It was a quiet night in Tokyo-3. In a humble apartment building constructed on the east side of the city, a brown-haired boy and a blue-haired girl were walking up its stairs while holding hands, both looking very happy.

Rei and Shinji had walked the distance that separated them from Misato's apartment to the blue-haired girl's apartment in absolute bliss. After confessing their mutual love for each other and sharing a kiss and an embrace, the two teenagers had walked holding hands under the starry night slowly, wishing to enjoy each other's company and closeness as much as possible.

Eventually the pilots finished walking up the stairs and stepped on the hallway that separated them from the already familiar apartment 402 for Shinji, where Rei lived. They both stopped in front of the door and faced each other, locking glances.

"Well... we have arrived" the Third Child said as he took Rei's other hand in his.

"That's correct. Thank you for coming with me" said the bluenette, intertwining her fingers with the boy's, feeling very good in doing so. The girl marveled at how good it felt for her to establish physical contact with Shinji. Just holding his hands was enough to fill her chest with warmth and happiness. She smiled softly.

"You're welcome..." Shinji replied as he gazed upon the blue-haired girl's smile "You know, Rei? I love seeing you smile..." he said enthralled "You look… very beautiful"

Rei was slightly surprised by that remark. Her eyes widened slightly while she felt her cheeks heating up once again and a tingle in her stomach. She was not used to receiving compliments, but hearing that from Shinji felt really good "...Thank you, Shinji"

The boy increased his smile before releasing the girl's hands and bringing his arms behind her back. After that, he started to bring his face closer to hers, while closing his eyes. Rei quickly understood his intentions and, remembering how pleasant the first kiss they had shared minutes ago had been, she reciprocated the gesture, eager to repeat the experience. They both melted into a new kiss, expressing the love they felt for each other through their lips. Rei felt how the warmth of her chest filled her completely and how the tingling in her stomach became stronger. She had never experienced anything as pleasant as kissing Shinji.

After a few moments their lips parted ways. Shinji looked at Rei for a few seconds before sighing "...I guess it's time to say goodbye for now" the boy finally said softly. He knew the moment was coming, but he really didn't want to part ways with her at that moment. He decided to try the next best thing "I have nothing planned for tomorrow... would you like us to meet?" he asked hopefully.

Rei smiled again upon hearing that proposal "Yes, I would like that" she nodded.

"Great" the Third Child smiled too "We could meet here for lunch, like last week" he suggested.

"That sounds pleasant" the bluenette accepted.

"Well… I'll see you tomorrow, then" Shinji murmured before bringing his face closer to Rei's again to give her a peck on her lips, before finally breaking their embrace "Goodnight, Rei" the boy said.

"Goodnight Shinji" the girl did the same. Shinji smiled at her one last time and then started heading towards the stairs. Rei opened the front door of her apartment and then entered inside.

The bluenette closed the door and left her shoes at the entrance. After taking a few steps she reached her bedroom, and after removing her school uniform, the girl lay down in her bed, face up, before covering herself with the sheets. Rei stared at the ceiling of the apartment while her mind replayed the events of the last few minutes over and over again. She smiled contently again.

"Shinji loves me" she thought, taking solace in the happiness that this fact brought her. The girl remembered for an instant what her life was like just a few weeks ago, before she met the boy, and she had a hard time believing that she could feel this happy now. The difference between before she met Shinji and now, that he had just shared his love with her, was night and day. It was as if the Rei from before and the Rei from now were different people.

It was as if now... she was alive.


Misato Katsuragi opened her eyes slightly, founding herself laid down in her futon. The woman rubbed her eyes heavily, noticing a slight headache. She was hungover, which considering how many drinks she had last night and the time she returned to her house was something she had already expected. The purple-haired woman didn't feel like getting up just yet, but her bladder gave her no choice. The woman got up and left her room, reluctantly walking towards her bathroom. She barely took a few steps before hearing a voice coming from her kitchen.

"Good morning, Misato" Shinji greeted her.

"Good morning..." the woman returned the greeting without much energy as she entered the bathroom without saying anything else. Once she finished her business there, she washed her hands and headed back to the kitchen. Her mouth was dry, she needed a good glass of water.

