I will say these things in advance: I have absolutely no rights at NGE, but you should have already known that.
The story itself is basically a re-telling of the original storyline, but twisted into my way. While at the beginning there seem to be only few divigances, it will become more with each episode. The people, their motivations and the backgrounds are while holding true to the basic layout, changed at my imagination in many details, so canon-purists now are allowed to flame me.
NOTE: I hate both, the ending of the TV series, and how End of Evangelion turned out. So don't expect any of those outcomes.
This will be Shinji/Rei.
For all the work I put into this, I would like to get reviews. I will always try to respond to every review I get.
Note that this is the REVIVAL-Edition. Compared to the original from 2010, significant changes have been made, though the basic story is still the same. More about that at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 35: Sitzkrieg
Walking through the corridors towards Ritsuko's office, Misato still felt a little tired even after a long night's sleep, a good breakfast and another relaxing shoulder rub from Ryoji. She would have never dreamed that preparing herself for her wedding would be so exhausting. She didn't want to imagine how it would've been without their friends helping out in the preparations.
However, right now she needed to talk with Ritsuko about business. Finally reaching the right door, she didn't bother with knocking; walking right into her office. "Ritsu, I need to..." She stopped, blinked, and then again looked at her friend, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her.
"Yes, Misato?" Ritsuko asked when looking up from her work, knowing exactly what had prompted this reaction. However, she wanted to see Misato's further reactions, so she played dumb. "Is something wrong?" Her voice almost sounded a bit too innocent.
Looks like Maya won our bet, she thought, not really sad about losing. Seeing Misato dumbfounded was well worth the small financial loss.
Finally, Misato overcame her surprise of seeing Ritsuko's now dark brown hair. "Why did you dye your hair brown?" she wondered while looking at the hair that some days ago had still been bleached blond. As far as she could remember, Ritsuko had always had blond bleached hair. Hell, she even had no idea what her natural hair color was.
Ritsuko smirked. "Oh, that's what my hair naturally looks like. Yesterday I had an appointment with the hairdresser dye it to match. I felt like wearing it natural again and no longer want to bleach it," she patiently explained to her friend, enjoying the dumbfounded look Misato gave her during the explanation. "Do I look good?" she added, combing her fingers through her hair.
Misato finally composed herself, feeling stupid that she'd let Ritsuko's return to her natural hair color confuse her so much. "I bet you'll turn some heads. Don't get me wrong, but a Japanese woman with blond hair isn't all that attractive to men here."
Ritsuko grimaced in annoyance. While Japanese men went gaga for natural blondes from Europe and America, they frowned upon Japanese women with bleached hair. One had even had the cheek to scold her for 'aping gaijin women'.
Misato then finally remembered the reason for talking with her. "Anyway, Ritsu, I need you to take a look at this. We puzzled this together from various sources and can't make any sense of it."
Accepting the paper, Ritsuko looked at the list printed on it. Scanning through the various electronics, chemicals and other things listed on it, her eyes widened and she sobered up. "That's not good... This list contains most of the components needed for the construction of dummy plug systems."
Misato's mood darkened as well. "It does make sense. Remember that they're building more EVAs. Guess they don't want to have to rely on teenage pilots that could decide to desert them in battle. But Ritsu, didn't you say that Rei was the heart-piece of the auto-pilot system?"
"Yes, it were her neural patterns, together with parts from her clones, that gave life to the system. Without it the system is impossible to build." Ritsuko put the list on her desk. "This would only make sense if SEELE has also created a being similar to Rei, but then why were they so insistent on us doing the experiments in the first place?"
"Who knows how megalomaniac psychos tick?" Misato looked grim. "It only proves what we suspect. After we have defeated the 17th Angel, SEELE will attack us." She didn't want to imagine the horrible destruction that a battle between Evangelions could cause. Something that would probably make most of the Angels pale in comparison.
Ritsuko didn't like it, either, and she also suspected that they were missing a part of the puzzle about the Evangelions that SEELE was building. She couldn't put her finger on it, but an auto-pilot system wouldn't be too effective against their seasoned pilots. In fact, it would be pretty useless. They had to have some sort of advantage which they were planning to use against them. Question only was, what it could be.
"I better get this to the Commander. Oh, he'll love hearing these news."
Misato turned to leave after taking back the list, when Ritsuko added, "Oh, and Misato?... Even though that's serious, don't let it ruin your wedding."
"I won't give them that satisfaction," Misato said in defiance before she left.
Ritsuko watched the door, waiting. Right now she needed something to lighten her mood and she knew what this would be. Let's see how long you need... She didn't have to wait for too long. Less than a minute later someone knocked on the door and Maya then entered. The young woman carefully closed the door while Ritsuko got up, walking to her.
"Looks like you were right, Maya. Misato was totally dumbfounded by my hair. I guess I now owe you a big chocolate milkshake according to our bet," Ritsuko told her with a slight smile. She wasn't sad in the slightest that she'd lost the bet, it had been more of a joke thing anyway. After all the last few days had been refreshing, as Maya was an interesting woman to talk with. It proved again that Maya simply was someone you couldn't help but to like.
Maya didn't answer at first, a light giggle the only thing escaping her lips. Then she finally pulled herself together. "See, I was right. You do look great with your hair back to natural. You do look even more attractive that way," she told Ritsuko with a smile.
"You know, Maya, we agreed to see how things develop... " Ritsuko said, while standing close to Maya. "And I still don't know exactly what I want... However, I have to admit that I really like you... So while you already are such a good friend, I intend to find out... My way..."
Maya wondered what Ritsuko could mean while Ritsuko pulled all her courage together, as she right now was about to enter uncharted waters. "Ritsuko, what do you mmmmmpphhh!" Maya was silenced when suddenly Ritsuko's hands sized her head and she pressed her lips on hers!
Maya was too surprised to react, although it did feel really nice to have Ritsuko's lips on hers. It also wasn't a deep kiss, just lips on lips. Ritsuko for her part was enjoying this a lot. Both women started to blush slightly while their lip contact continued, even escalating a little when their lips parted slightly. After some time that felt like an eternity, Ritsuko released the now blushing Maya.
