One Weekend
Epilogue: Where's the Wapner?
The disheveled boy woke up to the sounds of cooking. His computer had gone idle. The screen played green images of flying toasters. He wiped a hand across a sandy eye.
"I had the best dream," Midori said to Misato. The thin girl ladled a bowl of rice porridge for the woman. Midori placed a bowl in front of Shinji along with a spoon. She laid a quick peck on his cheek. "You're starting to grow a mustache."
Shinji groaned.
"It's nearly half past nine," Misato groused over a cup of coffee. "I let you sleep in, but if I gotta be up, so do you. Shinji, you've got ten minutes to get ready. Rei'll be here in a few minutes."
"Okay," the boy intoned in a dead tone and shuffled to the bathroom. He turned on the faucet. He blanked out to the sound of rushing water. Shinji awoke for a few seconds to splash some water on his face and managed to turn the faucet off. He re-entered his room to haul on a white shirt and slacks before returning to the table.
"Good morning," Shinji yawned out to Misato and Midori. Shinji struggled to stay awake as he ate a spoonful of the hot porridge. It was plain and bland, which suited him. He already felt nauseous. The boy drooped over his bowl and fell back into half-waking dreams.
A pale hand gently shook him awake.
"We must go," Rei said.
"Thank you for the feast," Shinji replied automatically. "Thanks," he yawned to Midori as he unconsciously took his school bag and a box from her.
"Have a nice day, honey," Midori called.
"Later," Misato said.
In the parking lot, a black sedan with darkly tinted windows waited for them. A pair of powerfully built guards occupied the front seats. Shinji slumped in the back seat and automatically buckled on his seat belt. Rei sat down silently.
The boy let his head drop back into the seat and let his eyes close for a moment.
"Shinji, do you trust me?" Rei asked.
"Hmmm, yeah," the boy replied. He struggled to stay awake.
"When we get to school, follow Suzuhara."
"Okay," he yawned. "Follow Touji."
They lapsed back into silence. Traffic flowed smoothly in the depopulated metropolis. The NERV vehicle pulled up to the front of the school. Shinji emerged from the car to stretch and yawn. With his still arms in the air, his face froze at the end of the yawn as he stared into the exploding flashes of over a dozen cameras. A sports blazer was flung over his head.
"Move it!" a gruff voice barked. He saw the muscular agents charge forward before him as they sprinted through the gauntlet. There were surrounded. Caught in the crossfire, flashes exploded one after another. Mercilessly, they shot over and over.The clicking and snapping didn't stop until they were through the school gates.
The jacket came from Shinji's head as they paused. The boy hunched over to catch his breath. The long weekend and one and a half hours of sleep had sapped his strength. Rei leaned close to him to whisper into his ear.
"Will you take me next time?" Rei asked. " When you go dancing."
At that moment, he noticed that Rei carried an extra bag with her.
Before Shinji could answer or ask her about the bag, he heard applause, whooping, and cheering. Most of the male population of Tokyo-3 Municipal Junior High School gave him a standing ovation. Several boys who wore the local high school uniform mixed in the crowd. They whistled and brandished full color newspapers featuring Shinji's face. Most of the shots showed him staring into the camera with his mouth slightly agape, looking like a jacklit deer ready to mowed down by oncoming traffic.
Shinji mirrored the snapshot as he caught a glimpse of the headlines.
"How is your Gov't Money being Spent?"
"NERV Casanova: Are Your Daughters Safe?"
"Love Motels and Sexual Predators!"
Shinji looked around for Rei, but she had already disappeared. The NERV agents shepherded him past the crowd. It was dark inside the school. The agents left him at an empty classroom. He looked at the blackboard. It was blank. He took his usual seat. Even Ayanami Rei's empty seat seemed out of place. He switched on his computer, but did not see any bulletins.
He did not have to face Hikari or Asuka, but the eerie emptiness outweighed his relief.
The classroom door flew open. Kensuke and Touji stood at the door.
