A PAINFUL TRUTH THAT CUTS DEEP AND BLEEDS OUT
Shinji watched as the huge holographic cinema screen was tested, just being here was so nerve-wracking. He was really dreading what he was about to see, as he eyed the chairs of the small cinema which was normally used for visiting guests and delegates to show Nerv videos as part of the tour.
It had once been the pilots briefing room though it looked nothing like he remembered. It now had a hugely expensive outfit plush leather cinema seats made up as though they were more like arm chairs. They even had large holders for drinks and snacks and lots of leg room and glowing neon Nerv logos on the black decorative walls.
He could see his father seated on the top row next to Ritsuko and on the far left on the second row one of the scientists from the special division who he knew as Vitor who was working on project Iron Year which was about destroying the Archangels. Next to him was Maya. On the next row was Misato, Kaji and Shigeru and Sumire were seated while he, Kaworu Toji and Mari were on the front row. In front of him he could see Misato’s special intelligence team, whose names were Shoji and Leiko doing the final checks.
He turned seeing Kyo from the Nerv special ops division enter the room. The big man looked deeply annoyed as he took his seat opposite Maya. His father seemed uncertain in some way. He turned as a woman suddenly ran in turning fast on her heels her long lab coat flying out behind her as took her seat next to Victor as she started munching on a sandwich. What was her name again Misato had told him oh now he remembered Chilam, no one had said what her last name was yet.
Misato breathed in standing up slowly. “Is everybody here and accounted for?” She watched as they all nodded. “Good.” She turned to Shoji and Leiko raising her hand. “Start your briefing.”
Victor watched as Chilam took a bite out of her beef sandwich he lowered his voice to a whisper as the lights dimmed. “Couldn’t you have eaten that later it’s really fucking inappropriate?” Chilam eyed him. “I eat when I’m nervous so back off.” Kyo rolled his eyes as he spoke in a sharp whisper. “Shut up both of you.”
Shoji cleared his throat watching as everyone fell silent. “Here are the complete events of the capture of Asuka Langley Soryu and Rei Ayanami, please note that these are hundreds of phone camera shots tied together. We know prior to this events some form of device was used to over load and completely burn out all the camera’s and the data base even the footage of before events could not be retrieved as the backup servers were burnt and destroyed to a very high degree.”
Leiko pressed her device watching as a special data card flew up on screen rotating in three dimensions. “This is called a Kelpie after the Scottish water horse demon that drowns people, they are spoken about often in hacker circles and the name is to imply that they can drown out all media noise. There’s been talk for years and even illegal prototypes made and confiscated these prototypes though when tested are very poor.”
She watched as the video changed showing a small blow out on a number of holographic computer stations. She looked up as the device reappeared again. “This though had to be a state of the art Kelpie as it blew out everything successfully and who ever made it was a professional of the highest order.”
Shoji changed the screen with his device. “We give our thanks to the main division for finding this out as it was something we were struggling with and the team leader Benjiro was a great help in filing in the text messages and footage with his team so we could put it together much faster while working on finding outside footage.” He paused pressing his device seeing the outside footage of the Auction house where the celebrates were arriving, along with other media recorded footage. So we know that Rei and Asuka arrived on time though there was a minute of stalling before they got out of the car.”
He looked up slightly. “All the cab driver Nari would tell us is it was due to nerves and she is currently recovering in the Nerv hospital. As the force of the later blast smashed out all of the windows of the block across the road and caused all the celebrity cars in the special garage to be thrown over which meant her arm got broken and her leg pinned. This also injured a hundred people directly outside some suffered from glass wounds others serious burns and being thrown from the impact blast.
Her message that something was wrong did get through to Nerv before it was cut off by her car being hurled its believed that it had the power of an N2 mine and the heat of the device explosion wise was similar to a super-heated pyroclastic cloud.”
He breathed in not liking the next picture he had to show—it was a dead burnt body with red lines of flesh showing through. “I say similar but not quite the same as unlike the ancient city of Herculaneum it wasn’t hot enough to reduce them to skeletons and boil their brains in their skulls. We know Pompeii was covered in ash and its bodies preserved this bomb though burns and melt the skin and the insides cook instantly.
It’s very similar to the brazen bull but unlike the true brazen bull which the ancient Greeks threw of a cliff, this is super-fast instantly cooking you alive like a wild boar roast and is much faster than Pompeii version you die within seconds but its agonizingly painful.”
