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"Dialogues"
- Thoughts -
"Radio Talk"
Liability Note:
Evangelion, its characters and setting are the property of Hideaki Anno. Any brands, movies and series mentioned in this Fanfic are the property of their creators.
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Chapter 22.
Misato was sitting outside Kaji's office, she had her arms crossed over her chest thinking, she knew why she was there, they probably weren't happy that she had put Wunder back on the air without proper safety testing.
"You may enter now colonel." Kaji's secretary announced with a smile on her face.
Misato nodded and stood up, as she entered the office she could see Kaji standing looking at the window, as always he showed an aura of calmness and nonchalance.
Kaji turned as he heard the door opening and closing, he turned around with his original smile on his face.
"Hello Katsuragi."
Misato gave a salute to Kaji who only let out a small laugh.
"You don't have to do that."
Misato still couldn't believe that Kaji had become her boss, but now she would have to accept it because it was reality, she approached the window where Kaji was standing and looked at the horizon.
"You called me, sir? " Misato spoke emphasizing the last part sarcastically.
Kaji smiled and spoke confidently.
"Yes."
Kaji turned away from the window and went towards the small table he had, on it was a pot of tea and coffee, he took a cup for himself and one for Misato.
Kaji sat down on the couch in his living room and motioned for Misato to do the same, she was thinking about why Kaji had called her, he didn't seem to be wanting to talk about her taking off with Wunder without proper preparations.
Kaji then placed the other cup on the small table in front of the sofa, Misato took the cup and took a small sip, she waited for him to begin.
"So, how did it go?" Kaji asked as he sat down in an unprofessional position.
Misato glanced back at him.
"How was what?"
"Let's not run away from the subject, like it was with Wunder?" Kaji retorted, he knew Misato would run away from the subject as fast as he could.
"She flew well." Misato flirted as she took another sip.
"No problems so far, all her energy is coming from unit one as before."
"Well, at least it didn't explode, that shows it worked out." Kaji spoke as he finished taking his cup, Misato stared at him as he seemed to be talking about something else.
"What do you mean?" Misato asked confused, she could sense that Kaji was hiding something from her.
Kaji stared at her and inhaled.
"Remember when they took Unit 01 back?" he received a nod.
"The WILLE technicians actually installed it, but..."
Misato's eyes widened, she was not liking the way this conversation was going.
"In the last few battles, remember the Mark 09 that we were able to pick up practically in one piece? ... We managed to extract the S2 engine from it." Kaji spoke innocently as he brewed another cup.
"You mean, Wunder's power source was not Unit 01?" Misato asked trying to hold back a scream, she received only a smile from Kaji.
"What the fuck Kaji! Do you know what could have happened?!" Misato shouted as she stood up, she could feel her hands shaking at the information, memories of the destruction of the NERV branch in Nevada came into her mind, at that time NERV was trying to manipulate an S2 engine so they could have unlimited power for the EVAS.
"In my defense, Wunder wasn't supposed to fly, the safety tests were going to be done." Kaji spoke smugly as he sipped his tea.
Misato thought and knew that Kaji was right, she skipped the safety steps, but her mind screamed for answers.
"But you could have at least warned me." Misato replied in hopes of easing her situation.
"You would know, when the tests were done." Kaji stood up and walked toward Misato.
Misato crossed her arms and shook her head, but another question hovered in her mind, she looked into Kaji's eyes and asked. "Why?"
Kaji had been expecting this question, he sighed and began to speak. "It's because of Unit 01 ... We're going to need all the EVAS available, I hope I can afford not to use it."
Misato only shook his head in disbelief. "Fuck Kaji, since we had picked up a Mark 09 unit, why don't you use it?" Misato asked, but she already knew that the council must have dismissed that idea.
"The council is thinking about it, but we don't have the luxury of time, long story short they don't trust this unit and neither do I." Kaji spoke as he lit a cigarette. "It would take years to analyze and see if it would be safe, we don't know Gendo's antics in building this unit."
