Naoko clicked her pen in thought while she studied Unit-02 through the massive display screen.

"...Commander, should I increase LCL pressure and call in recovery?" Ritsuko asked hesitantly.

It kneeled beside the sunken body of Unit-00, submerged in a pool of Sachiel's blood. Unit-02 would have been camouflaged in the ocean's stain, had it not been for the way it rocked back and forth.

Asuka stared at her reflection through the crimson pool, her hands trembled as she ran her fingertips along the four yellow eyes that had erupted from her smooth, nose-less skull.

Not at a loss, Naoko looked at Kyoko, "What do you think?" She asked.

Her Sub-Commander and Chief Scientist held her hands behind her back. Kyoko's dull eyes did not catch the harsh light of the monitor as she scanned its subject, "She isn't lucid. But she still has her motor functions." Kyoko glanced at the far corner of the screen. "There are still two minutes remaining on her internal power. Time is of the essence, Commander. She must return to the Geofront-"

"No…" Asuka spoke to herself through the audio feed, "No, no, no… that isn't me-"

Naoko pressed the talk button for the direct radio feed, static crackled, "Asuka, honey? Are you alright?"

Unit-02 let out a deafening shriek that sent ripples through the water, the EVA began to strike its own head.

The Commander covered her mouth. "Oh, Asuka…"

Misato stepped beside Naoko, "Commander, we need to call in recovery now. She's going to hurt herself."

"-Isn't me, That isn't me-"

"Or Unit-02." Kyoko added. "Which is why she needs to report back to HQ before her timer runs out." She turned to Naoko. "We should activate the-"

Naoko waved a dismissive hand, "That won't be necessary." She gestured to the screen. "She might be in a fugue state, but like you said, she's still responding to stimuli."

She reached for the intercom, but Naoko's hand was blocked by Misato's. "Please let me talk to her."

The Commander raised an eyebrow.

Misato reminded herself of her position, "With your permission, Commander."

Naoko's eyes darted to the timer, she nodded. "Yes. Good luck."

She took in a sharp breath. "Thank you." Her hands trembled as she reached for the intercom.

"None of this is the real me…" Asuka said in between strikes, her voice slurred as she rocked.

"...Hey, kiddo." Misato whispered softly.

Unit-02's hand halted.

"Hey, it's me, It's Misato." She smiled, with the hope her warmth could reach her. "It's okay, we're going to get you help. Can you walk?" She waited for a response that didn't come. "I just need you to walk, just a little bit." No response. "Can you hear me?"

Nothing. Asuka rocked back and forth in the EVA.

She shuddered. Misato's eyes darted to the side as she thought of a way to bring her back to reality. "When you get back, we'll go and get some burgers. You remember those ones by the arcade? With the extra spicy ones?" No response. "C'mon… you're going to be late for school."

"Commander." Ritsuko called out from her desk, "One minute left on the internal battery."

Naoko turned to Misato and wound her wrist in a 'wrap-it-up' motion.

Misato bit her lip. "...I know you're scared. But it's okay, I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you. Let's go back to the Geofront-"

"-No!" Unit-02's head shook violently, "This isn't-"

A cold hand brushed Misato's aside. "Langley." Kyoko stated firmly, Unit-02's head perked up. "That's enough. There's an umbilical charging station four klicks north of your position. Recharge your internal battery, then report back to HQ."

Unit-02's body stood up immediately, it shuffled through the blood red ocean, its movement uncoordinated, head hung low.

It turned to look back at Unit-00's floating body.

"Double time." Kyoko said. Unit-02 stopped dragging its feet and broke into a jog, it parted the sea into red tidal waves as it did.

The entire command deck stood silent as they stared at the grisly scene Unit-02 left behind.

While Tokyo-03, it's shoreline and highway were untouched, the flooded and overgrown ambush site of what was once the Yugawara skyscrapers was nothing more than a sinking mass of rubble, save for a few that protruded out, angled like a ribcage.

Around the crimson epicenter, a fine layer of dust circled and divided the ocean between blood and water, with the blue body of Unit-00, which floated in the very center.

Before Misato could criticize her superior, Fuyutsuki spoke, "Commander, I have taken the liberty of calling in recovery, they are on their way to extract Unit-00."

"Yes, thank you, Kozo. And the pilot." Naoko added. "We mustn't forget the pilot."

"..Right." Fuyutsuki said, his face turned away from Misato before she could make eye contact.

She shook her head in disbelief, "But… Rei was nearly severed in half by that spear. Her pulse flatlined. She's-"

"-A tough girl." Naoko interjected. "Don't underestimate her. No doubt with Dr. Soryu's advanced treatments, she'll pull through."

Misato glared at Kyoko, who was transfixed on the drone feed that showed Unit-02 run towards the power station.

The Commander nodded to herself. "But let's not forget what our pilots accomplished here today, all of you. All of you!"

The crew looked up from their monitors towards the Commander. "What our EVA's accomplished. What all of you took part in today." Naoko pointed to the pool of Angel blood. "Humanity has survived their first extra-terrestrial assault! Not only survived, but triumphed!"

She pointed at Maya Ibuki, "All because of you."

Maya perked up and realised the entire command deck watched her.

"And you." She pointed at Ritsuko, and then at Hyuga, "And you!" Her finger reached every crew member as their spirits began to lift. "Months of planning… and not a single casualty or a part of the city damaged. I don't know about you, but I believe that's cause for celebration!"

The NERV crew nodded amongst themselves, the horrific images put at the back of their minds. "Humanity has endured today because of your actions!" Naoko continued. "And will keep enduring! We wouldn't be here if it weren't for you all! I think all of you owe yourselves a round of applause!"

She clapped. Yamagishi, her chief of security that constantly shadowed her, joined with a heavy, weighted clap.

Shigeru Aoba let out a whoop, which coaxed the crew into a tentative applause.

Courage welled inside of Maya as shot up from her seat,, "A-and Asuka and Rei too! They saved us!"

The Commander nodded, "Well said, Lieutenant!" She pointed to the jogging Unit-02, "Asuka just saved humanity from extinction!" Naoko pressed on the intercom, "What do you have to say to her?"

The hesitant claps formed into a thunderous ovation as the dozens of computer technicians, analysts, security guards and workers roared in laudation.

Shigeru Aoba cheered, "Hell yeah, kid! You kicked that Angel's ass!"

"Rei, Asuka, you did it!" Maya added with sincere enthusiasm, "Congratulations!"

Makoto Hyuga stood up, his chair knocked over in the heat of the moment, "Yeah! Congrats, kid!"

Ristuko Akagi nodded as she clapped, "Congratulations, Asuka!"

"You're number one!" Naoko said with a thumbs up.

"Congratulations!"

In the midst of the booming cheers, Kozo Fuyutsuki hung his head in shame.

"Congratulations!"

It felt wrong to applaud such carnage, Misato thought of the true visage behind the EVA's puppeteer. That look of hate, insanity and base bloodlust conveyed by an innocent girl.

Her girl.

She watched the minimized screen that showed the pilot feed. It was overpowered and overlapped by the footage of humanity's titanic champion, who sprinted through the countryside.

Misato shook her head. The praise that Asuka had yearned for her entire life, the affirmation of her status as an elite pilot fell on deaf, vacant ears.

Asuka's eyes were dull as she mechanically moved the control yokes, unblinking, indifferent to the blood that trickled down her left eyebrow onto her sunken cheekbones.

"Congratulations!"

The applause deafened her thoughts. Misato's eyes slowly traveled to Kyoko, who stood beside her.

Kyoko took no part in the revelry either, instead the Sub-Commander stared intently at the microscopic feed of Asuka. Whether she was deep in thought, or miles away, Misato could not tell.

Either way, an irrational anger began to boil in Misato's stomach at the sight of the dull, dispassionate woman.

"Congratulations!"

A throb grew in her temple as she fantasized striking her in front of the entire command deck.

Kyoko Soryu's eyes darted sideways and caught Misato's amidst the crowd's endless cheer.

She slowly turned her head as the biological mother and former guardian stared each other down.

"Congratulations!"


Chapter Three: A Home With No Visitors


"My!" Naoko exclaimed with a clap of her hands, "That was a productive day." She said to Kyoko as they strode down the busy hallways of the Geofront.

Misato, Ritsuko and Fuyutsuki walked behind the two, dark clouds that hovered over a bright leader. Their shoulders brushed against waves of energetic NERV crew that passed by them.

The enthusiasm rallied out by the Commander's speech still possessed them, despite the fact that it was four-thirty in the morning.

"Yes..." Kyoko responded flatly, "But we went outside the parameters of our plan."

Naoko looked down and smiled, "Plans change, Kyoko." Her unbuttoned black lab coat with a golden trim flowed as they walked. "Which is also in the parameters of our plan, isn't it?"

The Chief Scientist attempted to follow the logic. "...I suppose it could have gone worse."

"It did." Misato interjected. "It did for Rei."

Kyoko turned her head, unbothered the NERV crew that bumped into her. "She survived her injuries." She looked at Naoko, who nodded.

"Yes, thank goodness." The Commander said.

"It's going to take that poor girl months before she can walk again." Misato said. "Weeks, if she's lucky-"

Naoko gave her a brief glance. "Oh, I'd give her an hour." She turned back, and the crew cleared a path for her, she walked backwards in heels. "You haven't seen Kyoko work her magic yet, have you?"

"To repair an Evangelion is the true endeavor." Kyoko did not seem to notice the daggers Misato sent to the back of her head, or at least, did not acknowledge it. "None of the pilots received any critical injuries." She affirmed.

Misato stared at her in disbelief and stopped walking. "Asuka has an orbital fracture. She can't see out of her left eye."

"Minimal. Langley will fully recover after a single treatment."

"You don't know that. She could have brain damage, and you forced her on her feet!" She called out to Kyoko.

Kyoko stopped in place. She turned and regarded Misato evenly. "To relocate an active unit costs nearly a hundred thousand yen per kilometer. We don't have time to spend our budget on such luxuries."

Misato stepped inches from her face, her breaths ragged, "That's what you care about? Money?"

Naoko stopped in the middle of the hallway, "Misato. We could argue over this all day. If you have any criticisms, please take it with me. All of my subordinates are under my responsibility."

She could only glance at Kyoko's dull eyes for so long, before she retreated to the warmth Naoko emanated from her steady, patient gaze. "Are they? Are they completely?" Misato blinked. "With all due respect, Commander."

The Commander put a hand on her Sub-Commander's shoulder. "Please, have some faith in her. Kyoko has made tremendous progress."

"She's right Misato." Ritsuko offered. "I can vouch for Dr. Soryu."

"Progress. From what?" Misato snorted. "From saying two full sentences to your daughter after eight years?"

"...I have said more than two sentences. And she is in capable hands with her current guardian." Kyoko responded blankly. "Are you certain that you are one to speak of Langley's well being?"

Misato stared at her, "What are you trying to say?"

Naoko stepped in between the two. "Ladies, please. We're blocking the hallway." She looked at her watch, and sighed. "I have a very important meeting to attend to, but we will circle back to this conversation, Misato."

Misato crossed her arms, "No offense, 'mam. But I'd like to have a private conversation with the Sub-Commander."

Kyoko glanced up and down at her, "Your opinion does not concern me, Captain. I must also attend this meeting. It is for essential personnel only."

"Come now, Kyoko. Her opinion is perfectly valid." Naoko turned to Misato, Fuyutsuki waited patiently in the sidelines. "Before I go, I have some good news." She smiled, "Shinji called me back, he agreed to pilot the EVA!"

Misato blinked. "...Really."

Fuyutsuki hung his head low.

"Did he sound like he was sure?" She continued.

"Of course, why wouldn't he be?" Naoko looked at her watch and winced, "Sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry. Could you please pick him up at seven today, at the same station? After that we can touch base, moving forward?."

"I…" Misato hesitated and looked at Kyoko, "Yes, Commander."

"But first things first, I need you and Ritsuko to oversee Unit 02 and 00's recovery. You probably won't be done before seven, so let Ritsuko hold the fort. How about after you pick up Shinji, we'll talk and then you take the rest of the day off. Sounds good?"

Misato noted Naoko's body gradually turned away from the conversation, so she acquiesced with a polite smile. "Yes. Thank you 'mam."

"Come on, Misato. What did we talk about?" Naoko said as she walked backwards, unconcerned of the traffic, given the crew made way for her.

She laughed nervously, "Right, thank you, Naoko."

Naoko, Kyoko and Fuyutsuki took off, the latter offered a curt nod to the ladies. And with that, Ritsuko and Misato were left behind in the busy hallway. Ritsuko parted aside her burgundy hair and motioned for them to walk.

She followed her. "Are you sure she's okay?" Misato asked quietly.

"There was no sign of contamination, and like the Chief Scientist said, that fracture could be treated in a single session. Otherwise... to be honest, this is the first time I've seen her this week."

"You've been busy with work?"

Ritsuko hummed in response, "It's not ideal, but she's always preferred to keep to herself."

"Not always…" Misato said to herself. "I probably don't have a right to ask, but-"

"If Asuka wants to live somewhere else, then that's her choice." Ritsuko turned her head, "But I wouldn't stop you from asking." She offered. "Maybe it might be good for her to spend time with children her age."

"Doesn't she spend time with Rei?"

"Not as much as she used to. I don't know what happened, but… I suppose people just grow apart after a while." Ritsuko sighed.

Misato nodded slowly, "I guess they do."

They continued their walk in silence, their shoulders brushed against personnel. Ritsuko glanced at her coyly. "And I wasn't talking about Rei."

"Who, Shinji?" Misato chuckled, "She'd eat him alive, Rits.."

She shrugged, "Him too, I guess."

Misato blinked, "Then who-" She caught Ritsuko's smirk and nudged her shoulder, playfully. "-Oh, shut it!"

The two shared a soft chuckle as they continued their walk. "All that matters is that they'll be on the mend soon." Ritsuko said.

"Physically, maybe. That's one thing, but what about their hearts?"

The brunette raised her eyebrow, "Let's not get philosophical here."

"Really?" Misato guffawed. "Coming from the woman who compares people to porcupines?"

"Hedgehogs, actually. And yes."


Naoko sat patiently in the unlit meeting room. Fuyutsuki and Kyoko stood beside either of her shoulders, their hands hidden behind their backs.

Instead of the expected seven Instrumentality Committee members, their seats were suddenly occupied by a shimmer of light, followed by a blared red that revealed seven massive, numbered monoliths.

The Commander was unphased, "Oh my, this is new!"

The Monoliths didn't respond.

"..."

"But new is good!" Naoko continued, "It's very… magnanimous! Whose idea was it? Was it you, Xiao? It was you, wasn't it?"

"We did not arrange this meeting for flattery." The centre Monolith stated, captioned simply as 1. "There are far more pressing matters."

"Yes, you're right." Naoko sighed. "What's on your mind, Keel?"

Keel Lorenz was silent, the number 1 etched into his monolith blared red, as though to convey his annoyance.

"You play a dangerous game, Akagi..." Number 4 said.

"I can admit that my tactics left much at stake, but I never gamble."

"The Angels have returned, just like last time." Number 6's shrill voice added to the discord. "Yet you do not seem concerned whatsoever, what are we to make of your lax response to this crisis?"

Naoko leaned closer to the 6th monolith that stood on her left. "Are you saying that you're afraid?" She whispered softly, "Is that why you've called this meeting? Do you wish for me to put your mind at ease?"

The 6th monolith did not respond, yet it's light did not blare like 1's did.

If anything, it dimmed.

"With such sudden circumstances, concern is to be expected." Number 2 added, the most reasonable of the seven. "Especially when calamity strikes without warning."

"There were some warnings."

"You refer to the Dead Sea Scrolls." Number 2 said.

"...Yes. And fifteen years to prepare, not to mention your generosity." Naoko offered her hands, "Gentlemen, think of this as a blessing. Your investments have been made worthwhile!"

"Worthwhile?" Number 4 said coldly. "In the eyes of this committee, nearly a trillion yen spent on a single operation is not a blessing. It is a waste of valuable resources."

"Our resources." Number 6 added. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Frankly, for only a third of our monthly budget?" Naoko scanned her audience and shrugged. "I think it's a bargain."

Five of the monoliths roared in protest, their numbers flared a furious crimson light. Fuyutsuki shielded his eyes. Kyoko simply blinked.

"You insolent-"

"Countries have gone bankrupt, woman!"

"Yes! You said the EVAs' would be able to withstand the Angels!"

Naoko did not respond, she rested her hands flat on the table, her face unconcealed as she waited.

"I told you, we should bring back Ikari-"

"That's enough." Lorenz said, his calm tone of voice reached the other monoliths and were instantly silenced. "Akagi. Elaborate."

