Shinji Ikari bowed slightly as she was quickly introduced to the school's principal, then was excused as the older man discretely oggled Misato in her slinky dress. Absentmindedly he gave Shinji permission to look around and the young lady left, smiling wryly at Misato's easy ability to manipulate a man like him. The building, like much of the city was new construction, and felt oddly deserted as she walked the halls, occasionally looking into windows. 'With the Angel attack I guess most of the people with good sense are leaving,' she thought, 'unlike myself.' "What are you doing here, young lady?" a clearly annoyed voice asked. Shinji turned to face the older man, recognizing a teacher as soon as she saw one. She handed him the pass she had been give as she said respectfully, "Just looking around, sensei." He looked at the paper, clearly wanting something to be wrong with it. He looked up, light flashing off his glasses as he handed the sheet over as he reluctantly said, "All right, but please do not disrupt classes, young lady." "Thank you, sir," Shinji nodded. "Hmph," he turned and strode away just as the bell announcing lunch rang, doors sliding open even as students streamed out of the classrooms. 'Uh oh," reflexedly Shinji made her way outside, not wanting to deal with the students just yet. She smiled wryly noting that Misato wasn't back at the car yet, which meant she was still negotiating with the principal. "Hey, you!" a boy's voice called and Shinji turned to see three figures heading over two her. The tallest was gangly, with dark brown hair while a smaller, blonde haired boy followed beside him. Along with the two boys a lighter brown haired girl paced beside them reluctantly, giving Shinji a mildly apologetic smile. "Yes?" Shinji asked, the young lady looking at the three with mild curiosity. "You transferring here?" the taller boy asked bluntly. "Toji!" the girl scolded then looked over at Shinji. "Don't mind him, he just has no manners," she smiled, "I'm Hikari, this is Toji and Aida." "Hi," Aida beamed, offering his hand awkwardly. Shinji shook it, feeling a bit of amusement in the whole situation. "Nice to meet you," she addressed the three of them as a group. She looked over at Toji, "Yes, I'm transferring unless my guardian decides otherwise." "Then I'll look forward to you being our classmate," Hikari said gently. "Me, too," Aida sighed, blushing faintly. Toji rolled his eyes at that. "You heard about the giant robot that saved the city a few nights back?" he asked, looking at Shinji thoughtfully. Shinji played dumb, "What robot?" Before Toji or anyone else could follow up a voice called out, "Shin-chan!" Misato strode over, both young men following her every move. She seemed not to notice the stares or Hikari's frown, "Making new friends?" "Sort of," Shinji answered, "these are Hikari, Toji and Aida." "Nice to meet you," she smiled, then Misato turned to Shinji. "All done, you're starting here tomorrow," she beamed. "Are you going to be driving Shinji to school?" Aida asked a bit dazedly. "No, we're near enough for her to walk," Misato shrugged casually. "Too bad," Toji murmured only to have Hikari elbow him in the ribs, "ow!" "Sorry to cut this short," Misato shrugged, "but I've got to take Shinji out shopping for school supplies." She popped the doors and climbed in, "See you later." "It was nice to meet you," Shinji nodded hesitantly then climbed in after Misato. "You didn't get to ask her if she was the pilot of that robot," Aida said as the cherry red sportscar swept out of the lot with style. "You two," Hikari shook her head. "You've got to get to know her a bit, you know." "Maybe," Toji shrugged, "but either way I have to know." He cracked his knuckles, a smile teasing his lips, "And if she is the pilot I'll pay her back in full." Unaware that she was the topic of conversation back in the parking lot Shinji looked over at Misato, "Isn't starting classes tomorrow a bit fast?" "NERV has a lot of pull," Misato shrugged casually, "it wasn't that hard to get you in fast." She looked over, apparently unconcerned by oncoming traffic and smiled, "I think that blonde kid was checking you out." "Aida?" Shinji blinked, then whimpered as they nearly missed another car. "I think they'd be curious about any new girl," she shrugged. Misato chuckled softly, "We'll see." In NERV headquarters was a shadowy chamber, on the floor inscribed with patterns and designs as old as man. Gendo Ikari looked out at the Geofront, taking in the structures that held the buildings of the city when they were pulled underground for defensive purposes. "Ritsuko," Gendo turned to the woman who stood in front of his desk, "how are repairs for the Unit-01 going?" "Ahead of schedule," Ritsuko said, "we'll be ready to sortie again in only a few days." "Unit-00?" Gendo asked. "We're thawing it out of cryogenic storage and attempting to discover what went wrong last time," Ritsuko reported crisply. She hesitated, "Normally I'd assume that there was pilot error involved, but this is Rei we're talking about." "Indeed," Gendo nodded. 'Ask about her,' Ritsuko silently urged the oddly impassive man standing in front of her, 'you know you want to, damn it.' Gruffly, almost unwillingly Gendo asked, "And how is Shinji?" "Settling in nicely," Ritsuko started. "I meant in relation to NERV," Gendo cut her off. Ritsuko fought not to roll her eyes. "Her training sessions in the simulator are going well," she answered crisply, "it seems that Shinji is very nearly a natural pilot." "Unit-02 will soon be arriving from Germany," Gendo said seriously, "along with it's pilot Asuka Langley Sorryu. I want both EVAs fully operational by the time she arrives." "Expecting another enemy attack?" Ritsuko asked him, her shoulders tensing up slightly as she wondered if Gendo has some kind of inside knowledge. 'It really wouldn't surprise me,' she thought to herself grimly. Gendo's expression was nearly unreadable, "It's always best to be prepared, doctor." 'That was helpful,' Ritsuko thought. "Of course, sir," she agreed aloud and was soon excused. Gendo returned to his seat, his expression contemplative. "Fuyutsuki?" he asked and a slim figure emerged from the shadowy corners of the room. He almost looked like a professor despite the NERV uniform, but his eyes were shrewd. "Yes Gendo?" Commander Fuyutsuki asked. "In addition to Misato and Ritsuko's reports I want surveillance maintained on Shinji," Gendo ordered crisply. "You think she'll be targeted?" Fuyutsuki asked. "As our only active pilot Shinji is too precious to lose," Gendo answered. "And the fact that she resembles your wife Yui has nothing to do with it." "Nothing at all," Gendo smiled back reluctantly.
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