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Forgotten: Sorrows of a Pilot
Chapter six

"This cannot be allowed to happen." Gendo Ikari growled as he balled up the surveillance report on the Third Child. "I have worked far to long and hard to have my plans ruined by a stupid little girl!"
Gendo slammed his fist down on his desk and glared at the small pile of black and white photographs featuring the Third Child and one of the Child Potentials, a girl with pig-tailed hair and freckles. Both the Third Child and the girl were smiling.
Gendo growled again and swept the photographs to the floor. He angrily punched the intercom 'call' button connected to Fuyutsuki's office. "Kozo! Get in here now!"
"Right away sir."
The Supreme Commander of NERV flung himself down into his chair and seethed, desperately wishing for a person to shoot or, baring that, a puppy to kick; a cute puppy with floppy ears. 'The Second Child is to blame for this. When her time comes I will make that bitch pay!'
When the Sub-Commander entered the office Gendo looked up from his desk.
"What do you need?" Kozo asked.
"Suzuhara is no longer a viable Pilot Candidate. Strike his name from all data banks and destroy his Core."
"Who is to be his replacement?"
"The Horaki girl. Contact Marduk and make the changes immediately."
Kozo bowed formally and left to complete his task.
Gendo settled back in his chair. 'Let's see how happy he is when he crushes that little girl with his own hands.' He laced his fingers and propped his elbows on his desk. 'Now if only I could find a puppy.'

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'He's not slouching as much as yesterday.' Asuka thought as she watched Shinji walk onto the school grounds. 'I think our talk last night helped him.'
The second Shinji walked through the School's main gates, Touji and Kensuke, dubbed the idiot duo by most of the female population of the school, spotted Shinji and began weaving their way through the gathered students to get to their friend.
"Do you feel up to talking to them right now?" Asuka asked while nodding towards the approaching Touji and Kensuke.
"No. Not yet." Shinji replied softly.
"Do you want me to get them to back off for a bit?"
"Just don't hurt them, please."
"I won't hurt them physically." Asuka said truthfully. "That's the most I can promise."
"That's good enough, I guess."
Asuka grinned as Touji and Kensuke came closer. Asuka stepped forward to direct their attention away from Shinji.
"He doesn't want to be bothered today, leave him alone."
Touji glared and balled his fists. "Don't tell me what to do, Devil."
"Camera boy isn't the only one who knows how to hack, you know." Asuka said darkly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Touji demanded.
"Nothing. But I do suggest that you don't use your name as the password to your porn files."
Touji paled slightly.
"And I'm sure Section-2 would be very interested in some of the files I've found. Pictures of certain equipment that they believe classified." Kensuke gulped
"I don't believe you." Touji said, though the slight waver in his voice suggested otherwise.
"Maybe I should ask Mayuki and Sakura what they think of your little 'video project'. They'll probably love to know about it."
"I just remembered!" Touji cried while grabbing Kensuke's arm. "Ken and I have something to take care of. Talk to ya later Shin!" HE turned tail and ran, dragging Kensuke behind him.
"Do you really know how to hack?" Shinji asked once his friends had disappeared.
Asuka laughed. "No. I don't. That was a bluff. A well educated bluff, but a bluff all the same. You and I both know how obsessed Kensuke is with anything EVA. Touji doesn't seem smart enough to use anything other than his name as a password. And I know some of the older girls have caught those two trying to record them changing."
"Oh. That was really smart to think of that." Shinji said.
Asuka felt her heart warm at the honest, heartfelt praise from Shinji. "Thanks. We'd better get to class now. We don't want to be late."
Shinji nodded and followed Asuka inside.
'It feels good to hear real praise.' Asuka thought. 'And Shinji always gives real braise, not false words meant only to pacify.'
"Good morning, Asuka." Hikari said, shaking Asuka from her thoughts.
"Good morning, Hikari." Asuka replied and looked at her friend. Her eyes were almost magnetically drawn to Hikari's lips. 'I wonder if they feel the same as in my dream.'
Asuka valiantly fought back the blush that threatened to consume her face as images and feelings from her first girl-centered sex dream rushed to the front of her mind.
"So, what'd you two do after I left?"
"Not much. First we went to the arcade. Did you know that he's really good at racing games? I thought I was good but he beat me every single time we raced."
"Where'd you go after the arcade?"
"We stopped by one of the book stores, spent some time browsing and got a few books each. Then we went to a music store that still sold SDAT tapes."
"Did you get anything there?"
"Shinji bought some new tapes and sheet music. He plays the Cello, did you know that?"
Asuka shook her head. "No, I didn't."
"He says he's not very good, but agreed to let me listen to him play some day. After the music store we went to a clothing store."
Asuka grinned. "Did you model any swimwear or lingerie for him?"
Hikari blushed, but before she could reply the teacher walked in.
Asuka and Hikari quickly took their seats and Hikari preformed her Class Representative duties."
Once the teacher began his usual Second-Impact lecture, Hikari booted up her message system.
{To continue our conversation, no. I did not do any 'modeling' for Shinji. That's not something I'd do on a first date.HH}
{On what date would you consider 'modeling'?ALS}
{I'm not telling.HH}
Asuka smiled. {So what did you do at the clothing store?ALS}
{We just browsed through novelty shirts. I couldn't convince him to buy anything though.HH}
{You really like Shinji, don't you?ALS}
{Yes. I do. Thank you for giving me the chance to be with him.HH}
{That's what friends are for.ALS}
{I'm serious, I can't thank you enough for letting me be with Shinji, even with how you feel about him.HH}
{Damn! How did you know?ALS}
{You're not as subtle as you think you are. I could see how you felt just two months after you got here. I doubt that any of the boys, or Shinji, have know, and they won't find out from me.HH}
{Thank you, Hikari.ASL}
Asuka closed down her chat window and stared at her laptop screen. 'Am I really that bad at hiding my feelings? And how many know?'

