Hello everyone, Calborghete here, how are you all? Here's another chapter for you.
First of all, I'd like to apologize for not replying to the reviews that you all so kindly sent me, the truth was that I caught a really bad cold just after I published the chapter and I kept quiet until I got better, but I want to say that I've read them all and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for enjoying them.
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So without further ado, read on.
"Dialogues"
- Thoughts -
"Radio Talk"
"Self-talk."
Responsibility note:
Evangelion, its characters and setting are the property of Hideaki Anno. Any brands, films and series mentioned in this fanfic are the property of their creators.
(*)
Chapter 04
Trembling, looking down at his hands trembling at what his eyes were seeing, feeling Kaworu's betrayal coursing through every fiber of his body, then he looked at the briefcase in his hand that was now just a dead weight, his breathing was racing.
Fuyutsuki looked at his former pupil, he had a happy feeling that everything had gone wrong for Gendo's plans. Next to him was a small computer, a device that he could use to manage all his work around the world.
Gendo looked at the teacher, being able to see the schematics of old buildings, knowing what this meant, he spoke angrily.
"What are you doing, professor?"
With a few final commands he pressed the confirm command, seeing the progress line starting to come to life, he spoke calmly.
"What I should have done a long time ago, Ikari."
Gendo felt his world being destroyed as he watched the progress line on the old computer, his mind scheming that he might still be able to carry on with his scenario.
"You don't want to go on with the set anymore!"
Fuyutsuki looked at the room he had been alone in for a long time, he felt the weight on his conscience getting lighter, with his eyes closed he remembered Yui, putting his hands behind him he started to leave the room, Gendo wanted to get his gun, but he felt paralyzed.
Stopping in the doorway, Kozo spoke as he turned around, his face showing how much lighter he was feeling about the whole thing.
"We can't control everything, sometimes it's best just to move on."
Gendo wanted to debate further, but soon his eyes focused on the old professor leaving the room, feeling the weight of being truly alone in this world, a weight that seemed to have hit his shoulders hard, calmly his hand opened and the folder fell to the floor, the scenery now far away.
"Yui..."
(*)
Misato was still looking ahead, her systems showing the enemies approaching, but it wasn't a real danger, looking out as she saw the Mark 04 units falling lifeless to the ground, she felt a tear run down her cheek, but they weren't tears of joy, they were tears of sadness and remorse.
"Madam! Unit 13!" Sumire shouted as she was still waiting for orders, then Misato looked up to see the white giant standing in the sky with his arms outstretched, sadly she watched him glow brightly as he disappeared.
"Enemy gone." Hyuga spoke anxiously into his computer, nothing seemed to know what really happened, but his eyes could see the world returning to its original color.
Misato wiped her face as she realized she had work to do. She looked at Ritsuko next to her, who was trying to understand what was going on.
"What happened? Where's unit 13?"
Typing on her computer, she was focused on the data she had received, she could feel Misato waiting for an answer.
"Everything indicates that the world has somehow regressed, it looks like they've succeeded after all."
"What do you mean regressed?" Misato asked shocked, she felt even more guilt taking over her body at this moment, Shinji had fixed the world, that's what her mind was screaming at her. Everyone on the bridge looked at her, especially Midori with this new information, had her family come back? Her hands shook at this.
"Akagi!" Misato shouted as she didn't get the answer she wanted, Ritsuko clenched her hands as she used all her wits to piece together all the information, but no satisfactory answer seemed to be forthcoming, angrily she spoke as she shouted.
"I don't know!" Ritsuko shouted as she felt angry, she never liked not knowing things, Misato looked at her face, she could see all her confusion.
"I don't know how! It seems the world is back to the way it used to be! I don't know how! I don't know why, but that's the damn reality!" She began to smoke in the hope that the nicotine would help relieve her stress, but it didn't seem to be working.
Misato looked at the state of her most faithful friend, it was rare that she lost her temper, this was difficult for her, if the world had returned to normal, what would her strategy be now? She didn't like the feeling of not knowing what to do, but she knew one thing, Shinji had managed to reverse the third impact, and that was weighing heavily on her mind.
Soon a beep came from Shigeru's console, and he looked at the data while smiling slightly, turning to look at Misato as she gave him the information.
"Sensors indicate massive presence of orange patterns on land." Reported the man when he found out what that meant, he asked in confusion.
