.hack//EVA: Catharsis
Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.
" " denotes speech
'italics' denotes thought
'bold' denotes location names
'bold italics' denotes skill use
Tokyo-3 1st Municipal Junior High School, Classroom 2-A
The bell rang. To be more precise, the lunch bell rang, but for a wonder, the students were not bolting out of their seats to get to their recreational activities. Why? Maybe it's the way that their new teacher, Yumi Aranami, had entranced them with her teaching technique. Just now she had called the trio that would in another version of this universe be known better as the Three Stooges to the front of the classroom in order to demonstrate a basic concept.
A bit nervous, the three young men stood in front of the classroom, feeling the weight of many eyes upon them. They each had some reason to be ill at ease: Touji had been eyeing girls and sending instant messages, as usual (at least after he managed to convince himself that the Class Rep wasn't standing behind him with a scythe, poised to strike at the slightest indiscretion); Kensuke had been trying to hack school records to find out more about the teacher, and to discover more about the legendary Epitaph of Twilight; and Shinji…well, he didn't like being put on the spot—and he had glanced over at both Ayanami and the new student a few times, even being caught once.
It was quiet enough in that room to hear a pin drop, at least if the pin had been the precursor to a massive explosion, since no one was paying attention to surrounding sounds. They were simply glad that they were not the ones in front of the classroom like criminals about to be indicted.
This was too much for dear Morganna, who upon seeing the stricken expressions on their faces, let out a delightfully throaty laugh at their show of discomfiture.
"Relax, gentlemen," she said, "though believe me, I am using the term in the loosest possible sense. I'm not going to hurt you or punish you for your imagined crimes…I only want to use you for a demonstration. Besides, if I was going to have you punished, I'm sure your Class Representative can handle that much. So calm yourselves…though as they say, hope is the best spice to bring out despair."
She smiled a rather broad smile, which caused Shinji to begin chanting his mantra in his head, while Touji and Kensuke just exchanged a glance and gulped. Listening closely, one might detect a playful edge to her voice, though with a new teacher, no one ever knows how dangerous this particular dance of words would be.
Morganna merely rolled her eyes though, enjoying her little mind games.
"Come now, I am scarcely the Terror of Death, or the Avenger come after you. I just want you to close your eyes and imagine something for me. Is that alright? Good…now close your eyes."
The trio did so hesitantly, though not without at least a sigh of relief. The class watched intently as their teacher continued:
"You are out in the courtyard during lunchtime. You are sitting together, enjoying the air, the grass beneath you, and the gossip about one girl or another. All of the sudden, you see a pretty girl coming towards…oh, say…Mr. Ikari. She is smiling and seems to have eyes for only him."
Knowing these particular three, the responses were a foregone, if slightly comedic conclusion.
"DUDE! WHY DOES HE GET ALL THE BABES!" shouted one indignantly, his eyes snapping open to glare at the speaker before he realized what he had done. "Eeep!"
"I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away," mumbled another under his breath, clenching his eyes tightly shut.
As for the third one, well, his hand inched towards where his camera would normally be, only to halt when he realized where he was.
All around them, laughter filled the air, with the exception of a Class Rep who didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or strangle Touji in frustration. Thankfully, no one noticed here in the tumult, which only subsided when the teacher waved her hands. They wanted to see what she would do next, since today was already proving entertaining.
"In terms of the psyche, can anyone tell me what these three might represent—yes, Ms. Horaki?"
"The id, the ego, and the…." Hikari trailed off, clearly uncertain about whether Kensuke could be considered a superego or anything else even remotely resembling a conscience.
"I believe the term you are looking for is superego, though I can understand your confusion since Mr. Aida can probably only be considered ethical in the loosest sense of the term, much as that is likely the only way he can be considered a gentleman."
Snickers arose from the back of the class, though they quickly fell silent with a piercing glance from the instructor. There was something about her deep purple eyes that was oddly disturbing, as if she had seen the entirety of human nature as well as all your individual sins and secret.
