Misato looked up from her desk as the door opened, glad for the distraction. There always seemed to be something requiring her attention, such as some issues needing the Operations Director to sign off on. Paperwork, the bane of military commanders worldwide, continued to rear its ugly head long after the enemy was dealt with. Not for the first time, she thought about seeing if she could get her own minions to deal with this, much like Ritsuko had Maya and now Asuka.
Ritsuko stormed into her friend's office, her features twisted into a scowl. As the door slid shut behind the blond scientist, Misato saw a worried Maya and a bored Asuka pull up short, both electing to remain in the hallway and away from the irritated division head.
"What's wrong now, Rits?" Misato asked, dreading the response. She was sure it would mean more paperwork for her. She leaned back in her chair, tucking her hands behind her head. "Is something up with the Evangelions?"
"No," Ritsuko snapped, as she sank into the low couch parallel to the desk, "It's the pilots. Rei and Shinji, to be exact."
"What's wrong with Shinji?" Misato asked, immediately concerned. Her mind raced through several possibilities, her eyes growing frantic as her imagination ran wild through the absurd and horrific. "Is Section 2 taking action?" Misato pulled open the desk drawer and pulled her service pistol out, ejecting the magazine and checking to ensure it was loaded before standing up.
That question neatly derailed Ritsuko; her vitriol vanished, and now she could only stare agog at the Operations Director, who was throwing on her jacket. Sighing, she buried her face in her hands. "Oh, sit down, you idiot. They're not in danger except from their stupidity and me."
"Huh?"
"Have you seen the newest calendar?"
"Nooo," Misato replied cautiously, "but I did see the email that had it attached. It said something about advancing the testing timeline. I was going to look at it after I finished this." She waved at the stack of papers on her desk. "But what does that have to do with Shinji?"
"Not just Shinji," Ritsuko corrected, her voice grim. "Shinji and Rei."
Misato rolled her eyes as she leaned back in her chair. "Okay, what about Shinji and Rei?"
"They want to have dinner during the first harmonics tests! And those two," she said while pointing at the closed door, "want me to push off the test until the day after!"
"Wait, what?"
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
As the car came to a stop, Gendo Ikari steeled himself for what he knew would be coming next. He could already see Jean-Paul Durand, the energetic and overly friendly head of NERV-France. While the man wasn't actually French by birth, but rather by blood paid for his time as a member of the Foreign Legion, he had adopted more than just the French name and language.
Even though the Frenchman on the SEELE Council was one of the more critical members, France only boasted one NERV installation, which revolved around the housing and testing of Evangelion Unit-03, the French twin to the German Unit-02. No independent research or parts construction was carried out here. It was a glorified secondary testing facility and nothing more.
"Ahh, Gendo! Gendo, Gendo! How good it is to see you again! It has been too long." Jean-Paul cried out as he held his arms open to wrap the smaller man in a bear hug.
Jean-Paul Durand was huge, towering over everyone's head, standing at 7'2. He had hailed from Iceland originally, but after Second Impact had swept clean his island home, he had responded to the call to arms France had sent out, drawing dislocated and disaffected men to serve her in the wars that soon followed. He had served faithfully for five years until a mysterious set of letters arrived at his posting, freeing him of his obligation and inducting him into the fledgling operation that would eventually become GEHIRN and then, ultimately, NERV.
Fridrik Arison, the man he had been, had worked on a cargo ship that traveled the world. Fridrik Arison had met and fought a man named Gendo Rokobungi in a dock-side bar, and the two had become friends when they both woke up in the drunk tank the following day.
Jean-Paul Durand had met a man named Gendo Ikari at a GEHIRN conference in Berlin. They had never seen or heard of the other before that. They were not friends, as Gendo Ikari had no friends, but they were... friendly.
"Jean-Paul." Gendo replied, his voice muffled, "If you do not let me go, I am going to punch you in the kidney."
"We have much to talk about Gendo. Later," Jean-Paul muttered before releasing his friend and waving towards the main doors to the office complex. "Come! We can have lunch!"
Gendo sighed again as he followed the redheaded man into the offices, both men ignoring the beeping alarm of the metal detector as they passed under it. Jean-Paul made enough small talk for the both of them as they made their way deeper and deeper into the building, eventually arriving at the spacious office NERV-France provided for its director. An electronic hum filled the air as the door closed behind them, and the hair on Gendo's neck stood up.
"We can talk freely here. I'm guessing you came about the delays with Unit-03?"
"That and other reasons. Your men are severely behind schedule, Jean-Paul."
The director only shrugged as he sank onto the leather couch, waving a hand dismissively. "These men, they are not like the Germans or you Japanese. They outsource their fighting to foreigners for a reason. They play at being engineers and technicians here, but you know, all they do is follow orders. Orders from Germany, Japan, and America. And some of these orders seem to skip coming through my office and show up directly at certain peoples' doors, yes?"
"And these orders," Gendo replied as he helped himself to some of the food arrayed on the low table, "say to slow down the tests, make mistakes, delay."
Jan-Paul nodded. "And there you have it. Someone is sabotaging the war effort. Someone high up on the food chain."
As much as he might have wanted to, Gendo could not tell his old friend about the truth behind the source of these orders and the true nature of the attack they were meant to be. The man believed they were fighting against things beyond the scope of man's understanding, but Gendo did not feel the man was ready to hear the truth behind that fight. The man knew Gendo had pulled strings to get him this job; Jean-Paul thought that it was because Gendo wanted someone he knew to keep an eye on things.