"It really took you a while to get up today" Shinji remarked as he stirred food in a frying pan.

"What time is it?" Misato asked as she took a glass from a cupboard and started pouring water into it.

"It's almost half past twelve" replied the Third Child after checking his watch.

"Mmm... well I was up until pretty late last night" the woman stated before drinking the glass full of water in one swift motion "Ah... that's much better…" Misato said before glancing over the room, noticing the absence of their other roommate "Is Asuka at home?"

"No, she left a while ago, she's going to have lunch with Hikari" Shinji explained.

"Oh, I see" Misato murmured "Those two sure get along well, huh?" the woman added with a smile while taking a couple of steps towards the kitchen sink, where she left the empty glass. Then she stared at the contents of what Shinji was cooking, and a realization came to her "Hey, Shinji, if it's just half past twelve... aren't you cooking lunch a tad early today?"

"Um... yes, you see..." the boy muttered "The thing is that... today I'm not going to have lunch at home either, I'm cooking enough food to leave you a serving here and also pack a couple of lunchboxes..."

"Oh, are you going to have lunch with your friends too?" the woman asked smiling brightly. She was glad that Shinji was regularly spending time with them, she had noticed that the boy's withdrawn nature had improved a lot since he became friends with Touji and Kensuke.

"Um... well, actually… no, I'm not going to meet with them today" Shinji replied somewhat nervous while looking away from Misato.

"You're not? Who are you having lunch with, then?" Misato asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm going to have lunch with... Rei" the boy murmured while blushing slightly.

Misato's eyes widened. Then, her memories flashed her an important detail about the previous night. Due to her hangover, the woman had completely forgotten that Shinji had walked Rei to her apartment the night before, precisely at the suggestion of Misato herself. She had suggested it with the full intention of giving Rei a moment alone with Shinji where, hopefully, she could tell the boy how she felt about him. After remembering that, and picking on Shinji's body language at that moment, the woman quickly connected the dots, and smiled mischievously.

"Ohhhh… so you're having lunch with Rei, huh?" Misato said, approaching the boy and nudging him knowingly "And just after walking her to her apartment last night... is there something you want to tell me, Shinji?"

The Third Child blushed deeply and directed his gaze to the floor, but even so, his lips curved into a shy smile "Well... actually, yes…" he murmured "Yesterday, Rei and me... well, uh... we spoke about our feelings and… well, let's just say that we are a couple now" the boy revealed.

Misato's face lit up upon hearing the big news "Way to go, Rei!" the woman exclaimed, instantly regretting it. Her head stung immediately "Damn hangover... I shouldn't scream" she said softly as she brought her hands to her temples, massaging them slowly. Shinji looked at her with an amused expression for a few second, until he thought about what the woman had said more in depth.

"Wait... way to go, Rei?" the Third Child asked curiously "That was oddly specific..."

Misato quickly recovered from the pain and flashed Shinji a knowing look "Well, let's just say that it is possible that a few days ago Rei asked me a couple of questions about how she felt about you..." the woman explained, letting out a giggle afterwards.

"What?!" asked an incredulous Shinji "So you... you knew already?" he thought about the events of previous days and the pieces began to fit together "Of course... that's why you suggested me to invite her to yesterday's party... and to walk her home..."

"That's right" nodded a smiling Misato "I'm quite the matchmaker, wouldn't you say?"

"I guess, but... why didn't you told me directly?" Shinji then asked.

"Boo, where's the fun in that?" The woman replied, shrugging her shoulders "Besides, although I suspected that you were crushing hard on her, I didn't knew it for sure... imagine if it wasn't the case and I told you, that would be quite the fuckup"

"…Okay, good point" Shinji admitted "Well, either way... thanks, Misato" the Third Child added with a sincere smile.

"You're welcome. I'm very happy for both of you" Misato said, also smiling "Rei is a good girl, Shinji, I hope you treat her well"

"You can be sure of that" Shinji assured immediately while flashing a look full of determination. Misato was pleasantly surprised to see that gesture, it was unusual to hear Shinji speak with such confidence.

