"Shinji! Emergency situation!"
Inside the simulation cockpit, where he had been practicing his aim and fire sequences, Shinji Ikari suddenly heard Misato Katsuragi's sharp, urgent voice burst through his headset.
"Ms. Misato, I can hear you just fine—you don't need to yell. That nearly blew out my eardrums."
Shinji tried to ease the tension with a light comment, but Misato had clearly lost her usual playful tone, this was serious.
"Exit the simulator immediately and get to Hangar 98. You'll be launching in Unit-01. Shinji! All personnel, assume first battle positions!"
"...An Angel?"
Shinji instinctively checked his sleeve, where he still carried the glowing rod—the divine tool from another world. He sighed. It was time.
"Yes. The Fifth Angel has been confirmed. Shinji, get ready—this will be your first real battle."
"Understood. I've been training for three weeks… Guess it's time I put it to use. Huh?"
On the way to the hangar, Shinji ran into someone he hadn't expected to see.
A girl with pale blue hair—Rei Ayanami.
But she wasn't wearing her school uniform anymore. She was fully suited up in the same type of plugsuit Shinji wore.
Her right arm was still wrapped in a cast, slung across her chest. She looked like she was in no condition to fight… but her posture said otherwise: ready to deploy at any moment.
"Ms. Misato, what's going on?"
"Have you already reached the hangar? Do you see something unusual? Shinji?"
Misato, who remained in the command center, was speaking to him via comms.
"Yeah… I see Rei. But she doesn't look like someone fit for battle."
He couldn't hide the flicker of anger in his voice.
He knew he wasn't in any position to question NERV's decisions, but he couldn't help feeling resentment toward both Misato and Gendo Ikari—for throwing a wounded fourteen-year-old girl into combat without a second thought.
Rei wasn't just injured. She had one eye bandaged over, her arm in a cast. A missing eye didn't just limit vision—it destroyed depth perception. For a pilot, that was a death sentence.
"That was the Commander's call. Since you've never seen actual combat before, Rei is standing by as backup in case something goes wrong. You know—better safe than sorry. Haha."
Sensing the rare edge in Shinji's voice, Misato tried to wave it off with a nervous laugh.
"That makes it okay? Whatever. Understood."
Shinji furrowed his brows, but realized arguing with Misato, who was caught in the middle of all this, wouldn't change anything.
He cut the comms and turned his attention to Rei, who was walking ahead.
"Rei."
"...Yes?"
Still cold, detached—her voice almost mechanical.
"Why are you here?"
"Orders. I was instructed to report to Hangar 98 and await deployment by 14:22."
"Await for what?"
"To pilot Unit-00."
She didn't even look back. Her response was immediate, without hesitation.
But Shinji knew—her injuries had come from Unit-00's last test. It had gone berserk.
He'd seen the report: moderate concussion, cervical injury, total blindness in one eye, shattered right arm, numerous internal bruises…
Why? After all that, why was she still walking in front of him like it was nothing?
"Aren't you… afraid?"
He knew it wasn't his place to ask something so personal.
But there was something about Rei—something inexplicable—that compelled Shinji to reach out. He couldn't let her walk forward like this, broken and alone.
"...Afraid of what?"
She stopped walking.
Her porcelain-like face turned to look at him, beautiful and fragile. Her expression remained distant, but she had asked a question—her first sign of interest in what he was saying.
"You were hurt the last time you piloted Unit-00. Isn't it terrifying to get back in, knowing what could happen again? And this time, you're going up against an Angel."
"And are you afraid?"
Another question. For a moment, Shinji thought he saw something flicker in her ruby eyes—something hard to define.
"Of course I am."
He smiled.
He had lost count of how many times he'd wanted to run away. Back in his old world—whether flying the Feiyan or fighting kaiju as Tiga—he had often wanted to quit after each battle.
But the members of the Victory Team had taught him how to be strong, how to keep going.
Now, Shinji had the strength to face fear head-on. It was his greatest weapon.
But Rei… Rei didn't have that. She was like a puppet, moving only because someone pulled the strings. Not strength, but submission.
Still, she didn't understand what Shinji meant. Her next question came, tinged with confusion.
"You don't trust your father's work?"
"If his work involves throwing injured kids like you into battle to die, then no. I don't."
"...Because of me?"
Rei's brow lifted slightly—genuine surprise.
"Why? You and Lieutenant Katsuragi seemed to argue just now. Was that because of me? I don't understand."
"It's simple."
Faced with Rei's growing confusion, Shinji answered firmly.
"Because you're a fourteen-year-old girl. And you're hurt. What you need right now is proper care and rest, not standing here alone, waiting for some ridiculous order to send you out to die."
"...I'm sorry."
She looked stunned, as if she couldn't comprehend what he was saying. Then came a soft apology.
"I don't really understand… But I trust the Commander. He's the only one I trust in this world. That's why I'm here. I follow his orders… and I'll pilot the Eva. That's all I have."
"I see…"
Shinji sighed.
Rei might be awkward, but this was her own form of resolve. Forcing her to retreat would only be disrespectful.
He needed a different approach.
"Hey, my father's orders were for you to stand by here and wait for further instructions from Ms. Misato, right?"
"Yes."
"Then go back and rest. You should be lying down, not standing around injured like this. You heard what Misato said—unless I lose, you won't need to launch at all. And I'm not going to lose. So take it easy, alright? That way, you're still following orders."
Faced with Shinji's odd but well-intentioned logic, Rei had no way to respond. She simply stood there, staring blankly at the gentle smile on his face.
"But… if that's the case—"
The clock hit 14:22. The battle was beginning.
Shinji didn't give her a chance to object. He slipped into the Entry Plug of Unit-01.
Just before the hatch closed, he left her with one last message:
"If my father is the only person you trust in this world—then maybe try trusting me the same way, just once."
—End of chapter—
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