>>6429236
Thread Archive: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Great%20Therapist%20Evangelion

"How's it going, Champ?"
A familiar voice startles you as you see yourself sitting down at a dining table, your burly beast of a father is chowing down on a fine piece of wagyu stake while you hold a spoonful of peas in your plate.

Resting your hand on your chin, you realize your facial hair is gone. Not only that, but your height was slightly reduced, as if you were taken back to before the Second Impact ever happened. Just to make sure, you take a glace under the table to check on your father's leg, realizing Daigo still has his limbs intact.

You've had this dream several times before. It's like time never moves forward when you drift asleep...

"Is something wrong, sport? Y'know you can talk to me, right? I'm not all muscle, I got a pair of ears, as well! Is it about your new friends?" Daigo asks as he munches through his plate, the only thing keeping the dining room from being in total silence.

Seeing him eat like that always made you feel full, no wonder you were never a big eater, no point in keeping up with a professional boxer.

Regardless of this being a dream or not, you don't have many chances to feel safe and free of judgement, even when you're by yourself. Given how good of a motivator he was, is there really any harm in catching him up to speed?

>I got a new job, it's not easy.
>I'm trying to get in shape like you.
>I'm thinking of starting some driving lessons.
>I miss you.
>Nothing, Dad...

>>6429250
>I'm trying to get in shape like you.
Let's enjoy our peace... Mom's ghost would be the better one to ask about work, anyway.

Welcome back, QM!

>>6429266
I should be saying that, but I'm also glad to be back! These next few scenes appear to be promising!

File: id-11134201-7r98z-lsotwoa(...).jpg (31 KB, 700x700)

31 KB JPG

Welcome back!

>>6429236
>his mission is to indirectly aid in the fight against the apocalyptic angels aiming to destroy this world by helping them mature and hearing out their issues
heh.

>>6429250
>I'm trying to get in shape like you.
Driving lessons is tempting though.

>>6429250
>I'm trying to get in shape like you.
:')

>>6429250
>I'm trying to get in shape like you.
Round 2 electric boogaloo

>>6429266
>>6429340
>>6429342
>>6429474
"I'm uh... Trying to get in shape, just like you!" You smile at daddy dearest, blushing to even compare your physique to his when he's twice your weight, even when you grow up.

"Well then, let's see those guns!" He flexes his bicep, which is almost the size of your head, prompting you to do the same. Your kiddie arm isn't impressive in the slightest, you knew Daigo would be the last person to judge you.

"Hey, no shame in going for a more athletic build! I knew a few featherweights that could knock down a horse if they threw a mean right hook at them. You've been following my training?"

"Yeah... Trying to, at least..." You reply. "The dieting is the hard part, I don't think I can eat as much as you..."
"Well, let me help you out then!" The boxer slices what's left of his steak in half and drops it down on your plate, crushing the peas that were still on it.
"Th-Thanks, Dad..." You eat his half of the steak, it tastes delicious. You forgot how much of a good cook he was. "Don't think I'll ever fit your size, though."
"Who said you had to? Life's all about conditioning, champ! You don't need to be the same as me! That's like wanting a triangle to fit into a square hole, ya feel? I want you to be yourself, not to compare with mom and dad all the time!"
Well, how one compares himself to one's parents is sort of what you ended up studying in college, so he might be a little late to yell you that...

"Conditioning? Not fate, opportunities, connections...?"
"Some of that stuff is important too, but conditioning is what you can actually grasp in your hands, son! Every day is a building block you place under yourself, and it's up to you to figure out where it leads. You think I built all this muscle in a day? No siree. The moment I stop working out, I'll be as light as a twig, and there goes my belt."
"...That's not how muscle memory works... You can still be strong if you don't work as hard, or even if you stop for a bit and then get back to it."
"And that's what conditioning is all about, Date!" He gives you a thumbs up. "As a parent, I know it's best not to meddle in your business. You already know what you want deep down, I don't gotta say if I support it or not, I just gotta show you that it's possible, and that you'll get there eventually if you don't give up!"

Man, he's so supportive, you can't help but chuckle. Is that where you got your speech talents from?
"Good... I wonder if mom thinks the same..."
"Of course she does! Just cause your mom's a tough nut to crack, doesn't mean--"
"I'm home." You hear your mom opening the door to your house, entering the dining room with her lab coat soaked in blood, her usual neutral expression staring deeply into your soul.
A quick glance back at your dead shows him going limp on his chair as several cuts open up over his body, blood pouring out of him and gushing into the table.

Ayane silently approaches, her red hand reaching out towards your face.

>>6429494
You wake up in your bed, your heart racing as you quickly reassure yourself that it was just a nightmare... That's always how the nightmare ends, anyway. You never find it in you to say or do anything but cower in fear from her, the good moments always being ruined by what comes next...

Usually, you don't get these sort of dreams unless you are really stressed out, which might be a regular occurrence now that the angels will keep coming, but something tells you the tape you didn't check on the previous day probably has something to do with it...
Now that you're sober and somehow without a hangover, you retrace your steps from yesterday's party to make sure the blackmail letter from K. was real.

Same letter, same tape, same black marker saying "The Ayane Kurono Tapes: Vol 1". You don't have the same fear that struck you when you first touched it. Whatever content is inside this thing, it clearly has no match for your fertile imagination, if your dreams are anything to go by.

Sitting on it for a bit was the right choice, but you do wonder when you'll have to rip that band aid off. Whoever sent this to you will assume you're watching and keeping yourself updated with what he sends, but since it involves something as personal as your mother's case against Gendo, is it really something you want to juggle at all when you're working at his company, and counseling his son, no less?

Currently, you are fine. Or at least, you think you are. There will be a time when you will be worse, so it's best to deal with problems as they go along, no?
Queen Kamehameha gives you a look that says you are just deluding yourself into self harming, but what does she know? She's just a turtle...

>Stress Level: 17/100

>Watch the tape, better now than later.
>Why not wait until the next one comes along? You'll have more context then.

>>6429503
>Watch the tape, better now than later. Smoke also.

>>6429503
>is it really something you want to juggle at all when you're working at his company, and counseling his son, no less?
Wow there now Date. Sins of the father, right?

>>Watch the tape, better now than later.
We are in a much better headspace than we were last night.
I suspect we're not going to like it, but the curiosity will eat at us if we don't at least try it. And if it's too awful, we can always stop the tape and not watch any others.

>>6429505
>>6429535
Screw it, time to see what Mom did with the old VCR...
The tape gets rejected quite a few times, which makes you worry about the quality of the film being degraded, but just before you called it quits, you got it to run just fine.

You make sure to pause, take a breather, stretch and feed your pet turtle before sitting down on the couch with a cup of coffee by your side. Let's just hope this doesn't ruin the rest of your day...week...month...life.

A title card appears that reads "The Ayane Kurono Tapes: Vol 1", much like how the tape described it. The date on it reads September 20th, 2000, just a week after The Second Impact. Your mother quickly walks into frame after setting up her camera, alone in her old bedroom as she takes a few steps back, making sure the tripod was stable enough for her to sit on her bed without worry.

"Hello, Date-kun."

Despite it just being a home made tape, there was some amount of effort in keeping the place well lit and framed that gave an artistic quality to her camera work, almost as if she was testing out a hobby, given how she made an effort to put make up on and fix her usually unkept hair into a ponytail, whatever she had to say appeared to be performatively serious.

"I hate journaling." She starts off with a sigh. "Always feel like I am writing a suicide note, talking posthumously about my feelings, begging for someone to find out and read them, about as much as I want to keep it secret in a drawer somewhere... Maybe a video format is better suited for these sorts of things... Makes me feel like we're actually talking to each other, not like we could usually have this talk anyway..."
She slouches backwards, searching for her signature pink vanilla flavored Black Devils, before realizing the windows were shut.
"Damn it, the sheets smell too nice for me to ruin them. Never mind..." She readjusts herself, clearly flustered on what she was about to say.
"I've been meaning to have this talk with you for a while. About pushing you in the right direction. I don't know when you'll be getting these tapes... Hopefully I'll find it in me to give them to you when you graduate... It's funny... I really wished you got into sports like your dad sometimes... As soon as I saw you getting interested in psych stuff, I felt a big sense of comradery between us, like we finally had something to bond over... But I also knew that my connections would take interest in you... The good and the bad..."

Figures. It's only natural than being her son, she would think about throwing your name around the company for her super secret project, but you already knew that part.

"But before I tell you about Project E, Gehirn and all the other stuff... I think I owe you an apology. An explanation, as well... For the way I've treated you for the longest time. It's only fair to clear the air between us before that so the following messages get through clearer."

>>6430100
"...Feels weird to tell you this, but I... Never really saw myself becoming a mother, not at the age when it happened, at least. I felt like I wasn't ready. I don't think it really dawns on people the importance of raising another human life until you're really there. Sure, I could study, read some books on it, hear what other mothers say about pregnancy, but that doesn't really explain the qualia, does it? The experience is something you can only feel yourself. I was afraid I could only be one or the other: The family woman, or the world renowned scientist... Until I told your father, that is..."

Despite them being so close, you don't think you ever asked her how they met, or how the decision came to actually have your or not... Such subjects felt really taboo around the house, so getting to hear it straight from her mouth proved to be interesting.

"We didn't have a penny to our name, despite living in the big city. I thought your dad would hate me if he found out about you... But little did I know, he already had a secret ready to tell me that day: He won his first amateur boxing tournament, and with the money to start a professional career... He decided to buy a wedding ring! Not only that, he told me he was so sure that his kid would be a boy, he said that he would give up boxing and become a sumo wrestler if he was wrong on his gut feeling! And frankly... we both know he would be good at either of those."

She chuckled, a rare sight, given how she never laughed when you were around. It's hard not to start laughing yourself, given how contagious her happiness is.
"He's insane. But maybe that's what makes me love him so much... It's like the pressure only motivated him further to reach higher peaks... Makes me wish I was like him... Nothing really brings him down, does it? First time I met him at school, he saw the local delinquents picking on me and just decided to throw hands. Somehow, he won a 3 on 1, one of the guys even had a bat on him and he just punched straight through his blows! Told him he should fight people for a living, and that's how we made it here..."

Ayane suddenly pauses, her smile turning rapidly into her usual flat, tired expression. Dagger Daigo's retirement was still recent given the loss of his leg, it didn't take a genius to figure out she was imagining if he would recover from losing his passionate career.

"Anyway, I need to stop rambling... You might not remember this, but there was a trip to Okinawa we did when you were 4. Your father wanted to try surfing with a few of his friends, I just wanted a break for work... By then, I thought I was used to the whole 'Responsible mother taking care of a child' thing... But it only took one small moment of me being absent minded to find out how wrong I was."

>>6430130
...Weird. You don't remember the trip to Okinawa being all that eventful. Your mother lied on a beach towel under an umbrella while you stood by her building a few sand castles while dad failed to ride a wave. Something important must have happened either to you or to her in which she gives a lot more weight than you ever did, something that's breaking her up inside if she's stuttering so hard to just reminisce on it.

Whatever it is, you are quick to remind yourself that whatever your mother has to say, it is stuck in a time capsule controlled by your remote. Given how big of a gamechanger this is, it could either explain why she was so avoidant, or just decide if she is worth your hatred, rather than forgiveness.

>Stop the tape.
>Let it run.

>>6430136
>Let it run

>>6430136
>>Let it run.
So far so good. Sometimes you have to burn yourself on the stove before you stop tempting fate.
Considering the set up, I suspect little Date-san decided to try his hand at swimming. Or maybe something more oddball, like a literal kidnapping?

>>6430136
>Let it run.

>>6429494
Holy shit, that's heartwarmi-

>>6429503
Holy shit, that's terrifying.

>>6430136
Aaand back to heartwarming. God damn, Mom.

>Let it run.

I bet that heartwarming feeling doesn't last... Did we nearly die somehow?

>>6430136
>Let it run.

>>6430138
>>6430142
>>6430182
>>6430191
>>6430198
The remote stays still at the couch's armrest. This hasn't been a tough listen so far, you're ready to listen to whatever Ayane has to say. Perhaps you've never been this ready as you are now, best not to let that determination waver.

"I... drifted off to sleep. Pulled an all-nighter that day at the job, so I thought I could take a nap while nothing was happening. But before that could happen, Daigo showed up with you and told me what happened... He left you with his friend Ichiro, so I knew it was important if he had to speak in private..."

Her eyes drift away from the camera, her lips quivering as she holds back tears from remembering the event.
"A man was behind you... Some uninvited creep was rubbing your back and asking you questions... Your dad was quick to tell him off... But you were too young to understand what was going on..."
Truly so... It was such a non-issue for you that you pretty much wiped it out from your important, founding memories, only coming back when Ayane reminded you what you said to her:
"You looked so innocent, smiling to me as you said... 'Why do you look so worried, mom? I'm ok! Nothing happened!' Well, I couldn't really break it to you, could I? I couldn't tell you about anything..."

Your mind wanders back to that day in 1989, or at least, what you could remember of it as those words finally triggered your memories. There was an older man that showed up while you were building sand castles...

"Hey there, kiddo! What are you doing?" He sat behind you, in a way that didn't let you fully see his actions unless you nearly twisted your neck for it.
"Sand castles! Wanna help me, mister?" You innocently replied, assuming every human was just a potential playmate.
"Are your parents around here?" He asked, ignoring your question as you looked around for directions.
"Mom's over there by the sand hill! But I don't think she sees me..." You pointed upwards towards her general direction, only seeing her feet moving. "Dad's out there in the water, I think."
You were too focused on your sand castle to even take notice of the man as he silently stared at you.
"Why are you behind me?"
"Did you forget to put your sunscreen on, kid? Your back's gonna burn!" He suddenly pressed his palms at your shoulder blades, the familiar cold, white substance oiling up your skin.
"H-Hey! That tickles!" You froze up as you wondered where he pulled the bottle of sunscreen from.

"Hot day, isn't it...?" He whispered. "How about you come with me for a bit? I can buy you some ice cream or something."
"Right now? I'll ask my mom about it--"
"You don't have to!" He cuts you off before standing up. "You just gotta come with me over there and--" He turned around to show you where he wanted to go, but his vision was blocked by the wet, 150 pounds of pure muscle mass that was your father, though he didn't let it show to it's full extent, there was clear anger in his eyes as he sensed some stranger danger.

>>6430242
"Something I can help you with, sir?" Daigo forced a smile, the arm that was holding his surfboard nearly crushing the damn thing under his pit as he kept his emotions in check.

"D-Dagger Daigo? Is that really you?" The man suddenly changed his whole demeanor, taking a few steps away from you as he bowed to your father. "I am a big fan of yours! I didn't know you were here--"
"That's my son you were talking to." Daigo cut him off, not wanting to hear any of it.
"Hi, Dad!" You waved at your father, finally turning around as someone worth your attention appeared. The boxer merely did a half-second smile before staring back at the stranger.

"O-Oh, really!? I could tell! He really looks just like you, haha! I was just curious in knowing about the son of such a legendary--"
"Sure you were." Daigo took a step forward, his stare and body language being very similar to what he usually showed off in the ring, only it was to a regular beach goer. Neither of them dared raise a word to each other, but in retrospect, father was giving the guy the best death glare he could give with his pair of eyes.

"Beat it." he said with a voice that would make even his strongest opponents think twice about throwing a punch his way, prompting the stranger to walk away as he dropped the sunscreen on the floor.

