Sokila watched quietly as Lavenza placed the finishing touches on Theodore's...device.
"So...how is this going to help?"
Lavenza simply revved her chainsaw.
"The ways in which we manifest Power differ. This is mine."
Sokila glanced over at her other senpai, who showed varying levels of enthusiasm. (Elizabeth was naturally the most effusive of them all.)
"...but how does this actually fix it...?"
The chainsaw began to roar.
"The answer, dear Sokila-chan, is intention!"
The music player shined with sparks and flickering flames as metallic teeth bit at it; there was a burst of light and heat as the chainsaw exploded. When the smoke faded, the little MP3 player shimmered with power, yet was nonetheless unmarred.
"...it's really tough!" Sokila could not help but be impressed.
"Only the best will do for our Guests!" To punctuate her statement, Elizabeth performed a flying elbow drop on the music player.
The faint haze of blue began to brighten-
xxxx
/Thursday: September 24, 2015/
/Class 2-A, Junior High Branch, Hakone Academy/
The first day of school for the holiday-shortened academic week was marred by rumors, especially since Asuka Langley-Sohryu was absent due to publicly undisclosed injuries.
However, the presence of rumors didn't deter Koji Takao from conducting his science class for first period. "-and given all the talk about disasters affecting our world after Second Impact, it's easy to forget that the Earth herself is still a harsh and violent lady! Which brings us back to this map of the tectonic plates." He gestured towards a two-dimensional map of the world, wherein numerous lines overlaid the world in the manner of a haphazard jigsaw puzzle. "Ikari-kun! Name one of the minor plates that the islands of Japan lie upon!"
Shinji Ikari, briefly brought out of his internal musing, was nonetheless able to recall enough information based on the map hanging over the chalkboard. "...the Okhotsk Plate, sir?"
"Excellent! I would have also accepted either the Philippine Sea Plate, the Amurian Plate, or the Okinawa Plate. And it's really fascinating just how much this field has developed in my lifetime. Back in my day, lessons about the lithosphere focused on what we now call the major plates, the history of the theory, and the general practical applications of the theory: the concept of microplates was unheard of! But fret not, memorizing all the microplates isn't in the curriculum...anyhow, let's briefly review how tectonics relates to earthquakes and volcanoes..."
And so classes continued.
xxxx
Within NERV HQ, Misato Katsuragi was busy dealing with...paperwork. Namely, paperwork related to solidifying her continued role as the Anti-Terror Task Force's liaison to NERV. Given the pending constitutional referendum, the Task Force had undergone a preliminary restructuring to ensure they would still be able to legally operate without having to change their day-to-day operations. In other words, it was a de jure reorganization that came with little to no de facto changes.
The paperwork nonetheless had to be processed...and since she was now the Chief Warden of the Tokyo-3 CPC, she had to also take care of the paperwork related to the Task Force's presence in the Hakone region as well. If only Akechi was still here to deal with this crap, she mused inwardly. The teenager still elicited awkward tension in her mind, so she focused on doing something productive. "Say, Ritsky."
Ritsuko Akagi, busy observing Mana Kirishima—currently refining her abilities with AIGIS and LABRYS within one of NERV's Training Rooms—idly remarked "Yes?"
"The MAGI are capable of accessing the city's surveillance, right?"
"Given that NERV practically funded most of the infrastructure in this city before it got the moniker of Tokyo-3? I could pull them myself."
"...hmm."
"Why do you ask?"
"Do you think they could tag surveillance of Goro Akechi in reality going back to when Shinji-kun arrived in June?"
That request elicited a confused expression from the blonde. "Why?"
"Just following up on something for an internal investigation of sorts," Misato replied, thinking back to her 'recap' session with Ryuji Sakamoto mere days ago: Akechi's role in the larger conflict needed further clarification. "No need to worry about it."
"...if you insist," Ritsuko murmured.
"Thanks. We up for drinks tomorrow night, if work allows?"
"Sure. You can update me on what it's like being a single mother."
"Hardy har har," Misato grumbled, taking the joke in good sport.
And so the two women resumed their work.
xxxx
Given how recently Asuka had been targeted by Tohru Adachi, the decision had been made that any mission involving Evangelion-users could no longer be solo.
In practice, this meant that Shinji Ikari, Asuka Langley-Sohryu, and Rei Ayanami had to deploy as a collective.
Asuka, naturally, was fuming. "This sucks," she growled, leaning against the guardrail upon the school's roof. Classes had already let out for the day, so the various students moving about below appeared as ants. Asuka was an outlier, clad as she was in casual clothing after being absent for the day.
"How are you even walking already?" asked Shinji with a frown. "You had bruised ribs last evening..."
"Several hours of cognitive therapy are a heck of a thing," Asuka remarked in an off-handed manner. "Not important. More importantly, why are they requiring three Evangelion-users to deploy?"
