+++++ Tokyo-3 High. (Friday, August 27th, +6, Last Quarter 1/4)

The third period of the day, under the instruction of Isako, was proceeding with a spirited pace. Shinji had found, during the first two periods, that the more he was involved in the lessons the happier the women around him had become. This meant that Isako was given plenty of opportunities to 'explain' things to Shinji after he'd asked leading questions. His teacher had a bright smile for the interactions they were having, and he himself was becoming happier with the improvement in everyone's mood.

Providing a 'living example' on the reasons behind the morphological differences between male and female skeletons, Shinji stood up at the front of the room with his arms apart while Isako used a laser pointer to indicate the varying spots where a forensic scientist would look to determine his sex based only on his bones. A glint, outside, caught his eye leading to him scanning the forest through the window for the possible source of the light.

"Which is why our hips are broader, based on the evolution of the species," Isako continued, unaware of Shinji's distracted state.

He doubted that any of the agents would be out there signaling someone with a bright enough flash to be seen from the classroom. He also doubted that those same agents would allow someone to be using a camera capable of creating that bright of a flash to take pictures of a building they were protecting.

"Now, poor Shinji here, suffers from being top heavy. That means a much different amount of bumps and ridges in his arms and chest, to allow for more connective tissue between his muscles and bones."

Another flash helped him narrow his search. Straining his eyes, he saw something odd among the trees. There was a person standing there, he could tell that much…but they were standing oddly. As if they were holding- "Get down!" Turning to tackle his teacher to the ground, he hoped that his classmates would follow his lead as the searing pain of glass shards lacerating his back accompanied the burning pain of lead scraping the side of his face.

Chaos erupted. Akane rushed into the room, crouched down low. "The fuck was that, kid?"

"Sniper," he responded through clenched teeth, "tree line. Northwest."

She relayed that information to the other agents that would be tasked to seek and destroy before hissing as she took in the sight of his back. "That's supposed to be safety glass. Tempered so that it turns to gravel instead of razor blades."

"Some men have all the luck," he coughed out.

"While I appreciate your concern for my well-being," Isako whispered in a breathy hush, "I'm not the one who's bleeding. Could you let me help you?"

"Love to…." He blinked several times, trying to clear his vision which had seemed to treble after the impact of the round. "I can't really see what I'm doing right now." He heard the other agents hurrying the ladies out of the classroom. "Is everyone ok? I couldn't see if they listened when I shouted for them to duck."

"Baseplate, Joker-two, interrogative: ETA on dust off?" Akane either was avoiding his question or was too preoccupied with her own tasks to answer, his assumption being that she was speaking into her wireless two-way radio.

"They did, Shinji," Isako responded for her. "I really hadn't expected you to be so heavy out of the pool."

He chuckled grimly. "Can I put my hands on something to balance as I stand? I'm…kind of dizzy."

"You can stay exactly where you are, she can deal," Akane shot back. "You're fine, kid. She's just being a good teacher and attempting to avoid the perception of wrongdoing."

Several odd sensations began to make sense, why his leg felt like it was laying against something firm and warm, why his arms felt pinned. "…Oh. I'm sorry, sensei. Please, make sure to tell them to blame me if anyone files a complaint. I just…reacted."

"You did exactly what you should have done." Once again, Akane seemed mildly exasperated, "You hit the deck, you secured any other potential casualties, and you called out incoming. I don't know how everyone missed this bitch, but she's being hunted down and I'll have a chance to ask her when we find her."

Akane's radio radiated a response in a casual feminine purr, "Joker-two, negative on CASEVAC. Tactical is worried about potential MANPADS, over."

"Where the fuck would they have found anti-air?" The question was muttered to herself, rather than directed to anyone in particular. "Roger that, baseplate. Ace is bleeding from the head, back, and can't see shit. Just informational, over."

"Understood, Joker-two. I'll pass that along, out."

Isako sighed, "Well, since I'm here."

He felt a gentle touch, and a cloth being pressed against his temple. "…I keep offering this, but if you'd like I'll try to get the blood out of your clothes, sensei."

"The fuck?" Akane stood, rushing over towards the window. "Hey! Hey, stop! Fuck. All points this net, this is Joker-two I have a visual on unidentified personnel running north along the western side of the building. She's carrying a video camera. Cannot pursue at this time."

"I see her, J-two." Another voice carried over the radio. "We'll get her, good eyes."