Seeing your whitened back, Daigo suddenly grows tense, checking the bottle's liquid and sniffing both it and your back, before finally relaxing.
"Oh, thank god..."
"What's wrong, Dad?" You finally stand up, seeing him panting over seemingly nothing.
"Date... That man... Was dangerous." He tried explaining in the most PG way he could.
"Was he? I couldn't tell... Am I in trouble...?" You frowned, thinking you did something bad.
"What? No, of course not! I'm glad you're ok... It's just... You gotta stay close to your mom when I'm not here!" He crouched over, placing a hand on your shoulder.

Although vague, you trusted Daigo's judgement. If that man was bad, then so be it.
"Why don't you go talk to Ichiro-San? I gotta look out for your mother..." He tapped in his friends direction as he headed off towards her umbrella.

After a few minutes passed, your mother ran up to you in her fair one piece and round sunglasses, worried sick as she crouched to look at you eye to eye.
"Date-kun! What happened?! Was what Dad told me true?"
"Yeah, a bad guy came along, but don't worry, Mom! I was safe! I even kicked sand at him when he--" You tried to make up a story to sound smart or strong, but one look at her teary eyes as she dropped her sunglasses made you stay silent. You don't remember her ever crying in front of you, not even when Tokyo was nuked.
"Why do you look so sad, mom? Nothing happened."
She only responded with a tight hug and some sniffles. While it was only a slightly awkward moment for you, the implications of losing you for a stranger are now as an adult, completely understandable.

>>6430245
"The thought of what a man could do to a kid like you disgusted me." Your mother says through the TV screen as you unpause the tape. "Especially when... There wasn't anyone around to stop it when that happened to me."

Ayane places a hand on her face, this now being the second time you ever see her cry in over a lifetime.
"I know how something like that can kill you from the inside... It clams you up... Makes you hate normal things like touching, or the opposite sex... Like can't trust anyone... Like you're not even human anymore... Hell, if it weren't for your father, I doubt I could even trust a man at all! So just to think that if it weren't for him... I would have let this happen to my son... It made me feel... Like I wasn't even fit to be in the same house as you two..." She sobbed, failing to finish her sentences.

"It would be so much easier if you took more to your father, so I tried to just focus on my job... Work on funding your and his career while I could... But Daigo always told me I was your favorite, that he didn't have a lot of interests in common with you, but I didn't want you to be like me... I don't want anyone to deal with what I've been hiding so far... But when I saw you reading my studies... I realized I was capable of being the violent person I wanted to keep you away from... And I felt even worse."
She takes another pause to stop crying, nearly making you tear up along with her.

"It took me a long time to realize, but there was another man I've learned to love in my life... One that if I can really trust, he could help me change the future... And I've been a fool to keep him out of my life until I needed him most." She cleans up her dirty makeup, forcing a warmer smile as she finally calmed down.

"But before I could assure you that you were safe with me... I needed to make sure I was safe with you as well. I know I haven't been around much... But I'm still alive now, and though I wish it didn't have to resort to this situation for us to turn our relationship around... I want you to know I am here for you. Even if I don't say it to your face, I want you to know that I've always cared... Maybe before I could admit it to myself."
"I'm proud of you, Date-kun. I love you too, son."

She stares longingly at the camera for a few more seconds before the tape ends... That... Was a lot to take in. You didn't hear that from Mom often. Hell, you were lucky to even hear her at all, so seeing her in this more emotional, perhaps even hysterical side that she kept to herself was something that... really broke your previous perception of her.

It's hard to even consider this woman the same person you knew before and after the incident... What changed since then?
This tape from K really feels like a belated, or perhaps, foreshadowed apology before she could do what she did... But did that sway you either for or against her, anyway?

>>6430255
>You still love your mother, which is why you could never fully condemn her actions.
>Ayane was a tortured soul, it's hard to not feel sympathy for her, in spite of it all.
>You were never angry at her for that. You were angry at her for ruining your family. That's still no excuse to killing dad and then herself.
>You don't know who your mother even is at this point. Perhaps waiting for the other tapes might help you see the bigger picture.
>Write-in.

>>6430256
>Ayane was a tortured soul, it's hard to not feel sympathy for her, in spite of it all.
If Date had been born a bit later, he might've ended up an EVA pilot. Now just got to figure out if Daigo had any major damage of was just the best.
I thought we were past the point of Date thinking that his mom killed Dad and herself. Especially after recalling the whole being sleeper-hold when trying to cut his jugular.

>>6430256
>You don't know who your mother even is at this point. Perhaps waiting for the other tapes might help you see the bigger picture.

>>6430256
>>You were never angry at her for that. You were angry at her for ruining your family. That's still no excuse to killing dad and then herself.

>>6430256
>Ayane was a tortured soul, it's hard to not feel sympathy for her, in spite of it all.
We continued to follow in Mom's footsteps to help others avoid her fate, no?

>>6430259
>Date being an Eva pilot along with Misato and Ritsuko
Damn, why didn't I think of that? Now I dunno if Kaji would be their Toji or their Kaworu.
>Now just got to figure out if Daigo had any major damage of was just the best.
He's the best.
>I thought we were past the point of Date thinking that his mom killed Dad and herself.
I mean, he remembers someone choked him out, but that's it. Up to you if you wanna shift blame to an unknown assailant, or if Ayane is still guilty until further notice.

>>6430331
>>6430259
You had pretty terrible expectations when it came to watching this tape, but oddly enough, you feel relaxed. Like you are indeed reaching closure when seeing your mother from another angle, solidifying your view as a tortured soul. It would be easy to call her a monster, like you've done previously for the past 10 years, yet you always felt wrong by doing so, like it undermined the history you two had while also leaving a lot of stones left unturned.

There were no traces of Ayane, the cold blooded killer that you just saw in your nightmares, but a scared woman and a repenting mother, trying to fix things before it was too late... Given how often you've fluctuated between giving up altogether and changing the fate of people you know for the best, even if begrudgingly so, it's hard to not feel any sympathy towards her.

For what it's worth, an honest to god "I love you" from her was exactly what you needed to hear... And to think this was merely the introduction, the 4 remaining tapes must be related to Nerv's more inner secrets, so it's good that she was so neatly organized in her journaling.
What you're really weary of is this K fellow and his true identity. Can you really take his words at face value? Is he merely helping you out of respect from being Dagger Daigo's biggest fan? It would be a really small world if that was true... More motivations have to be there other than merely blackmail or a run of the mill obsession with the past.
The tapes show no sign of being tampered with, so whatever you have here must be the real deal. They wouldn't trust you with this evidence unless they knew you wouldn't dispose of it easily or try to go public. If he dies from this, you die too, seems like a pretty effective way to establish trust between the two of you, ain't it? It's like doing a three legged race with an anonymous person to run from a speeding car...

Who K is or where he is currently hiding is not important for now, what you're stuck considering is if he is friend or foe judging from his actions alone.

>K must have their reasons for hiding. NERV is a powerful company.
>If they're on your side, why are they delaying shipping of the other tapes? K wants to have power over you.
>No one who's around NERV is a goody two shoes. K must have their own agenda.
>The only real way to find out is to do as they say: Do your job and help the children fight the next few angels.

>>6430652
>No one who's around NERV is a goody two shoes. K must have their own agenda.
>If they're on your side, why are they delaying shipping of the other tapes? K wants to have power over you.
Both of these are true, I think. Delaying the tapes serves no purpose, and doing this at all is a form of manipulation.

And we have good access to the pilots themselves. Who knows how someone might want to leverage that.

>>6430694
It could be the delay is just to see if we, now a NERV employee, are so deep in their pocket we run to them with the first (less dramatic) batch of leaked evidence?

>>6430652
>No one who's around NERV is a goody two shoes. K must have their own agenda.
but
>K must have their reasons for hiding. NERV is a powerful company.

No need to assume he's good or evil. Just someone with a contrary agenda.

>>6430652
>No one who's around NERV is a goody two shoes. K must have their own agenda.

>>6430652
>K must have their reasons for hiding. NERV is a powerful company.

>>6430694
>>6430696
>>6430697
>>6430791
Casting judgement on their character should come after realizing no one at NERV really is much of a saint, with so many agendas and hush-hushes, K must have good reasons to remain anonymous. If NERV can trace him down the moment you leak this, then chances are that he's already risking a lot just to leave this at your address.

Who knows... Maybe this really is too much to hear at once. If he's as familiar with you as he claims to be, then he might know how you tend to get overwhelmed with your own situation. I's best you don't binge all the tapes in a single sitting...

Your phone lights up as your receive a few messages from your two seniors at NERV:

'Ritsuko: Due to the intensive nature of the new simulated scenarios in the Evangelion Training Program, We thought it would be best for you to cease your therapeutic activities until further notice in order to prioritize the pilots physical performance and optimize data collection.'
Huh? Why does this read like a termination notice? Did you puke in Ritsuko's car or something? This doesn't even make sense... If Shinji and Rei are doing intensive training, that's where you should be taking center stage in monitoring their behavior to make sure they were ok! Isn't this what they hired you for? When will that period even end? The least she could do is give you a date...

'Misato: Thanks for showing up yesterday! Hope things didn't get too awkward for ya yesterday, but I won't bring it up if you don't! See you at HQ!'

It's really ironic how different vibes these two bring to your screen when aligned so closed to each other. You wouldn't mind hanging out some more with Misato, she's a good drinking partner, it's just the compulsory flirting that really throws you off...
The humor in reading 'See you at HQ' right after being told you were going to be put on the bench is not lost on you.

You'd usually be celebrating about having nothing to do for two weeks when you have two jobs to take care of, but being so sudden and wishy washy about how you work really bothered you, for some reason.

...They couldn't know about the tape already, could they?

>Ask Ritsuko to keep you updated on the pilots.
>Insist that your work is essential in keeping the children in proper condition.
>Try to get some info about the simulated training missions.
>Tell Misato you won't be showing up at HQ for a bit.
>Brag about drinking more than Misato.
>Write-in.
>Ghost them, time to enjoy your two week long vacation.

>>6430793
>Insist that your work is essential in keeping the children in proper condition.
Sport therapist

>Insist that your work is essential in keeping the children in proper condition.

If they will be against it,
>Suggest to at the very least listen to pilots input on the matter

Sadly, they will probably not.
After this fails
>Suggest biweekly appointments(1 in two weeks) as a compromise.

If even this will be a failure.
>Ask Ritsuko to keep you updated on the pilots.

I think, Date should fight tooth and nail for the opportunity to help this children.

>>6430793
>>Insist that your work is essential in keeping the children in proper condition.

>>6430806
>>6430807
>>6430809
Sure, I guess we could roll for how convincing Date's pushing can be.
Can you roll me a 1d100 for this one?

Rolled 56 (1d100)

>>6430832
Hangover

Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>6430832

Rolled 17 (1d100)

>>6430832

>>6430834
>>6430835
>>6430867
Eeeeh...

>>6430872
Give our boy a break, he's hungover and just learned he was almost molested, that his mom WAS molested, and that it's the reaosn she rarely said she loved him.

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>>6430834
>>6430835
>>6430867
You're really not in the mood to argue. Ritsuko knows how important your work is in keeping the kids working without having a breakdown in this serious situation. Whatever simulations they're having, it can't be so important that they don't have time to do anything else. There is no reason for you to point all that out for her, because she already knows what you're going to say. Let's keep this short and to the point...

'You know it's not good for patients to just cut off contact with their therapists so suddenly, right? Especially if it's out of their control with no prior warning..."
'We're running important tests here, Date. It won't be long. Give us two weeks and we might even stop sending kids to fight these monsters altogether if we play our cards right.'
...Alright. Seems like good old passive-aggressiveness always works with squeezing some info out of Ritsuko. Not only did you find out when your break is ending, but apparently they're considering replacing the pilots? Hopefully they try to make it fully automated, somehow that feels like the more humane option...

Awfully convenient for your work as a therapist to come back at around the same time Shinji gets enrolled in your school. It's official! Two weeks of being a bum with no responsibilities! Let's try not to stay drinking and smoking all day in your room like usual, will you? You got a woman in the house now, so let's at least attempt to be in your best behavior in front of Queen Kamehameha.

>Start your driving lessons. You're earning enough to afford a car now.
>Keep exercising, Dagger Date needs to be a thing!
>You think Mari still wants to bike around the city? You could use some company...
>Keep a tab on the school staff, you haven't heard from them in a while.

>>6430946
>Keep exercising, Dagger Date needs to be a thing!
>Keep a tab on the school staff, you haven't heard from them in a while.
Friendo

>>6430946
>Give us two weeks and we might even stop sending kids to fight these monsters altogether if we play our cards right.'
Ah, the dummy system. This is going to be a whole mess, isn't it?

>It's official! Two weeks of being a bum with no responsibilities! Let's try not to stay drinking and smoking all day in your room like usual, will you?
Date, you've got TWO jobs, remember? The normal schoolkids still need attention.

>Start your driving lessons. You're earning enough to afford a car now.
Cars are fun.
>Keep a tab on the school staff, you haven't heard from them in a while.

>>6430958
>>6430963
Japan stopped following its previous academic calendar that ended in March and started in April, going from January to December ever since the Second Impact happened. You're still used to having a break at around late march, but your work is quick to remind you that it is completely normal to not attend school until the 21st.

Still, truth is, you've not really been paying attention to whatever the school staff needed for a bit. Not that you wouldn't hear from them if they did, but given how the semester is about to start, you need to check on the teachers and what the others might need to better contribute to the community.

As always, you pretend not to know Yamadera-San's number and go straight to the more passive, vice principal Jinrai Shirogane. You two have an awkward friendship, to say the least. Your job is to hear his complaints, and since he's a yes-men to Shun Yamadera (which hates his guts anyway), it means every time you hear him, all he does is either give you orders and ask you to do something he needs. The first one is to be expected in your occupation, the other one is just him not knowing when to do his. Between instructing the kids and the adults, at least the kids have the excuse of being young to not know any better.

"Shirogane-San?" You go straight to calling him.
"Ah! D-Date-San! I'm with the wife right now, can it wait for a bit?"
This guy can't even look up when Yamadera is giving him an order and he has a wife? Well, guess you have no excuse being single now...
"Sure, knock yourself out." You wait as he searches for a more secluded area to talk to you.
"What is it, Date-San?" He asks, being so polite you'd think you were his superior instead of the other way around. "It's not like you to call when you're not in campus.
"I'm just making sure you don't ask me to run errands late like usual. If there's something I need to get ready for when classes are back, you better tell me."
"C-Can you really blame me for forgetting?"
"Kind of, yeah." You cut him off, but he continues.
"I-I mean, it's like you're invisible when you're not solving things around!"
"Well, most people only come to my office for a reason."
"I guess so... Sorry about that."

Shirogane is so easy to shut down, you almost feel bad for him. Had he had a backbone, he would have become principal years ago, but even when Yamadera kicks the bucket, it's more likely someone takes the job from him given how meek he is.

"Ah, right... I do have a few things to tell you..."
And that's why you don't feel bad for him. Here he comes with a surprise to-do list...

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>>6431659
"So, Yamadera san gave me an earful about you switching up careers. I bet NERV pays well, but we need you here as much as you're needed there, yknow?"

Great, now you're getting a scolding over something you didn't say...
"I'm just asking!" Shirogane gulps, hearing you groan over the phone line. "I mean, I get it! The pay's better, you have a more liberal workload... IF you wanted to find another job, I'd say it would fit and be a lot more important than taking care of the school!"
Did this idiot just call you expendable? You've been at that campus for longer than he has!