If someone had asked Gendo, long ago, what he thought of the wheels within wheels and plans intertwined with plans crowd, he would have laughed and told them they were crazy. If they had told him he would go on to steal someone else's careful clockwork assembly of lies, plans, and misdirections and then proceed to layer in his conglomeration of plans, lies, and misdirections, he would have told them to flat-out get lost.
Time, Gendo mused to himself, has a funny way of upsetting one's perceptions.
Jean-Paul continued his rant about people and politics, but Gendo was no longer listening. He hadn't thought his friend was behind the slowdowns in the testing and preparation of the Evangelion, but it was the sort of thing he was expected to look into personally. No doubt Jean-Paul had already scheduled walk-throughs of the facilities for the upcoming week, and it would be concluded that the delays, while unfortunate, were not anyone's fault and would just have to be accepted. It would be pointed out that life did not always run according to schedule.
Jean-Paul hated the world of politics he had been dragged into, as he felt the alien threat they faced superseded other concerns. They were humans first, after all. What did it matter that the effort was being led in Japan? If they failed there, it did not matter that it was on the other side of the world. While the Earth might remain after Third Impact, mankind surely would not.
Gendo listened with half an ear to what his friend was going on about, trying to decide how best to deal with this, when something Jean-Paul said sent shivers down his spine.
"Hmm?" he asked, looking up from his sandwich to his friend.
"Oh, I said it doesn't matter that your son has been leading the charge because Europe's got its representative with the German girl. He needs the latest model Evangelion, just like her."
"Indeed." came Gendo's response. Even as he resumed eating, his heart suddenly grew heavy, and a new layer of frost formed on the ball of ice sitting deep within his stomach.
Jean-Paul knew. He should not know it was his son who was piloting. That information was highly classified and was beyond Jean-Paul's level. If he knew, then someone had told him.
SEELE had probably recruited his friend. Either they had known beforehand that he and Jean-Paul knew each other, or it was a spot of bad luck, but the result was the same. If Jean-Paul was on board with the plan to become a God, he would have given up their history, as a matter of fact.
Of course, he might not be on board with that. They might have appealed to him with other temptations; SEELE could promise much when they had no plans to come through and make good on their deals.
Then again, Gendo thought as he carefully watched the man eat, Jean-Paul might have warmed up to the Great Game enough to employ spies of his own and had discovered the pilots' identities with his resources. SEELE was far from all-knowing, and not everyone paid such attention to detail as he did. It was not unreasonable for Jean-Paul to slip up and mention such a thing. Gendo dealt with people every day who knew the identities of the pilots. Would he notice it if someone else knew their names?
The problem was he did notice, and now he had to consider his old friend his enemy, at least until such a time his agents and double agents could vet the man. Gendo silently cursed as he finished his meal. There always seemed to be something. Nothing ever ran as smoothly as it should. He longed to be back in Tokyo-3. He always developed a most irritating itch between his shoulder blades when traveling outside his city. While he doubted his usefulness to SEELE was at an end, the abrasive scientist knew there were dissenting voices on the council and that some would not hesitate to see him dead if they thought they could arrange it without upsetting their scenario.
He would have to be on his guard in France, where his itinerary was known. He could relax a little once he was safely on his way to Russia.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Shinji stared at Misato, unsure of what to do or say. He was a deer caught in the headlights, and indecision ruled his body. Misato smiled warmly and pointed at the can of beer sitting in front of him.
"C-can I put something in the refrigerator f-first?" Shinji carefully put his bags on the floor and pulled out a small box, not unlike the plastic containers that held sandwiches in one of the NERV vending machines. Inside this small parcel was no sandwich but a delicate-looking assembly of ribbon, lace, and flowers. "It's a c-corsage."
Shinji reddened and stumbled over his words as Misato's grin grew wider. Her eyes sparkled as they fixated on the small box and its contents.
"Ohhh," she purred, "A corsage. Very romantic. Very daring." She made a shooing gesture with the hand holding her beer. "Go on. Put it in the fridge."
As Shinji moved to comply, she threw her empty hand into her mouth and bit down on her knuckle, trying not to sequel in giddiness. She had been expecting something good when she finally got to put her young ward to question, but this was something else! She couldn't wait to begin the inquisition in earnest. Slouching a little in her comfortable chair, she waited for him to return.
Vier, Drei, Zwei, Eins!
Misato checked her phone for text messages and voicemail for the seventh time that hour. Ritsuko rolled her eyes at her friend while Asuka and Maya sat idly. Asuka looked bored out of her skull, and Maya appeared somewhat nervous.
Asuka spoke up, not moving her gaze from the ceiling of Misato's office. "He hasn't sent you any messages, Misato. I don't know what he does when he's not at school or here, but he's probably doing it right now."
Misato snorted as she tossed her phone onto her desk. "What about Rei then? I would have expected her to at least come by to see if there was a possible scheduling conflict."
"I doubt Wondergirl has thought that far ahead."
Ritsuko bit back a sudden smile. Oh, how you wrong that girl, my little protege. As strange as she is and as bizarre as her thoughts, Rei plans ahead. What she's thinking about as she plans is something else, though.
As amusing as it was to consider the thought processes of the clone, Ritsuko was not about to show anything but irritated contempt towards the idea of the two pilots being allowed to have dinner during her scheduled tests. She knew this was unfair and perhaps a little selfish, but she was also growing tired of the little charade of the budding romance between the two.
The quartet of women looked up as the door to Misato's office opened. Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki stood in the doorway, his mouth set in a grim line. He nodded towards the Operations Director and the Science Director in greeting.
"I've spoken to the Commander. He will allow it. Push the tests back to the day after, Doctor."
