MAY 15th, 2015

TOKYO-3, REI'S APARTMENT

6:00am:

'What's it like to hold the hand of someone you love?'

Rei had been thinking about the baseline question she was asked last night, as well as many times before. When asked that question by Ritsuko, she immediately thought back to the medivac ride she took with Shinji back home from Sai-Kuru. Relating the holding of hands with feelings of love had confused her, even though she was well-aware that it was a thing couples did. What she wasn't aware of was of her feelings for Shinji possibly being that of love.

It was something she had never bothered thinking of, as love never served any practical purpose to her in any situation.

Her alarm had gone off as it always did at that exact hour, but she had already been awake about an hour before then. Unlike the day before, she was able to get more sleep. And yet her mind still raced with all kinds of questions.

'Was holding Shinji's hand a gesture of... love?' She pondered. 'Is that what it feels like?'

Seeing the two lovers sitting across from her bus stop last night had planted an idea in Rei's head. The way the two held onto each other and refused to separate had reminded her of the feeling she was got when she was around Shinji. Back over at Mount Katsuyama, right before the SEELE ambush, Rei hugged Shinji when she felt this strange need to not only comfort him, but to get closer to him. Physically closer.

Rei didn't know what brought on that 'need', and didn't recognize the feeling at all. But she hugged him anyway because she couldn't fight the urge.

It was as if more and more of Rei's subconscious was being revealed to her as time passed. All these discoveries had already been overwhelming, especially the sad ones. But on her way home the night before, she got her first taste of the beauty these new emotions could bring. She still feared the unknown truths the inner depths of her mind held, but realized that it wasn't all bad.

Still, she had no idea what to make of the concept of loving another person.

She sat up in bed and started her day, this time trying to stay on her usual 'always on time' schedule. It was hard, she didn't bother pretending it wasn't. But if she wanted to avoid the Commander and Dr. Akagi's threat of a forceful imposition on her life, she'd have to power through it.

Rei left the warmth of her bed sheets and walked onto the uncomfortable cold tiles of her apartment's floor with bare feet. To her surprise, getting up was nowhere near as slow as it the previous morning. But it still didn't feel like a normal day at all.

She went to the kitchen for some breakfast, feeling like she was starving since she only ate dinner the day before. But as she reached for her breakfast items, she heard a knock at the door.

"Rei? Are you awake?" She heard a female voice from the other side. Rei could instantly recognize the voice, it being none other than Major Katsuragi's.

'What is she doing here at this hour?' She wondered, now walking over to her front door to let her in.

The door let out an ear-grating creak as Rei pulled it open just a bit to peek through, finding Misato standing at the hallway with her umbrella which still poured drops of water from the rain outside.

"Can I help you, Major?" She asked, somewhat timidly.

'That's odd.' Thought Misato, as she tried to lighten up the mood. 'She looks a little frightened.'

"Hiya Rei! Just checking in on you, wanna make sure you're okay and all! I know things haven't been very good at all lately because of everything that's gone on with Shinji and-" She stopped herself once she saw Rei's expression darken a little. Misato let out a deep sigh.

"Okay look, I heard about yesterday. I just... wanted to have a quick talk with you about what's going on, that's all." She explained.

"I-I don't know if I would like to talk about it." Rei said. "I have to go now, I need to be getting ready for-"

"I wasn't sent by the Commander or Dr. Akagi, if that's what you think I'm doing here." Misato added. "You can trust me, I'm not here to impose anything on you like they do."

Rei was quite surprised by her C.O. It was like she had just read her mind, and could tell that Misato was being sincere. On top of that, the older woman gave her a friendly smile. Neither Gendo or Ritsuko had ever showed her this kindness, so Rei felt more at ease around Misato than she did the both of them now.

Her door was now fully open, allowing Misato to enter her apartment.

"You are welcome to come in." She said in her usual flat tone.

"Thank you, Rei." Said Misato. "And don't worry about getting to class late, I can give you a ride."

"I do not wish to be a burden, Major..." Rei said quite somberly.

'Shinji's words... coming out of her mouth?' The older woman thought, surprised at how much Rei did seem like a different person now. "Oh come on, that's nonsense! I'd be glad to give you a ride, you're no burden to me!"

"Thank you..." Rei said sheepishly.

Now that she was in Rei's home, Misato couldn't help but feel shocked the same way Shinji did when he had first been there. It was so lifeless and uncared for, but she'd ignore that aspect for now. She had more important matters to speak to Rei about.

