Okay, so. This is a little bit of a short chapter. I'm really sorry about that. I've just been going through a lot recently and I've had some health problems popping up and it's been...it's just distracting, y'know. And, it makes it hard to sit down and write. God, I hate it so much. But, yeah. Hopefully this chapter is decent enough.

So, uh, a review response. But, just one though because I'm exhausted and despite the fact this is a short chapter, I've been sitting at my computer for awhile now, and I just want to get away. I know I'm way far behind on review responses, but keep them coming. I appreciate them.

MoonfireArt: I just have this too say. Next chapter and the chapter after that. Then, I hope that your concerns will be forgotten. That was a little spoilery, but we knew it was going to happen at some point. It's not gonna be like...screwing and stuff just yet, but the romance is going to pick up.

Also, yesterday was the one year anniversary of this fic. And, unlike last year, I was not totally drunk. I was trying to get this out yesterday, but I just couldn't. I'm really sorry.

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Text Guide

Standard Wording

"Spoken Dialogue/Speech"

'Internal Dialogue/Thoughts'

(Flashbacks)

/

[Slash denotes scene transition for the moment; this may be changed in the future so as to become more visible.]

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Disclaimer: I do not own or profit off of Neon Genesis Evangelion, End Of Evangelion, or the Rebuilds of Evangelion. I do not own Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami, Asuka Langley Sohryu, or any of the other characters/ideas from the Evangelion intellectual property collective. All licenses remain with the proper license holders. If asked to, I will formally remove this story from the hosting website.

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*Cruel Angel's Thesis and Eva intro starts playing*


Neon Genesis Evangelion

A Journey of Hate, Power, and Love

Chapter 12

Daybreak Over the Waves

.

"I don't like it, Kaji!"

"Don't like what?" the unkemptly man asked after setting down his glass of water.

True to his word, Kaji had taken Asuka on her date as compensation for being coerced into the insulated plugsuit she was forced to wear on her last deployment. He had ended up taking her to a fancy Italian restaurant; one of only a few in Tokyo-3.

"I don't like that everyone else got to go diving and that they got to have time off from school. I on the other hand had to jump into a volcano. As though second impact hadn't made it hot enough."

"Heheh, well, I've heard from a certain someone that you haven't been going to school very much recently anyways. Something about blackmail. You haven't learned about anything you shouldn't have, have you?"

Asuka scrunched her nose up and looked away, faking surprise.

"No, I don't know anything other than that this certain someone deserves to be blackmailed."

"Oh, is that so? She didn't say anything bad about me, now did she? Because that would certainly be deserving of blackmail."

"No, it wasn't about you," Asuka mumbled as she blew some hair out from in front of her face.

Asuka and Kaji both picked up their glasses, Asuka's being filled with some kind of cola. She sipped from it, keeping her lips pursed not wanting any ice cubes in her mouth.

After each had drunk a satisfying amount, they returned their glasses to the center of the table.

"So, why exactly are you so upset you didn't get to go on this field trip? Like I said, Misato said you've been skipping school," Kaji asked.

"Well, I don't know," Asuka unsurely said, "I just am."

Kaji scratched is chin for a second.

"Well, how about this? I know of a place. And I'm pretty sure I could get us in."

Asuka's eyes lit up!

"What kind of place!?"

"Well, that's gonna have to be a secret for now. I don't know for sure if I'll be able to get all of us in."

"Wait. All of us? What do you mean all of us?" Asuka asked with a deflated look.

"Well, that's the other thing I was getting to."

"Oh, don't tell me you actually want me to bring those other two along!"

Kaji grew a bashful smile.

"I actually had a mind for more than just Ayanami and Ikari. I'd encourage you to bring anyone and everyone you can…within reason of course. It's going to be educational too. It's about before second impact. Also, I just think that bringing along some more people would make it more likely for us to get in. We'd give off a sort of classroom vibe as opposed to just a privileged few being given the special treatment. So, that's why it's important to bring a few extra people."

Asuka sighed and stirred her drink with her finger.

"I guess that stupid Shinji does need to learn a thing or two about life before second impact…" Asuka mumbled.

At that moment, a waiter arrived at the table with hot breadsticks and some bruschetta. And just like that, Asuka's woes were forgotten.

/

-Days in the Sun-

/

Asuka opened the door to Misato's apartment and immediately recognized the scent of Shinji's cooking as he prepared tonight's dinner. And though she'd just eaten not more than an hour ago, the smell convinced her that she would soon be ready for more food.

She walked through the foyer and into the kitchen. There she saw Shinji cutting a variety of vegetables.

"Hey, it smells good, stupid Shinji."

Shinji looked over his shoulder and saw the girl sit down at the table.

