Disclaimer: I don't own much of anything…especially any part of EVA…well…except for the whole 'masochistic' thing…
Sorry to say, that last part of the fourth chapter was NOT a dream. This is a Shinji/Rei fic, remember, and it needs to be a little OOC. Anyways…on with the show…
Thingies are character thoughts.
CHAPTER FIVE: JUST FRIENDS
~~~
Ritsuko slowly walked down the brightly lit hallway, flanked by Misato, Kaji, and Asuka.
"Why did the cameras go out?" Asuka whined, keeping a fast pace next to the three adults.
"It was just a malfunction. I don't believe Shinji or Rei had anything to do with it," Ritsuko said coolly, sipping her coffee from the NERV mug in her hands.
The four of them stopped when they reached the gray, metallic door to the apartment number thirteen.
"Um…should we knock first?" Kaji asked, winking at Misato and grinning mischievously.
"I don't believe that the two of them are doing ANYTHING but sleeping," Ritsuko said before Misato exploded. Her purple hair seemed to be smoking and Kaji backed away.
Ritsuko was only half right…
The door opened as Misato swiped her I.D. card in a slot to the right of the door. It creaked and revealed a dimly lit room.
Ritsuko closed her eyes and took a sip of her hot, steaming coffee before opening them again to look into the room.
"…"
"OH MY GOD!" Asuka yelled as her cheeks reddened and her eyes widened. She pointed at the bed where Shinji and Rei lay together in the same embrace they had fallen asleep in. Shinji had boxers on, but Rei was completely nude.
Ritsuko spit the hot coffee from her mouth and it all ended up on Misato's face. Kaji chuckled and pointed at Misato, biting his lip so he wouldn't burst out laughing. He seemed completely unaware, or uncaring of the situation before him.
"Oh…good morning Major Katsuragi, Doctor Akagi, Mr. Kaji, Miss Soryu," Rei said emotionlessly as her crimson eyes fluttered open and focused on the people in front of her.
"MAJOR!?" Shinji yelled, jumping out of the bed and turning to face his surrogate mother.
"M-Misato, I can explain!" he stuttered, his cheeks burning more than they had ever burned before.
"Shut up Shinji! I don't want to hear it. Ritsuko, see to it that Rei gets a pregnancy test immediately. The last thing we need is a pregnant pilot," Misato ordered angrily.
"We did not have sexual intercourse Major," Rei said coolly. Her calm voice seemed out of place in the tense environment.
"How the hell do we know that!? We must be sure! I came into a room with two teenagers laying in bed together, sound asleep without any clothes on! Now GO!" Misato screamed, pointing to the door.
Rei followed Ritsuko out, and utterly careless look upon her face.
Shinji turned to see Asuka fuming right next to him. Uh oh! She's gonna explode! he thought, trying to turn and run.
"Ow!" Shinji exclaimed as Asuka's fist met his face. The redhead yelled several curses in German and stormed off.
Shinji sat up after the attack was over and looked over at the purple haired woman to his right.
She looked so pissed, Shinji was afraid her head would pop.
"Shinji…there are a lot of things I could say to you now, but I'll only say this: I'm VERY disappointed in you…" she finished, trying to maintain her cool and not haul off and smack him.
"You don't know what happened," Shinji said as he pulled his pants on, followed by his shirt.
"I can guess," Misato replied coldly. Her eyes narrowed and she ignored Kaji's giggling.
"Whatever," Shinji said as he neatened his uniform and pulled a tie on.
"Yes, whatever! Now get your ass to school!" Misato yelled, her face turning red in fury.
Kaji was laughing the whole time in the background.
"Way to go," he whispered to Shinji as he passed by.
Shinji couldn't help but smile as he heard a large THAWP sound followed by an "Ow."
~~~
School was school. Boring as can be as the students' teacher droned on about the second impact and it's affects on today's culture.
Asuka looked ready to explode again. She had to keep herself from getting up and hitting Shinji right in his face.
Everyone else was pointing and whispering at Shinji. Giggling erupted from some of the girls as notes were passed.
Rei wasn't there. She was off taking that test.
Shinji guessed the rest of the students already knew about Rei and himself. His cheeks reddened as he felt the stares of several eyes on the back of his neck. The hair on his neck prickled up and felt really weird as he tried to ignore the class.
