Hello everyone, Calborghete here, how are you all? Here's another chapter for you.
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So without further ado, read on.
"Dialogues"
- Thoughts -
"Radio Talk
"Self-talk."
Responsibility note:
Evangelion, its characters and setting are the property of Hideaki Anno. Any brands, films and series mentioned in this fanfic are the property of their creators.
(*)
Chapter 08
Shinji looked at Asuka's face, he could see her surprised look at seeing him standing in front of the door of her house, taking a deep breath he looked down at the small pipe Asuka was holding, calmly he spoke.
"No need to shout Makinami."
Mari looked at him as he blinked, then turned to Asuka as he smiled openly, and she smiled back.
"Our hero is back!"
Shinji closed his eyes when he heard Mari's loud voice, but she looked a little crazy, so he let it pass and calmly walked back to the door of his new home.
"I didn't come back because I want to."
Mari lost her smile when she heard this, Asuka dropped the piece of metal and spoke angrily, she felt a whirlwind of emotions at seeing Shinji standing so close to her again, she spoke grumpily.
"And if you hate us so much, why did you come back?"
Shinji felt the anger in her voice, calmly he turned around, looked at Asuka's angelic face, he could see how beautiful she was again, soon his eyes fell on her eye patch, another painful reminder of his past and his failures, he clenched his hands as he felt the anger starting to consume his system.
"I came back not to let YOU bring that hell again."
Asuka closed her eyes menacingly when she heard this, she promptly crossed her arms over her chest as she spoke with anger and resentment, how could he be accusing her of bringing war to earth again?
"Do you think this is my fault?"
Shinji looked her in the eye, still feeling the emotions that had wanted to come out of him for a long time, his heart pounding in his chest.
"And it's not? Why reactivate the EVAs? Didn't they think it might attract the angels to earth again!"
Asuka blinked when she heard that, it did have some logic to it, but she couldn't let Shinji win any arguments, she said, still keeping a more serious posture, Mari by her side listened quietly, she could feel the anger rising between the two of them and was ready to intervene at any moment.
"And what's it got to do with me? If you thought about it, you'd know that I don't control it!"
"A no?" Shinji spoke still angry, he continued his process of anger that had been contained for years.
"Then why didn't you refuse? Don't you really want to go back to those shitty times?"
"You'd better keep that ball down, you don't know what we've been through! You were fine taking a nap in space." Mari was never one to feel sorry for Asuka, but this time she did, and then she looked at Shinji when she felt the same feeling, and she tried to shake it off.
"Guys, why don't we go inside and have something to eat? This isn't the best time to have this discussion."
Shinji looked at Asuka angrily, there was a lot he wanted to say to her, but his emotions were strong now, knowing that if he said what he really knew and thought, he would shock Asuka and everyone.
"Dismissed."
Asuka looked at him challenging him to answer her question, she could see that he wanted to answer, the answer was already ready, but something was stopping him from speaking, it made her curious, then she looked at Mari to see that she was tense in the body, the two were about to cross a line of no return.
Mari gave a fake smile as she spoke with some authority, she spoke as she took Shinji and Asuka's hand and dragged them into Misato's apartment, Shinji wanted to fight her body and refused to move.
"Not at all! You two are going in and we're having lunch and that's non-negotiable!" Mari spoke with authority, she didn't care about stares or curses, her past was hurting from this situation, Yui and Kyoko would never let them act like that.
"Mari!" Asuka growled as she felt herself being dragged into the apartment, she still felt like saying even more things to Shinji, they both looked at each other as they entered.
Shinji's emotions were running high, he didn't want to go into Misato's apartment, the memories were too strong, but he let himself go on. Soon his eyes fell on his old home, every piece of furniture was the same as before, it didn't even look like anything had happened, he could see the old pen-pen fridge now being used for something else.
"All right, sit down and behave yourselves." Mari said as she dragged Shinji and Asuka to the kitchen table, she promptly opened the fridge and started looking for something she could make into food that wasn't noodles or something frozen.
"I don't want to eat." Shinji tried to protest, but Mari looked at him with danger on her face, Shinji wanted to go, but he felt stuck in place, he calmly let himself be dragged into his old house, with each step he took he felt more memories entering his mind.
Shinji let out a long sigh as he looked at the apartment, here were the best memories of his life, too bad it was all a big lie, logos his eyes fell on Asuka across the table, they both looked at each other with repressed emotions, soon Shinji got tired of it and looked at Mari, he could see her struggling to find something.
