Sorry for the long wait. I had a lot of things going on in my life at the time. But to make up for the long gap, here's a long chapter. :D

Chapter 1 The only true friend

It was a Tuesday in May, 2013, and there wasn't a single cloud in sight. Cicadas buzzed here and there, down the street. A light breeze rustled the leaves of nearby trees. The air was rich with the smell of spring. All was calm until an alarm clock from one of the houses blared. The occupant, a teenage girl, jerked awake and scrambled out of bed. Today was her first day of school after moving from Tokyo 2, and she was not going to be late. The young Arika Shimizu was a whirlwind of movement as she raced around the house to get her things together for the day. Luckily for her, her grandmother was a heavy sleeper; otherwise, Arika would have been in for a scolding for making so much noise. With everything gathered, she quickly made breakfast, then sped out the door. "I can't be late or else I won't make a good first impression to the teacher."

As she ran down the street, her aquamarine hair, the product of an unexpected genetic mutation, blew back in the wind. Every now and then, people would laugh, gawk, or just stare at her hair, but this didn't bother her. After living with it for years, she no longer cared what people said, Beside that unimportant issue, nothing was really wrong in her life, except that she didn't have any friends. This she hoped to fix once the school year kicked off.

"Only a block away now. I can even see the front gate." And so Arika continued to race down the road.

Meanwhile at Nerv, in a big room with dim lighting that gives a foreboding air, sits alone desk. A man with a beard and orange tinted glasses sat there. This man was none other than the supreme commander of Nerv. Gendo Ikari. He was looking at the latest version of the P.E.C.T., Project: Evangelion Conversion Test, code named: Physical Evaluation Capability Test. Although his face didn't show it, he was concerned that he didn't have a candidate to make Unit 01. He already had his son signed off as the pilot, and a core ready, but he still needed the actual evangelion. Unit 01 was to be a big piece of his scenario to get Yui back. To make things even worse, the third angel was going to appear in two years' time. He needed the perfect candidate, one that would score 99 or 100 on the test. Only one compatible with the Lilith DNA could hope to score so well.

He looked up from his desk to see his second-in command, Fuyutsuki, enter the office.

"Have the arrangements been made for Shinji to enroll in Tokyo 3 High School?"

"Yes. They were sent out last month with all of the other information on enrolling students. He started two weeks ago."

"Good. Now onto other things."

"Speaking of which. I hear a new student has enrolled and is starting today."

"Irrelevant"

"Ikari. I wouldn't say so because they are starting today, the day the of P.E.C.T. Perhaps they are your 'perfect' candidate."

"We will see if this comes to fruition or not. I'm certain a candidate will show."

At school, Arika was discussing her schedule and the day's events with the principal.

"I welcome you, Arika Shimizu, to our high school." he said "Here are a few papers for you. The first has all of the school's policies, the second is schedule of all your classes, and the third has details to your home room, locker number, and ID."

"Thank you sir." Arika said. "Is there anything else I need to know about?"

"Oh that's right there is also a test you will be taking last period along with the rest of the students. This test is called the P.E.C.T. The Physical Evaluation Capability Test."

"What's the purpose of this test?"

"It's to test your physical and mental strengths."

"Ok. If I have any problems, I'll come and see you for changes?"

"Of course. See you later. Please do well."

After having to introduce herself to her morning classes, lunch was a welcome break. Most of the students ate outside, while some ate in the classroom. As she looked around, she saw that no one decided to head for the roof to eat. Craving solitude, she started her way up the stairs. When she reached the top, she noticed that the door was ajar. As she pushed it further open, she saw a boy at the edge of the roof. He was wearing a white dress shirt, black pants, and had short brown hair. Something in his posture told her that he wasn't just enjoying the view. He was going to jump. She ran forward and cried out, "STOP! DON'T DO IT! It's Not Worth it!"

This was it. Nothing stood in Shinji's way of taking his life. "From mother being killed by that drunk driver, to father abandoning me at that train station to wait for my teacher," Shinji thought. "No one talked to me. No one even cared. I guess no one will care if I'm gone either. I'm going to jump. One… Two… Thr…"

"STOP! DON'T DO IT! It's Not Worth it!"

