+++++ Kirijo Manor. (Thursday, August 26th, +5, Waning Gibbous 4/4)

The pool outside of Kirijo Manor was suddenly swamped with a wave of the same greenish liquid that had made up the ocean where Sachiel dwelled. Being deposited, at speed, into the pool outside of Kirijo Manor via that same wave of greenish liquid, Shinji once more found himself holding onto a young lady and sheltering her from impact. Unlike the first time, where he began to sink due to the way that physics functioned, the pair were only in the water for a second before hydrodynamics forced them to fly out the other side of the pool to land with a wet splat atop the muddy turf nearby.

The water continued past them, flowing down the nearby hill into the forested valley below. Keeping his arms around the woman he wished to come to no harm, Shinji slowly breathed out, "Yukiko-san?"

For her part, Yukiko was simply grateful that Shinji had taken the brunt of the impact. She was sore, and she knew she would have been worse off if he'd landed atop her. "Yeah?"

"Thank you for being so light."

"A woman does try her best at that. Thank you for appreciating it." The chuckle she received, while sounding full of pain, heartened her. "I hope you don't mind me laying still…I kinda hurt."

"I, too, am in more than a small amount of pain," he said in a playful mimicry of her own ostentatious decrees. The sound of footsteps squelching in the muddy grass drew both of their eyes open, the sight of several of the Kirijo Security personnel rushing over with medical gear accompanying a woman Shinji recognized. Too tired to lie, even if he could manage it believably, he greeted the woman with a weak grin, "Good evening, Miyashiro-san. Turns out the east lawn is, in fact, kind of muddy."

Kirijo's Chief of Security snorted out a laugh as she knelt down next to his head, placing one hand atop Yukiko's back. "Smartass, eh? Don't worry, I can work with that. Please, neither of you move. I watched your dynamic entry, and I want both of you checked by Takemi-san before I let you start walking." Once two of her agents began attaching Yukiko to a spine board, she shifted so that her knees were on both sides of Shinji's head, keeping it still. "I've seen Mitsuru-chan return from Tartarus with burnt clothes, or ice hanging from her, but not once have I seen her reappear accompanied by a tidal wave. You've managed something new; you should be proud."

The fact that the woman gave him an out brought a wash of relief. "Well…if it's worth doing, it's worth over-doing."

"The only way is all the way," she agreed with a grin.

Getting Shinji on a spine board himself was more of a difficulty with how deep he'd sunk into the mud. It had taken six agents to manage, but they soon had him moving after Yukiko towards Doctor Takemi's trailer. The sky was as dark as it ever got in the new world they occupied, the city quiet save for the sound of the wind travelling through the trees. It was, in his mind, becoming a serious trend of his to spend his evenings receiving medical attention, and if for no other reason than to be allowed to enjoy the peace and tranquility of the air around him he thought he should put some serious effort into stopping that.

"Yuko, hose him off in the shower next to Amagi-san." Doctor Tae Takemi was busy preparing her laboratory equipment for use. "Clothes stay on, I don't want to jostle them until I have imagery."

"Of course, doctor." Yuko appeared at Shinji's head, frowning ever so slightly down upon him. "Pain?"

The doors to the showers opened, Chiaki's voice detailing how she'd clean Yukiko's clothes telling Shinji who was inside. "My entire body hurts," he admitted. "We got hit with a wave of water taller than Unit-01, which pushed us through an exit into…this world."

"Shinji?" Yukiko's voice was a mixture of surprise and irritation.

"I'm here, Yukiko-san. Trust Chiaki-san, she's very good at what she does." Closing his eyes, he tried to relax enough to not make it harder on Yuko to clean the muck off of him. Clods of dirt and grass that would have made it harder to gain proper medical imagery needed to be washed off both of them, and despite him wanting to verify that everyone was ok he wasn't going anywhere until they were satisfied.

