Unexpected

Chapter 4

Originally posted on 06-05-21.

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The mismatched color coordinated trio walked through the monotonous gray halls of Nerv's geofront headquarters. The two teenagers were still somewhat recovering from their disorienting car ride. It was a miracle Misato didn't hit a pedestrian. Both of them felt uneasy, Rei worried that the commander would appear at any moment, and the consequences would be dire. Shinji had learned a lot about Nerv as Rei had told him what she knew in confidence, it only made him vilify the man he called father more.

He heard about what lies in Terminal dogma, that an Angel lies at its center. He heard of a pit that is occupied by a pile of Evangelion corpses. Of where Rei was raised, where she was born, where she was made.

But right now they had other matters to attend to. That is if Misato could get them there.

"Misato, I really think Rei should lead us to doctor Akagi's office, she knows the way around headquarters" Shinji commented quietly, still somewhat afraid to talk to her, as he was sure they were walking through the same hallway for the third time.

Misato looked around before giving up and letting out a sigh.

"I don't even understand how your suppose to know where you are when every hallway looks the same" Her shoulders sagged in defeat, "Alright Rei, lead the way"

Rei simply walked ahead of them, the other two following as the blue haired girl made turns throughout the hallways without even stopping to see where they were. It was quite a task to keep up. But in the end, it only took them five minutes to arrive outside the doctor's office.

Misato felt demoralized as she saw Rei do something that she had been struggling at so easily in about a third of the time.

Rei went up to the door, it was made of wood with a window that was covered by blinds that open inwards, 'Dr. Akagi' was emblazoned on it. She then proceeded to knock on it.

"Come in" came a voice from the other side, prompting her to open it.

Dr. Ritsuko Akagi was currently holding her head in her hands as she tried to think while also trying to not fall asleep. She was genuinely trying to find a way everybody could get out of this situation in a way that wouldn't either lead to death or misery, Rei included. She reached out and grabbed her cup of coffee, taking a long sip, savoring every moment of it. 'Thank god for caffeine', it was the only thing fueling her at the moment.

'Thank you Maya' she thought, as it was her pseudo apprentice/intern that had gotten her this coffee about half an hour ago, and she couldn't be more thankful. Nerv definitely had some perks, not that they really make up for all the crappy things.

But for her, Maya was definitely a perk. Also her large office, which practically doubled as one of her labs with all the equipment in it. Oh if only she could be a scientist on her own that didn't have to work for a shady paramilitary organization, then she could have lots of help. It would be a nice change of pace for everything important to not fall to her.

She missed her college days, when the only worries she had were completing assignments that were honestly not so difficult for her. Then she could go out and have fun with Misato who, for all her flaws, really knew how to party.

Now she practically worked all the time, only having a few days off every once in a while to go home or do something. It's the reason she had to ask her grandmother to take her cat in for a while since she was barely home. Her cat was a nice older ginger munchkin breed named mittens. She had a soft spot for cats.