Several hours later, NERV's research camp at the remains of the fourth Angel:
- ... And she feeds him with a spoon! No, can you imagine?! - indignantly came from a large tent, from which several bundles of cables were coming out.
"Well, Rey is a responsible girl..." the second voice calmly remarked.
- Responsible?! Are you saying that you ordered her to do this!?
"No, of course not," Dr. Akagi bent over the table and concentrated on connecting the wires to the computer's system unit.
- THERE! It's all him! The bastard! How? How does he always manage to do this? - Captain Katsuragi raged furiously, pacing around the tent.
- You provoke him yourself, he only takes countermeasures...
- What?!
- Well, judge for yourself, - Akagi straightened up and immediately sat down at the tabletop, trying to push the wire through from the other side. - You did all this just to spite Shinji, right? And you didn't even hide anything. His response was completely predictable. You yourself should have understood that perfectly well.
- But... You should have seen his face! That... that expression... - Misato clenched her fists and, in a silent prayer of sincere suffering, raised her eyes to the ceiling.
- Hm?... Shinji showed emotions? Interesting... - the wire was connected and the doctor started the computer.
- Uh... No. His face, as always, reflected a thinking brick, but... You know, from his eyes, or... I don't even know why, but it was clear that he was literally shining. It was simply unbearable!
- Did Rey notice?
- What?
- I'm asking, did Rey notice his "glow"?
- Hm. I don't know, - the head of the operations department stopped fidgeting and thought. - But I think so. They understand each other without words, and here... But Rei held up well, she didn't even blush. - Misato smiled slyly.
- It's not surprising... By the way, did I tell you that since Shinji's arrival, her recovery rate has sharply increased?
- No. In what sense? - a surprised look at the back of a friend who was staring at the monitor.
- First of all, physical injuries, at first there was no time for that, but when time appeared... in general, now she is completely healthy, although according to prognosis she should have walked in a cast for at least another week.
- Do you think it's because of Shinji?
- Anything is possible. He also recovers quickly, and his pain threshold is simply amazing. Besides, unlike the Angels, Rei was in contact with Shinji.
- Damn... Is this bad?
- I don't know yet. But there are a lot of oddities with these kids, for example their abnormally fast convergence, although both are extremely uncommunicative, because Shinji doesn't even talk to anyone at school except Rei, right? - Akagi tore herself away from the screen and turned to Katsuragi with a question on her face.
- Well, they don't even talk to each other very often... - Misato thoughtfully rubbed her chin. - Although, you're right. Maybe it's because they're both pilots?
- The effect of the ability to pilot Eva on consciousness?... Possibly. But you read the reports on the second child, everything is absolutely different there.
– About Asuka? Yes, but... Hm...
- That's exactly it.
- What does the Commander think?
- I have no idea...
***
Four days in Ayanami's company flew by almost unnoticed. The girl conscientiously fulfilled her duties as a nurse, stuffed me with vitamins, made me regularly treat the injuries and did not let me go anywhere. However, to be fair, it should be noted that I was not particularly eager. In fact, I did not argue with her at all. And how can you argue with Rei? Especially when she comes up with a glass in one hand and pills in the other and silently looks into my eyes, with such a calm, attentive look, or, for example, quietly reminds me that it is time to treat the wound.
In general, these were very pleasant four days. Most of the time we read or listened to music, or both. I taught Rei to play chess, but the girl did not show much interest, she clearly enjoyed reading. But cooking, on the contrary, captivated "us". Approaching the matter responsibly, Rei already on the first day, before Misato's memorable awakening, wrapped my hands to the state of mittens. Of course, having first treated the burns with a special ointment. Actually, this is why they fed me with a spoon, but that's not the point. The point is that having lost my hands, we also lost the ability to cook. Relying on Misato was... scary. And for both of us. Although Rei did not admit to this feeling, but to my question - "did Misato cook in my absence?", she answered positively. I did not ask any more questions myself. But since the girl was responsible, they refused to untie my hands. And then... Rei made a very tasty rice porridge with raisins. However, I am completely biased, since at that moment I was deeply indifferent to the taste of the porridge. The main thing is that Ayanami Rei cooked it for me and then fed it with a spoon, and let all the Evangelion fans die of envy! He-he...
