Fictions Mentioned:


Episode 5


OP Song:

NEXT LEVEL · YU-KI(TRF)


Insert Song: Start

Dies irae - Animation OST: Burlesque


It was a Sunday.

Regular classes in Tokyo-3 First Municipal Junior High School would start by tomorrow morning. In the meantime, Shinji Ikari needed to find a way to explore the city on his own for the time being.

In fact, he knew just the thing. He had already woken up earlier than five o'clock and taken a shower first. After taking a shower, he already wore a new set of clothing consisting of a white dress shirt, white t-shirt, green coat, and dark pants. Then, he started to cook breakfast and place them on the dinner table for Misato to take for nourishment by the time she woke up. Pen-Pen was simply silent as he was watching Shinji do his task with the care of a professional cook.

"Pen-Pen," he addressed the penguin while showing the written note that he would eventually put on the table. "I'm going to be putting this note on the table for Misato-san to see. Point it out to her when she does wake up."

The penguin nodded obediently.

Then, he started to walk out of the door, taking on his shoes, and using his NERV card which automatically opened the door. Then, he begins to leave through the door and walk outside, walking through the corridor before walking a few stairs down.


Misato Katsuragi was quite conflicted.

She was both touched from the heart and annoyed as all hell.

Touched because of the delicious food that was present on the table and annoyed because Shinji decided to just explore the city without her. She was scratching her head a bit as she was glancing at the very concise explanatory note that was left behind and was thinking of going after him. But then...he was allowed by the Commander to explore Tokyo-3 as part of the conditions that had been proposed so there isn't even a problem, to begin with.

Misato simply tasted the pork and smiled, accompanied by the humming sound of ecstatic pleasure, putting her right hand to her face.

Yes...she'll let the boy slide this time because of the delicious meal.

Plus, there could be a slight but unlikely possibility that he could bump into the girl that they had recently talked about. Yes, that would be good enough for payback, she'd hope. She had never truly forgotten the talk that she had with the young man that night.


One of the things that Shinji Ikari had learned from his sensei, Souji Tendou, is the fact that one should be constantly aware of the surroundings that one finds itself; the environment, the history, everything that is considered from even the least possible denominator. Tokyo-3 would serve as a battleground for future battles to come. Having already gotten a map of Tokyo-3 sometime before coming here, he made use of the map and tried to confirm firsthand the places the map had described. So far, the map was almost accurate, needing to be updated with a few tiny details which were marked by Shinji with a marker. He needed to explore all of the corners of the city and be aware of their locations just as his sensei had been intimately aware of every location in the Tokyo of his reality and it was because of one of these factors that his sensei was rather effective in catching Worms when even ZECT itself had a hard time even finding a single one. Now, Shinji Ikari is about to do the same thing, just with Angels instead.

He was now taking the train as he begins checking the spot from the western part of the city, already going back down to the neighborhood from the north where Misato's apartment and the school that he would go to would be nearby. Sitting down from the seat and with no one else throughout the entire passenger cab, he begins to read the map that he had been using for a while and think thoughtfully of his other destinations. He had been scouting the city for the past three hours if one were to estimate the time. That would mean that it was already about 10 if one were to try to look at the clock. He'd already checked plenty on the map from the west to the south to the east with the help of the rail transportation of the city.

If Shinji were to recall the past few experiences of this city alone, he would be reminded of the olden days of the original Tokyo, just retrofitted with more advanced technology that made life a bit easier. Of course, there aren't such things as robots, transporters, hovercars, and many of the other things that he can recall from other worlds so this city was still in the modern stages of development with a procession of advanced technology. People in the hundreds were simply walking by from every street and were going about their daily lives without a care in the world. It almost felt normal if it weren't for the potential Angel attacks that would no doubt come again.

While he was thinking about his next destination, he noticed someone familiar from the corner of his eye sitting down right next to him. It was a young man with short black hair and brown eyes, wearing a white dress shirt with a blue necktie, a yellow jacket with black lines found on both shoulders, dark blue pants, and brown shoes.

