italics - thought
**** - flashback
The New Recruit
"He can't change history"
"And what gives you that idea?"
"It's not humanly possible"
"But to angels?"
"..."
"Perhaps you underestimate their power"
"I think you overestimate his"
"..."
"How do I have these memories? I am sure he would not want me to"
"Perhaps he has his reasons"
"Perhaps they have theirs"
"What are you saying? That it was not all let up to him?"
Gendo nods. Dr. Katsuragi asks, "Then who?"
"That is what I am trying to find out"
"I see...."
(It's supposed to be confusing)
-----------------
"You really are a stalker aren't you?"
A startled Kensuke turns around and sees Touji.
"Leave it alone" Kensuke mumbles and goes back to looking over the roof.
Touji joins him and sees a tall girl running laps around the front of the school.
"So, where's your binoculars stalker?" Touji asks.
Kensuke takes binoculars out of his bag and looks through them.
"You actually have binoculars..." Touji says
Kensuke says nothing and continues watching. Touji looks over at his unresponsive friend and sighs.
"Why don't you approach her?" Touji asks.
"I don't even know her" Kensuke says.
"Well get to know her. Invite her to go somewhere with you"
"Like where?" Kensuke asks not taking his eyes of his binoculars.
"A movie maybe..." Touji says.
"How original" Kensuke says unimpressed.
"How about to that stupid place in the mountains where you play your army games"
"Why would she want to go there?" Kensuke asks.
"Don't you listen? She likes nature! I bet she would be thrilled to get out of all this city junk"
"...Maybe" Kensuke says.
"Maybe what?" Shinji asks as he emerges from the doorway. Both Kensuke and Touji turn around and greet their friend.
"Hey Shinji" Touji says.
"Oh.. it's Shinji" Kensuke says and then goes back to staring.
"What is he doing?" Shinji asks Touji.
Touji shrugs and then says "Stalking, I guess"
"Oh, Ai Li-san?" Shinji asks.
"Who else" Touji says.
Shinji looks over at Kensuke who was busy adjusting the binoculars.
"You know that's a little pathetic. Maybe you should get to know her or something" Shinji says.
"See! I told you!" Touji says, "Shinji you are a man of wisdom!"
"Fine" Kensuke says.
"What?" Touji and Shinji says in unison.
"Fine, I'll talk to her after school today"
Shinji and Touji were both dumbfounded. Kensuke continued staring but his two friends stopped making comments about it.
-----------------
It was a large empty room with nothing but a desk. At this desk the Head Scientist of Nerv, Rokubungi Gendo, sits looking through some papers. Major Katsuragi walks in and stands infront of the desk.
"Yes, and what did you want to ask me about?" Gendo asks not looking up from his papers.
"It concerns Shinji Ikari" Misato states.
"Go on"
"I believe, with all do respect, that it was unwise to recruit a civilian so readily into our army"
"Major Katsuragi watch your tongue, we have no army"
"My apologizes, I meant security staff. But nonetheless, is it really safe to have him wandering around headquarters?"
"He will not be a problem for us in that way" Gendo says.
The fact that he didn't say how Shinji would pose a problem gave Misato the idea he wasn't going to tell her.
"I see... sir. Well that is just my opinion. I'm sorry for intruding" Misato says and then leaves. Gendo does not say a word as she does.
------------------
"Ha!" Shinji yells as he punches a man in the stomach. The man stands there and Shinji punches again with the other. This is repeated many many times.
"Ha!"
"Ha!"
"Ha!"
"You're getting weaker. Are you tired already?" The man asks.
"HA!" Shinji yells loudly as he punches as hard as he could. He then continues, but eventually his stamina dwindles.
"That's enough" The man says. Shinji stops and bows at the man.
"Thank you sensei" Shinji says and leaves.
Misato was watching, unnoticed by Shinji, from the corner of the room. The room was completely padded with fighting equipment all over it. Shinji had left the room and the only people who remained was Misato and the teacher.
"He's already getting better" The man says to Misato.
