Author's Notes at the end of the chapter.
Shinji woke up in a stupor. The hospital lights made him wince and his vision took time to come back in. Recalling the last time this happened, he absent mindedly pulled on the bedsheets and turned his head, half-expecting to find Rei beside him, but she wasn't there. He sat up and his mind replayed the events that led him back to that sickeningly white room. Teardrops dotted his hospital gown.
After waiting for a few minutes and deciding to press the now familiar nurse call button, he was subjected to a briefing that contained way too much information for him to memorize it all, but basically: the angel was defeated, it was now Saturday, and—excluding a very nasty bump on the back of his head—his previous injuries had been an illusion of the Eva.
Despite the words 'traumatic brain injury' being thrown somewhere in the doctor's lengthy diagnosis, his mind instead focused on the almost placid disinterest with which he explained things to him. It was clear for Shinji at that point that he (as with many other adults in his life) expected him to just get back up and fight again when the time came. Granted, he was willing to do so, but for them to not even muster the strength to feign concern for his personal wellbeing was extremely frustrating, especially when voicing said frustration would make him look like a self-centered jerk.
A quiet anger simmered at the base of his stomach as he dressed back in his civilian clothes. So what if he came off as selfish? No one cared about how they looked when they acted like this. No visits, no words of encouragement, no thanks for killing the latest ungodly abomination. He opened and closed his hand while staring at his unlaced shoes.
He walked out of the facility with an unmarked prescription bottle, and for once he appreciated the stifling warm wind that had become ubiquitous in the mind of anyone born after Second Impact. As soon as he stepped on the asphalt, a blue glint caught his eye: Misato was there to pick him up.
"Hey!" Misato called before opening the passenger-side door. She smiled with a slight frown.
Shinji kept quiet and got in, having to shut the door again after not pulling hard enough the first time. A few minutes of riding in silence went by before he spoke. He tried a quiet hi, but his voice cracked in the middle of it and he had to cough a few times.
"Sorry, haven't talked in a while."
"That's okay. How are you feeling?" She said while keeping her eyes on the road, there was a tight turn ahead. She turned the steering wheel and heard Shinji grunt and shrink in his seat.
"Ugh, neck hurts. Ah, Doctor Taiho wanted me to give you this," he said as he pulled out a small sealed envelope with NERV's logo and the word CONFIDENTIAL stamped on the front. By the time Shinji realized his mistake, it was too late: Misato took the envelope with one hand, ripped it open with her teeth and started reading it, all while racing through the freeway at almost double the speed limit.
"Welp, no school for you for a while, huh?"
"Yeah." He picked up the discarded envelope from the console and tried to read the red ink. If there was such a thing as cursive hieroglyphics, this had to be it.
"Hey, relax. We can fix this," she said in response to his grimace. Shinji rubbed his eyes and squinted frantically at the envelope. "Yeah, don't force it, you're gonna make it worse," she added, which made him stop. He slid down the seat in defeat and closed his eyes.
"We're just gonna have you do some physical therapy with Ritsuko and you'll be good as new, promise!"
"But for how long?!" He whined. At that moment, they arrived at the parking lot. In a rare display of mercy, Misato parked her Alpine in a manner one would expect from a reasonable person.
"I don't know. We'll have to ask her when we see her," she said as she unbuckled her seatbelt. "Tell you what, let's get to the apartment, make some tea, try to watch some television and I'll call her in the meantime. It's gonna be fine."
Shinji opened his eyes and couldn't help but search for labels wherever he turned. His mouth became a thin line as he saw the the radio and dashboard indicators as nothing but squiggles. He chuckled humorlessly and exited the car, not looking forward to the following days.
"Please point to the number five." Maya held a clipboard in each hand and rested them on her knees. The characters '5' and '2' where drawn in big bold letters in each of them, respectively. Shinji pointed to the left one.
"That's correct!" She said and gave him a reassuring smile. She flipped the pages on both clipboards. "Next. We're looking for the number six."
While the exercise continued, Ritsuko observed behind the glass pane by a row of vending machines. Misato had just arrived from down the hallway.
"What's today's progress?" Misato asked. No greeting.
