Kim Sergey
Neo genezis evangelion book 1

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  • Аннотация:

    Student Victor dies in his world and ends up in his favorite anime evangelion in the body of Shinji Ikari. And he gets used to the world. the author Sergey Kim is his cycle about Shinji Ikari.

    Ilustration https://disk.yandex.ru/d/EJmwiQZka1TAuA

    Ссылка на автора https://author.today/work/19163

  The prologue.
  Phew, it's a little hot this morning...
  But, by the way, it rained heavily last night, but there's no freshness and it doesn't seem to be expected. Is it going to rain again? Maybe, maybe... It's not healthy, it's not healthy at all...
  Although it seems to me that there are only two extreme weather conditions in this city - either too hot or too cold. Well, at least for me personally. And there's nothing you can do about it - a local manifestation of the continental climate. Although I don't really care about the weather, I'm not afraid to get wet, but it's still kind of unpleasant... I glanced at the dial of the worn commander's watch. It's almost nine thirty-where's the fucking minibus already? You can also be late for university...
  I peer into the traffic, trying in vain to spot my bus.
  Wearily, I wipe the sweat from my forehead. No, it's time to stop dressing up with your fashion - the month of June is in the yard, and you, Vitek, are still wearing a leather jacket... No, where are you already, you bastard?! Faster, faster... Oh, have my prayers been answered? The Sixteenth is coming! I don't care if he stops a little further than I need to and I have to stomp an extra stop - I'll get over it somehow. All the seats in the Gazelle cabin were occupied, so I had to climb onto the unloved front seat. I handed the driver the required fourteen rubles, who accepted the money, looked me up and down, and with a skeptical grunt, drove off.
  Well, yes, I admit, I look quite colorful... In places.
  Perpetually unkempt dark hair, a black leather jacket at any time of the year, and army berets peeking out from under black trousers are just such places. No, I'm not some kind of informal guy or something, I just like to dress like that and that's it. Convenient, practical, weatherproof. And if I had my way, I would have completely wrapped myself in camouflage... The minibus was traveling fast along World Avenue, which was not too busy at this time of day. I had to spend another fifteen minutes on the road, so I took out my phone, plugged an earphone into my left ear and started choosing the right song.
  I was in a slightly depressed mood this morning, so my choice fell on one of my favorite dreary themes - "Flyme to the Moon", a hand-cut from the anime "Evangelion". Not to say that I was an animeshnik, but I watched and reviewed this series, because I really liked it, although it really tore my brain...
  I was even beginning to sing along softly to myself when events began to spin in a way that no kaleidoscope could even dream of.
  The sound of a burst wheel, a jerk. The minibus skids sharply to the left. The driver, swearing desperately, tries to straighten the car. A blow, a screech of metal, a sudden stop - someone definitely drove into our ass. And I drove in very efficiently, judging by the way the back of my head hit the headrest. As long as we can talk, buckle up, people...
  The Gazelle pulls into the oncoming lane. I grip the handle above the door with all my strength. And somehow distantly, as if in slow motion, I look directly at the jeep rushing towards us. I didn't even have time to be scared - it was just that at some point my body was shackled by an incomprehensible weakness, and a nasty sour taste appeared in my mouth. And don't move, don't run away... Anticipating the next heartbeat, the realization came that this was the end.
  "Fuck," the last thought turned out to be quite mundane.
  This is not how I thought I would meet the end of my mortal life...
  Hit. Flash. Darkness
  The feeling of flying.
  The body doesn't seem to be there.
  There's darkness and infinity around, but for some reason I'm not afraid... Although that's probably how it should be, because I'm probably dead...
  Is he dead?
  Hmm, but dying doesn't hurt that much... I had not been afraid of death as such for a long time, I was more worried that my departure would cause pain to people who love me. But I've never been in a hurry to die either-life is too much of a drug to just get rid of it like that...
  And now I'm dead? Just like that? Hurtful... I didn't have time for so many things... There's so much I haven't done...
  Okay, Victor, don't worry - you're not the first, you're not the last. This has been said an infinite number of times before you, since the very creation of the world... But, damn... Most of all, it hurts HOW I died.
  Moronism, of course, but for a very long time I dreamed of dying in battle, defending something, fighting for something, but it's not fate.
  Oh, I wish I had one more chance... Only one chance... Victor swears that he would not waste time on trifles, but would try to do something good, change something, help someone... To help...
  It's like someone is calling for help from somewhere far away... To help... To help... ...The feeling of flying through darkness, somewhere into infinity. What awaits me ahead? The unknown is scary... Hey, what's this? The light? Is there a light at the end of the tunnel, damn it? Don't scare me like that!.. Wait a minute... Hey! I'm what... Am I going back?..
  Chapter 1. The third object A sounded...
  I'm thrown violently onto the asphalt.
  I hit my left side hard, my elbows burn with pain - there will be abrasions...
  Er?
  Does it hurt? It hurts me! That means I'm alive! Heaven and the dungeons, I'm alive! Nothing hurts the dead! Everything is swimming in front of my eyes, there is a ringing in my ears - it must have hit me hard, and, apparently, it was my head that suffered the most. Hot... But in a different way, or what? Hmm, it's strange, but it seems to me that... It feels like something is burning somewhere very close by - has the Gazelle gone off?.. I wake up a little, rub my eyes, shake my head (oh, I shouldn't have done that!), look around...
  Stop.
  What the fuck?
  WHERE AM I?!
  The familiar panorama of an ordinary Russian city has disappeared, and it has been replaced by something futuristic and unreal. There were skyscrapers and high-rise buildings of unusual design all around, and smooth and good asphalt, which has long been listed in the Red Book in Russia, was underfoot (and ass at the same time)...
  What am I talking about? That's not the main thing!
  A real cannonade could be heard all around.
  I've never been to a war, or even just to a shooting range, but I've seen enough action movies and documentaries to understand what's going on. Over a city unknown to me (eh?!) missiles traced their tracks, and combat helicopters flew by at low altitude (the brain turned on weapons identified them as American "Cobras", with a slight interspersing of our Mi-24 and legendary Ka-50 "black sharks"). From the underwing pylons of the helicopters, air-to-ground missiles and NURSES were torn down (approx. unguided rockets), automatic cannons rattled... Judging by the distant rumble, there were also combat aircraft somewhere at altitude; artillery was thundering steadily and steadily in the distance.
  The fucking war...
  Hey, wait, who's fighting with whom?
  I turned my head, and I was just stunned.
  ...Have you ever been hit on the head? Or was it doused with ice water? Well, at the very least, just unexpectedly scared? Yeah, so there was a case... Well, it happened to me too.
  So, I'm stating it responsibly - it's all just nonsense compared to what I've experienced. No, not only have I been hit on the head several times lately, which is why my mind hasn't started working better, but now it's also a direct blow to the psyche, right, fuck?..
  ...Frozen, as if under the gaze of a fabulous basilisk, I stared at IT with all my eyes.
  A hefty car, taller than a ten-story building. In some ways it resembles a caricature copy of a human being. Two arms, two legs, a bastard in the middle... I'm sorry, but I can't call this stuff anything else - a torso that looks like an inverted triangle, a ridiculously shaped head sticking out of the chest and most of all resembling a bird's skull. Ribs protruding from the body, several pairs of what looked like gill slits on the sides, and all sorts of spikes... It's disgusting... The coloring is again dark green, like some kind of toad, but an extremely dirty shade, and in the middle of the body there is also some kind of red ball...
  Fuck.
  FUCK!
  I remembered where I had seen it before. No, not lying in a mental hospital. And not after using narcotic drugs. And not in a state of delirium tremens. Oh no, I've seen it in a completely different place...
  I saw it in the anime "Evangelion". The first episode, "Attack of the Object A" is called.
  ...Calmness immediately came over me. It just can't be, because it can never be.
  I'm dreaming, or I'm just delusional.
  Or maybe I'm still "stoned"?
  Or does an ambulance arrive at the scene of a traffic accident and take me to the hospital, and on the way the kind orderlies throw some kind of filth at me?..
  "It's all just my imagination... it seems... it seems..." Damn, how real it seems!
  ...Without getting to my feet, I quickly crawled away from the source of the heat - the helicopter burning on the ground. I wonder what it is? Oh, yes, that's a stupid question - an angel from a beamer put it in his hand... I awkwardly tried to get up, but immediately grimaced from the pain - I hit the side of the mother earth hard after all. I wonder if I have any more injuries?
  I quickly examined myself to freeze in a stupor from what I saw.
  IT WASN'T ME.
  Okay, the black trousers are just like mine, and my white shirt is the same... lying around somewhere. It doesn't matter that I almost never wear such clothes, it doesn't matter...
  But why the fuck do I look like a teenager?! Where are my twenty-two years? On Bolshoy Karetny?!
  I started laughing nervously. Great job. Not only did I get into this brain-dead anime, but I also most likely ended up in the body of the main character named Ikari Shinji. Better known as a pathological whiner, a wimp and a horseman of the Apocalypse all rolled into one. That's what happened... I wish I'd been his dad, by God-I've always liked him better as a character, even though he's kind of a villain. And this one, if I may say so, is the main character... Just a quiet horror! No, where did they see such a neurotic Japanese guy? They're as impenetrable and calm as a tank armor - and here, on you! Not authentic, however... ...Meanwhile, the Angel emerged from a small valley between the hills and began to move slowly but inexorably towards the city, as expected without suffering any damage. Naturally, he is also protected by the AT-field. The rockets and shells only sank powerlessly in the faint golden glow surrounding the monster. He raised his claw hand and took aim...
  Discharge! And one of the "Cobras" is falling apart.
  Most of all, it looked like a movie laser shot, or some other kind of radiation crap. But how is that even possible? A laser or some other particle stream shouldn't be visible, though... Maybe there is some other principle underlying the work of A object beamer? Well, or is it just some kind of concomitant phenomena, such as the ionization of air molecules?
  ...Oh, what kind of ionized molecules and beamers?! God, when will he let me go!.. Suddenly, I felt sad and creepy, because I had never had such realistic dreams. And I didn't have any glitches from the dope I tried once...
  What if it's all real? Maybe this is the one I begged for Another Chance? I squeezed my eyes shut and pinched my ear, driving away the delusional thought.
  Ah, the infection! It hurts!..
  ..I rubbed my damaged auditory organ.
  Did you want to live, you idiot? So now live in a psychedelic cartoon, on the eve of the Apocalypse and surrounded by complex schizophrenics! No, why do normal people end up in places like the Great Patriotic War, where even dying is the greatest thing, and I failed here? ...Suddenly, a golden glow intensified around the Angel (I don't remember what they call him here). He took off into the air easily enough (to the height of a five-story building, no less!), and after flying several hundred meters, landed right next to me.
  A monstrous dirty-green foot dripping with mucus landed directly on the remains of the downed helicopter, crushing it into the ground. Four huge black claws left long furrows in the asphalt, and at that moment, apparently, the unexploded Cobra missiles detonated. An explosion broke out, and I was thrown to the side, painfully dragging along the asphalt. I involuntarily squeezed my eyes shut, and tried to somehow soften the forced flight at an extremely low altitude.
  ...No, into the abyss of such glitches and dreams! At least the shards didn't hit, damn it! Suddenly, there was a sharp screech of brakes, and a shadow covered me.
  "Ikari Shinji?" Above the cacophony of the battle, I heard a melodious female voice. "I'm coming for you!"
  I slowly opened my eyes, already knowing what I was about to see.
  Wow, Misato Katsuragi!..
  "Come on, get in the car!" Without really thinking about whether it was a dream or not, I quickly jumped to my feet and dove like a fish into the car, right through the driver's seat with Misato sitting on it. Somehow he crawled into the front seat, pulled up his legs, which were almost hit by the sharply slammed door...
  "Hold on!" Katsuragi shouted, abruptly turning into reverse. It was only by a miracle that I managed to fasten my seat belt.
  Object A (such a creature) was literally two steps away from us. But helicopter pilots (such creatures!) They didn't give a damn about it and continued firing guns and rockets at him. This alien freak doesn't give a shit, but by the way, it can cover us with fragments!
  It was as if someone had hammered on the roof of the car with a sledgehammer - I had a panicked thought "they are the fragments!", but then, thank God, we got out of the danger zone. And right in front of us, the Angel's legs were breaking and crumbling the asphalt.
  Damn, but we've just been there...
  It's not pleasant to die twice in the morning... No, I'd rather live longer, even if it's in a cartoon. By the way, IT didn't look like a cartoon right now - everything was extremely natural. Neither give nor take is a reality. ...With a sharp jerk, the car bounced on the bump of the speed bump. I slammed my head into the low roof and hissed in pain.
  Very realistic, damn it...
  Captain's car (is that what her rank is?) She turned around, and we raced away from the battlefield. Probably even a stone was burning and melting there right now - the biorobot was hit at once by barrel and rocket artillery, rockets and bombs of various types and calibers... This amount of deadly explosive gear would probably be enough to smash a small city to dust...
  But that thing doesn't care. ...When we were already a good distance away, Misato suddenly stopped, took out a heavy brick-shaped pair of binoculars from under the seat, and leaned on me, leaning out the window with it.
  It wasn't exactly pleasant... Although there were also positive aspects here... About the third size, at least...
  "It can't be!.." Misato exclaimed.
  I turned around and also looked to see what had caught her attention. It turned out that they were just helicopters flying away from Object A... Flying away?.. Flying away!
  "Do they really want to detonate the N2 bomb?!"
  A flash on the left, a distant rumble...
  "Get down!"
  I was unceremoniously pushed to the floor of the car and put my whole body on top of it. A moment later, a shock wave struck.
  The car was picked up and carried like a piece of fluff. I had the complete feeling that I was a sock and stuck in the drum of a washing machine - we were shaking and turning over so much. But it probably doesn't hurt so much for socks to bang their heads against all sorts of objects...
  ...I think I lost consciousness for a while, and I woke up to the fact that I was being gently shaken by the shoulders.
  "Are you okay?"
  What a wonderful question - I immediately start feeling like the hero of a cheap Hollywood action movie. Interestingly, the concept of "order" includes the numerous scratches and abrasions with which I was quite densely covered after all these felting and rolling on the ground?..
  "It could have been better..." I croaked indistinctly, amazed at the strange voice coming out of me. "Damn, my head started to ache again, but it just seemed to have passed... Nasty bombs!"
  The girl laughed.
  "That means it'll do. Let's get out of this tin can."
  The car was on its side, so it wasn't that easy to do it... Okay, it doesn't matter.
  They got out. I quickly looked around and whistled softly at what I saw.
  However!..
  We must have drifted about thirty meters away from the road, and the car was now lying near several huge craters from the explosions. Thank God we didn't reach them by just five meters, otherwise it would have been really bad...
  Are you sure everything's okay? Misato asked again.
  "It's all right," I confirmed, spitting furiously. "I just got sand in my mouth."
  "Oh, well, that's nothing," Katsuragi waved her hand. "Nu-ka, come on, help me get the car in a normal position..."
  Are you ready? And one, and two! Go ahead!..
  Even with the two of us piling on, we could barely get the car back on all four wheels. I wasn't in the best physical shape in my previous life, and now I've also lost, along with eight years of life, twelve honestly eaten kilograms.
  - Ugh... - we breathed out synchronously when we achieved what we wanted. Katsuragi dusted off her hands, which were wearing red fingerless gloves.
  "Thank you for your help," she thanked me.
  "You're welcome," I rummaged through my head regarding Japanese customs, and added, "Katsuragi-san."
  I think I should already know her name from the card I sent... The captain pushed her sunglasses up on her forehead and smiled.
  "You can just use Misato."
  "Misato, so Misato," I smiled in turn. No, after all, Katsuragi is really a very positive character, although in real life she is much more charming than...
  I even stopped at the thought - do I REALLY consider her to be a living person, and not an invention?! Soooo, I see my schizophrenia is progressing rapidly...
  On the other hand, why not?..
  "Nice to meet you, Ikari Shinji," she held out her hand to me with forced seriousness.
  "Likewise, Misato Katsuragi," with the same serious face, I returned the handshake.
  We stood for a while, glaring at each other, and then we laughed. What else can I do? Nerves after a fight are an unpredictable thing...
  The road was good, which was no longer the case with Misato's car. Probably everything that was possible rattled and grated in it. The rear-view mirrors were completely demolished, the front bumper was still intact, the side windows were badly broken, and the windscreen and rear windows were still intact...
  "..I have to ensure his safety, so prepare the platform for the car and the direct train." Misato was on the phone. "Yes, since I volunteered to meet him, I take full responsibility... No, I don't need to send anyone else, I can handle it myself. No, no helicopters. Yes... yes... We're almost at the backup entrance. That's it, stand down."
  She hung up the phone.
  I took a close look at this wonderful device.
  Yeah... Not too much. The second blow must have battered everyone here a lot - not up to fancy civilian devices. It was probably the last time I saw such mobile phones at school - the screen was small, never touch-sensitive, and indeed... I looked up from contemplating the wonders of sophisticated Japanese technology and thoughtfully looked out the window at the landscape flying by. River, wooded hills... It's beautiful, damn it! ..Lately, I've been able to come out of my stupor a little bit after everything that happened, and I've started to think rationally...
  So, what do we have? What we have is this... Getting, or rather, my soul into the recipient's body from another, um, reality. Not the worst alternative to death, by the way. So what if you got into a cartoon? And how are time lapses and all sorts of fantasy worlds better? The universe, I believe, is infinite, and there is a place for anything in it.
  Even, um, like that...
  After all, the probability of getting into a fictional world is no less than in a world inhabited by fictional elfgoblins.
  Of course, the fact that this world is not the best is not healthy. The changed climate, billions of deaths during the relatively recent advent of the Second Object, Adam (artificially caused, by the way). In the future, a short but bloody war with Objects A - giant creatures with incredible capabilities, a confrontation with the Japanese army and the world behind the scenes (a certain ZIELE committee), and as a crown - Armageddon or the Third Strike. Caused, by the way, according to the plan of my recipient's father (Gendo Ikari), by the recipient himself (Shinji Ikari himself), as a result of which we will get an almost lifeless planet (the new biblical Adam and Eve do not count).
  Great job.
  Okay, now about my current status. On the plus side, I'm alive, healthy, young (and I wasn't really an old man there), and I have the skills of a previous personality. I drew this conclusion from the fact that they understand me, I understand, but we should speak like in Japanese, unless, of course, it's not the "Peculiarities of the national Evangelion" performed in Russian... This is definitely gut (approx. (German) Gut. Well). By the way, I wonder where the identity of the real Shinji Ikari has gone? Has he been completely replaced by me? Although, given his mental turmoil, it's not surprising that I got into him - it wouldn't have worked for others, the characters are not the same at all...
  Another advantage is to add knowledge of the surrounding environment and the development of events, at least approximate - it's generally such a bun that you just get pumped. Another thing is that the more unlike the original I act, the more unpredictable the future will become... And now about the unpleasant. If I don't want to receive a Worldwide Tryndec in about a year, I will need to do something, and do it urgently. At the same time, not forgetting that I will need to fight, and really fight - I don't think I'm going to get a "berserk" performed by my future combat robot now. He's my mother's soul in this reality, Yu Ikari, and I've never been her son...
  What other problems do we have? Oh, yes - the ZIELE conspiracy, the attack of the Japanese army, the machinations of Gendo, that is, bati... And as a crown, the total psychosis of everyone around them.
  This is the most serious problem. No, you can, of course, let things take their course, but where is the guarantee that everything will go as in the series? For example, I don't remember seeing any Mi-24 Cobras or Russian crocodiles there, but there were just some vague vertical takeoff machines, and where has the design idea gone over the past decade and a half?.. In short, if I'm here, then it's necessary for some reason. To the best of our ability, we will try to correct the current situation - this, of course, is not for you to get to June 22, 1941... It would have been really DIFFICULT there, but there is still hope here... And for starters, you can just stick to the serial line of behavior. At first.
  Let's assume for the sake of conscience that I got into the most awesome role-playing game, and now I need to create an interesting character and play it well. I've always been good at this in computer games, but here it's more like a role-playing game - elves, there, paladins of all kinds... Hmm, who am I going to be here? So, we won't bother too much and we'll play the image of a maniac soldier driven by guns, especially since it's really close to me.
  It's just that everything that's happening doesn't look like a game.
  ..I squinted at the girl. It's good for her, damn it. He's thinking about a ruined dress, a broken car, and here I am, no less, about the fate of all mankind...
  I giggled nervously. Katsuragi looked at me warily. Don't pay attention - it's nervous," I waved my hand, continuing to giggle, although it wasn't really funny.
  Damn, it's really nervous. Misato giggled too.
  "Hmm, and I was already thinking that for everything that's going on, you're just indecently calm."
  "Was it necessary to panic?" I raised an eyebrow. Sorry, I didn't know - I should have warned you in advance.
  "You're an interesting guy, Shinji," Katsuragi smiled. "Actually, that's not how I imagined you to be..."
  "Well..." I drawled. "That's the way it is. I hope I didn't disappoint you too much?"
  "Easy! Where are we going, Misato?" I asked, knowing the answer perfectly well, but the chosen role now had to be played out and played out qualitatively.
  "To the NERVE Special Institute."
  "?"
  "Oh, you don't know anything!.."
  After wandering along a winding road and passing through several tunnels, we arrived at some kind of huge metal gates in the hill, similar to the hatch inside the starships from science fiction movies. The doors parted diagonally, and Misato carefully drove into a small room decorated with metal and gray plastic.
  A smooth, mechanical voice came from the speakers:
  Be careful, the gate is closing. The special train departs along the W-9 highway.
  Behind us, the metal doors closed again, and on top of them, another armored plate with the well-known NERVE logo - a half of a red fig leaf, a motto and five scarlet letters - fell.
  The white fluorescent lights went out, and everything was bathed in the ominous red glow of the emergency lighting.
  "A special institute?" I asked, carefully feigning surprise.
  "Yes, it is an international organization that reports directly to the United Nations. Haven't you ever heard of them?"
  "Haven't you ever heard of them? So my father works here? For some reason, the last word struck me with an unfamiliar pain.
  "Well yeah Do you know what he does?"
  The emergency lighting went out, and the normal light turned on again. The girl was aiming a marathon, looking in a small mirror.
  I scratched my chin thoughtfully.
  It seems to have something to do with the military and national security...
  "Wow, what words we know!.. But in principle, you're right-your father directs the research necessary to protect the entire world."
  "I couldn't help but snort. I'm sorry, but this really looks like some kind of cheap action movie..."
  Misato looked at me intently.
  "Oh, if only, Shinji, if only..." There was an awkward silence, and Katsuragi looked sad.
  "And where are we going now, to my father?" I decided to interrupt the long pause.
  "Well, in general, yes!.." A wave of incomprehensible bitterness, resentment, anger, and something else suddenly rose in his chest... I was scared, but then it hit me.
  So that's where you are, the real Shinji! You didn't disappear, you just ran away once again! But the word "father" makes you stick out a little bit... No, boy, that's not going to work! Problems need to be solved, not run away from them, otherwise at one very bad moment you can run into a big one...
  Although sometimes I myself tried to run away rather than fight, but still, still, still...
  "...By the way, did you get a pass from him?" Umm... Okay, he's got to be here somewhere... I hesitantly patted my pockets in search of the pass I was looking for-I couldn't even imagine where it could be.
  "Shirt, trousers... Trousers!" He fished a crumpled piece of paper out of his right pocket.
  "Yeah! Here he is!" Misato handed it to her.
  "Uh-huh, thanks... Oh, by the way!"
  Katsuragi fished out a thin gray-green folder with a large inscription "Special Institute NERVE", in the corner there was a stamp "Top secret". Here, get acquainted. I accepted the folder, opened it, and immersed myself in reading with interest - I like to read something on the road, you know...
  "Welcome to NERV," I read the first sentence aloud. "God is in his heaven. Is everything okay with the world...? Hmm, somehow not very encouraging..." As I read, the current situation in the world became slightly clearer - the series didn't describe it in too much detail.
  ...So, September 13, 2000... Um, people are "lucky" for man-made disasters in September - terrorist attacks, Strikes... Okay, stop. The second impact is the largest disaster in the history of mankind, which, according to the official version, occurred due to the fall of a meteorite in the Antarctic region. But in fact, it was the fault of the second Angel, Adam, who had awakened from a thousand-year sleep. Although this is not the whole truth (I know for sure), it's just another version, but this time it's NERVE-racking for the staff. In fact, the expedition of Misato's father, having found Adam, tried to carry out some kind of bad machinations with him, which caused a lot to explode in the area of the South Pole. But that's it, a lyrical digression...
  The result of the Second impact was a displacement of the Earth's axis, the melting of Antarctic ice and, as a result, an increase in the waters of the World Ocean. Most of the coastal areas were flooded, and countries such as Bangladesh and the Netherlands ceased to exist altogether. New York, St. Petersburg, Tokyo - these cities are simply gone. And, of course, there are various kinds of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons, tornadoes...
  Millions of dead, millions left homeless.
  Chaos, anarchy, horror - it's difficult to find other words for what happens after the Impact. The planet quickly erupted into dozens and hundreds of local and not-so-local wars, and in some places it even came to the use of nuclear weapons...
  Yeah... I remembered our two thousandth. Why, these are just toys compared to what happened here! After several years of total wars, the world community still managed to come to a fragile truce and conclude the so-called "Valentine's Treaty", so named because of the date of signing - February 14, 2003, Valentine's Day. The revived and renewed United Nations, with a new headquarters in Berlin, under the auspices of the leading world powers, formed a NATO-based defensive alliance with a unified army to suppress raging conflicts, and the Security Council received the highest authority on the planet. This is not a semi-amorphous talking shop from our reality - the OON men there did not stand on ceremony and beat so that all sorts of aggressive assholes could not even get up later...
  Naturally, I was wondering what had become of my homeland... The information received was generally gratifying - today's Russia, of course, is not a superpower, but also not a secondary country in the global political arena. As I understand from fragmentary information, after a series of local wars at the beginning of the millennium, a military dictatorship was actually established in the country under the leadership of the unforgettable GDP, and a significant part of the territories that separated in '91 were returned... However, it was not said by what methods all this was achieved, but I think it was something like the situation of the thirties of the twentieth century in the USSR. It's scary to even think about what's going on in my homeland right now...
  I got all this out of the rather stingy input data. The bulk of the materials in the folder were devoted directly to the Office.
  So, the NERVE special institute. It was established in 2005 as a UN body to prevent events like a Second Strike (that is, to combat A Facilities). It has enormous funding and enormous powers in case of emergencies. Under the command of NERVE are parts of the reinforced contingent of international forces in Japan, consisting of troops from Japan itself, Russia, the United States and China...
  The headquarters is located in Tokyo-3, a specially built city of the future designed to counter all possible threats, a kind of last fortress of humanity. The main building is located in the so-called Geofront, a colossal underground cavern... By the way, I wonder how it managed to survive in such a tectonically unstable place.. Okay, let's leave it on the conscience of the creators of huge humanoid robots... So, go on. Yeah, the NERVE offices are also located in other countries - the USA, Russia, Germany, France, China, England... Okay, what else? Oh, well, then there was basically all kinds of propaganda about the great mission of the institute, about its great importance for all mankind, and so on and so forth... As always in such campaigns, there was a lot of unnecessary information, pathos and dusting, but painfully little really important information about what kind of office it really is... Okay, I know that in general terms. The creation of inhumanly expensive combat vehicles of a strange design, eugenic experiments and similar brain damage, such as a project for the Complementation of humanity, that is, a global brand with a little-understood motivation.
  And if I don't want to (and I don't want to) shorten my new life to just a few months, I'll have to do something about it. And urgently.
  The system will have to be broken.
  There is, of course, a huge chance that I will be quietly "removed" in this endeavor, or I will simply arrange it, but I cannot sit idly by! There's only one horseradish ahead, total and irrevocable - a real Armageddon... So if I'm already a potential corpse, then I have nothing to lose. Hey, you're there, everyone! Hold on! I'm on my way! Russian isolation, coupled with samurai philosophy, is a stronger thing than Goethe's Faust!..
  Part 2. The battle with Object A.
  ...Like a giant escalator located inside a gigantic pipeline, we descended deeper and deeper underground. That's a few... It was annoying. I don't like, you know, cramped enclosed spaces and all sorts of dungeons... However, I also strongly dislike heights...
  "Misato, am I going to serve in NERVE now?" I asked the question I was interested in (little by little, I was already beginning to get lost - am I really interested in this, or am I pretending so skillfully?).
  "Hmm, you said "serve."".. She said thoughtfully. "Why not work?"
  "It is unlikely that the organization responsible for the security of the entire planet will not be supervised by the military. And where there's military, there's service," I smiled wryly. And I've always dreamed of becoming a military man.
  "Mmm... Yeah, you really are a very interesting person... You know, for your age..."
  "..I'm being too mature and weird," I finished in a boring voice." Misato, they tell me that all the time, ten times a day. I'm already tired of listening..."
  "I'm thinking normally. For a twenty-year-old guy. Although..."
  "And why did it happen that way?" Misato asked with genuine interest.
  "I have no idea," I shrugged vaguely. "Maybe because I was on my own most of the time. I read all kinds of books, I was busy with different nonsense..."
  "What about friends?"
  "I've never really had any friends," I turned away. "But I've already gotten used to it, and it doesn't bother me anymore. I am quite self-sufficient."
  There was silence.
  Damn, what have I just spun here? It's not like I'm supposed to tell you about myself, but I'm supposed to invent Shinji's biography...
  "I'm sorry, Shinji, if I offended you", Katsuragi's hand squeezed my shoulder lightly.
  "Come on, Misato," I grinned without malice. "What a grudge."
  "Well, that's nice," she smiled back at me. "Oh! Now look carefully - we are entering the Geofront."
  "I didn't have time to answer, because huge cutouts covered with transparent material flashed in front of the super tube, and IT unfolded in all its glory in front of me - the one and only Geofront. A creation of inhuman hands, as beautiful as it is mysterious... To describe it in words? No, it's impossible.
  THE just have to see it. No words can convey even a hundredth part of reality. A colossal underground cavern, which for some reason was not dark, but a light twilight. Buildings and roads, mountains and rivers, lakes and forests... Long trestles of monorail trains connecting the Geofront with the surface, thin spokes of elevators stuck near the huge pyramid of the NERVE Headquarters, one side of which stood near another pyramid, but only already tipped deep into the earth... I don't understand HOW all this could have been built?!
  "Do you like it?" Misato asked slyly.
  "Yeah..." I said, fascinated, staring at the panorama.
  "It's good. Welcome to NERVE Headquarters, Ikari Shinji! To the last fortress and hope of mankind!"
  "God, there's so much pathos..."
  "Come on, you've ruined all the solemnity of the moment!.."
  ...The elevator doors swung open, and the same Akagi Ritsuko appeared in front of us. I looked at her with interest-something was definitely wrong. For some reason, the people around me didn't look too much like real Japanese - I had seen them in various forms in my time...
  So, if Misato could still be attributed to them, then such a number categorically did not work with Ritsuko. Well, unless there are green-eyed blondes among the Japanese...
  In life, Dr. Akagi turned out to be more likeable again - he is a cartoon - cartoon.
  Well, and hers... Ritsuko looked very good in his uniform. Well, if only a white robe and a turquoise-colored indoor swimsuit can be called a uniform.
  "You're on time, Misato - they were just waiting for you to start the show." Akagi smiled from the corners of her lips. "But you've been taking a long time..."
  "Traffic jams," Katsuragi waved her hand affectedly. "And the freaks on the roads. However, it doesn't matter - what about Eva-01?"
  "All systems are currently being defrosted and tested, so we will be there very soon..." Ritsuko turned to me. "And this, I take it, is the Third Child?"
  "Exactly. So what about the Zero-first one - is there a chance of activation?"
  "Well... Actually, the probability of activation is still one billionth... How do you like this chance?"
  "So it won't work? So, it turns out?" Misato frowned.
  "No, come on. The probability is not zero," Akagi reassured the captain. "But everything will depend on the pilot..." Such encouragement made me uneasy... What are they even counting on?!
  Dad, why are you completely crazy? Build the defense of a million-strong city based on a one-billion-chance of success?!..
  Ascents, long corridors, hatches... For a change, a short throw on a light rubber boat through a giant pool of an incomprehensible purple liquid, a gate, an ascent, a corridor, another gate, and now we are standing in some completely dark room.
  "Hey, turn on the light!" I shouted indignantly.
  I disliked not only the height, but also the darkness... Although the altitude is still higher, it cost me a lot of effort to maintain my composure during all these trips at high altitude. Yes, yes, yes, I have many phobias that I have been successful with (hopefully) I'm struggling...
  My voice echoed off the distant walls-we were not just in some dark room, but also in a VERY large room.
  Suddenly, the brightest light turned on, and I involuntarily squeezed my eyes shut and shielded myself with my hand... When my eyes adjusted a little to the light, I carefully removed my hand and opened my eyes.
  "Fuck!" I couldn't help but utter a German expletive, and there was a reason.
  He was standing right in front of me.
  Evangelion-01.
  More precisely, only Eva's head and shoulders were sticking out of a huge man-made lake filled with coolant, but that was enough.
  There's only one muzzle of the robot's face, maybe five meters wide... After recovering from the shock a bit (after all, it's not every day that biomechanical armor the size of a blue whale stares at you), I realized that this Eva is significantly different from the anime version.
  No horns or ridiculous protrusions for you - everything is extremely utilitarian and functional. The sleek outlines of armored plates, the head seemed to be wearing a rounded knight's helmet with a heavy visor and a narrow viewing slit with the addition of a massive chin. The neck is long and elongated, partially covered by wing projections extending from the bottom of the helmet. The body armor even looks very solid, and there is a natural cuirass on the chest, which is additionally reinforced. There were also the shoulder pylons mentioned in the original - two long thin rectangles fixed on the shoulders - I remember that Evangelion knives were usually always stored there...
  But the main thing is that the biomechanoid was not that disgusting blue-purple color, as in the series. Eva-01 (at least its visible part) was painted gray-black, a la urban camouflage. No, though. Perhaps her camouflage coloring was more reminiscent of the so-called "ball" coloring of warships during the Second World War. For actions in Tokyo-3 conditions, that's for sure, otherwise, I'm afraid, I would require an urgent repainting. Although the design was still a bit strange, well, okay...
  "No fucking toys!" I muttered, still staring at Zero-one in amazement.
  "In front of you is the universal anthropomorphic combat vehicle Evangelion," Ritsuko, who had once managed to change into a blue blouse and a short black skirt, said solemnly, pleased with the impression she had made.
  "She'd left her robe, though." This is Unit-01, designed in the strictest secrecy - the last hope of mankind...
  "And here I thought that Misato was soaked through with pathos and cliched speech... Tell me more about the asymmetrical answer..." I muttered.
  "What?" Katsuragi was indignant.
  ".. So that's what my dad does... Yeah, and somehow I like to play with soldiers more than with transformers..."
  Due to the stress, sarcasm, coupled with speech incontinence, quickly poured out of me - as always in moments of excitement. Akagi and Misato looked at me in extreme surprise-it wasn't what they had expected, obviously not what they had expected...
