Disclaimer: I do not own the Neon Genesis Evangelion series or hold any rights over the character Mayumi Yamagishi, from the 2nd Impression game thingy. Don't sue, cause I'm already broke.
Thank you for all the reviews.
They are all very appreciated and are used to make sure you enjoy and understand my piece.
This is the seventh chapter of, "Catalyst," a NGE fan fiction. Enjoy.
Catalyst
By: XxRagnarokxX88
How did we end up here? Running from place to place, hiding for our lives... only to end back at the place we started?
I should be the one asking that, shouldn't I?
I guess your right... well... I'll start from where you asked from. Asuka's arrival... but first, I'll tell you a few more things.
--
"You should know that it was not love that drove him, but a misguided sense of duty. He had made a promise to her, motivated by childhood love, one that was now broken and undone; and like all mistakes he had made in the past, he intended to fix it with sheer force. A noble goal to be sure, but a selfish one as well. He wanted to rid himself of the guilt and misery he felt caused by his own blind and emotionally motivated intents. A man with great power, but naive at heart."
She flipped through the pages of the book, her fingers moving limply and carefully through the old yellowed pages of the tome in her hand, and smiled at her sister's resistance of the words that left her lips. Prior times reminded her that her sibling would only feign disinterest for the sake of annoying her, but in actuality would take every word to heart and memory. Though she had to admit that the pillows over her ears were a nice touch.
"He leapt across rooftop to rooftop, scaling the tallest obstacles and crossed the most dangerous of gaps, all for her; his friend, his burden, and foremost of all, his love." Mayumi closed the book in her hand, set it aside on the table next to the couch and placed her hand on top of her sister's head with a bit too much force. "Alright Short-stuff, time for you to go to sleep."
With a vein apparent in her forehead as she bared her teeth behind the smile. "I'm not feeling very tired right now, Sis." She struggled to get up from under the sheets that covered her, but Mayumi kept her in place. "Get off of me! You weigh a ton!" It was a definite lie, but it still got to her older sister for some reason. Must be a teenage thing.
"That was rude. Midget." Her eye twitched with anger, signaling the daily ersatz fight.
It was at that time that Misato walked out of her room scratching across her bare flat stomach, yawning about it being too late for book-learnin'. Her normally dark lavender hair was now a mess, but it did not distract Mayumi from what she was blushing and frowning at. She was well-developed, especially considering her pure Japanese descent, and that made her inferiority complex rise to an ocean's surface. So much so that it made the sable-haired girl nervous of Shinji living with such a temptress. She was there now, but it wouldn't be permanent.
Letting go of her sister's ankle, Mayumi bowed and apologized to her temporary caretaker, but was waved away when Misato said she disliked formality; it made her feel old apparently. She disappeared into the kitchen for a few minutes, occasionally hearing the sound of a can opening. That was 20 minutes and 4 'pops' later.
The sable-haired girl frowned at Misato as she walked back from the refrigerator. 'She's so... so...' Mayumi's thoughts were interrupted when Shinji walked out his room with sleep-drained eyes.
"S-Shinji...! I'm sorry, did we wake you?" The sleep seemed to increase slightly as his eyes focused on the two on his couch. "I'm sorry. It was Aiko, she was being a pain so--"
"What! You're the one that--" Aiko was cut off as her head was dropped onto the couch. "Hmm uouh bgtcgh..!"
"-- Sorry..." She looked away and lowered her head. Her imposition on his house was bad enough, but now she woke him up after all that has happened. 'How much could he put up with? How long can he put up with me?' She bit lightly into her bottom lip and looked down at her feet, making sure that Aiko still had her face planted onto the couch.
"Hmm? Ugh... No, it's alright. I couldn't sleep anyway." He lied. Shinji ran a hand through his unruly hair and walked over to Misato. "Misato, don't you think it's a bit too late to be drinking?" His voice was vaguely annoyed.
"What?" She burped before continuing. "It's never too late or too early for a drinky-poo..!" She grinned widely and placed her arm around his shoulder; she must have had a few before this. She was the best at holding down her medicine. "Now, Shinji... I just wanted to say that -hiccup- I'm so proud of you..!" She slurred almost every word and breathed too close to Shinji's nose for his own comfort. "You've done so much already, but your still -hiccup- going strong! Your even helping out your two little girlfriendssss... -hiccup-." His so-called guardian placed more of her weight onto him and giggled from the weariness and sleep deprivation.
Shinji sighed and began leading her back into her room with some struggle. "C'mon... time for you to go to bed too."
Misato giggled as she was led back into her bedroom. "Ooooh... in front of your two -hiccup- girlfriends? That's weird... but if it's okay with youuu... -hiccup-."
When both residents of the apartment left the living room, Mayumi was still frowning and faintly red from the scene that occurred in front of her. It seemed so... natural to both of them. The purple-haired woman acted so differently at home, she was almost a different person from the one she saw at NERV. The calm and collected tactician had to be a split personality.
She was drunk in the middle of the night, yet Shinji helped his charge into bed, the woman who was suppose to take care of him, and did it with a tired smile across his face, finding the situation more humorous than serious, if not slightly annoyed. Her frown deepened from sudden pikes of jealousy piercing into her frail eggshell heart. It's not as if she wanted to be the inebriated one in his arms, but she could not help but feel her russet eyes flick with green as she watched her love interest softly slide the door to his guardian's room with a glimmer in his over-stressed iris'.
"Are you even listening, Mayumi!"
Snapping back from her fit of jealousy, Mayumi realized that she had let go of her younger sister, who had been busy talking to nothing but an occupied mind and deaf ears. "Huh? What do you want?"
To say the least, the only thing missing from Aiko was the steam shouting out of her ears. "I was talking about you not wanting to look bad in front of Shinji! Just cause your trying to make a good impression doesn't mean I have to come out as loud and obnoxious!" She yelled far too close to ear.
"Well you aren't helping yourself very well, are you!"
"What..?-- You tricked me!"
Mayumi knew that no matter how smart her sister was in the ways of schooling, that she would still remain the child; one of innocence that reflected in her mannerisms and idiosyncrasies, which helped her ignore her all the more. She moved the locks of hair that moved across her glasses and looked at the confused pilot.
There were no words that could describe the enervated look in her love's eyes, a look that made her mentally scold herself for taking advantage of his generosity and martyrdom. The hardships he endured, the sacrifices in his mind, body, and soul, all in a matter of weeks-- and he stood there, before her russet eyes, with a confused smile underneath his strained eyes. She almost felt like slapping him, just so that he would be angry at her-- to see that he was not selflessly giving himself for her, that he had his regrets, limits to his adoration for her and her younger sister. But almost was the key word. How could she refuse him? He'd given her so much. She knew that his generosity was something she both admired and made her fall deeper for him.
After all, she had told herself that she deserved some bit of happiness, right? The sable-haired girl had had such an arduous past, maybe she finally found it, someone that would be there for her. She shielded her beloved Aiko from so much, protected her from all the difficulties their family had faced in the past and present for so long, maybe Shinji would be her rock in the swirling tides. It seemed greedy and desirous, but she could not help but burry herself in the captivating idea. So much was the idea enthralling that she no longer saw the living room she stood in or her sister ranting beside her.
She held her tears back with ease, for she had dealt with her own tears far too long to not accustom to their salty tinge, and stared into the blue depths of her love's eyes. Though her mouth did not move past a slight smile, her eyes betrayed her fairly well hid emotions.
"Mayumi?" She did not react, but continued to stare, making Shinji increasingly nervous. "M-Mayumi? You feeling okay?"
"-- And another thing! How come I have to sleep with your feet in my face! Mayumi..! Mayumi!"
Snapping back into reality, Mayumi's eyes widen and face tinged with red from embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry, Shinji!" She lifted her falling glasses with both hands in an attempt to hide her blushing. "I... I kinda spaced out..." She sat down on the couch and begun running her fingers through one of the locks of hair hanging on either side and over her ears.
Shinji, too somnolent to have any real thoughts in his head, moved his hands through his scruffy hair once again, as he did every time he was unsure of what to do, and was about to leave by saying goodnight, but was stopped by a sudden question. "Say, Shinji... since the school is going to be closed for the rest of the week... do you want to... hang out somewhere?" Without missing a beat, she faltered. "If you want to! If you don't, I'll understand, really!"
Her younger sister, finally ending her complaining, stood and looked from Shinji to Mayumi and Mayumi to Shinji, confused as to what was going on. Probably something to do with Mayumi saying something stupid, she thought. She was never good with the boys, anyway.
"I'd... um... sure." When he was as over-worked as he was, being nervous and shy took too much energy.
Mayumi's cheeks flushed to a shade of red as deep as her sister's pajamas. With a single finger, she raised her glasses back to it's proper place. Not knowing anything proper to say, she settled with, "T-Thanks, Shinji..." That sounded too simple for her, so she continued, "...not just for what you just said, but for everything..." She felt like a 12 year old, asking her first crush if they liked them back, and receiving the answer that sent their adolescent heart soaring. Hopefully it would end with a bit more permanent commitment.
