THE MIND OF AN ANGEL
Disclaimer: if you think I actually own Evangelion, then you are wrong! (I don't)
Proofread by 94saturn, thanks to you I'm still writing, have a Mexican peanut.
Translations at the bottom.
CHAPTER 15: AWAKENED
The water shimmered, reflecting light on the gym ceiling above. The scent of chlorine filled the air, and everything seemed surprisingly calm. A splash shattered the relative quietness, the ripples breaking the pools inertness. Rei Ayanami had dived in, her figure blurred underwater.
Shinji watched as Rei went to other end of the pool and came up, inhaling loudly. She turned to see him, her hair sticking to her face, and gave him a small smile. Shinji returned the smile from where he was sitting on the edge, his feet dipping in the water. She reached out for an edge, and lifted herself out of the pool. She padded to her towel as the water dripped from her skin to the floor. Shinji tried not to stare, but even in a blue one-piece, Rei looked beautiful in her swimsuit.
Rei smiled as she saw Shinji's blushing face. She wrapped her entire body in the towel, and sat next to him. She rested her head on his shoulder, and Shinji put his arm around her. Her hair dampened his shirt, but he didn't mind. They had decided to spend some time at the school pool today instead of somewhere else.
After their understanding on Monday, they quickly fell into a routine. They would always meet up after school, be it at the park or the school grounds, and then both teens would head to their respective homes. They would hold hands, kiss, and generally just spend some time together. Shinji no longer invited Rei over, but he was seriously considering changing this…
There was an ulterior reason for not inviting her, and it was Misato. It had been almost a week since the accident with the drunken guardian, and Shinji had been avoiding her since. This hadn't been very hard since she was working late at NERV lately. Also, he didn't really want any teasing about dating Rei.
"Shinji," said Rei, breaking Shinji's train of thought, "The sixth child arrives today does she not?"
Shinji nodded, "Yeah she does…" Shinji was still very uncomfortable with a new pilot arriving. After what happened to Toji and Asuka, he was wondering how Shinji and Rei hadn't ended up the same. The last couple of angels had been lethal, and there were still two left. Not only that, but one of the aforementioned was in his head.
Arael had become consistently quieter over the last few days; Shinji had begun to wonder why. The angel still answered when he asked for help, but for the most part it kept to itself. They had to talk…
Shinji wanted to do something with Rei before Mana arrived, but was unsure of how she would react. This time he didn't bother asking Arael, he just asked.
"Rei?" he asked as he shook his shoulder slightly. The blue haired pilot lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at him. There was no easy way to put it, so he just blurted it out.
"Rei…would you like to visit Asuka with me before Mana arrives?"
Rei's expression changed quickly, and she looked at the pool instead. Rei had been enjoying the relationship since they established how they felt, but the young girl still had doubts. Shinji had been avoiding the Major, and he had been very quiet about the arrival of the sixth, who was an attractive young woman. Rei kept this to herself however, not wanting to overreact again. She pondered his question, and remembered that she had mentioned that she would accompany him.
Rei looked back to Shinji and nodded, she didn't feel like breaking the soothing silence of the school pool…
"You two are sure you don't need a ride?" asked the Major into her cell phone, pacing around the bridge, "Well, if you two change your minds, S2 will be tailing you as always." She closed the phone and sighed, rubbing her forehead.
"Was that Shinji you called, Major Katsuragi?" asked Maya, craning her head around as to not divert her attention from her monitor. The Major had been a little more stressed today than usual, and she was wondering why. She wondered a lot about the Major ever since that conversation in the bar…
"No, it was Rei. She always has her phone close by." Was the excuse Misato made up. The reality was she and Shinji hadn't exactly been on speaking terms, not since her drunken incident. She started walking around again, trying to focus on the task at hand. The sixth child was arriving today, with her EVA unlike initially thought. This posed a big problem. They had plenty of room to house the EVA, but the last time an EVA came to Japan...well, her arms still hurts a bit from the accident. No, the real problem was landing it here in Tokyo 3.
"So." Began Misato, reciting from memory. "The transport will approach at 152 meters altitude at 91 Kph. After release the pilot will snap unfold her AT field for impact. I want recovery teams on ready status, she's never done this before. "
"Meanwhile," added the blonde scientist that had just entered the room, "Unit 01, and hopefully Unit 00 will stand guard with assault rifles and knives at the ready. If anything goes wrong, they have authorization to fire on Unit 05"
She was carrying two mugs of coffee, one for her and another for Maya. They had stayed up analyzing MAGI, everything from the new pilots synching, EVA, combat abilities, also the entire flight plan. Not to mention, at the commander's request, the probability of it being infected by another Angel. He said if the probability was anything more than zero, the other units had to be armed. She almost didn't bother checking.