Misato stared at Kaji, he again was right. "But unit 01 is unreliable."
"She is, we know it will only work with Shinji, that's our trump card, unlike Mark 09, we know how she behaves." Kaji retorted smiling.
Misato huffed, she was running out of arguments, but stopped when Kaji spoke again as he let out a cloud of smoke. "Look Katsuragi, we have no intention of using it, but in case things get too ugly, we have to have high level reinforcements."
Misato was thinking about Kaji's words, deep down she knew he was right, an extra EVA would always come in handy in this war she just hoped she could not use it.
"How are the kids doing?" Kaji asked to break the ice.
Misato came out of his reverie, he looked at Kaji with a lost look on his face. Kaji let out a laugh at Misato's look and repeated his question.
"They're fine, after the battle we'll have lunch together ..." Misato paused as he remembered his alliance with Mari to tease Shinji and Asuka and let out a laugh. "It was really good."
"That's good, how about you? How are you?" Kaji asked as he put out his cigarette and approached Misato.
Misato stared at him in confusion, she knew Kaji's cheap flattery. "I'm fine."
"Really?" Kaji asked as he stopped in front of Misato, all the while keeping his gaze on Misato's eyes.
Misato looked away to hide the small blush on her face, she didn't know how Kaji had power over her, next to him Misato felt like a teenager.
"I'm fine Kaji, really ... I just need a vacation." Misato replied tiredly.
"I understand, this whole thing is not easy." Kaji spoke calmly.
"That never is." Misato replied still keeping the tired tone in his voice.
"So ... Today at 19 hours?" Kaji asked smiling haughtily.
Misato stared at him incredulously, Kaji was still thinking about the dinner he promised, but Misato was thinking seriously about it, now with Wunder in the air again, the council would send her back on missions and Misato wouldn't know when she would have another chance to relax.
Misato was still looking at Kaji's face, he flashed her a small smile and replied. "OK, but take me somewhere good, now you get a good salary."
Kaji widened his smile and spoke confidently. "Sure."
So Misato turned and started to walk away, she felt Kaji grab her arm and pull her back, she didn't have time to react, when Kaji's lips touched hers Misato felt her legs get weak, it had been a long time since she had kissed anyone.
When Kaji broke the kiss, he looked her in the eye and spoke as he released Misato. "See you at 19 hours."
Misato was still standing there trying to understand everything that had happened, she smiled and left the room.
Kaji waited for the door to close, he let out a sigh and returned to his desk, he was looking at a folder where he had the files about Wunder's S2 engine, he had forgotten to give them to Misato, he picked up the phone on his desk and dialed.
Misato was back in her office at Wunder, she was trying to concentrate on the paperwork of supplies that were already being loaded for Wunder's turnaround, but she was having a very hard time with this as her mind was focused on something else.
"What the fuck! It's just dinner!" Misato huffed in frustration as she grabbed the sides of her head, but her anger and frustration was cut short with the knocks on her door, Misato raised her head to look at who was requesting her attention, upon seeing that it was her friend Ritsuko signaled for her to come in.
Ritsuko approached Misato's desk, pulled out a chair and sat down, Ritsuko pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a long drag, Ritsuko looked at Misato's stunned face.
"What is it?" Ritsuko asked curiously upon seeing Misato's visible distress.
Misato looked into her friend's eyes and sighed, ran her hands through her hair and began to speak.
"It's a silly thing to do, but it's Kaji." Misato replied with visible discomfort.
Ritsuko raised her eyebrows curiously. "Still with the whole thing about him being the new commander?"
"No." Misato replied wearily, "He called me to dinner tonight."
Ritsuko faced her with a small smile on her face, she was reveling in Misato's discomfort. "And what about it?"
Misato stared at Ritsuko as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "But he's the commander now and it may sound very ridiculous, but it's been a while since I've been out with someone ... A long time ... The last time I went out to dinner was the day before Unit 03 was activated, when Asuka got injured."
