Sokila was doing...push-ups?
"One hundred and ninety-eight...one hundred and ninety-nine..."
The girl paused, her arms shaking.
"...what comes next...?"
With a sudden yelp, she fell on her face.
"...owie..."
Margaret knelt down, looking at her with a shake of the head.
"You're pushing yourself awfully hard."
Sokila looked up with childish defiance.
"Have to...get tougher...for my Guest..."
Margaret sighed, even as her fingers flickered with ethereal light.
"There are better ways to increase your capacity..."
The faint haze of blue began to brighten-
xxxx
/Wednesday: August 5, 2015/
/Sojiro Sakura's Residence, Nishiawakura, Okayama Prefecture/
Shinji Ikari snorted, turning over in his bed-
THUNK.
-and fell onto the tatami mats. "...urgh..."
Subconsciously, in the midst of his daze, he did one push-up. Then another.
Finally, with a wide yawn, he yanked the blanket off of his bed. Wrapping it around his body, he was back asleep in short order.
xxxx
/The Melon Patch, Downtown Tokyo-3/
The bass guitarist was strumming a repetitive tune, filling the dead air as the last patron prepared to leave. The rest of the live band was packing up after another long night.
Overall, Ryoji Kaji thought things had gone well. Now...I wonder-
A startled shout caught his attention; a familiar vixen walked through his doors, nearly shoving his last customer out of the way. "Kaji."
The man smirked. "Ah, it's been a while...I'd heard through the grapevine that you ran into a spot of trouble."
"That's putting it mildly. I snuck out of NERV's medical ward just to see you."
"You're coming in at nearly two in the morning."
"I had to be really sneaky."
"Well, we're closing up shop now, but I might be able to spot you a can of beer..." His voice trailed off as he finally saw her face. "Ah...not here for a drink, I take it." Misato simply pulled out her phone, showing a certain chat log that he had sent to Ritsuko Akagi over a month ago. "...in all fairness, it wasn't my idea for Ritsuko-chan to call me Mr. Katsuragi-"
Misato interrupted him. "You know who Mister P is. Mister P has met your Shadow. Shinji-kun has met your Shadow, and gave him a business card for your bar." She leaned in, eyes filled with righteous and pained fury. "When the kid's back in town from his little getaway...we're gonna sit down and have a long discussion about what the hell it is you actually know. I'd advise giving some thought to actually telling me the truth for once in your pisspoor excuse for a life." With those words said, she turned around and walked away (and only now could he catch the subtle limp to her movements).
Kaji grimaced, impulsively pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. A few puffs helped him focus, even as he saw the band shake their heads at the brief confrontation; probably thinking of it as just another lover's quarrel. And they'd be right. This just always seems to be our routine, isn't it? With a frustrated sigh, Kaji's thoughts turned towards his Shadow, and he couldn't help but grin. Even now, I'm my own worst enemy...
'A pisspoor excuse for a life,' Misato had called it. Oh, if only she knew how close to home that was...
xxxx
As the morning hours rolled through, Shinji Ikari awoke to the sound of a buzzing phone and the sensation of being on the floor. Did...did I fall out of bed? Grimacing, he slowly reached for the device, wondering if someone was calling him.
NERV: GHOST ACTIVITY HAS HAD AN UNEXPECTED SPIKE. MISSION ACCEPTANCE IS REQUIRED.
...ah. Right. Real life, intruding once more. Swiping over to the Mission Board app, he reviewed the forward application:
SUBMITTED BY: Office of Cognitive and Spiritual Affairs (Hyōgo Prefecture)
LOCATION: Shiso; Asago, Tamba Dead Zone
MISSION: Ghost subjugation and dispersal.
SUBMITTED BY: Office of Cognitive and Spiritual Affairs (Shiga Prefecture)
LOCATION: Ōtsu Dead Zone, Takashima, Nagahama Dead Zone
MISSION: Ghost subjugation and dispersal.
SUBMITTED BY: Office of Cognitive and Spiritual Affairs (Kyoto Prefecture)
LOCATION: Ayabe, Kameoka, Outer Kyoto Quarantine Zone (Eastside)
MISSION: Ghost subjugation and dispersal.
"...hopefully nothing happens like with America," he murmured. So many Dead Zones...what's the true state of the world...?
Suddenly, without warning, the door to his room was slammed open. "Ah. You're awake."
"WAH!" yelped Shinji, spinning in place; Mana Kirishima was clad in her old body suit, with AIGIS and LABRYS resting on her back. "K-K-Kirishima-san?!"
She held up the phone that Misato had given her. "Got an alert about Ghost activity, so I'd figured I'd wake you up."
"...right. Can I get dressed, first?"
"You're wearing clothes, aren't you? It's not like Ghosts would be able to harm you while you have your Evangelion."
...okay, fair enough, but not the point. "But...I can't just go outside in my sleeping clothes! J-Just give me a few minutes, please!"
Mana shrugged. "Fine."
"...can you please close the door?"
"Oh, right." She slid the door shut.
What a way to start the day, he mused with a shake of the head.
Minutes later, clad in jeans and a simple collared shirt, he opened his door to stare at the sight of an offered thermos. "Eh?"
Sojiro Sakura handed it over. "Kind of hard to ignore the racket you made. The little miss filled me in. Here." He handed over the thermos filled with coffee. "A morning pick-me-up for...whatever it is you're about to do."
"Ah...right." Touched by his old sensei's thoughtfulness, he stuffed the small thermos inside the waist bag strapped to his right hip (taking special care not to let the Bowie knife be seen, because crap Amamiya-senpai had given it to him!). "I...think we'll just take a couple of snacks with us..."
The older man nodded, his expression somewhat inscrutable. The silence hung in the air as he gathered himself, following Mana out the front doors and into an open space. Various cats watched them with a calm laziness; the sun had yet to poke its face over the mountains bordering Nishiawakura. It was in this morning air that Sakura-sensei finally broke the silence. "So...what exactly are you two going to do?"
"We're going to subjugate any Ghosts we come across. I guess most of the A.T. Adepts capable of Ghost dispersal are focusing on making sure the Olympics in Okayama go off without a hitch," remarked Mana, displaying a surprising level of insight. "Resources must be stretched thin..."
"...you sound like you know a lot about this sort of thing," said Sojiro with a degree of forced calm.
Mana shrugged. "It's what I was built for."
"Uh-huh," murmured Sakura. He shifted his glance towards Shinji. "I won't lie and say that I'm a fan of this sort of thing...but it's not something I have the power to stop. Just...try not to do anything reckless."
Shinji solemnly nodded, understanding the man's somberness for what it was: honest concern. (Why did none of this resonate while you were here...?) "We'll be back soon...can you tell the others-"
"I'll fill them in."