"Oh, hi, Asuka. I thought you weren't supposed to be back until later."

Asuka crossed her arms over the kitchen table and rested her head on them.

"Yeah, well, Kaji said he had important NERV things to do or something. So, he sent me home," she pouted.

"Oh, well, sorry. Food will be ready in a couple hours though. So, hopefully that'll help you feel better."

"Yeah, I guess. Anyways, Kaji also told me to tell you- and I really hate to say this, but- he's taking me…somewhere. I don't know where exactly. He didn't say. But, he… also wanted…mm tu tk yoo…"

"Hmm? What? I didn't catch that." Shinji question in response to Asuka's mumbling.

"He said he… wanted me to…"

"Wanted you to what?" Shinji said as he set his knife down next to the pepper he was cutting and turned to give the girl his attention.

"He wants me to take you….like…on a vacation…thing… Or a field trip..."

Shinji blushed, assuming Asuka was asking him out on some kind of date.

"Oh," Shinji blushed as he scratched his head, "Well, um. I mean, you don't need to do that if you don't want to."

"It- It's not like that! IDIOT!"

Shinji shrunk away from the girl and back towards the hot stovetop.

"O-oh, sorry!"

"Kaji just said that it's going to be an education experience and that I need to bring along a few people to make it seem like an actual field trip and not some VIP tour. He said something about it being more convincing to the people he's trying to talk to about letting us go on this field trip. So, I just need to get those other two stooges and wondergirl. And, maybe the class rep too. I don't know. Just get some people and tell them they're going to be out of school for educational reasons or something. You got that.?"

Shinji nodded and summarized what Asuka had ordered him to do.

"Call Rei, Toji, Kensuke, and Miss Hikari and invite them on a field trip."

Asuka eyed Shinji. It was unnerving to the boy and he really wished she'd stop.

"You know what? We'll bring the penguin too," Asuka said as she relaxed her gaze.

"Wait, you want to bring PenPen? Would Misato even be okay with that."

"I don't care. We need people, but I don't want to invite anyone I don't know. It's bad enough that I have to bring you along. So, I guess the penguin will have to do. He'll be the class pet or something."

"Wark!" PenPen squawked as he walked into the kitchen and glared at Asuka, seemingly trying to tell her that he wasn't a pet.

"You!" Asuka said as she turned and squinted at the bird, "Were you eavesdropping on us?!"

"I think he's just hungry," Shinji said as he tried to interpret the bird's speech.

"Waaaark!"

"I think that's a yes," Shinji said, cheerfully smiling at the bird.

"Since when do you speak avian?" Asuka mumbled.

"I don't. He just looks hungry."

"Wow," Asuka groaned, "You couldn't have said anything more witty in response? You could have said that some birds speak in human languages so it's not hard to believe that some humans speak bird. But, no. You just had to say something bland like that."

Shinji just sighed in response. Asuka would complain about anything and it was probably for the better to not get wrapped up too tight in a conversation with her. And so instead, Shinji opened the fridge and started looking for some kind of food for the apparently starving bird.

"Asuka, you haven't seen any of his fish around, have you?"

"No. I thought Misato said we were running low a few days ago. Guess she didn't buy anymore."

"Sorry PenPen. I can't find anything. I guess you can have the rest of Misato's Curry."

"WARKIN'! FRAKIN'! WARK! WARK! WARKIN'! FRAK!" PenPen protested as he stomped his webbed feet on the tile floor.

Shinji gasped.

"PenPen! You shouldn't say things like that!"

"WARKIN' WAAAAAAARRK!"

"Now- Now that was just unnecessary," Shinji scolded the penguin as he put his hands on his hips disapprovingly.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Asuka giggled as she watched the exchange between the bird and the boy.

"WARKIN' FRAKIN' WARKIN' WARK!" PenPen squawked as he continued to argue with Shinji.

"Well, I guess if you don't want the curry, you can have some lettuce instead," Shinji said as he stuffed Misato's disgusting curry back in the fridge before pulling out a few leaves of lettuce.

PenPen's jaw dropped in disbelief as he watched Shinji place the leaves on a plate and set it down in front of His Royal Birdlyness's webbed feet.

He silently stared at the lettuce with his beady bird eyes before he rapidly shook his head back and forth while flapping his wings angrily and making some sound between a hum and a growl.

"I don't think he wants that…" Asuka said as she keenly watched the bird.

"Nonsense. Penguins eat lettuce all the time in the wild," Shinji said confidently.

"WAAAAAAAAAARRRRRKKK!" PenPen seemingly shouted in frustration as he charged Shinji and bit the leg of his pants.

"Ahh! Hey, stop it!" Shinji shouted.

"BRBRBRBRBRBRBRRR!" PenPen growled as he shook the fabric furiously in his beak.

