Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is owned by Gainax and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro.
"Interesting..."- Nightmare talking.
"Why me..." -Ordinary speaking
'And so it begins.' -Nightmare thoughts
'Aw hay.' -Ordinary thoughts
'Shut it, Naoko.'- Evangelion telepathy
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After he had seen Miyuki off to her mother, Shinji stood just behind the microphone. While his face did not show it, inside he was sweating. 'This... is more terrifying then facing my first Angel for some reason...'
Nightmare softly mentally smiled at this before she spoke up. 'Do not fret, Little Prince. I have taught you what you need to know about public speaking and how to direct the conversation. And if you need help or get stuck, I am always here to give you advice.'
As he took a look at Misato from where she stood on the opposite side, Shinji listened with one ear while Kodama gave the conference as he mentally nodded. 'Thanks for that, Nightmare.'
Once they got to the questions, one of the reporters stood up and introduced himself before he launched into his question. "Pilot Ikari, what's it like being a horse... sorry, unicorn with wings?"
Shinji hummed as he thought it over. "It's... rather different I got to say. Not bad really, just different." He then smiled. "Especially as I need to watch not to knock down any vases." The alicorn then waved around his hoof. "I will say that I am rather comfortable in my skin at the moment if that is what you meant." He then pointed at another who asked if there was a danger of his fellow pilots joining him. "No, what occurred to me was, from my understanding, a perfect storm which can't be replicated at all by any means. Something in the vacinty of a billion to one at least."
Another reporter then stood up and looked over her notes. "Pilot Ikari, I have heard that you healed a young girl in the hospital from extreme injuries along with her brother, one of your fellow pilots. Is there any truth to this and how did you do so?"
Since this was one of the questions that Nightmare and he had rehersed, Shinji answered before Kodoma could interrupt. "Yes, I did. Though there was already a large amount of healing done by the medical staff at NERV. I merely finished up their work. As to how..." He made a show of floating over a glass of water and filling it before he looked at the stunned audiance. "Magic." He was then asked if he was going to heal any more children who were injured by Angel attacks. "If needed, I will of course do so."
As a male reporter stood up, he gave Shinji a sneer. "You should be rather... informed about the legends on unicorns by now. Any particular attraction to virgins?"
Shinji narrowed his eyes before he glanced at Misato, who clinched her fists while in his head, Nightmare raged. "Well, whatever do you mean by that, Sir? After all, I was your somewhat average teenage boy before my... accident." He then smiled thinly. "Well, besides the whole driving a giant robot bit." He felt a stab of pleasure as it shot through him while the reporter sat down with a flushed face to the laughs of some of those near him. Shinji then pointed at another. "You?" The reporter asked about whether it affects his ability to pilot. "Well, besides having needed a new plugsuit and needing to take longer showers, not too much is different there."
One of the women stood up. "Pilot Ikari, Joan of USA Times, has there been much progress at changing you back?"
The alicorn frowned and hummed in thought. "Hmm... I do not know how much I can speak on the matter, but there is work being done though it will be a while before I become human once more." He then shook his head. "Not that I particularly mind much."
Joan frowned at that as she sniffed a chink in his armor. "Does that mean that you are happier in your current form then you were as a human?"
Shinji was caught off guard for a moment before he answered as Nightmare whispered to him. "Happier? No." He then gestured with a hoof. "I have made peace with the fact that I will be like this for what is likely to be a long time yet though." He then turned to another reporter who asked if his new form affected his relationships with his fellow pilots, collegues, and former classmates. "For the most part, it has been not been negative outside of things like being more careful or taking up more room when I sit down. As for classmates, I would not say former as it has been decided that I will continue my formal education at school."
At the mutters that rose, Kodama walked up and cleared her throat. "It has been decided that despite Pilot Ikari's new species status, that for us he should be afforded all the rights and privalages of a person. This has been taken up and cleared at the highest levels of government. Among those is the right to an education so that he can one day continue out in the world." She then glanced at him. "In fact, considering that he is still a fine cello player, the University of Music and Arts in Vianna is considering whether to extend a scholarship to him once he gradurates from high school."
Another reporter then stood up. "Warrant Officer Ikari, as a front line officer, what steps have been taken to aid you in your current condition and to help deal with the stresses of your job?"
