__________EVANGELION__________

_______GOD'S_______WINGS_______

~Shinji~

Shinji flipped the switch.

Around him, instruments illuminated and jumped from zero to the correct marks. The HUD lit up in front of him, indicating his speed, altitude, thruster output (all zero) and weapons status. The stick began to feel alive in his right hand. The whine of engines starting up filled the cockpit.

Apparently those engines attracted some attention as he could see work crews shouting at him from the deck, but he couldn't hear their shouts over the whine of the engines. He decided to ignore them and concentrated on getting the fighter into the air.

Shinji's left hand shook as he gripped the throttle control. The Launcher Hawk was ready for takeoff, but Shinji hesitated. 'Am I doing the right thing? I thought I knew . . . they'd all be angry with me. But . . .'

Shinji let out the breath he realized he was holding, and completed his thought out loud. "If I can help out, shouldn't I do it?"

Shinji pushed the controls forward and the Hawk lifted up into the air, slower than it did in the simulator. Shinji guessed that it was due to the added weight of the large Agni Cannon under his left wing. The jet levitated a few feet in the air, giving Shinji a good look at where Unit 02 had left to intercept the new Angel.

Shinji angled his fighter over in the correct direction and turned on the extra thrusters and decreased the forward thruster's power. The jet began to move forward and picked up speed as he took off after the red Evangelion.

"Delta two, Delta two come in. Response at once!" The voice over the radio sounded panicked. Shinji wondered what they were talking about.

"Delta two, return to carrier immediately, you do not have authorization to leave! Return at once!" Shinji suddenly realized that the person on the radio was referring to him and the jet he took.

Shinji cleared his throat, trying to swallow the lump that suddenly appeared there. "I need to help her out."

"What the? Who is this?"

"S . . . Shinji Ikari."

"Look, whoever you are, you had better . . ."

Shinji hit the switch marked radio, and the conversation ended. He decided he had more important things to worry about, like making sure he didn't plow straight into the ground.

Or making sure the generator didn't explode on him like it did for the test pilot. Shinji quickly checked his weapon display. It showed the usual machine gun with five thousand rounds, Agni cannon, fuel tank, two sidewinders, and generator attached to the right wing. The status of the generator was off, and Shinji was determined to keep it that way.

'The damn thing won't explode on me if I don't use it. I can't believe I'm doing this.'

With that, Shinji pushed the throttle into afterburner and followed the red mecha's footprints. He grimaced as he was plastered to the back of the seat from the acceleration force. The G forces inside the simulator had only been simulated, and in real life they seemed three times worse.

Bile rose in his throat as the blood rushed to his feet as the fighter accelerated and crushed Shinji into his seat. Shinji felt dizzy, and he lost peripheral vision to the tunnel effect. Taking in a breath took a lot of effort and he felt like he was going to lose consciousness. He griped the throttle hard and used every ounce of effort he had in him to pull it back to cruising speed. The herd of elephants sitting on his chest eased up, and Shinji forced himself to breath easily.

'Note to self: don't do that again.' Shinji shook his head clear of the dizziness that lingered. He took a deep breath, and looked down to find the trail Unit 02 left behind it.

Shinji used the rudder to move the aircraft to the right when he noticed he was moving away from the trail. He leveled off, and followed the trail past a few small mountains for a few minutes.

Passing two small mountains, he suddenly caught sight of the battle between the Eva and Angel. The Angel, appearing as an orange blip on his radar, was shaped like a cobra with two glowing whips. Those whips were currently wrapped around Eva's wrists, keeping Asuka from moving her arms around.

"Target." A red reticule appeared where Shinji was looking, and the Angel was outlined in red brackets. Shinji selected sidewinders, and his HUD glowed red almost immediately. He fired both of them at once, and they flew ahead of him into the glowing hexagons made by the Angel's AT field before exploding. They did, apparently, get the Angel's attention because it unwound one of its tentacles from Unit 02 and tried to whip Shinji as he flew past.

Shinji screamed and rolled to the right as the whip flew near him. He tensed for the impact, but nothing changed. The angel had apparently missed its target.

Eva unit 02's now free arm slammed into the body of the Angel, the impact heard even through the whine of Shinji's engines. In response to the attack, the Fourth Angel lashed out with its free whip, slicing the arm of the Evangelion off just above the elbow.

