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.
