Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars or Evangelion. Just this story
Author's note: addendum to Ch.3's note- I'm going to work on this story some more instead. I should have the next chapter of Weapon X up today as well.
Without further ado, here we go!
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"Are you sure you're alright?" asked Shinji. He'd stayed up late with Misato, who'd cried most of the night. He had to make sure that she felt better.
"Yes," said Misato, smiling. "I'm fine, mother." Shinji smiled. Misato must be feeling better.
"Hey," he said in mock offense, "I'm just returning the favor."
"What?" asked Misato.
"You've been like a mother to me since you took me in," said Shinji. "Sure, you're a goof-ball sometimes but..." He stopped, seeing that Misato looked like she was about to cry again. "No wait, don't start crying again, I-" He was cut off as Misato hugged him.
"Thank you for that Shinji," she said, smiling. Shinji hugged her back. They hugged for a minute or two, before Misato finally broke off. "I have to get to work," she said. "The Commander wants me to look over the new guy."
"Maul?" asked Shinji.
"Yeah," she said. "He wants to have him ready to put in the field with you guys when the next Angel attacks."
"In an Eva?" asked Shinji.
"No," said Misato, biting her lip. "Apparently, he wants him to go into battle on foot. I know he beat that Angel the day before, but still... Well, I guess we'll see. Bye Shinji." Before she stepped out the door, she added, "And remember what I told you last night. Don't hesitate."
She walked out the door, leaving Shinji alone to think.
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Maul sat in his room, meditating. He was reaching out with the Force, attempting to find the two Children. He sensed the blue-haired girl first. It seemed that she was completely alone wherever she was. She also seemed slightly anxious about something. Other than that, her emotions did not seem very prominent.
He searched for the boy next. He found him. He was still conflicted, but it seemed as if he was coming to a decision. He seemed very in touch with his emotions, especially fear, anxiety, and anger. He was about to start comparing the two in his mind, when he sensed a third. Whoever they were, they were in the same building as the boy.
Maul sensed depression from this new person, but also that the person was not usually like this. He would have to find out who this person was.
In fact, he felt he'd need to get to know all three of them.
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The third person Maul had sensed sat in her room. Thoughts of what the Angel had reminded her of kept running through her mind. "Mother..." she said quietly. She heard a knock at her door.
"Asuka?" said Shinji.
"What do you want?" asked Asuka.
"May I come in?" he asked.
"No," she said. "Leave me alone." Part of her wanted him to come in, wanted someone to talk too. But some bit of her old pride remained, and didn't want any help.
"Alright," said Shinji. There was a pause. Then he said, "I-I'm going to leave for a bit. I made you something to eat for when you get hungry. It's in the refrigerator. Will you be alright?"
"Yes," grunted Asuka irritably. "If you're gonna go, go!"
"G-goodbye, then," said Shinji. She heard him walking down the hallway. She almost called for him to come back, but she didn't. She wanted to be left alone right now. Or did she? Somehow, though, the fact that he'd asked if she was alright made her feel a bit better.
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Shinji stood in front of Rei's apartment building. He swallowed. Well, this was it. He was going to find out for sure how he felt. Like Misato said, no hesitation. He entered the building and made his way up to her room. He knocked on the door and waited.
Rei had been sitting on her bed, thinking. Shinji hadn't answered her yesterday. She wanted to know how he felt, but didn't know what to do. She found herself thinking the same negative thoughts as the day before. 'Maybe he cannot love me back. Maybe he-' Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door.
"Rei," asked Shinji from the other side of the door, "Are you home? May I come in?"
"Yes," said Rei. Shinji opened the door and stepped in.
"Rei?" he said, somewhat uncertainly. "Did you mean what you said yesterday?" It was a stupid question, and he knew it. Rei had always been pretty straightforward, for as long as he'd known her. He only asked because he didn't know what to say.
"Yes," she said. "I meant exactly what I said." Shinji thought for a moment, then walked over and sat down next to her on the bed.