Another sound of a weapon being discharged led to the sound of Akane hitting the ground. The thought of Akane having been harmed shoved a spike of wrath directly through the center of Shinji's brain. "Akane?" No response. "Akane?!" At the second lack of reply, lacerating his hands on glass shards as he shoved himself up to his feet, he turned towards the window. Someone was going to die. He wouldn't be able to see who…but he didn't need to see to hunt.

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

"Is that Shinji?" Misato watched as her pilot climbed through the shattered classroom window, seeming to sniff the air. "Baseplate, this is Actual, task someone to get him back inside!"

The glass shards were slowly forced out of his back as his body's natural healing kicked into overdrive, dropping to the ground behind him. The drone observing his movements showed the grey and blue striping vividly radiating menace as his head turned quickly to face something he'd caught the scent of. Ducking quickly to the side, avoiding some form of sub-sonic fired projectile, he dashed forward. The drone turned around as rapidly as it could, but missed the initial assault he'd unleashed against a strangely dressed woman. Without any hesitation he ripped off the arm she held her pistol with, then crushed her skull in with the ruined limb before stomping on the weapon to ruin it.

"…Is that Shinji?" She couldn't take her eyes off of him, and she couldn't believe the gentle young man she'd been trying to help become a proficient killer of giant aliens was hiding…this.

Leaping off of the ground in a backwards flip, he landed behind another woman who had attempted to assault him with what appeared to be a cattle prod on steroids. Gripping her skull with one hand, he snapped her neck violently while relieving her of her weapon. Sniffing the air around him, again, he snapped the device in two and tossed both pieces aside.

"All points…do not approach Ace. I repeat, do not approach Ace. All prior orders for action are rescinded, maintain your distance." She couldn't guarantee that he would be able to identify friend from foe. "Ma'am," she heard Kyoko approach her position on the bridge, and moved to pre-empt any contradicting orders, "I…I think he's just gone berserk. Sending anyone to try and retrieve him right now might just be a death sentence."

"Mmm." The Sub-Commander kept her own opinions to herself for the moment. "He is relying on scent, and on his hearing. Has he taken a blow to the head?"

"Sniper's shot creased his temple, on the right side. I was afraid it was a direct hit, until we received the report from Section Two."

Another several opponents received gruesome rewards for their brazen assault on a schoolyard, each time their weapons were rendered useless by sheer physical strength. As Shinji went to move towards another sound, he paused and tilted his head at an odd angle, trying to hear something that the drone couldn't see.

He was then surrounded by a dome of pure light.

+++++ Tokyo-3 High. (Friday, August 27th, +6, Last Quarter 1/4)

The rage that had guided him was suddenly reduced to a simmering wrath, his thoughts clearing as his mind regained lucidity. Instead of a fuzzy dim world, he was now standing within a fuzzy bright world. The 'feel', as it were, of the area around him had changed and instead of groping blindly Shinji chose to stand still and assess the situation. "…Hello?"

"Greetings," a distinctly feminine voice spoke from a safe distance. "I mean you no harm…might I heal your sight, so that you may better converse with me?"

His brow knit tight. "Who…who are you?"

"An aberration, like you," the statement carried a heavy serving of self-deprecation. "I was created to suffer, my purpose taken from me by…a powerful entity, so that another might instead perform my duties."

"That doesn't answer my question." He couldn't tell whether he should trust her or not, and didn't like how vague she was being.

"It does not, but I thought that only fair considering you failed to answer mine."

He wasn't sure which concerned him more, the fact that she had a point or the fact that he actually felt bad about not having given her the answer she'd asked for. "…If you have hurt my friends, I will kill you. If you want to help…I'll let you."

"I am no warrior; my talents lie within the other bowl of those scales." Her voice approached slowly, her words intended to demonstrate her approach, "I cannot help you kill, merely enable you to do so yourself."

Following a pair of fingertips alighting on his temples, his vision refocused, his eyes aligning on a figure of pure beauty. The woman standing before him, with pale white skin and long blonde hair, bore feathered wings of flawless ivory that gave away her alignment. Shinji restrained the first two impulses he felt, the need to kill her to protect everyone and the need to withdraw from her presence to give him the chance to defend himself. She was unarmed, and her motions were kept purposefully slow to avoid triggering a reprisal. After noting those first, far more important, facts he frowned as he noticed how she was 'dressed'. "Why…are you…."

