_______________________
   /                       \
  | Teineina Tenshi No Teze |
  | (Kind Angel's Thesis)   |
   \_______________________/


Neon Genesis Evangelion and all character belongs to Gainax
Ranma 1/2 and all characters belong to Takahashi Rumiko
No copyright infringement is intended. 

Thanks to my pre-readers:
Ben
Aevan               http://aevan.virtualave.net
Kevin D. Hammel     http://www.anime.sobhrach.com/~khammel/
Blood Blade         http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/5920
Mike Rever

Please distribute this work unaltered and crediting the author.
dzillman@ozemail.com.au
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~dzillman/fire

What has gone before:
In the year 2000, Ranma was attacked by a demon summoned by Happosai. 
In an attempt to save Akane, he travelled to the Antarctic to gain 
power of a heavenly warrior Cologne told him about. Unfortunately, he 
died in the effort. 

It is now 2015, and Ranma has been reborn and recruited as the Fourth 
Child for NERV. In some unknown manner, Rei and Ranma share the same 
body, changing bodies and controlling personalities in the same way 
that Ranma's curse always used to work. With the defeat of the fifth 
Angel, Ranma is beginning to settle into a routine at school and at 
NERV. However, people are beginning to grow suspicious of Ranma and Rei, 
and NERV's ponderous security is turning their attention to the 
children.


daigowa
(Story 5)
---------

"I asked you a question. I expect to be answered."

Unfortunately, Ranma was still concentrating on the strange and 
intimidating office rather than on the speaker. Red lighting was 
streaming in from Ranma's left, casting haunting shadows on the wall of 
the office behind Ikari Gendo. Against the red-lit background, the 
support beams for the windows cast dark, angled lines, reminiscent of a 
Christian cross. 

From Ranma's perspective, Gendo sat at the base of this cross, his 
hands clasped in front of his mouth, eyes shielded by his glasses and 
hidden in the shadows. The image presented by the imposing room was 
confusing and destabilising. From his position behind the desk at the 
base of the shadows, Gendo seemed to be praying to the cross, 
supplicating himself to the god of some greater power. At the same time, 
Gendo radiated the smug contentment of a spider in the middle of its 
web, reaching along shadowy lines to all that might enter.

Ranma did not consciously recognise all of this. All that his instincts 
said was that here was a dangerous man. A man without care for his own 
life, but someone carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. In 
many ways it was unfortunate that more people did not share Ranma's 
insight into Gendo. Someone responsible and rational might have held 
command of NERV if they did. Of course, a responsible and rational man 
could not have accomplished the miracles that Gendo had. Only someone 
driven to the edge of madness could achieve so much, and only time 
would tell which side of madness Gendo truly lived on.

"Uh... Sorry, what was the question again?"

Gendo scowled. Scowled more than usual, but this was not noticeable 
behind the shadows and his clasped hands. "I am not in the habit of 
repeating myself, so pay attention. My time is valuable."

Ranma nodded once, giving Gendo at least some of his attention.

"I asked how long you had been having sex with Ayanami Rei."

Staggering back a couple of steps, Ranma was completely unable to keep 
his voice at a normal tone. "WHAT?!" 

"I do not intend to ask a third time. You heard me perfectly well."

"I dunno what your even talking about! I hardly even seen her! What 
makes you even think I'd be doing _that_ with her."

Gendo leaned forwards. "Do not attempt to lie to me, young man. We have 
every evidence that you are involved in a relationship with the First 
Child. There is no other motive that can be attributed." 

Flabbergasted, Ranma could only gape inanely and try to respond. "But... 
She and I... We never even..."

Slapping his hands onto the table with a sound like a gunshot, Gendo 
put an end to Ranma's attempts to explain. "Do not even try to lie to 
me. I do not care what you are doing to the First Child. My only 
concerns are Ayanami's utility to NERV and her ability to pilot. Your 
piloting ability comes in third by a considerable distance.
"So long as you do nothing to jeopardise those first two priorities, I 
do not care what you do with or to Ayanami. If satisfying your teenage 
lusts makes you a better pilot, then I would encourage you to continue 
your course of action. However, do not think for an instant that you 
could conceal anything from myself or NERV."

"Doesn't do anything to jeopardise her utility to NERV?..." Ranma 
spluttered. "What kinda talk is that? She's a girl, damn it, not some 
kind of machine. She's got feelings too, you know. How impressed you 
reckon she would be if she heard you saying this about her?"

"Ayanami has no feelings. She is a tool to be used just like the 
Evangelions, and with the same capacity for feelings. As far as both 
she and the rest of NERV are concerned, she is a component in the 
Evangelion system. A replaceable component, just like you are. Make no 
mistake, Saotome, if you attempt to interfere with Ayanami's ability to 
function, you will be removed from this project."

"I can believe you said that! She's a human being! A living breathing 
person!"
 
"No! We are in the middle of a war, never forget that; even for an 
instant. She is simply an expendable resource. When her utility is at 
an end, she will no longer be needed. Until that time, she is a 
valuable tool. A resource. But that is all. She will never be anything 
more than that."

Ranma wanted to argue more. He wanted to yell and scream, to refute 
Gendo and wipe the smug expression off his face, but he could not. 
Gendo was right. Not about everything, but enough. Ranma understood 
well enough what Dr. Akagi had briefed him on. If the Angels got 
through, it would be the end of the world. Against that, his life and 
the life of Ayanami Rei did dwindle into insignificance. 

Even if Gendo was right in principle, he was wrong in practice. Ranma 
knew that Rei was willing to sacrifice herself if needed. If her 
willingness to stand in front of a particle beam as it melted through 
her Eva had not been testament to that, her silent acceptance of death 
was. The thing that mainly irked Ranma was the callous way that Gendo 
treated that willing sacrifice. He should be praising her to the stars 
and offering her every consideration he could. Instead he almost said 
that they would chew her up and spit her out. 

Pointing a finger at Gendo, Ranma stood his ground. "I don't care what 
you say. Rei's special, and she's got just as much right to enjoy 
herself as anyone. What's more, I'll prove it! So long as it don't 
bother your precious piloting, I'm gunna make sure Rei's happy."

