Zenitsu

With another step, all was silent. The only sound was his pounding heart. The quiet struck and surrounded him like water. The birds were gone. His friends' breathing was absent. The sounds of the forest – of the world – disappeared.

Zenitsu screamed. "Nezuko!"

He turned desperately in every direction, gripping the hilt of his sword. "Where am I?" he yelled. There was no additional sound. No animals. No signs of life. Nothing.

"What is this?"

It was wrong. The world wasn't meant to be silent like this. It felt dead. The low hum of life that Zenitsu had known all his life had vanished with one step. Even in the calm of nature, there was always something. Some flap of wings, or steps of insects, or anything!

His heartbeat thudded in his chest. He thought he could feel it slamming against his ribs. That awful percussion pounded in his temples. The throbbing was all he heard. His vision blurred. Terror overtook him. He'd just been searching for Inosuke. He'd been searching in a group. Why was this happening?

Confusion and terror overwhelmed him. He couldn't hear his friends anymore. They'd been so close.

"Nezuko!"

He collapsed.

Instantly, the unconscious warrior took hold of his blade. The slumbering form took a battle stance as electricity hummed around him. The oppressive silence was his enemy. He swung the blade through the air, breaking the quiet and the dark. The lightning crackled upward, visible for miles.

Later, a familiar voice woke him. A rasping yell screamed, "Zenitsu!" as Inosuke sprinted through the brush.

Instantly, he was on his feet. "Inosuke?" Confusion filled his voice more than joy. "Where—"

As he gaped at his ally, the boar-masked warrior clamped his hands on Zenitsu's shoulders. "Zenitsu! You're here! How'd you get here? What happened to you? Where are the others?"

"Slow down! What? Just— hold on!"

Zenitsu smacked him. "We've been looking for you! Why'd you run off for no reason? Tanjiro's worried about you, you stupid fool!"

"What? I didn't want to be here! I just woke up in this universe." He grasped Zenitsu's arm. "We're not at home."

"What are you—" Zenitsu tried to yell at him, but Inosuke leapt up into the trees. "Hey!" Zenitsu jumped after him. "Where have you been? What do you mean you didn't want to be here? I could've spent today with Nezuko. Instead, I'm stuck looking for you!"

The broke through the leaves at the top of the trees. They were on the incline of a hill, facing Tokyo-3. Inosuke pointed to the distant city lights. "Look!"

"Listen to me, you dumb—"

He looked to where his friend was pointing. All tension left as anger was replaced with a awestruck confusion. Those lights. That architecture. He'd heard rumours of how cities were being built. He'd known a few masons and architects who were convinced about how cities would one day look. Now, far beyond, he was sure he wasn't home.

Inosuke said, "We're in Japan. But it's not our Japan. I've been here all day. Just listen, I'll try to explain what I know."

Misato

Misato had barely fallen asleep when there was a knocking on her bedroom door. "What do you want?" she whined.

"Oi, Misato! Some weird shit's going on."

She rubbed her eyes and groaned. The sentiment could describe any moment since the boar-masked man appeared in their lives. "One second."

As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she heard Shinji's voice, "Um, he brought a friend."

Of course he did, she thought. Soon, though, she opened her door and stepped out into the hall. "What's going on now?"

She opened her eyes to see the blond warrior gape at her pyjamas. "Wha— wha— what are you wearing? What are those clothes? What universe is this?"

This one was loud, too. She rubbed her eyes. "Okay, shut up. Everyone in the kitchen, now."

Soon, she was pouring instant coffee. Zenitsu had barely begun his explanation when Misato realized there'd be no sleep that night. From what she could gather, Inosuke had fallen asleep and woken up in Tokyo-3, but this new guy simply wandered into the forest outside the city. It sounded like Inosuke had rested in a forest in his own world. Later, Zenitsu and several others went looking for him in the same forest. It was possible, then, that there was some gateway between worlds wherever Inosuke had slept.

But left several questions in itself. Why did Inosuke appear in the city, while Zenitsu wandered into a nearly identical environment. Why did one fall asleep in one place and wake up in another, while the other may as well have stepped through a doorway. There were too many questions.

Misato handed a cup of coffee to Zenitsu. The orange-and-white cloak over his high-school-style uniform piqued her interest. She couldn't tell if the bright hair and clothes were more or less flamboyant than Inosuke's perpetual lack of shirt, exposed swords, and animal mask. Zenitsu took the cup with a demure, "Oh, thank you."