"We're all in the gym," Touji said gravely. "Please come with us."
Shinji packed his laptop back into his bag to follow.
"Boy, am I glad to see you guys," Shinji began, but cut off at the stony expressions and silence. Follow Suzuhara, Rei had said. He followed them out of the room and down a dimly lit set of stairs to the gym. The doors boomed open into the cavernous room. Furniture had been carefully arranged in the room.
A podium was set up at the end of the gym. A desk sat the left of the podium. A pair of tables were positioned at before the podium. One table had one folding metal chair, the other had two. Pitchers of water and drinking glasses sat at the podium and tables. Six seats were lined up to the left of the podium. Another desk faced the six chairs. A row of chairs sat behind the tables. Behind that row, a full house of seats were soldiered behind the table. A pair of ropes and stands divided the block of seats from the rest of the arrangement, while leaving an aisle in the middle.
The two boys led Shinji down the aisle to the table with two seats.
"Please be seated," Kensuke said. "I'm sorry Shinji, but the red baroness asked me and I just couldn't refuse."
"What's going on?" Shinji asked.
"I'm sorry, I just got no luck in rock-paper-scissor," Touji said.
At that moment, the doors burst open. The blue jumper and white shirt clad crowd of junior high girls filed in. Their polished shoes clicked against the waxed wooden boards. They marched in ruled columns and rows from the front of the gym toward the back. As one body, the female studentry took their places before the massed seats. At the other end, two girls held a pair of double doors open for Hikari to march through. She home in onto the podium wearing. The class rep wore a blue robe and a stony expression. Six more female students filed in to take the six chairs to the side of the podium. A girl took the one desk facing the six.
Asuka came in, wearing a red pin-striped corporate skirt-suit. Her legs were clad in black stockings. Her black low heels pounded on the floor like hammers. The girl took the table with the lone seat. She did not spare Shinji a single glance as she crisply arranged her laptop and papers. When she was finished, she glared at Shinji and bared her teeth at him. Her iron cross earrings danced from her sharp motion.
Several moments later, the doors opened once again to admit Ayanami Rei. The pale girl wore pure white from her skirt-suit down to her stockings and pumps. In her ears were pearl studs, and a pearl choker ringed her neck. She marched to Shinji's table. Before sitting, she gave a nod to Touji, who nodded back. The boy smelled the scent of white plum blossoms from her.
"I am glad that you trust in me," Rei whispered to Shinji.
Shinji nodded slowly. He could feel hundreds of glares searing into a single point on his back. Sweat slowly trickled down between his shoulder blades.
"I smell a traitor and a rat," Asuka hissed over to Shinji table.
"I didn't say nothing about telling Ayanami," Touji shot back.
The doors closed with a bang. Hikari picked up the mallet and pounded on a wooden block. The class rep's voice was amplified by microphone.
"Order in the court, order," Hikari intoned. "Jury, advocates, bailiffs, observers, please take your places. Recorder, are you ready?"
"Ready, ma'am," the girl answered from her lone desk. She poised her fingers over her laptop.
Touji punched Shinji lightly on the shoulder as encouragement. Touji and Kensuke moved to flank the podium. One girl took each corner of the room.
"We are here to see that justice is served," Hikari said. "Today, we are here for the trial of Ikari Shinji. This case is Womankind versus Ikari Shinji."
Shinji gagged on the glass of water that he'd been sipping.
"Mr. Ikari Shinji has been charged with lewd conduct, underage use of a hotel room, and seduction of a minor. How would you like to plead?"
Rei immediately stood up. "Not guilty to all of the charges, your honor," her sotto voice carried throughout the quiet gymnasium. She sat back down.
"Opening statements. Prosecutor," Hikari directed curtly.
Asuka pushed back her seat and stood to address the jury.