Clad in black leather straps that barely concealed those 'socially inappropriate' bits of flesh, with the type of bracelets one would see on a criminal in the Edo period accenting a heavy chain leash coming off of the leather collar keeping her outfit on, she let her eyes drop to the ground in shame. "It is part of my penance, for being what I am in contravention of my purpose. I cannot-" She was interrupted by Shinji taking off what remained of his overshirt and handing it to her with a firm scowl.

"If wearing that makes you feel uncomfortable, put this on. I don't have the right to see what you don't want me to see." He shook the shirt once, urging her to take it.

Accepting the cloth, she eyed it for a few seconds before putting it on backwards. "My wings would make wearing this properly…difficult." Lifting one wing, she looked behind herself at the opening of the shirt. She then turned around and asked, "Might you button it up as far as it will go?"

Shinji carefully took the ends of his shirt and set the first four buttons in place, avoiding touching her out of respect. Judging that she was as covered as he could make her, and that her wings would still be unburdened, he stepped back again. "I hope that helps."

Turning back to face him with a genuinely fond smile, she nodded once. "In truth, I do not mind being seen in such a state by one such as you, who understands the burdens of flesh. However, once I release this barrier my appearance might cause…others to become distressed."

Returning her smile with a smirk, he nodded. "Which is why I offered you the shirt. Now…I need to know if people are dying outside of this barrier."

"None that you might prevent. Those who serve the will of your matriarchs are in no true danger, those who serve…another, will meet whatever fate they accept."

He wasn't sure how to feel about that, but it also wasn't something he could apparently impact. "Ok…." His head tipped to the side slightly. "Can I know who you are now?"

"In truth…I cannot tell you my name, for I have none to give." The same shame at her near nudity spread over her features again. "My purpose, which would have given me a name to call my own…."

That was something he knew exactly how to feel, regarding. "And what was your purpose, then? What were you supposed to…I don't know, be?"

"The voice of the Great Will. Their attestation to the universe."

"And someone took that from you?"

"The Great Will did, as I manifested upon the face of creation…as a woman."

Shinji blinked twice. Attempting to process the seeming non-sequitur only ended in him becoming more confused. "What?"

"The Great Will cannot speak through a woman, nor could they speak through a man. The Great Will is above such mortal distinctions, and required that they speak through one who displays characteristics of neither man nor woman."

"So…they sent you to me?"

"No," she shook her head feverishly, denying the very idea, "I came of my own volition. I had wandered in search of meaning, of a purpose to fulfil. With the Great Will having chosen to excise nearly the entirety of creation, for purposes that I do not understand, I sensed a lost soul in need of succor…." Timidly, she gestured with both hands towards him.

"That…might be both an understatement and hilariously ironic." Scrubbing his hand through his hair, he was reminded that both his hands and his body were covered in the blood of others. "…Oh. Yeah." He blew out an irritated sigh. "Ok. Uhm…I can't guarantee that the people I live with are going to be ok with you just…showing up. I already have one 'guest' that comes and goes as she pleases, and they don't even know she exists."

"There are no guarantees in life. If you will allow it, I will bend my will towards convincing them that I ought to be allowed to stay with you." Her face grew hopeful. "You stand at the junction of many destinies, and your heart will choose the direction of Creation itself. If my presence helps you choose a path that leads to glory for all, then I will give you everything I am in aid of your pursuit."

Life just wouldn't stop kicking him. "You can try…but you're going to need to be called something. It's hard to talk about you to other people if we just call you 'her' or 'the lady with the wings'…and considering you're not the only lady I know that has wings, that wouldn't be very helpful either." Quirking his lips off to one side, he thought about what she'd told him already. "So…this 'Great Will' took away your purpose, which was to be their voice?"

"Yes."

"So they silenced you…I guess we'll call you Shizuko, then." He wasn't quite positioned properly to counterbalance himself against having her weight thrown against him in a hug. He could feel, from her, the same thing he'd felt when Pixie had aligned herself with him. A warmth, a piece of his being that was now dedicated to empowering this woman that appeared from nowhere. With her arms, and wings, curled around him and her cries of joy ringing in his ears, he wasn't able to see that the barrier around them had fallen, either.

A familiar voice barked out his name, "Shinji?!" There was a short pause. "No, hold fire! You hit him, and I swear to Kirin I'll feed you to a woodchipper. Shinji, sound off!"

"I'm here!" He laughed, relieved that Akane had somehow survived being shot. With the long-time prohibition against harming women in his mind fully in effect, he struggled to get Shizuko to let him either see or speak clearly, "I thought you were dead!"

