Asuka felt too sick to go to school the next day, communicating only in monotone grunts, sighs, and (in Shinji's case) hisses. He left the bungalow, threw a rock at Rover (eliciting a dull and throaty growl), and checked back towards Rei's home. He looked towards the school, then back to the home. As if anticipating his idea, the white ball drifted slowly over. He threw another rock, then started to walk towards the school.

The day was the same grind…logic puzzles. Stupid logic puzzles. He opted for answering each one with a letter of the alphabet, going in order and filling each answer queue with as many letters as would be allowed. Long streams of AAAAAAAAAAAAA and BBBBBBBBBBB and so forth. The day came, the day went, and he sluggishly dragged his feet to leave when school ended. He hid in the bathroom for a bit, running his hands through the hot water in the sink, and thinking about his interactions with Asuka in the Other Place, wondering what was driving her under all that. The conversations, the loneliness. It lashed at him. He shook his head, and left, allowing the sink to run.

As he was exiting the building, he felt as though someone was walking next to him. He turned, and saw Number 48, known as the Janitor, sidling up next to him.

"You," he mumbled, surprised.

"I," the Janitor replied, smirking. He had that 48 still on his chest. "Been awhile since we've seen each other, right? How's kosho?"

"Painful," Shinji mumbled.

"I expect," the Janitor said, that smirk seemingly frozen on his lips. "You still want those lessons?" Shinji shrugged, but didn't say no. The man tossed something to him, and Shinji caught it. It was a small, rubbery capsule, almost like a pill. It's color was amber, and it felt warm in his hand.

"What is this?" Shinji asked.

"Memories," the man said, "Distilled experience. Crafted and tailored to your specific blood type. A gift to you from the Free Man."

"The Free Man?" Shinji squinted his eyes at that.

"Yeah…the only free man on the island," the Janitor said bluntly. "He crafted that for you. Something to help you push at the fences a bit more." He gave him a wink. "And something to up your game. Show Little Miss Seven something new. It's a token. A sign of things to come."

Shinji stood silent for a moment. "What do I do, just swallow it?" he asked, giving 48 a skeptical look.

"Put it in your mouth, and bite down to break the membrane."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"And then…" Shinji asked, "What happens next?"

"That would be telling," 48 said through a toothy smile. Did he know any other expression than that goofy grin? "Be seeing you," he called, and walked away whistling a tune. Shinji felt his teeth ache, and froze listening to the song the man whistled.

It was 'Them Bones.'

Shinji practically ran home, feeling the crawling sensation of eyes. Eyes everywhere, eyes on him, scurrying like insects and worms. He rushed through the door of the bungalow, which was obediently open and awaiting him, and hurried through the house. He didn't see Misato, and Asuka was probably still clammed up in her room. He rushed into his bedroom, closing the door behind him and peeling off his clothing frantically. He hurried into the bathroom, turned on the hot water in the shower, and shut down.

For a long time, Shinji simply stood under the stream, letting it drown his skin, his hearing, his sensation of the here, now, why, when, and whatever. He tried to sort his thoughts, meditating in the steam.

The Free Man…the one free man on the whole island? It sounded like a trap, to be honest. A false exit, meant to compel him along a predetermined course. A person dying of thirst would drink the sand if they thought it would help, and an exit would have the same affect on the trapped. The Free Man…

And yet…

That song…when Number whistled 'Them Bones.' How did he know? The images of the court room spiraled to the surface. The insane Judge, the mocking Young Man, the giddy hysterics of the Jury…the blond man. The blond man. The blond man.

You are Number 6.

Was it more than a dream? Was someone communicating with him? Was the Janitor simply cluing him in? A sign of trust? Or a warning?

It was compelling..and confusing. Too confusing.

He was still pondering this when he stepped out of the shower and practically ran into Rei in her school uniform. He blinked, but to his credit didn't cry out.

"I have been gone," she said humorlessly, "I have just gotten back."

"I…can see that," he whispered. He stood very still, as if rapid movement might make the situation more preposterous. "Um…why are you in here?" His voice cracked.

"Are you embarrassed?" she asked, tilting her head at his tone. "You should not be embarrassed. I have already seen everything, and you have already seen everything."

