Chapter 2: The plan. Saving pilot Shinji.
Rei POV
Flashing lights begin to fill the dark void that is my one place of temporary shelter from the cruel, cold world that gives even I, the apple of the commander's eye no respite.
The riot of colours begins to swim nearer and nearer as oddly familiar noises begin to flood my senses.
I struggle and try to gasp but to no avail as I find myself propelled face first into the flashes as before my wide and terrified eyes they merge to become the very place I despise the most.
NERV's meeting room. The one specifically reserved for its EVA pilots, the children.
In start contrast to the commander's personal office, this space was very sparsely furnished.
One could easily mistake it to be a common waiting room in some family owned dollar store and not a part of the headquarters of the second largest and most powerful security and science company on the face of the Earth.
A line of hard and uncomfortable chairs lined one side of the room along with a potted plant that had clearly not seen water for ages.
There were no windows. Another testament to the cheapness that went into the construction of this particular room, its simplicity a perfect metaphor for the condescending view we children were regarded by the very group we served and offered our very lives and sanity to.
I never paid such little details much consideration in the past but with how we were forced to spend longer periods of time inside the building now that the danger of the Angels had for the moment at least subsided, it became harder and harder for such veiled insults to escape my notice.
An eerie silence filled the air as I saw clear as daylight in spite of the darkness, my newfound bane of my existence and dare I say, that of my beloved Shinji.
Her long and garish red hair which I had likened to a rose on the day we first met, but which now only served to make me think of hell with its glowing abysses of molten flames and pitchfork wielding demons, complete with their hollow pits for eyes, their scaly dark wings and their horns whose sharpness I likened to daggers.
Not the kind of girl you wanted to meet in an already life-risking career where you would be told that she would be joining you on each and every one of your grizzling carnage filled missions and would be put in charge of watching your back while your job was to return the favour to her.
From her deceiving smile cold to the gaze, I should have known that she was trouble when she walked in.
Shame on me now.
Trusting my life with the brute willing to pound her own personal manservant in the face when he fought tooth and nail to make her life as easy as possible both through his courage on the battlefield and his impeccable skills as a housemaid cooking and cleaning (the food he once gave to me brought tears of pure glee to my eyes), and his expertise of the Cello in which the one performance he found time to make for me made me forever revere it as the divine instrument of the heavens and his shy but no less stunning singing voice, the call of the blazing seraphim.
He offered these to Asuka as her sincerest friend, and she offered to his face her fist.
"How could you? How could you A…Asuka!?" I sputtered, knowing full well this was only a dream and that the Asuka I saw before me leering in a way that all but dared me to come at her with all the hatred and force I could muster was but an illusion.
Angels, or even half Angels had the power to control what happened in their dreams, or at least a limited amount of influence over them.
Not surprising therefore that the redheaded apparition in the one faintly lit corner of a shadowy room where no noise could be heard aside from my shouts, made no reply.
"Shinji didn't do anything to you. I may not know him too well myself. But I know from the bottom of my heart that outside of fighting the Angels, he wouldn't have it in him to hurt a fly. What did he do to deserve any of what you did to him?"
She still said nothing as her lips only seemed to twist further and further into a hideous expression that would have seemed to most like an innocent smile, but to me at that moment and at that time I would have rather her expression be anything than that.
I could feel my blood boiling like water in a steaming kettle as one hand clutched my head which seemed on the verge of melting and my other hand curled into a ball more pointed than the most intricately crafted ball mace of the long past feudal era Japan.
An age defined by its continuous and constant warfare, and even there I felt that Asuka would not belong with her unspeakably antagonistic attitude and wanton urge to see the tears of those I now knew she only pretended to care about.
"Why don't you just go back to your own country and stop bothering us." I yell like a petulant toddler who didn't get her bedtime milk and cookie as I stamp my feet and gnash my teeth.
"Why don't you just leave us all alone!" My temper finally snaps with that last sentence as crying out a savage cry more animal than human, I drive my fist forward even as the headache hammering on my skull grows worse and bring it straight into Asuka's nose.
Maybe she'll understand force if she doesn't understand my words of reason.
She certainly didn't understand Shinji's when he was more patient with her than I would ever be.
"Ultimate misconduct and misbehaviour Miss Ayanami" I hear a stone cold voice of authority coldly ring out as my fist draws closer to its intended target only for the nastily grinning German to easily sidestep my blow causing me to lose balance and fall face first onto a filthy cracked floor tile, an audible crunch signalling to me as I landed that my jawbone had fractured even before I tasted the salty coppery taste of blood spraying from my mouth. "You've truly crossed the line this time with this disgraceful act of unprovoked violence against our premiere heroine and our most honourable ace pilot, the most honourable Asuka Langley Soryu."
