Disclaimer : I do not own Evangelion, although like many others I wish I did. I own none of the characters. This is a normal Eva fic, not sure about Eva battles because I am trying to focus on Shinji's torment and hopeful revenge, hehe. Read and Review, I need criticism and I need to know people are reading this garbage. Anyhoo, on with the show!
Right then
'Thought'
"Speech"
"(Actions in speech)"
-
"I see you've done some decorating since the last time I was here."
"Well I have had more free time since the last angel… since we were put on stand-by."
"It's okay Rei, you can talk about Kawouru if you want… one thing he taught me is that you always keep a fraction of those you meet inside of you. So I will always have my friends by me."
"That… doesn't make sense…"
"It is a weird theory I know, but it keeps me happy."
"Then I too like this… theory."
Shinji sat in Rei's room, it was now decorated with a pale yellow wallpaper, with yellow carpet, her bed spread was a simple one, white with a cream pattern on it. There was a table now beside the bed with a few drawers in it and a chair. There were curtains and even a few glasses with water laying about, Shinji was truly impressed by what the girl had done, seemingly all by herself. Shinji was about to ask if she had done all of it herself, then he spotted several books on the bookcase in the corner.
'"A beginner's guide to DIY", "How to lay a carpet", "The right wallpaper to suit you", holy cow!'
"So did you do this all yourself?"
"Yes… I did actually…"
"its very good Rei! I'm amazed, it looks like it was done by a professional."
"Thank… thank you."
Shinji turned around and Rei was blushing, it only took that for him to start blushing and Rei watched as his eyes turned sapphire blue. They both stood in the room, completely unsure of one another, but this insecurity would soon be cut short. Shinji didn't know it as he engraved the visage of the girl before him in the back of his mind, where he could remember her forever but this moment, would seem like a fleeting memory in only a few seconds. Rei was similarly preoccupied, staring into the boy's blue eyes.
'Come on… I know you love me… can you understand how I feel about you…'
BEEP
"Huh?"
BEEP
The two children turned their attention to the mobile phones that were ringing in unison, then they stared at one another again. Rei's face was flushed as she tried to express the sorrow she felt but Shinji's deep pink eyes that stared at her allowed her to know that he felt the same way. Shinji took her hand, then staring into her eyes.
"We… have to go…"
Without a word Rei nodded her head, still holding the girl's hand they ran towards the nearest entrance to NERV. While it was hard to focus on anything other than the fact that the mobile phone was saying Emergency Alert! Eva pilots to NERV HQ but Shinji was certainly distracted from the whole hectic situation by the warm feeling in his right hand. With Rei's hand locked in his he actually felt at home, at peace, even though the alert could mean either of them coming back in pieces. That thought struck a nerve, for a brief moment all images of casualties and wounds from Eva battles flooded into his mind and his head dropped. Rei could see his head drop but nothing else and as they reached the final hundred metres to the entrance of NERV, Shinji's head came up, his hair brown but his eyes obscured from Rei's vision. Shinji knew his eyes were different and he glanced into the windows either side of him.
"I will protect them, both of them… heh… yellow…"
It was almost like Shinji got a burst of energy at that point, Rei felt herself unable to keep up with the boy as he ran towards the entrance, their hands slipped and Shinji watch the shutters begin to close as the lock down began.
"Protect."
"Shinji!"
Shinji released Rei's hand in the final few metres, he jumped clear over the barrier and as he turned he landed and slid beneath the shutters. Rei watched as his yellow eyes disappeared behind the sheets of metal, she swiped her card to get through the turnstiles but the shutters refused to open, a small voice saying NERV lockdown in effect Please move to your nearest shelter . Rei swiped as much as she could but the shutters refused to open when she looked down at the card she saw writing on it.
"Card expiration… the third of March, 2016…"
Suddenly her phone began to ring once more, but the caller ID didn't say NERV.
"Shinji…"
"I'm sorry Rei… I was supposed to give you, your new card… but I don't want you to fight. I don't want you or Asuka to fight… please go to the shelters… we'll be fine… I'll protect you… I protect all of you."
