Tokyo-3, Early February 2016
Gendo Ikari walked on the streets of Tokyo-3 openly, in nondescript clothing and bereft of his shades, and took a moment to marvel at the city that he, and NERV, protected. It was still a bustling place, even with the recent attacks by the Angels. It made the buildings around him echo with the voices and clatter of those who called this place home.
'And we have never told them that simply living here is putting them at risk of the Angels in the first place.' he thought silently. 'After all, the old men would hate to have everyone look at their hand before they play it.'
But for now, he pushed such thoughts away from his mind. The games where these people, this city, even himself, were merely pawns, held little precedence. For now, as he stood in front of his destination, a quiet restaurant, he had more personal concerns. Ones that he should have faced years ago. When she disappeared. When…
No. Just… go in. Talk to him. Let him air out his grievances and ask his questions. Those were the goals as he walked in and looked around.
Finally, he found him, in a back corner, looking back at him intently with a face that was so much like the one he had fallen in love with. That face held an expression that he had seen in the mirror every day for the past decade and a half, a wondering, guarded, almost but not quite unsure thing.
'Shinji truly is our son.' he thought as he made his way over to the table. Behind the carefully level expression that he wore, he felt… sadness at the fact. Something the Gendo of even only a few weeks ago would have scoffed at. But that Gendo didn't know what he knew now. Didn't truly understand what he had done to Yui. To Shinji. To his family.
He sat down at the table. Shinji had already ordered. It was silent for a few moments after a waiter came up to them to take Gendo's order, as they regarded each other.
"Shinji." Gendo finally said after an almost unbearable silence.
"Father." Shinji said simply.
"Thank you for being willing to meet with me. I know this must be difficult for you." Gendo said.
Shinji shook his head slightly. "You have no idea, father." he said levelly.
Gendo sighed quietly. "No. No, I suppose not."
They were silent for a moment as they ate together. A family dinner. The first one they had had… ever.
As they finished, Gendo sighed quietly. "You have questions." he said, matter-of-factly. It was to be expected, honestly.
Shinji nodded after a moment. "Yes. I do." he looked down at the table as he pondered silently.
He looked into his father's eyes, so much like his own, now. Unsure, guarded, and wondering. "Who are you? How did you come to know mother?"
Gendo blinked then seemed to deflate slightly as he sighed. "Those are good questions. Ones that you should have known the answers to already. Ones that we should have told you about."
He shook his head. "Before all this, I was… a delinquent. I had no direction. I was smart, yes, but I did not channel it into anything except beating the person in front of me whenever I got into a bar fight in college. Which was depressingly often."
Gendo looked into the middle distance as he smiled softly. "Then I met Yui."
Shinji paid rapt attention as his father sighed quietly. "She had gone to a bar that I had frequented with some of her friends. A girl's night out. I have no idea why they chose there, of all places. Several people made a pass at all of them. Many at her especially. And… I thought she was cute. Too cute to just be demeaned by idiots who didn't know better."
Gendo chuckled quietly. "So, when the next person that night made an unwanted advance, I did what I did best. I pulled him up and punched him in the face."
Shinji's eyes widened as Gendo shook his head. "It was a little miracle that she recognized me from one of her classes afterward. We got to know each other better over the coming months. She helped take the energy, the drive, that I put into my fighting into my studying. She became my friend. Then she became my… everything. We made plans to marry each other only a few months after that fateful day in 1990."
Gendo paused for a moment, then chuckled again. "I still got into bar fights, regardless of her disapproval. So after a while, she told me if I was ever in need to contact one of her professors. One Kozo Fuyutsuki."
As Shinji looked at his father somewhat incredulously, Gendo nodded as he smiled slightly. "Yes. That's how I met him. By having him pick me up from a bar fight that had… escalated. It's how I came to respect him. His judgment and wisdom. It's a great part of why he's my Deputy Commander here at NERV today."
Gendo's small smile faded away. "Then, I was introduced to Yui's father. And through him… SEELE."
It was quiet again as they both processed their feelings on that particular organization for a moment. "I learned about the Dead Sea Scrolls. About the concept of Instrumentality. Or, at least, what they presented to me at first. It was… enticing. The thought of never being alone again, never without the people I loved. And unlike whatever religion I could have found out there, the steps weren't just laid out for some far-off future I might never see. We could make Instrumentality a reality in only a few years."
"So, when I married Yui, I married into her family. I took their name. And I was no longer a Rokubungi. I was an Ikari." Gendo said quietly.
