She was lying on her back, her right arm raised up and under her head, the left down beside her outside the bed-covers. She couldn�t sleep and she didn�t know why. She was perfectly calm, hadn�t drunk any stimulant-based beverages, and hadn�t even drunk coffee for the second half of the day. There was no reason scientifically for her to be awake.

I have a restless soul, she realized calmly. She sat up in the bed and sighed. She pulled the covers off her legs and walked over to her small kitchen before getting a glass of milk and sipping at it at the kitchen counter. It wouldn�t help, really, she knew that, but it was a very soothing drink all the same.

She sat with both her hands around the cup, her elbows resting on the counter, and her head bowed as silent tears started to pour out of her eyes. �Just a replacement� that�s all I am to him�� her frame curled up into itself as she let out a choked sob. �Just a replacement��

The phone ringing woke Cirus up abruptly. He sat up in his bed and leaned across to his cellular phone on the bedside table before picking it up and flipping it open.

�Hello, Mr. Trent,� a calm masculine voice came over the phone.

Cirus� face calmed to a flat fa�ade and he straightened his back. �You picked an odd time to call, I have to say,� he replied in a matching tone to his demeanor.

�It works better for us this way,� the voice said back.

�Alright, so what is this for?� Cirus asked, looking up and out of his window as he asked the question.

�New orders. Don�t interfere with Ikari�s business for the next week or so,� the voice answered.

Cirus� brow creased. �Why not?�

�You don�t usually question orders, Mr. Trent. Is something wrong at the site?� the voice asked back with mild curiosity, though Cirus could hear the edge behind it. An edge that indicated whatever it was that was �wrong� would be quickly destroyed, be that Cirus himself or anyone else.

�No, not at all,� Cirus answered easily. �But you have to admit the orders are rather sudden and odd.�

�Not my job to think, just to relay orders.�

Cirus smiled faintly. �Now that is the biggest load of crap I�ve heard in a long time,� he replied wryly.

The man on the other end chuckled in response. �True, but the orders are genuine. Code key zeta-tri-omega,� he said.

Cirus nodded slightly. Valid alright, of course I didn�t doubt that. �Are there any exceptions?�

�No,� came the flat response.

Cirus allowed himself a wince privately. �Acknowledged,� he replied calmly. The phone clicked on the other end and the tone switched back to a normal dial tone. Cirus hung up and slowly sank back into his bed. His stomach was suddenly very sick, but he ignored it and tried to sleep again.

The orders deeply disturbed him, and more than they should have. Aside from just being down right odd, he was personally involved now. Ikari wanted Rei, and now he officially was sanctioned by SEELE to take her and Cirus couldn�t get involved. The only thing that let Cirus fall back asleep was the faint hope that Ikari didn�t know about his new orders. And that was faint hope indeed.

That morning, Shinji slid his bedroom door open and leapt back startled when he saw Asuka right there, her hand out as if to grab the door�s handle when it was closed. Her cheeks were slightly pink as she calmly let her hand fall back to her side and she looked down her nose at him. �I just don�t want you to get any ideas about last night,� she explained plainly.

Shinji vigorously shook his head. �Absolutely not, Asuka,� he replied quickly. After knowing the girl for as long as he did he knew what to say in response to that statement.

Asuka�s head fell back down to a normal eye-to-eye level with apparent approval before she marched off back to the kitchen. It was Misato�s turn to make breakfast anyway.

Shinji closed his door behind him and walked to and then into the kitchen himself before sitting down at the table across from Asuka, Misato busily working at the stove. This surprised Shinji, but he tried not to stare.

Misato looked at an open cookbook as she stirred a pot busily with her hands. Her tongue was stuck out to the side firmly pressed between her lips as she concentrated on two things at once.

Shinji looked from her back to Asuka, who shrugged and then they both kept watching.

Misato stopped stirring, poured some hot water into the pot, and then stirred some more. She then slowly stepped back, hopped forward to adjust something, and then eased back again. ��I� I think it�s working,� she said slowly before turning around to the two of them with a broad smile.

�Uh� Miss Misato�?� Shinji led off, pointing at the pot numbly.

Misato abruptly whirled back around to the pot in an almost frantic state before calming down with a nervous chuckle and looking back at him as she scratched the back of her head. �Heh, thought you were going to say it was on fire or something, Shinji,� she replied lightly, but her tone was still a bit frazzled.

�Oh-no, sorry,� Shinji said quickly.