"Listen to me dammit!" Aiko huffed.
--
But how did you hear all that? We're not that loud.
I told you, I can hear very well.
Or maybe it was all that time you spent with Mr. Kaji.
I didn't meet him until later. But then again, I guess that's why he offered his help so willingly when I asked for it.
It took a bit more convincing when I asked for it though. Probably cause I'm a girl.
I wouldn't exactly call you a girl, now. Would you?
I guess your right, but I meant it back then. Still, that was pretty mean.
Heh. Well, let me go on with my story.
--
It was ten in the morning and no one but the Yamagishi's stood in the apartment awake and eager for a new day. The sun once again shone bright, away from the Earth, causing the albedo of their mother planet to glow eerily soothing. This was definitely a day that promised the best for the children who frolicked in the parks and cracked streets of Tokyo-3, a day where the children of mother Gaia could play outside of the cold shadows of the "bottoms".
The city was about two-thirds of the way rebuilt and, best of all, no angels in sight. This made Mayumi cheerful, but also unhappy. Though everything was almost back to normal, it meant that she and her sister would have to go back to their home. Their large and empty home. She didn't want to go back to those pale white walls. She didn't have too long to get accustomed to her newest home, but she never really did with any of her past homes. This temporary home of hers, if she allowed herself the pleasure of calling it so, was somehow more hospitable than all the others she had been in. But it wasn't forever. She would have to leave soon, and that only fed her impatience.
To keep her mind off of unpleasant thoughts, Mayumi walked towards the kitchen to prepare something to eat. If nothing else, she could at least prepare something tasty for her housemates. She may not have been very good at cooking, but it couldn't be as bad as her mother and sister said it was. Could it?
The smell of food reached her little sister in the bathroom. Aiko, having the experience of Mayumi's cooking odor, immediately dropped the toothbrush that was, until recently, in her mouth. It didn't smell bad or anything-- but neither did certain poisons. Aiko knew that she would not be able to deter her sister from cooking, she rarely, if ever, listened to her, but with other people as potential victims she had to at least try.
With one of her slippers off, Aiko rushed out of the bathroom. "Mayumi! Stop it before you embarrass yourself. No one's gonna want to eat that crap you call food! You don't know how to cook!" She flailed her short arms for emphasis. It was at times like this that Mayumi adored the cuteness that came from her little sister, which seemed to permeate the room with ease. Even with the panicked look in her eyes-- maybe even because of it, Mayumi continued to prepare her meal with a small hum on her lips.
"No one else is up and besides, they won't be getting up for awhile." She looked away from the stove with an icy glare for her shorter half. "And remember, we're guest! We should at least try and return their hospitality."
"But you stink at cooking!"
"Keep it down..!-- and it's not that bad!"
"Are your tastes-buds dead or something!"
"No! But you will be in awhile if you don't stop bothering me!"
By some incomprehensible chance, the food behind Mayumi started to sizzle on the plate, sending a sour and bitter smelling cloud of smoke in the air. Both seemed to pause as the realization of what was going on passed through their minds and noses. Aiko, who had a wide enough grin to split her cheeks, looked at Mayumi with smug emerald eyes. Mayumi looked down at her sister, shamed at knowing that her little sister had, once again, known what she was talking about.
About thirty minutes and three burnt sponges and rags later, Mayumi and Aiko stood outside of the corridor which lead to Shinji's and Misato's rooms. They were still asleep, but it didn't seem to matter to the younger Yamagishi. Whether it was due to a lack of manners or her growing fondness and apparent comfort with Shinji, Aiko simply opened the door into Shinji's room and poked her head inside.
"Hey, Shinji. Wake up!" No response, but something shifted on the futon. Probably the person she wished to stir. "Shinji! Wake up! Mayumi said she had a very special present for you!"
Though Shinji was worked up enough to look at the light that came from behind the half-opened door with some dizzied interest, he quickly realized that he was not dreaming and was staring at the two sisters. "Huh..?" He managed to slur out before rubbing the sleep away from his now less weighed down eye lids. "What's going on?"
Aiko must have thought he wasn't awake enough, because within a few seconds, she leapt forward and landed on the poor third child and shook him vigorously. "Wakey-Wakey, Shinji! You've rested enough, haven't you?" The question was completely rhetorical. "Get up so you we can do something!"
Shinji, after gaining what little bit of the senses he had left, looked up at the 12 year old, who had momentarily stopped trying to wake him up, and to the faintly green glowing numbers on his dresser. He had indeed gone past his normal time, but he was tired. Then again, he couldn't refuse his friend's request. Saying "No" just wasn't something that came naturally to him; this was true to her too, maybe even especially to her. He felt he was obligated to listen to every little request she made. Getting up for some unknown reason was an obligation that he knew would annoy him now, but would regret later. So he pushed his weight upward and sat down on his futon, several of his vertebrae's cracking faintly as he forced compliance.
It was really the first time he every really looked at her; Aiko. She looked like her older sister, but upon close inspection he could tell that she had a few subtle differences in facial structure. Maybe she wasn't entirely Japanese? He couldn't tell; he never met their mother. 'She's different. I can't exactly tell what, but she's not completely like her sister. I don't know... maybe it's just me.'
Aiko blinked in confusion and curiosity as Shinji's eyes rested on her own for a few more seconds. Weariness seemed to drain the shyness right out of the boy. Looking at anyone in the eyes for too long usually flustered him. Maybe that was a good thing. "Shinji?"
A tint of red appeared on his cheeks as he realized how intently he was staring at her. "O-Oh... I'm sorry... I guess... I guess I'm still a little tired."
Shinji drew his gaze away from Aiko and towards the silhouette near the door frame. Even without the faint yellow of her vest, Shinji instantly recognized the shadow of his... well, he still wasn't too sure what she was to him. But he knew it was Mayumi, which made him feel awkward as the shadow's right hand clasped it's left arm. Strangely enough, he didn't mind it when Aiko saw him in a state of disarray, he was comfortable, to a degree, with her. Maybe it was because of her age. But her eyes, whether he could see them or not, Mayumi's russet eyes shouldn't have to see him like that. Weak, tired, and barely able to move.
"Umm... M-Mayumi..?"
Hopefully, Mayumi thought, he didn't see her instantly turn red from being address by a bed-ridden Shinji. "Ah! I'm sorry, I didn't see anything! It-it's... Aiko! Get back here, your bothering him! I'm sorry, we shouldn't have woken you up..!"
"N-No, no! It's okay. Really, I was just getting up anyway." Some lies were obvious, but necessary. Hurting her feelings would only cause problems for him and their... relationship. 'Dammit... why is it so hard for me to talk to her..? We held hands... doesn't that mean we should be more... relaxed around each other?--'
"-- hungry..?"
"What?" Shinji was clearly in lost in his own thoughts again.
"I was just asking if... you were hungry." Mayumi avoided eye contact as best she could, choosing instead that looking down at her sandals would be the best course of action. "It might not be that good, but... I.."
"I'm sure it'll be great." He smiled slightly and lifted his thin body with some effort and Aiko's assistance.
Mayumi's cheeks cooled as a smiled developed on her embarrassed expression. "I hope you like it!"
--
You still can't cook to save your life.
Big deal. I can learn.
That's what you said the last time. The fire alarm isn't the same thing as the kitchen timer.
Will you shut up and go on with it? Your making me feel bad.
Sorry, sorry. Didn't mean it.
I know, I know. Go on.
--
Mayumi placed the phone back onto it's proper position and leaned against the cushions of the couch. It had been a boring day, with the exception of that morning, aside from learning that Shinji and Misato would still eat her poor excuse for cooking, so long as they had plenty of water, for Shinji, and beer, for Misato. Twirling a lock of her sable hair with her index finger, she reflected back on how Shinji managed to eat her garbage with a meek smile on his lips. He could have said it tasted like how it looked, but he didn't. It was a bit frustrating to her, but she found herself even more attracted to his unrelenting, quiet and considerate behavior towards her. At least he honestly liked her tea; it was the only thing she could do right in the kitchen.
She sighed quietly and took off her glasses, placing them onto the nightstand that Shinji was nice enough to bring her, contemplating her relationship with the young Ikari. She was too boy-shy to talk to him about anything deeper than school, yet she badly wanted him to know more about him, and for him to know a bit more about her. She wanted to know if he thought about her, like she though about him so frequently. It was frustrating the way she contradicted her thoughts with her inaction. He returned her gestures; she could still feel the warmness of his hand on hers, slightly moist from the nervousness both he and she felt, that much she was grateful for, yet it was not enough. She longed for more intimacy, but knew she could and probably wouldn't be able to work up her mettle enough to try. It was absolutely frustrating.
