Author's Note: A new piece of art (commissioned from Renu) of Toji and his Persona Gilgamesh can be seen on Space Battles or Sufficient Velocity.
Now, onto the story!
xxxx
Sokila stared at him with concern.
"Something's...different..."
She tilted her head.
"You...you found out something, didn't you? About...the real bad guy?"
She frowned.
"...why that though? Why not stuff even more important...?"
The faint haze of blue began to brighten-
xxxx
/Tuesday: July 28, 2015/
/Courtyards, Hakone Academy/
There was practically a festival atmosphere as the students walked towards the building.
"Last day. Last day. Last day."
"Freedom shall soon be here!"
"...not looking forward to my exam scores..."
"-here's what we're going to be doing for August. I've already got the itinerary planned out and everything-"
"Come on dude, we already know everyone in our dorm room is going to my place."
"Is anyone else upset that it wasn't Narukami-senpai who wore the fundoshi yesterday?"
"I honestly would've settled for Amamiya-senpai~"
"You two are crazy. Arisato-senpai looked cool! And hot!"
Kaworu Nagisa looked around in confusion. "Why are people making a big deal out of classical underwear?"
"Just ignore the fangirls," warned Kensuke Aida.
"Seriously, why those three of all people? What'd they do to be so popular?" asked Toji Suzuhara.
Shinji Ikari didn't answer, as he was too busy thinking. I wonder...I mean, it wouldn't be a problem, right? I can be anywhere in a flash, so it's not like it would be that much of an issue if I actually went on a trip, would it...? Such thoughts continued to swirl about his head as they entered the Junior High branch, where a huge cluster of people could be seen around a bulletin board. Oh...right. Exam scores.
Toji was already audibly muttering, "please don't be crap please don't be crap please don't be crap..."
They looked around for their names.
Kaworu nodded. "Looks like Ayanami and I made it into the top five once more."
"Yeah yeah, don't rub it in," griped Toji, finally finding his name. "...middle of the pack...honestly, I'll take it."
"Slot twenty-seven for me," said Kensuke with an obvious point of pride. "Slowly but surely, my assault on the top ranks will bear fruit...what about you Ikari?"
"Haven't found it yet," he murmured, trying to determine where his score was, because the middle of the pack wasn't showing anything. I didn't do that badly, did I...?
"Don't feel bad," assured Kensuke, patting him on the back. "With all those missions you had to run, you were run pretty ragged. I mean...I mean...huh?!" Kensuke pointed a shaky figure. "How did, I mean...WHA?"
Shinji followed his friend's finger, where it pointed to the fifteenth spot on the board. "...oh, so that's where I was." Right into the Top 15? That was better than he had expected, honestly.
"Are you Evangelion-users just super geniuses or somethin'?" marvelled Toji.
Shinji blushed, because other people were starting to stare. "Well...I just did the work, is all..."
Some students muttered at the apparent unfairness of it all...but not a few were audibly wondering about how someone who'd had to leave class so often because of their 'work' still managed to do so well.
He couldn't really deny that it made him feel good. (Just a little.)
xxxx
The last day of class before summer vacation was a rather unique one in terms of its overall format: every teacher — Fuyutsuki, Ibuki, Hyuga, Nebukawa, Aoba, Takao, Ooi, Magami, and Agano — had their own period for a shortened amount of time, solely so they could assign summer homework and provide a general framework for how the second trimester's lessons would go.
Well...Nebukawa-sensei had other 'plans'.
"Some of you children may be too young to remember, but there was a time when Marine Day was actually held on the third Monday of July; however, it is never wise to underestimate how susceptible we as a people are to superstition," warned the elderly teacher. "Case in point: on July 20th, 2009, the Prime Minister of that time — whose name has gone down in infamy, alas, so there's no need for me to repeat the unpleasantness — visited his hometown in Kagoshima Prefecture...Yakushima, to be precise." Using a long pointer to designate one of the northernmost islands in the Ryuku Archipelago, he continued, "at the time, the Anti-Terror Task Force had become far more successful as an institution; after all, 2008 had been the first time that total cognitive incidents worldwide had declined since Second Impact, and the trend was continuing for 2009. Such was the confidence of the Prime Minister that he want to visit his home for Marine Day — understandable, for an island — even though he knew a solar eclipse was going to cross over that part of the world the very next day. His faith in the A.T. Task Force was great...but his hubris was even greater." He then used his thin stick to trace a curving path over the hanging map of the world, tracing a line over south-central Indochina, the Osumi Islands (Yakushima among them), and various other Pacific islands. "That man paid for his hubris with his life. The solar eclipse over those two days had a catastrophic casualty count; to this day, Yakushima remains an island of the dead. The government, showing a surprising amount of alacrity, responded to the former Prime Minister's temptation of fate by moving Marine Day to the fourth Monday of July as of 2010, where it has been ever since."
The class stared in silence, because what else were they going to say?
