"Hey there, Shinji-kun! Good evening! How's school? Are you getting along with your classmates?"
The moment he stepped into NERV's command center, a stunning black-haired beauty greeted him with overwhelming enthusiasm.
Though every glance and smile radiated the sensuality of a mature woman, her expressions carried an unexpected liveliness and flair—like someone who blended the charm of a bold twenty-something with the vitality of a teenager. An unfair kind of beauty.
"Good evening, Miss Katsuragi…"
"Aww, Shinji-kun! Haven't I told you already? Just call me Misato! Mii-sa-to!"
Misato Katsuragi—the first person Shinji Ikari met after returning to this world.
She had helped Shinji make sense of his new reality, making sure he didn't end up wandering aimlessly like a headless chicken after that long blank period on the other side.
"So, Shinji-kun, have you thought about my offer? Want to move in with me? It'll be easier for me to look after you."
Misato eagerly stepped closer and grabbed Shinji's hand, looking up at him with hopeful eyes.
This overly forward approach made Shinji feel a bit uneasy. He had no idea what was really going on in her mind.
"Uhh, well… I still need to think about it. It just feels kinda… bad on several levels…"
"Katsuragi, how much more time are you going to waste?"
A cold voice cut through the moment, shutting down Misato's cheerful invitation.
A blonde woman in a white suit walked up from behind, holding a cup of coffee. She glared at Misato, who was still standing in the corridor holding Shinji's hand, and scolded her bluntly.
"There's only one minute and twenty seconds left before training starts. Shouldn't you hurry up and get the pilot changed into his suit?"
"Geez, Ritsuko! Can't you just use my actual name for once?"
Ritsuko Akagi, NERV's chief scientist—Shinji knew she had the highest authority in NERV besides his distant and enigmatic father.
Shinji had already gotten used to changing into his EVA pilot suit. He quietly slipped the petrified Light Stick into the inner lining of his chest area again.
The first time he suited up, Shinji had been appalled to learn that piloting an EVA required going through more than ten different inspections and decontamination steps. He hated the idea of being separated from the Light Stick, but also didn't know how to smuggle it in undetected.
Soon, he realized something bizarre—no one in this world could even see the Light Stick. Not even NERV's meticulous instruments could detect it in any way.
Only Shinji himself could interact with it. That meant he could carry it wherever he went without fear of discovery.
After all, though it was just a stone now, he had already used it three weeks ago when he first arrived in this world.
Back then, he had been sitting quietly in a residential area, trying to process everything. Then he noticed civilians who hadn't evacuated in time—about to be crushed under the feet of a monster called an Angel.
He had acted on instinct—rushing in to save them. And then, in a familiar sensation, he transformed again into Ultraman Tiga, and successfully destroyed the creature NERV later identified as the Fourth Angel.
---
Meanwhile, at NERV Headquarters, someone else was watching Shinji closely.
Inside the Central Command Room, seated in the highest authority's chair, Gendo Ikari—Shinji's father—flipped through a report, his cold eyes locked on the monitor displaying a live feed of his naked son in the decontamination shower.
"Is there something wrong with Shinji's records?"
Kozo Fuyutsuki, NERV's vice commander and an older man, peered at the surveillance report from the intelligence department again, but he couldn't find anything suspicious.
"...About three weeks ago, during the Fourth Angel's attack, he went off the surveillance network for around fifteen minutes."
Fuyutsuki shrugged, unconcerned.
"That was the combat zone. They were planning to use an N2 mine. It's normal for the intel team to lose track of people during evacuation chaos."
"What did Rei say? I asked her to talk to him."
Gendo's tone remained icy as ever. Fuyutsuki, familiar with his personality, could only sigh helplessly.
"She said she didn't know. Honestly—sending Rei to probe a son you haven't seen in years? You're colder than I thought."
"Circumstances have changed."
Gendo's voice stayed calm, but Fuyutsuki, who had worked with him for decades, could sense a trace of hope behind his words.
"A mysterious entity capable of defeating Angels appeared before NERV got involved. That alone shatters SEELE's script at the foundational level. Those old men might put on a brave face in meetings, but they must be panicking behind the scenes."
As Gendo tapped a button, the screen displayed the being that destroyed the Fourth Angel—
A giant, even larger than the Angel itself. Its body glowed with a holy silver, accentuated by red and blue—fire and sea. A blood-red crystal pulsed faintly in its chest—presumably akin to an Angel's core.
Its face was shaped like a human's, but exuded a divine strength and resolve far beyond human reach.
It had appeared without warning, obliterated the Angel effortlessly, and vanished just as suddenly—like something out of a myth.
"Its wave pattern is neither blue nor orange. It appeared out of nowhere. It's a complete unknown. Honestly, we can't even be sure it's a 'living thing' in any conventional sense. The Dead Sea Scrolls don't mention anything like it. And yet it showed up at the most critical moment. Who knows if it's a blessing or a curse…"
Fuyutsuki sighed bitterly. The plan they'd spent decades preparing had been flipped upside down at the finish line. Now, they had to make it up as they went.
A daunting challenge for men their age.
"SEELE's probably even more rattled than we are. I didn't even have to ask—they volunteered to send over Unit-02 and its designated pilot early."
Gendo adjusted his glasses, mocking SEELE's frantic response.
"They should arrive today. Along with… Adam."
"!"
Fuyutsuki's seasoned face finally showed a flicker of shock.
"Gendo, don't tell me you're planning to…"
As if to silence him, a shrill alarm suddenly rang out at the perfect moment.
WEEEOOO—WEEEOOO!
"Alert! Unknown flying object detected! Alert! Unknown flying object detected!"
"Optical image acquired. Target confirmed at observation points E22 through E47."
"Waveform analysis complete. Identified as BLUE. It's an Angel!"
"An Angel is attacking—!!"
—End of chapter—
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