"What do we do now?"
Misato looked outside, at the old Tokyo 03, her former home and life, she knew that now there were confused people wandering around the abandoned city, with a long sigh she spoke.
"I'll... I'll get a security team together and we'll go down there... try to understand what's going on." Misato said.
"Are we going to join NERV?" Tamara asked confusedly.
Misato looked at her subordinate, something in her mind told her that this wouldn't be a problem, she took a deep breath knowing that she had to do something in the chaos that must be going on for the people who had returned.
"I don't think that will be a problem." Misato said as she began to walk away from Wunder's bridge, everyone in the room looked at the back of the woman who had kept everyone alive for so many years, but not before leaving completely did she give an order.
"Get the EVAS back."
Midori looked at her colleagues as she spoke anxiously, she got up from her console and went towards Shigeru, she ran as she felt her body trembling with the thought of her family being back.
"My family is back!?"
Shigeru could see the tears in Midori's eyes, he wanted to have the answers, but Wunder's sensors weren't that precise, they only knew that the numbers of orange patterns were increasing.
"I wish I could answer you, but... but we don't know."
Midori lowered her face when she heard that this was true, it was selfish of her to ask for such information, she looked at everyone's face to see all the looks of surprise and hope on everyone's face, but this event caught her attention, she asked in a low voice, but everyone could hear.
"Wasn't NERV the enemy?"
Hyuga looked at Midori when he saw the looks on everyone's faces, and he spoke calmly and wisely.
"NERV didn't want to help the world, that's Ikari Shinji's doing... Gendo must be as confused as we are." Hyuga spoke wisely, he knew that NERV was plotting to do the human instrumentality project, but Shinji was always honest, he looked down as he spoke.
"Shinji has always been different from his father."
(*)
Misato walked with heavy steps inside Wunder, she was going to the transportation sector, her mind kept screaming at her how she hadn't believed Shinji, how she had let her anger take over at a moment that should have been more intimate, calmly she sat down in the sector waiting for the transportation, completely ignoring the men next to her, she touched her face in guilt.
Ritsuko entered a short while later, carrying a small bag with some of the things she would need to get to the state of the MAGI system, she was still smoking her cigarette, and with a serious look on her face she spoke to her friend.
"You don't have to be a genius to see that you're feeling guilty."
Misato let out a long sigh as she thought about what she had heard, and she touched her face as she spoke angrily.
"I feel like an idiot."
"You're not the only one." Says the blonde as she smokes her finished cigarette, looking around to see her men preparing for the mission Misato is talking about.
"I should have believed him." Misato says with a low voice as she remembers the fight she had just experienced a few minutes ago. She should never have gone against the boy who had been left in her care for a long time, in her hands she could feel the guilt for having given the orders to destroy Unit 13.
"Misato, we'd never know that he really wanted to put right what he'd done, you weren't wrong to think that Shinji might be helping his father, anyone would think that." Said the blonde as she let out a dejected groan when she saw her cigarette had run out.
"I'm not just anyone." Misato said angrily as she raised her face, she could see her friend calmly looking at her handmade cigarette. Seeing the team ready, Misato quickly recovered by putting on her cap and standing up, looking at everyone she spoke with authority.
"We're going into NERV's headquarters in search of information, so be prepared for any eventuality."
One of the soldiers spoke to his group, nodding, but one thing was still on his mind: he could see the colors of the world again through the windows.
"Madam, if I may, what has happened to the world?" All the other men stopped and looked at the young man who asked that.
"Focus on your mission." Ritsuko said as she took the question to herself. The young man immediately regretted doing so, but Misato quickly spoke calmly.
"We're not sure yet, but it seems that part of the third impact was reversed, we still don't know what really happened." All the men nodded in response, but their eyes showed an air of hope that they could lead a relatively normal life.
"We still don't know what happened, you're giving them false hope." The doctor spoke with disbelief, even though the world was still green again, but reverse was still a heavy word. Misato looked at her without patience.
"So?" That's all she said as she entered the transport, leaving the doctor with a bored look on her face. She soon finished smoking her cigarette, throwing only a small piece of paper into some corner of the metal room.
Misato looked at the pilots before giving her final order.
"We'll leave you near the pilots on the ground and wait for further orders on the radio."
