Edit: 11/11 Some mistakes and formatting errors got pass me while I was uploading this chapter, the important ones have been fixed. Later this month I will be going back through the older chapters to fix any mistakes I find. If you ever spot anything that looks wrong feel free to DM me and I will fix it. Thank you and see you on Thursday.
"Do you know how reckless you were, Ikari?!" A rhetorical question, Shinji didn't need to be a scientist to know that. "You jeopardized the entire operation and all of humanity for your ego, while also endangering the lives of two civilians and ignoring orders from your operation commander. Were you a part of any military structure you would be dishonorably discharged or worse." The harsh words of Kozo Fuyutsuki, the Vice-Commander of NERV, battered the walls.
Shinji didn't deny it, in fact what the Vice-Commander said was true. Shinji did put the entire operation and the world at risk, he did risk Aida-San and Suzuhara-San's life, and he definitely ignored Misato's initial order to retreat. So Shinji did not bother to defend himself, he was at fault after all.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself pilot?" The elder asked, a hint of curiosity at Shinji's lack of defense.
"Nothing you said was wrong." Shinji replied.
The Vice-Commander looked him up and down, only now did a frown come from his face, "Frankly I didn't expect this from you, Ikari."
That caught Shinji off-guard, "I'm sorry?" He apologized despite not knowing what he was exactly apologizing for.
The Vice-Commander was one of a few people Shinji had rarely met. He was the oldest person working at NERV and worked under his father. The NERV guidebook he received the day he came to Tokyo-3 described the Vice-Commander as the dutiful right hand of the Supreme Commander, his father. Misato once joked to him during one of her few binge drinking nights that the Vice-Commander was essentially there to sign paperwork his father didn't want to deal with.
To Shinji, the man was still a bit of an enigma, on the rare occasion he would be in the same room as the elder, Shinji would sometimes spot the old man casting glances towards him. Whatever the reason, Shinji could not tell.
"I doubt you can control it," The Vice-Commander started, "Your father had a habit of not knowing when to give up either."
"What?" Shinji was confused, what exactly did he mean?
The Vice-Commander sighed, "What do you think I see, when I look at you?" He asked.
Shinji was very confused now, "I…don't know?"
The old man turned away from him, pacing the empty conference room turned lecture, "When I look at you Ikari, I see your mother. A smart, academic driven woman who thought ahead of others."
Shinji didn't know what to say, his memories of his mother were incredibly faint. Flashes of her smile, parts of her face, or her voice was all that he could remember of her. Needless to say, he was taken aback by the Vice-Commanders statement. "I do?" Shinji asked.
He stopped for a moment, muttering something beneath his breath, before continuing. "You look more like her than you do your father, but it seems that's where the similarities end. While you have your mothers looks, you have your fathers stubborn attitude. Do you understand what I'm trying to impress upon you?" The Vice-Commander asked.
"To not be stubborn?" Shinji half-answered.
His answer was only met with disapproval, "The Angels are a unique creature that disregards all rules of warfare. We foolishly believed Sachiel would be the blueprint going forward, that was not the case. If this radical change in approach continues, we may see opponents undreamt of by our greatest minds. What I am trying to tell you, Ikari, is that you cannot rely solely on your fists to defeat your opponent."
"The only reason you survived was because of this," He pointed to Shinji's head, "Your brain. That is where I see your mother in you."
Shinji didn't know what to say to that, so the Vice-Commander continued with his lecture. "You got lucky this time, but what if the next Angel is not one you can simply punch into submission?" The Vice-Commander let his question linger for a moment before kept going, "You will not disobey orders again. As punishment, you will submit a written essay on the importance of following orders. I expect it by the end of the week. Please send Captain Katsuragi in on your way out."
Shinji nodded, before he left the room he stopped at the door, "What will happen to my classmates?" Shinji asked.
"The boys who left their shelter? They will be given a slap on the wrist at best and will be let go tomorrow." Shinji thanked him with a bow and left.
Waiting outside the door was Misato leaning against the wall, "First time getting chewed out by a commanding officer?" She asked.
"Kinda." He answered. When he was younger, Shinji had messed up at times during his work with the Tojo, the senior members would scold him for various mistakes he made. But they weren't technically his boss. One time he got arrogant and said he only listened to Kazuma-San, he was not happy with that. That's how he ended up learning how Yakuza pay for their mistakes by giving up a finger.