"Do you want milk with it?" she asked.

"Um, what is this?" He looked into the black liquid confusedly. "Sorry, um," he looked around the room, his eyes fixating often on the electric light at the top. "I have so many questions. But, um, I don't want to drag the conversation a million ways. I'm a guest in your house, after all. But, what is this?"

So, this one had some manners, at least. Still too loud, but he had some idea of propriety. Misato lifted her own coffee mug. "This is coffee. It helps you stay awake and it keeps your mind clear. You can put milk or sugar in it if the taste is too bitter. Try a sip before you decide."

Inosuke took a long sip and said, "Oh, tasty!"

Zenitsu sipped it. "Um, milk please."

"Of course."

As she pulled out some milk, she noticed Shinji staring at the two. He didn't seem annoyed. He was just focused on them. He didn't touch the coffee that rested between his hands. "Why'd you bring your friend here?" he asked suddenly.

Inosuke, who'd been annoyedly tapping his finger on his bicep, answered, "Because I don't trust anyone else in this universe yet. You two I at least kinda get."

"Actually," Zenitsu said as he poured some milk in his coffee. He stared at the cheap spoon for several seconds before stirring. "I'm confused, too, Inosuke. Why didn't we look for the way back when we were in the forest? We might be able to find our way back."

"No."

The three others in the room froze in what they were doing. Misato was the first to recover. "You don't want to go back home?"

He grunted annoyedly. "How many times do I need to tell you? I belong to the Demon Hunter Corps! I fought demons! You have monsters here. I'll fight monsters. People are in danger, and you're all weak. The kid here seems to be your only hope. I don't like those odds against those giant monsters. I'm gonna stay here so those Angel pricks don't win."

It was childish. So blatantly immature and simplistic that it was too blatantly absurd to be a lie. What moron would intentionally stay in a strange and hostile world because it was hostile?

"He's dumb, yeah," Zenitsu said. "But he's genuine. If he's decided to help you, he's staying."

Misato stared. Shinji cocked his head. "Who are you talking to?"

The orange-cloaked stranger gestured to Misato with his cup. "She – sorry, I didn't catch your name – didn't think Inosuke was fully honest."

Misato took a long sip, collecting her thoughts. "How did you know that?"

Her pointed to his ears. "I heard you."

After several seconds, she sighed. "So, you can hear my thoughts. Inosuke can feel things in the air. Let me guess, you have a friend who can smell everything."

"Tanjiro," they said in unison.

Misato sighed again.

After several seconds, Zenitsu lifted a hand. "Um, you said something about monsters?"

Shinji

It was a day of tests.

Shinji was to be in the Eva most of the day, practicing drills for the next Angel attack. Meanwhile, Inosuke would be in the gym, exhibiting his strength as some of Nerv's higher ranking members observed.

Meanwhile, Zenitsu was out in the forest, searching for a gateway back to their home. With a little luck, they'd be able to find a way home. Zenitsu certainly wanted that. Inosuke, for some reason, didn't.

It didn't matter.

Shinji pushed it from his mind. They'd agreed to keep Zenitsu's appearance a secret, anyway. If the orange-haired guy decided to reveal himself to Nerv, that was his own business. Misato and Inosuke had agreed, much to the newcomer's confusion, that it was best he not reveal himself to Nerv.

It didn't matter.

None of it mattered.

Shinji pushed it from his mind. Aim at the target. Pull the trigger.

The emptiness returned. He allowed himself to fall into it. When he felt nothing, he felt no pain. There was no fear or anxiety when he let himself drift into the nothing. The gnawing sensation in his chest spread until he felt numb to everything. All he needed to do was follow orders.

Inosuke had said it himself. Shinji Ikari, the boy who wished to be of not trouble to anyone, was important to fighting the Angels. More would appear. There would be more pain. He'd return to the Eva again… and again…

Each time would hurt. Maybe, if he let the emptiness fill him, and if he only followed orders, he could keep the pain to a minimum.

Ritsuko

"I refuse." Inosuke crossed his arms and leaned against the weight rack in their gym. Like everything else in gym, it was massive, expensive, and filled with only the most modern of technology. It was also one of the more underutilized rooms all of HQ. For some reason, few people wanted to spend an extra moment in the area. It was popular during breaks, for some reason, or right after particularly stressful moments.

