Confirmation
Misato's trembling hand slowly closed the yellow folder and she pushed it slightly away from her, face extremely pale. His son...he'd done that to his own son.
"I can't believe it..." Ritsuko whispered, falling back in her chair, a hand pressed to her mouth in disbelief. "Narikage is Commander Ikari's son...and...and he's...he's an ANGEL."
"First child."
"Nani?"
"That's what Commander Ikari meant when he wrote 'first child.' He wasn't referring to his pilot number. He was referring to HIS first child."
Of course. Everything made sense now. Why Narikage looked so much like Shinji and why he had such bad eyesight, just like Gendo. It explained why he didn't let any doctor near him with a needle and why he refused to have any tests done.
"We need to tell Commander Fuyutski." Misato's gaze snapped to her friend as she spoke.
"What? Why?"
"Why?! Misato, he's an angel for god's sake!"
"He's just carrying angel DNA. That doesn't make him an angel."
"Misato, did you even READ the report?! The DNA is spreading! His DNA could be completely gone by now for all we know!"
"Well, then let's find out if it is. I just don't think we should tell the Commander yet," the woman said, paper-clipping the file shut and tucking it inside of another. Ritsuko was looking at her like she'd grown a few extra heads.
"Not tell Commander Fuyutski?"
"Exactly. I don't think Narikage wants everyone to know. This was obviously a very painful experience for him and I highly doubt he'd want everyone treating him any worse than they already are. Could you imagine what Asuka or Rei would do if they found out Narikage's REAL name was Ikari Yoshiko?" The blonde fell silent.
"You're right," she replied softly after a moment. "Rei's ratios really can't diminish any more or she'll never recover. And Asuka...well..." The woman trailed off and she didn't need to finish the sentence. "Alright, Misato. We won't tell Commander Fuyutski. But I want to run some tests on Narikage. They'll be completely confidential; I'll do them myself. Do you think you could get him to agree to that?"
"I might. I'll try." Misato stood, gathering up her files to take home—including the one she'd just found. She glanced at her watch. "If I hurry, I might be able to beat Narikage home. I'll see you tomorrow!" She dashed out of the room.
"Call me when you get the word!" Ritsuko yelled after her.
"Hai!"
~*~*~
Narikage ascended the stairs of the building, swinging his satchel onto his other shoulder to balance the weight better. When he reached the door to his and Misato's apartment, he was only slightly surprised when it immediately slid open to let him in. Just as he expected, Misato was sitting at the kitchen table, an open beer next to the elbow and a file sitting in front of her.
"Welcome home, Yoshiko."
That Narikage HADN'T been expecting and when she said it, he froze for half a second before continuing his journey to the seat across from her. He sat down, lowering his bag to the floor.
"I'm surprised. I would have thought Gendo would have destroyed all the files pertaining to the experiment. Guess he kept a copy," the sixteen-year- old said, his voice calm and emotionless. "So, now I suppose Commander Fuyutski will be wanting to speak to me."
"No because he hasn't been told." Narikage blinked.
"He hasn't?"
"No. Only three people know who you are right now, Narikage: you, me, and Ritsuko. For now, we've decided that the best option is to keep all this quiet." The boy nodded his head a little.
"Arigato."
"I can understand why you have been so cautious about revealing anything about yourself." She smiled slightly. "I guess if I were in your position, I'd do the same thing." A silence descended over them, broken only by the faint ticking of the hall clock.
"You can go ahead and ask me questions now. There is no point in trying to keep things from you any longer," Narikage finally said, shattering the stillness. Misato cleared her throat a little.
"Well...I-I'm not sure how to really begin..." She trailed off for a moment. "I suppose my biggest question is: why are you able to pilot Unit 01 100%. You are, after all, carrying angel DNA."
"I told you: I can pilot because she lets me. Miss Katsuragi, do you know what happened to Gendo's wife, my mother?"
"The rumors are that she disappeared into Unit 01." Narikage gave a small nod.
"They aren't rumors, Miss Katsuragi. She did disappear into the unit."
"You were there?" He nodded again.
"Shinji and I both. Her body was absorbed into the Unit and, in a sense, she became Unit 01. That, combined with the fact that the EVA was originally being built for me is the reason why I'm able to pilot it at 100% sync ratio."
"So...because it was built for you, Shinji would never have been able to pilot at 100%?"
"I wouldn't say that exactly. Eventually, with training, I'm quite sure he could have done it. But it is why he wasn't at 100% from the beginning. Also, because of his younger age, he could pilot any EVA he was put into. The synchronization wouldn't be as high, but he'd still be able to move it. Unit 01 is the only Unit that I'm able to pilot. So if it's in for repairs and an angel attacks..."
