Chapter 4: Should The Opportunity Arise/Yashima
A/N: Ladies and gents, I present to you a Yui's Words double feature! That's right, two in one! Enjoy! I'll explain at the end!
Should The Opportunity Arise
Contrary to what Shinji had said before she left, Misato was not having fun.
Not only was the ride to the Japan Heavy Chemicals conference in Old Tokyo tense and quiet, no thanks to one blonde scientist, but the presentation itself was the antithesis to enjoyable.
From the moment she, alongside Ritsuko and Sub-Commander Fuyutski stepped into the building, they could feel eyes on them and could hear a cloud of whispers. Nothing comprehensible, but occasionally, the words "NERV" or "Eva" would reach their ears.
Misato noticed Tokita wrapped up in a conversation near the presentation stage, and also saw him flicker his eyes in their direction a couple times.
She spaced out for a short moment, before being brought back to reality by the presenter himself.
"Pardon me, professor Fuyutski?" he asked.
The former professor in question turned his attention to the person requesting it. Standing up, he shook the man's hand. "Tokita, long time no see." Fuyutski said politely.
"Yes, it's been too long. Found out you left the University for NERV."
"Yes, that is correct. We've been quite busy lately."
"Yes, so I've seen. Just you wait, this'll be an unforgettable show." Tokita bragged.
Fuyutski chuckled, before saying "I'll hold you to it." with a lighter tone that mirrored his teaching days.
Tokita nodded before briskly making his way to the stage. Turning to the doctor and captain, he shrugged his shoulders slightly.
A tap on the microphone brought the noise in the room to a halt, and all eyes were on the stage.
Tokita grinned, then began to speak. "Welcome, everyone, to Japan Heavy Chemicals! My name is Shiro Tokita, and I'm the head of the Jet Alone project. With the looming angel threat, we have gotten ahead on this project." As he spoke, images of the project in question came on screen.
"Enter Jet Alone!" With this, a picture of the culmination of JHC's research came on screen. It was a giant mech. Meant for fighting angels. Bipedal, two arms, a bunch of spikes sticking out of it's back, a small "head," and an orange-and-white colour scheme.
"Jet Alone is unique in the way that it uses nuclear power, which allows for 150 days of operation!" This generated some 'oooh's and 'ahhh's from everyone present, save for 3 NERV personnel.
"In fact, we don't even need to risk the life of a pilot either! Jet Alone obeys commands from the safety of headquarters!" He bragged.
At this point, Fuyutski stood, which turned the attention of the room onto him. "Mr. Tokita, with all due respect, may I ask a question?"
Tokita grinned "Ah, the one and only Professor Fuyutski! I am glad you are here to witness the next step!" He boasted, a complete 180 from his attitude before.
"Would it not be too much of a risk to use a nuclear reactor for a weapon that would be fighting in the city?" asked the professor in question.
"Ah, but 150 days is more than 5 minutes, last time I checked." Tokita responded, which got a laugh, moreso when a photo of Unit-01 losing it's power cable came on-screen.
Fuyutski continued. "That is besides the point. Our technology is very stable, and having pilots makes it even more stable. Our pilots have been able to minimize casualties extremely well. On top of that, aside from NERV's weapon, nothing is even capable of defeating the looming threat."
Tokita smiled, letting the noise die down. "Are you referring to the AT-Field? Well, in due time, we will be have a solution to that. NERV's monopoly on such measures is soon to be over. In terms of casualties, we are constantly and rapidly improving the Artificial Intelligence, and we've been calculating ways to minimize casualties beyond the efforts, and plentiful errors, of a human pilot!"
Misato kicked the locker over and over, letting her anger and annoyance out.
"Stupid" kick. "Prick!" kick. "Who the hell," kick. "does he think he is!?"
Ritsuko watched her with her arms folded. She sighed. "Misato, as much as you'd like to pretend, that locker isn't his head, and kicking it won't make him shut up."
Misato turned to face her. "He's walking all over us, Rits! You're just going to take that sitting down!?" she hissed. "How in the hell did they know about the AT-Field?"
The good doctor brought her hand up in a placating gesture. "He's all talk, Misato. Besides, if anyone here has some sense, they'll listen to Sub-Commander Fuyutski. Watch, they'll start the demonstration and it'll show how flimsy this thing really is. That'll be a massive boost for NERV, and we might be able to leech some extra investors. As far at the AT-Field thing goes, there's been some leaks in the intelligence section. I need to bring that up with the Commander, actually."
Misato narrowed her gaze. "That's quite a big if, Rits. I don't have a lot of faith in what these guys are trying to pull off, especially considering how well Shinji's done in his first two fights, but it's a pain in the ass to just sit around and wait for a screw to magically come loose."
Before Ritsuko could answer that, a knock came on the door. "Doctor, Captain, the demonstration is ready." said Fuyutski.
Misato let air out of her nose. "Well, let's get this over with." she said before leaving the room.
Ritsuko hung back for a moment, smirking to herself over what her friend has said, completely unaware of what was to come.
Gendo sat on the SSTO, various things from the past few days dwelling in his mind.
However, of all the things he was thinking of, one thought remained constant.
Do it for Yui, follow her plan.
A man he vaguely recognized sat down next to him. He asked if it were okay to sit, which Gendo said yes to.
"So the budget went through." He said.
