Shinji found Misato at her kitchen table, beer in hand and three more close by. "Misato," he started, and suddenly found himself at a loss for words.

"Shinji," Misato answered back, also at a loss. She recovered more quickly however, or at least tried to. "Long time no see."

"Yeah," Shinji offered lamely, sitting down in front of her.

"Feel any better after wandering around for a day and a half?"

Thinking back to how he'd felt twenty-four hours ago, Shinji would have to say yes, so he did. "Yeah, a little. I just needed some time to think about things, I guess. I didn't get it though," he mumbled, remembering the first few hours of insanity that Haruko called 'driving'.

"Why not?"

"I met someone. I guess she managed to get my mind off of everything long enough for me to figure out that this is really where I want to be."

Misato grinned, playing with her beer can. "Oh, she did huh? And how might she have done that?"

Blushing, Shinji averted his gaze. "It wasn't like that Misato," he said quietly, remembering his… odd wake-up call just a few hours previous. "I wonder if I should tell Naota. But what about that Ninamori girl?"

"I know it isn't, Shinji," said Misato, cutting off his train of thought. "I just like teasing you."

"Oh."

Misato sighed, taking a sip from her can. "The Eva is on standby. Will you pilot it, or won't you?"

"You're not going to scold me for running away?" he asked, astonished. Seeing her shake her head, he asked, "What are you going to do with it if I say I won't pilot?"

"I suppose Rei will do it, or Naota," she added quickly, not entirely sure about that last part. Ever since his medical examination a few weeks previous, his synchronization tests with Unit-01 had been canceled—quietly, of course. She made a mental note to ask him about it later.

"Isn't it a bit unrealistic to force everything onto them?"

"Maybe so, but they can handle it. We don't need or want you if you don't want this Shinji. NERV doesn't need a Pilot with an attitude like that. If you go into battle like that, you'll just get yourself and everyone else killed. Do you understand?" she asked, setting her empty beer aside but not reaching for another.

"I understand. It wasn't something I wanted to do, and it's not like it comes naturally or anything—but I think now, I kind of do want to do it."

"Why?"

Shinji shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. Can't I figure that out along the way, so long as I'm willing to do it?"

Standing, Misato nodded. "Yeah, I suppose that'll do. Now, one more thing…" she said, walking around the table to him.

"What?" Shinji asked, standing as well. He didn't expect the slap she gave him which turned his head most of the way around, and he really didn't expect her to throw her arms around him three seconds later.

"Don't ever do that again Shinji!" she cried, tightening her hold on the boy. "I—I said I'd take care of you, and I meant it. That doesn't just mean I'm giving you a place to stay. If you've got a problem, you can talk to me, you know?"

"Ok Misato," Shinji replied softly, returning her hug, though not as enthusiastically. He really didn't know what else to say.

"Welcome home."

Naota loathed Monday mornings. "I wish I were in America. They have it so easy," he thought, stepping out of his shower. "Canti should have breakfast finished by now. Man, I'm hungry." He grinned, anticipating breakfast. Reaching out to take his towel from its place on the rack, Naota was startled by the sound of the bathroom door opening and a soft gasp. Quickly covering himself with his towel, he glared at Ninamori who stood frozen in place, her face beet red. "Geeze Ninamori, learn how to knock. And you said I was a hentai any time this happened at my dad's place in Mabase." He paused, cutting his tirade off before it got a decent start. "Um… why are you still staring at me?"

"Ah, um… It's my turn to use the bathroom now!" she yelled, stepping in and quickly shoving Naota out, locking the door behind her.

Shaking his head, Naota went into his room to dress. "That girl is weird," he muttered under his breath, slipping quickly into his shorts and shirt. Finished dressing, Naota reached for the handle to open the door, but paused. Turning his head, he caught sight of the goggles—Haruko's favorite goggles, as he remembered them—sitting where he'd left them. "Damn, why do I do this to myself?" he asked to no one in particular, slipping them over his head so they dangled around his neck, and then throwing on a cap backwards.

By the time he made it to the kitchen, Canti had finished breakfast and had two plates on the table. Mumbling a quick thanks, Naota dug in. One of the good things about having the robot as a housemate was that Naota never had to do chores, or cook, or take up any of the other 'responsibilities' that young people his age were so un-fond of. "This beats a soggy breakfast any day."