"Today, I will prove without the shadow of a doubt that Ikari Shinji is a two-faced conniving trickster who is guilty of all of these charges brought against him," the girl declared. She moved like a composer. Cutting gestures and flourishes were punctuated with a stabbing finger, which was usually directed at one Ikari Shinji. "While he wears a mask to the rest of the world, it has fallen off during the past weekend and shown his base character. This case has been well documented in various media. There are numerous eyewitnesses. The proof is incontrovertible, irrefutable, and invincible.
"I am supremely confident that justice will be served today."
"Thank you. Opening statement, Defense," Hikari ordered.
Rei addressed the jurors.
"Today, my client will be shown innocent of all charges. Even if I had not heard his testimony before a NERV inquiry last night, I would believe in his sound character," Rei began calmly.
Shinji perked his ears at her statement. Could she have been behind the glass?
"He has protected this city in the past," Rei continued crisply. "His role has created unique circumstances, which could be misconstrued. These accusations against him stem from a single vindictive mind. Media brings an outside perspective and can distort the picture. By reducing these outside factors, the truth about Ikari Shinji's situation can be reached."
"First," Asuka murmured intensely. "There is no way that I will loose to you."
The doors opened again.
Midori walked in wearing a reddish orange button down, worn jeans, and tennis sneakers. She smiled and waved happily to Shinji. Misato followed. They took two seats in the single row behind the advocates' tables. Misato carefully crossed her legs.
"Major Katsuragi. Ito Midori. Thank you for joining us," Hikari announced.
"Hey, that's my shirt!" Asuka snapped at Midori.
"It's Shin-chan's," Midori said. "Misato said so. Besides, it smells like him."
"How would Misato know?" Asuka argued.
"That's where it went," Shinji blurted out.
A low "Ohhh" circulated through the crowd.
"If you want it, you can have it!" Midori announced. Her hands grasped the collar as if to tear the buttons
Shinji sank into his seat.
Kensuke's face sank to his hands.
Touji whooped. "Take it off! Take it all off!"
A mallet pounded savagely. And Misato sat back to watch the show.
========
A/N: On my website, I have addressed a pair of comments in the reviews. One is about the use of Midori instead of Rei. The other talks about Midori's prosthetic leg.
Epilogue: Where's the Wapner?
The disheveled boy woke up to the sounds of cooking. His computer had gone idle. The screen played green images of flying toasters. He wiped a hand across a sandy eye.
"I had the best dream," Midori said to Misato. The thin girl ladled a bowl of rice porridge for the woman. Midori placed a bowl in front of Shinji along with a spoon. She laid a quick peck on his cheek. "You're starting to grow a mustache."
Shinji groaned.
"It's nearly half past nine," Misato groused over a cup of coffee. "I let you sleep in, but if I gotta be up, so do you. Shinji, you've got ten minutes to get ready. Rei'll be here in a few minutes."
"Okay," the boy intoned in a dead tone and shuffled to the bathroom. He turned on the faucet. He blanked out to the sound of rushing water. Shinji awoke for a few seconds to splash some water on his face and managed to turn the faucet off. He re-entered his room to haul on a white shirt and slacks before returning to the table.
"Good morning," Shinji yawned out to Misato and Midori. Shinji struggled to stay awake as he ate a spoonful of the hot porridge. It was plain and bland, which suited him. He already felt nauseous. The boy drooped over his bowl and fell back into half-waking dreams.
A pale hand gently shook him awake.
"We must go," Rei said.
"Thank you for the feast," Shinji replied automatically. "Thanks," he yawned to Midori as he unconsciously took his school bag and a box from her.
"Have a nice day, honey," Midori called.
"Later," Misato said.
In the parking lot, a black sedan with darkly tinted windows waited for them. A pair of powerfully built guards occupied the front seats. Shinji slumped in the back seat and automatically buckled on his seat belt. Rei sat down silently.
The boy let his head drop back into the seat and let his eyes close for a moment.
"Shinji, do you trust me?" Rei asked.
"Hmmm, yeah," the boy replied. He struggled to stay awake.
"When we get to school, follow Suzuhara."
"Okay," he yawned. "Follow Touji."