"What is it that you need to talk to me about?" The blue-haired teen asked her, as now both stood in her living room.

"Ritsuko told me you cried yesterday. Is that true?" Asked Misato.

Rei looked down in shame, hating the memory that came of her bawling in the dirty worn-down structure she hid in to isolate herself from the world. She found that it was also embarrassing to have someone else hear about it.

"Heyheyhey, look... there's nothing wrong with that. Crying is actually a good thing, Rei." Misato explained. Rei looked back up at her.

"It is?"

"Of course! And it can be beautiful too... When someone feels sad, and they let their problems build up for too long, it only makes them feel worse. When you cry, you can let it all out." Misato said.

"Yes-" Rei added. "-I was filled with anguish yesterday... But after I had finished crying, I found that I was a lot less distressed than before."

"Exactly! And crying doesn't always come from sadness, either... Sometimes, when you're overjoyed and just really happy, you can cry from sheer joy. It really is a beautiful thing, you know..."

Rei thought back to the moment her view of Shinji first began to change; the night he saved her from under the heavy tree branch that pinned her legs down as fire consumed the jungle. She remembered him damaging his palms after pulling the thick branch off her legs, blood seeping out of every cut and splinter he received from it. He was in unbearable pain for doing what he did, just to save her life; the very life she didn't believe really mattered.

And then he cried tears of joy for her.

"So you see, crying isn't a bad thing!" Misato said cheerfully. "And neither are your emotions, Rei."

Rei looked down again, thinking of the threat Ritsuko gave her regarding just that. Misato could see the young girl's expression go down again, knowing of the absurd things Gendo had instilled in her.

"I know Ritsuko and the Commander try to tell you otherwise, but you shouldn't listen to them. Emotions are... beautiful, Rei. They're not always pleasant, yet they open so many doors in life."

"But why is that so?" Rei asked, genuinely curious about the subject now. "Why do we have feelings of depression as well? Why does pain have to exist in a world where joy does too?"

"Because life just doesn't work like that." Misato replied. "You can't have one without the other; without sadness, you wouldn't know how to appreciate the good things that's happened to you. Without happiness, all you would have left is unreasonable sorrow."

Rei nodded, now realizing that she was actually quite invested in this conversation. It was the first time she had casual talk with someone other than Shinji, since not even Gendo would talk to her about such things. All he would talk to her about was work.

"Whatever it is that Commander Ikari or Ritsuko told you about feeling things, forget it. You should never be ashamed of your emotions." Said Misato.

"Dr. Akagi thinks otherwise." Said Rei, actually sounding somewhat fearful of the artificial blonde.

"Honestly Rei,-" Said Misato, deeply resenting her old college friend some more. "-fuck what she thinks. If you can, don't let her force you into bottling up your feelings."

"But how would I do that?" Asked Rei.

"Just don't give them any reason to suspect you'll let your emotions get in the way of your tasks. I know it's tough, but sometimes all of us at NERV have to put our feelings aside to be able to work. Once we're out, we can resume living our personal lives! I've no doubt in my mind that you can do the same." Misato said with a smile, trying to be as supportive to Rei as she could. The young girl nodded once more.

"I see..."

Though Rei wasn't sure it would work, she would definitely give it a try. If hiding her emotions at HQ or around her authority figures meant she could keep exploring this new world of emotions outside of work, then she would want to do just that.

But then she thought of the term 'personal life'. Rei never did things for herself, always having lived for the Commander's needs and wants from her. The only time she had a taste of what it was like to have a life of her own was when she and Shinji had been spending time together almost every night back when they were sent back home along with Asuka.

And then, having reminisced of all the walks and talks she had with Shinji on their time off made her think back to the baseline question that had rung in her head all morning.

"May I ask you an unrelated question, Major?" She asked.

"Sure thing, Rei." Misato replied sweetly.

"Can you describe to me... what love is?"

MISATO'S APARTMENT

7:16am:

Asuka stood by the phone as she eagerly awaited for an answer. Her feet tapping and her hands fidgeting, her impatience was killing her. They were taking an unusually long time to do so, and she began to wonder if she was being avoided.

'Pick up already! What's taking you so long?' She wondered.

The dial tone had already rung 3 times, maybe they wouldn't pick up at all. Asuka sighed as she was about to place the phone back on the hook, until she heard a voice emanate from it.

"Hello?" The voice of Ryoji Kaji asked on the other line with a yawn, his voice sounding much deeper at this hour.

