A/N: Although I am out of steam, running away is for losers who can't complete their stories. I don't care how I finish it; all I know is that I will be bent on finishing this, even if it takes me a month to finish a chapter.
Someone asked me what kind of a name is Elly. Well, I needed a girl's name for a character. And that's what my brother suggested. Now on with the story!
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'Maybe she isn't so bad after all,' thought Asuka as she waited her turn in line. 'Perhaps Mana just wants to be Shinji's friend. Nah!'
Asuka, Rei, and Ivana went with Misato to pick up uniforms for high school. They would have cost Misato a fortune, but luckily it was all paid for by NERV. On the way there, they ran into Elly and Mana, who were also getting uniforms. Shinji, Zack, and Toji were in another part of the clothing getting uniforms as well. And as the girls talked, Mana seemed just like any other soon-to-be-high school student.
"Aren't you excited," Mana had asked Asuka.
"Not really. I've already done this. I'm a college graduate. I'm just there to keep an eye out for Shinji, because he needs all the protection he can get, and so the Section-2 agents can keep an eye out for us as well. Two of the employees in this store are undercover Section-2 agents," she replied with a smirk because of her intelligent answer.
"I see. Do they always watch out for us?"
"You bet, although I don't need any protection."
Mana had another question. "Is Shinji good to you?"
"Of course he is! Of course I'm better, but he's good enough for me."
"Okay," said Mana. "I understand what you and he think like now. Oh it's my turn to get fitted now." And with that, she went to her lineup.
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"Can't we use any NERV authority to get through the line?" Zack was a little frustrated at having to wait to get the uniforms. "Why don't we just order them instead?"
"Well, we'd have to go through the lineups eventually anyway," said Shinji. "The orders can be placed at the front of the line, and we don't have authority. Only Misato or perhaps my father would be the only ones who could do that."
"NERV is so weird," said Toji. "It's supposed to be so powerful, and yet it doesn't help out the pilots, who save its sorry ass whenever there's an attack."
"I know, but let's just sit tight for now. We'll be at the front of the line before we know it," said Zack.
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NERV HQ – Gendo Ikari's office
"Any news yet?" asked Fuyutski.
"Yes. We have an infiltrator in the NERV facility," said Gendo. "Although I don't know who the person is, I am sure it is not the alleged Eighth Child. It will not take long. I have Section-2 conducting an intense background check on everyone who is on the staff."
Fuyutski took this chance to speak. "I found this report saying that the Eighth Child could achieve a 50-sync ratio with the entry plug of Unit 07. It appears to be authentic."
"The only way to know for sure if it is authentic is to test her sync score. Schedule sync tests for all children immediately. We also have Unit 07's entry plug here so it will be programmed to meet our standards."
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NERV HQ – Military Archives
After a back-aching background check, Section-2 found three people that could be deemed as suspicious. One was the Eight Child, another was a janitor, and one was a technician who worked on the EVAs.
A quick reexamination cleared the janitor. Mana Kirishima's profile was looked at next. Indeed, she was home schooled like she said she was. She was born and lived in Hiroshima like she said. She had eaten 210 slices of pizza, so there was no way she could match Toji, who had eaten so far 439 slices of pizza. Her test score was 50, like the sync tests said. So there appeared to be nothing wrong. Just a surprise that she had come from out of nowhere.
The technician however, had all sorts of problems with his record. He had come on board not long before Mana Kirishima did. His approval signature that would come from Commander Ikari or Vice-Commander Fuyutski was clearly a forgery. A careless mistake that was then immediately reported to Commander Ikari.
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"So our infiltrator has been found."
"Yes," said Gendo. "But stay conscious of the Eighth Child's actions. She may be cleared from the background check, but we must continue to watch her to make sure. After the sync tests, bring the Seventh Child here to me."
"Understood," said Kozou.
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Ritsuko looked at the results that were being shown in front of her.
