AUTHOR'S NOTE: I had originally planned this to be a longer chapter, but there's too much to add. So here you go. I really need to learn how to write less wordy chapters.

As always, Neko, you're a wellspring of encouragement.

The Geofront

Tokyo-3, Japan

1 November 2015

Ritsuko Akagi sipped at her coffee and looked over the damage reports. Neither EVA-01 or 02 had taken more than moderate damage, mainly to the armor and some shock damage to internal systems. The unsung, hardworking technicians of NERV had plenty of experience putting the Evas back into service after battle, and Ritsuko was confident they would have little trouble making the deadline. In fact, they probably would have the repairs finished well ahead of schedule. It was the pilots she was worried about. Shinji was still scoring much lower than he should be, though he had performed as well as usual; Ritsuko had long ago decided that Shinji's best asset was his dependability. He was willing to fight even when nearly crippled by terror, and in the last combat, he had actually shown the beginnings of leadership. He unfortunately had allowed himself to be trampled by Asuka, who was everything promised by her life of training–but had also shown the weakness of hubris. Ritsuko suspected that Asuka's bullying and hard-charging demeanor masked her own fears of coming up short. She made a mental note and then a real one to have EVA-02 repainted, if time allowed. Asuka took an inordinate amount of pride in her mecha's appearance, but if it helped her fight better, then the added time and expense was worth it.

Rei Ayanami was, of course, completely beyond reproach. Ritsuko mentally strangled the feeling of envy and hate that welled up within her every time she thought of Rei: she was a professional and a scientist, and should be beyond such feelings.

That left Riana Arashikaze. It would be simple to get rid of her, were it not for Gendo's stubborn refusal to see that the girl was just not what he thought she was. Yet Ritsuko had to admit that Riana's performance the day before had impressed her: the girl was aware of her own shortcomings, and was motivated-not by guilt, as Shinji was, or by a need to prove herself, as Asuka was, or by more or less programming, as Rei was. Riana was motivated by a geniune desire to serve humanity. It would more than likely get her killed, as it had other members of her family, but in the meantime, she might prove useful. Ritsuko hated herself for thinking that, because Riana's devotion was what Gendo was exploiting, but the fact remained. She wanted to hate Riana, but couldn't; wanted to somehow be rid of her, but couldn't. It was her very selfless devotion, her naivete, and her martyr complex that Ritsuko hated, because it reminded her too much of a younger version of herself. She didn't want to see Riana corrupted as Ritsuko herself had been. She felt the same way about her protege, Maya Ibuki, but Maya was somewhat insulated from the moral rot of NERV, and Maya was intelligent enough to know what she was getting into. Riana had no such luxuries.

The knock on the door to Ritsuko's office startled her, but she was glad of the interruption, since her thoughts were rapidly spiraling down to places she didn't want to visit. "Come in," she said. The door slid open to admit Riana Arashikaze. "Well, speak of the devil and the devil appears," Ritsuko smiled wanly.

"Gomen nasai," Riana replied, confused. "Akuma? Iye, wakarimasen...yukkuri hanashi te kudasai?" Devil? No, I don't understand, could you say it more slowly?

"Never mind," Ritsuko told her, switching to English. "Nane mo. It's nothing. What can I do for you, Miss Arashikaze...and why are you dressed in your plugsuit?"

Riana decided to go straight to the point. "Shinji and Asuka are training. I want to as well."

Ritsuko glanced at her notes. Kaji's plan was certainly the most bizarre she had ever seen, and she had seen a lot. "I believe Major Katsuragi told you that your Eva is simply not up to the task, Miss Arashikaze. In any case, Pilot Ayanami is needed as a spare in case–"

"I know, Doctor," Riana interrupted. "I'm not saying I want to take up dance lessons." She had gone at Misato's invitation to see the beginning of Shinji and Asuka's training, and it had frankly horrified her. Bad enough that Shinji had to live with Kraut Bitch for four days, but it was worse to further humiliate him by making him wear a leotard. If that wasn't enough, Shinji danced like a battleship with a bent screw. Riana took a seat, knowing that Ritsuko had not invited her to do so, but the time for etiquette was past. "Doctor, I know you don't like me..."

