The Being known as the Third Angel, now classified as Sachiel, stood there, its body twisted and warped by the might of the N2 mine, silently watching the Evangelion as it took its first few faltering steps into the world. If any of the sensors used by NERV or any other human agency had the capability of translating the multi-dimensional being's reaction to watching the mightiest war machine mankind had to offer fall flat on its face like a drunken baby, they would have heard a roaring, laugh, a jolly, but still incredulous sound. As the current technology used by man was incapable of doing such a translation, the audio pickups only recorded the echoes of the Evangelion smashing into the concrete. Inside the entry plug, Shinji grabbed his face and moaned in pain, not understanding why his nose felt like it was both broken and not broken at the same time. As the Angel loomed overhead, blocking out everything else, Shinji began to scream in terror and shock.
Sachiel seemed to regard the fallen Evangelion momentarily, before picking it up by wrapping one massive hand around the front of the helmet. Reaching up with its other hand, it grabbed one of his arms and began to pull at the limb as if it wanted to rip it from the body at the shoulder, twisting it in every direction possible. Growing bored of this, it suddenly... flexed its muscles in its arm, but not in the manner of any terrestrial beast, but by simply moving more muscles into the arm. Once the arm had bulked up enough to its liking, it snapped the Evangelion's arm in half.
Shinji began screaming louder than before, his eyes screwed shut in pain as he grasped his arm in sympathetic pain and agony, his unprecedented first-time synchronization score of 42% coming around to bite him in the rear. He could barely make out the shouts coming from the speakers, the voices sounding small and tinny, as if they were far, far away. If he had not been submerged in the LCL, he would have screamed himself hoarse.
A long bone-like protrusion slid out at where its elbow analog was, glowing a malevolent pink as energy poured into it, sapped from the very air around it. It slammed right back into its arm and out the hand holding onto the Evangelion's face. The entire robot shook violently, and Shinji clutched at his eye now, no longer making any sounds resembling anything other than a whimpering gurgle. Finally, the armor casing broke under the continued onslaught, and the massive spike shot through the Evangelion's head, ripping through the eye, the brain, and then out the back of the bio-mechanical giant's skull. Releasing its hold on Unit-01, it reached up with one leg and kicked mankind's only hope off the spike and into a building. Dismissing the wrecked giant from its mind, it turned to begin the assault on Tokyo-3 anew.
Blood and coolant sprayed forth from the head wound, and oozed out of the shattered arm. Shinji couldn't hear anything from the speakers now, his ears filled with a massive, skull-splitting ringing, and as he closed his eyes in pain, slumping down in the seat, so did Unit-01 slump down across the ruined front of the skyscraper that had arrested its tumble.
Rei paused the video playback and then turned her attention to the television set sitting next to it, fast-forwarding through the recording to a point right before Angel picked up Unit-01 from the street. Pressing play, she watched the recording of the NERV control room, as Captain Katsuragi and Dr. Akagi tried to salvage the situation.
Through the window in her hospital room's door, Gendo watched Rei sitting in her bed. Eight televisions stood before her, each with a recording of the monumental battle from a different vantage point and location. He turned to Dr. Akagi, allowing himself the excess of a raised eyebrow as he silently asked her the question.
"She's been watching the battle for hours. According to her Section 2 nurse, she pulled herself out of bed at three in the morning, apparently to go look for recordings of Shinji's fight. She insisted that she watch the films, so she could study how he won so she could be prepared for fights in the future. Her nurse convinced her to stay in bed, and that she would get her a television and a recording of the fight. After watching it, she demanded the rest of what you see there. She watched each of the recordings straight through, back to back, and then started skipping around on multiple ones to different points and watching them in tandem, or focusing on specific points. I'm not sure what she's trying to get out of all this. When I came up to check on her this morning and found out about it all, I contacted you. This is way outside her normal behavior. I have to admit I'm at a loss to explain it."
Gendo frowned slightly and again turned his attention to the pale girl, who was focused with laser-like intensity on three of the screens now, as the recorded 1LT Ibuki cried out that the pulses were flowing backward and the control connections were being refused. Gendo had never seen Rei pay so much attention to anything before. It was... unsettling, to say the least. He could believe she wanted to learn how to best fight the Angels, for that was part of her purpose, but this seemed a little overboard for the girl. The last time she had gotten anywhere near this... obsessive over something she had burned down the apartment building she had been living in, down here in the Geo-Front. That had been what caused him to relocate her to surface, and attend school. It wasn't fair to the girl to keep her all cooped up, with no outlet for the energy he knew she hid from the world. So far it had appeared it had worked, for there had been no repeat of her demolishing a concrete and steel structure. Still, it was why he had her living in the rundown complex in the east district; if she burned that one down too, nobody would really notice or care. It also helped to isolate her somewhat and keep her still pliant to the ultimate needs of his plan.