"Even still, life went on, and Yui became pregnant. It was… perhaps the most terrifying moment of my life at that point, waiting for you." Gendo paused for a moment. "We had made an agreement. If it was a boy, then we'd name him Shinji. And, if it was a girl… we'd name her Rei."
Shinji's eyes widened as he gasped quietly. Gendo nodded. "Yes. And then… we had you. And… you were a miracle in that moment. And… that was the moment that I gave myself fully to SEELE. If I could live that moment forever… then anything else that came after was worth it."
It was silent again for a moment. "Then, the Katsuragi expedition to Antarctica happened. And we found Adam."
Gendo shook his head even as he fought the urge to reach for his right breast, where the being in question was embedded. For now. "I found out what, exactly, it would take to begin the process of Instrumentality. We would need to wake up Adam by removing the Lance from its body. What would happen next… well, only the old men knew completely at that point. However, I was suspicious and inquisitive, so, with Yui's far-off help, I gained access to some of their plans. And I realized what would happen. What they knew was coming after this. So, I packed everything and left, citing Yui and you becoming suddenly ill as my excuse. That it happened to be the day before they woke him up was a coincidence. One that would not go unnoticed to those that knew me."
Gendo shook his head. "We did our best to keep going in the aftermath of Second Impact. It was bearable with Yui and you around. Even with the knowledge that I gained. I wanted to keep it out of her hands. Keep her away from the danger I was surely now in. Not that she stayed ignorant for long. Or had her own opinions about it."
Gendo sighed quietly. "Then, Yui and I both became scientists at GEHIRN, the predecessor of NERV. Fuyutsuki joined us soon after. He threatened to go public with what he found before I showed him part of what was going on. The creation of Unit-00. Lilith."
Gendo looked down at the table. "Then… the Contact Experiment happened. And… I lost the best part of myself. The woman who had been my rock since that day so long ago. And… my grief consumed me. Blinded me to many things. I became used to that blindness. I just wanted the pain of losing her to stop. So… I tore my heart out, in a sense. Isolated myself from everything that reminded me of her. Sent you away because every time you laughed or smiled I… I only saw her."
Gendo shook his head. "I still needed warmth. Love. Things that I had spurned from anyone else but her now. That didn't mean I didn't still seek after it, however."
"And…" Gendo trailed off after a moment. "Excuses. That is all that I have said is. Excuses for not trusting Yui's judgment. And now, I am paying the price for it."
Gendo looked up at Shinji and found him staring back, brown eyes so much like his. "And… I hope you never have to fully understand what I do, Shinji. Because that takes… experience."
Shinji nodded slowly. "I hope so, too. But… I can understand why you did what you did, even if I hate it. You've been moving heaven and earth to get mother back. And I… I would do the same for the one I love."
Gendo's eyes widened slightly, then closed as he considered what Shinji had said silently for a moment. "The pilot of Unit-02. Soryu-Langley. You love her, don't you?"
Shinji nodded. "Yes, father. More than anything in the world."
Gendo looked at Shinji with no small amount of wonder in his eyes. Then he nodded his head and chuckled quietly. "Good. I hope you can keep up with her."
Shinji chuckled himself. "Some days, I'm not entirely sure. But I'm trying."
They fell silent for a moment. Then, Gendo nodded. "Thank you, Shinji… for being willing to do this."
Shinji sighed. "You are welcome, father. But don't think that I'm going to love you, or even like you, anytime soon. You may be my commanding officer, and I may follow your orders, so long as they do not put my friends, my family, in unneeded danger. I protect those I love, father. From the Angels. From SEELE. And from you, up until recently."
Gendo regarded Shinji for a moment, then nodded wearily. "And I expect nothing less after what I've done."
Theisman Residence, The Next Day
It was a calm day. That was becoming more and more of a rarity as time went on. So, Daniel and Eleanor spent it reading. There was some much-needed catch-up to do, after all.
Eleanor looked up from her book as the doorbell rang, and Daniel stood and sighed quietly. "I'll get it." he said, walking towards the door in question.
He disappeared, and Eleanor slightly enhanced her hearing as she listened in, the door swishing open like she was right in front of it.
"Oh. Hello, Commander." Daniel said, and Eleanor's blood ran cold.
"Hello, Captain Theisman." Gendo Ikari said. "May I come in?"
"Please, Commander." The shuffling of footsteps. "I assume you have questions."