"Okay! Okay! It was just a joke. You can have some of the beef stew!"

The enraged bird suddenly let go of the pants, seemingly content with Shinji's offer.

It was at that moment that Shinji noticed Asuka was giggling uncontrollably. And seeing he'd accomplished his goal brought a smile to Shinji's face.

"Heeheeheeheehee! Y'know, you're okay sometimes, Shinji."

/

"Come on, Shinji! Hurry up! Kaji's already waiting for us!"

"I'll be there in a minute!" Shinji said as he tried to tie his shoes.

The boy hadn't had any time to get ready this morning because he had been cooking breakfast for everyone while they were preparing for the day.

Asuka stepped into his room without him knowing and reached her hand into Shinji's pocket, surprising him in more than one way.

"Asuka, what are you doing! What did you just grab?"

"Your phone. I'm going to call wondergirl and tell her to make sure she's ready."

"I can do that myself!"

"Not while you're tying your shoes."

"Gimme my phone back, Asuka! It's private!"

Asuka snorted in amusement.

"Oh, what? Did she send you nudes?"

"Wha-what? No!"

"Great, then there's no reason I can't look through it…unless you sent her nudes."

"I didn't! But, still. I just talk to her about things. It's not inappropriate, but we're close."

"Oh my god. Relax. I'm not going to snoop through your texts. I'm just going to call her real fast," Asuka said before she scampered out of the room.

"Asuka, wait!"

But she had already left and decided to ignore him, and so Shinji begrudgingly finished tying his shoes.

After exiting his room, he heard the front door open and then close.

"Hey, Asuka?" Shinji called.

"She just left," Misato mumbled, obviously hungover.

Shinji ran out the door. The sun was just rising over the mountains but Shinji could already tell it was going to be a hot morning. Kaji's old, fancy, matte black car was sitting in the parking lot a few floors below, and for a second, the enticing thought of air conditioning crossed the flustered boy's mind. But first, he had to get to the car.

Shinji rushed to the stairwell and saw Asuka heading down it.

"Asuka! Give me my phone!"

"If you want it, then hurry up! We still have to pick up everyone else!"

"Wark! Wark!" Shinji heard PenPen squawk uncomfortably.

"Did you really bring the penguin?!" Shinji shouted as he too started down the stairs.

"Yes! I really brought the penguin!"

Shinji glanced the bird jostling under Asuka's arm as she carried him down the flight of stairs.

"Misato is going to be so pissed," Shinji mumbled to himself.

Asuka, having a head start, sprinted to Kaji's car as soon as she stepped off the last stair and onto the parking lot

"KAJI!" she shouted happily!

The man in return gave her a calm nod as she clambered into the front seat of the car and finally released the relieved penguin onto the back seat.

"I missed you!" Asuka sweetly said.

"Yep. Me too," Kaji said somewhat boredly.

"Did you?!" Asuka exclaimed as she clasped her hand together and dreamily looked at the man.

"Asuka! My phone!" Shinji shouted as he rapidly approached the car.

Asuka huffed, not pleased that Shinji had interrupted her conversation. But, nonetheless, she handed the boy his phone as he too climbed into the car.

Shinji could feel himself starting to sweat from a combination of the hot morning air and the short sprint he had just ran.

"Uh, Mister Kaji, could we turn on the air conditioning?"

"Sorry, kid. There is no air conditioning in this car."

"What? Since when is there no air conditioning in cars?"

"Hah, more like since when is there air conditioning in cars," Asuka said factually.

Judging by her tone of voice, Shinji assumed she was about to show off her knowledge again.

"You do know what kind of car this is, right Shinji? Asuka continued.

"Um…no. I don't think so…"

"What do you mean you don't think so!? You either know or you don't!" Asuka asked, obviously appalled.

"I might've forgotten...maybe…"

"Well, if you forgot, you either just don't remember and it'll come back to you. Or, you forgot and it won't come back to you. That's still knowing or not knowing."

Asuka wasn't making much sense to Shinji, and so naturally, he was about to make even less sense than her.

"I might've forgotten if I forgot…"

Both Asuka and PenPen looked oddly at Shinji for a moment and Kaji put the car into gear.

"What?" Shinji asked with a bashful shrug.

"You know what? Never mind, back on topic. This car, right here, is a 1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom II," Asuka said proudly; almost as if she believed it were her car.

"It's custom too!" Kaji added in.

"Okay, and…?" Shinji asked, still not understanding.

"Oh my god, Shinji! People didn't put Air Conditioners in cars in 1930!" Asuka said, exasperated.

"Why not?"

"I don't know! They weren't smart enough to I guess! They didn't start doing it until a few years later. And even then, it wasn't perfect."

