- A-A-A-A-A!!! WE'RE GOING TO CELEBRATE TODAY!!! - Misato, with a joyful cry, pressed the gas pedal and tore off. How the dented and long-suffering car endured such abuse, only God knows. Or rather, the Great Darkness, for the gods are not interested in such trifles, but it really knows and sees everything, although it also does not necessarily pay attention.
We got out of the Geofront without incident, and there was no meeting with Gendo in the elevator or anywhere else. Which, I think, is for the best. I'm not sure I wouldn't have punched him in the eye or some other, more sensitive place. He still irritates me, and my child's body indulges a certain impulsiveness. No, of course, I'm unlikely to actually punch him in the face, but it's still better not to provoke him. At least until I completely merge with Shinji and the possibility of an unexpected outburst of his emotions disappears. And even though my body is weak now, the knowledge of how and where to hit so that a person lies down and doesn't get up again hasn't gone anywhere.
– Do you mind if we stop at one place first?
– Do you want to show me some of the sights?
- Yeah. You'll like it.
"Are you sure?" Misato gave me a thoughtful look.
- Hmm... Now that you ask... No. But it's worth a try!
"Okay, take it, I'll try to understand," the girl snorted in response.
We stopped at a huge observation deck located on the slope of one of the hills - everything was as I expected. Approaching the edge, I leaned my hands on the high metal railings, peering into the distance. The setting sun illuminated the magnificent landscape. Distant mountains covered the horizon, and before us lay a city. A deserted city. Small trees, flower beds, lawns, boxes of stalls, bizarre patterns of roads intertwining huge square and hexagonal platforms and not a single large building. They are visible only in the very distance, closer to the mountains, and only a flat plain approaches the observation deck.
"Beautiful," I commented to Misato, who was standing next to me.
- That's not all. Wait a bit, it's about to start, - she smiled and glanced at the dial of her wristwatch. - Right now.
Sirens began to howl throughout the city. The platforms of the giant hatches began to slowly open. A steady, drawn-out hum was heard, and giant boxes of multi-story buildings began to slowly rise from under the ground. Impressive. Majestic and beautiful, but... Absolutely useless against Angels. While we were climbing out of the Geofront, I managed to admire the wreckage of one such building that had collapsed on the headquarters. And Sachiel was the weakest of the Angels, well, at least one of the weakest. Although, perhaps this method allows you to protect buildings from conventional bombardment, perhaps this system was created against it.
- How do you like it? - Misato asked smiling, clearly expecting delight, it seemed she herself was not yet accustomed to this sight and she really liked it. I did not want to offend the girl's feelings and answered almost the truth:
- Beautiful and majestic, you were right. I am impressed, - and a slight smile, after all, she tried. Misato's smile became sincere and kind.
- Thank you Shinji.
- For what?
- For not ruining the moment, - the beauty closed her eyes and turned to the city, quietly, with a slightly sad smile, said: - This is Tokyo-3. The fortress city. The city that resists the Angels... Our city! The city that you saved!
– But I, too, almost doomed him to death, and quite consciously.
- I know. I was there. But the main thing is that you did it, no matter what motivated you. And that's something to be proud of.
"You're a strange person, Misato," the girl turned to me, her eyes filled with surprise. "But still... You're the first person I've liked in the last few years. It's a shame we didn't meet earlier."
Silence hung over the area. The air was filled with the chirping of cicadas, which had proliferated across Japan after Second Impact, and the warm evening breeze pleasantly stirred my hair. Soon the stars would light up in the sky. Night, my favorite time...
"Okay, Misato," I pulled away from the railing. "Thanks for the view, but we still have to get to the store, and besides, I haven't eaten anything other than the hospital breakfast yet."
- What?! And you kept quiet?!
"You didn't ask," I decided not to remind her about the machines.
- Well, I'm afraid... You didn't have dinner yesterday either... What are you standing there for? Let's go faster! - I smiled to myself and wandered towards the car. It was funny after all.
