Chapter 5: N² Weapon
The deep blue Renault sports car, like a startled blue beast, had finally temporarily escaped the colossal, mountain-like shadow of the Third Angel, Sachiel.
The roar of the engine was particularly distinct on the relatively empty road.
Inside the car, the smell of gun smoke mingled with the scent of leather, and there was also a faint, elusive trace of Misato's presence—a blend of some refreshing shampoo and an indescribable, slightly warm body scent reminiscent of winter sunlight.
Shinji was slumped in the passenger seat, his travel bag carelessly dropped at his feet.
He was breathing heavily, trying to calm his heart, which felt like it was about to leap out of his chest, and the discomfort in his stomach from the violent jostling.
Even though he knew the plot, facing that mountain-like figure and the oppressive sense of death left him deeply shaken.
However, a new, more subtle unease quietly arose.
He felt that Misato in the driver's seat didn't seem entirely focused on the road ahead.
Her large, dark sunglasses hid her eyes, but Shinji couldn't shake the feeling that, from behind those lenses, her gaze occasionally fell on him with a probing quality.
It wasn't scrutiny, more like... a confused appraisal? An effort to dig something out from memory?
At first, he thought it was his imagination, a sensitivity born from narrowly escaping death.
After all, who would stare at a disheveled 14-year-old kid who had just been pulled back from the brink of death for no reason?
But as time passed and the car moved steadily along the road to Tokyo-3, that feeling of being "peeked at" grew increasingly strong, lightly tickling his nerves like a feather.
Misato's movements were natural—steering, shifting gears—but her head always seemed to have a slight, almost imperceptible tilt toward the passenger side.
Shinji grew increasingly uncomfortable.
He straightened up, his fingers unconsciously picking at the fabric along the edge of the seatbelt.
He couldn't just ask, "Miss Katsuragi, why do you keep looking at me?" That would sound too narcissistic and abrupt.
He could only try to keep a straight face, pretending to look at the scenery flashing by outside—scenery marked by post-war reconstruction—but the corner of his eye couldn't help but notice the movements beside him.
Finally, when that probing gaze seemed to sweep over his profile for the Nth time, Shinji had had enough.
He took a deep breath, turned his head, and tried to keep his voice calm, though it carried a barely detectable tension:
"Miss Katsuragi," he began, his gaze attempting to pierce through the dark sunglasses, "Are... You looking at me?"
"Ah?!"
Misato stiffened visibly, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and her grip on the steering wheel tightened.
She turned her head sharply, her sunglasses aimed directly at Shinji. Though her eyes were hidden, the momentary panic and guilt of being caught were clearly visible on her face.
"N-no, not at all!"
Her voice rose a pitch, with obvious overcompensation.
"You're mistaken! I was observing the Angel! Yes, observing the Angel's movements! Who knows if that guy might suddenly change direction and chase after us! I have to ensure your safety, you know!"
She spoke rapidly, as if speed alone could make her words more convincing.
To prove she "absolutely wasn't peeking at the boy," Misato abruptly jerked the steering wheel, screeching to a halt in a relatively safe open space by the roadside.
She even fumbled somewhat frantically to open the center console between the driver and passenger seats, rummaging inside with a series of clinking sounds.
"See! Look!" She finally pulled out a heavy military-grade binoculars, its metal casing gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
"I was observing with this! Who was looking at you!"
As if having found perfect evidence, her tone grew bold and self-assured.
Shinji watched her blatantly guilty display and couldn't help the twitch at the corner of his mouth.
He was about to ask "Do you need to stop the car to observe the Angel?" when Misato had already sprung into action.
Unbuckling her seatbelt, she lunged across toward the passenger seat with such forceful momentum it carried an undeniable ferocity.
"Move over!"
Even as she spoke, she'd already raised the heavy military binoculars to her eyes, aiming toward the distant direction where the Angel Sachiel had disappeared.
However, the Renault sports car had limited space to begin with.
Misato's tall frame meant nearly half her body was now stretched across the center console between the driver and passenger seats.
To secure a better viewing angle and support, her left hand firmly braced against the passenger side window frame while her entire upper body inevitably leaned closer toward Shinji!
A wave of mature feminine scent—clearer and more intense than before—instantly enveloped Shinji.
It was a mixture of sunshine, sweat, and some unique feminine perfume, playfully invading his nostrils.
Shinji's body instantly stiffened! He felt nailed to the seat, his mind blank.
To make space for this "seriously observing Angel" superior officer, he could only desperately shrink backward, his back pressed tightly against the cold car door as if trying to embed himself into it.
But the space was truly too small!
No matter how he contracted, Misato's soft yet astonishingly elastic curves inevitably brushed lightly, almost imperceptibly, against his arm and shoulder through the thin fabric of her dark bodycon dress! The sensation was warm, soft, pulsing with vibrant life, forming a stark and flustering contrast with his slender teenage frame.
Shinji's cheeks flushed crimson in an instant, burning all the way to his ears! Holding his breath, he stared rigidly at the car ceiling, not daring to move a muscle, yet all his senses uncontrollably focused on that subtle point of contact.
He could clearly feel the warmth and slight undulation emanating from her body, smell the fresh fragrance from her hair, even sense her slightly deepened breathing from concentrated observation.
Time seemed stretched to infinity, every second filled with suffocating awkwardness and an indescribable palpitation.
Shinji's heart hammered wildly against his ribs, and he half-suspected Misato could hear it beside him.
Meanwhile, Misato seemed completely immersed in her observation.
Through the high-powered binoculars, she clearly saw the massive Third Angel Sachiel taking heavy steps into what appeared to be a vast, naturally-formed basin.