That pushed a button, and he maneuvered her towards the door and propelled her into the bedroom. "We are going to have a discussion about boundaries as soon as I get dressed!" he snapped, slamming the door behind him. He toweled off, and just finished drying his hair when the door opened again.

"What do you mean by boundaries?" Rei asked, and Shinji wedged the door back closed with his foot.

"Well, for one thing, not lurking outside my shower when I'm in there," he called back, and glanced around for clothes. He had his pajamas in here, folded in one of the drawers next to the sink. Well, it wasn't quite early evening yet, but one might as well get settled for the night, right?

After dressing, he stepped into his bedroom, fitting Rei with a quizzical stare. "How long were you standing in there, anyway?"

"From the moment I arrived to the moment you made me leave," Rei said. Ah. Of course. How silly of him.

"Okay…boundaries. As in, you know…knocking before coming in, not walking in on people who aren't dressed…" he tried.

"You were in the shower, and would not have heard me knocking," she replied, "And as I have already established, we are already aware of what each other looks like without clothing. Skin is skin. Is it because you are shy? I do not understand why you would be shy."

"No, I'm not shy, I…" He trailed off, trying to find a way to explain modesty to someone who clearly had no concerns with the term. He shook his head. "Where have you been?"

Before she could answer, his bedroom door opened. Asuka walked in, grumbling, "Shinji, Misato wants you to tell me what I missed tod-"

She skidded to a halt, catching sight of Shinji in his pajamas, and Rei in her school uniform. In his room, together. Alone. "Why is she in your bedroom?" Asuka asked, an icy tone beneath her words.

"It is not unique for me to be in his bedroom," Rei snapped. "I am in his bedroom frequently. Are you not in his bedroom frequently?" There was an edge to that question, as if to imply that Asuka was not important enough be here. The other implications of the sentence seemed to go right past Rei, however. They did not go past Asuka.

Shinj should have felt a flush of pure horror, but he simply didn't care anymore. Really, there was nothing in the world he could think of that could fix the damage from what had been said. So, as Asuka's face turned red and her mouth opened for what could only be more scathing commentary, he dove in and hijacked the conversation.

"You know what's awesome?" he asked, "Hot chocolate. Hot chocolate is the best, isn't it? Let's all go have some hot chocolate in the kitchen. And not here. In my room."

Still glaring at each other, the two girls exited the room, Shinji close on their heels. In the kitchen, the girls sat in silence while he heated water and filled three cups with cocoa powder. When he was finished, and sitting at the table, he sipped at his cocoa while the girls continued to make a point of ignoring each other.

"So, Rei," Shinji asked, "Where have you been all this time?"

"I do not feel like discussing it with certain parties present," Rei said demurely.

Shinji sighed, exasperated, and said, "Somebody called the Janitor gave me something today." Might as well throw it out there for someone else to ponder. His brain hurt being the only one to process these conspiracies. Besides, no one seemed to want to talk about anything, and he certainly didn't want both girls here simply to simmer angrily at each other.

"The Janitor?" Asuka asked. "What, that's like his name? What was his Number?"

"He had a 48…but I don't think he's part of the Village," Shinji said quietly. Rei cocked her head to the side.

"Please tell us in detail," she requested.

So he told them about the Janitor. About the strange meetings, the secretive nature. The talk of a 'no-field.' He showe them the capsule, and that was that. They sat and studied each other, in deep thought.

"What specifically did he say it was?" Rei finally asked.

Shinji rolled the pill on the table, looking at it. "He said it was…a token. Sort of a sign of…things to come."

Rei picked it up and scrutinized it as a jeweler would examine a diamond, turning it in her fingers. "Was that all? There was nothing more specific as to what this liquid is?"

"He said it would help with kosho," he said, and smirked at Asuka. She crinkled her nose at him in exasperation.

"Perhaps it is a steroid, or some other sort of athletic enhancer?" Rei continued, oblivious to the exchange of expressions.

"I don't think so," Shinji said, shaking his head. "He implied it was…well, he called it a tutor. That sounds like information exchange."

