MARCH 28th, 2015

UNITED NATIONS PACIFIC FLEET: 'OVER THE RAINBOW'

7:38pm:

Although the build and mattress of the bedframe wasn't the best, Shinji found a modest amount of peace on his top bunk, laying his head on the pillow and staring up at the ceiling. He'd be feeling a lot better if he had some music to tune into, but the only belongings they allowed an on-duty troop to take were religious and/or spiritual books, or personal belongings that meant something, such as family photos. So naturally Shinji was denied permission to bring his S-DAT.

The cramped room had a very dull look to it all; the walls were comprised of aged metal, and pipes were attached to the ceiling, where running water and a monotonous hum could be heard. Even the one place he could be alone was uninspiring.

But Shinji knew that wouldn't last long. There were three other mattresses in the room and their occupant's gear, so they'd come down to sleep eventually. He checked his watch.

'Twenty minutes until 2000 hours...'

It was as if that entire day, no matter what he tried, he just couldn't avoid trouble. After the incident with Toji earlier that day it appeared that Kensuke admitted that what Shinji said wasn't all that bad, and that he was just clearly uncomfortable with jokes that were directed at him. Asuka, having proven herself to be very quick to anger, was livid upon founding out he lied.

So not only was Toji in extremely hot water, but Shinji had gotten his Lieutenant's equivalent of a slap on the wrist.

Things were already not looking so good. He was sure Asuka had little to no respect for him already. Just seeing how she acted towards both Kensuke and Toji was already enough to tell him she wasn't easy on anyone. Still, Shinji thought that it could be that neither of them generally behaved well.

'And that Toji guy definitely hates me as well.' He mused. 'What a great start.'

He sat up, having decided he didn't want to see any of his bunk mates at all. So he hopped off and left to go see Misato.

Walking through the industrial-like tight halls of the ship, Shinji could overhear, sometimes even see peaks of the other troops talking to each other. It was all laughs, casual conversations, maybe even gossip. All of those were things that Shinji had never bothered with in his non-military life. School was a lot different than all of this. He didn't have to care for others. His S-DAT was the perfect shield against the world.

But not in war. Rounds would zip all around him, fire would rain down upon him, and there would certainly be brutes out there who would kill him if given the chance.

People were no longer his biggest worry, but instead death was. And yet he was still completely inept in making friends. This had surprisingly lead Shinji to believe that having Misato force him to live with her might've been a blessing in disguise. If he had gotten his first wish to live by himself after all, he might've not even had her to talk to on the very ship he found himself in.

Of course, this only made him feel even more pathetic. While everyone else out there his age had each other to talk to, Shinji only had his Operations Director. It certainly wasn't usual, but he really began to value that connection. All he'd been met with from everyone else in his unit was judgement.

'So be it.' He thought. 'Who cares about what they all think?'

COMMANDING BRIDGE

7:51pm:

From where she stood, Misato watched as multiple assault spinners took off from each the nearby ships. Each of them carried loads of battle-ready troops. Some would make it back, some would not. And maybe most disturbingly, some would never come back the same.

Having just started her 30-minute break, she could take a much-needed rest and drop the professional facade for a little while. Despite being very good at commanding troops in the field, it was something she very much didn't enjoy taking part of.

'All these soldiers... just teenagers.' She mused. 'Haven't even finished school, but already qualify as cannon fodder.'

Misato suddenly found herself thinking back to a very important moment of her life from long ago. She shuddered slightly, shaking it all off with a hint of a frown. Now wasn't the time to think back to that.

In an attempt to distract herself from certain unwanted memories, she glanced up at the full moon's glow. Its gorgeous brightness reflected on the ocean very powerfully, providing a glimmer in an otherwise serious moment. This was war, after all. As important as it was to appreciate the good things in life, Misato strictly kept her head in the game when needed. As much as she hated sending such young people off to fight, it was her duty.

She leaned against one of the control consoles of the ship, continuing to stare off into the ocean deep in her thoughts.

'A beer would really hit the spot right about now...'

"Is Major Katsuragi here?" One of the many crew members of the bridge asked from behind a half-opened door.

"That's me. What do you need?" She asked back, turning her attention to him.

"Unit-01's Private Ikari wishes to speak with you." The crew member explained. "Though he hasn't specified why. Do I let him in?"

