"We did it!" Misato exclaimed victoriously as she saw how the shot from the positron rifle passed through the angel.
On the screens of NERV's command center the image of the fifth angel was being displayed, its shape altering as a result of the shot received. A second later the creature made an inhuman sound as its core was destroyed. The drill that was piercing the Geo-Front's defenses stopped and the angel's inert body fell onto the lake it was hovering over, sinking slowly.
Eva 00 fell heavily to the ground, some of the metal covering it melting from the heat it was exposed to. The shield it was carrying to stop the angel's beam had been almost completely melted.
"Ayanami!" Shinji exclaimed as he took off his auto-sight scope. There was no answer coming through the girl's intercom.
Shinji carried Unit 00 towards the nearest shore of the lake and submerged it in it. After that, he forcibly opened the Eva 00 Entry-Plug's entrance, causing it to suddenly come out, expelling the LCL from its interior due to the pressure.
Unit 01 took the Entry-Plug and placed it on the ground, after which Shinji got off the robot and ran towards it as fast as his legs could carry him, fear and anxiety filling his mind.
"Ayanami!" Shinji shouted again when he reached the Entry-Plug. Again, no answer was heard.
Shinji placed his hands on the hatch of the door to open the Entry-Plug, only to remove them instantly. The hatch was still searing hot, but there was no time to wait for it to cool down. He placed his hands back again on the hot metal, forcing himself to turn the lever between grunts of pain.
"Ayanami! Are you okay?!" the boy exclaimed once he opened the hatch, entering inside.
In it was Rei, partially unconscious sprawled over the plug's seat, her head tilted and her eyes closed.
Rei felt dizzy. She noticed how a voice called her name and a pair of hands holding her shoulders. She opened her eyes, and could make out the blurry silhouette of a person before her "Commander Ikari?" she thought for a second. Her eyes then focused and she could finally see that the one standing before her was Shinji, with obvious concern on his face "Ikari?"
Shinji breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the girl seemed to be fine. He couldn't help that a few tears of joy streamed down his cheeks "Ayanami... thank goodness you're okay" he said while he wiped the tears with the back of his hand.
"You are crying" Rei said curiously, looking at the boy. Her dizziness was fading "Are you feeling sadness?"
"I'm not sad…" Shinji smiled sheepishly, wiping away the rest of his tears "I'm crying because I'm happy that you're still alive. These are tears of joy..."
"Tears of joy?" Rei asked slightly confused "So people can also cry of happiness" thought the girl, still unsure "I'm sorry, I don't understand those emotions very well" she apologized, looking away "I'm not sure what expression I should have at a time like this."
"Aren't you happy to be alive?" Shinji asked.
"I..." Rei began again hesitantly "I suppose that's accurate"
"Then you should smile" Shinji said looking into her eyes and smiling too. He extended his right hand to her, which fortunately now that it was no longer in contact with the searing metal like a few moments prior, it no longer hurt "Can you get up?"
Rei took his hand and looked him in the eyes as well. She felt an unfamiliar warmth inside her chest. It felt… good. The edges of her lips slowly turned upwards into a slight smile. Shinji froze at the image before him. He had never seen Rei smiling before. It definitely was a slight smile, but a smile nonetheless. For a moment he observed the face of the First Child, captivated "She is beautiful..." he thought absentminded.
Rei noticed the surprise on Shinji's face and her smile faded "Is something wrong?"
Shinji realized that he had been gawking at Rei's beauty and looked away instantly "No! Everything is fine..." he responded embarrassedly as he helped Rei get up.
Once outside the Entry-Plug the boy put Rei's arm over his neck to help her walk. They both barely took a few steps under the moonlight before Shinji remembered the words the girl had said just before the mission.
"Ayanami... don't ever say goodbye before a mission... it's very sad" the boy said almost in a whisper "And don't say either that you have nothing more than piloting the Eva..."
Rei stared at the Third Child with curiosity and surprise. She was about to ask him what he meant by this when a scream interrupted her.
"Shinji! Rei!" exclaimed a worried Misato a few meters away, followed by NERV's recovery personnel.
"Misato!" Shinji exclaimed with relief "Ayanami is feeling weak"
"Don't worry, we'll take care of her from here" Misato said, helping him lay the girl down on one of the NERV staff's litters.
Rei gazed the Third Child while lying down for a few more moments, but soon closed her eyes, she was exhausted. A few ideas were boiling in her mind, but reflecting about them could wait until after a few hours of restful sleep.
