Yui, still in her sickbay room, was soon to be getting out! She was recovering nicely, and within a few days, she would be able to get out of that quite boring room. Though, it wasn't as boring at times, due to not-so-frequent visits from her favorite teacher and loving husband, She started to wonder where Shinji was, and if he even knew she was there.

There was another thing that made her stay a bit less eventful was that, in the middle of a chase, Groucho vs. NERV personnel, seem to have ended up in it's course in her room. The bug had ran down the hall, ran into her room, ran around the room once, away from the personnel, and then out. As shocked and afraid of the bug as Yui was, she had to admit it was rather amusing.

---

During those few days in which Jinnai anxiously awaited Gendo's orders, he met Misato Katsuragi. She was, of course, having a beer during their conversation. That reminded him about 'home' in El Hazard. His old sensei, Masamichi Fujisawa, was quite the drinker himself.

Misato told him that he is to be enrolled into the Tokyo-3 Junior High School on the next day. There, he will do his best to fit in, until the commander would call for him.

---

One day, in his class, Class A-2...

Jinnai: So...... Rei is it? What do you think of my sheer image of power & dominance??

He then presents himself like a natural born leader, complete with his fists on hips and chin in the air. He must've thought that this strange, silent girl admired that kind of attitude.

Rei: ..................

Apparently not. Jinnai breaks of his pose and gets in Rei's face.

Jinnai: Huh? Hey, I asked you a question! You should at least have the common courtesy to answer!

Rei: ......Why?

Before Jinnai could reply, a red-haired girl slaps him over the head.

Asuka: Anata baka! That doll will never give you the time of day... unless of course, you're Commander Ikari.

Rei: ...Yes.

With eyes almost flaring red, Jinnai spun around to confront the Second Child.

Jinnai: Y'know, you're not the first redhead to annoy me... you're not even close to what the other one was..... Just thought I'd let you know... You are NOT gonna push ME around, like you do that other kid...

He points over to Shinji Ikari, the son of NERV's commander. Completely ignoring any of Asuka's comebacks, Jinnai strides over to the desk.

Jinnai: Shinji, eh? .....You're a real neat, uptight-looking person, aren't you? ...I knew someone like that once..... Well...

Jinnai pats Shinji's back like he's a friend, but then Jinnai adds on a nasty hiss to his voice.

Jinnai: If you ever need help with it, don't come to me! ...Don't mess with me, mister. I've led cities into ruin and other people to insanityDON'T..... think that your heroic acts impress me...

He then stands up proudly, still yakking away.

Jinnai: Hell, you NERV guys don't phase me at all, ya hear me?? Not... at... alllhahah, HAHAHAHAAHAAA-- BONK!

A ball of paper bounced off his head. Furious at this interruption, Jinnai turns to see Hikari, the class representative and her boyfriend, Toji Suzuhara, with another paper ball in hand.

Jinnai: ....Ex...cuse...me??

Hikari: Please sit down, Mr. Jinnai. We understand that you are still new, but please... be quiet....

Toji: ...Asshole..

---

::NERV HeadQuarters, Ikari Gendou's office::

"Commander, I cannot believe that the bug creature which arrived with the Katsuhiko boy is the 13th angel."

"Oh? And why is that, Major Katsuragi?" Commander Ikari responded, his hands clasped and supporting his chin with his elbows on the desktop.

"The creature always runs away from those trying to capture it, and it seems to move with no purpose. An angel would ignore anything in its path, and more importantly, it would have a destination."

"Good observations, Major. However, it is still in the city without supervision."

"Yes I know, I was thinking that since the creature appeared with the boy. Perhaps they know each other... I am requesting permission to locate and approach the creature with Katsuhiko to see if he would be able to calm it down."

"Very well, do so."

"Thank you, sir."

Misato turned around and left the office, the door sliding quietly closed behind her. She started walking off in the direction of her office. She mentally prepared to deal with talking to the people who had tried capturing the bug-thing, while trying to talk them into doing it again. She rounded a corner, and walked right into.. Kaji.

"I'm sor-" she started, then stopped as she noticed who it was. "You should watch where you're going!"

"Why should I do that when I can watch you?" he responded with a smirk as he got up from where he had fallen when they had run into each other.