Shinji winced; the pilot felt the pain of the Evangelion. He remembered when the Third Angel broke Eva 01's arm. He was in so much pain that he couldn't think, and now Asuka must be in even more pain. However, he didn't hear any screams or cries of anguish over the radio.

"Asuka! Asuka, can he hear me?!?" Only silence greeted him.

As the now one-armed Eva tried to pry its remaining arm out of the Angel's grasp, Shinji brought his fighter around and hit his forward thruster, making the fighter slow and hover a few hundred feet from the Angel, hoping he was well outside the range of its whip, and selected the Agni Cannon.

Shinji center the targeting reticule at the base of the whip holding the Eva and pulled the trigger. The large situated under the left wing hummed for a split second before unleashing a large blast of crimson energy surrounded by a blue aura and even more crackling energy. The blast was on target, but dissipated as it failed to penetrate the Angel's AT field.

Shinji stayed hovering, firing shot after shot into the Angel, trying to sever the whip and free Unit 02, but none of the blasts went past the AT field, and the beams coming from the cannon were getting weaker as Shinji ran out of power in the cannon.

Finally, Shinji pulled the trigger but nothing happened. A battery read- out on his left MPD (multi-purpose display) showed no power left in the cannon. Without the generator, it had run out of power very quickly.

Shinji winced. His machine gun was all he had left and it wasn't even going to give the Angel a needle-prick, and Asuka couldn't do anything as her Eva was still struggling to free itself from the Angel's grip. The Angel's free whip pulled back and slammed into Unit 02's chest, impaling the Eva.

Again, he didn't hear Asuka scream over the radio but he knew that she had to be in pain. Shinji gritted his teeth, as he got an idea that he didn't really like. But right now it seemed he couldn't do anything else.

Shinji closed his eyes and braced himself before flipping the switch to turn on the generator for the cannon. Two seconds passed, and when nothing happened to the young man, he dared to open his eyes. His MPD showed power to the cannon, and he wasn't a flaming ball of wreckage.

'C'mon Shinji, that doesn't mean it won't explode. TAKE OUT THAT ANGEL BEFORE IT DOES!!'

Shinji re-centered the targeting reticule on the Angel and fired. The beam now was a lot brighter and longer than before, impacting the Angel's AT field and fanning out around it.

Shinji fired again, and now the Angel ducked down from its crouching position to dodge the blast. The blast impacted the mountain behind the Angel, the explosion obliterating about two acres worth of forest and wildlife.

Shinji suppressed a low whistle when he saw the carnage the charged-up cannon caused.

The Angel twisted on the ground before dropping the damaged Unit 02 and approaching where Shinji hovered, lashing up with both its whips. Shinji barely had time to hit the thrusters before the whips came up at him, missing him by what felt like inches. He accelerated hard, roaring past the Angel and high into the sky where he hoped the Angel wouldn't be able to reach him.

Unit 02 stood where it was, holding its injured arm with it remaining good arm. Its wrist burned from where the Angel had grasped it. The Eva's head was following the fighter.

"Asuka, can you hear me? Asuka, talk to me!" Silence still greeted him, but Shinji noticed a red light glowing on his control board. Then he remembered.

His radio was still off.

After turning his radio on, he realized the red-haired German wasn't just speaking to him, she was yelling at him with high volume. He considered turning his radio back off.

" . . . smart-ass little bastard, talk to me!! Who the hell are you, I didn't ask for you to come!! Answer me, God damn it!"

"Asuka, it's me, Shinji . . ."

"What the hell are you doing here, you idiot?!?"

"I . . . I wanted to help!"

"You wanted to help?!? I don't need the help of a young kid like you! Now stop acting like a coward and get down here and give me a hand!"

Shinji was dumbfounded. 'But didn't she just say that . . .'

"Third Child! Get your butt down here!" The finality in Asuka's voice put his uncertainties aside and he brought the Launcher Hawk down to a hover next the Eva.

The Angel stood still, watching the Eva with a reptilian stillness.

Shinji watched the Angel. "Asuka, what are we going to do?"

Asuka made a noise of disgust. "I'm going to beat it of course!"

