Episode 40: Weaving A Story: Retelling / The Price of Failure
Excerpted from the personal notes of Touji
Suzuhara, the Fourth Child:
Reference event: 18th Angel.
I'm scared.
No, really. Mari can't see what's wrong
with this...miracle. I guess it's a miracle; I don't need the prosthetics
anymore. What with...myself being...healed. I guess.
I'm still not sure.
I know I haven't written anything for quite
a while. When I wasn't in hospital, I was too caught up in the moving
preparations and unpacking afterward. It all seems so stupid, now,
since I just got back to Tokyo-3 this week from the new house. NERV
says they'll help Dad move our stuff back to our old home.
Mari's all excited, I don't blame her.
She has friends she hasn't seen in ages, and she says she can't wait to
see them again. I suppose I kinda missed Shinji and Kensuke, too,
while I was gone.
I saw Shinji in the change rooms yesterday.
He seemed real scared of me, like I was going to kill him or something.
Again, I can't blame him. He couldn't have known it was me in there
anyway, and I can't imagine him going berserk like that, either.
He's always so calm. Just goes to show what a nice guy he is.
He started apologizing, too, like it was all his fault.
I'd better say it now, before I get sidetracked.
Yes, I'm an Eva pilot...again. I'm still the Fourth Child, no matter
how many times I want to tell myself to wake up and realize I'm just Touji
Suzuhara.
The bastards called me at the other house
last week, told me I had to come back. Never gave me a choice, just
straight out of the blue. I was on the phone for hours, trying to
make sure Mari could come with me. Didn't really want to leave her
behind again.
I've been at NERV at lot, recently.
Training.
Piloting Unit-14's a lot easier than it looks.
It's like it can read your mind, and always does what you want it to.
Dr. Masaharu tells me that's because I have a pretty good 'synch ratio'
or something. Whatever that means.
Control is still a little difficult.
I can't really make it move as quickly as they'd like me too, but it's
not like I'm not trying. After a couple of tries, using the assault
rifle -- I think that's what it is, Kensuke once tried to explain it to
me -- was pretty easy, and I've just learned to use the...knife.
I've got a 'harmonics test' tomorrow, for
some reason. They told me it's just a routine checkup, that demon-girl
has to be there, too. How many tests can they do? I'll bet
they've got a whole department for finding new ways to tinker with us.
Whatever.
There was an Angel, yesterday. First
one since the miracle happened. First one that I, personally, have
had to fight.
Just like the other one, it was pretty weird
looking. Didn't have hands, just arms, and even they were kind of
weird. I didn't think that Captain Shigeru was going to make me go
out there, just because I figure Shinji and demon-girl must be pretty good
at this to have survived so long.
They left the radio lines open, so I heard
most of what was going on. I think Shinji tried to save demon-girl
from being attacked, and took it himself. That's when they launched
me. It doesn't make a lot of sense, really. They could have
put me out there earlier, although I'm not sure I could have changed anything.
By the time I got there, though, that...thing
wrecked Shinji's entry plug as he was trying to eject -- I think he must
have been terrified before he passed out. I know I was.
This time, it was demon-girl who lost it.
I don't know what she was screaming, it was all in German, or something.
Could have been Japanese, she was yelling so loud. I can't tell.
By the time I got there, her Eva was sitting
on the Angel, beating it. I swear, I practically saw myself under
there, some kind of recurrent memory from before. In the end though,
I'm pretty sure I did get enough control back together to hit the core
with the prog knife.
The 'core' -- that's what they called it --
is really important, apparently. If you kill that, the Angel dies.
Pretty simple. I'm not going to complain, it makes our job a whole
lot easier.
Anyway, after we killed the damn thing, Asuka
-- and I swear I am not making this up -- started crying. Like, really
crying hard. Even Mari's never cried that much before, not even when
the dog died.
I was pretty sure she had a thing for Shinji,
but I didn't think it was that strong. I never was any good at reading
people.
We found Shinji a while later, another miracle.
There seem to be too many, these days. He's okay, they sent him to
hospital. It's a good thing those entry plugs are so tough.
I don't think I've ever seen her so happy,
either.
School starts in a couple of days.
Maybe Kensuke will be there too. I haven't
heard from him in a while.
Mari says I'm going to see all of my old friends
again. I want to believe her, but I heard a lot of people left the
city shortly after we did. Since they don't have a reason to come
back like I do, I don't know why they would. I don't want to tell
her she might not see some of her friends, but I don't want to burst her
bubble, either. I guess I'll have to. It's better that she
go prepared, and pleasantly surprised, than disappointed.
I've already met Shinji again, so there's
just Kensuke. I guess they're my best friends, really. I've
only really talked to them, Asuka, class rep, and...Rei, the one time she
did talk to me. What a weirdo.
* * *
Excerpted from the journal of Hikari Horaki,
the Sixth Child:
Reference event: 19th Angel.
This is all wrong!
I don't want to be here! I don't want
to be a pilot!
Why am I here?
Suzuhara's in hospital, in the ICU. They
refuse to tell us if he's okay, and they won't tell us why they can't.
I hope they won't have to amputate again, he'll be devastated. Asuka
tells me he'll be all right; she says "Mr. Compassionate" will be out again
without a scratch. I know she's my best friend, and I want to believe
her.
I guess she must know what she's talking about.
(She hid the news about her and Shinji from me, though. I'll have
to keep an eye on them.)
I guess this means I've killed an Angel.
Even if I never understood what was going on. Commander Fuyutsuki
just told me to pull the trigger when the light came on...I still don't
know how these things work.
Asuka congratulated me yesterday, for some
reason. Apparently I'm a good pilot, even though I have no experience
whatsoever. They gave me some manuals to read after the test, too,
and I read them all on the train. They're so vague! They say
'concentrate'. On what? How does it work? How am I supposed
to know?
I hope Suzuhara's okay. I really do.
I've never heard anyone yell like that before.
Ever. I've never seen anything so...gory...in my entire life.
I know I'm going to have nightmares about this for a long time, too.
Forgetting is not going to be an option, I know.
I'm not just talking about Suzuhara.
I'm talking about Shinji and Asuka, too. I think they got hurt during
the fight as well, I just don't know how.
The Angel was invisible, I think. I
never got to see it. The Eva's computer just told me I 'had a lock',
and I pulled the trigger.
Now I'm looking at that sentence, and it's
making me feel queasy.
I killed an Angel...I pulled the trigger.
I.
I killed something.
We don't even know what it was. And
I killed it.
I know it was attacking us, and I saw what
it did to Suzuhara...oh, God...
Why is this happening to me?
My God. What it did to Suzuhara.
I'm still not sure, I couldn't see too much
through the shaft, and it was too dark. I know it must have been
extremely painful, at the very least. And I'm sure I saw blood, when
I...fired. That beam of whatever it was lit up the passage pretty
brightly. I know it was red. I know it.
Captain Shigeru said his Eva fell half-way
down the shaft before it got caught on something. That's where they
rescued him, I guess. I'm too afraid to think about what happened
to him.
I asked Asuka about the neural link just before
the battle. She said it's just pain. Still, I hope she's not
hiding something else. I don't want to get hurt doing this.
