Sokila was...contemplative. Thoughtful.
"...you've been through a lot..."
It was a more mature expression than he was used to seeing on her face.
"I think...more than I realized..."
She frowned, briefly bouncing up and down on the cushion of her bed.
"...hmm...hrm..."
Finally, she loosed an explosive sigh.
"Ugh...I wanna think about this later. I have to do something first!"
She then proceeded to jump up and down on her new(ish) bed with a childish fervor that seemed downright cathartic.
The faint haze of blue began to brighten-
xxxx
/Saturday: August 1, 2015/
/Cape Irago, Tahara, Aichi Prefecture/
Shinji Ikari sputtered and yelped as he was pushed off of the bed. "Wha-!"
"Wakey-wakey," crooned Ren Amamiya. "We've got a ferry to catch."
Shinji grimaced, rising up; the morning light was slowly increasing, filtering in through the windows. "...did you have to push me off of the bed...?"
"It'll teach you to have better reflexes. Always expect one last surprise...or else you'll never see me coming."
The odd tone in Amamiya's voice elicited a frown from Shinji. "...why does that sound like you're referencing something...?"
"Ah, you're starting to catch on," he replied with a grin. "Aida's taking a shower, and Suzuhara went on a brief morning run. The adults are arranging for both breakfast and our tickets on the ferry to Toba. The girls are apparently still sleeping, but I'm not going to risk experiencing a perfectly avoidable misunderstanding."
"...um...are you expecting me to wake them up...?" Somehow, that sounded like a decision fraught with peril.
"Well, if you were going to wake them up, how would you do it?"
Shinji blinked. A few times, even. Finally, he reached for his phone and dialed a particular number. After a few rings, a groggy voice answer. "Hello...?"
"Good morning Yamagishi-san."
"Ah...Ikari-san...it's almost 6:15 AM..."
"We apparently need to get ready for breakfast and the ferry to Toba."
"...ah, right...I'll wake up Mana-san so we can get ready."
"You sound tired. Is everything okay?"
"Oh, yes! We're fine. We just stayed up late talking...about girl stuff. Yes."
The phrase 'girl stuff' was enough of a signal for him to not pry any further. "Okay then. See you soon."
"Understood. Thank you."
Hanging up, Shinji looked up towards his senpai, whose expression was...intrigued. "What?"
"...a boring tactic, some might say...but also a practical one. You're wise beyond your years, young kouhai."
"...thanks, I guess...?"
"...either you were incredibly sheltered growing up, or you have an incredible sixth sense for avoiding certain cliches and red flags..."
(What was he talking about?!) "...uh-?"
"Eh, ignore my rambling. Let's pack up and get ready. Oh...and once we arrive at our final destination, we'll find a time to talk about...the thing."
"...what thing?"
Amamiya, already dressed for the day, simply did a sleight of hand; in his grasp was a joker card. "You know."
"...ah." The fact that they were both Wild Cards. "Right."
That was bound to be interesting.
xxxx
In Tokyo-3, within the cluster of apartment complexes to the east of Lake Ashi, Hikari Horaki opened her eyes, glancing towards the clock on her wall. The time was 7:43 AM. Ah...I slept in.
Then again, that was to be expected: not only was school out for a whole month, but her eldest sister Kodama had returned last night from St. Catherine Women's University in Matsuyama, the capital of Ehime Prefecture on Shikoku. The mood last night had been joyous...for the most part. At least dad was smiling more.
Overall, her room was orderly, clean, and well-kept. Even her desk, normally laden with textbooks and notebooks, was swept clean, everything put away for now. (She would get started on her summer assignments next week, because...family took priority.) The only sign of her presence in the room were various family photos taken over the years. Rolling up her futon and dressing up for the day — in comfy red pants, a white cotton shirt, and a yellow apron that she took to wearing around the house for reasons of both practicality and habit — she quietly exited her room. Looking to the door to her left, she quietly shifted it open; her little sister was snoring away on her futon still, limbs splayed out wildly such that her striped pink pajamas were fully visible. Honestly Nozomi-chan, you sleep so much like a stereotypical boy. After all, there had been more than one occasion where she had seen a male peer snoring away in the Academy courtyards, wasting their time away instead of doing something productive. Well...no, that's not fair. Outside school hours, what they do is their business.
Deciding to let her imouto sleep in, she then turned to the pair of doors to her right. The guest room — what had been Kodama-neesan's room prior to her going to university — sat across from her room, while the master bedroom sat across from Nozomi-chan's. She first glanced into the guest room: the futon had already been rolled up. Guess neesan's already woken up. She then turned towards the master bedroom: father's room. (She had long stopped thinking of it as her parents' room.) Where propriety would normally force her to knock in any other situation, long experience told her to open the door. What she saw — a man quietly rolled over in his futon, sleeping in as well — wasn't shocking: merely disappointing. Otousan...you've been doing so well. However, before she could enter to wake him up, a firm hand grabbed her shoulder.
"It's okay." Hikari turned to see the face of her elder sister, veiled by thick eyeglasses that managed to amplify her brown eyes and her impressive forehead. Brown hair fell down the sides of her head in thick curtains, eventually lengthening to the point where the back reached her shoulders. It looked like she had fallen asleep in her clothes from yesterday, as her white button-up dress shirt and long brown skirt were both incredibly wrinkled. "Follow me."
Dutifully, Hikari followed her older sister, through the living room and the kitchen to the small outdoor balcony. The sun looked like it had already been up for at least two hours; the sounds of morning life (people moving about on their way to work, children playing, the occasional chattering of birds, the distant drone of the giant crystal monster being broken down into pieces, even over two weeks after the fact) provided a pleasant enough sort of white noise. "Tea?" offered Kodama, gesturing to her own cup of steaming liquid sitting on the rail.
"Yes, please." She watched as her elder briefly retreated inside, returning moments later with a mug of hot water, steeping a tea bag into it; to her confusion, the color was an earthy red. "Not green tea?"
"Some of the foreign faculty at my university exclusively prefer wakoucha, because it's the closest thing to the black tea they normally get back in Europe."
Hikari took the mug gratefully, smelling the liquid (much bolder than she was used to) and opting to let the leaves soak some more. "So...how come father hasn't gone to work?"
"After you and Nozomi-chan turned in, I made sure that he notified his supervisor that he would be taking a later shift this weekend. So long as he finishes his workload by Monday, he'll be fine."
"Ah...that's good." Maybe. Otousan...tended not to do well, if he didn't keep to his schedule. "...so. It's been almost a year since you were last here. What do you think?"