Gendo smirked and pressed a hidden button, activating the door behind 
Ranma. "Good. So long as you understand that Ayanami's usefulness to 
NERV is always her first priority, you may do as you wish. Take her to 
the Kabuki or shut her in a box away from the world; I do not care 
which option you choose. Her only use is within the Geofront or inside 
an Evangelion."

When Ranma stalked out the main office door, Fuyutsuki opened a hidden 
panel and came into view. "Hmm... I don't suppose you gave him a bit 
too much information then? Dr. Akagi did give him quite a high 
intelligence rating for a boy his age."

Settling back into his seat, Gendo studied his second in command. With 
his calm re-established, it was easy to see how the annoying boy had 
managed to goad him into almost saying things that were too accurate 
for public knowledge. 

"No. Saotome is simply going through the imprinting that is normal for 
any child his age undergoing their first liaison with a member of the 
opposite sex. His interest in Ayanami will quickly diminish when he 
learns that she has no capacity for emotion. While the physical 
attraction may last, the lack of feelings on her part will end the 
relationship naturally."

"You seem very sure of those words."

"I am. The First Child has been raised without any emotional content in 
her life. Every effort has been taken to destroy all of the subject's 
capability to have independent feelings. They would be inconvenient for 
what is to come. The Saotome boy might as well confess his affection 
for this table, for all the response it would get him. Dr. Akagi, 
mother and daughter, have been very good at her work, and they have 
made sure that Ayanami matches our specifications... Physically and 
mentally."

Fuyutsuki nodded. It was a sad state of affairs that they were in, but 
it was in everyone's best interests. Arguably, what they were doing was 
not in Ayanami's best interests, but as Gendo had said earlier, it was 
best to think of her as a resource; a component of Project Eva. That 
was all she was; nothing more, nothing less.

*	*	*

'I'm sorry you had to hear that, Rei.'

*Why?*

Stalking down the corridor, Ranma glared at anyone he passed, still 
thoroughly annoyed at Gendo. He was used to his own father being 
insensitive, but Gendo managed to take that trait to new levels. At 
least when Genma had run one of his torturous training missions, Ranma 
could be confident that it was being done to make him a better martial 
artist. Gendo... All Gendo cared about was his giant robots. The people 
who piloted them were no more important than... Ranma was not sure what 
something cheap on the Eva was, but he was sure that it would be the 
right thing to compare their worth to.

'You respected him, Rei. It's not just that something rotten was said, 
it's the fact that it was said by someone you respected.'

*Commander Ikari was correct.*

"WHAT!?" Sheepishly, Ranma looked around. He had not meant to speak out 
loud, but Rei's reaction to Gendo's comments had startled him. 
Fortunately he was alone on the massive escalator that he was riding to 
the upper-levels of the Geofront. At least, he was alone as it was 
possible to be while you had another person's soul riding around inside 
your head.

*Commander Ikari was correct.*

'Would you care to explain how he could possibly be correct? What 
possibly gives that guy the right to treat anyone like that? Especially 
you!'

Ranma had almost reached the end of the escalator ride before Rei 
responded. He needed to get to the bottom of this, and Ranma knew that 
it meant the conversation would take a long time. Rather than meeting 
up with Dr. Akagi and trying to get a lift home off her like he had 
originally planned, Ranma faced towards one of the trains leading out 
of the Geofront. He would get to the surface and walk back to their 
place. Surely that much time would be enough to have a conversation 
with anyone, even Rei.

*I cannot tell you why he is correct. You do not have sufficient 
security clearance.*

Ranma was about to become rather vociferous on the subject of security 
clearances when he halted himself in the middle of his wind-up. If he 
had started arguing with Akane, he knew that the two of them would make 
each other heard simply by yelling. Arguing with Rei was a different 
kettle of fish. If you interrupted her - breaking into one of her 
pauses that could easily be mistaken for a complete silence by someone 
who did not know her - she would simply forget what she had been about 
to say and move on to the next point. 

Fighting down the urge to say something eloquent and tactful about 
their commander, Ranma waited for Rei to continue. *Commander Ikari is 
the designated commander or NERV. This gives him the right to 
commandeer resources as needed to defend the Earth from the Angels.*

'I know NERV can get that big cannon and stuff, but it ain't the same 
for people.'

*I am a resource.*

'And does that make me a resource too?'

*You are a part of me.*

'I ain't no resource. Neither are you. You got that?'

There was a long silence. Ranma was almost home by the time Rei spoke 
again. She was very quiet, sounding more timid than he had ever heard 
her. *Commander Ikari... He told me that I was. I am expendable. No-one 
has ever contradicted the Commander before.*

'Trust me on this one, Rei. You can't treat people like machines. We 
aren't just rolled off an assembly line or nothin'. We're special, all 
of us.'

There was silence all the way up the stairs and into their apartment. 
Even when Ranma splashed himself with cold water and Rei took over 
control of their time-shared body, she did not speak. Ranma attempted 
to draw her out and get her to say something, but he was hampered by 
the fact that he was trying his best to avoid looking at anything while 
she changed out of his clothes and into her school uniform.

Leaving Ranma's clothes in an untidy heap on the floor, Rei lay down on 
the bed face-down. With her cheek resting on her crossed arms, she 
looked blankly at the stained metal walls of her room. Hauntingly 
beautiful red eyes blinked once as she lay there, otherwise completely 
motionless.

In all her time with NERV, she had never been in this position before. 
Every time she had been told something, it fitted into the nice, clean, 
sanitised version of the world that she had been given. No facts 
contradicted each other, and you could always depend on your leaders. 
She realised that what her teacher at school told her about Second 
Impact was not reality, but simply the story that had been provided for 
security reasons.

Now that she was with Ranma, things had become very strange. They were 
unpredictable, disorganised, and worse, dissenting. Was Commander Ikari 
correct? Was Saotome Ranma correct? Commander Ikari had not given her 
any orders on what to believe. She wanted to believe the Commander, but 
Ranma believed something else. He would not believe this unless he had 
been told to, but who would have told him to believe they were special? 
What did the Commander want her to do? 

Could Ranma be right about him, but wrong about herself? Even though 
they were the same person... "Who do I believe?..."

