Don't have much to say except spend time with your moms today...after you finish reading this of course.
Shinji raised an eyebrow at what Misato had said.
It was the next day and just several hours away from Asuka's synchronization test.
"What do you mean I can't be there during Asuka's synchronization test?" asked Shinji.
Misato let out a sigh and said, "Shinji you must know why I can't allow you to be near Asuka while she does this."
"No I don't understand!" said Shinji, his voice starting to bristle with anger. "Why shouldn't I be in there! She'd feel better if she knew I was close to her!"
"Thats exactly why I can't let you be there. We don't...know if she's able to pilot, and you being there will certainly cause her synchronization to fluctuated randomly. While she's confident in her ability to pilot, and I myself am confident that she's ready, we wont know for certain until she steps inside Unit 02." Here she paused and frowned at Shinji until she finished with, "And you two seem to have...gotten closer this past day. I'd prefer to not have to restrain you incase something does happen with the test..."
"As if you could restrain me," mumbled Shinji.
Misato frowned at him, knowing that he had said something negative but not quite able to hear what it was.
"I'm adamant about this...don't make me have to confine you to-"
"Fine I get it," snarled Shinji.
Without another word, he stormed out of Misato's office, leaving Misato briefly wishing that Shinji and Asuka had never met.
Shinji's fist collided against the sheet-rocked wall the second he slammed the door closed with his foot, punching a hole straight through the wall and connecting with the hard metal beyond it. Adrenaline surging through his body, Shinji yanked his fist out of the hole, sending bits of white sheet rock and flecks of blood from his split knuckles flying through the air. Breathing heavily, adrenaline still flowing through him, he looked down at his torn hand as blood continued flowing from the split skin, and started dripping onto the ground.
"Damn it," he swore openly into the empty bedroom that was currently designated to him.
Sitting down on the edge of the bed that him and Asuka had recently shared, he continued staring at his bleeding hand, making no apparent effort to stem the flow of blood.
"What am I doing?" he wondered.
Asuka was going to pilot again, and his mind couldn't fully grasp that concept. He hated it when she stepped into her Evangelion, not only because it completely changed her, but largely because he wasn't able to be there and comfort her. She completely sectioned herself off from the rest of the world when she was incased in the entry-plug.
Then he had to wonder about her own Evangelion, Unit 02. If he was correct in his assumption, that a human soul resided in the Evangelions, and that the souls were somehow connected to person who pilots it...then who's soul was in Unit 02. As much as Shinji knew about Asuka, he couldn't think of anybody in her life who would have been considered applicable.
'Maybe she wont be able to pilot though,' he thought suddenly. 'If she can't, then how will she react? She felt confident about it, but I don't think she was telling me the entire truth. Certainly she has to feel some anxiety over this. Then what should I do if she can't pilot? Comfort her for starters I suppose...but then what, living here will be too painful for either of us. So then should we run away? Start a new life?'
The immediate thought of that put Shinji off. He hated it here, felt as though he was a pawn under his father, but he also had something that he and only he could do. That gave him a purpose in life which he had never had. No, he didn't think he'd be able to leave. Even so...if she isn't able to pilot.
The adrenaline started to wear off from his cold fury earlier and his hand was starting to throb like crazy now. Bitting down on his lips, he stood up and walked to the bathroom down the hall to his right. Entering the bathroom, he turned on the faucet to one of the sinks, and submerged his hand in lukewarm water. It stung slightly, but he supposed this was better than letting it get infected.
Even as he thought this, he saw the blood dripping from his hand into the sink suddenly stop, and next second, start to reverse itself as it traveled back into the open wound. Shinji's eyes widened as the blood continued flowing back into the wound, before the folds of skin that had been torn apart and left dangling across his knuckles, suddenly moved as though an invisible hand was guiding them, and placed themselves over the wound. Billions of cells worked in conjunction with each other to connect the flayed pieces of skin, until Shinji was able to look down at his hand and only see white scars where the wound had been.
Trying not to panic to much, Shinji looked at his own reflection in the mirror and was unsurprised to see that his eyes had turned a blood red. Looking back down at his hand, he turned it over and examined the other side, wondering if the wound hadn't been transferred somewhere else.
"So looks like I can heal myself somewhat now," Shinji mumbled as his blood red eyes slowly changed back into the brown color that he was normally used to looking at.
'Probably best to not let anybody know about this...including Asuka,' he thought.
Turning off the sink faucet, he continued looking at himself in the mirror for a few more seconds before he slowly plodded out of the mens bathroom.
At first he thought about simply going back to his room and sleeping, but he found that his feet had a mind of there own.
After walking down many hallways, during which he thought of little else but Asuka, Shinji found that he was standing in the elevator that would take him down to Unit 01 chamber.
He had never done something like this before, having trying to avoid anything to do with Unit 01 unless it was related to battling the angels. Part of it was because deep down, he still resented Unit 01 and everything that it represented, both his fathers part in the creation of the Evangelions, and because of Asuka's long involvement with them.
As the doors opened, Shinji glimpsed around briefly, taking in the environment. The first thing he noticed, was that a metal walkway going outward from the doors was floating on what appeared to be LCL fluid. In fact, half the chamber was filled with LCL fluid.
