+++++ NERV Tokyo-3. Tuesday, +14.

Shinji made quick progress towards the anticipated room, guided there by Sig who'd said nothing to him during the short walk between lockers and meetings. When the big man opened the door, and nodded respectfully to him as he passed, Shinji returned the favor of both recognition and silence. He was furious. He was enraged. He was not going to take that out on anyone who hadn't earned it. Walking with his back stiff and his shoulders set, he took a place at the opposite end of the table from Kozo Fuyutsuki and Misato. They were in charge, he was not. They sat on one side, he sat away from them out of respect.

"A little closer, if you please." Kozo rolled his hand, urging Shinji to move. "This is not a derogatory counseling, son. I would rather avoid those whenever possible when I know for a fact that nothing wrong was done."

Loosening up a touch, Shinji met them halfway and left a pair of chairs between him and Misato. He didn't want to be touched right now. He was afraid of what would come out if he were to be touched, and distance was the best way to ensure nothing happened. "I'm not going to put up with Soryu-san tearing Rei-chan down, sir. I…I know I shouldn't have yelled at her, and certainly not in public, but…." He breathed out a sigh, deflating as all he saw was understanding in the two NERV officials' eyes. "I am sorry for my loss of control."

Taking Kozo's meaning when he glanced at her, Misato took up the charge of explaining to Shinji what was going on. "The goal is always to counsel in private, Captain…but that goal isn't always in the same place. Pilot Soryu will receive an official reprimand from Command, once the reports are written and everything is made clear. We really aren't here to discuss your means or methods of maintaining discipline among the pilots, and if I had to give any criticism from my position it would be that threatening to throw her off of the gantries should probably have been left off of the end."

"A good point," Kozo agreed warmly. "Capital punishment is reserved for Command staff only, and is rather crass to employ as a means of motivation. Your initial effort, trying to build a rapport with Pilot Soryu, was the correct pathway to success. That she refuses to meet you halfway is her fault, not yours."

At that, one of the doors opened on the other side of the room, admitting both Ritsuko and Maya. The leggy scientist took a seat next to Kozo, in recognition of her rank among the staff, while Maya hurried around the table and sat by Shinji to not leave him stranded. Speaking first, Ritsuko looked to Misato and Kozo, "We're not on official time yet, right?" When Kozo shook his head, she turned her gaze to Shinji with a very amused smile. "I did not expect that out of you, Shinji. I'm glad to see that you have enough spine to not let someone like Soryu bully Ayanami-chan. Their personalities are basically fire and water, and Ayanami-chan took what we've taught her seriously about interpersonal conflicts."

"I'm…kind of glad you didn't hit her back," Maya added. "She shouldn't have slapped you, and she deserves the punishment she's going to receive for it, but responding to her violently would have just made everything that much worse." Unknowingly tempting fate, she took his left hand in both of hers. "I'm really happy that you are being mature about this, practically everyone is! All I've heard is people being proud of you for your restraint and your defense of Rei."

Something in Shinji's mind seemed to short-circuit. The initial pulse of rage at being touched physically was stamped on by some unknown force, and instead he curled his fingers so that he held one of her hands as well. "Even though I threatened to throw her over the railing…I don't know that I could have done it. I'm…I'm worried about how strong I'm becoming, and as infuriating as she is, I don't want to kill her."

"Throwing a punch is a lot different at seventeen than it is at seven," Kozo agreed, believing Shinji to mean his physical growth instead of ephemeral. Glancing over as Misaki walked into the room, he slowly stood up from the table in recognition of her ostensible rank. "Your restraint is noted, and admirable. We will work with you, son, so do not think you have to tackle this alone."

Shinji followed Kozo to his feet, watching as everyone but Ritsuko did as well. Offering a weak smile to Misaki, he bowed slightly in lieu of dropping to one knee as he otherwise would have. "Perhaps not my best performance today, ma'am."

"No war is won without pain, no battle without error," Misaki replied with the air of a quote. "The victor must learn from the vanquished as much or more than the vanquished learn from the victor." Recognizing the recognition of her standing, she gestured back to the table and took a seat on the opposite side of Shinji from Maya. "You won, Captain. Never apologize for doing so."

Regaining his seat, Kozo nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Best to avoid excess pride or humility in victory." Once everyone was settled again, he tapped a spot on the table to dim the lights and start a projection of a waveform. "Thank you all for attending on short notice, and I understand that we have more than enough on our plates already, but as Doctor Akagi will make clear there is something of great concern happening."

