Chapter Nine
Asuka raised her hand to offer Rei a high-five, and was greeted with a blank stare.
"Put your hand up like this," she said as she rolled her eyes.
Rei mimicked her. Asuka slapped her palm.
"I do not understand the purpose of this gesture," said Rei.
"Do I have to teach you everything?"
"No," said Rei.
Watching her from the kitchen, Misato smiled to herself. It'd been a week since she'd forced Asuka to move into their apartment, and while most of her junk was still in boxes spread around the apartment, she'd actually opened up a tiny bit. She had the sneaking suspicion it was mostly due Rei's uncanny ability to mimic her movements and then stand there in silence while she gloated. Whether or not Rei actually agreed with Asuka's bragging was difficult to tell.
Shinji lightly jogged into the apartment, mumbled "I'm home," and continued on to the shower. He'd been out running in the mostly empty city. While they waited for the angel to lower its defensive AT-Field and begin moving, the city was in a strange state of almost lockdown, with people living out of the shelters, essential personnel going to work, and the city government piling up more useless papers on her desk. Somewhere in the last thirty-six hours she'd noticed that no one ever came to collect said papers, and so began piling them up under an old coffee pot in the corner of her office.
"Welcome home," Misato called back to him. He vanished into the bathroom while the girls went back to work, dancing the routine again.
She'd learned more than she meant to about either of her pilots, herself. Sleeping with them was a bizarre experience. For one, when she'd first arrived she never would have pegged Rei as a cuddler. She was beginning to wonder why the girl insisted other people were crying in their sleep, or why she insisted on clamping onto either Misato or Asuka every night.
She looked around the corner as she took a drink of beer. Shinji had been terribly quiet the last few days. Without school, he'd been going back and forth between the apartment or the gym or just running around, and had said little, even for him. She heard him turn the shower on and shrugged, going back to her duties.
Fuyutsuki carefully scanned the surveillance report from the Katsuragi apartment. The new observing agent was less descriptive, as it were, than his predecessor, and mainly stuck to describing the events and sounds he recorded in excruciatingly boring detail. He was pleased to learn that the two pilots were actually learning to work together. As he scanned the report, he noticed something odd.
Shinji had been leaving the apartment at distinctly regular intervals, often well before sunrise. The agent was ordered to observe the apartment and thus didn't follow him, but something about that stoked his curiosity. He sat back in his comfy old office chair, the one he'd dragged out of his office at the university, and decided to ruminate on that for a while.
He picked up his phone and dialed the number for Akagi's lab.
"I need the latest psych report on the boy," he said, without preamble.
"Sir?" a male voice said.
"Who is this?" Fuyutsuki said as he sat up.
"Shigeru Aoba, sir. Doctor Akagi is out today. She said she'd be back in the morning, for the attack."
"What?"
"I don't have any more details, sir. I apologize."
Sighing, he hung up and dialed Akagi's cell phone. She answered on very nearly the last ring and said tiredly, "Hello?"
"Akagi? This is the sub-commander. What are you doing at home?"
There was a short pause. He thought he heard something in the background, a high-pitched giggle and the muffled sounds of Akagi speaking with her hand covering the phone.
"I can't say," she said finally. "I've been working from home for a few days. I have everything I need here."
Fuyutsuki looked around the growing mountain of papework and pinched his nose. "I need the psych report on the boy. Do you have it?"
"I'll e-mail it to you. Will there be anything else?"
"No," he sighed. He held the receiver for a moment. There was definitely someone else there. Akagi hung up.
He stared at the psych report a little while longer, drumming his fingers.
Asuka sat panting in Misato's kitchen –her kitchen, now- and took a sip of water. Rei sat across the table from her, serenely reading from some book, her chest moving in deep, rapid breaths and the sweat beaded on her forehead the only sign of her exertion. She blithely thumbed through the pages and took a sip of her own water. The little sound she made when she swallowed was profoundly annoying.
All the same, Asuka was starting to like her, in spite of her best efforts not to.
"What is that you're reading?" she asked. "Don't tell me you're keeping up on your school work."