He turned and left without waiting for a response to his portentous news.
Maya grinned and bounced to her feet, eager to get started on the myriad tasks that accompanied rescheduling the harmonics tests. "I'll go get started then."
She nodded to the others and hurried out the door.
Asuka shook her head, clearly still of two minds about the whole thing. "I'm going home. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon, Sempai. Misato." she said, nodding to her superiors.
Ritsuko nodded back at her and sighed again. Misato sighed as well, but where the doctor's sigh was one of long-suffering irritation, the Operations Director's sigh was rarely seen outside sappy romance movies where women wearing easily ripped bodices swooned over men with tendencies to lose track of their shirts.
"Why can't things go as they are supposed to? Is it too much that I ask for things to run smoothly while the Commander is away?"
Misato eyed her friend critically. "You know, you surprise me. I'd think you'd be all for this!"
Ritsuko's jaw dropped. "What makes you say that? Why on Earth would I want the two of them together?"
Misato shot a flat look at the protesting scientist. "Well, for starters, it's cute. Two, they both could use it. Three, it's like it's right out of those trashy romance novels you used to read back in college!"
Chagrined, Ritsuko's thoughts went not back to the apartment that she had shared with Misato, but to her current one sitting far overhead, and to the lone bookcase not home to scientific and technical texts, but to a slew of those selfsame trashy romance novels.
"Anyways," Misato continued, "I still don't see what you've got against them. I don't see them doing anything they're not supposed to."
"It wouldn't matter much anyway. Well, from a medical standpoint, I mean."
"Why? What're you talking about?"
"You didn't read the report, did you?"
"What report? What are you talking about?"
"Misato, I write those things for a reason. The medical reports! I detail any pharmaceutical changes in the monthly reports."
"Pharmaceutical?" A horrified expression dawned on Misato's features. "Ritsuko! You didn't!"
"I did. The pair of them are on sterility drugs. It's mixed in with their antidepressants."
"What about Asuka?"
Ritsuko shrugged. "What about her? She's not exhibiting reckless behavior. The moment I'm worried about her getting knocked up is when I start her on the drugs. I'm not doping the pilots for the fun of it, Misato. If I were, Rei and Shinji would be on so many uppers you'd be annoyed with how cheerful they'd be. But Asuka's different. She's older for one thing, technically meaning we'd need her consent, and for another, she doesn't exhibit any behavior indicative of needing the antidepressant courses the others are on. She's rock solid."
"That is true," Misato grudgingly agreed, "but I know Shinji still wakes up with, er, well, you know."
"I know what?"
Misato glared at her friend, who was trying not to laugh. "You know what I'm talking about."
"Are you okay, Misato? You seem to be flustered by something. Is mommy's little boy not so little?"
If looks could kill, Misato could have made a fortune on the arms market with the one she was throwing at her friend. Ritsuko, now openly laughing, took pity and relented.
"The drugs don't affect sexual arousal or the associated physical responses thereof. It just makes them sterile for the duration that they take their medicine. But how do you know what he wakes up with? Have you been snooping?"
Misato snorted. "I can't help that he walks to the bathroom in the morning in shorts. He's so slow to wake up. He's in a bit of a daze in the mornings."
"Sounds like you're rubbing off on him then."
"Whatever." Misato sighed as she shifted her gaze from the scientist to the ceiling. "If they're both on anti-baby drugs, then I guess we don't need to give them the talk."
"You can still discuss the birds and the bees with Shinji if you want. You can even talk it over with Rei, for that matter, but I'll be doing nothing of the sort."
"Aww, c'mon, Rits! If you don't give the talk to Rei, who will? The Commander?"
Both women locked eyes and promptly exploded into gales of laughter. Both had pictured the Commander sitting at his desk, hands folded in front of his face, detailing the facts of life to his ward in that bored tone of voice.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Misato lay in bed on her back, staring at the darkened ceiling. Her talk with Shinji had been amusing and enlightening, to say the least.
Asuka hadn't said she had baited Rei to ask Shinji for dinner. She knew that Asuka could be a little... caustic, but it sounded like the two girls were used to taking verbal potshots at each other. While not something that was too alarming, it would need to be kept in mind. She didn't want her pilot corps to destroy itself from within.
That being said, the rest of Shinji's tale, when she had finally been able to drag it entirely out of him, had been worth the long wait through the rest of the afternoon and evening. She would have to check with the Section 2 men to see what they were doing to take care of the reservation. Rosewaters was not a restaurant where one could quickly secure a table on short notice, but Misato was sure the intimidating men in black suits and shades could accomplish it. The Commander himself had given the green light if the Sub-Commander was to be believed, and though she could hardly believe it, she saw no reason not to. What would the old man gain from lying about such a thing?
She would also need to send a note to Hikari. The girl had taken the pair well in hand, and perhaps she could watch them at school for her. She could also tell her more about the pilot's interactions with each other and the other school children.
She rolled onto her side, not being used to being awake this late at night at home. She had only had three beers, two of her own and the one she had opened for Shinji. He hadn't wanted it, though, and while it had been like pulling teeth to get him to spill the juicy details of his afternoon, it seemed like he wanted nothing more than to rush through it and escape to the safety and solitude of his room.
And what a day it had been! Indeed, it was a day unlike any other for the poor boy. What terrible tribulation it must have been, being the sole focus of three bored saleswomen for several hours. Hikari had been there sporadically, adding her critical eye to the proceedings and whispering things Shinji hadn't been able to catch into the ears of the store staff, who had, in varying turns, grinned, laughed, and at one point giggled like a pack of harpies.
