"Have you uncovered anything yet?"
"Not yet, Commander."
"Well keep looking. We have to find this Eiro Narikage."
"We'll find him, Sir. It's only a matter of time."
***
"Pen Pen, you have to come out of there sooner or later!" Misato cried, pounding on the penguin's fridge home. "I miss Shinji too, but you can't lock yourself in there!"
Nothing.
"Fine! Stupid penguin," she muttered, flopping into a chair and starting in on her breakfast. A week had passed since Shinji's and the Commander's deaths and everyone was still trying to recover from the shock. Misato, having grown tired of everyone treating her like a ticking time bomb, had taken a few days off and she was due to go back today.
"I'm leaving!" the woman cried. "I left your breakfast in your dish!" When Pen Pen didn't come out, she heaved a sigh and left the apartment. 'I must really be lonely,' she thought as she unlocked her car. 'Talking to a penguin.' She shook her head with another sigh and drove off.
***
Ritsuko flipped through Rei's psychiatric profile, shaking her head. All the readings had dropped dramatically since the two deaths. Just when they were starting to be normal too.
"What have I missed?" The blonde looked up when she heard the soft voice.
"Nothing much."
"How's Rei doing?" Misato came into the cluttered office, taking the file Ritsuko offered her.
"Not so well. Everything has dropped at least 1.5%. We were going to try an EVA activation today, but we don't dare with these readings. God only knows what her Unit would do." Misato nodded in agreement.
"Very true." She set the file down on a stack. "What about Asuka?"
"So far everything is normal. Her sync ratio is even up .5%. But neither girl has spoken much, which is very unusual for Asuka. She's having a few tests done right now."
"What's the situation with this Eiro Narikage?" Misato took a seat across from her friend. "Has anything turned up?"
"Not a word." The other woman sighed, rubbing her eyes. Not even an hour in and she already had a headache.
"It just doesn't make sense. Why would he write that this person is the first child? We already know Rei is the first child." Ritsuko shrugged.
"Who knows? Maybe he was so over-wrought with grief he didn't know what he was writing."
"I just wish he had left some other kind of clue. An address, a phone number, ANYTHING."
"Misato, you really need to relax. Listen to yourself. You just got back and you're already stressed to the max. Why didn't you take the whole month off?"
"I can't, Ritsuko. I hate being in that place now. It's so empty." Tears misted the woman's eyes and she quickly looked away. Ritsuko reached over, placing her hand over her friend's.
"I understand. Have you done anything with Shinji's stuff yet?"
"No. I just can't bring myself to pack it up. Whenever I go in there, it's like he's still alive.like he's just gone for the afternoon." Misato wiped her streaming eyes and laughed a little. "And here I thought I'd moved on."
"Give it some more time. It's only been a week." Misato nodded.
"Thanks, Ritsuko." The woman smiled softly and opened her mouth to say something when Maya burst in, waving a file.
"We found him!" she gushed in excitement. "Eiro Narigake, age sixteen!" She threw the file down, a triumphant smile on her pretty face. Both women dove for it at the same time and a brief but fierce fight ensued. In the end, Misato won out and quickly opened the envelope, spreading it out over the small space.
"No pictures?" Ritsuko asked, wrestling a slip of paper from Misato.
"No, unfortunately. But we did find his address. He's living in a small city about three hours south of here. No parents, no siblings, nothing."
"This info only goes back to three years ago. Don't we have anything on his past?" Misato asked, shuffling through the papers.
"Nothing. It's as if he never existed until then." Ritsuko and Misato exchanged glances. "We're sending out a few officers to bring him in," Maya went on.
"Cancel them," Misato said, putting the papers back in the folder and shutting it.
"Why?"
"Because I'm going to get him."
***
"And I thought my place was a dump," Misato muttered, looking up at the building in front of her. The place was obviously old, due to the chipped, broken, and cracked exterior. Not to mention the fact that it was located in the slums. 'Must not have much money,' she thought, pushing open the door. A sign on the elevator proclaimed it was out of order so Misato started up the stairs.
When she reached the sixth floor, she stopped and checked the address. It was the right floor. Now all she had to do was find apartment 6F.
She found it at the end of a long hallway that smelt of decay and mold. The letters on the peeling door were faded nearly to inexistence. Taking a deep breath, she raised her fist and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" came the muffled reply a few moments later.
"My name is Katsuragi Misato. I need to speak with Eiro Narikage." There was a long silence then the sound of a lock being turned. A moment later the door was pulled open and Misato found herself face-to-face with a boy. Her eyes went very wide and she staggered back with a loud gasp.