At the questioning look Misato gave her, Ritsuko just said, "Commander's orders" and Misato bit her tongue before voicing her questions publicly.
The afternoon progressed, and Misato soon found a moment in which to talk with the blonde scientist. Ritsuko was in her office, typing something into her computer as numbers filled the screen. Misato looked at the cat on top of the display before breaking the noise of typing.
"Hey, Ritsuko…" Asked Misato as she knocked on the open door, "Do you mind if I ask you some-?"
The scientist sighed, took off her glasses and pinched her nose. She didn't need Misato to finish the sentence to know what this was about.
"Misato, please, I'm very busy. Can't you piece this together yourself?" Exasperated the tired woman said, turning her chair around to face Misato.
"Ritsuko, I know you're tired…" At the moment Ritsuko began to turn her attention back to the computer, she blurted out the only thing she could come up with. "I'll buy you dinner"
Shit!
Ritsuko sighed again, but turned around to face her, legs and arms crossed, "All right Misato, ask away. It's your loss."
Misato was going to protest, but figured out that it was too late. She might as well ask what was on her mind, she was already buying.
Oh well, at least I'll get drunk…
"Ritsuko, why did the commander ask for Unit 05 to be dropped instead of being landed over at the JSDF air strip?" she asked, trying to ignore how this would affect her wallet.
"Misato, I'm pretty sure you were suspicious too when you found out this pilot was approved by the UN itself and not NERV?" she half-asked, half-stated to the major.
"Well yeah, but why is the commander-
Then it clicked.
"-Testing her?" finished Ritsuko. "We've been under a lot of pressure here Misato; I wouldn't be surprised if we've made some enemies"
"You mean the commander is worried she's a spy?" asked Misato rather dumbstruck, wondering how she hadn't connected two and two together.
"Or worse, she does have previous military training Misato…" Stated Ritsuko, before adding, "We'll just have to see…"
Misato was slightly shocked at this revelation, but it was the commander. It sounded like something he'd do. If the pilot is a spy, he'd look for any excuse to get rid of her. He would have to make it look official though, and any way he could hamper her progress. But a 15 year old couldn't possibly be…?
Misato hadn't noticed Ritsuko wheeling around and continuing her work. Ritsuko then leaned her head back and said.
"So today after the landing?" asked the scientist, wondering about the reward. Misato kicked herself mentally, and slowly nodded.
Rei and Shinji had just entered the NERV hospital. Upon their arrival, they were both informed about their duties on Unit 05's drop. Shinji was rather confused about why they had to drop her, but he understood the need for them to hold rifles at the ready. One time was too many. He kept his head clear of the accident with the thirteenth as often as possible, wasn't really something you want to remember. Besides, this is a bit too similar… Shinji cleared his train of thought; he had a direr situation at hand.
Holding hands, the teens walked to Asuka's room, stopping at the door. Shinji was still unsure if doing this with Rei was ok. She had said it herself, but he didn't want another problem after a few days of everything going so well.
"Rei," he began as he turned around to meet her crimson eyes, "Are you sure you're okay with this?"
Rei at the question diverted her gaze to the floor. She had been rather uncomfortable with the idea, but she understood why Shinji wanted to visit Asuka. Rei preferred to be honest with Shinji as often as possible, so she spoke.
"I cannot say that it does not bother me, but I understand that I should visit her" she stated, still looking at the ground. "But I would rather go in alone Shinji…if that is acceptable?"
Shinji nodded, glad that she was telling him the truth. Otherwise, Arael would have spoken. He noticed she still looked rather nervous, and he squeezed her hand a little to get her attention. She looked at him again as he asked.
"Would you rather I go first Rei?" She nodded, as she began to sit down on one of the chairs outside Asuka's room in the hallway.
Shinji let go of her hand, and began to reach for the doorknob. He took one moment to look at Rei, and admired her beauty. She was wearing a tight black tank top and some black sweat pants that hugged her legs. They were the clothes she had taken to wear after the pool. The black complimented her alabaster skin well. Even if it wasn't amazing, it was always exciting to see her wear something besides the school uniform. It made him appreciate how she only did this for him.
Rei finally met his gaze and Shinji turned to the door, blushing. Rei noticed this and blushed as well, Shinji had been admiring her. With no more words exchanged, he opened the door.
