Changes In Tempo
CHAPTER 4: Judged Wrong
May 7, 2015 - Test Chamber 2, NERV HQ - 9:32 AM
It's been over two weeks since Rei arrived at Tokyo-III. She had been training since her first battle, usually coming home weak from the many hours of sitting in an entry plug. Today would be her first day in school, so her training would be cut short to get set up with supplies for the time being, followed by a school uniform. Rei sat in Eva-01's entry plug, bearing a new plugsuit with a white color scheme with various dark blue, orange, red, and green highlights, along with a metallic orb directly in the center.
"Okay, let us continue where we left off with 'Induction Mode' from yesterday," Ritsuko told Rei.
"Yes, ma'am," Rei responded.
Screens in the entry plug flashed with the internal battery timer. Rei begins shooting at the targets on her screen.
"Aim at the target, center, pull the switch. Aim at the target, center, pull the switch." Rei began telling herself. Misato then walked in.
"How is Rei's training so far?" Misato asked.
"Well, I say it's going swimmingly. Occasional mishaps, but nothing that could affect Rei majorly in battle." Ritsuko answered. "Her synch rate has also risen from 52.4% to 53.8%. Something makes me wonder why she is so compatible with Unit-01, but I cannot figure out why. I ran test after test to see, even looking through software codes to find something, but nothing came up."
"It is strange, but hey, at least Rei can synch with it quite well," Misato added. "I'm going to have to cut her training in about an hour so we can go to her open house at her new school."
Ritsuko nodded, resuming her study on Rei's training.
Highway leaving NERV HQ - 10:35 AM
Rei sat in Misato's car, nervous and shaky. She didn't know if she would be accepted or not into her new school. She decided to look impressionable to whoever would be meeting her. She only wore a long blue skirt, a baggy black turtleneck sweater, and a beret. Misato spoke up.
"You look quite nice. Are you excited to meet new people?" Misato asked.
"Y- Yeah," Rei answered, getting out of her pacing thoughts.
"I take it you scared," Misato commented. "From what I heard, kids at this school are very friendly and accepting. I feel you have nothing to be afraid of."
"I'm just scared that they may not accept me for being different, considering my red eyes, blue hair, and albinism," Rei told her.
"Even if you are different, people shouldn't judge you for who you are," Misato told her, reassuring her.
Rei decided to pray all would go well, looking through the car window along the way.
Behind the scenes, Misato decided to look at Rei's therapy reports. It showed that right after her mother's death, she became emotionally sensitive, often very anxious or nervous, even when it came to light stuff like meeting new people. She knew Rei would have a hard time for the first few days but expected that she would fit right in.
Tokyo-III Municipal High - 11:41 AM
Rei and Misato walked into the front entrance, revealing a man in a suit. Misato walked up, showing her NERV ID to prove that she was who he was supposed to meet.
"Welcome. I take it that this here is the new student?" The man asked.
"Yes, this is Rei Ikari. She just transferred here from Osaka two weeks ago." Misato told him.
"Hello, Ms. Ikari. It's nice to meet you. I'm Koshiro Sugiyama," he said, holding his hand out.
Rei felt hesitant to shake his hand despite the fact he appeared friendly. Her anxiety was at its peak. Misato noticed this and decided to speak out.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Sugiyama. Rei is just anxious and all." Misato told him, grabbing Rei by her shoulder and holding her closer.
"That's fine. It is normal to be anxious when moving schools. You just never know if you will fit in, but our students here have a record of being quite accepting of new people." Mr. Sugiyama told them both. "Let me lead you down to where your class will be."
Taking both Misato and Rei, they approached a classroom marked "2-A." They opened the door, entering a classroom full of students. It seemed empty the further it went back. She looked around at the student's faces until stopping at Shinji's face, causing her to blush lightly. The class then focused on Mr. Sugiyama when he spoke up.
"Hello, class. Today you will have a new addition." He told the class, signaling Rei to come up.
Rei walked up to the front of the classroom, her nervousness reaching its peak. Everyone now focused on her.
"H- Hello, I'm R- Rei Ikari," Rei spoke, stuttering her words. "Its n- nice to m- m- meet you all."
Most of the class began murmuring between each other, asking, "Why does she seem weird" or "Why does she have red eyes and blue hair." Rei went back over to Misato, standing close to her. Misato saw this all unfold. She thought Rei would have an easier time fitting in with her class, but it seemed things went the opposite way. A student got up and walked up to Rei.
"Hello, Rei. I'm Hikari Horaki, the class representative. Would you like to choose a seat?" She asked, giving her a welcoming smile.
"S- Sure…" Rei told her, twirling her hair.
"Just point to any seat, and we'll get you settled. We don't have many people here since that battle two weeks ago." Hikari told her.