Misato and I were strolling leisurely through the shelves of the shopping mall. Or rather, I was strolling leisurely, looking at the products carefully, and Misato, with a displeased expression on her face, was following behind, pushing a chock-full cart full of beer, instant noodles, canned goods, and a couple of ready-made meals, rice and stew, in trays. In fairness, it should be noted that the beer was mostly non-alcoholic and took up less than a third of the total volume.
- Shin, is it almost time? - the girl whined plaintively, impatiently starting to shorten my name in a way that was completely untypical for Japan. Here, if you don't use suffixes in personal communication, it's already a statement for an extremely close relationship, and to shorten it like that, according to Shinji's memory, was generally beyond the bounds of decency, although it was encountered in imitation of Europeans.
- Yes, I'm almost done. You better go and choose a cake, but without cream, I don't like them.
- Yeah, me too. How about chocolate?
- I'm all for it.
"Great," and Misato happily rolled off to the confectionery department.
The store was almost empty, in terms of customers, but the selection was pleasing. True, the already peeled potatoes amused me. No, of course I had seen this before, but it was still funny. I had already checked the balance on the card, Gendo had not lied, exactly three million two hundred thousand Yen, two hundred thousand apparently a salary or an advance. Also on the card there was already my calm face, and the inscription said that I was a lieutenant of the UN special forces, and specifically the NERV Institute. An interesting detail could be considered the fact that in the photo I was in a uniform, which I had not even received yet. Photoshop is a terrible invention after all.
A couple of apple juice packages went into the cart, alas, I didn't know the local brands, so I had to rely on the price and intuition. Then I found Earl Grey tea, I haven't had it for a long time, a few spices, I doubt that Misato even has common pepper, and in general, the purchases could be considered complete, the rest was already resting in the cart.
- I'm done! - Misato emerged from around the corner, pleased, pushing a real Prague on a cart, meaning a "Prague" cake. Just think, I still remember... Smiling slightly at my thoughts, I nodded to Misato and turned to the cash register.
The Katsuragi house was an eleven-story building, quite modest in appearance, without any futuristic bells and whistles. The parking lot was practically empty, although quite spacious. There was a park and, apparently, a playground nearby.
"The house is just getting occupied, so there aren't many residents yet," the brunette commented as we got out of the car. I nodded and headed to the back door to pick up the bags.
Thanks to Misato's driving style, the bags tipped over and I had to pick up the groceries from the floor. Even though I had prudently tied the handles, some of them still managed to fall out. However, I never doubted Katsuragi's talent for a moment.
"Shinji, can you help me?" A plaintive squeak came from the trunk when I was almost finished.
The picture that presented itself to me was most amusing. Misato, bent over in three deaths, was trying to reach another package in the depths of the trunk, but the bundle that she was already holding in her hand desperately prevented this. Apparently, Katsuragi intended to move everything in one go, and considering that the trunk was packed to the brim, and there were also bags on the back seat, the bundles of bags in the girl's hands took on a very threatening size. Perhaps already twice as big as the girl herself, but she was stubborn and clearly was not going to give up.
- Misato, what are you doing?
- What do you mean? I take out the bag.
- For what?
My answer was met with an angry look promising a cruel reprisal.
- Misato, you certainly look very cute when you're angry, but if you want to endure everything at once, we won't be able to do it.
"But there's only a little bit left," the angry look was replaced by a pitiful one, and a telltale blush appeared on the cheeks.
- And how do you plan to squeeze through the door with these bags? - Misato froze, looked at me suspiciously, then glanced sideways at the building, then at her hands, and apparently it dawned on her. The bundles of bags plopped down on the asphalt with a dull thud, and the brave captain began to painfully stretch her shoulders and rub her back.
- Well, damn! Why did we have to buy so much stuff? And what are we going to do now?
"We'll go a few times. It's not difficult," Misato gave the bags a pained look.