"How? You got just one arm, and my cannon can't get past the AT field. Not to mention the generator. . ."

"Shut up and let me think, you idiot!

Asuka interrupted him before he told her about his overheating generator. Shinji had to regather his courage to tell her, but her voice came back on before he could gather enough guts to speak out loud. "Here's the plan. You'll be the distraction. Use that fancy toy of yours to distract it while I move in and take its core. Besides, it seems to like you better."

Shinji groaned. "You want me to distract that thing? How the hell am I supposed to do that?!?"

Asuka's voice screamed over the com. "Well, you sound like a fly with your whining, so go be an annoying little fly! GET TO IT!"

Shinji winced before hitting his thrusters and moved toward the still Angel. He let out a small cry as he opened up with the Agni, blasting the Angel's AT field over and over. The Angel slithered up to him, and popped up a few dozen meters from the nose of the approaching aircraft.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!" screamed Shinji as he instinctively reacted, hitting both his rudder and forward thruster to push the fighter sideways. The whip lashed out, slicing the left wing's thruster clean off, stopping just short of where the cannon was mounted. Red lights and electronic alarms rang out through the cockpit, and smoke filled the small space quickly.

Unit 02 barreled in on the distracted Angel, tackling it to the ground. The whips impaled the Eva once again and this time he heard Asuka's cry of pain. However, it didn't stop her.

"You Bastard!" The remaining fist of Unit 02 pounded on the Angel's core. Cracks formed on the outside of the core with each hit until the fist ran straight through the core and out the back of the Angel. The Angel slumped down, and the glow disappeared from its whips.

A second after the Angel stopped moving; Eva Unit 02 slumped down, supported only by its hands and the body of the dead Angel as the internal batteries of the Evangelion gave out.

Shinji brought his fighter down next to the body of the Angel, hovering for a moment before putting it down as gently as he could. He felt the impact of the ground, and cut the thrusters and felt the fighter sink into the ground. Shinji let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and opened his canopy to let out the smoke accumulated inside the cockpit.

He reached down and flipped the starter switch to off, and the sound of turbines winding down filled his ears. He sat in the seat for a moment, listening to the sound but something was nagging at his mind, the feeling you get when you know you're forgetting something. Shinji ran a checklist in his mind, and it came to him along with a sense of fear - he had not turned off the dangerous generator. He scrambled to reach down and hit the power switch.

Sparks flew around the switch to the generator, and Shinji turned pale. He didn't know what that meant. He glanced at the generator attached to his right wing, nearest the dead Angel. Its usual green color was fading, and he could see parts of it starting to glow red with heat. In fact, he could still hear its humming.

Shinji frantically flipped the switch on and off, trying to get some sort of response from it, but the generator continued to whine and it was getting louder by the second.

'I can't turn it off! I can't turn it off! Explode! Explode! It's going to Explode! Get out!' Shinji frantically tried take off the harness that was holding him to the seat, but movement caught his attention for a split second.

'Asuka!' Shinji thought as he looked up towards the source of the movement. The red-head had already made her way out of the entry plug and was storming towards the fighter, oblivious to the fact it was going to explode any second.

Shinji scrambled with the harness as it continued to hold him to the seat and at the same time wave off the female pilot from approaching. Failing at both tasks, he gave up the latter to work on the former. He tugged and pulled on the straps, but paused as realization hit him. He grasped the clasp at the base of the pilot's seat that allowed the pilot to tighten or loosen the harness to accommodate for his or her frame, and pulled.

Because he was skinny, Shinji was now able to wiggle out of the loosened harness and free himself. One problem was taken care off, but two more remained. Asuka was now right next to the generator, which just then gave off a loud electric whine and a sudden shower of sparks.

Asuka froze looking at the overloading generator with a surprised look on her face, her brain screaming to get away from the thing, but her feet weren't listening. Fortunately, Shinji had no such problems, and in less than a second crossed the distance between him and the girl.

Shinji slammed into Asuka and tackled her to the ground. Asuka put up no resistance as Shinji fell on top or her, shielding her with his body.

A loud band and pop was followed by the unmistakable sound of metal objects hitting other metal objects. Something hot impacted Shinji's right shoulder, but it wasn't very heavy and bounced off. Still, he cringed on top of Asuka, waiting for the commotion to die down.

