The Boy-Who-Lived and the Boy-Who-Broke
Chapter 58: Look to the Stars in Despair and Hope
Please Read and Review. I'd like to know what I'm doing right (to keep doing it), and what I'm I doing wrong (to correct it).
Text in parenthesis is in other languages, in this case, Japanese.
Hogwarts
Greenhouse 3
At the end of the first period of the double Herbology class, Rei hurried to the wall where Filibert the Young's painting hung. The shepherd dog watched attentively over the flock, waiting for the return of his master.
Rei didn't have to wait long. The boy returned soon, running and almost without breath. "Miss! I bring you news… of your brother!" The boy could barely talk, he had come running from the Hospital Wing. It seemed being a painting didn't confer any extra stamina upon the subject.
"He… he had a punic? Panic attack? and is being treated… right now… Nurse Pomfrey says… his wounds opened… but he is in no danger…" Filibert sat down on a rock. "He will… stay the night… at the Hospital Wing…" He gulped, and used his straw hat to fan himself.
Rei bowed, "Thank you, Filibert the Young." She returned to the greenhouse. "Professor Sprout? My brother is in the hospital wing again. He is in no immediate danger. I can continue the class." The other students exchanged glances. Rei Ayanami was too cold about whatever had happened, almost indifferent.
"Oh, my! No, no! I apologize, Ayanami. Here." Quickly, the rotund woman wrote a permission slip, and put it in Rei's hands. "Go see him now. I'll make sure you get the notes for the rest of the lesson."
"Thank you."
Hospital Wing
Madam Pomfrey closed the curtains around the bed, leaving the two people inside to talk privately. Harry had excused himself once Misato had arrived. A quick glance and Shinji tilting his head had conveyed the message he should go.
"(I thought you had gotten over that, Shinji.)" Misato said in a whisper. "(What happened?)
"(I wasn't strong enough, Misato. The Boggart really got me.)" He gulped. "(I thought it would be something I could fight.)" His left hand closed and opened with a constant rhythm, an old nervous tic he had to work with.
"(Wanna talk about it? It might help.)" Misato sat on the edge of the bed.
He nodded, "(You remember… what happened after Third Impact?)" He closed his eyes for a moment.
"(Destiny showed me some things, but just the… um… highlights doesn't describe it.)" She shook her head, "(I know you and Asuka were all alone, and you tried to do everything you could for the two of you to survive. … Asuka fell in a crack, and died there.)"
"(Yeah…)" Shinji croaked, "(I found her body days later. After I buried her, I just… ran away. I didn't care anymore. I… my mind broke. Again. I ran until I could run no more, and after I couldn't run anymore, I walked. Somehow, I don't know when, I ended up in the next city, following the coast. I don't know which city. I wandered around, and kept on walking, my shoes went to pieces under my feet, and I kept on walking. I didn't eat, or drink, or sleep. In the end, I found a ruined building, one of the walls had fallen down, but the rest were still standing, the bathtub was still there. I was too tired to keep on walking, so got in it, and laid down in the tub(. The last thing I remember is watching the night sky, full of stars, and the moon right there, with those cicadas chirping around me. I… I died there, Misato.)"
She hug him carefully, tears flowing down her face, soaking the loose white hospital robe he wore.
Japan
Atami City
5 Years After Third Impact
"(Okay, people. Let's clear this area and see what can we salvage.)" A masculine voice ordered, in front of a group of 40-plus men and women.
"(Sure, boss.)" A man with sand colored hair pushed his eyeglasses up his nose. "(You heard him!)" He clapped his hands and got to work. "(Teams of three, always in sight! You know the drill!)"
The man in charge sat down on an old stone seat, part of a matching set, the kind old men used in parks to play chess on boards worked on a stone table. He unfolded a city map over the stone table, and located their position. The map had been divided in squares, many of them crossed with red crayon. A young woman sat on the other seat, putting a bag on the ground. "(I brought our lunch.)" She said, a big smile on her freckled face. Her long brown hair fell loose on her back. Her companion smiled. "(Great! I'm starving!)" He folded the map again, and put it in his pocket.
She brought a couple of wood boxes out of the bag, passing one to her companion. As they ate, they joked and flirted with each other. Making plans for later. A sad squak sounded next to them.
"(Hey, buddy.)" The man said, passing a piece of fish to the penguin. "(I know. I miss them too, Pen-Pen.)"
The sandy haired man ran to the group. "(Toji! Toji!)" He panted, his hands on his knees. "(We found… a… a… a body…)"
"(Well, we will bury them, just as always, Kensuke.)"