A conversation here would not be a risk in and of itself because of the fact that there are no cameras from this part of the train. Shinji glances at the young man with a raised eyebrow. "Just visiting, Aoi?"

"Is that not allowed, Tendou?" the young man—Kazuya Aoi made a smile on his face.

Kazuya Aoi. Also known as Kamen Rider Gatack. A young man who is not from the same Earth as Shinji Ikari. His best friend and comrade that he had fought side by side for many years since becoming Kabuto.

"I never said that it wasn't allowed," Shinji clarified. "Just that I'd figure that you would be busy back in your universe as you have your own problems to deal with."

"Things have settled down at least. No NOVA's making their presence on my Earth. So I thought that I should probably visit since you've got your problems to deal with," Kazuya said with a concerned smile.

"What about your Pandora? How does she feel about this?" Shinji asked.

"She said that it was alright so long as I don't do anything dangerous," Kazuya made a cheeky smile, raising his right hand to rub his neck.

"With our lives in general, that may not be possible to fulfill," Shinji made a comment on that, glancing towards the map of Tokyo-3 that he was holding.

"So...what exactly has happened since the time I visited you?" Kazuya asked.

"I've already dealt with the Third Angel before eventually joining NERV officially just as planned..." Shinji's face darkened a bit. "...But I know to myself that it's not that easy of a takedown. I've already derailed the prophecies of the Dead Sea Scrolls just by interfering in the battle with the Third Angel but I know that there are various types of Angels that are not even mentioned in the prophecies. Some are just like the Third Angel which would require an Evangelion to take down. Others would be of human size and even more so of others who would be so human enough to the point where you wouldn't even think that they were Angels until it was too late."

"Kinda like the Worms, right?" Kazuya made a grimaced expression, recalling the hostile alien race that their senseis had fought and now was their turn to fight, comparing them to the Angels. "I mean...the Angels have also been a problem as well in my world aside from the NOVA."

"I remember. I was there fighting with all of you against them," Shinji nodded.

"And everybody really thanks you for that, me included. You know...a lot of the Pandoras of my world do miss you a lot," Kazuya made an amused smirk.

"Don't even try to talk about my apparent popularity and love life, Aoi, I've had more than enough of that from my superior officer," Shinji warned. His eyes were serious which were touched with a hint of humor.

"Superior officer?" Kazuya asked, making a curious expression.

"Captain Misato Katsuragi," Shinji answered with a grim smile.

Kazuya's eyes widened a bit. "Wait...Katsuragi? You mean..."

"Yes, Doctor Katsuragi's daughter. An unintended coincidence, I assure you," Shinji nodded. "I've been assigned to live with her for the time being and I haven't told her about her father's true fate just yet. Aside from the fact that it would jeopardize the mission, I would let the man himself tell his daughter the truth one day."

"...Still, that's quite the coincidence there..." Kazuya glances to the right, making a conflicted expression.

"It was part of the main conditions that I've recently discussed with my father. Having Captain Katsuragi close to me would help me to keep a close eye on the doctor's daughter and ensure her safety while fulfilling several points of the mission at the same time," Shinji explained.

"...Chase two hares, catch two hares, at least that's what Tendou-sensei once said," Kazuya made a smile, raising his right index finger straightforwardly.

"True," Shinji smiled.


Insert Song: End


Insert Song: Start

Kamen Rider Next - Theme Song〘Platinum Smile〙by Riyu Kosaka (Rock Edition)


But then, as they were talking, they noticed something odd. The train was slowly stopping and came to a halt right in the middle of a tunnel, making the surrounding area a bit darker. They both heard the brakes scream.

They both glanced at each other with concern.

"Okay...what are the odds that this is a trap?" Kazuya asked, making a worried expression.

"I would bet at least...90%," Shinji muttered, making a grave expression as he begins to fold his map back into his pocket.