Now breathing hard, Shinji slowly opened his eyes to a blurred vision of red. For some reason he wasn't seeing correctly. He shook his head to clear it and the blur became the shoulder of Asuka's red plug suit. He glanced up to her face, which was about a foot from his own, making him recoil a little at the closeness.

The glare coming from the redheaded pilot made Shinji start. She spoke first. "Will you get off?"

It was then Shinji noticed that his left hand was pressed against something warm and soft. A quick glance at the hand in question showed it to be sitting right on her chest, right on top of her breast.

Shinji both jumped up and rolled over to the side of the girl, trying to stammer out an apology but the words was getting caught up in his throat. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights, as he sat next to the fuming redhead, his body tense.

Asuka continued to lay flat on the ground, but her glare never moved from the boy next to her and was shaking with rage. Her thoughts, however, were chaotic. Some were hostile to the boy, others mocking, shocked, or just blank. Her mind was too shocked from the experience to use her mouth, but her hand knew what to do.

Slap!

Shinji was stunned, and his check was now throbbing. Asuka still glared at him, as the slap wasn't near enough to calm her anger. She continued to glare at the trembling young boy, and finally made up her mind on what she should say to him.

"What the hell are you doing here, Third Child!?!"

"I . . . I . . ."

"Spit it out, dumpkof!"

"I . . . thought you might . . . need help . . . "

Asuka scowled at his response, and closed the distance between the two of them. Her voice was at a deadly level. "I don't need your help. Why did you think you were going to help me?"

"I . . . I . . ." For some reason, it was hard to think. His head was suddenly light headed, and his vision became blurred again. Asuka was speaking, or rather yelling, again, but he couldn't make out the words. Another shake of his head proved to make things worse this time instead of better.

Shinji's head swam and he lost his senses. Then he knew nothing.

~Shinji~

White was the only to describe it. White all over, compared to the darkness he had just been it. Whoever designed this room must have decided to blind the people who wake up from slumber, as the contrast between the two colors was enough to blind anyone.

Despite his blinking eyes, Shinji could still make out his surroundings. He especially recognized the ceiling. He had seen it a week ago.

"I hate that ceiling."

His words, despite the fact that they had been whispered, had a alerting affect on a certain purple-haired woman sitting next to Shinji's hospital bed.

Misato sat up in the bed-side chair and smiled at him. "Glad to see that you're awake."

"Misato . . . what happened?" Shinji turned his head to face the major, a little surprised at both her presence there and the genuine smile on her face.

Misato frowned. "You blacked out. The G-Forces you felt in that jet pushed the blood from your head and upper body down to your feet. It's a wonder you didn't pass out right away, considering your brain didn't have any oxygen going to it."

Shinji sighed. His head still felt funny, like he had been spinning very fast. But now at least he knew why now. He closed his eyes and covered them with his hand, and found that it helped keep the dizzy feeling to a minimum.

"Shinji, what you did was very foolish and stupid" said Misato with a level voice.

Shinji didn't move, and responded in a low voice. "I know."

"You could be discharged, or even worse jailed."

"I know."

"All I want to know is why."

Shinji peaked through his hand to look into Misato's eyes, but those brown eyes gave nothing away. "I just didn't want her to get hurt."

Misato blinked in surprise. "You mean Asuka?"

Shinji was silent for a moment, and then his voice sounded pained. "People were hurt the last time an Angel came here. The Angel hurt people . . . the Eva hurt people . . . I didn't . . . couldn't . . . let anyone else get hurt . . ."

Misato sighed, and leaned back into the chair she had been in for the last few hours. "You aren't going to get in trouble. Your friend, that pilot Viper, took all the responsibility for you, so he gets the blame. Your hands are clear. And Asuka and Unit 02 are fine."

Shinji closed his eyes again, trying to alleviate the dizziness that plagued him when he had his eyes open. He felt like a truck had hit him, judging by how his body felt glued to the bed.

"How long have I been here?"

"About twenty-four hours. You just needed a little rest. The doctors said you'd be fine."