He mentally shrugged. If she wanted to obsess over the fight, he would indulge her. She needed a hobby of some sort, and if it helped defeat the enemies of mankind, so much the better. At least she didn't demand much of his time and attention to keep her pliant, unlike certain other people in his plan. He glanced at Dr. Akagi out of the corner of his eye as she tried to look like she was trying not to fidget in what she thought was quiet and adorable way. He didn't understand what about him it was that drove the Akagi women to want him the way both generations had. But if he paid enough attention to her, hopefully, she wouldn't chuck herself over the railing in the control room like her mother had after strangling the first Rei. He wasn't sure why Naoko had murdered the young girl, a mystery which continued to defy rational explanation. The security system back then was not the sophisticated array of cameras and microphones they used today. It was something that would bother him for the rest of his life, even if he didn't voice his concern to anyone but his old professor. While Ritsuko clearly wasn't fond of Rei, at least she didn't show any murderous tendencies. It was probably the whole power thing, he mused as they walked along the hallways. Naoko hadn't been particularly interested in him until he had secured a major coup, firmly securing GERHIN's place and setting the base of power for his scenario. She had been the one who had set him and Yui up on their first blind date. She had never beaten around the bush about her feelings about things and people before, so it was unlikely she had harbored anything for him while he and Yui met, and then eventually started dating, and then got married.
He decided to bite the bullet and ask her if she wanted to go to dinner tonight. He knew she knew that he didn't love her, and he only saw her to keep her happy; while he knew she knew, he also knew that she didn't care and delighted in their "romantic" dinners. Why she couldn't seek her fun elsewhere, he wasn't certain but he suspected she liked having a modicum of control, no matter how illusionary, over one of the most powerful men in the world. But, if this was the price he had to pay to save mankind, it was a paltry sum compared to the things he needed to do to others to keep things moving smoothly.
If he could keep the worst things to directly, personally ruining the lives of four children, he would count himself blessed. If he had to murder entire nations to ensure SEELE's goals did not come to fruition, he would count himself lucky.
As her commander and her nemesis discussed dinner plans, Rei paused the recordings as Unit-01 reactivated despite the lack of external power and the depleted internal batteries. She frowned, despite muscle memory trying to keep her mouth in a smooth line.
Something is not right here. Something is very, very wrong. The monitor shows a sync ratio of 00%. That's not a real number for the display. Single digits are not shown with a leading zero, and a score of 100% would read as one hundred, and not as double zeros. I do not think that anyone noticed this, as they are all focused on the fact that Unit-01 is already doing something that should be impossible as opposed to being merely massively improbable. Perhaps it is a sensor error? It would be easy to explain it away as this is the first time an Evangelion has been deployed in battle, and it is a test bed unit, after all. She blinked.
It's an infinite sync ratio! He released himself completely! He became the Evangelion! Is this repeatable? Can this be duplicated? Did he consciously do this? Improbable. He's never seen Unit-01 before. Being able to shed his ego border and become the Evangelion should have been impossible for a first-time pilot. Perhaps he is not a first-time pilot? That would explain his unusual sync score. I was made for this, and I only had a 12% score my first time in Unit-00. But when would he have piloted? Unit-01 has never before left this facility, and he has never been here while I have been here. Also, his estrangement and negative attitude towards the Commander would be at odds with someone who had piloted before, and his insistent remarks about never having seen it before add more evidence to his not being a pilot. While she did not understand his outburst, it seemed sincere.
Red eyes brightened as a new thought struck her.
Hypothesis: Pilot Ikari is a time traveler, or a dimensional traveler, and has either come back in time from the future, or from another dimension or reality, a parallel world, to this point. Perhaps Third Impact occurred in his timeline, or world, and he either was accidentally or purposely sent back here, in order to halt said impact. Unfortunately, this is very unlikely. His shock at seeing the Evangelion was real, he was not acting. Also, if he had prior experience, his battle should have ended sooner, and he should not have initially refused the Commander.
However, what about the fact that Unit-01's arm broke free of its restraints and shielded him from falling debris? There was no entry plug inserted, and the signal terminator should have kept any radio waves or electromagnetic waves or pulse from entering the system, even if the Evangelion could be remotely controlled in such a way. Did he release his ego border enough to protect himself from harm? Was he both Unit-01 and Pilot Ikari at the same time, in two different locations? Would that work?
I should attempt to sync with Unit-00 from outside the Evangelion in the future. If a normal human can do it, an engineered being, made especially to pilot the Evangelions, and has already provided proof of concept for soul transference to different bodies, should be able to do so.
If remote synchronization with an Evangelion unit is possible for me, could activation of multiple clone bodies at the same time with a singular consciousness also be possible?