>I could have called it quits after the offer Gendo gave me, but I didn't. I want to keep my job at school.
>Hell no. This new job taught me being a regular therapist is way too stressful.
>We might not have a school if things go south, I'd be doing this for free if I had to.
>Yamadera lied to you like usual, I'm not switching careers.
>Write-in.

>>6431670
>>I could have called it quits after the offer Gendo gave me, but I didn't. I want to keep my job at school.
We're not in this profession for the money. The kids can still benefit from our work.
And while the NERV job is high profile, we only have 2 patients at the moment (with a third in the pipeline), so we're not drowning in work over there.

>>6431670
>We might not have a school if things go south, I'd be doing this for free if I had to.
>Yamadera lied to you like usual, I'm not switching careers.

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>>6431689
>>6431729
"Yamadera's just talking smack behind my back as usual. I won't be switching careers anytime soon. You could just ask me things directly instead of believing him, you know."
"If you say so... I just thought it wouldn't be a bad career move if you did! You could go for greener pastures!"
What's with him egging you to leave the school?

"Look, I could have called it quits after the offer Gendo gave me, that much is true, but I didn't. I want to keep my job at school."
"That's... Awfully honest of you, Date-San. I thought you'd be a lot more money drive."
"I'm more goal driven than anything, really. Speaking of which, I would love to hear yours for the semester." You remind him again that you weren't hear for small talk.

"Ah, right! So, there's been a problem with budgeting this month. You know how we wanted to make a trip to Okinawa for the kids in 3-A through 3-C, right?"
What a great time to be reminded of Okinawa island...
"Yeah? What about it?"
"Plenty of parents were eager to pay the fee... Until that angel thing attacked the city. We've been getting calls about parents not wanting to put their kids in a plane and send them miles across the country, so not only we might have to cancel it altogether, but we'll be in the red if that happens."
"And when was that trip supposed to happen again?"
"Like a month from now? I forget..."
Too early, it seems...

"Plus, the theatre club got a really good deal to do a Snow White play in July in a big venue, but we kinda needed to buy their costumes and props out of our pocket, and that puts a damp on things... In the worst case scenario, we might have to cancel both events..."
"Shame, the kids were really excited about the stage plays, last time I checked. Some could easily transition into doing TV and they'd be set for life. Which one is more expensive?"
"Definitively the trip to Okinawa, we bought a prepaid deal that let us a book a good hotel, have our own tourist guide, what have you."
"One month in advance?"
"Yeah!" Shirogane laughs as if it wasn't a big deal! "I tried to say no to Yamadera-San, but you know how he likes to deal things his way."
"Awesome... Just wish that old fart would retire already... I've seen infants that required less babysitting than him."
"Actually, he's been considering retiring this year." Shirogane pointed something that made your eyes go wide.
"Would it hurt for you to give me more good news every now and then?"
"I thought you hated him!"
"I do! That was good news-- Ah, forget it!" You roll your eyes. "What came over him? I thought he would only croak in the principal's chair.
"Something about health concerns. His osteoporosis has only gotten worse, and now that his kid is divorced, he can afford living with someone younger.
"Isn't he like, 90? I bet his son will just join him in a retirement home." You laugh along with Shirogane fantasizing about the school without Yamadera.

>>6431837
"I think he'll make an effort stay until this year's class graduates, but the angel attack must have scared him half to death, made him realize he wants to enjoy life more before a potential catastrophe."
"He's a Second Impact too late, if you ask me."
"I guess, but you know what that means, right? It's finally my time to step up!"
You stay in silence, not wanting to be the bearer of bad news: You don't really have that much faith in Shirogane as a principal. You take him as more of a pushover, perhaps a human footstool, even. Letting such a passive guy in a place that requires power and leadership might be even worse than a grumpy old man that avoids being friendly if it means keeping things in check.

"I know he could just vouch for someone else to take his place, but I've been the vice-principal for 3 years now, surely he'll pick me, right? I don't even think he knows other people outside of his close circle, so I'm automatically the most competent there!"

How does one crush a man's heart politely...?
>We should cancel the trip to Okinawa altogether, at this point. At least the theatre club is guaranteed to succeed by their talents alone.
>Why don't we wait for a bit to decide? I'm sure some kids will insist to their parents.
>How much for the props and costumes? I think I could pay it out of pocket if we really can't afford it.
>Knowing Yamadera, no amount of brown nosing will make him put your name on his favorites list.
>Are there any other possible candidates he might prefer?
>What if I became your vice principal? I could vouch for you then.
>Gonna be honest here, pal. I don't really care about who's principal.

>>6431839
>I don't even think he knows other people outside of his close circle, so I'm automatically the most competent there!"
Most available, maybe.
If Date was ambitious or manipulative, I'd be tempted to see if we could turn Mr. Wall Flower VP here into a puppet principle, helping students and keeping things running from the shadows.
Alas, Date's very much not that sort of guy. I don't see him wanting the VP (or shadow principle) job: longer, regimented hours likely to conflict with NERV scheduling, lots of red tape, little respect or appreciation with the title, and importantly a risk of conflict of interest under some therapy cases vis a vis authority issues.
Still, there's a temptation here to go for it under the allure of "being our own boss", with a healthy dose of "better the devil you know".

>Why don't we wait for a bit to decide? I'm sure some kids will insist to their parents.
>Write-In.
See how close the Okinawa package will let you cut it before disallowing refunds. If we don't have enough students on the roster within, say, 2 days of the window, you can cut the trip in good conscious.
>>How much for the props and costumes? I think I could pay it out of pocket if we really can't afford it.
Date doesn't have much to spend money on, a nice new paycheck for NERV, and doesn't seem to care overmuch for long-term things like retirement accounts. It also dovetails nicely with his ethos around helping people.
>Are there any other possible candidates he might prefer?
Date does care about who is principle, if only indirectly. That will be his boss, which means working under (and with) him. It might be worth seeing if any of the candidates are more tolerable than the others. If we're really lucky, we might even have the opportunity to tilt the selection in our favor.

>>6431853
+1, all good ideas. Also, prompting Shirogane to consider otehr options might help brace him for the fact he is far from a shoe-in.

>>6431853
+1, office politics

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>>6431853
>>6431859
>>6431885
"Why don't we wait for a bit to decide? I'm sure some kids will insist to their parents on how much they wanna go see the islands. As far as I'm aware, the angels only attack Tokyo-3, so if anything we'll be safer there than right here." You propose to Shirogane as you scratch your chin.

"I don't know if the parents will buy that story, but sure, if it's coming from a NERV intern, then it must have some weight to it..."
"What's the minimum quota on our Okinawa deal for it to happen? getting a refund might be hard, but there's still time."
"2 school buses, or 100 students. We were down to 60 last time I checked."
"That's still a full school bus, and that's not counting the school staff we can invite, I'm sure the hotels wouldn't mind the downsize, that's still 60 people they're getting in a day, no company would say no to that money. We just gotta make sure the number doesn't drop that much lower."
"I sure wouldn't mind going to the beach with my wife, maybe I'll invite her!"
God, you hate wifeguys...

"So how much for the props and costumes for the theatre club? It's potentially their big break, so I think I could pay out of pocket for it if we really cant afford it."
"Like, 95.000 Yen. They really didn't pull any punches with us on the venue. The owner said that the last school they worked with didn't get them enough tickets to pay back on the "Investment" so we had to suffer for it. Makeup, artists, god help me if something breaks there..."

95k? Pocket Money. That's almost worth a Shinji from your salary.

"Consider it done." You nonchalantly agree to pay the bill for the school. "If we're going overbudget, we could always use the talent from the other clubs."
"D-Date? Are you sure you don't mind?" Shirogane gasps, wondering when you became so generous with your money.
"Well, since word's going around that I'm turning into a billionaire thanks to NERV's trust fund, I might as well offer a helping hand. Not like I'm doing anything with the money anyway, My biggest expenses at home are a turtle and my cigs, I'm not exactly living a luxurious life."

"Thank you, Date! We really don't know a guy's true character until he gets money, right? Glad you're such a helping hand!" Shirogane is really ecstatic to hear you going through great lengths to helping out the students. Nothing that really went against your character, but considering he knew how much your previous salary was worth, it's fair to say you've earned some points with him.
"Don't mention it. Now about you being a principal... Are you sure there aren't any other candidates Yamadera might prefer over... You?"

>>6431909
"What's that supposed to mean?" Shirogane takes offense to your question.
"I'm just saying he might have other people in mind. Any teacher with seniority could offer to be a principal, too."
"Don't tell me you're interested in getting that job!" The Vice Principal jumps to conclusions since you have a year above him in knowing Yamadera.
"What? No, I already have enough on my plate to even consider it..."
"Well, good! Because I'm getting that position no matter what! I don't heat that guy screaming at my ear all day to get trampled by a newbie like Natsuhi."

He suddenly got way too prideful over the possibility of not being the principal. Going for the PE teacher who's having troubles with her baby daddy's a low blow...
"Think about the big fish here, who actually has a chance of becoming the new principal?"
"Let's see..." Shirogane taps the phone mic, making you shudder from the annoying noise it makes. "Well, in terms of seniority, I'm sure no one beats Wataru-san."
"The teacher from 2-A?"
"Yeah, pretty respectable career. Majored in history, been teaching for 25 years, been here since the school was founded. He's a bit absent minded and stuck in the past, but people don't seem to dislike him and he never misses a day of work. I imagine things would be pretty similar if they switched around, only Wataru doesn't raise his voice like a parent about to beat their kids if you forget his morning coffee."

"Pretty sure their age gap is as old as Wataru's years in the school. Just because they're wrinkly it doesn't mean they're the same, but yeah. I'd say he's a strong candidate if he wants to keep things the same as before. Anyone else?"
"Aside from him, there's Ikezawa-Chan."
"The arts teacher? I never thought of her as principal material."
"Maybe not with her words, but her family's filthy rich. She wanted to use her nepobaby money to kickstart her career, but her parents refused, so she went here instead."
"And you think she'd get chosen because...?"
"Think about it, her family is filled with lawyers and investors. She never had a chance to be a leader of anything, so you know she's dying about getting her own company."
"A school ain't exactly the same as owning a museum."
"But you can't deny it is business. She has good connections that could leave the school in good hands, provided she doesn't change everything just to suit her vision of a good school. It would likely please Yamadera, even if he's not the artsy type."

So we got life experience and peace, investments and changes, and...
"What exactly do you have going against them again?"
"Me? Oh, you know... I'm me."
So nothing, then... To be fair, Yamadera is a good listener, but if just a good pair of ears lead people anywhere, you'd be a billionaire by now.

>>6431920
"Come on, man! You know the only reason our school isn't a perfect environment yet is because that guy's a pain in the ass, I'm the one doing all the paperwork while he just sits around complaining and talking bad about everyone in the teacher's lounge! I didn't stay in school studying 4 years of business management to play ping-pong decision making with the higher ups until we find a middle ground!"

Funny, he just described exactly how business meetings tend to go.
"So you're saying nothing would change?"
"Of course not! I'm saying things would go faster! With a principal that doesn't use his second in command as a personal secretary, we could do twice the work! The less bureaucracy, the better! "

That's not really a strong argument, considering the same would happen if anyone became the principal instead of old man Yamadera, he's too stuck on thinking about working better to properly answer on what he could excel at. It's hard to really vouch for him when all he has going for him is that he knows when to nod his head to concessions.
Let's not reveal who you are vouching for as a principal, that can come later on and if Shiro asks you directly, you can just string him along or even lie about supporting him. Right now you're thinking of who has the biggest chance of being Yamadera's successor and who'd be the best at the job.

>Wataru-San would be the safest bet for Yamadera, judging from age alone.
>The money coming from Ikezawa's pocket might speak louder than any other argument.
>If Shirogane really gets on the principal's good side, and does the same with the other teacher in school, then MAYBE...

>God, you hate wifeguys...
It's these small flashes that really sell him as human.
>nepobaby
Isn't Date a nepobaby with NERV and his momma? Heck, the tapes is someone who was a Daigo fan.
>>6431926
>The money coming from Ikezawa's pocket might speak louder than any other argument.
Old men like retirement money.

>>6431932
Daddy's money for me, but not for thee...

>>6431926
>If Shirogane really gets on the principal's good side, and does the same with the other teacher in school, then MAYBE...
If he can develop his ambition into ruthlessness. No one suspects the quiet ones, and we identified the targets for him.

>>6431926
>>Wataru-San would be the safest bet for Yamadera, judging from age alone.
From what little we know of him, he seems likely to pick the safe option due to age and general temperament.
Also, it would suck to have to deal with a nepo baby as a boss, so hopefully she doesn't wind up winning.
>If Shirogane really gets on the principal's good side, and does the same with the other teacher in school, then MAYBE...
This is also true. He doesn't seem the type to be willing or able to make that effort, because he's so wimpy while also thinking he's already a shoe-in.

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>>6431932
>>6431977
>>6432012
"Well, money and seniority might be a problem for you, but if you gather enough support from the team, then MAYBE you have a chance, Shiro-san."
"Good call! I'll try to make enough coffee for everyone in the teacher's lounge instead of just for Yamadera!"
You don't know if that's gonna help much, but a free cup of joe is not something that's gonna make you hate Shirogane at all... Why correct him, then?
"I already got your support, at least. I know you don't care about money given your background and your new job, so I can't thank you enough for doing this. If you can also help me talk to some people around the campus to see who they're more eager to work under, that'd be good, too. You usually have a talk with everyone on the first day of the semester, right? Try to do that then!"
You didn't say you supported him, you were just bouncing ideas...
"I'll see what I can do." You don't have it in you to say you're more comfortable with Wataru as a principal than him, but you'd rather avoid an argument right now.

"Oh, one last thing before you go!" Shirogane warns you of something you almost forgot. "You think Suzuhara will be a trouble from now on?"
"You mean Toji?"
"Yeah, you told me he's been causing some trouble to the girls in your class. Threw an egg at Ayanami-Chan on the last few days of school."
"Oh, right. I gave him some after school detention and he cleaned the classrooms just fine. You think he'll be a repeat offender? I see him as more of a class skipper than a potential full on bully or delinquent." You admit, the worst he's done to other classmates is influence his best friend Kensuke to skip school with him, but they're far from forming a bike gang or something like that.

"So you didn't hear then... The fight against the angels made a robot crash full force on a civilian building. And wouldn't you know it, the building was where his family was."
"Were they hurt?" You gasped.
"His sister Sakura got crushed under a pile of rubble. She's alive, but... She got paralyzed from the waist down, the doctor's aren't sure if she's gonna walk again."
Damn it... And here you thought Shinji could fight the angels with a clear consciousness... If he doesn't know that, Toji will surely let him know when classes start.
"He knows Rei and Shinji are the Eva pilots, right?" Shirogane asks.
"He and half the planet, yeah."
"You think Toji will hold a grudge, then? He was already a little angry around the other kids, but that's bound to make him worse..."

>Definitely. I'll talk to him right when he arrives at school.
>Maybe that's worth giving a call to his parents.
>Toji might think I'm already onto him, let's wait to see if he does something before casting judgement.
>Write-in.

>>6432113
>>Definitely. I'll talk to him right when he arrives at school.
We can mask the probe as general concern for his sister, and him by extension. Hell, if he is in poor enough shape at that point we might honestly want to pull him in for normal therapy for a few sessions.

To be honest, his parents might not be terribly happy with the pilots either. Dragging them into something we don't know is a problem yet is inviting complications.