As he drank some water, Shinji considered this before he set it down and answered. "NERV personnel have gone out of their way to help me cope, including such things as making sure that I have clothing that fits as you can see and making sure that I can eat well and not poison myself."
It was then that one of the reporters asked a question that no one had wanted answered. "How much training did you have before your first battle? And how well did you think that you did?"
Both Kodama's and Misato's eyes flew open and they were about to answer when Shinji did. "I had time for only a small amount of training before the Third Angel arrived in Tokyo-3 you see, it arrived at a very inconvient time for everyone involved." He then glanced at the cameras. "In fact, at one point my fellow pilot and Warrant Officer, Ayanami Rei, was actually going to pilot and tried to leave her bed despite having grivious injuries from a previous incident. The image of her struggling to leave her bed while covered in bloody bandages is one that has stuck with me." He then gestured at Misato. "Of course, then Captain Katsuragi managed to get me to my Evangelion in time before Rei had a chance to go farther then she had."
The reporter then leaned forward. "And how well do you think that you did?"
Shinji sighed and shook his head. "With how little time we had spent on training for me by the point that the Angel arrived, I personally believe that I should have done much better then I did, but as well as could have been expected I am told." One of them then asked what his response would be to being ordered to stand aside for an uninjured human. "If ordered, I would of course stand aside as any soldier would. Is it likely though? Not really as very few are capable of piloting Evangelions and there's a greater chance of them using one of the newer models for a hypothetical pilot then to replace me until we have a much greater pool of candidates."
A male reporter then stood up. "Are you and your copilots in a relationship? If so, how have they taken their lover's change?"
As he struggled to keep his wings from snapping out and while he ignored Nightmare's cackles in his head, Shinji coughed into one leg. "If by relationship, you mean as three good friends, then yes. As for how they have taken their friend's change... it was as well to be expected." Then one of them asked how do they know if he is not dead and the being before them is not an Angel plant, which caused Misato to shake in rage. "The make up of my cells and genetic material is completely different from any found from the Angels while at the same time being completely comparable with any form of Earth life."
One then coughed as she stood. "Hello, Mister Ikari. Alice McDonald, BBC. What in your opinion is the best part of being a unicorn?"
Shinji thought this over a bit before he smiled. "Well, besides doing magic, the best parts is how fast and far I can now run as well as flying. I have never felt as free as I have when I fly under my own power." He was then asked if he was attracted to horses. "If I may answer that question with one of my own, how many here find themselves attracted to chimpanzees? Because it is roughly the same for me." It was then that Shinji spotted Miyuki as she raised her hand. "Yes, Miyuki-chan?"
She just smiled as a happy girl could. "Ikari-san, can I have another ride on your back? And how do you have such a fluffy mane?"
As the room filled with chuckles, Shinji let go with one of his own. "Perhaps later, Miyuki-chan. As to my mane..." He gave her a wink. "Lots and lots of brushies." He then gestured to another reporter who asked how many virgins were in the room. "At least one." The reporter then asked how he knew. "Mainly because I am one. Now, please, no more virgin questions, especially with a child present."
A slightly geeky looking Japanese reporter then stood up. "When you were growing up was your best friend a unicorn? What is your relationship with the Northern Star?"
Shinji just blinked. "Um..." He then shook it off. "I'll just say no to that... next question?" One of the reporters then asked him what has been the hardest part of his change. "Hmm... that is rather a tough one..." The Third Child rubbed his chin in thought. "I guess it's a toss up between no longer having fingers, though magic makes up for part of that, and my body shape in general. Makes some forms of furniture relatively uncomfortable."
One of the english speaking ones stood up. "Pilot Ikari, how has your transformation affected your taste in foods? Anything in particular?"
It took a second of thought, but Shinji soon answered. "I've found myself liking various vegetables and fruits much more then I originally had. Also, very sweet or salty foods are something that I have found myself craving from time to time."
A female one then stood up, whom Shinji recognized from the local paper. "Pilot Ikari, Kawakaze- Tokyo Guardian. Would you do a column for us detailing your day to day life?"
Kodama leaned forward and gave a thin smile. "Please send any and all such requests to the NERV PR department for discussion please."
One of the reporters then commented that a change such as he went through would have destroyed many and asked how he coped for the first few days. As he grimaced, Shinji rubbed the back of his neck. "I... will admit that I freaked out a little for those first few days but..." He straightened some as he looked at the cameras. "My friends helped me pull through it." Another reporter then asked if he had gained any health problems. "No, in fact I'm as healthy as..." He then chuckled. "Well, as healthy as a horse."
