Episode 6: The First Child

Its been another week since the last battle. NERV's technical division was examining the remains of the Angel, analyzing for any valuable data on them.

"It looks like unit-02 was able to penetrate the core without igniting its energy" stated Dr. Murasame as she looked at the data.

"Not to mention that this is the same source of power that generated its light whips" added Dr. Corman. "If I could just-

"Don't you dare touch it, Corman!" Yelled Dr. Ackerman. "If the core cracks with only the slightest touch, it will be useless".

"But...its an intact angel core!" Whined the Corman.

"Quit your whining and act like a man!" Ordered Murasame.

Erika and the captain where visiting the site, just to meet up with Ackerman and check on what was going on.

"From what we've gathered, the angel's take their form based on whatever its core came in contact with before" she stated while looking at the data. "Meaning that this one could have made contact with some sort of insect, judging from its appearance".

"What about the previous angels?" Asked Erika.

"The other one you defeated must have been a dead corpse, but the ones first child fought against also had somewhat of the same appearance as well".

While they were talking, Erika noticed that her father was at the site. He was talking with sub commander Chandler near the angel core.

"Maybe I should talk to him" she thought.

"Another thing we found intriguing was its genetic code" added Ackerman.

"What about it?" Asked Whitehall.

"Its nearly identical as that of the Eva" she explained.

"What?! How?!".

"That's what we're trying to find out" Hilda pointed out.

At school, Erika and Zoe were conversing during their physical education class.

"So you live with a bipedal lizard that acts like a person?" Zoe asked her. "Is he even potty trained?".

"Yep, and he even reads a newspaper!" Third child jokingly pointed out.

Like any other school, the classes are separated between gender. The girls were on the track, while the boys had basketball.

"So, Kenji's also a pilot?" Mentioned Zoe.

"Yeah, but I barely know much about him" third child explained. "He's just so quiet and I sometimes don't even know if he's in class."

"He's been like that ever since he came to Claremont" Zoe added. "Some of the girls found him attractive; they even tried to ask him out".

"Did he accept?".

"He simply said no" Zoe responded. "But I bet they're going to try and ask him again now that they know he's the pilot of a giant robot".

Just as they were talking, some of the boys were observing from afar.

"Man, just look at them!" Pointed put Ramon to the group. "Aren't they just gorgeous?".

"Yeah, they sure have a great bust!" Marty added.

Kenji Murasame was among the boys who were observing. But he wasn't commenting like the others. He was staring at the third child.

"Hey Murasame!" Ramon exclaimed. "What are you lookin' at?".

Kenji then turned his attention to Ramon and Marty.

"I'm thinking" he told them.

"Ah, you were looking at Erika, weren't you?" Marty wondered.

First child didn't say a word and just stared.

"You find her attractive, by any chance?" Ramon suggested.

Murasame ignored them as he kept observing third child. Erika then looked at Kenji as she noticed him.

"Why's he staring at me?" She thought.

Kenji then turned his attention away from her.

"Hey! Mind your own business, jerks!" Shouted Zoe at the boys.

After school, Erika was at HQ for synchronization tests. The results were good enough for piloting.

"That's it for today, Erika" ordered Dr. Ackerman. "You may now leave".

As she was about to step out of the Eva, she noticed Kenji Murasame conversing with her father. The general was smiling.

"He's....smiling?" Third child thought. "He's never smiled since mom died".

Kenji also seemed to be smiling.

"If he's like that with Kenji, then why wasn't he like that with me?".

Later that evening, Erika was the one cooking dinner since the captain doesn't know how to. She prepared spaghetti and meatballs with tomato sauce.

"Since when do you know how to cook?" the Susan asked her.

"Zoe let me borrow a cook book from her house since I'm tired of eating microwaved food all day" she responded.

"So....you don't appreciate my meals?" Whitehall jokingly questioned.

"All I'm saying is that eating frozen pizza and drinking beer is not healthy" third child added.

Once they sat down to eat, Mo-Mo jumped up the chair and began taking bites out of her plate.

