Fictions Mentioned:

Episode 6

OP Song:

NEXT LEVEL · YU-KI(TRF)

Insert Song: Start

Dies irae - Animation OST: Burlesque

Somewhere in Tokyo-3, there was a children's orphanage that was run by a Catholic religious community of nuns called the Missionaries of Charity that had been founded by the late Mother Teresa. Since the city's founding, the Order had been given full approval from those in charge to establish their houses at their own discretion. One of these houses was for the sake of the abandoned children of whom they took great care as part of the Order's mission.

Many children had gathered from the table and were smiling very brightly and their good spirits were lifted. Why? They were tasting and savoring the delicious food that had been cooked by yours truly, in this case, Shinji Ikari, who had helped the sisters in the kitchen. As of now, all of the children were well-behaved and gathered towards Shinji as he told them a couple of stories.

"I must say, Hikari-san, that boy that you've brought with you has quite the talent for the kitchen. It has even managed to charm my fellow sisters and myself as I've never tasted something quite good."

A religious sister was wearing the habit of the Missionaries of Charity, with black hair and brown eyes, Japanese in nationality, wearing a pair of glasses that would help aid her eyesight. By appearances, she seemed to be no older than her twenties. She was smiling like a beam of light as she was talking to Hikari Horaki who along with the sister was watching Shinji and the children that were gathered with him.

Her name was Sister Kazuko Makiko.

"...I would have to agree with your assessment, Sister," Hikari smiled as she holds her books to her right side, nodding respectfully. "And I didn't know much about his cooking either and it was quite delicious."

"Hm? You didn't know. Is he not a friend of yours?" the Sister asked.

"He and I have only just met, Sister," Hikari clarified. "I met him while I was in the market trying to buy the ingredients for dinner. I was trying to find the right cabbage when he suddenly offered me his, reassuring me that he has more than enough before leaving."

"That is quite nice of the boy," the Sister approved of such action with a smile. "Such unhesitating charity, it already speaks of a good character."

Somewhere was an open space that would remind one of a park where one can do one's schedule or habit. Still, it was the property of the religious sisters and thus the children were to play under the afternoon sun. Shinji Ikari and Hikari Horaki were simply seated on a bench and see the children playing and the sisters passing by as they either play along and take care of the children or were going about their duties.

With the books in her hand and placed to her right, Hikari glances at Shinji, who was only closing his eyes. The winds were lightly waving the blade of the grass and the hairs of the two. The windy day seemed like a moment of calm.

Hikari was intrigued if only because of the young man who had managed to make many if not all of the children of the orphanage open up to him, even impressing them with his cooking that was likened to that of a professional chef. When she tasted it herself, she was in awe as if multiple flavors were mixed to match into one perfect taste. Not just anyone can do that and such skill for the kitchen is quite a rarity.

"Ne, Shinji-kun," Hikari addressed him with a smile.

Shinji opened his eyes automatically and turned towards the girl that called him. "Yes?"

"Can I ask a question? Where did you learn to cook like that?" Hikari asked with a smile.

"Oh, well I learned cooking from my sensei, among other things. Cooking was one of the first basic skills that I needed to learn in order to provide nourishment for myself and for others," Shinji explained.

"Ah, I see," Hikari smiled. "This sensei of yours...what is this person like?"

"He's a strict and dedicated person with a rigorous training regiment. A master of numerous skills, and that would include cooking first of all. On the surface level, he may appear to be exceedingly arrogant without any good reason, but it is actually merely a sense of falsehood that plays mind tricks upon those who happen to observe it. Appearances are deceiving is an art that my sensei has mastered to a tea," Shinji explained with a solemn tone that has Hikari hooked.

"...Judging by your answer, I'm guessing that this sensei is an important person to you," Hikari smiled as her face took a solemn expression.

"He is. He is basically the father who adopted and raised me into who I am today. I wouldn't be the man that you're speaking to if not for him," Shinji nodded.