"What do I think?" Kodama took a long sip of her tea, staring thoughtfully at the sky. "...I think that nothing's changed. This home still feels like a damned tomb."
"Neesan, last night was his best night in a long time."
"...I have more memories than you of what he was like, before mom died. The differences are still too stark."
"...so you're still going to run away, once summer's over."
"If I could take you and Nozomi-chan with me, I would."
"You'd just leave him?"
"Of course not. I'd actually try and get him some help. But he's still a 'functional member of society', so it's not like anyone's going to truly care." Kodama briefly gazed at her. "He hasn't been abusive, has he?"
(A dark part of her wished that he would be, because that would be some sign of life instead of this long, hellishly slow decline.) "No...but I don't think you realize just how much better he was last night, compared to how he usually is."
"...so you say. Can we talk about something else?" It was an intentional change of subject. "How's school been? I talked enough about myself, last night. Now it's your turn."
Hikari acknowledged the change of subject and went along with it. Sipping from her red tea, she briefly winced at the more bittersweet flavor compared to the smoothness of matcha...but it certainly fit how she felt, deep down.
(She wished that school didn't have a summer vacation. She'd been able to distract herself at the Academy, where her actions had tangible results.)
(You labor in vain.)
xxxx
The Ise-wan Ferry had finally arrived after 10 AM; a short bit of time later, the Hakone Caravan was on their way to Toba. With the HiAce (in which was also stored LABRYS and AIGIS), Royal Star Venture, and DeLorean safely secured within the vehicle hold, that left the kids and the adults to spend the fifty-five minute trip watching the sights.
Ryuji Sakamoto leaned against a starboard rail, watching the distant panorama pass them by: from north to south, there was Mikawa Bay, the hilly Chita Peninsula, and Ise Bay. Glancing to his right, he watched as the cluster of kids — all standing in the open air, and not within the shade of the upper deck like he was — pointed out various landmarks...okay, it was mostly Aida and Yamagishi doing that, while Ikari, Kirishima, and Suzuhara-kun listened with passive acknowledgement. The Amamiya kid was standing a bit further away from the kids, still leaning over the rail nonetheless, and looking...contemplative. Junpei was within the Metaverse, to serve as insurance against anything untoward happening to them from a cognitive perspective.
Which left him and Kenny.
"Captain," loudly murmured Ken Amada. "Have you put any further thought to what Junpei and I were talking about?"
"You know, tryin' to talk discreetly doesn't really walk when the rushing water means you have to take loud enough to overpower em'. Just speak normal; no one's gonna hear."
"...er, right. So...?"
"...it's a possibility."
(As the trio of adults — he and Junpei each got a bed, while Ken had been unlucky enough to draw the couch — prepared to sleep, the silence of the hotel room was broken by a question from Iori. "So...what are the odds we get ambushed by someone nefarious on this little road trip of ours?")
"But by who? I don't like open-ended missions like this."
Ryuji arched an eyebrow at his former subordinate-slash-teammate-slash-kouhai-slash-minion. "Come on, it's not like you haven't dealt with them before."
"And they always tend to be the most troublesome ones. You thinking Shiro Tokita's company might make a play for Kirishima-san?"
"Nah, too obvious. Tokita's unsolved disappearance from the Detention House was probably beneficial enough for em'; no need to jeopardize further. But having someone else serve as proxies? I wouldn't count it out."
"...perhaps the Defense Ministry might make a play, if what you've told me about her circumstances are true."
"It'd be pretty ballsy, I'll give you that. Or heck, maybe some random NGO looking for a shot at the big time might make a play."
"...it's all so foolish," growled Ken, clenching tightly onto the rail. "The sudden animus against the Evangelion-users doesn't make sense to me. We finally know that extra-dimensional monsters are the cause of Angel Syndrome, and that they can be killed; why vilify them if it means buying into the presuppositions of a group like Strega?"
"Yeah. It sucks, and it doesn't make sense rationally...but it does make sense you think about how groups of people behave, Kenny. Heck, we've been on too many new moon missions throughout the years not to realize how differently they behave in large numbers..." Such was the downside of experience. "Individuals? They're pretty sharp. But people? A mob? Guaranteed to do the dumb thing most of the time. Fear and peer pressure and panic make for a hell of a combo."
"But the Evangelions are a hard counter to them."
"Yeah, and we've only got three of em'. And even if they killed two Angels, there are at least nine more based on all of the other places that suffered mass mental shutdowns. No guarantee if that's all of em', either. Needless to say, the math doesn't look good for us."
"...but still-"
"First known incident involving Strega was their destruction of the Atlanta MAGI. Then they made a big splash with that broadcast after all of the Angel attacks on July 16th. And now...well, you have noticed where all of the Ghost and Acolyte missions have been occurring since the new moon, right?"
"...honestly, not really?"
"Eh...look it up when you get a chance. Then you might get an idea."
Ken, now suspicious, pulled out his phone and began to do some research. Kenny's no dummy; he'll figure it out before long.
Excited chatter suddenly filtered their way; Ryuji glanced back towards the kids, who were busy pointing at several dolphins that were accompanying the ferry in their seemingly playful manner. It was a snapshot of youthful joy from kids that honestly needed more of it. Shame this world isn't gonna be that easy...
(By the time they arrived at the ferry port in Toba, Junpei emerged from the Metaverse with an impressed expression. "Seriously, the amount of Poseidon Archetypes around the ferry's cognitive double was crazy. Forget a school of dolphins, it was a whole freakin' university system!")
xxxx
Meanwhile, as the hours passed, and the Hakone Caravan made their way around the hilly-to-mountainous edges of the massive Kii Peninsula, Ryuji Sakamoto's foreboding premonition was coming true on the other side of Eurasia, as the sun rose over Europe...
xxxx
/Director Kirijo's Office, NERV-03, Germany/
Mitsuru Kirijo was not a woman who appreciated bad news first thing in the morning.
Especially when it was news that rendered two whole weeks of politicking and wheeling and dealing worthless. "Chancellor, I urge you to reconsider," she all but growled into her phone.
The tired voice of the Chancellor of Germany came back. "The Security Council was unanimous in their verdict."
"Of course they would be, Japan's not even one of the non-permanent members at the moment!" Alongside the permanent five of America, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China, the current slate of non-permanent members included Ethiopia, Chad, Nigeria, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Germany, and Hungary; of those fifteen nations, eight had experienced devastation at the hands of the Angels during the last new moon (nine, if one counted for the giant creature that the Second Child had slain in Germany). "You mean to imply that even we voted for it?! Were it not for Asuka, Bavaria would have been-!"