As Shinji stepped out of the elevator and onto the walkway, he immediately saw Unit 01 in his peripheral vision. As he continued walking, he kept his eyes focused on Unit 01, and if somebody was standing in front of him, he probably would have run into them.
Now as he stood in front of Unit 01, he walked slowly forward and placed his hands on the railing that prevented him from falling into the sea of LCL fluid. As he stood there, he felt that he knew why he wanted to be here. The fact that his mother was so close comforted him ways that he realized Asuka couldn't. As he continued looking up at Unit 01, he briefly thought where he would be if his mother had still be alive. He supposed that he never would have met Asuka, which irked him somewhat, but even so...the prospect of a mother in his life still tugged at his heart.
Shinji must have been in a daze for a while, because he didn't hear when the elevator doors on the opposite side of the walkway opened with a snap.
After a few seconds though, as the sounds of footsteps started to register in his head, he spun his head around, cricking it in the process, and was surprised to see Rei walking towards him.
'Ayanami?' he thought.
As Rei continued walking towards him, Shinji let his hands off the railing and turned towards her. At first he thought she was going to walk by him, but was openly surprised when she turned towards Unit 01 and gazed at it just as he had done moments before.
After a few minutes of silence, during which Shinji continued looking at her and Rei continued looking at Unit 01, Shinji was about to start a conversation which would have surely dissolved into thin air when Rei surprisingly asked him something.
"I'm surprised that you are here Ikari-kun..."
If Rei was surprised to see Shinji here looking at Unit 01, it was nowhere to how Shinji felt about hearing Rei speak first.
Shinji had always been...well not afraid, but...Rei had always seemed strange to him. First he knew about her relation with his father, which he couldn't understand. Though admittedly he had never really thought of trying to know why she cared for him so. Second...well he honestly never got to know her very well, being so absorbed in living with Asuka and his own problems. But he was also...curious about her, because she felt different to him than anybody else who he had ever met, as though she was like him in some way.
Coming out of his sudden thoughts, he turned to her with a blank expression on his face and said, "What I'm...doing here..."
Rei continued looking back at him with the usual expression on her face.
Feeling slightly embarrassed by his response to her question, Shinji turned away from her quickly. How was it that it was harder to talk to her then it was to Asuka?
'Well thats simple,' he replied to his own question. 'You can easily talk to Asuka because you've been around her so much. Ayanami...not so much.'
Continuing to look away from her, Shinji glanced briefly at Unit 01 out of the corner of his eye and wondered what Asuka would have said if she could have seen him all flustered.
'Probably would have become jealous and hit me,' he thought as a smile started to spread over his face.
Feeling slightly better, he turned back to Rei and said, "I've never been here before, trying to forget about Unit 01 as much as possible when I wasn't inside of it. I suppose I...well Asuka's of course taking her synchronization test right now, and Misato didn't want me there, so I just sorta...ended up here."
Rei was silent as Shinji finished.
"How come you're here though Ayanami?" asked Shinji suddenly.
Rei seemed to pause for a moment before she said, "I sometimes come here by myself," she said quietly.
Shinji was rather surprised at her response and raised an eyebrow.
"How come? Isn't it kinda...lonely?"
"...Lonely? No...not really. Unit 01 is here after all," she said while gesturing towards the giant head of the Eva that was perturbing out of the LCL fluid.
"Unit 01?" asked Shinji surprised that she would say such a thing. Did she know what the Eva's contained? And speaking of which...what soul was inside her Eva, Unit 00?
"Yes," said Rei emotionlessly as she continued looking at Unit 01.
Shinji follow her gaze, and looked into the eyes of his Eva, wondering if his mom could see him.
"Hey umm Ayanami...?"
"Yes Ikari-kun?"
"...You can call me Shinji you know...everybody else does."
Shinji tore his eyes way from Unit 01 and directed them at Rei, who he was surprised to see was also looking back at him.
"Err...Ayana-"
"Shin...ji...kun."
"You can drop the 'kun' you know," Shinji said quickly. "We know each other and...well as I said, everybody calls me just Shinji so...
Rei nodded slightly to indicated that she understood. Turning back to Unit 01, she said, "You wanted to ask me something?"
Shinji started, momentarily forgetting what he had originally wanted to ask her before they got sidetracked with the way she addressed him.
"How do you...get along so well with my father?" he finally managed to say.
"Your father?"
"Yeah," said Shinji as he nodded.
Rei seemed to think about that for a moment before she said, "I don't understand what you mean by that. The commander is...kind to me, and so I am also kind to him."
"But I mean...I've seen you talking to him, more adamantly then you normally do."
Rei was silent for a moment as she pondered what Shinji meant, and after giving her a few seconds Shinji continued.
"Myself, I've never cared for him. He abandoned me when I was a kid, went to work with Nerv I suppose now that I think about everything. Part of me always wished that I had his love...or at least his respect. I suppose you could say that I'm...envious of you, because he seems to care for you more than he does me, his own son."
"I don't think thats true," said Rei quietly.
Shinji glanced back at her and said, "I don't know what to think about him anymore, nor do I think I really care."
"Do you mean that?"
"Why shouldn't I? He's been absent in my life for so long, even if he were to make amends for everything he's ever done...I still couldn't forgive him."
"Because you hate him?"
"Correct..."