"School is pointless," said Rei. "I am reading 'Thus Spake Zarathustra'."
"What?" Asuka sat up. "You're reading Nietzsche?"
"Shinji gave it to me. I have decided to study human literature and philosophy."
She sat back in the chair and took a long drink of water, and winced at the sensation of the cold on her teeth. She brushed her hair out of her eyes –she left her nerve clips out while she exercised- and studied Rei over the bottle. She continued to read in silence. Conversation was not her strong point, which bothered Asuka less and less as she went on. It wasn't that Rei didn't have anything to say- she said nothing that wasn't worth saying, which was striking.
"I've read that," said Asuka. "I went to college."
"I see," said Rei.
Then again, the whole lack of conversation thing could also be profoundly annoying at times.
"Isn't that song from that movie? About the big black rectangle?" said Misato.
Asuka narrowed her eyes at her. Misato shrugged and went back to chewing noisily on some warmed over spiced slop she'd microwaved.
Shinji wandered into the kitchen, procured a plastic cup, and shoveled a scoop of powder into it. He mixed some other powders into it, poured a disturbing amount of water into it, and began mixing it up.
"What is that?" said Asuka.
"Workout shake. Going to the gym."
He slurped down the foul looking concoction, trotted to the door, and left without further comment. She looked after him for a while, finished her water bottle, and tossed it in the garbage can. Misato hopped up and trotted into the living room.
"Come on," she called, "we have a while to practice before bedtime."
Rei turned around and motioned for Asuka to remain seated. She slipped a folded piece of paper out of her book, slid it across the table, and touched her finger to her lips, to suggest silence. Confused, Asuka touched her fingers to it and pulled it across the surface, then unfolded it, glancing around the doorway at Misato, who was busily playing the damn game herself, bouncing around like an idiot.
Written in a simple, unpracticed hand, in German, was "APARTMENT IS BUGGED. NEED TO TALK OUTSIDE. S."
Her eyes widened, and she realized Rei was staring at her intently. She carefully tore the paper into small scraps and stuffed it into the garbage can, then followed Rei out into the living room to continue her training.
Sometime later, after setting about ten new high scores, Shinji returned, drenched in sweat. He paused in the kitchen, wiping his head down with a towel, and slowly drank a water bottle. He studied Asuka and Rei as they practiced for a while, then tossed the bottle in the trash can.
"I'm going for a walk," he said.
Asuka waited for the song to stop. "Can I go with him?"
"Don't be long," Misato shrugged. "Are you going, Rei?"
"No," said Rei. She bent down and fished around in Misato's video game collection. "I would like to play 'Mortal Kombat' instead."
Misato looked at her like she'd grown three heads.
Quickly, Asuka grabbed a pair of sweatpants, pulled it on over her leotard, and trotted after Shinji, catching up to him as he strolled down the sidewalk at a leisurely pace, apparently studying the sunset.
"What do you mean, the apart-"
"Not yet," was all he said, continuing to walk.
She shrugged and kept walking, following him as he aimlessly made his way down the road, away from the apartment. He turned down a side street, which was empty; no one else was actually allowed to be out at this hour, due to the 'emergency'. He looked around a few times as he came to a stop near a small convenience store, which was of course closed.
He looked at her and said, "Where's your mother?"
"What?" she snapped. "What business of it is yours?"
"You've made friends with that Horaki girl, right?"
"What? I-"
"Where's her mother? Toji and Kensuke's mothers are both dead, and they both worked for Nerv."
She sat down at an empty table in front of a sidewalk café. "What are you saying?"
"I've read their files," he said quietly. "You know who else has a deceased mother who was involved with Nerv, or Gehirn? Every student in our class. Including us."
"How do you know that?"
"I said," he sat down opposite her, "I read their files."
She crossed her arms. "You don't have access. If these 'files' even exist, they'd be classified."
"I know someone with access to the MAGI system. The supercomputer."
Her eyes narrowed. "Who?"
"I can't tell you yet," he said quietly. "You'll never believe me, but I know things, Asuka Langley Soryu. Secret things that are mine, and mine alone. I know about a doll, and a rope, and a doctor."
