MAY 9th, 2015
SAI-KURU BASE, MATSUYAMA
11:01pm:
Time seemed to slow down for the wounded soldier, who couldn't even tell what was happening around him anymore. The gunshots and explosions were quieting down, whatever he was still able to hear seemed to reverberate. It was all fading away, slowly but surely.
Shinji's blood loss was affecting his perception of reality, everything in his sight now looking blurred to all hell.
'Whether we win or lose this battle, I won't be able see.' He thought. 'Everyone I know... Everything I know, all fading away...'
Just as he felt his whole body begin to weaken, a strong wind current blew through the surrounding area. His head did not move as he saw a bright light hover over him. Everything became white, and Shinji was sure this was the light he was witnessing.
"Wooow..." He said as he continued to watch with awe, his hand slowly reaching out to touch the light.
Shinji could hear a voice yelling from a few feet away, but whatever it was saying was no longer audible to him. He slowly turned his head to his left, trying to make out who it was that was yelling.
"Shinji!" Toji yelled again, trying to warn his friend to put his hand down. "The sniper's still out there! Put yer hand down!"
Toji could tell that Shinji's blood loss was weakening him, since the usually terrified boy was acting strangely aloof amidst the intense battle. In reality, Shinji did not see the light. It was an attack spinner shining a light down on him to make sure he wasn't an enemy troop.
Nothing Toji said was registering to Shinji, who couldn't even tell who it was that he was looking at. As he did, he suddenly realized he didn't have the energy to turn his head back toward the light. Toji noticed Shinji's eyes not blink for a few seconds too long, and that he was looking incredibly stiff.
He had passed out.
"Fuck!" Toji shouted in horror. "Hold on, man! Imma be there in ju-"
*KA-BOOM!*
The sudden shock waves produced by the small-scale airstrike surrounding the camp interrupted Toji's exclamation. The air currents had also increased a whole lot now, due to so many bombs having gone off at once.
The barrage of gunfire had stopped cold for a second, many of the attacking Angels having been killed by the strike.
The air support forced the Angels to retreat. With the overwhelming superiority NERV held through their air support, there was no way the Angels could overtake this camp now. Toji saw his chance to rescue Shinji and immediately took action. Shinji's eyes had still not blinked, and Toji worried he might've been too late.
NERV HQ, COMMAND CENTER:
"Another troop's been hit!" Shigeru alerted, having received yet another alert on his screen.
"Who is it now?" Misato asked, already having gone through this multiple times during the battle. Shigeru enlarged the medical stats of each troop and found that Shinji's heart rate had dropped considerably. His suit's scanners had already picked up that he was alarmingly close to flatlining.
"It's Private Ikari!" He told the Major.
"Shinji!" She yelled worriedly.
"Shigeru, what's the extent of the damage on Shinji's body?" Asked Ritsuko, almost immediately.
He entered a command and had Shinji's body scanned by the suit itself. An outline of the suit appeared onscreen and displayed one red dot on the chest area.
"Bullet strike! Right through the chest, an exit wound has been confirmed!" He replied.
"Send the analysis over to my operating room! Tell the nurses to prepare my equipment and to ready the hospital bed." She ordered. "I'm gonna have to wait for his arrival, update me if he receives any more damage."
Ritsuko was the one in charge of taking care of Shinji and Rei personally, since they were the ones that the Commander prioritized over everyone. Everyone knew why he made sure Rei was immediately tended to, but with how he treated his own son, no one understood why Shinji had received the same treatment. It was as if Gendo didn't care about him at all, yet made sure he was able to still fight.
"Just how bad is it, Rits?" Asked a desperate Misato.
"I don't know that yet." Ritsuko answered calmly.
"What do you mean you don't know yet? It's your job to make sure he survi-"
"An entry and exit wound have been picked up, but the suit can't pick up whatever damage was done to him internally. Only those done to the suit, which means we have no real estimate of how bad it is." She explained.
"Well just find out already! He's surrounded by enemies, god dammit!" Misato shouted, now sounding nearly hysterical.
