Slightly late update this time but keeping to a one a week schedule. A little more inside Rei's head this chapter, which is really fun to write.

I had initially planned to not directly discuss the pilots training just because I felt like it was going to come out like a training montage, which would look lazy. Then I realized it would just be lazy not discuss it.

Chapter 12

Shinji woke as he normally did, his body just ceasing to sleep right about 0600. He looked down and found Rei still asleep, so he did his best to be quiet as he rose. Still groggy, he nearly stripped down right in front of her, usually wearing only his towel to the bathroom. Shinji threw his towel over his shoulder and had grabbed the door knob when he heard Rei stir and turned back around.

She yawned and stretched in the early morning light and Shinji stared. He understood in that moment why jumpers were used as school uniforms for girls. They hid what Misato's loaned nightshirt showed for Shinji in the early morning light. Shinji only stopped staring minutes later when he realized two red eyes were staring back.

"I-I'm sorry Ayanami-san!"

Rei tilted her head and the little smile on her lips made Shinji melt.

"It is no bother." She said then stood, the shirt hanging from her shoulders and leaving her somewhat more covered. "Thank you for sharing your lair with me. I slept well. Did you?"

"Yes, t-thank you." Shinji replied, reflexively twitching as Rei moved towards him with slow, graceful steps. He nearly pulled away as she took his hand, but when he looked up and into her eyes he stopped.

"Do your dressings need tending to, hunter?" Rei asked as she looked at his bandaged forearm.

"I-I guess I need to change them yeah." Shinji replied. He had been changing them in the bathroom the few days he had been out of the hospital. Every instinct was telling him to twitch and pull away as she touched him, but he felt both calmed and paralyzed by Rei's dainty hands and crimson eyes.

Rei smiled and let go of his arm, then stepped back before bowing to him like she had the night before. One foot in front of the other and all the way down to her waist before straightening up.

"Then allow me repay your kindness." She said.

She sat down on the tatami floor and gestured for Shinji to follow. He did and began to unwrap the bandages around his left arm. Well he tried anyway. Every time he tried to grab at the wrappings his hand just would not close right. He knew what he was doing but his fingers refused to follow orders. Shinji became frustrated. He felt like an idiot. The more frustrated he became the worse his attempts failed, until Rei stopped him with a hand placed over his.

"It takes time, I know. May I?" Rei asked and Shinji sighed and drooped his head, then nodded. He knew he was weak, he hated showing it off.

Rei began to gently remove the bandage along his left arm, then the right. Though he was not burned directly, the damage beneath his skin left a noticeable difference in skin tone. His hands were darker, almost olive compared to the pasty white of the rest of his body. The color rose all the way up to his elbows, ending in veiny marks crawling up his scrawny biceps.

Once Rei finished upwrapping his arms, she waited for him to remove his shirt. And waited. After a couple of minutes she bent down to be in his field of view as he looked at the ground.

"If I am going to tend to the rest of your dressing, you need to take off your shirt." Rei said, and was rewarded with a shake of Shinji's head as he closed his eyes. The next thing Shinji felt was her hand touching his face. Her skin was soft and Shinji shivered as her fingers cupped his chin and gently raised his head. He opened his eyes and found himself staring into Rei's.

"Please?" She said, and Shinji nodded. He reached over over his head to pull it off and winced in pain. When Rei reached to help him he pushed her hand away and got his shirt off on his own. Shinji liked Rei, he wanted to be her friend. He did not want to look pathetic in front of her.

His bandages began at the base of his rib cage and rose around his shoulders, ending at the base of his neck. He raised his arms out to his sides and Rei began to unwrap the remaining bindings. As she pulled the bandages away from his body, the long winding mark left by the angel's attack was revealed. It resembled a snake coiled around his body. Between the coils Rei saw a multitude of smaller, older marks.

The last bandage gone, Rei reached out and touched a finger to the snake mark, eliciting a gasp from Shinji. As she pulled away, Shinji's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.

"I felt that."

"I can tell."