"Why you-" she said between ground teeth. Then she realized that he was probably getting an eyeful, as she was still sprawled on the floor from when she had fallen. She quickly stood up, gabbed her papers from him, and walked off in the direction she was heading towards before the little exchange.

::This is just going to be one of those days:: she thought as she walked away, hearing Kaji's chuckles behind her.

---

It seems as though Yui Ikari was fully recovered and out of that darn sickbay room of her's. As expected, she's living with Gendo. Wherever he lives. If he lives anywhere, that is. XD

Lately, she'd just been walking randomly around the NERV HQ, with lack of anything to do. She stopped after a while though. The fake smiles and stares once she turned her back were beginning to get a bit depressing. It seems people just weren't used to her being back. They were happy about it, of course.. But no one could explain how it possibly happened. Not only that, but she seemed to have arrived the same time Jinnai and his bug did.. Could there be some sort of connection? ..Hell if she knew. Hell if anyone knew. It couldn't be explained, and she wasn't even going to bother trying.

---

The next day...

School Overhead: "Attention all students who've enrolled within the past week! Please report to the conference room!"

Jinnai's head sprang up from his desk. Normally, he'd go along with the class, but he's had these lessons already and was sleeping at the time. He WAS top in his class in Shinonome...... behind Makoto, that is.. Wondering what was going on, Jinnai whipped his head from side to side.

Jinnai: Huh, huh, huh? What was that....?

Kensuke Aida: You're called to the conference room....

Jinnai: Oh?

A pang of fear shot through Jinnai's back. In the hallway, the former-ruler's palms started to sweat.......

Jinnai: ::Uh, Christ! This better be good... I was finally about to sign up for the student presidency election after class. If this goes after the bell.....::

He then suddenly realized what this situation just might be about.

Jinnai: ::ACK! It must be that Gendo Ikari guy!! Maybe it's cause I told off his wuss son the other day & now he's pissed at me!:: Why'd I DO that? Gendo must've found out from the teacher or even Shinji himself.... ooohhh, I'm screwed...

Finally, he reaches the room. Only three others were in there, all underclassmen. Seeing the age difference, Jinnai boastfully decided not to even talk to them.... After a minute or two, a man walked into the room, wearing a NERV uniform.

?: Hello, guys! I'm Hyuga Makoto...

Jinnai: Ma..ko..to?????

The name similarity alone was enough to set off the envious Jinnai. However, he soon saw how stupid he'd look if he verbally blasted this other Makoto.

Hyuga: ....and I've been sent here by Major Katsuragi to announce to you how you each fit into our operations.

He nods to the three other students and they silently leave. Confused & feeling threatened, Jinnai stands up in a rage.

Jinnai: Hey, Mr. MAKOTO! What's the idea here?!?

Hyuga: Oh, nothing... you've just become VERY important to our plans. You see, the Marduk Report states that the Fourth Child is to be chosen today, but you--

Jinnai: WHAT??????

He lunges toward the NERV operative and grabs him by the collar.

Jinnai: You mean to tell me that... that I'M.... a pilot of...of those... THINGS???

Seeing as punishment from Gendo, Jinnai goes to his knees, completely desperate.

Jinnai: OK, OK, OK!! I'm sorry!! Tell your commander that I never wanted that and I don't know HOW I even became a contender.........AAAAAAA! WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO MEEEEE????

As Jinnai pounds the ground, a somewhat frightened Hyuga continues with his words...

Hyuga: Ummmm, Mr. Jinnai....

Jinnai: nonononononononononoooooooo....

Hyuga: MR. JINNAI!!!!

Jinnai looks up toward Hyuga, angry as hell.

Jinnai: Huh? What is it, you stupid messenger? You gonna give me a badge with a '4' on it or something? Gonna tell me where MY Eva Unit is, huh? HUH????

Hyuga: .......You're not the Fourth Child.

Jinnai: oh.

Jinnai pops up and goes into his usual pose.

Jinnai: I knew that! See? I played you for a fool! HAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!

Hyuga: Riii~ght. I now see why Commander Ikari has interest in you. With you under his wing, SEELE's confidence in all of us should go up a little... maybe. Your use to us right now is to meet up with Misato back at your apartment. Your bug friend needs to found A.S.A.P.....Anyway, that about wraps it up for you, Jinnai. You can leave now. The Fourth Child should be arriving–

CREEEK...