"I'm doing all I can do right now, Misato! He's still out there, and this is the only information that can be relayed to us thus far! Air support just came in, so this buys the rest of the unit time to save him!" Her old friend yelled back. "Don't let your emotions cloud your work! We all have our jobs to do here..."
'That's what makes you such a heartless bitch sometimes, Rits.' Misato mused. 'These souls are nothing but numbers to you...'
Misato stared angrily at Ritsuko, knowing deep down that the blonde was right about them having to do their jobs. But she couldn't imagine being so cold about it, knowing she only 'cared' because it was her job to care. She turned away from her, and resumed her duties as Major. The doctor, on the other hand, left and headed over to her operating room.
"Unit-01! Private Ikari is hit! Can anyone get to him?" Misato ordered, communicating over to the ground troops.
"Already on it, Major!" Toji replied
"Suzuhara, what happened to him?!" Misato asked over the earpiece rather loudly.
"Sniper shot! We were runnin' back to Unit-01 when Ikari was hit through the chest! I already covered his wounds, and I'm trynna resuscitate him!" Toji answered.
"Is he moving at all?" Asked the Major, to which Toji hadn't replied due to focusing on saving his friend.
"Wake up!" He was heard exclaiming. "Wake up, dammit!"
*BEEEEEEP*
Flatline.
Misato stood in silence, her eyes widened and mouth agape. Her mind was quick to jump to alternate conclusions, like maybe the suit was damaged and the flatline was just a false alarm. To her, there was no way he could have possibly died. She refused to believe it.
Maya and Shigeru both looked over at Misato, worried about how she'd react.
"No..." She uttered. "No, that's not possible. There's something wrong with the suit's scanners!"
"I'm afraid that's not the case, Major." Maya said somberly. "He's... He's gone."
"He's not dead! He isn't!" Rebutted Misato angrily, tears welling up in her eyes. "Suzuhara! Shinji still has a pulse, right?"
Toji stared in horror, having just witnessed the life drain out of Shinji. He had heard the Major's question, but did not answer. He had seen his fellow troops die before, but never a friend as close as this.
"Suzuhara?" Misato asked again, now even more desperately.
He only had one thing in mind that he thought could save Shinji's life, but was hesitant to use it. If he did, it might have got him in trouble with the authorities. But if he didn't, he would have not even tried to save his friend as he died.
"Suzuhara?! Answer me!"
Toji plopped his earpiece off, letting it hang from his ear. He reached for the scanner on Shinji's suit, knowing where it was since every troop had one on theirs. It looked like a tiny microchip located on the lower back, right on the spine.
A tiny cable connected the chip to the suit's sensors. Kensuke had noted to Toji once before that the cable protruded outwards just a tiny bit, which was a design flaw. If it were damaged, the suit's damage sensors would be rendered useless.
He grabbed the cable and snapped it, severing Shinji's stats from HQ's display. It didn't go unnoticed by the bridge bunnies over at the Command Center. Even with the piece dangling off his ear, he could hear hysterical yelling coming from it perfectly fine.
Toji shoved his hand into his utility pouch, pulling out a syringe. This was the only thing he had that he thought could possibly resuscitate Shinji. He had nearly died many times before. A lot of the time, the only reason he had survived was because this substance had done the trick.
BR-ZRK.
He only ever used it when he had been hit, which was usually nothing serious. One time, he did have a near-death experience and injected himself with the drug, which actually managed to save his life.
But he didn't know whether it could revive someone who had just died, and he wasn't about to just sit there and do nothing. He disabled the damage scanners on Shinji's suit because the scanners would easily pick up his increased BPM. It would be obvious that a substance had been used.
If any of their higher-ups were to find out, it surely meant a court martial.
Toji positioned the syringe right above Shinji's leg, where he'd have to jab it in with force to get the drug going in his system. It had to be done quickly, since the blood in Shinji's body was still in the process of slowing. Toji timed it in his head, mouthing the numbers as he counted.
