Phase 26 - Love Endures
A year has passed since SEELE launched it's final attack on NERV. The entire world remained in a cloud of confusion for months afterwards, trying to grasp the scope of what had happened. Many things changed, while many things stayed the same. There hasn't been any sign of SEELE since they attack, seemingly just vanishing into thin air. An investigation into their operations by the United Nations was launched, but due to their complete and utter disappearance, remains inconclusive. Tokyo-3, as the legendary phoenix, has somehow risen from the ashes, completely restored to full capacity. However, no one knows how that came to be, as it appeared this way in the aftermath of the Third Impact. NERV remains beneath it in the geo-front, but all signs of the Evangelions are gone. Instead, NERV has become a private aerospace company, owned and run by Kazuhiro Yayashi. Keiko works there as a computer specialist, fully dedicated to her work. Ayako however, resigned from NERV, and became a teacher at the school the former EVA pilots attended. She also now shares an apartment with Kenji, himself becoming a teacher as well, and the two are expecting a child of their own.
Today is a special day at the school, many of it's students finishing classes and graduating. This includes Toby, who along with Toshio, managed to get their grades up. As they get ready for the graduation ceremony, Ayako and Kenji stop by to visit, to see how they're doing. Toby grins and nudges Kenji, congratulating him on finally getting the job done. Ayako lightly bops Toby on the arm, and tells him he'd better stop being perverted, otherwise their special visitor just might clobber him. Mari steps into the room smiling, in the city visiting during break from her stay at university. She greets the two, then kisses Toshio on the cheek. Toshio smiles goofily and wraps his arm around her waist, admitting that he didn't think she'd be able to visit til the following week. Mari shakes her head, saying that she wouldn't miss this day for anything. They all nod, with Ayako asking if Toshio would like to join them in a picnic with Tetsuo after the ceremony. Toshio rubs his cheek, agreeing to come along. Toby asks if it's okay for Akiko to come along as well, to which Ayako agrees, saying that it wouldn't be a party without more guests. Ayako excuses herself from the group, slipping away to another part of the school, the roof.
She finds Haruko there, her usual pale skin a healthy pinker color. Haruko turns to Ayako and smiles, waving. Ayako waves back, walking over to the railing and leaning against it. She asks Haruko if she's feeling any reservations about the picnic later. Haruko shakes her head, saying that it will be nice to see Tetsuo again. Ayako nods, asking her when her brother will be able to show up. Haruko explains that her brother actually managed to get a day off, so he'll be there with them when they go out to the picnic. Ayako smiles and looks out over the city, commenting on how perfect the day is for this reunion. The school bell goes off, announcing that the graduation ceremony is starting. Ayako tells Haruko she should hurry on down, and that she and Kenji will be sitting in the crowd cheering her and the others on.
The ceremony goes off peacefully, and without a hitch. Ayako, Kenji, and Mari all watch from the audience. Afterwards, the newly graduated 'EVA pilots' sneak away from the celebration with their classmates, meeting Ayako in the parking lot. They all load into Ayako's minivan, which she traded her sports car in for after she got pregnant. Haruko asks Ayako if they can stop by the apartment building to pick up her brother. Ayako agrees, saying that they wouldn't be able to have the picnic without him. They drive through the streets of Tokyo-3, which bustle with activity and life now, as no one has anything to fear anymore. They pull up to the apartment building, Ayako honking the horn. Haruko leans out the window, and tells her brother to hurry up, as he was supposed to be waiting for them when they arrived. The sound of someone rushing down a flight of stairs can be heard, then Koichi emerges from the stairwell, carrying his guitar case with him. He apologizes for being late, confessing that he couldn't get his agent off the phone. Stuffing his guitar in the back of the minivan along with the picnic baskets, he climbs into the minivan. Ayako confirms if everyone is ready to go, then starts driving again, travelling through Tokyo-3. Mari leans against Toshio, then asks Toby how his sister is doing. Toby puffs his chest out proudly, announcing that his sister's first movie is going to come out soon, and that she's one of the main characters. Akiko shakes her head, poking Toby's nose and asking him if he'd rather be dating his sister. Toby laughs and hugs Akiko, admitting that he's just proud of his little sister. Ayako smiles, looking to Kenji and saying that it seems that everyone's life has become perfect now. Kenji appears thoughtful, then shakes his head, saying that it's not quite perfect, but close. Ayako nods, and says they should hurry, as Tetsuo is waiting for them.