I really did it... I kissed another woman and I enjoyed it a lot. I guess this answers my question, Ritsuko thought while watching Maya develop a smile. It... it doesn't feel wrong as well.
To her this was a development that had been unthinkable some time ago, though now it was undeniable to her that she was bisexual. Though all her previous sexual encounters had been with men, she now had confirmation that she was into women as well. Her recent behavior now made perfect sense. Since she no longer was bound to Gendo, she had explored her own sexuality and discovered that her preferences were broader than she'd thought but hadn't noticed due to being 'occupied'.
She needed a little to center herself, but now that she knew, she wanted to give Maya way more attention.
"Ritsuko..." Maya breathed, her heart hammering in excitement before hugging the other woman. "You can't imagine how much this means to me! This was so beautiful..."
She was a bit surprised at the sudden contact, but didn't mind the woman being pressed against her. She did look Maya into the eyes and gulped hard. "To be honest, I'm totally new at feeling attracted to a woman. I've known you for quite some time, but only recently saw you as... as a desirable woman. I... I really want to give us a chance."
"Don't worry. I'll let you set the pace... I want you to be happy." Maya then gave Ritsuko a questioning look and the other woman understood and gave her a small smile to say it's OK.
Maya's lips homed in on Ritsuko's and they kissed again, this time gently. Maya's heart was beating rapidly, her being so happy that Ritsuko actually was returning her feelings. Ritsuko for her part actually felt this was very good. Maya was so gentle with her; totally unlike Gendo. That Maya was considerate of her feelings and wanted to gently introduce her to liking a woman this way reminded her that Maya simply was such a kind and gentle woman.
The rest went by as a blur for Maya, who constantly had to remind herself that Ritsuko still was unused to feeling attracted to her own gender and needed a gentle learning curve. Like in trance she walked back to the command center, ignoring the strange looks everyone gave her. Finally reaching the tactical level, she was about to get to her seat, when...
"Hey, Maya! Do my eyes play tricks on me, or is that lipstick around your mouth?" Shigeru Aoba suddenly called from his spot beside the coffee machine, intentionally loud enough so that everyone nearby could hear it.
That finally shook Maya out of it. Looking into a reflective surface she saw to her dismay that he was right; Ritsuko's lipstick was smeared around her mouth. Letting out a small gasp of mortification she yanked a hanky out of her pocket and removed the lipstick hastily before looking annoyed to her co-worker.
"Thanks so much, big-mouth!" she growled, being not amused at all.
Shigeru tried to look as innocent as possible. "What? You had something in your face." But Maya was not fooled, she knew it would go through the rumor mill in no time.
Oh, dear me... She had a feeling she would become the butt of quite a number of jokes.
...cage control center, later that day...
Misato had no idea what had happened between Ritsuko and Maya, but each time Ritsuko looked to Maya, the young woman blushed and smiled. Ritsuko herself also was way more relaxed, like she finally got something off her chest. To be honest, she didn't even want to know, since some things were meant to stay private.
Her presence during a standard synch-test in the real Evangelion units wasn't needed anymore with all the pilots having stable rates. The pilots actually didn't even know that she was present, as she had no plans to advertise the fact While she trusted Ritsuko and Lt. Ibuki to stay silent - at least she hoped so - she didn't want the children to hear what she was about to ask Yui Ikari, the only woman left who could answer her questions.
Looking to the screen where the picture of the woman in question was right now talking with Ritsuko in some sort of exclusive scientist-language, she decided to make her move. "Ritsu?"
"Hmm?" Ritsuko looked rather bored, which was no wonder considering what she'd had to endure.
She would've never dreamed that someone could get her lost with a pile of scientific terms, but Yui Ikari was right now putting her to shame and she was hard pressed to even understand half of what the computerized woman was saying. Ritsuko had no doubt that this was part of Yui's plan to punish her, and for a woman with no physical body she did a really good job at it.
"Is that line secure? I don't want Shinji to listen in," Misato asked her.
Ritsuko raised an eyebrow, wondering what this was about. "Sure, we did that so that he won't be distracted."
Yui then interrupted her. "Well, Dr. Akagi, I can guess what she wants to talk with me about. Considering that she's about to marry in three days, she's feeling that she needs advice for the married life. Of course only someone who already stood before the altar can give her such."
Now Ritsuko was interested! "Well, don't let me interrupt the two of you!" she told them a little too eagerly, probably to escape from being further lost in unknown scientific terms, before she turned her attention to some other instruments.
Both of them, Yui and Misato, knew that she of course would be listening to every word. After all, it was every female's instinct to listen in whenever something of that nature comes up. It was a fact all women knew. Hopefully she'd have enough tact to stay silent.
"I guess you are all nervous about the whole thing and wonder if you can measure up to the high expectations put into newlyweds?" Yui asked Misato right away, feeling that she needed to do the first move to get the woman to loosen up.
"How can't I? My parents' married life was a disaster and I want to do it better. But after getting all this good advice from my recently married friends... Now I'm more confused than before. What the hell am I supposed to do?" It wasn't very characteristic of Misato to sound so... desperate, but the question how she had to act as a married woman had started to rob her of sleep recently with the wedding date coming closer.
Yui's picture shook her head. "Let me guess, most of the stuff they told you was about how a woman is supposed to act after the wedding in married life?"
"Yeah. You wouldn't believe some of it. I wonder where they get this stuff?" Misato even wondered if her college friend were actually bullshitting her.
Yui again shook her head. "Well, the first thing you should do is to forget all that stuff. Actually, forget the mere idea how having to act different. It's all stupid anyway."
"Huh?" Misato was rather surprised of that bit of advice.
"Most newlyweds get all these stupid ideas from books that were first published decades ago. You can imagine what women were expected to do in in married life in the Sixties..." Yui let it hang in the air.
