Neon Genesis: Evangelion

Neon Genesis: Evangelion

Genesis: 0:21: Rain of Tears

[A/N: MINDWARP!!!!!]

[Disclaimer: Don't own!]

Kasumi slowly regained consciousness. She didn't open her eyes; she was too tired. The sensation of something washing up against her lower legs made the pilot jump and sit up. She found herself staring out at the clear blue water of some body of water. Kasumi was wearing her normal clothes, which happened to be wet from the shins down.

Her feet were bare, and her hands felt something gritty beneath them. Sand, she found. "W-what's going on?" the fourteen-year-old questioned to the warm, moist air. It felt exactly as if she were at a beach. Her loose black slacks were still in the water of the small waves, but her orange tee-shirt was dry and warm from the air and sand.

Her arms suddenly trembled and gave way, sending the pilot to the sand. "What's going on?" she asked to nothing again, "The last thing I can remember…" A painful flash of what happened in her entry plug whipped through her mind and she closed her eyes.

"Thinking about bad times?"

Kasumi opened her eyes quickly. Her purple eyes met with crimson eyes, and she sat up slowly. The owner of those crimson eyes chuckled softly.

Misato stared at unit-14. It had been deactivated, but Ritsuko was working as hard as she could. Someone had deleted all the data they required from the MAGI. Someone knew this was coming.

Asuka stared down at her desk, everything about her seemed duller and limper. Her blue eyes were soft, shimmering with unshed tears. Shinji looked towards the Second Child, but turned away. He knew where her sorrow lay.

Kasumi stared out at the water, her brother sitting right next to her. She glanced nervously over at him, but then looked back at the water. "Kaoru…" Kasumi said softly. "Yes?" Kaoru replied patiently.

"Shinji…he said that he killed you." the Sixth Child said, "How is it that…we've met?" "Imooto…our bodies no longer exist." Kaoru said softly, rubbing his hand over Kasumi's, "Our souls are meeting, not our physical forms." "My—body is gone?!" Kasumi asked, frightened. She looked at her hands, and then cupped them over her face, shaking in sudden terror.

"So we have yet another run-in with the Eva's true powers." Misato whispered to unit-14, "And you…you damned thing…you took Kasumi."

Kasumi gasped suddenly, looking up from her hands. The beach was gone, as was Kaoru, and the scenery had been replaced. It was a small park, and a young boy sat on a swing. Close by, a small girl was chasing after a small ball, laughing. The young, gray-haired boy smiled at the brown-haired girl, but his red eyes widened when she tripped and fell to the ground.

"Kasumi!" the little boy said, "You OK?" A few tears slid down her face, but the little girl nodded and smiled at her brother. "I'm OK, Kaoru." she said, wiping the dirt and red from her knees. The little boy wiped away her tears and helped her up, giving her a reassuring hug.

Kasumi blinked, and then she was back at the beach with Kaoru. "…what just happened?" she asked. "Let's just say that you remembered a memory that was forced into the back of your mind." Kaoru said, placing his hand on Kasumi's shoulder.

"Forced?" Kasumi asked, "How could it be forced to be forgotten?"

Ritsuko tapped at the keys on the console. It had been a month since the incident in America, and she was still perfecting the lost program. "This is worse than what happened with Shinji." she murmured into the dark room, "This time I have to do everything myself." The doctor slammed her finger down onto a key angrily, the screen before her flashing with data.

Kasumi let a handful of dry sand slip between her fingers as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. "Mental instability?" she repeated what her brother just said. "Indeed." Kaoru said, standing, his hands in his pockets, "Forcing a child to try and pilot Evangelion is unimaginable, isn't it?" Kasumi put her hand down and clenched it tight into the sand.

"It is, but they did it to me anyway." she hissed, "Why?!" "When we were young, when we were merely a year old and two years, we had only our first names." Kaoru said, "But when I was five, I was taken from you and given the name Nagisa. I was taken to SEELE, where you and I had been created."

Kasumi jolted at the last word and looked up at her brother. "Yes, humans have been playing God." Kaoru said flatly, "In fact, all the scientists had created us for was to be the perfect Evangelion pilots." The gray-haired boy smiled softly and continued, "But God interfered. He didn't want his creations playing his role. And so he had us be what we are. But for some reason, only half of your blood was Angel."

"Only half of your blood relates you to the Angels." Kaoru continued, "That is what made you one of the perfect candidates to pilot Eva. You would not have a core, or show up as a blue pattern on any scanners. But you would still have the ability to synchronize with Eva easily and quickly."