"Circumstances have changed. Since Strega issued their proclamation, everyone has been paying attention to the distribution of Angel Syndrome incidents...and you know what pattern I speak of."
Mitsuru said nothing, because she knew of what the Chancellor spoke. She had even instructed the Second Child to make a circuit around Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East over the past several days to see if the pattern would hold...and it had. "Yes sir."
"Wherever the Evangelion-users have been stationed since the 16th of July, Acolytes and Ghosts emerged within a radius of nine hundred kilometers of their position...and only within that radius. For the first time since Second Impact, the majority of the world is blessedly free of those cognitive horrors...which indicates that Angel Syndrome is no longer random, but targeted."
"You are asking for us to discard our most effective counter-!"
"If every other nation has a chance to catch their breath, then perhaps we can finally come up with countermeasures that don't involve the Evangelions...but if these Angels and their proxies in Strega want to focus on the Evangelions to the exclusion of everything else, then the Security Council is happy to indulge them. Besides...unusual choice of German nomenclature aside, NERV and its predecessor GEHIRN were both organizations founded by the Japanese; Evangelion is their brainchild. Its Commander and three Directors are all Japanese. In like manner, despite the Italian nomenclature, Strega has only one known member thus far: Jin Shirato, another Japanese national." Put like that, it almost sounded damning. "As far as the world is concerned, the Angels are now Japan's problem...and I can't blame them."
"...this is a grave mistake, Chancellor."
"The Council's decision is final: Asuka Langley-Sohryu has until the next new moon to leave Europe. Barring any unusual circumstances, her deadline to be fully reassigned to Japan is the first of September. If you try to subvert this in any way...you will regret it."
"...very well, Chancellor. I will abide by this."
"Thank you, Director Kirijo. I honestly wish it could have gone differently." And with that, he unceremoniously hung up.
"...no you don't," she bitterly murmured, trying hard to resist the urge to stab something. Fantastic...those complete and utter fools...!
xxxx
The Hakone Caravan's path, as dictated by Ryuji Sakamoto, had taken a pretty scenic route: from Toba, they had taken the E23 Ise Expressway west, eventually merging and turning south onto the E42 Kisei Expressway, which they had been on for the most part...save for a lengthy detour at Owase, where they had gotten on National Route 425 and taken a winding route through the Daiko Mountains before merging onto National Route 169 near the Ikehara Reservoir.
(Ren Amamiya was shaking his head as he drove the HiAce along the winding mountain roads. "Easy detour for a motorcycle to take," the teenager had griped.)
From there, they had kept going onto National Route 309, before turning south onto National Route 42 at Kumano. The ride since then had been much smoother, with the waters of the Pacific looming to their left for the duration. Past Shingu, past Taiji, until finally arriving at the southernmost point of Honshū: the coastal town of Kushimoto, which included Cape Shionomisaki. It was here where they had currently stopped for both refueling and a late lunch.
Much like with Hamamatsu, they had ended up in a restaurant with a more foreign affectation than normal: a place called Reno's Bazaar, which doubled as a bookstore and souvenir shop for Turkish items, of all things.
"Never thought I'd find a place like this in a little out-of-the-way town," said Junpei as he chewed on his shish kebab: chunks of grilled meat that had been cooked on a wooden skewer.
"There's apparently an actual Turkish museum nearby," remarked Kensuke Aida, reading from a little visitor's guide pamphlet. In his hand was a small pide: essentially, Turkish pizza, but if the dough were shaped like a kayak instead of a flat disc. "If I'm reading this right, it commemorates the crash of an old ship called the Ertuğrul in 1890."
"Odd thing to commemorate," said Mana, her attention focused mostly on her taiyo kebab: a plate of chicken and leafy vegetables over rice, where the meat had been soaked in a pickled sauce overnight (at least, according to the menu). "Why celebrate a sinking ship?"
"Probably more to do with what came of it than the event itself," insightfully answered Ken Amada, chopsticks gripping tightly onto cold tomato pasta, with the noodles having previously been cooked in chicken consommé .
Amamiya wasn't in the conversation; he was too focused on critiquing the chicken kebab curry that he had ordered. "...texture's not bad...the smell could be a bit better though..."
"That pamphlet say anything about what happened after the crash?" asked Sakamoto, who had chosen simplicity by going for several donuts: the twist was that they were baked instead of fried, with a variety of flavors including maple nut and cream cheese added in.
Mayumi, who was reading from her own visitor's pamphlet, replied, "the frigate had been on its way back after having an audience with Emperor Meiji; they were caught in a severe September storm and sank when it ran aground of the local reefs. Only sixty-nine men were rescued."
"...out of how many?" inquired Suzuhara.
"Over six hundred." She punctuated this by taking another bite from her tiramisu crêpe.
"...that's rough," murmured Toji, opting to return to his karniyarik: a roasted eggplant stuffed with sauteed chopped onions, garlic, tomatoes, pepper, and ground lamb. A small mound of rice pilav sat to the side, already broken apart to soak in the savory juices leaking from the eggplant.
"...so, what happened next?" asked Shinji, nibbling thoughtfully on his variant of dolma: whole green peppers that had been stuffed with minced beef, rice, and tomato purée and cooked in an oven with olive oil and a creamy sauce that tasted of lemon and sesame seeds.
"Well, the survivors were taken back to their home, the Ottoman Empire, onboard two Japanese frigates. Our people sympathized with theirs, and their people apparently came to admire us back as a result," explained Kensuke. "This guide's a bit short on the details, though."
Mayumi hummed thoughtfully, glancing up at the ceiling. "Hmm...if I recall correctly, there was admiration for Japan becoming a modernizing power in an era where the Turks were seen as being in decline, given their ethnic origins in East Asia. It was solidified even more because of their shared enmity with Russia. Not even being on opposite sides of the first World War did much to put a dent in that mutual relationship...though there was a bit of a hiccup during the second World War, but that was all rather...unpleasant..."
"So basically, it's a national friendship that began with a tragedy, strengthened with a combo of geopolitical admiration and hatred for some other country. Sounds pretty basic." Ryuji capped off this comment by biting into another donut.
"...but why would hatred be a means of bringing them together?" honestly asked Shinji.
"Ever heard of 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend?' It has a lot of applications."
Junpei nodded in concurrence with his old captain's words. "It sucks, but that's life for ya...well, that's people for ya, to be more precise."
Shinji went quiet, thinking about the prospect. I wonder...if I would be the same...?
