Chapter 38: Becoming Intangible
The weekend became an impasse in gathering or collecting information from the Third Child. The tension in the Katsuragi household was still high when the two Eva pilots were present. Fortunately, Misato had the weekend off in which she could relax and go do something that was non-NERV related. Asuka left each day earlier to go spend time with Hikari for most of the day. Rei went to NERV. In the Geo-Front, there were a few monument sitting areas that were connected by a walking path. She spent a good portion of time walking the pathway trying to collect herself and organize her thoughts. Sitting when tired, her usual sitting spot was looking at one of the large water fountain. No one heard or saw the male pilot during the weekend.
The next day at school, Rei arrived at her usual early time. She couldn't sleep well from having one of her void dreams. It comprised of an endless sea of thoughts, questions, guesses, and uncertainties. The dream seemed to be a mash-up of what happened Friday evening and the mental organization from the weekend. Rubbing her eyes, she headed to the stairs that would lead to her homeroom. The closer she got, the more awake she became.
'Ikari should be there already,' she thought climbing up the steps.
'Despite being discharged from the Captain's household, everything else should be the same,' Rei thought getting to the top of the stairs.
'I overreacted that day…that is all,' she thought and opened the door.
"…" Rei said seeing an empty classroom.
Blinking, she looked to the left and right. There was no one that she recognized coming to where she was. Entering, she headed toward her desk. Looking at the Third Child's desk, there was nothing hiding around it. Reaching hers, she set her bag on the ground and sat down. Thinking that he will probably arrive early anyway, she looked out the window to her left and waited.
"…" Ayanami said as remaining students were trickling in. The male pilot had still not shown up. When Asuka arrived, she was talking with the Class Rep. Both didn't move to look at each other or acknowledge the other's presence. Toji and Kensuke came in from the other entrance at the back of the classroom. Shinji wasn't with them. Seeing that class was about to start, three students walked in together from the left entrance. None of them were the Third Child.
Despite feeling anxious of waiting for him to arrive, she reasoned with herself that it was his choice to come to school or not. Repeating that statement a couple of times did not push the anxiety down. Believing that the dream was trying to affect her, she would push it aside throughout the day. The school bell rang and the teacher walked in.
"Stand Up. Bow. Be seated," Hikari stated and the students followed. When Rei took her seat, she glanced over at Shinji's desk.
'…!?' she thought in surprise seeing him sitting in his seat with his school laptop open.
'How did he get in without me noticing?' she pondered blinking and looked at the window. She saw her expression and fixed it from being surprised to impassive. Turning back forward, the teacher started today's lecture. Glancing at the clock, she waited for a bit before sending him a message.
Asuka didn't notice him entering the classroom either. Part of her wanted to tell her friend to stay away from him; however, she couldn't tell Hikari what he had done. The classified orders of the Info-Gave Operation prevented her from saying anything to anyone outside of the members involved. The hard part was she thought the Class Rep seemed to like the Third Child though didn't know why. Asuka couldn't see the First Child directly nor did she want to look at her. The expression and outburst a couple of days ago made her feel that she was in the wrong. But, the red-head knew she was right in what she said. Misato agreed with her.
"…" the Second Child said glancing at the back of the Third Child seeing him typing away. Internally berating herself for feeling sorry, she shook her head mentally.
'I don't care about him. I don't care about Wondergirl. I just need to focus on myself and make sure I am the top Eva pilot at all times. That is what matters and what is important to me,' Asuka thought feeling herself focus a little more.
After about 20 minutes into the lecture, Ayanami clicked on the messaging board program and selected the male pilot's name. Thinking about what to ask him out of so many questions, she couldn't decide. Remembering what they usually did in the morning before class, small talk seemed to be a good start. Placing her fingers on the keyboard, the anxiety picked up again.
'…there is nothing wrong…nothing has changed…I have nothing to be anxious about…he is here,' Rei thought and slowly began to type. About to hit send, her finger was trembling a little. Reassuring herself many times, she clicked on it.