+++++ Kirijo Manor. (Thursday, August 26th, +5, Waning Gibbous 4/4)

"Of course, thank you for trusting me with this. I promise, I'll make sure he's fully aware of his right to withhold consent to any of this." Miyuki was watching Shinji, via the large monitor in her office, be retrieved from the east lawn with nearly shameful amounts of relief, glad that she didn't have to continue to lie by omission to his mother about his location. "I'm very proud of you, Yui-chan. Despite everything, you're keeping his humanity sacrosanct. He'll come around." She listened to the final few words of gratitude that were amended to the farewell, and added herself, "Absolutely. Good night."

After her mother hung up the phone, Mitsuru forced herself to be patient. "I've gathered the others. What did you want to handle first?"

"I was thinking of starting with the American Whiskey, perhaps without any ice."

"Mother."

"Too much? Perhaps a rum and coke, then."

"…Mother."

With a sigh, Miyuki stood from her chair. "What I am about to announce to your classmates will, in all likelihood, lead many of them to despair. Any of the several topics I will cover alone would be enough to make them question their future, in combination I have grave doubts that they are stouthearted enough to serve as the heroes we will require." Watching as her daughter, her one true accomplishment in life, processed her statement for meaning, Miyuki felt pity for her. "I need you to tell me the truth, not that you've ever been one to hide it from me…. When you look at Shinji, when you think about his past, and his future, what is it you feel?"

"Determination." The answer was fairly simple for her to provide.

"Could you grow to love him?"

"Easily. His past is something he needs help in overcoming, his future is something he needs help charting…I can understand why you wish me to be married to him, from a business perspective. I've given the matter thought, and I've come to realize that you're also attempting to set us both up for success from a relationship perspective. He's giving, valiant, and eager to allow me to reach my full potential. He doesn't want a 'trophy', and you know very well I would not want to be one. I would be the face of the business, he would be the muscle behind it. You would be able to retire, to pursue your own interests, content in the knowledge that I had a man supporting me with everything he had."

She felt pride glowing in her chest, warring against the sorrow to come. "I'm also very proud of you, Mitsuru-chan. Come what may, I know in my heart that you will do your very best."

Mitsuru frowned in worry. "That sounds rather ominous."

"Come." Walking towards the door, she set the wheels in motion. "We have a host of young women to educate, and time is not staying still for us."

+++++ Kirijo Manor. (Thursday, August 26th, +5, Waning Gibbous 4/4)

"Big wall of water." Freed from the board after an evaluation confirmed that he hadn't taken serious damage, Shinji worked on stretching his limbs out with the assistance of Shiori Miyashiro. The Chief of Security was a strong enough woman to provide the needed resistance while also possessing a deft enough touch to not hurt him more while trying to help. "I grabbed onto Yukiko-san, and hoped. When we came out of Tartarus, I tried to roll so that I took the brunt of the impact."

"You succeeded." Tae flicked him in the forehead. "Once Amagi-chan is out of the shower, I want you to get clean and then get inside. The others are being brought up to speed regarding what we do and don't know about Tartarus by Miyuki-chan, and you're going to want to add what you can to that."

Shiori chuckled. "But only when you're not going to track mud into the house."

Clad in a thick robe, Yukiko had already walked out of the shower with her hair wrapped in a towel, overhearing the last of the conversation. "The shower is free, Shinji." Once he was stood up and moving towards her, she hooked her finger at him to bring him closer. Grabbing his ear and bending him down, she spoke in a conversational tone, "Add -san to my name again after what we just went through, and I'm going to kick you in the shin."

"I-I'm sorry." She wasn't hurting him, despite twisting his ear. Still, he respected that she wanted to impress upon him her wishes. "I will try to remember in the future."

Kissing him on the temple, she let go of his ear and patted him on the cheek. "Thank you. Now get clean so we can talk to the others."

"Yes, ma'am." Stepping lively, Shinji moved into the shower. Once he was inside, with the door closed, he realized that he was finally alone. With a trembling hand, he turned the water on and stripped off the clothes he had left on. He had nearly failed, again. He hadn't come across a single monster, and yet somehow Yukiko had almost died when they exited Tartarus.

That's because you're a failure, the all-too familiar voice cooed in his ear.

