Aozaki Aoko [656-657] (Patreon)

Chapter 656:

"How did Miss Ayanami get injured…?"

A nearby coworker finally voiced the question on Aoko's mind. "Wasn't Unit-00 down for maintenance for a while?"

"Did she maybe fall during PE at school?" another colleague guessed.

"What kind of school sport could get you banged up like that?!" Even Maya, usually so quiet and proper, couldn't help but gripe now; both the coworkers' topic and the father-and-son interaction on-screen were just too abstract.

"Some minor injuries, maybe. But most of it's probably staged—or call it special-effects makeup," Aoko said coolly. "Rei wouldn't pull off that level of acting herself, but she also wouldn't refuse if someone wrapped a few extra layers of bandages on her."

"And since forever, the honey trap has been the best way to goad someone," Aoko added with a sly blink and grin. "Wanna place bets on whether the Third Child will get in Unit-01 to fight the Angel for Ayanami's sake? Stakes are a feast at that new fancy restaurant. Team event's on me next time if I lose. For the record, I'm betting little Ikari Shinji will hop in Unit-01 while chanting 'I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away'~"

"Then I'll bet the Commander's son backs down in the end," one coworker said after a beat. "Same stakes—dinner on me."

"I bet Shinji gets in Unit-01!" another chimed in. "He's a man, after all. You can't chicken out at a time like this!"

As people crowded in to place their bets, Aoko, ever the agent of chaos, whipped out a notebook to record names. Maya could only sigh and add her own.

"…Fine, count me in," Maya said. "I bet… Shinji-kun will get in Unit-01."

Aoko's department truly embodied "frontline stretched thin, rear echelon feasting," but in a sense, keeping up morale when humanity's on the brink isn't the worst trait to have.

After some mental sparring with his old man, the pilot of Unit-01 finally decided to grit his teeth and launch—because a frail pretty girl appeared before him, and even battered, he'd risk his life in a giant robot to fight an Angel.

Shinji wasn't as monstrous as his manchild of a dad. His morals and empathy (maybe with a dash of lust) finally beat out his cowardice.

Damage reports echoed through HQ: eight layers of surface armor on the Geo-Front had been pierced by the Fourth Angel, multiple fires raged in the city. Things were getting dangerously bad.

Hey you, Angel—don't you dare blow up the restaurant we're planning to hit later! If you're gonna die, die far away!

After a flurry of work, EVA maintenance finally wrapped. The core-cooling fluid began draining from the cage, and Unit-01's twisted, towering form emerged for all to see.

"Sever link! Aux voltage nominal! Disengage freeze pins! Insert entry plug!"

With the spinal armor on the back opening up, Shinji's entry plug slid into the spine. From above, Gendo watched with a cold smile, as if smug that he'd seen this outcome coming all along.

Things were so urgent that Shinji didn't even have time to change into his plugsuit before being loaded onto the launch pad and—clack—fired to the surface.

Hurry, launch it—hurry, to the surface—

The crowd started grumbling about the "stream" cutting off and urged Aoko on.

"Don't rush, I'm on it, I'm on it~" Aoko popped a handful of popcorn, dabbed her fingers clean with a handkerchief, then deftly pulled up New Tokyo-3 City's surface surveillance through low-level control code.

And the first frame she got? Unit-01's wrist getting snapped by the Fourth Angel, then its head being hammer-piled like crazy—eliciting a collective "OHH—!" from everyone watching.

But just when most of the staff were turning pale at the battle feed, the "unexpected" happened—predictably.

Unit-01 rebooted even though its umbilical cable had been severed by the Angel's beam and its internal battery was drained. Stranger still, the pilot had blacked out from the neural feedback of the Angel's combo.

"How is that possible?!"

Maya and the other researchers were stunned. If a machine, unplugged and out of battery and without a controller, starts back up in front of you—and stronger than when it was plugged in—anyone would think "haunting."

But EVAs are a bit different. Everyone here knew they were some kind of bio-engineered construct—artificial humans. If they have flesh and nerves, then they might "have" a will of their own.

This state is called "berserk," and the common interpretation is: "The pilot passed out, causing the EVA to go out of control and beat the Angel senseless on its own."

The Fourth Angel was, among Angels, quite well-rounded: an assault spear, a decent cross-beam, an A.T. Field that could tank N2 mines, and fast regeneration to boot.

But faced with a Unit-01 "possessed by Mommy subbing in," the Angel finally couldn't cope and went down.

Maybe Unit-01 holds grudges—after getting its arm torn off earlier, it ripped the Angel's arm clean off and tossed it aside, then tore open the A.T. Field by hand, tanked the beam to the face… in short, a whole suite of brazen, turbo-aggressive moves.

In the end, just like "the script," the Fourth Angel couldn't bear the humiliation, balled itself up onto Unit-01, overloaded its core, and self-destructed, flattening a swath of office towers in a business district of New Tokyo-3 City.

Unit-01, of course, was basically unscathed. Aside from two holes blown through its head armor, everything regenerated during the berserk. Got to hand it to Yui—thrifty and efficient, a model homemaker.

"So, the bet—counts as my win, right?" Aoko, all smug, looked at the coworkers who'd bet Shinji wouldn't board. "No backing out, okay? Good thing that restaurant didn't get wrecked by the Angel!"