"Misato, looks like it will be your first time dating anyone." Ritsuko let out a laugh as she continued to smoke her cigarette. "What happened to Misato who studied with me in college and spent a whole week just fucking Kaji?"
Misato stared at her friend as she blushed, but couldn't help but smile at the memory, those college days were pretty good.
Ritsuko continued to stare at Misato's smiling gaze, Ritsuko was uncomfortable for a few seconds with Misato's good moment of memories.
Misato shook his head to return to the real world. "I know, I just think I've lost my touch."
Ritsuko looked at the envelope she had just received, she reached up and handed it to Misato who took it, when she opened it, she deposited the contents on her desk.
Ritsuko picked up some sheets of paper and started reading them, her eyes widening when she saw the schematics for installing an S2 motor as Wunder's main power source.
"What's that?" Ritsuko asked her friend who was looking at the supply schematics, Misato raised her tired gaze to Ritsuko, realizing what her friend was talking about, Misato breathed in.
"I thought you knew." Misato replied confused, after all she expected Ritsuko to know, she received the denial.
"Kaji explained to me that they had recovered the S2 engine from the Mark 09 unit, they installed it in Wunder." Misato explained what Kaji had explained to him a few hours ago.
Ritsuko looked at the papers again, a frown forming on her face. "And they wouldn't tell us?"
Misato shook his head. "They were going to tell us in the security tests."
Ritsuko picked up another cigarette, she was getting very stressed, memories of the incident with unit 04 came into her head. "For what?"
"According to Kaji, they want to have Unit 01 ready for combat if needed." Misato sat up better in his chair and recounted the whole conversation he had with Kaji, Ritsuko listened to everything intently and cast disapproving motions with her head.
"That unit is dangerous, she is an EVA that has already gone through awakening." Ritsuko explained indignantly.
"I know." Misato replied, but that was one of the reasons that were bothering her, the truth was that she didn't want Shinji to enter Unit 01 anymore.
"And you believe Shinji will agree? Now that he and Asuka are so close with Unit 02?" Ritsuko continued her speech, she was only getting nods from Misato.
"I don't know, but now we have an S2 engine in Wunder and Unit 01 as a backup, at least we don't blow up." Misato tried to break the ice of the conversation.
Ritsuko knew that now she couldn't do anything else about it, but she didn't have to like it and hide it from Misato.
"By the way, how is Shinji?" Ritsuko asked as she picked up another stack of papers and started reading.
Misato dropped the leaves again and let out a sad sigh. "I don't know yet, I know Asuka was going to talk to him now that they are together, I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet and you? What do you think is going on?"
Ritsuko looked at her with pity. "I believe it must all be too much for him, no one gets over it all at once."
Misato nodded in agreement with her friend. "I just hope I can help him through his worst moments."
Ritsuko kept looking at her friend, she mentally thanked Kaji for inviting her to dinner, so Misato could relieve some of all the stress her life had given her.
- I hope she can relax a bit, I'll be checking Rei in a bit. - Thought Ritsuko as she began comparing information from the technical pages with her reports on her tablet.
Shinji was with Mari, Asuka and Rei, they were all doing a synchronization test, Shinji had woken up well this morning. The conversation he had with Asuka the night before had managed to have a positive effect on his body, they both had a good night's sleep, without guilt and especially without nightmares, he let out a smile as he remembered.
The same was happening to Asuka, she couldn't remember having slept so well in her life before, the sound of Shinji's heart was very reassuring.
Everyone's thoughts were broken when Maya spoke over the communicator.
"Rei, is everything alright, your score dropped 5 points today." Maya asked with a little concern in her voice, Maya had always cared a lot about the pilots, after they found out she was a clone, many thought it was strange, including Maya herself, but even though the person was a clone, she was still a person.
Mari raised her head as she listened to the statement, she waited for Rei's response.
Rei lifted her head and tried to clear her mind, she was testing a new drug that Ritsuko was developing to end the limitation that made her stay trapped for hours inside an LCL tube, now she would only have to take a small capsule every day, Ritsuko had explained to her about possible side effects.