"He's doing quite well, actually. He was very lucky." She inserted a few coins into the machine.
"The hell do you mean 'lucky'? He almost got boiled alive and now he has actual brain damage."
She remained aloof while bending over to retrieve a can of hot coffee from the slot.
"You need to stop playing the moral outrage card, Misato. You're already onboard with this operation, so it'd be very helpful if you could spare me your needless, snappy interjections," she allowed some time for Misato to retort, but the she never did. "The alexia could've been permanent, half of his field of view could've just gone completely black. The kinesthetic exercises and LCL therapy will likely return his occipital lobe back to full health within a month. This is beyond precedent in medical science. I trust that ought to be enough for you."
"You can't tell me that makes it okay: to just patch him up and send him out again. And stop, it's not an 'outrage card' or whatever, I just think it really sucks that we supposedly have the best technology humanity has to offer, and yet we're still reduced to just watching as the forces of nature change in front of our very eyes. And all we can do is throw Shinji in the Eva and hope that punching whatever came down from the sky is gonna be enough to fix the problem."
Ritsuko's eyes narrowed. "That is such a reductionist view of what we do, it's not even funny. You of all people should be aware of the logistical nightmare that comes with every sortie. Your attachment to the kid is making you irrational. I hope you didn't act like this during your meeting with the Vice-Commander."
Misato crossed her arms and turned away to Ritsuko's office. She caught a glimpse of Maya and Shinji looking at them before panicking and returning to the exercises. Her previous meeting had indeed been a disaster, because it turns out the JSSDF and the United Nations blamed NERV for the late evacuation during the angel attack, and the death toll that followed. Fuyutsuki was very professional about it, taking the blame as any respectable senior in a large organization is wont to do, but Misato knew he was disappointed in her. The press had a field day with the whole thing.
Ritsuko was now also properly riled up. She saw through Misato's vague complaints about NERV's tech—it was an attack on the Magi, on her division, and by extension, on her. Her worldview was so narrow, always looking for someone else to blame when things went wrong.
"And in case you didn't know," Ritsuko started, her voice low and barely restrained, "the cold wave did not dissipate immediately, it moved north-east through the Pacific current. In short, the western North American coast is now expecting the worst hurricane season since the post-Second Impact catastrophes; that could've been us," her eyes were hard and her voice was filled with contempt. Still no retort, so she continued: "And despite your unfortunate decision-making in regards to evacuating the city in such an untimely manner, at least Shinji had the good sense to avoid most infrastructure during the fight. And like I said, when all is said and done, his brain will heal, so I hope you'll forgive me for being optimistic about the situation."
Ritsuko finished her coffee and aggressively threw the container to the nearest trashcan before walking back to her office. Misato stayed behind, she huffed and shifted her weight. Her lip trembled, and for a few seconds no words would come out.
"Just... Tell him to come to my office when you're done," the Captain spat before walking purposefully to the elevators.
Ritsuko nodded without stopping and closed the door behind her.
Shinji sat in the classroom enjoying lunch with Toji and Kensuke. After a few days of therapy, Ritsuko had decided that attending school would be the best way to reacclimate him to the habit of reading. He'd be except from reading out loud during class and could turn in written exercises at a later date, but it the whole thing was still painful, both physically and metaphorically. The three friends had presently joined their desks in a haphazard triangle formation. Kensuke placed a family-sized bag of chips in the middle for all to enjoy, so Toji pulled a big one and grinned before inserting it whole into his mouth and biting down on it with a loud crunch.
"These taste like trash but I can't stop eating them, I don't know how they do it," he said with his mouth still full.
"Probably all the MSG," Kensuke said as he held a chip in front of him. Its unnatural, almost glowing red dusting earned it a suspicious look from the boy. "It's pure chemical flavor. No one knows for sure if it's bad for you or not, a bit of a 'too good to be true' kind of situation."
"Well you know what they say, 'what you don't know can't hurt you'," Toji replied before grabbing a fistful of chips and practically slapping himself on the face with it.
"I don't think it works like that." He laughed at the sight of Toji's contorted mouth. "What about you Shinji, do you like 'em chips?'"
"Yeah, sure," Shinji replied while holding his chin with his hand. He was turned to his left, looking at a certain someone's empty desk.
