Shinji's Redemption
Chapter 15
"Fuyutsuki, what's the meaning of this?" Keel asked. Fuyutsuki stood in the center of the twelve monoliths. All of which stood over seventy meters tall. The room's musky scent waved throughout the room, and the darkness made the room feel infinitely empty. The only source of light was the lamp on the desk Fuyutsuki was standing next to. On the monoliths read "Sound only," There red neon text glowed throughout the darkness. They were like eyes piercing down judgment onto those who dared to speak to them.
"During an incident with Unit 01, Commander Gendo Ikari was killed," Fuyutsuki said. The silent room was now filled with inaudible chatter.
"How did this come about?" Seele 03 asked. The voice of him echoed throughout the empty room. Due to the voice changer, it sounded demonic in nature.
"After the battle with the fifteenth Angel, Unit 01 went Berserk and infiltrated Nerv HQ. It broke into the main bridge where it… crushed the commander," Fuyutsuki answered. He could still remember the sight of hit all. The blood dripping down Unit 01's hand. He could barely move, just out of pure fear. But Fuyutsuki was far from the one who was the most traumatized. Maya fainted on the spot after uncovering her head to see what happened. Ritsuko wouldn't even move, she just sat there starring at the remains of Gendo, her only movements were her breathing and blinking. After trying to communicate with her, the Nerv medics had to sedate her and put her in the infirmary.
"For a thing like to happen at a time like this very troubling," Seele 08 said.
"According to the scrolls, the Angel wars are almost over and the promised time is almost near," Seele 11 said.
'The Human Instrumentality Project, humanity's next step in evolution,' Fuyutsuki thought. Seele's plan was to defeat the Angels and then use the Evas to combine Lilith's and Adam's DNA to initiate the third impact. Their intent was to combine all of humanity into one combined consciousness. Unbeknownst to Seele, Gendo had an alternative scenario. He was going to use the third impact to revive his dead wife, Yui. After the cleanup, Fuyutsuki ordered Gendo's body to be cremated. That way, no one would be able to discover his hidden plan.
"I say this is a good thing, Ikari was starting to bite off more than he could chew," Seele 05 said.
"Whether it is good or bad, we must take action. Fuyutsuki you are now promoted to Commander. Considering our future, there's no sense in having a subcommander," Keel said. "We shall move onward with the scenario, council dismissed," Keel ordered.
The day was dreary and cold. The air around the graveyard was dry. Shinji walked up to the small cobblestone path. Each step he took, Shinji found himself more and more confused as to what to feel. For most of his life, he had hated his father. But after what happened, Shinji couldn't help but feel bad. What his father did was unforgivable, but did he deserve to die?
When Shinji woke up in the hospital, he thought he was still being tormented by the angel. After he heard that his father had died because of Unit 01 going berserk, Shinji felt that he had killed him. What disturbed Shinji the most was he didn't feel bad about it. If anything he felt at peace now that his father was gone, but how can you do that when it was himself that killed him? After his conversation with his father at his mother's memorial, there was a small hope in Shinji's heart that his dad wasn't the complete bastard that he was. But after finding out that Unit 01 had his mother's soul, he simply couldn't. When Shinji got the letter from his father, Shinji was outraged at what it said. Shinji opened it up to find that it only said, "Come to Tokyo-3, I have a use for you." He was so mad that he ripped up the letter. Shinji knew that he didn't want him, his son, he wanted a pilot. Yet he came because deep down, Shinji believed that his father may care for him, and because of it, Shinji was roped into this entire mess. But if he didn't come then he would have been responsible for everything.
Shinji hated how empathetic he was. He would put his own safety before anybody else, simply because he felt obligated to. Shinji felt that every time there was a problem, it was his job to fix, but even he knew that he couldn't play that role. That's why Asuka fascinated him, the way she could just jump into a situation with any hesitation, simply because she enjoyed being challenged. That wasn't Shinji, not the old one. If he did something, it was because he was expected to do it.
Shinji walked up to find Fuyutsuki standing in front of Gendo's grave. He stood with his usual posture, his back was straight up and he had his hands neatly folded behind his back. His face was more relaxed and less tight then it usually was. He noticed Shinji walking up to him.
"I'm surprised you're here," Fuyutsuki said. Shinji walked up and stood beside Fuyutsuki.
"You know about our relationship?" Shinji said, surprised at Fuyutsuki's bluntness. Fuyutsuki chuckled.