Gendo smirked, choosing his words carefully. "Of course. The Committee deems their survival important, so they'll shell out the money for it." Gendo learned all about heavily manufacturing what he wanted to say before speaking. Dealing with Keel and the rest of the scummy SEELE members meant he had to raise zero suspicion. He hammered this into Shinji, making it very explicit that the tapes needed to stay within his room, and concealed if they had to be transported. If the wrong person found out about Yui's plan, it would be all over.
Do it for Yui, follow her plan.
The man spoke somewhat slowly. "The Committee thought the angels would never return. Guess they were wrong." He said with a chuckle, but this chuckle didn't feel genuine to Gendo. It felt empty "More good news, however: all member countries on the UN Council have approved the budget for Eva Unit-06. The United States will come around any day now. If it's one thing they're averse to, it's unemployment."
Gendo kept his gaze away. "What of your country?" he asked, knowing the man was a Russian diplomat.
"We are on-board for Unit-08's plans. That installation had been green-lit. However, there's no pilot." he answered.
Gendo waved off his concerns. "Not to worry. The angels have returned, and it's our duty to defeat them."
The Russian 'hmm'ed in agreement. "We don't want a repeat of Second Impact."
Gendo nodded, keeping his post prominent thought at the forefront of his mind, especially in a time like this.
Do it for Yui, follow her plan.
Everyone was gathered in the large conference hall, which had the large screen set up with a live feed of Jet Alone. NERV situated themselves near the presentation stage.
JHC staff was busy making sure everything was stable. "Ready!" one person called out.
"Start the demonstration!" said Tokita.
"Pressure stable."
"Coolant stable."
"Control rods, full release."
"Power is working properly."
Tokita smiled. Turning to Fuyutski, he gloated. "See, Professor? My project is coming to fruition, and it'll surpass whatever Ikari could do!" He then focused on the presentation at hand. "Start walking!"
"Walk. Proceed forward, raising left leg."
"Proceed forward, raising right leg."
"Engine is stable."
"Balance is stable."
At this point, spectators were buzzing, which prompted an eye-roll from Misato.
As if on cue, alarms started blaring, which killed Tokita's grin. "What's going on!?" he asked.
"Reactor pressure is increasing! The coolant is also increasing in temperature!"
Tokita was starting to sweat. "Open the release valve!"
A staff member looked at him. "The pumps aren't responding!"
Tokita's nerves were slowly turning into full-blown panic. "Cut the power! Emergency stop!"
"Signal not accepted!"
"JA is out of control!"
Tokita was fighting tears. "Dear gods..."
Just then, a mech-sized foot crashed through the conference hall roof, leaving a massive footprint right in the middle.
NERV staff was thrown to the floor by the tremor of the giant foot, thankfully they were each okay.
Misato looked at Ritsuko. "This robot has more of an attitude than the guy who made it!"
There was panicked chatter, many people were starting to flee, and Tokita looked like a shell of himself from 15 minutes prior.
"Control rods aren't working! JA is in danger of a meltdown!"
He ran a hand across his own face. "How!? There was programming for this!"
NERV recuperated, before approaching Tokita. "We need to prevent a meltdown." Misato said to the man.
Tokita shook his head. "All we can do it wait for JA to stop on it's own."
"What are the odds of it happening?" she asked.
"0.00002%." a staff member said.
"What!?" Ritsuko said, breaking composure. "We'd need a miracle!"
"Well we've tried everything, here!" Tokita said.
"Obviously not enough! There's gotta be a way to shut it all down completely, like a password or something!" said Captain Katsuragi
The young chairman sighed. "There is a password to delete all the programming, but it's extremely classified. I don't even have the clearance for that!"
She got in Tokita's face "Then get the damn clearance!"
That was enough for him. "Alright, alright. Get whatever you need ready."
Misato nodded, then turned to Ritsuko. "Get Unit-01."
"Hope." The man spoke up once more. "The password is 'Hope.' That'll shut down JA's programming."
Shinji's dinner party had been on a Friday. Today was Monday, and Toji seemed very keen on making true on his harem promise.
From the moment he answered the door, he was greeted to a usually chipper Kensuke, and an all-too-enthusiastic Toji.
"Eyyy, it's Yo-Yo Ma himself! Ready to go?" he greeted Shinji at the door.
Shinji laughed a little. "Morning guys, let me just put my shoes on and I'll be ready to go."
Toji patted him on the shoulder. "No worries, Bobby Flay. Take all the time ya need!"
The cellist-chef in question looked at Kensuke. "What's he up to?" he asked.
Kensuke chuckled. "I'm pretty sure Toji looked up famous chefs and cellists last night, so expect this all day."
"Has he done this before?"
Kensuke sighed. "One time, I beat him 5-for-5 in Street Fighter, and he spent the rest of the day referring to me by different professional gamer names. I hadn't even heard of some of them."
Shinji shook his head, bracing himself for the Toji Suzuhara Seal of Approval.
"Oh, by the way, where's Ayanami?" Kensuke asked.
"She goes early. I packed her a bento, so she'll have something to eat."
Upon hearing this, Toji grinned. "Ahh, look at that, the Shin-Man cares about his cousin! What's not to love?"
On the way to school, in which Toji loudly bragged about witnessing "The master cellist-chef Shinji Ikari," in his own words, Toji also referred to him as Ramsay and Boccherini. If anything, it was at least amusing.
When they arrived at the school, Toji put an arm around Shinji and said to any girls they passed "Check out the Shin-man! He can cook AND serenade!" Much to their confusion.
When they got to class, Toji relented a little, but hit Shinji with Servais and Morimoto.
