Rei's POV:

As usual, I go to school by foot. In my opinion, school should be a holy place. It should be a place where young minds were being taught of the wonderful knowledge. It should be a place of peace. I like going to school, although I think my school is not as holy and peaceful as it should be.

I constantly get teased, and even though the teachers are aware of this, they are not doing anything to help me. Maybe that's because I never complain. But that is all right. Being teased is a lot better than being tortured by the commander. School is the place where I can forget about Nerv. School is the place where I can forget about the commander. School is the place where I can see Ikari-kun.

I walk slowly, taking my time and not paying much attention to my surroundings. I know I am going to be late. But it is all right. I can still make it to the history class. I love history. It is my favourite subject. Actually it is the only subject I love. History is such a wonder, such an art.

When I read about history, I feel the emotions of those I read about, I feel the generosity of Confucius; I feel the ambition of Alexander the Great; I feel the love of Princess Diana. I know there are wonderful things in this world, but wonderful things are not for me. I cannot live the fairytale I read about in these history books, but I am grateful I can at least feel.

"Meow…Meow…"

Upon hearing the sound, I glance at my feet. There is a cat following me. I choose to ignore it.

"Meow…Meow…"

I look at the cat again. It has a very unique colour. The fur covering its body is white, but it is dirty. I think the cat must have gone through a lot of difficulties. However, the thing that catches my attention most is its fur covering the head. It is a shade of very light blue, extending down its neck to its front legs. I keep on walking. But my eyes never leave the cat.

"Meow…Meow…"

It looks almost as if it's pleading now. Actually, I think it's pleading, for something, but for what? What does it want from me? I kneel down beside it. It looks at me with its red eyes. Another similarity between us. I suddenly feel as if I've known the cat before. I gently pat its head.

"Are you an outcast? Like me?"

"Meow…Meow…"

The cat continues to plead. It looks very thin and weak. There is some blood clot on its hind leg. I think it must be hungry. So, I open my bag and take out my bread. It has strawberry jam on it. It is supposed to be my lunch, but I think the cat needs it more than I do.

It doesn't deserve to starve just because it's a cat; it has a life, it has feelings. It is…just like me…I can't help but think about myself. Do I really deserve all my sufferings because I am a lesser being? Do I really deserve nothing better because I am not purely human?

After that, I get up and continue to walk, leaving the cat behind. There are a lot of questions on my mind, a lot of doubts. What exactly is my value? What is the significance of me? Do I have nothing else apart from the purpose the commander gave me? Then I hear footsteps other than my own. Someone is walking very close to me. I look around but see nobody. Then I look down and notice the cat still following me.

It is carrying the bread with its mouth, but it is looking at me, not eating. Does it want something else? It is then I notice the look in its eyes. They are grateful. The cat looks as if it was asking me if it could do anything to return my kindness. I just stare at it. In my opinion, the cat is insignificant. It is incapable of freeing me from my sufferings. Therefore, it cannot offer me any help. After a while, I look forward again, continuing my walk to school.

It is then I hear someone calling out my name.

"Ayanami! Ayanami!"

I turn around to the source of the calling and can see Ikari-kun in a blue car. I believe that is the major's car. I can see her and the pilot of unit-02 inside it. For some reasons I feel warm. They give me rides sometimes, but it is always Ikari-kun who invites me into the car. The major and the second child seem to ignore me all the time. Not that I mind, I would rather Ikari-kun be the one to call me everytime. I feel happy just by hearing him call my name.

"Ayanami would you like a ride?"

I consider this for a few seconds. Then I nod my head. I do not mind walking to school. But getting into that car means I can be close to Ikari-kun, even for just an extra few minutes. It would feel nice. I bend down and pat the cat's head.

"I have to go now. You be strong, ok?"

"Meow…Meow…"

I have to leave the cat. Much as I want to take care of it, I can't. The commander won't allow it. And I can't even take care of myself. Besides, I don't want the cat to see the real me. It would disappoint the cat very much. If fate allows the cat and me to meet again, I want it to remember me as the girl who helped it, who gave it food when it was starving, not as the dirty being I truly am.

I climb into the car and greet the major. Then Ikari-kun asks me.

"Whose cat is that?"

"Nobody's."

"Oh…poor creature…"

"Yes…but it will be all right. It has a strong personality."

