Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion.

Chapter 11

Trust

The Katsuragi/Ikari home was filled with a silence that was louder than any scream and Misato, who was suffering from a great headache, was now presented with a new mental challenge; to figure out what the hell was going on.

The lavender haired major stole a quick glance at Shinji and saw that he was looking down to his plate as if it was the most important thing in the world. Misato got the feeling he was too afraid to look up. And Asuka was silently, but surely, trying to murder both Shinji and Rei with poisonous glares.

"So..." gaining the attention of everyone Misato saw that Rei was the only one who seemed calm, not that it was surprising, the girl always seemed to have the same emotion... It freaked Misato out. Even more now that she knew the 'origin' of the albino "What brings you here Rei?"

She noticed Shinji seemed happy that he could return his attention to the plate and Asuka finally stopped glaring at everything that drew a breath.

"I wish to discuss with you, major, a letter I received this morning." It was rare to have Rei come around, let alone ask a question about something personal, maybe her feelings were finally stabilizing now that she no longer had "death" as her future life option?

"Sure...?" it was hardly audible but the albino seemed to have noticed Misato's reply.

"I received a notification stating that I was being adopted by Doctor Ritsuko Akagi..." everyone at the table seemed to be shocked and even Shinji who was still flirting with his plate spared the albino a look right before he looked away "I do not understand."

Misato was proud of being a very open minded person, but this was just something she couldn't deal with. She was well aware of the reason behind that, but she didn't wish to hurt Rei. Sure she acted kind of cold, it used to freak her out in the past, but she must have feelings, and finding out that Ritsuko only wanted to adopt her because she needed her was probably a bad experience even for someone like Rei. 'They want to have the pilots on the ready... If she was adopted by some foster family they couldn't just go get her when they needed her to pilot.'

Nerv was gone, rules were no longer bendable like when they had the Angel excuse.

If there was some kind of legal complication back then they could just throw the all-use Angel excuse but things were returning to normal and Rei was a minor, she couldn't just live by herself now that her guardian was locked away somewhere in some super max prison.

"I... Guess she likes you?" she answered awkwardly. If her headache became any greater she would just drink some beer and go to sleep regardless of who it was that needed to talk to her, but not before writing a note not to forget to hit Ritsuko on the head next morning. If their friendship wasn't dead after the whole Nerv incident it sure as hell was now... Sure they acted friendly but both parties knew it was over.

Now the only person that wasn't looking at her was Shinji who stubbornly kept his eyes glued to the table. Rei was just staring at her and Asuka was giving her the 'really?' look.

"The doctor has always disliked me," the albino argued once she saw through Misato's lame lie "I do not believe affection to be the reason behind this sudden action."

It was painfully clear to Misato that what the girl said was true, she had noticed Ritsuko's dislike for the albino long before she had discovered the truth. "Well you are a minor, and you can't live by yourself... I'm sure she did it because of that, I doubt your lifestyle will change."

Silence ensued while Rei digested the information. During that time Misato felt her head boiling, her headache just kept getting worse.

"So, Shinji," she would grab any opportunity to try and brighten the mood and get Rei to stop asking questions she couldn't even begin to answer "Too busy admiring your cooking to partake in the conversation? It's delicious I'll give you that but you shouldn't get cocky about it."

The shy boy looked up from his plate smiling weakly. It wasn't the response she was expecting but she found it to be a surprisingly cute smile. Realizing what she had been thinking she decided to ignore it as a side effect from the growing mental assault she was suffering.

"It's edible." the grumpy looking German girl announced forcing Shinji to look back down.

It was practically considered routine to have Asuka belittle Shinji's cooking skills. As far as Asuka was concerned dinner at the Katsuragi house wasn't dinner until the she said something negative about the boy's cooking skills. Anyone that heard her would think she was simply being mean to her roommate, but Misato believed that was simply Asuka's way of complimenting Shinji.

This time, however, from what she could pick up Asuka was not 'complimenting' Shinji's culinary skills at all. Misato didn't know why, but since she got home the redhead seemed to be pissed at everyone.