  Interesting... That's my reaction now, but if I really were fourteen years old, what would I do?
  I probably would have stood there, fucked up and imbued with the solemnity of the moment.
  "Transformers are not bad either" A loud, sarcastic voice came from the speakers. "It's been a long time, son."
  I raised my head. Somewhere above, behind the armored glass, I made out the figure of a man in a black and gold uniform, glasses and a beard (hooray! my slight myopia is gone!).
  "Father," I bowed my head slightly in greeting. "Did you call me?"
  There was a hint of surprise in Gendo's voice. Apparently, he didn't expect such a reaction from me. Now we will begin the attack, and you...
  "Like an attack?" Misato asked, dumbfounded. "Yes, on what? Eva-00 is still in the defrosting stage!.."
  Katsuragi broke off.
  "Do you want to activate Eva-01?!"
  "We have no choice," Ritsko said harshly.
  "But after all... But Rey isn't able to control Eve yet! We don't have a pilot!"
  "One has just arrived," Akagi said clearly.
  Misato's face sharpened. You're kidding, not a question, but a statement.
  "Ikari Shinji," Ritsuko said to me.
  "I" I'm coming to attention.
  "You'll take the pilot's seat!"
  "Jawohl!" (note. (German) Yavol. That's right)
  ?..
  "That's right! It will be done!"
  Calm down, Vitya, calm down... Less clowning and all sorts of show-offs...
  Everyone, without exception, looked at me with real amazement.
  Ha! Finally, the war! I grinned happily, even though the thought made my insides go cold. But now we will play out the image of a maniac who has gone mad on a military theme to the end - after all, the example of Kensuke stands before our eyes...
  "I've always dreamed of going to a real war! So, where is the enemy?" Excitement and a slight fear of a slightly unusual kind came over me-not my fear and worries.
  It seems that somewhere in the depths of me, the real Ikari Shinji was stirring, who was disgusted by everything that was happening to the point of impossibility...
  It's a little scary...
  "Calm down, old man," I said inwardly. "I'll take it all on myself, it will be quite difficult to mess up more than you."
  Fear, fear, fear... Waves of fear and uncertainty rise from somewhere inside.
  Are you a kid or not? Get ready! Damn, the mind, honor and conscience of the Japanese nation!.. Couldn't you have found someone better? The third Child, damn it... A father like that, and a son like that, is a wimp... Shinji, your samurai ancestors are turning over in their coffins right now!..
  But on the other hand, they're just going to throw me to the slaughter, trying to find a way out of a completely hopeless situation... Just because there are no other options - either I climb into Eve and kill the Angel, or the Angel in question destroys everything here to the ground... And it doesn't matter what my name is now - Shinji or Victor, Gendo just needs at least some kind of pilot, and he doesn't really care about the specific personality of the performer...
  "My father doesn't need me. No one needs me at all," someone else's thought came.
  And then I suddenly exploded.
  "What?! To hell with your father! Why don't you get it, or what? If Object A breaks through here, there will be a world war! And even if it doesn't break through, do you know how many victims there will be? Do you hear me, you freak? Don't you care about them? Then why shouldn't I? Don't run away from the answer! The imbecile is a minor... His own self, you see, is more precious to him than the lives of ordinary people... Yes, at the front, people like you would have been immediately put in the penalty boxes or put against the wall!"
  "But are we at war?"
  "And where else?! In the fucking war! On her own! Answer me now- do you want to accept this responsibility? I don't hear an answer!"
  Indifference, bitterness, resentment, confusion instead of an answer.
  Everything is clear with you...
  The apathy and despondency in Shinji's performance is so familiar to me, as if I've known him all my life...
  Or maybe I just know these feelings too? It's not clear, but one thing I clearly know is that this is not the right mindset right now. There is no need to be offended and whine, but to be angry. Or, as I usually did in critical situations, stay calm... "Calm... Calm, I said." There's no hope for Shinji... Oh well! Then I'll act on my own...
  "But... But even Ayanami needed more than seven months to fully synchronize with Eva!" Misato exclaimed in despair. "He can't fly, because he just arrived!"
  "He should just sit inside and nothing else," her father's calm voice. "Shinji should be able to handle it, I'm sure of it."
  "But..."
  "Our task now is to stop Object A. We need anyone who can pilot Eva, even if his synchronization is very low... Do you understand, Captain Katsuragi? Or are you suggesting that we put Eva Ayanami in the cabin after getting her out of intensive care?
  "Misato fell silent dejectedly."
  I looked up at the ceiling, looking for Gendo's figure.
  "Father, are all your orders discussed in this way? Then you don't have much discipline in that nerve of yours..." Katsuragi looked at me with real horror.
  "That's a good idea, son," Gendo answered me thoughtfully. "It's good that you understand the current situation..." Okay, now I can't overplay it, otherwise this old schemer will quietly take me out somehow...
  "...Although the idea is, of course, too reckless, in my opinion," I immediately expressed my concerns. "This is the first time I've seen this car, and how can I fight on it? I do not know how to control it, what it is capable of - you have no performance TTC characteristics (approx. tactical and technical characteristics) were not given to me... Why wasn't I trained for such battles?"
  "It's nothing. They'll explain everything to you. If you're ready to manage Eve, we won't waste any time, but if you're not, leave!"
  "Uh, no..." I drawled, grinning. "Fuck you, you're going to get rid of me now." The floor shook under his feet, and the liquid in the pool began to agitate.
  "He's already here," Gendo said calmly.
  "Shinji, there's no time to think." Akagi added.
  "So what are we waiting for? Go ahead! Drang nah Western!" (Note. (German) Drang nah Western. The onslaught on the west. Victor paraphrased the name of the famous German doctrine "The Onslaught on the East")
  Get ready and fight! It's too late to retreat now, and if I do die in battle, then the real Shinji sitting somewhere inside me will most likely die with me. Do you hear me, old man? Come on, get together too - from now on and forever and ever, you and I are in the same boat. You can sit like a dead weight, the main thing is not to try to do anything - I think it will only get worse... Do you understand me? A hesitant, but still affirmative nod from somewhere in the depths of consciousness. That's great, that's great... ...Somewhere on the edge of his brain, someone else's thought flashed: "Don't run away, don't run away, don't run away..." - Shinji was somewhere nearby...
  I'm sorry, old man, but it has to be this way. I'm not the coolest person in this world, but at least I'll try to teach you something. It sucks that I didn't find such a teacher at the time... I do not know how long I will be here, but I will try to give you something. Don't count on toughness and strength, but at least calmness and confidence won't hurt you.
  In order not to retreat, Shinji, it's not enough just not to run away - you can go back and step... So what does that mean?
  So, don't take a step back! Stand to the death!
  ...Before my eyes, as if in reality, I saw a shot from the movie "Liberation", where Marshal Zhukov, played by actor Ulyanov, scolds some commander...
  Cooling is completed. The right arm is fixed...
  Ready to dock with the catapult...
  The plug is removed!..
  Roger that, we're introducing a contact capsule...
  There is a fix!..
  The first stage of synchronization...
  Fill the contact capsule!..
  The male and female voices alternated-it was probably Maya and Hyuga. Or maybe Shigeru, the inseparable trio of technicians from the command center, I had not yet seen and could not distinguish them by their voices.
  At the moment, I was in a kind of cockpit... Well, let's have a fighter jet. The internal volume is not too large, the pilot's seat is a couch with a comfortable headrest. The central ledge, where, in theory, there should have been some monitors and devices (but for some reason they were not), a pair of comfortable joystick handles on the sides, as if they were lying in your hands. The only thing that bothered me was the dull gray metal-plastic inner surface of the contact capsule. No portholes, let alone windows with blinds...
  It was somewhat unusual to sit in the pilot's seat, although it was quite comfortable. There was a hoop with neural clamps on my head, which looked more like a girly hairpin - I even tried to protest against it, but, alas... Oh, well... that's it. And that's what it is...
  "Hey, what's up?!" I exclaimed involuntarily as some yellowish liquid began to pour over my feet.
  There was a distinct smell of blood in the capsule.
  LSL, fuck it...
  Damn, I'm not even wearing a contact suit, that's the end of my clothes... Although it's not even bad - I'll knock normal clothes out of bati... But still, panic seized me - I don't like water. I can't swim and I don't want to, but it's already overwhelming, damn it! Miraculously, he managed to inhale air and cover his nose and mouth with his hand.
  "Calm down," Ritsko's voice came from somewhere in his head. "This is LSL, it will fill your lungs and supply your body with oxygen." Yeah, and it will give my breath an unforgettable fragrance... What if I drown? Okay, okay, if it's necessary, then it's necessary...
  ...I forced myself to open my eyes and took my hand away from my face. Panic and more panic, when this filth poured into my mouth and lungs, it seemed like another moment and I would suffocate! My throat and lungs spasmed wildly as my body tried to reject the foreign stuff. I instinctively clutched at my throat, but then LSL filled my lungs and esophagus. Phew... I breathed a sigh of relief (?!) - it really wasn't difficult to breathe, it seemed like everything was as usual, and there was no fluid in my lungs.
  ...Damn, but it's all so fucking creepy! Besides, there was a nasty taste of blood and metal on his tongue.
  "Ugh, that's disgusting," I almost spat. "I couldn't talk with my lungs and larynx full of fluid, but my thoughts were very clear..."
  "Stop whining! Act like a man!" Katsuragi's voice also rang in my head. Apparently, this is the LSL (or the most?..) somehow it provides me with a connection to the control room... Misato, you would have tried this dirty trick yourself, you would not have spoken like that...
  "...Connecting to the main power supply." Apply voltage to all circuits.
  "Start the first stage of synchronization." At the same moment, the light inside the cabin went out, only a pair of duty lamps flickered faintly orange due to the glare.
  However, very soon, waves of radiance began to roll across the inner surface of the contact capsule, shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow. Then, after a bright flash of white light, the walls of the contact capsule turned into a kind of continuous viewing screens.
  "There is! We proceed to the second stage of synchronization. The connection to the A-10 nerve is in working condition..."
  The next moment, a tremor swept through his entire body, and his arms and legs were twisted with slight cramps. Pain shot through my spine and skull, but after a moment I felt my Eve as if it were a part of me. Every inch of armor, every muscle and cell...
  The experience is simply unforgettable! How can I describe it? Very, very difficult... Sharpness and clarity of vision, the feeling of a mighty force spread throughout the body. And lightness, an unusual lightness in half with... No, I can't convey it!..
  "The second stage of synchronization has been successfully completed. The pilot made regular contact with Evangelion-01. All nerve connections have been successfully established. The intensity of nerve impulses and harmonics are normal. Deviations are within acceptable limits. The synchronization level is 43.1%. Evangelion-01 is activated!"
  Wow, the synchronization level seems to be higher than in the real world (damn, what a real world! ..).
  "Great. Set the interface language to Japanese."
  Hey, is there going to be a system conflict? I think I'm thinking in Russian... Or not anymore?
  "I don't understand..."
  Probably not, though... Maybe the real Shinji has become something like a synchro translator in my head?
  "The contact went fine. Connect the feedback lines."
  "Prepare for launch, remove the latches."
  "The clamps are removed."
  "Remove the blocking bridge..."
  "Unlock the hydraulic locks..."
  "Remove the main and additional racks..."
  "Release the fastenings from the first to the fifteenth."
  "The internal batteries are charged..."
  "The input for the external power supply is normal..."
  "Eva-01, to the catapult!"
  I felt my Evangelion begin to move towards the wall. So, there is a fixation of me in the launch catapult... I wonder if it's electromagnetic?..
  "The mine is free!"
  "Ready to launch!"
  "Shinji, are you ready?"
  Judging by Misato's agitated voice, they're in serious trouble and running out of time. How else to explain the fact that a completely leftist type is being shoved into a combat vehicle without any hesitation and such hopes are pinned on him?..
  Stop. But I'm going into battle now...
  Oh well! There will never be two deaths, and there will always be one! All it takes is to get out of the ground and punch one alien freak. For a man who has just jumped from one world to another, just spit!
  "That's right."
  "Great. Launch!"
  Misato's scream coincides with a sharp jolt and increasing acceleration-I'm literally being shot up. Fuck! Not a bad overload, however! I hate all these rides!
  The walls of the launch shaft are rapidly rushing past - damn, how deep were we sitting?! Boom! I'm jolted, and Eve finally stops.
  Ugh...
  It was a narrow, dark room. I wonder if I'm claustrophobic by any chance? But even if it wasn't, after sitting in this box for a while longer, I will definitely earn it. Hey, let me out of here!..
  I was about to think it out loud, but then two thick doors opened right in front of me. Eve was rigidly fixed in the upper stage, located inside a building right in the middle of the city, and not far away he could be seen - an Angel. Standing right in front of me, a hideous green leather, maybe five hundred meters away, is just a couple of steps of Evangelion.
  He shoots green rays at the ground from two hands at once, making his way into the Geofront - and he's already dug a pretty big excavation, the parasite...
  Well, that's it, guys - my way out. Come on, unlock me at last - now we'll see what kind of liver these Angels have...
  ...My heart was beating fast and hard, and my arms and legs began to cramp - still, despite all my pretense, I was very afraid of the upcoming fight. Can I win without the berserker? I don't know... Shinji, Yu, can you hear me? I am not doing this for myself, but for you who live in this world. I'm just as much an invention to you as you are to me, but right now we're all in this together... Aren't we fighting to save others? It means that our cause is just, and the enemy will be defeated...
  Damn it, I still managed to soak up the pathos of Ritsuko and Misato...
  "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy will be done both in heaven and on earth... Defend yourself from the evil that lurks, from the evil-minded enemy..." my lips began to involuntarily whisper an inept but sincere prayer. I'm not that religious, but there are times when I just want to believe...
  "Are you ready, Shinji?" Misato's excited voice is in my head.
  "Yes, comrade Captain" I blurted out involuntarily.
  Unlock the safety lock! Evangelion-01, go ahead!
  The clamps came off safely, and I felt that I was already standing without any support. It made me go cold, and Eve staggered a little.
  "Shinji. Now just try to imagine that you're walking" Ritsuko said calmly.
  From these words, I suddenly calmed down abruptly. Everything is bound to happen.
  "...Synchronization is 46% and continues to grow!" Somewhere on the edge of hearing, a voice slid by.
  Calm, just calm.
  I flexed my shoulders a little, clenched and unclenched my fists, moved my arms -Eva obeyed my slightest thought, and obeyed perfectly. Well, almost. The delay between the mental command and the required movement was completely minuscule, in my opinion. Zero One was like an extension of myself-no levers or steering wheels were needed, just my thoughts and reflexes, and the control knobs in the cockpit were probably there solely to calm me down...
  "Misato, what's wrong with my weapon?" I asked abruptly.
  "You only have a quantum knife in your left shoulder pad," the response was not very pleasant. "The city's defensive systems haven't been turned on yet, so you can only rely on yourself."
  "That's the thing," I muttered.
  One time, and the tall, thin shoulder pad opens like an envelope. Two - and the rough handle of a quantum knife peeks out of it. I snatch it out, feeling it come out of the soft clamps. Intercepting it with a reverse grip with my right hand, slightly pressing it to my body, I put my left hand slightly forward. Of course, I have never mastered knife fighting skills. But I've read a lot of books on the subject and intuition makes things happen...
  At least, that's what I want to believe.
  ...I'm taking my first step in Evangelion.
  Boom! Out of the corner of my eye, I notice a glass phone booth shattering from the shaking of the earth. Walking turns out to be not so difficult... With small steps, trying not to get tangled in the power cable, I carefully try to get around Object A. Suddenly, he is enveloped in a familiar golden glow, abruptly soars into the air and lands right in front of me.
  Healthy bastard. I'm not used to people above me...
  The angel swings his left arm, intending to grab my head.
  Yeah, right now...
  "Barra!" the cry of the Roman legionaries turns out to be very useful.
  With the right, deflect the blow to the side, and with the left, from the turn, hit the opponent's torso... The main thing is not to damage the power cable...
  The beast is strong!.. I barely blocked his blow, but mine landed right on target - Object A is slightly staggering. Suddenly, I see that his arms are literally starting to swell. Damn, he's building up his muscles...
  There's a lightning rush, and my left arm feels like it's being squeezed in a vice. The pain overwhelms my head. I think I can even hear my own bones cracking...
  damn! I growl through my teeth and stab him sharply with my knife. shirrh. And the Object A right claw falls with a crash, severed at the wrist. I am turned around by inertia and carried past the opponent. Immediately, I feel something grabbing me by the head, Eva's legs lift off the ground - I'm hanging in the air. Now I understand how people feel when guns are pointed at them. The Objact A beamer, hidden in his palm, is pointed directly at my face. I just raise my arms to free myself from the grip... Just one stab and I'm free...
  Blow! It gets dark in my eyes, a sharp pain pierces my head, and there is a ringing in my ears...
  Blow! Spots of light dance in my eyes... A trickle of blood runs down his forehead... My forehead, my Eve's forehead-I don't know, and it doesn't matter...
  Mom, it hurts...
  Blow!..
  ...A crack in the head armor!
  The defense won't hold up now!
  The pain fills my whole body, and I can't stand it.
  I scream, not hearing my own scream...
  Gradually, it turns into an unintelligible growl. Infinitely distant voices are heard somewhere on the outskirts of consciousness...
  "...Nerve connections are tearing apart one by one!"
  "Shinji!"
  "The connection is lost!.."
  Hit.
  I'm thrown aside.
  The darkness envelops me... It's like I'm hearing voices from somewhere in another universe.
  "Head injury! The degree is unknown!" A woman's voice.
  "The pilot's condition?" Dr. Akagi.
  "Out of sync, nerve impulses are disordered!" A man's voice.
  "Block the chains!" Dr. Akagi.
  "Impossible, the signal is not getting through!" A woman's voice.
  "What's with Shinji?" Misato.
  "We can't say anything! Strong interference in the channel is an AT-field!.." another male voice.
  "Eva-01 is not responding to our commands!" A woman's voice.
  "This is the end... Cancel the operation! Saving the pilot! Forced ejection!" Misato.
  "Impossible! There is no control at all!" A woman's voice.
  "Damn it!" Misato.
  It hurts, it hurts me so much... Darkness and pain... Scary, scary, someone help me, please...
  Shinji, Misato, Ritsuko, Gendo...
  I'm sorry, for God's sake, I'm sorry... I shouldn't have bent my fingers and walked around like an omnipotent know-it-all... I shouldn't have pushed a barrel at Shinji, I'm no better than him... Oh, I've let you guys down, and there's no hope for any "berserker"- Shinji's mother won't help me...
  A wave of warmth and peace, like a light summer breeze... Someone's light, childlike hand on my shoulder...
  "Hold on!"
  "Hold on?.."
  "Hold on, we believe in you!"
  "I shouldn't have. I'm just another loser dreamer, yes I am, yes with my knowledge... A lot of honor, but a complete lack of strength and will..."
  "Not true."
  "Truth..."
  "It's not true, we need you."
  ..I feel like I'm literally starting to shake with anger. I don't know why, it's just that this invisible wave rolls over me and overwhelms me.
  I'm needed here for some reason.
  For some reason, I was needed in my reality.
  But to find out what I have to live for, and for that...
  I have to kill Object A.
  ...I open my eyes.
  I'm getting up from the rubble of a high-rise building that I destroyed in the fall.
  Object A is moving towards me-I've been out for quite a bit... Blood runs down his forehead, flooding his eyes. But is it me who's injured, or is my Eva damaged? It doesn't matter... The knife! Where's my knife?
  Eve is moving!
  Impossible... What's going on?! What is it?.. I'll rip this thing apart with my bare hands.
  "Come here, you freak..." I croak. "I'm going to rip out your heart..."
  Jump, I put all my strength and Eva's weight into the kick with my right foot. N-on!
  Object A literally flies dozens of meters away from me, demolishing all buildings and structures in its path.
  "Come here..."
  I've never wanted to kill someone, and not just kill them, but tear them apart, smear them on the wall... "Berserk"? Oh, yes! This state can also be called "berserk", except that I did not feel blinding and insane rage. On the contrary, I was icily calm-it was as if someone had lit a scorching cold fire inside me...
  The angel started to get to his feet. As I noticed, he had already managed to regenerate his right hand, and he had two beamers at his disposal again...
  Let's just see how much they will help him...
  Take off, and the Eva-01 rushes forward.
  I've always hated running, and I didn't know how to run, but now it was so easy and enjoyable... Step, step, step. Run, feeling the asphalt crumble under your feet. Hey, you beast! I'm on my way to you!..
  The angel throws up his claws with lightning speed, and some kind of radiance begins to flare up around them...
  At the limit of flexibility of my armored body, I dive under the possible ray path, crouching as low as possible. Two streams of fire brush casually across Eva's back, and some kind of alarm sounds in her head.
  The countdown numbers start flashing in front of my eyes - 5:00, 4:58...
  Fuck! The cable is damaged! Now I have only five minutes for active actions... At the right pace, at the right pace, Vitya...
  I straighten up like a spring, striking from the bottom up. The opponent flies to the side, receiving a crushing uppercut right to the skull. I rush to him to finish him off, but the Angel is already on his feet and raising his claws again. After a moment, they are enveloped in a golden glow, and I stumble upon some kind of invisible, but extremely strong barrier.
  "This is an AT-field! As long as Object A supports the AT-field..."
  "...Eve won't be able to get to him!"
  Can't I get to that thing? Fuck you guessed it!
  In a rage, I hit the invisible barrier, as if I were clutching it with both hands.
  To me... need... to break through it... AT-field, you say? What about the antiphase wave, motherfucker?..
  "Eva-01 also sets the AT-field! It neutralizes the Angel's field!"
  "No... It's destroying him!"
  "The force of action is equal to the force of reaction... O-on!"
  The resistance disappeared, I was thrown forward by inertia, and I found myself right next to the Object A. He tried to grab me with his claws again, but I was already ready.
  Kick the left paw to the side, and grab the right one. One, and Object A's limb crunches in my hands-I'm drenched in the dark blue blood of a monster. The angel raises his undamaged left claw again, trying to grab me, but I intercept it and break it too.
  For symmetry.
  Step back, kick with a roundhouse kick. The enemy, leaving a real gap in the buildings, flies away from me. However!.. And I always thought that all these bouncers were just showing off... Although this may be the case if your opponent has no idea about hand-to-hand combat.
  The enemy is lying down and for some reason is in no hurry to get up again. Did it get to you, creature?..
  I seem to have almost calmed down, but then a new attack of anger and thirst for murder hits me.
  I jump straight at Object A, feeling the creature's bones break under Evangelion's feet, and blue blood sprays in all directions. Punch, punch, punch. I beat with my hands, trying to break the core of Object A - it is in it that his death and life are contained.
  It's solid, damn it... And if you try the field?..
  From the depths of memory, it seems, comes the knowledge of what needs to be done. It's not my knowledge-it's someone else's, alien.
  I'm trying to form an enhanced field around my right hand. It's hard, damn it! It's about to disintegrate, you have to constantly monitor it... So, it seems to have stabilized... How do I do it? I don't know, ask for something easier...
  Blow! The new tactic turns out to be good, but the accuracy is not very good - I miss the core. But it turned out well enough - the impact site on the body of Object A literally explodes with fragments of flesh and fountains of dark blue blood. Another blow and the strange skull on the freak's chest shatters.
  Misato and the others are shouting something, but I'm no longer paying attention to them, I'm getting excited.
  So, what if we try to stretch the field in space and hit the Object with it?..
  I spread my arms wide to the side, and then, as if with an effort, I push something forward from myself, bringing them together.
  Not bad... The angel flies to the side, he is dragged along the asphalt. Real rivers of dark blue blood are gushing from the torn back.
  So, stop having fun - you need to complete the task, and not mess around and smash the city to pieces...
  I aim to deliver a control blow, but suddenly the Angel rises from the ground with a sharp jerk and rushes straight at me like lightning.
  ...I admit, I was even taken aback by this, because in the heat of battle I forgot exactly HOW the Third Angel was eliminated...
  More precisely, no one eliminated him - he somehow managed it on his own, a freaking kamikaze. But I don't have any desire to set off an explosion in the very center of the city.
  Object A swoops with its entire rather large body onto the previously exposed AT-field and tries to push through it in order to get to my Eve. Strong, contagious - I'm just holding him on the edge of my strength, because I have to, I have to, I have to...
  Gritting my teeth, I throw the opponent away, putting everything at my disposal into the AT-field blow - Evangelion's physical strength, my will and desire to live, my fear and rage...
  N-on!.. The angel is thrown aside, and he demolishes several more huge buildings - damn it, we're going to destroy the whole city like this... The creature was dragged through the rubble of buildings, literally tearing apart; a core dimly flickered in the torn chest. Wow, the object А is soft... Apparently, when he tried to attack me and envelop me with his own body in order to enhance the power of the explosion, his structure was rebuilt into a more plastic one, but he did not have time to return to his original form...
  I jump right up to him - I wish I could devour this angel generator and no longer bother with the power cable, but I can't even imagine how to do it... With my hands, I tear apart the flexible and malleable body of Object A, trying to pull out a large red core from it - I think it's fraught to hit it, but perhaps it's possible to pull it out... What time is it? Damn, it's only forty seconds!.. Faster, faster...
  Suddenly, almost torn out of the body of Object A, the core began to shine with a dull crimson light - did the self-destruct system really start?! What should I do?! Well, well, it seems that the power of my AT-field should be enough to keep the explosion within a small space... I'm trying to form a hemisphere in my hands, cover the enemy, if only I could make it, if only the batteries wouldn't run out... I didn't have time.
  A powerful explosion that flashed right in front of me, accompanied by the brightest flash, threw me into the air, scorching my entire body with unbearable heat. The last thing I remember, apart from a few seconds of flying, is hitting something big with my back and losing consciousness...
  Chapter 3. The unfamiliar ceiling.
  Silence.
  I toss and turn restlessly after waking up.
  ...Damn, what a dream I had!.. The plot just swings - it's like I got into the anime "Evangelion", into the body of the main character, and even fought with a giant alien robot... And he won after all! I've rarely had such beautiful and interesting dreams... Okay, it's time to wake up, so as not to be late for practice...
  I open my eyes. I realize that I'm lying on a hard bed...
  Not on my bed.
  A pungent hospital smell hits my nose. Recent memories flash through my mind - a minibus, a jeep on the wrong side, a blow... Am I in the hospital after the accident? How long have I been here, I wonder? Although... Why are there hieroglyphs everywhere, and why do I understand them? Here, for example, is the "exit"...
  Damn, it wasn't a dream! What on earth is this!.. I look up at the sky in desperation... "An unfamiliar ceiling", I think, and I start giggling hysterically.
  I guess I'm already one hundred percent Shinji, even if I'm starting to think like him. Oh, damn it!.. My body aches all over...
  Still laughing like a madman, I lift myself up heavily and sit up on the bed. My whole body aches, as if after a good workout, my forehead is bandaged, and I'm wearing a hospital gown instead of my usual clothes.
  "Okay, it's not like it's all a dream, but", I tell myself emphatically. "I am me. And I'm going to do something else that will make all these objects and demons feel hot... And I'm not going to register in the infirmary! I hate hospitals!"
  I carefully lower my bare feet to the cool floor, walk over to the door, open it, and step out into the hallway.
  "Hey! Is anyone alive?"
  Silence...
  Thoughtfully, I walk up to the window pane, peering at the view outside the window - all the same wooded hills.
  Suddenly, from somewhere around the corner, a hospital gurney appears, equipped with all sorts of fancy hospital equipment. A pretty young nurse is rolling her.
  "Uh... Hello! Can I..."
  The nurse shushes me irritably, and only then do I see who is lying on the gurney.
  I'm speechless.
  A girl of about fourteen or fifteen. Hospital gown. Bandaged torso, right arm and head. There is a blindfold on his right eye. And the eye, by the way, is red. And short ash-pearl hair, coupled with unnaturally pale skin...
  There is no doubt that this is Ayanami Rei, the most mysterious and incomprehensible character in this world. I meet her eyes for a brief moment, and.. nothing. Zero reaction to me. The nurse continues on her way, the gurney turns the corner. Silence falls again.
  The emergency room of a hospital located somewhere in the middle levels of the command pyramid of the headquarters. I'm sitting on a chair. My head still hurts a little - it turns out I have some kind of deep scratch there.
  The hated hospital smell is everywhere, even from clothes. After my stay at the LSL, it was washed and boiled here, which actually didn't make me particularly happy - it would have been better if they had given me a new one...
  "Hello, Shinji!" Katsuragi's joyful voice reached me.
  "Misato!.." I jumped up.
  I was sincerely glad to see her - I liked her as a person from the very first meeting. Katsuragi came up to me and asked excitedly:
  "Are you okay?"
  How long have you been asking me about this?! "Are you okay? All right! (The peculiarities of the translation of the film into Russian in the 90s.)
  "In full. I wish I could eat something..."
  The girl winced.
  "I wouldn't mind a snack either..." Damn it! This is Katsuragi, and she doesn't have anything but instant noodles at home! ahh!
  It's also Japan, which means there's only seafood and rice around. No sausage, bread and pasta! And I also want meat, at least chicken, but they only eat fish and seafood. You never know that all kinds of objects A attacking here, how can I live with this?..
  "Okay, Shinji, let's go."
  "Let's go, so let's go." Dejectedly, I followed the captain.
  "Why are you hanging your nose?"
  Just like that...
  ...We're waiting for the elevator. Oh! And here he is, my dear!.. The elevator doors open, and Gendo stands inside. Shinji would have turned away and ignored him, but I'm not him. And I quickly crushed Shinjin's weak attempts at protest.
  "Hello, Father," I stepped into the elevator, Misato following me.
  Gendo nodded at me silently.
  So, now you will need to try to start implementing your ideas... But to do this, I need to talk to Gendo, and given the odiousness of this character, I was frankly timid right now...
  Ugh. Deep exhale, finally decide... Forward. I gathered my courage and started talking to "father" (or is it already possible without quotation marks?).
  "Father, can I talk to you?.."
  He looked at me like I was a talking stool.
  "I'm listening to you." ...So, now the main thing is not to get too arrogant...
  "Father, I'm a NERVE employee now, right?"
  A slight nod is confirmation. I cheered up a bit.
  "And so... Do I have a rank and a uniform?" Well, it would be nice to have a salary, at least some...
  "I can feel the waves of surprise coming from Misato on my back. And what?" I really want a uniform and a rank - I didn't get into the army (and I didn't really want to), but I've always been interested in military subjects. Well, you have to provide yourself with pocket money, after all, to take a girl to the cinema there, to eat something normal... Damn, I need to buy a normal player for myself, otherwise it's always buggy in black in this cassette... ...Meanwhile, Dad now looked at me not just as a talking stool, but as a stool reciting all of Blok and Pasternak by heart. Damn, I guess I'm straying too much from the described psychotype... Okay, let's hope they decide that I just lost my mind a little bit in the fight...
  You already have a rank, you'll get a uniform. There will be money too,
  "Finally, they honored me with an answer." So, now let's try to get a little cocky.
  "Can I also have a personal weapon? For a successfully completed task, so to speak?" Gendo glared at him from under his chameleon glasses.
  "Thank you, Father! Goodbye!" I shouted at his back. Politeness is first and foremost...
  Pleased and proud of myself, I turned to Katsuragi.
  "Shinji, you're a jerk..."
  To say that Misato was surprised was an understatement.
  "What's the big deal?" I blink my eyes innocently. I've always dreamed of this! Save the world, be a military man and have a real gun under your pillow!..
  "A maniac," the girl summed up and laughed. "No, it's more like just a kid. I bet you'll be asking to go to the shooting range with everyone..." Can I? I asked with sincere greed. Oh, let's shoot!..
  Katsuragi realized that she had let it slip.
  Katsuragi and I walked along the corridor leading to the parking lot. Oh, that's my name! Damn, you have to get used to it...
  "Eh?"
  "How would you feel about staying with me for a while?"
  Mmm... Honestly, Misato-san? Not so much... You don't have a house, but a dorm room - a mess, drinking and nothing to eat, except beer and noodles a la Rus "rolton"...
  On the other hand, I don't want to be alone either, it's too depressing. Of course, I appreciate privacy and solitude, but not all the time! Moreover, I think it's not just about your pity for the boy who has to live alone... No, not really! No vulgar thoughts!.. But after all, Misato is my immediate commander and supervisor, so she's probably ordered to keep an eye on me, just in case.
  "And the company is good, at least it won't be boring. Overall, it's positive!" I replied cheerfully. "But only without dirty thoughts..."
  "What is it?!" Misato turned purple, becoming about the same color as her trendy red jacket.
  "Gee!" I chuckled, knowing what to push.
  "You little brat!.."
  So. Now let's find out how well Shinji can run...
  "Well, shall we celebrate today?.."
  "And what are we celebrating?" I asked.
  "Like what? Your housewarming party, of course!" Katsuragi rolled her eyes dreamily, not at all embarrassed by the fact that she was currently driving her Toyota Supra.
  Oh, oh, oh! Misato, I just want to rest now - well, I don't want to drink!..
  Uh, wait. What am I worried about? She's unlikely to make me drink, but in the end, a couple of cans of beer wouldn't even hurt... I have endured a persistent aversion to alcohol since the very beginning of my student life (baptism turned out to be too cruel), which, however, has never prevented me from consuming these drinks from time to time...
  "Or maybe you don't need to?" I asked softly. "Let's cook dinner, okay?" Hmm, that's also a good idea... We're just going to the store... That doesn't give me much hope.
  Chapter 4. packing food for food.
  "Misato, what IS THIS?" I looked angrily at the supermarket cart full of all sorts of nonsense.
  "Like what?" Katsuragi was genuinely surprised. "Food, of course!"
  "Misato. This is . Not. Food," I said clearly and distinctly.
  "So what do you think the food is, then?" The captain put her hands on her hips menacingly.
  I quickly scanned the long shelves.
  "Well, certainly not instant noodles!"
  "But prepare quickly!.."
  "And it is digested in thirteen minutes!.."
  We crossed our eyes - laziness and unwillingness (coupled with inability) Misato cooks against my hunger and eating habits...
  Katsuragi finally relented (hooray!).
  "Okay, Shinji. Let's take what you want... But you'll cook it yourself!"
  "It's a deal," I grinned.
  "I'm too lazy to cook, of course, but what should I do?.. By the way, do you mind if we make a stop on the way?" Misato asked
  "Well no... And where?"
  "In a wonderful place," Katsuragi smiled.
  ***
  We stopped at a huge observation deck located on the slope of one of the hills - everything is as I expected, still strictly following the plot. He leaned his hands on the high metal railing, peering into the distance - the view from here was simply amazing.
  Tokyo 3 lay in front of me as if in the palm of my hand. The only thing unusual was that it was strangely deserted - instead of many boxes of high-rise buildings, there were only hefty square and hexagonal platforms. No, of course I know that the buildings are underground right now, but it still feels a little weird...
  "The city seems so deserted..." I muttered aloud.