He rolled his eyes as he saw the scene, he knew that Misato had never been one to buy quality food before, he wanted to get up and leave, but a part of his being wouldn't allow it, Asuka could see that he was in a great mental struggle, looking away she could see his focus.
"Shit." The man growled as he got up and went towards Mari, he could see her mumbling something, he went to her side and pushed her gently.
"Get out."
"Hey..." Mari mumbled when she saw Shinji looking into the fridge, then she was embarrassed to find out what was inside.
Shinji looked in disbelief when he saw the inside of the fridge, only a few cans of beer and soda and a lot of frozen food.
"My God, how are you still alive?"
"Well, eating?" Mari said embarrassedly, Asuka in the background was snorting at Shinji's anger, but he was right, they hadn't been eating well these past few months, with only mere occurrences.
Shinji wanted to do something about it, and with an angry snort he turned around, went to one of the drawers and opened it. He could see some old spices that were still on their expiration date, Mari and Asuka were looking at him curiously as he picked up some frozen food.
"Well, that's kind of embarrassing, to tell you the truth." Mari spoke shyly as she took slow steps closer to the wooden table, embarrassed she sat down, putting her hands together in front of the table she looked at Asuka who was watching Shinji in the kitchen. Mari watched her carefully as her anger changed to sadness.
Shinji threw the food on the stove as he began to work, his mind focusing on the past as he repeated the same procedures he had always done in the past and in his new home. Calmly he threw in the spices.
The sound of food cooking took over the apartment, the smell wasn't the best, but at least he wasn't going to die with food made by some company in the world, calmly he turned and picked up some plates, with a lack of delicacy he began to prepare the portions.
"If you don't start eating better, you'll end up dying." Shinji said as he placed the plates in the middle of the table, Mari wasted no time in picking one up, taking a long whiff she let her appetite awaken, how could Shinji make ready-made dishes taste better? That she didn't know.
Asuka looked at the plate as she slowly picked it up, she could see that it was the same lifeless, disgusting food, but why was the smell better? Did it taste better? Was it only because Shinji had prepared it? Asuka thought as she took a small portion, shaking her head when she saw that it was good.
Shinji looked at the two eating, then he began to eat, at least the spices had worked a little, calmly he went back to eating, but it wasn't pleasurable, the memories were too powerful.
Mari looked at Shinji and Asuka eating slowly, calmly trying to bring up a particular subject.
"So puppy... what have you been up to lately?"
Asuka stopped eating when she heard this, she was curious to know what he was doing during his time away, so she carefully resumed eating. Shinji looked at Mari as he thought about the manners he would speak, she was only talking to him.
"Kaworu and I used to share an apartment in Fuziki." Shinji answered as best he could now, but he could feel the anger in his body.
Mari smiled to see that at least he had answered her without shouting, Asuka stopped eating as she looked up, she felt a little jealous that he would rather share an apartment with the SEELE pilot than with the people he lived with, with venom she spoke.
"Wow, you lived with the SEELE pilot for seven years and didn't abandon him at the first opportunity, that's a new record."
Mari looked at Asuka angrily, why would she say something like that? The brunette thought anxiously, then looked at Shinji to see him breathing deeply, surely he was getting angry.
"What do you mean?" Said the man as he finished eating, he looked at Asuka with a serious look on his face, he could see that she wanted to fight.
"Need I say more!?" Asuka spoke as she pushed her plate aside, Mari closed her eyes as she realized that the fight was on a course of no return, she dropped her cutlery as she looked at the two of them. Asuka on the other hand looked at Shinji with betrayal.
"Remember when we were at Wunder? You abandoned us without thinking!"
Shinji listened to this without saying a word, and with his cool posture he stared at Asuka without thinking of an answer, he just let her talk, but who were they to talk about him like that? Asuka was waiting for an answer, but none came from Shinji.
"You ran away as usual."
"And why wouldn't I run away?" Shinji spoke calmly, but his voice was cold and spiteful, his mind screaming with memories of the Wunder days. Asuka and Mari looked at him. Shinji looked Asuka in the eye and spoke.
"When I woke up I expected something from you, but what did you give me? A bomb collar and a threat! Did you expect me to stay?!"
Asuka stared at him speechlessly, then Shinji continued to talk about his grudges.
"Kaworu didn't lie to me, he showed me what had happened to the world and showed me how to fix it! What have you done? You tried to kill me all the time!" Shinji began to speak more angrily.