"But you don't know how he feels about you."
"Does it really matter? Its enough that I don't want any part of him in my life."
"Then why do you pilot Eva?"
Shinji's head swiveled so quickly to look at her that he suffered whiplash as though Misato had just slammed on the brakes of her car. Rubbing the back of his neck, he looked back at Rei only to see that her eyes were fixed unblinkingly on his own.
"Why I pilot...I have my own reasons, as I'm sure you do also," he said trying to avoid the question.
Rei continued looking at him unblinkingly for a few more seconds before she turned her eyes back to Unit 01 and said, "A person without a purpose isn't a person."
Shinji blinked several times, trying to decipher what she meant by that. After several seconds of failed attempts, Shinji instead asked, "Then why do you pilot?"
"Me? ...I pilot to discover who I am..."
"Who you are? Aren't you Ayanami Rei? Is there anybody else you could be? I mean...well...I know who you are at least."
Rei looked back at him, and if Shinji was correct in his assumption, her face seemed to show genuine surprise.
"Who am I to you?"
"Well...one of the few friends of mine first and foremost, then I suppose that we're both Eva pilots...and we are...somewhat alike."
"Alike?"
"I mean..." Shinji trailed off, unsure exactly what he had planned on saying. The honest fact was, that on some level that he could never reach with Asuka, him and Rei were alike in certain ways.
"Never mind," said Shinji, quickly forgetting what they were talking about.
Rei nodded slightly and continued looking at Unit 01 for a few more seconds before she said, "The fourth child is supposed to be found."
Shinji whipped his head around for what felt like the umpteenth time and was about to ask her what she meant by that, but she was already walking past him to the opposite end of the walkway.
"Ayanami...what did you mean about the fourth child being found!" he yelled at her retreating back.
He may as well have shouted at the sky, for all the answer he got.
Eventually the hours passed, during which Shinji curled into a ball and fell asleep in front of Unit 01 dreaming about his mother materializing out of Unit 01, Rei's eyes suddenly glowing a bright blood red as she told him his father was dead, Asuka being trapped inside Unit 02 forever, and something that he wasn't able to remember to clearly. For some reason it maybe him think of the fourth child. All to soon though, he felt himself being roughly awakened by hands that were nonetheless smooth, but could cause he great pain at the same time.
"So this is where you've been the entire time," grumbled Asuka the second one of Shinji's eyes twitched open.
"Test go smoothly then?" asked Shinji, trying to keep the worry in his voice to a minimum.
"Without any problems," she said in such a way that seemed to adhere back to her old self.
A feeble smile flickered across Shinji's features during which he said, "Glad that you're fine."
"Like anything would have happened," she countered. "I'm the best there is. ...So? What were you doing around this pile of scrap metal?" she asked while pointing at Unit 01.
Shrugging, Shinji said, "Not sure, Misato said that I wasn't allowed to be there for your synchronization test, so I kinda...ended up wandering here."
"Yeah I heard that she was afraid that you would affect my concentration somehow. How utterly ridiculous. As if something like that could have broken my concentration." Asuka said this last part a lot less smugly then she had said the sentence before, and they were both briefly reminded of the previous day and everything that had happened between them.
"So," said Asuka trying to pull not only herself, but Shinji away from yesterday's events, "Misato wanted me to find you and take you back to her office."
"Why?"
"Not sure, she told me that she had something to tell both of us, and that it was quickest to do it together."
Shinji hesitated for a second before saying, "You don't think she's gonna like...give us a talk or anything...like about-"
"As if I want to hear a woman in her late twenties talking about that kind of stuff," said Asuka with disgust on her face. "And besides...why would you even think she'd want to talk to us about that?"
"No reason," said Shinji hurriedly.
Asuka looked at him mildly for a few seconds before she sighed and said, "Pervert," hitting him on the head with her fist.
"School?" asked Shinji with a confused look on his face.
"Did you not think that you'd have to continuing going or something?" replied Misato with a surprised look on her face. Asuka, meanwhile, who was standing next to Shinji looked as though she had just swallowed antifreeze. They were again back in Misato's office, having just heard that they were supposed to return to school...today.
"No, not really," said Shinji in all honesty. "I didn't think that I'd be allowed to go back...not that I ever really wanted to."
"You're still children and as such your education is still important."
"I've already been through college," argued Asuka, "and the Japanese school system sucks anyway."
"Yes, but you are still woefully inadequate when it comes to recognizing modern kanji. Typical Japanese students know upward of two thousand different kanji characters by graduation. In fact, Shinji knows more characters than you."
"So, he is Japanese. If he didn't know more kanji than me, I'd consider him retarded."
"Thanks," whispered Shinji feeling slightly annoyed at her insult. "But isn't school closing soon? Would there be much of a point in going right now?
In response, Misato held up two bags that she had apparently prepared ahead of time.
"I'm your guardian, so if you think about skipping I assure you that I will hear of it. And it wont be just you two either, Rei is returning today also."
"The pet?" asked Asuka with a raised eyebrow. "I thought she was too important for school."
Misato chose to ignore her comment and continued.
"While it is almost noon, I thought that it would be good to go anyway since you need to get in the habit of learning again."
"This is stupid," said Asuka with no attempt at hiding her displeasure.
Again, Misato ignored her comment.