If Ikari is indeed a post-Third Impact personage, his knowledge would be invaluable to the Cause. Perhaps he is unsure of his own plans here. Or, Unit-01 is different in shape and armaments from what he used before. That would account for his hesitation, surprise at the sight of the unit, and his poor form in the opening parts of the battle.
Narrowing her eyes, Rei ceased frowning as she turned the thoughts around in her head, reconsidering them and her initial evaluations of Pilot Ikari. None of this makes sense. How can one prove Pilot Ikari is a time traveler? How does one ascertain this? If he is moving at cross purposes to the Commander, he cannot be allowed to continue. However, if he is not a traveler, and is merely doing Science and testing his Hypothesis, or even if he is just a frightened child, any sort of test that would cause him to reveal prior knowledge he should not have would render him useless to me. It would render him useless to the Commander.
Note to self: Determine if continued and prolonged physical contact with Pilot Ikari reproduces sensations of warmth and fuzziness. Ensure all pain-killing medications have been processed out of the body first before attempting the Experiment.
The Commander should be appraised of the possibility Pilot Ikari is a time traveler. However, this could cause him to become incarcerated, and would not be available for or receptive to experiments. Test data would be skewed. This is unacceptable. Further analysis of the time-traveling hypothesis is required and will be placed on the shelf for now, no matter how appealing the idea is. It is much more likely that Ikari is like me, or one of the children from school.
Rei's attention was captured by the pinging sound of the intercom on the room's telephone.
"Rei?" The Commander's voice filled the room with its even tone and cadence. "If you are capable of independent movement, report to my office."
Her response was immediate and carried with it the sounds of an excited girl on her birthday. "Yes sir. I will be there as soon as possible." As she spoke, she flipped the televisions off, getting out of bed. No matter what, even if she had not been capable of independent movement, she would have reported to his office. The Commander was to be obeyed in all things. Sliding her feet into her slippers, she threw on the lab coat she had pilfered from the warehouse years ago. Grabbing her IV caddy, she left the room.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Dr. Akagi looked over the banks of computer displays showing Shinji's current status levels. So far, everything was looking good, with no apparent abnormalities. He had reached the third stage of synchronization with no issues, unlike a similar test two weeks ago with Rei. However, given his successful synchronization with Unit-01 in the fight with the Third Angel, this came with little fanfare. Shinji would not have been happy whatsoever to hear Rei's horrific injuries had been caused by this same test, but she had glossed over that part in her brief to him this morning.
Misato came up alongside her, watching the video display from the camera mounted facing the pilot's seat. Shinji looked dead tired, with dark circles under his eyes.
"He hasn't been sleeping well has he, Misato?" Ritsuko asked her friend. "A byproduct of your cooking?"
Misato shot a dirty look at the blond scientist. "Actually, he's doing most of the cooking now. He lost out when we split up the chores. He really sucks at rock, paper, scissors. I think he's having PTSD induced nightmares. We had similar issues with some of the troops back in my old armor unit. I actually wanted to ask you about how you were planning on administering his sleep meds and his anti-depressants. I don't think he'll be as receptive as Rei to just taking pills. He mopes about whenever we're at home and isn't interested in going anywhere after the tests are done unless he needs to buy food or cleaning supplies. He closes himself up in his room and listens to that SDAT of his. Where did he get a new one? I didn't know he had it in his pocket until after we recovered him. It was destroyed by the LCL."
Ritsuko raised an eyebrow at Misato, smirking slightly as she recorded data onto her clipboard. "Everything not working out like you thought? What about your cheery demeanor? It's not bringing him up out of his funk, and now you're having second thoughts? That would explain the lower sync ratio though." She tapped her pen against the display, which read at a paltry 25%. "He's way down from before. We were considering telling him the pills are a vitamin series to help him. Hopefully, once the initial phase of tests and familiarization exercises are finished, he'll start to feel better. He'll be entered into the school on the surface, with Rei. It's done wonders for her, allowing her to socialize, as much as she does at any rate, and keep her feeling connected to the people she's fighting to protect. Otherwise, he might want to leave, and we can't let that happen. He's been tried in combat, and he came out a winner, even if it was at a cost." She poked 1LT Ibuki in the shoulder with her pen. "Maya, can you run him through the weapon and power plug resupply point exercise? Once you're done, transition into targeting practice with the Mk. 3 Pallet Rifle."
"Yes ma'am!"1LT Ibuki smiled up at her mentor before focusing on the task given to her, opening up a communications line to the Eva-Simulator Body. "Okay, Shinji, do you remember what we talked about yesterday? Tell me where you can obtain a resupply of ammunition for the Mk. 1 Patriot Launcher?" Her smile quickly turned into a frown as Shinji replied, his voice tired and worn.
