Chapter 7: An Attraction Brings Many Stares
In Misato's office, Ritsuko was the only one in there sleeping. The Captain left a note for her stating she went home and call if she needed something. The scientist was having one of her dreams of why the man she loves and hates, couldn't love her back. A tear or two came down her face as well as whispers of sorrow. From her rustling on the couch, it didn't break her dream.
Walking down one of the hallways in NERV HQ, Shinji was heading toward Dr. Akagi's office. Seeing Captain Katsuragi's office nearby, he heard sounds coming from it. Not seeing it as a reason to pause, he continued and walked passed it. Only getting a couple feet away, a voice mimic the scientist's voice. It whispered to him about incomprehensible aspects.
"..." the Third Child said. Stopping, he turned around and headed back to the door. Standing in front of it, he lifted his hand.
"..." Ritsuko said. Waking up with a start, she heard a knock. She quickly wiped her face and tried shaking away the residue state of mind from the dream. About to open her mouth, a second knock came. Silence filled the room for a few moments till the third knock came.
'…who would…' she thought. Recalling the person that does that, apprehension creeped into her. Instantly, she gripped the couch and sat straight up.
"May I come in Dr. Akagi?"
'How did he…oh he must have heard me in my sleep,' she thought.
"Come in," she stated and gripped the furniture tighter.
Ritsuko watched as the door opened and the teen walked towards her. Looking at his face, he had an unreadable expression. The dark magenta eyes had an eerie shine to them making her grip the couch more. His semi-slow walking pace was making her feel more tense. He stopped a distance away which made her feel better a little. He bowed to her.
"Greetings Dr. Akagi, how are you?"
"...hello...Ikari...I'm...okay."
"I came for the synchronization test at 12:15," he said staring stoically at her.
Blinking, she looked at her watch which read 12:01 pm. Nodding her head, the faux blonde looked back at male pilot. Events from very early this morning replayed in her head. The creepiness from the entire ordeal slowly started eating at her again. Looking at his expression more closely, it seemed similar to the one he wore while carrying the mattress. The thought of a dead body inside of it made her shiver visibly.
"Something the matter Dr. Akagi?"
"...what...makes you say that?" she asked carefully. He pointed and she followed. Looking down at her knuckles, they were turning pale. Her forearms were burning from gripping the furniture tightly for a while. Letting go, she stood up nervously.
"Oh...I see…s-shall we go then."
He nodded and followed Ritsuko out of the office. Both walked toward an elevator down the hall. Once inside and pressing for the level to go to, the scientist took the side wall next to the control buttons. Shinji stood perpendicular on the opposite wall staring at the controls of the emergency lever. The only sound playing to them was the clicks from the elevator and a low hum from the pulley-system.
Ritsuko went through a train of thought about the procedures for the synch testing. She took a glance at the teen and immediately saw only his eyes slowly turning toward her. Apprehension crept up her spine as she looked down. The atmosphere inside the elevator started to feel murky. Trying to figure a way to break the tension, she remembered seeing something on his wrist. Looking back at him, she flinched. He was looking at her from the corners of his eyes.
"…" she said. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end.
"…" he said continuing to look at her.
"I-Is that a new watch?"
"Yes," the pilot stated with a nod. He took the watch off and handed it to her.
"Kind of heavy."
"That it is."
Ritsuko stared at the watch noting that it wasn't anything cheap or expensive. The orange background was an interesting color. It seemed to have a rich hue with small amounts of red and purple when light reflected on it. Blinking, the scientist felt a set of eyes still on her. Looking back carefully, she saw that his head had turned to look at her. Staring at each other again, she started to notice something.
Not seeing it before, there seem to be a calmness look on his face despite being stoic. If the gloom look in his eyes changed, then his face could make someone feel a bit more relaxed. Oddly, the eerie shine in his eyes went away. Blinking, that relaxing appearance came. Closing and opening her eyes again, the gloomy aura of the dark magenta came back. Not sure what just happened, she handed the watch back.
Putting it back on his wrist, they heard the lift slow down. Stopping and opening the doors, Shinji gestured for her to go out first. Giving a small smile, she exited followed by the Third Child. Getting near the locker rooms, Ritsuko instructed him to change into his plugsuit. Bowing to her instruction, he stated he will go to the control room when he finishes.