She knew Ranma was saying something to her, but she did not listen. Rei 
was thinking, her face completely expressionless as she tried to wrap 
her mind around these mysteries. What was the correct thing to do? What 
should she be doing? Should she try to stop Ranma? That should only be 
necessary if he was compromising her ability to pilot or complete the 
Human Instrumentality Project. So far she had not managed to detect any 
adverse affects of having his soul reside within her.

Rei blinked her eyes again and decided that she would need to keep a 
close eye on Ranma. If he showed any signs of trying to aid the Angels 
or endanger the Project, she would report him to Commander Ikari. The 
Commander had clearly said that these were her main priorities. He had 
also said that Ranma may do anything else he wished with her. After 
several hours of thought, Rei decided that this meant that it was safe 
for Ranma to continue to act in this manner. Perhaps it also meant that 
she could do whatever she wished so long as she was available for NERV.

Silently, Rei lay there and wondered. What did she wish to do?

*	*	*

"Ranma?"

"Yes, Dr. Akagi?"

"Is Ayanami there?"

Ranma put down the phone and looked around the small apartment. The 
place was barely big enough for one person, let alone two. Even after 
talking to Commander Ikari that morning, Ranma still had a hard time 
believing that people thought he was in some sort of relationship with 
Rei. After all, he was a martial artist rapidly approaching the prime 
of his life. He had no time for girlfriends. Or fiancées, he added as 
an afterthought, with a slight smirk that quickly faded. 

With a slight edge to his voice, Ranma replied. "No. She's not."

While he could not see her face, Ranma could tell that the head of 
Evangelion project was smiling. "Well, in that case, Ranma, could you 
please tell her something the next time that you see her?"

"Sure."

"Misato and I am going out to Jet Alone tomorrow. There's going to be a 
demonstration on there for the next couple of days."

"Ahh... So why are you telling me?"

"It means we need to cancel your Eva practice and sync test tomorrow. 
You do remember them, don't you?"

Sweating nervously, Ranma tried to place as much honesty and confidence 
into his voice as possible. "Ahh.. Yeah, sure! Sync tests. No problem."

"Ranma, Ranma, Ranma. You're just too honest for your own good."

*Ask Dr. Akagi how the deployment of the Jet Alone robot will affect 
the operational parameters of Project Eva.*

'Sure, gimme a second.'

"Hey, Doctor... How's the... um, deployment of the Jet Alone robot 
gunna...um."

"How will JA1 affect your duties? I'm surprised you're asking Ranma. I 
would have expected that sort of question from someone more informed, 
like Ayanami. Are you sure she's not there?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure, I'm sure! No-one here but me. All by myself, that's me. 
Heh, heh..."

Ritsuko gave a short giggle before she continued. She had the security 
report in front of her saying that Ayanami had gone to school and then 
come home. No-one had seen her leave the apartment, despite the fact 
that Ranma had gone out to train for a few hours. Since it was Ranma 
answering the phone, the conclusion was fairly obvious. Young love was 
so funny to watch. 

For a few moments Ritsuko honestly wondered what Ayanami thought about 
Ranma's attentions. It would make an interesting study really. That 
sort of emotional involvement would be entirely new to the girl. 
Perhaps Ritsuko should start to take notes on her progression. It would 
be a fascinating project to be able to monitor her emotional 
development.

Equally interesting would be doing a psychology thesis on Ranma's 
mental state as he came to realise that his feelings for Ayanami were 
all one sided. According to all of the analysis and design that both 
Ritsuko and her mother had done, almost nothing should be able to shake 
their experiment out of its emotional wasteland. Normal human life was 
filled by emotion, and that was why Gendo had been so important to 
raising Ayanami Rei. The man was almost as emotionless as the girl, and 
his willingness and ability to sacrifice anything to his goals allowed 
him to control Ayanami perfectly.

Enough speculation, Ranma deserved an answer to his question. He did 
not deserve the truth; it would spoil his impression of NERV as an 
humanitarian organisation. The truth that Ritsuko knew exactly what 
would happen to Jet Alone's demonstration was never going to be public 
knowledge.

"JA's robot won't have much effect on you or your job. The Evangelions 
will always be necessary until the Angels are defeated. With our 
ability to generate an AT-Field, the Evangelions represent the Earth's 
only hope."

Ranma swallowed audibly. "Well... I guess that's nice to know..."

"All right Ranma. That was all I wanted to tell you. As soon as you've 
finished whatever you are up to with Ayanami, please pass on my message. 
Thanks."

"Hey, I was just practising martial arts!"

"Ranma, you were training here earlier this afternoon. No-one is that 
dedicated. At least try and pick a plausible excuse for the heavy 
breathing next time."

"But---"

"Goodbye, Ranma."

With a click, the phone in Ranma's hand disconnected. 'Why doesn't 
anyone ever believe me?'

*I believe you.*

'Thanks, Rei.'

*	*	*

It had been two days since Ranma had spoken to Doctor Akagi Ritsuko on 
the telephone. By almost any measure, those days had been perfect. With 
Rei controlling the body and attending school, Ranma had been able to 
effectively sleep all day. They spent some common time in the evenings, 
but after and before school he could train as hard as he liked.

In all honesty, Ranma was hard pressed to think of how life could be 
much better than the last couple of days. He had someone to talk to who 
did not constantly either cling onto him or thump him on the head, and 
he could train almost non-stop. Surely that was the definition of a 
good life. It had taken a bit of adjusting to, but Ranma was beginning 
to appreciate Rei as a conversationalist. When she did not have 
anything to say, she said nothing. 

Of course, he tended to have lots of important things to say about 
martial arts, but not once had Rei complained. The only other person 
who he had known that was willing to talk about martial arts that much 
was his father. Admittedly, Rei did not so much talk about martial 
arts; she just listened. Then again, Ranma assumed that she was 
listening. Since he knew that she was not particularly interested, he 
did not ask her any questions, so on the whole he just talked.

Ranma was talking about he recent training as they walked through 
NERV's Geofront. He was hot and sweaty, but it was a good feeling. His 
blood still sang with adrenaline, and his muscles had the sore, stiff 
feeling that only comes with healthy exercise.

Stopping partway through his description of his recent speed training, 
Ranma turned and smiled at Shinji who walked up behind them. "Hey, 
Shinji. What are you up to?"