"The Patriot missiles can be gotten at Junction 4A, from the small building next to the bowling alley," Shinji replied from rote memory, having had the locations for a wide variety of weapon supply points and power socket locations drilled into him over the past three days.
"Come on, Shinji, perk up! Once we're done with this, you'll get to shoot in the simulator! You boys like to shoot guns, right? You'll be shooting some of the largest munitions available to mankind! Lots of people would love to have a chance to do that, right, Aoba?" She turned her head over to 1LT Shigeru, silently mouthing at him to help her out. Shaking his head and rolling his eyes, he opened his communication line to Shinji's plug.
"That's right! If you want, just to put it in perspective, I'll take you to the actual range we have for our small arms training, and let you see the difference. It can be a lot of fun, Shinji."
"If you say so." Shinji's reply was non-committal, but his sync ratio jumped a few points before dropping down again, but it was higher than before. "What... what would we be shooting?"
Aoba smiled and shot Maya a high-five. The kid was biting... now all they needed to do was reel him in. "Well, the basic issue sidearm issued to NERV Technicians is a 9mm pistol, but I've also got a .45 automatic we can use. If you like those, we might have Section 2 bring us some rifles, and you can compare the human-sized thing to your pallet gun. Does that sound good?"
While Shinji appeared to like the idea some, Maya was less than enthused. Muting her line, she hissed at the long-haired tech. "What are you thinking? The Commander might let us get away with letting him shoot our pistols, but he won't let him near the heavier stuff!"
Aoba wasn't too sure of her argument. "He won't care. I mean, three years without any communication with the kid, and then he summons him here, has one conversation with him, and then nothing else? He won't even notice."
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
The elderly Sub-Commander smirked as they watched the conversation the young lieutenants were having. "Will you notice, Gendo? Will you notice that your son is practicing shooting a rifle? Will it be your face he imagines at the top of the target?" He looked at his friend, sitting at his desk with his hands folded over the lower half of his face.
"I'll be the first to admit the idea of the Third Child practicing with small arms is not one that would let me sleep well at night, but I don't think he hates me enough to want to kill me. Shout at me, demand to know why I have abandoned him, why I have thrown his life into chaos, all these yes and perhaps more, but he still loves me. And he wouldn't kill his father. He's not that type of person. He's much better than that. I do think he will need a friend before he goes to school though. He obviously cares about Rei, and I think she might have some budding feelings for him if her little television episode this morning is anything to go by."
Kozo chuckled at the thought of a clinically withdrawn girl and a boy with abandonment issues being friends. "Trying to make up for the fact that life's events have gone a little too much to your script for them? These children are damaged goods, Gendo. You knew this when you started out, you even planned for it to happen. You broke them, and you'll not be done until they are nothing but dust. You're the one who convinced me of what must be done. You're the one who convinced us all. It's far too late to be having second thoughts about this."
Gendo sighed, dropping his hands as he buried his face in his arms on the desk. I know that. I know what's at stake. I know they won't have a happy ending, no "and they lived happily ever after". But even if it's just temporary, no matter how fleeting, I would like him to have some measure of happiness that won't threaten the security of the scenario. What is at stake is much more important than just them. They will save the world in more ways than one. And if we're very, very lucky, they might live through it. That's what I hope for. But I'm not planning on it. It might be kinder for them to die in the end.
"It's frustrating to know that we've won, though the long war still needs to be fought. Especially since it depends on us keeping a few specific pieces in play. You might be able to plan for everything, but you can't prepare for it all."
Their conversation came to a halt as the entry bell chimed. After snapping back into their positions, Gendo unlocked the door with the switch from his desk. He smiled at Rei as she hobbled in, half dragging her IV, half using it as a crutch. "Hello Rei. How are you feeling today?"
Rei smiled back at the Commander, keeping it brief due to the presence of the Sub-Commander. "I am healing on schedule. Dr. Akagi does not believe the incident in the Evangelion cage caused permanent damage. I should be fully healed in twenty-two days."
"That is good to hear. Are you keeping up with your schoolwork? You will not want to be too far behind the other students when you return to class." He was well aware she was keeping current her studies, for all that she didn't complete most of the homework and practice materials. While he was at a loss as to why, it didn't matter in the larger scheme of things. What was important was the minimal socialization and stress alleviation the school environment provided.
"I am keeping up to date on curriculum as the syllabus provided states." She was a firm believer in schedules and things going to plan, thanks in no small part to the Commander, even if he was unaware of it.
"That is good Rei. Dr. Akagi advised me this morning you had taken an interest in the battle with the Third Angel and the Third Child. What have you learned from your studies thus far?" This should prove interesting, he thought, watching her face for hints and tells at her thought process and emotions.