The Beast laughed.
"It would be a very interesting scenario, wouldn't it?"
The shadow of Gendo Ikari loomed large.
"If someone hated your father...would you be more willing to give them a chance compared to someone who LOVED your father...?"
His own shadow loomed over a fiery wasteland.
"And in like manner...how many are there, who would be willing to overlook their own mutual enmity...over their hatred or fear of you...?"
"...so, historical downers aside, anyone up for taking a photo? They'll let us dress up for it!" exclaimed Kensuke.
And that was how the five young teenagers wound up posing in front of a brick wall (laden with mosaic glass lamps and colorful rugs), swathed in vibrant robes, sashes, and veils (with Toji sporting a very large turban).
There were a few odd stares from the staff when Mana opted to dress in an old-fashioned military uniform: black pants and coat that were laden with fake yet accurate medals and ribbons, with golden cuffs, shiny belt, and brassy epaulettes. However, as Sakamoto put it, she rocked the red fez.
(Her request to pose with LABRYS and AIGIS had been vetoed decisively, much to her dismay.)
xxxx
While Amamiya, Sakamoto, and Amada went to refuel the vehicles, Junpei Iori escorted the five teenagers to one of the nearby fishing piers, which was understandably packed for a Saturday.
Shinji leaned against the rail, watching idly as various people tried their luck with both fly rods and spin rods. Kirishima watched with some measure of curiosity, with Kensuke and Yamagishi pointing out various facets about the fish being caught, the tools being used, and fishing in general. Iori was leaning against an open spot on the opposite side of the pier, watching them without looking like he was watching them.
"She's like a damn sponge." Shinji looked to his right, where Suzuhara had joined him along the rail. The track jock was looking over his head towards Kirishima. "After I beat her on the sand dunes yesterday, she actually sat in Aida's seat and demanded that I give her insight into how I did it."
"Really?" He hadn't really been paying attention; he had actually gotten the passenger's seat today in the HiAce, and had spent most of it watching the scenery. (All attempts at trying to talk to Amamiya-senpai about the Wild Card had died before ever leaving his mouth. It just...wasn't the right time.)
"That turned into a whole damn lecture on track and field in general, because she kept asking questions. And Ken was no help to me, because he was in the back being nerdy with Yamagishi!"
"...well...can you blame Kirishima-san...?"
"From what I know of what she went through? Hell no. Doesn't mean it's not a little annoying." The younger-yet-taller boy scratched at his hair with an irritable expression. "...honestly, it got me thinking about my sis. She'd...she'd probably be like that, a little, if she woke up. Know what I mean?"
"How so?"
"Like a gaijin who had been dropped into the middle of the Japanese countryside with no idea how anything worked."
"...I guess so." The gaps in the girl's knowledge were sporadic but thorough; she was intelligent enough to make her way around, but certain aspects of culture (popular or otherwise), leisurely activities, and the minutiae of day-to-day life were simply...foreign, to her. "She's just trying to do her best."
"I know. S'why I kept answering her damn questions..." Toji sighed, turning his gaze towards the choppy waters of the Pacific. To the southeast, distant storm clouds could be seen. "...you ever thought about how quickly it could end?"
"...what do you mean?"
"Like...like that ship that was mentioned at the cafe. The Err-true-gull, or somethin'. If what Yamagishi said was true, over five hundred guys died. And I bet they didn't even think their number was up when they started out. Heck, does anyone?"
"...well...maybe sometimes." The possibility of death always loomed, whenever he went out to fight. Especially against the Angels, which were larger than life, it seemed.
"Like how?"
Myself. Ayanami-san. Kirishima-san. There were probably others. "A.T. Agents...people who do dangerous jobs, knowing the risks...there are probably a lot of examples..."
Toji grunted, accepting the point. "Maybe they go out expecting to die if there's a risk...but if they've got someone waiting for em' back home or whatever, don't you think they want to live? Just to make it back to them?" The boy growled, briefly kicking his toes against the pier. "It's not coming out right. The Class Rep would have been able to make it sound smart."
"...Suzuhara-san, I'm in no position to criticize anyone about proper communication." He at least had enough knowledge and self-awareness to know that much.
His Other nodded.
"You've experienced enough to learn this the hard way..."
"...I guess what I'm trying to get at is that...well, you never really know when your time comes. I mean, you think my parents thought their last day alive was going to be that day? Hell no. It could've easily been my time too. It was almost Sakura's as well." A complicated expression ghosted across his face. "Sometimes...sometimes I wish it had been the other way around. That I'd been the one who ended up in that hospital instead of her."
Shinji blinked. "...why?" he asked, concern rising.
"Eh, I'd like to imagine that she'd have been able to make something better of herself than me, that's all. Maybe that's the sibling pride talking, but that's how I feel. Besides...I'm tough. I'd like to think I'd be able to handle whatever soul coma she's got just fine."
"...but would you?"
"How do you mean?"
"Well...if you had ended up in Sakura-chan's place...you would have never met Aida-san. Or Nagisa-kun. Or Tomochika. Or Sakamoto-san. Or Horaki-san."
"What, leaving yourself out? You're not that bad."
"...my point is that the person you are...part of it is because of the people you've met. Would you be as strong as you are without having met them?" Deep down, he knew the answer was no. (Because he knew that his own bonds had given him strength...and had helped him become better.)
It looked like Toji realized that too, judging by his irritated expression. "...why you gotta undercut me being an awesome man's man?"
"Sorry-"
"Don't apologize. You made a good point." The boy huffed, glancing back over towards his other peers; apparently, some elderly fisherman had noticed Kirishima's inquisitiveness, and had opted to let her try casting out. The girl did so with an almost tentative excitedness, even as Kensuke and Yamagishi encouraged her (albeit the former doing so more loudly than the latter). "...can't change what happened. Gotta keep living for her...and if nothing else, I'll have plenty of stories to tell after this road trip. Heck, just over the past two days alone is gonna make her day...I hope."
"I'm sure it will, Suzuhara-san."
"...here's hoping."
And that's when Kirishima yelped with shock as she was nearly yanked off of the pier by whatever had caught onto her borrowed fishing pole. Yamagishi jumped back with surprise while Kensuke impulsively wrapped his arms around the girl's waist to keep her from falling over. "Oh crap oh crap need a hand need a hand need a HAND-!"
Toji immediately leapt into action whilst Shinji followed; Suzuhara grabbed at the rod with both hands, trying to help her pull in whatever she had caught. Shinji settled for clutching her shoulders, trying to root himself with his legs.
