"Don't you think this plugsuit is a little revealing?"

A deep blush appeared on Hikari's freckled face. She had been selected as the pilot of NERV's newest Evangelion unit a few days earlier, and now she was riding an elevator to the top of the machine's hangar. The legs and shoulders of her jumpsuit were glossy black, matching the color of her Eva's armor, with the numbers "03" printed just below the collar. Her brown pigtails were held in place by small, black donut-shaped clasps on the back of her head.

The source of Hikari's concern was the transparent light gray material that spanned her most of her torso and the inside of her arms. This see-through portion of the pilot uniform was cut dangerously low around her lower back, and only a small section of opaque white material shielded her chest.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

Misato's voice crackled through a small speaker on the elevator. She sounded sympathetic to Hikari's plight.

"The techies told me something about how the operating system on the American Evangelions is a little more picky than ours. From what I understand, it has trouble detecting the pilot's neural patterns if anything is obscuring them, and your plugsuit was designed so the Eva will respond better to your body's movements. More skin means less interference, apparently."

Hikari looked down and quietly sighed.

"Oh. I guess I'll have to get used to it."

Misato laughed lightly.

"Don't worry, Hikari. We're already trying to update this unit's hardware. With some luck, you'll be able to use the same kind of suit as the other girls pretty soon."

Her voice changed to a more supportive tone.

"In the meantime, I can have the cameras in the entrance way shut off until you're in your cockpit. You won't have to worry about giving anyone a peep show on your way in."

A relieved smile crossed Hikari's lips.

"Thanks, Misato."

Hikari closed her eyes and relaxed into her cockpit seat as she adjusted to sensation of liquid oxygen flowing through her lungs. Her entry plug was filled with a water-like substance, and she could feel the warm fluid pressing against the thinner parts of her plugsuit. Various diagnostics flickered in the holographic screens that lined the interior of her cockpit, and a male engineer's voice soon cracked over the cockpit's radio.

"Activation is complete. Power supply is locked. Synchronization is holding steadily. We're handing control over to you, Miss Horaki."

Hikari's eyelids slowly lifted before she responded to the NERV staff member in a polite manner.

"Understood."

She gazed toward the screen in front of her to see what her Evangelion's eyes saw, then shifted her arms to grasp the cockpit controls at her sides. After taking a deep breath, she spoke in a soft, motherly voice.

"Let's go, EVA-03. Everyone's counting on us."

The dark machine began slowly lurching out of its holding bay and into the open air under Hikari's command. When Hikari became accustomed to her controls, Unit 03's baby steps became casual strides. It continued to confidently walk forward before stopping beside a trailer-sized container on the ground.

"Okay, Hikari. Here's your Eva's main long-range weapon. Once you're ready, we'll start your training. Like I said before, just shoot the targets as you see them."

The container popped open as Hikari heard Misato's voice in her cockpit. She directed Unit 03 to look downward so she can see a colossal assault rifle, scaled to fit the giant creature's hands, awaiting her in the storage garage. The sight of guns had always startled her, but she quickly put her personal fear aside before commanding her Eva to retrieve the weapon.

Steadily holding the firearm with both hands, EVA-03 now turned to a series of rolling hills and pointed its weapon into the light blue horizon. A determined expression appeared on Hikari's face as her thumb pressed a button on her controls that caused crosshairs to appear in the center of her cockpit screen. After this happened, she patiently waited for the drill to commence. When a single dummy target ascended into the air from the nearest hill, Hikari aimed her crosshairs as quickly as she could and pulled the trigger.

Hikari placed her rubbery black and gray pilot suit into the locker in front her. After closing the metal door, she reached to her collarbone to carefully adjust the ribbon of her blue and white school uniform. She was back in her civilian clothes, and her pigtails were braided with their usual pearl clasps. She turned quietly when she heard a young woman's footsteps echoing through the locker room and approaching her.

"How are you feeling, Hikari?"

The purple-haired woman was holding a folder of papers at her side when she stopped and leaned against a nearby locker. She was clearly happy and relieved, and Hikari grinned in return before replying.

"I'm fine, Misato. It felt kind of weird when I started breathing normal air again, though."

Misato nodded in understanding.

"That usually happens. The pressure difference in LCL can take some getting used to, but I'm sure you won't even notice it after a few more exercises."

Hikari now tilted her head in curiosity before questioning her superior.

"How did I do?"

Misato paused to glance over the documents in her folder. She then turned her eyes back to the anxious student.

"Your synchronization rate was great, and your reflexes were good. The Commander was grumbling about how your marksmanship was a little off, but I think you did great for your first try."

The brown-haired girl now looked toward Misato and spoke with more enthusiasm in her voice.

"Will I be able to join Shinji's team soon?"

Misato replied warmly.

"Sure. As long as an Angel attack doesn't force us to put you on the field, we always make sure you guys have a couple of weeks of basic training before you're fully enlisted."

She then lowered her voice in slight concern.

"Are you comfortable with all of this, Hikari?"

Hikari quickly responded with a delighted nod.

"Mmhmm. Now I can be the one protecting Toji for once."

Misato's expression became relieved again, and she spoke with new encouragement.

"That's good. Keep that motivation and I'm sure you'll be one of our best pilots."

She then delivered Hikari's new assignment in a stern but compassionate tone.

"You'll be trying out EVA-03's melee weapons tomorrow, so get a good night's sleep."

Hikari nodded obediently before replying.

"I'll be here."

When Misato left the locker room, Hikari spent a few more minutes gathering her personal belongings. When she finally left for the day, the only things on her mind were the happy thoughts of being an Evangelion pilot.