"Now, and feel free to simply call it out, what about in terms of the Epitaph? Which of the aspects of the mind is Suzahara?"
"The Propagation?" guessed one student.
"Well, he's certainly not the Temptress. Very good, you were paying attention," smirked Morganna. "And Aida? What is he?"
"The Machinator!" shouted out several students this time.
Morganna nodded approvingly, and then scanned the crowd for a person who might meet her eyes without flinching. Not Lycoris, as the two of them were far too well known to one another, but…ah, that one would do.
"Ms. Ayanami, can you tell me which aspect Ikari would symbolize?" she asked, purple eyes meeting crimson ones in a silent contest of wills.
"…The Terror of Death," said the pale, blue-haired girl impassively, after only a moment of consideration.
"Very good. Thank you, Ms. Ayanami, and thank you boys for so kindly agreeing to come up here. You have helped me out quite a bit. Anyway, you are all dismissed for lunch!" called out Morganna.
The students filed out of the room, a good number of them chuckling at the plight of the "volunteers" (with the rest merely glad that they had not been chosen). The chosen ones, on the other hand, looked between themselves anxiously, breathing a sigh of relief when there was no—
"—SUZUHARA!"
Well, thought the hapless jock, I'm doomed.
"Cleaning duty for you and Aida after school today!" Hikari quietly voiced in a manner that meant she wasn't joking around. Sure, she could shout loudly enough to match anyone else, but it was when she got really angry that her voice would lower…
"But Class Rep…eep!"
The words died in Touji's throat, as Hikari twisted his ear and whispered menacingly to him.
"Not…another…word."
With that, she left, leaving the three to their own devices. Silence reigned in the classroom, echoing as loudly as droplets plummeting down Arche Kloen Falls.
"Er…want to have lunch with us?" said the jock at last, speaking to the one who was still doing a rather good imitation of a sunburnt tomato. "Earth to Ikari?"
"Wha—oh. Sorry, I was just thinking."
"About what? I bet it was about that new girl. Yeah, we saw you looking at her. What is it that you like about her? Her boobs?" asked Touji with a leering expression on his face.
"Her thighs?" chimed in Kensuke, always interested in a bit of teasing.
"Her calves?" said the Idiot duo in unison.
"N-no…I was just thinking," stammered Shinji.
Do they have to do that…they're almost like…Arano and Aruna from The World…. I wonder if they play…
"Oh," said the Idiot Duo, visibly deflated. The jock brightened first though. "Lets eat, I'm starved."
Tokyo-3 1st Municipal Junior High School, Courtyard
Since "Reimeiki Hakubo" was a new student, Hikari had shown her around the school, pointing out classrooms, restrooms, the pool and other areas, along with various groups of people to talk to, avoid, or just be way of. Now the two were now looking for a place to have lunch, though Lycoris was still giggling a bit from the way that the lesson had gone. Morganna had been far more effective than she would have thought, and it brought a smile to her face to see the reactions of those three boys, particularly Shinji.
I wonder if that's what it would have looked like if Alberio had ever blushed. But then, Alberio was always too pure of purpose for that, even if he was…wrong about some things—
"—I asked where you wanted to have lunch, Hakubo-san?" said Hikari gently, in a far cry from how she had just treated Touji.
Not knowing the complex schema of interpersonal dynamics that existed in any school, particularly this one, Lycoris simply pointed to the hill, where the blue-haired mystery named Rei Ayanami sat alone.
"Are you…sure? I don't have anything against going over there, but Ayanami-san can be a little…strange sometimes."
"Everyone has some strangeness about them, much as everyone in the world is blessed," Lycoris replied Lycoris, with a gentle smile on her face. "Besides, she looks lonely over there…why don't we join her?"
Hikari sighed. There would be no arguing with "Reimeiki Hakubo", and she supposed that she could humor the new student for today. Maybe today would be the day when someone was able to get the rather reticent blunette to talk…maybe, though she wouldn't bet on it.
