Chapter 13: The Normal, Coming In and Going Out
And before any Angel could come and change the world, it underwent that little metamorphosis that always seems to happen when someone new comes into a usually closed off system like Tokyo-3 is. Sometimes fun, sometimes aggravating, always remarkably interesting to watch. And with the little changes that had been made before then, things were set in motion that would continue to make things very interesting.
- Where I've Been, Entry 45
NERV-HQ, Geofront, Tokyo-3, May 19th, 2015
The lead-up to the Commander's office seemed to be as ominous as the office itself, Daniel decided. But where the office would be moody and nearly eldritch in its construction, the hallway that he and Eleanor walked up was eerily… normal. Empty save for occasional directional markers, but otherwise alike to any other hallway in this labyrinth of a place.
As they finally came to the severely out of place double doors on the left wall, however, Eleanor silently, discreetly pointed out the security cameras pointed both at the door and up and down the hall. The necessities, he mused, of being the commanding officer of the largest paramilitary organization in the world.
The pair paused at the doors, looking at each other for a moment, before taking a deep breath and entering the shadowed office.
Their footsteps echoed in the empty, darkened room, its only discernible source of light the massive window that spanned the far wall, casting in the light of a noon-day filtered through the Geofront's specialized mirror system and only slightly revealing the intricate carvings set into the ceiling and floor of the space. They paused about 2 meters in front of the desk, the singular piece of furniture that took up the space, and regarded the man who sat behind it, his seemingly signature orange shades gleaming in the moody, shadowed space.
"Captain Theisman, Captain Flynn," Commander Ikari began. "Your marital status produces some complications as to the administration of this facility's operations. However, I have come to a decision."
Daniel and Eleanor remained silent as the Commander continued. "You will both, for the moment at least, be jointly in command of the Engineering Division. Divide your duties as you wish. I will see whether this choice is wise in the coming weeks."
Both Daniel and Eleanor shared the same flicker of confusion. "Sir, this seems… highly unorthodox," Daniel ventured. "I understand the dynamic is somewhat different, seeing as we're married, but wouldn't that introduce unnecessary complications to the chain of command?"
"Were this an active combat situation, which you seem to be familiar with, perhaps," Ikari replied. "However, your duties have a singular endpoint: The maintenance and armament of the Evangelion. As you seem to be happily married, I see no reason to discard both leadership or institutional knowledge by dismissing either of you. That is all, Captain Theisman. You are dismissed."
Daniel turned and made his way to the door, wondering why he alone was free to go. Linking his soul to Eleanor's, he wordlessly shared his concern as he passed through the doors to the office. Eleanor offered a look and a listen through her soul as Daniel leaned against the wall, which Daniel happily took advantage of as Commander Ikari continued.
"Captain Flynn," the man said, "I'll also ask of you to provide occasional updates on Captain Theisman and his history to supplement current internal security briefings. His time in the United States Army is more classified than it perhaps should be."
It was silent for long moments, Daniel feeling the anxiety and slight confusion swirling through her soul and echoing into her mind. "It seems a little close to spying on a co-worker, or at least being a breach of several workplace policies," she finally said.
"I am officially authorizing any information you turn over to me," Ikari replied. "It is dangerous to not know someone's past, and I wish to be aware of any potential security concerns before they manage to arise. Dismissed, Captain."
Eleanor somewhat slowly turned away and made her way to the doors.
As the doors opened, and Daniel and Eleanor made their way back down the hall, they refrained from any conversation for a few minutes. One could never be too careful with surveillance in an area as highly secretive as this one could be.
"Interesting request," Daniel finally said as they came to more familiar, less high-security areas. "I didn't know I was that mysterious."
"You crafted a decent cover story, right?" Eleanor asked quietly. "Documents and all?"
"Love, I spent a fair amount of what's in my document living it," Daniel replied, equally quiet. "It reduces the paperwork a smidge."
Eleanor hummed softly. "Makes me wonder what you got up to."
"Plenty to talk about," Daniel said. "Which I'm thinking is what the Commander is counting on."
"For my focus to be on you," Eleanor said, her tone somewhat grim.