"This car is probably one of the reasons Misato left me."

"Why's that?" Shinji asked, mildly curious.

"Well, because she loves air conditioning."

"Oooooh…. that makes sense."

Everyone was quiet for a second before Kaji spoke again.

"You know, I actually have another car that does have air conditioning…"

"Then…why didn't you bring that one?"

"There's three reasons reasons. Reason one is because I decided to use this car last night."

"But that was last night. And you could have changed your mind when you found out it was going to be hot."

"Reason two is because I woke up early and I had already left the house with this car before the sun had risen. I didn't know it was going to be this hot."

"But, Asuka told me that ever since Second Impact, it's pretty much always been this hot. And, that's kinda true. It's almost always this temperature unless it's raining or we just have a random cold front.

"That's where reason three comes in. But, reason three is a secret," Kaji said with a slight smile.

Asuka sighed.

"Reason three is because he likes to show off," the redhead groaned, "I don't know why he's so concerned with catching other girls' eyes when I'm right here. But, he enjoys it…more than he should, even if he won't admit it. This is a really nice car though, so I guess it's somewhat understandable."

Kaji could only smile under the rising sun.

But, just as he was about to pull out of the parking lot, he heard someone scream.

"WHERE IS HE! I KNOW YOU TOOK HIM!"

Kaji looked over his shoulder and saw Misato fuming over the balcony outside her apartment.

He didn't know exactly why the woman was so mad, and so he gave her a questioning shrug as he continued to edge out onto the street.

"DAMN IT KAJI! GIVE ME BACK MY BIRD!"

"Wark?" PenPen said, drawing Kaji's attention.

"Oh? How did you get in here? I didn't even notice-"

"GIVE HIM BACK!"

"Well, kids, and bird, I suppose it's time to go. Otherwise, Misato is going to skin me."

Kaji put the pedal to the metal and sped off as Misato ran towards the stairs.

"DAMN YOU KAJI!"

/

PenPen was seemingly soaring through the sky as Toji held him high above his head.

"Wark!"

"Okay, now make him dive towards the ground and then come back up!" Kensuke said as he filmed the bird.

"You got it!" Toji said as he tilted the bird towards the ground, let him skim across the sand, and then brought him back up.

"Wark! Wark!" PenPen squawked as he flapped his wings a couple times.

"What are you doing to that poor bird!?" Asuka scolded the two boys.

"We're teaching him to fly," Toji said defensively.

"FREEDOM!" Kensuke also added in.

"Well, stop it! He's a penguin! He can't fly!" Asuka said angrily.

"Says who?" Toji asked abrasively.

"Say's science!" Asuka snarled.

She marched up to Toji and snatched the bird out of his hands.

"H-hey! Where are you taking him?" Toji asked, deflated.

"Somewhere safe," Asuka huffed as she walked over to Rei.

"Here, Ayanami! Hold this!" Asuka said as she shoved the bird into the girl's arms.

Rei took the bird without complaint and cradled it against her chest.

"Ooh! Cute! Can I pet him please?" Hikari squeaked.

"Yeah, of course," Shinji laughed.

Hikari squealed and then began petting PenPen's soft feathered belly. He started making a sound akin to that of a cat purring as he felt Hikari's nails gently caressing his torso.

"Wark!"

"So, what exactly is this place?" Shinji asked.

The group of kids had been sitting outside a large building for about ten minutes. Kaji had left them, presumably to sort out their arrival. So, the children had been left unattended by the car while Kaji did his thing.

"This?" Kensuke said as he straightened his glasses, "This is the Tokyo-3 Marine Restoration Facility. This is where they work on possible solutions to bring our planet's oceans back to a livable state. Though, it's a pretty early work in progress. So, in the meantime, they also gather sea life and try to raise them here since most of the oceans around the world are uninhabitable for most marine life."

The group of kids fell silent for a moment. The blood scented ocean breeze wafted across their faces.

"Man, that's actually some pretty scary stuff," Toji said, breaking the silence.

"It is," Kensuke responded, "But, the cool thing is that they're also working on some huge filtration systems. And, they're going to start trying to clean up the lakes around here. And, after that, they're going to reintroduce some of the fish and other aquatic wildlife into them."

"So, is this place like a zoo?" Shinji asked.

"Eh, I wouldn't call it that. It's not open to the public for one. So, that guy, Kaji was his name? If he can get us in there, it'll really be something. I've only ever really seen sea life in books and movies from before second impact. So, it'll be really cool to see them in real life."

Asuka's phone rung and she reached into her skirt pocket to answer it.

"Yeah?"

Shinji thought he heard Kaji on the other end. He assumed that everything was sorted through and that they'd been given permission to enter.