Nodding and watching him go into the locker room, the scientist made her way to the lab. Getting to it, she began preparations for the testing. After a short wait period, Shinji came back in his plug suit. Instructing a technician in the lab to escort the Third Child, the two left. While she continued with setting up the procedure, the pilot was loaded into the entry-plug.
The synch test went on for some time as well as other processes and tests. So far, the readings and results were not out of the ordinary. Ritsuko got coffee to both wake up and free her mind from the lingering sleepy cob-webs. Time went by with only a humming sound to fill the emptiness. The other techinican would respond with readings when indicated, but mostly he worked on his portion of the testings.
Sometimes the scientist would feel the odd sense of eyes staring at her. Thinking it was the Third Child, the monitor that showed the cockpit proved otherwise. The pilot was sitting still, hands were on the controls, and his eyes were closed. Each time she looked, nothing changed. Sighing out loud, she drank the coffee hoping that the creepy feeling will subside. To her displeasure, it never did.
The training simulation was next on the list. One part of it was getting the hang of using the AI assist during combat. Following that, a weapons familiarization and shooting practice came after. Shinji did not verbalize, he only blinked and/or nodded. Ritsuko was getting bored with her observation game.
It was counting the number of words that he spoke since being placed in the entry plug. Only one tally was marked on her clipboard. The rest were either blinks or nods. If the creepiness wasn't lingering in her, she would have instructed the Third Child for verbal responses. Give how he has not done anything to her, she tried to minimalize any possibility of the eeriness from escalating.
"When aiming, use the computer as your guide. Focus on the center of your target and pull the switch," Ritsuko said tiredly.
"Very well," Shinji finally said. She made two marks on her clipboard and watched the simulation. Suddenly, the control doors opened.
"How's everything going doctor?" Maya asked as she entered the room. Ritsuko eyes lit up a little.
"Everything is going fine. I don't know how to keep myself entertain though," she stated. Maya giggled a little and looked at the large room that the Eva was in. It was in a simulation of shooting training.
"How's the pilot?"
"..." the scientist said with a forced sigh. Looking back at the Eva, it pointed the assault rifle and sounds of fire came.
"He's doing fine. His synch ratio is increasing but at a point percent rate," she stated. Then something lit up and Ritsuko woke up. Both looked at the terminal and saw that the AI assist was removed.
"Ikari, you're not using the computer system. Please use it," she ordered. A few moments passed by till Shinji replied.
"...very well..."
"..." she said and made another two marks on her clipboard. Looking back at her assistant, there was a few documents the technician was holding.
"Anything you have for me?" Ritsuko asked. Maya opened up a large clipboard and retrieved a piece of paper.
"The Commander has asked for results again."
The faux blonde sighed while reading the paper then setting it aside. Both talked about possibilities and ideas for getting results for a while. The doctor turned down the speakers of the simulation a bit to hear better. Inside the entry plug, the voices did not want to use the computer at all. Shinji did not care either way and just did what he was ordered. Suddenly, he felt a familiar presence come into his mind.
'How are you doing Shinji?' Yui asked kindly.
'I am doing well Miss Ikari, how are you today?' he thought and bowed internally which she smiled at.
'I'm alright, nothing very new. It seems that you don't want to use the computer,' she stated. Seeing him nod internally, he fired at a digital target. It was an image of the Third Angel.
'Why don't you want to use it? It is very accurate and helpful.'
'That it is Miss Ikari...however...I do not feel my actions when an electronic device takes over.' he thought and blinked. Yui was about to reason him when something came to her mind.
'Hmm. Though the AI system auto-corrects the direction and flight projection of fired ammunition, it can make someone dependent on it. We haven't done tests like this to a large scale. On a side note, having a computer do something that you couldn't enjoy isn't that much fun…' Yui thought while a smile came across her face.
'...,' Shinji thought. Ignoring the sudden giggle that came from Yui, he continued his training. After a few more digital enemies were destroyed, something felt off.
'Okay I think that did it,' she said.
'…?'
'I'll keep the notion of the computer system being on while you don't use it. How does that sound?'