The room's door slowly opened as a tall & lanky young man stepped inside... his fiery red eyes burned into Jinnai's... they didn't look human..

Hyuga: right... about now?

?: Hello there. My name is Nagisa Kaworu.

The boy's face then gleamed as he smiled at Jinnai.

Kaworu: And your's?

Makoto frowned as this newcomer wasn't the Fourth Child.

"Well, we have a bit longer to wait then." He sighed.

Suddenly, a radio on the desk crackled to life and started playing Ode to Joy. Kaworu quickly slammed his hand down on it, shutting it off. He looked back to Jinnai, extending his hand again.

"So you are?"

Jinnai stood frozen at the somewhat humorous scene he just saw...

Jinnai: ::"Ode to Joy" just playing from a radio, out of nowhere?? Ridiculous...:: .....Katsuhiko Jinnai.

They shook hands.

Kaworu: A pleasure... You needed me, mister?

Confused, Hyuga was flying through his list of school children....

Hyuga: Ummmm, uuhh, Kaworu Nagisa??? .....You aren't new here. Hell, you're not even listed....

Quickly & surely, Kaworu's eyes flared up, to a blood red. It appeared that this new young man was hypnotizing Hyuga. Jinnai's blood turned cold as he scampered out the door to enroll in the election....

Tabris: Yes I am.... and you KNOW that, don't you?

Hyuga: ........Yes. ...You're on the list all right.

Tabris: And I'm also a favorite on the Marduk Report, eh? Kaworu the Fifth Child.... it sounds pretty satisfying....

Hyuga: Yes. I'll do that.....

Kaworu/Tabris then disappeared as Hyuga regained his senses.... He would never remember his horrifying encounter with the last Angel, but his sub-consciousness knew that he will follow it's orders....

---

The days had moved slowly for the Commander of NERV. More than likely, Misato's view of the bug was indeed, correct. The giant bug had yet to show an AT field, and has not come up as anything worse than code Orange (unknown). Beyond that, Gendo simply knew.

No matter, the bug would be caught soon, and with that, the answers would come forth. The thought of that brings a smirk to the face of the commander. However, another thought troubles him. If the appearance of the boy and the bug are indeed connected, how many others may also have appeared in this point?

Gendo doesn't take too long to look into this. He calls up Kaji, the one man he knows can get to the bottom of anything. Tonight, he has a very special assignment for him, concerning the origins of Katsuhiko Jinnai. And also if such events as anything that had happened when he arrived just now, had ever happened before....

"Oi, Gendou-kun! What can I do for ya?"

---

::Announcement:: Suzuhara, Toji Suzuhara, Please Report to the Main Office.

Kensuke: What did you do?

Toji: ::Confused:: Nothing I remember

.oO( What does the principal want with me?, I hope he didn't find out that I was the one who put that little present in that Jinnai guy's locker)::Sniker:: What a sucker yhat guy is...

Hikari: What, Toji? Toji: uh.... Nothing.

---

~*Later in the Main office*~

Ritsuko: Hello, Toji.

Toji: .oO( Isn't she that woman I saw with Misato the other day? I wonder if they work together? I wonder what Misato's doing now? maybe she's taking a bath? ::Subconscious Gurgling noise:: )

Ritsuko: uh.... Toji?

Toji: ::drooling:: ahhggggggg

Principal: SUZUHARA!

Toji: What? Who? What now?

Principal: Show our guest a little respect; she's come all the way here to see you!

Toji: Really? what for?

Ritsuko: I came here to see if you's be interested in working for NERV.

Toji: Doing what, Mopping up after Shinji? No thanks.

Ritsuko: No something a little more important. Can you excuse us for a minute?

Principal: Certainly. Don't do anything to embarrass yourself or this schools good name, Suzuhara.

Touji: Yeah, Yeah. Give your secretary my regards. Ask her how the kids are doing while you're at it.

Principal: ::Slaps his Forehead:: ::Murmuring:: Kids today, blah blah blah.

Ritsuko: Do you remember that time when you were in Unit 01 with Shinji and your friend?

Toji: :panicked:: I didn't break any thing, did I!?

Ritsuko: No, no, nothing like that. ...... It's just that, when we got around to checking the data for that day, we found something very interesting.

Toji: I'm listening.

Ritsuko: It seems that you have a high syncro reading, You could be an Eva Pilot. And now that there's a new Unit coming here from the U.S., we think you'd be perfect for the position.