Nodding her head, she waved her companion over towards the hill, where the First Child waited, watching with unblinking crimson eyes. Rei Ayanami was curious as to why those two were approaching, to say the least, having questions not only about the mysterious arrival of the new student, but about the Class Representative as well. Her mind remembered a certain phrase spoken by a Flick Reaper in The World: 'In life, I am called the light. In The World, Tomoyami of the Shadow is my name…'
Light and Darkness…Hikari and Tomoyami? Most interesting…
The focus of her thoughts had approached quietly, trailing the silver-haired transfer student who had apparently come from Germany.
"Ayanami-san, may we join you?" asked the Class Rep.
"…Hai," came the reply, after a few awkward moments of silence.
Lycoris took the moment to smile slightly as she and the Class Rep took seats on the grassy knoll. She recognized the girl sitting before her, or at least a version of her, from her time in the Void, though the recognition was most assuredly not mutual. Thus, the logical thing would be for her to introduce herself, much as she might have in The World if she had been free.
"Hello, Ayanami-san. My name is Reimeiki Hakubo," she said, genuinely pleased to meet someone new…and someone who seemed as she used to be in some ways.
"…What is your purpose here?" asked Rei impassively, who was not used to human interactions, much less someone simply introducing herself. Formal relationships were much more her cup of tea, as she knew how to behave. Anything else was…irrelevant.
'Though perhaps not completely so, as The World has no formal relationships yet,' she mused, considering, not for the first time, the possible reasons that she had been ordered to take part in that game.
"Questing for liminality, Ayanami-san. I was hoping…we could be friends."
Looking at Rei Ayanami, one might be able to see a flicker of emotion in her eyes, containing traces of both puzzlement and dismissal. But was there anything she felt inside of the emotionless shell of hers?
"Why?" she questioned, her tone bland and uncaring, her face hiding the troubled bitterness inside her core.
Lycoris hesitated for a moment before speaking. To say too much would be to condemn herself, to say too little, leading only to rejection.
"Do you play The World?" the silver haired girl asked, seeming to change the topic, as Hikari looked on, curious as to how this conversation would turn out.
"That is irrelev—" But Rei was interrupted by Lycoris, who proceeded to tell her why she played…and not for escapist reasons, either.
"—I see it as…my bond"
"Bond? To a game?"
Rei narrowed her eyes slightly, barely perceptible except to one who was looking for a change, no matter how minute. And if one listened closely, Rei's voice seemed to have a brittle edge to it that no one had ever heard in the past.
"To all people," responded Lycoris at last. "Not to a game, but to all people. Friendship is the same sort of bond, not only a bond of individuals, but one of all. We are not too different, you and I."
A cool breeze rustled the branches of the cherry tree, so that some of the sakura petals wafted about the trio of girls, creating an effect not unlike a gate-out in The World as Lycoris looked at Rei, waiting for a reply. There was silence, as the seconds ticked by into minutes, until the pale blue-haired pilot finally spoke, looking down at the grass.
"I'm sorry. I do not know what to say at a time like this..."
"I think you should just say 'yes,'" smiled Lycoris, holding out a hand. "Friends?"
"Yes," Rei said, looking blankly at the outstretched hand.
Seeing this, both Lycoris and Hikari chuckled.
"You're supposed to shake on it," said the Class Rep, "but that's enough for now. So…Ayanami-san, you said you play The World?"
Tokyo-3 1st Municipal Junior High School, Rooftop
While the girls were talking, the Three Stooges sat on the roof of the school of the roof, eating and partaking in their usual everyday activities. In other words, they were once again causing trouble for one another, talking about The World and (most definitely) teasing Shinji about his lack of luck with the fairer sex.
"Spill, man. How do you know the transfer student?" asked the excitable jock.
"Yeah, you two seemed pretty close when you walked her over this morning," added Kensuke, his eyebrows waggling up and down for effect.