He brought up the three dimensional ball “It is called Hammerhead and has been traced back to the German division and was a failed experiment and it’s already been established that this had to be under the older Nerv Germany leader not the current one and we are still uncovering all parts of this and trying to tie the together. What we do know is Hammerhead was an LCL bomb working with the idea of super heating a miniature metal ball coated in Evangelion steel till it blows.”
Shoji pressed her device showing the old footage of the failed test in Germany blowing up a huge building as the soldiers fled in terror. “The German division said the technology was deeply unstable incredibly dangerous and unworkable when they worked on it decades ago hence why Hammerhead was scrapped. So yet again someone has fixed its issues and turned it in a lethal weapon and the final death toll was two hundred and thirty out of five hundred.”
She paused. “There is a possible link but it still needs following through as it’s believed someone was using a fake data card in Germany around this period. That person cannot be named until we are totality sure though of their links which have thus far turned up empty.” Ritsuko leaned forward in her seat. “I intend to follow this lead up today but I need to see everything found before carrying on.”
Kyo folded his arms as he spoke coldly. “Well I have two celebrity dim wits captured there in lock up currently.” Misato looked up at him. “You caught Rosetta Martinez.” She paused. “But who is the other person?” Ryo looked over at her. “Antonio Aguilar he was with her they were both hiding out in some stupid hotel in Tokyo Three and they got a special doctor to come in and fix their bullet wounds off the record.” Ritsuko eyed him. “You locked them up where, please do tell?”
Kyo looked at her. “The prison section I was told they weren’t to be treated as guests since they had Rei Ayanami’s phone and we had sent out bulletins all night for them to come to Nerv which they ignored and stayed in some fire star fucking hotel. Their counties of origin have been desperate for us to find them so once this is done we can send them packing. It would better if we could talk to Prime Ministers daughter Miki but she’s off limits for two days due to needing treatment for serious post traumatic syndrome and she’s still not making sense or so the doctors informed me this morning as I was going to drag her in as well.”
Ritsuko eyed him. “When you do that could you stick her in the plush guest room not the prison section I don’t care about other countries celebrities but if we ever get her in here I don’t want to cause more problems since her brother Ryo is still in a coma.”
Misato eyed him. “Call them again say we can give her better treatment in the Nerv hospital and we’ll do it for free since we have a special division in there that deals with therapy and post-traumatic stress along with better coma equipment for her brother!” She turned seeing that the others were looking at her as they’d all just started talking mid briefing she raised her hand. “Please continue.” Shoji eased up his device pressing it. “This brings us to the second half of our briefing which is the phone footage as from the moment the group burst in photos and shots were taken and video footage.”
Leiko turned watching the footage as the men and women dressed in military black gear burst in the leading man revealing himself as he swung his metal bat she paused the video. “Benjiro told us that, that bat he’s holding is some form of electric baseball bat letting out a more powerful charge than any current lighting rod in service today.” She paused. “It’s also made of Evangelion flexible steel. The reason for this becomes very clear later on.”
She un-paused the footage watching as the man shot the auctioneer then turned on the crowds. “He specifically asks for Asuka Langley making it clear this is not a game and uses his bat with aggression to scare to people.”
She turned. “This is when it gets very messy we don’t know what this guy is on but he is hyper aggressive some of the celebrities try to fight back but their shot. He then singles out Ryo from the others and tells everyone it’s his fault that they got in and he starts beating the shit out of him while Miki watches while he berates the fact she can’t do anything thus later resulting in Ryo slipping in to a coma.” Shinji raised his hand trying to ignore the awfulness of the video footage. “Where is Akane?”
Shoji paused the video. “She was due to attend this event but she never arrived as she was meant to shadow them both, we did track her last movements though as she was seen leaving via the airport going to Beijing in China.”
Leiko breathed in deeply. “We find this very odd as well and we don’t believe in coincidence and though we don’t have outside camera footage she is now heavily on our radar and we are watching her bank accounts closely and there was a huge sum placed in there and it wasn’t small change we are talking millions. Not to mention she didn’t resign, she just up and left which is odd as she meant to a professional assistant.”
Toji turned his gaze falling on Sumire who looked really annoyed he could tell from here while Mari who was sitting opposite him wasn’t taking any notice. She seemed deeply transfixed on the screen and the man whose freeze frame was frozen. “This is chicken shit it sounds like she fucking sold out and now she’s going to sell her secrets to China for more money!”