"Okay Shinji, spit it out, what's the problem?" Toji gave him the look, which meant that he was, in his words, 'being mopey again'.
"A lot of people skipped class today, uh, Ayanami too. The cold got to her pretty bad last time I saw her, so I was just thinking... I wonder if she's sick right now."
"Now that you mention it, this place was even more empty yesterday." Kensuke looked around the classroom, at least a fourth of their classmates were absent. "And to think the weather would just go back to normal within a few days, no one can prepare for something like that."
Toji perked up at the topic and shuffled in his chair before saying, "The Class Rep told me they're struggling to maintain the fields around the city. Her relatives own some of the local farms near Odawara, and she says that just removing the failed crops is gonna set them back for months."
"Sounds rough," Kensuke said and he slumped on his desk, arms in front of him. "I guess I'm lucky that my dad works at NERV. As long as there's more angels coming–"
"Hah! Gotcha!" Toji jumped off his chair, almost toppling it over, and pointed at Kensuke with a smug grin. "We had a deal: no mechs, no military, no angel talk! Now, gimme that camcorder, you dweeb." He stretched his arm and put his hand in front of Kensuke's face, gesturing towards him.
"Hey it's not fair, you brought it up!" He straightened.
"Whatever, loser. Come on!"
"Hey, wait," Shinji said, making both friends stop and look at him. "Since when do you hang out with the class rep?" Toji inhaled sharply and looked around. Kensuke gave him a conspiratorial look.
"Ah, well, you know. It doesn't matter! We just talk sometimes." He sat back down, arms crossed. "Whatever, I guess I did bring it up this time, let's just forget about it, okay?"
Shinji and Kensuke laughed.
Shinji walked up the dingy stairs. Surprisingly, the empty can of beans was still in the same spot. He'd been tasked by the teacher to bring Ayanami's homework to her, seeing as he was the only person to know where she lived. The teacher also told Hikari to accompany him to her apartment—he was a boy, after all. But before she joined him, Toji had somehow convinced her to let him go by himself, something he was annoyingly eager to inform Shinji about with an obvious wink and a nudge.
But despite the situation, Shinji had to admit he was pleased. After a series of blunders it seemed his relationship with Rei was slowly but steadily improving, and now he could find out whether she had fallen ill.
"Ayanami?" The door creaked and Shinji slowly let himself in. "It's me, Shinji!" He walked in slowly and fretted at the possibility of her not being home. Given how filthy the floor still was, and assuming she wouldn't mind, he decided to keep his shoes on this time. He swallowed as he peeked around the corner at the kitchen and bathroom area, unsure of whether he'd rather find her there or not. He didn't.
'Guess I can just leave these here, then.' He sighed and pulled a pencil and pack of flash cards from his bag and ripped one off from the ring to make a note, writing slowly to make sure the words matched his muscle memory. It was a bold thing to write to her, relatively speaking, but not having to do so in person made it significantly easier.
Looking for a surface to place the note and folder, he saw a familiar oval shape on the drawer. A knot formed in his stomach. He walked toward it slowly, almost as if expecting it to burn his hand if he touched it. He grabbed the glasses case and flipped it open. It contained exactly what he expected.
He frowned at his broken reflection. No matter how close he got to Ayanami, she had gotten much closer to his father than he ever did. It dawned on him that neither of them were there when he was in the hospital for over a day. No one was. At least Misato had the decency to stick around and pick him up when he was discharged. But then again, she was his guardian, maybe it was just part of the job, as she once mentioned.
Shinji grimaced. He hated the ease with which his mood could be shattered in an instant. And to make matters worse, his self-pity made him hate the fact that he hated it. The good old downward spiral.
Wanting to get away from it all, he dropped the note and hastily ran out of the apartment, hearing the door slam closed by the high floor winds in the distance as he recklessly ran down the stairs. Once he was a few paces from the train station, he realized he'd run away still carrying Ayanami's homework.
"Whatever," he murmured as he entered the station.
"That will be all for today, Rei. Remember to come my office for your prescription before you leave."
"Yes, Doctor," Rei replied through the screen.