"Actually... I already am sure of it, I know you're a good boy too" the woman said while putting her hand on Shinji's shoulder and giving him a warm smile. Said smile, however, turned mischievous as she kept speaking "And speaking of that, Shinji… what happens between Rei and you is your business, but… always remember to use protection"

"MISATO!"


Shinji quickly walked up the stairs of the apartment building where Rei lived. After finishing his conversation with Misato (and mentally recovering from her teasing) the boy had taken the same path as the previous night towards the eastern area of Tokyo-3, with two lunchboxes in his backpack and very much looking forward to meeting his now girlfriend again.

The Third Child stopped in front of the of apartment 402's main door and knocked on it a couple of times "Rei? It's me, Shinji"

The boy waited for a few seconds until the occupant of the apartment opened the door "Hello, Shinji" the girl greeted him, a small smile adorning her face and her eyes gazing lovingly at him.

"Hello..." Shinji greeted back, feeling a tickle in his stomach upon seeing her again. To a small part of his mind it still seemed impossible that the girl who had been loving in silence for the last few weeks had told him that she loved him back the night before. That small part was quickly silenced, however, when the girl approached him and wrapped her arms around his back, pressing herself firmly against his body as she closed her eyes and brought her face closer to his, with obvious intentions. Shinji was taken by surprise, until that point all the kisses they had shared had been initiated by him, but he certainly didn't mind at all if Rei decided to take the initiative. He reciprocated the gesture more than willingly, joining his lips with the girl's.

After a few wonderful seconds, the teenagers separated their faces slightly and looked into each other's eyes "Are you hungry?" Shinji asked. Rei nodded silently "Let's have lunch then"

The pilots entered the apartment, heading to the bedroom where most of Rei's things were. The girl sat on the bed, and Shinji took her desk chair and sat in front of her, much like how they had done the last time they both had been there. The Third Child opened his backpack and took out two lunchboxes from it.

"I made stir fry noodles with vegetables. I also brought some tea" he said while handing one of the lunchboxes to the scarlet-eyed girl. Rei took the package and opened it with interest, being greeted by a delicious aroma.

"What do you think?" Shinji asked after Rei took the first bite.

"It's good" the bluenette replied, flashing a small smile to Shinji.

"I'm glad" Shinji murmured satisfied before he began to eat. The boy had been making a mental note of which dishes the bluenette liked and which she didn't. For now, however, she had gladly accepted everything he had cooked for her, so it's not like Rei was making it very difficult for him to keep track: everything had gone into the Rei likes this dish list. Thinking about it, though, that wasn't surprising at all.

Shinji pondered this as they ate in silence. The Third Child didn't remember even one time where the bluenette had complained about anything about since he had met her. Whatever adversity life presented to Rei, she seemed to face it with unwavering stoicism, which was saying a lot for a person who regularly risked her life piloting an Evangelion. It was one of the things he liked about her, Shinji deeply admired the unwavering mental strength that the girl possessed, no matter what setbacks she encountered she always pulled through without as much as protesting. If that itself wasn't enough, the fact that his other fellow pilot was pretty much the opposite only served to accentuate his opinion on the matter "If only Asuka took a page out of Rei's book from time to time…" Shinji thought resignedly.

Still, even if all of that was true… Rei's attitude towards adversity was perhaps not without its flaws.

The boy glanced at the apartment they were in for a moment. It was, easily, the definition of the word gloomy. She barely had the necessary belongings to subsist. It was dimly lit. It was located in an empty and partially ruined apartment building which was constructed in an equally ruined area of the city. The girl lived in a place like that, by herself... and she didn't seem to care... "I have nothing more than pilotingthe Eva" the words that Rei had said to him just before facing the fifth angel together echoed in Shinji's mind.

"Rei... do you like living here?" the boy suddenly asked.

The bluenette, who had just been enjoying her meal silently, looked at him curiously "What do you mean by that?"

Shinji noticed quickly the confused look the girl was giving him, so he tried to explain himself better "Well… this place is surrounded by ruined buildings… you barely have any furniture in here, and most of it looks pretty old too..." said the boy, glancing at the rusty legs of the bed on which the girl was sitting "The doorbell doesn't work, the front door's lock is broken..."