The sound of the door opening convinced Shinji to open his eyes again. Standing in the door was a glaring Asuka. If looks could kill, Shinji would have been far past what even the NERV hospital could repair. Shinji could probably guess why she was so angry . . . the whole falling incident popped right up in his head when he saw her.

'She must still hate me, even if that incident was an accident.' However, Shinji could still remember how soft and warm . . . his face started to heat up. He covered his eyes again, this time hoping to hide any blush he had on his face from Asuka's view.

Asuka's voice filled his head. "So, you're awake, Third Child."

Shinji moaned. She sounded like she was announcing his death sentence, from the tone of her voice. He was afraid to open his eyes, and he forced himself to turn away from the source of the voice. He was also afraid that his head would explode from embarrassment.

"Now, now, Asuka, you shouldn't get mad at your favorite plush toy."

Shinji looked at the Major in confusion, having no idea what his guardian was talking about. Asuka, apparently knew, because her glare shifted from the bed-ridden boy to Misato.

"I told you to shut up about that! It wasn't my fault! He was the one doing it! Argh! You haven't changed one little bit, Misato!" screamed Asuka, and promptly turned around, showing the other two her back.

"And neither have you, Asuka. Listen, I have to check Shinji out but it might take awhile so why don't you just head home?"

Asuka straightened up, and turned to glare at Shinji before leaving without a word.

Shinji waited a moment to make sure the angry pilot of Unit 02 was some distance away from the room before turning to Misato with a raised eyebrow.

"Plush toy? What are you talking about Misato?"

Misato turned to the puzzled boy, and noted the confused look on his face. She blushed and waved a dismissive hand. "Don't ask about it, it's just a joke about Asuka and . . . er . . ."

Shinji's curiosity was definitely quirked, as this 'joke' apparently upset Asuka a lot. "And what? What is it?"

Misato winced. "I said don't ask, trust me, you don't want to know. For your own good."

Shinji groaned.

~0~

It took over two hours for all the paperwork to be completed and finally allow Shinji to leave the hospital. The drive back to Misato's apartment was very quiet, mainly because Shinji was plain out of it. Despite being unconscious for over a whole day, Shinji was desperate for some real sleep.

After exiting the Geofront, Shinji was surprised by two things. First, it was night. Second, Misato had yet to push her newly repaired sport car over eighty.

They arrived at the apartment complex in less than fifteen minutes, but it was fourteen minutes and 59 seconds too long for Shinji. He desperately needed to get to sleep. He and Misato rode up the elevator to the correct floor and headed to the door, but Misato froze half-way to the door.

"Er, Shinji, I forgot something in the car. I'll be right back, ok?"

Shinji didn't respond, but Misato ran back to the elevator, entering it before it closed again and started to descend. Shinji turned back to the door and pulled out his ID card, opening the door with a swipe in the card reader.

Boxes lined the hallway, and filled the living room. Shinji mused Misato must have had more stuff delivered from wherever she had lived last. Had he been more alert, he would have noticed most of them had been stamped 'From Germany', but in his near-asleep condition he barely made out the color of the boxes.

Shinji walked through the kitchen and to the door that lead to his room. He opened it slowly, not having the energy to put more effort into it. The inside was real dark, without a light or even moonlight to add any illumination.

Shinji didn't mind the lack of light. He knew where his bed was, even in the dark, and that's all that mattered. He pulled off his shirt and pants, leaving him in his sleeping attire - an undershirt and boxers. He headed to the bed, only an outline in the darkness.

Shinji reached down to pull the covers aside and climb into bed, but instead his hand touched something soft, warm, and entirely not a bedcover. In fact, it felt alive, vaguely familiar, and now was moaning and he could hear breathing.

Shinji froze has he felt the object, which he was now pretty sure was a person, begin to move and turn, and a soft click was heard as a bed-side lamp was turned on, shedding light on the person laying on the bed. The person had long, red hair, was very female, had blue eyes, and a confused but turning to anger look on her face.

Shinji's thoughts occurred in this order:
1.) Asuka?
2.) Asuka!
3.) Asuka's in my bed
4.) Asuka's not wearing much
5.) Asuka looks confused
6.) Asuka looks angry
7.) My hand is on her breast again
8.) Oh crap

Shinji stared at Asuka. Asuka stared at Shinji.

Then they both screamed.

