"Umu." Momonga nodded to himself as he was lying on top of his school-desk in a state of near-death.

Asuka had been on the phone when Shinji and Momonga had reached the otherwise empty class, and had been nodding sullenly into the phone. Momonga had resisted the urge to snoop as it'd require him to use the bunny-ears scroll again, and he didn't want to spend another consumable item in case Asuka was just gossipping or speaking about whatever else that teenage girls talk about to pass time.

He overheard a few words though, namely 'dummkopf', 'idiot', 'it is angel, I swear', and 'what do you mean I have to 'just go with it'', followed by a string of curses in German that caused Momonga massive amounts of mental damage as it brought forth memories of his cringe youth as a chuunibyou.

It seemed that seeing Momonga caused Asuka an equal amount of shock on her that her words caused cringe on Momonga, and she promptly got up, walked to Momonga, and sat on a seat right next to him. Alongside giving him an odd statement delivered in an ominous tone.

"I'm watching you."

Momonga had recognized the flare of a chuunibyou from the words and actions of the girl, and had flopped on top of his desk from the backslash of the chuuni that reflected on his past youth and caused his mental state to be sandwiched between cringe from within and without.

[Emotion Suppression] only got so far when facing an avalanche of barely-suppressed awkward memories from the past, causing Momonga to remember his 'cool project' that he had left in the Treasury of Great Tomb of Nazarick, and thus forced the calming-ability to work overtime.

The rest of the students and the teacher walked into the class soon after.

Not that it helped Momonga, specifically as the first lessons were in mathematics.

.

.

'Ugh… Not good…' Momonga managed to somewhat recover from Asuka's verbal assault and battery by the time of lunch break, and headed for the roof after slipping free from Shinji and Asuka, as Shinji had been following him around as of late and Asuka was giving him seriously suspicious glares.

Momonga was fairly sure that someone would find him eventually, even though he had gone to a toilet and teleported to the roof from there to throw Shinji, Asuka and Rei off his track. However, he needed to have a moment to calm down as he was fairly sure he would not survive another cringe-strike that Asuka's chuuni behavior would naturally induce on Momonga.

He sat down on the roof of the school and reached into his inventory to pull a packed lunch that he had bought from a corner-store to test his new NERV-credit card.

'Hm… Ritsuko's done a good job with the new body-suit. I don't have full touch-sensation yet, but she's definitely improving… It doesn't have those lumps around the stomach anymore, and I can control the body to a greater degree than previously…' Momonga was a bit worried that Ritsuko was starting to learn more than he wanted her to, as she seemed to somehow sync the external body to his skeletal body in a way that transferred touch and intent between the two. 'Nonetheless, it's nice to be able to eat… I could feel the sensation of food on my teeth and get a vague feeling of taste even without a fleshy overcoat, but having fleshy parts in my mouth and stomach makes eating a lot less messy, not to mention that it allows taste to linger, giving it potency… Spicy food seems to taste the best…'

Momonga thought idly about all sorts of things while shoveling more mapo tofu to his mouth and using his [Detect Life] to keep an eye on his surroundings, tracking the motion of the masses of students below, as well as that of a life-sign above him.

'Wait, there's a life-sign above me?' Momonga paused mid-munch and looked up…

There was a 'swoosh' of canvas from somewhere and Momonga's face became a seat for a butt for a moment.

'Eh?' Momonga was a bit baffled as someone seemed to let a playful moan and hopped off after performing a paratrooper landing on Momonga's face, complete with parachute and all.

"Another soft landing! Nice!" The girl seemed to mix English into her Japanese and brought up a flip-phone which had started to ring mid-landing. "Moshi moshi, Mari-chan here- Eh, what do you mean 'you have to be covert, you idiot?' I was super-covert ops, all sneeki breeki-like. Parachute landings- What, you don't think paratrooper landings are covert? Spoilsport, bleh. Anyway, what else- Oh, sure… I see, I'll be there. Watch out for what? Right, got it. I'll tell him that. Ha!"

Momonga listened to the mixture of Japanese and English while he tried to reboot his brain. 'It wasn't supposed to rain girls today, did it?'