Shinji was typing his notes when a notification of a message was sent to him. Waiting for his voices to tell him to answer it, they never did. All of them were acting very quiet today as they sat around the classroom. Each of them was doing an activity by themselves or playing a board game with one another. Glancing at each one of them, they never looked at him. Rana glanced back and smiled before going back to playing checkers with Shino.
"…" Shinji said with a blink then went back to typing notes.
"…" Rei said glancing at the back of his head. Looking back at her screen, no message replied back. The anxiety seemed to build a little bit.
'…no…he is just taking notes…he normally does not respond to messages during class,' the First Child thought looking out the window. 'I will ask him questions during break.'
When the first break sounded, Rei waited for the first wave of people to get up and leave. Looking in the window's reflection, she couldn't see well from the number of people blocking her view of where the male pilot was. Once the first wave passed, she turned her head.
"…?" Rei said seeing him not there.
'Where did he go?' she thought blinking. 'He normally does not leave for the first break…why?'
At the corner of her eye, she saw the red-head talk to the Class Rep. Instead of looking in her direction, she turned back to the window. The anxiety was still present. Convincing herself that he probably had to use the restroom, she waited for him to return. After a few minutes, the students started filling back in. Asuka was near the door while talking to Hikari. Deciding to head back to her seat, she turned and saw him in his seat.
'…?!' she thought quickly glancing while heading back to her seat. 'How did he get in?! I was watching the door?!'
'…how is Ikari able to…' Rei thought seeing him already in his seat. She never saw him enter or moving. It is like he appeared and disappeared. The teacher came back and started the next lecture.
"…" Shinji said typing his notes while ignoring the voices giggling evilly from their spots in the classroom.
He saw another notification of a message on his laptop. Looking at the voices, they were all reading different materials. Their faces were covered with books or magazines. Seeing that neither of them stated to open it, he continued typing his notes. Deciding to look at the messages during the next break, Shonj suddenly appeared in front of him. Wagging his finger at him with a shark smile, Shinji internally bowed and complied.
"…" Ayanami said glancing at his back again. Not even waiting for the anxiety to elevate, she stated to herself that there was more than one break to talk to him. Turning to the window, she kept trying to distract herself till the next break.
'Why isn't that idiot responding?' Asuka thought looking quickly at him. Thinking about what she did reactively, she shook her head and deleted her message.
'I don't care and I don't want to know,' she thought refocusing.
The second break came around and the same result happened. Both Rei and Asuka didn't see him get up and leave despite his seat being empty. Asuka asked Hikari to go with her to the bathroom as an attempt to spot him coming in from the outside. Rei also got up and left the classroom. She waited outside the left entrance door to see if he was hiding behind classmates. As the break neared its end, both didn't see him walking back to the classroom. Rei walked back inside and saw his desk was still empty.
'He is not at his desk…he will be late,' she thought walking back to her seat. Both Hikari and Asuka came in from the other entrance. The Class Rep headed toward her seat while Asuka headed toward hers.
'Ha! That idiot will be late!' she thought passing Toji who was resting his arms behind his head looking up at the ceiling. His feet and legs were resting on top of his desk. Sitting down at her seat, she trained her eyes at the left entrance door to see if the male pilot came running in. A student passed to her left which she ignored.
"Man, that really helped," Kensuke stated with a smile getting up from the floor and sitting in his seat to the left of the jock.
"Yea? What did Shin-man help you with?" Toji said looking over.
'…what!?' Rei thought almost at her desk. Turning to her left, the Third Child walked to the front and sat at his desk. Her brain was starting to hurt as an irritation was starting to grow. It reminded her of when she wasn't able to predict his actions.
'…he was here the whole time?…' she thought confused. Blinking, she sat down at her seat feeling the mixture emotions and thoughts.