"I saw"
"However his strength is greatly affected by his emotions... Not a good thing" The man says.
"He was always like that..." Misato says and then leaves the room.
-------------------
Shinji walks into the locker room and gets changed out of his uniform. Misato requested that he be properly trained to be a soldier and so he had to learn to defend himself. And martial arts wasn't all of it. He had been taught how to operate a gun, he had shot some targets, went through some obstacle courses, ran, had a lesson in Tae Kwon Do, and now he was on his way to eat and then another few hours of martial arts.
Shinji is dressed and walks out of the locker rooms. He heads to the cafeteria that was usually pretty empty. It seemed no one ever ate here, everyone was always so busy. But Shinji didn't mind being alone. It was tiring to be with people.
"Shinji-kun!" Misato says loudly from behind Shinji. Shinji turns around on line and sees Misato.
"Hello Ms. Katsuragi" Shinji says.
"How was your karate lesson?" She asks.
"It's not Karate it's Tae Kwon Do. And you should know, you were watching from the corner"
Misato looks surprised but quickly hides it.
"You saw me?" She asks.
"I am training to be a soldier..." Shinji says as he receives his food.
The two find a seat and surprisingly it's Shinji who initiates the conversation.
"Why do I have to be trained?" He asks.
"I don't know, it's Doctor Rokubungi's direct order"
Shinji had never met the man in this world. But he knew exactly who that was.
"I see..." Shinji says and then falls silent.
"You don't like it?" Misato asks.
"I like my life simple... and peaceful" Shinji says.
"You're not going to ever get any field work. There's enough of us for now. But it's good to know how to defend yourself." Misato says.
"I guess.." Shinji says and imagines a scene when a girl was in danger and he rescues her from a bunch of thugs. The thought causes a smile to creep to Shinji's face and Misato notices.
"What are you smiling about?" Misato asks.
"N-Nothing" Shinji says and eats his food.
"Hmmmm... suspicious.." Misato says. Teasingly.
"It's nothing" Shinji says more sternly.
"If you say so..." Misato says but continues her evil grin.
---------------
Rei, Asuka, and Katharina stood outside of the school. All of them looking eager.
"Where the hell could he be!" Asuka yells.
"Perhaps he left already" Rei says with a sense of deja vu,.
"Yeah, I doubt he could face any of us after what happened yesterday" Katharina says fully aware that the other two girls had no clue the full extent of what had happened.
"But we practically ran here! He couldn't have left before us" Asuka says.
"He avoided us all day. I'm sure he could sneak home without us noticing" Katharina says. Shinji had not joined them for lunch today. Neither had Touji and Kensuke but Hikari had told them what they were up to.
"Shinji already left" Touji says as he walks by the three.
"What!?" Asuka and Katharina say.
"With Ms. Katsuragi" Kensuke adds spitefully.
"WHAT!?" The two Germans say again, more loudly.
Kensuke and Touji, who were just passing by, came to a halt at the loud yelling. Kensuke had his ears covered when Touji looked over at Rei as if just noticing her.
"Are you sure?" Rei asks.
"Yep, saw it with my own eyes" Touji responds, "we were walking with him then Ms. Katsuragi called him over and they walked to the parking lot"
It takes a moment for this information to sink in and then all hell breaks loose.
"Baka Shinji! I'm going to kill him!" Asuka yells.
"This is like out of a TV show! And she's a teacher! She should be ashamed of herself"
The other four stare at Katharina for a second and then a click goes off in each of their heads as they catch on.
"You don't think...." Touji says.
"Well they left together right?" Katharina asks.
"Yeah... but-" Kensuke says.
"I can't believe this!" Asuka yells.
Rei begins walking away at this point and no one bothers to stop her.
"That boy is gonna get it tomorrow" Katharina says as she too heads home.
Asuka watches as the two girls leave and then glare at Kensuke and Touji who immediately decide this was a good time to leave.
"Uh..bye Soryu!" Touji says and rushes off with Kensuke.
