Shin Persona Evangelion

by Ultra Sonic 007

Shinji Ikari stared, bewildered by the bizarre-looking man, who gave an intrigued smile. "An interesting guest has arrived. My name is Igor. Welcome to the Velvet Room, young fool...we have important matters to discuss, you and I." (A fusion of the realms of Evangelion and Persona, where not all is as it seems.) (Cover art by Renu of the Sufficient Velocity forums.)

107. Monday - September 7, 2015

Author's Note: This day ended up taking a lot longer than I thought it would. These characters just won't stop interacting with each other!

Brief reminderL Asuka's red barrettes (which in canon are part of her Eva pilot gear) are now only part of her Metaverse appearance, so her hair normally hangs loose, with bangs hanging over her forehead

xxxx

Sokila quietly painted on a canvas.

"I'm tryin' to get used to working with stuff other than crayons...I'm getting used to it...but I still like crayons better!"

She was forming a picture of a Shinji standing atop Goro Akechi, childishly flexing his arms.

"...I still think he was a meanie."

Standing back to get a better look at her handiwork, Sokila nodded with satisfaction.

"Now...to paint that Mari lady...she seemed nice..."

She suddenly frowned, as if a thought had come to mind.

"...hmm. You have that 'school' to go back to, right?"

Turning on her heel, she smiled brilliantly.

"Good luck, Mister Ikari!"

The faint haze of blue began to brighten-

xxxx

/Monday: September 7, 2015/

/Room 23, 2nd Floor, Izanagi Dorms, Hakone Academy/

Shinji Ikari, Toji Suzuhara, Kensuke Aida, and Kaworu Nagisa awoke to face a brand new day. "Well; we return once more to the hallowed halls of the Academy," remarked Kaworu with a sly smile.

"Yay," grumbled Toji.

"Whoo," tiredly cheered Kensuke.

As Shinji set about preparing for the return to classes, he briefly recalled the state of things when the prior term had come to an end. Let's see...I remember making it into the Top 15 for the end-of-term exams...then Principal Lorenz had that assembly to conclude the term where he addressed the whole student body...

(July the 27th: on the last day of the term, Keel Lorenz had had pointed words for the student body of the Junior High branch. "I am not ignorant of the concerns many of you possess in light of the message that was broadcast during the last new moon...nor am I blind to the panic it seems to have caused amongst the student body. After all, it's not everyday when the apparent cause of so much needless suffering has supporters, or even allies. But Strega is truly a pitiable reflection of humanity's worst quality: the lack of hope in any kind of constructive future. Theirs is a nihilistic message, an implicit rejection of the evolution of our species. Regardless of your own personal fears, I will not have you leave with the idea that such a mentality is acceptable. It would only fester, like cancer. After all...death is something that comes for everyone. But death is not something to be feared in and of itself, if it is for a purpose: whether it be the capstone on a life well lived, or a sacrifice for the sake of something greater; but death only for the sake of itself...creates nothing. That is what Strega seems to believe in, and it is nothing short of repugnant...so, with that being said: the identity of the Evangelion-users is technically information that the public is not supposed to know; however, I know that you children are not blind, nor ignorant. The identities of such individuals are practically an open secret...so I will simply warn you that any misguided retaliation against them for the mere 'crime' of ensuring our survival will be met with harsh reprisal...up to and including expulsion. That is all. You're all dismissed for the day. Enjoy your summer vacation, and I'll see you all again in September.")

...ah. Right. He briefly wondered if opinions had changed over the course of the summer break. I wonder if I'm going to hear about the 'Fight Club Incident'...? (Probably.) Well...I guess there's only one way to find out...

xxxx

Sure enough, as the boys of Room 23 walked through the Academy's Courtyards, the constant chatter echoed all around.

"...back to school...yay..."

"What deities did you end up picking for Nebukawa-sensei's assignment? I picked Helios and Selene."

"Wait, I thought it was Apollo and Artemis?"

"...it wasn't Diana instead of Artemis?!"

"I could've sworn it was Luna and Sol..."

"Wait, are we talking about Greek or Roman myths?!"

"Pikers. I went with Jie Lin and Yu Yi; my story has them racing!"

"...wait, wouldn't that involve the Sun and the Moon going way too fast across the sky...?"

"Not the point!"

Shinji blinked at the excessive worry regarding the summer homework assignment of Nebukawa-sensei. (He had just gone with Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu, because why not?) Okay, this actually isn't that bad-

"There's Ikari...he doesn't look like the kind who'd go into a yakuza fight club..."

...called it, thought Shinji with a grimace. Was it really that interesting...?

"Lots of rumors about the fights he's been involved in..."

"But he is all over the place like Ayanami-san...and it's not like Strega's attacked Japan recently, right?"

"I actually saw him fighting Ghosts yesterday from my apartment! He beat a lot of them..."

"...is it just me, or does he look taller...?"

"He's definitely not as wormy as before..."

...okay, this is unexpected. He didn't really feel that different. Sure, a lot had happened over the summer break, but he hadn't physically changed that much...had he?

"You seem surprised." Shinji glanced to his right, where Kaworu was walking rather casually. The red-eyed boy placidly continued, "You do not seem to realize just how differently you carry yourself compared to when we let out from school. I wonder...if your experiences over the summer break were truly that monumental?"

"...I don't think I can say, Nagisa-kun," he relented.

"A shame~"

The quartet eventually saw Hikari Horaki and Mayumi Yamagishi walking from an adjacent direction; for some reason, the former looked rather anxious, as others were giving them a wide berth. "What's with the personal quarantine?" loudly remarked Toji, looking oddly at the students keeping their distance from the two girls.

"I think it has something to do with how Mana-san dropped me off," shyly admitted Mayumi.

"An axe cut through the open air," dryly remarked Hikari. "You can't blame other students for being shocked at Mana Kirishima's method of...'fast travel', was it?"

Mayumi nervously adjusted her glasses, carrying a larger than usual backpack. "She didn't want Katsuragi-san to take too much time out of her day just to bring me to the Academy...but once I move more of my things to the Izanami Dorms, I should be able to just travel normally around the campus..."

"Which will be an adjustment period all on its own," observed Hikari. "I haven't lived in a dormitory for some time, so please forgive any discourtesies on my part, Yamagishi-san."

Mayumi blinked. "Oh. Um. No problem! I hope you can afford me the same leniency..."

("Girls are so weirdly polite," murmured Kensuke under his breath.)

("No kiddin'," agreed Toji.)

"...why are you two whispering?" wondered Shinji. He only got two quick hushes for his trouble. What did I say?

All of the students slowly dispersed, making their way to their respective classes; Kaworu Nagisa split off towards 2-E (giving off a theatrical wave in the process), whilst Mayumi shook her head with slight embarrassment as she followed; Shinji, Toji, Kensuke, and Hikari all moved as a cluster towards 2-A. To no one's surprise, Rei Ayanami was already there, sitting besides the window in her usual seat. "Good morning, Ayanami-san," politely greeted Shinji.

"Ikari-san," acknowledged Rei, quietly looking at the others. "I hope you have all been well."

Kensuke sighed loudly, all but slumping into the desk beside Shinji's. "I maintain that going back to school after the summer break we had is downright weird."

"No kidding," grumbled Toji.

"It's still important, though," said Hikari, with a somewhat nervous expression. She looked around at the other students pouring in, as though making a tally; with a frown, she observed one empty seat in particular. "Ah...looks like Kuwahara-san's transfer got finalized..."

Shinji gazed to the desk behind him; he vaguely recalled a rather peppy girl having sat there during the prior term. "Why did she transfer?"

"The company her parents worked for went under after the destruction of Tokyo-2, so they could no longer afford to send her to Hakone Academy," explained Hikari, speaking with a certain level of professional detachment. "A shame; she was pleasant to be around..."

Before long, the morning bell sounded; on cue, Kōzō Fuyutsuki slid the classroom door open, looking at them all with an authoritative gaze.

"STAND! BOW! SIT!" echoed Hikari's voice with even greater authority; to Shinji's shock, he still acted automatically.

("Seriously, how does she do that?" wondered Toji in a quiet whisper.)

"It's been quite some time, students," calmly stated Fuyutsuki-sensei. "A lot has happened within our country since July; change is a constant facet of life, and our classroom is no exception. Kuwahara-kun may have departed to continue her education elsewhere...but we have another student joining us. Compared to our last transfer student, she's from...far more distant shores." Walking towards the teacher's desk and podium, the wizened teacher gazed back at the newcomer. "Introduce yourself."

The moment the new student — a girl — entered Class 2-A, everyone's eyes were drawn to her fair skin and crimson hair: unlike the pale features of Rei Ayanami, the newcomer was doubtless a gaijin, through and through.

Shinji stared — distantly recognizing her, if only because of how striking she was — feeling oddly transfixed. (Little did he know, but Rei Ayanami's gaze shifted towards him, gauging his reaction.)

The redhead calmly wrote her name on the blackboard in flowing cursive script (? ﾝﾓﾈ? ﾝﾓﾀ? ? ﾝﾒﾶ? ﾝﾑﾔ? ﾝﾑﾒ?-? ﾝﾑﾜ? ﾝﾓﾇ? ﾝﾓﾊ) with confidence; underneath it came more hesitant Japanese script (惣流・アスカ・ラングレー), followed by its romanized equivalent for the sake of completeness (Sōryū Asuka Rangurē).

Another place. Another time. Somewhere achingly similar.

The redhead turned around, flashing a friendly smile at the entire class, her blue eyes brimming with confidence.

With her right arm hanging loose and the back of her left hand balanced against her hip, she introduced herself with an easy (yet far too shallow, in retrospect) cheer.

"I'm Asuka Langley-Sohryu! Charmed, huh?"

Shinji blinked dumbly as the redhead turned around; there was no smile on her face. Rather, there was an expression of determination: steely, yet somehow resigned.

"The name's Asuka Langley-Sohryu," she stated, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Let's get this out of the right way first: I'm an Evangelion-user. The only reason I've transferred here is because of adults with more authority than sense. But because I am here, it's my job and duty to protect you all with my power." With a grandiose gesture, she pointed dramatically at the entire assembly. "So don't complain behind my back if I don't show up or if I have to cut class! It most likely means I'm out doing something to save you or other people. Keep this in mind, and we'll get along just fine! Da kannst du Gift drauf nehmen!"

The entire class stared with curiosity, confusion, and a bit of irritation at her rather blunt introduction.

Fuyutsuki-sensei cleared his throat. "I don't believe the class would've understood your German at the end there, Sohryu-kun," he dryly remarked, pointing towards the open seat behind Shinji. "Take the open seat, and we'll begin our recap."

Asuka simply nodded, walking down the lane closest to the windows, acting unbothered by how so many class members openly stared at her. Shinji was among them; as she passed by, their eyes linked for the briefest of instants.

His Other chuckled warmly.

"At long last...there is completeness. Yet not all is right with the world...not yet."

The moment ended all too soon, as Asuka gruffly took a seat behind Shinji.

At this, the Third Child could only gulp silently. Three Evangelion-users in one class? The new term was already shaping up to be quite...'interesting'.

xxxx

There was a rather packed crowd aboard Tokyo-3's Cognitive Protection Center that day, gathered in a large training room.

