+++++ Tartarus. (Sunday, August 29th, +8, Last Quarter 3/4)

Some amount of time later, Shinji's eyes shot open. Looming over him, as enormous as ever, was Qodeshah's nephew. Resting in his hand, drinking from a globe of water resting in her own much smaller hands, was Chie. He couldn't feel the side of his face, nor could he make sense of the way that the water wasn't simply…falling, but the fact that Chie was calm struck him as a net positive in a day that hadn't given him many. "What…." His mouth moved oddly, and his words sounded slurred. "Happened?"

"Sachi-san here caught us," Chie replied, brightening as she noticed he was conscious again. "He and I have been having a talk about stuff while he's been helping us get back to the others." She turned and looked at the giant, then nodded. "Yeah, he's strong but not invulnerable. When he hit the pool, then skipped like a rock across the surface to land in the mud, it really hurt."

'APOLOGIES' The word appeared near Shinji's view, once more written in thousands of languages on a veil of mist.

"Apparently he didn't know you didn't know how to swim, or control your landing…or prevent the water from smashing against you. He's used to dealing with someone else, someone a lot stronger." Chie took a long drink of the globe of water. "Which is creepy to think about, considering you're really strong."

A realization struck Shinji a glancing blow. "How do you know what he is saying?" Chie's blush, and the way she no longer met his eyes, gave him the answer before Sachiel confirmed everything.

'BOND'

Too tired for anger to bloom, he nonetheless had rage growling in his chest. "Did you explain to her what it would entail?"

'YES'

"He did, I promise." Chie dropped the orb of water, motioning with her hands to draw attention to herself again. "I didn't wait to talk to you because I needed to…well, I gained access to some magic that helped you out a bit. I suck at it, for now, which is why you're talking like your mouth is stuffed with cotton, but…you know…." Her voice became quiet, "I'm not opposed to the price, at all, really. At least you look at me like I'm a woman."

Letting his body fall back into the hand he rested in, Shinji stared up at the empty vastness above them. "So…what did they steal from you?"

"Steal?" Even without seeing her, the scowl she wore was present in the single word. Without warning, she leapt across the distance between them to land astride and atop him with her knees on his sides and her hands pressing down his shoulders. "He offered. I asked what the deal was, he explained completely what the deal was, and then I took the deal. Should I have done it without talking to you? Probably not. Did I already have a pretty good idea after talking to Yukiko-chan? Yeah. Am I fine with trading my chance with other, lesser, men for a lifetime with one, fantastic, man? Abso-fucking-lutely. I can feel what you're feeling when you look at me. You don't see a 'woman' or a 'warrior'…you see both. You see the femininity in my power, the desire to be a woman behind my determination to not have the world see me as one. You see the contradictions, Shinji, and you accept them."

She is so beautiful, he thought with a sense of loss. He could feel the honesty radiating from her, striking his core and causing him to ache for it. She was strong, dynamic, and believed that lying was something weak people did to hide their shame. She was…blushing?

"Do you have any idea how it feels to have someone look at me and think I'm beautiful?"

The startling realization that she could possibly hear his thoughts caused him to lock up completely.

"You think about Yukiko-chan, and you see how powerful she could be if she'd just gain a little confidence. You see her grace, her beauty, and you admire them as a part of a person instead of as the whole of one. You look at me, and it's the same thing with different flavoring. I've spent a week, one week, watching you…and if we're going to die fighting Tartarus then damn it all I want to live like we can win!" She was against him, a wild animal fighting for dominance as she kissed him.

It hurt in a new way. He'd forever have this woman with him. He'd…. "Ow," he winced as she pressed down with her groin to get better leverage for her legs.

"Huh?" Popping back upright, she looked at the spots on his face that she'd attempted to mend. "Oh, oh! I'm sorry, I didn't remember that your face hurt!"

Sitting as she was, however, made the problem worse. Her shapely, and powerful, hindquarters was now perfectly framing the 'outstanding issue' he had. It had been nearly half a day since it started, and the pain was becoming tremendous. "N-not…face."

Chie blinked rapidly, then pieced together what she was sitting upon, and blushed a bright pink. "O-oh…that. Y-yeah…I, uh…I didn't want to, you know, do anything about that while you were asleep! It, you know, seemed scummy. Better to wait until…we…uhm…." With both forefingers tapping each other, she pulled her lower lip between her teeth. "Y-you know."

"You don't have to."

"Yeah…I want to, though." Her blush deepened. "When you're ready…and when you want to."