Vier, Drei, Zwei, Eins!
Shinji sat in the changing booth, listening to the impatient women outside. He was supposed to be getting into the latest assortment of clothes they had put together, which seemed no different from the last three. He was procrastinating and was not looking forward to running the gauntlet following each donning of the prospective suit.
Measurements would be taken, hands run across nearly every length of his body, and they would check the 'hang' of the lower pant leg of his artificial leg. Shoes would be inspected for fit, and a dozen other little things would happen that he had no idea what they were for.
He hadn't been the center of this much attention since he first came to NERV.
The women had closed the shop, going so far as to enlist the aid of one of the Section 2 men, the dour-looking man standing guard at the store entrance, allowing only other Section 2 personnel and Hikari into the store. Honestly, it had been a slow day for them, and when the young girl filled the bevy of young women in on what was going on, they were too happy to help.
They had seen the NERV ID badge, which also served as a check card. The boy also had a security man following after him. They reasoned that if it was a con, it was a thorough one.
This latest batch was a suit of all-black cotton from some European label. Shinji pulled the shirt on, noting it was another one of the weird ones needing little jewelry bits to keep the cuffs together.
The tie was of flat black silk, with no embroidered design, unlike several other monochromatic ties. While he had heard the phrase "Black Tie" before, the women had long since started favoring darker colors in the clothes they made him wear, and the last five sets had all been black, which seemed to Shinji to be a little overkill.
He understood his father wanted him to adhere to the dress code so as not to cause trouble with the restaurant and that the majority of the patrons of the western-styled restaurant had been wearing formal western apparel instead of traditional Japanese formal styles but wouldn't just white dress shirt and tie be okay? Was all of this necessary?
One of the women tapped on the door. "Everything okay in there? Do you need any help?"
"No!" Shinji cringed as he replied. He threw on the jacket and exited the small booth, as ready as he would ever be to get the next round of prodding and poking done with and over.
"Hmmm…"
One of the trio grinned as she slowly circled him like a vulture over an explorer dying of thirst. "I think we have a winner, girls."
"He does look good. We'll have to do something about his hair, though."
Reflexively, Shinji raised a hand towards his hair but dropped it back down to his side as the woman's looks grew more amused. What's wrong with my hair?
The automated chime sounded as Hikari walked in, making a beeline for them, only to stop and nod, a smile on her face for the first time since she had found the pair of pilots shopping for clothes.
"That's perfect!"
"Yes, it does seem to suit him, doesn't it? This shirt's one with French cuffs. I don't think he can pull off a watch or a ring, and since it's primarily going to be a dinner date, going for a scarf or a hat as an accessory won't work. The cuff links, in silver, I think, will stand out more and complement the outfit."
"Maybe one with a splash of color? Maybe to match his date's dress?" Another of the trio spoke up from where she leaned against a display table. "Black and silver is a classic, yeah, but it's also cliché and overdone."
Hikari shook her head, a look of uncertainty on her face. "Rei's dress is also black. She's so pale; the lighter-colored dresses made her look more washed out than usual, but they couldn't get a blue dress to match her hair, and she flat-out refuses to wear red. Something about it being a wrong color."
"What's wrong with the girl's hair?"
Shinji frowned at the question. There's nothing wrong with Rei's hair! But before he could voice his complaint, Hikari sighed as she started to circle the boy, inspecting him from all angles like a vulture circling a corpse in the desert.
"Well, it's not evenly cut at all, and she's still got some split ends, but it's nowhere near as bad as it was before."
"No," the confused woman responded, "how come they couldn't match a blue dress to her hair?"
"Oh! Rei's got blue hair. It's kind of a pastel blue? They didn't have anything that looked right with her hair."
"Blue hair? Is Rosewaters going to let someone with hair dyed blue inside?"
"It's not dyed." Shinji startled everyone, including himself, with his irritated and curt response.
"It's a medical thing. I don't understand the specifics, but Rei's an albino with blue hair." Hikari chuckled. "I've been around her for so long I don't notice it anymore. Did Rei explain it all to you, Shinji?"
Shinji blushed and clamped his mouth shut, refusing to comment on exactly how he knew Rei's hair coloration was natural.
As puzzled as she was by this, Hikari did not have the time to deal with it. "Maybe you have cuff links that will match her hair! She's getting a haircut next door; you can check her out."
The floor manager, the one who had closed the shop, nodded. "Good idea. We've got a wide variety of interchangeable pieces for a few styles of cuff links. We can also go look at her dress."
Hikari flashed a smile at Shinji. "We'll be right back! Don't go anywhere!"
The woman leaning against the display table laden with ties and pocket squares stood up and winked at him. "Don't change just yet. We'll check you for some measurements before we send you to the barber."
"Barber?" Hikari inquired as she shot him a fleeting glance as the quartet of women left. "I guess he could use a trim. I wouldn't have thought about sending him either."
Shinji slumped down onto a stool as the door shut behind them. The Section 2 man shook his head.
"Do you want something to drink? I've got coffee coming over." Without waiting for a response either way from the boy, the man ducked his head slightly and spoke into his collar. "Bring some coffee for Ten as well."
"Ten?" Shinji asked. It was apparent it was a code name for him, but he didn't understand why it was a simple number rather than an actual code name.
"Ten. You're subject Ten. Your security detail is called Ten Group." The man shrugged as he watched through the glass door at the sea of people, each going about their day. He could pick out five other members of 10 Mobile, and the two men and a woman he knew by face who were in the plainclothes 6 Group.
"Do you have guards for everyone?"