"Did you spend the night together or something? You look tired, like you didn't get much sleep," leered Touji, no doubt mentally picturing his interpretation of the situation.
"Or did she come over to yours, proclaiming her," and this is where Kensuke used some falsetto to try and imitate Lycoris' voice, "—undying love for the great Shinji-sama, pilot of Eva 01!"
As previously noted, Shinji's heart was in excellent condition. Not only could this be shown from his time running away from his problems, and being able to sustain a berserker rage, but also through how quickly his entire body turned a shade of red.
Seeing this, Touji crowed in triumph, knowing that blushing was a sure sign of embarrassment, which his brain told him meant that he was right.
"So," he said with a mock-offended tone, looking over at the designated pilot of Unit 01, who was at that moment trying to shrink into the ground, "you like Hakubo, eh? I always thought you had the hots for Ayanami! Or…maybe you want both of them…you sly dog."
He winked, and got Shinji into a headlock, in which he administered a most devastating punishment for hiding information/being a player: a noogie.
Kensuke shot him what was clearly a worried glance, but Touji didn't pay attention to that, or to the pair of golden eyes to regard him from the ground. After a couple of minutes of his not-so-tender ministrations, the jock grew bored and let Shinji go. The pilot by now was red not from embarrassment as much as annoyance.
And then it was Kensuke's turn to talk, as the jock had exhausted his repertoire of taunts…for now.
"So, about Aranami-sensei's project…do you play The World?" asked the bespectacled geek.
Shinji breathed a silent sigh of relief as the topic turned away from his love life (whether lack thereof or perceived successes), and to something more innocuous. Or so he hoped, at least.
"The World?" he echoed, wanting to see where this conversation would lead.
"Yeah, The World. I'm surprised you haven't heard of it…everyone's talking about it, especially since R2 came out. It's the MMORPG made by CC Corp, the same people behind the ALTIMIT OS, and is wildly popular."
"We help out newbies in The World, and man, there are some hot babes in there. There was even this one redhead who—"
But Touji was interrupted in mid-reminisce by Kensuke, who was a little annoyed at him because of a certain incident in the past.
"—proved that just like in real life, you do your thinking with your brawn and your…smaller head."
"WHY YOU!" the jock began, only to be cut off by a finger pointing down towards the courtyard. He followed the line made by the finger over to a grassy knoll where sat (surprise, surprise) the Class Rep, Ayanami, and the new student, who were in their turn looking towards the source of the outburst. Touji just gulped and turned back as if he had been stung.
"Gets him every time, even in game," Kensuke mentioned casually, making Touji grit his teeth in frustration.
Shinji chuckled at how the two friends treated one another, recalling a duo who treated each other similarly in The World, but who had each other's backs if push really came to shove. But then it was Kensuke's turn to play the "let's rib Shinji" game, as he slyly mentioned a few things about characters there.
"You know, you really should try it out. There are some pretty cute girls there, even ones that look like your dear Ayanami-chan. Blue hair, red eyes, legs that go on to infinity…and in The World, you can do anything you want," he said, rather suggestively. When Shinji blushed again, Kensuke laughed and put on a pale imitation of an innocent expression, "I meant be a knight in shining armor and sweep the girls off their feet. What did you think I meant?"
"I-I-I…" stammered Shinji, just as the lunch bell rang, and the students collectively groaned, turning for the classroom once again.
Saved by the bell…I just hope that Aranami-sensei doesn't use me as an example for something again. The first time was embarrassing enough…
NERV HQ, Tokyo-3, Bridge
Having come back from her coffee run, Maya Ibuki was feeling slightly better. Then again, imbibing some of the most common psychoactive drug on the planet (caffeine) always did seem to help her stay awake during a repetitive series of analyses. Not that coffee was her elixir of life, but it did come close.