He shook his head, "(Not this one, Toji. Not just bury him.)"
Hikari stood up. "(Why? What's different? Is it hard to recover?)"
"(You have to see it. Come.)"
The group went to the ruins of a house, "(Step carefully.)" Kensuke reminded them. "(Over here.)"
The two men in Kensuke's team stood next to the bathroom door.
In the bathtub, a mummified corpse rested, its head tilted towards the missing wall, as if it was looking at the landscape beyond the ruins.
Its brown hair was long and unkempt, the leathery skin stretched over the bones, contracted in a sad gesture. The face had a familiar almond shape. A dirty white shit and ragged black pants covered the body, but it had no shoes on his feet.
Toji Suzuhara knelt next to the bathtub, behind him, Hikari and Kensuke watched. Pen-Pen squawked sadly, his head down.
Hikari found her voice, "(It can't be him, right? We are very far from Tokyo-3.)"
Kensuke shook his head. "(It's him.)" He pointed at the shirt pocket. The edge of a NERV ID card was visible.
Toji pulled the plastic out, and held it carefully in his fingers to read it. "(Hey…)" his voice broke, "(…hello, Shin-man. Long time no see you.)"
Next day, there was a new grave in the cemetery. The ceremony was simple, as was the grave. Just a wooden box and a stone slab, roughly carved with a name, a brief text, and a date
(Shinji Ikari
Friend and Pilot
May Death grant him the peace
he didn't know in life
Born June the 6th, 2001
Found by his friends; June the 6th, 2020)
The small group dispersed, to continue their salvage of usable items, tools, books, and anything that could be useful.
Toji and Hikari were the last to leave the grave. Toji wiped an angry tear from his eyes, while Hikari held his hand. "(What a lousy birthday gift.)" (1)
"(No. He is at peace.)" She said, hugging Toji's arm and resting her head on his shoulder. "(We found him and brought him back, Toji. He can rest now.)"
He nodded,(… Yeah, I guess you are right.)" He took his shovel, and dug a small hole close to the head of the grave. "(I'm gonna plant a tree right here, Hikari. One that will grow big and give him some shade.)" (2)
She smiled, and kissed his cheek. "(I'll help you.)"
2 years later
"(Hey, Shin-man. Happy birthday.)" Toji Suzuhara knelt in the shade over the grave, "(You know I'm not any good with words, but I got news I'd like to tell you.)"
He began to clear the weeds that had grown since the last time he had visited. "(To start, Hikari said Yes! We are now officially a couple, and we got our own little Suzuhara in the way. She's sure it will be a boy, and I'm sure it will be a girl. We…)" he threw the weeds in a bucket. "(Well, we got to think about the names, and well… we decided on Shinji if it's a boy and Asuka is it's a girl. My friend and her friend, you know?.)" He chuckled, "(Kensuke is a daddy already, you know. Twin girls! Who woulda thought it! My buddy the military nerd found a girl who happened to be another military nerd! You woulda liked her. She's into tanks, while Kensuke is into ships. And their girls are no other than Rei and Misato Aida. Twin terrors of the town. And it seems both will be airplane nuts!)" Toji laughed heartily for a little while.
He watered the tree and the grass on the grave. "(Hikari sends her regards, but she couldn't come this year. Mornin' sickness got her somewhat fierce. She gots the cravin's for vanilla ice cream. I'm gonna surprise her, I found an old manual machine and some vanilla powder. Pen-pen is with her. The old bird is like her butler or sumthin'.)"
Satisfied with his work, Toji stood up. "(Well, Shin-man. I gotta go, clean up the memorial for the others, and go back to Hikari. I'll give your regards to our Rei, Asuka, and Miss Misato. We'll bring the little one next time, I hope.)"
15 Years after Third Impact
"(Hello, Shinji. It's just me this year, Toji sends his regards. He couldn't come.)" Hikari said, sitting on a portable stool after tending to the grave. "(We are now back in the sea! He and the lads in town repaired a ship, several of them were sailors before Third Impact. The towns along the coast are doing well, and the trade is better each time. We got news about many places through the radio. There is a steady flow of people returning from the sea, and the water is clearing up. In some towns, you have to sail very far from shore to find the red waters, so I guess the world is recovering. Some scientist guy says he thinks seasons are returning too, and we might see an autumn in ten or so years.)"
She paused. "(I have been writing down our time in Tokyo-3, you know? To remember you, and Asuka and Rei. Kensuke found some old laptops and they still work! I'll read you something next time.)"
40 years after Third Impact.
