Disclaimer: Still don't own NGE, but if I did then that whole Kaworu arc would be dust.
Endgame
Realignment
Kunugi was really starting to reconsider his decision to listen to Hadhiyat. To be fair, one of the Moons had been destroyed as a result of her plan. But he also had to sort out one of the most confusing situations he'd ever seen. Not to mention he had barely scratched the surface of all the paperwork on his desk from the afore-mentioned situation.
Yes, he most certainly wasn't going to be taking any more suggestions from the Indonesian pilot again.
He looked up as Souichi, his second-in-command, entered his office..
"Pardon me, commander. They've arrived." Kunugi nodded.
"Excellent. I want a full debriefing within the hour." Souichi bowed and left the room. Kunugi sat in his chair for a moment, staring off at the opposite wall. Then he shook himself out of whatever daze he was in, and placed the folder he had been reading back onto the top of enormous pile on his desk.
"Lets see how this goes."
The docks were a flurry of motion as men scurried over the convoy of ships that had just come into the harbor.
Standing a few yards back, Kamina Ayato, pilot of TERRA's secret weapon RahXephon, shifted nervously on his feet. That shouldn't be too surprising, as almost everyone else was doing the same. But everyone else was worried about the unknown pilot that had been found. Now, while Ayato was worried about that, especially as Haruka was on the ship with the aforementioned pilot, he had more pressing matters to deal with.
Namely the fact that Quon had seemingly decided to glue herself to his side. Not that he had a problem with the younger Kisarigi. Hell, there were times he'd catch himself staring as she walked by. The problem was that Megumi, Haruka's temperamental younger sister, had noticed and decided to spend the last hour glaring at him, which confused him to no end. Why the hell would she be pissed off at him?
Ayato tensed up as he felt an arm wrap casually around his waist as a head of long pink hair came into his vision. Quon leaned back slightly to look at him. She seemed puzzled, but didn't say anything. Before he could ask what was wrong, he heard an angry scoff from slightly behind him. He didn't even bother to look to the source of the noise, as he already knew what, or rather who, it was.
Ayato sighed. He just didn't get women.
A shout interrupted his thoughts. He turned and saw a flash of purple. What the hell? All of a sudden Quon tensed at his side.
The 'Olin' looked down at the pink-haired girl. She had turned away from him and was staring at the convoy. At least, he thought she was. Her face was turned away from him and he couldn't make out any emotion she was feeling. Ayato turned his attention from the girl and back on the ships.
He could taste the anticipation in the air. There was another shout and the screeching groan of machinery. Then…something swung out from the center of a cruiser. 'That's a lot of purple.' Was Ayato's first thought as he saw what he could only assume was the mysterious mech that they had found on the mission.
He couldn't help but wonder what kind of fruitcake designed a mech to be purple.
Across the cosmos, Ikari Gendo sneezed.
Ayato was brought out of his musings by Quon's arms slipping from his waist. He blinked, confused. Often he had to do everything short of prying her off with a crowbar in order to get the girl off him. For her to let go…
He turned, and looked at the pink-haired enigma. Her eyes were fixated on the mech. Emotions were running rampant in her eyes, to the point where Ayato didn't have a chance at identifying them. Her breaths were coming in short pants.
"Betrayer…" She whispered. Ayato frowned. 'What?'
"Betrayer…" She hissed, her voice growing stronger and harsher.
"BETRAYER!" Quon screamed, before spinning on her heel and running off. Ayato jerked in shock, before running off behind her, trying to find out what the hell was wrong. Soon both were out of sight, leaving only a confused and fuming Shito Megumi in their wake.
"Megumi!" Came a shout. The pink-haired girl stopped trying to burn a hole through Quon's head (even though she was no longer in sight) and turned to see her older sister rushing up to greet her. They embraced for a moment, before Haruka glanced around, puzzled.
"Megumi, ah…." She started, her voice wavering slightly. Megumi resisted the temptation to roll her eyes. Only one topic made her tough-as-nails sister waver.
"He was here, but Quon wigged out and he ran after her. Dunno why." Haruka's face cleared slightly. Megumi severely repressed a sigh at how much her sister was acting like a teenage school girl with a crush. It was pathetic, really. Even though Ayato's eyes were so inviting…
Megumi cut off that thought before it could turn into one of her usual sordid fantasies about the Murian pilot.
"I'm sorry I can't stay, Megu-chan. I have to go to a debriefing. We'll catch up later, okay?" Megumi nodded.
"Sure, sure. Now get moving!" Haruka ruffled her sister's hair and ran off. Megumi shook her head ruefully while she watched her go, before freezing. A gurney was being wheeled into the base, with a boy on it. She vaguely remembered hearing that the pilot had passed out at the helm. Did that mean that the kid on the gurney was…
No, it couldn't be. He was way too young. There was no way someone would let him pilot.
Would they?
The first thing Shinji noticed was that his headache was gone. The second was the smell. It was lifeless and stale, yet familiar. It took a moment for him to place it as the antiseptic smell of a hospital. He slowly opened his eyes, wincing as they adjusted to the light.
"Another unfamiliar ceiling."
Where the hell was he? Maybe, he thought with some hope, everything that had happened inside the Angel was just a dream- a hallucination. Which meant that he'd get to see Misato-san again. A small smile spread across his face at that thought. Although it would be a pity not to be able to see that woman, Hadhiyat, again. She was ver—
Shinji's thought process broke off as someone entered the room. He turned his head, expecting to see one of his fellow pilots, Dr. Akagi, Misato, hell maybe even his father. He definitely didn't expect to see a gray-haired man in a lab-coat.
Wait, lab-coat? Did that mean this man had been treating him? But only Dr. Akagi did that. If he was back home, and this man was treating him, then…
'Oh God! Dr. Akagi's a trap!' Shinji then stopped and rewound that last thought. No way in hell was someone as fine as Dr. Akagi a trap. He sighed mentally.
Misato was right. That damnable website could rot your brain. Wait, if Dr. Akagi wasn't treating him, then did that mean that he hadn't returned home? He felt his stomach sink.
"Hello Ikari-kun. My name's Kisarigi Itsuki." Shinji smiled back as best he could, but his stomach was clenched in dread. "I suppose you're wondering what you're doing here." Shinji nodded quietly. "Well, as I'm sure you remember, you passed out on the bridge of the 'Over The Rainbow.' After that you were taken to the sick bay, but as they couldn't figure out what was wrong you got transferred to the hospital here in the base, where we diagnosed and treated you." Shinji's brow furrowed.
"A-ah…what exactly was w-wrong with me?" He stuttered out, still trying to get over the letdown of still being stranded, and truthfully more than a little disturbed by what might be happening to him.