The man shook his head. "Just the important people."
Shinji had nothing to say to that. He understood he was indeed an important person, but he felt his importance to the future of the human race as one of three people capable of even hoping to go toe-to toe with the Angels; still wasn't anything to get all excited about.
This was not due to a generous sense of humility or even an understanding of how unimportant the human race was in the course of the Earth's history, let alone that of the solar system. It was because he had little self-esteem and almost no sense of self-worth. As he understood things, while he had been lucky so far in the war, he was largely untrained, and his abilities and skills were lacking compared to Asuka and Rei. However, he had outshone the latter in terms of synchronization and had better marksmanship skills than either.
Settling down onto a handy stool, Shinji ran a hand through his hair. While it was confirmed it had been a while since he had trimmed it, it wasn't very long, which was nice as it meant he didn't have to spend too much time cleaning the LCL out of it after tests or fights. Every once in a while, when sitting in the shower, he would think about shaving all of it off, but he never went through with the idea. It would make him stand out; he had never been fond of drawing other people's attention to himself.
Hell, as far as Shinji was concerned, was indeed other people.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Asuka stared at the classroom's ceiling, bored out of her skull, and she didn't care if it showed. Likewise, she also didn't care if they showed disrespect to their teacher, who was going on about some of the different college entrance exams of the more prestigious universities in Japan and how, with the uncertainty of the near future of mankind, it was still essential to plan for one's future.
While it might have been necessary for most of the class, Asuka didn't care. Even if she didn't already have a degree, she knew what she would do for the rest of her life; piloting her Unit-02. All the discussion emphasized why sitting here in this class was such a waste of her time. Hikari let her get away with not paying attention more than she did the others, but only after Asuka showed her shocked friend her old textbooks and notes.
But while she let Asuka slack off with paying attention, she kept an eye on Shinji and Rei, whose grades were less than stellar. Hikari also refused to goof off with her during class, meaning she had to find other ways to amuse herself.
Carefully, as not to be noticed, she snuck a look at the Third Child, his face screwed up in concentration as he looked down at his laptop.
Probably worrying about his little date tonight. What a putz. She snorted softly. Useless, she thought to herself. She was gradually coming to think more and more there wasn't anything more to the meek boy than what was seen on the surface. She was still at a loss regarding his ferocious display during the Angel battle. It was an annoying problem, but she had been unable to get a rise out of him so far, no matter what she said, and she was getting bored with the whole thing. She turned her head slightly to look at Rei.
Rei, as usual, was staring out the window. Like all the others before him, this teacher had long ago stopped trying to get the soft-spoken girl to pay attention in class. But where Asuka was getting to that point by dint of her previous education, Rei simply seemed to exist outside the normal realm of things. If a person were to point out her near silence, her lack of personality, or the fact that her hair was BLUE, people would shrug and point out that it was Rei.
People's attention, it seemed, slid off of the albino like water off of a duck. She was so quiet and unobtrusive that people seemed to forget that the First Child was even there in the room.
This was just fine as far as Asuka was concerned, preferring to not think about the infuriating First Child whenever possible. She loved being the center of attention, and if the tart wanted to stay in the shadows, she was welcome to it.
For his part, Shinji Ikari's attention was split between three subjects. Firstly, his upcoming date with Rei later this evening. Miss Misato had told him that nothing was planned for the day and that he should just go to school and then come home to get ready. She had made a few cryptic remarks over breakfast about 'helping out' with the date, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.
The second item was more like an addendum to the first item, as both Toji and Kensuke were bugging him over the chat program for details about what had happened yesterday afternoon and why Hikari hadn't said a word at all to Toji so far today but had only sent murderous looks towards him.
The third and final issue was the class discussion and the assignment; basically, instructions to go and ponder on where he saw himself in ten years and what he wanted to do once he was out in the real world.
Now, this was an interesting question. Where exactly did Shinji Ikari see himself in ten years? What did he want to do? Was this even an option for him? Did NERV expect him to stay a pilot for the rest of his life? Was he expected to join the military when he turned sixteen or graduated high school?
He knew (as he had been told many, many times over) that Asuka already held a bachelor's degree. He also knew she wanted to continue her education and become a doctor, like Dr. Akagi, while continuing to pilot and work with the Evangelions. He also knew NERV was a UN operation, and while they staffed members of the JSSDF (and other military organizations), there was a lot of gray area as to who they reported to.
Then, there was the issue of his father. Would he even let him go on to do something else with his life? Did he have other plans for him?
One thing the teacher mentioned was the paradoxical increase in smaller family-owned and operated businesses even as globalization spread as countries picked up the pieces after Second Impact. This, however, didn't help Shinji too much, as NERV and the Evangelions were his father's business. He was already working for him!
He knew most people he interacted with regularly held master's degrees or doctorates, many carrying multiple ones. Even Miss Misato held a bachelor's in something. He had seen the degree hanging up in her office. His father was a scientist too, or at least had been one before taking control of NERV. His mother had been a scientist as well. Was he expected to follow in their footsteps? If so, he was in for a rough time. He scraped by on his science homework, and the subject didn't appeal to him.
Fortunately, he didn't need an immediate answer for the assignment. It was something for them all to work on over the weekend, supposedly to get them used to thinking about and planning for the future. After all, as their elderly instructor had said, not everyone gets to grow up to be a movie star, pop idol, or astronaut. It was time to put away childish dreams and face reality.
However, Shinji thought to himself, how many people get to grow up saving the world in a giant robot?