That incident was not the only one. For two more days I was stubbornly not allowed to cook, only allowed to tell her what and how to do, all the rest of the work was done by Ayanami. And only on the third day, when the palms had healed sufficiently, I managed to convince the girl that further treatment was pointless. Although "convince" is not quite the right term, it's just... she herself did not object. However, even after that, Rei did not stop helping me. That's how we lived.
Ayanami herself had already completely gotten rid of the bandages, only the plaster remained, but it no longer interfered with her use of her hand. Judging by the sensations from her aura, the bone had already completely healed, and there were no other injuries in the body, the consequences of my energy infusion during our first meeting were obvious. And I myself was clearly regenerating at an accelerated rate, the spiritual energy of the Angel, plus the slowly but constantly occurring fusion with Shinji's soul, contributed well to the restoration of my own soul, which, in turn, entailed the restoration and reconstruction of the body.
Today was no different from the previous days. Rei and I were sitting in the living room, she was reclining on the couch, I was leaning my back against it – on the floor. We were both holding books. The mechanical clock on the TV, with the NERV logo on the dial, showed 14:46. And then the doorbell rang.
To be honest, I expected to see Hikari behind the door, who had come to fulfill her duties as a class monitor and, having found out how I was doing, to hand over my homework. That was expected. Well, at worst, she could, as in canon, send the "acrobatic brothers" - Kensuke and Suzuhara, although I had not communicated with them, but you never know? However, reality surprised me. Behind the door was none other than the Deputy Commander himself - Professor Kozo Fuyutsuki. A smart, elderly Japanese man in a tightly buttoned black uniform. The only difference from mine, or Gendo's uniform, was that the trim was silver, not gold. And I must say - the uniform suited the gray-haired professor much better than the elder Ikari, at least Fuyutsuki tried to feign military bearing.
- Greetings, sir, hmm... colonel, - I broke the pause that had arisen, having made out the insignia. I suppose an official tone would be best, especially since he, as it were, was my superior and, unlike Misato and Gendo, did not give any prerequisites for informal communication.
"Good afternoon, hmm..." the professor smiled kindly, "lieutenant."
- Since Misato is not home and you cannot not know about it, I conclude that you came to me. Tea? - I move to the side, freeing the passage.
Kodzo chuckled again, but entered the apartment.
- Black, if it's not too much trouble. And yes, I'm coming to you.
- Please come this way, you don't have to take your shoes off, - the old man smiled even more, but he took off his shoes anyway and followed me into the kitchen. By the way, he was holding a leather briefcase in his hands. - And what is this topic, during the discussion of which the presence of Captain Katsuragi is undesirable? - I asked, pouring the tea my guest had requested.
"We've been talking for less than two minutes, and I already doubt that I see a fourteen-year-old teenager in front of me. Thank you," a cup with a fragrant dark liquid landed on the table in front of the professor.
- Well, I suppose you are quite familiar with the circumstances of my family life, so the question about the unusualness of my personality should not surprise you, Professor.
- Hmm... Indeed, - Fuyutsuki closed his eyes and brought the cup to his mouth. There was a pause in the conversation, Kozo was probably thinking about my words, remembering Yui at the same time, and I was simply watching the facial expressions of Shinji's mother's elderly teacher. I hadn't decided yet how to feel about him, on the one hand, the professor inspired respect and even some sympathy, but on the other, he also did nothing for Shinji, who had suddenly lost his parents, although he was almost a father to Yui. And Ayanami didn't try to change the living conditions...
The silence was broken by Rei entering the kitchen. After that day of washing both sets of uniform, Rei continued to walk around the apartment in my T-shirt. Misato was of course indignant and even gave me something from her wardrobe, one might say, she tore it from her heart, but having tried on the new clothes under the stern gaze of the captain, Ayanami still dressed like that every morning. Trying to appeal to me, Misato ran into a wall of misunderstanding, firstly, I sincerely didn't care what Rei wore, as long as she liked it, and secondly, I just liked how she looked in a T-shirt, considering that five of them were bought, I didn't see any problems at all. In the end, the girl gave in, only the number of gloomy, accusatory-suspicious glances in my direction increased. The girl froze on the threshold for a couple of seconds, looking at the guest, and then came up to me and stood next to me, still looking at Fuyutsuki.