Misato knew exactly what this was about. She had obviously been informed by Asuka and Hikari about the incident that transgressed at the cafeteria, and while she was clearly worried about his well-being, she had battle plans to help with. She had planned to speak with Shinji about it in due time, but was too caught up doing her job. But if he was already there, she didn't any reason to send him back down.

"Um, yeah... send him in."

The crew member then fully opened the door he stood at, revealing a somewhat mopey-looking Shinji Ikari. He didn't look all too well at all, confirming her suspicions. He was clearly having a really bad day and needed someone to talk to. Shinji walked over to her, all the while keeping his eyes looking at the floor.

"Hey... sorry to bother you." He greeted.

"What makes you think you bother me?" She asked, a little saddened at his statement but not surprised.

He leaned next to Misato on the same console and joined her in taking in the view. As opposed to looking out to the ocean, he observed the main deck and all of its occupants, almost with some sort of resentment. Up there with all the adults, he felt safe. Being away from all of them was exactly what he needed at that moment.

"So what happened down there?" Misato asked unexpectedly. "What started that fight?"

Shinji suddenly stiffened up a little, expecting another influx of scolds and criticisms, much like Asuka had dished out at him earlier.

'Damn... how could I have forgotten? Misato's our Operations Director. Of course Soryu told her about it.'

He looked away from her, which vaguely reminded her of the talk they had in her car just a few days beforehand. But she wasn't upset about it this time. Clearly having to explain himself bothered Shinji a lot, and she only asked from a place of understanding.

But still, fights like that just couldn't happen in the army. Whether or not it was his fault, he and Toji were supposed to be teammates.

"I, uh..."

Shinji hesitated. Although he was right in believing that Toji's crude remarks towards Misato were uncalled for, Shinji wasn't sure that'd make anything better. And if he was being honest with himself, he was a little afraid that it would only stir up more drama with the rowdy soldier. After what happened that day he was sure to avoid any more conflict with Toji.

"He just- um, said some... things. That uh, made me uneasy." Said Shinji, doing his best to simplify the explanation. "And I didn't react well. I told him off and got hit."

Misato crossed her arms and looked down pensively.

He was clearly holding back in telling the whole truth, but she wasn't going to squeeze it out of him. Shinji was clearly blaming himself for it despite it being reported to her that Kensuke admitted Toji being the one who engaged first. The last thing Unit-01's new troop needed was added pressure. But she still didn't see any reason for him to feel guilty for it.

She looked back over at Shinji, who still looked away from her.

"What did you tell him?"

Shinji almost turned to look back at her, but couldn't bring himself to.

"I'm not mad at you, Shinji." She added, clearly having noticed his hesitation. "Granted, it shouldn't happen again... but I'm not mad. Just wanted you to know that."

Finally he looked over at her, having been a little surprised. Despite having considered her a friend by now, he still found himself to be afraid of letting her down greatly. Misato was trying to hear him out without giving Shinji hell for what happened, unlike his uncle and aunt would have when he was younger. Maybe it was the argument in the car that made him a little fearful of going through it all over again, but this time she was clearly keeping her cool.

"I cursed at him and tried to leave." Shinji said with a sigh. "Nothing too bad, it was a simple 'eff you' but still wrong of me."

Misato held back a grin. He seemed so innocent by avoiding to cuss around her when she had overheard all the other foul-mouthed troops do so many times over. She wondered how long this would last, though. Being that Shinji hadn't yet faced real battle was a little worrying seeing his reaction to the altercation at the cafeteria.

"Suzuhara struck you, he's the one that took it too far." She suggested.

He shrugged.

"Maybe... but also, maybe I deserved it."

"Oh don't say things like that, Shinji..." Misato said. "Okay, you didn't react well... he assaulted you. We all lose control sometimes."

Shinji still wasn't sure if he agreed, but nodded nonetheless.

"I guess so."

There was a long pause. Misato could tell that trying to convince him otherwise would be forcing the issue. She decided that maybe what he needed was some company, and that was a good step forward from before. Despite it being clear that he spent the day alone, Shinji had been willing to not completely isolate himself when things got tough. A first for the boy since she had met him.

A minute or two went by as they both took in the view. At night, the lights from the passing ships and spinners looked somewhat aesthetically pleasing. And combined with the moonlight, it proved to be a rather relaxing view despite the nature of the scene's situation.

'This is nice.' Thought Shinji. 'Having someone to talk to is nice.'

Another few minutes went by and another tiny light appeared in the distant night sky.