Itsuki shrugged. "We're not entirely sure. I personally have never seen anything like it." At Shinji's pale expression, he waved a hand dismissively. "It's nothing serious. For the most part you were just physically exhausted—which is strange enough, but nothing to worry about. No, what's been puzzling us is the fact that you seem to have suffered from some form of psychosomatic trauma. We have no idea how, however."
Shinji blinked. And then blinked again. What the hell was 'psychosomatic trauma?' He remembered hearing Kensuke use that word once, but had thought the otaku had made the word up to sound smart. Again.
Seeing Shinji's confusion, Itsuki decided to elaborate. "Frankly, that term's the closest we can get to describe what's happened to your mind. Your brain seems to have…grown a cluster of neurons in the area commonly believed to be used for subconscious memory."
"Beg your pardon?" Shinji asked, rather nonplussed. Wasn't that how memory was usually formed? It wasn't until the doctor responded that Shinji realized that he had spoken out loud.
"Well, yes that's true. But it's normally a very slow process. However, in this case the development seems to have been sped up to an alarming rate." Seeing Shinji's face pale again, he tried to calm the boy with a smile. Judging by the continued look of worry on his face, Itsuki didn't do as well as he had hoped. Perhaps it was time to brush up on his bedside manner. "It's nothing serious. There was slight scarring in the tissue surrounding the new growth, but we don't think it will affect anything."
Shinji nodded for a few moments. It made sense. At least he thought it did. But what could have caused it? He voiced the question to Kisarigi, who simply shrugged.
"We're not sure. We do know that it occurred recently, though. Within the past day at least." Shinji stiffened, remembering something.
"What's necessary, Shinji-kun. There will be many battles ahead, and you will need more knowledge than you already have."
Was this what she meant? Just what had she put in his mind? Shinji shuddered as he tried not to think about how violated he felt. A cough from the pony-tailed doctor drew Shinji's attention.
"Um, looking over the results, there's something else that I was wondering about." He continued once he saw that he saw he had Shinji's attention. "There seems to be an unusual stimulation of your pain centers." Shinji briefly considered learning everything he could about biology. Then maybe he'd understand what the hell this rather effeminate doctor was trying to tell him.
"Uh, wh-what exactly do you mean?" He hoped the doctor didn't mind him asking too many questions.
"Well, in layman's terms, the pain receptors haven't been receiving stimuli from your body's nerves; yet they have been sending out signals from the center telling your body that it's in pain. Its very odd." Shinji frowned for a moment. Could he be talking about…
"Uh, I think I know what caused that." At Itsuki's interested look, Shinji elaborated. "I pilot the Evangelion through…uh…sync-synchronization, I think it's called. So I feel what it feels. Especially pain." Kisarigi's eyebrows rose at that. He started scribbling furiously on the clipboard he held. Shinji stared at him for a moment, unsure how to respond. The two stayed like that for a minute, and then the doctor ceased his feverish writing. He looked up at Shinji as if he just realized the boy was there, blinking owlishly.
"Ah, I apologize. Anyway, the other reason I came in here was to tell you that, assuming nothing comes up, you will be discharged in two days." With that he stood, bowed and left. Shinji sat there for a moment, staring at the door.
'What the hell was that?' The door had no answer. Shinji turned his attention back to the ceiling. He was definitely stuck here, then. He'd known it since the doctor introduced himself, and had been doing everything he could to avoid acknowledging it. But there was no distraction now. He was completely and utterly alone in a world not his own.
"Welcome home."
Damnit. He wanted to see her again. He wanted to see her if for no other reason than to thank her for taking in his pathetic hide. But she was gone. His sole source of comfort, the only person to actually give a damn was gone. He blinked back tears, trying to ignore the icy tightness gripping his chest.
Then, overwhelmed, he turned and buried his face in his pillow. For the first time since he arrived in Tokyo-3, for the first time since he started warring with the Angels, he broke down and cried. And a part of him couldn't help but notice bitterly that the one Angel that truly broken him hadn't even laid a finger on him.
Itsuki exited the hospital room, trying to puzzle out the mysteries the young Ikari had dropped in his lap. Complete mental connection with the mecha. How very interesting.
"Well, well, well. I never figured you to be the bedside type, Itsuki." A voice called out, breaking him from his reverie. Itsuki turned and saw Isshiki Makoto leaning against the wall next to Shinji's door. His face was twisted into its usual smug impression, but his eyes were far colder and harder than Itsuki had ever seen before.
"Is there a problem, Makoto?" The 'White Snake's' smile grew more conciliatory and comforting, though his eyes darkened.
"Not really. He needs to speak with you though. Immediately." Itsuki nodded in acknowledgment.
"Very well. I will contact him as soon as I can." He then turned and made to leave. However, Kitsurigi found that he physically couldn't as Isshiki's arm was latched onto his elbow.
"He wants to speak with you now." Itsuki glared at the other man before pulling his arm loose.
"I have a meeting with the commander. I will contact Barbem after that." As the White Snake opened his mouth to protest, the doctor cut him off. "I'm sure that he'll understand as he was the one who assigned me here." With that he turned and strode down the hall, leaving Isshiki there to stare at his back.
"Don't be too sure." The pale man mumbled before spinning on his heel and storming off, trying to think of a way to explain this to his boss.
Yakumo Souichi stopped in the middle of the hallway of the hospital. He never really liked the hospital. It was far too depressing. Death clung to everything, even the lifeless smell hanging in the air. He shivered and tried to wrest his thoughts from such macabre tangents.
Death lurking in the air around him was one thing he did NOT want to think about. Ever.
He looked at the folder in his hand. Souichi still had a hard time believing his most recent assignment.
Souichi would never be able to fully express how much that look irked him. Nor would he be able to describe his frustration with the fact that the look always worked on him.
"You tend to get people to open up to you fairly easily. If Ikari isn't a threat, he'll likely be cooperative. If he isn't, well then we'll call in the professionals." At the look of confusion on Yakumo's face, the Commander of TERRA elaborated. "I want to have him as an ally, Souichi. So I don't want to take risks by alienating him." Yakumo nodded to show his understanding.
"Is there anything else, sir?"
He sighed, and wondered for the umpteenth time whether it had been wise to tell Kunugi that he had majored in psychology before joining up with TERRA. Shaking his head ruefully, Souichi turned to the door on his left. He walked up to it and knocked gently before entering.
The first thing he noticed was the distinctly lifeless look in the boy's eyes. They were the eyes of someone almost past caring. They were the eyes of a condemned man. But what would prompt him to seem so…desolate? Souichi started when he realized that he was staring.
"Ah! I apologize. That was rude of me." No response from the boy. Souichi wasn't sure, but he hoped that a little life had flickered back into the hollow-seeming eyes. "My name is Yakumo Souichi. I'm here to, ah," he paused, hesitant. What would he tell the boy? "Well, no point in beating around the bush." He said, more to himself than anything else. "I'm here to ascertain whether you're a threat to TERRA." Beyond the glazed apathy apparent in Ikari's eyes, Souichi could see curiosity budding.