Mari and Asuka shut up, and Shinji glared at her as she said something that no one could have imagined, especially to Asuka.
"Know that I wasn't dozing off in space, I was trapped! I could feel what everyone thought of me, including you! I knew the only thing they wanted was revenge and you think I'd just stand there and wait!" Shinji spoke as he stood up, but his eyes were on Asuka the whole time.
Mari looked at Shinji with surprise, she didn't know that Shinji could feel the feelings of people in space, but he had been fused with the EVA for so long that it could happen. Asuka looked at him doubtfully.
"The EVA showed me what had happened, but I thought it was just another nightmare, after I woke up I could see that it was all true, so why should I trust you?"
Asuka didn't know what she was going to say, they didn't know what Shinji had said, not even Mari knew anything about it.
"We didn't know that." Mari spoke dejectedly as she imagined the scene, she herself went through her memories to find anything that reminded her of her time in the EVA, but she couldn't remember anything, looking away she could see the same expression on Asuka's face, Shinji was dejected, but angry.
"Do you expect me to just accept that willingly? Not at all."
Shinji gets up from his chair, picks up his plate and places it gently in the kitchen sink, then calmly begins to walk out of the apartment, this was proving to be very tiring and annoying, a part of his being regretted having said it, but another part did not.
Mari looked at Asuka when she saw the state of her roommate, she put her hands together in front of her face as she spoke ironically.
"Happy?"
Asuka blinked when she heard that, and looked at Mari with a lost look on her face.
"Why did you have to do that?" Mari asked with slight irritation in her voice.
Asuka on the other hand didn't seem bothered by it, she promptly stood up and picked up her plate, she said the first thing that came to mind, but she herself knew that it was just another escape for her, her mind screaming about what she had heard, was Shinji telling the truth? Was he really feeling everything that people thought about him?
"That idiot still has a lot to make up for."
Mari stood up as he went to her side, and she quickly spoke sadly.
"Could he really feel things here on earth?"
"I hope not." Asuka spoke sadly, finally letting her mask fall for a short while as she began to feel regret for all the things she had thought and felt. Mari could tell, she promptly spoke up.
"No wonder he hates us so much."
"The brat... the brat... the brat..." Asuka thought, trying to find a logical solution, but nothing came, Mari tapped her nails on the wooden table.
"It must have been hell then, being stuck in a place listening to everything people think about you, it must have been an eternal nightmare." Mari poked at the wound.
Asuka was already feeling her soul seized by guilt, she struggled to contain the emotions taking over her body, she felt as if she had been an idiot for many years, touching her face she spoke angrily.
"Shit, why do we always have to stay in the dark about everything! Did Misato know! Or that bitch Akagi?"
Mari didn't answer this question, but a lot of things about NERV were never answered and Ritsuko always seemed to have a lot of secrets.
"What's going on?" The brunette thought as she tried to remember the moment she spent inside the EVA, but her memories were a complete blank, it was like the blink of an eye, one day in the lab with Yui and Kyoko, the next on the cold floor of an IPEA facility with Kaji by her side.
Asuka could see that Mari was thinking about something, she knew that look, her longtime friend had been fighting something inside for a long time.
"Just say it!" The redhead growled when she saw Mari's deep, lost look, and she looked at her seriously as she answered.
"Just thinking about how this could be possible, that's all." Mari thought as best she could, she wanted to have the answers, but nothing came to mind, she hated this feeling of not knowing what was going on, she touched her face as she thought.
"Yui and Kyoko would surely have the answers." The brunette thought as she let out a long sigh, Asuka was losing the last of her remaining patience, she clenched her hands in anger as she wanted to know what Mari's damn secrets were.
"What are you hiding from me Mari?" Asuka asked calmly, but she was serious, this was the last bit of patience she had left.
Mari took a deep breath when she heard this, and calmly stood up, her mind wondering if she should be more honest with Asuka, judging by the look on the redhead's face she was in trouble, and calmly explained part of what was going through her mind.
Asuka could see that Mari was thinking of opening up a little, so she waited calmly, Mari grabbing a glass of water as she spoke.
"It's just that this situation is making me think a bit, but I don't have the answers, and I hate that feeling." She says as she takes a small sip, Asuka looking at her intently.
"What's happening to Shinji is really bothering me, I keep wondering if it's really possible that he could have sensed people's emotions, but I don't have the answers and that annoys me!" Mari said as she poured the rest of the water into the sink. Asuka looked at her calmly.
"I wish my coworkers were here, I think they'd have the answers to that."
