+++++ 7th Angel + 0: Sunday (45)
The sutures on his arms weren't the worst part of everything for Shinji. Even having to drop his plugsuit in front of Rina and Hina only brought a modest blush. He had, by this point, been seen in far worse circumstances by the twin corpsmen. What truly bothered him was lying still to have his face stitched up while listening to the pair go into detail about how he needed to guard his face better.
Rina slowly worked the stitches into place, taking great care to reduce the potential for leaving a grotesque scar on her favorited patient, "This is the second time we have had to attempt to repair your eye, Shinji-sama. This eye."
"We are not wishing for a third opportunity to ply our trade," Hina added, working gel seals over the stitches upon each of the various cuts and abrasions on his arms and torso. Matching her sister's gentle touch, she allowed her tone to carry her displeasure.
"Do you have a dislike of your left eye? Is it personal, somehow? Do you not like how it looks at you in the mirror?" Rina kept her motions steady, her manner conveying a matching emotional agitation.
Hina's hand alighted on his thigh, "You need both of them to see your love, Shinji-sama. She speaks often of your heterochromia, though I think she would be upset had you only one eye."
"I would be more upset if I had no Shinji." The voice of his girlfriend brought him more peace than he wished to admit at the moment, "If it meant having him here, I would accept the cost of an eye, a limb." Temple rolled Hikari's wheelchair to a place where Shinji could see her, leaning down and whispering something into the younger woman's ear before turning to be about her business. "So, I hear that the two of us may end up staying here tonight."
"We have Shinji-sama's lovely suite all set up and ready to occupy," Rina gestured grandly to her side of the room.
Hina rolled her hand in the air dramatically, "All the amenities of home, none of the need to cook or clean yourself!"
"At least I won't have a catheter," Shinji sighed. "I'm sorry, Hikari. We had everything set for you to get out of here, an-" He cut off as she waved away his concern.
"I would rather be by you, than be home. Kodama says she and Nozomi made it to a shelter, Misato's orders," Hikari's smile was gentle, attempting to feed him the calm she wished she herself could feel. "She didn't want Nozomi being left alone during an attack. That means that tonight, you and I can sleep in this big bed in your 'lovely' room."
"At least you can," Shinji nodded. "I…don't sleep much, anymore." The sound of the door opening lead to him shifting his head slightly to see the Commander enter with General Benoit at his side. His motions earned a reproachful tug back into place and a muttered reminder to hold still. "Good evening, sirs, sorry I can't stand."
"Good evening, Shinji," Kozo moved to the opposite side of Hikari, crouching down. "I am heartened to see you well, my dear. I'm afraid that I have to ask you to assist us, however." He set his jaw, leaning in and whispering something before leaning back and receiving a misty-eyed nod. He looked to the General with a nod before pushing Hikari closer to Shinji where she could hold his hand.
"It is with some regret that we report the loss of your compatriots," General Benoit stood at ease with his hat held before him. "During combat operations…two of the pilots from NERV's First Air Group, 'Glitch' and 'Toggle', as well as their crew onboard Hammer Zero-Five, were caught by enemy fire. Their airframe went down…with all hands." He saw Shinji's face go flat, and waited patiently for any reaction.
"Their…their spouses," Shinji looked to Kozo, "I kn-know Feelgood will take care of them for now, but we…uhm, we…."
"We are making arrangements to assist them as we are legally allowed, Shinji," Kozo assured him. "I've set the CAOs to work with Captain Moritama, and have marked them down as combat casualties. It isn't enough, it never will be, but it's what we can do."
"I d-don't have my phone," Shinji frowned. "I need…uhm, I need to call Raffle. Offer to help."
"I'll pass along a message," Rina offered quickly, placing the finishing touches on his face. "Don't you worry, Shinji-sama."
Hina soothed his leg keeping his hand in hers, "We'll release you as soon as you pass the protocols. Until then, we'll help coordinate any assistance you could provide to The Damned."
"Poor Maria-san," Hikari moaned. "She loved him so much."
"I'm all done here, Hikari-chan," Rina moved towards the wheelchair-bound young woman. "Let's get you up in bed with Shinji-sama."
"An excellent idea," Hina spun out of her own seat to aid her sister.
General Benoit shook his head, "I share your grief. The loss of any human life is a tragedy, the loss of good men and women only compounds that misfortune."
"P-please," taking Hikari under his arm, Shinji held her close, "if…if anyone needs anything…."
"We'll make sure they notify you, Shinji-sama," the twins spoke in unison, taking firm control of the situation. Turning to face the two elder officers, they made their medical opinion explicitly clear, "Gentlemen, we're going to have to ask that you let our patients rest for now."
"Of course," Philip nodded. "We'll speak more later, son. Know that everyone here hurts with you on this dark day."
"Rest, Shinji," Kozo patted Shinji's knee. "You can best help everyone right now by recovering. Let us old men do our part."
The room swiftly emptied, the lights kept purposefully low to avoid aggravating any possible damage to Shinji's sight. With Hikari quietly crying into his shoulder, Shinji turned his attention to soothing Hikari's grief. They think I'm sad. He felt his jaw begin to ache from clenching it, I wish I were. Sad is…easy. What do I do with rage?