"It is a tactically sound response," calmly remarked Rei, browsing the Mission Board on her phone. "Fortunately, being as close as we are to a full moon, the available assignments are decreasing...notwithstanding the upcoming lunar eclipse."
Shinji blinked, looking up from his own phone. "Lunar eclipse?"
"Big deal. It's not like a solar eclipse where everything goes to literal Hell," retorted Asuka. "During a lunar eclipse, the Moon looks all red, and there's a total pause on all Ghost and Acolyte activity. As far as we're concerned, it'll be easy mode."
It was still something to make note of. "When is it?" he asked.
"It will be while we're in school next Monday," answered Rei. "The lunar eclipse itself will be limited to the Atlantic Ocean and the regions bordering it."
"See? It'll be a good night's sleep for us!" Asuka rose to her feet, shooting a suspicious glance at Rei. "So...what are we looking at?"
As Rei quietly listed numerous available assignments (which Asuka invariably disagreed with: "Skip. Skip. Ugh, skip..."), Shinji frowned as a message came to his phone from an unknown number.
#&!?: Hello kid.
The form of address rang a bell.
S. Ikari: is this Kaji's Shadow?
#&!?: You should be careful about how you respond to anonymous phone numbers.
#&!?: But yes, you're correct.
S. Ikari: what do you want?
#&!?: And here I was going to tell you about another Shadow that had escaped the Great Northern Tower.
Shinji, recalling what had happened the last time he had gotten a message like this, quickly shot a glance at Rei. The gesture caught her attention, which naturally caught Asuka's. "What's going on?"
S. Ikari: who is it
#&!?: Guy by the name of Takashi Hanya.
#&!?: Used to be a rather lowly bureaucrat in the MEXT, on the Education side of things.
#&!?: His actual crimes were fairly menial white collar stuff: embezzlement, fraud, things of that nature.
#&!?: But boy, his Shadow was a nasty piece of work. Was actively destabilizing the Realms of other people while locked away in Kyoto's Cognitive Protection Center.
#&!?: So his Shadow ended up getting sent to Siberia.
#&!?: Hanya himself is still serving all ten years of his prison sentence. Model prisoner, as far as I'm aware.
#&!?: But his Shadow is being rather problematic. :|
"Seriously, can you speak, Third?"
Shinji held up a hand to hold off her questions. "I'm waiting for Kaji-san's Shadow to finish."
Rei went still, while Asuka simply boggled. "...a Shadow is texting you? Do you expect me to believe that?!"
S. Ikari: where is he?
#&!?: Targeting an academy in Kyoto Prefecture, of all places.
#&!?: Which is bad, because for most kids, their Shadow tends to manifest either at home, or at the school they go to.
#&!?: And the poor sap isn't a political hot potato like Kiyotada Sumaru was, so I imagine the mission authorizing his termination will be publicly issued very soon.
#&!?: But he's probably beyond the average A.T. Agent, so you should get a move on if you want to take it.
#&!?: we'll talk after the fact. farewell!
When Shinji flipped his phone over to show Rei and Asuka the text logs, the latter was immediately suspicious. "This smells like a trap."
"Well, his warning was how Ayanami-san and I learned about a rogue Shadow attacking the others back on the fourth of September..."
"I'm still trying to figure out how a Shadow is supposed to be texting you. And this 'Kaji'...why does that name ring a bell?"
"Well, if you've ever heard Misato-san talk about him, he's her former fiancé..." Glancing over at Rei, he noticed how cold her expression was. "...Ayanami-san?"
"Takashi Hanya, is it?" Rei sighed, visibly deflating. "We should take it." As if to announce her choice, she added, "And it appears the mission was just issued." Flipping her phone over, the Mission Board display was clear enough:
SUBMITTED BY: Office of Cognitive and Spiritual Affairs (Kyoto Prefecture)
LOCATION: Ritsumeikan Primary School, Kita Ward, Kyoto
MISSION: Shadow Termination (Target: Takashi Hanya. Death Warrant requested by Anti-Terror Task Force. Death Warrant authorized by District Court of Kyoto, and signed by Kyoto Governor Masayoshi Shido.)
UPDATE: Task Force profile of Hanya's Shadow — Weak to Fire and Light Skills, Null to Ice and Dark Skills. Known attacks involved Physical, Ice, and Dark Skills. (WARNING: Profile was last updated more than five years ago. Information may be out of date.)
"...well, if termination was authorized, we might as well stomp him out," relented Asuka.
The decision, it seemed, had been made.
xx
As Rei prepared to shift through reality, the urge to bemoan the unfairness of it all rose its ugly head. An old name...just like Sumaru's. A name belonging to a pitiable man.