"Father?" Hikari asked, curious.

"He's not my real father," Shinji clarified. "But he's as close as anyone to be since my real father was never around for much of my life. I can understand the reasons why that was so, but when I was young, I didn't understand much and simply thought of the possibility of how or why my father simply left me to someone else. Perhaps I did something wrong, perhaps I made some mistake, perhaps there was something else. Either way, that was what I felt at the time and I could feel that I can guarantee that if those issues hadn't been resolved, I would not be the person that you know me now," Shinji explained.

Hikari widened her eyes a bit at the implications as she made a contrite and sad expression, turning her face in the other direction. "Oh...sorry to pry about that."

Shinji simply shook his head. "Don't be sorry, you have nothing to feel sorry for as that would be a normal reaction for someone to hear my tale or something similar. Nevertheless, since living with sensei for the past several years and accompanied by several life experiences along the way, I gradually understood the need to simply...forgive my father for everything."

"Hm? Forgive your father?" Hikari asked.

"My father may have left me to someone else, but I suppose he had his reasons that could be considered beneficial. He is a man that has the literal weight of the world on his shoulders. To further say anything besides this would be in violation of the agreement that I had with my father and it is something that I can never do without consequence," Shinji explained.

"...I see," Hikari's face still took note of worry as it compared Shinji's relationship with his father with the relationship that she had with her father. She thought to turn things around to a brighter note. So she smiled and told her tale. "Umm, speaking of fathers, my father tends to get busy most of the time ever since...mother past away but he at least can still spend time with us. Since I was the middle sibling of the family and arguably the most responsible right after my older sibling who has more than enough on her plate, I had to learn the go-to basics like cooking, washing the dishes, cleaning the house, and everything else that I would not bother boring you with the itty bitty details."

"You honestly don't bore me with your explanations at all, Hikari-san, if anything, I can at least relate to it since I too had been given responsibilities of my own," Shinji smiled.

"Well...do you have any siblings to look after?" Hikari asked, curious.

Shinji turned silent for a moment in regard to the question. The silence lasted a few more seconds which made Hikari worried that she might have said something wrong.

"Shinji-kun?" Hikari asked, concerned.

Shinji, as if getting his bearings together, shakes his head and makes a reassuring face. "I am an only child...at least as far as I know so I may not have experienced yet what it was like to have a sibling related by blood, although I do know people who do so I have some idea, and...some of the friends that I knew back in the day, I'd consider to be as close to siblings as there can be."

"Oh, I see," Hikari's worried face was still there albeit lessened. She wanted to brighten up the conversation but ended up turning it into something rather sober.

"Hmm, if you're the middle sibling, then I wonder what are the names of the others and how many?" Shinji smiled a bit.

"Counting me, three. There's Kodama who is the oldest, there's me who is the middle, and then there's Nozomi who is the youngest," Hikari smiled.

"I'm getting the distinct feeling that there is a deliberate pattern to the names. A familiar high-speed rail line that are the limited-stop (Nozomi), the semi-fast (Hikari), and the all-stop (Kodama). And now I wondered about how the naming came to be conceived," Shinji said, smiling with arms crossed.

"Oh, you noticed," Hikari made an amused expression. "My father was the one who thought of those names since he works with keeping the trains in Tokyo-3 running."

"Your father must be quite the intelligent man for him to have thought of those names ahead for the names of his daughters," Shinji smiled softly.

"...Yes...I suppose he is," Hikari smiled softly.

"Oh right, speaking of which, you once mention that you were a volunteer in this orphanage while you weren't busy with school. What school would that be per se?" Shinji asked.

"Oh, that would be Tokyo-3 First Municipal Junior High School. I'm the Class Representative of Class 2-A so I'm quite the busy person overall," Hikari smiled.

"Well, that's quite interesting as that would be the school that I would end up going to starting tomorrow," Shinji said as he raised an eyebrow.