"No… you d-d-d-don't…" Shinji paused and took a deep breath. "When I touch it, I don't feel it. When Misato helped me and touched it, I didn't feel it. Everything Dr. Akagi did and I didn't feel any of it. When you touched it… it felt. Just feeling something felt good."

Rei smiled and reached forward to touch him again, drawing her finger along par of the scar. Shinji moaned and Rei shivered. She liked that noise. As she touched him again and followed the curve of the snake scar across his chest she got to hear it again.

"Aya-…Ayanami-san!"

Rei grinned and kept going. "Yes, hunter?"

Shinji grabbed her wrist again, pulling her fingers away from her even though they felt so good.

"T-that felt really good."

"I can tell, would you like me to continue?"

"Y-yes! I mean no, I mean- WILL YOU STOP THAT!" Shinji snapped when Rei kept trying to poke his scars. She giggled and he sighed. "It takes a really long time to bath with these and we need to get ready."

"Oh very well, where are your bandages and medicine?" She said. Shinji pointed them out and with practiced ease Rei bandaged him back up. She had been left to her own wounds enough to become an expert. Shinji took the first bath, reasoning he could make breakfast while the two ladies bathed. After he left, Rei disposed of his soiled bandages then sat back down on the floor, looking around Shinji's room.

So this was the lair of the hunter of angels she thought. In the darkness she had not had the chance to inspect it. It was so very…plain. She laughed inwardly at herself. Had she expected a head mounted on the wall or his weapons on display? He used no weapons; he fought with his body. She admired that and today she would learn to do the same. His prey were the monsters who sought to end the world, and they would be her prey too.

Rei bit her lip and shivered. They would hunt and kill together. She stretched her hands above her head as she imagined her name daubed in angel blood.

Her name. Rei. No no no NO! Not that name, not the name THEY gave her. Dr. Akagi and her just as wretched mother. Names were power and they thought they could name her, that they could control her. She knew her name once, her real name.

She wrote on the walls of her room but then they took it away from her. The fog of pills and needles was still there and it wouldn't let her see. She knew things but she couldn't remember. They ground it away and painted it over like they could take it away.

It was just on the edge of the fog. She could feel it in her mind. She could taste its color. She could see how it was meant to feel.

It was right there, and all the memories of when she found it the first time, the happiness, the joy. And then the pain, and the guilt, and the needles and the fog took it away. Four years of sensation taken, stolen!

They took it! The prey took it from her. They stole it for themselves. They took her name and they controlled her.

How much longer until she remembered?

How much longer until it was all gone?

Until what was taken returned?

Until she was whole again?

What was her name?

Rei jolted herself from her mindspace, from the fog and the thing just out of sight. She sat on the floor of the hunter's room, knees to her chest and hands grasping her own head. Sweat covered her body and the cool morning air moving through the loose shirt tickled.

She drew fingers through her hair. Why was it so short? Rei wondered how long it would take to be long. Would he like it long? It might interfere with what they were to learn. She hoped it wouldn't.

Breakfast was eggs over rice. Rei had already been in the shower when Misato awoke, so they avoided the very awkward conversation Shinji had dreaded having. It was such a pain to wash with these bandages, he had rushed through the sponge bathing as quickly as he could and did his best not to imagine Rei helping him through it.

By 0800 the captain and both teens in karategi training uniforms were riding an elevator within NERV. The day before, Shinji had been embarrassed when he found himself staring at Rei. Now when their eyes met, they smiled. Loneliness was something Shinji knew, especially when surrounded by others. He did not feel as lonely with her around and that, he thought, was the best thing that had happened since he came to this strange place. He was not alone.

Several minutes later they stood in front of the door to the impromptu NERV dojo. Hung from the wall beside the sliding door was a hand written sign in English. It hung from a nail driven through the steel wall.

"The most illustrious and secret sanctuary of Sinanju, NERV annex. Master of Sinanju Remo Williams and his handsome and tireless apprentice Vitali Genomevich. Trespassers will be instructed." Misato read aloud in Japanese for the kids. "Cute."

Misato tapped the button to open the door and they entered. The instructors had been busy. The multitude of crates that had only yesterday filled a wall of the large room had been emptied and myriad constructs now filled the room. Some looked like dummies, some looked like playground equipment. In the corner straight across from the door, a mobile kitchen had been set up and they could see Vitali at work.