Mana Kirishima watched quietly as the current Warden sparred with his soon-to-be-successor: Goro Akechi and Robin Hood, dueling against Misato Katsuragi and Tokoyo. The A.T. Agents fought with all their might, short swords clashing against each other; meanwhile, Tokoyo moved as a whirlwind, slashing her blades against Robin Hood's bow. The burlier Persona nonetheless managed to get his potshots in, countering Tokoyo's Myriad Slashes with Megaton Raid, her Heat Riser with Debilitate, and her Wind Skills with a mix of Bless, Dark, and Almighty Skills. It was a flashy and grandiose display of their powers.

A part of her couldn't help but wonder if any of the Shadows residing within the CPC were affected by duels like this. The rest of her wondered about her current state in life. So...Yamagishi's going to school with Ikari and the others. Big Sis had once talked about school. She had called it 'boring.' Guess that means I lucked out.

Little Sis lightly rubbed her head.

"It is okay to feel desire...especially if it's for something good. Like more chances to be by the side of your friends and loved ones..."

Big Sis pointedly tore pages out of a textbook.

"...I still don't miss middle school. Not one bit!"

Even so, Mana also couldn't help but wonder at the changes affecting others. All of her recent encounters with Warden Akechi at the CPC had revealed a young man laboring under untold levels of stress; now, for some reason, his movements were...lighter. Freer. Meanwhile...Misato's changes were somewhat more obvious. Namely, her regulation half-cloak — standard with all A.T. Agent uniforms — had given way to the red jacket she often favored in reality. There had been a couple of jibes from other Agents, mostly regarding the lack of mental discipline that indicated; however, given that Misato still retained the rest of the outfit and the chestplate, the nitpicks had been relatively minor.

Mana, given what she knew of cognition and how self-image worked in the Metaverse for Persona-users, wondered what that implied about Misato Katsuragi. She had her old cloak during that whole mess with Himmel last Wednesday...but now she manifests her red jacket instead. What did that imply? That Misato's self-perception as an Anti-Terror Task Force agent was lessening? If so, what did the red jacket signify? Damn it. Am I overcomplicating things?

Big Sis rolled her eyes.

"I mean, if she wears it in real life, she must value it a lot. What's she been doing?"

...way too much, thought Mana in response to that vague sensation. Guess the stuff she's doing in reality is becoming more important than her work as an A.T. Agent...but about what? Searching for Kaji? Lookin' into Mister P? Looking out for me and Yamagishi? She privately wondered if it was the latter...and felt a bit weird at the fact she hoped for that to be the case, even if it was a little.

"-a very respectable performance, Katsuragi-senpai." Mana blinked, brought out of her own internal ruminations. Warden Akechi and Agent Katsuragi stood apart at a distance, their Personas audibly breathing from mental exertion. "I trust that no one will doubt your ability."

Misato huffed. "Like that was actually a worry," she said, glancing intently at the crowd. "Which makes me wonder what else you have in mind; you going to have me run a gauntlet?"

As the other Agents watching fretted or grinned in various measures, Goro Akechi shook his head. "On the contrary: given the presence of your little tyke, perhaps a demonstration of her combat ability will be a way of measuring your capacity as a trainer."

...wait. Pointing at herself, Mana asked, "You wanna fight me?"

"Since you asked," remarked Akechi, lightly flexing his neck.

"...eh, why not? I'm sure Mana-chan would like to show off." Misato casually strolled to the side of the sparring field, her peers giving her a wide berth. "Give him hell, kid!" she said, her grin full of a prideful energy that matched the brilliant red of her jacket.

...well, I'm not exactly going to complain-

"I do hope to see your improvements, Mana Kirishima," remarked Akechi, his manacled wrists lightly jingling from each movement. "I wonder how your combat ability compares to Shinji Ikari, I wonder?"

-and I think I'm going to tear him a new one. The sly little grin on his face indicated his intent on getting under her skin. Might as well give him what he wants. "Katsuragi, mind tossing me your sword?" When she caught the smaller blade, her bond with her sisters pulsed with familiarity; to the surprise of Agents who hadn't seen her spar or fight in a while, both AIGIS and LABRYS began moving of their own volition: each one held by pale outlines of energy, forming the shape of feminine silhouettes. "Even if Ikari's tougher than me," she said, acknowledging the plain fact that the Third Child was deadlier than her, "I can do things that he can't."

Akechi smiled — genuinely amused? Oddly intrigued? She couldn't gauge his expression — as Robin Hood primed his bow for another spar. "I'd be disappointed if you couldn't." Then, to add insult to her injury, he winked.

Big Sis narrowed her eyes.

"That smug little PRICK. I'm gonna slice him to pieces!"

Little Sis sighed, shaking her head at such rambunctiousness.

"Try and control yourself...he can't suffer if you kill him, after all."

The sensations from AIGIS and LABRYS were strange; she couldn't recall her sisters ever coming off as so bloodthirsty before. Maybe it's one of those things about getting older? Those thoughts would have to wait; instead, the moment the signal was given, she and her weapons charged at Akechi and his Persona.

(She would ultimately lose against the more experienced combatant, yet she gave as good as she got; the headpat she got from Misato after the spar's conclusion was victory enough, in her eyes.)

xxxx

As the first day back to school continued on, Rei Ayanami had kept a measured observance of Asuka Langley-Sohryu.

It was...surprisingly novel.

Her Other quietly watched an old movie in an empty theater.

"How long as it been since you've witnessed anything but an allegory?"

The Beast quietly rolled the film reel.

"The Second Child: a mere shadow, dancing upon a cave wall...just like the Third Child..."

(How many times had she gone through the doldrums of school?)

(How many times did you see those empty marionettes dance to the tune of collective memory?)

The last timeline that she could recall ever attending school alongside Sohryu...had been at least a few lives ago. Perhaps several. Either way, the collective memory of mankind had carved a definite path for 'Asuka Langley-Sohryu', much like it had for one 'Shinji Ikari'. Her memories of Sohryu from that time were of a girl animated without life; a flame that provided no heat; a doll, moved by uncaring and apathetic strings.

(What irony.)

It was only in retrospect, born from untold years of bittersweet experience, that she recognized how lively Asuka Langley-Sohryu had been in the former reality. ('Reality': Such a loosely defined word, given the nature of humanity's current existence. She often wavered between numerous terms for the world before Third Impact, before the Chamber of Guf had spilled forth over a ruined world: the True Realm; the Outer World; the Time Before; the Bloody Earth, in her more morbid moods.) Even if that spark had been kindled by a terrible fuel — a brilliant and talented girl, marred by a hellish temper and a desperate need for validation, all built upon a cancerous foundation of inferiority — it had still been something real...before, much like many other things in those old and terrible days, it had been snuffed out.

Much as had been the case when she had first met Shinji Ikari in this timeline, she felt strangely privileged to witness the truth of Asuka Langley-Sohryu's presence.

(Not that either of them would ever realize it. Not if she could help it.)

(Were it not for your failures, they wouldn't even be here.)

But for all the similarities, there were just as many differences; the life that Asuka Langley-Sohryu had experienced in this timeline had pushed her along a path that the redhead in the Time Before would have scarcely believed; notwithstanding the nature of being a Persona-user and how that would change things (nor the sheer differences in the manifestation of Evangelion itself), Rei could only surmise that Mari Makinami and Mitsuru Kirijo had been excellent influences on the girl. For however much we are pushed and pulled by our natures, the guiding hand of the nurturers cannot be discounted.

If nothing else, quietly observing Asuka's behavior at the school was fascinating. As summer homework was collected and lesson plans were recapped in the first round of classes — Kōzō Fuyutsuki, Makoto Hyuga, Koji Takao, and Maya Ibuki — Asuka listened studiously, albeit with a latent air of irritation (doubtless, she thought this was all beneath her; in the Time Before, she had relished any chance to show her ostensible superiority over others). Then came lunch, when Asuka was introduced to an authentic kyuushoku, complete with a serving line and rearranged desks. Rei was not surprised that a majority of students crowded around the new transfer student; what was interesting was how Asuka's expression seemed somewhat conflicted, even if she hid it well. Then came the questions, which resulted in stories, and within minutes, Asuka had launched into a grand retelling of her fight against the Angel Matarael.

"Geez, she's such a showboat," grumbled Suzuhara; he, Aida, and Ikari-kun had gathered three desks around hers, mostly to avoid the cluster of people around Asuka near the back of the room. "Ain't the whole 'Evangelion' thing supposed to be a secret?"

"Given everything that's happened, she must not see the point," observed Aida, between bites of his onigiri. "What I don't get is why everyone seems so interested, given all the grief they gave Shinji and Ayanami-san."

Shinji lightly shrugged. "It's fine," he said (even though she could witness a mere hint of bitterness in his expression; the fact that it warred with a strange admiration was enheartening to witness). "I'd prefer that she'd be treated well than be vilified like me and Ayanami-san were..."

Suzuhara grunted, sipping from a carton of milk. "What I don't get is why. I thought everyone had a hate boner for Evangelions," he crudely said, seemingly oblivious to the fact he was sitting at a table next to a girl. "That's what it was like when we broke for summer vacation."

Rei decided to throw in her two cents. "Memories are short; given everything that's happened since Strega's original declaration of war against Evangelion back in July, people have had long enough to get used to the idea. Perhaps the loss of the national government and the transformation of our country into a confederation has captured more people's imaginations. Perhaps the realization that Strega is still in conflict with the other countries of the world has helped others realize that accepting their vision is inherently flawed. There are numerous reasons and possible explanations."

Shinji looked at her intently, with eyes that bore far more insight than she recalled from the Time Before. (That fact filled her with some happiness, and even more regret.) "What's your prefered reason?"

Keeping her face in a stoic mask, Rei's crimson gaze shifted towards the brunette gaijin, as her retellings slowly but surely became more boisterous. "Ikari-san and I are known commodities. The locals are...'used' to us. They have more negative experiences to associate with us."

"Like what?" asked Aida.

"I am...not the most approachable individual," she admitted. "As for Ikari-san-"

"Please don't mention the fight club video," interrupted Shinji, pleading for mercy.

Rei blinked. "...very well. I won't."

Shinji's head still sagged, even as Suzuhara snickered and Aida patted his back reassuringly.

"But Asuka Langley-Sohryu, though she may be an Evangelion-user like us two...is a blank slate, in the minds of our peers. They have no idea what to expect." Speaking hypothetically, she added, "I imagine her selfless declaration that she would protect them with the power of Evangelion made a wonderful first impression."

Aida boggled. "Selfless? She sounded like she'd rather been anywhere but here!"

"...guess I can see it if you put it that way," begrudgingly admitted Suzuhara. "I didn't think anything of it, given all the crap we've been through. But to the normies in our class-"

"Stop saying 'normie'," cartoonishly hissed Aida.

"-it must have seemed like a pretty big deal for some foreign transfer student to speak like that," finished Suzuhara, ignoring Aida's protest. "Maybe that made her seem approachable, or somethin'?"

Shinji remarked, "She's done nothing but speak our language since her introduction. I think that also helps." He looked like he wanted to say more about how Asuka spoke Japanese; perhaps about her unique accent.

(It was undoubtedly a cute accent. She knew Ikari-kun found it to be so, but she wouldn't say it out loud.) "Regardless...Sohryu-san has been devoted to her duty for many years. Since the time she's been a child, that duty has kept her in the world of adults, where responsibilities and expectations reign supreme. To her, combating Angel Syndrome is simply part of her job description..." Watching as Asuka suddenly pumped a fist into the air — "And that's when my Evangelion blew a hole in it with a massive uppercut!" boasted Asuka, to the palpable awe of her onlookers — Rei idly added, "I believe she's realized that she can show off to our peers and not have to worry about being chided for acting so frivolously."

