"So it's agreed that the upcoming stargazing night will be held on the roof of Ikari's apartment building," The President of the Astronomy Club said. The other members, Shinji included among them, nodded their assent.
"Too bad that we couldn't get on the roof of Wille headquarters," One of the club members lamented. "It's the tallest building in the city. We wouldn't have to worry about light pollution."
"I tried talking to my guardian about it," Shinji stated, "But he said it couldn't be done."
"At they very least, we got Ikari's apartment in compensation," the President said. "It's still better than the roof of the school."
"So unless someone has anything else," The membership was silent. "I think that's it for today," she said as she put on her coat. "I'll see you all tomorrow." The other members rose from their chairs and in groups of two and three, left the clubroom. Shinji was grabbing his bag when the President tapped his shoulder.
"I really should thank you," she told him.
"It's the least I could do," Shinji replied. "I mean I'm a new member, so I thought it was the best way to contribute.
"No problem," she replied "Anyway…do you want to come with us to a cafe that just opened up?" the President, with a couple of other members right next to her, asked him.
"I already have plans," he replied. "Perhaps another day."
"Sure," she answered, then gave him a wave and smile before walking away. Shinji went the opposite direction, where he passed by Miyoko heading off towards the music room. She shifted her eyes towards him, but said nothing as they passed each other. Shinji didn't know what to make of her. She seemed level headed, and perhaps a bit standoffish, but what was to him the most curious thing about her was that there was something that was…familiar, yet he just couldn't put his finger on it. He made his way down a flight of steps pondering over it and met Miyashima at the shoe lockers.
Hey Ikari, do you want to head over to he arcade?" he asked when he saw him. "I still want a rematch."
"It'll have to be another time," Shinji replied "I got things to do."
"Oh, so you're going to be with your girlfriend?" Miyashima asked with a mischievous grin on his face. Shinji didn't say anything, but he simply glared at him in reply. How many times did he tell him Mari wasn't his girlfriend? Miyashima shrank away from the glare and raised his hands in surrender.
"I'm joking, joking, okay." The glare was lifted. "How about this weekend then?"
"If nothing comes up for me, sure."
"Great. See you around," Miyashima said as he left. Shinji put on his street shoes and walked to the station where he got on the train heading to the fifth ring. The Wunder had come in again, the first time in three months, and he wasn't sure how long she was going to be in port. He did promise Mari and Sakura that he would come and visit them, and he was going to keep that promise today.
He walked until he found a park bench where he sat down and put on a pair of roller blades, knee and elbow pads, and a helmet on his head. After putting his shoes in his bag, he began to glide down the walkway. He only had gotten a handle on forward movement and stopping as well as turning corners. He couldn't do any tricks like Mari, but he was proud of what he was able to do and couldn't wait to show Mari. He was even hoping that she could give him a few pointers. He went at a leisurely pace as he was on his way, and soon was in sight of the apartment complex. Burke had told him once that most of the Wunder crew live at the same complex in case there had to be a rapid deployment. The building was not as grand as the complex that he was living in, but it appeared to be nice, at least from the outside. He came up to the building, and after exchanging his blades for his shoes, went inside.
As he walked the hallway and began to go up the stairs, he checked the addresses that both Mari and Sakura gave to him. If he read them right, all three lived on the 10th floor, so that would save him some time. He made his way to the floor and walked at a slow pace looking at each door number until he came to the door to Asuka and Mari's apartment, their nameplate right on the doorway. He pressed the screen below it to ring the bell, but a message appeared on the screen instead stating that neither of them were in and to please leave a message.
He ignored that request and went to Sakura's apartment, which produced the same result. With a sigh, he began to make his way to the stairwell, but hadn't taken three steps when an idea entered his mind. Taking out of his pocket the third sheet, he made his way up three more floors, and once again made a careful look at each door until he came upon the right one. He took a long look at the nameplate, which stated Katsuragi, and brought his finger to press on the doorbell, but he stopped, his finger hovering right above the button. After a minute of hovering, he took his finger away, and he turned around to make his way back, figuring if he was lucky maybe he'll see one of them as they passed each other, though he doubted that would happen. He took just a single step on his way, when he heard a voice behind him.