"SHINJI!"
"Good bye, Rei."
The phone line went dead and Rei looked at the blood on her hands, then at the blood marks where she beat at the steel door. She then looked at the phone.
"Never say… Good bye… before you go out on a mission…"
The blood trickling down the screen of the phone was washed away with a river of tears descending from the girl's eyes. Shinji was stood on the other side of the door, he felt every punch through the metal, his eyes were deep pink, but he couldn't let it keep him and they quickly returned to yellow as he ran through the corridors, as he approached the cages he saw Asuka and quickly caught her up. She was having trouble keeping up with him, through the heavy breathing he heard her mutter.
"What… took you!?"
"I was seeing Rei… she couldn't make it."
"Good! I don't… need her… or you!"
"I'm sorry Asuka…"
"Sorry?"
Shinji's pace then doubled and Asuka watched him increase the distance between them exponentially until a blast door slammed shut in front of him. Shinji watched as the door got a lot closer, he skidded and rolled into the door, Asuka could hear the slam from where she was and she slowly reached the door. She watched as one behind her also shut, the lights flickered and then died, only the emergency lights remained.
"Shinji!"
Shinji painfully opened his eyes and looked up at the girl, for a moment he thought he might have still been unconscious. Asuka was directly between him and the emergency light, so from his point of view it appeared as though she had a halo around her head. Not only that but she had called him 'Shinji' not 'BAKA!' or 'Invincible Shinji'.
"What did you call me?"
"What? I mean… I… Oh my god you're bleeding!"
Shinji did feel a large throbbing sensation from both his head and his shoulder, it appeared that hitting a large steel door at the speeds he was running was not wise. Asuka was wearing her school uniform, even though Shinji was wearing his normal casual clothes, so Shinji couldn't really imagine her in any other way than the bitch she normally was at school. He opened his eyes again and heard her rummaging through her bag, she suddenly appeared again with a handkerchief that she dabbed at Shinji's head with, wiping up the blood. Shinji chuckled a little.
"What?"
"I just thought… you're being nice… and I'm sure my arm is worse than my head…"
"Well your arm can't be that bad, you might have a concussion! As for the nice comment, you'll pay for that when you're healed!"
"Heh heh, are you sure about the arm?"
"Yes already…"
Asuka looked at Shinji's right arm, the one that had hit the door, and subsequently the one that was far out of its socket at the shoulder. She stopped her sentence and dropped her head a little.
"This is going to hurt a little."
"Okay…"
Asuka rammed Shinji's arm as hard as she could into his body, there was a colossal click and Shinji's face was red. Asuka sat back for a second, knowing that Shinji would probably lash out at the pain and she was even ready to cover her ears from the yelling but there was neither. When she faced Shinji he was sat with his head down, there was no yelling, no screaming and he was sat perfectly still, his hair was almost pitch black but she hadn't realised this until now. The only time she had noticed Shinji's hair off colour was when he held the Colonel up against the wall, he seemed angry then, so maybe he was angry now. But when she focused on Shinji she saw a small trickle of blood from his head once more and she decided to try and overcome her fear of him.
"Are you…"
"I'm… fine… thank you, Asuka, I feel much better now."
Shinji's head lifted with a smile, he looked at her and his eyes were their normal colour, this made Asuka feel better and she dared to approach him. She began dabbing his head again before looking for something long enough to tie around his head. After a few minutes looking through her bag she sighed. Then looked at the boy.
"Don't get any wrong ideas."
"Huh?"
Asuka then proceeded to undo her skirt, or at least, the parts of the uniform that were attached to the skirt but went over her shoulders like suspenders. The waist still held the skirt in place but Asuka then untucked the blouse she had on and ripped off a long strip on the bottom. Shinji watched in awe at the spectacle.
"I was about to ask what kind of punishment were you going to give me for the nice remark… if this is it, I'll say you're nice more often."
"Hentai! Baka! I'm not giving you a show here!"