Yet, that pitiable man had been too lowly in the grand scheme of things...and so his soul had survived, untouched.
(Those who had been far worthier...had not been so lucky.)
(And who can you blame? None but yourself...)
Rei remained outwardly silent as she followed Asuka and Shinji.
xxxx
/The Metaverse/
As far as Goro Akechi was concerned (because he still refused to acknowledge himself inwardly as Shimaru Shido), there were relatively few things that he could appreciate about Masayoshi Shido.
One was his penchant for ruthlessness: a facet that had carried over into this timeline, it seemed.
Thus, when the order was received—that Takashi Hanya's Shadow could be terminated—he inwardly grinned. Trash is only good for burning.
The quiet stranger sighed.
"As deplorable as this man's actions are, couldn't you pick a better metaphor? After all, were you not called trash, once before?"
Akechi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. At least I never stooped so low as to attack a primary school. He turned his eyes towards the cognitive double of Ritsumeikan Primary School: an orderly place, strong and stalwart against infantile emotions that had yet to become rooted in anything more solid; a proverbial palace of strong walls and giant school implements, with walking chalkboards spouting streams of knowledge. The only anomalies were fledging Realms: tiny clouds of cognitive haze that served as a weak boundary between newborn Shadows and the rest of the cognitive world. In the normal course of events, these Shadows would be monitored and then approached diplomatically: regardless of their foibles, the children's Shadows would (eventually) be convinced to be escorted to the Cognitive Protection Center, where their Realms could take root in a more secure location.
Why Hanya's Shadow had elected to try and attack this place was still a mystery; alas, a rogue Shadow subjecting mere children to mental shutdowns could not be countenanced.
Which was vexing, because the Agents under his command had been forced to prioritize the evacuation of youthful Shadows: a tall task, when the amount of the force they could utilize against them was limited. Collateral damage was proving to be rather difficult to avoid, as they tried to corral Hanya's Shadow in an emptier part of the school grounds.
But now that lethal force had been authorized, he was intent on putting an end to things himself.
So of course, the trio of Evangelion-users had to show up. "...am I to assume that you are here because of Takashi Hanya's Shadow?" Akechi remarked.
"We are, Superintendent Shido," said Rei Ayanami.
Asuka Langley-Sohryu and Shinji Ikari both looked briefly confused by her choice of name, as the former asked, "Wait, weren't you called Goro Akechi back in Tokyo-3?"
Akechi resisted the urge to sigh. "I see you're rather behind the news...as far as the public record is concerned, Goro Akechi was a pseudonym. My given name is Shimaru Shido." To ward off any further questions, he asked, "If you took a Shadow Termination mission, I would recommend that one of you split off to assist the other Agents with evacuating the other Shadows in the vicinity. The other two can accompany me to face Hanya's Shadow." Glancing over towards an incapacitated Agent — his left shoulder bearing a nasty wound from a spinning drill — he remarked, "He's been rather...difficult."
"...then I can help with the children," remarked Shinji, as he summoned both Neko Shogun and Chironnupu. "I think my Personas can help...break the ice."
"Excellent." Akechi gestured towards Asuka and Rei, his manacles clinking from the movement. "With me."
Rei silently nodded, whilst Asuka merely grunted; yet, summoning their Personas, they followed him nonetheless.
xx
Shinji Ikari dutifully got to work, following the directions of the nearest Agents to the Shadows who had not yet been evacuated from the premises. His eyes fell upon a cluster of youthful Shadows: about two dozen, all less than ten years of age, each one bearing little in the way of the outlandish traits he had come to expect from most Shadows. It was a surprising sight, to be sure.
Yet with a mere thought, his two Personas played up their inherent cutesiness, so much so that it elicited smiles from some of the youths.
"...can't believe you're able to use more than one Persona," grunted the older man serving as his escort.
"I'm sorry," he remarked on impulse. "It would certainly be helpful if more people could use such power...but I try to do what I can."
The Agent hummed, not saying anything more.
As they entered a certain classroom, explosions sounded off from the school's gymnasium: doubtless, Akechi, Asuka, and Rei had engaged in battle with the rogue Shadow. I'd better hurry. "...is that it?" he asked, pointing at a small collection of blue and gray smoke centered around a desk.
"Yup. I'll keep an eye out," remarked the Agent, stepping out to stand guard outside the classroom.
Shinji quietly huffed, focusing on the odd feeling of stepping into a Realm: it was looser than normal, and less congested. When clearing through the haze, he was in a rather undefined void: save for a single desk sitting on a hardwood floor, with a standalone kitchen sitting off to the side (for some reason), there was nothing of any true distinction. Thus, he focused on the Shadow: a small girl, wearing a dark school uniform...with a chef's hat on her head. "Hello there."
