He limped his way over to the door of the house, wincing with each movement. That last action with the Angel, stopping all six of its arms, had taken all the energy he could muster and then some. The backfire of drawing too much energy caused his body to crack and bleed in several places, though it had mostly stopped now. Still, Shinji was willing to bet that if Rei had made her move even a second later, he would have died from strain.

Groaning, he opened the door to the house. He had made it back in record time thanks to the power, meaning he could fake being at home the entire time before Misato came back. The only people who knew he was involved the night's events were Pen-Pen and that blue haired titan-girl from before. He hoped she would keep the promise- NERV absolutely could not know who and where he was.

The injured boy finally sprawled onto his futon with the grace of a two-legged cat. Just as he was about to retire his consciousness for the night, he turned to face the ceiling and met the glowing face of a beaming muscular man.

"So! despite what some may say, you DO have the ambition to resist this world's laws!"

"Not now…" moaned the boy "I'm so tired, just let me rest…"

Yet the golden armored man persisted. He hovered to the side of Shinji sideways, resting on the air "You will NOT rest." announced the specter, "For this… this is where your training truly begins Shinji! From here on out, you will gain the skills to become a conqueror!"

Shinji was too tired to respond, so he let the pharaoh prattle on about his usual spiel of world domination.

"Why, just imagine it!" grinned the man grandiosely, "Today you stopped an Angel! Tomorrow you will stop the world and make it bend to your whims! This is the destiny of Shinji, as foretold by myself!" decreed the man, spreading his arms into the air and letting his light penetrate the room. Or at least, it would have if the man physically existed.

"Stop it." the brown-haired boy said weakly, "You know I don't actually have any powers…"

"Irrelevant details." The golden man stroked his chin thoughtfully. "After you conquer the world you will need to choose a capital. Yes, Japan is familiar, but perhaps China or even Antarctica to make a bold statement. Hm! Indeed, you should choose Antarctica, for the desolate land would be the perfect palace for your orders to diffuse into the world."

Now standing up, the joyful man spread his arms in imaginary triumph "I can see it now! The planet's denizens, eager to receive orders from their master, and from the point where Second Impact began, you shall bestow them! Your reign will be long, prosperous, and all would-be enemies shall be-!"

The man stopped, realizing that the boy was already asleep, knocked out from the events of the day. "Feh. I'll convince him yet." decreed the pharaoh-looking man. Deciding to give the future world conqueror an earned rest, the golden man did not invade his dreams this night and instead vanished back into the depths of Shinji's soul.

Shinji woke up with a jolt. The boy was drenched in sweat and he felt his heart pounding, a feeling of dread was washed over his body. He felt like he had dreamt about the past but couldn't remember it. Probably better that way- the sooner he could forget, the better.

Still, the boy got up and tried to cheer himself up. The events of the previous night flooded his brain, along with all he did. Though he was terrified the entire time he went up against the mighty Angel, the boy couldn't seem to regret any of what he did last night. After all, he thought, there were more than a few people who he had been able to save. The ones in shelter 21 would have had a hard time fighting off those odd mini-Angels.

But moreover, he had managed to save Asuka from certain annihilation. She and everyone else couldn't have guessed that it was him who carefully moved the girl out of harm's way- and Shinji would keep it that way. The fact that there was one person he knew for sure he had saved gave him an inkling of hope that maybe he wasn't such a bad guy. Just as he thought this, an image of his mother resurfaced in his mind.

Shinji walked out of his room and away from his memories.

Down the short hallway and into the kitchen, the boy was genuinely surprised to see Misato cooking. Well, cooking was a long shot- she was just heating up some frozen something or other and piling up stacks of it onto a plate. It smelled good at least. Quietly, the boy walked over to examine this item, finding an emptied box written in English.

"'Pancakes'?" the boy mouthed. No doubt another foreign cuisine Misato had picked up on during her travels.

"Shinji!" The purple haired woman noticed him, ran over and tried to give him a huge hug. However, the boy warped out of her way and Misato nearly tripped. Normally this is when the commander of NERV would chastise Shinji once again for his haphephobia, but this time she just smiled and said, "I'll get you one of these days!"

She motioned to a chair and insisted that Shinji sit in it- to which he obliged. She placed a stack of the 'pancakes', covered in strawberries and drizzled with what appeared to be maple syrup, right in front of the boy and urged him to eat.

Once again, the brown haired obliged, cutting a bite sized piece from the mountain of food and placed it in his mouth. It was fluffy and sweet. Misato smiled at him in such a warm manner that Shinji was forced to comment upon the situation "It's… good. Um… I don't think I can eat all of that though…"

"Nonsense! You're a growing boy and you need your nutrients!"

Shinji greatly suspected that whatever he was eating contained none of that, but Misato was very happy today, so he didn't voice his concerns, instead delicately eating his foreign breakfast. "So… you're in a really good mood."

Misato beamed at him "Yeah I am! We beat the first Angel, which is why tonight, we celebrate with booze!"

The fact that she did that every night would not deter her from enjoying the celebration. Lightly humming to herself, she began to pile on more pancakes on his plate, gleefully adding to his already enormous large stack. "Y'know…" Misato said in a soft voice "Ritsuko's having a bit of a problem."

"Dr. Akagi?" questioned Shinji.

"Yeah. Seems like while we weren't looking, somebody caused the Angel to completely stop moving at least twice." grinned the commander, "Not to mention there were a series of unexplained incidences all over Tokyo-3. Poor Ritski can't figure out what happened…"

Shinji gulped. His cover had been blown in less than 24 hours.

"I wonder who it was that saved everyone in the 21st shelter…?" Misato trailed off, despite already knowing the answer. The brown-haired boy became very nervous and very red. "P-Please don't tell."

Misato looked like she was about to say something, but instead sighed. She walked over to Shinji and placed her elbows on the table, staring at him. "I know. I know. But look, would it kill you to take a little bit of credit?"

"Toji did most of the work, all I did was point them to the basement." said the boy, unable to look his guardian in the eye. Misato pursed her lips, as if trying to form words but being unable to. Luckily, Shinji spoke for her "But… I think I saved Asuka… if that counts…"

The smile returned. "Heck yeah that counts! So that calls for another celebration: I'll buy enough alcohol for us both!"

"I'm underage…"

"No one cares!" Misato railed. Pen-Pen, who had just come in drinking a small cup of sake, added a hearty 'Wark-Wark!' to her comment. "See? Pen-Pen drinks and he's underaged!"

"He's also a penguin and I still don't know how he does that…" Shinji retorted, watching in wonder as said avian gulped down the tiny cup and let out a satisfied sigh. Getting used to Pen-Pen's strange mannerisms did nothing to make them less strange. The brown-haired boy turned back to his guardian, wanting to clarify some things:

"Listen… Misato. I… what happened last night was a one time thing," said Shinji in a serious voice "I… I don't think I could do it again. I can't… be brave and fight the Angels like you."

The catastrophe last night had shaken Shinji to his very core. When he saw the news of Shelter 21, he tried his hardest to work up an inkling of courage to save the civilians. He could not do it. He was shaking in fear the entire time and only managed to hide the attacked people in secret basement area located beneath each shelter.

After Toji had come, Shinji was practically elated to pass the job to someone else. He made up a quick excuse to run away and the athlete bought it. From there, the brown-haired boy had only one thought on his mind: to find Misato and get them both out of Tokyo-3.

This plan was thwarted when the Angel came in between him and NERV. The thing had nearly detected him several times, and each time the boy felt a wave of terror wash over him, stopping him in his tracks. He saw the titan girl, Rei, bravely fight off the apocalyptic being on equal footing, not faltering in the slightest even with her body destroyed. He saw the ideal idol of his class, Asuka, give everything she had to pound the Angel into submission without regard of her own life.

He envied them. He truly did. He wished he was even half as courageous as the two women. But the facts of the matter were clear: when Shinji has he opportunity to do good, he froze. He couldn't get near the Angel, he couldn't use his weak powers to do anything to help Misato. The best the boy offered was healing Rei, but only when she was thrown well outside the Angel's sensory range. He was a total coward, plain and simple.

Except…

Except… when the Angel hit Asuka… when it was about to kill her with its beam…

Shinji's body moved on its own. Despite his terror, it moved. It saved her with its powers. He couldn't explain it. And that wasn't even the only incident.

After setting the unconscious girl beside him, he saw the blue titan assault the apocalyptic being with everything she had. Left hook, right straight, lightning blade. The Angel absorbed the attacks and more, eventually counterattacking the kaiju with a serious of furious blows that Rei could not recover from. She would lose at this rate.

Shinji's body moved on its own again. It tried to use its powers on the Angel, to try and prevent it from hurting humanity's savior. And by sheer stroke of luck, the Angel stopped moving for a solid half second. That half second was the difference between life and death- Rei seized the opportunity and blasted the Angel's pulsing core with a lightning cannon.

The Angel fired back and destroyed the titan's entire body. Shinji fell to his knees, his actions all for naught. He turned to his side, where Asuka lay sleeping. Her injuries were severe, too severe for him to heal completely. With both girls out of commission, there would be no way to stop the monster from destroying Tokyo-3. Misato would be killed. The brown-haired boy trembled in fear.