  A light warm breeze was blowing at my back, and the sun, which had almost disappeared behind the low hills, was casting its last rays on the earth - it would be beautiful and good if I had been standing here for a century...
  Misato glanced at the dial of her wristwatch, smiled, and said:
  "Now."
  Suddenly, sirens started wailing all over the city. For a second, panic shot through me-an air raid, ugh, an Object A attack? Why so soon? And here I am, too far away from Eva!.. But then I quickly calmed down and got ready to enjoy the wonderful sight... The platforms, densely scattered throughout the city, began to separate and open - after all, in fact, they were the covers of gigantic hatches.
  A steady, long-drawn hum was heard, and giant boxes of high-rise buildings began to slowly grow out of the ground.
  "Oh, my God!" I couldn't help but exclaim. Still, it's one thing to watch it in a cartoon, and quite another to see it with your own eyes...
  But one thing has always interested me - why would it take to create such a complex and cumbersome system? Wouldn't it have been easier to just create a completely underground city? However, maybe I'm wrong... The performance was over, and now there was a huge, densely populated metropolis in front of me.
  "That's what Tokyo 3 is like", Misato said. "A fortress city built to protect against Objact A... Our hometown... The city you saved yesterday. Do you understand?"
  "I felt the color flood my face." Big words, a whole ocean of pathos... It feels fucking good!.. It's not something you hear every day...
  "Come on, Misato..." I was embarrassed.
  "And nothing's okay," she cheerfully patted me on the head. "You did well, Shinji."
  The embarrassment was gone, along with the joy. All that remained was a nasty chill in my chest.
  These words are not for me. These are the words for Shinji. The real me died, having lived my twenties as an ordinary man in the street, and having done nothing significant, leaving no trace behind... And Shinji is great. A slob, a rag, maybe, but at least he has something to live for.
  Power. A business. Enemies. Friends.
  After all, he's just a kid who's been burdened with too much responsibility. Not every adult would be able to withstand this, let alone a teenager with an unstable psyche... What would I do in his place if I had no idea about the future? Honestly, I don't know. It might have broken, it probably would have.
  Different upbringing, different personalities, different life experiences. I am different. His life is alien to me, mine is alien to him.
  But now we're connected. Despite all the differences, Shinji is very close to me, I don't know why, but he is. And now we're in the same boat, not even just in a boat, but on a submarine going on a combat mission. Now we have one life for both of us. And since I'm older, more experienced, and more mentally stable (at least I hope so), it means I now have full responsibility for him.
  I didn't have any brothers or sisters, although I always dreamed of having them. And now I actually have a younger brother... Do you hear that, Shinji? I'm sorry, me fool, for yelling at you then, before the battle... Don't take offense, okay, bro? We're going to do something together that will shake this world...
  "Shinji!"
  Object A, Dad, ZIELE-it's all nonsense, you know? Well? That's good... We're together to the end now, and Victor said he'd never leave Shinji. That's it, stop running - there's nowhere else to retreat, behind, um, Tokyo 3.
  "Shinji!!"
  "Huh?" It's like I've woken up. What had just happened to me made me uneasy-a split personality is a scary thing. But it was no longer possible to treat it so simply. Especially after yesterday's fight.
  "What happened to you? It was like you were retreating into yourself, and I was scared." It was like you had withdrawn into yourself, and I was scared. Your eyes have become kind of empty and cold, or something...
  "Don't pay attention," I waved my hand and tried to smile as cheerfully as possible. "I was just thinking... I remembered yesterday's fight..."
  "Ah... well, that makes sense..."
  We stood for a while and were silent.
  "Well, Shinji, let's go home?"
  "I took one last look at Tokyo 3 sinking into darkness."
  "Yes, Misato, let's go."
  ***
  The elevator quickly took us to the very top of a residential high-rise building, the doors opened, and we stepped out onto the hefty landing of an apartment block. We walk past a long row of doors to Captain Katsuragi's apartment...
  "Misato, why is it so empty?" I panted, dragging the bag of groceries I had bought with my own hands. The captain flatly refused to carry the products I had chosen, saying that your idea was to carry it. The lazy one.
  "So many people just haven't checked in yet" There was a reply. "These are the NERVE office apartments, and the staff has not all arrived yet - Tokyo-3 was completed relatively recently. Well, some of the civilians just left after yesterday's attack - few people want to live right on the battlefield..."
  "Uh-huh, so we want to..."
  "There's a word for "must," Shinji."
  "There is such a profession - to defend the Motherland..."
  I muttered softly, but Misato heard me anyway.
  "Well said," She asked in surprise. "Did you come up with it yourself?"
  Vitka, your tongue is your enemy!..
  "No, I heard it in a movie..." I got out of it. Although why did you get out of it? I told the truth, but the fact that this movie "Officers" is called and made in Russia is another matter...
  "Hmm, do you remember the name? It would be interesting to see..."
   "No, I don't remember anything..." I lied. "How long is it to get to your apartment?
  I'm already tired of something...
  "Don't whine, Shinji," the girl said cheerfully. "They've already arrived."
  Damn, I got sick of this "don't whine" - I'm not whining, I'm grumbling... Eh!..
  "And what is this pile of boxes?" I asked in surprise. "Is that trash?"
  Vague doubts began to torment me -after all, if my memory serves me correctly, there was a monstrous mess in the captain's apartment...
  "What makes you think that?" Katsuragi snorted. "They probably brought your stuff."
  "Ugh, the worst thing has not been confirmed... How come I didn't figure it out?" Was I supposed to come here with just a backpack? Hmm, cartons are cartons, but this plastic thing with the NERVE logo is very interesting to me... Has Gendo already reacted to my request?
  "Why is there so much?"
  "Shinji, you should know better."
  Misato panted, fiddling with the electronic lock. "Come on, you piece of iron, open up... aha!.."
  She pushed the door aside and turned to me with the most triumphant look. Well, what are you standing for? Come on, make yourself comfortable now it's your home too! Now let's take a break and get your things done... For the sake of decency, I hesitated a little near the entrance, and finally took a step inside my house for the near future. I put down the grocery bag, took off my backpack, and took off my shoes. Misato had already galloped somewhere deep into the apartment, probably to her room.
  "I've got a little mess here, just don't pay attention!" I heard her voice. "Make yourself comfortable. And put the groceries in the fridge, please.
  Tek-S... And where will we have an interesting kitchen, eh? Is it here?
  I couldn't help but exclaim when I saw what Misato most likely considered her kitchen.
  Have you ever, if not lived, then at least visited a classic student dormitory? Yes, just in the one where the state of permanent chaos and ruin is maintained year-round, and cockroaches run away from the lack of food? Yeah, so there's a performance...
  So, Misato's apartment looked more like a similar dorm room than anything else. Piles of boxes with things that the captain still hadn't bothered to unpack. The mess, the junk, the things scattered on the floor in disarray and, of course, the monstrous mess in the kitchen. A mountain of unwashed dishes in the sink (shall we wash before eating, Captain Katsuragi? A typical communal approach...), a bunch of chewed chopsticks on the table and a few plastic noodle plates, it even seems half-eaten... Brr... Well, the fact that this kitchen table has seen better days was not even worth mentioning. And, of course, beer cans are everywhere.
  No, it's not like that - EVERYWHERE.
  In order not to accidentally stumble, you had to carefully choose where to step. No, Misato still didn't suffer from a complete lack of cleanliness - most of the garbage was peacefully in a bulky trash can... But NOT ALL OF IT!
  Damn, it's a good thing that I have five years of living in a university dormitory and the experience of a symbiotic existence with chaos.
  So, why did I come here at all? Oh, the groceries!..
  I put down a large paper bag with groceries (black plastic bags With HANDLES, where are you, darlings?..) and thoughtfully looked for the refrigerator, I even found two - one is just big, and the second is very big. So, if I remember everything correctly, Katsuragi's pet penguin, Pen-Pen, lives in the latter, an obvious victim of biotechnological research, otherwise how would he have such an exorbitant level of intelligence? Okay, we'll find out more about him later (gee, what if, according to the worldviews of the most frostbitten fans, he really is the true God of this continuum?), but in the meantime, we'll put something in the refrigerator...
  No, one ham needs to be defrosted - where do we have a suitable bowl?..
  I found a small saucepan, put a bird's foot in it and filled all this happiness with tap water (it's good, however, it doesn't really carry bleach). So, now move the rest of the products to the refrigerator...
  I open the door...
  My eyes are glued to the long rows of half-liter aluminum cans of Ibiza beer... The everyday life of a hungry student means no food, but there should be booze... What else do we have in stock? Yeah, bags of dried squid and fish, as well as batteries of cookies - what the hell should I put in the refrigerator? I quickly make room for FOOD, not some misunderstanding, and glance at the small clock hanging on the wall. Nine o'clock in the evening, and how long have I been in the infirmary?.. Okay, we'll still have time to cook, but first it would be nice to take a shower, otherwise I'm already seeing this fucking bloody smell of LS everywhere...
  Chapter 5
  "Hands!" I barked menacingly, brandishing a large spoon - unfortunately, there was nothing else to interfere with the soup. It's a good thing that at least I found something European from the cutlery, otherwise I can eat with chopsticks, but not soup-roast!..
  "Shinji, I'm just a little bit..." Misato said plaintively, jumping away from the stove.
  "I'll give you some" I muttered, turning back to stirring the student's signature dish, and trying not to look at Katsuragi. "It's not ready yet. And anyway, you'd better clean up the kitchen."
  "No, well, she's not ashamed to show off in front of me in a T-shirt and short shorts, is she?"
  Even though my body is only fourteen years old now, and my knowledge set is minimal, it still somehow suggests certain thoughts... Okay, okay, enough about that already.
  The girl sighed resignedly and went to the table, grabbing a rag on the way - the prospect of cleaning inspired her little. No, of course I understand everything - laziness, but you can't live in a pigsty (oink-oink) either! By the way, I'm a growing body right now and I need a healthy atmosphere to live in, or I might not grow up anymore!..
  By the way, I was really worried about this question - having already got used to my meter of ninety, I felt a certain feeling... discomfort, maybe... I'm kind of Japanese here, but they're different in height, though...
  I remembered Dr. Akagi. There aren't many green-eyed blonds among them either, sort of...
  "Shinji!"
  "Ar"
  "What kind of dish is this? I've never seen anything like it, but it smells delicious... It looks like it, though..."
  "If you don't like it, I'll eat it myself," I said.
  "No way, Shinji! You misunderstood me!.."
  "Misato, don't shirk- there's another stain on the table..."
  My dish, you see, looks bad... So what? To you, commander, what is more important - goodies (although, rather, satiety) or appearance? It's certainly better than this kuksa of yours (I can't see her!!!)...
  And I was cooking, in fact, a classic communal dish - soup, then porridge or roast. Nothing complicated - a little rice, potatoes (the brain fell into a stupor when it saw them already peeled in bags in the supermarket), carrots, plus a ham. Chop everything finely, mix, pour water, cook and eat. Yes! And don't forget to spit in the face of anyone who calls it dog food.
  Oh, it's a pity I didn't find any pasta and stew here...
  "Shinji..."
  "Well, what else?" I replied wearily. Living with a person like Misato is very exhausting, although it's fun and not boring...
  "Shinji, I want to talk about yesterday's fight," Misato said, looking at me seriously.
  "And what is it, Commander? I won." I was wary.
  "That's the whole point!" The girl exclaimed. "Can you explain how you did all this stuff with the AT-field? Ritsko almost chewed off her own robe on the command bridge, trying to figure it all out... We didn't even imagine such possibilities, but here you get into it for the first time and somehow it is..."
  "...too suspicious...?"
  I thought about it for a while and answered, however, not forgetting to stir the witch's brew.:
  "You know, Misato... I don't really understand how I did it all, and I'm not sure if I can do it all over again. It was just like an epiphany, an understanding... They'll ask you how you move your hands, so what do you say?"
  "With the help of muscles," Katsuragi answered honestly, after a short thought.
  "Yeah, can you describe the whole process of transmitting nerve impulses from brain neurons?.. He-ere... That's how I just realized that since the field surrounds my body, its concentration can be changed. Or that you can use it to beat... The school physics course is nothing complicated.
  "And all I remember from school is something about plus and minus, and the apple that hit Newton on the head..." Misato mumbled dejectedly, having listened to my entire tirade with her mouth open. "Li-isten... Maybe I should transfer you from the pilots to Ritsko's science department. You're going to invent new Evangelions!"
  "And if it's not a secret, how many employees does she already have in her department?" I asked sarcastically.
  "Well..." Katsuragi wondered. "About fifty..."
  "How many pilots do you have now? Considering that I was sent alone to the decisive battle, I don't think much..."
  "Counting you, there are two" The girl laughed.
  "Oh, and who's the other one?" I "asked".
  "The second one," the captain corrected me expectedly. "Her name is Rei, Ayanami Rei. A strange girl, in my opinion, somewhat out of this world, but that's understandable..."
  So, the last part of the phrase alerted me to something - why did these deviations from the norm become the norm? Katsuragi doesn't seem to know about Rei's artificial nature yet...
  "...I never found out where she was from or who her parents were..." Misato finished, dispelling my suspicions. "She actually got to the NERVE before me. Well, never mind, you'll get to know her soon enough... I think so, even though she's, um, not very sociable..."
  "Well, we'll wait and see." I drawled philosophically. "By the way, can I ask you a question, Misato?"
  "Go ahead."
  "Why did you build a huge robot, but you couldn't put an autonomous power source on it and give it a better weapon than a simple knife? I do not know if there is a rocket launcher or a large-caliber cannon..."
  "Er..." The question stumped Misato. "To be honest, I don't even know... You'd better ask Ritsko..."
  "Absolutely," I said categorically, because I was really very interested in this problem. "And about my preliminary developments in the field of Eva's armament, too."
  "What do you mean? Do you think you can come up with something better than an entire UN institution?!" Katsuragi asked me sarcastically. "Yes, you are a worthy son of your father!"
  "You're right, of course, Misato... But I have to fight," I snapped. "And I probably know better, too. Yesterday, for example, I lost my knife and couldn't find it afterwards..."
  "So it is..."
  "...Was it difficult to put the second one somewhere? And preferably in a more comfortable place, not in the shoulder... Or even put retractable blades in my hand, like in the comics. By the way, why the knife? I'd like something more long-range - a cannon or a rocket launcher, although you can also use a spear or a sword..."
  "Shinji, Shinji!" the captain waved her hands. "Why are you telling me this? I don't know much about it!"
  "You're my tactical commander!" I asked indignantly.
  "That's right," the girl nodded. "And my business is tactics, not technical inventions."
  ""Let's sink a couple of battleships and shoot him underwater..."" I muttered, remembering Katsuragi's monstrously idiotic plan to destroy Object A in the series. And this is my tactical commander? Tin!..
  "What?"
  "No, nothing. Sit down to eat, please, I say - the dish is ready."
  "Hurray!.."
  ***
  "Ooh... It's delicious, though unusual!" Misato concluded with satisfaction, taking a long sip of beer. "It really doesn't look, uh, good...."
  "But, but!" I warned her, shaking a piece of bun at her. I've already finished my portion. "One more line from the spot, and you'll cook on your own next time. You'd better do as I do."
  "That is?" Katsuragi furrowed her brows, watching me carefully clean the plate.
  "Misato, do you like to wash dishes?" I answered the question with a question.
  "We-ell..."
  "And without well?"
  "No," the captain sighed resignedly.
  "And why?" Just be honest.
  "Too lazy and too long..."
  "Here!" I solemnly raised a piece of bun. "And why? But because there's too much left in the plate, edible, by the way! And using my method, we clean the surface, and if anything happens, you can not even wash it, but just rinse it - it's almost clean anyway!"
  "Shinji, you're a genius!" Misato exclaimed, rolling her eyes, grabbing another bun. "On behalf of the NERVE command, I would like to thank you!"
  "I serve humanity!" I shouted bravely, trying to stand at attention without getting up from the table. "Or is that not what they say here?"
  "We usually don't say anything at all. And they don't."
  "It sucks..." I said philosophically.
  "So, by the way!.." Katsuragi perked up. "Since this is your home now, too, let's share the household chores!" The captain's eyes twinkled unkindly.
  Of course, of course... We swam, we know, I mean, we saw, we remember. That time, Katsuragi-san, you blamed almost everything on poor Shinji. But I'm too lazy to take all this on myself - I'm not so much a stronger person than him, as I am more lazy...
  "That's good! How are we going to divide it?"
  "Maybe rock-paper-scissors?" Misato asked hopefully.
  Although, having managed to get to know me a little, she didn't seem to count on a favorable outcome of this hopeless case.
  "Ah, no way! That won't do," I categorically shook my head. "We divide by functions: taking out the trash, washing and cleaning for you, cooking for me."
  "Shinji, what are you talking about?" Katsuragi was indignant. "Let's do it this way..."
  ***
  "It's a deal," Misato concluded wearily, shaking my hand.
  "Finally," I replied just as wearily.
  For an hour we argued and haggled over the allocation of household chores. The captain turned out to be a tough nut to crack. As a result, in addition to cooking, cleaning also went to me, but I still pushed the rest off myself...
  "Ugh, you're a fucking salesman..."
  "Look at yourself, Comrade Captain."
  "Oops! I let it slip..."
  "And why, er... A comrade?" Misato immediately grabbed onto me. "Didn't you call me that before the fight? It's like a Russian word, right?"
  Okay, let's get out of it - I'm playing the image of a kid who's crazy about guns, right?..
  "Exactly. So, when addressing the military In Russia, it is customary to use the address not Mr., but comrade so-and-so, adding the rank of captain there, or major. Is that clear?"
  "Yeah," Katsuragi nodded. "How do you know so much? For example, I was at the Russian NERVE base, but I didn't even know such subtleties..."
  "Read books, Misato. Smart, thick books..."
  "Brr..." Katsuragi shuddered. "Don't say such terrible things in front of me..."
  "Co-ome on, let's unpack your things, huh?"
  "So you haven't even unpacked yours yet..." I said skeptically.
  "That's the point!" The girl exclaimed joyfully. "Let's start with yours, and then, you see..." Guys, an ambush! It seems that they also want to involve me in sorting through a pile of commander's things!
  ***
  "Wow!" the captain blurted out, carefully taking out the cello case. "Are you playing?"
  "Not so much..." I drawled, looking skeptically at the musical instrument. "So, rather, I just studied once, but the device remained..."
  I wonder how my fine motor skills are? Do I still know how to play, or did I completely forget how to play when I became a dominant personality? I'll have to ask later, at my leisure...
  "Okay, let's take this nonsense further..."
  I don't have that many things, basically. Clothes and shoes are the most voluminous (shirts, trousers, sneakers), and the rest are a few books (mostly reference books and encyclopedias) and all sorts of small things.
  "Well, do you have the last box left?" Misato asked bloodthirsily. "Give it here - it's going to be dessert!.."
  She's talking about the package from the NERVE - I really left it for sweets.
  "Well! Well! Come on!.. Maybe I should open it anyway.." Misato was spinning around, peering over one shoulder, then the other.
  "Hands! I'll do it myself! By myself! By myself!.." I stated categorically, hovering over the box with my whole body, and opening it with a stationery knife. They're packed up tight, damn it...
  "Wow!.." the girl said, looking at the contents of the box.
  I carefully took out a black and gold tunic and trousers, a white shirt, heavy blunt-toed shoes, a NERVE ID card and, most importantly, a small plastic briefcase.
  To begin with, I paid a little attention to the uniform - I ran my hand over the fabric, smooth and silky, pleasant to the touch... There are patches in the form of small silver triangles on the sleeves - I wonder what kind of rank this is?
  "So you're a second lieutenant now?"
  "Yeah..." I mumbled vaguely, moving on to the briefcase. The lid was a little tight... Well, come on, open up... yeah!..
  A Glock-17 pistol and a spare magazine rested quietly in a small recess. A belt holster was also found in a separate package, along with four boxes of parabellum cartridges.
  "Cool!" I exhaled, carefully pulling out my gun. What else does a kid need to be happy? A great mission to save the world, a huge force (even if enclosed in a giant robot), weapons... It would be nice, of course, to have some kind of beauty and a suitcase of money in addition, but I'm already getting impudent...
  The girl snatched the gun out of my hands with lightning speed - I didn't even have time to blink an eye.
  "Er!" I was indignant, completely not expecting such meanness.
  "Shinji, do you understand that this is a deadly thing?"
  "And you're telling me this after you put me in a huge robot capable of destroying an entire city? Compared to Eve, she's just a toy!"
  "Toys are toys, but I won't give you a gun." Katsuragi stated resolutely.
  "Here's another one! By the way, I'm supposed to have it!"
  "So you haven't even read the Charter!" Misato was amazed at my audacity. "How can you possibly know that?"
  "But it's written, isn't it?" I narrowed my eyes slyly.
  "It's written," the commander had to admit. "All NERVE officers have the right to carry weapons, and it is mandatory for officers to do so..."
  "Well, that's it!" I said triumphantly. "What are you worried about, Misato? I can handle a gun somehow-it's not Eve, after all..."
  "But I doubt it," Katsuragi said skeptically.
  I looked at the captain expectantly. She looked uncomprehending.
  "Well, Misato!.."
  "You're going to shoot yourself something!"
  Victor gave his word that everything would be fine.
  "Look, give me the Glock now, I'll show you... Just make sure it's not charged."
  Katsuragi looked at me skeptically, but she clicked off the magazine and pulled the bolt. I made sure there were no bullets anywhere, put the magazine back in and, grabbing the Glock by the barrel, handed it to me, butt first.
  "Come on, show me what you can do."
  "Now" I answered thoughtfully, weighing the creation of the Austrian gunsmiths in my hand.
  One - he clicked the magazine, two - he jerked the bolt sharply, three - he pulled the trigger.
  "Norma," I said authoritatively, hearing a dry click, even though I had held the gun in my hands a few times before. But, as they say, reading the right books gives you certain knowledge... "As for shooting yourself something, Comrade Commander, you overreacted. The Glock is a reliable thing, it has an automatic safety catch, you need to press the trigger properly to fire, so you can't shoot that easily..."
  "Since you're so well-read, tell me that there were no cases of crossbows from him at all," Katsuragi snorted.
  "No, why not?" I objected. "Were. But purely out of stupidity - someone tried to shove a pistol into a holster, keeping their finger on the trigger, and that's what the shot turned out to be... So, Misato, have I convinced you of my trustworthiness?
  "Hmm," Katsuragi thought. "Well, let's assume that yes. You seem to really understand this business..."
  "Cool!" I was elated. "Everyone at school is jealous of me!"
  "You're not going to carry a gun with you to school!" the girl stated categorically.
  "What if something happens?" I made an innocent face, suddenly remembering a scene from "End of Evangelion" (approx. A full-length sequel to the original twenty-six-episode series), when soldiers almost killed Shinji... Now, if something like this happens again, I'll have time to take at least one with me...
  Wait, what am I doing? The third Blow must be prevented without leading to such events...
  "How can this farting help you?" Katsuragi gave up a bit.
  "Why are you walking around with a gun?" Well, you compared it! I have a forty-caliber beast car!..
  "Oh, come on! If anything, you can kill a person with a small pellet, so.40 "Smith and Wesson" (approx. powerful 10 mm cartridge for police and army weapons) or .22 "Long Rifle" (approx. a weak 5.56mm cartridge for sports and training weapons) - there is no difference..."
  Katsuragi narrowed her eyes and looked at me carefully.
  "Oh, definitely an amateur..."
  "If you offend, you're a professional!" I said importantly, and we both laughed.
  "Okay, then. Let's go to bed already, otherwise you have to go to school tomorrow, and I have to go to work..."
  "Misato-san!" I howled. "Can I at least not go to school tomorrow? I just got out of the hospital!"
  "There's a word for "must," Shinji..."
  "And I may have to defend the Earth tomorrow, but I'm tired!.."
  "Put aside the conversations... Comrade Second Lieutenant, and go to bed! As a senior officer, I order you," Misato said with a snide face. "Is everything clear?"
  "That's right," I replied dejectedly. I didn't want to get up early tomorrow morning...
  "Don't whine, you're a man," Katsuragi said, getting up from the floor where we were sorting my things, and heading for the exit. "And once again, Shinji... You fought well today. Well done, keep it up."
  "Come on, whatever it is..." I was even a little embarrassed.
  "Good night, Shinji."
  "Good night, Misato."
  I hung my jacket and trousers on the hanger - I'm going to school in uniform tomorrow, I want to see Kensuke's face first. Besides, I don't feel like flaunting my old clothes - I need to get something new, something of MY OWN, like the same shape. Fuck the school uniform, long live the Nerv"s uniform!
  Somewhere inside me, the real Shinji growled in displeasure.
  ...Come on, bro, I'll just be more comfortable that way. Are you, in principle, satisfied with everything that is happening? Well, that's great... Maybe I'll be yanked out of here tomorrow, back into my world, so watch and learn... Well, at least for a loser like me.
  I put some textbooks and notebooks I'd found in my briefcase, took my bedding out of the closet, and got ready to go to bed. The fact that I was going to sleep on the floor didn't really bother me - I had to sleep a lot on this subject in my time...
  He spread out a thin mattress, threw a sheet and a small pillow on it. He lay down, covered himself with a blanket, and put a loaded pistol under his arm. His mechanism is reliable, there's not even an external fuse, so he won't accidentally fire.
  Good job, Victor, very good job...
  Even without the "berserk mode", I failed with Object A, dealt with Evangelion's management, got along with Misato, and put pressure on my father...
  Something is too good to begin with... Well, okay, then it's going to really suck, so far everything that's happening is just a warm-up, but it's not bad, I must say.
  And the nice thing is, it was really me who did it. Even if I'm in Shinji Ikari's body (old man, I'm with you!), but I am. But damn, it's nice to realize your own importance!..
  ..Then I remembered another important matter. He took out an old Shinji cassette player, put on headphones, and decided to find out what his favorite tracks were, twenty-five and twenty-six...
  Hmm, that sounds painfully familiar... "Still Loving You" by "Scorpions"? Not bad, though unexpected, but what's the last track?.. Are they Scorpios too?.. Yeah, yeah...
  Pancake...
  This is "Sendme an Angel"...
  It's prophetic...
  I was falling asleep, and the player was playing quietly.:
  Here I am!
   Will you send me an Аngel?
   Here I am!
   In the land of the morning star...
  Chapter 6. School, school, I miss you...
  The nasty beeping of the alarm clock sounded too unexpected, but to get rid of its annoying chirping, I had to get up and walk a few steps - an old trick to stay awake again. Although, from my own experience, I can say that this does not always work - a couple of times in my life I jumped out of bed briskly, went to the alarm clock, turned it off and automatically returned back to bed. And, of course, he switched off.
  I still woke up with a hidden hope that everything that was happening around me was just a dream. But no, damn it... Well, okay, I slept pretty well today, my body still hurts after the fight, but we'll get over it somehow. So, a towel on your shoulder, a box of pasta and a brush in your hand, and go to the bathroom - today, however, is a serious day. The first visit to school after all!..
  I stared at myself in the mirror for a long time in a stupor.
  I WASN'T THERE.
  He looks like me, but not me.
  He also has short brown hair that sticks out in disarray, but his facial features are different, although also more European than Asian, and his eyes are gray-blue. And there I had brown ones... Funny. I looked more like a Japanese THERE than the current Shinji.
  .. The wound on my forehead, which was covered with a plaster, got in the way, but I washed my face, brushed my teeth (although I was too lazy), and started packing. Shirt, trousers, jacket, holstered pistol on his belt, combed his hair carefully, grabbed his briefcase and went to the kitchen - Misato, it seems, got up even before me. Yeah, that's right, he's sitting there drinking coffee.
  "Good morning, Shinji! Ah, good-d fighter!.."
  "Thank you," I said, somewhat embarrassed, also pouring myself a cup of coffee.
  Oops! And there's no cream or condensed milk here - you'll have to drink black... Okay, where has ours been?
  I poured myself a cup and sat down at the table. He took a few sips. Wow, it's creepy. I can't sleep a wink.
  "Did you finish it? Then pack up, I'll drop you off at school-it's on my way anyway. Call me after class, here's my number, by the way... I'll take you to NERVE for training."
  "Why would I want to call?" I asked.
  "Oh, you don't have your own yet! They didn't send it with the form, did they? Okay, we'll figure it out, but in the meantime, if anything, call from school."
  ***
  I've never transferred to other schools, so I've always been vague about this procedure.
  Misato handed me a folder of documents in the car, which I was supposed to give to the director. What do you mean, my class is 2A? Okay, let's figure it out... The main thing is that the main problem is survival in the new team, I don't care at all. My new workplace will be a NERV, and that's where I need to fit in, and school is a load... In principle, I could have gone to homeschooling - no, well, what did I forget about this school? I practically had my graduation diploma in my hands there... Okay, there should be an order...
  Surprisingly, the school, despite its rather respectable size, was not too crowded - all the way from the parking lot to the principal's office, I came across only a couple dozen students. Who, I must say, were staring open-mouthed at a kid in a black-and-gold "Nerv" uniform and with a school briefcase in his hands. Get used to it, get used to it, guys - you're at a military base, you'll need to, and we'll give you machine guns in your hands and send you to repel the attack of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces...
  ...I found the director's office quickly enough, as it was right on the ground floor, not far from the entrance. After knocking and waiting for a shout of permission, I opened the door and walked inside with a clear step.
  "Mr. Director! Second Lieutenant Ikari arrived at the training site," I rapped out, raising my hand to my temple - we Japanese can keep our heads uncovered.
  An elderly director in a dark gray suit almost dropped his glasses, which were being polished with a handkerchief, from his hands, and stared at me dumbfounded. By the way, this subject turned out to be the first classical Japanese I met in this reality...
  "Ah.. um... Come on in, Ikari," the director said hesitantly.
  Enjoying the effect, I took a few steps forward, handed the director a folder with my documents, and modestly sat down in a guest chair, putting my briefcase on my lap.
  Heh, I've always dreamed of doing something like this, but at school they wouldn't have appreciated such a joke (and I wouldn't have dared), and at university it wasn't accepted to joke like that... Well, you know, probably - "the price of a ruined credit card is two birthdays in a cap." They could have taken it as a hint in the dean's office...
  "I was informed about the transfer of a new student to the school..." The director muttered, flipping through my personal file. "But without any details... Is there anything else I should know about you, Ikari?"
  "I have everything I need in my personal file." I said it with a stony face, even though I wanted to laugh at the director's confused look. "Other than that, I can only say that I may miss classes from time to time due to the service. Oh, and here's another thing!.. Are there any objections about my uniform? It's just that I'm supposed to have it..."
  "No, of course not." The Japanese man hastily blurted out. "There won't be any problems with that - the teachers will be notified..."
  "In that case, can I go? The call is coming soon..." I got up from my chair.
  "Yes, yes, of course," the director nodded. "Have a nice day!"
  "The same to you. Goodbye" I politely said goodbye and walked out the door.
  I even had the strength to walk away from the director's office before I burst out laughing - well, Vitek, you're giving it!.. Now you can officially do anything at school, hiding behind a terrible and omnipotent NERVE. And what? Did I save the city? I saved you, which means I have the right to a legitimate vacation... Inspired by this thought, I realized that, in principle, I could go home and sleep - no one would say a word against me now, though... It would still be useful to get acquainted with the class... So, it's decided - we're not skipping today. Where is that other A?..
  ***
  As expected, my appearance caused a real sensation in the group, ugh, in the classroom - all conversations subsided as if by magic, and the eyes of the students crossed on me.
  It's all so familiar...
  At uni, I could also afford any kind of appearance and behavior in a group (within the bounds of decency and reason, of course), anyway, everyone was already used to my antics. And the fact that, for example, in a couple of English, I could inspiringly compose advertisements not about selling refrigerators or cars, but Colt Commando carbines and F-18 fighter jets to the Arabs, or, say, even start saying something in German... Or argue with a marketing teacher about the misuse of the term "flank attack."..
  That's who I am... The original.
  ..I looked for an empty desk (there were a lot of them, by the way) and decided to land on one of the last desks behind Kensuke. It would be extremely difficult not to recognize him - before I came in, he was excitedly fiddling with models of the Abrams tank and the F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter, simulating an air attack (with very authentic sounds, I must admit) and filming it all on camera. Glasses, disheveled hair and a thoroughly freckled European face - this is the tenth thing, the main thing is the camera and the military...
  Right now, though, Kensuke was staring at the kid in uniform, which was me. The camera was aimed at me, and the guy is a natural cameraman!..
  On the way to the desk, I quickly looked at the other students - Japanese and Europeans, boys and girls. There are more girls. They huddle and whisper, apparently to my soul... Almost everyone is wearing a school uniform: the boys have a white shirt and black trousers, the girls have a funny little suit, something like a light blue sundress over a white blouse, with a bright scarlet ribbon tied under the collar. What's it called, a sailor suit, aka sailor fuku? Interesting, interesting...
  There are only three people standing apart -Kensuke with models and a camera, the headman (probably) wiping the board, and Ayanami Rei. It was hard not to recognize her, with her bandaged head and right arm, an eye patch, and ash-gray hair. Oh, and then there's his trademark indifference to everything that happens - he sits there and looks out the window indifferently. She didn't even turn around when I walked in...
  I threw my briefcase under my desk and sat down on a chair, casually tossing Ida:
  Why are you using a "Falcon" to "box" (approx. the slang term for any armored vehicle) are you attacking? He's a fighter, but a Thunderbolt-2 attack aircraft would be better suited here...
  The way he looked at me!..
  Surprise mixed with delight and some kind of hope.
  I sometimes had the same look when I found someone who was at least a little bit familiar with weapons. Aida, the kid, as far as I know, is normal, sincere, just like me, a little turned on the trunks. And in general, he is somewhat similar to me in character... And you still need to make contacts in the classroom, so why not with him first?
  "Are you interested in military subjects?" Kensuke asked with some kind of breathlessness, slightly squinting at his plastered forehead.
  "Yeah," I casually brushed a non-existent speck of dust off my sleeve.
  "Ida," he resolutely held out his hand to me.
  Hello, fellow moron.
  "Vek... Shinji," I laughed and shook his outstretched hand. Now there will be two of us here, I think...
  "Hey, Shinji, are you a member of NERVE?"
  "Yeah."
  Yyyyy! Ida groaned, clutching his head in his hands. Well, not a damn thing! How? How did you get there at that age?! I want to too!!!
  "Yes, I am..." I started to answer, but then a freckled, sandy-haired girl walked briskly towards Kensuke and sharply shouted:
  "Kensuke, why are you yelling like a madman?"
  "That's right, that's it..."
  "That's not what you're telling me, but rather, did you bring your homework to Suzuhara?"
  "Mmm..." Ida hesitated. "Toji had no one at home yesterday..."
  "Yeah, I see, the girl is the class leader, Hikari Horaki."
  "Ida!" - the headman said sternly. "You're friends with Suzuhara, aren't you worried about him at all?"
  "That's right," Kensuke frowned. "What if he was hurt?"
  "In the battle the day before yesterday? But they said on TV that there were no wounded!"