"Yes, Captain." It was silent for a moment, save for the quiet thump of approaching footsteps.
She didn't need to enhance her hearing to understand what was said next. "How… how did you connect me to Yui? How are you able to even… see souls at all?"
Daniel and Gendo stepped into the living room, and Eleanor stood, unconsciously coming to attention.
Daniel sighed quietly. "To explain the answers takes someplace more… appropriate than an apartment living room. We need… a demonstration." he looked at Eleanor. "Do you want to come along, honey?"
Eleanor considered for a moment, then shook her head. "No, Daniel. Not this time."
Daniel nodded. "Alright. See you in a few."
Daniel looked at Gendo. "Alright, sir. Follow me."
Gendo nodded and followed Daniel into the master bedroom. Gendo looked around as Daniel made his way to the back wall. He inspected a row of pictures on the dresser, ones of Daniel's life and times, always seemingly with at least one of the pilots.
He jumped slightly as he heard a hollow tone, and turned to watch the wall that Daniel stood in front of ripple and become a doorway of cool blue colored stone.
Daniel turned to look at Gendo and saw his wide-eyed reaction at the sight. "This way, Commander."
As they descended the stairways, Gendo heard clashing, blaring sounds, like an out of tune orchestra was doing battle with an ironworks, and wondered at what it was, in relation to the sights that seemed to surround him.
"You know of the existence of the soul." Daniel said simply as they continued down. "The soul has been divided, extracted and inserted from one body to another. But it has eluded you what the soul is made of, where it comes from, what the limits are of the power it can create. Well…"
They stepped into a large room, and Gendo's eyes widened at the sight before him.
Shinji and Asuka regarded each other, the pilot of Unit-02 wielding a large sword as six shards of dull, gleaming metal hung in the air around her shoulders, three to a side. On the other hand, Shinji seemed to float as he held a long, spear-like weapon that seemed to fuzz as it vibrated.
Shinji literally flew forward, batting away the shards as they zipped towards him, jabbing the spear at Asuka. Asuka jumped back, swinging her sword and batting away the jabs aimed at her, as the metal shards began to fly back towards the duo.
As Shinji ducked under the shards, Daniel continued. "The material of the soul, and the energy it produces, can be used to do many things. Like what you see before you. The soul is powerful, and it is… a great many things."
Gendo looked at Daniel with eyes wide with shock. "Like what?"
"A hard drive, a power plant, a means of identification and expression. These and many more comparisons can be made. As for how I know these things, and now, by extension, the Children," Daniel said, as he nodded towards Shinji and Asuka's spar, "well… that is going to take a little more explanation."
After a moment of watching, Shinji noticed them, his feet touching the ground at last as he lowered his weapon.
[Come on, Shinji,] Asuka said in German, [it can't be that tough to get through my defense, can it?]
Then, Asuka looked behind her and saw Daniel and Gendo, her eyes widening slightly before narrowing in on Gendo. [Brother. What is the commander doing here?] she said with no small amount of suspicion in her voice.
Daniel stepped forward. [I'm providing context for what he's seen thus far. He spoke with Shinji's mother in Unit-01 at her request. Now… it was only a matter of time before he asked more questions.]
Asuka nodded after a moment. "Very well." she said in Japanese. "But does the explanation have to get in the way of our sparring? Shinji's just started to pick up some interesting tricks."
Daniel chuckled slightly as another doorway on the far end of the room. "Don't worry, Asuka. We'll have it in a separate room. Try not to rough each other up too much this time, alright?"
Asuka sighed heavily as she nodded. "Yeah, yeah. We'll try."
Daniel smiled slightly. "Alright. We'll stay out of your way then."
His smile faded as he turned back to Gendo, and motioned to the doorway. "Follow me, Commander."
Shinji and Asuka both watched as Daniel led Gendo past them, and through the doorway. The walls surrounding it flowed shut, and the wall looked like it had never been disturbed in the first place.
The two of them looked at each other as Shinji sighed. "I guess it figures he would want to know how that happened." Asuka knew what he was talking about, with Daniel enabling Commander Ikari to talk to Shinji's mother. His wife. How he had talked with Shinji.
Asuka nodded. "Well, just because he's had a heart-to-heart with his wife and his son doesn't mean I'll be any less inclined to punching him in the face. Hope you don't mind that too much." she said as she returned to a ready stance.