Misato grimaced. "Yeah, the obedient and selfless housewife, who obeys all of her husband's whims."
"Exactly; something that was embarrassingly outdated even during my youth and nowadays is outright offensive." Yui would not tell she had actually burned one of these offensive books ritually. "You better believe all these newlywed don't do that but repeat it to you forget about it. Just do what you and your soon-to-be husband feel is right to do. That worked wonders for me."
"To be honest I have difficulties to connect a happy marriage with the Commander..." Misato honestly told Yui, hoping that she wouldn't offend her.
Yui sighed, as she didn't like to talk about it. "I can't fault you. After all, you've only seen what he'd become. Back then he was very different. Our married life was so good because we agreed that we both need our own space sometimes. We watched each other's backs and promised to listen to each other to prevent unwise decisions. Sorry if I sound a little bitter, but after everything..."
"No, I understand..." After all, me too would be majorly pissed if Ryoji would suddenly decide to become Darth Asshole...
o
Half an hour later the control room was deserted, the tests being done for the day, and only dim light prevented the room from falling dark. The lights in the cage were also shut off, only the lights from various machines dimly breaking through the darkness. However, the silence was disturbed when the door opened and a man walked in.
The man seemed unsure how to proceed, standing in the middle of the room, the dim light not illuminating his features. He looked into the dark cage, where he could barely see the outline of Unit-01 in the semi-darkness of the huge hall. Then however his attention was pulled towards the instrument panel, when one screen came to life.
"Gendo, please stop this display... I watched you for several minutes and seeing a grown man sneaking around as if fearing being caught at looting the cookie jar is just embarrassing," Yui scolded him.
With a sigh, Gendo pushed a button on the console, raising the light level in the process. "It's just nerves..." Sitting down, he decided that coming right to the point would be best for both of them. "Yui, I have no idea how to make up to our son! Everything I thought about was either not enough or inappropriate. How am I supposed to mend that rift if I can't find any way to do so?"
Yui didn't show much sympathy - not that Gendo had expected any - and looked hard to him. "You really thought about everything?"
"Everything! It's not like one of these usual 'father-makes-up-with-son' problems! He would just tell me to leave him alone... Your brother has pretty much taken my place and Shinji obviously wants it to stay this way..."
Yui said nothing. She hated to admit that she'd ignored that Shinji could feel so well in the current arrangements that he would reject all and every attempt from Gendo to lessen the distance between them. She knew of all the other things he'd done up to now, which spoke for his efforts to get better, but she honestly had no idea as well concerning their son. It was a bit disheartening that Gendo had burned that bridge so thoroughly.
"Maybe I should talk with my brother... Although I have little hope he'll off you any help. He can be very stubborn." After all, she knew her brother too well.
Gendo knew that he should be glad for even the smallest help. "You can't imagine how desperate I am by now. It's worse now that I know I did wrong..."
"Sadly, forgiveness can only come from one's own heart. Shinji has to forgive you on his own." Yui look a bit disheartened. "Oh, what a mess."
"Apart from a heroic sacrifice, I have no idea what to do that could convince him give me a chance," Gendo lamented.
Yui shook her head. "Let's hope that it doesn't come to that..."
...Tokyo-3 park...
"...and I feel like screaming sometimes. All and everything right now revolves around Misato's upcoming wedding. Even worse, she unloads her stress by forcing me to learn for these mock exams like mad, despite knowing that I already know all that stuff and it's all meaningless anyway," Asuka told Kaworu while they both sat in the shadow of a big tree.
"Do not think bad of her. She does care a lot for you and wants you to have a good future. It is only natural that she forgets some things with such a turning point in her life before her," Kaworu commented while enjoying the quiet atmosphere of the park.
Asuka again found herself admiring how Kaworu could find such truths without sounding like a smart-ass. It also seemed that only little could unbalance him. One of these topics was his mother, something she didn't dare to mention after the first time. Kaworu also wasn't like these other boys, who only thought about sex and getting into a girl's skirt. He held his respectful distance and Asuka was quite sure that he wanted it to be her to make the first move. Whenever she was together with him, all her anger and stress seemed to diminish and she became relaxed and peaceful.
Good thing that Hikari and Mana had stayed to their promise and hadn't breathed a word about her current companion to the others. Just the idea of this flying around as gossip made her feel very uneasy and she understood why other took such pains to keep secrets.
"You know, speaking of education... I wonder what you plan to do once you are an adult? I for my part still can't make up my mind if I should take some kind of job, or to study to get a doctorate," she then asked him after taking a sip from her soda can.
Kaworu seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if wondering what to answer, before he spoke. "To be honest, I do not have thought about this. I am so well off that I do not need to work. Right now my... uncle is paying for all my expenses."
Kaworu felt that he had almost screwed up. He had totally forgotten that Asuka could ask questions about his life and that he should have been prepared for that. That he'd designated Keel as his uncle, however, wasn't free of a certain humor, since after all the man had ordered the construction of his current body. He also found it interesting that he disliked the idea of lying to her, so telling the truth without actually revealing anything was his chosen course of action.
"I can't imagine just doing nothing..." Askua said while aimlessly looking over the park. "Sure, it's great for a while. But over time I'd go crazy without anything meaningful to do."
Kaworu didn't answer to that. After all, he could hardly tell her the truth that he'd existed for billions of years as a being with no solid body, simply hovering in a strange dimension with his siblings, essentially doing nothing at all but thinking. It was a sort of existence that Lilim were unable to understand. And to be honest, after some years on this world in a physical body he couldn't imagine returning to this way of life as well. Even after such a short time it seemed so unreal to him.
The silence stretched on for minutes, until Asuka broke it. "I wish you could be there, at the wedding. Too bad that it's invited guests only... -sigh- Looks like I'll be bored to tears while the other girls are there with their boyfriends..."
Kaworu looked quizzically to her. "You think of me as your boyfriend?" he asked, as if not even sure what he exactly should think of that term.