Misato chuckled, "Don't let it get to ya, you did good out there." She walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder, "But, do try and listen to us adults more often, okay?" She gave a small smile.
Shinji nodded, "Yes ma'am."
"Good, now let's go, I'm thinking of celebrating with some beer." She started to walk away.
"Um actually," Shinji started, "The Vice-Commander wanted to speak with you too."
Misato stopped and groaned, "Uh, and here I thought I could push it off till tomorrow." She bemoaned her situation before turning back around to the conference room, "Go on home without me, if you need it ask security to give you a drive home."
He nodded, "How about we celebrate tomorrow then?" Shinji proposed.
Misato thought about it, "Sounds good!" She gave a big thumbs up and a wide smile before entering the conference room.
Now alone, Shinji made his way out of NERV HQ, with a thought on his mind. "I think…" He looked down to his fist, gripping as hard as he could, "I think I need to train more."
With resolve to fight, Shinji headed home for the night, but things at NERV HQ were far from over. At the peak of the building, a newly arrived Gendo Ikari sat in his office facing his own superiors. A group of old men Gendo had long since tolerated. Their conversation started as a simple review of NERV's operation since the Third Angel arrived, but quickly shifted course.
"I was hesitant to believe your son would be up to the task Ikari, but it seems my trust was misplaced. He has done adequately to fend off the Angels, perhaps we don't need to send in Pilot Soryu. With his skills he may as well be the only pilot we need." SEELE 03 spoke.
"May I remind SEELE 03 that the success of this committee is dependent on the success of NERV, limiting our available units is a waste of resources and jeopardizes our possibility for success." Gendo plainly spoke behind his steepled fingers.
"Only a jest, Ikari," 03 replied, "This committee knows what is at stake here. When the preparations are complete, Pilot Soryu will be sent over to Tokyo-3 to finally join the fight."
"Thank you for bringing us back on topic." SEELE 05 took control of the conversation, "Pilot Soryu is expected to be finishing her last round of testing within the next two months, a week later she and Unit-02 will be escorted by…" An exasperated sigh escaped 05, "The Yamato Mk. II."
"Ah." Gendo understood.
Following the wars that spawned from Second Impact, the Japanese government revealed the existence of a top secret advanced battleship. The Yamato Mk. II was the successor to the World War 2 battleship of the same name, as it was back then the Yamato Mk. II would become the jewel of the fleet. After the United Nations established an effective peace between the countries of the world, the United Nations needed to rebuild and establish armed forces. Of course the naval fleet of the U.N. would need a battleship at the head of its fleet.
Immediately the idea of a Japanese made ship heading the United Nations sent a fervor among the political elite. The Japanese government lobbied hard for the Yamato Mk. II, but it was not alone. The American government lobbied for its own battleship the 'Over the Rainbow', a minor feud erupted between the two nations as a result. If SEELE 05 was to be believed, it seemed that the U.N. had made their decision.
"The U.N. Fleet will be taking this path," A virtual display lit up with a hologram of the entire world. In the center of Europe, a red dot in Germany followed a dotted line around the southern tip of Africa and straight through South East Asia, eventually making it to Japan. Overall the trip will take almost four weeks, making Pilot Soryu's expected arrival to Tokyo-3 three months from now. "Alongside Pilot Soryu, her caretaker will be on board as well. The U.N. have all but made his attendance mandatory, do try and be civil with the man, Ikari."
"He will be met with open arms." Despite the ironic statement, Gendo was being quite serious. Ryoji Kaji was assigned to the second child as her caretaker but also worked as a spy for the United Nations, SEELE, and himself. If plans were going ahead as scheduled, Mr. Kaji was coming back to Japan with a very important piece of Gendo's plan.
"Good," SEELE 01 spoke up for the first time during this meeting, "We are in the most pivotal time of our operation. I hope all of you are ready to make the necessary sacrifices to reach our goal."
The room went silent, no one dared to say a word. "Human Instrumentality is the key to our evolution as a species, with our goal finally within reach we must stay firm in our task."
A series of affirmations rippled through the room, "We know what is at risk." Gendo remarked.