"So she's got an ego. Great," groaned Suzuhara. "Why do I feel doomed?"

"I can only imagine why," snarked Aida.

Shinji, slowly looking away from Asuka (as though the very action had been a trial, not that he seemed to realize it), quietly said, "At least she seems to be enjoying herself," before returning to his lunch.

Indeed, agreed Ayanami with a quiet nod, as she finished the last of her rice. (This was...agreeable. Nice.)

(Remember: such joy is not yours to hold. You don't have the right.)

(She would treat these instances as droplets of water, slaking the thirst of one crawling through a desert.)

xxxx

Granted, there were doubtless going to be hiccups and misunderstandings.

Such was the case after lunch, once they finished with Aoi Mogami's Japanese language class and began Satsuki Ooi's physical education class. As the second-year students exercised and mingled outdoors...a certain incident occurred.

Rei saw it all.

xx

"Ah," remarked Kaworu Nagisa, respectfully approaching Asuka Langley-Sohryu. "I had heard during lunch that we had an interesting transfer student." With a theatrical bow, he said, "Guten Tag, Frau Sohryu. Oder bevorzugst du Asuka?"

Asuka arched an eyebrow. "Du sprichst Deutsch?"

"Ja," playfully answered Kaworu.

(Somewhere amidst the scattered collective of students, Haruka Kiryu — the long-suffering Representative of Nagisa's class — felt an omen of impending doom. "Oh gods, what's happening...?!")

A brief but blistering back and forth ensued, as the redheaded girl conversed with the pale-haired boy in her native tongue...until, without warning, she shrieked and smacked him across the face. "You...you...you...!"

"Me?" wondered Kaworu aloud, uncaring for the fact that everyone in the vicinity was looking at them.

Pointing a shaking finger at him, a red-faced Asuka screamed, "Dummkopf!" For emphasis, and for the benefit of their Japanese audience, she added, "Baka hentai!" More colorful German curses flowed from her mouth as Hikari Horaki arrived to pull her away, the Class Rep of 2-A defaulting to the role of peacekeeper.

Sadly, everyone simply sighed, staring with unimpressed eyes at Kaworu. 'There goes Nagisa again', was the overall mood in the air.

Looking honestly flummoxed, the boy turned towards Ikari, Aida, and Suzuhara, who were approaching with disapproving expressions. "Well. I'm not sure what happened," said Kaworu.

"What the hell did you say to her," grumbled Toji, not even phrasing it as a question; he already knew it had to have been something awful.

Kaworu blithely answered, "Well, there are surprisingly a lot of German idioms involving sausage and various kinds of meat, so I tried mixing it up-"

"Say no more," interrupted Aida, looking entirely unsurprised. "I think we've got the picture."

"You do? I apparently don't," said Kaworu, ignorant of how the side of his face was starting to swell up.

Shinji simply let his head sag, which was sufficient to communicate his dismay.

And that's when Kaworu's Class Representative arrived in a storm of righteous fury. "IT'S THE FIRST DAY BACK, NAGISA!" roared Haruka Kiryu.

"Indeed it is, Haruka-chan-"

"FIRST. DAY!" she snarled. "WHY ARE YOU STILL...YOU?!"

Kaworu, not noticing (or simply not caring) that his roommates had already abandoned him to his fate, simply answered, "Well, I am me. You could even say that I am I! But that would be redundant, wouldn't it?" Tilting his head, he asked, "Could it be...that you're suffering amnesia?"

Kiryu shrieked out of disbelieving rage.

xx

From afar, Rei had watched the comedy of errors with a detached expression. (Even now, she still couldn't fathom why — in such an important timeline for so many factions — Nagisa had elected to utilize this particular personality profile.) Well...if nothing else, Sohryu's temper definitely still exists.

And so the first day back to school ambled on towards its conclusion.

xxxx

All told, Asuka Langley-Sohryu had been...pleasantly surprised. (No, that was going too far. Not displeased? Yeah, that worked better.)

Sure, the students were somewhat...childish; but they were well-mannered, and relatively disciplined for a bunch of brats. (Save for that Nagisa jackass. He had understood enough German that he had to have known what he was saying, bragging about his sausage!)

Her Other arched an eyebrow.

"You're as much of a brat as they are."

More importantly, they had actually appreciated her work! Sure, it had mostly consisted of open curiosity, some inane questions, and a few horndog boys staring at her for way too long, but what could she reasonably expect from a bunch of kids? The mere fact they didn't subconsciously treat her (well, her Evangelion, which meant her by proxy) as the source of all the world's evils was a refreshing change of pace. The utter lack of guile compared to the adults (at least, those not named Mitsuru Kirijo; Makinami was too annoying to count as an adult) she had been used to dealing with was also...novel.

(A shame that it probably wouldn't last.)

(You've been through too much to put that much trust into random strangers.)

Her Other arched the other eyebrow.

"It's not like everyone here is a complete stranger."

Of course, that brought to mind...certain classmates.

The First Child, Rei Ayanami. Her comrade-in-arms, and one who had earned her respect. Sure, her demeanor and mentality were kind of annoying, but Ayanami had fought long enough to earn being a frigid, standoffish icicle of a human being.

Then...the newcomer. The Third Child, Shinji Ikari. She still didn't know how to feel about him, beyond a muted sense of envy and jealousy that she couldn't quite explain. (Not like she'd tell anyone with the insight, much less gall, to ask her.) He had remained rather distant much of the day, occasionally looking in her direction. He didn't seem smitten, certainly not like the other silly boys who were obviously enamored with her; if he was, he'd done a good job of hiding it. Yet the sensation of being observed, like a lab specimen or an unusual animal...was undeniable. (How did he look at her in such a bizarre way without making it seem like an insult?)

(Why is he getting under your skin? You barely even KNOW him.)

(Ikari probably thought he was hot shit.)

The Beast laid a hand upon her shoulder.

"Don't project. It's unbecoming."

If nothing else, his bosom buddies were mercifully simple: Kensuke Aida and Toji Suzuhara looked at her with undisguised irritation, like they couldn't even believe her sudden popularity. It was only the fact that they were fellow Persona-users — Persona-users that fought alongside Evangelion-users, specifically — that made their irritation tolerable. Guess I can't blame them for being annoyed at having a newcomer show them up in front of their classmates without even trying. I'll just have to give them an attitude adjustment whenever we train together. (Because there was no way NERV wasn't going to make her train with Ikari, Ayanami, and their gaggle of Persona-using buddies.)

The jury was still out on Mayumi Yamagishi, given that she was in an entirely different class. Likewise for Mana Kirishima, who — as far as she was aware — was allowed to stay away from school entirely! Lucky bitch.

Her Other metaphorically smacked her on the back of the head.

"You may not be privy to her entire story, but you know enough."

...okay, maybe calling her a bitch is unfair. She's still lucky though...gah, I need to work off this stress! As interesting as it was to be the literal center of attention, working with her Evangelion and her Persona was far more important. After all, popularity by itself wouldn't defeat the enemies of humanity.

To her immense pleasure, a text came to her phone once the final homeroom period began.

R. Akagi: Your new phone should have already received a firmware update from the local MAGI, but this is Dr. Ritsuko Akagi in case this is an unknown number to you.

(She still hadn't got over the fact that the last Angel battle in the middle of the Atlantic had resulted in the loss of her phone.)

A. Sohryu: This is Asuka.
R. Akagi: Excellent.
R. Akagi: There's a mandatory joint training session at NERV in thirty minutes. You'll need to get used to what exactly the others can do.

Asuka glanced at the clock on her phone. 3:30, huh? Should be quick enough.

A. Sohryu: I'll be there ASAP.

The moment homeroom ended at 3:40 PM, and 'cleaning time' began — more like an excuse not to hire any janitorial staff, she snidely thought — Asuka rose out of her chair and headed towards the door. Out of old habit, her mind was already settling into a familiar train of thought, and her soul slowly let go-

"Excuse me, Sohryu-san!" exclaimed a girl Asuka wasn't on speaking terms with. It was the authoritative Class Rep, following her out of 2-A. "I don't know if you're aware of how things are done, but-"

"Fill me in later, I'm busy," she casually remarked, finally hitting that sweet spot. Before the girl could get another word in edgewise, Asuka had already vanished, shifting into that grayscale dimension that allowed Evangelion-users to travel vast distances in no time flat...

xx

Hikari Horaki blinked dumbly as the new transfer student faded into static, slowly disappearing from sight. If there had been anyone doubting her status as an Evangelion-user, her vanishing act ended that: only Rei Ayanami and Shinji Ikari had ever been seen disappearing in such a manner, apparently unique to Evangelion-users.

However, being brushed off so brusquely was...new, to her. "What...?"

It was at that moment when Shinji Ikari caught her attention. "I guess she wanted to get a head start...?" She looked back at him with confusion, prompting him to hold up his phone. "Dr. Akagi — a lady who works at NERV — sent a message. We've got training this afternoon."

"Ah." That made sense. "Are you going?"

Shrugging lightly, Shinji added, "Well, Ayanami-san and I can help the others get there quickly enough, so it's not like we're in a hurry. No harm in finishing our assigned duties." With those words said, Ikari waltzed back into the classroom.

"...right." The foreign girl's discourteous and utterly disrespectful demeanor had been relatively off-putting; so much so that Hikari felt a little off-kilter. It's fine; she's new. She'll learn how things work around here soon enough. After all, they were going to be roommates going forward! It was only the proper thing to do, to help out the newcomer. I'm sure we'll get off on a better foot once we introduce ourselves later.

xx

Cleaning time concluded shortly before 4 PM, prompting Shinji and Rei to head to the Academy's rooftop. Kensuke and Toji followed, as did Mayumi once she emerged from Class 2-E. "I'm glad club activities don't start until next week," admitted Mayumi.

"...hey Toji, think you'll do a hostile takeover of the Track Club?" asked Kensuke out of the blue.

"...no," dryly answered Toji. "Got enough on my plate as is. I just like to run."

Kensuke shrugged, taking the rejection in stride. "So...we doing a 'fast travel' special?"

"We could," acknowledged Rei, even as she solemnly yanked an orb of blue fire from her abdomen. As it bloomed into the shape of Unit-00, she added, "But the concentration involved in synchronizing our souls and minds with yours would take more time than...a simpler method."

Shinji seemed to have gotten an understanding of what she was referring to, as he too summoned his Evangelion. Latching onto Shogoki's back, he quietly looked towards the main downtown area of Tokyo-2: towards NERV HQ, in particular. "...okay."

Kensuke and Toji blinked with confusion, whilst Mayumi asked the question on everyone's mind. "What method are you referring to?"

Rei, sitting upon Zerogoki's shoulder, stared flatly at them.

xx

Moments later, two large blurs — one blue, one violet — could be seen streaking through the sky from Hakone Academy towards downtown Tokyo-3.

(From that day forward, the students milling about would swear up and down that they had heard such striking screams the likes of which would never be heard again.)

xx

Less than two minutes later, the duo of Evangelions landed with paradoxical gentleness on the sidewalk outside of NERV HQ's main entrance, much to the surprise of nearby pedestrians. Kensuke and Toji were all but wrapped around Unit-01's forearms, eyes wide with surprise; Mayumi, by contrast, was bundled within the protective embrace of Unit-00's hands.