"S-sorry but, I-I turned myself in. Doesn't that prove anything?" The young pilot queried. Souichi, already deciding that honesty was the best policy, shrugged.
"Well, it does give you quite a bit of lee-way. However, there are a lot of inconsistencies in what we know, which disturbs a lot of the people in charge. So the best way to, well, clear the air I suppose, would be to tell us exactly how you wound up there." The boy peered at him and Yakumo couldn't help but mentally compare his actions with an animal's: cornered, hesitant, and cowered.
"I-it's a long story. Sorry." Souichi waved off his half-hearted protest.
"No problems. I've got plenty of time. And it'll be beneficial to you too. There'll be a lot less suspicion from everybody." He explained, to no real change from the boy. The second-in-command frowned at the lack of response. "You do want that, don't you?" He couldn't help but ask.
Shinji just shrugged listlessly, his eyes focused on his feet. Souichi gnawed on his lower lip, a bad habit he had picked up and always tried to stop. However he was too worried about the boy in front of him to notice or care. "Well, it'll be a lot easier on us too." He said, almost haltingly. He could practically feel the fragility of the boy in front of him.
Push too hard and he might shatter into a thousand pieces.
"Okay." The boy said—no, Souichi decided, he whispered. As if Ikari knew of his own fragility, and was unwilling to speak too loud, fearing that would provide the fatal push. Souichi braced himself mentally. Whatever had happened to this boy had been enough to turn him into a husk, a mockery of a man. Hearing about it would not be, in a word, pleasant.
He didn't know how right he was. After hearing Ikari Shinji's story, he had never wished to be wrong so hard before in his life.
Shinji stared at the ceiling, plagued with another bout of self-loathing. He couldn't help but notice, though, that this was different from his other moments of self-hatred.
Initially this would come after doing something exceptionally stupid; like, for example, running away after the battle with the Fourth Angel. However, once Asuka had arrived in his home—yes, it was his home, he reflected, and not just Misato's apartment. Not anymore. Home was where he wanted to be, home was where he was loved.
'Welcome home.'
Shinji turned from this painful memory and returned to his musings. He wasn't denying the pain though. He knew he missed Misato more than anything. He knew that loneliness was clawing through his chest. He just…saw no point in thinking about it. After all, he had done more than enough when…
Shinji turned from that thought with another blast of self-loathing. He didn't need to think about that particular thought just yet. After all, he hadn't worked his way up to the main grievance yet. Couldn't go out of order now, could he?
Odd. He wasn't usually this sarcastic during these bouts. Perhaps there was an advantage to…what he had done.
'So there's an advantage to breaking down and crying like a baby? Multiple times?' He thought bitterly. Then blinked as he realized that he sounded just like Asuka. He couldn't help but smile as he realized the advantage.
If he could still hear Asuka, be bothered by her complaints and goadings, when she was in an entirely different dimension, he might actually get over some of his fears. Just to shut her up.
That brought him back to his original musings. His bouts of self-loathing were remarkably few and far between, especially before coming to Tokyo-3. They had increased, yes, when he had arrived; but they had grown fewer in number as he grew acclimated to the place.
Then Asuka arrived. And Hell arrived with her. His moments of brooding then became a nightly occurrence as he lay in bed and stared past the ceiling, trying to see the cosmos and his part in it.
But this was different from all those. He felt…detached. Hell, he was actually able to think about something other than his moronic behavior that set off his self-loathing.
Speaking of which, he really should have seen something like this coming. He had felt his emotions, long locked away in the recesses of his own mind, surging to the forefront and gaining power with every syllable he uttered as he told his story to the man, Yakumo, who had come to 'interrogate' him.
Every moment he described of his life in Tokyo-3 cracked the floodgates a little more. He had done his best to skirt mentioning the purple-haired major in an attempt to prevent himself from breaking down into tears again. It worked, somewhat. He had managed to plow on through most of the story, but couldn't stop himself from remembering the times spent with her. And worse yet, he couldn't stop himself from remembering times that he should have spent time with her, yet didn't. Missed opportunities cycled through his head in a depressing tandem.
Yakumo-san would interrupt occasionally with a question or a clarification. But the questions never distracted him from the memories that ran like a railway train out of control through his mind. He had managed to retell his entire experience in Tokyo-3, with some slight editing in Shinji's attempt to avoid thinking about Misato, and reached the point where he arrived in this bizarre world. He had refrained from mentioning his 'visit' with the Evangelion unit, fearing that they'd think him crazy and lock him up.
Unfortunately at that point his self control had shattered and he had broken down in tears, right in front of Souichi.
'Pathetic.'
He had not cried in years before coming to Tokyo-3. Hell, he had not broken down even while he was in the seemingly Angel-infested city. But now he had turned into a blubbering wreck twice in a single day. He could practically hear Asuka's sneer in his mind.
Was he really so useless?
The answer was a resounding yes.
One of the few advantages that had come from his talk with Souichi was that it had given him something he desperately lacked: perspective. The entire time he had been living in Tokyo-3 he had avoided thinking about the long-term, about his purpose, about what he had done and why. All he had done was exist, drifting through his life. It was understandable, natural even. He had done so to stay sane, to keep his depression from swallowing him whole.
No. That wasn't all of it.
"You choose to obsess over what everyone thinks about you."
Shinji shivered as those words cut through him again. But things were different now. He could see, looking back on what he had done, the foolishness of his actions. He had walked through the world blind. And this was the result.
He had been spirited away; never to return. His stomach clenched as he thought that. Never to return. Never to see…
Shinji blinked away tears that were forming again. He took a deep steadying breath.
No more. No more crying, no more walking blindly through life, no more. He was going to find a way back to Misato, even if it killed him. And he was going to learn to fight—really fight, not this pathetic aping he had been doing.
Shinji blinked as he noticed something. It was probably the reason why his brooding had changed as well.
He felt alive.
Before, during his time in Tokyo-3 he hadn't cared about his life. He just drifted. Hell, he wouldn't have given a shit if he had died. But now things had changed. Now he wanted to win. He wanted to get back to Tokyo-3, kill the Angels, grind their bones into dust and dance upon their skulls. He wanted to go to Misato and kiss her till her toes curled, like he always heard about in romance novels when he overheard Asuka reading them to herself in her room.
He wanted to live.
But he had to find a way back first. He'd definitely need help, as he wasn't entirely sure how he arrived in this world in the first place. He knew that the Angel had done it, but he didn't know how.
The door opened, breaking Shinji from his thoughts. A nurse walked in and started checking the various monitors and instruments strewn across his room. After a few moments she turned to him with a smile in place.
"Is there anything I can do for you, Ikari-san?" Shinji blinked.