After breakfast, Misato went back to sleep, mumbling something about not caring about being late to work, and Shinji did the same, though, whether it was a good or a bad thing, he seemed hesitant to leave Mayumi and Aiko alone. Mayumi took it as a good thing; he wanted to be with her, but was too tired to. At least she believed as much.
Her reflecting thoughts were interrupted as Aiko plopped down near her, leaning her head onto Mayumi's shoulder and sighing politely. "Hey."
"Hey."
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing really."
"Oh? Me too."
Comfortable silence fell between the two until Aiko grew impatient. "If you want me to talk to him, I could ask if he likes you-- even though I think it's obvious."
"I don't need you to help me. Besides, your my little sister, aren't I suppose to help you with your problems?"
She made a small sound of smugness, reveling in her sisters attempt to dodge the offer.
Mayumi often tried to help her sister in whatever way possible; be it from cleaning the house when Mother was gone or cooking when Mayumi woke up late. Maybe she felt that she had to, even though she didn't mind acting as a surrogate mother for Aiko when their real mother was at work late at night, but she appreciated and usually denied her the possibility of giving assistance. What were big sisters for anyway?
"Well, shouldn't you sneak into his room and kiss him goodnight? I bet he'd sleep better." She loved teasing her older sister, even if it usually ended in semi-play fighting.
"Don't be a brat." Mayumi yawned and laid down on top of the large couch, stretching the sore muscles of her healing body.
"Who were you talking to? On the phone, I mean."
"I was talking to Hikari. She gave me her number a while ago, and I wanted to talk to her." She wanted to laugh at that moment. She vividly remembered how her friend reacted when she mentioned were she was calling from in the middle of the night. "It was... nice."
"You have a new friend and Shinji... I'm kinda jealous."
Mayumi raised an eyebrow at her sister's statement. "What?"
"You know I don't.. really talk to people right away. So I'm just saying... I'm jealous."
"I... It was just luck. Hikari is a nice person, sociable, and Shinji... well..." She couldn't comment on just how her relationship with Shinji started to begin with. In a strange way, stating the details seemed like a betrayal to her love interest, "It was just luck."
"So what did you and Hikari talk about?"
"Oh nothing. Just about how it sucks that school is closed for a few more days, about it being boring, how we're doing. I though it was funny how she reacted when I told her I was living with Shinji." A small smile graced her lips as she imagined Hikari's expression must have been when she gasped from the shock. She hoped the class rep didn't have a heart attack.
Aiko laughed a child's laugh. "I can only wonder how you said it."
Mayumi sighed and ran a hand through her little sister's hair. "It's strange, you know? I'm living with him, but I don't really know too much about him. I... I really like him, but I don't really know how to talk to him; to get to know him better."
Aiko mimicked her sister's movements, playing with her older sister's sable hair, braiding the dark silk without care for permission. "You mad at him for not doing anything with you?"
"No, I understand why he couldn't."
"Oh? I'm not mad... I guess I'm... annoyed that he didn't... I don't know."
"What did you think he would do with you?"
Aiko brought her legs closer to her body, letting her feet hang from the edge of the couch. "I don't know. I just wanted to spend time with him."
Mayumi smirk past her tinge of jealousy. "I guess we both had unrealistic expectations."
"Unrealistic expectations? I like the way that sounds," she responded listlessly.
"You know, Aiko, if I didn't know better, I might think that you have a crush on my Shinji." She smiled as Aiko's spine straightened a bit. She usually didn't laugh or blush when she was teased by her older sister. Aiko fought or argued back, but when her sister really hit the heart of whatever was troubling her, she was almost paralyzed. "Do I have some competition, my dear Aiko?"
"I-It's not like that..."
She had her right where she wanted. "I'll have to be on guard when your around him from now on, huh?"
"Stop it. It's not like that... really..." She squired to get out of her sister's firm but gentle hold.
"I don't know. If you got older, I may have to start trying harder to look pretty around him."
She found her opening. "Not that it would make a difference."
Knowing that her sister lost, she decided to stop the bantering. "I'm just teasing, Squirt." She giggled as her sister squirmed in her arms, trying futilely to get out of her coming embrace. It always happened like this, these almost mother-daughter moments. Every time Mayumi had the upper hand in their teasing contests she would always end it with an abrupt hug, reaffirming their bond if and when the words got a bit out of hand. This time was no different.
Mayumi encircled her arms around her sister's small frame and held her as her younger sister gave up on fighting her. Eventually both settled down, letting their bodies rest upon one another. Mayumi pulled her sister upward, enough so that their heads were on level, and rested her head on top of her sister's shoulder. And with that, they continued.
"So... who was that blue-haired girl that came with you and Shinji? I've seen her before, but my memories all foggy right now..."
It took some time for her to recall the memories and when she finally found the memory she wrinkled her nose and smiled at the chance to tease back at her sister. "Oh, the pretty girl with the blue hair? Shinji said her name was Reiiii." She made sure to extend her name, building up to her sister's embarrassment. "I asked Shinji if he thought she was pretty too, cause I thought she was, and he didn't answer. He just got nervous and started stuttering something about being just friiieeeends. Don't you think that's a bit straaaange?"
Aiko yelped an "Ow!" as Mayumi tugged at her hair, not hard enough to be malicious, but hard enough to get her point across. Aiko knew she went a bit too far. She knew her sister was over-protective about her, so why wouldn't it be the same for her boyfriend? Then again, it would be more like jealousy in this case. "Didn't have to pull so hard..."
An uncomfortable silence soon followed afterward, one that was broken by the older Yamagishi minutes or hours later. "So... did Shinji say anything besides being just friends?"
Grateful for the chance to talk to her in the same night, Aiko replied, "I asked who she was and he said that she was an Eva pilot too. He said that he was always nervous around her when they first met. He didn't say how, but he said that they eventually became friends. Nothing I haven't really already said, you know?"
"Oh..." In truth, she felt better knowing that Shinji did not say anything that would lead her to believe something was going on between Rei and him, but she was still uneasy. There was still the matter as to how he actually became a friend to her. " Say Aiko..."
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry. For the hair thing, I mean."
"I know, it's okay. I'm sorry too."
Mayumi picked up the blanket on the floor and draped it over both her and her sister. She placed her arms back around her sister's frame and held her closer to her body, almost as if she were to let go, she would leave her side forever. Aiko closed her eyes as Mayumi turned off the lamp on the small nightstand and pushed herself closer to her. And with that, the two sisters fell into a peaceful slumber.
--
"Shinji." Misato softly slapped her charges' face, making sure she wasn't too rough with the poor boy. "Shinji..." She started shaking his body gently at first, then rougher as he didn't respond with nothing more than a grunt. "Wakey-Wakey, Shinji!"
Finally waking from his private world, Shinji rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, raised his head to met the gaze of the woman who was nice enough to let him live with her, allowed him to eat her food and make her tea every morning, and responded with the first words he had in his mind for his lovely purple-haired guardian. "Hmm? Wha'd I miss?"
"Yesterday. Now get up. We may've been allowed some time off cause of the recent battles, but now it's time to get back to work!"
Work-- that's what it's him now. Work. It seemed too early in life to have something to call 'work'. Too early to have to get up in the morning and say hello to the people he comes across, and call it all, 'work'. But he went to school too. And, for the moment, he woke knowing his... girlfriend and her little sister were same in his home. Maybe adults exaggerated it when they said adulthood was tough?
He lifted himself off the futon and rubbed his eyes once again. He focused his eyes and stared into Misato's own, noticing how, in this light, her eyes looked almost as bright as Mayumi's own iridescent russet eyes. He couldn't help but stare a bit more than what would be normal. "Misato?"
"What? Is waking up next to me really that bad, Shinji? Your so mean." The false hurt in her voice still managed to prick his heart, bringing out the reaction Misato knew she would receive. "Too bad, cause I'll be doing it more often from now on."
"T-That's not what I meant... I... I just wanted to know what I was doing today?"
"Of course! Well, your going to have to do some synch tests, and Rei will be their too, so you won't have to be lonely. Those tests can last for hours, ya know?"
'Great.' He mentally commented dryly. "Hours you say..? Well, I guess I can't help it. So anything after that?"
Misato put her a finger to her lips in thought." Umm... well nothing for you. I have to oversee the last bit of construction," she grumbled under her breath, "I don't know why! I'm a tactician, damnit!" She sighed and placed a hand on top of Shinji's hair. "Anyway, I'll be busy all day today and tomorrow, but after synch tests, you have the rest of the day for yourself." Suddenly, she recalled how he had been oddly gallant with Rei after they recovered them after the angel fight. Carrying her like some little anime hero-- how cute. He seemed to be quite the accidental ladies' man. The thought made a motherly smile appeared on her lips. 'Maybe he can be a normal kid too, huh? One that pilots a war machine, but normal none the less..'
"That's good news, I guess."
"C'mon, we're already way late." She offered her hand and Shinji graciously accepted.