Ritsuko shook her head. "My feelings have no bearing on the situation."

"Yes, they do," Riana insisted. "Doctor Akagi, listen to me, please. I may have been raised in a convent, but I'm not a complete idiot. You don't really hate me. I get the feeling you're trying to protect me. If that's the case, then stop. I didn't come here to be protected. I don't care about politics. I'm not my grandmother. I want to fight, Doctor!"

"You've made that point abundantly clear," Ritsuko said. "As you recall, I allowed you to pilot your Eva yesterday."

"Yes, but if you had your way I'd be on a plane home."

"I won't deny that, Miss Arashikaze. Your sync ratios are terrible, even allowing for EVA-03A's first-generation technology. You show some skill at melee combat, but your accuracy with ranged weapons leaves a great deal to be desired. I have enough problems with our qualified pilots; I don't need the added headache of a green pilot trying to prove she's something she isn't."

"How do you know I'm not?"

Ritsuko opened her mouth to say something, thought better of it, and changed tack. "I don't have the time to find out."

"You've got four days."

Ritsuko actually laughed at that. "Four days! You're going to become a qualified Eva pilot in four days?"

"I could at least try. Maybe I'll screw it up, maybe I won't. But we'll never find out if we don't give it a shot."

Ritsuko stood up and looked down on Riana with a steel gaze. "Very well, Miss Arashikaze; since you're being honest with me–which I appreciate; honesty is in short supply around here–I'll be honest with you. Leaving the political reason aside, which I think is false to begin with, the only other reason you're here is because the Commander thinks you have some sort of magical power. I don't believe in magic, but I will admit that I have seen some very strange things when it comes to the Angels that cannot be proven by science–yet. Do you believe in magic, Miss Arashikaze?"

"Yes."

"I knew you would say that. Perhaps something like that exists, Miss Arashikaze, but until you can prove it, I'll put my faith in science, thank you very much." Ritsuko turned to open the door. "I will do what I am ordered by the Commander, Miss Arashikaze. If he allows you to train in your Eva, then fine, but it is something you must take up with him."

"I wish you'd believe in me," Riana said, quietly.

Ritsuko's fingers stopped a millimeter from the door button. It was silent for a moment, then the doctor sighed heavily. "That's not the point, Riana-san," she said, equally quiet. "I am tired. I am tired of sending people young enough to be my children out to die."

Riana shot to her feet, bared her teeth, and shouted at Ritsuko at the top of her lungs. "STOP PROTECTING ME!"

The stacks of forms on the desk exploded in a blizzard of paper. Ritsuko's coffee mug was knocked over, and the silex shattered. Riana's voice reverberated around the office to the point that it felt like a physical blow to the doctor. She fell back against the wall in shock. "R-Riana!"

Riana blinked, shook herself, and looked around her. "Oh...oh, no." She instantly bent and began gathering up the papers, simutaneously trying to mop up the spilled coffee. "I'm so sorry, Doctor Akagi, I didn't–I mean, I just–"

Ritsuko closed her eyes and let her head thump back against the steel wall. It's too early in the day for this, she thought. She opened her eyes and looked at Riana. Could Gendo be right? Another feeling welled up inside Ritsuko, one that she had always particularly enjoyed: curiousity. It was what drove her as a scientist; it was the thirst for knowledge that had caused her to sell her soul to NERV and Gendo Ikari.

And, all the nonexistent gods help them both, now Riana had her curiousity peaked.

"Riana-san." Ritsuko's quiet voice stopped the girl from her frantic cleaning. "All right. All right." Ritsuko let out her breath. "You have four days, Riana-san." She held up a finger, now firm again. "But I will warn you: I will be in charge of your training, not Major Katsuragi. I will work you like a dog. All my instructions will be in Japanese, not English, and if you cannot keep up, then you will be discarded, no matter what the Commander thinks. You will be in the simulator and your Eva from sunup to sunrise. If you're late once, I will cease your training. If you show no signs of improvement at the end of the four days, I will do everything I can to see you dropped from this project. Before I simply acquiesced to the Commander, but now I will actively work against you. You will be dismissed from school, but still responsible for all homework. Wakarimasu ka? Do you understand?"