  "Yeah well..." Ida grimaced skeptically. "Didn't you see the crater from the explosion? And anyway, my father works in the department for interaction with the army, he said there were a lot of troops there. Several helicopters were shot down, that's for sure... So I'm sure there are dozens injured, maybe even killed..."
  "Eighty-six UN troops died yesterday, including helicopter pilots and tank crews who tried to stop the Object A. I interjected. - There are no dead civilians, that's for sure, but I don't know about the wounded."
  Before they put me in the infirmary, I extracted data on real losses from the "nervous" ones. The crews of helicopters and tanks died at the very beginning of the battle, when they tried to stop the object A by conventional means, but by that time the civilian population had already been completely evacuated to bomb shelters.
  I really wanted to know if I had killed anyone during the battle, because many people were injured that time, including Toji's sister...
  ...The students, who seemed to have calmed down a little, fell silent again and stared at me.
  "How do you know that?" Someone's voice was heard.
  "I serve in... the NERVE operations department and have similar information." I said weightily. A new moan of despair was heard from Aida.
  The gun maniac's stream of moans was interrupted by the classroom door opening.
  Toji Suzuhara came in, the guy from whom I was potentially going to get a beating today, because he was indirectly responsible for his sister's injury.
  Outwardly, he resembled a classic gopnik - healthy, in a tracksuit and sneakers. He only lacks caps and seeds to complete the look...
  "Suzuhara!" Hikari's voice was heard.
  Yeah, but she doesn't like him very much... However, so did Toji towards her. Oh, the good thing is reciprocity... I wish I could...
  Toji threw a large white gym bag on the desk, yawned tiredly, rubbed his eyes and plopped down next to his briefcase.
  "Hello everyone. I see there are fewer of us..."
  "Evacuation, however..." Ida remarked.
  "Some people moved to other cities and transferred to other schools - they didn't want to stay in the "Third" after yesterday's fight."
  "But I see you're just happy to watch the real war..." Toji said sarcastically.
  "Otherwise! By the way, where were you yesterday? I came to see you, but no one was at home... Has anything happened?"
  "Not with me," Suzuhara said gloomily. "But with my younger sister..."
  That's right... Thin, I feel thin... Bad, bad, bad...
  "Anything serious?" I asked unexpectedly, even to myself.
  Damn, it seemed like one minute everyone was listening exclusively to Toji, but no - one line and then everyone turned to me.
  "And who are you?" Suzuhara looked at me suspiciously from under his brows. Damn, and what I didn't keep silent about...
  "This is Shinji, the new guy," Kensuke explained and added with quiet envy. "He's a NERVE agent..."
  "Yes, I thought maybe I should help with something. If anything, I would try to find out what is needed through my channels..."
  ...Okay, enough show-offs already, you fucking puncher!..
  Toji's expression softened slightly.
  "No, thanks, I don't need anything. I just broke my leg, so I was in the hospital all day yesterday... My father and grandfather work at the research center and were very busy, so I had to sit with my sister. Oh, and you'll probably have to sit a lot... Headman, I'm sorry, but I'm probably going to have to skip a lot now..."
  "Are there no nurses in the hospital?" I asked.
  "But it's urban," Suzuhara grimaced. "The care and treatment at the NERVE infirmary are excellent, but it's not that easy to get there - my ancestors didn't have such a rank. And, for sure, this infirmary is constantly clogged..."
  "Yes, it's half empty," I blurted it out without thinking.
  "How do you know that?" Toji's eyes narrowed suspiciously again.
  "Yes, I am... I was lying in it..." - then an idea came to my mind. "Listen... Toji, right? Do you want me to talk about getting her transferred there?"
  "Ha, who are you to be obeyed!" Suzuhara sneered maliciously. "Maybe the Commander himself or his son?"
  Damn, that's how they get their finger in the sky!..
  "Er..."
  One fig they'll find out...
  "Actually, yes!"
  Hearing this, Toji laughed, and several other voices joined in.
  "Are you saying that you're Gendo Ikari's Commander?" Suzuhara forced out through his laughter. "Well, you're a joker, kid!.."
  "No, I'm on the second version. Allow me to introduce myself as Junior Lieutenant Shinji Ikari, the Commander's son..."
  Oh, I shouldn't have said that... The silence seemed to be palpable.
  "Are you really Commander Ikari's son?" Toji asked incredulously.
  "Well, why would I lie?"
  "Affairs..." Someone drawled.
  "Well, should I talk about your sister's transfer? Of course, I've only recently joined NERVE, so I can't give you an absolute guarantee... Just give her first and last name, and then we'll see..."
  Suzuhara blushed, turned away, and said uncertainly,:
  "Suzuhara, Naomi Suzuhara..."
  "Hey, Toji, how is she like that, huh?.." Kensuke interjected.
  Suzuhara's expression darkened again.
  "In the battle the day before yesterday. Our shelter was damaged, and all those fucking robots..."
  "And they say that "our guy" was controlled by a man..."
  "What a jerk he is then!" Toji shouted angrily. I found a place to arrange a battle, you half-baked idiot! His robot destroyed half the city-what was he even thinking about? About what?!"
  "And thanks for that," I muttered, turning away. "Eh?! Ida turned to me with the menacing slowness of a battleship's turret." Don't you want to say that you are?..
  ...Victor, your tongue is your enemy!!!
  "So it was you!" Toji's eyes flashed, clenching his fists and jumping up from his desk. "You're the idiot pilot!.. Yes I..."
  "Will you hit me?" I asked in a bored voice, remaining in place. For some reason, everything became deeply indifferent to me. "Well, then hit! But if you knew, I didn't want that, I would have had my way, and I would also have turned someone's head for such operations..."
  It was as if all the air had been drained out of Toji-after all, his sister wasn't so badly hurt this time.
  "Yes, I..." he continued by inertia, but he unclenched his fists. "I don't really know what... But why did you arrange a fight right in the middle of the city?"
  "Me? Yes, that's how it is! I wanted to, damn it... The day before yesterday, as soon as I arrived, they put me in a mechanoid and sent me to fight, not even really caring about tactics. "Hey, kid! Stop this thing at all costs before it picks everything up here..." Do you think it was nice to know that you could kill thousands of people?
  Toji finally calmed down.
  "Yeah... It's a shitty situation..."
  "That's what I mean..."
  But I've already been bombarded with new questions from other students.:
  "And how were you chosen?"
  "Were these some kind of exams?"
  "Were you afraid?"
  "Are the workouts difficult?"
  "And which cabin is inside?"
  "And what is the name of the robot?"
  "Does he have a superweapon?"
  The waterfall of cheers was interrupted by two events: an unexpectedly sharp signal for the start of classes and a teacher entering the classroom.
  "Stop, stop," I laughed, raising my hands in mock fright. "The press conference is after couples, and even then most of the information cannot be disclosed to me - classified information, you know..."
  Wow, how their eyes lit up!.. Of course, blurt out those magic words to someone, "classified information, I can't say anything," and you're guaranteed a long and lasting interest. But a lesson is a lesson, so everyone started to go to their seats, pulling out their school laptops from under their desks, although they cast interested glances at me.
  Following the general example, I also took out a small worn gray laptop, opened it and turned it on... Well, hello... "Windows 2000"? What kind of fruit are you? And where, I wonder, is the "seven" or at least the ex-pi? Perhaps Comrade Gates did not invent them here? Sorry... So, what about the characteristics? Yeah... yeah... yeah... Yeah, not much... In fact, it's not even a netbook, but just a large calculator combined with a typewriter - you can't play games on it... Are there any games at all? I see that there aren't even any solitaire games here...
  Although, given the global situation, there is no time for special excesses and mass culture right now - I wouldn't be surprised if most of the global economy is now based on the production of weapons. And what? It's a proven method - govement have come out of their asses more than once, and if you also take into account the abundance of large and small wars all over the planet... In short, the general decline of goods of widespread and unnecessary consumption is evident.
  So, okay, shouldn't I be officially introduced to the class as a freshman? Write your name on the board, mumble your full name, dance a hop? No? That's great. Although it seems like it's all about the teacher - the old man doesn't give a damn about anything and everyone. He sits there, mumbling something about the Second Beat under his breath, not really caring if they listen to him or not. And the whole class does what they want to do - who gets into naval combat, who reads a book from a laptop, who just chats... How familiar it is! We never did that at school, but at uni... Although, in recent years, it was easier to remember classes when we didn'T do that.
  "Come on, come on!" Kensuke turned to me. "How did you become a pilot of this robot?
  They call him Evangelion, right? I also want to become the same pilot!"
  "Em... Aida, are all your couples, ugh, are the lessons going like this?"
  "Oh, no, really! Well, this is social studies - we usually only talk about the Second Blow and its consequences. I think that's the most moronic subject we have, even literature will be better... But math and Japanese are tough! So. Don't talk my teeth out of it, but answer the question better."
  "Yes, of course, Mr. Investigator," I answered readily. "So, I lived for fourteen years and didn't grieve, but then - bang! They called me to Tokyo 3, put me in the Evangelion, and sent me into battle..."
  "Shinji, I'm asking you seriously." Aida pouted. "You're talking nonsense... Tell me you don't want to be a pilot..."
  Damn, is today Holy Guessing Game Day? Why don't you believe me? I told you the whole truth!.. Although... The classic situation really smacks of nonsense... Okay, we'll figure something out now...
  "You know, Aida, I almost didn't lie to you," I said. I suddenly had a revelation, and I started composing with inspiration. "Piloting is related to genetic characteristics and NERVE main efforts are related to finding suitable candidates. I was found only recently, and I really did not have time to complete the full course of studies... Why, I've never even been in Eva before that battle!.. I was sent here just for combat training, and here you are! The object A attacked!.."
  "Affairs... And what kind of genetic features are important here?"
  "Mmm..." I honestly thought about it. "I don't even know how - I wasn't privy to this, and it's probably a national secret..."
  "Maybe I'll be good for them after all." Aida said hopefully and breathlessly.
  "Maybe... Maybe..."
  If I'm not mistaken, then the whole second A is a collection of potential pilots, so there would be Eves, but there will be pilots...
  I felt a little stuffy, and I decided to unbutton my jacket...
  I shouldn't have. Kensuke's eyes instantly turned into saucers.
  "A gun?! The real one?!"
  "Thh", I put my finger to my lips. "NERVE officers are supposed to have personal weapons according to the Regulations."
  I wonder what is really written about this in the Charter of NERVE?..
  "I want to serve in the NERVE," Aida said decisively.
  ***
  The six lessons flew by unexpectedly quickly, although it was probably habit-it was much easier to sit out fifty minutes of a lesson than a couple of hours and a half. After the first day at school, I even felt some uncharacteristic nostalgia. Calls, lessons, homework... So, but the latter is just connected only with extremely negative memories. But in general, compared to the university, it's nothing complicated. Monstrously frivolous social studies, penmanship (hieroglyphs, fuck them!), geography (I learned a lot of new things), English, biology, history and mathematics. The latter subjects are just entertainment, even algebra - after the institute's differential equations and limits, all these equations and inequalities are sheer pampering... However, Kensuke was just shocked when, out of boredom, I solved all the equations set for the lesson in about fifteen minutes.
  Okay, the last couple (ugh, the lesson) ended and everyone started packing, and I didn't stay away. I threw notebooks and books into my briefcase, saved today's data on the local network on the school book, and was already on my way out...
  "So, where are you going?" Aida stood in my way with the most serious look (which created the exact opposite effect).
  What about the press conference?
  "Oh, Get off, Aida... o cares?" I chuckled skeptically.
  "And you look around," Kensuke said in a terrible whisper.
  I turn around with an undiminished degree of skepticism... Oops!.. I really overreacted about the interest - the whole class, to a single person (even the headman and Toji) remained in their seats, looking at me with interest. Someone from the opposite sex already seemed to be making eyes at me (well, I'm not much of a specialist in these feminine tricks). Damn, I'm a school celebrity now!..
  Hmm, I must say, this role is very new to me - I have already been a silent intellectual, a frostbitten excellent student maniac, too, but I have not yet become a universal object of interest and worship...
  Extremely interesting...
  "So what, are you so interested in hearing about who I am?"
  In response, there was a steady buzz of positive responses. Tek-S... So what should I do? I don't know what information I can divulge and what I can't, in case I blurt something out, I can, I know myself... Oh, well, it wasn't! If anything, I'll get rid of it, there's a bi-i-ig shortage of pilots in the NERVE. Let's assume that I am now the official press secretary of the institute, conducting a PR campaign to consolidate the positive image of NERVE among the masses.
  I walked behind the teacher's desk, put my briefcase on the table, and sat down, interlacing my fingers.
  "Well, where do we start? Just one at a time, please..."
  Damn, what started here!.. There's no order - they're all talking at once, interrupting and shouting over each other.
  "Guys! Guys!.. Ahh!"
  I urgently need a hammer - I'm not going to beat this whole crowd!
  "COME ON, QUIET, EVERYONE!!!"
  Hikari might have a voice... At least sign up for the army right now - you already have a commanding voice, and the rest will come...
  "It was clearly said to speak one at a time and not yell. What is unclear?"
  "Headman, why are you bossing around again- we're not in class..."
  "You've become painfully talkative, Date... Have you forgotten how I covered for you? I won't do it anymore."
  "Umm... Headman, why are you so quick?.. I'm already silent..."
  Hmm, I take back my words - Hikari can already be given the rank of sergeant major and sent to chase recruits. Yeah... Fire girl - Suzuhara was unlucky...
  "You know what?" I intervened. "Let me make an introduction first, and then you'll ask me something else, okay? Well, that's settled..."
  I got up from the table, went to the blackboard, coughed into my fist (somewhat ostentatiously to defuse the situation) and began, as they say, to move:
  "Well, let's start in order... My name is Shinji Ikari, the son of the Commander of the NERVE Gendo Ikari Special Institute. My rank is second lieutenant, I serve in the operations department, my position is the pilot of Unit-01, aka Evangelion-01, aka Eva."
  "... What? To clarify, this is not a robot, it is a special biomechanical armor designed to counteract it... alien invaders. Their code name is "Object A"... The fact that there's only been one so far doesn't mean anything. As they say, you never know... Why Object A? I don't know, I'm not the one making up these stupid names. Personally, I would have called yesterday's alien a fucking Godzilla, but for some reason no one asked me. What they want here, why this Object A attacked us, is unknown," I lied, hiding the lie among the pieces of truth."
  "... Superweapons? Oh, Well, what are you talking about... This isn't a mech or some other fantasy movie - we only have quite ordinary weapons at our disposal: knives, cannons, missiles..."
  "...Exams? I have no idea about any exams, where the selection seems to be related to the genetic characteristics of individuals - I won't even say more precisely... Aida, how long have I been hearing this cry of the soul from you? I don't know if you can become a pilot or not - I'm not on the admissions committee! I can only say that you all have a potential chance - one of the most important conditions is the age of no more than fourteen years, I don't really know what this is related to... No, I can't say anything about how the cabin looks from the inside - it's classified information" - we need to put this phrase somewhere...
  "Well, are there any more questions?" I see a girl's hand timidly rising from one of the last desks. "Yes, please."
  "Shinji, do you have a girlfriend?"
  Tek-S... Are there any matrimonial plans for my person? No, guys, I don't need that yet...
  "No, and I'm not going to start it yet," I keep a straight face, even though my ears are treacherously blushing. An indeterminate sigh passes through the female part of the class-I think I've hit it...
  Chapter 7 Getting to know the NERVE
  "Good afternoon, Shinji! How are you feeling?" Dr. Akagi"s friendly voice sounded in my head.
  I was sitting in a contact capsule, waiting for the start of the workout. According to the viewscreens, Zero One was currently in some kind of gym. It was a fairly small room by my Eva"s standards, with smooth white walls that looked like they were made of some kind of blocks...
  But in fact, my Evangelion was still in its... well, let"s say it was a dock, but it only had computer simulation equipment connected to it. There were no monstrously complicated movements of Eva from room to room inside the headquarters.
  "Good morning, Dr. Akagi. I am in perfect order - ready for work and defense!" The second time, the taste of LSD didn"t seem so bad to me, so my mood was really quite uplifting. Six lessons or three pairs by university standards flew by quickly enough, and now it"s the turn of daily training. At least now they"ve given me a contact jumpsuit-an interesting thing, I"ll say. Comfortable, warm, and easy to dress, and the vacuum tension system perfectly adjusts it to any shape. The torso is tightly covered by something like a plastic armored jacket hidden inside the fabric - it seems to be a really light bulletproof vest with a built-in system of auto-detection and medical diagnostics. In theory, the contact suit should increase the degree of my synchronization with Evangelion and help with management, as well as transmit information about my well-being to the command center. Well, if anything, with the help of a combat suit, they could inject me with some kind of dope or support my life in some other way - for this it had a whole bunch of sensors, and even, it seems, a built-in defibrillator... And in the end, it just looked stylish - black and blue with white inserts, and a cool design. Show-offs, damn it...
  They put a pair of neural clamps on my head again to improve the degree of synchronization with Eve and ensure a more stable connection with the Center. That"s great.
  Now we"re going to connect you to a computer simulation of Eva, as close to reality as possible. Have you ever played computer games? Well, it"s about the same thing - your main task is to get used to the management. Nothing more is needed yet. Anticipating your question, we"ll talk about weapons systems after training.
  I chuckled softly, he"s working fast, Captain Katsuragi. She has already reported my comments...
  "So, come on, take the rifle and we"ll start the briefing."
  I obediently picked up the simulator of the long-range weapon I so desired, and got ready to listen. Naturally, I was not holding a real megawint in my hands, but just a mock-up, but a mock-up that fully reproduces the dimensions, weight and other characteristics of a real rifle. I wonder if she really has an automatic shooting mode? Otherwise, a gun of this caliber should have a simple monstrous return spring in the exhaust mechanism, with truly unrealistic tensile requirements... Well, let"s not forget about the overheating of the barrel...
  "Hello, Shinji! My name is Lieutenant Shigeru Aoba, and my profile is Eva weapon systems. Starting today, I will be your combat training instructor in Eva."
  "Hello, Shigeru-san" I greeted him politely. "Can you tell me more about the weapons I have?"
  "Of course, the guy. Do you like it with very technical details or in general terms?"
  "Well, let"s just say that the words "automatic recoil of the barrel with a short stroke" and "shot from the rear sear" are not empty words for me."
  "Oh! Great! Well, then listen. Right now you have an experimental GG-2 or Gross Gewehr-2 rifle in your hands. (German) Gross gewer. A large rifle), designed specifically and exclusively for arming Evangelions. It is included in Class C equipment. 155 mm caliber, bullpup layout (approx. layout in which the magazine is located behind the trigger handle), wedge bolt, reloading is carried out via an electrical system with an autonomous power source. It is equipped with hydropneumatic recoil protection devices, an ejector and a muzzle brake. The magazine has a sector for thirty caseless shots. The kit may include armor-piercing, high-explosive, incendiary and guided projectiles. The firing mode is semi-automatic, with two firing modes - using the trigger and through direct signal transmission. The sight is integrated into Eva"s guidance systems, so you probably won"t have to combine the front sight and rear sight... Well how?"
  But it"s interesting, damn it! It seems that local designers did not blindly copy the automation and locking systems of conventional small arms, but, on the contrary, began to dance from large-caliber artillery systems. Hence the electric reloading system, the wedge bolt, and caseless (that is, most likely, separate loading - projectile plus charge) shots. And, of course, the standard NATO 155 mm caliber used on the vast majority of self-propelled and towed guns also spoke in favor of this theory.
  "Awesome!" I replied with feeling. "What other weapons are there?"
  "We"ll talk about this in the next lessons."
  "Okay, then I"m ready."
  "Okay, here we go."
  The surrounding panorama of the small room was replaced by the urban landscape of Tokyo 3, but too unnatural. It really felt like a computer game - beautiful, but unnatural. There was an Object A standing among the boxes of skyscrapers... In my opinion, he was standing too passively.
  "Here we have it, the "Matrix"..." I muttered softly, resting the butt of the rifle on my shoulder.
  "Come on, Shinji, destroy this freak!" Misato"s voice broke through to me.
  What was it like in the show? "Combine the aiming marker with the target - fire"? Yes, it"s easy!
  Boom! GG-2 was suddenly shoved hard in the shoulder, and the first shell went over the target. It"s not a bad simulator, though... Very, very naturalistic...
  "Be careful, Shinji. Eve"s CPU takes into account the corrections for firing, but don"t yawn either."
  "I"ve already figured it out," I grumbled, taking aim again.
  Boom! Boom! Yeah, now I get it - the barrel leads slightly up and to the left when fired... Another sighting... There is a hit! Well, now it"s a matter of technique...
  I put five more shells into the Object A in almost automatic mode, he falls and disappears in a blinding flash - the target is hit. I suppress the wild urge to empty the rest of the magazine into this creature to increase my confidence in victory, but I convince myself that ammunition needs to be saved.
  "Good. Now the next one..."
  Another Object A (completely identical to the previous one) appeared about a hundred meters to the left of the previous one. Without waiting for a command from the center, I turn the body slightly to the left, put my left foot slightly forward and press the rifle butt more tightly against my shoulder. Five more shells and another target was hit, and this time I fired only one shell past the target.
  "Okay, next one..."
  After I finished off the fifth green freak and completed the GG-2 magazine at the same time, I got bored. Do they really think that this kind of training is what I need? Well, in vain, in that case... No, actually, this tactic was useful when teaching a really inexperienced teenager of about fourteen...
  I remembered myself at that age. What good would it do if I could tell you the length of the barrel of a variety of assault rifles, as well as their rate of fire, weight, and country of manufacture? I had a very vague idea about tactics at the time, and no computer shooters could help here...
  So in general, Shinji was trained quite competently, gradually leading to more complex techniques. Another thing is that at this rate, they won"t teach you anything sensible until the next object A.
  "Shinji, why are you standing around? Did you forget the briefing?"
  "Aoba-san, I already realized that you just want to bring me up to date so that I can get used to guns and Eva... But I don"t think I need it- just don"t worry, I won"t act like that in battle..."
  There was a pause on the other end of the "wire", which must have been extremely surprised.
  No, gentlemen, comrades, teach me normal things, not this nonsense. Even my amateur knowledge is enough to understand that this is just an introductory part that can be skipped. Yes, I understand that I am overly forcing events and thereby incurring unnecessary suspicion - no matter how Agent ZIELE is seen in me and quietly removed...
  But, damn it, you can"t rely on luck and the Japanese "maybe" alone in battle! Okay, you don"t need much intelligence to control firearms - Eva"s onboard weapon guidance system works just fine, taking into account and introducing a bunch of all sorts of amendments... But a knife fight? In the last battle, I acted purely on scraps of knowledge and my own intuition, but don"t you need comprehensive training here?
  "Shinji, what exactly is wrong with this training?" Misato"s voice was finally heard.
  "Captain Katsuragi," I said formally to her. "You understand that neither Object A nor I will stand still in a real battle. Moreover, if one of us does this, he will suffer significant damage: a stationary target is an ideal target. This simulator is not bad as an introductory one, but as a basic one it is beneath any criticism. Where is a more accurate imitation of the enemy, where is the opportunity to move and change positions? Not to mention that the idea of shooting an Object A from afar doesn"t seem so great to me - if it"s possible, then why didn"t the UN army destroy it yesterday?"
  The new pause turned out to be even longer than the previous one - apparently, there was an active discussion in the command center...
  "So that"s it, Second Lieutenant Ikari," Katsuragi"s slightly sarcastic voice echoed in my head again. "Are you unhappy with your workouts? Then put forward your suggestions - an initiative, you know, is a punishable thing..."
  "Yeah, so that"s it, right?" I pretended to be offended. "Okay, then, here"s what I think... Either take my Eva out for field testing, or develop a more advanced simulator. It can even be purely computer-based, without the slightest reference to Unit-01, well, it"s not for me to explain it all to you... To develop rifle training only taking into account normal tactics - I can shoot at a shooting range anyway, but I don"t know how to act competently in battle. I need to study the full range of available weapons and practice with them... Although, as I understand it, the most reliable weapon here is cold steel, so it would be advisable to start my training in both hand-to-hand and knife combat... In short, it"s like that."
  "Well, Shinji, well, you bastard..." Misato muttered in surprise. "Okay, you"re going to have SOME REAL training, but don"t complain to me later."
  "That"s settled," I grinned. Fuu... Got a ride... If we already have the opportunity, we will not only change those around us, but also learn what is not available in that life...
  ***
  "So, what did you want to talk to me about, Shinji?" Ritsko looked at me with interest, adjusting her thin metal-rimmed glasses. "It seems to have something to do with technology, if Captain Katsuragi told me everything correctly?"
  "That"s right, Dr. Akagi." I replied, sitting down on a chair and placing a small thin folder with brief information about the Evangelion weapons samples on the table in front of me.
  I had already managed to take a shower, washing off the vile LSL, and change out of my contact suit into my uniform, so I was already in a completely civilized state in Ritsko"s office.
  "But if possible, I will first start with a question from a slightly different field, as I am VERY interested in it."
  "Well, if that"s the case, then start."
  "Dr. Akagi, why is Evangelion powered by cable or low-power built-in batteries? Wouldn"t it have been better to put a small nuclear reactor in it?"
  "That"s a reasonable question," Ritsko nodded. "I"ll try to answer it for you... First of all, what do you know about Evangelion-type combat vehicles?"
  "Er... That is?"
  "Well, that is, their structure and the like?.."
  "To be honest, not that much. They seem to be biomechanical organisms - living flesh plus inorganic elements..."
   "In general, you"re right, but Eve is inherently much closer to a living organism than to a mechanism. Yes, Evangelion has neither a digestive nor a respiratory system, but it has peculiar analogues of the organs of living beings... Only individual structural elements are made of metal and plastic - parts of the skeleton and armor, but the largest element of this kind in Eva is the A-10 nerve. It is a complex that includes a contact capsule, mechanisms of its fixation and protection, and elements of interaction with the rest of the Evangelion"s body... In fact, A-10 occupies a very large proportion of the entire internal volume of Eva, so we couldn"t equip Evangelion with even the most compact reactor - it just doesn"t fit. So we had to limit ourselves to purely symbolic backup batteries, and put the main power supply on external sources. I hope I"ve answered that question."
  "I understood that there was no place for the built-in reactor inside Eva. What about the outside? Well, say, in the form of a satchel?"
  "It"s too dangerous, Shinji," The blonde snapped. "You"re not a stupid guy, are you, and you should understand what happens if an atomic reactor is damaged in a fight with an object A? In a city of a million people, it"s just a disaster, isn"t it?"
  "Uh-huh," I muttered dejectedly, realizing that the idea of making an atomic Eve had just failed miserably.
  Damn it, I was already dreaming! I thought I was the smartest person here... But no! If Evangelion was not equipped with such an engine, then it was impossible. The Jet Elon over there with the nuclear reactor was precisely unmanned... Okay, let"s keep thinking...
  "Then what else do you have to tell me?"
  "Well, that"s what I came up with after reviewing my impressions of yesterday"s fight... Okay, but first about the existing weapons."
  Ritsuko grimaced a little-she didn"t seem to have much love for the means of killing, preferring to tinker with more peaceful technology, in particular computer technology.
  "The GG-2 rifle. What"s the use of it? She won"t break through the AT-field, and she"ll be practically useless in close combat, unless you attach a bayonet to her..." I began skeptically. As our calculations show, the long-term maintenance of the AT-field by the Angel depletes its energy reserves, so that the preliminary firing of the target has quite a tangible result. You don"t care if you"re going to fight a full-bodied enemy or if you"re already pretty tired, do you?"
  "Hmm, that"s right..." I muttered, scratching my head in embarrassment. That"s what I didn"t know, I didn"t know... "But surely ordinary troops can handle this task?"
  "You never know what can happen, it never hurts to be safe..."
  "And that"s right... Okay, now the gun. As I understand it now, does it have the same purpose as a rifle, but with the expectation of a shorter firing range? Yeah, then the grenade launchers follow the same article... Okay, then I don"t have any more questions about this part, I"ll go directly to my own thoughts."
  "Come on, tell me what you got there..." Dr. Akagi spoke with genuine interest.
  "First, the knife. It"s inconvenient to get him in battle! It would be better to place it on my arm, belt, or leg. And to come up with something with the possibility of loss is the same as not doing figs! You can hang several blades, but, in my opinion, it would also be nice to make melee weapons embedded..."
  "What do you mean?"
  "Well, in the sense of implanting, say, retractable or folding blades in Eve"s arm, so to speak, as a last resort. Of course, without reducing the role of conventional weapons. It just seems to me, for example, that if my Eve had a couple of such surprises in her fist, it would be easier to cope with the Object A..."
  "Hm... In principle, the idea is not bad..." Ritsko thought about it. "You can think about it... Okay, go ahead."
  "So, where was I there? Yeah, I remembered... the knife. Why only a knife? If cold steel is the best thing we can do against an AT filde, then why not expand its list? There"s a quantum knife, so why not make a quantum sword? For the middle distance, I think it"s the best..."
  "Do you want a sword? Having a sword is not a big problem, but because of this you will have to introduce additional classes..." Akagi warned me.
  No, how is it in Japan without a sword, that is, a katana? The disorder...
  "I"ll get over it somehow." I waved my hand carelessly. "And finally, what I wanted to say. Maybe we should think about Eva"s ammunition. Okay, I"m not going to carry a rifle and magazines with it, but I can stick a pistol somewhere... Still, I think it"s not always possible to get to the arsenal buildings, so it"s useful to always have something on hand..."
  I think so... ha! Yes, I know for sure! All the time, everything will not go according to plan...
  ***
  "Guys, meet me. Our beauty and pride is the Third Child of Ikari Shinji!" Misato solemnly introduced me to everyone in the command center.
  "Uh-huh, and also - intelligence, honor and conscience in one contact capsule," I grumbled, smiling.
  The command room, I"ll tell you, is a thing! Although, in principle, like everything else in the nerve. But there is still an excessive craving for gigantomania, well, this is to be expected - we are in Japan after all! Even during the Second World War, they liked to build something very large and ambitious, such as the Yamato battleship or, say, the Akagi heavy aircraft carrier...
  Hmm, by the way, it"s interesting - many of them... people in this reality have some kind of ship surnames. Akagi, Aoba, Hyuga, Maya - I remember exactly, there were such ships in the Imperial Japanese Navy. It"s a good thing I don"t have that last name, because there"s already a lot of Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern people and steamboats...
  Okay, but I"m going back to the command Center anyway.
  A huge room, the size of half a football field, and the height didn"t let me down either... The entire edge opposite from me is occupied by an inhumanly large map screen with small mini-screens on the sides, all sorts of graphs and tables. I don"t know what it"s all about, but it"s probably not for beauty. As I have already understood, the office is not so senile, and it knows how to spend money wisely...
  The other part of the room was occupied by the command center itself, pyramid-shaped, rising up in steps. There were a whole bunch of jobs for operators here, but the most important were the places at the top of the "pyramid". There weren"t many people here-Dr. Akagi, Misato, and the inseparable trio of miracle technicians they"d known from the series. All of them turned out to be quite young, no older than twenty-five.
  "Lieutenant Ibuki Maya, MAGI operator" a short thin girl with short dark hair and a quiet voice. Unexpectedly for me, she was wearing a beige-and-red uniform that was not familiar from the TV series, but a dark green uniform with gold edging. "You can just say Maya."
  "Lieutenant Shigeru Aoba. If you remember, my profile is Eva"s weapon systems," The guy with his long hair looks like a hard-core metalhead. Dressed the same as Maya. It"s probably the uniform of the science department officers... "You can just say Aoba."
  "Lieutenant Hyuga Makoto, Analyst," A smiling guy with glasses and a hair brush holds out his hand to me. By the way, he was the only one of the technicians who was not wearing a dark green tunic, but in exactly the same black and gold uniform as mine. "You can just use Makoto."
  "Nice to meet you," I am saying this sincerely, having exchanged good health with everyone.
  "Well, that"s wonderful!" Misato stated. "Shinji, do you want to watch the technicians work for a while?"
  "Of course!" I exclaim enthusiastically. You bet! After all, my success in battle depends on the work of these three...
  ..Hmm, as it turned out, there was nothing particularly interesting about their work - routine is routine. Maximum activity, apparently, manifested itself only in extreme situations, and usually there is a rather boring atmosphere here. Yeah... Work is not always interesting and entertaining, but rather the opposite...
  Maya was fiddling with her computer, it looks like she was programming, reprogramming, or correcting something in the program code - I"m not good at these IT technologies... Makoto was excitedly gnawing on a toothpick (there was already a pile of debris from previous victims in the ashtray on his desk), flipping through a comic book (or is it called a manga here?..) and he giggled softly from time to time.
  But what I was most interested in right now was Aoba. The lieutenant was currently sitting at his computer, poring over something that looked painfully like electronic musical tablatures. From the small speakers located on both sides of the flat-screen monitor came soft but powerful music - the band "System of a Down", the song "Know".
  If someone looks like a metalhead, behaves like a metalhead, and finally listens to something commensurate with metal, there can only be one conclusion...
  It is from such a person that I will be able to get hold of normal and familiar music, although, of course, there are great difficulties here. Firstly, most likely Aoba does not have Russian groups, and secondly, it is not a fact that many groups continued to exist after the Second Strike... Because, as I realized, Shinji"s only tape had only old and rather soft music, like the same "Scorpions". I have nothing against them, I even quite adore them, but sometimes you need high-quality brain blows, don"t you? You can"t go into battle, for example, to a calm and quiet melody - you need something cooler here... Okay, first let"s ask, "Is this an attempt a torture, Comrade Beria?"..
  "Aoba, can I distract you?.."
  "Of course, Shinji. What did you want?"
  "I can hear "System of a Down" playing, can you record it for me? And something of the same kind, otherwise I forgot my music when I moved..."
  "No problem. Any special requests?"
  "Well... Is there anything metallic and German or Russian to be found? Like "Rammstein"?"
  So, I hope they even exist here? Otherwise, it will be a loss of losses...
  "You ask... I have a lot of things here, and where can I go without the "classics"?.." Aoba smiled. "How do you want to put it on a flash card?"
  Yeah, so there are flash drives here after all, so not everything is completely lost yet... But here"s the catch - Misato didn"t even have the most cluttered computer in her apartment, and there was simply nowhere to dump music. The twenty-first century, damn it.... We even had computers in every room in our dorm lately, although the radio was considered lucky in the first year... No, you need to get yourself at least some kind of device.
  "Let"s use a flash drive, I think I"ll get a computer for myself soon... Thank you in advance, Aoba!"
  "Come on, what"s the problem, Shinji" He smiled at Shigeru.
  I walked away from his desk and pulled up to Katsuragi, who was sitting in a large armchair, calmly polishing her nails with a nail file.
  "Misato, can I go to the shooting range?"
  "Haven"t you got your bearings yet?" The captain was even indignant. "You"ve been shooting at targets all day!"
  "So it"s in Eve and on the simulator! But I want to live, and in the end, I need to shoot a gun," I retorted.
  "It turns out that he needs to shoot..." Katsuragi grumbled. "Don"t you want anything else?"