Taking her cue from Kozo gesturing vaguely towards her, Ritsuko began to work her tablet to show several different views of different events. "We remain unaware of the nature of the…energy that is being used as a weapon by Captain Ikari. How he produces it, how he controls it, or how he manipulates it. Our concern is growing, not because we don't know those important factors, but because of their impact on Captain Ikari." Enlarging one of the frames, she showed both the moment he had summoned the Wings of the Light Hawk and what appeared to be the same type of waveform as when Unit-01 had spoken to him. "Someone is speaking to him, and it is not Unit-01 anymore."

Kozo's fingers remained intertwined and resting on the tabletop. "Is this in addition, or in lieu of?"

"Independent of," Ritsuko clarified. "If we rewind to the point where Captain Ikari is engaging half of the Angel," she moved back to the point that Shinji charged in to tackle, adding a third window beneath the other two, "you can see that it appears that Unit-01 is, for lack of a better term, shouting in tandem with him. Isolating that waveform," she extended a fourth window down, to show Unit-01's voice independently of everything else, "you can see that they are two different entities." With a half-sigh, she looked at Shinji and asked simply, "Can you…tell us what the voices in your head are saying?"

"It's not a voice, it's a song." He wouldn't lie to a woman he was coming to love, and as there was no real explanation available from the Juraians he wasn't in danger of 'outing' them. "Like…like different…different glasses, all being gently hit with something. Big glasses, little glasses, the sound is a combination of them, like a song. No beginning, no end, just…." He shrugged, helpless. "Just peace."

Misaki asked a follow-on question of Ritsuko, "Doctor, I thought you had said that music would have registered differently?"

"It's supposed to, yes," Ritsuko agreed without hesitation. "He might recognize this as language somehow, or perhaps there's something subliminal that's speaking to him in a frequency he can't quite make out, or it might simply be a mystery that we'll never know the answer to."

"But the fact that it's not a voice is good, right?" Misato tapped the table in front of her with one finger. "If it is just…music, or a song, or whatever then it explains the weird brain rhythms and he can keep piloting, right?"

"What do you mean, 'keep piloting'," Shinji asked, his voice dangerously quiet. "We just saw what 'the relief' we received is capable of right now. If I had been up top when this fight started, Rei-chan and I could have stopped the threat together before everything went sideways. I can't stop piloting, because if I do, I'm not terribly confident that we'll keep living."

"As…adroit a summary as that is," Kozo spread his hands, "he is not wrong. If this were a voice, and we were able to communicate with it to determine if it is Angellic in nature, that might be one thing. Shinji's emotional changes all fall in line with anticipated norms, taking situation and condition into account. As a pediatric specialist, I can honestly state that I would have chalked something like this up to an overeager imagination after having been deprived of input for decades and suddenly thrust into the middle of a great deal of stimulation. He has shown no interest in working counter to humanity's interests, and if anything he has shown a kindness that you would not anticipate with his history. If this song keeps him calm in combat and allows for the results we've seen, I think we simply need to monitor his situation and remain aware of it. He remains deployable for combat." Standing up to conclude the meeting, he looked to Maya with a hint of a smirk. "Please ensure that Captain Ikari returns from your dinner date in roughly the same working order as he arrived to it. His back, as I understand, is still recovering." Inwardly chuckling at the way the mousy lieutenant curled in on herself, he looked to Misaki and bowed politely. "Thank you, General. As you can see, I take his health just as seriously as that of this planet's."

Misaki slowly stood up, inclining her head in recognition of his honor. "We appreciate your transparency, Sub-Commander. Thank you for your efforts." Patting Shinji on the shoulder, she moved to leave while mentally reminding him, We will discuss the truth of things once you are home again. Little Sakura has informed us that you wish us to voice our opinion on the houses, I will ensure that all are heard before you return. Have fun.

The echo of Funaho's words brought Shinji's mood back up to a healthier place. He was supported, nobody was upset that he would spend some time with Maya, and the world did not revolve around him. "Where…uhm, where should we stop for what you want, Maya?"

+++++ Tokyo-3, Maya's apartment. Tuesday, +14.

There was a level of trust that Shinji was developing with Sig that helped him see the world through better eyes. The giant of a man had not complained once about Maya's presence, nor had he worried at her sudden changes in their destination when she thought of something else that would be 'nice'. The only words other than 'yes' and 'ma'am' that he used were once they had arrived at her apartment after he let them out of the vehicle, "Please make certain that the Sir does not exit your demesne without notifying one of us. He has been put through a great deal of strain and is prone to making rash decisions when things go poorly."

