Summertime Blues

The next few days passed without incident, till it was Friday night: the day before Rei's reactivation test. Dr. Akagi had decided to come over for dinner. Unfortunately for everyone, it was Misato's night to cook. Shinji didn't even bother eating on such nights; and he wasn't bothered enough to warn Ritsuko that her friend's cooking hadn't improved since college.

"Ugh. . .oohhh," the Doctor kicked herself, as she gripped her sides and covered her mouth in an attempt not to revisit the meal she had just choked down. "Next time you invite me over," she scolded Misato, "make sure it's Shinji's night to cook."

"Oh, picky picky," Misato said.

The Doctor seemed to swallow deeply, before letting out a large sigh. Then suddenly, "Oh! I keep forgetting." Ritsuko started rummaging through her purse. Shinji wasn't paying attention. The first thing he noticed was an i.d. card being shoved into his hand.

"He's been in a funk ever since the last fight," Misato commented.

"Well, besides that," the Doctor said dismissively, "Shinji, could you do me a favor?" Shinji didn't say a thing. He was looking at his security card, and– once again– the finality of his situation hit him. "I need you to give Rei Ayanami her renewal." The Doctor held out another Nerv security pass: this one had the blue-haired pilot's face on it– and her name– instead of Shinji's.

"What's the matter?" Misato began in a devilishly innocent tone, "You're staring at Rei's photo, aren't you?"

"Ah," Shinji's faced turned beet red, "no–"

"Come on, you're embarrassed!" Shinji was trying his hardest not to get sucked in to Misato's game. "Now you have an official excuse to go to Rei's home. Good~Luck~" Misato said in a sing-song voice.

"Why do have to tease me?" Shinji couldn't help himself.

"You're quick temper makes you easy to tease," Misato explained with glee.

"I can't believe Shinji's the grown-up in this relationship," the Doctor was exasperated.

Shinji calmed himself down, and without thinking went back to looking at the blue-haired pilot's photo. "I just find it strange that I know so little about her, even though we're both Eva pilots."

"She's a nice girl," Ritsuko responded airily, "But she's like your father, I guess: She's not very adept. . ."

"At what?" Shinji wondered out loud.

The Doctor took another drink, and finished, "Living, I guess." 'Actually, that makes sense'– as Shinji thought back to that day at school. . .

Like every day, Shinji walked through the door and greeted the classroom half-heartedly. "Good Morning."

"Hey, Shin-man!" The past four days had been different, though. This greeting was the first step toward normal. Not normal for a boy like Shinji– he had never had any friends. But, he thought, this might be normal for other boys: other high schoolers like Toji and Kensuke.

Both of the boys had actually talked with him in and out of class the last few days. They joked with him. They even seemed to like him. 'Weird though', Shinji had to admit to himself. The day he returned to school, Toji had pulled him out of 1st period and taken him behind the school. At first, Shinji thought the overly irritable boy wanted another go at punching him.

"'it me!" Toji demanded.

"Eh?" Shinji couldn't believe it.

"It's just the kind of guy he is," Kensuke said wisely.

"I was stupid!" Toji yelled in apology. "I'd no idera 'bout ur situation, 'n' acted like a jerk. We've gotta be even, so 'it me."

Shinji clenched his fist. He thought for a moment that the boy might be making fun of him, and that made him want to take Toji's offer all the more. "You sure about this?"

"Yeah," Toji said. "As long as ya don't 'old back." Shinji considered him. His eyes darted quickly to Kensuke, who gave Shinji a smile and a thumbs up.

'They're for real,' Shinji thought excitedly. He cocked his arm, and threw his fist.

"Ouch!" Toji rubbed his nose. Shinji had stopped just short of his face, and flicked his nose.

"I think," Shinji said playfully, "That I'll have you owe me one." Shinji had meant it at as a joke, and Kensuke did laugh; but Toji hounded him for the next few days to hit him already. Either way, the three boys had developed an awkward friendship.