Naoko smiled politely. "Thank you, Keel. To answer your question, Prime Minister, I didn't lie. This was a close call yes, but my confidence wasn't misplaced. My Evangelions are the only thing on this planet capable of fighting back. And the damage wasn't critical, Unit 00 and 02 will be fully operational in no less than a week. In the meantime, I have reserved aside Unit 01 in anticipation of another… crisis."

Number 4 snorted, "Ikari's green boy. You intend to give it to him, as though it were a toy, don't you have more pressing projects?"

"Xiao, I think you, all of you in fact know that the Human Instrumentality Project is my first and foremost priority." Naoko raised her finger, "Young Shinji is critical to guiding humanity's last hope in the right direction. The rest are expendable."

Unseen by her, Kyoko's left eye twitched. She still felt it at the back of her head.

"As all the other pilots are." Number 3 agreed. "And you are certain there is no… personal bias attached to Ikari's son?"

She glanced back at Fuyutsuki, "None whatsoever, Abe. Once he's fulfilled his duty, he's about as valuable as the others."

"Regardless, Akagi, you must admit this whole situation could have been handled better." Number 4 said.

"By who, Gendo?" Naoko smiled, "Please, if he had his way, he would have leveled the entire city, given his insatiable appetite for resources." She raised a finger. "Then, it would have been a crisis. Considering your needs, I located the battle in a place where no property damage could have been made."

"Tokyo-03 could have been used for cover, to minimize damage to the units. An Evangelion is worth far more than a simple city. "

"Is it?" Naoko turned back to her Chief Scientist, "Kyoko?"

Kyoko pulled a data pad from her inner pocket from her black lab coat, "MAGI estimated nearly triple of our budget would have been spent should the fight have been taken to the city. Infrastructure would have taken a hit, other NERV operations would have been halted, civilians displaced and compensated, the economy halted-"

Number 1's light blared, "Spare us the semantics."

"But that's the point of all this, isn't it?" Naoko said, "To live as comfortably, and as much at peace as possible until New Year's Day. Your words, not mine." She tented her hands, which still rested on the table, "I gave you my word that I would work at a third of the cost that Gendo would have, and I intend to keep that promise."

"Time. Money. Personnel." Number 4 said. "Keep these expunges to a minimum, and we will consider allowing you to maintain your agency. But no more pet projects."

Naoko nodded, "Of course. I'll have the replica project shelved until we discover why an Angel was able to override it's recall intelligence-"

"That is not what we are referring to."

"Yes." Number 3 spoke, Japan's representative, "To activate another Ayanami series is another billion yen, and you have spent well over six-"

"That we know of. And now you wish to develop another series?"

"That's still only what, a single percentage of our budget?" Naoko turned to Kyoko who shook her head, "Not even. The Ayanami series is necessary in order to protect the pilots that are more… troublesome to replace."

"That remains to be seen." Number 1 said. "Fuyutsuki, do you agree with this sentiment?"

The monoliths tilted ever so slightly his way. Fuyutsuki looked down to see Naoko stare back at him expectantly.

"...I do."

"There is still the matter of the public eye. Information regarding the Angels may become public. NERV must work hard on their disinformation campaign." Number 3 said.

"Already done, Kozo will touch base with you immediately afterwards about the B-22 scenario, Abe."

"That will have to wait." Number 1 said. "We have more to speak of, without the three of you."

Naoko sighed, "In that case, I won't keep you." She smiled, "It was nice to hear from you all again!"

"..."

"Keep up the good work. Akagi."

A shimmer of light, then the monoliths winked out of existence one by one until only Lorenz stood across from her.

"Akagi... There is no going back now."

"Oh, Keel." The Commander leaned back in her chair, "…There never was."

With a grunt, the first Monolith faded alongside the others.

The red, dramatic lights faded, replaced by the mundane green cloth that lined the walls of the committee room.

Fuyutsuki stared in disbelief, the arguably most seven dangerous men in the world strung along by a soulless-

Naoko clapped her hands together. "So! Who's hungry?"


I floated inside the abyss for so long. There were visitors, occasionally, but I never remembered their faces.

The only thing to ever keep me company were mirrors on all sides. Everywhere I looked, my reflections smiled back at me, their eyes dull and empty.

I was moved to another tank, a smaller one. That's when I knew.

There was no mirror.

Are they even me?

In that tank, I had my first dream. Whenever I recalled it, my stomach turned into acid, my spine sprouted needles and my skin felt as though it melted. Yet I kept going back to it. I kept going back home.

I dreamed of a field of blue flowers. A fire swept over the land and left it burnt black. The ashes soaked in a tide of the tangerine liquid that has nourished me all of my life.

Among the desolate landscape, only one flower survived, its stem bent by the unrelenting tides.

It's single blue petal floated in the charred grasslands…

A knock woke me up from my dream, my vision was blurry as the liquid escaped into bubbles with my breath.

There she was again.

The woman smiled at me, and I felt warmth.

"Good morning, Yui." She whispered softly.

...Yui?

Is that my name?


Naoko waved a flashlight past the fresh Ayanami series' pupils. They dilated ever so slightly, yet she seemed unphased by the harsh light. "How are you feeling?"

The dull thing stared off into the distance, her eyes nearly crossed. "I do not know."

"You've hardly touched your food."

Yui looked down at the plate. Naoko called it a steak earlier. She kept her face as far away from it as possible, the smell made her sick. "What do I do with it?"

"You eat it, silly." Naoko offered her utensils, a knife and a fork. "With this."

Hesitantly, Yui cut off a small square of the steak and touched it on her tongue. She gagged.

"You don't like my cooking?"

Yui blinked at her. "What is 'like'?''

Naoko giggled, "It means you enjoy it, silly. That it's tasty."

"It tastes like blood-"

Naoko's smile dropped. "Eat. That's an order."

"Yes, mam." Yui forced herself to shovel down the steak.

Her smile returned as she quietly watched the girl eat. "Don't worry. You only think it tastes bad. In truth you only really feel… reflexes. Spasms."

She reached in her coat and produced four items: A metallic hair tie, a notebook, a gauze and a scalpel. Naoko neatly laid them out on the table inside her office.

She tented her hands and laid them on the table. "So, how much do you remember this time?"

Yui looked up at her and swallowed. "Remember?"

"Yes. Memories of... anything. What do you remember about Sachiel?"

"...Who?"

Naoko's hands clenched. "Don't play stupid. You always remember something."

Yui's eyes ever so slightly lost their dullness, her breathing irregular, "I do not. I am telling you the truth."

She looked down at the table and brushed her hands along its contents, "Maybe this will help jog your memory…"

The ghostly girl's eyes slowly followed Naoko's fingers brush along the scalpel.

Naoko's hand stopped at the book. She handed it to Yui. "Here. Read it."

The blue hair girl gingerly reached for the book, the front of it showed a shirtless man who held a bashful woman. "This is… a book?"

"That's right, you always loved reading books."

Yui blinked, "I do?"

"Well, not you. You only think you do. Take off the cover."

Yui slid off the paper back cover, to reveal a green leather-bound casing. Hesitantly, she opened the book and scanned the first page. "This is not Kanji, but… I know these letters." Her pupil's dilated, "Ancient Hebrew."

"There you go, that's it." Naoko nodded. "You and your little chicken scratches… what does it say?"

"It is hard to…" Yui peered at the coded letters, her eyes darted back and forth. She pointed at an illegible word, "Sachiel. Water, covering, price… Do I know this person?"

Naoko nodded again. "In a way, yes. It is an Angel, they're monsters that are trying to wipe out humanity."

"What is a monster?"

"They're large, hideous, evil things. But they take other forms, like-" Naoko paused, not yet. "It will be your purpose to help stop them."

Yui's eyes lit up ever so slightly, "I have a purpose?"

"That's right. A very special one. Go to the next page."

The girl's pale, delicate, crushable hand shifted over to the next page. The strange letters became harder and harder to decipher, and were accompanied by odd drawings. Yui traced her finger along one particular sentence. "Shamshel. Morning. Conqueror." She raised her head in realization. "This is the next Angel."

Naoko smiled. "That's right, Yui. Very good." The praise looked as though it sent a strange, phantom feeling in the girl's stomach, as though butterflies occupied it. "What else?"

"There is a date. February 26th, 2015."

She nodded. "That's when the next monster will come."

Yui's breathing intensified, but different than before, she was getting eager. Atleast, she thought she was. "And the next page, Ramiel. March 30th-"

Naoko's hands curled around the book. "That's enough for now, Yui. You must be getting tired, being asleep for so long."

"Asleep?" Yui flipped through the page adjacent to the front cover. A small name in Kanji was etched into the corner. "Yui. I am... Yui?"

"Ah. This is where it gets complicated." Naoko gently took the book out of her hands and slid it back into her coat pocket. "Yes and no. Do you know what a clone is?"

"...No?"

"It's a copy of someone, an imitation." Naoko pressed her lips tightly and held back a smile. "A pale imitation."

"I see." Yui looked at her alabaster hands. "I am… a copy of Yui? That is why you are asking me if I remember her memories? Because I am like her?"

"Oh yes. You're so much like her, you don't even have a s-" Naoko breathed heavily "Do you remember what I said about monsters?"

Yui nodded slowly, "That they can take other forms."

"That's right."

She looked at her hands, "...I am a monster?"

Naoko's face tightened into a wince. "I don't want to hurt you, but… yes. You did very bad things Yui. Very bad. You twisted the minds of your husband and your little boy. Turned them-" She stopped herself. "Yui killed herself. In front of them. She played God and when it was too much for you to handle, you dumped everything onto my lap. I tried to make do, but…It's up to you to atone for her crimes."

Yui did not respond for a very long time. Naoko couldn't tell if she attempted to process this information, or if she simply spaced out, since that dull look returned to her eyes.

"...I see." Yui's hands rested on her hospital gown. "I shall do everything in my power to atone."

Naoko smiled, "I know you will." She breathed sharply, "You were asking about Sachiel, you piloted an Evangelion in order to fight it with another pilot, but we'll get to that later. The point is Yui, your previous clone died to defeat it. You will take her place. In fact, I have a very special job for you."

"Whatever I am ordered to do, I shall."

"Nobody knows who you really are. To the outside world, to your superiors, your co-pilots, you are Rei Ayanami-"

"But I thought I was Yui-"

Naoko simply raised her hand, which caused Yui to flinch. She breathed through her nostrils. "Don't interrupt me again."

"It will not happen again."

"Who are you?"

"Yui-" She froze, then a blink. "Rei Ayanami."

"Say it again."

"...Rei Ayanami."

The Commander nodded, "Now, before I was interrupted." She took a moment to scan her face to see if she elicited a reaction from Yui. "You are Rei Ayanami. You'll speak when spoken to, and not make any friends at school. There are two exceptions."

Naoko raised two fingers. "Asuka Langley Soryu and Shinji Ikari, you'll do whatever they say, listen to whatever they say. Then, you'll meet with me and tell me everything. Everything. What's different about them, anything slightly off. Am I understood?"

Yui stared at her blankly. "Yes 'mam."

"Good. Of course…" She looked at the other contents on the table, "Since we have to give the impression that the previous "Rei" survived her injuries, appearances must be kept. Do you object to that?"

"...No 'mam."

Naoko scanned her face and pouted, "Oh… poor thing. There's not a thought behind those eyes, is there? Not a single one." She gently patted Yui's head.

Yui turned to look Naoko directly in the eyes, dull crimson met shining viridian.

Her pupils' constricted.

"...No 'mam."


A waitress slid two cold, foamy beers and a chuhai on the table. "Enjoy your drinks!"

Maya Ibuki offered a chipper smile, "Thank you, we will!"

Shigeru looked at his drink and frowned. "Two drinks per hour. Good grief."

The rustic bar was jammed full. Despite the early hours, evidently, many workers needed to drown out their daily life. The cheerful pop music was an uncomfortable contrast tune to the grisly events of earlier today.

"Gotta make a move to a town that's right for me, Town to keep me movin', keep me groovin' with some energy…"

No one here even knew what transpired in the ruins of Yugawara yet.

As soon as the waitress left, the three NERV bridge crew sighed and stared at their drinks.

Hyuga Aoba clutched at his forehead, eyes baggy and wide. "We have to go back to work in six hours."

"Please don't remind me." Maya groaned as she sipped at her highball drink.

Silence.

"Won't you take me to… funky town!"

"I'm, I'm sorry-" Shigeru Aoba stammered. "-Can we take a moment to talk about how fucked up that was?"

Maya groaned again, "Oh god."

"Here we go-" Hyuga added.

"Won't you take me to… funky town!"

"-Am I the only one that's bothered by this?"

"Of course not." Maya said, "But didn't we come here to forget about work?"

"You see!?" Shigeru banged his fist on the table, "This is why work needs a therapist or something. Everyone just... bottles everything up! For god's sake-" He darted his head back and forth. "-A kid died!" He whispered sharply.

"Aoba." Maya rubbed her temple, "For the last time, Rei didn't die. She's being treated right now."

"I'm just saying, Ibuki. No one survives getting their guts ripped open like that. I- I mean, did you see the feed?" Aoba motioned his hand along his belly and made a grotesque slick sound. "She was almost cut in-"

"-Dude!" Hyuga hissed.

"What?"

"You know we can't talk shop when we're outside."

Aoba crossed his arms, "Well, you guys might have thick skin for this job, but I'm a musician, I gotta play to the tunes my heart demands."

Hyuga squinted, "What does that even mean-"

"-It bothers me." Maya spoke up, the two boys turned to her, she frowned at her drink. "A lot. To be honest, I don't even know how I'm gonna sleep after this. Just-" She shuddered. "-The screams... and Asuka-" She gulped, "-Can we talk about something else? Please?"

The three hung their heads in silence, unsure what to say as the cheery pop music blasted in the background.

Aoba sniggered to himself. "O-okay." He raised three fingers, "Katsuragi, Akagi and Soryu. Kill, bang, marry. Go!"

The two stared at him in disbelief.

"Won't you take me to… funky town!"

"...Are you serious?" Hyuga said.

"You guys said you wanted to change the subject."

Hyuga adjusted his glasses and sighed. "We're talking about the Sub-Commander, right? "

Aoba blinked in confusion, "Soryu has a daughter?"

"Yeah dude, Asuka."

"But I thought her name was Langley?" He scratched at his head in confusion.

"No, you airhead." Maya shook her head, "They're estranged."

"...Oh." Aoba shrugged, "So… she's a MIL-"

"-Shigeru Aoba, don't you dare finish that sentence." Maya said sternly. "That's derogatory."

"Okay, fine. Fine." He cleared his throat. "…. So?"

Hyuga groaned and raised three fingers. "Kill Soryu. Bang Akagi. M… Marry Katsuragi."

Shigeru raised an eyebrow, "Really? I'd go: Kill Akagi, bang Katsuragi, marry Soryu."

"Soryu? Are you serious?" Hyuga asked, "Did you see the way she talked to her kid? She's a total ice queen."

Maya nodded.

"Come guys, she's just misunderstood. You guys see ice queen, I see tortured soul." He leaned back. "Besides, all she needs is a little fire to melt that heart of hers."

Hyuga shook his head, "You're hopeless."

"Also, I got a thing for blondes."

"Yup." Hyuga nodded to himself, "There it is."

"And I mean real blondes, I can smell hair dye from a mile away."

Maya leaned towards the two, "When you said Akagi, do you mean Naoko or Ritsuko?"

"The Commander?" Aoba's voice cracked as his nose wrinkled, "The Boss? She's like fifty. Now that's gross."

"O-oh." Maya blinked and raised her three fingers, "In that case-"

"-Hey, you don't have to play if you don't want to." Hyuga offered.

Aoba nodded, "Yeah, we can do a guys version if you want." His eyes widened, "N-not with us of course."

"Right." Maya's eyes widened in realization.

"Won't you take me to… funky town!"

"So, which guys?" Aoba asked.

"Well." Maya pulled at her collar, "H-hey, wasn't that spear thing really weird? Like how does it even work?"

Hyuga pushed back his glasses, "Well, apparently it's coated with LCL and has a neural-" his eyes peered. "-Hey… what happened to not talking shop?"

"Uh… ah-" Maya scanned the bar and saw a familiar face, "Hey, isn't that the Chief of Security?" She pointed to a man at the other end of the bar. He sported long greasy black hair, a biker jacket and a navy blue dress shirt, topped off with a crimson tie. He flirted with a waitress. "Yama...What's his face?"

Hyuga hid his face with his hands, "Ugh, god no... Yamagishi." His eyes widened. "Don't wave him over, don't wave him over-"

"Oy! Yamagishi!" Maya hollered loudly, her face beet red.

"N-no, don't-"

"-Oy! Yams!"

Yamagishi's head perked up and turned their way. He flashed a toothy smile and walked towards them.

"Dammit, Maya…" Hyuga said.

"Come on, guys." Maya offered nervously, "He might be nice."