'1...'
'2...'
'3!'
He quickly raised his hands and poked the needle right into Shinji's leg, waiting for any kind of reaction. Seconds passed, and nothing happened. Toji resumed pressing down on Shinji's chest, hoping he'd be able to jumpstart his heartbeat into working again. Still nothing.
Toji was thinking of giving up, which pained him since that meant he'd have to confirm Shinji's death to Misato. Another soul, lost. And this one from a tiny trio of close friends.
"Sorry Shin, I tried..." Toji said as he readied himself for battle, knowing he'd have to leave his friend behind.
But just as he had fully stood up with his sniper in hand, he thought he saw movement coming from Shinji's fingers. He crouched back down immediately, seeing that his fingers were indeed moving.
"Holy shit!" He let out, realizing Shinji was beginning to shift more.
As for Shinji himself, he was feeling some kind of head rush. Every sense was coming back to him, especially that of feel. He felt that strange tingling sensation all over his body as he regained his perception of reality, as he let out a long and painful gasp for air.
His body shot up, his vision still blurry but quickly regaining its focus. He went into a coughing fit, the smoke-filled air having caused him to gag.
"It... worked!" Toji said excitedly. "It really fuckin' worked!"
Shinji was too busy coughing his brains out to even understand what he was talking about. But as he finally began to comprehend everything around him, he tried recollecting what had just occurred. He noticed all the gauze placed on his chest, remembering that he had been shot. The pain was almost fully gone, and he wasn't sure why or even how that was possible.
"What the hell just happened?" He asked in a state of utter confusion. He grabbed his rifle and looked around him frantically, fearing the presence of any more Angels.
"You just fuckin' died, man! I brought ya back with some of this stuff!" Toji explained as he pointed to the empty BR-ZRK syringe. Shinji immediately recognized what it was that he was holding, and was clearly upset by it.
"You- You gave me that... stuff?" He asked. "What the actual fuck, Toji?!"
"What the- I saved yer life, asshole!" Toji reasoned. "So what if you got some drug in ya... would ya rather be dead?"
"What? N-No! That's not what I'm worried about!" Shinji explained. "I do checkups with Dr. Akagi quite often, Toji! I might get tested when I get back home! Just how long is this stuff traceable in your system?"
"Ooooh..." Said Toji, realizing he shouldn't have injected the whole amount into Shinji's bloodstream. "For about, um, a week or so..."
"You're kidding..." Shinji said defeatedly. "I'm dead, I'm so dead..."
He was still a little overwhelmed by all the information he was taking in. Nothing about this was making any sense to him.
'I... died? How am I still alive?' He pondered. 'What the fuck is going on...'
"Has anyone seen Ikari and Suzuhara?!" Asuka was heard blaring from Shinji's earpiece. It was then that Shinji noticed Toji's earpiece was hanging off his ear, and not placed in his ear. All Shinji had to do was point to his own earpiece to let Toji know that his was still off.
"Oh, shi- Um, yes Lieutenant?" Toji asked as he hurriedly put his earpiece back on.
"What are you, deaf? Major Katsuragi has been trying to contact you this whole time, dumb ass!" Asuka explained. "She keeps asking about Shinji! What the hell is going on over there?"
"Shinji... was just under some heavy fire, Lieu! He's alright, he's fine!" Toji lied, in a panic.
"Whatever... I'll clear things up with the Major, just get your asses over here! The Angels are beginning to back off, and we need to make sure every last one is out of here!" She ordered.
"Yes ma'am." Toji replied, gesturing to Shinji to follow him.
The rest of Unit-01 were still standing their ground in the front of the Top's tent. While most Angels were retreating due to the air strikes, some still lingered throughout the harder-to-spot areas of the camp in hopes of taking out a high-rank.
Just like the front gates of the camp, this tent had trenches dug around its main entrance. Unit-01 stood alone in fending off any Angels that came by, though things seemed to have calmed down for the moment.