Rei stopped eating for a few moments, reflecting "This apartment is close to NERV's headquarters. It provides me with shelter and a place to sleep" she said afterwards "Is that not enough?"

"I mean… I suppose it can be just enough, but... do you like living here?" the boy asked.

"Does that matter?" the girl asked, confused.

"Of course it matters, Rei. You are the one living here, your opinion is the one that matters the most" Shinji replied.

Rei stared at him, confusion still obvious on her face. She reflected for another moment before speaking again "I... I don't know. I have never thought about this…" she murmured "This apartment meets my needs and I am used to living here..." the girl added later. She had never considered her own opinion as relevant to the matter.

Seeing the girl's serious face, deep in thought, Shinji deduced that his suspicions were not misguided "Well, if you're comfortable living here, I guess it's fine… we could always try to make this place look a little better if you're okay with it…"

"What do you mean?" asked Rei curiously once again.

"Well, we could clean up this place a little…" Shinji said staring at the state the walls and the floor was. They weren't completely covered in filth, but they weren't particularly clean either "You could open the curtains, letting some light bright this place more… and we could call someone to get your doorbell and your lock fixed" he suggested.

"That would cost money" Rei stated.

"So? We get paid a salary" Shinji replied.

"I... don't" Rei murmured while shaking her head slightly.

"You don't?" asked Shinji, surprised "Then how do you… buy groceries and such?"

"NERV provides me a monthly allowance that covers the expenses of my needs" the girl explained, her gaze darting towards the floor "I don't have… many savings"

Shinji felt his stomach turn "Father… how can you…? She deserves better than this..." he thought while clenching his jaw.

"Then I'll pay for it" Shinji stated.

Rei stared at him, slightly surprised "You would... do that for me?" she asked, her eyes widening.

"Of course I would" Shinji replied without skipping a beat "A while ago you told me that you had nothing more in life than piloting the Eva and... I don't want that to be the case. You deserve more than that, Rei"

Rei locked eyes with him. Hearing Shinji express his interest in her and her well-being always made her feel good, but that statement… was particularly pleasant to hear. Her chest was filled with warmth once more "...Thank you, Shinji" the girl said allowing her lips to curve in a bright smile and directing a loving gaze towards him.

"You're welcome..." the boy indicated, enthralled by the girl's beautiful smile "At the very least, I want you to know that you have me... even if I'm not much" he murmured while smiling shyly.

Rei put aside her lunchbox and leaned over the boy, bringing her face close to his "Yes you are... you make me happy" the bluenette said warmly "I love you, Shinji"

Shinji blushed upon hearing those words. His smile widened "I love you too" he murmured before merging with Rei in a new kiss.


The following Monday, a beautiful morning dawned once again in the city of Tokyo-3, as was usual due to the subtropical climate that Japan had been experiencing since the Second Impact. Shinji and Asuka, as was also usual, were walking through the streets of the city together, specifically they were following the path that separated them from Misato's apartment and their school.

"Ah... what a nice day... and I'm going to spend it locked up in school in the morning and in a tube full of LCL doing tests at NERV in the afternoon" Asuka stated with disappointment, more to herself than to Shinji. The boy, who was walking to the left of her, said nothing. The redhead directed her attention to him for a moment. Her idiot roommate hadn't said anything since they left Misato's apartment, he had just walked immersed in his probably stupid thoughts, while smiling slightly.

Now that she thought about it, in fact, the boy had been acting like this all weekend. Asuka hadn't given it much thought, since she had more interesting things to pay attention to than idiot Shinji, but at that moment she started to get curious.

"Damn, Shinji, first hour in the morning and already you're no fun" Asuka said trying to annoy him, as she usually did. Again, she didn't get any reaction from him "Is he deliberately ignoring me?" the redhead though, feeling a flash of anger swell in her chest. The girl closed the distance with the Third Child and then shouted very close to him "LISTEN TO ME, IDIOT!"

"Huh?!" the boy was startled out of his musings "What... what's wrong, Asuka?"

