"Hey, you're new here aren't you," said the first. He was about as tall as Grant, wearing a dark synthetic textile athletic outfit. The second was a shorter boy with brown hair and a pair of round spectacles.

"Well, yes. This is my first day here outside the Geofront," said Grant turning to face the two.

"What's your name?" asked the shorter one, "I'm Kensuke Aida."

"I'm Grant Schutler," replied Grant, keeping his tone neutral.

"Nice to meet you," said Aida, "We're in your class."

"Likewise," said the other, "I'm Toji Suzuhara."

Aida seemed to be excited beyond what the situation seemed to warrant, and Grant turned to face the two fully. He decided to play along.

"So, are you the pilot of that new combat robot?" asked Aida, though Grant knew the question was a bit pointless with the MIU plug marking him out, "I've never seen anything like it!"

Grant nodded, sighing as he allowed the interrogation to commence, "Yes, I am the Warlord titan's Princeps."

Suzuhara's eyes widened as he looked at Grant's head, "The other three just have those plastic hair clips, though the Red Devil never takes them out. What'd you have to do to get that hammered into your head?"

Grant shrugged, "It's not so bad once you get used to it, and the benefits outweigh the costs."

Kensuke frowned at him, "You sound awfully calm for a guy who runs around in a gun-toting robot, though I guess the others seem fine with it. Shinji is... Shinji, Soryu does nothing but brag, and Ayanami is weird."

"Since you used his personal name, I'm guessing you're friends with Pilot Ikari?" asked Grant.

Kensuke grinned and gave a little nod. "Yeah, we met just after the first angel attack a while ago. Toji punched him in the face."

Grant was a bit taken aback, and he shifted his stance slightly. Suzuhara interjected, "Hey, I let him hit me back, and we're buddies now."

Kensuke shook his head sarcastically, "That's Toji for you. Always fighting. Anyways, the robot. What does it do? You called it a titan right? You've gotta let me know, Shinji says he can't say anything about the Evangelions and I'm not risking a kick from Asuka."

Kensuke paused for breath, "Actually, I know a lot about military stuff here."

"Wow," muttered Suzahara, "Who knew?"

The glasses-wearing youth lowered his voice conspiratorially, "Why don't we make a trade, everything I know about JSSDF and UN armor, aircraft, and vehicles in exchange for a tour of that titan thing you pilot."

"I can't tell you everything now, but perhaps we can swap info during the meal period?"

The two boys turned as if on instinct, as another pair entered the classroom. The first was Soryu, who fixed a forced happy expression on her face which immediately snapped to anger when she saw Grant. Ikari wandered in afterward, looking slightly tired but otherwise fine.

"Throne preserve me," muttered the Princeps. He really hoped he wouldn't end up in some sort duel or public brawl with this girl. Then again, it'd be better if he settle any scores when they didn't have city-destroying ordinance at their fingertips.

Suzuhara nudged Grant, whispering conspiratorially, "You know the Red Devil too?"

"Sadly, yes. Our first interaction was less than courteous."

Soryu's glare became more intense, and Grant decided to approach her.

"Good morning, pilot Soryu" He extended made the sign of the Aquila across his chest in greetings, "and you, pilot Ikari."

Ikari looked confused, Soryu just snorted in disgust before folding her arms.

"Oh no, here comes the crusader," she said, "I knew I shouldn't have come today."

Grant raised an eyebrow, lacing his words with as much sarcasm as he could muster, "Crusader? I don't hold that military title, but I feel very honored."

Soryu's eyes narrowed to slits, "I'm not sure who sent you to NERV, but I'm not letting some upstart ruin my reputation as a pilot. Stay out of my way."

With that, she turned on her heel and left.

Kensuke blinked once, glancing up at Grant, "What'd you do to deserve that? She doesn't even act that pissed off at Shinji."

Grant replied, anger a tint on his voice, "She seems to think I'm some sort of rival. I'd rather not deal with that sort of thing, but so be it."

Another girl, seeing the departure of Soryu, approached. Grant was starting to wonder just how many people he could stand to introduce himself before he snapped. He couldn't afford to be rude or antagonistic, not here. He needed to make friends or at least not enemies.

Another girl walked up to Grant, Suzahara shifted his stance slightly. Notable. She wore the same school uniform but held herself with an air of authority.

"Hi, I'm Hikari, the class representative."

"Some sort of deputy to the scholam's administration I presume?" Grant questioned, "or do you represent them to some further body?"

Hikari smiled a bit, though she seemed unnerved by Grant's wording, "Well, I suppose that is part of it. Though most of the time it's telling people to sit or that they're cleaning up after class."

"Aha. Well then, I'm Grant Schutler. I'm the new... transfer."

Hikari's smile faded, "Oh, you're a new pilot, aren't you?"

"What gave it away? Was it the way I talk or was it the big piece of metal sitting on my skull?" Grant asked, a little bit closer to considering just isolating himself until the next time he had to fight.

Hikari sighed and rolled her eyes, "Yes, it was the metal. You seem a bit mad, so I won't pry. Class is starting soon, but there are plenty of free desks."

"Thank you. I'll take one then," replied Grant.

The class started without fanfare, though Grant found the custom of bowing to the civilian teacher rather than any icon a bit strange. This lesson was on some sort of disaster the instructor called "Second Impact", though there was no mention of the first one. It has seemingly happened only sixteen years prior and had wiped out nearly every coastal area. The Angels, which still struck him as an odd name for a breed of malevolent xenos, were cited as the cause of the south pole's vaporization and the resulting climatic shift.

Grant noted everything and scribbled notes in the margins of his page, gaining some odd looks from the other students seemingly lazing their way through the class.

Near-unification was the biggest shock, Grant had learned back home that the earliest Unification of Earth was in M30 with the start of the Great Crusade, but it seemed the Second Impact disaster had pushed the extranational authority called the UN to the forefront. He would need to research further.

When the bell rang to signal the end of the period, Grant looked up to see Soryu walking up to him. She wore a mildly disdainful expression as she glanced down at Grant's notes.

"Have you been living under a rock or something? Why take notes on the biggest event in the past..." she trailed off as she tried to read the papers, "What the hell are you writing in?"

"Huh?" wondered Grant, "It's just Low Gothic."

"Is that supposed to mean something to me? If it is, I don't get what." Soryu frowned, "I've never heard of that language, and it certainly isn't a Japanese or German dialect. You're speaking Japanese right now anyways."

"Oh Throne of Terra," muttered Grant before seeing Ikari walk over.

"You ok Schutler?" asked Ikari, "You look a bit pale."

Grant felt a headache building, "No, I'm really not."

Ikari frowned, "You've got a fever, you should go see the nurse."

Grant shook his head, "I don't have a fever."

"Then why do you seem so... wait, what language is that?"

Grant stared at the paper like it was going to jump up and bit him, "It's just that apparently I'm speaking and writing a language that doesn't exist, even though nobody hears it that way."

"Oh... I see." Ikari looked at the papers with a bit of confusion, "Well, you're right, this is total gibberish to me."

Grant looked up, Ayanami was staring at him again. She hadn't even spoken a word to him, just what was up with that red-eyed girl?

"My head feels like it's splitting apart," said Grant, rubbing his temples.

Soryu rolled her eyes again, "Go to the nurse then. And Shinji, did you remember lunch today?"

Ikari nodded, "Yeah, I'll go grab it." He turned to Grant, "Hey man, do you want some company for lunch?"

Grant hesitated. Just being here already made him feel awkward enough.

"You know what? Sure," he answered.

"I'll see you on the roof then," said Ikari, "And call me Shinji."