Disclaimer: see part 1
Part 8
Discord
By Random1377
Rei walked to school quietly, thinking of all that had happened in the last few weeks. The cello lessons had continued, but they mostly consisted of Shinji listening to her play, as she had become... not his equal, but at least skilled enough to handle things on her own without his guidance.
It pleased her that she was doing well, and it pleased her to observe him listening to her play... with his head tilted slightly to the side and a small smile on his lips.
But then there was the slowly growing relationship between them. She frowned slightly, wondering where things were heading on that front. Certainly she enjoyed kissing him and being told that she was loved... but something was awry. In the last few days, his kisses had become increasingly... hungry. As if he was trying to consume her.
The thought chilled her. Though she felt a growing desire to give herself to him, she was hesitant about doing anything so soon... but the way he kissed her whispered that he may not wait for her to offer.
She desperately wanted to believe that he would not do anything against her wishes, but she had read too many books on human interaction and the inherent risks of relationships.
She did not like to doubt the one she loved. She resolved to discuss it with him before her next lesson.
"Well," a brash voice broke her from her thoughts, "if it isn't Wondergirl..." she turned to find Asuka heading towards her, a broad smile on her face.
"Hello..." she said quietly. The Second Child's behavior was yet another thing that weighed on her mind. Since the angel, the girl had seemed... unbalanced. She would be friendly to Rei one day, then cold and almost hostile the next.
Today seemed to be a friendly day, "So... where's your boyfriend?"
Rei looked at her sideways, "I do not know... should he not be with you?"
Asuka winked her eye, "He didn't come home last night... you SURE he didn't spend the night with you?" she dropped her voice, "Come on, Rei... you can tell me... did you... do it?"
Though Rei knew what the girl was talking about, she was shocked that the redhead would say something so forward, so she said, "Do what?" hoping that maybe she was mistaken. It did not cross her mind to think of where Shinji had been if he was not with her and had not been home.
Asuka was frowning, "Don't play dumb with me, First!" she snapped. Then her tone softened a little bit, "I just want to know... if it was good..." the intensity of her stare made Rei shiver inside.
"I... we did not do... that... I have not seen him since he left my building last night." Which was the truth. The thought of uniting with her fellow pilot made her pleased on many levels, but she was still unsure if it was right. And she was certainly not about to ask Asuka's advice - especially since the blue-eyed girl already assumed that they were 'doing it' as she so eloquently put it. -I must speak with him...- she thought, -I must know how he feels...- she decided that lunchtime would be better than her lesson.
Asuka looked disappointed, "Oh... I thought for sure..." she stopped walking, "wait... then where was he last night?" She tried to recall the previous night's events. She remembered watching TV... then taking a bath... then...
She frowned, -Misato left the house in an awfully big hurry last night...- she thought, remembering the woman's casual comment not to wait up for her. But hadn't there been something... odd about how casual she was? Perhaps a certain... tightness around the eyes that hinted at something below the surface? "Damn..." Asuka whispered, "why didn't I see it then?"
Rei had stopped also, and was watching her, "Is something wrong?" she asked quietly.
Asuka picked up her cell phone and dialed Misato's number. After three rings, Misato answered, sounding incredibly tired, "Katsuragi..."
"Misato? Are you ok? What's going on?" Asuka's feeling of unease grew with each second the lavender-headed woman was silent.
"I suppose you'll find out eventually..." she said with a sigh, "Shinji was... hit by a car last night... he's in the hospital."
"WHAT!?!" Asuka could not believe what she was hearing, "And just when were you planning to tell me??"
Misato's voice was low, "Asuka... I..." she took a deep breath, fighting back tears, "I wasn't going to tell you until they knew for sure..." a small sob escaped her, "until they knew if he would make it..." she finished in a whisper, "I didn't want to worry you..."
The phone slid from Asuka's fingers slowly, her eyes wide with shock. "What is-" Rei began, but before she could finish, the redhead took off running, dropping her book-bag, and offering no explanation.
Rei watched her departure, with a slight frown, then picked up the discarded phone, "Major Katsuragi? Is there a problem?" She listened as the woman spoke, growing even paler than usual.
Twenty seconds later, she was running too.
**
Rei arrived at the hospital and found Asuka arguing with a nurse, "I don't give a good GODDAMN! Do you see THIS?!" she was shaking her NERV ID at the woman, "THIS means I can go wherever the hell I WANT! Now get out of my way!"