'Hey… if I had done this before… he would have gone little boy on me…'
Asuka remembered the time she tried to explain about expansion in heat, while using her breasts as examples, he just said he didn't think about stuff like that, not to mention when she kissed him.
'He was a really bad kisser.'
The girl hadn't even noticed that she had stopped ripping her blouse and was just kneeling before the bleeding teenager. When she did realise she continued with her task in the same way she had before, just with a lot more blushing than she had before. She then finished ripping her blouse and wrapped the fabric around the boy's head, causing quite a bit of pain for the poor boy. Then she crouched down so she was staring at him square in the eyes.
"That was punishment for the nice remark."
The girl then stood up and inspected the room that the two were now locked in, it was at least three metres across, and about five long. It had a single control panel on the wall giving a slight glow but it was otherwise inactive, there were supposed to be about three lights on the ceiling with the emergency one but only the emergency one was active now. She looked up and saw the vents but remembered that in lockdowns some vents are rigged with booby traps, not to mention the fact that she had no way up there.
'I can't climb or jump up, and Shinji is in no position to help me. Come on Asuka, you have to get yourself and the idiot out of this one!'
-
Meanwhile in the Command Centre, Misato stood staring at the locked door, the three techs were leaning about on their chairs while Ritsuko stared at the interface to the MAGI. After a few minutes of staring aimlessly Misato walked over to Ritsuko.
"So, what's the bad news?"
Ritsuko answered her friend without even looking away from the computers.
"Well, the MAGI's sensors say that there is no sign of an invasion force, and that the hacking has been stopped. Unfortunately a special lockdown has been called, all sections are locked down for at least four more hours, power has been cut off and the command centre is the only place with any mobile phone signal."
"So we are stuck here for four hours?"
"Yes, you could try the Eva pilots again but more than likely they are stuck in some corridor somewhere."
"Great…"
Misato then smiled to herself and went to whisper into Ritsuko's ear but the woman had already turned around and was giving her a pretty stern glare. She then whispered quietly enough for the others to miss completely.
"And we are not finding a way for Shinji to activate Unit 01 and get some defence outside."
"Boo."
-
During this time Rei had attempted several more times to enter NERV but had been unable to do so. After the few attempts she finally gave up, wrapping her hand in a handkerchief that she had she then proceeded to the shelter. This was a first for the girl, never before had she seen what it was like to be in a battle from the shelter with the normal people. As she ran though, there was only one thought going through her head, the thought of Shinji going into battle was the only thing that passed through her mind. The thought of the dummy plug, the thought of berserker, the thought of absorption. These thoughts were suppressed as she reached the shelter, the door was wide open and the lights were on the dimmest setting, she carefully descended into the room and found it to be empty.
"True Tokyo-3 is largely deserted now… but there should be someone here."
Rei continued to inspect the area, calling out for people before she reached the information screen, although she had never been to such a shelter before, she knew from hearing the class talk about it, that there should be the words A state of emergency has been declared for the Tokai Region… but instead there was no sound. She touched the screen and it came up saying the shelter was currently unoccupied and that there is no state of emergency.
"That cannot be correct."
Then Rei ran at top speed to the entrance of the shelter, each step was a hazard as she sprinted and she tripped several times, using the rails to stop her from hurting herself. When she finally reached the top of the stairs she looked outside, Tokyo-3 was deserted, as she knew, the first evacuated wave wasn't due back for several days but still, in a real emergency the sirens would be wailing.
"The alarms are silent… then this is not an attack…"
Part of her was relieved at this point, but at the same time there had been no contact with her since Shinji locked her out, so why didn't they need her. She looked at her phone, after a few seconds of inner turmoil she made a decision.
"My first call should be to Major Katsuragi but…"
The screen came up and it scrolled through to the entry 'Shinji Mobile' then she pressed the green call button. She then held the phone to her ear in the hope of getting a reply.
We are sorry, the phone you are dialling is outside of our range or switched off, please ring back later.
Rei brought the phone back down and began to scroll through until she found the entry 'M. Katsuragi Mobile' once again she pressed the green button.
