Shinji's eyes slowly opened as he woke up, and he numbly stared at the blue hair that filled his view. The hair shifted, and Shinji felt a movement in his arms. He looked down, and saw his arms wrapped around Rei's waist.

He smiled and pulled her closer. "Is this really happening?" he thought. "Do I actually have a girlfriend?" He sighed. "Do I deserve this?" He closed his eyes again. "No, don't think like that! I should just be happy!"

His eyes snapped open as Rei pulled herself away from him, standing up. She turned to look down at him. "Ikari, we should start getting ready." She stepped over him and left the room. Shinji watched her leave in silence.

There was a loud bang, and he turned to see Asuka standing in the doorway, her face a mask of rage. "Idiot, get up and make my breakfast," she growled before storming out behind Rei.

Shinji peered into her room to see Mari, her head on Asuka's futon. "C'mon... just gimme a little squeeze..." she mumbled. Shinji shook his head and got up. Misato was slumped over the table, surrounded by cans of her beloved yebisu. "Ah, morning Shinji..." she smiled. "How did... how did the sleeping go?" Shinji sighed. "Do you want some coffee?" "Eh... sure..."

Godzilla snapped back to awareness. Something had awoken it before it could recharge its energy.

The presence was still there, clinging on to existence within Godzilla's mind. It wailed and screeched in torment and fury. Godzilla was confused and angered by the presence's hatred.

"Why did you try to kill me, when we are the same? Things that are the same should be as one."

"We are similar, but not the same! You should not exist! Your existence is wrong!"

"Are our similarities not enough?"

"Never! You are an abomination, and you will forever be alone!"

"Forever?"

"There are no other abominations such as you, and your existence was never intended by your creator! None will accept you, none!"

Godzilla blocked out the presence. It was weak now. Dying. But it had enough strength to survive a few days longer, at the least.

Without the other mind to speak with, Godzilla felt isolated. Alone. Returning to its hibernation, it realised that the need to find its creator was no longer a thought - it was a pressing, urgent need.

"Sorry about this morning," Mari grinned. "Waking up next to a cute girl makes me do weird things!" Asuka looked straight ahead, and continued walking. "My room, the way to school, school, piloting the Eva... you're always going to be there, aren't you? Fuck." "So..." Mari said, her smile faltering somewhat, "What's this school like?" Asuka shrugged. "Normal. Boring lessons. A bunch of idiots." Mari nodded. "Alright, sounds, uh, good." They continued walking in awkward silence.

Behind them, Shinji and Rei were also walking in awkward silence. "So..." Shinji murmured. "Do you... do you know what girlfriends and boyfriends do, Ayanami?" She looked at him curiously. "Boyfriend? Girlfriend? What do you mean?" "Ah, of course, she wouldn't know," Shinji thought. "Well... when people start... when they realise that they both have feelings for each other, they become boyfriend and girlfriend. So, I'm your boyfriend, and you're... you're my girlfriend."

Rei nodded. "I see. Do we procreate?" "No!" Shinji said a bit too loudly, drawing the attention of several passers by. "No, we... we go on dates -" "What are dates?" Rei asked, confused. "Well... they're when boyfriends and girlfriends hang out with each other. They go to dinner together, stuff like that." "Ah, I see."

Shinji blushed. "They also make out, and sometimes... have sex..." Again, Rei was confused. "Make out?" "It's... it's when you kiss each other for a long time." "Oh." The awkward silence returned, and they kept walking.

Shinji saw an alleyway, and, not thinking, led Rei into it, grabbed her, and kissed her for a few seconds. He stopped and stepped back. "I... I'm sorry, Ayanami, I just... I've just wanted to kiss a girl for so long, and..." Rei looked at him, and smiled. "Thank you, Ikari." She walked out of the alleyway. Shinji stayed behind for a moment. "Is this... is this really happening?"

Misato grimaced at the image Hyuga had bought up on the screen in the briefing room. The other staff gasped. "Well, shit... they just keep getting weirder and weirder..." "Still," Ritsuko said, "At least they're conventional compared to the 5th." Misato grunted in agreement.

The Angel was instantly familiar, it's long legs and small body bringimg to mind a Daddy Longlegs. But it's body was covered in bizarre eye-like patterns. Misato smiled faintly. "Well, at least it doesn't look like it's up to much. It's all legs. The actual body is tiny compared to an Eva." "Still, we can't let ourselves get overconfident," Ritsuko sighed.

Misato nodded. "Agreed." She turned to Hyuga. "Get all the pilots here ASAP, and prepare all units for launch." Hyuga nodded. "Yes ma'am!" Ritsuko raised an eyebrow. "All of the Evas? Even 00 and Ex.01?" Misato shrugged. "Might as well see how they all work as a team before Godzilla comes back."

The light over their heads began to flicker. "God dammit," Misato murttered. "Tsuburaya told me he'd have that fixed by now, what's he doing?" One of the bridge crew raised her hand. "Um... ma'am... Tsuburaya is... he was... he was killed in Godzilla's attack."

Misato's stomach dropped. "I... I... I see." She sighed. Ritsuko stepped closer to her. "Did you get the latest casualty reports?" Misato nodded. "Around 300 at last count. They're still digging bodies out of the ruins."

Shinji looked around the classroom. It was emptier now. Nobody was quite sure if the others were dead, missing, or had just left. A subdued air had fallen over the class. The only people seemingly unaffected by the attack were Rei, who carried on in her normal, distant way, and Mari, who kept cracking jokes.

"Perhaps she's trying to cheer people up," Shinji thought, but he could see that the foreign girl wasn't making many people laugh.

Rei looked out the window, thinking. "Ikari has been passionate towards me since last night. This is a sign that he loves me back. And yet..." She frowned. "Why do I feel so anxious about talking to him? Why am I so frightened of the possibility of saying the wrong thing?"

Her thoughts were interrupted by a vibration in her pocket.