"I was talking to you and you weren't paying any attention to me, idiot" The German replied, frowning "What the hell is wrong with you lately, Shinji? You're even more stupid than usual" the German girl asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I... nothing's wrong with me" the boy said, looking away from her. Asuka narrowed her eyes, suspecting he was lying. After a second she decided to let it go, if she was sure about something regarding Shinji is that the boy was not straightforward with whatever was on his mind.

The two pilots soon arrived at the school, and after walking a little more, they entered class 2-A, where a good part of their classmates were already inside, waiting for the start of the first lesson. Asuka quickly spotted her friend Hikari, already sitting at her corresponding desk in the first rows, and headed towards the girl. Shinji, respectively, headed to the back of the class, where the two idiots he considered friends were waiting for him.

"Guten morgen, Hikari" Asuka greeted as he took a seat behind her.

"Good morning, Asuka," class representative greeted back happily "Nice day, huh?"

"It would be so much nicer if I weren't going to spend it locked up here and then locked up in NERV" the German girl complained, sighing afterwards "We should have skipped classes and gone for a walk around the city"

"Asuka, don't say such things" Hikari frowned "School is important"

"Maybe for you, but I come to hang out more than anything else" the redhead replied as he shrugged her shoulders. Hikari couldn't refute that argument, she knew that Asuka had already graduated from college, she pretty much went to school because of her contract with NERV.

It was then that Asuka spotted a blue-haired girl with a serious face entering the classroom "Great, the doll came today too. The day is definitely getting more boring with every passing second"she thought as she followed the First Child with her eyes while she headed to her seat walking calmly "Damn, how boring she is... Now she will sit at her desk and spend the rest of the morning looking out the window, as if she were a robot, and..." the redhead's train of thoughts was suddenly halted when she saw how Rei left her school bag on her desk, but, instead of sitting down, she continued walking towards the back of the class. Slightly surprised by this change in her behavior, the redhead turned around, following her with her gaze, only to see how Rei approached three boys who were chatting there.

Shinji was chatting pleasantly with Touji and Kensuke when he noticed how they stopped talking and stared behind him, with a puzzled look on their faces.

"What's wrong?" the Third Child asked and then turned curiously in the direction in which his friends were looking. It was then that he saw a certain scarlet-eyed approaching them "Oh…I see. Well, this was going to happen eventually. I hope the teasing will not be too much… although Rei is definitely worth it"Shinjithought, already picturing the jokes that his two friends were going to make at his expense in the next few hours "Good morning, Rei" the boy greeted with a smile when the girl closed the distance with him.

"Good morning, Shinji" the girl greeted back, smiling softly. Then she brought her hands closer to the boy's and took them gently, a gesture that Shinji immediately reciprocated.

"Did you sleep well?" asked the Third Child, to which the girl simply nodded "I'm glad."

By that moment, Shinji could already feel Touji and Kensuke's gazes about to burn a hole in the back of his neck, so he decided to turn around while heaving a sigh. As expected, his two friends were staring at them, with cleat surprise present on their faces.

"Shinji... are you and Ayanami...?" Touji stammered as soon as he regained the ability to speak.

"Yes… we are" the boy said after a moment, his cheeks blushing and his hand still holding the girl's "You don't need to look so surprised…" he added with resignation.

Kensuke was the first to recover from the shock, laughing happily "Oh, man... looks like we can finally stop pretending you don't like Ayanami" said the boy "When did this happen?" he asked curiously.

Shinji exchanged a questioning look with Rei, to which the girl nodded "Last Friday, after dinner" replied the Third Child.

"Well done, Shinji, I'm happy for you" Touji congratulated him, giving her a friendly pat on the shoulder, then turning his attention to Rei "Well, I'm also happy for you too, Ayanami"

Rei nodded her head slightly "Thank you, Suzuhara" she said, much to the surprise of Shinji's two friends. They were going to ask more questions, but the teacher's entrance into the classroom meant that the conversation had to be left for later. The four students headed to their respective desks.

Asuka, respectively, harbored mixed feelings after observing the exchange between the doll and the idiot. She already knew that the bluenette liked him, and from how the idiot pathetically drooled over her, she assumed the feeling was mutual. But considering how much of a coward he was and how painfully inept socially she was, Asuka never thought that they would actually start a relationship.