Rei looked around, pointing to a seat near Shinji and two other boys, one with jet-black hair and a black tracksuit and another with brown, shaggy hair, a white polo, and black pants. Misato then walked up to Rei, telling her that she would be leaving due to work reasons, and told her to be brave and socialize. Rei could only nod. Rei went to her new chair and sat at the desk, preparing for the hours ahead. On the other side, the two boys were whispering to each other.
"You think this new girl is associated with that battle from a few weeks ago?" The brown-haired boy asked.
"I don't know, Kensuke, but if she is, then there will be punishment for what she did to my sister." The other boy said.
Rei heard this, stiffening up at the fact that she may get harmed. Rei decided to ignore it for now.
1:16 PM
It had been a few hours since she arrived, and now they were on laptops. Rei could only fall asleep at how monotone the teacher's voice was. He only seemed to ramble on about the Second Impact. Rei was then alerted by a beep from her laptop, seeing a message.
"Are you from what happened two weeks ago? Y/N"
Rei looked around, wondering who had sent the message. She then noticed a group of girls gathered around each other, who waved at her.
"Are you? Y/N."
Rei then typed Y. In a matter of seconds, all the students in the class surrounded her, asking her questions. Rei could only hide, pulling her beret past her eyes and shaking in her seat.
"SIT DOWN! CLASS IS STILL IN SESSION!" Hikari yelled. Everyone returned to their seats. Toji now knew who was to blame.
3:06 PM
Rei screamed in pain as she was hit in the face, followed by her falling to the ground.
"That's what you get for hurting my sister." The tall boy told her.
"I am deeply sorry for what he did. Please forgive him, as he is just angry." Another boy told him.
Rei couldn't respond. She trembled with fear, hyperventilating in the process. She then ran away, on the verge of tears, later running into Hikari. In the background, Shinji was watching the whole scene unfold.
"Rei Ikari, daughter of the commander. Her psyche is odd, to say the least." Shinji thought to himself.
A few minutes later, Rei came to find Misato parked by the curb in front of the school. She got into the car and entered the fetal position. Misato then spoke up.
"How was school?"
Rei didn't respond. Misato then knew that something must've happened at school.
"Rei? Are you okay?" She asked.
She looked up, revealing a black eye and bruises on her face. Misato parked the car on the side of the road to check on Rei. She examined the black eye.
"Rei, what happened?" She asked
Rei began to cry. "Th- They found o- out I piloted t- the Eva, and someone p- punched me for it." Her sobbing was loud. Misato held onto Rei.
"It's okay, Rei. Let's head back home and get you patched up." Misato told her.
Same time
"Y'know, that Rei girl seems nice. Maybe I should talk to her later. She seemed nervous." Hikari told another girl. Hikari had been the class representative for the past four months. She is usually in charge of introducing new students or starting the morning. However, Rei's entrance was something she hadn't been alerted to prior, whereas she is usually notified of new students the day before. Rei was out of the blue. Both girls walked out of the school, only to find Rei walking past them. However, her hair was all ruffled up, and she had hidden her face with her hands.
"Something isn't right with her," Hikari noticed. "Her hair hadn't ruffled when she entered, and her clothes were all dirtied. Something tells me that someone must've hurt her."
Hikari tried walking up to Rei, but she arrived too late. Rei had gotten picked up by a woman in a blue car by the time she walked to her. She saw through the window that Rei's left eye looked almost darkened, like she had gotten a black eye.
On the ground was a navy blue beret that must've dropped off Rei's head.
Misato's Apartment - 4:12 PM
Rei sat in her room with the lights off. She was sitting in her bed with a bag of ice on her eye. Misato walked in to talk with Rei and spoke up.
"I didn't know that the kids at school would do this to you. I'm sorry." Misato told her. "I thought they would accept you for who you are. I was wrong."
"Was it a mistake to move here?" Rei asked herself.
"Rei, no! What you are doing here is for the greater good, for us, for humanity!" Misato told her. Rei then stood up, holding the bag against her eye, and leaned against Misato, who had sat on her bed.
May 8, 2015 - Test Chamber 2, NERV HQ - 9:15 AM
"Seems Rei's synch rate has decreased down to 49.7%. Do you know of anything that may have caused this?" Ritsuko asked Misato.
"Well, during her open house, her class judged her quite oppositely when she introduced herself. Most questioned her outright. Next, they figured out they were the pilot of Unit-01, which led to her getting punched in the face. Something must've happened to them that shunned Rei in a negative light." Misato told her.
Ritsuko had the respect to feel sorry for her. After all, Rei was thrusted into a new environment different from what she was used to in Osaka.
"Well, you have two options. Option A is to talk to the principal about this whole fiasco. Option B is to transfer her to a different school on the other side of the city. I encourage option A since this school is part of the Marduk Institute for choosing our pilots. Meanwhile, the other isn't." Ritsuko added.