The girl, bearing yellow eyes, looked up at him with surprise; her hair was of a similar shade as Misato's, surprisingly enough. "Who are you?" she asked. "You're not my teacher." Her voice shifted in pitch randomly, as aspects of her form twisted and bulged unknowingly: the sign of a Shadow not yet stable enough in their own self-image.
"...I help protect lots of places," remarked Shinji, pointing at his Personas. "These are my helpers." With a calm yet assured tone, he explained, "There's a bad man making a mess of things of your school...and I'm here to get you to safety."
"But school is already safe," she protested. "And until school lets out, I can't leave."
Shinji frowned, looking towards the standalone kitchen, as well as her hat...and a stroke of inspiration hit. "Do you like to cook?"
"Absolutely!" cheered the Shadow, her suspicion and anxiety fading away in an instant. "But I want to make dishes with lots of meat and sauce, not those silly little sweets! I want to make beef bowls, and yakitori, and pork cutlets! Who has time to learn about tea ceremonies when you could be cooking meat!"
It was a fairly simple desire, all things considered...yet it was here, nonetheless. With time, if the girl in reality carried on, her Shadow might portray various complexes about body image and social roles, all in the language of the culinary arts...but that was for the future. "Then it's a good thing I ran into you," he said, gesturing towards his Personas. "These guys are hungry for meat."
"Yeah!" chirped Chironnupu. "We could make a gigantic pot of stew, with tofu, and miso, and soybeans, and rice, and cabbage, and-!"
Neko Shogun whacked the masked fox with his war fan. "None of that stuff is meat, though."
The comedic bit seemed to destroy the last of the Shadow's hesitance. "Yeah!" cheered the girl, adjusting her chef's hat with emphasis. "Can you cook?" When Shinji nodded, she demanded, "Then you will assist me in the kitchen!"
"But I need to know the name of the chef I'm helping, first..."
"Oh. I'm Chika Ueda! And I'm in charge of making the meal!"
Shinji lightly bowed in deference to the little girl. "Then I'm at your disposal, Ueda-sama..." I wish more Shadows were this easy to deal with...
xx
Less than five minutes later, Shinji quietly walked out of the Realm, chewing on a chicken skewer; his other hand held that of Ueda's Shadow, who likewise held skewers of grilled chicken in a heavy sauce.
The older A.T. Agent blinked with surprise. "That...was surprisingly fast."
"Ikari-san was a good assistant chef!" Ueda's Shadow held out a chicken skewer. "Eat up! You like meat, don't you?"
"...er-"
"What am I saying, who doesn't like meat? Eat!"
Shinji assuaged his concerns by taking a small bite of his own. "It'll be okay," he said after he finished chewing. "Ueda-sama is a great chef...and one day, she'll be a master."
"Yeah!" agreed the perky little Shadow, her enthusiastic vow punctuated by applause from Chironnupu and Neko Shogun.
"...well, I can't argue with results," admitted the Agent. "Let's hurry outside. The sounds of battle are getting closer."
Shinji nodded, lightly pulling the Shadow along. (Identifying Ueda's own concerns and getting past her own anxiety, however childish it was...it made him feel more empathic...)
xx
Takashi Hanya's Shadow was a truly monstrous beast: clad in black metal and leather, with drills emanating from his feet and skull; face contorted into a ghoulish grin; arms bearing halves of a shield that combined to form the wretched expression of a classical hannya.
"Chill Drill!"
Lilith dove in front of the icy drill, parrying the projectile before it could strike Matilda. In retaliation, Matilda and Robin Hood both unleashed Agidyne and Kougaon.
Hanya's Shadow brought forth his shield, nullifying the elemental blows entirely.
"This Arschloch is pissing me off!" growled Asuka, moving about to try and get a better angle.
Akechi, firing a handheld raygun, simply settled for shooting more precisely.
"Fools!" exclaimed Hanya's Shadow. "Doubtless you are of poor breeding; you have no grounds to criticize my methods!"
Rei observed the rogue Shadow with a stoic frown, her nine chain-whips trembling with agitation.
(Hanya had been an inconsequential man, in the long run: a mere principal with disdain for any youth he deemed to be an 'outlier'. Little wonder, that he would be susceptible to the Angels' manipulations, gaining power to enforce his will upon others. It had been one of the earliest battles on the 'First Side' in which her allies—those she would come to call comrades, even friends—would demonstrate just how well they could manipulate their own A.T. Fields. They had moved on to more formidable foes in short order, and Takashi Hanya had swiftly been forgotten...)
With a thought, Lilith unleashed Megidola, blasting Hanya's Shadow. However, the rogue entity surged with unnatural strength, glaring down at her with anger. "You wretched little witch! Under Drill!" He kicked outward, shooting the drills on his feet in a rotating fashion; they exploded amongst them, unleashing flashes of confusing light.
