Echoes of Angels1 an Eva fic by AngelDragon

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from the show (but if I did, of course it would be Kaworu!)

Warnings/Notes: Okay, in this installment, Shinji has a rather. embarrassing . morning problem (I'm sure any guys who're reading this know perfectly well what I'm talking about), so be warned. Plus, he wishes the usual death on Asuka and encounters a rather familiar face.

And, spoilers about the Fourth Child, Kaji and episode 23,so don't read any farther if you haven't seen past all that (preferably the whole series, just makes it less confusing that way).



Chapter One: Recognition

Early in the morning, Shinji awoke with an embarrassing surprise. Sitting up in bed, he was suddenly aware of it and groaned, running his fingers through his dark bed-head.

'Oh hell, not again!'he said, gasping as he got up.

See, Shinji had dreams too, like nightmares after Toji's death had occurred at the massive, unbridaled hands of his Eva 0-1,but he'd also have weird ones that left him feeling floaty and excited when he woke from them. Kinda like how he felt now.

And the only way to make it all go away was to, well,'take care of it' himself, much to his embarrassment. He crept quietly to the bathroom, clad only in his boxers and a loose tanktop and locked the door behind him. The last thing he needed now was for Misato or Asuka to come barging in half- asleep, slap him and call him a pervert.

As he concentrated on being quiet about it, the dream came back to him a bit and it wouldn't seem so odd to him if it were about Asuka, or even Misato --- except it wasn't. Neither of them had silvery-gray hair and the warmth he'd felt from the unclear figure he'd seen. Oh well, he thought afterwards, it must have been someone I'd seen in a manga or on a calendar, or something.

He snuck back to bed; fortunately having no more dreams that day. It was all too soon when he heard Asuka pounding on his door.

'C'mon, you baka! Misato made me wake you for school and I'm not waiting all day! If you make me late, I'll make you pay!'

Groaning, Shinji thought, how wonderful a gift it would be if she lost her voice, or perhaps spontaneously combusted, even if only for today.

'Alright, alright! You don't have to threaten me or anything,'he called, really not caring if she heard or not, as he dressed.

He snagged a quick breakfast and said bye to Misato, who was sprawled in the living room, watching TV with Pen-Pen .She was still depressed from Kaji's sudden death and didn't say much these days. Shinji was worried about her and hoped she'd snap out of it. At least she wasn't drinking anymore, unless you counted coffee.

School was, as predicted, boring and quiet. After Rei's sacrifice of Unit 00 and the resulting explosion/flooding, there weren't many people left in the class, the 'new' Ayanami wasn't one of them. The ones who were left didn't talk to him, just gave him looks, ranging from fear to contempt. And of course, the only thing that ever came out of Asuka's mouth to him was beratement and comments on his lack of masculine backbone.

Shinji was all too pleased to leave, but didn't feel like going home. All Asuka ever did was whine about not synching properly with her Eva and tell him that she didn't need him or Ayanami or Misato and then lock herself in her room, only coming out for silent, scowling meals and long, obsessive showers.

He couldn't talk to her or Misato and he was afraid of Ayanami, now that he knew where she came from, what she was. He didn't know what to do or where else to go, so he took a walk, going to the new seashore, where the blast had occurred .He went there often, since it was isolated and calming, despite the circumstances of it's creation.

He walked along the edge of the surf a ways, stopping to watch the red-gold waves lap against the sand. He spied a shell buried in it and picked it up, sighing as he looked at it.

'Broken, heh, it figures. Just like everything else in my life,'Shinji said, then skipped it across the water.

As he watched the sunset, he heard a lightly hummed song find his ears; Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy'. Startled, he looked to his left to find the source. A lean young figure in jeans and a short-sleeved white shirt over an orange T-shirt was sitting on a crumbling stone angel statue. The figure was staring at the sunset also.

'Oh, sorry, I didn't know anyone was here. I came here to be alone,'Shinji said. 'That's alright. Funny, I came here not to be.' He had a soft, soothing voice that caught Shinji's attention. 'Um, so you like music?'Why am I saying this? he thought. 'Yes.A song is good and that one in particular is my favorite. What do you think, Ikari Shinji-kun?'the figure said, turning to look at him.

