Standard Disclaimer!!

Yeah I'm still msting! I'm just upset that I didn't try to update and fix this story. I'm trying now, so give me lil bit of a break.

Damn lack of a job is good for one thing, time to write. But I have a killer C++ code due soon so that will hinder me.

Well more updates and revisions so.hope they make this story better.

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All They Needed Was Each Other

Chapter 1: sudden revelations

Shinji hurried to school, fully intent on doing something today that would end his suffering, but not knowing what.

Speaking to himself in the empty classroom, "Asuka would probably call me a coward for even thinking like this, if she cared at all about my being here." Though his mind a demonic inspiration hit him, 'If I end my life.the pain will leave me won't it.' The idea he was avoiding finally took hold he was contemplating suicide.

He wiped an unknown tear from his eye as the full weight of such an act hit him, 'Would I be better off if I was dead?' He set his head on his desk and clutched his shoulders; on this idea he began to think deeply in earnest.

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About the same time as Shinji debated ending his mortality, dual alarm clocks sounded and the other two members of the flat arouse from their respected slumber.

"Shinji! I hope you got my Yebisu ready" Misato called out groggily from her doorway. She had noticed a sudden change in her ward after his release from the hospital. At first he seemed happier to her, but that soon changed and she was growing slightly worried.

Picking out her clothing for the day, Asuka added to the demand upon the absent boy.

"Yeah, and some meat for a change, you Japanese have no sense of taste all that rice and noodles must go to your.... brain." Asuka stopped as she wandered into the kitchen and noticed the table was set with her and Misato's favorite breakfast meals but no chef.

"How do you like that, he left me," was the only thought that entered Asuka's mind.

"You two have a fight or something?" Misato asked as she sat down across from her ward and cracked open her first beer of the morning.

Sparing no vemon from her voice, "No but that baka woke me up last night, probably going to the bath room to touch myself thinking of me, that hentai."

Misato simply let the girl have her rant, 'If Shinji-kun were the pervert you claim him to be, why do you let him wash your underclothes.' Continuing with her meal, she couldn't help but wonder why Shinji cooked so much food, and left so early.

"Well I think it was nice of Shinji-kun to cook all this for us, so soon after his accident," Misato said to the red head as she impaled her fish upon her chopstick.

"It was his own fault, playing hero like that," Asuka replied indignantly.

Finishing her beer, "He was out of line by doing that, but maybe you should cut him at least a little slack. You've been a overly cruel to him."

"Me! Why do I have to change? It wasn't me that got eaten!" Asuka again began thinking of the favoratism Misato had regarding Shinji.

"Exactly Asuka. He just went through a near death experience and he could use a little compassion from his family," was the reply Misato offered once her mouth was free of fish.

Hosting a look of mild irritation, "Family? When did we become his family?"

Misato was normally able to curtail her agitation when it came to Asuka's rants; she was her ward after all. But her feelings for Shinji were stronger; he was slowly becoming the son she could never have. "We're his family now because his mother DIED in front of him and his bastard father ABANDONDED him!"

The piece of sausage dropped from Asuka's shocked lips as her mouth opened, "He saw his mother die?"

Misato's eyes widened, she wasn't supposed to tell the children about their respected parents, but Asuka's venting caused a slip. 'Sorry Shinji-kun, it was an accident.'

After waiting for Asuka's surprise to disperse, Misato continued, "It's not a certainty but after reviewing some old files I think Shinji saw his mothers accident in Unit-01."

Asuka remained silent, she hadn't expected that news. 'Maybe I have been a bit to rough on him. I'll let him talk to me after lunch.'

The remaining meal was spent in silence. Misato still slightly angered by the lack of concern one pilot had for the other, and Asuka re-writing some of her previous notions about one Shinji Ikari. When the time came, Asuka grabbed her gear and headed off to school.

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Asuka arrived to find Shinji flanked by the two people he hoped were his friends.

"Ne Shinji, what's got you so down man?" Touji mumbled in Shinji's ear.

"Yeah, why not tell us, the daemon beating on you again?" Kensuke added with the hope of brining a smile or at least a response from the mass of flesh sprawled on the desk next to him.

Without raising his head, "I told you, I'm fine, just allot on my mind, after today though it won't be a problem,"

Shinji had to smirk at his words as he had reached a conclusion right before Kensuke had arrived that day. It was a bitter smirk, and if his face were visible to the pair they would have known something was wrong.

"Well if ya need us bud, just say som' tin, I'm sure we can get Asuka out of your hair somehow," the jock suited boy said smiling broadly.

Together with Kensuke they both cheered, "Like push her in front of a train."

Touji's smirk was quickly wiped off his face as Hikari smacked him on the back of the head with a book. "SUZAHARA! Don't you dare say things like that about Asuka, she's not that bad"

"Yeah Touji, if you like psycho girls with a permanent period" Kensuke said with a laugh.

Unfortunately for the be-speckled boy the redheaded pilot didn't agree with him. Overhearing the rather loud conversation from her desk, and by gauging Hikari's reaction, Asuka decided to see what was transpiring.

"You will regret that, STOOGE!" was all the Japanese that slipped from her lips the following being a string of German swear words and heavy panting from the exertion from the chase and the heavy beating that followed.

After Kensuke pried his shoe out from he rear-end, the teacher asked for Hikari to instigate class, which she did with her usual flawless commands.

During the whole pre-school social gathering a pair of red eyes were affixed to the young man who was at the center of the mess. Rei was an expert on observation, she was not trained in it she just did it. And by viewing Shinji and his reaction to the events she noticed something, 'He is acting oddly.'