She felt an unpleasant feeling swell on her chest. That situation was… surprising. Yeah, that was the feeling she was experimenting at that time. Surprise. Definitely.

"Well, what does it matter?" she thought shortly after. Why should she care in the slightest what those two idiots did? Exactly. She shouldn't. Doing so would be ridiculous. What she was going to do was ignore them completely and focus on the lesson. Yes, that's what she was going to do...

Asuka wasn't able to focus on any lessons that morning.


That afternoon, the three pilots went to NERV to do a different test than usual. As Dr. Ritsuko had explained to them, she had been developing a new autopilot system for the Evangelions for quite a while, in order to use it in case a pilot was incapacitated or in some similar emergency. Apparently, this so called Dummy Plug System required her to collect data from the three pilots to correctly adjust some parameters, but apparently it was necessary for the data to be measured in an extremely sterile environment, so Shinji, Rei and Asuka had to first go through several decontamination chambers, in which they were sprayed countless times with pressurized water and body cleaning chemicals. After going through a final decontamination chamber in which pressurized air dried their bodies, all three of them proceeded to the next one, in where they were currently waiting for the next step of the process. They were still naked, but thankfully all three of them were separated by walls made of plastic so their privacy was still intact… at least until then.

"Well, that's it, isn't it?" asked an irritated Asuka to Shinji's left "Are we finally going to get dressed?"

"No, now that the cleaning process is complete, you three have to move on to the next room and enter your corresponding Entry-Plugs" Dr. Akagi indicated over the intercom.

"What?! Do you want us to go there naked?!" the redhead exclaimed, a mix of embarrassment and anger clear on her voice.

"Don't worry, visual monitoring is off, we respect your privacy" Ritsuko's voice explained.

"That's not the problem! I'm not walking through this hallway naked alongside a pervert such as Shinji!" Asuka exclaimed angrily. Shinji frowned inside his booth, but remained silent.

"Asuka, we get that it might be awkward, but it's necessary, so stop wasting time and go to the Entry-Plug" Misato's voice was heard over the intercom this time "That is an order"

The girl growled, frustrated "Fine, but in that case I'll go first and alone!" Asuka exclaimed before turning her attention to the wall on her right "Shinji, turn around and don't even think about looking!" the Second Child demanded.

"Fine, but to be clear I have no intention of looking at you" Shinji said turning around "It's not worth risking my life for so little"

"IDIOT!" Asuka shouted before peeking outside her booth. Once she was sure Shinji's back was turned, she quickly crossed the hallway.

Shinji, respectively, remained with his back turned for several seconds, unable to help but feel a little nervous. The decontamination process hadn't been particularly pleasant to begin with, and standing there naked hadn't been enjoyable either. But to make matters worse, he knew that a short distance away from him, in the other booth, was Rei, undoubtedly as naked as he was at that moment. The Third Child swallowed a lump in his throat, while his mind could not help but remember the image of the scarlet-eyed girl, fresh out of the shower with only a towel covering her shoulders. Shinji shook his head, blushing furiously "I can't think about that now. Anything but that..." the boy took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

"Rei, can you hear me?" Shinji said once a few more seconds had passed.

"Yes" was the brief response from his girlfriend.

"You can go first... don't worry, I promise I won't look" Shinji said, gathering all of his willpower in order fulfill that promise.

The girl was silent for a second, then she spoke "Why would I worry about that?" the bluenette asked, confused.

Shinji almost choked on air when he heard those words. Was she implying that she wouldn't mind if he saw herlike that? Shinji's heartbeat quickened. Several lewd scenarios ran through the mind of the Third Child, but then he remembered that the first time he had seen Rei… almost naked by accident, the girl had not given it the slightest importance and acted as if nothing had happened afterwards "Of course, that's it... Rei doesn't understand the implications... Goddammit, I'm worse than Touji and Kensuke..." Shinji forced himself to calm down and finally spoke again "Never mind that, it doesn't matter. Just go first, then I'll go once you have crossed"

Rei was still confused, but decided to leave those doubts for later "Alright" she said, heading to her Entry-Plug.