Though he could not see the visor of SEELE's leader, Gendo could feel his gaze look down on him. He had long gotten used to this feeling, the old man had lost a lot of the edge Gendo once ascribed to him years ago.
"This meeting is adjourned." SEELE 01 logged off, one by one the other members followed and each obelisk holding every member slowly sunk into the floor leaving Gendo alone.
Ahead of him the door to his office opened, his old teacher Fuyutsuki had entered with a stack of paper. "The latest damage reports." He declared as he put the stack of papers on his desk. "How were the old men?" Fuyutsuki asked.
"Exuberant." Gendo dryly said before looking over the report. Halfway through the stack of paper was a U.N. report going over the estimated cost of transporting EVA Unit-02. "Are you leaving for the day, professor?" Gendo asked.
Fuyutsuki pulled up his analog watch, it was getting late and he still needed to head back to his apartment in the city. "Soon, yes, why do you ask?"
"I have a favor to ask," The Commander did not turn away from the reports he was still reading, "The Public Relations department is modifying their messaging."
Fuyutsuki looked on in confusion, "They are? Since when?"
"Tomorrow at the next staff meeting, I will announce a change in how NERV messages to the public at large."
"What stirred this on?" The Vice-Commander asked, it was certainly out of the blue for Gendo to make changes like this.
"It's simple, those two school children. It won't be long before they are let go, we need to be ready when the rumors start to spread. The way we currently message won't be adequate enough."
"We have Non-Disclosure Agreements for a reason, why change how we work?" Fuyutsuki asked, it seemed strange to worry about the gossip of children.
"It's only a matter of time before someone puts two-and-two together, and when that happens we will not be able to stop it. Information travels across the internet like wildfire, by that point it will be unstoppable. We will be unable to put out the fire, eventually swallowing us whole." Gendo turned another page in the stack of reports.
"Alright, I see your point, what would you have me do?" Fuyutsuki asked.
"Despite all I've said, there is none who is more of a threat to our PR campaign than one person, can you guess who?" Gendo asked.
Fuyutsuki struggled to entertain the idea of who could possibly engulf NERV in a PR nightmare faster than any of SEELE. His first thought was Captain Katsuragi, but she was too dedicated to the cause. Dr. Akagi was too infatuated with Gendo. There were a hundred NERV employees on base at any given time but he couldn't think of any that could make the Supreme Commander worry. But maybe it wasn't someone on base, maybe it was…
"I see, I'll be sure to send a message to him before leaving."
Gendo gave a wave of his hand, "Go then, make sure Mr. Kaji imparts on Pilot Soryu the seriousness of her position. I would like to avoid a headache in the near future."
To Become A Dragon
"What do you mean there was a second Angel!?"
Ryoji Kaji winced as he pulled his phone away from his ear, he swore he could hear it ringing for a second. He instantly regretted telling his ward of the recent events in Tokyo-3, it would have been better to just let her figure it out on her own. But he felt doing that would only set her off even more.
After making sure the yelling had quieted down, Ryoji put his phone back to his ear, "It was taken out yesterday, the pilot of EVA Unit-01 successfully engaged the target and neutralized the Angel."
"The same pilot that was conveniently plucked out of nowhere that just so happens to be the Commander's son? It reeks of nepotism I tell you! How could a potential pilot like him just appear without any pilot training and defeat TWO Angels in the span of a month?" The girl's disbelief was palpable, Ryoji couldn't even argue against her because he too wondered how Ikari's son managed to pull it off.
"Asuka, that's highly inappropriate to insinuate." Ryoji scolded her, "You don't know his situation, so please try and be considerate."
Ryoji walked to the platform's edge and looked up. Above him stood EVA Unit-02 in its complete glory. The red and orange mech looked intimidating compared to what it was like years ago during its initial construction, a testament to human ingenuity in the face of extinction. The cage holding the EVA was full of scientists and engineers, but only one mattered to him. He knew that inside of that mech sitting inside the cockpit was none other than his ward, Asuka Langley Soryu.
The child was a prodigy, skilled in military CQC, a degree in Germany's most prestigious College, one of only three known pilots in the world capable of operating an Evangelion, and all at the age of fourteen.