Shinji nodded as he assumed his own ready stance, his feet slightly lifting off the ground. As he pondered silently on just how similar Asuka and his father had started out before… all this happened. "Well, I've already punched him. And I wouldn't be surprised if you and I weren't the only ones. You might want to start a queue."
Asuka snorted softly, and they resumed sparring.
Ritsuko's Lab, Geofront, 3 Days Later
It was a quiet workday for Ritsuko. She and mother were working quietly on SEELE's S2 reports. They had learned so much. Not just from the study of Unit-03 and Unit-04. The discoveries that she and mother and Maya were making because of what they learned from Daniel and Eleanor were… miraculous. Even something as simple as Plasm, Metos made physical, had breathtaking properties. It reacted to mental and physical stimuli like almost nothing else. It could become soft and malleable, or it could become harder than tungsten-carbide. And it could do all this while varying its weight, which had broken at least one scale in the lab already, much to Maya's embarrassment.
It was… amazing. Not only was she making new fields of science by the minute with the woman she loved, but she was also… reconnecting, as it were, with her mother. It was a chance to work with her, talk with her again. And… she had become excited to talk to her mother again, seemingly against all odds.
She scoffed quietly as she sat at her desk. 'And all it took was her death in order to make it happen. Nothing too major.'
Maya was off getting some coffee for both of them while her mother puzzled away on the latest quandary of Reality. Ritsuko looked up with a slight smile on her lips as she heard the door opening and shutting. "Back with coffee already, M…"
The words, along with the smile, died on her lips as she saw Gendo standing before her, bereft of his glasses. A lance of fear drove itself into her heart as she stood. "Commander. I didn't expect you would be coming." she said, a guarded tone evident in her voice even as she fought to keep her expression neutral.
Gendo shook his head. "And, before recently, I made no plans to visit you. But… I require your services."
As Ritsuko fought to keep her eyes from widening in surprise, Gendo sighed quietly. "But before I ask for your help, Ritsuko, I must apologize. For… everything that I've done to you."
Ritsuko could no longer keep her eyes from going wide as she heard the seemingly impossible. "Apologize… sir?"
Gendo nodded. "Yes. I've had… a revelation recently. One brought on by something I once thought would be impossible. It brought me to realize how… callous I've been. How I should have been better to those around me. So… I offer my apologies, Ritsuko Akagi. I have used you, for both your mind and body, to satiate my desires. I had forgotten why I needed you in the first place. To act as a vital part of this organization. I am sorry."
Ritsuko stared at Gendo in shocked silence. She had no idea what to say, her mouth opening and closing slightly. So, someone else took the chance to chime in.
"So, I had to die before I could see the day that Gendo Ikari begins taking responsibility for his actions? My, what a world we exist in."
Ritsuko's cheeks became heated as she blushed and finally found something to say. "Mother!"
Gendo's eyes widened as he looked around the room. "What the… Naoko?" he said incredulously.
"Yes, Gendo." Naoko said. "It's me, your old hag. You never would have guessed that I'd be here, right in the Magi I built and Ritsuko finished, would you? Well, now that I've made myself known, I get the unprecedented chance to snark at you from the grave. And that… well, I wouldn't say it's well worth it, but it is good to see how utterly flabbergasted you are right now."
As Ritsuko looked around her, her eyes settled back on Gendo, his face the picture of shock and surprise. And she couldn't help but begin to laugh. So she did. She had to hold her desk for support, so hard did she laugh at Gendo Ikari, the stoic mastermind, looking so utterly confused.
"Ritsuko, dear," Naoko said with a hint of worry in her now far more authentic digital voice, "I'm not sure how wise outright laughing at your commanding officer to his face is."
Ritsuko shook her head as she got herself under control and straightened herself. "What can he do to me that SEELE couldn't, mother? I'm in as much danger as I could possibly be already, mother. Perhaps even more than that."
Gendo looked back at Ritsuko as he tried to get his expressions and emotions under control. Ritsuko took the chance to dip into the Sight (oh, what a wonderful tool that had become in the cause of science!) and studied Gendo's soul for a moment. Shock and surprise were racing around his soul, yes, but what Ritsuko didn't expect to see was… grief. Remorse. Even… guilt.
Gendo took a deep breath. "Regardless of the… revelations that have come, I still mean to offer my apologies, for what little they do. To the both of you." he said, looking around the lab as if he could find Naoko Akagi simply hiding in a corner.
