Author's Notes: Thanks for the reviews, I appreciate it. I hope to get more very, very soon. By the way, I write very short notes.
+ Singularity +
As soon as the bell rang signifying the end of class, Shinji decided it was time to fulfill his duty, to attempt something he had never done. Something daring and dangerous, something he could be remembered for. He was going to do something wholly unknown to him, actively go out and befriend someone. As he looked around the class, he saw Kyuuchi siting on a desk, talking to a girl. Kyuuchi seemed puzzled while the girl seemed downright angry. As he walked closer, he began to hear their covnersation.
"I can't believe you, Kyuuchi. Not only do you leave me out to dry on our date. I catch you with another girl!"
Kyuuchi seemed unaffected by her yelling and attempted to get her to calm down. Looking down at her, he smiled lazily and wrapped his arms around her.
"Listen, uhm, Yuki, it's all my fault, I agree. It's just that, I felt such strong emotions for you that I couldn't help myself. I got scared."
With this, he gave the girl his best puppy-dog look and could practically feel her resolve crumbling down. As he leaned in to seal the deal, he noticed Shinji staring in awe at him. Dropping the girl a wink, he walked towards Shinji and asked the paradox-induxing question.
"What's up, Ikari," Kyuuchi asked, his demeanor changed to slight apprehension, "mad about what happened yesterday? I seriously didn't mean to, you know?"
Shinji had to blink in rapid succession to see that this was Kyuuchi, stumbling over an apology while a minute ago he had swept a girl off her feet. Which one was the real Kyuuchi, he wondered? Focusing in on his objective, he took a gulp and gathered what little courage he had.
"Hey Taguchi, uhm, I was wondering, if you wanted to," Shinji took a relaxing breath, "to hang out someplace?"
Kyuuchi looked suprised at first, then a slow smile crept up on his face.
"Wow, you sure did take that serious enough. Tone it down before people start thinking you're coming onto me."
Shinji blushed at the joke tried to defend himself, "No, no, I'm sorry, I me-"
"Calm down, Ikari, I was just pulling your leg. Yeah, I'll hang with you, it'll increase my standing with the ladies if they see me with you. Maybe I'll even learn about that firecracker you live with."
Kyuuchi had fond memories of his first attempted come on to Asuka. The loud rebuttal, the fierce kick and the following pain left him even more determined. Persistence is not always a virtue, they say. He did not miss the small look of indignation on Shinji's face, however.
"Well, if it isn't the famous Shinji, pilot of, uh, whatever that thing's called. I think I got an idea, we'll go on the prowl for females at the mall, ok?" Kyuuchi asked, deciding to introduce himself to Shinji by showing what he was best at. After Shinji asked them, getting them to comply was easy. It was settled then, to go to mall right after school. There was only one thing left to do, to tell Asuka about Shinji's plans.
Shinji and Kyuuchi both walked up to Asuka and Hikari, though Kyuuchi was just back-up. He still wanted to check out the Second Child, without being noticed, mind you.
The two approaching boys quickly garnered their attention and Asuka looked to the both of them with her characteristic sneer.
"So, the perverts have joined up," Asuka joked, "what do the two of you want?"
Shinji rubbed his hands together and looked down before saying, "We, um, are gonna go to mall, Asuka. I don't know when we'll be back, you'll have to walk yourself home."
Before Asuka could reply, Kyuuchi cut in.
"Yep, that's right, Shinji is coming with me to explore the young beauties of the Tokyo-3 mall." Kyuuchi looked at them and with a slight reproachful look. "Well, that is, unless you two have any complaints?"
Hikari wanted to say something on Touji's behalf, but Asuka quickly cut in before her more timid friend had a chance to reply.
"Fine, see if I care, take the wimp with you to the mall." Crossing her arms, she strode out of the room with Hikari in tow.
Shinji looked back at Kyuuchi with a look of astonishment. He didn't think anyone had to the courage at this school to stand up the to the "red-headed demon."
"Taguchi, are you sure that was smart? I mean, Asuka's not a person you want to anger," Shinji said, looking back at the door, as if expecting Asuka to come back in heavily armed.
"No need to worry, my friend. I'm like a duck in water."
While Shinji didn't get the reference, he did nod his agreement. Before leaving, Kyuuchi had a couple more things to say.
"Call me Kyuuchi, by the way. Well, come on dudes, let's check the mall out."
+ Singularity +
Darkness flooded the vast room, save for a small lamp on a single desk. There sat a man, hidden in the darkness. It left him so well-hidden he was near-invisible. The shuffling of papers on his desk and he viewed them were a eerie sound among the quiet room. A glint of light reflected off his glasses as a small smile graced his features.
"The plan is preceding quite well."
On his desk, were the plans for the Human Instrumentality Project.
+ Singularity +
Shinji shuffled his feet and look downwards, trying not to make eye contact. It was terrifying, it was mind-numbing terrifying. He couldn't get any words out, and the sounds he could force out of his mouth sounded like a crazed man's ramblings.
"Uhm, uh, well, you-you're ver-very, I mean," his incessant stutterings seemingly had bored his listener to the point that listening to the young pilot was deemed unworthy.
Shinji sighed unhappily as he trekked slowly back to the table where his friends sat, all laughing at his attempted pick-up of a young girl. Kyuuchi was laughing the hardest, however. He practically had tears running down his eyes.
"Oh, man, oh, man. I don't see how you do it, Shinji. You even scared off an easy one!"