He let his eyes drift shut. "If it weren't for our host, I'd be more than happy to…which is why I shouldn't, but you already…made your choice."

'PRIVACY' Sachiel's question appeared behind Shinji's head, where Chie could see it clearly.

"…Could you?" If they didn't have to wait, she could start making headway on teaching the man beneath her how to balance two seeming contradictions. Without warning, they were alone and suddenly lying on a bed. Sheets, pillows, mattresses, everything constructed from various seemingly dry liquids. When Shinji's eyes opened in confusion at the change in situation, she screwed down her courage and took his hands. "I am sorry I didn't talk to you about it first. I am not sorry that I made the choice I did. I can feel, from you, everything I thought I was seeing and more. We are at the precipice of adulthood, facing a battle we're probably not walking away from, and the fact that I got lucky enough to have a good man think I'm gorgeous…you'd better believe we're gonna spend more than our fair share of time learning how to help one another." Placing his hands on her stomach, she looked down her nose at him and asked the most important question she could think of, "Do you want to do this, or do you not?"

"…Could…you stay on top?" He swallowed, his mouth dry. "I'm not sure I can hold myself up properly, and I'm kind of heavy."

+++++ Tokyo-3 High School. (Sunday, August 29th, +8, Last Quarter 3/4)

Hua Po had listened to the young humans arguing about the best way to begin a new search. The one injured youth was undergoing treatment for 'intracranial bleeding', and the remaining six were debating whether to move as a unit considering what they'd faced or whether splitting up again to restart the search was best. More than half of them looked like they were barely keeping awake, but none of them were interested in backing down. During a lull, caused by the school's bell tolling, the tiny red sprite took control of the issue to stop further accidents. Landing on Mitsuru's shoulder, feeling the strongest sense of connection between her and the Fortunate, she motioned for everyone to grow silent. "I have been informed that The Fortunate, and the woman he was with, are both safe. One of the Eldest has them in his care, and is making his way here to return them to your world. He cannot move quickly, however, and it will likely be another hour or so before they return. They will beat the dawn's arrival, do not fear."

"And we know we can trust you because…?" Ulala dragged the last sound out long enough to get her cynicism across.

"It is not my responsibility to garner your trust," she responded indifferently. "If you wish to risk further injury by entering the Dark Paths while you are barely able to keep your eyes from closing, that is your decision to make. I doubt The Fortunate will be pleased by it, which is why I have chosen to speak up."

Rise, who'd spent most of her life operating on little sleep, interjected, "Hua Po-san, who is this 'Eldest'?"

"Not who," she corrected, "what. The Eldest are of a race that predates even my own, though far fewer in number even at the height of their power. The particular Eldest, The Covering, is one that has already spoken to one of you." Her eyes focused on Yukiko, who blinked, then had her eyes grow wide.

"Oh! Him?" Her eyes flicked back and forth, her head slowly nodding. "Then…he might be explaining the deal to Chie-chan."

"She has already accepted," Hua Po announced with confidence. "She has used her new strength to help tend to his wounds, if…inexpertly."

Several of the young ladies present chimed in with a hearty, "She what?!"

+++++ Tartarus. (Sunday, August 29th, +8, Last Quarter 3/4)

What Chie felt, walking by Shinji's side, was a level of confidence in herself that she'd never once known. The long corridor around them, consisting of the final kilometer of space leading to the exit from Tartarus that Sachiel had deposited them into, offered her some time to reflect upon what she'd just gained by giving Shinji what she had. She truly was both woman and warrior, feminine and ferocity. She was also grateful that she'd spent her whole life roughhousing with her friends, because the soreness was only a dim ache instead of a violent fire. A stray thought from Shinji caught her attention, the unvoiced impulse informing her of his concern since his voice never would. "I'm fine, promise. I took that extra-long step to try and feel if I was going to have to deal with any muscle tears, but nothing hurts enough to really register over the typical joint pain I have from going all out. I'm more worried about my shin, because that bruise still hasn't gone down. It was like kicking a damn lamppost!"

"Yeah, I saw you favoring your leg after trying to force the elephant thing back." If she said she was fine, he just had to trust that she was. "Mitsuru-san said that it was weak to wind, which I guess means that someone should have used the spells they knew against it? I haven't seen anyone but Pixie use spells against an enemy, though, so I don't know if anyone knows how to…summon wind?"