+++++ 7th Angel + 0: Sunday (45)
"Unit-02 is back in its bay," Maya reported quietly, fatigue only barely held at bay by the constant infusion of coffee and horribly unhealthy vending machine snacks. "That's all three Evas recovered. Let's begin going over the launch data, we can't put them on the sleds until we know what happened." Massaging her neck with one hand, she turned to move back to her station and put her focus on the task.
"Agreed," Misato signed off on some more paperwork. "Shigeru-kun, you and the FNG tear that report apart. Coordinate with Engineering and double-check everything from the last twelve maintenance cycles."
Maya frowned, pausing beside Misato's station, "Ma'am? I'm better qualified to go through the coding, did you have something else you needed me to do?"
"We have a meeting," tossing the last of her paperwork on the console before her, she stood up. "Come on."
Watching Misato's executive assistant, the third so far, scramble to grab everything and hurry to deliver it where it was needed, Maya sighed. I remember those days. Poor guys don't know what they're signing up for. Moving to Misato's left side, she asked the obvious, "What meeting?"
"Don't know. Commander ordered the two of us to report as soon as recovery procedures were stable enough to run without our presence," the violet-haired warrior scowled as a group of employees were overheard to be laughing at a nearby vending machine. Her gaze of displeasure hit them with an almost physical force, silencing their conversation and driving them to scatter like roaches in bright light. "I can't go see Shinji, oh no, we have to go to a meeting."
Well, at least she's not upset with me. Maya held her tongue and kept pace with the once-more senior officer. The Commander probably wants to hear preliminary reports on what happened. Another Angel, another fight that Shinji had to pull everyone's fat out of the fire. Another fight where the Bridge covered itself in gasoline and lit a match. Bowing slightly in gratitude as Misato held the elevator door open for her, she set herself in the corner where she was most comfortable and waited for the next explosion from her new sub-commander. At least we didn't have to dance-fight this time like Shinji described.
As soon as the doors closed, Misato flopped against the wall next to Maya and crossed her arms under her chest, "It's nonsense. I should be able to make time to go see him! I'm his guardian, I'm the one that sent him out to die, I'm the one that should be there to help him!" Shoulder bumping the smaller woman, she let out an angry giggle, "Or maybe send you up there to cuddle with them both, you devious little so-and-so."
"D-d-devious?" Maya was completely caught off guard, "What devious? How devious?"
Giving a heavy sidelong look to her comrade-come-friend, Misato smirked, "I had a little conversation with Shinji, like I promised I would, and he let me know that someone has already taken a bath with him. That someone has already slept in a bed with him. That someone is, and this is a direct quote, 'very pretty' and 'nice'. Considering this is Shinji talking, he may as well have just admitted to me that he wants to spend his days making little Ibuki-Ikari children. His blush was in full force, and…." Her smirk dropped to a frown, and she turned away.
"A-and?" The new Major slipped back into Misato's field of vision, "What and?" Her serious side made an appearance, fear of harming the man she loved shoving aside the blushing and immature romanticism, "Misato Katsuragi, if I am hurting him in any way I need to know right damn now!"
"Not you," Misato shook her head, her hair flowing like water. "Maya, he likes you. He likes you in a way similar to how he likes Hikari-chan. What I'm not sure about is Kodama-san. He says she's been pushing him, and that you haven't. What I don't want to do is over-react. But I also don't want you placed in the path of anything either. I don't think it's healthy, I don't like the idea, I barely tolerate knowing that I'm endorsing you taking a place at his table too."
"Never would have taken you for the conservative type," Maya frowned. "Why are you so conflicted about this?"
Her answer was terse, "Because I need to rely on him to go out and murder aliens without being distracted by stupid drama." When the car stopped lowering to their destination, she gestured to the door, "And he is seventeen years old. I'm already fucking up his youth, Maya. I don't want him to look back and hate everything and everyone in life…if there's anything to look back to."
+++++ 7th Angel + 1: Monday (46)
The midnight hour struck as Misato and Maya walked into the designated conference room. Standing at one end of the table was the new Commander, the General that had come to investigate the previous Commander, the pair of lawyers from the inquest, and several of the agents responsible for Shinji, including the chief of the detail.
"Ah, Colonel, Major, thank you for coming on such short notice," Kozo greeted the pair officially. "I understand that we're all looking to find somewhere to get some sleep after the day's excitement, but I wanted to take this opportunity to get everyone up to speed on the official standing of our star employee. There will be some changes made going forward, and I need everyone to be ready to proceed under the new paradigm."
Bracing her hip against the table, Misato set her own tone for the meeting, "Sir, I haven't had a chance to get up to speed on the physical standing of my ward. If we're firing him, then we don't need to continue anymore with this meeting because he and I will be out of the city before the hour's out. If it takes even that long to pick up Nozomi-chan."
Having anticipated Misato's irritation, the General made a pacifying motion, "Colonel, I applaud the vigor you exercise in seeing to the well-being of Shinji and his adoptive family. Were that either of his parents had been so inclined." Gesturing to the seats, and the folders set before them, he asked everyone to sit, "He is currently under the…aggressively defensive care of the Doctors Miyamura. He has a whole host of new potential scars, is undergoing concussion protocols for the blow to his head, and Hikari Horaki is by his side. Having been up to see him myself, I assure you that he is being cared for, and that their advice of bedrest is merely precautionary."