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Captain Katsuragi's desk was clear of paperwork, and the In and Out trays lacked inhabitants. This fact set the Section 2 Agent on edge, for it was well documented that the Operations Director always had some paperwork yet to do, except on rare occasions when she was preparing for something and wanted her plate clean of any other obligations.
This fact and the message she had sent to the Section 2 Operations Liaison Officer meant she was up to something. Of course, whatever she was planning obviously had something to do with the pilots' dinner date. But whatever it was that she had in mind remained to be seen. The agent, a towering American who spoke lightly accented Japanese, shifted uncomfortably in his seat as Captain Katsuragi silently stared at him from behind her desk in a copy of the same pose that Commander Ikari was infamous for. Neither one had any direct authority over the other, except in the general authority in combat situations Misato held over anyone she could rope into fighting, and then the Agent's authority to take steps to ensure the safety of the subjects who were classified as mission essential personnel, and to ensure the continued existence of the shroud of secrecy surrounding NERV.
Personnel from the other NERV Sections were never supposed to interact directly with Section 2, except via the Liaison Officers, unless it was vital to maintain the immediate security of NERV. The summons and this meeting were both... unorthodox.
It had never been said that Misato Katsuragi was an orthodox woman.
"So... Captain... What can Section 2 do for you?"
Misato dropped her hands in front of her face to reveal a wide grin as she leaned back in her chair, barely resisting the urge to kick her feet onto her desk. She knew this meeting was enough of a breach of protocol, and she didn't need to add to it by being too informal with the man whose name she didn't know. Nobody knew their names. It was rumored that upon joining Section 2, prospective agents had to give up their names.
"Shinji and Rei are going on a date tonight," Misato stated, pausing to watch the man carefully. "He said your department was taking care of the reservation at Rosewaters." After he nodded in acknowledgment, she continued.
"Now, I can't say I've ever eaten there, but I understand it's a fancy place with a waiting list as long as my arm. I was surprised they could get a table there before, but I suppose your department can... bend the rules for certain people.
So, what I'm getting at is they've got nice clothes, a reservation at a nice restaurant, and even a corsage. But what about transportation? Are they going to walk to the restaurant? Are they meeting up at Rei's place, or my apartment, or just at Rosewaters?"
She leaned over her desk, arms crossed atop its surface and flashing a little cleavage at the man. Misato was no novice in using her available assets to get what she wanted.
"The way I look at it, it's being set up as a nice romantic date. Hikari, their friend from school, I'm sure you know her, well, she thinks this way and has taken steps to make this something special. Isn't it our obligation to help out with this?"
The Section 2 Agent leaned back in his seat and removed the black sunglasses, revealing a pair of ice-cold eyes that betrayed a hint of warmth. A half smile appeared as he folded the glasses and tucked them into a pocket. It couldn't hurt to cut loose a little bit, he reasoned.
"What exactly did you have in mind?"
Misato's grin grew wider.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
As the school bell rang, signaling the end of the day, three cell phones began to ring.
Usually, students were to either silence or turn their phones off. There were three obvious exceptions to this rule, being, of course, the trio of pilots.
Shinji and Rei answered their phones and were told to report to the school's gate immediately. Rei closed her phone, tucked it back into her bag, and left. Shinji, however, turned to Hikari.
"Um... I've been told to report to the front gate. I can't do my clean-up duties today."
Hikari looked up from her phone, holding up a finger to tell him to wait as she listened to the person on the other end of the line. A smile spread across her features as she murmured into the phone before closing it with a satisfied snap.
"Oh, that's fine, Shinji. Go on, get out of here!" Hikari said before turning to their friends, her expression hardening. "Suzahara! Aida!" she snapped, her voice as cold as ice and as hard as diamonds, "Both of you are on clean up!"
Shinji, deciding he didn't want to know, ducked out of the classroom and made a beeline for the front gate to find one of the armored cars of the Section 2 men waiting for him, with Rei already sitting inside. As he slid into the car, the gun-toting agent closed the door and pounded a fist on the roof, signaling the driver to leave.
As the car sped off from the curb, the driver rolled down his window, stuck a detachable police light to the top, and started the siren, warning the rest of the traffic to make way for the speeding convoy of vehicles as they tore along the streets towards the apartment Shinji shared with Misato.
The agent in the front passenger seat broke the silence without bothering to turn to look at the pilots.
"All of your things are in the trunk, Miss. You'll both be getting ready at Captain Katsuragi's, and we've arranged suitable transportation to Rosewaters. Everything's been arranged."
"E-everything?" Shinji wasn't entirely sure what else needed arranging, what with all the things that had been arranged and then re-arranged yesterday.
"Everything."
Shinji, confident that whatever had been overlooked by all of the assorted persons involved in yesterday's mess had indeed been taken care of, slumped back into his seat and shot a sideways look at Rei, who was quietly staring out her window at the city as they tore through it at high speed.
As his eyes settled on his friend, the car came to a sudden, spinning, and screeching halt as they arrived at the apartment building. A black-suited man, one of six already waiting for them, opened Rei's door for her as the driver unlocked it. Shinji blinked in the bright flash of blinding sunlight as Rei climbed out of the car, seemingly unperturbed by the additional attention and commotion. At this moment he realized that in a few moments, he and Rei would be getting ready for a fancy dinner date, and a few hours after that, he and Rei would be on another fancy dinner date.
As his door was opened, Shinji Ikari began to hyperventilate.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Now, as anyone who is even amateurishly versed in such things could tell a person with no experience in these matters at all, it is tough for two people to shower and otherwise make use of a bathroom at the same time unless they are in very familiar terms with each other. Thus, it stands to reason the logical thing to do in a one-bathroom apartment is to take turns.