"Is something the matter, Asuka?" Misato asked too tired to deal with the redhead's usual charades "You've been acting strange since I got home..." Asuka just ignored her so Misato turned to the other someone who was acting strange "I'm talking to you too, Shinji."

"N-nothing happened Misato-san... I'm just tired." the boy explained stuttering lightly.

It would be a cold day in hell if Misato couldn't tell when she was being lied to by a shy boy that couldn't lie to save his life. Although it wasn't anything particularly new, Shinji often lied about how he felt he often mumbled something like "I'm alright." and then he would put those damned phones on his ears. The major had come to hate small music playing devices since she met her ward. Shinji often went to a world of his own when he started to listen to his SDAT player and it was an impossible mission to get through to him once he entered that little world of his.

Sighing mournfully the major finally gave up on trying to figure things out. Teen problems could wait, at the moment she needed to deal with a much bigger problem... She needed to figure out how she would tell Shinji that he would have to do something he truly loathed again, that he would have to pilot Unit 01 once more in order to keep mankind safe.

Misato hadn't figured that one out yet. The one thing she was sure of was that the boy was in no condition to get those kind of news at the moment. It would hurt him, no matter when she told him, but she could at least minimize the hit by trying to find the perfect time... If there was such a thing.

"Major, I have been told that you are attempting to adopt Shinji-kun," Rei, who had been quiet for a while spoke up grabbing her attention.

"Yes well, Shin-chan is like a son to me, so I decided I wanted him to stay." she said with a bright smile adorning her face making the shy boy blush. She was not the perfect maternal figure, far from it! But she loved that boy more than she would ever love herself, and he returned the affection ten times over by just being there, always trying to help her out, treating her with care...

"Then I propose you consider adopting me as well." the red eyed albino declared making everyone react in shock. Shinji's eyed widened as he carefully examined the girl while Asuka jumped out of her chair and looked with disbelief at Rei while asking what the hell the albino was talking about.

As for Misato, her reaction was simply to stare at the bluenette. She would have jumped, yelled... Or some other thing, but she was too tired and her headache was making it hard for her to do sudden movements "I'm sorry Rei, but I don't think I can just do that. Besides this apartment is already too small for us three." Misato explained pointing at Shinji and Asuka.

"Damn straight!" Asuka yelled approving of Misato's answer "Go find a family somewhere else, we don't need a doll here!"

Misato was very shocked when she found out how Rei came to be. Even after getting past the initial shock the major still felt a little apprehensive around the girl. But she knew that Rei was nothing more than an innocent child brought to the world for the sake of a madman's ambitions. The child was denied love and affection, she was forced to know nothing more than loneliness and darkness and because of that her personality became easy to manipulate and submissive. All so that Rei would obey the commander's every order, all so that she could grant him his wish by trading her life for his wife's...

It pained her to deny the albino's wish for a family, if that was what the girl was asking for... But she never meant it the same way Asuka put it. Her head kept pounding and now she was in a foul mood to top it off.

"I am not a doll," the quiet albino said calmly "I would like you to stop addressing me that way, Second."

"Oho! Where's the polite Wondergirl? I thought it was 'Soryu-san' now." the redhead laughed proudly, she had managed to get on Rei's nerves and she knew it.

Shinji who had been shrinking in his seat hoping the storm would pass by without hitting him got up.

"Asuka... Please stop..." his words seemed to hit Asuka pretty hard, the redhead couldn't even spit one of her comebacks at the boy. His voice, however, did not carry any hostility, nothing that would make someone like Asuka shut up. Actually it was so calm that Misato wasn't sure if that had been her Shinji-kun speaking.

Not waiting for an answer Shinji retreated to his room mumbling something about being excused from the table.

'What the hell just happened?' she asked herself still staring at where Shinji had been sitting seconds ago. Shinji like herself carried the burden of knowing the truth about Rei, but it was still shocking to see the shy boy putting himself in a line of fire that had nothing to do with him.