Akechi held a hand in front of his eyes, brushing off the deleterious effects. "Takashi Hanya, this behavior of yours is highly unproductive-"
"You're the unproductive one, you little bastard!" hissed Hanya's Shadow.
"...fine. If that's the way you want to play," hissed Akechi. Without hesitation, Robin Hood gripped Matilda and tossed her into the air, where she clung to the rafters of the cognitive gymnasium. "Double team!"
"A little warning?!" yelled Asuka, gritting her teeth as she nonetheless moved into a better position. "Toss me!" Robin Hood did so, tossing Sohryu further on top of a basketball hoop (whose basket looked more akin to a cartoonish mouth than an actual hoop). "Distract him!"
Rei, divining the intentions of her allies, quickly moved to set the stage. "Mabufudyne." Ice crawled upward from the floor beneath Hanya's Shadow, forming a massive half-sphere beneath him; it didn't target him directly, as he nullified direct Ice damage. (And yet, Ice could be used for more.)
"You children don't know what you're doing; pitiful! If only you had acknowledged my greatness, I would have taught you something of value!" The hannya mask began to glow ominously as the Shadow's began to glow with an ominous Shadow. "Young Dark-"
"EAT THIS!" roared Asuka, throwing her Stiletto down from where she stood upon the basketball hoop.
Hanya's Shadow batted it away with contempt. "Don't interrupt-!"
(At that moment, Matilda tore a page out of her leatherbound tome, crumpling it up and dropping it from above; the page glowed ominously.)
(At that moment, Robin Hood took aim, loosing an arrow; its entire form shimmered with a voracious aura.)
(At that moment, Lilith willed the growing ice to begin growing above and around the Shadow, to form a constrictive shell.)
Hanya's Shadow blinked with confusion as a glowing wad of paper dropped from above, right as he blocked the incoming arrow with his shield; it wedged defiantly into the mouth of the shield as the ice closed over his form. To outside observers, a globe of solid ice had formed in the middle of the gymnasium.
(Matilda giggled to herself. "Agidyne.")
(Robin Hood clenched his fist. "Megidolaon.")
An eruption of Almighty energy, tinged with explosive Fire, roared within the entrapment, shattering loudly with a massive explosion that blew the top off of the gymnasium. Fragments of solid ice glittered as they fell, akin to chips of snow and hail; however, the smoking form of the Shadow could be seen sailing away to the outskirts of the school grounds.
"After him!" commanded Akechi.
xx
The massive explosion caught the attention of every Agent and every fledgling Shadow. Shinji Ikari was no exception.
He gazed at the monstrous Shadow as it crashed several meters away, his entire form charred and smoking from damage. "It...isn't...fair...none of you...respect...me...!" The masked Shadow rose, glaring at them; the group of Shadows clustered behind Shinji caught his attention. "Children who don't follow my ways...are doomed to failure...!"
Shinji, sensing the way things were going, quietly glanced at the other Agents; his expression was apparently enough to have them stand back and focus on the children's Shadows, because they let him step forward. This Shadow...won't stop, will he...? Little wonder, that a Termination mission had been authorized. Are there truly those too dangerous to leave alive...?
His Other quietly caressed a skull.
"For those who cannot coexist with others...what other choice is there?"
The Beast snorted, staring into a mirror upon a still lake.
"For you are more dangerous than all others: should youremain alive? If not, who will force you to end?"
Shinji silenced the whispers in his heart, summoning Hamlet. Almost as an afterthought, he gazed over his shoulder, focusing on the yellow eyes of the children's Shadows, he said, "It'll be okay."
"...and those doomed to failure...might as well DIE...!" Snarling, Hanya's Shadow charged with reckless abandon-!
Hamlet reared his sword, its surface shimmering with an unseen light. "Final Thrust." The moment arrived; taking a stand, he pushed forward.
A single blow.
The rogue Shadow burst apart at the proverbial seams, utterly undone. Hamlet rose to his full height, performing a little flourish with his blade.
Shinji let loose a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "...there." Looking back with an uncertain smile, he remarked, "See? It's over."
Amidst the group of young Shadows — most of whom were looking at Hamlet with a look akin to hero-worship — Chika Ueda cheered, "That's my assistant!"
Then Shinji was mobbed by the young Shadows with all sorts of questions, and he was at a loss for words.
xx
Emerging out of the school, Asuka couldn't help but growl at the sight of the Third Child surrounded by fawning kids. "Friggin' kill-stealer. Of course he gets the praise."
"You would rather be surrounded by a bunch of screaming children?" dryly observed Akechi.
At this, Asuka refused to answer: not even when Matilda knowingly tapped at her foot.