And all the while, Junpei Iori was offering commentary. "Come on kiddos, you can't let a measly little fish show you up!"
As it turned out, it wasn't a 'measly little fish.'
Needless to say, it was quite a spectacle for the others fishing on the pier to see five teenagers pose with a red seabream that measured just shy of a full meter in length.
(Suzuhara and Aida immediately protested when Kirishima handed her catch over to the old fisherman, alas.)
("Why are you complaining? It wasn't my rod," she had calmly retorted.)
But the brief diversion had come to an end; several minutes later, they were all back in the vehicles and returning to the road.
xxxx
/Director Kirijo's Office, NERV-03, Germany/
As the clock struck 9:00 AM (and 3:00 PM in Japan), Asuka Langley-Sohryu found herself in a right foul mood. "So what, I'm being kicked out of GERMANY?!"
"In short? Yes," bluntly answered Mitsuru Kirijo.
"Great. Great. Just great!" The thirteen-year-old proceeded to pace back and forth, angrily muttering to herself in clipped German. It got to the point of creative vulgarity when a rubber ball no bigger than a baseball popped against her head. "WHAT?!" she roared, whirling towards the culprit.
Sister Mary Makinami calmly bent down to pick up the bouncy projectile, her face schooled into a no-nonsense expression. "Cursing at them and yourself won't change the situation in the least, Miss Sohryu."
"It'll make me feel better, though."
"A fleeting thing, that would eventually become a crutch...and quite frankly, crutches are for those with broken legs, not wicked tongues." Her lecture promptly delivered, Sister Mary promptly smiled. "Let's think about how we can focus that righteous anger of yours, shall we?"
The girl snorted before turning back towards her superior. "So...you gonna ship me out immediately? Even if you needed my Evangelion for defensive purposes, I figure you'd be glad to get a headache like me out of your hair anyway-" The sudden glare that overshadowed Mitsuru's face — swift and overwhelming as the worst blizzard — promptly shut her up.
"You are angry. You are lashing out. I understand the desire. You have my sympathy and empathy." Rising to her feet, Mitsuru looked down at her with an expression that was both condescending yet kind (and she was talented enough to pull it off). "But after everything I've done for you, I will not tolerate that sort of disrespect. It's unbecoming of you."
Her immediate impulse was to retort (to struggle, to retaliate, to fight back, because that's what she practically lived for nowadays).
Her Other grabbed her wrist.
"She speaks well: this is unbecoming of you. An Ace is above such pettiness."
The Beast quietly cradled a broken doll.
"Besides...that's the easy path. And nothing has ever been easy...so why start now...?"
However, she managed to bite her tongue and clamp down on what she wanted to do, and instead said what she needed. "...sorry, Director. I was out of line."
"You are forgiven."
"But...if you don't mind my saying so, was zum Teufel denken diese Idioten?!"
Sister Mary answered for Director Kirijo. "Fear and desperation and hope, Miss Sohryu: fear of another repeat of July the 16th; desperation in the face of an unknown foe that has enmity against the Evangelions; hope that if they give in to this one demand, they can buy the one commodity everyone is lacking these days...time."
"So you think they're right?" she asked, trying not to sound as betrayed as she felt.
The nun shook her head, smiling shrewdly. "Don't get me wrong: I believe this decision to be an incredibly foolish and shortsighted one that plays into the hands of mankind's mutual enemy. But it is a reasonable one; there's a difference between acknowledging a decision as understandable and acknowledging it as correct, much less right."
"Indeed. That's why we'll stick to the letter of their decision as much as possible. Until the next new moon, I want you to show your worth against Ghosts and Acolytes to whatever degree you can spare. As the day approaches, I'll make sure you're in a relatively isolated area: if the Angels want to focus on you, then I want you to have plenty of space to run wild in."
Asuka felt mollified by that. For so long, they had had to chase and track down the cause of Angel Syndrome; now, it seemed as if the proverbial culprits were gunning for her and her peers. Can't wait. "And after that?"
"...you'll have an extended layover in America, so that you'll be able to visit the First Branch in Massachusetts, and the Second Branch in Nevada. Your ultimate arrival in Japan will be timed such that you'll get there before the beginning of September. The exact date...well, it doesn't have to be set in stone, just yet."
Asuka sighed, sitting down in one of the chairs opposite of Director Kirijo's desk. The reality of it all was finally starting to hit her. I'm...going to be leaving my homeland. She had lived in Germany for almost her entire life. Even her mother's Japanese heritage didn't have the same hold on her that Deutschland did. (And yet why did the prospect of going to Japan flicker hotly, deep down, as an ember?) "...I'll have to start packing."
"And I'll have to ensure my transfer is properly logged with my Order," remarked Sister Mary.
Asuka turned her shoulder, looking quizzically at the woman religious. "Eh?"
"It goes without saying that I'll be going with you. After all, who else would be able to keep your temper in check?" Makinami added, with just a bit of cheek.
The young girl snorted (you don't need to mask your gratitude, they BOTH see right through you) before saying, "like you'd listen even if I did tell you to get lost."
"...at any rate, on a personal level, make sure to look for the positives," advised Director Kirijo. Her gaze was heavy with bitter regrets and sober melancholy. "After all...in all your years, have you found what you've been looking for?"
Asuka frowned, knowing exactly what the Director was referring to.
xxxx
December the 4th, 2008. It had been Asuka's seventh birthday.
She had entered her family's modest house on the outskirts of the Third Branch, having spent the morning being scanned at NERV; something about how her A.T. Field bore markers quite similar to those of the 'First Child', whoever that was.
She didn't much care, at the time. She just wanted to get home so she could have her birthday party.
Long used to walking to and from the base by herself — a practice that her mother and father both indulged, because they knew how much she wanted to be a big girl — Asuka entered the house at the edge of the woods.
The smell was sharp. (Familiar!) She looked around, finding her mother standing solemnly over the corpse of a dead man. "...Mama...what's wrong with Papa...?"
The woman turned around to face her. Her father's blood stained her blouse. In her right hand was a gun.
"...Mama...?" Confusion. Bewilderment. The inklings of primal terror.
"I...I finally understand why Naoko killed herself...I understand why Yui vanished...it's all so clear..."
"...what...?"
The woman paused, looking intently at her. Her smile was...small. Sad. Bitter. Harsh. Envious(?) and accepting. "...you have a much greater destiny in store...I understand that now...and if you're going to fulfill it...I'm just going to be in the way..."
"Mama, what are you talking about...why is Papa on the ground-?"