"Attention," the train's public address system crackled to life. A male voice was heard to be speaking. "This is your driver speaking. We are experiencing a temporary technical fault within the engine. We are working to solve the problem, and should be-"

"Or more..." Shinji continued.

The speakers abruptly cut out. Then they begin to notice the lights flickering a bit. And they would see a few passengers from both sides - front and back - opening the doors and were now slowly walking towards them. They were men, women, and children. And yet...they were all carrying blank expressions, almost lifeless like a doll. The continued blinking of the lights was further amplifying the tense atmosphere.

The young men narrowed their eyes at the present company.

There was no more time to waste. They knew the threat that was presented before them and they decided to take immediate action. They both made a spin while standing up before landing back to back. While doing so, they managed to summon their respective Zecters as they were now raising them.

"Henshin!" both men said with conviction.

They placed their Zecters in their black-silver belts that have been wrapped around their waist, inserting them at the center.

HENSHIN

And then, green and blue hexagon pixels begin to wrap all around both of them, forming their Masked Armors.

In Shinji Ikari's case, he had bulky silver armor with bits of red color overlapping with the black bodysuit. There were black boots with silver metal plating going toward his ankles. The outer side of his lower legs had silver metal plates on them and his ankles had three to four silver colors. He also had silver knee pads above his knees. On the sides of his thighs were silver metal plates. His shoulders were covered in bulky metal armor that had rounded ends. The underside of the shoulder armor was painted with red colors while the rest of it was silver. The front and back of the shoulder armor each had a silver metal orb that acted like a joint. On his left shoulder was a front orb that had the symbol of the kabutomushi that is painted in red and had "ZECT" written within it.

Kamen Rider Kabuto—Masked Form.

In Kazuya Aoi's case, he had bulky silver armor with bits of blue color overlapping with the black bodysuit. There were black boots with silver knee pads above his knees. The outer side of his lower legs had silver metal plates on them and his ankles had three to four silver colors. His shoulders were covered in bulky metal armor that had shoulder-mounted guns. They were all painted with silver and blue colors, with both metal orbs that acted like a joint. On the left-mounted gun was a front orb that had the symbol of the kuwagata that is painted in blue and had "ZECT" written within it.

Kamen Rider Gatack—Masked Form.

The crowd, seeing the young men transformed, begins to change into something else.

They were transforming into a replica of the recently deceased Third Angel—Sachiel. They had arms long enough to reach below their knees and their legs and feet are elongated and disproportionate. They appeared to look like a bird, even having shorter beaks, pushing slightly upwards. What was more notable was that their arms appear to transform into very sharp four-digited, talon-like appendages. They all have a red core located from the center.

The Angels have now revealed themselves.

But these weren't the Angels that this world is familiar with.

These types are known as the Sachielites, Angels that have come from a dark and terrible possible future of this world where an event known as Third Impact had taken place, one of the side effects of which had managed to create monstrosities like these and so much more. For there are many variants of these creatures, and these were just one of them. The Sachielites are capable of mimicking the behavioral patterns and the physical features of a human down to a tea. Unlike the Worms, they can also be capable of mimicking things such as body heat and scent, making them even more difficult to make out.

If one refers to the old saying: "Hunted by your future. Haunted by your past.", then this can no more be true than it is right now.

At that moment, the Kamen Riders begin to fight.

Kabuto instinctively ducks down while Gatack was firing his guns at a 180-degree angle, destroying multiple numbers of the charging Angels, killing them instantly as reddish explosions with green light crosses were seen from all sides, with the sound of the glass windows being heard. Even the doors that lead from one to the next were not spared from the explosions as little sparks of flames were seen. Kabuto rises up, twisting towards Gatack's position, raising his Kunaigun in gun mode.

"We need to move and find if there are any survivors. I'll check the front while you check the back," Kabuto suggested as he moved forward.

"Right," Gatack nodded as he begins to turn in the other direction.