"Actually, there is something."
Elvy faced off against a sight that would crush a weaker soldier.
Kunugi stared back at her impassively as she recounted what had occurred during the most recent mission.
"After several minutes of evading the D-1s, Ikari-san interposed himself within the fight and destroyed two of the D-1s. I was then able to dispatch the third. Afterward I ascertained that Ikari-san was of no threat to TERRA, and inquired whether or not he would be willing to surrender to TERRA. He complied and I brought him to the convoy where he passed out on the bridge." She finished calmly, staring at the blank mask that was the face of her boss.
"Pilot Hadhiyat. What do you know of Ikari's intentions?" Elvy blinked.
"Sir?" Kunugi frowned slightly.
"Do you or do you not know of Ikari's alliances in this conflict?"
"All I know, sir, is that he was ignorant of both sides at the beginning of the fight." She couldn't help but feel a spark of irritation as she saw the room tense up. Had they forgotten that he willingly surrendered? "However, he was actively fighting the D-1s the entire time. From what I understand, they opened fire upon him and he engaged in battle with them. However, beyond that I don't know."
Kunugi nodded. The door opened briefly and Yakumo Souichi slipped inside, a folder clenched in his hand.
"Yakumo-san. Do you have the report?" Kunugi addressed the younger man. He nodded slightly, and strode to the front of the room next to Elvy. The pilot herself turned and wordlessly took a seat.
"Ikari-san was rather cooperative, though what he told me is somewhat hard to believe. Although I can't think of anything else that would explain some of what we've seen." The lieutenant's brows narrowed as he leaned forward in interest.
"Like what things?" Souichi simply shrugged
"His unit, for instance. From what he told me, it's a form of bio-mechanical weapon. Alt—" His voice was cut off as a stunned murmur ran through the crowd. In the back of the room, Doctor Kisarigi jerked to attention.
"Bio-mechanical, did you say?" Yakumo nodded. Kisarigi settled back in his chair slightly. "Well, that certainly explains it." He murmured to himself. Kunugi frowned.
"Care to share with the rest of us, doctor?" Kisarigi blinked, clearly not having realized that he spoke aloud. Once that fact sank in, the doctor's face lit up in a bright blush.
"Ah, Ikari happened to mention to me that he controls the…mecha through 'synchronization,' I believe he called it. As far as I can tell, it's similar to how Kamina-kun controls the RahXephon." More murmurs swept through the group. "However, after reviewing our scans of Kamina-kun and comparing them to the one we took of Ikari during his convalescence, the only conclusion I can come to is that the…uh, 'synchronization' is heads and tails beyond Kamina's method of bonding with the RahXephon. What that implies, I'm not sure, but…" He trailed off before shrugging.
One of the higher-ups leaned forward, frowning.
"Are you implying, doctor, that this…'Evangelion' is tactically superior to the RahXephon?" The man was staring at Kisarigi, expecting an answer from him. However, Yakumo spoke up first.
"Hardly sir. The impression I got from the interview I had with him was that this 'synching' is more detrimental than anything else." At the officer's raised brow, Souichi elaborated. "Shi—Ikari mentioned that the higher 'sync rate' merely allowed him to feel exactly what his unit felt, especially injuries." Another murmur began, but was silenced as Kunugi leaned forward.
"As interesting as this is, we have more important matters to attend to. Your evaluation, Yakumo-san?" Souichi shifted uncomfortably. He really didn't like doing this, especially after seeing the kid have a nervous breakdown right in front of him.
"Ikari-kun…he seems—" He cut himself off with a sigh, before starting again. "Sir, Ikari is, for all intents and purposes, an untrained civilian." The murmurs simmering around the room exploded into a bonfire of shouts. It took Kunugi shouting to regain a sense of order. Even then the looks on many faces were disbelieving, untrusting, and mutinous. Kunugi looked to Souichi to continue. "Like I said, he's an untrained civilian. Therefore he was never ready for the pressures put on him. He," Souichi stopped again, searching for the right word.
"He is in a fragile state of mind right now. If he were to be forced into combat as he is currently, I'd rather not consider what would happen to him." Kunugi nodded his understanding. Another one of the officers leaned forward.
"Yakumo-san, I apologize for my bluntness, but I believe that we are overlooking something critical. Just where did he come from?" Yakumo found himself at the center of attention. Every whisper had gone quiet, every eye was upon him. Souichi sighed. This was going to be…interesting.
"Taking into account everything he told me, and from what we learned from a brief examination of the mech, we can only assume…" He took a breath and braced himself. "We can only assume that he is, in fact, from another dimension."
Total silence. There wasn't even a whisper. They stared at him, and he stared back at them. Finally the silence was broken by one of the officers, in the form of a booming laugh.
"Very good, Yakumo-san. Highly amusing. But perhaps you could tell us where he is actually from?" A blank-faced stare was the only response he received. "You…can't be serious?" There was no crack in his facial expression. "This is ridiculous!"
"Not as much as you might think, sir." Kisarigi's voice piped up over the general's protests. "First off, we have long postulated that the Murians arrived from a different dimension. Is it so hard to accept that this boy could not come from a different dimension as well?" The officer seemed thrown for a moment, before gathering himself.
"The Murians, I can believe. What we've seen of their technology supports this, and, frankly there's no other explanation for their existence. But one lost boy is rather hard to swallow."
"What about his mech?" Souichi piped up. "As far as I know, there's been no advancements in recent history that would lead to the ability to construct such a thing." The officer shrugged.
"So he's a Murian." This time Kunugi shook his head.
"No. The mech is nothing at all like any Murian technology we've found or encountered."
"So what, he just waltzed in from a different dimension?"
"No." Hadhiyat cut in. "He mentioned that he arrived there by accident."
"That's right." Souichi agreed. "Evidentially his government was dealing with some form of…well, I guess alien menace." There were a few skeptical coughs, to which he glared back. "As if trans-dimensional invaders sound any more likely." He chided them. "He was attacked, and…sent here." Kunugi nodded.
"That actually makes sense." He blinked when he realized that almost every pair of eyes had fixated on him with disbelieving stares. "We picked up a strange energy signal around the time that Ikari would have arrived. We were actually able to pick it up through the Jupiter system, as a matter of fact." All the eyes were still fixated on him, Kunugi noted absently, but this time they were all stunned. "So the theory of his origins seems likely, but it will be taken only as a theory until such time that we can confirm it."
The tone of his voice made it clear that the matter was closed. "Shito-san!" He barked out. The individual in question blinked and jerked to attention.
"Sir?"
"Front and center." She stood up and walked to the front of the room, confusion etched on her face. "Shito-san, I was under the impression that your orders were to take Ikari straight to the brig?" Haruka blinked for a second, then blushed.