With a final nod the engines came to life, she sat down and looked out the observation window, she could see the green horizon as it once was, the old ruins of Tokyo 03 now in their original colors, old feelings came back to her mind, the times when she was just the director of operations for NERV, she went home and slept.
Putting her hand to her face, she tried to concentrate as much as she could at a time like this. Breathing deeply, she felt the anxiety taking over her body, but now was not the time.
(*)
Lowering her radio, Asuka looked to the heavens as she received in the new orders from Wunder, she lowered the radio as she looked again at the place where NERV unit 13 used to be, where Shinji was, her mind still struggling with the fact that she had fought Shinji, she felt her hand shaking with all the anxiety it had given her in the battle.
Asuka looked at the wind blowing in her face, she took a deep breath of the warm breeze against her face, the air had smelt of blood before, nothing more than that and now it smelt of nature again, she turned her head to the side and looked at Mari sitting butterfly style on the ground, she had a smile on her face as she played with the earth.
Frowning when she saw her friend's cheerful and natural state, Asuka crossed her arms as she became irritated, Mari didn't seem to be interested in anything that was happening around her, she could still hear the sound of laughter when the fourth impact happened.
"You're laughing and playing in the dirt like a child! Haven't you forgotten that we're in a battle?"
Mari stopped playing as she wiped her hands against her plug suit, she had a happy and amused face, looking at Asuka she spoke.
"We're not fighting now, didn't you see the mark 4 units falling lifeless? And I'm glad the puppy sorted it all out, just like he said in the fight."
"We still don't know what happened! AND WHERE DID HE GO!?" Asuka shouted as she ran her hand through her red hair.
Mari clapped her hands on her legs as she stood up, she spoke calmly and seriously.
"Shinji must have run away... or moved away, I don't know... at least he can be happy."
"Happy?" Asuka was skeptical, she still remembered Kaworu's voice guiding Shinji in the fight, it annoyed her, why didn't he listen to her?
Mari seemed to read Asuka's mind, she said as she leaned against a pile of rocks.
"Yeah, who knows where those two went, I hope he can find a place where he can be happy... after all this shit I hope... that at least that person next to him doesn't abandon him like everyone else did."
Asuka looked at her colleague, feeling a rage take over her body, she had never forgotten Shinji, but what should she have done?
"Nobody abandoned him! We thought he was dead!"
Mari laughed lightly as she crossed her arms, she had her own opinion on the matter.
"That may be true, but do I have to remind you that you tried to punch him in the face? In the fight you didn't believe him and tried to kill him."
Asuka closed her face when she heard that, the fight had been heavy.
"I would never have killed him, I would have ejected the plug and finally punched him for being so stupid!"
Mari had a shy smile on her face, but it wasn't one of happiness.
"I don't know, but... now we have to coordinate this mess, I bet people will be very confused."
Asuka let out a long sigh when she heard this, she looked at the horizon when she saw a small ship coming towards her, she knew that Misato was going to meet her. But the thought of Shinji was still on her mind, where had he gone? Why had he run away again?
"At least he could have stayed to help with this mess, again we're going to have to clean up his zone."
Asuka tried to look angry, but she was sad, her feelings had overcome her strength to control her body, and Mari, seeing this, spoke calmly.
"It's right, we accused him of something and he got away with it, no wonder he disappeared, I myself wouldn't want to show up and talk to the people who abandoned me, I'd do the same thing as him, disappear."
Asuka looked at Mari as she approached a small sapling on the ground, it was just scrub, but seeing the green colors again was nice, it reminded her of old times.
"I don't know."
Misato slowly stepped out of the aircraft, taking a closer look at the new world, she looked up at the sky to see small birds already flying freely, this was strange, it had been seven years since she had seen these animals, blinking to return to the real world, she walked towards her pilots.
"He's arranged everything as he promised." Mari spoke as she teased Misato, she looked at her superior's reactions, smiling as she saw that she had managed to hit a nerve. Misato looked at her pilots, feeling the guilt on her shoulders like the heaviest of stones.
"I guess so." Misato said as she crossed her arms, she looked at the streets waiting for people, looking at Asuka and she could see the downcast look on the redhead's face, the same guilt was there, she wished she could do as before and give her a hug, tell her that everything would be alright and that they would fix the mistake they made, but she did nothing.
"All right, arm yourselves and come with me."