Yamagishi leaned towards their table, in front of Maya, beer in hand. "Hey there, beautiful, how's it going?" He turned to Hyuga and Aoba. "Sup."

Hyuga waved weakly at him, "Hey man…"

"Whatcha doin' in this neck of the woods?" He scanned her up and down. "I like your haircut."

Maya looked down and brushed her hair subconsciously, "O-oh, thank you. Y'know, just us guys fooling around. We're just talking about girls. N-not me of course, just-" She looked at the boys to save her.

"Yeah man." Aoba leaned in, "Don't snitch on us, but we're talking about the babes at work. Man, that Soryu, huh?"

Yamagishi grinned and nodded, "Oh yea."

Aoba looked up as he pictured Kyoko. "Just… those eyes, that hair…"

"Hmm. She's fine." Yamagishi agreed and licked his teeth. "Real fine."

"Yeah…" Aoba gulped his beer.

Hyuga hummed in tentative agreement.

Yamashi took a slow sip of his beer. "...Real mature for her age too."

Aoba spat out his drink all over the table and gagged.

"What the fuck." Hyuga said.

"What?" Yamagishi looked at the group confused.

"Kyoko Soryu, dude. We're talking about the Sub-Commander."

Yamagishi considered for a second. "I know what I said."

"What the fuck!?" Aoba wheezed.

Maya's eyes widened as she clutched her head.

Yamagishi crossed his arms, "It's legal here in Japan, isn't it?"

"She's a kid, dude. A kid." Hyuga said sternly. "Y-you better stay away from her."

The jovial smile of Yamagishi's face only grew wider. "Yeah? I should?"

Hyuga felt a moment of bravery and stood up. "That's right."

Yamagishi easily towered over the shorted bridge technician. "Or what? What are you gonna do, little man?" He smirked and looked at Aoba, "Snitch?"

Aoba stood up and joined his friend. "We don't need to tell the boss. We can take this outside if you want."

Maya felt a surge of bravery as well as she stood up, "Y-yeah!"

Yamagishi peered at Hyuga, who shrunk. He turned his gaze to Aoba, who didn't relent.

He raised a hand at Aoba, but he didn't flinch.

After a tense moment of silence from the whole bar, Yamagishi broke into a fit of laughter. "Ladies, ladies! I'm joking."

Tentatively, Hyuga joined with a nervous laughter.

He patted Hyuga on the chest, who flinched. "Don't get your panties all up in a bunch. Just us guys fooling around, right?"

Aoba nodded slowly, "...Right."

Yamagishi sized up the group, "What are you guys doing after this? Wanna hang out?"

"...Think we might call it after this." Aoba said. "It's been a long day."

"Right, right… I hear that." Yamagishi chugged down the drink and left it on their table. "Stay out of trouble."

With that, he walked out of the bar. The bar's music returned, along with it, the chatter.

The three slowly sat down, speechless.

Maya let out a shudder.

"Won't you take me to… funky town!"

Hyuga glared at Maya, "I told you not to call him over!"

"How was I supposed to know!?"


"What are you, stupid?"

His eyes meet the charred blue giant floating on its back in the crimson sea, helicopters, VTOLS and scientists in orange hazmat suits circle the gargantuan corpse. Like flies completely covering a corpse in the wild. There's two massive holes in the body, one in its throat, the other in its stomach. The splayed open ribcage blends in among the skyscrapers.

Asuka turns to face Shinji, her single eye sunken and face gaunt.

"Rei Ayanami's dead."

"...Dead?" Shinji asked in disbelief. "What do you mean dead?"

"What do you think I mean?" Asuka pointed at Unit-00's body, which still floated in the crimson bay, surrounded by VTOLs.

Shinji's eyes widened, "B-but… but, I was gonna-"

"-Asuka, that's enough!" Misato glared at her, "You know that's not true."

She snorted, "Oh, yeah. You're right. Totally. She's just walking around hunky dory after almost being cut in half. All she needed was some magic orange juice and-"

"-Cut in half!?" Shinji exclaimed.

Asuka whipped back and glared at him with her single eye. "Don't interrupt me, Numbnuts."

"I'm sorry, but I need to know!"

Misato shook her head, "Asuka's just exaggerating. Shinji, I promise. Rei's okay. As much as I disagree with her mother, she is capable of some miraculous things."

"Pfft."

"Ms. Misato, please, what happened?"

Asuka groaned, "Didn't I just say?"

"The Angel attacked early in the morning, it was a close call. But Asuka defeated it."

"I… did?" Asuka shook her head, "Damn right I did."

Shinji ignored her, "But Ayanami's okay?"

Misato nodded, "Like I said, it was a close call. Very close. She…" She sighed, "To be honest, she was clinically dead for fifteen minutes."

Shinji stared at Unit 00's carcass, at a loss for words.

"But she's getting state of the art treatment. NERV scientists are capable of healing non-fatal injuries with LCL treatment."

"That's such bullshit!"

Misato sighed and turned to her, "Speaking of, Asuka. I can understand why you don't want to see her, but you really need to get that eye looked at."

"Oh, okay. We're just dropping the subject now? Glad to see things haven't changed." Asuka crossed her arms. "It's not like I have a choice anyways."

Shinji tentatively leaned in, "But I don't understand, if you don't want to see your mother, why don't you just say no?"

She whipped back again and jabbed a finger at his face. Asuka breathed through her nostrils. "Did I ask you!? Don't talk to me like you know me, because you don't. I mean-" She turned to Misato, "-This is the kid they're replacing her with? This… peasant? Seriously?"

"Hey…"

"For the last time." Misato rubbed her baggy eyes. "Nobodies replacing Rei." Asuka stammered, she raised a finger, "End of story!" Misato said sternly.

The car instantly grew silent. Shinji stared out the window, Unit-00 was now a blue blur as they drove past the highway.

Asuka sniffed. She leaned towards Misato's radio to put on a song.

"Midnight Door" by Miki Matsubara softly played, but it did not help alleviate any tension. This drew Shinji from his malaise, his eyes lit up. "Oh hey, I love this song! W-what kind of-"

Asuka's response was to increase the volume. Shinji took the hint.

After another uncomfortable minute, Shinji dared to speak up again. "You beat that Angel, right? That's pretty-" Asuka turned the volume up louder."-Amazing!" He continued.

...

Misato awkwardly eyed the two teenagers through the rear view mirror.

Hesitantly, Asuka lowered the volume and allowed him to elaborate.

"That must have been really scary. I-I don't know if I could be that brave. I'm sorry that you had to go through that."

There was that word again. Sorry. It grated Asuka's ears like torn styrofoam. She shrugged. "It's part of the job. If you can't handle that, maybe you should go home."

She waited for him to shrink again.

"...I don't know if I can. Handle it, I meant. But I made a promise to protect Rei, and I'm gonna do it."

Asuka eyed him up and down, then turned back. She glanced at him through the rearview mirror. "What's she to you anyways?"

Shinji blinked. "I… don't know if I should tell you."

"You speak really highly of her." Misato added, she glanced at him through the rearview mirror. "Afterall, the two of you just shook hands." She said teasingly.

Asuka snorted. "Figures. Pervert's already in love." She laughed moridly to herself. "Hate to break it to you, but-"

"-No!" Shinji's eyes widened. "It's not like that!" His eyes lingered at Asuka before he looked down.

Misato noticed this and clicked her tongue, "Ah, I see. He's already got eyes for someone else."

This seemed to break Asuka from her mood, if only slightly.

"Eh!?" Her shrill voice returned. "Who? Tell me!" She turned and stared at him. "Is it Horaki? Or Kirishima. It's Kirishima, isn't it?" She leaned into his face confrontationally.

He held eye contact. "Horaki? Kirishima? ...Who are they?" The two stared at each other for a moment before they realized how close they had gotten. A blush grew on their faces as they both found interesting parts of Misato's car to stare at.

Asuka noticed Misato side-eye her with a smirk and grew even more red, "T-the fuck are you looking at?"

"Oh, nothing. Just haven't seen that side of you for a while."

"Tch." She looked at the passenger's mirror and ran her fingers along her eye, then her cheekbones. Asuka's fingernails dug into her skin, as if to fish something out.

Misato snuck glances at her do this while she surveyed the road. "I was really worried about you, Asuka. We all were. You shouldn't have just run away from the hospital like that.".

"Well, If you were actually there you would've known I went home first." She glanced at Shinji, "But I guess you were busy."

The lightheartedness of the situation went as quickly as it came. Shinji glanced between the two, unsure of what to say.

Misato looked up at a hill, and then at her watch. "You know what? Let's make a little detour before we go back to the Geofront."

"A detour?" Shinji asked, "To where?"

She giggled, "Someplace very special."

Asuka groaned, "Oh God. Not this again."


The three stood on a hill that surveyed the hidden Geofront. Shinji and Asuka shielded their eyes against the bright sunlight while Misato wore shades.

It was quiet, save for the incessant cicadas and the calls of distant, lonesome sea birds.

"Well?" Misato asked. "What do you think?"

Shinji stared off to the distance, his brow furrowed. "It's kind of… empty and sad, isn't it?"

"Wow." Asuka said, "You must be fun at parties."

Misato glanced at her watch. "Look, it's time!"

Shinji tilted his head, "Time for what?"

"Oh, look out." Asuka crossed her arms. "She's gonna give you the speech."

"Asuka…."

Alarm horns rang loudly, despite it's distance, it was still enough to warrant Shinji to shield his ears, while the girls were desensitized.

Followed by massive barriers, sky scrapers erected in an attempt to reach the sky as sparks flew from the crevice. An entire city hidden, now proudly displayed.

Shinji's jaw hung. "Oh, man…"

"Pfft. Don't cream your pants, new kid." Asuka snorted. "It's not that impressive."

"This city…" Misato began.

"See?" Asuka said. "There she goes."

Misato ignored her, "...Is a fortress built to fight back against the Angels. This is Tokyo-03." She turned to Shinji and offered a smile, "And it's yours now too, kiddo." She turned to Asuka, "It's the one that you and Rei defended, Asuka. Your city."

Asuka rolled her eye. "Spare me, can we just go home now?"

"Home… Right." Misato looked down, "Asuka, I've been meaning to ask you-"

"-What?"

"Shinji's going to move in with me, and I was... wondering if you wanted to join us. To live with me again."

She blinked. "Really? You mean it?"

"Yeah, I do." Misato offered a weary smile, "I'd love to have you back."

Asuka looked down, "It's just…"

Misato's chest tightened, "Yeah?"

She looked back up, "Sure I wouldn't be a burden?"

The optimism in Misato's eyes faded, her shoulders slumped.

"Yeah. That's what I thought." Asuka walked back to the car.

Shinji looked between the two, confused, "What do you mean? Of course you wouldn't be a burden-"

"-Shinji." Misato said bitterly, "Please, just drop it."


The ride back to the Geofront was silent, unbearably so. Shinji snuck glances at Asuka as she frequently touched her face and inspected herself in the mirror.

The conveyor lift inside of Central Dogma wasn't any better, or the elevator ride.

And now, the long walk to the hallway towards Naoko's office.

Shinji had left his personal belongings in Misato's alpine, but he carried his backpack that contained the ridiculously dense combination of an orientation package and contract on both shoulders, strapped tightly.

Misato seemed so tired that she could barely walk in a straight line with her high heels on.

Meanwhile, Asuka worked tirelessly to brush the crusted LCL out of her hair and mend her disheveled appearance.

Misato attempted to spark conversation. "That's it, I'm moving to boots."

"You should try getting some gel insoles," Shinji offered as he pointed to his sneakers. "I never leave home without them!"

Misato blinked. "...Huh."

Asuka rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Jesus Christ, new kid. You're such a dork."

"What?"

The clicking of shoes came from the back of the three's heads. "Asuka!" Maya Ibuki called out as she jogged towards them. She shared the same sunken bags that hung on Misato's eyes, however, she was pale.

"Hey Ibuki…"

Maya stopped in front of them, "Asuka, thank goodness you're okay! I was so worried-" She scanned her face, "-Why haven't you had your eye looked at yet?"

"Oh great, you too? Would it kill everyone to just-" Asuka noticed someone waited for them at the far end of the Commander's office. "-Please give me a moment? Once I'm done talking to the boss I'll get right to it." She offered Maya a smile, "I appreciate your concern, Ms. Ibuki."

She blinked, taken aback, as was Shinji and Misato.

"Of course Asuka. Your health should come first, but I understand." Maya said. "I just wanted to say that we were all very grateful for what you did." She pumped her fists in exaggerated gusto, "It's not everyday someone saves the world!"

Asuka smiled again, "Thank you. All in a day's work, right?"

She nodded slowly before turning her attention to Shinji. "And you must be Mr. Ikari!" Maya offered her hand.

"This is Maya Ibuki, Shinji." Misato said, "One of our crew technicians, she'll be your eyes and ears on the field."

"Oh." Shinji beamed and returned the handshake. Despite her gentle demeanor, her handshake was firm, as though it radiated a hidden strength that reassured him. "It's nice to meet you!"

Maya nodded, "Likewise." She looked at Asuka, blinked and turned her attention to Misato. "Captain, are you busy right now? There's something I need to talk to you about. Something urgent."

Misato rubbed the back of her head. "Can it wait? I was suppose to touch base with-"

"Oh, that's okay, Misato!" Naoko called from the other end of the hall, "Why don't you deal with that first and then we'll have a chat after I'm done with Shinji and Asuka?"

She nodded, "Right." Misato turned to the kids. "Want to meet me at the parking lot after you're done?"

Shinji smiled, "Sounds good!"

"Absolutely." Asuka said.

Maya motioned her away from the kids and leaned in close as they walked. "So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Misato asked.

He knew better than to eavesdrop, but Shinji couldn't help but try to overhear, something about the Chief of-

"There's our pilot of the hour!" Naoko exclaimed.

Asuka fidgeted with her hair.

"Shinji! So glad that you decided to join us!" She waved them over. "Come on, there's someone I want you to meet before we talk shop. You too, honey!"

He began to stroll over when Asuka brushed his shoulder roughly as they walked down the hall and out paced Shinji. Naoko led her inside.

Asuka froze at the door frame for a moment before she walked into the Commander's office..


Shinji stared in an odd mix of confusion and disbelief as Rei Ayanami slowly crunched on a strip of bacon. Just thirty minutes ago, he was told how she was nearly cut in half, clinically dead for fifteen minutes, might never walk again and now-

"Are you okay, guys?" Naoko asked.

He perked up, "Hmm?"

"It's just that… you've hardly touched your food."

Shinji looked down at his bacon and eggs, then at Asuka, who stared across at Rei with a laser focus. Her lips firmly pressed together and her single eye wide.

"O-oh. Well, Misato took us out for burgers on the way here."

"Really? Burgers?"

"A-and I guess chicken nuggets too-"

Naoko shook her head, "Such an unhealthy thing to eat first thing in the morning." She sighed and sat up. "Oh well, I suppose I'll wrap it up and save it for lunch-"

Asuka began to wolf down the food, "Mm! It's really good, Naoko!"

She covered her mouth and sat back down, "Oh my! You sure are one growing girl!" She looked at Shinji, "Do you still want me to...?"

He shook his head, "Oh no, it's okay, I'm still hungry." Shinji took a bite of the scrambled eggs, "I like the mix you put here. That's sour cream, right?"

Naoko smiled, "I'm so glad you noticed!" She took a bite of her own and slowly chewed. "I know, bacon and then sausages? But it's just such a good combination with the sour cream and the onions and the mushrooms…"

"Mhm."

She eyed him up and down and smiled playfully, "But there's still something wrong?" Naoko prompted.

"Yes." Instinctively. Shinji looked up at the oblivious girl on her right. "Ayanami, are you okay?"

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?" She responded without a glance.

"I heard what happened…"

Naoko nodded slowly, "Ah, I can see why you're feeling a little upset then."

"More than a little, to be honest." Shinji looked down in an attempt to hide his irrational concern for what was in everybody else's eyes, a stranger to him. "I heard about your injury, how you were…does it still hurt?"

She looked down at her stomach, there was padding from the bandage, hidden by her white hoodie. "It stings. But my recovery was fast. I do not remember much."

"I don't blame you, Rei." Naoko said. "It was a very traumatic experience. I'm just glad the two of you made it out okay. Oh!" She leaned to Shinji from across the table, "But you should have seen the two fight, they were amazing!"

Shinji smiled at her, then leaned towards Rei, "I heard from Asuka, but it must have been scary. I… hope that next time I can make a difference."

Ayanami stared blankly at him. "I was not afraid."

Naoko wiped her face with her napkin. "I'm sure you will, Shinji. But first things first, you need to be trained. You'll only be shadowing Asuka for the next encounter. For your safety." She glanced at her, "Speaking of, Asuka. I'm curious." She rested her chin on her fist, "What did you tell Shinji?"