Sumire turned she could no longer stop the anger she was feeling which had been building since this briefing had started. “This whole thing is utter horse shit, this isn’t Gryphon!” She sat up in her chair eyeing the frozen video. “Gryphon wear their colours proudly they don’t walk around in black they dress in red and white and they won’t use anything Evangelion related and they are not this professional in their attacks or organised!” Ritsuko eyed her as she spoke coldly. “Is that your personal or professional opinion?”
Sumire folded her arms eyeing her in disgust. “Both!” Ritsuko eyed her. “You should think about your next words wisely Sumire, because we both know what your personal opinion is like.”
Sumire stood up slowly unable to stop her anger. “This isn’t about you or me this is about what I see and I know it’s not Gryphon!” Misato turned sharply eyeing Sumire seeing that Gendo was remaining quite clearly wanting no part in this argument. “Tell us more Sumire please I wasn’t aware that you had a back ground on Gryphon. It’s not in your record from the Mexican division.”
Sumire stopped as she eyed her feeling herself tense as this was one truth which was none of their business. “It was before I joined the Mexican division.” Ritsuko leaned forward. “Oh really do tell.” Sumire raised her hand. “I know because I was there as a child in the temple of Quetzalcoatl when they blew it up! My grandmother died in the blast I got buried under the rubble I was very young at the time.”
Misato breathed in sharply well this was a shock and a surprise why the hell wasn’t this in Sumire’s record, why had the Mexican division left it out? Sumire moved closer to Ritsuko the reality was she couldn’t stand to be here anymore it was just pissing her off and the truth was since getting out that shitty job down below she didn’t like the dark anymore. She still felt stressed being in long periods of darkness, plus her anti-depressants were conflicted with her other medication she had been wanting to get them changed but with all this going on it had impacted on her worse than ever and the lack of sleep didn’t help.
She stopped on Ritsuko’s row ignoring her shock as she spoke coldly. “I know we don’t see eye to eye but the screaming keeps me up at night as does my grandmother’s dead body.” She pulled the pendent free so the other woman could see it. “Also before they dropped the bomb they said something in Latin which was Deorum urere, ut digna est fake solum manet si diis angle the translation for this is the fake gods deserve to burn as only the angel gods should remain.”
She paused for a long moment before speaking. “Regardless of what you think of me and our history, I speak the truth and if you don’t like that well what else can I say? Accept, chinga tu madre!”
Ritsuko watched as she left via the cinema’s door slamming it behind her only to hear Victor suddenly snigger she leaned over eyeing him knowing full well that his language translator could read anyone’s voice and the room was set up so he could understand everyone voice in his ear piece. “If you want to keep your job Victor you’ll tell me what she just said and I know you can understand everyone’s voice due to your ear translator!”
Victor stopped instantly his face turning white and uncertain. “Em…she said you can get lost… ” Misato eyed Ritsuko. “We need him and everyone in this room to win this war and you know it, so stop giving him and Sumire stick.”
Gendo sat up slightly. “Yes I would prefer to end this foolishness now since the footage is of greater concern.” Maya breathed in deeply great this was not going well at all. “Just let Sumire calm down.” Toji raised his hand. “Can I go check on her?” Maya turned slightly. “Yes after this briefing finishes you can, not until.” She eyed Shoji and Leiko who were looking at each other uncomfortably clearly they weren’t used to this kind of bickering or that it went on at the high level of Nerv.
Her gaze shifted to Mari who had remained really quite throughout this and was staring at the screen completely still her turquoise eyes deeply fixed in the frozen image of the man with the baseball bat. In all the time she’d known Mari she’d never seen her look this way and it was strange as she was finding it hard to take her gaze off her as she could see real fear in the taller woman’s eyes.
She turned to Shoji. “Please continue.” Shoji breathed in pressing her device hoping that this would be the last interruption as she turned the video on. “After this Asuka comes out and two of these men and women come at her she shoots them killing them both instantly and without hesitation and then the fight starts with this man.”
Leiko breathed in deeply. “As you can see the reasons for the electric bat become deeply clear in the first part of this fight, somehow this person knows she can take lightning rods so the bat is custom built purely to deal with her and he very nearly caves her head in with it but she is able to throw it free but it clearly causes her real pain.”
He eyed the video. “Then true to Asuka’s form she brings out that real animalistic side literality like she takes it to maximum which clearly affects her scream as it becomes like an animal’s roar, apparently the celebrities found this real interesting as more of them recorded it.”