He remembered first meeting the girl five years ago, she was more abrasive back then having been through multiple caretakers who, for one reason or another, never got along well with Asuka. It was a surprise to many that Ryoji eventually became the one that Asuka not only tolerated but enjoyed. Some joked that it was because Ryoji was always great with women, but even he doubted that.
Over the last five years he and Asuka became a respectable duo, and he watched with a small bit of pride as the ward he raised started to become a young woman.
"I can't help but call it as I see it Kaji." Asuka said, "I mean, you can't tell me it's not weird. Even that Ayanami girl has been in testing as long as I have, I bet she thinks it's weird too."
Ryoji sighed, "That's enough Asuka, whatever his situation may be, he still piloted the EVA and fought the Angels. You have to give him at least some credit." The last thing the EVA pilots needed was suspicion among the ranks, it would be best if he quelled this now.
"I'll be the judge of that, when we finally meet him I'm putting him through the paces. No one knows what it's like to be an EVA pilot more than me! And my standards are high." Asuka's competitive personality was a strong part of her, it drove her academic and military career since she was a kid. It was her best trait, but simultaneously her worst one as well.
As a child soldier groomed to pilot a mech for the sake of humanity, Asuka was uniquely qualified to pilot an Evangelion, but it came at a cost. Asuka's social life was practically dead as a result of her drive, she had no friends, a hobby that isolated her, and her family…the less said the better in his opinion. Her past certainly didn't help either. Alone, these would be bad, but put all together it created a dangerous state of mind. Asuka was a minefield, one Ryoji navigated well over the last five years, but not everyone was as good as he. Despite his best attempts to get her to socialize and have friends with other girls her age, Asuka always seemed to push people away. Just like his last attempt, Ryoji was afraid her attitude would hurt her fellow pilots too.
"You're the expert Asuka," Ryoji told her.
"Damn right I am," A moment of silence passed between them, "So~, I'm almost done calibrating the operating system, what are you doing after?"
Ryoji didn't immediately respond, instead wondering if this was another one of her attempts at romance. A new problem that has crept up in the last year was a side effect of Asuka's burgeoning transition to being a woman, and he was the target of it. It was uncomfortable to say the least, thankfully she hasn't done anything overt so far but he feared that might change if he didn't shut it down soon.
"I have a few meetings to attend to, sorry but you're on your own." It wasn't totally wrong, but not enough to completely skip out on her. In truth all he had was a few emails to respond to, but Ryoji was becoming increasingly concerned about Asuka's affection towards him. Maybe if they spent more time apart it would do the girl some good.
"But you've been busy all week." She whined, "We won't be in Germany for long, why don't we enjoy it while we can? Oh, I know, let's go to that little bistro you took me to for my last birthday."
"Sorry Asuka," He apologized, "But I have responsibilities to attend to, we can't always go out somewhere nice, we all have our duties."
Asuka groaned again, "I hate it when you're right."
Ryoji could only chuckle, "How about I make it up to you? Foods on me tonight, order whatever you want."
"Thanks Kaji, I hope your wallet is ready for seafood!" She loudly declared.
Kaji could only sigh before bidding Asuka farewell, leaving her alone in silence. The next couple hours was boring maintenance to sync Unit-02's movement to her thoughts, the newest production model was great but still relatively new. Calibrating her machine would take time, but even she didn't think it would take so long that the enemy would finally make their move. Here was the best Evangelion pilot, stuck halfway across the world stuck doing basic system checks while the fighting was going on. It irked her to no end, but even she knew that fighting without proper equipment was a suicidal idea.
After hours of sync tests she was let go for the day, free to leave NERV and head to her home. Thankfully she didn't have to wait for any bus or even have to drive, her assigned bodyguards took care of that for her. The quirks of being one of three people able to save humanity from doom had its benefits.
"Anything else Ms. Soryu?" One of her bodyguards asked. She waved them away as she left the car.
She stopped in front of the house to take in the sight. It was a modest thing, a single story building you would find anywhere else among Germany's countryside. While it was a nice place, it paled in comparison to her estate in Berlin. Well, it wasn't hers precisely, it was her fathers estate. A large multi-storied building with multiple bedrooms, living rooms, guest rooms, all kinds of rooms really. As a child, it was really easy to get lost in. But she didn't live there anymore, it had been years since she had been back in that house and many more before she deigned to go back.