Asuka frowned, she had never heard about Mari's professional past and that upset her, she knew that Mari had worked with something before WILLE, but she had never talked about it.
"Those colleagues, were they from NERV?" Asuka probed Mari for answers, but Mari gave her a knowing smile.
"They were the best." She said, smiling nostalgically, but she couldn't tell Asuka any more, so she calmly took a deep breath, recovering herself and smiling again.
"But that's in the past now, I want to be able to talk to Misato about it, we can't lose the puppy again." Asuka could see Mari's mask slowly falling, she accepted this answer for the moment, but at least she had told her something about the past, even without naming names.
(*)
Rei sensed something going on, she slowly finished filing the investigation files on Shinji, but her face was thoughtful, with her hair tied neatly back she headed towards her temporary superior, with Ritsuko busy preparing the EVAs again, she was ordered to help where needed.
"Archived files Lieutenant Aída."
Kensuke raised his head as he was analyzing some images of WILLE's points of interest, he removed his magnifying glasses to focus on Rei, she was perfectly groomed, he smiled as he realized that she shouldn't be so formal with him, they had both studied together and practically grown up together in village 03, with a smile he spoke.
"Ayanami, how many times do I have to ask you not to call me so formally? We practically grew up together and after everything we've been through, I don't think that's necessary."
Rei blinked when she heard that, then immediately remembered all the times he had asked her to stop the formality, feeling like an idiot for doing so.
"Sorry." She said dejectedly, Kensuke quickly realized this, calmly he asked, he had already been able to see some of Rei's emotions, he already had some suspicion of what this might be.
"What's going on, Rei? I can see that something is bothering you."
Rei nodded at this, she had been feeling strange since Shinji's return, and even more so with the feeling of the angels' return, her angelic part was burning, Kensuke knew this, Kaji had entrusted him with this secret.
"It's the return of my brother, Shinji... I feel his anger, I feel his pain and I feel bad that I can't think of anything else to help you." She says sadly, but something deep in her soul bleeds with distress, the possibility that he won't want to see her anymore because she stayed at WILLE.
Kensuke smiled when he heard this, he felt the same way, just like Rei he missed the school days when he, Toji and Shinji were together, he understood the feelings.
"Listen Rei, Shinji is just scared, that's all, deep down I know he misses the people he loves, just give him time." Kensuke spoke as calmly as he could, he could see Rei moving slowly thinking about it.
"What if he doesn't want to look at us anymore? I don't want to lose him again, especially after knowing that he's my family, I wish him happiness more than anything." She said dejectedly. Kensuke slowly stood up, calmly went around his desk and approached the girl.
"Shinji still cares about everyone, when you meet him you'll see that, I bet he'll be happy to see you, a real happiness."
Rei looked at his longtime friend, a smile appeared on his face as he heard this, Kensuke always seemed to have the right answers to his fears, calmly she pulled him close and hugged him, Kensuke blushed at the physical contact, he wasn't expecting it, but the feeling of her close to him made him happy.
Rei felt the warmth of his body as he continued to smile, she didn't know if she had done the right thing in making this physical contact, but it felt right now.
"Am I interrupting something?" Kaji asked as he stopped at the door with his arms crossed, he smiled openly, Kensuke wanted to jump, but Rei held him firmly, calmly she released him and looked at her superior, her face showed no expression of fear or shame, she just spoke calmly.
"Sorry about that Mr. Kaji, Lieutenant Aída was only helping me with a personal problem, I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble." She said it as formally as she could, Kaji wanted to laugh at it, but kept his posture, he didn't care to see them happy.
"It's okay Rei, it didn't cause any problems for either of you, I'm glad he can help you, you can always count on us, remember that." He said, still smiling as he approached the two, Rei nodded at this, Kaji could see that she was relieved by this, calmly he spoke even more.
"Maya asked me to let you know that she wants to test the new EVA systems, so you can go help her, just remember to wear your plug suit."
"Yes sir." She said as she left the room, he wanted to say to stop the formality, but Rei was always like that and it would be strange to correct her, following her with his eyes until he was alone with his subordinate, he looked at Kensuke with a mischievous smile.
"Shut up." Said Kensuke with great embarrassment as he tried to work at his desk, Kaji kept his eyes on him like an eagle, this wasn't going to end so easily for the man who was learning from him, his smile never left his face, soon he remembered to take some reports to Misato, he felt sad at not being able to help his oldest passion, calmly he took the documents.