"Ugh, where are those idiots when you need them?" Asuka uttered to herself, though still loud enough for everyone to hear.
Hikari took a quick glance all around the camp, looking for any sign of the two. It didn't take long for her to spot the two boys running towards their trench.
"Ikari and Suzuhara are approaching, Lieutenant!" She told Asuka.
"About fucking time!" The redhead responded. Toji and Shinji rapidly jumped into the trench and got into position, greeting Kensuke as soon as they did.
"There you guys are! I was starting to worry you wouldn't make it!" Kensuke admitted, feeling relieved to see his good friends return safely.
"I almost didn't, apparently..." Shinji said with a strange shakiness to his voice.
"Woah, Shinji you alright?" Kensuke asked, noticing the heavy amount of bloodied gauze on the boy's chest. Toji lightly elbowed Kensuke to get his attention.
"I'll... explain later, Ken" He said. Kensuke nodded, unsure as to what might've happened.
"Quiet, you guys!" Asuka said in a loud whisper. "I hear something!"
The entire unit quieted down, wondering what it was that Asuka was picking up on. She could hear voices in the distance, perhaps hiding somewhere within the camp itself. The only place she thought the Angels could possibly hide in was the other trench over by the shooting range, which stood right across from Unit-01's position.
Asuka had thought of using her heat scanner to detect body heat from the opposing trench, but the amount of fires and smoke inside and surrounding the camp would throw its readings off. She'd have to request a drone.
"Ibuki, we need a bird's-eye-view of the trench right across from us. Can you provide us a visual?" Asuka asked into her earpiece.
"Roger, Soryu. Watcher 1 is on its way." Replied Maya.
"Perfect." Said Asuka.
As Watcher 1 arrived quickly to Asuka's requested position, Maya studied the situation. She could indeed see multiple people crowded in the trench, but none of them were wearing NERV combat uniforms.
"Angels spotted at the opposing trench. Looks to be about a platoon's worth." Maya detailed.
"Affirmative. Are you able to fire at them for us?" Asuka asked.
"I'll have the cannon loaded." Said Maya. Just as she entered the command to aim the cannons towards the enemy, Watcher 1 was struck and damaged in the process.
'Shit, what happened?' Maya wondered, desperately trying to discern where the damage was done on the drone. 'Great... just great, the very thing we needed is out of service. These Angels are getting smarter by the day.'
"Soryu, I regret to inform you that Watcher 1's cannon has just been damaged. They must've spotted us." Maya explained.
'Damn, we'll just have to go in ourselves.' Asuka thought. "Affirmative. We'll take care of it from here, Ibuki."
"Roger." Said Maya. Asuka then turned to the rest of Unit-01.
"Over by the shooting range, skinjobs are looming in that trench over there!" Asuka said to her unit. "Watcher 1 was damaged in the process, meaning we'll have to go in and attack them ourselves. We wait 'till they make a move first, since we don't know what kinds of weapons they have on them. I'm not trying to risk any more souls tonight, got it?"
"Got it!" Unit-01 replied. Everyone kept their aim at the trench Asuka had pointed out, waiting for any kind of movement or action from the enemy. Shinji, however, was noticeably jumpy.
"Lieutenant, requesting permission to storm the trench now." Shinji said, surprising everyone in the unit.
Kensuke looked back over at Shinji, noticing just how jumpy he was. He was overloading on energy, and couldn't stand to stay still any longer. He looked like a bomb that was about to go off, a volcano about to erupt. Then he looked over at Asuka, wondering what she would think of Shinji's insane request.
Asuka was not only surprised, but absolutely confused.
"Request denied. What are you, crazy? We can't risk any more lives here! We wait until they make a move, those are my orders. Understand?" Replied Asuka.
Shinji didn't answer her, instead muttering something under his breath.
"What was that?" She asked impatiently.
"I said go fuck yourself!" Shinji shouted, stunning all his peers. Toji tried stepping in to diffuse the situation, knowing it was practically his fault Shinji was acting like this.