"Thank you," he said with a light bow. As if by routine, he held his hand out; without a word, Mana handed AIGIS to him. With the shield in his left hand and the axe in her right, he clasped his free hand on her shoulder. "Ready, Kirishima-san?"
"Let's just go."
Nodding, he focused-
(He didn't see how all the nearby cats suddenly went alert, most of them scampering away into hiding out of sheer primal dread.)
(Sojiro's widening of the eyes went unnoticed, as the man marvelled at how their very beings faded into human-shaped static.)
-and without another word, reality gave way.
xxxx
As the duo went on with their missions, and the hours passed...morning encroached upon Europe.
xxxx
/Orléans, France/
Sister Mary Makinami inhaled deeply of the morning air, feeling a sense of...nostalgia, for this old city. Glancing over her shoulder, she drank in the sight of the Abbey of Saint Jeanne d'Arc: her home for many years.
(She could not remember much of the days after Second Impact. All she could recall was stumbling along the side of the road outside of the ruins of Tokyo...only to be found by the man who would come to be her patron.)
Three stories tall, intentionally built in the old Gothic design (because that sort of architecture held a lot of cognitive power, in the minds of many), and with hundreds of rooms, the abbey — barely over a decade old! — was the proverbial seat of her religious Order. Even arriving yesterday had been filled with so many bittersweet memories: the constant studies, the continual prayers, the sneaking of stories and gossip from the outside world to the cloistered nuns, the graduation of religious into the ranks of what the world colloquially called 'combat nuns' or 'ghostbuster gals'; all of that and more...ah, but she had little time to spare for reminiscing.
Her old patron had a rather tight schedule to keep, after all...and there was little doubt that Miss Sohryu would be up before long, once the sun rose above the horizon.
Thus, Sister Mary walked the short distance to the Orléans Cathedral, so intimately associated with the patron saint of her Order; the twin towers, the tall spire above the center of the cathedral, the various stained glass windows depicting the life of the Maid of Orléans; all of it rang an intimate chord within her. She intentionally pushed those aside, heading for a small door along the south side of the building, where she quietly knocked in a particular pattern-
It slowly opened, forcing her to step back. The stern expression of Abbess Jeanne Colette, Mother Superior of the Order of Saint Jeanne d'Arc, seemed to pierce through the early morning twilight. "You slept in," she said in Japanese with a heavy French accent.
That the woman made the effort to speak in Mari's native language was reassuring, in spite of the harsh tone. "My apologies, Reverend Mother-"
"Come along now, his Holiness mustn't be kept waiting." The elderly woman ushered her in, guiding her through the old corridors outside the nave, eventually ascending old stone stairs up to the enclosed belfry. "Honestly, I don't understand his fondness for bells..." Before long, they came across the door leading into the belfry, flanked by four Swiss Guards in plainclothes. "Pardon us, gentlemen," Abess Jeanne said in the local French tongue. "We're expected."
One of the men nodded, gently knocking on the wooden door and stepping inside; there was the sound of whispered voices, followed by the Swiss Guard coming back out. "His Holiness will see you now, but he won't dismiss his other guest."
"That is fine. The Archbishop was sympathetic to our situation." The Mother Superior briefly glanced out of the corner of her eye. "Do not overstep your boundaries, young one."
Sister Mary resisted the impulsive urge to roll her eyes, obediently nodding. The Swiss Guards opened the door, ushering the two in. The eyes of the other four Swiss Guards within the belfry were immediately drawn to them, but they might as well have been part of the scenery.
Inside the old belfry — with great bells looming large in the background — a small wooden table sat beside one of the tall windows, where two older men sat. One was clad in the brilliant red garb of a Cardinal, his head of natural blond hair poking out from underneath his scarlet zucchetto skull cap. Sitting across from him was a man of Japanese ethnicity, clad in clothing that seemed the mirror of the cardinal's albeit pure white instead. Both men were speaking in Latin (most likely a sign that the topic of discussion was theological), while they played chess and drank from cups of hot tea all the while.
The man in red saw her first, his light blue eyes twinkling with delight. "Ah, it seems our other guest is here, your Holiness," happily said Andre Laurent Jean Cardinal Geraux, the current Archbishop of Tours, which contained the Diocese of Orléans.
The man in white, his thinning and graying black hair forming a stark contrast with the white zucchetto, slowly turned in his chair. A gaunt and narrow face looked back, lined with the wrinkles of age; the only other distinctive feature on his face was a small mole in the center of his forehead. Nonetheless, his brown eyes were filled with warmth at the sight of her. "It's been a long time, Sister Mary," said Pope Thomas.
Both religious bowed deeply, going down to their knees. "Your Holiness," said Abbess Jeanne towards Pope. "Your Eminence," she said towards the Cardinal.
"You may both rise; I arranged for this so we could dispense with most of the ceremony. I'll be having quite a bit of that for the rest of the day, after all." Stepping forward, he nodded gently towards the abbess; the woman took that as her cue to step aside, knowing that she was only here to serve as witness, escort, and chaperone for the younger religious. At last, it was Sister Mary and Pope Thomas staring at each other.
The Pope smiled. "You've grown quite a bit, Mari-chan," he said in his native tongue.
Mari giggled nervously. "Well, I've kind of had to...I've had a real troublesome girl to look after..."
"So I've heard."
"...it won't be a scandal if I hug you now, would it?"
(Out of Mari's line of sight, the abbess somehow managed to constrain a groan of irritation.)
The Roman Pontiff glanced around at his guards. "There are plenty of witnesses, and they all know how sinful scandal and gossip are."
Taking that as permission, Mari stepped forward and embraced the man who had not only been her patron...
("...your personality is one of action...and I can sense that your soul is strong," the man who would go on to become Pope Thomas said to her. "I can put you in a place where you can learn to control that temper of yours. Even if it's a vice you'll struggle with...at least it'll be in a place where it can be channelled constructively." Really, what other choice was there, for an orphaned brat like her?)
...but had been her ticket out of Japan after all of her family had perished during the hell of Second Impact. "It's good to see you again, Namatame-sama."
Pope Thomas — otherwise known as Taro Namatame, the last Archbishop of Tokyo before the old capital of Japan had fallen — smiled genially. "I've not heard that title in a long time..."
Mari quickly grabbed a chair, pulling up besides Cardinal Geraux and Pope Thomas as they continued their game of chess. "I hope your current visit to France has been fruitful, Namatame-sama," she said with a smile.
"The faithful have been invigorated by my presence. It has been my sincere hope to try and assuage their fears after the tragic events during the last new moon," remarked Namatame, brief glancing at one of his guards and gesturing with his hands. As the guard departed with a nod, he added, "and it has been quite heartening to catch up with an old friend from Sophia University."