(*)
Shinji slowly walked around his empty apartment, he sat down on the old sofa inside and touched his face, his mind desperately trying to erase the memories of the sensations he felt inside the EVA, calmly he breathed deeply as he tried to convince himself that this was just another nightmare.
"Crap."
The man mumbled, unable to contain himself, his body feeling the anxiety taking over, part by part he felt every cell stirring with the adrenaline that was raging through him, before he had even managed to control himself, but now it was getting harder.
Turning his head towards the wall, he knew that a thin concrete wall separated him from the people he swore he would never see again, why was fate doing this to him? Why did he have to keep being punished for his past? Hadn't he already achieved his redemption? So why didn't he have peace?
Leaning forward, he excitedly touched his own face, his head aching with all the thoughts running through his mind, how he wanted a cigarette right now.
(*)
"I didn't know you liked spying." Kaji spoke as he appeared right behind Misato, he could see her computer screen showing her living room where Asuka and Mari were, his face maintained its original smile, in his hands he had two cups of coffee that he had brought for his greatest love, under his arm a small folder containing some documents.
Removing the sound from the device, Misato didn't even mind Kaji's intrusion into her office, she herself had noticed his presence as soon as he had entered, one of the after-effects of the war against NERV in the red earth.
"I can't help but wonder if what Shinji said was true." She said as she turned and looked at Kaji, his face was serious and she wasn't in the mood for jokes, especially with the secrets Mari was still keeping about her and Kaji.
Kaji placed some documents on Misato's desk, he spoke calmly, already able to read and deal with Misato's new emotions, he had thought about it as soon as he had heard, Mari had never spoken about it.
"I believe the boy has no reason to lie." He smiled as he took a sip of the bitter liquid he had grown himself in his small garden, his mind still thinking of the humility he had cultivated in village 03.
Misato took a small sip, feeling the taste of milk and coffee mixing perfectly, Kaji always knew how to prepare things to perfection, she thought back to the times she had spent in the war in the past, how long had it taken her to be able to drink a simple cup of coffee in those days? And today she could do it in seconds, all thanks to Shinji.
Kaji looked at her calmly, crossing his legs he waited for Misato to start talking, he knew what it was like to be patient, Misato slowly looked at the glass, she thought about the words of her former protégé.
"What must it have been like to feel people hating you?" Misato thought, trying to imagine what it must have felt like for him. Kaji took a deep breath as he heard this, thinking of the best answer he could give.
"It must have been very hard for him, but what about you? Did you think that about him?"
Misato finally looked up, wondering how she could answer that without slurring her words. She herself had felt some anger towards Shinji, but was it because of the third impact? Or was it because he had disappeared from her life after all the affection she felt for him.
"I hated him for many years, but not for those reasons... the third impact was my fault in a way, I encouraged him to fight with all his might against that angel and I should have done more for him to have stayed in my house, maybe I could have helped him."
Kaji nodded as he heard this, just as he had taught Mari, he could read people well, he knew how Misato had felt about Shinji as soon as she took him to live with her, and he spoke calmly.
"Misato, it wasn't your fault what happened fourteen years ago, and I bet Shinji must know that, back then we couldn't have imagined that an EVA could cause such a catastrophe, we were all blind, and unfortunately a lot happened at the same time." Kaji spoke as sincerely as he could.
"But if I'd taken better care of him, maybe it wouldn't have come to this." Misato spoke as she inhaled deeply, slowly sipped more of her coffee and spoke dejectedly, Kaji smiled at this, it was good to have seen Misato's maternal instinct showing.
"It's all just a bad phase, and I'll bet my little wages that he must think the same as you, you've spent a lot of time apart and I know he wants to have a chat with you, being away from everyone must have hurt him a lot." Kaji said as he finished his coffee, calmly crumpling the cup and throwing it into the nearest garbage can.
Misato looked at him calmly, she had that feeling, she could see that Shinji was in a lot of pain being around them again, calmly she finished her small glass.
"I don't know if this can be fixed somehow, but we have bigger problems now." Misato speaks with dejection and slight annoyance.
Kaji knew that the conversation was getting sadder than his plan. Calmly he stood up, adjusting his clothes he spoke, he could see that Misato was afraid of being so close to Shinji again.
"I still stand by what I've been saying all these years, nothing is irrecoverable, especially people and the relationships between them, we're the greatest example of that." Kaji says as he begins to approach the door, but not before speaking.
"Look at us Katsuragi, we thought we'd never see each other again after college, and look at us now."
