+++++ Kirijo Residence. (Tuesday, August 24th, +3, Waning Gibbous 2/4)

Once he reached what had been called his 'new home', Shinji got his first good look at what had been done to it. Three boulders had torn into the side of the house, one into his room, one into the gym, and the last one into the dayroom. Work crews were already in place and doing their best to restore the integrity of the house, and his first look also became his last for the moment.

"Ah, thank you. Both of you." Miyuki greeted the group before hurriedly urging them around the side of the house. "I've had a decontamination trailer set up alongside the house, to handle Shinji's unique needs for the time being. Could I ask that both of you speak with my Chief of Security? She'll want to brief you on the standard operating procedures we use, and gain insight into how best to utilize your talents. I'll make certain he gets clean, and gets rest. I have a specialist here for just that purpose."

The wall of text she spouted served as a clear delineation of the power structure in the area. Miyuki directed, but still recognized the bond that had begun to form between him and his two Agents. "Thank you, Mikoto, Akane. I'm much warmer now." He was wrapped up with thirty pounds of blankets, in fact. He felt that he must look ridiculous, but considering that he had received the blankets from a group of women that truly cared whether he lived or died, he wasn't going to give them up soon.

"We'll be around, kid. Keep your nose clean." Akane flicked his nose playfully, then walked towards the main entrance.

Mikoto patted the blankets over what she believed to be his arm, adding, "Cooperate with Doctor-san. If you hurt, tell them you hurt. There is no shame in seeking help, and no glory in ignoring pain." She then hurried to catch up to her partner, leaving him with Miyuki.

"I can see why you prefer them," his hostess declared contentedly. "Honest, caring, and trusting of you. You seem to have a good eye for talent." Turning to the side, she gestured towards the trailer that had been placed on what was apparently a basketball court. "I'm having them restructure one of the rooms inside to accommodate Doctor Takemi, but until it is built I want her here to see to your needs. Your guardians are quite correct, you are far too valuable to all of us to allow you to 'just wing it'."

He nodded, accepting his duty. Trying to work a hand free of the blankets without dropping the bundle on the ground, he made to reach for the door handle.

"Shinji." She waited for him to look at her. "Should you be asking for help?"

The conversation at dinner rolled back through his mind. "O-oh…I'm sorry, I was wr-" He stopped speaking when her finger landed against his lips.

"No. This is not blame, this is correction. You cannot perform expected tasks that you've never performed before without help." Removing her finger and opening the door for him, she caressed the backs of her nails against his cheek. "You are not a burden, a bother, or a bad person. You are someone who needs help, and so help you shall receive. In you go."

Moving cautiously into the entryway of the trailer, he saw a variety of equipment that he recognized from Ritsuko's lab. He also saw a comfortable bed, a mini-kitchen, and a couch. Finally, and curiously, he saw a woman wearing fishnet stockings, a mini-skirt, and a form-fitting t-shirt looking at him the way someone would typically look at an alien creature. His manners module activated, and he bowed as best he could. "Pleased to meet you, Doctor-san. My name is Shinji Ikari, please take care of me."

The new woman, her bob-cut jet-black hair tilting with her head, looked at him for another few seconds then looked to Miyuki. "He's male."

"No, he's Shinji Ikari. He did just tell you his name, Takemi-san," Miyuki responded with amusement.

"If we're going to be pedantic, then fine. 'Ikari-san', as you told me I would be giving physicals to, is male." Stepping over quickly, she began to remove his blankets carefully. "Miyu-chan, you have a male here!"

Shinji was beginning to grow worried, the fuss being made over his gender causing him to worry about what would happen when she uncovered his genitalia. "I-I'm-"

"Tae," Miyuki grabbed the doctor's wrist, a far firmer grip than appeared possible from her slender frame, "you are scaring him." While the words themselves were delivered simply, there was an ominous warning that made clear how poorly that would end.

"I…shit." Unclenching her hand, leaving the last two blankets in place, she stepped back a pace and freed herself of Miyuki's grip. "I'm sorry, Ikari-san. I've been trying to work on figuring out why every male of every species on Earth just up and vanished. Even blood samples I had from my male patients were gone. Yet here you stand. I got caught up in my surprise, and I apologize."