"...anyhow, let that be a lesson in avoiding close encounters with the moon," he said with an air of sagacity. "As for summer homework...a story featuring a sun deity of your choice triumphing over a moon deity will do. Maybe one focusing on the sibling rivalry between Apollo and Artemis...ah, I'll let you children figure that part out. Just make sure the writing is decent."
And so classes continued on at a snail's pace.
xxxx
/Misato's Apartment, Tokyo-3/
By comparison, Misato Katsuragi's day was also going at a snail's pace. Mana Kirishima wasn't around, as she was doing tests at NERV.
(Mana's question as to why she wasn't coming with her to NERV was met by a casual shrug. "Eh, I'm sure you can get there without me holding your hand, you know?" This actually seemed to please the girl, who departed with light steps.)
At the moment, Pen-Pen was taking a hot shower.
This gave her the opportunity to start bugging her own apartment.
It was, admittedly, a rather paranoid tactic...but she needed to do it, for the sake of her own personal sanity. (Something about yesterday still bugged her, but she couldn't quite articulate why.) If nothing else, it would provide assurance...and that was something she was in desperately short supply of.
("...damn it kid, why you, of all people?" She hung up before giving him a chance to respond, because hearing Shinji try to justify himself was only going to send her temper through the roof...damn it all, she had been worried about him, and he repaid her with this crap?!)
She had spent much of yesterday stewing over the sense of betrayal (which still lingered even now) that her call with Ikari had engendered; curiosity about what in the hell her ex's Shadow had talked to the boy about was matched only by her desire to find out how Mister P, Rei Ayanami, and Kaji's Shadow were all connected.
It was...almost nostalgic, at how her anger was driving her to action.
So...tiny little cameras set up in my home, geared to an app on my phone. Even if her paranoia didn't pay off (because why would it, you literally have ZERO reason to think Akechi lied to you about Pen-Pen...except the fact that Mister P looks so much like Pen-Pen, dammit dammit DAMMIT) , it was still a justifiable security move. "Okay...time to test it out." Whipping out her smartphone, she quickly synchronized the cameras (replacing batteries was going to be tiresome,she just knew it) and turned them on. A grid on monitors appeared on her phone, transmitting footage in black and white. "And there...we..." Her voice died away, as her eyes widened uncontrollably.
The cameras were showing her from different angles...as well as someone else: a figure clad in black, features hidden by cowl and cloak: in their hand was a spear, or perhaps a naginata.
Someone's in my house. They were only standing several feet away, right behind her. Someone's...in...my HOUSE. Staring wordlessly at her phone, she slowly raised her free hand, to reach for the firearm strapped under her jacket...oh. This is bad.
In the blink of an eye, the stranger had moved, holding their naginata towards the back of her neck. The message was clear: reach for your gun and perish.
...this is bad. Gulping (and hating how audible sounded), Misato slowly (so slowly that she felt like she'd never be able to make it) began to turn around, whispering (damn it talk louder!) with great trepidation. "Ain't gonna attack...ain't gonna attack...let's just talk this out..." Finally, she managed to get a glimpse at the individual, flinching at their shortness of height. How old are they? "Easy now...no need to attack..."
The mysterious figure simply stared, features hidden by their cowled hood.
With excruciating slowness, Misato reached for her badge. "Not going for a gun...it's just a medal...no big deal..." Have to get some distance...have to get far enough away that I can call for backup. "...no big deal at all, right...?"
The mysterious figure kept staring.
Slowly, she tapped her thumb against her A.T. medallion. Now or never. "Agent Misato Katsuragi, identification zero-one-whiskey-alpha-four: activate cognitive tunneling."
"Cognitive tunneling: authorized," droned her badge.
zhuu
zhuu
ZHUU
ZHUU
The physical boundaries faded away — and so did the stranger — and gave way to the familiar cognitive confines of her apartment. "...that...holy shit, that was tense," she breathed out. She took a step forward (have to get out, have to get a better vantage point, have to act, have to do SOMETHING), coming face-to-face with the stranger. "WHOA GEEZ-"
This time, the stranger did not hesitate.
SMASH!
A blow to Misato's abdomen with the blunt end of the pole weapon sent her through the wall of her mental apartment building. With sudden confidence born from years of practice and hard-won instinct, she summoned her Persona in midair; with little effort, Misato landed atop the shoulders of her Persona. "Thanks for the save," she breathed.
Tokoyo settled for withdrawing both swords, glaring intently at the mysterious figure who had just ambushed Misato.
"...I don't know who you are," growled Misato, her eyes focusing on the cloaked stranger as they calmly hopped down onto the street. "But I can tell you right now that you made a huge mistake today."
The figure in black answered with two words. "Chi You." With that name (they sound like a young girl...who the hell is this?!) spoken aloud, a hulking green beast — half-man, half-bull — manifested amidst a flash of blue flames, standing at any easy twenty feet in height. With four hooved legs and four pairs of humanoid arms — the highest two pairs each wielding either a shield or bladed weapon — it truly looked like a beast of war.
"What the hell?" murmured Misato, unable to hide the unease in her heart (what kind of Persona is that?!).
"Vorpal Blade," hissed the cloaked girl.