"NEIN! Äh, ich meinte..." Gods, why did her face suddenly feel so warm? When did she become such a mushy girl who blushed like mad? She felt she had to get her act together, or she'd sound like a total moron. "I mean, it's too early to see if that's the case."
"Oh."
Kaworu really didn't know what to think of that statement. Courtship was a part of human behavior he had the least knowledge about, mostly because he hadn't been exposed to any. Yet he wondered why he felt a sort of disappointment in his innermost being. It was all so confusing. Even for a being that was billions of years old, human nature remained an enigma.
Verdammt! Ich habe gerade seine Gefühle verletzt, [Damn! I just hurt his feelings,] Asuka panicked slightly. "Look... I.. I didn't mean it that way. It's just that I myself don't exactly know yet what to think."
Kaworu held up a hand to signal for her to stop babbling. "To be honest, I myself do not fully understand such matters. Up until I met you, I never had to deal with such a situation. I know even less than you do. We shouldn't let our insecurities ruin this beautiful day."
Asuka slightly shook her head while leaning back against the tree. It was typical for him to try and return to the positive, small things in life. "You are a really strange boy..." Und das ist, warum ich ihn mag, [And this is why I like him,] she added silently.
Kaworu had no idea how that was meant, as well.
...Hikawa Shrine, three days later (March 15th)...
-woooooouuunnnnnggggg- -wooooouuuuuuuuunnnnngggg-
The sound of the big, gong-like bell echoed through the forested area in the hills bordering Tokyo-3. Two men, who were by some identifiable as technicians from NERV, were swinging the big hanging log against the bell to create the vibrations that echoed throughout the landscape. Like everyone present, they were dressed to look the part.
It was a totally cloudless, sunny and warm day, perfect for this special occasion. The number of guests standing outside of the back side of the shrine was significant. While the head priest had been firm about his decision to not have any kind of big celebration on the immediate shrine grounds, he had right afterwards allowed them to use the big meadow directly behind the shrine, the former gardens which had fallen into disuse years ago and were no longer officially part of the shrine.
Everything there was set up and ready for the reception party later.
Right now they were waiting, since the ceremony was traditionally a small circle affair and the bride and groom with their respective parties would enter the shrine from the front and would leave after the ceremony though the backward gate to greet the guests. The guests themselves were an interesting mixture. Besides people from NERV, there were friends form college and people living in the city. The children however were - apart from a waiting Mana - missing, since they were needed for the ceremony itself.
Meanwhile in the front of the shrine, the two parties were slowly making their way to the entrance of the shrine building, both groups being direct by two miko in front.
There had been several difficulties to overcome during the planning of the ceremony. One big problem was, that neither Misato nor Ryoji had any living relatives left after the impact. It was a problem since normally most of the people attending the ceremony were close relatives of the bride and groom. Thankfully, the priest had anticipated such problems, since many people had lost all family in the Impact and decided that closer friends and confidants can take the place of family.
The male group, all of them wearing the traditional black kimonos with Ryoji wearing the traditional montsuki with haori overcoat, was quite interestingly mixed. First was of course the groom himself, then Kozo Fuyutsuki walked by his side. Behind them walked Shinji and Toji, the latter looking a little uncomfortable at being dressed this formally. Finally behind them were Kaldor Ikari and, surprising for everyone apart from Ryoji, Gendo.
While the two miko slowly led them towards the shrine, the thoughts of the group couldn't be more different.
Ryoji was somewhat nervous and hoped that he wouldn't forget any important detail of the ceremony. After having already done all the registration in the city hall at morning, the ceremony itself was technically speaking only a formality. However, that didn't help to calm his nerves, although he still looked calm on the outside.
Fuyutsuki meanwhile felt somewhat flattered that Ryoji had selected him as the special confidant who would walk beside him. The explanation for his selection, that Ryoji wanted someone who had walked that way himself and thus knew how he would feel, was a surprising admission that even Ryoji Kaji wasn't prepared for everything.
Toji still felt that the material of his kimono felt a little rough against his skin, while still feeling a bit stupid. He was a product of his generation and had never really bothered with tradition, thus this was all new to him. He wondered how Hikari would look in hers, since he hadn't seen her since the morning when the groups had been separated by gender.
Shinji thought the same about Rei how she would look in a kimono, while at the same time still wondering what in all names had driven Mr. Kaji to select his father of all people to attend in this selected group. It wasn't that there was a lack of suitable men available for the task. Even more interesting, his old man was really on his best behavior.
Kaldor felt the same about Gendo, wondering if the groom had had a moment of insanity, though at least Gendo was behaving. He also was aware how much he stood out in the group. Being over two meters tall sometimes was a real disadvantage, making the group look somewhat odd. After all, there weren't many men in Japan being this tall.
Gendo was just relieved that Mr. Kaji had accepted him into the group. It had been a sudden decision to ask him when remembering that maybe showing Shinji that he still was a human being and not just someone who wanted to make the lives of others miserable would be helpful. This was a bigger affair than his own wedding had been.
Meanwhile, the group of women advanced towards the shrine as well, also led by two miko.
Apart from Misato as the bride in her white Shinto wedding gown, the women wore black kimonos as well, albeit they each had interesting and individual floral patterns. Besides the bride herself, Ritsuko walked right next to her. Behind them walked Rei and Maya, then followed by Asuka and Hikari. And like the men, they had very different things on their mind.
Misato of course was nervous as hell. While all the legal stuff had already been done, she still feared that she would somehow make an embarrassing error during the ceremony, despite them having gone through it numerous times. It also still felt alien for her to wear such heavy make-up on her face. It somewhat made her look like a doll.
At her side, Ritsuko felt that it was proof of how much Misato trusted her that she had been selected as her confidant to accompany her to the ceremony. Misato had told her that she especially needed someone who could stay calm and thus reassure her that everything would go all right should she get the jitters all of a sudden.
Rei was closely inspecting Misato's wedding gown. Her imagination was busy with visualizing herself in such a gown as an adult woman, standing beside an adult Shinji at their own wedding. She shook her head. It was still some years before that would become reality and she could enjoy this daydream later. She was just thankful she was allowed the small fan to cool herself, as it was a warm day.