Misato looked at the man she had always loved, she couldn't deny Kaji's logic, she herself had never imagined that one day she would be by his side again, but her heart had never forgotten him, she calmly picked up the sheets on her desk, she hadn't answered them, but Kaji already knew the answer.
Calmly, he left, leaving the woman alone, but Kaji smiled as he began to walk away from the room. He winked at the young secretary, who looked at him still not understanding how he had not been punished for entering the WILLE commander's office uninvited.
(*)
Misato slowly stood up, she thought about Shinji's words when he said that he could feel people's emotions from inside the EVA, she started to walk away thinking about the only person who could really answer that question. With heavy steps she walked towards the laboratories.
Ritsuko was with Maya analyzing the EVAs' systems, making sure everything was ready for this new war that could happen at any moment.
"Systems updated successfully, nothing unusual with the analyzes." Maya reported as she typed into her console.
"All the units have the new software, now all we have to do is test it."
"All right Rei, do as you've always done." Maya reported over the radio systems, she could see that Rei was waiting patiently in his EVA unit.
"Yes ma'am, I'll do my best." Her voice flooded the control room, Maya had a shadow of a smile on her face, she had always admired Rei's determination.
"I know it will." She replied as she began to run the analysis, her eyes focusing on the data that appeared in her system, at least it was giving few errors, Ritsuko liked what she had seen, she could test it with everyone now.
"Well, let's summon the pilots to run simulations." Said Ritsuko as she gave Maya a little pat on the shoulder, then her eyes fell on Misato who walked in, judging by the look on her face she was in a bad mood.
"What can I do for you?" She said sarcastically, Maya could see the mood dropping, slowly she picked up her things and left the room, even at Wunder she didn't have the luxury of challenging Misato's authority.
"Kaji gave me some interesting information." She said as she approached, Ritsuko taking a deep breath as she waited for the accusations.
"He told me that Shinji felt everything that happened inside the EVA, he told me that Shinji felt every thought, every ill wish that people had for him, so it made me think, did we know that?" Misato asked as she stopped and looked at the lines of code.
Ritsuko thought about it, she had some theories about how EVAs worked and their difficult personalities.
"I thought something about it, but I never got any concrete proof." Misato rolled her eyes at this explanation. Ritsuko took a drag from her cigarette as she spoke.
"So, think about how temperamental the units have always been, unit 00 has never been 100% accepting of Rei, 02 only works at full strength with Asuka and let's not even start talking about unit 01." She says with false humor.
"But do you think it's possible?" Misato asks as she approaches the window.
"Well, in theory yes, but we've never achieved anything like that in practice." Said the doctor as she laughed, but she could see that Misato was reaching her limit.
"That's all it takes." Misato said as she put her hand to her face and began to think about what it must have been like for Shinji to be in space for so long and still feel people's anger towards him.
Before she could say or do anything, Misato looked up to see the red lights begin to flash, they both knew what this was, she quickly grabbed the communicator on the wall as she asked for the command bridge.
"What's going on?" She says in a cold, calculated voice, her role as commander of the Wunder slowly returning to her being.
"MAGI's systems are detecting a faint blue pattern coming from the ocean, the patrol frigates have detected it." Midori's voice flooded the communication system, Misato hardly ever spoke to those new to the control room, closing her eyes as she felt the anxiety in her body return.
"Summon the pilots immediately, have the local police evacuate the civilian population to the shelters and call the UN." She said in a commanding voice as she didn't even wait for an answer. Turning, she looked at Ritsuko, who had a guilty look on her face.
"Another day at the office." She just wanted to be able to have peace in the world, but it seemed that now wasn't the time.
(*)
Shinji touched his face again as he wanted to run, he could feel his heart aching in his chest from the pounding, being so close to his old life was taking its toll.
Rummaging through his backpack, he took out a pack of cigarettes and quickly lit it, feeling the nicotine flooding his system and his calm gradually returning. He let out a small puff of smoke as he tried to calm down, but his body didn't understand.
RINGTONE.
Jumping slightly when he heard the handset ringing, Shinji looked up to see an unfamiliar number. Growling at the thought that it was again a sales call, he answered it.
"What? he says quickly as he flicks his cigarette and flicks the ashes onto the floor of the apartment.
"Hello pilot Ikari, how are you? This is Shigeru from WILLE, I have orders for you and everyone else to come to headquarters, we have an emergency." Shigeru said, trying to sound positive to Shinji, he didn't want to give Shinji the wrong message, the new members didn't seem to be willing to contact him.