Shinji greeted Rei at her desk, who responded with a tilt of her head. "Good morning, Shinji. Why does Suzuhara refer to you by names that are not your own?"
He chuckled. "Oh yeah. That. Well, Rei, Toji was very impressed by my cooking so he's uh... been calling me names of famous cellists and chefs, I guess?"
Rei remained confused. "Those are not your names. Does Suzuhara intend to mock you?"
Shinji put his hands up. "No, not at all! It's endearing! He's also been parading me around to other girls, trying to get them to go out with me. Romantically, y'know?" He remembered that Rei both spoke sophisticatedly and took things literally at times. She had a small sense of humour, but it was limited to Shinji's jokes and very mild sarcasm.
His cousin nodded. "Ah. Is he attempting to convince them to become one with you?"
Shinji flushed. "I guess that'd be the end goal, huh?"
Rei smiled slightly, letting out a small laugh at that..
After another class of everyone's favourite Second Impact history, with a couple messages from some girls in his class, mostly out of confusion for what Toji was talking about, Shinji gave Rei her bento and went along with his friends to the roof of the school for some lunch.
Sitting in their usual triangle, Toji hit Shinji with Pablo Casals and Jamie Oliver, but toned down just a little bit.
"So Shinji, when's the next angel attack?" asked Kensuke.
Shinji shook his head. "Kensuke, the angels don't have a schedule. they sorta just attack whenever, and I have to drop whatever I'm doing to get to NERV."
Right as he said that, his phone started going off.
Kensuke raised his eyebrows as Shinji checked the alert. "Like now?"
"Nope, it's a different alert. Not an angel, but something else." He said as he quickly put his half-eaten bento away. "Let Hikari know what's going on!" Shinji added as he exited the roof quickly.
"Good luck!" his friends said to him as he left.
One trip to NERV later, Shinji was accompanied by Lieutenant Hyuga as the two of them got on an Eva carrier to go to Old Tokyo. Shinji had been told where he was going, but not exactly what was going on, Lieutenant Ibuki said that he's be briefed on his way.
"What's going on, Lieutenant?" He asked the man as they approached the hangar.
"As you know, Captain Katsuragi went with Dr. Akagi and Sub-Commander Fuyutski to that NERV-competitor presentation." The man started.
"Yeah?"
"Well, the presentation went haywire and the robot these guys were presenting is out of control."
"I see." Shinji responded as the two of them got into the Eva carrier, with Hyuga piloting.
After landing briefly in Old Tokyo to pick up Misato, who was now wearing a radiation suit, the Eva carrier re-launched, flying to catch up to where the rampaging Jet Alone was.
As they got close, Misato spoke up. "Hyuga?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Here's the plan. As you can see, there's Jet Alone, the giant robot that's currently stampeding." she said, signalling out the window. There's a danger of meltdown in five minutes, and we need to stop it before it reaches Atsugi. Hyuga, once you launch Unit-01, get out of there."
"Roger!" Hyuga said admiringly.
"Shinji?" Misato continued.
"Yes?"
"You will land near JA with me in hand. Catch up to the target, put me on it's back and hold it still."
"Whoa, hold on, Misato. Are you sure about this?" he asked nervously.
"100%. If it's any consolation, Ritsuko and Fuyutski agree that this is the best course of action."
Shinji sighed. "Alright, Misato. Please, just be safe."
She quickly pulled the boy into a brief hug. When they separated, Shinji carefully exited the aircraft and took a ladder to Unit-01's entry plug, beginning its activation.
Yui Ikari arrived on the scene ...Shinji? You seem a little tense, is there another angel?
Not an angel this time, Mother. Something else. There's this guy, Tokia I think his name was, and he created a competitor to Eva, and it's out of control.
Wait, Tokita?
Tokia? Tokita? Not entirely sure.
Shiro Tokita? Is that the guy's name?
Yeah, that's it. Shinji articulated, remembering the name Misato dropped that morning.
Oh. Shinji felt a sense of contempt from the resident soul. I knew Tokita. That weasel was always a step behind me, and he was a jerk on top of it. Serves him right that his project would end up having to be saved by mine. Hah!
Yeah, it's gonna blow, so we're trying to stop it so it doesn't hit a populated area.
You're a brave young man, Shinji. Let's do this.
With that, Unit-01 launched from the plane and landed a distance behind JA, Misato in hand.
Shinji clutched the controls, putting all of his effort into sprinting towards Jet Alone.
Stop people from getting hurt, stop people from getting hurt, stop people from getting hurt. He repeated to himself.
Shinji, calm down. You'll crush Miss Misato!
Agh, sorry, Mother. I just feel the urgency.
Don't worry, you're very close now. Focus!
Right.
The stampeding robot was in arms reach, and Shinji grabbed the convenient giant robot-sized handle on the back, digging his heels in. Jet Alone came to a stop, swinging its arms in place.
"Now!" Misato called out from her suit's comm, and Shinji carefully brought his hand close enough for her to climb in.
"Good luck, Misato!"
She gave him a peace sign and climbed in.
When she was out of sight of his cockpit window, Shinji lost grip on JHC's masterpiece, and it started to run again.
"Grrah! Stop moving, you bastard!" Shinji cried out as he came around using both hands to stop it again. "Hurry up, Misato!" he said to the comms.
As he held on, Misato couldn't help but make concerning noises over her comm.
"Ugh, too hot in here..."
"Error? What the hell!?"
"The programming, it must've been changed!"