"I understand. Perhaps you find me a different guardian, major?" Rei said calmly "I do not care for the doctor's opinion of myself but it is unpleasant still."

xxx

Shinji hadn't come out of his room for the rest of the evening. Rei left shortly after being told that there was nothing Misato could do, as for Misato she just went to her room complaining about having one hell of a headache. Next morning Asuka didn't even get to see Shinji, apparently he had left earlier than usual leaving Asuka to have dinner with a half asleep Misato.

"Just who the hell does he think he is!" Asuka sat on the school roof with her best friend.

During class he didn't spare her one single glance, he kept his eyes on the teacher the whole time looking interested in whatever the old fossil was talking about.

"Asuka that was pretty mean of you..." Hikari who had listened to her ranting like always pointed out while she opened her bento box.

"A little support would be nice," she said with a frown "Besides, he had no damn moral! He was all sweet talking earlier asking me to stay and then he acts all superior when I tell the truth to his bestest of friends! I should just leave if this is the kind of treatment that I get here." Asuka finished, stressing the word 'truth'.

Hikari looked at her lunch and the back at Asuka apparently trying to figure out if she would get to eat. Eventually she put her lunch down and Asuka smiled at her friend.

"He told you he wanted you to stay?" Hikari asked slightly surprised and received a nod from her "Asuka, that seems like something very bold for someone like him... It seems to me that he really means it."

"But-" she tried to argue but the class rep didn't give her a chance.

"And no matter how you look at it you were being rude..." this earned the class rep a dirty look from her "You shouldn't take it personally. Besides, if you're not careful, if you leave, Ayanami is going to steal him away you know?"

She could feel her cheeks burn and she didn't know why. Was it because it made her remember that incident the night before where those two were seconds away from...? Or was it because she was simply pissed off at her friend for suggesting she cared about something like that?

"W-what the hell does that have to do with anything!" Asuka yelled at the top of her lungs "I could not care less for him!"

"I get it... Sorry." Hikari answered meekly "Just stop shouting."

Hikari was a great friend but sometimes she could say the dumbest of things. The girl never saw the pervert's true self, she always defended him saying how great he seemed to be... Frankly it annoyed Asuka to no end.

Hikari sighed in defeat and started eating her lunch. Leaving Asuka to think about how things were now. She still didn't know if she wanted to stay, but it was true that if she left the idiot would probably end up dead from making too many chores for their lazy guardian... So in a sense it wasn't like she wanted to stay because of him or anything. If she left she would be sentencing him to a life of misery, that and Misato would probably drink herself to death without her.

Nodding to her own logical conclusion Asuka was satisfied with that explanation.

"Asuka, what happened!" she looked at her friend and saw her looking down, following her gaze she looked at her right hand, the wound she accidentally inflicted on herself was still there.

"It's nothing, it doesn't hurt at all." she explained.

It was incredibly hard to get used to her situation. That arm was there but she couldn't feel it so to her it was like it was gone. Only when she looked at it could she verify that it was indeed still there... If there was any good out of this situation it was that she couldn't feel pain.

"I know it doesn't hurt you, but those look like scratching marks..." the class rep looked at her worriedly "What happened..."

"Nothing happened I'm just adjusting." she lied.

Sure she was adjusting, but Asuka doubted she would ever get used to it... Constant pain was something that people could get used to with time but it's hard to get used to something that your own brain doesn't even acknowledge as real.

Asuka saw the brunette looking at her with worried eyes but eventually she sighed in defeat and so she returned to her musings.

xxx

"Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to present to you the new and improved Evangelion Unit Zero One." a short fat man with black hair wearing a blueish jumpsuit announced "The EESS is in place and all of the armor was improved with the experimental KP002. We also installed the R440 systems in the new entry plugs."

"Okay, now in Japanese!" Misato complained loudly.

"Ma'am?" the small man looked surprised for a few seconds and after he received a small nod from the blond scientist he nodded "KP002 is a thick layer of... let us call it anti-particle beam material. It was designed to withstand a blast equal or superior to that of the Angel of Might."

