It's only been six years, but they've forgotten. I came back to the place I had once called home, rebuilt after the 'incident' of 2015. I can't honestly say what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. Tokyo-3, my home, was completely gone. They had started rebuilding parts of it and renamed it Tokyo-4, but it wasn't the same. There was no longer a need for an underground fortress, so the elevators were paved over with concrete, the buildings permanently locked into place. Sure, you could still see signs of what had happened, the mountain was still full of craters from the various Angel fights, some of the buildings hadn't even been touched yet.
But the one sign I was looking for most, I couldn't see. Not on the faces of the people I passed in the streets, not in the behavior of my former classmates. None of them were afraid. They must have believed that NERV accomplished what they had set out to do, because they all seemed so happy. Happy to be alive, I guess. Happy to be free of the danger that had been brought upon them. Maybe that's why I had to come back. To find my own freedom from the demons of the past.
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"Hey, Raines! Get your head out of the clouds, we've got customers!"
"Yeah, yeah, keep your shirt on. I'm just reading a letter from my sister." Serita folded the paper she had been looking at and tucked it into the pocket of her jeans. "Sheesh, customers this early? Must be a real party crowd."
A couple of people in the employee lounge chuckled at her comment as she stepped into the club. Glancing around, she saw a small group of well-dressed men that immediately sent chills up her spine and two ragged-looking guys, sitting at the other end of the bar.
"One extreme to the other, hey, Serita?"
Serita nodded as she slid behind the bar and handed a tray to the waitress that had spoken to her. "You take the suits Aya, I'll take care of the other two." As she walked toward the end, she noticed one guy was watching her, while his friend kept his attention on the letter in his hands. "So, boys, what are we having today?"
"Two beers, beautiful. Unless you care to join us?" The one that spoke was tall and gangly with brown hair and contacts over his eyes to make them an ungodly shade of green. His friend might have been taller, if they were standing back to back, but the crutches leaning against the stool beside him said that probably wasn't the case. His jet black hair hid most of his face, including his eyes.
Serita smiled at the two as she poured their drinks. "Sorry guys, against house rules, you know that. Besides, isn't it a little early to be drinking?"
The brunette shook his head as he picked up his glass. "Not today. You see, we're having a celebration. An old friend of ours is having a birthday today. He's 21 years old, that is, if he's still alive," he replied. He smiled sadly and downed half the beer in one gulp. "Anyway, that's why we're here. To have a party in his honor. Wherever he is."
"Sounds like you've already been partying. But what do you mean, 'if' he's still alive?"
The other man folded the letter and tucked it into his pocket. "We haven't seen him for over five years. Not since ... well, it's complicated," he replied. He picked up his glass and looked at the liquid inside. "To old friends, right Aida? To Shinji Ikari."
"To Shinji Ikari."
Serita jumped slightly at the sound of glass breaking at the other end. Aya was helping one of the suits clean up the martini glass he had dropped. "Guess some guys just can't handle their liquor." Serita refilled the two beers and talked the men into ordering lunch. "Drinking on the job is a no-no, but I can take a break and have lunch with a couple of old friends."
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"Hey, Roko, are you okay man? You went totally pale back there. Don't tell me the sight of those two beautiful waitresses freaked you out."
Mutsushi Rokobungi, a young businessman from Tokyo-2, lightly punched his business partner in the arm and shook his head. "I'm fine. But there was something about that one woman. Reminded me of an old friend," he replied. He shook his head slightly and glanced out of the window of the train. "It was just coming back here. It brought back some unpleasant memories."
"Oh, yeah. I forgot you grew up around here. Must have been a different place back then. Before ... well, you know." Takarokurou Idouma, known simply as 'Taka', sighed and turned back to the window. "We've both had a long day. I say we go back to the hotel, finish these damn meetings as soon as possible and head back to Tokyo-2."