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School was its predictable blandness. The focus was Second Impact, and the students simply tuned out. Shinji was busy contemplating exactly how he would commit his act. Asuka was still slightly angry by the events of the day, both Kensuke's comments and Shinji's disappearing act. Rei, when she wasn't looking out the window, was planning the conversation she indented to have with the 3rd child.

The day passed quickly for everybody regardless. As his lecture came to a close the elderly man lifted a clipboard. "Class dismissed, you may leave, all accept for," after flipping thru his list of names "Ikari and Ayanami, you have class duty."

Asuka hustled out of the room with the rest of the lucky students. She stopped outside the door and looked back in at Shinji. Something about the way he carried himself disturbed her. 'I meant to talk to him at lunch, but that.stooge was there.'

Tempted to walk back into the room and confront him about his composure, two things stopped her.

1) Ayanami Rei was in the room, one of her least favorite people. 2) Hikari was just joining up with her and wanted to leave quickly, so they did.

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'I don't know if I can keep this strength for long,' Shinji thought as he saw the final person leave the room. With each passing moment he felt his determination to perform his final act fading, but he didn't want it to.

He stole a glance at the pale girl that was walking over towards him and almost laughed at his thought, 'I hope she doesn't get mad that I won't be helping her clean.'

As she reached him, "Ikari-kun we need to begin with the cleaning," was all Rei said in her mono-toned voice. 'We may converse afterwards.'

He needed to do this quickly or he faced being an even bigger coward, 'But how.the roof!'

"Um.Ayanami-san, I have to take care of something first. It may take me a long time, do you mind starting without me?" Shinji asked in a thin voice.

"I shall begin the cleaning then," the ruby-eyed girl replied, noting the beads of perspiration on the boys face.

Shinji mumbled out a thank you and hurried out of the room. His feet dragging more and more with each step, his conscious adding to the debate about the 'rightness' of his plans.

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Forcing the doorway to the roof open, Shinji edged his way closer to the fence that guarded the edge of the building. He stood with his head pressed against the interweaving metal and looked at the ground. 'Maybe this is a bad idea, sure my life sucks, but whose doesn't? Father left me, mother left me, Asuka hates me, I'm a burden to Misato, and Ayanami doesn't care if I exist.'

He slowly started to ascend the fence.

From her vantage point in the classroom, Rei saw Shinji begin his ascent. 'What purpose could his actions have?' Following normal procedures for spotting odd behavior among Nerv personnel, she took her phone out and called the Commander.

After hanging up, she found herself heading towards the roof. As she opened the door and set foot into the open air, she spotted Shinji sitting atop the fence with a questioning look on his face.

"Ikari-kun, what are you doing?"

Without looking at her, "If I fell, I would die. No more pain. If I were to fall, who would care?"

Approaching the fence herself she asked in her flat voice, "What is your intent, Ikari-kun?"

Taking his eyes off of the ground and focusing on hers, Rei noticed the tears flowing from them. 'Is he happy? Some how that doesn't seem correct this time.'

"I think.I think I'm going to just fall. I've been falling all my life, I just hadn't noticed." His voice cracking terribly and his body shook. "When I first got here, I thought people cared about me.ME." He shook his head, "But its not ME they cared about, its my ability to pilot some damn giant machine."

Rei was feeling something new inside, fear. 'He intends to end his life, he isn't replicable.'

Shinji brought a fist down on the bar on which he sat. "I've just been so damn blind, nobody cared! I'm just a tool.a tool for father."

"People would care if you were gone," Rei's soft words cut through the sobs of the 3rd child and again caused him to look down at her.

He stared at her for what seemed an eternity of silence, all the jumbled emotions in his confused mind unable to fully comprehend what she said, "W- what?"

"People value your existence," her voice still stoic but with a subtle hint of concern that was missed by it's recipient.

"...Like who?" his voice still weak and broken 'I can't think of anybody.'

"Those with whom you live."

Her open response confusing him, he clutched the bar tighter. "Asuka.she hates me, I'm just a burden to Misato-san,.you. either hate me or don't even care if I exist. I'm just a tool, and nothing more."

He turned from the blue haired girl and slowly began to drag his leg up towards the bar.

"Ikari-kun."

Hearing his name called, Shinji turned and look at Rei, 'I'll never see her pretty face again.'

"I care."

Hearing Rei say those two words caused Shinji to fall. Not over the ledge towards the ground but rather he fell the few feet back on the roof. 'Ayanami said she cared? Does she mean it?' Standing up and about to ask her what she meant, Shinji was shocked. Before him stood not Rei but.

"Shinji! What were you THINKING?" the major asked but never gave him time to answer as she smacked him hard across the face, but before he could recoil she smothered him in a bear hug.

She buried the boys face in her chest as she cried softly "Don't you scare me like that again, now...lets go home and talk about this."

His mind in greater turmoil than before, he nodded into her chest, as speech was impossible. 'I was going to.I was really going too.'

Misato let go of him enough for him to look up into her eyes and saw the true concern in her eyes. "Yeah.lets go home Misato-san.and I'm sorry."

"Accepted," she said as she again clutched him tightly.

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Well shit, that's the revisions for chapter 2, added about 3 pages of text, fixed things up abit more. I think this messes a bit more, Shinji was less focused on his task which makes his shaky resolve more believable.

I'm going to try to fix all this story up and add more to it. Hope you enjoy it

Ja Mata

Zentrodie (zentrodie@secondimpact.com www.geocities.com/zentrodie.geo)