Chapter 6: Unique Insights

Track #2 ended its last chord on a death scream which woke Shinji up. Looking to find a sense of reality, he calmed down and noticed that it was still dark outside. Reaching for his phone, he looked at the time. Seeing 12:59, placed it back down. About to go back to sleep, someone spoke in his head.

'Someone is longing for the parts…' a dark voice said calmly.

"..."

'Body and parts…to station…artist wants them,' the same voice starting to crack.

Choking sounds were heard followed by a screech that rang in his ears uncomfortably. Plugging them, the sound stopped. Removing his fingers after a while of silence, multiple screeches blasted in his ears. Strangely, there were slashing sounds in the background that started to dampen the loudness. When all became quiet, he felt more awake and looked at the corpse on the bed.

Nodding to no one, he went to a closet and retrieved his suit. Once on, he wrapped the body with the bed sheets and placed it on the floor. Going into the kitchen and opening a drawer, he retrieved a kitchen knife. Once back to the bed, he began tearing the mattress half opened. Removing some of the springs out, they were placed on the boxes that were still not emptied.

After a good amount of time of shoving, the corpse was placed in the crude body mattress bag. The body was shorter than the bed which made things easier to conceal to some extent. Searching through his boxes, Shinji found three straps that had two buckles each. They had attachments that allowed one to be able to have it connect to something. With the straps secured around the mattress, he went to the freezer and retrieved the plastic bag.

Making a final tie on it, he shoved the body part bag into the mattress that wasn't ripped open. Moving the straps and feeling them taut, he turned around and looked at his moving boxes. Going through them, he looked for the attachment that went with the straps. Finding it to be a back carrying-harness, he started to hook it on the straps around the mattress. Seeing everything was secured and would hold, he put on his black gloves. Once fasten, he dragged the mattress outside and down the stairs.

'What reason am I doing this for?' Shinji thought.

'Think of it as a midnight deliver service for the dead,' another voice said with dark enthusiasm.

'…'

'Come now…they are going to start without you… he he hee…heeeee…come again,' the voice started coming in and out. Not able to hear it clearly, sounds of metal straps tightening and chocking something ringed through his head.

"…" Shinji said.

On the ground, he lifted the mattress onto his back. Moving the straps over his shoulders just like a backpack, he tested his movability. Though heavy and cumbersome, the pilot was capable of walking. Looking at the midnight lights of Neo-Tokyo, he blinked a couple of times. Looking forward, he began the long walk back to the police station.

Back at NERV, Ritsuko was looking over the synch and medical test results of the Third Child. Much to her frustration, she failed to retrieve any new information about him other than him being mostly human. The other thing that was getting on her nerves was the unknown substance that she found in the blood sample. It wasn't giving its secrets away to her no matter how many different tests were tried. Letting out a tired sigh, the scientist leaned back in her chair.

'I'm getting nowhere with this. Everything I have tried just ends up back to square one,' she thought. Bringing the MAGI's calculations on her computer, she stared at it.

'About 35% chance of him being an Angel…but he has no trace of Angel DNA or blood in him. Why would it indicate that? Despite that 10% substance difference in his blood, it still looks like human blood.'

"The Mysterious Third Child," she muttered.

Smirking a little from the fitting title, she leaned back in her chair again. Closing her eyes, the scientist retraced what work she had done so far. Wondering if she was overlooking something, she opened her eyes. The thought of missing something on a test was possible. That narrow chance might give her a clue on what the unknown substance is. Not coming up with anything else, she sighed once more.

'Maybe a stroll will help,' she thought standing up and leaving the lab.

Strolling through the hallways, Ritsuko pondered. Thinking of other ideas, it revolved around trying to identify what the mysterious 10% blood was. Reaching a break area with vending machines, she stopped after coming up with little ideas to go on. Taking a cigarette out from her lab coat pocket, she took a smoke break. Going toward the trash can with an ash tray next to the wall, she tried to relax.

After a couple of puffs, she felt less edgy thought still very tired. Looking to her left, she noticed that a surveillance room was nearby. Blinking, something seemed off about it. Taking one more drag, she put out her smoke. Getting off the wall and walking closer, she found the door was ajar.

"..." Ritsuko said. Narrowing her eyes, she slowly pushed the door open. No one was inside despite multiple camera feeds that were on the screen.