"Oh, okay," she said as she stuffed her phone back into her pocket.

"Alright everyone," Asuka spoke dominantly, "Kaji said it's time to go."

Following Asuka's lead, the group of children approached the entrance to the walled off facility. As they drew closer, they saw an observation deck behind a window. And on said observation deck, there was the man himself, Kaji. Dressed in a white clean-suit, he picked up a microphone connected to a loudspeaker by the entrance of the compound.

"Alright, kids. This is where things get interesting."

/

"D-damn it! Someone should have told me we'd have to do something like this! I wouldn't have even bothered doing my hair this morning," Asuka shivered as she lifted some of her heavy wet hair off her shoulder.

All the kids were shaking and shivering after going through the multitude of decontamination rooms that the staff had required them to pass through before entering the facility proper. Room after room of water jets, soaps, and other chemicals, and the children were finally given clean white sterile suits to wear.

"Well, sorry. But, it was mandatory. No way around it," Kaji said with a shrug, "But, if you think that's bad, everyone who works here has to go through decontamination procedures every day before the sun is up. This is a very special place; a sanctuary. And it's imperative that all pathogens are kept out."

"That may be true," Toji gulped in pain, "but one of those water jets hit me right between the legs, man."

"Yeah, and one was aimed right at my face. It probably would've knocked my glasses off if I'd been allowed to wear them," Kensuke added as he adjusted his freshly sanitized glasses.

"And I think my back is going to be bruised. I'm really soft," Hikari whined.

Shinji too was aching some from the exposure to the water jets, but after having been in the Eva, it didn't bother him as much as it probably did the other children. The pain he and the other pilots experienced inside the entry plug made the pressurized water seem like nothing more than a few drops of rain.

"Well, don't worry kids. It'll all be worth it," Kaji smiled with passion, "You are going to get to see something that most people born after Second Impact will never get to experience."

"Well, when you put it that way," Kensuke said as a deeply pleased smile grew on his lips.

"Hmph, this better be worth it," Asuka huffed.

"Follow me and we'll see," Kaji said as he started walking down a hallway leading further into the building.

/

-A Passion for All Things Living-

/

A massive pair of mechanized doors slid open in front of the children and Kaji. The kids were all taken by surprise and even Kaji's mouth dropped some. Before them was a massive aquarium with all kinds of animals that most of the kids had never seen in their life.

"Whoa! What is that?" Hikari asked in awe.

"Look, that one has a shell on its back!"

"Hey, look at that one. It looks like a snake," Shinji said as he pointed at a peculiar creature.

"Well, that looks like a nurse shark," Kensuke started, "And that one is a leather back sea turtle if I'm not mistaken. And I'm pretty sure that one is a snowflake moray eel."

"Hey kid, that's pretty good. Correct on all accounts," Kaji said as he patted Kensuke's back.

"Thank you, Sir. I study very hard. Knowledge is and always has been my foremost goal."

"Heheh, that's a good thing kid. I take it you don't absorb knowledge only from the public school system?"

"Yes, Sir. I study at almost every opportunity in and out of school."

"That's a very good thing, kid. What's your name again?"

"Kensuke, Sir."

"Hmm. Well, Kensuke. We're going to need people like you in the future. But, anyhow, go and enjoy yourself. Take this opportunity and appreciate the beauty of nature."

"Y-yes, Sir. Of course," Kensuke bowed respectfully before running up to the glass of the aquarium and ogling all the colorful sea life.

All kinds of animals swam inside the aquarium. Many of the creatures had been mixed together from separate oceans, likely a cause of space constraint. Even though this was, without a doubt, the largest aquarium that any of the kids had ever seen, in the grand scheme of things, it was absolutely miniscule.

"Rei, look at that one!" Shinji said as he pointed at a colorful light blue fish, "It kind of looks like you."

"It does?" Rei asked, obviously confused as she examined herself, trying to make the connection.

"Sure it does. It's almost the exact same color as your hair."

"Oh, I see," Rei smiled, "It's like me in that way."

Suddenly, an entire school of the small blue fish swam past the glass in front of Shinji and Rei's faces.

"It is…beautiful," Rei said, awestruck by the fishes' shimmering scales.

"Yeah…they're like you in that way…"

Rei looked at the boy.

"You think…I am beautiful?"

"I mean…yeah, of course," Shinji said as he rubbed his arm, somewhat embarrassed.

Rei reached forward and took the boy by his hand, causing him to blush.

"That is comforting, Shinji."

The boy gulped, unable to say anything else as Rei's soft pale fingers intertwined with his own.

They sat in peace as they watched the fish and other sea life swim by for a few minutes.

But, suddenly, Rei let go of Shinji and began walking towards a smaller cylindrical aquarium.

