Through Your Eyes

Chapter Two

Second Sight

Based on characters created by and copyright by GAINAX.

Hikari waited silently in the early morning hours before the other students would arrive as she went about her duties as class representative. In the distance she could see the first trances of the morning sun as it began to peek over the hills that surrounded the city. She was always the first to be there, arriving even before the teacher to prepare the class for the days lessons, and usually one of the last to leave making sure everything that needed to be done had had been before she headed home. And this day was no different from the countless many she had done before.

As the last few minuets before anyone else would arrive ticked away she thought back over the last week that had past since the attack. Listening as her peers talked about how wonderful it must feel to operate such a powerful machine, while many others complained about the latest wave of destruction caused by the giant. Her own once uncertain fear replaced with a kind of silent sorrow at knowing what they had to go threw, knowing each time they climbed into their machines they risked life and limb and knowing that with each battle they fought their reward was more and more of her follow students coming to hate them for damaging their favorite places in the vast city. Even the once overly enthusiastic military aficionado Kensake had been tempered by the experience.

Her slender fingers caressing the fading burses left behind from her own experience, as her mind drifted back to the moment she had received them. She somehow knew her connection to the machine had been a fragile one, paling to what Shinji must have to command such a thing and knowing the agony he must have felt made her stomach fell like a pit of nothingness. A whisper in her mind telling her for him there was never a "Good job Shinji" or "Thank you" merely a silent indifference that he had done anything at all. A part of her mind releasing that to his coworkers he may be nothing more then a tool to be thrown away when it was broken or no longer needed.

The image of the man she had come to realize may have been his father replying in her mind… "I called you because I have a use for you" where his coldly spoken words. By the way he spoke and acted she knew to him at leased Shinji was nothing more then another part of the machine, to be maintained and thrown away at it's owners will.

In her mussing she failed to notice the blue haired girl standing in front of her. Her red eyes looking down at the girl before her as she looked out at the world with a distant stare…

"Miss Horaki."

"Hmm…" came the sound from the brown haired girl as she looked up, the look in her eyes returning her to the here and now." Oh … miss Ayanami." She said surprised as the blue haired girl placed a letter on her desk, before turning and walking to her desk.

As she looked at the letter she could she her name written in the middle and a strange logo next to the word "Nerv" in the corner. As she carefully opened it lifting the flap she removed the contents and began to read. With each passing word she could fell her body going colder and colder till she reached the end… "During your lunch break you will be called to the office. A representative will be there at that time to answer any questions you may have and will ask for your decision."

The rest of the morning she found herself barley able to concentrate on any of her duties or the teacher. Her mind going over what she had seen before and trying to decide if she wanted to take on such a heavy burden. As the time for the mid day meal came she found herself moving through the halls as if on automatic as she went over everything a last time.

After being directed to the room where her father and principal where waited she took a seat next to her father in almost a half daze as the three waited for the representative to arrive. She sat there quietly remembering the strange sensations she had fell, the odd felling of moving yet not moving, felling the wind cooling her body yet felling water all around her.

After a few minuets later a knock on the door told her that her time to decide had nearly arrived…

Shinji sat quietly eating his lunch in the open courtyard of the school. The cherry tree blossoms slowly falling as the wind danced in the branches above him. The gentle breeze washes over him, bringing its welcome cool touch as he looked out at countryside before him, the hills and forest in the distance bringing him a few moments of peace.

As the end of period bell rang he gave a tried sigh and began gathering up his belongings before carefully standing. The pain lashing against his senses as he stood, his broken ribs still recovering from the trauma they had received from the latest angel. As he made his way back into the school he couldn't help but notice the extra bodyguards hanging around as they busied themselves trying not to look suspicions. One a woman pretending to go about her daily errands all the while keeping a watchful eye on him and those around him as he moved through the other students as the collective made their way back to their respective classes.

As he walked to his class he felt a wave of guilt as the other students talked about the places that had been damaged or destroyed in the attack. He had panicked when he saw the angel and because of it people had gotten hurt, but when he saw his fellow classmates looking at up at him in horror resigned himself to the fact that there was no way to avoid getting hurt without hurting others. So once they where safely inside the Eva and the calming feeling washed over him he knew what he had to do and did it. He had done his best, yet he felt saddened that others where hurt by his weakness.

