NOVEMBER 4TH
AKAGI RESIDENCE
4:52 PM JST
"I'm home!"
Shinji slid off his shoes and essentially tossed them onto the floor nearby. The house was rather silent today, maybe they had to stay late today.
Who knows?
But what about father?...
He slowly walks down the entry hall into the living room, still seeing or hearing anyone. Taking a good look around and walking around, he couldn't find anyone.
There was no one here.
Did father even have anywhere or anything to do? He seemed to just read a lot at home. He hasn't even tried to get a new job.
Shinji sighed and turned around to head back to his room when he bumped into someone.
"Gah-"
Stumbling back for a moment he looked up to see his father staring down back at him.
"Oh, sorry."
Shinji stood there for a moment, expecting a reply but gave up after a second. He tried to head to his room and walked around him only to bump into someone else.
"Jeez! How many people are going to sneak up on me!"
He looked to see who it was.
It was Mother.
"Oh Hey, Mom! I didn't see you there!"
She simply stared at him.
"Oh hello."
She sounded disinterested in him. A nervous feeling washed over him as she walked away from him. Not even looking back.
"Mom?"
An annoyed sigh came from Naoko as she barely turned to face him.
"What?"
. . .
"D-did I do something wrong?..."
Shinji's voice was quivering, he was scared of what she would say next.
She rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Can you just go away? I'm kinda busy."
As soon as she finished she planted a kiss on Gendo's lips. Shinji stared in absolute horror. His heart rate spiked.
"Why are you still here? Just go away."
A look of disgust formed on her face as she glared at Shinji. He took a few steps backward as tears began to leak.
"I-I'm sorry!"
He cried out, already sobbing. He ran back up to his room. The last thing he heard from them was…
. . .
. . .
"Annoying brat."
Running down the hall, Shinji made a sharp turn into his room, almost hitting the door frame.
He slammed the door behind him, pushing his back against it.
His breathing was heavy and ragged. His eyes were full of tears as he began to sob.
He slid down onto the floor, only to fall.
Fall.
Fall into the void.
Everything around him turned black and he felt everything around him turn cold.
He was falling at a rapid pace.
He couldn't see the bottom.
Not that he could see anything, it was both pitch black and his eyes were still full of tears, tears that were falling upwards.
"MAKE IT STOP!"
. . .
No response.
. . .
"PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!"
. . .
No Response.
A white light shone brightly below him. It grew closer and closer each second, at a rapid pace.
His cries went unheard as the light fully enveloped him. Blinding him instantly.
.
.
.
NOVEMBER 2ND
AKAGI RESIDENCE
2:42 AM JST
REALITY
"AAAAHHHHH!!"
Shinji jolted upwards from his pillow. He was soaked in a cold sweat, as well as his blanket and pillow.
His breath was rapid and shallow. Tears were streaming down his face and dripping down onto his chest.
A light switch flicked on downstairs and heavy footsteps could be heard rapidly rushing up the stairs and into the hall outside his room.
The door swung open revealing Gendo with a baseball bat. Naoko followed suit behind him with her pistol.
A moment of silence passed as the two saw it was just Shinji having a nightmare.
They saw him cower at the sight of them. Naoko stepped forth past Gendo to try and calm Shinji down, but he just scooted back away from her.
"Please… Just leave me alone…"
His voice was painful and strained.
He was scared.
Naoko saw the hurt in his eyes, and could only assume it involved her and possibly Gendo.
She took a step back, also hurt by this situation. Gendo stared on at the scene, not knowing what to say to them. Instead he just lowered the bat and opened the door for Naoko to leave with him.
A pang of pain rung through his chest.
He couldn't do anything.
"Get some rest if you can… I love you Shinji…"
Naoko knew something was going on with Shinji…
And it was eating at him from the inside.
It was eating away at all of them.
To be continued in the next True Chapter.