"Ulala-chan, I think." Chie rocked her head back and forth in though, a small smile growing as she remembered the overwhelming delight she'd been able to get Shinji to demonstrate in his face as he lay beneath her. "My Persona can use a few Ice spells, mostly direct physical attacks though. Yukiko-chan is good with fire, or healing. I'm not really sure how to explain what Sumire-chan or Eriko-chan use, but it hits like a freight train…or not really at all. It's weird. Mitsuru-senpai uses ice, and some healing. Yuka-chan is all about earth. Stones, rocks, mud, that kind of stuff."

Nodding along, to not be rude, Shinji attempted to find a way to explain just exactly how lost he was. "Uhm…Persona?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah! You've never seen one of us pop them out, have you?" Hurrying a few steps ahead, she turned to face him and motioned for him to stand back. "Space is a little bit of an issue, which is why I hadn't summoned her when Yuka-chan was hurt. Last thing I want to do is hit an ally with an attack I'm aiming at an enemy, you know?"

Shinji could respect that. It was, if nothing else, another similarity between him and…. "Chie-s…no…uhm," the distraction was too important to dismiss without an answer, "what…what do I call you? I don't want to be rude, and I don't want to…presume…."

The temptation to jump him again was forced back. "Well," she harbored a secret hope, and took a risk with a man she knew would never intentionally harm her, "if we're dating…you should probably use '-chan'. Or you could keep using my name, like I asked you to, if that's…too much."

"Ok. Chie-chan, then." He wasn't sure if they were dating, but he was positive that 'dating' was on the lowest rung of the ladder they were climbing.

"Woooo!" Jumping up in a victorious cheer, she laughed happily. Punching the air and pumping her arm, it took her a few more whoops and jumps to begin to restore something vaguely resembling decorum. Still laughing, she gave Shinji a goofy, slightly embarrassed, smile. "Sorry…just, you know, kinda grew up figuring no guy worth getting excited over would ever really be interested in someone like me with Yukiko-chan around." Taking a deep breath and settling herself down, she shrugged. "If it weren't for what Sachi-kun has offered me, the insight into how you think and feel…I might still doubt that you were even interested. I can't deny facts, though."

Guilt smashed its fist directly into Shinji's gut. He knew that people would be hurt by what they'd done, it had already happened with Eriko. "Y-yeah."

Blowing out a sigh, Chie walked back over to him and threw her arms around him tightly. "I know. It's going to be rough, sure, but you have to remember that we're not only doing this to save lives…we're doing this because we chose to. If I wasn't able to set my wants aside, I never would have taken Sachi-kun's offer. I know you're going to be," she blushed, remembering what they'd done again, "intimate with the others. That…what the…." Stepping back enough to look up into his eyes, she kept a firm grip on his arms. "They…I mean, yeah it…."

Unaware of which of his thoughts might have triggered the sudden change in her outward confidence levels. "Wh-what?"

"You and Yuko-san, and Chiaki-san, and…another woman I'm not recognizing immediately, and Pixie-san." She wasn't upset, she knew that much. He'd obviously not been a virgin before they'd done anything. She was concerned, however, at the way that what she was seeing looked far too much like market manipulation. "You needed to have the problem taken care of, they helped take care of it…I'm just worried that they're…." She blew out a sharp sigh. "I don't know how to put it into words. Give me a bit, ok? I'm not upset at you, promise, I just don't want to shove my foot in my mouth."

Already uncomfortable, Shinji attempted to use humor the way he'd seen his classmates use it, "Well, at least we know you're flexible enough to fit it there."

Chie barked out a hearty laugh, blushing once more. "Yeah, I guess we do. I just…I wanted to feel how different it might be if I was stretched out a little, you know?" She caught his mind lingering lovingly over the memory. "I'm glad you liked it."

The door at the end of the hall opened, revealing Mitsuru and Rise alongside Yukiko and Ulala. With a half-wave, Shinji drew Chie's attention to their comrades and greeted the arrivals in the same motion. "Sorry," he apologized by habit, "I guess I wasn't watching where I put my feet."

Rise had jogged over, jumping up and wrapping her arms around Shinji's neck to hug him close. "We felt you stop approaching, is everything ok?"

"Yeah, we had to stop and have a quick chat." Chie wasn't eager to have the discussion she could feel looming from her friends, she was surprised, though, that she felt no jealousy from watching Shinji be embraced by the former Miss Japan. She could feel the steady thrum of his desire for her through their connection, proof better than any that while he might sleep with other women he'd never feel less for her individually. "He'd never seen a Persona summoned, and we got distracted."