What if Suzuhara's brain dead?
I didn't want to think about that. Shit.
I think I want this to end. I shouldn't
have accepted in the first place. I suppose it's just a matter of
time before something like what happened to Suzuhara happens to me, and
I'm really frightened. I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight,
and if I don't, I won't be able to pay attention during classes tomorrow.
Problem is, they could just pick anyone else
to do it. Stupid altruism. Now I'm taking the hits for someone
else, and Suzuhara's taking the hits for me.
I hate this. I think.
I hate not knowing what's going on.
I hate not knowing how the Eva works, I hate not knowing how Suzuhara's
doing.
And I'd love everything else. Why can't
things just be the way they were, say, two years ago?
Then I'd never have met Asuka. And Suzuhara
hadn't moved into town yet.
I hate not having a choice. I feel like
I'm being moved around everywhere against my will. And at the same
time, I feel like this is not only something I have to do, but something
I should do, and something I...want...to do.
Now I want to throw up. I don't know
what I'm supposed to do, now.
I've got to ask Asuka for more advice.
She always knows what to do. Well, not always, but she has more experience
dealing with all this NERV stuff anyway. She has to know, she's been
doing since she was eight years old, she tells me.
At any rate, it shouldn't be too hard.
At the very least, I don't have to wait until school to talk to her any
more, since we all live in the same apartment, now.
Major Katsuragi's gone, now. Her room's
been turned into mine, but sometimes, I feel like she's still here, like
I'm sleeping in her space. Still, the room's becoming familiar ground
for me.
That sounds pretty silly, doesn't it?
Asking Asuka for help these days is starting
to feel familiar, too. It's like talking to Kodama and Nozomi at
the same time, except with more energy. And, of course, Kodama's
boyfriend doesn't live at home.
Just talked to Asuka. She was a great
help, and she's right. Maybe I am thinking too hard. I need
to get some sleep. It was Shinji's turn to make lunch the day before
yesterday, so it's my turn to get up early tomorrow.
I still don't think I'll ever be able to shake
off what I saw yesterday, though. I know that was blood, and I have
a feeling Suzuhara's worse off than anyone thinks. Just this once,
I hope my intuition is wrong.
I hope I don't get nightmares about this tonight.
* * *
Excerpted from the Operational Reports filed
by Captain Aoba Shigeru, Director of Operations:
Reference events: Unit-16 incident,
This report entails my department's views and
concerns related to the recent malfunction of Evangelion Unit-16.
Filed [date deleted].
The incident in question is a Berserk type
malfunction in Evangelion Unit-16. This phenomenon has been noted
several times in the past, most notably by Evangelion Unit-00 and Evangelion
Unit-01. In each of these cases, excluding external influence (cross-reference
to 13th Angel, file [deleted]; and 17th Angel, file [deleted]), a pilot
was present in the entry plug. Loss of mental control on the pilot's
part was considered to be the primary factor in the initiation of these
incidents.
What is most concerning about this particular
incident is that it was both initiated and furthered by the Evangelion
itself, in the absence of both pilot and entry plug.
Evangelion Unit-16 is reported to have started
up on battery power, an event normally possible only when a pilot has been
inserted and synchronized. It is still unknown at this time whether
or not the Evangelion's core was involved.
Evangelion Unit-16's movement was first reported
by Lieutenant Shoji Masaharu, who was performing routine maintenance on
Unit-02 at the time. His report states that 'several low roars' were
heard within the Cage prior to the Eva leaving the Cage proper. Based
on the maximum potential output of the Evangelion's battery at rest, he
proposed that it was not until the second or third roar that the Evangelion
actually initiated movement.
Damage was reported in every Cage to the east
of the Command Centre, and repairs are currently underway. From our
video records, Evangelion Unit-16 progressed rapidly past Evangelion Unit-14
into Evangelion Unit-01's cage. We are uncertain as to why Evangelion
Unit-16 paused there, as the cameras monitoring that Cage section were
damaged by the collapsing wall. Finally, Evangelion Unit-16 proceeded
through the wall into the Command Centre, which was evacuated as per Commander
Fuyutsuki's orders.
On a related note, it must be mentioned that
Lieutenant Tatsuo Yamashita's report stated that the MAGI did not note
the Evangelion's activation until it began moving. This may be the
result of a maintenance error, as all Evangelions are to be connected to
the MAGI at all times for monitoring when not in combat, via a hardwired
link. This discrepancy must be investigated. If the Evangelion
was indeed connected to the MAGI at the time of the incident, I would recommend
that the MAGI's program be re-evaluated and corrected where necessary.
Interim Chief of Scientific Development Dr.
Akiko Masaharu and Lieutenant Tatsuo Yamashita have compiled a report stating
how Evangelion Unit-16 was able to maintain control of its body without
the entry plug being present (cross-reference file [deleted]). They
report that the ganglion nerves of the Evangelion's sypathetic nervous
system were used instead of the central neural column. This may also
account for several of the Evangelion Unit-00 incidents, which were not
looked into.
They also report that there was no evidence
of external tampering. Suffice to say that this does not preclude
that possibility.
It is my belief that further analysis is required
before Evangelion Unit-16 is declared fit for active duty and reactivated
with the Seventh Child. I also believe that a waiting period of at
least a month should be instituted before deploying it in against the next
Angel, should one arrive.
Sir, I do not believe your orders to have
it reactivated this week are prudent, in light of the damages caused by
the rampant Evangelion.
However, I do appreciate your solicitation
of my opinion for this report.
Reference event: Balthazar incident (1).
This report entails my department's views and
concerns related to the recent malfunction of MAGI Balthazar. Filed
[date deleted].
As this report would normally originate from
the Chief of Scientific Development, who was not present at the time of
the incident, I will be as brief in my limited knowledge as possible.
Power and control of all facilities on the
surface, the geofront, Central Dogma, and Terminal Dogma was lost following
the command of MAGI Balthazar at [time deleted]. Investigations carried
out by MAGI Melchior and MAGI Caspar were able to determine that the instructions
were, in fact, not originating externally, but were unable to penetrate
Balthazar's defenses.
Commander Fuyutsuki proposed a plan wherein
the MAGI's neural processors were to be directly linked to each other as
a network to be administrated by Lieutenant Tatsuo Yamashita in his role
as MAGI Operator. The repairs proceeded as planned, until MAGI Balthazar
began reprogramming MAGI Melchior.
MAGI Caspar isolated itself with the 666 firewall
program.
Ultimately, we were forced to reset the MAGI,
a procedure which has not been used since the system's inception.
All three members of the bridge crew were
commended for their work on the evening of [date deleted].
The permanent Chief of Scientific Development,
Dr. Calvin Robertson, is currently looking into the event, and is developing
a protocol for potential future incidents.
I am not knowledgeable enough in the inner
workings of the MAGI to make further commentary.
Reference event: 20th Angel.
This report entails my department's views and
concerns related to the arrival of the 20th Angel. Filed [date deleted].
The Angel made its primary approach over the
Pacific Ocean from the south, deploying wide-band ECM jamming with the
aid of its AT Field. The Command Centre was unable to contact the
pilots throughout the battle because of this. The operation was left
in their hands throughout.