Asuka stood straight up, and knocked the chair over behind her. It clanged on the sidewalk, the sound reverberating in the growing darkness. She took a step back from the table and nearly tripped over it. She widened the gap between them as she moved, spreading her arms and opening her eyes wide as if she were confronting a wild animal.
"How the fuck do you know that? Huh? Huh?"
"I know many things."
There were tears at the corner of her eyes. She blinked them away. "Never talk about that, never ever ever!"
He stood up. "You're like me. You were born that day, the way I was born they took my mother from me. They stole her face from me, her voice. It's all gone."
"I'm not hearing this," she said as she started to turn.
"I know what you want," he said, his voice rising. "I felt your rage, your anger. You're furious at yourself, but it's not your fault. They did this to you, and to me, and to Rei, and to all the others. They made us what they are for their sick game."
She started to run.
"I know what you want! I know what you want!"
She realized he was right behind her. He must have been faking it at the apartment, he wasn't even winded.
"Get away from me!" she nearly shrieked, running without even knowing where she was going.
"I won't hurt you! Even if I wanted to, I couldn't hurt you as much as they already have!"
She stumbled to a stop, fell, and covered her ears. "I don't want to hear this! Shut up! Shut up!"
"Kyoko," Shinji snapped, "that was her name, wasn't it? Wasn't it?"
"Leave me alone," she sobbed. "Get away from me!"
"Kyoko Soryu! Say it! Say it!"
"K-k-Kyoko S-s-Soryu…" she sobbed, crushing her face into her arms. She curled in the fetal position, and pushed herself up against the door of some building.
He knelt beside her. "I can't bring her back, but I can give you something else."
"W-What?"
"Revenge," he whispered.
She said nothing, and remained there, quivering. He sat down beside her, staring into the sun. "I won't force you to do anything. It has to be your choice. I want you by my side. I've seen your strength."
"Strength?" she snapped, her vision blurred by tears. "You call this strength?"
"You have a university degree. You speak three languages. You pilot Eva. You're a warrior born and trained all your life." He reached out, gingerly, and touched her cheek. "This, this is strength. It takes strength to remember. Not to crush it down. Not to run away."
She said nothing.
"Did you watch it?"
She looked at him, hard. Carefully, she wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Yes."
A slow, predatory grin spread across his face.
"What? I don't care about some stupid movie-"
"That's not the point," he snapped. "It's not about a movie. It's about ideas. The man who masters himself masters the universe. You have the drive, I've seen it. They had surveillance on you around the clock, you know. I know you used sit for hours, studying me. You wanted to know my secret. I'll tell you what it is, but you have to answer something for me first."
"What?"
He leaned close to her. "What is the Riddle of Steel?"
"Sub Zero wins," the television boomed again, "Flawless Victory."
Misato tossed her controller down in disgust. Rei stared at her blankly.
"I do not cheat," said Rei, cutting off Misato's accusation.
"Have you played this game before?"
She shook her head. Misato sighed. The door opened, and she jumped up and rushed to it. Asuka walked inside. There was an odd look on her face, and she could see tear tracks on her cheeks. In a panic, Misato grabbed her by the arms.
"What's wrong? Where's Shinji?"
"He'll be back," Asuka said quietly.
"Did he… do something to you? You look upset."
"No," she said, meeting Misato's gaze. "He helped me. We need to sleep. The battle is tomorrow."
Misato let go of her and watched her stalk towards the bathroom. She stood in the living room staring at the door for a moment.
"Perhaps we should try another game," said Rei. "What is 'Street Fighter Three'?"
Asuka's eyes snapped open. It was dark, probably past midnight, edging towards the dawn, that time when the light is furthest away. Beside her, Rei lay motionless, hands folded on her chest, breathing slow, peaceful breaths. Misato, on the other hand, lay curled in a ball and was making sounds that could be charitably compared to a pig making love to a chainsaw. She sat up a little and scanned the room for a clock, realized Misato had set her phone for an alarm, and put her head back down. Misato stirred a little, stopped snoring for an instant, and then rolled over and flopped her arm across Rei.