"Is this going to be an issue, old friend?"

"No." She shook her head firmly. "I had kind of prepared myself for a woman, thinking through everything that had to be done. You know how I get when someone sets a puzzle in front of me."

Shinji could feel her honest remorse, which allowed him to relax again. "I am s…." He frowned, Miyuki's reminder outside speaking to him again. "I…uhm," he glanced to his hostess, hoping he was doing things right, "I accept your apology. You…you weren't wrong to believe I would be female, based on the situation."

"Much better," Miyuki responded quietly.

"Thank you." Tae smiled, a kind of sarcastic smirk that resonated well with its target. "Let's try first impressions again. I'm Tae Takumi, an old friend and business partner of Miyu-chan here. I think I understand why she said I had to uproot everything from New Yongen-Jaya and hurry here, though. You are the one who pilots the big robot we've been hearing about, and you're the only male left in this realm. I've made a career out of 'weird', and both of those things would qualify for that."

Before Miyuki could chastise the doctor again, Shinji laughed. "Yes…I probably would be qualified as 'weird'."

"Good, then we'll be weird together." Taking a strand of his hair between her fingers, she pulled free some solidified LCL. "First thing, shower. Which means you," she looked to Miyuki, "need to let the Doctor do her job. I've apologized, he's accepted, and I know what you want me to do. Let me do it."

"Go ahead and step into the shower area," Miyuki pointed Shinji in the right direction. "I'm going to have a few last words with Tae-chan before I unleash her on you unsupervised."

The joking statement, delivered with fondness flowing from the elder Kirijo to the doctor, kept him from feeling panicked about having caused someone else trouble. Stepping into the area intended for undressing, he set aside the last two blankets and turned the water on, stepping in despite it being ice cold. The shower itself was large enough to accommodate seven people, by his estimation. Though the single nozzle led him to think that perhaps that was so healthcare workers could do what needed doing for a patient that wasn't self-mobile. He took a small touch of soap, turned off the faucet, and began working on the LCL, which had further hardened on his skin in the frigid water.

The door to his side opened, admitting Yuko Takao, the woman that had first precipitated his current predicament. Sliding the door closed behind her, she leaned against it and smiled. "Good morning."

He inclined his head, still focusing on the spot he'd chosen to work on. "Good morning, Yuko-san." He gave her a weak smile in return, anticipating that she was here to help him in some fashion with the doctor outside. "I…uhm, I don't think Doctor Takemi is going to hurt me, if that's what Kirijo-san is worried about."

"Nope." Forgoing her typical calm, controlled, demeanor she instead chose a far sultrier tone. "I chose to come here on my own." Stepping towards him, undoing the top button of the farm dress she'd put on, she let her gaze linger along his body. "You see, I won the right to serve as your Executive Assistant." The second button fell. "Which means that I earned the opportunity to help you with whatever problems come up." The third button fell, as did the dress, as she reached him. "It seems I may have caused you something of an issue earlier tonight." Her fingertips trailed along his length. "And I'd apologize," she breathed out, "if it didn't excite me terribly to know I did so." With her other hand, she turned the water on again to heat it up. Standing there under the unsympathetically frigid water with him, she turned the seduction on just as fully as the showerhead. "So I thought, maybe, you'd let me help you with the problem I caused…and then help you get this goop off you."

+++++ Kirijo Residence. (Tuesday, August 24th, +3, Waning Gibbous 2/4)

Tae listened intently to Miyuki's accelerated explanation of what she was going to be signing. The non-disclosure agreement was wholly unnecessary, as she'd do literally anything to have direct access to the only remaining male on what remained of Earth, but the punishments listed were by far the worst she'd ever seen. Part of her wondered how most of it was enforceable, and another part of her wondered if 'enforcement' would be served via the courts or the firing squad. Scrawling her name in the box provided, she capped the pen and tossed it down onto the table to cut off her old friend. "Yeah, yeah, fire, brimstone, and lashings with a foxtail. Don't care." Gesturing towards the showers, she tilted her head. "Why did your assassin-bodyguard-chief maid just go in there?"