"If I was so wonderful at piloting those…things, why would mental instability occur to me?" Kasumi growled, "Wouldn't I be fine?" "No…not the way they set it up." Kaoru explained, "The scientists purposefully made the Eva you piloted a fake, one with a core of a mind of a psychopath. They knew that you couldn't possibly sync with someone like that, and they knew that it would destroy all previous memories that you had."

"My memory ends at age ten." Kasumi whispered, "I can only remember waking in a hospital bed, hearing from a doctor that I had had a nasty fall from a high hill. I could only remember a few things. My name, where I was, and how old I was. I guess that was all just lies."

"Yes…" Kaoru agreed.

It was the second week of the second month after the incident. It was quiet, if not silent at Misato's apartment. Shinji ate his food calmly, hardly paying attention to the two bloodshot-eyed women sitting by him. "Misato, how's Ritsuko doing?" Asuka asked. "She hasn't slept in a few days, but she says the program will be ready by the end of the month." Misato sighed, "We'll be getting our roommate back soon!"

"So what?" Shinji slapped his chopsticks to the table. Asuka and Misato looked at the brown-haired boy in shock. They had nearly forgotten about Shinji's anger. "I don't care if she ever gets out of unit-14." he said, standing from the table, "She can stay there for all eternity."

Kasumi stared out at the horizon of the sea. Kaoru stood beside her, not saying a word. He had explained her blood, what made her different from the Angels and what differed her from the humans. She was of both, but of neither at the same time.

"Kaoru…I…I…love Shinji." Kasumi said suddenly, "I still love him, but I'm not sure anymore. He despises me because of what he saw in the only picture I have of you. I said that you were my brother, and he said that I was an Angel, that I was his enemy." Kaoru chuckled slightly and said, "You know, I loved him as well."

"What?" Kasumi looked at her brother quickly. "Don't worry." Kaoru sat down next to Kasumi, "He has no affection for me. Well, not much I don't think." "But still, being just part Angel would make him hate me." the brown-haired girl sighed, "It's probably my destiny to be killed by unit-01's hand. Why should I go back?"

It was finally the end of the month. "Begin retrieval program now!" Ritsuko ordered. Each Eva pilot was there, waiting the outcome of the program. Shinji was there because Misato ordered him to come.

Kasumi suddenly started, choked, and clenched her hands tight. "They're trying to pull you back." Kaoru said softly, "You can go…if you please." He waved his hand out towards the water, but Kasumi shook her head shortly. "I don't want to!" she groaned, "No matter how much they want me to!"

She choked again and cupped a hand before her mouth. "It is a very strong pull." Kaoru remarked, "I believe your dear Doctor Akagi has worked out a wonderful program for this." Kasumi choked again and said, "I won't!"

"Ego-border found." Maya said flatly, "Beginning Ego-border reformation." Suddenly, the tracer that locked onto Kasumi's Ego-border went berserk, trying to get away from the tracer. "Ego-border is fading!" Makoto cried. "Activate the secondary trace!" Ritsuko ordered, "We can't let her ego fade!" Two tracers appeared on the screen and locked onto Kasumi's ego.

Kasumi brought her hands to her temples and clutched her head. "No!" she shouted, "Leave me alone! God, just leave me alone!" Kaoru looked on, unable to help, but wanting something else. "Kasumi…" he whispered.

The twin tracers suddenly broke up, losing the hold they had. "Eva is activating!" Maya shouted, "Power levels are almost to activation level!" "BLUE PATTERN!" Shigeru shouted, "A BLUE PATTERN IS FORMING INSIDE UNIT-14'S ENTRY PLUG!" The sound of an Angel's screech echoed up from the containment chamber.

The echo of an Angel's roar came over the water and reached Kaoru's ears. He gasped and turned to Kasumi. "Kasumi!" he reached out to grab her shoulders, but his hands bounced away off of a glowing orange wall. "Kasumi!" Kaoru shouted again. He leapt to his feet and slammed his extended fingers against the wall. He grit his teeth as his AT Field leveled against his sister's and his finger pried both open.

"Kasumi, listen!" he strained to fit his other hand into the hole, "You must be calm! Your anger and hatred are making the Angel-blood within you able to take control of you!" He slowly forced the AT Fields open and leapt to Kasumi. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her.

