Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is the creation of Anno and Gainax. I don't own it, make no claims to it, and am making no profit from the fan fiction. No infringement of copyright is intended. In other words, please don't sue.
Chapter Twelve
"This was a really good idea, Hikari," Shinji commented as he cut up a daikon radish.
"I just felt that Misato deserved a little congratulations after getting her promotion. It can't be easy having so much responsibility in a place like NERV," Hikari said modestly, as she stirred her soup. "Besides, after that little fainting spell, I'm sure she could use something to get her mind off her worries for a bit."
Shinji nodded, a worried look on his face. "Ritsuko's supposed to perform a whole battery of tests on her tomorrow evening. She's trying to hide it, but I know she's worried."
"Misato's strong. I'm sure it's nothing she can't overcome," Hikari said, trying to put the pilot at ease.
Shinji nodded. "How did you notice Misato's new rank insignia, anyway?" he asked, changing the topic. "Me and Asuka are around her a lot more than you are, but you were the only one of us to spot it."
Hikari shrugged. "I just noticed it looked different and asked why. That's all."
"So where's Asuka?" Shinji asked. "She isn't planning on skipping the party, is she?"
"Of course not," Hikari replied. "She went over to Rei's place to get her. She said something about dragging her here kicking and screaming if she had to."
Shinji tried to imagine a hysterical Rei resisting every step of the way as Asuka dragged her to the Katsuragi apartment and found he couldn't quite do it. "That's nice of her...I think," he said. "She's been a lot kinder to Rei ever since we had to go through all those tunnels to reach the Geofront."
"How have things between you and Asuka been?" Hikari asked.
"All right, I guess," Shinji shrugged.
Hikari held back a sigh of annoyance. Shinji never liked to talk about himself much, and while she could understand his reluctance, as she didn't like to talk about herself either, it didn't make the task of helping the poor boy any easier. That went doubly when it came to Asuka; Hikari had been able to help a little in getting her to be more friendly with Rei, but so far as Shinji went, Hikari had made roughly zero progress so far as she could tell.
Not that the Third Child wasn't a good bit more cheerful than he had once been, which was quite heartening.
"Has she, um, calmed down about the recent battle yet?" Hikari asked.
The class rep had known something was up when Asuka had told her about the latest battle. The Second Child claimed to have gotten the kill herself, but there was a distinct lack of her usual gusto as she gave Hikari the false rundown. Shinji had outright refused to say anything about the recent. Only Rei, who of course knew that Hikari already knew what had really happened, was willing to explain to her that NERV planned on taking responsibility for the victory.
Of course, since Shinji didn't know she knew this, she had to be careful when inquiring about Asuka's recent sour mood.
All this double life stuff can get very confusing, Hikari thought with a mental sigh.
"Yeah," Shinji replied, relief clear in his voice. He had been on the receiving end of several of Asuka's venting sessions, mostly because the Second Child couldn't go to Hikari. "I think she's looking toward the next Angel now."
The two finished making dinner and went to lay it out, after which Shinji set the table. For once, the Third Child didn't hesitate to grab a can of beer for Misato. The party was for her, after all.
"There," Shinji said, "now all we need—"
As if summonsed by the thought, a tired looking Misato opened the door to her apartment and walked in. She blinked as she took in the feast that was laid out on her table.
"Surprise!" Hikari exclaimed, with Shinji echoing her a second later.
"What's this all about?" Misato asked.
"We decided to have a little party to celebrate your promotion," Shinji explained, looking just a little sheepish, as if tooting his own horn even this tiny bit embarrassed him. "Asuka's out getting Rei. As soon as they arrive, we can start."
"Oh! This is so sweet of you!" Misato gushed.
The purple haired officer grabbed Shinji and embraced him in a crushing hug, which, thanks to the height difference, had the effect of burying his face in her ample bust. Hikari looked away, blushing slightly at the display.
"And thank you, too, Hikari!" Misato added after she'd released Shinji, not hugging the class rep as well, much to her relief. "I'm going to change out of this uniform and then I'll be right back."
Misato disappeared into her bedroom, and Hikari sat down at the table to wait.
"Wark!"
The class rep looked down and smiled at the sight of Pen-Pen, picking him up and placing him on her lap. Every time she looked at the water fowl, something about the penguin caused a five-year-old Hikari inside her mind to start jumping up and down, shouting "Kawaii!" over and over again.
Pen-Pen seemed to realize this and always appeared when Hikari was around, eager to be petted.