"To resolve an outstanding issue," Miyuki deadpanned.

Her eyebrow rose slowly. "How old is he?"

She outlined, in detail, what had been learned from the ongoing interrogation of Meroko Ikari. Her heart hurt to have to do so, but it was made easier by the disgust that grew in Tae's eyes as she did so. "Pavlov, while irritated that people misunderstood the purpose of his experiment with his dogs, did provide the psychological underpinnings involved. He has a conditioned trigger. One that will likely never be undone, even if we had all the time in the world to put to the task. That means we must provide a means of disarming the resulting explosion before it can hurt anyone."

"That's going to hurt him. I'm a freak, but even I understand what Hippocrates was aiming at, Miyu." Tae crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair. "What she's doing in there is basically-"

"What needs to be done," Miyuki interrupted. "What would you have us do? There is no pill on Earth that will 'turn it off'. The only possibility is a painful medical procedure that takes hours to do."

"He could manually-"

"No, he can't! He. Has. Been. Conditioned," she slapped her hand down on her armrest with each word. "For fuck's sake, Tae, do you really think that I would have given Yuko the green light for this if there was any other way? I have spent the last several hours going over every single reference text on my private MAGI terminal attempting to find an answer. Billions in research to find ways to cause old men to get stiff, and only vague references to anecdotal poppycock about reversing that! She beat him. She caused him as much pain as she could to prevent him from going flaccid until she was done. We avoid the triggers as much as possible, and when they happen despite our best-efforts Yuko will take care of the problem!" Looking off to a point in the far distance, she added in a more subdued tone, "At least until he's reached a point where he can accept a genuine relationship without being little more than a puppet."

Tae was not one to be cowed, especially not by a woman she had helped do criminal acts in the name of doing what was right. "You're continuing the abuse of someone who doesn't understand basic human interactions. You can't expect me to be ok with that!"

"I don't," Miyuki stated simply. "That's why I didn't ask you to take care of his issues. I would have preferred someone that actually had a heart for this role, someone that held actual affection for people. The least bad choice for the moment is a woman that at least understands what he's going through, and believes that he is a good person who's been dealt a terrible hand. If you can think of something I've missed, which is the actual reason I brought you in on this by the way, I want it on my desk ASAP. I don't care how much it costs, I don't care what evils I have to do to make it happen. If you can find a way to help him without hurting him, tell me."

+++++ NERV. (Tuesday, August 24th, +3, Waning Gibbous 2/4)

Ritsuko and Maya entered the briefing room to find only Kyoko standing inside. The German-Japanese scientist was actively comparing various charts, graphs, and waveforms, not stopping even as she gestured them closer. "Komm. Schau dir das an."

The puzzle of what everything meant was enticing enough to encourage Ritsuko to come closer despite disliking being distracted from her main points of irritation. "You know Maya doesn't speak Kartoffelpuffer, sensei. Maybe try la langue locale?"

"Oui, oui, je parle français!" Maya nodded, following along and maintaining her typical demeanor.

Kyoko snorted, a sound like tearing paper. "French is nothing but gutter Latin, dear. You should expand your linguistic horizons, if you wish to lure our dear Shinji-kun." Pointing to one of the monitors that displayed a time-focused chart, she twirled her finger around the point that it deviated significantly from the previous norm. "This is when he entered NERV, the first time."

Her eyes trailing along the trough, Ritsuko tapped where it returned to normal. "This is when he left for school." She shifted the chart further along quickly to when he'd arrived to fight the Angel. "…What is this measuring?"

"BNST activity in on-base personnel."

Ritsuko's head turned slowly towards Kyoko, her anger growing even brighter. "What?!"

Kyoko was unmoved by her protégé's displeasure. "The specific personnel responsible are anonymized before the data is even recorded. The MAGI have a hardcoded cluster dedicated to this task, which cannot be accessed by anyone. The data is for all practical purposes destroyed. However, the measurements are retained and analyzed immediately for defensive purposes. If the BNST activity spikes upwards, what happens?"