Subsequent analysis from the Evangelion's
mission recorders yielded the following. (Files [deleted] to [deleted]
contain the actual footage.)
The Angel's specific properties include (as
far as we can tell) shapeshifting on both a broad (e.g. general morphology)
and specific scale (e.g. mimicry), and the capacity to energize its skin.
The Angel detonated upon destruction, and thus we were unable to discern
further properties from the corpse.
It is also believed that the Angel was capable
of penetrating the human mind. Based on the strongest existing friendships
already established between the pilots, the Angel elected to assume the
forms of Evangelions the pilots would not attack. For example, it
took on the form of Evangelion Unit-02 to attack Evangelion Unit-01.
This pattern was repeated throughout the battle,
with the Angel either directly attacking our Evangelions in its assumed
form or in its original form, in which we believe it could energize its
skin more efficiently.
Confronted with two Evangelions at the same
time (Evangelion Unit-02 and Evangelion Unit-14), it attempted to confuse
the pilot of Evangelion Unit-02 by becoming an exact copy of Evangelion
Unit-14, and engaging the latter in direct combat.
A commendation is recommended for the Second
Child, as she correctly determined which of the two was the actual Angel,
and eliminated it.
What with the improvement of the Angels' intelligence
and capacities, we must be prepared for all eventualities. I would
recommend that we upgrade our communications systems to deal with ECM jamming,
and expand the scope of pilot training to deal with these situations.
Simultaneously, I believe that we should realize
and assume that the Angels are indeed capable of reading our minds, and
that we should be prepared to fight an enemy that knows our plans.
I don't know that I can say anything more
about this battle, sir. I have no complaints about the performance
of the pilots or the Evas. The Seventh Child is still making slow
progress, however. I'm not sure if we should push him as hard as
he would like to go. We would do well to remember the incident with
Unit-16 a while back.
* * *
Excerpted from the notebook of Kensuke Aida,
the Seventh Child:
Reference event: 21st Angel.
You call that a battle?! What a disappointment.
We hardly had to do anything. Heck, the Angel never even defended
itself. It just put out that big black shadow, and waited for us
to step into it! What kind of idiots does it think we are?
Still, I shouldn't say it wasn't dangerous.
I'm still not sure, but I think it might have found a way to do something
to the class rep. I shut down Unit-16 before it happened, so I don't
know really know what was going on.
Shinji and demon-girl really tore up the Angel
afterward, though. I didn't think an Eva could jump that far.
As for class rep, she hasn't shown up at school,
yet. Touji says she must be in a hospital, and he keeps bugging me
to hack into the city's public network to find her, since they won't tell
him where she is.
I've been working on it, but it's not as easy
as he thinks it is. I've got to work my way around a bunch of new
firewalls they put in since that big espionage scare, and I've been too
scared of NERV to do any hacking since. On top of that, I don't need
to anymore, since I'm a pilot now too.
But has Touji ever lost it this time.
He was practically begging me on the phone last night to get to work.
He says he's really worried, and I believe him.
Anyway.
Speaking of love affairs, I noticed Shinji
was sitting in demon-girl's entry plug while we were waiting for the Angel
to come back. We've really got to do something to remind him what
she's really like.
No, seriously, just kidding.
They way they cling to each other these days,
you'd have never believed she used to want to kill him on a daily basis.
I can't see what made him fall for her, yet.
Man... I'm losing both of my friends
here. Gotta do something.
Oh, yeah. I broke the thirty percent
synchronization ratio! That means...you guessed it...progressive
weapons! Can't wait to get Unit-16's hands on those babies.
Just the thought of holding something that
can cut through steel like a hot knife through butter...
Won't be long, now! Yes!
* * *
Excerpted from the Science Reports filed
by Chief of Scientific Development Dr. Calvin Robertson:
Reference event: 22nd Angel.
Report from Science Division to Commander Fuyutsuki.
Sent [date deleted].
The clean up operations are proceeding without
too many delays. Sample collection is somewhat substandard, however,
and more care will need to be taken to ensure good results.
Data taken from samples already being analyzed
indicate that this Angel is not too different from what I have termed the
'typical' Angel. I realize that there is no organizational relevance
between Angels, however, there does seem to be a predominance of humanoid
forms. It has no particularly unique properties, and if they do,
they were never displayed in combat, nor are they immediately evident from
our samples.
This battle, however, did provoke a specific
state in Unit-01 originally termed 'Berserker' by one of my predecessors.
We have no indication as to why Unit-01 achieved this state, although it
is suspected that the high-level emotions displayed by the pilot may have
triggered it.
Pilot Ikari has displayed similar performance
before, yet we lack sufficient data from these previous examples to accurately
draw a link between him and these 'Berserker' rages. We also have
evidence that other Evangelions are capable of this kind of behavior, so
it would be a moot point.
Most peculiar is the recurrence of Unit-01's
regenerative abilities. Most notable about this incident is the fact
that pilot Ikari was both in his own body and in full control when this
occurred. Nevertheless, we are unsure of whether or not he caused
Unit-01's regrowth consciously. If this is the case we will assume
it was for the purpose of preventing further damage to Unit-02, and by
extension, its pilot. For emphasis, I will append the transcript
from the communications logs. You may notice that portions of it
do not make sense. This can probably be attributed to his state of
mind at the time.
Ikari: 'No! No! Leave her! Leave her alone! [pause] God dammit! Help her! Please! Listen to me!'
This section of the transcript includes ten
seconds before the event. After the regeneration, his speech degenerates
to basic vocalizations, and I do not see the relevance in including it
here.
I have ordered tests of the new biological
material in Unit-01's appendages, however, we have not been able to see
any difference in the data collected previously and the data collected
now. Through some discrepancy, there are no records of similar tests
being performed before and after the first two incidents.
I should also mention the fact that there
was a significant difference in the AT fields being generated around Unit-01
at the time of pilot Ikari's second attack. MAGI records show that
there were three distinct AT fields being generated simultaneously.
One, obviously, belonged to the Angel. One, also quite obviously,
belonged to Unit-01 itself. The third has not been placed or identified
as of yet. My hypothesis is that it is actually a revived AT field
from Unit-02, although I have not yet verified this to my satisfaction.
There is evidence from some of the surviving pre-Third Impact files that
pilot Sohryu was capable of some limited manipulation of her Eva's AT field
at one point, although it seems she has not seen fit to repeat it for our
benefit.
Do not confront her with this. As with
pilot Ikari, she may not have been conscious of that control. It's
best if they don't know what is happening. It improves the chances
they will happen again, especially if they are subconscious phenomena.
By extension, it improves our ability to collect data. 'A watched
pot never boils'.
Still on a dull note, I must say that the
resulting damage from the battle will take much time to repair. Furthermore,
we have received notification from our installations abroad that they are
very far behind schedule on the creation of replacement parts and new 'armour'.
We are not expecting delivery for at least another month.
Unit-16 was the first Eva that was attacked.