While doing so, both Kabuto and Gatack were fighting through a horde of the Sachielites. Some of them, the size of children of about six or seven years of age, were even crawling through the windows and ceilings before both of them managed to take them out. If the Sachielites were to come too close, they were taken down with ease as several punches were sent with hard blows that managed to impact and shatter their local AT Fields, striking through the center and killing them instantly.

Everywhere they looked though, there were no survivors. All they saw were these Angels that had taken the place of all of the passengers that were on this train. But what happened to the passengers? Were there even passengers to begin with? That was the problem when it comes to fighting these types of Angels. You never know whether you're dealing with the real deal or not. The Kamen Riders held out a bit of hope that there were no casualties, but when it comes to war, they knew that this bit of hope wouldn't be so very kind to them. They wouldn't be surprised that the Angels had taken over this train and killed everyone else except them. Some of the blood from some of the seats that they passed were more than proof enough.

But that was a mistake.

For that only emboldened them to fight harder.

And they wouldn't show any mercy.

And they cleared the path with ease. No sign of anyone else. Gatack was using his mounted guns to form six-barrel shots, firing automatic blue-colored beams that managed to decimate the remaining Angels from the back and destroy the back of the train from behind. With his work done, Gatack would begin to dash forward towards Kabuto's location and regroup.

While dashing, he begins to flip the tip of the beetle's horns from the center of his belt and was now on stand-by mode.

"Cast Off!"

CAST OFF!

CHANGE STAG BEETLE!

Many of Gatack's outer armor would fly off at a very high pace. He still had his black bodysuit but most of the bulky and heavy armor was no more. Now his armor was much sleeker. His thighs and lower legs still had the side armor plating and his feet still had the armored boots but the extra out armor was gone. He still had his silver knee pads too. Nearly all of the segmented armor on his arms was gone as well. His upper arms were now carrying twin-sword cutters attached for personal use when he would use them. His helmet and chest plate had undergone the biggest change. His chest plate was now more pronounced, looking like body armor. Nearly completely blue in color, only the lower sides around his ribs and parts of his back were trimmed in silver. The black linings also seemed to separate some of the silver areas, giving it a distinguished look, really like that of a beetle. The black part of his helmet was also trimmed around his silver mouth plate and his red eyepieces. On the top of his helmet were two long side-facing horns from both sides that were now attaching themselves.

He has now transformed further into Kamen Rider Gatack—Rider Form.

Now, he takes off the swords from his shoulders and begins to perform multiple slash maneuvers from up to down, killing several Sachelites that were now gathering from outside, trying to get in and raising their sharp claws at Gatack. They appeared to have swarmed the tunnel from outside.

As for Kabuto, he was already somewhere in front of the train. All he saw as he opened the door that led to the train driver's room was...

"...!"

The deceased body of the driver was impaled through the chest, creating a huge gaping hole. It was a man with black hair, whose cap had fallen to the floor, with the expression of someone that was in a lot of pain before passing from this world, wearing a railway uniform. From the side of the door, he would see ancient ciphers written and traced in the blood of the man that had just been killed, which would be hard to decipher from the naked eye.

But Kabuto can understand the cipher, recognizing the work of an Angel.

"The end is nigh." Written many times throughout the wall. "Those who are not of us would become one with the collective and serve the higher purpose of creation. There is no escape. The will of Adam will be done. All Lilin will submit to the Will of Instrumentality as it is dedicated to the Ones."

But then there was the disturbing line from below which might as well look like they were written by immature children...

"Come! Come and join us! Come on out and see the vast water! The water is fine for us to swim! It's not salty, mister! It's not! Honest!"

Just as Kabuto was reading this line silently, narrowing his eyes, he instinctively draws back to the left as a tentacle was sprouting out of the dead body's back and was trying to pierce through him. Kabuto was slowly drawing back, dematerializing his Kunaigun. He would see more tentacles forming as the dead body was stepping out of the room with his jaw wide open and made a grumbling sound.