However, Misato was not about to let Rei muck her way through getting ready for such an important event. The Children had been left to their own devices on their first date, and it had ended in, well, Misato wasn't entirely sure how it had ended, but she knew there hadn't been a single chaste kiss, let alone any sloppy make-outs, and to Misato, that meant an unsuccessful date.
Time had only slightly tempered the young woman who had begun making up for time lost as a near-catatonic mute.
Because Misato was taking a hand in helping Rei out with getting ready, that meant there would be much more time spent in the area in and around the apartment's bathroom for the girl. It was doubtful Shinji would have the time be able to properly prepare himself if he was to wait.
An easy solution to this problem presented itself to the interested parties earlier this day.
Despite servicing the five-man shift making up Shinji's security contingent on the same floor of Misato's apartment, the bathroom, as was the rest of the place, was remarkably clean. This certainly was not due to a rushed and frantic cleaning session because they had been told in no uncertain terms by the leader of 10 Group that Shinji was going to get ready in the control station, and if he freaked out because the place was trashed, they would wish their punishment was only to come from Commander Ikari.
Shinji stepped out of the shower, clad only in a towel because his clothes had been stolen by one of the agents, probably the tall blond who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed as he waited for the pilot.
"Um... I couldn't find my clothes..." Shinji said, looking around. The apartment was larger than Misato's and was laid out differently. He could hear some of the other men talking in hushed voices down the hall, in the kitchen, but couldn't make out what was being said.
"They've been taken back to your apartment." The man, completely ignoring the artificial leg that commanded the attention of almost everyone who saw it, jerked his head down the hall towards a door. "Follow me, and I'll get you ready."
"I can get dressed by myself," Shinji muttered, barely loud enough to be heard. I don't see what's so complicated about it."
Ahead of Shinji, the agent smiled to himself. "Of course you can, but there's no room for error. Not today. That's why I was brought in."
Shinji paused as he trailed behind the tall man. "You're not part of my regular detail?"
"No. I normally work in a different Group, but my skills are needed more tonight. I will do more than help you get dressed, you know."
"Skills?" Shinji asked, eminently confused.
"Just because I wasn't hired for my fashion sense doesn't mean I don't have one. Besides, it's more than that. I can make anything look good and turn any dame into melted butter."
"Huh?"
The man continued talking, ignoring the boy's confused expression or comments as he closed the door and pointed to the bed, where Shinji's clothing for the evening was laid out.
"Now, with you, we're not expecting miracles, mind, but I think with a little help, you can turn an ice tray into a drink on the rocks. I don't think you've got the facial build to be classically good-looking, but then again, neither do I, and I'm not exactly a monk, now am I?"
Shinji, only barely following the conversation, wasn't sure how to answer that question.
"No?"
Back in their apartment, Misato looked up as a damp Rei exited the bathroom, wearing a towel hanging about her shoulders and nothing else. Misato froze for a second, suddenly glad Shinji was getting ready elsewhere.
"Captain-"
"Misato, Rei. It's Misato. Is there something wrong with the shower?"
"No. I am ready to get dressed."
Shaking her head, Misato put down her magazine, making a tsking sound. "No, Rei, you are not ready to get dressed." The woman stood up, pulled off her shirt, and tossed it on the couch as she walked towards the girl. Reaching behind her for the clasp to her bra, she nodded to the door behind the girl watching her curiously. "Back in the shower, you. I guess I'll have to get my hands dirty on this one."
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Misato grinned at her handiwork. It was very slight, but now there was the tiniest pinkish coloration to Rei's alabaster cheeks.
Rei's naturally wan complexion, which would have been the envy of all the ladies in the Victorian era, made it easy for even a little color to be far too much. This had played its part in the dress selection yesterday, and it raised a challenge towards applying makeup this afternoon.
Misato, however, was up to the challenge. Her skilled eye and practiced hands made timely work of the job of applying makeup to the girl, and then proceeded to show her how to re-apply the makeup during trips to the bathroom to 'freshen up".
That prompted a conversation about "freshening up" and socially accepted triggers and the duration of such trips. This, in turn, paved the way for Misato to ease into "tips" on how to turn men in general (and Shinji in particular) into putty with a minimum of effort. The flip of the head, a smoldering glance, a brief, almost accidental touch of their hands were brought up and then dissected by Rei. She had, of course, run across mention of them in her studies but had been unable to find a reliable description of how to perform and utilize such things.
Then there was the walk. One apparently could not simply walk in the slinky black dress chosen as one did in a school uniform or plug suit. One had to move like a liquid, to sashay, to move with a rhythm of the likes Rei had never seen. Not even Asuka had been observed to move in the manner Misato demonstrated, although it was clear to Rei that Asuka knew more of the subject than she did.
Practice made perfect, and experience lorded over all. To this end, Misato had Rei practice walking around the apartment. While a somewhat surreal experience, Rei focused on the task as seriously as she did piloting Unit-00.
Time, however, was fleeting, and soon, the time for Rei and Shinji to depart came around. Misato was able to contain her glee as she and Pen-Pen watched Shinji awkwardly fumble his way through putting the corsage on Rei's wrist, and then made them endure the indignity of having a series of photographs taken of them, both by themselves and then together.