Flipping through the folder, noticing a great deal of information that seemed to be almost propagandic in nature, she kept her tone level, "So you get to go see my ward, but I can't?"
The General's tone put the matter to rest for the moment, "Rank, as they say, has its privileges, Colonel."
"Sir," Maya had kept her head down and rapidly digested everything in the folder, reading it twice over while Misato groused for both of them, "why am I seeing plans here for media campaigns involving Shinji-kun?" Pulling out one early concept advertisement that displayed Shinji in a slightly modified version of his plugsuit, she held it up to the crowd, "This, 'Protect the city I defend, report suspicious activity'. How is this going to help him at all live a normal life?"
"That, Major," Miles Edgeworth coughed, "is impossible, now. He is well past being 'just Shinji', as he is so fond of saying." Opening his own folder, he continued, "If you would all look at the green packet, you'll find the preliminary report on worldwide identification of the Evangelion Project. You'll also see that Mister Ikari is nearly a globally-recognized household name, now."
"…Oh god," Misato's eyes widened as she realized the extent of the problem they faced.
Xīn Fènghuáng laughed, "I doubt he's very interested in helping us, Colonel." Pressing a button, she turned on the projector, bringing everyone's attention to a series of graphs, "Global searches on the MAGI network spiked just after the attack on the Pacific Fleet. Someone set poor Shinji's name to trending across every social media network. They posted cryptic details, sometimes conflicting, sometimes accurate, sometimes both. In the past forty-eight hours the information distribution has increased seventeen thousand percent. The grifters and fear-mongers have been gorging themselves on selling the worst possible interpretation of every available bit of data, on either side of the cultural divide."
"During the investigation," General Benoit sighed, "we discovered that SEELE had already begun its counterattack. While we carve into their flanks, they've begun leaving poisoned traps. As each node falls, another two spring up and begin muddying the water. This past week we have arrested eighty people complicit in aiding their malicious insanity, though too late to limit the exposure of Shinji's personal data to the world."
Kozo never bothered to open his folio, "His birthday, his past, his childhood, his blood type, everything that any of the 'celebrities' of the old world would put out in public to drum up interest. All out there for everyone to see." Misato saw his 'tells' and recognized that he was being cordial but would shoot everyone in the room if it would resolve the situation. "Protecting him was difficult enough, with the attempts on his life coming from assassins. Now? It's doubtful he'll be able to walk out in public without being mobbed unless we gain control of the situation."
"So, 'just Shinji' can't exist anymore," Idunn summed up. "Which brings up the point Major Ibuki raised, sir. It's very valid," looking over to the woman that seemed to hate her, the redhead tried to broker peace, "how do we help him have a normal life? He's not one of us, he's just…." She shrugged, "He really is 'just Shinji'. He's not made for celebrity, not interested in it. He's coming into his own as a leader, from the reports I'm getting from my team, but he's not military. Are we really going to push him to become something he's not?"
Maya's eyes never lifted from her reading to recognize the other woman, "I won't. He's a conscript, at best. I will not be a part of ruining him." Akane and Mikoto murmured their agreement. "So, what are we doing here?"
"Brand management," Xīn Fènghuáng said with an eager smile. "Before I changed majors, I worked with my father to help him advertise his company. My counterpart, Lord Edgeworth can attest to what a good PR campaign can accomplish."
"Phoenix, I may not say this often enough, but I truly despise it when you do that." Snatching the remote from his colleague, he changed the graph to a repeating video display of Shinji's battles, "Get on with your point. You and I have a plane to catch before long, and I want to have this settled before I return to Geneva and begin pressing charges against half of the UNSC."
"Touchy, touchy," the Vietnamese-Chinese lawyer grinned. "We have begun to release doctored footage of Shinji's fights. Controlled access to certain sectors in an effort to change the message being released. Instead of an unstable, abused, reclusive pilot…you have this." She gestured up to the highlight reel, "Complete with audio logs, showing him fighting with everything he has. Before the farce of an inquest, I reviewed everything I could get my hands on," she gestured to Idunn, "thanks to his chief of security. I'm not an expert in brand management, but I was able to get enough to pitch him to a few people I know."
"Getting any details on his past was challenging," Idunn grimaced. "There's so much chaff out there now, and re-interviewing everyone only confused the issue more. I even found someone who swore he'd died," she laughed. "They took me to a small grave outside Nagano, she and her family had buried him in an effort to afford him some peace, they said. They reported the incident to the local police, who promptly declared the entire matter off limits. Wouldn't even look at the body, they said."
Maya's blood ran cold, "Did you exhume the grave?"
"We did," Idunn seized on the chance to actually speak to the woman who seemed opposed to her presence. "Nothing. Casket, about the size for a teen at the age they claimed he was. Clothes, shoes, everything seemed right but there wasn't a body. Swabs, scrapes, couldn't find a trace of human DNA to work with."
The newly-minted Major swallowed, That's why you were digging into his past. "That's…disturbing."
