Chapter 30: Interlude

Alright, it's another little filler. My beta was a lazy ass on this, so if there are any mistakes blame him, not me

Disclaimer: I do not NGE, Gainax does. I do own all original characters, and if they bear any resemblence to real people or characters of other stories, it is merely coincidence

Preread by YouarenotasrandomasI

Rei and the Commander of Nerv were walking across the catwalks that separated the Evas in their respective cages. They did so in comfortable silence, neither requiring making small talk. Gendo paused in front of Unit-01 to speak with Rei about an important topic.

"Rei"

"Hai?"

"We have reason to believe that Keevan Markan, a student in your class, to be an Avatar"

She didn't answer, keeping her expression completely neutral.

He continued, "Section 2 has developed a plan to flush the Avatars out into the open, and they require your assistance"

"I will do whatever I can to assist," Rei answered

Pushing his glasses back up his nose, Gendo said, "Excellent"

The Park

Keevan was strolling along, carrying a bag full of books. Today was a Sunday, so he had the day off from school. The mage had decided to go to the local bookstore to pick up a few books he'd been itching to get. He was passing a playground when he spotted Rei sitting on a bench. Going up to her, he greeted the blue-haired girl

"Konnichiwa Ayanami-san"

Looking up, the girl replied, "Konnichiwa"

Taking a seat next to her, Keevan asked, "What are you doing out here?"

"Nothing"

"Oh"

Both were very quiet afterwards, staring out at the kids playing in the playground. The weather was cloudy and quite breezy, the wind-chill causing the temperature to drop a good ten degrees.

After a while, Rei asked, "What kind of books do you have?"

Looking up, Keevan replied, "Mostly fiction, why are you interested?"

Rei was quiet, unable to bring herself to answer the boy. The Commander had told her about the plan that Section 2 agents had formulated. It involved her, the only pilot not living with the Avatars, to get friendly with Keevan and to get him alone so that the agents could abduct him.

In a quiet tone, Rei replied, "I wish to be friendly, am I doing something wrong?"

Shaking his head, the mage replied, "No, it's just that you're not acting like yourself"

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Keevan explained, "most of the time, you're kind of like my Sensei"

"Really?" Rei asked

Nodding, the mage listed similarities between the two, "The two of you can be blunt, you both like to listen, and you both wear the same thing everyday"

He then grew nervous as he waved his hands, "But you look nice in that"

Plucking at her school uniform, the blue-haired girl responded, "It is clothing that covers the body, it is required by school, so I do not require any other type of clothing"

"Yeah, that's kind of like Mimara-sensei," Keevan said with a giggle, "she says that she doesn't require anything other than the dress she always wear"

Intrigued, Rei then asked, "So, how else are we alike?"

Smiling, Keevan said, "You are both alike, but you're also different"

Swinging his legs, the mage looked up at the sky and then told Rei, "Sensei is lonely, but she doesn't like people to know. She's always happiest when I was with her, but she feels sad when she's with other people. I think that it might be because other people are afraid of her and her ability to know everyone's secrets"

A faraway look on her face, Rei added, "It can be hard, being different. People are afraid of being different"

Turning to face the girl, Keevan said, "It's okay to be different. It's what makes you who you are, and I think that you're okay the way you are"

The blue-haired girl turned to look at the mage with a quizzical expression. Before she could ask what she meant, Keevan got up and pulled her to her feet. She was a little bewildered as he pulled her into a swing and start pushing her.

"Relax, Ayanami-san," the boy said, "have some fun"

As she relaxed, Rei found herself flying through the air on a rubber pad connected to two chains. She was unable to figure out what was fun about swinging back and forth like a pendulum. When she turned around to ask Keevan what she was supposed to do, she saw that Keevan was smiling at her childishly. Unable to help herself, Rei smiled back. She didn't know why, but something about the childish Avatar made her want to smile.

After some time, Rei saw a couple of men in suits at the other end of the park. Remembering what she was supposed to do, she put her feet down and stopped her swinging.

"Markan-san," she began, "I appear to be wasting your time"

Shaking his head, Keevan replied, "It's alright, I don't have duties like my friends, so I have free time"

"I see"

Getting out of the swing, Rei asked, "Would you like me to push?"

Nodding, Keevan leaped into the seat of the swing as the girl went around. Slowly, the blue-haired girl pushed the boy on the swing.