"And not to be on whatever secrets he figures we might stick our noses in," Daniel concluded. "You been peeking into things without me?"
"I only got here a month or two before Sachiel attacked," Eleanor replied. "Haven't had much time to do much of anything not related to work."
Daniel smiled slightly. "It's like riding a bike, isn't it?" he mused. "All this time, and we're right on the same sentence of the page."
"That we are," Eleanor said, and Daniel couldn't ignore the tinge of melancholy in her voice.
. . .
3 Days Later
Shinji Ikari found school to be… something of a relief, now. A little island of normalcy in the midst of the insanity of being an Evangelion pilot. Now that the novelty of him being the pilot of a giant robot had worn off, most just left him alone. Toji and Kensuke seemed to be dogged in sticking close to him, and Hikari, being the class president, kind of had the job of being somewhat present in his scholastic life.
The girl that had first sent a text chat to him, one Chihiro Tanaka, seemed to be quite intent on getting to know him better, trying to get him to hang out with her and her group of friends. But at the moment, even just managing a friendship with Toji and Kensuke was enough of a challenge. To be introduced into a whole new friend circle now would be absolutely exhausting.
The only person he had interest in reaching out to, most vexingly, was the one who was most distant; Ayanami, as always, sat at her desk by the window, now no longer bandaged over most of her body, and looked out the window. She still held a mystique, even after all they'd gone through, that Shinji couldn't quite shake.
As the bell rang and the class went through with Hikari's usual 'stand-bow-sit' routine, Shinji mused on the news that he'd heard in the halls all morning. There was someone new in school this morning, a beautiful transfer student that had wowed everyone she'd come across. A student Shinji was pretty sure he was already familiar with.
What managed to surprise him, however, was his homeroom teacher's first announcement as the classroom door slid open. "We have a new transfer student who's come into this class. Young lady, if you'll introduce yourself?"
Shinji's eyes, along with the rest of the class, watched as Asuka walked into the classroom, bowing to the teacher before turning to the chalkboard and picking up the chalk. She scrawled her name in English with flowing precision, setting the chalk down and turning to face the class.
"I'm Asuka Soryu-Langley," she said with a charming smile. "It's nice to meet you all."
Shinji glanced around the classroom, noting the apprehension in Kensuke's expression, and the dread that accompanied it in Toji's. Ayanami simply held her in that inscrutable regard she seemed to hold for most anyone.
"Guten morgen, Shinji."
Shinji started slightly as he looked beside him, and found the desk next to his occupied by none other than Asuka. The sight of an empty desk had become mundane enough to him that it barely registered that it was next to him.
"Oh," Shinji finally said. "Good morning."
The class started, and Shinji couldn't help but wonder… what she was doing here. And whether Daniel had a hand in the whole thing.
It took until lunch for Asuka to return to something that Shinji had expected, somewhat dropping her cheery, personable facade on the gust of a weary sigh. "Of all the places I expected to be again…" Asuka said as she got out a bento that Shinji recognized as the sort Daniel had liked to make for him.
"I'm guessing it's as strange for you as it is for me to see you here?" Shinji ventured.
"And more," Asuka said with a nod as she began eating. "The last time I was in a building like this, I was… 7, 8 years old? Long enough ago that I can barely remember most of it."
Asuka glanced over behind Shinji, her brows rising slightly as she nodded in the direction she looked. "That's Ayanami, right?"
Shinji looked back to see Ayanami, calmly eating a prepared bento of her own, with a small, hollow plastic disk that had become a familiar sight to him. "Yeah," he said with a slight nod. "She doesn't usually eat with anyone else, I think."
Asuka hummed softly, then leaned a little closer to Shinji. "Is she sick with something, or just a health nut?"
Shinji blinked at the question, then glanced back at Ayanami, who continued to pay little heed to them. "I… don't know. She's just always had a pill case with her."
Asuka frowned slightly at that. "That's… kind of worrying. Command always got on my case for taking anything much more than some aspirin right before a test. Said it'd mess with the synch score and eventually my performance in the Eva. If she's heavily medicated for some reason, that makes my plans to train her more difficult."
"I… guess so," Shinji said.