"I'll handcuff him to the table if I have to," Maya assured him. "Thank you again for driving us around, it really made things much easier."

"All part of the service, ma'am. Enjoy your evening."

At Shinji's insistence, he was carrying their groceries in. While part of it was to allow Maya to open the doors that would lead them into her building, her floor, and her apartment, the other part was so that he had something physical to concentrate on as he navigated his way past so many other people's 'domain'. That the elevator was directly next to the doorway into the building itself brought him relief, and once they were on board, he risked asking, "Is it…normal to not want to go anywhere near other people's doors?"

"Normal isn't something we typically use when comparing behaviors across individual patients," she began thoughtfully. "It might be 'normal' for you to brush your teeth with your right hand, despite being left-handed. It might be 'normal' for you to think that asparagus tastes gross. We prefer to look at what is causing the behaviors, before we discuss the behavior itself." She looked up to him patiently, smiling with the kindness she radiated typically. "So, why do you not want to go near other people's doors?"

"That makes sense…." He nodded, agreeing that the 'why' might be more important. "I just…I don't know, it feels like I'm intruding on 'their space'. Like they have a right for me not to be near their door, so I don't see or hear anything I'm not supposed to."

The elevator reached her floor, and Maya held the doors so that he could exit first. "When you lived with that terrible man, did he punish you for being near doors?"

"No, that's the thing," he had thought of it himself, "we didn't have doors on most of the rooms. I had a door, because I was living in a closet, but everything else just had these…curtains made of beads. It was all one room, more or less."

"That in itself may very well be the reason, then." They reached the fifth door on the left, and she pulled out a keycard to open it. "Your exposure to doors, as a concept, was limited to 'yours'. You're now being faced with other people's doors, and you're trying to give them the courtesy that you wish you had been given." Propping the door open with her foot, she leaned against the wall to let him move past her in the crowded entryway. "It's just another sign that you're a good man, with a good heart."

He could buy it. Walking to the kitchenette, built into the wall on one side of the apartment, he set down the bags on the small counter and looked around at the cramped space. "I…kind of like it here." He let out a small chuckle, looking back to his hostess. "Nice and compact. No wasted space. It's comfortable." Further down the hall he'd walked through, he saw the 'sitting area' with a single pillow on the floor, a low table for meals, and a tiny television attached to the wall all against a window large enough to jump through standing straight.

"That's good to know," Maya cheered, closing and locking the door. "I'd hate to have you come in here and cause you to start having a hard time breathing."

"No, no." His next statement wasn't meant as anything but a recognition of the truth. "The only time you've caused me to be out of breath was when we kissed." His balance wasn't the best at the moment of impact, and so he fell back onto the floor as Maya attached herself to him physically to resume where they'd left off days past. A short internal struggle was fought over whether he should do more than simply lay his hands on her sides to stop her from falling off of him, the 'do more touching' tree winning out owing to his libido being nicely stroked.

Overpowering inexperience with enthusiasm, Maya happily plied the lessons she'd learned from watching sappy romances and steamy telenovelas. With tongue and lips, she encouraged him to caress her everywhere. Her fingers made short work of his shirt, enticing him to give her the same consideration. Lower and underclothes followed quickly, and dedicating herself to ignoring the pain that she was about to endure to stop him from worrying over something he couldn't do anything to help with, she sat upright and slammed him home, gargling out in rapturous agony, "Yesssss…."

Her presence around him was nearly tight enough to be painful, a fact that increased his heartrate and breathing. "Wh-why…so…eager?"

"First time I laid eyes on you," Maya moved the engagement along, eschewing a lingering encounter for the more immediate payoff to allow for multiple partnerings over their evening, "I felt this…." Moving her hands in a groping motion, her face mixed intense gratification and scientific rigor. "Draw. Looking at you, I just felt that you and I should…be together." Bracing her hands on his chest again, she kept pounding against him. "I'm not…you know, saying that I think we're destined lovers or anything. I haven't been stalking you."

Would that you had. The joy Shinji was feeling began to outstrip any of his previous partners. "I'm s-sure you wouldn't do that." Setting his hands against her smallish breasts, he tried to utilize something he'd learned through Nanako, with wonderful results. "S-someone like you…d-doesn't need to." His toes curled, their goals achieved, and he was quickly gifted with her laying back down atop him. "W-wow."