"Then let's go with option A. The principal should be able to sort things out." Misato told Ritsuko.
Everyone was interrupted by an alarm sounding.
"An Angel has been spotted off the coast of Old Tokyo. Establishing feed." An operator told them. It took only three seconds to reveal the angel, with many laughs and questions over its "appearance."
"THAT? THAT'S THE ANGEL?" Misato asked.
"Seems so. Let's get Unit-01 to the Holding Cages for launch." Ritsuko told her.
Tokyo-III - 10:52 AM
Rei had launched topside to Tokyo-III with her day yesterday still fresh on her mind.
"Rei, grab that pallet rifle in that weapon stash fast!" Misato told her. With a quick pace, Rei grabbed it but forgot to zero in on the angel, now referred to as Shamshel. Out of the smoke from the bullets, two whips attacked Unit-01, chopping in half the pallet rifle and throwing Unit-01 to a building behind it.
Emergency Shelter F-12, Tokyo-III Municipal High
"All broadcasts are offline due to a Civil Danger Alert. Please remain calm and patient until the Civil Danger Alert has passed."
"Seems the government doesn't want us to know what's going on, so I have a plan," Kensuke told Toji.
"You want to know what happens up there. Are you in for a death wish?" Toji responded.
"The high school sits far from Tokyo-III, which should be perfectly safe. After all, whatever happens, all take place in the city." Kensuke answered.
"I hope we don't die because of your curiosity," Toji remarked to Kensuke.
Topside
Kensuke quickly grabbed his camera, only to be greeted by an intense battle between a purple robot and an alien creature. Kensuke quickly began filming.
"Kensuke, are you insane? We're right outside of a battle!" Toji argued
Tokyo-III
"Rei, try to attack it using your Progressive Knife if needed. Otherwise, you have a pistol in the same stash," Ritsuko told her.
Grabbing her Progressive Knife, Rei lunged at Shamshel, only to be picked up by Shamshels whips, throwing her to a hill and disconnecting her power. Rei looked to her left, spotting two people behind her. She immediately recognized their faces.
"REI, GET UP!" Misato yelled, not before noticing the two kids on the side. "Let them in, or they may die."
"Misato, are you insane? More than one person in the entry plug may affect Rei's synch rate and Rei's ability to fight." Ritsuko asked.
"Would you rather have two innocent kids die, with us having to alert their parents, or let them be able to live?" Misato asked.
Ritsuko sighed. "Fine. Let them in. We'll deal with them later."
Rei's entry plug opened up, with a ladder extending. Misato got on a speaker.
"YOU TWO! GET IN NOW!" Misato yelled.
Both got in quickly, with the seal automatically closing. The two boys looked up front, noticing someone familiar.
"REI?" Both of them asked.
"Rei's synchronization rate is faltering, now trying to focus on Rei." An operator repeated.
"Rei, make a tactical retreat now!" Misato commanded.
Rei didn't respond, only screaming in pain as Shamshel continued to hit her with its whips.
"Rei, that is an order! Retreat!" Misato repeated.
The clock hit one minute, and Rei screamed with fury, running toward Shamshel as fast as she did. She grabbed onto Shamshel, plunging her Prog Knife deep into the core, cracking it. Shamshel dug its whips deeper into Unit-01's arms, continuing to hurt Rei even further. Rei's clock then hit three seconds left, following Shamshel going limp. The clock hit zero, and her video feed cut off.
NERV HQ
"I will have to scold all three of them when they return," Misato told Ritsuko.
Unit-01
Rei was crying in pain and lunged down in her chair.
"Rei, are you okay?" Toji asked her.
"Yeah. It's just Phantom Pain." Rei responded, sobbing and grunting in between words.
Toji and Kensuke could only feel bad for her. They never knew what it was like for her. They now knew Rei never meant to hurt Toji's sister, but she did it for others' sake.
Interrogation Room 01, NERV HQ - 11:45 PM
"Rei, why did you disobey my orders?" Misato asked.
"I wanted to eliminate the angel while protecting the other two," Rei responded.
"What you did would have cost us your life, the boys' lives, and the destruction of Unit-01 if you had failed," Misato told her.
"I saw an opportunity to strike, and I wanted to prevent as much damage as possible without having to retreat and further endanger others," Rei responded, making a defense. Granted, it was a logical defense. Misato sighed and sat down next to Rei.
"Listen, Rei. What you did could've severely affected us. It's great that you'd want to be able to help others without causing more damage, but you place your life as unimportant when it is." Misato told her, hugging her. "Can you please just follow orders when I say so? For me?"
"Yes," Rei told her, hugging her back.
"I'll talk some more back home. Go get cleaned up, okay?" Misato asked her, rubbing her hair.