"Shinji!"
"Not yet, Commander."
"Well keep looking. We have to find this Eiro Narikage."
"We'll find him, Sir. It's only a matter of time."
***
"Pen Pen, you have to come out of there sooner or later!" Misato cried, pounding on the penguin's fridge home. "I miss Shinji too, but you can't lock yourself in there!"
Nothing.
"Fine! Stupid penguin," she muttered, flopping into a chair and starting in on her breakfast. A week had passed since Shinji's and the Commander's deaths and everyone was still trying to recover from the shock. Misato, having grown tired of everyone treating her like a ticking time bomb, had taken a few days off and she was due to go back today.
"I'm leaving!" the woman cried. "I left your breakfast in your dish!" When Pen Pen didn't come out, she heaved a sigh and left the apartment. 'I must really be lonely,' she thought as she unlocked her car. 'Talking to a penguin.' She shook her head with another sigh and drove off.
***
Ritsuko flipped through Rei's psychiatric profile, shaking her head. All the readings had dropped dramatically since the two deaths. Just when they were starting to be normal too.
"What have I missed?" The blonde looked up when she heard the soft voice.
"Nothing much."
"How's Rei doing?" Misato came into the cluttered office, taking the file Ritsuko offered her.
"Not so well. Everything has dropped at least 1.5%. We were going to try an EVA activation today, but we don't dare with these readings. God only knows what her Unit would do." Misato nodded in agreement.
"Very true." She set the file down on a stack. "What about Asuka?"
"So far everything is normal. Her sync ratio is even up .5%. But neither girl has spoken much, which is very unusual for Asuka. She's having a few tests done right now."
"What's the situation with this Eiro Narikage?" Misato took a seat across from her friend. "Has anything turned up?"
"Not a word." The other woman sighed, rubbing her eyes. Not even an hour in and she already had a headache.
"It just doesn't make sense. Why would he write that this person is the first child? We already know Rei is the first child." Ritsuko shrugged.
"Who knows? Maybe he was so over-wrought with grief he didn't know what he was writing."
"I just wish he had left some other kind of clue. An address, a phone number, ANYTHING."
"Misato, you really need to relax. Listen to yourself. You just got back and you're already stressed to the max. Why didn't you take the whole month off?"
"I can't, Ritsuko. I hate being in that place now. It's so empty." Tears misted the woman's eyes and she quickly looked away. Ritsuko reached over, placing her hand over her friend's.
"I understand. Have you done anything with Shinji's stuff yet?"
"No. I just can't bring myself to pack it up. Whenever I go in there, it's like he's still alive.like he's just gone for the afternoon." Misato wiped her streaming eyes and laughed a little. "And here I thought I'd moved on."
"Give it some more time. It's only been a week." Misato nodded.
"Thanks, Ritsuko." The woman smiled softly and opened her mouth to say something when Maya burst in, waving a file.
"We found him!" she gushed in excitement. "Eiro Narigake, age sixteen!" She threw the file down, a triumphant smile on her pretty face. Both women dove for it at the same time and a brief but fierce fight ensued. In the end, Misato won out and quickly opened the envelope, spreading it out over the small space.
"No pictures?" Ritsuko asked, wrestling a slip of paper from Misato.
"No, unfortunately. But we did find his address. He's living in a small city about three hours south of here. No parents, no siblings, nothing."
"This info only goes back to three years ago. Don't we have anything on his past?" Misato asked, shuffling through the papers.
"Nothing. It's as if he never existed until then." Ritsuko and Misato exchanged glances. "We're sending out a few officers to bring him in," Maya went on.
"Cancel them," Misato said, putting the papers back in the folder and shutting it.
"Why?"
"Because I'm going to get him."
***
"And I thought my place was a dump," Misato muttered, looking up at the building in front of her. The place was obviously old, due to the chipped, broken, and cracked exterior. Not to mention the fact that it was located in the slums. 'Must not have much money,' she thought, pushing open the door. A sign on the elevator proclaimed it was out of order so Misato started up the stairs.
When she reached the sixth floor, she stopped and checked the address. It was the right floor. Now all she had to do was find apartment 6F.
She found it at the end of a long hallway that smelt of decay and mold. The letters on the peeling door were faded nearly to inexistence. Taking a deep breath, she raised her fist and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" came the muffled reply a few moments later.
"My name is Katsuragi Misato. I need to speak with Eiro Narikage." There was a long silence then the sound of a lock being turned. A moment later the door was pulled open and Misato found herself face-to-face with a boy. Her eyes went very wide and she staggered back with a loud gasp.
"Shinji!"