"Kaji!" Asuka replied as she brought the phone back to her ear. "Um, how are you?"

She was really trying to hide the desperation in her voice, but Kaji knew her too well. It made sense to him, with everything that was going on.

"Tired... really tired, Asuka." He groaned.

"You're still in bed? Gee, I wish I could be there with you..." She said in an attempt to flirt with him.

"What are you doing calling me this early?" Kaji asked, dodging her suggestive comment. "I'm usually never up before 9."

"Well, I'm glad you asked! I've been sooo bored lately, and I have a lot of free time y'know. Then I remembered that you have a lot of free time too! So I was thinking, how about you come pick me up and take me somewhere nice to eat? Or, we could just hang out at your place if you'd like!" She beamed excitedly.

"What? Asuka- it's a school day... I don't know where this talk of 'free time' is coming from." Kaji reasoned. "Either way, I got a case I have to study up on for the week. I'm not going to be able to have much leisure time at all."

"Aw c'mon don't be boring!" Asuka begged. "Pleeeaase? Just this once? I really don't want to go to school today, I don't even need that crap education anymore! I already put up with all those college courses 2 years ago, this stuff is like preschool level to me!"

"Sorry Asuka, but the answer is no." He said sternly. "I'm exhausted and I have a lot of work ahead of me. Maybe some other time, alright?" Asuka pouted, letting out a grunt of frustration.

"Fine..." She said as she finally hung up. 'Guess he must be really tired... he's never this grumpy with me.'

She turned away from the phone and sighed one more time. There really was no escaping school today. She sat back down at the dinner table, where she had left her bowl of cereal half-emptied when she decided to call Kaji.

Asuka fidgeted with the cereal flakes, all of them completely having soaked up the milk by now.

'This stuff is for kiddies.' She thought. 'If only Misato would get off her lazy ass and learn to cook like stupid Shinji, I wouldn't have to eat this sorry excuse for a breakfast item.'

Misato had been sleeping in a lot lately, only ever leaving to check on Ritsuko's progress on Shinji's extraction. But today she had gotten up unexpectedly earlier than Asuka, without having said a word to her about it. She hated having no one around this time of day to talk to, even though she had been living by herself beforehand and was perfectly capable of doing so.

'Where the hell is she? Lately she's almost never sober enough to get up and go somewhere this early. Pff, I bet she's off somewhere buying drinks.'

Then Asuka thought of Shinji, and how strange it was to not have him around the house these past few days. She still held some resentments against him, but his presence wouldn't hurt all that much.

'And if the idiot was still around, I'd at least have someone to talk to in the mornings! Even if it's him...'

She couldn't eat any more of the cereal, having been too disgusted by to want to finish it. She dumped it in the kitchen sink's drain and shredded it. Without Shinji around, the only decent food she could get was over at her school, and that was saying a lot.

Asuka didn't think she could handle living in that home with Misato alone. Sometimes her constant drinking had intoxicated her so much, she couldn't interact with the person she shared this apartment with. The only real interaction Asuka was having lately was with Pen Pen. And whenever Misato wasn't home, she stayed out almost all day.

Asuka decided she wouldn't wait in the apartment the usual amount of time she normally would, since it was not only extremely boring with no one else around, but she would have some time to kill with whichever friend was there that early once she'd get to school.

"Hmph!" She let out while reaching for her shoes.

TOKYO-3 JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL

8:37am:

'Love...' Thought Rei as she made her way up the stairs leading to her classroom.

She had enjoyed her talk back home with Misato quite a lot, it having opened her eyes to a lot of things. Firstly, it was the first time she not only opened up to someone else about her newfound emotions, but the first time she felt comfortable talking to someone else about them. Almost a 2-hour conversation about such personal matters, she never had that before.

Not even Shinji had seen this side of her, though that was only because her emotions were still very much suppressed at the time.

'Miss Misato is... kind to me.' She thought. 'She is trying to help, despite not needing to.'

Ever since Shinji's disappearance in the core, Rei felt very much like big part of her life was taken away from her. Without him, she felt truly alone for the first time in her life. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized she had always been alone. Shinji only unearthed that ugly truth to her.

But seeing how much Misato really cared about how Rei was feeling, in stark contrast to how Gendo and Ritsuko only 'cared' about her for their own needs, made her feel that she was not alone after all, even with Shinji's absence. She at least had someone else to talk to in these troubling times, and that made her feel a lot less hopeless.