Remo stood from a spot on the floor and greeted them, shaking Misato's hand then bowing to the children who returned the gesture. He was barefoot and wore a pair of chinos with a blue sports shirt untucked, the sleeves rolled up over his elbows.

"Captain Katsuragi, if you would be so kind, I need you to leave now. What is going to happen here is for master and students alone." Remo said, his voice polite but firm.

"Okay when should I return?" Misato asked.

"In a week."

"I mean when will they have a break?"

"In a week."

Misato sighed and slouched her shoulders. This guy reminded her of Kaji when he was acting all arrogant. "I bet I already know the answer, but when can I come check on them?"

"In a week." Remo and Misato said together.

"You know Shinji doeas all the cooking at my place now, right?

"You can join us for meals Captain Katsuragi!" Vitali yelled from the kitchen. Remo palmed his face. Stupid, foolish apprentices he heard the voice of his master speak in his mind. He had not yet given the boy the talk his master had given him, the lesson that ruined the act forever for him. He had sworn to himself that he would not and that his contribution to the art of Sinanju would future generations actually being able to enjoy sex. He was very tempted to compromise on that point right now.

"Oh that would be wonderful Vitali-san, I look forward to trying your cooking."

"Yeah I make a great kotley and saus-" Vitali was drowned out as Remo spun Misato around and marched her out the door

"Enough, enough, Captain I will let you know if there is an acceptable time to visit the pilots, but I really must insist you get out!" Remo said as he moved her into the hallway then closed the door. A console on the outside beeping and switching a red light on to show it was locked from within.

"Damn." Misato said, snapping her fingers. She had hoped to hang around and have an excuse to miss the morning ops meeting.

Inside, Remo returned to his students. In front of them were several racks, eaching holding up a wooden board.

"When I was first asked to come here and teach you two, I was shown tapes of the battles against the 3rd and 4th angels. What I saw pleased me, because by some accident the machine had stumbled upon one of the great truths of Sinanju." Remo began, pulling a chair from the wall and spinning it around to sit facing the pilots with the back of the chair in front of him.

"The greatest weapon is the body. Guns are the toys of children, unfit for assassins. All the blades forged in history are pale imitations of what the body can do." Remo crossed his arms across the chair back and rested his chin upon them.

"Now I find out that our young master Ikari here was the pilot in those battles, and a question occurs to me. Shinji, where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Um… I don't know?" Shinji replied, pausing between each word, embarrassed.

"Not surprising. Can you tell me what the advantage of using one's teeth to sever the arm at the elbow is?

"Uuuuuuum…"

"No you can't, cause there ain't one unless you are a hundred yards tall and have teeth the size of a bus. Then the advantage is you are a hundred yards tall and have teeth the size of a goddamn bus." Remo helpfully answered his own question.

Shinji twitched and lowered himself by reflex. Sensei was mad.

"What are you so afraid of?"

"Y-your m-m-mad."

"And? I didn't crush a giant monster's heart with my bare hands. You did. I have spent my life killing men, but all the men I have killed wouldn't add up to the toe of the big green one you offed your first day here. You are the one who rides the giant, not me. So why are you afraid?

"But the Eva did those things, not me! I don't like violence, I didn't want to!"

"Do not talk to the destroyer of not liking violence kid. I have seen men fight and die in every possible way. I know rage when I see it. You didn't like violence because you were on the receiving side. Now though, I think you got a taste for it."

Remo stood, pushing the chair back to the wall with one hand. "So here is how it is going to be. I don't know how much time we have until another one of those angels comes on down looking for a fight."

Remo stepped over to a series of 3x3x9 pine blocks. "However I do know that in a weeks time, I can teach you some basics that will make you amongst the deadliest children in the world. We will be reviewing these for the next day or so, so don't worry if you don't catch the first time. Our hands are as weapons. Now my master told me this many years ago, so forgive me if I don't explain it perfectly the first time."

Remo held his right hand out, two fingers extended straight out. "The knife." His arm snaked out, his hand a blur, and the first target fell in two pieces to the floor, one bouncing off the wall.