"Shin, c'mon man. Jus' forget it, it ain't worth-"
"The enemy's right there, and you want us to wait for them to make the first move? Let's wipe them out, already!" Shinji argued, completely disregarding Toji.
"Stand down, Ikari! That's a direct order!" Asuka yelled. "I'm the C.O of this unit, so I'm calling the plays here! Where'd this confidence come from, all of a sudden? You certainly picked the wrong time to display it, you idiot!"
"Make up your mind already, Lieutenant! You're always telling me to grow a pair, aren't you? I'm not wasting any more time waiting here! I'm off!" He said.
"No, you sit the fuck down!" Asuka shouted in anger.
Shinji then climbed off the trench, with Toji and Kensuke both trying to drag him back in.
"Shinji, don't go out there alone!" Kensuke pleaded.
"Yer fuckin' nuts, man!" Toji added.
Shinji ignored the two, and most especially the Lieutenant's constant yelling for him to stop. He began to run over to the trench, feeling the drug take its full effect on him. This was more exhilarating than the normal adrenaline rushes he'd get in this kind of situation.
In fact, he'd never felt better.
"God damn it! All of you, provide him covering fire if the Angels attack!" Asuka ordered, forcing herself to go after Shinji. "Hikari, watch my back! Gotta make sure that idiot doesn't get himself killed!"
"Affirmative..." Her friend complied, yet again questioning Shinji's mental state.
Shinji was running straight for the enemy's trench, not even opting for cover as he did. He didn't even think about the possibility of him getting killed in the process, the thought never even touched his mind. This wasn't like the normal adrenaline rush; he didn't just feel a burst of energy.
He felt good.
Never before had he felt good about killing a living thing, even if they were Angels. In his current state of mind, none of that mattered. He saw the enemy, and needed to kill them. Wanted to kill them.
"Shinji, what the hell are you doing? Fall back immediately!" Misato ordered, communicating to Shinji through his earpiece. He didn't respond, and just continued running over to the Angel-infested trench.
"Did you hear me, Shinji?! Fall back NOW!" She ordered again, this time more aggressively. He still ignored her.
Shinji was halfway there, the trench being just some 30 feet away from him. On his way there, he eyed an abandoned Jeep-style armored vehicle. He ducked right behind it, the vehicle providing him sufficient cover from his enemy.
"Shinji, I know you can hear me! If you don't turn around right n-" Misato yelled before being cut off, Shinji having unplugged his earpiece.
He tried to study the situation, but no Angels were visible. He figured that they had realized they were losing this battle, and wouldn't be able to retreat without being fired upon.
He knew there was no way he could just rush in and take all of them out, and decided a grenade throw would most likely work better. He pictured it in his head; He'd remove the pin of his grenade and hold it for 2 seconds before throwing it. Hopefully most of the Angels would be taken out by the blast, and whichever ones survived would likely be taken out by Shinji himself.
He was surprised at how fearless he was being, when he was often the opposite. He liked it.
Shinji perked his head back around at the sound of someone running towards him. It didn't take long before he saw Asuka run for cover behind the same vehicle he had been hidden behind.
"That's the last thing I need..." He said, louder than he thought he would. Asuka ducked behind the vehicle with a deep scowl on her face, absolutely fuming.
"Shut your god damn mouth! You disobeyed my AND the Major's direct orders! I suggest you stand down now, Shinji. Before you fuck everything up." She stated.
"I've got this, Asuka. I can do this." He replied. "Don't get in my way. I've got this planned ou-"
"This isn't about what you can and can't do, idiot! This is about following orders! You're a private, and I'm your assigned Lieutenant! I'm above you. And when I say stand down, you need to stand the fuck down!" Said Asuka.
At this point, Shinji had stopped paying attention and had removed a grenade from his belt.
"Put that grenade down, now." She ordered, growing more angry as he continued to disregard her commands. This was no longer about him not following her orders, for her it had turned personal.
He removed the pin and held it for 2 seconds, just as he had planned.