Finished eating, he glanced at the second plate. "What's taking her so long?" he wondered, putting his plate in the sink. Deciding that it'd probably be in his best interests if he made sure she knew that her food getting cold was her own fault for taking so long in the shower, Naota placed his ear to the bathroom door then knocked. "At least I know how to knock."

…

So what exactly was taking Ninamori so long, you ask? Had she slipped and broken her neck on the side of the tub? No. Did she drown standing up? No. Had she fallen asleep? Again, no. In fact, she was quite alive and very much awake. Ninamori was getting her fooly cooly on—err… masturbating. Hands in places best left to the imagination as describing them implicitly would get the author in trouble, regardless of how entertaining it was to write this part, Ninamori stood leaning against the shower wall letting the hot spray from the shower work its magic. "Oooh yes, this is good," she moaned lightly.

A knock from the direction of the door caused her hands to slow, but not stop altogether. "Ninamori, hurry up! Your breakfast is getting cold. Don't blame me when it tastes like crap."

"Takkun," she whimpered, resuming her frantic pace of earlier. Breakfast? Who the hell needed breakfast? Certainly not Ninamori. No, what she really needed at the moment was for Naota to call her name again—just once more, please.

"'Mori, you didn't fall in did you?" Naota called again, granting her wish.

"That'll work," she decided, her body shuddering in release. Idly wondering what Naota would do if he caught her like this, Ninamori debated not answering and luring him into the bathroom with her. "I'm fine Naota, almost done," she called finally, easing herself off the shower wall and rinsing off in the spray from the shower.

"Ok. I'm going over to Ikari's. Come and get us when you're done eating."

"Oh, I'll come and get you all right, Naota. One of these days…"

…

Shinji, Naota, and now Ninamori made their way down the sidewalks to the school in a comfortable silence. Passing through the school gates, Naota spoke up. "Hey Shinji, I'm going to take Ninamori to the office and get her schedule. See you in class?"

"Sure," Shinji nodded, waving to the pair as they turned off to go in through the office entrance.

"Hey! Ikari!" someone called and Shinji turned to see who it was. Kensuke strolled up, Touji not far behind. "Glad we found you. Touji has something he needs to tell you, don't you Touji?"

Grumbling at his best friend under his breath, Touji stepped forward. "Ikari—look, I'm sorry about hitting you twice. Please, ya gotta hit me back."

Shinji didn't need to look to know that most of the activity across the school grounds had stopped and they had the attention of every person there. "I—I can't do that," he started, about to point out the fact that they were at school and everyone was watching. Someone would get suspended for this.

Shaking his head, Touji continued. "Ya gotta, otherwise I won't be satisfied. Look, don't worry about what anyone here says—we'll back you up."

"He's a pretty embarrassing guy, isn't he?" Kensuke grinned, focusing his camera on the pair. "But if it'll put an end to this dispute, why don't you just go ahead and hit him? And he's right; I don't think any of the other students will say anything, since you're the Pilot and all."

"Hurry up! We don't have much time, do we?"

"He's right Ikari, school's about to start."

Sighing, Shinji relented. "Ok, but only once."

"Right. Come on."

Shinji dropped his school bag, balled up his fist, and sent it flying towards the other boy.

"WAIT!"

Pausing only a hand's-breadth away from Touji's jaw; Shinji pulled his hand away. "What?"

Touji cracked his neck, steadying himself. "Don't hold back."

Shinji nodded, took a half step back, then stepped forward and threw his punch, putting everything he had into it. Touji's head rocked back and he swayed a bit but the track suited jock didn't fall. Wincing, Kensuke grinned. "Ouch. That had to hurt."

Touji laughed, rubbing his jaw. "Only a little. That was pretty good Shinji."

"Uh, thanks?"

The bell rang and Kensuke looked around at the crowds entering the building. "Well, we'd better get going before we're late," he said, picking up his bag.

Shinji nodded, picking up his own bag, and together the three of them joined the mass of students quickly working their way inside.

