Chapter 07 - Burning Ice
Fifteen years ago:
They reached the wall of darkness, that seemed to grow up right into the sky.
Katsuragi approached it with his instruments, another scientist readied a large pole to get a
sample. The pole entered the darkness without meeting resistence, or so it seemed. When the
man tryed to pulled it back the other end had simply been dissolved.
Katsuragi looked at his instruments.
"The radiation´s stronger here..."
Thomas walked to his side, raised an arm so that his open hand was parallel to the wall.
"Tetryon-radiation..."
"What?"
"Professor Katsuragi, this is the expected and feared case of emergency. I´m taking over command
now."
"Just give me a moment to examine it..."
Thomas did a step forward, then another one. His hand came in contact with the darkness.
"Thomas!" Deiko screamed.
But it was already to late. The darkness closed around his hand, moved up his arm.
Shingen´s body went stiff.
The darkness´ approach stopped at the ellbow, it seemed to thicken around him, at other places
it lost its concentration, showed openings. And then the field of darkness vanished, absorbed
by his power.
And they were able to see their destination - and the enemy...
***
In front of them was an ice-covered mirror-like plain without any elevalations.
The ice was transparent, below a thick mantle of ice were the buildings and streets of a city
of giants.
"Incredible", Katsuragi whispered.
Thomas touched the microphon of his headset.
"Deiko, like we feared, the ancient town is visible. - Captain Ikari, prepare for command:
Wildfire. - Professor, what are your instruments reading?"
"The radiation´s increasing."
"Yes... I removed the shielding."
"How..."
"You have no time. Return to mobile one and leave immediatly."
"Why?"
Thomas only shook his head, then he pointed at the being that had materialized at the center
of the plain accomplained by lightning.
"Because of this."
***
An eightlegged creature came out of a ray of light, it resembled a large spider, a thirty feet
long spider...
It was covered with armor layers of metal, on its back it carried several structures - antennas,
reflectors and weapon turrets.
It started moving, walking on its eight legs towards the group at the edge of the plain.
"Shigen, what´s tat?" Katsuragi gasped.
"A Matriel, a biomechanical creature", Thomas replied automatically. "A scout. We have to prevent
it from contacting its base... Run, Katsuragi!"
He pushed the older man into the direction of the vehicles that also had started to move and
had near approached them.
The roof of mobile four had opened, revealing a heavy gun emplacement. The large cannon aimed at
the arachnoid, fired a blast of energy.
The blast did no damage, for a moment the shield was visible that had stopped it.
The scout answered the fire.
Mobile four exploded, the blast threw the professor through the air and against mobile three.
Thomas clenched his teeth.
"Deiko, the bomb!"
The blackhaired pulled the box from the sled and dragged it through the snow towards his position.
"What are you going to do?"
"I..."
The Matriel´s next energy blast crashed down right between them, throwing the greyhaired to the
ground.
When he was back to his feet and looked around, he heard his companion and one-time lover lowly
moaning. Her right arm was just a mass of smashed bones.
"Deiko, stay down... and hold on!"
He turned his head towards the vehicles, saw that Katsuragi had been brought into mobile one
and that mobile three´s turret was ready to fire.
"Ikari, fire at the ice to its feet! Draw its attention away from me!"
"Understood!"
Thomas looked at the crate with the miniature N2-bomb, the crate had been damaged, the detonator
had been separated from the bomb.
Damaged... useless...
Again he looked at the fast approaching arachnoid, it would have reached him within the next
twenty seconds...
So he started running to meet it...
***
Now:
When Misato Katsuragi left the school this day - and pretented to ignore the gazes of her
colleagues and some pupils - and walked to her car, she noticed again the dark car standing
on the other side of the street.
There he is again...
She hesitated, looked at her own car and back to the dark one.
Through the dark-tinted glasses she just barely was able to see the driver, the side-window
had been lowered a bit so that she was able to see a part of his head.
Who doesn´t dare...
She smiled her brightest smile and walked across the street, approaching the dark car on the
other side.
"Excuse me..."
The window was lowered completly.
"Yes?" the driver asked with a friendly smile. He wore a bright blue shirt with a dark tie,
and a dark jacket, his left hand was under his jacket on the level of his heart.
"I am a teacher at the school here... You are not allowed to park here."
She pointed at the sign.
He seemed visibly calmer at once when he removed his hand from the jacket.
"Ah, thanks for telling."