"Ayanami-san," the mage said, "Push harder"

Putting more power into her pushes, Rei watched as the boy went higher and higher. Keevan was laughing as he swung high up in the air. As she looked around, the girl saw that there were a few people with amused looks on their faces. Suddenly shy, Rei looked away. The mage sensed something wrong and looked back.

"Hey, Ayanami-san, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing"

Frowning a bit, Keevan stopped and hopped off, "Come on, what's wrong"

"The people look at us and are smiling, I do not know what they think is funny"

Turning to the people she was mentioning, he smiled and said, "Hey, let's get something to eat"

They went to a nearby ramen shop to have some lunch. As they ate, the girl's cell phone rang. Taking it out, Rei pushed the talk button and held the device to her ear.

"Pilot Ayanami," a man's voice called over the phone, "We have lost sight of you and the subject, where are you?"

Confused, Rei replied, "We are at the ramen shop to the south of the park"

"Repeat that Pilot, I did not hear you"

Just as she was about to answer back, the phone disconnected. Pulling the device from her ear, Rei attempted to redial, but found that she was receiving to reception.

"What's wrong?" Keevan said around a mouthful of noodles

Looking up, the blue-haired girl replied, "I received a call, but it disconnected. I am attempting to reestablish a connection, yet I am unable to receive a signal"

Gulping down, Keevan took out his cell phone and checked for reception, "Same here. That's odd, all our phones are all designed to never fail, I wonder why this is happening"

Avatar Base

A blank look on his face, Iak asked, "Was it necessary to cut out all reception in that area?"

"I panicked," Sai responded defensively, "Rei was about to tell the Section 2 agents their location"

Ramen Shop

Shrugging it off, the mage said, "I don't know about it. I'm not the best when it comes to technology, but I'm sure that we don't have to worry about it"

Uneasy, but not showing it, Rei put her phone away and finished her ramen. Once the pair finished and paid for their meal, they left.

"So where are you going now?" Keevan asked

"I am not sure"

Silence ensued between them as they began to walk around. Rei looked around as she tried to find any agents that may be around, but was unable to locate any. Letting Keevan take the lead, the blue-haired girl trailed behind as she tried to get a signal on her cell.

"Hey, Ayanami-san, look"

Looking up, she saw that Keevan was pointing at a photo booth

"Come on," he said, tugging on her sleeve, "let's go get our picture taken"

Allowing herself to be pulled into the booth, Rei sat down on the bench as Keevan inserted the required change

Seating himself next to her, Keevan said, "Smile"

A flash and a couple of minutes later a strip of pictures printed out. Keevan pulled it out and giggled at the image. Rei had a look of surprise on her face as Keevan held his hand up with a V for Victory sign.

"Ayanami-san, you look funny"

"How do I look amusing?" Ayanami asked

"Look," the mage said, pointing to the image, "your face is so funny here"

Flushing, Rei responded, "I do not find this amusing"

Frowning, Keevan put his hand down and said, "Gomen, I thought you'd think it was funny too"

"Well," the blue-haired girl said in an unsure tone, "if you look at it, I do appear a little foolish"

Smiling again, the mage took one of the copies and gave it to her, "Here, one for you"

Taking the photo, Rei responded, "Arigato"

The two resumed walking through the city. Above them, clouds began to collect, darkening the skies. The breeze also began to pick up, dropping the temperature a couple of degrees. Papers danced about in the air as it began to pick up. One particular breeze came right between Rei's legs. Clutching her school skirt down, the blue-haired girl shivered at the cold air.

"Are you cold Ayanami-san?" Keevan asked as he watched her shiver

Looking up, Rei replied, "The wind blew across my bare skin, it is nothing"

He watched her shiver for a moment before he placed a hand on her arm. As she looked up, Keevan canted a short spell under his breath. A moment later, she felt a warmth surge through her body.

"There you go," he said, pulling his arm away, "That'll keep you warm for the next hour, but you should probably buy a jacket to keep you warm when it's windy out"

"Arigato Keevan-kun," Rei replied, "I will take your advice into consideration"

Shaking his head, the mage said, "Don't think about it, like your clothes, a jacket is necessary if it is cold out"

Realizing the logic behind the boy's words, Rei took it into careful consideration, "That is true. I believe I shall go and buy one"

Something wet then landed on her head. Reaching up, she didn't feel anything out of the ordinary, so she looked up. Another drop of water landed on her face as she did so.