"People are afraid, anxious. Fight or flight responses are triggered. But when it goes downwards…oh." Maya closed her eyes and did something she did not often do, "Fuck."

Pressing two buttons, Kyoko brought up another diagram. This time it was a map of the GeoFront where the readings had been recorded. "And now you see why I did not bring him back here?"

"Ok." Ritsuko set aside yet another facet of her anger for the moment. "Ok, ok. Is he triggering it, or is he responsible for it? Those are two different conditions, and two different responses might be required."

"I would not feel confident declaring either condition true or false. More data is required, and you well know that. What I do not want is for him to come back to base with der großen Schnitzel and risk someone attempting something they normally would not." Spying Maya's top lip curled between her teeth, the Lieutenant shaking her head as if denying something, Kyoko took pity on a woman she knew was too good for NERV. "Nein. You know, frau Doktor Ibuki, that simply because inhibitions are lowered does not always mean that they are absent. Someone with strong moral character would simply be confused by why they were thinking what they were, and would act as the person they were inside. What I fear is not you, or your feelings about him, it is the majority of other women present in this facility."

"And what about those at the Kirijo estate?" Ritsuko agreed with her teacher as far as Maya was concerned, but agreed with Maya as far as the concerns for Shinji's safety extended. "What if he's emanating something? What if it's the thing in his spine? Should we have him go to class like that? Should we-"

Kyoko motioned for quiet, regaining control over the group effort. "As part of the reconstruction plans, the same sensors we use here to detect the micro fluctuations in BNST activity here on base are being installed there. If the data is consistent, we have a problem. If the data is inconsistent, we have a problem. What problem we have will be predicated on what answer we receive." Jabbing Ritsuko in the ribs, she tutted. "You seem to have lost your trust for me in your old age, child. I would hope I have not somehow offended you so badly that you think this poorly of me reflexively."

Frowning at the poke, Ritsuko scowled at Kyoko. "What I'm pissed about is that I'm not being allowed to help a good man reach his potential. I'm pissed that a wretched woman was given the ability to ruin him by Commander Ikari. I'm pissed that I have to put him in the Eva despite the very obvious risks to his ego border. I'm pissed that I can't lock him and Maya in a room so that she can spend all day hugging him and helping him see that everything will be ok. I'm pissed, sensei, I'm not pissed at you. I'm trying to help him, and that means thinking through everything I can like you taught me to."

"Sehr gut." She nodded, glad for the truth of the matter. "Although I would not place him and frau Doktor Ibuki in a room alone." Looking back at the charts, and searching for solutions, she added, "I would have you there as well. The two of you would be an effective balm for his woes."

+++++ Kirijo Residence. (Tuesday, August 24th, +3, Waning Gibbous 2/4)

Calm was not something Shinji had anticipated receiving. The way that Yuko had walked the borders between cooperating, compelling, and complying had produced a near euphoric state that left him seated on the floor of the shower being gently cleaned by his supposed 'Executive Assistant'. His muscles were jelly, his mind relaxed, and his member thankfully flaccid. "…Thank you."

"I should be thanking you," she purred out. "It has been far too long since I've had this level of satisfaction." A small sigh escaped her lips as she scrubbed his back. "If we can heal your mind and body to the point that you can choose your own paramour, I can only hope that they'll be willing to share your attentions from time to time."

His head lolled over, and he felt the genuine sense of hope glowing within her. "You…would want that?"

"Sharing you? In a heartbeat." She stuck her tongue out playfully. "I'm never going to marry. I love my job way too much to inflict it on someone that way. That doesn't mean I don't still want to be treated like a lady, or to treat a strong, handsome, young man to the pleasures I feel."

The thought floated around Shinji's head, and with how relaxed he was feeling some of it leaked out of his mouth. "I'm…glad you're not interested in marrying." He glanced at her again. "I don't want to inflict myself, or my job, on anyone either."