She sat at a MAGI terminal, anticipating another long and dreary day of processing Angel data that would yield results no different than she had been dealing with. Taking a fragment of core, the mousy brunette lab tech placed it under the scanning equipment and activated the start sequence.
There was a rumbling and beeping, quickly returning a result. With baited breath she turned, thinking that maybe this time, there would be something.
"Error 601: Unable to Analyze"
'I really wish I could just have Aura take a look at this,' came a dark thought from the recesses of her mind, 'or that I could take a break and go into The World without risk. Though why we used an error code from Andromeda Strain is beyond me…green flashing patterns and all.'
She glanced around, making sure that no one was in the immediate area, and then activated a few programs to run interference for her while she did her other "work."
And if nothing else, Bith will cover for me. It is rather pleasant that my associate ended up working at this facility with me.
It wasn't as if anything too unusual would happen today, or that results would miraculously pop up. Besides, if something came up, she could always claim to have been doing diagnostic work. Life was better when no one suspected you, she had come to realize.
A few keystrokes later, she had looped the surveillance video again, put on her headset, and keyed her way into The World. Her character, Tsukinoki, was in Mac Anu now, wandering the streets, though she would soon be off to another place, preferably one of the Lost Grounds within The World: R2. If not in the Net Slums, she had always felt most comfortable there, in the place where all had stood against the Cursed Wave,
A low voice sounded from behind her, quoting a cryptic line of text
"…And Helba, Queen of the Dark, has finally raised her army."
Tsukinoki whirled to see who it was, recognizing a small barefooted girl with saffron hair, reddish-purple eyes and a white dress, holding a lycoris flower. For once, even she was surprised, as she had not anticipated seeing the daughter of Aura, but perhaps there would be answers.
"I thought you had returned to the wind?" she inquired, her eyes sharp and narrow with curiosity.
"I return to bring a message to one who helped mother long ago, to the one who guided the Twilight Dragon in his quest," replied Zefie, "Aura is... Aura is... Integrated into The World. She threw away individuality and became a 'God', then threw away being a 'God' and distanced herself from cause and effect, returning to inactivity, leaving The World to its players. She has not vanished, and may one day appear again."
Zefie smiled at Tsukinoki, looking up to her as she started to vanish into the air once more.
"So go seek out a new purpose in The World, and remember, we'll be there watching, one day to return."
With that, the saffron-haired girl completely disappeared, leaving behind a thoughtful Tsukinoki, who more firmly resolved to ensure that the AIDA would not become a threat to The World that she so dearly loved.
The sound of a gate in, and a golden spiral of light, as Rumor materialized in Mac Anu. The small gray-haired Harvest Cleric saw the Queen of the Dark, and strode towards her, waving his staff nervously.
"Greetings, my Queen. Rumor has it that the activity of the spots is increasing. Shall we be off to another place to converse amongst ourselves?"
"Very well then," conceded the regally dressed Tsukinoki, "Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground!"
In a flurry of light, she vanished from the root town, only to be joined a moment later by the mysterious Rumor.
Tokyo-3 1st Municipal Junior High School, Classroom 2-A
Class this time was not quite as traumatic for Shinji as he might have feared. He was not used as an example, embarrassed, or called out in front of the class, much to his relief, though he was caught glancing over at both Ayanami and the silver-haired Hakubo, the former by the Idiot Duo and the latter by the girl in question, who had simply smiled at him knowingly.
Time flew by, and before long, class was nearing its end, though the teacher had one more question for them to solve.
"I simply need someone to solve this riddle for me, from the Epitaph of Twilight. If someone can, then I will give you your first homework assignment" she smirked, as groans were heard in the classroom, "…and then you may go for the day."
As if from memory, Morganna spoke, reciting an Epigraph spoken by a dragon in the text:
The Keel Mountains traversed at last,
we met a dragon that spoke thus:
"Sheraton am I, who interprets the signs.
An answer to my question, give.
If you can, complete my role will be,
and I will leave this land.
Though equally it exists before everyone's eyes,
grasp it not one person can.
