Rebuild of Third Genesis

Ten

Misato's apartment was already a mess, even though she had only moved in a few weeks ago. In the 'new' Tokyo-3 built in the bottom of the now cracked open Geofront the building had been lowered from the rubble of the roof, secured to a new base and repairs quickly made. Thankfully the buildings had been mostly mass produced and modular, so the new city was rapidly taking shape.

The morning light streamed down onto the city, and the people within began to stir somewhat reluctantly. The main high school in the city had reopened, and students walked to the bus stops to be carried to class.

Asuka Soryu Langley watched the kids walk by from the balcony of the apartment, gazing down at them through her one good eye. She remembered going to school just a few short weeks ago, but it felt like a lifetime ago.

'I should call Hikari and Toji,' Asuka mused as she watched the kids, feeling a pang of guilt.

"Good morning Asuka," the quiet voice said.

Asuka turned to see Rei standing by the patio door, her blue hair messy from sleep and wearing a pair of boy's pajamas. She looked surprisingly cute, really, with the sleeves of her large night shirt partially hiding her hands and a cowlick in her hair.

Asuka pushed away from the balcony as she answered, "Good morning." Following Rei back inside she asked, "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, I think so," Rei answered, smiling shyly as they navigated through the mostly tidy living room. The two girls had embarked on a major clean up after moving in, shoveling out beer cans and boxed lunches until they could finally see the floor.

"Let's get some breakfast going," Asuka decided, "then we'll wake up Misato."

"I'm awake," Misato called from her bedroom, "be out in a minute."

"Right," Asuka answered as she headed for the small kitchen.

Neither Asuka nor Rei were great cooks, but there was plenty of stuff in the fridge that was pre-made. She casually dug out containers and popped the seals to reheat them, even as she found herself thinking about yesterday, and visiting Shinji at the hospital...

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Would you mind if I take off for a few minutes?" Misato had asked Ritsuko quietly not long after the group had finished shopping for Rei's clothes.

Ritsuko looked at Misato curiously, "What's going on?"

"The hospital Shinji is staying in is nearby here," Misato said to her quietly, "I wanted to stop in and see him."

"Shinji," Rei echoed, an odd look on her face. Softly she mused, "I know that name."

Asuka felt a pang, having not really thought about her fellow pilot in days. But there was something more important to do as she asked Rei, "You do?"

"Hm," Rei nodded, frowning in concentration, "but I don't know from where."

Misato tried not to frown herself. It looked like Gendo had programmed Rei to recognize them all, then. She looked at Ritsuko, "Do you think we should...?"

Ritsuko shrugged, "I'm not sure, honestly."

"So why don't we all go up and visit him, then?" Maya Ibuki quietly suggested. "That way if something unusual does happen, we'll all be there to help," the dark haired younger woman added.

"Sounds like a plan," Asuka offered supportively.

Misato puffed out a breath, then she nodded. "We'll lock up the bags of clothes in the jeep, then head over to see Shinji," she ordered. And they quickly did just that, and soon the five of them were quietly riding an hospital elevator to an upper floor, each lost in their own thoughts.

Ritsuko looked over at Maya again, and noticed her smiling up at her happily. She looked away quickly as quickly as she could, but felt an odd feeling lingering in her stomach. If she was honest with herself, she'd actually call it excitement on being out in the city with Maya, spending time with her away from their work.

'Even with all these chaperones,' an amused Ritsuko looked over at the other three standing in the elevator with her.

'I wonder what's going on with Sempai?' Maya thought. She had noticed that something had been going on with Ritsuko all day, but what exactly it was she didn't know. What ever it was, it seemed to have begun when Misato and Ritsuko had been talking this morning.

Maya looked over at Misato with a fierce frown and thought, 'What did you say to Sempai to disturb her so much?'

Misato felt the glare and looked over to see Maya's fierce gaze. 'Now what did I do?' Misato wondered. She turned back to look at Asuka and Rei talking softly. Silently, she prayed she wasn't making a mistake, allowing them to be friends like this. Part of her, the military side, still thought it might have been a bad idea to have let Rei out of that containment chamber, but as a human being, it was the right choice to make.

'Which doesn't mean it's not going to come back and bite me on the ass in the end,' Misato thought to herself wryly.

Asuka noted Misato's thoughtful frown, but decided not to disturb her thoughts. She looked down at Rei and smiled slightly, the young woman was studying the elevator with a kind of innocent fascination. It was really odd, how Rei had been given certain kinds of knowledge related to NERV and the EVAs, but still being so utterly clueless about other things.

The elevator bumped to a stop, and Asuka reached over to steady Rei slightly. "Are you all right?" she asked her quietly.

Rei smiled up at her, "I'm fine."

