No More Tears

"Here are the results, Commander, per your request." Ritsuko held out the yellow envelope, her face carefully blank.

"Arigato." He took it from her, flipping it open and scanning the page. When he reached a certain area, his eyes got wide and his mouth dropped open. "Doctor...are you sure this is correct?"

"Yes, sir." Commander Fuyutski sighed heavily, closing the envelope.

"Tell him I want to see him right away."

"Hai."

(Cut)

"Are you alright, Narikage-kun?" Misato asked as the boy shuffled into her office, looking solemn.

"Yes...just tired." He sat down in a chair near her desk, looking down at the floor.

"No wonder. You didn't get very much sleep last night. How did your visit with Rei go?" He gave a small shake of his head, indicating he didn't wish to speak of it. Even though she was dying to know, she decided not to press the matter. "Well, what have you been doing these past few hours? Surely you didn't spend that whole time talking to her?"

"No...it only took ten minutes to talk to her. I just wanted to walk around for a while, that's all."

"Did you take care of everything you needed to?" she asked in an uninterested voice, glancing at him over the top of a file. He nodded again, still staring down at the floor.

"Hai." As he spoke, the door to Misato's office opened and Ritsuko stepped in.

"Here you are; I was looking everywhere for you," she said to Narikage.

"The Commander wants to see me." He stood, hands in his pockets, eyes never leaving the floor. The women exchanged glances.

"Narikage, is something wrong?" Ritsuko stepped forward, brow furrowed.

"Would you mind...if we waited a few minutes to go to see the Commander?"

"Why is that?" He slowly raised his head and both women started back.

His eyes were blood red.

"I need some time to calm down," he replied quietly.

"W-what...?" Ritsuko trailed off.

"It happens sometimes...if I get upset..." He reached up, touching the corner of one eye. "They'll go back to normal in a little while."

"Narikage!" Misato leapt up as the light over head illuminated a small square of the boy's shirt. "There's blood all over you! What happened?! Why didn't I notice it before?!" She ran forward, taking his shoulders and looking him all over to find a wound of some kind.

"Misato-san, I'm alright. It's just from crying."

"Crying?" She blinked and then she remembered that night she had woken him up from his nightmares. He'd cried tears of blood then too. "Of course...I'd forgotten..."

"They're not normal anymore. They used to be...when I was awake sometimes...but now..." He shook his head, looking away. "That's why I got angry and my eyes got red." Misato's hands fell and she stepped back, eyes and face still worried.

"You can't go the Commander's office looking like that," Ritsuko said after a long beat of silence. "Do you have something on under that?"

"Hai." The boy unbuttoned the blood-splattered white shirt to reveal a dark blue tank top underneath.

"That'll do fine. Let me see your eyes." He looked up at the doctor and she gave him a small smile. "They're blue again. Do you want to get this over with now or do you want me to stall him for a bit?"

"No, we can do it now. I'll be back, Misato-san," he called over his shoulder as he followed the blonde from the room. She raised her hand in a wave that stayed up long after the door had shut.

"He can't cry..." she whispered to herself. Why did she have a bad feeling about this?

(Cut)

"You wanted to see me." Narikage came into the office and sat in the chair that had been placed in front of Commander Fuyutski's desk. He turned in his chair and laid the file he had been reading on the dark wood, folding his hands over it.

"Yes, I did. I wanted to discuss these results with you."

"There is nothing to discuss. You know who I really am now."

"And that is what we need to discuss. I was a fool not to have seen it sooner. That hair...your face...even your voice is just like his."

"You don't honor me with these observations," Narikage said in a rather stiff voice. "I would rather have looked like my mother as Shinji did."

"Narikage...no...Yoshiko. It's been a very long time, hasn't it?" The older man smiled at the teen, his eyes a little sad. "Everyone was told that you were dead. Drowned in a pond."

"I suppose Gendo thought that was more honorable for himself than telling the truth." Fuyutski settled back in his chair, his hands sliding away from the file.

"I should have realized it all sooner," he repeated quietly. "You were always here with Shinji and your mother." Narikage smiled a little, closing his eyes.

"And you always became angry that she brought her sons to work with her. I remember you repeating constantly that NERV wasn't a daycare center."

"Why didn't you tell us who you were earlier, Yoshiko?"

"My name is Narikage now. I legally changed it three years ago. Yoshiko is dead, just as Gendo said." Fuyutski looked a little startled. "And I didn't tell you because I did not wish to be constantly compared to that man."

"That man was your father."

"I never had a father. A father wouldn't do what he did to his children," Narikage snapped, eyes flashing.

"I'm sure he had his reasons for leaving you—"

"Yes. He never wanted us, me or Shinji. So he dropped us off and forgot about us. And when I ran off, he lied to save face. Told everyone I had drowned rather than admit he had simply abandoned his children and been a bad father to them both." The Commander gave a heavy sigh, closing the file.

