I.

Misato yawned loudly to announce her awakening to the apartment. Rubbing her face she stepped from her room and walked into the kitchen where she stopped.

Something was wrong.

Grumbling incoherently she plapped her feet to the counter and stopped. Something else was wrong here too.

She turned to face the center of the room and rubbed her brain cells together even though it was too early for that. Then it occurred to her. Shinji slept in. Breakfast wasn't ready and coffee hadn't been started.

Like a zombie she shuffled her tired feet across the ground. "Shin-jiiii." She moaned, like a ghost, as she stalked towards the boy's room. She knocked on the door once. Twice. "Shin-ji." She toned.

When nothing answered her she winced. The memory of opening the door to find a resignation letter played through her mind. Cautiously she opened the door a crack, then opened it wide.

Shinji wasn't here.

She stepped into the room to examine the desk. No note. Clothes were strewn on the floor but there was no other signs of disorder.

Something about this unsettled her enough to rouse her from the morning funk. Something was wrong.

"Asuka?" She asked then walked to her door to knock. "Asuka, do you know where Shinji is?"

Nothing.

Misato tried again more forcefully this time. "Asuka Shinji is gone. Do you know where he went?"

The utter silence made her hairs bristle. She peeked open Asuka's door, before surprise had her open it further.

Asuka was also absent.

Misato stared and sighed. "Maybe they just eloped or something." She quipped sarcastically, trying to dismiss her unease with a mundane explanation.

It irritated her though, because flippant as tgat was it wasn't a satisfactory excuse. As she walked to get herself a curry packet she inspected the refrigerator. No note.

Pen Pen emerged from his freezer then. "Hey," she asked the bird, "have you seen Asuka or Shinji this morning?"

Pen Pen stared at her, warned once, then walked into the bathroom. Misato wasn't sure if that was a yes or no.

She stared into the entry hall and decided to excise the thought. "They probably left somewhere early…" she tried to convince herself. When she got to the front door she stared in horror at the shoe mat.

Asuka and Shinji's shoes were there. All of the footwear- even hers- were accounted for. Unless this was the extremely unlikely scenario that they left without shoes, or left in footwear they didn't keep here, they did not leave this way.

Missing

Norsehound

Hyuga landed the phone in the receiver. "Section two reports the first child is not in their assigned quarters. The search is now expanding to the extent of the valley."

Misato, serious now, blinked and moved her eyes from Hyuga to the main map of the bridge. "All three of them are missing…" she winced, "Where did they go?"

Ritsuko said from leaning over another console, "MAGI is reviewing surveillance footage from NERV HQ and across the city, but so far no result." She straightened and said to Misato, "So you just woke up and they weren't there?"

Misato's eyes dropped to the deck. "Yes. And there was no sign of a break in. Forensics is doing a sweep of the apartment now… I just hope they can find something."

Ritsuko said, "We should review the past few days for any abnormal behavior. Their last synchronization test was two days ago. Did you notice anything since then?"

"...I can't remember. Everything was so routine."

Ritsuko leaned up from the console and walked over to Misato. "We have another problem. Until we find the pilots, none of the Evangelions can function."

"The JDSSF will have to cover us in the event of an attack."

"Agreed, but what I want to ask you is how long do you want to hold out for until we assign new pilots?"

Misato said, "It's too early for that. Besides, that's a decision for the commander."

Ritsuko responded, "Hes still overseas on business. If we can't reach him, what will you do?"

Misato stared. "I haven't decided yet." She uttered.

Two days later…

Hikari Horaki passed through the door of the administrator's office, uncertain. The announcement came for her at the end of class, after her responsibilities were over. She knew something was coming, though.

Shinji, Asuka, and Rei had been absent for three days with no explanation. Phone calls to Ayanami's residence and Misato's went unanswered. If she reached the weekend with no answer she would have gone personally to the Katsuragi residence to ask what was happening.

But then today, Toji was summoned to the office in the morning. Then at lunch Kensuke had went, and neither boy returned to class. No explanation then, either. With her summons she suspected they were being drawn here in relation to the absence of all three pilots.

Waiting for her in the meeting room where Hikari was guided was a tall blond woman in a lab coat. She was looking over files when Hikari came in. "Miss Horaki, I'm Doctor Akagi. Please sit for a moment."

Hikari dutifully took the seat at the other end of the table. Oddly, she felt like she was about to be interrogated. "Is this about the missing pilots?" She asked.

Akagi stared at Hikari from over her glasses. "What do you know about that?"

"I'm the class rep for 2-A. I've noticed Ikari, Langley, and Ayanami missing. What has happened to them? Where are they?"

The woman stared at Hikari for a moment of consideration before she closed the files she had. "NERV has been unable to locate them since they disappeared from their rooms sometime before Tuesday morning. The search continues across all of Japan… but frankly we have no idea of their whereabouts."

Hikari, crestfallen, started to wonder where Asuka was and what she could suggest that would be helpful. Doubtless though, NERV must have been ahead of it. "I'm sorry, I wish i could help you. I haven't seen them these past three days… I've been worried about them too."