"Who?" Shinji said confusedly as he thought about who this person might be, but he wasn't making any effort to remember, but he had some suspicion of who it was.
"Well, that offends me." Shigeru replied humorously, he could feel Misato's eyes on his back, so he spoke even more humorously, at least he was trying.
"I'm the hairy guy from the NERV days, we're friends."
Shinji quickly remembered who it was, sensing a change in the atmosphere, he soon heard the man speak calmly but seriously.
"It looks like we have a situation here, we need the drivers on standby, a car should already be waiting."
"I'm going with my bike." Shinji said as he got up, he didn't even wait for Shigeru's reply as he hung up the handset, he didn't trust anyone inside WILLE and Kaworu wasn't by his side at the moment, anxiously he grabbed his keys and left the apartment, but not before stopping in front of Misato's door, closing his eyes to control his emotions he quickly left.
(*)
Shigeru hung up the phone as he blinked awkwardly, he thought this call could be much worse, looking away he could see everyone staring at him, especially Hyuga his old friend.
"Where are the pilots?" Misato said as she approached her team, crossing her arms she looked at the monitor being turned on
"Pilot Ikari is on his way, he refused the official car."
"Good." She said as she crossed her arms. Tama and Midori began to give her the data they were receiving from the systems.
"Weak signals being localized again by the frigates, it seems to be going in circles." Tama explains as he opens the sensor readings.
"Pilots are approaching the headquarters, Shikinami and Makinami are at the main gates, no sign of... Ikari." Midori spoke with trepidation, she still had a lot to think about Shinji, she had hated him for a long time, but now she didn't know what to think.
"Damn it Shinji." Misato said as she got angry, she didn't like being out of control in situations like this, she was scared that Shinji was leaving.
"MAGI identified Ikari's motorcycle coming into our headquarters, he should be here in a few minutes." Hyuga said as he finished the search, he wanted to give Misato this information before she went back to the way she was in the Wunder days.
Misato nodded when she heard that, at least he had come, turning and looking at the screen again to see a red dot moving in circles in the center of the ocean.
"Any enemy routes?"
"No, it looks like the enemy is going around in circles." Tama reported doubtfully, he remembered the enemies attacking Wunder, the enemies didn't keep doing this behavior.
"Prepare a cargo ship with room for three EVAs and a power system, we'll go in there and finish it off." Misato says as she turns and starts to leave, leaving everyone in the control room.
"I want any update!"
(*)
"That brat isn't taking this situation seriously!" Asuka said angrily as she removed her clothes. She was shaking with fear at having to fight again, but she wasn't going to show it to anyone.
"He's here, I heard from some people that he got into the headquarters." Mari smiled as she finished putting in her plug suit, she smiled when she saw her reflection, but her mood was on Shinji, he still cared.
"And where is that loser!" She says angrily as she thinks of the first thing that comes to mind, Mari smiles as she hears this.
"What? You want him here to 'relieve' your stress?" She said as she fixed her hair, but her face wore its best naughty, mischievous smile.
Asuka rolled her eyes as she listened, finally stopping in front of the mirror to think about what Shinji was doing now, but Mari's provocation echoed in her mind, she wished she was with Shinji again, did he wish he was with her?
(*)
Standing on the other side of the door, Shinji looked at himself in the mirror as he saw himself wearing the white plug suit, it was so strange for him to be wearing this again, feeling his hand trembling as he knew he would have to fly again, with his eyes closed he thought.
"Fly the EVA..." His father's voice flooded his mind.
"Don't fly the EVA..." Sakura had asked him before he left Wunder.
"Brat!"
"Murderer!"
"Baka Shinji..."
Walking towards the command room, WILLE reformed all of NERV as it was before, only the colors were different, but his mind was screaming about the people he would now have to protect, but quickly a sound caught his attention.
"Ikari-kun?"
Turning around, Shinji could see a woman standing in front of him, she had long dark hair, she had a smile on her face, a sincere smile, with a long sigh he spoke, because he knew very well who it was.
"Suzuhara?" Shinji said confused.
Sakura smiled when she saw that he still recognized her.
"I'm glad you've joined us, I hope I can introduce you to my family, they'll be happy to see you again." She says with a completely honest smile, she was worried about Shinji in the years he spent missing, especially Toji and Hikari.
Shinji took a deep breath, he had nothing against Sakura, she had never hurt him, he spoke calmly as he began to walk towards the cages.
"I'm glad you're well, I can see you're fully involved in medicine now."
