Two Souls [NGE]

[Boreas Anemos]

Shinji receiving a crash course in OpSec and meeting his girlfriend's mother. Sounds stressful

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I honestly wondered if I shouldn't add him quietly wishing he was back into the battlefield

"Do you want some tea" is much more natural here, or "would you like some tea". Asking someone if they wish for tea is mostly the province of genies

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Thanks - while I do believe my English is comprehensible, I'd never assume it sounding natural ^^'

Oxygenation.

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OK, time to put my haircloth and perform penance. I don't know how I could slip on that one. Thanks again.

 

[Boreas Anemos]

WHS, chapter 13. - "What was her name?"

'Fuck. He's not home, is he…'

Waking up was never Asuka's favourite activity of the day – but there was a time, a relatively recent time, when the thought of seeing Shinji again and getting a nice, hot breakfast served was making it quite acceptable. Even after things soured between them considerably and they began the war that almost drove Misato crazy, even then seeing him in the morning was a good thing and an occasion for a few snaps. And the breakfasts did not stop, either. He might have been angry at her and showing it, yes, and she was not exactly holding it back, either – but it did not matter that much.

It did not matter that much since he was still there.

Not anymore. Now, even that was taken from her. He fought for her, he fought like a madman, he saved her, he saved everyone – again, she reminded herself – and then something went wrong, horribly wrong.

And now he was no longer there.

The only moments when she was fine were those few precious seconds just after waking up, just before the memories came back and the cruel reality reasserted itself – and she was alone again. 'Well, not entirely alone', she kept telling herself; 'Misato became a bit less of an ass, I give her that. Hikari… is not a bad friend. But–'

She shook her head, violently interrupting her train of thought, clenching her teeth, and forcing herself to take a few deep breaths; she was not about to start her day by crying, not again. Not when Misato knew what it looked like; she might have said nothing, but she was not blind – and while Asuka might have lost her most important emotional anchor she ever had, she was not about to give up on her dignity.

Having taken a few moments to push the anger and the pain down, she took one last deep breath and got up before any further thoughts managed to creep into her head. It was her turn to make breakfast today – and getting busy sounded like a good way to avoid sinking into that particular pit.

***

​

Asuka knew well that her breakfasts could not measure up to Shinji's – but this was not a reason not to try, especially if it meant that she was doing better work than Misato, every single time. 'I'm at least trying', she grumbled to herself as she finally managed to flip the somewhat-circle-shaped omelette, one of the things she learned to make so she could avoid eating toast every morning. She still had to eat it when it was Misato's turn, but it was still an improvement.

She scanned the schedule – a new sheet with TEMPORARY scribbled in red, Latin letters next to the regular, Japanese header; this was her doing, just as the fact that it was taped over the old one, not replacing it – and registered it was her turn to take out the trash and Misato's turn to make the dinner. Her stomach turned at the latter thought – she could only hope that it meant that it was going to be take-out time.

She sighed heavily; she tried not to think about food too much. The fact that she was bouncing between her own attempts at cooking, take-outs, Misato's almost successful attempts at making rat poison, and the school's cafeteria slop was quickly making her appetite wither into nothing.

"Something's wrong, Asuka?" Misato finally spoke up over her cup of coffee. "Also, I hope this pancake comes with something?"

"With whatever you put on it", Asuka barked out in response. "I suppose anything that goes on a toast, goes on an omelette, too. I'm sorry, I couldn't find time nor any avocado to make guacamole or anything that fancy, though."

Misato let out a heavy sigh and rolled her eyes. "Okay, I get it. No need to be so snappy about it", she said as she stood up and hauled a half-empty jar of marmalade from the fridge.

"Is being nice included in the requirements, now?" Asuka kept going, her tone still unpleasant. "And there's nothing wrong. Except the usual, of course. You know, that part with someone missing. Nothing important", she replied, not even trying to hide her hostility. "Ah. Yes. Enjoy the food."

Misato let out another sigh. "Asuka, I get it, you're worried. And so am I. But–"

"If you want to give me the you're a soldier, keep calm and carry on lecture, could you don't bother?" Asuka shot back. "He might be suffering there every waking second for all we know, and–"

"Will you listen?!" Misato's mix of sympathy and annoyance exploded into anger in the blink of an eye. "What else do you want to hear? That it's all a game? That NERV is messing with you to test you, and that he's waiting for you in the next room? Or that, right now, we're flying in a wizard that'll wave a wand and make him come out in an instant?" she paused, her stare still angry. "You know well that getting him out is a priority for the moment, even if it's, frankly, contrary to what the operational logic should be, since it means we're neglecting Unit-02! I'm not expecting you to be all cheerful and happy, sure, I'm not stupid, but could you please not make my life harder when I'm trying to hold my part of that mess together?"

Asuka could find no good reply to that; all that came to her were insults, and while she was angry herself, she knew Misato was at least partially right – not to mention, deserved better than just being insulted over, effectively, performing her duties. She just clenched her teeth and wordlessly returned to working on the second omelette – only to realise that it got stuck while she was focused on the argument. A low growl escaped her throat as she narrowed her eyes at it and proceeded to do her best to operate the spatula and the pan at the same time in an inept attempt to tear her breakfast-turned-annoyance free.

"And for all we know", Misato picked up after a moment of watching that struggle, "he could be as well just unconscious or asleep. The readings from Unit-01 did not change much, according to the Lieutenant. I really doubt he's suffering."

"Right", Asuka spoke in a dejected, low voice after finally managing to win that small battle and fill her plate with what was left of her attempt at making breakfast for herself. "And that should make me calm and I'm just supposed to sit and wait", she added as she dropped on the chair, her expression sour.

"Nobody's forbidding you from going to the Cages again and watching over him", Misato pointed out. "Just remember to come home in the evening and go to school… at least from time to time", she conceded with a sigh. "People may ask questions otherwise, especially if Rei's there, and you're not."

"Right", Asuka shrugged as she jabbed at the tattered food with a fork without much conviction. "So, it is carry on and hope that one day the idiot will return?"

"Listen, Asuka", Misato shook her head. "I really wish I could tell you that it'll be all right. I really do. But all I can do is hope, just as you. Neither of us has the skills to get him out, others do… and yes, Lieutenant Ibuki is doing her best, and she's not the only one working on it. Have some trust in her, okay?"

Asuka remained silent for a long while, still poking at the food. "I wish I could, really. But…" she paused for a moment and shook her head, not finishing her thought. 'I guess I said enough', she chided herself quietly. "Thanks for letting me stay with him", she added in a far lower voice – and finally started eating.

Misato did not say anything – but her small, sad smile and understanding look were enough.

***

​

Contrary to Asuka's worries, Shinji Ikari was not exactly suffering. He was not doing great, most certainly, mainly because he was still extremely confused and – to a certain degree – distressed. But this was more of an annoyance than actual suffering; after all, he did not feel threatened or endangered. Granted, he felt a certain kinship to that girl from a story Asuka made him read so he could understand her jokes, the one that fell down the rabbit hole. His company at the table left something to wish for in terms of paying attention to him, too. But otherwise, he felt fine. The cake was great, too.

And if he was to be honest with himself, not being in the centre of attention actually suited him right now: he was still trying to come to terms with what his mother told him about how the Evangelions worked, with all that she explained to him about what he was actually doing here, and – last but definitely not least important aspect of the entire situation – with the fact that he still had a mother. Or, perhaps, that he had a mother again.

All this was, of course, far from the first situation when he was given shocking news and forced to process it. He also sort of appreciated the fact that right now, he did not have to process all this while being forced to fight for his life or run away from a mortal threat. This was a welcome change of pace.

His mom and the other woman – no, it was "Doctor Soryu", he corrected himself, not just some other woman – have been ignoring him entirely while continuing their highly technical discussion, using terms he sometimes heard when Doctor Akagi and Lieutenant Ibuki talked, or when Doctor Akagi tried – and usually failed – to explain some nuance of the Evangelion inner workings to the less technically inclined audience.

And so, his mind worked slowly through the facts, occasionally blushing or twitching as he realised some embarrassing fact, mostly coming from the fact that he always thought he was alone in the Entry Plug, and so was not exactly controlling his thoughts. 'Great… I wonder how much Mom really saw… I'm so glad Asuka didn't try to do anything more, I'd burn right here and now if she knew', he mused with his ears burning red. 'And with Asuka being how she is, I'm sure Doctor Soryu has some opinions on me… On the other hand, she seems nice' he pondered. The obvious question arose pretty quickly: 'How someone so nice and friendly could raise someone as aggressive as Asuka?' – and he answered himself immediately. 'She didn't. Asuka lost her when she was about four, too. I really wonder how we both would be if they didn't…' he looked for a word for a moment, 'if they didn't become lost in the experiment. Different, that much is sure…'

Some movement in the bushes not far away caught his attention and interrupted his musings. He shrugged and reached for the teacup. 'This whole place was modelled after a garden, of course, there have to be some animals, right?' he decided and gave it no more thought as he tuned into the conversation that he had been ignoring all the time, right in time for Yui's attention.

"…think you're confusing the difference between modes here, Soryu. Granted, it is not impossible for the Entry Plug to generate the same entry mode as the direct Core connection, but this would not have caused the same configuration, not to mention a significant number of side effects if it happened. I believe Shinji is not absorbed, not exactly. Shinji", she turned to him. "Could you describe exactly what happened before I met you?"

Shinji nodded slowly and started to speak of his experience – from the moment he felt the anger and triumph that made him roar, through the awakening on the moss bed and ensuing confusion, to him exiting the forest. "Do you need me to go further back?" he finally asked

"No, thank you", Kyoko spoke in turn as she shook her head. "This is not very different from how I appeared here, Ikari", she pointed out. "Except for the fight, of course. But everything, including the initial confusion, feels the same."

"And I'm telling you, he is very different in how he feels to me, compared to you", Yui objected. "All I'm saying is, in the end: since he is not absorbed, I think I can push him back. I just don't know where he would end up except for outside, and not all outsides are safe."

"So, we're back to square one", Kyoko sighed and, having noticed Shinji's constantly confused expression, she turned to him. "In short, we can – most likely – show you the exit or even, as your mom says, push you out… sort of… but we don't know where this exit will lead to, exactly."

Yui spread her hands in a pretty much gesture, her facial expression matching. "I'll try to find an answer in the books, but since this is research that would be started after my Contact Experiment… I doubt I'll find much. How is your library progressing?" she turned to Kyoko again.

"A few favourite childhood books on a shelf, I'm afraid", Kyoko shook her head, her expression apologetic. "I don't have your memory palace training."

"Of course", Yui nodded with a concerned expression. "If I find nothing, then we'll have to rely on instinct… and I'm not willing to take a chance, for reasons obvious", she gave Shinji a small smile.

"But… shouldn't I end up in the Entry Plug again?" Shinji asked carefully, his brow furrowed. "Mom, didn't you say that my plugsuit is still there, holding shape?"

"It is…" Yui confirmed hesitantly, "but I'm not absolutely sure you'd end up there. To put it bluntly, you're the first person that this has ever happened to, so you'd be the first one trying to leave."

A sudden realisation flashed in Shinji's mind. "Just as you were the first to try entering, and never got out?"

Yui smiled a sad smile. "Yes… to a degree. As I said, this is a different situation, and since there is no identical precedence to draw experience, it is still a great unknown. I think you understand why I'm not willing to take risks with your life."

Kyoko's lips became a thin line as she interjected: "On the other hand, we can't keep you here forever, especially since those on the outside will try something sooner than later", she pointed out. "And we have absolutely no idea what their attempts will do. They may have more theoretical knowledge, but we have better sensory input. The problem is we can't exactly make those two things work together without tipping the NERV off… which is not an option at the moment."

"That is, regrettably, true", Yui agreed with a sigh. "Perhaps we can reduce the risks, though. I have an idea and I want to hear your opinion on it, Soryu" she started – and began her explanation.

Shinji's brow furrowed once more as both women began to discuss matters too complex for him to grasp; technically, they were still speaking Japanese, but the amount of terminology and odd interjections from German, English, and some other languages he could not even identify obscured the subject to him entirely within the first dozen sentences. As a result, his attention lapsed and his thoughts drifted away once more. 'I want to leave, I want to see Asuka, I want to see Misato-san… but… Mom is here, we just started to talk, and… I missed her so much, and now she's here!' he smiled to himself quietly. 'I wonder how long can I stay here safely… and I wonder what do they think of me outside? I'm sure they see the plugsuit, and from what Doctor Soryu says, they are trying to do something… so they didn't give up on me. I wonder how they're doing… and I really hope they won't poison Pen Pen. Misato-san might not even remember how to feed him right since I took over', he realised with growing worry. 'And I really hope Asuka is not doing anything weird about my absence… no, no, this won't happen. She's smart. She would not do anything weird. Aggressive, sure, violent, certainly, but everyone is used to that. Besides, I'm not that important to her anymore… I guess', he let out a dismayed sigh and shook his head. This train of thought was leading nowhere. 'How did Asuka put that when she tried to teach me those quotes? "That way madness lies"?' he recalled – and shook that off again. It seemed that stopping thinking about Asuka was going to be difficult.

Knowing that food was a good way to distract himself, he reached for a piece of chocolate cake – and his hand froze mid-movement.

A pair of big, red eyes set under a messy nest of blue hair was looking at him from across the table. Those were eyes he had seen before in a similar yet distinct face, a face that looked closer to his age and was framed with a much better haircut. The one he was seeing right now seemed to belong to a girl no older than nine, a girl that was giving off a very feral – if still intelligent – impression.

By itself, this situation would be a reason for some caution at worst.

Except she was also reaching for exactly the same piece of chocolate cake.

And it was the last piece of its kind left on the whole table.

Shinji Ikari had learned several ways of reacting to danger. He did not choose between them consciously, but his brain was already working on the decision on a subconscious level. This did not seem to be a matter of life and death, therefore his brain decided that flight would be absurd – he did not know the area – fighting would be ill-advised – this was not the last piece of food in general – and freezing would likely cause him to lose the cake anyway. Therefore, he chose the last option.

"Um… hello?"

A head tilt he interpreted as curiosity was mixed with a quick eye movement towards the piece of cake – and a threatening expression in the form of slightly narrowed eyes. He slowly backed up, his hand moving away from the contested object – and slowly reaching for a piece of cheesecake next to it.

The unexpected companion at the table, clearly satisfied with his reaction to her non-verbal message, grabbed the piece with an unnaturally quick move and devoured it; Shinji realised there was simply no other word that could describe her action.

Then she smiled at him with a smile resembling one a shark would smile, wider than a smile had any reason to be on the face of a human being.

At this very moment, Shinji understood that this place definitely had something to do with the world on the other side of the rabbit hole.

================================================================

It is, obviously, not the end of this story yet. Expect the next chapter late November or early December.

 

[grommile]

Granted, he felt a certain kinship to that girl from a story Asuka made him read so he could understand her jokes, the one that fell down the rabbit hole.

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On reading this bit, I thought of how Alice was adjudged worthy of lending her identity to an adversary in the Shin Megami Tensei games, and asked the internet how famous Alice is in Japan.

Answer: incredibly.

Alice in Japan: A wonderland of cultural adaptation

When I was in elementary school, my class staged “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” I remember very little about the experience, except for many of the boys rushing around during rehearsals in high spirits shrieking, “Off with their heads!” The girl who played the Queen of Hearts was in...

japannews.yomiuri.co.jp

 

[Boreas Anemos]

On reading this bit, I thought of how Alice was adjudged worthy of lending her identity to an adversary in the Shin Megami Tensei games, and asked the internet how famous Alice is in Japan.

Answer: incredibly.

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I knew it was known, but this is an interesting tidbit to know, thank you. Interesting how the adaptation process adjusted the character to be more Japanese culturally.

I know that the take in story put Shinji (again, I guess) in a position of undereducated, and Asuka in the position of "how could you not know that?", but let's face it - he had a sheltered upbringing.

 

[Boreas Anemos]

WHS?, chapter 14. – "Are you lonely?"

"Hello?" Shinji tried to address the girl once more, this time with far less certainty in his voice; the cheesecake he took instead of the contested chocolate cake was now resting on the plate in front of him, forgotten in the face of the entire situation. He would never say it out loud, since it would have been rude by any standards – but the little girl's smile was making him more than a little bit nervous. To add to the confusion, he had to admit that he was not entirely sure whether the being in front of him was a girl: the clothing and the uncanny resemblance to Rei Ayanami suggested that pretty strongly, but since the stranger had not spoken yet, their hair was a mess no self-respecting girl would dare to ever wear, and they were far too young to judge by appearance, even this was still in the realm of uncertainty. Of course, it mattered little for the moment. "Who… who are you?" he kept going. "I'm Shinji Ikari. What is your name?"

The presumed girl's head turned to the side; she was clearly curious about him, but for some reason, did not reply to his greeting; after a few more careful questions on Shinji's side, her face changed from a wide smile and curious gaze to a deeply ponderous expression only small children are capable of; Shinji, as much as he did not want to admit that, felt a twinge of relief.

"Do you… do you live here?" he tried again after a few moments of silence had passed, gesturing in the general direction of the mansion. "I thought just mom lived here, she never said–" he continued, only to stop abruptly at the sight of what was happening: the girl in front of him took a step forward, crossed through the table as if never existed, and he suddenly found his personal space invaded by a blue-haired, shark-toothed, short girl.

What was even more worrying, the invader seemed to have a strong intent on learning more about him, and, right now, was in the process of sniffing him and visually scrutinising every visible part of him; for some reason, this was making his skin tingle in an unpleasant manner. 'Is… is she wondering whether I'm a good dessert after that chocolate cake?' sprung to his mind. 'No, impossible; that'd be the wrong order: you have your dinner first, then cake', he decided, dismissing his worries for a second – only for them to return immediately with another realisation: 'I am, effectively, on the other side of the mirror right now. Who knows what rules apply here?' came to him with his fear growing as he watched the girl's expression change between curiosity, annoyance, worry, anger, satisfaction, and confusion every few seconds.

Finally, though, she seemed to have decided not to put the teeth she so happily presented a few moments ago to use in any other way than yet another smile. Instead, she grabbed Shinji's hand – and Shinji gasped in pain as the sensation of a thousand needles piercing his skin made him flinch and pull his hand away. The girl's smile vanished, immediately replaced by a frown as she stared at her hand.

"Um… that hurt?" he explained in an apologetic tone.

The frown on the girl's face suddenly turned into realisation; she reached to him again, this time not grabbing, but waiting, almost as if she wanted him to touch her instead.

Shinji hesitated – and the frown on the girl's face returned; she seemed to ponder for a moment, then she grabbed her other hand a few times before extending her hand towards him again.

"Um… you mean… it's safe now?" Shinji tried. This whole situation was getting weirder and weirder with every passing moment, but he had to admit that his curiosity was growing.

The girl nodded eagerly, her hand still extended and Shinji decided to take his chances; he did his best not to flinch when their hands were to touch again – and was pleasantly surprised when he touched nothing but soft, dry, and a little bit cold skin. The girl smiled widely again – and pulled him away from the table with a strength someone her age and stature had no business having; surprised by this and fuelled by his curiosity, Shinji decided that it was better not to resist. After all, his mom and Doctor Soryu raised no objections at all, neither to the girl's presence nor to her actions – so it had to be safe.

For some reason, it eluded him entirely that they were paying absolutely no attention to him.

***

​

Asuka was sitting on the ledge of the Cage's walkway, her legs swinging freely. A cafeteria tray was sitting next to her, filled with now-empty paper plates left from her dinner and a few snack packs, some half-empty, some unopened.

The other people present – the Evangelion maintenance staff and the Science Department technicians who were running the endless tests on Unit-01 – kept ignoring her. They were already used to her somewhat irregular but persistent presence in the Cages and Lieutenant Ibuki had ordered them not to ask Pilot Soryu to leave as long as she "did not make their work harder" and "her presence or activity did not disrupt the sensors". Odd as the order sounded to them, they complied with only a few hushed comments shared between themselves. After all, the pilots always had very wide access to NERV facilities, second only to the highest-ranking staff. On the other hand, the Cages have always been on a need-to-access basis. Still, since everything that happened in NERV happened for a reason, it could be logically concluded that since Pilot Soryu was allowed to be here, it meant she needed to be here. Even if her presence did feel irregular and somewhat out of place.

"You wouldn't believe what I had to go through to get all this", she spoke as she put the half-empty box with salty crackers down on the tray and looked Unit-01 in the eye again. For some reason she could not exactly put into words, the unblinking eyes of the being in front of her did not terrify her; she wrote it off as being used to Evangelions all her life and refused to dwell on it further. "First, they objected to me being allowed to eat there at all, almost as if they forgot I work here. When I said I had the Major's permission, they checked it in the system and gave in, but then, then they told me I'm not on the regular chow list! That I am supposed to be eating at school, at home, or only during test days, otherwise it is disruptive to their supply process. As if anyone cared!" she shrugged and rolled her eyes. "For a canteen that was supposed to feed the entire personnel of a big unit, they were unusually fussy about a single meal", she paused and reached for a few crackers. "Yeah, yeah, I hear you already, this is not exactly a single meal, you'd say. Yeah, sure, I took some for later. I'm not going anywhere for a while, right? Besides, if you finally decided to move your ass from the inside of this ugly–" she stopped suddenly, reminding herself that she was not alone and that while she might be getting a pass for talking to an Evangelion, she did not have one to be rude about an Evangelion. "From the inside of this Death on Two Legs, you might need something to eat", she paused to chew for a few long moments.

"Shit, normally now it'd be the time for you to be confused, and me to explain why Death on Two Legs is important, what does this mean, and that Freddie and Eddie are two very different people", she started again, her tone far more wistful now. She clenched her teeth, suddenly aware that the tears were not too far away down that path – and this was not something she could afford. Not here, not now.

