Anrui / Kanrui: Chapter 07

Disclaimer: I don't own Evangelion. Please don't sue.

A/N: La la laaaa o/` Hi there everyone! As always, thank you for all your support (and baked goods, you guys trying to get me fat? *munches deliberately on another cookie and then washes that down with a brownie*) and thank you very much, everyone who reviewed. I really have no idea how I'm doing except by way of your reviews. When I re-read what I write I find so many things wrong with it and end up wanting to change so much... but after hearing what wonderful things people have said it helps me tolerate what I've put up and lets me leave it alone for the time being. (As I said earlier, I tend to ruin things when I start editing... blah)

Warning: I believe there's more Author Note in this chapter than chapter. I apologize and will try to make it up in the next installment. If you like, just ignore it all. ^_^

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Perspective is a wondrous thing.

Three distinctly different aspects of this phenomenon were experienced by three people during the second half of classes on the day Ikari Shinji had blood on his shirt.

In one case a young woman with blue hair, who was not particular popular (except perhaps in a moderately infamous way for keeping to herself) waited as she did every other day for the end of classes. She had a stoic, reticent nature about herself which could be perceived to indicate the calmness held within. On this day she watched out the window as she normally did and with her mind occupied on deep, meaningful philosophies and theories she was pleasantly surprised when the final bell rang. She was a patient girl, always calmly waiting what was to come. Because of that, time for her was swift.

One other case was of a quiet boy with blood on his shirt. Showing a reluctance in everything he did it is not surprising that he was reluctant to hear the final bell. In fact, one could say he was dreading it. You could not tell by his demeanor or the look on his face which was calm and collected, but the signs were there. He continued about his day as he would any other and that in itself was testiment to the situation. His ordinary actions on an extraordinary day were what gave people pause. Because of his dread (and the desire to escape what he knew was going to transpire) time moved swiftly as well, carrying him quickly (in his mind's eye) into the clutches of a situation he wished to avoid. As with anytime we dread the coming of something, his time was cut quick. The final bell surprised him and cemented his resolve with its ominous tone.

The third and final case for this study was not stoic, nor relaxed in any manner. The pilot for Evangelion Unit 02 and natural redheaded beauty watched the clock with an unnatural intensity. Thoughts whirled and filled her mind like tornados throwing about heavy, deeply meaningful subjects. Unfortunately with how much there was to sort through, by the time she had just an inkling of one thought she was under siege by at least four others giving her no time to fully comprehend any. With all that was happening within the tormented child she desired the end of classes more than anyone present. Her torture throughout the day had been agonizingly slow and had built upon itself until she was nearly sure she would cry out in anguish. With her need for the end of class so strong, it is no surprise it did not come to her in a timely fashion. The young woman experienced countless thoughts and experiences each and every second of the time between lunch and dismissal. By the end she had felt as though she had lived numerous lifetimes, and in some ways... she had.

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Horaki Hikari watched the teacher leave after her duties were fulfilled. After, her attention was immediately directed to her closest friend who had stood up and was walking deliberately towards Ikari Shinji's desk. Sensing something bad might happen she hastened herself to gather her things and go support whichever of her friends might require it. Luckily she arrived just behind Asuka and was able to bear silent witness to the exchange.

Asuka stood once again before her irksome irritation, the boy she called Shinji. She had been forced, through the mandatorily inflicted quiet time during school hours, to think more on what had happened within the previous twenty-four hours. Unfortunately, with every string of thought... with every whisper of emotion... thousands of other thoughts and emotions were dragged up from within her, each carrying their own legion with it. Her day's thoughts quickly spiraled out of control but she had understood enough to decide on a rudimentary course of action... for the time being.

"Baka-Shinji," she spoke, anger evident in her voice but not as overbearing as it had been. It almost seemed as normal as usual, which worried many people who knew her. "are you coming with me?" It sounded almost more like a command than a question, but only barely.

The boy continued gathering his things and with his usual muted smile, marred only by the darkened purple bruise on his cheek, he spoke over his shoulder to his male comrades in answer to a question the redhead hadn't been present for. "I have to go in for a synch test, can I join you over the weekend instead?" He had begun talking just before the redhead had finished her question, overlapping it in what would have been a rude manner under normal circumstances. Instead it had answered his friend's query following the normal beats of conversation, the german girl's slight interruption insignificant to the conversation started before her arrival.

Suzuhara Touji unfolded his arms and leaned forward in his chair, he eyed Asuka curiously as he answered his friend, "I guess that would be ok... We understand. You have responsibilities." He paused momentarily, "You pay for the first run of games, though." Contrary to what people thought, he was quite intelligent and when it came to social interaction, his friends got the benefit of his invisible intellect. He seemed to be able to help others more than himself, though, since nearly all matters concerning his own social situations were lost to him.

