PRESENT
ABOARD THE WUNDER
"What do you mean I'm part of the collection crew?!" The voice was clearly audible, even outside of the steel doors of the commander's quarters.
Misato sat quietly, trying to not let the redhead's current tantrum get on her nerves.
"Yes, you're part of the collection crew." She was tired from the recent missions she had overseen, and she was far from in the mood to deal with her former ward's fiery personality right now.
"Why me? Why not literally anybody else on this giant tin can?" She emphasized this by throwing her hands into the air.
"This should be a job for one of those knuckle dragging technicians, not a pilot!"
Misato let herself breathe for a moment, calming herself before sitting back in her chair.
"Listen, it's a simple job. Just help the crew coordinate the supply run."
The other huffed, realizing she likely wouldn't win this argument, angry that she had been relegated to such a position.
"This could be good for you, you know." Mari leaned against the wall nearby, smiling softly.
"With your toy currently in the warranty department, there's not much else for you to do."
"Like Hell! You think I'm some kind of grunt, doing WILLE's busy wor-"
"Shikinami."
Shutting her mouth, she turned her head to her superior, the other sitting at her desk with her hands folded in front of her.
"As much as I hate to admit it, Mari is right. With your unit out of commission, there's not much for you to do. This is the next best thing."
She crossed her arms, sighing loudly and mumbling some German expletives. She was too tired to bother to keep fighting the other two.
Misato quietly observed the other, noticing the unusual lack of reaction from the redhead.
"How much sleep have you been getting?"
The other snapped her head up, looking at the other before looking back down at the ground and responding.
"Enough."
That was a lie, but Asuka couldn't exactly admit that she had been having nightmares again.
And the nightmares definitely had nothing to do with Shinji. Nope. Not at all.
"That's a lie if I've ever seen one." Misato of course wouldn't let up. Damn.
"I'm fine." She gestured with her hands to her face and body to emphasize her point, tone a little sharper than she intended.
"Sure you are. Have you seen the way you look recently?"
The redhead quirked an eyebrow at that, and glanced down at herself, looking for issues, apparently not understanding Misato's question.
Mari's voice cut in, slightly exasperated.
"Princess, to be blunt, you're a mess. Your hair looks like hell, you've gotten thinner, and I'm pretty sure eyebags aren't supposed to be that big.
Asuka stared back at the other pilot, apparently not having realized any of these changes herself.
"What's going on? Is it the contamination?" Misato cut in, a slightly concerned tone evident.
The question wasn't really what she actually thought, she knew what the girl had really been losing sleep over.
"No, I'm fine! You guys are just worrying too much about nothing!"
Asuka hated this. She hated the thought of the other two seeing her as some sort of delicate thing.
"So then what is it?" The slightly motherly tone that had been far more familiar before third impact was evident in Misato's voice, rarely used nowadays in her position.
The redhead stayed silent, only glaring at the two.
"Is it about the puppy?"
Mari kept the normally sly grin off of her face after saying this, remembering how she had woken up in the middle of the night a few days ago.
She had been confused as to why, only to hear quiet mumbling from her bunkmate.
She had watched the others in their own bunk tremble in their sleep, tears slipping down the others face and she called out the boy's name. It was a pitiful sight.
She had said nothing of it afterwards, knowing mentioning it would only worsen the girl's mental state.
Asuka stayed silent, clenching her teeth in anger. She shook her head, and glared back up at the two.
"You know what? I'm not dealing with this shit right now. I'm gonna get ready for the op."
Mari grimaced as the other stomped out of the room, watching the others retreating back until the door closed.
"Guess I shouldn't have said that."
She turned back to the purple haired woman still in the room, who was now slumped in her chair.
"Anything else?" She nodded as her superior shook her head, and left the room a moment later.
Misato sighed as she was left alone once again, running her hands down her face.
God, she was tired.
A small beep came from her screen, the notification telling her it was WILLE command.
Deciding to get whatever they wanted out of the way now, she pressed the answer button, sitting up in her chair in preparation. A moment later, the call connected, and her already sour mood was somehow made even worse.
