Shinji's Redemption
Chapter 13
"Shouldn't you be resting?" Ritsuko asked. Misato walked up next to one of the many mangled body parts of Unit 03.
"I can still do my job. Besides, how could I rest at a time like this?" Misato said. She looked around. Angel blood was splattered everywhere and the air smelled like a butcher shop.
"Is Shinji alright?" Misato asked.
"Physically he's fine, but right now he's unconscious," Ritsuko said. Misato frowned.
"What the hell happened? I knew that Unit 01 was brutal, but this is something else." Misato said. Ritsuko turned her head.
"You haven't heard what happened?" Ritsuko said with a worried tone. Misato raised an eyebrow.
"What happened? Is Shinji all right?" She asked, now worried. Ritsuko looked down and frowned.
"Follow me," Ritsuko said. The two of them walked over to where the medical bay was. Ritsuko stopped.
"Why did we stop?" Misato asked. Ritsuko wouldn't look at her directly in the eyes.
"I'm sorry for what you're about to see," Ritsuko said. Misato's eyes widened. She shoved Ritsuko out of the way and ran forward. She turned the corner to see a completely flattened entry plug. She could feel her heart almost stop. She fell to her knees.
"Don't tell me that's…" Misato couldn't finish. Ritsuko caught up to her.
"That's all that's left from Unit 03's entry plug," Ritsuko said, unable to look at Misato. Misato just stared at the entry plug.
"Does Shinji know yet?" Misato asked. Ritsuko gulped.
"Misato, Unit 01 never went berserk," Ritsuko said slowly. Misato eyes widened.
"What do you mean it never went berserk?" Misato asked. Ritsuko looked like she wanted to run away and hide under a rock.
"According to the reports, Shinji was in control of Unit 01 the whole time," Ritsuko said. Misato eyes began to water. Shinji didn't deserve this, he was just trying to save his friend.
"How did he pass out?" Misato asked, now whipping tears from her face.
"HQ tried to contact him, but he wouldn't respond. They had to cut the power supply and wait for Unit 01 to run out of energy," Ritsuko responded. Misato quickly stood back up.
"Where is he?" she asked. Ritsuko blinked.
"He's at Nerv's medical bay," She answered. Misato ran past Ritsuko and headed frp the hospital.
Shinji opened his eyes. He looked around him, he was on a train and it looked to be sunset. Shinji couldn't see far outside from the train windows and the train slightly wobbled. He was about to give up until he heard a voice echo throughout the train cart.
"Shinji," the voice said. Shinji looked around, but couldn't see anybody.
"Where are you?" Shinji asked.
"I'm everywhere," The voice responded. Shinji narrowed his eyes. Straight across from him was a child no older than five.
"Who are you?" Shinji asked. The image of the child became clear. It was Shinji when he was four. The clothes he wore were the same as when his father left him.
"I'm you. I'm everything you hate about yourself." The voice said. Shinji instinctively placed his hands over his ears. "Why did you let it happen? You knew it would happen, so why did Toji have to die?" The voice asked. The voice echoed throughout Shinji's head. The very words stabbed his heart.
"I tried to save him, I really did!" Shinji yelled.
"You didn't try, you just sat there until you had to act. Asuka and Rei both tried while you just sat and waited for them to do your work," The voice said.
"That's not true!" Shinji screamed.
"If it wasn't then why isn't Toji alive?" the voice said. Shinji just shook his head back and forth. "It's just like you to run away from your problems," the voice said.
"You're wrong!" Shinji yelled. The voice didn't respond. Shinji uncovered his ears and opened his eyes only to find Toji standing there. "Toji?" Shinji said, uncertain of what was happening. Toji reached down and starting choking Shinji.
"First my sister, now me Shinji?" Toji hissed. Shinji gasped at Toji's fingers, trying to pry them off his throat. His vision slowly started to fade.
Shinji woke up with a heavy gasp. After he was done with his coughing fit, Shinji looked around to see that he was in a hospital room. He looked to the right of him to see Misato. Before he could respond to her, she wrapped her good arm around him and started crying in his lap. Shinji looked down at Misato.
'Misato, why are you crying for somebody like me?' Shinji thought to himself.
After Misato stopped her crying, the two headed for the parking lot. A black car with tinted windows sat at the curb of the hospital.
"Major Katsuragi." A Nerv officer saluted.
"Where's your car?" Shinji asked. Misato pointed to her left arm.
"I can't exactly drive with one hand," She teased. Shinji just looked down. Misato quickly frowned in response, regretting making light of the situation. The car ride down to the apartment was completely silent. Misato would take glances at Shinji, only to see him looking out of the window. Misato wanted to help him but, unfortunately, Misato still had to tie up some loose ends at HQ. The car stopped at the apartment complex. The Nerv officer kindly opened the door for Shinji. He slowly got out of the car and looked at the complex. He sighed.