We carried the purchases in two trips, after all, most of it was light but bulky stuff like instant noodles, chips, crackers, and paper towels. A pile of boxes was waiting for us at the door of the apartment, which Misato immediately called my things, although I didn't ask. And inside...
Hmm-m-m-mn-yes... Anime didn't even begin to reflect the depth and horror of reality.
Piles of boxes of things that the captain still hadn't gotten around to unpacking. Things scattered haphazardly on the floor and, of course, a monstrous mess in the kitchen. A mountain of unwashed dishes in the sink and on the table, a pile of chewed chopsticks, stacks of some magazines under the table, several plastic cups from noodles, pizza leftovers, bottles, beer cans...
No, I understand the expression "creative chaos", but even I didn't have this, in the worst years of my apprenticeship! Damn, the underground caves of the orcs look tidier! Although, why am I surprised? All this was expected... Although not on such a scale.
- Shinji, why are you standing there? Come in, it's true that it's a little messy here, but don't pay any attention to it! - came from somewhere in the depths of the apartment.
... Just a little?... I glanced once more at the still life called the kitchen. Self-criticism is clearly not one of the shortcomings of the commander of the operational department.
When Katsuragi, dressed in her home clothes, came into the kitchen, I was just finishing stuffing perishables into the refrigerator. It was a difficult task, but I managed it. Fortunately, there were fewer beer cans in it than I feared.
- Oh, Shinji! Have you put away the groceries yet? Well done!
"Misato, where do you keep your vegetable drawer or something?" I asked, standing half-turned. In the process, I noticed that the girl was wearing a shapeless, beige T-shirt and soft, cotton pants. Either, in this case, canon was lying, or my threats of harassment were taken into account and taken into account.
"Uh..." the head of the Operations Department diligently rolled her eyes and raised her index finger to her mouth, expressing with her whole appearance the hard work of her thoughts.
- I see. Then where are the pots and pans?
- Ah, it's somewhere around here! I saw it recently... Where is it... Here it is! - Katsuragi proudly pointed to a cardboard box, from which a black handle of an unknown element of kitchen utensils was indeed peeking out.
- Okay. Then dinner will be in about an hour. Can you wait?
- Well... If you promise it will be delicious.
- I promise.
- Then I'm going to take a shower! - the girl flew out of the kitchen like a whirlwind and added from somewhere in the corridor: - And don't you dare peek!
I chuckled. Oh, Misato, Misato... If only you knew how many women I've had, and what kind of women... However, it's really better for you not to know. At least until this whole story comes to an end. Well, and then, maybe you'll meet her. After all, you really are very beautiful, especially for a human. And you're not a bad specialist either...
Having put the meat to stew and the potatoes to boil, I began to bring the kitchen into a digestible state. Fortunately, these dishes do not require constant supervision. Misato seemed to sense that as soon as she showed up within sight, I would certainly force her to clean. I cannot say that she was so wrong, although I prefer to clean everything myself out of habit, but thoughts arose... However, be that as it may, Misato hid in the bathtub and climbed out only after the agreed hour had passed. Wet and happy. By that time, I had practically finished, all that was left was to wipe it with a rag. So I decided to spare the girl, persuading her would have taken longer than doing it myself, and I was quite hungry after all.
"Mmm... It smells so delicious," this miracle purred, squinting and jumping up to the stove.
"Sit down, I'll put it down now," I sighed, taking out the plates.
- Shinji, you are a miracle!
"Here. Enjoy your meal," I placed a plate of mashed potatoes and stewed meat in front of Misato.
- Beautiful! Mmm... Delicious! Where did you learn to cook?
- Nowhere. I often sat at home alone and had no one to cook for me, so I had to learn myself, - I answered the pure truth, and this was true for both me and Shinji.
- I see... - Katsuragi was a little confused, probably remembering my "happy" childhood. - Well, I still haven't learned, I can't make anything more complicated than rice and noodles. By the way, Shinji...