"..." Shinji said nothing for a moment. He couldn't think of the right words. He finally said, "Rei, do you remember when we battled the Fifth Angel, and at the end of it all you smiled?"
"Yes," said Rei, remembering the day. The memory of Shinji's actions that day only served to strengthen her feelings for him. "That was the first time I can remember smiling."
"Really?" asked Shinji. He then remembered something Misato had said to him. 'No one's ever seen her smile.' The first time she had smiled... had been for him? He started thinking about everything he'd been through that involved Rei. He had feelings for her, but could he love her? What about Asuka?
He compared the two in his mind. Asuka had always been pretty mean to him. There had been a few instances of kindness from her, like the time he'd saved her from the volcano after her battle with the Eighth Angel. However, those rare moments of kindness were few and far between. Rei on the other hand was a different story.
She'd never been mean to him. Sure she'd slapped him once after he'd said something negative about his father, but that was once. She'd always been nice to him, in her own way. And beyond that, she did actually say that she loved him. That was something he could never hope to hear from Asuka.
"Shinji?" asked Rei, causing him to remember where he was. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine Rei," he said, steeling himself for what he was going to do next. He turned and looked into her mysterious red eyes. "I... I think I love you too." Without warning, he leaned forward and kissed her.
Rei's eyes widened in surprise at first, but only for a moment. Her eyes slowly closed, and she thought to herself, 'This feels nice.'
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Maul had been deep in thought, still meditating when Shinji reached Rei's apartment building. Suddenly, there was a knock at his door. He was surprised. He'd been so deep in concentration that he hadn't sensed anyone approaching his room.
"Maul," said Gendo's voice from the other side of the door.
"What?" asked Maul, somewhat irritated that the man had interrupted his thoughts.
"There is someone I would like you to meet out here," said Gendo.
"Fine," said Maul, standing up. He came out of his room, and saw Gendo standing next to a purple-haired woman.
Misato's eyes widened in surprise when she saw him. She hadn't expected the tatoos.
"Who is this?" asked Maul.
"This," said Gendo, "Is Misato Katsuragi. She is in charge of our field operations against the Angels. You will be under her command should we face another Angel."
"Hold on," said Misato, "Time out! You're planning on sending this guy out against an Angel without an Eva? He's gotta be only fifteen or sixteen! I know he beat that last Angel, but-"
"What is an Eva?" asked Maul. Misato looked at him strangely.
"You don't know?" she asked. She looked at Gendo. "Did you tell him anything?" She looked back at Maul. "The Eva's are the only weapons we have capable of defeating the Angels. You saw two yesterday, Unit 0 and Unit 1." Maul thought for a moment.
"You mean those two giant droids?" he asked.
"Sure," said Misato. "Whatever you want to call them." She looked back at Gendo. "You're serious about sending him out against an Angel without an Eva."
"Yes," said Gendo. "And I am sure you will be more confident in his abilities shortly. Follow me." He started walking down the hallway. "You too Maul." Maul followed, mostly out of curiosity. Maybe Misato could tell him more about this place.
Gendo led them to the room where he'd monitored Maul's progress through the obstacle course. He typed a few things, and brought something up on a large screen. It was a tape of Maul getting through the course. By the end of the tape, Misato was amazed. She'd never seen anyone move like that.
"As you can see," said Gendo, "He seems perfectly able to take care of himself against an Angel. He did so two days ago, and proved his skill further yesterday." Gendo was silent for a moment, contemplating something. Maul took the opportunity to ask something.
"Where are those two children?" he asked. "Shinji and Rei?"
"Huh?" said Misato. "Why do you ask?"
"Are they the only two?"
"No," said Misato, slightly annoyed that he totally blew off her question, "There's also Asuka. Why do you ask?"
"Who is Asuka?"
"She's our third pilot," said Misato. "She wasn't in battle the other day. She hasn't been feeling to good lately."
'She must be the one who I sensed today, the one who is depressed.'
"But why are you asking?" asked Misato.
"I simply wanted to know," said Maul. Misato was about to ask something else, when Maul said, "And you are the one that Shinji was talking to this morning, yes?" Misato was confused. How did he know that?