…

Naota yawned, stretching and shifting the Rickenbacker around on his shoulder. "I need to get a case for this thing at some point," he thought, watching as Ninamori and Hikari carried on a fast-paced conversation ahead of him. He didn't understand much of it though, as they weren't speaking his language. "Girls," he muttered softly, glancing around at the students filling the hall.

As they drew nearer their class, Naota overheard a group of three girls talking off to their right. "Is it true that Ikari hit Suzuhara out front?" one asked, speaking in what she thought was a low voice so as not to attract the attention of a teacher.

One of the girl's friends spoke up, offering confirmation. "Yeah. Aida and Suzuhara came up to Ikari as he was walking in through the gates and Suzuhara told Ikari to hit him. Aida has it all on disc, I think."

"Crap!" Naota thought, darting ahead of Hikari and Ninamori and rushing into the class.

"What's wrong with him?" Hikari asked, following the boy at a more sedate pace.

Shrugging, Ninamori smiled. "No idea. Takkun always has been a little weird."

"Why do you call him that?"

"Well you see, it all started…."

Seconds after rushing away from Ninamori and Hikari, Naota burst into the class. Looking around, he found the boys in question talking quietly in the back. Shinji looked up from their conversation and waved him over. Taking a quick breath, Naota joined them. "What's going on?" he asked, unslinging the Rickenbacker from his shoulder and leaning it against the desk. "I heard there was a fight."

"Not much of a fight to it," Kensuke explained, fiddling with his camera and then handing it to Naota, who watched the whole thing play out on its small screen.

"Nice right rook."

"Thanks," Shinji said, blushing a bit at the memory of having the entire school watch as this transpired. "I think we've got it settled though, right?" he asked of the two other boys. Both nodded, grinning.

"So Naota, who's the girl?" Kensuke asked, taking his camera back.

Looking over his shoulder, Naota spotted Hikari and Ninamori taking up seats together at the front of the room. "Her? That's just Ninamori."

"She's kinda hot," Touji grinned. "Wonder where she lives."

"Actually, she shares the apartment next door with Naota."

Turning around, Naota glared at Shinji. "Shinji?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut. Up." Naota growled quietly, his hands inching towards the neck of the Rickenbacker. Kensuke and Touji laughed.

"So what's she like?" Kensuke asked, filming the new girl talking to the class rep.

Naota shrugged. "Bossy as hell."

"Sounds kinda like the class rep," Touji commented.

"She was a class rep, that's probably why. Her dad was the Mayor of Mabase."

Shinji shook his head. "I think she's nice."

"You would," Naota frowned, hoping Shinji didn't bring up the incident from Sunday morning.

Kensuke dug around in his bag, finally coming up with a small still image camera. "Hey Touji, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Touji nodded, grinning. "Sure am. Hey Naota, want to make some spare cash?"

Looking between the two boys and the camera, Naota shook his head. "No way. Not if it involves what I think it does. I live with her, remember. There is absolutely no way I'm getting the blame for this one."

"Awe come on, just one or two will do," Kensuke pleaded.

"No."

And so it went for the rest of class—Kensuke and Touji making plans to get their photo racket going again and Shinji and Naota listening and shaking their heads at the absurdity of it. "You know," Shinji commented quietly to the two. "One of these days, someone's going to catch you two and either take your money or beat you up—or both."

Kensuke and Touji traded a look with each other, and then both replied, "Never happen."

Somewhere across the Pacific Ocean, a girl sat in an entry plug rubbing at her nose. It itched terribly, but she couldn't sneeze in the LCL. Finally, the itch subsided and she sighed with relief. "Why do I get the feeling someone's talking about me behind my back?" she asked of no one in particular.

"Hey, big shot! What're you lookin' at so intently?"

"Nothing!" Shinji denied, blushing.

Kensuke grinned, looking the direction Shinji had been staring just seconds ago. "He's ogling Rei!"

"I—I am not!"

"Ah come on! We saw you looking," Kensuke taunted.

"Yeah at Ayanami's boobs—her silky thighs, her calves, her… naughty bits!"

"Uh… it's nothing like that."

"Then just what were you looking at?"

"You can't fool us, Shinji."