She whistled at the purple behemoth. If it was already a fearsome weapon of mass destruction before, now it was just over-kill... If they were fighting humans that is.

"Of course it's still experimental, we could only simulate the Angel's power it was impossible for us to replicate it." he admitted to the major "But we assume the KP002 can withstand at least 2 blasts."

"Get on with it Larry." Ritsuko said looking bored at the American engineer.

"Yes ma'am." he replied tiredly "The R440 is a storing/cooling device for the LCL. During battles such as the one against Ramiel or Leliel we have seen that the LCL is as deadly as any attack." Larry stated while he turned to look at the purple beast "Ramiel superheated the fluid inside the entry plug effectively wounding the pilot's lungs and flesh. As for Leliel it held the pilot hostage for a long period of time which resulted in the near death of said pilot. With the R440 active Unit Zero One can cool down superheated fluid and replace it once it expires."

'So pilot survival is being taken seriously this time it seems...' Misato thought wondering why none of this was installed after those Angels attacked "Won't that be useless when the five minutes of internal battery reach their limit?"

"No ma'am, the new entry plugs are equipped with their own energy system that only kicks in when the LCL reaches critical levels" Larry scratched his head and turned to face them "The EESS is out of my area of expertise... Only the good doctor there knows what it actually is."

"Well there is no need to mention it yet Larry," Ritsuko said looking at the commander who nodded in approval "Unit 02 went through similar modifications, but the most prominent change was the right arm that had it's bone structure replaced with mechanical parts so that it can still operate remotely."

"I thought it was originally going to be removed... Won't something like that be a draw-back for the pilot?" Fuyutsuki asked the bottle blond.

"I think seeing the arm operate without your orders can be distracting but we'll have to test it out first." the doctor looked at the floor and then back at the commander "It was either that or the complete loss of the right arm, I think it would be best to consider every option before we leave Unit 02 with a handicap... Recruiting a new pilot doesn't seem viable either."

Fuyutsuki seemed to consider the idea and nodded.

Shortly after Ritsuko went over some technical issues with the small engineer the commander dismissed everyone present and both him and the blond disappeared into the crowd leaving Misato to wander.

In the end she hadn't said a word to Shinji and the fact that the boy looked nervous the previous night didn't help her much. Things were starting to seem like before...

"Ah Major..." she heard a voice in the middle of the crowd calling for her and she recognized it immediately as Maya's.

Maya fought to get past the busy staff of Damoncles and reached Misato.

"Good morning Maya-chan..." she greeted tiredly.

"Something happened major?" the cute techie asked as she signaled Misato to follow her "I'm sorry, I need to drop these off at the science department." she pointed at the documents she was carrying.

Misato shrugged and started to follow the younger girl. It wasn't like she had something better to do, the last member of SEELE was still in hiding and Fuyutsuki still hadn't started to interrogate the other ones.

"Nah, it's just..." she tried to come up with a way of telling the girl what was on her mind without having to give her confidential information "I have to ask something of Shinji but I know he really hates doing it. So I'm scared of what might happen."

The techie raised an eyebrow "Something he hates doing? Like what major? Doing chores...?"

Misato chuckled lightly. The situation was not one to make jokes but it was nice to hear the innocent girl goofing around.

"No it's something more serious... Lets just say it's personal." Misato paused trying to explain just how serious it was. After a few seconds of silence however, she gave up on it "Very, very personal."

Maya seemed deep in thought for some time and Misato just continued to follow her like a robot. She had lost awareness of her surroundings and came to a stop when she bumped into something hard.

"Damn it who the-" the rough voice of captain Garson reached her "Wow, I did not expect to have an angel drop in my arms major." the hostility was gone from his voice and he was looking down at her with a soft expression.

"Captain please watch where you are going..." Misato growled, usually she could get along with most people, no matter how obnoxious, but Rodney was a different case. The man reminded her too much of Kaji, not physically but still... She couldn't stand his presence "And let me point out that Angel is the last thing anyone who has seen one wants to be called."