"Ah, but the difference is that you don't love your job. You simply recognize that your job requires sacrifice." Rinsing him off, she checked for spots she might have missed. "I'm quite serious when I say I love my job. Kirijo-sama has given me purpose, fulfillment, and a reason to not dwell on a past that belongs where it is. Predicting her needs, fulfilling them, that is a true joy. Now that I will be aiding you, ensuring that your bank account and social calendar are both properly filled, I can tackle new challenges. That is why I will not marry anyone, not because I shouldn't, but because I don't want to."

There was happiness in him, hearing her words. A small smirk grew on one side of his mouth. "…Maybe, someday, I can find that kind of a job too."

"Just remember to call from time to time, if that job is without me around." She shared in his joy, "I may not be looking to force us into a relationship, but that doesn't mean I don't want to engage in safe and fulfilling…activities with you." She doubted she could have purchased the wash of happiness that flowed across his features. Helping him stand, and steadying his stance, she gave him another soft kiss to avoid inciting another round of 'activities'. "I meant what I said, Shinji, whatever you need…come to me."

There was nothing in her gaze, in her voice, or in her heart that said any different. He took his time trying to see anything that disagreed before nodding slowly. "I…I will…if you ask me too. If I can help, I mean. I don't want this to…to be…."

"It's nothing of the sort." She embraced him, shaking her head as it pressed against his chest. "I don't feel at all like I'm being 'used for my body'. I came here because I wanted to, and I would do it again in an instant. Now for the tough question," she looked up at him with total honesty clinging to her, "do you want people to know what we've done, and what we'll do if you wish?"

His first thought was, as it would ever be, not of himself, "I-I…I don't want to get you in trouble, but I-I'm not…I'm not ashamed of you."

"Ah, ah, ah," she reached up and tapped his lips to calm him again, "then we will say nothing. I agree, few would understand those like us. They would think first and foremost of what laws and scholars say, and not of the suffering that rigid adherence to those things would perpetuate in our incredibly unique circumstances. Any other man, any other world, any other history, and what I just did would be reprehensible beyond description. This world, this man, and this history…I don't believe that forcing you to suffer the humiliation and physical pain involved is the path of least harm." She slid slowly backwards, to not give the impression of abandoning him. "I know, you know, and madam knows. I asked her for permission, and explained why it was necessary. She agreed, only so long as you spoke with her some time afterwards." Picking up a towel, she offered it to him with a playful grin. "We will come up with a system that allows you to inform me of moments of need, and I will find a way to inform you in return since you offered so generously."

"Y-yes." He nodded, agreeing entirely. "A-and…if…uhm…if y-you don't want…."

"Then I will say 'No', and help you find alternative assistance." Her grin became pleased as she toweled off herself. "I am grateful that you remember my right of consent, and I ask that you remember that you have that right as well. A 'No' from you will never be seen as a rejection of me as a person, only a sign that you do not feel like doing anything. I do not own you either, and I never will. You own you."

Once he was dressed in a set of loose clothes that would allow him to receive Doctor Takemi's attentions, Shinji looked at the door leading out to the main portion of the trailer with poorly disguised worry. "And…you're sure you're not going to get in trouble."

Yuko finished buttoning up the dress she'd worn into the room, looking at him with calm confidence in herself. "Since I had your permission, I'm quite sure." Once more appearing as a woman who lived to serve, she gestured towards the door herself. "With your permission, I will be waiting in your temporary chambers to ensure that the pillows we've selected are the right size. We have several different types available, and I would not have you sleep on something ill-suited to support your head."

He remembered the boulder striking the room he'd been given. The fall from the balcony. The chilly water of the pool. "I-I…uhm, I'm n-not sure where to go. I mean, I d-don't mind you being there…I just…."

"You will be escorted, do not fear." She opened the door for him, forcing him out of the holding pattern he was creating for himself. "Doctor, I apologize for the wait. It appears that some tasks were far more complex than I had anticipated, I believe that experience performing them will decrease future delays."

The doctor was seated in a rolling chair, her legs crossed at the knee as she bounced one foot idly in thought. "Not worried about that, Yuko. Take as long as is needed to get the job done properly…he deserves that, at least." With a dismissive gesture, she sent the subject of her ire away and focused her attention completely on Shinji. "So, as is usual when in a new situation I find myself asking millions of questions at once. But let's start with the most basic question of all." The door closed behind Yuko as she abided by the terms of her agreement with her employer, and Tae's voice changed to a tone of genuine concern, "Are you ok, Shinji-san?"