Shinji looked away, turning his gaze back up to the pool, and Rei. "I was just wondering why she's always alone."

"Come to think of it, she hasn't had any friends since she started here in the seventh grade," Touji said, leaning back.

Kensuke nodded. "There's just something about her that makes her hard to talk to—like she's in her own world."

"She's probably just got a lousy personality," Touji added.

The coach blew his whistle and the boys stood and began jogging around the track. They were joined shortly by Naota. "You two are both Eva pilots, you should know her better than any of us," Kensuke panted.

"Yeah, he's right."

Shinji slowed to a stop, looking down. "I suppose… but we don't talk."

The other three stopped as well, Naota thankful for once that he'd decided to leave the Rickenbacker on a bench. He really doubted he'd be able to make even a full lap around the track with it—at least not in this heat. Catching his breath, he straightened. "Rei's just… complicated," he said, drawing the attention of Kensuke and Touji.

"You're a Pilot too?" Touji asked. Kensuke had told him that Ikari was the pilot of the giant robot and mentioned that Naota had transferred in the same day as Shinji.

Naota shook his head. "Not quite. I'm still training, and they haven't gotten my Eva in yet but I do a lot of the same stuff Shinji and Rei do."

Kensuke nodded, thinking back to what he'd found on his computer. "That explains all the missing data, then. Your records are almost as doctored as Shinji's, but Rei's—damn," he added, remembering the security on the albino's own files. It had been so complete that he hadn't been able to get anything other than her birthday and current place of residence.

Shrugging, Naota started to jog again with the rest of them, since the coach had been blowing his whistle at them for the past minute. Thinking back to his conversations with the girl, Naota put a voice to his previous thoughts. "It's like she just doesn't know how to live, you know? Like she was raised inside a tank for most of her life or something," he added around quick intakes of breath.

"It's possible," Kensuke said, and quickly amended his statement when Touji groaned. "The first part—not the tank part. Though from what I did manage to find, she lives alone in a pretty bad part of town."

"What kind of person would choose to live like that?" Shinji wondered as they finished their laps in silence.

…

Shinji cringed at the loud bangs issuing from a construction site nearby. "How can she stand it?" he thought, entering Ayanami's apartment complex. He sighed as the noise abated a little, entering the elevator and pushing the button for the fourth floor. "Why did I agree to this?" he asked aloud, thinking back to the previous night.

Misato and Ritsuko had embarrassed him to no end for staring at Rei's picture. It was Ritsuko who suggested he deliver her new security card. Stepping out of the elevator, he remembered why he'd agreed to it. "She knows Father better than I do, and I'm his son. Maybe she can tell me what he's really like." That was his excuse anyway.

Apartment 401 was as dingy on the inside as the hallway outside of it, if not more so. It was littered with bloodied bandages, old bottles, and junk mail scattered haphazardly across the entryway. Looking around, he spotted a pair of cracked yellow glasses sitting on the dresser. "What are those doing here? They look too big for Rei, and I don't think she wears glasses."

Shinji picked up the ruined glasses, looking through the cracked lenses and squinting. The prescription was much stronger than he'd thought. A noise from behind caught his attention and he turned to find Rei—clad in a towel around her shoulders and not much else. Her gaze shifted from his face to the glasses in his hand and she took a step forward.

Rei strode quickly across the room, backing Shinji up against the dresser.

Shinji's bag caught on the partially open undergarment drawer, throwing off his balance.

Rei snatched the glasses from his fingers, glaring at the audacity of this boy to come into her home and tamper with one of the few possessions precious enough for her to keep.

Shinji's already precarious balance slipped and the two of them tumbled to the floor where they landed in a tangle of limbs, Shinji's knee between her legs and pressed against a rather sensitive area of her body, and his hand on her breast.

"Will you get off?"

Rei paused in her next step and Shinji blinked, quickly putting the glasses back on her dresser. "Rei," he asked, turning back to the girl. "What just happened?"

"You fell."

Shinji nodded, and then shook his head. "But I didn't fall…" he mumbled, staring at the girl as if she'd grown another head.

Rei's pupils dilated and she gasped, covering herself quickly with the towel. "You were touching me, you pervert!" she shrieked, backing away a step. "What are you doing here?"