"Damn staff," she muttered.

Walking in, she looked at the computer screen. Most of the feeds were on the area outside of NERV HQ and a couple of various places in the Geo-Front. Everything was still; a few animals and insects could be heard from time to time. One of the things that security could do was look through the cameras at various entry points on the surface. Another feature was being able to tap into any security camera via satellite.

"Hmm," the scientist said. Walking to one terminal, she pulled the chair out and sat down.

"Now where would you be," Ritsuko asked and started typing. She sent information to a satellite to locate the Third Child's whereabouts. After a few seconds, a mechanical voice came on.

[The Third Child is currently walking down 87th street going to Noui intersection.]

'...?' she thought. Blinking in surprise, she looked at her watch. 'An early morning stroll?'

She typed a few buttons and one of the monitors showed a bird's eye view of the city. Clicking the magnification button, the map blew up toward a certain section. Continuing, the satellite magnified till it showed an over-head shot of the street. Coming out of a dark alleyway, a figure started walking on the sidewalk with something on its back.

'Is that...him?' Ritsuko thought. Narrowing her eyes, she couldn't see too well as a couple of the street lamps flickered off and on. Up ahead, there was a one that stayed lit.

'What is he carrying…it looks like a mattress…'

Looking at a side list of cameras on the right side of the computer screen, there was a couple indicating the same street. The first two show different angles and directions towards the street. To her good fortune, the third selection gave a better vantage point. It showed a down-angled view of the street and had magnification. Seeing the Third Child closer to the street lamp, she magnified to get a full 3/4 view of him.

'...?' the scientist thought. Her eye brows went up in surprise and interest.

'My my, don't we look handsome...he would look kind of cute without the dull look in his purple eyes. Then again, those are pretty to look at as well…'

"..." she said. Blinking and shaking her head, she smirked at herself.

'What I'm I saying. I must be tired if I am starting to think like Misato.'

Looking back at the camera feed she thought about going back to work. But, she didn't feel motivated to go or leave. Seeing the Third Child carrying a mattress in the brink of the early morning generated a lot of questions. Seeing a clipboard nearby, she grabbed it. Getting a blank piece of paper and clipping it on to the board, she sat down in a chair. Putting one leg over the other, she watched and waited for anything note worthy.

As Shinji was walking, his mind was going off. It had been awhile since the last time his voices were a little more unbearable than normal. His face remained neutral as he continued. Feeling multiple pseudo hands grab him, he stopped and blinked.

'Who's there?! Who's…watching me…come out you filth!' an angry voice shouted while grinding its teeth.

"..." Shinji said blinking again. Finding the voice odd, he slowly turned his head toward a building across the street. Something very small seemed to reflect light on its side. He figured it was a camera.

'THERE! THERE! That's the hidden eye! STAB IT! STAB IT! STAB IT!' the voice yelled and groaned.

Ignoring the voice, something vaguely familiar washed over him about who was watching him. Seeing something in his peripheral vision, he glanced at it. The image came and went in half a second. Blinking at what he saw, he turned toward the video cam and waited.

"...?" Ritsuko stated. She saw him turning toward the camera. Confirming that it was a mattress, she wrote it down. Thinking of something comically, she looked back at the video feed.

'Now, what would be in there?' she thought smiling. Seeing his mouth move, she could make out what he was saying.

[...a...b...o...d...y...]

"..." she said.

Her smile was gone in an instant and just stared at the boy. A developing scare was coming on but she pushed it away. After a few more seconds of staring, she sighed. Assuring herself that it was her being overly tired; however, the unnerving feeling wouldn't go away. Grabbing another smoke and lighting it, she took a long drag. Feeling the smoke leave her lungs, she felt a little better. Turning back to the screen, the male pilot mouthed again.

[...i...s...t...h...e...r...e...a...n...y...t...h...i...n...g...e...l...s...e...y...o...u...n...e...e...d...?]

"..." the scientist said. Blinking once, twice, and a third time, apprehension was grabbing at her nerves. Taking another long smoke, she exhaled it out. It gave a slight relaxation to her. Closing her eyes, she pondered on why she was feeling this way.

'It must be from staying up all night...I must be more tired than I have realized…' she stated in her mind. Despite thinking so, she felt what was happening was uncanny and real. Opening her eyes, she stared at the feed. A minute passed by, the Third Child hadn't moved or blinked.