He raised his hand. “Now it’s interesting to note that whoever this man is he’s very well trained military wise probably to the same level she is, because he blocks her and uses her moves against her wears her down at every turn. He is clearly just as strong as she is he even refers to as Destroyer of Worlds which we don’t get as it’s weird and we are still compiling an audio feed so we are getting parts but not the whole conversation.”
He turned looking at the screen. “Then this happens and it’s fucking scary.” He watched as the man’s lower teeth grew as his eyes glowed red.” He paused eyeing the video. “We asked the science division here if it possible that anyone could mimic Asuka’s ability.”
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
Vitor eyed the footage. “Not unless he somehow cloned her blood but mixed blood types is dangerous, but as far we know the science division still consider how this happen a mystery. As nothing in the blood genetic changes I read the files.” Maya eyed the video. “Yes that is true. We don’t know what causes the transformations we’ve been trying to find out with Mari’s, Rei’s and Asuka’s blood samples we have come up empty even DNA strands reveal nothing we are at a loss to work out.”
Chilam eyed the video. “Yeah but unlike the others Asuka has Bardiel right so what if he’s that pilot from Ankh? That Evangelion is a hybrid mixed with Bardiel. I mean what if your team can’t see it because like any good parasite it’s hidden in plain sight like hijacking a DNA strand?” Victor eyed her. “Yes but your saying that all relationships with the pilots, is parasitic.”
Chilam looked up slightly. “Yes that just what I’m saying and that somewhere in all their blood could be a hidden marker hence why they can transform, but I was thinking more symbiosis rather than parasitic, though Asuka could still retain part of the parasite Bardiel as well but it would be harmless because the symbiosis would cancel it out.”
Victor raised his hand. “Plus Asuka unlike the others is a birth chamber child they are almost always B blood type due to how they are created in the mechanical womb so unless he’s B as well he couldn’t have her blood even cloned in his system and a transfusion wouldn’t mean change so I think he’s the Ankh pilot.” Maya looked at them both. “After this is done I need you both to look in to this see, as we have a few blood samples that didn’t match the guests or employee’s and to find if this idea of symbiosis is in the pilots DNA strands it might be helpful in some other manner.”
Mari felt her fingers dig in to the chair of the seat she was no longer interested in what was being said she just couldn’t take her eyes off the image on screen that man’s face looked so familiar to her. Yet it truly couldn’t be that bastard from her childhood he was died and she had been told in the car crash that the other member were also dead. Yet she couldn’t stop the pressing fear because the similarity was uncanny and she found it terrifying.
Leiko turned on the video again watching as the footage carried on flipping between phones along with bringing up important text messages with times. “The fight from this point on gets incredibly violent and its clear Asuka is starting to lose it’s also clear he is taking advantage of her lower stomach area which will never be up to full strength after the Alpha unit incident and he makes a purposeful choice to hit her where she’s scared.”
He watched as the red haired woman was lifted up in a strangling position. “In the end he strangles her until she passes out after which she can be seen being taken away.” He paused. “This brings us to final footage.” He watched as the woman walked out who resembled Mari but much older and with different glasses. “This woman comes on scene she asks for Rei she says they mean no harm to her.”
Ritsuko voice suddenly cut in. “She looks like Mari!” He looked up as the video carried on playing. “Yes that was highly noted by the team we are not sure if it’s pure coincidence though it was noted by the science division that plastic surgery is unlikely but the resemblance is uncanny.”
Mari felt every muscle in her body truly freeze this was not happening! It had to be some bad dream yet it was playing out in front of her like a nightmare she’d know that face anywhere which meant the older man was who she thought he was and she had never ever wanted to see their faces again as long as she lived. Of all the things in her past this she considered the one of the most painful and she knew it would ruin any chance of her and Asuka being friends or even family even though they just repaired that bridge.
She wanted to cry even scream but the emotion was too wedged in her throat. If they were alive it meant that the woman she was afraid off was still possibly alive and that terrified her even more. If everyone knew the truth they’d find out that she’d had stood by like a coward while Asuka had suffered as a little girl. That she had stood there for two minutes longer than she should off as the little red haired girl had begun to drown in her family’s lake, she had to get out of here as soon as possible she couldn’t stand to be here anymore.