What made her pupils contract even more was the sight of the United Nations fighter squadron, which had been swarming around the Angel like flies in an attempt to lure it away from the city's core, now retreating from the battlefield in an astonishingly uniform and rapid manner, scattering in all directions away from the basin!
This abnormal movement...
A terrifying thought struck Misato's mind like lightning! Instantly, she recalled the top-secret files she had seen within NERV about a certain strategic-level weapon!
"Wait!"
She abruptly lowered her binoculars, her voice turning shrill and piercing from extreme shock and urgency, the color draining from her face in an instant.
"Could they be... using an N² Mine?! Get down!!!"
Her reaction was swift! There was no time to explain, nor any room for concern about propriety between men and women! In the split second she recognized the crisis, her powerful combat instincts and an almost primal protective urge overwhelmed everything else!
Misato spun around, no longer in an observational stance, but with arms outstretched, using all her strength to throw herself fiercely onto Shinji, who was still in a state of confusion and embarrassment in the passenger seat!
"Thud!"
Shinji only felt a body of astonishing strength and warm fragrance heavily cover him, pressing him firmly into the passenger seat!
Misato's arms encircled his head and upper body like iron bands, enveloping him entirely within the protection of her own body! Shinji's entire head was buried in the softness of Misato's mature womanly form, her cheek nearly pressed against the top of his head, her rapid, warm breath puffing against his hair.
"I... I can't breathe..." Shinji whimpered, struggling within the warmth and softness.
"Don't move!" Her voice exploded near his ear, carrying an undeniable command and a barely perceptible tremor.
...
Shinji really wanted to hit himself. He knew the plot—that the United Nations forces would deploy the N² weapon at this moment.
But the earlier distracting contact had made him completely forget about it.
Just as Misato fully shielded him beneath her—
"Bzzz..."
First, the world plunged into an eerie, heart-pounding dead silence, as if all sound had been instantly sucked away.
Then!
There was no sound!
Or rather, sound was stripped away!
A pure, indescribably intense white light erupted without warning from the center of the distant basin!
The radiance was so overwhelming that it instantly devoured everything in heaven and hell! Brighter than a thousand suns exploding simultaneously! Even through the closed car windows, even pressed firmly beneath Misato with his face buried in the seat, Shinji still felt a terrifying, blinding whiteness before his eyes, as if his eyeballs were being scorched through by the light!
Then, came the sound!
An indescribably terrifying roar beyond the limits of human hearing! As if the entire planet were being torn apart at that very moment! A massive sonic boom, carrying a destructive shockwave, swept outward in all directions like an invisible, raging hand of billions, at a terrifying speed surpassing sound!
"BOOOOOOM——!!!"
The dark blue Renault sports car parked by the roadside was as fragile as a leaf in the face of this apocalyptic force!
The massive shockwave slammed violently into the vehicle's body!
CRASH!!! SCREECH——!!!
A teeth-grating shriek of twisting metal erupted instantly! The vehicle was violently lifted by this irresistible force, hoisted completely off the ground!
Shinji felt the world spinning wildly! Everything was tumbling and turning upside down in a frenzy! His body was thrown hard against the roof and door by immense centrifugal force, only to be pinned down by the seatbelt and the crushing weight of Misato's body on top of him! Piercing sounds of grinding metal, shattering glass, and a woman's groans filled his ears! His stomach churned violently, as if his internal organs were about to be hurled out of his body!
BANG! CRASH! BOOM!
The heavy vehicle tumbled several times in the air before finally slamming into the ground like a discarded toy! It rolled over several more times before coming to a stop amidst the wreckage, lying on its side with the driver's seat crushed beneath and the passenger side above. The airbags had deployed instantly upon impact, only to deflate rapidly afterward. The cabin was filled with the pungent smell of dust and the acrid scent of smoke.
The world seemed to fall silent.
Only the sharp ringing in his ears echoed inside his skull.
Shinji was battered and disoriented, his head spinning. He felt as if he had been thrown into a giant washing machine and tumbled violently.
Yet, amidst this extreme chaos, pain, and the brink of death, an utterly bizarre feeling began to quietly emerge.
He was pinned securely beneath Misato, her body acting like the sturdiest shield, bearing the brunt of the impacts during the rollover. Her arms still held him tightly, anchoring him firmly within the narrow space formed by her body and the relatively intact seat.
In such intimate, nearly suffocating closeness, surrounded by smoke and dust, and gripped by the immense terror of having narrowly escaped death...
From the depths of Shinji's heart, an inexplicable and indescribable... sense of peace inexplicably welled up.
As if this embrace—which was crushing him breathless and putting them in an extremely awkward position—was the safest, most trustworthy harbor in the world. A familiarity and dependence originating from the depths of his soul uncontrollably spread, momentarily overwhelming all the pain and fear.
Meanwhile, Misato, who was lying on top of him, felt her consciousness gradually return after the initial sharp pain and dizziness.
She, too, could feel the warmth and heartbeat of the boy beneath her, and sensed his strange, untimely calmness.
In that moment when she had thrown herself over him without a second thought to protect him, an equally inexplicable impulse—as if carved into her bones—had driven her.
Just like that boy named Aeon who had shielded her 14 years ago...
Now, in this overturned, dangerous, cramped space, enveloped by his clean, boyish scent, an inexplicable, long-lost sense of tranquility, like a gentle stream, quietly soothed her racing heart and taut nerves.
This "sense of peace" had arrived so abruptly, so illogically, yet felt so undeniably real.
As if transcending vast stretches of time and space, two souls that should have been strangers had found their most fitting anchor at the edge of destructive flames.