This state of the art gym, however, may as well have been a child's playpen to the strange swordsman. Inosuke had broken every record for weightlifting that existed, and made their machines seem like children's toys. He was too strong for them to measure, at least with the tools in that room. As if to insult the whole human race, he'd loaded two squat bars with two hundred kilograms each, thrown them each over a shoulder, and ran around the room several times.

He wasn't even sweating. A less resolute person might have questioned their senses or sanity. But not Ritsuko. This man was something unexpected. The unexpected was dangerous for people who didn't think properly, but it was profitable for those who adapted quickly. That was the nature of evolution: they who adapt the fastest live the longest.

Ritsuko nodded politely and continued, "You seem fascinated by the Eva. It seemed like you'd be interested in being inside it. We could simply test if you are compat—"

"I refuse." He took off his mask with a bombastic gesture. With burning eyes and bared teeth, he seethed, "I refuse! I'm not getting in that damn thing! Whatever that… maybe-not-a-monster is, it wants Shinji. You wouldn't get in it!"

"I'm an adult," the scientist calmly replied. "Only Children can pilot the Evangelion. You are young enough. Why don't you want to try?"

He threw the mask back on. An uncomfortable thought occurred to her: did he wash that mask? How much sweat had accumulated in it? It was nauseating to consider.

Inosuke didn't seem interested in answering. He was angrier than normal. He was less talkative. He'd been fuming all day. It seemed like someone had been telling him not to say so much. It was unfortunate, but not surprising. She'd already gotten a great deal of information from him. Granted, the usefulness of that information was questionable, but they had a great deal of it.

She repeated the question. "Are you curious what it's like to pilot the Eva?"

Suddenly, Inosuke grabbed the heaviest dumbbell and slammed it onto the ground. "Why won't you tell me the truth? You're hiding something! You want something! You're in with that stupid orange glasses jackass! He knows something. You know something! It's not bad enough you're not telling me something, but you don't want anyone to know! You two are doing something for yourselves, and you don't care what'll happen to everyone else!"

After a few seconds of consideration, Ritsuko allowed herself to roll her eyes. The strange child was insightful, but simple-minded. He was also powerful. They would learn why. There was no doubt in her mind he would be of use to them, in some way.

The kid seemed to be able to sense lies, so she decided to speak a version of the truth. "I aim to help humanity. Everything we are working toward is what we consider best for people."

Inosuke stared at her. Suddenly, he crouched. He gripped his hair and groaned. After several seconds, he looked her in the eye. "You want to know how I work, but you won't tell me how you work! What's the heaviest weight you can lift?" He pointed grandly at the weight rack.

Ritsuko looked across the range of dumbbells. She was hardly a model of strength, dedicating her life to study and machines. Yet, she was no slouch. It was an opportunity to test something of which she was not fully certain.

Ritsuko grabbed a twelve kilogram weight and, with several deep breaths and a push, lifted it over her head.

"That's it, huh?" Inosuke mumbled. "Now throw it at me."

"What?" she asked.

"You're all too slow!" Suddenly, he grabbed the forty-kilogram dumbbell and threw it high into the air without effort. Ritsuko gasped. The scientist's calm demeanour vanished as a frightened person fell back with a look of shock. She stared up at Inosuke, shuddering reflexively as the warrior glared down at her with gritted teeth. The dumbbell fell toward him.

Forty-kilgrams thudded onto the top of the sixteen-year-old's skull, landing with an awful crack. The boy stood firm, the dumbbell falling off of him, toward Ritsuko. She flinched. He snatched it from the air without effort.

Blood trickled down to his forehead in thin streams as he spoke. "I've taken demon's punches. Been crushed under trees. Rocks and claws and fists have nearly killed me a hundred times. And this?" he handled the dumbbell like it was a paperweight. "This is sad."

He stepped toward her. Instinct betrayed the scientist. She remained on the floor, staring up, pale and frightened at the seemingly inhuman creature before her.

He stared down for several seconds. After a few seconds, he reached out a calloused hand. "We both want to fight monsters. I guess that's enough for now. Just don't lie to me or the Shinji kid anymore. You're bad liars."

A deep inhale. A deep exhale. Ritsuko pressed herself to her feet, ignoring the hand. Her professional demeanour slipped back on as simply as if she were throwing on her lab coat. "I appreciate your bluntness, Inosuke. It's a shame you won't consider piloting the Eva."