'...' Shinji thought. Feeling a slight shiver and his eyes twitching, he blinked a couple of times before he answered. He internally bowed deeply.
'That is peachy Miss Ikari, thank you.'
'...No problem,' Yui said smiling a little at the odd remark.
She watched the pilot do things manually. At first he had trouble but then slowly got better. After some minutes of point and shoot, Yui looked at the two women. They were still talking. The young technician she felt neutral towards; however, she scowled at the scientist. It reminded her of an older version.
The thought of the previous head scientist made her face sour a little. Despite being trapped inside Unit-01, the sights of the older Dr. Akagi getting close to the Commander didn't go unnoticed. However, there was nothing that proved anything happened. Sighing, Yui looked back at what the pilot was doing.
Puzzled at first, she figured out what he was doing. The rifle gun was at his side then an image of the Third Angel showed up. Shinji snapped the gun into the ready position and shot the image. Then he set it to the other hand and repeated the same action to where ever the next image popped up. Minutes went by as the pilot continued.
'Shinji…How exactly does quick draw benefit you when fighting an Angel?'
'Quick draw is for a faster reaction time towards unexpected encounters. This will also serve the purpose of decision making under stress. Please observe,' he thought with a slightly different tone than before.
Ignoring it for now, she watched as he waited for the enemy to appear. When it was about to launch a virtual laser beam, he quickly shot it down. For the other targets, he just played quick draw when they appeared. At first, Yui saw that he continued doing this until she looked more closely. After few more enemies went down, the human spirit realized that the pilot was hitting different parts of the body.
'I see. You are pinpointing spots for more accuracy while being under pressure."
'Correct. The next reason is aim. Quick draw requires a pinpoint shot at a target. Since aiming is difficult under this type of setting, it is beneficial in the long term when starting slowly. Being able to adjust under pressure helps when making decisions in combat. Even though being at the ready position increases percentage of survival rate, learning to aim and react quicker helps both survival and training purposes.'
'...' Yui stated. Nodding, she continued to watch and listen.
'The last reason is feeling. Even though I am not holding a gun physically and muscle memory is inactive, mental memory will help me learn to hold and use other weaponry properly at a faster rate.'
'...I see...' Yui said and smiled. 'Seems you have good reasons…I must say I…well I'm…'
She tried to get out something, but she couldn't from a building guilt in her heart and mind. Suddenly, more images of the Third Angel started popping up. Shinji adjusted to an offense position and continued shooting. The rate of which the images were popping up was increasing and his rates of shooting them down were becoming less. Yui looked back at the control room and saw the level of difficulty on max while the two women continued to talk.
'Damn her,' Yui muttered.
"…" Shinji said. Continuing to shoot down as many as possible, each image took at least four shots. Losing, there were too many images popping up. It would only be a matter of time before dodging and shooting in place would be pointless. Feeling strange again, the human spirit spoke in his head.
'Shinji, channel your synchronization with me to the rifle,' Yui ordered.
'Very well,' he thought and concentrated harder in connection.
The shot ratio went down to two for a bit then to one. A massacre began as the Third Child reacted with much speed pivoting quickly around, ducking, leaning, and shooting. It was impressive to watch as a battalion of digital Third Angels were wiped out quickly at a slow machine gun rate. After a while, something seemed different as the rate of fire was slowly increasing. Shifting her attention to the male pilot, she observed what he was doing.
'He is switching finger triggers…that is going to tire him quickly but that explains how he could single-shoot at a fast rate. I'll admit it is impressive to watch while not being battle effective. Why not use the automatic fire instead of single shot? Oh, I get it. Since it's easier to just do automatic, single shot is pushing his limits for the long run' she thought.
Yui continued to help Shinji as the onslaught continued. Countless digital enemies appeared as quickly as they fell. Only minutes passed by as the Angels kept on resurrecting. While the digital massacre continued, she saw something that made her feel ambivalent. It was fascinating to watch him push the Eva to react faster and continue under this kind of strain. However, his stoic demeanor and strangely empty mind was unnerving. His killing efficiency and impassive expression was uncomfortable.