"I have learned the Third Child, Pilot Ikari, despite having a much higher than normal initial synchronization score, showed little aptitude for controlling Unit-01's motor functions. Initial evidence supports a hypothesis that with significant training, Pilot Ikari could be capable of extremely fine control over the Evangelion. His battle performance offers little tactical insight towards efficiently destroying the remaining Angels other than beating on them until they decide they would rather commit suicide than be pummeled with parts of their own anatomy."
Gendo studied the girl before him, appraising her posture, expression, tone, and analysis. She spends all day watching the battle, over and over, and this is all she can offer me? She does like him. Of course, the boy came riding in like a knight in shining armor to save her from what would be certain death, despite all reason screaming at him to flee. He smiled, but not at Rei, though it was in her general direction. The strengthening of this bond between the two will only increase the odds of their survival. Besides, if she is to properly focus his hero syndrome, they will need to be close. "And what do you think of the Third Child, Rei? What do you think of... Pilot Ikari?" He stressed his son's name, carefully watching for her reaction.
Rei felt a burning sensation and hoped she wasn't blushing. How embarrassing would it be to show such a display? We haven't been introduced properly, as the others measure such things. Working to keep her voice level, she looked her Commander in the eyes. "I do not think he should have refused initially to pilot Unit-01. Waiting to make his decision after seeing my medical condition was not the most efficient means of coming to terms with his duty. I have not been able to establish a valid reason why he would do so." A lie. A direct lie to the Commander! Why? I do not want him to interfere with my Science on Pilot Ikari. It is clear he did not wish to meet extinction at the hands of Third Impact.
"Rei, I think then you should ask him why he was so inefficient. I know you are not close to anyone in your class, but as both of you are Evangelion Pilots, perhaps you two could be friends. This isn't an order, however. Decide for yourself, but you should get to know the Third Child. You will be working together to save the human race. If nothing else, you will need to be able to work as a team."
Rei blinked. I should be closer to Pilot Ikari? This would open many avenues for Science to be done. "Yes, sir."
"Good. That is all for now Rei. You may go."
Lost in thought, she turned and left.
"Laying it on a little thick, aren't you Gendo? You were all but telling her to go and claim him for her own."
"Nothing so crass as that, Fuyutsuki." Gendo scoffed. " Besides, she needed a major push in his direction. She wouldn't do so otherwise, and no matter how enamored he might be of her, Shinji would be too scared of rejection to approach her, and besides, he probably thinks she's a replacement for him."
"If only he knew her true purpose. He wouldn't think so anymore."
"He's a boy, Kozo. He might be a Hero, and he might just save all of humanity, but he's not ready to know what is going to happen. Not yet. He might never be ready."
"If he is as much like you as you claim, he's already ready for the truth. You know what you were like when you were younger. Your drive, your sense of moral obligation. Your sense of duty."
"He didn't grow up the way I did. I made damn sure of that. For all that I've orchestrated, all the hurt and isolation he's endured at my machination, he did not grow up in the gutter like me. We all have potential, and we are all shaped by our environment. Besides, growing up in the gutter would make him useless for us. He would be fighting with his head, not his soul."
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
"Aida! Aida! Did you deliver those printouts to Suzahara yesterday? Why's he been absent from class?" Hikari Horaki, the Class Representative focused her stare at the bespectacled boy, who lifted his head up from the manual he was reading.
"I swung by his house again, but nobody was there, same as the last times. I left the printouts in the mail slot." He stuck his nose back into his camera manual.
Hikari, fidgeting, put her hands on her hips, addressing him again. "What good does that do? What if he doesn't check the mail? Wait, no one has been home for the past week? Do you think they've moved away? Why wouldn't he say something?"
"They haven't moved away, all of their stuff is still there. It's just nobody's been home."
"Well, where is he then? What about his father? His grandfather? Or his sister? Where could they all be?"
"I don't know, Class Rep. It's a mystery."
"Isn't he your friend? Why are you being so casual about this? What is wrong with you?" Hikari asked, exasperated with the nerd.
Just then, Toji Suzahara walked into the room, sinking into the seat behind Kensuke's. His tracksuit looked like he'd slept in it, but the lines under his eyes suggested he hadn't been sleeping, or at least he hadn't been sleeping well.
"Suzahara! Where have you been?" Hikari asked, drifting closer to the boy's desk. "You've missed almost over a week of classes."
"Hey Hikari. I've been in the hospital."
Aida shot a glance at the class rep. "Told you there were casualties and injuries. You can't trust everything you see on the TV."
Taken aback, Hikari blushed a little as she stammered out her next question. "But.. you look okay. Who... who was hurt?"
Toji sighed. "My sister got hit by some rubble and debris from during the fight. The docs aren't sure if she'll walk again, but she's stable now. Both my dad and gramps are stuck at work, so they can't be there for her, so I've stayed at the hospital with her. The doctors are forcing me to go back to class now." He scowled. "It's a good thing that NERV is keeping the identity of their pilot secret, otherwise I'd beat some sense into him. He's supposed to be protecting us, not hurting us!"
