Shinji stepped out of an all-terrain transport vehicle roughly hour after the battle against Sixth Angel ended, as all airborne vehicles were busy dousing the forest-fires that had been started by the fighting and thus couldn't provide air-transport for the recovered pilots.

A pair of camouflage-uniformed people Shinji presumed were soldiers helped Shinji walk as he was in a state of shock after the loss of someone he considered his friend, not to mention the aftershock of realizing that his firing of the Positron Rifle had likely evaporated Suzuki's body to the point it probably couldn't even be buried.

Shinji's hands curled into fists as his rage towards Asuka was re-ignited. 'If only she had followed orders, if only… Was that what Misato-san felt when I refused to pilot the EVA initially? I… But I was just a civilian, and Asuka was supposed to be a trained professional!'

The soldiers brought Shinji to the briefing container-room from before, except that the container had already been mounted on top of a truck.

The two soldiers nodded to Shinji before leaving him to lean against the door on the side of the container-room.

Shinji reached for the door with numb fingers and managed to get a grip after a few tries… And pushed the door open.

He looked around inside the room, and spotted Kaji, who was leaning against the room's wall, and Rei, who had been recovered from her Entry-Plug and who had a bandage across her forehead.

Seeing Rei sent a wave of relief across Shinji's body and he took a few steps forwards… Before losing his self-control and hugging Rei as she turned towards Shinji to greet him.

"Pilot… Ikari?" Rei sounded quite surprised by the familiar act. "I… do not understand."

"I… We… Suzuki-kun…" Shinji's body shivered against his will. 'I need to be strong, I can't show weakness, I can't… I can't… I can't…'

His eyes teared up against his will and his hug around Rei's shoulders tightened. "We…. I failed, I failed…"

"Pilot Ikari- Shinji-kun, you terminated Sixth Angel. I don't understand…" Rei told him- But before she could say anything else, Shinji rested his forehead against her shoulder.

Rei seemed even more puzzled than ever, and sent a confused look around the room… Before she lifted her hands almost experimentally and reached to pat Shinji's back a bit in an awkward manner while using both of her hands.

"Young lovers, may I have your attention…" Kaji reminded the two of his presence after giving the two a moment. "You two might want to know that Asuka-chan was recovered already as well. She's in a shower, clearing her head and all, and Misato-san is briefing Fuytsuki. Katsuragi told me to keep you two here until she gets back and can debrief you two. Mari's slipped to who-knows-where, that girl is seriously going to be the end of us all..."

"...Fine." Shinji let go of Rei who took a step back in confusion before resuming her silent vigil beside the table that was in the center of the 'room'. "Rei… I'm glad you survived."

"I am glad that Pilot- Shinji-kun survived as well." Rei answered, and looked down as Shinji reached to hold Rei's hand. However, it looked like Rei didn't object as she didn't pull her hand off his.

The door of the room opened after a while and Asuka walked in, her hair disheveled after the shower yet she was still clad in her plug-suit, either signaling that she had taken a shower in the suit or that she had been too distracted to bother taking it off. "I'm back. What did I miss- Oh. You. Second Child."

Asuka turned to glare at Shinji, and opened her mouth while putting her hands on her hips, clearly in preparation for another verbal barb, clearly preparing to insult Shinji after getting Suzuki killed, clearly preparing to deflect blame once again…

Something snapped in Shinji's head and he saw red.

.

His next conscious moment came in the form of Kaji pulling Shinji off Asuka, after Shinji had charged her and started to choke her and slam her head against the floor of the command-room.

Not that Shinji had gotten away with it easily, as Asuka had responded by hitting him square in the face multiple times before she had lost consciousness, causing Shinji's nose to break and for him to probably lose a teeth or two.

"GRRAAAAHHHHHHH!" Shinji roared in anger as Kaji put him into some sort of choke-hold, all the while the boy was clawing to get his hands on Asuka again. To make her repent, to make her feel the pain her idiocy had caused on others- To take revenge for Suzuki's death.

However, Shinji's head started to spin as Kaji tightened his forearm-grip that he had tied around Shinji's neck, and he blacked out soon afterwards.

.

Shinji woke up, this time in some sort of containment cell that seemed to be moving.