Ritsuko wrote on her clipboard while glancing back and forth at the terminal monitors. She saw Rei stand up from the pilot seat and how her legs trembled slightly as she did. The girl put a palm to her temple and blinked. Two hours in the Artificial Evolution lab and three more performing combat testing would exhaust any person, but it was still a somewhat pleasant surprise for Ritsuko to see her acting like one for a change.
"What do you think, Doctor?" Maya asked.
"She'll be fine, she's gone through worse," she replied while still taking notes.
"Oh, I meant about the combat test results."
Ritsuko didn't miss a beat, but her eyes were a little frantic. "The pylon launch system need to be recalibrated; the pilot struggled to catch the progressive knife in mid-air several times," she said and walked to Maya's station to input some commands. A log detailing the arc, angle, force, and impulse of the progressive knife during testing was shown on screen.
"My best guess is that we can decrease the voltage in servos A through F and let the gyroscope compensate for it. Sorry, I meant servos C through H... I need another coffee." She pinched the bridge of her nose. She lowered her clipboard and dug through her lab coat for change. "Do you need something from the vending machine?"
"I'm good, Doctor, thanks," Maya said with a smile.
After returning, Ritsuko brought an office chair and sat beside the technician. They curated and organized the raw data from the tests to more efficiently feed it to the Magi's arcane predictive analysis system. This meant staring at very few lines of code for minutes at a time to remove any possible trace of human error.
Maya's sight grew tired. When she glanced at Ritsuko, the doctor's eyes were so narrow they were almost closed.
"Doctor, if you don't mind me asking, how long have you been working for today?"
"Today? More like, since yesterday morning, maybe earlier," She chuckled.
"Shouldn't you take a nap at least? the lounge area in my floor is always empty during weekdays."
"Thanks for the concern, Maya, but we have to finish refitting Unit-00 with this equipment first. We can't keep depending on Unit-01 alone to deal with the attacks, especially with an injured pilot. I'll take a few days off after we're done here," Ritsuko said.
"Well, I understand. It's just... Take care of yourself, alright?" She put a hand on top of hers. Ritsuko's eyebrows raised in surprise but she didn't pull away. "I... Will," she replied while turning to face Maya, their gaze fixed on each other.
"Doctor Akagi," Rei called behind her, and Ritsuko almost jumped off her chair. The girl was barely a foot away from the two women and she seemed to be looking intently at their previous interaction. Maya resumed typing almost frantically.
"Seriously, Ayanami, you're gonna give me a heart attack. Please knock next time."
Rei looked over her shoulder for a moment, the door was wide open.
"Yes, Doctor."
Ritsuko sighed and pulled two small bottles from her coat. "Here. You may return home now." She offered them to her. Rei silently took them, bowed slightly, and left.
"I'm home!" Shinji called as he removed his shoes. It had taken him an extra hour and a half to return to the apartment because, as it turns out, it can be pretty difficult to navigate a major metropolis' subway system when you're only able to read a few words per minute. After missing his stop for the third time, he'd started to wonder if Section Two might just have mercy on him and appear out of nowhere to give him a ride home, but of course they didn't care.
He walked towards his room, deciding that a hot bath would be just the ticket to clear his mind, but out in his periphery a flash of cyan and red froze him in place.
"Ayanami! What are you doing here? I mean, it's okay if you're here, just curious, heh." He turned his head but otherwise stood unmoving. She'd kept her shoes on inside the apartment.
"Ikari. Do you have my homework?" She asked. Her impassive face had subtle hints of exhaustion.
"Ah, yes... Sure, one second." He rummaged through his school bag and produced a green folder. He remembered the resentment he felt towards her earlier in the day and realized it had just evaporated in an instant. 'Goddamit', he thought.
"Here," he said and handed it to her. It seemed bigger in her small hands.
"Hey, Shinji!" Misato entered the room, beer in hand. "I was about to leave HQ and Rei here had just finished her combat drills so I thought I'd give her a ride."
"The Captain requested that I aid you with your homework, given your present condition," Rei added.