"...Lilin...You're fight is...is for naught..." the dead body—Angel was speaking with a static type of tone that was akin to a broken radio. "You...You cannot change your destiny..."

This particular Angel that was revealing itself was known as the Jinn, sharing the name of the invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic mythology and theology. They are the more subtle type of Angels who basically possess human beings, killing their hosts, and making their bodies their own. There are many different types of Jinn, this one just so happened to be the weakest one.

"We shall see, Angel," Kabuto said grimly, narrowing his eyes at the abomination that had taken over the dead body of this person.

He begins to hold the tip of the beetle from the center of his belt.

"Cast Off!"

CAST OFF!

CHANGE BEETLE!

His outer armor pieces flew off at a very high pace. Some of it would hit the Angel as it staggered back, crashing from the window to the back.

He still had on his black body suit but most of the bulky armor was gone. Now his armored body was much sleeker. His thighs and lower legs still had the side armor plating and his feet still had the armored boots but the extra out armor was gone. He still had his silver knee pads too. Nearly all of the segmented armor on his arms was gone as well. His upper arms now only had a single silver plate covering the sides as did his forearms. His forearm armor plates connected to silver wrist bands which also connect to a Black Handguard trimmed in silver on each hand. His shoulder armor was also less bulky. The top parts were a shiny red color while being trimmed in silver. The outer sides of the shoulder armor were flat yet slightly rounded.

His helmet and chest plate had undergone the biggest change. His chest plate was now more pronounced, looking like body armor. Nearly completely crimson red in color, only the lower sides around his ribs and parts of his back were trimmed in silver. A black track line separated the chest armor, giving it the appearance of two solid pectoral plates and two solid abs plates.

The top of the helmet was mostly red in color while the bottom half was silver and trimmed in black. The black linings also seemed to separate some of the silver areas, giving it a distinguished look, really like that of a beetle. The black part of his helmet was also trimmed around his silver mouth plate and his blue eyepieces. On the top of his helmet was a small forward-facing silver horn. The long red horn from before went right up the middle of his helmet and slightly spread out to the sides at the tip of the horn.

He has now transformed further into Kamen Rider Kabuto—Rider Form.

A few seconds later, the Angel begins to launch a pair of tentacles that would try to pierce Kabuto. Only...Kabuto manages to use his Kunaigun in axe mode and slice them all down like an expert chef that was cutting down the tentacles of an octopus, sprouting reddish-orange liquid and spilling them throughout the floors, walls, and ceilings. Kabuto moves forward as he heard the terrible howling sound of the Angel as it begins to fire something from its chest. It appeared to take the form of blackish pebbles that were all hardened and sharped to kill. Kabuto slices through them calmly from whatever direction it goes while he continued walking.

As he walked, he wondered about this man that the Angel had inadvertently possessed.

What was he? Who was he? Did he have any family? And if he did, then his family would unfortunately never see him again. One could not tell. Even so, it made his heart stop by every inch of a second that it beats. He was silently praying for the eternal repose of this person when no one else couldn't as he maintained absolute focus.

A few steps later, and Kabuto begins to perform a 180-degree spin, slicing up the tentacles and the pebbles as his right foot charges automatically, kicking the Angel in the chest, causing it to fly back along with the outer wall, crashing a few meters outside.

Kabuto begins to hop out of the train as he begins to take his time pressing one button at a time while walking solemnly just as he sees the Angel struggling to stand up.

1. 2. 3.

"Rider...Kick..." Kabuto muttered softly as he flipped the horn of the beetle from the center of his belt and then back again.

RIDER KICK

Electrical energy was now flowing within the Kabuto Zecter which traveled to Kabuto's helmet. When it arrived at the tip of the horn, it then brought the energy down the bottom right foot. And Kabuto would raise his right foot and initiate a powerful roundhouse kick, making the Angel stumble tremendously before it begins to lie down to the ground and explode with red-orange fumes emitting.