"Thank you," Shinji said as he walked off. He opened the door to the apartment to find it completely lifeless. Most of the lights were turned off and the only light coming into the room was through the big glass sliding doors. He looked around for Asuka, but he couldn't find her.
'Like she would want anything to do with me,' Shinji thought. He walked into his room and fell onto his bed. He looked at his painting on the wall, the colors seemed to have lost their vibrancy. The night sky was nowhere near as blue as he remembers. The deep blacks and contracting whites seemed to have muddied together and created a dull gray. Shinji grabbed his SDAT, he put in his earbuds and went to play tracks twenty-five and twenty-six. He looked at his SDAT and then stared at the ceiling.
"Nothing's changed, has it?" Shinji said out loud. He then drifted off to sleep.
Shinji awoke with the sounds of pots and pans being rattled. Shinji slowly blinked the sleepiness out of his eyes. Before he could think any further, there was a knock at his door. He was about to get up to answer until he saw it open. Asuka stood in the doorway. She wore her typical yellow tank top and blue shorts, she had what looked to be flour and grease all over her apron. Her face had the same bored expression it always had, but it looked less lively. Her typical bright blue eyes were darkened and gloomy.
"It's time to eat," Asuka said. Shinji just looked down and pulled the covers over his head.
"I'm not hungry right now," Shinji said. His voice was hollow and void with emotion. Asuka just walked forward, grabbed Shinji's hand, and pulled him out of bed. Shinji barely caught himself from falling to the ground. He couldn't say anything before Asuka pulled him out of his room and into the kitchen. Shinji stumbled his way into the kitchen chair. After collecting himself, he looked at Asuka stir the soup she was making. By the smell, he could tell that she was making the chicken noodle soup that she had cooked a while back. After she was done, Asuka pulled out two bowls for the two of them. She untied her apron and set the two bowls down on the table. After eating a little bit, Asuka looked over to see that Shinji hadn't touched his soup at all. Shinji just stared at his soup.
'Why is she doing this? I don't deserve this,' Shinji thought to himself. Shinji looked over at Asuka.
"Asuka, did I kill Toji?" Shinji asked. The room went completely silent. Asuka gritted her teeth and slowly stood up. Shinji watched her sluggish movements. She said nothing, she lifted her hand up and slapped him clean across the face. Shinji didn't even feel anything, he was too shocked as to what just happened. Asuka wrapped her arms around Shinji and pulled him into her embrace.
"Why would you even think that?" Asuka said, almost in tears. He didn't know what made him lose it, the hug or the slap, all Shinji knew was that he was crying. He gripped at Asuka's shirt.
"I tried, I really did, but it wasn't enough," Shinji said through tears. "I had him in my hands, and then I… fucked up," Shinji cried. He slammed his fist onto the table. Tears now falling from his face and onto Asuka's shoulder. All Shinji could do was cry. Asuka held onto Shinji like he was the last thing on earth. Asuka hated seeing him like this. His whole purpose for piloting the Eva was to protect the people he loves. Right now his very purpose was being rendered mute. She wanted to help him, but she didn't know how to. The only thing she knew to do, was to cook for him. She remembers him saying cooking makes people happy, so she did just that. The two sat there for what seemed like hours. Eventually, The two parted and ate their meal.
Shinji woke up to the barley audible tv. He sat up and looked around him, He was laying down on a bedsheet in the middle of the living room. He looked next to him to see Asuka laying down beside looked out towards the sliding glass window. The sky was just turning a pink hue. An idea popped into Shinji's head. He looked down at Asuka and pulled the covers back over her. She instinctively grabbed them and smiled. He looked down at his right palm. The scar he had received has completely smoothed down his palm. It felt like ages since he got the scar, almost like time slowed down every time he looked at it. Shinji walked into his room and put on his jacket. He wrote Asuka a note, making sure she knew he was safe, and then left the apartment.
The early morning was a quiet one. Tokyo-3 was at his quietest during the early morning. It was a sad quietness, but a peaceful one. The sky was now turning bright orange, the gray clouds refracted a vibrant orange. The sun was just peeking out from the horizon. Shinji made his way up the large hill that overlooked Tokyo-3. Every step felt like Shinji was going into a different world, one without Angels or Evas, one without his father, and one without his troubles. Shinji had always liked hills and mountains, something about ascending to a gradual point filled Shinji with a sense of purpose. The trees eventually cleared and Shinji was met with an open field. He went over to the middle of the field and waited.
The Horizon held the sun in the sky. The glare of orange light shone on Shinji's face. The wind was just strong enough to cool down the summer heat, but just weak enough for a flower to merely sway in its response. Gentle footsteps could be heard from behind Shinji.
