though," Soren said. "It is too early to use Terminus. Neither she nor I can remove ourselves from this score at this stage, not only would it be extremely suspicious, we need to be around to keep a leash on SEELE so they don't deviate too much."
"It's too early for either of you to use it," Kayabuki countered. "It's not too early for me."
Seconds ticked away in silence as everyone absorbed just what the colonel was suggesting.
"You, may not have a high enough synchronicity to use it for Shinji," Soren said very carefully.
"Bullshit," Kayabuki snapped, and suddenly she was no longer the thirty-some year old UN colonel, she was a fourteen year old girl wearing the uniform of Tokyo-3 First Municipal Middle School and staring at them with clear green eyes. "Shinji loved me and I loved him. We were together until the very end, so don't try telling me I don't have enough 'synchronicity' with him to save his life now."
The form shifted and once more Colonel Midori Kayabuki stood before them, that face no less determined.
"You understand that if you use Terminus, you will be removed from this score," Soren finally said. "Officially we'd need to come up with a cover for your death."
"I gave my life protecting Shinji when the Angel resisted being ejected from him," Kayabuki said. "Can't think of a better way to go out than that."
None of the expressions looking at her could be described as happy. Amanda in particular seemed like she really wanted to try dissuading Kayabuki from this course of action. But the woman knew what was at stake and knew that if things really did reach that point, they would pay whatever it cost to keep Shinji from dying.
"And the regiment?" Amanda asked.
"I'm sure you could swing a brevet promotion for Kudo," the colonel said with a smirk. "He's got his head on straight and he'll listen to you if I tell him to in my will."
Amanda muttered something inaudible but the others did not need to hear the words to know what the woman meant.
"We'll keep the option in reserve," Soren finally said for all of them.
Kayabuki simply nodded.
"Putting all that aside," Klinge said, "do we know how Shinji got infected in the first place?"
This time it was Soren that was the subject of everyone's gaze.
"I'm a bit busy right now," the German man stated. "Someone else will need to do the backtracking to find the point of divergence."
"Fair enough," said Klinge. "Amanda? You're next closest."
"I'll try," Amanda replied, "but walking the score has never been my strong suit. And Asuka's going through some spectacular moods swings right now that're playing merry hell with my own concentration."
"I can help mitigate some of that," Hayashima spoke up. "I can't synchronize to the same degree with Asuka-san, but it should be enough to at least smooth out the worst of it."
"Thanks," Amanda said appreciatively.
"Then it sounds like we have a plan," Klinge said. "I suggest we all get to it. And, good luck. All of you.
Ritsuko pushed the needle against one of the purple pores as she tried to draw some blood. It broke the skin but then refused to go any deeper, the flickering that was just barely visible saying it all. The doctor grimaced. Just her luck to be dealing with a subdermal AT-field.
"Sempai? The MRI is ready."
Ritsuko nodded. "Alright, let's put him in it."
The boy was gently slid into the machine and Ritsuko moved to a terminal as scans of his body were collated and displayed. The areas of infection were blindingly obvious, a much darker hue against the rest of the body. The extent of the infection was also revealed, the boy's right side up to his shoulders almost blacked out. His heart and left lung however were still clear, though how Ritsuko was not quite clear on. Somehow the boy's body was fighting the infection, holding it at bay and keeping just enough of his vital organs free that his brain could still be supplied with oxygen. Ritsuko grimaced.
"Well?"
Turning about Ritsuko saw Misato standing behind her also wearing a gas tight hazmat suit.
"We've determined the extent of the infection but not much else," Ritsuko said. "And why are you even here in the first place?"
"That's my boy laying in there," Misato responded. "Like hell anyone's keeping me out."
"I suppose he is," Ritsuko said with a sigh. "Just don't get in my way here, Misato, if you want me to have any chance of saving him."
As Shinji was pulled out of the MRI chamber Ritsuko moved to the boy's other side. They had had no problems putting him on an IV via a non-infected portion, so trying to draw blood there might pay dividends. Ritsuko picked up the syringe again. Only one way to find out.