But he didn´t seem to think about leaving.
"Are you waiting for somebody - your son or your daughter?"
"Neither nor, I have no children."
She looked at his hands.
Hm, no ring...
"I´m just asking since I already saw you standing here yesterday."
He winked.
"I´m not allowed to talk about it. But say, why does a beautiful woman like you work as a
teacher?"
She looked at him with eyes wide open.
"You are quite fast."
He laughed.
"I don´t like wasting time, I am sitting a half of the day inside of this car and look out of
the window, so I have to grab any opportunity I´m given, eh?"
Misato joined his laughter.
"Now just say you´re a spy on a mission."
"Of course I am." He winked again. "But tell nobody, yes?"
She winked back.
"Your secret´s save with me."
"Great, you are saving my mission."
He gave her his hand.
"Ryoji Kaji. And I truely am a spy."
"What?"
He showed her his ID-card of the ministery of Interior.
"Ah..."
She dropped her jaw.
"I´m sorry, I didn´t want to startle you."
"What are you doing here?"
"If you really ar a teacher I may tell you."
"Okay, okay, just a second..."
She started searching in her bag for her ID-card.
"Here. That proves it. And here´s my permission to use the teacher´s parking lot."
"That´s more than I wanted to know", Kaji grinned and memorized her name and address.
"Misato Katsuragi... you must be the best-looking teacher in town, or should I be in error?"
"You are flattering me... obviously you know what a girl wants to hear."
"Ah, no, I just envy your pupils, that´s all."
Again they laughed.
"And why are you standing her in no parking the second day now?" she finally asked.
"I have orders protect one the pupils."
"Which one?"
"That´s classified, my dear Miss Katsuragi."
"How do you know that I am not married?"
"I guessed... you are wearing no wedding band... and a husband wouldn´t let you teach at a
school so that he wouldn´t have to share your beauty."
"You are really quite fast."
"Ah, but in fact I am very shy - you started by talking to my."
"Oh, yes, now it´s my fault... So, you´re telling me, that you are some kind of bodyguard?!"
"That would say it, yes."
"And why? Is somebody planning to kidnap the pupil - whose name shall not be told - or worse?"
He raised his hands.
"You don´t have to fear the armed men´d storm the school or something like this. But I am not
allowed to tell you, since I do not want to lose my job, even if I might die with boredom."
From the corners of his eyes he noticed the person he was watching leaving the building and being
about to vanish around the next corner.
"So, Miss Katsuragi, I have to leave. Our talk was quite pleasant, maybe we could continue it
one day."
"I´d like to, Mister Superspy." she grinned.
"So, well, have a nice day!"
He raised a hand greetingly, then he started the engine of his car while she stepped aside.
***
With each second he was spending inside of the EntryPlug Shinji Ikari knew more and more that
the reason for him mastering the EVANGELION-VR-game that fast was that he had had lots of
training... but maybe training was the wrong expression, since training normally didn´t put
one in mortal danger. By now he was sure that he had met the being called angels before - in
orginal - with a real EVA...
And he knew that he had fought side by side with Asuka and Rei...
Destroying the nests of small Matriels had become routine, as had fighting the fish-like Gaghiels
that had waited for them hidden in the waters of a flooded city.
Without hesitation he opened a private com-channel to Asuka, whose EVA was just dragging Hikari´s
EVA out of the water, the legs of EVA-09 had been eaten away up to the knees by the piranha-like
fish-angels.
"Asuka..."
The redhead glared at him angryly and reached out with one hand.
"No, please, don´t interupt the connection, I need to talk to you."
"Oh, yes. Are you already having enough of your doll?"
"Rei´s no doll, I don´t know how you came to this."
Something was within Asuka´s eyes - surprise.
"I... I don´t know, too..."
She shook her head.
"Probably you´ve infected me with your stupidity, Baka! Or another stooge did! But not Asuka
Soryu Langley!"
Again she reached out with her hand.
"Asuka, wait!"
"Okay, if you wish to apologize, I am willing to accept being the very forgiving person I am."
"Who said that I wanted to apologize?"
"So, what do you want then?"
"Ah, say, Asuka, did you experience... within the last days... strange things?"
"Strange... things?" she repeated.
"Yes, like, well, memories of things that didn´t happen?"
She frowned and looked at him as if he had grown a second head.
