Disclaimer: I do not own the Neon Genesis Evangelion series or hold any rights over the character Mayumi Yamagishi, from the 2nd Impression game thingy. Don't sue, cause I'm already broke.

This is the first chapter of "Land of the Midnight Sun," the second book of "Catalyst," an NGE fan fiction. Enjoy.

Land of the Midnight Sun

"Broken"

By: XxRagnarokxX88

"There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness"

- Friedrich Nietzsche

Oh, the tranquility of a life behind the walls of a fortress. Life has never been good to the young Ikari, at least not in his early childhood, but it seemed to have turned around after his Evangelion had been torn in two. True, he regretted such a humiliating defeat at the hands, or razor arms, of the 'sun angel', but even from that painful blast of positron beam there was a brighter side. In his recuperation, among many other fortunes to come, his bookworm and her sister had moved into his apartment. Aside from the awareness' they each received after seeing each other step out of the shower, it was a pleasure to have them there.

Asuka enjoyed bossing the young boy around, even in his injured state, she loved telling him to go to sleep, claiming that he needed the rest in order to recover from his 'scratches'; and while her outward laugh told the Yamagishi sisters that she enjoyed the control, there was genuine concern for her comrade in her actions. He understood that, but he played along with her and feigned annoyance; it was their thing.

Aiko continued sleeping in Shinji's room, sleeping to his side whenever the young boy would fall asleep and lay her head onto his bandaged chest, much to her sister's dislike. She was definitely the most energetic of the girls Ikari knew, rivaling that of even the great Asuka Langley Soryu. Shinji, even with his insecurities and lack of confidence, admitted that, albeit only to himself, he had grown attached to the girl beyond friendship. He doubted it was the father figure that her mother said he had become, a brother sounded better to him, but he found solace in her presence-- and that was enough.

Mayumi, oh his dearest bookworm, still had not gotten the courage to bring her lips to her boyfriends' once again. The most she would do would be sitting close to him, letting her hand casually cover his own, or, in a move of extreme bravery for her, she would hug him tenderly, making sure to not agitate his wounds. It made her face burn, especially when, in his state of weariness, he would only smile at the floor and then at her, letting her know he felt the same way, without the need for words. It made her heart flutter, a butterfly beneath her ribs. So exhilarating was that simple act that she could even ignore her sister constantly attaching herself to Shinji and Asuka's teasing.

Among the fortunes to come down after the fall of the 'sun angel' was the way school went. Shinji would still go to the top of that hill behind the school and simply relax as the wind swept through his hair, but he would be accompanied by his blue-haired friend. They would hardly talk, but occasionally speak of the picturesque mountainsides that lined the city of Tokyo-3. Rei had flattered him, indirectly of course, by telling him that she was her first friend. He returned the favored indirectly as well by saying, "To tell the truth, your my first real friend too, Rei." For some reason he could not explain, it seemed to make her very happy, happy enough to bring a slight curl on the side of her face. He considered that close enough to a smile.

Touji and Kensuke had been no different than how they were before his absence from school. Kensuke, with his fascination for all things military, had asked how the recent battles had gone. Naturally, Shinji wasn't very enthusiastic about retelling the story, but he did. Kensuke had managed to even get Shinji's 'battle scar' on film, which was nothing more than a slight discoloration of his abdomen and chest. Ritsuko said it wasn't permanent, and he hoped as much. The most interesting development occurred when Shinji had decided to not sit on the hill and had instead sat on the rooftop of the school with Rei. Touji and Kensuke had decided to join Shinji and poof, it was the four of them. Though the idiot duo were not exactly friends with Rei, they had become accustomed to her presence.

The same had happened with Asuka. Since Mayumi and Aiko began living in the Katsuragi household, they, along with Hikari and Mayumi's other friends, had formed a sort of clique. The only exception would be Aiko and Asuka, who, while still friends, had become rivals of sorts. This 'short vs. angry' rivalry, as Touji so eloquently named, was stemmed in Aiko's affection for the male pilot and Asuka's infatuation with Kaji, and had no end in sight.

Misato and Taini were stuck with getting rid of the angel remains and reconstructing the city, respectively. "This isn't fair, I'm a tactician, damn it!"