"Oh, it's you. As if this day couldn't be any more frustrating."
"Hey Katsuragi. How ya been?" Kaji's image was clearly visible on the screen, his posture relaxed as always.
"What do you want?" She was not in the mood to deal with the man right now.
"Straight to business, that's what I've always liked about you."
God, what a charmer. How did he ever manage to get her in his bed?
"But that's not what I came here for, I came to ask how you've been holding up."
That was bullshit. The slippery bastard always had an ulterior motive, but she decided to humor him, at least for the time being.
"I've been busy. I don't exactly have much free time, unlike somebody I know."
Of course the shithead's smile widened, placing his hand over his heart.
"Oh, you've wounded me." The dumb grin on his face said otherwise.
10 seconds in and she already wished she could reach through the screen and slap him.
"Cut the shit. I don't have the time for this."
"Alright, alright." He sat back up in his chair, wiping the smile off of his face as his expression turned grim.
"Katsuragi, is this channel encrypted?"
She furrowed her eyebrows at his now far more serious tone. The few times he had done that in the past, he had always come bearing bad news. She hoped that wasn't the case.
"What happened?"
He did not respond, instead repeating the question.
"Katuragi. Is this channel secure? Are you alone?"
She quickly scanned her room, ensuring she was indeed alone, deciding to press the button to lock her room door for extra security.
"Yes."
She watched as he typed a few commands into his own computer.
"There we go. Should be safe from any eavesdropping for the time being."
Misato crossed her arms over her chest, confused.
"What is this all about?"
The man on the other side of the screen adjusted his posture, placing his elbows on the table in front of him.
"I want to talk to you about a certain someone. I think you can guess who I mean."
Seems he really did mean business this time around.
"Kaji, I swear if you're lying to me about this, I swear I'll cut off your-"
"No, I'm not, I swear on it!"
Leaning back in her chair, she stared at her screen.
"What do you have on him?"
Kaji, in an uncharacteristic move, actually let his expression falter, a small frown on his lips as he lowered his head.
Her eyes widened as mind raced to the worst possible idea.
"Don't tell me he's dead."
He snapped his eyes back up to her, almost startled by what she had said.
"No! No, he's not dead. But he isn't exactly in tip top shape either, I'll say that much."
He continued onward.
"Listen, I met him a few days ago, had a small chat with him."
Misato immediately slammed her hands on the table.
"How?!"
"It was pretty difficult. Boy definitely knows how to cover his tracks, but with my skill and a little help from WILLE, I managed to find him."
Wait. WILLE?
"WILLE? That's bullshit. They would have told me about that."
"They kept it from you. They know what he's been doing, and they've let him. Plausible deniability. He does their dirty work, and when he eventually gets himself killed, they won't have to worry about it. He gets dirty, they stay clean."
That… actually made a lot of sense. Misato's previous association with the boy was no secret to the council.
Goddamnit. How many other secrets were they hiding from her?
Well, at least Kaji hopefully could tell her something.
"How is he? How is Shinji?"
The man didn't answer, staying silent, his eyes glued to his desk. It didn't take a genius to see why.
"I talked to him. Tried to convince him to come back and work with you guys."
Kaji sighed, remembering the sad state he had seen Shinji in.
"He's different. A lot different. Real angry. More like his father than he probably wants to admit. Hell of a lot more violent. Had to talk him out of putting a bullet in me when we first met. Kid knows how to handle a rifle though, I'll give him that."
Misato listened quietly, trying to keep her expression neutral as her throat tightened. After he finished, she asked another question.
"And where was he?"
"Northern Italy, in the Southern district, although he's probably already on the move again at this point."
Misato quickly checked the Wunders current course, noticing how close they were to that area.
"Asuka is coordinating a supply run nearby, I can have us move to Italy afterwards. We can get him back then."
Kaji shook his head.
"Katsuragi, I don't think you understand. He doesn't want to come back. He's nothing like that shy little boy you remember. At this point? I don't think anything short of dragging him back kicking and screaming is going to work."