"It's not hard to notice," Fuyutsuki said. Shinji looked down at the grave. It read the simple words "R.I.P Genod Ikari, 1967-2015." The two stood in silence, staring at the grave. The wind in the air was crisp and strong. The leaves rustled loudly in the wind, the trees subtly bending to the wind.
"What was your relationship with my father?" Shinji asked, curious. Shinji had always wondered what the relationship between him and his father was. He always saw the two together, even outside of Nerv. Fuyutsuki thought for a while before answering. To be honest with himself. He didn't really know himself. When he first met Gendo, he seemed to be a punk who got into bar fights, not the best impression. When he heard that Yui was taking a liking to Gendo, he was visibly distraught. To think that someone as upstanding and good-natured as Yui would degrade herself to someone to the likes of him. In reality, Fuyutsuki was jealous of Gendo. When he first saw Yui, Fuyutsuki immediately fell in love with her. While the relationship wasn't anything romantic, the two became very close as student and "Sensei", as he was called back then. When he heard that Yui was to marry Gendo, he had a spike of anger and envy, but soon let go of those emotions knowing that Yui was happy. After Yui was absorbed into Unit 01, Gendo went into an emotional decline. To the point that whenever Fuyutsuki saw him, he would often be drunk. Seeing him like this made Fuyutsuki feel bad for him. After some time with him, Fuyutsuki noticed Gendo becoming more and more apathetic. He would rarely go out of his office for anything, and would often solidify himself from people completely. In a way, Fuyutsuki had respect for Gendo. His ability to completely detach any sympathy and look at things objectively astounded Fuyutsuki.
"He and I both had a close relationship with your mother," Fuyutsuki said. A small smile appeared on his face. "To be honest, I found him rather unpleasant when I first met him," Fuyutsuki chuckled. A gust of wind blew through the graveyard, the air howled by as the leaves rustled. "He wasn't always cold-hearted," Fuyutsuki said. Shinji perked up and looked at Fuyutsuki.
"What do you mean?" Shinji asked. Fuyutsuki began to rub his chin.
"When I first met him, he was all banged up from a bar fight," Fuyutsuki said. Shinji went wide-eyed.
"A fight?" Shinji asked, not beliving was he just heard. Fuyutsuki smiled and then quickly frowned.
"That all changed when your mother died," Fuyutsuki said. Shinji looked back at his father's grave and frowned. "After her death, your father became distance and cold," Fuyutsuki said. The two stood in silence for a while. Shinji was about to walk away until Fuyutsuki stopped him. "Shinji, never let the past haunt you. You have the strength to move forward," Fuyutsuki said with a smile. Shinji smiled and walked back to the apartment.
It was a dark, rainy day in Tokyo-3. The air was moist and cold. On the outskirts of town, where there was hardly any light, meaning, was even darker than it was in the city. Asuka was in the kitchen cooking white rice and eggs. Shinji would help when he could, but with his hurt arm, he could only do so much. The apartment was especially dirty this week. With Misato dealing with the recent events at Nerv and Shinji with being in and out of the hospital, Asuka was left with all of the chores, but balancing that and school was tough. After Asuka and Shinji finished cooking they started to eat. Shinji glanced up at Asuka every now and then. Her face held worry to it. She looked up and met Shinji's gaze.
"Shinji remember when we talked about each other's parents?" Asuka asked. Shinji nodded his head. He remembers that day. It was the first time he had ever emotionally connected with Asuka. Ever since then he had looked at her in a different light. She seemed a lot more approachable. She was still Asuka, and she wouldn't spare him if he messed up even the tiniest of things, but it felt like she actually cared for Shinji. Asuka dotted her eyes downward. "When I was four, my mother volunteered to be part of the contact experiment with Unit 02," Asuka said. Her face contorted into a frown. "During the experiment, my mother was induced with severe mental and psychological brain damage," Asuka said. Shinji could see her eyes begin to water. "When I went to go see her, she had one of my dolls. I went up to talk to her, but she just kept ignoring me. All she cared about was the doll in her hands. The doctor said that she thought the doll was me," Asuka said now in tears. "One day after school, I was bought into the principles office. They told me I could finally become an Eva pilot," Asuka said, a smile creeping up on her face, but it left as soon as it came. "When I got home, I looked around for my mom. After looking for a while I walking into her room to find…" Asuka was bawling now. Tears ran down her face like a stream. "I walked in to find that she had hanged herself with… that doll," Asuka bawled. She fell to her knees. Shinji kneeled down and embraced her. She cried onto his shoulder for what felt like hours, but Shinji didn't care. If sitting down with her made her feel better, he was going to do it. After a while, Asuka pulled away and wiped her tears. She looked up into Shinji's ocean blue eyes. "Ever since the fifteenth angel, I couldn't stop thinking about that. I just needed to tell you," Asuka said. She sniffled up some of the snot that came out of her nose. "Sometimes I feel that I'm just a scared little girl," Asuka said.