Asuka turned away as they went down the hallway together, and Rei found herself looking up at her thoughtfully. The red-orange hair seemed almost like fire dancing around the girl's head, matching the fiery personality that she knew Asuka had. But that fire seemed to warm Rei, in a way that she wasn't entirely sure she understood. All she really knew was that she liked being around Asuka, whenever she possibly could.

A dark haired man was standing at a door just up the hallway, and he turned to look at them as they approached. "General Kisaragi," he nodded to Misato, obviously having been waiting for them.

"General?" a startled Ritsuko asked Misato softly.

"The promotion came through a few days ago," Misato answered irritably, "I just haven't received the appropriate rank insignia just yet." She looked over at the doctor, "How is he?"

"There's been no change," the doctor shook his head, "he's resting quite comfortably, and we're feeding him intravenously."

"And there's no response to outside stimulus?" Ritsuko asked curiously.

"None," he shook his head. He noticed the time, "Excuse me, I need to go on my rounds."

Misato watched him go, then with a soft sigh said, "We'd better go in." She pushed the door open, leading into a quite normal looking hospital room.

The window curtains blew gently, sunlight streaming in to light up the figure who was laying there on the bed. Shinji Ikari's dark hair was messy, and he almost looked like he was only fast asleep. However, most young boys sleeping wouldn't have tubes and wires attached to them, monitoring each and every flutter of heartbeat or alteration in brain waves. But the very oddest thing about him was the look on his face.

During Shinji's time piloting the EVA, lines of strain had begun to show on his face, aging him prematurely. Each battle strained him in different ways, each had cost him, one way or the other. But the boy laying there seemed to be entirely at peace. From the look on his face, you might even say that he was... happy.

Misato walked over to the side of his bed, gently taking Shinji's hand in her own. "Hello, Shin-chan," she said softly, "I'm here to see you again."

Asuka stood there frozen, gazing at Shinji and trying to separate memory from fantasy. 'He couldn't have tried to strangle me,' she thought of the hazy memories she retained after everything went to hell, 'I didn't really say that I hated him, did I?'

"Shinji," Maya started, only to trail off. She hadn't really known him very well, and looking down at the boy laying there in a coma she felt a sudden stab of regret. She should have at least have tried to get to know him.

Ritsuko moved over to the other side, looking down at Shinji pensively. This was as much her responsibility as anyone else's, she had helped build and maintain the EVAs, and had been quite willing to let Gendo manipulate his son into a pilot's seat. "It's been awhile, Shinji," Ritsuko said softly, sitting down beside him.

They were all startled by a soft voice speaking quite clearly, "He's not there." The looked in surprise at Rei, who was gazing down at Shinji quite oddly.

"What do you mean?" Asuka looked over at Rei curiously as she tried to understand, "Do you mean he's in a coma?"

Yes," Rei looked... uncomfortable, somehow, as she looked down at the boy whom she resembled in many ways. "He's not there anymore," she tried to put her feelings into words, "that's just... a empty shell."

Asuka felt a stab of grief, and part of her wanted to lash out at the innocent girl. But she knew that Rei was only telling the truth as she saw it, even though the truth hurt. Asuka looked at the boy on the bed, machines feeding him and keeping him breathing, and felt a deep regret. She would never be able to make it right, how she treated him, and that filled her with sorrow.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Asuka shook herself out of the past as Misato staggered out of her room, just wearing a loose t-shirt and panties. "Morning," she groaned, shuffling over to the fridge and grabbing a beer. She popped the top then slammed it back, gulping loudly.

Rei watched wide eyed, only blinking occasionally. "Is this normal?" she asked Asuka.

"No, it's not," Asuka sighed. She had been hoping that Misato would turn over a new leaf, but she guessed it wasn't likely.

"Ah!" Misato sighed happily, "That hits the spot."

"You know, you're a general and head of one of the most powerful organizations of Earth," Asuka started.

"Before the budget cut," Misato pointed out.

"Alright, before the cuts," Asuka conceded, "but anyway, do you have to do this?"

"Yes, actually," Misato held up the can, "besides, this is non-alcoholic beer. Tastes disgusting."

Oh," Asuka blinked, mildly surprised as Misato casually tossed the now empty can into the garbage, "sorry."

"No problem," Misato answered then sniffed the air, "is something burning?"

"Oh crap!" Asuka scrambled to get the trays of food out of the oven, glad they weren't too crispy. She sighed as she shoveled the stuff out onto plates, "Sorry, but I think it's still edible."

"Just like I like it," Misato shrugged casually as she began to eat with evident pleasure.

'She must have blown out her taste buds or something,' Asuka sighed as she ate. "Are the staff members from NERV-Berlin arriving today?" she asked curiously.

"They're flying in tonight," Misato agreed. She looked curious, "Want to be there to meet them?"

"If I could," Asuka smiled.

To be continued...

Notes: Yes, I am NOT planning on bringing Shinji back this time. Or at least, I don't think I will at this time. Depends on where the plot goes, of course.