COMMANDER IKARI'S OFFICE:

"I hope you don't mind the smudges, I tried cleaning it off as best I could." Said Kaji referring to the package Unit-01 had obtained from the Angel camp. Nothing could upset the Commander now, especially not a little bit of dried, discolored blood.

"That's not a problem, Mr. Kaji. We've obtained the first step to humanity's evolution." Kaji grinned. "It's alive, I'm certain of it." Said Kaji. The Commander's smirk widened. "This is Adam, the first human being."

Kaji sat himself on the Commander's table. "You better watch your back, Commander. I'm sure SEELE has already caught wind of NERV's little robbery of their painstaking science experiment."

"That isn't anything we should worry about for now. If they decide to invade the Japanese mainland, we'll fend them off as best we can. Adam is in better hands with NERV."

Kaji nodded. "Will that be all, sir?"

"That will be all. You are dismissed."

NERV MEDICAL CENTER:

Shinji let out a gasp as he awoke. The bright hospital lights overwhelmed his pupils, just like last time. Here he was again, at the medical center. He wasn't sure how long he was out, but he was glad he was safe.

'What am I doing back here? Shouldn't I be out on the field with Unti-01?' He worried for his health just then, wondering what could possibly be wrong for him to be sent home so early.

He sat up in his hospital bed, the palm of his hands both hurting badly. He took a look and remembered it all. The previous night almost felt like a vivid nightmare. An inescapable one.

His hands were immensely scratched up, the scabs already dried everywhere. His face also seemed to sting slightly, he had acquired numerous scratches the night before.

His body felt exhausted, probably spent from all the action he had encountered the day before. Images of the battlefield came back to him, lingering in his head during his time alone.

His hands began to shiver, just the thought of what he had done plagued his body with a sinking feeling. 'I killed.' He thought. 'Two people are dead because of me.'

He began having a crisis in his own head. 'No, they wanted me to kill Angels! That's why I was sent there! It's not wrong, is it?' Shinji laid back down onto the bed and curled up into a fetal position.

His whole body was now shivering, and he sweat profusely. He let out a shaky sigh, trying to get his thoughts off of the battlefield. He glanced over at the bedside table, finding what appeared to be a little bow tie.

He reached over and grabbed the object; it was a phone wrapped with the bow tie, and a little note taped on its side.

'Give me a call when you wake up! ~Misato' It read.

Shinji unwrapped the phone and searched the contacts list. Sure enough, Misato's number was saved, coupled with a little heart emoticon beside her name. Shinji was in no mood to talk in her usual overly-optimistic manner, but he really wanted to get out of there.

He selected her name, and the number was dialing. It didn't take long for her to pick up. "Shinji? Is that you?" "Yes Misato, it's me." He heard Misato's sigh of relief.

"Wow, I was so worried! Are you okay? Are you hurting? Do you need a checkup? Anything at all?" "No, it's okay Misato. I should probably check in with a nurse and see about going back home."

"Okay Shinji, whatever you say. I'm not working any shifts right now, so I can make my way there-" She hung up. She was very quick to offer to pick him up, he wondered why she even cared so much.

MISATO'S APARTMENT:

Misato quickly sprung out of bed and yanked clothes from her closet. She didn't care what went well with what, she just hurriedly put whatever clothes she could find on and ran to the bathroom.

Her hair was kind of a mess, so she pulled a hairbrush from the bathroom drawer and guided it through her purple hair. A few knots snapped throughout her hair, but she didn't seem to react to it.

When she deemed her hair to be organized enough for the public, she turned to leave the bathroom but was startled by the sight of Pen Pen at the door. He heard her running around the place and wondered if something was wrong.

"Phew, it's just you. Sorry, Shinji just woke up and I'm headed over to NERV HQ to pick him up." Pen Pen flapped his little 'wings' (if one could even call them that) and let out a squawk.

"I shouldn't be long, now. Just take care of the house for me, yeah?" She said as she sat herself down on the couch, tying her shoes on. "Waaark!" Squawked Pen Pen. "I'll take that as a yes!"

Misato grabbed her keys and stepped out of her apartment, closing the door behind her before she began sprinting over on downstairs.

She hated being alone. Sure, she had Pen Pen as company and all. But it didn't compare to having another human being she could properly communicate with.

Shinji's absence reminded her how lonely she really was, and she wanted his company again. She just didn't want to be alone, she knew that much.