Shinji held tighter, trying to stop the air escaping Jet Alone from various spots.
He could hear her screaming. Not sure what, but she sounded in pain.
"MISATO! GET OUT OF THERE! IT'S GONNA BLOW"
However, at the last moment, Jet Alone came to a stop, and everything shut down.
"All good!" she said over the comms.
Shinji let out a sigh of relief as Mother congratulated him for his work.
Later that night, Ritsuko Akagi and Kozo Fuyutski met with Gendo Ikari in his office.
"I presume everything went according to plan?" he asked the two of them.
"Yes sir." Ritsuko answered. "Japan Heavy Chemicals ended up having a poor presentation, so we need not worry about them."
"Good."
"Commander," Fuyutski started. "With all due respect, do we really need to keep Captain Katsuragi in the dark about this?"
"There are a number of things that I must keep from her for the time being, largely due to the fact that her and her father were at the epicentre of Second Impact. I fear she may harbour a grudge and either leave NERV or retaliate if she knew the truth. Eventually, she will know more, but I need to find a way to compensate and earn her forgiveness. It's what Yui would want." the Commander answered.
"I believe there may be a way to do that." the old professor retorted.
Gendo thought for a moment, then said "My first course of action is a promotion to Major, but you have my attention, Professor."
The next day, Shinji was preparing breakfast. Today, Unit-00 had it's re-activation, so he and Rei were excused from class.
"G'morning" a tired Misato said as she trudged to the table.
"Morning. Here's some breakfast." Shinji said back, offering some food.
"You saint." She said as she cracked open a beer, shouting in exaltation after her first swig. Just another morning in the house of Katsuragi.
"Oh, by the way," Shinji spoke up between a bite. "I got a message from my father last night. Congratulations on your promotion!" he said, smiling.
Misato smiled back. "Thank you, Shinji. I got a call about it as well, but I'm going in today after the activation test to make it official."
"How about you, me and Rei go somewhere nice in Tokyo-2 for dinner? Rei and I can handle the money with our pilot pay." he offered.
"I'd love that!" she beamed.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Your friends?"
"No, it's Rei. Toji knocks on our door like a caveman."
And as he predicted, it was the one and only prototype pilot. "Good morning, Shinji."
"Good morning, Rei. Come in, we're just eating!"
Entering the kitchen, she greeted Misato. "Good morning, Major Katsuragi."
The Major in question raised her eyebrows. "You know too? Works for me. Hey, Rei. How are you?"
"I am well. Congratulations on your promotion." the girl said with a small smile, earning a thanks from her promoted superior.
"By the way, Rei. I was gonna propose taking Misato for a dinner to celebrate. Do you want to come? It'd be the three of us." Shinji asked.
"That would be acceptable. It would also be courteous for you and I to share the cost."
"Yup, that's what I said!"
"You two are too nice." Misato cut in. "Anyways, Rei, how are ya feeling about today's activation test?"
"I believe Unit-00 has been adequately adjusted so that the previous activation test will not be repeated."
Over a month ago
Shinji stood in the Pribnow Box, alongside his father, Miss Ritsuko, and Misato. Rei's activation test in Unit-00 would be the first, and provide a baseline for other Evas.
"Harmonics normal."
"LCL pressure normal."
Beyond that, it was a bunch of technical jargon that Shinji could not even try to understand.
He had wished her luck, giving her a hug and a pat on the back prior to the test.
"Approaching absolute borderline."
There was an air of tension in the room. Shinji clenched his hand, nervous that something would go wrong.
As if the air were cursed, alarms started blaring.
"Harmonics are becoming unstable!"
"Eject the entry plug!"
"Signal denied!"
"Link with pilot lost!"
"Unit-00 is going berserk!"
The Eva in question started flailing, breaking its restraints and flailing around the room.
It threw a punch right at the Pribnow Box, seemingly aiming for the Commander, who stood stoically, as if he were going to stare it into calming down.
All that could be done was jettison the external power and let the battery run out.
After bashing around the test chamber, Unit-00's rampage halted and the emergency ejection happened, sending Rei's entry plug flying.
When it landed, Gendo, followed closely by his son, bolted for the test chamber to ensure the safety of their only other family member.
They reached the plug and Gendo wasted no time getting the hatch open, losing his glasses and burning his hands in the process as Shinji watched.
The entry plug opened, and the man and his son both gathered around the opening.
"Rei!" They said simultaneously. "Are you okay?"
The girl in question, barely conscious, smiled. "Yes. Thank you..." She uttered.
Gendo's eyes widened, and he turned out of the entryway. "Get a stretcher for the First Child!"
Shinji reached out and grabbed Rei's hand, holding it gingerly as he whispered reassurance that she'd be okay.
"Gods, I hope not." Shinji said, grimacing.
"Thankfully, you're all healed up, eh Rei?" Misato asked.
"Correct. I have fully recovered from my injuries, and have properly prepared myself mentally for today's activation test." Rei said, keeping it serene to drive the point home.
Finishing her breakfast and beer, Misato stood. "Oh! One more thing!" She said as she tok her plate to the sink and momentarily retreated to her room. Emerging minutes later in her work clothing, she also had a card in her hand. "I believe this is yours." She said as she handed Rei her new NERV-ID.
She took the card, looking at the serene blue-haired 14 year-old in the picture staring back at her.
One rollercoaster ride to NERV later, Shinji and Rei headed to the change rooms, suited up, and were on their way to the cages.