The horned beast swung a longsword, great axe, and naginata simultaneously, and then there was no time for talking at all.
xxxx
Clean-up time had been held earlier so that everyone could gather in the Junior High gymnasium for an afternoon assembly: a traditional send-off on the part of the principal, usually to remind them to behave over summer and to use their time wisely.
So far, that trend was holding, judging by what Principal Keel Lorenz had said thus far.
"-and although you lot have the energy and vigor to spare, simply running wild and rambunctiously during your break is a waste of your time. Such is the action of your children, and you are all on the cusp of adulthood. Furthermore-"
The quiet mutters of various students filtered their way
"And the principal wonders why he ain't popular..."
"-didn't he say the same stuff last year? Talk about senile..."
"Careful, I bet his headpiece has advanced hearing-"
Shinji resisted the urge to comment (if only because he was vastly outnumbered), but he felt a twinge of sympathy for the principal. After all, it came from a good place, and from honest motivations...at least, that was the impression he had gotten from the times he had spent talking with the principal.
Toji yawned. "...can't wait for this to end..."
"Ssh, don't be rude," whispered Shinji.
"Eh, it ain't like he can hear me."
Kensuke took a different tack. "So, what are our plans for the break? I mean, Ikari mentioned something about visiting his sensei...which, given his abilities, wouldn't take that long to get there, but it's not like it would be something to take a whole month..."
"I'm afraid I will be preoccupied by the summer tournament starting the week of August the 3rd," said Kaworu. "But after that...well, who's to say?"
"But part of the whole summer vacation is about the trip, ain't it? If Ikari wants to visit the place he used to live at, wouldn't zipping there in an instant kind of defeat the point?" asked Toji.
There was a sudden clearing of the air by Principal Lorenz, courtesy of a throaty cough. "Now, to close out...I'd like to address some unsettling rumors that have come to my attention." Speaking from a single rolling podium — lacking any sense of ostentation — the principal somehow managed to command everyone's attention, where he had been unable to do so previously. "I am not ignorant of the concerns many of you possess in light of the message that was broadcast during the last new moon...nor am I blind to the panic it seems to have caused amongst the student body. After all, it's not everyday when the apparent cause of so much needless suffering has supporters, or even allies. But Strega is truly a pitiable reflection of humanity's worst quality: the lack of hope in any kind of constructive future. Theirs is a nihilistic message, an implicit rejection of the evolution of our species. Regardless of your own personal fears, I will not have you leave with the idea that such a mentality is acceptable. It would only fester, like cancer. After all..." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "...death is something that comes for everyone. But death is not something to be feared in and of itself, if it is for a purpose: whether it be the capstone on a life well lived, or a sacrifice for the sake of something greater; but death only for the sake of itself...creates nothing. That is what Strega seems to believe in, and it is nothing short of repugnant." He gazed over the entire assembly. "So, with that being said: the identity of the Evangelion-users is technically information that the public is not supposed to know; however, I know that you children are not blind, nor ignorant. The identities of such individuals are practically an open secret...so I will simply warn you that any misguided retaliation against them for the mere 'crime' of ensuring our survival will be met with harsh reprisal...up to and including expulsion. That is all." He quietly nodded his head. "You're all dismissed for the day. Enjoy your summer vacation, and I'll see you all again in September."
The principal promptly walked away, leaving the Junior High students to disperse on their own.
Shinji, although touched by the principal's unexpected defense of himself and Ayanami, couldn't help but feel the eyes of his peers invariably draw towards him. Would disappearing into the Metaverse be a bad idea...?
Toji, however, seemed to have no compunction when others looked in their direction. "What, you punks got a problem? You can say it to my face!" They promptly vacated the immediate area, more interested in getting on with their summer plans than eyeing the notorious Evangelion-user. "S'what I thought."
"...well, classes are over. We're free!" exclaimed Kensuke. "So...what now?"
Toji sighed. "Eh, too late to focus on any of that. I'll be in vacation mood tomorrow."
"...you guys go on," said Shinji, gazing at the door where the principal had left. "I'll...catch up later." He walked along, threading his way through the lessening crowd of students. Making his way back to the main academic building, he knocked on the door to the Principal's Office.
"Come on in," called out Principal Lorenz.
Shinji entered; as before, an old piece of classical music (Clair de Lune?) was playing on the gramophone. "Hello, sir."
"Good afternoon, Ikari." Keel Lorenz was already writing in a thick folder, filled with various reports. "How can I help you?"
"Well...you didn't have to defend me and Ayanami-san. But since you did...thank you." He lightly bowed.
The old man snorted. "I only did the sensible thing. It is an irrational action to vilify those who are your greatest line of defense against genocidal terrors. It is one thing to criticize your protectors if they have truly done wrong...it is quite another to treat them as monsters simply for doing their job."
"...I don't understand why, though," he admitted. "I mean...Strega said they were on the side of the Angels, who have caused so much pain...who would do that?"