He looked around the greenish-gray room… And felt something on his arms.

Shinji looked at his hands and noted that he had been handcuffed.

"So you woke up. What the hell was that, Shinji-kun?!" A voice came from the cramped room's intercom and Shinji realized that the 'room' was likely the back-seat of a police van or something like that. "We're on our way back to NERV HQ. Asuka's in an ambulance, she got concussed pretty darn badly by your assault- Dammit, what the hell were you trying to do to her?!"

"What she deserved." Shinji pushed his back against the seat of the police car, straightening his posture and channeling his rage to cold determination. He may have failed to avenge Suzuki for now, but he would not let Asuka get away with it. "What she deserved for her vainglory. For getting Suzuki-kun killed."

"Asuka- What are you talking about? Second is alive!" Misato's voice sounded outright baffled. "Here- You, take over."

"Ah, greetings. I went to NERV HQ to talk about my reward for the help, but it seemed that Gendo-kun was not available. I heard something happened between the mech, er, EVA-pilots when I came back to debrief Misato-san before the pilot's debriefing?" Suzuki's voice was as calm and collected as ever. "Umu, good job with the Angel, Shinji. I knew you had what it took- My trust in you was not misplaced. Anyway, I overheard something about concussions and whatnot? Were you hurt by the Nuc- Ahem, the blast?"

"I…" Shinji's mouth turned quite dry all of a sudden. "I… I…"

'...What did I just…' Shinji felt as if his world had started to spin as he realized what he had done in his insatiable rage, and what he had wanted to do to the fellow pilot for her slight. "I… Asuka-san, what I did… I…"

Shinji's head blanked out before he could think much more, the weight of his actions crashing down upon his mind and proving too much for the teenager-turned-warfighter.

.

He woke again, this time in a white hospital-room.

Shinji sat up and looked down to see that his hands were still cuffed.

"What did I do…"

"Ikari-kun." A female voice came from somewhere near Shinji, and he looked to the side to see that Rei was sitting beside his bed, still clad in her plug-suit. "I brought food. Please eat. Afterwards I'll go through what happened and what is happening currently."

Rei pointed at a tray of already-cold food in the side-table of the bed.

Shinji reached to put the tray on his lap with numb hands and began to eat.

"Pilot Langley-Sohryu has fallen into a coma." Rei restarted the conversation after Shinji put his tray to the side. Not that he had managed to eat much. "Unit-00 is currently being refitted and its leg and fingers have been re-attached. Unit-02 remains one-legged. Unit-01 is being repaired, although it has only suffered superficial damage that prevents its use for a few days at most. The operation was deemed successful, despite the loss of the Positron Rifle, which is beyond repair."

"And Suzuki-kun?"

"Second is alive and is currently in the operations center with captain Katsuragi." Rei intoned, although she didn't look into Shinji's eyes and was looking at the wall of the room.

Shinji was quiet for a long moment. "...I'm sorry."

"I am not sure what you are apologizing for."

"For what I did to Asuka, I-"

"I am not sure why you are apologizing to me." Rei didn't avert her gaze from the wall for a while… Until she turned her eyes to Shinji. "Why?"

"I… I thought Asuka's actions, her change in plans, that it had all caused Suzuki-kun to die… Misato said that the second Pattern Blue had disappeared before Sixth Angel, so…" Shinji tried to get his words out of his mouth before he'd choke on it. "When Asuka walked in, all proud and haughty after that, I just… I saw red. And the next thing I knew I was in a police car or something."

"..." Rei was quiet for a long while as she looked at Shinji. She then turned to look at the wall once more. "...Pilot Ikari's mental state has been compromised by Unit-01's initial Rampage."

"That's not-! That isn't what happened, I just…" Shinji deflated as his actions caught up to him. 'I thought I could just hide my anger, hide my weakness, hide my cowardice and channel it to put up confident airs… Instead, it all unleashed when I lost control over myself… I… Suzuki-kun… How do you maintain your calmness? Your determination? How are you not overwhelmed by what you've withstood?'

Shinji felt envious of the apparent ease at which his father and Suzuki controlled their emotions, showing what they wanted the world to see and hiding their weaknesses from all but themselves.