Remo stepped to the next target, holding up a closed fist. "The mace." With a backhand strike across his body, the block burst into splinters.

Remo stepped to another target, his fist still closed. "The spear." He struck out straight armed, sending the block as two splintered pieces flying off the wall in front of him.

Remo opened his hand for the final target. "And the sword." The muscles of his entire body powered the stroke, whipping his arm around and cleaving through the block. The bottom part stayed in place, the top Remo caught from the air with his left hand. The break was perfectly straight and clean.

"There are many ways to kill men. Pressure points, poison, slings and arrows, and even guns, but you are not fighting men, and if anything these first two encounters have shown us our enemy can come in any shape. So this week we are going to teach you how to use your bodies to move…" Remo closed his hand around the piece of wood in his hand, crushing it. "…and strike." He turned his hand over and opened it, dropping sawdust on the mat.

Remo got both the children up and after many demonstrations and corrections, counted rhythm as they practiced the knife strike. They were children, they needed instruction, but they would do. It was a pleasant thing for Remo to do this. When he had trained Vitali it had been little lessons in every spare moment. He imagined this was how the Masters of Sinanju had taught their sons for generations and now he was doing it too.

Of course he was breaking two of the longest held rules of the House of Sinanju. One Master one apprentice, and he was teaching two, three really. Only sons, and he was teaching a daughter. Oh well, he thought, traditions can change. He barked out a correction and the girl paused and the boy twitched. They needed work.

There were no clocks and neither Shinji nor Rei knew how long they practiced into the air before Remo told them that was enough. Vitali brought his master a basket of bright green tennis balls.

"You know honorable son, I am really enjoying this, brings me back to those first days with you, after you stopped trying to kill me."

"Those were good times, Ssem."

"Indeed my boy, so I feel selfish taking all this enjoyment for myself." Remo slapped the blond man on the shoulder. "Be sure your throwing techniqiue does not disgrace us."

"Uuuum, Sensei?"

"Vitali, explain please… or don't, thats fun too." Remo said as he walked away. The food smelled good.

"Soooo, you kids ever play dodgeball? Do they do that in Japan?" Vitali asked, tossing a ball in the air and catching it with one hand.

Shinji shuddered. Yes, they do that in Japan.

-four years previous-

"Oh Kami, not in the face!"

*whump whump whump whump whump whump whump whump*

*whistle blows*

-Back in the present day-

Shinji did not like where this was going.

"I am not familiar with the game, how is it played?" Rei asked. Vitali demonstrated and the little green blur took her at the forehead, taking her off her feet and to the mat. The projectile deflected straight up and landed with a whump on her abdomen, elicitng a groan from the red-eyed girl.

Shinji considered he could have warned her that was going to happen, but also that he really should not be blamed for not having done so.

"That is basically it." Vitali said, picking up another ball in one hand and three more in the other. "'Cept you won't be dodging. I would explain more but I feel kids should have room to figure things out for themselves."

Vitali hurled another fuzzy little ball of pain, this time at Shinji. Shinji ducked the head shot, then takes another in the leg. He falls to the ground clutching his thigh and breathing through the worst charliehorse ever.

Rei had regained her footing and brought her hands up in a fighting stance. She thought she had figured it out. Just attack the ball.

You know whats the worst position to judge the distance and speed of an object from for the human eye? Right in front of it.

Rei rejoined Shinji on the mat.

It was Shinji's turn again, having pushed himself up through the pain. He had the same idea, but more people had tried to throw things at Shinji in his life. He knew if you reacted once it was airborne, it was too late. Vitali wound up for another pitch and Shinji cocked his arm back to strike. Shinji jabbed out at the same time the junior instructor threw. The green ball of pain was cloven in twain and Shinji wooped in celebration.

His victory was interrupted as the one right behind it took him by the ear and he hit the map with a dull thud.

Rei managed to get one too before she was back down.

"You're a louse Vitali-sensei." She said from the ground.

But the next time, they got two in the air before falling. The time after that it was three, then four, then five, then they were up more than they were down.