"Isn't it?" The lead agent nodded, "We don't know how far SEELE has gone, or how far they'll go. I've asked for additional resources, not only to protect my principle but to protect everyone around him. Yourself, Colonel Katsuragi, increased patrols around his school."
"We're turning Tokyo-3 into a fortress," Kozo stated resolutely. "We could, of course, move Shinji into the GeoFront. We could remove him from access to the outside world, never let him see the sun accept to fight, and slowly drive him towards suicide. I am staking everything I have on our better graces, on the talent we have sitting at this table. We will assist General Benoit, who as of today is being permanently assigned here for the duration of the Angel War. His authority is separate from my own, and the breakdown of powers will be distributed to everyone in short order."
"These madmen wish to break our resolve," General Benoit tapped the table with his knuckles. "We will defend this city and all its people, we will retake Shinji Ikari's good name," clenching his fist, a cold smile grew on his lips, "and we will let his strength shine brightly upon all mankind."
+++++ 7th Angel + 1: Monday (46)
Hikari had long since fallen to sleep, with Shinji holding her gently. Warmed by both boyfriend and blanket, she had little choice in the matter. Shinji's mind had instead travelled along dark corridors, his anger held at bay only by the woman laying against him. There was little in the way of peace for either person in the well-appointed room, her rest fitful and his repose grim. As the hours had ticked past, he began to wonder if he would be better off letting her sleep in the bed and moving to the nearby chair to sit by himself.
As Temple poked her head in the room, assessing the scene before committing to interrupting it, she caught his eye and raised her eyebrow inquisitively. Looking down at her tablet, she typed out a message and came over to show it to him, "Can't sleep?"
He shook his head in the negative.
She nodded in understanding, typing out a new query, "Lost good people today. Hurt, physically I mean?"
Another negative.
"Slip out," she added. "Let's talk."
Cautiously extricating himself, Shinji covered over Hikari with the blanket and gently swept her hair from her face. I love you. Straightening his spine, he grunted as he felt Temple's wrist jab at his ribs. Looking down, he saw that she held out a robe with an amused look. Oh…right. I'm naked. He tried to feel embarrassment, or really anything other than simmering rage, and failed. Taking the linen cloth, he wrapped himself in it and nodded his thanks before following her out of the room.
Once he cleared the doorway, she slid the glass doors shut and tapped a few keys on the nearby panel, "If she moves too much, it'll warn me. We'll race back in there. She's steadier, but I don't want her trying to move about unsupported for another two or three days at least. You, on the other hand, need to move about more."
"Hey, brother-man," Green called quietly from his place at a nearby desk. "Got the reports on your kids, if you want to read them," he waved a tablet. "Ghost-chan is healthy, like always. Sister-lady takes good care of herself, just wish she'd tell us when things hurt instead of going all stoic on us. We found a bit of a motor-function issue with her arm lingering, she declared it 'not unduly restrictive'."
Walking over, Shinji took the tablet politely and scrolled through the vitals and diagnoses, "She doesn't speak much, even to me." Spying Asuka's name beginning the next report, he sighed as he read about the Corpsmen's encounter with her, "She was awake."
"And pissed," Temple scoffed. Tapping a few buttons on the tablet he held, she pointed to an outline of a human with a few places marked off, "Cranial trauma, nothing more than a solid bump. A few bruises on her torso from being bounced off those sticks in the cockpit. Nothing terrible, honestly. She was let go an hour ago with some painkillers and a swat on the ass."
"She tried her best," Shinji uttered quietly. "It isn't her fault."
"I'd agree," Green grinned. "If it weren't for the fact that she," he indicated his boss, "left out the bruise on her hand she gained by punching that red beast she drives."
"That wasn't combat related, and isn't his concern," Temple admonished gently. "You can see your kids are ok, Shinji. Right now, we're worrying about you. What's stopping you from catching twenty?"
Handing back the tablet to the man he'd taken it from, Shinji slowly shifted his head from side to side, "I'm…angry." They understand. Try. "I don't know…uhm…I don't know what to do with it."
Green laughed, "Angry? You're just this side of apoplectic, brother-man. I've seen Kaz less angry, and he's a walking ball of wrath at times."
Temple rapped her subordinate on the head, "You don't know what to do with your anger is the problem, right?"
"I…I don't want to hurt anyone," Shinji looked back to the room he'd come from, "I've seen some guys…uhm…they hit things."
"I saw you hit something too," Temple pulled up the video feed of him nearly destroying the pillar in the parking structure. "That Norwegian asked me to look at this, see if I thought you needed to be seen for physical trauma." Showing him, she pressed on, "You shut down there, didn't you?"
"Autopilot," Green nodded. "You needed help, needed release for the steam pressure, no valve to turn though."
Shinji watched the video loop several times, "It…wouldn't die."
"It?" The peace-loving corpsman looked to his boss, "Displaced anger?"
"No, the pillar itself." Temple turned off the video. "He chose something that wouldn't get hurt. Even with mostly autonomic processes running the show, he refused to hurt something living."
"Can you dig it," Green sighed, understanding the complexities better. "Brother-man here knows the score. Can't go around abusing the little ones. Problem is," he gestured along Shinji's torso, "they're all little ones to him."
A trio of beeps drew Shinji's attention back to the room, "Hikari."