Misato waved away his apology. �No, no, that�s alright. It�s oatmeal,� she said with another big smile.

A slightly manic smile started to creep across Shinji�s lips and Asuka frowned in a way to prevent herself from laughing.

�O-oatmeal?� Shinji asked back slowly.

Misato frowned. �Yes, yes. Oatmeal! I couldn�t find anything else to start trying to cook with!� she explained firmly. �So you two are going to be the first to taste it.�

Asuka and Shinji looked at each other in sudden panic before looking back at Misato.

�Uh- Miss Misato, I had a very large dinner I can�t-�

�I was very full after dinner, Misato-�

Misato cut them both off with a glare. �You just need to try it! That�s all! One bite!� she responded with furiously waving arms.

Asuka and Shinji looked at each other again before slowly looking up and nodding to Misato.

�O-one bite then,� Shinji replied.

�Right� one bite,� Asuka added.

Misato nodded her head approvingly before turning back to the stove. After a few moments she�d poured some out into two bowls and slapped them down on the table in front of Asuka and Shinji before sitting down with a big half-smile. �Right, here we go,� she said as she settled in to watch.

Asuka and Shinji warily poked their spoons into the oatmeal and then scooped some up to each of their mouths. They each gulped before quickly jamming the substance into their mouths, chewing, and swallowing.

After a brief moment of silence, the two of them looked at each with mildly widened eyes before looking at Misato. �Not bad, Misato,� Asuka commented.

�Yeah, not too bad at all,� Shinji added.

Misato let out a howl of delight and reared up in her chair before catching herself from falling backward in it. Once she steadied herself she smiled broadly again. �I knew I could do it! Just wait till I show Kaji!�

Asuka frowned, but continued eating quietly as Shinji contented himself with the food also. It wasn�t the best oatmeal in the world, but it wasn�t half-bad. Of course, Shinji realized, he�d never had oatmeal before�

At close to half an hour before noon Misato was standing just outside the border of what remained of the 37th district. Her face was molded in a doubtful fa�ade as she eyed the torn up and jagged metal. The destruction stopped almost precisely at the border of the district, which was something only an Angel or an Eva was capable of.

�Catastrophic,� Ritsuko�s calm voice commented from behind Misato and to her right.

Misato through a look over her shoulder at her friend. �Yeah, it sure is. At least it�s just one district though. It could have been much, much worse,� she finished as she looked back to the wreckage.

Ritsuko stepped up beside Misato on the street, a databoard curled up in her left arm. �The damage goes through fifty percent of the cover as well as destroying the district completely. It will take a very long time to cut out the whole thing and rebuild,� she explained.

�Thank G�d we evacuated,� Misato said quietly.

�Mmm, thank G�d indeed, Major,� Cirus� voice came suddenly from her left.

Misato looked up and saw the young man leaning against a light pole just outside the range of the destruction, one foot on the pole and the other on the ground with his arms crossed over his chest and his head bowed. �What are you brooding about?� she asked dryly.

Cirus raised his head and looked out over the sea of twisted metal and wires, his eyebrows calmly raised to expand his vision. �The Angels are adapting themselves to our environment. This one conceivably could have made it down to NERV itself if it hadn�t chosen to take a form,� he explained calmly.

Ritsuko hummed thoughtfully. �He�s correct, in theory there was nothing stopping the Angel from going straight down to Terminal Dogma,� she replied.

Misato�s shoulders slumped. �You two certainly know how to ruin a good morning, don�t you?�

Cirus looked back at Misato with a flashed smile. �My apologies, what did we ruin?�

Misato looked back up with a weak smile and a shrug. �Oh I just cooked for the first time this morning without it being a disaster.�

Cirus� smile became more permanent as it broadened. �Now that is something, I�m sorry for spoiling it.�

Ritsuko raised one eyebrow in surprise. �Yes, very. What was it?�

Misato smiled lightly. �Oatmeal.�

Cirus and Ritsuko looked at each other for a moment before looking back at Misato. �Oatmeal?� they both asked at once.

Misato frowned and her stature slouched. �Not like I need your two�s approval,� she grumbled quietly.

�Estimated time for completion of repairs is a minimum of eight months, Sir,� Maya reported calmly from her standing position before Ikari in the command center, a databoard curled in her right arm.

Fuyutsuki grimaced. �That long? That leaves us vulnerable to an Angel�s assault,� he replied.