Riana stood and came to attention. "Hai!"

"Very well. We'll start with the basics. I want you in Central Dogma in fifteen minutes. Grab something to eat, because you won't get another chance."

"Hai!"

"Very well. If you show some improvement, I will revise my opinion of you. Now go!" Ritsuko held up a hand. "And please, don't bark 'hai' at me or bow to me. I'm not a daimyo and you're not a samurai."

"I understand, Doctor." Riana grinned.

"And wipe that goofy smile off your face before I knock your teeth out. Ikimasho!" She stabbed a thumb towards the now-open door. Riana rushed past her, skidded on the tiled floor, and dashed down the corridor. Ritsuko let the door close, shook her head, and wondered what she had done in a previous life to be saddled with such terrible karma. Then she looked around the wrecked office. "How in the hell did she do that?"

---

Riana, after nearly colliding with a wall in the slick plugsuit, slowed down to a more sedate jog. It worked, Auntie.

Told ya, Allegra laughed. I really should play poltergeist more often. I wish you'd let me punch her in the gut, though.

Hey, let's not push it. Right now, she probably thinks I'm some sort of uncontrollable mage or something.

Allegra was silent for a moment. Who's to say that you're not?

---

Kazuko Bishamon looked up from her desk as her secretary walked in. "Yes, Kodachi-san?"

"Sorry to bother you, Miss Bishamon, but this just came in." The matronly woman handed an official looking envelope to Kazuko, with NERV seals on both front and back. Kazuko opened it and withdrew an equally official letter. "Hmm," Kazuko mused, then looked up at Kodachi. "Looks like our pilots have all been excused from class this week, Kodachi-san. Not just Shinji Ikari, Asuka Langely-Soryu, and Rei Ayanami–now Riana Arashikaze as well. Better let Class 2-A know."

"Class Representative Horiaki is in the outer office, ma'am. I'll have her deliver it."

"Thank you, Kodachi-san." Kazuko watched her secretary leave, then glanced at the picture on her desk, the one that showed her in her youth. She then looked to the sword on the stand behind her.

---

Riana dropped onto her bed in her apartment, too exhausted to change out of her clothes. Right now all she wanted was sleep.

True to her word, Dr. Akagi had worked Riana hard. Her lunch had been interrupted after ten minutes by an immediate summons to the Eva bays. She had had to get inside EVA-03A in a hurry, in a simulated scramble, then march it to the launch chamber double-quick, not using the usual rail mover. She was then shot upwards to the floor of the Geofront, and ordered to certain points in the gigantic cavern–all of which had to be completed in a certain amount of time, all of it at the run. She had managed to keep her Eva upright, but just barely. After being allowed a leisurely march back and elevator ride down to the bays, Ritsuko had ordered her out of the Eva and then made to do fifty pushups and situps. Riana was sure that Shinji had never been put through this, but obeyed, even though by the end she was throwing up LCL and the half-eaten remains of her lunch. She was then given a half hour to eat lunch–and Riana was absolutely sure that Ritsuko knew that food was the last thing on her mind at that point–then it was back in the Eva, back in the LCL, for another round of tests and simulator battles. As she had promised, every order given was in Japanese, though either Ritsuko or Maya took pity on her and kept the phrases simple. It had been six hours of grueling hell...and Ritsuko had not told her if she had done well or not, only promised more of the same tomorrow. She was sent home, despite her protests that she could sleep there at NERV, and told to be back by eight AM. When Riana had asked how she was going to get home, Ritsuko had merely smiled and said, "That's your problem." Of course, Tokyo-3 had an excellent light rail system, but with that, it would take her over an hour to commute one way to her apartment–which, subtracting travel time, gave her barely eight hours of rest and no time to herself.