"Shinji?" He turned around to find Ritsuko in the hallway. She was wearing a business suit, dark blue in color and had a satchel swung over her shoulder. The two stared at each other for a few more seconds before she spoke.
"I see you're attending school now. I hope you're doing well."
"I'm fine, thank you," he replied. Ritsuko then looked over towards the door that he standing in front of.
"I'm sorry, but the Captain is on board the Wunder at this time," she said. "We're in port for just a couple of days and then we have to head out again, so there's no guarantee she'll be able to stop at her place or for how long. It's same for the pilots. Even I only had enough time to grab a change of clothes for a meeting." She walked past him.
"Take care of yourself Shinji," She said over her shoulder. "I hope we can meet again in more favorable conditions." She continued to walk as Shinji stared at where she originally stood. He remembered he time when he saw her at Wille headquarters and followed her, though it led to nothing. Now she was here, and that desire was still there. Was he going to let it slip by now?
"Wait!" He yelled at he turned towards her. Ritsuko stopped and looked back towards him.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Tell me," Shinji said.
"Tell you what?" Her voice expressed annoyance.
"What happened," Shinji replied. "What happened all those years ago. How did the world get to be this way? I need to know." Ritsuko's eyes widened for a couple of seconds before returning to their normal size.
"I don't understand," she said. "I thought you were briefed on these matters when you arrived in the city."
"I was only told some vague stuff, not what actually happened." She asked.
"Didn't your school or the tutor you had tell you anything?"
"Just the stuff everyone knows," Shinji replied. "Not any of the details that you or Misato or Asuka know."
"Well after all these months living here, I'm sure you could now ask the Commander or Vice-Commander."
"There's no point, they'll just say I'm not ready," Shinji answered. "I even tried to find out on my own, but I couldn't get access to any of the systems… And now, I'm stuck." Ritsuko began to pace in a circle around the width of the hallway, looking at a tablet she took out of her satchel. After a few minutes, she stopped and turned to Shinji.
"24 hours," she said. "I need 24 hours to get all the materials that are required." A small smile came upon Shinji's face."
"Really? That's great, but I thought you said that you didn't—"
"I'll make time," She interrupted him. "When are you done with school tomorrow?"
"At four," Shinji answered. "Usually, I just go to my club and—"
"Skip it," she interrupted him again. "I should have everything ready by the time you're done with school." She tapped on her pad and began tapping. "If you would come here again after school, everything will be explained then. Is that all right with you?"
"Uh, sure," Shinji replied.
"All right," she said. "Just one favor though. Could you not tell anyone about this?" Shinji cocked his head a little.
"Why?" he asked.
"It's just that if the Commander or Vice-Commander were to find out they would try to convince you not to go on with it or try to stop it in some other way. And then, how are you able to find out? How much longer do you have to wait?" Shinji tried to sort through the pros and cons her request coming to the conclusion that she did have a valid point.
"O…Okay," he said.
"Excellent," she said, I'll walk out of the building with you." They said nothing to each other on the way out except when they were at the main door when she wished him a good day until tomorrow. Shinji watched her walk away before putting on his blades to return home. He couldn't tell if he was excited or nervous about finding out. It was sometimes difficult for him to discern between the two emotions.
He had only gotten around two and a half hours of sleep during the night and at school the next day, he felt like falling asleep in class, but he couldn't even take a nap in homeroom, the roller coaster of emotions keeping him off balance leading to him miss his name being called on in class a couple of times. After school, he told a member of the astronomy club that he wouldn't be in today and raced off to Headquarters. He was met at the gate by Ritsuko and one other person.
"Glad to see you're here," she said to him. "Shinji, you might not remember him, but this is Lt. Commander Hyuga. He was on the bridge staff at Nerv HQ on the old days and is now third in command on the Wunder."
"How do you do," Shinji greeted him. He did not speak, but acknowledged his greeting with a slight nod.