>>6432113
>Definitely. I'll talk to him right when he arrives at school.

>>6432113
>Toji might think I'm already onto him, let's wait to see if he does something before casting judgement.
If we come at him before he does anything, he's more likely than ever to do so. He'll feel prejudged and singled out, and kids in a rough patch will often lean into such a reputation to feel in control.

>>6432113
>Write-in.
>"I think that's likely, but I might not make progress if I am too direct. I don't want to wait until an altercation happens to step in, either. I'm going to approach him when he shows up, but feign ignorance about the accident, and try to make an inroad with him on a separate level, maybe something positive. Does he have any particular interests? If he's into sports, for example, I can tell him I heard as much and invite him to a game. I need to be supportive and find a way to make him feel proactive about letting me, rather than prying or taking a hands off approach. It's tricky, but I will put in the work."

>>6432113
+1 to
>>6432239

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>>6432130
>>6432165
>>6432214
>>6432239
"Very likely, but I don't think confronting him directly is a good idea."
"Cause he's a delinquent?" Shirogane ponders.
"No, because it's best to approach him naturally than wait for an altercation or to feign ignorance about his behavior at school."
"So what do you suggest?"
"I don't know... Maybe something more positive? Talk to him about sports and possible opportunities? If I'm doing the theatre club a favor, I don't see why I shouldn't do the same to him."
"Yeah, good luck with that, aside from baseball, sports just haven't been the same in Japan for the past decade and a half."
"I'll figure something out, Toji's problems are tricky to deal with, but I'll put in the work. For his sake."
"For his sake!" Shirogane repeats for good measure, approving your idea.
And with that, you feel safe turning off your phone to relax... Except you just remembered how boring a live without a job is, let alone two. You don't really have a social life going for you to warrant partying around with your money. There's also nowhere to travel outside of Japan, and nothing interesting on the tube.

Guess it's back to calisthenics for you... Maybe you can teach Toji some home exercises, he has to let that anger out and into something productive...

>Roll for fitness, it might reduce Date's stress if he's satisfied with the results.

Rolled 13 (1d100)

>>6432308

Rolled 29 (1d100)

>>6432308
Turtle style

Rolled 34 (1d100)

>>6432308

>>6432311
>>6432321
>>6432322
...Date's got a long way to go on his fitness.

>>6432323
Just one leg in front of the other, just like dad

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>>6432311
>>6432321
>>6432322
Seems like Dagger Date will sadly, not be a thing for now.

>>6432311
>>6432321
>>6432322
Rock Playlist? Check.
Diet? In order.
Motivation? Not there.

You don't really know what was it with you. You tried doing some crunches and sit-ups, but after starting the first few reps and feeling your muscles burning, you just went "I'll do the rest later" every time, only to not follow up on your words.

Maybe hearing the truth about your mother and the anticipation of figuring out what else she did in her work affected you a lot more than you let on. All this time you were posthumously honoring your mother in her work without honoring your father, aside from looking like him from a glance and burning through his money in your early adult years.

You know he said not to compare yourself to him in your dreams, but... Can you really do that? He made those Russian pushups he did look so easy when you watched him, but then you attempted one and pulled a muscle that left you sore for the rest of the weekend.

Aargh, forget it. If you don't feel like exercising, no point in phoning it in. Not eating like crap is already better than what you were doing last month, so let's take what we can get here, now if only you stopped drinking, maybe you'd be proud of what you saw on the mirror...

No, stop thinking like that, try being more forgiving to yourself. You're already doing a lot anyway, just shut up and try to rest in your little sabbatical, not like the planets will align for you to get a break from your two bosses again...

>Stress Level: 20/100

Well, good thing you never forgot to stretch, the amount of time you spent spread out on the couch would probably do a lot of damage to your spine if you were still physically inactive. Being catatonic for half the day from a lack of hobbies is nothing to be proud of, but it sure made the clock tick faster. Before you knew it, it was already Monday and you didn't do anything productive in your break. Again. You didn't even get your speech ready for the meeting in the teacher's lounge...

Nothing that arriving a few minutes before everyone at school couldn't fix. As soon as the gates were open, you had a half hour window of time before classes started to do as you pleased around campus, to which you would of course, use to...

>Wait for the school staff to arrive.
>Look out for Toji.

>>6432446
>Look out for Toji.
I think asking him if he'd be interested in doing some martial arts training with us some time is an awesome idea, we can mention our dad and just be like 'I need a sparring partner occasionally for some skills I am working on, and if you have a good time I can help you sign up for your own classes.' Maybe that's a bit weird but this is NGE, all the adults have weird social dynamics with the kids and it's mostly handwaved...

>>6432324
>Dad
>Legs
Low blow, kek

>>6432487
We've sort of been calling the weird adults out in all fairness, but I still support this general course of action.

>>6432446
>Look out for Toji.

>>6432446
>Look out for Toji.

>>6432446
>>Look out for Toji.

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>>6432487
>>6432489
>>6432532
>>6432564

Slowly, the students start approaching the school one by one, the younger ones saying goodbye to their parents while the older ones walked around in chunks, secluding themselves to their own social bubbles, hugging and handshaking their friends to catch up with what they've done so far.

Hikari Hokari waves at you as she notices your shadow from the balcony, you're staring at them from an angle that's pretty hard to miss, so it's astounding on how the kids barely acknowledge you despite your importance in keeping this place safe and free of conflict. That's fine. Much like a janitor or a politician, people only remember the counselor when he's not doing his job properly. As you wave back at the class rep, you notice the familiar student walking around in his trademark tracksuit, making a beeline from the front entrance and into the side of the building.

There's still some time before classes started, so you couldn't help but wonder where exactly he went as you walked downstairs.
"Damn it!"
You heard the jock cursing as you approached the basketball court, failing to score on the hoop as the ball bounced back to him from overshooting his force. He was very close to doing a three pointer, yet he was unable to let go of the anger of being the only student afflicted from the angel attack, bashing the ball in the court fence after his fourth failed attempt at a shoot.

"Morning, Toji." You speak up to distract him from himself as he quickly becomes self aware of his tantrum, stopping and hiding the ball from you.
"What do you want, Prof? Day's barely started and you're already going to be on my ass?" He groans, unafraid of your authority.
"Didn't take you for a basketball guy." You ignored his unfriendly comment, trying to sound more welcoming.
"What's it to ya?" He gave one last shot at coring his 3 pointer, but the empowered throw only made the ball bounce right back on his face, earning an even bigger groan than before.
"Yeah, I'll never stand out in the tryouts if I keep this up. Nana-chan was supposed to practice, but now that she's preggo I can't count on her all the time for these."

"Did you practice at all during the summer break?"
"..." He did not respond, merely chucking the ball in your general direction before sitting down at the bleachers.
Great, guess you both suck at the physical activities you're trying to do, maybe that's something you can bond over.

>I've heard about what happened in the angel attack...
>Have you heard about the new student?
>Where is Kensuke?
>Wanna go for a walk around the court?
>You mind if I go for a shoot?
>Here, try to score against me.
>Ever heard of Dagger Daigo?
>Write-in.

>>6432623
>Wanna go for a walk around the court?
>Ever heard of Dagger Daigo?
Something about showing mercy

>>6432623
Toji is a blunt kid, but in this case I don't see answering blunt for blunt going well. He's also not dumb, and will almost certainly see through (what seems to be) superficial pity.

>Wanna go for a walk around the court?
Let's ease him into this conversation, and give his temper a chance to cool off a touch.

>>6432623
>Wanna go for a walk around the court?
>>6432656
>He's also not dumb, and will almost certainly see through (what seems to be) superficial pity.
I have worked with youths in crisis de-escalation and so maybe my input here will be useful! You are exactly right, anon! He has a damaged ego, and is afraid - of what's going to happen to his sister, what's going to happen to the world - and that is manifesting as anger and a desire to control his environment to feel soothed. If we give him the opportunity to detect our intentions to support him, and decide whether he will allow us to do so, we give him back some of the power and agency he probably feels he lacks right now. If we are too direct, he will register it as patronizing, and resist us instinctively in order to protect his ego, asserting a sense of control AND independence. We need to make him feel like we are on his side, but also that we are a resource to be utilized, someone that will empower him from the bottom up rather than manage him from the top down.

>>6432623
>Wanna go for a walk around the court?
>Ever heard of Dagger Daigo?
What >>6432656 and >>6432892 said, but I think >>6432652 is clever to mention Dad. if it comes down to it and he brings it up, we can relate that we do also know what it's like to have violence take away someone important.

>>6432652
>>6432656
>>6432892
"Wanna go for a walk around the court?" You offer Toji your company.
"Huh? Why?" He suspiciously looks up to you, still finding your presence bothersome as he wanted to sulk by himself.
"It's kinda windy today, I think it's best to feel the breeze since you're already working a sweat in the morning."
"Tch..." He doesn't really buy it, but something in his body tells you he's gonna take a walk anyway.

Maybe you're out of shape in more than just your body, you're struggling to think of something meaningful to really say to Toji. He's clearly on edge given his situation, and just looking for any target that he can dish out his anger, be it the ball, the hoop, or a person. The silent treatment only makes him grow more stilted ins his steps, wondering when you were going to say something... What was going to be? Not even you knew, to be honest... You just wanted an excuse to stretch, honestly.

"Since when the hell did you become an athlete?" Toji squinted his eyes at you as you turned around the perimeter with him.
"Never. I just like walking."
"Sure you do..." He shrugs you off, as if waiting for you to reprimand him for his thought crimes.
"I'm serious. I walk home every day."
"You don't have a car? Aren't you 30 or something?" He snickers, thinking you are poor.
"I could buy one, but given the traffic and the growing level of car accidents in the city with what's going on, I'm still on the fence about it."
"Is what I would say if I was a poor adult." Toji places his arms behind his back, fanning his nape as the sun burns his scalp, trying to keep the angel attacks and his thoughts about it a secret like it wasn't going to be the talk of the town for the remainder of the year.

"It's all that Ikari's fault." He clenched up his fist.
"Junior or Senior?" You asked.
"Don't matter, They both assholes! I'd like to see how either of them would react to what happened in the angel attack!"
Well, one was there, the other one sent his son there. Even if Sakura and Toji switched places with the Ikaris, you doubt either would really care about seeing the other crushed.
"So you don't like him?"
"'So you don't like him?'" He mimics you with a gruff voice "Don't act like I don't know why you're here, prof! Sis has been all over the news! 'Hey, Toji! Are you ok? Do you need something? I'm here for you if you wanna talk!' Well, what if I don't want to talk, huh? I don't wanna hear any of that shit, so don't push me, alright!?"

His thoughts couldn't be farther away from you, he just wants to see Rei and Shinji, and give them a piece of his mind. Give them the violent reaction people are expecting him to show

>>6433076
>The pilots didn't do it on purpose, they're doing their best to keep Tokyo-3 away from the angels.
>You won't get off with just a warning if you hit them this time.
>No one's really to blame about the situation. No one knows how those monsters act yet.
>Rei's gonna feel like she's being picked on if you hassle her again.
>Don't you think Shinji feels guilty about it too? He's had to seen the news, too.
>Are you actually mad at them, or are you mad about not being able to do anything about the situation?
>Losing people to violent tragedies is very common these days, don't let you be the cause of that, too.
>Write-in.

>>6433077
hmm. tricky tricky.
>The pilots didn't do it on purpose, they're doing their best to keep Tokyo-3 away from the angels.
>Don't you think Shinji feels guilty about it too? He's had to seen the news, too.
I'm tempted to mention that Shinji doesn't actually want to be a pilot. But that topic feels a little too personal to leak.

>Are you actually mad at them, or are you mad about not being able to do anything about the situation?
This is the heart of it, I figure.
Being powerless sucks. But by definition, you can't do anything about it. Hurting those that are trying to help, even when they screw up, is inviting more pain down the road for everyone involved.

>>6433076
Oh man, we choked and fucked it, he sees us as patronizing AND as a coward, woulda been better to bring it up ourselves than let him broach the topic like this.... Hmmm
>Write-in
>"I'm not trying to push you. I didn't bring it up. I'm sure having to step up to the plate and continue your studies has been challenging, and all the public scrutiny too. That's why I asked if you'd like to take a walk, really. A break from the pressure and the scrutiny, without having to be alone."
The kid's a raw nerve right now, we need to play it slow and earn both his trust and his respect. We can be a little deferential, considerate, and show respect here, and it'll start moving the needle that way.

>>6433101
+1

>>6433077
>Are you actually mad at them, or are you mad about not being able to do anything about the situation?
>Losing people to violent tragedies is very common these days...
>It happened to me, too. I know it sounds cliche, but I know what that feels like.

>>6433094
>>6433101
>>6433244
>>6433181
All great and sensible choices, let's give it a roll, though. We're not sure if Toji will listen to reason or storm off the moment you try to speak. Not like he's your patient, anyway so he's not obligated to do as you say...

Rolled 60 (1d100)

>>6433677

Rolled 22 (1d100)

>>6433677

Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>6433677
can we see dcs?

>>6433732
Sure, the DC was 45+5 from the stress threshold, so you passed, I'll be writing it shortly

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>>6433716
>>6433721
>>6433732
"I'm not trying to push you, Toji." You stepped closer, staring into his eyes and doing your best to not advert your gaze. "I didn't bring it up, you did. I'm sure having to step up to the plate and continue your studies has been challenging, and all the public scrutiny too. That's why I asked if you'd like to take a walk, really. A break from the pressure and the scrutiny, without having to be alone."

"But I just said I didn't want to talk, I want to be alone, for once! Everyone that's been trying to help me has just been making me angrier!"
Interesting, so unlike the pilots, Toji has a functionable support system, he's just been rejecting it due to his current feelings overwhelming him.

"But are you angry at other people, or about not being able to do anything about the situation? That's the hard part about tragedies, there is very little you can do about them."
"What the hell would you know about tragedies!?" He says, pressing his fists closed to the point of them turning white.
"What don't we know about tragedies? Ever since the second impact, I don't think one single person was spared from what happened around the world..." You look down, being the first to break eye contact as you remind yourself about your father's leg and the car accident. "I don't really want to make this about me, but I know how it feels like, and so does everyone else who cares about you. Sadness is something everyone feels."

"Y-You're wrong!" He blurts out after shaking his head. "This wasn't a tragedy! This could have gone differently!"
"So you're blaming the pilots? I bet Shinji feels guilty about it, too... These angels are monstrous creatures we know little to nothing about, so fighting them in real time is a tough job, the pilots are doing their best--"
"I'm not mad at him, I'm mad at myself!" He punches the nearby tree, instantly recoiling after some splinters from the trunk entered his fist, hurting himself more than anyone or anything in the process. "When the building came down... I was together with Sakura... When I saw the rubble coming, I jumped away first... And only then I realized she didn't jump with me! I thought she was gonna follow me, but she just... Froze up! I should have realized she was too scared to move, but I didn't, and now she's stuck in a wheelchair for life!"

...So that's what this is about.
"My parents weren't there, I was the only one responsible for her, and I failed! Now I'm just supposed to go back to school and worry about classes and all when all of that's still going on? No! That ain't gonna happen!"

>Does your sister blame you for this? Does your family?
>Much like Shinji, you had no way of knowing that would happen.
>You might think you could have done things differently, but hindsight is 20/20.
>Do you think talking to Shinji will sort this out?
>Write-in.

>>6433846
>Does your sister blame you for this? Does your family?