Asuka jumped back away from the boy and pressed her back against the wall, holding the blanket around her protectively. "You idiot, what are you doing in here!?!"

Shinji's mouth worked, trying to formulate an apology, but his higher brain functions were shut down from the surprise sight of Asuka and touching her breast again. In fact, he could only breath and he wasn't doing that too well, his breath coming in gasps.

His silence further irritated the German girl, so she repeated herself in a higher voice. "Again, you perverted idiot, what are you doing in here trying to climb into my bed?!?"

Click. Shinji's brain suddenly restored itself to normal. "What do you mean your bed?!?"

Asuka jumped out of the bed and stood directly in front of Shinji. "My Bed! The place where I sleep, you idiot! What did you think I meant?!"

Shinji scowled. "That's MY bed! I've slept in here every night for a week!"

Fortunately, Misato was attracted to their screaming voices and chose that moment to show up. She rushed to the room to find the two in midst of the dispute, and recoiled at the sight of the teens. She took a deep breath, and prepared to avert world war three from starting in her apartment.

"BE QUIET YOU TWO!"

Both Shinji and Asuka jumped, neither realizing Misato had been standing in the doorway of the room. A moment of silence was once again broken by the prattling of the two teens, this time their frustrations aimed at the annoyed Misato, demanding explanations.

"Misato! Explain to this dumpkof that I . . ."

"Misato, why is Asuka . . ."

"Tell him this is my room, and he should . . ."

"What in the world is going . . ."

Misato's eye twitched. "I SAID QUIET!!" The room was once again silent, Shinji and Asuka still and waiting for explanations.

"Listen you two; I think I need to explain to you what's going on. Meet me in the kitchen."

Misato turned to leave, but stopped after taking just one step. She turned back to them, the annoyed look on her face now replaced with a smirk.

"And you two should put on something more appropriate."

Shinji and Asuka both blinked in surprised then realized that they were both in their sleeping clothes. A gasp came from both of them, and turned away from the other, blushes on their faces. Asuka turned back to Shinji and glared.

Shinji was looking at the floor, trying to hide his embarrassment at his current state of dress in front of Asuka. However, a sudden push from the girl in question surprised Shinji, who found himself outside the room and in the hallway, looking at a closed door.

"Asuka! My clothes are still in there!"

"Idiot!" There was some shuffling noises, then the door opened and Shinji's clothes were thrown out the door and onto his face before the door closed again. A muffled "Thank you" came through Shinji's pants, which were hanging on his head, before the boy turned around and walked into the next room - the broom closet.

Finding the closet strangely empty, Shinji used the time to put on his clothes that he had removed. Once finished, he walked out of the closet hoping to get to the kitchen before Asuka came out of the room she was in. Luck was not with him, as the moment he stepped out Asuka stepped out of the room.

Asuka was enraged to the point were she could not form words to throw at the young Ikari. She was obviously trying because her mouth was working, but she opted to turn away from the boy with her nose in the air and headed to the kitchen where Misato awaited them.

Shinji bowed his head and followed after her, and sat on the floor in front of the table as far away from the girl as he could. Asuka sat across from the boy, and the glare she was giving him would have scared most angels into going back to wherever the came from.

Misato walked up to the table, a concerned look on her face. But that wasn't what scared Shinji the most. What scared Shinji was the fact that Misato was carrying a food tray of some bread roll things, which she set on the table in front of the two teens.

Misato set the tray down on the table as an offering, but neither of the two took one, Asuka, because she was too upset, and Shinji because he had already had a taste of what Misato called cooking. Misato, however, didn't seem to notice the pilots reluctance.

"All right, you two, I guess you want an explanation." Receiving angry glances by both the children, Misato continued. "I decided to take both of you in."

"WHAT!?!" Asuka slammed her hands down on the table and rose to face Misato. "WHY the HELL did you decide THAT?!?"

"Where else would you go, Asuka? A hotel?"

"Well, I, er, um . . . Kaji! I could go live with Kaji!" Asuka claimed, with an almost pleading voice and a hoping look in her eyes.

Misato scrowled at the name of her former lover. "Kaji's leaving Tokyo-3 tomorrow." 'And hopefully forever . . .' she added silently.