"The Angel appears to be a colony of microscopic organisms," Ritsuko said, her face slightly distorted by the combination of the video feed and the hazmat suit she was still in. "They're in Shinji-kun's bloodstream and so throughout his body, but they seem to be having trouble establishing themselves in areas they have not already completely compromised."
"Suggestions, doctor," Ikari said from the conference room.
"We've tried a variety of methods so far," Ritsuko said. "The individual cells when isolated from the greater whole seem to lose, access, for the lack of a better explanation, of the energy that allows them to indefinitely maintain an AT-field. One possibility would be to try to flush his system, drain Shinji-kun of blood to pull out the cells while injecting him with new blood."
"Wouldn't the bleeding weaken his system in the process?" Amanda asked, attending from the observation bay outside of the quarantined medical room. "That could risk undermining his body's own defenses against the infection."
"And there is no guarantee that the Angel will not simply reproduce to replenish the cells lost," Ikari said, to the surprise of several. Then again the man seemed less concerned about Shinji than about whether Ritsuko's proposal would actually kill the Angel.
"If the infection is biological in nature, could we try some sort of antibiotic?" Amanda asked. "Something to boost Shinji's immune system and have it wipe out the infection itself."
"We considered that," Ritsuko said, "but the Angel is evolving too quickly. We've already picked up a couple dozen different antibodies floating around in his bloodstream, how his immune system has managed to even keep up at this rate I have no idea, but it's definitely being slowly outpaced. We've managed to catch several, generations, of the Angel's cellular structure and it's changing itself to more closely resemble regular human cells. Eventually Shinji-kun's immune system won't be able to distinguish between his own cells and those of the Angel's."
Amanda tried very hard to keep her voice level. "Then, would it be possible to reverse that on the Angel? Make it unable to distinguish between itself and Shinji-kun?"
The others attending the meeting all took on thoughtful expressions.
"Maybe," Ritsuko said. "It's, an idea worth pursuing, but at this point I'm not sure how we would achieve it."
Amanda nodded. The idea had been planted and Ritsuko seemed at least willing to contemplate it. Now the doctor needed to make the next discovery herself.
"Sempai!"
At hearing her protégé's call Ritsuko turned her head slightly. "Be right there Maya." She turned back to face the camera. "I need to go. I'll provide further updates as things develop."
The doctor walked away from the camera and Gendo terminated his own pickup without further ado, leaving Amanda alone. Well if the prick did not want to discuss anything else she was fine with that. Just as she turned off her own camera however the door to the observation room opened and two girls walked in.
"How is he?" Asuka asked immediately.
Amanda frowned. "Aren't you two supposed to be on standby?"
The redhead scowled. "We've been on standby for three hours now and no one will tell us anything. All I get from that Hyuga guy is that Dr. Akagi is working on it, but it's pretty obvious he has no idea what's going on down here either. So, how is he?"
Amanda supposed she should not have been surprised at the younger girl's attitude, though seeing Rei tagging along was somewhat unexpected. But from the other girl's expression it was clear that she too was very worried about Shinji.
"Ritsuko's made a few conclusions about the Angel," Amanda said, "but we're still not sure how we can purge it from Shinji's body without also killing him.
The scowl turned into a frown as Asuka gazed thoughtfully through the window. "We can't just flush his bodily fluids?"
"That wouldn't guarantee some wouldn't be left behind in his organs," Amanda replied. "Assuming of course the Angel would even let us try. It does have an AT-field after all."
"So? Isn't that why you had me and Rei on standby? In case we needed to use our EVAs to neutralize its AT-field?"
The girl had a point, Amanda mused. And Ritsuko had mentioned that when isolated the individual Angel cells were highly vulnerable. If they managed to flush out the majority, would that be enough? A very quick veto from halfway across the city shot down that idea. Amanda grimaced.