Ulala, to the contrary, was quite eager to have the discussion that was indeed looming, "Was that before or after you fucked him?"

"Classy, Ulala," Yukiko jumped to her best friend's defense as Mitsuru took Ulala's arm and began to reprimand her quietly, "really classy. Can we maybe get out of Tartarus and somewhere safe before we start a war?"

Shinji's mood darkened, the way Chie's jaw clenched and her eyes dropped to the floor with what he could sense was both defensiveness and shame. Nobody wanted to have their private life thrown in their face, and she was now a part of him. "There won't be a war," he stated in a cold growl. Supporting Rise's weight with one arm, he placed his hand on Chie's shoulder with a different type of support. "Anyone who can't accept that Chie-chan and I are together isn't worth my time or energy."

"Just…Chie-chan?" Rise's voice was incredibly small, "Nobody else?"

His response was equally quiet, meant only for the two women directly next to him at the moment, "That's not my choice to make, really. The situation is too complex for me to act like I know even a quarter of anything."

"We should all have a talk," Chie agreed. She'd received a massive boost of confidence in the way Shinji's mind had responded with violent anger at the slight she'd suffered. She was now his partner, and that meant she had to start helping him make time for the discussions that were necessary to avoid the pitfalls Ulala would launch them towards at the moment. "Let's get out of here so someone who actually knows what they're doing can take a look at his face. I think I got it, but I'm nowhere near as good with my new healing magic as Yukiko-chan or Mitsuru-senpai."

"Agreed," Mitsuru urged everyone to move to the exit, "I'd like both of you to have a quick checkup, if nothing else."

Shinji forgot that he was carrying Rise, to the extent that he simply brought her along for the final few hundred meters. It, as it had for the past week, felt wonderful to have her close. Ducking through the exit enough that he didn't risk her head, he felt the breeze flowing across his skin and stopped to simply enjoy the sensation of not being inside Tartarus. "…I'm really tired," he joked with a dark chuckle.

"I hate to delay things, Ikari-san, but I'm afraid I have to make an introduction to keep a promise." Shiori Miyashiro waited for him to look to her, and saw him hesitate on the small red creature that had waited patiently for him to arrive. "Shinji Ikari, this is Hua Po. Hua Po, this is Shinji Ikari."

Placing her right fist in her left hand and shifting her legs to bow with deep respect, Hua Po intoned the formalities, "It is a great honor to meet you, Fortunate. I have come at the Grovemother's request, as she wishes to petition your aid in person."

Another person, another burden, another drain on his reserves. "I…uhm-"

"We will meet her either later today, or tomorrow," Chie inserted herself into the dilemma. "Shinji-kun and I are really tired, and our clothes aren't in the greatest shape. It would be rude to meet someone important like we are right now."

Hua Po briefly analyzed the energetic brawler, then nodded. "Agreed. The Grovemother will want to meet with you as well. The defense of The Fortunate, for now, rests on your shoulders. What is asked of him is, as it should be, asked of you as well."

"Great," Shiori clapped her hands with exaggerated contentedness, "then let's get to Takemi-sensei before something else happens."

"No." Reluctantly, Shinji set Rise down.

Keeping herself from swearing, the chief of security asked with concern, "No? Why no?"

"Because I am not ready to talk with Kirijo-san about what happened. I may never be ready to talk about it."

The head of security blew out a harsh puff of air. She couldn't be angry with him, not knowing what she knew. That didn't mean she couldn't be frustrated that he was making things more difficult on her. "Ikari-san, I can't really-"

A hint of yellow began to glow from his pupils. "Are you going to try and arrest me?"

"No," she waved the idea off. "Don't get idgy with me, ok? I'm…I'm not on your side, but I'm also not your enemy. You need to be taken somewhere safe, and you need medical attention."

"Then take me to NERV." He gestured in the general direction of the main facility. "They have doctors, guards, and permission to use both around me."

"Us," Chie chimed in with a resigned, internal, sigh. When Shinji looked down at her, his emotions growing anxious that she might be in danger, she responded by looping one finger in his shirt and tugging lightly on it. "It's a bad idea for us to be separated. Between the possibility of Tartarus grabbing you again, and the fact that I can feel how afraid you are of being alone, I think it's best that I stay around you."

