Disclaimer:
EVANGELION is a product of Hideaki Anno's and Gainax's twisted minds.
This work of fiction is for non-profit purposes. Isn't that silly?
-----
Here begins The Sum of All Parts - Second Cycle. Finally.
As usual, C&C is welcome. Enjoy.
-----
Neon Chronicle Evangelion
Chronicles 0:2
"Ready for the seminar tomorrow?"
"I hope so, Ritsuko," Misato replied. "I still don't understand
why the Commander chose me to be the main speaker, though. I mean,
here I am, trying to cope with all those years I spent in catatonia
and now he wants me to speak in front of a large audience?"
"A huge audience. Early registration numbers indicate about a
thousand or so applicants, and that's not including those applying at
the day itself."
"I stand corrected, then. A HUGE audience," Misato said,
eyebrows twitching. "What about you? Are you ready?"
"Ready? I wish it were over already," Ritsuko called out from
inside Melchior, "I'm dying to get some help here! We're seriously
undermanned!" She reached a hand out of the hatch. "Hand me the
soldering iron."
"Gee, what makes you say that?" Misato said, handing Ritsuko the
tool. "I mean, I'm only operations commander, deputy public relations
officer and pilot babysitter all at once. Pile it on! I can take it!"
She stuck her tongue out.
"At least you're not second stringer to your own mother."
"What about my mother?" Misato snapped. "She's at home, still
moping, nagging me to give her grandchildren."
"Oh, you too, huh?" Ritsuko said, snapping a circuit board into
its slot. "My mom doesn't understand that the reason I don't have
children yet is because I don't want to end up like her."
"Yeah, exactly. Although I thought the reason you didn't have
kids was because you keep working yourself silly."
"I don't have a choice, now do I?" Ritsuko muttered as she slid
out from underneath the MAGI Unit.
"Here, give me your hand," Misato said. "I don't think you don't
have a choice," she said as she helped Ritsuko to her feet. "I think
you're here because you want to be here. To be close to someone, I
mean."
"Oh, sure," Ritsuko said. "Me and good old Fuyutsuki-sensei. You
can just feel the chemistry between us there, sure. I just love his
manly gray locks, and that squint - oh, come to mama!"
"Okay, enough already," Misato said, giggling. "I was just
teasing you."
"I know," Ritsuko said, wiping her brow. "You should be glad I'm
not hitting on Kaji."
"You can have him," Misato muttered. "Besides, you don't have to
hit on him, he hits on you already."
"He hits on everyone, that's true," Ritsuko agreed, "but it's
never serious. You know that."
"How DO I know that? He hits on you, he hits on your mom, he
hits on Dr. Ikari -- Yui, I mean, don't get any funny ideas -- heck,
he even hits on my landlady."
Ritsuko smirked. "Yes, but whom does he share the bed with?"
"Oh, just shut up."
"Hey, Asuka."
Asuka turned to face the voice. "Oh. It's you, Shinji. Leave me
alone."
"Why?" Shinji asked innocently. "I just noticed that you might
need some help."
"I don't need any help from you," Asuka spat as she wiped the
top of the classroom desks with a rag.
"Look, I'm sorry I got into trouble yesterday, all right?"
"No, you're not, now leave me alone."
"Yes, I am, honestly," Shinji said, grabbing another rag and
wiping the desk next to Asuka. "I just think you're too grouchy all
the time."
"So what?"
"Well. If you're going to be that way, there's nothing I can do,
huh?"
"No. Now get out of here, it's not your day to clean."
Shinji smirked. "So what?"
"So you don't have any business even being here!" Asuka shot.
"Hah! Well, if I'm going to be this way, there's nothing you can
do, huh?"
"I..." Asuka began, then stopped.
Shinji grinned at her and began laughing.
Asuka tried to get angry, but found she couldn't. She tried to
stifle a giggle, but Shinji's laughter was infectious. Soon they were
clutching at their stomachs, laughing uncontrollably.
After wiping tears from the corners of her eyes, she said, "I am
being ridiculous, huh?"
"No, just a little testy," Shinji replied, catching his breath.
"Don't worry about it."
"Hey, Shinji?"
"Yeah?"