Asuka still felt that she as a Westerner looked stupid in a kimono, especially after she'd learned that she would be unable to wear a bra, since it would disturb the fabric. It made her feel exposed and she also disliked what they'd done with her hair in the name of the ceremony. Looking to Rei she felt this was on purpose just because she was a foreigner.
Maya tried to not look too much at Ritsuko's rear, as the kimono didn't leave much to her imagination and she had to scold herself several times that it right now wasn't the time for these thoughts. Ritsuko and her might be starting to do these things, but they still had some way to go.
She's very open-minded about it. We talk a lot and, well, things happen. She certainly is a really good kisser... Maya hoped no one would notice her slight blush.
Finally, Hikari was excited. After all it wasn't every day that she would be attending to the actual ceremony of a Shinto wedding, something very rare these days. Her whole family was waiting together with the other guests on the other side of the shrine, while she herself already was awed by the events.
At last the two groups met in front of the big main entrance and inspected each other with glances to the side while waiting for the mikos to open the gate.
Ryoji was impressed with how different Misato looked, aside from wearing a white shinto wedding gown. Her long hair was put into a traditional hair style and her face was pained in traditional make-up. Misato had tried to argue that she was hardly a maiden that could be presented to the gods, but the priest had shot her down by saying that even then the whole thing simply wouldn't look right without it. That, and it was the gods who had to decide on the matter in the end.
Looking at the white watabōshi-hood Misato was wearing, Ryoji had to hide his smile. Misato had been very insistent to not wear the alternative headgear, the tsunokakushi, because of its meaning. Misato had insisted that neither was she jealous and selfish, nor did she plan to become a gentle and obedient wife, and thus couldn't wear that thing. No one dared to say anything about it after she'd made her point.
Shinji meanwhile couldn't help but to be impressed at how good Rei looked in a kimono. Her long blue hair had been bound together near the end so it wouldn't flow freely and Shinji had to admit that combined with her naturally pale skin it made her look very dignified. At the same time he had a hard time not to laugh when seeing that Asuka's long, red hair had been bound into two long braids, making a her look like something from a German fairy tale book.
Misato at the same time was impressed at how mature Ryoji looked in his black montsuki wedding kimono and dark overcoat. Combined with a clean shave and his hair being brought under control, the causal onlooker would imagine him to be every stepmother's dream.
Finally the mikos had opened the gate, allowing both parties to enter the shrine.
The light sound of the traditional flute music reached everyone's ears while they walked into the main chamber, where the altar was situated. The old priest, this time in the full ceremonial garb, was waiting behind the altar. To his side stood a young woman with long, black hair, wearing the white and red robes of a miko shrine maiden.
Hino-san's granddaughter Rei had been a big help in the preparations. Besides deciding to help personally almost right away, she had managed to use her connections to find the needed number of miko for the ceremony - after all there were none in Tokyo-3 - and the traditional musicians needed. The whole thing would have been impossible to pull off without her.
And now she would be there to assist her grandfather in the ceremony. Apart from the name, she had little in common with Rei Ayanami, being an adult woman with long black hair, who loved music and was quite upbeat. It was a total contrast.
The women walked on the the left side of the room to stand there in a row. The men did the same on the right side. The confidants stood the closest to the altar, so that they would be near the couple. Finally, Misato and Ryoji slowly walked down between these two rows until they had reached the altar, standing before it, while the mikos closed the gate behind them.
The music slowly ebbed away and the priest started the ritual of purification on the to-be-wed couple. After that was done it was followed by reporting to the old ones on the marriage. The priest finally ended it with the words "...may you grant your lasting favor on these two."
He then looked to his granddaughter to initiate the next part of the ceremony, the San-San-Kudo, the ceremony of three-times-three-exchange of nuptial cups.
While watching the miko filling the six cups of three different sizes, they remembered how problematic this part of the ceremony had been in the planning stage. Normally, sake would be exchanged. However, they had to tactfully explain to the priest that Misato did have an extreme allergic reaction to alcohol. The old Hino had sighed that this indeed was a problem. In the end they had decided on a non-alcoholic substitute, which at least looked like sake.
The faint flute music picked up again while Ryoji and Misato picked up the first small cups. They brought their cup up to their partner's lips, and then they took a small sip from the offered cup. Per the ritual of San-San-Kudo, they repeated that twice with the small cup and then set them down on the altar at the same time. They then repeated the process with the medium cup, once again taking three sips from the offered cup, and then placing the cups down. Finally, the ritual was repeated with the large cup, and they once more placed the cups on the altar exactly at the same moment to overcome the superstition that the person who set the cup down first would see their ancestors first.
The priest took the word and the music again fainted away. "Now that we have given our wish to the ancestors and the San-San-Kudo is done, please give your oaths of commitment."
Misato and Ryoji each received a parchment from his granddaughter. Normally, as per tradition, only the groom would read an oath of commitment. However, since even traditional weddings were often modified these days, it was easy to insist that since both of them were bound to do their best in this marriage, they should both give an oath of their own.
Both of the were very nervous, while reading their respective oaths, Ryoji first, then Misato. Their oaths were heartfelt, warm words and they managed to speak them without making any kind of embarrassing error on their part.
The old priest seemed pleased with how well things were going according to plan, judging by the small smile that crept into his otherwise professional expression. He gave a small sign to his granddaughter and she placed a small cushion with the wedding rings on the altar. "As taken over from the western faith, these rings shall be the visible sign of your bond. Always wear them with pride."
Slowly Ryoji picked up Misato's ring and gently slid on onto her left ring finger while saying the words that many before had already said. Misato then followed by doing the same for him. They then were handed sprigs of the sakaki tree by the miko and placed them on the altar as an offering to the kami. Then they bowed once, then again. Finally, they clapped their hands, one time, and then bowed once more.