"Aye aye!" he said in a mock salute "Well, since we're like this, why don't I pay you breakfast major? I believe I have never seen you eat here..."

"That's because I have someone who is sweet enough to prepare me breakfast." the captain's smile faltered and Misato could only grin at the man while Maya watched fascinated by their interaction "Oh yes! He is such a sweetheart! So I'll have to pass, captain." Misato grabbed Maya's hand and pulled her down the hallway leaving the stunned captain standing there.

"He?" the man mumbled quietly making the lavender haired woman laugh.

"Wow that was kind of mean, major..." Maya said failing to hold back the smile that was plastered all over her face.

"The good captain had it coming!" she said trying to look like a victim "Besides I didn't lie, Shin-chan really is a sweetheart."

"True." Maya said flatly.

That should at the very least keep the captain off her case for a while. If he kept harassing her Misato swore she would punch him in the face, she had enough problems already and she did not need Kaji 2.0 all over her. After all she decided to focus completely on being a mother, for his sake... For Shinji's sake.

"About what you were saying before major," Maya began "I believe you should speak with him and listen to what he has to say about it... I don't really know what we're discussing here but I think you should just be direct about it with Shinji-kun."

"I see, so you're suggesting I just get out with it and hope for the best?" Misato asked and received a nod from her friend "Well, I guess you're right... That is best isn't it?"

Maya was right! Screw the commander, screw Ritsuko and their plans. She would just tell Shinji what was going on and the hell with the world! He would probably be pissed, no he would hate her with all his heart but at least Misato could say she did not deceive the boy.

"Thanks Maya, I think you helped a lot," Misato said with a smile.

"Hmm thanks but I don' know if I'm right, major-" she started but was cut off by Misato.

"It's Misato... Get it right for once!" she said as she turned around "Now I have another thing to deal with."

xxx

Things were not looking good. Why the hell did it have to turn out like this? Asuka was glaring at him while Rei kept trying to meet his eyes. At least that was what Kensuke was telling him through the 'illegal chat room'. He didn't dare look to his left or right.

SgtKen: Rei's looking at you again. Oh wait! Asuka saw her looking and now we have sparks jumping around. Mostly Asuka but I think Rei also looks a tad irritated.

IShinji: Thanks for the heads up.

SgtKen: Please, I am not that nice Shin-man. What happened?

IShinji: I kind of told Asuka to shut up yesterday when she was insulting Rei...

SgtKen: It was a pleasure meeting you man. She's going to tear you a new one.

Shinji sighed mournfully and looked back at the blackboard trying to look interested in whatever the teacher was on about.

During lunch she avoided both Rei and Asuka by leaving in a hurry with Kensuke. But there was no running away during class so he just tried his best to keep his eyes as far away from them as possible.

He had been right, Asuka went too far and what he did was what anyone would have done. But he couldn't just go and tell her that for two simple reasons; first, it was Asuka... And secondly he did not have the guts to do it. If possible he would just like to apologize and go on with his life but Asuka didn't seem like she was going to let it slide that easily.

'Maybe she finally started blaming me for what happened and now she's finally going to take revenge...' It was certainly possible. Since the redhead woke up all she did was scream at him for a while, there was no retaliation, sure she didn't want to be seen as the victim that needed him to save her but some part of her must hate him, some part of her must want to beat him to a bloody pulp for his weakness... His failure.

SgtKen: Seems like Asuka's not only pissed at you but at Rei too... And why are you avoiding Rei too I thought if anything she should be grateful to you.

Ah yes, Rei... That was another problem, a major problem he had to deal with. There was no denying it, last night if Asuka hadn't gotten in the way he would have kissed the pale girl. He could still remember how close their lips were, he could practically feel her breath...

She showed no hostility towards him. Far from it she actually defended him. He wasn't about to delude himself by saying the girl wanted him to kiss her, she was simply pointing out the obvious; it was an accident. He would be lying if he said he did not wish for that kiss to happen and that was the big problem.