But then, a shining light. Rei, in a new body, had stabbed the Angel in the back with another lightning blade. Shinji observed that the new titan body was malformed, broken and barely working. With each blow it decayed further, broke more of its bones, seared more skin off. And yet despite the pain she must have felt, despite the clear difference in strength between the two, Rei fought on. She was giving the fight all she had, even her own life.

And in response to her efforts, the agent of destruction used all six of its hands to summon a massive blade of energy, big enough to slice the city in half. The blue haired titan could do nothing in response. Rei, Asuka, Misato, NERV… humanity had done everything they could to kill the the Angel and it wasn't enough.

That was when Shinji snapped. He snapped at the realization of how unfair the world was. These two brave women, these individuals who were so much better than him had tried their best to save the planet, and even with all their power it wasn't enough. Even with all their abilities, all their resources, tactics and courage, they could not stave off their own destruction.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't right.

And so, gazing upon Asuka's limp form and Rei's broken body, Shinji became angrier than he had ever been. He raised his hand at the terrifying beast from beyond and uttered a single word, a statement of rejection towards a universe wishing for their indiscriminate deaths:

"No."

Shinji bled from every corner. Cracks opened in his body, his skin started to peel off and and his brain hurt. The backlash from trying to go against the planet's scheduled demise pained his mortal body. This was the world's answer to the boy's pathetic attempt to defy it.

Shinji didn't give a damn and pressed harder. And harder after that, his feral anger giving him terrifying power. He roared. He screamed. He shouted at the monster even when his lungs ran out of air, perfectly imitating the fighting spirit of the two girls before him.

And so, Angel's arms slowed. And they slowed. And then before the moment of impact, stopped completely. For a split second, he felt the Angel quiver in fear, unable to move its arms. In that split second, Rei attacked the agent of destruction one last time and forced it to bleed. After that, he saw white and black flashes, and he could swear he could hear joyous laughter from a certain ethereal man.

For the next few seconds, Shinji's body hurt and his head was cloudy. He didn't know whether or not he was alive. Eventually he reasoned that if he was wondering whether or not he was dead, he wasn't dead yet. He turned to his side, Asuka was still breathing. He turned to the front, Rei wasn't dead either.

He turned to the center of the city and saw the Angel had exploded.

That was good.

Shinji quickly used the last of his powers to warp Asuka back to the site where she was 'killed', in order to make it look like she had never left. He still had no idea what he did, how he did it, or why he bothered to save people if he was so scared. But at the very least, fairness had been restored. The girls won their victory.

That was… that was a fluke. There was no way he could do something like that again. Not only because his body would no doubt break, but because of his nature as a coward. He had never been that angry in his life, and it genuinely scared him how ferocious he was during the attack. He couldn't do that again. He could not be angry again, because if he did… if he did…

A cold chill ran throughout Shinji's entire body. He could not be angry again.

"I…" the boy finally spoke, "I'm sorry… but I can't be brave like you."

To his surprise, Misato smiled warmly at Shinji. She knelt, reaching for his hand before pausing before the touch. It seemed like she had something to say "Shinji. I understand. I know it probably doesn't seem like it, but I too-"

The sound of an alarm jolted the both of them. The purple haired woman looked towards the clock, realizing that it was 7:35 AM. This realization halted her prior train of thought and gave way to a more pertinent one: "Shinji! Go to school!"

The boy blinked. "We still have school after an Angel attack?"

"Yep, yep, yep!" Hurried Misato, grabbing Shinji's backpack, bento and shoving them both into his hands and trying to shove him by the backpack out the door. "You especially need to go today!"

"Huh? Why is today so important?"

"You'll see…" the woman winked at him. This gesture, coming from Misato, meant either one of two things. One, she was about to find some way to tease him about his downright annoying hormones which made him constantly aware of the opposite sex, then proceed to ask why he hadn't pursued a girlfriend option given 'all the lovely ladies at your school~!'. Or two, she wanted him to do something that would be dangerous, stupid or both, and was purposely omitting details to get him to do so.

Because Misato hadn't given him directions to a liquor store, Shinji assumed it was the former. He didn't know how or why he would be teased this time, but that was the only option left given the Misato Wink.

"… Alright, I guess I'll get going then." said Shinji nervously.

"And don't use your powers today to hide from people!"

Now that was just uncalled for. The boy protested, "But Misato! I have to protect my identity!" Also, most of his classmates thought he was creepy and didn't want to associate with him. Shinji did not think this was unfair.

"No buts." Proclaimed his guardian in her Serious Misato Mode. Shinji gulped but complied, a single look telling him not to go against this order. He swore he would only use his powers to get to school on time and after that, he he wouldn't use them unless absolutely necessary. This was good enough for the purple haired woman, who returned to being cheerful and wished him a good day. The boy nervously waved back, not knowing what to expect on this seemingly innocuous trip to Tokyo-3 High.

Everyone could tell that today was going to be a very interesting day for the school. Never mind the fact that they had all survived an Angel attack- it was clear that certain events had conspired to put anything and everything interesting in the only class of Tokyo-3 High.

The first domino that fell was Toji, entering the room covered in bruises and some bandages. He was clearly trying to be serious and nonchalant about the whole thing, but one look at his face told you he was giddy to share in whatever exploits happened the day before. The students were all too happy to oblige and surrounded him for question bombardment, especially the ones who had seen him defeat a NERV officer and leave the shelter.

"Toji what happened to you!?" someone asked.

"What happened after you ran away?" wondered another.

"TOJI!" A shrieking girl's voice drowned out all other questions. Within seconds of his arrival, Hikari Horiaki stood from her desk, walked to Toji and thumped a binder over his head with a gratuitous-sounding smack.

"Ow! What was that for!?" the boy shouted.

"For being an idiot!" Hikari shouted back.

"Huh? I just saved my family!" Toji huffed, "If you think I was gonna let those creatures at my little sister, then you're the stupid one!"

His childhood friend whacked him again with the binder "I was worried… you idiot!"

Toji was about to perform a classical teenage knee-jerk response but gave pause when he saw that Hikari really did have a worried look on her face. Her cute mouth was twisted into concern, and her eyes looked like they were watered from last night. The young man closed his mouth and forced himself to calm down. He placed a sturdy hand on Hikari's shoulder "I'm fine. A couple of stupid tiny angels ain't enough to beat me. I'm tougher than that and you know it."

His reassuring smile melted Hikari's heart. She was still angry at the teen's recklessness but then again, she supposed, that was why Toji was Toji. She gave him one final smack with her binder, lightly this time. "You have to be more careful. Look at your injuries."

"The bastards caught me by surprise." explained the red suited man, "Next time, I'll be ready for 'em!"

At this point, everyone's patience had reached their limit and the high school students demanded to know what had happened to Toji. The athlete began to weave his tale, how after he escaped from the designated shelter he ran immediately to shelter 21, where his family was. There, he found the place was completely abandoned and he feared the worst- but after calling out for his sister, she responded. His family and the rest of the shelter's denizens had hidden away in a basement below, safe.

From there, Toji recalled how he had to fight off the mini-Angel's that had spawned from Sachiel. There was an entire army of them ready to slash his precious little sister and reliable father to ribbons but the teen had intervened and cut them down instead. He was especially proud of his improvised tornado, claiming it was his new special technique.

"Whoa, so you defended the shelter from those monsters all on your own!?" Questioned Midori of the school's Newspaper Club. "That's so cool!" She cried, furiously scribbling down notes for the next article.

"Well, not exactly." Toji started, "I didn't do it all on my own. I had help, that's why everyone was hiding in the basement, see? He got there before me, beat up a few and got my family and the others to safety."

"Who?" asked Hikari.

"I had help… from him." Toji pointed backwards to the back corner of the classroom, to a desk deliberately placed far away from every other one. Sitting there was Shinji Sekai, the famed Invisible Boy of Tokyo-3 High, who gave them a nervous look after being spotted.

A couple of the students blinked, just to make sure what they were seeing wasn't an illusion. Shinji had not only shown up to class, but he wasn't using his weird powers to hide from them. He was there in plain sight, if only just barely judging by how he fidgeted from the sudden attention.

"He's real…" one student murmured.

"And creepy." said another.

"Hey, hey." Toji interrupted them sternly, "He ain't creepy. He saved my family so that makes him okay in my book."

He stared right at Shinji and smiled, causing the boy to awkwardly smile in return, then shift away in hopes that everyone would forget he existed. It was too late for that though; the students were staring straight at the invisible boy. Intrigued by his mysterious nature, a few of them, especially Midori, wanted to speak with him in this rare opportunity, to find out what his role was during last night's Angel attack. However, Shinji's entire demeanor made him unapproachable and no one wanted to make the first move in talking to the creepiest kid in class. Toji apparently didn't mind being associated with him, but the others…

A pair of fists banged upon a desk, the noise startling the other students. It was Asuka, who was scowling, partly because no one had even noticed she arrived, partly because she was Asuka. She was also covered in bandages like Toji, but fewer in number. Nevertheless, she somehow looked more injured than the energy constructor.

She stood up ferociously, if such a thing could be possible, shocking several of the students. Her attention was on a single person: The Invisible Boy in the back. Shinji met her gaze and gulped in fear. Without further ado, she stomped over to the boy's desk, crossing her arms. The invisible boy stood perfectly still, hoping that Asuka's vision was based on motion.