Rei spent the morning of the next day resting and recovering at the NERV medical facility. That afternoon, Dr. Ritsuko discharged her after examining her and concluding that she had completely recovered. That meant that the next day, which was Friday, Rei found herself at morning once again in class 2-A looking outside of the window, as was usual when she went to school. What was unusual, however, was what was going through the girl's head at that time.
The First Child couldn't help but finding herself thinking about Shinji over and over again. Since they had had that conversation under the moonlight, she couldn't stop thinking about the aforementioned. Rei remembered once again the worried look on his face while he was inside her Entry-Plug and the joy he expressed upon knowing that she was safe "Why? Why such concern about me?" the blue-haired girl asked herself.
Until then the only person who had openly shown interest and concern for his well-being had been Commander Ikari. Rei understood that the commander's concern was tied to the importance the girl had in his life's work, the Project Eva. That is why piloting the Eva was the girl's purpose in life. She wanted to reciprocate the commander's attention. With Shinji, however, the same situation did not seem to occur. She shouldn't mean anything to him. She had protected him during the battle, true, but really she was doing that because it was her duty, and in a way she was not only protecting the Third Child, since if the mission failed it was the entire world what was in danger.
Another thing she didn't understand were the last words Shinji had said to her that night "Don't ever say goodbye before a mission... it's very sad" Rei was replaceable. She was perfectly aware of the clones that were submerged in LCL on Terminal Dogma, the deepest part of the Geo-Front. Shinji didn't know about that, of course, but she still didn't understand why he was so sad about her possible demise "And don't say either that you have nothing more than piloting the Eva…" that was the most disconcerting part. If Rei Ayanami knew something with certainty about her life, it was that piloting the Eva was her only purpose. What more could there be for someone like her?
The classroom bell that signaled the end of the current session brought the girl out of her musings. It was the last class of the day, so she gathered her things and prepared to head to NERV to perform the synchronization tests that were scheduled for that day. Shinji, a few desks away, was doing the same, accompanied by his friends Touji, the athlete, and Kensuke, the military nerd.
"It's Friday! Finally!" Touji exclaimed, relieved that school was finally over "I can't stand being in here anymore, I need fun!"
"What do you guys think about going to the arcade?" Kensuke asked cheerfully.
"That's fine with me" Touji accepted "What do you say, Shinji, you up for the arcade this afternoon?"
"Sorry, guys. I have to go to NERV this afternoon, we have synchronization tests" the Third Child apologized with some regret "My fun will have to wait a few more hours"
"Shoot, that's unlucky" replied Touji, who already knew from Shinji how boring these tests were for him "I'm sorry, Shinji"
"Well, cheer up man. Tomorrow we're sure to have a great time" said Kensuke, referring to the trip that was planned for the next day. Shinji had invited them to come with him and Misato to meet the Second Child, a girl who would soon join NERV as a pilot with her unit Eva 02 "I wonder what the new pilot will be like" Kensuke while adjusting his glasses and turning his mouth into a half smile "I hope she's hot" added the boy. Touji nodded, exhibiting a similar smile to his friend's.
"I don't think that's a factor they take into account when choosing pilots" Shinji responded with resignation. Sometimes his friends could be too perverted for his liking.
The Third Child said goodbye to his friends and headed to the school exit with the intention of going to NERV's facilities. He was also really curious about what his new pilot partner would be like, although not so much about her appearance. "Will she be as quiet as Ayanami?" he wondered thoughtfully. He supposed it was unlikely, the blue-haired girl was the most reserved person he had ever met, and that was saying something, considering that Shinji himself was also quite reserved. Even so, it seemed that the girl was something more than her exterior of seriousness and coldness let on.
Shinji remembered once again the words he had shared with the First Child two nights prior. From what the girl had mentioned, it seemed that she didn't understand her emotions very well, but that she did, in fact, have them like everyone else, at least judging by the smile she had displayed when she took his hand to let him help her get up.
Shinji blushed slightly. The image had been burned into his memory, not only because of its unusual nature but also because of how beautiful the girl looked in his opinion at that moment. Rei's smile had been subtle, but she had left Shinji speechless nevertheless. Well, it really wasn't anything to be surprised about, Rei was a very attractive girl, the boy admitted to himself, there was no point in denying such a fact. Shinji, in particular, knew that very well, considering when he had been able to appreciate Rei's beauty very clearly a few days ago at the girl's apartment, when he found her fresh out of the shower, almost completely in the nude.