  "I"ll come to the shooting range, and we"ll see" I answered vaguely. I wonder if I have a permit to shoot heavier weapons? I want to shoot a machine gun! Oh, well, it"s a paradise for gun maniacs, not a closed institute...
  "Okay, yeah... The Corporal!"
  "Yes, ma"am!"
  "Take the Third Child to the shooting range."
  "Yes, ma"am!"
  One of the soldiers guarding the NERVE command cabin adjusted the MP-5 hanging on his right side and waved his hand at me:
  "Please, sir, follow me."
  Hmm, judging by the slight accent and manner of expression, the guard seems to be from somewhere in America... I wonder if there are any Russians here? Although even if there is, what"s the use? I can"t open up to them - I have nothing to explain my knowledge of the Russian language and habits, and I can"t even count on great erudition.
  Chapter 8. Shooting gallery and reflections on the characters of Evangelion.
  "What can I do for you?.." An elderly, gray-haired Japanese man sitting on the other side of the armored glass looked at me skeptically. Is that a sergeant? So far, I don't know much about "nerve" patches...
  "Second Lieutenant Ikari."
  You can understand a soldier - it's not every day that fourteen-year-old brats come (hmm, or am I only thirteen years old? Damn, I don't remember... when is my birthday?), in uniform and with officer's stripes.
  "I'd like to shoot my personal weapon," I replied calmly, handing him my personal pass.
  The sergeant grunted, but he held the pass under the laser beam. Squeak, my visit has been recorded and registered, you can go.
  "The shooting range is empty now, shoot as much as you want," The gunsmith added a bit sarcastically, handing my ID back. "Just don't forget about the headphones."
  "I won't forget," I replied quite seriously. A couple of incidents from that life were enough for me to understand that firearms make VERY loud noises when firing. "Can I ask you a question? Do I have a permit to fire other types of weapons?"
  "You're Officer NERVE," the sergeant explained. "So you can fire a bazooka if you want to. But I still wouldn't recommend doing it indoors, you know..."
  "No, no, I don't like big guns." I laughed, remembering the absolutely monstrous grenade launchers designed for my Eva. "But I would like to practice shooting with a machine gun or a rifle..."
  "No problem, what are you interested in?"
  "What do you have? Shall we say machine guns?" Honestly, it's like we're trading on the market...
  "There is a Type 62, a Minimi and a Heckler-Koch-21."
  "Wow, though!.."
  "Oh, can I have a German?"
  "Boy, won't it smear you on the wall?" throwing off all chain of command, the sergeant frowned. After all, the HK-21 is going to be a serious car...
  So, I really missed this moment - with my current weight and overall characteristics, God forbid I could handle the machine...
  "Okay, then give me the Belgian handbrake... What about the rifles?"
  "Pooh, do you want honey or condensed milk?"..
  "Type-89, M-4, Aug-77 and Kalashnikov-74."
  "Both! And you can do it without bread!!!"
  Come on, everyone!..
  ...Anyway, three hours later, Misato was almost forcing herself on me from the shooting gallery, studiously ignoring my pleas that "I'm just a little bit more." As a result, I looked stunned, my uniform smelled of gunpowder smoke, my right index finger was frozen and stiff, I had mild deafness in both ears, a sore shoulder, and an unusually good mood.
  Finally, the dream of the Chukchi people to get to the Crimea has come true!..
  I got a lot of impressions from visiting the shooting range...
  The machine gun, even a small-caliber one, like the Belgian Minimi, still turned out to be excessively powerful and heavy for me - the recoil really almost smeared me on the wall, and after all, it still fired relatively low-power 5.56 mm caliber cartridges. What would have happened to me if I had nevertheless claimed a three-line "heckler-koch" at my disposal, it's scary to even think... But a long machine-gun burst - I'll tell you something! Yes, yes, yes - that's the kind of gun maniac I am! I must have read the wrong books when I was a kid...
  The machines pleased me more, even the a priori despised NATO ones.
  The American emka really turned out to be a real mess - some kind of moronic shutter arrangement, and anyway... I liked the Austrian rifle more - it was comfortable, grippy and accurate, and it would be better than the M-16. Our Japanese version also turned out to be quite good, and, of course, I was pleased with the "kalash" left for a snack. A brand-new AK-74M with a folding stock is just a fairy tale! Maybe I'm being a little biased, but Russian weapons, in my opinion, are the best! It's just a pity that it's almost not widely available - for example, I wouldn't mind having a Gyurza or GSH-18 instead of a Glock, but I'm already rolling my lip too much...
  By the way, I didn't forget about the pistol either, and I practiced shooting with it. Well, what can I say? The machine is excellent - lightweight, convenient, multi-charging and, as far as I know, reliable - just what the doctor ordered.
  And in general, as I understood it, the entire arsenal of the NERVE consisted of samples used in subordinate troops from the USA, China, Japan and Russia, as well as weapons from the German branch - the second largest after the Japanese. The same, I think, applies to attached tank and aviation units. I wonder how far the authority of NERV extends over the UN troops? This information may be useful in the future...
  Just in case.
  ***
  "Well, that's it, Misato, I'm going to do my homework and go to bed", I got up from the table and went to my room.
  We dealt with dinner quickly enough - today we made do with the warmed-up remains of yesterday's porridge soup and scrambled eggs and bacon, also bought yesterday..
  "Yeah, come on... And I'm going to watch some TV," Misato also got up, grabbed a couple of cans of beer and headed to the main hall.
  Meanwhile, I reached the door, which proudly displayed a piece of paper crookedly taped to it with the inscription "Shinji's room" in Katsuragi's handwriting. Tek-S...
  Well, I'm not going to do my homework yet - first let's see which subjects can be done and which ones can be ignored... Student habits are taking their toll. By the way, I'm still basically a student! Do we have a NERVE? That's right, the INSTITUTE.
  I sat down at a small desk and rested my head on my hand.
  What an eventful day it was, however. I wonder if it's going to be the same or worse? Okay, I need to figure something out...
  I tore out a double sheet from my notebook, took out a pen and wrote "Preventing the Third Strike" with a flourish at the top, in the middle of the sheet, and added "Viktor Severov's plan" at the bottom.
  He stopped, chewed his pen thoughtfully, stared at the ceiling, and then began to write out the main characters on a piece of paper. So, let's start with my closest associates.
  Captain Misato Katsuragi, soon to be Major. My supervisor, guardian, and immediate commander. She is cheerful, smart, resourceful, and knows how to find a common language with any people. At work, it is a model of professionalism, at home it is a local manifestation of gouging.
  She likes beer, but she's not a complete alcoholic. In battle, he prefers to act outside the box, but extremely adventurous and undisciplined. The only survivor of the Antarctic expedition NERVE, who studied Adam found in the ice.
  What is her main problem? Uncertainty on the personal front, perhaps... She loves a certain Ryoji Kaji, but she can't be with him. Or doesn't he want to? I still haven't fully understood this point, and unfortunately, I'm not an adviser here - I have very little experience with the opposite sex. Okay, we'll try to come up with something, I don't know how, but we'll try...
  The main thing is that it doesn't end the way it did in The End of Evangelion, that is, that Misato didn't die during the storming of NERVE headquarters...
  Further.
  Commander Gendo Ikari.
  An extremely odious and ambiguous personality. For the sake of reuniting with his dead wife, he actually arranged the end of the world, during which everything built by human hands was destroyed on earth, and the people themselves, in the number of a couple or three billion, spread out into one big ocean of love. What else can be said against Gendo? An absolutely heartless bastard who doesn't care about his own son, and all the interest he showed in Shinji was "pilot Evangelion or get the fuck out of here." Awesome, right? And it was never even a question of having a human conversation with his son...
  Why? To be honest, I just think Gendo himself was afraid of it and, like Shinji, was constantly running away from his problem. What's wrong with the version? Father... Yes, I guess I can call him father - it's not difficult for me, I grew up without a father myself, and I wasn't even particularly interested in the presence of this biological object somewhere on the planet... So, Father, in principle, is not such a bad person. Tough, yes, unscrupulous, yes, stopping at nothing, yes too. But somehow I even like such people, perhaps because I have always lacked these qualities... Okay, then. Enough of the characteristics, let's move on to specific events.
  What'll we do? Definitely cooperate - an enemy whose plans are already known is not as scary as some unknown one. How to cooperate? Hiding behind the mask of a maniac soldier, move up the career ladder, gaining access to new levels of influence on other people. Well, along the way, do not forget to follow the necessary orders and stay ahead of the stupid ones. And as a crowning achievement, stop the Third Strike or force Gendo to abandon it...
  So, who else do we have there from the big shots? Okay, Dr. Akagi...
  So, Dr. Akagi Ritsuko.
  The head of the scientific department, literally and figuratively, is the brightest head of the NERVE. Gendo's lover, but I don't even know how that fact can help me. He is engaged in the development of everything new and secret, like the Evangelions themselves and pseudo pilot systems. He knows most of the secrets of the Office, and he's a very useful person. In the original story, she died at the hands of Gendo when she tried to stop his insidious black Lord plans. Damn, this must also be prevented somehow, otherwise the descendants will not forgive us for losing such a brilliant scientist...
  Let's move on.
  Deputy Commander Kozo Fuyutski.
  Perhaps the most sensible of the whole honest company. He seemed to have some sympathy for Yu Ikari, my mother, and initially distrusted Gendo, but later became his most loyal assistant. Somehow, we need to work with him too - as the head of the NERVE, he looks much better than bati. But how to do it?
  A certain Ryoji Kaji.
  A person with an uncertain status. I think it's Inspector ZIELE... Or is it a NERVE? Or the UN in general? Damn, I don't remember... Well, I wasn't particularly impressed with this character - I had other favorite characters. Well, well, well... What else do I remember about him? Agent ZIELE in NERVE and at the same time Agent NERVE in ZIELE, working under the guise of Agent ZIELE in NERVE... ahh!!! Someone save me, my brain is bursting!
  ahh!!! Someone save me, my brain is bursting! I've always hated all these spy games and the intricacies of intrigue! Whether it's an open battle... Okay, wait, you fucking soldier. What are we going to do with Kaji, he's kind of on our side? Build bridges? We need someone who's privy to all these conspiracies...
  Oh, my God! Contacts, bridges - what have I planned here? The bridge builder is an unfinished signalman... Okay, okay, let's move on to dessert dishes - for my fellow sufferers, that is, pilots or Children.
  The Fourth Child Of Toji Suzuhara.
  Initially my enemy, then my friend. Here, the first stage has been successfully overcome, but the second has not yet arrived. But you need to. I hate to impose, but a team of Children should be as balanced and cohesive as possible. What else is known about Toji? The pilot (for a very short time) of Eva-03, which was captured by some kind of Object A, which is why the third Evangelion had to be destroyed. By the hands of Shinji, by the way, although at the commands of a pseudo pilot. As a result, Suzuhara was seriously injured - he lost a leg, or an arm, or both... In short, I don't remember this moment very well. Okay, then. What are we going to do with it? Being friends is one thing. Try to save in battle or prevent Angel infection - two. And if there shouldn't be any special difficulties with the first point, then there are problems with the second one. I don't know when or under what specific conditions Eva 03 was captured by an Object A, so I guess I'll just have to keep a close eye on the news regarding the new Eves.
  The Fifth Child Of Kaoru Nagisa.
  An unusually muddy type. It seems to be latent (or not at all?) a homosexual, and besides, the seventeenth object A. He was sent directly from ZIELE, but for some reason refused to carry out the Third Blow on his own, instead inflicting a deep mental trauma on the already unbalanced Shinji. "Kill me!" is exactly what doctor Ikari Jr. prescribed, damn it. You'll have to keep an eye out for him, mess with him, but carry a gun or a pen in your pocket all the time. To avoid it, so to speak.
  Oh, by the way, I completely forgot about ZIELE!..
  So, ZIELE or SEELE in the original is the soul translated from German. The world behind the scenes, a council of strange people with completely idiotic plans. Having power over the world, they do nothing but strive to destroy this very world. They're kind of weird, and their head, a certain Kil Lorenz, is also very strange... Or were they trying to stop Complementation with their order to attack the headquarters? No, this has already taken me somewhere wrong, because they were the ones who sent the serial numbers necessary for the process...
  Under no circumstances will I be able to compete with ZIELE - if they were able to push an order for the entire Japanese army to attack NERVE, then they will crush me and not even scratch. A fundamentally different level is needed here... So, I got really distracted. What am I talking about? Ah!.. Pilots, Children... Hmm, there are only two of them left... Or rather, girl.
  The First Child of Ayanami Rei.
  It resembles a robot or a zombie in its habits. She's cold, emotionless, and generally kind of weird. According to some reports, he may even be an Object A. He obeys orders without question, idolizes Gendo, and seems to have some kind of interest in Shinji... Okay, it's already turning out that it's for me. What else do I know about her? She is absolutely reliable, she will never betray you for anything. If necessary, he will die for the sake of a common victory...
  Which, in principle, happened once. Then how did she survive? Yes, it's easy! After all, she has a transmigrable soul and a bunch of spare bodies. Long live eugenics, cloning, and our immortal leader and teacher, Commander Ikari! Okay, but seriously, Ayanami was created artificially. Mostly, by the way, from my mother's genes. And who is she to me now? Okay, let's call it a sister. You don't even have to build bridges, it's almost useless anyway... Controversial? Maybe, maybe... But personally, I don't want to try to embody all sorts of fantasies about Shinji plus Rei. God help me, I can even forget about the difference in psychological age, since now I'm not that old either, but what about the genetic relationship? Besides, I'm not attracted to her-she's kind of boring and too perfect. Although the embodiment of many guys' dreams is an over-dedicated, overly loving and unusually silent girl who is ready to do anything for you. But it's dreary, dreary... Everything is very predictable, everything is very calm... ice? Yes, I suppose so. But if necessary, I can freeze myself just as well, and become just as icily indifferent.
  It's decided that we don't need Rey as a girlfriend (although Shinji himself seemed to have such thoughts on the verge of consciousness), and anyway, somehow I don't need any girls. For now. When the war ends, then, perhaps, it is possible... Oh, if only it didn't end like that time...
  So, what are we doing with Ray anyway? Well, we are definitely friends - now both she and I are of such an age that friendship between individuals of different sexes is quite possible. And, of course, we will make her a normal girl, not a biorobot, if possible. She's a good girl, and I feel sorry for her even because of such a terrible "childhood."..
  So, now he's probably the most difficult character in the whole saga. Yes, yes, yes-not Gendo and not Rei.
  So, let me introduce you to the Second Child of Soryu Asuka Langley Tsepellin. German, with an admixture of Japanese blood, but for some reason with U.S. citizenship. The red-haired beast and the infernal fury. The character is flighty and incredibly nasty. Arrogant, self-confident, brash and out of control. A blatant example of such a rare complex of usefulness nowadays. He Considers himself The Best Evangelion pilot, Who Is Not Even A Match For Anyone.
  And that's her main problem.
  In early childhood, she experienced a severe psychological shock. Her mother, Kyoko, who lost her mind as a result of a scientific experiment, stopped recognizing little Asuka as her daughter, and began calling the doll her daughter. To be honest, for a small child, this is simply monstrous, there is nothing worse at this age than being ignored, especially in such a terrible form. Okay, that's half the trouble, the main thing is that on the day Soryu was informed that she was now Eva's pilot, Kyoko hanged herself. Asuka's father remarried, and Sorya seemed to get along with her stepmother, but the break in her remained. And at the crucial moment, on the basis of Shinji's superiority as Eva's pilot, Asuka went off the cutting. Her mental health began to steadily deteriorate, and her level of synchronization began to fall. During the attack of one of the Angels, Asuka was hit by a psychic blow and finally broke down. She couldn't take part in the following battles, because Asuka's synchronization level dropped below critical, and she couldn't even launch Eva-02. In the original series, her story ended extremely sadly - driven mad by hatred for everything and everyone, and above all for herself, she was found in some scattered ruins, in a bathtub filled with rainwater.
  I hate endings like this where everything is unclear, though... Evangelion is generally a VERY incomprehensible thing towards the end. And as for Asuka's fate... It's hard to say which is worse - her fate in the original series or in the sequel.
  Although she was able to pilot Eva again in The End of Evangelion, Asuka apparently died during the battle with the nine serial Evangelions sent to ZIELE. At least the latest footage of her shows that she has lost her left eye and her right arm is cut. And the next moment, Eva-02 is pierced by nine duplicates of the Spear of Longinus, including the place where the contact capsule is located. And after that, the serial killers simply tore Askin Evangelion apart and devoured the remains...
  But at the very end, after the completion of the Complementation, we see Sorya again, lying on the shore of the ocean of LSL and diligently suffocated by our dear Shinji. How can this be explained?.. I don't know, ask for something easier, for example, what kind of weed did the inventor of all this smoke?.. Although no, it's not grass anymore, but heavy synthetics...
  So, it's already gone to unnecessary spoilers and abstract reasoning - it's not so important how exactly Asuka escaped then. Was it just a miracle, or was she brought back to life by the will of the New God Shinji the Destroyer?.. The main thing is, how to avoid all this now? And it is vital to avoid this - in the upcoming war with the Object's A and ZIELE, every pilot will be needed. We don't have that many of them in our NERVE, damn it...
  Damn, why aren't there any full-time psychologists in NERVE? Although, here I don't even know how they could help - heartwarming conversations won't have any effect, and it's a difficult task to put a crippled child's psyche in order...
  So, what can I do? I need a team of dedicated people-I won't fight much on my own, whether against Object's A or humans. Misato and the technicians (they're kind of normal guys) will help in the command center, and the pilots will help on the battlefield.
  Rei is active, Toji is in development, Asuka...
  Asuka is a problem. And a big one.
  To lose as much as 25% of the total power, and, perhaps, all 33.3%, I still don't smile at all - two Eves are good, but three is even better...
  And what are we going to do?
  So, no matter what, Soryu is very lonely because of her arrogance. So what does that mean? So, you will have to become her friend so that there is at least someone who can support her in a difficult moment. But how? Well, I don't know how to make friends and that's it! Okay, okay... Even if I just don't act like an animated stool, that is, like Shinji in the original, then that will be a huge plus. Anyway, we'll see.
  I looked at the double sheet of paper covered with small handwriting and thought hard.
  I've written and thought of a lot of things here, but most of the work boils down to building bridges and making contacts... In other words, I didn't really come up with anything useful, just abstract conclusions and general phrases...
  In a rage, I slammed my right fist into the open palm of my left hand.
  Damn. How difficult it is! Well, I don't know, I don't know what to do now! What's the use to me of these post-holidays if I have to redo everything for myself...
  Okay, to hell with all this, let's try to put it all off for later, and do more pressing things... How much time is there before the next Object A attacks? Two weeks? A month? We should prepare ourselves...
  In short, the morning is more complicated than the evening, Vitya. Go back to sleep... Good night. And to you, Shinji-inside-me, good night. Are you okay after all the information I've dumped on you? After all, it's not every day that you learn SUCH news, especially regarding the alleged end of the world and your guilt in it... Okay, okay, calm down! That won't happen this time, Victor promised Shinji. That's it, let's go to sleep already...
  But no, stop! There's one more thing...
  I was about to go to bed, but I got up, took a piece of paper with notes, folded it in four and began to carefully tear it into small pieces. When the level of chaos seemed sufficient to me, I went to the window, opened the sash and threw the papers out the window.
  It is extremely imprudent to have such a compromise on oneself.
  Chapter 9. It's hard to learn...
  The alarm clock beeps sharply. Open your eyes, get up, walk three steps, press the button to turn off this God-awful machine. Yawn, rub your eyes again.
  Tek-S... A new morning in the reality of Evangelion. Hmm, so most likely I stayed here for a long time, it would also be nice to understand why I was scared. But I probably won't find out - this question is too far beyond the comprehension of a mere mortal.
  Oh well... Let's think better, what does the coming day have in store for us?
  Take a traditional morning exercise, put on a uniform that has been washed since the evening and has already dried, and put a pistol on your belt. Grab a packed briefcase ahead of time, run into the kitchen, pour and drink the student's traditional morning breakfast - a glass of water. So, where's Misato? Is he still asleep?
  I opened the door to her room a little bit - that's right! He's lying with his head covered, a sluggard... By the way, the latter sounds doubly insulting in my mouth, because in that life, along with my graduation diploma, I could well have received a certificate of successful completion of a five-year course on strangulation of a dormitory bed...
  "Misato... Hey, Misato! Aren't you going to get up for work or something?"
  "Mmm... Shinji, leave me alone..." they mumbled indistinctly from under the blanket. "I have a day off today..."
  "The bazaar is zero, comrade Captain: A day off is a sacred thing. Well, then I'm off," I quietly close the door to Misato's room. I hate it when I wasn't ready for the first couple, but I had to get up at eight in the morning anyway.
  By the way, it's interesting that my biological schedule and Shinji's schedule are somehow very interestingly mixed up. I go to bed and get up according to his schedule, but unlike him, I get a great night's sleep. Seven hours of sleep is just a huge luxury by my standards! Does it turn out that sleep still depends more on the psychological age of the brain than on the biological one? Interesting, interesting...
  Okay, stop talking, we need to go to school... That's right, what's going on - do I even remember the way? I think so, yes... At least it's not that far from our house... Hmm, I'll need to grab a walkman on the road - headphones in my ears and go ahead!
  ***
  ...I wonder what I was counting on when I showed up at school in uniform yesterday and gave heartwarming lectures about my work as a fighter of the invisible front? If I came in relatively early yesterday, and not many people saw me, and only my classmates showed interest in me, then today I ran into trouble. And in a big way.
  When I arrived at a fairly busy time, when most of the students came to school, I immediately became the object of everyone's attention. The guy dressed in the uniform of a NERVE officer (that is, me) was not just squinted at, but openly STARED AT. Not too much, I'll tell you, it's a pleasant feeling to walk under the gun of dozens of stares and hear a lot of people whispering behind your back. My ears couldn't help but catch snatches of phrases:
  "Is this one?.."
  "I'm telling you for sure, this is the pilot..."
  "Is he really nervous?.."
   "Figase..."
  "What did you say his name was?.."
  "You're lying!.."
  "Is he really a son?.."
  "It's okay, he's cute..."
  Damn, the earth is full of rumors! Yesterday I told twenty, today hundreds have already found out about it - and when did they get there, the magpies? However, they work quickly - this OGS agency is a good thing (One Grandmother Said)...
  Damn, stop staring at me!..
  He reached his classroom, pushed open the door, said,
  "Hello, everyone," and went to his favorite spot behind Kensuke. Let the workaholics and excellent students sit at the front desks, but we will go to Kamchatka... Hmm, considering my place of residence in that reality, it would be more relevant to say Kaliningrad.
  I threw my briefcase under my desk and greeted Aida and Toji separately (damn, I forgot to talk about his sister with ours yesterday!..) and he sat down, simultaneously unbuttoning his tunic and turning off the player.
  I caught Kensuke's quite expected envious glance at the butt of my Glock and winked at him cheerfully.
  Meanwhile, the rest of the students in the class did not limit themselves to a small amount of greetings, as I was already used to at the institute, but almost greeted me in unison. However... For some reason, I'm not used to this - I'm more an expert in sitting quietly somewhere in a corner, from time to time pleasing others with unexpected remarks. Okay, I guess I'll have to get used to my new role.
  Oh, and the female sex is also staring at me intensely - and what do you fools see in me? Does the shape attract you? Or rather, my status as an Evangelion pilot? Well, no, I don't have enough firebrands and girlfriends right now! As I was an inveterate bachelor (uh-huh, at the age of twenty-two...), so I will remain one!..
  Hmm, by the way, about Ayanami... We should talk to her somehow, or else she's the only object for development within reach so far. But how? You can't ride up to our Snow Queen on a lame goat - it's too inaccessible, like Mount Chogori... By the way, the Snow Queen is the right word for her! Although, no, she's more like some kind of Snow Maiden... Precisely! So, Rei Ayanami, starting today you will be included in our development under the operational pseudonym "Snow Maiden".
  Hey, hey, Victor! Don't get distracted! Are your thoughts sound? Hmm, in principle, you can try the classics... But I'll have to talk only after couples, otherwise I just didn't have enough nerve secrets to open up at school - they might well turn my head off for this, despite my status as a pilot. Anyway, that's what I think.
  By the way, if I'm seen with Rey, rumors will spread around the school that I'm dating her... What's in it for me, though? Do I have to baptize my children with them all? Fuck you, gossips! So, it's decided, we're waiting for the end of pairs... Oh, my gosh! Lessons! Les-son-s! You're back in school, kid... Oh, my! You're back at school...
  ***
  "Ray! Ayanami Rei!"
  The ash-haired girl stopped and turned around, looking at me. Phew... I barely caught up - he's walking fast, um, little sister... Red eyes, or rather only one eye (the other is covered with a blindfold), looks at me attentively, but at the same time completely indifferently.
  "Hello, Ray!" I smiled cheerfully, catching my breath a little. "Do you know me?"
  "No," she replied indifferently, glancing at me. "Should I?"
  Oops... But I'd forgotten about that. Rey, on the other hand, is very taciturn, and I might as well be trying to start a conversation with, say, my Glock...
  "My name is Shinji, Shinji Ikari is the Third Child. I, like you, am also an Evangelion pilot."
  There was something vague in Rey's gaze, but she didn't say anything. What on earth is this! That's how I, who am not a very talkative person by nature, try to talk to an even more taciturn person? Oh, ho, ho, now my namesake and roommate, Vitka Semin, would be here, he would even talk to a park bench...
  Well, well, well. What am I supposed to do next? Well, I didn't run after girls at school and that's it!..
  Hmm, that's a thought...
  "Ray, can I help you carry your briefcase home?"
  Now there's genuine surprise in his eyes.
  "But why?"
  I look skeptically at her bandaged arm and head.
  "Well, you're hurt..."
  "My injuries are not critical."
  Tell me, is she still a human or a cyborg? Maybe my father decided to make terminators instead of Yu duplicates?
  Okay, quickly, Victor, we need to appeal with something... What should I put pressure on? Yeah, she obeys orders without question...
  "The NERVE needs you to get back to normal as quickly as possible, and for this you need to overexert yourself as little as possible. This is extremely important." Oh, how bent! Well, will it work or not?
  Rey blinked, thought about it, and looked at me carefully... She handed me her battered gray briefcase.
  "Good. If it's necessary, then help me."
  One-nil, in our favor.
  ***
  I walked next to Ayanami, looked at her, and thought a lot. In principle, outwardly, she largely corresponded to her serial image - pale skin, red eye... That is, the eyes. An albino? Hmm, then where is the white hair you're looking for? Although the available ones, I must say, were quite an unusual color, at least not radically blue, as in the series. After all, I've seen a lot of hair colors, but I've never seen anything like that, unless, of course, you count all the colors. As it was, there was nothing unusual about it-Rey's hair turned out to be ash-gray, the kind I'd seen in my life. Although rare, but I have met.
  She turned out to be quite developed for her age... In all, gm, relationships. Fourteen (or is it still thirteen?..) I wouldn't have given her any age, at least fifteen or sixteen, certainly not less. Acceleratka, my goodness... The only thing that caused some discomfort was that she suddenly turned out to be slightly taller than me. For someone who has been used to towering over others all his life, like a tower, it is somewhat unusual and annoying, but in general it is still not fatal.
  But her clothes let me down-it feels like I'm seeing my own brother kid in front of me, not a girl. Well, she's dressed too sloppily -that's something I don't fit with the female sex, and that's it! Although, as far as I remember, she doesn't have any other clothes besides a school uniform, a swimsuit and a contact suit. Yeah... It's just a man's dream - a girl who doesn't know what shopping is!
  Hmm, that's an interesting thought... Can you talk to one of the girls in the class? No, it won't do - I don't know anyone close there, and this request somehow looks a little strange. And this is not counting the fact that at school Rey is considered completely lost to society, well, to put it mildly, extremely unsociable, and hardly anyone would dare to talk to her, let alone... It's probably better to talk to Misato or Ritsuko about this...
  Okay, that's not what we're talking about right now.
  I made the first contact with her, but what should I do next? Honestly? Who the hell knows... What do I even know about her from the series (although I still shouldn't blindly trust him - I've already found a lot of discrepancies...)? Well, except for the general psychological portrait, thrown on last night looking. What should I build a conversation on, from which sides should I approach, what should I focus on?
  Mmm! Damn, I think my head is going to burst from the strain... So, then we went the other way... What was it Napoleon used to say? "Get into the fight, and then we'll see."
  "Ray, can I ask you a question?"
  So, it would be nice to come up with this very question, otherwise nothing comes to mind like evil. Think, head, think, I'll buy a cap...
  She didn't even turn to look at me.
  "Yeah"
  damn, I used to talk to people the same way sometimes... Did I look like the same robot? Oh, ho, ho... There must have been a lot of people who wanted to kill me...
  "Have you been in NERV for a long time?" Victor, you're on a roll today! Couldn't you think of anything more original?
  "Yes."
  Great job. Very informative. Whatever the question, that's the answer.
  "Can I ask you one more question? He may, however, seem tactless to you..."
  "Tactless?" Rey asked me. "What does it mean?"
  Op... Ayanami has a problem with such concepts...
  "Well... This means that you may not want to answer it..."
  "Why?" So... This dialogue reminds me more and more of the conversation between John Connor and the Terminator. And you can't say that it's "inconvenient" - again, he won't understand. Indeed, a wuman isolated from society...
  "Well, because... Because... It will be somehow unpleasant and inconvenient for you..."
  Damn, it's gone wrong!..
  "You're saying strange things," Ray said it honestly.
  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything like that... And about the tactlessness... How should I put it? In general, a tactless question is one that you can decide not to answer because... Because you might think that no one else but you should know the answer to it. You can consider this information, well, secret, or something... But this secret will concern only you. I'm sorry, I explained it very clumsily, but maybe you at least understood something?.."
  Great. The attack of tongue-tied speech came at the most inopportune moment - great speech, Third Child!..
  "I think I get it," Ray nodded. "So what was the question you wanted to ask?"
  "Amm"
  What did I want to ask? It's already slipped my mind... I'm worried, damn it. It's not every day that you have to communicate with people who are so important to the world around you. If I disappear somewhere, then I'll be able to get Rey as an ally. Into loyal allies. She is (if memory serves me correctly) the key to the Third Strike. If I can pull Ayanami away from Gendo, then Father can say goodbye to his plan!
  Are we forming a team to save the world, Victor? What should we call it? Every superhero team needs a sonorous name...
  Stand still! What the fuck are superheroes? Is that me? Yeah, right now... It's about incredible superpowers and wunderwaffe (approx. The Wunderwaffe. A wonderful weapon) If you don't leave, it will require organizational, psychological and espionage work...
  Cool! Considering that my soul and abilities have never lain in any of these areas, I am simply doomed to success! Okay, if I want to change the future, then I still have to act. At least somehow, but you have to... It's better to do something wrong than to do nothing at all, isn't it, Shinji? Don't you already know what would happen if you were left alone?
  Okay, stop. Where did that take me? What was I thinking about? So, question, question... aha!..
  "How did you get hurt like that? No, of course you don't have to answer if you want... Considering that I didn't find the scene of his fight with Rey when I was retreating from the advancing Third Angel, it means that this is a purely serial line, and not from a comic-manga. So Ayanami was scratched, most likely, about twenty days ago, during the testing of the Zero...
  "You mean the cause of my wounds?" Rey asked.
  "Yes."
  Oh, oh, oh! Ayanamism turns out to be contagious!
  "During the Eva-00 trials."
  I looked at her expectantly, but Ayanami didn't seem to be going on with her speech. Damn it, damn it! And she kind of answered, but at the same time she didn't say anything specific. No, this information is enough for me - I already know this story pretty well, but for the character I'm playing... So, we keep pushing.
  "What exactly happened?"
  Again, Rey didn't even turn in my direction, but I could clearly feel the waves of doubt coming from her. Hmm, maybe she's thinking, is it okay for me to reveal classified information? Then we'll go in from the flank...
  "I'm also an Evangelion pilot, maybe I'll need this information in the future..."
  After a short thought, Rey gave out:
  "There was a critical out-of-sync, and I lost contact with Eva-00. The contact capsule was forcibly ejected, but in an emergency mode. It was on landing that I received these injuries."
  Wow! That's a speech! By Ray's standards, it's just a whole lecture! Although... She's the one who's so silent and unsociable in public, but when she's alone, she's just a philosopher and a poet...
  By the way, I don't even remember why Zero went off the rails. Did it say something about the pilot's internal mental instability?..
  Stop.
  Is this Ray's MENTAL INSTABILITY? Well, not a damn thing... Back then, I was probably a psychopath and a dangerous person for society. About the original Shinji (not to mention Asuka) I'm already silent...
  The orderlyyy!..
  Although it's not for nothing that they say that devils are found in a quiet pool.
  Eh-eh-eh... What kind of person are you? Eh, Rei Ayanami?
  "Was it painful?" I asked quietly. "I've never broken my ribs or my arms in my life, so....."
  "Yes," Ayanami replied simply.
  We continued walking towards Ray's apartment at a brisk pace.
  ***
  "Ray, do you really live HERE?"
  No, of course I knew where Ayanami had to live, but as it turned out, I was completely unprepared for this sight...
  Actually, I think I have a fairly stable psyche, I would even say very stable (if you don't praise yourself, no one will...). Besides, I was born and raised in Russia, a country of great extremes and upheavals. Well, as a crown, I almost completely completed the dorm survival course. In short, comrades, it's hard to scare me with a mess and ruin - I've already seen everyone...
  That's what I thought.
  But Ray's house (not even an apartment, but a house) really shocked me. To be honest, I didn't even think that Tokyo 3, this super fancy futuristic city of the future, could have such outright slums...
  A small residential area on the outskirts of the city, which took about half an hour to walk from the school, which is about how long I estimated we were on the way. I couldn't be more precise-I just didn't have a watch.
  Damn, I need a watch... No, it's not like that. I STUPIDLY NEED A WRISTWATCH!!! For ten years in a row, I wore them both at school and at uni, practically without taking them off day or night. And now I'm starting to get the feeling that I've lost some vital organ for me. Let's say the liver...
  Okay, enough anatomical details, Victor. What am I talking about? Yeah, about Ray's place of residence... So that's what it is... Purely offhand, out of a couple dozen huge high-rise buildings, only a few houses were residential here, and most remained in varying degrees of unfinished construction. Apparently, even an omnipotent nerve can have problems with financing... Ayanami's house was quite finished, but it still looked very little like a residential building.
  There wasn't a single car in the nearby parking lot, and the area around the house was frankly littered with debris that seemed to have been left over from the builders. Rocks, sand, some pieces of hardware, and other junk are terrifyingly simple... The lawn spaces remained on paper - instead of the cheerful green grass laid out according to the architectural plan (which, for example, was near my house with Misato), there were only plowed earthen areas bounded by concrete sides...
  I don't understand anything... And a wuman should live here who is responsible for protecting the whole city, if not the world?! Well, not a damn thing... Of course, I remember something similar happening THERE, when war veterans were forced to huddle in some hovels, even in their old age without getting proper housing. Personally, this has always not only infuriated me, but simply drove me to white heat!