"...Shinji," muttered Kensuke aloud.

"Yes, Kensuke?" asked Shinji from atop his Evangelion's back.

"...a little warning next time, please?"

Toji was more vociferous with his request. "A little warning?! How about a warning, period?!"

Shinji looked at him with honest confusion. "Was...was it that bad?"

"...well, not really, but a warning would have helped!"

Rei simply hopped off of Unit-00, saying, "We had plenty of time on the way here for you to voice your complaints."

"We were kind of hanging on for dear life!" protested Kensuke.

Rei looked at Aida with honest confusion. "Do you believe that Ikari-san would have dropped you?"

"...well, not really, but it's the principle of the thing!"

Ignoring Aida and Suzuhara's echoing of each other's complaints, Rei glanced at her own passenger. "Was the trip not to your liking?"

"...I wouldn't say I disliked it," admitted Mayumi, finally removing her hands from her glasses now that she was sure they wouldn't fall. "It's not like it was meant to be a harrowing trip..."

"You are nonetheless agitated," she stoically observed.

Mayumi, her long hair having become a disheveled mess thanks to the windy sky they had just leapt through, simply sighed. "Somewhat, Ayanami-san..."

xxxx

As the quintet of young teenagers entered NERV ("Ah, you're here. Please head to Training Room Four," said the receptionist, her words passing by like white noise.), Shinji wondered about motivations and intentions. The decision to cover the entire expanse between Hakone Academy and NERV Headquarters in a single bound...and to not only drag Kensuke and Toji along unprompted, but to do so without warning them beforehand?

What had motivated such whimsy? What did that say about his intentions?

His Other arched an eyebrow.

"I suppose it is in keeping with your Persona, to question yourself constantly..."

(It only belatedly occurred to him that he hadn't even apologized.)

Was it the fact school had started back up? Despite its banality, the utter normalcy of school had been a balm on the tension gripping the whole world; that's what it had felt like. Was that all it was?

Was it the fact that he knew Kensuke and Toji ultimately wouldn't mind something so frivolous; that, despite their protests in the moment, they would look back on it with humor and good cheer?

Or perhaps it had been the presence of the transfer student which had put him in such a funny mood? Asuka Langley-Sohryu...the Second Child. Another Evangelion-user like Ayanami and himself, yet her name settled in the back of his mind like an old itch he couldn't quite scratch...

His Other chortled.

The Beast stewed in silence.

When they finally arrived in Training Room Four, Misato Katsuragi, Ryuji Sakamoto, and Mana Kirishima were waiting for them. Noticeably absent was the new transfer student. "So...where's Sohryu-san?" asked Mayumi.

"Already in the Metaverse, waiting for you," explained Ritsuko Akagi's voice over the speakers. "The Acolyte and Ghost workload today is below the average relative to yesterday's spike, so we're taking this opportunity to get some data on all of you. Plus, given that Sohryu will be stationed out of Tokyo-3 for the foreseeable future, it's to our benefit and yours that you get used to working in the field."

"Which is why we're sticking with Personas only today," advised Misato, her hands fidgeting with the beret on her head. "Dedicated training time with the Evangelions can come on a later date."

"Well, at least we'll finally see the Second Child in action," remarked Kensuke with an easy grin. "Only Shinji and Ayanami-san have worked with her before, right? It'll be a learning experience!"

"And a chance to see how tough she is," said Toji, arms crossed in a pose that might have been considered overly masculine by some.

Sakamoto promptly ended the pose by lightly bopping Toji on the head. "Behave. This is a spar, not a chance to show off."

"...yes, sensei," muttered Toji with some contrition.

With a nod from Misato, Mana swiped her axe across the air, opening a gap between dimensions. "In we go, kiddos!" exclaimed the woman, heading in first.

As Ryuji ushered them through, the first thought that went through Shinji's mind — coming out of the other side — was that this had been the training room where he had recruited his first Archetype. It's been a while, he thought, eyes trailing over the pods containing Archetypes and the various scanning apparatuses aimed down at the arena from above. Finally, his eyes came down towards the room's original occupant. And there she is...

Asuka Langley-Sohryu, still in her school uniform, stood there with hands on her hips, foot tapping impatiently. "Took you long enough."

"Says the girl who skipped out on cleaning time," griped Toji, rotating his shoulder.

Asuka rolled her eyes. "Well excuse me for protesting your school's apparent inability to hire a proper janitor!"

"Um, that's not quite how it works in the Japanese education system-" observed Mayumi.

Misato promptly interrupted. "How about we get started first? We can have debates about the pros and cons of our country's school system later."

"Fine by me." Asuka promptly withdrew an orb of shimmering azure flame from her heart. "PERSONA!"

Oh right, her Persona's Matilda, recalled Shinji in a sort of casual way. When the little girl in the navy blue dress and yellow cardigan manifested, the reactions of the others were about as expected.

Kensuke boggled. "She's so..."

"...tiny," finished Toji.

"She's so cute!" cheered Mayumi.

"Can she fight?" asked Mana.

Asuka rolled her eyes, even as her Metaverse outfit slowly phased into being. "Can she fight, she says," griped Asuka; in a seamless transformation, her school uniform gave way to dirty sneakers, old blue jeans, and a white blouse covered by a yellow sundress. Her long hair was now cut short at the neck, and a pair of prominent red barrettes rested atop her head. Were it not for how toned her bare arms were, the redhead doll hanging limply from her belt loop, and the black eyepatch over her left eye, she would seem rather domesticated.

Kensuke, naturally, decided to comment out loud. "Hmm...this means Ayanami's outfit is the sole outlier now." When people looked at him oddly, he elaborated, "Well, Ayanami's got her battle-damaged bodysuit, but Shinji's got the 'house husband' look, and now we have Sohryu-san's 'pirate housewife' look. Wonder why that's a thing...?"

Asuka flatly stared at him. "For that, you can go first, poindexter."

"Wait, me?!"

Misato shrugged. "Sounds good to me!" Glancing at Mayumi, she said, "Might as well go ahead and summon your Persona so you can get practice at monitoring how they fight. No mental communication to either of them, but let us know if either of them gets too low on energy to safely continue fighting."

"Oh. Okay!" answered Mayumi, summoning Armisael. She hopped onto her Persona's floating throne, hovering away from the arena so that she could see everything from afar.

Sakamoto, meanwhile, gave Aida an encouraging pat on the back. "Good luck, kid!"

Kensuke glared at everyone as they vacated the arena, leaving him to face off against Asuka and Matilda. "...fine, but don't expect me to go easy! Persona!" The immense form of Sinbad manifested behind Kensuke, peering down at Matilda; Kensuke instinctively tightened the blue bandana atop his head, even as his miniature cloak fluttered dramatically in the nonexistent breeze. "Pardon me in advance for all the status effects I'm about to inflict on you!" he boasted with a confident grin.

"So your outfit's a riff on being an A.T. Agent, huh?" Asuka dryly observed, cracking her knuckles. "A boy playing at being a man is all I see."

Kensuke's nostrils flared. "We'll see about that!"

"Okay kids, pre-fight banter period is done," said Misato, raising her hand into the air. "And...fight!"

Kensuke fired his crossbow and Sinbad swung his scimitar, whilst Asuka and Matilda dashed in close to engage.

"Kick her ass, Ken!" cheered Toji, pumping his fist into the air.

"Unlikely," dryly said Rei.

Sounds of battle echoed from the arena as the two engaged in close combat; as the seconds passed, Toji's cheer gave way to concern, while Shinji began wincing. Then came the cries of pain and panic. "-stay away stay away oh that's my arm that's my arm ow OW OW!"

"Don't be such a baby," griped Asuka, her knees pressed against the boy's back whilst she had his right arm twisted into a shoulder lock. Matilda, meanwhile, had her legs wrapped around Sinbad's neck, her ankles pressing tightly against his throat; the larger Persona was unable to loosen her, given how her tiny hands were paradoxically stopping his larger fingers from getting close. "I think we're done here, don't you? Unless you have a way of getting out?" she added, pushing his arm slightly further for emphasis.

"Okay okay, I give, I give!" protested Kensuke.

"...cool," stoically said Mana.

"Not cool," griped Toji. "You didn't even last thirty seconds!"

"I'd like to see you try, Toji!" complained Kensuke, his hand impulsively rubbing at his shoulder.

"Fine, then I will!" Toji hopped into the arena with a snort, summoning his own Persona. "Watch and learn, Ken!"

("Hoo boy, this could go poorly," muttered Ryuji under his breath.)

Toji and Gilgamesh did marginally better. The burly speedster had wasted no time with utilizing Speed Buster, Speed Riser, and Speed Smasher to try to run the diminutive Matilda down; Toji, by virtue of actually having a melee weapon in his Seven Star Stick, tried to use his superior physical strength to overwhelm Asuka, who was nonetheless able to dodge his strikes.

Then Matilda had unleashed two quick Sukukajas and Masukundas in rapid succession, suddenly flipping the speed advantage in her favor. The relative difference made it seem like Gilgamesh was moving through water whilst Matilda was flying through the air, so it was no surprise that the tiny Persona was able to smack him in the head with her glowing trowel. The wave of blurry distortion that passed over his face — Confusion — bled back through to Toji, who briefly faltered because of the Persona's successful Brain Slapper Skill.

That hesitation was enough for Asuka to yank his staff away and start bludgeoning him senseless.

It wasn't until Toji was curled up into a ball on the ground that he finally threw in the towel. "-okay okay I give, SHEESH!"

Asuka huffed, lightly tossing him his staff. "Better. Still needs work."

"Okay, my turn next," said Mana, her face stuck into an intrigued grin as she jumped into the arena.

(Toji slumped to the floor outside the fighting ground, his face stuck into a frown as Shinji diligently cast Diarama with Neko Shogun. "Thanks.")

("Not so funny now, eh?" snarked Kensuke with a sly grin.)

("Still lasted more than a minute, which is more than you can say.")

("You went second, that's hardly fair!")

(Shinji let them banter, his eyes turning back to the arena...)

Asuka arched an eyebrow as Matilda skipped back to her side. "That's a pretty big axe and shield."

"Yup. Got a problem?" asked Mana.

"Nope," said Asuka, reaching behind her back and pulling out a switchblade. "A weapon's only as good as the one wielding it."

"Fair enough. Don't blame me if I break yours." Right as Misato signalled for the fight to begin, Mana swung LABRYS vertically, unleashing a wave of energy that forced Asuka and Matilda to roll apart.

"Pelt her with a mix!" roared Asuka, her switchblade held in a dual grip.

Matilda grinned, reaching for the leather-bound tome floating about her head. "Agilao." The book flipped to a random page, glowing brightly as it unleashed a bolt of fire.

Mana blocked with her shield. "You'll need to do better-"

"Zionga."

AIGIS devoured the lightning bolt. "Like I said-"

"Friela."

The burst of nuclear energy was sucked away by her shield. "Are you just going to feed AIGIS-" She remarked, gazing beyond the rim of her shield- "-damn!" Asuka had closed the distance as her Persona continued utilizing the triad of Fire, Electric, and Nuclear Skills, aiming her knife for an open gap. Mana jerked the handle of her axe outward, parrying Asuka's stab; bringing her leg up to kick the girl back, Mana immediately lowered her shield. "TAKE THIS!"