Mana Kirishima lay in the cockpit of Unit 05, the green avatar hanging limply from the transport it was attached to. She had been in there for about 5 hours, and it was starting to get on her nerves. LCL in short bursts were unpleasant enough, but in a long trip it will become unbearable. Humanity had learned how to make these things, but god forbid they make a system that would allow the pilots to enter while on the flight and not before. Her brown hair floated slightly in the liquid, as she sat in her seat as relaxed as she could.
The last few days of training were over, and it was time for the task at hand. She was nervous as hell, but she had to take this one step at a time. First, she had to focus on landing this thing without hurting herself or the EVA, an unnecessary challenge by Gendo.
He hadn't asked her, or anyone else for that matter. The bastard had cloaked this little effort to injure her, with some bullshit theory of precautions in case there was another angel. The UN and SEELE conceded, it was also a test for the new pilot. If she couldn't do this, she probably wasn't suitable for the job anyways.
She shook her head, trying to lessen a knot that had formed in her neck. Her muscles had been tense the last few days after non-stop training, shooting, fighting, building, studying and learning what she needed to know, including what she didn't want to know.
The last lesson she had with the seduction teacher was something she wouldn't soon forget. She blushed, trying to shake the memories of that lesson, but it was useless. Her hand descended slightly, and she shaked a little. She couldn't deny it, she had liked it…
"Two hours till arrival miss Kirishima" stated the pilot, as his face popped up in an interface that said 'Audio only'. Mana snapped back from her train of thought and answered.
"Thank you, keep me posted…" with that, the screen vanished.
Two more hours, two more hours until she met the bastard face to face…
Rei woke up as she heard a click. She had fallen asleep on the chair in the hallway, the click resonated from Shinji leaving Asuka's room. She restrained herself, but she couldn't help but yawn. The swimming had apparently left her more tired than she thought.
Shinji noticed Rei waking up as he entered the hallway, and wondered how long he had been in ther-
Eight minutes, Berserker.
That was the first thing Arael had said all day, and it startled Shinji. Rei at seeing his expression thought he was annoyed by the fact that she was asleep.
"Excuse me Shinji, but I was a little tired after swimming" She said in an apologetic tone, lowering her head in a slight bow.
"Wha-" After realizing what had happened; he quickly said "Oh no Rei, It's fine. If you're tired, maybe you'd rather sleep before the mission?"
"No Shinji, I am fine. I'll see Soryu and then we should proceed to change" She stood up, and started to reach out to open the door.
"Um, uh sure Rei, I'll wait here…" he stuttered, still a little shocked at Areal's sudden interruption. He could have sworn she was blushing before she went in.
After she did, he sat down on the chair Rei had been sitting in. Now, he could finally talk with Arael.
Um, Arael…
Yes Berserker?
Why have you been so quiet lately?Asked Shinji
Human, you know I prefer to observe
Well, would you mind talking every now and then?
About what Berserker, and why? Do you need my help that often?
Well, no it's not that, it's just… Shinji paused, a bit confused and frustrated I'd rather think of you as a friend instead of just a tool I use when I need. Shinji did have a problem with that idea, it reminded him of his father.
I see responded the angel a few seconds later. I understand Berserker, but that still doesn't answer about what.
Shinji pondered for a few seconds, then came up with something which he had always been curios about. How do you entertain yourself when I'm in class?
Unlike you Berserker, I do not know the basics of your race. I, unlike most of your class, pay attention and absorb the information.
I pay attention retorted Shinji, trying to separate himself from the rest of the class.
You can't lie to me human.
Shinji chuckled at the angel's response, but Arael still continued.
I also look into the minds of those around you. I have learned much of your classmates.
What does…Rei think about? He asked, a little guilty at the invasion of privacy, but he couldn't help himself.
Mostly of you
Shinji blushed at the response, it was pretty much the same for him. Well…when he wasn't sleeping because of his guest.
Hey Arael, what do you know about Mana? He asked, curious to know if Arael knew anything he didn't.
There was no response, although he could have sworn he heard something
Arael? He asked, a tinge of worry in his voice
B-Berserker…the Red one has-
The constant beep of the computers could be heard, and the slow motion of the fan above created a small breeze. Asuka lay on the bed, her once brilliant hair now covering her eyes. A rumpled hospital gown covered her body.
Rei was sitting on the chair next to the bed, looking at the now silent form of the once pilot of Unit 02. This didn't disturb her, she had been in a similar situation many times, and had seen Shinji in it as well. Rei had been sitting there, not knowing what to do. She had seen movies and had seen Shinji talk to people who are unconscious, but she didn't know what to say.
