Bad kids

Tokyo-3 was located in Kanagawa Prefecture, and its metropolitan area included a place called Atsugi City.

For the people of this world, piloting giant robots to fight Angels bent on destroying humanity's world had long since ceased to be anything new.

After all, the news media reported on and publicized it every day.

But Atsugi City was on Tokyo-3's "frontier," and when its residents actually saw giant robots appear in their city, they still found the sight overwhelming.

Especially when an eighty-meter-tall giant descended from the sky. When it landed, it was like a demon god come to earth, while the big robot ahead of it looked like a little brat fleeing for its life.

The red-and-white humanoid robot was sprinting away, waving its arms like a squid, while the purple demon god chased it from behind.

Bathed in the sunset's lingering glow, the shadows of the two humanoid giants stretched across the ground. Didn't they look like a young couple horsing around after school at dusk?

Of course, the scene might have looked a little more peaceful and lovely if the purple demon god behind hadn't been holding a long sword.

"Weren't you looking down on the bond between me and Unit-01? Stop running if you've got the guts!" Shinji Ikari piloted Unit-01 past JA's side.

The long sword in Unit-01's right hand severed both of its legs in an instant. The red-and-white giant lost its support and teetered.

Dazzling sparks erupted from JA's leg joints, as though electrical currents were running wild inside them.

But Unit-01's left hand seized its head, hauling up the falling red-and-white machine's upper body.

At that moment, Unit-01 was equipped with only a High-Frequency Particle Vibration Sword and carried no other equipment.

But for Shinji Ikari and the Unit-01 he piloted, that was already enough to deal with this opponent.

How could an inferior machine cobbled together from metal compare to the flesh of EVA, the biological weapon beneath that armor?

A second later, Shinji Ikari had Unit-01 crush JA's head with one hand, and the body it had been holding continued to fall.

JA's Nuclear Reactor was in its torso, so Shinji Ikari swung twice more as it fell, severing both its arms in midair.

The entire fight was extremely brief, lasting less than half a minute.

From landing to pursuit to reducing JA to a pile of scrap, barely ten seconds had passed before Shinji Ikari sheathed his sword.

Its combat capabilities were far inferior even to the Day Angel's, let alone the stronger Shamshel and Ramiel, both of whom had also fallen to Shinji Ikari.

If this thing were sent onto the battlefield, a few nuclear explosions would probably send all of humanity sky-high before anything else. Scrapping it outright really was the better option.

With all four limbs gone and only its torso left, JA could no longer move, even with mechanical components controlling its body. The rest would be left to the professionals.

JA, the large unmanned robotic weapon on which Japan Heavy Chemical Industries had pinned such high hopes, went down on the very first day of its public demonstration.

It hadn't merely gone out of control. It had also threatened an entire city's safety and nearly caused a major disaster.

They had intended to challenge NERV's monopoly on weapons for fighting Angels, only to end up relying on NERV's EVA to resolve the trouble they had caused.

Shinji Ikari also made the news in passing. The report included neither his name nor his photograph, but everyone at NERV knew who it was talking about.

He didn't mind spreading his holy name a little farther. He wasn't some evil god who couldn't bear the light of day, so being praised and worshipped was perfectly normal.

Newspapers were flooded with reports of EVA's effortless victory over JA.

This incident once again proved that Ritsuko Akagi, the chief director of the EVA project, remained a brilliant, top-tier scientific genius.

Just as she had wanted, JA's production was halted outright. Even Japan Heavy Chemical Industries was on the verge of bankruptcy, and some companies and organizations were already preparing to devour it like sharks scenting blood.

After all, its technology still held some appeal.

At NERV Headquarters, Maya Ibuki, the assistant to Technical Division 1's chief technical officer, should have rushed enthusiastically toward Ritsuko Akagi. Instead, she handed Shinji Ikari a document.

"Lord Child of God, the dormitory transfer application you submitted a week ago has been approved. It just arrived."

"Thanks, Maya." Shinji Ikari took it and thanked her.

"Rei's dormitory transfer application actually went through. Looks like we'll have another person in our home now," Misato Katsuragi said. Rei Ayanami's photograph was on the approval form.

"If you think there isn't enough room, Rei and I can apply for another dormitory. We might as well apply for the place next door." Shinji Ikari shrugged.

"Why are you making decisions for Rei? Are you two that close?" Misato Katsuragi asked curiously.

"Not really. It just feels like wherever she lives would be the same if she's on her own," Shinji Ikari said casually.

Just as Misato Katsuragi had once applied to have Shinji Ikari live with her, this application was to move Rei Ayanami to a different dormitory. Her new dormitory would be Misato Katsuragi's home.

Unfortunately, the final air-to-ground bombardment during Ramiel's invasion had pierced the last barrier layer, and the falling metal debris had landed right on her dormitory.

Shinji Ikari had casually suggested giving her a change of surroundings. Whether Misato Katsuragi had developed a taste for raising children or not, she had actually proposed that Rei move into her home temporarily.

Miraculously, Rei Ayanami had agreed!

The girl was completely incapable of looking after herself. Perhaps living with other people would change that.

"Ritsuko, don't forget our agreement." Shinji Ikari stood, ready to leave.

"I've already signed that application, but isn't the name of your Child of God Worship Society a little too strange?"

"It's not like I came up with the name. But don't worry, the Child of God will see your 'offering.'"

To give one's possessions or oneself to God out of gratitude, love, and obedience, without making it a condition for receiving grace in return-that was an "offering."

Ritsuko Akagi had never thought much of these religious theories, but she learned about them for the sake of her work. After all, the higher-ups were a bunch of religious charlatans.

"Is it really all right for the Lord Child of God to ask for an offering himself? Mine isn't a child's set of building blocks, you know." Ritsuko Akagi smiled. "You're definitely going to drag me down to hell."

"Maybe we'll go to Heaven instead. Besides, you're clearly excited about it yourself," Shinji Ikari said. The two exchanged knowing looks, like bad kids who had agreed to get into mischief together.

Shinji Ikari waved the approval form in his hand, then turned to Misato Katsuragi. "Come on. Let's go pick her up."

"Honestly, all you ever do is make trouble for me. My Renault can't hold that much stuff." Misato Katsuragi followed him with her car keys in hand.

Watching the two leave, Ritsuko Akagi didn't hurry back into the laboratory. Instead, she turned a thoughtful gaze toward Maya Ibuki beside her.

She asked suspiciously, "Maya, what did you just call Shinji?"

"Lord Child of God," Maya Ibuki said, as though the answer couldn't have been more natural.

"Lord Shinji?" Ritsuko Akagi raised an eyebrow.

"Not Lord Shinji. Lord Child of God! Because I'm a member of the Child of God Worship Society now," Maya Ibuki corrected her.

"What society?!" Ritsuko Akagi was startled. She hoped she had misheard.

"The Child of God Worship Society. It's Lieutenant Colonel Ikari's fan club, formed by our colleagues at headquarters!"

"Are you sure it's a fan club? Why does it sound like a cult to me now?"