With a shudder, he shoved himself under the faucet. He wasn't a protector. He wasn't someone who could save anyone else. He hadn't even managed to save himself! Scrubbing at his hair, his hands growing increasingly unsteady, he tried to ignore the tears streaming down his cheeks.

Aww, are you crying again? You know what happens when you cry.

"Stop it," he whispered.

Make me. Her haughty laugh rang like an enormous bell in his mind.

"I'm not listening." Pushing harder to get clean, he wanted to be out of the shower quickly. He could distract himself, or just try and fall asleep.

You don't have to listen. I've carved the truth into you; my mark covers every centimeter of your disgusting body. You'll never be free of me.

"Shut up!" Smashing the flat of his fist down against the wall of the shower, he ripped the entire structure free of the trailer. A roughly five-meter hole now existed where the shower assembly had been, the piping and faucets mangled and twisted. Breathing heavily, he clenched his eyes shut and tried to shut out her laughter.

Shiori was the first in the room, her sidearm drawn and her eyes searching for a target. "…Clear." Holstering it as quickly as she'd drawn it, she stepped through the new hole in the wall and looked at the drooping ceiling, ignoring the wild spray of water from the ruined tangle of pipes. "Hey doc, get him out of there. Roof's not stable." Several agents came hurrying around the sides of the trailer, leading to her motioning them to stand down. "We're clear. Blue on blue."

"Come on, Shinji," to his surprise, it was Yukiko and not Tae that was pulling on his arm. "I don't want the ceiling falling on you, ok?"

Meekly following her pull, he let her guide him out of the shower. "S-sorry."

"Don't worry," she urged him, a calm smile adorning her face. "I'm a good woman, remember? Good women help men when they're suffering." When his barked laugh became tears of frustration, she sat him down on the floor and climbed into his lap to hold him close. The size difference meant that it appeared he was holding her to everyone else, but she knew as she rocked back and forth that it was her keeping him from falling to pieces. "It's ok. I promise, everything will be ok now."

+++++ Kirijo Manor. (Thursday, August 26th, +5, Waning Gibbous 4/4)

The room was so silent that one could hear a feather hit the ground. Miyuki Kirijo, head of one of the most powerful business organizations on the planet, had just explained that it was a precursor to the Kirijo Group that had created the bridge between their world and Tartarus. That Second Impact had been an attempt by a cabal of megalomaniacs to harness power beyond mortal control to shape reality to their own whims. That all that was left of reality now could be seen with a pair of binoculars on a cloudless day. That the only hope of humanity surviving rested upon a controlled breeding program involving a young man who was currently clinging to Yukiko Amagi and silently crying. That even if they succeeded in separating Tartarus and their world, they might very well remain forever locked in a bubble comprising parts of the Sea of Japan, the Pacific Ocean, and the Japanese island chains. That, lastly, if any of them told anyone, the panic that would spread through what remained of humanity would very likely destroy what remained of humanity.

"I apologize, on behalf of those idiots that once ran my company," she concluded. "I…sorely wish that I had more hope to offer you all. I wish I could give you time to process everything, to mourn those family members you have all lost. We don't have that time to give. Tomorrow, you will go to school and pretend that everything is fine. You will feed the lie that everything is under control. You will save your schoolmates with that lie, your teachers, your fellow citizens. Once school is over, we will continue training you to be ready to face what lies within the depths of Tartarus. Together, we will do what we can to save what is left."

Ulala groaned out a loud sigh, "Ok. Team Idiot reporting in: if I remember our biology lessons correctly, no amount of 'breeding' is going to solve our problem. Even if every woman left had a kid with Shinji, they'd all be related."

"Not to mention that we don't know for sure if any boys can even be born," Sumire added. "Are we just going to have Shinji sleep with his daughters? Once he dies of old age, or stops being able to have kids, do we just pass the buck down to that generation and tell them 'oh well, we tried'?"

"Social norms are likely to be the least of our problems," Eriko mused. "We'll probably run out of oxygen before then. The amount of carbon dioxide we produce will kill us without enough gas exchange."