"Do you happen to know what kind of stuff she's taking?" Asuka said.
Shinji frowned slightly, then shook his head. "Not really, no," he said slowly.
"Didn't you, I don't know, take some sort of homework or something over to her when she was injured?" Asuka asked somewhat incredulously. "That's a thing that happens around here, right? That'd give you a chance to ask about it, right?"
Shinji opened his mouth to explain, then slowly began to blush as he remembered the one time he'd actually been over to Rei's apartment, to deliver an up-to-date NERV ID card to her. It had gotten… complicated.
"It's been a bit," Shinji said, trying studiously not to think about the more pressing matters that had been on his mind. "I wasn't exactly focusing on what her housing looked like."
Asuka frowned. "Really? What happened? She just get out of the shower when you show up or something?"
'And way, way too much more,' Shinji thought, trying not to remember too much of the… up close experience he'd had with Ayanami.
"Something like that," Shinji managed to reply, his words little more than a mumble.
Asuka leaned back, grinning slightly. "I see," she said with a slight chuckle. "Well, everybody has bad timing sometimes, according to Daniel."
The grin vanished. "So, anyways… do you have any tips on how to get to know her? I've had time to talk to you and get an idea about where to take your training, but she's never responded to… just about anything I've sent her."
Shinji frowned, chewing thoughtfully on a bite of his food. "I don't know if there is quite a good way to approach her," he finally said. "She's always been pretty distant from… just about anybody here. It took me working with her in the Eva to get her to even acknowledge me."
"I see," Asuka said, nodding slowly as she looked back at Ayanami. "Direct approach it is, then."
Shinji couldn't help but wonder what the 'direct approach' was. But he got the feeling he'd be seeing it soon enough.
. . .
Daniel, with his new position of 'Joint Captain' of the Engineering Division, had a mission today. That he was accompanied by his wife was nothing if not a lovely bonus.
They walked through the halls of the Geofront, emerging into the vast, cavernous space of Bay A-02, also known as the first of the 'Eva Cages'. It was a space filled with LCL that enveloped Unit-01, making the air smell slightly of drying blood. Those that worked on the mighty machine did so in coveralls of different colors, the sorting scheme each color represented comfortably familiar to him. He and Eleanor wore tan coveralls reminiscent of the usual uniform of NERV, denoting their command position.
"So," Daniel asked as they paused for a moment to take the sight in, "who's the person to talk to when it comes to Evangelion Unit-01?"
Eleanor scanned the room for a moment. "I've got a few people who I know I can go to for both Evas for a general update. It makes it easy to account for shift changes," she said as she looked, then nodded slightly as her gaze landed on a trio, two men and a woman, that stood in the middle of the walkway that crossed the deep gulf of LCL. "There's one of them. Follow me."
Eleanor led, and Daniel followed slightly behind, wondering who would be his first touchstone here. As they came to a stop in front of the trio, the conversation they were having, something to do with an armor coupling failure on the hand armor, paused as they saluted Eleanor.
"Captain Flynn," one of the men, only slightly taller than her with dark brown hair and black eyes set into an oval face, said as Eleanor returned the salute. "Can I help you with something?"
"I'm just going around making sure everyone meets the new officer," Eleanor replied. "First-Lieutenant Yoshida, this is Joint Captain Theisman, my… I suppose we'll call him a co-worker."
The title, as expected, raised brows among the trio. "Joint Captain, sir?" the other man, the name tag on his coveralls saying 'Shiratori'. "That's… an interesting title, sir."
Daniel smiled ruefully. "It's the one that Commander Ikari gave me, Mr. Shiratori," he replied. "I'm the equivalent of Captain Flynn over Unit-02 and its team. With my new position of command, I wanted to learn the ins and outs of the Evangelions that I'll be helping you take care of."
Yoshida regarded Daniel for a moment before nodding. "We're just doing general maintenance at the moment, with the last Angel attack mostly doing damage to Unit-02 and giving us time to fully finish repairs from the last Angel attack. Here's what we're currently getting on top of…"
With that, the group began to walk through the gantry, Yoshida giving a primer on the intricacies and quirks of the Evangelion that he and his crew worked on. It was the sort of professionalism that Daniel found comfortably familiar. There were, of course, some rougher edges to Unit-01 compared to Unit-02, what with it being the active testbed for the Evangelion as opposed to the production run, as it were.