  But I thought it was all the fault of the traditional bureaucratic arbitrariness of one single seventh of the land, but no! It was worth dying (hmm) and being resurrected in another reality to face almost the same thing!.. No, I don't understand - NERV is rolling tens of billions of dollars (or what is the most stable currency we have right now?), has branches all over the world, and wields tremendous power... And at the same time, he can't make a single girl live in normal conditions, and not in some kind of kennel!!! Are they saving money, or something? Well, I'll save them some money... Victor swore, right here and now, that he would fix this nasty situation! Personally, I have always stood, and I will stand, that everything should be fair. And even though I've often suffered for my honesty, that's just the kind of flaw I have...
  ...Ray did not react to my remark in any way and phlegmatically continued on her way - she opened the door of the entrance and stepped inside.
  Tek-S... I have vague doubts: Shpak has a tape recorder, the ambassador has a medallion... That is, since it's such a mess outside, isn't there something similar inside?..
  Chapter 10. visit to Ray's apartment.
  The infection.
  Because that's how I felt.
  Naturally, it turned out to be just as dirty inside as outside, if not even worse. No, I don't understand how Ray can live here! As much as I've seen in my short life (by the way, yeah...) all kinds of filthy entrances and barracks from the fifties, but it's just something... Broken windows, debris on the stairwells, cables sticking out of the walls, and, of course, no painting - it feels like even though the house was completed, there was no energy or desire left for interior decoration...
  So. Judging by the fact that Ayanami stopped in front of the next door, we had reached our destination. Apartment 402, seventh floor... Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you - the elevator didn't work here either. It's cool, isn't it? I love walking up stairs, especially when the wonderful ability to take three steps at a time is lost. Damn, but my body is already starting to strain me... Okay, Shinji is your body. But it doesn't change the essence of the matter - the center of gravity, the physique... In short, everything, absolutely everything, is unusual for me! I'm not used to being LIKE THIS.
  Okay, that's not so fatal, in principle. I'll get used to it. It could have been much worse... how? It's easy! If I were, say, in the body of the same Rey, and what would I do? Thank you, thank you, thank you, oh unknown, for putting me in a man's body!
  ...Rey phlegmatically opened the door with an electronic key, pushed it open, and entered without paying any attention to me.
  "Um... Ray?"
  Ayanami, what about me? Am I better than a dog?.. I mean, should I stay here? Okay, let's consider her silence inviting... Taking a deep breath to strengthen my resolve, I entered Rey's apartment.
  ***
  After thinking about it, I decided not to take off my shoes anyway - the floor was too dirty. Of course, I'm in Japan now, and here, as in Russia, it's customary to take off your shoes when entering an apartment, but... Anyway, Ayanami doesn't take off her shoes, so why should I? It's not going to get any dirtier here...
  He carefully walked deeper into Ray's apartment, looked around, blinked and scratched his head.
  Ndaaa... Delaaaa...
  I shouldn't have said anything about Misato. Our hut, in comparison with this one, is just an example of cleanliness and order.
  Not only was it a mess not only outside, but also inside, but Ayanami's apartment turned out to be a small one-bedroom! I remembered, of course, that Ayanami's apartment was far from a five-star apartment, but this was some kind of capital! Bare unpainted walls, wiring sticking out of the walls, dirt... And in general, the whole environment looked more like a prison cell than the home of a thirteen-year-old girl.
  The furniture also matched, mmm... the general style...
  A chair, a table, a bed and a bedside table. Above the bed is a poster depicting the double helix of DNA. Next to the bed is a large plastic bucket full of bloody bandages. And there's a thick layer of dust everywhere.
  So, where are Batin's famous glasses? Well, the ones that cracked and melted when Gendo rescued Rey from the contact capsule. But I don't see the case I'm looking for anywhere...
  Ayanami came up to me and looked at me expectantly.
  Oh, yes! Briefcase!..
  "Where should I put it, Ray?"
  "Near the table."
  "Here?"
  "Yes."
  The dialogue, which is remarkable for its informative content, continues. Yeah, I probably couldn't stay with you for long, Ayanami. You might be the perfect match for Shinji, because he lacks peace, protection, and stability so much...
  But I'm not Shinji.
  He had a chance to change everything, but he didn't take it. What? Maybe not to use it? What difference does it make? If I wasn't here, everything would be exactly the same and no different! And even now, it's not a fact that if I get yanked out of here right now, the changes I've made won't be neutralized in some way. Hmm, which means that in order to break the system completely and irrevocably, you will have to make so many changes that their number becomes critical.
  But Ray... What did my dad and all that fucking NERVE do to you? Why did they deprive you of a normal childhood and life?..
  Ayanami looked at me carefully, as if expecting something from me. Maybe he's waiting for me to get out?..
  "Ray, can I ask you one more question?"
  "Yes."
  "Why is your apartment so dirty?"
  A puzzled look instead of an answer.
  "Well... Why don't you clean your house at least occasionally? You can't live the same way!"
  "Why?"
  And how to explain it to her? Should we continue to put pressure on orders and regulations?
  "Uh... Just believe me - you have to keep order and cleanliness. All people do this - it's the norm."
  "Should I do that too?" Ayanami frowned slightly. Just a little bit, almost imperceptibly, but I was able to catch it.
  "Yes," I said confidently, although I didn't feel particularly confident. I get a strange feeling when I start talking to Rey. I feel like some kind of idiot, you know...
  "Okay, I'll do it," The First One replied indifferently.
  I paused and hesitated, my reserve of imagination and eloquence completely exhausted. It seems like it's time for honor to know...
  "Well... I should probably go, Ray... Goodbye!"
  "Goodbye," Ayanami replied, completely emotionless.
  I left her apartment, closed the door behind me, and leaned heavily against her. I felt like something...
  It's strange, even incomprehensible. I didn't understand what I could even take out of the first meaningful contact with Rey. Either I can safely record today's meeting as an asset, or not...
  Oh, ho, ho...
  Okay, I can't just relax and fall apart-I still have a lot of plans for today. The only question is, how much of what I have planned will I be able to do?
  ***
  "...Second Lieutenant Ikari?" They shouted at me half-affirmatively, half-interrogatively, as soon as I stepped out of the entrance into the light of day.
  I turn my head in the direction of the sound source, and what do I see? And just one of those people whose work is usually not in sight.
  He was wearing a severe gray suit, dark glasses, a small concealed-wear headset in his left ear, and a jacket that bulged strangely under his arm...
  Hmm, I haven't told anyone where I'm going... Which means - what? This means that I am under the "hood", that is, they are closely watching me. In principle, it's not bad enough - you never know what might happen to me...
  The knight of the cloak and dagger, ептыть... They can find Shinji the fugitive, but they can't uncover the real conspiracy! Who's the head of counterintelligence here? Give me his head on a platter!..
  "That's right. What's the matter?" I replied calmly.
  "I've been assigned to take you to headquarters. I beg," The agent pointed to a large black Jeep Land Cruiser parked nearby.
  I nodded at him and followed, unbuttoning my jacket and holster as I went. Of course, if I'm hired by pros, I can even give a shit, but at least it would be useful to identify a threat...
  When I got to the car, I walked without hesitation to the back door, threw my briefcase inside and got in after it. There was another agent in the front seat who looked vaguely like the first one, but I wasn't upset that the trump card seat was occupied. No, I don't want to ride in the front seat anymore-at least cut me! I might even have some kind of phobia already...
  And it will be much easier to capture me there, if anything happens.
  The second agent glanced at me slightly, saw that I was suspiciously looking at them, holding my hand near the holster, and grinned slightly.
  Yes, of course, a fourteen-year-old kid in uniform and with a gun is a most amusing sight... But I hope that if something goes wrong (ugh, ugh, ugh), then at least once I'll have time to shoot. For my own comfort.
  And one hell of a thing, if they want to kill me, they'll probably just cause an accident or shoot me with a sniper rifle, blow me up in the end, maybe even along with the school... And all sorts of tricks with grappling in cars will be possible only if I am needed alive.
  So it is desirable to become such an object that they want to take me exclusively alive. And what is needed for this? Yes, in principle, nothing special - just keep behaving exactly the same as now! I've already fucked up so much that sooner or later they'll be interested in me and want to study me more closely...
  But that's not fucking bad either. While I'm in captivity, someone will definitely help me out...
  Stop thinking like that! There is nothing to rely on others - I have never done this, and now I do not intend to give up on such tactics. If you want to do something for sure, do it yourself. Allies can betray, friends can let you down- if you blame anyone for failures, it's only yourself.
  .. The first agent started the jeep, and we set off.
  ***
  The urban and futuristic landscapes of Tokyo 3 floated by outside the window, which were new and interesting to me so far. Although I feel that if I stay here for a few more months, they will get to me worse than a bitter radish...
  If, if, if... That's what scares me the most, is that just as suddenly I was thrown here, it can also suddenly pull me out, and then all my small efforts and great plans will go to waste. But there's no hope for Shinji yet - he hasn't soaked himself in the right degree of reinforced concrete calm and self-confidence. Isn't that right, old boy? So...
  ...I kept having a thought in my head, but I couldn't get a hold of it. Something didn't suit me, something I wanted to change... Except, of course, Ray's blatantly ugly living conditions!!!
  My eyes fell on the school bag. Yeah! That's it! I've already lost something of the classic satchels, and this blue-and-white school backpack doesn't go well with my uniform - I'll need to get hold of something like a briefcase...
  Eh! And why am I here all "it will be necessary", yes, "it will be necessary" - it is necessary to act! I know my beloved well - if I don't get ready right away, I'll drag on until Chinese Easter. So, it means that we urgently find time and raid the shops in search of everything we need. Stop. And the money? Where is my promised salary?..
  No, well, are they completely fucked up or something?! Wow, I feel like I'm getting angry, but I'm a calm person, not impulsive... So if they finally piss me off, I'll talk for a long time, tediously and obscenely. They don't pay me a salary, you know, they put Ray in some kind of kennel, and in general!..
  I couldn't think of anything else to say. So I focused on the first two, or rather on one - the monstrous living conditions of the First Child, the pilot of Evangelion-00, Rei Ayanami...
  And the more I thought about it, the more angry I got - the cheating was on the rise. Now the main thing is to be able to hold out in this state until I arrive in NERV, and not burn out - then I'll raise the heat, since I have nothing to fear here...
  The worst is yet to come.
  ***
  "Second Lieutenant Ikari has arrived on your orders!" I saluted clearly as I entered Katsuragi's personal account. By the way, in the series (I can't even say the word "cartoon" anymore), I didn't remember one office. No, it seems that she was there somewhere all the time sorting out all sorts of different complaints and petitions, and she was just sitting and relaxing, but for the life of me, I can't remember the situation...
  There was also a small but tidy office - a large desk with a simple computer, a comfortable high swivel chair, several chairs for visitors, and some large flowers in pots...
  And, of course, Katsuragi's signature mess. But this time, for a change, it's mostly on the table. A bunch of all kinds of papers and folders of varying degrees of crumpled and worn, something was even lying on the floor, the trash can was filled to the top, actually, with garbage, consisting mainly of crumpled pieces of paper and crumpled tin cans.
  "Ah, Shinji! Come on in, we'll start soon..."
  "Comrade Captain, may I address you?" I interrupted her.
  Misato stopped, looked at me carefully, frowned, and said:
  "Yes, of course... Comrade Second Lieutenant. What did you want?"
  "Today, for familiarization purposes, I visited Pilot Ayanami..." I began in a thoroughly formal tone, but almost immediately I saw a sly twinkle in the captain's eyes.
  "Mmm! And how is it?" The girl raised an eyebrow sarcastically.
  Oh, well!.. I wish I could be kidding you! Well, get a grenade, samurai...
  "And I want to say that I am in... some perplexity!" I growled, turning slightly purple. "Anything can happen, but... I don't understand the reasons why an Evangelion pilot lives in such inappropriate conditions for a normal life! Yes, and the dick knows where!
  "Shinji..." - the captain's wife tried to insert her remark, but I promptly interrupted her.
  I still have a lot of experience in disputes - it's the only way to live as a student. And here the main thing is not the weight of arguments, but the speed of speech and the tininess of the throat.
  "Misato, have you seen where, but most importantly, HOW does Rei live? I wouldn't even dream of calling this shack a normal human dwelling! That's what it's called, huh? Shallman! The pigsty! A mess!!!"
  "Shinji, Shinji!.." the captain waved her hands, trying to somehow interrupt my angry tirade.
  "...Or maybe it's sabotage?" without listening to Misato, I continued, having received a new charge of inspiration and ideas. "Undermining combat readiness? Deliberate reduction of Tokyo-3's overall defense capability? Who is responsible for this?! I demand that the perpetrators be punished!!!"
  "Second Lieutenant Ikari, attention!" Misato barked, abruptly changing tactics.
  I automatically shut up and stood at attention. Katsuragi got up from the table, came over to me, and looked at me in surprise.
  "Shinji, what are you doing?.. You... Why are you so turned on?"
  "Should I tell you again?" I muttered through my teeth, getting fired up again.
  "Stop," the captain stopped me. "Basically, I get it. Now sit down and tell me everything in detail. And preferably without unnecessary emotions. What happened?"
  It was as if a rod had been pulled out of me - well, I can't, I just can't physically scream and be nervous for a long time. I calm down too quickly-I'm so damn quick-witted...
  "Got it," I saluted weakly and plopped down on a visitor's chair.
  "You know, Misato..." I started from afar.
  "Do you remember what you told me about the co-pilot, about Rei Ayanami?" a nod of the head. "Here... Well, I decided to get to know her today at least somehow, to find out what kind of person she is - after all, we'll go into battle together soon, I think... And it turns out that she's in my class, and I didn't even know. Well, that's it... I tried to talk to her - maybe she'll tell me something useful about Evangelion piloting... You told me she's been here a long time, so she's probably been training longer and better than me. And, damn, she turned out to be some kind of unsociable person - you can't build any dialogue with her..."
  "That's right, it's very similar to her." she couldn't resist and Katsuragi put in. "No, you keep going, Shinji."
  "Yeah, well... eer... Well, Rey's too silent, I say... No, I'm not the soul of the company either, well, not that much... I decided to at least walk her home... So!" I said decisively, seeing the merry lights dancing in the girl's eyes again.
  "Did you like her?" The captain asked eagerly. "Ha, no wonder! Ray is a good-looking girl, even if she's a little weird..."
  "And I didn't like her at all!" I was indignant, although (the infection) I started blushing again. Well, it happens to me, it happens!.. "I didn't even think about it at all - she's my combat comrade!.."
  "Nu-nu..." Katsuragi chuckled skeptically, crossing her arms over her chest.
  "Yes, yes," I snapped wearily. "And anyway, that's not what we're talking about right now. Tell me, Misato, do you know where Ayanami lives?"
  "Well... Somewhere on the outskirts... Although she spends a lot of time in NERV..."
  "Have you ever seen this suburb? This is a natural slum! Two thirds of the houses there are unfinished, and the remaining third is almost uninhabited. Garbage, dirt, mess - it feels like the utilities have never looked there since the creation of the world!
  "What did you want, Shinji? Tokyo-3 is primarily a fortress city, a military facility. Priority in financing was given to defense and combat systems, while civilian needs were pushed into the background," Katsuragi answered me reasonably. And to be honest, you can see that we even have an overabundance of civilian buildings - people don't really want to live on the battlefield..."
  "Well, of course..." I grumbled and immediately caught myself. "Hey, Misato! Don't walk away from the answer!"
  "Hmm... well..."
  "And without well?"
  "I haven't seen where Ray lives," Katsuragi finally confessed. "Technically, she's not under my command, so I'm.."
  "Stop," I said, frowning. "How so? Isn't she a pilot?"
  "The pilot," Misato nodded. "But a prototype, not a full-fledged Eva. So she is subordinate to the scientific department. I'm not her commander."
  "Dr. Akagi?.."
  "Yes, Shinji. Ray is listed as a member of the scientific department, so all questions are for Ritsko."
  "Questions are questions, but you can do something, right?"
  "That is?" The girl raised an eyebrow in surprise.
  "Well, you were able to put me up with you..."
  "Do you want me to put Ray up with us?" Katsuragi narrowed her eyes cunningly. "Heh..."
  "Just don't!.." I quickly cut off the captain's insidious mental constructions. "I'm not asking for anything like that. But to move Ayanami out of this... I'm not even asking for this shack, I'm DEMANDING IT! Vaughn, you said yourself that there are a lot of empty apartments in our house right now. If I remember everything correctly, are they on the balance of the NERVE?"
  "Hmm..." judging by Katsuragi's face, she quite caught my thought. "Right. In principle, there is nothing complicated here..."
  "That's settled," I summarized, cutting off all escape routes for my commander. "It is advisable to do this immediately. Yes! And let me know when everything is ready."
  The girl blinked in surprise, somewhat stunned by my pressure, but then she smiled.
  "Yes, Commander Ikari!" The captain saluted playfully, and added in a more normal tone. "You've made me happy, Shinji. I am glad that our pilots take care of each other."
  "Well, since there's no one else..." I grumbled, puffing up a bit with pride. A kind word is also pleasant for a cat...
  "Is that all, Second Lieutenant Ikari?" fake-formally, Misato finished, leaning back in her chair.
  Oh, my! I almost forgot!
  "Yes! Here's another thing!.. My classmate Toji Suzuhara's younger sister was injured during the attack on Facility A. She is currently in a city hospital without receiving proper care. I would like to know about the possibility of transferring her to the NERV Infirmary. Well, it's empty now anyway..."
  The girl raised an eyebrow.
  "Why would you care so much about someone you don't know? Everything is clear with Rey - you still have a lot to do together, but what about this girl? Why do you need it? Just don't think that I'm some kind of callous grymza- I'm just curious..."
  "I'm kind..." I muttered, looking away. "Can't you do that? A nerve is a piece of cake, but it will be better for the person..."
   "Are you trying to help everyone? I don't think you can do that," Katsuragi spoke seriously. "You can't help everyone, Shinji..."
  "I don't care," I waved my hand. "I really can't help everyone, but I can help someone... I'm not the kind of person to just walk by someone else's misfortune. Maybe even to his own detriment. Call me a fool, but I can't do anything else..."
  ...That's how you stop realizing where the mask you're wearing is and where your true identity is. And it seems that I'm acting within the framework of a fictional image, and at the same time I'm telling the truth. I really can't do anything else-maybe I won't help myself, but I can help other people. Although I rarely act on my own initiative in this matter, but if I am asked, I rarely refuse.
  Captain Katsuragi put her hands on the table, interlaced her fingers, and looked at me intently. I couldn't figure out what was more in that look-surprise, approval, or something else.
  "All right, Shinji. I'll see what I can do, although I can't promise anything."
  "And thanks for that," I nodded.
  Silence fell in my commander's office.
  "Em... Misato, why was I called? There doesn't seem to be much time for training yet..."
  "So there won't be any training today," Katsuragi explained. "Ritsko has some kind of routine computer system diagnostics, so you won't be working on the simulator today..."
  "Yeah..." I said vaguely. Is there going to be no training - is that a good thing or a bad thing? On the one hand, it seems to be bad - I don't have much time before a new attack, and I'm poorly prepared, to put it mildly. But on the other hand, today I'm just getting the time I need to buy all the things I need.
  "...But if you think you're going to be free as a bird today, you're deeply mistaken", Misato continued sarcastically. "I decided to give you a tactics lesson and analyze your previous fight. So don't relax, I'll deal with yours quickly now... In the meantime, go and wait for me in the tactical training room. You can ask someone on the way where it is."
  What an infection! Okay, we need that too... So, let's get up, Vitya, and go look for this very tactical room.
  "Understood? Then you're free. But no, wait a minute, Shinji!.."
  Well, what else?..
  "What?" - I asked, having almost reached the exit.
  "A couple of questions," the girl said in an innocent voice. "You sometimes use words that are unfamiliar to me, such as..." She furrowed her brow a little and reproduced as accurately as possible:
  "Sсheisse and shalman, right? What does this mean? What language is it in? It doesn't seem to be in English for sure..."
  Oops, another one of my mistakes... In my previous life, such questions did not arise - no one was particularly interested in who I was and what I was saying. But here I am under a tight hood... All deviations in my behavior from the intended ones are probably recorded and analyzed in every possible way - suddenly I am not who I pretend to be, or I have some kind of mental disorder...
  Okay, stop. I need to explain myself, but how? Ha, I have a legend!
  "The first word, Misato, is German. This is, um, a universal swear word, and let me not translate it, so to speak, to avoid it..."
  "And the second one is not German?" Katsuragi beat me to it.
  Yeah, I nodded. By the way, the captain pronounced the word shalman with a characteristic Japanese accent, that is, replacing the "l" with the "r" - sharman. Well, damn, it's almost like a French move...
  "Shalman is in Russian. It means about the same as a pigsty, a mess, or something like that."
  "Hmm", Misato rubbed her forehead thoughtfully. "It turns out that you study foreign languages? I didn't even know..."
  "Oh, no, really!" I started to get out of it. "I just picked it up from the top..."
  "You speak from the top..."
  "Yeah, in all sorts of books..."
  "Fie, Shinji! You're some kind of nerd - all books, just books..."
  "There are different kinds of books, Misato," I raised my finger meaningfully. "There are all kinds of weapons manuals, manuals on guerrilla warfare..."
  Katsuragi burst out laughing.
  "Oh, right! How could I forget!" The captain managed to laugh. "You're a gun maniac... By the way, why are you interested in Russian and German?"
  "Personally, I think these are the two most militarily powerful nations, and I'm interested in everything related to them." I admitted it quite honestly.
  "Okay, okay! Go already... He's put a lot of worries on me here, you know..."
  "That's it, that's it! Consider that I'm already in the gym!" I said cheerfully, already closing the door behind me.
  "The boy..." Katsuragi's grunt came after me.
  I closed the door and exhaled wearily. It seems, lads, this time it got through...
  I don't know, though...
  Chapter 11. Katsuragi's lies about the death toll.
  "So, Shinji" Katsuragi walked leisurely in front of a small interactive whiteboard with her hands clasped behind her back. "From now on, I will regularly conduct tactics classes with you, where we will analyze your actions in battle together and evaluate their effectiveness. It's not enough just to teach you how to shoot accurately, fight skillfully, and drive an Eva well - you still have to learn how to think. And preferably not during the fight, but before it. And, of course, it would be better if you consider these classes to be just a friendly conversation, rather than a tedious duty, so dialogue is welcome. Is that clear?"
  I shifted slightly in my easy chair and nodded.
  "That's wonderful," the girl smiled. "First of all, I want to ask you if you have any questions about the Third Object A? By the way, the staff pundits assigned him the code name Sakiel or Objekt A of Water. I don't really understand what the point of this is, but it doesn't really matter... So, is there anything you're interested in?"
  Well, finally! Finally, something worthwhile! Naturally, I have questions about how to avoid this...
  "Here's a question to start with, Misato. How could such a huge machine get to the city virtually unnoticed? Why wasn't she stopped on her way to Tokyo? Or is detonating N2 bombs right in the city limits some kind of special trick that I just don't understand?"
  The captain thought for a while and answered me:
  "Well, then, I'll try to tell you everything in order... So, the wise guys didn't call Sakiel the Angel of Water for nothing - he did most of the way underwater. The data obtained from various video and photo cameras allowed us to establish that he had something similar to gills, and Sakiel himself, if you might have noticed, looked somewhat like an amphibian... was. If only we had his body at our disposal, instead of a puddle of blue blood smeared over the territory of three blocks..."
  "Of course, I'm terribly sorry, but it didn't work out any other way." I was slightly indignant. "That fucking Godzilla..."
  "Calm down, calm down!" Katsuragi reassured me. "No one is accusing you of anything, Shinji - you've already done more than we expected."
  "More than nothing?" I asked.
  "Ah... eh... So you're saying, why couldn't we attack the Object A earlier?" Misato was a little alarmed.
  "Yeah," I nodded sarcastically. "That's what I'm interested in."
  "Yeah... Well, that's it..." Katsuragi calmed down, avoiding the unpleasant topic of the catastrophic failure of the combat operation. "To be honest, we just didn't expect something like this. Sakiel slipped unnoticed past our patrol vessels and planes and was discovered after he got to the surface...
  "Wait," I was genuinely surprised. "But if my memory serves me correctly, then the "Troika" is separated from the sea by a fairly decent distance?"
  "Hmm, it looks like he's cheating," Katsuragi chuckled. "Have you forgotten about the half-submerged ruins on the approach to Tokyo 3?"
  Oops! And the geography has changed here, however...
  "Aaa..." I said vaguely.
  "Yeah," the girl mimicked me. "So the Angel calmly got out just a couple of kilometers from the city and quickly moved towards it. Units of the United Nations contingent stationed near the city were alerted, but their attack was unsuccessful - Sakiel simply incinerated a dozen combat helicopters, scattered a tank battalion and continued on his way. We tried to stop him with the help of aviation, but that didn't help either, so in the end, it was decided to drop an N2 bomb on the Object A."
  "And anyway, detonate a bomb almost right next to the city..." I grumbled. "No, it's just crazy! What if civilians had been injured?"
  "Don't worry, there was no threat to ordinary people - they were all evacuated in advance."
  So. But there's definitely something wrong here-I can clearly sense some kind of falseness in Misato's voice. I hardly know how to lie myself, but I feel pretty good about lying in others - is this another manifestation of my introversion?..
  "Evacuated, you say..." I said thoughtfully, looking past Katsuragi. For some reason, the captain was trying to hide her gaze from me...
  Something doesn't add up here... There's something about this version that doesn't suit me... But just what? Evacuation, evacuation...
  Stop.
  What the hell kind of evacuation?! The alarm was announced right before the Object's A invasion of the city! If everyone was evacuated, then why the hell was I hanging around the city? And I wasn't the only one on the train!..
  Hmm, that's funny... Shinji's memories are starting to mix with mine-curious, extremely curious... To hell with it! That's not what we're talking about right now!!!
  "Misato, that's not true," I said calmly, crossing my arms over my chest. "I was in the city when the alarm was sounded. And they did it right before the Object A entered Tokyo 3. Of course, I admit that it doesn't take much time to lower buildings underground, or transfer residents to shelter basements... But what about those who were on the street or on the trains at that time? You saved me, but I wasn't the only one wandering around the city, was I?"
  Katsuragi was dejectedly silent.
  "There are still victims among the civilians, am I right?" I asked harshly, starting to get a little angry. They lied to me! The freaks, they lied to me...
  "Yes, Shinji. There are dead and wounded among the civilians, but we do not advertise this." Misato said reluctantly. "We tried to cover all tracks, but..."
  "How much?" I asked in a flat voice, although God only knows what it cost me to keep such a voice. I was almost shaking with anger-I must have had a nervous day.
  "The exact number is unknown. So far, over three hundred people have been confirmed dead, and about five hundred more have been injured, many seriously..." Katsuragi replied in a flat voice. It was obvious that it was very hard for her to say all this. "There were many wounded during the attempt to stop Sakiel with tanks on the outskirts of the city. He actually destroyed the entire battalion and hit several residential buildings. But most of the people suffered when all trains were stopped due to an alarm - two trains were hit by an Object A and were almost completely destroyed. THE NERVE... The NERVE is trying its best not to let it all leak out and cause panic. Many of those who allegedly left for other cities are among the victims of the attack..."
  That's it, Victor. It wasn't shown in the cartoon. Big robots could fight with passion in the middle of a huge metropolis, but it was never said how many civilians were injured. Get used to it, Vitya - it doesn't look too much like a movie.
  "That's how it means" I said softly. "And why did you lie to me?"
  "We didn't want you to worry too much, so we only mentioned military casualties..." For the first time in the last few minutes, Misato looked into my eyes. "When you first came to your senses and started asking if you had accidentally killed any civilians, I did... I decided that it would be better to do it that way."
  "Misato," he said softly, also looking into her eyes. "Please don't lie to me ever again. I really don't like it. Let it be better to have the bitter truth than..."
  "So what do you want with that truth, Shinji?" Katsuragi asked me point blank. "Does that make you feel better?"
  "No, just harder." I answered honestly. "But I think it's better this way."
  "All right, Shinji." The captain sighed. "From now on, no more lies, okay?"
  "Agreed" I nodded.
  There was an awkward silence.
  "Maybe we should get back to our main topic." Misato asked, breaking the silence in the small tactical room first.
  "Yes, I suppose so," I agreed. "Which of the weapons used proved to be the most effective against the Object A?"
  "Evangelion," the captain admitted honestly. "In second place is the N2 bomb."
  "I was actually referring to ordinary weapons," I chuckled.
  "Heavy and powerful," Katsuragi replied laconically. "Cruise missiles, large-caliber shells and bombs."
  "It wasn't very noticeable that they had somehow hooked him..." I grumbled. "But why would you continue to attack even after you realized that conventional weapons are ineffective?"
  "They caught baitfish," the captain confessed. "We thought it was possible to fire his cannon, but the Angel had to lower his defense for a short moment, and it was at that moment that we had a chance to damage him in some way..."
  "And how?"
  "But there's no way," the girl sighed.
  "It sucks," I concluded, scratching my head.
  "And who's arguing?" Katsuragi said philosophically. "Are you okay with the questions?"
  "Umm..." I searched my memory. "I think so!"
  "Okay, then let's move on to your fight." My tactical commander took out a small remote control from somewhere under her desk and turned on an interactive whiteboard. Turning into a large screen, she began to show a recording of my battle with Sakiel - the image was not so good, but in principle, it was quite satisfactory.
  Misato shrugged when she saw me staring at the board with disapproval:
  "We cleaned this record up and put it in proper shape - it was much worse... And, in general, if you don't like it, don't look!"
  "What about me? I'm fine," I began to justify, without looking up from the screen - the sight was really quite entertaining, even despite the quality. It's not every day that you see yourself in battle.
  "In general, considering the level of your training... Or rather, the absence of one, yeah... In general, you acted very well - you didn't try to hit me head-on, you used your weapon well, and you were constantly moving... A lot of fighting experience?"
  "Great movie watching experience" I replied. "I don't know how to fight, and I don't like it."
  "Hmm... interesting. Okay, let's move on..."
  Chapter 12. A shopping trip.
  As a result, the whole debriefing came down to the fact that in order to develop some kind of unified universal tactics to deal with future Object A (along the way, NERV was guided by the principle "where there are two, there is a third"), there is extremely insufficient information. It is not known exactly what powers this alien Unknown Fucking Bullshit possesses, how tenacious Object A are, what weaknesses they have, and in the end, who said that the next aliens would be like Sakiel?
  NERV was just guessing, but I knew for sure that we would have to build new tactics for each Object A, and it probably wouldn't work with the others. So, I will urgently need to recall all the information I know about future intruders...
  And this is not to mention the fact that it is not even known exactly what powers our Wunderwaffe Evangelion possesses! No one understands what kind of tricks I did during the fight, where the limit of Eve's strength is, or if I can do it all again...
  Time, time, time-it takes time to study and understand all this, and we don't have much of it. The only way out is to get some fresh data directly in combat, but it was also like walking to Germany...
  In fact, Misato and I spent the entire tactical session just talking about my first and only fight, as if we were watching some kind of fascinating movie. Basically, that's what it was all about-talking about tactics in a battle that was fought solely on instincts and emotions alone is a thankless task.
  I really hope that this will not happen again.
  ...The captain glanced at the small desk clock.
  "Well, Shinji, are we going to wrap up? I still have things to do..."
  "Well, if that's the case, then it's sacred..." I shrugged my shoulders, and was about to get up...
  And then it kind of locked me in.
  "Misato! So it's your day off! You told me yourself this morning!.."
  Have you lied to me again? Lies, lies all around... My God, what a place of work I have!..
  "There is such a word - "it is necessary"," The girl muttered gloomily. "They called me here, ignoring all my weekends, saying that they couldn't do anything without my presence... The freaks! She would have killed him! They didn't let me sleep... ah!" The captain waved her hand hopelessly. "What's there to lament..."
  Katsuragi's face was now a magnificent illustration of universal sorrow... But it only lasted in this state for a very short time - the natural love of life and optimism turned out to be stronger.
  "Okay, I didn't get to rest today, so at least you, Shinji, relax", Katsuragi sighed bitterly. "You can be free for today. Go get some rest... In the meantime, I will indulge in sad thoughts about the fate of all mankind..."
  "Misato," I giggled, Katsuragi looked too funny, trying to look sad. "Come on, it doesn't suit you to be so dreary."
  The captain immediately took out a small mirror from somewhere and stared intently at it.
  "You say it's not coming? But if you try it like this..."
  Katsuragi made a face. I laughed louder now.
  "As it is, you look like your shoes are too tight."
  "Oh..." the girl sighed heavily and falsely. "You're not going to please anyone... Then we'll have to leave it as it is..."
  Leave everything as it is... But that would be undesirable...
  Well, that's not really what I was thinking right now. And what about then? ... Mmm... Remember, remember... oh!..
  "Misato, what about my salary?" I see they gave me a uniform, a rank, and a weapon, but I don't have any money yet. I mean, there's something I'd like to buy for myself..."
  "Oh, my head is full of holes!" Katsuragi exclaimed pathetically, starting to pick at the pockets of her trademark red jacket. As I have already understood, she did not particularly like to wear a uniform... "Where are you? Come on!.. Get out, I'm telling you!.."
  I watched in some amazement as the captain tried to get something out of his inner pocket. Admittedly, Misato still continued to amaze me - the man is almost thirty years old, but he behaves... Yeah, you better remember, Vitek, how you and your goofy friends went crazy when you were in your twenties, so that even kindergarten kids would lose weight from envy...
  Friends...
  I shouldn't have thought of them.
  I was instantly overwhelmed by a terrible melancholy. The whole world I was used to, all my friends, my family-all this was now infinitely far away from me. Suddenly, I realized that I might never see them again, and it hurt me endlessly... How come? Why? It's not fair!!!
  But I have no other choice. My choice is simple - life here or death there. I've already made my choice, so it's too late to lament, and it's stupid to regret the lost opportunity to die - I can achieve this much easier here. It will be enough, for example, just to stand and do nothing in the next fight...
  But, of course, I would never do that. I have a job here, and I can't afford to die until I get it done. Oh, why do such thoughts always come at such a bad time? Why do most of these people, falling into the past or the future, never think about their friends or relatives? Aren't they all human? Unclear... But I'm just an ordinary person-no more, but no less.
  And it's not surprising that I started thinking about such things as soon as I had a free minute. The last few days have been too intense for me, so I didn't have time to think about it, but now... But will I really be forced to stay in this world and in this body forever? I'm not arguing, I'm needed here, I'm famous and strong here. Here I can fulfill my most cherished dreams and fantasies, but...
  None of this is mine.
  It's someone else's life.
  The life of Shinji Ikari, not Victor Severov, but... Since I'm here, it means that someone needs it.
  Isn't that right, Shinji?..
  "...Here, Shinji, here you go," Misato pulled me away from my fascinating introspection by handing me a standard plastic card. "Your salary will be transferred to it every week, but for now there are only prize money for Sakiel's head. The PIN code is simple - 0101. Spend it," Katsuragi finished with a smile.