"ENERGY LEVELS .01 TO ACTIVATION!" Maya cried. Unit-14's eyes were glowing blood red, but then faded to black. All the energy that had been gathering in unit-14 vanished, and the blue pattern disappeared as well. "Everything…normal." Shigeru said slowly, "But…we lost it. Kasumi's Ego-border has completely vanished. We…failed."

"Ritsuko!" Misato breathed. But the doctor had turned away. "…sumimasen." Akagi whispered harshly. Shinji stared at the screen. His eyes shook with a sudden shock that he never thought that he would show at this time. "What the?" he questioned himself in his mind, "Am I…sad? Why?"

Kasumi slowly drew in shaking breaths. Kaoru had his hand on her shoulders, but she shook anyway. "Kaoru, what did I do?" she whispered, "What just happened?" "Angels have it encoded in their blood to return to Adam." Kaoru explained softly, "If you allow your self-consciousness to fade, then your blood will force you to do as it believes it must. Don't let that happen!"

"And what if I don't care anymore?" Kasumi asked in a dead tone. "Let's just say, that people without bodies will be showing up in rather large numbers." Kaoru said with a slight laugh.

Shinji stared at the lifeless face of unit-14. He was silent. Unit-14 was useless now, at least, until they chose someone to be the new pilot. "But will it let anyone sync now?" Shinji murmured softly.

"Kasumi, I need to ask you." Kaoru said, "Is staying here what you really want?" Kasumi didn't answer. "You already know that many people want you back." Kaoru continued, "So why do you stay?" "Because I want to." Kasumi said softly. "Why?" Kaoru asked again.

"I…" Kasumi tried to say something, "I…" "You don't want to go back because Shinji hates you, is that it?" Kaoru said gently. Kasumi lowered her head, unable to answer. "Kasumi, you should go back." Kaoru said, "It isn't right for someone who still has a life to remain here." "But…" Kasumi tried to protest.

"No." Kaoru said, "Listen. I know that once the fact that you have Angel blood within you is revealed that many will no longer accept you. It's impossible for someone like you or I to exist without someone despising us. You must return to the world where you exist in the flesh."

"But why?" Kasumi asked, "Why must we live with this kind of pain? The pain of being rejected by one you care for…Why do we have to live with this?" "Unfortunately, I prefer not to question my existence, so I haven't spent much time thinking about it." Kaoru murmured, "But listen. This is possibly the corniest thing I can say, but you should live out your life to the end, regardless of what other people think."

Shinji sighed and started off, heading towards the doorway that led away from the chamber. Suddenly, there was a clack of metal and he paused. Shinji turned back towards the Eva.

"All right, Kaoru." Kasumi murmured, "I'll go back to the real world. Please, help me live my life out." Kaoru stood and held out his hand. Kasumi grasped her brother's hand and the two drifted through the air over the deep water of the sea. Slowly, Kaoru let Kasumi's hand slip from his, and the brown-haired girl dropped into the water.

The water made no ripple as she slipped through its surface, and she slowly sank down into the black depths. "Tell me." she thought, "Will we meet again?" "When your body no longer carries you, yes. But I will be close, when you wish." Kaoru's voice replied. And so Kasumi vanished into the dark depths of the water, fading from her brother's sight. Kaoru smiled.

Shinji was frozen, his sight transfixed upon unit-14's face. Something metallic was grating against another piece of metal, and suddenly, the entry plug ejected.

Kasumi's sight was nothing but darkness, and then the eerie glowing light of the LCL and entry plug came into view. "So this is how I get back. LCL destroyed my body, and now it recreates it." she said. Kasumi slowly sank into the seat of the entry plug, and then a harsh snap echoed through her ears as a bright light illuminated the plug.

The hatch to the entry plug snapped open, and LCL gushed out. The orange liquid splashed down into the coolant, and an upward explosion of water suddenly caught Shinji's eye. The water calmed, and he gasped. Kasumi lay floating on her back, with a calm look on her face, her clothes becoming soaked with the coolant.

"Kasumi?"

Purple eyes slowly opened to look at a glaring white ceiling. Kasumi sat up and automatically stared down at her lap. "Kasumi…are you all right?" a voice asked. Kasumi looked up blankly. Misato was sitting by the bed, Asuka close by.

"God, I can't believe you're OK!" Asuka suddenly sobbed, kneeling down and wrapping her arms around Kasumi. Wet cloth pressed against the Sixth Child's skin. She was wearing the same clothes…

"Asuka, are you sure you want to be caught in such a moment of weakness?" she asked in a dead tone. Asuka looked up at Kasumi, only to face a blank face. Asuka sniffed once and wiped her eyes, and said, "God, just shut up, 'K?" She smiled her best smile at Kasumi, who returned it by looking down and away.