But there were other things, Daniel noted, that simply couldn't be explained away by the technical portion of things. Little happenings that had one technician that they came across could only explain as the 'spirit of the machine', that his coworkers only partially. Things that cropped up in testing that no one could easily understand, especially compared to Unit-00 and Unit-02.
Daniel was well aware of why that might be the case, but there was little need to bring that up at the moment. "So," he said instead, "How about Unit-00? I hear it got pretty banged up before the Angels started attacking."
The question seemed to bring the conversation that they'd been having to a halt, Eleanor and Yoshida, the only technician that had stayed with them, sharing a peculiar glance. "Yeah," Eleanor replied. "I think you've got a good enough idea of how things work with Unit-01. If you need any more info, then Lieutenant Yoshida will be able to help you out. Let's go and take a look at Unit-00."
Daniel looked back and regarded Unit-01 for long moments as he and Eleanor walked out of the bay. He wondered if, for a moment, he might open himself and reach out to the soul within, lonely as she might have been.
Time enough for that later. For now, there was one last Evangelion to meet.
. . .
Shinji sighed as they came to the end of their P.E. class, a joint track day that saw all of Class 2-A preparing for a school-wide 5K coming later in the year. It… wasn't the worst in the world, what with the physical training regimen that Asuka had given him. But nonetheless, he was ready to hit the showers and get back to something a little more relaxing.
Those classes on the field mingled in the brief time before they needed to be in the showers, and Shinji glanced over to see Asuka making her way towards him. "Not bad," Asuka said as she paused in front of him. "You've been sticking to that part of the physical fitness plan, at least. You seen Ayanami around here since we started?"
"Well," Shinji said as he looked around the track, catching Kensuke examining the gathering from behind his camera from one of the hills around the track, "she doesn't really participate in this sort of stuff…"
After a few moments, he found Ayanami sitting under a tree, a book in her hands. "There she is," he said, pointing her out.
"Ah," Asuka said with a sure nod. "Follow me."
With that, Asuka began to blaze a trail towards Ayanami, Shinji looking after her with some slight shock before doing as she asked and doing his best to keep up with her.
After clearing the edge of the crowd, Asuka's pace was quick, pausing with her hands on her hips and looking down at Ayanami, who seemingly didn't notice the people standing before her.
"Hey there," Asuka said, Ayanami finally looking up at them. "You're Rei Ayanami the First Child, right?"
Ayanami continued to regard them. "Hello, Ikari," she said quietly. "Who is this?"
Asuka arched a brow. "I'm Asuka Soryu-Langley, the Second Child. I'm surprised you haven't heard something about me. Did Shinji not talk to you about me?"
"We…" Shinji said, hesitating for a moment. "We don't really see each other besides here and doing tests in the Evas."
Asuka huffed softly. "I see. So that's why you haven't been able to pass on my training regimen for her."
"I already undergo training under the instruction of Captain Katsuragi and Doctor Akagi," Ayanami said.
Asuka scoffed now. "It doesn't look like it's working, then! I've seen your synch scores from your recent sorties, and you're dead last! I won't go into battle worrying that my partner can't work at the levels I know they can work at!"
Ayanami looked back at the book. "If the modified training regimen has been approved, then I will begin to use it."
"Okay," Asuka said, her surety only slightly dented. "Well, how about we start by being friends? We do kind of work together, after all."
Rei glanced back at Asuka. "If I am ordered to be your friend, then I will be your friend."
Asuka looked at Shinji with a rather puzzled expression, and Shinji had the flickerings of an idea.
"Am… I one of your superiors?" he asked hesitantly.
Ayanami's eyes narrowed ever so slightly at the question. Asuka's confusion was… more apparent.
"Her superior?" Asuka said incredulously. "You haven't been an Eva pilot for even half as long as either of us have. Unless you-"
"You are Commander Ikari's son," Ayanami interjected.