"Does he...know I'm watching him?" she whispered to no one. Thinking about what she said, Ritsuko shook her head and smiled nervously.

"I must be extremely tired," she sighed to herself. She looked back at the screen to see Shinji bowing. Raising an eye brow, he came back up and mouthed again.

[...v...e...r...y...w...e...l...l...D...r...A...k...a...g...i...g...o...o...d...d...a...y...] he stated. Blinking slowly, he turned toward the direction he was going and continued walking.

The cigarette fell from her mouth as if she saw a terror come alive. She failed to realize that she fell out of her chair as a wave of fear raced through her bones. Five minutes passed by with only the humming of the computer equipment making noise. However, there was a dull booming in her head which was her pulse. Blinking a couple of times and assuring herself that she was still here, she slowly started to get up.

Picking up her cigarette, she left the surveillance. Going to the ash tray on the trash can, she put it out. Unconsciously, she began walking to Misato's office. While distancing herself from the feed room, she glanced over her shoulder a little. Her face was still locked in an expression of fear.

In the Captain's office, Misato was busy doing papers. It had turned to be another overnight work. After a while, she took a small break to get a quick nap in. As she was in a light sleep, she awoke from her door opening. Rubbing her face, the she looked up and saw Ritsuko.

"Hey Rits…" she grumbled. Misato watched as her lab coat friend come to her side and open a drawer full of her beer. It got her to be a little more awake.

"Uh…I can explain…" the lavender haired woman began sheepishly. She stopped when she saw her friend's face.

"Ritsuko what's…uh…wrong…" she trailed off. The scientist took one can, open it, and chugged the contents of it down. Misato was impressed but then knew that her friend wasn't a drinking buddy. When Ritsuko put the empty beer can down, she put her hands on the Captain's desk and breathed what she felt was in a long time.

"Hey...is everything alright?" Misato asked with a concerned face. Ritsuko put her hands to her face and started to rub her eyes.

"I would be lying if I said no but I don't want to talk about it," she stated. The creeps she received were not going away. She didn't see the frown develop on her friend's face.

"Hey Misato…"

"Yeah?"

"…could I stay here for a while?"

'Okay there's something really wrong with her. Maybe I'll get some of it later. No use in complaining I guess,' Misato thought.

"Sure, just don't drool over the furniture."

"...thanks..."

"...?" the Captain said hearing the soft voice of gratitude. Smiling a little, she went back to her paperwork while glancing at the scientist. Ritsuko moved and lied down on the couch trying to get to sleep.

Back on the streets of Tokyo-3, Shinji reached the police station without alerting anyone in the public. He entered and saw the desk clerk. The person looked up and flinched from what he saw. The boy stated his business and the clerk nodded his head. Allowing the Third Child to go through the access door, he asked if the pilot needed anything else.

Stating for where the chief was, the desk clerk stated where. Nodding and expression appreciation, both went their separate ways. Walking around the police desks, Shinji saw a couple of people awake with one or two sleeping soundlessly. It looked like they were working on something on the computer. However, their heads were leaning back or their face planted on their keyboard.

Hearing mild commotion from a place he was in several hours ago, he headed for the interrogation room. Beginning to hear clearer and clearer, the voices in his head were giggling evilly. Stopping in front of the door, one of them made a statement.

'Delivery service…HERE'S JOHNNY!' a little boy spoke in distortion. How the small child sounded gave a mild chill down the teen's spine. Only blinking from the sudden outburst, he looked down at the door knob. Listening in, he waited for a cue to enter.

In the interrogation room, Chief Yogosami was yawning away at the man sitting across the table. He got a call when he was about leave for the day. The caller stated that he was the only one who could talk to this scared man. Since getting the man in and sitting in the private space, 30 minutes went by. What was being discussed and how tired Ryu was made progress was slow.

"You can understand officer. I-I was defending myself when that guy a-attacked me," the man said shakily.

"You said that already. So, where did you strangle him?" the Chief said tiredly.

"Uh…uh…um, I-It was at some shack place in the outskirts of the city."

"Uh-huh. Do you know where it is exactly?"

"I-I-I…I'm not really sure."

'God how hard is it to evade this cop!' the killer thought.