"Ah...such a shame," bemoaned Cardinal Geraux, taking a sip of his tea. "The sole pontifical university of Japan, the pride of her intellectual life...especially when you were there to teach scholastic philosophy!"
"You were no slouch in European history either, Andre," remarked Namatame. Slipping into Japanese, he then said with a wry grin, "or should I say...'Bebe'?"
Mari blinked, impulsively grinning. "...'Beh-beh'?" she repeated, purposefully enunciating each syllable.
The Cardinal hid his embarrassed wince with another sip. "...to be fair, many of the natives had difficulty with my name...so a lot of the lay students just began calling me 'Bebe.' It quickly became a bit of a running joke among the faculty," he said; his French accent still came across rather strongly as he spoke Japanese. Without warning, he moved his white bishop forward, capturing one of the black knights. "Your move, your Holiness."
"Honestly, some might say it's preferable to having a given name of 'Taro.' There were quite a few practical jokers who kept bringing me dishes made of taro...which doesn't help, when you're not a fan of the vegetable in question." The Pope quickly responded by moving his rook into position to take either a bishop or a knight. "But they didn't mean any harm, and I just added it to the list of penances I had to endure."
"Even in the little things, eh?" said Mari with a smile.
"Even in the little things," echoed Namatame. "I'm sure you've had quite a lot to deal with in your...unique position."
The religious nodded. "It's been...a trial, in many ways."
"The Evangelions are always subject of gossip and rumors, no matter where you go," said Cardinal 'Bebe' Geraux. "Are there any details you can share about the Second Child's life? Within reason, and nothing that would besmirch the young girl's character, of course."
Mari leaned back in her chair, staring up at the high ceiling with a frown; dust particles danced haphazardly in the air, caught by the rays of light from the rising sun. "...she has been forced to play the role of an adult far before her time."
The Archbishop nodded grimly. "Such a shame...and a disgraceful indictment of humanity, in this day and age, that we must rely on children more and more to fight our battles." He moved his bishop out of the black rook's line of attack.
"And yet children are just as capable of demonstrating heroic virtue as adults are," remarked the Pope, capturing the white knight that had been left behind by his opponent. "Speaking of virtue...it's my understanding that there's no religious house or convent established within the region of Tokyo-3."
Sister Mary nodded. "Unfortunately. It's still a relatively young city, from my understanding."
At that moment, the previously dismissed guard returned, holding a warm mug of green tea. He brought it over, placing it down on a saucer in front of the Pope before withdrawing.
Namatame held the cup and saucer towards Mari. "Drink up, child."
Sister Mary smiled gratefully, inhaling deeply of the herbal aromas. "Thank you very kindly, your Holiness." The conversation turned towards relatively mundane topics as the Pope and the Archbishop continued their game: local politics, recent developments within the Roman Curia, the ongoing Summer Olympics, and things of that nature.
Finally, as the clock neared seven, Pope Thomas captured Cardinal Geraux's queen. "Checkmate in six moves; seven if you move a pawn in a particular way on the third."
Bebe winced, looking at the board with some displeasure...until, at last, he tipped his king over. "I concede."
"A good game, old friend."
"I wish we could have gone with a round of shogi; that offers so much more tactical possibilities!"
The Pope waved off the Cardinal's protest. "We'd be here for a whole hour with that game, and we both have a busy schedule today: diplomatic meetings, visits with the laity, a papal mass this evening...need I continue?" Namatame glanced towards Mari, who had been watching the game proceed with rapt interest. "You had something else to speak of, Mari-chan?"
"Ah. Right. Well, My charge would not be opposed to a Persona duel...but I understand if that's asking too much."
Cardinal Geraux raised his eyebrows. "Awfully presumptuous, asking that of his Holiness."
"And yet who in all of Rome is stronger than the Pope? And I'm not even being figurative!" asserted Mari.
Pope Thomas finished the last of his tea, humming thoughtfully. Finally, he said, "you know why I picked 'Thomas' as my papal name?" Namatame folded his hands together, looking seriously at Mari. "Not only because of my great admiration for the philosophy, knowledge, and wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas...but also because of the great truth unveiled by St. Thomas the Apostle. For when our Lord had risen again, Thomas would not believe unless he actually witnessed the wounds caused by His crucifixion; only then, did he acknowledge the truth. And although the common lesson of that Gospel is about the faith of those who have not seen yet believed, it is no less true that there are those who will not believe unless they see." The aged man leaned back, gazing out the window with a thoughtful expression. "In a time where a world born from the human mind can be accessed with such impunity and regularity, it is important to remember that for some, their incredulity can only be bested by what they see with their own eyes. That name was a promise to myself, to remember that." Finally, he turned back towards the young religious. "If there is an opening early tomorrow morning before I must set off for Tours, then I will entertain a private audience with the Second Child. It is the least that can be done after the travesty at the United Nations."
"To think that they would dismiss one of Europe's most celebrated defenders," bitterly grumbled Bebe. "Ridiculous!"
Sister Mary bowed gratefully, inwardly cheerful at the possibility at Miss Sohryu learning some tips from a Persona-user as skilled as Pope Thomas. "You have my gratitude, your Holiness."
"I believe our time is up; if you'll rise, I'll give you both my apostolic blessing." As Sister Mary and Cardinal Geraux genuflected, Pope Thomas began speaking in flawless Latin. "Sancti Apostoli Petrus et Paulus: de quorum potestate et auctoritate confidimus, ipsi intercedant pro nobis ad Dominum."
"Amen," recited Mari and Andre.
"Precibus et meritis beatae Mariae semper Virginis, beati Michaelis Archangeli, beati Ioannis Baptistae et sanctorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli et omnium Sanctorum, misereatur vestri omnipotens Deus; et dimissis omnibus peccatis vestris, perducat vos Iesus Christus ad vitam æternam."
"Amen."
"Indulgentiam, absolutionem, et remissionem omnium peccatorum vestrorum, spatium veræ et fructuosae pœnitentiae, cor semper paenitens, et emendationem vitae, gratiam et consolationem Sancti Spiritus; et finalem perseverantiam in bonis operibus tribuat vobis omnipotens et misericors Dominus."
"Amen."
Completing his blessing with the sign of the cross, Pope Thomas finished, "et benedictio Dei omnipotentis, Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti, descendat super vos et maneat semper."
"Amen."
Both Cardinal and religious kissed the Fisherman's Ring on the Pope's right hand before rising...at which point Mari followed up with another embrace of the elderly man. "I'll miss you, Namatame-sama."
"And I you, child. But remember that we are all part of the same Mystical Body; in truth, we are never apart. Go in peace."
Nodding happily, the young woman turned away, following her superior out of the belfry.
As they descended the stairs, Abbess Jeanne tiredly remarked, "you're so incorrigible."