Shinji's jaw clenched as the expression in Asuka's eyes flared for the briefest of moments. "I don't just want to be Commander Ikari's son, Ayanami," he said firmly. "I want to be your friend. Asuka wants to be your friend. Would you be able to do that without having to be ordered?"
It was silent between the trio for long moments before Ayanami closed her book, standing up to face them fully. "Very well," she finally said. "I will attempt to be your friends. This is… a new experience."
"I guess it would be," Asuka replied. "Have you… had any friends before?"
"No, I have not. My only contacts have been my guardian and my superior officers," Ayanami replied. "I have not been ordered to socialize with anyone outside of my duties."
Asuka looked at Ayanami with wide eyes, Shinji only partially sharing her shock. "You're… Rei, you're not a robot or a doll. You're a person. You can do things without other people telling you to."
Rei blinked, a flicker of… confusion passing behind her eyes, there and gone like a shadow. "I see," she said quietly.
Asuka sighed. "We've already spent a lot of time here, Shinji, Rei. Let's hit the showers before we're late for class. See ya, Shinji."
With that, the group went their separate ways, Shinji wondering quietly at who Ayanami's guardian might be to… tell her such things. A part of him wasn't sure he wanted to find out.
. . .
Daniel considered the message board in the hallway just before the doorway into Unit-00's gantry. It contained the usual things he'd come to expect from such things both here and in Germany: shift schedules, important announcements, messages left from one technician for another for matters ranging from the casual to the formal.
What made this particular message board stand out, however, was a rectangle of paper with intricate calligraphy across its surface, kept in a somewhat ornate wooden frame high on the wall. It took him a moment to fully read what it said, but it gave him an idea of just how oddly Unit-00 was perceived: 'Protection against bad luck – blessings and good fortune for the workers – sturdiness for the spirits in the metal'.
"The main shrine's in the closest breakroom to Unit-00," Eleanor said as she studied the ofuda with Daniel. "Offerings get made on a rotating schedule between the team members. I've even gotten the chance to learn how to do it myself, if the need arises."
"They're quite serious about it, I'd imagine," Daniel replied. "Has there been any effect on the soul within Unit-00 that you've noticed?"
Eleanor shrugged. "None that are obvious to me. But with how well it's been doing since we got it out of the Pribnow Box, the team is keeping things up. No need to stop a good thing, after all."
With that, they entered the gantry, the blue and white giant looming over them with its monocular gaze seeming to bore into the far wall. Those that worked on it at the moment saw the pair enter, but unlike with Unit-01, Daniel saw a few technicians whispering as they bowed their heads.
One in particular, a woman who couldn't have gone much past 5 feet tall, made her way over to them, pausing in front of them to salute, shading gray eyes under a boyish cut of black hair.
"Captain Flynn," she said. "What brings you here today?"
She paused for a moment as she glanced at Daniel. "Bringing someone new to us?"
"Showing a new commanding officer around," Eleanor replied. "This is Captain Theisman, the man who was in charge of Unit-02 when it was still in Germany. He'll be working alongside me."
Daniel extended a hand. "Pleasure to meet you, First-Lieutenant Hiramatsu."
Akari Hiramatsu took Daniel's hand somewhat hesitantly. "Two commanding officers seems… somewhat inauspicious. No offense to you, sir."
"None taken," Daniel said sympathetically. "I don't think Commander Ikari has a mind for the auspices of this kind of work, unfortunately."
He looked up at Unit-00. "How is Unit-00 this fine day?"
Hiramatsu smiled slightly. "We've had good luck today. Unit-00 hasn't decided to act up that much since Captain Flynn came and helped us get it back into regular operation. I think us being kind to it has really paid off."
Daniel smiled slightly. "Good. Could you take me through a regular day with Unit-00? I like to get my hands dirty every once in a while, so I'd like to not get in the way too much when I do it here."
Hiramatsu smiled slightly. "It seems that you and Captain Flynn are of a kind, then. Atsukada will like how the numbers line up, at least."
She paused for a moment as her smile faltered. "But.. I wouldn't call the day we spend with Unit-00 exactly… normal."
Daniel's smile widened as it warmed. "If there's anything I'm familiar with in being a technician, it's superstition and practices that those not familiar with it might find odd. There'll be no judgment from me."