Tell me—what is it?"
Finishing, she looked expectantly at her students, who all had looks of puzzlement and uncertainty upon their faces. They looked between one another, wondering if one of their number might be able to answer the question.
After a few minutes of thought, no one had yet figured out the answer, so Morganna was forced to use a different tactic.
"The first person to give me a correct response gets 2 points of extra credit."
This created a clamor, and quickly, a young man raised his hand.
"Your shadow?" he asked tentatively, only to receive a "no" in response.
A few more minutes passed, as different answers were tossed out and rejected, before Lycoris decided that she would have to respond or the class would never end.
"The moment," she said with confidence, as Morganna nodded.
"That is correct. Alright then…your assignment for tonight is simply to go over the first segment of the Epitaph and to create a character in The World. I expect a one page summary of your experiences tomorrow, with extra credit if you can get me the field keywords of locations described in the Epitaph. Class dismissed!"
The class representative stood up, calling out: "Stand, Bow, Sit!"
Quickly, the students obeyed, fearful of the Rep's great wrath, and then began to disperse for the day, with a couple trying to sneak out in the confusion. Or rather they began to, but found the way barred to them by a very red-in-the-face Hikari Horaki.
"You weren't thinking of skipping out on cleanup duty, were you?" she whispered menacingly, the air almost seeming to crackle about her in quietly murderous rage.
The Idiot Duo gulped in unison, and shook their heads at the thought.
"Nope, wouldn't dream of it," they chorused, pale and wide-eyed, as they were dragged off to get cleaning supplies.
This left Shinji alone in the class with Lycoris, who walked up to him with a shy smile.
"Can you walk me home, Ecchi-san?" she said playfully, enjoying the way that the boy would blush furiously at that.
"Gomen ne! I'm sorry about this morning," he said, fully expecting to be hit now that he had served his purpose.
To his surprise, the pale, silver-haired girl laughed, her amusement reflected in those captivating golden eyes of hers.
"I'm not going to hit you, Ikari-kun. I just wanted to ask if you would walk me home. You see, I'm new to this city, and you walked me to school, so I don't really know my own way."
He looked up, and swallowed nervously. Someone wanted to walk home with him? Someone who he had violated this morning? Someone who…was laughing off the violation?
Shinji's famous battle cry (or whimper) was beginning to play in his head once more, a familiar litany of words that strung together to say: "I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away."
"H-hai," he managed, opening the door for her.
They walked in a semi-awkward silence for a time, before Lycoris thought of something safe to talk about: schoolwork.
"Ikari-kun…do you play The World?"
Shinji froze in his steps, having been asked that question too many times in the day. The beginnings of panic could be seen forming in his eyes, as his legs twitched, wanting to run away.
If I say yes, then she'll ask who I am in The World. If I say no, then I'm lying…and I don't want to li—
He found his eyes only inches away from the one he had been walking with, azure orbs gazing into golden ones. She was standing all too close to him, he thought, flinching as she touched his hand.
"Oh relax, Ecchi-san." The playful tone was back, meaning that no good was going to come of this, thought Shinji. "I just wanted to know so that I could thank you for being such a gentleman today."
"T-t-thank me?" he asked incredulously, "Why would you thank me? I-I…"
She'll probably just PK me…I know it. Just like that person in The World who I accidentally knocked into the water…why do I always have such bad luck? Why me?
Lycoris smiled, shaking her head at Shinji's obvious discomfiture.
"You walked me to school and you're walking me back, even though you don't know me. And you apologized more than once, meaning you feel guilty. I know you're not a pervert, Ikari-kun. Just meet me in The World, at Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground. I have something to show you," she said, her fingers lingering for a moment upon his hand before pulling away.
I knew it…she's acting just like Eris, playing with me, pretending to accept my apology so that she can kill me. But…I violated her, and in real life. I deserve whatever punishment she can administer…I'm just grateful she didn't call me out in class.