Leiko breathed in deeply as he paused the video. “It was noted that she had blood on her hands and there was a male body found in the control room this man had been cut open with a surgical blade pure horror film style death he no doubt died in agonizing pain. We think this might have been her because she also has blood on her shoes and she states that something bad is coming and that Rei shouldn’t be there. Rei also even states that she looks Mari and this is met with anger as the woman claims she looks nothing like Mari and that Mari is the runt of the litter it was very confusing to us.” He eyed the screen. “Rei then in an act pure courage fires her gun at the lighting box in the room blacking everything out.”
Shoji eyed the screen. “After this she is not seen again but it’s clear to us these people took her as well as Asuka as her blood was found on a corridor carpet. After this the phones footage gets choppy as people flee and run away with their phones a huge number of which burn out and die which is when the blast took place.”
She pressed her device “We have found footage of this strange man and woman in different places in the world which was shown to Misato earlier as they have been captured on camera a few times. As you can see the woman enjoys extremely expensive fine dining in Venice and the man enjoys out running bulls in Pamplona and apparently punching them in the face he even stated that he was nick named the raging bull and his leather jacket even has a bull head on the back.
Leiko turned slightly. “Your colleague Sumire though may have a point about this not being Gryphon.” He brought up a video of an old pale skinned man with a whitening beard in his late fifties. “This is David Cooper or the white Gryphon if you want his title he is the founder and leader of Gryphon. Though he has not been seen in five years and his three children in the United States who we did look up are deeply opposed to their father’s movement.”
He pressed his device. “This man and women though do meet someone.” He watched as they were shown greeting the older woman. “And we have no idea who she is but it’s clear she is family and this older woman is clearly some one of power as she is seen later meeting the Greek politician Mana Kirishima or the Star of Thessaly if you want her official title.”
Kaji turned slightly in his cinema chair. “We were planning to speak with her once this meeting is over.” Ritsuko eyed the footage. “No I’ll speak to her personally as she was the liaising with the Greek Prime Minster at the UN summit last year as her translator which myself and Gendo had to attend, though we never spoke.” She eyed the image. “I’ve always wanted to chat to her since she always looks far too young to be that fucking powerful since she’s not much older than Shinji, so you talk to the celebrities we have in lock up.”
She turned looking at Shigeru. “Set me up the special room the one which is for delegates I assume you have that training the same as Makoto as he used to set that room up for me.”
Shigeru looked at her for a long moment before replying he had forgotten that this would now be passed to him since Sumire was below him in the command structure and he had moved up due to Kaji getting Makoto’s desk which meant the errands of sending Ritsuko’s paper work back and forth was his job now while Sumire had to juggle Maya’s. “Yes I can have that ready for you.” Ritsuko eyed Shoji. “I assume this briefing is over?” Shoji nodded. “Yes Mama.”
Ritsuko stood up slightly watching as Gendo followed. “Don’t call me that, to you its Ritsuko!” She turned eyeing Maya. “And discipline Sumire, the last thing I need right now is her trying to break command like she did when she first came here from Mexico!”
Maya watched as Mari suddenly vaulted out of her seat before anyone could stop her running out the cinema doors much too every ones shock and before Ritsuko and Gendo could even get to the door as the lights came back on. She looked at Toji who looked confused. “Did she skip breakfast?” Toji shook his head as he watched Gendo and Ritsuko leave. “No she eat breakfast with the rest of us, she didn’t look so good during the briefing though. She looked like she’d seen a ghost and she seemed horrified when that woman showed up who looks like her.”
Maya breathed in deeply. “When you see Sumire tell her she needs to see me and she won’t be punished I need to speak to Mari myself.”
Toji nodded. “Sure I’ll tell her.” Maya looked at the others “Excuse me I need to find Mari.” She turned to Toji. “Where would she go if stressed?” Toji looked at her, “Military training or the Game Zone which is called the Taito Station which takes up a whole level of the arcade zones thirty fifth and sixth floor.” Misato watched as Toji left along with Maya followed by everyone else she turned giving Shoji and Leiko a wave the only people left in the room now was her Kaji, Shinji and Kaworu who both looked concerned.
Misato moved forward putting her hands on Shinji’s shoulders. “I’m sorry you had to wait this long to find this out Shinji I wanted to tell you sooner and I fully believe they took Rei so where ever she is she’s alive.”