Rei Ayanami: 75
Shinji Ikari: 89
Asuka Sohryu: 81
Toji Suzahara: 59
Ivana Kharlamov: 78
Zack Harper: 73
Elly Simpson: 72
Mana Kirishima: 50
'Not bad,' she thought. She looked at Mana concentrating in Unit 07's entry plug. She was wearing a yellow plugsuit. Ritsuko obviously assumed that Unit 07 was also yellow. 'Apparently, she was just a come-from-out-of-nowhere pilot. I heard that she tried flirting with Shinji. And from what I have known about Auska, she had better watch out.'
Maya came in. "Doctor, the Commander's on the phone."
Without hesitation, she picked up the cordless phone.
Ritsuko: Yes.
Gendo: Are the tests done yet?
Ritsuko: They will be very shortly.
Gendo: Once the tests are done and the kids are all dressed, tell the Seventh Child I wish to see her in my office.
Ritsuko: Understood.
Gendo: Thank you.
He hung up the phone. Even Ritsuko was surprised by the "Thank you". Perhaps the Commander realized what an asshole he really was and is trying to redeem himself. 'But I will have a hard time forgiving him for what he did to my mother and me. But he will get his chance. Not giving him a chance will only make me as bad as he is.'
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NERV HQ – Gendo Ikari's Office
"You wanted to see me?" said Elly once she came into his office.
"Yes," replied the Commander. "I have a job for you."
"Well I think I'm still to young to be a stripper," she replied. "You would look like a pedophile."
"That is not why I called you."
"Then why did you call me? Did you catch wind of my cooking? The blokes in this place love my cooking. Almost as good as Shinji's from what they are saying."
"I trust you are somewhat aware of the mysteriousness of the Eighth Child Mana Kirishima," he said totally changing the subject.
"Yeah. She's flirting with Shinji. And no one does that but me!"
"What I am about to reveal to you cannot be revealed to anyone else. I have had knowledge of your capabilities since the Sixth Angel. The same goes with the Fifth and Sixth Child. I have only received knowledge of Kirishima only a week ago. Her profile checks out. However, there is an aura of suspicion around her. When she is in the NERV facility, I want you to keep a sharp eye on her, and report any suspicious activity."
"Yes sir," said Elly, also serious now.
"Good, you are dismissed."
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As Shinji was on his way out of NERV, he ran into Mana.
"Hey Shinji."
"Oh hi Kirishima."
"Oh you can call me Mana," she said with a smile. "I got a question for you."
"Go ahead," said Shinji.
"I heard Asuka used to treat you like the gum on a shoe. Why do you put up with her?" Mana asked.
"Uhh…"
"Is she abusive? Controlling?"
"N-N-No."
"It's okay Shinji. You can tell me. I'll be here for you."
Shinji took a step away from her. "I gotta get going home. Later!" He took off.
As Mana prepared to go on home, she almost ran smack into Rei Ayanami. "Ah Rei. What are you doing here? Don't you have to go home?"
"I saw what you did," said Rei in her monotone.
"Hey, I'm just concerned for his safety and well-being," said Mana in defense.
Rei looked fairly intimidating right now. "I will not let you drive a wedge between Shinji and Asuka."
Mana was a tad spooked. "Hey, what's got into you? You're not Shinji's girlfriend. Why are you protecting him like this?"
"That is none of your concern. If you break them apart, you will regret it." And with that, Rei began the stroll back to Shinji's apartment. Mana went back to her apartment while calling someone on her cell phone.
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A few days later
Zack was watching the news again. Apparently, someone had broken into the NERV base in Britain.
"Great. First a break in at Area 51, now there's a break-in in London." However, the news indicated that NERV claimed nothing was stolen.
"That's good to hear."
After learning that Scotland Yard was investigating on the attempted break-in, Zack turned on a comedy channel. But his mind was elsewhere. He remembered what Rei told him about Mana allegedly trying to drive a wedge between Shinji and Asuka. Nobody should mess with his best buddy, even if he was paired up with the worst girl possible in his opinion.