"...Meine kleine Kerze," her mother murmured, using her pet name. "Don't let a trifle like me hold you back...burn me away like the garbage that I am...embrace what's real..." Then, without another word, she pointed the handgun upwards into her mouth.
Bang.
It was that moment — watching her mother fall, fall, FALL — which coincided with a piercing pain in the center of heart: the sharp blade became a bonfire that raged and roared as something bigger and FULLER and TRUE descended into her, joined her, became a PART of her-!
Then, it came: the desire to protect...and not just something vague, but something concrete, something (someone?) that was more real than anything her childish mind could have ever conceived of.
At last...there was the voice of a Beast.
"I am thou...Thou art I..."
Asuka screamed.
xxxx
"...no. I haven't, Director."
"Then perhaps a change of scenery is what you need."
Asuka huffed; rather than debate with the older woman, she settled for a nod. Maybe...maybe. "Is there anything else?"
"No. You're dismissed."
Thoughts of fire and blood and death faded away as the Second Child turned to depart, with Sister Mary ever at her side. Guess I'd better start packing...
xxxx
It had taken a little over four hours for the Hakone Caravan to get from Kushimoto to Arida, given their current pace.
Not that the kids had minded that much, because they had plenty of ways to occupy themselves.
xx
"I spy, with my little eyes...something that's black," said Suzuhara with a cocky grin. "Good luck trying to guess this one!"
Aida, Yamagishi, Kirishima, and Ikari looked amongst each other, rather befuddled by the pick; there was nothing like that out the window, and they collectively exhausted most of their internal options. Finally, Aida surrendered on their behalf. "I give up. What is it?"
Triumphantly, Toji pointed out Mayumi. "It's the mole on yer face!"
Up front, Ren — glancing in the rear view mirror — impulsively winced. "Oof, bad move," he muttered under his breath.
Shinji's jaw hung slack. Kensuke slapped his head. Mayumi flushed out of mortified embarrassment. Mana, however, blinked. "Wait...that little black dot? I thought it was just a freckle like Keita-niisan's, except all by itself." Out of genuine curiosity, Mana grabbed the bottom of Mayumi's chin with both hands and peered in closer, eyes narrowing analytically. "How is it different...?"
Mayumi, shocked by the sudden intrusion into her personal space, helplessly flailed her arms around. "M-M-M-Mana-san!"
Shinji gulped, reaching over the row of the seat he was sharing with Kensuke and Toji. "Uh, please don't, Kirishima-san...!"
Kensuke gave Toji the stink eye. "Way to go, Toji."
"What?" asked the flummoxed teenager. "What did I do? I won the round, didn't I?"
"But at what cost, my companion? The cost of a fair maiden's tears?!"
"Ken, the hell are you going on about now...?"
Ren shook his head at the sudden burst of drama. Kids.
xx
Fortunately, the drama hadn't lasted too long, and Toji had eventually been convinced to apologize for being a well-intentioned dunderhead.
Mana had also been told to switch seats with Kensuke, because getting handsy with the civilian — however innocently intended — was not kosher.
xx
The kids had proceeded to a game of Shiritori next: speaking nouns in hiragana such that the first character of your word had to match the last character of the word spoken by the previous person. Any words ending in ん — the sound of 'n' — resulted in a loss, as no Japanese words existed that began with that kana.
It was probably no surprise that Kensuke Aida and Mayumi Yamagishi were the last ones standing. By the time it had gotten to this point, Mana and Kensuke had switched seats so Aida could face his opponent directly.
"Ushi," said Mayumi: うし, for 'cattle'.
"Shinpatsu," retorted Kensuke: しんぱつ , for the act of 'marching off.'
"Tsubasa." つばさ, for 'wings.'
"Sakumei." さくめい , for the military term for 'operation order.'
"Ittousei." いっとうせい , for 'first magnitude star.'
"...ittouhei." いっとうへい , for 'private.'
Mayumi narrowed her eyes at the intentional similarity of the word he had chosen. "Very cheeky, Aida-san."
The boy grinned. "I try."
"Hmm. Insei." いんせい , for 'meteor.'
"Isshou." いっしょう , for 'general.'
"Umihebiza." うみへびざ , for the 'Hydra' constellation.
"Zanrui." ざんるい , for 'remnant fort.'
"Back to this kana again? Inamiboshi." いなみぼし , for the 'Ox' constellation.
"Shidou." しどう , for 'leadership' or 'guidance' in a martial arts perspective.
"Finally branching beyond military terms, Aida-san?"
"Caught onto that, did ya?"
"You were hardly subtle."
"Says the lady sticking with astronomy terms."
Mayumi simply pushed her glasses up against her nose. "...uchuunokyorihashigo." うちゅうのきょりはしご , the term for 'cosmological distance ladder.'
The sheer LENGTH of that term elicited a stunned blink from Kensuke. "That's a noun?"
"Don't stall, Aida-san."
This led to an impulsive answer. "Er, um, gokan!" ごかん , for the mathematics term 'transposition.'
Mayumi smiled. "Victory is mine."
"...AGH," groan Kensuke, pulling at his hair. "I demand a rematch!"
"If you insist on another defeat, Aida-san," she said with a coquettish giggle.
"Oh, we'll see about THAT!"
From the seat ahead, Mana watched with a raised eyebrow. "...it's just them saying words back to each other. How is this a game?"
"...well, it introduces a bit of competition into the act of learning. I think some people find it fun?" offered Shinji, who had tuned out the back-and-forth between Aida and Yamagishi because they had just...kept...going.
"...people must have different definitions of fun," murmured the girl.
Toji, meanwhile, was peering almost...critically, at the two bespectacled nerds. "...I've no idea if they're making passes at each other or not," he muttered under his breath.
xx
Word games could only last for so long, however. Eventually, Mayumi had pulled out one of her souvenirs purchased from Reno's Bazaar: a bunch of origami paper.
xx
The only unique facet of the paper that Mayumi had brought along was that it had various Turkish designs and color patterns on it.
Unlike the word games, she and Aida were only...passable, at origami.
Shinji was better than the two of them, but not by much. There were certain shapes that he seemed capable of doing from memory...but all others required so much more effort that he was honestly befuddled.
To their surprise, Toji and Mana were the best at folding origami.
Their reasons were...not so charming.
"There was a little while where I was getting really antsy when visiting my sis at the hospital, so I tried bringing some stuff along to occupy my hands while I told her stories. Got pretty good at origami...but I got bored of it after awhile." He leaned back, looking at the deer he had made.