As Rei finally reached the top of the staircase, she was presented with a truly unpleasant sight; Asuka herself, already giving the blue-haired girl the stink-eye with her arms crossed. Rei's first instinct was to avoid the feisty teenager, not wanting to put up with any of her rude comments and bully-like antics.

But as she made her way around Asuka to enter the classroom, she felt something tug her uniform from behind.

"Stop right there, Wondergirl!" She barked. "You and I need to have a little talk..."

"What is it?" Rei asked rather impatiently, which didn't go unnoticed by Asuka.

"Well! The doggie bites back after all!"

Rei looked unfazed, hiding the annoyance that brewed within her. Ignoring Asuka's insult, she just wanted to get this supposed 'talk' over with.

"Just say what you need to say. Class begins shortly, I have little time to waste."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Asuka whined. "Ugh, my point is; I woke up this morning and noticed Misato was gone, which is never the case for that lazy slob! Then as it turns out, just as I'm waiting in class and looking out the window, I see her dropping you off at school!"

Rei still looked unfazed.

"How does this concern me?"

"What do you mean 'how'? If she should be taking anyone to school, it's me! I live with her, but then she drags her ass off of bed to go all the way to you? What the hell's up with that?" Asuka asked loudly, all eyes in the school's halls looking at the two girls.

Hikari had also heard the commotion from inside the classroom, and had to step outside to see what was going on. Once she said Asuka standing in her usual defensive pose in front of an aloof Rei, she knew exactly what was going on. She kept her distance for now, but knew she'd have to step in to take Asuka away if it escalated any further.

"If this fact truly bothers you, then you should take it up with Miss Misato." Said Rei. "She was just being kind to me after what happened yesterday, I had nothing to do with her decision to check up on me."

"Oooh I see! So you needed to be babied after your little scene yesterday? That's cute..." Asuka said, scoffing while at it. "Without your precious Shinji, you have no one else to turn to!" Rei frowned.

"What does Shinji have to do with any of this?"

Asuka knew she was finally getting under Rei's skin, after all this time of unsuccessfully trying to do so.

"Standing up for him again, now are you?"

"Yes." Rei answered honestly, surprising even Asuka. "You were always angered by my friendship with him. You would be better off minding your own business, which I take is a difficulty for you."

Their classmates all said a collective 'Oooo...', now surrounding the two girls. Hikari immediately scolded everyone for watching and egging the girls on to get in a fight, not wanting either of them to actually be influenced by the crowd.

"Watch it, Ayanami-" Asuka warned. "-you really don't want to piss me off..."

"You're right, I don't intend to upset you. I never have. But nonetheless, whatever I say or do, you choose to be angered by. You choose anger almost all of the time, yet I do not understand why." Rei said rather confidently.

"Shut up!" Asuka yelled, doing so at Rei's face now. "So after just a few days of moping around because your stupid boyfriend is gone, you're suddenly confident? You sure are acting a lot like him now... cocky and arrogant!"

'The hypocrisy...' Rei mused.

By now, Asuka's yells had heads peering out of almost every classroom. Toji and Kensuke were eyeing the situation outside as well. All this unwanted attention would surely get one of them in trouble, so Hikari stepped in directly.

"Okay, that's enough Asuka. Let's just go back insi-"

"You two really are perfect for each other! Not only do the two of you lack any self-esteem, but you're both afraid! Too afraid to admit your fake little feelings for each other!" The redhead continued. "It's so gross! I don't even know why that coward would like such a lifeless doll like you..."

Hikari had now lost her patience.

"Asuka, quit it already! You're making a scene!" She tried reasoning, to which Asuka held a hand up at her, signalling to stay back.

"You like him, don't you?" Asuka asked mockingly, catching the attention of everyone around once again. This time, all eyes turned to Rei in anticipation of her answer. She said nothing.

Hikari now grabbed Asuka's arm, trying to pull her away from Rei and back to class. Asuka was quick to yank her arm and approached Rei once more, staring her down like a predator stalking its prey in the wild.

"So are you gonna answer?"

Rei still gave no answer, but didn't show any sign of backing down. She took a deep breath, and stared back at Asuka with confidence.

"Soryu, why does it bother you so much?" She asked honestly, not understanding the other girl's anger towards her.

Now Asuka was unsure of how to answer, the students surrounding them going 'Oooo...' once more. She was now extremely embarrassed, not having realized she was actually making her own feelings for Shinji a little more noticeable by confronting Rei about it. Her face went red, only further embarrassing herself. Her top had blown right off, and she was ready to go hysterical.