Minutes later, with the three pilots in their corresponding Entry-Plugs, tests began. Misato walked casually around while Ritsuko inspected the data in a screen attentively. After a while the scientist's eyes widened.

"Incredible..." Ritsuko muttered, surprised.

"What's wrong?" Misato asked while approaching her.

"Check the sync rates of the pilots" the blonde said while pointing to the screen. Misato took a look at it. Asuka, as was usual since she had arrived at Japan, was the one who had the highest rate, around 74%. Shinji had increased his score quite a bit, already being on the verge of reaching 70%. Although the boy's sync rate had increased little by little in recent weeks, an increase of almost 5% since the past week was quite good. But the most surprising one was Rei's.

"67%? What an improvement, that's how it's done, Rei" said the woman, surprised "Shinji has also improved a good chunk since last time"

"It's incredible" the doctor murmured, still stupefied "Rei had never exceeded a 55% sync rate, she has improved more than ten percent in less than two weeks... how is this possible?"

Misato pondered for a moment, and an idea came to her mind "Mood influences sync rates, doesn't it, Ritsuko?" the woman asked in a quiet voice, getting closer to her blonde friend.

"Among many other things, but yes, indeed" the scientist replied "Why?"

"Well... let's just say that it's very likely that this is the reason that caused this improvement in Rei and Shinji" the purple-haired woman whispered to her, smiling mischievous.

Ritsuko raised an eyebrow "Wait, you mean those two...?"

"Yes. But I haven't told you anything, okay?" Misato said keeping her low voice, while winking at the doctor "They're both very reserved, if they want to let it be known it's up to them"

Ritsuko, unlike Misato, was far from taking the news so lightly. This could be very relevant to her own schemes. Her mind began to assault her with ideas, this was probably an extremely good opportunity to make a move. The scientist didn't have much time to think about this, however, as an alarm began to sound.

"What's happening?" Ritsuko asked.

"Contamination alert in Sigma unit, level A" Maya indicated, reading data on her screen "One of the protein walls is being corrupted. Corrosion is increasing very rapidly!"

"Corrosion?" Misato asked confused.

"Maya, analyze the pattern" Ritsuko asked.

"Yes" the young woman replied as she typed rapidly on her terminal. When she finished she widened her eyes in surprise "Blue pattern, it's an angel!"

"Get the pilots out of there, eject the Entry-Plugs!" Ritsuko ordered.

Misato looked at the scientist, worried "How is it possible that an angel is inside here?"

"That doesn't matter now. We must isolate Terminal Dogma, quickly!" the doctor exclaimed, heading to her own terminal.


In one of the several compartments that connected the rooms the Eva cages and the surface, a man with a slightly unkempt beard and hair tied in a ponytail watched as the surface doors began to close while an alarm sounded.

"Looks like the angel is here" the man murmured as he smiled confidently. After that, he jumped towards one of the cavities that connected the vertical compartment he was in with the rest of NERV's facilities.


Hours later, a serious Ritsuko Akagi opened the front gate of Terminal Dogma. The woman was exhausted, the attack of the eleventh angel had caught all of them completely by surprise, and they had to resort to unusual methods to defeat it, since their Evangelions were not particularly useful on that scenario. They almost didn't live to tell the tale, especially when the angel began to infect the MAGI and was about to launch the self-destruct sequence of NERV's headquarters, but Ritsuko had taken advantage of the fact that the angel had essentially become a computer to be able to finish off him by hacking it.

Once things had calmed down and she was sure that nobody would notice her absence, the scientist went down to the Dummy Plug System room. She had been working there on the development of the autopilot system. But that was not the only purpose of that room. On the walls of said room, submerged in LCL, were countless clones of the body of the First Child, Rei Ayanami. In the main terminal, backup copies of her memory were also kept.

The scientist walked through the room until she reached the main terminal without turning on the lights. She didn't feel like looking at the bodies floating in the LCL. Not that day. The woman turned on the terminal and began typing. It didn't take her long to complete her goal, in just a couple of minutes she turned around and left the place, a cryptic smile on her lips.

Rei's memory backups had been erased.


To be continued...