Mari and Asuka looked at Misato, but knew that the mission wasn't over yet. Grabbing the necessary equipment, they followed Misato, and it didn't take long for them to approach the ruins that were NERV's entrances.
Letting out a long, dejected sigh, Misato looked down the corridors of the old headquarters, she closed her eyes as she felt the memories of what it was like to work in this place, soon the sound of groans took over the corridors, everyone prepared for a possible fight, but as they approached the old cafeteria, they looked at some people lying on the floor, all of them without clothes.
"Look for the wounded." Misato ordered, knowing that these people were not a danger, Ritsuko approached a man lying on the ground, and with her flashlight she began to work.
"What is your name and function?" The blonde asked, seeing the reaction in the man's eyes, completely ignoring the natural naked state of the people around her.
The man in question was confused, looking around with a sleepy face.
"What happened?" Said the man as he looked down and noticed his naked state, blushing as he covered himself up, he immediately remembered the doctor's question.
"I... my name is Hiroshi Takashi... I'm a level 4 systems analyst."
Ritsuko smiled at how well he looked, she knew he must be from the old days of NERV, she calmly looked around, luckily her men had found some curtains that could have been improvised clothes.
"Everything looks fine."
Takashi looked at the woman in front of him, he had a faint recollection of who she was, but she was older and had short hair.
"Dr. Akagi? What happened?"
"We're not sure yet, but we'll find out, now rest." Said the doctor as she stood up, she could see Misato closer to her as she listened to the conversation, taking another cigarette she approached.
"They were all NERV employees from the old days."
"It seems that people are coming back little by little, I wonder who is waking up on the streets." Misato said as she felt a headache coming on, then her radio went off.
"EVAS recovered ma'am." Hyuga spoke calmly over the radio, Misato looked around as she saw people waking up and receiving support from her men.
"Send more medical teams, it looks like people are coming back, and bring anything that can be used as clothing." Ordered the woman as she lowered her radio without waiting for an answer, she wasn't interested.
(*)
As time passed, Misato stopped at the old control room, she could see that Gendo and Kozo had made no effort to tidy up the old place, the destruction caused by Zeruel still marked the beginning of the third impact, soon her eyes fell on the old places of her subordinates.
"I thought there would be more people working for them." Said the doctor as she stopped next to Misato, both looking at the huge hole in the wall where Zeruel had gone through, Misato looked around for any sign of other enemy people.
"This place has seemed empty to me for a long time, how did they manage to keep it all to themselves?"
"Maybe I've found a way to automate things." Says Ritsuko as she runs her hand over the now disconnected panel, her hand left with a heavy layer of dust, with a smile she spoke theorizing.
"Or their employees worked naked, which I doubt very much."
Soon a long silence overtook the two, the doctor placed her equipment on the old panel and began to separate some cables.
"Where must they both have gone?" Says the doctor as she puts her things on the old control panel, and can see the heavy layer of dust on the old computers.
"I don't know, I hope Shinji is okay wherever he is." Misato said sadly, then the doctor spoke as she plugged her computer into the old console, her face a shy, lifeless smile.
"I was talking about Gendo and Kozo."
Misato looked at her friend and let out a long sigh. Going over to the old console, she spoke angrily.
"I don't care, it seems to me that the two of them must have escaped, but now our focus must be on putting some order in this world."
With a few commands she smiled as she saw some activity on the old panels, smiled as she saw the keys coming to life.
"At least the extension still works, that will help a lot." With a few commands she began her work, Misato approached the computer, her mood worsening with each passing second.
"Do we have the security cameras?"
"When we're calmer, I'll search for information on Gendo and Kozo, they must have fled when their pilot betrayed him." Misato looked up to see the power lights flickering, a few seconds of instability later they normalized.
"It makes me shiver to think about the state of NERV's reactors, I'm surprised this place hasn't become a new Chernobyl." The doctor let out a long sigh as she finished programming her console.
With a few commands she turned away from the computer, smiling at her talent in technology, Misato began to receive some images showing naked people walking down the corridors in a confused manner.
"Most of the cameras are online." Ritsuko said looking at some of the feedback she'd received, a lot would have to be fixed.
"We're going to have a lot of work."
(*)
A few days had passed and Misato walked the streets of Tokyo 3, a gun in her hands for safekeeping, she was with Asuka and Mari, both standing in front of an old apartment complex.