Despite his embarrassment, Shinji's eyes began to close like lead-weights. He was soon dreaming an extremely odd dream.
[DREAM]
Shinji was sitting in his room with a pair of scissors in his hand. They were sharp and gleaming like teeth.
He slowly took the scissors and brought them across his soft skin. The blades ripped the flesh cleanly and left a trail of blood running down his arm.
He took the scissors into his hand again, but this time, he brought them straight down into his skin.
"AH!" Shinji yelped, opening his eyes and falling out of his seat. Everyone in class looked up.
"Sorry…" Shinji muttered, getting back into his seat and becoming as small as possible.
~~~
Rei wasn't at school as the final bell rang.
Shinji began to worry and ended up hurrying to NERV headquarters as fast as his legs would carry him.
Dust from the streets rose up behind him as his shoes clanked against the boring road.
The door opened as Shinji's NERV I.D. card was swiped through the security check. He stepped inside and hurried down the hallways.
They were brightly lit and tightly packed. His feet carried him to the main tactics room where several people were hustling about.
"What's going on?" Shinji asked the nearest person to him, who happened to be Dr. Akagi.
"I'm glad you're here. I'm trying a new system that test pilot to Eva compatibility. You'll be getting in unit-00 as soon as you're ready," Ritsuko replied, turning around to face the boy.
Her eyes flashed toward his cuts, but moved back to his face faster than he could notice.
~~~
Rei sat inside Unit-01 tensely. The LCL had saturated her and she sat with a frown.
"What's it like Rei? To be back inside 01?" Ritsuko asked over the com link. The blonde doctor had a certain sarcasm in her voice.
"Smells like Ikari," Rei replied nonchalantly. She just waited for the test to start, but jumped as a vision of herself passed before her eyes. It was a vivid memory of the first time she had kissed with Shinji.
"Are you worth anything to him?" a cold voice asked.
"Who was that?" Rei asked blandly.
"Am I loved?" her own voice asked, though Rei did not move her mouth.
"What is my purpose?" the voice continued. Rei didn't answer. It all seemed to weird for her. Talking to myself… she thought dryly.
"It will be revealed in time," came Commander Ikari's voice.
A vision of herself again came into view. She was staring out the window in the school classroom. She soon realized that it was from someone else's point of view. Her field of view switched down to the laptop. In the reflection, she saw Shinji Ikari's face. The view moved back over to herself.
This is so weird… she thought. The voice that vocalized her thoughts almost sounded bland.
She suddenly felt a feeling. A feeling close to desire. She realized that this was what Shinji had felt while looking at her. It was a powerful feeling, though it wasn't filled with lust. She had felt this for Ikari many times before…
~~~
"Okay, Shinji. Are you ready?" Dr. Akagi asked the third child, who was now sitting in the metallic entry plug of Unit-00.
"Yes," he replied. He was grasping the control yokes and tensed as the plug filled with LCL. This smells so much like blood… he thought, holding his breathe as the orange liquid filled up to his head. He was soon completely saturated in it.
"Activate Eva Unit-00!" Ritsuko ordered. Shinji felt the strange Eva start up and felt himself start to synch with the behemoth.
Shinji suddenly jerked, arching his back quickly and crying out. And image of an angry Commander Ikari flashed through his mind. His features were lit by low light and dramatically increased his anger. His brow was furrowed and his lips curled down into a frown.
Shinji tried to cry out for help, but his voice came out in a high pitched, girls voice.
"Please stop!" he whined, recognizing the voice as Rei's. What's going on? I'm talking…but…my voice is Rei's voice… he thought, utterly confused.
Shinji began to twitch inside entry plug. His eyes rolled into his head and he convulsed in short, jerky motions.
Now there was a woman charging after him. She tackled him and began to brutally choke him. A burning sensation filled him as the oxygen to his brain was cut off. He felt himself go limp and felt his nerve endings numbing.
"Please stop Doctor…" he pleaded, but the voice came out as a younger version of Rei's.
Life started to slip away from Shinji's conscious grasp. His mind grabbing at every disappearing light of life. His vision started to go purplish and he opened his mouth to scream, but only heard a high-pitched, guttural cry of a dying girl.