"Rain"

Also looking up, Keevan said, "Let's get to some shelter; come on Ayanami-san"

Grabbing her hand, the mage led her into a nearby store. It was a light drizzle at the time, so the two got a little wet before they made it inside.

Shaking his head clear of water, Keevan said, "Well, looks like we get the chance to get you that jacket after all"

It didn't take long for them to get one for her: a light blue waterproof windbreaker. The boy also took the time to purchase a jacket, one orange child-sized rain coat.

"Could you not just open a portal to return to your base?" Rei asked when she saw him purchasing his coat

"My phone's been acting up, and I don't know why"

Both of them looked outside to see that the rain was still coming down. Since they could not warp anywhere, they decided to look for a place to wait until either the rain stopped or Keevan's phone worked.

Avatar Base

"I hope that wasn't your intention," Iak said in a low tone, "and that you can fix it"

In a nonchalant tone, Sai responded, "I can fix it; just give me a bit of time to work on it"

Sighing, the winged-man muttered, "Just get to work"

Library

The two had decided to stay at the library, as it was closest and would be open to late if the Avatar's phone didn't work. Keevan wandered around as Rei sat down at one of the reading tables. Looking around, she found that the silence of the library was actually comforting.

Startled out of her reverie when the mage returned with a small stack of books in his arms, Rei saw that Keevan had picked up all sorts of fantasy fiction. Taking one at random, she read the title.

"Why do you read fantasy?" she asked, "You could live in one"

Smiling, Keevan told her, "Fantasy worlds yes, but it's harder to actually live a story"

Flipping through the pages, Rei lost herself in the pages of magic and fantasy. In no time, she had finished the book she was reading and flipping through another one. She had never before felt so stimulated. As the blue-haired girl read, she began to imagine herself in the worlds that were written out on paper.

I never realized that people could write stories of places they have never seen before so well

It made her think seeing the characters make decisions and plans. The fictional people made decisions and choices for themselves. Rei realized that everything she had done, it was decided for her. For once, the blue-haired girl wondered about making decisions for herself.

Looking up from her book, Rei saw that Keevan was smiling as he read his book. On impulse, she placed her hand on his shoulder

Startled, the mage looked at her and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure," she said, "but I want to ask you, has anyone ever made a decision for you?"

"Sometimes," Keevan replied, "but the people who do so are those who sometimes worry about me because I'm young"

"So, you do what everyone says?"

Shaking his head, the boy told her, "No, I make my own decisions sometimes. I have to be able to take care of myself"

"Take care of yourself?" Rei asked herself

"Ayanami-san?"

"Markan, could you teach me about making my own decisions?"

A confused look on his face, Keevan told her, "I can't do that. The only way you to be able to think for yourself is to actually do it yourself"

In a quiet tone, Rei asked herself, "Can I do that?"

"Can you?"

Surprised by the sudden question from the boy, the girl began to think. Could she go against what she had been doing her life and stop following orders? On the one hand, Gendo had always been her commander and telling her what to do. Then there were the people around her. Her fellow pilots followed orders like her, but only during military operations. The rest of the time they made their own decisions.

"Will you help me?" Rei finally asked Keevan

Smiling, the mage told her, "That's what I'm here for"

The rain eventually stopped late in the evening. Setting off, Rei was surprised when her cell rang after being non-responsive for most of the day.

"Hello"

"Pilot Ayanami, what is your location?"

She was about to tell him when she looked back at Keevan. After talking with him about free decision, she was considering more independent actions. In a neutral tone, she told the agent her location

"But the subject has gone, the plan was a failure"

After hanging up, Rei turned to Keevan and told him, "You must leave now; the agents will be here to pick me up soon"

"Arigato Ayanami-san," the mage replied, "I had fun today with you"

Waving goodbye, Keevan opened his cell and found it to be working, "I'll see you at school"

Disappearing through the vortex, the boy missed Rei waving back.

"Arigato, Markan-kun, for today"

Okay, number 30 in the book, hope you liked it. Okay, here's the deal: Should I do a Christmas chapter (Although it isn't the season, I'll want to anyway) or should I skip forward a little? Give me your opinion. Thanks again, R&R and I'll get back when I can

Later