There were a few seconds of tense silence, all the students watching intently with their breaths abated in anticipation. The orange-haired super stared angrily at the brown-haired boy, who was already regretting his promise not to use his powers for escaping. Finally, the standstill was broken.

"You." said Asuka accusingly.

"Um…" Shinji tried to start but was interrupted by the girl: "It was you, wasn't it?"

"Um-"

"Don't deny it!" she snapped.

"U-Um-"

Asuka was having none of his denial, banging her fists on his desk. "I know it was you who did it! I still can't figure out HOW but I KNOW you did it!"

"Um…!?" Before Shinji could reply properly she turned away from him angrily. "Whatever! I don't care anyway!" huffed the young woman, going back to her own desk, sitting and fuming. The boy was now very, very confused. The rest of the classroom were all too eager to fill in the details, imaginary or not, with their rumors. The Newspaper Club was having a field day.

The next few minutes were relatively normal, with the students in the class eagerly discussing today's events. Toji had become a hero overnight, Shinji had shown up to class and apparently helped with Toji's heroics and now Asuka was really mad at the Invisible Boy. From the last one alone several rumors had already formed; A beautiful powerhouse being mad at a creepy kid practically wrote potential situations by itself. It was fun for the whole class to speculate what had transpired between the two.

A three way stare-down came in between the three students in question. First was Toji smiling at Shinji and trying to be friendly with the man who saved his family, only to then glare at Asuka for picking on Shinji the next second. Asuka glared at both Shinji and Toji at given intervals, mostly Shinji. And the invisible boy himself really wished to live up to his moniker and avoid the whole situation entirely.

Then the teacher entered the room and what would normally be a mood killer of student gossiping instead put gasoline on the already enormous bonfire of chatter.

"Class, please take your seats." Announced Mrs. Nazemaka. She pursed her rounded glasses up a little bit before going into the meat of things, "It… appears as though we have a new student. She will be joining us for the foreseeable future, so please be sure to treat her well for the remainder of the semester."

Murmurs. The only reason the current student body attended this school was because NERV forced them to. Their potential powers were a hypothetical war asset. If not, who would be dumb enough to transfer to an educational establishment right next to the biggest warzone on the planet?

"Class, please welcome… Rei Ayanami."

Everybody in the school let out a collective gasp as said woman entered the room. The whole student body knew of the girl who stood up to an Angel and singlehandedly turned it into dust. Hell, the entire world knew who she was at this point- and such a celebrity was attending their class!

She walked monotonously into the front of the class, stood perfectly still beside the chalkboard and gave a standard military salute. Her blue hair and pink eyes gave off an ethereal feel, her stern yet soft gaze making it clear that her status and powers were leagues above them. Here was what the students strived to be: a true warrior wielding such immense power that it even made the gods shake in fear.

However, the class was confused about one detail: Rei was wearing her combat bodysuit. The blue uniform with glowing yellow trimmings added to her appearance as humanity's defender but looked incredibly out of place where everyone else wore school uniforms. Still, the skintight suit showed off Rei's figure quite nicely and left little to the imagination, so at least half the class was happy for the surprise.

"Rei… what are you wearing?" asked the teacher hesitantly, she as bewildered as the class was.

"I was told that in order to attend public school, I must wear a uniform. Therefore, I have worn my uniform." stated Rei plainly, giving a quick salute to her superior.

The teacher had been told that this girl was an odd one. That information was correct, it seemed. "Rei, dear… you are required to wear a school uniform to school. Not this… battle uniform."

The girl blinked. She had just figured out why Dr. Akagi sent her clothes this morning despite the fact that Rei already had clothes. "My apologies, sensei, I will go retrieve my school uniform immediately."

"No, that's fine for now. We have to start class." The black-haired teacher stopped the girl before she bolted, "Just promise to wear your school uniform from now on, okay?"

"Acknowledged."

The teacher let out a below audible sigh, "So, Ms. Ayanami, would you please introduce yourself to the class?"

"Understood, sensei." The blue haired girl quickly turned to the rest of the class and politely bowed. "I am Rei Ayanami."

There was a silence in the classroom. The blue haired savior apparently thought that was enough. The teacher decided to try and force Rei to socialize with the other human beings: "Normally, the new student introduces themselves by giving a small speech about who they are…"

"Acknowledged." stated the girl, "I am Rei Ayanami. I killed the first Angel and I will kill the others in order to protect humanity. That is all."

Despite possibly being the bluntest speech ever conceived by Homo sapiens, the classroom cheered anyway. They were just happy that the Angel killer was standing in the same room as them. As the students gave her the sitting version of a standing ovation, Rei scanned the room to identify potential threats, allies and to ascertain the structure of this foreign area known colloquially by the people as 'school'.

She quickly identified Asuka, who was glaring at her, and gave the orange haired super a small nod to indicate their familiarity as fellow defenders. Asuka muttered something in German under her breath and then whipped her head around so as to not face her. Odd Ally.

Toji was the next person she spotted, unable to clap for her given his injured arm but nonetheless looking proud at her. NERV was in the process of observing this man due to the fact that he had taken out several of the smaller Angels yesterday. Rei made a mental note to carefully observe this man. Potential Ally.

The girl's eyes went through each and every student, memorizing their faces and general demeanors. There were no potential enemies to be identified, which put her at ease. And then, in the very back of the classroom was an all too familiar individual. Rei's eyes widened when she spotted the brown-haired boy who had saved her, trying his best not to be seen by her gaze. Definite Ally.

"There are a couple of empty seats, so pick any one you would like." said Mrs. Nazemaka, interrupting Rei's train of thought. The blue haired girl immediately knew which one to pick. Without hesitation she walked over and sat in the desk directly in front of Shinji Sekai. This raised a few eyebrows from the class, as well as their teacher who had just realized the Invisible Boy showed up for class.

When Rei sat down right in front of him and the rest of the class eyed him suspiciously, Shinji internally screamed. He could feel their eyes boring through his skull, giving him judgmental gazes.

And then Rei turned around. "Hello, person who I do not know. Although I have no idea who you are, I think you must be a good person. What is your name?"

Before Shinji could bang his head on the desk so hard he would hopefully get a concussion, one of the students interrupted Rei's greeting. "Hey… Ayanami…" said one student in front of her, a blonde-haired teen "You're new here so you wouldn't know but uh, you probably shouldn't sit next to that guy."

"Why not?"

The boy blinked "He's, well, he doesn't like to be near people. You're probably bothering him." That, and the student body did not want Rei's first introduction to their class being the creepiest kid who had ever lived.

Rei turned towards the brown-haired boy and asked, "Am I bothering you?" in a straightforward manner. Shinji really wanted to say yes. He really wanted Rei to get on with her life without him. But there was something in her eyes, a mix of curiosity and disappointment. For whatever reason, she was trying to connect with him, and he knew if he told her 'yes', she would surely be let down.

And so, begrudgingly, the Invisible Boy stuttered out "N-No."

"Good." said Rei, something resembling a smile on her face. The rest of the students of the classroom had the opposite reaction.

This was going to be a long day.

After a long day of mulling over paperwork, processing hundreds of data sheets and sending any relevant combat data to Misato, Ritsuko's alarm rang out and reminded her she had to go to a meeting one hour from now. The doctor groaned.

"Maya! Take care of the rest of this!" she shouted into the air "…I have to go to a press conference…" she muttered under her breath.

"Will do!" replied Maya from somewhere, also swamped beneath papers.

Ritsuko Akagi began the slow process of dressing up to meet the needs of what society deemed 'cleanliness', even though her lab coat only had a few stains on it and her hair was just a bit frazzled. Yet, she could not ignore orders from the great Gendo Ikari, Eternal Perpetuator of Annoyance.

Really, if the man was so concerned about public opinion, why not go there himself?

Nevertheless, one hour later at 1:30 PM, the doctor had managed to scramble together a clean lab coat, pull her hair into an official-looking bun, polished her face with makeup according Maya's instructions and arrived at the stupid event with whoever else Gendo had roped in.

She quickly noted that among the NERV staff, Makoto and Shigeru had also been ordered to attend. They seemed better than she did, with the bespectacled man writing a speech and the Casanova all too eager to perform for it. Ritsuko was just happy that she didn't have to talk for hours on end, although it was inevitable that they'd turn to her for any technical questions.

"Oh, this is perfect." Decreed Shigeru, his straight grey hair flowing down to his shoulders in an appropriately dramatic manner. "This speech will not only assure them all but enamor the press to our cause. A speech worthy for kings, Makoto."

"Oh, thank you!" The dark blue haired man eagerly took in up his co-worker's praise. Out of everyone on their weird team, Makoto was the most plain looking of them all: glasses, clean and unwrinkled uniform, generic smile, ordinary hair, the list went on. Nothing about him really stood out, but Akagi had learned that appearances could be deceiving, and in Makoto's case, especially so.

When Misato had insisted he be on the elite squad directly commanding armies against titans of mass destruction, the doctor initially brushed it off as one of her drunken ramblings. Then she saw what Makoto could do and her mind was changed instantly. For a person without powers he was incredibly unique, even if he didn't show it.