"Well, that too. Sounds fair to me, don't you think?" she shrugged before pilfering the fridge for a can and opening it with one hand. "You kids have fun, I'll drive you home at seven, Rei." She went to her room, sliding the door closed behind her. Shinji looked at Misato's door and then at Rei while an awkward chuckle escaped him for no reason.
Rei blinked once. "Shall we begin?"
Shinji sat in the kitchen table and Rei entered the room with her school bag shortly after. She placed it by her chair and held down the end of her skirt to sit close beside him, worsening his usual skittishness. Going through the same pages, she'd some times have to underline the words in his textbook with her index finger to guide him through the content. But what truly kept him from working efficiently was their subtler interactions: a shoulder bump, their hands brushing past each other, her uncanny scarlet stare piercing through him when she asked him a question; Shinji was too keenly aware of these things for his own comfort. He noticed the puffiness in her eyes.
"Ikari, are you unwell? You seem distracted."
"Ah, my eyes are tired. I think I need a break." Technically, it wasn't a lie. "Would you like some tea?"
"That'd be agreeable," she replied and nodded minutely. She placed a blank bookmark on the page, closed her textbook and put it to the side.
Shinji stood up and began filling the kettle. After placing it on the stovetop and turning it on, he returned to his chair and shuffled in it uncomfortably before settling for resting his hands flat on the table and staring at the gap between them.
"Sorry for having to help me. It's not cool for Misato to force you to do it."
"You're mistaken."
"Huh?" He turned to her.
"As I said, the Captain requested I aid you, she did not order me to do so."
"I see. I guess that makes me glad," he murmured with a shy smile.
"Glad? Why?" She cocked her head.
"Ah, well, you said you enjoyed my company, back in your apartment. At first, I have to admit I didn't really believe you, ah, sorry for that." He fiddled with his fingers. "But now I do, and I don't want to... ruin that. I don't want to be annoying." His eyes remained glued to the table. He could feel Rei's stare, but somehow it didn't feel like she was being judgmental.
She raised her hand and, after a moment of hesitation, slowly lay it on top of his, startling him. He silently searched her eyes for an explanation as she stared at their joined hands for a few seconds before looking back at him and saying in a mellow tone:
"I understand."
"Ayanami–"
The sudden whistling of the tea kettle made him pull his hand. He stood up and walked to the cabinet for a pair of cups, hoping against hope that the deep blush he was surely sporting would fade by the time he returned to the table.
He set the cups, lifted the kettle and carefully served the tea.
"So, uh, how did your sync test go? I hope the Eva cages weren't too cold."
"I performed today's combat drills at the testing cages in the lower floors. The temperature was back to the expected range for the time of year."
"Oh," Shinji said and sipped on his cup. He hoped to have more to add once he swallowed, but nothing came to mind for a while. Rei did the same.
"My unit, it's been fitted with shoulder pylons."
"Yeah?" He asked.
"Yes."
They settled into a silence that fluctuated in terms of comfort, at least for Shinji. The apartment was still relatively cool, so the tea was particularly warm and cozy. He turned at the clink of her cup landing on the table. She blinked slowly. Shinji stared with overt fascination as her eyes slowly fluttered closed and her breathing slowed down. He placed his cup on the table as well and watched as her head drooped until her chin rested on her clavicle. Eventually, he saw her start to slump forward and panicked, but he fortunately had the reflexes to stop her head with his open hand before her forehead slammed on the table. Apparently, this didn't wake her. He swiped aside the cup and plate in front of her with his other forearm and slowly lowered her head to the surface.
Shinji frowned. It wasn't the first time Rei had skipped class to spend the day at NERV performing additional sync tests and combat drills. This meant she was basically working twice as much him. The mere thought of going through such gauntlet almost made him feel tired. And here she was, helping him do his homework after performing her duty diligently (as always) and being so exhausted she'd just fallen asleep in her chair. The prospect of being jealous of her involvement with NERV and his father started to feel silly. If this was the treatment one would get from being in the Commander's good graces, maybe it was better that he wasn't.
Walking silently to the laundry room, he returned with a small blanket and draped it over her shoulders. She hummed contentedly and her back relaxed. Like being on the edge of a steep cliff and having one's body almost want to jump on its own, Shinji felt a strange urge to run his fingers through her hair, but ultimately decided against it.