"I'm sorry, I just not good at this sort of thing." Shinji admitted and flopped down into his seat.
Kyuuchi shook his head, this kid needed serious help. And who better to give it, besides him?
"Shinji, don't fret. I use to be just like you, a while back. I was afraid of everyone and everything. I thought no one liked me and felt that I deserved such treatment. But you know what? I was wrong. Dead wrong. People didn't associate themselves with me because of the way I treated myself. All you need is confidence, Shinji, you got me? You have confidence in yourself, and you can do anything."
"You seem more arrogant, then confident," Shinji replied, "and you don't seem too have that many friends at school."
Kyuuchi looked downright sad for a second until he quickly brightened up and started to laugh.
"That's classic, Shinji. Those losers at school don't like me because they don't know me. People fear things they don't understand. And, by the way, where you get off?"
"Uhm, sorry, I didn't mean to offend," Shinji tried to retract his previous statement, but Kyuuchi just held up a hand.
"That's enough of that, man. You're right, I am arrogant. But I didn't have anyone to help me with my transistion. You do. You have me. I'm gonna help you become the best man you can be."
Shinji seemed somewhat skeptical, "How?"
Kyuuchi, on the otherhand, seemed to become more confident by the minute. 'He's like Asuka,' Shinji thought, 'it's weird.'
"By showing you the tricks of the trade. Now, this will be a hard and ardous task, Mr. Pessimistic. But don't worry, Kyuuchi Taguchi is here to help."
Shinji nodded, feeling some of Kyuuchi's confidence seep into his own. Maybe this would work, you never know.
"Okay, Kyuuchi, where do we begin?"
"With one simple question, then you can go home. Do you want to live life afraid to live life? Ponder that question for me, okay?"
With this statement, Kyuuchi got up and preceded to follow the girl who had turned down Shinji before, trying his hand. Shinji sat on his chair, still, pondering the question even as he got up and began his walk home.
'Live life afraid to live life?' Is that what I've been doing?'
Little did either one of them know, the impact that question would have on the upcoming future.
As Shinji opened the door to his apartment, he looked at the wristwatch, 10:45 PM. He had stayed out later then he thought, thinking about what Kyuuchi said. Before he could sneak into he room, he caught the glance of one of his fellow occupants.
"What took you so long, Third Child," Asuka questioned, "wait, no, don't tell me any of your perverted adventures with that hentai Taguchi."
"Why are you still up, Asuka? Don't we have synch tests tomorrow?"
"For your information, I couldn't sle-"
Shinji took charge, for once in his life, with the conversation.
"Why, worried about me?"
The look on Asuka's face was pricless as a small blush crept on to her face. Then, her face turned completely red with anger and Shinji made a hasty retreat to his room before any of Asuka's obscenities could catch him directly. Soon after resting himself, he quickly fell alseep.
+ Singularity +
In his dream, Shinji walked through a hallway made of pure light, light so bright and beautiful it was as if heaven itself had come down to visit him. Slowly, the path morphed into stairway and he found himself climbing the stairway, his destination unknown. Suddenly, there was a small sound, barely audible. As he quicked his pace, the light around him began to dim, swallowing him into darkness.
For a while, he stopped, until the sound came once again. It was hard to describe. It was as if there were millions of people talking at the same time. It sounded more like a small wave hitting the sandy beach then voices. As he ascended the staircase, some voices became more clearer, to the point where could recognize what they were saying.
"This doesn't make sense."
"I'll have to do it again."
"Not another failure."
The voices seemed to be directed at him, coming at him from all directions. Behind him, he felt a prescence. He quickened his steps, until he began to run up the stairs, seeing no end in sight. He felt the prescence close in on all. It was death, he knew it. Why this was happening, where he was at, he did not know. But what was chasing him, he knew, it was death.
"It's over."
"I should just give up."
Shinji felt his body tiring, his mind began to see things, shadows jumped from the darkness at him, clawing and tearing. Suddenly, there was a light. Not a white light of hope, but a red one. As he neared the light, he felt as if his body was changing, morphing somehow into something he could not describe.
"You're killing yourself! Don't you see?"
The red light grew and enveloped him at the same moment he felt death grab him, he was safe, safe for now. But where was he? All around him was red, the crimson color of blood. Looking up, he saw a lone figure, his black outline making him nearly impossible to make out but a glint from his glasses clued Shinji in.
"Father, father, is that you? Where am I? What is this place?"
For a while, the figure stood still and said nothing. Then, it spoke.
"I tried, I tried, why do you hate me so? Why do wish death upon me? Is it because you believe I failed you?"
"I don't understand, Father," Shinji replied, now frantic, "I don't hate you! What's going on?"
The figure either didn't hear his cries or simply ignored them.
"Was it not a good idea? I believe what I was doing was for the best? Is that so wrong?"
Before Shinji could reply, he awoke covered in sweat. Looking over at the clock and seeing it wasn't even 5 yet, he sighed and shivered.
"Just a dream, just a dream, just a dream."
Even though it was just a dream, sleep did not come for the Third Child and he readied himself for the day ahead.
-End.-
There we go, getting into the sci-fi a little. I'll get to the Tenth Angel's attack in the next couple of chapters, I promise. And if Kyuuchi comes off as a Mary-Sue, I apologize. It's just that it's still the beginning of the story and Kyuuchi's character will be fleshed out more. As for the dreams, I'll leave that up to your interpretations. This story was not pre-read.
Next chapter: Synch tests, Shinji's first date, and Kyuuchi meets Misato!