"Ranma-kun. I was just walking around. Why are you here? I thought you 
would be out in the city somewhere since it was a Saturday."

Ranma shrugged. "Nothing to do. I just thought I would come over here 
for a few hours and do some training. I was just going to head back 
home. How 'bout you?"

Shinji grimaced. "I'm on site for any potential emergencies. Since 
Misato-san and Dr. Akagi are away, they wanted at least one of the 
pilots to be here."

"Sure is quiet without them. Sometimes I think it's the girls that make 
everything noisy and confusing. That's what it was like before I came 
here. When it was just me and Pops, everything was nice. Soon as I 
started to settle down and..."

Ranma trailed off. Thoughts of Akane, Ukyo and Shampoo flittered 
through his head. No matter how nice it was to be here today, he would 
have traded it all for a single hit in the head, or a single ramen or 
Okonomiyaki cooked just for him. 

"I... I don't really know. I used to live with my Aunt and Uncle... The 
only women I really know are Misato-san and Ayanami. I... I hardly 
think that Misato-san is a good example, she's always drinking and 
she's such a mess. I don't think all women could be like that."

"Nah. They're worse. If they're not cooking for you, they're trying to 
kill you or date you. And if that ain't enough, they're always fighting 
each other. Trust me, Shinji, you get a few girls together and you'll 
never get any peace."

*Do I cause you problems, Ranma?*

'What? No, Rei. I mean... You're special.'

Shinji looked at Ranma with doubt showing plainly on his face. "Are you 
sure? Misato-san can't cook, but she never really causes trouble. She 
just likes to.. Well, lay around the house, I guess."

"Oh, yeah. Trust me, the tomboys who can't cook are the worst. I used 
to know this one who..."

Shinji waited a moment. Even after  waiting for a bit more, Ranma did 
not continue, he just looked off into the middle distance with a sad 
expression on his face. It was an expression Shinji knew well, because 
he wore it every time he thought about his mother.

"Do you... That is... Umm..."

Forcing a smile to his face, Ranma turned and gave Shinji a grin. He 
had been putting off his search for Akane's grave because he knew it 
would be hard to visit. It was even worse trying to talk to someone 
about it. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it, Shinji?"

Shinji looked up and briefly considered the inside of the Geofront. "I 
guess..." 

"What are you up to today?"

"Well, I was going to---" The strident ringing of Shinji's mobile phone 
cut him off. When Shinji pulled out the phone and began speaking into 
it, Ranma turned away and admired the view. He was contemplating the 
aesthetics of the monorail that corkscrewed its way around the side of 
the Geofront when Rei spoke.

*Am I special?*

'Sure, Rei.'

*How do you know?*

'Ahh... That's a hard one. I guess we're all special. I mean, it's not 
as though they have a dozen of you in stock and can just pull out 
another Ayanami Rei when they need one, is it?'

*Not a dozen... No.*

'See, and that makes you special. You're a person. Hey, you're a part 
of me, that has to make you special.'

*So I am special because I am part of you.*

'No, that ain't it. You're special because you're my friend. You don't 
have to do nothing, and you don't have to say nothing. It's not because 
you're like someone else, it's because you're you. That's what makes 
you special. Understand?'

For a while, there was just the sound of Shinji talking on the phone. 
*No.*

'You know, Rei, you've got a real confidence problem. Didn't no-one 
ever say how you do a good job and stuff?'

*Commander Ikari once told me that I was fulfilling my role, and that 
there should be no delays in the schedule.*

'Hmm... That ain't exactly what I meant. You gotta---'

"Ranma!" Shinji called out. "Misato-san's in trouble! Something went 
wrong at Jet Alone and we need to stop the robot."

The mere thought of action and challenge brought light to Ranma's eyes. 
"Great! When do we leave?"

For a moment the Third Child was taken aback, but then he remembered 
who he was talking to. This was Ranma, the same madman that volunteered 
to get back into the entry plug even after he had been hurt so badly 
from the bio-feedback during the last Angel attack. In a calming manner, 
Shinji held up his hands. "That's... That's not really what I meant. 
Misato-san wants me to come and help her. We need an Evangelion there 
to keep the robot from reaching Tokyo-2. I... I don't know all of the 
details. Misato-san was going to tell me on the plane there." 

"But what am I supposed to do? Why can't I go instead? I bet I could 
beat it faster than you could."

"I... I don't know. She only said that I was needed. I don't even think 
we're trying to destroy it. Besides, what about Ayanami? She'll still 
be here too."

"Yeah, but she's..."

"She's what?"

"Ah... Heh, heh... Nothing, nothing at all... All right Shinji, you can 
go this time, but just remember something. While you're off fighting 
this thing, Rei and me are gunna be training! Saotome Ranma will never 
be second choice in anything for fighting!"

"That's, um... nice... Ranma. I'll see you later."

Watching Shinji walk into the distance, Ranma grimaced. It really got 
to him that someone else would be chosen as first preference when it 
came to fighting. Regardless of the fact that he wanted to head back 
into the command centre of NERV and practice fighting in their Eva, 
Ranma continued on his way out. He had made a commitment to Rei that on 
the weekend they would share their time. This morning they had agreed 
that he could have the morning for training, and the she could have 
control in the afternoon.

As important as fighting was to him, the idea of ignoring Rei's needs 
and going back hardly even crossed his mind. It was not the risk of 
retribution that prevented the action, it was simply that he had told 
her she could be in control in the afternoon. Ranma's word was his bond, 
even if it was made in haste. A man could lose everything, but still 
have his honour. But a man who lost his honour - who broke his word at 
the first difficulty - what did he have at all?

'Rei, do you really think Misato-san chose him because he's better than 
us?'

*Commander Ikari will tell the newspapers that he wanted to keep two 
Evangelion pilots here in case Tokyo-3 is attacked.*

'Really? Do you think he wants us here to protect everyone?'

*No. There is no danger of attack.*

*	*	*

In the year of 2014, it would be a sorry error to allow oneself to fall 
into assuming the stereotypes of the proceeding century. Most notable 
of these was sexism. Of the senior officers in NERV, two were male and 
two were female. 