"On another note...well this is more for Shinji, but you've been cleared for returning to our apartment for the time being."
Shinji felt Asuka stir next to him and had to hold back the urge to turn and grin at her. Instead, he settled on looking mildly puzzled while he asked, "Why the sudden change in...the way I'm viewed?"
Misato paused for a moment, wondering if he was angry or not before she said, "For now, its been determined that you're able to return to the apartment...and school. Though I must express you to never use your...AT-field, around other humans."
Shinji frowned at her saying, "I have enough common sense to know that already. And its not as though I'm blatantly using it."
"I know but...it is a rather delicate situation. To be honest, Nerv operatives will be maintaining a constant watch on you in case something ever happens."
"Which it wont," mumbled Shinji under his breath, clearly annoyed at the sudden intrusion into his life...not to mention his time with Asuka.
After that, Shinji wordlessly grabbed one of the bags out of Misato's hands and left the room, leaving Asuka and Misato looking at each other.
Sighing lightly, Asuka said, "Sorry about that. I'll berate him later for this."
"Don't bother," said Misato as she sat down in her chair and leaned back. "I don't really blame him for feeling annoyed about all this. If I had people watching me every second of my life I'd probably go insane. Honestly, I'm impressed at how well he's handled everything...though I should attribute some of that to yourself. Great job on the test today by the way. Your sync ratio was well above normal values...its better than when you first arrived here actually."
Asuka tried to not looked too pleased with herself, but her cheeks did turn slightly pink at what Misato had said about her and Shinji.
"Well I suppose that you should be leaving also," said Misato as she handed Asuka her bag. "Rei will be waiting for you guys at gate four. I'll be back at the apartment between five and six or so, and I'll want an accurate account of what you did at school today."
"M'kay," nodded Asuka as she took the bag out of Misato's hands and started walking towards.
"And Asuka," said Misato calling after her.
"Huh?" asked Asuka as she turned around, her flaming red hair spilling over her shoulders.
"Look after Shinji when you can...he's rather hard headed sometimes. But I feel as though you're the only one that he'll listen to."
"Will do," said Asuka, anxious not to let Shinji spend more than a few seconds alone with Rei.
"So you finally get to leave that stuffy place after being there for so long," said Asuka with a slight smirk on her face.
"I suppose," replied Shinji, "though being followed around doesn't feel like very much like freedom." As he said this, he had to hold back the urge to look all around him, trying to find anybody that he thought in the least bit suspicious.
Shinji, Asuka, and Rei were walking together down the sidewalks on there way to school. Shinji walked in the middle with Asuka on his right and Rei on his left. Asuka didn't even seem to acknowledge the fact that Rei was with them, trying to always keep Shinji looking at her. Unfortunately for her however, Shinji purposely kept trying to draw Rei into conversation with little success. The most she said was like six words, which he supposed was a considerable amount considering who he was trying to talk to.
"That means you can cook again," said Asuka, in what she hoped wasn't too excited a tone.
"What? Nerv food not quite up to your standards?" he asked, completely seeing through her vague statement.
"Well its not that its bad or anything...you're just a better cook is all," said Asuka, mumbling the last part of the sentence.
Shinji laughed lightly at that. "Well I can't deny that I'd like something that didn't come in a tray that looked as though I was in the military...which I suppose is kinda ironic. But I suppose its fine...anything you want specifically?"
"Nope," she said. "Whatever you decide on is fine."
"I suppose that I should grab a few things after school then. I can't imagine Misato has much in the way of ingredients after me being gone for almost two weeks."
Asuka hesitated for a second before she said, "I'll come with you."
Shinji thought about that for a moment. As much as he'd enjoy spending time with Asuka when nobody was around to interfere, he kinda wanted to do the shopping himself. That and he had something else on his mind.
"No...I think I'll go by myself this time."
"Oh...okay," said Asuka quietly, not entirely happy with his decision.
Shinji heard the downheartedness in her voice but tried to ignore it.
"C'mon," said Shinji. "If we don't hurry we'll miss class altogether."
School was much the same as Shinji had remembered it...stupid and tedious. The only thing that he was grateful for was that he only had to sit through an hour before the final bell rang. Kensuke and Touji were both glad to see that Shinji was back and seemed to be intact. They seemed to have been under the impression that with the last angel attack, he had lost several limbs. Though of course as they saw him it was obvious they were poorly informed. Even Asuka seemed to have hit it off quickly with Hikari and they were both chatting animatedly through class, though Shinji couldn't help notice the quick glances from Asuka directed at himself. It even seemed that they might be going somewhere after school for a bit. Shinji didn't mind that at all, because considering what he was going to do...well...she'd bight his head off for sure.
After school, Shinji parted with Asuka quickly and shrugged Kensuke and Touji off who had planned on going to the arcade. As if he had time for something like that. Besides, his chief concern right now was Rei.
He wasn't sure if it had something to do with what she had said about the fourth child, or because after there brief conversation earlier, he felt drawn to her in some way. Either way, he felt as though he needed to have a long talk with her. So after standing outside the school gates for what felt like an extra hour, he finally heard footsteps behind him and turned to see her walking towards him.
"I had thought that you might have left," said Shinji naturally as though she was a good friend that he often hung out with.