Shinji frowned at the ultimatum involved in missing the gaming session at the arcade but found it to be as it was, harmlessly playful "I guess that's fine. I'll see you tomorrow then. See you later Touji, Kensuke." Shinji stood up and silently walked past Asuka.

As he passed the class representative Ikari smiled slightly and said, "Good afternoon, Class Representative. I'll see you tomorrow." The young woman he addressed nodded and politely replied, "Good afternoon." somewhat confused by the situation. "See you tomorrow."

Asuka could feel her anger climbing again but decided that discretion would be more beneficial to her than heading off the minor irritation of Shinji's friends witnessing what just happened. She turned and watched the exchange and her eyes followed the boy as he left the room.

Without removing her eyes from the doorway Asuka spoke to her quiet friend, "That... is what he did." Knowing full well Hikari understood.

Hikari nodded slowly with a grim face. Many of the questions she had were answered and things finally started clicking into place. Deciding not to instigate Asuka further she refrained from voicing her internal thoughts. 'Maybe you deserved it, Asuka.' She couldn't tell if she meant it wholeheartedly though, torn as she was. She cared about Asuka but found what she did to be reprehensible. With a resigned sigh she finally stated a thought she hoped was innocent enough.

"I hope something GOOD comes out of all this."

Asuka didn't seem to notice the statement.

"I have to go. I'll see you later." Asuka said quietly, and without the normal arrogant spring in her step, she left the classroom.

Hikari turned to the remaining two Stooges and tried to get more information from their faces. She noticed that they had remained relatively quiet during what happened and wondered if perhaps they were as concerned as she was. It seemed to her that they might have stayed respectfully silent out of courtesy for Ikari and so as not to make matters worse. She found herself appreciating their cooperation.

The two boys were watching her in a similar fashion and she came to the conclusion that she probably knew more than they did.

"Aida-kun," she said finally, turning to the bespectacled boy. He blinked, not expecting to be addressed specifically.

"Y-yes, Class Representative?"

"May I borrow your video camera this evening?"

Aida Kensuke stared at the girl in bewilderment. "My camera? I-I don't know, I don't lend it ou-"

"Aida-kun." Hikari quietly admonished. She accented the honorific with practiced authority.

Aida nodded with an almost inaudible swallow and retrieved the device from his bag.

"I will also need any discs you used today." Hikari added.

Aida went white and was about to renege when Suzuhara Touji spoke up.

"You better do as she says, Ken." It was not a threat, it was a quiet insistence which indicated his concern was for what he had witnessed earlier.

Hikari glanced at Touji, blushing furiously at his coming to her aid. "Th-thank you, Suzuhara-kun." she said quietly.

Suzuhara watched Aida get his discs organized and hand them to the class representative.

"Let us know what you find?" Suzuhara asked quietly, meeting her eyes with an unwavering gaze. At the time, Hikari wished he had met her gaze with that same intensity in other circumstances, but that could come later. She had responsibilities.

"I-I will." Hikari stated quietly, the blush growing in her cheeks. Then turning to Aida Kensuke, "Thank you, Aida-kun. I will return it to you tomorrow. I appreciate this." And with that she turned to leave.

Kensuke grumbled a response and went back to shuffling his items once again into his bag. He barely noticed when Hikari left with his most prized possession after telling them both she would see them in the morning.

"You know Ken, it's not always about you." Touji remarked quietly.

Kensuke glanced up at his friend and stated flatly, "Our trip out to the pool to watch the girl's gym class is on one of those discs, Suzuhara." the sarcasm at using Touji's family name and tone of voice used was not lost on the boy. However, it was not the anger that he would normally have felt at that which colored his cheeks.

"Oh no..."

Kensuke smirked at his friend's lack of foresight. At least he wasn't going down alone.

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A/N: These chapters, at first glance, may seem to appear very short and almost needless. I'm not sure how well I'm doing this, but... words are chosen very carefully. I like to think that my chapters (sometimes) are twice as long as they appear to be. I TRY to put things inside, deep inside... if you're nodding your head right now then I'm succeeding. If you're thinking to yourself 'wha-huh!?' then I'll need to practice more. ~_^ Unfortunately, for every one thing I try to subtly insert I'm sure I'll insert fifty others that will cause mistaken assumptions. Bleh.

Also, anyone sensing people being out of character... there is probably a reason for it that I might not have gotten to yet, or a reason stemming from my interpretation of what happened in the animated series/movies. If it's so blatant that you can't help but ask, please email me and if it's not a major spoiler I can explain my reasoning. I like 'splaining. ^_^

Everyone's personal interpretation will be different. I respect that fact. I don't believe someone's interpretation to be "wrong," rather one of many perspectives. I'm not an effluent writer so even MY interpretations will not come through as I hope they will much of the time. I can, however, explain my intentions... then we get into whether I succeeded in conveying them or not. ~_^

(Maybe this was all just an attempt to rationalize the other half of a cookie out of Rudy ~_^)

And if you're still reading after all this, you deserve a cookie yourself.