Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Neon Genesis Evangelion is owned by Studio Gainax and Hideaki Anno and Utraman is owned by Tsuburaya Productions


Chapter 5: An Unfamiliar Feeling

"I'm Asuka. Soryu Asuka Langley. Eva-02's pilot. Let's be friends."

Rei shifted her focus from the book that she's reading and studied Unit-02's pilot. A red headed, part-foreign girl. Cheerful and enthusiastic, most of the school was entranced by her.

"Sure," Rei accepted. If she's going to stay, she might as well form a bond. Doing otherwise might complicate things.

"Wunderbar!" she said cheerfully. "But don't get too upset if you see less action these days. Now that I'm here, I doubt they'll have any more use for an old prototype."

"Maybe," mused Rei. It was one of the reasons she decided to bond with Ultraman Mebius after all. Although she's sure Commander Ikari will not let go of Unit 00 so quickly if only to protect the other Units from the abuse that they will face.

"Well, I look forward to working with you," said Rei to Unit 02's pilot, extending a hand to her. She gladly accepts it.

"Well, this should be interesting. Can't wait to see how she'd do as a pilot," said Ultraman Mebius.


Ultraman Mebius' hope came almost immediately when the Seventh Angel appeared later that day. Both-Unit 01 and Unit-02 were deployed to intercept it.

One would think that would be advantageous when it turned out the Angel could split into two. However…

"Well that was pathetic," said Ultraman Mebius, looking at the aftermath of Unit 01 and Unit 02's "battle" with the twin Angels. Unit-01 was thrown to the oceans, its legs sticking out. Unit 02 was literally in a similar position, but it was instead thrown to a rice field. She was inclined to agree with him.

"It's our turn, then?" Rei asked, already knowing the answer

"Yeah, let's go."


Having found a good hiding spot where they can transform, Mebius arrived at the scene, ready to face the Seventh Angel.

It would be difficult, this being a two on one battle, but he's fought harder odds before, so hopefully he can handle this.

The two in one Angel made the first move, firing beams at him. Mebius protected himself with his Mebius Defensircle. Mebius ran towards them. He refrained from using Mebium Blade just in case this is a hydra situation, so he settled with basic punches and kicks. He tried to focus on one Angel, but the other one protected its other half. Their A.T. Fields were rather weak, he could punch through them without any special techniques, so he attempted to go straight to the core with a Lightning Counter. It worked, to his surprise, one of the Angels was incapacitated.

But then he was surprised again when the Angel's core regenerated. As it happened, the other angel's core was lighting up. The defeated Angel stood up again.

"The Angels can heal each other," Ayanami noted.

"I can see that," Mebius groaned. This is getting difficult. It looks like he'll have to destroy them at the same time.

Mebius noticed that all aircrafts and other personnel were evacuating the area. He saw another aircraft approaching with something strapped in it.

Mebius looked at the aircraft in shock. They're not seriously planning to release an N2 Mine here?! It would destroy the entire area!

That gave Mebius an idea. If they're going to blow up the Angel, then it will be best to minimize collateral as possible, so he'll have to step in. Ultra Dynamite is not as destructive as an N2 Mine, but it's powerful nonetheless.

Mebius prepared the Mebius Brace. It proceeded to burst into flames.


"The Silver Giant's heat signature is rising!"

The NERV staff watched as the Silver Giant was engulfed by the flames coming out of his gauntlet, changing his physical appearance. The red became more prominent in his being, his body also decorated by a gold flamelike symbol.

His body bursts into flames. He charges towards the twin Angels, putting them both in a chokehold. The intensity of his flames increased, engulfing the Angel as well.

The Silver Giant exploded, leaving the crew in shock.

Did– Did the Silver Giant just self-destruct?

"Is he…" Misato began, fearing the worst.

"The Silver Giant's pattern is still present," said Lieutenant Ibuki, although still unsure about the giant's current status.

Light particles gathered, slowly forming into the Silver Giant. He struggled to stand up in exhaustion. The blue light on his chest was now blinking red.

Despite his efforts, the Seventh Angel wasn't killed, instead its two halves were greatly incapacitated, their bodies barely regenerating. The U.N. proceeded with their operation, the N2 Mine likely to deal the finishing blow. Seeing this, the Silver Giant slumped defeatedly. He looked at HQ and nodded apologetically, and he flew off.