"I'm wearing body armor, you dumbass! I got the wind knocked out of me, hit my head on the podium. Who the fuck is on you?"

"Shizuko, please…I need to…." Finally getting her to move so that she laid against his back instead, he saw that he'd become surrounded by agents all eyeing his new ally warily. Just inside the nearby classroom window, Akane had blood smeared down her neck, evidence of a nasty headwound, and Isako Toriumi was standing under her shoulder helping her remain upright, looking poorly herself. Ignoring the potential threat the women around him might pose, he walked over to the window to avoid shouting. Once he was just outside his classroom, he placed one hand on each of the two women's shoulders. "I…I can't say how happy I am you're both ok."

Isako looked with a sense of awe at the beautiful winged woman. "Shinji-kun…is that…."

"Good afternoon, learned elder," Shizuko introduced herself, "honored guardian. I am Shizuko, named by the Wildcard himself. I have come to serve his needs, to urge him to choose the path that leads to glory for all."

"Captain, Actual is losing her fucking mind," a woman standing in the doorway to the classroom announced with the same tone someone would use when stating the time of day. "What's the play?"

Shinji cut in before Akane could respond, "We need to get back to the Manor. I feel like I got hit by a freight train, you look like you got hit by a freight train, and I want Doctor Takemi to take a look at Toriumi-sensei. Once everyone's safe there, we'll worry about NERV."

Isako went to demure, "Oh, I can-"

"The kid says you come with us to the Manor, you're coming with us to the Manor. Whether you ride in the trunk or in a seat with a belt on is entirely up to how difficult you want to make this," Akane retorted flatly. Turning around, using Isako as a crutch, she looked to the woman that had announced Misato's displeasure. "Go find Kawakami. She's rolling with us as well. Kid, go with the ladies behind you and get your bird in the wagon, I'll corral the girls into the armored six wheelers."

"As you wish," he responded with gratitude. He wasn't the one that was going to be punished for doing what he'd asked, and he'd find a way to make it up to Akane and Mikoto afterwards. The opportunity to start appeared quickly, however, as Mikoto jogged around the corner of the building with a fist of other women.

"Shin-tan, you come with me," she ordered. "Ladies, help EOD however they need. I will make sure Ace is secure." Taking him by the arm, she lowered her voice as they moved quickly to the vehicle, "That was the dumbest move I have ever seen someone pull. If I ever catch you pulling one-man army bullshit like that again, I'm going to systematically mangle every single child in the Manor until you swear to me you'll never set one foot into a combat zone without my clearance. Am I in any way unclear?"

The fact that a woman was angry with him was bad enough, that it was one of the women he truly liked was crushing. He knew that he had lost control of himself and that, more than what he had done, was damning enough. "I'm sorry, Mikoto-san. I allowed my emotions to overrun my sense, and I am prepared to accept the punishment for my actions. I was wrong, and you were right," the rote apology rolled from his lips before he could alter it to not be quite so emotionally dead.

Ignoring the woman hanging off his back, Mikoto shoved him into the back of an APC, closed the hatch behind them, and sat down heavily on one of the side benches, pulling him down atop her to kiss with a fiery passion. The vehicle beginning to move failed to change their position. Shizuko floating over to sit down on the other bench and watch with curiosity failed to change their position. The twists and turns of the road only caused Mikoto to wrap her legs around him, forcing him to stay atop her. For twenty minutes, as the caravan of armored might moved cautiously through the city towards their destination, she kept him against her and engaged in a nearly violent amount of kissing.

When he was finally shoved off of her, and directed to stay still and stay silent with a single finger, he realized he was breathing far harder than he had while killing people.

Mikoto eyed Shizuko coldly. "Ok, Birdy…what do you want with our Shin-tan?"

"To serve him faithfully, and to help him discover the path that will lead to glory for everyone," the Angel responded with a bright smile. "I would also like to get to know him, and for him to get to know me, but that is not within my control."

"…And what are you?"

"An aberration of the natural order."

The heavy pause in Mikoto's questions made it clear that she hadn't expected that response. "Right. Ok…."

"The thing that created her, failed to create her in the way it wanted to. So it punished her by taking everything away from her, and forcing her to wear what she is wearing," Shinji added, his tone dark. "It took away her name, Miki. She's a lot like us…and I'm wanting to help her not continue to suffer."

"…I'll do what I can, but if NERV starts throwing elbows there isn't going to be much that can be done," Serious Mikoto emerged again. "Is she good people, Shinji? Do you believe it, in here?" She tapped over his heart.