Rei frowned at the wave of headache she was feeling, mixed with the feeling of nausea that was in her stomach, Rei didn't know if the headache was from the medication or from the visions of the other Rei that were appearing in her mind.
- Does she want to help me? But how? ... She said I would remember, but remember what? Until now I don't remember anything. - Rei was thinking a lot about this, she was a little scared about the situation she had witnessed. - Can Mari or the Vice-Commander help me? -
"Rei?" Maya again called Rei over the radio, she was about to press the emergency stop button.
Rei was taken out of her thoughts with Maya's second question, pulling herself together as best she could, Rei replied with a wavering voice.
"Yes, I'm just nauseous and have a bit of a headache." Rei answered as best she could, but the truth was that she was not feeling well.
Mari raised an eyebrow at Rei's answer, she could sense that something was not right, her voice showed it, Mari debated internally if she should ask her as soon as the test was over, she didn't want anything bad to happen to Rei.
"Ok, if you need any assistance just call." Maya replied, she knew that the pain itself did not interfere with synchronization, something very big was going on in Rei's mind to be interfering, she was going to ask Dr. Akagi for assistance on this, in fact she had been dealing with Rei before everyone found out.
Shinji also felt worried about Rei, she didn't look well before the test, he even tried to ask her why, but received the same answer Rei had given Maya.
Maya was looking at the data in front of her, she was debating whether to ask her Senpai about Rei's case, but her thought was broken when she received a small alert on her screen, this alert showed that Rei's synchronization had fallen again, Maya had no more doubts, she would consult Ritsuko.
When the test was over, the group was in the changing rooms, Mari looked at Rei every few moments, she was worried about her, Rei was quieter than her usual and her gaze showed pain and concern, Rei turned on a shower and stood still, she was feeling the hot water bathing her body in hopes of making the discomforts subside.
After undressing, she went to one of the showers and turned it on, but the image of frail and weakened Rei would not leave Mari's mind, she was trying to clear the image from her mind, but failed at every attempt.
Asuka was in the shower next to Mari, she noticed her looking back from time to time, Rei had chosen the showers with her back to the other girls, she was thinking of making a tease regarding the fact that she knew Mari had a crush on Rei and was looking at her bare back, but seeing Mari's worried look, Asuka decided not to say anything, instead she approached Mari and spoke low just for her to hear.
"Talk to her." Asuka spoke shyly, she noticed that Mari looked at her with a lost look and responded with a simple, "Huh?"
Asuka rolled her eyes, but kept her cool. "Talk to the wonder girl."
Mari tried to change her face, to show that everything was fine, but failed, she again caught herself looking at Rei.
Asuka stared at the sight in front of her, she had never seen Mari like this, again Asuka caught Mari's attention by putting her hand on her shoulder.
"I know you care a lot about her, even a blind man can see that, when we are done here, I am going to have lunch with Shinji." Asuka was speaking directly to Mari who was listening to her intently. "Meet with Wonder Girl and talk to her, ask her what's going on."
Mari raised an eyebrow at Asuka and spoke with a smile on her face. "Since when did you become a love counselor?"
Asuka rolled her eyes and snorted, "It worked with Baka and I'm only trying to help you four eyes."
Mari let out a fake laugh, her attention again turned to Rei who quickly turned off the shower and grabbed a towel to dry herself off.
"I'll try."
Asuka was walking hand in hand with Shinji, they were going to the cafeteria for lunch, Shinji found it strange to walk like that with Asuka because of the stares he got, but he was already managing to ignore them sometimes.
"So Baka, feeling better?" Asuka asked as she remembered Shinji's venting the night before.
Shinji looked at her and smiled. "Yes, it helped me a lot."
Asuka smiled at him knowing that she had managed to help him. "How nice ... Of course, being in Asuka Shikinami's presence cures anything."