(And through it all, Rei simply watched in silence: quietly grateful that an unpleasant reminder of the past had been put to rest...
xxxx
It was somewhat sobering, to realize that destroying Takashi Hanya's Shadow meant that the man himself was now dead by way of mental shutdown.
("It is the nature of things," Akechi had said, calmly yet quietly debriefing the Evangelion-users. "Even if Takashi Hanya himself was serving time for lesser crimes, his Other Self simply refused to cooperate. His Shadow represented a danger to others...and was punished accordingly." Smiling bitterly, the ranking A.T. Agent remarked, "If only the cognitive world didn't exist, then the only ones our inner demons would plague would be ourselves...")
His words' cynical tone did not detract from their insightfulness, as far as Shinji was concerned.
Yet, what was to be done, in the end? Did he have power to restrain the Shadow entirely, and render him incapable of harming others? When the likes of Strega and Tohru Adachi were opposed to him, could he afford to quibble about the killing of a man? Was governmental approval sufficient to ease his conscience?
His Other quietly placed a skull atop a gravestone.
"You will have to decide for yourself."
The Beast huffed, kicking the gravestone over.
"What is there to decide? If such trifles bother you, become powerful enough to make your will reality...but once you become that powerful, such trifles will cease to be..."
Shinji sighed, leaning against a fence that bordered an outdoor field; he quietly observed as various Agents continued the process of evacuating youthful Shadows (because at this point, why not take them to the local CPC...?). Asuka and Rei were running patrols in the event that Acolytes would manifest, but they would likely depart before long. That left Shinji by himself...to think. To ponder.
There was so much to think about: so much, that he was surprised by an interloper.
"You kids were pretty quick."
Shinji inhaled, quietly glancing over his shoulder; leaning against the other side of the chain-link fence — curious, how some cognitive regions mirrored reality so closely, yet diverged so fantastically in others — was Ryoji Kaji's Shadow. "Well, you did say he was targeting a school..."
"And does that mean anything? There are so many places in the world where children suffer: what makes one worthy of your help compared to the others?"
The impulse to retort was strong, if only because the premise behind the Shadow's question seemed unfair: what could be done, in the face of so much suffering? (What can you do, when the world itself is suffering? What can you do, when the Oppressor seems unbeatable?) "...there's only so much time in the day," he replied, hating how weak he sounded.
However, it seemed to be the right words insofar as Kaji's Shadow was concerned. "Mah...that's very true. Sixty seconds in a minute; sixty minutes in an hour; twenty-four hours in a day...seven days in a week...and on and on, until we have all the years that make up one's life. Not enough time to read all the works of man, or to drink all the liquor in the world: we have to pick and choose wisely, how we spend our time..."
Shinji turned around, staring at the Shadow in full: Kaji's Other Self was crouching down, smoking the ever-present cigarette. As ever, some aspects of his form seemed to flicker at random. "And how do you think I spent my time?"
"Well, you stopped a rather foul man, and saved a bunch of kids; most people would call that time well spent."
"I'm talking about you."
"And why does my opinion matter? I'm just a louse, after all."
Shinji frowned, feeling surprisingly indignant by the man's flippant attitude. "Misato-san seems to think you matter...a lot."
"...that goes without saying. But you're not her, are you?"
"Why would that matter?" He thought back to his sparse encounters with the enigmatic Shadow: meeting him for the first time alongside Mister P; his first (and so far last) encounter with Marie in that bizarre realm, where the existence of the Usurper had been made known to him; and that one meeting at Sakura-sensei's cafe in reality, for that matter. "I don't think you would be doing all of...this...if Misato-san was the only person you cared about."
"...a fair enough point," relented the Shadow, looking over his shoulder with a sad smile; the remnant of the gunshot wound in his forehead was a ghastly image as ever. "But then again, it's not like I can care about much of anything, anymore...but she does. And that's why I can still keep going."
Could that truly be enough, in the grand scheme of things? "Is...it really that simple?" Even if Kaji's Shadow found no meaning in living, he could still act solely for the sake of someone else's ideals? That spoke of a certain selflessness that seemed contrary to the man's entire demeanor. "I'm sorry to say, but...that doesn't seem like you."
Kaji's Shadow chuckled, taking the observation in good humor. "That's fine; if it were completely altruistic, you'd be right. But no...it's all driven by selfishness. For good or ill...it's why I go to the trouble of pointing out these troublesome rogues for you. Gotta give you kids a chance to determine what you're willing to be selfish for. It could mean the difference between life and death, one of these days." Rising to his feet, the Shadow stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Anyhow...got one more hat I have to put on. It's about time for that thread to be pulled anyhow..."
"What thread?"
"Mah, don't mind. Just thinking out loud..." With a jaunty wave, he walked across the street towards an adjacent row of cognitive houses, where he disappeared from sight in an alleyway.