Asuka's eye widened at the sight of the glowing red gemstone; she impulsively dove to the side, avoiding the concussive blast unleashed by the shield. Matilda darted at Mana in her stead, striking her with a Masukunda. She immediately dashed back, buffing herself and Asuka with Sukukaja.

Mana cursed as her movements were dulled, as Asuka became just a tad bit faster. She swung her axe feverishly, keeping her shield close by to block the duo's advances; however, the speed advantage was enough for Asuka and Matilda to strike at her blind spots, alternating blows: Asuka with her switchblade and Matilda with her handheld shears. The strikes caused sparks of blue to fly from each impact: damaging, but not enough to cut flesh.

('Sohryu-san is going to draw blood if Mana-san can't keep up,' remarked Mayumi's voice within the heads of the spectators.)

("...she's good," murmured Toji begrudgingly.)

("She has been fighting for almost as long as I have," calmly remarked Ayanami.)

"Those weapons are too unwieldy to deal with fast opponents using small, handheld weapons," observed Asuka, darting in and out alongside Matilda. "You're going to run out of steam, Kriegerin."

Mana snorted. "And you think I'm going to stick with a failing strategy?!" Without warning, she tossed her axe and shield away. "GET HER PERSONA!" she roared; simultaneously, feminine silhouettes manifested from the thrown weapons, taking hold of them. AIGIS and LABRYS moved independently, charging at Matilda.

Both Asuka and Matilda were stunned at the sudden change. "Was zum Teufel?!" yelped Asuka, the lapse in concentration enough for Mana to grab at her hands and begin grappling for the switchblade.

("So that's what Mana-san's new technique looks like?" murmured Kensuke, adjusting his glasses. "Impressive.")

As LABRYS and AIGIS harried Matilda, the two girls fought with increasing savagery, using elbows and knees to great effect as they tried to wrestle for Asuka's knife. Not only did Mana have the edge in physical strength, but her technical skill was good enough — even bereft of her favored weapons, which were the core of her fighting style — to actually put Sohryu on the back foot.

So Asuka spat into Mana's eyes.

(Sakamoto whistled. "A dirty fighter, too.")

The child soldier cursed, impulsively flinching-

Asuka broke away from her grip, sheathing the switchblade in the hilt hanging on the back of her waist. Kneeing Mana in the pelvis, she grabbed the girl's head with both hands and bulldogged her to the ground, using her weight to drive Mana's skull into the floor with a harsh crack. Straddling her, Asuka whipped out her switchblade, holding it close but not against the neck. "Kneel-!"

AIGIS bashed against Asuka's side, sending her airborne. LABRYS broke away from Matilda in time to fire another energy blade at Asuka, who barely had the wherewithal to bring her switchblade up to at least mitigate the blow. The energy still knocked her out of the arena, crashing loudly against the wall.

Whether it be out of spite or a desire not to lose, Matilda used that brief chance to unleash a Freila. The burst of blue energy, centered beneath Mana, was enough to blast the girl outside of the ring.

Despite the fact both combatants were briefly indisposed, they still possessed enough focus to will their respective partners to face each other, Matilda warily facing AIGIS and LABRYS.

The tense standoff was interrupted by Misato clapping her hands together. "I think we're gonna call that a draw. Not bad, you two."

Mana huffed, slowly rising to her feet; in spite of herself, she couldn't help but chuckle. "Good fight."

Asuka snorted, wrenching herself out of the wall with an audible wince. "At least someone isn't a hopeless work-in-progress."

("...Ken.")

("Yes Toji?")

("Why do we know so many scary girls?" he whispered.)

("Good question. Let me know when you figure that out.")

"I'm surprised you were so quick to fight that ruthlessly," observed Ryuji Sakamoto, leaning against his gun-cane with a measured eye.

Asuka shrugged, not looking apologetic in the slightest. "Ghosts and Acolytes aren't the type you fight up close and personal. Not without my Evangelion, at any rate. So for times where I end up having to face human Shadows for whatever reason, and Matilda wasn't enough...I got used to doing what I could to end the fight quickly." Flexing her neck, she added, "Because who cares if it's messy so long as you win? Speaking of which..." Asuka's gaze settled on Shinji. "You're next."

Shinji blinked. "...me?"

"Is there another Third Child in the room? Yes, I mean you!"

"...okay." He glanced at Neko Shogun; with but a thought, the feline warrior cast Diarama twice. Once for Mana, and once for Asuka. Strangely enough, the Second Child seemed irritated by his gesture. What did I do?

"...Shinji. Where was my healing?" grumbled Kensuke.

Shinji blinked. "You...didn't look like you needed it?"

Kensuke rolled his eyes, a snarky grin nonetheless emerging. "Ah, I see how it is."

"...do you want healing?"

Sakamoto called out, "Sorry Aida-kun, I don't think Diarama heals emotional damage!" Misato impulsively barked a laugh at the roast, slapping Ryuji's outstretched hand.

Kensuke sulked at the good-humored put-down. "Dunked on by my own trainers," he mumbled, even as Toji patted him on the back.

Shinji looked back and forth between the two. "...so, do you want healing or not-?"

"Just get in the ring and fight the scary redhead before his moping becomes terminal," griped Toji.

"Okay okay, I'm going." What's with them...?

Asuka stared intently at Shinji as his feet set foot onto the arena; Matilda had a strange little smile on her face, yellow eyes twinkling with delight as her four instruments — trowel, handheld shears, garden fork, and leather-bound book — hovered lazily about her head. "So...how are we doing this?" he asked.

"It's a spar. You go as hard as you can, Dummkopf."

(Those words struck a nostalgic chord; he had no idea why.) "Well, a spar between Personas is different from a spar between Evangelions." He admitted, slowly walking in a clockwise direction around the edge of the arena.

As if subconsciously responding to his intentions, Asuka and Matilda began walking clockwise as well. "Way to state the obvious. But when have you used your Evangelion lately?"

"Unit-01...it's becoming easier to combine its powers with my Persona, whether it be in the Metaverse or reality. I just want to know what our limits are for this spar." (A half-remembered dream slipped by — a pretended duel to the death against Goro Akechi — that lingered at the edges, as honey clinging to the rim of a spoon.)

Asuka glowered. "If you really want a duel in our Ascended States, then I'll be happy to school you whenever you'd like. But I want to see just how good you are with your Personas." It was not a request, but a demand.

"...all right." Personas only. With a thought and a grimace, Shinji summoned two Personas, his 'house husband' garb manifesting into being.

Asuka's eyes widened as Sobek and High Pixie emerged. "You...you can summon more than one at a time...?" Matilda tittered at Asuka's obvious frustration. "I mean, I know you had more than one Persona, but you can use two simultaneously?! How?!"

"I've honestly given up on figuring out how his powers work," groused Misato, shaking her head. "But they are what they are." She then swung her hand. "Begin when you're ready!"

"...right. Sure." Asuka huffed, whipping out her switchblade and holding it forward with her right fist, bracing her left palm against the backside. "Guess that means I have to knock you down a few more pegs than I thought," she audibly growled. With a childish grin, Matilda skipped away towards the edge of the arena; Asuka didn't follow.

Shinji had a strange feeling about her intentions, being knowledgeable and empathic enough to understand that much. "Fight to subdue," he spoke aloud to himself (and himself); Sobek snorted, striding towards the smaller Persona whilst High Pixie hovered above the reptilian humanoid's head. Like Asuka, he did not follow; the two Persona-users stared at each other across the center of the arena.

"Well? Draw your weapon!" she demanded.

Shinji thought about summoning his Monk's Spade. However, the weight of a certain waist pack hung heavy on his lower back. I know I didn't bring it with me from reality, he mused, even as he slowly reached behind his back. (Had it already become an intractable part of his self-image? Or had something changed after his battle against Akechi in that dreamy realm?)

His Other quietly tried balancing scales, one coin at a time.

"Is it not apparent? Your various aspects have been blending together...but will you remain fragmented? Or will you become a cohesive whole?"

The Beast petulantly kicked the scales over.

"The more important question is...which aspect will dominate that whole?"

Without the spade to serve as the transformative locus, Shinji withdrew his Bowie knife in its fullness, holding it in a sure saber grip.

(Ryuji arched an eyebrow. "I thought his handheld weapons were a trowel and a garden fork. When did it become a knife?")

("Good question," murmured Misato.)

"An actual knife fight, huh?" Asuka grinned, slowly approaching the center of the arena with a caution that seemed uncharacteristic; even as Matilda danced and dodged the strikes of Sobek and High Pixie at the edge of the arena, Asuka remained calm and collected.

Shinji mirrored it, feeling a strange tension in the air. What is this feeling? Despite all his growth, the mere presence of the Second Child was...unnerving, in a way he couldn't articulate. (He could not forget, no matter what, that she was also a comrade. Even if not yet a friend, she was still an ally.) I...I mustn't run away. That was a safe enough feeling to settle on.

A good thing he did, for Asuka — as if a switch had been thrown — suddenly charged with a battle cry. Startled, Shinji raised his knife, parrying her stabbing thrust. The redhead spun on her heel, lashing out with an elbow that Shinji barely evaded by leaning back. With his back foot settling surely, his stance was stable enough to weather her downward slash; as knife struggled against switchblade, Asuka's face was not even a foot away from his own. "So," she said through gritted teeth, "Multiple Personas, huh?"

"Yes...?" Was she asking a question?

"How do you do it?"

"I ask them to join me." He removed his left hand from the hilt of his knife to catch a punch from Asuka; he was not quick enough to avoid the knee that hit him in the stomach. (Endure. He could endure!) "That's how it usually goes..."

"Smart-ass," growled Asuka. "First can't. I can't. So why you, Third?" She broke apart from their stalemate, gaining enough distance to better direct her slashes. "What makes you so special?"

Shinji either dodged or parried her strikes, thinking seriously about the question. (The power of the Wild Card was indeed special...but was he himself special?) "I honestly don't know," he admitted, slipping past one of her stabs; with a quick step inward, he checked her with his shoulder, using his greater body mass to shove her back. "I wish I knew."

Asuka fell backwards, maintaining enough grace and dexterity to roll; her momentum allowed her to hop back to her feet instead of smacking unceremoniously against the floor. "You sound indecisive," she griped. "Then again, I hear your original Persona — your true Persona — is Hamlet. Which would make sense, then." Behind her, a burst of Friela from Matilda and a retaliatory Agi and Garu from the Sobek/High Pixie duo cast an explosive flash over the arena.

Shinji was briefly struck by the image of her silhouette: a stark shadow, made all the more real by the light. "You know the story?"

"I grew up in Germany, and my assistant apparently has some English blood in her," she said by way of explanation, as though that were sufficient.

"...so, is that a yes?"

Asuka scoffed audibly, apparently irritated by his answer; so she settled for stabbing at him again. Shinji shifted to the side to dodge, only to barely block a roundhouse with his right arm. Without hesitation, Asuka punched him right in the mouth with the hand holding her switchblade, letting the handle give her knuckles some extra stability and weight. "Come on, show me what you're made of!"

"Sorry," he replied with a grimace, impulsively wiping at his mouth with the backside of his hand.

The mere act of apologizing seemed to set her off. "And what do you have to apologize for? You think you're not good enough, even with all that power I've heard about?" Her visible eye flared with obvious frustration. "Gott, it's been two months since Atlanta, and you still somehow find a way to piss me off!"