Suddenly, the door to the apartment swung open again and Asuka entered, practically pushing in Rei. The First Child wasn't in her school uniform for once, wearing one of the few outfits that she had purchased during her trip to the mall with Asuka and Hikari prior to the school trip to Okinawa. Hikari suspected that Asuka had cajoled Rei into changing out of her school uniform before coming over.
"Hullo!" Asuka greeted cheerfully.
"Hello," Rei echoed, much more softly.
"Hi," Hikari said with a smile. "Misato just got home. As soon as she finishes changing, we can start."
"Is Kaji here yet?" Asuka asked eagerly.
"No, he hasn't shown up yet," Shinji answered.
Asuka pouted and sat down at the table, and Rei silently took a seat next to her. Misato emerged a moment later, much more casually dressed. "Hey, Rei. Asuka," she sat down at the head of the table. "This looks really good!"
"Hikari's a better cook than I am," Shinji said with a small smile.
"Well, she must be really great, then," Misato said with a grin. "Okay, let's dig in!"
The group proceeded to do so, and relative silence reigned for several minutes in the apartment as everyone busied themselves with the food. It wasn't until the chime of the electronic doorbell sounded that everyone looked up.
"That's gotta be Kaji!" Asuka exclaimed excitedly.
Her face fell, however, when the door opened and everyone saw that the unshaven man wasn't alone. A blond woman that Hikari guessed was Ritsuko Akagi was with him.
"I came directly from headquarters, we just happen to meet on the way," Kaji said with a grin.
"A likely story!" Asuka and Misato snapped in perfect synch.
"You're not jealous, are you?" Ritsuko teased.
"Hmph! Of course not," Misato grumbled sourly.
Kaji smirked suddenly. "Well, Shinji, I hope you don't mind that I decided to show up."
"Huh? Why would I mind?" Shinji asked, clearly confused.
The spy's smirk widened. "Why, because you're no longer the sole island of masculinity in a sea of beautiful girls, of course!"
Shinji blushed furiously, while Asuka released a bark of laughter. "An 'island of masculinity?' Him? Don't make me laugh!"
The Third Child gave the Second a scowl but didn't say anything, not wanting to ruin the party by starting an argument. Hikari also directed a scolding look at Asuka, who just shrugged in response.
Kaji turned his attention back to Misato and gave her a formal bow. "I'd like to give you my sincerest regards, Major Katsuragi," he said, then straightened and dropped the serious facade. "I suppose I'll have to be polite to you from now on."
"And just what does that mean?" Misato somehow managed to ask even as she continued to drink her beer.
"Well, you know how the Commanders have never both left Japan at the same time before," Kaji said. "I guess they must feel that old Katsuragi is really dependable."
"My father's left Japan again?" Shinji asked.
"Yes," Ritsuko replied. "He's at the South Pole. Personally, I think he went there to escape the heat from the Committee. From what I understand, they're rather dubious about the report on the latest Angel battle."
"Ikari has been feeding us nothing but damned lies for months!" SEELE-11 shouted. "We cannot continue to tolerate these deceptions!"
The council member's words echoed through the virtual meeting room, the place where the twelve most powerful men in the world conferred, hiding their identities like the lowliest of criminals behind holographic monoliths.
"There is little doubt in the matter that Ikari has been distorting the truth," SEELE-03 agreed in a much calmer tone.
"Unfortunately, we have a lack of proof," SEELE-09 pointed out. "The reports of a handful of people who weren't evacuated and saw part of the battle doesn't constitute indisputable evidence."
"Do you really believe that Ikari was telling the truth when he said that Units One and Two destroyed the Angel?" SEELE-11 snapped incredulously. "Without incurring any damage in the process?"
"Of course not," SEELE-09 scoffed. "But I think you are forgetting how skilled a player Ikari is. Thanks to the fact that our man inside NERV spent the entire power failure trapped inside an elevator, we will never be able to prove he lied to us."
"Why do we need to prove anything?" SEELE-07 asked. "Ikari answers to us. We can merely replace him."
"This is why I think you forget how dangerous Ikari is!" SEELE-09 snapped. "He is not some simple pencil pusher we can dismiss at our leisure. He controls NERV Central, which possesses Lilith and all the functional Evangelions, including Unit One! He will soon control the Lance as well! All essential elements of the scenario!"
"Indeed," SEELE-04 spoke up softly. "If he were to self-destruct NERV headquarters, everything we have worked so long for would go up with the compound."
"Besides," SEELE-02 said, "odious though Ikari's actions may be, they are not reason to believe that he is trying to alter the scenario. Merely that he is having difficulty dealing with the anomaly and trying to cover it up."
