Tashi stared down at the sleeping forms of the girls that were the Evangelion pilots. It was amazing they'd survived...He knew he was going to have to devise better fighting techiniques if these...beings...continued to come.
He moved around the closed, well-windowed room to the side where Mei lay. He pressed a hand to the glass, wishing he could be in that room, by her side. She lay there, so still, the white sheets pulled up under her arms and a clear plastic mask over her face. Risa and Kaori were similarily laid out on their beds. None of them had the slightest marks on their bodies to show the damage they had taken.
He had seen the Evas though. All three had been badly damaged. He wondered where they would get the replacement parts for them. He also wondered if they could be ready in time before the Angels came back.
He didn't doubt that they would come back, either. Something deep within him told him that they would return.
Now he wondered about his ability to protect Mei. She never knew it, but he'd made a promise to himself, years ago, to watch over her and keep her from harm. That's why he had felt so bad about Kyle's violation of her, the only thing he'd ever hated himself for. He still did, too. He felt that he'd betrayed her somehow...that he'd failed her trust. He had seen it in her eyes every time he'd been near her, the fear there, and something else, something he still couldn't put a name to. His hand shrunk into a fist, still pressed to the glass window by her bed.
Why can't I be with her? he thought in frustration. I want to take her away from all this...and I'm sorry I got her into it in the first place. He sighed, and willed himself through the glass to sit on the edge of her bed, hold her hand and kiss her forehead. Like he used to.
No matter how hard he tried, he still stayed on his side of the glass. Right before he would have turned away, Mei rolled her head towards him and opened her eyes. They seemed defocused, but he got as close to the window as he dared and pressed his hand there again. She just stared at him with those unseeing eyes. But a tiny smile crossed her face briefly and then she went back to sleep.
Heartened, Tashi rested his head on the window for a moment before going to see what was being done about repairs. Yet he couldn't shake the feeling of something important about to happen.
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Characters & concept: © 1997-2002 Katsura /\ Evangelion © Gainax