It's not like I can help that, he thought mulishly, parrying her switchblade as she tried yet again to strike. "Well, since I don't exactly know how I upset you, I guess I can't help it."

"Klugscheißer!" she snarled (using a word he didn't understand yet could tell was an insult just from her vicious tone), aiming for his shoulder. Shinji delved to the side, retaliating with a stab of his own; they both barely missed, falling past each other in a moment of symmetry. His eyes focused on her face, just as her lone visible eye focused on his. I wonder what she sees, part of him idly thought. (Was it anything like what he saw?)

(What is it that you see, exactly?)

Thus went the battle, in a strangely haphazard fashion; Asuka fell into a sort of petulant silence as she focused on trying to get her knife to draw blood from non-lethal areas. Shinji largely evaded and parried, utilizing offensive force with counters for the most part. A dance of blades, a game of duelists; and all the while, as if operating of their own volition, Asuka's Persona fought with a vigorous frenzy against the teamwork of Sobek and High Pixie.

However, something had to give eventually.

(A Mabufula from Sobek finally struck home, as Matilda was too busy avoiding High Pixie to dodge. A good third of her side froze over, her tiny lips curling with dismay.)

Asuka hitched, baring her teeth; her strength wavered, and Shinji — knife locked against her own blade — forced her to her knees. "Think you're hot shit, huh...?!"

"I don't know what you think about me, Sohryu-san," growled Shinji, frustrated yet intrigued by the amount of strength in her arms. (Did she dare strike an unprotected part of his body, even if it meant his knife would finally land a more damaging blow? Did he dare grab for her wrists to remove her switchblade as an option, risking her retaliation in an unexpected manner? It was the mystery, more than anything, that kept the duel from concluding decisively.) "But in my opinion...I shouldn't be the big deal everyone thinks I am..."

That, apparently, was the wrong thing to say. "And that's what I find so irritating!"

(Matilda bashed High Pixie with her book, pinning her wings to the ground with her shears and trowel; with a seamless motion, Matilda opened her book towards the charging Sobek. "Zionga." This time, without High Pixie to resist the blow, the bolt of lightning struck true, skewering Sobek — weak to Electrical Skills — straight through the chest.)

Shinji's innards recoiled, and his mind sparked from the sensation of pain; Asuka didn't hesitate, ramming into his waist and ripping him to the ground with her arms. Before Shinji could get his bearings, Asuka — still keeping her arms locked around his waist — roared from exertion and effort, pulling him up and into the air. Shinji boggled at the motion — was it just a matter of cognition, or were the redhead's core muscles actually comparable to Mana's?! — before his world went topsy once more, followed by a vicious smack as his back smashed into the arena floor. The impact drove the breath from his lungs.

(Kensuke boggled. "Did...did she just do a power bomb on Shinji?!")

("Looks like it," observed Mana. "Technique was a bit sloppy.")

("...again, we know way too many scary girls," grumbled Toji.)

('Do you find me scary, Suzuhara-san?')

("You're scary in a different way," he remarked, unwilling to be more specific.)

(Mayumi's response in his head was...uncertain. 'I don't know how to feel about that...')

Asuka wasted no time, diving down at her fallen opponent; pinning Shinji's knife-bearing arm between their torsos, she wrapped one arm around his neck, gripping him tightly while she used her other hand to hold her switchblade above his face. "So, how do you want to lose, Third? You can either surrender...or I can choke you out. Your choice." She moved her switchblade just a touch closer. "Unless you wanna be brave. Got anything up your sleeve? Any tricks?"

Shinji stared, transfixed by the fiery anger within her blue eye. "Um..."

"Well?!" she yelled, tightening her headlock.

Unfortunately, the motion drew Shinji's eyes (his oh so traitorous eyes) to what exactly he was being pressed against. "Uh..." (Thinking was bad. Thinking was bad. Don't think about what your face is pressed against. Don't think. DON'T THINK.)

Asuka's attention was briefly interrupted by a pair of girlish giggles; her eyes shifted downward, where Matilda and High Pixie were...observing them. "What are...?"

The audible clearing of Misato's throat stopped her question in its tracks. "So, I'm going to go ahead and call it for Asuka...and I think it would be a good idea to let Shinji-kun go. Unless, you know..." Though they couldn't see Misato's face, the slyness of her tone hinted at her mischievous grin. "...you want him to suffer death by nosebleed."

Asuka blinked. Then she looked down, finally noticing how Shinji's face was smashed against her bosom.

xx

The audible smack that followed made everyone wince. 'Um...Ikari-san's health is now critical,' dryly observed Mayumi.

"I can see that," remarked Kensuke with a grin, his eyes watching as Asuka stomped away from Shinji's reeling form. "Though, I would say Sohryu-san is apparently suffering emotional recoil."

"...I don't get it," wondered Mana. "Why'd she slap him? The fight was over."

Toji promptly turned away. "Nuh uh, I ain't touching that topic with a ten-foot pole."

"What? It's a serious question!"

'Um, Mana-san...I think I have a manga or two that could answer your question,' diplomatically said Mayumi.

"Make sure not to mentally scar her," joked Kensuke.

'Aida-san, I don't have those kinds of titles!' protested Mayumi.

xx

Ryuji Sakamoto shook his head, looking rather pleased by the rather juvenile ending to the spar. "Kids these days."

"Yeah, no kidding," joked Misato, looking down at the only other teenager in their midst. "Enough to even amuse you, eh Ayanami?"

Rei blinked, unaware that she had been smiling. "Ah. I suppose their interactions were...interesting." That was putting it mildly. Even lacking the fullness of memory...the truth bleeds through.

(The nature of their interactions...was so nostalgic. She wasn't sure if she wanted to giggle or cry.)

xx

As Rei Ayanami was called to spar with Asuka next, Shinji quietly nursed his cheek. It was only thanks to the steady flow of Diarama from Gilgamesh that the pain was even tolerable. "Thanks Suzuhara-san," he spoke through bruised lips.

"No problem, man," he remarked with a grunt. "Surprised a mere slap did that much."

"Cognition is a heck of a thing," said Kensuke, his eyes focusing on the duel between Ayanami and Sohryu. As Matilda and Lilith flung Fire and Ice Skills at each other — each going for their opponent's respective weakness — the Second Child was trying to break through the whirling mass of chain whips that was Ayanami's personal weapon. "Still...seems kind of unfair. She literally put you in that position."

As the swelling in his cheek slowly decreased, Shinji felt the need to come to her defense. "I guess it was probably impulse? I mean, even though we're Evangelion-users, I wouldn't call us friends..."

Toji huffed. "I mean, if I had a girl laying her head on my chest, I sure wouldn't feel like slapping her."

"Wishful thinking aside, it would have to be a stranger. I can't see any girl we know doing that," snarked Kensuke.

Toji responded with a rude gesture. "I mean, if it was a girl I didn't know...I mean, it'd have to depend on how hot they were, I guess."

(From above, Mayumi quietly catalogued this conversation for reference. So some boys actually DO talk like this among each other when they think no one's listening...)

"Why would that matter?" asked Mana.

"I mean..." Toji trailed off, realizing who he was talking to and what he would have to explain to doubtless the most naive member of the group. "...you know what, I think you should have a girl explain it to you?"

The axe-wielder frowned. "Why? If it's anything like that 'harem' thing you all were trying to explain back before the road trip, I bet it's not as complicated as you're making it out to be."

Toji sputtered while Kensuke nearly choked; Shinji, glad he was already sitting on the floor, merely rolled his eyes. Oh great, we're bringing this back up...

'Wait, what's this about a harem?' intruded Mayumi's voice into their minds.

"Oh. Um." Both Kensuke and Toji sputtered.

...oh right, you weren't there, Shinji 'audibly' thought within his mind. He shifted to speaking aloud for the benefit of the others. "It was when we were at Neo Hagakure near the end of July, coordinating the road trip? Horaki-san and Amamiya-senpai were there." As he spoke, Asuka's audible cursing echoed around them, courtesy of the fact that her arm had gotten snagged by one of Ayanami's chain whips. "Um...Nagisa-kun made one of his 'jokes'...and mentioned harems. Mana-san didn't know what they were, so the others tried to...well, explain."

'...oh. I remember now. That's when you called to invite me onto the road trip. To help balance out the sexes, if I recall correctly?'

Shinji nodded. "Right. Then Amamiya-senpai answered Mana-san's question about what harems were so simply that...well, she was kind of irritated, if I remember right."

'Ah. Interesting...'

"Which is why I'm convinced you guys are overcomplicating things again." To emphasize her point, she walked over towards Toji and woodenly pressed the side of her cheek against his chest. "Do you feel like slapping me?"

Toji, face blazing red, could barely choke out his response. "H-Hell no!" He nervously backed away from her, bumping against Gilgamesh's knee. "You can't just do that sort of thing!"

'As funny as that was, I have to agree with him, Mana-san.'

"Yeah Toji, you sure were quick to make fun of me not being 'smooth' in Nishiawakura," joked Kensuke with a smug grin. "What's your excuse?"

Toji huffed, crossing his arms and turning away. "I don't have to put up with this."

"...so, gotta ask first." Mana nodded to herself, turning towards Shinji. "I'm going to try something, Ikari," she 'asked'.

Shinji blinked dumbly. "What do you-?" Before he could say another word, Mana grabbed his head, pressing his cheek against her chest. "...uh..."

'Oh my,' quietly said Mayumi with forced calm.

Kensuke smacked his own forehead, whilst Toji blushed fiercely. "You know, I'm actually glad you're not going to school," said the track jock. "You'd be a walking disaster."

Shinji, feeling his face heat up (and privately wondering why this — of all things! — was happening to him twice in the same day), slowly said, "Um...Mana-san...?"

"Hmm."

"...please don't slap me," he mumbled, daring to glance upward.

"Nah, don't feel like doing that," she admitted, looking somewhat...befuddled. Her face was slightly flushed, lips quirked into an unusual expression. "...huh."

'Oh my,' repeated Mayumi, this time with a more curious tone.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL DOING?!" Angry shouting that had suddenly become all too familiar drew the attention of all five teenagers to the arena, where Asuka was...completely wrapped up in Ayanami's cross-tipped chains; to complete the symmetry, her Persona was frozen in a block of ice. With Rei's foot on Asuka's back, the only thing that could be called 'fiery' about the redhead now was her temper. "This is sparring practice, not a make-out session, or whatever it is you perverts are doing!"

"Uh, it's not what it looks like-!" protested Shinji.

"Honestly, I was just curious as to why you slapped Ikari," bluntly admitted Mana, who still hadn't let go of his face. "I still don't get it. This doesn't feel as bad as you made it out to be."

'OH MY,' mentally exclaimed Mayumi.

Kensuke looked like he was trying not to die with laughter, while Toji simply grumbled at the inanity of it all.

Before Asuka could burst a proverbial gasket, Misato cleared her throat. Loudly. "Okay kids," she said, striding over towards Mana and gently prying Shinji's face away from her bosom. "As entertaining as this has been, why don't we stop this hormone-laden train before it can go anywhere too crazy. Mm'kay?"

"...if you insist, Katsuragi," said Mana, sounding oddly...disappointed?

(Shinji wasn't sure what to think about that.)

"...but seriously, I wanna know why you slapped Ikari. You'd already won," asked Mana.