Maya nodded. �Yes, sir. I�m afraid it lowers are defense ratio to about� eight-zero point zero-zero-zero-zero-one percent, sir,� she responded as she checked down at her databoard.

�We may have to speed-up the schedule, Fuyutsuki,� Ikari said quietly.

Fuyutsuki hid his flash of sobriety and remained calm in his appearance. �I doubt that will be necessary. This is a very sensitive operation,� he replied at the same volume.

Ikari visibly ignored the comment, but had indeed listened. �Miss Ibuki, thank you for the report. Return to your work,� he ordered calmly.

�Roger!� Maya replied with a firm salute after switching her databoard to the other arm and quickly running off.

�I understand your need for success, but we can�t afford to stumble with this, Ikari,� Fuyutsuki commented.

�Correct. We shall see what transpires,� Ikari replied calmly as he watched the beginnings of reconstruction from the main screen.

Kaji got down on his haunches and picked up a loose piece of metal. There were countless thousands of pieces like it, but for some reason he�d just chosen to stop and examine this one in district thirty-seven.

The majority of the sub-command crew, being Misato, Ritsuko, and himself, were out to help with the clean-up, explanation, and research into what had happened with the thirty-first Angel.

Quite a few more than seventeen, he commented to himself with a weak wry smile as he dropped the piece of metal and stood back up. He looked around and saw Misato discussing something on some blueprints with a construction chief. They were both pointing firmly at two different places until the construction worker finally gave in with a wide-armed gesticulation and walked off with the blueprints.

Kaji walked up behind Misato with a wry smile. �Still as bull-headed as ever, Katsuragi?� he asked in a quiet tone.

Misato spun around and relaxed. �Kaji� don�t do that,� she said as she calmed down.

Kaji raised both hands in an apology. �I didn�t mean to. So how are things going?� he asked, looking around.

Misato looked around with him, her face doubtful. �Slowly fast. Things keep popping up to slow us down. The water system will take another month on top of our previous estimates to fix.�

Kaji chuckled slightly. �Well, Angels certainly know how to wreak havoc, don�t they?�

Misato sighed wearily. �No argument on that.�

�So I take it the pilots are all at school?� Kaji asked lightly, trying to brighten the mood in the abysmal environment.

She nodded. �All but Cirus, of course.�

�Ah yes, where is he?�

Misato shrugged. �I don�t know. Probably off with Ritsuko, he seems to have gotten an interest in her research.�

Kaji�s smile became more genuine. �What an odd group of people we have gathered here, mmm, Katsuragi?�

�Yes, very odd group of people,� Misato agreed as she looked out over the destroyed landscape and machinery.

Misato was sitting at her desk in her bedroom leaning back in her chair and holding her head up with her hands as she looked out the window. The reconstruction of district 37 had her rather depressed, but she kept herself cheered up by looking out at the bright sunny day. If you can�t enjoy the little things in life, what�s the point? she asked herself lightly.

Her phone rang, coming to her ears as an electronic double-beep, and she picked it up. �Yes? Misato here,� she said. Her face slackened and she sat upright. �Is this some kind of joke?� she asked in a warning manner. �You sure?� she continued. She smiled at the response and practically leapt out of her chair before slamming the phone back down. She ran out of her room, grabbing her jacket as she blurred past the coat-rack and out the door. Shinji will be so happy!

Shinji sighed as he walked up to the door to Misato�s apartment. He had tons of homework to do and was not looking forward to any of it as he stepped into the entryway and took off his shoes. �Miss Misato, I�m home,� he called out.

�I�m in the kitchen, Shinji, come on in!� she called back.

Shinji frowned at the interruption, he wanted to get started on his work so he could get it done, but proceeded to the kitchen and walked in. His eyes widened and he went a little numb as Misato leapt up and shouted, �Surprise!�

�Surprise!� two other people shouted.

Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida waved at him energetically. Toji was in a wheel chair, his black jacket with the white band across the chest and shoulders, and his old wing-breaker pants still attiring him, but his big grin was broad as ever. His crew-cut black hair and slightly tanned skin distinguished him from his pale companion.

�Toji! Kensuke! You�re back!� Shinji shouted, his own smile blossoming rapidly as he ran in.

Toji laughed uproariously. �Thought you were rid of us, didn�t you? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!!!�

Shinji looked from Kensuke to Toji and back. �But� but I thought you two had moved away?�

Kensuke adjusted his glasses with a wry smile brightening his paler eyes, his messy, longish pale-brown hair frazzled as usual. �We managed to negotiate a deal with are parents. Toji�s sister was transferred to NERV�s hospital, since he was an employee, and we�re both going back to school!� �So you�re both really back? For good?� Shinji asked, his eyes widening at the realization.