Safely inside the class he watched as the last few students made their way to their seats. It was only when the teacher entered the room that he noticed that someone was missing. Pausing a moment as if wait for something he looked around before continuing the earlier lesson. It was then that he realized that the class representative Hikari Horaki had not returned from lunch.

"I wonder what happened to Miss Horaki?" he quietly said to himself.

It was only a few moments later that a message appeared on his window… "She was chosen as the fourth child. Dr. Akagi is speaking with her on if she will join of her own free will or not."As he read the message he took note of who had set it. There in the bottom was the senders address, it had been Rei.

For the rest of the day he sat wondering what they where telling her and how much they would be asking of her. Would they make her quit being the class rep.? As he thought more and more about it he began to realize that it was his fault that they had chosen her. If he hadn't reacted the way he did to the angel she would never have had to enter his Eva, they would have never know she could be a pilot. The thought that she would have to give up so much because of his mistake ate away at him.

It was hours after lunch when she finally returned, acting as if someone had drained her youthful energy away. Before taking her seat their eyes meet, he could see in them the resignation she felt as she accepted what was being asked of her now. The look was brief breaking when she turned to look at Rei who only looked back with an indifferent stair.

Hikari sat quietly looking at the sealed clear plastic bag beside her as the neon light cascaded down on her like a never ending waterfall. Inside the bag was her first plug suit, its dark lavender, white and black colors representing aspects of her personality. Today was her first day, today would be here first "sync" test. She was in the female locker room sitting quietly thinking over what was about to happen to her. She was going to be tested for her compatibility to the Evas, today she would learn whose back up she would be.

When she first arrived she marveled at the vast expanse that lay unseen beneath the city. The miles of endless forests and lakes stretching as far as she could see the scenery and expanse of greenery a welcome change from the endless gray walls and flashing lights on the city above. The breeze washing over her bring with it the smell of the cherry wood and oak trees, the birds flying in the distance whispering of a living world below and not some mad made illusion. The smell of the fresh cool air a welcome change from the seemingly stagnant and dirty smelling air of the city above.

Then as quickly as it had come upon her the view was gone, replaced with the endless maze of corridors and passageways that made up the bulk on the complex. She followed carefully the direction the guard had given her, seemingly revisiting the same passageways she had been down moments ago. When she finally reached her destination it was such a change from the passages that she had come from. The once emotionless labels for the various rooms and labs open to a much more user friendly area.

When she arrived at her destination she was greeted by a young woman in her early twenties working diligently at her station. The gentle hum from the various work stations whispering of the technological marvel spread out before her. On the far side of the room she could see the glass wall that separated the control room from the testing room, inside of which where a line of three red cylinder tubes similar to the one she had learned where called entry plugs.

She listened carefully as the women went over the objectives of the test and what they would be doing today. A nervous anxiety about climbing into such a small confining space, together the pair made there way to the first chamber only stopping to allow it to open freely. She watched as the top section of the plug opened a foot or so from the end then split down the middle as the two sides shifted coming to rest at the side of the plug to act as a step up into it.

With trebling hands she climbed into the depths of the machine taking her place at the controls. The two exchanged a nervous smile as the older woman said to the younger. "Don't worry Miss Horaki we'll be finished before you know it." And with those words spoken she watched as hatch quickly closed sealing her inside its metal depths.

The eternity of the few moments that passed seemed to last forever before a gentle glow filled the plug allowing her to see around her once again. As Hikari sat patiently she heard the metallic click off the entry plug as it began to fill with liquid, the reddish tint in the liquid washed over in moments. Unlike the first time she had been in this liquid she was prepared to it and had held her breath out of instinct. She looked around looking over at the video window that had popped up in her line of vision.

"Just breathe as normal Miss Hikari." Said the voice of the elder woman.

After a moments pause she took her first tentative breath relaxing as her lungs didn't scream, their panicked filled cries warning her of the lack of oxygen as she had expected. Instead she slowly relaxed as the liquid brought her the precise oxygen her body needed, the humming of the machinery and the gentle current in the chamber working together to drain away any fears she might have had about drowning. As the last bit of uncertainty was washed away she slowly tilted her head back opening her mouth allowing the liquid to flow through her unhindered as the last refuge of air that had been trapped in her closed mouth as she breathed through her nose slowly rose to the top of the plug.