"Curious," Rei said quietly,

Asuka made a loud and exasperated noise, which earned her a look of surprise from Shinji and a more withering glare from Rei. "Obviously he's a drug dealer," she said, "And he's giving you your first fix for free. Then you'll be hooked, and you'll pay whatever price…"

"I'm going to stop you right there," Shinji broke in, "This place has plenty of problems, but I haven't heard anything about a thriving drug trade. Granted, they don't tell us much about what's going on, but doesn't that indicate how much harder it would be to have a drug trade? Who could have the privacy to run an operation like that?"

"She has a point, however," Rei said begrudgingly, "This individual who calls himself the Janitor does not appear to be constrained by the normal boundaries that we ourselves are limited by." Asuka and Shinji studied Rei curiously. There was a special emphasis on the word 'boundaries,' though her expression and general tone had remained characteristically bland.

"Don't try and be cute," Shinji said, waggling a finger at her, and Asuka huffed, feeling like she had missed something yet again. That was always the curse of a trio…at least one person would always risk being on the fringe. Shinji detected the irritation, and he directed his question to her. "Can you think of anything else it might be?"

"What if…it's poisonous?" Asuka then ventured, and Rei cocked an eyebrow in thought. That was a possibility. "I mean, we're doing important things here. We could easily be targets for…foreign governments…I think…" She trailed off, finding herself surprisingly at a loss for who would be targeting them. All of this had to be for some sort of security, against someone opposed to them. But who was opposed to them?

Why had she never questioned that before?

"Are we doing important things here?" Shinji finally asked quietly.

"Of course we are. Aren't we?" Her reflection was momentarily broken, and she looked back and forth between them. Shinji looked skeptical, and Rei revealed nothing. "Aren't we?" Asuka insisted again, but neither of them had an answer for her.

"So…what do we do?" Shinji asked.

"Take it," Rei said. Asuka blanched at her, and, admittedly, Shinji was surprised as well.

"What's your reasoning?" he asked.

"I do not believe it is a poison, because there would be simpler ways to eliminate you than such a convoluted plan of tricking you into killing yourself. If he is able to hide his presence, then what would have prevented him from killing you at any time earlier?

"As for the hypothesis concerning drugs, I find that patently ludicrous." Asuka gave Rei an evil look, and Rei pointedly ignored her. "I think it far more likely that it is as he said it was. Some sort of tool to help you in your sporting endeavors.

"And, frankly…I am curious. I wish to see what it is first hand, and I think that, given what he said…you are the only one this pull will work for."

"No, this is a very bad idea. We need to tell this to…someone. Misa…" she swallowed. "Number 58…or Number 2." Asuka's retreat to numbers unsettled Shinji, and at the mention of Number 2's name, a sudden well of anger rose up in him.

"We don't tell anyone anything," he said, a bite to his voice that made Rei flinch. Asuka looked back and forth between them, a pleading look in his eyes.

"We…have to tell…" she said desperately, and a suddenly very ugly part of Shinji's self took over. He felt himself leaning over the table as if from a great height, actually saw himself sitting at the table. An expression took hold of his face that frankly scared him.

"If you tell anyone," he said in a voice as flat as , "I will never speak to you again. Rei will never speak to you again. I will make sure that no one on this Island so much as looks at you ever again. You will not exist to us. Do you understand?"

Asuka quailed under the words. Her face turned white, and her fingers trembled on the table. Her expression was one of terror, and she tried, tried very hard to form more words. In the end, she surrendered, and looked down at the table, nodding.

Rei glimpsed over at Shinji, seemingly impressed. Shinji felt ill, and returned to himself, his eyes blinking in surprise and disgust with himself. Asuka looked broken, and he hated himself for going for that weak spot. But…he didn't go for her weakness. He had watched himself do that…but he didn't want to.

What was happening?

He opened his mouth to apologize, but it would be meaningless. The damage had been done, and a selfish part of him knew that Asuka had been broken. She wouldn't tell anyone now, and that was precisely what he wanted. He glanced at Rei, then back at Asuka. He closed his eyes, and picked up the pill.

He placed the capsule on his tongue, and closed his mouth. He broke the rubbery surface with his eye teeth. Liquid flooded his mouth and dissolved almost instantly. Shinji's eyes then rolled up into his head, and he collapsed on the floor in a senseless heap.