As various people chuckled, one of them stood up. "You've implied that you are rather happy or comfortable in your new form. Is there a chance that you might change farther? And if so, what would you change?"
Shinji frowned for a moment before he answered. "Unless they turn me back, there's very little chance of me being farther changed as I understand it. As to what I might change if I could..." He raised a hoof. "I would like to be bipedal once more and with hands I suppose. More human sized as well."
A man then stood up. "I have heard a rumor that you have a symbol of some kind on your hindquarters which just appeared. Is this true and if so, how did it get there?"
Before Shinji could answer, Misato stepped forward and spoke. "Yes, he does have a symbol, but it seems that it was caused to appear subconciously for him. Much like a person might pale when frightened." Misato then continued to answer some questions such as what precautions have been taken to prevent the same fate from befalling the other pilots and how Shinji's transformation have affected their work. "... And to finish, Pilot Ikari, while looking different, is the same teenager that I have known over the past few months."
Miyuki's mother then stood up. "Warrant Officer Ikari, you and your fellow pilots have become an inspiration to your fellow youth. Is there anything that you might want to say to them?"
Shinji just nodded. "Yes." He then took a drink of water and cleared his throat. "No matter what happens or what you go through, keep moving forward no matter what."
One of them then asked if his transformation had to do with either an Angel attack or the Evangelions, which caused Kodama to lean forward once more. "I'm afraid that is classified at the moment and information pretaining to that will be released at a later date."
An American reporter then stood up. "Pilot Ikari, what are your plans once the war with the Angels is over? Especially now that you are no longer human?"
For a few moments, silence fell onto the room before the alicorn began to speak. "I... have not given much thought as to that. At one time, I was thinking of becoming a baker or a cook. Possibly a musician. But now...?" He shook his head. "I do not yet know what I may do, but I will find something I suppose..."
_______________________________________________________________________
Fuyutsuki watched with a frown as the press conference continued on the screen that they were watching. "He's handling himself rather well for his first news conference..." He then narrowed his eyes. "Almost too well..."
In the chair beside him, Gendo slowly nodded. "Yes, quite well indeed..." He hummed as he considered the answers. "I believe that the coaching that the PR department gave him after the... incident where it came out that he is a pilot is paying the dividends now. It is also likely that he has been coached through this by the PR department and they should have outfitted him with an earbud to feed him answers."
A scowl crossed the elderly man's face. "Yes... the coaching." He glanced at Gendo for a moment. 'Which was mostly them ripping into the boy for exposing classified information like that...' Fuyutsuki sighed. "Shame that the same cannot be said for the Second Child." At his superior's nod, his frown came back. "Still... I can't put my finger on it but something seems rather.... odd..."
Gendo frowned behind his hands after a moment. "Alert Section 2 to boost surveillance on the Third Child where and when it is possible." The sight of the young girl as she burst into tears from one of the other reporters comments to her and then Shinji coming over before he comforted her reflected in Gendo's glasses. "Still... this has paid quite the amount of benefits for the PR aspect of NERV beyond what could have been expected."
Beside him, the old professor rubbed his chin. "True..." He then watched with a slight smile as Shinji hugged the small girl with one wing. "The sight of him with that girl will boost both our and his image. His words even more so..." Fuyutsuki then frowned. "Though the rather large lie regarding his first battle could come back to haunt us..."
The Supreme Commander of NERV smirked. "And which parts were lies? While he was rather creative with the truth, nothing he said was a lie..." He then leaned back. "Lets take the example of his training. He was trained before the battle."
The old man rubbed his face from tiredness. "If one can call just giving him some verbal instructions 'Training', Ikari."
Said man gave the slightest of nods. "Indeed, and yet instruction is training." The light from the screen glinted off his glasses as he continued to watch...
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As she ignored the heavy rain, a soaked teen slammed her fist into the concrete wall of a building, not having felt the skin on her knuckles get cut. "Why... why the hell doesn't the baka care...?" She fell back onto a crate and held her face in her hands, heedless of the blood that mixed with the rain and dripped from her hands. 'He's not a doll... he's some kind of pet! Why can't he see that!?' Asuka then placed her head on her knees while she curled up. 'Why... why... why... WHY!?'
