*Key
There was silence, a bone chilling lingering silence. Then a sound. A constant pounding, it was steady and weak but there. Then there was light a bright blinding light. It hurt to look at it. 'What is this?' a young girl thought. 'This is the self that observes the self.' Suddenly the light softened and a girl stood before a slightly older version of her, the older one looked surprised. 'Who are you?' The young replied, 'I am you.' 'But I am me' 'Yes we are the same being, this person incorporates the other beings, the being observed by others, and the being that observes the self.' 'So we are two pieces of the same being.' 'Yes.' The younger girl smiled, 'Much has happened to us in the past has it not?' 'Yes.' 'Eva, the commander and his *sigh* passing, Ikari the pilot of Unit 01, Unit 02 and its pilot, as well as Third Impact.' 'Indeed.' Suddenly there was something else, another being appeared. It was a young man with deep blue eyes, short cut hair, and a sad smile. 'Who are you?' Both females questioned. 'This is the Shinji Ikari that exists in your mind. Your perception of my being.' 'Yes.' They all stood observing the others that were present. Suddenly there was a flash and the other beings were gone and the room faded from view.
*Plunk*
*Plunk*
The light from the rising sun barely shone through the curtains in the room. The floor has a layer of dust on it as well as various articles of clothing scattered throughout, as well as bloodied bandages. What little light that actually seemed to enter the room seemed to reflect off a beaker filled slightly with water that was sitting on a dresser. Soon there was movement and a young woman began to rise. Her soft indigo blue hair seemed to capture the light in just the right way. Slowly her deep red eyes opened and she surveyed her surroundings as if she had not expected to awaken where she was. Rei Ayanami slowly rose from her bed and prepared for the coming day, the same way she always did. She glanced at her table that contained the beaker of water and looked at the letter set next to the beaker. It was an invitation to a party. The party was to be that night at 8:30 at Major Katsuragi's residence in honor of Ikari's birthday. Ikari had delivered the letter to her personally, he seemed quite nervous when he handed her the invite and asked with what could have been described as worried hope. She had taken the card and agreed that she would attend, that seemed to make the third child more relaxed. She had read up about the concept of a party specifically one that was meant to honor a person's date of birth. She had learned that it was customary to give the honoree a present and also that it was normal for one to dress well while in attendance. She had decided to wear her school uniform seeing as it was truly all the clothes she had. She glanced at the clock and then she opened a drawer and withdrew a small box that was wrapped very delicately. "Ikari he seems so strange. He is very different than the commander and he does not trust the commander. But he has saved my life numerous times and seems to enjoy my company in his own manner." A knocking on her door and the sound of someone running away interrupted Rei's musings. She walked to the door and looked out expecting to see someone waiting, but instead all she saw was a small white box with a red bow and a small card on it addressed to her. She picked up the box and examined it. She brought it inside and closed the door slowly. 'This is most unexpected. The commander never mentioned me receiving a new uniform.' She looked at the box, it did seem similar to the boxes that the commander had sent her uniforms in but the bow and the card were out of place, so she decided to open the card to see if it presented any information on the contents of the box. The card was written with a sloppy hand, the ink was still wet and some of the letters were beginning to become distorted. She slowly read the card, "Rei, Wear this to the party tonight. It should fit. See you tonight." This was certainly not something from the commander. She decided to open the box and examine the contents. She removed the lid and moved the paper away. She looked down and saw a blue dress, the sleeves seemed to be made of a thin material that was light blue (just a little darker than her hair), and the main portion of the dress was a deeper shade of blue. She lifted the dress out of the box and examined it more closely, she noted that it was a full-length dress with long sleeves. She looked down at the box and also found a pair of earring, they were the clip kind because she was unable to get her ears pierced due to her piloting job. She also noticed a pair of shoes that had heels. She looked at all of these things somewhat amazed, slowly she placed all of the things back into the box and set it next to the beaker on the dresser. She walked to her bed and picked up her schoolbag and left for school somewhat confused. She decided it was best to go to school and then wonder about the dress later.
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