Before any bad memories began to crop back into her mind, Asuka ran inside and into her room. Eager to put her mind onto something else, she grabbed her handheld game console and started playing something, anything really. Before she realized it, hours had passed. Her rumbling stomach rumbled for something to eat.
"Shit, I should have ordered something." She murmured to herself as she got up from her bed.
Throwing her console on her bed, Asuka walked into the kitchen to see if she could whip up something quick. As she walked down the hall she noticed the door to Kaji's room was open, "Hmm." Asuka turned away from the kitchen to Kaji's room.
She seldom came in here, Kaji was very adamant on his privacy for some reason. The last time she was in here was a few years ago when Kaji let her stay for a "sleepover". In truth she had a nightmare that night and didn't want to be alone, but Asuka would never admit it. Just like that night years ago, the room looked the exact same, a bed, desk, and closet full of Kaji's clothes. No decorations whatsoever. It was incredibly boring compared to her room, but Kaji was just that type of guy.
Asuka walked in to notice the laptop on his desk was still open, a mistake by Kaji? The man had been incredibly attentive to detail and hardly ever made a mistake. Perhaps this was one of those rare moments. She approached it to shut it off before stopping, she was given a rare opportunity here.
Asuka quickly grabbed the nearby mouse and started opening the computer files, eager to find something. For a while everything appeared as normal, it was like the laptop was brand new. Asuka was starting to lose hope of finding anything worthwhile until she found a PDF named '3rd'.
"Huh, what's this?" She asked no one.
Opening the file she was greeted with a photo of a young boy about her age, "This is him, isn't it? This must be Third." She concluded.
Scrolling down she read the file about the Third Child, Shinji Ikari. The file on him wasn't as in-depth as she preferred. In fact the more she read the more she realized this wasn't an official file, it was more like notes. Said notes were pretty basic at first, describing personality quirks, appearance, and strangely enough where he lived.
It started getting weirder when she started seeing photos of the kid. The photos were grainy, often at weird angles like around a corner or from above a rooftop. In many of these photos he was usually accompanied by older men wearing fancy suits. The notes beside these pictures were along the lines of 'What connection?' or 'Working as a courier?'.
The last two photos were the Third Child talking to a man with a walking cane with a simple note underneath, 'Knows The Dragon?' followed up by a photo of the older man with one word next to it 'Chairman'.
"What is all this Kaji?" Asuka was thoroughly creeped out now, was this normal for EVA pilots? Who was 'The Dragon'?
Before she could think of more questions the door to the house started to open, "Asuka, I'm back!" Kaji's voice rang through the house.
Asuka quickly closed everything as she left it and skirted out of Kaji's room just in time to meet him in the hall. "Oh, hey Kaji." She waved.
"There you are, have you eaten yet?" Kaji asked.
Before she could reply, a grumble from her stomach answered for her, Kaji chuckled. "C'mon, let's order some pizza."
Asuka gladly followed the caretaker into the living room, as the two talked about their day a small part of her still wondered what it was she saw on Kaji's laptop. Who was "The Dragon"? And who was Shinji Ikari, really.
"By the way," Kaji started, "I got an email from NERV HQ, it was about you."
Asuka turned to Kaji in surprise, "Are they calling me in early?" She asked excitedly.
Kaji shook his head, "Not yet squirt, in fact they wanted me to remind you." Asuka looked confused, "They wanted me to remind you to…Stay. Low." He emphasized his word by poking her in the forehead, causing a flurry of hands to swat him away.
"What's that supposed to mean?! When have I ever not laid low?" She crossed her arms and huffed.
"Well…" He leaned back into the sofa, "There was that one time you tried to brag about being an EVA pilot to get into a college party."
Asuka went into a tirade, not stopping to bicker until the food came, even then she continued to bicker between bites. Kaji smirked to himself, he always knew how to push her buttons.
It is an absolute tragedy how late Asuka is introduced into the show, almost a third of the show happens without her. It's like, how is Toph only introduced in season 2 of Avatar: The Last Airbender? It feels wrong. So This is my attempt to try and reconcile that fact and tie her into the main plot a little bit more. Anyway I hope you've enjoyed, next chapter is already being written, if you're interested in what the current status quo of the Yakuza you'll love the next chapter.