"It's possible that people believe they will obtain clemency, for how else could a human-allied group work with them? Of course, had the Anti-Terror Task Force not unveiled the identity of Jin Shirato, I would have doubted Strega's very existence." The principal leaned back in his chair, gazing at the ceiling. "There's also the reality of what fear does to impressionable minds...and although the causes of Angel Syndrome are truly terrifying, there's something to be said for having a face to go with what you fear...and to be perfectly honest, I cannot blame the children for fearing you. Not entirely."
"...I see..."
"After all, the result of yours and Ayanami's battle on the 16th is still being broken down to the east of the city. It is very humbling to realize that mere children hold such power; lesser minds might even find it humiliating, even if they couldn't quite articulate why."
"...it's...I guess that's why I couldn't really help you with your own reputation, sir," he murmured, feeling a little introspective. "I mean...I have the same problem, don't I...?"
"On a very different scale, but I understand your point." Principal Lorenz sighed, leaning onto his desk. It was difficult to gauge what he was truly feeling, given the visor over his face. "I know not of what the future holds for certain, but what I do know is that it can't be left in the hands of those like Strega. For someone to indulge in such purposeless destruction, out of misguided fealty for creatures which despise our very existence...I find it repugnant."
"...for what it's worth, thank you." If nothing else, the fact that his principal seemed to wholeheartedly support him was...heartening. (And refreshing.)
"Were it within my power to do so, I would render such infantile complaints about your person an impossibility...but I am not God, and the human race is what it is, with all of its imperfections. As such...I can only wield the threat of punishment. It'll be up to you to change their minds, alas."
Shinji thought of those he was close to. (He thought of the woman he had been close to, and wondered if it would ever become better.) "I...I can only do my best." At that precise moment, his phone buzzed. "Um..."
"Go ahead and take it."
Nodding gratefully, he held the phone up (Ayanami-san...?) and pressed it against his ear. "Ayanami-san?"
"Ikari-kun, you should come to NERV Headquarters."
"Why, what's going on?"
"Major Katsuragi has been hospitalized after a confrontation with an unknown Persona-user."
Just like that, that brief spout of hopeful optimism that his conversation with Principal Lorenz had spawned died an ugly death. "...I...I'll be there!" He promptly hung up, looking with wide eyes towards his principal.
The man frowned. "Is something wrong?"
"I...I have to go."
"Then don't let me keep you." He grabbed a pen, turning back to his own reports. "Enjoy your summer vacation, Shinji Ikari."
Shinji was already out the door, his thoughts of summer vacation long abandoned.
xxxx
Within the dedicated medical wing of NERV HQ, Misato Katsuragi lied unconscious upon a hospital cot. Dr. Sayoko Uehara and nurse Tae Takami were monitoring her vitals, while Dr. Ritsuko Akagi was analyzing the sensory data coming from her mind.
Outside, Mana Kirishima paced endlessly, her face set into an expression of frustration and concern.
Rei Ayanami said nothing, because she knew that talking would only draw more questions from the girl that she would be unable to answer...at least, for now.
Because...the one who had attacked Katsuragi...
xxxx
/Earlier/
Rei Ayanami had been on her way back from a Ghost hunt in Iwate Prefecture when her phone's Mission Board application buzzed with an alert, specifically for those stationed out of the Hakone region.
SUBMITTED BY: Goro Akechi (Anti-Terror Task Force)
LOCATION: Tokyo-3
MISSION: Unknown hostile Persona-user has been observed attacking A.T. Agent Misato Katsuragi. Reinforcements requested. LETHAL FORCE IS AUTHORIZED.
Rei frowned, because the use of lethal force against a belligerent was rarely granted. That said individual was attacking Misato Katsuragi...it didn't bode well.
With a mere thought, she shifted from hard reality into interdimensional gray into sepia-toned cognitive; hundreds of kilometers elapsed in an instant, as Ayanami found herself hovering above Tokyo-3.
Sure enough, there was a recognizable trail of destruction stemming from the northern part of the city's cognitive double; the telltale flash of Personas unleashing skills against each other was still ongoing. Such was the wanton destruction that certain A.T. Agents were focusing solely on pacifying the wild Archetypes that had spawned from the mayhem.
"This is the First Child: I will assist with Major Katsuragi," she said aloud, broadcasting her intentions to any and all Agents that were listening. Without hesitation, she dove downwards, held tightly within Lilith's arms.
She arrived at the tail end of the battle; Katsuragi looked absolutely disheveled, as though parts of her wardrobe had been run through a blender. That she wasn't bleeding
profusely was a testament to her skill. Tokoyo, in like manner, was visibly leaning onto her swords for balance.
Their opponent, clad in black, seemed untouched. She held a finger up to her temple, mimicking the action of shooting herself in the head. "Thanatos," she said, changing her Persona(?!) from Chi You to something...deadly-looking. A humanoid clad in a dark blue coat with long white boots and leered from behind a metallic skull (really more akin to a bear trap for a face); most striking were the eight floating coffins that formed a sort of mantle around its shoulders. "...end it."
"Door of Hades," hissed the Persona, withdrawing a long razor-edged sword from its scabbard. With a mere flick of the blade, holy energy tinged with darkness began to coalesce between Misato and Tokoyo.