"But…" I manage to vainly protest in spite of my injury as the lights in the room go on one by one revealing the entire company of NERV standing beside the triumphantly gloating Asuka looking down at me revelling in my suffering.
"You are to be relieved of your duties forthwith and your appropriate punishment left at the full discretion of Commander Ikari himself." The voice of who I now know to be Gendo's right hand man professor Kozo sharply rebuts as the commander himself steps forward rubbing his hands in the manner of a deranged serial murderer.
"I trusted you Rei and this is how you repay me." The cute and adorable tones of my beloved fellow pilot and purpose for life Shinji quietly but no less painfully chime in as he steps to the forefront of the crowd now eyeing me down like a pride of hungry lions at a helpless and wounded deer.
"Asuka was my best friend and you disregard her and me like this."
He puts his hands over his eyes as a thin streak of years trials down his left cheek.
"I never believed you of all those I was stupid enough to place my trust in, would betray me like this. I hate you Rei. I Hate You! I REALLY HATE YOU!"
He weeps bitterly as his father puts his arm on his shoulder in a paper thin feigned gesture of kindness, the twitching of the commander's body as he does so making apparent his wholehearted intention to strangle his son right then and there and only holding back to save face before his workers.
Shinji screams out loud as the dream Asuka shakes her head at me with a brief tut, tut as she playfully wags her finger at me before pulling me to my feet and before I can react, kicks me full in the chest with her red heels. The same fancy footwear she wore on the day of her intrusion into our lives to play us like puppets on her string.
And as I fly back into the blackness as the room and the people grow further and further from my vision so that eventually they become once more the dancing faint lights they were at my dream's beginning, I open my only mouth wide, take a deep gulp of air and scream out in pain myself.
It is this that finally allows me to jilt awake in my bed, my sweat having completely drenched the bedsheets soggy and my teeth chattering even after having bitten my tongue bloody for in my fearful and unrestful unsuccessful attempt at slumber, I had kicked my thin and threadbare duvet which was my sleeping self's one source of insulation in this unheated complex, from my shivering body which felt as though it could freeze to ice at any moment.
My throat was searing as I manage after a great deal of fumbling to wrap the blanket back over myself once again as I lay shock still from a moment, my only movement to spit out the pool of salted red fluid that had formed in my mouth.
"No. Shinji. You don't understand."
I whisper remorsefully to myself knowing full well none of my dream was real thankfully and that it was long over.
"I do love you. I do. It's just that I've had a hard time showing it."
A few more minutes of silent self pity later and I manage to get off the bed and onto my feet.
"You matter to me Shinji. Your presence is valuable to me. I need you."
I mutter sincerely to myself as clutching my head, I remember the stack of notes Mari gave me at our last hangout which I had stashed in the bottom drawer of my bedside chest of drawers and forgotten about the same evening when I had through my complete and utter stupidity driven Shinji away with that terrible slap following a particularly bad day where the commander had forced me to do extra work moping the entirety of NERV's floors which had not been cleaned for years and then scrubbing the cafeteria because some inconsiderate jerks considered it their own art deco gallery and the contents of the condiments trolley their arts and crafts set.
Yes, even when the prevalence of the Angelic threat was at an all time low, the commander still worked us child pilots like dogs knowing full well what we had to go through would more than have warranted exemptions from at least some of this hard labour following the workers act of Neo Tokyo which clearly he'd never read in spite of owning such a big company and so many workers.
And knowing that he had row upon row of the clones of me sitting in that ominous laboratory on the obscure underground floor B3, I sort of could see why he didn't mind throwing the brunt of the burden in my direction…
"I just…" I struggle for a moment to find the right words as mustering my strength I stagger to my washroom to give myself a brief clean before putting on my clothes to start the day.
"I just want to be part of your symphony Shinji. Please. Hold me tight and don't let go." I plead knowing full well that I'm the only one in my home and that if any of the other apartment residents saw or heard me, they would not hesitate to call the local asylum on me.
I finish using up the pittance of cold water in the sink to give my hair and face a quick rinse followed by a few rubs with my towel as I give myself a quick once over through the cracked lens of the bathroom mirror.