As she sat there, the memories of Shinji when he returned drift though her head as she felt anger and disgust once more rise up.
But underlying all that was another emotion. One that despite every thing that she had tried, Asuka could not smother as it wound it's icy tendrils through her gut.
Pure, unadulterated, fear.
So deep in her thoughts she was that she hadn't heard the footsteps approaching nor noticed a shadow until the rain stopped above her as an umbrella was held above her head. "Ah... and there you are kind."
Asuka's head snapped up to see a slightly husky man who stood beside her. "Onkle...?"
He just smiled past his mustache before he reached down with one beefy hand and pulled the teen to her feet. "Ja. Seems that after a recent... incident..." He frowned some before he continued. "They decided to check all the Evangelions. And being as I was the head technician in Berlin for Unit-02, that meant I was asked to come here to oversee it." A sigh then escaped him as a look of pain crossed his face. "I did work on it alongside your... mother to build it, after all."
The red haired teenager looked at him for a moment and then hugged him tightly as she spoke in German. "{I missed you... Onkle Kristian...}"
He just nodded and hugged her. "{And I you, nichte.}" Lt. Kristian looked her over a bit and then reached down and looked her hands and frowned. "{Let us go to my temporary quarters so that we can get you dry and patch your hand.}"
Slightly surprised, Asuka looked down at her bloody knuckles and frowned. "{Er... they don't actually hurt...}"
He just nodded as he began to guide her with one arm around her shoulders. "{Of course not. You're a strong woman after all, much like your Grossmutter...}" Kristian then gave her a knowing look. "{And I have brought some treats from the Vaterland for you.}"
Asuka looked up at him for a moment which let him see her troubled expression before she slowly nodded. "{Thank you.}"
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Having heated the milk on the stove, Kristian waited as the bar of chocolate melted in the pot as he watched Asuka at the table, where she sat with a towel around her shoulders. As he watched, his mind went back over their shared pasts. He had worked alongside her mother on Project E and afterwards had become the head tech for Unit-02. After her mother's death and her father's estrangement, he had stepped in as an uncle to her of sorts. For a brief moment, he sighed as the image of a much younger girl was overlaid on the older Asuka's image. 'Damn this world and what has been done...'
At the table, Asuka frowned as she examined her hands, the knuckles now bandaged. So deep she was in thought that she nearly missed the sounds of two mugs being set down. She then turned to watch as her uncle poured the milk in followed by the melted chocolate, finished up with sweetner and a dollop of cream. As he set down hers, she nodded. "Danke."
Kristian then set down a plate of some biscuits. "{Here, have some Springerle. I know that you like them.}" After he sat down, he watched as she picked one up and dipped it into her drink as he folded his hands. "{Now then... mind telling this old man why he found you beating a poor, defenceless wall in the rain?}"
For a brief moment, Asuka stiffened before she slumped as she took a bite of her biscuit. "{You know what happened with the baka?}" At his nod, she continued. "{It's... it's not the baka, yet everyone seems to think and treat it as such!}"
He slowly nodded. "{And how can you be sure that it is not the young man?}"
A fist slammed down onto the table as Asuka glared. "{It can't be him! It just can't!}" She then looked to the side. "{Not only is it not human... but it's not acting like him!}" She tightened her grip on the handle of the mug and growled. "{The ba-baka would have ne-never accepted it! Hell, he would have broken down!}"
As he stirred his hot chocolate slowly, Kristian nodded. "{I see...}" He then raised an eyebrow as he took a sip as he knows that his next words would set her off. "{And how would you know that he has not had a breakdown? Word is that you have not seen him at any point except at the start and during Sync tests.}"
Both of her palms then slammed onto the table as she shouted at him. "{WHAT!?}"
He just waved her anger away as if it was smoke. "{Since I was supposed to examine Unit-02, I decided to pull up as much information on young Ikari's... change... as I could access with my clearence. After that, I talked with some of the EVA's tech crew here in Tokyo-3.}" As his voice carried a tinge of disappointment, Asuka flinched which caused him to sigh. "{However, I do not blame you for your actions as it was to be expected I suppose with your stress.}" The German then raised a finger. "{That does not mean that I approve of what you apparently said and have acted like.}" Kristian then leaned across the table. "{I am no fool, nichte. I know that there is more then just that.}"
While she gritted her teeth, Asuka growled at him. "{There is nothing more then that freak-}"
