Is it not natural?
You'd think someone who'd gone through middle school would remember things he learned in it. Most of my maths was kept in my head. The issue was angles, circles, and many useless theories I never and will most likely never use in my life... until now.
Then there was science. Yeah, like I'd remember the sections of the heart. I was ahead in terms of years, and I was knowledgeable in a lot of topics Ikari Shinji would learn in the future... but it seemed like middle school was too much for me and too much for Ikari Shinji.
I wasn't failing any tests — except maybe History. The issue was that I wasn't passing with stellar grades either. I knew the moment Asuka appeared, she would undeniably make fun of me for getting such low grades. She had a superiority complex when it came to Shinji. So I spent a few hours a day just catching up to make up for it.
So we found ourselves where I was now. Inside NERV headquarters, in the hangar, following around my favorite head scientist like a lost ducky looking for their mother. She was inside the crimson pool, checking for maintenance errors in the EVA.
She rose back to the surface and took off her small tank of Oxygen. Right before her dive, she told me to wait for her answer, so I did. I stood there, rocking back and forth from my heel to my toes.
"... I'm NERV's head scientist, I don't have time to help you with homework... much less help you study." I'm not sure what I expected from Akagi. She was willing to shove a child in a nuclear missile and tell him to steer it at Cthulu.
"Well... I tried," I turned around defeated. In truth, she was the fourth person I'd asked. Everyone seemed to be busy. In all fairness, Tokyo—3 wasn't the most normal town.
With all of the damage caused by my battle with Sachiel, I wouldn't be surprised if many of the people had to rent out a hotel for today so they could sleep tonight.
"Shinji-kun." Akagi called my name, having me turn around to meet her, "Get back inside the training hall. We need you to familiarize yourself with the EVA as fast as possible" Akagi put her coat on over her swimming suit, and took off her goggles.
"Wonderful..." I left the hanger, walking with hands in my pockets and no doubt, a dissatisfied expression on my face. I called one of the many confusing elevators in this steel maze and waited.
The elevator somehow moves fast when you are inside, and too slowly when waiting for it. I watched the number go down until it reached my floor.
The steel doors opened, revealing an expressionless General Ikari. I found myself staring at his face. Without all of the pressure and fear in my heart the last time I met him, I could finally gauge how I truly felt about the man, in one word: conflicted.
I hated him, I did. Simultaneously, I felt pity, but also, deep down, there was something else, something I couldn't quite grasp. I tried to understand what it was. It was a feeling I got only when I looked at him. When thinking of him it wasn't the same.
Oh god, I hoped it wasn't attraction, because if it was, Shinji had a lot of explaining to do.
"Step Aside" Not even a hello. He waited for me to move aside. He didn't raise a single finger. All I got was a stare-down.
I relented, polite as I was, and moved inside the elevator. He stepped through and went to the training hall. In front of me was a giant skull. It was a practice EVA. It had two telescope-like things in its eyes which moved erratically. It had a neck with muscles which allowed it to move. The muscles were off-colored from human muscles, but the fact it looked so similar to an anatomy dummy made me uncomfortable just looking at it.
I had to get inside that thing. When I did, the controls moved closer to me and the scenery was generated. They managed to create a simulation of Sachiel. It wasn't a good simulation though, it couldn't register the Ratio technique. I was forced to apply NERV's strategies in the simulation. The aiming system was confusing, I wasn't too sure how it worked. There were squares and triangles, and I'd been told to shoot when they merged, and I couldn't tell you why.
I wasn't really in the position to ask questions either. Any time I'd ask something they felt was irrelevant I was met with the "you're getting paid to do this job, not ask questions" by Akagi... a real charmer. I don't think she liked me.
The training session was long. They gave me a sheet full of numbers I didn't understand and then sent me on my way.
"Hey Shinji-kun!" Misato was waiting outside, in one of the many halls of this confusing place. Her smile was a welcome change from all the broodiness and seriousness in the training hall. "I heard your training results are outstanding."
"Really? Akagi-san must just not like my face then." I was more tired than I thought. Training took up to two hours. First came the test, then the obligatory medical exam.
"She probably thinks it'll get to your head if she says you did well. She doesn't mean harm, promise." Misato's expression softened. "Do you want to get a ride with me?"