Shigeru was another person Akagi was skeptical about at first. Although he was one of the rare people born with powers prior to second impact, that alone didn't qualify him to lead the charge against the Angels. In fact, Misato had tried very hard to convince Akagi that Shigeru and his… incredibly odd ability… was worth an investment. It actually hadn't been up to her: Gendo of all people was the one who finally let Shigeru in.

So far, the tall grey-haired man hadn't caused any problems. But honestly, Ritsuko still couldn't bring herself to trust him. Still, he got along with everyone else just fine, so maybe he wasn't all bad.

"Idea!" announced Shigeru, broadening his arms "At the end of the speech, I shall play my guitar and turn this morose event into a rock concert of splendor!"

It took them a while to convince the man that a musical spectacle probably wasn't very good for a debriefing of last night's attack. After another thirty minutes or so, a crowd of hundreds had gathered in front of their brightly lit podium. From a small stage with NERV's banner in carefully picked locations, the event began.

Shigeru gave his speech minus the rock concert and even the doctor had to admit it was pretty good. The grey-haired man told the public of NERV's endeavors during the attack, what Rei and Asuka had been doing, as well as the steps that needed to be taken in order to better prepare for the next Angel.

More so, he was able to reassure the somewhat panicked crowd of humanity's strength. He emphasized the bravery of the men and women of NERV, whether in the base or on the field. He wove them a melodic tale of humanity struggling against their oppressors, and how they could in fact defeat the apocalyptic beings on their doorstep. He did it so well that Ritsuko honestly didn't know whether or not his power was activated.

Much to the relief of the staff, the conference was proceeding smoothly. The people's fears were assuaged and confidence in NERV was high again, exactly where they needed it to be. Ritsuko drowned out most of the speeches made by the soldiers, Makoto and the others as she was still focused on the data from last night and what Rei had told her yesterday.

Eventually though, it was her turn. "And now, Dr. Akagi will answer any specific or scientific questions you may have." She stood up, tried to seem not bored and attended the podium, Makoto bowing out politely.

Her blue eyes met the gaze of hundreds of individuals. Most were from the press, some of them were foreign diplomats, still others were fellow scientists. She looked towards the cameras pointed at her, reminding the doctor that this event was being televised around Japan, possibly the globe, meaning that the hundreds she saw were a fraction of actual audience.

Some may have faltered at this thought but some of Ritsuko's nerves were literally made of steel. "Hello. I am Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, director of NERV's Research and Development, overseer of the metahuman training program and weapons division, as well as the human interface for the MAGI." She began, letting a slight pause for her credentials and status to sink in. "I realize that you have questions, but before we begin I would like to formally state what we have learned during the Angel attack from a scientific perspective."

This seemed to be acceptable to her audience, so the holder of multiple PHD's continued: "Some have complained that we were caught flat-footed during the attack, that evacuations were done too late and that our forces were not mobilized in time. These are reasonable claims but I would like to state why this was the case."

She breathed, "Our forces were mobilized too late because we had predicted the Angel would attack next week. We were in the process of getting ourselves together when the Angel decided to interrupt us one week early. Unfortunately, this was unavoidable. As most of you know, most of the Dead Sea Scrolls remains undecipherable and what we do know sometimes makes little sense.

"For instance, the first Angel attack, when read from a different perspective, would have taken place two months from now. From yet another perspective, two years from now. We of NERV decided to lowball what the predictions stated, but apparently that still wasn't enough. In addition, the Scrolls made no mention of how the Angel could create miniature versions of itself. The fact is, we knew little about this threat and there wasn't much that could have been done differently to result in less casualties."

Murmurs among the crowd. Some accepted this explanation, others were still angry for the loss of life during the attack. A total of sixty-seven people died yesterday which statistically was extraordinarily good but personally, 67 families now had to deal with a dead loved one. The sad fact was, they were at war now, so civilian casualties were expected.

Ritsuko continued with the good news: "There is a silver lining to this. Because the MAGI were operational prior to the Angel's attack, we were able to analyze the troposphere around Tokyo-3 and have determined a causal pattern prior to the Angel's emergence from the tentatively named 'aethersphere'." said Ritsuko, before realizing she was speaking technobabble, "What this means is that the MAGI have identified a predictive pattern for when Angel''s appear, thus making it much easier for NERV to know the timetable for any future Angel attacks.

"We have named it 'Pattern Blue', for its appearance when filtered through several energy analyzers. This, as you may have noted, is in stark contrast to the 'Pattern Red' that we humans have. This further confirms that the Angels themselves are alien in origin."

More chattering amongst the press, many of whom were snapping photos and no doubt eagerly writing their next big hit. The scientists of the group were quietly speaking to themselves, and Ritsuko decided to throw them a bone: "NERV extends an offer to any organization willing to look at some of the data we obtained during the last attack; the more hands we have to analyze what we've discovered, the better equipped we will be in this war."

Excited chatter, but the doctor continued: "We have also learned from the attack that the Angels have a core, where they concentrate their AT field and define the rest of their presence in real space. From the preliminary data, we have learned that the Angel's bodies can regenerate almost indefinitely. The only way to truly kill them is to destroy their core. This, obviously, is vital new information and rest assured, our strategic commander Misato Katsuragi is no doubt hard at work at this very moment altering our strategies around this facet."

'Or getting hammered.', thought Ritsuko wryly, 'Or getting hammered while coming up with new strategies.'

The public didn't need to know that last part, so she ended the speech on a high note "I will not lie to you. We were underprepared and under-informed. But we have learned from our mistakes and we will ensure that humanity survives this war. NERV is dedicated towards preventing third impact."

Applause from the crowd, which satisfied Ritsuko. From there, the questioning began. The first one was something anyone should have seen coming: "Doctor, how will you know where the Angels will attack?"

The blonde scientist had to parse her answer carefully, "Although most of the Dead Sea Scrolls is an ambiguous mess, there are some passages which are clear. One of these is the location: The Angels intend to start Third Impact in the coordinates encompassing Tokyo-3. Specifically, the coordinates inside our very own NERV headquarters. As long as we can destroy the Angels before they reach the innermost sanctum of our base, third impact cannot happen."

Dr. Akagi hated lying to the public, but until they understood the thing in the center of their base more thoroughly, she had to side with Gendo on this one. They couldn't know NERV had Angel bait in its deepest core.

At once, another hand was raised "Do you know the reason why Angels want to go to those coordinates, or how they intend to start Third Impact?"

It would take far too much classified information to answer that question, so the doctor had to lie: "Because we still do not understand how Second Impact happened, we do not at the moment know how the Angels intend to start the third. However, the Dead Sea Scrolls make it clear that the coordinates I have mentioned are key. If the Angels cannot reach them, Third Impact cannot possibly happen.

Some silence after this. Ritsuko hated lying to the populace. Another young reporter raised her hand, "The Angel's smaller copies did not attack in unison with it, instead they seemed to scatter around the city. Does NERV know what the miniature Angels were doing?"

"We are currently reviewing the security footage collected from all over the city," stated Ritsuko, "It seems as though the smaller Angels were intending to stir chaos in the city. That is, distract our personnel and scatter our forces so that the real Angel would have an easier time defeating us. We will have more details later once the all the footage of their actions is found and analyzed."

For a few more seconds, no more hands were raised. Then, an old looking man in a black suit raised his hand: "When will the Dead Sea Scrolls be released to the public?"

Ritsuko internally sighed. This question always seemed to pop up. "As we have publicly stated before, the Dead Sea Scrolls must remain in NERV's possession, so that we can decipher and obtain any information to combat the Angels more effectively. Additionally, the Dead Sea Scrolls are written with foreign energy signatures and exist in a fourth spatial dimension, meaning only we of NERV could possibly make sense of them."

That last part at least, wasn't a lie. They still had no idea how the Scrolls were written, only that their message was encoded in dimensions beyond the four humans interacted with. They were at least five-dimensional in nature but more likely six or seven. NERV barely had technology that could interact with the fourth spatial dimension, much less the other two that were theorized to exist.

Of course, the real reason why they couldn't release the Scrolls was because the public might figure out what actually lay in Antarctica, and what Second Impact really was.

"Are there any other questions?" Ritsuko Akagi scanned the audience, noting that the hands had risen down after the last three had been answered. It seemed as though all questions had been answered, though to what satisfaction she couldn't say. "In that case, we will end with our closing speaker."

Come to think of it, she realized she had no idea who the closing speaker was. Her internal question was answered within seconds as Gendo Ikari appeared to pop into existence right beside her, startling and surprising the doctor. The audience mirrored her reaction, but the commander of NERV didn't seem to know or care about his scary presence.

It was a rare sight to see Gendo Ikari in broad daylight. Orange shades which hid his eyes, a long flowing blood-red trench coat, white gloves and a black under-suit gave him a frightening appearance. Ritsuko noted his skin was much less pallor than usual- he must have just come back from a fresh meal.

The black-haired man quietly thanked the scientist, then took to the podium. Hunched over, he gripped the thing firmly as if it would run away he it didn't. Everyone held their breaths to see what the commander would say.

