Unit-02

"So... that's what makes my existence worthwhile..."

Asuka still finished what she had to say. Her voice was so quiet that even she couldn't hear it, but that didn't matter, because she couldn't say any more anyway.

Now, though, the boy was listening to her seriously.

His gaze was utterly focused, his bright eyes meeting hers as though he was ready to hear her out, yet it left her at a loss.

From the moment she met Shinji Ikari, Asuka had been thrown completely off her stride.

All she could see were Shinji Ikari's beautiful eyes and earnest expression. Just a moment ago, his eyes hadn't held a trace of her, yet now they held nothing else.

Just as Asuka fell silent, intense gazes suddenly came from beside Shinji Ikari. Misato Katsuragi and Rei Ayanami both leaned out, staring straight at her in confusion.

Being the center of everyone's attention was something Asuka was thoroughly used to, but now she couldn't feel more uncomfortable.

In the end, Asuka merely snorted and gave Shinji Ikari a light kick. It felt like kicking an alloy steel plate, but she could only grit her teeth against the pain and turn away with a flourish.

In fact, Shinji Ikari now understood perfectly well what Asuka was trying to tell him. He had ignored her earlier, so she wanted to find a topic that would let her join in.

But they barely knew each other, so it was normal for them not to talk much. Somehow, though, the conversation had suddenly veered from casual trash talk into a profoundly serious subject.

"Shinji, making your move already? Doesn't look like it worked, though. Got shot down, huh?" Misato Katsuragi said gleefully.

Shinji Ikari rolled his eyes at her and replied irritably, "Is that even what we're talking about?"

"All right, all right. I don't know what happened, but that girl's pretty sensitive, you know. Want to go find her?"

Misato Katsuragi patted Shinji Ikari's shoulder a few times. "I've heard she's been thinking about you a lot."

"Really?" Shinji Ikari raised his eyebrows, looking entirely unconvinced. They were complete strangers; how could he possibly be that appealing to her? "In what way?"

"She's always wanted to crush you underfoot..."

"..."

On a deserted deck of the Unit-02 transport ship, a raised expanse of yellow canvas hid a girl with long golden-brown hair, who was crouching in a corner with her arms around her legs.

She was troubled.

Today had been utterly humiliating. She had spent days preparing for their first meeting, only to get through the opening of her lines without managing a single disdainful or haughty expression. In the end, she'd even made a fool of herself in front of Misato and the First Child.

"So... I really didn't do a good enough job!? No, it's all that idiot Third Child's fault. What's with the aloof priest act!? Does he think he's special or something..."

"So you were here after all!"

Just as Asuka was about to work through her emotions in this deserted corner, the boy's voice forced the words she had been about to say straight back down her throat.

Asuka whipped her head around, so startled that she sprang to her feet and pointed at him. "Hey, Third Child, what are you doing here?"

"I asked them where Unit-02 was and came straight over." The boy in the white uniform came down the stairs, smiling curiously. "You seemed to care about it a lot."

"You're pretty observant..."

"Everyone says that. But Miss Asuka, talking about people behind their backs isn't very nice."

"You heard that?" Asuka blushed. For an elite who was supposed to excel in every respect, that did seem rather inappropriate.

"Of course, and I heard every word." Shinji Ikari nodded.

"But you called your father a devil behind his back too!" Asuka retorted.

"I say it to his face too." Shinji Ikari found that comeback feeble and answered with an indifferent expression.

"Seriously!?"

"Seriously."

"Isn't your father the commander-in-chief? Hmph, I didn't think you had that much guts... Damn it, why am I talking to you about this?"

Asuka covered her face with one hand, suddenly irritated. Without even noticing, she had let him set the pace of their conversation.

Another silence fell. Shinji Ikari simply looked at the massive object covered by yellow canvas behind Asuka. "So that's your EVA."

"That's right." Asuka abruptly lowered her hand and raised her head. Her somewhat dejected face instantly brightened, and she flashed a haughty smile.

"This is nothing like those experimental models you pilot. It's a real combat weapon! Come on, I'll show you Unit-02."

As though she had suddenly found something to stand on, she brimmed with courage and confidence. She strode up to Shinji Ikari, grabbed his hand, and ran with him toward the mysterious yellow canvas.

Shinji Ikari didn't resist and ran along with the suddenly lively girl. She heaved up one corner of the yellow canvas, revealing the enormous unit submerged in red coolant.

Unit-02

"So this is Unit-02. It's red."

"The color isn't the only difference!"

Asuka stepped along a floating walkway made of empty oil drums, then jumped onto the red unit lying flat at the far end. Standing on it with her hands on her hips, she cut quite an imposing figure.

"When you get down to it, Unit-00 and Unit-01 are just a prototype and a test model from the development process."

"But Unit-02 is different. This one was developed for actual combat-the world's first true Evangelion, the production model!"

"Watch closely, Third Child. Angels are nothing. I'll prove..."

Shinji Ikari never found out what bold declaration Asuka intended to make, because the shuddering ship cut her off. A tremendous crash came from outside the yellow canvas.

The smile Asuka had just put on faded, and her expression grew grave. "That was an underwater shock wave. There was an explosion nearby."

She and Shinji Ikari exchanged a glance. Hearing the alarm sound, they ran outside together as warning lights flashed throughout the transport ship.

Something had torn a huge hole through the middle of a warship out at sea. Flames instantly engulfed its hull, and the explosion sent a towering burst of fire into the sky!

Immediately afterward, waves taller than an aircraft carrier suddenly rose across the sea, as though some enormous creature was swimming beneath the surface.

"Could it be an Angel? But why would it be here?" Shinji Ikari was a little surprised. Angels weren't interested in humans; only progenitor-class life-forms should have been able to attract them.

But the ships were already conspicuous enough carrying eighty-meter-tall weapons built for humanity's decisive battles. Where could they possibly have room to hide an equally enormous progenitor-class life-form?

Had it come to intercept the EVA?

Shinji Ikari couldn't be sure. After all, even Ritsuko Akagi, a doctor specializing in Angels, knew very little about them. No one could say for certain what unexpected things they might do.

Shinji Ikari and Asuka stood at the edge of the deck, watching an enormous shape flicker in and out of sight among the towering waves.