If it had been Ritsuko's intention for Riana to show ingenuity, the latter delivered. She ran into Ryoji Kaji in the hallway heading back towards the pilots' changing rooms, and had quickly conned him into giving her a ride home. Kaji had even listened respectfully to her prattling on about the day's events, adding a comment here and there to tell her to say what she did right and wrong. When he dropped Riana off at the apartment, he had grinned and told her, "I may have an idea or two to help you. I'll pick you up in the morning and see what you think." He winked and drove off.

As she stared at the ceiling, Riana smiled, liking Kaji immensely. What a nice guy. He's good looking, he's got a great sense of humor, and he's generous–I can be myself around him.

You're not thinking of making a play for him, are you? Allegra whispered. She had, of course, never left Riana's side; like Kaji, she provided suggestions here and there and quickly supplied translations of Japanese phrases Riana couldn't fathom. The fact that Allegra spoke Japanese fluently was something Riana had already known, but the ghost had refused to help more than a little, saying that Riana had to learn it herself.

"Oh, please," Riana said aloud, getting up from bed. A quick snack couldn't hurt. "He's almost old enough to be my father."

So?

"I have standards, Auntie. Besides, I'm thinking he's already spoken for."

Misato. I know; I was kidding anyway. Still, Allegra persisted, you could use a boyfriend.

Riana looked through her sparse cabinet and settled on ramen. "Sure, like I need a hole in the head."

So you are planning on going back to the convent after all this is– Allegra stopped and again Riana had that feeling that her aunt had fled as far as the psychic chain that linked them allowed. "Oh, sure, run away," Riana chided, then heard the tapping at the window. Her heart leapt into her throat, then Riana told herself to relax. Come on, scaredy cat, she told herself–and Allegra, if her aunt was still listening–it can't be a cat burglar or something. NERV security would've shot him dead. The tapping continued, however, so Riana went to the window to find out what it was, but not before she grabbed her katana, unsheathing it. She unlocked the window and slammed it upwards, stepping back with the sword leveled in case her instincts were wrong.

There was nothing there for a moment, then without warning the head of Principal Bishamon appeared so quickly Riana yelped and nearly dropped the sword. "Komban wa," Bishamon said.

Riana didn't reply, but walked to the window and looked out, wondering how the principal of her high school had somehow scaled the apartment building. She nearly fell out of the window when she saw that Bishamon was stuck to the side of the building like Spiderman. "Wuh-h-how–"

Bishamon smiled and gently pushed back inside, then clambered in and shut the window behind her. Riana finally found her voice. "The–NERV security–"

"–cannot deal with someone they can't see," Bishamon said. She bowed to Riana. "Pardon my intrusion, Riana, but after I heard what was happening at NERV, I felt I had to come see you, immediately."

Riana set the sword on her bed, then slowly walked backwards, away from Bishamon. "Okay...before we get to that...and assuming I haven't lost my mind or I'm not dreaming...well..."

"You're not dreaming, I can assure you."

"What the hell are you?" She pointed with a trembling finger at Kazuko's outfit. "And why are you dressed like Kikyo?"

Bishamon laughed gently. "I suppose introductions are in order. You know me as Principal Kazuko Bishamon of the Tokyo-3 school system–which is true; that is what I do for a living. After old Tokyo was destroyed in 2001, I was evacuated along with the other survivors. While we were in resettlement camps, waiting for Tokyo-2 and Tokyo-3 to be built, I discovered that I had a knack for teaching. So, fourteen years and a little college later, here I am."

"Principals don't walk on walls!"

"Students sometimes drive me up a wall, Riana, you especially. How can I deal with someone who's trying to be an Evangelion pilot and the niece of my best friend?"

Riana staggered over to her bed. "I think I better sit down. You knew my aunt?"

"Allegra and I were friends for a long time. It was she who first 'discovered' me, you could say, in Hong Kong soon after the Chinese took possession of the colony. It's a very long story, Riana, and unfortunately my time is short. We both have work in the morning, and parts to play." Bishamon reached into her robe and handed Riana a photograph. It showed a laughing Bishamon, Tracy Graves, and Allegra Arashikaze. "I was a member of the Guardians. I left the group more or less in 2000, a few months before Second Impact, because I wanted to spend more time here, in my home, though the others considered me still a part of your aunt's pack. Because of all the disruption following Second Impact, I wasn't present at the Battle of Yucca Flats–so I never saw Allegra again after I left." She looked down at herself. "As to why I'm dressed this way, you're correct–this is what the character Kikyo wore in Inu-Yasha. She was a miko, a shrine maiden, which I was myself both before and after my time with the Guardians."