"Eh?" Hikari made a confused expression before slowly thinking it over. Thinking back, there was that time when her old homeroom teacher had entrusted her with the news of a new transfer student that would arrive in a few days' time, and it was her role as the class representative to show him around the classroom and the rest of the school. "Hold on...you're the new transfer student that I would meet tomorrow!" she said, widening her eyes.

"Hm? Have you heard of me in a way perhaps?" Shinji asked.

"I do," Hikari nodded enthusiastically. "My homeroom teacher one day had asked me if I can at least be there to accompany a transfer student tomorrow. I was never told a name, only saying that he would reveal him later when he formally introduces himself to the class."

"Well then, if that's the case, I would look forward to being in your care in advance, class rep," Shinji smiled as he bowed his head respectfully.

"...Likewise, Shinji-kun," Hikari smiled.

Gendo Ikari has spent almost the entire night, with a few intervals of needed sleep, sitting in his office chair and trying to piece together the new information that he had just been given in order to try to confirm the truth of what his son had been up to for so many years.

Ninomiya, Kanagawa.

It was a simple town not noteworthy of much. Located on the coastline, characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. This is where Shinji mostly spent his childhood with. From the information that Gendo had read, his son lead a very normal life for the most part. He was currently looking at a picture of his son in his old gakuran uniform accompanied by many smiling people, young boys and girls his age, who were also smiling from the camera.

Gendo didn't know what to think except being a little relieved at the fact that his son had a normal stable life. From the look of the picture and a few others, it was clear that his son didn't have any problems that wouldn't draw his attention. Of course, his plans would need to be adjusted in light of this issue, but this was a lighter manner that he didn't need to worry too much.

What worried him however was the fact that he was apparently under the guardianship of a person named Souji Tendou. He tried to find everything that he can about the man, only for it to come completely short. There was no trace, no record, no nothing, almost as if this person didn't exist. And yet, witnesses in the town that have been interviewed have mentioned Shinji being with a man who was his sensei having that name, even describing his appearance as a rather handsome young adult that even now was quite the talk of the town.

Who was Souji Tendou?

Gendo didn't know. The only thing he knew was that this person had influenced his son in a very positive way. In a sense, he was thankful to this person for being there for his son while he was not, further proving that he wasn't really qualified to be a father, at least not in the state that he was in at that time, and probably never will. However, this person, whether knowingly or not, had disrupted a part of the plan. Shinji Ikari was supposed to be weaker than he is. He shouldn't be this confident, this smart, this mentally sound, the fact that he can be able to dialogue with him, even calling forth a few conditions that were all acceptable as this wouldn't affect NERV's image or the plan.

This person wasn't also affiliated with the social service agency that Gendo had contacted years ago after making contact with the agency again. That made it a red mark for Gendo to take care of as there were even more questions than there are answers. Perhaps he can ask Shinji where his sensei currently was at this time, because every time some of his agents on the ground had asked, it appeared that he disappeared for some time at least when Shinji was all grown up and in his first year of middle school, trusting in Shinji to live independently. By some accounts, this man seemed to be travelling around the world and not a hint of his return can be said.

This is quite the problem. Bad enough that this man had no record for Gendo to track, but now this man was currently somewhere overseas, meaning he could be anywhere by now. He could discreetly ask for the other NERV branches' superior officers from other countries to conduct a silent investigation on the matter, but there were benefits and risks involved all the same because there would be questions as to why they should look into a man who doesn't even exist and why should they even care.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Gendo picks up the telephone nearby his desk and said. "Yes?"

"Commander, this is Katsuragi. We apparently have a situation here."

"Commander, this is Katsuragi. We apparently have a situation here."