Shinji blinked, confused. This wasn't the Rei he'd been talking to only seconds ago. "I didn't mean to, honest! Ritsuko told me to come here, to bring you your card!" he tried to explain, digging around in his pocket until he found her new pass.

Glancing at the card, Rei pointed to the dresser. "Put it over there and leave, now!"

Doing as she said, Shinji set the card down and backed out of her room, going to the door. "I'm sorry, it was an accident, really," he said, trying once more to apologize before he left.

Shinji's hand was on the knob when her voice came again, calmer this time. "Ikari."

He paused, turning to regard the girl once more. "Ayanami?"

"Tell no one of what happened just now. Do not speak of it to anyone and do not bring it up in conversation unless I ask. Do you understand?" Shinji nodded--he understood her wishes, but not the desires behind them. But if it kept her wrath away from him over the incident-that-didn't-happen-but-did, he would agree to nearly anything. "I will explain when I myself understand."

Rei turned around, dressing herself as Shinji left. Dozens of snippets of scenes—memories—involving herself and Shinji Ikari flashed through her mind, one after the other. She didn't understand any of them. Despite the unsettling visions parading through her head, one other thing was bothering her, and it had everything to do with the scene that had triggered them all. Her body was reacting on an instinctual level she hadn't previously been aware of, and she was… blushing. "I am…both aroused and embarrassed?" she wondered, shaking her head slightly and picking up the NERV ID card. Perhaps it was her distraction that caused her to leave the glasses—or perhaps it was one of the clearer visions… one of Commander Ikari ordering the arm of her Eva to be severed, and the phantom pains that accompanied it.

…

As Shinji watched Rei's activation test beside Naota, he suddenly had a bad feeling that today would be perfect for an Angel attack. His bad feeling turned out to be right as the Angel alarm sounded. "How did I know?" he wondered, running through the halls of NERV.

Naota followed Shinji, running into the locker room. Glancing at Shinji, Naota wondered why he had bolted for the door just before the alarm sounded. "Shinji," he said quietly, pressing the switch for his plug suit. "How did you know the alarm was going to go off?"

Shaking his head, Shinji pressed the switch on his own wrist, turning to regard the boy beside him. "I don't know. I just had a feeling, you know?" With that, he turned and sprinted from the room, heading for the cages.

Naota looked around the locker room, his eyes coming to rest on the bass Rickenbacker sitting beside his locker. "Something's going on. Rei seemed more out of it than usual and Shinji came in with her… Maybe it has something to do with his visit to her apartment."

Shaking his head, he left the bass where it was and ran for the control center. Whatever was going on could wait until later. He had somewhere to be at the moment, regardless of the fact that he wasn't really needed. "I hate being useless."

…

Inside the planning room of NERV, Naota stood beside Rei as Misato went over her initial idea of using a sniper to take out the Angel. It sounded good to him, except for one minor detail. "Misato?" he asked, getting her attention. "What if Shinji isn't awake in time to pilot Unit-01?"

"Then you or Rei will pilot it," she said, not catching the look Ritsuko gave her. Naota did catch it however. It was a look that clearly said he wouldn't be allowed anywhere near the purple and green Evangelion if she had any say in the matter. He was jerked from his observation by a quiet voice from his right.

"He will pilot," Rei whispered before leaving the room.

Naota frowned. "Does she know something we don't?"

…

Shinji's eyes opened at the sound of his door opening. Glancing to his left, he saw Ayanami wheel in a cart with food on it. She tossed a new plug suit onto his bed. "Here, a new one."

Shinji sat up, regarding the plug suit. "Don't show up looking like that," Rei said, glancing at his mostly exposed lower half. With a yelp, Shinji pulled the sheets up to his chin. If he weren't so embarrassed, it might be funny—after all, he'd seen her unclothed earlier.

Shinji opened his mouth to speak, but stopped, Rei's voice sounding in his ears, but her lips weren't moving.

"You won't die. I'll be protecting you."

"Rei?" he asked, glancing at the girl.

Rei nodded, turning to leave the room. "I will protect you."