In Doctor Akagi Ritsuko's professional opinion, there was a very simple 
reason why the commander-in-chief of the most powerful government 
agency in the world was a man. It was because Ikari Gendo had been born 
male. If he had been born female, Gendo still would have been the one 
to rise to the position of power. No-one else in the world was driven 
enough, committed enough. Ruthless enough.

"Shinji-kun has JA1 in his grip. OK... Misato's inside now."

Sparing a glance from the field glasses, Ritsuko looked at the small, 
portable terminal next to her. Through this very terminal, she 
controlled all of the vital systems on the JA1 robot. She had no idea 
who had infiltrated the rival company, nor how they had arranged to 
sabotage the systems. All she knew was that she now was the only person 
in the world that could avert a catastrophe. 

"Excellent. Tell me when the robot enters Tokyo-2."

"Sir... They still haven't completed the evacuation of Tokyo-2."

"I am aware of that. Jet Alone will not lose sufficient credibility and 
therefore funding unless there is a spectacular error. Proceed with the 
operation."

Ritsuko looked through the field glasses again and chewed her lip. She 
knew that the world's only hope was NERV, but these tactics did not sit 
well with her. "Perhaps..."

"If you had any better suggestions, they should have been raised at the 
appropriate time. Proceed with the operation."

Minutes passed. In one-ear piece, Ritsuko could hear the frantic 
shouting of Shinji and Misato. Misato had come across the fact that the 
emergency shutdown codes had been disabled. Flicking a glance to the 
laptop's screen Ritsuko returned to watching the giant machines 
struggle against each other. All it would take was for her to press one 
button and the control rods could be re-inserted into the fission pile.

"Is the operation complete yet?"

"Negative Commander. Captain Katsuragi's plan has worked better than 
anticipated. Since the Evangelion was deployed, JA1 has made no 
effective forward motion."

Gendo snorted into her earpiece. It had been a simple and elegant plan. 
When Jet Alone did their field test and demonstration of it's new JA1 
robot, they would discredit it and call upon the United Nations to 
cease funding the smaller company. With operating costs for the 
Evangelions being higher than anticipated, NERV could not afford to let 
a rival company suck away some of the funding that it needed.

Ritsuko was well aware of why they were doing this. She regretted it, 
she honestly did. In an ideal world, everyone would have had the 
funding to work on research projects of this sort of grand scale. 
Unfortunately, this was far from an ideal world, and only one could 
survive in this harsh economic climate. That one must be NERV. No-one 
else had the AT-Field. No-one else could possibly match their 
capabilities. 

No-one else could make all of humanity into gods.

There were precisely four people in NERV that knew what they were 
really doing. Ritsuko was one of them, and some days, she even 
questioned the true extent of her knowledge. She knew that through the 
Evangelion project, they could prevent the Angels from triggering Third 
Impact. By saving the world, it would buy them sufficient time to 
complete NERV's true, hidden agenda. An agenda so important, barely a 
dozen people in the entire world knew of its existence.

"Sir, I've allowed the damping rods to enter slightly for extra time, 
but I don't see anyway of getting JA1 past Shinji's Eva."

"Hmmm. I should have foreseen this. We set out to demonstrate the Eva's 
superiority, and it has worked against us. The Evangelion is 
generations ahead of JA1. There is no chance that the robot will 
succeed in reaching the city without external intervention." 

The voices in Ritsuko's other earplug were getting quite frantic. 
According to the screen in front of her, the JA1 would go critical in 
less than a minute.

"Will we go ahead with the meltdown now that we cannot reach the city?"

"I see no reason not to. Unit-01's AT-Field will render it immune to 
anything as trivial as a nuclear meltdown."

Ritsuko paused and licked her lips. Misato was her friend. More 
importantly, she was in charge of the military operations of NERV.

"Captain Katsuragi is still inside."

"Yes."

The countdown time was nearing its end.

"Will her death be sufficient advantage? Everyone has already seen that 
the JA1 is an unacceptable risk."

The numbers ticked inexorably down. All it would take was a single 
touch of her finger, and the dampener rods would be shunted into their 
shutdown position. A single button on her laptop was all that stood 
between Misato and a glowing hole in the desert.

Five.
Four.
Three.
"Damp the pile."

While she heard cheers in one earpiece as the staff in Jet Alone 
celebrated, there was a quiet click of disconnection in the other. 
Commander Ikari's plan had not gone quite as he had expected, but in 
her heart, Ritsuko could not find any sorrow for that. Thousands, 
possibly millions of people would live as a result of Shinji's actions. 
It was something he could be proud of, especially if he never found out 
about the cause of the near-disaster.

*	*	*

Ranma was bored. To say that he was bored brought whole new levels of 
meaning to the word. With their busy school and training schedule, 
Ranma had never really had time to appreciate what Ayanami Rei's life 
was like before he arrived. 

Before Ranma had arrived, Rei life had consisted of going to school, 
working with NERV and living at home. Some might say that those tasks 
in themselves constituted a busy and exciting life, but it depended on 
your level of involvement. For Rei, going to school and working at NERV 
entailed doing exactly that. She would go there, do what she was told, 
then leave. There was no socialisation, no extracurricular activity, no 
heartfelt devotion to a task.

Living at home was just that: living. That was all she did; she lived. 
She would lie on her bed, staring blankly at the wall; breathing in and 
out. After they had come home, she had changed, lay down and stared at 
the wall. She was not asleep, she was not talking, nor was she doing 
anything. The sole movement and excitement in this routine came every 
now and again when she would blink.

Ranma was bored.

*Rei! We've been like this for ten minutes now! What are you doing?*

'I am waiting.'

*What for?*

'School.'

*WHAT? But that's not until Monday...*

'Yes. Commander Ikari said that when I had completed all my other tasks, 
and there was nothing else to do, I should wait patiently. '

If Ranma had been in control, he would have been banging his head 
against the wall in frustration. It was always Commander Ikari this, 
and Commander Ikari that. It was almost like Rei was his puppet or 
something. *Have you considered doing something while you wait?*

'No.'

*Perhaps you should consider it now. I'm getting bored just laying 
here.*

Silence reigned. Ranma did not interrupt. He knew that it was futile 
trying to rush Rei into these things. She was not like him; he could 
make decisions instantly, she preferred to think. He liked action, she 
preferred inactivity. He was outspoken and direct, she was quiet and 
never criticised.