Shinji greeted the two boys as he put down his bag at his seat. He didn't linger though. Ayanami had been absent since he had started attending school again, and both Toji and Kensuke told him that she hadn't been to school since Shinji's last battle. Today, however, there she was– like always– staring out the window.

"Ah– Ayanami," Shinji tried to begin a conversation of which he didn't know the point. The girl gave no sign of recognition, but some how Shinji knew she was listening. "I know you said that I didn't have to worry, so I won't. But. . .I'm still glad you're feeling better– enough to come to school, I mean."

"Why?"

"Huh?"

". . ." Rei had thought her question was pretty straight forward. Maybe this was one of those times when the Third Children didn't know how to answer a question, and so pretended not to understand– Rei had noticed that he did this sometimes with Misato, their classmates, and others.

The blue-haired pilot turned toward Shinji for the first time, and he came under that powerful gaze emanating from her red eyes. He searched around in his head for what she could have meant by 'Why?'. Why am I talking to her? Why do I think she's better? Why am I glad? Why am I still worrying?

While Shinji was thinking all this and more, a lot of time had passed. People in the class were wondering why a military pilot– or even 'a nice boy'– like Shinji was talking to that girl. That girl was notorious for having the worst attitude that any of the students or the teachers had ever seen. She had never attended school on a regular basis, but some how none of the teachers took any notice. She had been through the same jr. high school that most of the others had, and some had even known her back in the last grades of elementary. It was the same then too. No matter how often she was absent, the teachers never talked about it– and she never received any punishment.

Even when she was at school, she never payed attention in class. She never ate lunch, never talked with anyone, and never stayed at the school for a second longer than she needed to– no clubs or extra-curricular activities either. People had dismissed or ignored her as a 'bad seed'; and all the girls spread rumors about how she constantly died her hair, and that she wore contacts every day to make her eyes that unnatural color. Most people took these at face value, labeling Rei a 'delinquent'.

In Jr. High, some people who had known her in elementary had spoken up against this. For one thing, Rei was at the top of the class, yet she had never been seen studying. Her skin was pale white, no matter what time of the year it was. The school had even been on a trip to the beach, and Rei didn't tan– a boy named Matthieu remembered this in particular. He was an expert on all the pretty girls, and no one could deny that Rei was a beauty ("That's why the girls spread those rumors," Matthieu would say wisely). All this meant that Rei must be an Albino, and her red eyes were apart of her condition. As for her hair, it must have something to do with her condition as well. Maybe her albinism was so severe that it stole the pigment from her hair, so that it was actually white. Rei was a girl after all– even if she was odd to the point of madness– and would rather have her hair be blue than white.

However, this second theory died out, as the girls– and some of the boys who thought Rei was cute, but were turned off by her cold attitude– shouted down anything other than the mantra: 'Rei the delinquent'– or– 'Rei the Ice Queen'.

But Shinji was different. He was a pilot, and (probably) the hero who saved the city from those monsters. He could be the most popular kid in school, but he was just as cold as Rei– even more so. People dismissed the character flaw by saying things like: "It must be tough on him y'know? Someone as important as him really couldn't have time for friends, right? Yeah, we really shouldn't trouble him."

But even so, he shouldn't be talking to Rei. She was a beauty, for sure, but she was a bad influence on the pure Shinji. He would learn soon enough. One conversation with her and Shinji would stay as far away as possible.

And while Shinji was thinking, and their classmates were murmuring, Rei was staring at Shinji. 'He doesn't need to be concerned with me. Why is he glad? What's this feeling?' This last question occupied her mind most of the time Shinji was anywhere near her. Even when he wasn't around– even when she was alone at night– her minds drifted back to her fellow Pilot. 'He still isn't answering. I should ask him again. No, wait, he probably doesn't want to answer. That's right, I can see it in his face. He doesn't want to talk to me anymore, but he's trying to think of someway to answer. He doesn't want to be rude, so he's trying to think of an answer. That's ok, he doesn't have to.'