>>6433846
>I thought she was gonna follow me, but she just... Froze up!
Ah. This is a whole different animal. This is a guilt thing, not a raging at the pilots or his own powerlessness thing.

>Much like Shinji, you had no way of knowing that would happen.
>You might think you could have done things differently, but hindsight is 20/20.

Personally, this is blunt and unkind, but the fact that he jumped and she didn't isn't his fault, it's hers. That's not to say she deserved it, obviously, and it sucks that it happened at all. Plus, if there wasn't enough time for him to realize and go back, there's pretty good odds if he'd stopped to grab her they'd both be in a wheelchair.

>>6433846
>Write-in.
Remind him that flight attendants advise parents to put on their oxygen mask first before helping their child. Sakura would be worse off with her brother crippled too, and she needs his strength right now.

>>6434091
>This is a guilt thing, not a raging at the pilots or his own powerlessness thing.
Eh, I mean he did just have some choice words with Shinji - guilt is and fear are 'root feelings', they usually fruit into anger at others (like at us right now, or Shinji) because that's more manageable than expressions of anger towards the self. I think the guilt is probably intertwined with a feeling of powerlessness too; if he had more power he could've fixed it, cue him acting like a bully and talking to us the way he is in order to feel powerful temporarily.
>>6434152
+1
Good play, affix your own mask is evergreen advice for mental health professionals and perfectly suited to this. He did his best. Maybe we also simply confirm to him that this is gonna feel like shit for a while, but the more he rages the more he is running away from it and dragging it out. He needs to think long and hard about how he did his best, and his sister knows that too. This stuff is scary because it can happen at any time, still, you have to keep living.

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>>6433984
>>6434091
>>6434152
>>6434155
"Does your sister blame you for what happened, or your parents, or anyone else?" You ask the kid, hoping he would realize why.
"What? No! The first thing my sister said after waking up was wonder if she could still watch me in the tryouts..." His voice became lower in volume as you managed to redirect his anger another way.
"Then there is no need to blame yourself. Much like Shinji, you had no way of knowing what would happen back there. You think you do, but that's just because the moment has already passed, that's why they say hindsight is 20/20. You don't have all the access to all the information until after the fact."
"Hindsight?" He scratches his head at the word out of his vocabulary.
Ah, right. He's not an avid reader, is he...

"Ever been in a plane before?" You shrugged, hoping you could find some middle ground.
"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything--"
"Hold onto that thought." You interrupt him, hoping that the use of his language would work on him. "Flight attends always advise parents to put their oxygen mask first before helping their child. Do you know why that is?"
"Well... That's cus they can't help anyone if they're in danger." He speaks up after a brief pause.
"Exactly. That's exactly what you realized by instinct when you jumped first. You had to make sure you were safe before helping her. Had you helped her, there's a chance you would have both been crushed under the rubble.

"Well, what if that was the better outcome?" Toji gritted his teeth.
"Come on, Toji... You and I know you don't really mean that..." You raise your eyebrow, hoping he is not suicidal, he certainly doesn't look the type, buy you can never be quite sure when it comes to those subjects."
"Tch, of course not..." He rolls over a pebble with a light kick. "It's just... She's just 5, prof! A five year old that might never walk again! I can't imagine the pain she was feeling! I was still just out my diapers at that age! And now she has to deal with all that responsibility? While nothing happens to me? It's not fair at all!"
Out his diapers at 5 years old? Guess he was a late bloomer...

"When I started running, I thought she would do the same! like it's natural to run from danger, right? But I'm not in her head, why would she act like me, just because I would do that! I just assumed she would, instead of saying anything, while Sakura was like a deer in the headlights watching the concrete fall on top of her!" Toji finally slouches, recounting the events as he admits that he had no way of knowing.

"And that's what we call hindsight." You place a hand on his shoulder, to which he surprisingly, does not pull away from, merely staring back from his side. "You're blaming yourself with info that you know now, instead of forgiving yourself and admitting that you did your best. This is why no one else is blaming you for this but yourself."

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>>6434169
"... I wanna make it up to her, but I just can't, Prof! This isn't like breaking a toy, where you can buy another one! Spine injuries are serious! I can't just give her a new one!" "Toji finally lets go of the anger, the honesty in his feelings being evident, even if his rationale is too simple to realize it.

"You already are. You are safe, you are rooting for her, despite her being scared, she still has someone that she can hold on to when things get rough. She wouldn't be feeling that if you also were injured just so you could relate to her."

"I know, that's why I haven't been able to focus on making those damn shots! Getting in the basketball team is the only thing I managed to promise to Sakura that I know I can actually keep, but with me being angry like that, I can't even make a slam dunk without overshooting!"

"You know I can help you out with that, right?"
"No you can't! You don't know jack about exercising!"
"Ever heard of Dagger Daigo?"
"Huh?" The question catches him off-guard before he could go back into his raging mask of power. "The boxer guy? I saw him on TV sometimes when I was young."
Good, the culture is not lost on kids these days.
"I might not look like it, but I'm his son."
Toji squinted at you, pulling up his phone to look at how Daigo was at his prime before admitting that you two somewhat looked alike.
"Hah! From undefeated champion to school guy? What a downgrade!"

Way to twist the knife in, kid... He's lucky you were taught not to hit children...
"I can throw a mean punch. Can't do that to you, of course, but who knows, I can teach you a thing or two about conditioning if you need help with that, I still have his training tapes so the fundamentals of physical educations aren't lost on me, I just don't practice it."
"What, you trying to be my coach? I already have Nana-chan! Thanks, but no thanks. The only talking I wanna do for now is with her and with--"

Some more students approach the school. The first one is his best friend Kensuke Aida, followed by Shinji, who looks absolutely exhausted given the eyebags on him, and all the way back, there was Rei, stumbling over like a zombie as she took a pause to the wall, nearly sleeping on it as she leaned over before shaking herself awake and proceeding towards the bathroom, presumably to wash her face.
What has NERV been doing to those kids...?

About as soon as your eyes diverted to Shinji, Toji locked his sight on him, slowly distancing himself away from the basketball court as he growled:
"Ikari."
"Toji--" You open your mouth, but he already knew what you were going to say.
"I'm just gonna talk to em. See what he has to say."
He didn't sound too sure if he was going to stick to that plan. Especially depending on what he hears. Shinji is not the type to provoke when he knows he did something wrong, but these kids are anything but predictable...

>>6434184
>Advise him not to go.
>Go along with him, just to be safe.
>Warn him that he'll be in your office if he gets violent with Shinji.
>Check on Rei, she might not be feeling well.
>Walk it off, you trust him enough to not be stupid.
>Something else.

>>6434185
>Check on Rei, she might not be feeling well.
Turtle egg

>>6434184
>Something else.
>Tell him you'll be nearby
They're going to be crossing each other's paths often enough. Better for us to oversee the initial conversation to head off anything too ugly.
However, hovering over his shoulder is going to cause more problems than it solves. As long as we're physically close enough that he can't verbally (or physically) abuse Shinji, but otherwise give them space, hopefully they can work out their issues peacefully.
>Check on Rei
Presuming she's close enough that we remain in earshot of the boys.

>>6434276
+1 on this, but prioritizing checking on Rei if we can't do both

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>>6434232
>>6434276
>>6434277
"Sure, I'll go check on Rei while you're at it." You give him some space as you approach the girls' bathroom, with the first girl coming out being warned that you want to see if Rei is ok.

All the while, you were straining your ear to hear what Shinji and Toji were up to. You saw Kensuke greeting Toji just fine, but since the jock mostly ignored his nerdy friend, it seemed his priorities were laser focused.

"So you're Shinji?" He blocked the pilot's path, cracking his knuckles.
"Uhm... Yeah! Good morning, what's your name?" Shinji tried to be friendly, not picking up the danger he was in.
"Toji Suzuhara. You're a lot scrawnier than I expected for an Eva pilot, new kid..." He circled around Shinji while Kensuke observed from a few steps away. "I bet you think ya doing a good job, saving the world and all."
"Not really..." Shinji's smile disappears as soon as Toji mentions the Eva, which even his potential bully noticed.
"...Anyway, I want you to know that my sister got hurt real bad because of you! And since my dad and gramps work in that NERV lab of yours, I'm the only one who can go to her hospital! What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Oh, really?" Shinji's eyes perk up once he understands why Toji was mad. "I'm so sorry, Toji. It was my first time piloting the Eva, I hadn't even trained with it before, but now it won't happen again, I think..."

"What kind of excuse is that?" Toji shouts back after some recoil. "Of course it wont happen again, she already can't walk! What else could be done to make her life worse? A sorry ain't gonna cut it."

Since Shinji was genuinely apologetic towards his situation, it was on his best intentions to make amends with the first boy he meets in school, which was not the confrontational reaction Toji wanted, the sight of Shinji kneeling down to grovel only made his mixed feelings all the more swirled.
"Is this better? I don't know what else I could do, but I really do want everyone to be safe here..."

"Go easy on him, will ya? The new kid is clearly sorry. What more do you want?" Kensuke chastised his friend before he did anything stupid.
"Grr... Whatever, Shinji! You're not worth the effort of hating, anyway! But you better know that you owe me one! I'll keep my eye on you!"
As Toji stepped away, Kensuke helped Shinji dust himself off as the pilot spoke something under his breath, which instantly made Toji turn his head and walk back towards him.

"What did you just say?!" Toji nearly jumped Shinji to the ground in a tackle, but Kensuke was kick enough to hold him back.
"Knock it off, will ya Toji? You know the new kid is right!"

>>6434315
"Kurono-Sensei." Your attention is diverted from the near scuffle as Rei greets you half-awake.
"Hey there, Rei. How are you doing?"
"The intensive simulation training is mostly over... They have been doing... Additional tests in me since I was deemed more appropriate for it... It's been... exhausting..." She says, almost drifting to sleep in every pause, and that's after washing her face.

"Why didn't you take the day off?"
"I'll lose the year if I do... Additionally, I need to attend the book club..."
What is she, a lab rat? They've been working her to the bone and then some...

>Do you want some coffee?
>I can make an excuse to the teacher if you really need to rest home.
>What kinds of tests are these?
>Have you been getting along with Shinji?
> [Go over to where Toji and Shinji are]
>Write-in.

>>6434325
>Do you want some coffee?
>What kinds of tests are these?

>>6434325
>What kinds of tests are these?
>I can make an excuse to the teacher if you really need to rest home.
Their status as pilots isn't a secret. It shouldn't be hard to make the case that they need some exceptions to accommodate keeping us all alive.

>>6434325
>>I can make an excuse to the teacher if you really need to rest home.
>>What kinds of tests are these?

Out of curiosity how different would the other vices Date be? Obsessive, survivor’s guilt, etc.

>>6434276
+1 as well, good plan.

>>6434185

>>6434342
If we'd taken after dear ol' dad, I could see him being a gym rat, and/or wearing a very thick and heavy mask of false positivity.

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>>6434342
Technically, he kind of has all of that, the smoking and drinking is just the main one that took focus. I was thinking that being obsessive could make Date a lot more OCD oriented, paranoia would make it harder for him to make friends and he'd react to everything like he did when he saw the tapes on his house the first time, Survivor's guilt would make him actually embrace being a carbon copy of his mom/dad. Seeing any of the pilots dying would probably make him try another attempt on the spot, glad that won't happen here...right?

>>6434375
The dice doesn't lie, we missed the boat on Dagger Date becoming a thing.

>>6434330
>>6434334
>>6434339
"Do you want some coffee or something? I can make an excuse to the teacher if you really need to rest home."
"Ritsuko said my body doesn't react well with coffee..." Her voice wavers.
"I bet it doesn't react to sleep deprivation, either." You insist.
"There's no need... I can attend classes as usual..." She says, wobbling to walk past you, but her kneels buckle before long, making you rush to hold her still.
"Rei, everyone knows you are piloting the Eva now, I'm sure the teachers can understand if you take a day off."
"Then... I would like to stay in the infirmary for a few hours..."
"I'll take you there, make sure to have a nap, at least."

You take Rei's hand as you glance over your shoulder to see Toji, still being held by Kensuke, with Shinji noticing you taking care of the fellow pilot and walking past the duo.
"Date-San! Good to see you! Is Rei doing alright?"
Seems like they're already mostly over their little drama, perhaps they're even turning friendly.

"She just needs some shuteye is all. She said you two were doing some tests?"
"Yeah, it's related to--"
"Wow! Look! It's the new Eva pilot!"
"Are you really Shinji Ikari's son!?"
"Thanks for saving the city! Here, have my lunch money!"

A few students of Shinji's class huddled over to greet him, giving him plenty of positive attention that he wasn't used to receiving which interrupted your conversation. That's fine, let him talk to people his age for once, at least you avoided him getting a black eye before the bell rang.
Toji snorts as he walks past you, with Kensuke playing around with his glasses as he helped his friend out in avoiding suspension.

Rei's grip on your hand is so light you barely feel that she's there, she lets you lead the pace as you walk upstairs to the infirmary, where she almost instantly lays down with her eyelids fluttering shut.
"So, Rei. Would you mind telling me about the tests they were doing...?" You ask, worrisome that you might be bothering her beauty sleep.
"I can tell you on the weekend... Not right now...." She says before drifting off on the spot, relaxing on the hard mattress within seconds.
You promptly brew some tea at the teacher's office, hoping to save some for the sickly Rei when she woke up. You wish it was coffee, but since she can't drink it, that'll have to do.

Man, you were so busy trying to get your body in shape that you forgot you had to prepare a speech today, adult life really sucks, everything feels like it needs twice the time while you're working with half the energy...
It doesn't take long before the teachers all line up at the meeting table. The grumpy Yamadera calling Shirogane names as he guides the limping man to his chair, the more relaxed Wataru waiting for you to speak with a big smile on his face, as well as Ikezawa, who had a face that said "This better be done in under 10 minutes."

>>6434430
Arriving late to the scene is Nana-chan, her eyes being puffy after setting aside her phone and entering the room. Her baby bump has grown somewhat more noticeable given it's well within her second month of pregnancy, but she still looks to be very much in shape, otherwise.

"Finally, this girl showed up." Yamadera groans, affirming everyone was here.
"Sorry, It's... not important right now..." She sets her problems aside, leaving you to say what you had to say.

...What did you have to say here again?

>Adress the elephant in the room, how school should treat the pilots and the other students now that you have info on the angels.
>Do your usual motivational speech to start the semester.
>Talk to Natsuhi about maternity leave.
>Adress Yamadera's wishes to resign.
>Something else.

>>6434353
Woops, was a little late.

>>6434435
>Do your usual motivational speech to start the semester.
We can segue into talking about the pilots when someone else brings it up, but NERV work is not our priority when we're here.

>>6434430
>you glance over your shoulder to see Toji, still being held by Kensuke,
Heh. He's a good kid.

>>6434435
+1
>>6434457
Good reasoning. Plus, if we lean on the NERV angle too hard someone might get the wrong idea about our relationship with them.

>>6434435
>Do your usual motivational speech to start the semester.
3rd option right out in public is crazy

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>>6434457
>>6434475
>>6434549
Screw it, might as well phone it in.
"Glad to see everyone is back in action again."
"Oh, stop lying, will ya Date?!" Yamadera scowls.
"... As always, this semester will come with plenty of activities for the kids in middle and high school, and with several classes graduating, it is important that we keep doing our best for the future of our nation."
"Tch, right. Like any of them'll have a future with what's going on, right?" He elbows Shirogane, which forces a laugh that sounds like someone punched the air out of him. The rest of the team aren't as eager to stroke his ego, so they're stuck holding back their cringe faces like you are.