'How did he know?! God damn it, he is freaking pissing me off!' Asuka thought with irritation watching him walk back and sit down. 'If he doesn't respond again, I'm going to kick his ass!'
As next period started, Shinji continued typing. Sno told him not to respond to the message that popped up. Blinking, Shinji continued typing notes. When the class period was getting near the end, the teacher stated he needed materials for the next periods after lunch. Asking for volunteers, no one raised their hand until Shinji raised his hand with an impassive face.
"Ah, thank you Ikari," he said walking toward him and handing him a piece of paper. "The location of the materials is in the administration building. They should be in the staff conference room. Ask the receptionist if you have trouble. I'll let you leave early."
'Damn it!' Asuka thought clenching her teeth. 'I'll track him down during lunch and make him tell me!'
'…' Rei thought clenching her hands into loose fists.
"Very well sir," Shinji said standing up and bowed a little.
He walked toward the door and the voices followed. They started laughing like hyenas and made faces at all the students before exploding into bloody pieces. Gore shot far and wide in the classroom splattering many students and the teacher. All of them felt a cold chill go through them, but shrugged it off. He opened and closed the door without turning around. Hikari watched as the sliding door didn't even make a sound while being closed and hitting the door frame.
'That is pretty ninja like…guess what Asuka says about him seems true,' she thought then turned back to the teacher. She didn't see the pulsating bleeding heart beating on her desk from one of the voices.
Seeing that he did not turn around made Rei bite the inside of lip a little. The view reminded her of the Commander walking away. However, it felt different. When Gendo walked away, it was usually a departing knowing that they will meet again. When the Third Child walked away, it felt cold and distant. It made her feel that she was starting to lose something. Not too sure why she felt that way, she pushed it aside. Thinking that he may need some help carrying the items needed, she decided to head toward the administration building during the lunch break.
When lunch period came around, everyone stood up and started heading for the exit doors. Hikari stood up and was going to ask Asuka where to go for lunch; however, she saw the red-head immediately exit out of the right door with a stern face. Blinking in confusion, she saw Ayanami walk toward the left door with her usual stoic face.
'Wonder where they are going?' Hikari thought frowning a little at Asuka leaving.
Sitting back down, she started getting out her lunch. She saw the remainder of students leave the classroom. Toji and Kensuke usually left to go get lunch at the cafeteria. Remembering that there was a special today, it would explain why everyone left. Sighing a little from being alone and thinking of what to do for a bit, she started to hear heavy footsteps climbing up the stairs. Slowly, Shinji walked in carrying all the materials needed for the next periods.
"Ikari?!" she said getting up watching him take careful even steps. He was carrying three folder crates with a few plastic bags hanging from his forearms.
"Good afternoon Ms. Horaki," he said carefully stepping over the bloody body parts of the voices that spilled from the door and into the classroom. The floor was littered with them and all of them were squirming a little.
"Here let me get the top one," she said grabbing the top. She felt how heavy they were seeing that he was shaking a little from the weight.
"Thank you…but that is quiet…" Shinji said bending down. Placing the crates on the floor, he avoided squishing Shonj's head. His face was locked in a mocking expression. "…alright."
"You carried them all the way from the staff building?" she asked seeing him nod. "You could have used a trolley."
"I see. I will remember that next time," he said turning to her and bowing a little. He went to his bag and opened it up to find an orange whirlpool inside. Blinking, he reached down into it feeling his hand burning as his skin started melting off.
"…" he said feeling his right eye twitch as he continued a little further and imagined closing his hand. Feeling nothing but grabbing air, he slowly brought out a sizzling metal box that was bright red. Despite feeling his pain receptors flaring wildly from his entire hand being melted off, he blinked. Everything turned to normal and he was holding is lunchbox.
"You haven't eaten lunch yet Ikari?" the Class Rep asked.
"I have not. Miss Soryu not eating with you today?" Shinji asked turning toward her with an impassive expression.