'Great…another case on my ass,' the Chief thought irritated. Then both heard a knocking at the door. Turning his head toward the door, he called.

"Come in," Yogosami stated then yawned.

His yawn was cut short as he saw Shinji opening the door. Blinking and rubbing his eyes, he was wearing his suit. Watching him walk in, there was a mattress on his back. When he saw the boy pull the mattress off his straps, he felt his detective senses were on fire. Keeping an eye on the Third Child, he watched the other man's reactions.

The individual was looking at the kid oddly from his dress up. Both saw the teen put the mattress on the table that had blood spots on it. The teen reached deep into the mattress and pulled out a plastic bag. Blood was pooling at the bottom and had coated the inside with spots. The boy put the bag closer to the man sitting down. Both of the men felt more alert smelling iron fill the air.

The male pilot then took the mattress flipped it over. A thud sounded getting both men's full attention. Removing all the straps, the Third Child reached in the mattress and began slowly pulling something large out. It had to be a body of some sort for it was covered with a bed sheet and heavily spotted with blood. Placing the body on the mattress, he removed it. What laid there was a corpse with its face up locked in horror. His skin was paling, eyes were gone, a hole was in the chest, and his feet were missing.

Shinji then opened the plastic bag which showed the four missing pieces from the corpse on the table. The scared man seemed somewhat affected by the corpse which interested the Chief. When the killer looked, he saw the boy looking down at him. The eerie look in the teen's dark magenta eyes sent a cold chill down his spine.

"Delivery Service."

The Chief seemed baffled by what the boy said. While watching the teen turn around and leave the room with the straps, he soon figured what he connected to. The other man was white as a sheep with a shock look on his face. After a few minutes of talking, the man confessed that he killed the man and insisted to be locked in jail. The Chief didn't complain about that at all.

'Finally I get to go home. After I have a drink…this is a really weird way to start off a morning,' he thought as he entered his office.

"Your drink is on the table sir, good day," Shinji said with a bow and left the room.

The Chief smiled and nodded his head. After a few seconds of tendering his drink something struck him like getting hit by a semi. He ran to the main space looking for the boy but he couldn't find him at all. Quickly walking around the station and asking a couple of the officers that were awake, the teen couldn't be found.

'Almost like a ghost…oh well,' he thought. Getting his stuff together, he signed out. He traveled home in his car thinking about how wonderful sleep would be.

Reaching back to his home, Shinji slept for a couple more hours without the need of the S-DAT player. Waking up without a jolt, he blinked and looked around. A slight paranoia hit him wondering if there were more dead bodies around. Hearing his voices giggle, he got up. Searching the entire place and knocking on various walls, none were found. The voices giggled at him again. Deciding that there weren't any corpses around, he got his exercising clothes and equipment on for the morning routine.

Finishing his exercise, he cleaned himself then ate breakfast. He put on a plain grey t-shirt and black cargo pants. Now that everything was clean, he unpacked his boxes. Cloths were in one. Another contained other bathroom utensils, S-DAT tapes, cases, mechanical repair items and supplies. The last two had parts of a "snap-and-screw-together" cello.

For an hour, Shinji finally got his cello together. He got the bow out and played a few chords; progressing from one key to the next. After some minutes, he put the bow down and changed towards plucking. Sometime later, he stopped. Putting his cello down, he went to look at the time.

'9:40,' Shinji thought. 'I believe I have enough money to buy a watch, a new mattress, sheets, and more groceries…then go to NERV for training.'

Getting his shoes, wallet, and backpack, he left his home. Reaching the city limit, he started walking straight hoping to find a map directory. Finding a small travel information center at a train station, he picked up a map. Looking at it while walking, there seemed to be a shopping district nearby. Walking in that direction, he saw the stores that he would need to pick up food and supplies. Stopping and looking through the window display on one, it had two dresses on display.

A memory flashed through his head in which his voices started mimicking two women that wore something similar. Both were cackling at him, mocking him, insulting him, berating him, and more. Their voices became louder and louder till all he could hear was the two women. In the midst of the voices portrayal, they were cut off by the sound of a heavy blade cutting into skin. Turning away and continuing on the sidewalk, the sound of heavy wet sponges fell to the ground. Strangely, his forearms were having muscle spasms.