"So this is where you used to live?" Mari asked curiously, she was wearing more casual clothes, looking to the side she could see Asuka with a downcast look on her face, too many memories in this place.
"What did four eyes expect? A mansion?" Asuka growled, but the feeling was different, Mari didn't even care about her colleague's anger, she quickly looked at Misato, who had a stony look on her face, there were too many memories involved.
Floor by floor they climbed, Misato kept quiet at all times, Mari looked at the papers flying in the wind, Asuka was trying to keep a serious posture.
Finally they arrived at Misato's old apartment, the sign saying Katsuragi was strange to read, with a long sigh she tried to open it, but the door was jammed, with some force they managed to open it, the apartment was exactly the same, every shoe, every decorative ornament, it was as if nothing had changed.
Stopping in the kitchen area, Misato looked at the old pen-pen fridge, the advertisements stuck on her fridge, the kitchen utensils placed in the same place as their former user had left them, closing her eyes as she felt the emotions wanting to take over, she had been fighting herself for a long time and why now this?
Asuka passed Misato on her way to her old room, she gently opened it, seeing her things still in the position she had left them, taking a deep breath she turned and looked at the kitchen, where her best memories had been made.
Misato let out an emotional sigh from her lips, the apartment was dirty, but the memories were clean, Asuka was looking at the place where she had her first kiss, she blinked to keep the tears in check. Could she live here again? How would things be from now on?
"Nice apartment." Mari tried to raise the mood, but neither Asuka nor Misato seemed to care, so she calmly sat down on the dusty sofa, she deeply regretted having done so, but her mind was on Shinji, where had he gone?
"Atchin!"
SEVEN YEARS LATER
The sounds of cicadas came through the window, but for this man in particular it no longer bothered him, in his hands was a remote control to rid the bad thoughts from his mind, the pain never subsided, his mind always screamed, it was like being in a perpetual nightmare.
"There are still many doubts about what really happened seven years ago, people are still wondering when the answers will come, but the UN still maintains its stance of..."
CHANNEL CHANGE.
"Today on Incredible we're going to interview..."
CHANNEL CHANGE.
"Buy your new car with installments that fit in your pocket..."
CHANNEL CHANGE.
"WILLE is providing the population most affected by the events of seven years ago with supportive therapy groups for people who have not recovered from the cataclysmic events." Misato spoke as she stood in front of the hundreds of reporters, her face still with the same cold look she had at Wunder, only without her sunglasses.
"Why aren't those responsible for this arrested yet?" A female voice spoke in the background, curious eyes focused on the television screen.
"It's been seven years."
"Well, we don't know where they are yet." Misato replied coldly, and the man watching the television felt a shiver run down his back.
- From that moment on, you won't do anything else. - A memory flooded his insides, he closed his eyes to control his emotions, the man was feeling heavy these days, soon the sound of the wooden door opening flooded the house. But for Shinji, he didn't even care.
Closing his eyes as he felt his memories, he thought of his first kiss with Asuka, the first and only kiss of his life. With a flashback to their last encounter, the fight on the geofront was intense, especially the moment when he hit Asuka.
He closed his eyes as he felt repulsed at having hit her, he breathed deeply as he felt guilt, Kaworu noticed that look, Shinji was certainly having a bad day.
"If you're bored, why don't you take a walk?" Kaworu said as he entered the humble house he shared with Shinji, he could see that the man was slumped on the sofa, this was not a good time for him, Shinji was having good days and bad.
"Why should I leave?" Shinji says dejectedly as he gets up, the remote control turning off the television in his hands.
"It's your day off." Said Kaworu as he put some things away in the simple cupboards he had, he had never cared for luxury. Shinji peeked in to see him putting away some food, especially some sausages he'd bought at the local market. Memories of the old days with Misato flashed through his mind, especially the dinners Asuka used to make him that involved sausage.
"Why is that?" Shinji says as he wipes his hands, his voice cold and calm, but depressed.
Kaworu realized this, seeing Shinji like this upset him, why couldn't he forget that woman and get on with his life? Meet someone else and be happy? Sitting down in a chair, he began to speak.
"Why do you keep torturing yourself thinking about her?"
Shinji took a deep breath as he removed a small pack of cigarettes from his pocket, calmly lighting one and starting to smoke, Kaworu looked at him disapprovingly, but Shinji was going through another difficult phase.