Both parts (upper torso, lower torso) have been recovered and placed in
a cryogenic cooling tank until we have recreated the required vertebrae,
organs, muscles, etc. to reattach the two halves. I suspect that
pilot Aida will lose anywhere between five and fifteen percent from his
synch ratio in the absence of repeated stimuli from the Eva. When
we do get Unit-16 repaired, I will be putting him through extensive reflex
improvement excercises, as per Captain Shigeru's suggestion. His
reaction time to the Angel's attack was unacceptable, and it would be best
for all parties involved if we didn't have to keep repairing it all the
time.
Unit-14 is also not operational, and will
remain this way for some time. We have placed it in a sealed Cage
for the time being, awaiting both replacement parts and the technical staff
to attend to it, as my workers are mostly occupied with Unit-16. If possible, I need to requisition this additional manpower. 120
technicians and scientists will suffice.
As to the pilot, it would appear he still
hesitates before entering battle. Pilot Suzuhara may yet still have
reservations about his role as a pilot. Unfortunately, he is our
only real choice for Unit-14, and therefore, I recommend psychological
help and counseling. If you'd rather leave him the way he is, then
the least we can do is place experts among the security teams to observe
him.
Pilot Horaki is still recuperating well.
The treatment plan's schedule has been accelerated, it works much better
than even I had hoped. There is potential to utilize LCL as a standardized
medical treatment in hospitals worldwide after its properties are appropriately
catalogued and declassified.
This leaves two operational Evangelions available
to us until then, namely Unit-01 and Unit-02.
Both pilots are in considerably better mental
health from what I have read in last year's reports. I don't anticipate
any problems with them, and their synch ratios only prove how much better
they are doing overall.
Why aren't there any bloody reports on the
previous regenerations? I seriously doubt that any scientist worth
anything, particularly one in this organization, at this time, would not
be concerned about Unit-01's ability.
If there are any reports about this, at all,
that have been classified outside of my reach, I would respectfully request
that they be brought to my immediate attention. Sir. I cannot
work blindly like this.
As you are, or were once, a respected scientist,
you must understand my difficulty with this. I need that data.
Sir.
* * *
Excerpted from the official reports filed
by UN Chief Inspector Marcel Desaint:
Reference event: 23rd Angel.
The report was filed on the [date deleted].
The 20th [23rd] Angel attacked Tokyo-3 today.
As has been the case in many of the past incidents,
the pilots of Eva-01 and Eva-02 successfully dispatched the Angel in a
short time despite the Angel's chameleon-like ability to blend in with
its environment.
This raises the obvious question of whether
or not it is cost-effective to maintain and deploy an additional three
Evangelions. While the first incident since my arrival (the 15th
[19th] Angel, I believe) proved the value of having extra Evangelions and
back-up pilots available, the combat with the 18th [22nd] Angel only proved
that said pilots are not ready for front-line duty.
As I understand the material helpfully provided
to me by Commander Fuyutsuki and his staff, the ability to pilot an Evangelion
is an inborn talent which cannot be developed in a child without it.
If I assume the good men and women at the
Marduk Institute have done their utmost to select candidates for piloting,
we must therefore conclude that only pilots Sohryu and Ikari are the ones
fully capable of being our front-line pilots.
I propose to the council, as a fund-saving
motion, that the other three pilots be designated reserves, and their Evas
kept in cryostasis until they are required by crisis to respond.
This proposal would have been made directly
to Commander Fuyutsuki himself, but I have not seen the man in person over
the last week, so I have not had this opportunity. I have forwarded
a copy of my idea to his deputy, Captain Shigeru, but I have not received
a reply.
I also understand that tests are being performed
wherein the pilots will be exchanging Evangelions. If this test is
successful, it would allow us to remove at least one Evangelion from the
roster, since we would have more pilots than necessary, and each one could
stand in for another in the case that they are incapacitated.
It appears that this is the rationale behind
this particular experiment, as pilot Horaki is still out of action.
If they can activate Unit-15 with either pilots Aida or Suzuhara, it would
justify reducing NERV's budget, thereby freeing up funds for other UN projects.
* * *
Messages of all ilk generally can be sorted
into two major categories. There is good news, and bad news.
Good news for one person can be bad news for another, and vice versa.
For SEELE, the majority of their most recent information had been placed
in the latter category, primarily the fault of Commander Fuyutsuki and
his continuing vigilance. While the word that he was no longer attending
directly to the matters of NERV in Japan, this was not necessarily favourable
to the council and their intentions.
While it was true that in Fuyutsuki's absence,
SEELE's agents, Aaron and Moses, would have much greater liberty in their
actions, the Commander had effectively chosen a particularly bad time to
leave.
Serendipidously fortuitous for him, of course,
but highly inconvenient those who would oppose or interfere with his aims.
Effectively, Aaron and Moses had as of yet been unable to contact each
other, for fear of giving themselves away to NERV's extremely vigilant
and severe Section Two.
This had just changed. Kihl classed
this last dispatch as falling distinctly into the 'good news' category.
"We have received word that the Brothers have
located each other. They have exchanged information via a secured
medium, and will be coordinating their efforts from here." His words
carried on in the harsh and overwhelming darkness, echoing neatly off the
obfuscated walls of the sealed, darkened chamber. "This occurred
some time before the arrival of the 24th Angel."
A moderate yet nasal voice of piercing intensity
and as insistent as a whining insect followed, speaking as the mouthpiece
for a body that thought as one. "Indeed. As Fuyutsuki has not
announced plans to return to Japan for some time to come, it will allow
them to perform in their role most admirably."
"However, they must not abuse of their freedom,"
uttered the next council member, sober caution colouring his speech, "Section
Two's awareness has been considerably improved under Fuyutsuki's guiding
hand. Too much time and effort has been invested in insinuating them
into the positions they currently occupy within NERV's hierarchy.
Placed as they are, they have many resources unavailable to our other agents."
"Unrestricted access to the MAGI is a valuable
tool indeed. We must also alert them that Fuyutsuki's prophecy will
not necessarily be found within the computers, however. The recent
spate of malfunctions in that system may have prompted him to relocate
his material."
After all of Fuyutsuki's duplicities and misdirections,
his name now bore the same feverish, foul hatred that had once been reserved
for SEELE's greatest betrayer, Gendou Ikari. Fuyutsuki was never
idle, it seemed, and was quite capable of playing mind games with the council.
He seemed much too happy to be leading them by the nose, as if he couldn't
care less what they would attempt next.
Had they not come within mere inches of their
lofty goal? After Ikari had made clear his objective of treachery,
had they not already destroyed all of NERV, its weapons, defenses, members,
in one master stroke?
And yet, while Ikari had simply been content
to sidle up to them before planting his knife in their figurative back,
here Fuyutsuki danced insolently before them, openly defying them, and
challenging them to best him.
Frustrating, to say the least.
"He is currently still in Rome. He may
be involved in activities involving his prophecy."
While the simple solution would have entailed
eliminating him then and there, and confiscating the prophecy from his
possession, the risk of failure was too great, and there was no guarantee
that Fuyutsuki had the text near him. And, if he were eliminated,
no one would be able to find the Scrolls. Ever.