"I concur with your assessment of our performance," Maya sighed out happily, snaking her arms behind his neck to hug him close. "I'm sorry if I…well, I'm not actually sorry, but I hope I didn't hurt you knocking you over. Like I said, I've just had this…burning desire for you. I'm not even really into guys, which is what made me take notice. Maybe it's just who you are, or maybe it's what you've been through, but…I'd really like it if we did this more often."

The feel of her still around him made it hard for him to say anything else, "I would love nothing more." He swallowed hard, the duties of his life reminding him that he had little choice but to be honest. "I need to tell you…."

"Oh, I know you have something going on with Agent Dojima," she lifted her head enough to look down on him with a bright grin. "I had a chat with her after you offered today, making sure how far I should push anything so that you weren't being unfaithful. She said your romantic life is 'complicated', but that so long as I let her know what happened and don't sleep with anyone else without letting you know we're ok." She frowned playfully. "But after what we just felt, I don't want to sleep with anyone else." She felt him begin to harden again, pouting, "I just want my Shinji-kun."

He would have to do something exceptionally nice for Nanako. "I'm…not really hungry right now."

"I'm already pretty full," she bit her lip and tittered. "Let's make the neighbors jealous."

+++++ Tokyo-3 Intercontinental. Tuesday, +14.

"I prefer this last one," Funaho declared, gesturing to the floorplan of the final house on Shinji's tour. "Hild's ploy is not without its merits. Breaking the monopoly on power over the System Force would create an opportunity for us to then establish an order based on freedom of sentient rights, instead of the pre-programmed psychosis it engages in."

Misaki nodded, agreeing with the first statement. "There would be no hiding it from the IGC. How would we maintain our distance?" She tapped the nearby lake on the house's property. "That would need to be expanded. It is useful as a means of hiding the presence of our ships."

"It is official Juraian policy that a Knight has the freedom to pursue justice, regardless of where that pursuit may lead." She looked askance at Washu, "Could we do that without threatening the local wildlife? The area is beautiful, and I would not harm the creatures who already call it home."

"It's hard to argue that Hild doesn't deserve some measure of Justice," Washu agreed tepidly. "I can increase the dimensions without harming anything, if you give me a day or so. The real problem is keeping the change in weight from causing tremors. Your gift to him will help, though."

"It is not a gift, it is a necessity," Misaki corrected. "Can we trust the bitch? Her actions against Shinji alone would earn her death."

Funaho shook her head. "We do not need to trust her. Shinji proved that he can overcome her main course of persuasion, and he will not do anything that would jeopardize peace without first consulting us. If he does act in a manner that would jeopardize peace, he does so as a Knight. The laws are clear, it would become a matter between Jurai and the aggrieved." Sitting back, she set her hands in her lap. "I like what this house offers." Turning to look at Sakura and Hikari, she inclined her head in gratitude. "An excellent choice, ladies. We approve your positions within his growing family."

"I concur," Misaki declared quietly. "Your first task as his ladies-in-waiting will be to prepare this home for occupation. Take who you need, put them to work. We expect to have him living there tomorrow, those who will take up rooms within will be given their choices according to rank and station."

"We will take the room next to his." Funaho tapped the room on the blueprint. "His room shall be, and remain, his."

"By your leave," Hikari curtseyed fluidly, before helping Sakura exit the hotel suite with a huge grin on her face. "Congratulations," she whispered.

Sakura laid one hand behind her shoulder upon Hikari's wrist. "We did it!"

+++++ Tokyo-3, Maya's apartment. Wednesday, +15.

Shinji had felt Maya move out of the loft bed, waking up enough to open one eye and see her climbing down the ladder in all her glory. Closing his eye, he sighed out loud enough for her to hear, "I am lucky to know you."

Maya paused with her head just above the level of the bed, grinning happily. "I'm going to get something started for breakfast, take your time in getting up. We still have a few hours before you have to go to class, or home if you'd rather."

While he did wait a little longer to get out of bed, it was only until the bathroom had been freed up enough for him to make use of it himself. His 'exercise partner' had demanded that he properly hydrate during their marathon, and all that liquid had made its way through his system and was informing him that he was running out of time to voluntarily free himself of it. The bathroom, like everything else in the apartment, was cramped. The tub, only large enough for someone to sit in with their knees propped against their chest, was directly next to the toilet, which also required some degree of flexibility to utilize. The more he thought about how Maya lived, the more he came to feel strongly that she shouldn't be living like that. She had just given him the experience of a lifetime. She had slept at his side, comfortably hugging him all evening. She had listened while he spoke of his past, and never once had she come across as judging or overly-apologetic. In her mind, it was his former sensei's fault and no one else's.