"Big Sis taught us all how to do this stuff when we were travelling. Tried to keep up with it after we were kidnapped. Then I started getting roomed separately from my siblings, and there was no reason to do it anymore." The axe she had formed was rather intricate.
The other three teenagers stared awkwardly at each other.
"...so, do I win?" asked Mana.
"Eh, don't think you 'win' at origami, unless you use the paper you fold as part of a different game," explained Toji,
Mana looked thoughtfully down at her paper axe. Then she threw it over Ikari's head and at Toji's face.
"WHOA! You went for the eye?!"
"Does that mean I win?"
"NO, IT DOESN'T!"
Shinji sighed with remorse as Toji continued to act angrily towards Mana, whose blunt and simple responses to his ire only served to irritate him further.
And all the while, Kensuke and Mayumi looked at the display with concern. "...we should probably help Ikari out," remarked Kensuke.
"Yes, we should."
"...wanna play another round of Shiritori?"
"Even after beating you three times?"
"Eh, fourth time's the charm."
"That's not how that saying goes."
"I'm not hearing a 'no.'"
"That's because it wasn't," she answered with a smile. "You first."
And so the two began another round of verbal jousting, even as Shinji tried to play peacemaker mere feet away.
xxxx
Alas, this leg of the trip had to come to an end eventually.
The Hakone Caravan rolled into Arida right as rain rolled in from the south. Electing to grab a simple dinner at a conveyor belt sushi place (with the sole distinctive factor being that they incorporated a lot of Japanese mandarins into their recipes, since it was a notable crop for the area), the collective of six teenagers and three adults ate with gusto.
Alas, the rain did not let up. "...thinkin' we might call it a day," remarked Ryuji Sakamoto, looking out the window; the rain was coming down in waves, and the Arita River that this restaurant was adjacent to was getting much choppier. "The ferry in Wakayama won't be operating under these conditions, and by the time it lets up, it'll probably be nightfall anyway."
Ren frowned, looking inquisitively at Sakamoto (and only inquisitively, because it kept some mental distance between himself and his former Chariot Confidant). "...could've sworn the Wakayama ferry ran at night..." (Was this a subtle change compared to his past life?)
"Used to. Too many Ghost attacks at night made it a liability to operate at those times," remarked Junpei. "Which is a shame, because I think my wife had us take a nighttime ferry ride some years back during a full moon...thought it was gonna be all lovey dovey, but she just needed to get a good angle for composition..."
"...didn't that picture end up selling for at least a million yen?" remarked Ken Amada.
"Yeah, but you can't put a price on romance! Especially with someone like my darling Chi-Chi..."
"I thought Chidori said that you're forbidden to use that nickname."
"Eh, she secretly loves it, but it'd be too easy if she didn't push back on it, you know? It's all about the give and take, even with something as simple as a nickname...course, you'd know all about that with your honey, wouldn't you, Kenny?"
Junpei's salacious grin only prompted Amada to shove his baseball cap over his eyes. "Behave. There are children in the vicinity."
Ren (who was trying so very hard not to laugh) simply glanced further down the conveyor belt; somehow, Toji Suzuhara and Mana Kirishima had gotten themselves into an eating contest, grabbing plates off the belt every twenty seconds. Ikari was watching with barely disguised horror, Mayumi seemed oddly fascinated by the event, and Kensuke was naturally filming it with his phone. "Somehow, I don't think they're hearing you."
Junpei and Amada finally noticed, eyes widening with shock as Suzuhara and Kirishima piled on the plates. "Whoa whoa WHOA, this place ain't an all-you-can-eat!" exclaimed the taller A.T. Agent.
"Seriously, our Captain's being generous, but be reasonable!" added the shorter half of the duo.
Ren turned back towards Sakamoto, who seemed...rather unperturbed, by the fact the bill was going to be much higher than expected. "What's wrong?"
"...nothing." Leaning on his cane, the eldest of the group scratched at his bum leg with a grimace. Ryuji's other hand held his phone, which was scrolling through something with flicks of his thumb. Whatever he was viewing, Ren couldn't see. "Just a bad feeling, is all..."
...well, I'll have to make sure to sleep lightly tonight, inwardly mused Joker as he sipped from his green tea.
xxxx
The Hakone Caravan had taken up residence in a motel for the evening, once again taking three rooms with similar room arrangements as before. The rooms were definitely on the small side, with no beds like their last one: truly, a call to the cheap and thrifty.
As Mayumi quietly prepared her futon, she noticed her lone roommate sitting against the wall, staring intently at the pretty gemstones embedded into the axe and shield. "Mana-san?"
The child soldier blinked, as if coming out of a trance. "What is it?"
"...I was simply...curious. Are you...able to talk, to your sisters...?"
"...not...not like we're talking. It's...hard to describe." Mana grimaced, looking at LABRYS and AIGIS with an intense yet thoughtful expression. "...they're here. I know that. But I can't communicate with them...and they can't communicate with me. But sometimes...it just feels like I know things that I can't explain. I'd like to think that it's them, looking out for me...and hopefully they can feel the same."
"...at least it's something."
"True." Mana glanced over at her. "...kind of odd, hearing some of the chatter about this 'academy' you guys go to. Seems a heck of a lot more fun than the 'education' that Tokita put me and my siblings through."
"...well...it has its ups and downs. Like anything, I suppose."
"Bet you're a popular one. You seem to get along well enough with Ikari and Aida."
Mayumi tried to ignore the heat in her cheeks. "I...I wouldn't go that far...honestly, if Ikari-san hadn't invited me, I probably would still be at home. Just...minding my own business."
"...if you say so. But how come?"
"...why do you ask?"
"For practice, if nothing else," she admitted with a shameless shrug. "Once I find my brothers, I've gotta be able to help them integrate into society. Can't do that if I'm still learning the ropes."
"That's fair enough..." Mayumi sighed, putting her glasses on the nearest windowsill, so that they wouldn't get stepped on. "...I'm not even sure how to explain it. I just...repel people."
"Eh?"
"They try to get close...and before long, they see something that frightens them. Something repugnant. And they no longer want anything to do with me." She smiled sadly. "That's why the Literature Club was something I didn't mind...because we're all there to read what we want without being hassled over it. Ikari-san was honestly the first member in a long time who's even tried to...make...to make a connection."
"...huh. Can't say I get that impression."
"...well...hopefully it won't be until after the summer vacation."
Before long, the two had gone to sleep, their futons separated by a meter.
Mayumi...dreamed, for lack of a better word.
The beast slowly poked its amorphous head out of the underground. The cat looked on warily from afar.