Temple hurried past him, sliding the door open and calling out, "It's ok, sweetie. We're here. Shinji needed to talk, and we didn't want to wake you."
The freckle-faced class rep wobbled a bit from where she'd sat up, "Shinji?" Her voice was abstracted, her tone unfocused. It pained Shinji to see his pillar of strength so unsteady.
"I'm here," he reached her side quickly, sitting down and bracing her against his torso. "I'm sorry, they had questions and you were asleep."
It was clear that she was still partly asleep, "Not hurt?"
"He's fine, sweetie," Temple began preparing the wheelchair. "We were just about to go on a trip. Did you want to come with us?"
"I…yes," the wheels of consciousness gripped the road before her. "Yes, where are we going?"
"To find something to punch," Temple announced. "Our first stop is Engineering."
+++++ 7th Angel + 1: Monday (46)
"Indeed?" The sub-chief of engineering nodded as he processed the odd request before him, "That pillar is made of reinforced concrete. Breaking that without breaking your hand…that's a challenge." Looking around the cavernous workspace he shared with several hundred colleagues, he seemed to dismiss various ideas out of hand, "I think we have some stuff…." Gesturing further into the chamber, he smiled, "If you would, please? Mind the debris, Miss," he handed a hardhat to Hikari. "Wouldn't do for you to come to harm in my shop."
Shinji was wearing another set of surgical scrubs as he pushed Hikari's wheelchair, once more regretting not keeping some of his own clothes in various places around the base. Keeping pace with everyone that had formed up around Temple and the sub-chief, he watched carefully where they would be rolling before he dedicated to the motion, "I am sorry for bothering you all so early in the morning."
"Not early for us, sir," a young woman to his side reported happily. "We're graveyard. We still have about four hours left on our shift."
"A problem like this is a good break while we wait for the other team to finish up the repairs on Unit-01's arm," another young lady nodded. "We try not to just stand around, but everyone has their tasks and sometimes you can't help but wait for them to finish before you can act."
"Ok," the sub-chief clapped his hands. "Get the hard-grips on that piece of plasteel," he gestured to a half-meter square of processed metal. "Secure it good and steady, mind. If he punches it hard enough to send it into the stocks, you two are cleaning them up."
The two women saluted, "Yes sir!"
Shinji watched as the women worked, crouching down by Hikari, "Are you warm enough? Do you need another blanket?"
"I'm fine," she reached over and straightened his ponytail out. "How are you? You're shaking."
He kept his eyes turned from her, "I'm…uhm…."
"Angry," she answered for him. "I know. But is anger all you feel right now?"
"It's choking everything else out," Temple stated quietly. "I know how he feels, sweetie. That's why we're here. Peace only carries him so far, and you've carried him further than most anyone else could have. Right now, he needs release." Turning away from the engineers, she crouched down on the other side of Hikari from Shinji, "Really, there's only so many options since we can't put him on a couch. He could hit something to get it out. He could talk to a friend, if he were the talking kind. He could drink himself insensate, if alcohol did anything for him…which I doubt it would. Or, if you weren't fresh out of surgery, you could ride it out of him."
Shinji's voice stayed even, "I wouldn't want that for our first time. She deserves better."
"If it would help you," Hikari countered, gripping his arm, "I wouldn't care. The first isn't everything, Shinji. It's just a stepping stone. It will be special because it's with you, no matter how it happens."
"You have a good one, here," Temple nudged Shinji. "I wouldn't let her get away."
"I don't intend to force her to stay," Shinji kept his eyes on the activity around the metal. "I'm just trying not to chase her away."
"Then it's fortunate I find scars sexy," Hikari squeezed his hand, trying to get him to turn and look at her. "Because I'm staying, Shinji."
"Ok," the sub-chief turned from his review of the work. "If you wouldn't mind, sir, and if Temple-san thinks it won't damage you, give this a tap. It'll give us a good gauge of how strong you are, and a better idea of what materials we should use."
"I'll be back," gently removing Hikari's hand, he stood. "How hard should I hit it, Temple-san? This is your idea."
"As hard as you can," she shrugged. "Most of the cuts you have are healed well enough already. You heal faster than anyone I've ever known, and I don't know that you can produce enough force to break your own hand if you can shatter concrete without doing so. Let's see how you do against this."
"Shinji, stop!" Hikari called after him, waiting for him to halt, "Don't hold back." It hurt her that he wasn't looking at her, but she understood the why of it. He doesn't want to look at me with eyes full of anger. His heart's in the right place, even if his head isn't.
Hearing an odd echo of Toji's admonition caused him to chuckle darkly, "The last time someone told me that…I knocked them on their butt." Looking back to the woman he loved, he gave her a pained smile, "I'll tell you the story, later." Working his arm loose, he walked over to the slab of metal, "Well then. Let's see what happens."
Setting his stance appropriately, he approached the exercise like any other that Suzuka and the rest set before him. Calm. Focus. Follow-through. Calm wasn't an option, he found. He was focused, that much was certain, but the follow-through ended up being slightly excessive. Pushing off his back foot, pulling the entirety of his force through a battle cry, he struck the plate with a right cross that buckled it inwards by several centimeters.