-
BEEP BEEP BEEP
"Huh?"
Misato jumped from her sleeping position, while the other techs just murmured something, searching through her jacket she pulled out the mobile and saw the caller identification.
"Rei?"
She pressed the green button and held the phone up to her ear.
"Major Katsuragi?"
"Yes Rei, I'm here."
"What is the current situation?"
"We are in lockdown and the power's gone, we won't be able to unlock NERV for about three hours. Where are you?"
"I'm outside, walking towards NERV."
"Outside? Are you with Shinji? He was visiting you wasn't he?"
"Err. Shinji is inside somewhere, he went in without me."
"Without you?"
"He said something about protecting…"
"So Shinji is locked in NERV somewhere?"
"Yes Ma'am."
"Great."
-
"You know I don't see what you are smirking about."
"Just you."
Shinji was sat against the blast door he had collided with, his left arm holding his right shoulder, as if doing so was lessening the pain. His left hand was also cushioning his shoulder from the solid surface of the wall he was also leaning against so he sat square on in the corner of the room. He had the material wrapped around his head still while Asuka was still pacing around the 'cell' they were stuck in trying to find a way out. She was getting quite angry but Shinji was in no position to start finding a way out.
"Hey, maybe when you're finished pacing a hole in the floor you could try your mobile phone again, like you have the last nine times."
"Why did I even help you!? You inconsiderate brat!"
Shinji began to chuckle a little again.
"You know, you are actually quite cute when you are angry, your cheeks get all puffy and your nose curls up at the sides."
"Maybe you really did bang your head, you're talking crazy."
"Just keeping myself busy, anyway, it's helping me ignore the fact that the lockdown stopped the heating system and as this corridor runs right next to the chryostasis area, a large amount of the heat in this corridor is escaping through that wall. You might have noticed the fact that our breaths have started condensing…"
Asuka was just noticing that her breath was starting to form clouds in front of her mouth, it seemed that it was only as Shinji said this that she had noticed. She looked over at the wall Shinji had indicated and there was a lot of condensation on the wall. She paced around a little more before she felt a chill, she then moved towards Shinji and sat down beside him.
"Cold…"
Asuka had forgotten that her blouse was ripped at the back, and although she had redone the suspender-like section of her skirt back up there was still an area of her back exposed and this rested against the cold steel wall. She huddled up a little and then felt a warm sensation around her shoulders.
"What do you think you are doing, you little pervert."
"What does it look like, and I'm taller than you."
Asuka was about to punch Shinji in the ribs but he then brought her into his chest as tight as he could and the feeling of warmth throughout her body pushed away any sensation of anger she felt towards the boy.
"You should let people inside sometimes, they only want to help you."
"I… don't need anyone…"
"Yes you do…"
Shinji sat with Asuka in his arms and it wasn't long before she had her arms wrapped around his waist, Shinji was unsure of what to do but he knew he was enjoying the sensation, his hair was dangling before his face in a light brown shade. After about twenty minutes of just sitting there Shinji decided to try and get Asuka to open up to him.
"Why do you push me away?"
"Because… I don't need anybody…"
"But that isn't true… is it?"
"No… I need to be with people…"
Shinji knew that he might have a chance of seeing Asuka's true self if he could just get her to open up.
"What ever you tell me… I will never repeat it."
"I know… you were always so nice to me…"
"Then why did you push me…"
"I have never had anyone who cared about me… my mother… she went insane and abandoned me and when she killed herself she killed a doll she thought was me… she wanted to kill me…"
"I… my mother… disappeared inside the Eva when I was little… so I understand a certain loss…"
"You can't understand how I feel… your mother… she didn't hate you…"
"She didn't but you have to understand that not everyone hates you…"
"But your mother… she is supposed to love you unconditionally…"
"I agree but you have to understand that a mother isn't necessarily the one who gave you birth, a mother can be the one who loves you now and who is willing to fight for you now. And you have friends Asuka, friends who want to stay with you and protect you…"
"I don't need protecting…"
"You do… Asuka. You are strong, but at the same time you are weak, like we all are. I have no doubt that you can defend yourself but now… now, you need people who will defend you, who will love you."