"I know, sir. And I would have, but seeing Ikari convinced me otherwise." Kunugi arched a brow.
"Oh really? And exactly what 'convinced' you?" The sarcasm was dripping from his words.
"I had heard some of the rumors going around the ship, all of which were ridiculous. Some of them were dangerous. Truthfully, I was worried that a panic might break out on the ship. So I decided to show Ikari to the helm before taking him to the brig." Kunugi seemed unconvinced.
"And just what would Ikari's presence at the helm 'show'?" Haruka was tempted to merely shrug, but resisted.
"The majority of the rumors were banking on the theory that Ikari was a large brute of a man, one trained and skilled in killing." A sheepish expression flashed across her face before being replaced with a blank look. "I admit that I was one of them. And if it were true, if there were any problems he could easily handle himself. However, upon meeting him, I realized that if anything were to happen, he would be easily overwhelmed. So, for his safety as well as the peace of mind of the crew, I brought him to the helm." Kunugi sighed wearily.
"Shito-san, I agree with your decision. However, the fact remains that you acted against orders. I doubt that I need to remind you that we are a military institution, and therefore cannot afford any insubordination. Therefore you will be suspended for two weeks prior to a hearing. Understood?" Shito stood there for a moment, looking like her head had just been rudely introduced to a two-by-four before shaking herself slightly and nodding her assent.
"Very well." Kunugi's dark eyes swung over the crowd. "And I want to take this time to remind you all that if you have issues with your orders, that you take them up with your superiors, not take the matter into your own hands. Is that clear?" There was a chorus of nods. "Good. Dismissed!"
'Damnit. Why is it that I can never find her when I want to talk to her?' Haruka mused to herself irritably as she wandered along the halls after the meeting. She had really wanted to talk to her Indonesian friend ever since the whole incident with Ikari on the helm. But no matter how hard she tried, the other woman couldn't be found!
She ran her fingers through her short-cropped hair in frustration and strode down another side-hallway.
Nothing.
She groaned quietly. Just where did Elvy disappear off too? She wandered back to the main hallway and had a stroke of luck.
Cathy McMahon, a busty blonde and Elvy's fellow pilot, was standing in the hallway as well, looking as lost as Haruka felt. Shito rushed over to her, privately regretting not getting to know the other woman simply because it would make this a whole lot easier.
It wasn't that she didn't like the other woman. It was just…there was never any reason for her to befriend the blonde pilot.
"Cathy-san?" The blonde, who had her back turned, glanced at her and blinked in surprise.
"Haruka! What's up?" The dark-haired woman let the gaijin's poor manners roll off her, having spent far too much time with Elvy to even blink at it. Hell, she'd probably picked up some of Elvy's…what was the polite word? Lack of tact. She shook her head mentally, driving the thoughts swimming up in her head as irrelevant.
"I'm looking for Elvy. Seen her?" She sighed in repressed frustration as the blonde shook her head in the negative.
"Been looking for her since the meeting ended." Cathy shrugged helplessly. "Haven't got a clue where she is." Haruka nodded in commiseration.
"Yeah, same here." A slight pause. "Want to look for her together?" Cathy looked askance at her for a moment, clearly not expecting the suggestion. Then she shrugged again.
"Why not. Alright, where do you think she might be?" Haruka tapped her finger to her chin, pondering.
"Well…it is rather close to lunch, and I know that Elvy hates the food they serve on the battleships as much as I do, so she'll probably be hungry. So I say we head over to the cafeteria, and work our way from there."
"Works for me."
'Should I ask her?' Haruka wondered quietly. 'She knows a lot more about Elvy than I probably ever will.' She reasoned. 'But still. It's not like I can just ask her personal questions about a mutual friend—no matter how badly I want to.' Her resolve set, she proceeded down the hallway alongside Cathy.
Her resolve lasted all of five seconds.
'Well, if I do it subtly, she'll never realize it, right? Right.'
"Hey, Cathy-san…" She started out hesitantly. 'Screw it, just go honest.' "I was wondering about something that happened during the mission. Do you mind if I ask you?"
"Umm…" The blonde looked at her uncertainly. "I'm not really sure how I could help, but fire away."
"When I took Ikari to the bridge, Elvy…I dunno, freaked out? I mean, she was just staring at him until he passed out." Cathy blinked in surprise.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean she froze and just stood there, staring at him. He even tried to start conversation with her, and she kept staring." The blonde frowned thoughtfully.
"Uhh…I'm not—wait, how did she and Ikari meet?" At Haruka's confused look she elaborated. "I mean, what happened when the two met on the battlefield?"
"Oh. I'm not entirely sure, but I think that Elvy was pinned down by a D-1, which Ikari eliminated."
"Pinned down? Exactly how 'pinned down' was she?" Haruka paused to think about it for a moment.
"I'm pretty sure that if Ikari didn't step in when he did, Elvy wouldn't be here right now." She shuddered unconsciously at the thought of having lost one of her closest friends. "Hey, what's wrong?" Cathy had come to a full stop, and was rubbing her face with her hand. She sighed and looked at Haruka.
"I think I know the reason why she did that, and no, I'm not telling you what I think it is." She told the other woman, firing off the last part of the statement as she saw Haruka start to open her mouth. "Because if I'm right, this is something Elvy wouldn't want anybody to know about." Haruka looked at her for a long moment before nodding her assent. 'Well, I really didn't expect her to spill anything.' "And if I'm right, she won't be anywhere near the cafeteria."
That took Haruka by surprise.
"Then where would she be?"
"The hospital."
Elvy stared at her opponent. Her opponent stared back at her.
Elvy kept staring, refusing to blink.
She had to beat this bastard and then…then what? Her stomach churned. What the hell was she supposed to do?
Her eyes narrowed. Had her opponent just taunted her?
The doorknob sat there innocently, as if it didn't know what she was talking about.
She sighed. Why the hell was it so damn hard to just walk through the damn door? She glanced at the name labeled on the clipboard hanging on the wall outside the door.
"Ikari Shinji."
Oh yeah, that was why. Because she had stood there staring at Ikari the last time she saw him. Granted, she was shocked that he was so young, but what she had done was completely inexcusable. Elvy didn't even remember blinking as she gaped at him.
She blushed in embarrassment as she thought about the atrocious way she had acted. And then blushed further as she remembered the way that suit…thing clung to his body, glistening with that golden…
'Oh, HELL no. I did not just think that.' Unfortunately, there was no way that she could lie to herself about that. She had just had lustful thoughts about a fourteen year old boy. She groaned quietly. 'Shit. Cathy was right. Staying a virgin can drive you crazy.' She then shook herself, trying to cast off those thoughts.
'I am not some freaky shotacon who gets her kicks with little boys. I am not Haruka.' After repeating this thought to herself for several minutes, she decided on her course of action. She'd walk in there, apologize for her rudeness, and then leave. As simple as that. Now all she had to do was enter the room.