Shinji, now in his school uniform and duffle bag in hand, tip-toed his way out of the apartment with Misato. They didn't want to wake up the two sisters; they looked so serene in each other's arms, waking them was simply not a forgivable option. Before he left, Shinji looked back at the sight on the couch, Mayumi and Aiko holding each other in sisterly bliss, stating what they probably said to each other every time it didn't seem weird to them. He made sure the image was locked into the back of his mind; another reminder as to why he carried the weight of the Evangelion on his back and the angels on his shoulders.
"C'mon we're late!"
With a final look, he smiled and closed the door.
--
You know, that could also mean your just a perverted man. Watching two sisters sleep together. Your a damn pervert, you know that?
I can't admit that the thoughts didn't cross my mind later on, but it's the truth. You two kept me going.
Shut-up..! ...Do you... really mean that? Back then, I swear we were nothing more than a burden to you. Always doing something to make you exhausted and tired.
You just did that a few minutes ago.
Damn pervert! Just go on with it.
Mayumi...
I know, I know. Just... go on.
--
"So, my pocket-sized savior, what have you been up too?"
Shinji understood why Aiko hated it when Mayumi talked about her height. He wasn't short, but in comparison to Misato, he really was feeling miniscule at the time. "Nothing. Just the NERV stuff, and sleeping, I guess." He sighed as he tried his best to keep the juices in his stomach from spilling out of his mouth. It was doubtful that he would ever get use to his guardian's driving.
"Feeling uneasy? Here." Misato opened a compartment on Shinji's side and took out a pair of sunglasses. "If you don't see everything move as fast, you'll get use to it."
It made sense. The few times Shinji saw Misato drive she was always wearing her sunglasses, thought it was doubtful she wore them for the reason he was just handed a pair. He placed them on and rested his head on the leather cushion of his seat and looked at the slightly darkened road and buildings as they blurred by like fading memories.
"Hey, you look kinda cute with those on."
Shinji looked at her as she looked at him, disregarding the road ahead of her, but obviously knowing what she was doing; and he blushed. This time, unlike all the others, there was no hint of her teasing him. That just made it all the more embarrassing.
"Umm... thanks..." He tried his best to sink further into his seat.
The rest of the trip was spent in silence. It wasn't until they had cleared the tollgates, rode down the monorail, and were walking inside of he Geofront that they even looked at one another, at which Misato only smiled and looked back at the road ahead. Once inside of NERV HQ, they parted ways.
--
"Hello, Ikari."
The almost ghostly voice behind him nearly sent him into panic mode, had he not recognized it afterwards that is. He looked back to find Ayanami already in her plug suit. He had seen her before, but the few times he had gotten a good look was when she was in danger, so this time he saw the skintight material without the fear of her dying. Needless to say, he blushed. Not wanting to give himself away, and not wanting to be rude, he kept his eyes to hers and greeted her as she kept pace with him while he walked towards the Eva Cages.
"I told you, call me Shinji, Rei." He said her own name to get his point across. Hopefully she would cut the formalities, it just added to his nervousness. "So how've you been? You feeling better after a few days off?"
"I am feeling well. And you?"
"I could have used more sleep, but I'm okay, I guess."
Rei nodded and looked forward as if he was not even walking with her. The only thing that made him sure that she was aware of his presence was how she managed to keep in perfect synchronization with his footsteps. He looked forward and sighed. He'd probably never get completely comfortable around her, but at least he knew she didn't hate him, especially after the incident in her apartment.
He wasn't particularly fond of starting conversations, but around Rei, he felt that he had too. But, even when he shared moments of friendship with the breathing enigma, he didn't know what to talk about with her. All he was sure of was that she lived in a run-down neighborhood, didn't lock her door, missed school a lot, and is selective about who she speaks to. No one at school, when he managed to go, noticed or really cared that she was gone. Not even an idle concern that he might have heard in the hallway. It left a strange feeling inside of him. To some degree, she was like him-- he didn't like that.
He had said to her that they should try and be friends-- he had no intention of going back on his word. 'What's there to talk about with her though? I think talking about her personal life would be too early...'
"Shinji?"
Snapping out of his daze, he replied, "Hmm? W-What is it?"
"We are here."
He felt like an idiot for dazing out while walking, but there was nothing he could do about it now. It would be awhile before he ever got used to talking to her-- even being around her. Despite his awkwardness around her, he would still protect her on the battlefield, fully aware that it might call for him to disobey Misato's orders; but he didn't care. She was another reason that he fought against the angels. The world had been cruel to him as far as he could remember; he didn't owe it anything. So he had to do everything he could possibly do to protect the women in his life. The very thought made Shinji's fists clutch and relax unconsciously.
This action caught Rei's attention. "Are you feeling well, Shinji?"
Once again snapping out of his daze, he replied with no true embarrassment. He smiled and took gentle hold of her wrist. "Let's go. We're gonna be late."
Rei nodded and followed his lead, confused at the sudden change in attitude, but not disliking the warmth from the contact.
--
Maya Ibuki stood next to her mentor, Ritsuko Akagi, absorbing the quickness and absolute fluidness of how she carried out her tasks. It was amazing how efficient she was with her work. Her fingers moved with grace over the keys on her laptop; her eyes wandered from the two pilots in the mock entry plugs to the glowing screen in front of her. It was a level that Maya had tried her best to meet, succeeding in certain aspects and failing in others.
Today was different. Maya didn't try her best to reach the level of her mentor. No, today was different. Her mentor seemed a bit edgy every time she looked up at the main monitor; every time her gaze met Shinji's closed eyes. She wasn't nervous on the surface, but her darting eyes spoke volumes to Maya. It wasn't something that anyone could just pick up, but she had worked under Dr. Akagi for some time now.
The young logistics officer looked up from her workstation and at the closed, concentrated eyes of the young Shinji Ikari. Something that involved him was bothering Ritsuko. From what little she knew of the boy, she knew that it was probably not anything serious, but it was something that bothered her false blonde mentor.
He seemed like the shy and quiet type; which made the gossip around the NERV facility all the more unexpected to her. The young Ikari had developed quite the intimate relationship with the girl who had climbed inside of Unit-01, Mayumi Yamagishi. He didn't seem like the type that would have a girlfriend so early in life, more like the type that would have more female friends than intimate relationships. But then again, when he first arrived at NERV, he had shown some bravado in battle-- He obviously had bottled rage within his calm exterior. Maybe it was that incredibly well-hidden valiance that made the comely girl fall for the meek boy. Kinda cute when you really think about it.
Maya sighed and opened communications as Ritsuko simply nodded in her direction. "Times up. You two can go now." She turned away from the monitor, making sure that the young boy did not notice she was studying him for the last part of the three hour synch tests. A lot of good that did. Before communications were closed, she heard her name being called by the same boy she tried to avoid.
"M-Ms. Ibuki?"
Maya looked at the monitor with genuine curiosity. "What is it?" She tried to shake off the subtle glance her mentor gave her.
"M... Misato told me that... a few people got injured during the battle where I had to use that rifle-- including you... I just wanted too... um... I'm sorry..."
She looked down to her left arm. She had her left arm bandaged up from her elbow all the way up to her shoulder. He must have noticed that she was staring at him and managed to sneak a very subtle look back. While she understood why he would be concerned with her safety, even if only as a fleeting indulgence of conversation, why was he apologizing for something he couldn't possibly do something about?
"I'm flattered over your concerned for me," Her smile must have brought on the blush of the Third Child," but I really don't know why your apologizing to me. You did your best, it just happened to be some bad luck within good luck. We won, didn't we?"
"Y-Yeah... but," Shinji mumbled his words until he found his mind sorted out," I could have done something to stop it... maybe if I hadn't dodged it..."
Maya's opinion of the young boy changed the moment he mentioned how he would rather have a particle beam shred him than letting her take a few pieces of shrapnel in her arm. NERV's little Eva prodigy regretting doing a job well done, because she got hurt? Strange to say the least. By all means, he could push his weight around and have a large ego to boot. He was a pilot, after all. Yet he was so humble and, from what little she could tell, considerate. Now she was certain as to how the cute, sable-haired girl could develop a crush for him.
"Oh... don't worry about it. Just some glass, it hardly bled! It's probably just bandaged just in case, you know..." She felt her cheeks tinge lightly from embarrassment. It made her want to laugh; she was acting like a schoolgirl again! "And don't worry about Hyuuga! He got a little bit worse than me, but he's only away from work because he's lazy!"
'Great... more than one person got hurt.. it's bad enough she did..'. "Umm... well... thanks, I'll try harder next time..."
Maya looked down as the image of Mayumi climbing out of Shinji's entry plug hit the back of her mind. The fright in her eyes merely from the experience inside the Eva, and then watching Katsuragi chew Shinji out for doing the right thing, flashed across her mind. He shouldn't have to be sorry for doing the right and honorable thing.
