Control
"You don't have to go to school, you know," Misato said as she watched Narikage move around the kitchen, packing himself a lunch.
"I'd rather not just sit around here all day," he replied without turning, carefully wrapping the three rice balls he had made in wax paper.
"You could come to NERV with me if you'd like. Hang around my office. We could get lunch and stuff too before your tests," she offered somewhat hopefully.
"Arigato, but no. I have to do a few things at school." Narikage placed the items carefully in his lunchbox and tucked it in his school satchel.
"If you say so. Do you have the file?" He nodded, pulling it from his bag and tossing it to her.
"I hope you don't mind but I made a few changes to it. Just so it won't look too much like Shinji's." Misato gave him a puzzled look and opened it, flipping though the pages.
"Where did you get these test results! They're nothing like Shinji's!" she cried.
"I used a few of my old test sheets from before I was injected with the DNA. Don't look so surprised; my father isn't the only one who kept things around. All the psyc. Profiles I had to keep pretty much the same though. None of mine were very good." He leaned back against the counter, arms crossed, watching Misato as she read some of the papers.
"This is amazing. You can't even tell they've been doctored." She closed the file and looked at him with a slight awed expression. "You really are a genius, Narikage." The boy's coloring changed slightly and he shrugged.
"I learned from the best," he said in a slightly sarcastic tone, taking the file back and putting it in his satchel once more. "All you really need is a razor and a steady hand. The dates were a real bitch thought." Misato smiled at that one and stood, stretching.
"Alright then. Remember, come right to NERV after school. Ritsuko is putting a 'hurry' on the test results so you'll be able to switch the files about two hours after she's finished drawing blood. Do you think you'll be alright doing this again?"
"Probably not. But I'll survive." He picked up his bag and started to the door. He stopped, his hand on the jamb and looked over his shoulder. "Do you think...will Miss Ayanami be at school today?"
"No. She's not being released until this afternoon."
"Oh. Well...if you see her...tell her that I want to talk to her. It's important. I think I should be the one to tell her who I am...before the results come out." Misato nodded a little.
"I'll be sure to tell her."
"Arigato, Misato-san. I don't know what I would do without you." He smiled and waved before the door slid shut behind him.
"And I don't know what I'd do without you."
(Cut)
Asuka sat on one of the school's stone benches, quietly eating her lunch. She had had to be pried from Rei's side in the hospital and nearly forced into the school building. She had only agreed to stay on the condition that she be allowed to return as soon as the bell rang.
It was strange how lonely she was feeling without Rei sitting next to her. A few months ago, she would have rather been dead than be seen with her. But that was before everything had been turned completely upside down.
That had been before Shinji was dead.
'This is how Rei must have felt all the time,' she thought, chewing thoughtfully on the ends of her chopsticks and peering intently at her shoes. 'I was lonely too...but it must have been horrible for her.'
"Hey, Asuka-san!" The red-head looked up quickly when she heard her name and suppressed the urge to sigh as Aida and Touji lopped over.
"What do you two want? I'm not in the mood for your idiocy today," she said in a bored voice.
"We were just wondering where Ayanami was," Aida said, zooming in on Asuka's face. She shoved it with her hand causing the boy to let out a yelp.
"She's hurt because of that idiot Nariakge," she said in an extremely pissed voice. "It's a good thing he didn't come today because if he had..." She let the threat hang.
"But he is here today," Touji said.
"WHAT?!!" She leapt up, the remains of her lunch spraying everywhere. Her face was as red as her hair and the boys wouldn't have been surprised if flames had started to spurt from her nose.
"I saw him. Just over there," Touji said, pointing to the little group of trees on the grounds.
"SHOW ME!" the red-head roared, grabbing the boy by the front of the jacket and dragging him along. Aida followed excitedly, camera plastered to his eye.
Narikage looked up from his book when he heard the commotion coming his way. Quickly he stood as Asuka—having dropped Touji along the way—marched up to him and slapped him hard enough to send his new glasses flying.
"You have some nerve, buster!" she screeched, eyes actually glowing with the intensity of her anger. "How dare you even show your face around here after what you did!" Drawn by the loud screams, students began to cluster around the pair, whispering amongst themselves. Neither noticed.