"I ... I have a few things I need to take care of before we leave. Some unfinished personal business," Mutsushi replied. As the train stopped, he glanced at his business partner and long time friend. "Why don't you take the time to check out some of the clubs around here? You could always go back to that place we had lunch at. I think our waitress was very interested."
Taka chuckled as he followed the other man onto the train platform. "I just might do that. If you agree to not mention it at work. U.N. security agents can get fired for even thinking about drinking during an assignment. And what about this personal business of yours? Does it have something to do with that picture you hide in your briefcase?"
"For your sake and mine, don't ask." Mutsushi grinned at his partner as they headed toward their hotel. As they walked, he mentally noted all the changes that had been made to the city. Gone was the touristy feel that parts of the city had once had, replaced now with business centers and hotels. "There's nothing of 'home' left."
"Wasn't that kind of the point? To get everyone to forget about what happened here and move on?" Taka looked around the city and shuddered slightly. "Sorry, but I don't think it worked. Those buildings are still pretty darn big and ominous looking."
Mutsushi smirked slightly, glancing up at the building in question. "That's because it once housed something very very big," he replied quietly. He looked at his watch and cursed. "We're gonna be late, Taka. Why did you have to schedule these things so close to each other?"
"Hey, it wasn't MY idea to go to the other side of town for lunch." The blond-haired man ran after his partner, ignoring the strange looks they got along the way. Once they reached the hotel lobby, he stopped to catch his breath. "Besides ... wasn't it ... you ... who said this ... Katsur--Katsuragi woman ... was always late?"
"No, I said ... that an old friend of mine ... with that name ... was always late."
"Then she apparently needed to buy a good watch."
The two U.N. reps looked up at the woman that spoke and smiled. "She had one. Trouble is, she never looked at it." Mutsushi moved to shake her hand and forced his breathing to return to normal. "Sorry we're late, Miss Katsuragi. We were doing a little sight-seeing after lunch."
"I didn't think you boys got paid to go sight-seeing. And I'm not Miss Katsuragi, I'm Maya ... Ibuki Maya. Miss Katsuragi IS running late." Maya smiled at the two men and showed them into a conference room in the hotel lobby. Once inside, she introduced the two men who were also waiting. "This is Hyuga Makoto and Aoba Shigeru. I don't know if there was anyone else that was supposed to be here or not."
Taka nodded to the two gentlemen and shook his head. "No, I think that's it. With the exception of you three and Miss Katsuragi, we've got everyone's statements."
"You mean, everyone that survived," Aoba replied. He was toying with a cigarette and looking out the window at the stark view of the city.
Mutsushi cleared his throat and placed his briefcase onto the table. "Well, I take it then, that you know why we're here. That the U.N. needs to get your statements again before putting this whole thing to rest."
"What else can we say that we haven't said before? We were attacked by the U.N.'s forces. They started shooting, hit the reactors that powered the EVA Units and they blew. Simple as that." Hyuga looked at Mutsushi for several moments before shrugging and leaning back into his seat. "The only thing that saved our hides was the fact that we were arrested and taken out of the building by the one of the first waves of soldiers."
Taka had pulled out the statements that had been given previously and made small notes in the margins of the paper. "So, what happened to the EVA Units?"
"No one knows," Maya replied. "Units 00 and 01 were never found. And if I remember correctly, Unit 02 was damaged beyond repair. Last I heard, it was in some lab in Germany where they were dissecting it."
"And the pilots?"
Hyuga noticed that Mutsushi, who was sitting behind his partner tensed slightly. "They were never found. More than likely, they died in the same explosion that destroyed half the base."
Mutsushi saw Hyuga watching him and cleared his throat. "What about the pilot of this Unit 02? One Soryu Asuka Langley ... was she ever found?"
The door opened and a woman with long purplish-black hair in a wheelchair came into the room. "You know damn well that she was. She's being held in one of your prison-hospitals cause you people think she's a danger to society."