"Die you blue haired bitch!" the doctor said. She resembled Dr. Akagi greatly. Blue haired…Rei?…
Shinji blacked out.
~~~
There was something shaggy on Shinji's chest. His eyes slowly opened, focusing on the ceiling. I recognize this place…the hospital… Shinji thought in disgust. His blue eyes slowly scanned the room until they came to the mop of blue fluff on his chest. Rei had fallen asleep at his side and her head had fallen onto his torso.
A smile graced Shinji's features and he stretched out a shaking hand. He was considering brushing his hand against her cheek. His trembling hand reached out further, and before he knew it, his fingers were gently brushing across her pale, soft cheek.
Her eyes fluttered open, getting passed the blurriness and focusing on Shinji's face. They both froze for a minute, unable to speak in fear of making a fool of themselves.
Eventually, Rei pulled her head off Shinji's chest and Shinji's shaking hand fell from her cheek back to his bedside.
"Hi," Shinji said finally, his voice nervous and shaky. Rei stared at him for a moment, her fingers tracing the spot where Shinji had touched her cheek.
"Hello…Ikari…" Rei replied, looking at her fingers as she drew them away from her cheek. An incredible burning sensation was creeping through both of their bodies.
Rei stared into Shinji's eyes; her sunset colored pupils clashing with Shinji's blue ones. She suddenly reached out her hand and clasped Shinji's in her own.
"What were you doing just a minute ago?" she asked curiously, pulling his hand to her face. As his trembling fingers brushed against her cheek, she felt a hot sensation pass through her.
"T-this?" Shinji stuttered, scared and shaking from his now physical interaction with the first child.
Rei closed her eyes and savored the feeling. It wasn't going to last long, however, for Misato chose that moment to walk into the room.
Shinji quickly withdrew his hand from Rei's cheek and turned bright red, his eyes watching Misato intently.
"Am I interrupting anything?" she asked almost dangerously. She crossed her arms in front of her and looked at the two teenagers, her eyebrow cocked.
"N-no," Shinji stuttered, not wanting to get into more trouble with his surrogate mother.
"I have an apology to make. We tested Rei and found she was not pregnant…in fact…we found that Rei had not even had any form of sexual intercourse…" Misato said quietly, guilt passing through her. She had screamed at Shinji for no reason.
"I told you…" Shinji finally said, his voice barely above a whisper.
"I know…but I cannot trust the instincts of teenagers…believe me…many people trusted my instincts…hehehe…that wasn't wise," she giggled, thinking back to her own middle school and high school days.
Neither teenager reacted to her comment. I didn't need to know that… Shinji thought, shivering mentally.
"Anyway…I'll leave you two alone. Shinji, you should be able to leave the hospital tomorrow morning," she said, her cheeks turning red from what she had said earlier. She turned and briskly walked from the room, trying to escape further embarrassment.
Shinji sighed and turned back to face the blue haired girl at his side. She was staring at him intently, almost trying to see inside him.
"H-how are you?" he asked shyly, wanting to get a conversation started between them.
"Fine," she replied simply, still staring into his eyes, drowning in their deepness.
After a long, awkward silence, Rei finally broke her gaze.
"I must go," she said, standing up and walking toward the door, trying not to look back and lose herself in Shinji's eyes. She also did not want him to see that her cheeks were red.
"Goodbye," Shinji said sadly. He did not want her to leave. He felt they had so much more to talk about…
"We will talk later," Rei said, almost as if she had read his thoughts. She turned and opened the door, escaping into the hallway, the door shutting loudly behind her.
Shinji thought for maybe two more hours about the enigmatic first child, his mind wondering over everything about her…Where is my relationship going with her?… he asked himself.
His eyes wondered over scissors to his right, but he just turned over and went to sleep, ignoring the overwhelming urge to hurt himself. Not now…there are cameras here…
What Shinji did not know, was that there had always been cameras.
~~~
"Ikari."
"Commander…we have a problem."
"What is it now Akagi?"
"Shinji is hurting himself on purpose."
"…Deal with it…get him to a counselor if needed…"
"Yes sir…"
"Anything else?"