Shinji waited for a reply from her but didn't get it until she was walking past him.
"I was asked to stay behind to clean the classroom," she said quite unnaturally
"If I'd known that I would have helped. You should have asked me."
Rei was silent as though she hadn't heard him.
"Were is the pilot of Unit 02?" she asked instead.
Shinji raised an eyebrow at her, surprised that somebody could address a person they worked with in such a formal way.
"Who Asuka? She went with Hikari, the class rep."
"Why are you not with her?"
"I-" Shinji hesitated. "Well I had some other things that I needed to take care of. I need to get some food for dinner tonight...and I thought I'd talk to you about some...things..."
"You wanted to talk?"
"Yeah...like what you said about the fourth child."
"The fourth child?" asked Rei
"You said that that might have been found."
Rei paused for a moment before she said, "Captain Katsuragi may know more."
"Who chooses us?"
"Us?"
"People like us...children pilots I mean. I had heard before that Touji had been a candidate at one point, but nothing ever came of it."
Rei continued walking down the sidewalk in silence, ignoring his question if that was even possible with her.
Feeling slightly annoyed Shinji instead said, "What is my father planning?"
Rei paused again, but this time Shinji thought he sensed a slight change in her. Almost as though something was seeping through the cracks of armor that she had erected against her emotions.
Turning around she said, "Your father? The commander?"
"I know he's planning something with me...why else would he let me roam freely like this. Though of course he does have people nearby to watch."
"I do not understand," she said truthfully.
"You don't understand? How could you not, you're always around him?" said Shinji letting his anger towards his father get the better of him. "Why else would he bother running all those tests on me? He doesn't care about me, all he cares about are his stupid projects."
Rei blinked once as though she was showing surprise and walked slowly towards Shinji who had stopped walking.
As Rei got closer, almost as close as he and Asuka had been recently, he noticed that her eyes boor a strange resemblance to his own when he was influenced by his angel self.
'She has the same red eyes I sometimes do,' he thought. 'Almost as though she's-'
Rei drew her hand back and whipped it forward with a sudden rush of wind, striking Shinji across his left cheek, leaving the skin raw. It was a matter of Rei doing something so completely out of character that Shinji's head didn't spring backwards after she hit him, but instead leaned to the right and stayed there for a second. Shinji's eyes then slowly traveled away from the sidewalk and focused on Rei instead, and if Shinji didn't know any better, he would guess that Rei was shocked by her own actions.
Clearing his throat loudly, Shinji said, "Um...Ayanami?"
At first she didn't reply, still confused at how she had reacted. But slowly, she looked at the palm of her hand which had struck Shinji and said quietly, "Your father isn't like that."
Without another word, she bowed before Shinji, turned around, and walked away at a brisk pace. As Shinji saw her leaving, he quickly stretched out his hand in gesture for her to stay, but he would have had better lucky shouting. Slowly his hand dropped down to his side while he quietly rebuked his rash actions.
'Damn it...well this sucks,' he thought.
Burying his hands in his pockets, he continued standing on the sidewalk for a few minutes, until he finally turned around and decided that he may as well get the groceries for dinner tonight. Though as he started walking in the direction of the nearest supermarket, he paused and looked outward towards the waterfront of downtown Tokyo-3. In the distance, the damage that the angel had managed to inflict could still be seen. The shipyards that littered the Bay of Tokyo-3 were crumbled and the concrete slabs had been tossed to and fro by the angel. Even smaller office building had been completely ripped apart by the angel AT-field and left floating in the water. Shinji couldn't help but be surprised that people hadn't caught onto Nerv's true agenda before this. But he guessed it just proved that people didn't like their daily lives to be interrupted.
'Why do I feel as though I should walk down there?' he wondered. He'd never had any urge to see something like this before. It was the type of thing that Kensuke would enjoy.
"Well whatever," he said into the open air. "I suppose Asuka and Hikari will hang on for a while so I guess I have time to kill."
He had rarely been down to the waterfront where the ships docked and supplies were sent to other parts of Japan. He'd never really had a reason until now.
As he turned the corner around a small office building, he could see the devastation that lay just ahead of him. Much of Tokyo-3 rested on sedimentary rock, meaning that the ground was rather unstable in certain parts. The waterfront in particular had been created by moving dirt from many of the mountains that littered the landscape of Tokyo-3. Something of a makeshift offshoot of the mainland had been created specifically to transport goods and maintain the growing need of supplies as more and more people moved to Tokyo-3. Needless to say, the instant the angel attacked this part of Tokyo-3, the entire infrastructure crumbled. While much of Tokyo-3 rested on moving metallic plates which could retract inside the Geofront if need be, the waterfront had not had this security measure installed.
Standing several blocks away from the waterfront, Shinji could just see towering pieces of metal which he guessed were once part of large warehouses. Continuing to walk downward, he saw several cars pass by him, but didn't take any notice of him. Along the waterfront, a strip of pavement ran along the waterfront, making a half circle around the entire city before disappearing through a tunnel and into the mountains where it likely joined up with Tokyo-2.