Captain Misato Katsuragi was currently looking at the front side of a damaged railroad car that was being investigated by NERV's specialists and NERV's security forces guarding the area and patrolling the area to dissuade any civilians from making contact in a potentially dangerous area. In fact, it wasn't just damaged. It looked like there had been a battle of monsters that had taken place because many of the metal doors and glass windows were ripped apart in impossible ways. Remains of scorched areas indicated unnatural fires that were started. Humanoid bodies that looked very similar to the Third Angel were identified from the wreckage as well.

She was exiting the hole from the front of the car and walking towards a scorched area on the ground, holding the phone on her left hand, and showing a grim expression.

"What is it?" Gendo asked.

"I'm now somewhere in the tunnel that is part of the Yamamoto Line. From what the autopsy gathered, there appeared to be a violent scuffle that have just taken place. Wait, scratch that, violent doesn't even begin to describe what the hell happened here. But that isn't the weirdest part. Many of the 'corpses' that we found appeared to look just like the Third Angel, the one that the armored beetle figure from before had taken down. They were humanoid in size, about children to adult size," Misato reported while concerned.

Misato had now discovered the fact that there is a type of Angel that can apparently be human size just like her and the rest. If that were the case, then what other abilities do these Angels that she is only recently discovering possessing?

"...I see," Gendo responded. His eyes narrowed at this surprising information. "I want you to inform the specialists to take these corpses back to HQ for further study that is to be conducted by Dr. Akagi, without any form of delay."

"Of course, sir," Misato nodded.

"And Captain, since you are there, may I ask as to where is the Third Child since I last recalled that he is with you?" Gendo asked.

Misato twitched a bit, showing a hesitant expression. "Oh...Umm...he...he isn't here, sir." She lamely responded.

"...What?" Gendo said in a deadpan and unamused voice.

"He left without saying anything to me but he did leave a note for me to find which is given to me by my pet penguin. The note said that he would want to explore the city for a bit on his own as part of the conditions that you agreed on. He also said from the note that if we wanted to find him, they could just simply use the security cameras in the city to locate him should the need arises," Misato explained in a slightly hurried but clear manner in order to not provoke her commander.

"...I see," Gendo simply said from the other line. "It is acceptable then. Carry on with the orders that I received."

"Yes, sir," Misato spoke respectfully.

Then the line hung up as Misato looked at her phone and sighed heavily. She was also worried about Shinji and wondered where he might be in this situation. She can only hope that he was safe.

What Misato and Gendo both don't know at the time was that Shinji Ikari was currently spending time with the hometown sweetheart and class representative Hikari Horaki. And as of right now, Shinji was currently escorting Hikari back into her home as the sun sets on the horizon.

Hikari was simply enjoying her time with Shinji. She and he were just talking about their interests and hobbies. Hikari was explaining to him the duties of being a class representative and how tiresome it could be at times, especially when thinking about two certain stooges who aren't here at the moment. She was strict of course, especially with troublemakers and with the two stooges in general. It comes with the job. At the same time, she can be accommodating in her own way. She makes it her task to know every single one of her classmates as the class representative: their likes and dislikes, their hobbies, what they wanted to do throughout the day, etc. She even sometimes helps some of her classmates in their studies if she felt that they were either lagging behind or were hard-pressed to understand the subject that they were slightly failing at.

Aside from this, as the class representative, and now showing her "class representative mode" now that Shinji Ikari has been confirmed to be the transfer student entrusted to her by the homeroom teacher, was now advising him of the rules and regulations of the school that he would need to follow to the letter. Otherwise, he would be dealing with her personally, to which Shinji simply nodded and answered positively in an attentive manner.

"I'm quite amazed and impressed," Shinji said with a genuine smile, with both hands in his pockets. "You actually memorized all of the school's rules and regulations that are covered in the student handbook to the point when you wouldn't even need to bring the book with you."

"Um, well, of course," Hikari slightly blushed at the compliment and smiled shyly as she was holding the books that she had with her. "It's part of my duties as the class representative. All of you are under my responsibility so I intend to fulfill my role to the best of my ability."