"I just hope I didn't look as hopeless pervert as much as Touji and Kensuke did a few moments ago" the boy thought apprehensively. He then tried to suppress those memories by looking ahead, and saw precisely then the scarlet-eyed girl, a few meters in front of him, undoubtedly going towards NERV. For a second Shinji hesitated whether to draw her attention or not, but finally he decided to speak "Um... Ayanami?"
Rei stopped walking when she heard her name and turned around to see Shinji, who quickened his pace in order to get to where she was "Uh... hello, Ayanami" he greeted her somewhat self-consciously.
"Hello, Ikari" the girl returned the greeting without changing her serious expression, although her feelings at that moment were anything but. There he was, in front of her, the cause of her recent doubts.
"I guess... you're going to NERV, right?" the boy asked her, still a little insecure about the girl's seriousness.
"Yes" answered the First Child.
"Well, I'm going there too... are you okay with... us going there together?" Shinji finally said, still maintaining a bit of insecurity.
Rei simply nodded and continued on her way towards NERV, Shinji followed after her until they were walking side to side. They did so in silence, which as the seconds passed began to become uncomfortable for the boy.
"Tomorrow the Second Child will arrive to Japan" said Shinji, trying to start a conversation.
"That's correct" Rei responded briefly.
"I wonder what she'll be like" Shinji continued.
"You'll find out soon" the girl added. She had nothing more to contribute to that conversation, so she remained silent
"Just as serious as always… I'm starting to wonder if that smile of hers wasn't just my imagination…" Shinji thought as he gave her a sidelong glance, immediately looking away. The blue-haired girl noticed this, however intriguing her about Shinji once again.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Huh? No, no!" The Third Child hurried to say, blushing furiously when he realized that his glance had not been as discreet as he had intended "I was just wondering if... you were feeling completely fine now" he added as an excuse, although he wasn't actually lying, since that was also something he was curious about. Rei had only missed a single day of school, and Shinji knew regretfully well how horrible it was to suffer the impact of the beam from the last angel.
Rei stared at him. There was that concern for her again "Dr. Akagi discharged me yesterday, I feel fine" she responded, to which Shinji smiled lightly, something that the girl did not overlook. Once again, the boy seemed happy for her well-being. The bluenette decided then that she had already wasted enough time wondering herself about this, it was time to ask Shinji directly.
"Ikari, why do you care about me?" said the girl, while stopping her walking.
"Um, what?" was the eloquent response of the aforementioned, who also stopped walking as he noticed the girl did the same.
"Two nights ago you burned your hands in order to open the Entry-Plug of my Eva and confirm that I was unharmed" the red-eyed girl explained "Today you're showing concern for my well-being again. Why?"
Shinji's eyes widened, the last thing he expected was for Rei to ask him that "Well, uh, I... you see..." he stammered. Actually, not even he himself had thought in depth about why he was worried about the girl "I mean... you're my fellow pilot and... well... it's expected in that case that I want you to be fine... or so I think" the boy managed to say.
Rei considered his words for a moment. Was that expected? It was certainly unusual for her that others cared about her, except, of course, Commander Ikari. The girl directed her gaze to Shinji's eyes. Although the boy was clearly (even to her) a little distraught by what he had just said, it seemed like he had been sincere.
Shinji felt Rei's gaze on him. Fearing the worst, he resorted to his usual solution to everything: apologizing "I'm sorry, Ayanami" he said, bowing his head slightly.
The girl was suddenly taken out of her reflections "Why?" asked curiously.
"I didn't want to bother you, it's really none of my business..." the boy replied.
"Bothering me?" thought the girl. Rei didn't know yet what to think about whether or not it was normal that Shinji seemed to care about her, but did that fact in itself bother her?
The girl remembered that a few days ago, Shinji had indeed been a bother to her. After having given her her new ID card at her apartment, both of them had gone to NERV, much like they were doing now, and the Third Child, among other things, had told her that he did not trust his father's work. Rei was not a temperamental person, but hearing how someone dared to question the work of the only person who cared about her upset her considerably. So much so that she turned around and gave the pilot of unit 01 a look full of discontent and then left him behind without saying another word.
But after that… Shinji had tried to engage her in conversation several times that day, before confronting the angel, and didn't elicit those feelings again. And after the mission, he opened the Entry-Plug of her Eva, while burning his hands in the process much like how Commander Ikari had done it in the past, as Captain Katsuragi had let her know. Luckily for the boy, his Plug-Suit had considerably reduced the damage that would have been inflicted in his hands otherwise, but the fact remained that Shinji burned his hands just to see if she was alright. Rei remembered once again the moment when she took Shinji's hand and the words he spoken a few moments prior "I'm crying because I'm happy that you're still alive"
She noticed once again a slight warmth filling her chest "Don't apologize. You don't bother me" the girl said. That, at least, she was sure of.