The N2 Mine was released.


"I already told you, don't beat yourself up for yesterday. No one could've predicted how troublesome that Angel would be," Rei assured the dejected Ikari. The two were walking back to Captain Katsuragi's apartment from school.

"I know," Ikari sighed. "But we could still have done more than be thrown around like nothing. At least you actually did something to it."

"We still didn't kill it though," Rei pointed out, though she holds no illusion that what they did wasn't beneficial. "What matters is that the Angel was destroyed."

"Maybe I'm really not cut out for this," Ikari said depressingly. "I haven't even defeated one Angel on my own."

"You're doing well, all things considered. You're still alive after all. And we've helped each other half of those times."

"Yeah," Ikari said, smiling at the reminder of the few times they've fought alongside each other. "Do you think things would've been better if we worked together yesterday?"

"Maybe," Answered Rei, herself wondering how events might've transpired had Unit-00 been repaired or if Unit-01 fought alongside Ultraman Mebius. Perhaps a synchronized attack at the Angels' twin cores would have destroyed it faster.

Ikari decided to change the subject. "So, the class rep and Toji. I mean, it was kinda obvious, but I'm still surprised."

"I'm not. I helped set it up after all."

Ikari stopped walking, his face in shock at hearing Rei's revelation. "Huh?!"

"I found out about the class representative's crush on Suzuhara while you were away," Rei explained. "I decided to help her confess her feelings. Was I wrong to do so?"

"No, not at all!" assured Ikari. "It's just, wow. Did Mebius-san set you up for it?"

"No, it was my decision." Ikari's eyes widened.

"That… That's good, I suppose. So what happened today was your idea?"

"Yes," Rei confirmed, remembering how she helped set up that particular moment earlier.


"You're– You're joking right?"

"It's not a joke," Rei confirmed, wondering if she messed up the delivery for the class representative to think so. "I've studied all that I can about the topic of romance. It seems effective."

"Please don't tell me all your 'research' is just reading romance manga?" The class representative asked, sounding exasperated.

"It's only a part of it. But believe me, I think this could work. It fits your personality well." Rei ate from the bag of popcorn that she had, per Ultraman Mebius' request.

"What does that supposed to mean?" the class representative questioned, giving Rei a small glare. "Besides, I'm pretty sure it's normally the guy who does this."

"So? If you're going to make the first move, you might as well be the one who does these things."

The class representative sighed. "I guess you're right." She shook her head and composed herself. "This is absolutely ridiculous, but you're right. Now or never, I have to do this!"

"Good luck," said Rei, giving a thumbs up.

When lunchtime came, the entire school was shocked to see the straight-laced class representative of Class 2-A perform the kabedon on the school's resident jock.

Many bets were won that day.


Just as Rei thought, her plan worked. Suzuhara was quick to accept the class representative's invitation. They are now on a date somewhere while Aida went off on his own to try and process what he saw.

She couldn't help but feel proud of herself. It felt nice, helping them open up about each other. And she did it all without Ultraman Mebius' intervention.

She's always known that she wanted to save humanity. But helping people in these personal ways, it's nice too.

Eventually, they reached Captain Katsuragi's apartment.

Strange. It seemed more cluttered than usual. Not that it bothers Rei. She's used to a cluttered room.

"What is all this?!" exclaimed Ikari, looking at his room. Rei checked it out for herself and saw the numerous boxes inside.

"You redecorated? Good for you," Rei praised.

"Wha– this isn't–," Ikari stammered. That's when a third voice that wasn't Captain Katsuragi's made itself known.

"Don't be rude! Those are my things."

It was Unit-02's pilot. Did she come to visit too?

"W-What are you doing here, Soryu?" Ikari demanded, but Unit-02's pilot was confused.

"I'm surprised you're still here."

"What do you mean, 'still'?"

"You got sacked today. I'm going to be Misato's roommate."

Rei processed this information. Captain Katsuragi kicking out Ikari? That can't be right. Is Unit-02's pilot so entrancing to people that even the Captain was charmed by her?

"Well, considering which of us is better, it's only the natural choice," She boasted. Hearing this, Rei cocked an eyebrow.

"But you performed the same as him yesterday." She turned to Ikari. "No offense." Ikari winced, but he accepted the hard truth with a defeated sigh.