"We came here to pick you up." Misato said, "All right?" "No, I'll…" Kasumi said, "I'll walk." Misato pulled back for a moment, and then nodded in agreement. "All right, we'll meet back at the homestead." Kasumi didn't respond, but Asuka and Misato headed out the door. When the door slid shut, Asuka paused and looked back towards it.

"Kind of a shock that Shinji was the one who called in what happened." Misato placed her hand on Asuka's shoulder, "I thought he was pretty angry with her." Asuka sniffed and nodded, smiling slightly. "Well, now those two can head out on a date soon." she chuckled weakly.

Shinji lay on his bed, staring at the orange glare of the single light in his room. One hand covered one eye, and he blinked. "I could have just left." he murmured, "I could have just let her drown. But I didn't. Why?" He heard the door slide open and sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.

Misato tapped at Shinji's door tentatively, and slid it open. "Shinji?" she asked, "Hey, Kasumi's going to be walking here, so make sure you cook a little more for dinner, OK?" Shinji nodded slowly, and Misato smiled. She turned from the door, shutting it as she went.

Kasumi looked up from the floor towards the window. The sky was dark and cloudy and drops of rain were beginning to splatter against the window. Cracks suddenly sounded, and the corner of the window was broken with jagged lines. The door automatically slid shut as Kasumi walked from the room.

It was quiet at Misato's apartment except for the pounding rain. "Misato, I thought you said Kasumi would be here." Shinji said, "It's already nine o' clock. And we ate dinner at that." "She should be here by now." Misato replied, "And she probably took a train to get out of this storm." "Well, she isn't here." Shinji said, "Do you think something happened?"

"No…she'll be OK." Asuka murmured, "She's pretty tough when you think about it."

Lightning lit up the room and pulled Shinji from his stupor. Even the teacher seemed to pause at the thunder and lightning, but droned on with his lecture. It had been four days… Shinji lowered his chin onto his hand again and stared out at the sheets of rain. His eyes unfocused as he lost track of time and thought.

The bell toned for lunchtime, and Kensuke stood from his seat to talk to Touji. "You know, Shinji really needs to start thinking about getting a girl." the war-fanatic said, "He's been even more depressed than usual!" "Yeah, I know." Touji agreed, "Maybe we should try to hook him up with Kasumi or something." Suddenly, a shadow fell over the two. They jumped and slowly looked behind them…

To see a smiling Asuka. "How would you two like to come over?" she asked suddenly, "I need to talk to you." "Why not right now?" Kensuke squeaked, "We're both here!" Asuka clamped a hand over Kensuke's mouth and hissed, "SHHH! I can't let Shinji hear about this!" Touji and Kensuke blinked in unison.

That afternoon, the four fourteen-year-olds rushed to Misato's apartment, trying to outrun the rain. They ran inside and brushed rainwater from their clothes. Shinji darted off immediately to get towels. "OK, Asuka, what's this all about?" Touji questioned bravely.

"Well, I've had this little plan going to get Kasumi and Shinji together." Asuka murmured softly, "Now, Kasumi didn't come home last night—" At that moment, Shinji walked back into the room with towels, and Kensuke and Touji's jaws dropped. "You never said that Kasumi lived with you guys!" they shouted in unison. "It's only been for about two nights at the very most!" Asuka said. "Shinji, you lucky little twit!" Touji grabbed Shinji around the neck in a noogie, "How come you never said you got to see Kasumi sleeping?"

Shinji blushed and pried himself free. "She hardly ever slept!" he snapped, "And why would I want to?!" "Oh I can see why she never slept!" Kensuke cackled, "You sly fox!" "Oh shut up!" Shinji replied. Touji and Kensuke nearly collapsed with laughter. Even Asuka snickered at that.

The door slid open once more and the four looked up. Misato walked tiredly into the room and blinked when she saw Touji and Kensuke. "What are you guys doing here?" she asked in a sweet tone. "Uh…" Touji and Kensuke slowly turned a dark shade of blue.

"Oh, they just have to do a project with me." Asuka said, "Nothing much really!" Misato smiled and immediately went to the large refrigerator. "Oh, dang it!" she whined, "I'm low on Yebisu! Shin-chan, could you go and get some for me?" "Yes." Shinji sighed.

When the door had shut, Misato turned towards the three remaining children. "Asuka, are you making Touji and Kensuke help you with your weird little plan?" she asked. Touji and Kensuke sweatdropped, looking towards Asuka. She too sweatdropped and laughed weakly, trying to think something up.