Then she screamed:
"Baka-Shinji, what kind of stupid **** are you telling me? Are you trying to tell me that I am
just imaginating the whole thing with Rei? That little bitch made her move on you the very first
moment she saw you! Do you think I truely let this happen?"
He thought to feel the gust of air she was producing.
"Why don´t you just let it happen? I do not belong to you! Rei´s interested in what I am doing,
she like me that way I am while you can only scream or hit people!"
"What I am doing..."
She blinked, went silent, looked at him... hurt.
Then she interupted the connection.
"Oh, boy..." Shinji mumbled and felt terribly bad.
***
After finishing the scenario the six of them climbed out of the EntryPlugs.
The gaze Asuka cast at Shinji wasn´t full of anger anymore, but... different...
But she turned around before he was able to ask her.
They walked towards the exit, Asuka and Hikari on one side, Shinji and Rei on the other, Touji
and Kensuke between them.
A middle-aged woman stepped into their path, she wore a darkblue skirt, a white blouse and a
blue jacket, her shoulder-lenght hair was red-blonde, her smile seemed forced.
The name-tag identified her as Midori Sekigahama, Manager.
"Hello, you must be the six players who joined the league yesterday."
"Yes, we are." Kensuke nodded.
"I am Midori, the manager of the EVA-center at Tokio."
"Hello."
"Are you interested in participating at beta-testing some new modifications to the game? You
could vote on the quality, tell you if you like it and other things. Of course you wouldn´t
have to pay the entry-fee and you wouldn´t have to wait for an empty plug."
Kensukes eyes seemed to glow.
"That sounds great!"
"Will we be able to gain points for the league?" Touji asked, surprising the others once again.
"Of course. It´s more about new mission, new backgroundscenarios, new enemies and EVAs."
"Like unit four-a, the one with retractable claws at its hands?" Kensuke asked.
"Unit four-a will be a part of the modifications, we are just thinking about changing the
terminology."
"Wow!" Kensuke whispered and seemed ready to fell to his knees. He turned around. "Friends,
lets do it! Boy, I just can´t wait to chat with other players over the ´net!"
"Well, I have to ask you not to tell anybody, until the modifications are official" Midori
stopped Kensuke.
"Och."
"Well, that´s the rules. Do don´t you to decide now, tell me tomorrow or the day after tomorrow,
it´s just important that the whole team decides, since we want to test some team-missions."
"Yes... well, you can count on me! EVA´s the greatest game of all!"
Midori scanned the others, her gaze rested a bit longer on Rei than on the others.
"Well, so tell me when you´ve decided, just asked for me and they will go and get me, okay?"
The six nodded.
The woman said goodbye and the small group left the center.
"That really great!" Kensuke was truely happy. "Really! Joining the league on the first day and
now asked to participate at the beta-testings! Great, isn´t it, Touji?"
"Yeah, yeah", Touji mumbled whose gaze and attention was more directed at the legs of Hikari
who was walking in front of him.
At the next corner Shinji and Rei told the others goodbye. Asuka meanwhile was busy again
casting dark glances at everybody while Touji said something that made Hikari frown.
"I guess he´ll learn", Shinji sighed.
"Touji´s just pretending", Rei explained with her monotonous voice.
"Rei, could you... could you please..."
"What?"
"Could you please stop speaking with that emotionless voice? You are making me afraid."
She looked him shocked.
"I... I can´t controll it... but I´ll try..."
"Thanks."
"... for you..."
"Rei, that..."
She smiled at him in her special way, producing the same reaction like at the Fugotoyama...
No...
He clenched the lips, fought against the rise of the memories, didn´t want to reexperience her
being ready to sacrifice her life for him.
"Shinji", she whispered his name when he stumbled, grabbed his arm, held him.
"It´s okay, I have it under controll."
"Another memory?"
"Yes, of your smile..."
"Oh... Is it a pleasant memory?"
"Yes... and no... I think, I´ve seen you smiling... Your smile´s beautiful... but there´s also
the memory of fighting... Ramiel..."
"An angel..."
"You said: ´Goodbye´... I was such afraid..."
She hooked her arm into his.
"Shinji, if you want it, I will never say ´Goodbye´ to you again..."
He swallowed.
"That would be... uhm... really... pleasant..."
"Good. Now, come, you still owe me an ice-cream because of today morning."
*************************************************************************************************
Next: the last of the Katsuragi expedition * and the first wave...
*************************************************************************************************
@Nega-Darkwing: more about Rei´s origin next chapter...