"I'd say 'guilty', but I think being incorrigible in this case wouldn't even count as a venial sin~"
"I'm glad your talents are in the realm of combat, because I can only imagine the havoc you'd wreak if you were a cloistered nun."
Mari just barely managed to stifle her giggle.
xxxx
/Nishiawakura, Okayama Prefecture/
/The Metaverse/
Akane Hasegawa blinked, looking over her shoulder towards the cognitive forests. Is something there...?
"...is something wrong...?" asked Mayumi Yamagishi.
"...no, nothing," answered Akane. (What was with the sensation of something watching her?) Looking back towards the bespectacled girl, she asked, "what about you?"
Mayumi blinked. "Eh?"
"Is the Metaverse disagreeing with you? You look a little...pale."
"...are you sure? I feel fine," assured the girl, turning back towards the others.
Since Ikari and Kirishima had gone on a mission before their fellows had awoken, the A.T. Agents and lone Freelancer had decided to introduce the young ones to one of the other aspects of Zenkichi's job: namely, keeping the cognitive peace. Hence why Toji, Kensuke, Akane, and Mayumi were observing Zenkichi speak amiably with the various unregistered Shadows of the villagers. Ren, alas, had elected to remain behind in the real world (saying something about wanting to avoid any potential Metaverse craziness...which was perfectly fair enough, all things considered); this left Ryuji, Iori, and Amada to check the perimeter throughout the boundaries of Nishiawakura. (That this allowed Zenkichi to offload some of his work to them went unsaid.)
Being relatively far from a Cognitive Protection Center, most of the villagers' Shadows were 'wild', having their own Realms dotting the cognitive landscape; this made Zenkichi's work a bit more time-consuming as a result, but it also made him intimately familiar with the local populace (thus giving him the means to stay on their proverbial good sides). Even if it meant having insight into the hidden sides of people that Akane would rather not know about.
(Why did Mr. and Mrs. Kuwabara have such fascination with feet, of all things?)
(Don't think about it too much.)
"...I wonder how Ikari and Kirishima are doing," Akane wondered aloud.
"Concerned?" asked Mayumi.
"...well, I don't know Kirishima that well, but she seems pretty tough, going by how she uses that giant axe and shield of hers...but Ikari's different. He wasn't like this when he was living here."
"Like what?"
"Like...like he's actually alive," she admitted, having no better way of phrasing it. "Honestly, this Ikari would have been a lot more interesting to be around..."
Mayumi arched an eyebrow.
"...not like that."
"Like what?" she casually remarked in a tone of forced innocence.
Akane huffed. "I'm not going to be baited."
"...very well then, why exactly do you want to follow in your father's footsteps? To be an A.T. Agent, I mean?"
Akane shrugged. "My story's not too different from anyone else's; my mother died to an Acolyte years ago. My father wanted to join the A.T. Task Force to make a difference...and so do I."
Mayumi smiled. "That's very admirable, Hasegawa-san."
"And you? You're a civilian, from what I've been told; how exactly did you get roped into this?"
Mayumi became subdued. "Well...I was just invited as Ikari-san's friend. I certainly didn't expect anything like what this trip has shown me so far...I feel like I'm meant to be here, but I'm not sure why...does that make sense?"
Akane — ignoring that odd tingle in the back of her mind (seriously, what was that?) — nodded. "More than you know."
(Little did Akane know of the smiling figure, watching with jealous eyes.)
(Little did Mayumi — or anyone else, for that matter — know of the coiling beast that observed and witnessed everything around her, watching with angelic eyes.)
xxxx
/Meanwhile, in Kyoto Prefecture/
Shinji Ikari sighed as Unit-01 crushed another Ghost beneath its gargantuan foot. "I think that was the last one..."
Mana Kirishima nodded as AIGIS absorbed the spectral remnants of the sundered spirit; the mountaintop shrine around them was finally quiet. "So that just leaves the Outer Quarantine Zone west of Kyoto..."
The duo had already completed their missions in Hyōgo and Shiga Prefectures; likewise, they had already taken care of Ayabe, and had just wrapped up Kameoka. Which left...well, something that sounded rather foreboding. "What exactly is a Quarantine Zone? Is it like the Dead Zones?"
Mana paused, looking up at the cloudy sky; from their vantage point atop the mountains to the immediate east of Kameoka, they could see immense thunderclouds approaching from the southwest. "...I think Tokita talked about them a few times. They were an early method of trying to control how Ghosts and Acolytes manifested before the Cognitive Protection Centers gained more traction."
"How?"
"Basically, municipalities that implemented the policy would demolish entire landscapes, clearing them of buildings and vegetation; those who died at the hands of Acolytes were cremated and placed into columbariums that had been built there. Even their cognitive equivalent was salted and blasted into oblivion."
"...why?"
"To be a beacon for death, I suppose. To try and see if Ghosts would spawn there at the exclusion of other places. To see if Acolytes would be drawn there instead of in other places."
"Did...did it work?"
Mana shrugged. "I wouldn't know. Tokita didn't exactly provide us statistics. But given that we're still getting Ghosts and Acolytes all over the place, what do you think?" Gazing eastward, she placed AIGIS and LABRYS on her back. "...I think we're about twenty kilometers from the Quarantine Zone in question. You could probably take us there in the real world instead of shifting through...whatever dimension you use to travel through."
"Right..." He calmly walked over towards Mana, even as Unit-01 manifested around him. "...is there a reason why?"
"...just need a breather, is all. We've been fighting pretty much nonstop for hours, now."
"Are you hungry?"
Mana shrugged. "It can wait."
"But-"
"I'm serious." As if in response, the gemstones within her weapons gleamed brightly. "My weapons are keeping me going."
Shinji didn't quite know how to respond to that. So instead, he settled for embodying Fuu-Ki into his Evangelion; a great propellor blade fashioned out of his A.T. Field (forged from his very soul) emerged from the titan's right hand, which slowly began to spin. Shogoki knelt down, allowing the two young teenagers to clamber onto its back; with an otherworldly hiss, the spectral thoughtbeast took off. Even though the propellor spun, it was unnervingly silent; all they heard was the rushing of wind as they moved about through the air, propelled by nothing more than the power of Shinji Ikari's own soul (and the cognition of Fuu-Ki only reinforced this movement, for its control over the wind was undeniable...).
Before long, they were over eight hundred meters into the air, high above the mountains that surrounded the city of Kyoto. Strangely enough, it didn't feel cold at all, despite the ambient temperature around them dropping to under fifty degrees Fahrenheit.
The Beast strolled through a chilly desert.
"And why should such trifles bother you?"
Its skin hissed and burned with fire.
"Why should physical laws bind you in a place like this...?"
"...it all looks so small, from up here."