"We are at war." said the man succinctly, "Do not be mistaken about this fact. These beings, these Angels- a single one of them has the power to wipe out everything humanity has ever accomplished and take the rest of the planet with them. If given the chance, they would kill us all in a heartbeat.

"NERV has been entrusted to deal with these beings because only we stand a chance against them. If we fall, then humanity falls with us. That is why we of NERV will not submit to these repugnant Angels. I restate to you: we are at war. It is a fact that the times of peace that humanity has enjoyed has been brought to an end. But we will prevail. This is another fact that you shouldn't forget."

With an air of menace, Gendo Ikari spoke his final words: "NERV will destroy the Angels. We will shred these monsters into pieces. We will rip and tear… until it is done."

A pointed silence grew across the area, from the wide eyed NERV staff in the back to the sweating audience in the front. Gendo stood up and the air of menace seemed to quiet but a little. Without further adieu he turned and walked away, beckoning Dr. Akagi to come with him. The audience seemed to snap out of their trance as soon as the two exited stage left, as roars echoed behind her. The chattering of the newly invigorated people soon faded as the doctor was escorted into a private limousine along with her commander.

She sat directly opposite to the red cloaked man and with some direction from him, the car began to move. The blonde-haired woman quietly noticed there was no driver in the front seat, the whole vehicle was automated. As they ventured down the city's streets, Ritsuko spoke. "You didn't tell me you were coming."

"Sometimes, surprise can be an asset." The commander of NERV looked out the window, observing the crowds of people they were passing with a satisfactory expression on his bearded face.

"I also noted that during your speech, you forgot to mention that our organization would prevent Third Impact from happening." Ritsuko dared. A single indirect glare from Gendo was enough to silence that topic.

Not being one to waste time with pleasantries, the black-haired man got to the point: "Did you perform the calculations I asked?"

The doctor remained still, but her heart skipped a beat. "Yes. Although we don't have an Angel soul and thus the calculations couldn't be completed fully… from the data we do have, the results are the same as before: it's impossible."

And it was probably a good thing it was impossible, considering the what might happen if it were possible. Not that this would stop the red cloaked mastermind.

"I see. Then Project Fenrir continues." mused the commander of Nerv, gazing out his window again "When is the next scheduled test?"

The blonde-haired scientist quickly looked into some files on her wireless storage. "For the next several weeks, we have several rodent trials running back to back for maximum efficiency."

"I want human trials within the next two weeks."

Shock was on her face, mouth slightly agape. She looked at her superior as if he was crazy and he stared back without emotion. "Human trials? Are you serious? We still don't know what that thing even is."

"My hands are tied." stated Gendo simply. And before Ritsuko Akagi could interject, the man shot her a stern look. That one look made the doctor understand what was happening.

Being hooked up to the MAGI and practically being third in command of NERV, Ritsuko Akagi had access to more information than half the governments of the world combined. She had unprecedented and unlimited access to all sorts of secrets, from the mundane to ones that could rip a country apart if let out to the public.

And one day, her curiosity got the better of her. She had nearly found a way into the commander's personal files, and from what little she had seen, shocked her. Although the two had never talked about the incident, an understanding had come between the scientist and the commander: there was someone else. She didn't know who they were or where they operated, but whoever it was, Gendo had to obey their orders.

With this knowledge, Dr. Akagi knew better than to question her leader's policies, especially when he gave her that look. The look of 'Either do this for me, or someone will pay for it.'. The blonde scientist knew that this expression signified a threat to her- but not directly from the black-haired man.

There was a reason, after all, that every single other organization with a dedication to fighting the Angels always met unexpected pitfalls, dissension within their ranks, or even had their CEO's assassinated by unruly criminals. There was a reason only NERV remained to fight the Angels where everyone else had come up woefully short.

The doctor did not know what that reason was. But Gendo Ikari did.

"… Fine. But I want everything contained and secure. Give me one week to set up everything that I need so that an outbreak doesn't happen." said the doctor after a moment's pause. The shadowy commander silently looked into her eyes from behind his orange tinted glasses, carefully observing her.

"…That should work." The man turned away to observe the city, thus ending the conversation. In this new silence, Dr. Akagi realized that she had no idea where he was taking her. Before she could process this thought he interrupted her: "… How is Rei doing?"

He was of course, referring to the fact that the doctor made him promise that if they survived the first Angel attack, humanity's savior would be allowed to attend public school. Since the doctor had won their bet and Fuyutsuki liked the idea, Gendo was forced to comply with their wishes.

The cyborg doctor quickly checked her list of messages and found one from the girl in question. She read it aloud: "Field report to Dr. Akagi and any NERV staff to whom this may concern. Several potential allies discovered. Asuka is moody. Attempting to establish good relations with my teacher and ascertain the perimeter of the area. End report."

Dr. Akagi left out the part about how she was 'trying to talk to a mysterious boy', since that would probably cause their dear leader to short a circuit. On that note, Rei had an interest in boys?

Either way Gendo took all of this in while continuing to gaze outside, so it was impossible to read his facial expression. After relaying what Rei has discovered in school, the man simply nodded his head. Again, the silence came, but this time it was much shorter since they arrived at their destination. It was Ritsuko's small house, just on the outskirts of the city. "Please rest for a couple hours before returning to NERV." the bearded man announced.

The doctor took up Gendo's invitation, exiting the vehicle without another word. The car's door closed and drove away so that the commander of humanity's last bastion could plot even more schemes. Ritsuko Akagi stared in the distance as the car became another blur in her field of vision.

Project Fenrir… what that man wanted to achieve was insanity at best. A catastrophe rivaling that of the Angels at worst. And he entrusted her with the details of said operation.

"Suppose I actually find a way to make it happen…" the doctor breathed, "What would you do then, Ikari…?"

Fences lay all around her, a byproduct of initially designing the school for non super-powered individuals to keep them from falling off the rooftop. The rest of the area was plain and blank, worn tile and a little gravel adorned the floor, the open sky above. A single door emerged from the center, the only means of exiting and entering the school's rooftop.

The orange haired girl was in such a place. Blue eyes wistfully looking towards the sky, she wished she could be there among the clouds without a care in the world. But she couldn't fly.

So Asuka sat down on the gravelly ground, quietly eating her rice and edamame while letting her anger fester. She hated everyone at the moment, which is why she decided to here alone. She especially hated Gendo Ikari, the bastard commander of NERV. It wasn't her fault. She was just trying to help. She just wanted to turn the Angel into dust.

She just wanted them to see her succeed where all else had failed…

Asuka waited outside the office of Gendo Ikari, the commander of NERV himself. It was six in the morning and the girl was yawning about once every ten seconds. Dressed in school uniform, since she would have to go there next, the orange haired girl did not know why she was here instead of in bed.

After a few minutes, Misato Katsuragi, the strategic commander, emerged. She stomped out of the supreme commander's office in a huff, muttering under her breath about "workloads" and "new tactics" and "no beer until done". She very nearly didn't notice Asuka sitting on one of the chairs. "…Huh? Asuka?"

"Hi." waved the orange haired girl sleepily.

"…Why are you here?" wondered the strategic commander.

"Don't know." the tired girl said simply.

Misato turned a tentative eye towards her superior's office. After a brief pause, she waved a friendly goodbye to Asuka. A few seconds after Misato had left, the super girl was called in.

Asuka entered the commander's personal quarters. It was much bigger than she expected. Shelves filled to the brim with books in many different languages lay on one wall of the square area. To her left were trinkets of all sorts that she could not identify, as well as what appeared to be some old musty scrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls? His desk was wide and imposing, littered with papers in a way that seemed both organized and disorderly at once. The room was dimly lit, with Gendo at its center and his orange glasses shining in the dark straight at her.

A single empty chair lay in front of the large obsidian desk. The commander was quiet, unnervingly so. He did not tell Asuka to sit down, but she sat down regardless, stretching as she did so. The black-haired man was silent. Asuka politely waited for him to say something, but nothing happened. He simply continued to stare at her.

And finally, after a minute or so of this suffocating silence, he spoke in a stinging voice "I was hoping you would apologize, but it appears as though you are too immature to know your own manners."

The first blow had been dealt and the word 'immature' cut straight into Asuka's heart. She quickly stood up and shouted, "What are you talking abo-!"

"Sit." commanded Gendo Ikari in an icy voice that sent shivers down her spine. Asuka was put back into her place, though not of her own volition. His powers were active.

"You defied my orders. That is called insubordination." explained the black-haired man, fingers cross in front of his mouth. "You nearly caused humanity a loss against the Angel and you don't even have the decency to apologize for it."

Immediately, Asuka went on the defensive, face red with anger "I didn't-! I thought Rei was down and I was going to save her!"

"No. You didn't." Gendo snarled, his enlarged canines showing. "You didn't want to save Rei, you wanted to be a hero. Do not lie so brazenly in front me."

The girl gulped, remembering that as long as the commander's power was active, no one could reasonably lie in front of him. The girl tried to speak again but Gendo silenced her with that same power, causing her intended speech of why she was justified to come out as a pathetic gargle of saliva.

"We are in a war with abominations several times stronger than us. Any mistake that NERV makes will result in the Third Impact, and your palpable ignorance of this fact is a disgrace to everything we stand for." continued the supreme commander, sneering at the young girl "This clear insubordination is in such violation that by all rights, I should get rid of you. Someone who acts like you did last night has no place in this facility, or even in Japan for that matter."