"Shinji's immune system is just barely keeping the Angel at bay," Amanda said, repeating the explanation that she herself had just received. "If we do flush his system like that, the shock is likely to cause enough complications that we might not get enough of the Angel out before it could overcome his defenses."
The scowl was back. "So? What do we do then?"
"We do nothing," Amanda said. "This is not an enemy the EVAs were designed to win against. Right now what we need to do is trust in Ritsuko. This is way more her area of expertise."
The girl muttered something in frustration. "I don't like sitting around doing nothing."
"Neither do I, but sometimes we need to know when to delegate," Amanda said. "That is an important part of being a leader and an officer, Asuka."
"Yeah," the girl said unhappily. "Yeah, I get it." She pressed a hand against the window. "But a leader is supposed to be fighting alongside her troops. And Baka Shinji's fighting all by himself, again, while we're sitting on our asses."
Amanda raised an eyebrow. "Ah, I see."
Something about the tone set Asuka on edge as she looked over at her mentor. "What."
Amanda did not let the flatness of the girl's ton perturb her. "No, no, I understand, you want to be here for Shinji. It's perfectly understandable."
The girl's jaw dropped. It did not stay down long as she exploded. "What the hell are you talking about!? He's a fellow pilot! And a friend! There's nothing else going on!"
"Right, you want to be there for him as a friend, that's perfectly understandable," Amanda said with a most serious nod. "What else did you think I meant?"
Asuka looked ready to jump the older woman but settled for shooting her a glare instead. Amanda's face however softened into a smile as she rustled the girl's hair.
"How about this, you two can do this in shifts. One person goes on standby and the other stays here, or does whatever she wants, and you two switch every two hours."
The redhead nodded grudgingly. "Now you're talking."
"Good girl," Amanda said, eliciting another glare from the girl before switching to English randomly. "Okay, who's on first?"
"Oh don't you even start with that," Asuka growled.
"I will go," Rei suddenly said, cutting short any further complaints from the redhead.
The other two looked over at the girl as she headed for the door.
"Are you sure about that Rei?" Amanda asked the departing pilot.
Rei paused at the door. "A favor." And then the door closed.
Amanda chuckled. "You better thank her later."
"Yeah," Asuka said, somewhat subdued.
"And remember, you need to be in your EVA ready to go before Rei can get off standby."
Asuka snorted. "So it's not really a two hour break."
"Duty calls, Asuka."
"Fine, fine."
The girl turned to watch through the window again. She remained rooted to the spot for the entire time.
"This is interesting," Ritsuko said, completely unaware of the drama unfolding on the other side of the window.
"What?" Misato asked, equally focused on this side.
"The Angel, its cells are functioning like a completely separate nervous system," Ritsuko said. "It's, almost like a biological computer."
"You mean like the MAGI?" Misato asked.
The doctor nodded. "There is a striking parallel, at least.
"Sempai, does that mean the programming interfaces we use for the MAGI might also be able to tap into the Angel?"
"Maybe," Ritsuko said. "It's certainly worth a try at least. Alright Maya, I need you to go and grab the interface equipment along with some spares."
"Yes ma'am, right away."
The younger woman quickly vacated her station and headed towards the decontamination chamber that separated the bay from the rest of the facility.
"It sounds like you have a plan," Misato said.
"An idea at least," Ritsuko said. "Amanda's suggestion about tricking the Angel into thinking it was the same as Shinji's cells was interesting, but unviable without a way to influence the Angel. But if really can tap into the Angel's, programming as it were, like we do with the MAGI's, then we might be able to rewrite that programming."
"Wait, trick it into thinking it's the same as Shinji's cells, are you saying you're going to leave the Angel in his body?"
Misato, was not an idiot, Ritsuko mused. Then again that was an unbecoming thought. Her friend might intuitively reach for a hammer for many solutions but she still possessed a creative streak and strong intuition.