She grinned. "You're silly."
"Aida Kensuke! You come here this instant!"
Busted! thought Kensuke. He was lying underneath a tree right
next to the soccer field, dreaming up another commando raid into the
enemy camp (the enemy being whatever fascist faction he was interested
in at the time), and his glorious death scene (Leave me behind,
Corporal, and carry out our mission! That's an order!) was interrupted
by the class rep's nagging.
Stupid girl! "Why should I?" he yelled.
"Because," Yagami Ibuki snapped back, walking over to where
Kensuke was lying, "you're supposed to be on classroom cleaning duty
with Asuka, that's why!"
"So go nag Asuka."
"I don't have to nag Asuka. She's already cleaning the classroom
with Shinji."
"See, they don't need my help. Besides, Shinji probably wouldn't
like me interrupting his pitch."
"Whether or not Asuka and Shinji can do the job without help is
not the point. You're supposed to be cleaning the classroom, and
that's what you're going to do!" Ibuki kicked Kensuke in the ribs.
"OW!" Kensuke got to his feet, clutching his side. "That hurt!"
"Oh, come now," Ibuki said, smirking, "a battle-scarred veteran
like you can take a few bruised ribs."
"Hey! Are you making fun of me?"
"Yes, I am!"
Kensuke paused for a moment, then shot back with the best
response he could muster. "Why?"
Ibuki shrugged. "Let's just say I've singled you out today. Now
get to work."
"And... and another thing. I... hic! I hate your sideburns. And
the glove thing is plain stupid."
"That's right, Fuyutsuki-sensei. Let it all out."
Gendo and his inebriated second-in-command were at a little
ramen stand near the NERV Tenement Project. Gendo always came here for
the ramen -- it was cheap, delicious and always piping hot. The sake
wasn't anything to sniff at, either. If anything, it was the only
place he had ever gotten Fuyutsuki to imbibe anything alcoholic. That
night Gendo had taken Fuyutsuki there to vent -- the old man had the
martyr complex, and Gendo would not have a disgruntled Sub-Commander
standing behind him during an operation, especially since the Dead Sea
Scrolls predicted that the next wave of trials would arrive soon.
"And... and that's 'bout it, I guess."
"Oh, I don't think so, old man!" Gendo said, slapping Fuyutsuki
on the back.
"Ugh... Please don't. The world spins when you do... what you
just did."
"Oh, sorry." Gendo reminded himself just how low Kozo's
tolerance for liquor seemed to be. "So... how about that Naoko, huh?
Still a hottie after all these years."
"Shut up. I know she likes you, Gendo, not me. She's been trying
to get into your boxers for a decade and a half now... ugh... someone
stop rocking the boat..."
"Actually, she's been sucking up to me just to get closer to you
all this time."
Fuyutsuki blinked. "No... really?"
"Yes, really."
"Gendo?"
"Yes?"
"You're a damned liar."
"Don't be that way, sensei. I'm trying to help you out here.
Hey, there's always her daughter, Ritsuko. She's pretty, intelligent,
and you have to coordinate with her a lot, so... why don't you, you
know... 'coordinate' with her?"
Fuyutsuki glared at Gendo. "The woman is half my age."
Gendo shrugged. "What's your point?"
"I know she's your type, Gendo. Don't project your fantasies on
me."
Gendo put on his best indignant face. "Fuyutsuki-sensei! I'm
shocked! You know I'm happily married to Yui already, and..." Gendo
stopped. Uh-oh, he thought, I mentioned Yui. Here it comes...
"There!" Fuyutsuki said, slamming his cup on the counter. "You
wanted to ask me what the matter was, THAT'S the matter! You took Yui
away from me, you scumball!"
"No more drink for that man," the old man behind the counter
said, grabbing Fuyutsuki's cup and wiping it on his apron. "Hey,
buddy, I know it's none of my business, but did you really steal his
girl?"
"I didn't steal her, I fell in love with her, and she fell in
love with me (miracle of miracles!). We married. It was natural that
we did, I'd like to think. Meanwhile, Fuyutsuki-sensei here wasn't
exactly on the top of my list of considerations," Gendo replied.
"So she's your wife, then?" the stall owner asked.