NERV HQ:

Shinji waited patiently at the lobby sitting on a cushioned couch, observing his hand. He specifically looked at his index finger, the very finger that pulled the trigger and ended the lives of two Angels.

He was sweating again, though not as much as before. He didn't understand why he was feeling this way, he had prepared for combat and knew what was coming.

He even felt more alive than he ever had before when he was running from the Angel's firepower, and managed to save Rei. So why was he now scared beyond belief again?

Truth was that his body produced an adrenaline rush via survival instinct, happens to every soldier in the heat of battle. He was thinking completely different then, and now his body was in its normal state again.

"Shinji!" Said the purple haired woman from the main entrance of NERV's main lobby. Shinji's attention turned to her. He looked as if he had just seen a ghost, his eyes trailing off in the distance.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" She stated as she ran over to hug him. "Ow! Misato, my face!" She took one look at his face and saw all the scabbed cuts he had received. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I'm just... happy to see you is all."

Shinji gave her a weak smile. "I appreciate it Misato, thank you." She could tell something was up by the tone of his voice. He was visibly distraught, and she didn't blame him.

He had just witnessed the horrors of war for the first time in his life, and he was probably really nervous to go back. Before he had gone, he was still gloomy but he was more open around Misato.

Now, it was like he had gone back to square one. He looked and acted distant, too into his own thoughts all the time. Misato felt for him deeply, and wished she could help in any way.

"C'mon Shin, my car's outside. We can head home now." "Right... home..." He remained where he sat, spacing out for a second, forgetting he was even in that very room.

"Shinji? C'mon! Let's go!" Shinji was snapped out of his trance, and he finally stood up and followed Misato to her car.

They crossed over to the Geo Front's downtown region, the drive was yet again quiet. Misato had imagined that the drive would be like the previous few days; that the two could carry a casual conversation again.

But Shinji was dead silent. He just stared out the window, having no energy to talk at all. Misato felt the need to strike up a conversation, but hesitated knowing he was in a bad place.

'It's as if he isn't even here.' She let him have his space, she didn't want to get a negative reaction out of him. "Are the rest of Unit-01 still at Aha?" He asked, seemingly out of nowhere.

"No, Unit-01 was sent back to Tokyo-3. That package was the only reason for an invasion on that part of the island." Shinji nodded while still looking out the window.

They made it outside to Tokyo-3, it was still raining. No one could tell what time it was unless it was night or they had a watch on them. Shinji looked at the car's internal clock. 5:26

Time didn't even seem to matter anymore. The emotional stress was wearing him out very quickly, he needed a warm shower as soon as he got home. 'He's hurting real bad, poor Shinji...'

Once he got home, he headed straight for the shower. He hadn't said a word since he was in Misato's car, and it didn't look like he was going to talk much at all for the rest of the day.

Misato, alone in the living room again, decided to drink some Yebisu to try to relax. Shinji's inner turmoil was in turn causing Misato some turmoil of her own.

She didn't know what to do, and as his guardian she felt like she was letting him down. She'd have to force the issue to try to get him to talk, she found that the lack of communication would only worsen his condition.

In the shower, Shinji stared blanky at the wall as the showerhead sprayed water directly on top of his head. The heated water made his dried cuts sting a bit, but he wasn't giving it any thought.

He didn't want to let anyone down, but he didn't want to go back either. He admired all of Unit-01's courage in battle, and so he felt like a burden for being assigned to them.

Once he finished his shower, he dried up and looked at the mirror. It was all fogged up due to condensation, so he wiped it with his hand. He stared himself down for minutes.

A knock on the bathroom door snapped him out of his trance. "Shinji, everything okay in there?" Shinji resumed drying himself up. "Uh, y-yeah Misato. Sorry, I'll be out in a few..."

Once Shinji was out of the bathroom, he headed straight for his room. "Shinji! Aren't you hungry? You've been out for a good while!" Shinji gave a dismissive wave.

"It's okay Misato. I'm just tired, I'm going to bed." He closed his bedroom door, and threw himself in his bed. To Misato, it was as if she had no roommate anymore. She threw her emptied can out, and headed for the shower herself.

Shinji lay in his bed, earphones in. He was reunited with his SDAT, the only thing he seemed to cherish in the world at that very moment. The music took his mind off of previous events, but only for a little.

'Why isn't this working? Why am I not distracted?' After a while, he stopped listening to his music entirely. 'Not even this is working now.' He turned to face the wall, not bothering to get under the blanket.