At that moment, Kabuto begins to slowly raise his right index finger upwards and his left hand was near the left side of his waist.


Insert Song: End


Insert Song: Start

Dies irae - Animation OST: Ewige Wiederkunft


Was this a victory? Kabuto didn't think so, not when there were many people, including the train driver, that had undeservedly perished on this day. But that was why he raises his right index finger, signaling the mark of heaven which would bring the symbol of hope in spite of the darkness.

And as he slowly lowers his right index finger down, he turns around, having felt a type of presence that was both strange and familiar that was emitting like the calm waves of the sea.

He finds a young girl that appeared to be his age. She had short pale blue hair with bangs centered in the middle, wearing a school uniform that reminded him of the female uniforms of Tokyo-3 First Municipal Junior High School. What he took note however was her red eyes that weren't like those found in the Angels that he fights. Rather, it was those of a mother. It was strange. This figure appeared to mean no actual harm to him. In fact, there was something unearthly in her appearance, as if she was never here and is merely a projection of someone from beyond this plane. With her eyes, there was her expression that was a mixture of happiness and sadness.

"...Ikari-kun..." she muttered softly. She spoke as if longing to see the young man again after what felt like a very long time.

"...Who are you?" Kabuto asked with an accommodating tone.

"...I..." the girl shakes her head, stopping herself from continuing further. Her smile became even sadder. "No...I cannot say. You will meet me eventually...just not me as I am now..."

"("Me as I am now...")" Kabuto thought with concerned eyes. There was a lot of meaning behind those words all packaged from the genuine feelings that came from this ghostly apparition. If one were to think deeply about the implications of these words along with the added depth of expression, he realizes gradually that this person was someone that had met him before. Not him specifically, but a Shinji Ikari that she had been familiar with. What could he be dealing with, he did not know the full context. Perhaps there was the possibility that this young girl had come from a future.

But what future?

There are plenty of possible futures in this world. Not all of them lead to a happy ending as can be attested by the presence of the Sachielites and the Jinn.

"Ikari-kun...you must prevent the future that I had come from...you've already prevented one part of it by becoming the Man who walks the Path of Heaven...My Shinji didn't take that route but instead followed a much different path than you did...Continue the Path of Heaven...it is the only way to truly break this cycle..."

"Break the cycle?" Kabuto said, concerned.

"I cannot say more...Goodbye, Ikari-kun...I wish you well on your journey..."

After that, with one final smile of goodbye, she had vanished just as quickly with not a single trace of her existence.

It made Kabuto very quiet.

"Kabuto!"

Kabuto turned back to find Gatack hopping out of the train and putting his swords back on his shoulders. Kabuto glances back to where the ghostly apparition recently was.

"Gatack, did you find anyone?" Kabuto asked.

"...No," Gatack said grimly, shaking his head. "All I found were the Angels that I managed to clear off and traces of blood and ripped clothing scattered everywhere. There's...There's no one left alive, Kabuto..."

Kabuto lowered his head for a moment. "I see..."

Both of the Kamen Riders became quiet for a moment in respect for the dead.

Kabuto breathes deeply before letting it out. "Gatack, we should probably split up for now. Before you head back to your universe, you should probably report this back to the nearby Foundation Site back in Ninomiya and tell them of this recent incident."

"And what about you?" Gatack asked. "What are you going to do?"

"Continue marking the map of Tokyo-3. I have a mission that I need to keep in mind and I intend to fulfill it down to the last," Kabuto simply said.

"...Godspeed then...Clock Up!" Gatack smiled sadly, slapping the right side of his belt.

CLOCK UP

And then, Gatack disappeared, leaving Kabuto alone.

"Godspeed...Clock Up!" Kabuto slapped the right side of his belt.

CLOCK UP

Everything was slowing down for Kabuto. He is now utilizing a very advanced form of super-speed which has many different settings. Technically speaking, Kabuto is accelerating his perception of the flow of time, compressing the tachyon particles that are circulating around them. In other words, he is capable of slowing down time, even stopping it altogether. So it is less superspeed (even though he can do that) and more of stopping time itself.