Elvy stared at the doorknob.
The doorknob stared back at her.
Oh hell.
"Elvy!" It took every ounce of self control to keep herself from leaping half-way to the ceiling. Even then the Indonesian woman jerked violently. She turned, feeling oddly like the child with her hand caught in the cookie jar.
"Cathy! Haruka! What are you two doing here?" She inquired distractedly. She wiped her surprisingly sweaty palms on her corduroys.
"Just looking for you. Where were you off to?" Elvy's guts squirmed. She quickly cast her mind around for a plausible explanation for her presence without sounding like Haruka whenever Ayato was close.
"Eh, just wandering around." She normally wouldn't care, but if Haruka ever suspected that she might be interested in Shinji as more than a friend, the major would never live it down. And Elvy wouldn't blame her if she didn't. After all, she had given her friend quite a bit of flack for being a cradle robber.
But that did not mean she was willing to give out free shots to settle the score.
"Okay…" Haruka trailed off. "You doing anything now? I mean, you're not busy right?" Elvy blinked slightly at the question.
"No…not really. Why?" Haruka shrugged.
"I was planning to hit the bars to celebrate my two week 'vacation' and I wanted to know whether or not you wanted to come along?" Elvy glanced discreetly at the door one last time. Yes, she wanted to apologize to Ikari. But getting roarin' drunk sounded awfully good right then and there.
"Sure. Not like I've got anything else to do right now." Haruka beamed.
"Great! Hey Cathy, you want to come too?" The blonde blinked at the unexpected question, before declining.
"No, I'm fine. Oh, hey Elvy! Can I talk to you for a minute?" The Indonesian pilot nodded, and Cathy led her a short distance away from the other woman. Once they were out of earshot, the blonde turned to her friend. "Look, I don't know what you've got planned—and I really don't care what—but I want you to make sure you think things through."
"Huh?" Came Elvy's intelligent response.
"Things aren't always like in the books, okay?" Elvy's expression was the textbook definition of bewilderment.
"Wha…?" The bewilderment was beginning to fade, to be replaced with irritation.
"Look, just be careful, alright?"
"What the hell're you talking about?" Elvy hissed back, clearly frustrated. Cathy shot her a look, before slowly shifting her gaze to the door to Ikari's room. When she looked back at Elvy, the Indonesian woman had gone remarkably pale.
"Just think before you act, okay?" The blonde muttered under her breath. Then she brightened. "Oh yeah, I just remembered! The Squad's getting' moved to the same bunker. Here's the key to your new room." She handed the afore-mentioned key to the still-pale pilot. "See ya, Haruka!" She called out to Shito, before walking down the hall.
Upon entering his apartment, Itsuki was presented with a rather odd image. He knew that Quon had set her sights on Ayato, and truthfully fully expected to walk in one day and find the two of them on her bed.
However, he hadn't expected to find Kamina staring, bewildered, at the bundled and twitching form of his sister lying on her bed.
He stopped, put down his briefcase, took off his glasses, and rubbed his eyes thoroughly. When he looked back, there was no change. He sighed in disappointment, which drew Ayato's attention.
"Itsuki-san!" The relief was visible on his face. "Thank god! I've no clue what happened—she just freaked out and ran over here!" Itsuki frowned as he looked over at his adoptive sister once more.
"What happened? And when did it happen?" Ayato shrugged helplessly.
"I'm not sure when, but we were at the docks waiting to greet everybody on the ship she just saw something, started screaming about a 'betrayer' then ran off." Ayato rambled, trying to tell the doctor everything that had occurred. Itsuki nodded attentively before putting his arm around the young man's shoulders, and—after thanking Kamina for his help and concern and assuring him that Quon would be fine—ushered him out.
The doctor was at Quon's side before the door had swung fully shut. He reached out and checked her pulse, trying to see what was wrong with her. He frowned a second later.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with her.
Well, physically at least. Then he heard her whispering.
"Betrayer…betrayer…betrayer…" Itsuki's frown deepened. That was what Ayato had told him she was saying when she ran off. Why was she still saying it? He saw her shiver and worry took hold in his gut.
She was afraid. Quon was afraid. That made absolutely no sense—she was never afraid.
He leaned over and kissed his adopted sister on the forehead, hoping it might ease her fears—if only slightly. Then he sighed and stood up. He couldn't help her right now, and there were more pressing matters to deal with.
It was time to contact Barbem.
He walked out of the room into his private study, and opened his laptop. His fingers dashed across the keyboard, opening files, starting programs, and making connections. A moment later the screen went blank. Then numbers began scrolling across the black LCD screen.
Then the screen flickered several times before an aged visage appeared. Ernst Von Barbem frowned at the young scientist.
"Doctor, before we begin, I want to make something completely clear. I am the reason that you are stationed there. I am the reason that the Original is stationed with you. Hell, doctor, I am the reason that you are drawing breath! So if I request a meeting with you, then I want to drop everything and come here. Do you understand?" He practically shouted.
Itsuki didn't know what to say. Count Ernst von Barbem, the leader of the Barbem foundation and his boss, was well-known for his legendary control of his emotions. Hell, the doctor himself had been witness to it numerous times. Yet to see him this close to going out of control…
Just what the hell had happened?
"And if you don't, there will be consequences. Do you understand?" Kisaragi jerked out of his musings and nodded sharply in agreement. "Now then, I understand that TERRA has acquired a new pilot." Itsuki frowned, both from the fact that Barbem seemed to know the inner workings of TERRA and the scornful tone that the old man had taken.
"I'm not sure if 'pilot' is the correct term, sir." He elaborated quickly upon seeing Barbem's frown. "The pilot of the mech we found is…mentally unstable, and currently unfit for battle." The old man sat up in his seat.
"What?...Describe everything you can about this pilot. Now." Barbem commanded. Itsuki sighed quietly, before leaning over and seizing the notes he had taken during the debriefing and shifting into a more comfortable position. This just might take a while.
Barbem ran his hand over his forehead, swearing under his breath. This was not good.
"Listen to me, Kisaragi. You must keep this… 'Evangelion' from coming into use. Do you understand? It must not be included in the battle. Do whatever it takes to keep it from the battlefield." Itsuki nodded and reached over to deactivate the link. "Doctor." Itsuki glanced up at the old man. "Whatever it takes."
The gray-haired doctor nodded and broke the link. He then leaned back in his chair, and stared at the ceiling. How the hell was he supposed to sabotage a mech?
Shinji leaned back and sighed. A thick textbook lay open on his thighs, the symbols and mathematical equations glaring up at him mockingly. 'Maybe I jumped the gun a bit.' He glanced back down at his lap and the mocking mathematical riddles that lay jumbled in his lap.
He definitely jumped the gun.