Her uncle cut her off there. "{Has in your eyes replaced young Ikari, I presume?}" He gave her a knowing look as he took another sip. "{I am not blind, Asuka. I knew that you cared for the young man and this is a shock... Not to mention that you are scared.}" Asuka jerked as if she had been struck, but before she could have said anything, he continued. "{You are frightened since if this had happened to him, what would stop it from happening to you? Are you in danger of losing your human form...?}" He then sighed. "{You have never adapted well to change...}"
The schoolgirl pilot just grumbled. "{Baka seems to have adapted to a change easily enough...}"
As he shook his head, Kristian once more sighed. "{Or perhaps, he had simply hit rock bottom and simply gave up and you are mistaking that as acceptance.}"
Asuka just growled. "{Baka never gave up, no matter what.}"
While a slight smile crossed his face at what she had said and the slight flush, Kristian gave a nod. "{Perhaps, you are right. Perhaps he has not given up but has merely decided to make due with what is a bad situation all around.}"
The red head just gaped as she worked her mouth before she slumped into her seat. "{I... What...?}"
With a chuckle, Kristian shook his head. "{It seems that you have a contradictory view of young Ikari, nichte. On the one hand, you say that he has given up and on the other you say that he has not and will never give up.}" As he observed Asuka while she gripped the edge of the table with white knuckles, the older man placed his chin on his intertwined hands as he raised an eyebrow. "{Now... which is it?}"
Her mouth still moving, Asuka sat there until she finally shouted. "{I DON'T KNOW!}" She practically leapt from her seat as she started to wave her hands in the air. "{I have no idea what is going on here! Why!? Why isn't the baka upset with what happened!? Why isn't he depressed!? Or angry at the world!? How can he just stand there happy and smile as he plays with that little girl!? And then he chastised the reporters for making her cry as he pours his heart out to them!}" Kristian just sat there as he stirred his hot chocolate and watched as Asuka ranted and raved, her eyes wet with moisture. "{And what has happened to his pride!? He's letting himself be treated as less then a doll! He's less then a doll and more of a pet! The baka let that girl ride him as if he was a common farm animal!}"
Kristian raised an eyebrow and gestured at her with his mug. "{And he's your noble steed? As well as your knight?}"
The German pilot stopped and made a odd keening noise as she sputtered as she turned to him. "{ONKLE!}"
He just waved her embarrassment away with one hand as he leaned back. "{He has helped and saved you before, you just have your father's pride.}" He ignored her soured look at that as he continued. "{And from what little I have heard, both from the crews and yourself, he has tried to keep upbeat before and helpful.}" Kristian then leaned forward. "{Or am I right to assume that there is more there then just that?}" The German man just watched as Asuka walked back to her seat, grabbed the Springerle she had dipped into her hot chocolate and savagely bit into it as she mumbled something. "{Oh? So you're angry because he stepped in when those reporters made the girl cry and defended her before he made her feel better?}"
Despite the flush in her cheeks, Asuka growled. "{Baka would never do that for me...}" When she heard her uncle chuckle she turned and fixed him with a glare. "{And what is so funny!?}"
The beefy German gave her a knowing look as his lips twitched. "{And would you have ever allowed him to do so if he had tried? Or would you have reacted and pushed him away?}" He then shook his head. "{Or has he, as I expect, tried before only for you to shove him away?}"
As she looked away with an angry look, Asuka hissed. "{I don't need anyone to do that for me.}"
Her uncle nodded. "{So you say.}" He watched as she took another sip as he continued. "{And yet... here you are angry that he was doing so for someone else, other then you.}" Kristian noted the white knuckled grip on the mug before he sighed as a thought occurred to him. "{And is another reason that you're so angry with him has to do with how, like you, EVA is all he has left?}" He watched as she stilled, as if frozen in place. "{After all he did say that he does not believe that he has a future beyond EVA and you, yourself, made it a focus for yourself.}"
Asuka just held herself back from going ahead and smashing the mug into the table. "{And I suppose that you're going to give me some kind of speal about it? About how he sees himself as being alone for the rest of his life because of his transformation? How he's not exactly wrong since he's the only one of his kind in the world, the first and last of his species? That he sees himself as forever separated from humanity because he's some kind of winged unicorn, even though there are those who would stand beside him? That the baka for some reason can't see that he doesn't need to be alone!?}"