"It's been a while, hasn't it Shinji?" Kenzo spoke. Shinji turned around, He saw the familiar bright blue eyes that Kenzo held. Kenzo walked over next to Shinji and sat down. He handed him a small cup. Kenzo poured some tea into Shinji's cup. Shinji took a sip and was met with an unfamiliar taste. It was very strong, like coffee. Kenzo saw Shinji staring at his cup. "Interesting, huh?" Kenzo said. "My granddaughter recently got married, her husband is from America. They drink black tea instead of green tea there, and her husband was kind enough to give me some," Kenzo said, taking a sip. Shinji kept looking at his cup.
"Kenzo, why do you come here every day?" Shinji asked.
"To pause and reflect," Kenzo said with a bright smile. Shinji looked like he wanted to say something, but held back. 'Mainly about my regrets," Kenzo clarified. Shinji started waving his hands and shaking his head.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…" Shinji started apologizing, stopping due to Kenzo bursting out laughing.
"My father once told me that life was like climbing a mountain. The higher you climb, the steeper it gets. You'll fall every now and then, and some falls are harder than others, but when you get to the top, you get to touch the sky," Kenzo spoke. Shinji stood up and bowed.
"Thank you Kenzo," Shinji said.
Red alarms blared through the entirety of Nerv HQ. People ran all around getting into their proper positions.
"Target has advanced past the Konogatake line," Aoba reported. The angel slowly floated above The city of Tokyo-3. It sent a laser blast that blew open the GeoFront like it was nothing.
"It blew through eighteen layers of armor like it was nothing!" Hyuga shouted.
"Where are the pilots?" Gendo asked.
"Rei and Asuka are on their way, Shinji's whereabouts are unknown," Aoba reported. Fuyutsuki sighed.
"Where are you Shinji?" He thought worriedly. The main doors to the bridge swiftly opened. Misato ran through the doors, panting.
"Angel has breached into the GeoFront! Send Units 01 and 02 after the angel. Have Unit 00 support from a distance!" Misato ordered.
"Major, Unit 00 is still in repair, and Shinji's location is unknown!" Maya yelled.
"Shinji's what?" Misato shouted. The angel sent another blast this time straight at Nerv HQ. The base shook violently. Misato had to hold onto Maya's chair to keep her balance. "Where the hell is Asuka with Unit 02?" Misato yelled.
"Unit 02 is ready to go!" Maya reported. Unit 02 flew up the launch shaft and stopped, facing the Angel. A nearby weapon deposit opened up, Unit 02 grabbed the pallet rifle and started shooting at the angel. Seeing that it had no effects, Unit 02 switched to rocket launchers. Unit 02 was thrown back by the force of the rockets shooting out of the barrel. The rockets whizzed through the air, leaving smoke behind them. The Angel showed no damage.
"C'mon!" Asuka shouted. A beeping went off, red lights flashed on Maya's monitor.
"Unit 01 is activating!" Maya reported. Misato looked leaned over Maya's Monitor.
"Is that…" Misato said. Asuka used the last rocket she had. She pulled out her progressive knife and charged at the Angel. The Angel outstretched its paper-thin, metallic arms and swung them at Unit 02. Asuka could do nothing but prepare for the hit, but nothing came. She looked up to see Unit 01 standing in front of her.
"Shinji?" Asuka whispered. Ritsuko looked wide-eyed at Maya's monitor.
"His synch rate is over a hundred," Ritsuko said softly. Blood flowed down Unit 01's arm. The Angel's metallic arm had gone through Unit 01's forearm. Shinji gritted his teeth in pain. Blood slowly flowed down his arm.
Sorry I'm late, I went to go see an old friend," Shinji said, still breathing heavily. Asuka couldn't help but smile.
"You idiot," She said. The Angel yanked back it's arm, yielding another grunt from Shinji.
"Listen up you two!" Misato yelled. "Asuka I want you to keep firing at the Angel. Shinji, while Asuka Is distracting the Angel, I want you to sneak up behind the angel and pin it down. While it's pinned Asuka will lead in with her Progressive knife and stab its core," Misato ordered.
Unit 02 fired her rounds. The Angel just ignored it and started blasting its lasers at Unit 02. While that was happening Unit 01 sneaked up behind the Angel. Unit 01 wrapped its arms around the angel's waist and pulled it down to the ground.
"Asuka, now!" Shinji yelled. Unit 02 pulled out its progressive knife and rushed at the fallen Angel. Unit 02 jumped onto the Angel and rammed its knife into the core of the Angel. A loud shriek could be heard, and then silence fell into the air. The angel went limp on Unit 01. Shinji sat back and heavily breathed out. He felt very tired, in fact everything seemed to be getting fuzzy. He looked down at his injured arm. Blood covered the entire ride side of Shinji's body. Shinji was about to say something until everything went black.