She perked up and glanced at Shinji, then at Ayanami, then at the Commander. "I…" Asuka looked down at her plate.

Shinji took this as a prompt, "W-well, you said that she died, remember? That's why I was so worried. But it was probably just the stress of everything."

He was surprised when Asuka glared at Shinji through her single eye, before she turnt to Naoko and smiled, "Yeah, I don't know why I said that." She chuckled politely, unlike her previous mocking guffaws, "Probably because of that hit I took."

Naoko nodded, "Hmm, I can see why. Those things you had to see." She shuddered, "I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy." She looked down, "Oh… I'm so sorry kids."

"Why are you sorry?" Shinji asked.

"I really don't want to have to put you kids through all this, but… they're not my designs. I'm afraid I didn't make the rules."

"That's what I was wondering." Shinji continued. "Why don't adults pilot the EVA's? Wouldn't it be better that way?"

Naoko sighed, "The truth is… my predecessors had very warped ideologies. The programming is irreversible. I'm simply working with what I have." She smiled, "But still, if they're is anyone up to the task it's you three! I couldn't imagine anyone else doing the job."

"Oh, thank you! I'm honored to be here."

She smiled, "Likewise."

The table grew silent, save for the clanking of forks and sips of coffee.

Naoko cleared her throat anyways, "As much as I love cooking for others, the real reason I brought the three of you here is because I wanted you all to get to know each other." She winked at Shinji, "What better way to build a team, right?"

"R-right."

"Why don't you start, Shinji?"

Naoko and the two girls looked at him expectantly.

"Oh-" Shinji's face grew red, "Well, there's not too much to say about me. I'm homeschooled because I mostly look after my father-"

"-Oh, yes, Gendo." Naoko looked at Asuka and Rei. "Poor thing had a stroke and bit his tongue off in a hissy fit."

Ayanami nodded. "I see."

"That sucks-" Asuka perked up, "-I mean, I'm sorry to hear that. You sound like a dutiful son."

Shinji took the comment as surprisingly genuine and smiled, "Thank you, Asuka."

"But, sorry, you were saying?" Naoko offered.

"Right, I, ah… I like to cook, listen to music and play the cello." He looked up at the ceiling, "Y-yeah, that's about it."

Asuka nodded as she chewed, "That's very interesting."

Naoko turned to her, "Would you like to go next?"

"Yes, Naoko." Asuka cleared her throat. "I'm an Evangelion pilot-"

The Commander leaned close to Shinji, "My star player at that." She giggled, "I'm sorry. I'm so excited, keep going, keep going!"

Asuka looked down and smiled bashfully, "I've been training for seven years." Her eyes darted to the side, "I like video games, braiding other girls' hair and playing with dollies."

Shinji glanced at her disheveled appearance. The wrinkled yellow dress with mismatched socks, the oversize hoodie. The marks on her knuckles. "Really?"

"Yessir."

Naoko giggled, "You're so silly, Asuka." She looked at the messy outfit, "Maybe you should start with your own hair, yes?"

She touched her LCL crusted locks, "Right. Sorry, Naoko. I was under… a lot of stress. It won't happen again."

The Commander waved a dismissive hand, "Oh, don't be sorry. Why don't you worry about it after you've checked in with your mother? You really should get that eye looked at."

Asuka's lips pressed tightly together and she nodded, "Yes 'mam." She put her napkin on top of her plate, "May I be excused?"

"Of course. Rei, why don't you give me and Shinji a moment alone too?" Naoko did a mime gag, "Lots of paperwork to do."

Ayanami sat up, "Yes."

Naoko clapped her hands together, "This is so exciting! I'm so glad the three of you finally met."

The two girls stood from the table. Shinji glanced at Ayanami, "W-wait!" They halted. "We didn't get to hear from you, Ayanami."

Ayanami looked at Naoko for approval. "Go on."

The girl nodded and turned to Shinji. "I am Rei Ayanami." She looked at Naoko. "I like to read books."

"Oh, what kind of books do you like to read?"

Ayanami considered for a moment before she glanced at Shinji. "Romance novels." The two girls walked out the door.

He stared at their vacant seats, the excitement he felt at making new friends replaced with a sudden, inexplicable sense of emptiness.

"I'm terribly sorry about Rei." Naoko said, "She can be… awkward."

"That's okay. I'm pretty awkward too." He chuckled as she switched chairs to sit closer to him. "I guess we have that in common."

"I don't know about that." Naoko smiled, "You're just a late bloomer, that's all."

"O-oh." Shinji blushed, "If you say so."

"Oh, I know so." There was a moment of silence before Naoko cleared her throat. "Now that formalities are out of the way, we can get to the paperwork. Blegh." She crossed her eyes. "Did you have a chance to read the contract?"

Shinji blinked, "Uh…"

"It was in your orientation package?"

"Right. Ah to be honest-" Shinji rubbed the back of his head, "-This all happened so fast, I haven't looked at it since I was here yesterday. But that's okay, I-"

Naoko frowned, "That won't do. You should know what you're getting yourself into."

"...Fair enough." Shinji ruffled through his pack and brandished the hefty paperwork.

She pulled out her glasses, a librarian's type that framed her face nicely. "Now, let's start at page 42." Naoko cleared her throat. "The party agrees to commit to a schedule…"


Asuka's demeanor changed as soon as she walked out of Naoko's office. Graceful strides turned into stomps.

Rei followed closely behind, despite Asuka's attempts to walk faster.

She stopped, and so did Rei. "Just tell me one thing." Asuka said.

"Yes?" Rei stared at her blankly, almost cross eyed.

She already knew the answer as she stared at Rei's short stub of a ponytail.

Asuka hugged herself. "I need to know. You can lie. It's okay." She said softly. "...Is it really you?"

Her breath shuddered as she attempted to hold eye contact with Rei, who blinked her dull, bloody eyes at her.

"Yes. Who else would I be?"

Asuka bit at her bottom lip to stop it from quivering. "...Nevermind." She turned and walked away.

And Rei followed, "Do you wish for me to accompany you to your mother's, Soryu?"

The red head froze in place, her fists balled and chest tight. Asuka hung her head. "It's Langley. You know it's Langley." She speed walked.

"Yes." Rei continued to follow her.

Asuka stopped. "I just want to be left alone. Please, just…"

"Are you ordering me to leave you alone?"

"...Yes." She said with a rasp.

Rei pondered this for a moment, before she looked back at her. "What does alone mean?"

"..."

Asuka walked away.

And with that, Rei Ayanami understood what that word meant.

Unsupervised for the first time in her life, she looked around the cold, empty halls of Central Dogma, unsure of where to go.


"Page 67-" Naoko pointed at the page with her pen, "-Now, this one's important: while a employee of NERV, I understand that I am in the non-pay status and that I am not entitled to to any benefits or privileges as a Evangelion pilot, to include, but not limited to medical care, liability insurance, death benefits-" She raised an eyebrow and looked down, her glasses slid down the bridge of her nose. "-Unlikely, by the way. I'm not sure why that's there. Anyways, education benefits, or disability retirement pay if I incur a physical disability. Are you following along so far?"

"Huh?" Shinji was so tired that he could barely follow along with the menial jargon. "Yeah, yeah…"

Naoko nodded, "Good, page 68…"

Shinji looked at the dense paper and sighed. He noticed the corner of a photograph that stuck out of the package. Misato's lewd photo was still there, only a few pages away.

His eyes bulged out of their sockets, "Uh, you know what? It's all right. I don't need to read the rest."

Naoko raised an eyebrow, "You don't? Are you sure? There's very important information here."

"N-no. It's okay." Shinji smiled, "I trust you."

"...Are you sure?"

"Yeah! You've been good to me, I really appreciate everything you've done."

Naoko touched her chest, "Oh, Shinji…" She shook her head and smiled, "You have no idea how much that means to me." She flipped to the last page, "If you could sign here, here, here and… here, then you're all set!"

"Great." Shinji eyed the photo. He'd have to sneak the photo when she wasn't looking, Shinji reminded himself.

She watched him sign himself away on the contract and beamed, "Welcome to NERV!" Naoko held the package. "I'll just scan this off, you're good to go."

Shinji reached for the package, "Actually, could I hold on to the other stuff?"

"Oh? Why?"

"There's just… some other things I wanted to look over, later. So I don't forget, y'know?"

"Pft." Naoko pointed at her temple, "Don't worry, I got it all up here, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!"

He stared at her. Unsure of what to say. "I just really need to look."

"Why?" Naoko's smile dropped. She flipped through the package, "What's in here-"

"-N-no! Don't!"

"Shinji, what did I say about-" She gasped and looked at the photo. "...Oh my goodness."

He clung at his collar. "I can explain. It's just a joke. Really, Ms. Misato's not like that."

"I've known her for some time, Shinji. But this…" She scowled at the photo and took off her glasses. "This is unacceptable."

Shinji bowed his head, "Please don't put her in any trouble. She's a good person, I-I can vouch for her."

"You only met her yesterday, how can you trust-'' Naoko pinched the bridge of her nose, "-Okay. Okay… Don't worry, she's not in any trouble. But I still need to discuss this with her."

The unsuspecting boy hung his head low.

"Hey." Naoko said softly, "Why don't you wait in the car, and I'll just have a quick chat with her about this." She winked at him, "Don't worry about it. I'll go easy on her."

Shinji nodded slowly, "Okay. Thank you, Naoko." He stood up, "And for the food."

She beamed at him, "My pleasure."


A cloud hung over Misato as she marched towards Naoko's office. The conversation she had with Maya and Aoba ran in a constant loop. "This creep really thinks he can pull this crap under my nose, with my kid? We'll see about that, you greasy wannabe…"

She found the door to The Commander's office already opened, but none of the children were present.

Naoko waited on her desk at the farthest side of the vast, rune-etched office. Hands curled together as she stared blankly. "Took you long enough."

Misato ran a hand through her hair, "I'm sorry about that, Naoko. Where…" She looked around, "Where are the kids?"

"Asuka is with her mother now. Shinji is waiting for you in your car."

"Oh… I see." Misato said, "It's probably better they're not here for this anyways."

"I agree." Naoko replied. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

She sighed. The blinding morning light that shone from all four sides of the office burned into Misato's retina. The relentless lack of sleep and hangover begged for her to cut the conversation short.

"Where to begin?" Misato paced back and forth in the office, "Your Chief of Security. Yamagishi."

Naoko raised her eyebrow, "Mako? Mako Yamagishi? I thought you wanted to discuss Kyoko."

"I know, I still do, but that can wait." Misato said.

"Oh my, this must have been important then."

"It really is. He's been making comments about Asuka. Inappropriate ones."

"What sort of comments?"

"Well, he said she's very mature for her age. And… well," Misato paused, She looked down. What was it that Maya said? "How she looks fine and…" She rubbed her head. "It sounded worse in person."

"Were you there when this incident happened?"

Misato shook her head. "No, but the person who told me about this said he seemed predatory. He was hostile to the other NERV crew."

She nodded, "That's not good. Who told you this? Maya?"

Misato rubbed the back of her head, "No, but- to be honest, they asked to be kept anonymous. But they were very unsettled about the whole situation. It was more about what wasn't-"

"Why would they wish to be kept anonymous?" Naoko asked. "I try to conduct a safe and open workspace here."

"That's the thing, 'mam. They don't feel safe around him. And it's not just them either." Misato shuddered, "He gives me the creeps too."

"But, let me get this straight." Naoko stated. "You wish me to file a report on this, correct?" Misato nodded, "Okay, do you have any recordings, photos, emails, or proof that he said 'She's very mature for her age?' I want to help you, Captain, but frankly, I need more than he said/she said."

Misato moved to sit down-

"Oh, don't worry, this will be brief." Naoko said, "I find this to be very odd." She sighed, "I've known Mako for almost nine years now, and he's never been anything less than a gentleman."

"No offense 'mam. But how he acts towards you and how he conducts himself behind your back might be two very different things."

She looked down and considered this. "That's a valid point. I haven't considered how my employees might be behaving behind my back. I won't tolerate such behavior any longer." Naoko nodded, "I'll have a word with Mako."

Misato sighed, "Thank you 'mam." At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to leave, her feet angled at the door. But one more topic ate into her mind. "There is one more thing."

"Yes?"

"Asuka kept saying that Rei was dead. She insisted on it. I've known Asuka for eight years, I know when she's serious."

"More like two, isn't it?" Naoko blinked, "Sorry, keep going."

"It's just… still, it sounds strange, doesn't it? I saw Rei myself. She's okay."

Naoko nodded, "But you want to believe her."

Misato looked down and considered. "Yeah. I really do."

"Are you sure that's not you hoping to reconnect with her?"

"Well-"

"-Remember." Naoko said. "She had a head injury, an untreated one. You saw her earlier."

"I know. But still-"

"-It's strange." Naoko nodded to herself, "It certainly is."

She looked down, "And about Kyoko… something's really not right with her. I know she's your right hand, and she delivers results. But I feel like this is having a negative effect on Asuka's morale. She's hurting, Naoko."

"I see." Naoko simply stated. "You're saying the presence of a neglectful parent is having a damaging impact on the children?"

"...Yes. I guess so."

"And what do you want me to do about it?"

"I'm sorry?" Misato asked. Naoko stared at her blankly. That's when she noticed the color of the room was different. Red.

It was blue yesterday. "She has no care for her wellbeing, so... As your Director of Operation, I'd suggest that she isn't allowed to have input on Asuka's duties on the field. I'd even suggest keeping her in the science division until her attitude changes and she can actually acknowledge her by her name."

"And who should replace her as Sub-Commander?" Naoko tilted her chin upwards, "You?"

Misato blinked, "No! I didn't mean that. I-" Her eyes darted to the side, "-What about Professor Fuyutsuki?"

"Kozo?" Naoko held back a smile. "I think I'd rather have you in that case."

Misato stared at the Commander, speechless.

"Is that what you want? The job, I mean." Naoko shrugged. "Say the word, and it's yours."

She offered a nervous chuckle in response. "I…" Misato fidgeted with her sleeve. "I don't know if I'm qualified for that."

"I see." Naoko clicked her tongue, "Well, as soon as you have any other solutions, don't hesitate to let me know."

Misato nodded along. "I'm…I'm just really tired." She laughed, "I don't think I've slept since yesterday." Naoko continued to nod. "That's all 'mam. I'm sorry for being a bother."

"Your concern is understandable. There's no need to be sorry for that. "

She smiled back, "I won't keep you then."

Misato walked to the far end of the ridiculously long office, the doors slid open and offered her retreat."Oh, Misato?" Naoko called out. "There was one more thing I needed to discuss with you, now that I remember."

She sighed and turned back. The Commander waited for her patiently at the other end of the office. Naoko beckoned for her to approach with a single finger. Misato put her hands in her pockets as she walked, "What's up?"

"Well." Naoko reached into her drawer and produced a folder, obscured from this distance. "By any chance, would you be able to explain…."

Misato peered as she attempted to focus on the image against the harsh morning light. As she walked closer, her heart slowly sank when she realized what Naoko was holding.

The racy polaroid she jokingly sent to Shinji.

"...This?"

She neatly held the photo close enough for her to see the word's circled above Misato's cleavage: "Look for these! ;)"

Misato's high heel boots wobbled as she attempted to stand still. She leaned closer to inspect the photo, despite the fact she knew well enough what it was. "Right. That's from my modeling days in college."

"Which is fine." The Commander stared at her patiently, like a disappointed parent would, "But what was it doing in Shinji's orientation paperwork? Did he steal it?"

Despite her hangover and overall exhaustion, Misato knew better than to think this wasn't a test. "No. I had it sent along with the letter." She took her hands out of her jacket pocket, unsure what to do with them. "You know, as an incentive."

Naoko raised an eyebrow. "Incentive?"

"Well, well you know. I thought all this information being sent in at once would be a little intimidating for him. Out of the blue, he's asked to come to a train station to be picked up by a stranger and driven to a place he doesn't know." Misato let out a strained laugh as Naoko nodded along, unamused. "And the file said that he's an introverted, apprehensive type, so I thought…"

"I can see where you were coming from, and that you have good intentions, but this-" The Commander looks down at the photo, "-This looks bad. You had his home phone number, why didn't you just call him?"

"I tried to, but it always cut to static, this sort of strange gurgling sound-" Misato blinked, "-Which I think might have been his father. B-but I swear, it wasn't like that." Unable to stop herself from tugging at her jacket sleeves, she bawled her hands into fists, "Did Shinji give that to you?"

"How I received this photo isn't the issue." Naoko sighed, "But if you must know, he vouched for you. He said that you were a good person, and I want to believe him. I really do."

Misato slowly shook her head, "It was just a joke…"

"I don't know about you Misato, but here at NERV we don't find grooming minors very funny."

"No! Of course-" Misato blinked, taken aback, "-Wait, grooming?"