Yet, at the same time…

"I need to take responsibility for my actions. Rei-chan-"

"Pilot Ayanami." Rei's voice was quite unreadable.

"...I see. Ayanami-san. I lost control over myself in a moment of rage, thinking I'd have lost Suzuki-kun. The fear, the terror I felt, that I'd lose you and everyone I cared… It all came out at that moment, and I hurt Asuka. I need to right my wrongs- Can I see Asuka-san?" Shinji felt his determination to make up for his mistakes rise, even though Ayanami's rebuttal of him using a familiar way of referring to her hurt Shinji more than he wanted to admit. 'No matter how long it takes, I'll make sure Asuka recovers…'

Shinji adjusted the bandage and nose-straightener that he had on his face, both the results of Asuka's wild punch that had broken his nose, and attempted to stand up from the hospital-bed… Only for Rei to place her hand on Shinji's chest.

"Pilot Ikari is forbidden from interacting with Pilot Langley-Sohryu until she recovers, and this decision has been decided upon by NERV command. Pilot Langley-Sohryu suffered a severe concussion so it's possible it may take days to weeks for her to recover, assuming that she recovers to be like she was before." Rei sounded quite strict.

"...I see. But… If Suzuki-kun is here, if he's still alive, he can heal Asuka-san. I need to go and tell him about her state! I... I'll make sure he's compensated, I'll right my wrongs- Just you wait!" Shinji remembered the sight of Suzuki taking a pipette and putting a drop of some sort of liquid on Asuka's heel after she had broken it by trying to kick Suzuki in the head. 'I have to beg Suzuki-kun to heal Asuka! He can do it, I'm certain of that…'

Rei looked at Shinji for a long time… Before turning her eyes back towards the wall. "Pilot Ikari has been placed under house arrest by command of Captain Katsuragi until Pilot Ikari's mental state has been reviewed and a psychiatric evaluation has been completed on the issue of whether or not Pilot Ikari remains a viable choice to pilot Unit-01."

"Ah…" Shinji felt conflicting emotions once more… But lifted his face up in defiance. "I understand. Then do so. I'll accept my punishment, so please tell them to do what they see appropriate. But who would pilot Unit-01 in my stead? Mari, right? I'm glad if that's the case..."

"Mari Makinami Illustrious has shown compatibility with Unit-02. She will undergo a synchronization test with Unit-01 in a few hours." Rei kept her eyes on the wall all the while… And Shinji reached to grab the girl's shoulders as best as he could in an attempt to turn her to face towards him.

Rei dodged out of the way and stood up before moving outside of his reach. "Pilot Ikari. Explain."

"I…" Shinji realized that his reaching-out was likely similar to the lunge he had done for Asuka. 'Not… Not good, if I don't clarify this, then- Rei…' "I just wanted to turn you towards me. When you look away it's- I... ah… I'm sorry. I know it's selfish to ask you to look at me after what happened, but… Do you hate me? I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry."

"I do not hate Pilot Ikari." Rei told Shinji while looking at him. "However, I have been given a task to complete."

"Interrogating me, right?"

"Correct."

"...I see. In that case, I've told you what happened from my point of view… What happens now?" Shinji's mouth became quite dry.

"It is for other people to decide. It is getting late. Please sleep, Pilot Ikari." Rei backed out of the room, leaving Shinji alone with his thoughts.

The sliding door closed after Rei, and the key-pad next to the door turned red to indicate that it had been locked.

Shinji pulled his knees against his chest and hugged them… And whacked his head against his knees. "I'm such an idiot… I should have just… Haa… Asuka... I'm so sorry..."

.

.

Rei entered a room adjacent to the hospital room where Shinji was being held, deep inside Central Dogma.

"Rei." Misato greeted the girl and offered her a cup of tea. "Thank you. That must have been hard for you."

"Mission: 'Interrogating Pilot Ikari' has been carried out successfully." Rei intoned emotionlessly without taking the offered cup. "Pilot Ayanami is standing by for new missions."

"Ugh…" Misato looked away. "I take it that you don't approve?"