"Apparently not. She seemed preoccupied with something and left before telling me."
"How unfortunate," the male pilot said feeling an intense malice around him. The evil voice started whispering to him.
'…DeFiLe…rApE…MuTiLaTe…dEcApItAtE…GoRe…rIpApArT…SkIn…kIlL…BuTcHeR…sLaUgHtEr…lYnCh…BlOoDsHeD…ImPaLe…CrUcIfY…ElEcTrIcUtE…ToRtUrE…'
'…' Shinji said feeling goosebumps form on his neck. Its vile breath and sharp teeth were felt in various points around him. Despite feeling him, the evil voice was nowhere to be seen.
'Which do you wish for me to do sir?' he asked in his head.
'…e…a…t…e…a…t…E…A…T…E…A…T…EAT-EAT-EAT-EATEATEATEATEATEATEATEAT…' he began to say slowly then started repeating faster and faster raging louder and louder around him. Its physical presence was still nowhere to be seen. The voice's shouting started to become undistinguishable as it sounded like monsters roaring at each other continuously from everywhere.
"Yeesh," Hikari said suddenly shivering and rubbing her arms. "It's cold all the sudden."
'…with her…' he whispered clenching its teeth into an evil grin then slowly faded away.
'Very well sir,' Shinji thought bowing internally.
"Ms. Horaki," he said grabbing her attention. "I do know a warm place that I tend to go to when I am cold. If you don't mind my company, would you care to join me?"
"…s-sure," she said smiling a little. Grabbing her lunchbox, both left the classroom.
"I just saw him a little while go. He left with all the materials," the receptionist stated to Ayanami. "Another student from your class came in and asked a similar question regarding if Ikari got the materials."
"I see," Rei said and nodded. "Thank you."
'If he had already gathered the materials, then he should be in the classroom eating his lunch,' she thought leaving the administration building. The pattern of not being able to catch him was frustrating and making her feel off. The emotions from the night a couple of days ago was starting to bleed into her mind. So far, she has been able to push it aside. Repeating the Commander's words that emotions cloud judgment and that they were unnecessary, it kept her from worrying.
Walking through the open school grounds between buildings, she saw someone coming out of the classroom. It was the Second Child. She looked down at her then went down the stairs quickly. Reaching the ground and heading toward her with an unfriendly face, Rei stare back at her coldly.
"Where is he?" Asuka asked with her hands in fists.
"I do not know."
"Hmph," the Second Child said then passed her. "Some help you are."
"Why do you care?" Ayanami replied coldly and continued toward the classroom.
"…" Asuka said gritting her teeth, but kept walking in the opposite direction.
By the time Rei climbed the stairs to the homeroom, her hands unfolded from being in tight fists. Looking in the classroom, there was only a couple of students that came back. However, the Third Child was not there. Her head started to hurt from not being able to keep up with the changes to his routine. It started to make her think that what happened a couple of nights before did trigger something.
'…I…I don't like this…' she thought with a downcast head and walked back to her desk. Sitting down, she put her arms on her desk and rested her head feeling drained. Turning her head and looking out the window, she stared at the sky. She tried to collect her thoughts and control the resurgence of emotions. As more and more students filled into the classroom, she didn't move and kept looking out the window. She heard a familiar voice that made her frown.
"Hikari!" Asuka stated walking toward her. She was at her desk putting her lunchbox away. "Where were you?"
"Where was I? You left without telling me anything," the Class Rep said curling one corner of her mouth down.
"Ah…sorry. I had some personal business to take care of."
"Oh? You still could have told me."
"I'll make it up to you next time," the red-head said with a smile that made Hikari stop her small frown and nod. The lunch bell ringed. Turning back to her seat, the Third Child was sitting in his seat with his eyes closed.
'…god I hate him…' she thought looking annoyed at him. Seeing the First Child slowly sit up, she wondered if he talked with her.