"Now that everyone's been introduced, shall we head on to my apartment?" Ritsuko said. As they approached the complex door, the three were met by a man coming out. He was rather large man, bald with dark skin and a very unusual beard in that it while it covered his cheeks and chin, the space between his upper lip and his nose was bare. The man stopped and looked at the group.
"Afternoon Vice-Captain, Commander," he said.
"Afternoon, Lieutenant Kohji," Ritsuko replied. "How are things aboard the ship?"
"Heading over to her now," Kohji stated. "Looks like we'll be able make our launch time tonight."
"Good to hear," she said. "I just have some matters that need to be cleared up before I board. I'll see you on the bridge tonight." She turned to Shinji. "Let's go."
"Very good Ma'am," Kohji replied as they walked past him and into the complex. Kohji looked back towards them before he began walking again.
"Are you sure?" Burke stood right beside Kaji in his office as Kohji spoke to them through a video monitor.
"Absolutely. I only saw him once when he first came aboard the Wunder, but I don't forget a face."
"But that's not unusual," Burke said. "He told me that he went there yesterday to pay a visit to the pilots, but they were out. Maybe he was trying to see if they're in today."
"But that's the thing sir," Kohji remarked. "The pilots are aboard for duty and she would know that. And from our brief conversation, it implied to me that she was expecting him." Burke opened his mouth to reply, but closed it without saying anything.
"Thanks for the information," Kaji stated.
"What are friends for?" Kohji declared before signing off.
"What the hell is he doing there?" Burke muttered to himself. He had crossed his arms and began to pace around the office.
"Was he behaving oddly in any way when he came home last night?" Kaji asked.
"I…I'm not sure," Burke replied. "He seemed to have had a good day as far as I can tell. But the thing that gives me pause was that he appeared to be evasive with me when I asked if he met anyone there." He walked over and picked his coffee cup on Kaji's desk. "I chalked it up to him meeting a cute girl or something and he didn't want to be embarrassed." He began to take a sip.
"Maybe Ritsuko was the girl," Kaji mused. It took an extreme force of will for Burke not to spit out the coffee he was drinking. He swallowed and turned to Kaji.
"I don't know what's more disturbing, that or the fact you can make a bad joke like that."
"Just trying to lighten the mood," Kaji replied.
"In any event, it appears that she wanted to see him for some reason," Burke stated. "But if so, what would the reason be?" He began to pace again for about ten seconds when he stopped and pounded his fist into his palm.
"Of course," he muttered before coming back to the desk and began to type on the computer.
"What are you doing?" Kaji asked.
"The base is responsible for the security of that apartment complex right? So that means we have access to its security feed."
"But those feeds are only for the public areas such as the hallways," Kaji countered. "If he went into an apartment, we lose him."
"I know that, but it could give us a better ide-Bingo!" Burke activated the office's main screen. It showed the area outside the main door of the apartment, the events of the day sped up. They soon saw Shinji arrive.
"There he is," Burke remarked. They watched him go up the stairwell and go to the 10th floor at lightening speed followed by him going up to the 13th. They watched him go to Misato's door and, at that speed, followed by Ritsuko a second later.
"Stop" Kaji ordered. The image stopped at the two facing each other. "Play it at normal speed. Can we get sound?"
"We should," Burke replied as he tapped at the keys. The video played normally. They saw everything. They heard everything. When the two walked off screen, Burke shot straight up and went for the phone.
"I need a security team assembled ASAP!" he yelled into it. "Have it ready to deploy to the Wunder apartments." When Burke hung up, he began to head out of the office.
"You going over there?" Kaji asked.
"After a brief detour to the armory, yes," Burke replied. "Shinji is my responsibility. This is something I have to take care of myself."
"I'll contact Katsuragi," Kaji said. "She might be able to help you."
"I appreciate it," Burke said as he left the office. Kaji stood up and walked over to the window looking out towards where the apartments were.
"Ritz, don't you realize you're ruining everything?" he muttered.