Fifteen years ago:
They reached the wall of darkness, that seemed to grow up right into the sky.
Katsuragi approached it with his instruments, another scientist readied a large pole to get a
sample. The pole entered the darkness without meeting resistence, or so it seemed. When the
man tryed to pulled it back the other end had simply been dissolved.
Katsuragi looked at his instruments.
"The radiation´s stronger here..."
Thomas walked to his side, raised an arm so that his open hand was parallel to the wall.
"Tetryon-radiation..."
"What?"
"Professor Katsuragi, this is the expected and feared case of emergency. I´m taking over command
now."
"Just give me a moment to examine it..."
Thomas did a step forward, then another one. His hand came in contact with the darkness.
"Thomas!" Deiko screamed.
But it was already to late. The darkness closed around his hand, moved up his arm.
Shingen´s body went stiff.
The darkness´ approach stopped at the ellbow, it seemed to thicken around him, at other places
it lost its concentration, showed openings. And then the field of darkness vanished, absorbed
by his power.
And they were able to see their destination - and the enemy...
***
In front of them was an ice-covered mirror-like plain without any elevalations.
The ice was transparent, below a thick mantle of ice were the buildings and streets of a city
of giants.
"Incredible", Katsuragi whispered.
Thomas touched the microphon of his headset.
"Deiko, like we feared, the ancient town is visible. - Captain Ikari, prepare for command:
Wildfire. - Professor, what are your instruments reading?"
"The radiation´s increasing."
"Yes... I removed the shielding."
"How..."
"You have no time. Return to mobile one and leave immediatly."
"Why?"
Thomas only shook his head, then he pointed at the being that had materialized at the center
of the plain accomplained by lightning.
"Because of this."
***
An eightlegged creature came out of a ray of light, it resembled a large spider, a thirty feet
long spider...
It was covered with armor layers of metal, on its back it carried several structures - antennas,
reflectors and weapon turrets.
It started moving, walking on its eight legs towards the group at the edge of the plain.
"Shigen, what´s tat?" Katsuragi gasped.
"A Matriel, a biomechanical creature", Thomas replied automatically. "A scout. We have to prevent
it from contacting its base... Run, Katsuragi!"
He pushed the older man into the direction of the vehicles that also had started to move and
had near approached them.
The roof of mobile four had opened, revealing a heavy gun emplacement. The large cannon aimed at
the arachnoid, fired a blast of energy.
The blast did no damage, for a moment the shield was visible that had stopped it.
The scout answered the fire.
Mobile four exploded, the blast threw the professor through the air and against mobile three.
Thomas clenched his teeth.
"Deiko, the bomb!"
The blackhaired pulled the box from the sled and dragged it through the snow towards his position.
"What are you going to do?"
"I..."
The Matriel´s next energy blast crashed down right between them, throwing the greyhaired to the
ground.
When he was back to his feet and looked around, he heard his companion and one-time lover lowly
moaning. Her right arm was just a mass of smashed bones.
"Deiko, stay down... and hold on!"
He turned his head towards the vehicles, saw that Katsuragi had been brought into mobile one
and that mobile three´s turret was ready to fire.
"Ikari, fire at the ice to its feet! Draw its attention away from me!"
"Understood!"
Thomas looked at the crate with the miniature N2-bomb, the crate had been damaged, the detonator
had been separated from the bomb.
Damaged... useless...
Again he looked at the fast approaching arachnoid, it would have reached him within the next
twenty seconds...
So he started running to meet it...
***
Now:
When Misato Katsuragi left the school this day - and pretented to ignore the gazes of her
colleagues and some pupils - and walked to her car, she noticed again the dark car standing
on the other side of the street.
There he is again...
She hesitated, looked at her own car and back to the dark one.
Through the dark-tinted glasses she just barely was able to see the driver, the side-window
had been lowered a bit so that she was able to see a part of his head.
Who doesn´t dare...
She smiled her brightest smile and walked across the street, approaching the dark car on the
other side.
"Excuse me..."
The window was lowered completly.
"Yes?" the driver asked with a friendly smile. He wore a bright blue shirt with a dark tie,
and a dark jacket, his left hand was under his jacket on the level of his heart.
"I am a teacher at the school here... You are not allowed to park here."
She pointed at the sign.
He seemed visibly calmer at once when he removed his hand from the jacket.
"Ah, thanks for telling."