"Such incompetence cannot be tolerated," SEELE-11 growled.
"Ikari is many things, but incompetent is not one of them," SEELE-12 said. "I doubt that anyone could have stopped the girl, if he has not been able to."
"She cannot be allowed to run free! Her interference with the scenario could be ruinous!" SEELE-11 protested.
What followed was an old fashioned shouting match between the members of SEELE, as they screamed potential solutions, arguments, or just plain insults at one another.
"Enough," SEELE-01 spoke up at last, and all the other members fell silent at once to listen to their leader. "Ikari's actions are troubling, but at the moment we control nothing but the purse strings. And public opinion restricts our ability to even use that control."
"So what shall we do?" asked SEELE-11.
"For the moment will shall wait and watch," SEELE-01 said. "If Ikari's deceptions prove to be more than simply cover ups for his fumbling…well, there shall be a great reckoning when it comes time for us to play our trump cards."
"So, did you have fun tonight, Rei?" Hikari asked as she and the blue haired girl headed for the train station after the party.
"Yes," Rei replied, actually sounding rather surprised by this fact.
Hikari smiled. "Good."
The two girls reached the train station and got in line for tickets back to their respective parts of the city. As they waited, Hikari couldn't help but think about Rei's decrepit apartment in the bad part of the city. That she had to live there was really nothing short of criminal, the class rep mused, especially considering that Rei's guardian was the most powerful man in Tokyo-3.
"Say, Rei, why don't you come over to my place tonight?" Hikari asked impulsively. "You could sleepover."
Rei looked at her silently for a long time, until Hikari felt sure she was going to refuse.
"That would be agreeable," Rei said at last, surprising the class rep. "Will your sisters not complain about you inviting guests, however?"
Hikari smiled. "No, it'll be fine. They've learned not to bite the hand that cooks for them."
Rei made no reply to this, and the two girls both boarded the train bound for Hikari's part of the city. Roughly twenty minutes later, they were entering the Horaki home. Inside the kitchen, they found Nozomi seated at the kitchen table, eating pizza and reading what looked like a tabloid magazine, the kind that were commonly found by the checkout lines in grocery stores.
"It's impolite to read at the table, Nozomi-chan," Hikari chided. "Especially that kind of rubbish."
Nozomi didn't bother looking up at first. "But I was here all by myself, nee-chan!" she protested. "And I don't normally read this sort of stuff, but you're in it! See?"
She spun around, holding the magazine open to a two page story with the headline "Superwomen of Tokyo-3" displayed at the top in gaudy yellow letters. There was a picture of Spirit, that Silver Surfer girl that had made a brief appearance at their school some time ago, and a girl in dark clothing whose head was a horned skull wreathed in flame that the magazine labeled the "Ghost Rider."
A second after she'd turned around, Nozomi blanched, realizing that her sister wasn't alone. She hadn't heard the blue haired girl at all, but Nozomi had managed to notice her in time to see her start at the sight of the magazine. She paled, realizing what she had just done.
"It's okay, Nozomi-chan," Hikari said, noting the look of horror on her younger sister's face. "Rei already knows that I'm Spirit. She was the one who warned me about the blood test, actually."
"You were? Arigato!" Nozomi exclaimed, putting her magazine down and abruptly hugging Rei around the waist.
The First Child's eyes widened at the unfamiliar display of emotion and gratitude. She gingerly placed her hands on the girl's shoulders, wondering what the warm feeling that had appeared in her chest was.
"You are…welcome," Rei said, her voice slow and uncertain in this unusual situation.
"What's all this about?" a curious voice asked.
They all turned to see that Kodama had entered the kitchen while Nozomi was hugging the Eva pilot.
"She's the one who warned Hikari about the blood tests," Nozomi explained, disengaging herself from Rei.
"Oh!" Kodama said. The eldest Horaki sister smiled and bowed formally to Rei. "You have our thanks, then. This family would really be lost without Hikari."
"Yeah! Without her, we'd have to eat Kodama's cooking!" Nozomi piped up with a mock shudder at the prospect.
"Nozomi," Kodama and Hikari scolded simultaneously, though Hikari couldn't help but smile slightly, remembering what she'd said to Rei back at the station.
The youngest sister held up her hands in a placating gesture. "I was just kidding, sheesh."
"Oh! Where are my manners?" Hikari scolded herself. "Rei, these are my sisters, Nozomi and Kodama. And this is Rei Ayanami. She's my friend and an EVA pilot. I invited her to spend the night."