"Oh…" murmured Shinji, surprised "...really?" asked afterwards, still unsure.
"Really" the girl confirmed with a slight nod.
Shinji looked into her eyes. The bluenette's face was stoic as always, but her eyes did not seem to return any ill intent. The Third Child observed said eyes for a few seconds. Their color was unusual, without a doubt, but they were very beautiful nonetheless. He smiled sincerely as his gaze softened.
Rei, who was also looking into his eyes, noticed this. Shinji's body language had left the awkwardness behind and his smile seemed to indicate that he was happy. The warmth inside her chest increased slightly. She was happy, although she didn't understand the reason very well. Once again the words of that night came back to her mind. "Then you should smile" still holding the boy's gaze, Rei's lips curved upward slightly into a small smile.
Shinji was once again stunned by the image of Rei smiling, but he reacted with less surprise than the first time "Okay… her smile definitely wasn't my imagination" he thought to himself, very happy.
The Third Child could have perfectly spent the next several minutes gazing upon Rei's eyes, but a car passed by on the road at high speed and the moment was broken. Shinji blushed deeply as he realized that he had been gawking at Rei for quite some time.
"We should continue, the tests will start soon" he said embarrassed.
Rei, for her part, did not understand the boy's reaction, but upon checking the time she agreed. Both pilots resumed their walk to NERV in silence.
This time, however, the silence was not uncomfortable.
The next day, Misato, Shinji, Touji and Kensuke were on a gigantic military ship, surrounded by numerous other military ships and planes. The four of them were walking across the deck to meet the Second Child.
"Amazing!" exclaimed an excited Kensuke, camera in hand at the front of the group, recording everything in front of him "This is spectacular, I'm so happy I could cry!"
Shinji gave a resigned smile at his bespectacled friend's excitement. He couldn't care less about the military stuff, but was still glad that Kensuke was having such a good time. Touji was at his side showing equally much less interest than the bespectacled boy. Misato followed behind them, somewhat embarrassed regarding the slightly mocking looks the group was getting from some of the men there because of Kensuke's attitude.
"I don't see what's so spectacular, Kensuke. It's just ships and planes" Touji said adjusting his new cap with his hand. A strong gust of wind caused said cap to fly through the air next instant, much to the surprise of its owner "No! Wait, damn you!" he said bolting after it.
A few steps further on, the cap finally fell to the ground, next to a girl's feet. Touji sighed in relief when he saw that the garment wasn't still being blown away by the wind, but the sigh turned into a groan of disappointment when the girl in question crushed the cap under one of her shoes. Touji angrily glared at her.
"Hi, Misato. How have you been?" the girl said, completely ignoring Touji's gaze as he tried to pull her cap out from under the aforementioned girl's foot.
"Hi, Asuka. Fine, as always" the NERV captain returned the greeting "You look taller."
"Of course! And the rest of my body has grown too!" exclaimed the girl proudly.
"Well, let me introduce you" said Misato looking at the guys "She is the pilot of the Evangelion Unit 02, the Second Child Asuka Langley Sohryu"
The aforementioned looked at the group with a smile of superiority. Shinji observed her, interested. Asuka was a girl with red hair and blue eyes, her skin tone quite similar to that of the Third Child. Her body was slender and well-proportioned, something that was currently accentuated by the yellow dress she was wearing "Woah, she's really pretty..." thought the pilot of unit 01.
At that precise moment the wind started to blow strongly again, lifting the skirt of the second chosen one and giving a clear image of her panties to Touji, who was still trying to recover his cap.
*SLAP*
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" exclaimed a furious Touji, after receiving the redhead's slap.
"It's the price for looking" replied the German with her hands on her hips "Don't complain, you got a pretty good deal there"
"What a temper..." thought a surprised Shinji.
"Oh yeah? In that case here's your change!" exclaimed the boy pulling down his pants, much to Asuka's dismay and his friends' resignation.
*SLAP* *SLAP* *SLAP*
"Well, who's the famous Third Child?" turned the redhead back to Misato, completely ignoring a pained Touji, who was rubbing his recently slapped cheeks "Please tell me it's not this idiot!"