Shinji laughed a little as he listened to Asuka's last sentence, and as soon as they had both picked up their trays with their lunches, they sat down at a table to eat.
Lunch was spent in silence, both enjoying their food, Asuka grimaced at the taste of her chicken paste, Wunder's food was not good in Asuka's analytical eye, she longed for a meal made by Shinji.
"What is it?" Shinji asked innocently as he saw Asuka's grimaces, causing her to raise her gaze to him.
"That paste tastes like crap." Asuka growled as she poked her fork into her food. "I'll ask permission for you to cook something for me." Shinji was holding back his laughter, something Asuka noticed, she raised a questioning eyebrow at Shinji.
"May I ask what's so funny?" Asuka asked with fake annoyance.
Shinji put down his fork and took a deep breath. "Not at all."
"Don't give me that third one, spill it." Asuka ordered leaning closer to Shinji.
Shinji seeing Asuka's proximity, again found himself caught over the intense gaze of her blue eye, he cleared his mind so he could answer Asuka's question. "It's no big deal, I just ... I just think it's funny that you're wanting me to make food for you, I never thought you'd like my food."
Asuka widened her eyes and sat back down normally, the truth was that she had never complimented Shinji's food before, she looked away to hide the blush that appeared on her cheeks and whispered. "I like it."
Shinji looked at her with a raised eyebrow, he could hear Asuka's phrase about her food, but his mind refused to believe it. "Sorry I didn't listen."
Asuka huffed at the knowledge that she would have to repeat herself, she raised her head and breathed, "I told you I always liked it."
Shinji cracked a smile as he saw Asuka blushing furiously, he picked up his fork and took some more of her food, Asuka pulled herself together as much as she could and went back to eating her food.
After they both finished, they sat at the table talking about random subjects, Shinji smiled when he saw Sakura approaching the table holding her whisk.
"Hi folks ... Can I sit with you?" Sakura asked smiling.
"Sure Sakura." Shinji replied good-naturedly, making Sakura's smile widen, she sat down and began to eat.
"Where are Mari and Rei?" Sakura asked as she took a bite. "It's been a while since I've seen them."
Shinji looked down as he remembered that Rei didn't look well, but before he could say anything, Asuka spoke first.
"She must be with Four eyes." Asuka replied while analyzing her nails, this response made Sakura raise an eyebrow. Asuka turned her head and continued. "Rei wasn't feeling well today, Mari went to ask how she is."
Sakura nodded, but a question came into her mind, she was seeing Rei and Mari together too often. "Is something going on between them?"
Asuka was waiting for Shinji to respond, as she raised her head and saw the lost look on Shinji's face, Asuka huffed and replied. "I don't know, Mari already told me you have a crush on the wonder girl, why don't you ask her?"
Sakura smiled. "Yes I will, I want to know everything."
Sakura was a girl who loved gossip, and knowing that one of her friends was interested in love was great information.
Asuka turned her head and noticed the change in Shinji's posture, he had lowered his shoulders and his look was downcast, Asuka could see a hint of concern in his eyes.
"What is it Baka?" Asuka asked worriedly, that question was enough to make Shinji raise his head and answer.
"Not at all." Shinji lied, something Asuka easily noticed, she frowned.
"Are we going to have to get into that again?" Asuka replied with a slight annoyance in her voice, Sakura was now looking to understand what was going on.
Shinji sighed and replied calmly. "It's just that I'm starting to get worried about something."
"If it's about Rei, have her go to the infirmary and I'll take a look at her." Sakura replied trying to reassure Shinji.
"I know, Sakura, but that's not it... That's one of the things, but..." Shinji started to speak, but he didn't know why he was hesitating.
"But what?" Asuka was already losing patience with Shinji's hesitation.
Shinji breathed in and spoke. "On the table near the fire extinguisher, there is a group of four men ... They are staring at me with a look that is easy to figure out the meaning." Shinji began to speak, Asuka felt her eyebrow twitch with anger at the situation, in her mind passed image of them doing something to Shinji. "Just now one of them made a hand gesture."