Chie let her head fall back, staring up at the ceiling. "I never got to visit Hong Kong. How many awesome old movies won't be available anymore?"

"Guys," Rise stood, facing everyone with a look of shocked exasperation, "we can't just give up!"

"Who's giving up?" Sumire eyed Rise with a frown. "We can't help solve problems unless we know the problems that need solving. We can't help motivate everyone to fight if there's nothing left to fight for. We'll all go into Tartarus to find a way to shut it down, but I think I speak for all of us when I say we'd kind of like to know answers to the questions we're asking."

"I'm not asking a question," Chie groused. "I'm telling you, I'm pissed off about the Hong Kong films being gone!"

"Shush," Rise flapped her hand at her friend. "Ok," looking to Miyuki, she gestured back to the others, "you've got people working on those problems?"

"…We do," Miyuki responded evenly. "You did hear the part where your family members are, without unforeseen divine intervention, not going to be returned? Your friends?"

Ulala rolled her eyes. "I'm going to be processing that later, when I'm more confident that I'll have a later to process it in. Bawling and flailing aren't going to do us any good."

"Besides, like, everyone lost family and friends. We're totally not special." Yuka stood, stretching cutely. "Can we go find Shinji now? I want to give him a reason to fight with us."

"Whoa now," Ulala shot upright, "why are you going to be giving him 'a reason'?"

Rise growled, "I did see him first, you know."

"Enough," Mitsuru snapped, drawing everyone's attention to her with volume and presence. "Nobody is going anywhere near Shinji until we all come to an understanding here." Pointing, without looking, at Ulala, she added, "Mouth shut, ears open." Her glare swept across the room, reminding everyone except her mother who was in charge. "I understand that there are no other men available. I understand that makes it feel as if you might be 'competing' for him. I also remember, very clearly, informing you of the situation he has come to us from."

"We're not going to jump him," Ulala protested. "We're going to…surround him with women who'd really like an opportunity to show him how much they can offer a nice young man. I mean…if we don't show him we're available he's going to…."

Chie, still seated and staring at the ceiling, spoke up in a far more mature voice, "He's still going to have to fuck a bunch of women. Doesn't matter if we're 'with' him or not, our only chance at saving humanity is finding a way to mitigate the disappearance of the male half of the human race and the risks of inbreeding. I don't think he's going to lack for sex, I think he's going to need actual love."

"He's going to need women who make him feel wanted, not needed," Sumire agreed. "Women that will hold him when things get dark, that tell him it's ok to cry." She smiled sadly. "Women that are going to be ok watching him be happy with someone else, if it means he gets to be happy."

"Artificial insemination was a thing, last I checked," Ulala retorted. "We'll help them get the goods, and they can use it to knock up others."

Miyuki took note of both Chie's and Sumire's actions, deciding to speak to them in private later. "There is no guarantee that will work. NERV is currently processing recently acquired samples, and are noting that there may be barriers to creating pregnancy."

It was Mitsuru's turn to frown at her mother. "How 'recently'?"

"This afternoon." She'd received a report from Yuko on the matter, and agreed that forcing the issue would have been counterproductive to their goal of insinuating Yuko into his trust circle. "By a medical professional. We are going to have to provide another sample, probably several if I understand correctly."

"We?"

Miyuki raised an eyebrow at her daughter. "He is a resident of our home. He is under my protection. If such a thing is to be done under our roof, it will be as if done by our hand. Thus, we." Stepping into the room quietly, Yuko moved quickly over to Miyuki and whispered a series of events in her ear. The matron of the house wanted to kill a very specific someone, but refrained from giving that particular order just yet. "Thank you. Please, make certain that someone is checking in from time to time."

"Of course, madam." Her duty fulfilled, the Chief Maid swept from the room to be about the never-ending list of other things she had to accomplish.

"At the moment, nobody is going to be doing anything with Shinji-kun." She looked at the clock, and decided that it was time for everyone still awake to find their own beds. "He is in bed, resting under the care of Amagi-chan. As my daughter so adroitly explained, the situation he has come to us from was rather taxing. Incidents like this will happen, and if any of you wish to have my cooperation in the matter you will keep in mind that he will choose who he does and does not wish to have by his side from the available options."