"Rei? Is something wrong?" Shinji asked, concerned he'd done something to upset the girl.

"No. Nothing is wrong. I simply noticed this aquarium and wished to look at it," Rei said as she stood next to the glass, illuminated by a soft blue light.

Shinji followed her and stood next to her side as he also looked at the small fish inside the glass.

"It's not a very big aquarium. They should let them loose in one of the bigger tanks."

"They can't-," Rei said solemnly.

Shinji took his eyes off the fish and looked at Rei. Confused, he listened to what she said intently.

"They can only survive in there. They're like me in that way," Rei said as she put her hand gently on the glass.

"What… does that mean?"

Rei was about to say something, but she was suddenly interrupted by Toji.

"Guys! Guys! Pen- The PenPen, he found some- He found the other penguins! You gotta see it! I think he's gonna like command them to rise up or something. Come on! You gotta see it!" Toji said before rushing off back in the direction from where he came.

Both Rei and Shinji were silent as they tried to process what Toji had just told them. Rei then broke the silence as she giggled a little.

"Come, Shinji, I will tell you about it later."

Shinji smiled at the giggling girl who quickly took his hand and dragged him off to see what kind of commotion PenPen had caused.

/

In front of the kids was a paludarium full of penguins. Many, many, penguins. And PenPen was staring right through the glass to the Penguins on the other side.

"Wark?" PenPen seemingly questioned.

A southern rockhopper penguin was on the other side of the glass, accompanied by a Gentoo penguin. PenPen stared intently at them as he drew closer to the glass.

"Wark."

"Look, he's telling them to start a revolution," Toji whispered.

Kensuke was filming the ordeal with no small amount of amusement. Rei and Shinji both watched the exchange between the birds with great intrigue. And, Asuka was playing games on a handheld device muttering something about "stupid children."

"Wark."

Shinji leaned over to Toji and asked, "What's he saying now?"

"I think he's telling them to organize and prepare for an assault."

PenPen then knocked his beak on the glass, followed by the other to penguins doing the same.

Shinji and Toji both looked at each other in alarm.

"What's he doing, Toji?"

"I think he's using Morse code to communicate with them more clearly through the glass."

"It's not Morse code," Asuka mumbled, sounding somewhat annoyed.

"She doesn't know how to take a joke," Toji sighed.

"Waa WARK!" PenPen called as he flung his flippers around excitedly.

Suddenly, all the penguins started calling back through the glass and everyone besides Asuka began to laugh.

"Hahaha, well, I say this looks like a good place for lunch. Shinji, Asuka said you had some home cooking for us," Kaji said as he ceased his laughter.

"Oh, yes, Sir. Here, let me get it."

Shinji took off his back pack and unzipped it looking for the containers he'd stuffed into it earlier this morning. After finding them, he sat down on the floor and began setting them down as everyone began to gather around him.

"Uh, here Kensuke. I think this one is yours," Shinji said as he handed the meal to him.

"Oh, man! It smells so good!"

"And, I'm not sure exactly what you like, Mister Kaji. So, I just tried to fix something average," Shinji said as he handed Kaji's meal to him.

"Ah, that's fine kid. I'm not too picky. As long as it has some vegetables in it, chances are I'll like it."

"And, I think this one is yours, Toji. There's a lot of meat."

"Ah, yeah! I love me some meat!" Toji drooled as he hungrily snatched the container out of Shinji's hands.

"Hikari, this one is yours," Shinji said, handing the meal to the girl who had taken her seat rather close to Toji.

"Oh, thank you very much," she smiled.

"And, Asuka, this one is yours. It's spicy just like how you like it."

"Hmph," Asuka huffed as she grabbed the container and sat down next to Shinji.

"And, this one doesn't have meat. So, Rei, this one is yours," Shinji said as he shyly handed the carton to her.

Rei didn't say a word as she grabbed it from him, her fingers brushing across his, causing him to blush.

"Hmph, I don't get it. What's her problem with meat. It's already dead. If she doesn't eat it, it's just a waste of good food," Asuka said as she waited for Shinji to hand her a plastic fork.

"It is… complicated," Rei responded quietly.

Asuka looked at the girl strangely while Shinji handed everyone their utensils, Asuka being the only one who received a fork while everyone else had chopsticks.

"This is… delicious," Rei said after trying some of her food.

"Say, this isn't too bad, Shinji," Kaji said, his mouth full with a couple marinated onions and peppers, "You know, ladies love a man who knows how to cook."

"Oh, yeah. Haha, I bet so," Shinji said as he tried to hide his face by looking down and digging into his own food.

Kaji, couldn't help but grin as he saw Rei smiling at the boy. Though, his expression fell a little seeing Asuka residing in her own bubble of a world despite the fact she was sitting with everyone else while they were laughing and having fun.