"So… yeah. I've got some stuff for you to eat, idiot", she added as she straightened herself. "On the other hand, there's still a possibility you'd make your exit in some stupid way and land face-first on the walkway, so you'd be eating for the next few days through a drip and I'd get to laugh at you!" she grinned as she stared in the eyes above her.

'And what I'd give to do just that', she admitted to herself quietly. 'And watch you scramble for a reply, only to end up with an apology, letting me scold you for lacking a spine… Fuck', she let out a heavy sigh. 'I miss you, idiot. I really miss you. And I hope this will help draw you out, because if… if this continues…'

She shook the thoughts off again as she shut her eyes tight; this was not how this was supposed to be going. Yes, it was difficult to keep her mind on track; yes, it was difficult to keep a brave face; yes, it was difficult to stay her usual self among the people around her. But this was exactly what she was supposed to do. Not for Misato's sake, not for the organisation that could barely keep it together as it was – but for herself.

And so, after only a few deep breaths and a few snacks more to put her mind at ease for a bit more, she tossed her head back, stared into those huge, weird eyes once more – and started talking in a very different, light tone: "You've missed quite a lot at school, you know. Hikari has a whole file ready for you, just for the time you come out. I imagine how this catching up will look like, and how much help you're going to need…" she carried on, describing the dreadful fate awaiting him with mock delight in her tone.

All that time, the activities around her continued, the technicians and workers paying absolutely no attention to her words.

And all that time, Unit-01 stood there as it did before – unmoved by anything, somewhat marred but definitely not broken, cracked in places but not crushed; a silent monument keeping its secrets, a shell that right now contained a few more souls than it was ever supposed to contain.

***

​

"Where are we going?" Shinji asked as the girl kept pulling him by his hand even after they crossed the treeline. 'She's bringing me here to eat me in peace, away from mom's eyes' sprung to his mind again, only to be dismissed. 'The fact that she looks scary doesn't mean she's not friendly!' he decided – and his mood immediately turned to sad as Asuka's face came to his mind.

Fortunately for him, he had no time to ponder on that thought; going deeper and deeper into the forest required a lot of attention and, at least once, resulted in him hitting his head on a branch when said attention slipped for a short moment. His guide seemed to be quite good at navigating the area – but she was making a common mistake of someone operating on instinct: in her choice of path, she did not accommodate for the fact that the other person was different from her – in this case, noticeably taller and wider.

Fortunately for Shinji, the pain was quickly subsiding, and they seemed to have reached their destination only a moment later. After passing a particularly deep wall of shrubbery near a wall, he found himself in a very odd place. He would normally call it a clearing, except the only reason for that would be because it was devoid of growing, living trees; aside from that, it was very far from clear. Quite the opposite: it was full of tree stumps, wind-fallen trees, and twisted branches in various forms and shapes, ranging from gnarly but otherwise pretty normal, through things one could climb and rest on, to wooden constructions outright resembling mundane objects, up to and including hospital equipment and computer screens. All this, perfectly silent, carpeted with extensive moss bed and dead leaves, bathed in static wisps of mist, covered in mushroom caps, various other fungal growths, and creeping vines gave him an eerie feeling, heavily contrasting with the sunny and perfectly ordered, regulated forest outside. The only thing in common that Shinji noticed between those worlds was a complete lack of any insects and animals – but otherwise, they could not be different while still fitting the general concept of being sylvan.

The girl let go of his hand and climbed one of the logs with speed, agility, and precision that few children and no adults could hope for; before Shinji could blink, she was sitting atop one of the gnarled, mushroom-covered wooden constructions – and the moment she was there, and only then, it became clear to Shinji that this was supposed to be something of a throne. She smiled widely at him the moment she took her place there, looking from above at his confused face – but there was nothing but happiness in that smile and playfulness in that glare.

"Okay…" he finally managed to speak. "This is your place, right? Your… room?"

The girl nodded intensely, her smile widening; she took a quick look around, jumped down from the throne, slid down a log with the same unbelievable agility, and landed next to a particularly dense cluster of vines. A few moments of her frantic activity later, a very confused Shinji was presented with an upside-down, plate-sized mushroom cap full of various small fruits.

"Um… thank you?" he managed to say, unsure what he was supposed to do. On one hand, he was clearly being seen as a guest and offered food; not eating would be very rude. On the other, he recognised absolutely none of the fruits; moreover, this place's eerie atmosphere brought some memories of folk tales, both Japanese and Western, tales that specifically and strongly suggested that eating the food of strange creatures while in their domain was a patently bad idea.

The girl motioned the "bowl" towards him again, suggesting in no uncertain terms what was expected of him. It seemed that he was about to make the choice between being rude to someone who was friendly to him and taking a chance with his very life – or, depending on the retelling, with his very soul.

"Can you… can you perhaps tell me what those are?" he asked carefully. "Um… can you… can you speak at all?" he tried and winced, suddenly aware of how rude that sounded.

The girl's face frowned, signs of frustration appearing all over it; she put the mushroom cap down on one of the stumps and squatted next to it, deep in thought; Shinji, already feeling bad about not accepting the gift of food, followed suit in an attempt not to offend her even more. The girl, her face now expressing a realisation, reached into the "bowl", picked a few of the fruits up, and devoured them in one bite, smiling her usual wide – and still invariably disturbing to him – smile a moment later.

"I guess that means it's safe", Shinji concluded with a careful smile – and reached into the cap.

***

​

The Cages were quite dark most of the time, with limited LED-based indicators showing the evacuation paths and the basic directions. The big lights were activated only when someone who needed them to work on Evangelions entered the halls – and by this hour, the team working on Unit-01 had left on the orders of Commander Ikari, brought to them by Lieutenant Ibuki. There were some objections raised by the team, of course – but the Lieutenant explained, that while the Commander "understood their enthusiasm and appreciated their fervour", he also "expected them to be in good condition should the next Angel attack happen, and there is no predicting on when than could be", and therefore, they were limited to two shifts in a row at most.

Asuka, unaffected by those orders – after all, she was not on duty right now and her Evangelion was in recovery anyway – did not mind their absence at all. She was used to being alone, and fewer people present meant fewer people that could see her face and – most importantly – the feelings displayed on it, feelings that were becoming more and more obvious as she kept talking to Unit-01 and – at least in her hopes – to Shinji.

But even Asuka's endurance had limits – not to mention, she was not exactly eager to listen to Misato's lecture about her responsibilities again. And so, once the final snacks were gone, Asuka's musings on the nature of Evangelions ran out, there was no more school gossip to tell, and her digressions on pop culture drew to an end, she let out a heavy breath and climbed back to her feet. "Time to go", she declared. "Pity that you didn't decide to get out while I was here, really. If you decide to do that while I'm not here, I'm going to be really annoyed with you, you know", she added with a lop-sided grin, turned away – and hesitated.

She took a good look around; there was nobody there, she was quite sure about that – but she was not going to take any chances. Having made sure that she was alone, she took a careful step forward and put both of her hands on the scratched frontal armour of Unit-01, resting her head against the protruding Core.

"I know you're there", she whispered. "And I know you still might be angry at me. I get it. But… I love you, idiot. And I want you to come back. I… I don't know if you hear me, and I don't care. But I want you to come back, and I'll be waiting."

She paused for a few long moments.

"There. I said it again", she added in the same whisper. "And if you didn't hear it, well, your loss", she added with a tearful chuckle before taking a step back.

"And don't you dare stay there for too long", she added aloud in the general direction of Unit-01. "The amount of chores to do in your place is killing me!"

She turned, picked up the tray full of empty packages and wraps, and left without looking back. This was neither the time nor the place for crying; a single expression she allowed herself as she was walking through the Cages to the elevator was a frown and a shrug at yet another small shrine tucked away in the bend of the corridor.

She knew this was going to be yet another bad night and even worse morning – but at least she got to spend some time here. And this made it somewhat bearable.

At least for now.

***

​

'If regret had a taste, that would be it' was Shinji's first thought after biting into the oblong-shaped, purplish fruit he chose from the makeshift bowl. It did not taste bad, per se. It just did not taste like any fruit Shinji had ever eaten – or, to be more precise, it did not taste like anything Shinji had ever eaten. It tasted both sour and like loneliness, with undertones of fear mixed with tartness. His rational mind tried to tell him that this was plainly impossible – after all, food could simply not taste like emotions – but the sensations he was experiencing right now were telling him something else.

He opened his eyes he had shut the moment the sensations overwhelmed him – and met the stare of the big, red eyes in front of him, now looking at him expectantly. There were, of course, no words exchanged – he no longer expected them – but there was a very obvious question posed by this stare.

"It's… unusual", he tried. "I… I never… I mean, it's a very new taste", he stated, still fighting the almost numbing effect this taste had on his tongue. 'Technically correct, the best kind of correct!' sprung to his mind, once more invoking the image of Asuka, the image that right now, matched the feelings he just tasted very well.

And he breathed a small and discreet breath of relief when he realised that his strange host had apparently taken this as a compliment – but his relief quickly turned to panic when the girl reached for the improvised bowl and extended it towards him again. He knew that this meant he was going to taste something odd again and could only hope – and perhaps pray – that the next fruit would not contain panic wrapped in bitterness or suicidal thoughts wrapped in a sixth taste that would drive him insane. He was aware that the risk of that was distinctly low – but his list of the strangest things that have happened to him was being rapidly expanded – and he was not exactly happy about that.

His salvation came from an unexpected direction.

"Shinji!" a familiar voice rang from behind the tall trees and thick shrubberies. "Shinji, are you there?"

The girl momentarily jumped up, her expression surprised and nervous, her hands dropping everything; the "bowl" fell to the mossy floor, scattering the fruits and rolling behind some logs. The girl waved her hands in panic for a short moment before grabbing his hand again and diving towards the barely visible hole in the shrubbery, the same they came in through – and within a few very scratchy seconds, he was surrounded by the regular, orderly forest once more. The girl smiled at him – he could have sworn this smile was somewhat embarrassed now – let go of his hand, and dived back between the dense branches and bushes.

He was alone again, and the only reassurance that this really happened was the oddest aftertaste in his mouth and the fading sensations of scratches on his skin.

"Shin-jiii!" a call carried again over the forest, now in his mother's voice, bringing him to reality again.

"I'm – I'm here", he declared. "I'm here!" he repeated louder and headed in the general direction of the voice.

"Ha, here you are indeed!" he suddenly heard far closer in the voice of Doctor Soryu. "We've been looking everywhere for you", she added with a hint of relief in her tone.

"I'm sorry", he replied automatically as he turned towards the direction whence the voice came. "I just kind of wandered off", he admitted half-truthfully as he saw the redheaded woman emerging from between the trees.

"Are you all right?" Doctor Soryu checked, glancing him over quickly with a content smile on her face.

"Um… yes?" he replied with a confused expression. "It's not that there are snakes here, right?"

"None at all", she chuckled in response. "You might have noticed that very few things move here, right? And let me guess, we bored you to tears with our theories and deliberations?"

"Well…" Shinji looked away. Something was telling him that he was not supposed to say anything about the secret hideout – or, perhaps, even the very existence of the strange girl – and this was a good excuse to avoid mentioning this strange adventure. On the other hand, it felt quite dishonest, not even fitting into the technically correct area he was relatively comfortable with. After all, to be bored, he would have to be listening to their conversation. "It was far beyond anything I could understand, I think", he finally admitted.

"I'm sorry", Doctor Soryu said, sounding genuinely apologetic. "Ikari… I mean, your mother… she tends to get very technical, and I often follow her in that out of sheer habit. But I think we have found a solution. Come. We need to talk, and we're going to have a moment while your mother goes through her library."

Shinji frowned for a second, his expression worried. "Talk?" he asked as he followed her towards the path.

"Ikari, I found him! Go ahead!" she yelled out and listened for an acknowledgement before turning his attention back to him. "Yes", she confirmed – and laughed as she saw his worried face. "Don't worry, I won't bore you with the theories and calculations, I barely grasp the details myself; your mother is much better at the souls and incarnations part of the Evangelion. I was always more specialised in biology. I want to talk to you about Asuka, if you don't mind", she explained with a warm smile.

"Asuka?" his worry turned into borderline panic. "I'm – I'm – I'm sorry."

"What?" Doctor Soryu paused in her walk, her expression changing from a smile to a frown of confusion, followed by a small chuckle. "Oh. No, no, I don't blame you for anything. Don't worry about that. I know things are… difficult for you. Both of you, I mean. And it's not going to be a… how do the Americans call it… shovel talk" she said the last two words in English, with another small chuckle. "I don't know what you were expecting, but I'm not going to yell at you for dating my daughter. Nor for the fact you two were fighting; those things happen. I actually want to… well, help you a bit."

"Help me?" Shinji managed despite the embarrassment he felt, perfectly demonstrated by his burning ears and flushed cheeks. "How?"

"Well, I know Asuka, wonderful as she is, is not the… easiest person to be around. And I know all too well that my absence in her life is to blame", she said with a shadow of sadness passing through her face for a moment, "but this doesn't mean that she's supposed to be impossible to be around. And I want her to be happy, more than anything in the world… and I think – no, I know for a fact that you were contributing to that happiness… well, quite a lot. So, I want to make it as easy for you as possible. If you're willing to give her another chance, that is."

Shinji pondered for a moment; he heard some rumours about how best-intended interventions from parents were often a kiss of death to a relationship – but since neither the Doctor nor his mother could intervene directly, at least not for now, he decided it could be worth the risk. 'Asuka's mom is the second-best source of information about Asuka, right? Or third-best, if we count Misato-san… except her relationship advice was never very good', he admitted to himself. "I'd like that, Doctor Soryu."

"Wonderful", she smiled. "Let's make some fresh tea – and then we can talk while your mom works."

Shinji nodded and followed her as they finally reached the path and slowly made their way out to the clearing. He did so without looking back – and most likely for the better. It would have been difficult for him to hide his nervousness, had he noticed the red eyes again – and the smaller, yet still present smile.

After all, curiosity and the thirst for novelty was a powerful force.

================================================================

This part of the story is slowly drawing to an end. I expect about one more chapter before the regular story returns.

Expect it sometime in January; considering my current state of affairs and upcoming continuation of the Doll series, the second half is more likely.

 

[Boreas Anemos]

WHS?, chapter 15. – "Do I have to?"

Shinji Ikari has never been a perfect student – but it would have been a mistake to call him a poor one, either. He was, as he was prone to be with many things, somewhere in the middle: safely tucked in in a spot that allowed him not to draw too much attention to himself, be it through ineptitude or overachievement. But there were a few things that he always remembered and recalled perfectly – and among those things were facts that made his efforts towards making people happier easier: daily habits, preferred foods, beloved beverages, important events to celebrate… Some people, of course, would call that a tendency to please people that always goes too far for his own good – but few voiced this opinion loud enough for him to hear. And if anyone did, he would always claim that making people he cared about happy made him happy.

And so, he was listening to Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu intently, absorbing all the little but important details she was sharing, all because they were about Asuka: a detailed recipe for a cake whose name he did not even try to pronounce, small stories of her childhood that explained this and that in her behaviour, the date of her birthday, and many, many other, minuscule but important titbits.

What made him confused was the fact that he did not ask for most of them – Doctor Soryu offered them freely. He could find a few reasons for that, of course, but since he had so much to absorb and his host's ability to talk fast was quite similar to Asuka's, he put his ponderings aside – and focused on committing everything to memory.

After all, it was quite reasonable to assume that Asuka's mother would only want the best for her.

***​

Meanwhile, at the NERV HQ

"Let me guess… the visiting hours are about to begin?" Misato asked with a raised eyebrow as she noticed her door opening.

"Yes, and don't give me that eye. I was at school today", Asuka objected as she set a takeout box down on her desk. "Here. Little birds told me you weren't eating, and doctors say it's a shit way to lose weight. If you want to stay alive, that is."

"Thanks", Misato let out a sigh, not paying any attention to the subtext of Asuka's words. "But don't tell me that the school day was shortened when I was not looking."

"Yeah, I claimed NERV business to get out early", Asuka admitted with a shrug. "I can catch up with Maths once this madness is done, no sweat. And I don't need PE, I'm at the top of the class and can only get better by training here. Really, none of us should be doing those classes, anyway", she added with a shrug and continued before Misato could react. "And now, if you excuse me, I have a certain idiot to tend to, and my own lunch to eat. Oh, and I fed Pen Pen in the morning, so you don't need to rush home. Unless you want to, you know, sleep like a human being instead of under your desk."

"Thanks again", Misato smiled a weak smile. "I'll try."

"Don't mention it. And I hope you will. See you later", Asuka declared, turned around in a single spin, and left.

Misato let out another sigh, this time tinted with relief that Asuka did not ask about the progress of the operation, saving her from having to lie about it.

She just shook the thought off just as quickly as it appeared to avoid sinking into a pit of despair again – and opened the box holding her first meal of the day, quietly blessing her charge's surprising thoughtfulness.

***​

"Do you have any further questions, Shinji-kun?" Kyoko asked after a few moments after finishing her lecture.

"I don't think so…" he replied after a moment of thought. "Thank you, Doctor. I just… I just hope Asuka will want to talk to me."

"Oh, don't worry about that. You're a good boy, Shinji-kun. And she cares about you, more than you can imagine", Kyoko smiled, making Shinji suddenly realise how her expressions were similar to Asuka's – and how much he missed the sight of Asuka's smile. "I know she is not best at showing that", she paused, a small twitch passing through her face, "but I assure you: she does. Just be the caring man you are, be strong, and it will be all right. I never pry into her thoughts and emotions, but what she thought of openly… let's say I know what I'm talking about", she explained, her smile widening a bit and gaining a slightly embarrassed undertone.

"I'll do my best", he reassured her with a nod and a slight blush appearing on his face. 'And I really hope you're right, ma'am' sprang to his mind quietly. 'Because if you're not, you would have wasted a lot of your time…'

"I'm sure you will. And I know Asuka will be receptive", Kyoko reassured him as she poured him another cup of tea. "And now, while we still have time… could you tell me something?"

"Um… sure?" he readily agreed, his voice confused.

"How is the world outside right now?" Kyoko asked, her voice now curious. "I only get to see it through the eyes of my Unit when we are deployed, which, as you can imagine, is somewhat biased and quite limited. And, of course, through what Asuka is broadcasting when she's inside me", she paused for a moment, realising how odd – and vaguely Freudian – this sounded and resumed as she quickly concluded that she had no better term at hand, "and, let's be honest, a lot of those thoughts were about you, not the world", she explained.

Shinji's blush grew a bit more. "I'm sorry, I hope this is not something that you don't want to see."

"Is there anything I should not want to see, Shinji-kun?" Kyoko asked with a suddenly sly smile.

Shinji's blush immediately turned into a fully red face, as much as it was possible with his complexion, creeping up his ears just as quickly. His hitherto slightly embarrassed expression changed into a full panic as he vehemently waved his hands. "No, ma'am! Nothing! No!"

"You fluster far too easily, Shinji-kun", Kyoko chuckled. "Don't worry, didn't I already tell you? I know that you'll treat Asuka well and that would never hurt her. So… tell me about how the world changed? Did it recover?"

Shinji took a deep breath, gave Kyoko a thankful look – and started talking.

***​

A little while later

Shinji noticed his mother the moment she emerged from the mansion; Kyoko followed his gaze and smiled. "Seems we'll have to finish later", she commented. "Thank you for indulging me, Shinji-kun. I still miss the outside world, no matter how horrid it became during my adult life. I'm happy to hear it is somewhat getting better. Angels notwithstanding, that is."

"It was my pleasure, Doctor Soryu", Shinji smiled.

Kyoko smiled at him and turned to face approaching Yui. "How did it go, Ikari? Do you need assistance?"

"No", Yui shook her head. "I know what I needed to know… and I have some bad news and some good news", she admitted with a tight expression. "We can send you back", she said as she turned to Shinji, taking his hand.

"But?" Kyoko asked in his stead.

"But we have to do it soon", Yui continued. "The longer an unattached – that means, not one currently incarnated – soul remains here, the more it becomes suffused with what this place is, and sooner or later, it will be tied too much to leave. You, me, or our… other guest are likely affected to a far lesser degree, if at all, because we have inviolably strong anchors in our own Eva bodies – but all you have right now", she turned back to Shinji, "is a mass of LCL held together by a decaying AT Field. Most likely decaying, since the mind is here, that is."

"So…" Shinji pondered for a moment, trying to ignore a cold ball growing in his stomach. "If I don't leave soon, I'll die?" he asked in a forcibly calm tone.

"You're not going to die, not in the regular sense of the word", Yui shook her head. "I will not bother you with Metaphysical Biology and its theoretical background, but in short, death as you understand it is an illusion, nothing but a step along a path. And it doesn't apply here… not in your situation. The problem is that what would happen to you is worryingly close: you would lose your body cohesion and become a part of this mindscape. Should it ever… end for any reason, you would indeed die. Possibly with soul damage, too, and this is a fate to be avoided at all cost."

"Can this process be reversed?" Kyoko interjected, her expression now focused.

"I don't know. I don't think so", Yui admitted with a hint of annoyance in her tone. "Not here. Perhaps through time outside, as the soul bleeds the influence, yes. But it can be slowed down. First and foremost, stop eating and drinking anything", she cautioned Shinji. "This will give us more time."

"He's still breathing", Kyoko reminded.

"I'm aware", Yui agreed. "But I'm quite sure that this is far less of a factor – food and drink are far more important culture-wise… and symbolically, of course. And this is what matters here, primarily. There are not many things that would be more binding, but let's not discuss them now. But regardless of how we slow it down, I still want to try the expulsion procedure soon."

"But… Mom…" Shinji's stomach twisted as he listened; his voice was starting to shake. "I… just came here, and…"

"Believe me, I already thought of that", Yui replied as she squeezed his hand tightly. "I just got you back, and I have so much to tell you, to ask of you. But waiting too long may kill you, and this is not a risk I'm going to take."