+++++ Kirijo Manor. (Friday, August 27th, +6, Last Quarter 1/4)

Pixie snuck into Shinji's room, having received her latest marching orders from Titania. The hour was more than early enough that she fully expected him to be asleep, but she had not expected that he was not sleeping alone. Quickly covering her mouth with her fist to stop from squealing out of an overload of cuteness aggression, she silently applauded that a key part of her orders was looking like it was well on its way towards being resolved.

Laying on his side, one arm under the other pillow on the bed, the other arm tucked around his bedmate, Shinji held Yukiko Amagi tightly to his front. For her part, the slumbering maiden of the Amagi Inn seemed to be perfectly at peace with her place in life at the moment. Her eyes showed evidence of recent tears, her hair pulled around in front of her in a manner that indicated someone who slept without an abundance of motion, and both of her hands were holding onto Shinji's much larger paw. The entire scene made Pixie want to cheer with glee.

Fluttering over to the bed, she settled herself at the foot where she could keep an eye on the pair for a time. Part of her wanted to wake him up, to regale him with the events that allowed him to move through Tartarus without being intercepted by the oddity that was the four-armed monstrosity of spikes and thorns. That part was kept silenced by the wash of calm flowing out of the man she'd hitched her fortunes to.

He wasn't the most handsome creature she'd ever seen, though he wasn't without his charms. He wasn't the strongest, though he wasn't a weakling. He wasn't the most intelligent, or the most charismatic, or the most agile. He wasn't average or superhuman, and that fact didn't bother her in the slightest. She could feel the luck he offered to those near him, the way in which he improved their chances to succeed by simply interacting with them. The doors and possibilities he could and would open for not only the humans that remained but the Seelie Court as well.

The feel of him against her brought a vulpine grin to her lips, the way he'd kept going and going until she'd finally cried out in joy at their pairing. Sure, she'd been chastised by Titania for being so…crass, but the displeasure of the Queen of the Fae was balanced by her pleasure at the outcome of the daring act itself. When Pixie had whispered in his ear that she wished he might learn to accept her love, he had responded in that unguarded moment with a promise to try his best to give her that gift.

The Seelie Court had no King, and that simply could not stand.

+++++ Kirijo Manor. (Friday, August 27th, +6, Last Quarter 1/4)

With his first conscious breath of the day, Shinji inhaled the scent of cherries. He'd heard the door open, which triggered the 'wake up and get ready for pain' subroutine. When the process for bracing himself for the woman he'd been conditioned to see first thing in the morning ran up against the soft presence of Yukiko in his arms, he froze. Chiaki silently padded around to stand before him, her serene exterior hiding the pleasure she had within herself at the moment. He blinked a few times to clear his eyes, then mouthed, 'Time to get up?'

Chiaki nodded twice, then made motions indicating that food was required. Fanning out her fingers, she indicated that she would give him five minutes before returning so that he could rouse Yukiko as well. Following his smile of gratitude, she dropped into a curtsey and moved swiftly from the room.

Once the door closed again, Yukiko blew out a sigh of discontent as she stopped feigning sleep to face the reality of her situation. "If my mother knew I had done this, she likely would have had me cleaning the entire inn with a toothbrush." Keeping a firm grip on Shinji's hand, she debated lingering for longer. "I'd say I'm not the type of girl to do this, but that'd apparently be a lie. I know you're not the type of guy to do this, at least…not with ill intent. I suppose that's a good enough reason for my own decision to climb in here with you. You needed someone to stop you from spiraling into depression, and I trusted that you were the man I believed you to be. I woke up this morning receiving the affirmation that you are that man, and you…I hope…were helped by my being here."

He picked through the running monologue for a way to respond, and settled on, "If…uhm, if I could wake up like this every morning for the rest of my life…I'd be an incredibly fortunate man." He paused for a second. "Cherry…really suits you."

