The Five Ultra Oaths

"Mashtah!"

"I told you, I don't remember ever taking you on as my student!"

While they bickered, Shinji and the young man had already started chatting off to the side.

"Hi, I'm Haruki Natsukawa. Just call me Haruki. Has an Ultraman merged with you too?"

"Nice to meet you. I'm Shinji Ikari. Just call me Shinji..."

"If you ask me, you're only one-third of a half-baked rookie... Never mind that for now. Tell me how things are going on your end."

Z walked over to Haruki and began introducing him. "Mashtah, this is Haruki. He lost his life helping me fight Gegna Gag, so I merged with him to save him."

Looking at Shinji, Z couldn't help wondering:

"Mashtah, why did you choose a minor? Don't tell me you made the same mistake as Professor Manny..."

"Shut it! Of course not!"

"This is Shinji. When a monster attacked the world I'm in, he was caught in a helicopter explosion while trying to save a defenseless life and suffered serious injuries. I united with him to save him."

"What a brave young man." Haruki and Z both gave him a thumbs-up.

"Back to business. Z, did you take care of Gegna Gag? What about the Ultra Medals?"

"I defeated Gegna Gag... But so far, I've only found Brother Taro's and Brother... Ace's medals... I haven't found the others yet."

"It's been so many years... Uncle Ace has been so good to you. Why do you still have trouble calling him Ace..."

"Enough, Mashtah... I know... Just give me a little more time."

"Mashtah, I suspect someone's pulling the strings behind this."

"What a pain. The Paraghi Shield is broken again, so I can't come over to help you for now." That successfully drew Zero's attention.

"Be extra careful."

"You too, Mashtah. Stay safe."

Zero turned away to hide his embarrassment. "Honestly, didn't I tell you not to call me master?"

"Okay, Mashtah!"

"Our energy is limited. Let's leave it there for now."

Zero looked at Haruki.

"I'm counting on you to look after Z."

"Huh? Me?"

Not to be outdone, Z pulled Shinji over. "I'm counting on you to look after Mashtah!"

"You little brat!"

"Bye, Mashtah!"

Shinji and Zero returned to their own space.

Shinji gazed admiringly at Zero's spectral form.

"So you have a student too, Zero? That's amazing."

"I don't remember ever taking him on as my student! If you ask me, he's just one-third of a half-baked rookie!"

Even Shinji could hear the affection behind his bluster.

"He's really handsome too, but... not as handsome as you, Zero."

Halfway through his sentence, Shinji noticed Zero's dark expression and hurriedly added the second half.

"Now that's what I like to hear. Keep going."

Zero checked the time. "It's late. Get some rest, Shinji. Staying up late isn't good for kids."

"Okay. Good night, Zero."

Watching Shinji sleep soundly, Zero sighed.

"Looks like things aren't going well on Z's end either. Who could be behind it...? Surely it isn't the Absolutians."

Misato's voice came from outside the door. "Shinji, I'm coming in."

The door opened, and Misato stepped inside, thinking Shinji was still awake.

"You did something worthy of praise. You can be proud of yourself."

"Good night, Shinji."

Hearing those two remarks, Zero smiled faintly.

Looks like this lady does know how to care about someone after all.

Zero walked onto the balcony, gazing up at the stars and down over the city. The night passed in silence.

The next morning, Shinji got up and began washing up. Today was his first day at his new school. From now on, he would be attending school in Tokyo-3.

He opened Misato's bedroom door and asked her as she lay buried under a heap of blankets, "Should I make you breakfast, Miss Misato?"

"Yes, please. Sorry for the trouble, Shinji," Misato replied lazily.

"And could you take out the burnable trash too?"

"I take that back..." Zero was speechless.

Shinji opened the refrigerator, took out some ingredients, and went to the kitchen to cook, preparing both breakfast and packed lunches.

Having never received much care, Shinji was very good at looking after himself and could live independently. In truth, that was an unfortunate thing for him.

"You can cook too?" Zero had picked up a few tricks from Dan Moroboshi and had been planning to show off, but now he had lost his chance.

"I've learned a little. Just the basics."

Before long, he had everything ready. He tucked the glasses into his pants pocket, ate breakfast, then put on his schoolbag, picked up the trash, and headed out.

"I'm off!"

The old, insecure Shinji could never have spoken so loudly, but he was different now.

His closed-off heart was gradually opening to the light.

After he threw away the trash, Zero suggested, "Why don't you run to school? It'll be good exercise."

"Okay!"

Shinji jogged toward school.

Watching Shinji change, Zero decided to teach him the Five Ultra Oaths.

"While you're exercising, I'll teach you the Five Ultra Oaths. That veteran beneath the setting sun said they make training more effective."

"Wow, that sounds great."

"Listen closely."

"These are the Five Ultra Oaths:"

"First: never go to school on an empty stomach!"

"Second: air out your bedding when the weather is good!"

"Third: watch out for traffic when crossing the road!"

"Fourth: never rely on someone else's strength!"

"Fifth: run barefoot on the sand!"

Shinji silently repeated them as he ran.

"They're wonderful words to live by. On the Earth in our world, that warrior may have left, but these words have spread to every nation and every people. Children and adults alike pass on these five oaths. It's not just to commemorate that warrior, but also to express their hopes for the future."

"I really hope I can meet that warrior someday. He must be a very kind big brother," Shinji said wistfully.

When he reached school, Shinji introduced himself with Zero's encouragement.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Shinji Ikari. I arrived in Tokyo-3 a few days ago, and I hope we can all get along." He walked up to the blackboard, wrote down his name, then smiled at his classmates as he spoke.

"Great job! That's the confidence you need!" Zero praised him, never letting any change in Shinji go unnoticed.

There weren't many students in the class. Almost everyone who could transfer out had already done so. Those who remained had parents working either for the United Nations forces or for NERV and couldn't leave.

"Someone actually transferred in at a time like this? That's rare."

"He's pretty handsome."

"A transfer student, now of all times."

"Maybe he transferred because his parents came here for work."

The boy with glasses and the boy in black discussed him.

"Oh, right. How's your little sister doing?"

"She's completely fine. We have that red sphere that rammed the Angel to death to thank for that. It's thanks to that thing that she wasn't hurt. Speaking of which, how did you get that photo?"

"That's a secret."