Outside the room and walking down a hallway, Misato yawned out loud. Covering her mouth with her hand, she reached with other hand as high as possible.
"Mmmm...I feel like I hadn't slept much," she stated when she heard noises nearby. "...eh?"
She heard two women talking. However, they were being accompanied by a lot of soft booming sounds. There was also something huge moving around quickly. Looking at the room where the noises were emitting from, it was a control room. Going to it and listening, she recognized the voices.
Opening the door, the sounds became louder. Walking in, she saw the two women talking to each other at a terminal. Turning her head to the observation glass, she saw Eva-01 pivoting swiftly. Swinging a large rifle in one direction, it fired five consecutive shots quickly. It changed to another direction while crouching within a one second interval.
What seemed strange was the rate that the rifle was firing. It had an automatic feature, but the shots sounded a bit slow to be at a machine gun rate. Looking at the pointer finger of the Eva, it was squeezing the trigger in a rapid controlled rate. An image of a pistol going off in quick consecutive fire came to her mind. Looking back at the Unit, it shifted in many directions as if it was surrounded by many enemies.
Ritsuko and Maya stopped conversing and looked at Misato. Seeing that she was looking at the observation window, they heard rapid fire and movement. Both turned to a large barrel from the rifle pointing at them. The sound of the rifle went three times before moving away and pointing at somewhere behind the Eva. The three watched for a minute or two as the Eva moved around with at a frantic yet controlled rate. It fired pointing at a standstill position and while in the midst of changing direction.
Finally after some minutes, the simulation crashed. Placing the settings on max difficulty was a strain on the simulation computers. Yui was straining the connection between the control room and the simulation computer to end the program. Ritsuko blinked and looked at the terminal. Seeing the error messages, she ended the training.
"That will be all for today Ikari," she finally said. The people in the room heard no reply; however, they heard him breathing heavily.
"What was that all about?" Misato asked which Maya agreed as well.
"I don't really know…could be his schizophrenia acting up," the scientist stated. Shifting her attention to the other technician in the room, he blinked and looked at her.
"Could you check the Third Child's synch ratio?"
"Roger," he said and nodded. Typing on his monitor, he seemed surprised.
"There was a 23% increase in his ratio a couple of minutes ago but it died down back to 56.3%."
"Really?" the scientist said. Turning toward her terminal, she looked up the results. Maya and Misato stood behind her to look at them as wel.
The Captain was impressed, but wondered why the male pilot would act frantically on a beginner setting. Given his mental condition, she could assume that it was probably his mind acting up as Ritsuko said. Walking over to the controls to ask if Shinji was okay, she lifted her hand to press the comm-link button. Noticing something, she stopped and looked. Seeing the difficulty gauge, she blinked a couple of times before frowning a little.
"...hey Rits…" she said calmly. The head scientist seemed impressed that the male pilot could increase his ratio that much. It gave her more possibilities to think about especially in his mental case. She turned to see Misato staring at her with an annoyed look on her face.
"Did you put Shinji on the max level of training?"
"..." Ritsuko said and smirked. "I think I am smart enough to know that he isn't ready for that for a long time Misato."
The lavender hair woman smirked and motioned her to come over. When she came over, the Captain pointed at the difficulty level. Misato saw her friend's face and just patted her on the back.
"Maybe the beer this morning was over doing it," she said while walking out the door. Ritsuko snorted a little and got her clipboard to write more notes down. Despite the accident of increasing the difficult of the simulation, it only gave her a gauge of the pilot's ability.
Inside the entry plug, Shinji continued breathing heavily for a little bit. He did long breaths at a slow rate which calmed his pulse and heart rate. Once at normal levels, he could hear faint sounds of heavily breathing from the soul inside the Eva.
'You must be tired Miss Ikari.'
'…yea…I would…think tired…is an…under…statement,' she said panting.
'Refreshment Miss Ikari?'
'Even though that would be nice…it…is impossible to bring…anything...' she said. Looking up, she trailed off seeing him holding a small platter.
Slowly standing up, she looked around. Back in the hospital hallway, it looked to be that they were at the beginning end of it. Turning her attention back to the male pilot, she saw a glass of what looked like lemonade in it. He extended the drink to her which was baffling. Yui knew that she couldn't eat or drink in this dimensional space.