She rolled onto her side and drew her legs up to her chest, pulling her blanket around herself.
"You are cold?" Rei whispered. She still didn't open her eyes.
"It's not that," she whispered back. "I can't sleep."
"You were asleep a moment ago."
"I know," Asuka hissed, sharply. "I mean I can't sleep now."
"You should try."
"Are you ready for tomorrow?"
"It will come whether I am ready for it or not."
"I guess," she said.
"It is certain," said Rei. "There is no need to guess."
Asuka rolled her eyes. "Why do you take everything so literally?"
"Why don't you?"
"What is this, twenty questions?"
"No," Rei whispered. "It is time to sleep."
Asuka huffed, pressed her eyes tightly shut, and drew in a deep breath. Blackness overwhelmed her, and when she awoke, sunlight peeked under the living room curtains, painting a line of brightness along the far wall. She remained motionless as Shinji slid his door open, padded out of his room in a jogging suit and sneakers, and left the apartment without a word.
"Where does he go?" she whispered.
"I do not know," said Rei. "He leaves every morning. You have not noticed?"
"No. I'm going back to sleep."
It seemed like a minute later, Misato's phone started beeping. Shinji sat against the far wall, legs folded under him, in his school uniform, watching them with a quiet smile on his face. Asuka sat up first, followed by Rei. Misato rolled around moaning for a moment before she finally managed to get up on all fours and remain so, moaning, for a while.
"Why can't the angels ever attack at noon," she groaned.
"Several angels have attacked in the late afternoon or evening," said Rei, "also, it-"
"Rei," Misato said to the floor. "I like you, but shut up."
"Very well," said Rei. "I will take a shower first."
"Remember the rule!"
"I know. I am not to disrobe until I am in the bathroom."
"They're not going to let me fight," Shinji said quietly.
Misato glared at him. "I have orders. So do you."
He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall.
"What's the matter?" Asuka snapped. "Don't think us poor little girls can handle it?"
Shinji only smirked.
Misato let out a slow breath and realized, with some trepidation and a great deal of quivering in her stomach, that she had entrusted the survival of the human race, her entire civilization and species, to a video game. She felt a certain wave of relief as she watched the in-plug feeds of Asuka and Rei in their Evas. Each of them had assumed the same position, the same slack facial expression, they'd even synchronized their breathing. If this worked, they'd only need a minute and the thing would be destroyed, vanquished, the battle over and the victory theirs.
There was another feed, of course. Shinji hadn't been deployed, but he was suited up and in his Eva anyway. He hadn't synched yet- he was just sitting there in electrolyzed LCL, his legs drawn up under his body. He looked unusually serene. He leaned his head back ever so slightly and his eyes went from being pressed shut to lidded slightly. She could sworn they were green, but that wasn't right.
"We have movement," Aoba called out in front of her.
"All systems are nominal," Ibuki said over her shoulder.
"Pilots," said Misato, "Ready?"
"Roger," they said, in perfect unison.
"Start moving. Blowing the umbilicals in five seconds."
Both Evangelions surged forward, each perfectly shadowing the other as they ran. The cables dropped, the retro-rockets fired, and they fell backward just as the angel dropped its field and began to move. Asuka and Rei leapt at the same instant and came down on the angel's two halves, knocking them back. Each grabbed an arm and spun the dazed creatures about, slamming them into each other. With surprising grace, they dodged the creature's raking claws and closed in on it, leapt, and as one, planted the Evas' heels in the twin cores at the same instant, shattering them.
Unit Zero nailed the landing perfectly. Asuka, a moment later, copied the motion, coming to rest in ankle-deep water before the ruined form of the angel. Mercilessly efficient, the entire attack took a mere thirty seconds.
"Great work," Misato announced. "We'll have you out in a few minutes. Sit tight. Shinji, you can get out of the plug now."
Fuyutsuki winced and squinted as he emerged into daylight. As his immediate subordinate, it was his duty to welcome the Commander back to the installation and inform him of what transpired in his absence, or rather, to finish filling him in. They hadn't spoken since Shinji's misadventure at the school, as both had been quite busy since then.