Asuka sank in her chair for a brief moment, but rose up to point at the silent boy across from her. "THEN why the hell is Shinji here? I shouldn't have to live with him! Why does he live with his FATHER!?!"

The question was like a slap on the face to Shinji. He tensed as unwanted memories were suddenly brought to light, like three years ago when his father abandoned him.

"Asuka, Shinji doesn't, um . . ."

Misato looked at Shinji to try and gage his reaction to the question, but his face was a blank. He didn't look at either her or Asuka, but did turn around and walk off without a word. He stopped at the door to his old room, his hand halfway into the action of opening the door. He froze, and then muttered a curse underneath his breath before walking back through the kitchen and leaving the apartment.

Shinji stood outside the door, leaning up against the railing and looking down at the ground. Because it was night, he could not see the ground. It looked more like staring down into a bottomless pit. Although, in his mind, all he saw was his father, glaring down at him through those shades of his . . .

'I hate those shades. I don't think I've ever seen him without them . . .'

Shinji continued to stare down over the rail for a few minutes. Surprisingly, there wasn't any noise coming from the apartment behind him. He would have bet Asuka would continue arguing with Misato and belittling the boy whom she found she was supposed to be living with, even after he left. But the hall was quiet.

The hall was getting too quiet. Normally, he would listen to his SDAT when it was so silent, to avoid the memories that plague him when he had nothing to do or listen to. However, it was hidden somewhere with the rest of his stuff in the apartment, and right now he didn't want to go back in there to fish around for it. He didn't want to bother Misato or receive another lashing from the red-haired roommate. Therefore, he opted to just leave the apartment complex and find something to do, or maybe sleep - he was still very tired.

He wasn't aware of just how long he walked in the dark, aimlessly wondering around the city and riding random streetcars. He lost track of where he was, but he didn't really care. He just wanted to be alone with his thoughts. Thoughts that he would rather run away from, but without his SDAT they came back to torment him. But now they included more recent nightmares as well.

"LEAVE!" His father, turning his back on him three years earlier, in front of his mother's grave . . .

Shinji looked up to see a café sign, its lights out and closed down being so late in the day.

"My little sister was hurt because of you!" Touji, beating the boy in the school yard. . .

Shinji looked up to see a major boulevard, but without traffic it seemed like a ghost town.

"It's gone berserk!" Unit 01, with him inside, tearing the third Angel apart with its mouth and ingesting the limbs . . .

Shinji looked up to see himself in front of a broken-down apartment complex. It was dirty, old, and lacking in just about anything that was ultilartian.

"Pilot Ikari?"

Shinji tensed at the monotonous voice. He spun around to face the speaker, and was surprised to see the blue-haired pilot he had seen when he first arrived. Her arm and right eye were still covered in bandages, but now see didn't seem to be in any pain, unlike in their first encounter. Now the pilots stood there, staring at each other.

Shinji was dumbfounded. This was the first time that Rei had spoken to him directly.

"W . . . W . . . Ayanami, um . . . What are you . . . you doing here?"

"I live here."

"Live here?" Shinji looked back at the dingy complex, taken by surprised. He had thought the place was under construction or ready for demolition, not ready to be lived in by even the most unfortunate, or at least people as important as Evangelion pilots.

Rei was silent, but after deciding that she had nothing of importance to say or do with the fellow pilot, she walked past him and towards her apartment.

"Um, Ayanami, do you, er, need help? With your arm?"

"I do not require assistance."

Silence echoed between the two for a few minutes before Shinji spoke up again.

"Um, Ayanami?"

Rei didn't say anything, but the look on her face said she was listening.

"Why . . . why do you pilot the Evangelion? Even if you get hurt?"

Rei was silent for a moment, but her expression said that she was examining Shinji, not formulating an answer to his question.

"I am bonded to it. To all people, and therefore I must pilot. I have nothing else."

"Bonded to Eva? To everyone?" Rei nodded, confusing Shinji greatly.

'Ayanami does this because she is bonded to people? I haven't seen her with any friends . . . she never talks . . . yet she does this for them? I don't understand . . . because she has nothing else? Do I? Do I have anything else?' Shinji reflected on his life before he came to Tokyo-3. 'Shuffled between teachers and relatives that don't really want me . . . do I want to return to that?'