"That's what I said. You solicit him with an unnecessary, flattering invitation. Wear revealing clothing, now I'm supposed to just let you live with him unsupervised?"

She began to panic as she felt her career crumble away, "I- I mean come on, it's not like I'm going to put the moves on a kid or anything."

Naoko's eyes widened, "Of course not! Why would you say something like that? Misato, I know, you didn't mean it like that, but that doesn't take away how serious this looks!" She said, there was a slight raise in the normally lax woman's voice, followed by a shrill laugh of disbelief. "You just asked me to conduct an investigation with one of my employees for misconduct and then right away, I found out about this. I'd appreciate a little self awareness from you, Misato."

"You're not honestly comparing me to Yamagishi, are you?"

"Honestly, wouldn't you, if you were in my shoes?"

"This is different…"

"Why?" Naoko raised an eyebrow, "Because you're a woman?"

Whatever retort Misato had planned was lost to her as she fought back the redness in her face, the exhaustion and humiliation an agonizing mix. "What he said was completely unprofessional."

The Commander stared blankly, "Why don't you let me worry about what is and what isn't professional.

Misato looked down, "...I'm fired, aren't I?"

Naoko didn't respond. The silence stood for an unbearably long time and clung to Misato's skin like a week old sweat.

"No. You're not fired." Naoko finally said. She slid the photo back into the file and put it back in her drawer. "You came to NERV because you wanted revenge on the Angels for what they did to your father, right? I wouldn't deny you that."

She looked up at the Commander. Misato never expressed her true motivations for joining NERV to her, so how… either way, the relief that washed over her was elevating. "I understand if you don't want Shinji living with me either. I completely understand, what I did was-"

"-Wrong again." Naoko smiled, "Despite this, I don't think there's anyone else more suitable to look after him. I'll give you a second chance. You want to prove that you're capable of looking after Asuka? Start with him, and I'll reconsider."

The roller coaster of emotions that flew through Misato forced her to fight back a smile, "Yes, thank you, Naoko. I won't let you down."

She nodded, stood up and shook her hand. "Oh, I know you won't."


Asuka stared at the Kanji letters etched into the Sub-Commander's office and read the alien name with ease.

Kyoko Soryu.

"Just get it over with…" She said to herself.

With trembled hands, she swiped her key card over a panel, and the door to the office slid open.

It was dimly lit, in fact, the only lights that came from the Sub-Commander's laboratory home were her computer monitors, and the vats of orange liquid that Asuka so despised. Light's were shone behind the vats, like an artificial sun set.

Her biological mother sat at her desk, a small cot beside her, back faced away from Asuka.

Kyoko's head lifted, but did not turn to look at Asuka. "Pilot Langley. Step inside."

Asuka looked down at the floor, the transition from the blue tiled floors of NERV were a stark difference to the lineless, messy metallic floor.

She took a hesitant step over the threshold, "I…"


"...Guess I'm home, then." Shinji said as he strolled past the threshold into Misato's apartment, a bashful look on his face. He struggled to balance the many shopping bags in his arms.

Misato squinted into a smile, and squeezed every ounce of enthusiasm out of her body, despite visibly being on the verge of collapse. "Welcome home!"

He beamed, "Thank you for having me-" He tripped on a bag of empty beer cans.

Her eyes widened, "Shi- shoot!" Misato picked up the bag and made a frenzied attempt to clear the living room. She let out a nervous chuckle, "Sorry about the mess. It's a little cluttered."

Shinji looked around, virtually every free space was occupied with empty beer cans, ramen bowls and litter.

A little?

The obsessive part of his mind begged him to scour this place spotless. "It's okay, I don't mind." Shinji pointed to the fridge, "I'll just unload the groceries." He couldn't help but notice the only contents in the fridge were beer, ice and snacks.

Misato dropped the bag of recyclables and moved to the fridge to snatch the groceries out of Shinji's hands. "Don't even worry about it! Make yourself at home!"

Shinji stood, his hands hovered in utter confusion towards the stark contrast of Misato's attitude. The image of her, and Naoko suddenly popped into his mind. "Ms. Misato?"

Her hands moved in a flurry to stock up the fridge, "Mhmm?"

"Is everything okay?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't it be?"

"It's just-" Shinji started, Misato went back to work, "-Nevermind."

She glanced back at him, the bags under her eyes deep like bruises at this point, "Hey, don't worry about me. Why don't you get settled in your room, then we'll have some lunch?"

Shinji's stomach protested at the prospect of having a third meal this early in the day, but his guilt from earlier and overall insistence to be polite overruled the stomach. "Right."


Misato pressed the cool beer against her temple. "Ah… that's nice." With a lick of her lips she cracked the beer open and prepared to chug it. Her eyes met Shinji's and froze mid drink. "Sorry Shinji, I should have asked. Are you okay if I have a drink?"

Shinji looked up from the table, "No, no. Go ahead.."

"Well, in that case-" She whipped her head back and proceeded to finish the entire can in under ten seconds, followed by a shriek of pure satisfaction. She shed tears of joy. "-That's the good stuff!" Misato sighed and sunk back in her chair, legs crossed. "This is nice, actually sharing a meal with a person y'know?"

"Yeah, It is nice. It reminds me of being back home." He glanced at the beer can.

"I see." Misato leaned in quizzically. She looked around the semi-clean room. Her attempt to clean was to shove everything in a single corner. "Your dad's messy too?"

"Not that. Well I mean, he is, but I meant that Father likes to drink with his meals."

She blinked, "Oh…"The two looked down, unsure how to continue the conversation. "I guess it's like you've never left home then, right?" Misato attempted teasingly.

"I guess so."

"Hmm."

Silence.

They glanced back at each other, both flashed different looks of discomfort. Despite the sweltering heat, she wore full jeans and a yellow shirt, the same one from the picture. An odd, wide silver cross hung below her collarbone. Shinji could only hold eye contact in passing before he'd scan the contents of Misato's room.

Misato noticed this and offered a flat smile before she looked down as well.

Finally, she cleared her throat and clapped her hands together, "Let's eat!" Shinji picked up the steaming ramen bowl and slurped it down. Misato let out a bemused laugh "Hey, hey, easy there, tough guy! You're gonna burn yourself. You're supposed to eat it, like this:" She scooped up a chopstick full of noodles and huffed away at the steam.

"I don't mind it." Shinji said before he covered his mouth. "I cook a lot, so I've gotten used to hot foods and oil burns. The heat never really bothered me. Not even spicy foods."

She raised an eyebrow, "Oh, really?"

He continued to slurp at the noodles and avoided eye contact.

Misato slammed something on the table which caught his attention. He looked up to see a bottle of Tabasco sauce, her face a devilish, exaggerated grin. "Care for a friendly wager?"

"Mhm?" Shinji covered his mouth politely as he chewed.

"Whoever finishes their spicy noodles first gets their picking of chores for the month. Sounds good?"

Shinji wiped his face with a napkin, he noted Misato's faltered grin. This wasn't a competition, it was a peace offering. "Ah, sure. If you want."

"Come on, quit being so agreeable! Only do it if you want to."

"R-right. Sorry, I do want to."

She went for her beer. "And quit apologizing!" Misato let out a groan,"Bah. Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry! Guys aren't supposed to be apologetic." She looked down, "...What have you even got to be sorry for anyways?"

He pressed his lips tightly together and looked down, "I got you in trouble today, didn't I?" Shinji briefly met her eyes before he opted to stare at her nose instead. "I swear, I didn't give her the photo. I didn't rat you out. I-I forgot it in my orientation package-"

Misato gently waved her hands, "Wait." She looked up at him and held eye contact. "I should be the one apologizing. I know you didn't give her the photo, and even if you did, I shouldn't have sent it to you in the first place." Shinji slowly lifted his head. "I was trying to… to be honest, I don't know what I was thinking. I thought it would, y'know, break the ice. But adults should never do things like that."

"I know you didn't mean it like that. You're a good person, Misato."

Misato fidgeted with her beer, she squeezed it on one side, then the other to reverse the dent. "Not always, Shinji. Not… always." She sighed. "I'm sorry for that. And for how I treated you yesterday. I was under a lot of stress and took it out on you."

"It's okay..."

"No, it's not. You just seemed so gung-ho at the time, so when you backed away at the offer, I was just…" She took a sip. "Not being fair. You didn't even know what you were getting into. If I was your age, I would've done the same thing." Misato waited for a response. Instead, Shinji stared at the Tabasco sauce. "Listen, if this is making you uncomfortable, I-."

She was interrupted by a loud, unceremonious squirt of the Tabasco bottle, which splattered all over Shinji's ramen bowl, and partially flew on Misato's shirt.

Shinji stared at her, wide eyed while Misato stared back, both speechless. He smiled meekly, and offered her the bottle.

Misato scoffed, and flashed a smirk while she shook her head and snatched the bottle, "Oh, you're so on!" Squirt.

He covered his mouth to hide a laugh at the sound of the flatulent bottle, squirt. "I-It sounds funny."

Misato smiled as she mixed the sauce into the ramen, almost mesmerized by how it circled back and forth. "Me and Asuka used to do this every month to wager who did chores." Her smile tightened. "I ended up with the laundry, every time."

"I was wondering about that." Shinji whisked the noodles with his chopsticks, "If you don't mind me asking, you guys obviously have some history, she used to live with you?"

She sputtered, "You know, for such a shy guy, you're quite the conversationalist."

"Sorry-" He cleared his throat, "I suppose I'm more used to listening."

"It's alright. I guess neither of us were trying to hide it." The ramel bowls were left ignored, "I was Asuka's guardian for a few years, me and K-" She blinked, "-My ex-boyfriend. But it didn't work out." Shinji nodded her, which prompted Misato to continue, "We just… young and stupid, way over our heads, thinking we could play house, we treated it like a game. So when we broke off, it just sort of-" Misato nodded, "-I'm trying to be better now. She's staying with a friend of mine."

"But I don't understand. The Sub-Commander is her mother, but they live separately?"

"I guess in the Soryu family, living separately is the norm. It's difficult."

"Soryu?" Shinji tilted his head, "I thought her last name was Langley-" He blinked, "-Oh." He frowned at the ramen. "But family should stay together. You never know how much time you might have with someone. Even if it's difficult."

Misato sub consciously touched her cross. "I couldn't agree more. But, if you want to tell her that, be my guest." The two looked down at their bowls, "So are we gonna eat or what?"

Shinji perked up, "R-right!"

"Ready… set… go!"

He tentatively nibbled at the noodles, and gagged at the spice, while Misato chugged down the noodles about as fast as she did her beer.

Misato slammed the bowl down and let out a screech, not one of satisfaction like earlier, no.

Victory.

"H-hey!" Shinji stammered, "You said she won every time!"

Smugly, she stood up and put her hands behind her back, "Yeah, and I've had plenty of time to practice." Misato playfully karate chopped his head, "Laundry-boy."

Shinji, somewhat brought out of his shell, huffed. "Well the jokes on you, I love doing laundry!"

Misato rolled her eyes, "Of course you do." She walked towards the calendar, her back turned to him. "How about: you get laundry and garbage. And I take care of dishes and cooking?"

He slurped at the noodles, his voice muffled, "Can I get cooking too?"

"Are you trying to say I'm a bad cook?"

"No! I just- ah…"

"Relax, I'm pulling your chain. Well. If you insist, you're the cook."

"Okay." He took the bowls and set them in the kitchen, " Do you mind if I use your shower?"

Misato whipped her at him, suddenly very serious. "No!" She pouted. "Showers are forbidden."

"O-oh, sorry-"

Shinji was interrupted by Misato's tipsy giggles, "Ah, you're too easy! Of course you can use the shower! Where are we, China?"

He let out a nervous laugh, "Right. Thank you for the food, by the way."

"Don't mention it, kid." Misato went back to scribbling on the white board chore list, "And… thank you, for-" She turned back to see he was already gone. From the bathroom, he hummed a depressing pop song.

Misato blew at a loose strand of hair that hung over her forehead. She walked over to the fridge to grab another beer. Beside it was the kitchen sink.

Both bowls were completely empty. She peered, hand hovered over the beer before she could crack it open.

That didn't make any sense, Shinji looked like he couldn't stand the Tabasco sauce, so how did he drink it so fast-

She scoffed at the realization and smirked, "That sneaky-"

A loud, effeminate screech came out of the bathroom, followed by a loud trill and splashing sounds. Shinji bursted out of the bathroom, a towel draped around him. He was bug eyed, "M-m-m-Ms. Misato! There's a weird chicken in your- ah!"

Pen-Pen pecked at his rear and made him leap, Shinji ran around the kitchen table, which triggered the Penguins' animal instincts and gave chase. It flapped its wings and waddled after the boy with a screech.

Misato followed the two, she cupped her hands, "He doesn't like being called a chicken!" Shinji slid and crashed into the pile of garbage, "His name's Pen-Pen! He's an arctic penguin."

The penguin lunged at it's fallen prey and pecked at him further. "Pen-Pen! I'm sorry I called you a weird chicken!"

"Wark!"

"What do I do!?"

Misato tossed him the beer, "Give him this!" It hit Shinji square in the cheek.

"W-what?"

"He likes beer!"

Pen-Pen didn't relent as he flayed the human intruder with his beak. "Pen-Pen, look!" Shinji waved the beer in front of his face, "What's this?" The Penguin stopped and eyed him wearingly, he sniffed the can. He snatched the beer out of Shinji's hand and cracked it open with a flipper. Shinji stared at the bird, utterly bewildered. "...Penguins drink beer?"

"No, no, he's genetically modified." Misato leaned in and scratched Pen-Pen's head, "See?" She pointed at Shinji, "Friend."

Pen-Pen squinted at him as he waddled away with a side eye, "...Wark."

Shinji laid back on the pile of garbage, he looked down to realize his towel flew off during the chase. His face grew red as he used a garbage bag to cover himself with dignity. Thankfully, Misato didn't seem to notice or care. "I thought the Commander said employees aren't allowed to have pets?"

Misato wagged her finger, "Pen-Pen isn't a pet. He's a roommate." She watched Shinji nurse at the welts, "Hey, don't worry about it. Who's gonna know?"


The voice was muffled amidst the endless chatter of the students. "Keita?"

Loud. Everywhere he went, it was too loud. Never time to think, just do.

"Hey, Keita?"

You'd think after you were nearly wiped out by an extraterrestrial invader, just a few kilometers from your backyard, that you'd want to get your family out of here. Evacuate. But they trust their mystery protectors, why would we need to fix something that isn't broken?

Why was he even here? I don't even want to be here. I just did it for my-

"Hey… Keita!"

Keita Asari perked up to look at who was talking to him. It was his co-pilot, Mana Kirishima, who stared at him expectantly. She blinked her glittering grey-green eyes at him and the room suddenly went silent, the chatters inaudible. He blushed, "Ah, sorry. I must have spaced out. What's up?"

She pointed to the desk on her left, "Did you hear what Lee just said?"

"Huh?" He turned to see their de facto leader, Musashi Lee Strasberg stare at him. Unimpressed, his chair was flipped in reverse, "Oh no, I didn't. Sorry."

The chatters returned.

Lee jabbed his thumb behind him. "That's him, the new kid. That's our guy."

Keita peered over his shoulder, in the centre back of the class was an average looking boy, he snuck glances at Ayanami and Langley, who sat at far opposites of the room. The boy hung his head low and slipped on a pair of earbuds. "Are you sure? He doesn't look like pilot material."

Strasberg snorted, "And you do?"

Mana tilted her head, "I dunno, he's kind of- '' She glanced to notice her fellow T•RIDEN•T co-pilots stare at her. She pouted and wrinkled her nose. "...Suspicious!" She hissed softly.

"I dunno…" Keita scratched at his chin.

Suddenly, the class representative shot up, "Rise! Bow!" Hikari Horaki ordered as the rest of the children followed suit.

In walked their senior teacher, Mr. Wantanabe. He motioned for the class to sit with his hands and pulled out a laser pointer, "I understand that we have a new student today, would they care to introduce themselves in front of the class?"

The students looked around the class in search of the new arrival. The New Kid shrunk lower into his desk. In complete unison, the class looked down at his chest. A laser was pointed right at him.

The New Kid slowly stood up and tentatively stepped in front of the black board. His hands shifted from going in and out of his pockets. "My name is Shinji-."

"Young man," Mr. Wantanbe interrupted, "You're suppose to write your name on the black board."

"O-oh, right." He wrote his name in rigid letters and turned around. "My name is Shinji Ikari."He bowed. "Thank you for having me."

Nobody responded, except for Mana who clapped enthusiastically.

"Alright kids, let's not go crazy." Mr. Wantanabe motioned for Shinji to sit back down. "We have important things to discuss." He cleared his throat and turned on the projector, "Now, the repercussions of the Second Impact were more than just environmental, they were economical…"

The class let out a unanimous groan.