Hiramatsu sighed quietly and in relief, turning away to lead them somewhere. "Well, as I'm sure you'd probably expect based on what you've heard, we start the morning shift with an offering to the main shrine. A few of our technicians are trained and certified priests from the nearest shrine."
With that, Hiramatsu showed them to the rest of the technicians, describing the general work flow of the day. It was remarkably similar to Unit-01's, save for several exceptions. Many technicians wore omamori somewhere on their person, those from other faiths carrying some form of charm. Where Unit-02 was a vehicle to the technicians, and Unit-01 was a shackled beast, Unit-00 was the closest these mighty titans came to being… well, venerated. As a god or demon… well, that was up to personal interpretation.
Many of the technicians considered Daniel cautiously, hands going to necklaces or the sides of belts even as they saluted or shook his hand. He couldn't quite blame them, with the wild recent history that Unit-00 boasted. Even still, they were cordial, and Daniel thought he'd be able to break through to them.
At the end of the brief tour, Hiramatsu turned to regard Daniel and Eleanor. "I hope this was informative, sir," she said to Daniel. "I know this isn't the most… normal of assignments, but when you're working on projects like these…"
"What is normal, right?" Daniel asked, his tone slightly droll. "My team on Unit-02 might find it terribly pedestrian, but I think you and I both have a pretty idea at how mutable 'normal' really is."
"Alright," Eleanor said, "we'll get out of your hair then, let you get back to work. Thank you for allowing us to take a look at Unit-00. We'll leave an offering on the way out."
Hiramatsu nodded. "Thank you for coming. Best of luck to the both of you."
With that, Daniel and Eleanor made their way out of the gantry, pausing in the break room to pray for a moment at the traditional, decorated shrine on one of the countertops that was almost dissonant with its modern, spartan environs.
"I've got to say," Daniel said as they made their way away from the gantries, "this has to be one of the more unique places I've ever prayed to a shrine in."
"Is it?" Eleanor asked.
"A Shinto shrine, at the least," Daniel amended with a slight smile. "There are far more gaudy, massive shrines in other places."
Eleanor nodded slowly. "I see."
Daniel took a deep breath. "So, where to next, love?"
"Back to our office for the rest of the day," Eleanor replied. "We've got paperwork to get familiar with."
Daniel sighed quietly. "Ah, yes. The paper foundation that spins this world 'round."
Eleanor shared Daniel's sigh. "And don't I know it."
. . .
Shinji Ikari found himself grateful for what had quickly become one of his favorite parts of the day: the end of school.
As students flowed out past him, chattering excitedly with each other, he looked down at his phone with a thoughtful expression. The object of his musing happened to be a text from Daniel.
'Stick with the other Children. I'll be the one taking you all home.'
If nothing else, he'd managed to accomplish that much. It had made waiting rather… interesting, all told.
"So," Asuka said, looking at Ayanami as she looked into some middle distance, "wheredoyou live? You must have a really cushy place, what with being here at HQ the whole time."
"I reside in the Ayashibahara District of the city, on the orders of Commander Ikari," Ayanami said. "I have everything sufficient for me to fully follow any orders given to me."
It was the most that she'd gotten out of their enigmatic copilot, a lot of words seemingly wasted at lunch, much to Asuka's frustration. It had made Shinji all the more curious. What made Ayanami play her cards so close to the vest, as Daniel liked to say? What could she have been hiding that was so important to make her so distant?
Asuka scoffed slightly. "Must be the luxury district. I almost want to ride with Daniel to see it."
Shinji couldn't help but squirm as he tried to get the courage to say… something. The place he'd seen was perhaps the farthest thing he could even consider from 'luxury'. But if his father was the one that had put her there… was there a reason that was the case? And what had happened to her that needed her to be so medicated? Was it a symptom of her injury during the test before he'd gotten here?
"Hey, rookie. Time to get out of your head. He's here."
As Asuka gently punched him in the arm, Shinji looked up to see a sporty black car, Daniel looking at them from a rolled down window.
"Oh," was his only, rather lame, response, as he followed after Asuka and Ayanami to get into the car.