"You're very strong, Rei. I envy you."

Rei's face hadn't moved from her usual bland expression, but her voice gave away the curiosity she felt. "You envy me? Why?"

"Because . . . you can do something. I'm pathetic. I was in great shape and yet refused to help. You were willing to pilot in my place, even when you were injured. All I did was screw up."

"No you didn't." Shinji looked up at Rei, confusion spread across his face. "Eva's purpose is to destroy the Angels. You did that."

"But . . . Unit 01 . . . I can't use it . . ."

"That doesn't mean that you are useless. You still have a place at NERV."

Shinji's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "What does my father want me to do now?"

Rei shook her head. "Commander Ikari is not here. I believe that the idea was Captain Katsuragi's . . ."

"Misato's idea? . . ."

Ringing interrupted his thought train as Rei reached into her school bag and retrieved her cell phone.

'Who could that be? . . .' thought Shinji and Rei placed the phone on her ear.

"Yes? . . . Yes . . . With me . . . No . . . . Yes . . . . Yes . . . . . . . . . Yes."

She hung up her phone, and turned back to the boy. "I am to escort you back to the Katsuragi residence, and am authorized to use force if necessary."

Shinji stared at the blue haired girl for a moment. He seriously doubted that she could do anything to hurt him, with her arm in a cast and eye bandaged. The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed until he had to laugh.

Rei's face didn't change as she watched the boy giggle, then break out into a good laugh. She allowed him to finish getting air back into his lungs before she spoke.

"Why are you laughing?"

"I'm sorry Ayanami, but it, you forcing me to, it's just funny. That you could force me to do anything with your arm like that. My father is insane."

"Commander Ikari did not give me the order. It was Captain Katsuragi."

"Misato?"

"Yes. She was inquiring if I knew your location, and then gave me an order to return you to her residence. We should get going before she begins to rip out her hair, as she said."

Rei began to walk away from her residence towards Misato's place, and Shinji followed behind her.

"What do you mean 'pull out her hair'?"

"Misato said she was worried to the point she was ready to pull out her hair. I don't think that would be a pleasant experience."

"No, I don't think it would be." Shinji hung his head but smiled a little at the thought of Misato ripping out her hair because she was worried about him. It also made him glad that there was someone who cared about him. Honestly, he didn't think that his previous caregivers would have given a damn if he disappeared. But Misato cared.

But then again, Misato wasn't the problem. It was the new redheaded roommate.

"Ikari, why would Misato rip out her hair if she was worried about you?"

Shinji looked up in surprise at the girl. "I guess it's because she . . . cares . . ." Shinji again looked at the pavement, avoiding Rei's curious stare. She didn't say anything, but a coughing sound a moment later caused Shinji to look up..

When he looked up, he realized that Rei had moved some distance from him and was waiting for him down the street.. Not wanting to be felt alone again, he jogged up behind her. She didn't say anything once again, but continued on her journey with Shinji tagging along behind her.

The two walked in silence. Rei stared straight ahead, but the boy next to her could not tear his eyes off the mysterious pilot.

It was the first time Shinji had actually looked at the girl. Althourgh he had seen her that one time before first piloting Eva 01, and various times at school, he never really looked at her, taken in any details of her features. The way her short hair bounced as she walked, the soft curves of her face, the sad yet determined look in her eyes . . . they all seemed familiar to Shinji for some reason.

Every time he looked at her now, he was reminded of Unit 01, and not because he first saw her before he piloted Unit 01, or the fact she was an Eva pilot. He knew it wasn't for those reasons, although his mind could not understand how he knew it wasn't for those reasons. It was something deeper . . . a secret that his heart knew but wasn't letting his mind know just yet.

He didn't know how long he stared at Rei, but when he looked forward at last he was standing in front of the door to Misato's apartment, and Rei was knocking on the door. The door opened, and he suddenly found himself in a tight embrace.

Misato rushed out and engulfed the young boy, an expression of worry and anxiety on her face. She held the boy for a good minute before letting him up, and allowing him to once again breath.

"Shinji . . . I . . ." Misato looked at him with tears in her eyes, words failing her in her relief at seeing Shinji again.

Shinji gave her a small, sad smile. "I'm . . . home."