"Let me guess, there's no reliable way of measuring this effect?" Kyoko interjected. "Sorry, of course there's none", she answered herself, "you'd be doing it right now otherwise."

"Well, I am a bit ahead of you", Yui replied with a small smile. "There is something to measure, and you do it by looking deep into the subject's eyes… and I did it a moment ago."

"Right", Kyoko nodded with understanding. "Window to the soul, right?"

"Exactly. You still have some time, by my reckoning", she turned to Shinji again, "but we're talking hours, not days. Beyond that, your soul is in danger."

"I… I'm sorry, Mom, this… this is a bit…"

"…overwhelming?" she finished for him.

"Strange? Crazy?" he tried.

"I'm sorry, Shinji", she smiled a sad smile. "This is your legacy, whether you wish it or not. I truly hoped I would bear most of the burden, and you'd simply live in a better world, but threads of Fate weave in the strangest ways, and Powers… they rarely care about what we wish for. But we still have a moment, I will be checking on you constantly", she paused and turned to Kyoko. "Can you give us a moment?"

"Of course", Kyoko nodded and turned to Shinji. "Thank you, Shinji-kun. I hope I'll see you again… and please, take good care of Asuka."

"I will", Shinji confirmed with a smile.

"Speaking of which… could I perhaps see your eyes before you leave?" Kyoko paused. "Ikari? Could you show me what to look for?"

"Ah. Yes", Yui nodded – and did her best to describe the symptoms. A few minutes later, Kyoko was walking toward the treeline, leaving mother and son alone at the now-empty table.

"Mom… is there no other way?" Shinji turned to Yui.

"I wish there was, dear", Yui replied as she pulled him into a hug without a second thought the moment Kyoko was out of sight. "I'm sorry", she whispered into his hair. "I'll still be able to contact you once you're in the Plug, and you'll be able to reply in your thoughts. This… this will have to do, at least until we find another way."

"You mean… a way to pull me here safely?" Shinji asked as he embraced her; he tried to ignore the fact that his voice was shaking.

"No, Shinji-dear", Yui smiled. "If all goes right, and I do mean all of it, then perhaps we will be able to leave. But this will take a lot of work, some luck, and I will need your help, too. But then… then we're going to have all the time in the world."

"How could I possibly help?" Shinji asked, his voice confused. "I'm just a boy."

"And a pilot, and you're my son", Yui countered as she pulled away a bit to look into his eyes. "It'll become clear in time. I believe there are still a few Angels that have to be defeated, and I'll be at your side so you can get through that. And Doctor Soryu will help Asuka, too. We'll get through that."

Shinji smiled and nodded – but after a few moments, his brow furrowed. "And who is helping Ayanami? Who is helping her? I mean… someone has to be inside Unit-00, right?"

"It's… complicated", Yui admitted, looking aside. "She is… helping herself, so to say. You see, the soul inside has to be someone close to the pilot. For you and Asuka, this is me and Doctor Soryu. For her… I believe it is herself. There are, so to say, two of them. I'm afraid we don't have time to explain that better… but I think you should try to befriend Ayanami. I think she… needs that. And she's a fellow pilot."

"I'm not very good with friends, Mom", Shinji objected. "And… Asuka would murder me. Creatively and viciously. And she would be in her rights to do so."

"You're selling yourself short, Shinji. And I don't think she's that bad", Yui chuckled. "Besides, I'm not telling you to date Rei. It would be a horrible idea, indeed, for a… few reasons. I'm saying you should do a Pilot Night Out… well, Pilot Café Party, perhaps, more appropriately", she corrected herself with a smile. "I'm sure you'll think of something."

Shinji nodded – and squeezed Yui's hands. "I love you, Mom. I want to stay, to talk, to–" his voice shaking more and more with every word.

"Shh", she pulled him to her chest and hugged him tightly. "Don't talk. I love you, too, Shinji… and I'll bring that bright future you deserve. With your help, with Soryu's help… I promise."

Shinji did not reply; he was not really listening anymore, he was just desperately taking in the last moments of something he had lost forever, miraculously regained – and was about to lose again.

He did not know for how long he stayed like that; time mattered little here, as it seemed. She was talking to him, reminiscing things of the short time they had; he, obviously, did not remember anything of this – but it did not matter. He once remembered that soothing voice – and now he was hearing it again.

And for once, he felt safe again.

***​

"It's time, Shinji", broke him out of this blissful mood.

"I'm ready, Mom", he declared after a few long moments, his voice still weak.

Yui smiled a sad smile at him; her own eyes were telling a story of her emotions – and her self-control.

"Let get you out, Shinji", she said – and a moment of ministrations later, assisted by now-returned Kyoko, he felt a sudden dizziness; his last sensation was a feeling of letting go of the hand he was holding.

And then he just kept falling.

================================================================

The final chapter grew to a size where keeping it a single chapter made no sense, and thus, this is the first part of it. Expect the finale of this story later this month, than there will be a short break, and Two Souls should resume.

 

[Waffelmeister]

How it's supposed to go, is Shinji reforms in his plug suit hale and healthy, and then is politely ejected out of the entry plug, about as normal as can be...

How I want it to go, is for the Eva unit to open it's mouth and spit a naked screaming Shinji at Asuka. For the lulz.

 

[Boreas Anemos]

How it's supposed to go, is Shinji reforms in his plug suit hale and healthy, and then is politely ejected out of the entry plug, about as normal as can be...

How I want it to go, is for the Eva unit to open it's mouth and spit a naked screaming Shinji at Asuka. For the lulz.

Click to shrink...

Well... what can I say... the next part is very likely to come up today, so you'll be able to see for yourself.

Also, Asuka is involved. Of course there will be screaming.

 

[Boreas Anemos]

WHS?, chapter 16. – "We need to talk"

Asuka Langley Soryu could be called many things: impulsive, annoying, impatient, aggressive, violent, cruel, hostile, unbound, unrepentant… She, of course, preferred to frame those things differently: quick-thinking, persistent, unwilling to waste time, to-the-point, able to get things done, self-assured, refusing to be contained… Opinions on how correct was her reframing differed – usually between her and the rest of the world – but she did not let such a detail ruin her worldview, let alone ruin her mood. And at the moment, it seemed that the positive perspective was not incorrect; she was, once more, holding watch over Unit-01.

"…and as usual, Hikari was asking all the stupid questions", she monologued as she munched on yet another salted pretzel that she managed to wrest from NERV's supplies. "You know the kind: 'When is he coming back?' and 'How should we expect him to catch up with the curriculum?', et cetera, et cetera… and I was all like 'He's a smart boy, he'll manage', and she was–"

She cut her rambling short the moment she noticed something was wrong; her relaxed posture vanished immediately, replaced by a tense, ready-to-strike attitude she always had in a combat situation. She could not consciously say what made her assume this posture, but she knew better than to ignore her instincts. It took her a few long, tense seconds to realise that the hitherto solid, red surface of the Core was rippling. "What the…" she mumbled as she slowly climbed to her feet, not letting the increasingly unstable surface off her sight. Her combat training was telling her to back off at least a few steps, but since the Cage walkways were far from compliance with any safety rules and she was unwilling to take her eyes off the potential danger, this was not a real option. "Shinji? Is that you?" she asked in a loud voice, holding her ground instead. "If you want to scare me, it's not–"

She did not get to finish: the rippling suddenly intensified and her reflexes took over.

When her conscious mind returned control a few short seconds later, the sensations hit her all at once: the hard floor of the walkway she fell onto, ending too soon and leaving her head and shoulders hanging; the pain from the sudden fall and being hit by something, and – most importantly – a clearly human form that was, right now, laying atop her, a form she was holding onto tightly as a defensive reflex, a form that definitely felt off for some reason she could not point her finger on–

"Mrglbfff… Ftrafberry?"

"Was zur neunten Hölle…" she blurted out as she tried to quickly assess the situation.

"A… Afuka?" came out in a muffled and incoherent voice that could belong to nobody but Shinji. Good, even wonderful, her mind told her. He was, clearly, out of the machine and in her arms. Also good, not to mention convenient. He apparently fell atop of her and almost knocked her down from the Cage's catwalk, not so good and definitely inconvenient. And something was still off about his–

Realisation clicked in Asuka's mind as the obvious but impossible-to-accept facts came to her.

"Du… du… du perverse Idiot!"

***

​

Meanwhile inside Unit-01

Yui's expression was inscrutable, a mix of amusement, annoyance, satisfaction, and defeat.

"How did it work out, Ikari?" Kyoko finally decided to ask after a few long seconds of studying her companion's face.

"Well, it could've gone a little bit better", Yui finally admitted, shaking her head with a heavy sigh. "But he got out just fine… well, a little confused, but that's it. And she is fine, too."

Kyoko raised her eyebrow questioningly – and Yui started to explain the issue in a voice that was far from happy.

***

​

NERV HQ, a few hours later

Shinji Ikari was accustomed to seeing the hospital ceiling. Admittedly, he was here not that often anymore – but it was often enough to be both familiar and annoying. "Well, here I go again…" he sighed with mild resignation.

"You are awake", a familiar, impassive voice stated. "I shall report that to Major Katsuragi."

"Oh. Wait", Shinji managed to blurt out before Rei reached the door, turning his head toward the source of the voice; the simultaneous similarity and difference between the face he was seeing now and saw in the weird forest was jarring – but there was no time to ponder that now. "What… what happened?"

"You had been absorbed by Evangelion Unit-01 and subsequently returned. Your return has been reported by Pilot Soryu, who was present at the scene. Between being found and the time the medical team has reached you, you have lost consciousness and have been brought to this location to recuperate", Rei Ayanami reported in her usual, emotionless voice. "Are you able to describe your general condition?"

"I'm… fine?" Shinji replied after a few seconds of consideration. "I feel no pain, I'm just… hungry?"

"I will report that along with the fact of your awakening. Is there anything else?"

"Did any other Angel come while I was out?"

"There were no Angel incursions between your absorption and your emergence", Rei replied.

"Well, nice of them to have waited. Thank you, Ayanami-san", he smiled weakly.

Rei seemed to have raised an eyebrow by about a millimetre in a mildly confused expression. "There is no reason for your gratitude. I have been requested to keep a watch over you. I shall now depart to report my findings."

"Of course", Shinji nodded to that. "Is… is Asuka here?"

"Positive. Pilot Soryu is waiting outside, for reasons unknown to me", Rei replied; Shinji could swear he heard an annoyed huff even through the solid wall. "Should I request her presence?"

"No, no, thank you", Shinji shook his head. "I'll ask her myself."

"Leaving your bed is unadvised due to social reasons", Rei countered.

"Social?" Shinji asked, his voice suddenly confused.

"For reasons unknown to me, possibly scientific in nature, judging by the sensors attached to your chest, you had not been provided any form of hospital attire", Rei explained in a perfect deadpan. "Your unclothed appearance could cause disturbance in social norms."

"Um… could you tell someone in charge that I'd like to get… well, something to wear?" Shinji asked, his ears quickly turning red.

"I shall relay your request", Rei confirmed, her tone still emotionless. "Is there anything else?"

"I don't… I don't think so?" Shinji replied with a heavily embarrassed expression.

"Acknowledged", Rei turned to press a door-opening button. "You are likely to receive a visit from Major Katsuragi within a short timeframe. Please get well soon", she added – and left.

"Goodbye!" Shinji called behind her as his eyes tracked the departing figure – and chuckled at a movement behind the door, the door that did not close fast enough. "Asuka… I know you're there", he started in a voice that could be called amused if not for the fact that this would be an unthinkable audacity on his part. "Please, come in before Misato-san comes in running", he requested.

A moment later, the doorframe was suddenly filled with a posturing form of an annoyed redhead. "Hey, don't think too much about it, idiot", Asuka scoffed. "I just came to check whether you're really down, or maybe they're exaggerating, and I can kill you for making me worried dead for you!"

"I'm okay", Shinji replied with a chuckle. "You can kill me if you want", he added in a suddenly sad voice. "But… please listen to me first."

"Nah, it's a hospital, they'd revive you quickly anyway. And then Misato would scold me. Again", she sighed and shrugged. "So… what do you have to say for yourself? Hm?" she asked, her hands still on her hips, her form still towering over his half-sitting figure.

"Asuka… I'm sorry", he started, his voice solemn.

She shot him a watchful glare; the reflexive rant on how he was "always sorry" and "not knowing other words" died even before it reached her tongue. Granted, she had heard those words dozens, no, hundreds of times from him – but this time they felt very different. It was not about sincerity – his apologies were always sincere. It was not about the words – those were the same he always used. It was not even about the tone, even though it was definitely more serious, almost solemn. She could not point her finger at it – but this felt genuine, very different from his reflexive, dozen-a-day apologies.

Unaware of her thought processes, he continued. "I'm sorry for everything. I… you didn't tell me… or no, you did, in your way, but I didn't listen. I'm sorry I called you heartless, I'm sorry I didn't understand what you did to save Toji… to save me. And what you felt."

Asuka's expression went from watchful to confused within the time of those few sentences. "What do you mean, what I felt? I mean", she paused as she felt a blush creep up her face, her heart starting to race, her hopes suddenly returning. 'Be still!' she demanded quietly. 'It's no time for teenage romance, it's time for teenage drama! Or rather, mystery, since I have no fucking idea what is going on here!' she tried forcing her heart to stand down, without much avail. "I mean… can't you, like, start with what happened to you? In some more detail and without the technical babbling I got from Misato and the new Head of Sciences?"

"Well… in short… something went wrong when I killed the Angel–"

"When you tore the Angel apart, tooth and nail, you mean?" she interjected, her tone incredulous. "You officially lost any right to comment on my temper", she added with a sudden smirk emerging on her face. "Ever again!"

"Only if it's on the battlefield", he countered, immediately making Asuka's expression go from smirking to surprised. "As I said… something went wrong and I spent… what day is it, actually? Misato-san forgot to tell me, and she almost ran after she glanced at her watch."

"It's 1st of December", Asuka replied automatically in a slightly confused tone. "Why does it matter?" she asked as she crossed her arms on her chest.

"Oh. Good. Now, as I said, something went wrong, I spent some time extremely confused… and then I landed on my face", he explained. "I really hope I won't have to go through this again."

"You've got some nerve to complain!" she scoffed. "You landed on me! Buck naked!"

"I'm sorry", he said, looking aside, his face becoming red again in an instant.

"And that's it?" she asked, not even trying to hide her disappointment. "That's all you have to say to me?"

"Um… yes?" he replied – but Asuka noticed a small head-shake on his part, along with a shifty, anxious movement of his eyes to his side. "Please, sit down, Asuka… you're making me nervous."

Her brow furrowed – and she obliged, unsure what was going on. Shinji shot a quick nervous look around, wiggled on the bed for a moment, fixing his pillow – and for a few seconds, he leaned towards her. "We need to talk somewhere safe", he whispered. "I can't tell anyone but you", he added and straightened on the bed again.

Asuka stared at him for a few seconds, her glare confused, angry, and finally – hopeful. She pondered something for a few seconds before her lips became a thin line. "This is not how a pillow should be", she declared loudly, annoyance clear in her tone. "I'll call a nurse… nah, they never do it right… let me fix that", she said as she leaned in, her hands reaching for the pillow. "What do you mean? Tell me what?" she whispered a second later with her face close to his own, somewhat struggling not to touch his skin.

"Not here", he started in the quietest whisper but relented when Asuka shot him a death glare. "I was awake the whole time, Asuka. I know what happened to our mothers. They are alive. I saw them."

If Shinji had slapped her face instead of speaking those words, this would have had a lesser impact. Asuka's hands paused and she stared at him for a few long seconds, her face growing increasingly pale. "You'd better not be–" she started in a growling whisper.

"I'm not", he whispered back. "I'm not crazy, too. I'll explain. When safe. We need safety", he reminded her, his eyes darting around the hospital room.

Asuka straightened with a forced calm expression, stood up, and took a step away from his bed. "Now it's right", she spoke aloud. "I hope they'll release you soon, I'm done with Misato's cooking", she spoke the last word with a concentrated venom in her voice. "I was hoping for some nice story, but I guess a good dinner will do, too."

"I'm not really hurt, am I? I don't think they'll keep me here for more than a day or two", he replied carefully. "So, you won't have to suffer long."

"I sure hope so", she replied, turned on the spot, and almost ran out of the room, a stampede of thoughts running in her head as she walked the NERV corridors.

He was alive. He was not gone. He did not hate her.

The nightmares that were plaguing her soul over the last few days were over in a way better than she could have hoped.

And he knew something, something important. Something about their mothers. Assuming he did not hallucinate during that time, of course – his claims to not being crazy were not much – but Asuka tried not to think about that option too much. Evangelions were strange enough; if they just decided to start granting forbidden knowledge and dark secrets, she was willing to take it just as much as she took everything else before that.

'This is going to be a bad day or two, Soryu', she told herself as she forced yet another step that was taking her away from him and towards a place where she could safely collapse and process all that. 'But if he hasn't lost a few screws inside and if he really knows something… you might get the best birthday present ever.'

A few more dozen steps took her to the elevator, and after a while, she was out in the sun.

She stopped and raised her eyes to look at the scorching orb, her eyes forced to squint.

"God above… I know this is not how I'm supposed to pray, I never really did…" she started in a whisper after making sure nobody was near enough to be listening, "but I guess it'll have to do; it's the intent that counts, right? I can find a chapel later if you need me to. Anyway, thanks for returning him to me… or for not making it harder for those who did, I don't know… and I don't care. Good thing that I was not getting tested, you know? And if he was, he passed it with–oh", she paused as a horrifying thought passed through her mind.

"You're not making him into some kind of messiah, are you? Testing him, giving him secrets to teach others, only to make someone betray him and sacrifice him for some mystical purpose in the end? Because if this is what you're doing, then you better think this over and switch that Chosen One crap to someone else. Someone far, far away. I just got him back, and if I am ever losing him again, ever…" she paused with her fists balled and her eyes shut tight. "If I am ever losing him again, this is going to get ugly. Because for now, I am grateful for him being here again. I hope, I really hope, that nothing changes that. Ever", she finished, relaxed a small bit, opened her eyes and stared at the sun for the last time before she started to walk again. "Amen."

================================================================

I was wondering whether to attach the translation of the German phrase, but I then decided it was pretty much clear what Asuka wanted to convey

This chapter concludes What happened, son?. I hope you enjoyed the ride despite its length.

Chapter 10. of Two Souls starts in March.

 

[grommile]

Welcome back, Shinji!

 

[sephiroth2004]

Hi Boreas Anemos, I signed up here wanting to pm you but need to post to enable that. I commented on Ch69 on AO3 a while back about how much I liked Must I spell it out for you? and that it inspired me to maybe one day start writing my own asushin fic. So, I started writing a few months ago and am 90k words in so far (finishing before publishing) and also have been learning to draw so I can do my own art, really putting in the hours. I'm finally good enough to want to post publicly (asushin subreddit has one posted yesterday, cafe scene: asuka sub, today, dance training in cel style). I've still got a ways to go to get to the level I want so daily practice and I wanted to ask if there were some scenes from that fic that you especially liked and I'll draw at least one.

Thank you for inspiring me to not one, but two wonderful new hobbies. Be safe and may peace come swiftly to your region.

 

[Boreas Anemos]

Hi Boreas Anemos, I signed up here wanting to pm you but need to post to enable that. I commented on Ch69 on AO3 a while back about how much I liked Must I spell it out for you? and that it inspired me to maybe one day start writing my own asushin fic. So, I started writing a few months ago and am 90k words in so far (finishing before publishing) and also have been learning to draw so I can do my own art, really putting in the hours. I'm finally good enough to want to post publicly (asushin subreddit has one posted yesterday, cafe scene: asuka sub, today, dance training in cel style). I've still got a ways to go to get to the level I want so daily practice and I wanted to ask if there were some scenes from that fic that you especially liked and I'll draw at least one.

Thank you for inspiring me to not one, but two wonderful new hobbies.

Click to shrink...

Whoa. That was... unexpected

But, of course, welcome. Thank you. To be an inspiration for someone's artistic awakening is an extremely high praise, and a great personal achievement. I myself was inspired to write by Strypgia's work, and I'm happy to be able to pass that further.

Good luck with your writing and drawing - I hope you'll find happiness in that

Be safe and may peace come swiftly to your region.

Click to shrink...

Thank you. I'm not in danger right now, but the fact that only a single border separates me from the war... well, doesn't make me feel too good. But this doesn't stop life from going on.

 

[Boreas Anemos]

A new, interesting day dawns on Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu. This time with a bit different company!

================================================================

Chapter 10., part 1.

Kyoko was walking the path she had walked a dozen times already; it might look and feel a bit different every time and the emotions associated with it were changing over time – but it remained the same path: one that led to the home of Yui Ikari. The moment of transition was still marked by the feeling of falling, but this no longer bothered Kyoko; this has become quite similar to a sensation one would experience when walking a familiar flight of stairs. She even managed to incorporate it almost seamlessly into the design of her own mindscape, carving out a separate pass between the trees that led away from her cottage and into the forest – and as long as she maintained her focus and took the right steps on it, this path led her into the far more regular forest of Unit-01's mindscape. And so, after a short walk, she finally emerged between the trees as she always did – only to immediately stop before crossing the treeline.

Yui Ikari was in her line of sight, yes – but she was not alone. And her companion was definitely not the well-expected blue-haired girl, it was someone older and taller. A teenager, by the looks.

The solution to the puzzle of who that could be was, of course, not too difficult to figure out. 'That was why you said that Asuka was not with her boyfriend' came to her mind immediately. 'Oh my. As usual, I was wrong when I was hoping for answers, not more questions… well. Let's hope Ikari knows what she is doing… frankly, I don't know what I would tell Asuka if she ever came to my cottage. I know I would hug her, yes, tell her I love her… but that's all I'm sure about.'