Lee turned to his co-pilots, "We'll talk more at lunch." He whispered.


"Okay." Their fearless leader beckoned Mana and Keita to scoot their chairs closer. "We have all three of our new friends here at class, so we can get started."

Mana leaned back, "Finally!"

As opposed to Keita, he began to sweat, "W-what? Are we doing it? Here? Now!?"

"What?" Lee squinted, "No, you moron, too soon, it's not even here yet. I mean we can finally start gathering info. We'll split them up, three by three."

Keita sighed, "Oh, for a second there I thought-"

"Dibs on Langley." Lee said with a smirk as he crossed his arms.

"Why do you get her?"

Lee scoffed, "Cause I'm part German." He gestured to Asuka, "She's part German, it's a natural fit. Why? You want her?"

Keita's eyes widened, "No! She creeps me out."

"Yeah." Mana agreed. "She's kind of a-" She glanced around the class. "-A… b-word." Mana leaned back into the semi-circle of desks, "In that case, can I get Shinji?"

"No, you get Ayanami."

"Aw!" Mana pouted, "She's so hard to talk to, why can't Keita have her?"

"Come on, you know Keita can't talk to girls alone." Lee looked at two other students in the class, a jock and his bespectacled friend. "Besides, he's buddy-buddy with Aida and Suzuhara. He'll invite Ikari in, make him feel relaxed and he opens up- Bamn! He starts spilling the beans."

Keita leaned into the chair, "I'm not buddy-buddy with them! I just hang around with them sometimes."

Lee nodded at Mana, "Which is what he does best. He hangs around. Okay, so there's no objections?"

Hands pounded against the desk, Keita shot up, "Stop talking like I'm not here! I have things to say too, you know."

He finally turns his head and looks at Keita. "Sure. Do you have any better ideas?" Keita froze, Lee nodded, "Go ahead."

Keita leaned back, he looked up and realized the whole class stared at his outburst. He slowly sat back down. "Forget it."

Mana glanced at him sympathetically. "We can switch if you want…"

"No." Keita's jaw tightened. "It's fine."

The three stared at their desks, their thoughts muffled out by the classroom's resumed chatter. Lee scooted in closer to the circle, "Guys, c'mon, lighten up! If we can find out about an Angel attack, or find a window where there's a mess and they're not there, we go in and clean it up! Then we'll be the heroes. Us. How long have we waited for something like this to just plop on our laps? To prove ourselves?" He looked at Mana, "Kirishima, how long has it been? Do you really just want to sit and wait more?"

Mana's cheery attitude faded as she recollected, "Three years of training, conditioning, we were just told to sit and wait for months. " She looked up, "You're right, this is our time, not theirs."

Lee nodded, then turned to Keita, "Asari." Ketia lifted his head, "Are you with us?"

Again, the two looked at him expectantly.

Keita gulped. "Of course."

"You guys…" Lee motioned for them to huddle, arm in arm, reminiscent of a football team. "Just you watch, I'll have Langley eating out of my hand by the end of the lunch break." He pointed three fingers in the centre of the huddle, they added to the pile and lifted their hands in sync.

"1…"

"2…"

"3…"

"Tridents!" They all whispered sharply in unison.

The trio broke off in pursuit of their respective marks.


Rei had left the classroom, so Mana followed.

She noticed Mana follow her in the empty hallway with a side eyed glance, but she didn't shrink away, instead she walked faster.

And so did Rei.

"Heya, Ayanami!" Mana called out, hands cupped, "Where ya going?"

The mysterious girl halted and slowly turned around. She studied Mana's chipper gait with her hands behind her back, heels clicked together. "I am going to the library." Rei said softly.

"Neat!" Mana motioned for her to walk, but Rei didn't move. "Mind if I tag along?"

Rei stared at her blankly, "What for?"

"Well-" Mana blinked and looked around, "Cause I wanna be friends with you!"

"...What for?"

"Bec-" Mana briefly pouted and rubbed her nose, Rei held her gaze. "Because… I'm friendly!"

Finally, Rei's eyes shifted slightly, as though she considered. "I shall be your friend."

"Really? That's great! So-"

"...If I am ordered to be your friend."

Mana's smile dropped and she became speechless. Rei side eyed her as she walked away. "W-wait!" She turned back. Mana pointed her finger at her, "I order you to be my friend!"

Rei stared blankly for a moment before she tilted her head.


Musashi Lee Strasberg marched confidently to the far side of the classroom, where Asuka played a video game on a mobile device, ear plugs attached to drown out the ambient chatter.

"She's so pale… so mysterious." Lee thought to himself as he leaned in to find the blue eyes hidden by her red bangs. He cleared his throat.

Asuka didn't hear him.

Lee blinked, "Ah-hem!" He attempted again. She glanced at him with her peripherals. Lee smirked, "Hallo!"

The girl slowly took off her headphones and eyed him suspiciously, "...Yo."

He brushed back his purple hair and smirked, "Dein rotes Haar brennt in meinem wie ein Feuer und schmilzt eine eisige Höhle, von der ich nie wusste, dass sie existiert. Meine Prinzessin, triff deinen Ritter." Lee leaned back, hands proudly at his hips.

Asuka stared at him for a long time and blinked slowly. "The… fucks that suppose to be?"

Lee's smile dropped. "Oh. You know, German."

She never dropped eye contact, her brow lowered, "Do I look like I speak German?"

"W-well, I thought, I heard- heh-heh…"

"Who are you? Who've you been talking to?" Asuka pointed at her chest proudly and leaned in, "I'm an American."

Lee's eyes darted to the side as he regretted not trading with Keita, "A-american, huh? Thats-"

Asuka squinted and motioned him away, "...Shoo."

"Yes 'mam".


Shinji had a very brief run in with public schools as a child, the memories of it were foggy. He remembered the walks there, riding the subway with his cousin and attempting to melt into his desk. If they were nice to him, he liked people, just not in large groups. It felt like too many instruments being played at once, but never a symphony. Some insistence from his father and tests determined that Shinji found it easier to concentrate and complete tasks with more confidence outside of social settings.

'Agoraphobia' Mr. Tsuji, his now former tutor described it as. Age had numbed the feeling, but the buzz still lingered in his head, the way out was an ever present eyesore.

The only people he knew in this school stood on far opposites of the classroom, with Rei Ayanami on the left and Asuka Langley on the right, shielded by walls of other students in the densely fitted classroom of 25.

Surprisingly, the transition from homeschooling to highschool wasn't a jarring one, the material was familiar at least. It was a grateful retreat from all the chattering-

Someone stepped in front of him, a shorter boy with freckles and an even shorter haircut, similar to a military flat top. "Ah, hello!" He said quietly.

Shinji looked up at him and smiled, "Oh, hello."

"Hi.' The boy swayed his arms, "You're that new student, Shinji, right?"

He looked at his name that was still written on the black board in massive letters and gestured to it. "Yeah, that's me."

"Well, my name's Keita Asari."

"Oh, nice to meet you."

"Yeah…"

Keita rubbed the back of his head and looked to the right, "There's, uh- actually some guys over here who wanted to meet you. "

Shinji blinked, "Meet me?" He peered over to where Keita looked but wasn't sure exactly who,

"I dunno, I prefer to keep to myself."

"Well, I just thought the three of you would get along real good, y'know?" Keita motioned back to the group, "Come on! Just give them a chance."

His foot bounced rapidly as he considered his options. No sense in burning bridges on the first day of school. "Okay, I guess I'll say hello."

He stood up and followed Keita to two other boys, one tanned in a tracksuit, the other a sandy blonde with large spectacles. The two spoke in low voices.

Keita cleared his throat, "H-hey guys?" The two looked up at him, "I just wanted to introduce that new kid, this is Shinji." He turned to Shinji, "Shinji, this is Kensuke Aida and Toji Suzuhara."

Shinji smiled and offered a small wave, "Hey guys…"

The two studied him up and down. Kensuke smirked, his glasses flashed white as he lowered his brow and caught the light, "So, you're the guy, huh?"

"They know…"

His eyes widened. Was his cover blown that quickly? "T-the guy? I don't know about that, Asari said that you wanted to meet me?"

"Ah, I see." Kensuke leaned over to Toji and spoke in his ear, "He's playing the innocent defense." Toji nodded, "That's fine, Mr. Ikari. Please, take a seat."

Confused, Shinji slowly sat down in front of the two, while Keita stood off to the side.

Kensuke leaned in, hands curled together, "So, what's your poison?"

Shinji blinked, "I'm sorry?"

"Wow, he's very committed to this." Kensuke said to Toji, "The place isn't bugged you know. You can tell us."

"I, uh…" Shinji gulped and moved to his collar.

Toji leaned back, arms crossed, "Just answer the question, man."

"Whose pictures do you want?"

Shinji shut his eyes tight, "I swear I'm not the pi- wait, what? P-pictures." He leaned back and sighed in relief. He needed to think of a way to keep a low profile, quick, "Who do you have?"

Kensuke scoffed, "Who don't I have?" He motioned Shinji to lean closer and scanned the loud classroom. "I can get you any girl, or guy if that's your thing. Except for Horaki. She's off limits." His eyes lit up he glanced to the far right of the room, "I see. You want something more thrilling, a thorned rose perhaps?" He glanced at Asuka, "Pics of her might cost me my life, so it'll cost you extra."

"Trust me, new kid." Toji said, "Dance with the Devil, and you'll get burned."

Shinji shook his head, "I'm so confused."

Toji gestured with his hands, "And trust me, not like a little sunburn, like being melted in a lava kind of burn." He shuddered.

"She stabbed him with a pencil one time." Kensuke elaborated.

"With a freaking pencil!"

Shinji waved his hands, "Wait, I think there's a misunderstanding. I don't really want to buy voyeur photos of girls.

Kensuke's eyes bulged out as he shushed him frantically, "Easy, Ikari! What are you trying to do here?" He turned to Keita, "You really think I'm gonna give you a subscribers bonus for getting a mole mixed into my business?'

"A-a mole?" Keita chuckled, "He's no mole, I just thought-" He cleared his throat, "-I thought you guys might get along well."

"Hmph." Toji pouted and sized him up with a squint, "Well, why didn't you say so!? You know how much I hate talking shop." He motioned for the two to sit down, "So, new kid, what brings you here? To Tokyo-3, I mean."

"What brings me here…" Shinji's eyes darted at the two, "Work."

"Work?" Kensuke raised an eyebrow, "You have a job?"

"No, my father got a job at NERV recently."

"Oh, gotcha." Toji nodded, "Same here, my old mans working all the time so I gotta look after my little sister."

Keita nodded, "My father works at NERV too!"

"All our fathers work at NERV." Kensuke said, "Super interesting. Welcome to the club. " He pointed his chin at Shinji, "Say Ikari. You heard about the earthquake at Yugawara ruins, by the highway?"

Shinji could only assume that was NERV's version of the story for the public, so he nodded.

"Well, guess what I heard?" He leaned in closer, "That wasn't an earthquake."

He feigned ignorance, his eyes darted at Asuka, who was gone from her seat. "So what was it?"

Kensuke grinned, "An alien. Yup. A freaking alien! Between us guys, yea? NERV covered it up-"

Toji squinted, "What? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

Kensuke began to stammer, "There were photos of these giant mechas. Man, if I could just get some footage of them. It was like from Jet Jaguar dude, you wouldn't believe it! And here's the best part…" All three of the boys leaned in closer to Kensuke. "I think I know who the pilot is."

Sweat began to fall down Shinji's brow. "Yeah? Who?"

"Remember what I said about the thorned rose?"

Toji blinked, "No way."

Kensuke nodded. "Way."

Shinji glanced at Asuka's empty seat again and scanned the room for her. She stood beside the class rep, Hikari, and showed her a piece of paper..

Asuka pointed right at them.

Toji ran his hand through his hair, "It makes so much sense…"

"I know, right? Think about it." Kensuke adjusted his glasses, "She leaves randomly throughout the day, sometimes with the Ayanami chick-"

"You mean the Albino?" Toji asked.

"Please don't call her that." Shinji blurted out.

Toji stared at him for a moment and raised his hands in peace. "I'd take her over Soryu. If she really is the pilot, I wouldn't wanna piss her off."

"Man, she's so lucky…" Kensuke stared at the ceiling and sighed, "I'd sell my soul to be a mecha pilot."

Asuka marched towards the four boys, her eyes locked at Shinji. Toji groaned, "Speak of the Devil…"

She raised her hand in front of Toji's face, "Piss off, monkey. I'm not here for you." Asuka pointed at Shinji. "New kid. You're with me."

He looked at the clock, at his new friends, then at Asuka. "Now?"

"Now."

Shinji took his time to sit up, like an old man would. Kensuke squinted at her, "Where to?"

"None of your business, four eyes." She sneered. Kensuke lifted his arms in defeat. "We got special permission."

"From who?"

"Your mom." Asuka grabbed Shinji's wrist, "Come on, double time!"

Keita, Toji and Kensuke stared in disbelief as the two speeded out of the classroom. Toji and Kensuke slowly turned and gawked at each other. "Dude…"

"Dude!"

Keita noticed Lee lean on the opposite side of the class, who nodded at him.

"Dude!"


She was so used to the EVA lift at this rate, that it was as leisurely as being on a regular elevator.

Asuka would always take the moment before she reached the surface to calm her nerves, to fine tune her synchronization.

However, it was difficult to relax while her trainees' undignified yelps and chattering of teeth grated into her ears. She settled with a mental review of what she would teach the green pilot when they reached the surface.

Misato's voice spoke through the comms, "Release the final safety locks."

"Releasing."

Both doors slid open, side by side, and Unit-02 swaggered out of the elevator right into her playground.

"There's a lot you need to learn about this job, new kid." She waited for him to respond.

Nothing, so she continued as she strolled through an empty section of Tokyo-03, their mock training ground. "First things first, Third, Always watch your umbilical cable. Last thing you need to do is trip, or get stuck with a five minute timer while in the middle of a-"

Why weren't there any footsteps?

Asuka turned back to the elevator to see Unit-01 still stiffly nestled inside it's frame. "What are you doing?"

Unit-01 looked down. "...I dunno."

"Well don't just stand there, genius. Take a step!"

"It's alright, Shinji. Just concentrate on walking. Just like the simulation." Misato said.

Unit-01 looked at its feet, "Right. Walk." It's separated from the elevator's frame, arms stretched out wide. He attempted his first step with wobbled legs, like a newborn giraffe. The EVA gained solid ground. "Just like the simulation."

Now up close, Asuka was able to size up the new EVA. Years back, she remembered Unit-01 had a smooth, vibrant indigo color, with neon green to accent it.

It has certainly seen better years, that deep purple was faded to a pale lavender, with a sickly green and brown rust that ate at parts of the coating.

Nonetheless, it was mechanically fine tuned prior to its activation, so this… idiot should have no excuses.

After all, Asuka was never allowed any when she took her first steps.

His voice began to sound more confident, "Walk…"

"See? Was that so-"

Unit-01 tripped and buckled under itself. It fell face first flat to the ground. The comm feed was speechless, save for a cough from the background crew.

She stomped towards the crumpled Third Child, who pathetically made no effort to stand on his own. "Shinji Ikari…" Asuka began. He looked up to see Unit-02's feet. She stared down at him with her hands on her hips. "You're fired."

Unit-01's head perked up, "F-fired?"

Misato groaned, "Shinji, no, you're not fired. She can't do that."

"You heard me, scrub. Go home. As your superior pilot, I'm pulling rank on you." Unit-02 jabbed a thumb over her back. "Beat it!"

"Asuka, you're the same rank as him."

Unit-02 turned her body to face Misato, despite the fact she was on radio in Central Dogma, "Oh, come on! If he had to fight an Angel at this rate, he'd get ripped apart!"

"...Asuka, why on earth would we send him out to fight an Angel without any sort of experience?"

"I don't see any instance where that would happen." Ritsuko agreed in the background.

Unit-02's hands slapped against it's thighs, which echoed throughout the derelict district. "You're not helping!"

Shinji remained crumpled on the ground.

"Asuka." Misato said in that bossy tone she always pulled, "Remember what Naoko said-"

"Yeah, yeah, positive reinforcement, I know." Asuka grumbled, "Buncha sissies." She leaned over the crumpled Unit-01 and patted her thighs, "Come on, buddy, get up!" She whistled, as though she encouraged a puppy, or a small child, "That's it, you can do it!"

Shinji attempted to get back on his feet. He grabbed onto a building and rose."...I think I like you better when you're mean." After he regained his balance, he took a second step without support.

Unit-02 mockingly threw her hands in the air, "Yay! You did it!"

Unit-01 ignored her as it took a third, and a fourth step until it was face to face with Unit-02. "So, what's next?"

