A/N: Just your normal Kaworu/Shinji fic. I always thought that Kaworu's being an angel would've been more traumatic, and his reaction would've made more sense, had he known Kaworu longer. So this fanfiction is simply to bring Kaworu into the mix a little earlier than in the anime. This story might not follow NGE completely and I've added some of the manga aspects into the story as well. Hope you enjoy. Oh, and yes, it's Shinji and Kaworu together in a romantic relationship.

"I want you to kill me..."

Shinji trembled at the controls on Eva Unit One. He'd never seen such a look. The pale boy remained, seemingly untroubled by it all, in the Evangelion's grasp. A soft smile was on his face and his red eyes seemed to bore into Shinji with intensity capable of reading his thoughts. The younger boy stared at Kaworu, absolutely torn. What could he do? This boy... no, this angel, had betrayed him. Was he really so different from the other angels that Shinji had mercilessly destroyed?

How could a human shape change his perceptions so much?

The teacher was absent from the classroom that morning when the students arrived. Sitting in their desks, they waited awkwardly for a few minutes before they gave up and began to misbehave. Hikari, class rep, was trying to keep things under control as always.

"Hey! Don't throw things out the window!" she cried, running across the room to put a stop to such behaviour. "Oh! Stay in your seats!" She hurried back the other way, pigtails flapping. Kensuke, Toji and Shinji regarded Hikari from their seats.

"She's crazy..." Kensuke muttered. "Class rep... The title must've gone to her head!"

Hikari stopped by the boys' desks suddenly, as if she'd heard them speaking. But instead of scolding them, she only smiled and took something from her schoolbag. It was a square tin container wrapped in a bandana to make it look nicer. Grinning, she pushed the box across the desk to Toji who sat up a bit straighter as she did.

"It's good to see you're in your desk, Toji" Hikari said, beaming. "I made you lunch today. You never bring one." She gave the lunchbox a final nudge towards him, then went off. Kensuke and Shinji stared, mouths agape. The third boy gave them both glares but Kensuke ignored the warning.

"So... she your girlfriend?" the boy questioned, pushing his glasses up his nose and grinning.

Toji leaned back in his chair, sighing. "No. And I don't like her either."

Kensuke nudged Shinji and cupped a hand around his mouth to whisper, "She's already making him lunches like she's his wife!"

Shinji only managed an uneasy chuckle before it was cut abruptly short when Toji menacingly reached across his desk and grabbed Kensuke by his shirt collar. "What did you say!" he growled.

"Hey, calm down!" Kensuke cried, taken aback by the violent reaction. His chair tipped over and fell. Shinji stood up in his desk as well, alarm on his face.

"You'd better not spread rumours about us, got it?" Toji said in a low voice, barely heard by Shinji and not heard by anyone else in the class, though every pair of eyes was on them now.

"Okay, okay!" Kensuke said, waving his hands. Toji let go of him and the boy sighed, fixing his shirt. "Geez..."

"Shinji!" came a sharp, female voice. Shinji turned, spotting a girl by the door of the classroom with fiery red hair. Next to her was a paler girl with red eyes that were watching the floor and light blue hair, cut short only a little past her chin. The redhead gave him an impatient look and beckoned him over. He glanced at his two companions and gave them a shrug before walking over. The girl roughly grabbed his wrist and dragged him out into the hall, the other following them as well.

Shinji was a little surprised by how forceful Asuka was being and he couldn't imagine what it was she wanted to tell him about, or why she had Rei along. The three of them walked down the hall and descended the stairs that led to a lower floor in the school. Asuka pulled Shinji under the stairs and Rei went under as well. Only then was Shinji released from the girl's iron grip.

He withdrew his hand, rubbing his wrist a little. "What's the matter?" he asked, his voice a mixture of concern and annoyance. Asuka rarely paid attention to him in school despite the fact that they were living together in Misato's apartment. If Asuka was pulling him from class with Rei to hide under the stairs, it could only be something important. Most certainly related to the Evangelions.

"I heard something from Hikari..." Asuka said, whispering fiercely. "Our teacher was hurt by one of the Evangelions when his building collapsed."

Shinji's blue eyes widened and they darted from Asuka to Rei. Rei's face remained vacant as usual. "Are you sure?" he finally asked, a little uneasy sounding.

"I'm absolutely sure. Consider the source. Hikari heard it from the teachers this morning before class."

The boy hung his head, sighing. "Will he be okay?"

"That I can't say" Asuka shook her head. "But class won't be on for us today so we may as well leave."

"I guess..." Shinji mumbled, dejectedly.

The three of them exited the school and walked through the school yard. Asuka had resumed being her usual self. "Don't look so forlorn, Shinji!" she was saying, regarding him critically. "It could've been either of us that did it! And it certainly wasn't Wonder-girl." She was referring to Rei, naturally. The pale girl with the red eyes didn't say anything to the nickname, or rather, she didn't say anything at all. "Well, I'm going home!" Asuka boredly flipped her hair.

"I will go home as well" Rei said quietly and started off that way. Shinji watched her leave, bidding her goodbye, but she didn't acknowledge him.

"Are you coming?" Asuka asked him, shifting her schoolbag on her shoulder.

"I'll come home for lunch..." Shinji mumbled, stretching his arms over his head, trying to appear indifferent.

"I'm not making it for you!" Asuka informed him. "But alright, I'll see you later." She went off. It was a pleasant spring day out and the air was warm. The sky was blue, without a cloud to be seen. Shinji wandered about the school yard and settled himself under a tree. With his back against the trunk, only then did he allow himself to become afraid. His own teacher was in the hospital because of him, because of his own carelessness. Shinji didn't consider that he and Asuka were equally responsible for the destruction caused because both Evangelions had moved at exactly the same time when they had been fighting Israfel.