As Shinji reached this road, he crossed and looked over the embankment down into the ruin of the waterfront. Twisted pieces of metal stuck out of the water on what the docks used to rest on. Much of the bay was congealed with loose pieces of wood that were splintered on both ends. Several craters littered the embankment that Shinji was standing on, and he took several hasty steps back in fear of the dirt giving way. Outwards a ways into the bay, a large barge lay tipped on its side while a large hole in the aft end of it leaked oil and took on water. All that was left of the large warehouses were the foundations, as the concrete had flown through the air and sunk to the bottom of the bay. Overall, it wasn't a very happy reminder of what could have been.
Walking closer now, Shinji peered over the edge and thought he saw a way to get down without sinking into any of the pits. And so, ducking under the yellow security tape that he completely ignored, he slowly made his way down the embankment.
Reaching the bottom quicker than he intended, he hit the hard ground and ran forward, the speed that he had gain going down the hill still present, before he slowed to a jog and finally into a walk.
He supposed that what he saw intrigued him in someways. The sheer devastation that the angels (and himself) inflicted on the landscape hardly ever crossed his mind. And here, he hadn't even been involved with the battle yet.
Walking forward a little more, he grabbed a small piece of what he guessed at one time had been a slab of concrete, and threw it with all his might through the air until it eventually dropped and splashed into the water.
"I wouldn't do that...you'll disturb the fish," said a voice to his left.
Shinji jumped so badly that for a second his feet left his shoes. Spinning around to his left, he saw what he had missed before. A twisted piece of metal was standing erect out of the water. It twisted straight upwards for a while until it curved inward, creating a C like shape. Sitting with his back again this C shape was a boy of around Shinji's age. His hair was white, tinged with very small strands of grey. His clothes were much the same as Shinji's: boring white with matching black pants. But his eyes, thats what first put Shinji on guard. His eyes were the same as Rei's, the same as his sometimes. But for all Shinji's sudden skepticism, he was still curious. He was certain he had not sensed anybody else's presence except his own until just now. It was almost as though this boy suddenly appeared out of thin air.
"Why?" asked Shinji.
"Because they're living on this planet just as you and I are."
Shinji was silent for a second after this vague explanation until he finally asked, "Who...are you?"
The boy turned to him and with a small smile said, "Me? I am Kaoru, Nagisa Kaoru."
Shinji frowned at the name. It was Japanese, but the boy didn't look the least bit Japanese.
"...What are you doing here?" Shinji asked.
"The same thing you're doing I suppose," he replied, still smiling away. "Enjoying the time you have to yourself."
Shinji was rather surprised at that. Was that why he had taken this unexpected detour? To have some time by himself?
"How do you know that?" asked Shinji.
"I can't think of any other reason a person would be here."
"...But you're here?"
"Yes I am. Just as you are here. Just as the fish are here. Just as everything will be here when the Lilim are gone."
The word seemed to jog a memory in his mind, a very pale memory for some reason, as though he was seeing it through very foggy glasses.
"Lilim?"
Kaoru was silent for a minute in response to Shinji's question, while Shinji started thinking, 'This is kid is kinda weird...'
"Humans if you prefer then. Humans will be gone long before anything else disappears."
"...But you're a humans yourself."
"True...very true," mumbled Kaoru more to himself than anything.
Standing up suddenly, he jumped down from the metal beam he had been resting on, turned towards Shinji and said, "Everything passes by sooner or later...Ikari Shinji-kun."
Shinji's eyes widened at that, but suddenly he felt like he had known this person for a long time.
"How do you know me?"
Kaoru laughed lightly at that. "You don't set much store by you...do you Ikari-kun?"
Shinji narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Its Shinji, and where have you heard of me?"
"Where else but Nerv," said Kaoru as he smiled. "I'm the fourth child after all."
Shinji had to do a double take at that.
"...What did you say?"
"I am the fourth child. I am a pilot like you."
Walking towards him, Kaoru stuck out his hand and said, "I look forward to working with you Shinji-kun."
Shinji continued looking at him for a few seconds longer, before he unclenched his right hand and placed it in Kaoru's right hand.
"Likewise," mumbled Shinji, never taking his eyes off of Kaoru's blood red eyes.
"What happened?" asked Asuka the minute Shinji walked over the threshold of Misato's apartment. "You took forever to get back home."
"Sorry," mumbled Shinji. "I got...sidetracked."
"Misato was wondering where you went...well, both of us were I suppose."
"Sorry," mumbled Shinji again.
It was well after five o'clock and already passed dark when Shinji finally made his way back to the apartment. After his strange conversation with Kaoru, he had a lot on his mind and ended up wandering the streets of Tokyo-3 for several hours. But no matter what Kaoru had said, Shinji kept on returning to the eyes that were so much like Rei's...so much like his own.
Walking into the kitchen, Shinji saw that Misato was already sitting there in a tank top and shorts and was drinking a beer.
"What happened to dinner?" asked Misato with a raised eyebrow.
Shrugging Shinji said, "I lost track of time."
Sighing Misato said, "Well its a good thing that me and Asuka ate already."
Turning around to face Asuka, Shinji asked, "You ate already?"
"Well...me a Hikari went out shopping and she was kinda hungry after a while, so we both got something to eat." After a few seconds in which Asuka saw the look that Shinji was giving her she said, "What? Its not like I was bound by what I said earlier."
"Well no but...what about you then Misato?"
"I ended up eating with Ritsuko and...Kaji while at Nerv."
