Kim_Sergey. Neo genezis evangelion book 1-V2

Evangelion-1 Someone else's life.

Ким Сергей.

The prologue.

Phew, it's a little hot this morning... And I have a forty-minute bus ride to the university. And the heat is already almost forty.

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 heavily 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. That I got from my grandfather, a Red Army soldier.

It's almost nine thirty-where's the fucking minibus already? You can also be late for university... And I've already been late for practice four times. And all the traffic jams are damn.

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... And black jeans with boots.

No, where are you already, you bastard?! Faster, faster мove the wheels...

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 jeans 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 thirty 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 - "Fly me to the Moon", a hand-cut from the anime "Evangelion". Not to say that I was a fan of anime, but I watched and reviewed this series, because I really liked it, although it really tore my brain... I sat down more comfortably and turned on the music.

I was even beginning to sing along softly to myself when events began to spin and 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. Straight into the oncoming lane rushing straight at us. 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... Although there would also be these safety belts in buses and taxis.

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, probably, it should be, because, most likely, I died...

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... Just 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?..

And Gendo launched a compliment, and humanity spread out like an ocean of love, and the liberated soul of his beloved Yu looked at him reproachfully and left, disappearing into the void. And then he received his sight, and he saw the work of his hands, and his soul screamed in despair:

"Why should I do this, did I wish for the death of the human race? I ask you, Heavenly Powers, if you can hear me, give me a chance to fix what I did out of my own stupidity."

"OK," the Powers of Heaven replied, and Gendo came to his senses in his own office. Sakiel was approaching Tokyo 3... The euphoria passed quickly, the trained mind searched for a solution and did not find it. What should I do, what should I do? With the existing set of pieces, you can't play the game any other way, which means that the set needs to be changed. His legs habitually carried him to the place where, as he remembered, he would meet his son again for the first time in many years. His lips were habitually pronouncing words, but his mind was far away, he was looking for ways to change the existing balance of power.

He came to his senses only when he heard words that simply could not be heard here:

"..So that's what my dad does... Yeah, and somehow I like to play with soldiers more than with transformers..."

It's definitely his son, but who's in his body? Has the ancient prophecy been fulfilled after all?

Chapter 1.1 Awakening after death

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...

Giant high-rise buildings that gradually partially sank underground, hiding under boxes of concrete. And some of them stayed in their places, only they had huge guns.

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 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's 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 stupid car 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, all kinds 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 Angel" 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 an 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. I didn't just end up in this brain-dead anime, but 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" falls to pieces.

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 the Angelic 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.

A blue sports car, the door open, and a pretty black-haired girl in a short dark brown dress and sunglasses is driving.

Forgive him, 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 a 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.

An angel (such a creature) was standing 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, Angel's legs were breaking and crumbling the asphalt.

Damn, but we were just 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 now - barrel and rocket artillery, rockets and bombs of various types and calibers were hitting the biorobot at once... 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 at what had attracted her attention. It turned out that they were just helicopters flying away from the Angel... 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 pressed with my whole body.

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...

Chapter 1.2 A trip to NERV

"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. "Come on, come on, help me get the car in a normal position..."

We walked right up to the roof of the car and put our hands on it.

"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, forty 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. And in general, we communicate in NERVE without suffixes."

"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.

..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, uh, 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 coming of the Second Angel Adam (artificially caused, by the way). In the future, there will be a short but bloody war with Angels, 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 Evangelism" 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 Product 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, still giggling, although it wasn't really funny.

Damn, it's really nervous.

Misato giggled too.

"Hmm, and I was already thinking that you're just indecently calm for everything that's going on."

"Was it necessary to panic?" I raised an eyebrow. "I'm 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?"

"Quite the opposite. And please, let's say "you" - I think we agreed..."

"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."

"?"

"I silently stared at Misato questioningly."

"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 four 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?"

"Uh... No, actually, of course I have, but... 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, man, 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 out loud. "God's in his heaven. All's right with the world..." "God is in heaven - is everything all right in the world"?.. Hmm, that's 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 UN men there didn't stand on ceremony and beat them so that all sorts of aggressive assholes couldn't 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 VVP, 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.

Chapter 1.3 NERV

So, the NERV special institute.

It was established in 2005 as a UN body to prevent events like a Second Strike (that is, to fight the Angels). It has enormous funding and enormous powers in case of emergencies. Under the command of NERV 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 dust, 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!..

***

...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 NERV 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 "to 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.

You 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 NERV 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 NERV 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... The uniform looked very good on Ritsko. 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 took 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," I encouraged Captain Akagi. "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-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 got used to the light a little, I carefully removed my hand and opened my eyes.