"Pilot Ikari's rage was… Predictable in hindsight, considering circumstances. Kaji Ryoji failed to tell that Second had survived the Positron Rifle's blast, and failed to stop Shinji-kun until he had rendered Pilot Langley-Sohryu into unconscious state, despite having the chance to do so as Inspector Ryoji has a record of considerable talent in hand-to-hand combat." Rei's voice was emotionless as she looked at the one-way mirror that showed the inside of Shinji's hospital room. "It was unexpected that Pilot Ikari would react so violently, but at the same time, uncontrolled rampage is Unit-01's signature ability so the fact it manifested in Pilot Ikari should have been prepared for, as mental cross-contamination is well documented between EVA pilots and EVA Units."

"...Right. So you don't approve." Misato sighed. "You slipped and called him 'Shinji-kun' again just now."

Rei's expression didn't change but her cheeks gained a very slight tint of red. "A mistake."

"...You don't have to lie to me." Misato downed her cup of tea while looking at Shinji who was cursing himself, his weakness, and was seemingly repeating some sort of mantra while hugging his knees against his chest and rocking back and forth on the hospital-bed. "What is Shinji-kun chanting?"

"Ahem- I cannot be weak, I cannot be afraid. I have to be strong, stronger than hate, stronger than fear. I cannot be weak. I cannot be afraid. I have to be strong, stronger than hate, stronger than fear. In my spirit lies my strength, in my arms lie my fate. I have to be strong, stronger than hate, stronger than fear..." Rei coughed and spoke aloud what both of them heard.

"I got what he was chanting, but… Alright, fine why is Shinji-kun chanting that?" Misato sighed as Rei was clearly throwing a hissy-fit over Shinji's treatment- Albeit in her own way, which was to act extremely submissive and literal to the point of being obtuse.

"I do not know, Captain Katsuragi."

"Call me Misato-chan…"

"Very well, Captain Katsuragi…"

"Uuuugh…" Misato groaned into her teacup over Rei's behavior. "Listen, I can't just not do anything when one of my pilot's knocks the other out to the point of coma. What do you want me to do, just shake my finger at Shinji and ignore that he brutalized Asuka?! What sort of message would that send?! Remember that Kaji is not only someone who follows me around like a horny dog, but also NERV Inspector for the UN and you can bet that Shinji's little outburst is going into the report Kaji makes to the UN!"

"I am a Pilot, Captain Katsuragi. Strategic asset handling is not part of my expected role."

Shinji jumped in the room as Misato whacked her head against the one-way mirror.

"Fine, be obtuse." Misato huffed and walked out of the room, took a few steps over to Shinji's hospital room, opened the door, and walked in. "Shinji-san."

"Misato-san. I'll open this conversation by saying that I deeply regret what I did, and acted in blind anger. This incident will not repeat itself-" Shinji seemed to have gotten a grip on himself between Rei leaving and Misato entering the room.

"Yeah, it will not. Because you've been given a verbal warning, removal of monthly allowances, and a prohibition of approaching Asuka, effective immediately and lasting until NERV sees it appropriate to lift it." Misato bunched her arms up. "I'm disappointed in you, Shinji-kun. You brought us victory, but that isn't an excuse to just do what you want. Asuka may be a Pilot, but she's still a teenager just as you- It's not right for you to just lash out at your fellow pilots, and even more if that involves fists!"

"I am aware. My control slipped in rage… That is a weakness our enemies will seek to exploit. Therefore it must go. I can see that now- A lesson taught in the blood of an innocent on my hands. That will not repeat itself." Shinji turned his eyes towards Misato who almost blanched from the Gendo-like coldness in the teenager's gaze, which was utterly terrifying for Misato when it came from a mere teenager who should not be in circumstances that would force him to adopt such a gesture. "I accept that as punishment. However, I wish to see Suz- Second. I believe that I can negotiate with him for Asuka's healing. I believe that he is capable of doing so."

"Denied. Second may play nice for now, but remember that he. Is. An. Angel." Misato growled at Shinji. "Wait, what do you mean he can heal Asuka?"

"When Asuka broke her heel by kicking Second in the head, Second healed her-"

"...Shit." Misato groaned and went to whack her head against the wall in frustration. "I forgot he can do that too… Second is seriously bullshit. Is there something he can't do?! Right- I should have remembered that as well, he used some sort of red liquid to heal me aboard the carrier when Sixth attacked us. Do you think he can heal Asuka?"