"Your move, asshole!" She yelled, just loud enough for the Angels to hear. She turned and aimed at the trench, having been forced to aide Shinji in his attack plan.
He chucked the grenade, it landing just a foot away and rolling right into the trench. A bunch of shouting was heard from within, a mere seconds before the thing went off. Those further from the center were only partially injured by the blast, and began to crawl out in a hurry. Shinji and Asuka opened fire and took a number of them down.
Unit-01 didn't hesitate to fire once they saw the Angels trying to desperately escape from the trench, effectively wiping the platoon out in seconds.
They ceased their fire, the surrounding battles having also been tamed as more Angels retreated. Another defeat for the enemy, but another great loss for NERV troops.
Once she saw that the coast was clear of enemies, Asuka turned to Shinji and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him close to her face to scold him for his disobedience.
"You looking to get in trouble, Shinji? Is this some elaborate plan to get yourself kicked off my team?" She questioned. "Or are you really that much of a cocky idiot now?"
Shinji didn't bother replying, instead wiping his face from the bits of spit that had landed on it from the redhead's yelling.
"You're not gonna try to kiss me again, are you?" He asked insultingly, a sly smirk appearing on his face. "This isn't the time or place for your advances, Lieute-"
She slapped him as she let go of his collar, a look of red blush appearing on her face as she remembered her embarrassing drunken advance towards him. He chuckled.
"Shut your mouth!" Asuka yelled, lowering her volume to keep that event from being overheard by the others in the unit. "If anyone finds out about that, I swear I'll knock your teeth out. I'm absolutely sick of your- What's wrong?"
Asuka noticed him struggling to stand, his legs becoming wobbly as he grabbed the car to try and keep balance.
"What the hell's the matter now? Getting all lightheaded from a mere slap?" She asked.
"No no, it's cool Lieu-" He took a second to catch his breath. "-Lieutenant. I'm fine, really. Just... taking... a breather-"
Then he collapsed again. The drug was wearing off, all because he didn't have enough blood in his system for him to function any longer. Had he taken the drug without losing the amount of blood that he did, he would've still been on the chaotic high.
"Shinji!" Asuka yelled, panicking. "Medivac! We need a medivac, quick!" She yelled to the rest of the unit.
Over at Unit-01's trench, Toji and Kensuke witnessed the collapse of their friend. Both climbed out and rushed over to help their friend.
"What's going on with Shinji? Was he hit again?" Asked Kensuke.
"I don't know! He was fine just a few seconds ago!" Asuka explained. "You two! Carry him to the nearest medics you can find! He needs to be airlifted out of here, fast!"
"Affirmative!" Toji and Kensuke said in unison.
Kensuke grabbed him by the arms, while Toji handled his legs. Shinji was still conscious, but he wasn't able to stand or move at all. His eyelids felt heavy again, but he wasn't dying this time. Or at least, not as fast as before.
'So this is my time, then.' He mused. 'I can't even escape death today, this is where it all ends.'
Rei continued to look at her hand as the battle moved further and further away from the camp. Any time a battle would end, everyone was ordered to report to their units. And although the bullet graze on her thigh made it painful for her to walk, it didn't completely hinder her ability to move. She'd just be rather slow at first.
But she didn't move. Didn't even say a word to her Lieutenant, as her focus remained on her hand. The hand that Shinji touched. This was not normal, and she still couldn't understand what was going on.
"Medic! We needa medic 'ere!" She heard Toji yelling from the distance. Her head perked up, and saw Shinji being carried by his two close friends. Her eyes widened immediately.
"Shinji!" Rei uttered to herself, standing up rather quickly. She felt her muscles ache as she tried to run, only to trip and land on her knee.
"Argh!" She let out, catching the attention of the two troops from Unit-77 that had been watching over her.
"Hey, be careful! You'll strain yourself if you move too quickly!" Miura said.
"Take me to them, please." She said as she pointed to the two boys carrying the wounded troop. "I must take care of Shinji."
Miura looked over at the boys, noticing a medivac spinner landing not too far from them.