Caught up in listing the differences between them, Ranma was caught by 
surprise when they suddenly moved. Feeling her legs move, Ranma looked 
around, trying to understand what had roused her from her supine 
position.

*What's happening? Where are we going?*

'We are going into the city.'

*Why?*

'To purchase clothes.'

Ranma was stunned. Rei was going to buy clothes? The girl that owned 
precisely three identical school uniforms and two swimsuits? Even one 
of those swimsuits was part of the school uniform. This same Rei was 
going out to buy clothes.

*Why are you going to get clothes?*

Ranma felt the muscles in her face tense slightly. Not enough to move 
the skin and make it visible, but they were the right muscles for a 
smile. 'No-one told me not to.'

*	*	*

Ranma had finally come to accept the clothes that Rei had proposed. He 
had no problem in her taste in clothing; it was simply that she had 
feminine tastes. Nothing overly frilly or lacy, but things like skirts 
and dresses always made him nervous. True, they had managed to avoid 
being splashed with hot water while she was at school so far, but he 
could not expect it to last forever. Since she had refused to wear his 
clothes to school - Commander Ikari had told her to wear a uniform - he 
had nervously tolerated it. But voluntarily putting him at risk by 
wearing a dress when they did not need to...

*All right, Rei. Get what you want, but nothing too girly.*

'I am a girl.'

*But I'm not! What if we get splashed while you're wearing that pink 
thing?*

There was silence while Rei contemplated the pink teddy. To get to the 
casual wear section of the store, Rei had taken the direct route 
through the store. Needless to say, that had given Ranma a close-up and 
personal view of the entire lingerie section.

'If someone saw us wearing that, they would be inside our house. We do 
not normally have guests.'

*That isn't how it works. Just say a revenge crazed martial artist 
attacks you in the middle of the night. When you fight back, the battle 
goes outside, and right in the middle of a café, someone splashes you 
with hot tea. Then think how we would look.*

'Is that likely to happen?'

*I guess. It's happened to me a couple of times...*

Nodding to indicate her acceptance of the wisdom that comes from 
experience, Rei moved to the next rack. 'In that case, they would 
probably assume that you are a pervert.'

*Thanks, you're a big help.*

She still needed sleep clothes, but if they caused Ranma that much 
difficulty, she could wear something different. Picking up several 
pairs of matching tops and bottoms, she collected a few style 
variations all in plain colours. Idly she wondered what it would be 
like to sleep in something other than her school uniform.

Getting the rest of the clothes was even easier. With the staff at NERV 
being her main reference for fashion, Rei did not have particularly 
outgoing taste. Having pretended to be a girl often enough, Ranma was 
well versed in how to choose clothes that accentuated whatever features 
you wished. 

One of the most important things he had learned in his previous life 
was when he had taught his female mirror-twin to pick up boys. He had 
gone out on the town with the female duplicate of himself and shown her 
how to dress and how to act so as to drive the boys wild. All of that 
knowledge and experience were put to use right now. Nothing could 
change the fact that Rei had a good body and great face, but it was 
easy enough to steer her away from the clothes that would make every 
boy that saw her fall down drooling. Lining Rei up with dates was not 
something high on his list of things to do.

Despite his reluctance to make Rei too enticing, Ranma had his pride. 
More importantly, Rei deserved to have her own pride too. With careful 
eyes, Ranma helped Rei choose an assortment of clothes that would serve 
her well in almost every situation. Fortunately, at the moment, their 
sizes were fairly similar. Due to a girl's earlier start into puberty, 
Ranma was in no great danger of destroying the clothes if Rei suddenly 
was splashed by hot water. Always an important thing to be aware of if 
you have a Jusenkyo curse.

Since they were getting clothes for all occasions, Ranma convinced Rei 
to get something suited for more formal business use. Wearing the sharp, 
well cut, red skirt-suit, he was sure that she would stun anyone at 
NERV. Of course, Ranma did not need to dress up to stun people, he was 
good enough at martial arts that he did not need to worry. Rei on the 
other hand could use it as a sort of brace; something to bolster her 
ego when she went to talk to the senior staff there. It would be 
especially useful when she spoke to Gendo, since he seemed to have such 
an uncaring opinion of her. Maybe this would give her the confidence to 
stand up to him.

They were approaching the sales counter with their latest armful when 
something occurred to Ranma. *Hey, Rei! How are you going to pay for 
all of this?*

'I have a credit cared linked to a NERV account. The account is for the 
provisioning of maintenance and equipment as needed for the First 
Child.'

*Wow, not bad. Do I get anything like that?*

'There should be one in the information packet provided by Doctor Akagi 
that you have not read.'

That kept him quiet. He had been wondering how Rei had afforded the 
food they had been buying, and now he knew. Through Rei's eyes, Ranma 
watched the sales lady as she packaged Rei's purchases. He could tell 
what the woman had been thinking by the way that she acted while they 
were selecting their purchases. Suspicious of the pale girl who 
examined every garment with the same total intensity, the sales woman 
may have been worried about Rei's intentions. When she tried the credit 
card and the sale went through without a hitch, the woman visibly 
relaxed.

When they got back to the apartment and Rei immediately began to change 
out of her school uniform, Ranma began to feel worried. What if Rei 
intended to get changed then go back to lying on the bed? How could he 
possibly stand the boredom again? It had been quite nice with the two 
of them walking around and talking, but now that was done, he needed to 
find something else to distract her.

When she packed her swimsuit and towel into a bag, Ranma got excited. 
This could be what he had been searching for ever since he met her. 
Swimming! She had been several times in the past, and now she was going 
again. There was no obvious motivation, and no requirement being 
imposed on them like at school.

*Are we going swimming?*

'Yes.'

They were half way to the train station before Ranma realised that he 
had again missed an important fact about Rei. Despite talking with her 
on such a regular basis, it was easy to forget that she was a very 
literal person. *Where are we going?*

'NERV. There is a pool on sub-level six.'