"Yes," Gendo said, "absolutely. And damn proud of it."
"I've been in business for over forty years now," the old man
continued, "and if anyone ever looked like a happily married man, it's
you."
"That's what I've been telling Fuyutsuki-sensei here all along!"
"Don't call me 'Fuyutsuki-sensei'!" ranted Fuyutsuki. "Only Yui
is allowed to call me that!"
"See, look," Gendo said, pulling out a photo of Yui from his
wallet and showing it to the old man, "would you cheat on this woman
if she was your wife?"
"Nope," the old man replied. "I don't even see how anyone could
bring themselves to cheat on that fine woman. Unless she's no good in
bed, that is."
"My good man, I assure you, that is absolutely not an problem,"
Gendo replied, putting his wallet back.
"I don't want to hear this!" Fuyutsuki-sensei wailed. "My pure,
sweet Yui, defiled by this dirtbag! Endless nights of servitude, bound
to this fiend's evil whims... ugh... God, someone please stop rocking
the boat!"
Gendo sighed. "Old man..."
"What?" the vendor asked.
"Remind me never to mention my wife to this man while he's
liquored up ever again."
"I'm home!"
"Welcome home, Brother," Rei replied, looking up from the book
she was reading.
"Is Dad home yet?" Shinji asked while taking off his shoes.
"No. Neither is Mother."
"Oh, okay. Have you eaten? I'll go fix something up."
"I've eaten," Rei replied.
"Okay then. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."
"All right." Rei resumed her reading. The protagonist in the
story had fallen in love with a girl that was conditioned from
childhood to distrust strong emotion. Rei could neither understand nor
even see the dilemma. What was the problem? Why would anyone fall in
love with someone who was so obviously disinterested with emotion? Why
did the hero insist on a lost cause?
She marked the page she was reading and put the book down. She
entered the kitchen. "Brother," she began, "would you insist upon
courting a girl who obviously does not care for your affections?"
Shinji paused his stir-frying. "It depends. If I like the girl,
and this girl doesn't like me obviously, I have to find out if she
likes me secretly. If she does, I have to make her realize consciously
that she does indeed like me."
"I don't understand."
"It's hard to explain in an abstract way. It's not something
that lends itself to words very well." He resumed his culinary labor.
"What exactly brought this on?"
"Charles Dickens."
"Uh-huh. Charles Dickens wouldn't happen to be a code name for
Ryunosuke Natsume, would it?"
Rei pouted. "No. He's the author of the book I'm reading."
Shinji chuckled. "I know that. I was just teasing."
"Well. That's all I wanted to ask. Thank you."
"All right. Good luck with Mr. Dickens. I hear he's quite
popular at school. That's my sister."
Rei raised an eyebrow. "What on earth do you mean?"
"Nothing." Shinji grinned. "Nothing at all."
Darn that Ibuki! What right did she have to push him around like
that?
Kensuke unrolled his sleeping bag and laid it on the tent floor.
He sighed as he took off his helmet and placed it on top of his folded
fatigues and pistol belt. She's class rep, that what she is, he
thought.
He unlaced his boots and placed them in a corner, next to his
scale replica M-16. Even so, he thought as he dressed for sleep in
camouflage boxer shorts and shirt, she's obviously powertripping. The
position had gone to her head. In retrospect, he decided that he
should have cast his vote for Hikaru as class rep instead of for
Yagami.
He unzipped his sleeping bag and crawled into it. Oh, if only he
could give her a piece of his mind! Tell her off! Remind her that she
was just a student, same as everyone else. Take her bloated ego down a
few notches. She needed it, and everyone would thank him for it.
Kensuke convinced himself that he would have done it that very
afternoon, too, if only that stupid girl wasn't so darned... cute.
He zipped his sleeping bag shut. "Damn."
"What have you found out?"
"The personnel drive is tomorrow," Kaji said to his contact.
They met at an abandoned house, tagged for demolition in a few
days. The contact sat on the front step, while Kaji spoke from behind
the front door, opened just a few inches.
The house seemed lived in, as if the owners had simply stepped
out for a moment. The vases were filled with water and wilted flowers;
the couch was well-worn; the table bore water rings and scratches.