Studying college-level quantum physics books was probably not the best way to find a way home. Hell, he didn't even know whether or not quantum physics had anything to do with how he had gotten to this place. Damn Kensuke and his blasted otaku theories.
He closed the book with a sigh, pushing it aside and out of his mind. He'd probably have to start from the beginning. The EVA pilot groaned. 'This is going to suck.'
He didn't have any other choice, though. He paused, eyes sliding over the ceiling subconsciously. No, that wasn't right. There were other choices. He could stay here. Hell, he could try to live a normal life.
It was actually pretty tempting, now that he thought about it. No more worrying about EVA, no Angels. Just him.
"Welcome home."
Shinji clenched his eyes. No, they weren't options. Not really. They were just distractions. He eyed the physics books lying on his bed. Almost hesitantly, he reached out and grabbed hold of it again. Maybe if he started at an earlier chapter?
The door swung open, and Shinji jerked in surprise. The nurse, who had brought him the books in the first place, flashed him a quick smile when she saw him with the text wide open on his lap.
"I take it the books are a help?" Shinji blushed slightly and nodded, keeping his eyes downcast. The nurse had been rather nice up until now, and he didn't want to irritate her by gawking.
"Uh, yes." He muttered. He missed the odd look that came over her face. Then she shrugged and walked over to the monitors by the bed, jotting down a few notes on what she observed there. Shinji eyed the book momentarily, trying to consider whether or not he was going about this the wrong way.
It might take years for him to find a way home on his own. Years. And he wanted to get back as soon as possible. So what the hell should he do? An idea flickered in the back of his mind. It wasn't well-formed or planned out. But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.
TERRA was, from what he had heard, the leader of the battle against the Murians, much like NERV was the head of the Angel War. And if TERRA was anything like NERV, they would have they best of everything. Like scientists. Like scientists that could help get him home.
But why would they help him? He was just some pathetic little boy.
He was a pathetic little boy that could pilot a hundred-plus foot creation of doom and destruction, and they were in the middle of a war.
Before he could lose his nerve, he turned to the nurse.
"Um, excuse me?" The nurse jumped slightly, before bringing her attention to the boy. His palms were sweaty and his mouth dry. What the hell was he thinking, trying to talk to the nurse about this? Like she didn't have anything better to do. Part of him, the part that had spurred him to talk to her in the first place, however figured it was too late to bail out without looking completely stupid. He might as well carry through. "You report directly back to the commander of TERRA, right?"
The nurse shot him a curious look, clearly wondering where he was going with this, before nodding slightly. "Could you d-do me a favor? Could you…could you tell him I'd like to talk to him whenever he has the time?" Shinji asked, stuttering slightly from nerves. The nurse blinked slightly and the EVA pilot dropped his eyes to the floor, blushing. 'Stupid stupid stup—'
"Sure thing." Shinji's head jerked up, and he looked at her in surprise. She smiled slightly at him. "I'll pass it along." Her smile faded slightly, replaced with a sterner look. "Now you lie down and get some sleep." Shinji nodded slightly in agreement, before lying down. The nurse walked to the door, before pausing and glancing back at him with a slight smile.
"Night." With that, she flipped the light-switch, plunging the pilot into the darkness.
Haruka spat the toothpaste out into the sink, and rolled her shoulders to get some of the tension out. If Megumi knew that she had gone drinking on a Wednesday, she'd never hear the end of it. And that was if she didn't explain why she felt the need to drink on a Wednesday with work the next day.
Of course, Megumi'd probably still go ballistic if she learned that Haruka had been suspended for two weeks. The older woman briefly toyed with the thought of not mentioning the suspension at all, but quickly discarded it.
The dark-haired woman briefly lamented not being able to pry any juicy gossip out of Elvy about the young EVA pilot. The Indonesian woman was her usual chatty self about everything after a beer or two. But whenever Haruka tried to steer the conversation towards Ikari, she'd clam up tight. Athough…maybe she shouldn't have suggested founding a 'Cradle-Robbers Anonymous' group.
With that thought, the door swung open with a bang. A resounding yell rang through the house.
"Damnit, that bitch pisses me off!" Haruka rolled her eyes. Megumi was a sweet girl, really. The only problem was that she could work up a towering temper when she wanted to. Like right now, for instance.
Haruka walked from the bathroom to the kitchen, and started pulling out ingredients for a late-night snack. Seconds later Megumi stormed in and threw open the kitchen door. Haruka, well-versed in Megumi-tantrums, was already pulling out the chocolate syrup and a glass. Megumi straightened up, holding a milk carton, and kicked closed the refrigerator door. She set the carton down on the counter, took the glass and poured out half the carton into it. The pink-haired girl then snatched the bottle of chocolate syrup and dumped a liberal amount of it into the glass of milk.
Haruka waited until she had taken a swig of the concoction before asking the inevitable question.
"So who's pissing you off?"
"Quon." The girl pouted. "The octopus-girl was all over Ayato. It was disgusting. She latched onto him three days ago, and probably still hasn't let him go." She took another swig of the drink. "And of course, nobody says a thing because she's the oh-so-lovely Quon." She set down the glass and started pacing, running her fingers through her hair.
"It just drives me crazy how everybody just lets her do whatever the hell she wants! She's not part of the war, she's not part of TERRA. So why the hell is she there?!" Megumi paused before whirling on her older sister. "Haruka! You could say something, right?"
Haruka blanched slightly. She was planning on telling Megumi, but she was hoping that the girl would have had more time to cool off.
"Ah…" Megumi saw Haruka's hesitancy and naturally took it the wrong way.
"Oh, come on! Don't tell me that you like her too!" Haruka blinked in surprise.
"No…it's just that...I'm suspended."
"Oh, well that's oka—wait, what?!"
"Okay, let me get this straight." Megumi started, pacing along the counter. "You hear all these rumors; go get Ikari; see he's a shrimp—am I getting everything so far?" Haruka hid a smile and nodded. She knew she shouldn't be amused, but it just was too funny. It was like…like…watching Napoleon trying to talk down a giant. It shouldn't be funny, but it is. "So you see he's a shrimp; figure if anything goes down and Ikari gets blamed for it, there'll be big trouble; bring him to the helm to get rid of the rumors; he passes out; and you get busted for going against orders?"
Haruka nodded wordlessly. "That's bullshit!" The older of the two shrugged, as if to say 'what can you do?' before finishing making her snack and walking off. Megumi, on the other hand, was still sitting there fuming.
There were two people at fault, in Megumi's mind. Commander Kunugi and this…Ikari. Both of them deserved a good reaming out, in her opinion. She couldn't yell at Kunugi, though. He was her boss, after all—the big meanie. But Ikari…Ikari's ass was going to be her's.