"I told you that already. I wish to meet Second- Father has already asked too much of him, and I wish to share his burden." Shinji's voice was cold and calculating, sending a wave of coldness down Misato's spine as she realized that Shinji's determination was taking him down a very dark path- Something that Gendo had clearly had gone down on already.

To see someone so young go down that path as well… It did not sit well with Misato.

"...No. That is not something that is expected of you. I'll bear that burden. I'm your caretaker, and your commander. So I both command you… and ask you to leave this to me." Misato had no idea what Gendo had promised Second in exchange for his aid, but she figured that she could just ask Second what he wanted. There was a quite a bit of things she could arrange for Second, as she was the Chief of Operations of NERV. And while that position didn't exactly mean much outside NERV's command-bridge, she could probably influence Ritsuko and ask Fuytsuki for resources to at least do something in exchange for Asuka's healing.

'It isn't as if Shinji is privy to some secret about Second. Right? Er, unless… Gendo hasn't talked to Shinji about things, right?' Misato was wavering a bit, however. Even more so when she remembered the utterly uncaring, yet somehow chilling 'gentle reminder' Second had given Misato when she had offered the DSS choker to Second without knowing the full extent of DSS choker's function. '...Fuck. If that request goes poorly… Not to mention I blew his door open with a LAW… Right. Option three- We do it together.'

"Alright. I've reconsidered! We'll meet Second together. That scenario with Asuka won't repeat ever again. Do I have your word on it?" Misato told Shinji, who nodded resolutely and lifted his hands.

Misato hesitated only momentarily before unlocking Shinji's shackles, feeling that she was not so much freeing Shinji but rather, unleashing him. As strange as it felt to feel fear towards someone who looked like a somewhat scrawnier-than-average teenage boy.

But, the Shinji in front of Misato had clearly inherited Gendo's eyes.

.

.

"Haa…" Momonga was feeling a bit relieved, if he was honest to himself, as he looked at Asuka who was in a coma in a hospital-bed. '...It feel like bit of a bastard to be glad that a teenage girl is comatose, but on the other hand… I won't be reminded of my cringy past if Asuka isn't around to invoke her chuuni all around the place and cause a backslash on me.'

He had gone over to the girl's hospital room in order to talk to her about her performance during the battle, but it seemed that Shinji had gotten his hands on her first and had concussed her quite severely.

Momonga noted that the unmoving, comatose girl had an oxygen mask on her face and she was quite pale. 'Hm. I might have to have a talk with Shinji as well… On one hand I feel like thanking him for not only weakening NERV's offensive arm by reducing their number of pilots, and therefore EVA's they can put on the field, but also for reducing the amount of chuuni I have to endure… But at the same time, I feel that if Shinji and Asuka were fellow 'guild-mates' of sort, then their internal dynamic seems quite toxic… Team-building exercises might do them some good…'

'...But at the same time, doing so would just strengthen NERV. Hm. How perplexing.' Momonga bunched his arms together as he thought about the dilemma. 'Although, although… I achieved partial integration of S2 Organ into the Positron Rifle, so if I convert the Pilots themselves under my banner by acting as a mentor… And attach S2 Organs to the EVA's, removing their energy-dependency on NERV's supplied power… I could have a squad of EVA-mechs to support me once NERV cuts ties with me and we turn hostile to one another.'

'A few [Remote Mine]'s would likely also ensure that the EVA's won't be used against me if I fail to persuade the pilots or they turn on me after I fit S2 Organs on them… The Sixth Angel's explosion seemed to be quite powerful even outside the [Nuclear Blast] so it's likely that a good, solid explosion on S2 Organ and armor surrounding it would cause the core to detonate, and thus allow me to integrate a remote kill-switch, literally, into the EVA's… I have two S2 Organs already, so I'd just need one more to have a set of three EVA's… My collector's instincts are tingling again…' Momonga schemed further while nodding to himself. 'Hm. Hm… Hehe… Umu, and when Gendo comes back, I'll just ask him to help me search for 'a large tomb', and detail Nazarick's above-surface appearance…'

'Life is good, life is good…'

Momonga realized that he had started to use 'Skeleton Shuffle'-dance emote roughly thirty seconds after he had done so.