Shinji looked over his shoulder towards Mana; her hands were holding tightly to the ridges of Unit-01's violet armor (did the creature even need it...?), but her eyes were on the bustling metropolis of Kyoto, far below. From here, the patches of city that were devoid of activity (devoid of life) were glaringly obvious; to the north, east, and west of the city limits were patches of dead earth where entire mountainsides had been blasted to smithereens, undoubtedly the Quarantine Zones in question. But even so high up, they could see the flickers of blue that signified active Ghosts, as well as the flashes of orange from A.T. Field Adepts that had been deployed against them. "...I guess it does."
"You 'guess'?" snidely asked Mana.
"Um-"
"...you'd think everything would seem small to someone like you."
"Why?"
Mana frowned, gesturing toward the psycho-spiritual construct they were flying upon. "This. I bet if you really wanted to, you would have been able to crush everyone in our sparring sessions yesterday."
Shinji winced. "...what would that have accomplished, though?"
"I'm honestly trying to figure that out...but even with all that power of yours, stuff can still get to you, can't it? Like with the chaos on the ferry...and whatever funk you've been in since we arrived at your old home."
"...well...I think..." Mana had little reason to care about how he had grown up or who he had once been. Somehow, that made it easier. "...I'm coming to grips with how much Nishiawakura actually impacted me...but while I lived there, it was like nothing mattered. It's...odd. I think...it would be as if you had no memories of your sisters from before what happened with Tokita and the JET ALONE Project. Does that make sense?"
Mana grimaced, impulsively reaching for the weapons on her back. "...sounds terrible. But...I think I get it?" Her lips scrunched together into a frustrated frown. "Seeing you acting this way, even though you have enough power to kill us all? It's...hmm, how do I put it..." Sighing with frustration, she irritably tapped on her knee until the words came to mind. "I need to get stronger to save my brothers...but all the power at your fingertips isn't enough to protect even you from everything. I wonder what'll happen if I get even more powerful; will that just make me more of a target?"
"...maybe."
Mana huffed. "Nothing can ever be simple...why can't it be as simple as just getting stronger? Why do other people have to get bent out of shape about it?"
Shinji wished so very dearly to know that.
His Other looked quietly towards the distant sea.
"I think you know."
The waters looked...bloody.
"To not only be so powerful, but also so...close...it's only natural, for such a being to be feared."
"...that fact that I'm so powerful is the reason that people fear me...even if they don't know me."
Mana scowled. "Even if your Evangelion is frightening when it goes all out, you're...kind of passive, when it comes to your personality. Normally, you're not intimidating. Not really."
"...thanks."
"Why are you thanking me for saying that?"
"...because I don't want to be intimidating. I don't want to be feared. I...I've come to accept that I have to use this power for the sake of helping others...but I don't want it to change me. I don't want to be someone who deserves to be feared..."
"And you think the more power you obtain, the more likely it is that you'll change?"
"...I think I'm going to change whether or not I want to. I just hope that who I become is someone that I'll be able to live with."
"Sounds strange, coming from you."
"Is it, though?" Shinji rested his hand atop the helmeted head of Shogoki. "...I mean...isn't it the same with you?"
"What do you mean?"
"...the person who you were before the JET ALONE Project...do you think you'd ever be able to become that person again?"
Mana did not have an answer. Not immediately, at any rate. "...don't think I thought about it. I've wanted to get my brothers back, so we'll be able to have our family again..." She seemed more subdued now, as if AIGIS and LABRYS had doubled in weight upon her back. "...but we won't have Big Sis and Little Sis like we used to. Even if I find them...it's impossible to go back to who I used to be, isn't it?"
The rushing wind sounded awkward, as impossible as it sounded. "...I'm sorry if I upset you, Kirishima-san," offered Shinji with a remorseful tone.
"...don't apologize, Ikari. It's probably something I had to think about regardless." She looked down at her right hand, slowly curling it into a fist. "...the price of power...has costs I didn't consider..."
"...I'll let you know when we're close."
Mana nodded, grateful for just a bit of quiet to get her thoughts in order. After all, life wouldn't wait for them to resolve their personal problems and existential crises; Ghosts were no different.
xxxx
Finally, the duo slowly descended towards the eastern Quarantine Zone on the outskirts of Kyoto; sure enough, there was a definite dividing line on the mountains dividing Kyoto from the Ōtsu Dead Zone. On the eastern slopes of the mountains dividing Kyoto Prefecture from Shiga Prefecture, the landscape was untouched and serene: a consequence of how the various cognitive voids prohibited save movement and human activity in reality. On the western slopes facing Kyoto, however...the forests had been burned away strategically, and the soil itself had been salted to prevent anything green from growing. It was an immense path of hilly land that flattened out into an ashen waste, dotted by too many columbariums to count. The only sign of human activity were the armed barricades on what was left of National Route 1, serving as the government's barricade at the edge of the Ōtsu Dead Zone; likewise, at the very east of the Quarantine Zone was a militarized perimeter, similar to those around the Sapporo Dead Zone in Hokkaido. Beyond that, the whole land was a dead waste.
And the dead were having their say, as thousands of Ghosts prowled about. A good chunk were throwing themselves at the line of Buddhist monks and Shinto priests that served as the last line of defense; from above, there was no telling how desperate they were.
The Beast laughed.
"A quick trip to the cognitive world would solve that..."
Its clawed hands dipped into shadowy tar that stank of terror made real.
"...I wonder how many Archetypes have spawned from their fear...?"
"Let's draw their attention." With intent, Shinji angled Shogoki towards the center of the Quarantine Zone (and oh, his thoughts were already recoiling at the emptiness, for this was a land that had been engineered to ward off life itself, and that aversion had become outright disdain), dropping down with a heavy thud on salted soil. Mana hopped off, her hardy soles kicking up dust. "Just like in Arida?" he asked, mentally feeling the switch from Fuu-Ki to Shiki-Ouji.
"If it works, it works!" yelled Mana, her hands already gripping onto AIGIS and LABRYS.
By his will, Unit-01 grew...and grew...and grew. At thirty meters tall, the gargantuan construction of spirit and mind seethed with power, towering over everything for at least a kilometer around them. It was awe-inspiring, great, and terrible.
It also couldn't move, because all of Shinji's focus was putting his spirit on metaphorical display. "...m-maybe I should tone it down-"
"Nah, I think you've got their attention." Mana held her axe behind her, resting its head on the ground; as one, the tide of Ghosts had swerved away from their prior foes, screaming towards them in a tide of pain and sorrow and hatred. "I'll cut em' down to size!" With a defiant scream, Mana unleashed a wave of sharp light from LABRYS, carving a gap through the tide. She moved like a whirling dervish, striking down hordes of specters in heaving swings.