Unit-02's pilot glared at Rei. "Well that was this idiot's fault!" She pushed a finger into Ikari's chest. "I swear if he didn't butt in, I could've defeated that Angel in seconds, and that damn giant wouldn't have stolen my thunder!"

Ikari found it in him to get defensive and fight back. "Seriously?! You're still going on about that?! You were the one who was being reckless!"

"What did you call me?!" demanded Unit-02's Pilot.

"Here they go again," Ultraman Mebius sighed in exasperation.

"You guys seem like you're off to a good start," Ikari and Unit-02's Pilot are startled from their argument by Captain Katsuragi's arrival. She explained the situation. Ikari and Unit-02's pilot are to live together to improve their relationship after their failure with the Seventh Angel.

"No way! They say boys and girls mustn't sleep in the same room after age seven!"

Things are not going well.

Like in HQ during their debriefing and earlier, the two pilots began arguing about this new development. Rei watched all of this unfold and turned to the Captain.

"Permission to speak, Captain Katsuragi?"

Captain Katsuragi stared at Rei before giving her a smile. "You don't need to be so formal here, Rei-chan. You can say whatever you want," she assured her, but the concept was still foreign to Rei. Even though she has come here a few times, Captain Katsuragi was still her superior, and someone she respects. She felt uncomfortable stepping on that line. Even Ultraman Mebius understood how she felt, having worked for two paramilitary organizations himself, and said nothing.

But then again, she more or less gave her the permission that she wanted, so she said her piece.

"Is this really wise, Captain? They've proven to have difficulties getting along. Should they really be cohabiting in the same place?"

"Well it's not like they have a choice. They need to get along if they're going to work together. This is the best place to start."

"That makes sense," thought Ultraman Mebius, although Rei wasn't sure how that would help. Wouldn't they just fight more?.

"Maybe you can also use this as an opportunity to get to know her better. After all, you hang out with Shinji-kun all the time anyway." There was a slight smile on her face, and Ultraman Mebius let out a small cough for some reason.

Rei eyed her fellow pilots. Unit-02's pilot looked away from Ikari with disgust, while he looked at her in mild annoyance. Rei narrowed her eyes.

"Yes. I shall consider it."


Rei decided that it was time for her to leave.

"Good luck with this, Ikari-kun," Rei told Ikari, who saw her off. Unit-02's Pilot retreated to Ikari's– her room.

"Don't worry about me, Ayanami. I'll be fine. Hopefully."

Rei couldn't help but be skeptical. "If she becomes too much, you can always live with me if Unit-02's pilot doesn't leave."

"Wow, you're fast." Rei would have to ask what Ultraman Mebius meant by that later.

Ikari blushed. "Thank you, but I hope it won't have to come to that."

"We'll see." And with that, Rei turned around and headed back to her apartment.

"I really hope they'll get along," Ultraman Mebius mused. Rei had a different thought.

"I don't like her."

Rei stopped walking for some reason. Ultraman Mebius, who normally has something to say, made no sound.

"Ultraman Mebius?" Rei called out, wondering if he senses a disturbance.

"Wha– You don't…You… Huh?!"

Rei tilted her head. "Did I say something wrong?"

Ultraman Mebius denied her allegation. "No, nothing. It's just, this is so unlike you."

Rei understood what Ultraman Mebius meant. "You've heard Suzuhara-san's anecdotes. I didn't understand before but I see it now. She's impulsive, prone to violent outbursts, and she refuses to take responsibility for actions. She won't be of any help to Ikari-kun and our mission."

"Well you ignoring him and slapping him back then wasn't doing anyone any good either," he mumbled to himself. Rei wasn't sure if he noticed.

"What were you saying?"

"Nothing!" Ultraman Mebius blurted out in a panic. "I mean, let's give her some time. She'll open up like you did."

"I wouldn't have opened up if you didn't help," Rei pointed out.

"Well, Captain Katsuragi is helping them out. Let's have a little faith in her."

As she thought about it more, Rei decided that Ultraman Mebius was right. Captain Katsuragi is competent at her job, and despite his occasional complaints, it's clear that Ikari is fond of and respects her. So she will trust her in making sure the other pilots do good.

She will have to, because she can't trust Unit-02's pilot just yet.