Misato grabbed a beer and left to her room after speaking with Rei and Shinji. The two of them were sitting pretty close together and Shinji awkwardly rubbed his neck and looked at the floor.
Rei thought about what she wanted to say. 'Ikari-kun acted… concerned about me. Why?' Nobody around her had ever questioned the conditions she lived in. Why did he? Why did he want to learn about her?
"Ikari-kun?" Rei said, getting his attention. He looked at her.
"Why did you inquire about my living conditions?" she asked. He looked at his hands.
"I'm sorry, I just didn't get why they made you live there," he said.
"I already explained, it was adequate for my survival," Rei replied.
"For your survival? But what about living? Nobody should have to live in a place like that!" he said more forcefully.
"Unnecessary objects would only distract me from my objective," she said.
"Your objective? Is that piloting the Eva?" he asked. Rei nodded.
"W-what about after that?" he continued.
"I will die," Rei said.
Shinji's eyes went wide. "W-what do you mean?" he said nervously.
"Once my purpose has been fulfilled, I will have no reason to continue living," she said.
"But what about your family? Or your friends?" Shinji asked.
"I have no family," Rei said. "I do not have friends either."
Shinji looked hurt by the latter statement.
"What about me?" he asked quietly.
Rei looked at him intently.
"A-am I a friend?" he asked.
Rei thought about it for a moment. She enjoyed spending time with him, and he was the only person she spoke with regularly.
"I… suppose," she said quietly.
Shinji smiled. "I'm glad we're friends, Ayanami," he said.
Mari and Asuka walked back into the living room chatting. Shinji noticed Asuka carrying some food.
"It's not for you losers," Asuka said, noticing him looking at the bag.
The two of them went to eat on the balcony, and Shinji and Rei were once again left alone.
"I can make some ramen for dinner," he said. "Do you like pork?"
"No," Rei replied.
"Um, why not?" Shinji asked confusedly.
"I don't like meat," Rei said.
"I can make it with vegetables instead," he replied quickly, trying to salvage the conversation.
"Okay," Rei said.
-
Mari sat in a chair on the balcony. The bright city lights shone in the distance, reflecting off the glass railing.
"I'm gonna get back at Rei and Misato," Asuka said.
"Is that really necessary?" Mari asked.
"Yes! They're gonna pay for wounding my pride," she took a bite of her sandwich, "with interest!"
Mari smiled up at her as she drank her soda. 'She looks so… determined,' she thought.
-
Shinji finished making dinner and put the bowls down on the dining room table. He made one for Misato as well, who had emerged from her room. The three of them ate in relative silence, but Shinji was content, having spoken with Rei more in the past hour than the past couple of weeks.
Once they finished up, Misato brought all the futons out to the living room and set them up. It was a bit cluttered with the training mats also on the floor, but they managed to make it work. Their first day of training was done, and they had not made much progress. Shinji slept on the far end near the wall, Rei was next to him, Misato in the middle, Mari next to her, and Asuka lay on the end opposite Shinji, per her request.
Shinji was lost in thought about the day's events. His whole life had been thrown upside-down, and he was just getting used to living here. He sighed and managed to eventually drift off to sleep.
Rei was also thinking about her day, and the conversation she had with Shinji. He seemed to understand what she was going through, but he would never know the truth. She was a freak, not even a person, and yet she felt a deep pit in her heart about the thought of him leaving. Maybe she should just try to enjoy the company as he said. She heard his soft breathing behind her, and she fell asleep listening to it.
-
Misato woke up early and went to work. The commander was still away, and she had yet to finish addressing the ungodly stack of paperwork on her desk. Ritsuko had promised to help, but she wasn't there yet.
Misato started working on the papers and immediately regretted not bringing a can of beer from home. Complaints, bills, refunds, statements, dozens and dozens of identical papers made her eyes glaze over as soon as she read them.
She called it a day until Ritsuko showed up, and she headed to the break room. Maya was sitting there pouring coffee.
"Captain Katsuragi, would you like some coffee?" she asked quickly.
"Maya, I told you, Misato is fine. And yes, I would love some," Misato replied. Maya handed her a cup and Misato took a swig.
"I heard you're the one they made deal with all the paperwork," Maya said.
"Yep. I'm not touching it until Ritsuko is back, I'm gonna blow my brains out if I have to do that alone," she replied.
"Has Ritsuko said anything strange recently?" Maya asked
"No, why?" she questioned
"Nothing!" she said quickly. "I… it just seems like she's been a little… off," she said.
"Off how?" Misato asked.
"She's been poring over Rei's blood tests and brain scans all the time. She asked me to take over some of the work for her, but it all seems normal. Rei just seems to be coming out of her shell, isn't that typical for a girl her age?" Maya said.
"I suppose, but Rei has never been very typical," Misato replied.
"Since you're living with her now, have you noticed anything strange about her?" she asked.
"Not much more than usual, although…" Misato trailed off, thinking.
"What?" Maya asked, a little worried.
"She's been talking with Shinji a lot more. I'm sure you heard about the debacle a while back," she said.
Maya giggled, "I did. You don't think she…?"
"It's possible, even for a girl as reserved as her," Misato said.
"Do you think Sh-" Maya stopped herself as Ritsuko walked into the break room.
"H-hi, sempai," she said.
"Good morning, Maya. Misato," she said, turning her head and nodding. Misato waved from behind her coffee mug.
"You look great today, sempai," Maya said.
"...Thanks," Ritsuko said, rolling her eyes internally. She was wearing the exact same outfit she wore every day. Misato was stifling a laugh. 'She's more hopeless than Rei,' she thought.
"Thank you for the coffee, Maya," Ritsuko said. "Misato, let's get to work."
"Fine," Misato said, sighing.
-
Kaji had hung behind the door to the break room when he heard the two of them talking. He heard what they had said, and ducked out when he heard Ritsuko approaching. 'Rei,' he thought. 'What is the deal with her?' Nobody could give him a straight answer on where she came from, her records were wiped, and she had no relatives to speak of. The only person she seemed to talk to was Shinji. But for the moment, all of the pilots were indisposed until the battle was over. Unless…
-
Misato and Ritsuko finished the day exhausted, and about one-third of the paperwork had been dealt with. Misato's head was pounding and she just wanted a drink. The last thing she wanted to see was his stupid face, but that's just what she got.
"Yo, Katsuragi," came Kaji's voice from behind her. She sighed and rubbed her temples as she turned around.
"What?" she asked impatiently.
"You look tired, could you use a ride home?" he said, flashing a grin.
"No," she said and began to walk away.
"Wait!" he said, "I need to speak with Shinji."
"Why?" Misato asked.
"It's relevant to my duties," he said. Misato rolled her eyes.
"God, fine, but don't you dare think you're staying over," she said. Kaji grinned again.
-
Ritsuko was tired after the day's work, but she still had more to do. She returned to her office and continued to run Rei's data through the MAGI. There had to be some way to reverse what was going on. Replacing her would be a waste of time and money, or so she told herself.
She had talked a little with Misato about what was going on with Rei, and that she was talking with Shinji more often. Misato was giddy about it, but Ritsuko was disgusted. That doll was able to win two hearts, father and son. How anyone could care for that emotionless freak was beyond her. Things were going to reach a breaking point if they kept on this path. Gendo would never allow the two of them to get too close, and a small part of her was relishing the thought of his perfect little doll going haywire. But mostly, she was still resentful. Resentful that this porcelain bitch was throwing a wrench in everything they had worked on.
Ritsuko decided to schedule another medical exam for tomorrow.