Now, he begins to dash forward and leave the tunnel, with the bright light of the sun being seen from the skies. He jumps off of the train tracks and runs through the road, seeing all of the people and the vehicles that were in stop time. He sees the majestically tall buildings that reflected the sun's rays. He turned to an alleyway and stopped. He glances around for a few moments before saying. "Kabuto Zecter, time to detransform."

CLOCK OVER

And then, Kabuto detransformed back into Shinji Ikari who was carrying a grim, pondering expression. His belt had now disappeared from his waist.

The Kabuto Zecter who was flying in front of him said. "Partner...are you alright?"

"Kabuto Zecter...did you see the girl that I talked to earlier?" Shinji asked.

"...Yeah...I did...She seems to know you, partner. She looks a lot similar to that classified file that we've seen...you know, the one that Tendou-sensei gave to us."

"The First Child - Ayanami Rei," Shinji said, putting his hands into his pockets. "I noticed that too. She and the girl appeared to look alike...but there was something different about the both of them. This girl appears to have already known me, even speaking to me about the future."

"Are you thinking that she's from the future?" Kabuto Zecter asked.

"Possible...and yet different. We already know that possible futures are a reality. Most of them tend to be like the different ways where anything that can go wrong will go wrong. And speaking of possible futures, I'm more concerned with the fact that the Sachielites and the Jinn are in this timeline. The Angels that we know are already making their move."

"I guess the Dead Sea Scrolls are about to be thrown out of the window now," Kabuto Zecter spoke with a worried tone.

"It already became inaccurate when I intervened. It was only a matter of time before our other enemies made their move," Shinji spoke darkly. Then he switches tones with a much lighter one. "Speaking of which, you should make yourself scarce for now, Kabuto Zecter."

"Got it," Kabuto Zecter nodded as it begins to disappear from the physical plane and enters a little wormhole before it automatically closed, leaving Shinji alone.

At this time, Shinji continues to walk towards the street nearby and blend in with the crowd. His thoughts were directed toward the recent battle that he and his best friend had fought. He continued his walk for hours until...

"...!"

He bumped into something soft. It made him stumble a bit. By the time he looked forward, he noticed the sweet scent - strawberry perfume perhaps? He looked to find a girl that was the same age as he was, wearing a set of casual clothing consisting of a white shirt and dark blue dress. Her hair was formed with two pigtails and light purple decals. And there were the familiar freckles...

Wait...

"Ah...Shinji-kun?"

Hikari Horaki.

He sees her surprised expression, not expecting to bump into him again. The feeling was mutual for Shinji as he was sporting a similar expression.

"Hikari-san..." he noticed that she seemed to be in a hurry, carrying a few children's books in her arms. It was a miracle that she didn't let them go after bumping into him. "Are you heading off somewhere?"

"Oh!" Hikari made a smile. "I just...um...well, I'm actually heading to a children's orphanage not too far from here. I actually work there as a volunteer whenever I don't have any business in school."

"...Then...do you mind if I came along?" Shinji smiled.

"Eh? But..." Hikari became conflicted.

"I don't really have anything else better to do as I was just exploring the city on my own...and besides, I'd like to know about this children's orphanage as well," Shinji said.

"I see..." Hikari slowly smiled. "Then if you were to please follow me, Shinji-kun."

"Of course, lead the way," Shinji smiled as he raised his left hand and stepped back to the right, letting Hikari pass before he follows her.

And yet another meeting between the two. It managed to brighten Shinji's spirits at the very least as he smiled. But just as he smiled, Hikari was smiling as well, with light red cheeks, never having thought to meet the young man again.


Insert Song: End


ED Song:

「Miraculous Warrior Evangelion」AMV [ENG SUB]


New Characters:

Kazuya Aoi/Kamen Rider Gatack - VA: Mitsuhiro Ichiki