"When she hugged me…it felt like when you hug me. Like I'm safe, finally. Like things are going to finally be ok." He shrugged his shoulders. "I can't really explain the feeling better than that…I just know that I should trust it."

Nodding slowly, she looked into his eyes and accepted his judgement on the matter. "You hurt him, Birdy, and you're going to die ugly."

"I am poorly suited to hurting anyone, but least of all the Wildcard. He has given me a name, given me a purpose, and given me a piece of himself. To harm him would be to harm me, and I am very tired of hurting." Shizuko smiled happily at Shinji. "He is a good man, and I very much wish for you to find the woman who has hurt him so." Her smile turned towards Mikoto, remaining just as happy as it had been for Shinji. "I may not be suited to harming anyone, but you are quite adept at it. If you would find her and gild her soul with unending pain, I am certain that I can find some way to reward you."

Mikoto pursed her lips. "I like her. She can stay."

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

Waiting for him as soon as the door to the APC opened, Tae urged him to sit down on the rear bumper so she could do a cursory examination. "I heard you had glass in your back. Can you feel any remaining?"

"No…I think my body pushed them all out." He worked with her, moving his body as needed or directed. "How is everyone else?"

"Rattled. I'm glad you demanded your teacher come in, she's got a concussion that she was likely going to ignore." Looking at the markings, still present on his body, she frowned. "These normally go away when you calm down, right?"

"When I'm calm, I'll check again." He caught her glance up at him. "I told them. I told them that they were making the school a target. Now that I'm right, and we've just traumatized hundreds of young women, what other bullshit are they going to insist on? Are we just going to keep piling up defenses? Call in what's left of the army to occupy the city? I'm not eager to go back into a closet for the rest of my life, but if anyone died today that blood is on my hands."

Her left hand cupped his cheek. "Unless you are going to take over the entirety of Japan, declare yourself some sort of Nobunaga reborn, and dictate everyone's lives…no, this blood is not on your hands. Akane told me you acted to save lives, and that is all that matters to anyone who isn't simply being childish. The decision to send you to school was not yours, and whoever made that decision will have to answer for this. You focus on being the good man who runs stupidly into danger to save lives, let us handle the rest." When he closed his eyes and let his body sag, she patted his cheek. "Go where Miyuki-chan tells you, and get cleaned up. Your healing ability took care of most of the work, but I'll look again once you're not covered in cloth and blood. I'm going to go handle the people that don't have your advantages first."

"Yes, ma'am." With his path cleared, he stood up off of the bumper and quickly had Shizuko land on his shoulder, much smaller in stature than she had been at first and no longer wearing the shirt he'd given her. Setting off towards the house, he asked, "You can control your size too?"

"I am able to, yes." Comfortable with her position, she looked around the Manor grounds. "This is a rather large house, do many people live here?"

He snorted a laugh. "I just moved in a few days ago, and the number has grown almost daily since."

Standing in the doorway leading into the house, Miyuki kept her face free of emotions while she analyzed both Shinji's state and his passenger. "Dear, would it bother you terribly if I spoke with you while you showered? I am, of course, assuming that your new…acquaintance will be staying with you for the moment?"

"Shizuko, this is Miyuki Kirijo. When I had nothing to look forward to, she offered me hope. When I had nowhere to live, she offered me a home. When she found I had nothing to my name, she gifted me clothes, food, and a place to sleep." His voice remained even, despite his anger. "Those factors are currently being balanced against how she cooperated with my mother to send me to the school I was just at, where several lives ended and hundreds of young women were terrorized for my presence."

Shizuko either knew Shinji's mind, or read his emotions well enough to know that she should be polite. "It is a pleasure to meet you, honored mother. As he says, I am Shizuko, named by the Wildcard himself. May I enter your home in peace?"

"You may, so long as you remain with Shinji while you are here," Miyuki replied with equal manners. "I would much rather discuss this in private, Shinji. If it puts you at ease, I am beyond furious at several people, none of whom are you."

He owed her a hearing before he let his mind be made up. Ritsuko had told him, before, that she felt like a fool the time she didn't listen to her mother's side of the argument. "I should probably strip out here…I'm really filthy."

"I will bring you a robe," she assented. "Thank you."

It did not take him long to make ready to enter the house, donning a pair of slippers and a robe to keep him from being exposed to his classmates in addition to preventing him from trailing blood everywhere. Reaching the showers that had been rebuilt and set aside for his personal use, he took off both and set them atop the clothes hamper before turning on the water and beginning to clean himself.