Shinji blinked, then tilted his head slightly as he tried to think about what he might have been doing or saying that would prompt the sudden change in the doctor's bearing. "I…uh…my waist hurts?" Looking down, he traced a finger along the area where the whip of flame had looped around him. "It burns…and, uhm, it feels like someone's…throttling me? It's kind of hard to breathe, but not really…like the pain is there, but not the damage?"

It was Tae's turn to be taken aback, though instead she leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees, and her chin in her now conjoined palms. "…I had meant with what Yuko just did."

He blushed, looking down. What had happened was enjoyable in ways that it had never been in the past, and it thrilled him to know that he might one day be given something similar again. "She had permission," he quietly replied.

"Qualified permission," she countered, "based on a limited understanding of the situation."

"I trust Kirijo-san."

"So do I."

That caused him to look back towards her in confusion. "Then why are…."

Her head tilted slightly to the other side, considering him as a woman and not as a doctor. "Because I've never spoken with someone in your situation. Never been given the opportunity to see the costs the world has accrued for allowing someone to suffer as you have. Now that I have that opportunity, I wanted to know that you were actually the kind of person you seem to be." She blew out a sigh of frustration. "You couldn't lie with a script, and you have no idea how humans are supposed to interact with one another." Standing with fluid grace, she spread her hands helplessly. "I'm supposed to try and help you, and in order to do that I have to understand you. To understand you, I have to speak with you. To speak with you, I need to accept that the oaths I took when I became a doctor are incapable of covering all potential situations. So for today, I'm going to take some basic blood and tissue samples, and think about how to approach a unique dilemma without breaking a functional system."

+++++ Kirijo Residence. (Tuesday, August 24th, +3, Waning Gibbous 2/4)

It was a half of an hour of silence for Shinji, save for the occasional verbal instruction on what was being done to him. Several vials of blood, three biopsies of what he'd believed were just skin blemishes, and an examination of his ears, eyes, nose, and throat later he was handed an apple and pointed to the exit with instructions to finish the fruit before bed. Confused and bearing the piece of food with far more care than someone else might have, he stepped out of the trailer and into a new storm that he hadn't anticipated.

"-which is exactly why I'm here, and not at my apartment trying to get some fucking sleep!" Misato Katsuragi was, indeed, looking rather tired while she was standing nearly nose to nose with Yuko, who was in turn standing with the patience of a mountain. Every time the Tactical Commander attempted to move around her, Shinji's newly minted EA seemed to be directly in her path. "I don't care what you call your- Shinji!" Misato changed tactics to try and plead directly with the young man she had come to see, "Would you please tell this lady that you work for me?"

As far as he knew, he wasn't employed. "Yuko-san, I…don't work for her, but I do know Captain Katsuragi. She works for NERV, she's, uhm…the Tactical Commander."

"She's also trespassing, and preventing you from getting well-earned rest," Yuko replied with warmth without taking her eyes off of Misato. "If she wishes to have a meeting with you, she now has my contact information for me to arrange one. Chiaki-chan, please be so kind as to escort Shinji-san to his temporary chambers. See that he has appropriately comfortable bedding before leaving. I will be otherwise engaged for the foreseeable future."

"Of course, ma'am." The young woman that had stepped in to remove the soaps and such from the bathroom he had used earlier the night before appeared as if from the darkness. Facing him and sweeping into a curtsey that kept her between him and Misato, she gestured towards the manor. "If you would be so kind as to accompany me, Shinji-san?"

"Hey, wait!" Misato made another move to get around Yuko, only to find herself thwarted. Growing angry, she grabbed the woman's upper arm and went to shove her out of her path, only to find herself thwarted more violently.

Yuko swept the military officer's feet out from under her, applied a wristlock that prevented Misato from moving at all, and placed one dainty foot down against the back of her neck. "If you could also ask our friends from Section Two to come collect the good Captain?"