  "Yeah..." I took the proffered card and turned it over thoughtfully in my hands. The usual bank card is a Mastercard, I had almost the same one there, I wonder how much...
  "Misato."
  "Ah?"
  "And the prizes are for the head... How much is that?" Katsuragi began to carefully hide her gaze.
  "I don't even know..." I'm not aware of all the accounting, so you check it yourself and find out...
  "Misato," I narrowed my eyes. "You're my immediate commander. You had my card. And you knew the PIN code from her. I can't believe for the life of me that you haven't checked how much is in my account!"
  "Shinji!" Katsuragi exclaimed indignantly. "How could you think that!.. So that I can!.. Never!"
  "Misaato-san..." I drawled mockingly.
  "Obnoxious boy! Boor! The brute! You bastard!" The captain pouted with resentment. That's just kind of fake...
  "And I think we agreed not to lie to each other anymore..." I used heavy artillery with adjustable shells.
  Misato instantly deflated.
  "I only have one eye!.. Solely for the purpose of familiarization!" Katsuragi stated resolutely.
  "I believe it," I assured her. "So how much?"
  The ability to cling with a tick is sometimes very useful...
  "A million yen..." Misato confessed.
  Somewhere in the corner of my mind, Shinji whistled happily and in surprise - as far as I understood him, the amount was very impressive. It would be nice, though, to find out how impressive...
  So, how much did the yen cost there? Twenty rubles for a hundred pieces? What does it mean that I have about two hundred thousand rubles in my account? It's not that much - the NERVE is getting greedy... Although, by the standards of a fourteen-year-old kid... And a twenty-year-old guy too... And anyway, where do I even need that much? What is there to save for? Is it a car or an apartment?
  "And another two hundred thousand each week as a salary." Misato finished, and after a short pause, she added enviously. And I get the same amount a month... listen, Shinji!"
  "Well?"
  "Borrow it, eh?.." Katsuragi blurted out.
  Have arrived... The boss and the guardian asks for money from their ward... Well, where have you seen such a thing?
  But on the other hand, what's the big deal? Is Misato my friend or a radish? More like a friend - I know her intimately, of course, not much, but I have in my memory her general psychological portrait based on my knowledge of the series, so...
  "But why?"
  "I need to fix my car, but I don't have the money..." Katsuragi said plaintively. "By the way, when I was saving you, I beat you up! And these rear rats don't want to pay for my repairs! Shinji, be a friend, what's it worth to you, huh? eh, heh, heh... So what am I supposed to do with you, Comrade Captain?
  "How much?" I inquired matter-of-factly. "And for how long?"
  "A hundred! I'll pay you back in advance until next week!" Misato replied happily, almost bouncing on her chair.
  "Er-er-er... A hundred thousand?" I asked again.
  "Yeah!" The captain nodded cheerfully. "Well, how's that?"
  "I'll withdraw some cash today and borrow," I sighed resignedly. Is today the day of humanitarian aid to all those in need? First Rei, then Toji's sister, and now Misato...
  "Thanks!!! Shinji, I love you!" Katsuragi jumped up from her chair, grabbed me in her arms and kissed me on the cheek.
  "Misato... Mercy..." I squeaked half-strangled, trying to wriggle out of the commander's tenacious hands.
  "That's it, that's it, that's it!" The girl hurriedly blurted out, jumping away from me, sitting on the edge of the table and swinging her legs merrily. "Go ahead and I'll take care of your business. And thanks again in advance!.."
  "Come on, whatever..." Getting up, I muttered, straightening my wrinkled tunic. Fuck the money: it came easily, it went easily, I won't spend it anyway...
  "Come on, see you tonight!" Katsuragi called after me as I walked out the door.
  ...Tek-S... So now we have a shopping trip planned? I put the card in the inside pocket of my uniform and grinned predatorily. Let's see which turns out to be stronger this time - the opportunity to realize fantasies or my pathological stinginess.
  ***
  I swiped my ID card under the laser beam, a squeak, my NERV output is accounted for - I'm free.
  "Goodbye, sir," A young guard sitting in a glass-enclosed booth reading a sports magazine politely said goodbye to me.
  By the way, it's interesting - my uniform and the uniform of ordinary NERV employees were quite seriously different. The technicians wore identical beige and red jackets, the guards wore standard NATO-style camouflage, but the operatives (me and Misato) and the top command staff (dad and his deputy) wore black and gold uniforms with a distinctive triangular badge under the collar...
  "Goodbye," I answered him just as politely, and was about to leave, but stopped and came back.
  "Excuse me," I asked, leaning over to a small slot in the armored glass. "Can you tell me where the nearest supermarket is? And preferably more?"
  "Yes, of course, sir," the guard put the magazine aside and leaned closer to me. "Once you get to the surface, walk two blocks, then turn left for about five minutes on foot, and you'll see a large black and yellow building with a glass roof. This is the Vostok hypermarket, there is everything there..."
  "Thank you," I thanked the guy and went to the exit. I wish I was going shopping in an unknown direction...
  And what exactly do I need? It seems like a lot of things, but what exactly is it? A watch, a normal player, a phone, boots, or something to buy for yourself... What else? Mmm... Damn it! In short, first of all, I need a notebook and a pen!..
  ***
  Yes, this Vostok is really a hypermarket!.. A hefty six-story building with lots of elevators and escalators-and how am I going to find what I need here? People, help me!
  Yeah, and here comes the help in the person of a manager in a uniform blouse and with a badge...
  "Is there anything I can do to help... you?" The last word spoken by the young girl manager was uttered with a great deal of uncertainty. Well, that's understandable - on the one hand, the shape of a NERVE, and on the other, a fourteen-year-old kid...
  "Yes, ma'am," I said, trying to dispel all her doubts about how I should be treated. "I've only recently been transferred to this city, and I haven't figured it all out yet... Could you or someone else help me get some things? Can this be arranged?"
  "Of course," the manager was still looking at me skeptically enough, but not so much anymore. "Only consulting services will be included in the price..."
  "It doesn't bother me, ma'am," I snapped. I've always dreamed of saying something like that!..
  "... Young man, this is quite an expensive watch..."
  So, these skeptical views have already begun to tire me at every step. First the guide-counselor, now this watchmaker... Or what is the name of the one who sells watches?
  "Don't worry, I'm quite creditworthy." I muttered, admiring the chronometer I had chosen. Reliable mechanism, shockproof, waterproof, self-winding... A fairy tale!
  Of course, I would have done with a simple "commander's" watch or an "Amphibian", but, alas, there were no such watches. It is not surprising, in general, given the dominance of all kinds of "Seiko" and German technology...
  ".. It'll do," I concluded, walking back and forth in my freshly bought berc. "The new ones are still simple and undistorted, but it will pass..."
  It's a good store, though!.. Something like "For fishing, hunting and tourism", but everything is of the highest quality and of any size, even suitable for me. I got hold of a pair of normal (for me) high leather boots with thick soles - they will be useful when going outdoors, a camouflage windbreaker and trousers - for the same purposes, and all sorts of small things like a Swiss knife, binoculars, a small flat flask, a good lighter and a cigarette case. I motivated the last two purchases as a gift, although, in principle, I didn't lie much - I smoked very rarely, so maybe I'll give it to someone...
  Oh, that's what they say, the boy snapped - I never would have thought that I had such a craving for acquiring all sorts of junk...
  The problem only arose when buying a healthy hunting knife. They flatly refused to sell it to me, explaining that they needed a permit for weapons, which they said they wouldn't even give me in the next six years...
  I had to reach into my pocket (I would also need to buy a normal wallet...) and take out a universal Nerv card...
  You should have seen the sellers' faces when they read the information from her. Now they no longer looked at the butt of my Glock like it was a toy...
  "... E-my!" I said, shocked, when I finally got to the bookstore.
  These are my dear ones... weapons reference books... There are so many of you here... Tanks, aviation, navy, small arms and cold weapons, the history of wars... So, well, to properly match the legend, let's take this, and this, and, perhaps, this, and you can even without bread... I also need a proper briefcase, and not some school stuff, but something more serious that would match the jacket...
  ...In short, very soon the volume of my purchases increased so much that I became like an overloaded packhorse. And the box, it turns out, just opened! I just had to ask for all this to be delivered at home, and I was in agony... I didn't remember my address, though (what a shame!..), but it was quite expected to be listed on my card.
  We live, brothers!..
  Chapter 13. Returning home.
  "...Shinji?"
  Pum! The dart hit the target with a light thud. The eight? Not bad...
  "Hi!" I mumbled cheerfully, trying in vain to chew the wound, which was stuffed into my mouth whole in a fit of greed. "How do you like the style update?"
  "Of course, I suspected that you were a maniac, but not that much..." Katsuragi said slowly, looking around my transformed room.
  A box of a system unit and a bulky TV monitor appeared on the desk, along with a pair of powerful speakers. There was actually a desk lamp on the floor next to my sleeping place (for lack of a bed, there was no better word), and two piles of hefty reference books and encyclopedias stood next to it. The empty walls were carefully covered with military-themed posters (the largest one with a tank I didn't know was hung directly above my head, but judging by the small flag on the antenna, it was definitely Russian), and in the corner, next to the closet, another one appeared, only long, tall and suspiciously similar to a gun safe. It was open now, and it was visible that on its top shelf lay a compact pile of powerful binoculars, a hunting knife in a sheath, a cigarette case and a flask. According to my plans, something large-caliber was going to start up there soon, just to calm my soul...
  Right now, I was lying on the floor and openly spitting at the ceiling, enjoying life. There was a naval handbook open next to me, another apple in my left hand, and a dart in my right.
  Clap! And the last shell plunged into a target bought for the mood, pinned to the wall with duct tape.
  Bams! The target, unable to withstand the bullying, peeled off and crashed to the floor.
  "Are you raging?" Misato chuckled. "Well, well... Meanwhile, I'm plowing like an ox."
  "And I'm not raging at all..." I replied phlegmatically, biting into an apple. "Ah, by the way, I'm waiting for you. And you, Commander, seemed to want something from me..."
  "Ah?"
  "I threw it in your room and put it next to the mirror," I finished it. "A paper bag with your hundred thousand in it..."
  "Shinji," Katsuragi folded her hands in prayer. "Great you, thank you so much!"
  "You can't get away with just thanks here..." I declared pettily. "You'd better tell me, what's with my requests?"
  "It's done in the best possible way," Misato bravely reported, walking into the room. "Your classmate's sister was transferred to our infirmary..."
  "And Ray?"
  "Why do you care so much about her? Did you really like it? Crack up, huh?" The captain started teasing me again.
  "That's what you need, and you're cracking up." I snapped. "So anyway?.."
  "You're really rude," the girl sighed heavily. "Soldier, one word..."
  "You'd think I was the only one with buttonholes on my collar." I retorted.
  "It doesn't mean anything yet. You're a man, so by definition you have to be courteous and polite!"
  "Then don't bother trying to get to me! I was even a little indignant."
  "But it's so funny", Katsuragi giggled. "And anyway, I'm just bored - Pen-Pen, out, back into hibernation, or something..."
  "Er... who?" I feigned surprise.
  "Pen-Pen is my pet penguin." Misato explained. "He lives in a big refrigerator in the kitchen. Haven't you seen him yet?"
  "Nope," I shook my head. "I didn't even look into the big one - I thought it was empty. We don't even have enough food to score a small one... And why the penguin?"
  "He was an experimental animal in some kind of NERVE laboratory. It seems that they were engaged in developments in the field of biotechnology... The project was shut down, and the animals were partly handed over to zoos, partly taken home by the staff, so Ritsko gave me Pen-Pen - she was working there at the time."
  So a little more mystery disappeared, otherwise I was wondering how Katsuragi was able to get a potentially secret sample in her operational position. Now I would like to find out where this experimental penguin got such a high level of intelligence, and whether (according to one of the widespread fan theories) he is the true God of this continuum...
  "So that only one black-and-white Ruler rules!.."
  I giggled at my delusional thoughts, but then I gathered myself again and became serious.
  "Misato, you're evading the question again. I ask again, what's going on with Ray's move. WHEN is it? And mind you, not if, but when."
  "Shinji, have you been told that you look like a tick?" Katsuragi sighed.
  "Nope," I replied serenely, crunching an apple. "So what about Ray's move?"
  The girl moaned, clutching her head in her hands.
  "Pilot Ikari, are you doing this on purpose?" The captain asked me bitterly.
  "Oh, no, really!" I said gently, finishing another apple. "So what about Ray's move?"
  Misato frowned at me, then at the rapidly shrinking apple in my hand. Then he looked at me again, then at the apple again, but this time much more thoughtfully...
  "How can you eat them like that?" Katsuragi asked me in surprise.
  "How's that?" I asked, picking a piece of tough peel out of my teeth.
  "And that's it!" The captain pointed an indignant finger. "With a peel, seeds, a core and... and an ass!"
  "So where do you think the apple's ass is?" I philosophically remarked, taking out another fruit from a bulky paper bag. "And anyway, it's a waste-free production! No stubs, no trash..."
  "And the ponytail?" the captain objected to me.
  "That's not a problem," I said, unscrewing the wooden stick from the apple and chewing it diligently.
  Misato looked at me with pity.
  "I see you've been fed very poorly before..."
  You would live in a normal Russian dorm, comrade Commander, and not in your refined college...
  "Yes, I was fed normally," I disagreed, lying a lot. "So what about Ray's move?"
  Misato laughed and gave me a thumbs up.
  "One-nil in favor of Second Lieutenant Ikari. I praise you for your perseverance!"
  "Thanks, so what's up with Ray's move?"
  Katsuragi snorted.
  "Don't worry about it... Romeo... I've already arranged the transfer, so Ayanami will be living next door to us soon. Are you going to visit her," The captain smiled white-toothed.
  "Well, that's how I would have said it right away, otherwise I kept pulling the cat by the tail..." I noticed, ignoring another tease from Misato. It seems that the topic of "Me plus Ray" has already become a routine for her... Strange... I didn't seem to give any reason for such thoughts...
  Or did he give it anyway?..
  ***
  "Uark!"
  "Fuck!" I said with feeling, almost hitting the ground in surprise. The fact that we were on the -entieth floor didn't bother me much - where you fell, you'll find the firmament of the earth.
  I'm going to the bathroom, you know, and here you are! I open the door, and there's a penguin! No, of course I remember everything, but, damn, it's unexpected!
  "Pen-Pen, you're awake!" Katsuragi's joyful shout rang out from behind me. Wow, how quickly she identified the reason for my expressive expression...
  "Is this Pen Pen?" I asked skeptically, eyeing the victim of scientific research.
  He looked, Pen-Pen, I must say, colorful. He was quite healthy, about a meter tall, with a funny tuft of golden feathers on top of his head. Is it New Zealand? A rare species, however... Hmm, that's why he has five very mobile claws on his wings, which he quite sensibly used to hold a small towel slung over his shoulder. But I was most interested in a completely different subject, namely a strange-looking metal-plastic satchel, as if rooted to the body of a Pen.
  An interesting little thing, I'd say... A not very large, silver-gray device with a streamlined shape, mounted on the back of a penguin, but instead of straps or straps, thin metal (sort of) stripes closed on the chest, and the proud inscription "Pen2" is emblazoned on the front.
  Well, what kind of nonsense is this? A life support system, a gun case, a rocket pack? The penguin tilted his head to the side and also carefully looked me up and down.
  "Yes, this is Pen Pen," Misato came over and patted her pet on the head. "Pen, meet Shinji."
  "Hi," I said, feeling a bit idiotic. It's not every day, you know, that you're introduced to a pet. No, of course, I already knew him in absentia, but memories from the cartoon are one thing, but real impressions are still veeery different...
  "Uark!" the penguin nodded his head sedately and unexpectedly for me added. "Sin!"
  "Er-er..." I blinked, stunned. Did he call me by my first name? Or am I already having glitches from overexertion? I don't even know... No, I actually thought that his intelligence was purely a cartoon thing (it's impossible in real life), so maybe he was just smart enough, well, at the level of a very smart dog, or maybe even a dolphin. After all, in movies such things are usually exaggerated on purpose, sometimes even to the point of grotesqueness - everything to amuse the viewer...
  And then, damn, everything is for real, it turns out! What if he's really very smart? They put, say, a human soul in his brain, or somehow influenced the feathered one - the NERVE is capable of anything. My office is still a bunch of mad scientists...
  "He's very smart," Katsuragi, who had already changed into her casual home clothes, laughed. I mean, in a short blouse and shorts. The shame... "Isn't that right, Pen?"
  "Uark!"
  Damn, Victor could have sworn that he nodded, and nodded quite meaningfully!
  "Misato... And how is this possible? After all, he's kind of unrealistically smart for a penguin..."
  "Tss" Katsuragi hissed at me comically, squinting at the penguin, who was still looking at me curiously. "Hush, or he'll hear you and be offended, which is good..."
  Tell me more stories, Misato. Hmm, though...
  "...Who told you that this is an ordinary penguin? I told you where he used to be!"
  "Well, yes, in some of our laboratories. And what's next?"
  "Just between you and me," The captain winked at me conspiratorially. "As I found out, experiments on cybernation were conducted on it."
  "You mean that..."
  "Yeah, exactly. Have you seen that thing behind his back? So there's some kind of tricky biological computer in it, almost a prototype of MAGI..."
  "Wow!" I was genuinely surprised. Now a lot was becoming clear... "And the MAGI are those big servers in the command room?"
  "Servers?" Katsuragi asked me blankly. "Oh, right! More precisely, these are not servers, but completely autonomous and self-sufficient computing units..."
  "Then it's clear..." I said vaguely. The question is "How many N2 bombs does Pen Pen have in his backpack?" it fell away by itself.
  ***
  "Yeah... yeah... It's clear... Well, thanks for the information! Bye, Dan!"
  Misato hung up the phone and looked at me with a sly squint.
  "Well, Sir Shinji? Your beautiful lady has arrived!"
  "Mmm" I mumbled in surprise, crunching another apple.
  "Don't "mmm," but go meet Ray. She's supposed to be in the elevator by now- I've put her in the apartment next door," Katsuragi stated sarcastically. "And how long have you been able to eat apples?!"
  "Yes, as many as you want..." I mumbled thoughtfully, getting up from the couch. Well, I'm already used to these fruits, what can I do! Every morning, for five years in a row, my breakfast consisted of the traditional bullseye-the breakfast of an aristocrat. But on the other hand, considering that there was nothing else... And I was too lazy to cook anything in the morning... Especially if you get up fifteen minutes before class starts...
  Oh, I'm getting really lazy - since I came back from a shopping trip, all I do is lie around, eat apples and read books. Don't I have anything else to do? Oh, shit! Although, along the way, of course, I was thinking about something, so to speak, in the background, but more on that later. And in the end, can I loaf around a bit? I'll be back tomorrow for sure...
  ...I opened the front door and went out onto the landing, pulling on my freshly purchased boots -what I always liked about these shoes was that they could be put on without even lacing them up...
  I staggered noisily to the elevator doors, and I waited, feeling Misato's gaze boring into my back.
  "Commander, there won't be a show - you don't have to watch it", I explained loudly, without even turning around.
  "That's what you think!" it came from the door of our apartment.
  That's Misato...
  Squeak - the elevator has arrived, the doors open cautiously...
  As soon as the doors opened, Rey stepped onto the landing, carrying a small, worn blue and white gym bag. Needless to say, she was wearing her usual school uniform.
  "Hello, Ray!" I greeted him cheerfully, putting maximum warmth and cordiality into this simple phrase.
  Ayanami glanced at me with her trademark indifferent gaze. Hmm, like her, but she's good at it... When I made a face with a brick, my appearance was usually regarded as sad and sad, but here is really an example of icy-cold calm.
  "The character is persistent, Nordic. Merciless to Gendo's enemies..."
  Hmm, the blonde beast? Just not Aryan, but very much so... Mentally draw a black uniform, a high-crowned cap, a stack and two runes on the buttonhole...
  Imagine the whip, you pervert of a minor!..
  The real Shinji giggled in the background.
  "Ray, it's actually customary to return a greeting," I started explaining it first.
  "What for?"
  That's why it's on my head!..
  "That's the way it's done. These are the established norms of behavior, and everyone must comply with them. Is that clear?"
  "Yes," Rey replied indifferently.
  Oh, ho, ho... Some kind of dumb-dumb conversation. I do not know what to say, Ayanami does not want to talk. Or maybe she just can't because she's not used to it? It's as difficult as everything, you can't figure it out without half a liter...
  "Which apartment did they put you in?" I decide to change the subject.
  "The one hundred and seventeenth."
  "Great, let's be neighbors! Are you coming to visit?"
  Surprise flashes in Ayanami's gaze.
  "But why?"
  "That's the way it's done..." I sigh resignedly, realizing that my imagination is no longer enough for more. "Okay, at least let me walk you to your new apartment. It's only a couple of steps, but it doesn't matter..."
  The first one calmly reached her door, opened it with an electronic key and stepped inside.
  "Goodbye, Ray!" I managed to shout after her. Ayanami stopped and turned to me.
  "Is it customary to say goodbye too?" She asked me.
  "Yeah," I nodded. "Li-isten to me... Ray, you don't mind if I pick you up tomorrow morning, do you? We could go to school together..."
  "No"
  "No, I mean, can I come in?.."
  "You can come in," Rey replied laconically. "Goodbye."
  The door slammed in my face. Well, let's say it didn't slam shut, but it closed neatly, but somehow it did...
  I stood in front of the door for a while and went home, cursing to myself about the mysterious nature of the soul of clones with the soul of an Object A...
  As soon as I entered the house, Hurricane Misato immediately hit me.
  "Yeah!" She raised her index finger triumphantly. "I knew it! You've got a crush on her!"
  "Oh, Misato, don't be ridiculous..." I yawned lazily, heading to my room.
  Don't lie to your superior officer and your immediate commander, Second Lieutenant! Promise me that you will definitely invite me to your wedding!!! Under these cheerful screams, I closed the door to my room and flopped down on a thin mattress.
  So, Vic, how do you assess the effectiveness of the attempt to establish contact with the Snow Maiden?
  Hmm, rather positive... In general, it's too early to talk about anything definite - too little time has passed, Rey will have to be taken out of suspended animation, oh, how long...
  Under my door, someone started humming an Americanized wedding march rather out of tune. And I know who it is...
  "Misato, that's enough!"
  "Rei Ikari... Why, it sounds!" The singing was replaced by a thin giggle.
  "Misato, mind you, I have a pistol handy and two full clips for it... Don't drive me to sin, or I won't be able to resist..."
  The giggling turned into outright laughter.
  Chapter 14. Compiling a database of data on the main figures of Evangelion.
  "What's for dinner tonight?" Misato asked eagerly, holding a spoon in her hand. By the way, despite the fact that we seemed to live in Japan, the captain used a fork and spoon without any effort - apparently, there was no total dominance of chopsticks here...
  "Food," I replied laconically, pouring water boiled in a kettle into a pot on the stove.
  "And more specifically?"
  "Potato."
  "Not raw, I hope?" Katsuragi asked.
  "No."
  "Shinji," the girl laughed. "It's not good for you to communicate with Rey, you're becoming like her!"
  "Really?" I said skeptically.
  "Well, yes! Just listen to the way you talk!"
  "I'm talking normally," I snorted. "But Rey is really a big problem..."
  "Can't find a common language? Oh, what a shame..." The captain was sarcastic.
  "I'm actually serious, Misato." I noticed when I was putting potatoes in the water. Today I had mashed potatoes according to the plan. "I don't understand why she's like this."
  "Which one is this?"
  "Well... frozen. Why does she live like this, dress like this, behave like this?.. After all, by God, not a girl, but some kind of robot!"
  "To be honest, I don't even know - I've never been interested in this question." Katsuragi replied bluntly. "Maybe it's because she doesn't have parents? I do not know what happened to them, but maybe they died during some kind of scientific experiment? For some reason, I'm sure that they worked in one of our laboratories..."
  "Maybe, maybe..." I said thoughtfully, even though I knew for sure that this was not the case. I would even say it's not like that at all, and even close, but this version is quite suitable as an official one. "Don't you know for sure?"
  "No," the girl grimaced in annoyance. "There is no information about Rey in the public domain, and I do not have access to closed sources..."
  "You have? Do the Chief of Operations and the captain have NERVES?" I was genuinely surprised. "And how is this possible?"
  "So it's possible," Katsuragi replied with a frown. "And there's nothing I can do about it..."
  "Affairs..." I drawled thoughtfully, although I wasn't thinking about that at all. "By the way, why, if Ayanami doesn't have parents, wasn't she assigned a guardian?.."
  "By the way, she has a guardian, your father."
  Oh, my! I'd forgotten...
  "What do you mean?"
  "Yes, literally!"
  "Figase... Why don't I know?"
  "So, how should I know?" Katsuragi quite reasonably remarked.
  "And that's what it turns out, she... My sister?"
  "Um..." thought Misato. "It turns out that it is..."
  "Affairs..." I scratched my chin thoughtfully. "In that case, I hope you'll leave these jokes about me and Ray?"
  "Ha! Don't even get your hopes up!" The captain declared. "You're not blood relatives, so... What, do you have anything against it?"
  ...Yeah, you should have known, Commander, that Ayanami and I are relatives after all - they made her out of Yu's genetic material, that is, my mother...
  "O-ho-ho" I sighed heavily. Misato clearly didn't want to get off the subject, and I didn't even know how to stop her. And I was lazy, in principle, somehow - I snapped at her remarks somehow even out of inertia. Well, these phrases didn't touch me, and that's it!..
  Okay, then. There's something else I wanted to be puzzled about today... But I wonder what?
  ***
  Ta-da-da-dam!
  The computer with the newly installed Windows 2003 turned on with a painfully familiar melody. The mashin is not that powerful, I must say - in my eleventh year I even left a more serious computer, but okay, at least I have one now... I don't know how everyone gets by without home computers - okay, games are on the side, but how to work? Or, say, listen to music...
  So I bought a machine that wasn't very powerful (a Pentium-4 processor), but it fully met all my requirements.
  I created a new text document, opened it, and stared thoughtfully at the blinking cursor...
  So, of course, it's risky, but let's try to leave some things on the computer - I can't keep everything in my head. Breaking it, in principle, is like doing nothing, especially considering my methods of disguising and hiding information (to make the document hidden and put it in some kind... ass), but there's nothing you can do about it.
  Okay, what am I talking about? Yeah, put your thoughts on, um, paper... Tek-S... First of all, what I've already said about the key characters, just don't mention them by name - let there be at least some sordid conspiracy.
  So, who's first on the list, Misato? What should I call you, Comrade Captain? Em... Who is she? Commander, guardian, captain... hmm... oh! Patron! That's it! Yeah, yeah... Now enter the available information into the database...
  The second point is Dad, he's Gendo. What's your name? A freak? No, that's not it... I don't really think so, and it's not comme il faut to call my own father that. Then how? What is he doing there, nervously? And what is a NERVE? That's right, the institute! So you will be our Rector!
  ..Hmm, the main thing is not to get confused later...
  Point three is Dr. Akagi. Well, everything is simple here - given her specific experiences and experiments - definitely Mengele.
  Point four is Fuyutsuki Castle. It's not difficult with that either - an Assistant, Singing along... Fie! No, that's not it-it's too crude and primitive. Then... Then let him be a Slanderer - it will sound more decent...
  ...Yes, yes, yes! I know a lot of clever and stupid words!..
  Point five is Kaji. Heh, well, considering his work profile, it's just Bond, James Bond. True, the gentleman from MI6 did not end up so badly, but I always sincerely wished him this fate. You see, he's constantly fighting with the Russians...
  Point six is Toji. It's more complicated than that-I don't know him that well... What are his characteristic features? Sports and... sport? Hm... No, for the life of Victor, but his first association with him is gopnik. No, purely in appearance, not in manners. Well, let it be...
  Point seven is Kaoru. I repeat once again - a muddy type. Extremely. And also a homosexual... Sort of. Hmm... And if you recall one popular show, then the operational pseudonym just begs to be remembered... Dulin?.. Gee!
  Point eight is Ray. So, well, I've already decided on the Snow Maiden. This party pseudonym characterizes her very accurately...
  And finally, the final point nine is Asuka. Ooo!.. Well, there are just a lot of options, I don't even know which one to choose... The Sturmbannfuhrer, the Witch, the Wunderwaffe, the Lone Psycho, the Red-haired Devil... Hmm, the latter takes on a new meaning in the light of the confrontation with the so-called Object A...
  Well, I just didn't have enough Satanism here! Although... Okay, let's have a Witch...
  ...I had to spend about forty minutes typing all the information I had into the computer. Abstract, of course. So that if anything, then only I could figure out my notes - for this I used all my skills in making notes.
  By the way, that great and terrible Japanese keyboard turned out to be not as scary as it seemed to the sophisticated Russian mind. Alas, this information input device looked quite traditional - no thousand-key monsters. The Japanese were saved by the fact that their writing system, in addition to hieroglyphic writing, also had a syllabic alphabet. So we write down the word in syllabic characters the way it is pronounced, and the smart computer independently translates it into its usual form, from time to time asking for hints about what exactly the Owner means...
  My brain, however, got quite a serious cognitive dissonance (in other words, it was torn) from the wild synthesis of knowledge of Russian and Japanese, but it was even better. I wrote most of my notes in Japanese (though with a lot of abbreviations), but from time to time I inserted Hiragana's notes. Japanese syllabary alphabet) Russian words and expressions, as well as English along the way. I did the latter even despite my fierce hatred of everything Western - the filthy English language is very informative.
  Phew!..
  I wiped the honest sweat of labor from my forehead. The job is done, although I'm burning up now, kapets... But I'm too afraid to forget something important-I don't trust my memory, no matter what, so I have to take the risk. Suddenly, getting too used to the current reality, I will slowly start to forget that life and that knowledge, and it will just be unrealistically shitty.
  Damn, we urgently need to fill up the computer with some nonsense, in case they dig into it! But they will be, and in any case... I'm always under the hood - I'm too important a person. I can't even count on getting really lost in the city or the surrounding mountains. In primitive terms, this is stupidly unrealistic, considering how many guys from the "outdoor" revolve around me. And the fact that I don't notice them only compliments them... Although, I'm still a spy, so... Hm...
  I wonder if Misato writes reports on my behavior every day or not. In short, I wouldn't be surprised if there are microphones and maybe even video cameras crammed around here, carefully recording my every move.
  Fuck!..
  I leaned against the computer monitor, shielding it with my own body. What if they've already read everything? It's going to be a disaster!
  Okay, easy, Victor, easy... It is unlikely that they will take control of a thirteen-year-old teenager so tightly...
  Although, on the other hand, why not? There aren't many of us Evangelion pilots like that...
  Then why aren't they watching Rey? And who told you that?..
  Damn it!!!
  Stop, stop, stop. Calm down, Junior Lieutenant Ikari-Severov. They probably won't even dare to sneeze right there without Dad's command - they'll need sanctions and orders for everything. After all, NERV is too private a shop, with a focus on specific personalities. And the Rector, in my opinion, doesn't really care about all this - Gendo is more interested in the Third Blow and the possibility of reuniting with Yu...
  I yawned tiredly and rubbed my eyes.
  Damn, I still haven't figured out what I was planning for this evening. And I wanted to remember the future Angels, and think about how to deal with them. Oh, I guess it's not fate - I already want to sleep. A young, growing body, to live... Okay, I still have time, we'll do it tomorrow.
  Chapter 15. Everyday life of the operations department.
  I got up today even before the God-defying mechanism, colloquially called an alarm clock, deigned to wake me up, and then everything went as usual.
  The first step is to fold, or rather, to scoop up the bed and put it in the closet. I was too lazy to fold it neatly, so I just grabbed everything, crumpled it up and stuffed it in one big pile - I had to make the bed again in the evening anyway, so why bother?
  He chuckled slightly, looking at his computer.
  ...Already when I went to bed, I had a rather interesting idea about at least some way to determine whether someone was rummaging through it without me or not. The idea, in principle, was extremely stupid and primitive - I disconnected the mouse cable, put my own pulled-out hair into its plug and carefully placed it next to it, as if I had accidentally pulled it out of the port. Now the main thing is not to get lost yourself and not forget about all this espionage nonsense...
  ...Go to the bathroom, brush your teeth, wash your face. So, what's going on on my forehead under the Band-Aid? Which, by the way, has already worn out quite a bit and is starting to fall off... Fuck it, fuck him! Let every little thing heal better naturally, in the air! Hm...
  He stared thoughtfully at the neat diamond-shaped wound, covered with dried blood and already healing a little. Where did I get this from- after the fight with the A Object, right? Figase... So much for forty percent synchronization, so much for complete unity with biomechanical armor... And if my Unit-01 gets its arm or head blown off, won't I bend over from the pain shock? That's an infection... And why was Asuka chasing after the indicators like that? "Let's catch up and overtake - we're the best!.." That's Khrushchev the cornhusker to me...
  ...He pulled on his now-familiar uniform, holstered his Glock, put on his watch, put his wallet in the inner pockets of his tunic, and the last (damn!) the remaining apple. I put the mobile phone I bought yesterday in my shirt pocket (it's pretty average in function, but it's considered one of the best here), a small MP3 player, and went to the kitchen.
  So, to clear my conscience, look into Misato's room.
  Yeah, that's what I thought from the very beginning - my brave commander was called again at a little light. No wonder she likes to sleep and hang out at home so much... Okay, let's make ourselves a morning coffee, have a drink, and go to school.
  Stop.
  I slapped my forehead with my hand... and he hissed in pain, hitting the wound.
  Ray lives next door to me now! And I promised to pick her up today to go to school together! Together... Together? Holy shit, there's going to be a lot of gossip!!! Not only did I see her off after school yesterday, but now I accompany her to school, and if they find out that she lives two steps away from me... Oh, brothers, this is some kind of kaput...
  Well, well, calm down. It's all bullshit- don't I give a damn what everyone is saying? Have I set goals and objectives for myself? I put it down. So please do them, Comrade Ikari-Severov!
  By the way, about tasks and specific methods.
  Since we now have Pilot Ayanami in a stable range, then this success needs to be developed - so to speak, to go on the offensive. Because, you know, I've already had two meetings with her, and the result of establishing personal contacts is practically zero. So. We'll have to try to talk to her again when we go to school, but this time we'll be more affluent - it would be nice to find some common ground with Ray, or something... But on what grounds? She has no interests, no hobbies, nothing, and I'm good too-all she has in her head is a history of gun mania...
  Come on!..
  But let's look at Ayanami from the other side - discipline, diligence, fanatical devotion to the commander in the person of the Commander, unquestioning obedience to orders, contempt for his own life... Hmm, and Rey turns out to be not only the perfect girl-the dream of most guys, but also almost the perfect soldier. We could have tipped it in the number of a couple of battalions, trained it in marksmanship and hand-to-hand combat, and put it on guard NERV, and what kind of freaks would have broken through.
  It's a pity that this is impossible - despite the abundance of spare bodies, the First One has only one soul...