Toji:...........

---

~* At the lockers *~

Jinnai: ::uses combination, and opens locker::

::Manure fills the locker and spills every where::

Jinnai: AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kensuke: O' DOIL RULES!

---

Gendo looks at the man before him. If he didn't know better, this man would have been out of NERV long ago. This overly casual man is Kaji and is one of the best Gendo has ever known for co-vert operations... and general information gathering.... which is his EXACT purpose Gendo has in mind for him?

Gendo speaks, his hands still folded over the desk and his mouth as he speaks: "I'm sure you have heard of the boy, a Mr. Katsuhiko Jinnai, and a weird bug who both appeared within NERV. There was an energy spike accompanied by it. The origin of the spike is unknown. Your assignment is to gather what you can on this spike and any similar ones that have happened in the fairly recent past. Let's see just how much we can get on Mr. Jinnai's story."

"Very well then..." *Leaves Gendou's office* "Now, where's Misa-chan...?"

---

After cleaning up from his classmate's practical joke, Katsuhiko walked over to his neighbor's door and pushed the button on the doorbell. He had hoped to find the Major opening the door, but instead he got Ikari's son.

"What are you doing here?" Jinnai asked the boy.

"I live here."

"Ri~ight." Jinnai replied, wondering why he didn't live with his father. "well I'm here to see Misato... her orders."

"Alright, come on in then. She's in the shower, so you can wait for her in the living room." Shinji told him as the boy removed his shoes before entering.

"Oh?" Jinnai asked, his intrest piqued. He then started looking around for said shower room.

"Kaji would kill you if you peeked anyway, so it's not worth it..." Shinji said, noticing what Jinnai was doing.

"Rats... things never go my way..." Jinnai said, sitting on one of the floor pillows. "I would say it's Makoto's fault.. but for once, even I couldn't blame him for this..."

"Eh?" Shinji asked, removing his sdat ear headset from his ears so that he could hear what Jinnai was saying.

"Nothing."

Just then, conveniently timed, Misato walked out of the bathroom wearing her white pants and a white sleeveless top with black trim, which she soon covered with her red jacket.

"Hello, Katsuhiko. I assume that you've met Shinji," she paused as she waited for Jinnai's nod. "Alright. I've called you here because the bug thing that appeared with you is causing the commander concern. We're going to find it and hopefully restrain it. Will you be able to tell us how?"

"Groucho? Causing concern? HA! that guy can't do anything on his own.. needs me to tell him what to do all the time."

"Good, that makes things simpler. I was thinking that we would need Unit 01 as back up in case it decided to do anything, but it seems that we won't need to." she said, walking over to the door to put her boots on. "Oh, and Shinji, your mother said that she'd be there when we go to restrain the bug."

"Mother?"

"You weren't told yet??" Misato looked at him incredulously. "Oh well, you'll find out soon enough. Lets' go."

---

While Jinnai, Misato and Shinji headed to the NERV HQ, Yui waited nervously where she said she'd meet Misato.. Gulping softly, she felt her whole body shake. Since no one was there, she talked out loud to herself..

"You're acting so stupid, Yui.. Why should you be so nervous to meet your own son? .. But what will he think? What if he's not happy that I'm back?"

Biting her lip softly, she sighed. She then heard the door open behind her. She turned around quickly to see Jinnai, Misato and Shinji standing there. Though, she ignored the other two and locked eyes with Shinji.

".. Shinji.."

Yui and Shinji locked eyes and merely stared at each other. They both looked shocked and overcome with emotion.

Misato, noticing the tender moment, broke the silence by nudging Jinnai in the side softly.

"..Let's go look for that bug friend of yours"

Jinnai jumped a bit "Huh!? Er, Alright" Seemed he was lost in the silence too. Misato turned around and Jinnai did to, and then left the room.

Yui took a step towards Shinji slowly, feeling her body shake even more now.

"It's.. G-Good to see you again.."

".. M-Mom.." Shinji gulped softly, taking a step closer as well. He paused, then ran over to her, wrapping her arms around her tightly. Yui returned the embrace, holding onto him like she'd never let go again.

"I-It's.. good to be back.."

Shinji, unable to say anything anymore, merely buried his head into her shoulder and tried not to cry. Yui, understanding how he felt, just held on tighter..