However, she thought about the first time connecting with him. She remembered that she did felt the tissue that wiped away her tears. Wondering if the same concept could be applied, she blinked at him. Reaching her hand out and grabbing it, she brought it to her and drank a little. Her eyes widened to a new size as she slowly removed the glass away from her lips.
'...!?' she thought. Looking frightened at the object she was holding, she was flabbergasted.
'...how...how is this possible?'
She felt the cold liquid go down her throat and into her stomach. Much to her surprise and added confusion, she could taste the sour citrus and the sweetness of sugar. Holding the cold glass that had perspiration, Yui could feel the wetness on her fingers. Looking at him, she recoiled back a little from the sight almost spilling the glass contents.
Shinji was standing there but multiple silhouettes surrounded him. They were at the same height and outline as him. All of them had different color orbs where the eyes would be. However, each wore the same wicked grin that gave her goosebumps. The more she looked back and forth between them, an offsetting hostility grew.
She was getting the disturbing feeling that all were staring at her. Seeing something in front of Shinji, she cautiously looked down. There was a child size silhouette that grinned widely at her. For some odd reason, its size and colored eyes seemed familiar to her. No matter how much she thought, no recollection came to her.
"I am sorry Miss Ikari, I will have to leave. Good day," Shinji said bowing.
Him and the silhouette figures faded away. Yui looked in a stupor gaze at where the group of silhouettes was standing. Gulping down her disturbed nerves and mind, she looked at her glass that was still in her hands. After what seemed like ages of silent staring, the drink didn't fade away. Blinking, she slowly consumed the rest of the lemonade.
"…?" she said slowly looking into the empty glass.
Still to her surprise, it tasted like lemons, water, and sugar. Putting the glass down on the floor, it faded away as well. Unaware of the surroundings, she was pulled back into her prison instantly. Becoming part of the abyss again, she tried to figure how an object can appear in a subconscious setting. The Eva powered down and the entry plug ejected.
The male pilot opened his eyes and stood up. Turning around in the entry plug, he saw the hatch was open. Hearing a technician on the other side, he got out of the plug. Confirming with the crew at the hatch he was okay, he was dismissed. Instructing the Third Child go change, he bowed and walked to the locker rooms. While heading there, his voices were giggling at their "magic trick." After changing, he met Misato outside the locker rooms.
"Hey Shinji," Misato said with a small smile.
"..." the male pilot said andji bowed, "Greetings…Miss Misato. How are you today?"
"Alright I guess, a little hungry though," she said feeling her stomach growl a little.
"How are you?"
"I am well."
"That's good..."
"..." Shinji said staring at her. Silence went on for a little between them until Shinji responded.
"Is there anything you need?"
"…aren't you tired?," Misato asked from curiosity. He did not show much or any sign of fatigue.
"I am a little," he said only blinking. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"
Misato was about to shake her head no when she fished out a piece of paper and handed it to him.
"Good news. You'll be going back to school next week," she said cheerfully hoping to get some reaction.
"..." he said. Blinking, he grasped the paper and looked at it. All she got was his calm, stoic face. After reading the piece of paper, his voices began giggling and laughing hysterically.
'Pick on the weak.'
'Frisk the girls"
'Bully the teachers.'
'Bomb the facilities.'
'Rap everyone.'
'Stab everyone.'
'Rip them apart.'
'Kill EVERYONE!'
"…" Shinji said only blinking a couple of times. He knew well enough that giving into his other mental occupants' desires would result in a mental meltdown. Looking back at the Captain, nodded his head.
"I see. Very well."
"…?" she said raising her eyebrow. "Aren't you happy or disappointed in going back to school?"
"I am indifferent in going. But...should prove...to be interesting," he said putting the paper in his backpack. Misato raised the other brow for a second then smiled.
"Interesting?…oh I see. I heard there are a lot of pretty girls in that school Shinji," she said teasingly.
"..." Shinji stated and looked at her. "That is not my main interest...I have never been in a school, publicly or privately. Is there-"
"WHAT!?" the Captain shouted. Her outburst could be heard through the nearby hallways. He didn't flinch from the sudden shout. Blinking, he waited for her to continue.