They lapsed back into silence. Traffic flowed smoothly in the depopulated metropolis. The NERV vehicle pulled up to the front of the school. Shinji emerged from the car to stretch and yawn. With his still arms in the air, his face froze at the end of the yawn as he stared into the exploding flashes of over a dozen cameras. A sports blazer was flung over his head.
"Move it!" a gruff voice barked. He saw the muscular agents charge forward before him as they sprinted through the gauntlet. There were surrounded. Caught in the crossfire, flashes exploded one after another. Mercilessly, they shot over and over.The clicking and snapping didn't stop until they were through the school gates.
The jacket came from Shinji's head as they paused. The boy hunched over to catch his breath. The long weekend and one and a half hours of sleep had sapped his strength. Rei leaned close to him to whisper into his ear.
"Will you take me next time?" Rei asked. " When you go dancing."
At that moment, he noticed that Rei carried an extra bag with her.
Before Shinji could answer or ask her about the bag, he heard applause, whooping, and cheering. Most of the male population of Tokyo-3 Municipal Junior High School gave him a standing ovation. Several boys who wore the local high school uniform mixed in the crowd. They whistled and brandished full color newspapers featuring Shinji's face. Most of the shots showed him staring into the camera with his mouth slightly agape, looking like a jacklit deer ready to mowed down by oncoming traffic.
Shinji mirrored the snapshot as he caught a glimpse of the headlines.
"How is your Gov't Money being Spent?"
"NERV Casanova: Are Your Daughters Safe?"
"Love Motels and Sexual Predators!"
Shinji looked around for Rei, but she had already disappeared. The NERV agents shepherded him past the crowd. It was dark inside the school. The agents left him at an empty classroom. He looked at the blackboard. It was blank. He took his usual seat. Even Ayanami Rei's empty seat seemed out of place. He switched on his computer, but did not see any bulletins.
He did not have to face Hikari or Asuka, but the eerie emptiness outweighed his relief.
The classroom door flew open. Kensuke and Touji stood at the door.
"We're all in the gym," Touji said gravely. "Please come with us."
Shinji packed his laptop back into his bag to follow.
"Boy, am I glad to see you guys," Shinji began, but cut off at the stony expressions and silence. Follow Suzuhara, Rei had said. He followed them out of the room and down a dimly lit set of stairs to the gym. The doors boomed open into the cavernous room. Furniture had been carefully arranged in the room.
A podium was set up at the end of the gym. A desk sat the left of the podium. A pair of tables were positioned at before the podium. One table had one folding metal chair, the other had two. Pitchers of water and drinking glasses sat at the podium and tables. Six seats were lined up to the left of the podium. Another desk faced the six chairs. A row of chairs sat behind the tables. Behind that row, a full house of seats were soldiered behind the table. A pair of ropes and stands divided the block of seats from the rest of the arrangement, while leaving an aisle in the middle.
The two boys led Shinji down the aisle to the table with two seats.
"Please be seated," Kensuke said. "I'm sorry Shinji, but the red baroness asked me and I just couldn't refuse."
"What's going on?" Shinji asked.
"I'm sorry, I just got no luck in rock-paper-scissor," Touji said.
At that moment, the doors burst open. The blue jumper and white shirt clad crowd of junior high girls filed in. Their polished shoes clicked against the waxed wooden boards. They marched in ruled columns and rows from the front of the gym toward the back. As one body, the female studentry took their places before the massed seats. At the other end, two girls held a pair of double doors open for Hikari to march through. She home in onto the podium wearing. The class rep wore a blue robe and a stony expression. Six more female students filed in to take the six chairs to the side of the podium. A girl took the one desk facing the six.
Asuka came in, wearing a red pin-striped corporate skirt-suit. Her legs were clad in black stockings. Her black low heels pounded on the floor like hammers. The girl took the table with the lone seat. She did not spare Shinji a single glance as she crisply arranged her laptop and papers. When she was finished, she glared at Shinji and bared her teeth at him. Her iron cross earrings danced from her sharp motion.