- Hm? - I looked up from my plate, my mouth busy.
"I want to talk about yesterday's fight," Misato said, looking at me seriously.
- You chose a very opportune moment.
- What? Let's combine business with pleasure, - and Misato used chopsticks to send another portion of puree into her mouth. Having given Misato a skeptical look, I shrugged.
- Okay, let's talk. First question, what happened when I lost consciousness?
- Ahem... Actually, I should have asked first, - I indicated surprise by raising my left eyebrow, since my mouth was busy again. - Okay, okay! I'll tell you. Anyway, when the Angel pierced the Eva's head armor, we lost contact with the capsule, it was unknown whether you were alive or not, the signals for forced ejection did not go through, synchronization was rapidly falling, we could not do anything. But then, suddenly, something happened. The Eva began to move, synchronization suddenly jumped to more than two hundred percent, and the sensors registering the AT field went crazy, the Eva's field jumped to one and a half thousand units, for comparison, the Angel's AT field remained around two hundred the entire battle. After that, the Eva smeared the Angel across the asphalt in a few seconds and, having torn out the Core, began to eat it. Honestly, it was very scary, Shinji... I first saw Ritsuko turn so pale. After all, if Eva-01 had started to destroy everything, there was no way we could have stopped it, and with such a field, even a nuclear bombardment would not have guaranteed its destruction. You can't even imagine how relieved we were when Eva stopped.
- Why a nuclear bombing? My cable was cut, there was probably only enough energy left for a minute of work, at most.
- What are you talking about?! Eva absorbed the Angel's core! Now she has her own, infinite source of energy!
"Are you saying that the chewed and ground Core continues to work?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and thoughtfully looking at the sticks with which I was squeezing a piece of meat. "However..."
- How should I know?! You should ask Ritsuko, but the fact that Eva-01 now has an internal power source is a fact!
- So? Is that bad?
- Who the hell knows... - Misato, looking sad, started to move her chopsticks around in her plate. - Probably good... Tell me something else. Can you explain how it was so easy for you with the AT field? You first set it up just a moment before the Angel's attack, and then the Eva did such things... Ritsuko almost gnawed her own robe today trying to figure it all out... We didn't even imagine such capabilities of the Eva, and then you sit in it for the first time and suddenly this...
- Well, I can't know what Eva was doing while I was out cold... And what's wrong with the AT-field I set up?
- Well, I'm telling you, you got him out so easily...
- Shouldn't he have?
- Damn it! Shinji! No! The ability for Evas to generate an AT field was only theoretical, and the attempt to activate the Zero almost ended in the pilot's death! And here you are, not only do you exceed eighty percent in synchronization on the first contact, but you also set up an AT field in a millisecond, without any preparation!
- Hmm... - I chewed thoughtfully, looking at the ceiling. - Interesting...
- And that's all you can say?
- No, I can say a lot, but there will be very few censored words there, - I turned my heavy gaze to Katsuragi. - I'm not saying anything about the fact that you shoved OYaSh into the OBChR and sent him to save the world, let that remain on your conscience. Although I will note that if some journalist thought of presenting the situation from this angle, then NERV's reputation could be safely put to rest. However, sending me into battle, not even approximately knowing the capabilities of the weapon you created yourself, and then trying to find out from me how it works, it's simply indescribable. I don't even know the words to express my attitude to what is happening.
"But Shinji..." Misato looked extremely dejected, like a naughty schoolgirl being scolded by the principal with her parents called to school. "It wasn't me who came up with this..."
- I don't blame you.
- So, you'll help us deal with Eva?
- Transfer me the salary of Dr. Akagi, as well as the entire Scientific Department dealing with Evangelions, and I will be happy to help. Until then, questions of the functioning, nature and abilities of Evas are not my job.