"Sure, we can do that. Mori, give me a hand will you?" Asked Miura to the other Unit-77 troop.
Unlike Shinji, Rei was able to be walked over since she only received a minor injury. Rei's heart was beating rapidly in a panic, her mind racing just at the thought of any possible damage done to Shinji.
As medics rushed over to check on Shinji, Toji was able to see Rei being assisted.
"'Ey, there's Ayanami." Said Toji, to which Kensuke turned around to see for himself.
This was something new; she wasn't her usual one-tone looking self. She looked extremely worried.
"What happened to Shinji? Will he be alright?" She asked, a light hint of desperation in her voice. Kensuke looked over to Toji, since he didn't know what actually happened to him.
"He, uh, got shot pretty bad. He put up with it 'till jus' a few minutes ago." Toji explained, leaving out all the important details as to not get in trouble.
Rei looked down at him, unsure of what there was she could do to help. He was put on a stretcher and was placed in the spinner, the aircraft not having taken off yet so that more wounded troops could be placed inside.
Shinji turned his head over to her, eyes still weak and his breathing still slow. He gave her a smile. Her head flashed back to the day he saved her life for the first time, his smile reminding her of how much he had actually changed her.
"Well, if you're happy... you should smile."
"Hi Rei..." He said, as if ignoring his life or death situation.
She didn't know how to respond, and reached her hand out to grab his hand until one of the medics stopped her.
"We'll take care of him, miss. He's being airlifted back to Tokyo-3, safe and sound." The medic said.
"I would like to go with him, if that is allowed." Rei stated.
"If you get your C.O's permission, then I'll allow it." He said.
She knew it would be difficult to get Asuka's permission to accompany him, since her injury was nowhere near as bad as Shinji's and easily treatable. But she couldn't see herself staying here doing nothing, while Shinji's life was on the line. She had to go with him, no matter the cost.
She turned to Toji and Kensuke.
"Where is the Lieutenant?" She asked.
"Over by the Top's tent, with the rest of Unit-01." Replied Kensuke. "Why?"
Rei didn't answer him and clicked her earpiece on.
"Lieutenant Soryu, Private Ikari is being airlifted back to Tokyo-3. I'm requesting permission to go with him." She said.
"What kind of a request is that?" Asuka stated. "Medivacs are only for the injured, you doll!"
"I have an injury as well, Soryu. A bullet grazed my leg, so I am currently unable to serve in battle.
"The difference is, he's seriously injured! This isn't the time for a romantic getaway, wondergirl. You have responsibilities to tend to here, and your injury is minor! Request denied." Asuka argued before ending the conversation.
"Understood." Rei said, turning her earpiece off. She looked back at the medic.
"Did you get the go?" He asked.
"Yes." She replied, knowing full-well that her lie would probably get her in some hot water with Asuka later on. "I won't leave his side."
"Very well, hop aboard."
Shinji's stretcher was then secured to the spinner's floor, and Rei climbed aboard and sat herself next to him. Toji and Kensuke watched as the side doors were slowly closed, and the engines began going off.
But as the spinner began to take off, Kensuke couldn't help but wonder how Shinji survived such a major strike to the chest.
"How in the hell did he survive that, Toji?" He asked his friend. "It isn't what I think... you didn't- right?"
"It was the only thing I coulda done, Ken." Toji admitted. Kensuke sighed, knowing of the legal troubles that would ensue.
In the spinner, Shinji was glad he was being taken out of that horrid place. The camp now full of fire and smoke. The air inside the spinner wasn't filtered all that well, but the oxygen mask that the medic had strapped onto his face made him not think about it.
Rei felt a great pain inside. Nothing physical, it was purely emotional. She grabbed his hand and held it tight, just like he had done to her not too long ago. Shinji had been going in and out of consciousness for the whole ride, so he couldn't tell what was going on for a good amount of it.
The only thing he felt consistently throughout the ride, was Rei's warm hand holding onto his. Tightly.