The minivan starts heading out of Tokyo-3, heading for the hilly outskirts of the city. Toshio gazes out the window, quietly asking Mari if she's nervous. Mari shakes her head, saying that she doesn't visit Tetsuo nearly enough, and needs to get it out of her system before she explodes. Toshio nods, and asks Mari if she misses him. Mari looks up through the sunroof, saying that none of them would be there if they didn't. Everyone in the minivan share a solemn moment, as it passes through the gates of a cemetery. A short while later, they come to a stop, filtering out of the minivan and gathering their things. They make their way over to a hill overlooking the city, and stop at a lone grave there. Everyone is quiet for a moment, then Haruko leans forward, and runs her hand along the top of the tombstone. She smiles, and apologizes to Tetsuo for being late. Everyone smiles and nods, each apologizing to the tombstone as they lay down a blanket, and set up their picnic. For hours, they sit there, laughing and sharing stories about Tetsuo, and the way he touched their lives. Koichi plays his guitar as they eat, offering a quiet melody for the group to reminisce to. Each of them even shares a conversation with 'Tetsuo'. Toby goes first, telling Tetsuo about how he couldn't stand him when they first met, and how he wanted to punch him in the mouth. But as the two worked together in NERV, he started to understand how Tetsuo only ever wanted to protect those around him from the dangers they all faced day to day, at the expense of putting his own body at risk. Toby thanks Tetsuo for watching out for him, and putting up with his snobby attitude. He then sets his diploma on the grave, before shuffling back to the blanket. Ayako takes a breath, and steps up next. She confesses that Tetsuo is the one that probably had the most effect on her, from the moment that she met him, to the moment they saw each other for the last time. Ayako wipes her eyes, saying that despite all of the problems he had, Tetsuo was probably the most human of all the NERV crew, caring for everyone in his own way. She then apologizes to him for not believing him about the truth behind NERV all those years ago when he first ran away. She takes the crucifix around her neck, and lays it onto the grave, telling Tetsuo not to worry about her anymore, and that she's finally found the happiness she's been searching for. Kenji steps beside her, hugging Ayako against his side. Ayako rests her head against Kenji's shoulder, tears rolling down her cheeks. Kenji tells Tetsuo that he's going to take care of Ayako now, and that he'll make sure their apartment stays clean, just like he did.
As they step away, Haruko takes her turn. She stands there for a moment, simply looking at the grave with a warm smile on her face. Finally she speaks, saying that she has no idea where to begin. She thanks Tetsuo for being her brother, and for being her only link to the humanity she struggled all her life to achieve. She then thanks him for finally giving her the chance to experience that humanity, and have a normal life. She sets a faded picture of them as children down on the grave, saying that she'll never forget him. Koichi stops playing his guitar, and steps up beside Haruko. He jokes, saying that nothing he could do would make him as good a brother to Haruko as Tetsuo was, adding that he wouldn't even want to try. He continues, thanking Tetsuo for making him whole. Koichi comments that the brief time that the two of them were close friends were his most treasured memories. He then rests the guitar against the tombstone, thanking Tetsuo for giving him a second chance at life. Haruko and Koichi sits down, and a hush falls over the group as Mari steps up to the grave. Taking a few shaky breaths, she smiles, greeting Tetsuo. She apologizes for not visiting enough, explaining that she's been avoiding it because how she can never think of anything to say. She apologizes to Tetsuo for all the grief she caused him, saying that she was just being a brat all those times, and had no real excuse for it. Continuing, she admits that it'd be easy to blame it all on the life she had previous to joining NERV, but states that it wouldn't be fair to him, as he had an equally hard life, yet never treated anyone badly that didn't deserve it. Smiling, she says that that was one of the great things about him, that he would never use his life or his problems as an excuse to avoid things, or push people around. Mari calls Tetsuo the bravest person she had ever known, and says that's why she loved him so much. Wiping tears from her eyes, she confesses how much she misses him, and how much it hurts her to think about how he's gone, but explains that she knows he wouldn't want that, not after sacrificing himself to make all of their lives so good. Taking the hair clips from her hair, she sets them down on the grave, saying that every time she smiles, she'll think of him.
With the picnic starting to wind down, the group gathers the picnic basket up, and starts to walk back toward the minivan, Mari lingering in the back. As she walks, she looks over her shoulder, spying a lone figure standing at Tetsuo's grave. She tries to focus on the person, but is too far away. The figure seems to lean down, reaching out to the grave. Afraid the person might be taking something, she starts to hurry back. The figure walks away as she approaches, and when she gets there, the person is gone. Puzzled, she looks around before looking down at the grave to check if anything is missing. Everything is accounted for however, and in fact something has been added. Mari reaches down, picking up a framed image of the whole NERV crew standing in front of the volcano resort from over a year ago. Her eyes widen and she quickly looks about again, before staring back down at the image. Slowly, a smile creeps over her face, tears rolling down her cheeks and falling onto the glass. She shakily sets the picture back down on the grave, then looks up at the sky. Hugging herself, she says "Thank you, wherever you are.." before heading up to the minivan, where everyone is waiting. When asked what she was doing, she just smiles, and climbs into the van.
The End