As far as anyone could tell, Fuyutsuki was
the sole proprietor of the secrets of the Scrolls, knowing both their content
and location. By making himself the only person with control over
SEELE's most wanted knowledge, he had cloaked himself in such importance
that dispensing of him was impossible.
Even as the old men seethed, however, they
were comforted by the work of their servants. The sooner Fuyutsuki
was divested of his power over them, the sooner he would be vulnerable.
Then, he would find that he was the one with a long knife pointed at his
throat.
In the mean time, events were progressing
far too fast for the council's liking. Too many Angels had arrived
in recent times, causing worry that the prophecy would be fulfilled before
their goals had been reached.
News that Aaron and Moses had begun working
in tandem put them another step closer to the evasive Fuyutsuki.
It wouldn't be long, now, before that cloak was torn...
Kihl almost laughed at the thought.
Almost.
That was a sound rarer still than the song
of an extinct bird.
* * *
Shinji didn't have the time to take off the
apron as he darted to the door, unlocked it, and ran back to attend to
the stove. Touji caught only a hasty "I'm sorry," and the blur of
his body turning the corner at the end of the entrance hall as he looked
into the apartment.
"Hey," whispered a small voice next to him,
"take off your shoes!"
Obedient to the last of his sister's commands,
Touji paused, and knelt to pick at his laces. "Right... Hey,
Shinji! It's us!"
Mari looked up at her brother. "That's...that's
Mr. Ikari?" she asked, keeping her tone reverentially low. "I'm going
to meet him now?"
Touji gave her a little grin, then bid her
to follow him into the kitchen. Both carried plastic bags in which
their contributions were precariously balanced, so as to avoid spilling.
Touji placed these on the kitchen table, next to the half-prepared plate
Shinji was currently working on.
"Sorry," started Shinji, an embarrassed flush
crossing his face as he lowered the heat and turned to face his visitors.
"You just caught me at a bad time..." His attention was pulled downward,
to the little face peering out from around Touji's waist with sudden timidity.
"This must be your sister, right?" he said, kneeling, simultaneously evaporating
all of Mari's courage.
With no small degree of pleasure, Touji guided
her out in front of himself, introducing her. After a moment's reflection,
Mari allowed herself to be drawn from her cover. Bowing deeply as
she could, she succeeded only in intensifying the discomfort that public
recognition brought about in Shinji's withdrawn mind.
"Um...no, Mari..," he started, looking up
to Touji for confirmation of her name, and, upon receiving it, "...you
don't need to do that."
The girl straightened up, still shy of him.
"Um...yes, Mr. Ikari."
"Shinji," he corrected, not asking, nor wanting,
to be too formal. This was, after all, the poor child he'd inadvertently
mauled somehow during his first sortie in Unit-01. "I'm really sorry
about what happened when the first Angel came here... I hope you're
better, now." Taking her enthusiastic nod as a sign to go on, he
changed tack. "You take good care of your brother, don't you?"
Pride beamed in her eyes. "Yes, Mr...
Shinji! He still doesn't know how to take care of himself!"
Touji gave his sister a funny look, as Pen-Pen
waddled into the room, yawning out of sheer boredom. Suddenly diverted
by the bird's arrival, Mari took her leave of the two boys to play with
him. Pen-Pen seemed slightly ruffled by this unwarranted attention,
but took it in stride, as she certainly wasn't as boring as doing nothing.
After watching her a while longer, Touji pulled
out a chair and sat down. "Didja hear from Kensuke yet?"
Shinji shook his head. "No...
But I left another message on his machine yesterday, and again this morning.
I don't know if NERV's keeping him in for more questioning, or something."
"So we don't know if he's coming, or not,
then?"
Shinji shook his head sadly. "I made
enough for him, if he decides to show up."
Mari giggled from across the room as she chased
a squwaking Pen-Pen across the kitchen into the living room, finally cornering
him against the sliding door to Hikari's chamber. This last had been
tidied again, awaiting her return.
Outmaneuvered, Pen-Pen submitted himself to
the mild humiliation, allowing himself to be a part of the little girl's
games.
* * *
The geofront was never fully dark. Even
in the dead of night, it was filled with enough artificial light to make
up the absence of true, solar light. On rare occasions, if conditions
were right, the moon could make its presence known, casting its silvery
rays even into the bowels of the earth.
Hikari had already been forewarned of her
release from the hospital. In fact, she had been waiting for it with
some ardour since she had heard one of the doctors attending to her rehabilitation
speculate that her leave might even take place within the week.
Standing now before the somber pane of glass
that overlooked the geofront, she could see a pale spectre of herself in
the reflection. She'd never really had skin tinged quite enough to
be dark, but the absence of the healthy, ruddy glow she usually wore had
worried her a little. It was beginning to return now, though, perhaps
even more so with the news that she was returning home.
Not to her family, of course. She had,
after all, opted to remain with NERV, with Unit-15.
Asuka had already returned the contents of
her locker in the change room to the apartment, since they had lain there
undisturbed for so long; much as she had remained alone, entrusted only
to the attention of whatever medical staff and machines NERV had employed
in her recovery. In exchange, her friend had delivered a spare change
of clothes in the morning.
When asked why she'd only brought the drab
blue uniform with her, Asuka had hurriedly explained that she was already
late for school, and hadn't had time to look for anything else. Hikari
had laughed at once, knowing all too well Asuka's propensity for sleeping
in.
The doctor, a middle-aged man with a crumpled
face who had apparently been a class representative himself, had finished
his final examination mere minutes ago, and had gone to finish the paperwork
that would free her from the confines of the medical community into the
outside world.
At long last.
The door swept open without a knock, and Hikari
didn't have to examine the lithe, excited silhouette standing in the doorway
to know it was Asuka.
"Ready to go?" she asked, hands planted on
her hips. "I'll bet you've been waiting for this."
Bending down with renewed, rebuilt strength
and confidence, Hikari gathered her small bag of toiletries, and walked
steadily towards the door.
"You don't know the half of it," she giggled,
easily falling into step alongside her considerably healthier and still
more robust companion. "Have you ever been in the hospital this long?"
Asuka looked up at the ceiling for a few seconds.
"Not that I can remember, anyway," she replied, opening the now unlocked
ward doors and entering the central hub of the hospital.
Hikari gave her friend a quick glance.
"Why the fancy dress tonight, Asuka?"
"Oh, no reason," she replied, shrugging.
The corridor stretched onward before her, the elevator at the end of the
hall beckoning.
* * *
Something clattered off the metal innards of
the computer known as Balthazar, bouncing several times before settling
against the floor. Dr. Robertson's harsh baritone shouted a curse
in English, then fell into an inaudible mumbling as he continued to deride
whatever tool had fallen onto him.
Yamashita, sitting on the bridge tower with
thirty-odd NERV scientists, had been assigned to Dr. Robertson's repair
team. Since Balthazar's failure during the battle with the last Angel,
it was imperative that the MAGI be fixed on a permanent basis. Risking
another such incident, during an attack, no less, was unacceptable.