After cleaning himself, so that he could enable stage one of his plan, he stepped out of the bathroom and verified that she was still just as nude as he was. He watched her for a bit, her efficient motions turning a lithe, toned, form this way and that. Sometimes, it really does just take one day. Walking so that he was directly behind her, he stepped against her and ran his hands along her sides. "Good morning."

Arching her back enough to press against him, Maya tilted her head to the side to look up at him. "If you'd rather…we can put breakfast off?"

Slipping his hands to her front, he let one play in the southernly reaches while the other lingered around her throat as she'd shown him she liked. "If I shared a secret with you," he whispered into the top of her head, "would you swear to me that you would never tell a soul?"

Slowly rocking her hips side to side, she purred contentedly, "You promise to do this at least once a day, and I'll go to my grave with your secrets."

Her motions had caused his body to respond vigorously, but he knew he had to explain what was going on before he had any right to continue. "Things at the hotel…aren't what they-" Her doorbell ringing interrupted both his thoughts and the mood. "Fuck."

"Oh, we're going to," Maya patted him on the side, freeing herself and moving over to the intercom, "don't you worry about that." Pressing the answer button, she spoke in a tone that never once indicated that she was irritated, "Ibuki residence."

"Hey Ibuki, it's Dojima," the reply came, causing Maya to frown and Shinji to shrug unknowingly. "Need to talk about a few things with you, important stuff. Tell Shinji it's Knight time."

The emphasis on the homonym gave Shinji all the reason he needed to act. "You should let her in," he sighed, accepting that he might have waited too long to act. "We need to talk."

"One second, Dojima-san," Maya's lip curled downward with displeasure, "I need to throw something on." Standing on her toes, she grabbed the sheet off the bed and handed it to Shinji with a significant look. "We are not done yet." Grabbing a robe, she cinched it off and then opened up her door to let in Nanako. Seeing that her unexpected guest wasn't upset, she chose to ask bluntly, "So why are you putting a stop to my best morning ever?"

Nanako laughed, nodding in understanding. "Yeah, he gets your blood flowing nicely, doesn't he?" Rubbing her hands together, she too chose to simply be blunt, "General Misaki and Doctor Masaki are the Empresses of the Juraian Empire, an intergalactic union of free souls spanning well beyond the local cluster. Those of us, Sig, myself, a number of others, are all servants in their name. Shinji was brought into the fold after the Imperial Princess determined that his living conditions were abysmal, and he impressed Their Majesties with his heart and vision. Juraians are, from external appearances, just like humans. There are some internal differences that have to do with evolutionary changes caused by our environment. Denser bones, thicker skin, stronger muscles, things of that nature. A simple x-ray will easily show the truth. During our time here, Shinji has been accepted into the Imperial household as a Knight of the Throne, which makes him legally a subject of the Juraian Empire. I am here, as a member of his crew, to offer you a position aboard his vessel. The food is decent, the pay is outstanding, and the only thing between you and a lifetime of what you had last night is your willingness to swear loyalty to him for the rest of your days."

Looking at Nanako with a perfectly neutral expression, it seemed that Maya was considering how best to send the crazy lady packing so she could call NERV for backup. When she turned her head to look at Shinji, her question changed his entire perception of her character, "You have a ship?"

"He does as of last night," Nanako answered in his stead. "The bonding ceremony will be today in the afternoon so everyone that is a member of his crew can attend."

Maya tilted her head slightly to one side. "If or when we leave, you will take me against a window with a view of Saturn."

Stepping up behind Maya, Nanako hugged the similarly sized woman. Placing her chin on her shoulder, she gave Shinji a feral grin. "I like her, Captain. Let's keep her around."

Shinji's face was fighting between a grand smile and complete confusion. "…I have a ship?"

+++++ Author's Notes.

RE: Asuka's attitude.

I think that if Shinji had, in canon, actually stood firm on something and pushed back that Asuka would have had a much better relationship with him. She didn't want a doormat, and he needed someone to push him. Unfortunately, as y'all have pointed out, Asuka isn't in the right headspace in the original series to have that kind of epiphany.

Let's see if I can make her better without ruining what makes her...her.