"I have already apologized for what I did," he replied in a calm voice, bending to pick up the frames before they too were broken.
"Not to Rei you haven't!"
"No, I haven't. And that's because I haven't yet had the chance to do so. And I plan on doing that right after school. Now, if you don't mind, I have to get back to my class." He retrieved his book and turned, preparing to leave. Asuka snarled and reached out, grabbing his arm and whirling him back around.
"I'm not through with you!" On instinct, Narikage ripped his arm away and a moment later, Asuka was stumbling back with a scream, holding her bleeding hand. The flesh around the deep cut was blistered, almost like she had been burned. She stared down at the wound, mouth slightly agape. Narikage himself looked absolutely horrified and he backed quickly away.
"Gomen nasai! I didn't mean to!" he said, a panicked expression on his face. "L-let me see it." He reached out, attempting to take the injured hand but the woman shoved him away, expression angry once more.
"Don't touch me!" She took a step back, holding the wounded appendage in her other hand in an attempt to staunch the rather heavy flow of blood. Narikage looked stricken and he bowed low to her, his face so pale, it was nearly transparent.
"Gomen nasai," he said again before turning and running off through the crowd, disappearing around a corner.
(Cut)
"And I STILL say this is WAY too risky," Ritsuko argued with her friend as they sat in NERV's cafeteria. "I really think we should tell the Commander the truth."
"Come ON, Ritsuko. He's only sixteen!"
"What kind of an excuse is that?!"
"If his secret is discovered, you know what's going to happen. He's going to be locked in a room and have tests done on him over and over again. This is probably his very last chance to act like a normal boy. We need to give that to him, no matter how short or long that time may be."
"Misato, he's NOT normal. We both know that."
"No, he's not, and he knows that better than anyone. But we can let him pretend for just a little while longer."
"What if he looses control? What if the DNA completely eats his own?"
"What ifs don't solve anything, Ritsuko. We can chance it, I think." The blonde sighed heavily, falling back in her chair, fiddling with her coffee mug.
"I still say it's a mistake."
"Since when do I listen to you?" Misato smiled a little at her friend who smiled back just as slight.
"Never. That's why you're always in trouble."
The conversation would have continued if Narikage hadn't walked up at that moment to the immense surprise of both women.
"Narikage! Is school over already?" Misato checked her watch and furrowed her brow. "It's only one o'clock. What are you doing here so early?"
"I just didn't feel like staying at school anymore," the boy replied in a calm voice. His manner, however, displayed a puzzling nervousness that caused the women to exchange glances.
"Did something happen at school?" Misato asked in a concerned voice.
"No. I just didn't feel like staying," he repeated firmly, his eyes pleading with hers to not pry any deeper. Though she knew he was hiding something, she conceded.
"Well, that's fine then. You can rest for a couple hours before you get your tests done," she said, forcing her tone to a more cheerful one.
"We can do them now. The sooner, the better," Narikage said with a small shake of his head. "I don't want to loose my nerve." The women glanced at each other again before standing.
"Alright, Narikage, if that's what you want," Ritsuko said quietly.
"It is," he said with a nod this time. His face was set with determination, but his complexion was rather palled. Misato touched his shoulder.
"I'll be right there with you, Narikage. I promise." The boy reached up slowly, laying his hand over hers.
"Arigato, Misato-san."
(Cut)
"Almost finished, Narikage." The needle probed deep into the teen's flesh and he winced, his hand clenching tighter around Misato's. She could feel bones rubbing together but she didn't dare utter a sound or let her expression change; she didn't want him getting any more upset than he already was. "There. Now we're done." The blonde sat back, removing her latex gloves and carefully setting the filled vial on the tray with all the others. Narikage sat up slowly, careful to keep himself covered with the uncomfortable hospital gown.
"How soon will the results be back?" he asked, giving the blonde a knowing look. She cleared her throat.
"Two hours at the very most." He nodded and, with Misato's help, got down off the cold steel table. "I have to take them to the Commander by seven," she added, labeling the vials with a red pen.
"I understand. Misato-san, did you ever give my message to Miss Ayanami?"
"Yes, I gave it to her this morning."
"Is she still in the hospital?"
"As far as I know."
"May I go see her?"
"You should rest a little first. You had a lot more blood taken from you than last time."