He was so embarrassed he couldn't look at her. He was willing to ignore all he knew about the albino and just kiss her... It had started wonderfully, he finally established a connection with her, he became the friend she never had, he was so happy that he could bring joy, even if it was minimal, to the blue haired beauty.

What a pitiful man he was. Even with what he knew he still wished he could have kissed Rei.

SgtKen: Hey, are you still with me?

IShinji: Yeah, I'm just trying to avoid eye contact with Rei so that Asuka won't kill me.

Kensuke seemed satisfied with that lie and dropped the subject.

SgtKen: Anyways, I'm just going to have fun with my friend in his last moments of life!

IShinji: Gee thanks...

It was nice to know that at least Kensuke was capable of cheering him up, even if it was with lame jokes.

xxx

"Misato, how can I help you?" Ritsuko asked lifting her gaze from the papers she was reading, her face becoming illuminated by the faint glow of the computer screen.

"Guess who dropped by my apartment last night." Misato said frowning at the lack of light in the damned lab.

When Ritsuko looked at her with a questioning look Misato just felt like slapping the blond across the face. That wouldn't help much, but at least she would vent some of the frustration that she had pent up.

"I don't have time for games Misato," Ritsuko said flatly "I'm busy with the Evas, so please just tell me what you need."

That did it. Misato slammed her hands against the doctor's desk making the blond jump back in surprise.

"Sorry what was that?" her words were drenched in anger "I thought you said something along the lines of 'Oh, maybe Rei Ayanami dropped by because I decided to adopt her so that I can use her as a pilot again.'."

The surprise was replace by understanding and then anger. And the lilac haired woman watched as Ritsuko got up and lit a cigarette and produced a cloud of smoke "It's necessary, you should understand it, besides Rei doesn't care about anything. It's the same as what you are doing with Shinji. Frankly I'm annoyed that Rei went arou-"

Before she understood what happened her hand was stinging with the pain.

"Don't You Dare Ritsuko! Or I Swear To God A Small Slap Will Be The Least Of Your Concerns! " Misato growled while Ritsuko was hunched over grabbing her cheek and looking at her with disbelief "I did not have the idea of adopting Shinji just because I needed him to pilot that god damn monster! And Rei, even if you think you understand her you're wrong! She isn't just some machine you built and know all her functions, she's a human being with feelings... And guess what! She doesn't want to be adopted by someone like you."

"Say what you wish, Misato," Ritsuko said her voice trembling "But I know that you just want to adopt that boy for your own selfish reasons! You should be thanking me! It's because of me that an abomination like Rei Ayanami is allowed to draw breath."

This time Misato was capable of stopping herself from hitting the scientist.

"I don't know why you're obsessing over that boy," Ritsuko said with a glare "It's not like you to get attached to your weapons. He's a pilot, a weapon of great value, that's all."

"He is not a weapon." she declared starting to get the urge to hit Ritsuko "He is-"

"If I didn't know you better I would say you were protecting your boyfriend." at this Misato's eyes widened

'What the hell are you suggesting Rits!' she thought.

"You more than anyone are determined to the cause of saving mankind and slaughtering all Angels. Even to the point of sending children into their death." Ritsuko said loudly "I've done things I'm sure would make any other person have nightmares every night for the rest of their lives. But I did it because I believe it will help us survive this hell. If you're not willing to sacrifice him because you see him as something other than a weapon what are you doing here?"

It was true, Misato had no trouble sending the boy to his death several times. And every time there was only one thing in her mind. Vengeance.

But now was different, he was her Shinji-kun not just that depressed kid who can pilot the purple behemoth.

"There's nothing more to discuss. Rei Ayanami will be adopted by me and she will serve her purpose of fighting the Angels... Misato, please understand. If it makes you feel any better I won't interfere with her life." the blond's words shifted from cold to apologetic.