Initially Shinji thought it'd pass by just like most of the aircraft had. But over time it became clear it was coming in to land on the Over the Rainbow. He also took notice that it wasn't another medical aircraft, but the very same model he and Misato had arrived in.

"That must be her." Misato mumbled half-mindedly upon eyeing the spinner as well, causing Shinji to turn to her.

"Hm?" He uttered.

"Oh I'm thinking out loud. It's just that that spinner over there is scheduled to arrive with another one of our unit's troops. Seems they're right on time." She explained.

"I see."

Finally, the spinner slowed down and made its descent on one of the main deck's many landing pads. From the inside of the Commanding Bridge, Shinji and Misato were relatively close to the aircraft, so as the door opened and people started stepping out, Shinji spotted a familiar sight. Among the other troops who were headed to rejoin their designated units, was a person with a unique head of hair.

Baby blue hair.

He instantly remembered them from HQ's medical center, and having been able to actually see them out of a hospital gown had confirmed to Shinji that they were clearly a girl.

'Wait...'

Then all of a sudden he found himself feeling somewhat strange. As he was still a at quite some distance from her, he still couldn't fully make out exactly what she looked like. But there was an odd sensation Shinji had felt upon seeing this other troop, a peculiar itch in the back of his head that had appeared out of nowhere. He squinted his eyes very slightly. Something was definitely off about that girl.

And all the while Misato had easily noticed something catching Shinji's attention. Having looked down herself, she noticed the blue-haired girl as well. Shinji's roommate smiled. She then leaned forward and waved her hand in his line of sight, bringing his attention to her.

"Whatcha staring at?" She asked.

"That person with the blue hair that just exited the spinner. I recognize her from the hospital."

Misato's mischievous smile only grew.

"Sooo you see something you like there?"

Almost instantly, Shinji's face turned slightly red as he looked away from her, feeling embarrassed having been told that in a room full of people on the job. He looked around but saw that no one else was paying any attention.

"No! I don't-! Miss Misato, I-! I've just... never seen someone with hair like that!" He desperately explained.

"That so? Well that's alright, then..." Misato said to him in a clearly sarcastic tone. "You know, she's actually the troop I was referring to. The name's Rei Ayanami."

'Rei Ayanami...' Thought Shinji.

It was strange to him how this girl seemed almost like a mystery, even though he had only seen her twice by now. Both time she had been pretty far off; the first being in the Medical Center where he didn't even get a look at her face, and this time she was down below on the main deck while he just observed at the bridge. And yet the blue hair certainly caught his attention.

Shinji had seen people with colored hair before, but usually only in streaks. And he would've most certainly thought having decorated hair would be against NERV regulations.

"Look at you.. you can't take your eyes off of her!" Teased Misato.

Shinji snapped out of his thoughts once again.

"I'm told you, it's not like that!"

Then his caretaker had a little laugh at his expense. He took no offense to it, but still felt a little uneasy at each jab she threw his way.

"Stop making fun of me..." He said with a pout.

"Come on, you know I'm just joking!" Misato replied. "You're too easy!"

"Yeah, yeah."

As Misato's laugh died down, Shinji noticed this 'Rei' figure go indoors, likely to her room to drop off her things. Moments after, he began to wonder why her presence had such a strange effect on him. All the other girls he'd seen around hadn't caught his attention as much, so initially Shinji chocked it up to it being her unusually colored head of hair. But something clearly still bothered him. Something about it wasn't clicking.

Shinji then tried shaking it off.

'Why am I fixating on this?' He pondered. 'I'm probably just overthinking it...'

Misato suddenly sat up from the console and checked her watch. It was looking like her break was to end soon.

"Well I hate to have to leave you be but I've got important work ahead of me. Take care, now. Go get some rest if you can." Misato said with a smile. "Have a good night, Shinji."

"Good night..."

And so there he was, all alone again with no one to talk to. Being that Misato had to go back to work, Shinji figured he probably shouldn't freely lounge around at the bridge. So he made his way towards the door. But just as he twisted the cold metallic knob to open it, he turned to look at Misato once more. Work for her hadn't started just yet, but she looked mentally prepared for it, already in her seat to discuss the looming invasion they were set to carry out on the nearby island.

But as Shinji stared at her, he thought back to how she acted back home. It was almost like this was an entirely different person. Whereas Misato at home was a slouch, rarely ever cleaned and was often drunk, this Misato was strict and extremely professional.