Shinji looked down sadly unable to stop his fingers twitching it was an action he had tried so hard over years to stop and had hoped that post therapy that it would vanish but it never had. He felt like his child like self all over again as he looked up to meet her uncertain gaze. “It’s all my fault she’s gone because I wasn’t there and so is Asuka it should have been me not them.” He breathed in painfully unable to stop the tears flowing. “She’s my little sister it’s my job to protect her and I wasn’t there when she needed me!”
Misato moved forward before anyone could say anything pulling him in to a tight hug. “No Shinji it’s not your fault believe me, even if you had been there this would have still played out.” Kaji leaned over putting a hand on his back. “She’s right these people planned this and they would have gone anywhere to get Asuka and its clear they just wanted to take Rei somewhere else so there’s a chance that she might be somewhere else now but unable to contact us, they didn’t want to hurt her they made that very clear.” Misato held him tighter. “Don’t worry we are going to get them both back whatever happens.”
She paused. “I will do everything I can to get them back Shinji I promise you that today we have the best people on the job and they will find them.” Shinji breathed in painfully. “I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to Rei. I always promised my mother I’d look after her, after she was born she showed her to me and said that I should always be a good big brother and take care of her.”
Misato watched as he pulled away she eased up a hand putting it on his face. “And you have always been a good brother to her she could never hope for anyone better, but right now we need to be the ones to find her and Asuka and we will believe me the bulletin has gone out now worldwide for anyone to come forward if they’ve seen them.”
Kaji leaned over putting an arm around Shinji shoulder. “Don’t worry Shinji, just have hope we are going to find them as we want them both back as much as you.” Shinji looked at him nodding sadly. “I know it’s just hard.” Misato moved her hand putting it on the cross around his neck which she had given him years ago. “Just have faith we got through Bardiel and the other angels we can get through this.” She leaned forward giving him a gentle kiss on the head. “We always do.”
She paused looking at Kaji who smiled, she pulling away as a knowing look past between them she turned back to Shinji. “Hey hows about you and Kaworu come with me and Kaji we were going to get a snack before we carry on today so how does fried ice cream sound?”
Shinji looked at her for a long moment before raising his hand wiping his tears. “Sure.” Kaworu watched as they moved aside giving him room as he moved his hand putting it on Shinji’s. “Yeah fried ice cream sounds nice.”
Kaji looked at them all feeling his smile widen as they were about to go to one of his favourite desert stalls in the Arcade Zone. “Come on all of you I know a great place they do ice cream all flavours and you can have so many topping you’re going to love it.”
8
I am so fucking stupid, I should know better Ritsuko was the reason I got shoved in that dark shit hole fixing the Magi’s huge caballing day in day out. Now I’m probably going to end up right back down there because I couldn’t just keep my mouth shut and it was opening my mouth to her in the first place that put me down there.
Well I guess this day can’t get any worse can it? It’s not like the mild anti-depressants they gave me are even working, they clash with my other medication and they make me feel so on edge.
Regardless of what happens I know those people weren’t Gryphon I joined Nerv because that one event in my life gave me focus. I wanted to stop groups like that and I joined Nerv in Mexico City at thirteen and worked my way up the ladder later they sent me to Nerv in Tokyo Three because they felt my skills would be better served there. To me as an eighteen year old I saw it as the greatest moment of my life, but it turned in to a nightmare years later and I lost so much faith in the organisation I’ve given everything to serve.
I guess the silver lining of this is they can’t throw me back below so they’ll probably send me back home to Mexico. I’ll get to see my family who I have not seen in so long as I miss my mother and father so much. Sumire dug her fork deeper in to Chilaquiles which she’d brought from the traditional Mexican buffet which was on the filthy first floor unlike the others it was a closer to her homes cooking or at least as close as she could get and opposite it there was traditional German restaurant in a state of construction.
It had a counterpart which was called the Kegel Inn somewhere outside Nerv city from what she’d been told and the plot had only been brought two days ago as the previous restaurant was up scaling so it had moved to another level.
She took a bite savouring the flavour yes so close to home but not quite home maybe it wouldn’t be so bad going home, maybe she’d enjoy it. She was about to take another bite only to stop as she watched Toji enter the buffet looking around. He smiled as he caught sight of her as he raised his hand. “Sumire there you are I’ve been looking for you!” Sumire blinked in utter confusion what was he doing here? She swallowed her mouth full suddenly feeling uneasy as he worked his way past the other Nerv staff coming up to her table as he spoke a big smile appearing on his face. “Can I join you?”