"Well, not just anyone can memorize a handbook depending on how many pages and the ink that made up for it. That is one skill that makes you quite unique in your own way," Shinji said.

"...Umm, I see," Hikari simply said with a smile as her eyes lowered.

A few walks down the road towards the suburban area and they finally reach the Horaki residence. It was a simple house of about two floors. The wall covered the entrance and has a door station to the center. There were even the words "HORAKI" being tagged, showing the name of the owners of the residence.

"Well...this is where I go from here," Hikari smiled, maybe a bit too sadly, and tried to cover it up with a cheerful smile. "Thank you for accompanying me home, Shinji-kun."

"The pleasure is all mine, Class Rep," Shinji smiled.

"Just...Hikari, when we are alone that is, whereas in school or in public, call me class rep," Hikari smiled.

"So be it, Hikari-san," Shinji nodded. "Well then, I should probably get going. My guardian may be concerned for me if I stay out for too long."

"Yes, that's right, mister," Hikari smiled with humor as she puts both of her hands to her waist. "You should probably go back home since its pretty late and you need to wake up early in the morning for your first day. Just so you know, I do not take tardiness lightly."

"I'll keep that in mind, Hikari-san," Shinji nodded. "See you next time."

And so, Shinji would walk in the other direction with his hands in his pockets with a content smile on his face. Hikari was simply watching the young man from afar, missing his company already.

Hikari had to admit to herself that she had plenty of fun talking to Shinji. He wasn't like the other boys of his age, the ones with the free and wild attitude, or even definitely not like a certain jock that she may have had a crush on. He was reliable, kind to children, already skilled with household work, and other things that made him into a mature young man who sees things from a different angle.

Simply put, Hikari had just witnessed a young man growing up too fast. Maybe too much for her liking. Actually, she was also similar in the sense that she had to be the more dependable one as being the middle child of the Horakis has its own set of responsibilities. She had to find ways to help her older sister and her father somehow as both have their own hard-working problems and little by little, she acquired the necessary skills that made her into a formidable woman today.

With that, as Shinji Ikari had now turned right and simply gone away from her sight, Hikari Horaki went inside as she open the door of the outer wall, closed it, and head inside the front door.

"...I'm home," she said as she opened the door.

"Welcome back, middle train."

There was the voice of a familiar female, one that was older than her. Hikari looked straight to see her older sister, a young beautiful woman with tied pig-tailed brown hair and freckles on her face, wearing glasses. She was also wearing a white dress shirt with a brown skirt with pockets tied with a brown ribbon. She looked rather amused.

This was Kodama Horaki, the older sister of the family.

"...Um, hey older train," Hikari made a confused expression, thinking as to what was with the strange expression on her face. "...Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh don't act like I don't know, it seems that you've been smitten by a boy that I don't know. So...care to tell me the itty bitty details to your older sister?" Kodama asked.

"...Ah!" Hikari blushed a little, waving her free hand in denial while carrying the books with her other hand. She didn't need to ask further since somehow, Kodama noticed her talking with Shinji. "No, no, no, no! You have it all wrong, Kodama! This boy is the new transfer that my homeroom teacher had entrusted me to take care of. So as his class representative and classmate, I thought I'd tell him just the simple rules and regulations."

"Oh, so that's it, is it?" Kodama still makes an amused expression with a hint of fondness. "Well, settling that aside, for now, it appeared that you were rather enjoying the conversation you were having with him. If I didn't know any better, I'd see that you've just made a new friend."

"A new friend..." Hikari became rather thoughtful of the term 'friend'. Well, in a sense, Kodama was right that Shinji became her new friend as they actually have a lot more in common than she thought. Both were rather hard-working individuals with their own sets of responsibilities. A few differences of course would have to include Shinji's family life.

Hikari smiled and perked up a bit. "Yeah, I did. I made a new friend."

"...Hmmm."

