A/N: All right I have returned with chapter three of my story. Before I continue I want to make it clear I am male, I now show my pen name might have been confusing but I am a guy and I can prove it but I would be banned from this website. In this chapter the would be assassin is revealed and there is an more of an insight with Gendo. Italics are inner thought, just a head's up.
Thanks to my pre-reader gunman.
Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion it is the property of Gainax
Hikari Horaki was patiently waiting at the entrance of the middle school. It was Monday morning and she was waiting for her friend, Asuka, to arrive.
"If she's not here soon then she and Shinji will be late." said the class rep who, having not talked to Asuka since Saturday, had no idea of Shinji's condition.
Only thirty seconds after finishing that statement Hikari saw Asuka and another person running to the school. At first she was re-leaved but that changed to confusion once she saw Asuka was not accompanied by Shinji as usual, but rather by Rei, the one person Asuka seemed to despise more than anyone else.
"Crap! Were not late, are we? We would have gotten her soon but Wondergirl was took her sweet time in getting ready this morning." said the out of breath German
"No" began Hikari "but where is Shinji?" the pigtailed student asked, puzzled but what she saw before her eyes.
Just as Asuka was about to answer, the bell rang.
"Schiest! We're gonna be late!" she said. Hikari was now too worried about running her perfect attendance record and forgot about their conversation.
A loud screech of tires could be heard for an entire city block, signaling Misato Katsuragi had arrived at her destination. The place were she had to rush of to was the sushi restaurant five streets over from the apartment. More importantly it was where the sushi had come from that had been poison, and while Misato knew the chance of finding answers from this place was slim she would not leave any stone unturned in her mission. She entered the place, it was small restaurant with powder blue wall that had Shinto scrolls nailed to them. Thankful that the restaurant was now closed, Misato made her way past the two dozen empty tables and up to the counter.
Asuka couldn't pay attention. Not like she really did anyway because for someone with a college degree it was boring to listen to the teacher drone on about Second Impact.
"And that's why I live with my nephew." droned the senile old man relating for the millionth time the story of how his two floor, $15 million yen home that he won in the divorce was flooded and ruined.
"Mein Gott! It's been fifteen years! Just get over it already!" though the redheaded spitfire, but her mind was else where.
"Shinji..." she muttered under her breath. Unlike most kids Asuka wasn't on her laptop on what were usually "inappropriate" websites. She had gotten messages from a concerned Hikari as well as from Toji and Kensuke asking where Shinji was. The latter pair brought her mood down even more.
"Why I am worried about that idiot? " Asuka thought angrily to herself " Why would I care about him? After all he is just a perverted, stupid, housebroken male and there is no way I could care about him more than that... or could I?" Asuka felt her mind wander back to the battle against the eighth Angel, when Shinji saved her from the volcano and the kiss they shared, "Stop it! I won't let anyone close because they'll just leave me like mama!" she tried to hide her pain but when she might lose him regardless, just like she lost her mother, she shut her laptop and rested her head on it with her face down to hide her emotions.
Meanwhile, Rei was in the same boat, she stared out the window not paying attention to the teacher. She had also received messages from the two non-pilots and now former Fourth Child with the same questions they had asked Asuka but since Rei never used the school's messenger she didn't look at these which was good or she would have joined Asuka.
"Why does Pilot Ikari's situation bother me so?" thought the blue-haired pilot. "Commander Ikari told me emotions are useless and not to feel." This caused Rei to feel a tug at her heart string because the Commander had always the closest person to , if you can call it, that but then Shinji came along and his genuine caring threw Rei for a loop. "The Commander has always been there but with then Shinji-"
Rei stopped, she just used Shinji's first name. This confused Rei "Is my loyalty to the Commander or is it to myself as Shinji has encouraged me to think? I need to do more research on-no, I will visit Shinji after school today. Commander Ikari will be second priority. "
Class lasted thirty more minutes before the bell announcing lunch. The bored kids ran out of the classroom like a pack wild wolves on the hunt.
"So Asuka, where do you where do you want to eat lunch?" asked Hikari causing Asuka to lift up her head from the closed laptop.
"The maple outside is fine." answered Asuka before adding "Let's go doll, time for lunch!" which was followed by Rei snapping out of her trans and walk over to the two.
"You're inviting Rei?" asked Hikari, once more confused by what was happening.
"Misato's ordered. I have to stick close to her." replied the German still adverting her eyes so Hikari couldn't see she her worry and sorrow.
"Hold it!" the girls were interrupted by a loud voice belonging to ex-pilot Toji Suzuhara. "What did you to Shinji you demon!" he said with finger pointed right at Asuka.
'I didn't do anything to the idiot!" Asuka retorted not wanting to go at it with Toji but she couldn't look as if something was wrong so she acted as to be expected from her.
"Then why is he not here?" chimed in Kensuke
Both Asuka and Rei turned their heads and Toji knew what it meant.
"NERV?" he asked, his hand subconsciously rubbing his prosthetic leg.