"Well at least I don't have to worry about running down to the convenience store and getting anything," mumbled Shinji as he sank into one of the kitchen chairs across from Misato.
Walking around to the other of the kitchen table, Asuka sank likewise into a chair and asked, "So where'd you go."
"I...actually went down to the waterfront..."
Misato who had been halfway to taking a sip of her beer suddenly lowered it from her lips and asked, "Why'd you go there?"
"Not sure...just wanted to think about some things I guess."
"Well its not safe down there...didn't you see the yellow security tape."
"Yes, and I can handle myself."
"Thats what I'm afraid of," sighed Misato as she took a large gulp of beer.
"So we have to go to school again tomorrow?" asked Asuka without much hope.
"Yes, and while we're on the subject, Shinji you still haven't told me about your day at school."
"Won't it just be the same as Asuka's..."
"Not necessarily."
"Just tell her about it already!" said Asuka becoming annoyed as she stood up and vacated to the living room.
Shinji waited until Asuka was out of ear shot and until he could hear the T.V. blaring before he said, "Misato I have something else that I wanted to tell you."
"Without Asuka here?"
"Preferably...yes."
"...So what is it?"
"Have you...heard anything about the fourth child?"
Misato blinked several times before she drained her beer and slammed it down on the kitchen table. Thankfully, Asuka didn't think anything of it since Misato normally did that after drinking a beer.
"...Why do you want to know?" she asked hesitantly.
"Because I...well I met him," said Shinji throwing caution to the winds.
"...And? How did he seem to you?"
"I don't know...he's different then the rest of us...even Ayanami."
Misato then sighed, standing up and taking her beer with her. Tossing it in the recycling bin next to the kitchen she walked over to the sink and turned to faucet on full force. Turning back around, she said to Shinji while leaning against the counter, "I don't know much about him...but be wary of him."
"...Do you know something about him that I don't?"
Misato paused for a minute before she said, "Do you know about Seele?"
"Vaguely," replied Shinji.
"The fourth child comes directly from them...they chose him. All records of a life he may have had have all been erased. He is certainly different then Asuka...but..."
"...Is he like me then?" asked Shinji, clearly voicing what Misato had been thinking.
Misato shook her head in response. "I don't know for sure. I've heard that his sync ratio is abnormally high like your own, but as for any...exhibition of angel powers I'm not sure. Ritsuko is supposed to run tests on him tomorrow, but I don't think she'll find anything suspicious. The fact that he is directly backed by Seele is what makes me suspicious."
"So be careful in other words."
"Correct..."
"And could you not mention any of this to Asuka?"
"...Why?"
"I don't...want her involved in this anymore than she already is."
"Shinji she's-"
"I know! She's an Evangelion pilot like me...but even so, certain things she'd be better off not knowing."
"Shinji...I mean...you two are so deeply involved with not only each, but Nerv also, that I can't see the reason in not telling her this. She's gonna find out about it eventually."
"I know but..."
"Then if you want some personal advice...don't keep secrets from each other."
"Is that why you and Kaji split?" asked Shinji.
"...No. If our problems were as simple as that...well this isn't about me and him anyway. Trust comes in many different forms, and keeping secrets is one of those things that can destroy a relationship."
Shinji was silent for a moment while he contemplated Misato's words.
"And you'd better tell her before tonight ends," said Misato as she walked by Shinji, heading towards her own room. "Because chances are that they'll meet tomorrow."
As Misato closed the door to her room, Shinji stood up and turned off the faucet that Misato had left running. Turning around, he glanced at the opening to the living room where he could see the glow of the T.V. and hear the blaring of German coming out of it.
'Maybe later,' he thought, as he walked towards the bathroom, intent on taking a shower.
His 'maybe later' thought turned into 'several hours later' as it was well after eleven by the time Shinji got around to telling Asuka about what had happened between himself and Kaoru.
After his shower, Shinji felt so relaxed that he had completely forgotten how hungry he was and went straight to his room and eventually fell asleep listening to his SDAT. When he awoke though, the first thing he checked was his alarm clock. Suddenly he scrambled out of the covers that covered his body, and sat bolt upright reaching blinding for the light switch.
'Damn it...I overslept,' he thought as he opened the sliding door quietly, so as not to wake anybody that might be sleeping. Peering out, the first thing he noticed was that the T.V. was still on, and yet all the other lights in the apartment were turned off.
Tiptoeing out of his room he reached the entrance into the living room and looked in. A late night Japanese game show seemed to be on and a contestant had just won some prize money it seemed, though this was only the second thing that Shinji recognized. On the couch against the left wall was a small figure that was curled into a ball and clearly sleeping. Trying to suppress the laughter that was threatening to explode out of him, Shinji crept a little closer.
Asuka had fallen asleep watching T.V. which didn't surprise Shinji that much since it had happened before. Looking down at her peaceful sleeping face, he couldn't help but smile at how serene she looked. But as he continued watching her sleeping face, he noticed that she wasn't wearing the warmest of clothes.
'I should get some blankets for her,' he thought before he quietly walked out of the room and opened the small closet that was next to the bathroom.
Fishing one of the larger blankets out of the closet, he walked back into the living room and covered her with it, tucking the corners under the couch cushion. Standing there for a few seconds longer he thought, 'I suppose I can tell her tomorrow anyway...before we go to school.'