"MOVE!" howled the woman, as she and her Persona split to the sides-
The orb finished forming into a solid mass before they could even leap away, detonating with an almighty flash. Tokoyo roared with agony as one of her legs was vaporized, and the feedback from the attack forcefully dispersed the Persona; with a pained shriek, Misato tumbled over the ground, limbs going lax as she slammed into the side of a building. The seasoned Agent did not move.
Without hesitation, Rei Ayanami and Lilith landed with a crash into the street, standing between the fallen Katsuragi and her mysterious assailant. "Who are you?" she demanded.
The assailant mimed shooting herself in the head once more. "Horus," she said, summoning yet another(?!) Persona: this one a great, golden falcon that shined like the Sun. "...we're done here."
"You're not getting away," said Ayanami.
Horus simply screeched "FLASH BOMB!" before erupting into a blinding burst of light.
Ayanami impulsively raised her arms, while Lilith stepped forward protectively. "Spirit Drain," she intoned, absorbing ambient energy from the air to minimize the attack's existence. Before long, the flash had faded, but the mysterious Persona-user was gone.
"...that Persona..." murmured Ayanami, thinking of the second one in particular. "Thanatos...but that's impossible..." This warranted investigation.
But first, she had to tend to the Major.
xxxx
...the one who had attacked Katsuragi had been a Wild Card. But how? I thought there were only supposed to be three before Ikari-kun...and they've never mentioned a girl.
Before she could ponder any further, the sound of Shinji Ikari's footsteps echoing down the hall could be heard. "Misato-san..." he breathed, looking towards the door that Kirishima was pacing in front of. "Is she...?"
"She will live," said Rei, rising to her feet. "...I figured that you would want to be here. But I must go."
Kirishima placed a hand on her shoulder, growling, "you're going to chase whoever did this to Katsuragi, aren't you?"
"No." Rei shrugged the girl's hand away. "I understand that you want to find the person that did this to Major Katsuragi, but I don't know who they are or where they went." I do, however, know who might have some answers. "And to be honest...even if I did know, I would not let you come. Anyone skilled enough to do this to the Major would make short work of you."
"You don't know that-"
"I know so," interrupted Ayanami with such an authoritative tone that it immediately shut the girl up. "...please keep me apprised of the Major's condition," she said before turning away without another word.
She had a certain blue-haired Wild Card to see to.
xxxx
As Ayanami walked away, Mana Kirishima resisted the urge to punch a hole in the wall...mostly. A rough and petulant kick sufficed. "Damn it...where does she get off...?"
(You know that Katsuragi would have agreed.)
(If she went off halfcocked and got herself killed, where would that leave her brothers?)
With an irritated grimace, she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall with her shoulder, staring intently in Shinji's direction. There was something...mollifying, about how someone with such power was also helpless in the face of stuff like this. Unless...maybe? "Say, Ikari."
"...yes?"
"Your Evangelion powers wouldn't include the ability to heal, would it?"
"...not that I'm aware of."
"Just wondering," she muttered. Don't even know why I asked.
xxxx
Little Sis smiled sweetly, even as Big Sis boasted about how it was perfectly okay to let Katsuragi into her heart.
xxxx
Mana huffed; the weight of AIGIS and LABRYS felt heavier than normal. "...hey."
"...yes?"
"What were you and Katsuragi talking about yesterday?"
The boy suddenly looked alarmed. "What...what do you mean?"
She shrugged. "She'd just gotten take-out for a late lunch when you called her. She sounded concerned, upset, angry...ring any bells?"
"...yeah."
Mana narrowed her eyes.
(She quietly ate her noodles as Katsuragi's mood continued to darken, each transformation playing across her face. "Now you listen to me Ikari: I'll find out the truth, one way or another...but if you're determined to be an obstacle, I'll treat you like one. I..." She paused, audibly growling to herself. "...damn it kid, why you, of all people?" She hung up, a complicated grimace hanging on her face. Any and all attempts at finding out what in the world her guardian had talked about were rebuffed. Then Featherman came on, and that sufficiently distracted her for a time.)
"...so, what was it about?"
"It was...a mistake, I think..."
"What kind of a mistake?"
"...I'm still trying to figure it out..."
Mana snorted. "Can't anyone talk straight? Trying to figure out what you're thinking about is a pain."
A rueful look crossed the boy's face. "...yeah...that's true, isn't it...?"
It was at that moment that a certain blonde doctor poked her head out the door. "Misato's awake."
Finally, thought Mana with relief that she didn't show.
xxxx
Misato Katsuragi let the medical chatter of Dr. Uehara and nurse Takami pass through one ear and out the other, because it wasn't anything she hadn't heard before. After all, it wasn't the first time she had gotten her ass kicked so hard that her Persona had lost its corporeality...but it had been a while.
Come to think of it, not counting her times in training all those years ago, the last time she had gotten wrecked so badly...