She wanted to test him now more than ever. He seemed inhuman, but he was human. Imagine, then, if other people could have such strength and abilities. He might be able to speed up their plans.

Zenitsu

He'd found nothing. There seemed to be no way home in the forest, not that he'd expected to find any. If there had been some kind of open gate in the forest, Zenitsu would have heard his friends on the other side. It was wrong. All wrong.

So, he wandered around Misato's apartment, studying every appliance and item. To Inosuke, he was sure, it must have all seemed like magic. But to him, as he mentally compared the size of the apartment to the size of the building, mentally mapping the layout of the rooms and trying to imagine the building's design, Zenitsu saw the future. Much of what he saw felt like an extension of what he knew, only several steps forward.

Yet, with this tangible vision of the future, his thoughts returned to what he missed.

"Nezuko…" he sighed.

Eventually, he fell into a seat.

It was all wrong. He deserved better than this. None of the Demon Corps deserved this.

They'd defeated Muzan. The demons were gone. The fighting was over, dammit! Once he'd recovered, he'd been spending time with his friends. He'd finally been spending time with Nezuko, as he'd wanted to for so long. She even liked being with him. After all those years of training and fighting and weeping, they had earned happiness. It was the first time in his life that he'd been consistently happy. He'd even been considering writing a book about everything.

Who of the others would write a book? Tanjiro and Inosuke were too thick-skulled to ever consider it. Kanae and the others from the Corps were too stoic to do it. After all they'd done, shouldn't somebody write the story? Didn't it seem like a duty to history, to their legacy! To remember all they – and those who had died – had done! Somebody should make some record of it! The one time he'd brought it up, he'd been told that it didn't matter. Many people, including Tanjiro, said they'd accomplished what they set out to do. What did it matter recording it for the future? They'd saved the future.

Most people didn't even believe in demons.

Screw that!

Zenitsu had nearly died! Nezuko had spent years as a demon. How many people had they all lost in those years? How many nightmares had they all suffered in the generations of fighting? Zenitsu wouldn't allow it. He'd try to record the names and contributions of all who had been slain.

If the others in the Corps were gonna be so stubborn, he might as well be a little creative in the telling…

Nobody wanted the story to be written, it seemed. So… why not play himself up? Nobody else even wanted to have their deeds recorded. So, why shouldn't he take some credit?

But now, he was stuck in some strange alternate Japan. He was a stranger in a world where his only companion was the dullest and loudest among his friends. Supposedly, they were surrounded by people they couldn't trust. How much had Inosuke revealed to these people without even thinking about it?

At least Misato and Shinji seemed trustworthy. Well, Misato did.

Zenitsu was still lost in thought as the door opened. Misato and Shinji entered at the same time. "Well, don't you look gloomy?" Misato said.

Zenitsu looked at her, then at Shinji. So far, in this other Japan, the clothes were what confused Zenitsu the most. They were the one thing that he couldn't connect to his homeland. "I didn't find any gate back," he said.

"Oh, sorry for your bad luck." Shinji said. "Also, Inosuke got held up. He said they were still testing him, or something."

Zenitsu nodded. "I want to go to this Nerv place tomorrow. I want to see it for myself."

"Okay," Misato shrugged and walked to the fridge. Still in uniform, she grabbed a beer and started drinking. "What brought that on?"

Shinji seemed just as surprised at Misato's nonchalance as at Zenitsu's statement. The orange-clad swordsman answered, "I just want to go home. You said you had a lot of technology at this Nerv place. I think you can help me get back to the life I'm supposed to have."

Misato took a long chug. Zenitsu could hear her mind buzzing. Eventually, she answered, "They might not let you leave so easily."

Zenitsu sighed. "Of course, it won't be easy. Nothing's ever easy in my life! There's also another reason I want to do this. I don't want Inosuke to do something dumb. If I go to Nerv, I can at least keep an eye on him."

Misato nodded. "Fine. I'll make a call in a minute. But I only found you today, alright? You never met me before."

"Understood," he nodded. "Thanks for agreeing to do it tonight. I don't want to wait until tomorrow."

"I get that," she said. At the same time, he could read her thoughts on her face, even if he hadn't been able to hear them: I want you out of my house.

As happened every time he looked at the kid, he wanted to say something. Yet, he couldn't decide what it was he wished to say. Some part of him wanted to offer soft words of kindness. Another wanted to yell at him for being too depressing. Shinji didn't make sense to him. In some moments, the kid was so quiet it was easy to believe he wasn't really there. At other times, an awful, agonized wailing rang out from him.