As such, Dr. Robertson had assembled a large
group of personnel to aid him in carrying out what he callously called
his 'final solution'. At that moment, most were seated in front of
portable computers, either on the floor or at hastily erected desks, amid
a tangled nest of snaking conduits and cables. Some looked to the
access passage at the MAGI's base into which Dr. Robertson had disappeared
some hours ago, but most ignored it. As always, he was best ignored
when he wasn't directly giving orders.
After the last, long, drones of the power
drill wound down, his hand emerged long enough to appropriate one of the
dozens of interface boards stacked around the tunnel's mouth, then withdrew.
"Lieutenant! C'mere!"
Yamashita's ears pricked up at the sound of
his rank; he was the only possible person Dr. Robertson could have been
referring to.
"Absolutely amazing," he heard the grizzled
man say, as he entered the crawlspace himself. As he rounded the
corner to where Dr. Robertson was seated, facing the moist mass of neural
material that was the MAGI's core, he could see the other man was staring
down into a wide screen with limited holographic capabilities.
Such a screen could only project images about
a centimeter above the actual surface, but it was sufficient to demonstrate
certain things, such as electronic circuits, or, as was the case, neural
networks.
Wires snaked out from the computer all around
him, linking interface boards to Balthazar, and back again. Yamashita
could see a number of leads dangling out of the brain-like mass, dissappearing
somewhere into the numerous pieces of electronic equipment gathered at
Dr. Robertson's feet.
Almost absently, Dr. Robertson handed him
a memory card from the pile next to him. "Give this to Captain Shigeru
when you see him," he said, still staring at the mobile colours before
him with fascinated, learning eyes.
"Yes, sir," replied the Lieutenant, preparing
to back out with the card in his left hand.
"Wait. This," Dr. Robertson added, pushing
a box filled with at least thirty similar cards towards his subordinate,
"you look at when you have the time. I may need your help analyzing
these. It's incredible..."
"Sir?"
Dr. Robertson had just grinned, Yamashita
realized, for the first time since meeting him. "Biological memory.
The MAGI have a true memory..."
* * *
Asuka gloried in the fact that Hikari had been
able to support herself from as far as the train station, stopping to rest
only once she had reached the lobby of the apartment complex that was currently
her home. Even that hadn't been very long, lasting only until she
had caught her breath, and she hadn't complained once.
Also, she thought, chuckling quietly to herself,
this was a trait she'd never really seen before in Hikari. In some
respects, Hikari had drive; how else could she maintain her position at
the head of the class? This, unfortunately, almost never manifested
itself outside of the academic realm, leaving her friend at something of
a disadvantage when it came to other matters.
Not to say that Hikari had spent the entire
time concentrated solely on walking. She'd also provided Asuka with
a spirited and curious conversation partner, informing herself about all
the gossip, events, and news of the past month.
In any event, it was good to have Hikari back.
Neither really noticed that Touji was trying
hard to circumnavigate them with a pair of garbage bags as they entered,
too busy catching up on what they hadn't had time to discuss during Asuka's
many visits to the hospital.
"Hey, Shinji! Where do you want me to
put these again?" he shouted over their chatter, unsure of what to do as
there was no specifically marked location. "And they're here!"
"Really?"
Shinji didn't have far to look, though, as
Asuka drew him blindly into a quick kiss. Mari, standing on a chair
repositioned next to the stove, blushed and giggled.
This, however, drew quick attention to her.
It had taken her nearly a quarter of an hour to get used to Shinji, and
while she was considerably less shy than she had been upon first meeting
him, she had yet to meet Asuka.
"I'm...um...Touji's sister... Are you..?"
she asked, sliding into a sitting position on the chair.
"Asuka Langley Sohryu, of course! Touji's
sister, huh?" Asuka took a moment to look at the timid child, then
gave her a wink and remarked that she was worlds away cuter than her brother.
Hikari shot her a dirty look.
Ultimately, though, this made Mari laugh.
"You're not like Touji says you are. Your hair is different, though...so
I guess he wasn't wrong about everything!"
Asuka shot him a dirty look.
"So," interjected Hikari, finally, as she
detached an emotional Pen-Pen from her leg, "why is everyone here?"
"We just thought we'd have a little party
to welcome you back, that's all," answered Touji, gently nudging his sister's
chair to the side so that he could wash his hands in the sink. "Asuka's
idea."
"Yep! So, Shinji...are we ready yet?"
Mari held up one of her dishes from the table
for her to look at. "Yes, Asuka!"
* * *
The corridor was dark, shrouded in shadow.
Even the lights that were mounted in the joint
of the ceiling and walls were unable to generate more than a sickly pall
over the two figures standing there.
Kensuke had removed his glasses; he wouldn't
need them here, it was nearly too dark to see anyway. The vagueness
of the lines and forms around him seemed almost comforting, at the moment.
To be blind was almost a boon, right now.
Captain Shigeru said nothing as he escorted Kensuke into the Commander's
office. Right now, it was unoccupied. Despite his role as deputy
commander in Fuyutsuki's absence, Shigeru didn't use the office.
Besides, there was nothing that could really be done there.
The guards, still watching over an empty room,
nodded and let them pass. The doors slid shut behind them.
Kensuke, even lacking of his aids, could see
that the room was enormous, perhaps even more poorly-lit than the hallway
on the other side of the impenetrable blast doors. Windows of some
kind -- although he doubted they were windows, this level was too deep
beneath the earth to have windows -- formed three of the four walls.
There was a desk at the far side of the room, a tiny, lonely desk, standing
on a desert of plate metal.
Shigeru, for his part, stared at the ceiling
and floor. Two diagrams, each different from each other, had been
meticulously painted there. He couldn't read the archaic languages
that seemed to explain the pair of massive charts, but he presumed they
were important in some way.
Neither of the two had ever set foot in this
room before, even in the Commander's presence. To be summoned there
while he was still supposedly half-way around the world simply added to
the peculiar surreality of the moment.
Kensuke said nothing as they proceeded towards
the desk, the empty chair behind it. As they neared it, his poor
eyes began to make out the stacks of paper and files that framed the workspace
in the centre.
His taller, lankier counterpart saw these
as well, and beyond the smaller piles on the side of the desk facing him,
he saw something else.
A shoji board..?
Indeed. Pieces were scattered over it,
in the middle of some marathon game...almost as though the Commander had
been playing against himself.
Another step carried them over the border
of the largest circle inlaid in the floor, another step closer to the desk.
As if on cue, a holographic projector built into the desk flickered and
came to life, displaying only the words 'sound only'. Commander Fuyutsuki
was speaking to them either from a location without a camera, or had chosen
not to allow his image to be transmitted over the communication lines.
Silence reigned for a whole minute before
the Commander's tired voice issued forth from the speaker into the room.
"Captain Shigeru?"
"Sir?"
"I received your electronic report yesterday.
I trust you've left the original copy in the designated location?"
"Yes, sir."
Fuyutsuki's words, while definitely tired,
were hued with no emotion, and almost no inflection outside of what was
needed for clarity could be heard. Quite peculiar, for Commander
Fuyutsuki.
"Good. Then we shall discuss last Thursday's
operation."
Kensuke cringed visibly. Shigeru gave
him a worried glance, but kept his focus of the solid grey monitor before
him.