After a moment, the German man smiled and gestured with his hand at her. "{And why should I need to say all that when obviously you already have?}" His smile widened as Asuka twitched. "{It seems that you have already given this a lot of thought...}"
Asuka just groaned as she laid her head on the table, nearly hitting her plate and mug. "{I hate it when you do that sort of thing...}" He just smiled at her as he took a sip of his hot chocolate as she glared at him from where her head laid on the table. "{And I wish that you wouldn't do that, Onkle.}"
If anything, that caused his smile to grow. "{The one request that I am afraid that I cannot do.}" Suddenly, he frowned as he decided to out aside the teasing about Shinji. "{However, I do believe that the issue with young Ikari is only part of the problem, nichte...}"
For a few moments, Asuka squirmed in her seat before she sat up and stared at her mug. "{It's also the EVA... Unit-02...}"
Now that caught his attention as his frowned deepened. "{Unit-02, nichte?}" At her slow, hesitant nod, his frown deepened. "{What seems to be the issue?}" At her nervous expression, his unease only grew. "{Asuka?}"
Having heard him speak her name jolted her out of her silence and she took a deep breath. "{It's...}" She looked at the only adult she felt she could trust and looked around as she felt her gut twist. "{Do... You promise not to tell anyone? Please}"
The plaintive tone in her voice caused Kristian to blink for a moment, but he nodded. "{As long as it does not endanger anyone, you have my word, nichte.}" He then got up and moved his chair so that it was beside Asuka's as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "{Now then, tell me what troubles you so?}"
For about a minute, Asuka was silent in thought before she let out the breath that she had been holding in a sigh. "{I... I don't know, when I'm in the EVA, weird things happen...}" As he repeated what she said, she nodded. "{Yes, weird things...}" Asuka then grimaced a bit. "{Sometimes, the LCL around me seems, I don't know, thicker almost. Almost as if it's constricting me. Other times, I... I hear things. Almost like whispers you can barely hear, sometimes as if someone is saying me name...}" She then shuddered. "{The worst is what I sometimes see...}"
A suspicion began to grow in the senior technician's gut at what the young teen is telling him as he could feel the hairs on his neck prickle. "{What do you see, nichte?}"
To his surprise, she leans into him and he could feels slight tremble. "{I can sometimes see something in front of me, like a shadow, bu-but not... Just barely there. And sometimes I see things out of the corner of my eyes...}" She swallowed thickly as she ignored how her eyes felt wet. "{And once.. Once I dozed off and I could sworn that I heard and saw Mama on front of me... Before I woke up fully...}"
His mouth now dry, thoughts whirled in Kristian's head as he went over what he had just been told. 'Kyoko? Is that you? Are you awake...?' He then furrowed his brows. 'That shouldn't be possible, from what I was told after the... Accident, she should be dormant... But if she is awake...' His thoughts turned to Asuka for a moment. 'I wish that I could tell you the truth... That your mutter might be trying to communicate with you...'
Asuka dragged him back to reality as she continued. "{It's just that... I remember overhearing the Baka talk with that idiot pet of Misato's when he thought we were both asleep. I remember him telling it about the weird things that he saw and felt in the EVA and how during the fight with the Twelfth, he saw his mother while he was inside the EVA unconscious...}"
Suddenly, it all made sense and her honorary uncle looked back at her as he quietly spoke. "{And so, since you saw something similar, you're afraid that the same thing that happened to him is about to happen to you...}" At her nod, he frowned for a moment before he sighed. For a moment, his mind drifted back to the few times during the years of GEHIRN when he had met Yui Ikari and frowned at the thought of the highly driven woman... He then shook it off and looked at Asuka. "{Nichte, while I am unsure as to what may have caused young Ikari's strange transformation... I am almost completely positive that the same will not happen to you.}" He thought of Yui once more. "{Unit-01, much like it's creator, has always been a rather odd and temperamental EVA, unlike Unit-02 which is much calmer and, I believe, will always protect you from harm.}"
Well used to his odd habit of talking about her EVA as if it was a person (though recent events have made her wonder herself despite not wanting to), Asuka took his confidence and held it close. "{You're sure?}"
Kristain looked down at her and was reminded of when she was a little girl looking for comfort that others would not give her and slowly nodded as he smiled. "{Yes, I am sure that the EVA would never try to hurt you in the way that Unit-01 has with young Ikari...}"