"You know kids, I'm real happy we're all here. I know I don't know all of you too well, but it makes my heart warm being able to bring you all here."

"Why's that, Sir?" Kensuke asked after slurping down a few noodles.

"Well, because, my passion is for all things living. And, if I can impart that on the future generations… well, let's just say that it'll give me a little hope for our future as a whole. And, I think we can all agree, we need a little hope. As a species, we're still recovering from Second Impact. And, it's important that we try to fix our world as soon as possible. If I can influence just a few people, those people can influence others."

Kaji took another bite of his food before continuing.

"I mean, do you see all of the life around us? I want our world to look like this again instead of the red, barren, and dead oceans we have now," Kaji said as he gestured to the colorful aquariums all around the group, "I just think it's so beautiful. And I want to make our world like this again."

/

After lunch, Kaji had taken the kids out to the outdoor areas of the facility overlooking the various enclosures. Toji and Kensuke had wondered off, likely filming the sea life and making perverted jokes. Hikari was trying to talk Asuka into helping her find where Toji had ran off to. But, Asuka was very obviously disinterested and reluctant to spend any time with Toji or Kensuke. And so, the redhead had remained brooding in a few shadows as she continued to play on her handheld. Shinji had opted to stay near Kaji as he relaxed in the sun while smoking a cigarette. And Rei, naturally, was right by Shinji's side.

"So, why's this place smell really… weird?" Shinji said as he scrunched his nose up.

"It's the smell of putrefaction. It's what the ocean is supposed to smell like. I know you've only experienced the world after Second Impact, but the ocean isn't supposed to smell like blood like it does now."

"This smells…right," Rei said.

Kaji gave the girl a funny look, but decided to not pay too much mind to it. She was right after all. It did smell right. Kaji took a deep breathe. So many smells. The salty scented water from the facility, the bloody ocean on the other side of the building's walls, and the smoke from his cigarette.

"I kinda wish Misato would have come along," Shinji said as he watched a seagull flying overhead.

"She could never come here. Too many memories," Kaji said as he gazed up at the sky.

The two kids looked at Kaji curiously.

"She's had a rough time," Kaji started, knowing the two kids were obviously looking for some kind of explanation, "See, I don't know if she's told you, but she was there."

Shinji's jaw dropped a little.

"Wait, you don't mean…"

"I do. She was there when Second Impact happened. You know that Second Impact wasn't a meteorite, right?"

"Yeah, Asuka told me some time ago. She said it was actually an Angel called Adam; the same one under NERV," Shinji said.

"Whoa, careful how much you say, kid. But, yes, it was that one. Anyways, Misato has always had a complicated relationship with her father. And, being there with him when the world basically ended… It kinda messed her up for awhile. See, she was always kinda angry with her father, even when she wasn't. And, I suppose she had some kind of…well, I couldn't really say exactly. But, she wasn't content with him, I can say that much. And, on that day, fourteen years ago, not only did she see the world end, not only did she survive a very serious injury, but her father also died. And, it was to save her. You can only imagine how much that shook her up."

"That's…kinda scary," Shinji said, noticing that he'd been shivering some.

"Yeah, and after they recovered and rescued her, she didn't talk for a very long time. So, I just get the feeling she really wouldn't enjoy this as much as you kids would. I'm sure she thinks it's just as beautiful as you and I, but it reminds her of too many things. I've seen the pain in her eyes when she looks at pictures from before second impact. And, I'd rather not bring the memories back up."

"I'll try to keep that in mind when I talk to her from now on," Shinji said as he looked at the ground.

Rei placed her hand under his chin and directed his gaze back up. Kaji pretended not to notice so as to not subject the boy to any further embarrassment. Though, seeing the interaction between them did bring a thought to Kaji's mind.

"Could you two do me a favor?"

"Um, yes," Shinji said, still somewhat embarrassed from Rei's touch.

"Listen, I know better than anyone that Asuka can be difficult. But, could you two watch over her for me? I still worry about her even though I'm not exactly her guardian anymore. I just… I need someone to look after her. She doesn't really have any friends. And, she's obsessed with me, and that blocks her social progress. It prevents her from bonding with other people correctly. She pushes other people away, and it happens so naturally for her that I don't even think she realizes it. I know it's a lot to ask, but could you two make a special effort to try to be there for her? She's been through a lot, and I care about her so much. But, there's going to come a time when I just can't be there for her anymore. At least, not in the way she wants me too. So, if you two could do this for me..."

"It's not a problem. I'll do it," Shinji said.

Kaji looked at the boy for a second, his cigarette about to slip out of his mouth. But, then he smiled.

"Thanks, kid."