From somewhere on the walls of another street, by the time Hikari Horaki entered the house, Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida were peaking out from the wall that they were hiding on. One (Kensuke) was curios while the other (Toji) was...well, people may call it jealousy, but the boy may chalk it up to just an honest concern for his friend, or so he would like to say.

"...Huh, I didn't think that class rep had made a friend, a male friend at that," Kensuke said, curious about the young man who suddenly took his leave.

"...Tck," Toji looked a bit irritated at the words that his best friend had said when describing the young man. "Kensuke, it's probably just the class rep dealing with a new transfer student. You heard the conversation just now so let's just head back to our homes. We have school tomorrow, don't we?"

"Ah! Wait a minute, Toji!"

And so, the two best friends would walk back to their respective homes as the sun sets.

But Toji Suzuhara was having mixed expressions for the young man who was talking to the class rep. He didn't like it, that much was true. He wasn't jealous, he thought. Just no. Of course not. Definitely not.

While Shinji was walking down the road, a familiar blue sports car would suddenly stop by him from the side. Turning left, he sees Misato Katsuragi giving him the amused stink eye as her hands were on the wheel and making a concerned expression. But Shinji could tell that she was laughing on the inside.

Shinji raised an eyebrow. "If I were to take a guess, you saw me and Hikari-san and followed us without our knowing."

"Good guess," Misato made an amused smile. "I thought that you were out seeing the sights of the city, but as it turns out, you were hanging around the Horaki girl again."

"It was honestly a coincidence that I bumped into her," Shinji made an exasperated smile. "And in any case, I assume that you only found me because of all of the security cameras."

"Got it in one," Misato said. "I didn't reveal myself too early though because I wanted to watch the budding romance between the two of you for myself."

"Romance is a bit too early since we've just met," Shinji said. He then started walking towards the other side of Misato's car and opened the door, closing it by the time he gets inside and puts on the seatbelt. "And since you're here, I figure that I would take advantage of this by riding in your car since it's more efficient than walking."

"What am I, your driver?" Misato asked with mocking humor.

"No, you're my guardian and superior officer, and I need to go home to prepare dinner anyway so your timing is as perfect as ever," Shinji deadpanned.

"Oh yeah, speaking of which, how's the personal tour of Tokyo-3?" Misato asked.

"I thought that it was rather wonderful, met a few people, and seeing all of the landmarks. Could be rather useful in the future to remember," Shinji said.

"Heh," Misato smiled in amusement as she put the pedal to the medal and stepped on it. "Just so you know, I'm still sour that I wasn't included in your own personal field trip so you owe me a good meal for this night in order to make up for it."

"Duly noted," Shinji said.

While Misato's car drives away, little did anyone realize that there was someone who was watching them from afar.

To describe this person. It was a she, wearing a white-covered eyepatch for the left eye that appeared to be grievously wounded, and wearing a red plugsuit that has the "02" number from the center. She has long auburn hair and a right dark blue eye. And that eye and the face were filled with narrowed disgust as she looks at Shini Ikari specifically.

"...Idiot," the woman said with a subtle tone of budding malice and with clenching fists. "You really think that you can get away from me that easily? Well, fat chance in hell."

This woman appeared to be holding a grudge against Shinji Ikari for some mysterious reason. Why? A mystery that has yet to be answered as the woman vanished instantly like a specter.

She was here. Now she wasn't.

Who was this woman?

Only time would tell.

But one can say that she is from a different timeline, a different world with similar elements, and in this different world, it only ended in total failure. And the woman blamed Shinji Ikari for it.

Insert Song: End

ED Song:

YU-NO (Anime) Ending Sub Español『Konomi Suzuki - Shinri no Kagami, Tsurugi no You ni』

New Characters:

Kodama Horaki - VA: Junko Iwao

Kensuke Aida - VA: Tetsuya Iwanaga

Tōji Suzuhara - VA: Tomokazu Seki

Sister Kazuko Makiko