"Thanks!" Shinji called over his shoulder. He opened the umbrella he had brought and looked out at the rain. It had been snowing a few days ago, and now it was really cold rain. He sighed softly and started down the sidewalk. But then something caught his eye and he stopped. Someone was sitting on a bench that was in the tree-filled park that Tokyo-3 was fortunate to have. They had brown hair too…

Kasumi watched the raindrops fall into the muddy puddles a few feet away as drops of water slid from her hair in front of her eyes. Suddenly, someone's foot broke one of the puddles up. Kasumi looked up and traced the foot back to its owner.

Shinji stared at Kasumi, marveling at how he had forgotten how crystal clear her eyes were. She stared back, and appeared a little confused that he was there. "Did Misato order you to look for me?" she asked, looking down.

"No, I just had to get her…well, you know." Shinji replied, holding the bag filled with Yebisu up. He laughed slightly, but slowly stopped when Kasumi was silent. "So, why didn't you come home?" he asked, "Asuka and Misato are worried." "What about you?" Kasumi asked.

"Well I was a little worried too." he said, "I mean, we don't have that many pilots." Kasumi grit her teeth as those words felt like a dagger. "That and Pen-Pen nearly stuffed himself by eating too much dinner that was supposed to be yours." Twist the knife a bit deeper…

"So why did you come over here?" she asked, "I know you probably saw me from that store, but why'd you bother?" "Well…" Shinji started, trying to find the right way to put it. "Come here to destroy the damned Angel, right?" Kasumi said in a dead tone.

Shinji was shocked into silence. "You know, I'm only half-Angel." Kasumi murmured, "So how do you feel about that?" "I'm not sure." Shinji replied. "You're never sure about a damn thing, Ikari!" Kasumi shouted. There was an uneasy quiet between the two pilots.

Suddenly, Shinji sat down next to Kasumi on the bench. "Go away." Kasumi murmured. "I'm sorry." Shinji said. "For what?" Kasumi replied, "For my being part Angel?" Shinji's hand dropped the umbrella and turned Kasumi to face him. "For being a heartless bastard, like my father." he muttered. Then he leaned over and pressed his lips against Kasumi's. Kasumi nearly jumped, but Shinji's arms wrapped around her and held her close. She finally closed her eyes and returned the kiss.

"GO SHINJI!"

Kasumi and Shinji's eyes shot open and they pulled away to find Kensuke, Touji, and Asuka hiding behind some trees. Shinji and Kasumi blushed furiously as they saw the blinking red light on Kensuke's camera. "How long have you been here?" Shinji asked flatly. "Long enough for the moment of truth!" Touji roared with laughter, "You sly fox you!"

Misato slowly sipped from one of her twenty remaining cans of Yebisu. "They sure are taking a long time." she thought, "What the heck are they doing?" She looked up when the door opened and shoes were taken off. Shinji, Asuka, and Kasumi walked into the apartment, arms full of Yebisu.

"Kasumi!" Misato jumped. "Um, hey?" the Sixth Child replied. Misato leapt up, knocking over her can of Yebisu, and walked quickly to Kasumi. The two stared at each other, and finally, Kasumi stepped backwards and looked away. "I…" she started. But she sighed and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry." she murmured, "I shouldn't have caused so much trouble. Sorry."

Suddenly, Misato slapped the cans of Yebisu from Kasumi's hands and Kasumi stepped backwards again. "Shinji, did you tell them?" the girl wondered silently. She cringed and backed up against the wall, folding her hands to her chest and nearly shaking.

Misato reached out with one hand. Kasumi pressed herself against the wall and Asuka and Shinji gasped. Misato reached out…and placed her hand atop Kasumi's head. Kasumi looked up, but then Misato suddenly grabbed her in one of the strongest bear hugs Kasumi had ever felt. "You dumb little kid!" Misato shook Kasumi furiously while the Sixth Child's feet where in the air, "Don't you dare ever go running off like that again!"

Kasumi merely turned blue as she was crushed. Her mouth and nose were blocked by Misato's shoulder, and she couldn't move. Soon, her hands were twitching and Asuka and Shinji had to pry Misato's arms away. "Oops, sorry!" Misato apologized, letting Kasumi go. The Sixth Child collapsed to the floor, panting. "But really, don't go running off like that again." Misato said, "You nearly turned my hair gray with worry!"

Kasumi merely letting out a wavering groan.