The boy's thoughts switched between these cacophonous screams and empty silence, seemingly without break. In only one day, Zenitsu had noticed a disconnect between the boy's thoughts and his mouth. It didn't make sense to the orange-clad swordsman.

Shinji had clearly never fought in a real battle. Yet, there was pain. Zenitsu didn't understand.

But… that didn't matter. All that mattered was getting home. Things had finally been going well for him. He wasn't going to give that up for these strangers.

Ritsuko

She was no stranger to all-nighters, but Ritsuko felt more fatigued than usual. She'd finally assured herself that Inosuke wouldn't run away in the night. She'd finally reviewed the data from Shinji's tests. Rei was recovering fairly well. There were only a thousand other things which called her attention.

After a quick glance to be sure she was unmonitored, she poured some bourbon into her coffee. With a sigh, she returned focus to her notes on Inosuke. Gendo, for better or worse, was too busy with his mysterious meetings to look into the stranger's presence. Perhaps he trusted her to find something useful, or perhaps she was the only one who would be unaffected by the secrets their boar-headed friend so carelessly revealed.

Really, it was a blessing that Inosuke seemed to be so oblivious. He lacked the intelligence to be of much assistance, but he also lacked the cunning to work against them.

Suddenly, her phone rang. She picked it up on the first ring. "Ritsuko."

"Working late, I see," Misato's voice replied.

To hold back a sigh, Ritsuko took another drink. "Let me guess, you're not calling to set up an evening out?"

"I wish…" the voice was filled with exhaustion. Ritsuko made a mental note to force an evening free so they could enjoy a drink together. "No," Misato groaned. "You won't believe this. One of—"

"Someone else from Inosuke's world is here?"

The answer was evident in the silence. But eventually, Misato said, "How did you know?"

"The lightning last night was caught on multiple cameras. I took a guess. Do we have any idea where—"

"Look, Ritsuko. We're friends. How about I bring him to you, and you ask all your questions then. He seems happy to go to Nerv and—" some mumbling on the other end distracted her. "I know, I know, geez! You still there?"

"Yes," the scientist poured more bourbon into the coffee.

"He says he just wants to go home, and he'll answer whatever you want so long as you help him get there."

"Very well, bring him to the south entrance. Oh, and Misato?"

"Yeah?"

"Can this one feel everything, too?"

"No. This one can hear everything. He's also a teenager."

"Alright." They arranged a pick-up.

Once the phone was hung up, Ritsuko put down her clipboard and took another drink. Suddenly, much of her job was taking care of teenagers. What would this one unintentionally discover?

It didn't matter.

She had an advantage this time. Inosuke had the infuriatingly simple desire to fight Angels. Until the next one arrived, there'd be no way to test that. This new child had a more understandable goal: returning to his home. Perhaps it would be possible to negotiate with this one.

Zenitsu

Noise.

One girl's voice laughed and screamed and cried far below. It was all the same person, forming a choir of all forms of emotion. Several voices spoke about strange, long words. Amidst the noise, a few words stood out. "Angel," he heard over and over and over. "Impact."

Beyond that, there was a soft, repeating rumble, like the pulse of a giant. Something large was at the base of this bizarre place. Something almost dead. Yet, a strange rasp of breath rang out as clearly as the call of cicadas.

It was worse than the silence he'd experienced in the forest. This time, though, he'd expected something. Sacrificing his looks for the moment, he leaned against the walls, shut his eyes, and listened. The choir of one voice seemed the oddest thing at first. There was nothing coherent within it, though. The monstrous grumble felt semi-human; he'd investigate it no matter what.

This place was awful. It was unlike anything he'd experienced. What happened to Demons and Demon Slayers? This place was full of too many things. It was too complicated.

"Evangelion," he muttered.

The blond scientist, Ritsuko, nodded. "Are you hearing that word?"

"I'm hearing a lot of things."

"I see. I'll bother you with questions shortly. First, I want you to see the Evangelion."

He walked after her. "There's a lot of activity here, even though it's nighttime."

"Of course. We're doing important work. I've heard that you were part of your own organization, facing a terrible threat. You've likely worked some late nights yourself."

"Yeah," he sighed. "I was hoping that was finished, though."