What felt like several hours later, Remo ended the exercise for food and a short break. Shinji thanked whatever spirit of mercy had found their teacher. He could feel the soreness of the bruises growing all over his body. He looked over to Rei lying on the matt beside him. She was forced to admit that while she was very pretty, it was difficult to see that right now. Neither was worse off than the other, but that didn't mean either came out of the exercise well.

At Vitali's insistance, Remo intercommed Misato to tell her she could join them for lunch. The kids groaned as they sat up.

"Wait, lunch, you mean dinner right? I feel like I haven't eaten all day." Shinji said.

"Good means you are working." Remo replied.

When Misato entered she gasped at the bruises and loudly insisted on being told just what they had been doing with these poor children.

"Playing tennis." Shinji snarked, though it came out more like 'praying mantis' through his fat lip.

Rei hoped lunch was good, she really wanted meat right now. Raising a hand to rub a sore spot on her face she found her jaw very tender. She reconsidered. Soup would be more pleasant.

Soup was in fact on the menu, a thick and hardy dish that Vitali claimed to have been passed down from grandmother. Vitali gave each of the pilots a very pungent cup of tea as well, insisting it would help them keep up their strength. Neither argued over the rich soup or the smelly tea.

Remo left the children to rest and eat. He took the documents for the Eva's new equipment with him and headed to Dr. Akagi's lab several levels beneath. He wanted to get his recommendations to her so the machines could be ready in time.

Remo laughed to himself. Remo the assassin, master of Sinanju, office drone, giant robot engineer. He had pretended to be just about everything else, so why not give it a shot. Lab coat and a pocket protector and he could talk his way through after all the crap he had read in these files.

"Heya blondie." Remo said as he entered the lab, which had returned to its normally cluttered state. He carefully stepped over stacks of paper and ducked under equipment as he approached Dr. Akagi's desk.

"Mr. Williams, how…lovely to see you. I hope we can move past that business from yesterday, it was just business of course. Nothing personal you know." Said Dr. Akagi. She cocked an eyebrow when Remo responded by laughing.

"Of course, just business." He said then set the black folders on her desk. "I'm no da vinci, but I hope my scribbles will help explain what I think you should do."

Ritsuko raised her reading glasses and opened the folder for Unit One. Clipped to the original documents were several pieces of notebook paper with very clean and detailed drawings. Accompanied by absolutely horrendous handwriting. Dr. Akagi thought it was Japanese for a moment before she figured out it was English.

"Your modifications to the forearm armor are certainly interesting." She dryly observed.

"Right, so those fins? I know they are supposed to be for interfacing with other equipment, but they look like they would crumple in an elbow strike. But those knees they have on the original armor, those look like they could take a hit. Misato said you had extras of the original armor, so its parts you already got." Remo explained, pointing out his thoughts on the drawings as he spoke. The fins running the length of the forearms were gone, replaced by a single blade adapted from the B-type knee armor, extending at 45 degrees from the elbow.

"I like the reinforced fingers though, especially bringing them to points like that. The knuckle-duster, not so much. Sinanju uses a lot of fingertip strikes but those bars are going to snap with a properly done strike with the full fist. Now on page 2, diagram b…" Remo reached forward and flipped the page past the Doctor's nose. "You can see my idea for a better solution. I think these would serve your purposes better."

Dr. Akagi looked at the knife like knuckles, made up of 4 L-shaped blades that appeared to slide into place when the fingers clenched into a fist. Below, labeled diagram c, was a system of linkages to accomplish the movement.

"With the hand open, they will brace the wrist for better rigidity. Good for open palm and finger point technique."

Ritsuko Akagi nodded and made little affirmative noises as he explained. "I notice, Mr. Williams, that your concepts are a great deal slimmer than the originals. Is that just your hand or are you proposing we forego additional armor? I think that would be dangerous given what we have seen so far."

"Well if you can slim it down a little bit…" Remo said, thumb and forefinger held up in a pinching gesture. "I am going to teach the pilots how to avoid taking a full hit whenever possible."