While Shinji had no connection to the woman that had just been very effectively prevented from reaching him, he nonetheless felt conflicted about the manner in which access to him had been denied. Regardless, he had been asked by a woman that had given him a precious gift to retreat to his bed. Turning away, he allowed Chiaki to escort him to his destination. Once they were back inside the house proper, and before he could ask his escort anything, he spied a woman that he had actually wanted to see for hours now. "Mitsuru!" Changing his own course, he moved towards his fellow student as she mirrored his intent. "Are you ok? I couldn't get back to NERV, I heard something happened and-"

Stemming the flow of words with her fingertips against his lips and taking the apple from his grasp, Mitsuru looked past him to Chiaki, handing her the fruit. "I will see that he is taken care of, Chiaki-san. I would like to speak with him in private for a time, thank you."

"Of course, ma'am." Chiaki once more swept into a curtsey, the power available in her legs clearly demonstrated in the motion. "Shinji-san, please remember to press 'zero' on the intra-house phone to summon assistance. We are available at all hours, for anything you may need." Standing upright, she looked at him impassively. "Thank you for defending us this evening, sleep well."

Training dictated that he respond to her statement, but training also dictated that he obey Mitsuru's clear request that he remain silent. A quick bow, not so low that it would draw a great deal of attention, but low enough that he felt that he'd responded to her gratitude appropriately, was barely finished when Mitsuru took his hand and hauled him towards his temporary lodgings at just below a jog. A million questions swirling in his mind remained unasked, and as he crossed through yet another door his anxiety was swelling beyond his ability to comfortably constrain.

Mitsuru shut the door, then leaned her forehead against it. At no point had she let go of his hand, a fact that was clearly not due to inattentiveness when she took two deep breaths then turned and pulled him into a hug. "Dangerous does not even begin to describe this, Shinji. Dangerous is going skydiving. Dangerous is eating too much sugar. They just put you in a gigantic war machine and asked you to fight a colossus with weapons that couldn't even begin to harm it!"

Shinji's first thought was also his response, "What happened to you? Are you ok?" His hands stayed safely away from Mitsuru's body entirely, which made him flap his arms in an effort to do anything with them at all. "I heard that some women did something, then heard that you were in trouble, then-"

"What?" Pushing him back enough that she could look at him, her brow knit together in both irritation and frustration. "There wasn't anything that happened that I wasn't able to handle. I've spent years being attacked by things stronger than some humans that think we're being apostates. Shinji, you were just attacked by an Angel!"

Her statement was not incorrect. However, it also ignored several other factors. Namely the fact that he had been in a 'gigantic war machine' and that the entire reason he was here was because he was the only person who could keep everyone safe. "I…uhm, I was told to defend…."

Mitsuru took a deep breath, regaining control over her anxiety, then purged it out in a heavy sigh. "It would be so easy to just accept everything." She shook her head, denying something he couldn't yet be aware of. "My mother wasn't upset with my decision in the slightest, though yours was apoplectic that I would put myself in danger as I did." A moment of hesitation. "She has always viewed me as a niece, and has now threatened to repeat a rather uncomfortable childhood punishment should I repeat my decision."

Anger and sorrow bounced off each other as they attempted to take control of Shinji's emotional state, leaving the situation open for childish irritation to instead surface. "Of course she was concerned about you, you weren't a burden she had to shoulder." Pulling free and walking towards the bed, he missed the pained look of dismay that his actions produced on Mitsuru's flawless features. "We have to get up in a few hours to get to school, Kirijo-san. If you weren't hurt, then everything else can wait until we've had some sleep."

Not accustomed to being dismissed, but fully aware of the issue she was now running up against, Mitsuru accepted the temporary setback to give a good man time to process everything he was being forced to deal with at once. "…I'll make sure you're awake in time for breakfast, then. Sleep well."

The door opened, then closed, before he'd reached the bed. Looking around the room, and shuddering at how open it was, he made yet another familiar decision, walking away from the offer of an uncomfortable night's sleep and towards what he doubted people wanted him to do.