At the entrance, Shinji stopped, Rei stopping beside him. He turned to her, and put a hand on her shoulder." Good luck, Rei," he said, smiling at his cousin. "You'll do great."
"Thank you, Shinji." she said, feeling warm at her most familiar companion.
After getting into his entry plug, he watched Rei exchange a few words with Father, likely similar to what she said to him. They shared a smile, which made Shinji happy. Rei was family, and they were all she had. No mother, not even a trace of her, and her father seemingly vanished too. The thought of abandoning a girl like Rei made Shinji upset, so he was glad that Father had taken her in. Her designation as the First Child came a few years before Shinji's as the Third, with Rei being the baseline for testing. At least, that's what Miss Ritsuko said to him.
Still, he wondered. If Rei's the First and I'm the Third, who's the Second Child?
His thoughts were cut short when he had to activate Unit-01 and stand by for Rei's activation test.
Enter Yui Ikari. Hello, my handsome young man. Any angels or out-of-control robots?
Hi Mother. Nothing crazy today, just standing by for Rei's re-activation test.
Re-activation?
Yeah. A month ago, Unit-00, her Eva, went berserk.
The prototype?
Yeah.
Yui, insightful as she was, had no input. The prototype was beyond her knowledge. Basically, anything not Unit-01 related was a mystery to her. She knew Kyoko was developing something in Germany, but she entered the core before she found out how that went.
She wasn't even sure what soul resided in Unit-00. Well, Unit-00 isn't as stable as your dear old Mom's place, so it's probably more finicky. She resolved.
Yeah, probably. Shinji answered. Knowing how smart his mother is, it was enough for him.
Before they could continue talking, people began speaking over the comm, spewing jargon, which meant it was time for Rei to re-activate.
"Up to 2590 cleared. 2.5, 1.7, 1.2, 1.0, 0.8, 0.6, 0.5, 0.4, 0.3, 0.2, 0.1, rising... Success! Borderline cleared!"
"Unit-00 successfully activated!"
"Roger" came Rei's quiet voice.
"Rei, how do you feel?" asked Miss Ritsuko
"I feel adequate, Doctor."
"I'll take that as an 'all-clear' from you, Rei." The doctor responded, and Shinji heard some laughter in the background.
After a little training, Misato reported to the commander, who promoted her officially. By the time she and her pilots were done at NERV, it was the evening, so the three of them headed to the apartment to freshen up, and they went off to Tokyo-2 for dinner at a restaurant of Misato's choosing. Section-2 drove them, since newly-adorned Major would definitely be unable to get behind a wheel by the end of the night.
She chose a steakhouse that she spent half the drive over ranting and raving about. Thankfully, they had vegetarian options for Rei.
Three meals and too much wine later, Misato was narrating her own stream of consciousness to her two subordinates, who nodded and smiled, occasionally exchanging glances.
"...An tha's why I say, go out, hav' fun! Get. Laid! Who cares abou' tha timin', eh Shinj'?" she said, wrapping up an awkward rant about puberty and adolescence.
"Misato, I'm 14? I, uh, I dunno if I'm ready for that." he replied wearily.
"Aw, c'mon! The ladies'll lov' ya! Especially when ya gots a hot thing like me livin' with ya! Hell, I bet if ya met As'ka, she'd be alllll ov'r ya! She's a basket case, but she'd to'lly be into ya!" she slurred.
"Who?"
"Nev'r mind. Rei. Ya got a boyfriend?" Misato said, turning on the poor girl
"I do not, Major Katsuragi." The girl said cordially.
"How? Y'r a pretty little thing, I could jus' put ya in my pocket, and take you home!" She exclaimed, laughing with a snort.
"I'm afraid I am too large to fit in a standard pants pocket, and I live in the adjacent apartment." Rei answered, unaware of the metaphor.
"Huh?" Misato said, too drunk to comprehend her words.
Shinji decided last call was 15 minutes ago. "Excuse me, can you bring the bill? All on one, thanks." He said to a passing server.
Misato fell asleep in the Section-2 car on the way home, and Shinji and Rei hoisted her into the apartment and onto her bed.
It was starting to seem like Shinji couldn't have a normal week.
He had a period of grace after Sachiel decided to try and use Tokyo-3 as a playground, but then Shamshel attacked, and Jet Alone the week after that.
Now, one day after Unit-00's re-activation test, he was getting ready to leave class when his and Rei's phones went off at the same time. The two of them looked at each other, nodded, and made a swift exit out of the classroom, hearing their classmates with them luck on the way out.
They got to NERV quickly, and saw Misato on their way to the cages.
"What's going on, Misato?" He asked his CO.
Major Katsuragi addressed her two pilots, the wine-drunk roommate was long-gone for the time. "The pattern blue was detected at Tonosawa, and it's approaching. Sortie and approach carefully, I'll be on the comm, okay?"
"Roger." the pair of cousins answered, as they hastily went to change and get to their Evas.
Shinji settled into his entry plug, when he heard Misato again, this time over the comms.
"Unit-01 will engage, with Unit-00 providing backup."
"Gotcha."
He quickly got Unit-01 active, and greeted the resident soul. Hello, Mother. It's been busy these past couple weeks, and we have another angel.
Alrighty. Nervous, Shinji?
Always.
That's good. When you're dealing with angels, you can't let your guard down, so it's okay to be a little nervous!
...Um, sounds good.
Of course it does, I said it, after all! She joked in a faux-smug tone.
Alright, it's time to get going.
You've got this, Shinji.
Thank you.