And even then, she was still the nice Misato that showed Shinji the kindness he needed. He smiled, turned back around and left the bridge.

10:27pm:

Down on the main deck, Shinji stared up at the moon as he studied its chaotic details. Each crater told a different story. Some were bigger, others were smaller. Some had lines of debris that scattered from the initial impact, and others barely had anything around them at all. The surface had been battered by meteor strikes for millions of years, yet the celestial body appeared to be peaceful, at least more so than the Earth itself.

There was no life on the moon. And therefore, no conflict. Only peace.

By now the deck was a lot more empty than it had been for the past few hours. Most of the units' members had gone to bed to catch some much-needed rest. The invasion would take place in just two days, and everyone wanted the proper rest to function for it. Shinji knew that he should probably have also gone to sleep when lights out had been announced by each Commanding Officer.

But now that the main deck was more empty, he couldn't help but want to relax all by himself for just a bit.

Frustratingly, Japan's eternal summer always brought out the discomfort even in Shinji's most calm moments. It was night, but just about as hot as the average day. Not even Tokyo-3's ceaseless rain cooled anything down back home. He wiped his face from the sweat, relishing in the occasional ocean breeze that'd cool his face down for a moment.

Shinji looked down at his wristwatch.

'2227 hours...'

He knew he'd have to get rest soon. It truly had been a long day, and a rough start to his tenure in Unit-01. A bruise had now fully formed on the spot that Toji struck him on, and would ache just a little when talking. Shinji delicately ran his fingers over it, finding that a small bump had formed as well.

It was all so embarrassing. Knowing how teenagers his age acted, he was almost positive there was backtalk going around about him.

'I bet that redhead's poking fun at me to her friends right about now.'

So with that, Shinji decided he'd call it a night. His peaceful moment of contemplation had once again turned into a rush of sour thoughts about the people around him. He stood up and took one last look at the moon, a sight he'd missed having stayed in the always-cloudy Tokyo-3. Despite it being unrealistic, he pictured himself on the surface of the moon all by himself. No one else to bother him. Just Shinji and the many craters.

It was a nice thought.

He finally turned to leave, walking off to find his room once again. As he walked on, he prayed that his bunk mates had already fallen asleep so that he wouldn't have to deal with anyone else for the night. The last thing he needed was their judgement.

'I don't need anyone.' He thought bitterly.

Then he mentally beat himself up over the cynical thought. Misato was still right, after all. And he wouldn't be able to function well without the need of other people. The biggest obstacle, it seemed, was the type of people he needed to bond with. Shinji stopped walking again and looked back up at the bridge, wondering if he'd be able to spot Misato from there. Nothing.

He sighed. Much to his frustration, looking left and right didn't do anything to help either.

'The only person I seem to be getting along with is an adult. What's wrong with me?' He wondered. 'I'm really pathetic.'

Shinji decided this was enough for today. But just as he was about to give up and leave the deck for good, the now-familiar figure suddenly popped up rather unexpectedly. Just one deck below the commanding bridge, standing in front of the windshield, there she was again.

'Ayanami...'

The mysterious girl seemed to be gazing at something in the sky, and when Shinji turned his head to see what it was, he wasn't surprised to see that she too was admiring the moon. That in it of itself was a callback to when he saw her bandaged up in the medical center; she was by a window with one hand on the glass. It seemed she did this kind of thing often.

It was then that the strange sensation he had felt before had returned once again.

'Why am I overthinking this?' Shinji mused. 'I've never seen this person before in my life.'

However, the curiosity lingered, much to his frustration.

'Have I?'

As he continued to debate with himself about whether he'd seen Rei before his move to Tokyo-3, she suddenly up and left the window, leaving his view once again as the boy was left puzzled in his own thoughts. This wasn't going to stop bothering Shinji anytime soon unless he did something about it. The only problem was, he had no idea what he could do, or if it'd even lead to any answers.

'I should sleep. I'm obviously out of it.' He concluded.

But try as he might, Shinji couldn't bring himself to head back to his room. By that point it had no longer to do with his bunk mates, Rei was just too much of an enigma in his mind. Clearly there was a reason as to why he was feeling the way he did. So he looked back up, seeing that she was headed his same general direction.

He had an idea.

'If I time this right, I might be able to cross paths with her.'

