Neo genezis evangelion 1-6

...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...