*SLAP!*

"F-FUCK YOU!" She yelled as the palm of her hand came in contact with Rei's face, the sharp sound resonating loudly through the halls.

Rei stumbled backwards, placing her own hand where Asuka's slap had landed just a second ago. The stinging sensation was extremely present, but Rei had been through much worse. The pain that hurt more at the time was an emotional one.

"'EY!" Toji shouted as he and Kensuke rushed Asuka, harmlessly pulling her away from Rei, who now sat on the floor.

"LET GO OF ME, YOU DOLTS!" Asuka protested. "THIS IS BETWEEN ME AND-"

"Soryu! Main office! Now!" Classroom 2-A's teacher yelled, having seen the bicker as he walked down from the opposite end of the hall. "Horaki, please escort her to the main office now, please."

Asuka knew she was in for it. She had never been caught doing such a thing to anyone, and knowing of the call Misato would receive about her little assault on Rei meant she'd definitely be in trouble once she got home.

"Let go of me!" She said as she forcefully pushed both Toji and Kensuke away from her. "I'll go there myself!"

She stormed out of the halls, but before going down the stairs, looked back at Rei.

"You're dead, Ayanami. Dead!" She said before leaving.

Shinji's friends rolled their eyes as they approached Rei to help her back up, knowing how hard these times had been for her.

"You okay, Ayanami?" Kensuke asked.

Rei nodded without saying a word, though the expression on her face said otherwise.

"Look, that bitch is always startin' shit up with the peeps around 'er. If she tries buggin' ya again, just come to us, alright?" Toji offered.

"I appreciate it, but you don't need to involve yourself in these... disagreements." She replied. Toji himself frowned now.

"Nah man, seriously! Yer a friend of Shinji's, so yer a friend of ours!"

"Yeah! You didn't deserve any of that at all! We know you've been hurting a lot lately. Trust me when I say that we are too... Shinji's a good guy. Now come on, let's get back to class and just forget about Soryu's childish tantrum. You missed some work yesterday, we could run you through them if you'd like." Kensuke suggested.

Rei was taken aback by this, since just that morning she had Misato come to check in on her already. It seemed that after knowing of what she was going through with her emotions, people started to show more concern. She had no idea that friendships with people other than Shinji were even possible, and she was feeling a lot more comfortable around 3 other people in just a day.

She was not alone.

"Th-Thank you..." She said to the both of them as Toji helped her up.

TOKYO-3

9:47am:

Humiliation.

That's all Asuka could think about as she made her way back to Misato's, having been sent home after her guardian didn't answer the phone when they tried calling her. Since Misato had still been on her way home from dropping Rei off at school when the school called, no one was home to answer it. Of course, upon returning home, Asuka had to tell her why she was sent back in the first place.

Rei had just humiliated her, and she was about ready to kill someone. The fact that the 'doll' was the one to humiliate her made her all the more angry.

Thankfully, it was only drizzling lightly at the moment. It made the walk back home just a bit more bearable, even though Asuka could easily take the bus back like she usually did. But with trouble awaiting back home, she chose to take her time coming back.

'Fucking bitch!' She thought. 'I bet she's feeling real smug right about now! You'll see just what kind of trouble you've gotten yourself into, wondergirl...'

Asuka walked through the heavily-populated city, the crowdedness of the streets making her even angrier despite there being no reason for it. She was taking the route her buses would normally go through to get to Misato's apartment, having already memorized all the reference points and turns she'd need to take to get there by foot.

But the busy streets still infuriated her, and she wanted a path that was more quiet. When she was like this, it didn't matter who they are; all people angered her.

'To hell with this! I need to be alone.' She thought as she diverted her course for some peace and quiet.

Coincidentally, she was passing by a park that was mostly empty. It had been there long before Second Impact, having been used a lot more by the city's occupants. But after the endless rain came to plague Tokyo-3, it was almost never used by anyone, aside from the homeless every once in a while.

She decided it was the perfect spot to delay her arrival to Misato's, her anger still raging in her mind.

'Misato doesn't give a shit about me...' Asuka mused. 'Not even Kaji wants to see me, it's like he's avoiding me!'

Then the overthinking began.

'Hikari didn't stop the teacher from sending me to the office! She even defended the doll! As did Suzuhara and Aida! Everyone was laughing at me!'

That last part wasn't even true, but in the moment her rage was set off by Rei, the embarrassment was so huge that she felt like everyone was laughing at her.