She turned over, wincing.
With a sudden whip-like motion, the beast spewed a foul miasma into the sky. The cat watched wearily as the fog moved with intent.
Bypassing the boundaries of the barren land, the fog avoided stalwart homes, freshly-built cottages, and stalwart castles; it settled on the decrepit remnants of dilapidated residences, long bereft of life.
Soon...the miasma would burn...and the husks would serve as fuel for a roaring bonfire.
Her lips subconsciously twisted into a frown.
The beast suddenly withdrew underground, a mere instant before the roving spotlight flashed out of the field with terrible intent.
However, the cat was seen. Just for an instant, before she yowled and scurried away, to hide in the darkness of the tall grass.
Mayumi loosed a brief moan before her dreams faded into a numb restlessness.
xxxx
Little did Mayumi know, but — coinciding with the spotlight's presence — Mana had woken up in a flash. She had barely gotten to her feet, impulsively summoning LABRYS and AIGIS into her hands, before blinking rapidly. What...? What had been that sensation?
xxxx
Her Little Sis shouted, pointing emphatically at a hole in the ground. A monster had been there!
Her Big Sis frantically tried to fire her bazooka...only to grumble when she realized that she had forgotten to load the rocket.
xxxx
...it had been...just like yesterday morning, when they had first met: that oddly hollow feeling, that nonetheless screamed danger. What was that? She had gotten so comfortable with Yamagishi's presence that she had honestly forgotten about yesterday...but now? For just an instant, something had happened. But what? "...who are you," she quietly murmured under her breath.
Slowly, she laid her weapons on the floor, silently crawling back towards her futon; however, instead of falling back asleep, Mana kept her eyes trained on the other girl's form, even as she occasionally tossed and turned.
It would take a couple of hours before her paranoia faded sufficiently enough for physical tiredness to take over, sending her back to sleep.
But the suspicious feeling in in the back of her mind never went away.
xxxx
Meanwhile, less than twenty kilometers north of Arida, the night shift supervisor of the Nankai Ferry yawned widely, reading a pop culture magazine with vague interest. His peer on the previous shift had informed him that it had been a slow day, no thanks to the inclement weather; as such, the Katsuragi had been unable to make its final trip of the day. The sole upside was that this meant the late shift janitorial staff had cleaned out the ferry ahead of schedule. The downside meant that his shift was going to be a rather lonely one. At least the rain finally stopped, he mused, flipping another page. "Huh...didn't know those Feathermen Z girls were going on tour..."
The door into the ferry office suddenly opened. "Hey hey," he protested, rising from behind his desk. "We're closed-!"
"I know," said the visitor: a man with slick dark hair, narrow cheekbones, and a sharp nose. "But I think you'll make the time," he continued, holding out a badge.
A badge with a very recognizable symbol.
"...P...Public Security..." Oh gods what has the company done to get PubSec on their ass what have they done have I done anything crap oh crap my life is ruined-!
"Yes. The Paranormal and Supernatural Countermeasure Office, to be precise. I'm glad that you're a very engaged citizen to be so well-informed."
"...what...um...how can I help you...um-"
"Agent Hirofumi Kurosawa," he answered. "And as for how you can help me...you're going to have nine customers tomorrow." He reached into his black raincoat, pulling out photos of five young teenagers, one young man, and three adults. "They're going to be taking a ferry tomorrow. Probably the first one after sunrise, but maybe the second, based on their travel pattern thus far."
"...are you asking for my help to entrap them?"
"Nothing of the sort. What I want is for you to make sure that anyone else that's made reservations has their tickets cancelled and refunded. We're going to be reserving the first and second ferries for our own people. Naturally, Nankai Ferry will be fully compensated."
"B-B-But that's over eight hundred people in total! What could you possibly need that many-"
"Best not to worry about that."
...that's a good point. Whoever these nine people were that PubSec were so interested in, well he wanted no part of that. "We're going to have so many angry customers..."
"And we don't want civilians involved unnecessarily."
"Yes sir, understood sir."
"And as boorish as it may sound...I trust that I don't need to remind you to keep this conversation 'confidential,' correct?"
"Yes sir, understood sir!" Scrutiny from Public Security was one thing that no one wanted.
"Good. Now, here's a list of people that you'll be making reservations for..."
Agent Kurosawa loomed over him the entire time as he went through the laborious process of cancelling old reservations, queuing up refunds for the cancellations, then setting up new reservations using the information that the agent had provided. All in all, it had taken over an hour. "...and that's the last one."
"Excellent. Your country thanks you for your service."
"...I'm not going to be in trouble with my employer, will I?"
Agent Kurosawa smiled...but it certainly couldn't be called warm, because his face simply did not allow for genial expressions. "Of course not. If the government turned on its own citizens, that would make people that much less likely to help us. You have my word that you'll have no trouble with Nankai Ferry for this."
"...okay. Thank you, sir."
And with that said, Agent Kurosawa departed into the night.
Five minutes later, the supervisor finally allowed himself to slump into his chair out of exhaustion. "Good gods, I hate the weekend shift...it's always something...!"
xxxx
END OF 8/1/2015
xxxx
Author's Note: Well. So much for having a simple summer vacation.
Let's recount what happened!
- Joker foreshadowed an inevitable conversation between Wild Cards once they get to their destination.
- We got a look at some family drama involving Hikari Horaki. (An Empress Confidant with family drama? Say it ain't so!)
- Ryuji and Ken conversed about the possibility of danger on their trip. (And Agent Kurosawa promptly vindicated their concern in the last scene with PubSec. Darn it, if only you had been a Social Link in P3, this could've been avoided!)
- The UN are basically kicking Asuka out of Europe and into Japan. She doesn't react well. But at least Sister Mary will be along for the ride! (And we also got a look at what happened to her mom in this timeline, and yikes.)
- Turkish trivia in the town of Kushimoto! (And yes, the Pre-2000 historical events referenced actually happened. Reno's Bazaar - because Reno's a Turk, ya know? :P - is actually based off of a real restaurant in Kushimoto.)
- Shinji's Chariot Social Link with Toji reached Rank 3 right before Mana caught a big ol' fish.
- More games in the car! (This was the point where Kensuke and Mayumi suddenly knocked on my monitor and demanded at least more scenes where they could engage in the act known as 'nerds flirting.' And I was like, sure, whatever.)
- Ryuji having a bad feeling about this. As if Kurosawa wasn't enough, we have whatever's going on with Mayumi...
I'm sure the next chapter won't have any craziness, no sir. :V