The old priest smiled, becoming much less formal. "And now you are allowed to kiss the bride." And Ryoji gently - mostly to avoid smearing her make-up - did so, while everyone else applauded and the music again picked up, this time much more audible and cheerful.
o
Everyone was waiting for the happy newlyweds to appear from the rear gate of the shrine. Everyone else had already left it and mingled with the guests, talking about how beautiful the ceremony had been. They knew it took so long because Misato was changing into something more comfortable and washing off the make-up. Of course the shrine was offering such facilities after many years with countless weddings.
Hikari was excitedly chatting with her parents, describing every little detail. "...and it was so beautiful. I had no idea a traditional wedding is this nice."
"You certainly do sound quite excited," Mr. Horaki noted, always glad to see his daughters happy.
"Yes, although this leaves a question open..." Mrs. Horaki turned to her eldest. "Kodama, when can we finally expect to see you in such a ceremony as the bride?"
"Ha ha, I know what you are playing at, Mom!" Kodoma sulked, seeing it was a not too hidden jab at her choice of rotating lovers.
"Can't say she didn't deserve that one," Hikari said to Toji, who had appeared with his father and sister moments earlier.
Toji barely held his laughter, then looked down when he felt Nozomi tug at his kimono. "Can I help you, Nozomi?"
"Well, I hope when you and my sister marry, it'll be just a beautiful," she told him bluntly.
Both teenagers blushed and Sakura gave Nozomi a look a congratulations. It was clear both girls did enjoy embarrassing their elder siblings.
Asuka meanwhile looked a little lost while being busy with undoing her braids now that the ceremony was over and she wanted her hair to be back to natural. She also felt that this would be a rather boring celebration for her, since she had no one to share it with - at least not someone special. She thought of certain someone who she would've liked to be there right now.
So wie ich schon reagiere, ist es wirklich ernsthaft... [Seeing how I act right now, it's really serious...]
At the same time, Rei was walking through the crowd, calmly looking for Shinji, then finally spotted him, but he seemed to be distracted. Walking closer she saw what distracted him. He was watching the Commander being busy with talking to several guests who as far as she knew had no connection to NERV, thus complete strangers to him.
She could understand why Shinji found this highly unusual. She herself had also had over the years seen the man only being cold and distant. To see him interacting - or better, trying to interact - with people in this manner was surely new and highly unusual, especially to her.
"It surely is an unusual sight."
Only now that Rei stood beside him did he notice her. "Oh, Rei. Sorry, but seeing him acting like anyone else seems so surreal... I still have trouble to believe my eyes."
"I myself have never before seen the Commander act like what you would expect from a normal person. This current behavior is highly unusual for him," she commented it while watching as well.
"I wonder what his game now is..." Shinji more said to himself than to Rei. It was very difficult for him to believe that his old man did what he did right now just because he wanted to.
Rei was unable to answer when everyone went silent, looking to the rear gate of the shrine, where the newlyweds appeared to open the reception. With the celebration beginning, Rei's thoughts about the situation concerning Shinji and his father took a backseat, especially when Shinji asked her for a dance.
...three days later, home economics room...
"I'm somewhat surprised they are making us do this, although I don't mind. It does take everyone's mind off these mock exams next week," Mana said while stirring her her cooking pot.
"Maybe that's the idea?" Shinji said while making sure stuff in his pan was properly flipped.
It certainly was true that all students in their year were stressed out about the mock exams. Even though there was only half the number of students in school than normal - the others having left ever since the first attack - school was still operating as normal. That meant the second year in middle school was still expected to take the mock exams. Everyone was stressed about them. All except for Rei and Asuka. Rei because she was calm and found learning easy and Asuka because of her high intellect and already knowing most of the stuff.
Interestingly, today class 2-A was working in the school kitchen, which was nice and relaxing and probably intended by the teachers this way. After all, they knew the minds of students well after years of doing their job and it was obvious everyone needed something to distract them from the stress. Right at the moment Shinji was working together with Mana, which had raised some eyebrows.
"If they planned this, then it's working. What surprises me is, that this many of the guys aren't acting like this is the sixth level of hell," Mana commented.
Shinji shrugged. "Times are changing. Guys aren't as hopeless in a kitchen like they used to be."
"I expected you to say this... Although some are more hopeless than others." Mana took a look to where Toji was struggling with the cooking utensils while Hikari look ready to tear her hair out. It was clear that cooking was not one of Toji's strengths, though he at least wasn't a total disaster.
Mana then looked over to where Rei was making something that looked like fried eggs - all on her own. "Not to sound ungrateful, but why are you partnered with me instead of Rei?"
Shinji rolled his eyes. "You do know her ancestry, right?"
It was a strange question but of course Mana knew. She would probably never forget the sight of all these clones in the LCL tank. "Yes, but what does this have to do with her working alone?"
"Let's put it this way: before she got better, her body was missing certain parts. Now she got them and experiences one of the 'joys' of being a girl," Shinji tried to explain tactfully.
After some moments, Mana understood. "You mean she...?"
"Yeah, and trust me, that's no walk in the park for her and her mood is not exactly the best at the moment," Shinji explained while adding something into his pan.
For a girl who normally doesn't use much openly shown emotion, her hormones being imbalanced causes quite a change, he thought, being a bit scared of Rei despite her having honestly apologized after her outburst.
"Oh dear..." Mana knew, the first one always was the worst on a girl. "Is she in any mood for female company?"
Shinji shook his head. "She already has Hikari gently explaining things to her - even though she technically knows - and even gives her a shoulder to cry on, which she actually did. This is really new and kind of hard on her, after all."
"Sometimes there are things a girl can only tell another girl," Mana understood.
"She told me to stay away because she doesn't want to accidentally say something to me she could regret later. Actually kind of reasonable..." Shinji then noticed Asuka, her actually looking kind of cute in her kitchen outfit. "Strange, recently Asuka is in a really good mood."
Thing was, Mana knew exactly why Asuka was in such a good mood, but her promise to Asuka meant she could not say a thing. "Really strange, maybe she found something she likes?"