'…' Asuka said walking back to her seat. Based on her slight movement and change in expression, Rei didn't know he was there. Sitting down, she was going to nab him when the next break happened. The teacher walked in and was about to head toward his desk when he saw staff members at the door. Turning around, he walked to the door causing a couple of students to murmur. After a short discussion, the teacher turned his head.
"Ikari," he said and motioned him to come forth.
Shinji stood up and walked near them. A short discussion came across them in which Hikari could hear bits and pieces of the conversation. It seemed to regard volunteering over the next couple of days during the school trip. The class saw Shinji nod a little and the staffers bowed with smiles. Hikari heard them say about starting now and the male pilot bowed. The class watched Shinji turn around and close his laptop.
'…no…' Rei said watching him grabbed his backpack and put stuff inside.
'No! You have got to be kidding me!?' Asuka thought seeing him close up his backpack. The class saw him place his backpack sling over his head.
'…Ikari…wait…' Ayanami said feeling her anxiety growing. Both female pilots saw him not even look at them as he turned toward the staffers.
"Thanks for volunteering Ikari," the teacher said giving him a smile.
"…" Shinji said nodding his head a little. "Welcome sir."
The class watched as Shinji walked out of the classroom. Rei wanted to stop him, but cemented herself in her seat. The image of his back was not comforting from the distance they were at. As the door was closing, she blinked.
'…?!' Rei thought feeling her eyes widen a little.
The staffers were replaced with doctors that had pristine lab coats, instruments, and facial hair. Both their eyes and nose were clouded as they were smiling at the small boy that was in rags and bleeding in places. The door closed making a dull echoing thud. A hand rose up.
"Teach, where is Ikari going?" a student asked.
"I wouldn't be too concerned about him. Since the majority of you will be going on the school trip tomorrow, I think you all have more important things to do," he said with a smirk. His comment caused the classroom attitude to brighten up a bit. However, Asuka scowled at the comment and grunted in frustration.
'…' Rei said blinking and slowly turning to the window. Not sure what she saw, she thought about what she knows so far.
'Based on the police video, it is plausible that Ikari was a kidnapped victim…however, the Commander has detail documents of the male pilot's activities in the past…his uncle recorded them. Thus, he could not be a kidnap victim.'
'…however,' Ayanami pondered glancing back at where Shinji was last.
'Why did he react the way he did in the video?'
'How is he able to be so quiet?'
'How can his mental instability allow him to function normally without the need of medication?'
'Who was that altercation supposed to be?' she thought turning back to the window. Recalling the image of him walking away again, it made her feel sad. A sense of powerlessness tried to fester in her mind which didn't make her feel any better.
"…" she said sighing to herself. Something made her look back at her computer and saw that there was a message notification. Thinking it was from the male pilot, she immediately opened feeling her anxiety lessen a little.
[Hey Wondergirl! Where is the Third going?] Asuka messaged her.
"…" Rei said narrowing her eyes at the message. Any patience or tolerance for the Second Child she had was slowly going away. Instead of responding or looking over, she sent a direct message.
"…" Asuka said seeing the First Child close her laptop and turn to the window. Frowning, she turned back forward and crossed her arms over her chest. As much as she wanted to look neutral, she was ticked off.
"Damn her," she muttered under her breath.
The rest of the class continued. During the remaining quarter of the last period, the teacher stopped the lecture. He gave the class a couple of tourist spots of what to go look at when going into Okinawa if they haven't been there before. If they had any questions, the Class Rep would help answer them. Seeing their eager faces, he told them to go enjoy themselves. Hikari said the closing class procedure before the students got up excited about the trip.
"…" the Class Rep said watching eager faces exit the classroom. Gathering her materials, she heard footsteps coming toward her.
"Oh hey Asuka."
"Hey," the Second Child said with a tense face. "What are you doing after school today?"
"…" the Class Rep said noticing how stiff the red-head's face was. She looked like she was trying to mask being angry as her eyebrows were pulled down a little.