"No, it's him" replied an amused Misato, while pointing at Shinji.
"Um... Hello" Shinji greeted her, a little nervous.
Asuka approached the boy and looked at him for a few seconds "Mmm... there's not much to look at" she said contemptuously.
"What terrible manners" Shinji thought, narrowing his eyes.
Minutes later the group of now five were in the ship's dining room, sipping tea or coffee, depending on the person. Asuka and Misato were chatting quite animatedly, while Shinji and his friends sipped their drinks in silence. Touji was still sore from the Second Child's slaps, while Kensuke was looking at him in amusement at his scowl and Shinji was simply listening to the conversation. The boy didn't take long to pick up that Asuka seemed to hold herself in very high regard, for she wasted no time to brag about her accomplishments whenever she could.
It was at that moment that a tall man with a slightly unkempt beard and hair pulled back in a ponytail approached them. Asuka's face lit up at the sight of him.
"Kaji!" exclaimed the girl very happily.
Misato's eyes widened in surprise at hearing that name "Kaji?" she said as she turned to see the aforementioned.
"Hello, Katsuragi. Long time no see" said the man giving her a mischievous smile.
"What are you doing here?!" exclaimed a very surprised Misato.
"I came as Asuka's guardian, besides, I'm on a business trip from Germany" replied the man taking a seat next to Asuka, who put her arm around him while pouting for leaving her alone, much to the boys' astonishment.
"Well, I'm happy for you, then..." replied Misato very unconvincingly "Damn, I should have known this would happen" she thought annoyed.
Kaji turned his attention to Shinji "You're Shinji Ikari, correct?"
"Huh? Yeah... how do you know my name?" asked the boy.
"It's only natural that I know it, you're the famous Third Child who piloted an Eva without prior training" said the man with a half smile "And you've also defeated three angels so far."
"Well... actually it's not that big of a deal, I had a lot of help... and a lot of luck" replied the boy somewhat embarrassed while putting his hand behind his neck.
"Luck is needed for everything, that doesn't diminish your skill" said Kaji upon hearing this "You are a natural at piloting Eva."
Asuka shot a nasty glance at the Third Child. She was not amused that a compliment from Kaji was not directed at her "Humph. Your synchronization rates are nothing compared to mine!" said the redhead smugly "Besides, units 00 and 01 are a prototype and a test model, respectively, not like my wonderful unit 02. That explains why you were able to synchronize with it without prior training"
"I bet Eva 02 is smaller than her ego..." thought Shinji disdainfully. Shortly after that thought crossed his mind, all of them heard a noise and noticed a tremor shook the ship.
"What's that?" asked a worried Touji.
Those present quickly went to the deck. To their surprise and despair, a gigantic fish-like creature overturned several of the boats located there.
"My chance..." whispered Asuka with a lupine smile on her lips.
Two days later, Shinji and his friends were in class 2-A, chatting as they waited for classes to start that Monday. Kensuke found himself re-watching his recording of last Saturday's events.
"This shot of Eva 02 is great!" exclaimed the boy pausing the video at the moment when unit 02 was coming out of the water after the defeat of the angel "What a triumphant image!"
"Meh. No big deal" replied Touji with some disdain "In the end the ones who destroyed the angel were the military"
"Well, yeah, but it was the Eva that opened the angel's mouth" returned Kensuke "Admittedly, without the Eva it would have been impossible to destroy it"
"That's true" agreed Shinji.
"Well, I don't care, that doesn't make its pilot any less unbearable" concluded the sportsman with a frown.
"That I won't deny. Who would have thought that such a pretty girl could have that terrible of a personality?" conceded Kensuke with a half smile "Well, you and I probably won't see her again anyway"
"Yeah, but Shinji's going to have no choice but to put up with that bad-tempered German" added Touji giving the aforementioned a pitying look "I really feel sorry for you, buddy"
"Well, it could be worse. At least I'll only see her at NERV" said Shinji with resignation.
At that moment the teacher entered the classroom, followed by the class rep, Hikari Horaki and... a red-haired girl that the three boys already knew very well...
"You're shitting me..." whispered a dumbfounded Touji.
"Students, a little attention" said the teacher "Starting today you will have a new classmate"
The redhead wrote her name in perfect western calligraphy on the blackboard, then turned and introduced herself to her classmates "Good morning. My name is Asuka Langley Sohryu. It's a pleasure"
"I couldn't keep my mouth shut, couldn't I…?" a resigned Shinji mused to himself.
To be continued...