"Is it okay for lizard to be eating human food?" Erika asked Susan. "Doesn't he have a diet or something?".

"Well, one time I fed him beef jerky, and nothing happened" answered the captain. "I'm sure he'll be fine since lizards are carnivores".

"Where did she get this lizard?" Third child began wondering.

"Susan, I've been wondering about something?" She asked her again.

"What is it?"

"How long has my dad known Kenji?".

"Well, the commander knew Kenji about 2 years ago, in Matsushiro, Japan" the captain told her. "During his first test, the unit went berserk and the commander himself got him out of the entry plug".

"He saved his life" Erika began thinking. "Is that we's nicer towards him?".

"Do you have feelings for him?" Asked Susan.

"What?"

"Do you have a crush on Kenji?" She asked third child again.

"Of course not! I'm just curious about him" Erika exclaimed. "I mean, we're pilots and I don't even know much about him as a partner".

"Sure" the captain jokingly smirked as she took a sip from her bottle of corona. "By the way, Dr. Ackerman forgot to give him his new ID card. Maybe you could give it to him tomorrow".

The next day, Erika went to Kenji's house. He lived in Simple suburban house with his aunt, doctor Sora Murasame. She knocked the door and rang the doorbell but no answer whatsoever.

"I'll get it" said someone from behind.

It was Sora, she then got the keys and opened the door.

"Sorry to keep you waiting" Dr. Murasame told Erika. "Did you come to see Kenji?".

"Yeah, I came to give him his ID" she responded. "Is he not at home?".

"He is, but he must be taking a shower or something" Sora told her. "Come inside! We don't get much company other than than the captain or Corman".

Erika then took her shoes off as she entered the house.

"You can wait in the living room if you want" the doctor suggested. "I'll be back in just a minute".

As Sora left, Erika couldn't help but look around the house. As she walked around the house quietly, third child found a room with a door opened. She went inside and took a view of it. The room had a single bed with a picture of Mount Fuji hanging over it by the wall. Near the bed was a drawer, which had pictures and origami figures on the top. There were shelves filled with books and a wooden katana on the other side of the room. Next to the shelves was a Japanese painting of a samurai.

"This must be Kenji's room" Erika said to herself as she looked around.

She then looked into the pictures. One of them featured what appeared to be a young Kenji Murasame with a woman. Near the Picture was an origami crane. Erika grabbed it while looking at the image.

"Is that his mother?" She thought.

When she turned around, she saw the half-naked first child right in front of her. He was wearing a towel on the bottom, but his upper body was bare. Erika just stood there, with no idea on what to do next. First child then started walking towards her.

"K-Kenji! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

She all the sudden tripped and fell over him. The towel also fell, revealing that he was wearing a pair of white boxers under it. Erika turned pink as she came face to face with Kenji's somewhat shocked look. There was an atmosphere of silence during that moment.

"Could you please get off me?" he asked.

Erika stood up as he told her.

"I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to enter your room and touch your stuff, honestly!" She exclaimed.

"The crane"

"Huh?".

"Please, put it back were it was."

She put the origami back where it originally was. Kenji then started walking towards the drawer and began to pull out his clothes.

"Why are you here?" He asked third child.

"Huh?".

"What's your reason for coming here?" he asks again.

"Your ID card, Ackerman forgot to give it to you yesterday" she responded as she pulled out the card.

"Leave it on the bed" ordered first child. "Now please leave my room".

Erika left it there and got out of his room. She walked towards the living room when Sora came in with a cup of tea on her hand.

"Everything alright?" Dr. Murasame asked.

"I found Kenji and I gave him his card" she explained to her. "Not trying to be mean or anything, but is he always like that?".

"All serious and cold?" Sora asked Erika.

"Yeah".

"Its just how he is, apparently".

Third child had no clue on how someone could be Show neither emotions or feelings. It felt...unnatural to her. In fact, his silver hair also felt unnatural.

"Is Kenji's mom...Did she?" Erika asked Dr. Murasame.