The nurse got out of her way. Rei followed her as she ran through the hospital toward the intensive care section. They finally found Misato standing in the hallway outside of one of the rooms, rubbing her cross pensively across her lips and frowning at the floor.
"Misato!" Asuka gasped, "Is he ok?"
Misato looked up, "No..." she whispered, "he's not." She let out a shuddery breath, "He's alive, but..." She pointed to an observation window.
Rei and Asuka approached it slowly, a feeling of dread filling them.
"Shinji..." Rei gasped as she looked in. Shinji lay amidst a complicated array of machinery, a large bandage around his head and his right leg raised up over the bed.
"He's asleep right now..." Misato said quietly, still looking at the floor, "he... didn't suffer any internal injuries... but he was hit on the head pretty hard." She looked up, and Asuka was surprised to see the empty look in her eyes, "They don't know... how his mind was affected. They didn't see any damage when they..." she choked on the words, "patched the hole in his skull... but... but..." she could not contain herself anymore.
As Misato collapsed upon the floor and wept, Rei stood still, watching Shinji's chest rise and fall slowly. Suddenly, all of her thoughts from earlier that morning seemed so trivial. Asuka's mood swings, which were probably just that, seemed so far away and unimportant.
Her heart clenched as she remembered her other train of thought. She put a hand on the glass, a solitary tear running down her cheek as she realized she might now never get the chance to talk to him about their relationship... or even talk to him about ANYTHING again. "I love you... Shinji..." she whispered, staring at his still form. "Come back to me... I still have so much to learn..."
Unobserved, Rei cried silent tears for her stricken love, wishing she had told him just once more... that she loved him.
Continued...
Author's notes: to clarify the title - it is a reference to Rei's hair and eye color. When I began to write the story, I was going to have it be Crimson and Cobalt, in reference to Rei's and Shinji's eye color respectively - but the title sounded stupid, so I changed it to be solely a reference to Rei, since she was the focus and the reason behind the lessons anyway.
And I'll try not to make it so long before the next chapter... in fact, I'll go write a few paragraphs now! :)
Feedback is always welcome at random1377@yahoo.com
Part 8
Discord
By Random1377
Rei walked to school quietly, thinking of all that had happened in the last few weeks. The cello lessons had continued, but they mostly consisted of Shinji listening to her play, as she had become... not his equal, but at least skilled enough to handle things on her own without his guidance.
It pleased her that she was doing well, and it pleased her to observe him listening to her play... with his head tilted slightly to the side and a small smile on his lips.
But then there was the slowly growing relationship between them. She frowned slightly, wondering where things were heading on that front. Certainly she enjoyed kissing him and being told that she was loved... but something was awry. In the last few days, his kisses had become increasingly... hungry. As if he was trying to consume her.
The thought chilled her. Though she felt a growing desire to give herself to him, she was hesitant about doing anything so soon... but the way he kissed her whispered that he may not wait for her to offer.
She desperately wanted to believe that he would not do anything against her wishes, but she had read too many books on human interaction and the inherent risks of relationships.
She did not like to doubt the one she loved. She resolved to discuss it with him before her next lesson.
"Well," a brash voice broke her from her thoughts, "if it isn't Wondergirl..." she turned to find Asuka heading towards her, a broad smile on her face.
"Hello..." she said quietly. The Second Child's behavior was yet another thing that weighed on her mind. Since the angel, the girl had seemed... unbalanced. She would be friendly to Rei one day, then cold and almost hostile the next.
Today seemed to be a friendly day, "So... where's your boyfriend?"
Rei looked at her sideways, "I do not know... should he not be with you?"
Asuka winked her eye, "He didn't come home last night... you SURE he didn't spend the night with you?" she dropped her voice, "Come on, Rei... you can tell me... did you... do it?"
Though Rei knew what the girl was talking about, she was shocked that the redhead would say something so forward, so she said, "Do what?" hoping that maybe she was mistaken. It did not cross her mind to think of where Shinji had been if he was not with her and had not been home.
Asuka was frowning, "Don't play dumb with me, First!" she snapped. Then her tone softened a little bit, "I just want to know... if it was good..." the intensity of her stare made Rei shiver inside.