The spectacled late-teen girl with school uniform, black thigh-highs, and short brown hair turned towards Momonga and sniffed something in the air.

She fell on all fours and crawled over to Momonga, who could only stare at her in a mixture of shock and wariness, which turned to calm wait when [Emotion Suppression] kicked in and calmed him down. "Umu, who might you be?"

"Hm…" The odd girl circled around Momonga and he stayed on the spot, allowing her to circle around while he was preparing wards and spells for potential battle.

'The fact her landing didn't penetrate my [High-Tier Physical Immunity III] means she probably isn't high level enough, so to speak, to pierce my defenses…' Momonga let the girl prowl around for a while, before she pounced on him to crawl on his shoulders a bit and sniff his neck. "So…. Again? Who are you?"

"You smell good… LCL smells sooo gooood…" The girl sighed dreamily before flopping off. "Toodle-doo, NERV-giant-kun! stay safe!"

The girl walked off without so much as an introduction.

'Figures…' Momonga cast [Hold Species] on the girl, causing her to freeze mid-step and almost fall on her face if not for Momonga grabbing her and putting her in front of him in the center of the roof.

He let the spell expire and the girl flopped against the ground, and snapped up to a prowling stance like a beast with hostility and wariness in her eyes.

"Let's start again with introductions. I'm Suzuki Satoru. By your comment about NERV I'll assume that you're either affiliated or opposed to NERV; so I'll go ahead and introduce my code-name as well- Second. Now it's your turn." Momonga wasn't interested in the girl's mysterious antics after Asuka's near-cringe-induced-death experience. Instead he offered the odd girl his hand. 'I could just [Control Amnesia] her, but if I do that in such a public setting I'm certain Gendo will get incredibly spooked… Kaji was one thing, aboard a burning, shut-down aircraft carrier while my spied-on meat-suit had been blasted into chunks, but it'd be foolish to assume I am not being spied on through my flesh-coat and probably a spotter detail or two… There's no way Gendo wouldn't take me using [Control Amnesia] as anything else than declaration of open hostilities, as it would quickly erode a lot of his command structure…'

Before he could get an answer from the brown-haired girl, a ringing came from his pocket alongside a similar ring from the girl's pocket.

Momonga answered after he noted that the call came from a generic NERV-number. "Moshi moshi, Suzuki-kun here."

"...That's Mari Makinami Illustrious, our Fourth Child. Yes, she is affiliated with NERV. No, she's not an enemy to us, or you. Please allow her to proceed with her mission." A wary voice that sounded like it came from an old person came through the phone. "Would this amount of information state your curiosity?"

"Quite so. Thank you." Momonga told the old man on the phone and closed the call. "I see… Greetings, Mari Makinami Illustrious. We're both affiliated with NERV for the time being, so let's get along."

He offered his hand to the girl who had stopped prowling in order to answer the call from her phone, and who had paled a bit while Momonga thought he heard Misato's voice coming from Mari's phone.

"...Right." Mari flipped her phone closed and sat down cross-legged while leaning her temple against her fingers in a somewhat Gendo-like manner.

Momonga looked cordially away as Mari was seemingly ignoring the fact that her school-uniform skirt had rolled up thanks to her cross-legged sitting style and had resulted in her flashing him. Not that she seemed to mind as she was deep in her thoughts.

"...Alright. Madhouse episode two, begin." Mari seemed to shake her head after a moment and adjusted her glasses, and then gained a smug grin as she stared at Momonga. "Right-o. Introductions, then. I'm Mari, as you know. And you're Second, or Suzuki Satoru, as I know. Apparently you're a NERV-affiliated 'Special Operative', or rather, a magician? Does that mean you're thirty? Did you turn into a wizard?"

"How do you know that?" Momonga was feeling sweat trickling down his skeletal body's forehead while his fleshy body was quite calm. At least externally. 'Don't tell me she knows more than she lets on…'

Mari's smug smirk turned somehow even more smug and cat-like while she mixed more English into her Japanese. She adjusted her position so that she was lying on her stomach with her chin resting on the backs of her hands, and she was kicking her legs in the air in an excited manner. The fact her glasses had turned opaque from reflection didn't help the image. "Ohooooo~? So the rumors were true and that was actually a thing that could happen~? Ufufufu, don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Let's call it a secret between friends, Giant-kun~ Or are you going to use your no-ero-based powers to freeze me still and do all sorts of things to my body~? Would that break the spell and you'd no longer be a wizard?"