It was the day before the city reconstruction was to be completed, the night before Mayumi and Aiko would have to go back to their home, and Asuka had taken Mayumi for girl 'stuff'', so he was alone with Aiko, who could not go with them since they would be out past Aiko's curfew, which her mother had clearly told to the redhead.

So the girl sat pouting at the ceiling, her left foot dangling off the couch and her head resting on the couch's arm. Even the fact of her being alone with her invincible Shinji could not stop her from having some resentment about not being able to go with her friends, but it did help some.

Unfortunately, he had left some time ago, promising to bring back something that would help him try and cheer her up. She said, in a somewhat joking way, "You don't have to go, just gimme a little kiss!", but he had left with an "I'll be back" and a blush.

Her ears were filled with a pleasant sound, the twisting of the knob and opening of the door. "Yay! I get a present!" She rushed towards the door and stopped when she saw what it was Shinji brought. "What the...? A violin?"

He took off his shoes and closed the door. "No, it's a cello. I had it in storage, but I decided to bring it here since you said you didn't like my room being so empty."

She placed her hand on the cold wood and felt it's smooth texture. "You know how to play it?"

He sat on the couch and set up the cello, placing his legs on either side of it and feeling the tenseness of the strings. "I wouldn't have it if I couldn't play it. It's kinda old, but it still plays good."

She plopped down on the couch, sitting close to the boy and staring at the string instrument. "Play something for me. I wanna hear how good you are."

"Well, I'm not really that good, and I haven't practiced in a while... but alright." It was his intent to play the instrument, but he like her flattery. It felt comfortable.

Slowly, he began to strum the strings of his cello, playing the melancholy tune with the utmost care, hitting the low pitch with a professional's accuracy. The harmonious notes flowed into the ears of the young girl, causing her to stare at his hands as they strummed the fingerboard's strings. It was a sad song, undoubtedly one he must have played a lot whenever he felt that way. "Shinji... c-could you stop? Your making me cry."

He stopped and looked at the girl to his left, and there was indeed the glossy glaze before tears in her eyes. "What's wrong, Aiko?" He leaned the cello against his shoulder and placed his free hand around her shoulder.

"I-I'm fine, it's just that... it sounds so sad..." She wiped at her eyes and continued. "It wouldn't be anything more than that, it's just that... your the one playing it, you know?"

"Because I'm the one playing it?" He wasn't too sure what the girl meant by the words, so he had to ask. "Why does that make a difference? It's just a song..."

"I know it is, it's just... I don't know. I'm sorry..." She got up from the couch, but was stopped when his hand grabbed her wrist.

"C'mon, Aiko, there's nothing to be sorry about." 'Maybe this is where I'm suppose to act like a father? What am I saying...' He wasn't sure about what to do, but since it was his fault, it was up to him to fix it, 'but, she's my friend, and I hate seeing her cry...' He pushed the cello aside and hugged the short girl.

"S-Shinji... it's alright, I'm fine..." finding no excuse to not let herself be comforted, she relaxed and returned the gesture, "Thank you..."

It wasn't until later that night, when Asuka and Mayumi had returned and had also gone to bed, that the most eventful thing that day occurred. As it had been for the past week, Aiko slept next to Shinji's side, only this time she did not wait until he was asleep. She had crept to his side as soon as he had laid down. It didn't bother him, but it was different.

"Aiko...? Don't you normally wait until I'm asleep when you do that?"

"Why? Does it bother you?-- I could go back, I mean, the bed isn't uncomfortable or anything--" She was cut off as Shinji flicked her forehead and smiled at the girl. She took his clue and rested her head on his bandaged chest, sighing at the sensation of his beating heart against her ear, proof that he was alive and well; her invincible Shinji. "Hey, Shinji..."

"Yeah?"

"I... That thing that you and my sister did, you know, your promise to her..."

Was it wrong for her to know about that, he wondered. "Oh... well, it's not like she made me. I'll do anything I can for you... Mayumi, and everyone else."

The girl snuggled against him and felt the increased heart rate. "It's scary sometimes, the way you have to go out and fight those angels. I know that Rei and Asuka are with you, but your the best, so you always end up getting hurt and..."

He placed his hand over the girl's head and stared at the familiar ceiling. "I'm not the best pilot. If anyone's the best, it's probably Asuka. I might have a slightly higher synch ratio, but I'm always getting angry or scared while I'm out there. Misato told me... that if I keep getting over-emotional while in the Eva, that'll I'll just end up getting hurt-- and she was right."