He hesitated closing his eyes in fear of having flashbacks. Not even fake memories of combat training could have mentally prepared him for this kind of inner pain.

"Shinji? Can I open the door? I'm coming in." He didn't answer, instead he kept facing away from the door so she wouldn't see he was still awake. Misato slid his bedroom door open but stayed in the hallway.

"What you did last night was important. People will be grateful for your actions, you should be proud of yourself." Shinji didn't react. "Keep up the good work, Shinji. Good night."

Shinji was sweating again. 'Who am I doing this for?' He thought. 'Why am I here?'

APRIL 2nd, 2015

8am:

Misato's alarm went off, waking the lazy adult from her sleep. "Uuuugh... Why can't I just sleep a little longer..." She reluctantly carried herself off of bed and yawned a big yawn. 'I hope little Shinji is okay...'

Shinji had been getting up earlier then Misato for the few days he had spent there before his first battle, yet the house was strangely quiet for this hour. 'I better check on him, he might want to stay in bed all day.'

Misato began heading to the living room when she saw a backpack she had been given by NERV. 'Oh, I forgot to tell Shinji he was finally enrolled in school here!'

She picked it up and took it over to Shinji's door, knocking on it softly as to not bother him too much. "Shinji, c'mon it's time to wake up. I know you may feel like staying in bed all day, but I want you to be productive."

There was no response. She knocked harder. "Shinji! Get up, it's time to start your day. You start school a week from now! Don't make me come in there..." Still no response.

She slid his door open, not wanting to ask again. "Ugh, you're even lazier than me sometimes! It's your turn to-" Shinji wasn't in his bed anymore. She looked around, as if he were hiding from her somewhere in the room.

"Shinji?" She yelled, getting more desperate. She walked to the living room in a quick pace, already knowing what he had done. "Shinji?! Please don't mess with me! Shinji..."

She looked everywhere. She was right after all, he had run away. Misato leaned against the kitchen wall and gently sat on the floor. She was supposed to be his guardian, her only task was to take care of him.

Now he was gone, and she didn't know where to start looking. He could be anywhere, and even hurt if he was in a dangerous part of town. She felt like she had failed. She was alone again, actually alone this time.

She didn't even go to her beer to cope with her feelings like she usually did, she just sat and blamed herself for his running away. She knew she'd soon have to inform NERV of his disappearance.

She picked up the phone and dialed Ristuko's number. She needed to honest words of her friend, she couldn't stand to hear her higher-ups scold her.

"*Yaaawwn* Hey, Misato. What's up?" She sounded tired. "Hi Ristuko, I hope I didn't wake you up." "No, don't worry about it. Just having my morning coffee." "I see..."

"So... what is it? What is it you wanna talk about?" Misato took a deep breath. "It's about Shinji... um, it's pretty bad..." "What is it?" Ristuko was genuinely concerned. "He's... run away..."

'I guess I can't blame him...' She mused.

TOKYO-3 METROLINK:

Shinji had no idea how long he had been in the train for. Listening to his music made time fly, it numbed him to the world he was a part of. He hadn't been able to sleep at all the night before, he made the decision to leave at around 3am.

He didn't know what time it was, but it had already been for about two hours. He checked his watch, it was almost 8pm. He wondered what Misato was up to, and how she had reacted upon discovering he had left without a word.

He didn't bother to look out the window, the view of the city sickened him. He hated being there, he hated being anywhere at that moment. Nowhere satisfied him, so he kept taking round trips on the train. The same songs, the same order, over and over again.

He had seen people come and go, all of them occasionally staring at his bruises and scratches. They all knew what he had been through, and people his age only feared sharing the same fate as him.

He didn't pay much attention to them though, he just kept tuning into his own little world. He didn't even know where he was anymore, and neither did he care.

It was drizzling that morning, in sharp contrast to the usual heavy rain Tokyo-3 was cursed with. At the very least, he'd expect for the rain to cool the city down, but the heat persisted. He had grown tired of the constant rain.

All the while his leg was jumpy, he didn't know how long he'd do this. How long he'd keep running away. He just knew that he did it, and he felt he needed to keep going.

The train reached Haido St. station, first stop on the 7th District. A homeless man entered the train, rambling on about whatever he was looking at. Clearly, he had gone insane long ago.

Shinji gave no thought to him, his music overpowered any volume the man had. It didn't take long for him to notice the old man pointing to him though. He appeared to be saying something to him.