"No one loves me…"
"I do…"
Shinji bit his tongue at this point, that was not the line he wanted to say but following the trail of the conversation it was the only logical thing to say. He wasn't even sure if he did love her it was only when he found her staring at him that he opened his mouth again.
"I love you, Asuka. And I will always protect you…"
"Your eyes… are so blue… I think I… love…"
Shinji was shocked when Asuka's lips pressed against his, although at the same time is wasn't necessarily an unpleasant experience. She backed off for a minute, checking what she was doing and still unsure whether it was the right thing to do. But as she stared into the blue eyes she just felt a warm feeling reach up to her face and the palm of Shinji's right hand stroked the side of her face, she realised the pain this must have been causing him but his face remained unchanged. He simply stared at her then used his hand to guide her head up to his and then they kissed again, this time they parted only momentarily as Shinji's head came down to hers and they began kissing heavily. Asuka was amazed that the little boy she had constantly been insulting and teasing was now kissing her in such a way that made her heart swell and her mind rest. The last kiss they had shared was appalling, but this one was different, this time instead of feeling the urge to wash her mouth out she never wanted to let anything touch her lips again. As they kissed Shinji began to nibble on her lip and she felt like she was going to explode, then she felt the chill of the air on her lips and she opened her eyes. Shinji's blue eyes stared back, his hand was still resting on her face and her own right hand had come out from behind his back and was twisting the long hair on the back of his head through her fingers.
"I will always protect you…"
"And I will always protect you."
Asuka then came back up to Shinji and they continued to kiss, Shinji's hand wandering around her back and up the gap in her blouse. He felt her skin up to her bra, then he began to stroke her back trying to heat it up with his own warmth, as Shinji felt up her back he stroked the bumps in her skin caused by her vertebrae and she seemed to push into the kiss even further than before. It was only now that Asuka got truly surprised when Shinji's tongue began to trace around her teeth and she sent her own out to meet his. They sat like that for quite a while until Asuka pulled away and stared at Shinji. Shinji's hand then left Asuka's face, his right hand then met is left underneath Asuka's blouse, and they began to undo the latch on her bra. Asuka was about to question the boy when his mouth left hers and he began to kiss down the side of her neck. After a couple of moments of fiddling with the latch it finally undid and Shinji was ready to go for his goal. The heating systems were reactivating and the room was returning to normal temperature, they were no longer feeling the effects of the cold. Shinji brought his left hand up to support Asuka's head while the right supported her back as he lowered her onto the cold ground. She gave a small whimper as her bare back touched the ground but Shinji's kisses made it all go away. Shinji then removed his hand from behind her back and undid her blouse, Asuka hadn't even noticed that Shinji had removed the upper section of her skirt and she felt quite exposed when the only thing that stood between Shinji and her breasts was a bra that was already undone. Shinji brought his head down and began kissing her neck once more, then at the same time he began to move down, nibbling her collarbone, then down further until he was kissing her upper breast. He then used his chin to move the bra away and he began to kiss her nipples, she was not unaffected by this but Shinji hadn't seen her discomfort.
"What if the lockdown ends and someone sees us."
"We'll have a few second warning."
"It is quite… exciting…"
"I love you…"
Asuka watched as Shinji's head returned to her chest, kissing her torso from her collarbone all the way down to her belly button. Asuka just lay there and stared up at the ceiling, allowing the sensations to arouse her but also pain her at the same time. It was only then that Shinji began to move towards her skirt and he undid the side button, as he was about to move underneath, Asuka panicked.
"I… You… I'm on!"
"On… oh…"
Shinji's black haired head moved away from that area and he moved back up to her face once more.
"I'm sorry…"
"Don't be… it's my problem…"
Shinji then began kissing her, while his hands began to move around her breasts, repeating the action that Asuka had shown him at the pool that fateful day. They remained like that for some time.