"No, you're not," Shinji said. Asuka's eyes went wide.
"What did you just say?" Asuka asked. Her pupils began to enlarge.
"Asuka your one of the bravest, most confident people I've met," Shinji said. Asuka's more tears ran down Asuka's face. She grabbed Shinji's chin and their lips met. Shinji went wide-eyed at her sudden response. After his shock, he gently tilted his head and pushed in, deep in the kiss. After they parted, Asuka looked into Shinji's eyes.
"Shinji, promise me you won't leave me," Asuka said. Shinji held Asuka's cheek.
"Not ever," He said.
A few weeks passed by. Shinji's arm had fully healed and was now able to move it again. After the incident with the fifteenth angel, Shinji wasn't allowed anywhere near Unit 01 until his arm healed. Shinji was angry at this, but it was under the direct orders of Misato, and Shinji knew better than to push her. During this time, the sixteenth angel appeared. Shinji was worried about not being able to help, but Asuka and Unit 02 were able to take care of the angel no problem.
Misato sat patiently for Shinji and Asuka to finish breakfast. Today they were making waffles, something which Asuka had gotten a lot better at. She noticed that the two had gotten a lot closer over the few weeks. They had more and more of these, "living room sleepovers" as Misato called them. She would come to find the two sleeping on bed mats in the living room. At first, she thought nothing of it, but it seemed that it would happen weekly now.
'Are they... Nah. How could they?' Misato thought.
They finished eating breakfast and cleaned the kitchen. Afterwards Misato had to leave for work, leaving the two teenagers alone in the apartment. Shinji sat in the living room watching TV and Asuka sat at the kitchen table swinging her feet. She looked over at Shinji. He blankly stared at the tv, a sign that he was invested in what he was watching. Asuka hated being bored. She would call Hikari to see if she wanted to do something, but they had already hung out that week. She looked out the window and saw the sun slowly rise up. She smiled and walked up to Shinji.
"Let's go for a walk, you've been stuck in this apartment for too long," Asuka said. Shinji looked up from the TV. He reluctantly got up and stretched. He was still a little tired, after all, it was still pretty early. The two went to get ready. The two walked through the streets of Tokyo-3, the sun hung low in the sky and the air around the city was fresh and energizing. Shops and restaurants began to open, the streets slowly being filled with cars and people. Shinji noticed a shop that was already open. Over the door was a sign that said, "Kuri's Arts", Curious to see what the store held, The two walked in. The store smelled unsurprisingly like paint. The aisles were filled with all sorts of crafts and objects. Asuka stumbled upon some canvases.
"Hey Shinji," Asuka called. Shinji walked over to where Asuka was. Shinji looked over the various sizes of the canvases. "Shinji why did you paint that picture in your room?" Asuka asked. Shinji thought about it. He didn't know why he painted what he painted, he was just painting what he felt.
"It was Misato's idea," Shinji said. Asuka looked confused.
"Misato's idea?" She asked. Shinji looked down at his hand. He remembers getting the scar from squeezing a glass to hard. His frustration was the cause of the scar. The frustration of not being good enough to save Toji's sister. In a way, Shinji was afraid of being good enough. Because if he was good enough, then he may have to carry responsibilities that he couldn't handle.
"You see this," Shinji said, showing Asuka the scar on his palm. Asuka held Shinji's hand and ran her finger along the scar.
"I always wondered where you got this," She said.
"I know this may sound dramatic, but I feel that this scar represents my failures. I regret getting the scar, but now it's part of me. I regret my failures, but without them, I wouldn't be the person I am today," Shinji said. Asuka looked down and frowned.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean-" Asuka said.
"It's fine Asuka," Shinji said with a small, but brilliant smile. Asuka couldn't help but smile back. The two decided to get a canvas to paint on. After they paid, they headed back home.
Shinji sat in front of the canvas that he and Asuka bought. He started out towards the balcony. Asuka stood behind him waiting for him to start.