Hikari gasped at Toji's deceleration of promised violence. He had always had a bit of a temper, and had a reputation for playing maybe a little rough in PE, but he also had a kind, caring nature. Sometimes she thought she was the only one who saw it.
Aida spoke up. "Yeah right. The pilot's probably been trained in hand-to-hand combatives. It's a required course for fighter pilots, in case they get shot down in enemy territory. He'd take you out without breaking a sweat. Besides, NERV's probably got a half dozen spooks sitting around the guy just waiting for someone to start something. They wouldn't bother fighting you with hands or feet, they'd shoot you or taser you."
Toji scowled at his friend but had to admit he was right. Someone as important as the pilot of a giant robot would have a security detail watching him like a hawk for danger. Sighing again, his gaze drifted over the classroom, which was missing almost half the students.
"Looks like everyone's jumping ship."
"Yeah, we've had a lot of families move out. There's talk that the school will consolidate a couple of classes together." Hikari said, sitting on Toji's desk.
Toji said nothing as he continued to look around the room, and then pointed at Shinji, who was sitting a few rows up from them, his earbuds in, isolating himself from the world. "Hey, who's that guy? I haven't seen him around before."
"Oh him? That's Ikari. Shinji, I think." Aida shot a questioning glance to Hikari, who nodded. "Yeah, Shinji. Quiet guy. He zones out a lot and stares off into space. That sort of thing. Listens to his SDAT. He seems a bit taken with Rei though. His first day, he almost couldn't stop staring at her."
Toji snorted. "That doesn't mean anything. Lots of people stare at her when they first meet her. Or when she starts acting weirder than normal."
"Toji! That's not nice." Hikari snapped. She had always felt a little sad for the girl, who never seemed to fit in or try to be friends with anyone at school. She had remembered the first month of Rei trying in the most bizarre fashions to become friends with people when she first showed up two years ago. It seemed that one day she just quit trying, and now if anyone tried to extend an invitation to the girl, they were only rewarded with a blank stare. She couldn't imagine how the girl got away with dying her hair blue, but she imagined that people accepted it if only to avoid having to deal with her.
"It's the truth though, Hikari." Kensuke pointed out, still reading his manual as he talked to his friends. "There's a bunch of rumors going around about him, mostly saying that he's the pilot of the robot. Sounds dumb to me. That sort of thing only happens in comic books and movies. Military pilots are required to have college degrees and have a ton of schooling in both the actual use of their machines and regular studies, mostly focusing on science. Even if they entrusted what has to be a multi-billion dollar piece of equipment to a kid, he'd be so far ahead of us in his studies that it wouldn't make any sense to stick him in a regular middle school. He'd be a college graduate, or close to it, seeing as this was an emergency situation, if the other rumors are to be believed."
Toji stared at the new kid. "Does he seem like he's ahead of us in such studies?"
"A bit, but that's because he was home-schooled before getting here." Hikari hastily pointed out, not liking the gleam in Toji's eyes.
"Could be a cover story," Toji muttered, under his breath. Hikari opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off by the arrival of the teacher.
During lunch, Shinji sequestered himself under a tree in the open-air common area. From inside the classroom, Rei watched him as he ate his food mechanically, still listening to whatever it was he listened to on his SDAT. She had noted early on that he was almost never without it and wore it at every possible opportunity.
Pilot Ikari isolates himself from the rest of the class, both during and outside of the actual classroom environment. He does not belong to any activity club, even ones that would not be in conflict with the requirements of NERV operations, such as the book club. He has not made any attempts to become friendly with anyone and seems to be unaware or politely dismissive of other people's attempts to be friendly with him. This lends support to the Hypothesis that Pilot Ikari is like me, which in turn leads one towards accepting the idea that Pilot Ikari is conducting his own Science and testing his own Hypotheses. He has not revealed he is indeed the pilot of Evangelion Unit-01, despite the probable social status and recognition it would bring. It is unlikely he is the source of the rumors to that effect, however, it could be part of his experiments. He continues to sneak glances at me and appears to be unaware he is being observed via the reflections in the windows.
She had been interested in the fact he had not chosen a place by the windows, which allowed her to observe people without them noticing she watched them, studying their actions throughout the day. It suggested to her that he wasn't involved in Science. So far she had several pieces of evidence supporting and not supporting him running his own experiments. She was undecided still on whether he was or wasn't. She was amused to note that she hadn't put this much effort into a singular subject in quite some time. Was this because she was ordered to, or was it a holdover from the sensation she had felt from being held in his arms? She had not yet contrived a way to set up a plausible situation that would allow her to conduct an experiment without skewing the results or the results of repeated tests. She couldn't be the initiator in the setup. It had to be normal, or as normal as a carefully planned out scenario could be.