Hoping that this must finally be an activity that Rei did because she 
enjoyed it rather than it was forced on her, Ranma tried to coax her 
along in the right direction. *Why are we going swimming?*

'Commander Ikari stated that I must have sufficient physical activity 
each week so as to be an effective pilot for Unit-00. Swimming not less 
than three times per week was recommended.'

For a moment Ranma's hopes were dashed. How was he supposed to 
understand someone like Rei? How was he supposed to be nice to someone 
like her when she did not have any wants or desires? Shampoo, Ukyo, 
Akane, even Kasumi seemed like the worlds greediest, most demanding 
people in the world compared to Rei. To get a smile of friendship out 
of the girls he used to know was so easy. Eat their food, say something 
nice, even just smile at them and they would be your friend. He had 
lived with Rei now for weeks, and he was still no closer to being her 
friend.

Ranma never had many friends when he was growing up, and every one was 
precious to him. That was why he had hounded Shampoo so much when she 
had worn the Contrary Jewel. It was also why he chased Akane across all 
of Japan and half of China on numerous occasions. He would never desert 
his friends, and he would never allow them to forced into something 
against their will. How he could possibly accomplish that with Rei was 
beyond him. She did not display a desire for anything beyond what she 
was instructed to do. How could he help her, how could he get to know 
her if they could not be friends? They shared the same body, but he 
still felt like they were strangers.

*Considering the fact that I'm training for four or five hours a day, 
and doing other stuff, is that enough exercise for you? We've already 
seen the pain and growth and stuff carries over between us.*

'Yes.'

In the middle of the train station, Rei stopped. She faced straight 
ahead, eyes not seeing anything. People walked around them, but they 
did not move. Although he knew she was working on a weighty question, 
Ranma eventually interrupted her, but it was to no avail. After almost 
ten minutes of thought, Rei started forwards again, the sounds of her 
shoes once again blending into the sounds around them.

*What was the matter? Why'd you stop?*

'I have decided. I do not need to go swimming. I am not required to go 
swimming. I _want_ to go swimming.'

*	*	*

Ranma was back in Gendo's office again. He was not there in person, but 
instead he was again a passenger within Rei's skull. The last week had 
finally seen a change in their relationship. A week ago, Rei had 
discovered that she enjoyed swimming. It may have started out as an 
order from Commander Ikari Gendo, but now it was a hobby, a sport that 
she enjoyed. It had also become a normal part of their daily routine. 
Ranma had shortened his workout, focussing mainly on his technique, and 
Rei's swimming was providing part of the exercise, helping to look 
after the endurance.

Most importantly, it gave them a common ground. After much searching, 
they had something that they both enjoyed, and they both understood. 
Although Ranma had not been fond of swimming since he got his curse, he 
had once been very proficient at it. When he and father had made their 
ill-fated trip to China, it had been the power of their arms and legs 
that had allowed the pair to swim the distance. 

Rei had politely pointed out that it would no longer be possible to 
swim the distance due to the rise in the sea level. With the melting of 
the southern polar icecap, the sea level had risen dozens of meters, 
and now large portions of coastal Japan and China were underwater. 
Assuming that he could make the distance, the risk of being snagged on 
an unseen submerged tree or building was quite high. Worse still, with 
surf sometimes breaking over the remains of cities, they could be 
dashed to death through no fault of their own.

After talking to Ranma for a while during the week, Rei had come to the 
realisation that since Ranma had not read his NERV briefing material, 
she was not sure what security clearance he had been awarded. Since she 
had been directly ordered not to reveal any NERV secrets to those 
people who did not have the clearance, she needed to get Ranma 
sufficient security clearance. More importantly he would need the 
clearance in less than a week. In one week's time, she would be 
returning to the restricted levels of the Geofront for further testing 
of the cloning process. 

"Commander Ikari."

"Rei." The commander sat behind his desk with his hands clasped in 
front of his chin. "You are not wearing your school uniform. Why is 
that, Rei?"

In truth, she was wearing a rather attractive blouse and skirt 
combination that looked very nice. A simple black skirt of modest 
length showed her trim figure, while the pale blue blouse matched 
almost perfectly with her hair, but did not clash with her pale 
appearance. White stockings and simple, black, low heeled shoes showed 
off her trim legs. While no more flesh was shown in these clothes 
compared to her school uniform, it did more to flatter her than the 
uncomplimentary clothes. 

Taking advantage of the silence that indicated his charge's ongoing 
cognition, Gendo paused to examine her slightly longer than would be 
considered acceptable in polite society. Possibly it was just that 
girls can change so rapidly at this age, or maybe it was even her 
"special" DNA, but something seemed different about Rei. She looked 
fitter, leaner, more than the pencil thin girl that she had been. From 
what he could see of her calves from where he sat, they seemed more 
like a runner's muscles, rather than someone who only did the minimal 
exercise like she did. Perhaps he should schedule a complete physical 
for her soon. 

"I am wearing clothes appropriate for not being at school." 

A generous person would have acknowledged Gendo's slight head movement 
as nod. Although he accepted the answer that she had given, the fact 
that he had needed to ask her at all concerned him greatly. Rei was not 
supposed to have the creativity needed to spontaneously go out and 
select an appropriate wardrobe for herself. She should also not be 
inclined in any way towards being sociable and caring about what she 
was wearing.

Ayanami Rei was the key to his destiny. She was an vital part of the 
Human Instrumentality Project, and absolutely vital in his being 
reunited with his beloved Yui. Many people would question the actions 
that Ayanami would be required to carry out to complete the Project. If 
she began to have independent thought and emotion, she might begin to 
question his orders too. This was a concerning development that he 
would need to watch closely.

"What did you want to speak to me about, Rei?"

"I need to know Ranma's security clearance."

Gendo gave a cruel smile. Perhaps things were not as bad as he had 
initially expected. Rei might be showing signs of original thought, but 
that could simply be the Saotome boy forcing his preferences onto the 
girl. If she was concerned about his security clearance, she was 
clearly still Gendo's tool.

"The boy's clearance is Red. He may know anything that is essential to 
his role, but you are under no obligation to tell him anything."

Rei nodded. "What if he finds out from other sources?"

Gendo considered that. "Knowledge of the truth is considered Ultra-
Violet. Under no circumstances should you reveal the truth of what is 
occurring to him. Remember, knowledge that there is a hidden truth is 
considered Green clearance. You should provide no indication to him of 
your function within NERV."