Asuka could feel the anger growing, she was angry about this, her eye shone when she heard Shinji describing the gesture of running his finger down her neck, she wanted to get up and finish them off, for no one threatened her Baka, only her.
Asuka turned to manage to catch the group, they quickly looked away, but one maintained, the two faced each other with a fierce battle, after a few seconds, the leader of the group looked away over the Blue glow his eye patch released.
"Come on Shinji!" Asuka spoke as she stood up, Shinji did as asked as he could see it was an order coming from her.
As the pair walked through the halls of Wunder, Shinji did not dare to speak, for he could see that Asuka was irritated and always remembered the genius of the fiery redhead, he did not want to be in her line of fire.
Asuka walked for several minutes, Shinji followed her closely until he saw Asuka opening an access hatch and entering, outside, the place was an external observation deck of the Wunder, one could see the whole city and the movement of supplies being carried into the powerful Wunder, Shinji approached Asuka who was looking at the horizon, Shinji looked at Asuka and how the wind was swaying her red hair.
Shinji mustered the courage to speak, he took Asuka's hand and spoke as confidently as he could. "Asuka ... I know it's boring, but ..."
"No buts Shinji!" Asuka growled making Shinji shut up immediately. "That can't happen."
Asuka calmed down after blowing up at Shinji, she knew it wasn't his fault, but now she couldn't get images of these people hurting Shinji out of her head, Asuka was brought out of her thoughts when she felt Shinji's arms wrap around her.
"Asuka, I can't stop them from hating me." Shinji began to speak, he could feel Asuka grumbling into his shoulder, tightening his hold on her, "And I'm pretty sure nothing will happen to me."
"If anyone touches you I will end that person." Asuka growled squeezing Shinji tighter, she hadn't said this to Shinji, but he was the first person who valued her after her mother died, Shinji was the person who made her smile, the person who made her feel safe and most of all, made her feel loved.
"You've been through a lot Shinji, much more than any of us." Asuka spoke as she continued to hold Shinji, she could feel him moving.
"No, I haven't been through half of what you guys have been through." Shinji tried, but Asuka stopped him from continuing.
"Stop Baka! ... You've had a fucked up life." Asuka began to speak, emotions began to surge in her body. "You were forced to fly, your father is a complete shit, you lost your mother as a child ... Just like me." Asuka continued speaking quietly, low enough for only Shinji to hear. "Fuck Shinji, you were tortured."
Shinji stiffened remembering those times, this was still a very sensitive subject for Shinji, but he could hear Asuka's voice failing him as he spoke that last sentence.
"I know this matter is delicate for you, but ... I don't want anything to happen to my Baka." Asuka spoke as she felt herself blushing, she had lowered her defenses, Asuka was making a great mental effort to say those words.
"I know you do Asuka." Shinji spoke as he released the hug and looked at Asuka, he kept his hand held. "You are also a very important person to me, by the way not everyone has the protection of the amazing Asuka Shikinami." Shinji knew that feeding Asuka's ego was the best way to lift the redhead's mood.
Asuka smiled at Shinji's flattery, but understood what he was trying to do, she squeezed Shinji's hand tighter, she couldn't hold back her laughter when Shinji continued. "And I know that if the mighty Asuka gets into a fight, Mari, her most loyal ally would go along with her into the mess and I would be left in the corner sucking my thumb."
Shinji began to laugh along with Asuka, he was happy that he had managed to lift Asuka's spirits.
Asuka was laughing imagining the situation that Shinji described, she still couldn't believe that Shinji could handle a situation like that.
"Mari, she would really fall head over heels in a fight." Asuka recalled the situations that she and Mari have faced in the past.
"Do you care about her?" Shinji asked as he began to look at the horizon, Asuka following along with him.
"Yeah, she's like an annoying big sister, very annoying." Asuka spoke with a small laugh, she turned her gaze to Shinji and cast a dangerous glance, "If you tell her I said that."