"Scheisse!" (approx. (German) Shayze. Shit. A universal and extremely common German expletive) a German expletive involuntarily escaped me, 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 - where, I remember, Evangelion knives were usually always kept... 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 from 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...

Chapter 1.4 Eva-1.

"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 retention, quickly came out of me - as always in moments of excitement.

Akagi and Misato looked at me in utter surprise, as if they hadn't expected this, obviously not like this...

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?"

"Yes." 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 don't have a 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'm coming to attention.

"You will take the pilot's seat!"

"Jawohl!" (note. (German) Yavol. That's right)

?.. - stunned faces all around.

"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...

"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.

I began to boil a little.

"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 Eva 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 an Angel breaks through here, the world will end! 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, 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..."

"Now our task is to stop the Angel. 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 NERV of yours..."

Katsuragi looked at me with real horror.

"That's a good idea, son," Gendo replied 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 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 Eva, 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...

Chapter 1.5 synchronization

"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 kind of 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 my Father...

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. 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..."

***

"...Connect 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 LSL glare. However, very soon, waves of radiance began to roll over 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 Eva 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, and 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 rubbed the back of my head. Processing error: input not recognized. 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 retainers 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 start 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. Млять! 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.

Fuu...

It was a narrow, dark room. I wonder if I'm claustrophobic. 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'm 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...

Блин, 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.

Chapter 1.6 Fight with the third angel.

"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 the Angel. 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 legionnaires 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 kick, but mine landed right on target - the Angel 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...

"Scheisse!" I growl through my teeth and stab sharply with the knife.

The width. And the Angel's 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 Angel's 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 ringing in my ears...

Blow! Spots of light dance in my eyes... A trickle of blood runs down his forehead...

My forehead, my Eva's forehead - I don't know, and it doesn't matter...

Mom, it hurts...

a 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 female 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 female 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 female voice.

"This is the end... Cancel the operation! Saving the pilot! Forced ejection!" Misato.

"Impossible! There is no control at all!" a female 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, like a child's 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 and 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 the Angel.

...I open my eyes.

I'm getting up from the rubble of a high-rise building that I destroyed in the fall.

The angel 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?

"Eva 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. O-on!

The angel 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...

Млять! 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! While the Angel is maintaining 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 Angel. 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 the Angel's limb crunches in my hands-I'm drenched in the dark blue blood of the 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 a thirst for murder hits me. I jump straight at the Angel, 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 the Angel - it contains his death and life.

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 Angel's body 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 an Angel 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 off 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.

The Angel swoops with his whole big body onto the previously exposed AT-field and tries to push through it in order to get to my Eva. 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...

O-on!.. The Angel throws him 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 Angel 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 Angelic generator and no longer bother with the power cable, but I can't even imagine how to do it... With my hands, I tear the flexible and malleable body of the Angel, 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 Angel's body, the core began to shine with a dim 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, except for a few seconds of flying, was hitting something big with my back and losing consciousness...

Chapter 2.1 hospital

Silence.

I toss and turn restlessly after waking up.

...Блин, what a dream I had!.. The plot just swings - as if 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"...

Блин, 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, let's not let this be a dream. But," I say resolutely to myself. "I am me. And I'm going to do something else that's going to make all these Angels 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 rolls 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 genuinely 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? Всё правой!"

"In full. I wish I could eat something..."

The girl winced.

"I wouldn't mind a snack either..."

Блин! 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!

You never know that all sorts of Angels are attacking here, how can I live with that?..

"Okay, Shinji, 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 NERV 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," I was finally honored 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 her from under his chameleon glasses. Just as his floor approached, the elevator doors opened, and he got out, saying something like "Let's see."

"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 a couple cans of Ibiza that 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.

Chapter 2.2 a conversation on the observation deck.

Katsuragi and I walked along the corridor leading to the parking lot.

"Shinji!"

Oh, that's my name! Damn, you have to get used to it...

"What?"

" 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.

***

"Misato, what IS THIS?" I glared 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.

"Well, certainly not instant noodles!"

"But prepare quickly!.."

"Yeah, and I ate it in a couple of bites, but I'm not full!.."

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 Angel 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 Angels... 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 good, damn it!.. It's not something you hear every day...

"Come on, Misato..." I asked, confused.

"And nothing's okay," she cheerfully patted me on the head. "You're doing great, 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 after living my twenties as an ordinary man in the street, without doing anything significant, without leaving any 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, you 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!"

Angels, 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!!"