It also ripped the metal free from the restraints and sent it twirling and tumbling back into the stocks at a disproportionate velocity, scattering the materials stored there like so many bowling pins.
"Whoo!" One of the lady engineers cheered, bouncing and clapping, "I won the bet!"
"Was the bet 'who is going to clean the stocks'? Because, yes. Yes, you won that bet," the sub-chief scrubbed his hair, turning to face Shinji. "Well, sir. Let's try something else. Go ahead and wait here, let me take a look." Waving another man over, he began to discuss the problem from an engineering standpoint, leaving Shinji to rub his knuckles and wonder how strong he might actually be.
"Well?" Temple left the rest unspoken.
He frowned, "It never makes it better, does it?" Looking back towards Hikari, he saw that a few young women had gathered and were engaged in what seemed to be pleasant conversation with his girlfriend. That's good. She needs people to talk to.
"Base problem? No. That's there, whether you like it or not. Handling that is going to be different for each situation, because the base problem should be addressed before you start punching things. The anger? It helps, so long as your body holds up. The stitches in your arms seem mostly decorative now, even with only a few hours of rest," she reached up and felt around the flesh encircling his eye, "that's healing up too." Shrugging, she patted his shoulder, "This is better than drinking heavily, like I do. Or fucking anything that moves, like some might." She tapped his chest with a knuckle, "If you liked talking, I'd say the woman in the chair is a good place to start. But you don't, do you?"
"I…." He had to admit the truth of things, "No."
She nodded, "Hate bothering others with your troubles. They have enough of their own. Too many stones in their rucksack, and you don't want to add your own to it. Oh, you'll listen to everything they have to complain about. You'll add their worries to your own without a second thought. Never the reverse," when she looked back at him, it was with eyes that understood him completely, "never."
"You shouldn't drink, Temple-san," Shinji tried to gently remonstrate the woman responsible for him still breathing. "There are people that need you."
"It's why I drink, Shinji." She smiled brightly, "Other solution is to swallow something in a heavier caliber."
He laughed, "We…we destroy ourselves, so we don't destroy others. I think that's called 'irony', right?"
"Not everyone can find a healthy coping mechanism, Shinji," she agreed. "Until you can bleed off the anger enough to look for one, we'll find you something to smack around that isn't animate."
"There you are!" Idunn's voice carried across the distance from the entrance to the shop to where he stood, "Shinji, you had me terrified!" The woman hustled over, a full fist of guards moving out to cover all possible avenues of attack.
He blinked, "I…I did?" The reason why hit him soon after, "The guards. Who was on duty? I never saw any."
"Akane and Mikoto," Idunn groaned. "They were called into the same meeting I was, their replacements tried to contact me but I had my radio off. They said they couldn't find you, and nobody was telling them where you were. The handoff got confused because of the attack, and I am just making excuses." Lowering her head as she reached him, she was the picture of contrition, "I apologize, Shinji. I failed hard, here. I checked on my way down here, Nozomi and Kodama are safe, and Hikari is here with you as we anticipated. I'm very, very sorry."
He waved that away, sensing the specific lie in her song. Grabbing her shoulder, he instead focused on the true anxiety, "The guards, Idunn. Are they safe?"
Shinji didn't see Temple move behind him and coax gentleness from the redhead. "Everyone's safe, Shinji," smiling as she would for any lost or frightened child, she returned his gesture and gripped his shoulder with her opposing hand. "Akane and Mikoto are working on incident reports, I brought the back-up team with me. I promise, nobody was hurt."
"O…ok," he felt a prickling sensation on his scalp, letting go of Idunn and rubbing at it. "I-I'm sorry."
"No, no," she stepped into him, pulling him into a hug. "You're fine. I'm just glad you're safe, Shinji. This is my fault, and you are a good man for worrying after the people meant to worry after you." Shifting back, she looked at the room, "So, what are we doing?" Everyone was distracted by one of the guards Shinji recognized approaching, "Is there a problem?"
"Informed the Major, as you asked ma'am. She has requested a meeting with you on the matter." The woman looked at Shinji, then back to her boss, "The Colonel simply asked that I shoot you. Though I think the sir here would register a protest."
"Vigorously," Shinji blinked. "I'll talk to Misato-san," he turned back to Idunn. "This is just as much my fault as yours, I know better than to go somewhere without my shadows. I'm very sorry, Idunn-san," he began to bow, running into her hands as she grabbed his shoulders and pushed him upright.
Idunn offered a compromise, "How about we just both see her?" Tilting her head, she gave him a hopeful grin, "Maybe, in exchange, you could just use my name? I realize you were panicking a bit when you did earlier, but I'd like to start to close the distance between us."
"Why does everyone feel my being polite means I'm putting distance between us?" He looked to Temple, "Am I too polite, Temple-san?"
"Never such an animal existed, my boy," Temple patted his back. "Let's leave talking to your mother for after we find what's worth punching around here."
+++++ 7th Angel + 1: Monday (46)
After another hour or so, Shinji was pushing Hikari's chair into Misato's office, with Idunn and Temple in tow. The assistant was different from his last visit, though they jumped up to introduce themselves.