"We're left with Asuka and Rei-san."
"Hai." Misato was quiet for a bit, processing the information Narikage had just given her. "I know you want to ask about Shinji, Miss Katsuragi." The woman turned pink, her eyes darting away quickly, telling him his assumption was correct. "I told you: you may ask me anything. You know everything now anyway."
"I was just wondering...well, Shinji...he never mentioned having a brother..." The corner of Narikage's lip twitched upwards but Misato could see a hint of sadness in his pale eyes.
"I didn't think he would. Shinji-ku was only four when I left and Gendo probably never spoke of me after I ran away. I was a failure to him after all." He gave a bitter chuckle and Misato could hear his disdain echoing through it.
"Does the DNA...does it make you feel different?" Narikage was quiet, thinking of how best to word it.
"Different is the best word for it, I suppose. Sometimes I can notice the tiniest, minutest of details and my hearing will become so sensitive, it hurts just to hear a whisper. Then, the next instant, I can barely see and I can't hear anything at all."
"It says in the report that you experienced surges of strength." He nodded.
"That was a long time ago. The strength is pretty much there all the time now. Sometimes I have to concentrate hard to keep it in check so I don't hurt anyone." He didn't tell her about the day he'd thrown Touji halfway across the schoolyard and how hard it had been not to just snap the boy's neck.
"What about the tantrums?"
"Something else I've learned to keep in check. If I let too much emotion out at one time, the Angel DNA has a nasty habit of flaring up."
"There's something else I want to ask you."
"Hai?"
"Would you agree to have some tests done if Ristuko was the one doing them?" The teenager paled at the word 'tests' and, instinctively, shied away slightly.
"What kind of tests?"
"Probably blood tests. We need to see how advanced the Angel DNA is in your system."
"Why? You can't stop it from growing."
"No, we can't. But it's something we need to know. It might make your piloting unstable."
"She won't let it take over while I'm piloting."
"That makes no difference. I hate to bargain with you, Narikage, but if you don't let Ritsuko and I do this, we'll be forced to tell Commander Fuyutski and then everyone will know and you'll still be forced to have the tests done. At least this way it stays confidential and it'll be a doctor you know performing the tests." Narikage sucked a corner of his lip into his mouth, chewing on it slightly.
"I'll agree to it on one condition."
"And that is?"
"You take me to see Shinji's grave." A smile spread across Misato's face.
"Deal."
Misato's trembling hand slowly closed the yellow folder and she pushed it slightly away from her, face extremely pale. His son...he'd done that to his own son.
"I can't believe it..." Ritsuko whispered, falling back in her chair, a hand pressed to her mouth in disbelief. "Narikage is Commander Ikari's son...and...and he's...he's an ANGEL."
"First child."
"Nani?"
"That's what Commander Ikari meant when he wrote 'first child.' He wasn't referring to his pilot number. He was referring to HIS first child."
Of course. Everything made sense now. Why Narikage looked so much like Shinji and why he had such bad eyesight, just like Gendo. It explained why he didn't let any doctor near him with a needle and why he refused to have any tests done.
"We need to tell Commander Fuyutski." Misato's gaze snapped to her friend as she spoke.
"What? Why?"
"Why?! Misato, he's an angel for god's sake!"
"He's just carrying angel DNA. That doesn't make him an angel."
"Misato, did you even READ the report?! The DNA is spreading! His DNA could be completely gone by now for all we know!"
"Well, then let's find out if it is. I just don't think we should tell the Commander yet," the woman said, paper-clipping the file shut and tucking it inside of another. Ritsuko was looking at her like she'd grown a few extra heads.
"Not tell Commander Fuyutski?"
"Exactly. I don't think Narikage wants everyone to know. This was obviously a very painful experience for him and I highly doubt he'd want everyone treating him any worse than they already are. Could you imagine what Asuka or Rei would do if they found out Narikage's REAL name was Ikari Yoshiko?" The blonde fell silent.
"You're right," she replied softly after a moment. "Rei's ratios really can't diminish any more or she'll never recover. And Asuka...well..." The woman trailed off and she didn't need to finish the sentence. "Alright, Misato. We won't tell Commander Fuyutski. But I want to run some tests on Narikage. They'll be completely confidential; I'll do them myself. Do you think you could get him to agree to that?"
"I might. I'll try." Misato stood, gathering up her files to take home—including the one she'd just found. She glanced at her watch. "If I hurry, I might be able to beat Narikage home. I'll see you tomorrow!" She dashed out of the room.
"Call me when you get the word!" Ritsuko yelled after her.
"Hai!"