(Subduing an Acolyte's Shadow in Gunma Prefecture had been a relative milk run as far as she had been concerned, especially with a team of five Agents; then Tokoyo had been one-shot by a Riot Gun, and that was all she remembered. It wasn't until later, upon awakening, that she learned that the Reaper had attacked them without warning and knocked her out first.)
...well, it had been by a literal force of nature. (Which, given that her little assailant had possessed more than one Persona, put into her a category held by only one other person that she was aware of...and that person was a force of nature on his own.)
(So much big talk about being a grown-ass woman, and you get the crap kicked out of you not even a day later. Great job.)
Her self-recriminations were put to a halt when Ritsky poked her head back in, holding the door open; in walked Mana-chan (whose emotional concern for her wellbeing was unbearably obvious) and...the boy. (He has a name.) "Hey kids," she croaked.
"Try to ease up on talking," cautioned Dr. Uehara.
Misato waved her off, turning her gaze towards Ritsuko. "Mind vacating the room? I need to talk to Ikari about something." Her eyes flickered over towards Mana-chan, who simply looked confused. "You too, Mana-chan."
The girl pouted angrily, but it only came off as adorably possessive. (The best part was that she didn't even know.) "But why?"
"Just...need to clear the air, is all. Won't be long. You'll get your chance to be a mother hen in a flash." Her gaze briefly paused on Shinji's face — he seemed quiet, solemn — before looking back at Ritsuko. "Please. It's not like I'm going anywhere."
"...if you insist," muttered Dr. Akagi, jerking her head towards the door. "Let's give them their time."
Nurse Takami and Dr. Uehara, despite looking a bit off-put by the abrupt demand, simply nodded. That they immediately pushed their hands against Mana's shoulders to lead her out? Well, a sign of true bravery. That sheer confusion, of all things, stopped the girl from fighting back? ("Hey, what's going on? What are you two doing?") Well, that only added to the hilarity.
At last, it was only Misato and Shinji in the medical room. (The awkwardness was thick enough to stab with a knife.) She decided to go on the offensive. (If she didn't say anything, the pitiful expression on his face was going to defeat her without a single shot being fired.) "So...got anything to say to me?"
xxxx
Shinji Ikari was trying to be polite, but it was hard not to stare.
The beret that she had taken to wearing was nowhere to be found, so the half-inch of hair covering the back of her head — a stark contrast from the rest of her long locks, and an ever present reminder of her captivity courtesy of Shiro Tokita — was visible for all to see. Given the gauze on the left side of her face and the fact that her entire upper body was wrapped in bandages (impossible to hide with the thin medical garb that had been given to her), it couldn't be denied that Misato Katsuragi had been put through the wringer.
It only reminded him of the stakes: stakes he had not been aware of not forty-eight hours ago.
"Hey. You hear me?"
"...sorry," he murmured, grabbing the chair nearest her bed and sitting down. "...it was sudden, you know?"
"What, hearing from Ayanami that I had gotten the hell beat out of me?"
"...I'm glad you're okay," he said, not answering her question. Not completely.
The woman sighed, her eyes turning back towards the ceiling. "...you look like you've got more to say, though."
"...it's...well..." Ironically enough, the juxtaposition between what Marie had revealed...and Principal Lorenz's end-of-term speech, of all things, solidified the dichotomy he dealt with on a daily basis. "Even though I have all of this power...I'm still just a kid. Even though you and NERV and so many others like to treat me otherwise...I'm still a kid. I never asked for the power of Evangelion, or for the power of Persona...but I have it anyway."
"...no offense kid, but I know this already."
"Do you?" He looked quietly at her, trying to gauge her reactions. "You've been fighting for how long now? Ten years, at least?" She nodded. "Ayanami, from what little I know, has had her powers since she was a child...and I bet Sohryu-san has as well."
"Not as long as Ayanami...but yeah. She's been known as an Evangelion-user since 2008."
"So over six years. But me...it hasn't even been two months. Yet here I am, expected to fight as well as them; better than them, because I can use multiple Personas. And I'm still going to school, which sounds crazy, but I think I'd go crazier if I wasn't, because doing nothing but fighting, day in and day out...it terrifies me. But it's still a lot, but I..." Gods, he was beginning to ramble. "...I think I'm holding on. Because I...I have friends. I think. And...they make my life better...and then I get told something that's crazier than all of that, and I don't know what to do with it!" He hoped that the expression on his face was able to communicate how desperate he felt. "I've tried not to think about it. I've been trying to distract myself...and I know you probably think that's weak, but if I think about it more, then I'll just keep coming back to how I'm just a kid, how this is all too big for me, and yet for some reason I have the power to do something about it instead of someone who can...and..." He loosed an explosive gasp, because his head was feeling funny...
His Other quietly placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Breathe, boy. Breathe."
...inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. "...if no one else has the power I have...then how can I put them in danger because I'm too weak? What would that say about me...?"
There was a moment of long silence from both of them: long, empty, and uncertain.
Finally...the first to muster the courage to break it was Misato herself. "Heh...it's stupid: Niijima making me a guardian of all people...I feel like any mother worth their salt would've seen your problem from a mile away." She had a wry yet bitter twist to her grin. "You're just terrified of losing what you have, aren't you?"