"I'm fine. I'll get dressed and meet you outside in five minutes," he said in a slightly authoritive voice. Misato nodded slowly and the boy disappeared into an adjoining room where his clothes had been placed.
"He's a hard one to read, isn't he?" Ritsuko said, still busily labeling the samples. "One moment, he's scared to death of something, the next, he's the one giving the orders."
"He's more like his father than he'll ever admit," Misato agreed. "He even sounds like him when he uses that 'I make the rules' tone." She rubbed her hand, trying to re-arrange the misplaced bones Narikage's squeezing had caused.
"That reminds me: have you found out anything else about Narikage's past? About what made him leave Shinji and so on?"
"Not very much. I don't want to pry; I figure he'll tell me if he's ready." Ritsuko nodded and returned to her samples. Misato glanced at the door Narikage had disappeared behind before turning and leaving the lab to wait for him.
(Cut)
Ten minutes later, Narikage still hadn't appeared and by now, Misato was starting to get worried. For the hundredth time, she checked her watch and sighed. What was taking him so long?
"Misato-san!" The older woman turned when she heard Asuaka's voice. The girl ran up to her, face stormy, red hair flying. "Where is he?!"
"Where is who?"
"You know who! That bastard of a pilot!"
"Asuka, calm down and tell me what's going on." In reply, the girl shoved her hand into her face, showing her the thick bandage that had been wrapped around her palm.
"Look what he did to me! I nearly had to get eleven stitches!" Misato blinked in confusion.
"Narikage cut your hand? Is that what you're saying?"
"Yes! And on purpose too!" They were interrupted at that point by the nearby lab door sliding open. Narikage emerged a moment later, still buttoning his school shirt. When he saw Asuka, however, he froze.
"Asuka-san..."
"You gave me a scar, you S.O.B!" she screeched, stamping her foot, eyes blazing. "I nearly had to get stitches because of you!!! And you didn't even ask if I was alright or anything! You just walked away!"
"Narikage, is this true?" Misato asked, looking at the older teen. His eyes darted away and he nodded.
"Hai. It is." He turned to Asuka and bowed as low as he could. "I am very sorry for what I did to you and I hope the damage will not hinder you in any way. Gomen nasai, Asuka-san."
"That's not good enough! You still cut me for no reason!" Narikage straightened, his eyes slowly hardening to cold steel.
"I apologized for what I did to you because it was wrong. But you too were wrong."
"WHAT?!"
"You were the one who approached me in an aggressive manner in the first place. I was doing nothing but reading when you came up to me and tried to pick a fight." Misato looked over at the other girl, an eyebrow raised.
"Well, Asuka-san. It seems like there is someone else here who needs to apologize." The girl began to splutter.
"Me?! Apologize to HIM?!"
"Yes. And if you don't, you won't be doing any piloting for the next six months." Asuka gasped and paled, her eyes going wide.
"Y-you can't do that!"
"Watch me." Asuka gritted her teeth, her good hand curled into a fist.
"Why are you always taking his side?! Just because he's your new roommate--!!"
"Enough." Narikage stepped between the two women, arms held out from his sides to keep the two apart. "She does not need to apologize to me, Misato-san; I did something worse than just trying to pick a fight so I say again, Asuka-san, I am very sorry. But I trust that you will not approach me at school in such a manner again." His eyes and face were dead serious as he looked at the younger girl. Asuka was at a loss of words for a moment and then:
"You don't have to worry because I don't plan on ever speaking to you again, Eiro Narikage! You're nothing but a jerk who cares for nothing or no one but yourself!" She turned and ran off down the hall, red hair streaming behind. Narikage lowered his hands and turned to look at Misato.
"Is that why you left early?" she asked in a quiet voice. He nodded once.
"Yes. She startled me and I lost my control for a moment. Gomen."
"But...how did you cut her?"
"She grabbed my arm when I tried to walk away. For a moment, my AT field snapped." He bowed apologetically to her but Misato gave a small wave of her hand.
"You don't need to do that, Narikage. Just be more careful in the future, alright?"
"Hai. Will you take me to Miss Ayanami's room now?"
"No doubt that's where Asuka is heading now so it's probably not a good idea to go for a while. Let's go get some ramen then go visit Rei. How's that?" Narikage looked hesitant but he agreed.