"How did you-?"
"Don't bother asking," said Gendo, cutting her off. "You won't get a straight answer out of him. This is not the first thing he's done that he would not explain."
"Oh really?" said Misato, shock turning into annoyance once more. "An insolent kid huh? You'd best learn early on, Maul, that I don't tolerate behavior like that. Got it?" Maul was surprised. No one had ever talked to him that way. Ever. He decided to change the subject.
"Gendo," he said, surprising both Misato and Gendo with him using his first name, "I would like to leave."
"What do you mean?" asked Gendo.
"I do not like having to spend all my time here," said Maul. "I'd like somewhere else to stay." Gendo was silent for a moment.
"You won't have to worry about spending all day here after tomorrow," he said. "I have arranged for you to attend school in the city. You will be placed in the same class as the pilots, and will be closely watched."
"School?" asked Maul.
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Shinji and Rei were laying down on her bed. Shinji had his arms around her, and she had her head on his chest. She smiled. Shinji loved her back! She couldn't remember ever being this happy before. She had wanted to become one with Shinji, but he had insisted that they wait. She would wait. The knowledge that Shinji loved her was good enough.
"Shinji-kun?" she said, looking up at him.
"Yes Rei-chan?"
"We cannot let the Commander know about this," she said. "I do not think he would allow us to be together." Shinji's face went from happy to somewhat angry.
"You're right," he said. "He probably wouldn't want us together. He'd probably think it would get in the way of our piloting." Rei lifted her head up and kissed him, and his dark mood vanished immediately.
"We will simply act as if there is nothing going on between us when we are at NERV," said Rei, "And the Commander will be left none the wiser."
"I'm glad I fell in love with a smart girl," said Shinji, causing Rei to smile. "But do we let the people at school know?"
"It should not matter if they know or not," said Rei. "I know that many of them suspected we liked each other long before now. Suzuhara told me so himself."
"Yeah," said Shinji, "He was always teasing me and saying stuff like that."
"Well," said Rei, "He was right."
"Yep," said Shinji, "I guess so."
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Asuka left her room and went to the kitchen. She opened up the refrigerator and found the lunch Shinji had fixed for her. She warmed it up in the microwave, and then sat down to eat. She sat in silence for a while. She finished, then sat down at the table and brooded some more.
Pen Pen opened the door to his refrigerator and stepped out. He saw Asuka sitting at the table, looking glum. He waddled over and sat down next to her. Asuka slowly turned and looked at him.
"What do you want?" she asked. Pen Pen just blinked. Asuka sighed. "This might sound crazy, but I think you're the only one I can talk to right now." She started telling Pen Pen how she felt. She told him about her battle with the Fifteenth Angel, and how it had made her relive those awful memories. Pen Pen actually nodded sympathetically and patted her arm with a flipper.
Strangely enough, the gesture helped Asuka. She suddenly felt better. "So what do you think I should do?" she asked.
"Sqwuak," said Pen Pen. Asuka smiled.
"You're right," she said, "I should stop moping! I need to get on with my life! Thanks Pen Pen!" She hugged the penguin, who blushed furiously as she squashed him against her chest. She stood up, proclaiming, "Look out world! Asuka Langley Soryu is back!"
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Good old Pen Pen! I needed something to help Asuka out of her depression, and the trusty penguin provided the answer. Sometimes, we just need to vent, you know? If you've ever had an emotional breakdown, talking about it really helps.
Oh, and here's an addendum to the addendum in the author's note at the beginning of this chapter: I'll be getting the next Ch. of Weapon X up sometime this coming week. I'm really into this story at the moment, so I'm going to be working on it more.
and for those who don't know what addendum means, here you are: addendum- an addition, attachment, or supplement, used to correct errors/explain inconsistencies/ update information or detail on something.
Oh, and I hope Asuka was in character. This was the first time I've actually written for her, so I tried my best. It's not easy when she starts out depressed!
Stay tuned for the next chapter of Apprentice, and, as always, thank you for your reviews and support!