"Major!" Maya stood to make a place for the older woman while Hyuga moved to help her in to the room. The other three men stood, bowing slightly when she was in place.
Taka fidgeted slightly under her icy gaze. "Uh, yeah ... I do believe that is in our records. We just ... wanted to verify the details."
"Why? You've known all of this for the past six years. Why are you doing all of this again?" The former Major of NERV kept her ice-cold gaze on the lighter-haired of the two men.
"Miss K--"
"My rank is Major. Please address me appropriately."
"Major Katsuragi, we--" Mutsushi looked up as Hyuga and Maya gasped. He looked at them curiously for a moment, then turned back to his paperwork. "The truth is, Mi--Major ... there is no one within the U.N. that thinks that Miss Soryu is a threat to anyone anymore. But her version of the events of that day do not coincide with anyone else's. We're just trying to ... come up with a reasonable explanation as to why there is a dfference."
Misato smiled slightly. "The reason for a difference is that Asuka had been through hell before your so-called incident, including a suicide attempt. Add that to the fact that she was hooked up to the EVA when the cloned Units attacked and you can see that she was certainly not thinking clearly." She looked at the two men and sighed. "You're both about the same age that the other pilots would be."
Taka glanced at his notes and nodded sadly. "We know. That's one reason we asked for this job. It could have been us in those monsters."
"Major ... do you know ... does Miss Soryu--"
"Asuka."
Mutsushi glanced up at Hyuga and nodded. "Does Asuka have any family? According to official records, her mother ... is dead, but no mention is made of her father. Do you happen to know who he is?"
Aoba turned to face the two men for the first time since the interview started. "Why do you need to know that? Asuka should be an adult by now. Unless you weirdos did something to her."
"She is an adult, technically," Taka replied. He dug through his briefcase and pulled out a file. He flipped it open to a certain page before handing it to the Major. "According to your own Dr. Akagi, she no longer has the mental capacity to function as an adult. Being inside the EVA when it went offline has plunged her mind into a ... world of her own creation."
"And knowing Asuka, that's a very dark place." Misato passed the paperwork to Maya, who glanced at it quickly and nodded. "I do not know who Asuka's father is and the only people that could tell you ... are dead."
"If you need someone to take resonsibility for her, put us down. Kats was her guardian when she came to Tokyo-3 originally. And we help her now, so ..." Aoba straightened in his chair and looked at his former co-workers. "We're the only ones besides the other pilots that could possibly help her find her way out of that little world. If nothing else, at least we'll be familiar faces."
Taka glanced at his partner and then back at the group of former NERV employees. "The final decision isn't up to us, but ... I think your chances on this are good. Especially since it's the same thing Dr. Akagi recommended."
Mutsushi nodded, standing to shake hands with all of them. "Someone from our offices will be contacting you as soon as we find out anything." He gathered his paperwork and stuffed it back down into his briefcase. He took a card from his pocket and walked over to give it to the wheelchair-bound woman. "Major, if there is ever anything that I or my coworkers can do to help you, please let me know."
"Can you give me back legs? Or my pilots back their lives?" Misato brushed off Maya's attempts to stop her and glared at the small man with dark brown hair. "Can you give those children back the future they never had?"
Mutsushi kept his gaze cool as he looked at the older woman. "Perhaps not. But I can do my best to make sure that there is no longer anyone like NERV that would threaten those futures." He shook her hand again and smiled a little sadly. "Shinji and the others respected you more than you know, Major. And I can see why. Too bad they never got a chance to tell you."
As she watched him leave, Misato realized that he had pressed a small piece of paper into her hand when he shook it. She waited until both men were gone before unfolding the paper. On one side was the address for a bar, on the other side was a note.
You're as stubborn as ever, Katsuragi-san.
Meet me at this place around 8, please.
You still drink Yabesu, I hope. See ya there.
S.
She looked at the paper for several moments before looking back at the now closed door. "Shinji?"
