Once he was sure that he was alone, Shinji got up from his bed. He didn't know what he would be doing for the day, nor did he cared. Without Mana, life suddenly became so unbearable. He wondered just how did he survive all those years being alone. He then walked slowly to the kitchen. On the table, was a simple sandwich on a plate. He pulled out the note underneath it. It read "Take care." Shinji smiled thinly. Misato-san always tried her best to help him out, he thought. However, this time, there was nothing she could do.
Just then, a knock came on the door. Now, who could that be? It must be Misato-san forgetting her pass again. When he opened the door, a tall stranger with soft features stood before him. He looked suspiciously at the man.
"Who are you?"
"My name... is Kirishima Naoki. May I come in?" After recovering from his surprise, the boy invited his guest inside. Naoki sat down on the floor next to the "low" table while Shinji poured two glasses of milk from a carton. He remained silent as he placed the glasses on the table and sat at the other end.
"I know who you are, Ikari-kun, and your relationship with Mana. As a father, I would like you to come along with me." Shinji panicked.
"Is Mana..." The father shook his head.
"She's alright, physically." His sad tone told Shinji that all was not well.
"I'll follow you, Kirishima-san." He then gulped down his glass of milk in one setting. It should have been beer; he would need all the courage which he could muster.
"Come, then. I suspect that you have many things which you wish to tell her."
At Mana's apartment...
The girl got up to answer the knock on the door. Her father had spent the whole night consoling her, even sleeping overnight, just to keep an eye on her. Knowing her father's busy schedule, she insisted that she was fine. However, she knew that it was a lie. She wanted to see Shinji again; she just couldn't bring herself to forgive him, at least, not yet. As it turned out, it was the boy who visited her instead.
"Mana, I brought him here without your knowledge. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, Father." She then gave Shinji a cold look.
"You may come in, if you wish." Steeling himself, the boy entered the little apartment. The spartan decor reminded him of Rei's place. But, that's where the similarities end; Mana's place was neat and tidy.
"I'll leave you two to sort things out," said Naoki, as he entered a room (Mana's) and closed the door. The two teenagers looked at each other. Shinji took a deep breath.
"I know that whatever I say isn't going to bring your friend back. I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry, too, for lying to you." The boy shook his head.
"It's alright. You were just doing your job." He sat down next to the girl. She didn't get up to leave. Good.
"I really enjoyed myself that day. Would you like to visit the place again?" Shinji hoped that she would give the answer he wanted. However, the girl kept silent. The boy took another deep breath.
"I...really like you, Mana-chan! Please, don't leave me alone again!" It was a fear which had surfaced in his mind ever since their date. He grabbed her hand impulsively. By now, Mana was trying hard not to cry. She, too, realised that she needed the boy in her life. She hugged him tightly. As the warmth of her body reached his, Shinji made a solemn vow.
"I'll be there for you always, I promise." As Mana nodded, her face was already wet with tears.
As he peeked from the room, Kirishima Naoki sighed. He was relieved that his daughter had finally untied the knot in her heart. On the other hand, things weren't so lucky at the lab. The real reason why he had time for Mana was that he had been temporarily suspended from the TRIDENT project, as HQ investigated the cause of the malfunction. Even if he's cleared, he had doubts that the project would be continued. The incident exposed a fundamental flaw of the system: They had no way of stopping the robot if the auto-mechanisms fail. But, that's a problem for another time. He only had one thing in mind now.
"See that you keep your promise, young man," whispered the father as he closed the door.
Afterthoughts
-Please RnR!
-As you may guess, I've writers' block on this series. Sorry for the delay!