'It tastes… odd, almost like…' she thought before the sudden taste of blood lashed again her senses as she got her first taste of the strange liquid.

"Alright Miss Hikari, we're going to start the test now." Said the doctor. "First, let's try Unit-0."

"Alright." Hikari replied as she listened to the tech crew in the back stating the progress of the connection. As she concentrated on synchronizing with the Eva like she had been told too. With her eyes closed Hikari sat there focusing as best she could on the task at, in the tiny window she could just make out the words of the others…

"Well, she's past the start up limit now, but she still a bit low still." Came a young woman's voice.

"Yes, but it's still a good start. At least we know she can pilot Unit-0 if the need ever arises." Replied the elder woman.

"So she's viable as Reis' backup at least correct." Said another woman.

"Yes, Major. Based on what I see so far she a viable backup for Rei for Unit-0, but I'll still need to run some further tests, but so far it looks workable."

"Ma'am her sync ration has peaked at fifteen point three percent and holding steady." Announced the younger woman.

"Not bad for her first time, aye Ritsuko." Came the Majors' voice.

"Yes as a mater of fact it is. Maya let's move on to Unit-1 shall we? Let's check her sync ration for Shinjis' Eva now." Replied Ritsuko.

"Yes ma'am."

All around her the lighting dim as the connection to the Eva was severed and the test plug returned to it's normal resting state. Hikari opened her eyes as the first hits of fatigue started to wash over her senses. Glancing down at the digital clock in the hand of her plug suit she was surprised to see that more than an hour had passed already.

"Hikari we can take a break if you want or we can move on to Unit-1 now?" asked the Major.

"I'm ok; I'm ready for the next one." She replied.

"You heard her, connect her to Unit-1."Said Ritsuko.

As the lighting grew around her again Hikari willed herself to focus on the task at hand…

Releasing a tried sigh Hikari stepped from the shower. She hadn't felt this tried in ages as she made her way to her bedroom. It was as if every fiber of her being had been giving it's all during those tests and she was glad to finally be here at home again. Looking out her bedroom window she could see the moon peeking over the distant hillside like a playful child sealing a peek as it started its nightly journey threw the nights sky.

As she made her to the bed, Hikaris' mind ran over the events of the last test one last time…

"How's it look so far Ritsuko?" asked the Major.

"Everything looks normal so far. Maya make the final connect to Unit-1, it looks like she's ready for the final connection now." said the Doctor.

"Yes ma'am."

As the last barrier between herself and the Eva came down Hikari found herself moving upward suddenly, the once dull view of the inside of the test plug replaced with the rapidly moving view the wall in front of her as a lift raised her up an unfamiliar shaft. As she came to a sudden stop it felt as if she was being pulled from her seat by the sudden deceleration, the seemingly endless walls of the shaft replaced by the view of the city around her. As she got her bearings the voice of a woman filled the plug around her…

"Ok Shinji you know what to do. Eva Unit-1 move out!" stated the voice of the Major.

In front of her stood an 'angel', the green bipedal monster stood looking her way as if confused as to what it saw. She could fell her right foot rising as she want to take her first tentative step, and the pressure of her weight barring down on the soul of her foot as it meet the ground again.

"It walking!" echoed the enthusiastic voice of the Doctor as she finished her first step.

Her left foot shifting as she started to take another step before she felt the front of her foot catch on something as she fell forwards. The thunderous crash on metal on concrete filled her ears as she felt her face hit the ground, the impact blurring her vision a moment and making her forehand sting.

"Get up Shinji!"

She could fell fear filling her veins as she felt herself being lifted by her head into the air, her feet now dangling beneath her. The 'angels' three fingered hand filled half her vision as it held her in the air it's free hand grasping her left arm at the lower arm, it's grip tightening as each second pasted. The pressure on it growing till it reached a breaking point as bone and flesh gave out under the assault, breaking the arm.

"The left arms been damaged!" stated a male voice.

Having had it's fill of her arm the 'angel' released it moments before a pounding force beat against her right eye. The glowing light in the palm of the giant fading then once again glowing brightly as her body shook against the force of another impact. The moaning and cracking of metal filled her ears as a dull ache grew more and more persistence with each flowing blow.