'She has been moody all day,' she thought wondering why. About to ask, she saw her mouth start to curl downward slightly. Glancing to her right, Hikari saw Ayanami heading toward the left entrance door. Oddly, the First Child looked mostly the same; however, the Class Rep felt her woman instincts flare.
"…" both Eva pilots said as neither of them looked at each other. Though that was normal to see, Hikari felt hostility between them when Ayanami passed by. It died away when the First Child walked out of the classroom.
'…that can't be healthy if they are living together,' the freckled student thought feeling a little nervous from that tension between them. Rethinking about what Asuka asked, she turned to her and saw that her face looked stern instead of angry.
"…um…I was going to go shopping for the trip before heading home."
"Cool. I go with you. I'll take you to the places I went to with Kaji days before!"
"A-Alright," Hikari said nodding as her wrist was grasped by her friend. She was pulled along as the red-head changed her demeanor. Heading towards the shopping district became awkward as Asuka ranted about both the First Child and Third Child. Despite wanting to defend the male pilot, she didn't voice anything. Instead, she tried to enjoy the Second Child's company.
Rei felt her hostility toward the Second Child die down the further she got away from her. Walking alone down the streets to Misato's apartment helped lower the tension more. Upon reaching her home and entering, she announced her arrival.
"I'm home," she said seeing that none of the other occupants were in. Taking off her shoes, she made her way to the living room. Nothing changed from how it looked over the weekend. Pen-Pen was nowhere to be seen. Going to her room, she placed her bag down and changed into comfortable attire. Coming back out, she headed toward the kitchen. Getting the items needed to make tea, she heard something open. Looking behind, Pen-Pen came out of his refrigerator.
"…" he said staring at the blue-hair female.
"…" Rei said blinking and looking at him.
Blinking at her, he waddled out of the kitchen and headed toward the bathroom. Turning back, she made her tea in silence. Once it was done, she brought it out to the dining table. Hearing the bathtub being filled, she sat down and poured herself a cup of tea. The hot liquid seemed to melt away small pieces of irritation from the day inside her. Concentrating on thinking about nothing helped her feel back to her normal self.
"…" Rei said finishing her tea. Looking around the apartment, it seemed a little untidy.
'If Ikari isn't coming back unless told to, I will have to do my share,' she thought standing up and began to pick up things.
After picking up things in the living room, the kitchen, and the hallways, she went to go eat something. Finding a little bit of food in the refrigerator amongst the large amount of beer cans, she closed it. Going to a cabinet, she grabbed one of the instant food cartons and prepared it. After consuming it and drinking more tea, Misato and Asuka still had not arrived home. Cleaning up her items, she spent the rest of the evening in her room.
'I will try again tomorrow,' Rei thought before drifting to sleep. The other members of the household didn't return till late in the night.
At school the next day, all the students going to the school trip assembled into their classrooms before being bused over to the airport. However, one student did not assemble with his class and was elsewhere. Rei grimaced on the inside that her attempt to communicate with the Third Child would not work today. Despite that failure, she kept a stoic face.
Later on, Asuka watched the airplane that was taking the school students to Okinawa on one of the school roof tops. She could still hear her friend and the two stooges' statements they said before leaving on the buses.
"I'll bring you a souvenir Asuka!" Hikari said.
"Gee, I feel sorry for you guys," Kensuke said while he filmed the pilots reactions. Asuka frowned at that while Rei expressed nothing.
"We'll have all the fun for you!" Toji stated and chuckled.
She could hear his laughter fading away in her mind. A scowl reached her face as she turned a heel and left the rooftop. Knowing where the First Child was, she avoided her still agitated from yesterday. As for where the Third Child was, all she could gather was what Hikari overheard from the staffers yesterday. Apparently, he was requested by the school staff to assist them in a volunteering event. Not even caring anymore about him, she tried to find something to occupy her self-study time.