~*~*~
Narikage ascended the stairs of the building, swinging his satchel onto his other shoulder to balance the weight better. When he reached the door to his and Misato's apartment, he was only slightly surprised when it immediately slid open to let him in. Just as he expected, Misato was sitting at the kitchen table, an open beer next to the elbow and a file sitting in front of her.
"Welcome home, Yoshiko."
That Narikage HADN'T been expecting and when she said it, he froze for half a second before continuing his journey to the seat across from her. He sat down, lowering his bag to the floor.
"I'm surprised. I would have thought Gendo would have destroyed all the files pertaining to the experiment. Guess he kept a copy," the sixteen-year- old said, his voice calm and emotionless. "So, now I suppose Commander Fuyutski will be wanting to speak to me."
"No because he hasn't been told." Narikage blinked.
"He hasn't?"
"No. Only three people know who you are right now, Narikage: you, me, and Ritsuko. For now, we've decided that the best option is to keep all this quiet." The boy nodded his head a little.
"Arigato."
"I can understand why you have been so cautious about revealing anything about yourself." She smiled slightly. "I guess if I were in your position, I'd do the same thing." A silence descended over them, broken only by the faint ticking of the hall clock.
"You can go ahead and ask me questions now. There is no point in trying to keep things from you any longer," Narikage finally said, shattering the stillness. Misato cleared her throat a little.
"Well...I-I'm not sure how to really begin..." She trailed off for a moment. "I suppose my biggest question is: why are you able to pilot Unit 01 100%. You are, after all, carrying angel DNA."
"I told you: I can pilot because she lets me. Miss Katsuragi, do you know what happened to Gendo's wife, my mother?"
"The rumors are that she disappeared into Unit 01." Narikage gave a small nod.
"They aren't rumors, Miss Katsuragi. She did disappear into the unit."
"You were there?" He nodded again.
"Shinji and I both. Her body was absorbed into the Unit and, in a sense, she became Unit 01. That, combined with the fact that the EVA was originally being built for me is the reason why I'm able to pilot it at 100% sync ratio."
"So...because it was built for you, Shinji would never have been able to pilot at 100%?"
"I wouldn't say that exactly. Eventually, with training, I'm quite sure he could have done it. But it is why he wasn't at 100% from the beginning. Also, because of his younger age, he could pilot any EVA he was put into. The synchronization wouldn't be as high, but he'd still be able to move it. Unit 01 is the only Unit that I'm able to pilot. So if it's in for repairs and an angel attacks..."
"We're left with Asuka and Rei-san."
"Hai." Misato was quiet for a bit, processing the information Narikage had just given her. "I know you want to ask about Shinji, Miss Katsuragi." The woman turned pink, her eyes darting away quickly, telling him his assumption was correct. "I told you: you may ask me anything. You know everything now anyway."
"I was just wondering...well, Shinji...he never mentioned having a brother..." The corner of Narikage's lip twitched upwards but Misato could see a hint of sadness in his pale eyes.
"I didn't think he would. Shinji-ku was only four when I left and Gendo probably never spoke of me after I ran away. I was a failure to him after all." He gave a bitter chuckle and Misato could hear his disdain echoing through it.
"Does the DNA...does it make you feel different?" Narikage was quiet, thinking of how best to word it.
"Different is the best word for it, I suppose. Sometimes I can notice the tiniest, minutest of details and my hearing will become so sensitive, it hurts just to hear a whisper. Then, the next instant, I can barely see and I can't hear anything at all."
"It says in the report that you experienced surges of strength." He nodded.
"That was a long time ago. The strength is pretty much there all the time now. Sometimes I have to concentrate hard to keep it in check so I don't hurt anyone." He didn't tell her about the day he'd thrown Touji halfway across the schoolyard and how hard it had been not to just snap the boy's neck.
"What about the tantrums?"
"Something else I've learned to keep in check. If I let too much emotion out at one time, the Angel DNA has a nasty habit of flaring up."
"There's something else I want to ask you."
"Hai?"
"Would you agree to have some tests done if Ristuko was the one doing them?" The teenager paled at the word 'tests' and, instinctively, shied away slightly.
"What kind of tests?"
"Probably blood tests. We need to see how advanced the Angel DNA is in your system."
"Why? You can't stop it from growing."
"No, we can't. But it's something we need to know. It might make your piloting unstable."
"She won't let it take over while I'm piloting."
"That makes no difference. I hate to bargain with you, Narikage, but if you don't let Ritsuko and I do this, we'll be forced to tell Commander Fuyutski and then everyone will know and you'll still be forced to have the tests done. At least this way it stays confidential and it'll be a doctor you know performing the tests." Narikage sucked a corner of his lip into his mouth, chewing on it slightly.
"I'll agree to it on one condition."
"And that is?"
"You take me to see Shinji's grave." A smile spread across Misato's face.
"Deal."