…

Shinji ignored the pain in his hands as he forced open the emergency opening to Rei's entry plug, unknowingly mirroring his father's actions of some time prior. "Rei!" he cried, crawling into the entry plug. She sat there, eyes closed and breathing shallow. "Rei! Are you alright?" He reached out, shaking her shoulder slightly. Suddenly, she took a great shuddering breath, her head shot up, and her eyes snapped open. A second later, Rei's arms shot around him and she pulled him down on top of her. Shinji found himself the recipient of what was probably the first and largest display of emotion Rei had shown in her entire life. "Ayanami?"

"Don't ever say that… Just don't say that you have nothing else. … And don't say goodbye when you leave on a mission, it's just too sad."

"Why are you crying? … I'm sorry, I don't know what I should do or feel at a time like this."

Leaning back slightly, but not enough to break contact, Shinji grinned. "Why don't you just try smiling?"

…

Naota watched as the Pilots approached the mostly-broken command center—Rei, with her arm over Shinji's shoulder, and Shinji with his supporting her around the waist. Something had happened in the time between Shinji force-ejecting Rei's entry plug and now, but Naota hadn't the slightest idea what it could have been. Other things, too, made themselves apparent. Subtle differences in their stances, for instance. Rei's walk, though half supported by the boy beside her, was more natural than it had ever been… and she was smiling, however small that smile was. Shinji's own step was more of a stride, confident and sure, like that of a seasoned veteran. They looked up as he approached. "What happened?" he asked quietly, making sure no one was within earshot.

Rei looked up at Shinji and nodded. Shinji smiled. "We'll explain it later, when we get home."

"I need a shower," Rei said softly, sniffing her hand. Naota and Shinji laughed, and the girl smiled a little wider.

"Something is definitely off, but I wonder if it's for the better," Naota thought as Misato joined them, congratulating the pair on a job well done. "I really hate being useless."

…

Naota and Shinji followed Rei as the three of them made their way to her apartment later that morning. It was still dark and Naota tapped his bat anxiously against his leg as they made their way through the more run down part of town. "Rei, how can you stand to live here? This place is a dump, and it's noisy. It's four in the morning and those people are still banging away?" he complained as they walked into the entrance to her apartment complex.

"I've never known anything else," she answered as they stepped into the elevator.

Naota tossed a questioning look at Shinji, who shrugged. Looking back at Rei, a plan began to take form in his mind. As the trio stepped out of the elevator, Naota took the lead, walking along the corridor and stopping at 401. "This one's yours?" he asked, noticing the mail sticking out of the slot in the door. Rei nodded, turning the handle and entering. "She doesn't even lock it?" he asked Shinji, who shook his head and pressed the switch for the bell, demonstrating that it too was broken.

They followed her into the apartment and Naota was both amazed and appalled at its condition. "This isn't going to work," he thought, watching as Rei paused in the middle of the room. As she turned to regard them and opened her mouth to speak, Naota held up a hand. "Rei, where do you keep your clothes?" he asked. Seeing her point to the dresser, he nodded and pulled off his school bag. "Help me get this stuff Shinji."

"What?" Shinji asked, startled. "What are you doing?"

"We are going to help Rei move."

"What if she doesn't want to move?" Shinji pointed out.

Turning back to Rei, Naota asked "Do you want to?"

"I—" Rei paused. She had been about to say 'I will do so if I am ordered,' but changed her mind. "Where would I go?"

"Shinji has a spare room, right?"

Shinji nodded. "Well, yeah, but I don't know if Misato—"

"Screw Misato. I have a spare room. Rei, do you want to come live in my apartment? Ninamori probably won't mind, and Canti doesn't sleep anyway…"

She nodded. "That will be acceptable."

The three of them set about gathering whatever they thought she would want or need and then exited the apartment. As they made their way back across town, a thought occurred to Rei. "I should inform the commander," she said, pulling out her phone and falling a couple of steps behind Shinji and Naota.

The trio arrived at Naota's apartment, tired but not caring to sleep yet. Naota put Rei's things into the third guest room and returned to the kitchen to find the pilots sitting at his table and Canti making what smelled like tea on the stove. Pulling up a chair, he sat down on it backwards, putting his arms up on the back of it and resting his head on them. "So what's the story?"

