Clipboard held in hand, she walked through the corridors of NERV at a brisk pace. As a Scientist, Ritsuko did appreciate how structurally sound it all was. But…it was so dead and uniformed; one room was absolutely no different to the other. Merely for that, she'd always hated working here. And that wasn't even considering the other baggage this place had dropped on her.

"Akagi-san?" Said a gruff voice she knew well. Ritsuko had to stifle a smile, often wondering how so well built and stocky a man could be as stealthy as Shiro Tenka.

"Tenka-sensei, what can I do for you?" Guiltily, she lowered her emerald green eyes to look upon the shorter man. For the former soldier did have insecurities about his height.

"I was hoping to have a word in private." Shiro grunted, in his straightforward manner. Something Ritsuko appreciated beyond belief.

Why do people who actually wear their thoughts on their sleeves have to be so rare?

"How private?" She tilted her head. His silence said all. "Caspar-san, could you have a convenient audio corruption for the next five minutes?"

"What's that, Ritsuko-chan? I…I'm having trouble hearing you…" The A.I trailed off. Ritsuko still couldn't fathom just how much this "machine" would do for her, simply for the asking. It…no, she, cared deeply for her in a strange way. Of course, when one's brain is formatted from the mind of Naoko Akagi, one would have mixed feelings on the daughter of said progenitor.

"Strange, how a machine has more warmth to it than Ikari-san." Shiro shook his head and sighed, as if in disbelief.

"Careful, the Commander might consider that treasonous." Ritsuko admonished, amused.

"Treason? He's not the damn Emperor of Japan, he's my employer. I don't owe him any loyalty."

"No one sane does. Well, what do you want?"

Shiro shifted a little uncomfortably for a moment, then began. "Akagi-san, you are no fool. There are things we do not understand about our enemy, and it concerns me how hell bent the Commander is on keeping it that way."

Ritsuko couldn't help but quietly nod. "Yes…yes, I understand your concerns entirely. The Seraphim are a lot more than mindless beasts. Trouble is, I don't think it's that the Commander knows things we don't and wants to keep it that way…" Even though she was safe, she couldn't help but look over her shoulder. "It's that he doesn't want to understand."

"But…why? What do we have to gain from keeping ourselves in the dark?"

"I don't know, Tenka-sensei. Even when we were together…I never knew his thoughts as much as I thought I did. He was always distant, indecipherable. He doesn't think in a military or scientific manner. It is as if he's being driven by something else…"

"To think that man is in charge of something so important. The Kami have a strange sense of humour."

"Indeed…you are not the only one with worries, Tenka-sensei. About him, and about NERV."

Shiro knew exactly what Ritsuko was referring to there, and quietly admired how much she'd changed and bettered herself over the past few years. The concern, one they both shared, ate away at their very souls.

We are making children fight our war. We are every bit as monstrous as the Seraphim in some ways.

"I have a contact. He sent me some things a while back that…seem familiar." She bit her lip in thought as Shiro frowned.

"How so?" The older man asked.

"Oh, it'll probably come to nothing, but you know, scientist, process of elimination, that sort of thing. Now, we both have our duties to get to. Good day, Tenka-sensei." Ritsuko gave a polite bow, one NERV's chief medical officer returned, then walked off. "Caspar-san, you can start listening again."

"-ah, wonderful! Got that technical problem sorted, won't be any more trouble-"

Shiro blocked out the rest of that and continued with his day. All whilst pondering the meaning of his ethical student's words.

Process of elimination. What has this "contact" sent her, a live Seraph?

XXX

Geo front residences, apartment 18, 8:00pm

Her lab coat was practically thrown over the sofa, her empty boots hitting the floor soon after. Ritsuko collapsed, loudly exhaling in both relief and exhaustion. Work hours in NERV were relatively ridiculous, even by pre-Motichka Japanese standards sometimes. Granted, the pay was excellent, and the accommodation was spacious, which was why the organization had about 20000 members worldwide.

Still, there were times when she wished the Commander would give them a holiday. When the war was over, if it was ever over, Ritsuko planned to go abroad for a while. An Italian beach resort which she could reside upon in a swim suit for hours on end with a cold drink at her side sounded perfect.

Perhaps Misato-chan might like to join me? Oh dear, letting her loose in Italy…

The flirtatious purplehead roaming one of the most "romantic" cultures of them all, could only ignite chaos of an epic sort. Hence why Ritsuko wanted her oldest, and best friend to come along. Truly, it could be like the old days.

"Meow."

She barely had time to sigh before the brown ball of fluff deposited itself on her head.

"Hello, Einstein. How are you?" Ritsuko reached up and affectionally scratched the ear of the cat.

"Meow."

"Oh, you're hungry? Never would have guessed…"

"Meow." Her other vets bill on legs hopped onto the sofa arm, then her lap, yellow eyes fixed on her.

