Rei Ayanami woke up, her head searing with pain. She ignored it and sat up on her bed. It was stained with fresh blood, and she reminded herself to change her bandages before leaving. Rei got up, walking over to her medicine cabinet. It was beginning to rust, the humid summer air not treating it well. Pills and cups were strewn across the top, and Rei reached to pick up her daily prescriptions.
Rei downed a handful of pills with a swig of water and winced as she felt her headache come back again. She undressed, taking off her molding nightgown and bandages. Her frail frame was exposed, with ribs poking through her chest and elbows pointing out from her arms. She looked at herself in the mirror and saw her eyes. She hated the color red, and she hated her eyes.
Rei went to the shower, taking care to not agitate her bruises or cuts too much. The water washed over her pale skin, the uniformity of it interrupted by myriad blue and black splotches on her arms, legs, back, and face. She stepped out of the shower and dried off, before putting on her school uniform, the only outfit she owned aside from her nightgown.
Rei set to work redressing her wounds, gasping in pain as she applied alcohol to her cuts before tightly wrapping them in gauze. She was always surprised by how much it hurt, despite it being far less painful than what she usually went through. She affixed the bandage to her eye, glad she could not see its piercing red stare anymore. She put her bad arm back in the sling and headed out the door.
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Today, Rei had a check-up with Dr. Akagi. She did not like these check-ups, as Dr. Akagi seemed to despise her. She relished making Rei feel pain and discomfort. Rei did not know why, and she did not particularly care. Her head still pounded in her skull as she walked to the Geo-front elevator. She stumbled and fell as she entered, having to weakly pull herself back up and hit the floor button.
Rei entered Dr. Akagi's office, and she absently looked over from her monitor.
"Strip, and take a seat on the table," Dr. Akagi said. She took out a cigarette and lit it, inhaling deeply.
Rei did as she was told, stripping and lying on the examination table, the cold metal pressed against her back. Rei did not feel humiliation often, but these visits to Dr. Akagi often distressed her greatly.
"Alright, let's get this over with," Ritsuko said, getting up from her chair.
She walked over to Rei and smirked, seeing the frail girl's bruises.
"How have you been feeling?" she asked, her tone making it clear she was not actually concerned.
"Fine," Rei lied. She was in immense pain, but not much more than usual. It would only anger Dr. Akagi if she complained.
"Mh," came Dr. Akagi's voice, absently writing in her notebook.
"Have you been taking all your prescriptions?" she asked.
"Yes," Rei replied.
"Have you been treating your wounds?"
"Yes.
"Have you noticed any issues with your body?"
"No."
Ritsuko wrote more down on her clipboard.
"I'll need to run some blood tests," she said.
Rei winced upon hearing that, knowing she loved to make her squirm.
Ritsuko took out a needle and tube, affixing a vial to the end. She sterilized the inside of Rei's elbow and took aim with the needle. She found the vein, and plunged the needle in, smiling as Rei winced. She took her time collecting the blood. She didn't really need to test her, but she wanted to.
She pulled the needle out and applied some gauze, pressing hard on the wound to stop the blood flow. She taped the bandage down, happy with Rei's look of discomfort.
"Now, it's time for the fun part," she said.
Ritsuko lowered the stirrups above the examination table and hoisted Rei's legs into them. Rei shifted uncomfortably, the angle nearly cutting circulation to her legs.
"Has your menstrual cycle begun?" Ritsuko asked, curious to know if Rei could even have a period.
"It happened last month," Rei said.
Ritsuko nodded and jotted something down in her notebook.
"Well, I'll need a closer examination then," she said. Rei cringed, knowing what was to come.
Ritsuko took out a metal clamp, which opened when she applied pressure. She leaned down and used it on Rei, making the girl gasp as the cold metal touched her. She felt very uncomfortable and wanted this to stop. But it wouldn't. Even if Rei wanted to fight, she could not overpower Dr. Akagi.
Ritsuko inserted a metal tube into Rei, using its small flashlight to look inside. She didn't find anything out of the ordinary but was surprised nonetheless to learn that the Nephilim girl could in fact menstruate.
Ritsuko decided to end her examination, retracting the metal tube and the clamps, and lowering Rei's legs back down.
"Everything is in working order, just make sure to take all your pills," Ritsuko said.
Rei got off the table and began to dress again, and Ritsuko returned to her computer, entering the blood test into the MAGI to analyze.
"You are to report to Commander Ikari's office immediately," Ritsuko said with a grimace, and Rei walked out the door without saying a word.
