Author's Note: So, I have a bit of a minor 'oops' to admit. At the very beginning of July 11 (Part 1), we had a bit where Shinji recalled leaving Andras to learn 'Counter' as an Apprentice to Yaksini...which, under 'game logic' similar to that of Persona 5's Lockdown, would render that Persona inaccessible. This, of course would have made it impossible (from a gameplay perspective) for Shinji to call upon Andras to help in his rescuing of Mana from the Reaper on July 11 (Part 2).
Welp.
Time for an Author's Saving Throw!
xxxx
Sokila huffed irritably.
"Your owl man was supposed to have learned Counter by now!"
As she spoke, a contrite Andras - who had been summoned in a fit of desperation against the Reaper - was sitting at a desk, getting lectured by an irate Yaksini.
"Isn't skipping school s'posed to be a bad thing?"
Sighing, the girl plopped down on the ground, visibly pouting.
"Now it's gonna be longer...I want to go outside with you again..."
She looked quietly in his direction.
"...please don't run into the Reaper anymore...it's scary..."
The faint haze of blue began to brighten-
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/Monday: July 13, 2015/
/Room 23, 2nd Floor, Izanagi Dorms, Hakone Academy/
Shinji Ikari blinked wearily, feeling hot water streaming down his head. Huh...I don't remember getting into the shower. Did I doze off again...? Shaking his head, he tried to will away the doldrums. Maybe I need some caffeine...
There was a knock on the bathroom door. "Hey, Ikari! You almost done?" called out Toji Suzuhara.
"Almost!" he said with some alacrity, quickly reaching for a soap bar to finish his morning scrub.
xxxx
As the denizens of Room 23 walked through the Academy's courtyards, Shinji yawned widely, covering his mouth with his hand.
"After how much ya napped yesterday, you'd think you'd be awake by now," griped Toji.
"Sorry..." Not even two slices of toast with butter — courtesy of the dorm's common kitchens — had been enough to get his metaphorical engine going, it seemed.
"I'm reminded of how certain boxers are so worn down and fatigued after a long match that they spend a number of days recuperating," cheerfully remarked Kaworu. "From what little I was able to gather about your recent excursion to America, it's not surprising that you're still on the mend, Shinji-kun."
"Well, maybe I can help out with that," interrupted Kensuke, reaching into his school bag and pulling out a can of coffee. "Here."
Shinji quietly took the can, impulsively looking at the lettering and the branding. "...this wasn't from one of the dorm room vending machines..."
"Well, while I was out restocking my snack cache on Saturday — while you were busy in Eagleland — I remembered the recent revelation that you're a secret coffee snob, so I figured I'd get you a few of the pricier brands. And thus is my foresight rewarded!"
Kaworu smiled. "I was wondering why you had brought those to our dorm room, Kensuke-kun. How marvelously thoughtful of you."
The bespectacled boy shrugged, looking suddenly awkward. "Well, who else is gonna drink it? Not me."
"...you didn't have to," murmured Shinji, feeling touched by the gesture. With a pop of the lid, he swiftly drank of the liquid ambrosia, internally admiring the subtle texture. Not as acidic as the stuff in the coffee machine, he approvingly thought. "Thank you, Aida-san."
Kensuke sniffed, visibly shrugging off the praise. "You can repay me by kicking the ass of the next Ghost or Acolyte you come across."
"...but he would be doing that anyway as part of his job, wouldn't he?" innocently asked Kaworu.
"That ain't the point," grumbled Toji, rolling his eyes at the red-eyed boy's comment. "It's about the manly sentiment behind it!"
"But Toji-kun, would it not be more meaningful if Kensuke-kun had asked Shinji-kun to do something he was unlikely to do normally? Would that not make it unique? Special?"
"Now you're just overcomplicating it..."
And so they continued on, with just minutes to spare before classes began.
xxxx
/Class 2-A, Junior High Branch, Hakone Academy/
It was during lunch — consisting of rice, yellow curry, vegetable stir fry, and sliced beef — when Shinji received an unexpected text from someone he hadn't known was a contact.
F. Maruki: Greetings from across the world!
F. Maruki: This be Futaba ):-D
F. Maruki: put my number into your phone contacts while you slept
F. Maruki: was pulling an all-nighter when I remembered
F. Maruki: I GOT SOME PNG'S I NEED TO SEND
...what's a PNG? he couldn't help but wonder.
F. Maruki: anyhow
F. Maruki: INCOMING }:3
After that, a whole torrent of attachments came through, each one containing photos that he had looked at with Futaba Maruki just the other day. The gesture was so unexpected that he couldn't help but smile.
S. Ikari: thank you
F. Maruki: Most welcome, thou art!
F. Maruki: i'mma sleep now Z_Z
"You seem pleased." Shinji looked up at Rei Ayanami, who had been sitting across from him. "Did something happen?"
"Oh." He hadn't yet found the courage to bring up his recent revelation about her origins, because...well, it just seemed awkward. So he defaulted for a safer topic of conversation. "I was just sent a bunch of pictures of my mother from someone who knew her as a child. A staff member of NERV-01, Futaba Maruki."
