Chapter One: Going Under
Shinji watched the waves crash upon the rocks and drift back out to sea. They always went in the same pattern, always predictable. Shinji liked that fact. It was peaceful there, with the soothing sound of the water frothing gently at the foot of the beach's cove of black rock.
He lay his head back and saw the clouds waft lazily about. The only person he had to worry about meeting out here was himself, and the introduction couldn't be that difficult. After all, they have so much in common. Shinji's thoughts were interrupted by an unusually loud flow of liquid. Returning to his sitting position, he saw it. A massive wall of water surged directly toward him, as if seeking out a victim. It found one.
In between Shinji's screams and gulps of air, he managed to do little except sink. It was then that he remembered: he couldn't swim. A downward swell of the current sucked him under and past an outcropping of sharp submerged rock. His flailing arms hit it and were slashed; from his elbows to his fingers lay a mess of crimson ribbons.
Now I will tell you what I've done for you
Fifty thousand tears I've cried
Screaming, deceiving, and bleeding for you
And you still won't hear me
Going under...
Silent chaos was his world. Uprooted plants, small fish, chunks of rock, and his own fresh blood swirled around him. Shinji couldn't hear, couldn't see, couldn't breathe. Losing blood quickly, his consciousness followed into a dull state of numbing oblivion.
Blurring and stirring the truth and the lies
So I don't know what's real and what's not
Always confusing the thoughts in my head
So I can't trust myself anymore
Though it was probably just a few minutes, the next gap between periods of unconsciousness seemed to span decades. The raging current continued to whirl Shinji about and hold him underwater. At last, it ceased, and Shinji floated to the surface. Spitting out a mouthful of water and gulping in as much air as his lungs could hold, he tried to stay afloat. For a few short seconds, he was successful, but then another pounding wave thrust him under. Even in his blurry mental state, Shinji knew he couldn't keep this up for much longer.
I...I'm dying again
I'm going under, drowning in you
I'm falling forever, I've got to break through
I'm going under
Propelled by the wave, Shinji sank lower and lower. Bits of debris hit his face and bounced off, clouding the already murky red water. With what little vision he had left Shinji saw himself falling past vertical spires of coral and swarms of confused fish. He slammed into a plain of smooth rock. Every bone felt as if it were broken, every muscle as if on fire.
Don't want your hand this time, I'll save myself
Maybe I'll wake up for once
Not tormented daily, defeated by you
Just when I thought I'd reached the bottom...
Suddenly, a familiar presence. The surface broke, and from so far above him dove another. A girl; the rays of sun fighting their way through the watery fray shimmered around her silhouette. As she came closer, more of her delicate features unveiled themselves. Her angelic visage was at once calm and determined to reach her destination, which, it appeared, was Shinji. That beautiful face was the last thing he saw before blacking out. Even without his sight, Shinji felt an arm encircling his chest and dragging him up to the surface. As he burst through into the air, he tried to breathe it in but found that he could not. His lungs felt heavy, full, but not of oxygen. Terror coursed through his mind. He couldn't breathe.
The sand hit his back, or perhaps the other way around, Shinji couldn't tell. He sunk in a bit and found it oddly comfortable. I can rest, he thought. Rest...
Loud panicked yelling roused him from his impromptu slumber. The girl...she's yelling at me. Why? I just want to rest. Let me rest... He began to slip away.
So go on and scream, scream at me, I'm so far away
I won't be broken again
I've got to breathe, I can't keep going under
And then, a new warmth. It spread through him from the lips downward. He felt his lungs being emptied of water and left with air in its place. The pressure on his mouth left for a moment and then returned, continuing to bring him back to life.
He coughed, and she pulled away. Once more; muddy water spewed from Shinji's throat and, with a constricted tone emanating from within, he began to breathe on his own again. Laboriously lifting his eyelids he gazed up into the face of his savior. Truly an angel, he thought to himself.
The red eyes gazed back. Her face, that perfect vision of heaven, lowered down to his and met his lips with her own. Shinji closed his eyes again and drank in the feeling of finally having that which he had for so long desired: to be with her, if only for a fleeting moment.
I'm going under, drowning in you
I'm falling forever, I've got to break through
I'm going under
Shinji opened his eyes. The sun was harsh to him, for it was only now morning and those eyes had yet to experience the brightness now invading his senses. He reluctantly rose from his bed and began to dress for today's synchronization test.