"So-Soryu?" She asked, and looked at Asuka's form attentively, as If expecting an answer. She lowered her head a little, trying to come up with something.
"I am…sorry I could not help…" Rei took a moment to analyze what she had said, then corrected herself. "That I didn't…help you when you were attacked…I should have done something" She looked up again, almost hoping for an answer. There was none, only the beeping.
"Soryu, do you remember," she began to ask, "When you first came to me, when you offered to be friends…?"
Rei swallowed before continuing, "I have come to…admire you Soryu. Your resolve and bravery is admirable. Though I didn't accept it then…I would like to accepted that offer now…"
"Ugh... Schließen Sie Wundermädchen"
Rei's head shot up, Asuka's body was moving very slowly. She blinked several times, convinced that she was imagining this. Asuka slowly turned her head to face Rei, and at first only blinked.
"S-Souryu?" she asked tentatively.
"How….long was I out?" Asked the German girl slowly, her voice sounding rather rough.
It took Rei a moment to respond, "T-two weeks"
At that moment, the door opened and Shinji came in. "Rei, did you just talk in…" Shinji stopped cold as he Asuka was looking at him, "German…"
'Ja dumpkoff, der war ich" she said, trying to sound sarcastic, but she was still too weak.
Shinji lunged himself to hug her. She cringed a little at suddenly being lifted slightly from the bed, but didn't comment. Asuka thought about making a comment about how he was perverted, but instead simply hugged back.
"You're awake…" he said quietly.
"That much is obvious…What happened while I was out?" she asked groggily.
Shinji retracted his hug, but helped her stay upright on the top of the bed. "Well… the fifth child is arriving today, with her EVA" he said, saying the first thing that came to mind, "And there hasn't been another angel attack since the…" Shinji was going to say the fifteenth, but thought it was better not to. It had done a great deal to Asuka, and it was living in his head.
"Oh well…that's not bad I guess…Wouldn't want you two fighting an angel just yourselves." Asuka's gut reaction was to scream about how they were replacing her, but she was too weak and too groggy to construct the right sentence. She immediately calmed down when she heard the sixth was coming with its own EVA.
"Also, Shinji and I are sating" added Rei, without a flinching. She didn't know why she said it, maybe it was the tinge of jealousy she had felt when Shinji had hugged her.
"Really?" Asked Asuka, rather shocked at the revelation. She looked from one to the other, as Shinji nodded in confirmation.
"Ugh, could either of you get the nurse, I still feel like sheise…" she said. Shinji nodded and left the room to get the nurse, leaving Asuka and Rei alone. Rei was distracting herself, wondering if what she said wasn't too bold.
"Rei…" The redhead began slowly, "Did you mean everything you said? About taking the offer again?"
Rei was surprised, either because Asuka had heard her, or because she hadn't called her 'doll' or 'wonder girl'. "You…heard me?" she asked tentatively.
"I heard a lot of things…" Answered the German girl, "So, did you?"
Rei, still rather surprised at the development, could only nod. Asuka looked down at her bed for a second, and then slowly raised her hand to move her hair out of her face. She turned to look at Rei, and said,
"Accepted Rei"
Mana had nailed it, she really had. She didn't often praise herself but god damnit, sticking that kind of landing without even a sprain is pretty damn good. Her knees and legs hurt a little, but that's to be expected. Of course that's where all the good news ended for Mana; the last few hours had been seeing and meeting everyone.
Shinji, her prime candidate to befriend or date to get closer to Gendo, was dating the second candidate, Rei. The third candidate, Asuka, had been in a comma for a little more than a week and had barely woken up. Also, from the bits and pieces she gathered from the few people she talked to, Asuka wasn't exactly stable at the moment. In her report tonight, she planned to ask who fucked Intel…
Mana snapped from her thoughts and focused on where she was going. They had assigned her an apartment in the same building as the Major. She was glad to have some proximity to Shinji, maybe she could still work on that. She stopped in front of apartment # 214, and put the key in. She gently nudged the door so it slid opened, being careful not to drop her bag. The room was eerily dark, but she didn't really mind.
Mana walked in and turned on the light. She proceeded to put her bag on the table and get her laptop out. She turned it on, and as it started to boot up she wondered how she was gonna do this now… One of her teachers had a saying. It went: "No battle plan survives contact with the enemy". How she would do this she didn't really know, but she would get it done.
She hadn't met the bastard face to face yet, but it was only a matter of time…
Asuka sat upright on her hospital bed, as she contemplated what had happened. She had been in a coma for a little more than a week, and the reasons were unknown. That Akagi woman suggested it was mental withdrawal. She didn't outright scream she was wrong, mostly because she thought that that's what it had been. She tried stretching her muscles, trying to relieve a series of cramps along her body.