After a moment of eye contact between the two EVA's, She motioned for him to follow through the narrow city streets. The concrete floor appeared to have been walked over so many times that it was, to an EVA's scale, practically gravel. Of course, to a human's scale it would be a field of boulders.

Asuka tugged at Unit-01's umbilical cable, as though it were a ponytail. "You feel it feeding from that station? You have about a kilometre of cable there, it seems like a lot, but it runs out quicker than you think. Get used to where all the power stations are located, so you know where to go when you run out."

"But what if there aren't any power stations nearby?"

"Well then you better kill your mark in five minutes, shouldn't you?"

"I was just asking…"

Unit-02 motioned to a skyscraper that was wider than the others, she struck the flat of her fist against it and a panel slid aside, revealing a massive armoury. Asuka snatched two guns from the rack. "This is a pallet rifle." She tossed one into his arms. "Think fast, Third!"

Unit-01 fumbled in an attempt to catch the rifle and held the thing. "It's heavy." He looked down at the sights, which were unwittingly aimed at Unit-02. "I've never used a gun before."

She pushed the gun out of her direction, "Well get used to it, cause from now on, that gun is your best friend." Asuka pointed at a building across from there. "Try shooting over there."

Shinji peered at the building. It appeared to have only a single bullseye, shot multiple times. On the building beside it, two separate sets of tallies were etched into the concrete. Likely from those Progressive Knives he was shown.

He placed the butt of the rifle square against his chest. Asuka stared at him, "Are you serious?"

"What?"

She marched over to him, "It's supposed to go on your shoulder, stupid." Unit-02 adjusted Unit-01's form, her hands awkwardly hovered over its body. Asuka cleared her throat, "Now you try. Repeat after me: Center on target, pull the trigger."

"Right. Center on targ-" He squeezed the trigger prematurely and the bullet flew wildly. Shinji exhaled sharply.

"This isn't rocket science."

"...Center on target. Pull the trigger." Shinji fired again, a few feet away from the bullseye.

Asuka scoffed, "Don't punch holes in my wall, new kid."

She noticed Shinji from inside the pilot's camera feed, he shut his eyes and took deep breaths. "Center on target. Pull the trigger."

Another burst. "Center on target. Pull the trigger."

"Center on target. Pull the trigger." Another shot, another scoff from Asuka.

"Center on target. Pull the-"


"-Trigger!" Shinji's eyes shot open and gasped. He suddenly woke up in his bathroom in front of the mirror.

He looked down to realize he held a bottle of toothpaste, which Shinji clenched from his involuntary spasm.

Shinji looked down at his trembled hands. Anything the EVA felt left a phantom echo on his body. A side effect of synchronization, Ms. Ritsuko described it as.

His free hand was covered in toothpaste, Shinji stared at it, then at his gaunt, tired reflection.

The early morning training before classes seemed like a clever, efficient idea when Naoko let him choose the times for his routine synch tests a month ago. But now he deeply regretted not settling with being excused in the middle of classes.

Shinji shook his head, "I need to get a grip."


Shinji waddled out of the bathroom, a towel draped around his shoulders. On his way to the kitchen to start his morning routine, he ran into Misato, who was still dressed in her red jacket , a blanket draped around her like a massive cloak.

Misato held a beer can gingerly, as if it were a cup of espresso. "What were you doing in there for so long?"

"Just… brushing my teeth."

"Oh, uh-huh. Just brushing your teeth."

"I mean it!"

"Uh…huh."

"Well, what about you? Shouldn't you be asleep?"

Misato raised her finger, "I just got back from my shift, so first things first." She pointed at the bathroom. "I need to die for about an hour." She patted him on the back and strolled inside.

Shinji shook his head as he reached into the cooler for a fresh bag of shrimp for Pen-Pen. He knew that he was above ground, yet the transition between the artificial sky of the Geofront and Tokyo-03's authentic one was seamless. As though he never left.

A knock came from the bathroom. "Oh, hey, Shinji?" Misato said, "Is it Thursday today?"

"Yeah, why? Oh, right. Garbage day." Shinji reminded himself with a sigh, "I'll take care of it." He began to make the rounds at each of the apartment's bins.

"Thanks! Hey, I might be getting off work early today. I'll bring some pizza, if you want?"

Shinji grabbed the bag from the kitchen. "Sure!"

"Also, I left you something on the kitchen table, it's a cell phone!"

"A cell phone?" Shinji walked over and inspected the small box. It was a Nokia, one of the smaller clunky ones. "Oh, thank you!"

"Don't mention it." The shower water shot in the background, "I'm surprised you didn't have one before."

"To be honest, I never noticed. I guess, I dunno…"

"...No one to call?"

Shinji looked up in thought as he knocked on Pen-Pen's fridge to summon him for his meal. He didn't mind Aida and Suzuhara's company, but they only ever hung out during lunch breaks, never after school. Not to mention, their eccentric personalities overwhelmed him.

Keita Asari would walk with him to the train sometimes, attempt to spark conversation and ask personal questions. Such topics felt uncomfortable from what was effectively an acquaintance, so would attempt to invite Keita to speak for himself.

Despite his best efforts to seek out the one thing that kept him in Tokyo-03, he never seemed to get a moment alone to speak with Ayanami. Even then, he doubted she had a phone as well.

And Asuka… the only reason she'd accept his number would be to nag or berate him about being late for synch tests.

Although, there were times when people weren't around, like when Naoko would check in on them over the weekend with tea and sweets, that a gentler side of Asuka would poke it's head out. She'd smile at him, listen to what he was saying, even open up at times.

Shinji blinked, "I dunno…"

Maybe there was a second reason.


Thursdays were her favorite day of the week for one reason.

Everyone would bring their garbage early in the morning, where they would become her personal punching bags. Asuka knew better now than to take her anger out on the walls of her guardian's apartment, so she had to find alternative outlets where she could.

Nice and private too, thick walls to hide the sound, and at seven in the morning, it would be deserted, like clockwork.

"You little-" Asuka grunted as she stomped on a dense bag she had prepared for today, "-Who do you think you are, huh?"

Her breathing became labored as she skidded on the concrete, "Who do you think you are!?"

The bag finally crumpled under the weight of her foot. Asuka wiped her damp forehead as she panted.

"Asuka?" A voice blurted out behind her.

She recoiled, but Asuka didn't turn to face her visitor, the idiotic voice a dead give away. "...Third. What do you want?"

Shinji walked up beside her. He looked down at the bag in his hand and gestured to it, "Oh, well, I guess to take out the garbage. You?"

"Some peace and quiet would be nice." Asuka reached to pick up the bag and haul it into the large bin.

"Yeah. All this training is pretty stressful." He attempted to toss the garbage bag into the bin, but utterly air-balled it instead.

"Nice."

"Sorry…" Shinji moved to properly dispose of the garbage. He stopped in front of Asuka, unsure what to do with his hands, "Your eye looks better now."

"Yeah. I can see that."

"N-not that I knew you before, so I wouldn't know how it looked," Asuka didn't respond to him, her attention with some litter that she nudged at. "I didn't know you lived around here."

She dragged the litter with her foot, "I'm in the neighborhood."

"I see. Well," He looked down. "...Areyouhungry?"

"Eh?" Asuka leaned with her hand cupped to ear, "Speak up, I can't hear you."

Shinji cleared his throat. "Are you hungry? I'm about to makesomebreakfast."

Asuka stared at him blankly, "Breakfast." After a moment she snorted, "Pfft. Yeah nice try, pervert." She turned around and walked away.

"I didn't mean it like that! I um, I'm making spicy omelettes. I thought you'd like it-"

Her hair whipped around and struck his face, "Spicy?" Shinji could only stammer in retort. Asuka squinted suspiciously, "Did that deadbeat put you up to this?"

"Huh? Deadbeat?"

"Misato. She did, didn't she?"

"No! I mean, she wants to see you, but she didn't ask me." She shook her head and brushed past Shinji and he followed. "I just wanted to, y'know, make you feel included."

Asuka guffawed mockingly as she walked out of the garbage dump, "Included in what? Watching her get piss drunk all day, make promises she can't keep?"

Shinji attempted to catch up with her, "What's your problem with her? She's been nothing but nice to us."

"Yeah, cause she wants to impress the new kid on the block." Asuka glanced back at him. "You know what that is? It's called the honeymoon phase, genius. Once she gets bored, she'll forget you even exist." She began to walk faster, "I swear, she hasn't changed one bit…"

"But she has! Ms. Misato told me what happened, and she's been trying to be better."

Asuka stopped. She turned and stared at him, her resolve faltered, "She… told you?" A pout formed on her face, "Okay, fine, she's changed? What was the first thing she did when she brought you home?" Shinji opened his mouth, "Wait, wait, let me guess. She chugged a beer in ten seconds and screeched, right? A really loud one? Yeah, get used to that."

Shinji avoided eye contact with her. "I don't mind it. You know, a-at least she's relaxed enough to act like herself around me and talk things out." Shinji took a sharp breath, he would probably regret this, but it felt like the right thing to say, "Have you ever thought she might not be the problem here?"

"...Say again?"

"It just sounds like you're holding a grudge because you're not willing to give her a second chance. Bonds like that, they're- You should cherish them while you still-"

Asuka spoke over him. "Oh, I'm not holding a grudge. I just learned to get used to disappointment. Sure, it's fun hanging out with her. At first. Then you start to get burdensome, then you start to annoy her, then she'll drop you the first chance she gets."

He waited for her to finish, "...She neglected you?"

Asuka snorted, "What? No? You really think I'd ever put up with that? No- but I was just a kid, she'd get wasted during the day, then she'd leave for a week so she could shack up with her deadbeat boyfriend!" She crossed her arms and looked away, "Unlike you, I actually have self respect."

Shinji looked away as well. She hasn't left yet, so he could only assume that Asuka waited for him to talk. "My father drinks as well. I don't think I've ever seen him drink water once." He let out a weak chuckle and looked at Asuka. But she seemed to be miles away. "And he's not a very good father either. I feel like I'm just a nurse to him sometimes. B-but that's okay, y'know? Because he's still there for me, in his own way, he tries. It's not normal, I know. But he's family, and I'm grateful for that." He attempted to meet her eyes, "I think you and Ms. Misato have that, all you need to do is talk. I think she's willing to try, you should too."

She glanced at him. "You really want to die on this hill, don't you? Okay." Asuka only knew this mouth breather for a month, but for some indescribable reason, he knew just exactly how to get under her skin. On the flip side, his nerves were an open book. "What, mommy never gave you enough hugs so you're okay with being a doormat? Pfft. Grow up."

For the first time she met him, the seemingly toothless boy frowned, "...My mother died when I was four. Please don't make jokes like that."

A stone dropped in her stomach. "Wow, I really am good." Asuka turned to walk away, "And they said Freud was a fraud."

Shinji stood there as she walked away, she smirked at the prospect of winning the last- "That's easy for you to say, at least you have a mother!" He shouted out. "You don't know what it's like!"

Asuka froze.

"Wait, I'm just trying to say that- I don't know. I don't know what your life is like. And I might not know a whole lot, but when you lose someone like that, someone who cares about you as much as she does, it leaves a mark. Forever."

"..."

Asuka turned around and marched towards Shinji.

"And then when she's gone, every day you're gonna wish that you cherished those moments. Please, for your sake, just talk to-"

She grabbed his collar and jabbed a finger in his face. "Listen to me very carefully, because I'm only going to say it once." Asuka said calmly. "You're right. You don't know me, don't act like you know me. You know why? Because we're not friends. You got that? I'm not your buddy, I'm your co-worker." Asuka avoided eye contact. "I don't like you. You irritate me. That's it, end of story."

Shinji gulped, "But, w-when we, you were nice-"

"Yeah, no shit. I was in front of my boss. Of course I'm going to act professionally in front of my boss! I don't know why she wants us all to get along. You're probably gonna be dead by the end of the month anyways, why even bother? It's all just so you don't chicken out-"

"I'm not scared..."

Asuka pulled at his collar even tighter, "You should be! Cause I'm not always gonna be there to babysit you, and when they get their hands on you…" She leaned closer, her face inches away from his, Shinji broke free from her grasp and backed away. Asuka followed as they circled around the depot. "You'll wish you could run away. Do you even know what they look like?"

"I saw the concept projections of Sham-"

"Yeah, I thought the same too!" Asuka lunged to shove him, which he narrowly dodged. "Trust me, I'm doing you a favour, Third! Step into that EVA, and you're walking into a world of hurt. It's going to be ugly. You're not just gonna die. They'll rip you to bits first, skewer you, eat you alive! And Ms. Misato won't be there to rescue you." She stared at Shinji, who stopped in his place. "Just go. Run away. Go home or- anywhere." Her eyebrows creased ever so slightly, "Just get the hell out of here."

The two stared at each other for a long time.

"I-." Shinji finally said. "-I can't. I have to protect Ayanami."

Asuka took a step back. and scoffed, "You just don't get it, do you? There's nothing to protect. She's just a doll, you moron. If you really think you have a chance with her-"

"-It's not about that!"

"Then what!?"

A deafening alarm blared through the city that caused the two to look up.

She stared at him, unrelenting, "Then what?"

He didn't respond, he only stared back.

Asuka looked down for a moment, then stood aside and invited him to the subway station. "Last chance. I wouldn't tell anyone I saw you leave."

Shinji's fists clenched, his lips pressed tightly together as he stared her down, "I'm not going anywhere." He walked past her, what he said was nearly inaudible from the alarm, but it shot through her all the same.

"We should hurry, Langley."

As he ran past Asuka, he pulled something with him, something intangible. A surprise she never knew existed, gone with the squall of the wind, it left her with an empty feeling she forgot was even there.

And it made her scared. "...That's not-" She attempted quietly before she let the words disappear.

She stared at the vacant skyscrapers, they blared with red lights and shifted and melded together. The rising sun coupled with the alarm lights nearly scoured the city crimson.

This is all wrong. Nothing here is right, it's all twisted.

The only thing that stood out in this red hellhole was that stupid, baggy white shirt Shinji wore. It flapped in the wind as the unathletic boy jogged with gusto.

Asuka gulped. "...What an idiot."


They didn't run for long.

Before they could make it to Misato's, a black car with tinted windows drove in front of the sidewalk. Shinji assumed they were being kidnapped until Asuka nonchalantly barked at the Section-02 agent in the passenger seat to get out, so she could ride shotgun.

The drive to the Geofront was exceptionally uncomfortable.

Shinji's nerves only grew more finely wound while he waited by the cages with Naoko and Asuka. His brand new green plug suit with a gold trim chafed his skin. The Commander took her leisurely time to give a motivating speech on how they were the last hope of humanity, even as the alarms blared and Ms. Ibuki warned of the Angel's approach.

After a tense sprint to the ambush site, the two EVA's skidded to a stop and…

…Were told to wait on standby.

The two EVA's stood in front of the Odawara Coast, in an uncomfortable silence that could only be found in an elevator.

While the rusted Unit-01 faced the horizon, Unit-02 leaned sideways. Her pallet rifle nestled in between her crossed arms. The silence was only broken by her occasional sniffs.

Shinji hadn't seen a beach for nearly six years, and chose to admire its beauty and not the irritated girl beside him inside the weapon of mass destruction.

His feet felt cold from the water, even while inside Unit-01 and the LCL. When his feet shifted, he could feel the water travel into the cracks of his armour plates.

Regardless, none of this could alleviate his anxiety. The city's edge was only a minute's sprint away. If the Angel came just a bit closer in than they anticipated, people could get caught in the crossfire.

"Commander," Ritsuko called out through the comms, "Angel is an estimated two hundred klicks away from Odawara Coast."

Naoko cleared her throat through the comms. "Okay kids, you've seen the projections. It'll be a flying object. You can't miss it. Now, Shinji…" She said in a serious tone, "I don't want any heroics from you on your first day. Your job is to be on support for Asuka while she focuses on destroying the Angel's core. We're also near one of the fallout shelters. If there's any stragglers nearby, I need you to escort them to safety."

Unit-01 nodded, "Yes 'mam.."

Asuka turned to him, "Yeah, you hear that? Don't go charging in, new kid. I don't want you trying to take credit for my victory."

"Come now, Asuka. Be nice." The Commander cooed.

"Commander!" Ritsuko shouted, "Fifty klicks!"

"Good luck, kids. This is it!"

Asuka cracked her neck and aimed her pallet rifle at the sky, "Chance…"

"Twenty-five klicks!"

Shinji surveyed with his rifle, but found no flying objects among the clear skies, "Five klicks!"

"It's supposed to be right in front of us." Asuka turned to Shinji, "Do you see it?"

Unit-01 whipped its head around in search of the Angel, "N-no! Where-" He spun backwards, "-Is it invisible?"

Asuka scoffed, "What are you, stupid?" She looked down at her feet. "It's down here!"

"Where?"

"What do you think 'down' means?"

Shinji turned back to see the tiny Angel below their feet. "Ah!"