"Car crash. Kenji was only 8 when it happened" the doctor affirmed.

"I see...".

"It's alright, surely you know how it feels to live without, you know, a mother" Sora reaffirmed.

"What about his father?" Third child asked.

"He never had one, it's...complicated to explain".

Erika then began to remembered the moments she had with her mother before she past away in the accident.

"To live without a mother or a father."

First child then came out from his room, dressed with us usual school attire, but without the vest.

"Aunt Sora, I'm going out for the reactivation of unit-01" Kenji told her while he walked towards the door. "You may join me if you want, third child, you are also expected as well".

"I'll meet you over there" Sora told them. "It was nice talking to you Erika".

"Your welcome, doctor".

Soon, Erika and Kenji walked their way towards HQ.

"You're not going to tell anyone about what happened at your room, right?" She asked him.

"I find it unnecessary to talk about situations like that".

There came a minute of silence between the 2.

"Kenji, do you....have any interests or hobbies?" She asked again.

"I practice martial arts and kendo, it helps me control unit-01 for combat" he simply responded.

Another silent moment passed by.

"Tell me, Do you trust him?" Kenji asked.

"Who?".

"Your father, do you trust him?" He asked again.

Erika was surprised that he had asked her such question.

"To be honest....I don't trust him" she responded. "He never cared in his entire for me until now. To him, I'm nothing more than a tool".

Kenji stopped walking and faced third child. He looked serious, almost brooding in a way.

"If you don't trust your father, then why even bother piloting the Evangelion?" He pointed out.

"What?".

"He's in charge of us, there shouldn't be a reason why not trust him" he states as he leaves.

Erika just stood still as she heard him say that.

"What could he mean by that?" She wondered.

Back at the hangars, unit-01 was getting ready for its reactivation. Its silver colored armor shined brightly as it was getting online. Its head had a horn and its face was topped red with white and gray at the bottom.

"First connection online" announced miller. "Commencing synchronization".

It's eyes light up bright yellow.

"Unit-01 has been activated, no errors have been shown" lieutenant Edwards stated.

"Kenji, everything all right in there?" Asked the commander.

"Yes sir" first child responded.

"Good".

Erika began to hear the way her father talked to him.

"He's...having a conversation with him. How could he have a conversation with him, yet never talk to me, his own daughter?".

She felt anger and jealousy on how he treated the first child. All the sudden, sub-commander Chandler stepped into the room.

"Sir, an unidentified flying object was spotted over the Colorado deserts, we think it's the 7th angel" he exclaimed. "Should we prepare units-01 and 02 ready?".

"Unit-01 is not ready for battle" responded Langford. "Prepare unit-02 instead".

He then turned his eyes towards his daughter.

"What are you waiting for soldier? Get moving!" He ordered.

"Yes, sir" muttered Erika.

She got inside unit-02 and was launch towards the outskirts of the city. Erika was equipped with an assault rifle from the previous battle as she Looked for the the target.

"Where's the angel? All I see is a thunderstorm" asked third child.

"That thunderstorm is the angel" Whitehall explained. "It's hidden inside it".

"I'm approaching the target then" she stated to her superiors.

As she ran towards the storm, she could see a shinning red bright light. Unit-02 pulled the trigger and began firing at the lights. It was no use, the A.T field was probably blocking the shots. Erika then went underneath the storm and saw what was inside. The angel was a crystal like being with a giant core inside of it.

"Energy signatures are being detected near the target!" Exclaimed Lt. Edwards "their rising at high numbers!".

"Captain, I think the angel is preparing to strike!",

As unit-02 got closer and closer, the inside was getting brighter and brighter.

Erika! Get out of there, now!" Yelled the captain.

But it was too late, a lightning bolt struck unit-02, frying its systems.

"I can't move!" She shouted.

All the sudden, giant heat ray shot from the inside of the angel. Unit-02 was down to the ground, burned across its armor. Erika was screamed in pain feeling the burning heat from the inside. Everything turned neon red.