"Oh, hi Rei," Kozo smiled, looking up from his cup. "How are you feeling?"
- Hello. Good.
"I see you've settled in here quite well already?" the Deputy Commander pointed with his eyes at the girl's clothes.
- Yes...
- Let's get back to the purpose of your visit, Fuyutsuki-san, - I decided to intervene. - And about Rei's appearance... In the end, it's not my fault that she only had two sets of school uniforms for everyday wear. - Ayanami gave me a strange look, it seemed she interpreted Kozo's question a little differently. Fuyutsuki himself noticeably became sadder, for the first couple of seconds he stared distantly at the opposite wall, after which he took a sip of tea and nodded.
- Yes, perhaps you are right. - The cup moved to the side, and the professor placed his briefcase on the table. - Here are the materials you are interested in on the death of Ikari Yui. - A white folder appeared. - Unfortunately, no video or photo materials were preserved, they were all destroyed almost immediately after the incident. Here are only written descriptions of the experiment and the tragedy itself. These documents are classified information, so when you read them, I will have to take them. - The folder passed into my hands.
Rey's aura trembled slightly, betraying the girl's excitement, but unfortunately I couldn't calm her down now, I had to play a role. Nodding to the scientist, I opened the folder with a stony face and delved into reading.
In general, the folder did not contain any fundamentally new information for me, although for an uninitiated native of this world, it would certainly have been a revelation. The real age of Eva-01, the names of the leading scientists of the Institute at that time, such as Naoko Akagi and Yui Ikari, the first experiments in synchronization... The main thing, perhaps, was that the information was almost complete. Almost. There was not a word about Yui's soul moving into Eva, although Gendo definitely knew this fact. However, I did not doubt for a moment that this folder would not contain the most interesting and important. So, in fact, it was, only a dry squeeze of events, based on facts, but without analysis and explanations. Although analytical reports were also present here, but only in the necessary minimum volume, so that the schoolchild reading this would understand what was being discussed, and not choke in a stream of scientific terminology. Overall, it can be acknowledged that the work on compiling this folder was carried out very efficiently and conscientiously; even the numbering of the acts was adjusted.
"Thank you," I closed the folder and returned it to the patiently waiting professor.
"Perhaps you have some questions?" Fuyutsuki broke the silence, still not having waited for any other reaction from me, which, by the way, surprised him quite a bit.
- Yes. If I reach 100% synchronization, will I also dissolve into LCL?
- Ahem... Ahem... - Fuyutsuki coughed, there was no trace of simple surprise left, now he was amazed. - I apologize... No. In your case, 100% is not the limit, this has already been confirmed. During your fight with the Third Angel, the peak synchronization rate reached 242.6%.
- Clear...
- This is all?
- Yes. I apologize, but I need time to think about what I saw.
- I understand. Well, in that case, I think I'll be going, - not having any thoughts to object, I simply nodded and escorted the guest to the hallway. - I wish you luck, Lieutenant Ikari. I hope you continue to do your job just as effectively.
- Goodbye, Mr. Deputy Commander.
Having closed the door, I thoughtfully turned to Rey, who was standing silently a little behind me.
- Are you worried? - the girl blinked and after a few seconds, nodded uncertainly. - In vain. - I come closer and carefully run my hand through her thick blue hair, gradually burying my fingers in it. Ruby eyes look at me with an unreadable expression. I want to hug her, I really want to, but I restrain myself. Although a smile still crawls onto my face. - Don't worry, everything will be fine. Let's go. - I straighten the girl's bangs and turn towards the living room.
I had no desire to continue reading, but I also didn't want to leave Rei alone. I don't know what she got out of our conversation, but something about it didn't leave Ayanami indifferent. From the moment Fuyutsuki took out the folder, I continuously felt her excitement and anxiety, and leaving her in that state was frankly disgusting to me. Therefore, after seeing the girl to the living room, I sat her down on the sofa, and I simply lay down next to her on the floor, putting my hands behind my head. After a while, Rei also lay down, without opening the book she had put in the middle. And after another half hour of silence, her breathing turned into the barely noticeable snoring of a sleeping person. I, noticing this change, only smiled slightly, continuing to indulge in the sacred mystery of the canon - looking at the ceiling.