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'I can no longer assist Rokubungi.' Rei thought as she watched her fellow pilots in the reflection of one of the room's windows. 'He has perverted Ikari's plans. His designs will lead to the ruination of my children. They must not come to fruition.'
Rei focused her gaze on Asuka, who was gazing at Hikari covertly (to everyone but Rei).
'She is the key to Ikari's plans.'
Rei turned her gaze to Shinji, then Hikari. 'Soon my children, you will be free from the pain of loneliness. I will sure to that.'
Rei suddenly perked up and looked through the window. 'The twelfth of Adam's offspring approaches.'
She stood up the exact second that all three of the pilots cell phones rang. Rei picked up hers and pressed the 'Talk' button.
"An Angel has appeared. Major Katsuragi is en route to pick up the Pilots. Be outside." A NERV technician said.
"Understood." Rei hung up her phone. "Major Katsuragi is on her way." She announced to her fellow pilots.
As the Children left the classroom, the Angel Alert sirens began to blare

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"It's just sitting there." Asuka observed as she watched the black and white striped sphere hovering above Tokyo-3. "Why isn't it attacking?"
"Unknown." Misato said. "Advance on target as ordered."
"Without knowing what it's capable of? That's idiotic!"
"Don't talk back!" Misato snapped. "Advance on target now!"
Asuka snarled and cut off the comm. Channel to the bridge. 'Damn bitch. She wouldn't be so quick to bark orders if she were out here.'
A message window popped up to Asuka's right. "Pilot Soryu," Rei said. "I lack confidence in Major Katsuragi's plan. I feel that harm may come to Pilot Ikari if we follow through with our given orders."
"Why are you telling me this, Ayanami?"
"I have promised to protect Ikari. Allowing harm to come to him through inaction or poor planning will break that promise. I believe that we can prevent harm from Ikari if we disregard Major Katsuragi's plan."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Spread your AT field to full and advise Ikari to do the same. I will attack the Angel myself."
Asuka nodded to Rei, then closed the window. She then opened a message window to Unit-01.
"Hey Shinji, I've got a bad feeling about this. Hold up a minute and spread your AT field to full."
"Okay, if you think that's a good idea."
"I do." Asuka replied.
When both she and Shinji had spread their fields, Asuka heard two sharp cracks of gunfire. The black and white sphere disappeared as Rei's rounds passed through it.
A jet-black shadow suddenly appeared beneath the Angel and began spreading out across the city. The shadow spread nearly half a mile in diameter before stopping, mere feet away from Unit-02 and inches away from Unit-01. The buildings inside the shadow began to sink into the ground.
"What the fuck?" Asuka cried, jumping back away from the edge of the shadow. "What the fuck is going on Misato?" She snapped after re-activating the comm. Window to the bridge.
"We don't know. Al that we do know is that the shadow is the Angel."
"Then what the fucking hell was that thing in the sky?"
"We believe that what we originally deemed the Angel, was actually the Angel's shadow." Misato replied.
'Thank God we broke orders, or Shinji would have been trapped inside that thing, I could have been trapped.