"But, as I said in the beginning, I require your assistance on something. Something that needs to be done soon. Or undone, as it were."
Ritsuko's mirth faded from her expression completely as she paid attention to what he said next. "I have implanted…" he trailed off and sighed. "I have implanted Adam in my right breast, as part of my plans for Instrumentality. And now… I wish to remove it, and place it back in suspended animation."
It was silent for a moment as all present processed what Gendo had just said. Ritsuko's Sight lasered in on the place that Gendo had specified. Indeed, there was a black, jagged tangle of lines, in line with where his heart was opposite of it, that had… connected itself to Gendo.
Before Ritsuko could speak, the door swished open and shut again, and Maya stepped in, two cans of coffee in her hands. "I'm back, Ritsuk… oh…"
They all stood there silently for a moment as they regarded each other. Ritsuko sighed after a moment. "Well, sir, it looks like it's going to be a rather difficult operation. Not simply because it is attached to you in a spot above a vital area."
"But because it is also attached to my soul in that area as well." Gendo said with a level face. "I understand. I have spoken with Captain Theisman, and have been filled in on some of the details on this… Interfacing."
Ritsuko's brow rose. "Behold, Reality? He trusted you enough to do that?" she said outright.
Gendo nodded slightly. "Nothing so grandiose as that, but the point still stands. Adam, it seems, is linked with me quite intrinsically."
The door swished open and closed again, and Maya looked over at Eleanor as she tried not to jump too much. "Which is why I'm here." she said, a serious look on her face. "Two souls inhabiting one body, while not unheard of, requires a great amount of preparation, delicate balance, and compromise. Commander Ikari has done none of these things, and should Adam continue to be attached for any great length of time, there will be… many different consequences. Most none of them good."
Ritsuko and Maya nodded silently as Maya made her way to Ritsuko's side, handing her the can of coffee in her other hand. Ritsuko cracked the can open and took a sip. "So, we'll need to do a procedure on him in order for him to remain Gendo Ikari." Ritsuko said matter-of-factly.
Eleanor nodded. "And while I have experience with battlefield surgery, I'll need facilities available in order to make sure that this goes off without a hitch. Do you have such facilities on hand?"
Ritsuko nodded. "Yes. But they are usually fully automated. Which is how I assume that Adam became implanted without anyone's knowledge in the first place."
Gendo nodded. "Indeed." he said simply.
"Well," Eleanor said, "All I'll need for it to be is to allow me to be able to get out of the way for after I sever the connection it's made to his soul. After that, it's an easy task to just excise the thing."
Gendo nodded. "Then let us begin."
. . .
Gendo Ikari lay on the table, shirtless and under anesthetics. On his right breast, just as promised, the embryonic form of Adam was embedded, a thin, clear layer of skin having grown over it even as the skin surrounding it seemed to pucker into a crater that surrounded it. It seemed to stare at Eleanor, who stood above it. The automatic surgical tools were stowed away for now, and Ritsuko and Maya watched intently with the Sight as Eleanor began her work, Frames appearing and taking on the form of scalpels that cut through the worryingly large number of connections that Adam had made to Gendo's soul.
As Eleanor worked, Naoko chimed in on a terminal next to Ritsuko. "And you're sure he's genuine? I wouldn't put it past him to gaslight every single person in the room. Even if you can see his soul."
Ritsuko shook her head. "That's right… you can't see his soul, can you?" Ritsuko shook her head. "Then… you couldn't see what was going on within him. The remorse and grief… they almost seemed ready to consume him. And… I know why."
Maya turned to look at Ritsuko with wide eyes. "You do?"
Ritsuko nodded. "Yes. Daniel had me deliver a message from Yui before the battle with Arael happened. This… appears to be the result. He's been… well, changed is a strong word. I doubt he'll ever change completely. But… there's a light he's seen from his wife. One that's shown him what, exactly, he's done."
Maya looked back at the slumbering commander with wide eyes, while Naoko scoffed. "All he ever cared about was his wife, didn't he?" Naoko said. "Getting her back from that Contact Experiment. That's all he ever needed us for."
Ritsuko nodded. "Yes. That's the only person he seems to have ever truly loved. Not even his own son."
Maya shook her head wordlessly, and all turned their attention back to the operation theater as Eleanor looked up at them and nodded. "The soul-based part of this operation is complete. I'll step back and let the physical process begin."
"Alright." Naoko said as mechanical arms unfolded from the ceiling, tipped with various surgical implements. "I'll try not to rough him up too much. Even if he does deserve it."