Misato bit her lip in frustration, no matter how you look at it, I was right all the way around and I wasn't obligated to explain to the scientists how and what worked either. It wasn't that I needed a conflict with the Science Department, but I wasn't going to allow myself to be made a lab rat either. If they wanted to find out, let them find out for themselves, and I would find a more worthy use for my time than sitting for hours every day at sync tests and in labs. And if they really needed it, then let them formally file an official request to the Operations Department, asking Lieutenant Ikari to assist in the research, as a tester and consultant, with hourly pay and strict deadlines limiting the time of the experiments with my participation. Then I'll think about it and maybe even agree. Although they can try to put pressure through the Commander, but that would be completely stupid on their part.
While Katsuragi was indulging in gloomy thoughts, I calmly finished my portion and, putting my plate aside, leaned my elbows on the table and, just like Gendo, folded my hands in a house in front of my face. Misato, from this sight, hiccupped slightly and moved away a little. And I warned her that the moment for the conversation was poorly chosen, but since the beautiful captain decided to combine business with pleasure, it would be a sin not to help her in this endeavor.
- Misato, don't get me wrong, - I began in a calm and even slightly warm voice. - I don't mind helping, not at all. But I won't become Dr. Akagi's guinea pig, especially for free. How and what works in Eva, I have no idea. And you are very lucky that the information that Eva may not turn on the AT field, as well as the fact that everything I was told about Evangelion are purely theoretical guesses and assumptions, without the slightest material confirmation, I learned only now, and not before the battle. I hope you understand why? - An uncertain nod in response. - That's good. However, in the future, I would very much (!) like to receive such information, before I am forced, at the risk of my life, to test something that, with a probability of about ninety percent, will not work. I hope you understand me in this too and, as the immediate commander, will try to avoid such situations in the future, - I removed my hands from my face and leaned back in my chair. - And let's end it here for now, or have you already changed your mind about celebrating?
- You're kidding! Don't even count on it! - Katsuragi jumped up a bit theatrically. - And anyway, Shinji... - the girl became serious again and bent over the table, dropping her shoulders. - Perhaps you won't be too pleased to hear this, but... You're your father's true son. It makes me shudder...
I silently looked into Misato's eyes, and she, in turn, waited for me to answer, without looking away.
- So be it, - I finally broke the silence. - But, frankly speaking, Ikari Gendo, this is not a topic that I am ready to discuss sitting at the table. - Cover and hit! Misato even grunted, bulging her wild eyes at me.
- You... You... You... - the poor thing got stuck.
- Are you going to finish eating? Or take out the cake?
"Uh..." the brunette with purple hair blinked her eyes, slightly opening her mouth.
"Well, if you don't, I'll eat it myself," I stand up and turn to the refrigerator.
- Damn!!! Shinji is a bastard! You're unbearable!
"Why take me out? I'm not trash..." I asked absolutely calmly, with a barely noticeable hint of surprise in my voice, opening the refrigerator and looking inside.
- I'll kill you! - Katsuragi turned purple with indignation.
- You'll sit down...
I had already taken out the cake and started unpacking it. I couldn't see Misato's face, since my back was turned to her, but judging by her sullen silence, the girl simply couldn't find the words to respond. Having finished with the cake, I turned back to the table, holding the plates in my hands. Misato was sitting cross-legged on a chair, her chin resting on her palm, pouting with inspiration, lazily picking at her plate. I almost believed that she was really offended, at least because she couldn't find an adequate response. But the brave captain was betrayed by his eyes, which occasionally glanced sideways at the plates in my hands.
At that moment, from the opposite corner of the kitchen, a quiet squeak and the sound of the refrigerator opening were heard. Turning my head, already guessing what I was about to see, I saw HIM! The refrigerator door opened and from there crawled out a large, extremely bushy-browed penguin with a small plastic backpack on his back, as if it had grown to his body and the face of an evil biology professor who had just eaten a lemon and lost his glasses, for some reason I had exactly that association. The penguin squinted his eyes significantly. On the chest of the "professor" hung a sign with the inscription "PEN-2". Without deigning to pay any attention to Misato and me, the proud bird walked into the bathroom, from where a few seconds later the sound of water was heard. The entire action took place in complete silence, Misato looked at me with anticipation, waiting for a reaction, I watched the Bird.