"Eva Unit-01, launch!"
As he made his way to the surface, he heard Lieutenant Aoba over the comm. "High energy reading detected from the target!"
"What!?" That was Misato.
"It's increasing speed and concentrating!"
"Oh no..." Even Miss Ritsuko sounded concerned.
"Shinji, watch out!" Why did Misato sound so worried?
"Huh?"
His question was answered by a white-hot beam hitting Unit-01 in the chest right when he surfaced.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Shinji cried out as he felt his everything burning.
Shinji! SHINJI! Mother called out, afraid for her baby.
"SHINJI!" Misato cried over the comm as everything went black for him.
Yashima
Shinji didn't dream.
How could he when he was basically dead for a moment? He heard mother, and for the first time in his life he heard her voice in anguish. He also heard Misato, and everything was burning.
Had he melted? Did the angel burn him alive? His thoughts were starting to come back as he began to feel the air around him.
He was in an unfamiliar bed. The air smelled sterile.
A hospital. I'm in a hospital.
More of his senses came back to him, and he felt a warmth on his hand.
Shinji felt weak, but mustered the strength to open his eyes.
"Unfamiliar ceiling." he said as he took in the white panels of the hospital room's upper limit.
He slowly moved his head to his left side, where he saw his cousin solemnly holding his hand. "Rei..." he breathed out.
The girl locked eyes with him, looking up from his hand. "Shinji. I am glad you're awake."
"W'ter. Rei, pl'se, w'ter." he said, his throat extremely dry.
"Ah." She grabbed a nearby water bottle and carefully poured a little into his mouth.
He swallowed, and the hydration gave him just enough energy to lift his head. "What happened?" he said, still quiet but a little less quiet than before.
"At the time of your sortie, the Fifth Angel, codename Ramiel, fired a powerful beam that struck Evangelion Unit-01 in the chest. The LCL temperature increased beyond control and began to burn your skin. Your heart stopped for two minutes, but you were resuscitated." she said, a hint of sadness in her voice. "I am sorry for failing to protect you, Shinji. I was supposed to provide support, and you bore the brunt of the angel's attack."
"No, it's okay, Rei. I'm alive, aren't I?" he said, trying to lift her spirits.
She looked at the ground. "I suppose so. Will you be able to pilot Eva?"
Shinji paused. Will I? These burns are killing me right now! I'm kinda scared of getting hit like that again. I don't wanna die.
He took a deep breath. "Will I get hit like that again?"
"Unlikely. Major Katsuragi has devised a plan known as Operation: Yashima. In this plan, at 1800, Unit-00 and Unit-01 will be readied. At 1805, launch. At 1830, they will arrive at the emergency base at Mount Futagoyama. We will await further instruction there, and at 0000 of the next day, the operation will begin."
"Will I take a hit like that?" he asked again. At this point, he was able to adjust himself into a seated position.
"No. I will protect you. It is my obligation." she answered.
Shinji hesitated. Mother will be there, too. He took another deep breath. "Okay, I'll be ready."
"Well, that's good for you." Rei said, standing up. "I will inform the Commander and Major Katsuragi that you are awake. There is some food on the tray to the right." With that, she took her leave.
"Ah. Thanks, Rei." Shinji said, before making a realization. "Wait, where are my clothes!?" He received no answer.
Misato felt like a real bitch. For starters, she sent Commander Ikari's son directly into the line of fire without a fighting chance. Any combat training would've been useless against the force of the sun smacking one in the chest.
And here she was, about to send him right back without even considering his feelings. He could be frightened to death. The least she could do for her de facto little brother was visit him in the hospital.
She got to his room, breathed in and out, and opened the door. Shinji was on his bed, looking idly out the window. At this moment, he looked rather content, but the bandages on his arms indicated the hell he had just been put through.
The sound of the door caught his attention. "Oh, hey Misato." he said, not sounding particularly upset. "Sorry about taking a hit like that. Guess I should've acted faster." he laughed sheepishly.
Misato closed the distance between her and him and pulled him into a gentle hug. "Shinji... I'm so sorry!" she said into his hair.
He hugged her back. "It's okay, Misato. I'm okay."
"No, it's not okay!" she said, choking back a sob. "I keep having to send you into these damn fights!"
He shook his head. "Misato, I've been thinking since I woke up. I'm afraid. Of course I'm afraid, but it's only gonna get tougher, right? I have to do this."
She broke the hug, holding the young man by his shoulders. "You're a good kid, Shin."
He smiled.
Their heart-to-heart was interrupted by imposing footsteps from the hall. It was Gendo Ikari. To anyone outside of his family and immediate line of command, it would appear to be a commander making sure he had a functioning pilot. The people in the hospital room knew that it was a man who promised his wife that he'd take care of his son.
He closed the door behind him. "Shinji." he said. A lot of conversations started with him addressing the person directly.
"Hello, Father."
"How are you feeling?" he asked, a hint of concern in his tinted eyes.
"I'm, uh, I'm okay." Shinji answered.
He nodded. Shinji knew his answer satisfied the man's worry "Have you been briefed?"
"Rei told me. I'll be ready, but will I be okay with these bandages?" the boy asked.
"The LCL will provide care to the burns. You may keep the bandages on and change them after Operation: Yashima."
"Okay. I know Unit-01 will protect me. Rei too." Shinji said, knowing a little bit about how to talk subtly from his old man.
Gendo nodded. "Good. I will see you later." He smiled the smallest of smiles, and exited the room.