The boy pulled his knees up to his chest and hid his head in his arms. He remained that way for quiet some time, in an almost sleeping state, when a rustle startled him back to reality. Shinji jerked his head up, bleary-eyed and full of alarm. Standing nearby and regarding him curiously but with a smile was a tall, slender boy, roughly Shinji's own age. He was wearing the male school uniform and he had his book bag slung over one shoulder. His skin was pale, almost white and his hair was ash-coloured.

Shinji certainly wasn't a social butterfly, but he was an observer. He thought he'd known pretty well who most of the students in the school were and he was certain he'd remember a boy with such striking features as his. But in his recollection, Shinji had never seen this boy. Shinji reached up and wiped his face with one arm, blushing in embarrassment that he should be found like this.

The two boys remained still, eyeing one another with uncertainty. Then the pale boy turned and walked off. Once he was safely away, Shinji stood up on wobbly legs. He picked up his school bag and went off home, though it was earlier than he'd said he'd be home for.

On the stage there was only one lone figure. He stood cradling a violin against his shoulder. A white spotlight shone down on him but there was otherwise only darkness around. He closed his eyes, raising his bow, and began to play a sweet, but sorrowful melody. He swayed a little with his own playing, lost in the music and caught up in the moment, oblivious to the world around him.

For dinner in the Katsuragi-Ikari-Soryu household it was ramen noodles. Misato wasn't much of a cook, so it was always better to be on the safe side by eating instant food. Misato, Asuka and Shinji were sitting on the floor around a low table, slurping their noodles and watching the television. On the news there were reports about the latest angel to attack the city of Tokyo-3. Many details were left out, simply because the public wasn't as informed about the angels and the Evangelions as the pilots themselves were.

"I hope I never have to synchronise my movements with yours again, Shinji" Asuka sighed, setting her chopsticks down across the opening of her noodle bowl.

Shinji watched the shaky and grainy footage of their Evangelions in action. "The feeling is mutual."

Asuka sat back a little, putting her arms behind herself for support. "The next angel is mine to off by myself" she announced.

Misato turned and looked at Shinji with some concern. "Shinji, you look so serious. Is anything the matter?" she asked. Asuka looked at Shinji as well at this.

The boy shifted uncomfortably. "Well... I just hope our teacher gets better, is all..."

"In battle, there are causalities and sacrifices that happen" Misato replied. "We're pretty lucky that there hasn't been more destruction, actually." She took the moment to pause and sip her beer. "Just cheer up, alright? You're doing this for the greater good!" And she gave him a not entirely sober smile.

School began again the next morning, and as the students filed into the classroom, a new teacher was waiting for them. She introduced herself as Ms. Koichi and put them to work straight away. With his head buried in a book for much of the morning, it wasn't until lunch that Shinji happened to notice a new student present in the class. It was none other than the boy he'd encountered on the schoolyard the previous day. It was unlike Shinji to go up and speak to a stranger so he stayed put in his desk.

"Toji!" Hikari called, flagging down the boy as he'd just returned from the facilities. "I made you lunch again!" She handed it to him and he took it awkwardly, a blush present on his face. Kensuke watched the scene at a safe distance, looking on with amusement.

"Uh... thanks..." Toji mumbled, returning to his desk once more.

Hikari did her rounds in the classroom before she stopped by the new boy's desk. He was looking out the window but he seemed to sense her behind him and turned, looking at her.

"Nagisa Kaworu, right?" she asked. Shinji heard the name and raised his head, looking at the two from where he was sitting. The boy nodded slowly, smiling. Hikari returned the smile. "Welcome! I'm the class rep, Horaki Hikari! If you ever have any problems or questions, I'll be here for you. Now... I'm supposed to give you all your textbooks..." She went to retrieve them and instructed him to sign forms in case they got lost. Shinji watched them for a moment. As Hikari was leaving his desk, Kaworu turned and looked Shinji straight in the eye and the boy sat up, taken aback. Kaworu had red eyes just like Rei.

Rei wasn't eating, but just sitting at her desk and gazing at nothing when Shinji approached her. She noticed him and turned her eyes towards him. "Yes, Ikari?"

"Do you know that boy?" Shinji asked, gesturing towards Kaworu. "Nagisa is his name. Are you related? You look like you could be."

Rei turned her attention to the boy and then looked away quickly. "No."

"Are you sure...?"

"We are the same, but not related."

The answer left Shinji scratching his head but Rei had always been rather mysterious. He went and sat down again. Then Hikari approached him. "Ikari, would you take Nagisa around the school? He's new and doesn't know his way around. If you're late for class, I'll explain it to the teacher."

"Uh... sure." Shinji stood up. Kaworu was already standing, waiting for the other to lead him. Shinji walked out the classroom door and Kaworu followed him. The halls were mostly empty as classes began to resume. Their footsteps echoed loudly, as a result. Shinji mumbled, pointing to different rooms and saying what they were for. Kaworu looked at each one, apparently interested and trying to retain the information.

Kaworu was mostly silent during the first half of the tour but as they were descending the stairs he spoke up to say, "You're Ikari Shinji, aren't you?"

"Y-yes. That's right..." Shinji answered.

"I've heard about you and the other Eva pilots..." Shinji didn't say anything to that. "I'm also a pilot..."

Shinji whirled around, wide-eyed and stared at the other boy. "You're a pilot?"

"Don't be too surprised" Kaworu said, smiling. "As it turns out, many of your own classmates can be Evangelion pilots if the need ever arises."

Shinji looked quite shocked by this. "Did someone tell you that?"

"I just know."

"Oh..." As far as Shinji knew, there wasn't another Evangelion for Kaworu to pilot. Perhaps he was a spare pilot in case he, Rei or Asuka should find themselves unable to. The thought troubled him a little.