'I really am a creep, sheesh.'
He sat beside her and finished his homework on his own. It was a slow process, but still manageable. After a few minutes, a hissing sound made him perk up towards the living room.
"Shinji, psst!" Misato whispered and gestured for him to follow her. He slowly stood up, lifted the chair to push it back, and tiptoed to Misato's room.
"What is it?" He barely got in when Misato stretched her arm and slid the door close behind him.
"Okay, first of all, she's so freaking cute! You'd almost forget she acts like a robot!" She whispered amusedly. He frowned at her comment and looked behind her, and the amount of empty beer cans strewn on the floor made him worry.
"Misato! Don't–" He began but stopped as soon as he looked her in the eye. Remembering their talk, he slouched and looked to the side.
"Y-yeah, I guess she is. She is... Cute. Okay?" He said, and the red on his cheeks returned.
"Was that so hard?" She asked and rested her hands on her knees, like a football player brainstorming their next move. "Alright, here's what we're gonna do. We need to know if she trusts you, so why don't you ask her if she knows about the coming angels?"
"What?! Why?" He frowned and looked back at her.
"What do you mean 'why'? There's a chance your father told her about it. And plus, if she didn't know, now she will. Don't you think she deserves to know? You guys are the ones piloting the Evas."
"Yeah, I know that," Shinji said. He stood still for a moment, thinking. "I mean, I guess. But are you sure? Won't you get in trouble if my father finds out?" He asked and she waved her hand dismissively in response.
"Well, don't tell her about Kaji, and definitely don't tell her what I told you. You're just pilots trading some intel, you know? Even before all of this we knew some angels would be coming. Ah, and just leave your father to me, I'll handle him." She puffed her chest and pressed her thumb against it.
"Okay, if you say so."
"Ikari?" Rei rubbed her eyes and slowly sat back up. She pulled her arms up and her spine popped in a very satisfying manner. "What time is it?"
Shinji turned over his shoulder, he was wearing an apron and chopping vegetables on the kitchen counter.
"Oh, hey Ayanami. It's six forty five... I think." He glanced at the wall clock and pointed at it with his knife.
"It is almost seven, yes." She said and began putting away her textbook and homework.
"Yeah, about that. I think Misato is uh... Indisposed," he said with a nervous smile.
She headed for the door. "I will take the train then, what station–" he caught up to her, blocking her path.
"Ah but, would you like to stay for dinner? Y'know, as thanks for helping me... And I'm sure she'll be up by then," he asked. Shinji then realized he was still holding the knife as he physically blocked her only possible exit route. But if that was a bad look, it didn't seem to register as such for her.
She stared at him momentarily. "I am hungry. Very well." She nodded and slowly returned to the kitchen. Shinji sighed in relief. 'What the heck am I doing?'
After a few minutes of boiling, the potatoes were soft enough for Shinji to reduce the heat and start incorporating the softer, leafy greens. Rei had quickly finished the rest of her homework in silence and was now sitting with her hands on her lap, following Shinji's movements as he cooked. The tiniest of frowns formed on her face.
"Ikari"
"Hmm?"
"I cannot join you for dinner."
"Huh? why?" He turned. The overt disappointment in his voice made him slightly embarrassed.
"I do not eat meat." She said while staring at the pot.
"Oh... Wait, don't worry. I think we have some soybeans," he said and walked to the fridge. He searched around and produced a bag of the stuff. "I have more stock, and I could make you some tofu if you'd like."
"Don't bother." She said. His shoulders sagged.
Realizing how that might've come off, she rephrased: "You shouldn't inconvenience yourself for my sake."
"Ah, it's no problem!" The light returned to his eyes. "It'll be done right away," he said and immediately got to work.
Rei felt conflicted. The eagerness with which he wanted to please her was so alien to her. It was endearing, caring and sweet. But from a small, dark place in her mind came the notion that it was also bit... pathetic. The Commander would never do that. She decided to suppress the last part of her train of thought and to focus on pleasing him by letting him please her.