Shinji's head shot up, as one shocked.
"Can't speak for whatever life you used to live...but you're clearly gotten attached to this place. To your roommates, your comrades...and me. Don't know what I've done exactly to deserve that, but it is what it is. And...you've either had a bad experience with it before, or you never had enough to know what it was like to lose everything...or to have that threat hanging over your head."
He honestly wished he knew.
The Beast smiled knowingly.
"I already know how you deal with it."
In a single swipe of the hand, the entire landscape around them was unmade.
"With FIRE."
"...that..." Shinji gulped. "...maybe that sounds right...but it's all so much..."
The woman chuckled, wincing from the sudden motion. "Ow, that girl hit hard...anyway, whatever it was that you got told, it was obviously enough to freak you out. With that in mind...I probably didn't handle our conversation as well as I could have."
Shinji shook his head. "But...that man. Ryoji Kaji. He's...important to you, isn't he...?"
"...yeah," she managed to choke out. "I've grown past a lot of shitty things in my life...but he still represents something tough. An anchor, weighing me down...or maybe a story I've never wanted to let go...you have to understand, that man meeting his Shadow was the catalyst for breaking off our own damned wedding. To this day, I've yet to get a satisfactory reason as to why...and I've never been able to track him down. Never." Her eyes were glittering now (oh no a crying woman he was not prepared for this!), with unshed tears. "And yet...he sought you out, with some big earth-shattering revelation of some kind...you, a practical stranger. And not me. Do you know how much that sucks?"
"...a lot?" he ventured.
"Yeah," she snorted. "A lot. So maybe I wasn't the most grown-up woman in the world yesterday...but I needed more than what you were willing to tell me. I still do." She fully shifted onto her side, staring at him head-on. "Please. Give me something to work with...that's all I'm asking for."
"..."
"After all...you're never too young or too old to learn how to cooperate. That's an important lesson, isn't it?"
"...I guess so," he relented, leaning back into the chair. He still felt heavy with concern and anxiety and stress, but Misato was offering him a hand. "After...everything I was told...Kaji-san's Shadow gave me a business card for a place called the Melon Patch. Does that place sound familiar?"
Misato's eyes hardened. "...yeah. It does."
"His Shadow...he made it sound like I would want to go there, before long. That they both had a 'vested interest' in my survival."
"...well then. I might have to tag along whenever you end up going there."
"I'd...I'd like that." And he truly meant that.
Misato smirked: not quite a smile, not quite a grimace, yet it bore none of the anger she had displayed yesterday. "Then it's a date, Shinji-kun."
Even if the words were said in jest ("What, no reaction? Since when have you tried your hand at being too cool for my womanly charms?" joked Misato.), Shinji felt indescribably glad that she was using his given name again. For her not to have done so...it had felt like a violation of the natural order.
xxxx
And all the while, on a subconscious level, in words he had no way of knowing...his Other spoke with knowing confidence.
Contrition...penance...
and finally, reconciliation...
Thy bond with the Sun Arcana
hath been RESTORED.
Remember the pain of this lesson,
and walk straight along thy path once more...
xxxx
"...are...are we okay, Misato-san?" he tentatively asked.
"...I wouldn't go that far. But we're a damn sight better than we were yesterday. Can you live with that?"
"...well...I'll have to, won't I...?"
Misato shook her head, a strange grin on her face. "Sheesh...why can't they make em' more like you...?"
"Huh?"
"Ah, forget it...you might as well let the peanut gallery back in. I'll be stuck here forever otherwise."
He nodded, quietly rising to his feet. Before he reached the door, he heard her call his name. "Yes, Misato-san?"
"...I don't know if you'll end up running into that odd Persona-user...the girl in the black cloak with the naginata...but if you do...don't hesitate. Not for a second. Use all the power you've got, without mercy."
"...I'll...I'll remember that," he promised.
"Good. Now get going. You've got better things to do than lazing around with the likes of me."
Even if he disagreed, he still acquiesced to her request. He opened the door — barely stepping out of Mana Kirishima's stumbling fall, from where she had been obviously leaning up against the door — and squeezed past the trio of medical staff outside.
"So, what did you two talk about?" inquired a curious Tae Takemi.
"...stuff," he answered.
"What kind of stuff~?" she crooned.
"...stuff," he insisted.
The nurse chuckled knowingly. "Fine, play hard to get."
Dr. Uehara rolled her eyes. "Not now, we'll have plenty of time to play with him the next time he ends up in our care," she joked.
"You two are incorrigible," muttered Dr. Akagi, stepping back into the room. "Well, you're certainly looking chipper," she called out to Misato.
Shinji cemented the image in his mind — Dr. Uehara and Nurse Takemi attending to their patient's instruments; Ritsuko looking tiredly at her old friend; Mana Kirishima sitting intently in the chair he had vacated; Misato joking back at Ritsuko, her hand resting lazily upon Mana's shoulder — before turning away. As he walked down the hall, he stared down at his right hand: blessed with the power to protect, cursed with the power to destroy...and only he could decide.