"As all of you know, the events occurring in Tokyo-3 will prove to be... worrisome, but we have to make sure the children still feel safe in campus. Thusly, not only should we be ready to do our job in helping them in class and make sure our methodology is up to par, but that we give more content to these developing minds than what is inside of their notebooks. If there is a problem, we solve it. If they are unsure about our future, we will help them see a path forward. We were all children one day, and if anything led us here so far, it was the decisions made by our mentors and teachers all the way back then. To fail them now is to deny this generation's chances of improving over the mistakes of the last one. Each and every boy and girl here all are their own beings with unknown potential towards their adult lives. Tapping into that means tapping into--"

"Wrap it up already, will ya? We've heard this spiel a thousand times over from you." Yamadera yawns, interrupting you a third time as you pray for the next angel to burn down his house.
"... If there's anything any of you need, you know where to find me. Stay safe and good luck with your duties, everyone."
Yamadera's annoying commentary brought your mood down, but that's when Natsuhi comes in with the save, clapping loudly at your speech, followed by a few other teachers who didn't want to leave her awkwardly clapping alone. It was certainly not a standing ovation, but it's not like you feel you deserve one, either. You're no Daigo, after all.

>>6434595

"Now just one second, sonny." Wataru raises his hand before the teachers could leave. "Pardon me for dozing off while you were talking, but I just couldn't help but wonder. Now that I have two of those Evangelion pilots on my class, I was wondering if NERV was giving us any special treatment from housing those child soldiers they got."
"Ah, right. I was hoping some of them could take work leave due to the importance of them fighting the angels, but I'm not sure they can give us something in return."
"Why not? They sure have been filling your pockets..." Yamadera holds back a laugh.
"I'm not talking about money, Yamadera-san. I'm talking about medical care, protection added safety. It's our job to prioritize the children alright, but if there's anything extra we can get to better prepare for those monsters out there, I don't see why we shouldn't be getting it.

"Yeah. I'd say that's a fair trade." Natsuhi speaks up. "Date-san, can't you really tell us anything that might help us out? We don't even know when the next one can attack, if it happens during classtime, we are bound to have some issues in bringing them to safe zones..."

>There's a lot of classified information I don't know about, sorry.
>I can try to make an arrangement with my superiors.
>There are 14 angels left and one more pilot on the way, that's all I know.
>Write-in.

>>6434605
>I can try to make an arrangement with my superiors.
>There are 14 angels left and one more pilot on the way, that's all I know.
Draft some demands, team effort.

>>6434605
>There are 14 angels left and one more pilot on the way, that's all I know.
NERV's been pretty caviler with what info is gives to the public, so I don't think either of those pieces is protected.
>There's a lot of classified information I don't know about, sorry.
We're just the therapist, man. We aren't privy to any serious secrets.

>>6434605
Don't mention how many angels are left, but do draft a request sheet at mentioned by >>6434607

>>6434607
>>6434628
>>6434665
"There's just a lot of classified information I don't know about, people. Sorry." You shrug, wondering if they would even bother listening to you if you called.

"What kind of excuse is that?" Yamadera kicks the foot of the table. "Yer telling me they're paying you twice my salary to keep your mouth shut and you can't even ask for anything in return? That's some grade A bullshit if I've ever heard it."
"I'm just the therapist there, boss... I'm not even sure if the CEOs can do much when it comes to city infrastructure."
"Even the janitors here get a heads up when school's out, Date. I'm sure the least you could do is try." Ikezawa scratches her forehead, mistaking your explanations for excuses.
"He definitely knows something, he just doesn't want to tell us because it's best for his paycheck." Yamadera smirks, seeing you squirm against the wall.
"D-Date... There's gotta be something you can say to use that would ease our worries..." Shirogane raises his eyebrow, leaving you by yourself as he sides with Yamadera like usual.
"Fine, I could arrange something with my superiors at NERV. The Parent and Teachers meeting is next week, right? Shinji and Rei's guardians are bound to show up, maybe we can negotiate something with them."

"In a week from now? What if the next angel shows up and we die before then? We can't work in the dark here!" Ikezawa speaks up once more.
"You know we have the Japanese Strategic Self Defense Force itself on our side when it comes to evacuations already, right? NERV's part of the ordeal isn't directly related to saving civvies." You try to argue, but it falls on deaf ears.
"Yeah, I'm sure we can attest to that." Wataru complains, knowing how much the city could be destroyed until the end of the war. "Anything could work, really. A personal vehicle, escorts, a prioritized fork into the evac zones, a safe zone on campus, even! I've seen how fast they can repair the Evas, why can't they do the same to the city?"
"That's a fair point... It can't be too hard for them to ensure our survival, especially when their pilots are also in our care." Even Natsuhi sees their argument as reasonable.
"Look, all I know that I can really tell you is that there are 14 angels left and one more pilot will be on the way, sorry. The rest is just technobabble that's not really relevant to the conversation. So if you think my pay is high, just imagine how much it costs to keep the city running on their end."
"All the more reason they should invest more in our safety. That's a drop in the bucket compared to all their high tech gear, no?" Wataru argues back to the support of everyone in the room. "14 is a big number, and I know it could have been a lot worse, but I doubt they're all going to have such clean victories like that one."

Seems like you're fighting a losing battle here. Now that they know you work there, they think you're buddy buddy with Gendo and that NERV's budgeting team is at your beck and call.

>>6434830
The teachers and remaining staff have successfully tied your hands with their rationale. Their lives are at stake just as much as the rest of the world's, and while that doesn't automatically mean they should get a special treatment, you can't exactly ignore the demands of the people you see on a Monday to Friday basis.

Even the Parent/Teacher meeting isn't a surefire way to let them talk to NERV, since it's a given Misato will be there as Shinji's guardian, but you'll be lucky if anyone appears at all to take care of Rei, let alone the man himself. Their demands aren't exactly absurd, but what will armed guards and a few tanks do against a thing like Sachiel and his siblings? It's more likely to just scare the children and given them a false sense of security for an additional 2 seconds before they get blown to smithereens...

Urgh... You could use a smoke right now, you're not used to people ganging up on you like this.

>Try to call Ritsuko, she's more easy to convince by now.
>Try to call Misato, she's the one responsible for NERV's military force.
>Try to convince them to wait for when everyone's parents are here next week.
>Something else.

>>6434841
>Try to call Misato, she's the one responsible for NERV's military force.
Time to ask a favor, Ritsuko is too antisocial to handle this gracefully. They do have a point. This organization has enough money to make the home room teacher look older than make him disappear.

>>6434841
>Try to call Misato, she's the one responsible for NERV's military force.
Much like Rei's demonstration, it's a PR exercise, and one which will help keep the pilots from being bullied and resented, and create a better school life for their all important mental health.

>>6434841
>>Try to call Misato, she's the one responsible for NERV's military force.

>but what will armed guards and a few tanks do against a thing like Sachiel and his siblings? It's more likely to just scare the children and given them a false sense of security for an additional 2 seconds before they get blown to smithereens...
Not even stationing an actual EVA here would amount to any real security. Security theater is all that can be given them. It'd give the conventional forces something to do, with potentially some nice PR, if it's spun right.

>>6434844
>>6434849
>>6434891
Don't you know it's rude to call people unannounced? What if she's doing something important?

It's up to luck if she'll answer in time while your coworkers are all staring daggers at you, so give me a roll, DC is 50. It's like flipping a coin, but with 98 more numbers. Who knows, a familiar voice might even reduce your stress if you pass!

Rolled 14 (1d100)

>>6434905
I’m tired of your shit, Date. Fail now so we can have a Dagger Date authority crash out.

Rolled 9 (1d100)

>>6434905

>>6434906
>>6434915
Ask and you shall receive, I guess...

Rolled 32 (1d100)

>>6434905
LEMME GET THAT HOTLINE BLING

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>>6434947
Sheesh, that can only mean one thing...

>>6434972
Kek.

Well, at least they'll all believe we have no pull at NERV now.

>>6434906
>>6434915
>>6434947
"Let me call my boss, then. I'm sure we can work on an agreement." You snatch your cell phone out your pocket and take a few steps back. Despite turning around and not having direct eye contact with them being a lot more relaxing, you know they're all staring at your back like it had an exposed pimple on it.

Come on Misato, all you need to do is pick up the phone...
Ring...
Ring...
Ring ring ring ring...
"Any luck trying to get to her?" Ikezawa asks after the second call ends.
"Of course not, Date's full of shit as always!" Shirogane slams his coffee mug on the table.
"Don't be like that! It's not his fault if his boss doesn't answer a call right away!" Natsuhi still defends you from further scorn.

Damn it, Misato! Get your drunk ass out of bed and say something before they eat you alive here!
'Misato is typing...'
Oh, great! At least she's not sleeping...
"Why are you so fast to defend him, Nana? Just because your baby daddy doesn't care about your sorry ass, doesn't mean Date will step up for you if you back him up!" The old principal says something so insensitive, even Shirogane looks back at him in shock.
"P-Principal!"
"Y-You don't have the right to say that!" Being a touchy subject for her, Natsuhi fails to sound intimidating due to her cracking voice and puffy eyes, already having to deal with that problem before the meeting.

Why does Misato type so SLOW!? Heads are gonna roll if she doesn't at least give you a heads up--
'Can't talk right now. The Angel is coming.'
>Stress Level: 37

It takes a moment before you realize you need to tell the others about this news. The quivering of your lips and the stopping of your heartbeat take a physical priority over ceasing their stupid arguments. It isn't until Ikezawa looks back to you and asks you straight away that you snap back to reality.

"Any updates?"
"The angel is coming..." You whisper as everyone turns their heads back to you. "Here's the NERV worker's privileges you were asking for, I guess... Now we're the first ones to know about it."
"A-Are you serious?" Shirogane trembles.
"Am I known for doing stand up comedy? Yes I am serious!"
"Why are y'all standing still then? We gotta move!" Yamadera tries to stand up from the chair, but his energy for the day was wasted on being an asshole to you, needing help from Shirogane to move anywhere else.

"Calm down, we've trained for this over a thousand times already." You coax them into doing the proper instructions. "Natsuhi, go sound the alarm. Every other teacher can go to their respective classes and make a head count before escorting the kids towards the front gates. We'll only head to evac zone Q once we're sure everyone is with us.

While everyone is scrambling to do as you say, you decide to...
>Stick with Natsuhi. Gotta watch out for her baby.
>Wake Rei up in the infirmary.
>Escort the pilots first.
>Help Shirogane out with Yamadera.
>Wait at the front gates.
>Something else.

>>6435529
>Wake Rei up in the infirmary.
TOP FUG

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>>6435529
Balls. We gotta scramble the pilots ASAP, or there's not going to be any EVAs to play defense.
>>Wake Rei up in the infirmary.
then
>Escort the pilots.

Bumping you past the necro'd threads

>>6435529
>Wake Rei up in the infirmary.
Yamadera Is the worst

>>6435529
>Wake Rei up in the infirmary.
REI, YOU'RE STILL THE COMPETENT ONE, WAKE UP, AAAAAAA

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>>6435782
>>6435538
>>6435586
>>6435811
You hate to admit it, but you are actually pretty glad the Angel saved you from the heated argument you were having in the office. Provided Shinji and Rei do their job, your coworkers will understand that there's not that much you can do against the threats invading Tokyo-3 that would--

Rei can't do her job while she's in napppy time, can she?
Alright, guess you just found something to do.
While the alarm rings and Natsuhi tells every student to appear back to their class so they can escape in flocks towards the evac zone underground, you rush to the infirmary by sliding on the guardrail to save space from the children trampling themselves over the stairs, where the nurse luckily decided to skip school. Must be his lucky day, and your unluckiest one...

The first child hasn't moved an inch from where you last saw her, sleeping peacefully in her neatly folded sheets, failing to even make a single sound as her chest slowly rose and fell down from her shallow breathing.

Sleep deprivation really is worrisome, the alarm is nearly shattering your eardrums every time it beeps, and that's not counting she shrills and screams of her classmates outside, yet here she is, adorably unconscious to contrast the panic in the vicinity.
Much like the Evangelion itself, it feels like you're staring at a humanoid android which does not react to outside stimuli.

>Shake her awake.
>Lightly tap at her shoulder.
>Call her name.
>Shout at her.
>Pry her eye open.

>>6435852
>Call her name.
>Shake her awake.

If the alarms aren't waking her, she is OUT. She's going to need something of a jolt to bring her back to the land of the living.

I'm half-tempted to suggest picking her up and carrying her if she doesn't wake, but I doubt Date could actually manage that for any length of time. Plus the LOOKS we'd get carrying an unconscious girl in a crisis.
And, you know, an pilot that cannot be woken won't do much good anyway.

>>6435852
>Call her name.
Robtos and brainwashed child soldiers, and especially Rei based on our time as her therapist, obey direct orders.

>>6435852
>Shake her awake.
>Call her name.
WAKEY WAKEY EGGS AND BACON

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>>6435856
>>6435858
>>6435900
"Psst! Rei!" You tug at her body and give her a rustle as if you were waking up your turtle. "Hey, Rei! Psst! Wake up."
Much like Queen Kamehameha, Rei wakes up in small little steps. Firstly, she squints her closed eyelids before slowly opening them. Her stoic, plain expression took over, the only contractions in her facial muscles being above the bridge of her nose as she turned her head to you, then to the crowd gathering outside as she slowly adjusted to the light emanating from the window.

"The angel?" She instantly figures out what was going on, confirming the sitrep more out of politeness than ignorance.
You never really saw how Rei reacted to Sachiel's invasion since you were busy bringing Shinji over to HQ. You don't know if her not reacting at all to the chaos amidst you is shocking, or completely in character for her.
"Where is Ikari-kun?" Without even yawning, she slides off her sheets after seeing you nod your head.

"With the rest of Class 2-A, I figure."
"Let's go." She promptly walks to the door at a brisk pace. She really was born for this, no signs of fear whatsoever. With how rough it was to convince Shinji to pilot Unit 01, you'd think Rei would have at least some resistance, but she has absolutely none to speak of.

As most of the people inside the building have already ran off by now, you idly follow behind Rei as she looks around for her classmates. Natsuhi was pushing the manhole cover out with the help of Shirogane as they were ready to crawl towards the underground passageways.
Being the taller figure out of you two, you quickly signal to Rei where Shinji was and led her to the boy, who was not as scared as the other kids, who were screaming and shouting to each other as they ran around in circles, yet his expression was pretty telling: He really wished someone else would do this instead of him.

"Ikari-Kun." She fiercely stood a few steps away from him.
"Ayanami..." He gulped, hoping that she wouldn't wake up so he could have an excuse about not knowing how to get to HQ.
"Follow me. I know my way to HQ from how long I've used these tunnels."
Must explain why you never saw her around town...
"Everyone! The Eva Pilots are here!"
"They will save the day again!" A few of the students saw Rei's cold commands as a display of heroism, cheering her own as Shinji took her side.
"Do not worry. We will protect you." She briefly humored, if unintentionally, the kids in her class, making them clap as Shinji blushed behind her.
"GO REI! GO SHINJI!" They kept repeating, the only student not shouting along being Toji, still having his arms crossed at the duo.

You ask the teachers to make way to the two pilots, but Rei turns a left in the opposite direction to where her class was headed.
"Where are you going, Rei?"
"The HQ is this way, opposite of Evac Zone Q, where you are going. You don't need to follow us." She speaks in her usual matter of fact cadence despite her more than objective phrasing.