"Perhaps. Well, not my business." Shinji then turned his attention back to cooking.
If Shinji had noticed Mana actually lying through her teeth, he didn't say anything about it.
...later that day, basketball field...
"Come on, come on, come on! ... What?! ... DAMN!"
"Easy! It's just a game," Kaldor told Toji while picking up the basketball.
Their little game was not exactly going in Toji's favor - an experience he was unused to. After hearing yesterday from Toji how he could defeat everyone at basketball, Kaldor had challenged him to a two-against-one on the school's basketball court in the afternoon. They'd felt it also was a good way to temporarily escape the stress of preparing for the mock exams.
At first Toji had been confident that he could easily defeat the two of them, since Shinji was only a mediocre player and he'd written off Kaldor as an 'old man'. After some minutes however it had become painfully clear that said 'old man' was in really good shape and obviously played basketball regularly. In the end they had creamed him while Hikari had watched the whole thing from the sidelines, which had made it worse for him.
"Easy for you to say!" Toji panted. "You don't have your girlfriend watching you being humiliated."
"Said girlfriend thinks that this can be only good for you," Hikari called while walking onto the field, seeing that the game now was obviously over. "After hearing you bragging about your skill recently, I feel that a little humility to get you back down to Earth can only be of advantage."
"Uhm..." Toji had no idea what to say.
"Boy, I think the right answer is 'yes, dear'. I was once married and learned that you should never openly disagree with the woman," Kaldor advised him half-jokingly.
Toji tried to ignore the mental image of himself and Hikari in their thirties, him sitting in a push seat and reading the newspaper while automatically agreeing with Hikari's suggestions on how to re-decorate the house. He told himself that should they marry one day, he would do anything so that their lives would not turn into such a martial purgatory.
After he finally shook off the mental image, Toji had no desire to speak any further about him getting humility, so he changed the topic. "Hm, yeah... While we are speaking of girls, I'm sort of missing Rei. Hey, Shinji, any idea where she is? Thought she would've liked watching you."
It was such a painfully obvious distraction, and because of that, it actually worked. Shinji looked rather uncomfortable. "Rei and me decided to not spend the afternoon together... Uhm, you noticed that she is quite cranky since yesterday?"
"Yeah, so what? Did you two argue? Did she give you a spanking or something like that?" Toji wondered, totally missing Shinji's silent plea to drop the topic.
"Toji, there is a good reason why we both agreed that Rei isn't in the mood for my company right now. It's a girl thing," Shinji tried to explain. Gods, he really didn't want to speak about that to another guy. Mana was one thing - she after all was a girl - but right now the topic felt embarrassing.
"Girl thing?" Toji wondered, still oblivious to the meaning of these words.
Shinji wondered how Toji could be so oblivious of such things, before he remembered that his mother was dead and his sister too young to yet have such problems. While that explained a lot, he still wondered that Toji had never noticed anything despite having a steady girlfriend. It sometimes became painfully obvious that his friend wasn't the most observant person.
Thankfully, Hikari came to his rescue. "-Sigh- Toji, what Shinji tried to tactfully tell you is, that Rei has her period and right now is not in the mood for male company." Seeing Toji's eyes widen, she added "The first one is unpleasant for all girls, so I can't blame her."
Toji tried to ignore all the pictures that these news about his friend's girlfriend conjured in his head. "Damn, now that's too much information."
Hikari shook her head, Toji could sometimes be so ignorant. "Well, if you plan to have your future with me, better get used to the idea."
Shinji was just glad that this was done. He felt really uncomfortable with such things being the topic, especially when it concerned Rei. Personally, he had been relieved that Rei acted nothing like that overblown caricature of menstruating girls that circulated in the media. She was somewhat annoyed and cranky, nothing more. There had been exactly one short outburst and she had apologized for it. She'd then tactfully asked him to hold his distance until it was over, while at the same time complaining that she hadn't thought it would be that uncomfortable.
It was good that Rei was such a calm girl. He would pity the poor guy who'd eventually become Asuka's boyfriend in the future, whoever it would be. After all, Asuka sometimes tended to become rather bad-tempered during that time of the month.
Pen-Pen learned the hard way not to annoy her during that time of the month. He'd needed almost a week to recover from the bruise... Shinji remembered one especially memorable incident.
Kaldor watched the friendly banter between the three friends. It made him proud to see Shinji acting like a normal teenager when interacting with friends. It again reminded him that despite several setbacks, including the one done by his (swearword) of a father several months ago, he'd done the best he could to turn him from a devastated child in the confident young man he was now.
True, Shinji had simply pushed away his issues for a long time, but it seemed having his friends - especially Rei - help him set him on the right path. Then meeting Yui clearly took a burden off his shoulders as well and he now really seemed to have gotten the easiness he was seeking before.
He then remembered what he and Yui had talked about the day before the wedding.
Yui had told him of Gendo's trouble concerning his attempts to mend the rift between himself and Shinji, and how Shinji essentially sabotaged every attempt by seeing him, Kaldor, as his true father. However, he'd asked her what she expected him to do. After all, he couldn't force the boy to accept someone he despised. Not that he didn't understand the problem, but his sympathy for Gendo was very limited.
He'd added that they couldn't make that decision for Shinji and that he personally thought it would take some really selfless thing from Gendo to regain his son's respect. And it was unlikely that something like that would happen. Kaldor only still wondered, why Yui wanted to give that bastard a second chance.
He also had to think about Gendo's appearance as one of the people present at the wedding some days ago. That had come as a total surprise to him, as well as the fact that the man had behaved himself and even tried to socialize with people during the celebration - though only people who didn't know him as their boss - albeit it was somewhat clumsy. He had no idea what Gendo expected to achieve with that.
He was still in thoughts while following the leaving teenagers.
o
"Nnngh..." Rei grimaced when it felt like something was cramping inside her.