"What's wrong?" Asuka asked. Shinji just kept staring at the canvass.
"I'm having trouble coming up with an idea of what to draw," Shinji said. Asuka's face lit up.
"Why don't you paint me?" Asuka gleamed. Shinji nervously scratched his head.
"I don't know Asuka, I'm not that good," Shinji said. Asuka put her hands on her hips.
"Oh come on, it'll be fun!" Asuka said happily. Shinji reluctantly went to his room and put on a white t-shirt with some joggers. Paint stained the clothes from the last time Shinji painted. He pulled out the easel from the corner of his room. He got all the paints and brushes and put them in a spare backpack. He walked out of his room and waited for Asuka, who was deciding what she wanted to wear. She made her decision and walked out. Shinji was patiently waiting in the kitchen. When he heard footsteps coming from the hall, he turned to be completely struck in awe. Asuka was wearing a white floral dress with a yellow straw sunhat. Her rose-red flats made a small tap sound every time she took a step. Asuka smirked when she saw Shinji's reaction.
"What do you think, Shinji?" Asuka asked. Shinji relaxed from his surprised expression and smiled.
"Perfect," Shinji said.
The two walked around the outskirts of Tokyo-3, where the grass was the greenest and the flowers were the most abundant. The sky was as blue as ever and the sun shined its yellow light through the few clouds in the sky. Shinji and Asuka stumbled upon a broken-down shed with a small pond at the front of it. The water reflected the sky, creating a mirror image. Shinji set up the easel and the canvass and got ready to paint. Asuka stood by the pond looking out in the distance. A small forest of trees surrounded the pond, creating a feeling of serenity. As Shinji painted, cicadas buzzed and birds chirped. Shinji stopping every now and then to look at Asuka; every time the wind blew her dress would sway in the wind and her hair would slightly flutter. Her face would stay concentrated towards the distance, her sky blue eyes focused. Shinji painted his final stroke and took a step back. The blue sky contrasted perfectly with the green trees and dark blue water. In the painting, Asuka stood at the bank of the pond looking down, her reflection looking back. Her white dress flowed in the air and her orange fiery hair swayed. Shinji called out to Asuka. She slowly made her way up the small hill, lifting it so she wouldn't trip.
"What do you think?" Shinji asked. Asuka smiled, not the cocky kind, but a genuine heartwarming smile.
"It's perfect Shinji," She said.
Asuka and Shinji laid on the soft green grass, looking up at the sky. The clouds slowly moved around the sky. After watching and guessing what the clouds looked like, Asuka got up and went to the edge of the pond. Shinji sat up to see what she was doing. Asuka took off her rose-red flats and lifted her floral dress. She dipped her toes in the pond and slowly immersed her feet into the cold water. She treaded through the water and made ripples in the reflection of the sky.
"Hey, Shinji!" Asuka called. Shinji walked over to the edge of the pond to see Asuka playing in the water like a little kid. "C'mon Shinji!" Asuka yelled in joy. Shinji took off his shoes and socks, rolled up his pants and walked into the pond. He was met with a cool and wet sensation, the heat of the sun slowly leaving his body. Shinji stood in the pond with his eyes closed, just enjoying the cool sensation, until a barrage of water droplets hit his face and body. He opened his eyes to find Asuka laughing uncontrollably.
"You look a little warm there Shinji!" Asuka joked. She splashed some more water on Shinji. Shinji wound up his kick and gave Asuka a taste of her own medicine. Before they knew it both of them were soaking wet.
Their clothes dried on the way to the apartment. When they entered the apartment they changed their clothes and hung up Shinji's painting in Asuka's room.
It was late at night. Tokyo-3 was busy and loud. People filled the streets, Neon bathed the city in bright lights.
"Kaworu Nagisa?" Misato said, confused. Misato and Kaji sat inside a bar in Tokyo-3.
"I went to the database, checked the Magi, I even snuck down to Nerv's Main Intelligence chamber; still got nothing about a Kaworu.," Kaji said. Misato sighed.
"They must have completely erased his profile," Misto said.
Misato looked down at the floor and Kaji took a sip of his sake.
"Sorry if I made you worry, but dodging Nerv's intelligence officers isn't exactly easy," Kaji smirked.
"I still can't believe that you were a double agent," Misato said. Kaji chuckled.
"It was either that or my life," kaji said. Misato took a big swig of her sake, Kaji poured some more in her glass.
"I'm surprised your even alive," Misato said. Kaji smiled.