Walking a certain amount of distance, his forearms stopped pulsating. Blinking and looking around, there was a dull pawn shop next to him. Looking the place over and not seeing anything wrong, he entered the store. Inside was moderately clean though nothing shined. It stood as a neutral store which didn't have any special product to sell. No music was playing, just the sound of a large old fan that whirled above.

There was no one in the room as Shinji went around browsing. A man in his seventies came out from the curtains behind the front counter. He was a short man; little taller than teen and leaner than him. With white hair combed back and dressed in an orange jumpsuit, he looked like a mechanic. Though his face showed its age, it had a gentle look with eyes showing wisdom and sadness.

"My my…it's not every day that I get to see a new face and hopefully a new customer," the old man said calmly smiling at the boy.

"..." Shinji said. Turning toward the owner, he bowed.

"Greetings sir, how are you today?"

"I am fine my boy. But with my years ahead of me, that is left to be desired," the old man said chuckling a little. "So, how may I help you my young sir?"

"I am looking for a watch."

"A watch you say…hmm…let me take a good look at you first."

Shinji nodded and walked over to him. The pawn shop owner walked around the counter and stopped to be in front of the pilot. Looking at him from head to toe, he did a lap around him. Stopping back in front of him, the old man seemed to be analyzing him more than a normal person would.

"Hmm…" he said as he stared into the Third Child's eyes. He leaned forward a little which Ikari was unfazed by and just stared back. The old man leaned back and smiled.

"It seems you went through hell and back...haven't you my boy?" he asked with a curious look on his face.

"That I have...so have you sir." Shinji replied back stoically.

"..." the owner said with a smile and chuckled. "That I have my boy, that I have…hmm…I think I have one in the back. Please wait a minute."

Nodding, the male pilot looked around the pawn shop more. After a minute or two later, the older man came back out. He laid a watch on the counter and the teen took a look at it. It wasn't as nice as a Rolex but it could have been a runner-up. The metal frame had a semi-polished black-charcoal color. The face was a simple analog with bold clock numbers and hands. The background in the face was a unique dark orange color that seemed to alter a little when light shined at different angles. Shinji found it little captivating. The pawn owner saw this and smirked a little before coughing.

"I am amused that you find the watch to draw you in too," he said with a small smile. Shinji nodded.

"The metal is made from a heavier alloy than steel, but I have forgotten the name of it. I have tried to wear it myself but my old age makes it tiring to hold."

Nodding, the Third Child placed the watch around his left wrist. It wasn't heavy to him but could agree that it was a runner-up for the weight of a medium size pocket watch. Shinji looked at the watch.

"May I ask what time you have sir?"

"Hmm…10:20 my boy," the older man said looking at his pocket watch.

"So the time is sir," the Third Child stated. Looking back at the old man, the boy saw the corners of his mouth turn up.

"I would like to purchase it."

"..." The owner said and held up his hand. "Please take it as my gratitude for being a kind soul to an old man."

"..." Shinji said. Blinking at the person, he continued to look at him with a stoic face.

"Are you sure sir?" he asked. The old man smiled and came to Shinji's level.

"I understand that you feel that I am cheating myself out of the deal, but I am getting more out of the deal than just money. I believe you can see that."

"...I see..." the Third Child stated. Staring at him for a few moments, he took a step back and bowed deeply.

"Very well sir, I accept your gift."

"...good..."

"Until we meet again, trade will be in order for your generosity. Good day sir," Shinji said and left the store.

Watching the boy leave, the pawn shop owner could only chuckle. He went into the back room and sat back down in his chair. The TV was on but it was muted. A scene went by in which two people were talking. However, the old man laughed in mirth.

Drinking his tea that was on a coffee table, a wave of electricity flowed through him. He felt goosebumps all over him as he watched the TV. Something about the mannerism and the eerie aura the male teen had gave him a hunch that he was similar to him. Oddly, it made him grin.

'I have a feeling that I will be serving that boy a great deed one day…however destructive it may become…I will be waiting with patience as well as curiosity my boy.'

After leaving the pawn shop, Shinji walked to his other locations. The weight of the watch acted as a distraction of some sorts as he made way to the shopping district. Making almost automatic decisions, he bought a new mattress, groceries, and bed sheets. Taking a taxi home to the edge of the city to the outskirts, he walked the rest. Reaching back to his home, he still had time to get to NERV.