Carefully eating her own lunch with her one good hand, she continued her observations, unaware that someone else was watching Shinji eat his lunch.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Toji stood by the railing on the roof, watching the courtyard below. Kensuke looked up at him as he finished his own lunch. "What's with the thousand-yard stare, Toji?"
"Just thinking, Ken. Just thinking."
Stretching out, Kensuke stood and followed Toji's stare. "Oh man, come on. That kid's not the pilot. Look at him. I could take him in a fight, and you know how well I fight."
Toji didn't bother to smile at the memory of how he and Kensuke had become friends back in elementary, when another kid had taken the boy's glasses, Ken had started fighting rather ineffectually. When Ken had been thrown into Toji, Toji threw himself at the bully.
"Still. I could see it. Hide a pilot in school. No one would suspect it!"
"Except that he's just a kid, he's not a genius, he's just studied what we're studying already. Different curriculum is all. Besides, what good would it do?"
"It'd make me feel better."
"Would it? Beating up some random guy? Come on man."
His friend was right, Toji thought to himself, his face twisting. Hitting some random guy wouldn't make him feel any better. Best to leave it alone.
"Let's get back to class."
Sitting through the teacher's lectures on environmental changes post Impact was boring for everyone. Rei sat watching Shinji's reflection as he struggled not to fall asleep. He might be ahead of the class, but he still wouldn't be allowed to sleep in class unpunished. Rei herself felt the siren call from the top of her desk but willed herself to remain alert. As she watched him, a new idea presented itself for consideration.
She stirred suddenly, which amounted to her shifting a little in her seat. Slowly, so as not to attract attention, she began to type, as if taking notes on the lecture. Instead, she opened a chat terminal with Pilot Ikari's laptop, having it in a visible room but having her user name hidden.
"Is it true that you're the pilot of the robot? Y/N"
Shinji looked up at the beeping computer. He glanced around the room, trying to find a hint of whoever had sent him the message. He hadn't been told that he could not tell people he was the pilot, but as he hadn't seen Rei talk to anyone about it, and as no one had yet come out and asked him, he had kept quiet. However, nobody seemed to be paying him any attention; everyone was focused on their screens or dozing. Another message came up as he was looking around.
"Is it true? Y/N"
Rei watched with growing amusement as he tried in vain to figure out who was sending him the message. Or, at least he appeared to be trying in vain. Perhaps he already knew! There is no evidence to suggest this, however, She mused to herself. If he knew what she was doing, he gave no sign of it. Her eyes brightened as he typed out a response.
Shinji, being new to the classroom's chat client, was unaware that the conversation was being displayed in a public forum. If he had known, he would have been too reticent to admit he was the pilot publicly.
"Yes"
The class erupted into chaos as the students swarmed around Shinji's desk, with a few exceptions.
Hikari, who tried in vain to return order to the class; Kensuke, who could only stare in shock at this revelation; Rei, who calmly observed everything in the window's reflections; and Toji, who stared daggers at the boy's back.
The instructor turned around as the bell rang, and blinked at the throng of students surrounding the transfer student. It was the end of the day however, and he wanted to go home, so he merely rolled his eyes as he dismissed them.
Shinji, still trying to answer what he could but hiding behind the excuse of "that's classified," escaped outside, making ready to go home. He heard footsteps coming up behind him, and then the world spun and he went crashing to the ground in a daze of pain.
Groaning, feeling blood trickle down his face onto his shirt, he looked up through glassy eyes at the larger boy in the tracksuit, who reached down, grabbed him up by the shirt's collar, and smashed his fist across Shinji's jaw, splitting his upper lip. Toji dropped Shinji back to the ground.
"Sorry, new guy. That's for my sister. How did you get to be a pilot? I thought you guys had to be smart or something. Don't you know you're supposed to protect the city and us, not destroy it?" Anger and frustration spent, he turned to leave, not waiting for an answer.
Kensuke, looking shocked, knelt down next to Shinji. "Yeah, he's a mean one, but he means well. He cares about his sister, and she got hurt in your fight. I know it doesn't hel-" He was cut off by Shinji's hissed retort.
"I didn't do it by choice. They made me pilot it." Spitting blood, Shinji glared at Kensuke. "Besides, I-" He, in turn, was cut off as Toji kicked him in the ribs, who then reached to pick up Shinji again as someone quietly cleared her throat. All three boys looked over at Rei, who stood in the door, watching them.
Breaking the shocked silence first, Toji spat on Shinji. "C'mon Ken, let's get out of here." Not waiting for a response, he thrust his hands in his pockets and strode away.
Kensuke glanced at Shinji, then at Rei, and with an apologetic look at both, he shrugged and followed his friend.