The second child turns over from her front seat and gives me a weird look. Then the major restarts the engine and drives us to school. During the ride to school, I try to open up a conversation with Ikari-kun, but I can't think of what to say. He seems happy when talking with the major and the second child. It's a pity I don't know how to talk to him, but at least I know he is happy, and that is all that matters.


Asuka's POV:

I swear I saw that look of concern on her face when she patted the cat's head. By the way, that cat sure looks…unique. I am just curious how she can show that much emotion to a simple cat, and be so detached when she is dealing with humans. Well, except when she is dealing with Shinji. I can see those two acts differently around each other. But hey, that is none of my business, or is it?

Anyway, I can tell wonder girl's affection towards Shinji has grown these past ten days or so. So has Shinji's affection towards her. I have to admit feeling excited about this development. How do I know it is affection? Let's just say we're talking about Sohryu Asuka Langley here, and we all know that Sohryu Asuka Langley is a genius.

"Whose cat is that?"

"Nobody's."

"Oh…poor creature…"

"Yes…but it will be all right. It has a strong personality."

Sometimes, when wonder girl speaks, she can be so strange that I find her both funny and scary at the same time. A cat with a personality? What is she talking about? Cat with a strong personality…hehehe…now that is a good one. Or maybe cat can have personality. Just because it's a cat, doesn't mean it cannot have a life.

And every life in this world is unique. Every life can have a personality if it wants one. And that includes wonder girl. I'm pretty sure of it. Why do I keep calling her a doll? Well, for one, it's fun to see the flash of annoyed look on her face; for two, maybe this can help her show her feelings more.

Why do I want to help her? I do care about my fellow pilots. Why else do you think I took that most dangerous role when all three of us were working together to kick that spider-angel's ass?

The ride to school is short, but it becomes noisier than it was before wonder girl got in the car. She does not speak. But Misato, Shinji and I start talking and joking and laughing. Wonder girl's presence has somehow affected all of us.

We arrive in school just in time, which is a shame. I was hoping that I could miss Mr Yoneda's class. He is always talking about life before second impact. Seriously, he talks about nothing else! To make things worse, his knowledge about second impact is all wrong, but we are not allowed to reveal the truth to the public, so we keep quiet and pretend that he is right.

Needless to say, his class today is again boring me to sleep. I can't even talk to Hikari. She always pays attention to class, even the most boring ones. If only she knew the teacher was teaching her the wrong information. It would be fun to see her expression.

Then my mind wonders off to Shinji and wonder girl. Shinji is staring at wonder girl, who in turn is staring out of the window, like usual. If they truly like each other, like I think, I hope something happens soon. Thinking about this, I sigh. If only Kaji would stop thinking me as a kid. I can't wait for my body to grow into that of a mature woman. Then I can start dating Kaji hehehe…

"Stand. Bow. Sit."

Hikari calls out as Mr. Yoneda leaves and the next teacher comes in. Mr. Ohgami is a young teacher who teaches history.

"Class, today I will return the test papers you took last week. We will then go through all the questions and answers, all right?"

Oh great…this is just great…

"Hikari, 85, well done!"

I hate history. It is so full of the cursed Japanese characters…

"Aida, 53, work harder next time!"

Here I am, a university graduate, stuck here in this high school struggling with the Japanese characters…

"Ikari, 79, keep it up!"

Even Shinji beats me so easily…oh well…it's not like I don't have the knowledge. The only problem I have is the language. If the papers were written in German or English, I'm sure I would top the class…hmm…I wonder…since when did Shinji start scoring high marks in history?

"Ayanami, 98, excellent work!"

Wonder girl is actually just an average student. But for some reasons she excels in history. More than a few times I find her reading history texts in the library. She struggles in a few other subjects but she never seems to want to improve them. I think she loves history. It just goes to show that she can have an interest, just like anyone of us.

"Sohryu!!! 34!!! Come and see me after class!!!"

Well, that is not the first time. I walk quickly to the front and grab my paper. Then I hear Toji laughing. His laughs are always…unique and easily recognised because it sounds so much like a stupid donkey. I march over to his table and slam my fists onto it, giving him my best death glare.

"Eep…!!!"

What a coward…I look down at his paper…35, and he has the nerve to laugh at me. I shook my head and walk back to my seat, but I keep my glare on. It is something I do often to make people scared of me, so that they won't bully me. I have to act tough to protect myself.