"No sir"
CLICK
"…"
~~~
Shinji awoke the next morning to see several doctors gathered around him. Each one was in a white coat with nametags on the collar. Shinji didn't bother to find out who they were.
"We just want to ask you some questions before we let you go," one of the doctors said. He had brown hair.
"Okay…" Shinji replied, racking his brain to get ready for answering the questions.
"What happened in the plug?" a blonde male doctor asked. They all had clipboards. Shinji felt like he was in a job interview.
Shinji tried to remember what had happened. He remembered everything up until Ritsuko had yelled, 'Activate'…everything after that was blank.
"A flash…and then…nothing…" Shinji said, still running through it in his head.
"Are you sure?" the brown haired doctor asked, somewhat disappointed.
"Yes," Shinji replied confidently, he was sure he couldn't remember and that pissed him off a little.
"That'll be all Shinji. You may go to school now," the blonde male said, sighing and writing something on his clipboard.
Shinji stood up and pulled his usual school uniform on. I need some new clothes… he thought. I need a new brain…maybe I could remember something… he added sadly.
His wary feet slowly carried him down the bright, crowded halls of the hospital and out onto the streets of Tokyo-3. He walked slowly in the general direction of his school, his brain still going over his memory. Why can't I remember? he thought, concentrating on it so much, he hadn't realized when he reached the school.
Only when he walked into the door did he realize where he was. He blushed and looked around. No one here…phew… he shook his head and walked inside, letting the door fall back loudly behind him.
He walked down the light hallway and to his room. He entered as the Sensei was starting his Second Impact speech again. No one looked up.
Shinji took his seat and immediately looked over at Ayanami. She was looking out the window, lost in thought.
Shinji looked back to his desk and began to space off. Sleep caressing his eyes and gently dragging them down.
Shinji's head hit his desk and it snapped him back to reality. Thirty minutes
had passed and the bell was about to ring. Come on…ring! he thought
angrily as he stared at the clock, bending all his will on the minute hand.
Shinji jumped up and walked over to his friends: Toji and Kensuke.
"Hey buddie! I heard you got a piece of Ayanami…way ta go!" Toji teased, elbowing Shinji in the side.
A couple of people nearby snorted.
"God dammit! No I didn't! We are JUST FRIENDS! They even tested Ayanami and found we didn't!" Shinji screamed. Everyone in the class turned and stared at him. Shit…
Shinji would not have been surprised if the whole school had heard, but, most important of all, Rei had heard.
She didn't act like she had even noticed Shinji's presence. She just stared straight forward, hurting on the inside.
Shinji hurried over to her and sat down beside her, wanting to clear things up once and for all.
She looked up at him with those big, hollow crimson eyes and Shinji thought he saw hurt.
"We need to talk," he said quietly, reaching out to touch her shoulder.
"What about?" Rei asked nonchalantly.
"About you and me," Shinji replied desperately.
"I already heard you say we are just friends. What else is there to discuss?" she asked, hurt now clearly ringing in her voice.
"I like you a lot. More than a friend. I don't want to be 'just friends'," the first child said, inching closer to the albino girl.
Rei's red eyes met Shinji's blue ones.
"What am I to you? Tell me right here, right now," Rei said, her eyes sparkling.
"I…you…uh…" Shinji stuttered. GOD!!! I need to stop being such a WUSS!!! he screamed at himself in his head.
"I…you are important to me…and…I want us to be more than friends…b-boyfriend…and g-girlfriend…" Shinji stuttered, finally forcing himself to be a man and say it.
There was a long silence. Rei studied Shinji intently.
The two teens began to lean in again. Readying their lips for a kiss. The whole cafeteria was watching intently.
Their lips met and they engaged in a brief, deep kiss. Pulling back, Shinji blushed furiously.
"We'll talk," Shinji said more confidently, turning and jogging for the door.
"Okay…" Rei said into thin air. She didn't smile; she didn't want to smile in front of everyone.
She turned her attention back to her food and everyone in the lunchroom broke into cheering.
Continued………………………
Authors Notes: Hey, sorry it took so long for this chapter…I was working on other stories as well…anyway…not a whole lot to say about it…Oh…btw…sorry to lynx…I haven't been thanking him…he is my pre-reader and he rocks! Thanks, man.
Next Chapter: Void