"I... we did not do... that... I have not seen him since he left my building last night." Which was the truth. The thought of uniting with her fellow pilot made her pleased on many levels, but she was still unsure if it was right. And she was certainly not about to ask Asuka's advice - especially since the blue-eyed girl already assumed that they were 'doing it' as she so eloquently put it. -I must speak with him...- she thought, -I must know how he feels...- she decided that lunchtime would be better than her lesson.
Asuka looked disappointed, "Oh... I thought for sure..." she stopped walking, "wait... then where was he last night?" She tried to recall the previous night's events. She remembered watching TV... then taking a bath... then...
She frowned, -Misato left the house in an awfully big hurry last night...- she thought, remembering the woman's casual comment not to wait up for her. But hadn't there been something... odd about how casual she was? Perhaps a certain... tightness around the eyes that hinted at something below the surface? "Damn..." Asuka whispered, "why didn't I see it then?"
Rei had stopped also, and was watching her, "Is something wrong?" she asked quietly.
Asuka picked up her cell phone and dialed Misato's number. After three rings, Misato answered, sounding incredibly tired, "Katsuragi..."
"Misato? Are you ok? What's going on?" Asuka's feeling of unease grew with each second the lavender-headed woman was silent.
"I suppose you'll find out eventually..." she said with a sigh, "Shinji was... hit by a car last night... he's in the hospital."
"WHAT!?!" Asuka could not believe what she was hearing, "And just when were you planning to tell me??"
Misato's voice was low, "Asuka... I..." she took a deep breath, fighting back tears, "I wasn't going to tell you until they knew for sure..." a small sob escaped her, "until they knew if he would make it..." she finished in a whisper, "I didn't want to worry you..."
The phone slid from Asuka's fingers slowly, her eyes wide with shock. "What is-" Rei began, but before she could finish, the redhead took off running, dropping her book-bag, and offering no explanation.
Rei watched her departure, with a slight frown, then picked up the discarded phone, "Major Katsuragi? Is there a problem?" She listened as the woman spoke, growing even paler than usual.
Twenty seconds later, she was running too.
**
Rei arrived at the hospital and found Asuka arguing with a nurse, "I don't give a good GODDAMN! Do you see THIS?!" she was shaking her NERV ID at the woman, "THIS means I can go wherever the hell I WANT! Now get out of my way!"
The nurse got out of her way. Rei followed her as she ran through the hospital toward the intensive care section. They finally found Misato standing in the hallway outside of one of the rooms, rubbing her cross pensively across her lips and frowning at the floor.
"Misato!" Asuka gasped, "Is he ok?"
Misato looked up, "No..." she whispered, "he's not." She let out a shuddery breath, "He's alive, but..." She pointed to an observation window.
Rei and Asuka approached it slowly, a feeling of dread filling them.
"Shinji..." Rei gasped as she looked in. Shinji lay amidst a complicated array of machinery, a large bandage around his head and his right leg raised up over the bed.
"He's asleep right now..." Misato said quietly, still looking at the floor, "he... didn't suffer any internal injuries... but he was hit on the head pretty hard." She looked up, and Asuka was surprised to see the empty look in her eyes, "They don't know... how his mind was affected. They didn't see any damage when they..." she choked on the words, "patched the hole in his skull... but... but..." she could not contain herself anymore.
As Misato collapsed upon the floor and wept, Rei stood still, watching Shinji's chest rise and fall slowly. Suddenly, all of her thoughts from earlier that morning seemed so trivial. Asuka's mood swings, which were probably just that, seemed so far away and unimportant.
Her heart clenched as she remembered her other train of thought. She put a hand on the glass, a solitary tear running down her cheek as she realized she might now never get the chance to talk to him about their relationship... or even talk to him about ANYTHING again. "I love you... Shinji..." she whispered, staring at his still form. "Come back to me... I still have so much to learn..."
Unobserved, Rei cried silent tears for her stricken love, wishing she had told him just once more... that she loved him.
Continued...
Author's notes: to clarify the title - it is a reference to Rei's hair and eye color. When I began to write the story, I was going to have it be Crimson and Cobalt, in reference to Rei's and Shinji's eye color respectively - but the title sounded stupid, so I changed it to be solely a reference to Rei, since she was the focus and the reason behind the lessons anyway.
And I'll try not to make it so long before the next chapter... in fact, I'll go write a few paragraphs now! :)
Feedback is always welcome at random1377@yahoo.com