"Hey, hey," Daniel said. "Good day today?"
Asuka sighed dramatically as they began to pull away from the school. "I'm not going to lie, Bruder, it felt a little demeaning," she said. "I mean, I breezed through middle school in Germany. Why do I have to go through this all over again?"
"Hey, blame Misato," Daniel said. "She's the one who told me attending school with Shinji and Rei would 'help promote team unity'."
"Come on!" Asuka said with a roll of her eyes. "I've got plenty of ways to do that at a fraction of the tedium!"
As idle conversation continued to swirl through the car, Shinji remained silent, his pondering now augmented with a hefty cocktail of guilt and speculation. What would happen if he said something now? They may have bee alone, but what if Rei was suffering still? What if what he said meant that he somehow got in trouble with his father? What repercussions would that have?
"Shinji? You alright?"
Shinji looked at Daniel as the man waited for an answer. What should he say?
"I… I have some things to talk to you about later," he finally managed.
Daniel nodded. "Alright. We'll talk tonight. You know my door is always open."
"Thank you," Shinji managed.
As they pulled into the parking lot for the apartment, Shinji and Asuka got out of the car, Shinji noticing the suspicion in Asuka's sideways glance as they turned to see Daniel getting ready to drive off. "See ya later, Daniel," Asuka said with a peace sign.
"See you tonight," Daniel said with a smile.
Daniel's smile faded as he looked back at his final passenger. "Can I get your address, Rei?"
Rei was silent for a moment before she relayed the address, Daniel setting his GPS to it before setting off.
Daniel watched his surroundings in silence, Rei content to maintain it as Daniel thought on the previous car ride.
It seemed that his advice to Shinji before he arrived here in Tokyo-3 was having some… unintentional side effects. He'd remedy that as soon as he got home. Shinji was thoughtful, but he needed to get out of his head more, be bold even when he needed to be judicious of the timing. Asuka would help things somewhat, but Shinji needed to get comfortable with how abrasive she could be at times.
As he pondered, the state of the city around him continued to deteriorate, humble, simple buildings becoming more and more run down. More than a few were in the process of being knocked down, the sounds of demolition, muted though the interior of the car made them, hovering on the edge of grating for Daniel.
"This seems like a dangerous part of town," Daniel remarked. "Do you walk home often?"
It was more than a few moments before Rei replied. "Crime in Tokyo-3 is nonexistent," Rei said quietly. "There is little danger in traversing this area on foot."
"I see," Daniel replied as he caught a wall tumbling down from the corner of his vision. For all that Tokyo-3 was a 'city of the future', the reality was that it was perhaps the final form of a company town. Most everyone that lived here, he'd come to realize, was connected to NERV or its workers in some way, even down to the most mundane of jobs and business.
Finally, Daniel pulled into the completely empty parking lot of the frankly decrepit apartment complex that was Rei's abode.
As he parked, and Rei exited the car, Daniel killed the engine and got out with her.
"As I said, Mr. Theisman," Rei said as she made her way towards the building, "there is no reason to be concerned for my safety."
"Call me old fashioned," Daniel replied as he came to her side, "but this is still sketchy enough to make me feel otherwise. I'll escort you to your door."
It was silent for long moments as they began to ascend the stairs. "Thank you," Rei said quietly.
"It's only right," Daniel replied, the last words spoken between them as they ascended, and Daniel steeled himself for what he knew he would see.
They paused at the door, a plaque simply reading '402' on it, before Rei opened it, allowing Daniel to catch a glance of what lay within. It burned at him to admit that this was the first time he'd laid eyes on the genuine article, his genuine shock tinged with shame.
"My god…" Daniel said as Rei stepped over the threshold. "You really live like this…"
"I live according to my needs, Mr. Theisman," Rei replied. "Thank you for bringing me home."
With that, the door was closed, and Daniel was left with no choice but to turn and leave.
As he got back in his car to drive home, Daniel took a deep breath. It was time to talk to Misato. And he had the perfect excuse to do so.
As he paused at a light, he quickly called Eleanor. After a few moments, she picked up. "Hey there. What's up?"
"On my way back from Rei's," Daniel replied. "You got any plans for dinner?"