A searing white hot pain lashing against her as weapon burrowed threw her skull and pushed its way out the other side. The powerful thud as her back was slammed against a hard surface. The dull ache from her back completely over ridden by the stabbing pain from her wrist and the mind numbing pain shooting threw her skull as her head fell forwards no longer held up by the 'angels' weapon. Her remaining vision filling with her jetting blood as someone cried to her.

"SHINJI!"

"Miss Horaki. Miss Horaki, are you listening?" asked the doctor.

"Um… yes sorry ma'am." She replied in a daze.

"So how does it fell? Fell any resistance in the connection?" the doctor asked as she monitored the connection status.

"No ma'am."

The rest of the test had been rather uneventful. She didn't find herself looking through Shinji's eyes at some buried memory. Just the endless hum of the machinery around her accompanied by the dull ache of her arm and eye that slowly faded to near nothingness. The only thing that troubled her was a cold void that had washed over her when she first connected to his Eva. At first she passed it as jitters about being here again, but as the seconds turned to minuets and minuets to nearly an hour it began to garner more of her attention.

When she connected to Reis' Eva there was a distant felling that echoed within the connections making her fell somewhat removed from those who were speaking to and around her. As she had been around Rei she slowly came to recognize this as an echo of her emotions and personality. As she tried to focus on emptiness she heard distant nearly inaudible whispers. Whispers of children boys and girls alike mocking her, some accompanied with a fleeting pressure on her face and ribs. The single whisper growing too many, some of older and others of younger children, even some her own age mocking and belittling her till there seemed to be hundreds of them. With each new voice she heard the hollow felling enshrouding her seemed to pull at her, as it dragging her down into some unseen abyss.

As the voices faded they were replaced with a distant memory slowly coming forward to take the forefront of her mind attention. It was different then what she had felt early and before, it was not like reliving a memory, watching as it played out in front of her but was like a fading recollection of an earlier time. It jumped and skipped through time, as if time was a child's play ground you could move to and fro in. In it was a young girl whose age ran from about seven years old to around nine sitting in a bed, covers enshrouding her as she leaned against the head board smiling happily as she talked to Hikari, her voice oddly silent as the passage of time had spirited it away.

Her pale skin and sickly appearance hinting at her being unwell, with each jump her memory made she saw the girl in a different position on the bed, sometimes sitting up others lay down covered carefully by the blanket. Her face always smiling happy to see Hikari there, listen as Hikari read from a book to her, other times happily chatting away like good old friends. As time flowed by she watched as the girl grew older and more frail looking, her once fiery brown eyes now dull and tired. Her bright smiles only an echo of their former selves, and each day they slowly faded further and further away till she was looking into an empty room with an empty bed where the young girl had once been.

As the test came to an end and she climbed out of the entry plug listening as the doctor gave her the results of the test explaining that she would find out whom she would be acting as back up for in a few days, her mind kept being pulled to the last felling she had as she "remembered" looking through that door and into that empty room.

Trying to remember when and where she had seen the girl and what was her name as she sat on the train as it made its way closer to her home, she came to understand that must have been one of Shinji's memories. Remembering the hollow felling she felt when connected to his Eva had suddenly started to grow as she looked into the empty room.

Now lying in her warm bed looking up at the familiar ceiling she knew why he was always so distant to people, always nearly fearful of getting too close to them or of them getting too close to him. Having lost his mother, learning this from over hearing the doctor and the major talking about him, as well as his father abandoning him when he was young then watching perhaps as the only friend he had ever had slowly withered away in front of him had eaten away at him. Leaving him uncertain of himself with an emptiness that's eating away at what was left of his mind and soul.

As darkness crept over her senses she thought of how much more complicated her small world had become now. With that final thought she fell asleep, resting soundly as the nightly world renewed its everlasting dance in the city and in the wilds of the world.

Sorry about the delay on that chapter between classes and work time was tight. Halfway through next chapter have this week off for classes so I'll get it finished this weekend and try to get it posted before the 9th or 10th at latest.

Looking for a review/editor for here on out on this story and T.B.O.S. Send me and e-mail if you're interested.