With a little bit of hesitance, Shinji was finally on the move. He wasn't exactly sure why he was so determined to cross paths with her. This was very much unlike him. But there he was, trying to make it happen.

'Why am I doing this?' He questioned. 'And why am I not stopping myself?'

Indeed, Shinji was quite surprised by himself. Part of him felt like a little bit of a creep in trying to force a chance encounter with this mystery girl. But he knew it wasn't out of any sort of attraction. He would never in a million years be the type to go after a girl, or let alone make the first move. Shinji only wanted answers. And as he set to search for them, that strange sensation only intensified.

'I don't know why, but there's a vibe to her that almost gives me goosebumps. Why? Why does her appearance give such... strange vibes?'

Sneaking glances at the distant girl every now and again, Shinji tracked her like a hawk. It was possible that if he went the wrong direction, that he'd miss his chance. Being that there was barely anyone walking about on the ship made things a little easier on him. He had considered simply talking to her when Unit-01 would have met up, but the appearance of others made it all the more uncomfortable for him.

In his head, this was the only chance he'd get to maybe talk to her alone. That is, if he mustered up the courage.

As Rei continued to make her way back, she stepped indoors once again, probably to her room. Shinji felt the urgency increase, so he sped-walk to try and catch up. Just two flights of stairs, and he'd be able to run into her. Before he knew it, he was trekking up the stairs rather quickly.

Shinji finally made it to the halls almost out of breath. As he looked up again, he saw doors left and right that housed even more troops, which made him a little frustrated. He'd have to look around to make sure she didn't just enter her room to go to bed. Quietly passing through as to not wake anyone up, Shinji would peak in through the porthole windows each door had.

Despite it being dark, he could see who slept in those rooms, and the first one was full of girls. And so was the next one. And the next one.

He froze. A wave of shame trickled down his body as he made the realization that this was likely the girls' section of the ship, and he was strongly embarrassed by himself. Shinji immediately backed off and awaited at the stairs once more. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

'Oh god... what the hell am I doing? I'll get called a pervert if I'm caught here.' He thought. 'This would just make everything about today even wor-'

*K-CLANK*

Shinji quickly retreated behind a wall where he wouldn't be visible. He looked around the corner to see who it might've been, and sure enough-

'There!'

-Rei was leaving her room. It seemed she had gone inside just to retreat something, as she seemed to be carrying objects in her hands. What it was, Shinji couldn't tell as it was far too dark for him to see the contents. But her bright blue hair was still very visible in such conditions.

Luckily for him, Rei was headed the opposite direction so he wouldn't be spotted waltzing among the girls' quarters.

Once she was a reasonable distance away from him, Shinji was on the move again. Being careful as to not alert anyone, he took the lightest steps to ensure that he'd pass through without being detected. He wasn't even sure if it was restricted for a boy to be there, but he knew that word would get around about it to his fellow troops should he be seen.

The game of cat and mouse continued for a little while longer, much to Shinji's growing impatience.

'This is unhealthy. I should probably leave this girl be.'

But he didn't stop. He remained on the look for answers. And for someone like Shinji who was never adamant about anything, this surely was strange. All he really wanted was to figure out why this Rei girl brought on such conflicting emotions of which he didn't even seem to fully comprehend. There was a stubbornness unlike anything Shinji had ever felt before.

Still pretty far ahead of him, Rei made a sequence of turns through the many halls. Another one here, another one there. Sometimes to the left, and sometimes to the right.

'Just where is she headed at this hour?' Shinji wondered. 'Shouldn't be long before-'

And suddenly she was gone. just seconds after making another one of her turns down the hall, Shinji couldn't see her anywhere. Confused, he looked all around him in case she had entered a room they might've passed, but there were none. He walked just a little faster now, trying to retrace her steps to no avail.

All the while, Shinji noticed the air had gotten a little more damp, more-so than it usually was outside. As he proceeded to look for Rei, he passed by the entryway to the girls' shower room, which was likely the source for the extra humidity. Across it, there was a bench with folded clothes resting atop it. He dismissed it, thinking that someone had probably forgotten it there.

It was starting to look like he'd lost his chance. Shinji continued down the hall some more but just couldn't find her, try as he might.

His walking slowed down as he went, coming to a full stop once he'd thought about what he was actually doing. His right hand was balled into a fist, and he rested his forehead on his left. A little sweat trickled down from his face, and now Shinji had felt like a complete fool for exerting so much energy in just trying to talk to some girl he didn't even know.