>>6435972
>Understood, good luck fighting the angel!
>Are you sure you don't need any help getting there?
>You really are a natural born hero, Rei!
>GO REI! GO SHINJI!
>Write-in.

>>6435973
>GO REI! GO SHINJI!
Sun Tzu and Homer in one

>>6435973
>GO REI! GO SHINJI!
So fucking based dude, so fucking GOATed.

>>6435973
>Write-in.
> Tally-ho and godspeed.

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>>6435974
>>6435976
>>6436004
"GO REI! GO SHINJI!" You rhythmically repeat the chant with their class as they disappear into the corner. Wataru and a few other teachers give you some weird looks at the uncanny situation of a school counselor cheering at two child soldiers marching off to their potential deaths. Were it any other person, you would also analyze the psychopathy in those actions, but you'll take any sort of relief you can have in situations like these.

Your coworkers find you weird. Boo-fucking-hoo. Nothing you haven't realized working here for years. Let yourself have fun instead of panicking, for once.
>Stress Level: 34/100

By now, you can hear the alarms from the rest of Tokyo-3 firing off, along with everyone's phones giving the general alert to show up to the nearest evac area, which means you actually managed to get there first before the public, making it a lot easier for the students to arrive safely in a good hiding spot.

The JSSDF officials provides you a tight room that leads 200 meters underground with some of the city's security cameras livestreaming the angel's invasion.
You thought these creatures would all look the same, but your racism is curbed when you see the angel identified as Shamshel being a spade headed mollusk, slithering into the air as it hovered around some of their planes. Ironically, it does not start attacking until shots were fired directly at him by attack helicopters and nearby sentries, where a few neon colored tendrils whipped them in retaliation, slicing them in half and crushing whatever was near it, including vehicles, buildings and people.

What a waste of resources and good people... When an atom bomb doesn't do much else than slow them down, placing foot soldiers on the battlefield feels like sending puppies to fight a grizzly bear. You wonder why they even bother following orders...

It's a mix of voices and reactions all around the tight shoebox they placed you in, some students are watching the fight in horror, some are cowering in fear away from the screens, some have even started crying, all the while the teachers are busy making a head count and walking all over the place to make sure nobody was missing.

>Check on the staff.
>Check on the students.
>Watch the livestream.
>Cig break, you've earned it.
>Something else.

>>6436063
>Cig break, you've earned it.
Something to take the edge off

>>6436063
>Cig break, you've earned it.
Get that stress down, Date.

>>6436079
I would have a special pack for smoking just when angels show up.

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>>6436063
>>Cig break, you've earned it.

>>6436117
You gotta hand it to Date, the packaging on these is pretty rad

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>>6436068
>>6436079
>>6436117
You've done all you can, and everyone but the two people trained for danger are as safe as safe can be. Whatever the kids need, you can help them in a bit, so long as you can take that puff on your chocolate flavored black devil. It won't take long anyway, not a lot can happen in 5 minutes in a place like this.

The JSSDF officials have all gone towards the center of the fight by now as their team begged for reinforcements, being on an uphill incline close to a Shintoist temple, it would be pretty easy to climb the stairs to the top of the hill to get a clearer shot of what's going on, but the sound of the plasma bullets oozing above your hiding spot makes you think twice about going there, you would be obliterated and people would be finding chunks of your body all the way past Singapore if you got hit by one of the giant rifle casings the Evas can fire.

Escaping towards the iron door behind the rocky cliffside, you excuse yourself to the other staff as you go out for a cig break. The birds are going crazy flying in the opposite direction from the shots, you can see a bit of the fight as Eva 01 and 00 start approaching the enemy in a similar strategy they had against Sachiel: taking turns shooting them as one of them was used as bait to engage in close quarters combat.

The Virtual Reality training has shown to make Shinji a lot more competent in fighting the angels, it seems Shamshel's odds are very much against him.

By pure happenstance, you decided to turn around as you inhaled the smoke from your first devilish friend, only to find Kensuke and Toji staring back at you with the iron door cranked open.
"Uh... Ehm... Hello, Date-Sensei! Nice weather we're having, huh?" Kensuke fails to make his small talk sound natural thanks to the giant camera and tripod he has on his shoulder, with Toji having a look that screams 'Shut up, Kensuke!'

"Mind if I ask you two what exactly are you doing outside the safe zone?" You ask the boy with glasses as you approach them.
"Oh, we? Uh, we were just, uhh... going for a bathroom break! Yeah!"
"Don't they have bathrooms down there?"
"Clogged! Shame, ain't it? Gotta piss in the wild like cave men!"
His lies are awful. He knows his lies are awful, yet he keeps lying himself into a corner, fascinating.
"And I assume you were going to record how cool Toji looked while pissing, with the camera you have there?" You hold yourself back from laughing at the absurdity of his claims as Kensuke deflated very quickly from your question.

"We wanted to see Ikari and Ayanami fightin'." Toji decided to be honest.
"I can see that, and I can also tell you that ain't happening on my watch."
"Come on, Sensei! Can't we even peep a little? I wanna make a documentary on it! How it feels to live during the angel wars and know the pilots is a one in a lifetime opportunity! If I get some good footage for posterity, it'll set me up for life!" Kensuke argues.

>>6436129
>No means no.
>Get back in there, or it's detention for the both of you.
>You have 5 minutes. Stay where I can see you.
>Fine. I'll accompany you two up the temple.
>Write-in.

>>6436130
>You have 5 minutes. Stay where I can see you.
If we can see the fight from where we're standing, so can they.

>>6436130
>You have 5 minutes. Stay where I can see you.
Yeah, they can hang just while we smoke and close by. Might help Toji be more empathetic to actually see what it's like to fight an angel.

>>6436130
>No means no

>>6436130
>You have 5 minutes. Stay where I can see you.

>>6436139
>>6436140
>>6436178
>>6436235
Hm... Should you give these two teenagers a lecture on disregarding the rules made for their safety, or just turn a blind eye for them while you smoke? What a hard decision, indeed...
"You have 5 minutes, stay where I can see you and I'll pretend not to have seen you." You turn your back to them as you go back to smoking, trying to stay calm because the fight was something you were just as interested in watching the outcome as they were, though for entirely different reasons, of course.

"You're the best, Sensei!" Kensuke plays record on his camera, narrating the whole ordeal as Toji silently watches from afar, wondering what was going on in Shinji's head as he took a giant knife out to fight the mollusk angel, stabbing it's tendrils as it parried his attacks.
There we go... Nice and easy, breathe in, breathe out... the familiar chocolate smell of the smoke is oddly soothing, as dissonant as it is with the vision of the city being nearly torn to pieces from Rei's rampant firing.

>Stress Level: 32/100

Come to think of it, you wondered if Toji would learn to appreciate Shinji's work and how tough it is by seeing an angel fighting in real time. Provided everyone lives though this, you could consider it another unusual method to prevent bullying in your school.
Your positive rationale is sadly interrupted by the sight of Eva Unit 01 getting it's leg caught by Shamshel, lassoing it around the ankle and dragging it through several city blocks. Rei has to finally step in and pull Shinji's unit apart, though it sends the giant mechaniloid flying back, hitting the hill a few hundred meters in front of you.

Though the fight is uncomfortably closer, you were more worried about the tremors caused by the impact, which made you wobble with the added effect of letting you drop the butt of your cigarette, the smoke growing brighter as you worried about starting a forest fire.
"Damn it!" You slide down to step onto the bushes, making sure the fire was put out before it became a safety hazard. After a few seconds of stomping, you climb back up to see the angel repositioning itself to another higher angle, making the Evas move away to the point where you can barely see them here.

It's a shame for Kensuke, since he was so eager to record the--
Where did Kensuke go? And Toji?
Great. It's like they were just waiting for the right opportunity to sneak past you. There they were, climbing up the stairs towards the shinto temple. Toji's athleticism makes him the front runner, though he politely waited for Kensuke to approach him, given he was already struggling with his poor cardio and the added weight from the camera.

"Crap!" Toji locks his eyes onto you as he signals that they were spotted.
"Now what did I just say?" You furrow your brow, getting ready to chase after them.
>Catch up to Kensuke (DC:40)
>Catch up to Toji (DC:60)
>Get the both of them (DC:80)

>>6436310
>Catch up to Kensuke (DC:40)
If you give a mouse a cookie...

>>6436310
>"Now what did I just say?" You furrow your brow, getting ready to chase after them.
Fellas, if someone is willing to bend the rules for you, you don't immediately abuse their good faith the moment an opportunity arises. That's a great way to never get the benefit of the doubt again.

>>Catch up to Kensuke (DC:40)
My faith in our athletic abilities is... low.

>>6436310
>Catch up to Kensuke (DC:40)
We should also shout something at Toji, along the lines of "if you keep taking risks like this and get yourself killed, who is going to look after your sister then?"

>>6436319
>also shout
I don't think Date can spare the breath. Especially with the rolls lately.

>>6436310
>Catch up to Kensuke (DC:40)
>>6436319
>>6436320
I will also motion to shout, but our cigarette was interrupted and this is scary so I am gonna be significantly harsher:
>"TOJI WHY THE HELL ARE YOU TAKING THESE KINDS OF RISKS AFTER WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR SISTER?! WAS ALL THAT GUILT JUST A SHOW?! DID YOU LEARN A DAMN THING?!?! GET BACK HERE NOW!"
I know it's not nice, but I do think it'll snap him out of what a stupid fuck he is being even if only by freezing him with shame. Rather have him feel like shit for being cavalier than see him get hurt, though, and we can explain that later.

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>>6436314
>>6436317
>>6436319
>>6436337
I like where this is going! Let's just hope the dice are in our favor this time because damn, they're really making us feel like regular humans in apocalypse with the last results...
Roll to break the sound barrier and catch up with a scrawny kid.

Rolled 89 (1d100)

>>6436357
I invoke the spirit of all mental health counselors everywhere that have lost their cigarette during an emergency while their clients are being little bratty shits... Guide my dice...

>>6436370
DAGGER DATE GET

Rolled 40 (1d100)

>>6436357
Cortisol rising

Rolled 98 (1d100)

>>6436357

>>6436391
DEVASTATING DATE

>>6436370
>>6436380
>>6436391
What a pleasant surprise! And here I thought I would come back to write a kid turning into a pancake...

>>6436391
>>6436370
>>6436380
There are a few things you do not forgive in your line of work.
One: "Professionals" who are bad at their job.
Two: People who don't flush the toilet.
Three: Betrayal.
Four: Getting your cigarette break ruined.

You really thought you had these two figured out. It was a simple matter of obeying you for their own safety, yet here they are, attempting conscious suicide for the sake of a scoop and mere curiosity.

Your pulled back muscle can go fuck itself, you are not letting these two die for nothing!
Before you know it, your legs have moved on their own, you ran over the bushy path that led to the stairs and started hopping upwards, the steps are steep and very small, making you feel like you are tip toeing at awkward angles like a mountain goat as you quickly close the distance on Kensuke.

The four eyed boy screams at your unusual shift in movements as adrenaline takes over your body, he tries to scramble up the steps, but after trying to save the camera from a brief fall, he slows down, leading to Kensuke's demise as you tug at his shoulders with enough force to rip through his shirt with your fingertips.

"GET DOWN THERE! NOW!" You growl with enough thoughts running through your head that anyone would diagnose you as insane.
"AAAAH!" Kensuke doesn't even bother responding with more than a nod, being more afraid of you than Shamshel. Doesn't matter. He'll get over it.

Toji takes a moment to breathe as he slumps down to his knees, but after seeing how you were moving, he was quick to resume his sprinting. You merely stared at his back, giving yourself a moment to recompose as you graced him with a few more seconds of advantage.

"TOJI SUZUHARAAAAAAAAA!" You howl as you channel your father's strength and speed, cutting through the air like a razorblade as your animalistic speed makes you run at the same pace as the young talent at the basketball tryouts, your legs felt like hell, your heart was about to burst, but you did not care. This is not about you right now, it never is.

The moment Toji looks back at you, he falters in fear, seeing you run with your arms open like a forklift, it is now your one in a lifetime chance to catch him.
You swipe at his leg like a leopard, yet you miss him by inches and fall down on your knees. Thankfully, you didn't flip around, get crushed by your bike or anything near the level of your bad fall with Shinji, but it was a clear sign that your body already reached its limit. It was your one chance at catching him, and you failed.

Good thing you're not an athlete, you are a therapist. If you can't pounce on him physically, just reach him metaphysically...

"SUZUHARAAAAAA!" He freezes as you scream at the top of your lungs, gasping for air: "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU DOING THIS AFTER WHAT HAPPENED TO SAKURA?! WAS YOUR LITTLE GUILT TRIP AT THE BASKETBALL COURT JUST A SHOW?! HAVEN'T YOU LEARNED A DAMN THING!?"
Toji looks back, his lips quivering just as much as his legs.

>>6436989
"If you give an OUNCE of a shit about yourself or your sister, you'll get back here, and stay at the safe zone underground, NOW!"

He was about to open his mouth to say something, yet the sight of a giant Eva 01 flying through the air as it crashed on top of the temple, crushing it flat as Shinji's robot held it's horned head.

Toji was knocked down some steps as he rolled over from the shockwave, you were already down on all fours, so you did little but keep your eyes glued to the student.

"I WANTED TO SEE IF SHINJI WAS REALLY GIVING HIS ALL!" Toji shouted back. "I WANTED TO SEE IF HIS APOLOGY WASN'T JUST FOR SHOW! IF EVERYONE'S LIVES ARE ON THE LINE, HE SHOULD ACT LIKE THE HERO THE CLASS THNKS HE IS."

"Well... Is he... A hero for you?" You lower your voice, wanting to see what conclusion he came to.
After closing his eyes, he turned back to the Eva that likely couldn't hear him, giving how far he was, but it was worth a shot for Toji to scream at him.

"GO, REI! GO SHINJI!" He balls up a fist at them, to which the Eva briefly tilts its head at your general direction, before going back to the main city streets, leaving a frowning Toji to help you get back up.

He stays silent as you slowly walk back to the safe zone, seeming to be in deep though, or letting the air go back to his lungs before returning to any brain activity, something which you are also doing.

Natsuhi peeps her head out the open door after feeling the tremors underground, seeing the two of you drenched in sweat and wincing from exhaustion, she asked the obvious question:

"What the hell are you two doing out there?"

>Your boy's a great runner. He'd make for a good point guard at the tryouts.
>Nothing, just some regular cardio.
>What else? Watching the fight.
>Him and Kensuke are getting detention. They ran away from the safe zone just for the fun of it.
>Write-in.

>>6437002
>Him and Kensuke are getting detention. They ran away from the safe zone just for the fun of it.
Cigarette ruined

>>6436989
>He was about to open his mouth to say something, yet the sight of a giant Eva 01 flying through the air as it crashed on top of the temple, crushing it flat
Oh man oh geez that was close
Date is pretty nihilistic, but I imaging he's still going to have to deal with some minor shock from this sooner or later.

>Him and Kensuke are getting detention. They ran away from the safe zone just for the fun of it.
If they hadn't abused us being willing to bend the rules, I'd be more lenient, or be willing to more privately punish them later. but they did, and so they must deal with the consequences of their actions.

>>6437002
>Him and Kensuke are getting detention. They ran away from the safe zone just for the fun of it.
We were cool, man! We can level with em later, but they coulda been squished, we coulda been squished, we coulda lost our job, and fuck! Our choccy devil!!!!