"Ah. The wife of the First Branch's Director. She is...sprightly," she finally said after an extended pause.
"Yeah," he agreed.
"...you seem hesitant about something," she stoically remarked.
"...I suppose...I'm trying to figure out how to say it," he diplomatically answered. Rei simply stared with that unnerving crimson gaze, as though peering into his very soul. (Why do you seem so...distressed...?)
Finally, she said, "very well then." She promptly returned to eating her rice.
Inwardly sighing, Shinji let his thoughts wander before his eyes trailed back to his phone. The image of Yui and Futaba covered in paint (an art project gone horribly wrong, judging by the caption) actually brought to mind something he needed to take care of, once classes ended...
xxxx
After classes ended for the day, Shinji made his way to the faculty office; sure enough, Kōzō Fuyutsuki was there, reviewing various papers. The man saw him coming, promptly putting away his materials. "Hello Ikari-kun; I hope you're not here to try and gain insight into the upcoming exams."
The insinuation, even if joking, elicited a blush of embarrassment from Shinji. "Uh, no sir! I..." Inhaling and exhaling with purpose (the very action clearing his thoughts), Shinji asked, "On a recent mission...I met someone by the name of Futaba Maruki."
Fuyutsuki-sensei's expression went still, a somber expression overshadowing his face. "Ah. Did...she have anything to say?"
"...well, she did say that she called you Uncle 'Yutsuki when growing up. And...that she asked me to tell you something."
"...and that would be?"
...this feels so embarrassing to say. "...'yo old man, how you been?'" It was such an informal thing to say to his sensei.
Fortunately, the man didn't seem offended, judging by his rueful smile. "Ah...I see. At least she seems to be in good spirits..."
"...sensei?"
Fuyutsuki once more reached into his desk drawer, pulling out a laminated copy of another old photo, this time of a much larger group. An aged and wizened Katsuhito Ikari was sitting in the middle of a table at some restaurant, surrounded by his students (Fuyutsuki himself, Wakaba Isshiki, and Naoko Akagi, all showing signs of aging into their forties), as well as five younger adults: Futaba, Takuto Maruki, a burgundy-haired woman (yet with a face and hairstyle that unmistakably designated her as Ritsuko Akagi), his mother, and his father. The presence of Gendo Ikari besides Yui, near the end of the table, was relatively jarring. "It was 1999...we had gathered to commemorate the impending end of the millennium. It was...a little awkward, having your father there, since he lacked so much of the history that we all shared."
Shinji quietly looked closer, focusing on various details; the light in his mother's eyes, the easygoing grin on his father's face, and the lack of a beard. It was perplexing and...disturbing, how much he looked like his father at a younger age. (The very thought burned something fierce.)
"Still...it was a good evening. It was the first time that Yui-kun, Futaba-kun, and Ritsuko-kun had been in the same room since before they all began higher education. Naoko delighted in regaling tales of her own research, while Wakaba introduced her research assistant to us for the first time...though I think Maruki-kun and Futaba-kun already knew each other from before? Anyhow, I shared stories — not all embarrassing, I assure you — about teaching Yui-kun at Osaka University. We even heard the story about how your parents met."
Shinji went still. "...how did that happen?"
"It wasn't anything grand, alas. Rokubungi got into a conversation with your mother at a bar by sheer chance; someone bumped into her, and he promptly punched the one responsible in the face. A melee promptly broke out, and your father was among those arrested. Yui-kun decided to bail him out simply because 'we hadn't finished our conversation yet'," he said, slightly pantomiming her tone. "Within a week of that event, they began dating, and were married within the year."
There were many things Shinji wanted to talk about. (My father got into a brawl at a bar? That seems so...undignified.) However, there was one thing he had to bring up. "...Rokubungi?"
Fuyutsuki looked quietly at him. "Ah. I suppose you might not have known. It was your father's surname. He took your mother's when marrying her. I could never get a satisfactory answer out of the man regarding his rationale, at least not one that I found persuasive...and yet, Ikari-sensei approved it. Thus did Gendo Rokubungi become Gendo Ikari." Fuyutsuki-sensei sighed, his brief burst of irritation giving way to fondness. "Even on that night, however, my personal distaste for the man seemed...insignificant. The memories we shared, and made...I still treasure them, to this day." With a deep sigh, the teacher handed the photo to him, his wrinkles suddenly looking more pronounced. "It's also a reminder of...how fleeting, everything can be."
"...sensei?"
"The next day, I found out that Ikari-sensei had passed away in his sleep. He had seemed so vigorous the night before, that it...struck me out of nowhere. Then of course, the following year was Second Impact...and Wakaba passed away during the chaos of that day. Yui-kun vanished without a trace in 2004...and Naoko died in 2006 in circumstances I'd rather not go into." The man leaned on his desk, looking more the part of one who had lived six decades. "...it's a difficult thing, Ikari-kun, to lose people. In the course of seven years, I lost the practical equivalent of my surrogate family that I had known for over three decades, going on four."
Shinji didn't quite know what to say. What could he say to his homeroom teacher, who had lived so much longer than he? "...did...something happen between you and Futaba-san? And Dr. Akagi?"