Turning around, he intended to go back into his own room and flop down on his futon when he felt light pressure against the sleeve of the shirt he was wearing. Looking down at the hem of his shirt, he saw that a hand was holding onto it. Trailing up the arm to the face, he saw that Asuka was looking groggily back at him.
"What are you doing?" she managed to spit out while her eyes remained half closed.
"Sorry...I thought you were asleep."
"Well I was until somebody decided to make a racket and cover me with a giant blanket."
"I figured you were cold..."
"Forget it," said Asuka as she sat up. "I'm awake now and I assume that you didn't just come out here in the middle of the night to watch me sleep."
"You're the one that decided to fall asleep while watching T.V."
"I only fell asleep because I was waiting for you!"
It took Asuka's words a few seconds to sink in before Shinji asked, "What?"
"Are you deaf? I said I was waiting here for you...why didn't come in here after you took your shower?"
"I...I don't know really. I guess I felt tired."
Asuka had to refrain from snorting.
"So...why were you waiting for me?" Shinji asked in attempted conversation.
"...Because we hardly talked to each other today. First it was the test, then we had to walk to school together with the pet, and afterwards we both did our own things after school."
"Err...am I understanding that you missed spending time with me together."
"Is that a problem?" asked Asuka with a trace of anger in her voice.
"Not at all," replied Shinji hurriedly. "Its just...the old you never would have said something like this."
"Whats that supposed to mean!" she asked getting sincerely angry this time.
"Just that you're more opening towards me than you ever used to be."
Silence ensued between them at Shinji's last words.
"I suppose I am more open than I used to be," said Asuka as her anger subsided. "Though I think the blame has to be laid on you." Turning towards Shinji, she said, "Annoying as it has been sometimes having to deal with you every day...I'm different because of you...and its made me a better person."
"Thanks...I think."
"...Moron," sighed Asuka as she hit him lightly in the shoulder.
"I do have something to say to you actually, instead of just staring at your sleeping face."
Asuka narrowed her eyes and said, "Watch it. I may be less abrasive, but I don't want to hear crap like that."
Shinji rolled his eyes slightly before he continued.
"Anyways...well I want you to promise me that you'll keep in mind what I'm about to say."
Asuka frowned at him for a second before she said, "Is this really necessary?"
"I wouldn't have woken you up if I had thought this was important..."
"So tell me what it is already?"
"Asuka...you have promise me first."
"Okay fine! I promise to keep in mind whatever you're about to tell me," said Asuka with about as much enthusiasm as pulling teeth.
Shinji looked at her for a while longer, determining whether she was serious over what she had promised.
"Well...I wasn't entirely honest earlier...about being down at the waterfront."
"So what? You were doing something else then?"
"Well no...I mean...I was down at the waterfront, but I met somebody there."
Asuka paused for a second before she asked with a frown on he face, "You weren't with the pet were you."
"No, of course not," said Shinji hurriedly. Though he'd no sooner tell Asuka that he talked with Rei after school then ask his father for an increase in his wages.
"I met...well I met the fourth child."
"...The fourth...what?"
"Kaoru...Nagisa Kaoru is his name..and he's like us. A pilot I mean."
"Why are you telling me this exactly? This is something that I would have found out for myself eventually you know."
"He's...I don't know how to describe him really. He's not like you...but he may be like me."
Asuka hesitated for a second before she asked, "What do you mean, 'he may be like me?'"
"He may be able to use an AT-field. I don't know for certain, but Misato seemed to think he was strange."
"You told her about this before me?" asked Asuka slightly accusingly.
"I wanted to know what she thought..."
"And so what you made me promise..."
"That you'll watch out for him...just...be careful when around him. I don't...trust him."
"Why though? Why go to all this trouble to just tell me this? You could have done it anytime really."
"I just...I didn't want to keep this from you," said Shinji not entirely truthfully. "And I don't want anything to happen to you because I wasn't honest."
"Shinji, how many times do I have to tell you, I can take care of myself."
"Yes, I know Asuka...but, the thought of anything happening to you..."
Shinji petered off at the end of his sentence, but he didn't really need to say anything. Asuka understood what he was getting at.
"I'll be fine," she said as she placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Nothing is going to happen to me."
Shinji nodded, but at the same time felt an unexplainable uneasiness that he could ignore. Placing a hand of his own over Asuka's which was resting on his shoulders, he squeezed her hand gently in understanding.
"C'mon...we should probably get to bed," said Asuka the second Shinji's hand left hers.
"Right," said Shinji, recognizing the subtle hint that Asuka was getting at.
Getting up off the couch, Shinji and Asuka walked towards there respectable rooms where they both parted with a brief, 'Night.'
Inside his own room, Shinji flopped down on his futon and briefly wished that Asuka was sleeping next to him.
Kaoru sat on top of the tallest building in Tokyo-3 with his legs outstretched and hanging over the side.
"So thats Gendo's son...Ikari Shinji huh?" he said to no one in particular. Though someone did answer.
"Correct," said a deep male voice.
Suddenly from all around him, twelve large black pillars appeared each with the words SEELE and a number written underneath.
As the black pillars fully materialized around him, Kaoru thought, 'All things must pass Shinji-kun...including your own existence.