("Gotta admire her persistence," admitted Ryuji under his breath.)

Asuka snorted, wiggling ineffectually within Ayanami's chains. "I'm not gonna answer the questions of some shameless pervert," she growled.

"Jealousy does not become you, Sohryu-san," calmly remarked Rei.

Asuka, despite being so tightly entrapped that she looked more like a metallic redheaded worm than a girl, sputtered with disbelief. "Jealous?! Me!? You must be joking!"

...what's even going on? wondered Shinji, marvelling at just how haphazardly crazy this 'conversation' had gone.

("...Yamagishi-san," whispered Kensuke, focusing his thoughts such that he was mentally 'shouting' at Mayumi.)

('Yes, Aida-san?')

(Under his breath, Kensuke quietly asked, "I'm getting mad 'tsundere' vibes from the new girl. Is it just me?")

('No. It's not.')

("...I foresee great hilarity in our immediate future.")

('I have to agree.')

("...quick question.")

('Yes?')

("Does Mana-san have a thing for Shinji?" Mayumi's silence was rather telling. "...make that fantastic hilarity.")

Once Rei released Asuka, it was time for the final spar of the day. As Shinji healed both his fellow Evangelion-users, Misato gazed up at the floating form of Armisael. "So, Mayumi-chan, do you have a general grasp of everyone's thoughts?"

'More or less,' audibly answered Mayumi within everyone's heads. (Asuka jolted at the sound of Yamagishi's voice in her head.)

"Good! You're going to help your fellows coordinate in one last fight."

The grin on Misato's face elicited concern from Kensuke. "...against who?"

"The two of us," answered Ryuji Sakamoto with a smile, slowly hobbling into the arena alongside Katsuragi. "And we're not going to take it easy on you kids."

'...ah.' Mayumi's response seemed to say it all.

(Asuka nervously glanced at the person nearest to her. "Is that girl actually a telepath?")

(Kensuke blinked. "Thanks to her Persona, yes.")

("...can she read minds?" The very concept seemed to trouble her to no end.)

("What? No. She's a telepath, not a psychic. There's a difference!")

(Asuka's relief was palpable. "Ah. Right. Good.")

(Kensuke frowned, sensing a story there...but, given her prior temper, wisely deciding not to say anything.)

Mana huffed, bringing her axe and shield up. "So. How are we doing this?"

"...well, based on everything that's happened and how we normally fight...Mana-san, Suzuhara-san..." Shinji looked calmly at the Second Child. "...and Sohryu-san. You all should fight on the frontline."

Mana and Toji nodded without protest; Asuka...not so much. "Wait, you think you can order me around? Who put you in charge?"

'Well, besides the fact that he's tactically our most versatile combatant, it only stands to reason...we all trust that he will do his utmost to make sure we make it out of battle alive.'

Mayumi's solemn answer was shared by the others. "A little heavier than I'd go with...but I agree with the sentiment," said Kensuke.

Toji crossed his arms, staring imperiously at Asuka. "I get that you're an Evangelion-user like Ikari...but you've only fought by his side what, once? But us...we've gone through hell together. Even Ayanami's fought on our side more, and she's not usually part of our little group anyway."

"You're tough, Sohryu," acknowledged Mana. "But you're new to working with us...and after everything we've gone through, I trust him with my life."

Mana-san, thought Shinji with utter surprise.

Asuka snorted. "Easy words to throw out."

Mana snarled, unwilling to back down. "The first time I met Ikari, it was as his enemy. I tried to kill him. He tried to kill me in turn. Were it not for Katsuragi stopping him at the last second, he would've succeeded...and I'd be dead." She let those words hang, but only for a moment. "So after a first encounter like that...if I say I trust him with my life, I mean it." For emphasis, she tapped the head of LABRYS against the ground, causing the silver gemstone to pulse with power. "And after all the shit we went through this past summer? He's earned it."

Shinji gulped, not trusting his own voice at the moment; if he didn't know any better, even Mana seemed surprised at the words she had spoken. However, stubborn as she was, she was unwilling to take them back. (That only put her unintentionally intimate gesture from earlier into a new light...)

'...well spoken, Mana-san.'

Mayumi's words were the only excuse Kensuke and Toji needed to swarm Shinji: the former wrapping his arm around Shinji's shoulders, whilst the latter rubbed his knuckles into Ikari's hair. "What she said," they chorused.

At this, Asuka had nothing to say. She only stared quietly at Shinji, as if trying to take his measure. (What was she thinking...?) After several seconds of silence, she finally sighed, as if relinquishing the point. "Fein. Mana here seems to have a decent head on her shoulders compared to the Stooges..." ("Who are you calling Stooges?!" protested Kensuke and Toji.) "...what about you, First?" Asuka glanced over at Rei. "You've fought longer than any of us. What's your take?" she said, apparently deferring to her senpai's experience.

"I have no objections to this arrangement. Ikari-san is free to order me as he wishes," the blunette calmly replied.

"...feh. Whatever." Placing her hands on her hips, Asuka stared at Shinji with tired irritation. "So. I'm on the front line, you said?"

Oh, right. There was a battle to plan. (When it had just been the rest of Team Statherós, they all seemed to default to their respective roles without much complaint. The presence of Ayanami and Sohryu complicated things.) "Mana-san fights up close...and you seem to prefer that as well, Sohryu-san. Suzuhara-san is also physically inclined; he can do hit and run attacks more easily with Gilgamesh."

"So I'm basically attacking whenever Mana-san and Sohryu leave an opening? Can do," grunted Toji.

"The rest of us will hang on the periphery and attack from afar using our ranged Skills. I'll also be on healing duty so Suzuhara-san can focus more on fighting." Glancing up at Mayumi, he added, "Yamagishi-san will help give us advance notice of any major attacks we use...and hopefully keep us ahead of Misato-san and Sakamoto-san's attacks."

'Understood.'

"Let's go, everyone," said Shinji, summoning High Pixie.

Asuka huffed, even as everyone summoned their Personas once more. "We'll see," she sighed, moving with intent towards where Misato and Ryuji were waiting for them in the center of the ring. Tokoyo and Seiten Taisei likewise waited, weapons at the ready.

What followed...was an eventful spar, to say the least.

Misato and Ryuji, true to their word, didn't take it easy, even if they weren't fighting to kill. Misato was still a more agile and nimble combatant than either Mana or Asuka, and Ryuji — despite having a bum leg — was still an able physical powerhouse with strength to spare, who had no issue with using his gun-cane to even the odds. The debilitating strikes of Gilgamesh's drive-by blows were quickly rectified by Tokoyo's Heat Riser...and speaking of the adults' Personas, they were fighting with furious abandon: flinging physical blows both near and far, unleashing a rapid torrent of Electric and Wind Skills that kept everyone on their toes. Even with Shinji quickly defaulting to doing nothing but healing, and with Mayumi's increasingly common foresight, the team of six were having difficulty taking down a duo who had become very accustomed to each other's skill sets.

Much to Kensuke's displeasure, most of their long range attacks were focused on his Persona, precisely to mitigate the effectiveness of Sinbad's Ailment Skills.

However, for as good as Mana, Asuka, and Toji were at harrying their opponents...all things had to give eventually.

'What am I sensing...oh no, Combination Attack incoming! MOVE!'

It was too late: without warning, right after Ryuji blasted Mana back with a shot from his gun-cane, he used it as a miniature stand for Misato to leap off of. Tokoyo did the same from Seiten Taisei's staff, seemingly hovering in the air above the arena. "Might wanna duck!" cheered Misato, as she and Tokoyo swung their respective blades with such ferocity that they left visible shockwaves smashing into the ground. The team of six (plus one Navigator) faltered, stopping to try and get their bearings-

"-too late," solemnly said Ryuji, even as the cloud-surfing monkey king swung his staff; from each end emerged one God's Hand each: predictably, the great fists swept over the arena, wiping out everyone else and brushing their forms off of the fighting ring with all the ease of a hand removing dandruff. "...so. How do y'all feel?" A series of groans was his answer. "Good on you for being such troopers."

Halfhearted cheering was the only answer he got.

xxxx

The sparring session had lasted just around an hour, yet it had been enough for Ritsuko Akagi to gather useful data. ("Enough for the MAGI to spend a good several hours running a multivariable analytic suite, at any rate," the woman had dully remarked, her voice muffled by the cigarette hanging from her lips.) Misato Katsuragi had promptly vacated the premises. ("Only have a little bit of daylight left to burn; gotta get as much video reviews in as possible. You kids behave!" Misato had then promptly 'noped' away to her apartment.) Ryuji Sakamoto...well, he had different motivations for leaving. ("Kids like you will gel better together without adult supervision. But you didn't hear that from me. See y'all next mission," he remarked with a salute, before calmly hobbling away down the sidewalk.)

This left Shinji, Kensuke, Toji, Mana, Mayumi, Rei, and Asuka by themselves on the sidewalk outside NERV Headquarters.

"So...anyone up for dinner?" asked Kensuke, trying to break the ice.

"I'm new to town," remarked Asuka, sounding somewhat less standoffish than earlier. "I don't know any of the places around here that aren't around the Academy."

"Ain't that beef bowl shop pretty close by?" observed Toji, already drifting in that direction. "You know, the father-daughter place?"

"It has vegetarian options, so I'm not opposed," stated Rei.

And that was how the group of seven found themselves, minutes later, at the Big Bang Beef Bowl Shop.

As they moved to sit down, the co-proprietor took one look at Mana's weapons and asked, "Pardon me dear, but would you mind if I place those in the back while you're dining?" asked Kunikazu Okumura.

"...do I have to?" asked Mana.

"For the sake of the other customers, if you please."

"...fine." She took off her axe and shield; much to the surprise of others, feminine silhouettes carried them into the back. Okumura seemed unphased, as he promptly took everyone's orders before heading to the kitchens.

"...he took that awfully well," said Kensuke with a dumbfounded blink.

Toji shrugged. "Speaking from experience: you get used to weirdness. He probably saw Mana-san and thought 'ah, a girl with a giant axe and shield? Probably something NERV-related. No big deal'."

"There was a time when you couldn't bear to be apart from AIGIS and LABRYS," observed Shinji, staring across the table at Mana. He and Kirishima were both against the wall; Kensuke sat to his left, with Toji at the edge, whilst Mayumi sat to Mana's right, with Asuka likewise sitting at the edge; Rei had grabbed a chair to sit at the edge of the booth, a voluntary outlier.

Mana shrugged. "It's not like they're far away."

"Got issues with letting other people handle your stuff?" asked Asuka.

"There's...a bit more to it," said Mayumi, looking a bit nervously at the redhead. "Not that we're trying to be cagey, don't get me wrong, it's just..." She trailed off, unwilling to voice the rest of her train of thought.

Asuka audibly huffed, idly running a finger through her bangs. "...I think I've gotten the gist of it," she murmured. "I've been fighting for so long, but you kids don't really have much experience with me. No reason to trust me. I get it."

"You sound like an old lady, talking like that," griped Toji. "You kids, you say. We're like, the same age, ain't we?"

Asuka shrugged. "How should I know? I turn fourteen in December." She quickly looked around, taking everyone's measure. "...some of you are older, some are younger, eh?"

Toji scowled. "...what day?"

"The fourth." Toji's impulsive scowl elicited a grin from her. "Heh. I'm older by just that much, eh?"