Asuka was left alone standing infront of the school. She sits down on the steps and collects her thoughts.
----------------------------
Shinji walks into his apartment and collapses. Literally.
"Ooooooooh it hurts" Shinji groans as he lies on his floor face down. His whole body was aching, he was sweaty, it was hot, and his stomach felt sick from moving around after he ate.
Shinji somehow crawls into his room and gets untop of his bed. He lies there and catches his breath.
"It hurts..." Shinji mutters again. He then relaxes as sleep overcomes him. Everything was so peaceful and quiet.... This was how Shinji liked things... And suddenly the sound of the phone shatters the silence.
"Er..." Shinji groans and continues lying in his bed. But the phone persists and Shinji had not turned his answering machine on.
"I'll call you back" Shinji mutters. But the phone still persists.
"Jesus, enough already" Shinji says, but again, the phone persists.
"Fine!" Shinji yells getting angry.
'Whoever this is is gonna get it' Shinji thinks.
"Hello?"
"Shinji-kun! You're home?"
It was Misato.
"Ms. Katsuragi..."
"I told you to wait for me! I thought you got lost or something!" Misato yells.
"It isn't that far to my building" Shinji says.
"I know, it's my building too" Misato says, "well next time I tell you to do something, do it"
"Sorry" Shinji says.
"Get some rest now, you need to do this again tomorrow" Misato says and then hangs up.
"I have to do this tomorrow!" Shinji yells into the phone but nobody hears him.
Shinji hangs up the phone and walks back into his room.
'I'm going to think about it tomorrow, not today' Shinji thinks and then falls on his bed.
------------------
"I see... so everything is going as planned." Gendo says and then hangs up the phone. He sits back, pushes back his glasses, and quietly sighs.
"So, what did you want to ask me?" Gendo says.
"It concerns a classmate of mine, Shinji Ikari...Sir" Rei says.
"Ah our new recruit" Gendo says, hiding his surprise of Rei knowing of Shinji.
"So it's true? He works for Nerv?" Rei asks.
"Yes, indeed he does." Gendo says calmly.
Rei remains silent for a while and then says, "I see, thank you for your time" and walks away.
After Rei leaves the room Gendo picks up the phone again. He pushes a button and the phone automatically dials.
"It's me. Get me Major Katsuragi" Gendo says and hangs up.
------------------
Kensuke was in his usual spot where he played army. He was sitting down on some rocks as he looked over the city. A girl was sitting next to him, which pitch dark hair and black eyes.
"It's beautiful" AI li says.
"I know, it's my own place where I can be alone" Kensuke says.
"Oh Kensuke!" AI Li says and hugs Kensuke.
And then he wakes up.
"Huh? AI Li?" Kensuke says out loud as he opens his eyes and finds himself in his room.
He was lying down, still in his school clothes. He had come straight home and went to bed.
"It was a dream..." Kensuke says and then recalls what had occurred earlier today.
***********
"Uh... would you like to go somewhere?" Kensuke says.
".....where?" AI Li says.
"W-well, I know this place and it's nice and..."
"I think I'll pass, I have things to do today" AI Li says.
"No wait, I think you'll really like it. I heard you like nature and-"
"What makes you think I like nature?" AI Li says, suddenly looking somewhat angry.
"I-I-I-I-I...." Kensuke stutters, "I-I h-heard... f-f-from a f-friend"
"Who?" AI Li asks.
"Well... He wasn't supposed to tell me, so he'll be angry if I tell you" Kensuke says. 'It's a good excuse' Kensuke thinks.
"So it's a guy." AI Li says immediately.
"N-n-no" Kensuke says.
"I don't think making someone into a research project is very polite" AI Li says and then walks away.
Kensuke stood there with his jaw wide open as he mentally beat the crap out of himself.
***End Of Flashback***
The more he thought of it the angrier Kensuke got.
"I'm so stupid" Kensuke says to himself, "what's wrong with me!"
He was about to hit something when the phone rang.
"Hello?" Kensuke says.