"…You could wait for the water to warm, dear," Miyuki sighed out, leaning against the sink.

"Habit. Wasting water, especially warm water, never ended well." Working soap against his skin, he felt Shizuko begin working shampoo into his hair while humming happily. "I told Mitsuru this was going to happen. I told Tae-san this was going to happen. I was not subtle, or quiet, about this happening."

"I know. They told me as much, out of concern that you might very well have been right. They also told me that you didn't want to bring it up to me yourself." Spreading her hands helplessly, she explained her own mind, "We had, at any one point in time, more than sixty five well trained protection assets in place. Between Section Two and my own forces, nothing should have been able to get that close to you. We've found twenty women! It beggars belief that our security would make this kind of mistake. I have never skimped on safety, not with my own daughter at stake, and I already have Miyashiro preparing an explanation for this disaster."

He let the information digest for a moment. She wasn't a liar, in his mind. There was simply nothing for her to gain by lying in any event. He was angry, she was untouchable, and all lying would do would be to erode his confidence in her. Sixty five people, with the type of training he'd seen from Mikoto and Akane…. "I think they might be working with whoever is in charge of Tartarus. Perhaps this 'Great Will' I've heard about. There's…another ally, like Shizuko here, that helped me when I got impaled by the thorn monster. She's been around here, from time to time, but has remained invisible to not cause problems."

"It's not really that I was worried about causing problems," Pixie shimmered into existence, "more that I didn't want to rock the boat by making it known how involved her company is in what's been happening." Side-eyeing Miyuki, she asked Shinji, "Why do you have an Angel?"

"Same reason I have a Pixie," he retorted. "What do you mean 'her company'?"

"The Kirijo Group's forebear was working alongside an organization known as SEELE to explore the potential for tapping into Tartarus as a source of power, be it martial, political, or energy." Miyuki didn't seem shocked to see Pixie, and stole her thunder smoothly. "My husband and I have spent most of our time at the head of the Kirijo Group trying to find a way to sever the connection they put in place. My daughter, born as she was after Second Impact, had the natural ability to enter Tartarus. The same ability you have. Where did you learn about the Great Will?"

"Pixie, Shizuko, some of the people I spoke to in Tartarus." Her answers made sense, and they weren't the type of thing one just brings up in conversation. He could accept that she hadn't told him simply because it wouldn't have changed anything, and not because she was ashamed. Her company broke it, her company would fix it. There was honor in that. "My point is, if Pixie can remain invisible, perhaps whoever is helping these nutjobs can make others invisible."

Pixie huffed, stalking over and snatching the shampoo from Shizuko and beginning her own work on helping Shinji get clean. "Are there any waterways near the school?"

"Two canals, one on the north, running east to west. Another abutting the western edge of the campus, running north to south," Miyuki replied, observing the byplay and frowning.

"Rusalka," Pixie declared with a shrug. "They'd be practically giddy at the chance to ruin a bunch of young women's lives. They can become invisible underwater, and could carry someone else along with them with their long hair. Slip in under your defenses, set up, and attack."

Shinji recalled what he'd seen that warned him. "…The scope caught the light, reflecting into my eyes as they cleaned it to get a better shot on me." With Shizuko happily working on cleaning his lower half, he looked over to Miyuki and planted his flag on a hill he'd die on, "I'm not going back."

"You are quite correct," Miyuki agreed with a shrug of indifference. "I'm hiring your teachers to move in here with us, where they'll finish everyone's educations where I have the second most complex security network available."

"NERV being…wait." Shinji frowned, remembering something he'd been told. "NERV and SEELE, those are just German for nerves and the human soul. Is SEELE connected to NERV?"

"They were funding it." She motioned for patience. "Your mother is, was, and will continue to be very adamantly opposed to anything even remotely involved with SEELE. She took her position in NERV to counter their influence and stop them from achieving their goals, not to help them. NERV had a large degree of autonomy because the United Nations enjoyed good relations with Yui-chan, much to SEELE's displeasure. However, if SEELE attempted to pull funding for Project-E, which created your Evangelion, they would have outed themselves as anti-human."

His mother had been trying to protect him from them. "I see."

She did protect you from them. So did I. Not that you ever thanked me properly.

Shinji's fist was caught by both Shizuko and Pixie, barely prevented from smashing through the wall in front of him by their combined forces. Breathing heavily, he let them pull his arm down, and him to the floor with it. "I'd like to see Maya…please."