They continued, walking across countless halls of metal and over many conveyor belts. Zenitsu couldn't bring himself to be in awe at the architecture. The atmosphere seemed to weigh on him. Maybe Shinji was more perceptive than he'd first thought. This place was awful.

After a few minutes, Zenitsu turned to Ritsuko. "There's no security or anything. I don't want to complain, but I'm surprised you trust me."

Ritsuko shrugged. "Somehow, I doubt we could do much harm to you."

After several minutes, they arrived in the large bay that held Unit-01. The lights flicked on to reveal the great mix of machine and organism.

The lethargy vanished. Zenitsu's jaw dropped. "Incredible."

Ritsuko placed her hands into her pockets. "What impression does it give you?"

Zenitsu took a step forward, staring at the thing. Ritsuko's question was too broad. It was too vague. At another time, he might've raved about how scary and cool it was at the same time. Now, he wasn't so sure. He tried to find something recognizable in it.

One thing that struck him was that the growling he'd heard didn't come from this thing. He had been all but certain the growling would come from the thing called the Evangelion. What could be making that noise? What was that underlying murmur of a heartbeat at the centre of Nerv?

"It's sleeping," Zenitsu said eventually. "Whatever it is, I don't think it cares about much of anything."

"This," Ritsuko said, "is what we use to fight the Angels. This is our only hope of defeating them. In case you haven't heard, Shinji is a pilot. He controls the Eva from within it."

"Huh," Zenitsu nodded. Inosuke was right about one thing, it was like armour. Part weapon, part armour.

Ritsuko stepped beside him, hands in her pockets. "I want to run some tests. Would you pilot the Evangelion?"

He blinked, turned to her, and cocked his head. "What?"

Inosuke

"This is too stupid! You can't do this!" Inosuke fumed, slamming his fist into a locker door.

"Shut up, idiot!" Zenitsu tried to wriggle into one of Shinji's spare plug suits. It looked like he was swimming in the material. "I'm trying to figure out how to put this on."

"You shouldn't get in the Eva. It likes the Shinji kid. Who knows what it'll do to you?"

"Oh?" Zenitsu scoffed. "Do you have a better idea about how to get back home?"

"I don't get it. You're too impatient. You've been here less than two days. Why are you acting like you've been exiled for years?"

After some intense fiddling with the baggy plug suit, Zenitsu sighed. The sigh lasted several seconds. "You don't get it. For you, there's nothing different. When there were demons, you fought demons. Now, there's no demons, so you spar all the time. You train just as often. All you do is fight and train, but I have a life! I want to settle down. Nezuko and I are actually getting along! Now, I'm here, there could be monsters coming at any time. Or worse! What if Tanjiro comes through the gate or whatever connects our universes? What if Kanae and Nezuko and everyone follows? I want to go back and warn them to look out for that. We should both go back and pretend we never came."

Inosuke wandered around the locker room sulkily. Zenitsu cursed and grumbled as he messed with the plug suit. "There's too much room with this thing? How is it gonna help to push the switch on the wrist?"

The orange-haired swordsman touched the switch. Suddenly, the suit shrunk. It was like he was being grasped from every direction. The suit formed to every crease and bulge. It was bizarre to have something clamp so tightly and uniformly on his muscles. Zenitsu gasped before realizing that the plug suit wouldn't suffocate him. "Okay. Okay." He muttered. "This is okay."

"It's not okay!" Inosuke kicked a locker. "You shouldn't do this!"

"Oh? And you shouldn't be telling so much to these people! What if they want to invade our Japan? What if they want to do something weird? We don't know where we are! We don't know anything. We're at the disadvantage here. I say we play along, then run home as soon as we can."

"Don't pretend I didn't hear you. What did you mean I've been telling too much?"

"Oh? What do I mean? How much have you told Nerv about the Demon Slayer Corps? How much have you told about Breath of the Beast? About Tanjiro and everyone else? What if they have their own gate? Maybe they can launch an invasion."

"They're too weak. We'd defeat them."

Zenitsu gestured to the bizarre clothes that hugged every part of him. "Have you seen their stuff? Even if the Demon Corps would be fine, what would they do to normal people?"

Inosuke froze. He opened and shut his mouth several times beneath the mask.

"That's what I thought." Zenitsu turned to the door. "This way, I can learn something about their Eva thing. Whatever it is, it's at the centre of this. You be a nice little pet pig if you want, but I'm gonna get us home. You just try not to do something more stupid than what you've already done."

He stalked off to the door. As it slid open, Inosuke said, "Be careful."