Rei nodded, leaving it to be just Misato.
"Now, as for you two idiots, what you did was outright stupid and moronic. Do you have any defense?"
Kensuke wanted to speak but chose not to. Toji didn't respond. Misato then looked over to Toji.
"You look like you could do some serious damage to someone in a fight. May I ask if you happened to have hit Rei on her left eye by any chance?" Misato asked.
"I'm sorry. My sister got into the hospital, and I felt extremely angered by what happened. I needed to take out my revenge, and without thinking, I took it out on her when I found out she was from what happened over two weeks ago." Toji responded.
"So it was? I request that you please apologize to Rei when you get the chance." Misato told him in an almost demanding tone.
"Yes, ma'am," Toji responded.
Main Lobby, NERV HQ - 12:21 PM
"Ready to head home?" Misato asked Rei. Rei nodded. "Alright. We need to pick up Shinji. He is getting transferred to live with us since his home got demolished during the fight."
Rei blushed at this. Misato took notice of this and commented.
"My, my! Does Rei have a little boy crush on Shinji?" Misato asked her with a large grin.
Rei freaked out and quickly began nodding no. Misato began to chuckle at her reaction, noting that this wasn't the first time she blushed over Shinji. They then proceeded to the car.
Misato's Apartment
"Home at last! I can finally relax knowing that the stress of today is over!" Misato yelled as she entered the door.
Rei and Shinji lagged, but only because Rei was helping Shinji move his items up.
"May I ask, what was your old home like Shinji?" Rei asked him.
"It was sufficient for all my living needs," Shinji responded. His voice always seemed monotone. Dull and emotionless, just like her father.
"Oh… Well, I hope you like it here." Rei told him with a smile.
Shinji didn't respond. Stepping into the door, Rei and Shinji then moved to the hallway with Rei's room. Opening the door inside, Rei and Shinji then placed their belongings on the side of the door.
"That should be everything. Is all you have just two boxes and a bag of clothes?" Rei asked.
"Yes, only school uniforms and a few sets of underwear," Shinji responded. Rei heard enough.
"We should get you some more clothes," Rei told him. "Hey, Misato, Shinji only has school uniforms. Do you think we could get him more clothes?" Rei yelled.
"Only school uniforms? Yeah, he could do with more clothes." Misato yelled back.
"Well, that's settled," Rei told him. "If you need help decorating, please call me. I'll be glad to help."
Rei walked back to her room and closed the door. Grabbing her acoustic guitar, she began to think of songs to play. Playing a Bb/A, an idea hit her head. Starman by David Bowie. The notes in her head began flying as she strummed the F and Dm chords on her guitar. Misato began to walk down the hall after hearing the guitar, opening her door. Rei was sitting on her bed, enjoying herself. Two minutes passed, and Rei had finished her tune. She looked up, only to see Misato standing at her doorway, clapping at her performance. Rei blushed lightly. She wasn't used to this sort of attention from others. Most would turn a blind eye to her playing, thinking it was her just practicing when it was her enjoying herself.
"That was amazing, Rei. Bravo." Misato told her. "Now that you have finished, I promised I'd talk to you earlier today."
Rei placed her guitar beside her bed and her hands in her lap. Misato sat next to her. Meowzart awoke to Misato sitting near him and ran to the living room. Misato then spoke up.
"Rei, what you did angered me, but what you said also saddened me. Why would you risk your life being worthless to save the sake of others?" Misato asked.
"I never had any hope in myself, not for who I was, but what made me who I am. Father abandoned me and then left me to go live with my uncle. I had no friends in school when I lived in Osaka." Rei said as she began to tear up. "A- at some point, I cared more for others than I did- myself. Only the- then did I truly ge- get friends."
Misato moved her hair out of the way and pulled her closer to her. "Rei, your life means everything. Don't ever forget that. Even if you feel lonely, just know you always have me and others, like Shinji."
Misato never expected that living with Rei would give her parental instincts, but it was happening in front of her eyes. Rei fell asleep in her arms while she cried just a few minutes later. Misato tucked her in and left her room, not before placing the ring Rei gave her in the first battle on her bedside table.
May 9, 2015 - Tokyo-III Municipal High - 11:31 AM
Rei sat alone at lunch, eating from a bento box, minding her own business until Toji and Kensuke came up to her. Toji got down on his knees, shocking Rei in the process.
"Rei, what I did to you two days ago was unacceptable. I let my anger take hold of me. I deeply apologize and hope you forgive me." Toji said to her with sincerity.
"Y- you're okay. I accept your apology." Rei told him.
"I hope we can be friends after this," Toji told her.
Rei's eyes widened. Usually, she weaseled her way into friendship, but this marked the first time someone talked to her about being friends.
"S- Sure! We can be friends." Rei told them both with a smile.
つづく
To be Continued