Once the pair were out the door and on their way to the armored limo waiting in the parking lot, Misato dropped the digital camera on the ground, plucked up a startled penguin, and began dancing around the room, swinging her captive room-mate/pet as she released the pent up warm and fuzzy feelings in a series of squeals, before dropping Pen-Pen onto the couch and making a mad dash for her room, to throw on clothing suitable for a night on the town, or more specifically, a night at a particular bar right down the street from a specific posh restaurant.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Kozo Fuyutsuki did not often use the Commander's office when Gendo was away, preferring to run NERV from his office. Tonight, however, he could be found shifting his way through reams of paperwork at the desk in the cavernous office, which was brightly lit for a change. Ritsuko Akagi leveled a flat look at him as she entered the room.
"You're not actually doing any work, are you?"
Kozo smiled and shook his head. "Of course not. But I needed an excuse to be here in his office because mine doesn't have access to the camera feeds."
Ritsuko rolled her eyes, clearly still irritated by the whole affair. "All you need to do is ask the MAGI to connect you to the surveillance system."
Despite being a brilliant doctor and scientist, Kozo still had issues with some of the modern technological convinces, and dealing with a trio of hyper-intelligent bio-mechanical artificial intelligences based on one of his former co-workers was one of those issues.
The MAGI limited access to most things based on the subject's clearance level and whether the person had asked for access to something. If they felt the request was reasonable, and the person had the appropriate security clearance, they would grant the request.
Kozo had never gotten used to talking to the trio of supercomputers that ran the Geo-Front and Tokyo-3 but instead filtered his requests through Maya or Ritsuko.
"Well, I could or I could watch it from here." The man shrugged before leaning back and quirking an eyebrow at her. "So what brings you here? Looking for me?"
The unasked addendum to the question hung heavily in the air, but while Kozo might be snarky enough to hint at it, he had too much decorum to bring up the subject.
Ritsuko, for her part, merely shot a withering look at him. "I was looking for you." Besides, she thought to herself, if I missed him, I'd be in his regular apartment and not here. "I just wanted to emphasize how much of a bad idea this whole thing is."
"Why? I thought you had started them both on infertility drugs. Besides," he said as he reached over and flipped a switch that caused the large television screen to descend from the ceiling, "they shouldn't be able to breed in any case."
"You know as well as I that just because something isn't supposed to be able to happen, it doesn't. But yes, they shouldn't be able to breed with each other." Ritsuko sniffed disdainfully. "If we wanted to be super technical about it, they shouldn't even be attracted to each other, genetically."
"I suppose you'd be happier if they both were pursuing romantic interests elsewhere then."
"It's an abomination! A perversion of the highest order!"
Kozo shook his head. "Look, I'll be the first to admit that it's all rather... unorthodox, but I don't think it's all that bad. Weird, yes. Unsettling, to be sure. Downright creepy, but in a cute way. They pair up well together. You can't deny that."
He smiled at her uncomfortable look as he switched the television on, causing it to resolve into a display of numerous camera feeds.
"Rosewaters, please. The pilot's table."
He continued as the screen shifted to display a small, empty table tucked away in a quiet and private restaurant nook.
"Besides, your main issue is that you want a family. It's not technically incest, but it's close enough to mess up your fantasy, isn't it?" Kozo asked pleasantly, a slight smile on his face.
Ritsuko's jaw dropped for a second before snapping back into place, and while she spun around with commendable haste, the Sub-Commander still saw the bright red flush on her features as she fled the office.
He chuckled, not unkindly, and turned back to the screen in time to watch the Children being led to their table by a waiter. He nodded to himself as he leaned back, activating the speakers.
Both pilots bore a remarkable resemblance, though it was well hidden. It was almost impossible to see until one paid the pair very close attention when they were together, but once one did, it was as plain as day.
It's probably just as well we were never able to get the hair the right color. Or the pigmentation of her skin and eyes, for that matter. It would be more noticeable, and all it would do is raise questions.
Both Gendo and Kozo had spent almost an entire year locked up in a lab deep in the bowels of the Geo-Front as the base itself was being put together around them. Overall, it was an accomplishment on the level of creating the Evangelions. Still, even as the duo had strayed into God's realm (again) and done what was considered impossible (again), they considered the girl somewhat of a failure on their part.
True, she was created for a single, terrible purpose, and every fiber of the girl longed for a release from this world, a safeguard built into her very genetics, but both men were alumni of the school of "If you're going to do something, do it right." So they had slaved away, combining human genetic material with that of Lilith, working to create a perfect vessel in which to place their will and subvert the machinations of the men who had murdered millions.
It had not been easy, and there had been many, many failures, but with Rei, they had succeeded. True, the girl had pigmentation issues and had that remarkably odd phase she went through when she was younger, but on the whole, she was what they needed.
His student's plan had always been to use the pair as balances and levers against each other, but both had been shocked by how well both marionettes danced as their strings were pulled. Kozo did have reservations about some of the aims of the new plan, but nothing severe. True, the adjusted scenario did have the capacity to be kinder, but so did it have that same capacity to be crueler. It also set a bad precedent. If they were willing to make allowances and adjustments for the budding romance between Shinji and Rei, would that lead to them making enough changes to eventually make them unable to stop SEELE?
Theirs was a terrible burden, but they had to keep the faith. They had to see it out to the end. There was no other alternative, for the time had long passed for the course of history to be changed by other means. The die was cast, and all they could do was wait to see if they could nudge the table enough to come up winning.
Kozo pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind as he watched the pilots, wishing he had popcorn.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Out towards the east, far out in the ocean's dark, cold, and crushing depths, Something stirred. In the black gloom of waters that had never been warmed by the kiss of the sun's rays, red light glowed like the fires of the kilns where the crockery of Hell was prepared.
Israfel raised its empty face towards the ocean's surface and the west. The Song was muted, but it was audible. Slowly, the Angel began to move.