At seven sharp that morning, Rei Ayanami opened her eyes, not a minute early or a second late. Getting up at that hour was her habit.
Her dormitory was fairly far from school, so she had to get up early. Misato's apartment, however, was right beside the school, and she had not yet had time to adjust her body clock.
Fortunately, she had no classes that day.
"An unfamiliar ceiling..."
Rei Ayanami had never lingered in bed before, but that morning she did not really want to get up. Instead, she lazily wanted to lie there a little longer.
When Shinji Ikari brought her over, he had not brought her bloodstained three-piece bedding set. She knew a room like hers was uncomfortable to live in; she simply did not care.
Misato Katsuragi's apartment actually had three bedrooms, but the other one had not been cleared out yet, so Rei slept in Shinji Ikari's bedroom.
As for Shinji Ikari, he shared a room with Misato Katsuragi. According to Misato, there was nothing wrong with two people sleeping in the same room if they were extremely close.
Thinking of it that way, their relationship must have fallen into the extremely close category.
So everything in that room-the bedding Rei Ayanami lay on, the blanket covering her, and the copy of Thus Spoke Zarathustra on the bookshelf-belonged to Shinji Ikari.
She had slept especially soundly the night before, with no more jumbled dreams leaving her head foggy.
It was as though a sweet, irresistible scent filled the entire room, especially rich beneath the blanket.
She knew it was only an illusion. Shinji Ikari never used perfume or anything of the sort, and a person's natural scent was merely the result of hormones.
Rei Ayanami could not help hugging the thin blanket and curling her whole body up, burying her face in its softness and taking a deep breath.
She lay there for a while, then peeked out from beneath the blanket. It was only a simple deep breath, yet it brought a feeling unlike anything she had ever experienced-a sense of security she had never known.
The unease of disgust and confusion that always haunted her was driven from her mind.
Her own existence, the existence of others. The girl had thought a great deal about these things before, but now she did not want to think about any of those complicated questions.
She simply breathed in the room's strange scent, her gaze gradually growing hazy. "Shinji..."
In Misato Katsuragi's bedroom on the first floor.
"You're awake..." Misato Katsuragi murmured drowsily, looking at Shinji Ikari as he stared at the ceiling beside her and scratching an itchy spot on her neck.
The woman lay sprawled facedown across the bed, taking up more than half of it by herself. Fortunately, Shinji Ikari had pinned down one side of her body, or she would have kicked him out of bed during the night.
"I have a strange feeling." Shinji Ikari sat up, as though he had sensed something.
"What kind of feeling?"
"I can't explain it. Like someone has their eye on me-or is coveting me." Shinji Ikari frowned and pursed his lips.
At that, Misato Katsuragi looked down at herself, then breathed a sigh of relief. "It's not because of me."
"Obviously. I know," Shinji Ikari said irritably. He was not blind.
"Were you having some sweet adolescent dream?" Misato Katsuragi suddenly perked up, sitting up and hugging him from behind with a wicked grin.
"Do I need to?" Shinji Ikari gave her a contemptuous glance. "Forget it. There's no explaining this to someone whose head is full of filthy thoughts."
He pushed the annoying Misato Katsuragi away. No longer in the mood to sleep, he left the room, only to see Rei Ayanami coming out of the bathroom.
Rei Ayanami was still wearing her familiar blue-and-white school uniform, because school uniforms really were all she owned. Her combat suit, meanwhile, was NERV property.
Shinji Ikari considered having Misato Katsuragi take the girl out to buy some clothes when she had time. Her combat suit might make it seem as though she needed nothing else, but he knew that was only an illusion.
"Are you using the washing machine?" Shinji Ikari heard noise coming from the bathroom.
Rei Ayanami fell silent for a moment, then nodded. She never lied. "I'm washing the blanket. I got it dirty."
"It's fine if it's dirty. I'll get you a fresh one later." Shinji Ikari did not mind.
After all, this great god had little interest in material comforts. He could never spend all the salary deposited into his account each month.
After a quick wash, Shinji Ikari made three breakfasts. Rei Ayanami still disliked meat, so Shinji Ikari ate hers for her.
"The Second Child arrives tomorrow. The United Nations Pacific Fleet will escort Unit-02 into Japanese waters with her. I've already prepared the handover documents for you."
In Technical Division 1 at NERV Headquarters, Ritsuko Akagi pushed a laptop in front of Shinji Ikari and Misato Katsuragi.
"There's something else Shinji should find interesting. The Third Angel was destroyed by the Bethany Branch's Eligible, Mari Makinami Illustrious, piloting Provisional Unit-05."
"The Third Angel was destroyed? I haven't seen anything about it on the internal terminals." Shinji Ikari sat opposite Ritsuko Akagi. Every time he destroyed an Angel, the news was everywhere.
"Other confidential matters are involved, so it isn't public information yet," Ritsuko Akagi explained. "The confidential part is that the Bethany Branch was wiped out."
"Unit-05 was destroyed along with the base. Only the pilot, who destroyed the Third Angel in Unit-05 outside the base, escaped the explosion."
"I've never heard of a Fourth Eligible who can pilot an EVA." Misato Katsuragi looked a little surprised.
"To be precise, she isn't the Fourth Eligible. She isn't even part of NERV's organization. She's an IPEA pilot."
"Oh, IPEA." Misato Katsuragi nodded in understanding.
Seeing Shinji Ikari's blank expression, Ritsuko Akagi patiently explained, "IPEA stands for International Project Evangelion Agency."
"They also answer to the United Nations, but they're an agency independent of NERV, responsible for managing EVA-related units under the Vatican Treaty."
"They captured the Third Angel and studied him. They also trained the Second Child, and they're even developing some EVA models."
As an Eligible, Shinji Ikari naturally knew about the Vatican Treaty. It was an international agreement specifically intended to restrict the indiscriminate use of Evangelions.
As weapons, EVAs were far beyond anything conventional. Ordinary weapons were virtually useless against them. Like nuclear weapons, they could not possibly be left entirely unrestricted.
Kozo Fuyutsuki had not merely been trying to scare him. The higher-ups really did have other options.
Ritsuko Akagi patted his shoulder. "Even among all the Eligible worldwide, you're the best. Not even the Second Child can compare to you."
"I know. As it should be." Shinji Ikari remained calm. His arrogance was only natural.
"You're Headquarters' ace, so Headquarters will certainly support you. After all, I hear your fan club has quite a few members," Ritsuko Akagi said meaningfully.
"Humans yearn for a savior, and so they believe in a god. A god cherishes humans, and so he becomes their savior, dispelling their despair," Shinji Ikari said solemnly.
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