"There is someone I would like you to meet", she heard Yui speak with a smile in her voice as she raised her head and locked her gaze with Kyoko's, gesturing for her to come closer. She walked the few dozen steps that separated her from Yui and the newcomer quickly enough not to waste time and slowly enough to maintain the façade of certain dignity; she was not sure how to approach the boy, but running and possibly suffering some fall or crash would definitely not make the first impression a favourable one. Moreover, this gave her a few moments to look at the boy in question and gather the first expression herself.

He had about the expected height and build for someone his age and circumstances: not exactly tall – it was quite likely that Asuka would be about the same height, if not taller – and skinny in a way typical for a teenager, this aspect of him additionally emphasised by the plugsuit clinging to his form. His hair had a slightly darker tone than Yui's; he clearly took after his father in that regard.

But those were just objective observations that fell into the area of the expected and understandable. What actually confused Kyoko for a moment was the fact that the boy looked very average, bordering on plain. He was by no means ugly or repulsive, no, but her previous impressions of him carried a much stronger impression of attraction – she remembered him as much more handsome.

It took her a few seconds to realise something that forced her to stifle a laugh that accompanied the moment of understanding. 'Of course I remember him as handsome!' she giggled internally. 'Until now, with the exception of the small images in the communication systems, I saw him in Asuka's thoughts, through her eyes! And she… well, there's no other word for it, she's in love with him. It's fascinating what infatuation does to perceptions…'

She shook that thought away a few seconds later; amusing as it was, there was no time for it now.

"Welcome back", Yui greeted Kyoko with a smile as she approached. "Soryu, this is my son, Shinji. I'm sure you've seen him before… but now the circumstances have brought him to us in person. Shinji, this is Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu", she introduced Kyoko to the boy. "She is Asuka's mother… and our greatest ally", she added in a surprisingly solemn tone contrasting with her smile.

'That's some introduction, Ikari', Kyoko thought to herself. 'Is it wise to set the boy's expectations so high? On the other hand, it is not without merit…' she concluded before shaking this as well.

"Pleased to meet you, ma'am", Shinji said in a somewhat shaky voice as he bowed in a very proper way, eliciting a small chuckle on Kyoko's part. The boy was certainly lacking in matters of confidence, but definitely not in the area of manners.

"Pleased to meet you, Shinji-kun", Kyoko replied and bowed back. "I hope you'll enjoy your stay here", she added before turning to Yui. "Ikari", she started in a serious tone. "I hope you have some explanation for how this happened… because I have none beyond that this was not supposed to happen. This kind of a breach between the pilot layer and the Unit–"

"Well", Yui interrupted her. The embarrassment that showed up on her face for a short moment did not reassure Kyoko in the slightest. "You are not wrong. This is unusual. I have a few ideas what the reason might've been, and we can talk about this later…" she paused for a second, "but not before Shinji is brought up to speed and ready to be sent on his way."

'Sent on his way? Why the hurry?' she thought, surprised. "Um… How? Isn't he now in the same situation as–"

"Definitely not", Yui objected insistently and fashioned a large hand mirror in her hand; this had the side effect of startling Shinji and making Kyoko realise how strange this place must look for the boy. "Look", she continued, seemingly unaware of her son's surprise and confusion.

The mirror's surface showed the inside of the Entry Plug, lit up by the usual, stand-by lighting with a hint of the red error indicators; what was unusual in the image, though, was an empty plugsuit, still floating in the pilot's place and holding a vaguely humanoid shape.

"I… I thought I was still there", Shinji spoke up, his voice now shaking; Kyoko gave him a quick look and, as expected, noticed his paleness. He was holding surprisingly well, considering the circumstances, but this was a situation that would have strained an average untrained adult, let alone someone his age. "My body, I mean. I thought this was… a dream? I'm dead after all, aren't I?"

"You are not dead", Yui immediately protested. "This is why your suit is still there, like this", she added and her tone changed to one Kyoko knew all too well – the scholarly one. "You see", she continued, now slower and with much better articulation, "the movement of LCL inside the Entry Plug is constantly enforced via a number of pumps, nozzles, and drains; it has to be in order to maintain oxygenation, ensure uniform density, remove the carbon dioxide from the pilot's surroundings, and many, many other things; gravity is just not enough, so it's an active system with an elaborate fluid behaviour model; Soryu could explain that a little better I guess", she gave Kyoko a quick glance and shot her a small smile, "but that's the gist of it. This normally doesn't affect the pilot just as a soft breeze doesn't make you fall – but it would certainly affect an empty plugsuit. It would be floating around before finally sticking to a wall somewhere. It didn't. Your body is still keeping its shape, holding it in place… even though it has turned into LCL. You are still alive. And I believe you can return", she finished with confidence in her voice.

Kyoko ran the explanation in her head again and found no holes in it and thus no need to add anything; it was simplified, yes, and the hypothesis was not exactly perfectly grounded in the knowledge they had – but it was also not contradicting anything she knew. And if the boy needed something right now, it was reassurance – not a reason to panic.

"I don't understand", Shinji spoke up after a few moments of pondering. "How could I turn into LCL… and not leave some… um… things behind? Other than my clothing?"

"Things?" Kyoko asked with her eyebrow raised – and heard Yui ask the same question at the same time, with almost the same expression. She stifled a chuckle; spending that much time together had certainly aligned some things for them.

"Um…" Shinji picked up, the question – and the accompanying attention – clearly making him uncomfortable; if the tone was not enough of an indicator, the red ears and the creeping blush would be. "I mean… excrement?" he tried, his tone meek. "The digestive system isn't exactly a part of the body… I mean, its content isn't?"

Kyoko and Yui chuckled in unison. "Ah. That" Yui picked up, her tone amused. "Frankly… we don't know the details on how this works, to this day. If we did… well. Some things would've been much easier. But I don't think this was ever an issue… Soryu, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think I left anything behind during the Contact Experiment?"

"Not that I know", Kyoko confirmed, doing her best to contain the amusement in her tone; the boy was certainly paying attention to his lessons, but this question felt very much out of the blue. 'Or perhaps very much in order, from a layman's point of view? After all, we treat many aspects of Metaphysical Biology as if they were magic… how would it look to him?', she suddenly realised. 'Never mind that. This is no time for pondering', she decided and continued with her explanation. "The Sanitary Concerns chapter would be ten times as long as it was if this had been an issue, I believe. So, Shinji-kun", she turned to the boy, "either it works differently than the biology class would suggest – which would not surprise me, since the whole area is called Metaphysical Biology – or the… excrements are still inside the suit. Either way, if I understand correctly, your mom is saying that this", she indicated the mirror, "means that you can still be sent back with relative ease. In comparison to us, that is."

"Or pulled back", Yui interjected. "I'm quite sure they'll try a few things the moment we're secured back in the Cages and patched up."

"Likely", Kyoko agreed with a nod, undecided whether to look at Yui or at Shinji. "So, what's the plan?"

"The plan, my dear Soryu, is to have some tea and cake", Yui replied as she turned back to Shinji, her mirth returning quickly; Kyoko could not tell whether it was genuine or emulated for Shinji's benefit. "And after that, or even during that, to discuss a thing or two. Or everything."

Kyoko looked at Yui with a raised eyebrow and confused expression for a few seconds; 'Oh my. "Dear" Soryu, that's maybe not new, but definitely rare', she thought to herself, somewhat touched by that word and quietly hoping that despite the general situation and the Units condition, they would not be monitored too closely, since she felt her heart speeding up, even if it was only a bit.

She spared Shinji a glance to distract herself – and immediately felt a growing sympathy for the boy. Yui went on with setting the table in the style she was used to here – a gesture here, a glance there, and things simply appeared as if they had always been there. Kyoko recalled how weird it felt for her in the beginning – and how it had to feel for the boy right now. He was a stranger here, a stranger in a strange land, and despite the familial connection – which, to be honest, must have felt just as off to him – he had no real reason to feel at home. Just a moment ago, he was fighting not just for his life, but also for the life of a girl he – likely – loved, unsure what her condition was, and facing an enemy stronger than any that came before. But this had to be, absurd as it may sound, much more mundane than a sight of his long-lost mother he thought dead, now miraculously alive again, wearing very odd clothing, and performing something that could, without much of a stretch, be called magic right in front of him. A sudden urge to simply hug him and tell him that he was not, in fact, going insane and that everything was going to be all right seized her. She willed it away; she did not want to interfere with Yui's plans for the boy, after all, so she limited herself to giving him a reassuring smile. He reciprocated the gesture, his uneasiness even more obvious in his expression now. 'I really hope Ikari has a good plan to get him through that…' came back to her – even if a twinge of doubt she had about that was quickly growing.

"Soryu, I have an idea…" coming from Yui broke her reverie. "A few of them, really. Can I borrow your ear for a moment?"

"Of course, Ikari. What do you need?" she turned her attention towards the voice and noticed that Yui kept arranging her perfect afternoon tea table as she spoke. 'Let's hope she won't mismatch the tastes of the cakes… or worse, make the tea taste like LCL. We don't want to traumatise the boy any further.'

"It's about the Entry Plug safety mechanisms", she shot a very quick glance towards the still-confused boy. "I remember reading a theoretical – it was early enough that I actually read it before the Contact Experiment, so it had to be very theoretical – paper on risks of soul-to-soul contact, but I can't recall the details. There are some anti-absorption… no, anti-contact countermeasures in place, at least we were planning to put them… did the GEHIRN get to making them?"

"I recall some discussions on that, yes", Kyoko confirmed after a few moments of pondering. "I think that the very fact that we're not directly accessing the content of our pilot's cerebrum is proof enough that some countermeasures are present. At least passive ones. Still… you are aware that this is not exactly my area?"

"Of course, but I also remember how much of a gossip mill the institutes were, despite the secrecy", Yui replied with a chuckle. "Not to mention that the bulletins usually reprinted most of the important works, so you might have read the paper… it was by Professor Ver-something… Verklich, perhaps?"

Kyoko raised an eyebrow, her memory vehemently denying any knowledge of the matter. "It's not a name, I think", she replied after a few seconds. "Not one I'd know, anyway", she shook her head and pondered for a further moment. "Perhaps you meant Verkenner?" she tried.

"Yes!" Yui stated enthusiastically and sighed as she noticed that she toppled a teapot over; she gestured over the tablecloth, making both the stain and the broken pieces vanish before reconstituting the teapot itself. "That's him. Do you remember it?"

"Well, he wrote a bit or two about Metaphysical Biology, but it was quite peripheral. Very… philosophical", Kyoko recalled. "It was a pseudonym anyway, I think he was some philosopher who was, for some reason, told of the project but wasn't openly involved. I don't think all his work was even translated–"

"It was definitely translated to Japanese. Or was it English?", Yui wondered for a moment. "I just wish I remembered more of it", she added with a sigh.

"Run what you do remember through me, perhaps I can fill up the gaps? Do you at least remember the title?" Kyoko probed.

Yui raised her hand. "Thank you, Soryu, that's a good idea… but first – the table is set, please enjoy the tea and the cake", she smiled at both Kyoko and Shinji – and moved to cut the cake.

Kyoko noticed with some amusement that Shinji seemed to be suddenly relieved. 'I wonder how much this is because things returned to normal… well, somewhat normal… and the cake did not levitate towards him… and how much is this because we stopped focusing on him', she wondered. 'Pity that this won't last. We'll need to question him quite a lot if we want to send him back, I'm afraid', she concluded – and turned her attention to Yui just in time to start the knowledge comparison.

***​

Piecing together the paper's content took a better part of the first piece of cake and about two cups of tea. Another cup of tea was spent on deciding whether it was useful in any way, closed with a conclusion that it was, in fact, too theoretical to have any practical application in this case.

Over the next cup, the discussion moved to what they actually felt when it came to barriers when the Plugs were inserted and how Yui perceived the very moment of the breach – only for her to realise that she was a little too preoccupied at the moment. Kyoko diplomatically did not comment that being murderous counted for a little bit more than being preoccupied; this was not a thing to raise in front of the boy.

It took yet another cup of tea and another piece of cake for everyone to shift the discussion to the matter more associated with the current problem: how did Shinji get here.

"What if the travel happened in a way similar to passing the potential energy barrier?" Kyoko suggested. "Not as the separated particles, of course, that would be some Boltzmann-level probability, but via establishing a tunnel for the entire soul at once? Wouldn't this result in the spiritual configuration we see in this case?"

"No, I don't think so", Yui shook her head after a moment of consideration. "I think you're confusing the difference between modes here, Soryu. Granted, it is not impossible for the Entry Plug to generate the same entry mode as the direct Core connection, but this would not have caused the same configuration, not to mention a significant number of side effects if it happened. I believe Shinji is not absorbed, not exactly. Shinji", she suddenly turned to him. "Could you describe exactly what happened before I met you?"

Shinji, somewhat surprised by the sudden attention, nodded slowly and started to speak, starting around the late stage of the fight; Kyoko listened in intently, since this was the part in which she had only limited participation. "And I hit the Angel again. I felt nothing but…" he hesitated. "Nothing but fury", he admitted sheepishly. "As if nothing in the world mattered but crushing this thing to pieces", he continued, a twitch of anger twisting his face for a moment.

'I wonder how much of this was you', Kyoko mused, carefully watching Yui's face – and, to her worry, noticing something akin to pride in her eyes. 'Oh. Well, I shouldn't expect anything else… those were her emotions as well. This might turn messy at some point…' she concluded, dismayed at not having thought of this earlier. On the other hand, she was quite certain that if the whole situation were to be reversed, with Asuka smashing the face of an Angel that hurt Shinji – or Unit-02 smashing an Angel that hurt Unit-01, as she had to admit – both Asuka and she would have felt about the same. 'Perhaps this is simply our fate? Perhaps we should be happy that this… sharing… is possible? Most parents never get this close to their children. The question is, how this affects them?'

She let that thought pass; there would be time to consider it later. She refocused on Shinji's tale instead; there were no ready answers now, anyway. He was just explaining how he was leaving the local forest for the first time; an experience Kyoko knew first-hand. "Do you need me to go further back?" he finally asked.

"No, thank you", Kyoko spoke up first, shaking her head. "This is not very different from how I appeared here, Ikari. Except for the fight, of course. But everything, including the initial confusion, feels the same."

"And I'm telling you, he is very different in how he feels to me, compared to you", Yui insisted. "All I'm saying is, in the end: since he is not absorbed, I think I can push him back. I just don't know where he would end up except for outside, and not all outsides are safe."

"So, we're back to square one", Kyoko said with a sigh before turning to Shinji. His expression of confusion he had while he was listening to their conversation still refused to leave his face. "In short, we can – most likely – show you the exit or even, as your mom says, push you out… sort of… but we don't know where this exit will lead to, exactly."

Yui spread her hands in a pretty much gesture, her face emphasising the expression. "I'll try to find an answer in the books, but since this is research that would be started after my Contact Experiment… I doubt I'll find much. How is your library progressing?" she turned to Kyoko.

"A few favourite childhood books on a shelf, I'm afraid", Kyoko replied in an apologetic tone, shaking her head. She hated to admit that, but most tricks Yui had shown her in the area of memory retrieval and retention – or, as she liked to call it, Arts of Mnemosyne – either failed to work or produced meagre results; it seemed that she lacked the single crucial ingredient – the persistent mental training conducted since childhood. "I don't have your memory palace training."

"Of course", Yui nodded, her expression concerned. "If I find nothing, then we'll have to rely on instinct… and I'm not willing to take a chance, for reasons obvious", finished and gave Shinji a small smile.

"But… shouldn't I end up in the Entry Plug again?" Shinji asked carefully, his brow furrowed. "Mom, didn't you say that my plugsuit is still there, holding shape?"

"It is…" Yui confirmed, hesitation obvious in her voice, "but I'm not absolutely sure you'd end up there. To put it bluntly, you're the first person that this has ever happened to, so you'd be the first one trying to leave."

"Just as you were the first to try entering, and never got out?" he blurted out in response.

"Yes… to a degree", Yui confirmed with a sad smile; Kyoko recognised that expression – Yui often had it when she knew someone's knowledge was insufficient; if an explanation followed, it meant you were judged to hold promise. If not, this usually meant Yui decided the problem was too complicated for the listener. "As I said, this is a different situation, and since there is no identical precedence to draw experience, it is still a great unknown. I think you understand why I'm not willing to take risks with your life."

Kyoko wanted to comment on that and explain more – Shinji seemed smart enough to understand at least some of the intricacies – but at the same time, a worrying thought appeared in her head. "On the other hand, we can't keep you here forever, especially since those on the outside will try something sooner than later", she pointed out with worry in her expression. "And we have absolutely no idea what their attempts will do. They may have more theoretical knowledge, but we have better sensory input. The problem is we can't exactly make those two things work together without tipping the NERV off… which is not an option at the moment."

"That is, regrettably, true", Yui agreed with a heavy sigh. "Perhaps we can reduce the risks, though. I have an idea and I want to hear your opinion on it, Soryu" she started. "I thought about your journey, when you were traversing the Tree inside your– no, no, don't worry, not the whole process", she immediately backtracked as she saw Kyoko's worried expression. "I meant the lore I researched when we were looking for the way to correct your… separation – the ways to access, for the lack of better words, the mental and spiritual control functions of the Unit."

"I'm not sure what that would bring", Kyoko objected. "We're talking a very physical aspect, aren't we? Physical absorption?"

"And this is where I believe lies the catch", Yui said with a somewhat sad smile. "Not entirely. Remember that at the deep level of Metaphysical Biology, a body is nothing but a function of the soul, an expression of the AT Field. Let me tell you what I have in mind here…"

Kyoko moved her chair closer and leaned in to listen to Yui's explanation and look at the sketch she was making. Her eyebrows rose and furrowed at different stages of the elaboration, her state of mind tainted with slight embarrassment. While she was able to contribute and even ask reasonable questions, she was being reminded that this, indeed, was not her field of speciality – and she was glad Yui took her time to explain all the details to her.

***​

"…and if I'm right at those five points, and I'm pretty sure I am, this should be easy. Now I just need to check those points in the books and get the right formulae", Yui said, paused, and looked away from her now almost-complete schematic. "Shinji, I'll have to–"

But Shinji was not there.

================================================================

Ah, the suspense! What could have happened to him? Find out the next time and experience the mandatory fanservice!

Ahem.

And here we are, back with the main plot. This of course means some catching up with the timeline, since What happened, son? went a bit ahead. I hope you enjoy the events from Kyoko's perspective. The next chapter, likely containing the rest of catching up needed before the plot can progress, should be up sometime in April.

 

[aquinas]

Hanging out with Monster Rei? Hanging out with Monster Rei.

 

[Boreas Anemos]

Kyoko Soryu's day is turning rather well

================================================================

Chapter 10., part 2.

"Damn it, where did he go?" Yui asked, her brow furrowed in annoyance as she looked around the area between the mansion and the forest line. "It's not like him to wander off."

"You mean, it wasn't like him", Kyoko countered with a chuckle. "He might've picked a habit or two in the meantime."

"Well, yes, you do have a point", Yui agreed with a sigh and in her tone. "But it's still hard not to think of him as that little boy. Especially since he still is a little boy, in a way. At least he liked the cake", she chuckled, looking at an almost empty platter. "It's not that anything is going to eat him here, I suppose, and I don't think he can accidentally cross over to another Unit… but we better find him and tell him the good news."

"Don't you want to verify that news first, Ikari?" Kyoko probed as her eyes pointed to the pages in Yui's hand. "Five points in which you're uncertain is not exactly all good news, you know."

"I'm quite sure that I still remember those right; it's just about simple verification", Yui objected with a shrug. "Fine, though. Let's find him, tell him I'm going to do some research… and I guess I'll have to ask you to babysit him for a while. Are you up to the task, Soryu?" she asked with a smirk.

"I think I can handle the commitment. It's not that we're raising a kid together, right?" Kyoko replied with a smile – and immediately realised how this statement sounded. "Let's look for him", she added in a nervous tone as she turned away to hide the blush on her face.

The fact that Yui turned away just as quickly and her "Yes, good idea" sounded just as nervous – this must have been only in her imagination.

***

​

Rei brings a new person home. This person is interesting.

Rei thinks the proper term for the person is 'boy'. Rei is not sure why.

Rei knows the word but does not remember the context or meaning.

Rei knows the boy is different from the ladies. The boy is smaller than the ladies but bigger than Rei.

Rei notices that in general, the boy smells differently than the ladies.

But the boy also smells somehow similar to one of the ladies.

The boy speaks to Rei. The boy says the words "Shinji Ikari".

Rei is not sure what those words mean. But Rei knows people use labels. Rei suspects this is the label of that boy.

Rei considers this odd. Rei prefers to still call the boy 'boy'.

Rei wants to make the boy feel welcome. Rei thinks she can give the boy something.

Rei considers what she can give. Rei remembers people like food.

Rei dives for the food Rei keeps hidden. Rei grabs something to hold the food in. Rei offers the food.

The boy appears hesitant. Rei repeats the offering.

The boy accepts. Rei watches the boy with interest.

***

​

"Is something wrong, Ikari?" Kyoko asked a few moments later, moments during which Yui had stopped several times.

"No", Yui shook her head. "Yes", she corrected herself with a mix of annoyance and worry in her tone. "His presence is… dimmed. Diminished."

"Diminished? How?" Kyoko asked, her expression of confusion turning to a concerned frown. "Did he leave?"

"No", Yui shook her head again and closed her eyes, standing perfectly still. "He's still here… I just don't sense his presence as well as I did before."

Kyoko's frown deepened. "How does this work for you? Can you sense me too right now?"