"Eh?" 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", The girl shivered, even though it wasn't cold outside. "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."

Chapter 2.3 Shinji cleans and cooks at Misato's house.

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 myself.

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," came the reply. "These are the NERV 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 still heard.

"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, surprised. "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 NERV logo is very interesting to me... Has Gendo already reacted to my request?

"Why is there so much?"

"You should know better, Shinji," 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?

"Scheisse!" 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 a year-round state of permanent chaos and ruin is maintained, and cockroaches run away from the lack of food? Yeah, so there's a performance...

So, Misato's apartment looked more like a 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 pile of chewed chopsticks on the table and several 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?

"Misato, I took the noodles out of the fridge."

"What kind of noodles? Damn, I completely forgot about her."

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 bloody smell of LSL everywhere...

***

"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, kind of like...

"Shinji!"

"Huh?"

"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 doll 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..."

"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 said, 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. 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?.. Voot... 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. "Please... Maybe you should transfer from pilots to Ritsko's science department? You're going to invent new evangelicals!"

"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, it's 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..."

"Okay, 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..."

"Uh..." 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 the Angel in the series. And this is my tactical commander? Tin!..

"What?"

"No, nothing. Sit down to eat, please, I say - the dish is ready."

"Hurrah!.."

Chapter 2.4 sorting through Shinji's stuff.

"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.

"Well..."

"And without well?"

"No," the captain sighed resignedly.

"And why? Just be honest."

"Laziness and for a long time..."

"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 NERV 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 do they speak differently 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, Lady Katsuragi, 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.

"Oh, no! 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, uh... A comrade?" Misato immediately clung to me. "Didn't you call me that before the fight? It's like a Russian word, right?"

Okay, let's get out of it - am I playing the image of a gun-mad kid?..

"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 NERV 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 I'm doing with fine motor skills? 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 will 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 said 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 NERV 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 do you 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 squeeze the trigger properly to fire, so you can't shoot that easily..."

"Since he's so well-read, tell him that there were no cases of crossbows from him at all," Katsuragi snorted.

"No, why not?" I objected. "They 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 looked innocent, suddenly remembering a scene from End of Evangelion. 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 Handgun!.."

"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 Gun fan..."

"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...

In Shinji's memory, there was a mention of a stack of printouts about a new school.

"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 tunic 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 uniform!

Somewhere inside me, the real Shinji grumbled 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 mattress about ten centimeters thick, 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 the Angel, I dealt with the management of the Evangelion, I got along with Misato, I 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...

Блин...

This is "Sendmean Angel"...

I was falling asleep, and the player was playing softly:

Here I am!

Will you send me an Аngel?

Here I am!

In the land of the morning star...

Chapter 3.1 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 anyway, 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 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 NERV 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 NERVE, 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.

"Director-san! 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.

"The same to you. Goodbye," I said politely 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. Come on, 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.

"Aida," he resolutely held out his hand to me. "Hello, fellow moron."

"Ve... 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 NERV?"

"yeah."

"Yyy!" 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.

"Come on!" 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!"

"Come on..." Aida 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 people from the UN forces died yesterday - helicopter pilots and tank crews who tried to stop the Angel," I interjected. "No civilians were killed, that's for sure, but I don't know about the wounded."

Before I was put 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 Angel 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 work in the NERV 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 supposed to receive a cradle today, because he was indirectly responsible for the injury of his sister.

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..." Aida remarked. "Some people moved to other cities and transferred to other schools - they didn't want to stay in the Top Three after yesterday's fight."

"But I see you're just happy to see a 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 NERV 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 NERV 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..."

"It's half empty," I blurted 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!..

"Uh..."

One day 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 NERV, so I can't give you an absolute guarantee... Just give her 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. "He 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 you should know that I didn't want this - if it were up to me, I would also have someone's heads twisted off 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 - states 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... Come on, are all your couples, ugh, are the lessons going like this?"

"Oh, no, really! 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 rather answer the question."

"Yes, of course, Mr. Investigator," I replied readily. "So I lived for myself 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. "And 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, come on, 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 NERV's 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 sat in Eva before that battle!.. I was sent here just for combat training, and here you are! The angel 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?!"

"Tss..." I put my finger to my lips. "NERV officers are supposed to have personal weapons according to the Regulations."

I wonder what is really written about this in the NERV Charter?..

"I want to serve in the NERV," Aida said decisively.

Chapter 3.2

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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.

Kim_Sergey Neo genezis evangelion book 1-V2

Kim_Sergey
Neo genezis evangelion book 1-V2