Both boys got quite a shock, but kept it to themselves well enough. It's him, the one from my dreams! Kaoru thought. I had no idea.. What the?! Gray hair? No, it couldn't be --- could it? Shinji thought, his heart skipping a beat.

'H-how do you know my name?'Shinji asked, snapping out of it.

'Everyone knows who you are, Ikari-kun.Forgive me, but you aren't very aware of your own position,'Kaoru said, trying to relax again. It was easy enough, he felt calm in Shinji's presence, just like the dream.

'I didn't think anyone cared one way or another, I have no friends here anymore. By the way, um, who are you? You seem to know about me, but I've never seen you around here before.'Why am I so nervous? Shinji thought.

'I'm Kaoru, Nagisa Kaoru.Pleased to meet you. I'm one of the selected children as well, the Fifth, to be exact,'Kaoru said, smiling a bit.

Shinji just stared, not sure he'd heard him right.

'What? The Fifth child? You, Nagisa-kun?!'

'Yes.Please call me Kaoru, Ikari-kun,'Kaoru said, smiling and kicking his dangling leg back and forth. He watched Shinji blush and look down at the sand and thought, I feel like I've known him all my life. To think, I'd feel about one of the Lillim this way! I -I think he's special..

'Um, alright. Please call me Shinji,'Shinji said, recovering a bit. Strange that he'd feel so comfortable with that decision, having just met him. Or did he? He just wasn't sure yet, it felt weird to him.

Kaoru's heart fairly leapt as a broad smile crept onto his face. He laughed lightly, happy that his new friend would accept him so quickly.

'So, are you busy now, Kaoru?'Shinji asked. He wanted to get to know him a little more, pleased that at least one person still wanted to talk to him or even breathe the same air he did.

'Actually, I'm supposed to go to Nerv Headquarters for my synch test now. I've already had my physical earlier today. It was uncomfortable, so I came here to relax.'

'Okay.Can I go with you? They probably want me there anyway, since I've been avoiding it like the plague lately.'

'Sure, I could use the company of a friendly face,'Kaoru said, grinning at his private joke. He jumped down and they went on their way. Hungry, they stopped at the cafeteria for a quick bite before suiting up downstairs.

After they tested with Ayanami, Ritsuko said they wanted to test Kaoru alone, so Shinji and Rei were dismissed. Having nothing better to do, Shinji changed and hung out at the gate, listening to his player. Ironically,'Ode to Joy' was on it now, from his tape of classical music. Soon, Kaoru came out and leaned down, smiling and startling him.

'You were waiting for me, weren't you?'

'Um, no, I didn't, um I mean, yeah, I guess so,'Shinji stammered. Kaoru'd jolted him out of a daydream.

'So, what do you do now, Shinji?'

'Oh, after the tests, I usually just take a shower and go home, even though I'm not crazy about home now. Asuka's getting worse. She didn't come home or here after school, Misato said and they're looking for her now. It's kind of lonely at home.' He sighed and turned off his player.

'You have a home to go to at least and that fact should make you happy. I'd like to talk with you some more. Is it alright if I come with you?'

'Huh?'Did he want to stay over at Misato's with me? There was room now.Shinji thought. 'To the shower, I mean. I'd like to relax, too.' 'Oh, sure, that.'Shinji giggled nervously.'Come on, I'll show you where it is.' It was warm and steamy in the bathing room as they entered, taking off their sneakers in the little genkan before going in the rest of the way. Shinji led him to the male locker-room as Kaoru looked around.

'You can put your clothes in my locker, okay? Since they didn't give you one yet, I mean.'

'Thank you, Shinji.'

Well, yet again, what do you think? Don't worry, the cuddly parts are up next (patience is a virtue, you know, along with appreciating such an obviously perfect relationship). A word of warning: flamers will be smote with a blast of holy dragon fire for their impertinence, so only by constructively criticizing me will you be spared. Until next time.