Yet...what could he do, in the grand scheme of things? What can I do...?
He didn't know if he'd ever get a satisfactory answer.
xxxx
The One Who Sat Upon the Throne watched...and smiled.
"Excellent. Nothing like a near brush with death to put things into perspective."
They stared at the card bearing the image of the Sun: now, right side up.
"Do try to be careful with those bonds of yours: they are precious things, for one of your nature."
With a flick of the wrist, the card vanished.
"After all...how can you achieve your ultimate end, if you unintentionally isolate yourself...?"
And so they sat back, content to let things play out once more.
xxxx
Rei Ayanami gazed at the imposing edifice of the Vulcanus Dorms, which housed the boys of the High School Branch; she must have seemed an odd sight, coming close to the dormitories of the high school students. Doubly so, for approaching the Vulcanus Dorms instead of the Maia Dorms for the girls.
She had long since stopped caring for what others thought about her...to a degree.
Her Other sighed.
"You care. Don't lie to yourself."
The Beast calmly ran a hand through a pool born of her tears.
"Were it not for the eyes of the Usurper...our self-imposed isolation would be intolerable..."
Rei huffed. This was not a time for introspection; she had someone to talk to.
She walked away from the Vulcanus Dorms, stepping between a small cluster of katsura trees. In an instant-
xxxx
-the world was dominated by gray, and orange sparks signifying the souls of others.
Phasing through walls, she slipped past physical matter, coming to a singular room which housed three souls of significance.
They were all present, so she phased back into reality, and-
xxxx
-Rei stepped into Room 4 on the third floor. Already, a small dagger was pointed in her direction. "I do believe if anyone knew you had that, you would face a severe demerit."
"...force of habit," admitted Ren Amamiya, who quietly hid his knife into a hidden slot in his desk drawer. He took a seat, grabbing his acoustic guitar and idly strumming it (a nervous tic, she had since come to realize).
Yu Narukami calmly stared at her, even as his hands idly folded very intricate origami designs. "We haven't done anything to warrant a visit from you, have we?"
"No. I must talk with Arisato."
The boy in question, lying upon the bottom bunk of his bed, opened his eyes. He removed the headphones from his head, looking at her with tired eyes. "What is it?"
"The Persona called Thanatos. Does it ring any bells?"
"...it does," he murmured, eyes narrowing with suspicion. "And from the way you're saying that name...it's not a different being that just happens to have the same name."
"You are correct."
Arisato slowly sat up, folding his hands in his lap. "...anything else?"
"Yes. The one who had Thanatos also possessed the power of the Wild Card." That alone was enough to draw everyone else's attention. "Now you understand my dilemma...especially since the Persona-user in question attacked Major Katsuragi. Are you aware of any others with your power?"
"...beyond a certain Warden? No," said Amamiya, glancing towards his seniors. "You?"
Narukami shook his head. "Besides you two, I've never known another."
Rei turned back towards Arisato, who was actually in deep thought. Finally, at long last, he spoke. "...there might be one."
"Oh?"
"...there was one life, where things seemed...uncannily similar to my 'original' life. I was not present...because it seemed someone else had taken my place as the Wild Card." His frown was...strangely forlorn, as though he wasn't sure why he felt sorrowful. "Her name was Minako Arisato...and she was accompanied by a Velvet Room Attendant named Theo. If you want more answers about her...you'll have to find him."
"...I find it surprising that you wouldn't have discovered more," admitted Rei. For this girl to have possessed the same surname as Minato? No; that was far from coincidental.
Minato shrugged. "Well, right after I confronted Theo, I died by way of drowning. It was very unpleasant."
"...very well. I find it unsettling that another Wild Card was not gathered for our plan."
Narukami, who had been rather quiet, suddenly said, "I think you're looking at it the wrong way. If this girl had her own attendant...then what could possibly keep her separate from us?"
"...a fair point." The possible answers were all unpleasant. "You have given me another avenue to explore."
"Why do you want to find her?" asked Amamiya.
"Because an antagonistic Wild Card is an intolerable risk. I want to at least find out where they stand." However, that investigation would have to wait for another day, as the hour was getting late. "Thank you...and enjoy your summer break." With those words said, she departed without another word.
(All of those young men had much to think about, after she left.)
(All of them wanted so very much to talk with their Attendants, but knew that they couldn't.)
(Not yet.)
xxxx
END OF 7/28/2015
xxxx
Author's Note: So, quite a bit happened.
- Shinji increased his Charisma stat from Rank 2 (Graceful) to Rank 3 (Magnetic) because of his good performance on exams.
- Misato got absolutely BODIED by FemC.
- Shinji reached Rank 4 on his Tower Social Link with Principal Lorenz.
- Shinji and Misato reconciled, so the Sun Social Link is no longer reversed.
- Rei Ayanami learned about the existence of an unknown Wild Card.
So...this'll be a good time for another sidestory, focused on a particular female protagonist.
See you next time~