Rei was about to start when Shinji interrupted her, looking intently at Naota. "I think it'd be best if we heard yours first. You know a lot about us but we barely know anything about you—where you came from, who that Haruko girl was, and what's with the robot."

Shrugging, Naota grinned. "I should've expected that. Ok, fine. It all started one dull day in a small town called Mabase, where a punk kid and his brother's dumb girlfriend were making out beside a dirty stream that passed under the only road out of town, when this crazy alien girl on a yellow Vespa…."

An hour later, Shinji was more confused than when the story had started. "So you're saying that the girl I met—Haruko—hit you with that guitar," he pointed to the blue Rickenbacker standing innocently in the corner, "and opened some kind of portal in your head and machines bent on destruction started pouring from it?"

Naota nodded. "Pretty much, yeah."

"And Haruko's ultimate goal in opening that hole—what was it you called it, an N/O gate?—was to summon some demigod called Atomsk, the Pirate King?"

"Yeah," Naota said quietly, his hand absently running over the top of his head as if searching for a pair of ears that didn't belong. "She used me to get to Atomsk and in the end I was given a choice between the two of them—I chose her and Atomsk fled. Haruko took the guitar I'd created, left me the Rickenbacker, and followed him."

Taking a sip of what remained of his cold tea; Shinji regarded Rei, who had been silent during the whole telling. "Why should we believe you? That's just too outrageous—"

"Because it's the truth, regardless of how outrageous it may sound," came a voice from behind Shinji. Turning around, he found Ninamori standing there, clad once again in only a tee-shirt. This one read 'Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!'

She sat down beside Naota, grinning. "How long have you been listening?" he asked.

"Long enough. You people are too loud, you know?"

Naota sighed. "Go back to bed 'Mori, you shouldn't be listening to this."

"Why not, I was there when most of it happened, remember? And I want to know why you suddenly decided to tell stories at four in the morning."

Groaning, Naota slapped his palm against his forehead. Deciding it'd be easier to let her have her way, he looked up. "Your turn, I guess."

It was Rei who spoke up next. "You aren't supposed to be here," she said, her gaze fixed on Naota.

"What do you mean?"

"Originally, you were not in Tokyo-3 during the Angel War. Events have been influenced in such a way as to bring you to this place, at this time."

Naota was confused, as was Shinji. Obviously, this was news to him. "Originally?" Shinji asked.

Rei nodded. "Yes. Shinji, of the things you've remembered so far, was Naota ever in any of them?"

"No," Shinji said slowly, concentrating on what had already come back to him. So far, all he could remember were events leading up to the present, and none of those returning memories were very clear yet. "I don't remember much, and it's all pretty much hazy except for a few spots, but the one thing that stands out is that you were never there. Some things don't match up with things that have happened while you were here. Like when I ran away, I think I was supposed to be gone longer…"

"You are the variable," said Rei, her eyes locked with Naota's. "You and the people and events that surround you should be enough to throw off the timetable set in place by Commander Ikari and SEELE. Their Human Instrumentality Project…"

"Wait," Ninamori interrupted, glancing from Rei to Naota. "All of this has already happened? What was the outcome the first time?"

"I do not yet remember."

"Alright, then who the hell decided to alter reality to their liking?"

"I do not know that either."

Naota stood, walking to the refrigerator and getting a cola before sitting back down. "So all you do know is that I'm not supposed to be here but I am because someone wanted things to change," he surmised, then asked, "why me?"

Rei frowned, not quite understanding the logic behind it herself. "I do not really know. I am only able to say that you were something they could not predict—an unknown variable thrown into the equation to change its outcome."

Ninamori's final question before they all went to bed almost guaranteed that none of them would be able to get to sleep any time soon. "What happens if he makes things worse, instead of better? It's possible, isn't it?"