Misato looked at Shinji, who shrugged and said "He tries. My mother's side is more affectionate." That made her laugh.
Shinji didn't see Rei again until they were at the emergency base on Futagoyama. The two of them sat on their Evas, looking over the darkened Tokyo-3. Shinji had been told he would be firing the positron rifle, a weapon that would be using all the power from Japan to kill the angel.
Shinji looked at his cousin and decided to ask her something that was on his mind. "Rei, you must have a reason for piloting. I've been thinking about why I do it, and I wanted your perspective. Why do you pilot?"
Rei looked down before looking at him and answering. "I have been training to pilot for a long time. Over time, I have come to feel a bond."
"A bond?"
"Yes. I feel a bond to all people. Growing up, I felt very alone. I am thankful for having you alongside me, but I felt a sense of isolation within NERV. Since being able to leave the Geofront, I have watched people and seen how they interact with each other. I have also had people who have been very polite to me unconditionally."
"Wow." Shinji said, genuinely amazed by her words. "I guess I need to think more about it."
"Why?" Rei asked. "Is your reasoning any less valid than mine?"
"Well, I've done my combat training and stuff, but I didn't get in an Eva for a long time. I guess it's because of my mother. I made a promise to her, and I wanna keep it. I also want to protect you." he said sheepishly.
"Me?"
"Well, of course! You're family! I also want to protect Misato, Miss Ritsuko, My father, my friends, everyone! I care about them, and I wanna make sure they're safe!"
Rei did not have any words for that. She had always considered Shinji a companion. She never knew her parents, so the closest thing to family were the Commander and Shinji. Calling them family directly had never occurred to her.
Before she could say anything, her plugsuit's clock beeped. "It is time."
Shinji nodded. "R-right!" his nerves always got the best of him before angel missions.
"I will protect you, Shinji. Goodbye." Rei said before getting in her entry plug.
Shinji was a little confused at her choice of words, but got in his entry plug and started activation.
Mother?
...SHINJI! MY BABY, YOU'RE OKAY, OH THANK GODS!
Yes, Mother. I'm alright. I took quite a hit, but I'm doing alright now.
Shinji, I was so worried! I could hear you screaming!
Apparently my heart stopped for a couple minutes.
He felt a brief sense of fear from his mom. Shinji, I have been so afraid since you got hit, so it's a massive relief you're okay. One thing about motherhood is that your babies are your priority.
Shinji chuckled. Noted, Mother. Anyways, we have a plan to kill the angel, and it involves me shooting it.
Well, hopefully you inherited my steady hands!
I think the MAGI is handling the aim, but I hope so too.
The MAGI?
Miss Naoko designed it. I dunno where she is these days, but Miss Risuko maintains the MAGI now. It's basically this big supercomputer.
Ah. I remember Naoko beginning the designs for her supercomputer idea in the Gehirn days. Good for her.
Yup, anyways, I think we're starting.
You make me proud, Shinji.
The doctor's son blushed.
Unit-01 was in position, positron rifle in hand, ready to exact revenge for nearly killing him.
Ramiel floated a distance away, drilling into the Geofront.
Shinji could hear voices over the comm.
"Starting first connection."
"Starting power supply."
"Coolant at full power."
"Positron charge stable."
"Power supply at Futagoyama stable."
"Releasing safety systems."
"Adjusting for gravity and tilt of the Earth."
Shinji gripped the weapon, ready to fire,
"Fire in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6-"
"High energy reading from the target!"
"What!?"
"3, 2, 1, FIRE!"
Shinji paid no mind to what was likely the same thing that hit his chest, and squeezed the trigger like it was going to slip away.
The positron fired. At the same time, the angel fired another one of its dreaded shots.
Shinji watched at the shots met in the middle and twisted around each other, hitting two random spots away from the battlefield.
"Oh no!" He heard Miss Ritsuko.
"Did we fail!?" that was Misato.
Her question was answered in the form of more comm chatter.
"The enemy has drilled into the Geofront!"
"Ready another shot!" She said, determined to see this angel burn.
"Exchanging fuses and recharging!"
"Cooling positron rifle."
"Another high-energy reading is being detected!"
"No!"
Shinji heard the angel screech as it fired another shot. Instead of hitting him, it stopped short. Shinji looked up to see Unit-00 protecting him from the angel, using a shield to stop the shot.
"REI!" he cried.
"Shinji, hang in there!" he heard Miss Ritsuko say.
"HURRY UP!" he said simultaneously with Misato.
"Ready!" he heard someone say on the comm, and he wasted no time firing right into the side of that ugly, octahedral angel.
The angel screeched, and exploded into what looked like glass.
"Rei, can you hear me!?" he said over the comm, but Unit-00 provided no answer. Instead of waiting, he got busy standing his EVA up, discarding the rifle and grabbing Unit-00. He cut the entry plug out of it's melted armour, and laid it on the grass.
He bid his Mother farewell. Yui felt proud of her son for acknowledging his fear, working with it, and also caring for his cousin. Still, she drew a blank on a twin sister. Who did Gendo find after she was absorbed?
Shinji got out of Unit-01 and all but sprinted to Unit-00's entry plug. Much like Father, he opened the entry plug's hatch with all his might. Once open, he peered inside. "Rei! Rei, are you okay?" he shouted.
Rei was in her pilot's seat, and she looked exasperated. "Hello, Shinji. I am safe. I protected you from the attack, which I find satisfactory."