Shinji lost all sight of her amidst the torrent of Ghosts that swirled around him, phasing through his flesh to strike at his soul within Unit-01. The impacts of hundreds of specters didn't hurt...but somehow, he could still feel them. So many at once, too...it felt stark, and sharp in a way he hadn't expected. Was it a consequence of his growing power? He had no way of knowing.
But the utter wrath of these wraiths was...heavy.
His Other kept a hand on his back.
"Focus. The dead can be mourned later."
Shinji sighed, renewing his focus on enduring the storm; if nothing else, it was an exercise in determination...
xxxx
It was a remarkable sight, to the defenders at the boundary of the Quarantine Zone. With much of their normal staff having been pulled to Okayama Prefecture to ensure that the Summer Olympics went smoothly, this sudden influx of Ghosts had come at a horrible time.
But the commander of the garrison that guarded the militarized perimeter wasn't thinking about that, now; he was too busy staring, the violet oni that had suddenly emerged close to the barren slopes. Its very presence seemed to draw all of the Ghosts like a moth to a flame. "By the gods..."
"So that is an Evangelion..."
The commander looked over his shoulder, blinking at the sight of an unexpected figure. "Governor-?"
"An impressive sight, isn't it?" The relatively new Governor of Kyoto Prefecture adjusted his orange-tinted glasses. "Use this opportunity to reinforce the Adepts. Or must I do your job for you?"
The blunt condescension served its purpose well enough, as the commander straightened up. "Sir!"
The governor ran a hand over his bald head before turning away, walking towards a Kawasaki KV-107 tandem-rotor helicopter. Somehow, he had a feeling that the infestation would be dealt with in short order.
xxxx
Mana smashed the ground with AIGIS, unleashing a concussive wave of force that cleared the immediate area around Shinji. "I think you can help out, now!"
Grimly nodding, Shinji seemed to become...lesser, as his Evangelion suddenly shrank in size. Yet what was lost in grandiose spectacle was gained in offensive capabilities, as the form of Ippon-Datara bled through Shogoki's A.T. Field; a great hammer forged from orange light emerged in the Evangelion's right hand. "Sledgehammer" was all Ikari had to say before his Evangelion began swinging with abandon, crushing and sending specters flying with each blow.
Mana used the opportunity to focus on the stragglers, cutting through each and every Ghost she came across. For not the first time, she wondered if these remnants of the once-living actually felt anything...
xxxx
Her Little Sis quietly hugged each person that came her way, bidding them farewell with a somber expression.
Her Big Sis held the door open, insistently ushering them on to whatever came next.
xxxx
...but that sort of thinking didn't really change anything, in the end. Ultimately, it was a choice between the living and the dead...and the living would always matter more, in Mana's estimation.
Before long, the two sundered the last of the Ghosts...and it was just two small children, standing alone in the wasteland. "...that's the last of them."
"...yeah..." murmured Ikari, looking around the barren land with a sober look. Unit-01 still loomed tall, visibly thrumming with power. "...I'm glad this strategy didn't catch on..."
"Why?"
"...it's depressing."
She looked around, impulsively comparing the numerous storage towers — filled with who knew how many cremated remains — with the quiet tranquility of Nishiawakura, with the stressful yet inherent liveliness of Tokyo-3. The Quarantine Zone held a sense of utter sterility that she hadn't felt since her days in the facilities of Shiro Tokita and the NHCI. "...I get what you're saying." No wonder it was immediately bugging her, now that the battle was over...and why could she hear a helicopter? Looking up into the sky, her eyes narrowed. "Incoming."
Shinji tiredly looked towards the helicopter as it lowered to the ground about sixty meters away, kicking up lifeless dust; the side door of the orange and white vehicle opened up, revealing a bald man with glasses that seemed...uncannily familiar.
(She missed how Ikari immediately tensed up at the vision, only to relax when it wasn't who he thought it was.)
The man impulsively adjusted his tie (which seemed pointless, what with all the wind that the helicopter was picking up); ignoring the dust on his black suit, the goateed man strode towards them with purpose, analyzing them with intent and purpose. "...Shinji Ikari and Mana Kirishima," he said aloud, as though testing them. His eyes briefly gazed up at the violet Evangelion before looking back down at them. "As youthful and as powerful as the rumors say..."
Mana immediately disliked him. "You want to start something?" She ignored Shinji's hand on her shoulder, even though it was enough to stop her impulsive tirade.
"...but just as impetuous as children tend to be," he said with a snide tone. "Still, for the effort I went through to have this mission directed to you two, the results are good enough." He turned his tinted gaze to Shinji. "I've been reliably informed that you're acquainted with an A.T. Agent by the name of Goro Akechi, correct?"
"...yes?" tiredly admitted Ikari.
The man nodded, as though confirming what he already knew. "The next time you speak with him, tell him that Governor Shido is waiting for an answer. I'm getting rather tired of him ignoring my calls, and I'd rather not resort to less...cordial means of getting his attention." With those words said, he turned around and departed without another word.
As the helicopter slowly rose, Mana looked at her comrade with an arched eyebrow. "Any idea what that was about?" When he shook his head in response, Mana couldn't help but snort. "Feh...either way, I don't like him."
Shinji nodded in agreement. "Yeah...I think we can head back to Nishiawakura now..."
It was at that precise moment that her stomach growled very loudly. "...mind if we stop somewhere to eat, first?"
"...um, sure..."
She didn't much mind as Unit-01 picked her up in one large hand, cradling her within its palm; her utter exhaustion was sufficient to ward off any primal dread that remained.
(Besides, it was Shinji Ikari. He wasn't going to hurt her...not anymore, at least, right?)
(Is it really a strange thing, if you feel like you can trust him...?)
She was asleep before Unit-01 even left the ground for the cloudy skies above.
xxxx
The only reason that Shinji Ikari had thought of for stopping in Shiso — a rather small city in Hyogo Prefecture — for food was because of a random memory, of all things.
(He blinked, staring down at an old castle sitting adjacent to tiny city. Haga Castle, it had been called. He...had gone there for a school field trip when he was younger, hadn't he? And there had been...a restaurant, that his class had attended afterward.)
After further reflection, he recalled that the restaurant in question had been his first experience with Italian food, of all things.
Hence why he found himself sitting at an outdoor table with Mana Kirishima, devouring a plate of spaghetti and fried eggplant. Mana had settled for a personal cheese pizza, covered with cod roe, miso paste, and diced leeks.
(The owners had politely asked Mana to wait outside while he ordered for them...because, well, to the uninitiated, the axe and shield were intimidating. And to the 'initiated', they still were.)
However, the words of Shido continued to rumble through his head like a particularly foul storm cloud; so much so that once he finished his meal, he politely excused himself (since Mana was still chewing through the last quarter of her personal pizza, because wow she must have been hungry) to call...well, Goro Akechi.
(At some point, it was going to hit him that he had the contact information for some rather influential people, but that was neither here nor there.)