Shinji blew a cloud of smoke upwards, still thinking about Kaworu's question, why he couldn't forget Asuka, closing his eyes he spoke.
"I'm not thinking about her."
"Stop it Shinji, are we going to have to go into this again? You think I don't hear you having nightmares at night, I thought you'd let go of that guilt when we reversed the third impact." Kaworu said as he took a small sip of his tea.
Shinji took another drag from his cigarette, Kaworu was right, why was he still to blame if he had reversed the third impact? Then he thought of Misato and Asuka, the look on their faces, the disappointment at everything he had done, that was what bothered him the most, why he couldn't move on.
"That's a good question Kaworu." Says Shinji depressed as he looks outside, seeing the trees swaying in the wind.
"That's a really good question."
(*)
"How nice it is to have a bed again." Mari says as she stretches to get out of the room that used to belong to Asuka, she stops in front of the room, or rather the closet that used to be Shinji's room, Mari thinks of Asuka, sadly she stretches her arms and feels her bones crack, calmly she goes to the kitchen and gets a bowl and some kind of chocolate cereal.
Drowsily, she sat down at the kitchen table and looked around; the apartment was still the same, but it was lifeless, joyless, devoid of anything; it was like being in Wunder, only converted into an apartment.
Calmly, she ate some food and thought about the life she had. It was hard to adapt to the old ways, living in a city, going to the market and trivial things like that, but the hardest thing of all was getting back into the old NERV headquarters, which was now called WILLE.
"I'm going to have gray hair soon." Mari spoke to herself as she swirled the cereal around on the small plate, and then the sound of Asuka's door opening caught her attention. Calmly, a redhead entered the kitchen, her face marked with dark circles from her nightmares, her eye patch firmly in place.
Asuka was always in a bad mood, she still didn't know why she had taken Shinji's old room, she didn't know the reason, but it seemed right, she calmly went into the bathroom and after coming out she went to get her breakfast, she let out a small growl when she saw that she would have to eat cereal again.
"Cereal? What the fuck."
Mari shrugged when she heard that, and sighed as she spoke.
"The funny thing is that we always complained about the food at Wunder and when we finally got something different, we complained."
Asuka looked at Mari annoyed, she never liked irony and Mari liked to irritate.
"Do you mean four eyes?"
Mari shrugged again, she finished eating and put her things away, with a long sigh she spoke.
"No, just... just thinking about how drastically our lives changed and then changed again and again... I thought that when the world returned to some kind of normality the people around me would get better, that didn't happen... it just got worse."
Asuka lowered her hands to the table and spoke boredly, she was hungry, sleepy and no longer had the patience to deal with Mari's riddles.
"What did you think? That even if we'd won this war we'd have the life of a princess?"
Mari looked at Asuka as she spoke.
"No Asuka, but at least it wouldn't be like being locked up in a perpetual funeral."
Asuka looked down at the stove in the kitchen, then thoughts of Shinji flooded her mind and she turned her gaze to Mari. But the brunette was quicker.
"Misato always locks herself in her room, she practically lives at WILLE headquarters and you torture yourself by sleeping in his old room and when I ask, you always dodge."
Asuka began to feel irritated by this, she knew very well why she had taken Shinji's old room, she missed his company, his food, she missed him, then she turned her attention to Mari who had a serious look on her face.
"I think it was a mistake."
Mari looked up when she heard this, she tried to understand what she was saying, but her mind couldn't make sense of it, she just let out a simple.
"What?"
Asuka took a deep breath as she looked at her food, she wanted to be able to eat real food, especially Shinji's food.
"Sometimes I wonder if he was doing the right thing in fixing the fucking world." Asuka said with a wry laugh, Mari looked at her seriously and waited for her answers.
Asuka shook her head as she thought about how she could put her words calmly.
"We always thought of that war as a valve to a new world, everyone had lost someone or something, but... when we were at Wunder, we had that hope that we could reverse all that shit, that we could get some normality back into this life."
Mari understood this feeling, she herself had a life before being absorbed for the first time, now she had a new life in an apartment that was Asuka and Misato's old life.
"And now look at us, we're in an ordinary apartment, eating ordinary food, damn it, we even have to go to the damn market again." Asuka said as she laughed, but her face showed that it wasn't a happy laugh, but one full of sadness, she touched her face as she looked nostalgic.