"I understand. Is it acceptable for him to learn these facts if you or 
Doctor Akagi tell him?"

"I do not expect to tell him, but if I do, then yes, he may know."

Rei nodded once and left the room. She was one of the few people that 
did not always wait for him to dismiss them before she left. She felt 
as comfortable around Gendo as she did around anyone else. Since she 
knew that he did not need her for anything else, she assumed that there 
was no other reason for her to stay. It was an attitude that Gendo 
quite appreciated. Quiet functionality. As perfect and useful in person 
as it was in any machine.

They were outside the office before Ranma dared to ask a question that 
had been preying on his mind since they entered. *Why haven't you told 
him about me?*

'If Commander Ikari wanted to know about you, he would have asked.'

*Come on, Rei. That can't be the only reason. I heard what you said in 
there. You know stuff you ain't telling me, but you set him up. If he 
don't know I'm in here, he won't try and hide anything. Why? Why'd you 
do it, Rei?*

The only sound within the bowels of NERV's headquarters was the soft 
sound of air conditioning and the quiet click of her shoes on the 
utilitarian grey floor.

'I wish to go for a swim.'

*Hey! That ain't no answer!*

Silence was his only answer. 'I wish to go for a swim'? What sort of 
answer was that? What did swimming have to do with Rei trying to fool 
her boss? Ranma had a horrible suspicion that if Gendo did find out 
about him, something terrible might happen to him. But even then, Rei 
had said nothing about that. All she had said was swimming. Why 
swimming?

*	*	*

"At the conclusion of the synchronisation tests, you will come to my 
office, Captain."

Misato nodded. When the normally cold Commander gave you an invitation 
worded in that way, it was easy to understand that refusal was not an 
option. Since it was almost dinner time, she had been intending to grab 
Shinji and head for a ramen shop that she knew. The ramen was fairly 
average, but the drive-in liquor shop next to it had great prices.

"Yes, Sir. Ahh, Rei reported that Pilot Saotome would not be able to 
attend. She said that he was currently unavailable, whatever that 
means."

"I see. What do you propose to do about that?"

Briefly Misato considered changing her initial plan, but then decided 
against it. "Nothing, Sir. Pilot Saotome has logged almost twenty hours 
of practice time in the last week. Considering his dedication to the 
project, I feel willing to let this one slip, Sir."

"Very well. My office, as soon as the tests are complete."

From that point on, the tests could not finish soon enough for Misato, 
who was filled with concern over what Gendo may have wanted. Shinji's 
constant improvement was something to look on with joy. At this rate he 
should have no problems in future battles from poor synchronisation. 
The surprising aspect of the test was Ayanami's increase. Up by a 
healthy three percent in the last two weeks, she was showing amazing 
improvement for someone that had not done any training. 

Maybe relaxing with Ranma had helped her, Misato speculated. She had 
shared a giggle with the rest of the command staff when the story got 
around that Ranma and Rei were living together. Personally, she thought 
it was kind of cute. Not that she thought they should be doing anything 
at their age, but it was good for a laugh. 

When the tests ended and she made her way to the Commander's office, it 
was with slight hesitation that she pressed the admittance key and 
watched the door slide open. "You wanted me, Sir?"

"Yes. As you are no doubt aware, we have been having discipline 
problems with the Children recently. Saotome's flagrant disregard for 
procedures today was simply another indication of this chaos."

"Well... I'm, not sure that it is quite that bad, Sir."

Gendo steepled his hands and leaned back slightly. "You are to be 
congratulated, Captain. Your work with the Third Child has produced 
most desirable results in the last few weeks. Under your influence he 
has proven to be sufficiently tractable and obedient. Well done."

"Ahh... Thank you, Sir."

Surprised by his unexpected compliment, Misato was shocked even further 
by his next comments. "However, you will not be aware that after Jet 
Alone, we have been able to put sufficient pressure on the UN and the 
Germans to release the Second Child and the first production model 
Evangelion to us. Their arrival is expected at the end of next week."

"That's good news, Sir."

"In light of your performance, I am hereby expanding your duties, 
_Major_ Katsuragi."

Major! Promoted just like that! All she had done was look after Shin-
chan and provide him the occasional curry, and she was being promoted. 
Who would have believed it?

"As a part of this promotion, you will be moved to a new secure 
apartment complex on San-Chome. Since this will be within your current 
suburb, the move will be carried out the day the Second Child arrives. 
Your new duties will include the oversight, maintenance and security of 
all the Children."

"Sir? All of the Children? Even Ayanami and Saotome?"

"Especially those two. Saotome is exhibiting traits of being a rogue 
element and an independent thinker. I trust that you will be able to 
curb this as well as you did with Shinji. More importantly, by 
gathering the Children together, you will be able to provide them with 
the security that is needed. I intend to see an end to this practice of 
the Children vanishing whenever they feel like it."

"Y-Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir. I won't let you down."

"I know that you will do your best. When the Second Child arrives, I 
want you to take Shinji out to meet her. During this time, NERV staff 
will relocate your belongings. As Rei will be required here, she must 
remain. You may take Saotome or not, as you please."

"Yes, Sir. I'll ask him before we go and pick up Asuka. Is that all, 
Sir?"

"No, Major. As part of your security role, you will be expected to 
undergo additional training. I am aware that you have had basic 
training in both firearms and hand-to-hand combat. During the next 
three months, you will be re-familiarised with these, and then proceed 
to more advanced training. You shall also be required to carry a 
minimum of one firearm from this time onwards."

All Misato could do was nod. Even after Second Impact and the chaos 
that followed it, almost no-one in Japan could carry firearms. To carry 
one at all times, not just while in uniform, was almost unheard of.

"Do not misunderstand me, Major. Those Children are the future of our 
planet. I would rate their lives more highly than any person in this 
facility. In particular, they are more important than any person who 
might attack them. Are you completely clear?"

After an audible gulp, the newly appointed Major nodded. She understood 
exactly what he meant, and exactly what the training would enable her 
to do. She had just become the last line of protection between a group 
of defenceless fourteen-year-olds and any human threat on the planet.

---
End Of Chapter