She raised her head and caught him before he exited the mock entry plug. "Hey, Shinji... do me a favor, will ya? Don't say sorry when you've done the right thing, alright?"
"Y-Yes, Ms. Ibuki."
Maya could only suppress a small laugh when Shinji's cheeks rose to a dull red for no apparent reason. Yes, Maya Ibuki definitely knew why the girl fell for the young Ikari; he was so unlike his father. That in itself was something to be very proud of. "You can call me Maya, Mr. Ikari."
--
What? Don't tell me your insecure even with her. She's an adult.
A good-looking one at that.
You got me there.
Shut-up! I swear your growing up to be like Mr. Kaji. You've even got the stubble! All your missing is the ponytail.
Well, I can't say he hasn't affected me in some ways. Can't say I'm not working on the hair either. Heh. But again, I don't think of her like that. I think of her more as... like an older sister.
You say that about every one of our friends. Like some over-extended family.
I guess your right. But it feels that way. Like we're all bonded on some deeper level than just friends. Especially with you...
S... S-Shinji. Stop it. I hate it when you talk to me like that. Just continue, please?
--
Shinji turned on the faucet inside of the small shower stall and let the waters cleanse his body of the dried LCL. Even though it was just the afternoon, it felt like a long day of "work". Slightly over three hours, or so he was informed, and he was looking forward to laying down and do nothing for the rest of the day. But Shinji knew he wouldn't, after all, he wasn't that tired anymore. No; he rested long enough.
Maybe if Aiko was insistent, he'd do something she wanted to do. The little runt grew on her; apparently Mayumi's nicknames for her sister did as well. It was apparent that she had taken a liking to him, for reasons unknown to him, at least. She was... well, Shinji could not place a label on his and her relationship; it was far too hard to anyway. His thoughts continued to circle in his mind and fall like the drops of water that landed on top of his head, until he finally concluded his ponderings about the most important people, the most important women, in his life and reached his own.
'How long has it been... since I've regretted being alive? I can hardly remember now.' Shinji cast his eyes downward onto the drain that took the water and the now remoistened LCL from his hair and eyelids. 'I... I still don't see too much ahead of me. It's pointless for me... but they're counting on me... and...' his right fist clenched tightly in front of his face, 'I musn't run away... I musn't run away... even if it hurts... even if I have no reason to be...' His mind went back towards the image he burned into the back of his mind. Mayumi and Aiko slept soundly, secure, and serenely because he gave them that. And they gave him a reason, even if, in the back of his mind, it may be only an excuse to live. He would return that to them a thousand fold. 'Yeah... besides... what else am I gonna do?'
As the rivulets fell from his damp head, Shinji lifted his head, sent the flowing waters from his eyes down onto the tiled floor, and accepted all the remaining waters onto his chest and shoulders. He lifted his left arm, the arm that first tasted the pain that the Eva allowed him to feel in places other than his heart, and closed his fingers.
As he turned off the faucet and dried himself off before dressing and leaving the room, he felt it strange that he always questioned and thought when he showering or taking a bath. Maybe Misato was right; a good bath cleans the body and soul.
--
Shinji and Rei walked down the main corridors in the direction of the NERV monorails that would lead them outside of the geofront. Shinji had finished taking a shower and was ready to return home after a very boring morning of synch tests. That was his plan, until he found Rei on his way to the monorails. Not wanting to really let her walk home alone, despite the fact she probably did it very often and the constant surveillances of Section II, he joined her and asked if he could walk her home.
He was afraid that she thought he was insinuating more than what he meant, since she paused and seemed to stare at him for a short eternity, but she accepted his offer with no protest and some minor confusion at the gesture.
"That was... award." Shinji said, trying to break the iceberg before it formed from it's shallow depths.
"What was?"
"When I talked to Ms. Ibuki. During the Synch test, I mean."
"Why was that awkward?"
"I... I guess I'm just not use to talking to people that I don't really know. I'm usually not one to start any conversations, so I get nervous a lot."
"I see."
While the conversation didn't really go anywhere, he had made some progress when it came to talking to Rei-- she responded and he hardly faltered when returning the dialogue. And best of all, Rei did not seem mad at him from the incident at her apartment. That was one image burned into his mind that was bittersweet at it's very core. The thought of her pale beauty made him fluster, causing him to mentally scold himself and feel a shallow marsh of guilt rising.
"Are you unwell, Shinji?"
"Wha-- No, no! I was just... umm..." So much for progress. "It's nothing." He felt the familiar lump in his throat and butterflies in his stomach return. Shinji was never good at talking with the opposite sex, but he hadn't felt this uneasy in a long time. Like returning to day puberty hit.
"I see."
"Umm... so what are you going to do this afternoon?" He wasn't too sure what Rei did to occupy her time while she wasn't inside of NERV Headquarters. She didn't seem like the girl that would do... girl stuff. As weird as the thought felt inside of his mind, it seemed true. She wasn't very social, since she didn't talk to anyone when she was at school, but trying to figure her out wasn't going to be easy. She was like a painting. Aesthetically beautiful, but, like the meaning behind any good painting, enigmatic, almost to the point of frustration. Shinji only wondered if she would ever allow him to figure out the mystery behind the art.
As the day got brighter, Shinji found himself more and more in the shadows of the cramp, extremely akin, buildings. The only things distinguishing certain buildings was the amount of damage done to the concrete which made it's walls. Ayanami's building, Shinji mentally noted and memorized, had a large, thin crack on it's west side. The crevice wasn't especially dangerous looking, but it still vexed Shinji how Ayanami could live in such a risky looking building. The other thing that got Shinji's attention was how it didn't even faze her. Rei didn't seem to care, maybe even notice, how dilapidated her building was. It bothered him.
"Say, Rei... I was wondering..."
"Yes?"
"Why do you live in such a fusty place? I know that it's farther from NERV than Misato's apartment complex... and it can't be safe around here. The buildings around here all have some sort of damage..." Shinji pointed towards one of the many buildings in the row of similar structures, "That one! I can even see wood beneath the concrete!"
"That is true, but that is not my building."
"I know. I'm just... I'm just concerned, I guess. I'm sorry." He bowed his head and looked at his shoes as they neared her building.
Rei's pace slowed down ever so slightly.
Such a strange concept, his concern. It did not benefit him to have worry over her, for whatever reason it may be, so why did he do it? Why did he tie himself down with concern over such insignificant things? As far as she could recall, she lived inside the small one bedroom apartment, not truly caring over the condition of the building as long as it stood. The smell of the area was of no concern. It was not pungent enough to cling to her uniform's fabric, so it was not problem. So why did he worry? She was replaceable, after all.
"Why have you developed concern over my safety?"
As much as he felt for her, Shinji had to admit she was either unused to having others show care towards her, a condition he could have related to until recently, or she was a little dense. Shinji surmised that it was the first.
"That's a dumb question." Shinji looked down at his shoes, watching how they hit the cracked concrete with slight difficulty in finding truly flat surface, and said, "Friends worry about each other. Why wouldn't I have some concern?"
As they arrived to her apartment building, Rei could only look forward at her approaching door with no interest.
Yet another feeling she could not identify. Her new friend, it seemed, had a knack for confusing her. It was perplexing trying to analyze her own emotions; hard to place how Shinji's token care affected her. Like a riddle with an answer that lies in a conundrum. One thing was for certain though. Her face seemed to warm ever so slightly. She did not feel ill, and the feeling was not unpleasant, so what could it be?
Rei looked at her apartment with somewhat different eyes now. She did not feel like entering it's damp embrace, but what could she do? It was her only home. "I... Thank you, Shinji." Those words of gratitude felt strange on her lips, but not entirely wrong.
How could they be?
"Oh, it's nothing, really." Shinji ran a hand down the back of his head, rubbing his hair, hoping that it would somehow prevent the imminent blush. 'Can't I go one day without blushing like some sort of idiot?' "Well... I guess I'll see you next time."
"May I ask you something?"
"Of course you can."
For some reason unbeknownst to her, she did not feel like parting ways with her fellow pilot, her first and therefore best friend. Something in the back of her mind, a small nagging was trying to tell her something, to do something that she could not appropriately express. But what did she feel? Identifying the emotion as the same thing she was accustomed to, loneliness, she wanted to ask him to stay. To join her later at NERV for her other synchs tests, if only to wait for her so they could walk to her home, even his if he preferred. But there would be no point in it. Shinji did not have a reason to be around her, nor did she have a real reason to be around him. Nothing more than a passing desire to be near someone. It would leave soon. She has done it all alone before, and she would do so again.
She paused, and with those unwavering eyes back, she said, "Never mind. I will ask some other time."
"Oh... well okay. I'll see you tomorrow... I think."
Rei nodded and entered her apartment, feeling the heat from her face leave in the cold apartment.
--
Yeah, I see what you mean. I guess that could give off the wrong message. Forgive me for that, Love, I was a child.