Misato didn't have it in her to continue the fight but she still didn't just want to say that it was alright be cause it was not alright. If Ritsuko was asking for forgiveness she was asking the wrong person. Turning on her heel Misato headed for the exit.

xxx

Rei watched as Aida just grabbed Shinji and both boys disappeared. She was disappointed, she wished to have a words with Shinji. Luck, however, did not smile at her. During school Shinji had been distracted with class and Aida had kidnapped him during lunch, much like he did just a few moments ago. That alone was o make matters worse Asuka had been trying to initiate a conflict with her.

She had been displeased with the redhead's actions as of late. Asuka had become more hostile towards her and had come to interfere in... Personal matters.

Her heart still pounded uncontrollably in her chest when she remembered how close she had been with Shinji. It was like her entire body went up in flames. It was a moment she would never forget. Although something similar had happened a few months back for some reason this time was different.

Yet as fast as it started it came to an unfortunate conclusion due to the interference of the redhead. She wondered what it meant. The feeling inside her chest...

'Shinji-kun...'

xxx

Shinji spent his afternoon with Kensuke, and during that time he realized just how much of an otaku his friend was. It wasn't a surprise he knew Kensuke to be completely obsessed with the military, but his room seriously needed some remodeling.

Tired from playing the Destruction of Heaven, a game Kensuke had bought and beating himself mentally, Shinji finally found it in him to go home and meet the redhead. Lately his so-called home didn't feel like home at all... All he did was try to avoid it because of Asuka.

With a loud sigh he entered and announced his untimely demise "I'm home..."

"Hey moron... I was starting to think there would be no dinner tonight." Asuka greeted him nonchalantly.

'Wait, what?' did something hit the redhead over the head?

"Sorry..." he answered weakly "I'll get to it."

Asuka turned on the TV and for a few minutes there was peace, something he didn't think he would have in a while. Thankful for his blessings the boy decided to make something extra nice. But as soon as he started cooking the redhead scared him half to death.

"Oh. My. God!" Asuka yelled at the top of her lungs "Come see this... It's awesome!"

Shinji wondered what made the redhead so excited and made his way to see what was on TV. As soon as he saw the title on the News Report Shinji's heart fell and his eyes widened in shock... Was he hallucinating? Or was it just his eyes that were malfunctioning?

"Turn the volume up!" Asuka demanded.

Shinji found the controller and turned the volume almost to the max.

"... Are you sure of this?" one of the reporters asked his fellow journalist.

"Yes, we have a safe source," the other man said "Since that pesky little Nerv is gone it has become easier for the media to make research and report again."

"But we were officially informed by the United Nations. They stated the Angel threat is gone and that finally life in Japan could return to normal thanks to, in no small part, to the sacrifices of the pilots and several of Nerv's employees."

"Apparently, a new threat was detected, or so my source told me, it is impossible, even for a person like him, to have specifics about confidential information." the man said with a large grin "But of one thing you can be sure. The Angel threat isn't over, and the Evangelions will be deployed again! So run from Tokyo 3 while you still can, things are about to become hot again!"

The man talked like he was making an advertisement for a new product and it was working, even Asuka was clinging to the man's words. Sure not everyone was reacting the same way, he was sure that most families were cursing themselves for returning to Tokyo 3.

"That sounds like a very serious statement," the first reporter said skeptically "Do you happen to have any proof to support this claim?"

"Indeed I do," the man answered flushing Shinji's hopes that the man was just a loony "Here are several documents that prove that they are repairing the Evas, not only that but they have been importing spare parts that were in storage in Russia. Everything was sent to one of the United Nations' fortress called Damoncles. And! To top it all off guess who was transferred from Nerv there?"

"I'll bite, who?" the first reporter said laughing.

"Everyone." the man answered flatly "Not to mention the new commander of Damoncles is the old Vice-Commander of Nerv, Fuyutsuki Kozo. I can go on all day... Documents approving projects involving the Evas, papers that-"

Asuka turned the TV off and looked at Shinji with a big smile.