"We will inform you as best we can at lunch." said Rei, and with that the teens were off.
"What the hell?" yelled Hideaki Mitsumeki as Misato held him against the wall of the restaurant. Mitsumeki was the manager of the restaurant, 38, he had worked there since he was fifteen and had been manger for three years now."
"I want answers NOW!" yelled the angry NERV major "Is there any chance somebody at the restaurant could have tampered with the food?"
"What do you mean?" asked Hideaki more scared then confused
"Sushi from this place almost killed one of my wards!" screamed Katsuragi
"My god! I am so sorry but all food paces by me, and I swear it was fine!" said Hideaki scared
Misato dropped him, he she had know Hideaki since she came to Tokyo-3. She was convinced he had no connection to the incident. Misato bowed and apologized before leaving.
"Damn" the violet-haired woman cursed drove away in her Alpine, "I should check in on Shinji." Misato fished around for her id but remembering she left it home went back to the apartment.
"That's awful!" proclaimed Hikari, Asuka and Rei had finished telling them the story of what happened while sharing their friends food, as theirs was still on quarantine.
"Will he be okay?" asked Kensuke
"Doctor Akagi his monitoring him, so he is in capable hands." said Rei while ignoring Asuka's sarcastic remarks about the faux-blonde.
"Hey, I just thought of something." said Toji
"It's a miracle!" exclaimed Asuka cutting the Osakan off.
"Shut up! Anyway the description Rei gave, don't that sound like that maintenance guy yous got?"
Asuka's eyes widened in shock. "Holy crap! Toji Suzuhara that is the smartest thing you have ever said!" she cried having for a split second let her emotions get the best of her.
"Mr. Kiamora does fit the description of the person perfectly." stated Rei
"Who?" asked a dumbfounded Kensuke
"We met him after we visited Asuka and Shinji" said Hikari
"It was when the dressed alike" added Toji with a snicker
"Shut up we had to battle do everything together to defeat the seventh Angel!" Asuka yelled in defense before adding "Takumi Kiamora is the head of maintenance at our apartment. Why would he go after Shinji, I wonder?"
Maybe someone got to him, offered him money or power?" asked Kensuke
"Stop talking crazy, Kensuke!" snapped Hikari
"A little late for that, Hikari" declared Asuka
"Pilot Soryu, call Major Katsuragi and inform her of this development." said Ayanami
Asuka took out her cellphone and called Misato but got no answer and instead left a message on the answering machine. Once Asuka was done, the bell rang and the kids went back to class, more rejuvenated with this new break.
Misato had arrived at the apartment and was walking to her flat. As she approached it she noticed the door had been kicked in.
"Shit." Misato hissed, drawing her gun and bursting in. The apartment was empty but trashed. The furniture was flipped over and everything was scattered on the floor. As Misato got to the living room she saw a message on the wall in red.
'WATCH YOUR STEP BITCH OR YOUR NEXT!'
This only angered Misato more as she went to every room except one and found them also trashed. The last room was Shinji's.
"Please God let this room be okay" she and before she entered, only to find it also ruined.
The pillow and futon were torn to shreds, the dresser draws were yanked out, Shinji's SDAT was smashed and his cello was in splinters. Upon seeing this Misato flew into a rage letting out a scream that could be heard throughout the apartment. She was so angry the phrase 'pissed of ' was downplaying her emotions.
As Misato stormed into the living room she found something moving under a blanket. Misato went over to the mass and drawing her gun but the moving object the blanket just turned out to be a frightened Pen-Pen.
"It's okay" she said as she soothed her oldest roommate after which she picked up the answering machine off the floor and plugged it in to find two messages: The first was Ritsuko saying nothing else in the refrigerator was tainted and the other was Asuka:
(Misato, we figured it out it! The guy who tried to kill baka was Takumi Kiamora!")
Misato was stunned, it seemed so obvious now but that didn't matter because she knew Asuka had to be right on this.
Misato grabbed her id and run to the car calling Commander Ikari as she moved.
"Commander? It's Major Katsuragi, I know who poisoned Shinji. His name is Takumi Kiamora and he works at my apartment. But he has the day off so I am going to his apartment!"
"Good Major, I'll have him brought in for questioning." replied Gendo who hung up
"So we have break finally." said Fuyutsuki
"Yes" replied the bearded commander "I have hurt Shinji so much, but I'll be damned if somebody else hurts him too."
Misato got into her car to apprehend the suspect, not wanting to give the man a chance to run but she failed to notice the white van across from the apartment building.
"She didn't listen to us." said the driver
"Does that mean we get to kill her now?" asked the passenger anxiously
"Yes", said the driver
"Awesome!" exclaimed the passenger as he cheered his new assignment.
A/N: That was long chapter and it took me 2 hours to write. The story is almost over and things are picking up as the terrorist group behind this is revealed in the next chapter. Sorry if I screwed up on Rei and the seeming grammar errors with Toji are not, I was trying to capture his accent. Takumi is a reference to NANA. Don't forget to review!