A sinister smile spread across her lips. With a skip in her step, she strode back to her room, waving calmly as she passed Kamina, who was bracing himself for an explosion from the pink-haired girl. When he realized what had just happened wasn't a delusion, he slumped against the door-frame in relief. He frowned as he realized something.
'
Nanamori never really liked being in Kunugi's office. It felt hollow to her, somehow. Like a bitter-sweet echo. And it always managed to remind her of the enormous distance between herself and Itsuki.
"So, in conclusion, I would expect Ikari to be released sometime tomorrow." But those feelings never kept her from completing her job. Kunugi nodded. Nanamori briefly wondered exactly how he managed to make that single gesture a clear gesture of dismissal, before moving onto what Ikari had requested.
"Uh, sir?" Kunugi glanced up at her from the report he had been perusing. "Ikari wished for me to pass along a desire to meet the 'Commander of TERRA.'" Kunugi was silent for a moment, before Nanamori heard him mumbling something. Then he looked up at her.
"Very well. Tell him to come to my office at 10 o'clock sharp." She nodded and left the room.
There was truly nothing better than a bottle of beer, in Elvy's opinion. Except for maybe two bottles of beer. She tilted her head to the side, considering the matter further.
Though she decided to call that one a tie when she walked into a wall. She peered at it blearily.
"Damn bastard walls jumpin' out at me." She mumbled under her breath, before continuing her walk. Soon she reached her destination and glanced up and down the hospital hallway. Kinda disappointing security, really. Then she shook herself. After all, who the hell was she to complain? If it was any better, she wouldn't be here right now.
Then she turned and glared at her one-time opponent. This time the doorknob merely sat there meekly. Elvy grinned. 'Finally give in, huh?' She reached out and turned it easily. Her grin grew wider.
She walked to the bed, and stared at its sleeping occupant. She really…didn't know why she was here. It sounded like a good idea at the time, but now she wasn't too sure. Hell, she didn't know what to think about Ikari period.
He seemed like a sweet kid, really. He was pretty cute when he blushed, too. She frowned. She shouldn't think like that. She couldn't think why, though.
Just what was he to her? A knight in…purple armor? No, that wasn't right. And not even because of the fact that no self-respecting knight would wear purple armor. So what was he? According to Yakumo he was an untrained kid stuck in a war-zone. But that couldn't be. No one would be stupid enough to throw a kid, especially a civvie kid, into combat.
And he didn't move like a civilian. At least not in that purple monster, he didn't. She really didn't see much of him once he got out of it, so she couldn't say.
So what was he? Her rescuer?
Ikari started tossing and turning, clearly in the throes of a nightmare. Elvy bit her lip. Should she help him? Part of her said no, that she was intruding already, that she should get the hell out of there. But another part, the part fueled by all the alcohol she consumed, screamed to take him, comfort him.
"No." He murmured under his breath. "No! Misato!" Misato. Someone he knew already. A girl he knew already, to be specific. Understandable really. He had to have had friends back from wherever the hell he was from. Perfectly natural.
Then why the hell did it feel like a punch to the gut, hearing him calling out her name?
Taking a shaky breath, Elvy stood and walked out the door.
Shinji had faced off against monsters. He drove with Misato almost daily. He had risked his life more times than he could count. So he found himself slightly baffled as to why he found the commander, Kunugi, so terrifying.
'Probably because he's my only hope of getting home.'
"Ikari-san, I was informed that you wished to see me?" Kunugi inquired, seated behind his desk. Shinji said a quiet prayer of thanks that Kunugi wasn't sitting like his father. The EVA pilot probably wouldn't be able to handle it if he was.
"Y-yes sir. I would like to join TERRA as the pilot of the Evangelion." The silence that followed that statement was deafening. Shinji immediately began worrying that he had said too much.
"Beg pardon?" Kunugi asked neutrally. Shinji fought back the sigh of relief that was trying to leave him. At least the commander wasn't rejecting it outright.
"I'd like to join the war-effort against the Murians as the pilot of EVA."
"Why?" This question he was prepared for.
"I have battle experience. My unit is already constructed and ready to go, with minimal alterations—so there's no major draw on resources. And I was thinking…" God, this was so easy to plan out when he wasn't staring down the most influential man on the base. The recently-rediscovered impulsive side of him decided he had already stuck his neck out, might as well see if it would get cut off. Besides, he couldn't be as bad as his father.
"…I was thinking that you could help me if I help you." Kunugi seemed to stiffen somewhat. Fortunately he seemed more surprised and bemused than angered.
"Beg pardon?" Shinji shrugged slightly.
"I h-help you guys, you help me." Kunugi cocked his head slightly, as if mentally weighing the pilot.
"How exactly could we help you?" The weighing look had not ended. If anything, it had increased. Shinji felt like he was on trial, that his very soul was being examined. It took every ounce of his will to not turn and run. He took a deep breath and did his best to look the commander in the eye. He lasted ten seconds before breaking eye contact.
"I-I'd like to go home, sir." Kunugi didn't respond for a second. Then Shinji found himself on the receiving end of another of Kunugi's weighing glances. After what felt like an eternity, the commander spoke again.
"Truthfully, Ikari-san, I'd be honored to have you as a member of TERRA. But you must understand something before I accept you." Shinji felt his stomach drop. Had he gone too far? Had he demanded too much? "While I, and the majority of TERRA, would love to send you back to wherever you came from, the fact of the matter is that we are at war right now. That means we cannot afford to work on something that will not have a direct correlation to the war effort. So we will not be able to send you back until the war is over, and I cannot say with certainty when that will be."
Shinji didn't know what to think. On one hand, there was the fact that they would work on sending him home. But on the other hand, it could take years before they would even start working on it. His mouth was dry, and his legs rubbery. He took a deep breath before squaring his shoulders and looking the man in the eye.
"I understand, sir." A small smile quirked the man's lips.
"That's good to hear. The secretary has the keys to your new residence. She'll tell you where it is." Shinji nodded and turned to leave. "Oh, one more thing. Be here at 0800 hours tomorrow."
"Understood, sir."
Shinji glanced around his new accommodations. The only thing that stood out to him was the fact that nothing stood out. It was all very…bland. Although that wouldn't be surprising, considering that he was now living in the military barracks.
He briefly wondered whether the apartment his father originally intended for him to live in were anything like this.
The EVA pilot dragged those thoughts to a halt. 'Thinking about that won't do me any good. I can't focus on the past. Gotta look forward.' He tossed his keys on the desk at the far end of the room, and lay down on the cot.
'Another unfamiliar ceiling.' Was his last thought before he drifted off to sleep.
A/N: Sorry for the long wait, folks. Let's just say I've been ridiculously busy recently, and leave it at that.
And as for all those waiting with baited breath for more Kunoichi Returned…you're gonna be waiting for a while longer. It's gone the way of the dinosaurs.
Comments? Criticisms?