'This was stupid. I'm so stupid.'

For a few minutes he just stood there, criticizing himself relentlessly. All he gained from this was exhaustion, and he wondered why he didn't just go to sleep from the start. Shinji sighed again. The only thing left to do now was head back. He felt so ridiculous for having gone on a pointless search for what really seemed like nothing. Still, he couldn't deny that he was unsure of the emotions brought up by Rei.

Maybe the search was pointless, but Shinji knew that what he felt was pretty unusual. He was sure of it.

So he turned back around. It was getting pretty late anyway, and this time he'd finally go to sleep and just try to forget about it all in the morning. He felt another wave of humidity hit him as he approached the girls' shower room once more, this time with no rush as Rei had likely gone elsewhere inside the ship. Shinji looked at the nearby bench again, this time having a better look at the clothes left on it.

'Wonder who left that there.' He thought. 'Maybe I should report it to the lost and f-'

*POOM*

"Gah-woooaah!"

Disoriented, Shinji couldn't even get a good look at what he bumped into. Before he knew it, the ground he stood upon had become noticeably more wet and made him completely lose balance. Still not understanding what was going on, he tumbled and managed to break his fall with his hands.

"Ow!" Exclaimed Shinji. "Jesus... what the hell happ-?"

His eyes suddenly widened. As if appearing from thin air, he found none other than Rei Ayanami herself laying on her back just below him.

He froze. There she was, the one he'd tirelessly snooped around for only to have her end up right in front if him. Admittedly, the proximity the two now shared was very awkward. He was just inches away from her face, and could see every detail. The feeling was there again, extremely present in his mind as he tried to figure out why this girl was having such an unusual effect on him. Still no answers.

But two more interest details were now far more noticeable. Rei's complexity was light, unusually light. Almost pale. And the color of her irises...

'Red eyes?'

Shinji could feel his breath become shaky as the full reality of the situation dawned on him. He had stayed there a much longer time than needed.

"Can you please move?" The girl finally uttered, carrying with her a very softly-spoken voice.

"U-Uuum, s-sorry. I didn't see you th-"

Just as he started backing up, his face was flushed to the tee. Rei only had a towel on, which just so happened to have mostly fallen off of her. Shinji could see everything. He shot up immediately, having failed to notice before that he had just crashed into a girl as she was in the nude. He looked over at the clothes on the bench and finally put two and two together. Rei had gone for a wash.

"I-!" He stuttered. "I-! I-! Um... oh gosh, I'm-! Uuh- sorry! So sorry! I-!"

As he continued to fumble on his words, Shinji turned around to avoid looking at anything. He was sure that he'd get in serious trouble now. And to top it all off, the only person he seemed interested in actually talking to probably hated him now. Just another thing to add to the list of embarrassments that happened that day.

He cowered in fear waiting for some kind of livid reaction, but nothing ever came.

Shinji heard her clothed ruffle, and slowly turned to see if Rei had put all her clothes on. She was still partially naked, but was midway into being fully clothed. He quickly looked away again. As she proceeded to put her uniform back on, there was still no reaction from her. Shinji was most certainly confused.

"Are... you not upset?" He asked. "Aren't you m-mad at me?"

Finally, Rei looked over at him, having finished covering herself. She held a flat expression on her face.

"Why would I be?"

Shinji looked over at her again. He just didn't know what to say to that, as he had given her every reason to be legitimately angry with him. But her face showed no sign of hostility. Her voice, no hint of aggression. Just a flat stare.

"I..." He let out at a loss for words.

Rei then proceeded to grab the rest of her things and made her way back to her room. It was like she could care less about what had just transpired. Most girls would be rightfully upset, but Rei was barely even showing any kind of reaction, let alone emotion.

"I will be leaving now." She said, promptly doing so.

And once again, like some kind of curse that plagued him throughout the day, Shinji was left to himself.

He was puzzled. The interaction had most certainly not gone the way he had planned, but the aftermath was also completely unexpected. From afar, Rei was barely readable and he was beginning to understand why. Before, when seeing her around, she was quite literally in the distance. But Shinji understood now that Rei was distant in the other sense. To make matters worse, he still didn't understand why she had a strong effect on him.

Shinji just stood there, trying to process all of that.

'Who is this girl?' He pondered, thinking deeply about it. 'Who are you, Rei Ayanami?'