Misato

A strange mix of tension and excitement filled the room. Eyes were fixed on every monitor, ensuring that no detail would be missed. Captain Misato Katsuragi stood at the forefront of the crowd, ready to observe what may be the inauguration of the unexpected Fourth Child. Shinji stood close by, watching curiously. Inosuke was grumbling as he stared intently out through the thick glass.

At least, she presumed he was staring intently. For all she knew, he was snoring under the mask.

Zenitsu spoke from within the entry plug, his voice echoing on speakers throughout the room. "Alright… this is weird. But yeah. I'm as ready as I'm gonna be. Let's try this thing before I get too creeped out."

"Don't worry," Ritsuko said into a microphone. "Things will feel a little strange, but we'll only be conducting some tests to see if you're compatible. You won't need to do anything."

Another voice called out, "Beginning insertion of the entry plug."

As they watched, the plug entered the Evangelion, with Zenitsu inside. There was no immediate reaction.

Misato glanced at Shinji. The Third's first time in the Eva had been nothing like this. Zenitsu's introduction was leisurely in comparison. Everyone was worried, cautious. Nobody wanted to take an unnecessary risk when there was no telling what could happen.

"Alright," Ritsuko said. "The next step may be the strangest for you. LCL fluid is going to fill the entry plug. It's oxygenated. You just need to breathe it in and let it fill your lungs."

"I need to breathe in liquid?" Zenistu asked. "Is that real?"

"It's difficult to explain, but yes."

There was a long pause. Eventually, Zenitsu's voice said, "Hey, I want to hear it from that Shinji kid." The Third Child jolted at his name. "He's been in here, right? And you haven't. Shinji, what's this fluid thing about?"

Several people nodded to the high schooler. As Ritsuko gestured to it, Shinji approached the microphone. "Um, yeah. It's a really thin, light liquid. It won't even bother your eyes. Ritsuko-san is right. It's really weird, but it's better if you just accept it early. If you try to fight it, it'll only be uncomfortable."

A long groan peeled out from the speakers. "Fine, then. I'll dunk my head under when it's low and get it over with. Do it."

Ritsuko nodded to someone else. "Filling chamber with LCL fluid."

The process began. There was the sound of a long exhale, then a splash. Suddenly, gagging filled the room. "What is th—"

The voice vanished into frantic splashes and burbles. The splashing stopped. The sound of gagging and garbled screaming filled the room.

Instantly, everyone realized they were listening to a young man drown.

Every eye widened and every jaw dropped. Several people went pale as they realized what was happening. The man who had launch the LCL program covered his mouth. Shinji stumbled back a step.

Meanwhile, Zenitsu thrashed within the unresponsive Eva.

"Zenitsu!" Inosuke leapt from his spot.

"Eject the capsule!" Misato ordered, recovering before anyone else.

"Yes!" Ritsuko turned and barked at her underlings. "Emergency ejection! Now!"

Inosuke's head collided with the glass. There was a tiny crack, but nothing more. This was designed to take an assault from an Eva. One person could never hope to break it. After the headbutt failed, Inosuke unsheathed his swords and said something about a beast's form. Misato didn't catch the words. She was too focused on the monitors. "What's happening?"

"The LCL is oxygenated!" Someone shrieked, as if furious. "This shouldn't be happening! He's— he's drowning!"

The wails subsided as the entry plug spun out of the Eva. Suddenly, Inosuke slashed at the glass.

It cracked.

His arms swung in wild, deadly arcs, slashing the glass with inhuman speed as he roared. Cracks formed and grew. Bits of the glass scattered in every direction, making those closest to it jump back. Within four seconds, Inosuke burst through the glass. He pressed forward, stomped a sandal on the ledge, and jumped to Unit-01's head.

In seconds, he was at the plug's opening. Everyone in the observation deck watched as he tore the hatch from its place and dove inside. Soon, the boar-masked man climbed out with an unmoving Zenitsu on his shoulder.

Everyone was too bewildered to respond as Inosuke jumped back into the observation room and laid Zenitsu on the ground. "You almost killed him! He's not moving! He always moves in his sleep! What did you do to him!"

The shriek made Misato want to squirm. His gravelly voice was so high and frayed that it sounded as if he were in pain.

Again, Misato kept hold of her senses. "Someone call a medic! Inosuke, move. I know CPR."

"The hell is that?"

"Just move!"