Kodama nodded. "Have fun, then. If you'll excuse me, I have things to do."
Several hours, numerous failed attempts at teaching Rei the fine art of gossiping, and a dozen or so rounds of Wing Annihilator on the Sega Genesis (the First Child proved to be frighteningly good at this) later, the class rep and the Eva pilot finally retired to bed.
Hikari, who was quite pleased with the events of that day and eager to get what little rest she could, was soon sleeping softly. Rei, however, lay awake for a good long time.
Such gratitude, Rei thought to herself. I have never had so much directed at me. I did not even warn Hikari for her own sake. I did it for Ikari-kun. Yet their gratitude still made me feel…good, even despite the fact that I knew it to be misplaced.
The blue haired girl turned over. Her eyes, long since adjusted to the dark, swept across the dim room. Hikari's bedroom contained far more decorations and objects than her apartment did. Not long ago, Rei would have viewed all of it as having no purpose, and thus utterly pointless, not worth whatever effort Hikari had expended to acquire such objects.
Now, however…
They are…personal touches. Marks that this place belongs to her, as she belongs here. Hikari clearly belongs here in a way that is more…profound than the way I belong at my apartment, Rei thought, frowning slightly as her mind grappled with the rather abstract concepts.
Is it because of her sisters that she belongs here? Rei wondered. I believe it is.
Releasing a tiny sigh, Rei rolled onto her back and closed her eyes, determined to sleep. It was unusual for her rest schedule to be interrupted in any way, and she wanted to deviate from it as little as possible.
I…wish to belong somewhere, as she belongs here with her sisters, was her last thought as she finally drifted into sleep.
Several days (and one extraordinarily painful night) later, Hikari again sensed the coming of an Angel near the end of the school day. Much like last time, the moment school let out, Hikari collected Nozomi as quickly as she could and the two were heading home.
"I hope there's no blackout or anything this time," Hikari said as they headed toward the train station.
Nozomi nodded, then frowned a moment later, cocking her head to the side slightly. "What's that?"
"I don't know," Hikari said. "I hear something, but I'm not sure…"
She trailed off as a massive fleet of transport helicopters came into view above them. "Your attention please!" blared from loudspeakers in several of the aircraft. "The government has issued a special D-17 order! All civilians within fifty kilometers of Tokyo-3 are to be evacuated! Please proceed to the designated pickup zones to be transported via government helicopter!"
"You had to say something and jinx it, didn't you?" Nozomi asked flatly.
"Oh, can it," Hikari grumbled irritably. "At least the trains will still be running. Come on."
The two rushed home as quickly as they were able, which wasn't very fast. The train station was in chaos as people frantically tried to either get to the evac points or reunite with loved ones before fleeing the city.
They did eventually make it back, and only mere moments after Kodama arrived as well.
"Take care of Nozomi, nee-chan," Hikari said in a rush, already on her way to her bedroom to change. "I have to go. I'll try and find you two after—"
"Hold it," Kodama ordered sternly, causing Hikari to stop short. "They were evacuating people at the college, and guess what I found out?"
"What?" Hikari asked impatiently.
"That they're keeping track of who's evacuating very closely," Kodama said, crossing her arms. "I strongly suspect that NERV is hoping that a girl between the ages of, oh say, thirteen and sixteen stays behind for unexplained reasons."
Hikari winced. "You mean…?"
"Yeah," Kodama nodded. "You have to come with us and be counted, otherwise NERV will probably find out who you are. You can try and fly back after they've gotten us to wherever we're evacuating to, but…"
"It'll probably take hours. The battle will probably be over by then," Hikari groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. She sighed. "Looks like NERV will have to handle this one without Spirit."
Neither Nozomi nor Kodama showed it, but both were extremely relieved that Spirit would be sitting this one out. The declaration of a D-17 meant that this latest Angel had to be really dangerous, and their father was just a bit too high up in the NERV hierarchy to evacuate with them. The idea of potentially losing him and Hikari at once was far too horrible to even contemplate.
Hours later, the teenagers who were arguably the three most important people in the entire world stood outside of—
"A ramen place?" Misato asked, blinking in confusion.
"Well, we know that you're too poor to pay for the steak dinner you promised us. This'll be just fine," Asuka said. "And this way Rei can join us, too."
Asuka's actions spoke louder than her rather harsh choice of words, and Misato smiled at the unexpected act of kindness as they ordered their food.
"You're awfully cheerful," the Operations Director commented as they went to sit down.
"Well, why shouldn't I be?" Asuka asked. "It's not everyday we beat one in 10,000 odds, and we got to kill another Angel without the winged wonder butting in."