But he didn´t seem to think about leaving.
"Are you waiting for somebody - your son or your daughter?"
"Neither nor, I have no children."
She looked at his hands.
Hm, no ring...
"I´m just asking since I already saw you standing here yesterday."
He winked.
"I´m not allowed to talk about it. But say, why does a beautiful woman like you work as a
teacher?"
She looked at him with eyes wide open.
"You are quite fast."
He laughed.
"I don´t like wasting time, I am sitting a half of the day inside of this car and look out of
the window, so I have to grab any opportunity I´m given, eh?"
Misato joined his laughter.
"Now just say you´re a spy on a mission."
"Of course I am." He winked again. "But tell nobody, yes?"
She winked back.
"Your secret´s save with me."
"Great, you are saving my mission."
He gave her his hand.
"Ryoji Kaji. And I truely am a spy."
"What?"
He showed her his ID-card of the ministery of Interior.
"Ah..."
She dropped her jaw.
"I´m sorry, I didn´t want to startle you."
"What are you doing here?"
"If you really ar a teacher I may tell you."
"Okay, okay, just a second..."
She started searching in her bag for her ID-card.
"Here. That proves it. And here´s my permission to use the teacher´s parking lot."
"That´s more than I wanted to know", Kaji grinned and memorized her name and address.
"Misato Katsuragi... you must be the best-looking teacher in town, or should I be in error?"
"You are flattering me... obviously you know what a girl wants to hear."
"Ah, no, I just envy your pupils, that´s all."
Again they laughed.
"And why are you standing her in no parking the second day now?" she finally asked.
"I have orders protect one the pupils."
"Which one?"
"That´s classified, my dear Miss Katsuragi."
"How do you know that I am not married?"
"I guessed... you are wearing no wedding band... and a husband wouldn´t let you teach at a
school so that he wouldn´t have to share your beauty."
"You are really quite fast."
"Ah, but in fact I am very shy - you started by talking to my."
"Oh, yes, now it´s my fault... So, you´re telling me, that you are some kind of bodyguard?!"
"That would say it, yes."
"And why? Is somebody planning to kidnap the pupil - whose name shall not be told - or worse?"
He raised his hands.
"You don´t have to fear the armed men´d storm the school or something like this. But I am not
allowed to tell you, since I do not want to lose my job, even if I might die with boredom."
From the corners of his eyes he noticed the person he was watching leaving the building and being
about to vanish around the next corner.
"So, Miss Katsuragi, I have to leave. Our talk was quite pleasant, maybe we could continue it
one day."
"I´d like to, Mister Superspy." she grinned.
"So, well, have a nice day!"
He raised a hand greetingly, then he started the engine of his car while she stepped aside.
***
With each second he was spending inside of the EntryPlug Shinji Ikari knew more and more that
the reason for him mastering the EVANGELION-VR-game that fast was that he had had lots of
training... but maybe training was the wrong expression, since training normally didn´t put
one in mortal danger. By now he was sure that he had met the being called angels before - in
orginal - with a real EVA...
And he knew that he had fought side by side with Asuka and Rei...
Destroying the nests of small Matriels had become routine, as had fighting the fish-like Gaghiels
that had waited for them hidden in the waters of a flooded city.
Without hesitation he opened a private com-channel to Asuka, whose EVA was just dragging Hikari´s
EVA out of the water, the legs of EVA-09 had been eaten away up to the knees by the piranha-like
fish-angels.
"Asuka..."
The redhead glared at him angryly and reached out with one hand.
"No, please, don´t interupt the connection, I need to talk to you."
"Oh, yes. Are you already having enough of your doll?"
"Rei´s no doll, I don´t know how you came to this."
Something was within Asuka´s eyes - surprise.
"I... I don´t know, too..."
She shook her head.
"Probably you´ve infected me with your stupidity, Baka! Or another stooge did! But not Asuka
Soryu Langley!"
Again she reached out with her hand.
"Asuka, wait!"
"Okay, if you wish to apologize, I am willing to accept being the very forgiving person I am."
"Who said that I wanted to apologize?"
"So, what do you want then?"
"Ah, say, Asuka, did you experience... within the last days... strange things?"
"Strange... things?" she repeated.
"Yes, like, well, memories of things that didn´t happen?"
She frowned and looked at him as if he had grown a second head.