"Not at all. They've done quite well professionally. Though...I suppose it's an admission of weakness, to have left it at that." The older man smiled sadly (bitterly?), adding, "it's been...easier, to simply let things be."
"...I guess..." he murmured in response, looking down at the photo of that cheerful night, so many years ago. Did his grandfather know he would be dead the next morning? Did his father have any inkling of who he would become? "...but...um, if you don't mind my saying, sensei...I may have only just met Futaba-san...but...I think she would like it if you reached out to her. Because...if you saw my grandfather, my mother, and your fellow students as family...wouldn't Futaba-san look at you in the same way?" One beat. Two beats. (He's not saying anything...) "Um, forgive me if I stepped out of line, sensei..."
"You didn't, Ikari-kun. At least as far as I'm concerned, you shouldn't have to worry about offending me. Your demeanor is one that I don't have to worry about as it is." Fuyutsuki-sensei, although still somber, now at least looked a tad...thoughtful. "I don't want to keep you any longer, Ikari-kun. You have finals coming soon...and before that, the new moon."
"Ah. Yes sir." Another reminder of real life.
"...but do focus on surviving, if you don't mind. After all, if you live...there's always a chance to take a make-up exam. Life has no such luxury."
On that, Shinji couldn't help but agree.
xxxx
As Shinji took a quiet evening jog around the Hakone Academy courtyards (as a bit of a silent apology for missing Track Team so many times, since all club activities were on hold the week before summer finals), he couldn't help but wonder about the photo of a 1999 dinner party. His mother and father, full of life, and happy (or so it seemed); what had happened to them, in the subsequent years?
Was it his mother's disappearance, that had changed his father so? The thought of such a smile coming from his father as he was now...
I wonder...would he like these pictures?
Surely he would appreciate them. Surely.
xxxx
His Other contemplated in silence.
The Beast hissed with disdain.
xxxx
Coming to a stop by a nearby tree, Shinji quietly opened a NERV directory on his phone and began searching. Before long, he found only one entry that fit: COMMANDER IKARI. Well...here goes nothing...
xxxx
/Gendo Ikari's Office, NERV/
The Commander of NERV quietly reviewed the after-action report and summarized debriefing from Director Maruki, covering the fine points Shinji Ikari's recent foray to America. Of particular note was a bit of a postscript, written freely by Takuto Maruki.
Overall, I find his disposition to be relatively stable given his recent ascendance as an Evangelion-user, yet there's always opportunity for improvement. He seemed to respond quite well to positive reinforcement. I'm not exactly sure why you two were separated for so many years (not that it's my business to pry any further), but I sincerely believe he would benefit greatly from any encouragement on your part. — Director Maruki
An altogether reasonable remark, all things considered. It was one that he promptly decided to ignore. He is growing in aptitude. The upcoming new moon would provide greater clarity as to where they stood in the grand scheme of things...and now his main terminal was getting pinged through the packet delivery service. His personal number was not included within the main NERV directory; as such, any and all calls and texts were routed through the MAGI and displayed on his terminal (which he was free to respond or reject at his leisure). As it stood, there were very few people who actually knew how to call him directly. Thus, it was no big surprise to see a text from his son displaying on the monitor.
Shinji Ikari: hello father
Shinji Ikari: futaba maruki sent me a bunch of pictures of mom
Shinji Ikari: i hope you like them
Attached were well over thirty scanned photographs of Yui Ikari in her youth, from childhood to her teen years. They were of a wholesome time. A more pleasant time.
Gendo reached for his phone. "Call Shinji Ikari," he said aloud. His administrative privileges were such that a name was all it took for his device to dial any NERV-issued phone.
xxxx
Shinji actually jolted from shock when an unknown number called him. By impulse, he answered. "Uh, hello?"
"Shinji."
"...father...?" he murmured, almost in a stupor. Did he actually...?
"You can keep any future photos of Yui for yourself, from Futaba Maruki or otherwise. I'll have nothing to do with them."
The quiet sound of the line going dead was downright thunderous. Shinji blinked, staring dumbly at his smartphone. Did...did that just happen...?
xxxx
His Other sighed with remorse.
The Beast merely sneered. "You labor in vain."
xxxx
Shinji couldn't help but scowl as he looked up at the darkening sky. The dying light...what a fitting metaphor. Why...WHY...?
No answer would come.
Thus did Shinji resign himself to continuing on back to his dorm room.
xxxx
Gendo quietly placed his phone down before leaking back at the terminal; a single photo of a preadolescent Yui — beaming cheerfully at the camera — seemed to mock him.
(The thing that wore his wife's face smirked knowingly. "You know that I speak the truth. Stop deluding yourself.")
He ruthlessly deleted the photos and the texts from his son, his face a picture of stoic composure. Inwardly...
xxxx
The jealous creature growled.
"A mere shade. A falsehood. It could never compare..."
He crouched down, guarding a mass of emotion and memory and cognition.
"...not to her...NEVER to her..."
xxxx
...well, his inward disposition was always an unpleasant one.
Thus did Commander Ikari continue on through the night, giving no more thought to his son.
xxxx
END OF 7/13/2015
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/Hierophant
/now at Rank 4