Asuka finally regained her ability to speak and became desperate at the thought of being thrown away like trash. Her eyes and face were red, sweat covered her skin and she desperately shouted back at her commander, "My actions saved Rei! I fought the Angel and nearly destroyed it! How can you just dismiss what I did!?"

"Because your actions were even less than worthless and nearly cost us the battle." hissed Gendo, once again seizing control of her body and forcing it silent. He glared directly at Asuka with such menace that the girl, who had touted herself as stronger than anyone, began to fear for her life. She could feel Gendo's presence in her heart and realized in horror that he might just be able to kill her here and now. The pain of his ability coursed through her, and with it she truly felt the commander's malice.

"Before your ignorant stunt, Strategic Commander Misato Katsuragi, along with the efforts of Dr. Akagi and the MAGI were able to discern a possible weakness within the Angel- the core." began the black-haired man in the shadows, "They were calculating a plan of attack when you acted so brashly and nearly cost us the war in the first battle.

"You think you were saving Rei? She is stronger than you are and for that matter, a better soldier. If her titan body is destroyed she can merely create a new one with time. The instant it was destroyed, Dr. Akagi had our missiles at the ready to distract the Angel and retrieve Rei. Once Rei was acquired, you would have distracted the Angel further until Rei completed a second body and struck at the core.

"But that didn't happen, did it? Because before Dr. Akagi launched our arsenal, you dove in recklessly to try and claim victory for yourself."

Asuka choked.

"The missile launch was delayed because Dr. Akagi didn't want to risk hitting you. You then proceeded to try and take the Angel alone and failing that, nearly burned yourself out trying to kill it. Then Rei… Rei did not proceed to act properly because she was worried for your safety. She was ready to uselessly sacrifice herself in order to rectify your mistake. Do you still not understand, child, that your glory seeking selfishness nearly gave the Angel opportunity to end the world?"

Asuka was angry. She was furious but nothing came out. Even if she could speak, nothing would have been spoken. She held back tears as best she could.

"We were lucky. Someone or something healed Rei in the middle of your insubordination and the plan was re-salvaged. Without that presence, this conversation would not be happening because you and I would both be dead along with the rest of humanity, including everyone you have ever cared for." finished the supreme commander, pausing to let the consequences of her actions sink in. The girl was gritting her teeth, staring at him defiantly and on the verge of tears.

"As stated, such an act of insubordination would be grounds to ban you from the entire country." seethed the commander, pausing to adjust his glasses, "…But it seems as though I am in the minority in wanting to see you out. So for now, you stay."

The hold that Gendo had on her was released, and Asuka began gasping for air. As she struggled to regain her senses, the commander continued: "You will not use your abilities for the foreseeable future. You will keep a low profile and not speak about the battle under penalty of law. You will obey every single order that comes from NERV to the letter so so help me, I will decree executive privilege and force you out of my organization."

And then, in a much lower voice, "And when the next Angel appears, you will do exactly as we say. If I deem you a threat to our survival, I will simply launch the missiles at the Angel of my own volition, regardless of whether or not it would kill you too."

Her head was bowed, silent.

"Do I make myself clear?"

Asuka's heavy breathing masked her sobbing, her lowered face masked the tears in her eyes. "Yes. Sir."

"Leave."

She flew out of the commander's office, making sure to cover herself up so no one could see her crimson, tear stained face.

The super girl gripped the water bottle she was holding so hard it snapped in two. He had called her a child. Called her selfish. Said that she had nearly caused the end of the world. Humiliated her in such a way that the Angel's attempt to kill her was paltry by comparison. She wanted to bash his face in so badly. She wanted to lash out at the world.

But in the end, somewhere deep down, Asuka knew she couldn't do it. The reason the entire ordeal had been so painful was because it was pure, stinging truth. On some level she had to acknowledge the commander's words.

And so here she was, alone and powerless. She kicked the fence in anger and only began even more furious when it didn't shatter into tiny pieces. She couldn't shatter it- doing so would immediately get her deported under the commander's restrictions. The girl couldn't fly into the sky and scream into the heavens for catharsis. She was grounded.

As vile thoughts of revenge filled her head, a sudden knock on the door caught her attention. She turned around, ready to fry whoever it was that wanted to disturb her but softened her stance when she saw that it was just Hikari.

The brown-haired girl walked outside and quietly closed the door behind her, putting a somewhat large rock in its path such that it couldn't open. The gesture was useless in a school full of superpowered individuals but appreciated.

"…How did you know I was here?" questioned Asuka.

"It's the place closest place to the sky." stated Hikari. Wordlessly, the ponytailed girl sat down next to her best friend. "I know that something happened. And I know you don't want to talk about it." deduced the class president, "But I want you to know… I'm here."

Asuka opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She simply nodded her head. The two girls quietly ate their lunch boxes without saying another word, as nothing else needed saying. For a bit, Asuka was able to smile again.

With a hand over his eyes so that the sunlight couldn't distract him, Toji peered into the distance of the green surroundings. The school was remarkably considerate of the environment and as such, the back of the school was nearly a forest, where bushes, trees and squirrels roamed free. Unfortunately, this also meant it was very easy to hide in.

"I don't see him." said the athlete, slightly disappointed. His friend Kensuke sighed in response. "Shoot! You mean to tell me he actually showed up and I wasn't there to see him?"

"You should have gotten to class on time." Toji retorted. "Speaking of which… why were you so late today?"

Kensuke was typically five or ten minutes late every day, often with the excuse that he saw a perfect shot and hate to take it. But it was very unusual for the brown-haired teen to miss half the day and then to arrive with his backup camera.

"It was the NERV agents! They came to my house and confiscated my camera!" wailed the military nut, "I fought to save my beloved but they were too strong and they took her! And then they searched my house for other cameras and took them too!"

"Whoa, whoa, what did you do Kensuke?" Toji met his gaze with a concerned expression.

"Nothing! I just took some pictures of you when you bopped that NERV guy yesterday at the shelter, and the pictures of the shelter." shrugged the man, "Apparently, that was enough for them to raid my damn house. So twitchy, those guys…"

Toji did not know what to think about that. He scanned the school grounds once again for the man who saved his family, but alas, Shinji Sekai had become as invisible as his moniker implied. "Where'd he go…? I want to thank him properly…"

Unbeknownst to them, the black cloaked boy was hiding in some bushes just a few meters away. Perfectly silent, he waited until Toji and Kensuke moved to another area before he warped deeper into the forest, where he was sure no one could see him.

School had been intense. Everyone's attention was on him thanks to yesterday's deeds and the boy had never felt more uncomfortable in his life. His entire being was built around a low profile, so now that everyone in class had their eyes on him, that low profile was endangered. This fear wasn't simply his haphephobia, it came from the terror of what would happen if NERV ever figured out who he really was.

More specifically, if their supreme commander found out.

Shuddering, the brown-haired boy looked around and found he was, at last, alone. For the next thirty minutes of lunch, Shinji could enjoy the solitude that the forest's shade generously gave him. Here he was safe, away from those judging eyes. Although one pair of eyes, belonging to a Ms. Rei Ayanami, seemed to be beaming at him whenever she met his gaze. It was as if she believed Shinji was a great person who was worthy of whatever imagined heroism she thought of him. He didn't know how to feel about her, much as he was truly glad that Rei was okay considering last night's attack.

Shinji looked upwards, observing the birds. The birds were nice. They didn't judge him, they didn't want anything from him, they just sang their beautiful tunes and minded their own business. One particular bird was singing a glorious song, and Shinji wished he had his violin to compliment the creature. The blue and green speckled avian sat atop a thin tree branch, humming a tune while the boy patiently listened.

"Time for training!"

Shinji's solitude was interrupted by his etherial golden friend. The eight-foot tall man floated just off the ground next to him, arms crossed and gazing at him impatiently. The boy sighed. "Really? Now?"

"You should be grateful I dismissed last night's training. But my patience is not infinite! We shall resume your martial arts training." decreed the pharaoh. Before Shinji could interject, the golden man began to float upward, right next to the blissfully unaware singing avian. Before the boy could protest, the pharaoh gave the bird a good whack and sent it to the ground, greatly injuring the innocent creature.

"You-!" the black cloaked teen started, crouching over the gasping animal.

"Well? Heal it if you so care for the flyer!" shouted the golden man. Shinji didn't really have a choice, so he obliged. He laid a single palm upon the body of the creature and felt for his energy. He was immediately able to sense the creature's form, including the unjust injury it had just incurred.

With great concentration, Shinji began pouring his own AT field into the bird's. A light shone from his open palms, causing the golden man to let out a smirk of satisfaction. Within seconds, the bird's blunt trauma was no more, and its fragile bones were repaired. Startled, the avian immediately flew off as far away as it could. Shinji sighed.

"Not bad." The tall and well muscled spirit observed his protégé, noting with some satisfaction that the boy didn't seem the least bit winded from the effort.

"Do you really have to keep hurting small animals!?" Shinji shot at the spirit.