Shiori grimaced. "Kirijo-sama's going to have my ass for this…." With a shrug, she motioned for the pair to approach one of the waiting SUVs. "I'll get everyone else home, you two behave for-"

"Three," Yukiko and Rise announced simultaneously. The two looked at each other, nodded, then turned to Mitsuru. Rise spoke for them both, "Teams of four. You and I can't be in the same place without risking another incident like happened with Yukiko-chan, and leaving just Chie-chan and Shinji-kun alone to handle another trip into Tartarus isn't a good idea. We can't leave Yuka-chan undefended either, which means this is two groups of four now."

Mitsuru wasn't thrilled at splitting their forces, but she also understood how Shinji was not terribly enthusiastic about going back to their home yet. "Keep in contact, ok?" She looked expressly at her newest friend, an honest hope in her eyes. "I didn't know either."

Of that he had no doubt. "I'm not running away…I just don't want to go there and…."

"I hate to break this up, but we need to get off the 'X'." Shiori motioned for everyone to move in their respective directions. "I'll explain everything to Kirijo-sama, you just keep it so I'm being honest."

+++++ Kirijo Manor. (Sunday, August 29th, +8, Last Quarter 3/4)

The ride home had been about as hostile as it could have been without the actual exchange of blows. Mitsuru was glad that she had sent Eriko and Sumire home with Yuka to do exactly what Rise had turned into an excuse to travel with Shinji instead of coming with her. Mitsuru was less glad that Ulala was seething with barely restrained anger, and had prepared herself for the resumption of overt hostilities by the time they'd walked through the large double doors of the only home she'd ever known.

Four steps into the house, the red-and-white haired fashionista whirled around and pointed directly in Mitsuru's face. "You sit there and you tell me that the situations are different! That all I want to do is seduce him and get off! That I'd just be furthering his abuse!"

Mitsuru wanted to raise her voice, to lower herself to a screaming match, but she would never win that way. "Eriko-chan acted without consulting any of us. I have not yet had the chance to speak with Chie-chan about why she chose to accept the offer Yukiko left behind. Neither person made their choice publicly. If I had been given a chance to voice my opposition, I would have done so."

"So because I'm not going behind everyone's back, I get to keep missing out?"

"Because you keep acting honorably, I haven't had to set someone to watching you all day." Mitsuru crossed her arms just below her chest. "You are neither this easy nor this cheap, Serizawa. Why are you so bound and determined to act like you're entitled to his affections?" She caught Ulala's teeth grinding, and pressed on the point, "You are one of the most beautiful ladies in the school. You are intelligent, caring, and someone I am glad to have at my side in a fight…you have to know that you are going to have some of his time if you don't sabotage yourself first."

She looked away, crossing her own arms. "You wouldn't understand."

"I might not, that does not mean I won't make the effort." Moving closer, she tried to lower the volume of the conversation, "Talk to me. I know we're…very different from one another. I know our lives have been taking different paths." Letting go of her own elbow, she set that hand on Ulala's upper arm. "I would hope you knew that doesn't matter to me. Even if you weren't a part of this team, even if you weren't in my class, I'd still want to help."

"How many dates have I been on, this year alone?" She refused to make eye contact.

Mitsuru thought back through how many students she'd seen her flirting with. "I doubt I would know an exact number, but if I had to guess I would say around…thirty?"

"Zero." Finally turning back, she was rewarded with Mitsuru's genuine look of surprise. "I haven't been on a single date since first year. Nobody wants to date someone who could kick their ass…at least nobody worth a damn."

Attempting to empathize, Mitsuru nodded slowly, "I have not been-"

"You haven't wanted to," Ulala cut in harshly. "You've always been focused on your future! On your family's company! On the path that's been polished all nice and pretty by generations of wealthy people. The only person who's done anything for me is my damn boxing coach, and all he wanted was to push me into going into Olympic training directly out of high school!"

"…We're all going to have to sacrifice for this to work." She knew that Ulala wasn't wrong. She couldn't understand what it was like to grow up in a broken home. She couldn't know what it was like to be turned down by someone. She couldn't feel the sense of hopelessness at watching Shinji have his attention on someone else for a time, because she'd made the efforts to spend time with him that gave her an understanding of how he felt about her. "Right now, you're making me doubt that it would be a good idea to encourage him to spend time with you. If you get this jealous before he's even gone on a date with you, how bad is it going to be for everyone afterwards?"

"That's why I'm angry: I know that!" She huffed and looked away again. "I talk a good game, but I know the instant I see him smiling at another woman I'm going to want to punch her fucking teeth in and then drown myself in the tub."