As soon as he heard that shout, Shinji turned around to face the voice. On the other side of the fence, he saw a girl he did not recognize standing there crying. She wore the standard girls' uniform for the school, but her deep blue eyes and shoulder-length light green hair caught his eye immediately.

'Since when has there been a girl in this school with green hair?' Shinji thought, as she stared at him, her face full of horror.

"Why?! … Why must you throw your life away on a beautiful day like this?!" Arika sobbed.

This caught Shinji off guard. " … uh …"

"You have so much to live for, endless possibilities, a future not set in stone. You sho…"

"Why should I listen to you! No one ever listens to me! They never understand how much pain I'm in!" Shinji interrupted."All they ever do is cause more pain, so why can't they leave me alone! Why! WHY!..."

"Because they know there's something other than pain. There's the joy, happiness and love friends bring when people commune with each other! If it bothers you so much, then I'll listen. I give you my ears and undivided attention. I won't judge you for what you say, so let it all out. Come back to the light side of the fence. Come to me and I'll listen to the story of your life."

'What's with this girl? She's not like anyone else.' Shinji pondered. "Okay," he answered reluctantly.

And so Shinji told Arika about his past up to the point where he made his decision to jump to his death.

"Your parents remind me so much of mine. But unlike you, my father is dead too They were both very kind people I can assure you. Both of them died when I was five… They committed suicide right in front of me… I still don't know why. but that's why I take any chance I get to stop it from happening in front of me again." She looked away for a moment, as if overwhelmed by her own intensity. "Anyway, my grandma took me in, but she was a mean old witch. So I try to live my life to the fullest and not let anything get in my way, despite everything." explained Arika. Shinji was surprised. He was amazed that this girl had dealt with more shit than he had gone through.

"Wow. And I thought I had it worse… Oh. I never really got your name by chance."

"How rude of me. My name is Arika Shimizu. And yours?"

My name is Shinji Ikari… Wait a minute. Aren't you the new student that transferred here from Tokyo 2?"

"Indeed I am. My grandma and I moved here two weeks ago, and I don't think we're leaving anytime soon." Arika answered."Hay. You know what Shinji?"

"What?"

"You and I are going to be great friends. My first best friend."

"I haven't really had any friends before." said Shinji nervously.

"Well today's a first. Today's a first for a lot of things."

Just then the school bell rang.

"Oh well look at the time. We need to return to class. Here I'll walk with you part of the way."

"Th… Thank you Shimizu."

"Arika, Shinji. Remember we're friends now."

"Right. Arika."

The two continued to walk

"By the way, Arika, why is your hair light green?"

She gave him a quizzical look, as if she didn't get the question all that often. "Why is it light green? Well it's actually aquamarine, but to answer your question, it's because of an unexpected gene mutation. The genes for hair color mutated, and my hair turned light green."

"Hmmm," he said, with a half-smile. "I guess that doesn't happen every day now does it."

A few minutes of silence passed before Shinji spoke again.. "I heard there's a test last last period."

"Yes I was informed."

"I'm not too sure I'm going to pass."

"Of course you're going to pass because I'm going to pass." She gave him a stern look. "Cheer up. Being pessimistic about it isn't going to get you anywhere. As the song goes: Always look on the bright side of life."

He just nodded.

"Listen. I know things can be hard at times, but promise me this. Promise me that you won't try to kill yourself just because you think the pain in the world is unbearable. Ok?"

"Ok, Arika."

"Look, Shinji. I'll always be there for you. Even when I'm not around I'll be there in spirit, because that's what friends are for. Ok.?"

"Alright."

"Good. Now let's go pass that test! See you tomorrow, Shinji!"

"See ya. Arika!"

As Shinji walked the rest of the way to his classroom, he thought. "For once in my life I have a friend. Arika Shimizu is my true friend."

And after all the misery in his life, Shinji felt happy. truly happy. However, his joy would not last, for tomorrow the test results would change everything for Arika and Shinji.

Next Chapter 2: More Than Human