A few minutes later, Shinji dipped the soft block of congealing tofu in a bowl of cold water. It would only be half an hour before dinner was served and Rei would go home shortly afterwards, yet he still hadn't asked her about the angels. He walked back to the sink and washed his hands, dried them with the kitchen towel, and returned to his chair. Since there seemed to be no way to breach the topic organically, Shinji decided to just go for it:
"Ayanami."
"Yes?"
"The angel attack..." He started and drifted off. Her gaze had sharpened, but she waited for him to continue.
"Have you ever thought about why the angels attack us?"
"That is their purpose. Ours is to stop them."
"Yes, I know, but... Have you ever wondered why? Does NERV even know? They don't tell us anything."
"They tell us what is necessary for us to know."
His eyes narrowed.
"And what do you know?"
"I cannot tell," she said. He looked away. If he hadn't broken eye contact so soon, he would've noticed her doing the same.
His expression softened. He thought about prying further, but it might be too suspicious to do so.
"I understand," is all he could muster to say.
In the end, Misato, Shinji and Rei shared an amicable dinner. Misato was quieter than her usual rambunctious self, but if something was bugging her, Shinji would wait until they were by themselves to ask. There was also the chance that she somehow knew he'd failed in his mission.
A few minutes later, he lay in the bathtub, hoping Rei would arrive home in one piece. He'd finally gotten the hot bath he wanted, and it was one of the rare moments where he actually appreciated being left alone. As he leaned back, the tenderness still present on the back of his head reminded him of his situation. According to Dr. Akagi, it'd be a few weeks before he regained the ability to read normally again, so all he could do was hope he was back to normal before the next angel appeared. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. He'd have all the time in the world to worry about the future, but for the next few minutes, he'd try to relax and enjoy himself.
When Rei arrived at her apartment, it was immediately obvious to her that someone had broken in. This came with some confusion, as she would expect Section Two to report any incidents involving the pilot's quarters. The only other possibility was that the Commander had somehow decided to let himself in while she was away. Shrugging it off as something she wasn't in any place to question, she removed her clothes and walked straight to bed. She felt a stray piece of paper stick to her foot. She peeled it off and brought it in front of her, and as she read it, a tiny smile formed on her lips.
"Here's your homework. You are missed in school. -Ikari, S."
Misato sat on the floor with her legs crossed. She faced the phone on her nightstand, a single blinking red light keeping her gaze. She'd put this off for the entire day, it was part of the reason why she was still drinking this late in the first place.
She pressed the button and shrunk, preparing for impact.
"Hey Katsuragi. This is a secure line, I hope. Everything's been arranged. Asuka will arrive on Friday, they will tell you within the next few days if they haven't already. If everything goes to plan, I'll be able to return to Japan shortly after that.
"What NERV won't tell you, because they don't know, is that Unit-02's arrival will change the game completely. There'll be no doubt in the committee's mind that something is up with their plans, and we might be able to use the chaos to our advantage, but I'm still working out the details on that."
Misato sighed. She hated how much she'd missed his voice. She started to wonder if the message was already over, when:
"But there's something even more important I should tell you. It's about Ritsuko. I thought it'd be pretty poor timing to tell you during my visit, I thought it would be a good idea to let you think the situation over for a bit beforehand, but maybe that was the wrong call."
"You probably hate Ritsuko right now. I wouldn't blame you. And if my intel is correct, the lengths she'd be willing to go through to aid the Commander in whatever the hell he's planning make me very disappointed in her. But this is precisely why I think you shouldn't give up on her." The voice ringed through the room. Misato bit her thumb.
"Don't forget who pulled us out of the hole in the past—now it's our turn to return the favor. And If we can get her on our side... Man, that'd just make things so much easier."
"Anyways, take care, Katsuragi, I hope to see you soon."
The red light died out after a beep. Misato scoffed. 'I couldn't hate her', she thought. After a few minutes of staring at the phone she groaned and went to bed. With some luck, tomorrow would suck less.
Author's notes: Thank you for reading my story so far. I dislike verbose author's notes, so I'll keep them brief, i.e.: few chapters will have them. I do read and appreciate any and all reviews, they motivate me to continue writing, so thank you. This is going to be a long story, so forgive me for tagging Asuka as a main character despite her not appearing for the first few chapters. Regardless, that's about to change very soon. Until next time.