Shinji didn't need much more to understand the threat, he raised his hands as he was sworn to secrecy, but after a few seconds of comfortable silence between them, Shinji remembered the feeling he felt when he was inside Unit 02 it was almost the same as he felt in Unit 01 and immediately thought of Fuyutsuki's words.
"Asuka." Shinji called out while looking up at the New London sky, Asuka turned her head to look at Shinji. "When I am inside Unit 01, I feel a welcoming presence ... When I was in NERV, Vice Fuyutsuki told me something, at first I was very upset, but then on second thought, it was a good thing."
Asuka was looking at Shinji intently. "He told me how my mother 'died', he told me that she did a contact experiment with the Unit 01 core."
Asuka was looking at Shinji and soon memories of her mother came into her mind, she realized that her life was similar to Shinji's, she also lost her mother very young, Asuka remembered finding her mother hanging, she quickly cleared the memory from her head and went back to listening to Shinji.
"He told me that my mother's soul resided in the core of Unit 01, which is why that unit only worked well with me." Shinji continued. "Asuka, I feel her presence when I am in Unit 01."
Asuka was already starting to see where Shinji was going, she also felt good inside Unit 02.
"Asuka, I know this must be a sensitive subject for you ... But how did your mother also work with the Evas project?" Shinji asked innocently as he looked at Asuka who was clearly uncomfortable.
"Sorry." Shinji spoke, he was mentally blaming himself for bringing this subject up.
"No, it's okay ... That night I asked you to trust me, the least I can do is the same." Asuka replied lowered her gaze.
"Yes, she worked." Asuka spoke with a dark look on her face. "She built Unit 02, but an accident happened when she was testing the nerve link." Asuka stopped as her voice failed, she could see Shinji fidgeting uncomfortably. "Don't worry Baka ... it's a delicate matter, but it'll be good for me to loosen up a bit."
Asuka wiped away a tear that ran down her cheek. "After the accident she became mentally ill, she didn't recognize me, she didn't talk to me, she only lay in her hospital bed." Asuka was looking at the horizon, she raised her arms and held her own shoulders, her tears were flowing freely at this point. "When ... When I was chosen to be the pilot of Unit 02, I was so happy, I could finally tell her, make her proud ... Maybe even make her better ..."
Asuka stopped, when she felt she was about to collapse, she felt Shinji hugging her lightly, Asuka buried her head in his chest and cried openly, Shinji was running his hand down her back giving her comfort.
"I went to tell her the news, I rushed to the hospital, when I got to the room ... She was ... She was ... Hanging from the ceiling." Asuka spoke as she collapsed crying on Shinji's chest, he was deeply sorry he had brought it up.
Asuka cried for a few minutes, all the emotional charge she had carried about her mother's suicide since childhood was being released, when she calmed down, still without raising her head, Asuka asked in a crying voice.
"What is your point?"
Shinji wondered if he should continue, but before he could make a decision, Shinji heard Asuka speak again. "Now I'm curious Baka."
Shinji took a deep breath and spoke. "I thought the same might have happened to your mother, now knowing about the accident ... Who knows, maybe her soul was trapped like my mother's? "
Asuka raised her head and looked into Shinji's eyes, she began to think about it, her mind was bombarding with questions, Is it?
"It's just a theory." Shinji spoke as he kissed Asuka's forehead, she still had a thoughtful look on her face.
"Sure, I hope it's true." Asuka spoke as she gave Shinji a small kiss on the lips.
Ritsuko's office
Ritsuko was sitting at her desk, on it were some cat ornaments that she had managed to rescue, she was reading the installation schematics for Wunder's S2 engine, she constantly shook her head in disbelief that they had put in another power source.
KNOCK ON THE DOOR.
"Come in." Ritsuko spoke without raising her head.
Maya opened the door and walked in, Ritsuko seeing that it was Maya flashed her a smile. "Maya, I told you we can't do anything in my office."