"B-But, you did what you had to!"

"Misato... she scolds me a lot when I do stupid things, like getting carried away... but she's right in doing so. Asuka's the best, really..." He saw her frown and decided he was getting a bit too pessimistic. "... but it's not like I'll ever admit that to her."

Shinji noticed that she became quiet. Something he said must have upset her, it must have. "Aiko? Are you alright?" The raven-haired girl turned her head and, with her tear-filled eyes, kissed his cheek before laying her head down on his chest once again, her blush evident even in the dark of the room. "A-Aiko?"

She didn't turn her head, but she spoke. "You-You'll protect me, r-right?"

The young pilot sat up and looked at girl who only stared at the floor with tear-filled eyes. "I... I said that I would, didn't I? Don't cry... I made a promise that I would..."

The girl attached herself to his chest and let her tears flow freely from her emerald eyes. "I'm so scared, Shinji! Your always getting hurt, and Mayumi's been to the hospital twice-- twitching and crying from I don't know what! Why is everything bad happening! I don't want anyone to die! You can't die!"

"Shinji, please take care of my Aiko. I don't mean by piloting-- I know you'll do that --I mean emotionally. She's very frail, even though she puts up a cheerful front."

'I guess she was right...' The young boy held the girl until her shivering stopped and her breathing had become more relaxed and even paced. Holding the small, crying girl in the dark room, comforting her to best way he could, it was obvious how the girl could turn him into a father figure. He vowed to himself then that he would try his hardest to fulfill such a position. "Aiko... I won't die," he tried his best to chuckle, but only managed an obviously forced laugh, "I'll be here for you..."

She wiped her tears with the back of her hands and leaned further onto him. "Always...?"

In all honestly, he knew he shouldn't promise impossible things, but to deny her a simple response, a simple confirmation of his guardianship to her, would tear her little eggshell heart apart. "Always, Aiko. I'll never let anything happen to you."

He stroked her hair until she fell asleep, placing her next to him when he was certain she would not awaken from her peace, and kissing the girl's forehead, as a father would. He closed his eyes, a somewhat peaceful rest, hearing what Aiko thought was left unheard in the darkness of the room and the crystalline silence of the night; her confession carelessly whispered into his ear when he had closed his eyes.

"I love you, Shinji..."

--

The advantage of the dark skies was for NERV, by comparison of weaponry NERV also had the advantage, and NERV had the Evangelions, those damnable biomachines built in the image of those who held their reigns. But their in lie a disadvantage; the horsemen of those three beasts were not soldiers, nor were they even adults. No, the horsemen who held the reigns of the detrimental horses were children. Rei Ayanami, Shinji Ikari, and Asuka Langley Soryu, those were the equestrians who rode the steel horses of war, and those children were the hope of man.

That is how it was suppose to be, only those three horsemen for those three steeds; but the angel girl had brought about a great change, an unforgivable change to the plans of those who sought to change the world or control it. The problem was to be easily remedied by taking the girl and removing the angel's core from within her body. Their job, the army of SEELE, would be to take siege of NERV long enough to abduct the Yamagishi and then retreat. Though strong, Steele's army lacked the hubris to attempt to completely control NERV; they would need the UN forces for that.

The sun was out and school was in session for the potential pilots. It was the perfect time to strike. With all three pilots inside of one building, as well as the angel girl, abducting the Yamagishi without fear of the Evangelions would be a simple task.

One would ask why not simply use espionage as a means of kidnap, but those are fools who cannot see the flaw in such an approach. Section 2 was everywhere, even within the school itself, disguised as faculty and janitors, and surrounding the streets around it as normal Tokyo-3 citizens. Ikari himself would probably even have the girl guarded secretly by Section 2 themselves.

Why not just kill the girl, a normal person might ask. The soldiers and mercenaries did not care nor question why, they had their orders and mission parameters and money. So they marched on to their victory and to their death, arming themselves and rolling their tanks out for allegiance and money. Soon would be the hour of attack, soon would be the hour of retreat.

--

"Shinji."

"What is it?"

"Your meal... it is different from the others you have made."