"At this point I'm not seeing any way of safely removing the Angel," Ritsuko told her friend. "It's so thoroughly embedded in about forty percent of his body that we'd literally need to amputate to get rid of them. But if we can render the Angel itself inert, make its cells believe they're nothing more than cells that make up Shinji's body, then we can save his life and keep him whole."
"I see," Misato said, still sounding somewhat unhappy but raising no further protest.
With that out of the way Ritsuko resumed her examination of the Angel's structure. With any luck she could get a head start on composing the new 'program' before all of the equipment was set up. There was no guarantee the Angel would be so cooperative as to not try infecting that system either after all and the quicker they could neutralize it, the greater their chance of success.
"To be honest, maybe I don't care about the fate of humanity and the world. I may hold the position I have now, but at first it was only because I wanted to get at least a little closer to my deceased father that I joined NERV." Misato looked at the boy facing away from her. The woman's wounds were still mending, her left arm in a sling. "It was the same reason you piloted the EVA, because Commander Ikari needed you. That's why I poured my own hopes and feelings onto you. I know that they would burden you. I also know that you're disappointed with what has happened since you started piloting the EVA. But even so, I-"
Misato reached out and managed to grab hold of the boy's hand, but Shinji's reaction far exceeded any expectations she might have had. The boy jerked his arm, slapping aside her hand.
"I don't care about your feelings," Shinji said, still refusing to look at her. "Just like you never cared about mine."
He stepped through the door and it closed behind him.
The phone rang and Soren woke. He had let his body fall unconscious so as to conserve energy, though he did not quite need to do so. Picking up his smartphone he saw it was Kayabuki.
"Yes?" he answered.
"Hey Soren, I'd like to ask a favor," the woman said. "Do you mind coming down to the base?"
Soren rubbed his eyes. "What is it?"
"Well, I thought it'd be nice if we had lunch together."
The German frowned. At first glance the request sounded completely frivolous but he knew Kayabuki well enough to know it was anything but.
"Alright, I'll be there in half an hour or so."
A bit later Soren was helped into the car by one of his Section-2 guards. The German grimaced as the aches in his body thumped away. Technically he still could have driven himself over to the UN base but he was trying to conserve his energy for an actual emergency. Dropping by to visit Kayabuki did not fall within that range, even if it was still important.
"You alright sir?" the agent asked.
"Tolerable," Soren lied.
The agent, a trusted member of Detachment A, raised an eyebrow but said nothing in response. Then again even someone outside the collective would have probably picked up on the lie at this point. The drive to the base did not take long though entering was less straightforward than usual. Quite a few AFVs were returning to base, having been mustered in response to the initial detection of the AT-field but now being withdrawn seeing as there was little they could do against Ireul. Soren knew that a few units were still out in the field however, stationed just outside the Geofront and ready to support NERV's tactical teams in case the worst happened and the Angel began spreading beyond its thus far single victim.
"Yo, Soren," Kayabuki greeted with a wide grin, Kudo standing beside her.
"Colonel," Soren greeted as he gingerly climbed out of the car.
"Ah no need to be so formal," Kayabuki said with a wave. "You've known me since university after all."
Kudo seemed taken aback and Soren regarded the other man. "You have something to say, major?"
"Uh, no sir, it's just, I was not aware you and the colonel were previously acquainted."
"We were in the karate club together," Kayabuki said. "Though it was only for a semester. Soren beat the crap out of all the other black belts, really taught them a lesson in humility. I can still see their faces after getting so thoroughly trounced."
Soren snorted. "Your memory works in interesting ways."
"Why thank you," Kayabuki said, grin still plastered over her face. It lessened however as she looked Soren over. "You sure you're okay?"
"I'll manage," Soren replied. "So? Where shall we go for lunch?"
Beside Kayabuki Kudo's jaw had dropped as he stared at the German with a look of shock and, what could only be described as jealously.
"I have an office in the hospital," Kayabuki said. "It's nice and quite and should give us some privacy. C'mon."