"But to be part of the Guardians, you'd have to be...s-supernatural," Riana stuttered. "I mean, I remember Grandmother telling me the only real mortal in the pack was my father."

"He was. Do you know what a kuei-jin is?"

Riana's jaw dropped, because she did know. Her grandmother had seen to finishing the education her aunt had started, neither feeling that Riana should grow up not knowing her own family's history, nor be unaware there were things in the shadows. She had known vampires existed for as long as she could remember, since Allegra had been unable to hide her condition for very long, and it stood to reason that vampires were a worldwide phenomenon. Yet as her grandmother Rissa had explained, the vampires of Asia were much different from their Western counterparts. Where the curse of the Kindred was passed on via the bite and the draining of blood, Asian vampires–or, as they were called, the kuei-jin–were more like reanimated undead, ghosts who for one reason or another had fought their way back from the Shadowlands to repossess their bodies. Their ways were mysterious and unknown even to the well-traveled Rissa Arashikaze, but they were reputed to have powers every bit as terrifying and potent as their Western cousins. Kazuko Bishamon had just demonstrated that, slipping past a NERV security net and then spider-crawling up a sheer concrete wall dressed in the traditional red and white robes of a Shinto shrine maiden, which stuck out like a sore thumb. "I, I guess so. I mean, Grandma told me what she knew."

"I doubt she told you everything, but that's not important."

"But how can you be outside in daylight? I thought vampires burned up!"

"Western vampires burn. My kind merely rots. Very little difference...it just takes us longer to die, and we can survive it if we cover up. When have you ever seen me outside?" Riana swallowed. She had never seen the principal outside of the building. She resolved to ask Kensuke Aida about that as soon as possible, though she was quite sure that Kazuko wasn't lying.

"It makes little difference what I am, Riana," Kazuko said. "I just wanted you to know. You're welcome to call your grandmother to confirm my identity, if you wish."

"N-no, that's okay...I guess I believe you." Riana grabbed at her stuffed Inu-Yasha for support. "So…what brings you out here?"

Kazuko sat down. "It doesn't take a genius to know what's going on. I recieved a notification at the school today, as I always do when there's a NERV related emergency, informing me that four of Class 2-A's students will be gone for the week—Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami, Asuka Langely-Soryu, and yourself. I suppose that is good news; that means you've been accepted as a pilot, neh?"

"I wish," Riana sighed. "Actually, it means Dr. Akagi is working me to death. She's trying to get me to quit—for my own good, or so she tells me." Riana stood up and began pacing the floor. "I don't get it, Bishamon-sensei. NERV only has three pilots, and here I am, willing to do just about anything to become a pilot, and it seems all they want to do is get rid of me!"

Kazuko smiled wanly. "Riana, why do you want to fight so much?"

Riana shrugged. "Because it's the right thing to do. I want to help defend the planet."

"Like your parents and your aunt."

"Sure. Why not?"

"Even though it could mean your death."

Riana put her hands on her hips. "Bishamon-sensei, I could get killed crossing the street. Death doesn't frighten me."

"Perhaps." Kazuko also got up, to stare out the window. Riana had known death, of course. Who in the post-Second Impact world didn't? To Kazuko, however, Riana's easy acceptance of her own demise either indicated extreme courage, or more likely, the idealism of youth. Riana, deep down, still believed she was immortal.

"Riana, I will be very honest with you. Tokyo-3 is a city of lies. Everything in it is a lie. It exists for one sole purpose: fighting the Angels. The entire town is one giant fortress. As I'm sure you know, nearly all of downtown's buildings are designed to sink into the ground. A good number of those buildings are nothing more than weapon lockers for the Evas."

"That's classified!" Riana exclaimed. "They only told me about those things last week!"