Kaji briefly wondered what kind of people lived there. Perhaps a happy
family, a man and his wife, maybe one or two children. Maybe the house
was empty now because the man left or the wife left, or the children
had grown up and had families of their own, and the couple grew old,
grew old happy together...
"Is that all?"
Kaji shook his head. This is no time for reverie, he told
himself. "There's more. My sources tell me that none of the Children
have even begun the synchronization tests. This occurring so very
close to the 3rd Trial, if the timetable in the Dead Sea Scrolls are
correct."
"I see. Chairman Lorenz will not like this news."
"What about you? What can you tell me about SEELE?"
The contact looked around hesitantly, then began the report.
"Chairman Lorenz is currently pleased with the progress, and eagerly
looks forward to observing how the organization deals with the next
wave of crises. However, he believes that your commander is running
his ship too loose for comfort."
Kaji rubbed his chin. "Hmm. Anything else? Anything more...
interesting?"
The contact smiled. "You know me well. There are takeover plans.
Poised to occur after the 17th trial. Full military operation. All
hush-hush. High clearance. I'm not even supposed to know about it."
"How do you know this?"
"I have eyes and ears. That and there are many holes in the
walls to crawl through, in a manner of speaking."
"I'm impressed," Kaji said. "I would never have guessed you
would know so much."
"I do my best."
"But what if there were no holes in the walls?"
"Then we would simply have to break the walls down, wouldn't
we?"
"This is it, Captain Katsuragi. Nervous?"
"Uh, a little, Commander." Actually, a lot, Misato thought, but
she wasn't about to tell Commander Ikari that. She double-checked
everything: The speech was ready; the dress she picked out was both
appealing and tasteful; she was having the best hair day of her life;
and last and most importantly, her makeup was perfect. Good. Now if
only her knees would stop shaking.
She wasn't a public speaker; at least, she lacked the Ikari
knack for empathy, or Kaji's nonchalant flair. And there was that
thing she wanted to ask the commander ever since she was told she'd
been assigned to be the main speaker at the seminar...
"Commander?"
"Yes, Captain? Is something the matter?" he asked, one gloved
hand pushing back his amber-tinted glasses.
"No, it's not a problem, sir, just a small question."
"Okay, then. Fire away."
How could someone so congenial be so intimidating? "That is, um,
I was wondering why I got assigned to be the speaker, since I'm only
deputy public relations officer."
"Well," the commander said, scratching his beard, "since Yui
isn't here, and since she's head of PR, you were next in line."
"But sir, I was assigned the duty so far in advance, practically
right after I got promoted to captain. Department Head Ikari's
departure was months into the future then."
Commander Ikari nodded. "Yes, that's true. But the timetable
dictated that Yui would be gone when the seminar took place."
Misato swallowed. "Our timetable is planned that far ahead?"
The commander smiled wryly, which reminded Misato of Kaji. Smug,
wry, almost cunning, just like Kaji's... only more jovial, which
struck her as an odd combination. "No," he replied. "Much, much
farther ahead. Sometimes I can barely see the end of it, myself." He
peeked out into the audience. "Well, it's time. Good luck, Captain."
"Thank you, sir." Taking one last deep breath, Misato stepped
onto the stage.
She felt her confidence build, instead of flag, as she realized
that every eye in the audience was on her at that moment, some eyes
lingering longer than others. As she stepped on the podium, she gave
one last look to the commander, letting him know that, as conceited as
it seemed, she realized the real reason why she was chosen to speak
that day.
The commander smiled wryly and nodded.
She gave the commander a brief smirk. Then, turning to the
audience, she spoke. "Good morning. I am Katsuragi Misato, Captain,
Operations Commander, deputy head of Public Relations, and I represent
the organization known simply as NERV."
To be continued...
=====
TimeRunner's Web Page:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/7482
=====
"Anyone can post messages to the net. Practically everyone
does. The resulting cacophony drowns out serious discussion.
Online debates of tough issues are often polarized by messages
taking extreme positions. It's a great medium for trivia and
hobbies, but not the place for reasoned, reflective judgment.
Surprisingly often, discussions degenerate into acrimony,
insults, and flames." --Clifford Stoll