"'The Angel,'" read Fuyutsuki, "'made its
initial approach from high orbit, according to the MAGI's retrospective
extrapolation. No warning signs were discovered prior to the attack.'
So. The Angel hit the ground at a location west of the city.
You followed all standard protocols for the interception of the Angel?"
Shigeru nodded, although he wasn't quite sure
whether or not the 'sound only' option was one-way or two-way. For
all he knew, there might have been no image at Fuyutsuki's end either.
"Yes," he added, in case the latter was true.
"As we were unable to establish a visual image of the Angel, or draw any
immediate conclusions as to its nature or plans, I ordered that the Evas
be deployed at short range to observe it."
"Your report states that at this point in
time, the MAGI suffered a serious malfunction, serious enough to incapacitate
much of headquarters?"
Kensuke noted quietly to himself that there
had not yet been any reference to himself in the conversation. Effectively,
Commander Fuyutsuki was performing a serious debriefing on Captain Shigeru.
It was as if he wasn't there, or simply didn't exist at all.
"Yes, sir. That was true. Dr.
Robertson and some of our scientists are working on solving the problem,
hopefully permanently. He believes he understands why the malfunctions
have occurred."
"Inform him that I will be expecting a full
report on the matter when the repairs are complete." Here Fuyutsuki
paused, and several soft clicks were heard, as he depressed the scrolling
controls on the data reader at his disposal on the other end. "We
come, then, to your final suggestion to destroy the Angel?"
Shigeru wasn't sure what to say, so, after
a stunted pause, mentioned that he had included all the details in his
report, currently in Fuyutsuki's own hands.
"I can see that, thank you," answered Fuyutsuki,
tapping the button once more. "You ordered that Units-01 and 02 be
airlifted over the Angel's weakest point, then released to perform an aerial
assault. Did this plan fall within the provided guidelines, or were
you forced to take an extreme risk to accomplish the Angel's destruction?"
"I was willing to go through with the plan
because of the number of Evas that were currently available to me.
The MAGI reported nevertheless that the probability of failure was only
75 percent...acceptable risk, as stated by the guidelines."
Fuyutsuki continued to pore over the details
of the operation, looking into even the slightest minutiae, with Shigeru.
All this while, Kensuke, who stood directly in front of the grey rectangle,
was neither referred to nor included in any of the conversation.
It seemed forever until Fuyutsuki paused,
and Kensuke would have liked it to stay that way, out of the light and
forgotten. In the sudden silence, a sudden cloud of dread seemed
to envelop his entire body. He forced himself to stay focused, his
eyes locked straight ahead, yet unseeing, his body rigid as a pole.
His voice, when it came, would respond with
nothing more than the required answers. There would be no pretense
of guiltlessness, no words uttered in self-defence. The mere facts
would be sufficient.
"Finally," said Fuyutsuki, breaking the ice,
"there is the matter of the Seventh Child." The man's voice displayed,
at long last, the grating edge of true fatigue, as if he was tired of discussing
the battle already. Kensuke felt a frustration building in his invisible,
far-removed Commander, and knew it was probably directed at him. "Is he
there?"
"Yes, sir," interjected Kensuke, before Shigeru
could say anything. "I am."
"From the report Captain Shigeru provided
me with, you defied explicit standing orders to hold your position and
charged the Angel. I am assuming this is correct information.
Am I wrong?"
There wasn't much Kensuke could have said,
even if he had wanted to defend himself more vigorously. "No, sir."
"Since that is the case, there are a number
of charges that could be levied against you. One of my aides was
kind enough to provide me with a list of the relevant ones. Beginning,
of course, with disobedience of said order. Misuse of Evangelion
technology, endangering the lives of countrymen and fellow combat personnel;
actions causing unnecessary damage to military materiel and installations;
endangering mission objectives."
Fuyutsuki sighed, and the sound of falling
paper could be heard: he had just dropped the report back onto his desk.
It sounded heavy.
"Have you thanked Touji yet?"
"...No, sir. I...haven't had the chance
to see him yet."
"I see. If it weren't for him acting
when he did, you would not be here today. I've reviewed the footage
from Unit-01's log. Shortly after he removed the entry plug from
Unit-16, the Angel completely overgrew both your Eva and his. Rescue
at that point would have been impossible. Captain, what does the
repair schedule look like?"
Shigeru produced a data reader, and, scrolling
through it, located the calendar. "The technology division estimates
that it will take five working days to fully replace all the digested armour.
The Americans made the delivery on time, so it shouldn't be a problem."
There was no communication from Fuyutsuki
for a few seconds, but Kensuke could have sworn he'd heard his commander
mutter something about cost-justification. If at all possible, it
made him feel a little worse.
Breaking the silence, he uttered, "Does this
mean I'll be court-martialed, sir?"
It took Fuyutsuki several more seconds to
reply. "No. We can't afford to suspend Eva pilots. It's
much too risky. Do you understand the importance of being the Seventh
Child, Mr. Aida?"
Kensuke was unable to reply, not knowing.
"It means that we were unable to find anyone
else. You are the last of this select group to be positively identified.
Before, there were no available Evas to provide to the latter candidates.
Now that we have them, they must be piloted. There is no replacement
pilot for Unit-16, nor will there ever be. You need to understand
this.
"Piloting an Evangelion is not a right alloted
to certain individuals, nor does it form a part of your duty in defending
your country. By virtue of what you are capable of doing, it has
become your responsibility..."
"Shinji quit, didn't he?" he suddenly threw
in, not realizing before it was too late that he was interrupting a senior
officer, and breaking his resolution not to defend himself.
Fuyutsuki went on, unfazed, but allowed Kensuke
the luxury of an answer. "Commander Ikari never intended to let him
shirk that responsibility. The only reason he allowed Shinji to leave
is because he knew Shinji would be unable to stand by and watch his fellows
get massacred.
"Now. By allowing you to pilot Evangelion
Unit-16, we have placed the lives and fates of roughly three billion human
beings in your hands. You're lucky to be sharing this burden with
others. We don't expect you to perform perfectly; there is room for
mistakes. You are, however, expected to follow your orders.
Angels are not simple in mind or capacity, Mr. Aida. This is why
we always analyze before attacking. Understood?"
Kensuke nodded once, curtly, then bowed.
"Yes, sir."
"If it makes any difference to you, I will
tell you that your fellow pilots have made many decisions in defiance of
their given orders. I do realize that piloting Eva is extremely stressful,
this will trigger emotional responses and rash judgement. It is not
always entirely their fault, as the Angels have fielded some of the strangest
physical phenomena in the past.
"What I cannot understand, however, are the
stimuli that triggered your decision to attack the Angel. Can you
explain them to me?"
This was what Kensuke had feared. He'd
had plenty of time, a whole twenty-four hours, to understand why he'd been
so stupid as to fling himself into that crater to face a foe whose capabilities
were fully unknown. He should have known that the Angel had buried
itself, if nothing else.
"No, sir."
There were no reasons. It was his fault,
entirely. And why?
Because he was still the only Eva pilot without
a kill. He supposed it must have been a combination of vanity and
envy... It was still inexcusable.