"Give me a few more minutes and I'll feed you. I just got home!" Ritsuko begged her slave drivers, to no avail.

"Meow."

"Taku…"

A minute or so later, Ritsuko had put down a saucer of milk and some cat food, getting the hairballs off her back for just a moment. Although, it really didn't annoy her too much. Albert and Einstein, those black and brown little monsters, were family, and they'd chosen her to be family. That meant…a lot.

But before Ritsuko could sit back down and turn on the television, she decided to sort out the sense of niggling doubt that had sat in the bottom of her mind since the meeting with Gendo. It probably would amount to nothing, but why not chase it up?

Sitting at her computer screen, the Sub Commander pulled up "Sokudo", a high-speed internet video call and communication system, accessed her list of contacts and selected Jiazan Iata.

The head of NERV's Section 7, the archaeology department. The descendant of the GEHRIN group who'd dug up Lilith all those years ago…under the leadership of Doctor Yui Ikari. Whilst archaeology was its official title and somewhat true these days, that part of the organization's purpose and history was unnervingly murky to all a but a few.

However, with all that was required for the construction of the Eva Series, the Section hadn't really had much to do aside from sit around and twiddle their thumbs. It seemed likely the Commander would disband them sooner or later, but the Vice Commander convinced him otherwise. They certainly helped with public image and where a small drain on NERV's vast budget, so they were set to work.

At that moment, they were mostly concentrated at a huge dig in Norway. And it was to do with findings from there, that Ritsuko wanted to get in touch.

The sound of electronic blooping done in a musical fashion aggravated her ears for a few moments, before a small window on the screen became filled with the face of a man in his late thirties. Spectacled and gaunt, unkept stubble, messy long brown hair having mud in it, dark circles hanging under his tired brown eyes, he'd clearly just dropped whatever he was doing.

"Sub Commander Akagi…to what do I owe this pleasure?" Jiazan asked nervously. He loved his job and always feared calls from the higher ups, that might tell him to either stop or find a new job.

"Nothing much, Sub Commander Iata. I'm just calling on account of some things you sent me a while ago…I haven't got them printed." Ritsuko huffed in frustration, having forgotten to do this simple task.

"Are these to do with my current investigation or…dig site prime?"

"The Norwegian dig site. Don't worry, I'm not after anything too classified."

"That's a relief, the Supreme Commander would have my guts if I handed something out by accident…let's see, was it those runes?"

"Yes, that was it."

"Hold on a moment…" His face disappeared for a moment, the clear sounds of rummaging through a huge pile of things caused Ritsuko to smile. She'd met Jiazan once or twice before, and he immediately struck her as the sort of person who could live in a pigsty.

"Sub Commander, you did email it to me."

There was a sudden pause, and a very quiet curse. Jiazan popped back up looking a little embarrassed. Not even a second later, Ritsuko's computer pinged as it received a file. Pressing the screen, the file opened to reveal a high-quality picture of an ancient stone wall with runes that were once utterly alien to her, etched into it. Now however, she felt a cold tingle travel up her spine.

"That's the one, thank you. Now, what I'm about to send you is highly classified. Fortunately, you are of a rank that allows you to see it…but keep it quiet." Ritsuko ignored Jiazan's brow crease in confusion as she accessed her own files and dispatched a specific picture taken not many days ago.

When Mount Asama was rent asunder.

This might be a public network, but communications between NERV staff are encrypted and protected. No one is getting hold of this. She reassured herself.

Looking intensely intrigued, Jiazan opened what she sent him, and blinked in astonishment, trying to process what he was seeing.

"Sub Commander Akagi…wha…w…what am I looking at?" He tripped over his own words.

"This is an image taken from our recent action against the 9th Seraph. This is the Seraph." Ritsuko said sternly, indicating just how serious this was.

"That…that's impossible…"

"Zoom in on its sword."

Jiazan did just that. His eyes widened into saucers.

"I'm going to send you everything I have, but I must recommend you come to Norway as soon as possible, Sub Commander. There are things you need to see with your own eyes. Should we not send this to Supreme Commander Ikari?"

"No. Not yet anyway. We need concrete evidence, or otherwise he'd just dismiss us and prevent any further study. It'll be difficult, but I'll try and come."

"Very well. Good day, Sub Commander…take care." Jiazan ended the call.

Ritsuko leaned back and rubbed her pretty face with her hands.

It's hard to believe, but this is…too big to ignore. These aren't just random monsters, far too many coincidences for that.

Her expression darkened.

Misato is not going to handle this well…if I'm right.

"Meow."

She slowly turned to look at the sources of many of her troubles. Albert and Einstein sat on the sofa, looking at her expectantly. Taking up as much space as they could, but leaving the bare minimum for their "pet."

"Alright, I'm coming." Ritsuko chuckled, slowly walking over and plopping herself down. Immediately, she was covered by fur and contented purring.

"Love you too, you little yokai."

"Meow."