Can it. I know what must have been going through your mind.
How much more beautiful I found you; more than any other woman I have and will ever know?
... I-I'm not really that... Thank you, Shinji.
--
She was drowsy. After sleeping so long in her sister's arms, she woke up uncomfortably. Not that her sister's embrace wasn't a good thing, it was just that she shifted a lot during her slumber, so naturally being constrained bothered her. The contradiction of her desires always made her laugh.
Aiko got out of her sister's arms and looked back at her sleeping face. How she always slept in, when she could, was amazing. She was always the first to wake up in the morning at their house, but that must have been because she had too. For some reason, Aiko felt like waking her up for no other reason than the one that she just rationalized in her own mind.
Rather than bothering Mayumi, Aiko left her sister's side and stepped into Shinji's room and took out her clothes from his closet. Though she didn't ask Shinji if she could put her stuff in there, he never said no, and he probably wouldn't be upset. She was far too cute, and he was too much of a sweetheart to get angry at her. So Aiko laid out her clothes on top of his bed and walked towards the bathroom to prepare for the day. After her moderately short shower, she walked out of the bathroom and got dressed. Another day without school. It was definitely going to be a good day.
It wasn't a surprise. Mayumi was sprawled all over the couch; a leg on the top, a leg dangling off the edge, her arms the same way as her legs, and her hair all over the place-- except for the part that she braided. Aiko suppressed a giggle at the not-so-common sight and sat down in front of the television, skimming through the channels. She was use to watching what she wanted, even if she was too young for most of it. But who was gonna stop her? Mayumi didn't watch too much TV, and her mother didn't monitor what she watched. She could have easily watched some of the more raunchy movies, but, despite having any real talks with her mother about the subject, she felt that her mother trusted her-- and she would not betray that unspoken agreement.
After about thirty minutes of some foreign and national comedies-- she loved to laugh after all --Aiko stopped from her set view and felt her heart race when she heard the doorbell ring. A large grin appeared on her youthful face when she realized who it must have been. "Finally!" Getting away from the TV screen in front of her, Aiko rushed to the door as it swung open and leapt into his arms.
Shinji, sufficed to say, was caught off guard by the blur of raven, white, and shell-pink of his assailant. He tumbled back, but caught his balance against the wall behind him. Before he tried to fight back against the possible assassin or, kami forbid, pedophile, he looked down to see Aiko's smiling face. He sighed in relief and rubbed her hair, making sure it was her, and smirked back as she let go and led him inside his own home.
"Hey, Aiko."
"Hiya, Shinji!" She smirked, still holding onto his right arm. "Hey! Wanna see something funny?"
Shinji could only wonder what was running in her adolescent mind as she lead him towards the living room. It was not until he realized who it was that was sprawled across the couch that he truly meant what Aiko meant by 'funny'. He tried his best to suppress the laugh inside of his throat. First a mild cough, but he eventually could not hold down his laughter, and compromised with himself to let out a polite chuckle.
Whether she was just tired of sleeping, or Shinji's chuckle was enough to wake her from her slumber, Mayumi woke up and blinked in the confusion that accompanied after-sleep. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Mayumi looked to the sound of her laughing sister and, to her dread, to the quieter laugh. Her eyes went wide when she realized how she woke up and blushed immediately before raising the blanket over her head.
"S-Shinji!" She screamed underneath her blanket. "Ahh..! I'm sorry! I-I... I..!" She was completely lost as to what to say. Desperately she searched for words that would let her escape the embarrassment of being seen so awkwardly, but could only find her sister in mid-chortle. "AIKO! I'll kill you, you little brat!"
Aiko let go of Shinji's arm and fell on the floor laughing.
Shinji, as out of character as it may have seemed, simply continued to chuckle while looking down at his empty left. It felt... right. Felt right laughing with those two, even if it would later seem a bit too much, especially since it was about 'her'. But he knew that Mayumi probably wouldn't leave the couch with his eyes on her; and he didn't want to be rude, after all. So the young Ikari rubbed the back of his head and apologized, still laughing loud enough for her to notice, and went into his room to lay down for a few minutes.
Aiko fell out of her fit of laughter and noticed the missing presence. "Huh..? He got away. Damn." Aiko turned her head towards the lifted blanket and grinned like an idiot. "How you feeling Mayuuuummiii? Nice time for you to be taking a nap, huh? Morning hair can be a drag, I know, but that's probably why I make myself pretty in the morning, the time most people wake up!"
Once Mayumi heard his door slide close, she threw the blanket off of her and charged at the already running sister. Both of them probably would never live this down. She was scarred for life! Her love interest, her boyfriend, saw her sprawled all over the couch, probably drooling or something, and she had to live knowing that that was the impression he would have in his mind for some time; and with her luck, for all time. Aiko would suffer the full extent of her wrath.
"You little twerp! Stand still; this'll only make you prettier!"
"That's impossible! I'm already sooo perfect!" She stuck out her tongue before dodging her sister's grasp and rolling behind the couch. "Unlike your sloppy self!"
"Wha'd you say!"
"You heard me, witch hair!"
It wasn't until Aiko said something about her hair a second time that Mayumi took an offense to her focused teasing. One of the bad things about having Mayumi's long hair was morning, uncombed hair. That just made her angrier-- Shinji had seen her morning hair-- her sable serpents! She could even hear a muffled laugh from somewhere in the hallway-- he was still laughing!
"Oohhh... your going to pay, Midget!"
And so the day went on like that, in their form of sisterly bonding and ankle biting.
It was not until mid-afternoon, when both Mayumi and Aiko had stopped fighting, that Shinji peeked outside of his door, worried that they might have gotten a bit rougher than they had planned to, only to find the sisters on the floor in the living room. Aiko's snoring head on her sister's lap. Shinji only smiled and wondered how they could sleep so long, only to take back his question. He was not one to ridicule people for excessive sleeping. It seemed to be the only thing he was better at than piloting the Evangelion.
--
Anyway. After all of that, it took about a week until your Mother came by to get you two. She's quite gorgeous for a woman her age. If I was only a few years older, I wouldn't mind trying to see what's underneath those stock--
That is not funny, Ikari.
You know the saying, "Like mother like daughter"?
Shinji. Don't push me. I'll cut you.
Hehe... Anyways...
--
"Door bell! Door bell!" Aiko rushed to the door and opened it to reveal, for the first time in a weeks, her mother. "Mamma!"
On the other side of the door frame stood a rather statuesque, older woman in a business suit. Though her facial appearance was clearly Japanese, her skin hue and height betrayed the assumption of a singular ethnicity. She was a darker, the color of an indigenous woman. Her hair was long, but was kept neat in a chignon and though dark, her hair was not as dark as her first born daughter's sable hair nor as dark as her second daughter's raven hair. A sign that her beauty was near it's climax.
Her cool lips and bay eyes showed no trace of emotion, until she gazed down from her thin glasses onto her second-born. She smiled and bent down at her knees and hugged her long missed daughter. "Aiko! I've missed you, Baby! How've you been?"
"I've been good!" Her smile disappeared and was replaced with a frown. "And stop calling me that! I'm not that short!"
"I see your the same as always. Where's your big sister?"
"Oh, she went out with Shinji to get some stuff for dinner. They should be back soon."
The older woman let go of her daughter and stood in the doorway, wondering whether it would be proper to enter the apartment. Though her daughters were currently housed there, it would be rude to walk in without the invitation from the held of the household. "Say, Aiko. Where's Miss Katsuragi?"
"She's at NERV right now. Misato said that she would be all night, so she sent Shinji to go get some food, and Mayumi invited herself." Aiko walked inside and looked over her shoulder. "It's okay, just take off your shoes."
"I know proper manners, and that's why I can't. Miss Katsuragi wouldn't--"
"Misato. She's not all hung up on things like that. Besides, I'm here. And while everyone else is away, I'm in charge!" She placed her small fists onto her developing hips and pouted. "So lighten up."
Normally the mother Yamagishi would scold her daughter for being so abrupt with her lack of respect, but it had been so long since she had seen her precious child, she could not utter a word in protest. So she slip off her heels and walked inside of the apartment with graceful caution. She sat on the large couch on which her daughter had sat upon without care. She crossed her legs, raising the hem of her skirt, and sighed.
It was awkward. She was so young when she had Mayumi, and barely proper age to have children when she was pregnant with Aiko, so she never really felt confident about the way she raised her children. Mayumi was... well she was never really too sure about her first. Mayumi was distant from her, her own mother, but she couldn't blame her. She was afraid the first time, unsure of how to raise a human life since her own was rather difficult. Yeah, living and surviving the Second-Impact will do that to you. She couldn't blame Mayumi, and she never would, for disliking her. Which daughter never felt ill will towards their mothers at some point in their lives? But it still hurt. She loved her daughter, the manifestation of the love she and her first lover felt for one-another, but she could never bring herself to talk to her own daughter-- and she doubted she ever would.