And it didn't change the truth, either, he
thought, nervously playing with his glasses in his breast pocket.
He was irreplaceable, yes, but useless. Like some kind of precious
ornament.
Kensuke almost wanted to be stripped of the
Eva; he'd been given his chance, and he'd burned it away into nothingness,
wasted it.
"I see," said Fuyutsuki. Kensuke imagined
him rubbing his forehead, like the principal of the school did whenever
he was faced with a difficult child. "This is a first in the history
of NERV, but you will resume your pilot's duties once Unit-16 is repaired.
Try not to let this happen again."
"Yes, sir!"
He tried his best to sound enthusiastic.
As he'd expected, though, it came out of his mouth so forcibly he was sure
Fuyutsuki could tell it was contrived.
"That's all. Mr. Aida, you are dismissed."
Commander Fuyutsuki waited long enough for
Kensuke to distance himself from the monitor, then spoke again to Shigeru.
"Captain? Before you go, would you do me the favor of moving my knight
into square C-6, please."
Shigeru frowned. What?
He could almost imagine an amused smile drawing
itself on Fuyutsuki's lips. Not one to question his orders too deeply,
he picked up the piece and moved it into the previously empty square.
Besides, it seemed so benign.
"Thank you, Captain. Good evening."
With that, Fuyutsuki once again disconnected
himself from NERV. Shigeru stood alone in the Commander's office,
at the head of the two massive white diagrams that decorated it.
The spartan design of the room precluded any possibility that they could
be mere decoration, and he left with his mind furiously occupied.
* * *
Keeping Mari out of trouble was considerably
harder than Touji had previously anticipated. While Pen-Pen could
be trusted to occupy for short attention span every once in a while, she
was never really occupied with one thing for very long, flitting around
the apartment's living room like some kind of overly-curious sprite.
Animated chatter was Mari's bread and butter
when she was among friends at school, and it didn't seem like she was holding
back here, either. Over the course of the hours, she had gradually
lost any inhibition from being in the presence of the other pilots.
She talked nearly continuously with the two girls, occasionally dragging
Shinji into conversation with a question or two, and Touji seemed to be
the butt of every joke that had been told thus far.
Touji just sighed, and rolled his eyes with
every childish burst of laughter. Hikari and Asuka, however, just
laughed all the harder, not to mention looking and nodding knowingly at
each other every time one of the little girl's cracks had a grain of truth
in it.
It was getting extremely late by the time
Shinji noticed that the plates were almost all empty, and that no one,
not even Touji, was eating any more.
"Um...if you'll excuse me... I'll start
cleaning up, now," he announced quietly, beginning to gather the dishes
into a neat pile next to him.
Hikari, true to herself, immediately pitched
in, collecting a few in her own pile.
"Stop it!" interrupted Asuka, placing a hand
on her arm and pushing it firmly away from the table, "This is your party!
I'll take those."
For the first time that night, if ever, Touji
agreed with Asuka. "That's true...you just got back, after all."
Hikari felt like saying she hadn't done anything
in a month, and that she would love to do something, even washing up, but
she decided not to. Asuka was even taking the dirty dishes out from
under Shinji's fingers, and, being her best friend, knew that once Asuka
had set her mind on something, it was nearly impossible to dissuade her.
It wasn't until Asuka invited Mari to come
with her and Shinji into the kitchen that she suspected she was up to something.
Even Mari's constantly mobile attention was fully engrossed in watching
Asuka embracing a now-aproned Shinji.
Deprived of their usual conversation partners,
Hikari and Touji sat around the low table with only Pen-Pen for company.
An awkward silence ensued.
Hikari looked down at the penguin, locked
in her arms. He stared back at her quizzically, as if reminding her
what she had intended to do.
"I...really like your sister, Touji.
When I saw her, in the hospital, I didn't think she could be so, well,
energetic," she said, glancing up from the bird at last.
Touji started slightly, his attention drawn
away from the kitchen where Asuka had employed Mari in drying the dishes
from the sink. Strangely enough, Asuka didn't seem to be doing much
at all.
"Huh..? Yeah...she's a handful when
she's excited. I think she'll probably collapse in about half an
hour. I'll have to carry her home, I guess."
"What about your parents? Won't she
be upset if you keep her up to late?"
Touji smirked ironically. "Nah...
I wouldn't worry about it. Dad won't be home until tomorrow night
anyway, and our mother, well...she died a long time ago. Mostly I
take care of her."
"Oh...I'm sorry." Pen-Pen made a strange squeaking noise, and she
released him to waddle off in the kitchen.
"Hey, whatever."
Hikari couldn't help noticing how unperturbed
he seemed by the discussion. As it had been before she'd gone absent,
he didn't seem to be troubled by the death. She wondered if he never
thought about it.
In any case, it gave her sufficient reason
to change the course of the conversation.
"I...I have two sisters myself. Only
one of them's younger than me, though..," she began, looking at him.
It struck her suddenly that this was something they had in common, and
she realized that she should have thought of this a long time ago.
"Middle child, huh?"
"Yes... Well, sort of. My older
sister, Kodama? She's in university now, in Tokyo-2, so I haven't
seen much of her in recent years. She's almost six years older than
me. Nozomi, on the other hand, is only two years younger, so we're
a lot closer that way..."
As she got into further detail, her voice
picked up speed slightly, building itself on a germ of confidence.
Her eye caught Asuka's across the kitchen. Asuka gave her a conspiratorial
smile, and she blushed. Touji didn't seem to notice.
"I guess they don't live here, though...
Otherwise you wouldn't be living with these two, right?" Touji jerked
a thumb over his shoulder as the other two and Mari finished with the dishes.
Mari walked up behind him and threw herself over his shoulder, hanging
there with one arm around his neck. Wrapping his arm around her limp
form, he lifted her off. "That does it. She'll be asleep any
second now."
"Are you going, then?" Somehow, Hikari
felt that the answer would have little impact on her. Either way,
she would find a way to finish the conversation some other time.
"Yeah... We'd better go home."
"I'm not tired..!" protested Mari, stifling
a yawn. "I..."
Touji stood, lifting her off the ground at
the same time.
"It was nice meeting you, Mari, but I think
you'd better go with your brother," Hikari added, still kneeling.
"Take care, okay? And come back again!"
"Okay! Bye!"
After they'd left, and Asuka returned to helping
Shinji clean up the counters, Hikari took a quick peek into her room, then
returned to the kitchen.
"Thanks, Asuka."
Asuka shrugged. "Just thought you might
appreciate it. It's been a while since we had a party. Isn't
that right, Shinji?"
"What?" Shinji stopped rinsing the bubbles
out of the sink, and paused long enough to look up.
Ten minutes later, Touji was standing on the
sidewalk, shifting Mari onto his back once again. She'd insisted
on walking by herself, but as her pace progressively slowed to a crawl,
he'd decided to lift her back up.
Tired as she was, it didn't stop her from
talking. "I think I really like Ms. Horaki, Touji. And Ms.
Sohryu, and Mr. Ikari."
"Yeah?" he replied, not really listening as
he turned the corner.
"Yeah," she said, closing her eyes.