'...Ah. I forgot that 'wizard' can also be slang for a virgin…' Momonga rested his temple against his palms for a while as he had fallen for Mari's ploy hook, line and sinker. "No, that's… Urgh. You win. Take three- I'm Suzuki Satoru. Greetings."

"I'm Mari Makinami Illustrious, but you can call me Mari-chan, Bike-kun." Mari's smug smirk toned down a bit and her suggestive tone also normalized a bit, and she returned to her cross-legged sitting pose. "Pilot of Unit-05. Or, I was the pilot of Unit-05."

"Was?"

"Considering that it blew up, I think the past tense is appropriate. I pulled a 'Shinji Ikari' move and blew up my EVA during the first fight, one versus two! Got both of the Angels too!" Mari put her hands on her waist while having her eyes closed and nose up proudly, complete with a smirk, as if she was expecting praise.

"U-umu, that's impressive, I guess…" Momonga felt his sweating intensify.

"You bet!" Mari pointed her finger at Momonga. "Now then, what about you, Giant-kun? You smell so strongly of LCL that I could swear your blood is made out of the stuff! What's your story? Captain Katsuragi called and said to take it cool and that my visit to NERV is postponed until you give me the green light to run for it, so we might as well get close and personal!"

"U-umu." Momonga was a bit worried over the girl's erratic behavior. 'Misato mentioned by passing that Shinji was Evangelion Unit-01's pilot, and Rei was one as well… There's a high chance that Asuka is one as well, considering the circumstances… Hm, her arrival actually matches quite well with that red EVA-mech on board that aircraft carrier, so that might have been her… So there's a fourth one?'

If Mari had cat-ears, they would have twitched. "Ohoo? Are you thinking about lewd things?"

"N-no, ahem, anyway…" Momonga coughed to the back of his hand to bring himself back on track. "You're wearing a student uniform. Are you going to be attending?"

"No, it's camouflage. I paradropped into a school, after all." Mari noted. "Besides, I'm way too old to attend high school anymore. Speakinnowhich, are you doing the same, Giant-kun? Or are you actually a fifteen year old while also being like, seven feet tall? Are you an anime protagonist? Are there purple kanji floating around you spelling 'menacing' when you approach people?"

"U-umu, no, I don't think so…" Momonga was fairly sure Mari was at least partially insane, but considering what kind of ragtag personalities other EVA pilots had, it at least fit the theme. 'Does piloting one of those mechs drive you insane? Is that a global modifier or something exclusive to EVA's? I might have to try fitting Amanomahitotsu's Powered Suit on someone and have them walk around in it, just in case it's global for anyone piloting a mech-equivalent… I should probably get someone squishy, like a regular human or something. The suits didn't actually increase player's health or mana, but replaced their abilities with those of the Suit, as well as increase their resistances to somewhat high degree, but without buffs from a third-party they'd get easily flattened when facing actual players who could use spells that either bypassed the resistances or applied so much damage that the health pool ran out…'

Mari had crawled closer to Momonga while he was deep in his thoughts and she had sat on his shoulders while leaning down to tussle and sniff his hair. "Yeah, it oozes LCL's smell, and I think, hm, lick, yep, tastes of LCL… So this has to be synthetic, right? You're a mech, or something, Suzuki-kun? Does the body come with a huge dick?"

'Huh, she used my name for once…' Momonga wondered while he ignored the fact the girl had leaned in to lick his temple. "Umu, could I get some space, please?"

"Does that mean I'm free to go?"

"No."

"Bleh. No personal space for Giant-kun." Mari pouted and huffed while lightly patting the top of Momonga's head as if it was a bongo.

"..." Momonga resisted the urge to rub his temple in exasperation. "Fine. Go."

"Alright! Operation: Annoy the resident Angel into rejecting my advances- Success! Byeeee~" Mari waved her hand at Momonga and promptly sprinted for the folded fire-exit ladder, kicked it down, and swung herself off the roof in a definetely not work-safe manner.