"No. It's relative", Yui shook her head, her tone more annoyed than a moment ago. "I don't feel the person, I feel a change in the environment. You know, someone quietly opens a spice jar and the smell spreads, even if you didn't hear or see it opened – but then you get used to it?" she tried to explain, speaking much faster than usual. "And then it goes away because you're becoming used to it? And then you think of it, and realise you don't smell it anymore at all? That's how he feels now. Didn't you feel the change in your forest when I visited you?"

"I did", Kyoko nodded with a thoughtful expression, recalling how she felt when the little girl visited her mindscape instead. "But it's different than – well, let's leave the descriptions and comparisons for later. Why do you sense him better than me? Is it the matter of his corporeality?"

"You still have a body, don't you? Just a different one. But I guess I sense him much stronger than you or our… other guest because his whole form is still in the Plug that is still inside my body", Yui supposed. "Or I'm just not used to his presence as much as I'm used to yours. Alternatively, the sensation might simply be stronger with the new presences, which is consistent with how human brain processes most sensations."

"Perhaps all of those are valid", Kyoko suggested. "And none of them really changes much. So… now, the sensation got weaker, right?"

"Yes. But as I said, he's here, he didn't leave", she paused for a moment, "he didn't… incarnate again, neither inside nor outside", she added, let out a sigh, and opened her eyes. "I hoped to locate him this way, but it seems we have to go the traditional way. Let's split from here: you take this side of the forest", she gestured to her right, "I'll take the other. Yell if you find him."

"Can't you fashion some hand-held radios instead?" Kyoko suggested in a tone both amused and confused.

Yui raised an eyebrow, giving Kyoko a displeased look. "Not really. At least not on the spot", she replied, her tone a mix of surprise and annoyance. "Or, more precisely, not without some research. And we have more pressing matters than researching electronics, don't we? Just yell, it's not that it'd hurt your throat. Just be careful not to do it with your real body… unless you want to cause some heart attacks to the poor souls in the Cages", she added, making Kyoko unsure whether this was supposed to be sarcasm or a joke.

"Of course", Kyoko agreed with a chuckle. "Let's move."

Yui just nodded – and quickly disappeared between the trees.

Kyoko stood at the path for a few seconds, confusion slowly emerging on her face. 'It's not that she's been acting odd before, sure… but this is a bit off even for her. It must be because of Shinji's presence', she finally decided. 'I remember how I felt when I consciously saw Asuka inside the Plug for the first time… I wonder how I would feel if I could hug her, even if only in this odd way…'

She let out a wistful sigh, shook the thought off – and stepped into the forest. After all, she wanted to have a word with the boy as well. Yui Ikari just gave her a good opportunity – but finding him first was necessary, and the sooner this happened, the better for her plans.

***

​

Rei does not understand what is happening to the face of the boy.

The faces of the ladies did not change shape in that way. Rei thinks this change can mean fear.

Rei considers and dismisses that. Rei knows that people in fear run. The boy does not run.

Rei concludes this is something different. Rei knows repetition brings more information.

Rei wants the boy to eat more. Rei repeats the offering to the boy.

Rei watches the boy hesitate.

***

​

"Shinji!" Kyoko called out for the third time since she entered the seemingly less ordered, denser part of the forest, a part that, to her best memory of the place, looked rather differently the last time she was here. 'Was Ikari remodelling the place when I wasn't looking? I don't remember this area being so dense and dark… and I think I was here when I had this… unfortunate run', she mused for a moment before calling out again: "Shinji, are you there?"

She heard some distant rustling and quickly turned in that direction. 'There is definitely something odd about this forest. Ikari never put mushrooms anywhere in the area, about that I'm quite sure, especially poisonous ones… they just don't fit the theme, and she's quite serious about the theme', she kept pondering as she was slowly making her way towards the suspected sound. 'Wait', she stopped in her tracks. 'This is familiar… too familiar…' came to her mind as she spotted several red caps of the fly agarics ahead of her; it took her just a few seconds to understand they were not randomly placed – and another moment to see the pattern they were forming. 'I'm in our guest's abode! She made this part hers!' came the realisation, quickly followed by another thought, heavily coloured by confusion and uncertainty: 'Oh my. I wonder if Ikari knows of it. And how did that girl manage to change this place?!'

***

​

Rei hears one of the ladies. The lady calls out a part of the label of the boy.

Rei hears that the lady is close. Rei hears the lady coming closer.

Assumption: Rei wants this place to be secret.

Observation: the presence of the boy draws the lady closer.

Conclusion: the boy must not be here.

Action: Rei takes the boy by the hand. Rei pulls the boy out of Rei's home.

The boy does not resist. Rei sees the boy's reaction. The boy is not content. Rei wants to soothe the boy.

Rei smiles at the boy.

The boy smiles at Rei.

Rei hears the lady coming closer.

Rei does not want to meet the lady now. Rei knows this would bring danger to Rei's home.

Rei hides.

***

​

Kyoko remembered the moment when she was granted the rights to add and change things here – and she was quite sure Yui Ikari would not trust the feral child enough to give her the same abilities. A twinge of worry came a second later: 'What if she hurts him? Even by accident?'

"Shin-jiii!" reached her ears from another direction, loud enough to make her grimace from the surprise and loudness of the call.

'Dammit, Ikari… you'll scare the boy off with your impatience', Kyoko let out a sigh. 'I must find him before–'

"I'm – I'm here" came from a nearby bushy area in a boyish voice. "I'm here!" sounded again, now louder and accompanied by a rustling sound, a sound Kyoko quickly aimed at.

"Ha, here you are indeed!" she exclaimed as she noticed the white and blue of his plugsuit contrasting with the dark tones of the forest. "We've been looking everywhere for you", she added, relief creeping into her tone.

"I'm sorry", he said as he turned towards her. "I just kind of wandered off", he explained with some uncertainty in his voice.

"Are you all right?" she checked, summoning a warm smile to her face. 'Wandered off… or were lured away by our local changeling kid?' came to her mind immediately upon seeing him up close; the boy's slightly dishevelled appearance, visible confusion beyond what one could expect from simply being lost in a forest, and the appearance of the changed forest around them – all this strongly suggested that the little girl had something to do with his temporary disappearance. Still, Kyoko decided not to voice that doubt; panicking the boy – or even just confusing him further – would serve no purpose – and since he did not seem to have any bite marks or be missing any limbs, Kyoko concluded that the odd girl's behaviour had been friendly. 'Perhaps she smelled the Ikari blood in him?' she mused. 'Or maybe it was just simple curiosity… who knows how sensing, smelling, or perceiving anything works with her.'

"Um… yes?" he replied, his expression confused. "It's not that there are snakes here, right?" he asked, his voice more guilty and confused than worried.

"None at all", Kyoko replied with a chuckle. 'Just a very, very curious thing… you surely met. All right, keep your secrets', she added to herself before speaking up again. "You might have noticed that very few things move here, right? And let me guess, we bored you to tears with our theories and deliberations?" she asked in a lighter tone.

"Well…" Shinji replied, looking away. "It was far beyond anything I could understand, I think", he admitted sheepishly.

"I'm sorry", Kyoko replied in a genuinely apologetic tone. The boy was undeniably right: they tended to overuse the technical jargon to a degree bordering on using a separate language and the complexity of their discussions often reached a level when even an average NERV scientist, let alone a layman, would have serious trouble following. On the other hand, there was virtually no way of doing it differently; the subject at hand was extremely complex and absolutely required a lot of the said terminology. "Ikari… I mean, your mother… she tends to get very technical, and I often follow her in that out of sheer habit", she started to explain. "But I think we have found a solution. Come. We need to talk, and we're going to have a moment while your mother goes through her library."

"Talk?" Shinji asked in a worried tone as he followed her towards the sparser part of the forest.

Kyoko raised her hand in a gesture requesting silence and yelled out towards the other part of the forest: "Ikari, I found him! Go ahead!"

"Thank you!" came back in Yui's voice. "See you later!"

"Yes", Kyoko turned back to Shinji, lowering her hand – and laughed the moment she saw a frown on his face and his clearly worried expression. 'Remember, Soryu, he's just a teenage boy', she reminded herself. 'A boy who just met his girlfriend's mom for the first time and might be very well intimidated by that. And if he thinks I'm even a bit like Asuka, which is not an unreasonable assumption to make… then he is definitely intimidated', she concluded and resumed with a smile on her face, trying her best to make it look warm. "Don't worry, I won't bore you with the theories and calculations, I barely grasp the details myself; your mother is much better at the souls and incarnations part of the Evangelion. I was always more specialised in biology. I want to talk to you about Asuka, if you don't mind", she explained.

Unfortunately, this seemed to have the effect opposite to what she had in mind: his already worried expression turned into one of borderline panic. "Asuka? I'm – I'm – I'm sorry."

"What?" Kyoko stopped, her head tilted, expression confused. 'What is he apologising for? Does he think I'm going to – oh. Right. They didn't part under the best of terms, right? And he thinks I'm going to yell at him or berate him' she realised with a chuckle. "Oh. No, no, I don't blame you for anything. Don't worry about that. I know things are… difficult for you. Both of you, I mean. And it's not going to be a… how do the Americans call it…" she paused, looking for words, "shovel talk", she finished in English, unable to find the proper Japanese term. 'Funny that we don't have that in Japanese… one would think a term like that would be useful. Or maybe we do, I just never needed it?' she mused momentarily before resuming her – hopefully reassuring – explanation. "I don't know what you were expecting, but I'm not going to yell at you for dating my daughter. Nor for the fact you two were fighting; those things happen. I actually want to… well, help you a bit."

This seemed to have eased Shinji's worries, although he still looked rather embarrassed: his ears were burning and his cheeks were flushed.

"Help me?" he finally asked. "How?"

"Well, I know Asuka, wonderful as she is, is not the… easiest person to be around. And I know all too well that my absence in her life is to blame", she paused as a momentary twinge of guilt tainted her mood; she put it aside for the moment. "But this doesn't mean that she's supposed to be impossible to be around. And I want her to be happy, more than anything in the world… and I think – no, I know for a fact that you were contributing to that happiness… well, quite a lot. So, I want to make it as easy for you as possible. If you're willing to give her another chance, that is", she finished, keeping her tone as level as she could.

Shinji did not reply immediately; he seemed to be either weighing his words – or being unsure what to say. "I'd like that, Doctor Soryu", he finally declared with a careful smile on his face.

A smile of relief appeared on Kyoko's face. "Wonderful. Let's make some fresh tea – and then we can talk while your mom works", she declared and resumed her walking at a much quicker pace, forcing the boy to follow suit. After all, she knew that there was much to say and no time to waste; once Yui Ikari emerged back from her library, she would likely want to take the boy's attention over entirely – and that would be her right as a mother.

***

​

Rei watches the boy. Rei watches the lady. They do not watch Rei. They do not see Rei.

Rei listens to them talk.

Rei does not understand all the words they use. But Rei is curious.

Rei follows them quietly. The lady does not look at her. The boy does not look at her.

Rei listens. Rei watches.

Rei is curious.

***

​

"Tell me, Shinji-kun…" Kyoko started as she poured the tea. "Oh. I'm sorry", she interrupted herself in a suddenly concerned tone. "Your mom didn't explain this, did she?" she asked as she looked at the teapot. "It must be confusing."

"Um… it is, a bit", Shinji admitted.

"Let me, then", Kyoko said with a smile as she put the teapot down. 'This is going to be an even better icebreaker, I suppose', she decided. "As you surely noticed, things here are… a bit less real and more… conventional, so to say, here."

Shinji nodded carefully. "It's… odd", he finally said.

"It's difficult to understand, at least on the rational level, it took me a while. I can shape things just as well since your mom has granted me rights to do so in her domain", Kyoko continued. "Think… think of this like a lucid dream, perhaps? When you are dreaming, and realise that it is a dream, you can suddenly do things, right? Things that are normally impossible?"

Shinji nodded again. "I think I read about this, yes", he replied. "But Mom said… she said this is real."

"It is real", Kyoko confirmed quickly. "It just has dream-like qualities. We are, effectively, in your mom's head", she explained and quickly realised how odd it had to sound. "Inside her… dream, of sorts. No, not dream – her mind. But it doesn't make it any less real. After all, if you're scared by a monster in a nightmare, your heart is racing as if those monsters were real, correct? This is like a dream, just… much more persistent. It's there to stay… except it follows the rules of a dream much more than it follows the rules of outside reality", she paused, wondering what other analogy would work here – and finding none from the top of her head. "I'm sorry, I didn't think about it long enough to put it in better words. I will have to ask you to accept the fact that reality takes some… shortcuts here. That's why I created the teapot… effectively wished it into existence – instead of preparing it the regular way, and I could do this because I know what it should look like and what should be inside. But I couldn't, for example, bring you out from the forest at will, since you are not a part of this environment."

"Can… can a person be a part of this environment?" Shinji asked carefully.

Kyoko pondered for a moment, unsure whether to reveal what they worked out about the girl and put him into the awkward situation – or simply count on his intelligence. 'He's Ikari's son', she finally concluded – and continued. "Yes and no", she shook her head. "Your mom is, in a way, since it's a part of her mind, but you and I are guests here, not parts of the environment. Neither of us has been able to create a person… well, not any that would actually behave like a person", she shuddered a bit, reminding herself of the failed, disturbing results of her own experiments. "Not even one that would even closely resemble anything properly living. This is why there are no servants in the mansion, and even why the sound of the cicadas is just that – a sound. And why there are no snakes here, too", she added with a small smile. "So, anyone you see here moving and… communicating is a living person", she finished her explanation, deciding this was enough hints. "Do you have any questions about this?"

"So… this is something of a spirit realm, and my mom is… the mistress of this domain?" Shinji tried with an expression of focus on his face. "But… not a proper deity, just a… student who can't make difficult things? Like living people?"

"Pretty much", Kyoko replied with a chuckle; the idea did sound funny to her, and she was glad the boy did not follow with any questions concerning the odd girl – but she decided he deserved a warning. "But you might not say that in her presence – she could take it as a challenge to her ambition, and who knows where this would take us", she added with a semi-serious expression.

"Of course not", Shinji nodded solemnly. "And… I think I get it. Thank you. It's still very… odd, though."

"I'm sure it is, Shinji-kun", Kyoko replied, her smile returning. "Now, if you have no further questions…" she trailed off, and observing him shake his head, carried on. "I wanted to talk to you about Asuka, and as I said before, you have nothing to worry about… I know you two are… were dating?"

"We… had a fight", Shinji looked aside with a suddenly unhappy expression.

"About that… Suzuhara boy, right?" Kyoko asked carefully – and saw Shinji's eyes turn wide with surprise. "I'm there during the combat, remember?" she reminded him. "We both are, and we can hear what you both say over the communication system. Even if we don't want to."

"Yes, it was about Toji… I mean, Suzuhara", he admitted after a moment, his voice as sad as his face.

Kyoko let out a small sigh and pondered for a moment before speaking. "I hope the boy recovered."

"He did", Shinji confirmed. "I mean… he got some bruises, sure… but it could've been much, much worse."

"I'm glad. And Shinji-kun… it weighed on her… I think it still does. This is between you two, I have no right to intervene unless she asks me to, but… please, talk to her. Trust her. And I think there a few things you can do to make that talk easier", she smiled a small, wry smile.

Shinji's brow furrowed. "I'm not sure what you mean, Doctor Soryu?"

"Please don't take it the wrong way", she started in a careful tone, "but can you bake a cake?"

Shinji shook his head, his expression confused. "Yes? I'm not great at it, but… yes?"

"If you can do it at all without having the cake come apart, then you're already better than virtually any boy your age", Kyoko replied with a chuckle. "Do you know what Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte is?"

Shinji's mouth moved as he tried to repeat the strange, tongue-breaking name, without much success. "The torte part… is it a cream cake?" he tried.

"Yes, it is", Kyoko confirmed with a smile. "It's also called the Black Forest cake. It's Asuka's favourite… at least it was", she quickly corrected herself.

"Ah!" Shinji nodded immediately upon hearing the other name. "Thank you, this will be helpful… assuming I won't end up with my face in it if I hit the bad mood."

"Did this ever happen?" Kyoko's brow furrowed. 'She was always… quick to act, but this doesn't sound good. There's a difference between hot-headed and having bad impulse control…'

"No, no, never. I'm sorry, I'm… I think I'm still worried she won't talk to me", he replied sheepishly.

"I don't think she would ever do this to you, Shinji-kun", Kyoko reassured him, somehow relieved herself; she was only hoping that her voice would not betray her lack of certainty over that matter. 'I really hope she wouldn't', she thought, recalling some more violent thoughts and impulses she witnessed on the surface of Asuka's thoughts, even outside combat. "Believe me, no girl would refuse her favourite cake."

"Well, I guess I just have to learn when her birthday is and hope it's not too far", he replied with a somewhat embarrassed smile.

"It's the fourth of December", Kyoko said with a chuckle. "She didn't tell you?"

Shinji shook his head. "Never. Wait, that's in just a few days!" he realised with an expression close to panic on his face turning into one of sadness.

Kyoko's brow furrowed. 'There goes my perception of time, I was sure it was still summer… no that the weather is a good indicator anymore… I will have to ask him about all that later. One thing at a time…' she decided and turned his attention back to the boy.

"Don't worry, Shinji-kun, once your mom returns, we'll know better whether it's a problem or not. Now, I don't think I can tell you about Asuka's taste in music or books since I'm sure this has changed several times over, but I may help you with a few other things. What else do you want to know?"

Shinji seemed lost in thought for a moment. "Was there a particular fruit, or perhaps a tea she liked?" he finally asked. "She uses a lot of strawberry-flavoured things, but is there something else? Or maybe another thing like this?"

Kyoko smiled – and began her explanation, dearly hoping that she remained on the merely helpful side instead of betraying her daughter's trust with her secrets.

***

​

"Do you have any further questions, Shinji-kun?" Kyoko asked about twenty minutes of questions and answers later.

"I don't think so…" he replied after a moment of consideration. "Thank you, Doctor. I just… I just hope Asuka will want to talk to me", he added, somewhat wistfully.

"Oh, don't worry about that. You're a good boy, Shinji-kun. And she cares about you, more than you can imagine", Kyoko reassured him with a smile. "I know she is not best at showing that", she paused, a small twitch passing through her face. 'And nor am I, I suppose. I wish I had been a better mother… perhaps she would be better around people now if I had spent more time with her?' she mused bitterly for a moment before resuming. "But I assure you: she does. Just be the caring man you are, be strong, and it will be all right. I never pry into her thoughts and emotions, but what she thought of openly… let's say I know what I'm talking about", she finished, doing her best to keep a smile on her face despite her somewhat soured mood.

"I'll do my best", Shinji reassured her with a nod, a slight blush appearing on his face.

"I'm sure you will. And I know Asuka will be receptive", Kyoko continued and poured him another cup of tea. "And now, while we still have time… could you tell me something?" she asked, her tone rising slightly.

"Um… sure?" Shinji agreed readily, his voice confused.

"How is the world outside right now?" Kyoko asked in a voice now curious. "I only get to see it through the eyes of my Unit when we are deployed, which, as you can imagine, is somewhat biased and quite limited. And, of course, through what Asuka is broadcasting when she's inside me", she said and paused for a moment. 'Okay, good old Sigmund would have a field day with that statement. I always wondered what the designers of Evangelions thought when they shaped all the components…' she mused for a short moment before resuming. "And, let's be honest, a lot of those thoughts were about you, not the world."

"I'm sorry, I hope this is not something that you don't want to see", Shinji replied – and his blush grew suddenly.

"Is there anything I should not want to see, Shinji-kun?" Kyoko asked, her smile suddenly turning sly. 'Maybe it's immature of me to prod him like that', she admitted to herself with a bit of embarrassment in her mind, 'but he just set himself up just too perfectly…'

Shinji's blush was now gone in the flood of red that covered his face – at least as much as it was possible with his complexion – and his ears turned just as red. His somewhat embarrassed expression changed into a full panic as he vehemently waved his hands. "No, ma'am! Nothing! No!"

'Exactly what I expected' came to Kyoko's mind. "You fluster far too easily, Shinji-kun", she chuckled. "Don't worry, didn't I already tell you? I know that you'll treat Asuka well and that would never hurt her. So… tell me about how the world changed? Did it recover?"

Shinji's panicked expression turned into one of relief and he gave her a thankful look. "I'm not sure if I can tell you much, Doctor Soryu", he admitted with a sigh. "I wasn't there when the Second Impact happened, and I only saw how it was in the old movies… and on the photos, I guess. It's… difficult to compare."

"Tell me what you saw, then", Kyoko asked. "You had to leave the city sometimes, right?"

"I didn't live in the city, Doctor Soryu", Shinji corrected immediately. "It was a small town, my father called me to him this year. Please tell me when I start to bore you", he added with a sheepish smile – and started to slowly paint the image of the post-Impact Japan.

Kyoko leaned in to listen – and as much as she already understood why Asuka took a liking to the boy after witnessing his bravery, now she was learning about another of his traits: the boy certainly could speak well and at length without boring the listener. Assuming, of course, it was a subject he was confident in – and was properly encouraged. 'I guess I'll have to pass her a hint about that', she chuckled to herself and returned her attention to Shinji – who was in the middle of vividly describing the sandy beaches of the town he lived in – and the recovering of the marine life.

***​

Yui Ikari closed the book, put the pen down, and leaned back on her comfy chair. With every variable accounted for and every unknown resolved, the solution was ready. Her conclusions were mostly confirmed, the necessary steps now clearly stated in the notes in front of her, and the plan perfectly implementable, beautiful in its simplicity.

And, as a bonus, seeing it work in practice would give them a lot of data that could further some of their own plans.

The problem was that it needed to be implemented soon – and that was only assuming that it was not already too late.

Meaning that he would be gone soon, depriving her of any more time with him. Depriving her of something she had longed after for so long.