Mayumi was fourteen, but she might as well have been another grown woman with a personal vendetta against her. Talking to her was out of the question. Every time she did, Mayumi would walk away or simple listen with glossed over eyes and feigned interest. Every time she'd given her a kind gesture, or some extra spending money when she had some, she would refuse or accept with false gratitude. And she, in her motherly weakness, if it could even be considered that, would never call her on it. She'd never raise a discipling hand or a stern word to her, not unless it was more than deserved. She spoiled her, that was for sure, but it was her fault, the mother's fault, that she grew up that way. Hopefully, it wasn't too late to pass on the knowledge and advise she had for the next generation. This generation of enigmatic wars and mercenary assassinations.
Aiko turned on the television. "Baby, you know your too young for that kind of violence," she said endearingly, "turn it to something else."
"But it's funny! And I'm not that little! I can handle a little blood."
"Aiko..."
"Don't worry, Mom. I've seen worse."
"Oh, really? What could possibly worse than watching a man lose 'both his weapons'?"
"Watching the fights Shinji's in!"
"What?" Taini was well aware of the young Ikari's position in the NERV organization. He was a pilot and, if the rumors served to be true, an extremely talented one at that. Though "The First Child" had more training and prep, he was apparently a natural born pilot-- one that was a bit too chivalrous in a fight, apparently. Through the thinning NERV grapevine, she heard that Shinji Ikari, the son of the Supreme Commander of NERV, piloted the Evangelion after seeing the other, injured pilot. Children, and this was true even in her school years, are ignorantly attentive to the ones they like. Puppy love in this age is dangerous. Maybe that's what made the boy pilot the Eva? She knew she wouldn't have piloted it for anyone, aside from own her children. A simple crush from seeing an injured girl. How naively valiant. "Aiko, that's giant machines fighting. It's oil, steel, and bolts flying in the air. Not blood and flesh."
"Not from what I saw."
"What do you mean," she asked suspiciously,"'not from what I saw'?"
"When I was in the... the.. the Command Center! I saw Shinji inside of his robot. When I saw Shinji fight, there was a lot of blood! Everywhere!"
"Yeah, that was from the 'Angel' that he killed."
"Well, yeah. But his Eva also got hurt. So it can't be all machine-- since it bled. And Miss Ayanami's too!"
"It bled? It must have lost some oil or some sort of battery leakage. It was probably because it was at night. It coul--"
"It was! Tons of it!" Aiko's enthusiasm over the subject made her mother all the more unsure and confused; there was a fine line between fuel and blood, after all. Even if she was in the organization, when it came to the Evas, there was tremendous amounts of secrecy. It made sense in a way. She was merely the supervisor of the reconstruction crew. So it made sense that she wouldn't be too informed about the mechanical behemoths. But blood? That surely would have leaked it's way down the grapevine.
It was all too much to ponder at once. She lifted the hem of her stockings and allowed herself to rest more comfortably on the couch, but not too much. "Well. Anyways... where's your guardian?"
"Oh. Shinji's my guardian. Remember?"
"Shinji? The pilot of the Evangelion?"
"Yup!" Her smile was too exuberant for there to be no underlying reason for it.
"What's a fourteen year old doing being your care-taker!"
"Sheesh, Mom. Lighten up. He's mature enough."
"Mature enough? But he's your guardian; why would he be the same age as your sister!"
"Why wouldn't he be?"
"NERV wouldn't give temporary legal custody of you to some fourteen year old! That's absurd!"
"You were probably too busy at work to notice that the guardian's name was the same as the fourteen year old pilot of the big robot."
"But they wou--" Her words were interrupted when the doorknob clicked and turned. There was no knock, so it could only be Miss Katsuragi or her daughter and this 'Shinji'. Softly, the door opened to reveal her daughter, smiling and laughing politely-- something she rarely ever sees with her time worn eyes. It brought a smile to the mother Yamagishi's eyes. "Hello, Mayumi."
Though her expression didn't grow darker, it did somber a bit; a sudden prick at Taini's heart. "Hey, Mom."
Shinji's head poked out from the hallway and looked towards where Mayumi was looking. To his surprise, it appeared to be an older, more sophisticated version of the girl that stood next to him. "M-Mayumi?" Realizing that he made a mistake in his mental lapse, he quickly turned his phrase. "...'s mother?"
At first glance, the boy was a slender teenager of average appearances, cute enough to attract her daughter's attention, but not nearly enough to warrant anything special. But something about him made her eyes wander over him. Something nostalgic, something enough to keep her eyes centered around his own. Something that made the pace of her heart quicken.
Quickly noticing the stares both were getting from the younger women in the room, Shinji lowered his eyes and Taini did the same. She, as an adult, spoke first, polite and with a normal heart rate. "Mr. Ikari, I presume."
"M-Mr. Ikari... you can call me Shinji. Your Mrs. Yamagishi, right?"
"Yes and no. It's Miss Yamagishi. I know this is a strange question... but are you Aiko's legal guardian."
"W-Well, Yes. I am. I mean... temporary guardian..."
"That's... strange. Miss Katsuragi didn't mention that you were this young. Or that you were the Evangelion's pilot." The older woman placed a hand on her hip and examined him from head to toe. "I just thought it was a coincidence..."
"I know, I didn't quite believe it either." He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "But I didn't mind. I didn't exactly have to do much."
"Strange... well in any case, thank you. Shinji." Her eyes were almost the same color as Mayumi's; he was force to note. "Starting today, you don't have to trouble yourself with my daughters, I'll be taking them home now."
"Oh? Is the reconstruction finally done?"
"Yes," she sighed, "it's finally done, after some odd-weeks, it's finally done. I've already informed Miss Katsuragi about this, but I was expecting her to be here..."
"She's usually at work until the sun goes down. Unless it's a day off, then she's not up at all." How stupid of him, he thought.
The eldest Yamagishi chuckle at the boy's attempt at humor and put out her hand. Shinji nervously stuck out his own hand and shook hers', somehow feeling something nostalgic, like a recent, but forgotten memory. The feeling was mutual. The hand-shake lasted longer than it should have, drawing the attention of the oldest daughter. Her facial expression was disapproving and somehow threatened.
"Umm... h-have we met before, Miss Yamagishi?"
"... Huh? I... I don't recall ever meeting before today. But I do feel something... strange."
"Strange... me too."
There gaze met with the intention of discovering the strange sense that was brought on by the other. A meeting of navy blue and deep bay. A look that made Aiko all the more confused and Mayumi fluster.
"... I... I'll be back later, maybe when Miss Katsuragi returns, we'll have dinner-- to thank you for your hospitality."
"S-sure..."
Aiko, missing the meaning of the intense gaze, jumps in-between the two. "I'll go get my stuff. C'mon, Mayumi, help me!"
"... Coming."
And with that, Shinji was left alone with the mother of his girlfriend, who by all means was unaware of what has happened between him and her daughters, wondering what he did to deserve what must be coming next. Maybe an angel with even larger pikes and even smellier gases spouting from it's body? Maybe Mayumi would come out nude too, and he'd die from embarrassment and a massive hemorrhage in his nose. Maybe he'll be toss from a building and catch his eyelid on a hanging nail. Sure sounded a lot more tempting at the moment.
"So..."
"There's no need for the small talk, Mr. Ikari, I know it must be awkward talking with an older woman like myself. I know that I was always nervous when I talked to my elders, in fact, I haven't changed too much in the time between adolescence and now." She said with a smile, moving her hand through the strand of silk that hung above her ear.
"Well, I, umm..." he fumbled with the words he wished to speak, only coming out with jumbled phrases. "Y-You don't seem like an older woman..." The surprised look in her bay eyes flustered the young boy. "I'm not saying that your too young to have two daughters..! I just... ugh.. umm.. it's just... your pretty?" Damn he was an idiot.
Though it took awhile for the older woman to process and decipher what was just told to her, she picked up the compliment and smiled. It wasn't everyday she met a respectful male. Not when she had to work in a nearly all male reconstruction team. Not everyone there was a pig, but enough to be angry at the male gender. And to find a young male that was courteous, though she had to admit he was a bit too timid, was quite a find. He even made her feel young again. How cute.
"Thank you, Mr. Ikari. I can see you've had quite the upbringing."
"Well... I've lived with my aunt and uncle for the most part. They're old-fashioned, but never really did anything to influence me. B-But thank you anyway." His timid thanks did little to stop her gaze from roaming over him. It was nerve-wrenching being inspected so utterly and completely. The only thing he could do was to put his hands in his pockets and try not to sweat under her watchful eyes, no matter how friendly and expecting they were. "So... umm...--"
"I hear your quite the pilot." She stated, not questioned.
"Well... umm. It's nothing really."
"Mom. We're ready to go." She had once again saved his life. She was an angel; those winged creatures of dying beliefs and yore. She was kami incarnate. Saved from awkwardness. He'd have to repay her, gladly, once again.