It was Asuka's turn to cook that night. So who knows what would be for dinner that night. Asuka knew what Mana tried to do to Shinji. 'Who does she think she is? Shinji's had enough problems as is. But then again, at least he didn't cheat or anything. Best of all, her sync score was low compared to everyone else. Asuka got so lost in her thought that she forgot about what she was supposed to be doing.
10 minutes later…
"At least I don't plan on serving it now!" said Asuka opening a window to ventilate the kitchen.
"Yeah, but you could have paid attention to what you're doing," said Zack. He had noticed the smoke coming from the kitchen. He had gotten out the fire extinguisher and put out the flames while Asuka was choking on the smoke. "Oh well, I guess it's pizza tonight."
45 minutes later
"You were 10 minutes late! And that means our pizzas are free!" Zack was trying to use the restaurant's delivery policy to get the food he ordered for free. But it seemed to go right over his head.
"That policy is just a saying. Tell ya what, half-price," said the delivery man.
"TELL YA WHAT, BULL-FUCKING-SHIT!" shouted Zack. He sounded like Asuka with the temper he was throwing. "I'm calling NERV. They WILL run you and your shit business out if business."
"Okay, okay. It's free! Take it!"
Zack calmed down. "Thank you. And I hope you are willing to follow your restaurant policies in the near future." He took the pizzas and shut the door.
As he brought the pizzas in, he called out to the others that the pizza was here to cover up for Asuka's accident in the kitchen. And everyone helped themselves.
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Elly was lonely. Commander Ikari barely let her leave the facility. 'Hell it was only one time I stole the tank. And look, I'm an EVA pilot saving their sorry asses. I think I deserve redemption.'
Suddenly, she heard a noise. She saw a shadow appear and then disappear. As she poked her head around the corner, she noticed it was Mana walking deeper into the NERV facility. 'Awesome! Redemption here I come!'
So, while keeping a close distance behind, she watched Mana walk into a women's bathroom stall. Elly quickly threw on a janitor's disguise and pretended to be a female janitor. If Elly was good at another thing, she was a master of disguise. She was able to fool Commander Von Croy with a disguise she once wore. Once he found out though, she had to run a mile once a day for a week.
Elly could hear Mana pluck a cell phone out of her purse while she cleaned the sinks.
"Hello," said Mana into the phone. "Hi Daddy. I'm in NERV right now." A pause. "Yeah, I heard about what happened in the United States. It's horrible." A slightly longer pause while Mana listens. "What? Something happened in Britain too? Okay. I'll be sure to be extra careful. Bye-bye!" Elly heard a beep come from the phone. Mana had hung up and was on her way out of the stall when she saw Elly disguised as a janitor. "Oh I didn't know you were in here."
"Sorry Miss," said Elly in a disguised voice. "Commander's orders. Gotta clean, clean, clean."
"That's okay. I was just calling my daddy," replied Mana. "I miss him a lot."
"I know what it's like to leave home," said "the janitor". "You're lonely for a while, but always remember home is where the heart is."
Mana gave the janitor/Elly a smile. "Thanks. Gotta go." Mana quickly darted out and went back in the opposite direction. Elly pulled out her own cell phone and dialed a number.
After a few rings, a man answered. "Yes." It was Commander Ikari.
"Coral here," said Elly using her code name. "The Eighth Child went into the bathroom to make a call."
"I see," replied Gendo. "Do you know who she called?"
"Apparently, she called her father. They spoke very briefly for a father-daughter relationship. They talked about the incidents in America and Britain."
"I see. Keep your eye on her Coral." The phone clicked.
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"That's strange," said Kozou. "Why would she make a brief talk with her father about a break-in and an alleged break in?"
"The alleged break-in was a lie to avoid frightening the public," replied Gendo. "Also, the person on her line was not her father."
"How do you know that?"
"Call it a father's hunch."
"Then was stolen from NERV in Britain?" asked Kozou with a bit of fear in his voice.
"In America, what was stolen was a prototype fusion energy reactor. And in Britain, Unit 07 was stolen."