Suzuhara huffily crossed his arms. "Not my fault I was born the day after Christmas..."

"I turned fourteen on the sixth of March," offered Mayumi.

"Likewise. On the thirtieth of the same month," said Rei, sipping from her water.

Mayumi reacted with surprise. "Ah; I didn't know our birthdays were that close, Ayanami-san..."

"Tokita picked April 11th to be my birthday," nonchalantly said Mana. "It was the day I first successfully bonded with Big Sis and Little Sis. But I don't remember what my 'real' birthday is. Since there were no available records of who I used to be when me and my siblings were 'recruited', that might as well be my birthday," she added, uncaring for how awkward this made her comrades feel.

Rei didn't react. Nor did Asuka. "I don't know who this 'Tokita' is, but he sounds like a dick."

Mana shrugged, nonetheless scoffing at her characterization. "That's putting it mildly."

"Well...I turned fourteen on the sixth of June," Shinji slowly admitted.

The natives blinked at this admission. "No kidding? Your first day in Tokyo-3 was also your birthday?!" loudly said Toji. "Sheesh, what timing."

"Indeed. What timing," dryly repeated Rei.

Finally, everyone's eyes turned to Kensuke. "Well...I turn fourteen in five days."

"It's that soon?" said Mayumi with surprise.

"Well, everyone's born on some day," Kensuke said, glossing over it. "I mean, Nagisa-kun's birthday is literally the day after mine...which is on the day of this month's New Moon, so sucks to be him this year, I guess."

"Is he turning fourteen, too?" asked Shinji.

"Nah, I think he's actually older than us by a whole year," said Toji.

("Why are they bringing up that pervert?" whispered Asuka at Rei.)

("He is their roommate at the Academy dorms," quietly replied Rei.)

(Asuka slowly blinked. "...I can't believe I actually pity them.")

"...I guess we'll have to plan for something with Kensuke, won't we?" offered Shinji, noting as Kensuke boggled at the suggestion. "I mean, is that a problem?"

Toji snorted, putting Kensuke into a loose headlock. "Nah, Ken's just shy."

"I'm not shy, it's just that it's the day before the new moon, so we're gonna be busy, now lemme go-!"

Mana arched an eyebrow. "Is there something stopping you from celebrating it on a different day?"

"Kind of misses the point of it being a 'birthday' celebration then," dryly observed Asuka. "Even if it's something quick and dirty, it'd still be on your birthday."

I wonder, thought Shinji, trying to balance all of the competing concerns together. The New Moon is less than a week away...we're going to need to prepare for that. However, all thoughts of 'birthday preparedness procedures' filtered away as their orders were brought out: six beef bowls, with one tofu bowl for Rei, and a platter of fried vegetable rolls for them to share.

"Well, it looks good and smells good, at least," said Asuka, her nostrils widening with appreciative twitches. "What's the word you're supposed to say? 'Eat-a-deku-moss-ew~?'"

The sheer exaggerated way in which she pronounced 'itadakimasu' elicited a stink eye from Toji. "You're just playing up the gaijin angle, aren't you?"

"I might as well milk the benefits of the stereotype while I can," she shamelessly admitted.

("How rude," murmured Mayumi under her breath.)

Fortunately, the food was so good that they were were quickly distracted from the matter of when to celebrate birthdays. (Eating dinner with friends and comrades-in-arms...was a very invigorating experience...)

As everyone completed their meals, Mayumi suddenly cleared her throat. "So. Ikari-san..."

"Yes, Yamagishi-san?"

"I couldn't help but notice that, earlier during the spars...you didn't say 'Kirishima-san'. You said 'Mana-san'. A few times, in fact."

"...I did?" Shinji honestly hadn't caught himself; he had gotten so used to that, if only because Mana hadn't corrected him or requested that he change it. Having heard the others say 'Mana-san' so consistently, though...perhaps he had simply caught up with them? I guess...there just wasn't a point to using it anymore. When was the last time I used her surname like that? The day of our fight with Strega at the Himmel facility? "Well..."

(As Shinji thought about it, he missed quite a few things: Mana's suspicious glare sent at Mayumi; Kensuke's shrewd grin at the same; Toji and Asuka's confused frowns; and Rei quietly nibbling on a vegetable roll, seemingly detached from the drama entirely.)

"...the rest of our team has been calling her Mana-san, and we're all friends, so..." Shinji shrugged. "I guess it just felt proper? I guess I wasn't thinking..." Nervously scratching at the back of his head, he remarked, "Sorry if it made things awkward..."

"This whole conversation is awkward," griped Asuka. "So you called her by her given name instead of her surname. Why is this a big deal?"

"Another cultural difference, Sohryu-san," remarked Rei.

"Yeah, so butt out," grumbled Toji.

Asuka rolled her eyes. "I mean, from the sounds of it, literally nothing has changed about your personal dynamics since the last time he called her 'Kirishima-san' or whatever. So what if he calls her 'Mana-san' or 'Kirishima-san'? If your feelings for each other changed, that would be true regardless of what you call each other."

"But it's a socially acceptable and recognizable way for you and for other people to categorize relationships. Among other things, it's a matter of politeness," explained Kensuke. "And it's efficient, but that's kind of a dry and unnatural way of looking at it."

The redhead snorted. "So? Why should other people's opinions matter when it comes to a relationship? If you like someone, you like 'em. If you hate someone, you hate 'em. Why would other people's opinions affect that?"

At this, the others couldn't immediately rebut her point. Shinji decided to speak up. "Well...if there's one thing I've learned, is that relationships don't occur in a vacuum. If someone you trust tells you that a relationship is a good thing, or that getting involved with someone is a bad idea...then should their opinion be discounted?"

The Beast laughed.

"And how many people have told you to throw in the towel with regards to your father?"

His Other quietly shook his head.

"It is one thing to take the opinion of others into account; yet another to discard them; an entirely different matter, to proceed in spite of acknowledging their concerns...isn't that right?"

"But we're not talking about people you trust, we're talking about total strangers!" protested Asuka. "Tch. Whatever. I just don't get the point of stirring drama over something so silly."

Mayumi balked at the apparent accusation. "I-I-I wasn't stirring drama!"

At this, Kensuke actually winced. "Eh..."

"Here, I'll prove it," interrupted Asuka, unintentionally coming to Mayumi's rescue. Clasping her hands together and adopting a seductive tone, she cheerfully said, "Oh, Kensuke~, Toji~, and Shinji~, you were all so manly during training!"

Shinji's face blazed red, whilst Kensuke sputtered — wide-eyed — at the sheer audacity; Toji, to his credit, merely crossed his arms in response, yet even his cheeks were slightly flushed. Mayumi was agog at what Asuka had said; Rei didn't react; as for Mana, she simply seemed confused. "It sounded like you were complimenting them...but I can tell that you don't mean it."

"My point exactly," answered Asuka, once more speaking normally. "It's the emotions and the intention behind what you call someone that matters, more than what you actually say. I mean, just speaking about Japan: statistically speaking, there's probably a couple who only use their surnames with each other, yet are incredibly close; meanwhile, I'd bet there are a bunch of people who refer to each other by their given names that are incredibly crappy towards each other. Yet your society would judge the former as being distant, and the latter as being close buddies?"

Once again, the others couldn't immediately rebut her point. At this point, Rei spoke up. "I believe you are trying to summarize and oversimplify a cultural difference...and all for the sake of justifying your intention to call your peers by their given name instead of their surname." She spoke so calmly and so matter-of-factly that there was nothing to latch onto as a point of contention.

Asuka didn't respond. Not at first. "...maybe," she eventually admitted.

Toji's jaw dropped. "Wait, so this whole thing is all because you're being lazy?!"

"It's a stupid social convention!" retorted Asuka. "You overcomplicate it too much!"

"More like you're too used to how they do things in Europe," grumbled Kensuke.

"Whatever. I know I'm right," petulantly said Asuka, rising from the booth. "I'm tired. Can we go now?"

The utter whiplash was too much for everyone else. "...I think that's a good idea," said Shinji, playing the role of diplomat for everyone else, still too befuddled by Asuka's demeanor. "I'll pay for everyone's meals."

Asuka arched an eyebrow. "Trying to be a gentleman, hm?"

"I mean, my salary from NERV is kind of a lot for just me..." He didn't even really spend that much on anything, to be honest.

"That's not the sort of information you should just volunteer," she said, nonchalantly strolling out the front door.

"...she's exhausting," muttered Kensuke, slumping onto the table.

"I have to agree," murmured Mayumi.

Rei shrugged. "You will get used to her."

Once Shinji paid for dinner and Mana retrieved her weapons, the seven teenagers gathered outside. Mayumi briefly took Mana aside to talk with her about something, giving Shinji time to try and smooth things over. "Well, today was...eventful." Lightly bowing in Asuka's direction, he said, "I look forward to working with you, moving forward."

"Such a polite boy," said Asuka, looking at him with a complicated expression. "Well...I'm satisfied that you're all not completely hopeless. So that's better than most people."

"How generous," chorused Kensuke and Toji.

Asuka rolled her eyes at the duo. "Indeed; I'm very generous." Without warning, she began fading into static. "Well, see you all tomorrow for 'school'. Later!" Her voice faded out as her form vanished from sight.

"...well. She's certainly pleasant," mused Kensuke.

"More like bitchy," growled Toji.

"Suzuhara-san, I think that's too far," cautioned Shinji.

"She is used to working with adults," reminded Rei. "I imagine she will eventually warm up to you all."

"...so are you confirming she's an extreme tsundere?" asked Kensuke. When Rei simply stared flatly in return, he added, "I'm going to take that as a yes. Good to know."

("-I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to-" said Mayumi.)

(Mana interrupted her. "It's not a big deal. It's fine.")

("...okay, if you say so...")

Finally, Mana and Mayumi made their way back to the group. "So, I guess we're heading back to the Academy, now?" asked Mayumi.

"I draw the line on 'fast travel'," growled Toji.

"It'd be pretty far to walk, though," said Kensuke.

As such, they ended up taking the bus back to the Academy.

"This seems...out of place," observed Toji.

"The bus is an adequate method of public transport," said Rei.

"At least they let me bring my weapons on board," said Mana, taking up a whole row by herself.

"The wonders of a NERV badge," joked Kensuke.

"Yeah..." murmured Mayumi, still apparently unsettled by the dinner conversation. "You won't mind making your way back to Katsuragi's alone?"

Mana shrugged. "I'll just take a shortcut through the Metaverse. Besides, this is...nice."

"...what are the odds that Sohryu would find something to criticize about Japan's public transportation?" asked Kensuke.

Toji snorted. "A hundred percent, if only to intentionally annoy us..."

Shinji simply let the conversation wash over him, staring quietly outside the window as the bus rumbled through the streets of Tokyo-3. Today was...something. He had no clue if Asuka was truly going to fit in with everyone...but for some reason, he looked forward to seeing how things would pan out...

xxxx

END OF 9/7/2015

xxxx

Author's Note: At long last: after the passage of two whole months in-story, over two years of IRL time, and over 700,000 words written in the interim...Shinji and Asuka are finally interacting face-to-face again!

But man; these kids have been together so long now, the character dialogue and humor flows like wine. And now Asuka's been added to the mix.

/...I'm going to struggle with not writing thousands of words of them just talking with each other, I can already tell
/and meanwhile, as far as the "Best Girl" sweepstakes go
/Mana's stock keeps rising