She however tried not to show her discomfort to the outside world while walking down the street. While it was far less bad than many of the girls in school made it sound like, it still was annoying enough. It made her wonder why Dr. Akagi had declared women who were trying to avoid it to be cowards, if escaping this unpleasantness seemed the most logical solution. Too bad that she didn't have much choice in the matter.
The cramps alone were annoying enough. In a way it felt like a bad stomach ache, only located much lower. However, the most annoying thing was how it unbalanced her hormone levels, affecting her mood. She'd noticed everyone keeping their distance, as if they were able to detect her somewhat negative mood, despite her trying to act as normal as possible. She'd actually snapped at Shinji when he'd asked her if she is alright. After an honest apology, she'd tactfully explained her problem and asked him to give her more space than normal and hold his distance until this was over. Thankfully, he was very understanding and respected her wish.
If this is the price to pay for being able to create new life, I am willing to accept it, Rei thought when remembering her dreams of becoming a mother.
These dreams came more frequently now, and every time was wonderful and she'd awaken with a feeling of fulfillment. She knew it would be years before both of them would be old enough to actually fulfill this dream, but she had patience.
Thank all goodness that no tests were scheduled until next week, or she would certainly mess up, as her concentration right now was not a given. She also was really grateful for Hikari helping her out. While she knew everything in theory, she'd never had to apply female hygiene on herself.
Stopping on small bridge, she looked down at her reflection in the water. There stood a girl wearing a white shirt and a plaid skirt, holding some books in one hand. If not for the blue hair, no one would blink an eye at the sight. She had real difficulties to connect this girl to the lifeless shell from a year ago. She pretty much was someone totally different by now.
"Urgh..." Rei rubbed her legs together to lessen the strange feeling of something being inside her.
Her being the practical girl she was, she had asked Hikari for the best ways to contain the bleeding and finally decided collecting the mess while it was still inside her would be the cleanest solution. Of course that also meant getting used to having a foreign object inside this sensitive place - a feeling she still needed to get used to.
It still is more practical than a pad, Rei thought while continuing on her way.
Walking around a corner, she saw two people sitting at an outdoor table of a ramen restaurant. Although she couldn't see their faces since they both faced away from her, she knew of only one girl with long red hair in Tokyo-3. However, the boy with white hair was a little unusual. They had not noticed her and curiosity got the better of her, so she silently approached and listened in on them talking.
"...so who do these Angels think they are, just waltzing in and trying to kill us all?" Asuka right then ended her rant.
"While I can not speak from personal experience, I find the Angels rather perplexing. Have you ever wondered what they hope to accomplish with their attacks?" the boy wondered.
"Who cares? I only want them gone," Asuka returned before loudly slurping some noodles.
"I have to admit, this is not an unreasonable wish after considering the up to now caused destruction," the boy admitted before turning his attention to his own noodles.
Rei couldn't help but to feel strangely uneasy in this boy's presence. She had no idea if this was caused by her unbalanced hormones. Simply put, something about him rubbed her the wrong way. She also found it somewhat strange that Soryu hadn't told them about seeing someone. However, it did explain her recent absence from their group if she was being with this boy in her free time.
I think it is better to not announce my presence... turning around, she left, never knowing that the boy in question had been very well aware of her presence.
She is very different from what she once had been... Very interesting. Though I must be careful to hide my presence better when she is near. I could literally feel her uneasiness...
...at night, some days later...
She was sitting on a roof, looking totally devastated. Then she screamed that she hated everyone.
-flash-
She had lost her will to live, feeling totally worthless. Lying naked in the bathtub of a wrecked house, she only waited for the relief to come from this final act while her blood very slowly filled the tub.
-flash-
The white beasts were all over her and she barely had time to scream before they ripped her to pieces, feasting on her.
-flash-
Shinji choked her to death under a red sky, madness in his eyes. Worst was, she didn't even resist, just thinking she felt sick...
...
"Ahhh!" Eyes wide open, Askua felt her stomach revolting. Jumping out of her bed, she dashed to the toilet, throwing up into it.
Coughing and spitting, she tried to calm down. Finally, the remains of dinner had all parted with her the wrong way. Slowly getting up, she walked over to the sink to wash out her mouth when she noticed Mistao, thankfully wearing a nightgown - not that this thin thing covered much - standing in the door.
"Asuka? Everything all right?" she asked sleepily, looking as if ready to sleep while standing.
"-gargle...spit- Bad dream... no need to worry... -gargle-" Asuka assured her guardian between her attempts to get rid of the disgusting taste. Misato felt that this was explanation enough and left her alone.
Asuka looked into the mirror. Was zum Teufel war das? she wondered.
Little did she know that some kilometers away, Tabris stood on the balcony of his apartment clad only in his boxers, looking into the direction of Misato's apartment building. He always found it fascinating what pictures his Lilum body conjured during its sleep phases. However, tonight had been so intense that it had woken him up.
He had no idea what exactly had happened, but the pictures had been a sort of temporal fragment impacting into Asuka's dreams and he'd witnessed them. They were only disconnected scenes, but their content had made him surprisingly distressed. Scenes of suffering and death that had hit quite close.
Looking up to the crescent waxing moon, his conflicting emotions finally became clear to him. While he wanted to free his father Adam, he had started to feel comfortable on this world. Part of him actually didn't want to leave it any longer.
The inner conflict left him wondering, how this could have happened to him this fast.
to be continued...
Next Chapter: In our Midst
Notes
The main piece of this chapter of course is the Shinto wedding. I had researched long and hard to get it as accurate as possible (with changes explained in the story). I really didn't want to be culturally ignorant and respect the culture of Japan in this instance. I think all the hard work did pay off, especially with all the little details put in.
The Ritsuko-Maya plot is also moving along nicely. I had decided to have it develop strongly before the big final batte, since I hate half-cooked relationships in stories. Other than that, I wanted to give everyone some screentime.
There are massive changes for Revival. The scene between Ritsuko and Maya was heavily rewritten. The entire weddig scene got a massive rewrite as well to fix numerous problems and make it flow better. The scene in the home economics room is new. The basketball and Rei scenes got altered as well.