Kazuko laughed. "Riana, this is a company town! Everyone either works for NERV or is connected with them. NERV techs and engineers are people, just like everyone else, and they talk." She faced Riana. "But there are some things that most do not know, that is true. One of them is about your class."

"Class 2-A?"

"Yes. You mentioned that there are three Eva pilots—four, including yourself. That is a lie. There are indeed three, or four, pilots. But there are twenty-four pilot candidates, and every one of them is in Class 2-A."

"You mean…Suzuhara? Aida?"

"Yes. Even Class Representative Horiaki. They are unaware of this, of course."

"Too bad. Kensuke would probably give his left arm to be an Eva pilot." Riana chuckled. "But why tell me this?"

"To prove a point. As I said, nothing here is what it seems, Riana. The Marduk Institute? Another lie. It doesn't exist. It never has. NERV picked its 24 pilot candidates years ago, more than likely, and made sure they would all end up in Class 2-A. The pilots were chosen long before that. As long as I have known of Ayanami, she has been involved directly with NERV. Langely-Soryu is a transfer student from Germany, who already has her college degree and therefore needs no schooling, yet she was transferred to my school. Ikari came literally out of nowhere one day and piloted EVA-01 the first day he was here. This was all planned, Riana—except you. You're the only one I know of that wasn't pre-selected."

"Because I'm the only American?"

"That has little to do with it, I'm sure. Langely-Soryu, after all, is only one-quarter Japanese, and Aida's mother is American."

"How do you know all this, Bishamon-sensei?"

"Because I listen…and being a kuei-jin, I do have access to certain powers that normal people do not. It's not all just crawling up walls and passing through doorways without opening them."

Riana blew out her breath. This was a lot to take in. "So why tell me?"

"Because I can see into your soul, Riana, and it is pure. You may be the only person in NERV who can say that, which could be why Dr. Akagi wants to get rid of you. As to why Gendo Ikari wants you, I have no idea. The idea that you were selected as a political sop to the United States is yet another lie. He wants you for more than that, and from what I have heard, he has found reasons not to send you home—though you have given him ample opportunities to do so."

Riana's cheeks reddened in embarassment. She remembered what Ritsuko had said about the Commander's reasons for wanting her. She didn't feel like sharing them with Kazuko, and wondered if the latter really could see into her soul. "Yes, well…um…is that what you came out here for?"

"One reason." Kazuko picked up the sword off the bed. Withdrawing a kerchief from her robe, she put it in her mouth, then pulled the katana a few inches from its scabbard. "Beautiful," she mumbled around the kerchief, then replaced it and the kerchief in the right place. "Your grandfather's sword?"

"One of them, yeah."

"Do you know how to use it?"

"Yes," Riana answered indignantly. "Grandma trained me since I was little. You want me to show you?"

Kazuko laughed. "Don't be so ready to take offense, Riana-chan. And don't be so ready to cross swords." She handed the sword to Riana. "It's late, and you have an early start. I will come again tomorrow night, and you will begin to learn the sword in earnest."

"Grandma—"

Kazuko held up her hand. "—has never been bested with a sword. I have seen her work. But you are not your grandmother, Riana Arashikaze. If you are to survive as an Eva pilot, you must make that an extension of your own body. I can show you how to do that with your sword, if you are willing."

Riana considered it for a moment. She had always envied her grandmother's ability. Rissa Arashikaze's movements could be brutal, but they were also devilishly fast. Riana had been able to beat Shinji in her Eva in melee combat, but only because Shinji had never sparred with another Eva, and Riana had taken advantage of Shinji's unwillingness to fight at close range. Asuka and Rei would show her no similar mercy, and the Angels certainly would not. "I'm willing, Bishamon-sensei."

"It will be difficult."

Riana picked up the sword, knelt and bowed her head, and held it in front of her almost like an offering. "I'm willing, Bishamon-sensei," she repeated.

"'Do not kneel to me, for I am also a man.'" Kazuko smiled at Riana, whose head shot up. "I know the Bible as well, Riana-chan. See you tomorrow, then." And with that, Kazuko turned and vanished through the wall.