AN: Alrighty then. Two more after this one tonight, and that will end Chapter 6 :)

Once again, the lovely Ms. Misato has the floor.

•7:12 PM

The two occupants of the backseat are silent as we drive through the nightlit streets of Tokyo 3, towards the western outskirts of the metropolis...the former low rent district.

Construction on the sector had begun in 2004, two years after the initial construction of Tokyo 3 had begun. Endless rows of huge, though otherwise spartan, apartment blocks had rapidly sprung up as the population of Tokyo 3 had swelled.

However, this portion of the urban sprawl had descended into crime ridden desolation just as quickly as it had been constructed.

Overcrowded and dilapidated, the apartment blocks had begun to fall into disrepair as early as 2010 when adequate funding, much of which had been spent on hasty expansion rather than civil services, had run out.

Then, on June 10 of this year, the Third Angel, named Sachiel, had attacked Tokyo 3. Although it was defeated by the day's end, many people in the city, understandably fearing for their lives, had chosen to leave after that, including many of those who lived in the western district. Still, there were some hopeful hangers on that decided to stay...not least because of how sharply the rent costs had dropped.

And then, a short while later, came the final straw for most people...on the afternoon of June 22, the Fourth Angel, Shamshel, attacked the city.

Since then, the majority of the hangers on not affiliated with NERV are those who live in the heavily fortified heart of the city...those whose homes and/or businesses are among the lucky few that can retract into the Geofront below.

But the outskirts of the city had become a virtual ghost town...including the western side.

Starting in mid-June, large swaths of the apartment blocks, starting with those that were furthest from the center of the city, were dismantled.

Rei's building, however, is near the edge of it's district, and if it is demolished, it will likely be among the last to be so. But for now, here it stands; dilapidated, grimy, and by the look of it, probably unoccupied...except for her.

It is a dreary sight to behold.

'She's the one he favors...,' I think to myself, 'and she lives HERE?!'

I turn to the girl. "Rei? You're sure this is right?"

Rei turns to face me, looking confused. "Yes. This is correct. Why do you ask?"

"It's just..." I don't quite know how to word my concerns.

"Yes?"

"Uh, it's nothing."

For the first time since leaving the apartment, Shinji speaks up, "Why do you live in a place like this Rei?"

"It is where the Commander assigned me to live."

"But why...somewhere like THIS?" Shinji presses.

"Like what?"

Now Shinji seems lost for words, and I'm feeling more unnerved than ever.

And more than a little guilty...I had vaguely known Rei's address number, but never really bothered to think about the location it indicated.

"Doesn't living in a place like this bother you?" I chime in. "I mean...this isn't somewhere for a young girl to live alone. It could be dangerous."

It was true that most of the occupants had left the city, and many of them took the formerly abundant crime rate with them...but there were known to be a number of 'unofficial' residents in this and other abandoned parts of the city.

Most of them were relatively harmless, just trying to scrape by...but there were some that were known to be extremely dangerous; fugitives, criminal gangs, and at least one serial killer had been arrested while squatting out in the 'badlands' of the city.

Rei, however, looks supremely unconcerned. "I have never been harmed here. Section Two keeps watch at all times."

'Section Two? They're the only thing standing between her and being attacked or robbed...or worse?'

After what happened with Shinji today, I wouldn't trust Section Two to pour pee out of a boot with the instructions of how to do so written on the heel.

How can this girl know so little about how disgraceful her living situation is? How does she live this way with no fear or complaint?

'But then, she almost never questions anything. She just...accepts. It's not right for a teenager! I mean...it's not right for any of them to be soldiers in this war to begin with...but for her to never ask questions unless it's for clarification...never speak her mind...and never display any noticeable discomfort in following orders that would bother most people...'

What did NERV DO to her?

And then to put her out here in this cesspool, living alone...with nothing between her and the threat of becoming a statistic in this city's list of crime victims...except for a bunch of incompetent dipshits wearing ostentatious suits and sunglasses to cover up the fact they're a cluster of bottomfeeding goons who'd fit in just as well with the worst scum you could find out in this garbage heap.

I can only imagine then, if Rei claims that nothing horrible has befallen her here because of Section Two's constant vigilance, that the 'agents' (loathe though I am to call them that) assigned to her must be unusually competent...probably because the Commander put the fear of God into them.

'Though...why even make such protection necessary by putting her here in the first place?'

"Mind if we walk you to the door Rei?" I ask.

"I have no objection."

'I want to get a good look at this girl's apartment.'

Walking up to the door, I notice that the mail slot is stuffed full of unopened junk mail, food menus, and a plethora of pamphlets. The door itself is as grimy the rest of the building, the only noticeable sign that the room behind is occupied being the overflowing mail slot.

Rei opens the door...and upon seeing what's inside, I gasp...horrorstruck.