"—and I just don't understand what the point was." Rei Ayanami changed out of her plugsuit in silence. As usual, the Second Child talked enough for the both of them. "I mean, really. When are we ever going to see a situation where we'll have to pilot each other's Evas? Just another way to waste our time if you ask me. I'm just glad they didn't ask me to do it. I wouldn't have let them. No way I'd allow anyone else inside my entry plug. Not you, and certainly not that idiot Shin—"
Rei slammed her locker closed with a bang, silencing her fellow Pilot. She turned to coolly regard the redhead. "What is your problem?" she asked in a quiet voice. A look of shock briefly crossed Soryu's face, quickly giving way to indignation.
"Excuse me?" she said. "What's my problem? You're the one banging lockers around. I'm not the one with an issue. What's your problem?"
Rei stared at the girl. "My problem," she said, narrowing her eyes, "is you." Soryu let out a small gasp as her face went red with rage.
"Oh yeah? And what the hell is that supposed to mean? Let's hear it, Wondergirl. What's your problem with me?"
Rei didn't speak for a moment, opting to continue staring at the redhead. Her calm expression contrasted greatly with Soryu's face of fury.
"Why do you talk about Shinji that way?" she eventually asked. "All he does is be nice to you, and you treat him like dirt." She stood and made her way to the door before turning back. "He cares for you, a great deal. Whether you don't see it or you don't care, I'm not sure. But you should try being nice to him." She turned and exited the room, leaving the half-changed Second Child in a stunned silence.
She made her way to the debriefing room. After scanning the room, she found the person she was looking for.
"Major Katsuragi," she called out. The purple-haired woman turned at the sound of her name, smiling when she saw Rei in the doorway. "May I have a word with you, privately?" The major nodded, excusing herself from the conversation she'd been taking part in.
"What's up, Rei?" she asked in a cheerful voice as she stepped into the hallway.
"I would like to talk about Shinji," Rei said bluntly. "Frankly, I believe you're doing a poor job as his guardian."
The smile on the woman's face froze as her eyes widened. She didn't respond for a minute or two. "Is that so?" she eventually asked, the cheer in her tone now noticeably forced.
Rei nodded. "Yes," she said. "I understand the demands of your job. I also understand that he is not your child. That does not mean he isn't your responsibility. You care for him, it's plain to see, but that is simply not enough. He and the Soryu girl are struggling, that's something even I can see from my…" she paused, "…outside perspective.
"You're trying. I don't want to imply that you aren't. I'm only asking you to try harder. It pains me to see him struggle like he does, while I'm helpless to help. Can you do that for me? Please?"
The major appeared flabbergasted, her mouth opening and closing a few times with nothing coming out. Eventually she gave a weak nod of the head. "Yeah," she said quietly. "I can do that." Rei gave a nod of her own in return.
"Good," she said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got urgent business with the commander." Without another word She strode off, past the woman and towards the elevator at the end of the hall.
A short time later Rei found herself in the massive cavern that was Gendo Ikari's office. He sat at the desk, mere feet away, regarding her from behind twin orbs of light reflecting off his glasses.
"Why are you here?" he asked, his voice clear despite the fact that he was speaking from behind the hands bridged in front of his face. "We did not have a meeting arranged."
"No," she replied. "We didn't. But this felt like it couldn't wait." She paused. "Take your glasses off, please," she requested in a soft voice. After several minutes of silence, with neither of them moving, Gendo slowly unclasped his hands and removed his glasses, setting them on the desk before him. A small smile crossed Rei's face.
"That's much better. Thank you. I've always loved those eyes. It's been too long since I've seen them properly. Now—" The smile melted from her face as she scowled at the man in front of her. "I'm here to talk about Shinji. About the terrible job you've been doing as a father."
He regarded her silently for a minute before speaking. "The cross-sync testing?" he asked.
The words surprised her, but they didn't confuse her. She pondered them for a moment before nodding. "Yes, I think so. I'm not sure what else it could have been." She shook her head. "But that's irrelevant right now. We're talking about Shinji. How can you treat him the way you do? How can you stand to look at him, to look at yourself?" She glared at him.
He seemed to have no answer. His expression remained largely the same, but years of knowing him allowed her to see the conflict in his eyes. He had nothing to say, and they both knew it.
Eventually he let out a long, low sigh. "I don't know," he muttered.
She shook her head again. "That isn't good enough," she said, her tone icy. "Figure it out, and do better." She turned to leave the office.
"Wait!" he called out from behind her. "Where are you going?" She ignored him as she crossed the massive room, only stopping once she was halfway out the door.
"I'm going to see our son," she replied before exiting, the door clanging to a close behind her.