"I too will do as you request," Rei said, following Shinji's lead, "I do not spend as much time around Pilot Sohryu as Shinji does. But, if he will try, I will as well."

"Thanks, Ayanami. I really appreciate it," Kaji said as his smile grew a little bigger.

"Hey, guys!" Kensuke shouted as he ran towards Kaji with Toji and Hikari in toe.

"Hmm, what is it, Kensuke?" Shinji asked.

"Well, Toji, Hikari, and I were just kinda talkin' and we thought it might be kinda cool to go camping. I know this really sweet place up in the mountains we can go. I just thought it would be kinda great! And, you can come with us, Kaji, Sir."

"Yeah, and it's been forever since I've gone camping," Hikari said excitedly, "So, I think it would be a great idea if we could all just spend a few days out there. Maybe next weekend or something. We could all get to know each other a little better too," she said as she edged just a little closer to Toji.

"Ha, that sounds like a great idea, kids. I'd be delighted. Now that I think about it, it's actually been quite a while since I've gone camping. But, make no mistake, I used to make camp for a living."

"Whoa, you did? How'd that work?" Toji asked.

"Oh, well, Second Impact gave me a little push in the right direction. It left a lot of people abandoned as kids and teens. I was one of those people."

/

After leaving the facility at around sunset, Kaji took all the kids back to their respective homes after having finalized their plans for next weekend.

It seemed like most everyone was content except for Asuka; the one who had originally inspired Kaji to organize such an excursion.

The sun was just about to disappear behind the horizon and as Kaji pulled into the parking lot of Misato's apartment, he had a sinking feeling though he tried to keep up appearances.

He let the kids out of the car, Asuka being the first one to leave, and apparently in a hurry too. PenPen also scurried out, probably hoping Misato would have some fish to give him. But Shinji climbed out at a more relaxed pace and told Kaji his farewells as he started towards the stairs leading up to Misato's apartment.

"Hey, Shinji!" he called out.

The boy turned around.

"Remember what I told you!" Kaji shouted with a smile.

Shinji smiled back and nodded before continuing on his way.

'That kid…' Kaji thought as he put the car back into gear, 'He'll take care of them...both of them.'

.


*Eva credits roll and Fly Me to the Moon plays*

.

"Oh, hi everyone. I was just crying because Kaji stole PenPen from me. I WAS ALONE ALL DAY!"

"I didn't steal him, Misato."

"Yes, you did."

"Asuka is the one who took him. I didn't even know he was in the car until you started yelling at me."

"I don't believe you. You took him because I forced you out of the recording booth last chapter. It's your cruel way of getting back at me. I literally cried when I saw him. I thought I was never going to see him again."

"I wish you felt for me the same way you feel for that bird."

"I hate you. You took him from me."

"Uh, Misato, maybe we should just...y'know...get back to next chapter's preview."

*Misato wipes away tears*

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But, I still hate you.

Anyways, everyone. Kaji is going to steal my bird AGAIN next chapter-"

"I- I don't intend to."

"SHHH! Like I said, he's stealing my bird and he's going to hide him in the mountains. ISN'T THAT TERRIBLE?! PENGUINS DON'T BELONG IN THE MOUNTAINS!"

"They don't particularly belong in a messy apartment either..."

*Misato glares at Kaji*

"Anyways...I guess everyone already knows what's happening next chapter, so there's no point in saying it."

*Misato begins sniffling*

"Maybe I'll just take over from here."

*Kaji straightens tie and clears his throat*

"So, kids. Basically, what happens is Hikari wants to see more of PenPen, so he get's dragged along with us while we all have a grand time camping and the kids do...kid things...and hormonal teenager things...and uh...awkwardness- awkward things that I must eventually help guide them through. I'm sure you'll all enjoy the next chapter; Worlds of Morning Mist.

And, as Misato would say, expect fanservice or some such."

"Birdnapper."

*Kaji sighs*

"I didn't."

.

So, I still haven't gotten around to rewatching Evangelion. I suppose I don't really need to, especially with how little time I've been having recently and the fact I've been distracted with certain things. I'd still like to rewatch it though just because it helps keep everything straight.

Anyhow, I'm probably going to try to get some medicine to help me focus on writing better because it's just been a bitch recently. But, yeah, that's about all I can say for now.

Update: Sorry it's been so long everyone. Real life has really been winding up and it's getting harder for me to find time to write. But, hopefully the next chapter should be out in a couple days.

Update: Okay, everyone. I really am so sorry that these chapters take so damn long to get out. But, I'm happy to announce that chapter 13 is probably gonna be out today. (8/29/2017) Soooooo... plz be excited?

FINAL UPDATE: Chapter 13 is going up in a few minutes. (8/29/2017 2:24 PM)