"We can't let NERV get their hands on him again." She used the old excuse in an attempt to try and justify her actions, although she struggled to believe her own words.
She slumped back in her chair, tone far more soft as she spoke again.
"I have to help him. Even if he despises us, I have to try. I owe him that much."
Kaji observed his former lover, noticing how old the other seemed in this moment, despite her youthful features.
"Listen Katsuragi. He doesn't hate you. In fact, I don't think he hates any of you."
Her eyes narrowed. That had to be bullshit.
"Stop trying to appease me. You don't have to lie about how he feels. I wouldn't blame him for despising us."
"You can believe whatever you want to believe. I'm just stating the facts."
"Mhmm."
Kaji paused for a moment, seemingly contemplating something as his eyes lost focus for a second. Sighing, he focused his gaze back on the purple haired woman.
"Listen, Katsuragi, I'll say the same thing I said to him. When you meet again, as a favor, give him a chance."
The transmission cut off.
She was left once again in silence, the only other sound being the whirr of the engines propelling the ship.
Goddamnit. Why couldn't things ever just be easy?
Before she could let her emotions spiral further, a knock sounded. Quickly making sure she looked semi presentable, she spoke to let them in.
The face of Hyuga showed up within the doorway.
"Ma'am, we are in position. Awaiting further orders."
"Is Shikinami ready?"
"Yes, the team is waiting in the cargo bay."
"Understood. I'll be there momentarily."
Hyuga nodded and left, the door closing after his departure.
She turned towards the large windows behind her desk, staring down at the earth below.
"God knows we don't deserve it, but I hope you'll give us all another chance, Shinji."
ABOARD THE WUNDER, CARGO BAY
"Goddamn, these seats make my ass hurt."
Asuka stood back up, readjusting herself, the uncomfortable bench seat made even worse by the heavy gear she had on.
"Sucks to be you."
Mari was next to her, checking the straps on the sustainment pack Asuka had been given. After getting it to the desired tightness, she spoke again.
"You know, it might be good. Get some air that isn't recycled, maybe eat something decent at one of the checkpoints, like a vacation, but shitty."
The redhead snorted, somehow she was already tired of the mission before it had even started.
"It doesn't matter, you know they all serve that nasty ass nutrient paste." She turned to face the rest of the crew currently double checking their equipment.
"Why can't we just use the Wunder?"
"You know we can't, too big of a ship, bad guys will notice real fast. Don't want SEELE sympathizers getting wind of what we are doing." She poked the other's shoulder.
"And yet they still send one of the few active pilots. Military intelligence my ass."
She sat back down on the seat as Mari cinched down the final strap, getting ready for the likely 30-40 minute ride within the VTOL.
"These smaller birds shouldn't show up on most radars. We don't have the manpower to send more than you guys, so this will do. Besides, intel says you guys are heading into a ghost town. Should be in and out."
"Mhmm. Because Paris was such a ghost town too, right?"
Mari responded, this time a hint of embarrassment evident in her voice.
"Well, I mean, I guess you can't always get it right."
Asuka only huffed in annoyance.
Back to uncomfortable silence. After a minute, Mari decided to break the quiet.
"Asuka."
The redhead in question looked up, confused as to why the other had decided to drop the nicknames.
"Yeah?"
The brunette lunged, immediately pulling the other into a tight hug, startling Asuka.
"Don't get yourself killed out there. Okay?"
Normally, Asuka would have reacted by trying to shove the other off. She would have passed the hug off as an attempt to yet again annoy her.
But her sister cared. She could practically feel the anxiety in Mari's words. The other was gripping a little too tightly, like she didn't want to let her go.
After a few seconds of indecision, she hugged her back.
"Okay."
The hug was soon broken, the brunette leaving as the others came on board as the VTOL for the engine started up.
A few minutes later, Mari watched as the ship departed, the bird taking off towards the land below.
Despite the reassurances from everyone else that the mission would be fine, she still couldn't shake off the sinking feeling that things wouldn't go so smoothly.
She really hoped she was wrong.