Sumire nodded now feeling deeply out of her depth as he sat down next to her she breathed in finally finding her voice. “I assume Ritsuko wants to see me.” Toji looked at her in confusion. “No I was sent by Maya she told me to tell you that you’re not in any trouble and that you should speak to her when you get a chance.”
He caused before feeling his smile widen. “What did you say to Ritsuko in your other language?” Sumire looked up slightly. “It was Spanish I can also speak in Nahuatl the language of my Mexican ancestors.” She paused before speaking. “I said fuck you to her.”
Toji laughed as he leaned forward. “That’s so awesome you’re the only other person who has said anything like that to her.” Sumire pulled out her medication opening it. “Really who was the other?” Toji raised a hand. “Asuka she told that she got her power by riding Gendo’s dick you should have been there it was really great just like what you did.” He watched as she took a pill his curiosity getting the better of him. “Hey what’s your medication for? I mean I’m not good with medication but it looks nothing like Kaji’s.”
Sumire froze for a moment great just fucking wonderful this was going to be a great end of her day nothing like hitting the bottom of the pit. Toji looked at Sumire who now looked deeply sad. It was that look he had seen before and it got to him. “Hey you know it’s okay I’m not gonna judge. I know plenty of people who take medication my sister has to take some to help her body as she had malnutrition as a kid and I have to have the same in my pilots drinking bottle.”
Sumire looked at him sadly. He was such a sweet guy she could see it in him but she’d seen this scenario play out so many times it always ended the same. It was why she never had full relationships and could only get casual sex nothing more.
She could lie it would be so easy yet she knew she couldn’t live with herself for doing so it wasn’t fair on ether of them and if he rejected her she’d just have to live with it and if he was curious he would find out anyway and that would be even worse. She’d heard to many stories of that happening and she believed in being true to herself as well as anyone who had any interest in her and he did have an interest in her she could see it now clear as day.
She breathed in deeply looking at her medication bottle. “It’s for a robotic it’s to stop rejection and it has other things in it.” Toji looked at her in confusion. “But you don’t have a robotic I can’t see one.” Sumire looked up slightly. “It’s internal.” Toji blinked in confusion. “I have never heard of internal robotic I thought they didn’t work.”
Sumire put her fork down taking in a deep painful breath before letting it out slowly. “I was really hoping this wouldn’t come up not that it really matters but it’s because I am transgender this medication stops my body rejecting it and its part of my transition.”
She looked at him. “I’ve gone through full transition. My former name was Huitzilin which means Hummingbird in my native language its Sumire now.” She breathed out painfully watching as he staring at her for a long moment. He was going to walk off they always walked away despite going though full transition to some she was not a woman and they still considered her fake and weren’t interested since she couldn’t have children. She looked down sadly. “I just wanted to be honest since some people can be unkind when they know.”
Toji snapped out of his haze realizing he was being rude as he put his hands together. “Well you look stunning I mean I don’t know much about transition but I heard it’s really good.” Sumire stared at him unable to speak it was not the reaction she had expected to get. She had expected anger or I don’t fuck fake women or for him to say nothing and just walk off that was the normal response. She looked up finally finding her voice. “Yeah…it’s very good.”
Toji looked at her feeling more curious. “So when did you start transition?” Sumire looked up slightly. “When I was fifteen it’s normally when you can start the medication at least you can’t have surgery till you’re eighteen as its dangerous.”
Toji looked at her. “What surgery do they do?” Sumire breathed in she was unused to this kind of attention and now it was hard to take in. “Enhanced breast implants that look and feel like the real thing as there made from real flesh based off the same technology that can create Evangelion synthetics flesh. Followed by a jaw bone reshaping and pelvis re curving which is the dangerous one. The hormonal medication changes your voice drastically as the medication is far more powerful now and you have the internal canal done last.” She paused looking around her. “Which I’d rather not talk about here as it’s very personal.”
Toji pulled a menu from the table. “I understand. Not like I’d want to talk about that ether if our roles were reversed.” He eyed the menu over. “So is this real Mexican food?” Sumire breathed in feeling her tension finally leave her. “Yes. As close as to what you’ll get in my home country, it’s not like the other restaurants here which feel way to tourist like to me.” Toji looked at her. “I’m starving what would you recommend?”
Sumire slowly started to eat feeling the start of a smile form. “The Mole Poblano it’s very filling and delicious.” She leaned forward watching as he raised his hand calling over the waitress maybe today wasn’t going to be such a shit day after all.
End of part 26
Silvermoonlight