"(Today marks the beginning of a new age! We have reclaimed many, many things from before Third Impact, and today we return to the sky!)"
The ceremony proceeded smoothly, with the old friends from Tokyo-3 smiling in the crowd.
Kensuke clapped enthusiastically, seeing his daughters adjust their googles and scarfs, before climbing to the cockpit of the small airplane. Rei and Misato Aida had been instrumental in building the first propeller plane in decades.
The ship was relatively primitive, it used a bio-diesel motor and was made mainly from wood and cloth over a metallic frame. It reused old technology, updated with new design tools and processes.
On its sides, it showed a proud title and nose art.
"(The Spirit of Tokyo-3.)" It read, and had an stylized caricature of Unit-01 holding a fist forward, in the classic Superman pose.
100 years after Third Impact.
"This is just the first step." So said the first astronaut to step on the Moon, in English, his first language.
"We, Mankind, claim our right to walk amids the stars." Said the second, in German, standing proudly next to his companion.
"We shall sail the infinite sea." Said the third, in Japanese.
They stood there; in the shadow of the lunar lander, very far from the blood tainted streak that still covered the Moon from side to side.
"Control, we are ready to begin."
The first manned expedition to the moon since the 20th Century would return to Earth for months. They were not simply explorers, they were colonists.
The Lunar Project honored the sacrifice of the NERV crew in the early 21st Century.
The Katsuragi expedition began the construction of the lunar habitat. The first permanent human colony would be divided in three main sections, each one named after one of the Evangelion pilots.
300 years after Third Impact.
Jupiter Orbit
"(I didn't believe it when they told me, and I don't believe it now.)"
"(Yeah; I know. Why would anybody put a big robot in orbit around Jupiter?)"
"(And it's a decaying orbit. Are we to recover it?)"
"(Nope. It's too far down, give it a couple of months more and it will go down like a stone. We are just to put a set of long range sensors and let it drop.)"
"(We have more important things to do anyway. Let's collect some asteroids from the ring to process the materials.)" (3)
Eventually, the data gathered by the sensors yielded valuable information about the formation of the Solar System. No one ever knew about the soul embedded in the core of Unit-01.
Yui Ikari's "eternal monument to mankind" was crushed in Jupiter's atmosphere long before Unit-01's remains crashed on solid ground. The core fragments dispersed in the winds. (4)
Hogwarts
Hospital Wing
"Major. Shinji. I came as soon as I could." Rei explained. "Are you okay?"
"I'll be. I had a horrible nightmare." Shinji tapped at his ear and looked around. It wouldn't do to spill anything in a place that could have listening charms. Rei nodded minutely. Message received.
"Madam Pomfrey prescribed some Dreamless Sleep potion for tonight. Shinji will stay for observation." Rei noted.
"I see."
Shinji shrugged with his healthy shoulder, "At least now I know what's my worst fear."
Misato winced, "Living it in technicolor is not a suggested therapy! I knew those ghost stories Nanny Akagi told you when you were a child would come back to haunt you!"
He closed his eyes. "I didn't even remember them! I thought the Boggart would turn into the Commander."
"Well, kid; they got in your subconscious mind, that's obvious now. Remind me to get you a nice Mind Healer if the nightmares come back."
The three kept silent for a moment.
Finally, Misato broke the silence, "I still have to write Malfoy daddy the letter. Are you two okay with me leaving?"
Shinji thought about it for a moment, "Yeah. I'll remind Harry to send his friend to see you." (5)
"Good. I want to be sure there are no problems."
Madam Pomfrey opened the curtains. "Visiting time is over, Miss Katsuragi, Miss Ayanami. I'll let you know if something unforeseen happens. Mr Ikari needs to rest."
"Very well. I'll be available in Hogsmeade for a few days, I guess." Misato nodded, and then turned to Rei. "Unless I say otherwise, you're in charge, Rei."
The bluenette nodded solemnly. "I will relay the news to Mr. Potter and Miss Granger. They will inform the rest of Gryffindor House." She would inform Luna too.
Author notes:
(1) Officially, Shinji's birth date is June the 6th, 2001.
(2) Every person to come out Instrumentslity dis so in perfect health. Toji Suzuhara recovered his leg and arm, crushed by Unit-01 after the 13th Angel fight.
(3) There is a ring system around Jupiter, it's not as visible as Saturn's but it's there. The rings are made mainly of dust and small pieces of cosmic debris.
(4) Yui miscalculated the trajectory. A very human mistake. After all she did, I didn't want to give her any measure of triumph.
(5) Dobby.