  So, I got distracted. Where did I start there? Points of contact, the perfect soldier... Oh, right! We'll need to find out Rey's combat training level anyway, otherwise she probably won't be able to recover in time for the next Object A, but we'll have to take down the shooting and digging cubes together. So, once again, to make a note in my memory - to recall everything that I know about my future enemies, their weaknesses, weapons, how they were destroyed...
  So, Victor, you've hesitated! Stop spreading your thoughts along the tree - please think straight, without jerking to the sides. Do we still have time? There is... So, we put everything on the shelves.
  Ayanami Rei.
  The level of combat training is unknown, but given the general disregard of our highly respected command, this value is most likely close to zero. How can me fix this, given that the First one will have to participate in battles, even if it is in the secondary roles? Grab it from Ritsuko and drag it to all the training and tactical classes? What? Is she listed in the science department? I don't give a damn! Akagi is Misato's girlfriend, so let her help to increase the defense capability of Tokyo-3...
  Well, what could be better than the first pre-production combat Evangelion? That's right, only the second number is in the form of an ultra-reliable slave prototype. We will only need to find out more precise performance characteristics of our robots...
  Okay, stop again. What did I say about the wingman? Slave, slave... Hmm, but that's a thought!
  So, who's Ray? That's right, it's almost a blank sheet - do whatever you want from it (within reasonable limits). Well, why not make a great partner out of her, just in case? Let him cover me from afar with a sniper rifle or a grenade launcher, but what? It seems like a good option... So what does that mean? So we're going to imbue her with a passion for guns-I need a second maniac like me...
  I rubbed my hands together cunningly and smiled wryly.
  The aim of the pilots is not to form a school interest group, but a full-fledged, albeit semi-childish, combat unit. How much time do I have at the maximum - about a year? It's fine! After that time (if all my plans come true), I personally will have a real team of fighters who will no longer be afraid of any serial made by SEELE Evangelicals and Japanese soldiers... There, in the War (and that's what I call only one war, the Great Patriotic War), if necessary, and teenagers fought, and what's worse for us? An unreal fantasy world? It makes sense...
  Unless you live in it. When the line between fiction and reality begins to blur... I've only been here for a few days, and I'm already having doubts - wasn't THAT world just an invention?.. So our goal is worthy, our opponents are strong and treacherous, our allies are somewhat unbalanced, which means we need to fight seriously. And finally: "Our cause is just! The enemy will be defeated! Victory will be ours!!!"
  ...An alluring picture involuntarily flashed before my eyes. I'm sitting at a table in a general's uniform, and Misato is standing in front of me and counting down the results of the destruction of the underground ZIELE shipyards in South America, and the situation on the Second Texas Front... Commander Ikari... And what? Subordinates won't even need to remember a new name...
  So, Viktor Severov, aka Shinji Ikari, leave the Napoleonic plans and start fulfilling current tasks! If you want to do great things, start small, with what you can do!..
  ...It was with this thought in mind that I left the house on the landing, and headed for Ray's apartment.
  ***
  "Hello, Ray!" I greeted the First One cheerfully when she opened the door for me.
  "Hi," Ayanami greeted briefly, already fully assembled, with a briefcase in her hands.
  "Call me Shinji, please", I asked her. "Good?"
  "Yes."
  "Then let's try to understand how well you understood it", I suggested vigorously.
  I've been feeling a little more active since morning, although it usually doesn't sound like me -I'm more of an owl than a real Shinji, and I get back to normal sometime in the late afternoon.
  "Let's imagine that we see each other for the first time today and say hello again, but now call me by my first name. Ok?"
  "Okay," Ray nodded. There was something like interest in her gaze.
  "Hello, Ray!"
  "Hi, Shinji," Ayanami said clearly.
  "Well done!" I smiled. "Well, then let's go to school, or something..."
  "Are you ready?" That's great.
  We continue to complete the current task - the Snow Maiden object has been transferred to further development...
  Chapter 16 going to school with Ray.
  "Ray, do you have any hobbies?" I asked as we walked leisurely along the road, even though I knew the answer perfectly well.
  "Hobbies?"
  "Well, yes! Something that interests you, doing something that gives you pleasure?.. Is there such a thing?"
  "I'm an Evangelion pilot." Ayanami replied in an even voice. "Piloting is my main task, and I don't need anything else."
  "Do you like being a pilot?" I did not lag behind. Wow, I usually don't talk so much - I don't look like myself, but what should I do?..
  "Do you like it?"
  Okay, calm down, calm down... Don't panic - Rey is not a robot, she was just made that way by some bad people...
  Which you want to trample on Eve for a long time and thoroughly, so that in the future it would not be annoying. We are responsible for those who, um, created them - and here everyone seems to care deeply about how the First One lives...
  "Do you like it, I mean, do you get satisfaction from it? Does completing your main task bring you this?"
  "Yes..." Was it my imagination, or was there really some emotion in Rey's voice?
  "Well, that's it!" I raised my finger meaningfully. "So it can be called your hobby, you know?"
  Ayanami strode forward stolidly.
  Ye-My, my tongue is going to fall off soon, and my brain is going to boil from overexertion! Okay, we're pushing until the snow melts...
  "Ray, what can you tell me about your combat training? I've only been piloting Eva for a few days, and as far as I know, you've been piloting for a few months... Maybe you can share your experience with me?.."
  I understand, I understand - it's obviously a rhetorical question. Fuck it, when the First One gives me a lecture about my own training, I'm not the right person...
  "What kind of training do you have in mind?"
  So, I like her habit of answering a question with a question less and less...
  "Shooting, tactical training, hand-to-hand combat, possession of edged weapons..." I began to list, carefully watching Rey's reaction. "Everything you need to successfully pilot an Evangelion," I applied my main blank.
  Ayanami lost her step slightly.
  "There are no such trainings in my training," the First One answered somewhat confusedly, as it seemed to me.
  "But how is that?" I was "incredibly surprised," although inwardly I was ready for something like this. "After all, without such training, you can fail the task, let down all of humanity in general and our Commander in particular..."
  "Yeah! There is a contact! Cover and hit!" Oh yes, Victor, oh yes, the son of a bitch - he knew what to push!..
  "Uh..." - from Ray's mouth, this inarticulate mumbling seemed like true music to me!..
  "..An Evangelion pilot is primarily a soldier" I said weightily, rejoicing inwardly. "And a soldier must be able to handle weapons well in order to defeat the enemy and prevent civilian casualties..."
  Ayanami's gaze naturally darted around, almost in panic. Meanwhile, I kept pushing:
  "...Otherwise, they will be slapped with a complete official inconsistency and dismissed..." I sighed unnaturally, although the thought sent a chill down my spine.
  Unlike the real Shinji, I want to be a pilot. First of all, it's cool. Secondly, it provides a lot of quite tangible bonuses such as uniforms, weapons and money. Thirdly, it gives access to top-secret data and enormous power. No, big power, that is, big responsibility, does not particularly attract me, but just being involved in a top-secret and super-elite unit of the UN army simply cannot please me, as a hardened militarist. And fourthly, this is the only way I can stop the real end of the world, isn't it good?
  And refuse such a thing?! Never in my life!!! I get used to good things too quickly...
  "I don't even know what I would do if I were suspended from piloting..." now I have finished quite sincerely. "And you, Ray?"
  "I don't know..." Ayanami replied softly. "I'm an Evangelion pilot, that's all I can do..."
  And why is everyone here so fixated on this?..
  Shinji: "I'm piloting Eva because it's the only way I feel useful to someone and gain self-confidence for a while..."
  Ray: "I'm piloting Eva because I can't do anything else."
  Asuka: "I'm piloting Eva because that's how I show that I'm the best. Piloting is the meaning of life for me, if I stop being a pilot, I'll just die!"
  Hm...
  Victor: "I'm piloting Eva because I don't have a choice, but I like this activity. This is the only way I can stand up to my enemies and try to save those I like... people."
  Hm...
  Victor (reluctantly): "And I've never felt so needed and useful before. I've always wanted to fight for the right cause, and I finally got the opportunity."
  Ayanami stopped abruptly and looked into my eyes.
  "What does it take to be a good Evangelion pilot?"
  "I do not know," he answered honestly and, after thinking about it, continued. "And no one knows. But everything I mentioned is definitely necessary for a pilot. That's how I'm trained." I added, slightly lying to my soul. Actually, I haven't been trained like that yet..."
  "I have to train the same way too." Rey stated in a flat voice. "Why is this not the case?"
  Not a damn speech! Hey, you got it, you're the first one...
  "I don't know, but I'll definitely help you. There wasn't anything very difficult about your move... But, in the end, you can at least prepare at an elementary level on your own..."
  "How?" Ayanami asked quickly.
  "By learning from other people's experiences," I stated confidently, although I didn't feel very confident. To be honest, I was ashamed that I was standing there brainwashing a girl who should have been thinking about boys and pretty dresses instead of combat training and weapons... Damn it! But we all have no other way - now we are all in the same boat, which is rapidly rushing towards the abyss, and this must be stopped. At any cost. Someone will pay with a broken fate, someone with their life cut short, someone with their honor... I'm not allowed to die yet, so I'll have to go into debt to my own conscience...
  "We are at war, but humanity has been at war for thousands of years." Having studied the experience of past confrontations, we will be able to come up with something in the present. The history of wars, Ray, that's what we need to study. Different techniques, tricks, tactics - everything that can help us in the battle with Object A. We need to learn to understand weapons - cold and firearms, it is with their help that we have to fight the enemy. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
  "Yes, I understand. Can you help me with the necessary information?" Was there some excitement in Ayanami's voice, or was it just my imagination again?.. Damn, I haven't learned how to understand her emotions yet...
  "Of course, I have something," I said thoughtfully. "I'll talk about how we can train together now, but you can come to my house tonight, too, and I'll try to tell you something... And call me Shinji, okay?
  "Yes, Shinji."
  "Well, then let's go already, otherwise we'll be late..."
  Misato will have more fun tonight, I thought gloomily.
  ***
  So, as I see it, the Japanese land is becoming more and more full of rumors. If, for example, there were just a lot of people staring at me yesterday, then today there are EVEN more - it seems that EVERYONE was hanging around in front of the school entrance, diligently pretending that they were just waiting for classes to start!
  But naturally, as soon as I found myself in the zone of steady visual contact, dozens, and perhaps hundreds of glances instantly crossed on me. Who said anything about evacuation? If this is taking into account those who left, then how many people were here initially?!
  I felt uneasy from such attention - well, I'm not used to it and that's it! Damn, is this really going to accompany me forever now? Damn it... Into the air, to shoot, or straight into the crowd to drive them all to hell? Yeah, so that the spies would immediately grab me and shove me into some kind of room with soft walls... I walked steadfastly and as calmly as possible past all these would-be students, who instantly formed a living corridor at my approach, heading for the entrance...
  Side by side with Rey, carrying her briefcase in her hand.
  Oh, meinGott! I've given the gossips some new information! Yeah, I can hear it already...
  "Is that his girlfriend?.."
  "Why is SHE?!"
  "He doesn't give a damn..."
  "Hey, it's a robot, a robot!.."
  "Damn it..."
  "Damn it!.."
  "It doesn't matter! We'll see who's who!.."
  I didn't like the last block of whispers (exclusively in female voices) at all. If they run into Ray, it won't be enough for them. I may be an ignoramus in such matters, but with the help of all my NERVE, I will arrange such a sweet life for them... I know perfectly well all the types of teenagers of this age - they probably don't like quiet and modest people here, just like in any school. And considering Ayanami's phenomenal unsociability and taciturnity, coupled with her completely frozen behavior and temporary disabilities...
  I leaned a little closer to the First One and spoke softly:
  "Ray, in the near future, other students, most likely girls, may take unfriendly actions against you. Do you understand me?"
  "Not really," Ayanami replied honestly.
  "It doesn't matter," I grimaced. "Anyway, as the senior NERVE officer here, I ask you to tell me about any such attempts. And if there is a threat to your life or health, use any self-defense measures, but better call me. And anyway, confirm everything I said, okay?" I added in a burst of inspiration.
  "Okay, Shinji," Rei said evenly.
  ***
  When I entered the classroom, I realized that everything that had happened before was just flowers - these are the berries!.. One of the guys choked on his gum, one of the girls had a pen fall out of his hands. Toji looked thoughtful and depressed, Hikari had been wiping the board in the same place for several minutes. And only the restless Ida filmed everything that was happening on his favorite video camera, seemingly not believing his luck to the end. I heard his mumbling, which seemed quite loud in the silence of the classroom:
  "What kind of material... What kind of material... It's definitely worth a lot more than two hundred..."
  Kensuke, it turns out that you are not only a military maniac, like me, but also just a great reporter! If you don't become a pilot (and, as far as I know, all my classmates are potential operators of the E combat complex), then you will definitely get into the press center at NERV...
  My classmates were plunged into a state close to shock - they, unlike other students, knew Ray a little closer. If to others she was just a strange person from a certain class, about whom one could build a variety of fantasies, then class 2A knew that the impression made by Ayanami fully corresponded to her inner content.
  At least as far as they knew.
  "Hello everyone" I greeted the people cheerfully. I reached Ray's desk, put my briefcase on it first and went to my seat.
  A discordant chorus of voices followed me, and as I noticed, the female half pronounced "Hello, Shinji..." with some kind of breathlessness. Damn, I got a macho guy on their heads (although, more like a schmuck)... Beautiful girls - don't give a damn about me, I have a war in my brain here that I don't care about you!
  I greeted Toji and Aida separately (the first is sitting behind me, the second is in front, respectively), sat down at my desk, yawned, unbuttoned my jacket, stretched out my legs and put a freshly bought briefcase on the desk.
  The classmates' jaws, which had returned to their normal position, began to fall rapidly again, as if the leaves on the trees in autumn.
  What? What's wrong?! Did you forget to fasten your fly? Erysipelas in toothpaste? Has the third arm grown?
  I quickly, but as unobtrusively as possible, looked down at myself. Hmm, everything seems to be fine...
  Hey, smartass! In your opinion, everything is fine, but if you look at it from the outside?..
  I looked at myself again... and he thought hard.
  Maybe it's enough to shock others already? Otherwise, the poor devils will get mental disorders and get them into pilots... Shock is, of course, our way, but certainly not in Japanese.
  So, you need to be somehow simpler, or something, and stand out less from the crowd, otherwise, you know, one of those guys showed up at school today...
  The first fact. With a girl who everyone has already stopped counting as a person.
  The second fact. He is the only known pilot of Evangelion, and everyone has not had time to get over this news yet.
  The third fact. Not only did he turn up in uniform again, but not in school uniform, but in a nervous one, he also carried a leather briefcase, berts, and a pistol on his belt! Yesterday, the Glock was only seen by Ida, but then I thought about something and put it on public display...
  Judging by Kensuke's smug look, some rumors have already been circulating in the classroom, and I have just confirmed them in the most reliable way.
  Somewhere in the corner of my mind, the real Shinji was chuckling softly-he was just amused by the whole situation. He's fine now, damn it, sitting in peace and comfort, watching everything through the prism of my perception, and gradually becoming saturated with my indifference. In a month or two, it won't be so scary, even if I get yanked out of here - I'll do more and more to completely overcome the stability of the continuum, and fuck it when Shinji manages to return to the general line of behavior. By the way, it's not very convenient to call him by his first name now - I'm already starting to associate myself with him, too. Hmm, and how to solve this problem? Let me think... oh! From now on, I'll call the original Shinji - Shinji Jr. or just Junior -I'm nine years older after all. Don't you agree, bro? That's great!..
  But back to our sheep, what are we going to do about behavior, huh? No, a good show-off is worth a lot of money, that's a fact... But you can't show off like that, Victor! It's time to know the measure already - be simpler, and people will reach out to you...
  Wait, do I need it anyway? After all, I'll establish contact with those I need anyway (if something really works out with Ray, then be proud, junior leit!), and somehow I don't need the rest. Hmm, interesting, interesting... Well, let's try this tactic - to be your boyfriend, but to emphatically distance yourself from the majority...
  Maybe they'll be less interested in me. On the shelf under my desk, I suddenly felt some papers with my hand. I glanced sideways and saw the sealed envelopes... With hearts!!! I looked around hungrily -languid female gazes were staring at me from everywhere.
  Holy shit, they've got me! Like a wolf, they put flags on it! Nah, guys... It's not going to work that way-if I start getting involved in amorous affairs, I'll go crazy, and next time I'll blow up half the city with a six-inch knife...
  Distance yourself, motherfucker, distance yourself!..
  Somewhere in his head, the Younger One began to mutter sarcastically:
  "Don't run away. Don't run away. Don't run away."
  Fuck you!!!
  There was a cheerful giggle in response.
  Chapter 17
  So, the first pair... that is, the first lesson was social studies again. Something happened to my memory... Okay, it doesn't matter, in short, bullshit. Once again, this grandfather started muttering to himself, reading an impressive pile of printouts, but, in my opinion, it's the same as last time. And once again, all my classmates started doing all sorts of nonsense - chatting, reading, and so on, so on, so on...
  I also wanted to listen to the music from the player and reached into my pocket, but I remembered that I hadn't recorded anything there (because there was no music on my computer at all), and I left the cassette player at home... Ugh, the infection!..
  Ida abruptly turned to me, squinting his eyes like a cat overeating sour cream:
  "Crack up."
  "I don't want to," I replied phlegmatically.
  "Crack up, I'm telling you!"
  "What's there to say?" I started fooling around.
  "Shinji, did they teach you how to behave during interrogations in NERVE? You know exactly what I mean!.."
  "Nope," I smiled brightly.
  "Grm!" growled Kensuke. "Well, have it your way. What's up with you and Ray?"
  "Nothing," I answered quite honestly.
  "But you don't have to lie", He wagged a finger at Kensuke. "Can I give you the facts?"
  "Go ahead."
  "First of all, yesterday you were seen walking Ayanami home, carrying her briefcase and chatting sweetly with her..."
  "Have you seen it?" I chuckled skeptically.
  "Okay, I saw it," admitted Ida. "But this only makes your fate worse, my son, because I also filmed it all on camera..."
  "What a talent is disappearing, what a talent..." I wailed falsely.
  "Don't talk my teeth out of it! And today you're dragging yourself back with Ayanami, again carrying her briefcase, and again chatting sweetly with her, and most importantly, she answers you!!! She is! For you! He's responding! And you can't get anything out of her by torture, but here!.."
  "Calm down, calm down, Ayda!" I raised my hands in a conciliatory gesture. "Well, I helped Ray, so what's the big deal? Did you see her injuries? And she lives next door to me..."
  "I shouldn't have said that."
  "Yeah!.."
  "Not aha, but just helped!"
  "Ha ha! Tell me stories!" Ayda looked at me sarcastically. "You don't look like a knight on a white horse or a complete altruist... By the way, since you're so familiar with Ayanami, can you tell me where she's been so captivated? You can't get a word out of her..."
  "Don't you know that? She's the same..." I stopped short.
  Do I have the right to disclose information that Ray is also a pilot? And even more so to say that she got her injuries in training?
  "What is she?" Kensuke asked eagerly.
  "This is classified information." I snapped, thinking about the situation. Should I talk or not?..
  "Wait a minute... Are you trying to tell me that Ayanami is also connected to NERV?" Kensuke spoke slowly.
  Oh, she wasn't! Anyway, I didn't give you a non-disclosure agreement, but at least they'll treat Ray more humanly...
  "Ray Ayanami is also an Evangelion pilot, just like me. She received her wounds during the trials... secret weapons, but I really have no right to disclose the details - it's a matter of national security..."
  But Ayda was already sneezing at all my explanations - only my first words stuck in his memory: "Rei Ayanami is the pilot of Evangelion."
  "Damn..." He said softly, slowly clutching his head. "Holy shit, that's news..."
  Kensuke turned away from me, stared at Rei, and didn't bother me for the rest of the lesson, digesting the stunning news.
  ***
  I managed to sit on the sidelines safely for the first few days, but I'm afraid I won't be able to do that anymore...
  The second lesson is biology.
  "...So, class, let's get to the last topic of this year - the simplest living organisms," a plump, smiling teacher strolled between the rows. I couldn't figure it out in this lesson. This is a kind of transitional form between plants and animals - the difference here is not so great... Who can tell me what this means?"
  "I know everything, but I won't say anything."
  What was still missing was rushing forward in my studies! Seventh grade? Ugh! Yes, I can already take everything up to high school as an external student, even without really preparing. No, of course, if someone asks me now, I will certainly answer...
  "Let's ask the new guy! Ikari, right?"
  Like a jinx, damn it...
  "That's right," I got up from my seat.
  The teacher looked thoughtfully at the kid, who was buttoned up to the last button, in the shape of a NERVE and with a regular brick-like expression on his face. That is, my beloved.
  "What are the features of the simplest organisms that unite them with both animals and plants?"
  "They use both autotrophic and heterotrophic nutrition." I said it automatically. "For example, such a simple organism as euglena zelenaya receives energy and necessary substances in the light through photosynthesis, and in the dark..."
  "Enough," The teacher stopped me in surprise. "Ikari, have you already gone through the materials from the high school curriculum? You probably went to school with a major in biology?"
  "No way, ma'am," I said. "Self-study."
  "Amazingly... And to what extent?"
  "Up to the college level" if I understand correctly, this roughly corresponds to the first couple of courses at the institute.
  A gasp of astonishment went through the class.
  The distance between me and the other students increased by some more distance.
  ***
  The third lesson is English.
  "We're starting the homework survey. Get the transfers ready for everyone," The tall and even stern-looking teacher adjusted her glasses and opened the class magazine.
  "Shinji... Shinji!" They whispered to me from behind.
  I turned slightly to Toji.
  "Did you translate the fucking text? Can you give it to me?"
  "No, Toji, I didn't translate that stuff."
  "And if they ask? Aren't you afraid to get a deuce?"
  "Nope," I waved my hand nonchalantly. "We'll break through."
  "... Ikari!" the teacher's voice rang out.
  "Here," I got up from my seat.
  "I see that you are here. Are you ready to respond?"
  I shushed back:
  "Text!"
  Toji, happy that it wasn't him who was asked, quickly handed me a notebook with a text requiring translation. Ugh, it's fucked up! Yes, we learned more by heart at uni!..
  I started to drum the text cheerfully, but then I was interrupted again.:
  "That's enough, that's enough, Ikari..." The teacher drawled slightly mockingly. "Leave some time for others to read and translate only the first two sentences."
  That's it?!
  "I'm sorry," I corrected myself, and quickly translated a not too complicated text about the nature of Japan, trying to literarize the translation as much as possible.
  "That's great, Ikari" The teacher said in surprise. "Just fine... You probably studied English in depth? However, it doesn't matter - I'm happy. But you have a rather interesting pronunciation... If I hadn't known, I would have thought that your native language was German or something like that...
  "Well, I guess it doesn't really matter." I smiled slightly and added softly. "Nichtwahr" (approx. (German) Isn't it)?
  ***
  Lunch break - students take out small portions of food prepared from home. As they used to say at our institute about such snacks at recess - "healing", but here they say - bento, so it seems. Okay, I can heal up too...
  He took out an apple and began to nibble it with gusto... Damn, everyone is looking at me again - not only is my food atypical (everyone has rice and colorful stuff unknown to me), but I also eat as I used to, meaninglessly and mercilessly. They just stared at me like a barbarian when I realized that the trash can was at the other end of the class from me, I was too lazy to get up... and he ate the tail. Ida and Toji looked at me piteously at the same time and even offered to share their food, which, of course, I indignantly rejected.
  But while most of the people were looking at me, I was watching Rei (out of the corner of my eye, I noticed how understandingly Suzuhara and Kensuke exchanged glances). I was very curious about what she would eat - from the bento it would be possible to get a general impression of how the First One eats in general...
  It didn't work out.
  She didn't eat at all. Why? But because, strictly speaking, she had nothing. Very, very revealing... Considering how she lived, I'm afraid to even imagine what she ate-even Misata's food would seem like the height of perfection. No, we don't need such a Ray! Pale, thin, with only eyes on half her face - we urgently need to fatten the girl! And I will do it in the very near future.
  Okay, stop. And what does she like? For some reason, I have such a strong feeling that Ray is a vegetarian, and all my favorite and not so good dishes will not work. No, we're in Japan, which means there should be soy meat here, even if it's a rough ersatz, but it'll do for us. But as I remember, to make something out of it, you need to stuff a lot of extra stuff, otherwise it looks more like rubber without any seasonings and other ingredients. Brr, it's a hassle with these food-taste preferences - it's also good that Ray probably doesn't know the terrible word "diet". Okay, she's coming to tutoring today, and I'm going to need to feed her. Maybe even by order - we need a healthy pilot, not a half-starved skeleton. That's it, I've had enough of dorm food - you're giving me normal food! And not just for me - normal food for everyone and a lot, and let no one leave deprived!..
  ***
  In the fourth lesson, I sat extremely quietly, despite the fact that people were already looking at me expectantly. It was all because, although I know history quite well, I don't know the history of Japan. The twentieth century has not gone anywhere yet, but the earlier periods are not in any way... The Shogun Wars, the Meiji Revolution, the Divine Wind in Japanese, it sounds like "kamikaze"), who saved Nippon from the Mongols, the invasion of Korea, when the Japanese were attacked by the world's first battleships-kobuksons - and that is very superficial... And if the long skinny teacher took my slurred answers even with some understanding, then my classmates definitely thought I was being a jerk.
  No, guys. If we were talking about Russia, then always, please! Well, or, at least, if we were talking about the history of various military conflicts, as it were...
  The fifth lesson was physics.
  That's when I got nervous again-I never knew her very well, and we just didn't have a teacher in terms of knowledge at school. But it turned out to be not so terrible - the initial course after all, so I grabbed the "excellent" grade again.
  Hmm, I'm starting to turn into some kind of nerd... Scary... I've never been like that. Always a polymath with a lot of small but very diverse knowledge in various fields, but also to shine at school or institute... No, I've always been a pain in the ass in basic subjects, even though I've been studying for "fours" and "fives" - well, I wasn't interested in all this nonsense, even if you cut me off! I was more interested in rifles, tanks, ships, as well as astronomy, paleontology, and history...
  Hmm, but I was right to be interested in such things. That's why such disciplines as marketing, small business management and management are not helping me now...
  ***
  "How's physical education?" I panicked a little. "And I don't even have a uniform, I didn't even know..." A clear logical chain began to form in my head. There is no uniform, they will not be allowed to attend classes, they will put in absenteeism, and absenteeism is an "encore", which automatically means working out in the amount of a one-and-a-half-kilometer time run or an hour and a half jogging in the gym... Fuck!
  Uh, stop the car. I'm not at my university anymore! And here, for sure, the orders are completely different! Saved! Saved?..
  "What's the problem, Sin?" Toji was surprised. "They'll give us a school uniform, why are you worried? Or was that not the case in your last school?"
  "Nope, not like that," I breathed out in relief. "And what do you focus on here - athletics, game sports?.."
  "Swimming for the girls, basketball for the boys, and all kinds of jumping and running for everyone."
  "Do they drive hard?" I asked. Oh, I don't like all these physical exercises, but now it looks like you'll have to get used to it - the pilot must be well prepared...
  "No, not really!" Toji waved his hand. "The main thing is not to talk too much and not to miss lessons, and everything will be top-notch."
  "Okay, let's see what kind of physical education you have here..." I grumbled as I walked with Suzuhara and Kensuke to the locker room.
  "By the way, Aida's face was a model of calmness and innocence right now..." What was extremely suspicious was that as far as I managed to get to know my dear fellow in interest, he was constantly in constant motion and activity, so...
  "Aida, why are you so thoughtful, huh?" Sin, you seem like a reliable kid... Kensuke began from afar.
  "Well... No one has complained so far." I noticed with curiosity. I wonder what he's getting at?..
  "Listen, can you help us with something here?" I have vague doubts...
  "Shoot someone?" I asked bloodthirsily, stroking the butt of the pistol. "I'm happy to do that!.."
  "No, Sin, you don't need to shoot anyone", Touji chuckled. "For now. But you just have to..."
  "Stand guard," Aida finished cunningly.
  Considering Kensuke's outstanding achievements in the field of paparazzi, how can he have a tasty goal at school? Ha, just one, just one...
  "Who are we "taking"?" I inquired matter-of-factly. "Come on, old man, don't let me down..."
  "You'll see," Kensuke squinted.
  Is this revenge for my morning misunderstandings? Heh, well, well...
  "The women's locker room, or what?"
  Toji and Aida choked and blurted out at the same time:
  "Where are you from..."
  "Who to you..."
  "Brothers, you are not the first, you are not the last," I replied condescendingly. "Is there a plan?"
  "Yeah. Toji is distracting attention, I'm setting up the camera, you're covering for us. Then we'll "send" the photos and videos to interested parties, split the money in half. Do we have a deal?"
  "It's a deal," I grinned. "But you can keep the money, I have enough of my own."
  "Then why are you involved in this?" Toji marveled.
  "And why did you call me?" I asked a counter question.
  "It was my idea," Aida interjected. "I just thought that since you've already done this and that with Ayanami, you probably don't need "special materials". And since you can't make money off of you, you need three people to be faithful..."
  "And I'm not doing anything with Ray." I asked indignantly.
  "So why do you agree then?" Toji continued to push.
  "And out of a sporting interest! I want to have fun!"
  By the way, I answered them quite honestly - since I had the chance to actually start my life (and what kind of life) anew, then why not break away, realizing something that I had never dreamed of before (although I secretly dreamed of it). I need to get distracted from my main job somehow, otherwise I'll just go crazy...
  "I want to have fun," Aida grumbled. "And that's what the Evangelion pilot says..."
  ***
  ...Yes, Junior, I see that you, too, like me, were not particularly fond of sports... How do I know that, you ask? And because, damn it, it's a little hard for me to run!
  Shinji really wasn't that athletic, unlike Touji, although to be honest, I was even worse at his age. As it was, considering that the institute even managed to make something useful out of me, things were generally going well... A hundred-meter workout as a warm-up and the main distance of half a kilometer. The main thing is not to take my breath away, otherwise I had a breathing tube there, but my heart wouldn't take it out. The Younger's body turned out to be more balanced, so the main thing now was to breathe properly: three steps - inhale, three steps - exhale, three steps - inhale. Quite effective, in my opinion.
  ...A short rest while everyone takes turns passing the long jump.
  I looked for Ray.
  Yeah, she's sitting on the sidelines on a bench and reading some kind of textbook - not surprising, given her unsuitable physical education condition...
  "What are we looking at, Mr. Pilot, huh?.." they cooed softly in my ear. I almost jumped in fright and instinctively reached for the gun... But I remembered that I had given it to the physical education teacher during the lesson (God, what eyes he was looking at me with!..), spat and turned to the source of the sound.
  I saw the rather grinning faces of Suzuhara and Aida.
  "..Toji, do you happen to know?" Kensuke continued in a honeyed voice, turning to his friend, but squinting at me.
  "No, Aida, I don't even know..." Suzuhara drawled thoughtfully. "But if you think about it carefully..."
  "Yes, it's good," Kensuke agreed.
  "That's probably all..."
  "On..."
  "Ayanami Rei!" the two clowns finished in unison, prayerfully folding their arms on their chests.
  "Shut up."
  "What legs!.."
  "What a chest!.."
  "And her face is very nice..."
  "Just a little unsociable..."
  "A little creepy..."
  "I said shut up."
  "But actually, on the whole, it's pretty good." Toji concluded authoritatively. "Not a bad choice, Sin you've got a good eye..."
  "Although you certainly have taste, old man... Mdaa..." Aida scratched the back of his head thoughtfully.
  "What freaks!" I asked indignantly. "And what do you all want from me? Leave me alone, damn it..."
  "Sin, come on..." Suzuhara boomed good-naturedly. "And why are you so embarrassed?"
  "And really, Shinji?" Kensuke supported my friend. "And what's the big deal, huh? Ayanami is also a human being... It seems to be."
  And why am I really reacting so violently? Is it really me... No, no, and no again! I didn't even think about it! Ray is absolutely not my type. In my opinion, my future girlfriend, despite some points of contact, should complement me rather than be the same. Unfortunately, I am very similar to Ayanami in a normal situation - calm, correct, executive, and unemotional... It just knocked me out of my rut, so much so that I still can't get back to my normal state.
  But how would I get rid of at least these two ghouls? What's the big deal, huh? We need something that would completely discourage them from making such jokes... Should I tell you that Ray is not my type? Then how do you explain all these back-and-forth escorts? Affa-airs... Should I tell her that I just care about her as a person and a colleague? They won't believe it - I've already tried this version on Aida, but it didn't work out...
  Well, well, well... What if you remember some of your thoughts and slightly develop them in the right direction? I treat Rey more like a friend or a younger sister, and I intend to keep things that way from now on...
  Hey! But now we are genetically related to the First One! Yeah, I figured it out!..
  "No, guys, you just don't know what you're talking about," I shook my head. "A couple of me and Ray is impossible in principle."
  "Why is that?" Aida perked up again.
  "Do you have anything else in mind?" Toji nodded understandingly. Or... Or does Ayanami have someone? Damn, what am I talking about..."
  "Not really!" I smiled. "Everything is much simpler here. It's just that Ray is my stepsister."
  "Ho-ho! Shock is our way!"
  Toji and Aida's faces instantly fell.
  "What do you mean?.." Suzuhara asked, stunned.
  "How so?.." Kensuke supported him, equally surprised. "But that's how it is!"
  "You don't even look alike!.."
  "We have one mother, but different fathers." I started composing on the go. "I took after my dad, and Ray took after his mom. We've never seen each other before, so I'm trying to establish contact with her now, and you've all started spreading gossip and fantasies..."
  "Hmm..." Toji coughed in embarrassment. "Well, you, Sin, then excuse us - we didn't mean to... I would have said right away that yes, we would have closed this topic..."
  "Yes, Shinji, please excuse us," Aida joined his friend, blushing visibly. "We're fools, what can you take from us?.."
  "Come on, guys!" I laughed, slapping them on the shoulders. "Bullshit question!"
  "Come on, if anyone else is going to bother you about this, tell me", Touji declared. "Let's go and stuff our faces together!"
  "Fuck them, the rest of them!" I waved my hand. "The main thing is, don't talk about it too much, just in case..."
  "Sin, the grave!.." Suzuhara thumped his chest.
  "Of course, of course," Kensuke interjected.
  "That's how I believed you, bro," I chuckled to myself. "It seems like you can't keep secrets purely physically. Look, you've got sly, sly eyes!.. Like Lenin's. But you're talking like a real Trotsky, right and left.
  But it's even for the best.
  I can't find a better source for getting useful information, and therefore for draining disinformation - Aida is out of competition here. If I loudly beat my chest and declare in front of crowds of people that Rey is my sister, and there is nothing between us, and it can't be, they won't believe me again! The crowd effect, yom! But if "absolutely reliable information" appears from "the most reliable sources" - it's a completely different matter!
  Tek-S... Let's see, let's watch Kensuke more, and if he also performs well in the future, then we will definitely take him to our team... If they don't take him on as a pilot, then I'll be in charge of the technical and information part..."
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