Rei, thinking she was letting Shinji off the hook, turned away and went back to looking out the window. Of course, Shinji thought this would happen. The other pilot obviously wanted nothing to do with him. He silently went back to his seat, and the rest of the class internally nodded their approval of what had just happened. This way, Shinji would stay away from that girl.

For the rest of the class time, Shinji stared over at Ayanami, and Rei stared out the window. Last period was P.E., and only very reluctantly did Shinji go with Toji and Kensuke to the field. The girls had swimming that day, while the boys were taking turns playing basketball.

Toji was especially good, but Shinji was barely paying attention to the game. The three boys ended up on the same team, and won by twenty points– though everyone agreed that Shinji was useless at sports. The three boys took a seat against the wall of a raised plateau. On the topside of the raised ground was an outside pool where the girls were. Shinji looked up and to the left, and saw that the girls were leaning against the iron chain-linked fence, waiting for their turn to swim.

There was Rei, looking down at her feet as she sat apart from the other girls. "All da girls 'ave such lovely breasts. . ." Shinji's thoughts were broken by Toji's voice.

"Ew, Suzuhara has that look in his eyes," Shinji heard the far off voice of a girl. And then another, "What a perv."

"Tch," Toji dismissed the girl's comments, and eyed Shinji suspiciously. "What's Shinji lookin' et?"

Shinji was startled at his own embarrassment, but managed to say indifferently. "Er, nothing in particular."

"Yer lookin' et Ayanami aren't ya?"

"Don't deny it!" teased Kensuke. "It's so obvious."

"Yeah," Toji and Kensuke moved closer to Shinji. They leaned in closer and closer as they said mischievously:

"Her breasts–"

"Her thighs–"

"Her. . ." Toji and Kensuke were inches from Shinji's face, "Naughty Bits!"

"I told you, it's not like that!" Shinji demanded. He looked back up towards Ayanami.

Shouts of "Cute!" and "Shinji!" sounded from the girls next to Rei. As if roused out of her reverie by the sound of her fellow pilot's name, Rei looked up from her feet and moved her head ever so slightly to look down at the basketball field. Shinji seized his chance. Grabbing the nearest face– which happened to be Toji's– Shinji contorted the features and spun the rest of the boy's body on the spot.

"Hehehe," the girls giggled, and one of them said, "I didn't think Ikari had it in him."

'Knew it,' Shinji thought to himself, as Toji shook him off, 'She didn't laugh.'

"What da HELL d'ya think yer DOIN'!" Toji demanded.

Years of shrugging anything remotely serious off as a joke had its toll– his thoughts hadn't reached his heart. Placidly he thought, 'Is she an alien or something? Eh. . .couldn't be.'

"Ikari! LOOK ET ME!" Toji was about to hit him, when Shinji noticed him.

"Oh! Let's say. . .we're even now!" Shinji put up his arms in case Toji thought he should shove it; but the latter looked defeated.

'I din't want 'im ta get me back like DAT. . .' Toji was one of those deathly loyal friends, not out of a sense of fondness or friendship– those were too emotional, an emotions could change– but out of a sense of duty or honor. He was a man with a code, and he wouldn't break it: 'Ev'n ef I wanna punch 'is block off,'

"Alright you punks," the P.E. teacher called after sounding his whistle, "Get changed and classes are done for the day."

As the three boys walked off the field, Shinji had an idea, but it was a long shot. "Hey, Toji. Has she always been like that?"

Though he looked completely disinterested, Toji responded after a few long seconds, "Ayanami, ya mean?" Shinji nodded. "Et least since de last ye'r of middle school– dat's when she tr'nsferr'd 'ere, right?"

"Yep," Kensuke nodded. "Never even tried to make friends. And NO ONE has ever seen her smile. Always the same 'Ice Queen'."

"And al'ays been dat hot of er babe," Toji added, as he traced feminine curves in the air with his hands.