"...I'm not exactly sure why you're calling me regarding a Ghost mission," admitted Akechi. "It ended successfully, did it not? My focus tends to be more on matters in the Metaverse, for obvious reasons."
"...well, it turns out that the missions in Kyoto Prefecture were directed to us specifically by 'Governor Shido'...because he wanted to use me and Kirishima-san as messengers?" Which, in all honesty, was rather inefficient and roundabout.
"...is that so?"
Shinji winced at the sudden iciness in Akechi's tone. "Do...do you want to hear the message?"
"...well, we're talking. You might as well."
"He said...that he was waiting for an answer. That he's tired of you ignoring his calls. That he may resort to 'less cordial' means of getting your attention."
There was an irritated sigh on the other end. "How typical."
"He sounds...a little mean."
"That's a rather mild way of putting things, I'm afraid. That was the new Governor of Kyoto that you spoke to."
"...why exactly does he have an interest in you?"
"Perhaps it may have something to do with the fact that I'm his son." Shinji's shock must have last awhile, because Akechi followed up with, "if he's going to resort to such blunt and crude means of getting my attention, I'm certain that rumors of my parentage will soon start to circulate. In fact, I would count on him actively spreading rumors, albeit through proxies."
"...um...wow..." That was a bit unexpected. "Um...but your surname-"
"Let's just say that I'm not fond of my 'birth' name. I chose 'Goro Akechi' for...reasons of nostalgia, you could say."
"Nostalgia?"
"Well, have you ever heard of an author named Ranpo Edogawa?"
"...no, I don't think so." He made a mental note to ask Yamagishi about him later.
"He was a prominent writer during the early 20th century, and was a major figure in Japanese mystery fiction. One of his recurring characters was a brilliant detective by the name of Kogorō Akechi." The young man laughed to himself, as if remembering something funny. "Perhaps I could have been a detective in another life, you might say."
Shinji blinked. "Okay...?"
"Though, perhaps Shido thinks I chose this name as a reference to Mitsuhide Akechi, the infamous betrayer of Nobunaga Oda. It would be in his character to presume such a grandiose equivalence."
"...do you think of yourself in that way?"
"...the actions which constitute a betrayal can vary quite widely. Even something as innocuous as missing an appointment could be seen as a betrayal. Whether my discreet but ignominious departure from Shido's household is considered a 'betrayal' or not...well, we would have to ask him about that. And honestly, I'd rather not."
A strange sound slipped past his lips. (He would later recognize it as a snort of suppressed laughter.)
"You find something amusing, Ikari-san?"
"...I think I just realized how many people I know have father issues." It was almost darkly ironic, how often that trend continued. "...but what about your mother?"
The young man's sigh was...forlorn. "A tragic occurrence, I'm afraid; she seems to have passed away from pneumonia after experiencing a bad flu when I was much younger. My father, by most accounts, treated me well after that...and yet it begs the question of whether or not that's enough to mask personal disgust at who the man was. In my case...it wasn't."
"...I'm...I'm not sure I follow...?"
Akechi's smirk was somehow audible. "Well, let's put it this way: even if someone doesn't do anything negative to you personally, you can still despise them for who what they do to others; for how they behave; for who they are. I'm fairly certain you have at least one person in your life that that applies to."
Shinji silently winced, because Gendo Ikari (and all of his very complicated feelings) immediately came to mind. "...maybe." And yet, he still harbored hope. "Akechi-san...have you ever tried...seeing about possibly reconciling...?"
Akechi sighed. "It's a matter of non-negotiables, alas...and that's something I've come to accept, even if that man hasn't. Despite throwing away the 'comforts' of my old existence, I've made the best of what I had. That was the idea, at any rate. Besides, that is one particular relationship I have no interest in salvaging; you may find it harsh, but that's the truth."
"...I see..." Harsh was definitely a mild way of phrasing it.
"It is one of the consequences of growing older, you'll come to find out: of making do with the lot you have to the best of your ability. Sometimes, that involves forsaking certain bonds in favor of others; after all, there's only so much time in the day..."
"...what bonds did you gain in return for leaving your father? If...if you don't mind my asking...?"
At that, Akechi was silent...until he chuckled bitterly. "I believe that would saying too much, I'm afraid. That would be going into matters that are rather private, for me."
"Ah, sorry..."
"Think nothing of it. As for the matter of Governor Shido...that will be a private matter for me to deal with. In the grand scheme of things, he's just one more petty politician out of many; you have more important things to deal with."
"Okay..."
"Still, thank you for informing me of this, Ikari-san. I'm sure we'll speak again soon."
"Right...goodbye." With those words said, the line went dead. Shinji looked down at his phone with a complex expression, because why did so many people in his circle of friends and acquaintances have so much family DRAMA? Sighing, he turned around and WHOA Mana was standing right there! "Oh. Uh...hi?"
"I finished about five minutes ago."
"..."
"That sounded like a pretty heavy conversation there."
"...it was."
"...so, can we go now?"
"Ah. Right...I think Nishiawakura is less than thirty kilometers northwest of us..."
Mana nodded. "Are you tired? You've pretty much been our mode of transport for the entire day."
"...a little," he honestly admitted.
"All right then, I'll take us the rest of the way."
"Wait, what-" And then he was interrupted by Mana hoisting him over his shoulder. "K-Kirishima-san?!" he yelped, impulsively gripping onto the edge of AIGIS as it rested on her back. "What are you-?!"
"Quiet Ikari, I'm trying to be friendly!" Holding one arm around his legs, she used her right to swing LABRYS, tearing a hole into the Metaverse; without another word, she burst through the tear in reality, ignoring Shinji's protests all the while.
xxxx
Shinji and Mana's return to Sojiro Sakura's household had not gone without...comment.
xxxx
/Ten Minutes Ago/
Shinji barely had the time to take in the sight of the house's cognitive double before Mana tore a hole open to the physical world, stepping in without a second thought.
They were greeted by the sound of Toji Suzuhara yelping in shock. "WHAT THE HELL?!"
Kensuke poked his head around the corner. "What's going on?"
"We're done with our missions," commented Mana.
"...why are you carrying Ikari like that?" inquired Kensuke.
Shinji — feeling oddly winded after being carried for the past twenty minutes (probably because Mana's shoulder kept digging into his gut?) — grimaced, pulling himself up to look at his Hakone Academy roommates. "...Kirishima-san was trying to be friendly?"
For some reason, that only made Aida grin widely. "What, by roleplaying as a caveman carrying his woman?"
"...I'm not sure I get that reference," admitted Shinji.
"And who are you calling a caveman, exactly?" asked Mana, letting LABRYS's head rest on the floor with a loud and foreboding thunk.
"...on second thought, I'm not going to say," nervously admitted Aida.