"They managed to pin me down in Ikinami, I thought I was a dead man, but they never came to finish the job," Kaji said. He looked around him to make sure nobody was listing, he leaned in towards Misato's ear. "Is it true that Commander Ikari is dead?" Kaji asked. Misato kept staring straight in front of her.
"Yes," She said. Kaji leaned back, and for the first time in a while, Misato saw surprise and fear in his eyes. He took a final swig from his glass and stood up.
"I have a lot to explain to you, but not here," Kaji said. Misato got up from her seat and followed him out of the bar.
Thet made their way to Misato's apartment. They sat down at the kitchen table.
"This should be a safe place to talk," Kaji said. He pulled out a laptop that he stole from Nerv HQ and dug in his pocket. He pulled out a black flash drive.
"What's that?" Misato asked. Kaji smiled.
"The reason why Ikari wanted my head," Kaji joked. He pushed the flash drive in and it automatically pulled up a bunch of files. He went about clicking and typing until he turned the laptop over to Misato. An image of Adam's embryo flashed on screen. Misato went wide-eyed.
"Don't tell me that's…" Misato said. Kaji nodded his head.
"That right there is what caused the second impact," Kaji said. Misato looked confused.
"What does Nerv what with it?" She asked. Kaji turned the computer back towards him. He typed and clicked more. He turned the laptop back towards Misato. Another image popped up. A large humanoid figure nailed to a cross-like object popped up.
"That's what you showed me a month ago," Misato said. Kaji took a sip of a glass of water.
"Before I go any further, I need to explain Seele," Kaji said.
"Seele?" Misato asked. Kaji leaned back into his chair, wrapping his arm on the backrest.
"Seele is a secret international organization designed to secretly overlook the UN, it's the organization that I worked for alongside Nerv," Kaji explained. Misato narrowed her eyes.
"Overlook the UN? Then that means they control Nerv," Misato said. "What's the point of all this?" Misato asked. Kaji looked around the apartment to make sure no one was spying on them.
"Seele plans to initiate the third impact," Kaji said softly. Misato looked like she just saw a car wreck.
"What!" Misato yelled softly. Kaji took another sip.
"They're after the next step of human evolution," Kaji said. Misato looked down at the floor.
"The human instrumentality project? Misato said. Kaji smiled.
"How do you know about that?" He asked.
"You're not the only one who has to snoop around," Misato said with a grumble. Misato took a sip of her beer.
"That's not all," Kaji said. Misato opened one of her eyes. "The only thing stopping them was Ikari," Kaji said. Misato looked confused.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"Ikari had his own personal use for the third impact, meaning he and Seele had to play four-dimensional chess to predict what the other was going to do. Now that Ikari is gone, the path for Seele is wide open," Kaji explained. Misato sunk in her chair. Her face was gloomed down and her eyes sunk in the back of her skull.
"How much time do when have?" She asked. Kaji shrugged.
"Judging from this Kaworu, I would guess a lot less than we think," Kaji said. He looked at his watch.
"I have to leave, It's not safe for you to be around me, if Nerv sees you with me then they would undoubtedly kill both of us," Kaji said. He got up and walked towards the door. Misato just stared at him from the kitchen table. He turned back and locked eyes with Misato. He walked back to Misato and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Just in case this all goes to shit, I want you to know that I love you," Kaji said. He lifted her chin and met her lips with his. Misato immediately began to cry. All of her pent up emotions now coming to the surface. They parted and Kaji started to walk to the door.
"Be safe," Misato said. Kaji waved his hand up in the air as he left.
Shinji stood at Toji's grave. It was a brisk summer day with the wind blowing ever so gently. The green grass being as bright as ever. Shinji heard footsteps behind him. He turned to see a lean, gray-haired boy walking towards him. He wore the same school uniform as Shinji did. His red eyes glowed with warmth and energy. The boy walked up to Shinji and outstretched his hand.
'Kaworu," Shinji thought.
"You must be the third child, Shinji Ikari," Kaworu said with a smile. I'm Kaworu Nagisa, fifth child," Kaworu greeted. Shinji gladly took Kaworu's hand and shook it. Kaworu looked down at the grave Shinji was looking at.
"Were you friends with the fellow pilot?" Kaworu asked. Shinji looked over at the grave and nodded. Kaworu smiled.