Rolling over, she pressed a kiss to his lips. While she had promised herself that she wouldn't just jump the line, and that she would make sure they were suitable before doing anything at all, the earnest compliment he'd just given her demanded that she show him how happy it made her to hear someone say that about her. After a minute of exploratory oral exercise, she forced herself to break off the connection. "Ok…ok, we really should get up. Chiaki-san is going to come back, and we shouldn't be lying here making out when we're supposed to be getting ready for school." Sneaking back in for another few seconds of kisses, she tugged herself out of the predicament to stand up out of the bed. "Ok. Ok." Several deep breaths later, she added, "Maybe…later today. You know, when we have a moment. Just…a few more kisses?"

A statement Yuko had given him earlier that week seemed appropriate, "I am ever at your service." Slipping out of bed himself, he stood a respectful distance from her. "And…thank you. I…uhm…."

"You are quite welcome," she stated brightly. The last thing she wanted was him reverting to how he'd been the evening before. "If this helped you…well, let's just agree that I'm always available to aid you like that."

+++++ Kirijo Manor. (Friday, August 27th, +6, Last Quarter 1/4)

Shinji arrived at the dining room table after the other students and walked into a tense silence that he hadn't expected would be present. The emotional bonds between the women present were fluctuating chaotically, and as every head save Yukiko's turned to look at him, he froze. "G-good m-morning."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Ulala stood up violently, then marched around the table to pull him into a tight embrace. "I'm glad you weren't hurt, you dork. Next time the hot water fails, maybe just try telling someone instead of punching a hole in the wall. I hear it's a lot easier to fix the pilot light on the water heater instead of replacing the pipes, wall, and faucet."

He was just as caught off guard by the action as he was by her statement, but the way she was hugging him begged him to place his hands as he would on Miyuki's torso. "S-sorry…I, uhm…."

"I cried at the end of 'Totoro'," Chie announced to cover over Shinji's embarrassment. "On the balance, I'd say your past beats mine, and if I was allowed to cry because I was happy that everyone was reunited, you're allowed to cry because you got frustrated at Tartarus not leaving you alone."

Shinji looked over to see her smiling patiently at him, her emotions having stabilized on a desire to help him. "Y-yeah…uhm…what's 'Totoro'?"

"Movie night," Sumire announced. "Miyazaki-san marathon!"

Peace was thus restored to the room, whatever foreboding spirits that had begun to occupy it swept away in the general enthusiasm for showing him something that had apparently helped define the women's childhood. Taking a seat next to Ulala, far opposite where he typically sat, he was placed at the 'foot' of the table between her and Eriko. After his meal was brought in, he watched the women settle back into their respective relationships while he ate.

Lingering under the surface, the tension from before remained present enough to detect. His main problem with identifying what might have sparked it was complicated with the fact that the tension was universal. Mitsuru and Ulala didn't get along very well. One was driven by rules and responsibility, the other was driven by whims and fancies. Neither was a bad person, but their personalities clashed as a result of who they were. Sumire and Rise had something of a friendly rivalry. Each was jealous of the other, in certain ways, but the jealousy bred competitiveness and not hostility, at least generally. Yuka and Yukiko mostly ignored one another, the trend-breaker not finding anything interesting in the far more traditional innkeeper. Chie and Eriko, aligned in interest of martial pursuits, had far different viewpoints within that field. Eriko preferred weapons, believing that humanity was at its best when it leveraged the technology it had developed over millennia of war. Chie preferred relying on her own body, believing that while weapons were useful they remained apart from the 'true' strength of humanity which was its adaptability. That was all by way of describing their 'normal' opposition, though. Now even those who were largely aligned were quietly resenting something in their peers. He resolved himself to seeking a way to educate himself enough that he could ask what was happening without harming anyone.

+++++ Author's Notes:

GhostMan: RE: The Rules.

The Rules are valid everywhere that Creation has touched. There are loopholes, interpretational differences, or dissimilarities owing to the way life exists in different dimensions of course, but The Rules are the foundation for everything Creation holds true.