Really, the only thing that would have made it better is if I'd caught the Angel instead of Shinji, Asuka thought. And I still need to pay the Third back for saving me at the volcano. Oh well, I'm sure I'll be able to later.
Misato decided not to ruin the moment by saying that they should be grateful for Spirit's help. She knew Asuka would never listen anyway, so why bother?
"Arigato."
Misato and Asuka turned to look at the source of the quiet word of thanks, which just happened to be the First Child. They both gave her a curious glance.
"Thank you for including me," Rei said softly.
Misato smiled. "You're welcome, Rei! After all the hard work you've put in for NERV, a night out is the least you deserve!"
Wow, I don't think I've ever heard Rei thank anyone before, Misato mused.
Rei gave Misato and Asuka a small smile before turning back to her meal. Is this what it feels like to belong?
Shinji, meanwhile, just gazed silently into his bowl of noodles, as if he expected to see the solutions to the great mysteries of the universe within it. Father praised me and called me by my name, but…
Gendo had done so much to him, and Shinji was growing more and more his father had some kind of dark designs for NERV and EVA as time went on. As good as hearing his father congratulate him had been, Shinji was afraid to trust the man.
Why does everything have to be so confusing? He wondered forlornly as he finally started on his noodles.
Author's Notes: Observant fans of the Superwomen of Eva series will note that in "Emerald Fury" Misato passes out, gets her checkup from Ritsuko, and transforms for the first time all in the course of one day. Thus, there wouldn't be time for a celebration for her in between these events. However, the idea of Hikari throwing Misato a party not long before She-Hulk beats the ever-loving snot out of Spirit amused me for some reason. Besides, no matter how many nods and cameos the SOE fics do with each other, I doubt that it'll be possible for them to all perfectly match up, so I went with it.
Now, as bissek pointed out in his review, the next few Angels are not exactly the kind that Spirit can really fight. But fear not, dear readers, while we are in a relative lull, there won't be three action-free chapters in a row by any means. And once we get to the Thirteenth Angel, things should really start heating up.
Ryousanki, the acid spray is really nothing compared to what happened when the Twelfth Angel just swallowed a chunk of the city. That's when you really have to feel bad for those poor slobs.
Konous the grey, I think the only ramification is that it's now obvious I don't proof-read the omakes as thoroughly as I do the rest of the story. :)
Pusakuronu, that would require the non-EVA forces of NERV to be useful, and we can't have that. Seriously, though, even as pissed at Spirit as Gendo is, any Angel around is still top priority. So if Asuka's available to neutralize Spirit's AT field, he can just send Unit Two after her.
Reform Jones, I love you, too. Seriously, though, Hikari's got a huge crush on a different guy, and her friendship with Shinji is at least partially based on pity. Not great conditions for romance to blossom. As for Shinji showing he has a brain, don't forget that he is the son of two very bright people. He's just so self-absorbed most of time he often doesn't use said brain.
As always, thanks to all my readers and reviewers.
Omake
Envy
"Oh my god! Hikari-chan, I can't believe that you actually fought that spider thing!" Kodama shouted. "You should have just flown away when it was shooting deadly acid at you!"
Hikari sighed. Kodama hadn't said much about her battle against the spider Angel…until she actually gone to the part of the city that the battle had happened in and seen the melted buildings. Then she'd started up with throwing the usual fit and lecturing her.
"Nee-chan, it all turned out fine! Besides, I couldn't just run away! NERV couldn't launch the EVA's! I was the only one who could stop it!" Hikari protested.
"Deadly acid!" Kodama shouted.
Hikari groaned and just left Kodama rant on. As if everything else she had to put up with wasn't bad enough, it seemed that she had to get lectured and shouted at after every battle.
She tried to just grin and bear it, she really did, but there came a point at which even Hikari's patience was expended.
"Stop it already! Just stop!" Hikari snapped, finally losing her temper. "I know you're just giving me a hard time because you're jealous that I have bigger boobs than you now!"
Kodama felt silent immediately, her lower lip quivering as she crossed her arms over her chest. She, unlike Hikari but like all the other Horaki women, was not exactly gifted in that regard.
"You don't have to rub in!" Kodama sobbed as she turned and ran from the room. "Stupid angelic transformation!"
Hikari blinked stupidly as her older sister retreated. She'd had no idea that Kodama had felt that way, and even less of a clue as to what had made her lob that accusation at her.
"Too far, nee-chan," said Nozomi, who'd been silently watching the whole exchange. "Too far."