Maya blushed at the insinuation, but quickly Ritsuko let out a small laugh. "You're just like Shinji."
Maya let out a small giggle as she sat down in her chair, she was still blushing.
"So, what can I do for you." Ritsuko asked as she sat up better in her chair.
"Senpai, I am worried about Rei." Maya began to speak, Ritsuko raised her eyebrow intently. "In today's synchronization test she dropped more or less 8 points."
Maya handed the report to Ritsuko, who promptly took them and read, she knew it must be important for Maya to have sought it out. "Did you ask the reason?"
"Yes, she told me she had a headache and nausea. But she was weird, after the test, she showered and left, she didn't even wait for the others."
Ritsuko looked at her thoughtfully, she had developed a new medication for Rei, but when she had checked on Rei in the afternoon, she noticed that she was acting strangely, she seemed to be in a lot of pain.
"I'll study that, she only reported the nausea, not the headache." Ritsuko looked carefully at the studies she had on Rei on her desk. "The new medication shouldn't be affecting her that much."
"What's going on with you Rei?" Ritsuko asked into nothingness as she looked at Rei's picture on her computer.
Mari stood in front of the door to Rei's room, she was hesitant to knock, after a few minutes of internal debate, Mari gathered her courage and finally rang the bell.
Mari was about to give up when she heard the door open to reveal Rei, she was very downcast and her skin was sweaty, Mari looked at her with concern.
"My God Rei, are you all right?" Mari asked with genuine concern in her voice.
Rei looked back at her, and whispered to Mari. "No."
"Let's go to the infirmary." Mari spoke as she took Rei's arm.
"Not yet, first I have to tell you something." Rei spoke as he took Mari's hand and led her into the room.
"Whatever it is can wait." Mari was feeling anxious.
"Please Mari." Rei pleaded as she sat on her bed, Mari stared at her and gave in. "Just five minutes, then we'll go to the infirmary."
Rei only nodded, again the pain in his head began to increase.
"I am seeing things Mari." Rei began to speak, Mari was listening to everything intently. "It started in NERV, when I was on the LCL tube, I saw myself." Rei stopped as she put her hand on the side of her head as she felt a twinge of pain.
"Then it was a few days ago, again I saw myself ... The other Rei told me she would show me the truth ..." Rei stopped and grimaced in pain. "She said it was the one she tried to rescue, then the pain started."
"Rei ... Why didn't you speak up before?" Mari approached Rei and held his hand with concern. "We could have done something."
"I didn't want them to think I was a monster." Rei spoke up gritting his teeth. "I didn't want you to separate me from you." Rei spoke as he let go of Mari's hand and held the side of his head in pain, tears were streaming down his face, Mari was getting very worried.
"Come on Rei, let's go to the infirmary now." Mari spoke hurriedly as she held one of Rei's arms in an attempt to get her to stand up.
"Mari ... I'm scared." Rei looked Mari in the eye as a twinge of pain hit her full force, causing Rei to let out a scream.
Mari watched helplessly as Rei fell to the ground and began to scream in pain, she held the side of her head as she stood in a fetal position.
Mari stood up and ran towards the communicator on the wall, she could feel her hands trembling as she pressed the buttons that called the infirmary, Mari felt tears streaming down her face as despair began to beat in her body.
"Infirmary." Sakura's voice sounded from the other side.
"I need immediate medical aid in the pilot Rei Ayanami's room! " Mari screamed in desperation for help, she looked back and saw Rei screaming, as she gave the message she could hear Sakura saying something, but soon Mari was at Rei's side holding her hand.
"It's going to be okay Rei, help is already near."
Author's Notes: Please review, your critiques (Good or bad) are very important to me, you know that I take a lot into consideration what is said and it also gives me strength to continue this translation project, of course the translation will have problems, but hopefully it will be at satisfactory levels.
Don't forget to also like the Facebook page, search for "Calborghete" and locate a picture of Shinji and Asuka, on this page I will post updates and it will also be easier for you to contact me.
Well, see you next time.