"Going to the market... When we had our success... I mean when Shinji reversed all that, we should be happy, the world went back to normal, but... why does everyone have that look? The look that something is missing, you know?"
Mari nodded at that, she seriously knew what was missing for Asuka and Misato, but she knew what that look was on people's faces, all trying to get on with their lives but failing.
"It's hard to be living what everyone has always wanted and not feel fulfilled..." Mari said as she thought about repeating her breakfast, but she quickly denied it, then remembered the photos she had in a box in her room. Blinking her way back to the real world, she looked at Asuka calmly with a fake smile.
"Human beings have to stop being proud, don't they?"
"I don't know..." Asuka spoke calmly and sadly, then she looked at the stove again and spoke.
"Is he all right?"
Mari took a deep breath when she heard this, she thought of Shinji, she knew very well how he was affecting Misato and Asuka's lives.
"I hope so, I mean, I believe so." Mari spoke with conviction, but deep down she wished she could know where he was, Misato tried to disguise it, but deep down she used the resources of WILLE or the UN to locate him, but it was all in vain.
Asuka nodded, deep down she wanted to be able to meet Shinji once more, to know that everything was in the past and to put an end to her story, just like Misato, soon she began to eat her cereal, putting an end to the conversation, she looked at Mari and could see that the conversation wasn't going anywhere else.
(*)
The cross has always had a strong meaning, for the faithful it was the salvation of their people, God's forgiveness for all their sins, but for Misato, it represented memories and happiness, but now it was just a mere metal cross.
Misato was in her room now inside the old NERV, in front of her was the computer screen showing the UN Security Council, she had her eyes lowered as she turned the small metal cross in her fingers, once a necklace she always carried, but now it seemed it wasn't right.
"Colonel Katsuragi, any sign of Gendo and Kozo?" The US member asked as he put his hands together in front of his body.
Misato looked up to see all the men and women representing their countries, they had all returned from the LCL, what was it like for them to have been without a body for so long? With a long sigh she answered, her voice as cold and tired as ever.
"No, the wretches are well hidden, but the efforts will continue until they are brought to justice for what they have done."
All the members sighed when they heard this, a lot of time and money had been wasted searching for Gendo and Kozo, it all seemed to be losing its meaning, and soon another question was asked, this time by the Russian representative.
"What about the younger boy, Shinji Ikari and Kaworu Nagisa? As far as we know they were in charge of unit 13." Asked the old Russian man, all the other members looked at each other with that, everything was still very confusing for everyone and only Shinji and Kaworu could give those answers.
Misato inhaled as she thought of Shinji, she wished she could know where he was, the reality was that she herself wasn't making much of an effort to know where he was, Shinji had been through a lot and it was all her fault.
"The same answer as above."
Everyone in the room let out a disappointed sigh, then the chairman of the committee spoke calmly.
"Okay, thank you for your time Colonel Katsuragi, please continue with the efforts to locate these people, you and your team have done a good job."
With that said, Misato turned off the old monitor, she didn't have time for old bureaucracy, she calmly leaned back in her chair and looked up at the ceiling.
"It's not true what you said to them, is it?" Ritsuko said as she appeared from the shadow of the office, a cigarette in her hands.
Misato looked at her friend and sighed, she was right.
"Yes, we know where old Professor Fuyutsuki is, but it doesn't seem right to hand him over, from our intelligence he's living out his days in a small town in South Korea, Gendo and Shinji have been missing since the incident."
"You don't think he deserves to be judged for what he did?" said the short-haired blonde. Misato looked at Ritsuko as she thought about her answer.
"From the camera footage the old professor turned off the mark 04 units, he could have done more to help Gendo and he didn't, he's old and it seems right to let him live in peace."
Ritsuko looked at Misato when she saw the woman with a dark look on her face, a doubt took over her body, where was Shinji?
"Do you think he's with his father?"
Misato felt a long shiver run through her body, but she knew the answer: Shinji had betrayed his father by changing the outcome of the fourth impact along with the other pilot.
"No, Gendo must be dead somewhere, Shinji just wants to get away... away from everyone who hurt him."
Author's Notes: Hello Calborghete people here, we finally have chapter 04, I hope everyone liked it, as always be sure to follow it and save it in your favorites so you don't miss any more future updates.
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