...Misato-san, your ex is strange, he mused to himself. (Even so, the man's Shadow had not been lacking in self-deprecation, which he could understand all too easily...)
xxxx
It was evening by the time the three Evangelion-users warped back in front of NERV Headquarters. "So. That was rather tiresome," huffed Asuka.
"...was it?" wondered Shinji. "We managed to defeat the Shadow with no fatalities...other than the Shadow himself."
"Oh sure, because you managed to get the last blow with none of the work," she complained.
"Well..."
Rei, staring quietly at Asuka, chose that moment to interject. "You did not engage in close quarters with your usual ferocity."
"Like Hanya's Shadow even allowed for that sort of thing," she griped. "The guy was flying all over the place!"
"That wouldn't have stopped you normally," Rei countered.
Asuka snorted. "Oh, like you know me that well."
"I believe I do."
Rei's casual response was clearly the wrong thing to say. "Oh, really?" sneered Asuka. "Now see here-!"
Shinji, watching the back and forth with some alarm, could only balk as someone approached. "Uh, guys-"
"Excuse me," said the newcomer.
Asuka froze. With a wooden expression, she slowly turned. "Ah. Sister Mary."
Mari Makinami's smile did not reach her eyes. "My my, you're quite spritely, Miss Sohryu! I'm quite surprised to see you up and about when you're supposed to be recuperating."
Asuka actually gulped. "Well, I spent the first half of the day in the Medical Ward, and I was feeling better-"
"Were you cleared to leave? Or did you sneak out?" Mari's smile was downright cherubic, yet still carried the threat of terror.
Asuka didn't say a thing; lying wouldn't help her. When Mari quietly poked her in the side with paradoxical gentleness, the redhead somehow managed not to flinch. However, she could not keep her face from curdling with irritation.
"...silly girl. Cognitive therapy, as advanced as it's gotten, isn't a cure-all." Mari looked over at the others. "Did she suffer any additional injuries?"
"She did not engage in close quarters combat, for the most part," answered Rei. "Her Persona did most of the fighting."
"...very well then." Lightly placing her hands atop Asuka's shoulders, Sister Mary said, "About face, Miss Sohryu. Dr. Uehara sounded quite cross when she called me."
Asuka remained silent, yet did not resist as the religious nudged her back towards NERV. She glanced over her shoulders with an expression that was prideful, irritated, and embarrassed in equal measure: a heady concoction, to be sure.
Shinji watched with a wince as the Second Child was escorted back inside. "That...was awkward. Why would she sneak out before being fully healed...?"
"I imagine she did it because she was bored...and because she believed she would be fine because her bones were not actually broken," observed Rei. "That will do for the evening," she said, turning to walk away-
"Wait!" When the blunette quietly turned around, Shinji asked, "Can...can we please talk? There's something important we need to discuss."
"...and that would be...?"
"...I think you have an idea," he remarked. "Please."
Rei stared with a quiet yet solemn expression, unwilling to speak aloud. "...not here." She turned around, silently beckoning him to follow.
And so he did, trailing Rei Ayanami as she calmly yet briskly walked. The evening air of Tokyo-3 was humid and muggy, courtesy of afternoon showers; the people walking about moved with idle purpose and lazy routine, moving from one place to another; the utter monotony was strangely comforting, if only because of its normalcy. (Had this aspect of life been the same in...reality? In the World Before? He didn't know.)
Before long, Rei led them to one of the old walking trails on the outskirts of the city, lined with benches every so often. She quietly sat down at one end, leaving Shinji to sit down on the other. The nearby street lamps cast evocative shadows over their forms, to the point where Shinji couldn't quite make out Rei's face from the side.
"What is it you wish to talk about?" she asked, after a silence that was both too long and too short.
"...Sohryu-san seems very frustrated with you," he remarked. "She wants to know about...the actual stakes. I think she should be told. And Horaki-san as well. It's not fair to them." He could tell that Rei was looking at him. "But...you don't agree."
"Our difficulties are not something you need to worry about," she reminded him.
"It's hard not to," he said. "She talked to me, two nights ago. Given everything that Israfel said, she's already aware that there's a bigger picture. And now, with Adachi targeting us...it's not like anyone's more free from danger by keeping them in the dark..."
(Rei was inwardly flabbergasted, because she had not expected Asuka to open up so soon. Is it too soon? Are they prepared? Are they ready...?) "You are aware of the risks you'll be inviting, if you decide to bring them into the fold?"
"...it feels like the risk will exist regardless. And it might help with...the difficulties that she currently has with you."
"You need not act for my sake-"
"It's not about that," he quietly stressed. "We can't control everything in life," he mused. "But the things we can shouldn't be taken for granted...and even if the Usurper has power we can't quite fathom, we still have to try." He tried to resist the melancholy mood, staring plainly at Rei's face. "If it were hopeless...I don't think you'd still keep trying..."