Doctor Akagi paused, then said, "That's not why you are here."

Hikari's eyebrows canted with concentration as she tried to think of why she would be summoned. Her eyebrows lifted with worry. "You need people to replace them. You… you need us to pilot the… the Evangelions."

The woman smiled grimly. "It's interesting how quickly all three of you figured it out. Yes, we may need you to pilot the Evangelions. If you accept this offer, you will begin preparation tomorrow."

"Accept… I can refuse?"

"Yes, this isn't a draft. All of our pilots could choose to back out if they chose. However, we are prepared to make it worth your while, should you need a little incentive."

"W-what is it?"

Ritsuko straightened in the seat and pulled a file. She opened it at an angle so Hikari couldn't see what was inside. "Your father Bunzemon is a middle management clerk at Sky bank, is that correct?"

"Yes." Hikari said with a nod.

"Decent money, but not enough with cost of living here. Not with a family of four and one going to university. If you accept this position miss Horaki, NERV can help you with your finances."

Hikari didn't know how she felt about that. Kodama was pricing herself by working hard at her job so that she didn't need to squeeze money out of the family. And if Hikari was piloting, who would be around to do the household chores and responsibilities? Would Kodama have to give that up in order to cover Hikari?

Doctor Akagi asked, "Do you have any questions or concerns?"

"I… I would need time to think." Said Hikari. "Can I give you an answer by tomorrow?"

"By all means." Ritsuko said. She produced a card, outlined a number, then wrote on it before sliding it across the table. "Call this number and extension to reach me when you are ready."

"I will."

"Thank you for your time miss Horaki."

She couldn't go home immediately, there was too much on her mind. Though she could usually power through a day by focusing on work tasks, this was too big to just brush aside and deal with later.

She decided to walk the school grounds to think. Her feet let her drift through the buildings until bouncing got her attention and she looked up.

Toji was shooting hoops alone on the court.

She stopped and stared across the empty space at him, knowing that he had been chosen and likely accepted. It occurred to her then that Toji and Kensuke were the only people in the world now who could relate to what she was experiencing.

She crossed the play yard toward him. "Suzuhara." She uttered.

Toji stopped mid-raise of the ball and turned to face Hikari. "Class rep." He acknowledged. He read the look on her face and said, tuning back to the basket, "so they chose you too."

"I haven't said yes yet." Hikari said. Her head raised to look at him. "You did?"

Toji shot the ball and landed it in the hoop. "They said they'd take my sister to a better hospital. She can get the treatments she needs to get better."

"I see." Hikari said, lowering her face.

Toji picked up the ball and dribbled it, then said, "I'm also doing it for Shinji."

Hikari's face came back up. "For Shinji?"

Toji dribbled, then held the ball. "I don't know what happened or where he's gone, but I get this feeling the Evas are part of it. And if for no other reason, Shinji needs someone to cover for him while he's away."

Toji dribbled again then shot the ball. It landed in the rim and circled before plunging in. "Kensuke couldn't have been happier. I passed him on the way into his, he figured it out even before he walked into that room. I suppose he's happy."

Hikari asked aloud, "Suzuhara, do you think I should pilot the Eva?"

Toji recovered the ball and held it, then turned and looked at her. Hikari gasped a little at the resolve on his face.

He turned back to the hoop. "Do you remember that day Kensuke and I left the shelter and almost got ourselves killed?"

Hikari blinked as she knew the former, but not the latter part. "I remember."

"We… err, Kensuke and I, we were in the entry plug. We saw what Shinji goes through when he pilots that thing. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. It looks painful."

Hikari's head lowered.

"But if I'm completely selfish here? I'd feel a lot better if you were with us."

Hikari looked at him and her heart rose a few degrees in her chest. She started to blush, "Why?"

"It's the three of us that knew Shinji and Soryu." Toji said, skipping his usual nicknames. "We need to stick together to help them."

Toji shot. He landed it again in the hoop.

Hikari said, "it's going to be incredibly hard."

Toji replied, "No doubts there. But im going to help my friends. If this is the only thing I can do for them, then I'm going to do it."

Hikari thought of Asuka. The abrasive Redhead had swung into her life, declared Hikari her best friend… and for once.. was interested in being Hikari's friend. The redhead had listened to her with the drive to help more than anyone else had all year.

Hikari bobbed her head. "Thank you, Suzuhara."

"I suppose," Toji said with his back to her, "since we're going to be working together, you should call me Toji."

Hikari blinked and blushed. Though if they would be piloting together, it was a working relationship, not a personal one. Did Toji just open that door?

"T-then call me Hikari." She said.

A/N: Not since Hearth has a spontaneous story gotten up steam and demanded I keep going. I've condensed my original chapter I and II into this new Chapter I. That said, I'm already a few chapters ahead.

The premises to answer in this fic are twofold: Could an Evangelion story without Shinji or the main leads work, and serve as a story about the classroom trio as pilots. It's been an interesting ride so far, hope you all enjoy it.