"Mister Ikari, Miss Horaki," the young man's entire being seemed to scream 'help me', "It's a pleasure to meet you. Colonel Katsuragi asked that I inform her as soon as you arrived, so if you wouldn't mind waiting just a second while I do just that."
As the man disappeared into Misato's office, Hikari frowned in thought, "He didn't say his name."
"He's the third EA she's gone through," Idunn answered. "Misato's burning through them quickly. I give him another few hours before he quits or goes insane." Looking to Shinji, she gestured to her own left eye, "How does that feel?"
"Odd," he was focused on the door. He'd caught sight of Misato and she looked far more harried than she had at any point he could remember. "It tugs when I blink."
"You're fortunate that the injury was as shallow as it was," Temple took the opportunity to grab his chin and watch his healing ability work. "Another millimeter, maybe two, and it would have split your eyelid. That would have been about as fun as it sounds."
Hikari's voice was free of anxiety, her tone simply curious, "Will it scar?"
The old medical professional shook her head, "On you or I? Without a doubt. On him? Not enough data to go with."
"Shinji," Misato called from her door, "why aren't you home with Hikari?" Standing in the frame, she had her 'serious face' on and her arms crossed, "She should be resting. You should be resting."
"Because I made another error." Shifting Temple to the side, he took a step closer to the woman he'd once lived with. Bowing, he let his remorse be known, "I know better than to go anywhere without my guards, Colonel. I was asked, politely, and ordered, appropriately, to make certain that I was never without my security detail. By not aggressively pursuing their whereabouts, I allowed a security situation to exist where none otherwise would have. Any blame you assign to Idunn-san, I share."
"His idea, Colonel," Idunn held her hands up to her shoulders, "not mine. I wanted to get him home, he took your joke seriously."
"It wasn't a joke," Misato deadpanned. "That entire meeting could have been undone because two of your agents didn't think to check the one place he's ended up after a majority of his battles." Gesturing to Hikari, she raised her eyebrow, "And the agents guarding her? They were supposed to be at the base of the tower, or in the room itself. Where did they go? A late snack from the cafeteria? He's not an idiot."
Idunn vied again for peace, "Now might not be the time to-"
"To what?" Walking out, Misato hugged Shinji close, "To let him know? Sure. Let's go ahead and wait. Hide things from him. I don't care what the Commander says, Haraldson. He's my damn responsibility," looking over to Hikari, "they both are."
Shinji could feel the stress rolling from the woman holding him, "What's wrong, Misato?"
She deflected his question, "Doc, is he well enough to be without you?"
The head corpsman scratched her jaw as she thought, "No school today, right?"
"Not for two days," Idunn answered. "The city needs to send plumbers in to restore water to the school district after the fight fractured the southern mains. They're saying it will be at least Wednesday before they have reliable pressure to the area."
"Then you two go home after she's done. Bed rest, lots of fish for you," she tapped Hikari's shoulder, "and lots of heavy protein for you," gesturing to Shinji. "I'll work with the grease-tribe to find out what we can offer, for stress relief, ok?"
"Thank you, Temple-san," Shinji bowed as best he could while still attached to Misato. "I'll take good care of her."
"In my room," Misato tugged on Shinji. "We need to talk."
+++++ 7th Angel + 1: Monday (46)
"Are you comfortable?" Crouching down next to Hikari, who'd chosen to remain in her wheelchair, Shinji tried not to blatantly overhear Idunn and Misato 'debating' the situation.
"In the chair? Yes," Hikari smiled wanly at him. "Misato's office has nice furniture, it seems, but if I'm on that couch I'm going to be snoring before two words are said."
"You don't snore," Shinji frowned. "Not that I've noticed, at least." Wincing at Misato's declaration that he had a right to know that the world now knew exactly who he was, he patted Hikari's knee, "You…know yourself best. I just don't want you to be uncomfortable."
Reading her boyfriend well, she sighed, "What are they saying?"
"Well…apparently SEELE had spread most of my personal information out to the world. They tried to make it appear that I am dangerous, untrustworthy…unstable. Then, when General Benoit's people countered that with what they feel is the true story…SEELE spread around my full history." He squeezed her knee again, "My mother's death, my father abandoning me, my raising, my blood type…my favorite ice cream flavor?" He grimaced towards the heated debate, "I don't even have one of those."
"Vanilla," Hikari answered deftly. "You've ordered it every time we've had any. It may not be something you like more than others, but it's what you prefer to buy when asked." Smiling at his curious expression, she shrugged, "It's a wife's job to know her husband better than he knows himself. I can't help you if I don't know what you're going to do in advance, and you don't always have the drive to tell me in advance what you're going to do."
"…It may be bad," he began slowly, "but…I kind of like the thought of having you…you know, be my wife." Blushing, he kept his voice firmly low, "I know you and I have only 'known'," he made air quotes, "each other for a little over a month and a half but…."
"When you ask me," she lifted his chin with a finger, "you know my answer will be 'yes'. I won't rush you to ask, and I won't tolerate anyone forcing the issue." A tiny smile lit her face up as he remembered, "In my own mind, Shinji, I've known you for a long, long time. Whatever this 'soul' group is doing, we'll face it together." Waving her hand towards Misato, she yawned, "Why don't we short-circuit this argument and go home? I'm tired, and I feel like being a little selfish and sleeping in my boyfriend's arms."