Shinji collapsed back onto the ground, groaning in pain as he felt a stabbing sensation when he breathed. Ignoring the blood still pouring from his nose and mouth, he felt at his side, wincing as he ran his hands over his ribs.
Rei, for her part, was shocked. This was unexpected. She had not expected this to occur. It raised a whole slew of new questions. Looking at the bloodied boy, she tilted her head slightly.
"Why did you not fight back?" She asked, her voice quiet. It was the first time she had spoken to him.
Looking up at the girl, Shinji slid his eyes to the side and muttered under his breath, too softly for her to hear.
Undaunted, Rei sat down next to Shinji, much to his shock. She asked her question again, as she undid some of the bandages that were wrapped around her arm.
"You could have fought back, Pilot Ikari. Why did you let him hit you?" She paused and then, to Shinji's ever-growing shock, began to stem the flow of blood issuing from his nose, holding it closed with a spare bandage. "Your nose is broken, and from the way you shudder when you breathe, you have at least one cracked rib. We should have the Section 2 personnel take us to the NERV hospital."
Shinji stared at her. Section 2? Who was that? Why was she being so nice after ignoring him this entire week? Of course, he realized that he hadn't really said anything to her either.
"Why... why are you being nice to me? Why are you doing this?" He asked nervously, desperately trying not to move as her hand moved about his face with the now bloody bandage.
"Because you did much the same in the Evangelion Cage when the Third Angel's directed energy weapon caused structural damage to Headquarters and threw me off of the gurney." She looked directly into his eyes. His eyes are blue, she noted, a most pleasing shade of blue. Her heart began to pound in her chest. Why is this notable? "You have not answered my question, Pilot Ikari."
Blushing under her intense gaze, he shifted his attention over to the left, away from her. "I deserved to get hit. I should have been more careful. I hurt his sister." He gasped as she began to unbutton his shirt. "Ayanami! What... what are you doing?" He winced, his side felt like it was on fire.
She looked at him blankly. "I am unbuttoning your shirt. I need to ascertain the extent of your injury."
He blinked at her but buttoned his shirt back up. I'll be.. okay until we get to the hospital. You're not... going to say anything about this, are you? Please don't." He slowly pulled himself into an upright sitting position.
"I do not believe that you will be able to hide your injuries, Pilot Ikari." Seemingly distracted by something, she put her hands hands in her lap.
"I'll say I tripped down the stairs. It's my fault, really. And, please, don't call me that. Just... Shinji or something."
She stared at him. He wasn't making any sense at all. "You realize that you could have him arrested, correct? You could also probably talk your Section 2 escort into roughing him up." If he could talk them into roughing up Suzahara, it would be major evidence of him running his own experiments. I doubt that anyone as timid as he appeared would be able to do such a thing. His behavior was decidedly non-confrontational.
"Ayanami, who is Section 2? You keep talking about them." As weird as this whole situation was, and as much pain as in, it was oddly pleasant to be sitting here, talking to the girl. It was the most socialization he had done with anyone his age in years.
She blinked again at him. He was starting to get the feeling that was how she displayed surprise.
"Section 2 is the internal and secret security force for high-ranking NERV personnel, and they function as NERV's clandestine intelligence gathering body. As a pilot, you have a Section 2 escort. While at school, they are positioned at fixed points and have at least two patrolling groups. When at the Captain's residence, they maintain a similar watch. When going places such as local food or shopping establishments, you have a "security blanket" of no less than five agents around you at all times."
Shinji, for what he thought was the five millionth time, stared at Rei in shock. He had a security force? He had bodyguards? Where the hell had they been?
"If we have bodyguards, why did I get beat up? Why didn't they stop it? Isn't that what they are for?" He asked in disbelief, bitter undertones in his voice.
"They are instructed to interfere as little as needed. If you had cried out for them, they would have stopped it. If he had continued his assault, they would have halted him, by force if needed."
Shinji mulled that over. Wait a minute... "Ayanami?"
"Yes?"
"If they would have halted it, why did you stop him? Why didn't you have them do it?"
She stared at him. He knows! He knows! What do I say... what do I say... "I was not aware of what was occurring. I merely was looking for you, and happened to cough as I left the building." Lame! LAME! Is that the best I can come up with?
Oh. She didn't know. She didn't stop him on purpose. Wait... "What did you want? Why were you looking for me?"
Rei's eyes widened as she realized she had painted herself into a corner. He truly is a master at this; he surely is the Commander's son. She was rescued from having to answer as her cell phone began to chime. Fishing it out of her bag, she looked at the message. She wasn't sure if it was appropriate to be glad that the Enemy was approaching, but she was relieved to have an out. "There's an Angel Alert. We need to go to Headquarters. I won't say anything, Ikari."
As they stood up, a black-suited, sunglasses-wearing man walked out of an alley. "Let's go, children. We have a car waiting."