The young boy as well as the two others around him stared at the opened obento and blinked at the contents. As far as the three stooges could tell, it was just food. "W-What do you mean, Rei? It just looks like my usual food."

She pointed at the food and, with the same monotonous and quiet voice, she said, "There is no meat."

Touji stared at the box. "Yeah, your right... what's with dat Shinji? You going veterinarian on us?"

Kensuke pushed his glasses forward and let the light of the sun reflect on the large lenses. "I think you mean vegetarian, Touji. And what's with that anyway? You trying to keep Touji from eating your leftovers or something?"

"No, no... I just felt like making something that Rei taught me how to make-- I mean, Touji 'the stomach' can't always get the leftovers, can he?" Shinji stared at the barely noticeable blush on the pale girl's cheeks and chuckled out towards the schoolyard. "Mine tasting it? You would probably know if it was good or not."

The girl nodded and took a spoonful of the vegetarian food, savoring the taste and feeling the warm sensation in her chest as Shinji waited patiently for her verdict. "It is... delicious."

Shinji smiled at his shoes and then at her. "Thanks, Rei. I wasn't sure if I did it right..." Before he could go on, he felt his cell phone vibrating inside of his pocket. "Huh...?" He opened the phone and answered. "Yes, hello?"

"Yes, Shinji? It's me, Dr. Akagi. Listen, if it's not too much trouble, I want you and Mayumi to come into to my office as soon as possible. If you could, right now-- don't worry about asking for permission, the school has already been informed." Before she hangs up, she asks, "Is Rei there?"

"Hmm? Yes, she's right next to me."

"Tell her to come along too." The phone clicked and her voice was no longer heard.

Shinji stared at the phone, wondering exactly what was going but not truly caring. Whatever it was, it must have been important. "Sorry, you two, but me and Rei gotta head to NERV," he turned towards the pale girl and lead her towards the exit from the rooftop, "Let's go, we have to get Mayumi as well... I don't really know why, though..."

They said their farewells and left two of the three stooges on the rooftop. Shinji and Rei walked towards the place Mayumi usually was, with Asuka. The two walked into the classroom to find Hikari, Aiko, Mayumi, Asuka, and two other girls they were not truly familiar with sitting in a circle, eating, laughing, and talking about anything and nothing.

The sable-haired girl turned to see her boyfriend entering the room with the blue-haired girl, bringing a slight frown to her features when the crimson eyes met her own russet. She turned away and looked at the boy. "Hi, Shinji! This is a surprise, what's up?"

The boy smiled at the girl and grabbed her hand, his hopes of making her blush coming true. "Ritsuko told us to go to her office. She said not to worry about telling the school, they've already been informed."

Her heart seemed to skip a beat and the heat drained from her face. "I-It's nothing serious, right?" Her shaking hand was steadied once again by the young pilots. Getting the clue, she sighed and grabbed her shoulder bag. "Okay..." She turned to her little sister and flicked her forehead. "Remember that we have to go to our home today, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." She ran up to Shinji and hugged him, sticking her tongue out at her sister and then sitting back down, bringing out the anger in her sister she loved so. "What? I was just saying goodbye."

The older sister grumbled, but was silenced by an arm around her waist. The girls around the room giggled as the blushing Shinji, in an unexpected show of affection, led the girl out of the room with an arm around her waist, in his way telling her that she was the only one. 'I wonder if this is too much...' He was reaffirmed by the way she leaned against him as they and Rei left the room. 'I've gotta thank Ms. Yamagishi later,' he though happily.

--

"We've detecting movement within sectors 3 and 6."

Misato stood up from the chair she had brought from her office and looked over Aoba's shoulder. "What type of movement? Is it another angel?"

"No ma'am. It's significantly smaller... let me bring up the visual feed." The man typed on his keyboard, expecting to see the forest and mountainous regions of eastern and southern Tokyo-3, but received only static. "Visual is impossible, cameras are offline. There's a possibility that they were destroyed."

Misato looked at the static, a strange feeling of impending danger rising from the bottom of her scar, and clenched her fist. They've dealt with terrorist before, the occasional random nut-job, or small group of extremist against the fortress city for one reason or another, but something felt wrong this time.

"Send the closest Section 2 members to sectors 3 and 6-- make sure they're armed to the teeth. I've got a bad feeling about this." She folded her arms and stares at the grey and white static. "What's the status or the other sectors? Has there been any movement detected there?"