Then I put on my clothes and my shoes, stashing the pile of notes that was Mari's gift to me following a brief period where she'd be out of town and unable to see me for a few days in my trouser pockets as I take one final glance at the orange haired, scantily clad visage of the cool and confident straw hat member Nami who I considered the true leader of the crew over the far less competent and caring Luffy.
Then I leave, locking my apartment door behind me. Then knowing the elevator in this falling apart edifice that should have been decommissioned long ago has stopped working for a long time, I take a deep sigh as I wearily begin to make my way down the stairs, resting after every floor down.
I decide now that I've found Mari's money again and after reminiscing over how badly I've looked after myself these past few days with the stinging memory of how I mishandled poor Shinji, to get some proper food.
A Nami has to keep her glamour and magnificence if she's going to command the respect of her shipmates after all.
I find a café after not too long of looking and ask for the salted caramel triple layered cake with extra icing and an extra large order of salty fries along with a high energy sports drink, pineapple flavoured.
The composure of an Angel's metabolism means they require an extraordinary volume of salt and iron in their diet to survive.
It was one of the reasons they loved to feed on humans and chose Earth and not some other planet as their next feeding ground since the red blood cells of Homo-Sapiens contained both those vital nutrients.
I'm normally very mindful of my table manners.
However this time, I gnaw my order down ravenously having neglected to properly nourish myself for a long time following my guilt over my crime against my fellow pilot and my many times saviour of my life.
Then after taking one more look at the clock on the wall, I hurry towards the train station.
NERV and by extension commander Gendo, did not take well to lateness and tardy pants…
The one thought I had entering into the train as I swiped the pass that was standard issue for all EVA pilots for ease of travel so as to respond quickly and rapidly to any emergency they may have been called upon to undertake over the ticket scanner before the turnstile, was that Asuka was an opponent far more devious than any Angel I and by extension my other fellow pilots had ever fought.
She was a sly and poisonous viper in the grass who had manoeuvred carefully, like the bespoken Unterseeboots her motherland was said to have used to rapidly secure naval supremacy some decades back during the historical event I faintly remembered from the day in history class I paid proper attention to the nasal droning of the clearly uninterested professor as the second world war.
Hidden beneath the waves with the use of advanced sonar technology available only to Germany at the time as the most scientifically advanced civilization, the U-boat was virtually invisible and able to strike virtually anywhere at anytime with impunity, disappearing as silently as they arrived and unable to be retaliated by anyone.
I had to stop Asuka before she completely ruined Shinji's remaining self esteem entirely. But I also had to respect the promise I made to Shinji against unnecessary conflict while remaining faithful to Shinji's desire to see Asuka unhurt and well.
It was me against the world, for Asuka was incredibly popular with the false image of heroism and selflessness she had constructed.
How I would go about my plan, I had not yet the faintest idea and work was about to begin.
Seeing the train is still some distance away from NERV's headquarters, I slip out from my light travel pack which I bought with me also one of the few other possessions I can call my own besides my one piece posters.
A tattered comic barely held together by an almost broken apart spine missing half its pages.
A group of teenage schoolgirls the same age as me, clad in varying coloured Sailor outfits complete with skirts and tiaras decorating the cover.
My gaze focuses especially on the dark haired one with the red skirt, long dark hair and the pointy red heels whose finery would drive even Asuka to fits of envy as I flip the book open to the page where I last left off.
Sailor Mars. Also known as miss Rei Hino, shrine maiden of the Hikawa Shrine.
Ironic that I was named after two of the most brash and confident maidens of Anime history, yet I myself could be anything but open with my thoughts and feelings.
Instead I redefined the term "introvert" and took it to a new peak of reclusion.
And though my name would imply I was a fiery warrior whose flames could burn even the most fearsome threat to cinders, one look at my short blue hair and unconfident demeanour through the train window instead made me feel like the powerless bubble shooting cram school "nerd"
whose "superpower" struggled to pierce the thinnest sheet of paper who was kicked out of every party for being uncool and disagreeable.
Not that I disliked her. It was just that the other characters in the story did, and I never truly knew why with her niceness and meekness enough to make me blush. How I wish I could have been half as kind or as smart as her.
"I should have been named Ami instead. That would have been far more fitting and then maybe I wouldn't have turned out the way I did." I muse almost sarcastically as I flick through the book full of tears to pass the remainder of the ride in silent contemplation.
"My creator must have gotten the names of his favourite comic mixed up."
Thank you all for reading once more and being so awesome. Rei's fight against injustice is off to its opening.
Please review if you like it and I will see you all soon.