She took a deep breath and took a long look at the notes, hoping that she would find a reason to doubt her conclusions – but she knew this was a vain hope. The truth in front of her was indisputable and merciless.

Just as merciless as the dilemma she was now facing.

================================================================

And so we're slowly catching up with What happened, son?, I guess one more part before we're out into the unknown.

I need to put a few things in order (both in the fiction and IRL), so the next part will have to wait a bit. An update is likely to happen no sooner than in June.

 

[Boreas Anemos]

Kyoko Soryu's day is quite okay. Yui's, not so much.

================================================================

Chapter 10., part 3.

Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu was listening intently. She was experiencing, from time to time, a minor pang of guilt for claiming the boy for herself, even for a moment – but she mitigated it by telling herself that Yui Ikari chose to do the research now instead of delaying it and had actually directly asked her to babysit her son for the time. And so, she listened when the boy told her about the fishing villages again full of people, about the temples once more filled with the faithful during the festivals, about the trains going across the ravaged countryside, about the unbroken spirit so often mentioned in speeches, about the nations working together to construct more Evangelion Units despite the setbacks suffered, and, finally, about the marvels of the fortress-city that was Tokyo-3.

Granted, his talking was not the most coherent picture Kyoko could imagine – but under the circumstances, she was not going to complain. Especially that his eagerness was bringing a smile to her face.

***

​

Yui Ikari was sitting in her study, her expression ponderous – and her mood dark. A part of her wanted to curse the Powers she believed ruled the fate of humanity – but another saw this as a childish idea, one that would do nothing to help her resolve her dilemma.

'Why does it have to be so?' she kept asking herself. 'I just got him back. He just came to me, a precious gift. I can catch up with a decade of his life now, be a proper mother for at least a moment. Why do you force me to choose between this and the integrity of his very soul?' she gritted her teeth, her glare hateful and directed at the shelves where the books looked the oldest, the most ominous. 'Gods of old, you never had mercy. I know too well that this is how you want us to be. But this is too much even for me, even for one who followed you faithfully my entire life.'

She closed her eyes, taking a few breaths in a forced attempt to push those thoughts down. 'The worst thing is that there is a logical choice here… and it is not the preferable one' came to her instead, adding another facet to her ponderings, this time from the more rational side of her mind; this was Yui the Scientist talking.

'And he has someone waiting for him', she added yet another argument to the conflict, this time with a surprisingly strong pang of envy; this happened when she extended her senses outside for a moment to once more look at the redheaded teenager sitting at the walkway, her legs swinging down, her expression surprisingly relaxed. The girl was holding a box of some takeout food in her hands, eating from it between bouts of describing the day of school and sharing the newest gossip straight from the tumultuous social life of their class.

Yui's mental training came to her assistance immediately: she captured that pang of envy along with the pictures it painted, pictures with a similar, only more adult, shade of red on them, and tossed them into one of the unused rooms of her mind, closing the door. She did not need yet another distraction at this very moment.

Not that the battle was not already decided in Yui's mind. 'What kind of mother would I be if I held him for myself at the peril of his own soul? I guess when reason and instinct walk hand in hand, selfish desires must take a back seat', she smiled to herself sadly. 'Perhaps there is another way, maybe there is a way to shield him the next time he's pulled in… and by looking at how much harder their battles are becoming, there is going to be a next time quite soon. No, Shinji. You're leaving, and you're leaving soon.'

Resolute to put her choice into action, she closed the notebook, stood up, and headed out.

***

​

The boy went quiet, almost mid-sentence, and looked at something behind her back; Kyoko followed his gaze and saw a figure emerging from the mansion. "Seems we'll have to finish later", she commented, doing her best to hide her disappointment at the tale cut short. "Thank you for indulging me, Shinji-kun. I still miss the outside world, no matter how horrid it became during my adult life. I'm happy to hear it is somewhat getting better. Angels notwithstanding, that is."

"It was my pleasure, Doctor Soryu", Shinji smiled in response.

Kyoko smiled at him. 'He's a smart boy, and he's certainly polite, even without Ikari being involved in his upbringing. I should give Asuka my stamp of approval about him next time I talk to her', she noted to herself, looking at the boy with approval before turning to Yui. "How did it go, Ikari? Do you need assistance?" she addressed the approaching woman.

"No", Yui shook her head, worry sketched on her face. "I know what I needed to know… and I have some bad news and some good news", she said, her expression tight. "We can send you back", she said as she turned to Shinji and took his hand.

Kyoko's brow furrowed and she spoke up, seeing that the boy was too confused to say anything: "But?"

"But we have to do it soon. The longer an unattached – that means, not one currently incarnated – soul remains here, the more it becomes suffused with what this place is, and sooner or later, it will be tied too much to leave. You, me, or our… other guest are likely affected to a far lesser degree, if at all, because we have inviolably strong anchors in our own Eva bodies – but all you have right now", Yui turned back to Shinji, "is a mass of LCL held together by a decaying AT Field. Most likely decaying, since the mind is here, that is."

"So…" Shinji paused, his face expressing a mix of feelings clearly dominated by worry, perhaps even fear. "If I don't leave soon, I'll die?" he asked, his tone calm.

"You're not going to die, not in the regular sense of the word", Yui explained, shaking her head, her expression now focused. "I will not bother you with Metaphysical Biology and its theoretical background, but in short, death as you understand it is an illusion, nothing but a step along a path. And it doesn't apply here… not in your situation. The problem is that what would happen to you is worryingly close: you would lose your body cohesion and become a part of this mindscape. Should it ever… end for any reason, you would indeed die. Possibly with soul damage, too, and this is a fate to be avoided at all cost", she elaborated in her usual calm voice.

Kyoko's mind, used to solving problems as they came up, focused on possibilities instead of dangers. "Can this process be reversed?" she interjected.

"I don't know. I don't think so", Yui admitted, annoyance clear in her tone. "Not here. Perhaps through time outside, as the soul bleeds the influence, yes. But it can be slowed down. First and foremost, stop eating and drinking anything", she turned to Shinji. "This will give us more time."

Kyoko's reasoning spotted a problem immediately: "He's still breathing."

"I'm aware", Yui confirmed, her tightly focused expression unchanged. "But I'm quite sure that this is far less of a factor – food and drink are far more important culture-wise… and symbolically, of course. And this is what matters here, primarily. There are not many things that would be more binding, but let's not discuss them now. But regardless of how we slow it down, I still want to try the expulsion procedure soon."

"But… Mom…" Shinji spoke up in a shaking voice that made Kyoko push her sympathetic reaction down lest she would be tempted to hug the boy on the spot. "I… just came here, and…" he trailed off, sadness and disappointment clear in his eyes.

Yui clearly appeared to share his feelings. "Believe me, I already thought of that", she replied as she squeezed his hand. "I just got you back, and I have so much to tell you, to ask of you. But waiting too long may kill you, and this is not a risk I'm going to take."

"Let me guess, there's no reliable way of measuring this effect?" Kyoko interjected, her mind still looking for solutions. "Sorry, of course there's none, you'd be doing it right now otherwise."

To her surprise, Yui smiled a small smile. "Well, I am a bit ahead of you", she replied. "There is something to measure, and you do it by looking deep into the subject's eyes… and I did it a moment ago."

'As usual, Ikari. Never telling me everything', Kyoko realised immediately. 'I wonder how much you are hiding from me, still… and how bad it will come back to bite us', she added quietly and pushed it aside for later consideration, focusing on the matter at hand instead. "Right. Window to the soul, right?" she replied with a cautious smile.

"Exactly. You still have some time, by my reckoning", Yui replied and turned to Shinji again, "but we're talking hours, not days. Beyond that, your soul is in danger."

Shinji was, understandably, at best confused, at worst shocked by the revelation; Kyoko felt sorry for him. "I… I'm sorry, Mom, this… this is a bit…" he tried to speak, but his uncertainty was obviously getting the better of him.

"…overwhelming?" Yui finished for him.

"Strange? Crazy?" Shinji tried.

"I'm sorry, Shinji", Yui smiled a sad smile; Kyoko somewhat doubted the sincerity of that sadness and her statements but decided to say nothing. "This is your legacy, whether you wish it or not. I truly hoped I would bear most of the burden, and you'd simply live in a better world, but threads of Fate weave in the strangest ways, and Powers… they rarely care about what we wish for. But we still have a moment, I will be checking on you constantly", she paused and turned to Kyoko. "Can you give us a moment?"

Kyoko expected this and so she just nodded to that. "Of course", she said and turned to Shinji. "Thank you, Shinji-kun. I hope I'll see you again… and please, take good care of Asuka."

"I will", Shinji smiled at her.

"Speaking of which… could I perhaps see your eyes before you leave?" Kyoko stopped just as she rose from her seat. "Ikari? Could you show me what to look for?"

"Ah. Yes", Yui nodded. "Come here, Soryu", she gestured to her side. "Shinji, could you please look at me, then at Doctor Soryu, then back at me? You can blink, but don't close your eyes for too long", she instructed him. Shinji, confused as he was, obeyed. "Just take a look at how the eye feels", Yui started. "The ancient text suggests that those devoid of soul don't carry the right spark, it is devoid of actual life…"

A few minutes later Kyoko confirmed her understanding, thanked Shinji for his cooperation and his tales – and left to give mother and son some privacy before their inevitable parting. 'I suppose I can use this time as a moment to myself… I didn't have many of those lately I guess…' she mused as she passed the treeline – and immediately realised this was not going to be the case.

A grinning face greeted her from the forest's undergrowth. The girl was almost entirely buried under the various plants, broken branches, and pieces of moss – even the chaotic mop of blue hair seemed to have a lot of the forest in it – and she had clearly been looking in the direction of the table where Yui Ikari and Shinji Ikari remained.

"Hello", Kyoko said in a whisper as she kneeled next to the girl. "How long have you been here?" she asked before quickly realising how pointless the question was.

Fortunately for her, the girl did not seem to mind. Instead, she patted the ground next to her and gestured to it with her eyes.

"I'm supposed to join you?" Kyoko asked in a confused whisper.

The girl nodded, her smile unchanged and her eyes subtly indicating the two figures at the table.

Kyoko, perplexed but also curious, pondered for a moment – and before the girl could make another gesture, moved closer to her – carefully not to touch her, though – and lay down. Before she could say a word, the girl reached and peppered the bits and pieces of the forest on her; Kyoko could not help but notice upon a glance on her own back that she was covered far better than it would be possible to do with such small hands in such a short time – but decided not to ask about that. Especially that the girl, upon camouflaging her, turned her attention immediately back to the scene she was watching before.

***

​

Rei takes care of the nice lady. The nice lady should not be seen by the loud lady.

Rei does not want the loud lady to be loud. Rei hides the nice lady.

The nice lady reacts slowly. But the nice lady understands. The nice lady wants to do things with Rei.

Rei is happy the nice lady is with her now. Rei wants to show the nice lady a bit more.

But Rei watches and listens to something interesting now. Rei watches the boy talking to the loud lady.

Rei thinks she understands some concepts. But Rei is missing many of them.

Rei listens carefully.

***

​

Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu was feeling really odd.

On one hand, she was simply keeping the company of a child she had befriended; while she still had some very serious doubt regarding how much of a human that child was, she saw no reason to treat the girl in question any differently than she would any other kid. The odd, shark-like smile did not trouble her any more, nor did the muteness. She even felt some kind of kinship with the strange girl, a kinship she was not really able to explain. Perhaps it came from the shared experience of being deeply confused – at least initially – by being trapped inside an Evangelion Unit; perhaps it was from the common ground of liking odd games; or perhaps it was just the part of Kyoko that never stopped enjoying just being a kid. The last part was, without a doubt, having a lot of fun right now.

'Okay. It is certainly inappropriate, and I shouldn't be doing that. But this feels deliciously naughty in an oddly innocent way… why haven't I done this kind of thing with Asuka?' she pondered poignantly for a moment, her guilt from both peeping and eavesdropping mitigated by the fact that she did not really hear a thing. 'I guess I was too busy… and she was too young at the time. She', Kyoko shot the blue-haired girl a glance, 'seems to be closer to seven or eight… feral behaviour notwithstanding. And she seems to be learning to have fun as a kid would… and seems to have accepted me as the right companion. Now… who adopted whom?' she chuckled – apparently too loud, because the girl looked at her and put a finger at her mouth in a shushing gesture. "Sorry", Kyoko whispered – and turned her attention back to the scene.

Not that it helped her much – apparently, the girl had far better hearing, since the only thing Kyoko heard in the end was the call coming from Yui Ikari, a call beckoning her to come back, followed by her voyeuristic companion withdrawing, belly still to the ground, almost burrowing in the underbrush and moving with a speed that would surprise a fox.

Kyoko chuckled once more and, having made sure she could not be immediately seen upon standing up, shook the camouflaging bits and pieces off. Playtime was over. Now was the time for serious things.

But she already knew she would look back to that moment – and look forward to meeting the little girl again.

***

​

"Let's get you out, Shinji", Yui spoke up as Kyoko was just a few steps away; she then turned to her. "I will need your strength now, Soryu. I will perform the action, but I will need you to… push at the point I guide you to, for the lack of a better word."

"I think I have some experience in that", Kyoko chuckled, suddenly amused by the somewhat inappropriate, yet still amusing implications. "Go ahead. Just show me how."

Yui nodded, took her hand, and a moment later Kyoko found the point to press on. Closing her eyes, she exerted her will – and when she opened them again, Shinji was nowhere to be seen.

***

​

Yui Ikari continued to maintain her composure despite the ordeal. She was not proud of herself because of that – this was the level she expected of herself. It was still an effort – but one she knew she had to make.

There were, of course, positives to the entire situation. Her idea was put into plan – and it worked well: she saw her theory turned into successful practice. The results felt bitter, yes, marring the fruits of the success, but the bitterness was temporary: she was going to have her time with Shinji. She knew there would be time and place for this. Be it at the next Angel or be it when they would finally leave those bodies.

Still, she quietly wished it could have gone differently.

She pushed the still lingering anger at the old gods and the fates themselves down. There was no time for it; rage against the forces was pointless, ineffective, ridiculous. There will come a moment when it will be different, and then the worlds, the old and the new, the seen and the unseen, the one of things and the one of ideas, will all tremble.

But this was not today. She still had to learn how all the components needed for her plan worked – and keep a brave face for both Shinji and Soryu.

She turned her sight outside – and suddenly, the internal struggle, already subdued by the reasoning, took the back seat at the sight she had just witnessed.

***

​

Yui's expression was, in the eyes of Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu, an inscrutable mix of amusement, annoyance, satisfaction, and defeat. "How did it work, Ikari?" Kyoko decided to ask after a few long seconds.

"Well, it could've gone better", Yui finally admitted with a heavy sigh and a headshake. "But he's fine… well, a little confused, but that's it. And she's fine, too."

"What happened?" Kyoko asked, her eyebrow raised.

"Well. This approach, seemingly, doesn't return you to the plug", Yui explained with a mix of dismay and embarrassment on her face.

"Ikari…" Kyoko pressed on. "What. Happened?"

"Did you know that the walkway was more than a metre below the Core's centre?" Yui asked, her gaze still focused elsewhere.

"Aw", Kyoko winced, her imagination painting a whole picture within the second it took her to comprehend the sentence. "Ouch. This had to hurt."

"Ouch indeed", Yui confirmed. "Fortunately, your daughter was there… and I think he's getting all the help he could wish for right now", she smirked.

"Ikari?" Kyoko raised an eyebrow; she was aware that Yui could not see her at the moment, but she believed that her tone conveyed enough of the meaning.

"Don't worry, it's nothing inappropriate", Yui chuckled with an expression that seemed amused, exasperated, and embarrassed at the same time. "I should've expected that, of all the people, your daughter was able to raise hell like nobody else…"

Kyoko raised an eyebrow again, unsure whether she should see this as a compliment or a jab. "Ikari?" she simply repeated.

"Let's just say I see hope", Yui admitted after a few moments. "To be frank… for the first time in a while."

Kyoko's brow remained high, her expression demanding further words on the subject. And despite still not looking at her, Yui clearly understood the silence as a request for further information.

"Well, first of all, it worked, and this means we have a way; not a perfect one for our own souls, but there is enough data to start working on it… not to mention, a working solution in case this happens again", Yui started. "Second, as far as I see it, your daughter is perhaps not in her best mood… but she's not trying to kill him, she's actually calling for help right now…" Yui kept going, her glare absent as it tended to be when she was not using it here. Kyoko listened intently, quietly cursing the fact that she could not see the events for herself. "While calling him a pervert all the time… I believe. If the word means the same in German as it does in English…"

"Why a pervert – oh. I see the plugsuit stayed inside the plug", Kyoko's voice was suddenly filled with half-amused resignation. "I see the problem. It's not the most dignified exit."

"Definitely not. Poor boy. Well, at least it was not as painful as the last time", Yui chuckled. "Well, not for me, at least…"

"Last time?", Kyoko asked, her tone confused.

"Well, it was not the first time I had to do this to him", Yui replied with a crooked smile. "Push him out of my body, that is."

"Ikari…" Kyoko groaned, not sure whether to laugh or scold her interlocutor for the joke. The only thing that was stopping her from doing that was the fact that she had made a similar, if less direct joke about that a few minutes ago.

"Well, I believe it will work out in the end", Yui resumed, unable to see the mixed expression on Kyoko's face. "I don't think they're going for a mutual kill, and I believe the medical team is on the way… likely along with the technicians. And while she's berating him loudly, she's clearly concerned, worried, and happy at the same time, no matter how much she is trying to hide it. Teenagers", she concluded with a sigh, shaking her head. "I think we should leave them to their own devices now. We have things to do", she stated with a renewed vigour in her voice, her gaze suddenly focusing on Kyoko.

Kyoko could swear there was some wistfulness in those eyes for a moment – but reading Yui's facial expression, let alone interpreting them right, was even harder than understanding Evangelions. "Don't you want some time?" she asked as she tried to adjust to the sudden change in mood.

"Time for what, Soryu?" Yui asked, her brow furrowing in a confused expression.

"Well, for yourself?" Kyoko replied carefully. She could swear the woman in front of her became almost angry at the suggestion. 'Sudden mood changes? That should not be happening'

"Nonsense", Yui shook her head; Kyoko could swear the anger was still there. "There are many things to do, and if we're right, the time grows shorter. Who knows when the next Angel appears, and the more tricks we have in our sleeves, the better off we are."

"Perhaps we should wear looser sleeves", Kyoko quipped probingly, pointing at the tight sleeve of her dress. "I couldn't smuggle a coin, let alone a card here."

Yui chuckled, and for once, the tension and anger seemed to be going away. "You won't have sleeves in the place you're now going to", she replied. "Listen…"

Kyoko listened – and, not for the first time, started to wonder whether working with Yui Ikari was not a too dangerous prospect.

Even if the stake was the world itself.

================================================================

And so it continues. The What happened, son? run is done at this point and Two Souls has returned to its own narration - at least until the next What happened part.

Expect the next part sometime in July, assuming nothing goes wrong.

 

[Fraktal]

I'm sorta wondering if Rei-2 gets her own turn with the ladies eventually, if for no other reason than to help them figure out what the deal is with her and Unit-00.

 

[Boreas Anemos]

I'm sorta wondering if Rei-2 gets her own turn with the ladies eventually, if for no other reason than to help them figure out what the deal is with her and Unit-00.

Click to shrink...

Yui has already seen Rei-2 when NERV did the cross-Eva activation/synch tests; from Chapter 6., part 10.:

"So, Rei, how does it feel to be piloting Unit-01 for the first time?" a female voice from outside interrupted Yui's focus.

'Rei. Her name is Rei. Gendo, you…' Yui could not decide on the dominant feeling on the matter, thus was having a hard time to decide between praise and an insult towards her husband. 'Is she a daughter for you? Is that what happens when you try to raise a child? Perhaps it was better Shinji grew up without you…'

"It smells like Ikari" Rei answered, impassively. "It's warm" she added.

Click to shrink...

Hence she was not totally surprised when Little Rei appeared. She's still not aware of all the aspects of the situation - for once, why is there more than one - but she's not entirely in the dark. She also explained some of it to Kyoko and poked around in astral space to see Unit-00 (and got some very weird aftertaste for her trouble).

As for Rei-2 visiting them like Shinji just did, that would require a big change in plot (effectively, she would have to pilot either 01 or 02 and get the extreme sync rate) and is rather unlikely. I have my own plans for Rei, and rest assured, she will not be neglected in this story.

 

[brer rabbit]

"Ikari…" Kyoko pressed on. "What. Happened?"

"Did you know that the walkway was more than a metre below the Core's centre?" Yui asked, her gaze still focused elsewhere.

"Aw", Kyoko winced, her imagination painting a whole picture within the second it took her to comprehend the sentence. "Ouch. This had to hurt."

Click to shrink...

Ohh damn poor Shinji. The boy luck can be so rotten at times.

 

[Boreas Anemos]

Ohh damn poor Shinji. The boy luck can be so rotten at times.

Click to shrink...

Well... he did land on something soft, in the end, a fact Yui conveniently omits, because telling Kyoko "my son just used your daughter as a landing cushion" would be a tad awkward to explain. The fact that this soft fall-breaker immediately turned into a veritable ball of violence is another matter entirely

 

[Boreas Anemos]

Kyoko Soryu's day continues relentlessly.

================================================================

Chapter 10., part 4.

A long explanation and a few digressions later

"…and once you let go of the body, it becomes very similar to swimming. Or, if you ever happened to fly in your dreams, it feels pretty much the same", Yui finished her explanation.

"But how do I navigate?" Kyoko asked after a moment of consideration, with her brow furrowed and her expression confused. "You spoke of the silver tether, sure, but that's just the way back. How do I navigate towards the outside, how do I find out where to go? I've had difficulties inside my own Eva, and I don't think there are lighthouses for astral travellers… are there?"