-
"So is it time?"
The blonde haired doctor turned to her colleague, she too was getting impatient and looked back at the timer on the screen before her.
"Lockdown will end in five minutes, power should be coming back on in a few seconds."
"Good."
-
Flicker.
"Shinji… was that…"
Shinji's head was picked up, Asuka had opened her eyes when the darkness beneath her eyelids became a flash of light brown, but the sight she saw was likened to a dog or wolf who had heard the sound of a gun shot. Shinji looked back down at her and nodded, the two quickly gathered Asuka's clothes, allowing her to redress herself, Shinji just tried to stare away as Asuka slid the long sleeved blouse over her bandaged arms.
"Asuka… those bandages…"
"Are nothing… they're nothing…"
"Okay…"
The lights suddenly returned to the corridor and they were left sat in the corner, while leaning on the other, they didn't seem to be in any friendly or affectionate pose. Shinji used the light to stare at Asuka's face and the blue of her eyes was enough to make him feel warm and he smiled as he leant his head back. Dink. Asuka heard a mutter, she looked up to find tears gathering in the corner of his eyes and his bandaged head touching the steel metal door. She smiled a little and then looked up as the security camera became active and began scanning the small room, from an unseen speaker a voice could be heard.
Asuka! Shinji! Are you okay?
"Misato?"
Yes, are you okay?
Asuka looked down at the now resting Shinji, she had stood up when she heard the voice, looking back with some noticeable concern she returned to the camera.
"Shinji has a cut head, possibly a concussion and I had to relocate his shoulder."
Asuka what did you do to him!?
"NOTHING! He ran into the stupid blast door! Don't blame me!"
Shinji was sat smirking and he lifted his head to the camera.
"She's telling the truth, Misato… these blast doors… are really hard."
Well the lockdown will be ending any…
Shinji jumped as the wall he was resting on began moving upwards slowly, and he rolled forwards onto his knees.
…time now. I'll send a medical team!
"No, I'll walk to the medical bay, it's okay."
Are you sure?
"Yeah, Asuka can walk me."
Okay… see you there.
"Bye."
The conversation was closed and to anyone walking through the, now open, corridor it would have seemed quite strange, a boy talking to thin air. But Shinji and Asuka quickly went to walk towards the medical bay and Shinji's hand easily found Asuka's. As they walked Shinji began to chuckle.
"I wonder what happened to this so-called 'attack', then?"
Asuka wanted to laugh, she wanted to get angry for the fact that it was a false alarm but she was too busy having other things on her mind. Shinji looked down at her and was surprised by how unhappy she looked.
"Are you… okay?"
"Yes… it's just…"
"What?"
"I… don't think I am ready for a physical relationship…"
"I understand… we don't have to do that until you are ready…"
"Thank you…"
"I love you, Asuka…"
Asuka hugged the boy tightly and he put his left arm around her as they walked, walking through the corridor in some post-modern picture of love.
-
Rei just passed through the turnstiles, or more like, jumped over the turnstiles, she was walking through the open corridors towards the Evangelion cages, hoping that would be where she would find Shinji.
'I must tell him, before I lose him forever…'
-
"I am going with Major Katsuragi, Maya, will you ensure everything is fine with the MAGI?"
"Yes Ma'am!"
Ritsuko and Misato then descended the lift, heading towards the floor with the medical bay on, they were half way there when Misato spoke.
"So… who were they…"
"I don't think I need to tell you…"
"It was them…"
"Yes… they are testing us… it probably won't be long now…"
"I wish we had more time to prepare…"
-
Author Note : Yes admittedly, this story certainly started heading towards the realms of lemons, I have set this as a PG-13 (which means lots to an English guy) so I am guessing a certain amount of sex is allowed. I won't be doing that often but it was necessary for the story. For all you ShinjixRei fans, erm, sorry? This chapter was not a major turning point for the kind of content don't worry, the whole get together was required for the story line. If any of you think the speed it happened is unrealistic… I beg to differ.