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Rei walked through the halls of NERV Headquarters, having long since memorized the layout. She approached the Commander's office and knocked on the door.
"Come in," came Gendo's voice from the other side. The door slid open.
Rei walked inside. "You asked to see me, sir?" she said.
"Correct," Gendo said, and he motioned for her to sit in the chair in front of his desk.
Rei sat down and clasped her hands over her thighs. She smiled weakly at the Commander.
Gendo's features softened.
"How are you doing, Rei?" he asked, a little concern in his voice.
"I am recovering from my injuries well," she said. "Dr. Akagi told me to keep taking my prescriptions."
"I see," Gendo said. He looked at her from behind his glasses.
"Rei," he said. "The time we have left is running out. The third Angel will arrive soon. You will have to fight it until the backup pilot arrives."
"Yes, sir," Rei said.
"Dismissed," Gendo said.
Rei got up and walked out of his office. She returned to the Geo-front elevator and walked back to her apartment.
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Once inside her apartment, Rei sat down on her bed, hearing the rhythmic banging of the construction equipment outside. She laid down on her bed. She once again felt violated by Dr. Akagi. She did not enjoy their visits, but as Dr. Akagi had made clear multiple times before, she was the only person who could keep Rei's body alive. So Rei put up with it, with the pain and discomfort, because she was ordered to.
As Rei sat in near silence, alarms began to ring outside. She quickly heard car horns and people yelling in the distance. 'An Angel,' she thought. 'They're here.'
Rei got up and made her way back to the elevator, taking it straight down to the Eva cages. She stepped out and Dr. Akagi was waiting for her.
"The Angel will reach Tokyo-3 in 20 minutes. Get into your pluguit, you will need to pilot Unit-01," Ritsuko said.
Rei nodded and made her way to the lockers. She put on her plugsuit, a specially made one without arms, so they could continue to administer IV when she wore it. She had to reapply her bandages for the third time, carefully wrapping her arms and head. She didn't understand how she was supposed to pilot with her arm in a sling, but she would do as she was told.
Rei reported back to the Eva cages and got inside Unit-01's entry plug. She felt a strange presence as soon as she entered and it activated. It felt warm and inviting. She had never felt it before, yet it was familiar to her. It gave her a little reassurance as they prepared for her to launch.
Rei grit her teeth as the Eva made its way to the surface, slamming into the top of the catapult and nearly sending Rei flying out of her seat. She quickly got ahold of herself and prepared to fight.
Rei leaped with her Eva, crashing down onto the street and running towards the Angel. She took out her Prog knife and swung at the Angel. She missed, and nearly fell over as she whiffed past it. She steadied herself and dodged a grab from the Angel. She lined up a punch with her bad arm but was too slow. She felt the air leave her stomach as she was kicked back into a building. She didn't have the strength to get back up. The Angel approached her, but she was dropped into the tunnels of Tokyo-3 before it could harm her further.
She had failed to stop the Angel. It all rested on the backup pilot now. Rei groaned as she was extracted from the entry plug and put on a gurney. They rushed her to the ER and began to treat her new wounds. They weren't major, but she had hurt her arm badly when she tried to swing with it. The doctors hooked her up to an IV, and she quickly lost consciousness.
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"Rei," came the Commander's voice.
Rei opened her eyes and realized she was spoken to.
"Yes, sir?"
"The backup isn't working out. You will need to pilot again."
"Yes, sir."
Rei was taken to the elevator. She rode it down in silence as the doctors began to remove the nonessential medical equipment from her. The elevator reached the Eva cage, and she was wheeled out. They passed by a boy with short brown hair. He had the same eyes as the Commander. 'He must be the backup,' she thought absently. Her head was beginning to pound again.
Rei tried to sit up, using far too much of her strength to do so. She gripped her head, feeling like it was going to burst out of her skull. Her arm was in even worse shape, unable to be moved by this point. She gasped in pain and attempted to stand up. The ground shook under her feet, and she let out a yelp as she collapsed to the ground, sending her pain to further extremes. She didn't have the strength to get up. She lay panting on the ground when she heard a pair of footsteps running towards her.
The boy from before picked her up and looked into her eyes. He looked worried, he looked like he cared about her safety. 'Why?' she thought to herself through her splitting headache. He closed his eyes and whispered something to himself.
"I'll do it," he said. "I'll be your pilot!"
He set her down gently and followed Ritsuko to the entry plug. Rei sighed, feeling relieved that she would soon be unconscious once again, and the pain would go away.
She was lifted back on the gurney and brought once more to the ER. They hooked her up to the IV, and Rei relaxed as she let the nothingness consume her.