"H-hai," he said with a touch of resignation, accepting his defeat. The moment was broken, and the two stepped apart, looking down and blushing a bit as they realized just how close they had been standing.
They walked together to the corner where the two had run into one another that morning, and said their goodbyes, Shinji nervously and Lycoris playfully. Parting company, they headed to their respective dwellings, where guardians and The World awaited.
Misato's Apartment
The door burst open and a dejected Third Child entered, gulping at his inevitable pain and suffering to come. It had not been a bad day, overall, with Suzuhara's half-hearted apology and new teacher, but he was mortified by some of the other events that had happened. Being used as a demonstration for psychological terms, getting mercilessly teased by his new "friends," and being embarrassed beyond all reason by a beautiful transfer student had not been part of his scenario!
But, he thought, he was Shinji, meaning that all of his plans were doomed to failure anyway. Why run from the pain when it would just come back to find you? The best thing to do was just to shut your eyes and hope for the best.
It was odd, the sounds of an empty apartment. Misato wasn't home, presumably still doing paperwork at NERV, and so the only occupant would be—
"WARK WARK!"
Well, perhaps he had forgotten to take Pen-Pen into account, as the vociferous penguin demanded its afternoon repast. Rolling his eyes, Shinji went to the refrigerator and prepared a couple of sardines for the bird, before heading into his "lovely suite" and closing the door behind him.
His homework (if one could call playing The World homework) awaited, as did the one who he concluded would probably be his tormentor. Yes, she was pretty, but she had almost given him a heart attack…and well, Eris had been pretty too, up until the point she had tried to cut him in half.
Walking over to his desk, he plunked himself down into his chair, picked up the headset and turned on the computer. When the welcome screen popped up, he clicked 'Log in', and synched to his game character, as the room around him faded away to reveal the Root Town of Mac Anu.
He materialized in front of the Chaos Gate, watching as a very familiar figure passed him by, one who looked just like—
Wait…Ayanami? No…why would Ayanami play this? It has to be a coincidence, right?
His heart pounded in shock and near-panic, as he tried to talk himself out of it.
It can't be…its just a—
The figure turned to look at him, studying his character design intently (which, for most purposes, was a male copy of Rei with longer hair), as two sets of crimson eyes met.
"Curious," was all the other said before gating out to parts unknown.
Rather shaken, Shinji hesitantly input the keywords that would lead him to another encounter with the mysterious transfer student, hoping against hope that perhaps she would not PK him on sight, as golden whorls of light whisked him away.
Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground
Skari appeared in a cascade of light, in front of the majestic Hulle Granz Cathedral, the place which hid heaven. The only sound there was the whispering of the wind that ruffled his hair, with no other in sight.
Perhaps she just forgot about me? Or maybe I'm early…
Taking a deep breath, he entered through the massive double doors and found himself within the cathedral, light pouring through the stained glass window behind the altar. Something about that compelled him to go forth, and so he stepped forward, closer and closer to the front of the church.
An empty pedestal where something used to be, with strange words inscribed into its base.
'Skeith. Innis. Magus…and the rest I cannot read…'
Footsteps sounded from behind him, with a cool voice reflecting, somewhat wistfully: "There was a statue here once…"
He whirled about, hands reaching for his blades, only to fall limply to his sides when he saw that the other was unarmed. This other was a young girl clad in a red dress marked with an infinity symbol, an adorable red cape clasped about her delicate shoulders. Her hair, silvery with red streaks, streamed uncased down her lithe form, decorated with crimson ribbons and a spider lily behind one ear, and her eyes shone golden in the twilight sun.
"Hakubo-san?" Skari questioned, wanting to be sure who this was.
"In this place…call me Lycoris, Ecchi-san, or should I say Skari?" she replied lightly, a smile playing across her lips. She looked away, a far away expression on her face, as if remembering something from the distant past. "An old man lived here once, and later…the statue of a young girl, in this place once called the Navel of Lake."