�Well of course we are, Big Shot! Someone has to keep your ego from exploding,� Toji answered with an evil grin.

As the three of them continued to laugh and talk Misato leaned back against the counter in the kitchen and smiled. She could see the joy in Shinji�s face and it made her happy that he was happy. She sighed appreciatively.

�So how�s Shinji been treating you, Miss Misato?� Toji asked with a raised eyebrow.

Misato smiled and looked up. �Just fine, as always.�

Kensuke and Toji looked at each other and then at Shinji. Kensuke leaned in closer, his white, buttoned shirt ruffling a bit. �So is� she still here?� he asked quietly.

Shinji looked at him quizzically. �Who?�

�You know� her,� Toji asked.

Before Shinji could ask why again a scream resounded from the entrance to the kitchen.

�Not you two again!!!� Asuka roared, her book bag flung to the side in panic.

Toji and Kensuke both slapped their foreheads. �Crap�� they said in unison.

�Oh� right� her,� Shinji realized at last.

A few minutes before class started, Shinji, Kensuke, and Toji were clustered near the center of the classroom talking. Shinji was busy retelling all the battles they�d missed. Toji had been given a special space for his wheel chair instead of having a desk, so he was perfectly fine.

�This Cirus kid sounds like an ego, heh, heh, heh, almost as bad as you, Big Shot,� Toji replied to Shinji�s latest reiteration.

�Actually he�d not too bad a guy, even Ayanami seems to get along with him,� Shinji replied.

Kensuke and Toji�s faces slackened. �Wha?! Her?� Kensuke asked in disbelief.

�No way!� they both said with vigorous shaking of their heads.

�No, it�s true. They even danced,� Shinji persisted.

�Ayanami�?� Toji led off in bewilderment.

�Danced?� Kensuke finished the question.

�Yeah, she was good too,� Shinji replied, scratching the back of his head.

More students started to fill the room, including Rei and Asuka. Rei sat down at her usual place near the window and Asuka sat down in a huff on the far side of the room. She hadn�t gotten over the two of them being back yet.

�Suzuhara!� another female shouted happily as she ran in.

Toji looked up and smiled. �Ah, Class Rep!� he called back as she hurried up to them.

Shinji pointed at Toji with a questioning look, then switched to Hikari, and then back again, his mouth opened slightly. ��You two�?�

Kensuke shook his head at Shinji. �You really are dense sometimes, Shinji.�

Shinji looked at Kensuke. �But��

Kensuke shrugged. �Just accept it.�

Shinji sighed and sat down at his desk. Kensuke did the same, wrinkling his nose as he turned on his personal computer.

�I can�t believe all the really cool battles we missed, eh Toji?� he asked dryly.

Toji sighed. �Egh, yeah. Sucks too, I was looking forward to seeing some more Angel beating. Especially after what happened to me�� he finished coldly.

The reminder made Shinji shiver, but he dismissed the memory quickly. He hadn�t actually done it, he�d just been a witness, like everyone else� Powerless to stop it.

As the teacher entered Hikari Horaki stood and announced that everyone should do so, bow, and sit back down. They all did of course and class commenced.

Rei paid little attention to the teacher�s lecture on the Second Impact. She knew it well enough herself and was tired of hearing of it. It had only caused her to be created for more pain.

Her brow creased as she realized it would have almost meant never meeting Cirus if she had never been created. That was not something she would wish for, she� enjoyed his company.

A small electronic beep from her desk�s computer got her attention and she calmly looked down at the screen with her red eyes.

It was a message from Toji that said: �You like the new pilot, mmm?�

Rei�s brow creased again. She looked up and over at Toji who raised his eyebrows back at her calmly, as if he was silently asking the question again. She looked back down at the screen and typed in: �If you wish to call it that.�

She saw Toji�s shoulders shake with a silent chuckle before, �What do you call it?�, appeared on the screen.

Rei was tired of it and so ignored the second question, continuing to stare off out the window. Another beep made her cast a sidelong glance at the screen.

�I didn�t mean to offend you, I apologize,� was written there.

Rei�s brow creased yet again as she finally typed a response and sent it silently before looking back out the window.

�You did not, but please leave me alone.�

She received no further replies, which relieved her.