"It seems we'll have to talk some other time." Taini bowed lightly at her waist.
"Bye-bye! Miss ya already!" She ran over and hugged him far too tightly.
"G-Goodbye, Shinji." She did the same, though to a much lighter extent.
Baggage in tow, the two sister's say their farewell to their friend. But once both sisters had left to place their luggage in their mother's car, the awkward moment returned, the one that most young boys faced once in their life and twice for Shinji; he was left alone with the mother of his girlfriend. At least it wasn't the father, he thought. But how many times did these omnipotent gods of shame and embarrassment have to bend his over before they sated their hunger? How many times will he feel awkward and mortified before it was over? They certainly must have met their weekly quota.
"Ms. Yamagishi? I-Is there something you need?"
"... It's nothing. Thank you for caring for Aiko-- and for letting Mayumi stay while our house was being repaired," she bowed slightly, making Shinji slightly taller than the ebony-haired woman, "I can't thank you enough." Before the young Ikari could voice his dismissal of the gratitude, she walked through the doorway. "Good day."
He was left to deal with an empty house once again.
--
Days pass and life goes on. School is opened within the week that Mayumi and Aiko left his home, so he wasn't completely bored. Once he reentered school, it had become apparent that things wouldn't be exactly the same. Somehow the word got around that there was some level of intimacy going on between the Shinji Ikari and Mayumi Yamagishi. Normally, it wouldn't matter much if two people became girlfriend and boyfriend, it would be limited to the circle of friends and casual acquaintances around the two people, but it was different in this situation. It was the pilot of a giant biomechanical war-machine going out with the pretty new girl. Sufficient to say, gossip was at an all time high.
But gossip was usually twisted and contorted for it's original form. If one were to listen to all the gossip about the new girl, she'd be three months pregnant with Ikari's love child. But unbeknownst to her, Ikari would also be in an affair with her younger sister, Aiko. This was only a small sample, of course. Most people this young didn't focused on the really entertaining, and feasible, truth.
As most young girls with wildly passionate imaginations of undying love and perpetual bliss with their long-haired knight in shining armor that would take them away from their worldly, tedious pressures of schoolwork and chores, allegations about love at first sight between Mayumi and Shinji were among the most popular idea; that he rode up on his Eva and braved the angel that wished her harm. It was embarrassing for both of them to face such stories, especially considering the truth behind the warped seeing glass. While he did save Mayumi from certain death, he did not so out of passion, nor from his own kindness, he did so because of her compassion towards him. He was no caballero, no cavalier, he insisted. Even still, he could not say that he saved her simply "because it was his job". Such lies would hurt both him and her.
Shinji stayed quite, choosing to relax on the verdant hills behind the school. He enjoyed the solitude those hills brought. The cool wind moving across the trees and his hair made the area all the more tranquil, despite the noise from the school itself. Occasionally, Touji and Kensuke would join him when the basketball court was too full to enjoy a good game. Kensuke only brought up the subject of his relationship with Mayumi once, to his despair, but stopped once he fed him enough information for him to tire and return to his obsession with anything military. Touji wouldn't say too much. He'd stay quite about everything that dealt with Mayumi, except when the curiosity of her whereabouts arose.
Apparently, the rumors had allowed the sable-haired girl to gain a foothold when it came to talking with the other girls in the class. With Hikari's assistance, both the Yamagishi sisters had developed friendships with someone other than the pilot of Unit-01 and herself. Though it saddened him to not be able to talk to them as much as he would like to, he was grateful that he had done something right. Something for the girls who had saved him from the loneliness he would have undoubtedly had to face. Yeah, it was a good thing.
It wasn't until a few weeks later that he had his first visitor, other than Touji and Kensuke. To his surprise, it was not Aiko or Mayumi, but Hikari. The raven, pigtailed haired girl cheerfully waved to him from the base of the hill and walked towards him. It wasn't who he expected; and he was never one for unnecessary conversation, but he did not mind the class representative. She was a good person in his book.
"How's it going, Shinji? It's been a while since I've last had a chance to chat with you. How've you been?"
"Oh, I've been okay, I guess. Nothing really new happening. I've been going to NERV and training so I can learn how to pilot better. Going through simulations and stuff like that."
"Sounds rough."
"Not really-- It just takes too long get it over with. Misato's a real perfectionist."
"Ah..." Hikari tried her best to avoid the message that was entrusted to her to be delivered to Shinji. It was rare that she had a chance to talk to her friend's boyfriend. There was also the pride she took in helping them realize each other's feeling. She needed to see how good her instincts were on the matters of the heart. "Can I ask you something?"
"Umm... sure, I guess."
"How was it...when you lived with Aiko and Mayumi? I'm sure it's none of my business, but I was just curious as to how things went. Did you all get along?" She paused. "And... ummm... if you had to share a room with..." Her embarrassment was vivid on her face.
"No! I didn't share a room with M-Mayumi!"
Hikari took her chance to avoid the fact she asked the question. "I don't know what your talking about! I was talking about Aiko! Shinji, you such a perv!"
"N-No I'm not! I just thought..."
Hikari covered her mouth and suppressed her giggles behind her fingers. Aiko was right, it was fun. "I'm kidding, Shinji, I'm kidding."
"Wha...?" Shinji sighed and frowned. "Aiko, right?"
"Yup!" Both laughed for a short while before returning to the verdant hill's tranquil winds. The wind's gentle flow was all that was needed for the time being. Shinji, in his reclusive nature, did not have much to discuss. He didn't mind her presence, but he felt obligated to keep her content through conversation, which is something he was never accustomed too. Hikari, in her own self-consciousness, could not bring herself to say anything. Was he okay just sitting there, looking at the skies through the trees above them?
"So, Shinji... not that I mind talking to you, but the real reason I came over here was because Mayumi couldn't get away from the other girls. She wants to talk to you, but--"
"I know." Shinji moved his hand through the grass near him, but did not pick at it. "It's funny. Even though I'm the same age and all, I understand that girls around this age can be... very interested when it comes to relationships. I guess they'll always be preoccupied with things like that."
Hikari was glad that she wouldn't have to explain the situation that Mayumi was in to Shinji. Less work for her, but now there was another thing to grip her mind. It wasn't exactly rocket science to find out girls her age are very interested in matters of the heart, but Shinji didn't seem like the person to grasp that idea in his head so early on-- let a lot understand and be okay with it. Maybe all that time with her sable-haired girl made Shinji think a bit more on the subject?
"Yeah! That's right." Hikari nodded with a smile. "Aiko wants to talk to you too, but--"
"She's got some new friends to talk to, right? I'm not surprised, really."
"I-It's not like she just left you, it's just... well..."
He smirked. "Heh... It's okay." Shinji ran his hands through his hair and chuckled. "A few weeks ago, Aiko was sitting right here with me, and I was hugging her like she was some sort of surrogate brother or something, keeping her company while she talked about how she wanted to talk to people and make new friends. I can't say I didn't like being there, and if I she wasn't someone important to me, I might be mad right now... but if it means she gets what she wants, then it's okay. She deserves some happiness, right? And I know it's the same with Mayumi..."
Hikari's smile didn't grow, but softened with every word he spoke. He hit the point, the core, the very meaning of the conversation with precise accuracy. He was much more perceptive than one would see and he would let on, she thought. "I'll... tell them that you got the message." Hikari got up and brushed the few blades of grass that managed to stick to her skirt off. "You know... you never... never mind. I'll see you later, Shinji."
Before Hikari was full into her pace of walking, she looked back when the young Ikari called out to her. "What is it?"
"Thanks. For trying to get us together, I mean. In some ways... it probably wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for you. Neither of us would ever have gotten the courage to do something about it. Thank you, Hikari."
"Huh..? Oh! Don't mention it!" She smiled and began her walk back towards her darker-haired friend. 'How very keen of you...'
--
To be continued.
--
Author's Notes: So I was walking down the streets of Inglewood one day and I noticed, while I was hanging out with my friends no less, that I haven't really been working on this story as much I use to. I'm not bored with it, in fact I find it a nice get away from school when I have a project due and I feel like killing time before doing it at the last minute. In any case, I'll try and pick up the pace and get down to some typing, philosophin', and trying to get that three-way of my dreams I've always wanted. Two of those three will get done within the year, at least.
Oh, and all the chapters before this chapter have been grammatically revised-- not really the story, but yeah.
This one took quite some time mostly due to me trying to get into college and signing those damn forms. Anyway, I know there was a disturbin' lack of Eva action in this chapter, but it's crucial to see the nuances in Shinji's thoughts at the point at which he is in the main story. No real change in actions, since thinking doesn't always lead to action, which, besides being more willing to pilot and talking more, hasn't really occurred yet. What can I say? A person's character is forged by time, thought, and then feat.
Peace to the gods of the Earth!
XxRagnarokxX88