Nodding, the golden man replied "Smaller creatures are good practice for you. Because of their diminutive stature, they therefore have less cells and are easier to heal. We have been over this have we not?"

Shinji grumbled but didn't say more. The pharaoh had the unfair advantage of being etherial and solid when he needed to, so stopping him was impossible. Speaking of which, the man eyed a fluffy tailed squirrel and once again, smacked it into the ground next to his protégé.

The mammal bled as a result, sprawled helpless on the ground. Shinji ran over and checked it with his aura: broken leg, internal hemorrhage and of course, mental shock. As with the bird, he was able to cure the first two of these afflictions before the thing rightfully ran away. The glow from his hands dissipating, he turned to his imaginary friend and angrily protested "Will you stop!? I just want some peace and quiet today!"

"So that's how you did it." said Rei who was standing intimately behind Shinji and eagerly observing the craft from his shoulder, causing said boy to jump and warp behind a tree from reflex.

"A-A-A-Ayanami!?"

"Affirmative." acknowledged Rei.

"H-How long have you been there!?" gulped the boy in the tattered coat. The blue haired girl replied that she had begun observing when Shinji knelt and applied his healing to the unfortunate squirrel. The brown-haired man glanced at his invisible friend, who merely laughed and vanished back into the depths of the boy's soul.

"They told me you had a mysterious ability. Was it healing others with your touch?" wondered the blue haired girl.

"Erm, no, that's… that's something else." Shinji figured that the cat was out of the bag for this one, so he might as well tell her: "That was a martial art. My master calls it the Ripple… it can be used to heal injuries."

Rei moved closer to him and Shinji stepped back, "My real ability is, um, a secret for reasons…" he told her, even though the truth was he didn't have any powers whatsoever.

"A useful martial art." noted the lithe woman, "I don't suppose you could teach that to me?"

Shinji nervously looked around. "That… would depend on whether my master would teach you… and he's, um, not a very open person." turning back to Rei, he added "And honestly, I'm not sure how the Ripple even works. My master just tells me to do things and I do them."

Whenever the brown-haired teen asked about how the Ripple was even supposed to function as a martial art, he always got varying responses. As first it was 'special blood', then the explanation was 'sunlight energy' and at times the golden man proclaimed 'The courage to stand' was how it worked. Either way he could almost swear the pharaoh was making things up as the training progressed and there was a major black box in Shinji's understanding of the Ripple.

Come to think of it, Rei had a point. A martial art that could injuries would be very useful, so why hadn't Shinji heard about it before? As he entertained this thought, his attention came back to the blue haired girl, who was staring at him. Shinji broke the silence, "So, why are you here?"

"I would like to thank you for the other day," said the girl plainly "without your help we would not have been able to defeat the Angel. Additionally, you should know that I have kept your secret. No one knows you aided me in my time of need."

"Y-You did?"

"Affirmative."

Rei lay flat on her back on a bed in the hospital ward. The nurses and doctors had examined her for any remarkable injuries but luckily, found none. Her regeneration would allow her to be fighting fit again in just a few days. However, the blue haired girl knew that the real challenge would come when Dr. Akagi would inspect her.

There would be no doubt that she would question Rei about her miraculous healing in the midst of the battle. Although she had the answer, the kind boy she had met insisted on not being seen or discovered by NERV. Rei was obligated to honor her promise to him, which meant she would have to do something she had never done before: lie.

Although the girl had no experience in decreeing falsehoods, she was not too worried. She had read a book about lying once and that would suffice. All she had to do was be careful in what she said and all would be well.

Unless of course, director Ikari came in to do the questioning- there would be no possible way to lie to him, both due to his powers and because that man was her idol. The girl sincerely hoped that Ikari wouldn't come.

Her hopes were realized when Dr. Akagi entered the room. She seemed frantic, her blonde hair in a mess, lab coat unbuttoned and frayed, and some sparks shooting out of her shoulders. She had most likely come down from the MAGI in a hurry. She set down some papers and began to analyze Rei's vitals with her half-computer mind by using the medical equipment available. She came to the same conclusion as the doctors before her: the injuries inflicted upon their little titan by the Angel were less severe than they thought. Suspiciously less severe.

Dr. Akagi said nothing during this process and for a minute the blue haired thought she would get away scot free. Until the good doctor finally spoke that is. "You have no problems… even though you should be far more injured."

Here it was. "Rei, I'm going to level with you. After the Angel destroyed your first body, your regeneration speed wouldn't be great enough to bring you back to the battlefield within a mere 4.67 minutes." stated the doctor, eyeing the blue haired girl from top to bottom.

"I see." noted Rei.

"Something similar happened with Asuka, too." continued the blonde doctor, parsing over data within her mind and on her computer terminal. "I've gone over the calculations dozens of times in 12 different simulations and none match the reality we live in. The only possible explanation is that something happened outside of my field view, which caused the both of you to become healed. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that during the 4.67 minute gap, something obstructed my view of you and your vitals."

"I see." noted Rei again.

Dr. Akagi turned towards the blue haired girl now, a thoughtful and confused look in her eyes. She decided to stop beating around the bush and ask directly. "Rei. What happened?"

This was it, the moment where Rei had to lie. Luckily, she knew exactly what to say to cause Ritsuko Akagi to lose suspicion of her.

"When the Angel destroyed my body the first time, I collapsed onto the ground and became very injured. I did not know what to do but then, fortuitously, I was healed somehow. I do not know who healed me, but whoever he was, perhaps he was a kind person." said the girl.

Dr. Akagi gave Rei a strange look, one the little titan had never seen before. A small silence passed between the two. The blue haired girl added "Of course, this is merely my speculation. After all, I did not see who it was that healed me or what he looked like."

Dr. Akagi continued to give Rei the strange look. The blue haired girl became a tad nervous at this. Was she caught lying? But the book had been so helpful at the art of falsifying... Surely, she had done the steps correctly?

The blonde-haired doctor opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Eventually, it closed. "I see. So, you don't know what happened either?"

"Negative." The girl tried to look as truthful as possible while fidgeting her gloved hands nervously.

"…I see." said the doctor after a while, still giving her strange looks. "…Fine then. You are dismissed."

"Be assured that I was able to lie correctly and that your identity is safe." concluded Rei, who was relieved she was able to hide away her savior.

Shinji on the other hand had a sinking feeling that his troubles were only just beginning. Especially because the Angel killer was speaking directly to him, not even a meter away, and her form-fitting suit made the teenager think things about her body that he'd rather not. "Ayanami… why are you here talking to me instead of the others? I'm sure they'd be much more fun to talk to."

"Why? What do they talk about?" asked the girl.

Being the socially-inept pariah with zero friends that he was, Shinji had no idea how to respond to that.

"The reason I wish to partake in social pleasantries with you is because you have saved my life and I believe you to be a kind person. Also, Asuka does not want to talk to me."

Now that, Shinji could believe. Their school's idol could be very moody and considering Rei took the kill last night instead of Asuka… well, everyone in the district knew about her pride. A crestfallen super-girl was to be expected. Still, "Don't worry about Asuka. She can get like that sometimes. Give it a day or two and she'll be happy again." smiled Shinji, trying to reassure her.

"Do you know her as well?"

Shinji noticeably stiffened. "I… I've seen her around before… and we talk sometimes… mostly Asuka trying to find me though since I hide a lot…" the boy shook his head "A-Anyway, you probably shouldn't be talking to me. I, well, I'm kind of the creepy kid that no one likes and… if you start talking to me, the others might not like you. I don't want to ruin your chances at making friends."

"You have a very low opinion of yourself." Rei bluntly noted. Shinji could not disagree with her on that but averted his gaze out of shame nonetheless.

Finally, the Angel-killer started to move away from the invisible boy. She took a step backward and turned to the side "I will go talk to the others at your insistence." At that, Shinji's heart skipped a beat even if he didn't want to admit it. The girl turned away from him and began walking through the bushes back to civilization, where the pariah could not follow. Before she left his vision, she turned to him one last time and said in a gentle voice "Whatever you think you are, know that you have saved my life, Asuka's life, and those of Shelter 21, mysterious boy"

Realizing that he never gave his name once during their conversation, the mysterious boy replied back "…sorry, I'm Shinji. Just call me Shinji."

"Very well, Shinji. Goodbye."

She left him. A feeling of emptiness welled up inside the boy, but deep down he knew this was for the best. The less people associated with him, the better off they would be. Even if talking to some of them was pleasant.

"He is behind the bushes." announced Rei before the athletic Toji and nerdy Kensuke leapt from the fray to bombard the black cloaked teen with their presence.

"Let me take a picture of you!" shouted Kensuke excitably.

"GET OVER HERE AND LET ME THANK YOU PROPERLY, DAMN IT!" Toji raged.

Shinji, who had vowed not to use his powers, had no choice but to run away from the two young men. Unfortunately, this plan backfired because Toji, in a rare moment of forethought, surrounded the immediate area with a dome constructed of solid energy. His back against a glowing green wall, Shinji gulped as the two young men approached him.

"Don't run away." The athlete pointed at him dangerously. Kensuke ferociously nodded in agreement. The purple eyed boy began to sweat, trying to think of a way out. The man in red eyed the invisible boy up and down before saying "You really don't like people, do ya?"