"How could you not been in school?!" she asked shocked.
"I believe my history profile from NERV can answer your question Miss Misato," he answered flatly.
'Hmm, I guess this is a touchy subject. But man, never gone to school? He seems educated despite not having good social skills. Maybe he was home schooled?' she thought.
"Uhh, okay...well, I don't have anything else for you...so I guess I'll see you around then," Misato said trying to change the atmosphere.
"Very well. Until we met again, good day," he said and bowed. Turning toward the hallway, he walked away. The Captain watched him go down the hall until he out of sight. Shaking her head, she thought to have never been in a school seemed oddly amazing.
After going to the cafeteria to grab some lunch, he saw a site map on a wall. After looking at it, there was a shooting range. Throwing his trash away, he left the area. It didn't take long to find the place and reached the entrance. He opened the door and entered into a large dark room. Flicking on the lights, he observed the place over as the area became illuminated.
It didn't appear to be anything different than a normal indoor shooting range. However by gauging how much dust was on the tables, it wasn't seeing many visitors lately. Adjacent to the door was a room. Seeing the label, it was a storage room for ammunition and weapons. The door was shut and had a card reader above the handle. Peering in the door window, there was a number of sub-machine guns, pistols, various grenades, ammo, and accessories.
Across the table area was the indoor range. There were multiple booths with a small table shelf in each. A small red button was on each table corner. In pressing it, it activated the pulley system to bring the target closer or farther away. At the opposite end of the entrance, there was another door.
Upon reaching it, he saw that it was another room that had a survival course label. Thinking that it would be beneficial in the near future, he turned around. Going back to the ammunition storage door, he tried the door. It was locked. Getting out his NERV ID card, he inserted it into the key slot. The door handle flashed red and the handle did not turn fully.
'Try it...again my friend,' a voice with a slight German accent chimed in his head.
Compiling, the handle flashed red once then changed to green. An audible click was heard and the handle turned. Opening the door and entering, the ceiling lights turned one. Going to the accessory shelf, he grabbed ear muffs and shooting goggles. Trying them on and adjusting them, he looked over to the weapons.
All the different types of weapons were the same type and model. He found that handguns to be more to his liking than the sub-machine guns. Picking up a pistol, he looked at it. As if on cue, the same voice started talking with dark enthusiasm.
'Ah the Sphinx 3000T pistol, an excellent choice my friend. Sphinx pistols are made in Switzerland, by the Sphinx Systems Ltd Company. Introduced in 2003 they are available in various versions and calibers, for sport (IPSC and IDPA), self-defense and security / police services. They offer reliability, top class accuracy, and an almost indestructible all-steel design.'
Shinji grabbed a couple handfuls of clips, a left and right hand holster, and a box of 9mm ammo. Feeling ready, he left the room and closed the door. Reaching a booth in the middle, he set the pistol, clips, and the ammo on the table shelf. He began loading bullets into the empty magazines while the voice continued a little after.
'Technical specs: Calibers; 9x19mm Luger/Para, 9x21mm IMI, or .40S&W, Weight; 950g without loaded magazine, Length; 195 mm, Barrel Length; 95 mm, Capacity; 16 rounds of 9mm or 12 rounds of .40. Attachments vary from flashlight, laser point, and silencer…'
After finishing the last clip, he placed it next to the others. Putting on the hip holsters, he put the pistol in each and adjusted them. Feeling ready, he picked up the handgun. Inserting a clip, he pulled the slide back. Letting go, it went forward pushing a round in the chamber.
'Try handling it,' the voice said with an evil smile.
After about a half an hour of shooting, Shinji stopped. Empty shells littered the floor around him. Half of the time was spent with his right hand and the other with his left hand. Half way through each, he went to quick draw which proved more difficult than in the simulator. But as time went, improvement came gradually from mental memory. It helped him with his feel and muscle memory.
He cleaned the pistol, ammo clips, and the accessories. Placing them back on their designated racks, Shinji went back to his previous spot and looked down. There were vented holes which he concluded were where the empty shells go. Finding a broom, he swept them down hearing distance metal clicks from the holes. After finishing, he left the room and went home.