Smiling when she saw that he still remembered her from his school days, she spoke.
"Yes, I'm an integrated doctor now, I was going to my post now that we're on alert." She said as she remembered her role, then stopped at a street corner and spoke with a smile.
"Thank you for helping us."
Shinji watched her disappear into the long corridors of WILLE, and with a long sigh he began to walk away. It didn't take long for the movement to catch his attention, all the people walking back and forth to do their jobs, and finally he heard the sound of a voice he knew very well on the other side of the door.
"Finally, I thought you were lost." Asuka said in a venomous voice when she saw Shinji coming through the door, but she was glad to know that he really cared.
"Stop it princess, I knew she was panicking thinking he'd leave." Mari said defiantly as she looked at Asuka.
Shinji looked at Asuka again, scanning everyone in the room he could see familiar faces, Hyuga, Shigeru and Maya were standing side by side, they still maintained the firm posture he knew from his NERV days, but their eyes were still from their Wunder days, blinking as they struggled to remove the memories, he looked at one person in particular, standing next to Maya was Rei, on her shoulders was a towel she used to dry the LCL from her body.
He thought she was in some kind of test, he was glad to see her, she looked well and healthy, a small smile appeared on her face. Asuka could see that, she growled when she saw that Shinji had a very slight, shy smile on his face when he saw that he was looking at Rei and not at her, a childish jealousy took over her mind.
"How many times have I told you that they're family." says Mari as she speaks in Asuka's ear, she could see that this only irritated Asuka even more, she knew where she came from, but only told Asuka about Yui's door, she was glad to hear that, at least Yui was in the right people, she wondered if Shinji knew?
Asuka wanted to stop this, but Rei always annoyed her, Shinji's family or not, he always paid more attention to Rei than her.
"Mind your own business!" Mari didn't even mind, she glanced at Shinji when she saw that he looked at Asuka from time to time, it brought a smile to her face.
"Quiet, everyone." Misato spoke calmly, but her voice carried a strong authority, and she quickly turned on the screen.
"We have an enemy circling the coast, we have a ship being prepared to take the three EVAs out to sea along with the material we need to fight in the water, the enemy doesn't seem to want to come ashore, so go to the VTOL." Misato spoke as she turned off the screen, she was in her commander mode.
"She was always like that at Wunder." Mari said as she stood next to Shinji, she was smiling as always. Shinji had his arms crossed, he didn't want to be like this anymore.
"Where's the brat's 'colleague'?" Asuka said with venom in her voice, then glanced at Shinji as she shrugged.
"Nagisa said he was going to get EVA 13, so we don't have his whereabouts yet, but I guarantee he'll come." Misato spoke firmly, then looked at Shinji knowing that Kaworu would never abandon Shinji, so she knew he would show up.
Misato could see that everyone was uncomfortable at the mention of Kaworu's name, they knew he was the pilot of NERV in the days of the war in the red land, but Misato quickly spoke up.
"I want everyone to do their job perfectly, I don't care about failures." She says when she sees that everyone is quiet again.
"Get to the transport." Ordered the woman as she looked at all her pilots.
Shinji slowly turned around, soon his eyes fell on Misato leaving the room accompanied by Ritsuko, with sadness he looked around, seeing Asuka and Mari getting up, to his luck they started walking towards him, his eyes fell on Asuka, and how she had become more beautiful than she already was, scanning her beautiful face, Shinji focused on Asuka's blue eye, soon he remembered how cowardly he had been by not being able to help her on the day of unit 03's activation.
But even so, it didn't make her lose her glow, he really wanted to be able to talk to her, hug her, kiss her, love her... that last thought brought him down, he could never do that again.
Mari looked at Shinji when she saw him focused on Asuka, smiling she thought of Yui and Kyoko, how she wished they could be here, inspiring her to return to her main character.
"Wow, I can see the desire in your eyes puppy."
Shinji blinked when he heard that, he really did look at her with desire, he blushed when he looked at Mari calmly, but his face betrayed him, something that was noticed by Mari.
"Oh! He's still the same as ever." She says, putting her hand to her mouth as she teases.
"Mari." Asuka spoke uneasily, but she felt happy to know that Shinji wanted her, her mind remembered the old days, she had a shadow of a smile, but she quickly returned to her normal.
"Shut up."
Author's Notes: Hello Calborghete people here, we finally have chapter 08, I hope everyone liked it, as always be sure to follow it and save it in your favorites so you don't miss any more future updates.
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