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"This is not in the Scenario." Gendo seethed. 'The sniveling coward should have been taken captive by the twelfth.' He sighed heavily then picked up a camouflaged built-in desk phone. HE punched in a brief code before lifting the phone to his ear.
"The scenario has been altered. Move up the air-strike."
"This is most unpleasant."
"I will deal with the problem on my own."
"See that you do. Failure will not be tolerated."
Gendo slammed the phone down. 'Decrepit old fools.'
"What progress has been made regarding the sacrifice?"
"The Horaki core has been removed from cold storage. The girl will be contacted following the destruction of the current Angel. Unit-03 will be shipped within the month." Fuyutsuki replied.
"Very good. The scenario is still feasible. Killing that girl with his own hand will crush the Third Child's resistance. You are dismissed."
Kozo turned on his heel and left the office. 'You do not even use your own son's name. Have you truly lost your soul, Gendo Ikari?'


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Asuka gazed out over the expanse of the 'Shadow Angel' as she called it. 'I almost lost Shinji. Hikari almost lost Shinji too.' Asuka sent a message prompt to Unit-00.
"What do you need Pilot Soryu?"
"Thank you for saving Shinji from the Angel. I don't know what I'd have done if he had been -"
"No thanks is necessary." Rei interrupted.
"Necessary or not, I'm still thanking you."
"The air-strike will commence in ninety seconds. Spread AT fields to full and brace for impact." Misato ordered over the tac-comm.
Asuka looked up into the sky and saw the glittering specks of approaching bombers. 'This should be one hell of a fireworks show.'

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"Thank you for letting me know, Asuka." Hikari said and hung up her phone.
"Talking to your girlfriend?" Kodama Horaki, Hikari's eldest sister, asked from the living room couch.
Hikari blushed. "No. Not my girlfriend. It was a friend from school letting me know that she and another friend hadn't been hurt in the Angel attack today.
"Oh." Kodama paused. "If they where friends from school, then wouldn't they have been in the school shelters?"
"They weren't at school when the Angel attacked."
Kodama was silent for a moment, then her eyes widened in realization. "They're pilots, aren't they? Your friends I mean."
"How did you-"
Kodama cut her sister off. "I'm just as smart as you are, 'Kari, I just didn't apply myself at school like you do."
"Yes, my friends are pilots, if you must know." Hikari said.
"Isn't Asuka that red head with the great legs that you've got a crush on?"
Hikari blushed so hard she thought her face was going to explode. "Is Kago coming over tonight?"
"I can see that you're trying to change the subject, Kari." Kodama said with a smile. "But I'm feeling generous today and I'll let it pass. No, she won't be coming over tonight. She picked up an extra shift at work. She wanted to get an extra day off for our anniversary next week."
Hikari opened her mouth to reply but the ringing of the doorbell interrupted her from speaking. "I'll get it."
She quickly walked over to the front door and opened it.
A grey-eyed blonde woman was standing on the porch. Two men, in dark suits and black sunglasses stood behind her.
Hikari suddenly felt deeply nervous, and not just because of the intimidatingly tall men.
"Miss Horaki," The blonde said. "We are from NERV. We need to speak with you.