'...Angel?'

.

.

Shinji looked up from his lunch-box, feeling a bit down after Suzuki-kun had disappeared somewhere.

Rei was eating her lunch-box that Shinji had made for her, tofu with beans and rice, while sitting in seiza-pose as the two were having their lunch just outside the school.

Shinji had thought he had seen a jet fly by and someone had parachuted onto the school's roof, but since the paratrooper had a school uniform, he guessed it was alright. Even though Shinji was a bit embarrassed as he was fairly sure he had seen under the parachuter's skirt during her descent.

'...I made some spicy curry for Suzuki-kun…' Shinji felt a bit depressed as the lunch box he had prepared for Suzuki was on a patch of grass, untouched.

Meanwhile Asuka was eating her packed meal she had bought from the store. The red-headed girl was sitting some fifteen feet away from the two other teenagers, and looked to be in a foul mood.

"Asuka-san, I made a lunch-box for you too…" Shinji called for Asuka, but she ignored him and continued with her prefab meal. '...It'd be nice if we could get along…'

He almost let his shoulders fall in dejection, but steeled himself and instead forced himself to sit tall… For a moment, until he slouched down again while feeling intense shame in addition to the depression. '...I can't… Dad has to keep himself collected to protect NERV, to protect all of us… What do I have to protect? I'm worthless… I'm just a teenager… I don't have the power… Or the will… Or a EVA… The Angel from before will come, and Rei and Asuka will be forced to fight it… I think Suzuki-kun appeared briefly in the bridge of that aircraft carrier yesterday, but even he got blasted off, and then Unit-02's emergency battery ran out …'

'What good am I…'

A shadow covered Shinji's spot on the grass, and he looked up… To see a squad of five black-clad men in suits with a NERV-symbol on the chest.

Each of them had opaque sunglasses on their face and were carrying weapons. "Pilot Shinji Ikari. You are recalled to NERV HQ, effective immediately. Comply without resistance."

"...What is happening? Is it the Angel?" Shinji asked but one of the black-clad men pulled a bag over his head without answering him. "Suzuki-kun! Rei! Asuka! Misato-san! Help!"

"Calm down, Pilot Ikari. If Section-two is here to take you off, it means Unit-01 is fixed." Rei's calm voice, even if muffled by the bag on Shinji's head, was enough to cause him to freeze up. "...Is that really necessary, Agent-815?"

"Pilot Rei Ayanami. Pilot Asuka Sohryu-Langley. You are recalled to NERV HQ, effective immediately. Please comply."

"...Yes, sir."

"What, it's time already? Sure, sure… Prepare yourselves to be amazed, Doll, Dumb-kun."

The two girl's voices were quite clear which told Shinji something.

"Hey! Why am I the only one who's bagged up?!"

"Pilot Ikari has shown considerable phobia of piloting an EVA…" Rei's tone was quite emotionless, but the delivery made it quite clear to Shinji that she was likely feeling exasperated.

'...Eh. I guess… If you put it like that… they might have a point…' Shinji forced himself to relax as two of the agents lifted him up by arms and legs and started to carry him off.

'I'll have to pilot Unit-01 again…'

Shinji felt fear.

But at the same time…

'Rei-san… Misato-san… Suzuki-kun… And even Asuka-san, I suppose… Father… Like you, I have someone I need to protect. I… I was just too self-absorbed to never see your point of view, until Suzuki-kun… I was too preoccupied that you rejected me, to think why you would reject me, what your circumstances were… That you'd do so to protect me.' Shinji's posture hardened a bit as he forced his mounting fear back, even if it caused his legs to shake and hands to sweat from the fear that was left over. 'I too have people I need to protect… And for that… I can't show my fear. I need to lock it away, so that it won't become a weakness through which I can be exploited… And through that, keep the people I protect safe… Like you have done, all these years. I'll pilot the Eva. Father, I won't let you down!'

.

.

Gendo Ikari sneezed into a handkerchief while he was aboard a VTOL headed for a certain location in Siberia, feeling paranoid almost as if his plans were getting derailed somehow. 'Second is up to something… I need to act fast…'