"Given the nature of our enemies, I do not think that will always be a possibility. I will see about some streamlining, but I make no promises. Given that you don't seem to have gotten past the arms yet, do you object to implementing the new equipment in blocks as we can produce it? In the meantime we will make repairs with B-type armor."

"Whatever gets them battle ready quickest. There is one other thing Doc."

"Yes, Mr. Williams?"

"Do they have to be painted all bright?"

Ritsuko Akagi laughed and shook her head. "Unit Zero was only painted yellow for testing purposes. Assuming we can get a successful activation with the first child, we can order paint it whatever color we like. Unit One…" Ritsuko Akagi paused and bit her lip for a second. "… We had a scientist working on the project who died in the construction of Unit One. Dr. Yui Ikari. She chose the colors and we kept them to honor her sacrifice."

"Ikari? Like Shinji?"

"And the commander yes. She was Shinji's mother, the commander's wife."

"Alright, purple green and orange it is. When do you want Rei for another test?"

"Well while I still have my objections to stopping psychoactive treatment, we should at least be scientific about it. That means waiting until all traces have let her system. At the dosage we had her before you terminated treatment, I would put that at about 2 weeks from today."

"If we are being scientific about it, couldn't training affect her results?"

"I doubt it would do anything more than we have tried in the past. Meditation and exercise have had minimal effects on synchronization scores in my experience."

"Well give me two weeks and she will be the fittest she has ever been, that's for sure." Remo said as he stepped around the desk and its mountains of documents to stand next to Ritsuko.

"So, Ritsuko, about the first child…" Remo said, sliding his hand across Dr. Akagi's shoulders, using gentle pressure to roll her chair closer. He was met with a single finger to his lips.

"Mr. Williams, as I said, yesterday was strictly professional, necessary but not pleasant. I am aware of your reputation and your supposed prowess, but I am simply not interested. I am sorry but…" She turned in her chair and looked at him over her glasses. Her elbows were hooked over the back of her chair and her legs crossed at the knee. "That's the biz, sweetheart!" She said and pushed herself away from him, laughing all the way.

Remo stood, watching the blond cackle. He chose not to interrupt as she took several minutes to stop. In the meantime, a young lieutenant with a bob cut entered and placed a fresh cup of coffee on Ritsuko's desk.

When she finally finished, clutching her sides and breathing heavily, Ritsuko looked up and giggled one last time looking at Remo.

"I would of thought CURE destroyed all those files, they were always so good about that."

Dr. Akagi took a long sip on her fresh coffee as she composed herself. "Aaaah, thank you Maya."

"No problem sempai!"

"Ah yes, well you needn't worry, they were quite thorough in their scrubbing. However every other intelligence agency around the world thought you were an entire ring of mercenaries and had extensive files on what turned out to be you. Our MAGI computers were the first time the connection was made once your information was inputted."

"That is quite worrying doctor. Who has access to information within your computers?"

"Don't worry Mr. Williams, its only myself, Lt. Ibuki here, Commander Ikari, Vice Commander Fuyutsuki, and Captain Katsuragi, though Misato has never actually used her access. Everyone else is restricted to the function of their station and nothing more."

"All due respect doc, that's a lot of people and I wasn't too comfortable with how many people had that information at CURE."

"And how many was that, Mr. Williams?"

"One."

End

For those unfamiliar with The Destroyer, "that's the biz, sweetheart" is kind of a catchphrase from Remo. He uses it often and even though most people he came into contact with over his career did not live to tell about it, enough survived that I imagined it would make it into some files.

Also a note on Remo's clothing. For those too young to know, chinos are a kind of khaki pant. A sportshirt is not an exercise shirt, it is a non-formal button down, usually with breast pockets. This is the kind of thing Remo was frequently described as wearing. In more modern times, a person dressed similarly might be wearing a classy polo instead (think RL, la coste, that sort of thing).

Thank you so much for your reviews, they are helpful and I enjoy corresponding with some of the more consistent reviewers. Shout outs to: Never Learned To Code (Check out his just wrapped up NGE/Dues Ex crossover Gods Made From Men), Tymofey, and Dragonrising. They have each influenced the story to some degree or another with their comments. Usually by me writing out some detail or other and realizing it sounds stupid.