"Not yet," Eleanor replied, a curiosity beginning to tinge her voice. "What were you thinking?"
"Tell Shinji and Misato that we'd like to do dinner with them," Daniel replied. "We've got some things to talk about now that I dropped Rei off."
"Gotcha," Eleanor said knowingly. "I've got to say, I've got good things to say about Shinji's cooking."
"Yeah," Daniel said with a smile. "I've missed it a lot."
. . .
Daniel returned home to see Asuka waiting by Misato's door, an inquisitive expression on his face. "So," she began. "What's your game? Something like this doesn't just pop out of the blue when it comes to you."
"I've got some things I need to talk to Misato about," Daniel said.
"Yeah, about Rei, right?" Asuka asked as they entered Misato's apartment, the smells of good cooking wafting down the entry hall. "Eleanor mentioned it. Is her apartment that swanky that we need to see it too?"
Daniel's rather grim expression made the rather cock sure grin falter and fade. "I wish it was that nice," Daniel finally said. "But, we'll talk about it over dinner."
"Works for me," Asuka replied. "I had no idea that Shinji could cook like this."
"If there's any skill I'm absolutely confident will get a girl to fall for him," Daniel said with a grin, "it's his cooking."
The meal lived up to Daniel's memories of Shinji's previous culinary achievements, in some ways surpassing the last meal he'd had with the boy many years ago. The conversation, idle though it was, was nothing if not energetic in its focus on Asuka's 'first day of school', Misato and Asuka making the atmosphere almost radioactive with confidence, Daniel and Shinji doing their best to act as 'control rods', so to speak. Even still, Daniel saw how Shinji was starting to come out of his shell, even if it was with Misato and Asuka kind of egging him on.
It was comfortable, warm. But Daniel knew that it probably wouldn't last.
As he steeled himself to bring up the topic that needed to be talked about, Asuka beat him to the punch. "So," she said, regarding Daniel intentionally, "how was Rei's neighborhood? Shame we didn't get to see it."
Daniel took the setup in stride, taking a deep breath. "Well, it's an absolute mess. Misato, have you seen the Ayashibahara District recently?"
Misato frowned. "Not recently. As far as I'm aware, it's the part of town that Ritsky tells me is 'going through some rebuilding'. She's actually living in there?"
Daniel nodded. "From what little I can tell, she's living in the middle of a demolition zone. Her apartment included."
Misato's frown deepened. "You're kidding. That bad?"
Daniel took a deep breath. "From what little I was able to see, it was run down enough that I doubt she had the gas to run the stove and have a warm shower in the same day."
Shinji sighed. "Yeah… he's not wrong. And it's actually worse the further you get inside."
"That's right," Misato said. "You went there to get her ID to her."
"She shouldn't live somewhere like that," Shinji said. "It's not right."
"That bad?" Asuka said, grimacing. "She's an Eva pilot! She shouldn't be living like a bum! Who the hell's her guardian supposed to be?"
"Ritsuko's supposed to be her guardian," Misato said quietly. "I'm going to have to poke around, see what I can find out. If she's really living in a dump… we're going to get her out."
Daniel sighed quietly and nodded. "Good. We could always use another guest for dinner."
"Hear that, rookie?" Asuka said with a sly grin. "Sounds like your food bill's going to get a little fatter. Especially with cooking this solid."
"If it means that Ayanami actually gets a good meal," Shinji said, quiet but firm, "then I'll be able to take the hit."
Daniel silently noted the look, quick though it might have been, of curiosity that Asuka gave Shinji. Not that the boy really noticed before Asuka returned to eating.
"So," Shinji said as he looked at Daniel and Eleanor, "how was your day before then?"
Daniel chuckled. "Well, I found out that Unit-00's gantry has a little shrine attached to it."
That made the other side of the table blink in confusion. "Really?" Misato asked rather incredulously. "I've never been down that way before. They…actually have something like that?"
"They do," Eleanor said with a grin and a glance at Daniel. "Along with a few Shinto priests to make sure Unit-00's kept content."
Daniel couldn't help but chuckle softly at the befuddlement on display before him. This was going to be a dinner worth remembering.