"Mother." Ritsuko said as she rolled her eyes. "He does, but that's beside the point. There's also Adam to consider. We have no idea what might happen if it becomes compromised. We might run the risk of a… a Third Impact."
It was quiet for a moment as Eleanor exited the operation theater. "Very well." a far more sober Naoko said. "I'll get to work. Adam will need another block of Bakelite ready for him, it seems."
Eleanor nodded. "I can substitute for that whenever you're ready."
"Alright," Naoko said. "Doesn't mean cutting him up won't be satisfying." she tried and failed to mutter as the arms descended upon the Angel.
1 Week Later
Gendo rubbed at the bandages that wrapped across his chest, and he felt like a weight had been lifted from off of it. Adam, along with being a physical burden, seemed to also be a spiritual one as well. He felt… well, he didn't quite know what he felt yet, but he had little time to contemplate that right now. Right now… well, he was just trying to make things up to Yui still. And to the others his actions had put in harm's way. For her.
Which was why he now sat across from Inspector Ryoji Kaji, on a covert car ride to Tokyo-2, and the offices of the Ministry of the Interior.
He had contemplated deeply on what he would have to do to stop SEELE's plans. Because of what Captain Theisman had shown him, and the possibility of getting his wife back so much more easily than what the Human Instrumentality Project promised.
He had planned to upset their plans anyway, take control away from the old men who hoped to become the masters of humanity. But if there was a better way, a way to preserve the world in exchange for getting the woman he loved back… well, the world was in a far more vulnerable position than Yui was at the moment. If he had to step up and save it fully from the old men to get his wife back, then that was what he would do.
And really, Yui would be inconsolable if she exited the core of Unit-01 to a wasted world. And he couldn't have that happen. So he had put the mind that she had said was far greater than he once thought it was to work, and arrived at the point where he now sat in this car, taking a fateful trip to the capital.
He regarded Inspector Kaji, his intent eyes bereft of the glasses he had once claimed as a shield against the world. The inspector was somewhat uncomfortable, the relaxed posture that he wore often slightly tense as he regarded Gendo with a cool stare.
"I've got to say, commander," Kaji finally said, "I never expected this from you. A secret car ride to the capital? One might think you were up to something."
Gendo smiled slightly. "And, in a sense, Inspector, I am. I've known things that should have been known to others beyond SEELE for quite some time."
Kaji's brow rose slightly. "Oh my, commander, looking to betray SEELE now, are we? That's a dangerous game."
"It always has been, Inspector." Gendo said levelly. "But such is the way of things. At least, for now."
"And what, exactly, do you plan to reveal?" Kaji said with an abnormally serious look in his eyes.
"The truth, Inspector." Gendo said simply. "Or at least, enough of the truth that the old men do not grow overly suspicious."
Kaji nodded slowly. "Like what?"
"The true nature of Second Impact, for one. As well as some of the nature of the Dead Sea scrolls and what they contain on the Angels." Gendo said matter of factly as Kaji's eyes widened slightly, a quiet whistle coming from his lips.
"That is… an impressive amount of knowledge to simply be giving to someone, Commander." Kaji said. Then he went silent for a moment as he studied Gendo's expression. "Why?"
Gendo was silent for a moment, then sighed. "Because I made a promise to Yui recently. With Captain Theisman's assistance."
Kaji nodded. "I see." he said simply.
. . .
Minister's Office, Japanese Ministry of the Interior
Minister Tomiko Okamura sat at her desk quietly and wondered at the message that had been relayed to her. It was an urgent one, by one of the best insider informants she had in NERV. Apparently, Commander Ikari was on his way. He would be arriving soon, by the looks of it, accompanied by Inspector Kaji. If nothing else, this was going to be interesting.
She looked up and stood as the door opened, the purposefully slovenly form of Inspector Kaji followed by the tall, broad-shouldered form of Commander Gendo Ikari, who regarded her with intense brown eyes.
"Commander." Minister Okamura said. "You are a mysterious man, indeed. All this time spent on wondering what, exactly, is going on at NERV, then I get told that you will simply walk through our front doors, as it were."
Gendo nodded and shook her proffered hand as they sat down. "Much has changed recently, Minister. The only things that haven't been are what I am about to tell you."
Okamura's brow rose fractionally. "And what would that be, Commander?"
Gendo regarded Okamura levelly. "The truth of Second Impact and the Angels."