Leaving the still gaping Kudo and the mildly amused Section-2 agents, the two headed towards the hospital.
"Why do you have an office in here?" Soren asked as they entered the building.
"Same reason Amanda knew it was safe to visit me with Katsuragi here," Kayabuki said. "This place still hasn't been bugged, so we'll be able to talk freely."
Soren nodded in acknowledgment of the point and said nothing else until they were inside.
"Did you make this," Soren asked as he sank down into one of the chairs.
Kayabuki nodded. "I haven't had the chance to actually cook something for a while now. I think before basic? Pretty sure I haven't lost my touch either, so enjoy."
Soren actually chuckled at the woman's mannerism. "I suppose in some respects you really have not changed."
"Of course not," Kayabuki said with a smile. "I am me after all, no matter what else may have happened. And you are you."
Soren's expression darkened slightly. "I'm sorry that I'm not him."
"No, you're not him," Kayabuki said, her own smile taking on a more sorrowful tinge. "But you're not hers either. And I understand why things had to be set up the way it was. I'm a bit jealous of her, but at the same time a bit relieved. I don't know if I could have lived the, lie, for so long."
Soren held Kayabuki's gaze. "I have tried to make it not a lie."
The woman nodded. "You've tried." The smile grew sadder. "But you can't deny the truth, just as you can't deny your heart. You're not him, for either of us."
"No, I'm not," Soren said as he picked up the chopsticks. "But that doesn't mean I can't stand in from time to time."
"And a pretty good stand-in you are," Kayabuki said, picking up her own.
Before either could get any food in their mouths however they both froze. The next second the two charged out the door. The gunshots sounded mere moments after that.
"You're looking better, Keita," Mana said.
"Yeah," Keita said. "They say that I should be able to start therapy next week. And maybe I'll even be able to go to school afterward."
"No maybes about it," Musashi said. "And don't be too eager, wait until you're getting your soul drained by the history lectures or your brain pounded by the math classes."
Mana giggled. "It's not that bad."
"Speak for yourself," a somewhat groggy voice said from the next bed over.
Musashi tensed but a quick hand on his shoulder by Mana kept him from rising. Shinn had been moved into the same room as Keita and was still on painkillers to deal with his cracked ribs so there were times when he drifted in and out. He had yet to actually apologize to Mana, but had not attempted to antagonize the girl or her friends any further. That may have had something to do with the letter from home that Keita mentioned the boy receiving, or at least Mana hoped. She did not want to have to hold a grudge against Shinn if she could avoid it.
"So what was all that commotion this morning?" Keita asked. "They moved us down to the shelters and then brought us back up again."
"Honestly, no idea," Musashi said. "Normally when we're sent into the shelters it's because of an Angel attack and the regiment was deploying units as well, but the platoons we're quartered with haven't gotten back yet and no one else is telling us anything."
"Maybe it was a drill," Mana suggested.
"Seemed a bit over the top for a drill," Musashi said. "Well, whatever. Once the lieutenant gets back we can try asking him. He's strict, but he's a pretty reasonable guy so long as you don't push any of his buttons. Like a certain sergeant does."
Mana puffed her cheeks in a pout. "Sergeant Kasahara is a responsible and dutiful NCO. Lieutenant Dojo should have no reason to complain."
"That's not what the lieutenant's assessment says," Musashi retorted.
Before Mana could respond the door to the room opened and the kids all turned about to see who it was. They instantly paled.
"Colonel?" Shinn said, conscious enough to register the newcomer and even recognize him, but not enough so to understand the ramifications of his presence, or of the gun he was drawing.
Musashi was the first to respond, grabbing the phone next to Keita's bed and throwing it at the colonel. The man ducked aside, drawing his weapon in one smooth motion and aimed. His target was not the boy. Mana ducked aside, just in time as two rounds slammed into Keita's bed. The boy jerked back, wincing in pain at the sudden motion but the pumping adrenaline keeping him going. He threw his sheets up, partially obscuring Hirokawa's view as his friends tried to find some sort of cover. In the small hospital room, that turned out to be very scarce.