"There are ways to fix that," a familiar voice said with a hint of amusement. Both women turned to see Pixie floating in the air nearby. "Why do you think his most recent attachment wasn't jealous that he was holding up the Lover? She knows." Her eyes remained focused on Ulala, her smile enticing. "That's part of the gift the Eldest gave her, the ability to feel what he feels, to know what he knows. In her heart, he's forever with her."

Mitsuru had been concerned for some time that the tiny creature was not as benevolent as she'd seemed, the lack of her direct presence in Tartarus was simply the latest evidence she'd gathered. That she knew what Shinji had done in Tartarus was enough to act. "That might make the situation worse, right now." When Ulala looked at her with frank disbelief, she motioned for patience. "It sounds to me, from an unqualified position, that you're suffering from a serious self-esteem issue. I'll ask my mother to hire-"

"You're right, you aren't qualified." Motioning for Pixie to follow her, Ulala stormed off towards her room. "C'mon, Pixie-chan."

+++++ NERV. (Sunday, August 29th, +8, Last Quarter 3/4)

Shinji arrived to NERV to a greeting that he was also not adequately prepared for. Standing in the Executive Entrance, where his allies were to be deposited alongside him, was his mother. The way Chie looked back at him made it evident that his extraordinarily complicated emotional issues were transparently obvious to her. "…Let's go." Whatever it was his mother wanted, it was obvious from his connection to Unit-01 that she too was both very nervous and immensely grateful.

Yui watched Shinji exit the vehicle first, her beloved son turning around and offering a hand to three young women whose records she had analyzed four times already that hour. Each had their merits, each had their drawbacks. That he handled each of them as if they were worthy of his total deference told her everything she needed to know. If they had his eye, then she would make certain they knew she was watching them. Wanting to control the beginning of the conversation, to keep everything from breaking down into a misunderstanding, she spoke first as the quartet approached, "Ladies, I truly wish to thank you for your valiant rescue of my son. Your bravery and willingness to undergo terrible trials speaks well of you, and of your upbringing. I apologize that introductions will have to wait, but I need to reassure my son that I had no idea what had been done within the Kirijo Manor."

"You…." A memory of his mother walking at his side tickled his brain, distracting him from what he'd been about to say. "Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back." The way her eyes lit up ever so slightly, and her emotions surged towards overwhelming joy, caused a wave of punishing sorrow in his own heart. "I'm…glad you didn't know. I'm very angry. Thank you for stopping me."

"I have made certain that she will never touch you again." Yui's words remained disaffected, despite her hope soaring. "Would you feel comfortable handling introductions?"

Swallowing back the tears threatening his eyes, he stepped aside and gestured to the woman that, by rights of proximity to the core of his very being, deserved first introductions. "Chie Satonaka, this is…my mother, Yui Ikari."

Bowing with greater depth than she thought Shinji would approve of, but naturally predisposed to being polite with powerful individuals who could make her family's life very difficult, Chie declared, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ikari-san. My family and I are grateful for your effort in preparing the Purple Defender for combat."

Yui met the bow with a more polished version, appropriate for a mother meeting his son's chosen. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Satonaka-chan. Thank you, again, for protecting my son."

Once Chie was upright again, he gestured to the next in line. "Yukiko Amagi."

Long years of practice greeting high-powered executives made Yukiko's bow a work of art. "It is a pleasure to see you again, Ikari-san. The Amagi Family is grateful for NERV's patronage over the years, and I'm certain my mother awaits your next visit eagerly."

Yui truly meant what she said, "Thank you, Amagi-chan, for sacrificing time with your mother to help my son. He is in good hands, with an Amagi by his side."

Shinji genuinely wished he had grown up here, around the people he'd met. "Last, but not least, Rise Kujikawa."

Rise's bow was subdued, dark thoughts warring with duty. "It's nice to meet you, ma'am."

"Honesty is a net good, when considered as a matter of policy." Yui was aware of the younger woman's thoughts, insofar as she had long decades of experience reading similar signals from far angrier women. "As is knowing when to restrain honesty with tact. I enjoyed your performances, Kujikawa-chan. I believe I will enjoy far more coming to know the woman behind the mask." Pausing, she swept her gaze across the three ladies that, in her estimation, were vying for Shinji's time. "Before I escort you to the clinic for evaluations, I would like to confess that I failed my son, a decade and a half past. He has honored me greatly by fighting for us all, and has every right to his anger with me. It is my hope that you brighten his future, so that the past fades into the darkness it belongs within." Turning her body, she gestured to the elevator waiting for them. "If you would follow me, please, Doctors Akagi and Zeppelin are waiting for you."