Then she screamed:
"Baka-Shinji, what kind of stupid **** are you telling me? Are you trying to tell me that I am
just imaginating the whole thing with Rei? That little bitch made her move on you the very first
moment she saw you! Do you think I truely let this happen?"
He thought to feel the gust of air she was producing.
"Why don´t you just let it happen? I do not belong to you! Rei´s interested in what I am doing,
she like me that way I am while you can only scream or hit people!"
"What I am doing..."
She blinked, went silent, looked at him... hurt.
Then she interupted the connection.
"Oh, boy..." Shinji mumbled and felt terribly bad.
***
After finishing the scenario the six of them climbed out of the EntryPlugs.
The gaze Asuka cast at Shinji wasn´t full of anger anymore, but... different...
But she turned around before he was able to ask her.
They walked towards the exit, Asuka and Hikari on one side, Shinji and Rei on the other, Touji
and Kensuke between them.
A middle-aged woman stepped into their path, she wore a darkblue skirt, a white blouse and a
blue jacket, her shoulder-lenght hair was red-blonde, her smile seemed forced.
The name-tag identified her as Midori Sekigahama, Manager.
"Hello, you must be the six players who joined the league yesterday."
"Yes, we are." Kensuke nodded.
"I am Midori, the manager of the EVA-center at Tokio."
"Hello."
"Are you interested in participating at beta-testing some new modifications to the game? You
could vote on the quality, tell you if you like it and other things. Of course you wouldn´t
have to pay the entry-fee and you wouldn´t have to wait for an empty plug."
Kensukes eyes seemed to glow.
"That sounds great!"
"Will we be able to gain points for the league?" Touji asked, surprising the others once again.
"Of course. It´s more about new mission, new backgroundscenarios, new enemies and EVAs."
"Like unit four-a, the one with retractable claws at its hands?" Kensuke asked.
"Unit four-a will be a part of the modifications, we are just thinking about changing the
terminology."
"Wow!" Kensuke whispered and seemed ready to fell to his knees. He turned around. "Friends,
lets do it! Boy, I just can´t wait to chat with other players over the ´net!"
"Well, I have to ask you not to tell anybody, until the modifications are official" Midori
stopped Kensuke.
"Och."
"Well, that´s the rules. Do don´t you to decide now, tell me tomorrow or the day after tomorrow,
it´s just important that the whole team decides, since we want to test some team-missions."
"Yes... well, you can count on me! EVA´s the greatest game of all!"
Midori scanned the others, her gaze rested a bit longer on Rei than on the others.
"Well, so tell me when you´ve decided, just asked for me and they will go and get me, okay?"
The six nodded.
The woman said goodbye and the small group left the center.
"That really great!" Kensuke was truely happy. "Really! Joining the league on the first day and
now asked to participate at the beta-testings! Great, isn´t it, Touji?"
"Yeah, yeah", Touji mumbled whose gaze and attention was more directed at the legs of Hikari
who was walking in front of him.
At the next corner Shinji and Rei told the others goodbye. Asuka meanwhile was busy again
casting dark glances at everybody while Touji said something that made Hikari frown.
"I guess he´ll learn", Shinji sighed.
"Touji´s just pretending", Rei explained with her monotonous voice.
"Rei, could you... could you please..."
"What?"
"Could you please stop speaking with that emotionless voice? You are making me afraid."
She looked him shocked.
"I... I can´t controll it... but I´ll try..."
"Thanks."
"... for you..."
"Rei, that..."
She smiled at him in her special way, producing the same reaction like at the Fugotoyama...
No...
He clenched the lips, fought against the rise of the memories, didn´t want to reexperience her
being ready to sacrifice her life for him.
"Shinji", she whispered his name when he stumbled, grabbed his arm, held him.
"It´s okay, I have it under controll."
"Another memory?"
"Yes, of your smile..."
"Oh... Is it a pleasant memory?"
"Yes... and no... I think, I´ve seen you smiling... Your smile´s beautiful... but there´s also
the memory of fighting... Ramiel..."
"An angel..."
"You said: ´Goodbye´... I was such afraid..."
She hooked her arm into his.
"Shinji, if you want it, I will never say ´Goodbye´ to you again..."
He swallowed.
"That would be... uhm... really... pleasant..."
"Good. Now, come, you still owe me an ice-cream because of today morning."
*************************************************************************************************
Next: the last of the Katsuragi expedition * and the first wave...
*************************************************************************************************
@Nega-Darkwing: more about Rei´s origin next chapter...