"Did you hear that?" she said almost shaking with excitement "We get to pilot again!"

He didn't listen to a word of what the German girl said. He would have to pilot again? Why? Wasn't the threat over? His life was finally returning to normal and now out of nowhere some greedy reporter with a bad hairdo came along telling everyone how the Evangelions were going to be deployed.

'But... Maybe they have new pilots! Yeah. They would have contacted us...' he thought hoping he was right.

Besides Misato told him, she hugged him and told him! She wanted to have him here not because she needed him but because she wanted to. But if this was true did it mean that he had been used... Again? Had Misato tricked him? Was he led to believe he was truly wanted when Misato only wanted to use him again to pursue her vengeance?

'Was this all a lie...? What should I believe in?' he thought desperately while Asuka was nearly jumping in the couch. He always had problems trusting people and it was hard for him to completely trust someone and now he was just told that one of the persons he trusted the most could have been lying.

As he desperately tried to find an answer the door to the apartment opened and the familiar voice of his guardian hit him like a rock "I'm home." it pained him to even listen to her voice, because after all, it could be the sweet voice that had been showering him in lies during all this time...

xxx

"What is the meaning of this!" Fuyutsuki asked looking at his TV with a scowl.

Ritsuko was still feeling like crap from her fight with her best friend and now to top it all off Damoncles had a leak that just exposed their plans to the world. They had already received several death threats from people who thought Nerv was gone after the incident in the Geo Front. The highways were suddenly filled with cars rushing to get out of town...

It was just like the commander had anticipated... Chaos.

"I don't know who the leak is but he had a point... Without Nerv's status and several Sections it's easier for reporters to dig around."

"I know that! I asked the UN to give us the same power we had back at Nerv but they refused to 'commit the same mistake twice' so they only gave us the necessary." Fuyutsuki said pinching the bridge of his nose "I guess if the major didn't tell the children now they know..."

"It might make it easier this way, sir." Ritsuko suggested "I mean, Asuka will probably volunteer to pilot, Ayanami should follow orders at will the only problem would be-"

"Our ace... The pilot with the most success rate..." he said darkly "Shinji Ikari. How wonderful our only problem is that we aren't sure our ace will pilot."

Ritsuko respected the man in front of her and she knew he was simply irritated by what happened but the fact that he was being sarcastic did not help her keep her calm at all.

"With all due respect sir, calm down." she said trying to figure out what the next step would be "We should try to get this under control with a press conference, sir."

"Yes," the older man agreed "Arrange one for tomorrow morning."

xxx

Misato arrived at her home and the first thing she noticed was that something was off. Asuka was practically beaming at her while Shinji didn't even acknowledge her existence.

"What's the matter?" she asked in a cheery voice "Something good happened Asuka?"

The German looked at her with a smile and nodded.

"Why didn't you say something Misato?" she looked at the redhead and then at Shinji "Why didn't you say you needed us to pilot again?"

It was liked being hit in the face at point-blank with a canon. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped while the weight of the world fell on her shoulders. How did she know? Had Ritsuko said something? What the hell was going on? And Shinji... Misato's eyes wandered and landed on the boy who was stared darkly at her "Yes, why didn't you... Misato-san?"

Author's Notes: New chapter! And new events! Finally I'm going to introduce the main plot. So Shinji now feels betrayed and we all know that he has trust issues... I wonder how this will turn out... Hmm...

Now some Q&A because some nice people left me reviews and sent me messages explaining how I could improve:

Iraesmarter: Here it's moving forward my friend. Next chap you should have some details about said new threat so do not despair! And we can't have Shinji go too much out of character so just giving the finger to Misato is kind of impossible.

Volg: Yes I realize you have a sniper pointed at my head and that I will pay hell if the story isn't good enough to compensate for my 'poor choice' of the pairing. Next time put someone on the really lead with more than 2 votes so I won't have to chose... Also, you rock!

Nothing much happening here ← So... Thank you for the reviews.

A big thanks to the OST of Code Geass for the massive inspiration fuel it was.