"As you command," Shinji stood with a grin. Turning around, he coughed for attention, "Excuse me."
"…and I," Misato stopped. "Yes, Shinji? What's wrong?"
Carefully choosing his words, making certain that the truth was all he said, he clasped his hands behind his back, "I never expected to have privacy. As…one of three pilots, it only made sense that the world would become curious about what it is we do. Even in my own class, there's a boy that has a…healthy appetite for more information about the Evas, and about the kind of people that pilot them. If SEELE wants to try to embarrass me out of piloting, or whatever it is they are doing, they'll fail." Pointing to the map on Misato's wall, showing the pre-impact world, he made his final point, "That is what we lost the first time nobody opposed a bad idea." Idunn winced and Misato looked down at her feet. "I understand that something happened tonight, that for whatever reason my guards were pulled off of their details."
Misato shook her head, "It was a mole, Shinji. It was most likely the same mole that sabotaged the lift."
"Well…that's out of the bag," Idunn sighed. "We'll go over this later, Shinji. Ok? It's more complex than you think. You're safe, your family is safe, and I have full legal authority to increase the security detail around you to the point that if I want there will be more agents than students in your school when you go there."
He nodded, "Keeping them safe is everything, Idunn-sa…sorry. Idunn. But so is keeping Misato safe. Rei-san, Asuka-san, they can't be left unprotected." He closed his eyes and shook his head ruefully, "But you know that. You know your job. Misato," crossing over to the now-smaller woman, he cupped his hands atop her shoulders, "I am not in danger. Not physically. My life…isn't my own. It never was meant to be, I guess. Thank you," he gave her his hopeful smile, "for caring enough to try to fight fate."
The Colonel subsumed the woman for a moment, and she replied in a 'no nonsense' manner, "I'm moving Maya into your house. No arguments." She looked over to Hikari, "With everything that's going on, I want someone with full situational awareness around at all times. We're going to be moving you out of the Horaki house and into a new place that we feel has a better chance of being completely secured at a moment's notice. I'm very sorry, Hikari-chan, but we are past the point of tempting fate and into straight provoking it."
"If that is what you think is best," Hikari accepted the decree calmly. "How soon?"
"Maya's already packing," Misato looked to Idunn, thoughtfully. "Agent, I'd like a moment alone with my children."
The tall redhead raised her eyebrow, "Am I going to be upset by what you talk about?"
"It's private," she shook her head. "Not work-related."
"Take the time you need, then. I'll show you the trust you show me, Colonel," she cautioned. "Let's not handicap ourselves here by going behind each other's backs." Walking back around the desk, she exited the room without another word.
Once the door closed, the woman re-emerged from the Colonel, and she guided Shinji over to Hikari, "I am sorry. I am more sorry than I could ever possibly say. The…the assholes that take you for granted Shinji, that complicated your life, Hikari, there's nothing I can do to hunt them down. I have to leave that task to General Benoit and his people. Life just keeps kicking you, both of you, and there's nothing I can do."
"You can be here for us," Hikari took one of Misato's hands. "That's more than enough."
"My girlfriend is right," Shinji agreed, taking his guardian's other hand. "Misato…I know how bad things could really be. If I didn't have…people, everyone really, trying to help me out? I know what kind of horrible things my mind would come up with to push me away from anyone that might have tried to help. My life was terrible before I came here, and while it's still hard…it's not lonely."
"Things…are going to be worse, Shinji." Misato looked between the two, "The city is going to begin to empty quickly, worse than it is now. Those that stay, they're going to be staying because they either work at NERV, or because they have no place else to go. I just hope that people don't blame you, if you go out in public. I'm sure some stores will stay open, there's a lot of money to be made in being the only place around to buy what people need to live here. When you go out shopping, just…don't take what they say to heart."
Shinji's eyes narrowed, If stores are closing…. "I'll keep that in mind, I promise. Honestly, I doubt they could be harder on me than I am on myself. If I…if I pull out of school, would that make things easier on everyone?"
"No," the Colonel jabbed the point of his nose with a finger. "You are getting a damn education. If, or when, they close the school down I will make sure you have tutors here. But until that point, we are not going to run and hide from our shadows." Sighing, she shook her glossy mane, "I hate to admit it, but Agent Haraldson is right. Something like tonight was inevitable, and it was shut down by the back-up systems in place before it went anywhere. She'll tell you what happened later, and she's still…the best person to keep you safe."
Shinji echoed his former housemate, "No." Lifting one great finger, he tapped Misato's nose in turn, "That's still you, Misato. Of anyone but Hikari or Maya…I trust you the most." Dropping his hand, he grinned, "We're still going to have that family dinner. You let us know when is a good day for it, I'll buy what we need." I need to salvage happiness, not just for me. For everyone.
"Just not tomorrow," Hikari added, swallowing another yawn. "Tomorrow, I have plans for my man."
Misato, sensing that it was time to send her two favorite people home, put her hands on her hips and assumed a faux-stern countenance, "No babies until the wedding. I want to see you two in formal wear without a baby-bump marring the lines."
Shinji easily read the tease, but still blushed, "Yes ma'am."