Gendo Ikari was… displeased, but he could not put his finger on why exactly. Germany was readying Evangelion Unit-02 for transportation and had already sent their first test model for the Super Solenoid engine to the Second Branch, it was due for arrival within the next twelve hours—things were running slightly ahead of schedule. Perhaps it was the call he had gotten from Rei only hours after the defeat of the fifth Angel. She had never voiced an opinion about her accommodations before. The fact that her apartment complex had become so run down had never been brought up and Section Two had never said anything on the matter. Even though her transfer to the apartment alongside Captain Katsuragi's own was for the best—at least to keep up appearances—he couldn't quite shake the feeling that something was amiss. Frowning, he leaned back in his chair and regarded his ceiling and the Tree of Life inscribed thereupon. "Soon Yui."

…

Almost exactly half way across the planet from NERV-01, a heavy transport plane winged its way across the Atlantic Ocean—their cargo: the first test model of the S2 engine. The flight had gone smoothly so far and they were looking forward to a little leave when they arrived in America. None of their instruments were picking up anything other than commercial airliners, and very few of those. Since Second Impact, air travel had become almost too unsafe to risk traveling any great distance due to erratic weather patterns. Even had radar or infrared been able to pick up the object approaching from their rear, no one would have believed what the instruments told them.

Had the crew been able to look directly to the plane's rear, they might have spotted the streak of red light bearing down on their position at an incredible pace. It skimmed along the ocean's surface, its course straight and true. When it decided it was close enough to attempt an intercept, the streak of light jolted up from the ocean's surface, tripling its speed with seemingly no effort. The crew never felt a thing when the red light hit the underside of their plane, nor would they since it didn't really make an impact so much as pass straight through the metal underbelly and up into the cargo hold, where it struck the box containing their payload and disappeared. Inside the large wooden crate, the Super Solenoid engine glowed a violent red briefly before fading back to its original dull red, almost the color of dried blood.

Seconds after the first streak of light had disappeared into the plane, a second—this one yellow—followed its path, slowing until it came within range of the cargo plane. Suddenly, the yellow light resolved itself into… a Vespa motor scooter, its rider glaring up at the plane. Had someone been close enough—and could have heard her over the wind—they would have heard Haruko screaming curses. "Atomsk! Come out here so I can eat you, fucking bird!" Growling, she gave the plane the finger before jolting off ahead of it, deciding to beat it to its destination. "Your power will be mine Atomsk, even if I have to hunt you down until the end of time."

Author's Notes: I think Shinji originally wanders Tokyo-3 for like three to four days... I don't remember at the moment but I knew when I wrote this the first time because I spent like forever and three days pouring over the dvds to get specific details right and skew others to my liking. Looking at the comments left, I realize that yes, I did unconsciously flaw Naota's character--he is too mature, but oh well... I'm running with it anyway probably, for a while at least. Besides, he's around people he doesn't know, so I figure he's entitled to act a bit differently. Once Haruko shows up... oh, damn, obvious spoiler there. Anyway... Who said anything about Naota stabilizing the situation? Temporarily? Yes. In the long run? ...I can't say. I don't even know. 'Mori's out of character too? Well, they didn't give much on her in the series, so I took a few liberties--besides, I'm digging some of it from the two graphic novels I have. Love triangles? I slept through Geometry and passed it with an 'A'. The relationship shituation (no, that isn't a typo) will become more confusing as the story progresses. I haven't even reached the "good" parts of the series yet. On a side note, I've been told I have a tendency to let works like this become near-porno quality in the levels of sex I let the characters have (though it usually winds up as just implied), so if I slip and it starts looking like I've been taking notes from Random or someone, you'll have to forgive me. Then again, these are kids in a war... It's pretty much excusable, I think. Why? Because, like I said, they're kids... hormonal, angst driven, walking libidos regardless of what the American society of today would like to believe. I have a brother their age...trust me when I say that this is pretty much par for the course. I was never that young. Secondly, they are fighting a war and stress does things to people--makes them do and condone things they might not, normally. Thirdly: I can always use the excuse that they're NERV personnel and as long as Ritsuko says it doesn't screw with their sync scores and they keep it fairly low-key, Gendo couldn't care less--which might as well be blessing from the gods themselves, as for as anyone in Tokyo-3 is concerned. I've started work on yet another fic (though this one is mucho hush-hush and won't be posted under this name), so don't expect any updates past chapter eight of this for a long, long time to come. Right and I've rambled enough--until the next chapter, where I can once again double the word length by adding ass-long author's notes.