Above the shore's surface, a purple V-shaped head with two eyes stared at them blankly."Wait… why isn't it attacking us?"

Asuka snorted, "Who cares?" Unit-02 aimed her rifle.

Unit-01 grabbed 02's rifle, "Wait!"

She yanked it out of his grip, "What? Why?"

"It's just a head!" Shinji pointed to the head, which sunk slightly lower into the water.

Unit-02 stared at him in disbelief, her body hunched over, "...No, you retard!" She pointed at the Angel with her rifle, "It's swimming."

"Why isn't it attacking?" Ritsuko asked through the comm.

"I don't know…" The Commander responded, "But I really don't appreciate that language, Asuka."

Shamshel blinked innocently at the two EVAs.

Unit-01 tilted it's head. "You know, I think it might be shy-"

He was interrupted when Asuka shoved him aside, and opened fire on Shamshel's head with her pallet rifle.

The Angel seemed unbothered by this. It easily deflected the gunfire with its AT field and simply blinked.

"Wait, don't!" Shinji yelped, "Maybe it's intelligent!"

"It's about as smart as you!"

"There's no time to think, Shinji. Shoot it!" Misato shouted through the comms.

Shigeru Aoba joined in on the peanut gallery. "Maybe the new kid's right. It could be trying to communicate with us." Asuka ignored them as she reloaded her rifle and continued to open fire, with some stomps at Shamshel's head for good measure.

Smoke formed from the gunfire. Aoba chuckled. "Heh-hey, you know, it's actually kinda cute-" Shamshel rose from the shore, water spilled off it as it revealed its massive, phallic, vaginal, centipede like appearance and hissed, "-Oh my god!"

The Angel lunged at Asuka, which she deflected with an AT field. The Angel flew backwards and landed on its back. The writhing mass thrashed wildly.

Two long, glowing pink tendrils flailed out of Shamshels body, struck the water and parted under its sheer force.

It's tendrils raised in a deimatic display as Shamshel hissed. The red core tucked underneath it's head blared furiously, which blinded Shinji.

He stood, paralyzed. The LCL inside the entry plug turned cold. When Shamshel raised it's tendrils at the two, he did not react. "Move it, idiot!" Asuka shouted in between gunshots. At the last second, he was shoved out of the way by Asuka. "Are you deaf? I told you to-"

"Umbilical cables severed!" Hyuga called out. "Four minutes and fifty nine seconds until deactivation!"

Both EVA's slowly looked down at the power cables plugged to their back, now only sparkling stumps. The very ground around them was carved in by the Angel's energy tendrils.

Unit-02 shoved Unit-01, "Now look at what you did-" Asuka was interrupted by another assault of Shamshel's tendrils. This time, she grabbed onto the tendrils, unphased by them melting in her grip as they carved it's way into Unit-02's hands. "-You idiot!"

Shinji stood there, hands trembling as he watched the two struggle.

"Shinji?" Misato said through the comms, "Shinji!"

Asuka wound the tendrils along her forearms so she could get closer to Shamshel, "Make yourself useful, Third!"

Unit-01 glanced at the city. Shinji squinted as he caught something among the skyscrapers and gasped.

He dropped his rifle.


"What the hell is he doing!?" Misato exclaimed as she watched Shinji break into a sprint past Asuka and Shamshel, right towards the city. She flipped the comm switch, "Shinji!"

Shigeru Aoba pointed at his monitor, "I think it's okay!" He offered, "He's just going for one of the weapon depots-" Unit-01 sprinted right past the armoury building. "-Oh, no, never mind. We got a runner."

"What the shit, Third!?" Asuka exclaimed as she was thrashed side by side.

Naoko leaned in, "That's okay, Shinji! If you feel like you need a minute, don't force yourself-"

"Are you kidding me!?"

Shinji flipped on his comm switch. "It's not like that, Ms. Naoko! There's civilians on the outskirts, by the skyscraper!"

"That can wait, Shinji!" Misato respond, "Asuka needs you-"

"Like hell I do!" Asuka shouted, "I don't need him!"

Kyoko shoved Misato aside and spoke into the comms, "Langley, focus."

Shamshel grabbed Unit-02's ankles with it's tendrils, and with a single spin, it threw Asuka into the sky.

"Never be afraid to ask for help, Asuka!" Naoko called out.

Unit-02 flailed in the air briefly before Asuka plummeted into the water.

With incredible speed, Shamshel rippled through the water as it swam towards Asuka. It wrapped its energy tendrils around Unit-02, which seared into it's armour. Yet no cry was elicited from Asuka.

Shamshel attempted to drown Unit-02 in the ocean with a death roll akin to a crocodile's.

"Asuka, hang on, I swear I'll be right there!" Shinji shouted as Unit-01 skidded to a stop in front of the skyscraper.

"Drop - dead!" Asuka shouted back in between gasps of air.

"Don't worry, Shinji!" The Commander said, "You're doing great!"


"It's gonna kill us!" Toji pointed to the massive EVA that sprinted towards their skyscraper.

Kensuke kept his camera perfectly in frame as the pale purple titan skidded to a stop in front of them. Focus was nice, rule of thirds was in place…

"Ken, move it!" Toji grabbed Kensuke's jacket.

"Wait- wait!" He hissed. The EVA stopped, it's hand stretched out invitingly towards them, a massive cloud of dust formed behind him. In the background within the ocean, the other EVA wrestled with the pink monstrosity. Kensuke grinned, "And… cut!"

The EVA's hand inched closer to them and made the two boys back away. A deep, modulated voice blared out of the EVA. "CHILDREN. CLIMB ON." Kensuke and Toji covered their ears.

Back into the ocean, an explosion went off and with it, showering debris. The EVA shielded them from a boulder that fell their way.

"HURRY!"

Kensuke hid the camera behind his back, "Sir, I swear, we were just out looking for Toji's sister!"

"You're pinning this on me!? You just wanted to get a shot of the action!"

"CLIMB. NOW." The two scrambled into the palm of the EVA's hand without hesitation. "SORRY!"

Everything went dark. It used it's other hand to cup the two boys into a sort of dome.

Toji glanced at Kensuke, "Sorry?"

He nudged Toji's shoulder, their bodies jostled from the EVA's run. "I told you it was him!" Kensuke looked up at the top of the EVA's hand, "Hey, you're that new kid, Ikari, aren't you?"

"N-NO. I HAVE NO IDEA WHO THAT IS."

The sprinting EVA skidded to another stop. Kensuke and Toji flew onto the other side of the domed hand. They felt it's hands go lower down as wind rushed through the EVA's fingertips.

Suddenly, a blinding light struck their eyes as the EVA lifted it's hand to reveal the fallout bunker they snuck out of. "GET INSIDE. YOU WILL BE SAFE THERE." The EVA stepped back and turned away from them, but paused. It looked down at the two, "NERV THANKS YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION."

The EVA ran away from the bunker, towards a skyscraper and pulled out two massive cables.

The two stood there, frozen in utter confusion as they tried to regain their balance. Toji gasped for air as he leaned against the entrance to the shelter.

Kensuke blinked, "Holy shit…" He looked down at his camera, "I got all of that!" He lifted the camera to the sky, "I got it!"

"It really was him." Toji said. He looked back out to the city to see Shinji sprint towards the action, two cables in either hand. "Yeah, Shin-man!" He whooped, "Yeah! Kick it's ass!"


The lights inside her EVA blared red. "Unit-02 operational time limit at thirty seconds!" Ritsuko warned through the comms.

"Asuka!" Misato's voice nagged in her ear, "Get out of there and regroup with Shinji!"

"No!" She shouted back. Both of Unit-02's arms were wrapped tightly by Shamshel's tendrils, she fought to reach for her prog-knife, "I can still win!"

Unit-02 fell backwards into the water, the Angel stood at it's full height and towered over her.

"Twenty seconds!"

"Dammit, Asuka, now!"

"Come on, Asuka!" The Commander encouraged through the comms, "You can do it!"

A fire welled through her, the LCL boiled as Asuka fought to wrap the knife around her fingers.

"Ten seconds!"

The energy tendrils shot through her chest and shoulder, her hands free. "Now I got you!"

Asuka's knife struck at Shamshel's core, but only scratched the surface. She began to feel her vision blur, her breathing ragged. "One… more!"

"Five… four-"

"Come on!"

"Three-"

A second knife lodged into Shamshel's core, sparks flew out and it's blaring red light suddenly flickered. The Angel fell backwards and spasmed.

Then it became still, dead in the water.

She felt the stump of her umbilical cable get ripped out, and replaced with a new one as a surge energy rushed through her. "Power restored!" The lights inside her EVA went back to normal.

"...Eh?"

Asuka surveyed her surroundings, they were only a few steps away from Tokyo-03's outskirts. The very ground was carved in slices, water from the nearby shore flooded the lacerations and extinguished the immolated surface. She looked up to see Unit-01 stare at the Angel, arms stretched out wide in confusion. He… stole her kill?

He stole my kill.

Asuka's jaw dropped. She fumed. "You…"

"You did it!" The Commander cheered. "You defeated the Angel! I knew I picked a winner!"

Wait.

"He did it." Misato exhaled sharply. "He actually did it."

Unit-01 looked at the Shamshel's corpse, then at his hands. "I… did?" Shinji threw his arms up, "I did it!" From within her EVA, Unit-01 looked down at Asuka, "I mean- we, you mostly-"

He thinks I'm pathetic.

"That's score number two for humanity!" Naoko exclaimed through the comms, and in the background, the NERV crew cheered in response. "Shinji just saved humanity from extinction, and on his first try too!" Naoko pressed on the intercom, "What do you have to say to him?"

The hidden skyscrapers raised back up to the sky and rejoined the non essentials. A camera feed of the NERV crew showed up on her visuals, they were clapping. "Asuka, Shinji, you did it!" Maya Ibuki called out. "Congratulations!"

No.

"Congratulations! You're number one!""

The skyscrapers casted a shadow against the rising sun and they overlapped over the two EVAs.

"Great job, kid!"

A random voice off to the distance let out a hoot, "Hell yea, Shin-man!"

Unit-01 spun around, unsure what to do with his hands. She could feel his smile through his radio line. "Thank you!"

After a moment, the lavender EVA looked down at Unit-02 and offered it's hand, "Are you okay?"

"Congratulations!"

She stood on her own two feet and stared at Unit-01. Through the camera feed, she attempted to stare daggers through to Shinji, who smiled innocently, his hand still extended.

He read the scornful expression on her face, and his smile slowly dropped.

"Asuka…" Misato warned.

"What was the one thing I told you not to do?" She said, her breath shaken.

"Congratulations!"

"H-huh?"

Asuka batted away his hand, and the cheering stopped, replaced with confused murmurs. "The one thing, what was it?"

Unit-01 shook its head, "I don't- I was trying to help-"

"Did I ask you for your help!?" She shoved him in response, "That was my mark! Mine!"

"Asuka, what on earth are you doing!?" The Commander exclaimed. "This isn't like you."

Ritsuko sighed through the comms, "She's right. If he didn't interfere, you would've died."

"That's not true! I had it! I-" Unit-02 grabbed a nearby tree that stood at her knees and yanked it out from its roots. She flung it into the ocean and stumbled with the toss, "-Fucking had it!"

It plummeted loudly into the ocean.

Asuka reached for another tree, a larger one that reached her waist. She ripped it out and used it as a makeshift club. Unit-02 readied to swing at a nearby skyscraper-

She was stopped by Unit-01, who grabbed her shoulder. "Don't!" Shinji called from inside.

Unit-02 whipped back, and the club loomed over Shinji, ready to strike. Unit-01 flinched.

Asuka froze. Shinji stared at her pleadingly through the visual feed.

"Langley. Report to HQ. Now."

She panted heavily, her eyes focused on Shinji as she slowly lowered the tree.

The Commander's voice sent shivers down her spine. "I'm very disappointed in you."

The tree slipped from her fingers and crashed into the concrete. Unit-01 looked down, "I'm… I'm sorry-"

Unit-02 brushed it's shoulder as she passed him. "Then stay out of my hair next time." She gave the EVA and backwards glance, "Ikari." Asuka broke off into a sprint.

"I just wanted to help you!" Shinji stared at her as she slowly became more and more obscure.

No response.

"Don't worry about her, Shinji." Naoko said reassuringly through the feed, "She'll come around."

Shinji looked down and sighed.

He began the long walk back to terminal dogma.


Asuka panted heavily as dug in the pedals of the stolen NERV bike, narrowly dodging cars that swerved out of the way. When she reached the entrance of her apartment complex, she leapt off the bike and stomped her way up the stairs.

The first thing the Commander made her do when she returned to Central Dogma was deliver a heartfelt apology to Shinji in front of the entirety of the bridge crew, about how she behaved unprofessionally, how she valued his help, how this sort of tantrum would never happen again.

She felt so embarrassed that she could practically feel her face redden, the reflection of the monitors looked as though her head was swollen and about to burst from the itchy green and gold plug suit, the gold lined collar tightened like a rubber band ready to pop.

Shinji looked down at her feet throughout the entire apology, he knew it wasn't genuine. Either that or he was too much of a wimp to look her in the eye. Either way, she could care less.

He didn't even respond afterwards, he just hung his head and waited for her to go away.

Before anyone else could continue to lecture, Ritsuko whispered something in Naoko's ear, and she was excused. For that, she was grateful.

Asuka slowly walked out at first, but began to run when Misato tried to follow her.

She would be punished for this later. Somehow and in some way, she always was. And she had it coming.

Naoko was never wrong.

The apartment was empty when she came in, nothing new. Her guardian was still at work after all.

Asuka couldn't believe she was saying this, but she missed those damn cats.


She fixed herself a premium dinner as a treat for her near-second Angel kill: Pork stock ramen with tabasco sauce.

And it was her kill. That idiot just got the credit, that's all.

As Asuka squeezed the bottle in the paper bowl, a sharp pain burned into her hands, as though the bottle seared into her flesh. With a hiss, she dropped the bottle into the ramen bowl, which in turn toppled over and spilled hot soup onto her lap.

"Dammit!" Asuka exhaled sharply and let the pain fade away. Not the worst burn she's had by a long shot. She stood up and stared at the mess. Asuka scoffed, "Great. That's great." She stomped her way to the kitchen to grab some paper towels.

"Are you alright?" A soft voice asked.

She practically leapt in the air she spun to face the front door, despite the fact that she already knew who it was. Of all the things Rei Ayanami forgot after her 'close calls', learning how to knock was an ever constant habit. Asuka used to have a book full of things for her to remember, but after a certain point, just gave up.

"...What do you want?" Asuka responded.

Rei looked down at the stack of papers she held in her arms. "These are your study guides. Horaki asked me to give them to you." She looked up, as though she recollected something, "And for you to call her back. She was concerned."

"Sure. Just-" She gestured to the dining room table, "-Leave it there." Asuka eyed Rei up and down as she gently set the stack of papers down, "I haven't seen you around for a while, what have you been up to?"

Rei considered, "I made a friend."

Asuka looked down and frowned, "The Third Child?"

"No, a girl in our class. Her name is Kirishima."

"Oh, cool. Cool." Asuka nodded, "Is she keeping you busy?"

"Not really." Rei studied Asuka, who stared at her with a trembled pout. "I shall leave you alone." She turned around.

"Wait-" Asuka called out, "-You don't have to."

Rei turned back at Asuka. "But…you ordered me to leave you alone."

"No." Asuka scratched at the ramen stain on her pants, "I mean, you don't have to do that anymore, if you don't want to."

Rei stared blankly at her, "I see. You are ordering me to disregard my prior orders?"

Asuka nodded, "Yeah." She said, her voice hoarse from all the shouting earlier. Asuka leaned on the table, "Do you wanna-" Asuka cleared her throat, "-Play some video games? I still have Melee." This, she had to remember-

"Video games?" Rei tilted her head, "What are video games?"

She exhaled sharply. "They're uh, they're fun. If you wanna play."

"Are you… ordering me to play video games with you?"

Asuka's lips pressed tightly together as she fought back the burning sensation in her eyes. "Yeah." She rasped. "That's an order."


Author's Notes:


Thank you so much for reading! This one took more of a while than other's mainly due to all the sub-plots I wanted to introduce. There were much more, but I decided to save them for future chapters or combine them together (For example, Shinji's first day of school and the Trident Trio chatting was suppose to be two scenes, but that's no fun, is it?) But yeah, started this in September now here we are. I'd love to hear more of your thoughts! Stay tuned for Chapter 4: Toust est Perplexe

I'd like to give a huge shout out to my beta readers from the Asushin server: YourBlandestNightmare, Doc, Greg242, TheLegend27 and SheriffJonesStone! You guys are the real ones, and you help my ideas get off the air, so I owe ya one.

Till the next one, stay safe and have a happy new year!