"Sure" I didn't particularly like Misato in the series or movies, but she was a soothing presence. I still thought she was a bad person. I knew who she was, and why she acted the way she did. I knew what she would do if I decided to follow Shinji's footsteps.
"Awesome! Let's get to my car!" I knew immidiatly she wouldn't know where to go, so I took the lead. If it were up to her, we would have ended in Commander Ikari's office.
The car ride was smooth. Her car was still in pieces. It still drove, surprisingly, though it did make some funky sounds as it did.
"How are you settling in?" Misato kept her gaze on the road. "I heard you go out running every day."
"Yeah, it's fine. I still have to think of furniture, other than that it's great." I was waiting on my first paycheck to go out and buy anything.
"You could always just stay in my place until you get a futon. I won't mind." Misato stopped at a red light, even if no cars were driving around us. It was a bit annoying, but I suppose if a government agent skipped a red light it would look bad.
"Don't think I want to be running into other people when going to the bathroom any time soon." I had no intention of living with her. She was messy, didn't know how to cook, and was addicted to beer. I was no saint, I was messy and got lazy about cleaning up just like any other person... but I didn't want to be forced to clean up after anyone.
There was also Tokita's training. I had the advantage of having space because my apartment was empty. Training with someone else watching would probably feel awkward.
Misato let out a laugh, "That's true, it would be awkward," she glanced at me with a grin, "or is it because you're uncomfortable living with a beautiful woman like myself."
"Not into hags I'm afraid." I had to admit, she was attractive, but my knowledge of future events made it difficult to think of her in that way.
"H-Hag!?" She moved back, appalled, and almost crashed the car into the pedestrian lane, swerving it back to the middle of the road right before it did.
"Try not to kill us! Please!" I was holding on to my seat, with my heart skipping from the sudden fright.
"I'm 29!" She screamed it like I didn't already know.
"That's over twice my age." It technically wasn't to me, but it was to her. She deflated, exhaling.
"You're just too young to understand," She stopped the car and pressed her forehead on the wheel, then turned it to look at me. "You're no fun to tease."
"Yeah, I've been told."
"... We're here," She said quietly, putting the manual break. on before hopping out of the car. I got out with her and looked around a bit. We were on a hilltop overlooking the city. It was a small space on the road to the entrance of this large underground space.
Looking at the scale of the city; the responsibility placed on my shoulders only dawned on me now. I had to defend all these people, and if I failed, they would die. At least I wasn't fighting an army. They were always sent one at a time.
"About the EVA... you could get hurt, are you sure you want to pilot it? There's no certainty that you will live the fight against the angels. How do you really feel, piloting it."
"... I thought your job was to keep me in the giant death machine." I was a little confused. I knew she was against it to a degree, but at the same time, I never thought she would ask something like this to me... not this directly at least.
"Yeah... but my job as an adult is also to keep children safe."
"Well... If I'm going to be honest here," I got comfortable, resting my arms on the hood of her blue car. "I'm scared. In that fight against S — the angel, when it hit me in the eye... it hurt, and then it felt like it broke my arms. The Adrenaline helped, but after..." Speaking of it, I recalled. The burning sharp pain, the feeling of a white-hot iron rod being stabbed into my head, then the feeling of my arm being cut from the inside out. "I'm scared to be hurt like that again."
"You can back down you know. Even if you wrote it down in a contract, you're a minor, it holds no power over you... and there's another EVA pilot we can use. She was injured for a while, but she's getting better. What you did was brave, I'd call it heroic too." Misato put her hand on my shoulder, reassuring me. Would she have done the same with Shinji? I wasn't sure. With Shinji she constantly tells him he shouldn't run, he shouldn't be a coward.
"No, I think I'll keep going." I reassured Misato. I was the only one who could right now. If I didn't do it, they would have to pull another child to do it instead. A child who didn't have the advantages I did, like Cursed Energy or the Ratio technique.
"Are you sure?"
I grinned, pushing myself off the car before taking two steps back to make sure she could see me. I proudly placed my hand on my chest, "Of course, after all. I'm the strongest. You'd be lost without me."
That was a weight on my shoulders I'd have to get used to.