Several moments later, the doors opened once again to admit Ayanami Rei. The pale girl wore pure white from her skirt-suit down to her stockings and pumps. In her ears were pearl studs, and a pearl choker ringed her neck. She marched to Shinji's table. Before sitting, she gave a nod to Touji, who nodded back. The boy smelled the scent of white plum blossoms from her.
"I am glad that you trust in me," Rei whispered to Shinji.
Shinji nodded slowly. He could feel hundreds of glares searing into a single point on his back. Sweat slowly trickled down between his shoulder blades.
"I smell a traitor and a rat," Asuka hissed over to Shinji table.
"I didn't say nothing about telling Ayanami," Touji shot back.
The doors closed with a bang. Hikari picked up the mallet and pounded on a wooden block. The class rep's voice was amplified by microphone.
"Order in the court, order," Hikari intoned. "Jury, advocates, bailiffs, observers, please take your places. Recorder, are you ready?"
"Ready, ma'am," the girl answered from her lone desk. She poised her fingers over her laptop.
Touji punched Shinji lightly on the shoulder as encouragement. Touji and Kensuke moved to flank the podium. One girl took each corner of the room.
"We are here to see that justice is served," Hikari said. "Today, we are here for the trial of Ikari Shinji. This case is Womankind versus Ikari Shinji."
Shinji gagged on the glass of water that he'd been sipping.
"Mr. Ikari Shinji has been charged with lewd conduct, underage use of a hotel room, and seduction of a minor. How would you like to plead?"
Rei immediately stood up. "Not guilty to all of the charges, your honor," her sotto voice carried throughout the quiet gymnasium. She sat back down.
"Opening statements. Prosecutor," Hikari directed curtly.
Asuka pushed back her seat and stood to address the jury.
"Today, I will prove without the shadow of a doubt that Ikari Shinji is a two-faced conniving trickster who is guilty of all of these charges brought against him," the girl declared. She moved like a composer. Cutting gestures and flourishes were punctuated with a stabbing finger, which was usually directed at one Ikari Shinji. "While he wears a mask to the rest of the world, it has fallen off during the past weekend and shown his base character. This case has been well documented in various media. There are numerous eyewitnesses. The proof is incontrovertible, irrefutable, and invincible.
"I am supremely confident that justice will be served today."
"Thank you. Opening statement, Defense," Hikari ordered.
Rei addressed the jurors.
"Today, my client will be shown innocent of all charges. Even if I had not heard his testimony before a NERV inquiry last night, I would believe in his sound character," Rei began calmly.
Shinji perked his ears at her statement. Could she have been behind the glass?
"He has protected this city in the past," Rei continued crisply. "His role has created unique circumstances, which could be misconstrued. These accusations against him stem from a single vindictive mind. Media brings an outside perspective and can distort the picture. By reducing these outside factors, the truth about Ikari Shinji's situation can be reached."
"First," Asuka murmured intensely. "There is no way that I will loose to you."
The doors opened again.
Midori walked in wearing a reddish orange button down, worn jeans, and tennis sneakers. She smiled and waved happily to Shinji. Misato followed. They took two seats in the single row behind the advocates' tables. Misato carefully crossed her legs.
"Major Katsuragi. Ito Midori. Thank you for joining us," Hikari announced.
"Hey, that's my shirt!" Asuka snapped at Midori.
"It's Shin-chan's," Midori said. "Misato said so. Besides, it smells like him."
"How would Misato know?" Asuka argued.
"That's where it went," Shinji blurted out.
A low "Ohhh" circulated through the crowd.
"If you want it, you can have it!" Midori announced. Her hands grasped the collar as if to tear the buttons
Shinji sank into his seat.
Kensuke's face sank to his hands.
Touji whooped. "Take it off! Take it all off!"
A mallet pounded savagely. And Misato sat back to watch the show.
========
A/N: On my website, I have addressed a pair of comments in the reviews. One is about the use of Midori instead of Rei. The other talks about Midori's prosthetic leg.