"Yosh—Narikage, this is still information you should have given us long ago."

"I suppose you'll be telling everyone now."

"I'm afraid I'll have to."

"Why?" Narikage's eyes bored into the new Commander's and he cleared his throat.

"Because it is important information. We'll have to adjust some things—"

"There is nothing to adjust. But you may tell everyone if you wish; it makes no difference to me. But my name is still Narikage and I do not wish to hear anyone call me anything different." Fuyutski smiled.

"You're more like your father than you'll ever want to admit. But deal."

(Cut)

"He's WHAT?!!!" Asuka screamed, leaping back about twenty feet, her eyes popping out of her skull. Rei, still lying in her hospital bed, just stared out the window. She knew all this already.

"He was Shinji's older brother, Gendo's first child," Misato said in a calm but soft voice. "Yoshiko Ikari."

"You're lying! Shinji didn't have a brother! If he had a brother, he would have said something!"

"It seems that Narikage left when Shinji was very young and that's why Shinji never mentioned him. He was too young to remember his older brother," Ritsuko explained, her hands resting in her lab coat pockets.

"I still don't believe it! He can't be Shinji's brother!" Asuka looked over at Rei. "And why are you being so calm about all of this?!"

"He already told me," she said softly. "A few hours ago." She held the picture he had given her out to Asuka, eyes blank. The red-head took it slowly, looking down at it for a long moment. She fell into a nearby chair, still staring at it.

"Shinji's brother..."

"He was reluctant to tell because he didn't wish for anyone to hate him," Misato said.

"Too late for that," Asuka muttered so only Rei could hear. She ignored her, looking at Misato.

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone was upset by the loss of Shinji and the Commander. He didn't wish for the two of you to be pained with the truth. He would have a hard enough time fitting in already; he didn't wish to escalate the situation."

"It wasn't much better for him to just show up and take over Shinji's place!" Asuka burst out. "If anything, it was worse! And if he's Shinji's brother, why wasn't he here protecting him?"

"He couldn't find him..." Everyone turned to Rei as she spoke, her eyes trained on something far away. "He left to find them a place to live...together...and he never found Shinji again." There was silence in the room after she'd spoken for a long while. Then, Asuka stood up, dropping the picture back into Rei's lap.

"This doesn't change anything! I'm not going to go simpering up to him and all that just because his real name is Ikari!"

"No one said you had to, Asuka-san," Ritsuko said. She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and scowling. Despite the hard look, however, there was a bit of softness in her eyes.

"Well...I'm not calling him 'Yoshiko' or whatever either!"

"You don't have to; his name is, legally, Eiro Narikage. He had it changed three years ago. So you don't have to call him anything different or act any different around him."

"Well, I wouldn't say that. You could try to be a little nicer, Asuka," Misato broke in. The red-head made a face but said nothing.

(Cut)

Narikage stood outside Rei's hospital room, leaning against the opposite wall, his arms crossed as he waited for Misato to come out. He was slightly worried at how Asuka would take it, but at least he didn't have to worry about Rei so much.

"Ah, Narikage-kun." The boy turned his head and his eyes narrowed slightly when he saw Kaji strolling down the hall.

"Kaji." He made no move to bow or offered any other respectful comments as one usually would do. Kaji looked a tad surprised but just cleared his throat, deciding it best not to comment on it.

"So, what are you doing down here?"

"Waiting for Misato-san," was the stiff reply.

"She's here? Oh good. I needed to ask her—"

Narikage lunged forward suddenly, grabbing him by the collar like before and slamming him against the wall. His eyes flashed and his face was twisted in a determined look that actually scared Kaji a little.

"Remember what I said, Kaji. If that woman comes home with even ONE tear in her eye, you're life will be over before it falls. Got that?" The man started to splutter a reply but Narikage was already back in his original spot, looking as if nothing had happened. Misato came out about then, Ritsuko trailing behind.

"Oh! Kaji!" She blinked in surprise when she saw the man standing up against the wall, his eyes still wide. He looked at her and straightened himself out quickly, bowing.

"Misato-san. It's good to see you again." He glanced at Narikage out of the corner of his eye but his expression remained indifferent.

"What brings you down into the medical part of NERV?"

"I was just walking. Listen...I was wondering...if you aren't busy tonight..."

"Gomen, but I have something to do tonight." She looked at Narikage and smiled brightly at him. "Narikage and I are going to have some fun."

"Oh. Alright. Maybe some other time?" She gave him a slight smile and a nod.

"Maybe." Kaji greeting Ritsuko in passing, giving Narikage another glance. They locked eyes and Narikage's flashed, sending Kaji fleeing down the hall.

"I wonder what that was all about," Ritsuko said, watching him disappear around a corner. Narikage gave a little shrug.

"Couldn't tell you."