"There are some… landmarks and points of orientation. Stars, if you will. Of sorts", Yui said, her tone suddenly lacking the certainty it held just a moment before. "This is how I found the test bodies, for example. You'll have to learn to recognise them for what they are and to navigate by them. And since you don't need to worry about getting lost, feel free to explore… or just to look around. You can always find your way back via the tether, right? Just check on it from time to time."

"I see", Kyoko nodded her expression still heavily ponderous. "I guess I'll have to give it a try to really understand… expect a few questions afterwards", she added with a small smile.

"Well, you know whom to ask", Yui replied with a chuckle. "Shall we then?" she asked as she extended her hand, a smile appearing on her face.

"Let me think of it for a bit", Kyoko quickly requested in response, her posture suddenly cautious, almost defensive. "Alone. It's a bit much to take all at once."

"We're not getting younger, Soryu", Yui replied, her smile unchanged – but even that smile could not hide a hint of disappointment.

"I'd rather not rush into something without at least a bit of a thought, Ikari", Kyoko objected insistently, surprised by the other woman's reaction. "This is not a battle, and while this is important, it's not urgent. Don't worry, I'll be back soon."

"As you wish", Yui agreed reluctantly after a few moments of silence, her tone and expression full of doubt, her glare fixated on Kyoko, her hand withdrawn. "I'd say it is urgent to understand the nature of your body and our condition better, but I'll leave this to your judgment. I'll be waiting."

"Thank you", Kyoko replied, suddenly uncomfortable with this sudden and obvious lack of consensus. 'I'm not sure why I really prefer when we get into a fight instead of… this. Anger tastes better than the feeling of having messed up, of… disappointing her', she mused as she stood up with a curt nod towards Yui.

Making use of the routine she had acquired in those numerous passes between the minds and bodies, she was once more surrounded by much taller trees and a much more pleasant smell of her forest just after a short walk and a barely conscious thought. She smiled and the bad emotional aftertaste quickly faded.

She knew that this was quite an irrational thing – but for some reason, she felt much more at home here, between huge trees and in a small cottage in the forest – or cabin in the woods, as Yui tended to call it despite being regularly corrected – than she did in a mansion and its carefully landscaped garden. She was, of course, aware that this whole forest was anything but natural – it was just as much a creation of her mind as the garden was a creation made and perfected by Yui Ikari – but this place still felt more like home to her than the mansion ever did. 'Perhaps I'm a bit wilder than I care to admit?' she pondered as she walked the narrow paths, ferns brushing against her hands, heavy branches hanging just above her head, moss on the trees softening the touch of the rough bark of the massive trees. 'After all, Asuka got this wild streak from someone…' she chuckled to herself as she approached the cottage–

–and caught a glimpse of movement.

"Oh. Hello, little one", she smiled at the blue-haired girl standing motionlessly exactly at the line where the forest ended and her cottage's clearing began; she was looking at Kyoko her with her red, unblinking eyes. "I thought you were in the… other place", she added with an apologetic expression, feeling the need to explain her obvious expression of surprise.

The girl, as usual, did not reply; instead, she took her eyes off Kyoko and turned her gaze towards the cottage.

"Do you want to come inside?" Kyoko asked, her voice sounding a little surprised. "Can't you do it on your… oh", a small realisation dawned on her – and she smiled at the girl, gesturing for her to approach. "Please, come. And you know what? Feel free to do this all the time. You do not need my permission to move around here from now on, okay?"

Rei nodded carefully and a small smile emerged on her face, telling Kyoko that she did something right. She slowly moved towards Kyoko and took her hand; as she was led towards the cottage, Kyoko noted absentmindedly that the girl's touch did not hurt this time – and that she thought of that possibility only after the girl's hand touched her own. Yet this was where her understanding ended.

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you want from me", Kyoko said after a few moments in which they stood, hand in hand, in front of the cottage.

The girl's brow furrowed; she seemed to ponder for a moment – and then she pulled Kyoko closer to the swings, quickly placing herself in one of the seats.

"Of course", Kyoko realised with a chuckle. "How dumb of me", she added, annoyed by how easily she forgot the joy she saw on the girl's face as she was swinging back and forth not that long ago. "Brace yourself", she told her – and put the swing in motion. "Do you remember what I taught you about moving your legs to stay in motion?" she asked – and the girl nodded. "Also… feel free to use those whenever you want. Just push yourself away from the ground, hard", she added.

Rei nodded to that and focused on the movement, her shark-like smile widening with every swing. Kyoko smiled at the sight – and, a moment later, settled in one of the chairs on the cottage's deck. She could still see the girl playing on the swing, clearly enraptured once more – but this no longer busied her mind.

She had other things to busy herself with; there was, in fact, much to think about, and – contrary to what she assured Yui about – the time was short.

And so she started to weigh the pros and cons of having a little walk – either by herself or with assistance.

***

​

Yui Ikari set the cup down with strength sufficient to break it if it was real; her only saving grace was the fact that she did not bother to actually make them breakable.

'What is there to think about, Soryu?' ran through her mind again, like it did a dozen times in the last few minutes. 'This is not rocket science! This is not even Metaphysical Biology, really! It's just leaving your body and taking a walk, and you would have had instructions all the way until the moment you left! And a rescue squad… well, a rescue person… anyway, someone to rescue you, should something go really wrong!'

She shook her head, trying to get that irrational annoyance out of her mind in a vain attempt to focus on something productive – or at least useful.

'You certainly changed since the first time we met' came to her a moment later along with a wistful feeling, her eyes staring at the tree line. 'You certainly grew more wilful… I wish I could induce something like that in Shinji', she chuckled to herself as the sudden realisation followed; she had already wondered how a child of two people like her and Gendo could grow up so different, so meek and quiet. 'But changing that, inducing that in him… that would require him spending a lot of time with me, I guess. And we couldn't have had that, could we?' she concluded with chagrin, another wave of anger rising inside of her.

She quickly forced it down, annoyance at her own behaviour and the swinging mood getting the upper hand instead. 'Damn it. Why is this making me angry? I'm not some moody teenage girl! I'm an adult! A mature woman with clear goals! Righteous goals and a vision!'

She shook her head again, stood up, and cleaned the table with one swift, decisive gesture. 'The best way to deal with anger is to pour it into something, to use it as fuel', she repeated one of the pearls of wisdom she was taught when she was young and studied at the feet of the family teacher. 'Sure, I can't do any research in this condition… but I can work on something less absorbing, some more… physical. Maybe I can do some new hedges?' she pondered as she paced around the garden.

It was then that a realisation struck her, a realisation about a single room she all but forgot about.

And before she could talk herself out of this idea, she rushed towards the mansion.

================================================================

As you might have noticed, this is a rather short update. To be frank, I should have taken July off entirely, and this is how this will likely be next year - but since I promised something, there is something.

Expect the next part in August or September.

 

[Boreas Anemos]

Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu's day continues. This time in the forest. And she has a guest.

================================================================

Chapter 10., part 5.

Rei is on the play device made by the nice lady. Rei remembers that the proper term for the device is "the swing".

Rei enjoys using the swing.

The nice lady is nice to Rei. Rei concludes that this is logical since the nice lady appears to be nice in general.

Rei wants to be nice to the nice lady, too.

Rei wonders whether Rei should be loud to the loud lady, too.

Rei thinks this would be good for balance between the ladies.

But Rei is not sure whether Rei knows how to be loud, though.

Rei has to think about it. But Rei knows this is not urgent. Thus, Rei focuses on being nice to the nice lady.

Rei watches the nice lady.

The nice lady seems troubled. Rei thinks of some way to help the nice lady.

***​

Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu was deep in her thoughts.

Her main train of thought was, of course, focused on the suggestion of astral travel that Yui Ikari had made – but if she was to be honest to herself, she did not need to think much about it; she had already decided to give it a try. She simply needed to take some time away from her to regain her focus; she did not like being pressured, and Yui Ikari had an unfortunate habit to start applying pressure the moment she encountered even token resistance.

And so, since the decision she came here to make took her no time at all, her thoughts wandered away towards a more general overlook of her entire situation, especially on how odd it was turning, slowly but persistently. The main issue that dominated her ponderings was the fact that Yui Ikari was becoming increasingly passionate about her idea of the bright future, an idea that was still rather unclear – or, at best, somewhat vague. Unfortunately, any attempts to get her to talk more precisely about that vision ended up with her reiterating the words of humanity united along with finally reaching for our divine birthright and world shaped into perfection by the reborn human species, with some suggestions of divine leadership. And that last part was going to be quite literal if Kyoko understood her correctly, no matter how impossible that idea sounded.

And yet, she was unwilling to press for details; her relationship with Yui – as careful as she was with the use of that word because of its possible but obviously absurd connotations – had been somewhat mended and was working quite well for the moment. She was simply unwilling to risk souring up the atmosphere again. After all – aside from the odd girl who started to visit more and more often but could hardly be called an equal partner, despite the joy she brought – Yui remained her only companion here. There were also some further aspects of their connection she was unwilling to speak about, or even think of, right now – while at the same time, just as unwilling to endanger.

Kyoko let out a heavy sigh as she tried to clear her mind. Granted, her life was never simple, even when she was still wearing the human body – but right now the complexity she had to face was slowly starting to feel ridiculous.

She shook her head in an attempt to push those thoughts away, this time with more success. She knew she would not find answers to that particular problem right now – and feeling sorry for herself was the last thing she needed at the moment. And so, she refocused on Yui's depiction of her vision for the brave new world instead of dwelling on how her life turned out.

She knew too well that a huge amount – a worryingly huge amount – of the knowledge that made Evangelions possible was derived from something that was, in the end, nothing but very old religious texts, and that Ikari herself came from a rather… specific background that would have been called a dangerous cult if it had been practised by a less affluent family. So, the fact that her vision of the future included the concept of divine leadership was perfectly explainable and made quite a lot of sense – at least considering the context. The fact that many things she experienced while working with the Evangelion Units and then becoming one came quite close to miraculous while still having a proper scientific explanation – well, as scientific as you can get when the name of your discipline begins with metaphysical – made Ikari's vision even more understandable. It was not the empty rhetoric of a false prophet that lined his pockets with donations while preaching a message of hatred packed in a religious wrapping, nor was it a vague and ultimately unhelpful babbling of an uneducated guru whose sole purpose was attaining reverence of his students and getting better food on his table. No, it was far better grounded than that: it was a proper doctrine mixed with sensible – if still very occult and barely believable – lore, it was a deep faith supported by verified scientific knowledge, it was a strong and consistent mindset supported by numerous mental techniques that actually worked. After all, it was almost impossible for Kyoko to forget that the journey that mended her mind and made her whole again was done based on instructions derived from the very same teachings as the basis for Yui Ikari's vision for the bright future she wanted to usher.

Without that context, Yui Ikari's visions could be dismissed as something coming from a delusional madman, someone – if put bluntly – who was suffering from delusions or outright delusional schizophrenia. But within that context and considering everything Kyoko had experienced – it all made perfect sense.

And this was what made her worry the most. 'Ironic. The worry that she might not be telling me everything pales in the face of what she is actually telling me. Wasn't the unknown supposed to be more horrifying than the known? Damn it, I'm supposed to be saving the world, not engaging in philosophy!'

She let out another heavy sigh – and her eyes rested on the swings, where the blue-haired girl seemed to have a lot of fun. 'Sometimes I just wish I could go back to a life that simple…' Kyoko mused with a small, sad smile emerging on her face as she closed her eyes, her head rested back–

–and she immediately jumped in her seat when she felt the touch of a small cold hand on her own.

The blue-haired child was standing in front of her, her big red eyes staring at Kyoko, unblinking and persistent. A part of Kyoko's brain registered two basic facts: she saw the girl on the swing less than five seconds ago – and the swing never stopped, still moving in the wild range the girl enjoyed so much.

But neither of those facts seemed as important as the confused, almost sad expression on the girl's face.

Kyoko's brow furrowed in a confused expression. "Did I do something to upset you?" she asked, concern clear in her voice.

The girl looked at her small hand for a moment, the hand she yanked away the moment Kyoko jumped in her seat. She closed and opened the fist a few times, then looked at Kyoko again.

It took Kyoko a few seconds to understand what the issue could be. "No, no, you didn't hurt me!" she explained quickly, now suddenly feeling bad for making the girl worried – or even sad. Realising that this reassurance did not convince her, Kyoko extended her hand. "Can I touch you?" she asked carefully, stopping a mere centimetre away from the girl's hand. "You're not hurting me. I was just surprised", she explained again and added something that sounded a bit nonsensical but felt like the right thing to say: "I cannot see when I close my eyes. This is why you surprised me. It's okay, though."

The girl seemed to ponder for a moment – and only after that moment, she finally bridged the gap between them and reluctantly took Kyoko's hand in her own.

Kyoko sighed with quiet relief when the touch did not neither burn nor sting her. 'It'd be kind of stupid to tell her she's not hurting me and then realise that she does, right? I'm glad she learned to suppress that mechanism. Hm… I wonder, did she remember to suppress it when she was around the Ikari boy? He didn't seem to be afraid or shocked, so I guess she did…'

Kyoko's musings were interrupted when she realised that she was being pulled by the hand the girl was holding. "What is it, little one?" she asked, confusion and concern returning to her voice once more – and let just a short "oh" when the girl pointed to the swings – and before she decided she had no time for this, she ended up occupying a swing seat next to the girl and with a strong push away from the ground, she pushed all her troubles away.

She knew, of course, that it was only for a moment. But she also knew it would be enough for now.

It had to be.

***​

Rei sees that the nice lady is worried. Rei wants to help the nice lady.

Rei likes to play on the swing. The nice lady seems to like to play on the swing too.

Rei wants to invite the nice lady to play along. Rei reaches to the nice lady.

The nice lady seems hurt. Rei did not want to hurt the nice lady. Rei worries that Rei forgot to hide the spikes.

Rei checks. Rei is quite sure Rei hid the spikes.

Rei is confused. Rei checks. Rei is quite sure Rei hid the spikes.

The nice lady seems worried. But the nice lady apologises.

The nice lady reaches for Rei and asks to touch Rei.

Rei is confused. People rarely ask before touching Rei. People often just do what they want with Rei.

This is why Rei has spikes. But the nice lady is different.

Rei takes the extended hand carefully. The nice lady does not flinch. The nice lady smiles.

Rei takes the hand of the nice lady. Rei pulls the nice lady towards the swings. The nice lady reacts slowly.

The nice lady follows Rei. The nice lady joins Rei on the swings.

The nice lady smiles. The nice lady starts to swing.

The nice lady laughs.

Rei makes the nice lady laugh with the use of swings. Rei makes the nice lady happy.

Rei sees the nice lady is a little bit similar to Rei.

Rei is happy to see that.

Rei smiles at the nice lady. The nice lady smiles at Rei.

Rei is happy.

***​

Meanwhile in Unit-01

Yui Ikari was working hard.

Of course, moving furniture, reshaping windows, adorning walls, and installing lights is quite easy when you do it with your mind – but it still requires a lot of effort. It seemed that the principle of shaping the mindscape that Yui noticed a while ago was at work: the older the construct was and the more it was left unchanging in her mind, the harder it was to reshape it again. The frequency with which she saw the given object on a daily basis was also a significant factor – the more often any particular thing was in her sight, the more entrenched it seemed in the entirety of her shaped mindscape. Consequently, removing a tree or a bush she had placed recently in the forgotten back of the garden – out of sight and out of mind – needed nothing but a single thought; modifying the wooden reliefs on the library door took long hours of work to enact the smallest change. This, of course, did not apply to objects with expected low permanence, like the garden table, an object that was designed to be moved around – but anything that her mind perceived as permanent, like a wall or a window, fell under that principle.

The task she undertook right now was somewhere in the middle. She had created this room long ago, long before she even thought that Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu was out there, before even she pondered the possibility of affecting anyone or doing anything aside from being a passive observer. On the other hand, she closed the door to it when she ran out of ideas for it and any real reason to complete it, and when did, she simply left this room halfway done and forgot about it. There were other projects, other ideas, other designs, after all.

And now she was exerting her will to overcome the accumulated inertia in an effort to make the place as marvellous as her imagination would allow, her heart racing at the thought of how her guest would react to the final result. A part of her was angry with herself that she never finished the work before, but a more rational part of her was telling her that it would have served no function until now.

After all, why would she need a ballroom before she had someone to dance with?

***​

Kyoko suddenly jumped down from her swing, turned around in a blink of an eye, and brought the swing's mechanism to a halt with a single look.

A curious stare of red eyes tracked her as she looked towards the forest; it was a stare asking a silent question.

"I have to do something in the–" she paused for a moment, unsure how to explain the concept and uncertain how the girl perceived it. "–the other place" she finished, taking a note that she should figure out what the girl thought of moving between the minds; a task for another time. "As I said before, feel free to play around the cottage or the forest. You're welcome here… and safe, I think. Or you can follow me if you prefer", she added with a smile.

The girl nodded with a small passing smile – and turned her attention away from Kyoko, never interrupting the swinging movement.

"I guess it means you're not going with me", Kyoko commented with a smile still on her face – and without looking back, set her foot on the path leading back into the forest. 'Let's do it', she repeated in her mind, reassuring herself that going for that journey was the right choice. 'Let's see what is out there… but not without some assistance.'

***​

"Now it looks like something", Yui Ikari declared to herself aloud with quite a lot of pride in her voice as she beheld the shiny floors, the bright chandeliers, the walls adorned with paintings and draperies, and the tall windows with artistically shaped curtains. 'Let's hope it will see some use' came to her a moment later only to be mercilessly squashed and thrown away. 'It has to. There might be a world to save, but I will not lose what is within my grasp just because of that!'

With that thought, she focused again on the details, intending to give them some more polish – only to catch a movement in the garden, visible in one of the tall windows. 'Oh. Could it be–'

***​

Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu walked the usual path between her forest and the well-maintained but ultimately quite tamed trees of Yui Ikari's garden. She became proficient enough in her walks that the moment of transition was nothing but a short sensation of weightlessness, starting and ending within a single step. 'I wonder whether this will help me when I step out of the body', she mused shortly before she noticed a silhouette emerging from the mansion. 'Hm. She rarely fails to welcome me…' she realised before the time for thinking was over, replaced by words spoken.

"Soryu. I'm glad you're back", Yui greeted her the moment they met halfway.

"Are you surprised?" Kyoko asked with a soft chuckle, surprised that Yui's tone sounded almost relieved. "I just needed a moment for myself, I wasn't exactly leaving you alone forever", she added carefully.

"It certainly felt so", Yui replied quickly – and immediately turned away; Kyoko could have sworn there was a blush on those cheeks. "I mean", she turned to face Kyoko again, her face now a perfect mask of professionalism, "I dearly hoped it would not be so. What is your decision?" she asked, her tone level again.

'Be quiet, you treacherous heart!' Kyoko ordered – and took a few seconds to do her best to steady her heartbeat. "I'm ready. Let's try the walk."

"I'm glad", Yui replied, relief once more audible in her tone. "Come. This requires a… more stable environment", she requested – and took Kyoko's hand.

Kyoko knew well that Yui could not possibly have any of the same defences that the little girl had – but that touch burned her just as much, even if the difference was clear.

But for some reason, she did not mind that it did.

================================================================

I hope you enjoyed this little interlude.

Since the chaos in my life did not abate, I will make no promises about when the next chapter will drop - I think it will be there sometime in September.

 

[Boreas Anemos]

Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu's day continues, this time in a little less material way.

================================================================

Chapter 10., part 6.

Rei is alone. The nice lady is away. The nice lady is in the other place, the place of the loud lady.

Rei is playing on the swing. Rei is happy when playing on the swing.

But Rei is also curious. Rei wants to understand the nice lady.

The nice lady understands Rei a bit. The nice lady talks to Rei, the nice lady wants to understand Rei better.

So, Rei wants to understand the nice lady, too.

The nice lady is doing something in the other place.

The nice lady is interesting.

So, logically, what the nice lady is doing is interesting, too.

Rei wants to see interesting things.

Rei jumps down from the swing. The swing stops immediately, as it should.

Rei walks away from the nice lady's place. Rei will come back. The nice lady allows Rei to visit and stay.

Rei decides to go to the other place. Rei closes her eyes.

Rei opens her eyes. Rei is in the other place. This is the loud lady's place.

Rei walks among her trees. Rei listens. Rei hears the ladies. The ladies are talking.

Rei heads towards the ladies. Rei hides in a place where she can hear and see the ladies well.

The ladies are sitting and planning something. Rei is curious. Rei listens.

***​

"Ready?" Yui Ikari asked with a smile once all questions had been asked and all answers had been given.

"As ready as I will be", Kyoko admitted in a voice far shakier than she wanted it to be, her hands resting on the garden table they both sat at. 'This can't be a bad idea, right?' she tried to convince herself once more, about the fifth time in the last few minutes. 'Ikari did this before. She came back unscathed. Nothing ate her. There is no reason that it can't be the same with me. Worst case scenario, I just pull back…'

She took a few long breaths, despite knowing well how meaningless that gesture was; after all, this was not a physical body that was breathing right now. 'Well, old habits die hard… and there is definitely something physical about those bodies, considering how they feel; it can't be just psychosomatic. And when the boy was here, the form he wore affected his soul according to what Ikari has unearthed in her books… or was his soul, perhaps?' her thoughts suddenly swerved in a new direction – and she shook the idea off just as suddenly. This was not the right time for such musings, and she knew her mind well enough to know that the appearance of such thoughts was a sign of her mind starting to run away from the task at hand – and this was bad under any circumstances; doubly so now. "I'm ready", she reaffirmed aloud, doing her best to keep her voice steadier than before.