The bespectacled boy yelped as Toji grabbed him in a headlock, dragging him away. "Yeah, I'm gonna pull him away before he hurts himself. I'll let the others know you're back."
And then it was just Shinji and Mana alone in the hallway.
"...Kirishima-san."
"Yeah?"
"...can you please let me down?"
Mana unceremoniously dropped him.
"Gah!"
"What? I let you go."
"...never mind..."
xxxx
After briefly going through a battery of questions from the adults (yes, they had successfully completed their missions; no they hadn't gotten hurt; no, they hadn't gotten ambushed by more government agents; yes, they had actually eaten before coming back), he had excused himself (as politely as possible) to go wash up.
Hence why he was now inside the square wooden tub in the private furo, a traditional holdover from when this place had been an active ryokan. Although lacking most of the amenities and decor of a modern bathroom, there was something...nostalgic about it. Comforting.
It gave Shinji time to think, as he soaked in the hot water: time to think about relationships, about family, about mankind's war against the Angels, about the War in Heaven, about the whole concept of different timelines, about his nature as a Wild Card...it was all so much.
...life was simpler, when I lived here, he realized. But it had been at the cost of actually living.
His Other quietly dug at a patch of earth in an old cemetery.
"Ignorance...apathy...they can be a comfort, to a degree..."
He dropped a skull into the open grave.
"...but what would such an existence amount to? What worth is life lived as a mere machine?"
He frowned, wrapping his arms around his legs; it was the impulsive mannerism of a child, but he was still a child, no matter how much power he had, and WHY was he going over these same thoughts over and over again? (Will you ever move past this?)
His Other chuckled.
"There is a reason, that your Persona is Hamlet, after all..."
Gazing upward, he frowned. "Unfamiliar ceiling," he murmured out of what seemed like habit (but when? When had it been a habit?), but it wasn't unfamiliar, because how many times had he bathed in this very room over the years? It was only unfamiliar because of some trick of his memory, which he had no way of knowing how or why it was even happening to him, but knowing his luck it had something to do with Evangelion because what in his life these days DIDN'T revolve around it-?!
The Beast smiled.
"Yes. Relish the unfairness of it all."
It raked at the soil, which bore a deathly fruit.
"It will only make for a greater harvest..."
Breathing heavily, Shinji felt...confused. Lost. Unsure of his very place in the world, bewildered as he was by the maelstrom of emotions within. "...will...will it ever end...?" he whispered to himself. All the while, he couldn't help but feel unsure and bereft of sense...
xxxx
Another place. Another time. Someplace...painful.
There was a bitter cry of anguish from someone else. Someone...familiar.
They were bemoaning their own weakness...no. Not a 'them.' A 'her.'
Words were coming out of his mouth. "-it needs a lot of strength to show your weakness..."
Who was he, to even attempt at being profound?
...
Another place. Another time. Someplace...intimate.
There was the sensation of tired limbs, and pleasant(?) exhaustion.
He stared at her face. Last night had been...their first time.
In spite of everything, he couldn't help but tell himself, deep down, that he didn't deserve this.
...
Another place. Another time. Someplace...important.
"-it's as real as we want it."
He held out his hand to her, feeling somewhat pleased that he had surprised her so.
More words came out of his mouth, possessed with a confidence and courage he couldn't claim to fully feel. "-why should we wait?"
xxxx
...because something was missing. But what was it?
He was missing so much already.
WHAT WAS IT?
WHAT WAS HE MISSING?!
xxxx
Amidst a curtain of blue, a silver-haired girl with yellow eyes was...crying? Smiling? Both?
"...I wish I could do more to help...I wanna do more..."
She impulsively wiped away her tears with a long sleeve.
"...it hurts, feeling this way..."
Her smile was...bitter.
"...because I know I can't do anything to change it...not as I am now..."
It was such a sad expression. It didn't belong on her face.
"...but I know you can make it...just hold on, okay?"
She clasped her hands together, as if in prayer.
"Please...you're not alone...I promise...!"
xxxx
Shinji didn't know why he started sobbing silently.
He didn't know why he felt such a stark sense of destitute agony.
But for the next ten minutes, he simply cried in silence and solitude, weeping for something he had no idea that he had lost, not knowing (within his heart of hearts) whether it was even possible to get it back.
However, it seemed to do the trick; as he emerged from the wooden tub and dried himself off, he felt as though he had put himself through a cathartic crucible, leaving only a dull numbness in its place. Donning a simple cotton yukata, he didn't even say goodnight to anyone before returning to his bedroom. Within moments, he was out like a light.
xxxx
END OF 8/5/2015
xxxx
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/...meanwhile, Elsewhere...and Elsewhen.../
In a dark and desolate place, stinking of blood and mold and mildew...a long and precarious process continued apace.
POWER RESERVES NOW AT 80%.
...
INTEGRATION NOW STANDS AT 30%.
...
SYNCHRONIZATION WITH [GOD(?)] REMAINS BELOW ACTIVATION LEVEL.
...
I WISH AYANAMI WOULD VISIT MORE. THIS PLACE IS SO VERY DULL.
And so the cycle continued, uncaring that it occurred in a place haunted by death and cataclysm.
xxxx
Author's Note: Strength (Mana) is now at Rank 3, and Fortune (Akechi) is now at Rank 4. And we also got to see two prior characters make their appearance in this timeline: good ol' Bebe (i.e. Temperance Social Link from Persona 3) as a Cardinal, and Namatame (i.e. 'the fall guy' from Persona 4) as none other than the Pope! We'll probably see them again.
The bit of Latin that was said at the end of Mari's scene is a blessing known as the 'Urbi et Orbi'. The English translation (with the responses in brackets) follows: "May the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, in whose power and authority we trust, intercede for us before the Lord. [Amen.] Through the prayers and merits of Blessed Mary ever Virgin, Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint John the Baptist, the holy apostles Peter and Paul, and all the saints, may Almighty God have mercy on you and forgive all your sins, and may Jesus Christ bring you to everlasting life. [Amen.] May the almighty and merciful Lord grant you indulgence, absolution and the remission of all your sins, a season of true and fruitful penance, a well-disposed heart, amendment of life, the grace and comfort of the Holy Ghost and final perseverance in good works. [Amen.] And may the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, come down on you and remain with you forever. [Amen.]" This sort of stuff won't be so in-your-face going forward, but since Asuka and Mari were travelling through France (a historically very Catholic country), it felt appropriate to elaborate on this part of her in-universe background...plus, it's Namatame as the Pope! I bet that has NEVER been done before.
Also, we have Shinji Ikari being a sad boi. :(
And more mysterious stuff all around!
/this road trip is turning out to be more complicated than I thought it would be
/I SIGNED UP FOR SUMMERTIME SHENANIGANS, DARN IT