'Fuck Misato!'

Her walking sped up now that she found herself in the park, completely isolated from everyone. She was now all alone.

'Fuck the idiot, and his friends too!'

Her blood was boiling again, just like it was when she was confronting Rei not too long ago. She had lost control yet again, this time being triggered by the 'mystery girl' herself.

'Fuck Ayanami! Fuck EVERYONE!'

And then she stopped.

She remembered the week she first lived with Shinji and Misato, the whole purpose of the short return home from the battlefield being to not only get her and Shinji to put their differences aside, but for her to control her anger. Seeing as how she just physically hurt Rei, she had gone back to square one.

But at the time it happened, she wasn't even aware of how much control she had lost. Only now, looking back, did she realize it actually happened again.

'I blew up again...' She thought. 'B-But she was asking for it! She wanted to piss me off!'

Then she remembered what Rei had told her right before the argument got out of hand.

"...whatever I say or do, you choose to be angered by. You choose anger almost all of the time, yet I do not understand why."

'No!' Thought Asuka as she frowned. 'She was just saying that to get to me! I didn't just lose control on my own...'

Now she wasn't even sure of it herself. Whenever she felt the anger flare up, her emotions took over and logical thought took a backseat. She truly didn't want any of this to keep happening, ever.

'...did I?'

But just as she questioned herself, anger flared up in her once again. She was taking deep breaths now, feeling the need to let the anger out somehow. Right by her side, a trashcan stood, overflowing with heaps of junk. She forcefully kicked it down, denting its side as it fell over and spilled all of its contents. The clanking of the metal was very loud, despite it not being empty.

Her kick was so hard, that she was able to make such a loud sound.

And once again, she realized she had just lost control. Her frown was gone, in its place a flat stare at the spilled trash on the muddied floor of the park. The realization was ugly, as if her own mind was now rubbing it in her face.

She felt tears run down her face, but didn't sob. She cried quietly. It was the strangest mix of anger and sadness she had ever felt.

'I hate myself.'

NERV HQ, GENETICS POD LABORATORY

3:45pm:

"Current status of reconstruction, Stage 1; 0.023%." Announced Ritsuko as she read the long graphed sheet of paper being printed out as she spoke.

"However long the entire process takes, be it days or even weeks, the patient should be able to survive within the L.C.L. However, the patient is also showing consistent readings of mental stress, which might cause something of a disturbance during the final stages of extraction if he is too stressed." She added.

"And what about the wounds?" Asked one of the crew members in the control room. "In theory, we know what has to be done to fully reconstruct his body and stabilize his ego boundary... but how do we heal his wounds?"

"Just as we did when we coded his mind and muscle memory, we need to somehow find a way to code his wounds to close and heal. Problem is, by healing the wounds, he ages. Back when he was first put in the pod, he grew about 2 inches. He was only inside for less than an hour, so with how long this process may take, we've no idea how much his physical body may change." She explained.

"Anyway, we're running more theories through the MAGI, so far none of its readings show any negative effe- huh?"

The doctor stopped speaking when she felt a very sheepish tap on her shoulder, revealing Maya right behind her.

"Dr. Akagi, the results of Shinji's blood test have finally come in." She told NERV's head scientist.

"Give me a minute, Maya... I have some important things to discuss here." Ritsuko said to her.

"Doctor, this is pretty important." Maya explained. Ritsuko sighed.

"Can't it wait?"

"There's something else, you're going to want to see this." Maya added, handing her some medical papers. "It's, um... it's pretty serious."

Ritsuko examined the results printed on the papers, her eyes widening very slightly at what they were seeing.

"BR-ZRK?" She asked outloud, the crew now shocked as well. "Ikari's blood tested positive for... BR-ZRK?"

Ritsuko thought deeply about what this meant. This was going to bring upon a court martial, which meant Shinji would be dishonorably discharged and would possibly face some sort of punishment. What was worse, was that this meant all of her and the Commander's work towards 'the promised time' would all have been in vain.

Finding another way to achieve the master plan would prove difficult, as they were running out of time since the Angel attacks were not only inching closer to home, but were a lot more fierce. Still, she'd work hard to recover the boy. But it didn't change the fact that her life's work might've all been for nothing.

She sighed as she sat on the nearest chair to her, more frustration building up in the already-stressed out scientist. No matter what she did right, it seemed another problem was just waiting to rear its ugly head out at every turn.

'This kills all our progress.' She thought. 'Or rather, NERV's progress...'