The red haired pilot cursed, as she still felt pangs of pain here and there. A nurse had asked if she wanted morphine, but Asuka declined. While it was rather…uncomfortable, at least it kept her wake. She didn't fell like sleeping, especially after being in a coma; she was genuinely afraid she might fall into it again.
Asuka started to slip down to a lying position, adjusting her pillow to a more comfortable position. The room didn't have a TV, so all she had to spend time was think about what had happened. She was surprised that Shinji and Rei were dating, she was always joking when she said they should. Who made the first move is probably her biggest question, Rei's too timid, and Shinji is spinele- well, WAS spineless…
The other thing that had scared her was that she had heard what they had said to her while in her coma. Asuka had heard Shinji and more recently Rei. It was more bits and pieces than an actual conversation, but she could still tell. Those two conversations are probably why she was a bit mellow at the moment. She hadn't even raised her voice yet.
The German girl started to watch the fan spinning above, giving her body a pleasant breeze. Asuka was going to need some time to get her feelings in order; she was a bit drowsy and rather confused. She was…unsure of how she felt about everything. The fifth, Mana, had her own EVA, so at least they weren't replacing her. That was a relief in of itself. The other thing was her feelings for Shinji, she…liked him. She wouldn't accept it before, but now…
Her eyelids were slowly closing, as hard as she resisted, the fan was drifting her asleep. She wasn't exactly sure about how she felt about Shinji and Rei dating. Was she just jealous? Or was it something else? With her last second of consciousness, she decided that she would focus on getting out of the hospital first before anything else. Maybe then she could get a better grip on herself…
What did that angel do to me…?
Shinji lay on his bed, thinking about today's events. Ever since Arael, things kept constantly happening more often. He sighed, as the apparent stability for the last few days may be gone. First was Mana arriving. He had been rather impressed on the fact that she hadn't gotten hurt when she landed. Shinji got a sick sense of Déjà vu as Mana's EVA landed. The fact that her EVA looked exactly like Toji's, except for a different color, startled him. He was glad he hadn't had his finger on the trigger…
When he talked with her, for only a couple of minutes, he had gotten a…strange feeling. The way she talked, it sounded like she thought through everything she said. She didn't talk a lot like Asuka, or Rei. They were short responses, but still… Shinji couldn't shake of the felling something was off. Mana was friendly thankfully, and it seemed like it might be the start of a friendship. She was living in the same building as Misato and himself, so she's close by.
Rei, on the other hand, didn't really talk with Mana. A small exchange is all, which Mana started. He was wondering why Rei wouldn't talk with her, but he guessed it might have something to do with jealousy. He couldn't blame Rei, Mana was definitely attractive. After that, he didn't see Mana again; she was whisked away by Ritsuko and Misato.
The other thing that had happened was that Asuka had woken up. He hadn't had a chance to talk to her either, as soon as he brought back the nurse, Misato called to tell them they had to suit up. He told her about Asuka, and Misato came with Ritsuko, Maya and other people. He hadn't talked to her after Mana landed; the nurse said Asuka needed rest.
He yawned, as he could feel sleep inching closer. He knew the next few days would be eventful. He just had to look at the positive side of things. Asuka had woken up, a new pilot, Mana, seemed like a new friend. Hell, he should even talk to Misato to clear things up. And of course, he was dating Rei. He fell asleep with good thoughts.
Arael, however, didn't share his optimism. The angel did not know his full effect on the red one, and the effect it might have on her mentality was unknown. The fifth child, Mana, was obviously more than she let on. Arael was impressed on how easily she had hid her motives from Shinji. Arael would be busy helping Shinji the next few days…
To make matters worse…Arael could sense Arimisael coming closer…it was only a matter of days now…
TRANSLATIONS:
Shut up wonder girl: Schließen Sie Wundermädchen
Yeah dumb ass, that was me: Ja dumpkoff, der war ich
AN:
I'm gonna stop making this promised. I make the chapters at this speed apparently. I'm one lazy fuck.Sorry.
Not much to say in all true honesty, tried something a little different this chapter. Taking a page from Sideris and Zentrodi (Or however its spelled) Not that I'll be able to compete, but hey, step in the right direction no? LEAVE A REVIEW, GOOD OR BAD
Many thanks to Saturn, who aside from his difilculties, proofread this thing for me in one day. Record for him. And he kicked my stories ass too.
C you all laters...
SQUIRREL,