Aozaki Aoko [642-643] (Patreon)

Chapter 642: The Betrayer

"The Angels' offensive is an objective fact," Mari said as she watched Touko bustling around beside her, logging her biometric data. "But if we want to defeat the Angels and stop Gendo's final plan at the same time, becoming an EVA pilot is a necessary option."

"So you swapped bodies?" Touko shot her a glance, voicing her deduction.

"Can't hide anything from you, Dr. Touko..." Mari's smile dimmed a little. "Back then, Senior Yui said your theories were the most groundbreaking she'd ever seen—as if they'd taken root and borne fruit in a completely different world."

Worthy of the mastermind, Touko thought, a bit surprised but outwardly impassive. She hadn't expected Yui to see through the truth of her metaphysical biology derived from Type-Moon magecraft theory. If they were back home, the mystery level of the whole thing might have dropped a notch.

"To ride an EVA, the A10 nerve-link plug technology can't be tested by operators with over-sensitive perception," Mari said seriously. "The two previous accidents proved that—Dr. Kyoko at the German branch and Senior Yui both exceeded safe depth for the same reason and were ultimately dissolved into the EVA cores."

"So I borrowed Gendo's Ayanami-series tech and the Shikinami-series tech from the German branch and made myself a whole new body," Mari twisted at the waist, showing off her lovely curves. "Then I shattered and reconstituted my soul, and injected it into this body."

"You've got some nerve! Do you know what happens if you fail?" Now Touko was truly startled. Because of Asuka, she did know about SEELE's distributed soul-transfer tech. What she hadn't expected was that Mari would risk eternal annihilation for Yui by attempting soul transfer.

"I know. Worst case, I'm scattered to the winds," Mari said breezily. "In that case I wouldn't even have the last, last chance to meet Senior Yui again in the Sea of Souls…"

"If you get it, stop fooling around!" Touko sighed and flicked Mari's forehead, making her flinch. "Honestly, you're a bit like my idiot little sister in this respect."

"Huh? Like Miss Aoko? Me?" Now it was Mari's turn to be surprised.

"Hmph. Charging off on your own adventures—you're alike in that," Touko rolled her eyes and went on, "At least that one has enough capability that she hasn't gotten herself killed yet."

"Ahaha... so that's how it is..." Mari said, a bit sheepish. "By the way, how are Miss Aoko and Miss Alice lately?"

"We haven't seen each other for a while," Touko shrugged. "Seems the two of them went to Tokyo-3. Aoko even joined HQ as an AI specialist in the Technical Development Division."

"Huh? Aoko joined NERV? At HQ?"

"You didn't know?" Touko narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the surprised Mari. "You're not lying? You said earlier you already knew I was at the Bethany branch."

"I really didn't know that," Mari said earnestly. "Or rather, I learned you were at Bethany because I was following intel on Unit-05."

"I'll assume you're telling the truth," Touko said after a glance, dropping the matter. "But if you want to pilot an EVA, Unit-02 at the France branch is obviously a better fit, isn't it?"

"No. I can pilot Unit-02, but it wouldn't be appropriate," Mari shook her head. "Unit-02 already has a pilot. You know the Shikinami Project, Dr. Touko?"

"Kyoko's project..." Touko said slowly, looking thoughtful.

"Right," Mari nodded. "Little Asuka's a good kid. I don't want to take her seat in front of her mother."

"So Dr. Kyoko's soul is also in Unit-02's core like Dr. Yui?" Touko rubbed her chin. "No wonder the Committee chose that child for the Shikinami-series experiments."

"Adults really are ugly," Mari said with a pointed sigh. "They'll sacrifice even children for their goals."

"In front of the Angels, there's no difference between adults and children," Touko shook her head. "I wouldn't do that personally, but I understand the Committee's choice. Since Dr. Kyoko already had an accident, letting a mistake ride is the best option."

"Besides, with the end times coming, maybe children in the entry plugs are actually the safest ones, no?"

Touko blinked and looked at Mari as she spoke.

"I'm a kid now too" Mari said in a slightly childish tone. "To me, that's just adult excuses"

"Hmph. Is this you playing young or what?" Touko patted Mari's shoulder, signaling the exam was over and she could get up.

"Of course not!" Mari hopped energetically off the operating table and struck a few idol-like poses. "I really am young now!"

"Oh, right," she suddenly remembered something important. "Touko-senpai, you haven't changed at all. How did you manage that?"

Touko wasn't about to answer that now—it might send this age-playing old auntie down the wrong path. After all, her route to immortality was a little too close to this world's core-ization.

For the sake of their friendship, let Dr. Aozaki Touko keep a little mystery before her adorable junior!

—Divider—

Mari's pilot qualification tests went unnaturally smoothly, as if she'd been born to pilot Unit-05. On her first sync attempt in the entry plug, she reached an exceptionally high 65.21% synchronization rate.

It lagged a bit behind Asuka's with Unit-02, but considering Unit-05's core didn't contain Mari's biological mother's soul, reaching that level was already prodigious.

No—perhaps it wasn't talent, but adjustments Mari had made to this body.

As Yui's junior, Mari was also one of Kozo Fuyutsuki's star pupils. And before she met Fuyutsuki, she'd already been Yui's junior, which implies early connections with SEELE.

In prior examinations, Touko found that Mari's physical capabilities exceeded those of an average peer across the board—almost certainly specifications she custom-designed before the soul recomposition and transfer.

Realizing this, Touko couldn't help but see someone's shadow from the past in Mari.

With that level of madness, she really did resemble the version of herself who once fought Aoko for the succession of magic.