"Colonel! What are you doing!" Shinn cried, the sound of gunfire fully waking him.
Hirokawa ignored the boy and charged into the room, sweeping aside the sheet. The action however provided cover for Musashi to leap at the man in an attempt to tackle him onto the ground. The colonel retreated a single step before regaining his balance and slammed his elbow into the boy's back. The sharp pain elicited a cry from Musashi as he lost his grip.
Mana wasted no time calling for her friend, instead grabbing another sheet and looping it around Hirokawa's arm. She pulled, trying to slam it into the wall and knock loose the pistol, but the older man was simply too strong. With a jerk he threw Mana off balance and the girl tumbled over the bed. That act however bought her some time as she got out of his line of sight. Taking advantage of her position, Mana crawled under the bed and kicked out at Hirokawa's legs. The man jumped aside, maneuvering into the room and took aim at the bed. Before he could fire however a vase smashed into his head.
The blow stunned the man for a mere moment, allowing Mana to kick out again. This time she succeeded in knocking his feet aside and the man's face slammed onto the bed end, finally eliciting a cry of pain from him. Keita pushed himself forward, landing a solid kick on the colonel's head. The blow staggered Hirokawa and he threw himself back. The renewed distance however gave him a clear shot. He raised his gun and pointed it at the boy.
The boom of gunfire sounded but the one that screamed in pain was Hirokawa himself. His wrist was a mangled mess, the gun falling from his limb hand as he desperately clutched his wound. The light peeking through the holes in the wall revealed the source of the wound, someone having shot through it to hit the man. The next moment Kayabuki was in the room and slammed her knee against Hirokawa's head. The man crumbled into a heap.
"Mana!" Kayabuki called.
The girl peeked out from under the bed, her body shaking uncontrollably. Kayabuki immediately pulled her out and embraced the girl tightly. The shaking subsided slightly, but the girl was nowhere near composed as she buried her face in the older woman's chest. Looking over, Kayabuki saw a very pale Soren enter. He slumped down against the wall, not even able to put away his pistol.
"What's wrong?" she whispered.
"Four hours," Soren stated flatly.
Kayabuki's eyes widened. The response to rescue Mana and her friends had drawn away Soren's attention from Shinji. They were supposed to still have eight hours before the boy's immune system was completely compromised and they needed to resort to Terminus. Now, that time was halved. The question now was, would Ritsuko be able to reprogram the Angel with just four hours? Or would Kayabuki really end up having to take her leave of this score prematurely?
End of Chapter 25
Who said anything about the Kirishima scenario coming to a close just because Ireul showed up? I did say that when the scenario started there were going to be primary, secondary, and tertiary arcs parallel to each other.
Another new sidestepper, and a few more hints about who some of the sidesteppers are. Not what, who. Though who they are is also an important element of what they are. Whether this blows a hole in anyone's theory is, well, up to them at this point. I suppose to pick up on some of the hints you do need to be a bit more familiar with the secondary canon though. As for a hint, I remind my readers that there was a remake of the Girlfriend of Steel game that, expanded upon the original in a very specific way.
I'm aware that this is officially a Shinji x Asuka fic. What am I saying, I'm the author and I set that relationship tag. Though to be frank the, situation, is a lot more complicated than that. For the, native Shinji and Asuka, the development of their relationship has been intentionally slow. One must keep in mind that Shinji lost Mayumi merely a few months ago. He's not going to get over that that quickly. And frankly Asuka wouldn't respect him very much if he did. But the distance between the two is slowly closing. For the, sidesteppers, the whole relationship situation is a giant mess. Why that is the case will become apparent later.
I think there's going to be at least two more chapters before this arc gets wrapped up, then maybe a breather chapter. And then things start getting much, much messier. And bloodier.
Anyway, drop me a line of what you think.