(Oh you poor, sweet little fool. Even the hopeless could fight.) "...and why would hope have anything to do with it? We must fight...because that is what we are called to do. Even if the effort is ultimately doomed...it still must be done."
Shinji, noble enough to understand the depth of her somber perspectives, rose to the challenge. "...near the beginning of the month, you once told me that you wished you could still feel anger."
(September the 2nd, 2015: whilst recuperating from the chaos of the mission at the Himmel facility, he confessed his fears about his own dark side. Rei's words, for all her quietness, rang loud and harshly in their implications. "...the anger...and the wrath you carry within you...tinged by hatred...it is not a sentiment I possess. However, my darkness...is sorrow; anguish...and despair." With a cool expression, she murmured, "Hatred can be tempered...and anger and wrath can be channeled for a righteous cause...but despair can devour you whole, effortlessly. Sometimes...I wish it were easier to become angry; easier to hate...then it would be easier to rouse myself to action, to do what is necessary. The will to pursue my duty, at the expense of everything else...is something I've gained only after many years. Habit and routine help keep me going, when there are times I just want to stop...and let the world leave me behind." Sighing, she looked down at her hands, which were clutching tightly at the folds of her skirt, almost of their own volition. "But that would be a betrayal of too many people...and so I tell myself to keep going." Looking back at him, she bore a weak and pathetic smile, empty of any sort of joy or contentment. "My anger...and my hatred...burned away long ago. I would almost welcome it...because that fire can help push you forward beyond your limits, when the cold will only sap you, and make you want to perish...do you understand?" Whatever place that hatred of yours is born from...you have bonds who can temper it. As you grow, I don't doubt you will learn how to deal with it...such is the nature of human life, and human existence." Slowly rising to her feet, Ayanami nodded briefly at him: a gesture of respect, of mutual solidarity. "That is something I have hope in.")
"...so I did," she admitted.
"You said that you had hope in the ability of humans to grow; in the ability of bonds to temper our own darkness."
"I did."
"Do you think empowering our bonds with Sohryu-san and Horaki-san will do nothing, then?" At this, Rei did not immediately answer, so Shinji kept talking. "I think I understand your words more: seeing Sohryu-san's own attitude, I feel this urge to at least try harder. I don't even know what that says about me...but it seems a more honest way of approaching things..."
"Even if it leads to her leaving a medical facility without being fully healed?"
At this, an odd little smile ghosted across Shinji's face. "Well...no one's perfect..." Cupping his hands together, he stared down at his feet: a contemplative posture, meek and mild. No one would have expected the power lying within his mind and body and soul: power that easily sundered a Shadow, ending the life of another. "...you spoke of sorrow, anguish, and despair..." Looking up, he tried to pinpoint her eyes against the dark shadow cast by the street lamp. "...how much of that is born from failure...?"
(Too close. Too close. Too close. He was too close. He had no idea...!) "...more than I am comfortable talking about," she admitted.
Shinji, sensing her reluctance, backed away from the topic. "In that case...why not give us the best chance at succeeding? She'll find out sooner rather than later...and it doesn't seem right for her to find out from anyone else but us, or you."
"...it is a worthwhile sentiment to have," she admitted. "...just don't forget that every action has a consequence: good or ill."
"But even if we don't mean to, consequences can strike without warning," he remarked. "I mean...I certainly never did anything to invite Tohru Adachi's attention, did I...?"
After several moments of uneasy silence, Rei finally answered, "Fair enough." Rising to her feet, the First Child stared at the darkening sky; from the side, he could barely make out her conflicted expression. "...so long as you keep that in mind...do as you will. I will not interfere."
"...thank you," he said, watching as she quietly walked away, (It was strange, just how inwardly she was oriented: quiet, collected, a true keeper of secrets. Yet, in the face of all that opposed them, he could understand her hesitance...)
Shinji remained for a time, thinking about life, and death, and the struggles that came with them.
xxxx
END OF 9/24/2015
xxxx
Author's Note: If SPE were an actual game, getting an optimum playthrough on your first run would be REALLY difficult, because Shinji still has the usual Social Stats and list of Social Links to max out, but in a much shorter year (as he starts in June instead of April, and our 'end date' is Christmas instead of the end of January).
Anyhow: both Hanged Man and Priestess ranked-up, getting to 4 and 7 respectively.
As for other things: Chika Ueda is another holdover from Persona 2, as is Takashi Hanya (who also was part of P1, technically; but he definitely takes more from his P2 appearance).
/also
/fun little fact
/as of the end of 9-24, Shinji has 94 Social Link rank-ups left to max out everything
/and yet we've only got 91 days left until Christmas
/the clock is ticking, Wild Card...