- Misato...
"Yes, Shinji?" the girl sang in a honeyed voice, carefully hiding a smile in the corners of her lips.
"If you want some cake, finish what's on your plate first," I sat down on my chair with an impassive face and placed the plates next to me, demonstratively moving them away from the girl. The word "Failure" appeared in large letters on Katsuragi's face.
- Um... Sin?
- What?
- And you, weren't surprised?
- What for?
- To the penguin.
- No.
- Why?
"I looked in that fridge when I was putting away the groceries," I'm lying, I didn't even try.
- And you're not interested in what he's doing here?
- Interesting.
- Why don't you ask?
- I didn't have time.
- And now?
- And now I'm busy.
- How?
- I'm answering your questions.
- ... - I guess I overdid it... Because Katsuragi's right eye started twitching nervously. Okay, we'll have mercy.
"So what kind of penguin is this?" I ask, putting a piece of cake in my mouth. Misato watched him go with a heavy gaze and sighed sadly, dropping her head for a moment.
- Oh-oh-oh... How difficult it is with you... Eh... - The captain raised her tired gaze to me. - It was Pen-Pen, a new breed of warm-water penguin. He is my pet, - and seeing that I was still listening to her attentively, even feigning mild interest on my face, Misato continued reluctantly: - He was a test animal in some NERV laboratory. It seems they were developing biotechnology there... The project was closed, and some of the animals were given to zoos, some were taken home by the employees, so Ritsuko gave me Pen-Pen, she, I think, worked there at the time.
- I see. And what kind of backpack does he have on his back?
- There's a biological computer, I'm telling you it's from a lab, they used it for experiments on cyborgization and that's what happened. So keep in mind, it's very smart and understands everything, - Misato put a piece of cake in her mouth and closed her eyes, she "stole" the plate from me, in the middle of the story, at the moment when I was "distracted". I diligently pretended not to notice anything.
- By the way!.. - Katsuragi perked up when the cake was finished. By the way, she hadn't touched the beer even once the whole evening. - Since this is your house now, too, let's share the household chores! - The captain's eyes gleamed ominously.
I thought about it. On the one hand, trusting this miracle of nature to do any housework would be, to put it mildly, a mistake. There was an entire apartment of facts not just talking about it, but howling hysterically about it, or rather the apartment itself was such a fact. No, of course you can kick it and it will even, most likely, do something. But the quality... No matter how you look at it, Misato, with all obviousness, was not suited to housework, at all. But I don't really want to clean up after her either. Well, what a dilemma.
- Shinji?
"I agree, that would be reasonable," I decided. "How shall we divide it?"
- Great! Let's play rock-paper-scissors? - Misato asked with hidden hope. However, the hope was somehow pale, it seemed that she herself did not believe that I could agree.
- Are you sure? I don't think this is a good method.
- But it's fun and fast! Well, go ahead! - not hearing a categorical "No" from me right away, the beauty perked up and started to convince me. Well, well... I smiled sarcastically inside.
- Well, I don't even know... It's so unreliable...
- Oh, come on, Shin! Don't be a grump, agree! - Misato doesn't know how to play, she doesn't know how at all. Even if you didn't know all the ins and outs, with that sparkle in the girl's eyes, even a complete wimp would definitely suspect something.
- Okay, you've convinced me, just don't complain later.
- Aa ...
Misato blinked and shook her head slightly, looking at my hand, I had a rock, she had scissors.
- There you go, Sin. You're lucky! Congratulations! - the girl smiled, settling herself more comfortably. - Let's move on! Washing dishes! STONE!..