"Good", Yui replied as she watched Kyoko carefully across the table. Kyoko could swear there was both worry and concern in that gaze, but asking about that right now would be a really bad idea. "Remember, I'll be watching you as much as I am able to and will try to assist you, but if there is any sign of danger, you're the one that has to spot it and pull back."

"Ikari… contrary to what you might believe about me, I do listen to you most of the time", Kyoko chuckled, trying to make her tone lighter now that her voice was steady. 'I wish you listened to me at least half as much', she added in her mind, unwilling to spark an argument that would likely occur if she spoke it aloud.

"I know, I know", Yui replied with a smile. "I'm just – just worried about you. A bit", she admitted – and Kyoko once more wondered what the woman in front of her wanted to say before she switched her words. This was happening far too often to Kyoko's taste. Not that she had much time to think about it, since Yui continued with the same breath: "Now, try to look outside, and once you see the gateway, just step through it…"

Kyoko, still hearing the voice but no longer focusing on it, followed the instruction; opening her mind to the outside, almost seeing the gate – or perhaps imagining it, not that it made much of a difference – she took a step–

***​

–and then there was only darkness.

Suddenly, she was lost once more: confused, falling, cold, with nothing to grasp on, dying, surrounded by the void, gasping for air–

'Stop!' rang in her mind in a voice that was her own – but in a tone she rarely used with anyone. 'It's not death! I was there! This is not new! I am not lost! I am – ah!' a realisation washed over her, warming her just by a bit. 'The cord!' – and as soon as the thought appeared, her hands closed on a confusingly solid – at least to her hands – silver cold woven from the strands that emerged from her body. The feeling of being lost in the cold darkness, a familiar and unwelcome sensation she remembered all too well, did not go away – but it was no longer overwhelming.

'Find yourself first' came to her – a piece of simple advice given just before she departed. Following it diligently, she slowly traced the cord with her eyes, trying not to think about how close to her did it disappear in the thick darkness. This act did nothing to mitigate the cold, but it at least gave her something to focus on and pushed the lingering remnant of panic away – and that was something.

'I don't think this is going to become a hobby…' she realised with a mix of amusement and bitterness as her eyes slowly traced the silvery trail, her gaze and focus slowly pushing the darkness away. 'Well, you learn your entire life, I guess, I learned to walk effortlessly between Evangelion Units, time to step up and learn to walk outside them… I guess this is the equivalent of a child walking around home, and then trying to walk around a forest, or–'

Her trail of thought vanished as the cord seemingly ended and a bright shape emerged from the darkness, not far away from her, a shape she immediately recognised as an Evangelion Unit – but woven from pure light. 'Oh my. Is this what I truly look like on the outside?' she thought as she stared in awe. 'No, no, wait, that's not me', she quickly realised her mistake. 'This is Ikari. It has to be her, I departed from her body… but does it mean there is a cord between her body… well, her Unit and mine?'

Her eyes slowly traced the lines of the light-woven shape of the Evangelion – and finally noticed a cord; she followed it with just the same focus as it headed further into the darkness – and a moment later, another, similar yet clearly distinct shape became visible to her eyes; both were very different from how the Units looked in the physical world – but were also immediately recognisable once she looked closer. 'Interesting. Ikari spoke of lighthouses, of lights… but I guess she's far better trained in all this. I must have something to follow, it seems', she reasoned, 'something to think of… Ikari said she found the test bodies while exploring blindly, but I don't think this would work for me. Going through associations is easier… and that makes sense. On the other hand', she kept musing as she trailed the sharper lines of her own Unit's light-woven shape, 'how did she put it… that I had to "leave the lantern behind to see the stars", that Evangelions are too bright…', she recalled – and paused as she tried to look at the Units as a whole – and the beauty of the forms in front of her made her admire how both Units slowly pulsated with their inner light, their patterns similar yet distinct.

'And what is this?' appeared in her mind a few moments later as she spotted a thread leaving Unit-01 and heading somewhere into the darkness, a cord different than her cord in both shape and appearance – stronger, much more stable, but at the same time seemingly frayed and covered something that resembled small thorns – but just as silver as her own. 'Could it be Ikari's?' she wondered for a moment before deciding against it. 'No. Impossible. She said she would be waiting for me to finish my walk. Could it this perhaps be Rei?' came to her before she started to question it immediately 'It sure looks odd enough to be hers – but she was at my place…' she mused as she carefully followed the cord with her eyes, trying to ignore the odd prickling sensation inside her skull it gave her – and suddenly saw another large shape, a shape of an Evangelion Unit – but also a shape that made her avert her gaze immediately as the low-key sensation exploded into a feeling of a thousand needles behind her eyes. 'Ouch. Let me guess, she leaves the spikes on everything that is hers? And while she can retract them consciously, there is no reason to do it on her soul in the astral space? Poor girl…' she let out a small sigh. 'Pity she can't talk… I'd love to understand what is happening behind those big eyes of hers. But this is not a subject for now', she decided, shaking the sentiment off. 'There will be time for that. I can visit her, for example… but not before I ask her face-to-face whether she's okay with it and ask her to let me in. Now, should I be adventurous or reasonable? Let's think… what would Ikari do?'

And that thought alone gave her enough of an answer, an answer she made use of immediately with a sly smile and surprising eagerness.

================================================================

Still no good news on my part. I'm aiming for the next part sometime in October, but once more, no promises.

 

[Boreas Anemos]

Maya Ibuki's days are not easy.

Spoiler: Explanation

This part looks a little bit different, and there is a good reason for this: when I was reviewing the previous parts of this chapter, I realised that a few scenes happening outside the Units were missing – in other words, in the chaos that was happening around me, I strayed from the chapter's plan. Since those scenes should have happened earlier, the compiled version published on AO3 & FFN will have them where they belong – but right now I provide them along with some indications on where they should be. My apologies for the confusion.

================================================================

Chapter 10., part 7. – the Maya Ibuki Special

(this scene belongs between part 1. and part 2. of this chapter)

Meanwhile at NERV HQ

"…and it seems that the AT Field is still holding to a degree, we believe that based on the video stream from inside the Plug; it shows the suit holds the generally humanoid form. Our current working theory is that the Pilot's awareness, upon reaching the unprecedented synch rate, breached the ego border – or effectively lost it, we're not entirely sure – but remained inside the plug in a quantum form, leading to–"

"Lieutenant, please!" Major Katsuragi objected in a raised voice and immediately dropped it as she saw the young officer startle. "Sorry", she added in a lower tone. "Please. It's not the best time to give me all the technical details. And let's face it, that would be a waste of a perfectly good explanation. Tell me one thing first: can you get him out or not? And is it possible to explain what happened to him, but in layman's terms? And why didn't we anticipate it?"

"We… we don't know", Maya Ibuki admitted; dismay bordering on shame was obvious on her face. "We know that he reached four hundred per cent synch rate, we know that Unit-01 went berserk, we know it destroyed the Angel… and then it took a part of it into itself and started… something. And grew a new organ, which is most likely – well, most certainly – the Super Solenoid Engine. I think Pilot Ikari's absorption is unrelated to the Eva… eating the Angel's Core, but at this stage, we can't exclude anything."

"But he is still inside, right?" the Major pressed on. "He's alive? In this… quantum form?"

"Ma'am… if Doctor Akagi was here, she'd be able to tell you that with some certainty", Lieutenant Ibuki admitted sheepishly. "I can only speculate–"

"Then please speculate, Lieutenant, because I'm not leaving until I hear some answer", the Major interrupted with an expression on her face that was telling Maya that this answer should be much closer to "we can save him" than "he's lost to us".

"He… exists, yes", Ibuki stated cautiously. "His soul is still there… this is what is holding the suit in the shape of a human despite the LCL flow that would otherwise pull it to one of the walls. And Eva being what it is, I think it is possible to… rematerialize him."

"Rematerialize? Lieutenant, this isn't some science fiction series, and the Evangelions are not some… teleports", the Major objected.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, there is no better word… incorporate? Reincarnate? Right now, he is – most likely – a disembodied soul stuck somewhere inside Unit-01. We need to give him his body back… somehow", the Lieutenant explained.

"Soul somewhere inside… what is an Eva, Lieutenant?" the Major asked with a furrowed brow.

"Doctor Akagi explained it as something created by man in man's own image", Lieutenant Ibuki explained hesitantly. "I'm afraid I can't explain it any better without going back to the… technical details", she added, dismay clear on her face once more. 'Or starting to sound like a mad preacher', she added in her head, remembering well how she reacted when she learned the truth from the tapes Doctor Akagi left for her successor. "In the simplest possible terms, the Evangelion Unit works with human souls. And, by some glitch, it has now captured the Pilot's soul… but not entirely, as it seems", the Lieutenant continued, pointing to the image of the floating plugsuit.

"Does the position of Director of the Science Department come with a requirement of being intentionally cryptic?" the Major asked with a heavy sigh and a tired glare.

"Acting Director", Lieutenant Ibuki corrected the Major reflexively. "Sorry, ma'am", she added sheepishly the moment she saw the tired glare becoming even more intense. "This is the best I can explain it. We're working on a way to measure it and locate the soul, but there is a lot of research, past and present, to go through, and–"

"–and I imagine that Ritsuko was not best at keeping an index other than her own head. Great", the Major sighed again. "Call me the moment you have something, Lieutenant. As long as Unit-01 and Shinji Ikari are in this condition, we are a Unit and a Pilot short… and the Commander is not going to be happy about that."

"Yes, ma'am", Lieutenant Ibuki confirmed. "We're working on it as fast as we can."

Something was telling her that it was not the Commander's happiness that was at the forefront of the Major's thought, nor was it the well-being of Unit-01 – but she was not going to pry on that. She had the support of the third-ranking officer in the organisation, and she intended to use it to its fullest as long as it lasted – and as long as the Commander did not order her to change her priorities.

***​

(this scene belongs between part 3. and part 4. of this chapter)

Meanwhile at NERV HQ

"What can you tell me about his condition, Lieutenant?" Major Katsuragi asked, her tone tired but much less tense than it had been a few hours ago.

"Not much… at least not yet, ma'am", First Lieutenant Ibuki replied as she pored over the data set. "The initial medical examination and subsequent bloodwork show no damage and no contamination. We put every cell sample we could think of – and extract safely – into a Petri dish with the growth accelerants, just as we previously did with Unit-01 cells, and so far, we only get regular growth, no contaminated tissue. And… he's healthy. Somewhat dehydrated, yes, but the medical team is handling that."

"I've talked to the doctors already, Lieutenant", the Major smiled a weak smile. Her obviously lifted mood did not conceal the recent lack of sleep and the amount of stress she had to endure. "But the cells… that's good news. What about his mind?"

"I assume you talked to him?" the Lieutenant checked.

"Of course. He's confused, obviously, but he's also his usual self: his main thought is about going home since he is convinced that we're starving in his absence", she chuckled – and paused, her expression suddenly serious. "Considering how I must look right now, I can't blame him", she admitted in a quieter voice after a moment. "You may ask Rei – she was watching him when he woke up and called me soon after. Or…" she paused. "Never mind. So, what about his mind?"

"Well, you talked to him, ma'am", the Lieutenant pointed out again. "We did a full MRI and a CAT scan for good measure, and as I said, no cranial damage, no nerve damage, no neural degradation, no visible contamination, no obvious growths. Of course, a clean brain scan does not mean there is no psychological impact. But if you're asking about his body, it is in a remarkably good condition for someone who was, well, literally disembodied and reincarnated. In a still unknown way, must I add, aside from Evangelion involvement. And ended up falling flat on his face, too."

"Well, he did have his landing cushioned a bit", the Major countered with a soft chuckle.

"Ah. Right. That", the Lieutenant chuckled in turn. "It cost him a bump or two on his head, thought, as a compensation. Yes… the video records indicate a rather… intense reaction on Soryu-san's part", she paused, and her voice turned serious again. "Ma'am… when you were talking to him, did he say anything about how it felt to him? To be inside the Unit? Did he feel anything? This can also be a hint regarding possible contamination and other risks."

"No, and I didn't ask", the Major replied, her tone serious once more. "Feel free to debrief him once he is on his feet. I know I will, but I'm sure your angle of questioning will be quite different."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"And as for the unknown means… you know it's on your head to figure out exactly what happened? Because if it happened once, it may happen again, especially if one of the Units goes berserk, or, more likely, when. And we need a reliable way to pull people out."

"Yes, ma'am, the team is already on it… when we're not working on fixing the other Units, that is", the Lieutenant replied with a worried expression on her face.

"You're doing great, Lieutenant", the Major reassured her. "Keep it up. Just remember to sleep and eat. You're no good for us collapsed."

"I just wish sempai was here, ma'am", she admitted in a sad tone. "She would've figured it out between her second coffee and her fifth smoke."

"Well, it may take you a bit longer than that, but I'm sure you'll manage. And speaking of other Units… when am I going to have a full complement again?" the Major asked with a slight smile. "Unit-01 aside?"

Lieutenant Ibuki smiled in turn. This was a question she could actually answer without any hesitation – and she happily provided just that.

***​

(this scene belongs right where it is – as part 7.)

Meanwhile at NERV HQ

Under different circumstances – or even mere weeks ago – Maya Ibuki would have been extremely anxious. After all, she was standing at attention before one of the most powerful men on Earth, and definitely the most powerful man in NERV, a man who was her direct superior.

And yet, she was surprisingly calm, a fact she barely understood herself. Her working theory, one she refused to dwell on too much lest she started screaming again, was that having seen what she saw – an Evangelion Unit undergoing something that Doctor Akagi described in her secret files as "apotheosis" and marked as an unlikely event that would likely cause the end of the world if completed – robbed her of the ability to be afraid of a mere man, no matter how powerful.

"First Lieutenant Ibuki, reporting on the condition–", she started, only to be interrupted by a surprisingly dismissive gesture of Commander Ikari's gloved hand.

"At ease, Lieutenant. I am listening", he interrupted her with a hint of annoyance marring his usually impassive voice. Or was it perhaps impatience?

'No, impossible, don't be stupid', she chided herself quickly. 'Someone like the Commander doesn't get impatient', she reassured herself – and, relaxing her stance as ordered, turned her attention to her pad. "Unit-01 has been restrained and isolated; even though the Pilot has been retrieved, his condition–"

"The Evangelions, Lieutenant", the Commander interrupted her. "I am up to date about Pilot Ikari's condition via the medical staff's reports."

"Yes, sir", Ibuki replied immediately with a slight frown on her face. 'Not entirely unafraid', she thought to herself as she forced her jaw to relax. "Unit-01 is isolated until we can be sure about the safety of its use; we have taken every precaution, and no internal thermal, electron, electromagnetic, or chemical energy readings are being detected beyond the absolute minimum of a locked Evangelion Unit. There has been a spike of unknown nature when… Pilot Ikari was retrieved, the newly grown Engine activated for about one-point-two seconds and then went dormant again. There have been no readings beyond the expected minimum since then."

"Tell me about the Engine, Lieutenant", Commander Ikari requested. "And I do not need to remind you that Unit-01 was capable of independent movement before, even without warning."

"Yes, sir", Lieutenant Ibuki confirmed, still managing to keep her calm; fortunately for her, she was prepared for this question. "Because of that aspect of Unit-01, we applied every possible restraint to minimise the risk. As for the engine…" she quickly flipped a few pages, "…it is still under investigation, but I can tell, with reasonable certainty, that it is superficially identical to the one carried by the Angels. The size, the colour, and – as far as we can say from basic tests – the composition are identical; we took samples for comparison, but the results are uncertain since we only have shards and pieces from the previous Angels, usually subjected to a rather serious trauma. But the very fact that the organ was grown after absorbing the Angel's Core makes us worry about the Unit's usability. We are simply not sure whether the Unit remains in control."

"In other words, you suspect that by taking a part of Angel into itself, it became contaminated by the Angel?" the Commander asked. "Or even became an Angel?"

"Yes, sir. We are worried about the scenario akin to the Thirteenth Angel. There was no Blue Pattern, though, neither during the combat nor after it. Unfortunately, we cannot be certain what happens when we power the Unit again. Hence our proposal to perform a controlled activation: I believe it is preferable to test it now, with time at hand and near-perfect containment at hand instead of under combat conditions", the Lieutenant kept explaining. 'And it would give us a better chance to find some way to placate the god inside… and more time to find out what It wishes. Because when It awakens in anger, it will spell out our end', she thought to herself, well aware that if she ever said that, it would have been her last statement before she would be shipped somewhere far away from NERV, likely to a cell next to the one Doctor Akagi was currently occupying, to helplessly await the awakening and the accompanying end. "And we have to determine whether the Engine actually works, too", she said instead, hoping that this would convince the Commander without endangering his opinion of her.

"The Unit-01 will stay frozen until we receive different instructions, Lieutenant. There will be no activation… unless you can convince me it is completely safe or we have no other choice", the Commander replied in a tone that, as usual with him, allowed very little room for negotiation. "What about the other Units?"

Lieutenant Ibuki's mouth formed a thin line. She knew well – and knew that the Commander knew she knew – that completely safe was not a term that could be applied to anything related to Evangelions under any circumstances unless they were completely cremated and ground to dust – and even then it would be only almost completely safe. This condition was impossible to fulfil without her taking an impossible responsibility, and thus, this was an effective hold order on her research. She was, of course, expecting this kind of decision from him – but she did not like it. Still, there was little she could do about it.

"Unit-00 is almost fully repaired", she continued with her report. "The damage was serious, but far from critical; no body part was lost and there was only minimal bone damage. The muscle fibres are almost completely regenerated, the skin and armour are ready and will be reapplied once the muscles are done, and the fluids have already been restored. Full operability is expected in less than two days, assuming no unexpected developments."

"Good", the Commander nodded in his usual, almost imperceptible style. "Unit-02?"

"It is in a significantly worse condition, but fortunately, not as damaged as after the previous battle. The hastened regeneration caused the bone structure to weaken, though, which in turn led to numerous fractures, a few cracks, and two actual breaks when it impacted the ground after being thrown. We introduced treatments to–"

"Bottomline, Lieutenant", the Commander interrupted her again. "How long until the combat readiness is restored?"

"About two weeks, sir", the Lieutenant replied confidently. "Ten days before any form of acceleration can be safely applied and doing this will have same the side effects as before… possibly leading to cumulative damage in the next engagement."

"I want Unit-02 ready in a week, Lieutenant", the Commander demanded, the impatience in his tone now obvious.

'And here we go again', Lieutenant Ibuki tensed as her anger and annoyance at the blatant disregard for her scientific expertise by a layman mixed with the growing anxiety caused by the fact that she had to tell this man that something was impossible. "No, sir", she managed to say as she swallowed to keep her throat working; her only respite was the fact that the Vice Commander gave her a look that definitely signified respect. "This is not feasible."

"'No' is not a word I am used to hearing, Lieutenant", the Commander replied, his voice carrying a note of a threat.

"I am sorry, sir", the Lieutenant swallowed again and did her best to steel her voice; it worked only partially. "Hastening this process beyond the safety margin will almost certainly cause neoplasms to appear, leading to permanent, likely irreparable damage to Unit-02. The current choice is between having a fully functional Unit-02 in two weeks – ten if we want to risk having it walk on brittle legs – or having a malignant biomass in the vague shape of an Evangelion Unit, a mass that won't be even useful for spare parts due to risk of carrying the malignancy to the recipient. I can initiate the acceleration, sir, if you tell me to… but I strongly advise against it."

There was a moment of silence as the Commander measured Lieutenant Ibuki with his seemingly unblinking glare, quickly making her understand the concept of eternity. "I will take your advice under consideration, Lieutenant", he finally spoke. "Until my final decision, carry on with the current approach."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir", she replied, trying her best to hide her sigh of relief. "This concludes my report. Do you have any further questions?"

"In fact, I do", the Commander's expression turned to be more scrutinising. "Do I understand correctly that you have recently allowed Pilot Soryu effectively unrestricted access to Unit-01 while it is restrained in its Cage?"

This was the moment when Lieutenant Ibuki realised that her lack of fear of a mere man was quite superficial; only a measure of discipline instilled in her by her military training stopped her from panicking here and now; this was not a question she was prepared for. "Yes, sir", she replied in a much shakier voice. "I – I deemed her presence – her presence beneficial. And – and it likely caused Pilot Ikari's emergence."

Commander Ikari raised a single eyebrow by a few millimetres. "Do you have anything that would confirm this speculation, Lieutenant? As I understand your preliminary report concerning the Pilot's emergence, you are unable to say what caused the event… and you cannot provide a way to reproduce it if this ever happened to any of the Pilots again."

"N-no, sir", the Lieutenant stood at attention reflexively. "I mean, yes, sir. This is, yes, speculation. I – I decided it wouldn't – wouldn't hurt. To let the Asuka – I mean, Pilot Soryu – to the Cages. The Unit-01 was – is – restrained and she has experience. And clearance."

"It was still entirely unnecessary, Lieutenant. NERV operates on the need-to-know and the need-to-have basis, and our continuing success is proof that those measures are justified. See that it does not happen again", the Commander stated in a tone that allowed no objection.

"Yes, sir!" Lieutenant Ibuki exclaimed as she clicked her heels.

"I expect the next report the moment Unit-00 is fully capable or when Unit-01 does anything out of the usual. Dismissed."

"Yes, sir!" she exclaimed again – and was gone as quickly as the military protocol allowed.

That evening, Lieutenant Maya Ibuki finally realised why Doctor Akagi dyed her hair so regularly.

After all, grey hair did not look good at all.

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As you might have noticed, there are some issues with the regularity of the updates, and every other of my fanfiction is already on hiatus. The scene order confusion is the unfortunate result.

Expect the next part sometime in October or November, hopefully a more regular one.

 

[brer rabbit]

Poor Maya, so much crap she has to deal with right now.

Though I am currently wonder what's going on with Ritsuko right now?