Stepping out of the car, he took a breath of unprocessed air for the first time in weeks, and delighted in it, as much as the sun annoyed him. He waited patiently as Gendo descended the stair from the small private jet and walked beside him in silence. Neither of them spoke until they were seated in the car and the door closed.
"You've had this car swept for bugs," said Gendo.
"Naturally."
"So. The seventh was defeated without issue?"
"There was a minor delay, and the JSSDF insisted on interfering during the opening sortie. I'm afraid I'm less adept at cowing them."
"I see," said Gendo. "The status of the Evangelions?"
"Intact. One and Two suffered superficial damage during the initial attack, but it has already been repaired."
"And the pilots?"
"Katsuragi moved the Soryu girl into her apartment and trained here to synchronize her movements with Rei. It was quiet ingenious on her part, actually."
"The school?"
"I have no doubt they will cooperate with us," Fuyutsuki replied, gazing out the window as the car began to move. He left the question to hang in between them, unsaid.
"I've spoken with the Nevada installation," Gendo said, apropos of nothing. "They will be transporting Unit Three here for testing. Its arrival will roughly coincide with the predicted attack by the Thirteenth, unfortunately."
"Yes," said Fuyutsuki. "That will be unfortunate, won't it?"
"Indeed," Gendo replied. "I've had time to consider our problem with the pilots. I have a solution in mind. If he becomes difficult to manage, I believe he will respond quickly to my argument."
Having deposited Gendo back in his cave, Fuyutsuki did the sensible thing for a man in his position to do after three weeks with a doubled workload. He took the day off. Nevertheless, he rose quite early. It took him several re-reads of the report he'd carefully gone over, and then deleted from the system, and whose author he'd transferred out of the city, before he could decide exactly when to rise. He waited calmly for the sun to break over the horizon, and there cast long shadows from the rows upon rows of aluminum poles marking the lives lost in Second Impact.
On cue, the boy came jogging between them. He trotted to a stop before one marker and fell to his knees in front of it. Fuyutsuki pulled his hat down over his eyes and began walking, feeling every step in his aged knees. He sometimes envied the young their vigor, as absurd as that was given the overall situation. It took him a full five minutes to stroll from the tree to the gravesite, that of Yui Ikari.
Shinji knelt in front of it still. He didn't look up. "Hello, Professor."
"Shinji," said Fuyutsuki.
"I thought you would be here sooner," Shinji said softly.
"I was here first," Fuyutsuki deadpanned.
"I meant, I thought you'd notice my behavior and track me down sooner."
Fuyutsuki sighed, and slid the gun out of his pocket. He trained it on Shinji's back and stood there for a moment.
"That isn't necessary, Professor."
"I'm not here to play a game with you, Shinji," he replied, keeping the gun pointed at him. "I have a sneaking suspicion that there is more to you than some of my colleagues believe."
"You didn't know about them until you bailed him out," said Shinji.
"Excuse me?"
"At a bar. There was a fight. He was arrested. You bailed him out. You resented that afterwards, always wondered if maybe she would have reciprocated your feelings, even after I was born."
"How do you know that? Did your father tell you that?"
Shinji turned his head slowly. "If it's a boy, Shinji. If it's a girl, Rei."
Fuyutsuki took a step back. "Where did you hear that?"
"I talked to someone who was there," he said, a barely noticeable smirk on his lips.
Fuyutsuki's hand was shaking. "That's not possible."
"Put that away," he glanced at the gun. "We both know there's no point in shooting me."
With a sigh, he put the gun back in his pocket, but kept his hand on it, affecting a casual stance. "I don't know what you mean to do, Shinji, but you're just a boy. They wouldn't let you near the Evangelion if they thought you planned to stop them."
"Of course," said Shinji. "I wouldn't either."
"So what do you mean to do?"
"About the committee, you mean, and Seele, and my father."
"Yes."
Shinji's eyes became cold, and fixed on Fuyutsuki's own.
"I mean to kill them all."