Shinji looked the girl in the eyes. "Rei don't just say 'goodbye' like that! You're family, and almost taking the bullet like that worried me sick! You can't just die on me, I care about you! It wouldn't matter if I had met you a month ago! You're still family, and nothing can change that!"
Rei's eyes widened. She then relaxed and smiled. "Family..." She said thoughtfully.
"Of course!" Shinji said, smiling back. He pulled her into a hug, which she gently reciprocated.
Rei Ayanami was not alone. She had her family by her side.
Shinji was given the next week off of training. With the amount of paperwork from the Angel of Thunder, NERV had their hands full anyways, so they did a sync test with him and Rei, and gave them the rest of the time to recuperate.
Shinji spent a fraction of this time sleeping off the chaos of the past month, and the rest either catching up on schoolwork or hanging out with Toji and Kensuke.
Their hangouts began to fall into somewhat of a pattern: The three of them would go somewhere, Kensuke would rapid-fire questions about the Eva while Toji reeled him in. Shinji didn't mind, though. He knew the young otaku meant well, he just had a lot of room in his 5-foot-something body for enthusiasm. He talked about other things, mainly anime and manga, which Shinji could indulge him in, mainly due to the fact that shōnen wasn't classified.
The lazy week came to an end, and Shinji reported back to NERV for more sync testing. His ratio hovered around the low-to-mid 70s, much like when he started. He spent time during his sync test talking with Mother as she recalled stories from his childhood and her university days when her and Father first got together.
You know, your father was very protective of me, Shinji.
Like a dog?
Somewhat, actually. He was ruthless if someone tried to be rude to me, but he was ever-so-gentle when it was just the two of us. In fact, a colleague of mine, Makinami, referred to him as 'puppy-boy!'
Shinji laughed. Really!? That's hilarious!
Yes, it is. Don't bring it up, though. He's gotta maintain 'tough-guy-Gendo,' after all, especially when he has to talk to the UN day-in and day-out.
Yeah, I'm thankful that I'm a kid who's too young to do that stuff.
You still have to pilot Eva.
At least I have good guidance.
He felt the air around him envelop him in what felt like a hug.
When the test ended, he and Misato were asked to report to the commander's office.
After a shower and a walk around the maze that is NERV, they found themselves standing in the centre of Gendo Ikari's esoteric-looking workspace.
"Good afternoon, Major Katsuragi, Pilot Ikari." The man said, keeping it official for the time.
"Sir." the two of them responded.
"At ease. Major, as you know, the UN is transporting Unit-02 via their boat fleet, and they are on their way to the port in New Yokosuka." He said, addressing the young woman.
"Yes sir."
"They are also transporting the Second Child. You are to board the fleet by VTOL to handle the transport. You will have one ready at 0900 in two days."
Misato nodded. "That will work, commander. I just hope that we don't have a surprise visit from our gargantuan friends while I'm gone."
Gendo chuckled. "I hope so as well." He turned his attention on his son. "Shinji."
"Yes." the boy answered.
"I hope the past week has helped you and Rei adequately refresh after the last angel." he said. His tone gave nothing away, but Shinji knew he was concerned.
"It has, and my burns have also gotten better." Shinji answered.
"Good. You are to join Major Katsuragi on the UN fleet."
"Alright." Shinji saw no problem with this. He piloted a 70-foot Eva, so a VTOL and boats were a little less frightening.
"Major, you can also accustom the Second Child to her new environment, given your history and how well you know each other." the commander said, addressing Misato one last time.
"Sure thing. If it is okay, we can also bring Rei and Shinji's friends along, since it's less serious than regular NERV business." she answered.
Gendo thought for a moment. "Granted. That will be all, dismissed."
Shinji and Misato nodded, and exited the too-large office.
When he was younger, Shinji asked Father why his office had to be so big, and he never really gave him a straight answer.
Shaking the thought for a more prevalent one, he looked at his guardian. "Misato, you know the Second Child?"
Misato beamed at him. "Yes, I do! When I served in NERV-Berlin, I was her guardian. She was a little spitfire, that one!"
"What's her name?" he asked.
"Asuka Langley-Soryu. She's been training to be an Eva pilot for a long time."
Shinji thought for a moment. There was soon to be a new pilot that he and Rei would be working with, and she probably had quite the experience over him. He knew he definitely wanted to make a nice first impression on this Asuka.
"Misato," he asked once more. "How do I greet someone in German?"
A/N: WOW! That's the longest chapter I've ever written! I originally wanted to write two chapters and post one today and the other Friday, but one was not quite long enough, and the other was way too short, so I combined 'em, hence the double feature for today! I'll probably do more double features in the future, but today I wanted to get through the rest of the intro stuff so that I could introduce Asuka. Now that the stage is set, all that's left is to bring on Asuka! Next week, it'll happen!
The title for the first part is from 'Flies' by Death Grips. Felt fitting for Tokita and his Jet Alone project. Yashima is obvious. It's literally the mission name lol.
Isn't it crazy that I also have a Consequences chapter that I plan to finish for Saturday?
Reviews! This time, with passion!
TalonEmpire: Next week! It'll be great!
spartanman2: I combined 'em!
YourBlandestNightmare: I'm glad to have you on board! I consider you an AsuShin aficionado, so I hope you enjoy your stay!
Next time: The star-crossed duo finally meets in Chapter 5: I've Just Seen A Face!
See ya next week!
Omake: Tissue?
You know, your father was very protective of me, Shinji.
Like a wolf?
Wrong fanfiction, Shinji.