"Sorry sir?" He asked, thinking the man was trying to initiate a conversation with him. "Yew're a fucken murderer! You kill! People die b'cuz of yew! You fucken ssslave!" He was clearly drunk.

The homeless man's words had hit Shinji deeply, his crisis having come back to him. Even in his attempt to run away from his problems, it seemed to follow him everywhere.

"Please leave me alone..." He quietly pleaded. "I had fam'ly overrr at Rankoshi... yew pricks were too slow t' save 'em! Yew're uselessss!" Shinji put his earphones back on, trying to ignore the man's hurtful words.

The man approached Shinji in a threatening manner and yelled louder, freaking everyone in the train out. "I'm talkin' to yew, toy soldierrr! Yew're a fucken disgrace! Y'hear me? Yew're putrid fucken-"

Shinji quickly sat up from his seat and pushed the drunken man to the floor, his head making a painful impact with a nearby seat. He couldn't take it anymore; the surrounding people, the urban noise, and especially the city.

He quickly ran out before the train doors closed. The homeless man was too intoxicated to do any harm to Shinji, he still lay on the ground as the train started moving. Shinji was now running, literally running from it all.

He made his way out of the station, not caring that rain was pouring on him. He didn't know here he was or where he was going, he just needed to go somewhere.

He figured he'd probably find a bus route that lead him out of the city, it was the only option he thought would suit his needs. A fresh breeze rolled in, bringing with it heavier rain.

He would surely catch a cold if he stayed unprotected any longer, so he ran for a bus stop he saw across the busy street. He didn't know where it would take him, but he wanted to be on the move.

'Lines: 181, 183, 705, 279' The bus stop sign read. He didn't know where it would lead him, or if those were even buses to take to leave Tokyo-3. He'd probably just ask someone at the bus stop, or a driver if no one was there.

To his luck, tonight seemed to be a busy night for bus drivers. "Excuse me, do any of you happen know if these lines would take me out of town?" "The 705." Replied a random woman. "Thank you."

Under the cover of the stop, he was no longer being subjected to the dirty rain water. It did not save him from the thick heated air, however. The combination of humidity and his own sweat made his clothes stick to his body.

He hated this place so much. There was nowhere he could go for comfort, not even the home he had grown somewhat accustomed to. He didn't how to feel about his situation; angry or sad.

For the moment, he tried to hold it in. He needed to distract himself, to forget about his troubles and try to move on. Though, his mind was in a constant fight with itself.

'Is running away really going to fix everything? Yes! I won't be put through such danger anymore! But what if they find me? Will they force me to fight? Or would they arrest me? Wouldn't this let everyone down? Wait, I need to live for myself! I don't want to put myself through all this just to please father! He doesn't even care about me! But, will people hate me if I make it back home? Will they think I'm a coward? I don't know! I don't know what to do!'

His own thoughts tortured him. He wished his music could take his mind away from it, but he knew it was no use. He would just overwhelm himself with emotion, and the last thing he wanted to do was cry in front of a bunch of strangers.

He took one last look at his surroundings, ready to say goodbye to Tokyo-3 for good. He looked at the street vendors selling cheap umbrellas, doing what they could to survive.

The cars on the street were so jammed, people walked in between them like it was nothing. A common Tokyo-3 thing. He saw a band of homeless people banging on pots and singing (or, at least attempting to) for money.

He continued to observe them, until a familiar face just happened to pass on by. Blue hair, pale skin; undoubtedly Rei Ayanami. She was carrying a white umbrella, covering herself from the toxic rain.

Shinji had almost forgotten about her. He had saved her in the retreat from the Angel camp, but that was the only real interaction the two of them had. He had been too distracted by the trauma of warfare to even think about anyone else.

Yet seeing her took him back again. He was slightly comforted, to his own surprise. She seemed to have completely distracted him. A loud and distinguishable honk took his attention from her, the 705 was almost at its stop.

Though he had saved Rei, he still didn't know her very well. But the more he thought about it, he realized she might've been able to help him. He was put in the pouring rain, perhaps she might lead him to some shelter.

Shinji was now torn between two possibilities; taking a bus to nowhere, or asking someone he barely knew for help. The traffic jam blocked the bus from arriving immediately, giving him enough time to think about it.

Rei kept walking, she was getting further away from him. The bus inched closer, and he found himself repulsed the sight of it. 'I don't think I want this...' He left the bus stop and crossed the busy street yet again.

He headed towards Rei. Even though he wasn't sure what that would lead him to, he felt more comfortable around her than he did alone.