In a way, the current Mari felt like a fusion of certain traits from both herself and Aoko...

Chapter 643: Asuka's Growth

"Asuka, come try it! Your new outfit's ready~" Habenyan hopped excitedly off the rack and held up her creation. "Well? Do you like it? I used the fashion mags you brought me as reference!"

"Perfect!" Asuka changed in a flash and swayed before the mirror, admiring her new look. "Only downside is the waist's a bit tight. Did you mess up the measurements, Habenyan?"

"Absolutely impossible!" Habenyan huffed. "I'm a spinning-fairy—no way I'd mis-measure. You must've gotten fatter, that's why it feels tight!"

"Huh? Are you joking?" Asuka frowned. "How could I get fat? I've been completing all the school training seriously. If I gained weight, I'd know!"

"Oh? I heard Aoko recently scored a big batch of sweets from Mephisto, including top-grade chocolates. Pretty tasty?" Habenyan's eyes gleamed as she switched topics.

"They were really good," Asuka swallowed, clearly recalling the portion Aoko gave her, eyes going dreamy. "Especially that chocolate cheesecake—the texture was as sweet and silky as stroking the finest silk..."

Uh-oh.

"Heehee. After eating so much, maybe your waist did get bigger?" Habenyan leaned in with a wicked grin, nudging her with an elbow.

"N-no way! I only had a little, how could I get fat? You definitely measured wrong!" Asuka protested stubbornly, clearly rattled.

"We'll know if I measure again," Habenyan twanged her tape like a kidnapper testing rope, edging closer. "I can remember every customer's stats by heart~"

"M-measure what? That's not necessary, right?" Asuka refused as she backed toward the door, guilty conscience in tow.

"Aww, you're blushing? C'mon, let me measure~" Habenyan's tone turned a touch urgent.

"Stop it, Habenyan, what are you doing?" Sensing danger, Asuka was quietly prepping to bolt.

"I just want to see if your development's normal—at your age humans grow the fastest~"

Asuka batted away the tape and retreated a few steps toward the shop door.

"No!"

Habenyan clapped her hands. The boutique door shut by itself, curtains dropping over the windows.

"Be good and let me measure!" Habenyan barked.

"No!" Asuka tried to run, but no matter how she shoved, the door wouldn't budge—it was locked tight.

Asuka sank into despair as Habenyan sent the tape swirling like a monster's tentacle, wrapping Asuka up and hoisting her upside down, reeling her in.

"Heeheehee, let me see how much your waist has grown..."

Under Asuka's look of resigned doom, Habenyan completed the measurements. But instead of chubbing up from sweets, Asuka seemed to have grown overall all at once; a slight increase in waist was normal.

"Told you it wasn't from sweets. You didn't believe me. Hmph!" Asuka crossed her arms, pouting.

"Human kids are so mysterious. We fairies hardly grow," Habenyan sighed. "Since that's the case, you won't be taking this outfit today. I'll need to alter the size."

"Is that necessary?" Asuka asked, puzzled. "Everything else fits, only the waist's a bit tight. If I train hard, it'll be fine, right?"

"You're still growing, aren't you?" Habenyan jotted measurements into her notebook. "If it fits perfectly now, it'll be wrong the moment you grow a little more."

"Fine..." Deflated, Asuka gave in. "Might be a while before I can come back. I've been really busy with outside work."

"Outside, huh," Habenyan paused slightly. "I'm jealous. This world doesn't really welcome fairies. Only Toneriko can go out through magecraft nowadays."

"Nothing fun out there," Asuka sniffed. "Way worse than Land of Sapphire Flowers! But I'll bring you the latest fashion mags next time, okay?"

"Thanks, Asuka!" Habenyan floated up and hugged Asuka's cheeks, leaving them soft and warm.

—Divider—

At NERV HQ, Aoko finally met the Ayanami-series Unit-02—the Rei who would one day have the deepest bond with Shinji.

Compared to the emotionally rich, sharp-tongued prototype, this Rei was colder—emptier.

She seemed to care about nothing, because there was nothing inside. Gendo apparently considered the memory-imprinted prototype a failure, so Unit-02's Rei had only necessary basic knowledge. Her mind was almost blank.

Perhaps out of that man's twisted taste, her tutor was NERV's Chief Scientist, Ritsuko Akagi. Though Ritsuko outwardly appeared calmer and more rational than her mother Naoko, pressure was building within her—and before a legendary sorceress like Aoko, master of mind-affecting magic, there was no hiding it.

But Aoko had no intention of meddling. She merely enjoyed watching things play out between them—like following a juicy soap opera. Gilgamesh and Father Kotomine, I think I'm starting to understand your idea of fun back then.

...All that was just a bit of spice in Aoko's salarywoman life. HQ's main project timelines had accelerated recently.

Aoko guessed that after Kaji Ryoji reached the Bethany branch and briefed Gendo on the Third Angel and Unit-05α, the pressure on him spiked. HQ had taken on a grim air, with marathon overtime across the board.

If not for the AI foundation model Aoko brought in, overtime would've doubled. Her stock rose among the people actually doing the work, giving her proposals more weight at HQ.

One notable example: using the DeepThought model, Aoko built a navigation app. Thanks to it, even super-directionless folks like Misato Katsuragi stopped getting lost and clocked in on time every day—earning strong praise from Deputy Commander Fuyutsuki.

But those were small things. The next critical project was Rei Ayanami's activation test for Unit-00. If it failed, Gendo's value before the Committee might drop further—falling behind the Bethany base director.