"Hey Kensuke! How'd it go?" Touji asks.
"Horrible" Kensuke says.
"Horrible? It couldn't have been that bad" Touji says.
"It was" Kensuke says plainly.
"Well... what happened?" Touji asks.
"I told her I thought she might like this place because she likes nature, and then she grilled me about how I knew she liked nature"
"And?"
"And I didn't want to actually say how I got the information and I made what I thought was a good excuse"
"And?"
"She told me it's impolite to make someone into a research project and she walked away"
"Ouch" Touji says.
"This is all your fault" Kensuke says.
"What!? Me!?" Touji say, surprised.
"Yeah, you put the idea into my head"
"Well I didn't know she would care that you knew she liked nature" Touji says defensively.
"Maybe she doesn't like nature. Maybe she actually hates nature and that's why she was angry"
"Even if she doesn't like nature, it doesn't give her the right to be angry" Touji says.
"...."
"Cheer up man!" Touji says, "there's lots of fish in the sea"
"Yeah...." Kensuke says gloomily.
"Well I have to go, but I'll see you tomorrow!" Touji says.
"Alright then..."
They both hang up and Kensuke goes back to brooding.
"I can't believe myself. How could I make a complete fool of myself? I'm an idiot..."
And he continued until his mother called him for dinner.
---------------------
It was morning and Shinji was ready for school. He was early as usual and he walks out of his apartment. He walks a few blocks and stops at one corner. Here he waited for Asuka, every morning. He had no idea when they decided this, or who decided it but every morning he would wait here and sure enough, Asuka would show up eventually. But until she did he had some time to think.
'Come to think about it, I was pretty friendly with Asuka... I mean after the third impact she was so... dead... But one day she just cheered up and went back to being the old Asuka again... Making fun of me, yelling, insulting, etc. And surprisingly I was glad when it happened. It was good to have the old Asuka back... Even if it meant I couldn't kiss her anymore...'
Shinji blushed as he thought of some moments he had shared with Asuka before the third impact. How she longed for someone to connect with and he had tried to fill the spot. But after the third impact, she just didn't seem interested anymore.
'We walk to school together everyday... I guess that means we're friends... but then again we hardly ever talk on the way except when she needs homework... And I haven't been talking to her much lately... but that's not my fault. Kat is here. I should be talking to her...'
Shinji felt a stabbing pain in his chest. This pain was called guilt as he realized what he was doing to Asuka.
'I'm pushing her away because Kat is back... I'm just throwing away everything we had... Or at least what I think we had... I wonder what Asuka thinks of me now anyway... She probably just thinks I'm just another stupid kid.. Or maybe....'
Shinji checks the time, Asuka was late. Shinji sighs and decides to wait a few more minutes.
'I have to go to Nerv again today... I wonder why fath... I mean Gendo wants me there anyway. Ms. Katsuragi said she was ordered by Gendo and her father to recruit me...'
'...'
'...'
'...'
"Wait a minute! Her father?!" Shinji says outloud. He remembers the third impact. When he was making all the decisions. Or at least the ones that mattered to him. The people he had thought about were the people he knew, which meant the people at Nerv. So Misato was one of them.
'Dr. Katsuragi should have died in an experiment' Shinji thinks, 'Ms. Katsuragi's necklaces is supposed to be the only thing he left her....'
But Dr. Katsuragi, from was Shinji concludes, is alive and well. Unless Misato needed some serious help.
Shinji checks his watch again and decides if he doesn't leave now he would be late so he starts walking.
'What the hell is going on'
---------------------
A/N: Indeed, what the hell IS going on? Anyway, I won't update for a while because I'm going on vacation. Oh also, I was hoping that someone was going to notice that I mentioned that Misato's father died but no one did. :-( Oh well, thank everyone for the reviews. The one the stuck out this time is the one that told me that sometimes it's hard to understand who's talking. Unfortunately I can't access my review page for some reason and I don't remember who said it. But thanks, your criticisms helped. please R+R!