"I have always found death fascinating when it came to Lilin. You see death as an end, not as a beginning," Kaworu said. Shinji looked up at Kaworu to see that his eyes were closed. "I'm quite jealous of Lilin. When they die, they go back to where they were born from, to start anew," Kaworu said, letting out a fresh breath of air.
"Start anew?" Shinji asked, wondering what Kaworu meant. Kaworu smiled. When a Lilin is born, they are born of nature. They are created in the womb of their mothers, where they are nurtured and cared for. With birth, comes new life, and that life inspires more life. A Lilin's death is no different from its birth. When a Lilin dies, they go back to the womb, where they become one with their mothers again." Kaworu spoke. Shinji was awestruck.
"Life inspires more life?" Shinji asked. Kaworu smiled.
"When a Lilin is born, they create their heart. Once the heart is fully mature they spread their heart around, so when they go back to their mothers, other's hearts can pick up what they had left for them. Your friend here has left his heart with you, and it's your obligation to spread his heart, to the hearts of others," Kaworu spoke. Kaworu looked at Shinji and smiled, his red eyes spreading warmth into Shinji's soul. "Lilin have fragile hearts, that's why they share each other's hearts, to strengthen their own," Kaworu told Shinji. A gust of wind rustled the leaves on the trees. Shinji looked into Kaworu's eyes.
"Thank you Kaworu," Shinji said.
Kaworu stood in front of the titan Unit 02.
"It's time," Kaworu said. Red alarms rang throughout the main bridge of Nerv HQ.
"Major! Unit 02 has activated!" Maya reported. Misato quickly looked up.
"By who?" Misato asked. Maya typed on her keyboard and was met with a confused expression.
"There's no pilot! There's not even an entry plug attached to Unit 02!" Maya reported.
'What?' Misato thought to herself.
"Pattern blue! It's an angel!" Aoba reported. Misato's eyes widened. Her expression turning from confusion, to absolute fear.
'This is happening now!' Misato thought.
"Shut down all security gates from the Terminal Dogma up! Have Unit 01 ready to go!" Fuyutsuki ordered.
"Give me a visual on the target!" Misato ordered. An image of Unit 02 lowering its self down the central Shaft showed on the screen of the Bridge. A boy with a school outfit could be seen floating in front of Unit 02. Misato recognized that boy from Kaji's reports.
'So that's your play Seele, to turn against your own kind?' Misato thought. Shinji sat in the entry plug of Unit 01, mentally preparing for what he had to do.
'I'm sorry Kaworu,' Shinji thought. He jumped down the central shaft towards Unit 02.
"Kaworu!" Shinji yelled. Kaworu looked up to see Unit 01 diving down with its progressive knife drawn down. Unit 02 put up its AT field just before the knife pierced through. The two Units fell down the shaft until they hit the very bottom of Nerv HQ.
"Units have reached the Terminal Dogma! Connections have been lost!" Hyuga reported. Misato gripped her necklace.
"C'mon Shinji," Misato whispered under her breath. Kaworu floated towards the Gates of heaven, while Unit 02 distracted Unit 01.
"Kaworu, wait!" Shinji yelled as he stomped Unit 02's head into the ground, Unit 02 finally letting go of its grip on Unit 01's ankle. Kaworu opened the gates of heaven to see Lilith before him. A disappointed look grew on Kaworu's face. Shinji came tumbling into the room where Lilith was held. Waves of LCL crashed against the cross which Lilith was nailed to. Both Unit 01 and Kaworu stood motionless.
"Shinji remember what I told you about hearts?" Kaworu asked. Shinji couldn't move. "Shinji, I want you to carry my heart," Kaworu said. Shinji began to cry.
"Kaworu I can't kill you!" Shinji yelled. Kaworu slowly floated towards Unit 01.
"Shinji, you and I both know that Angels and Lilin can't live together," Kaworu said. Shinji was bawling now, snot came out of his nose and tears began to blur his vision. Kaworu smiled. "Shinji, you're not killing me, you're letting me inside your heart, where I can live forever," Kaworu said. Shinji thought back to their conversation in the graveyard.
"Ok Kaworu," Shinji said through the tears. Unit 01 grabbed Kaworu and placed its thumb on his head. Shinji shut his eyes as he swiftly pushed his thumb forward, causing Kaworu's head to fall off and land in the giant sea of LCL. Blood trickled down the hand of Unit 01. Shinji let go of his grip on Kaworu's body. It fell and was taken by the waves of LCL. Shinji placed his hands near his heart. "Thank you Kaworu," Shinji said.