>>6437002
>Him and Kensuke are getting detention. They ran away from the safe zone.

I`m willing to drop "just for the fun of it" part. I do not want to further antagonize them, just want to establish that "forbidden behavior+ abuse of trust =consequences". Because otherwise - they would never listen to Date in the future, even if they end up liking him.

>>6437002
>Him and Kensuke are getting detention. They ran away from the safe zone.
Insane....

>>6437002
>Your boy's a great runner. He'd make for a good point guard at the tryouts.
Jerry Rice started his football career after he tried sprinting away from his high school's vice-principal.

>>6437002
>Your boy's a great runner. He'd make for a good point guard at the tryouts.

>>6437006
>>6437023
>>6437026
>>6437037
"Him and Kensuke are getting detention once school's back in session. They ran away from the safe zone." You explain to Natsuhi.
"What? Why?" She flares up after hearing that unexplainable action.
"Good question, seems like just for the fun of it, but you'll have to ask them." You were lenient enough to avoid eye contact with Kensuke, but you were staring daggers at Toji intentionally after the effort you made in saving his life.

Neither of them had anything to say. They knew better than to talk back to you after this.

"Are you crazy? Toji-Kun? Why would you do that?"
"Mind you, I was fine with them staying where I was during my smoke, but if I didn't stop them from climbing the temple, they would have been crushed by the Eva itself flying all the way over here." You explained the noise outside that likely sounded even worse over here.

"Toji, Kensuke. Don't you know how awful that would be for the both of you to die just because of mere curiosity's sake? I know you two have much to live for, so that's the biggest mistake you two could ever do to yourselves!" Nana frowns, being genuinely disappointed in their behavior.

"Think of what your parents would think next time you do something like this. Your lives and wellbeing affect more than yourselves once you enter proper society." You affirm Natsuhi's comments as she nods.

"...Don't I know that...?" Toji looks back at the door apologetically, the sight of the fight outside making him reconsider that he couldn't just do what he wanted at times like these.

"Detention? But for how long?" Kensuke tries to bargain to no avail.
"Two days, at least." You reply. "Use that time to reflect on what you've done, and why we consider being a danger to yourself just as bad as if you did something to someone else."
Kensuke kicks his feet, frustrated despite being the first to stop and obey your command. You didn't know why he thought he'd get off easier, honestly. That's on him too if he gave Toji the idea, his friend just raised the stakes.

"Get back here and sit down with the others, we have plenty to talk." Nana sees how tired you are and offers to take them back to the lower floor, leaving you leaning on the wall as you hope to god there's water in here somewhere.

After a few more minutes of ambiguous screams and impact sounds, you start walking downstairs as the guardrail practically supports your weight, only for your ears to be blasted with high pitched cheers of all the kids from school, indicating that Shinji and Rei had successfully defeat Shamshel.

Honestly? You feel like they're getting better at this, considering Sachiel took an entire day to be taken care of. You are also improving with the pilots, if you take into consideration that although your life was still in danger, you were a lot further away from the angel and the Evas, with your contact being a lot more brief, too.

2 down, 13 more to go... We can do this.
>Stress Level:30/100

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>>6437405
Everyone returns back to school, more so out of necessity for the parents to reunite with their kids than to actually proceed with classes. You doubt any teacher here would bother making kids pay attention to math equations or remember where Hawaii stood when all of this just happened. All that's left is to make sure no one was left worried.

You were in hopes that you would meet Shinji or Rei here, but the first student to approach you after you arrived back there was Class 2-A's rep Hikari Hokari.

"Hello, Sensei! I would like to ask you something, if you don't mind."
"Yeah?" You turn your head down to where the girl was, still gulping down a gallon of water as you rested on a bench.
"I have totaled the amount of students in my class who still have the turtle eggs you gave us when thinking about the class pet. Only 3 people are left, that being me, Rei Ayanami, and Mana Kirishima." She smiled, happy to be useful. "Kensuke came back and found out her left his egg back here, and the tremors made it roll off his backpack."
"Really? But the school was left spotless." You observed the place, thankfully being so far away from the city that the worst damage it had so far was spilling some of the water from the pool.
"Earthquakes are no jokes, sensei! Who knows when the school can fall apart from structural damages!" She said, evidently worried about being unprotected.
Hopefully Misato will hear you on the added reinforcements being placed here...

"Anyway! Since there are only 3 people left, I was wondering if Shinji was going to get an egg for him?"
Good question. You could have told him you were doing this experiment on his class before, and Queen Kamehameha still has a few legs left over from her last laying, yet you never really approached him on the matter.

Would it be unfair to give him that considering he's a transfer student that's had several weeks worth of immunity now that we're down to the top 3? He is the hero of the class, after all, so maybe doing that would further elevate him into a place of popularity in his class, yet you haven't even assorted how he's reacting to the fame and his classmates to know if he really wants that kind of treatment...

You don't even know what prize you're going to give to the damn winner, maybe this experiment wasn't a good idea to the class now that a single egg can be broken by angelic factors outside their control.

>Shinji's getting an egg, let's not leave him out.
>It wouldn't be fair to everyone who's still keeping their eggs.

>Stress Level:30/100
I kind of think an angel defeat should lower stress a bit more

>>6437419
>Shinji's getting an egg, let's not leave him out.
Spread Kamehameha love

>>6437419
>>Shinji's getting an egg, let's not leave him out.
If the others care, we can give him a handicap (he has to hold onto it for the time difference between him and the other students before he's eligible for the prize).

I'm tempted to solicit some of the more friendly teachers (and/or Mari) for prize suggestions. I don't think anyone at NERV would have reasonable suggestions.

>>6437422
>I kind of think an angel defeat should lower stress a bit more
On the other hand, we got awfully close to having a pair of students get squished under our watch. That has to have counteracted some our relief at the the Angel's defeat.

>>6437419
>Shinji's getting an egg, let's not leave him out.

>>6437422
>I kind of think an angel defeat should lower stress a bit more
The knowledge that there are thirteen more to come probably offsets some of the benefit.

>>6437422
Stress is also a physical factor, Date's still pretty beat from the run now that the adrenaline's gone

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>>6437422
>>6437435
>>6437437
>>6437439
"I'll give Shinji an egg if he wants to participate, yeah. We can give him a handicap so the time frame doesn't feel unfair to the final contestants."
"Ok! I can't wait for the prize, have you bought it yet?"
"I'll let you wonder what it is for a little while." You lie with a toothy grin to Hokari's face. "I'll give it to him tomorrow, I sadly don't carry turtle eggs around, they're not even good for boiling."

"Have you tried eating turtle eggs before, Sensei?"
"...No."
That lie sounded a lot less convincing, yet she brushes it off out of respect for you.
Before she could ask any more questions and embarrass you further, you saw Shinji being greeted by the flock of students as him and Rei stopped dead in their tracks, encircled by their classmates.

"Shinji! You did it again! You looked so cool!"
"Rei! We didn't think you had it in you!"
"You're usually so quiet... Why haven't you told us about how much of a beast you were?
"This new kid is awesome, let's hang out!"

"E-Everyone, calm down! I'm not good with talking to so many people at once- Wh-Whoa!" Shinji is interrupted as one kid lifts him by the limbs, the others doing the same to Rei as her eyes turn into red saucers from how silently shocked she is.
"Give it up for the two Eva pilots on our school! Hi hip, Hooray!" They send the both of them up in the air several times, and though they caught him every time, it didn't stop Shinji from being deathly afraid.

"WAAAAAH! STOP! I'M GONNA FALL!"
You hold back a chuckle, seems like for a kid who never had any real friendships before, he has the potential to find several on his first day of school. Ain't that adorable?

After they place him down, Shinji looks to Toji, who was ready to leave school by himself until he heard the third child's voice:
"Toji, right? Wait a sec!" Shinji innocently approached the boy, who was trying hard not to feel ashamed from how poorly he treated him on their first interaction without proper judgement.
"What is it?"

"I thought I heard someone shouting at me when I got sent into a mountain... Was it you?" He scratches his collar, afraid he might have been wrong.
It takes a moment of silence as Toji closes his eyes, the other students (and yourself) expecting him to lash out.

"Yeah. It was me... I wanted to say I'm sorry." Toji omitted his motivation, although with good intentions." No reason for me to punch you on your first day of school for something you couldn't control.
"It's ok, Toji... I'm the one responsible for the city's safety, so I don't blame you if you blame me for what happened to your sister..."
"No no! I'll blame ME before I blame YOU!" He patted at his chest. "It's a man's job to protect his family, and you're more of a man in my eyes that I could ever hope to be!" He placed a hand at his cheek and braced.

"...What are you doing?" Shinji tilted his head.
"Isn't it obvious? I want you to punch me! That'll make us even!"

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>>6437675
"...But I don't want to punch you Toji. You didn't even punch me, so I have nothing to make us even for."
"B-But I was a dick to ya!"
"I mean, you were angry, but you made up for it, and that's ok." Shinji smiled, not having an ounce of ill will towards his potential bully.

"Grrr, It's hard to start a fight with the kid who has a giant robot sitting in his garage..." Toji quickly resumed a more normal stance, giving up on the idea. "I just don't like feeling like I owe people something, y'know?"

"That's fine, we'll think of something along the way!" He laughs, reassuring Toji that everything would be ok as they walked home.
You'd nag on Toji to remind him he's still in detention despite being Shinji's friend now, but you don't feel like ruining the moment.

Well, another day of work finished, time to get home and--
"Psst, Date... Do you have a moment?" Natsuhi's voice whispers behind you.
Is a school counselor going home early such a crime for these people...?
"Yeah, what is it?" You approach her.
"I'm sorry, I know you have a lot on your mind right now, but I really don't know who else to talk to about this..." Nana sighs, knowing Yamadera sure as hell wouldn't listen to her woes. "I tried talking to my boyfriend about the baby... Said I could... Get rid of it if he didn't want to be a father... Yet he didn't even respond... I tried reaching out for his family, but he didn't even want to talk to me."

"Was that why you were looking sad earlier at the meeting?" You say as she held back some sniffles.

"Yes... I heard his mom shouting about how her son is 'such a lazy ass he can't even afford the whores he sleeps with.' I just wanted to talk to him and let him know what he wanted, but it's like not even he knows himself..."
"Would you... be ok with living with his child?" You were very careful not to say the A word with any levity.

"I... I really wish he was. If he said anything at all, it would give me more hope on either choice, but he never does... I don't think he realizes babies aren't real for women until they're out like it is with men, it's real right now, it's been real for a long time! And if things being the way they are, I'd feel awful for having a kid without it being safe for them. Today was the last day where I could make an appointment without further complications... So now it's not like I have a choice..."

>How did you meet this guy?
>You could always get the law involved.
>You got a smart head on you, it's good you didn't do a rash decision.
>I feel like this is a matter only the two of you can really solve.
>Not a lot I can do other than lend an ear, I'm afraid.
>Write-in.

>>6437697
>I feel like this is a matter only the two of you can really solve.
>Not a lot I can do other than lend an ear, I'm afraid.

This is a story that's been told a thousand times, and it's always messy.

>>6437697
>You got a smart head on you, it's good you didn't do a rash decision.
Date has been snacking on turtle eggs. Nana really needs another person to speak with.

It is no easy question. Espesially for them, when it may not be even clear is it blessing or curse to be brought in this world.

Generally, I agree that this is a matter for two of them, but judging from what we heard - he explicitly waived his right to make a call.

>She should decide herself. And she should do it today. "Not making a choice" paradoxically is also a choice, only the one that almost certainly begets regrets in the future

IF she will decide to keep it
>You could always get the law involved.
Since in my opinion, any nonnuclear option at this point just wouldn`t work.

>>6437718
>>6437735
>>6437775
"I'm afraid there's not a lot I can do about the situation other than lend an ear."
"I know that, Date. I'm not expecting you to do much else, but it's... tough, you know? To deal with all of this on top of the situation I'm having with him is not easy, I just didn't want to let it simmer on me... I feel like I'll go mad if I don't let that out on someone."
Can't blame her, that is what you signed up for...

"I hear you, and the worst part is that only the two of you can really solve this matter. But you have a smart head on ya, it's good to know you won't do a rash decision. Whatever choice you'll make, it's because you thought long and hard about it."
"I guess so..." She looks down to the ground, appearing to have already made up her mind, but vocalizing it to someone else would likely make her feel better about this.

"So? What have you chosen?"
"...I don't have it in me to abort it... I don't know how some women can do that so lightly, I don't think I have it in me." She grimaced, showing that she already knew her decision long before talking to you. "But the hard part is not whether or not I can raise it, it's gonna be if his father cares at all about it..."

Deja vu... You wonder if your mother had these talks with Yui back in the day...
"You could get the law involved if he doesn't feel like helping out. It's a last measure solution, but it's there." You propose.
"It's not like he doesn't feel like helping out, it's more like he... doesn't help himself out first. He had a good job going for him, but ever since he started gambling for money and lost it all, he sort of lost a piece of his sanity too, he's even having talks about conspiracy theories on the internet... I saw the potential on him and tried to help him out the best I could, but he never really delivered."
"So he doesn't even have a job?"
Natsuhi shakes her head. It'd be hard to even put him on child support if he's a NEET, then. What a mess...
"Guess that's what happens when a mother coddles their son too much..."
"How did you know that?" Nana confirms your assumption.
"I don't get paid to listen, I get paid for others to listen to themselves. But I do listen to notice some patterns, and those are usually the types that show this behavior in their adult years. If you get mommied too hard and mommy encourages you never to leave mommy, then mommy is all you will know."

Good thing you didn't turn out that way, huh...?
"I see... You're good at what you do, Date. I'm glad I can count on you."
"Don't mention it. Keep me updated, if you have to." You wave goodbye as you look for a nearby convenience store, you're still not over losing your cigarettes...

>>6437900
A day and a pack of black devils later, you hand Shinji his turtle egg first thing in the morning. You can't really escape the news about the Shamshel fight in Tokyo-3. How the stray bullets scattered all the way to China, how the Eva slid into several other buildings, nearly tripling in property damages as several people were left homeless, but fewer deaths and injured from the lack of nuclear bombs dropped on the city. You wonder if being homeless really is any better than being dead...

Anyway, since he's still the talk of the town, you told him to come to your office to better explain what the egg was for.
"So it's just me and 3 other kids from my class? I dunno, is it really fair to them? What if they think you're playing favorites?"

It doesn't seem that he's too keen on the idea, either. Shinji is too humble to feel like he earned this egg if he wins over the other kids.

>Don't you think piloting the Eva's already a big enough handicap?
>Only the 3 other contestants are competing, I just wanna see how well you can take care of it since it's a group experiment.
>I'll give you something other than the prize if you beat how many days the other kids lasted.
>You could always refuse to play if you don't want to, Shinji.
>I am playing favorites, but don't let them find that out.
>Write-in.

>>6437911
>You could always refuse to play if you don't want to, Shinji.
>Only the 3 other contestants are competing, I just wanna see how well you can take care of it since it's a group experiment.

>>6437911
>You could always refuse to play if you don't want to, Shinji.
>I just want you to know you have a place in this class. You're just as much my student as they are. You are welcome here.
Poor kid probably needs to hear that last bit.

>>6437911
>You could always refuse to play if you don't want to, Shinji.
Plus the previously mentioned handicap thing if he's the last one.

>>6437911
>>You could always refuse to play if you don't want to, Shinji.
>>I just want you to know you have a place in this class. You're just as much my student as they are. You are welcome here.