Chapter 657: A Toast to the Hero

The battle between the Third Child, Shinji, and the Fourth Angel was over. After Mom's cathartic sub-in beatdown, what remained was a city district in shambles and Unit-01 with multiple armor breaches in need of repair.

Fortunately, the high-end restaurant Aoko had her heart set on was unscathed. The coworkers who lost the wager were surprisingly generous, going all out to treat Aoko and everyone who'd bet Shinji would board Unit-01 and sortie against the Fourth Angel.

At Aoko's suggestion, they even invited Shinji, who had only just been discharged from the hospital. After all, they were adults who'd gambled on a kid's decision. If they didn't invite him after the fact, they'd be on Gendo Ikari levels of shamelessness.

"…I thought our AI department's team dinner only invited the war hero from last battle, Shinji-kun?" Aoko eyed Misato Katsuragi, who was happily tagging along for a free meal. "Why are you here, Misato?"

"Don't say that—you'll make me sad," Misato said, slinging an arm around Shinji's shoulder with a grin. "Besides, I'm Shinji's guardian now. The kid's going out to dine with unfamiliar adults; of course his elder should come along. What if you lot kidnap him?"

"Fine, we can afford one more mouth," Aoko rolled her eyes. "We're about to be late. Let's get moving!"

They'd gathered in the AI division's lounge. Shinji and Misato had actually walked quite a way to get there. Misato had wanted to invite her old classmate Ritsuko too, but Ritsuko had to work late to run tests on Rei—and unlike Misato, she didn't have the face to crash a free banquet—so she didn't come.

For transport, Aoko requisitioned a coach from HQ, solving any parking issues. With the Fourth Angel defeated, New Tokyo-3 City was in its "post-evacuation return" phase; traffic jams were popping up all over.

Around 6 p.m., the mostly-NERV-researcher group arrived at the restaurant. Having grown up in the countryside, Shinji was unfamiliar with such fancy places and looked a bit overwhelmed. Misato, by contrast, was an old hand—she grabbed Shinji's hand and marched in like she owned the place.

The losers were only paying; Aoko handled reservations. Thoughtful as ever, she booked a spacious private room.

It wasn't just one giant round table either. The room was set with normal tables for four to six per group—close enough for lively vibes, spaced enough to avoid crowding.

The menu had been preordered, so dishes rolled out quickly once they were seated. Everyone got into it and started digging in.

Shinji was a bit stiff at first, but the cheerful atmosphere rubbed off. He seemed to like the food, eating slowly but clearly choosing what he enjoyed.

Aoko sat with Maya, Misato, and Shinji. Maya and Shinji weren't talkative, Misato was a bit too talkative, so their table's vibe was… odd.

"Nice to meet you, Shinji-kun," Aoko smiled at him across the table. "I'm Aozaki Aoko, head of NERV HQ's Tech Development Division 1, Artificial Intelligence Systems. Pleased to work with you."

She offered her hand. Shinji, flustered, shook it and stammered back.

"I-I'm Shinji. Pleased to meet you…"

"Oh? So Shinji-kun likes Dr. Aozaki's type?" Misato nudged him, teasing. "But heads-up: Dr. Aozaki is about my age—and Ritsuko's too!"

"Eh?" Shinji froze at the bombshell. He really hadn't expected the youthful-looking Aoko to be in the same age bracket as "Auntie" Misato.

"Haha, shocked you, didn't I? Being baby-faced is one of my proud 'advantages'!"

Aoko laughed brightly. "I often buy student tickets at certain venues. Jealous?"

"Aoko-senpai, please. Don't corrupt the kid," Maya said, massaging her temples.

"What's the harm?" Aoko waved it off. "Compared to the ammo the military's wasting, my little couponing is a drop in the bucket."

"Oh, right, Shinji-kun—I owe you a thank-you." Aoko beamed. "If not for you, I wouldn't be mooching this meal today~"

"Me? Did I do something that you need to thank me for, Miss Aozaki?" Shinji asked, puzzled.

"Senpai and the others… including me—we in the AI division made a bet on whether you'd agree to pilot Unit-01," Maya said sheepishly, as if apologizing.

"Oh?! So that's why you invited Shinji-kun?" Misato feigned outrage. "Shameless! You all owe yourselves a big glass—bottoms up!"

"Deal." Aoko poured herself a big beer, stood, moved to the center of the room, and spoke once all eyes were on her. "I want to toast the pilot of Unit-01."

"If not for Shinji-kun, we probably wouldn't be here enjoying this meal together," she said in a clear, carrying voice. "If Unit-01 hadn't defeated the Angel, things wouldn't look so good for HQ—or for humanity."

"So this drink is for the hero who saved the world: EVA Unit-01's pilot, the Third Child, Ikari Shinji!"

She raised the hefty stein and chugged it in one go.

"Well said!" One of the coworkers footing the bill stood with his glass. "Sending someone as young as Shinji to the battlefield only shows our failure as adults. I toast our young hero! Cheers!"

"I'm in!"

"Me too!"

Toasts rang out one after another. Something unfamiliar welled up in Shinji's chest—something he'd never felt from his father or anyone else.

"To the hero, Shinji!"