"…And people don't really like me." replied Shinji. As Kensuke snapped some pictures of the famed invisible boy, the athlete sighed and stuck out his hand in greeting.

The boy's purple eyes looked at the hand. "…I don't like to be touched."

"Yer making me thanking you really difficult." said Toji dryly, still expending some concentration to maintain the green walls.

"Sorry..."

The man in the red tracksuit retracted his hand and tried a different approach. "Name's Toji. You saved my family and I owe ya one." the black cloaked boy fidgeted, unused to being thanked for anything "I mean… I did what I could and… you're welcome I guess… I'm Shinji."

"I really mean it. My sister and my dad are everything to me. I'll repay you however you want." The brown-haired man pounded his chest once to indicate how serious it was. The boy in black replied he didn't need any sort of compensation for his work, but the athlete was insistent. The invisible boy couldn't really think of anything that he needed from Toji.

"Well if you think of something, let me know. And it can be anything at all. You can even punch me in the face if you want."

Shinji frowned "Why would I want to punch you in the face?"

"Dunno. Just sayin'." the man shrugged. Toji noticed that his friend hadn't even introduced himself, yet was taking as many pictures of Shinji as he could. The athlete knocked Kensuke on the forehead and put him in a headlock "And this knucklehead is Kensuke. Way too obsessed with his camera, as you could tell."

Getting his cue, the nerdy young man freed himself from his friend's grasp and promptly introduced himself to the infamous Invisible Boy. "Glad to meet you! I can't believe you're real! What's with the cloak? Can we move to an area with better lighting!?"

"Oi, not to rain on your parade dude, but don't you remember what happened the last time NERV tried to get his picture?" Toji interjected. At first, Kensuke didn't know what he was talking about. When he saw Shinji eyeing his camera, it clicked: there were no photos of the Invisible Boy in their high school. None in the yearbooks, none in the student registry, none by other students. Anything that took a picture of him mysteriously broke down before the photos could reach prying eyes.

"No, please, this is the only camera I have left!" Kensuke begged, hugging his camera close.

Shinji frowned, but held firm. "Sorry, but it's already done. I… can't have my identity getting out."

The military nut looked down at his camera: it was normal and still perfectly functional. For an instant, the teen questioned what Shinji's words meant, but then he checked his storage and found it was all deleted. Quickly flipping through his camera, Kensuke found his SD card was gone, despite the fact it was in there not five minutes ago. "How did you even-!?"

"… I have to remain a secret…" Shinji decreed one final time with much insistence. The curly haired photographer frantically looked around for his card but did not find it. Turning back to the Invisible Boy, he raged "How could you!? I had so many great pictures on there!"

"Dude, just take more pictures. It's what you do anyway." said Toji nonchalantly. Kensuke jabbed a finger in his chest and shouted "Are you kidding me!? First of all: everything I take is going to be famous one day and can't be so carelessly thrown away! Second of all: that card had all my shots of all the lovely ladies in our class on it!"

Toji backed away, "Dude!"

Kensuke grinned, "I had some from Hikari. Voluntarily of course."

"Like I care!" the athlete shouted very quickly. Turning over to Shinji, the photographer said with disdain "And you ruined all of it! So what are you going to do now!?"

"I… I'm sorry?" the boy stammered out.

"I'll tell you what you're going to do." The perverted photographer summoned another SD card, inserted it into the camera and gestured to Shinji: "You're going to fill up this blank card with new pictures! By using your power of invisibility- or teleportation- or whatever the hell it is, you can sneak into the girl's locker room and take pics unnoticed, right?" Kensuke was already fantasizing, a bit of blood already dripping from his nose. More blood dripped down when Toji smacked him over the head.

"I apologize on behalf of Kensuke."

"It's okay…"

"For real though," Toji leaned in closely, to make sure no one else could listen "c-can you actually do that? Just outta curiosity…"

"No!" Shinji yelped before composing himself, "I mean, no, I would never use my power for that!"

"…" Kensuke stared at the infamous boy, taking careful note of his wording, "So you CAN do it…"

Their hormone-addled talks continued until the end of lunch, and as much as Shinji was against it, the athlete in red and the perverted photographer had inserted themselves into his life.

The end of the day had come at last to the denizens of Tokyo-3. As this was the first night since the Angel war began, it was almost compulsory for everyone to consume more than their fair share of alcohol. Sake, beer, wine, all drinks that were the bane of rational thought and the perfect doorway to escapism flowed through the veins of the city to those who needed it. Some drank to forget the loss of life, of the minuscule yet all too important population that no longer existed. Some drank to ease the pain of their work, as now that Tokyo-3 was a war-zone, the workload of the populace significantly increased. Some drank to celebrate a successful warding of the apocalypse, even if temporary.

All and all, Misato was pretty sure that the drunken haze of the Japanese public would be good enough to mask the covert meeting she was having with Ritsuko.

The two women sat in Misato's choice hangout: a high-class bar at the end of town. Dimly lit in red with rustic furniture and a soft jazz band, the doctor was pleasantly surprised at the maturity of the place. This was especially so considering it was the hyperactive drunken strategic commander who had recommended the joint.

A pair of glasses slid their way down the smooth wooden counter, arriving perfectly at their destination in front of the two women. Both were dressed for the occasion, Ritsuko a dark blue dress that sparkled when she moved, while Misato took an equally befitting purple dress that showed off more skin than her counterpart. Their clothes, not remotely work related, were intended to give off an impression of two friends simply drinking.

"So, we clear?" asked Misato, taking a sip of her high-class chilled sake, relishing the smooth taste.

"One bug dead," replied Ritsuko, silently hacking the MAGI to both search for and destroy anything that could listen in on their conversation. Apparently, this bar only had the one, so her work was done. "None left."

The purple dressed woman nodded her head, "What's up, Ritski?"

The blonde doctor took a moment to clear her head. "So much is happening." she began, basking in the warm lights above. After letting the calm soak in for a few seconds, she turned back to Misato "Our boss may be the most unhinged man in the world."

"I thought you said you had something new to talk about?" the purple haired woman shot her friend a grin. She dismissed her expression and became more serious, "What's up?"

"He wants human trials for Project Fenrir within two weeks."

The strategic commander solemnly nodded, understanding the implications. She took another swig and drowned the whole glass, promptly asking for another before turning back to Ritsuko. "I kind of expected this if I'm being honest. Since we now know the Angel's have a core…"

"The project has a higher chance of success." finished the blonde doctor. Another round of liquor made its way to Misato, who took a small sip. "We have to do what it takes to defeat the Angels."

"Suppose we succeed with the project and defeat the Angels. What happens afterwards?" countered the doctor. Misato didn't know the answer and at the moment, didn't particularly care. That is, until she reminded herself that Gendo Ikari had numerous psychological issues. Speaking of which…

"There's something I've got to tell you." sighed the purple haired woman. She had kept his presence a secret for so long, but now that the MAGI were running at full capacity and Gendo's bugs were everywhere, she couldn't do it alone anymore.

Her compatriot didn't seem to hear her, speaking about the situation again. "In addition, NERV has two internal problems we need to solve behind the scenes. The first is the re-emergence of the frenzy. We found one guy in an alleyway with all the symptoms, including the people he bludgeoned to death. We had to cover it up and put him in my lab."

Misato raised an eyebrow. The frenzy hadn't been active for two whole years, and now it had infected someone just as the Angel attacked? That was suspicious.

"Like the others, we're studying him and trying to isolate the pathogen responsible." spoke the doctor, sighing from frustration. "And as if that wasn't enough mysteries on my hand, I have to figure out who healed Rei and Asuka while we weren't looking."

"Yeah, about that…" began Misato.

"The Magi are tracking 'his' signature, but it will be a while before we figure it out. The only thing I know for certain is that Rei saw this man but lied to me about it. She actually lied to me! She's never done that before, even when she's gotten into trouble!" The doctor exasperated, both annoyed and proud that the little titan was trying new things.

"May I speak?" Misato asked drolly. Ritsuko apologized for her repeated interruptions and let her friend talk. The purple haired woman took one last sip of her refreshing sake. "I… might be able to help out with that last mystery, Ritski."

"…Yes?"

"…His name is Shinji. He's the guy at Tokyo-3 High that our guys haven't seen yet. He healed both the girls and stopped the Angel in the middle of the battle. I kind of maybe secretly let him live with me for the last six years without the government noticing..."

Ritsuko's jaw dropped. Before she could question her friend, Misato continued "I'm telling you this because I don't think I can keep him a secret anymore. Not without your help. See, I'm the only one he trusts and well…

"… You won't believe who his father is."

Author's Notes:

Whoever thought it would be easy to guess Shinji's power clearly doesn't know me very well.

My oneshot manga is nearly completed, so I figured I would post this a bit early. Once I get going for real, the chapters will take much less time to complete. On that note, this one was about 15,000 words long, which makes me really happy I have this site to submit it to instead of deviantart- my watchers there will know exactly what I mean. Speaking of which, check me out on deviantart under the same username to see the pretty pictures I'll be drawing of this series, found under my 'Super Evangelion' folder.

Anywho, this chapter is mostly world building, character development and setting up future plot. I have so much planned and I can't wait to write it! Next chapter will have the second Angel attack!