"No ma'am, no signs detected," he turned in his chair and faced the major, "Major, do you think it could just be another group of terrorists or saboteurs?"

"It probably is, but something is telling me that it might be more than that..." She turned her head as the panicked voices of agents reached her ears. "What the..?--"

"M-M-Major! There's an army out here! T-They're headed towards the south eastern edge of the city!"

"We've lost three agents-- they're not amateurs! We need back-up! We nee--" The voice of the agent was cut off with the gurgle of blood clogging his throat. "Ga-Gah..."

"Major-- the closest thing is the school, they m-must be after the children!" The man's voice was staggered and sporadic, he was obviously injured, and would not outrun the army if he was on his own.

Misato moved Aoba away from the keyboard and brought up a green screen with blinking lights. She looked at one specific blinking orb on the grid. "A few feet from to your left is an escape route into the underground shelters! Get inside and make sure they don't spot you!"

"Major!" The short-haired technician signaled to her superior to look at her screen. "Satellite visual confirms at least three hundred soldiers within sectors 3 and 6, along with two airborne tank destroyers!"

She bit her lip and turned to the bird's eye view. "What about large artillery?"

"As far as we can tell, they don't have any large artillery... but the infantry are closing in on the school!"

'Damnit! What the hell is going on? We weren't meant to fight off humans...' She calculated the odds in her mind. With only submachine gun armed security guards and semiautomatic equipped Section 2 members against three hundred plus soldiers and airborne support, NERV was in for great casualties. "Get the UN on the line! How could so many people cross our boundaries without our notice!"

"Communications are down! We can't reach them!"

Before the tactician could begin panicking, a booming voice was heard from the higher section of the main tactics room. "Retract the school into the mountainside shelter. Immediately begin preparations for the use of Unit-02-- level 1 battle stations!"

Misato turned to the supreme commander of NERV. "B-But, sir! How are we suppose to fight off a group this vast without the UN's forces? And Unit-02? The school is--"

"There is an underground passage leading to the closed off section of the geo-front. The pilot of Unit-02 will make her way through the passage." He turned his flame gaze towards the logistics officer. "Lieutenant Ibuki, I leave you to inform the Second Child of the situation."

"Y-Yes, sir!" She lifted the phone next to her terminal and dialed Asuka's cell phone.

The right hand man looked at the satellite image as it closed in on the two sectors. "They're smart-- they knew to strike when the children were all together... Ikari."

"Yes, it would be best to use the cities defenses first, but the clever soldiers are too close to the school. Have the Section 2 members guard the entrances until the school retracts into the mountainside. Post them on the rooftops and inside of the classrooms themselves."

Misato looked at her watch and froze. 'Oh no... it's time for Ritsuko's meeting with... they're outside the school!' Without waiting another minute, she yelled out to the commander she was going to get Shinji, Rei, and Mayumi before they were found.

With her aching legs, her boots clacked on the cool steel floors as she rushed to the express monorails that would lead to the surface. Too long, it took simply too long to get to her car, so she had to make it up with her speed. Jumping into her car and slamming her foot on the peddle, the blue sports car sent a cloud of white smoke in the distance as it rushed through the city in search for the unsuspecting children.

"Why the hell do these things keep happening!"

--

The three walked through the somewhat empty streets of Tokyo-3 towards the tollgates leading into the underground city. Aside from the occasional passer-by heading to work or lunch, there were not many people on the streets. Such an occurrence was rare in Tokyo-3. The streets were usually semi-full with people walking around or talking to one another, but not today.

In the end, Shinji did not care. At the moment, he was quite jovial. Not only did he have Mayumi next to him, her head on his shoulder and his arm on her waist, but he was with Rei. It must have been that gesture that comforted his jealous bookworm, he thought, convincing her that she was his and he was hers. Even still, there was the lingering feeling that it might have been unfair to Rei, for some reason or another, so he said ever so casually, "So, Rei... do you know why Ritsuko called us out of school?"

She kept her pace and turned her head towards the somewhat flushed boy. "I do not know. Perhaps she wishes to examine your injuries once again."

"Maybe... but it isn't that serious. It's just a bruise."

Rei raised her eyebrow and gently poked the boy on the chest, receiving an sharp 'ow' for her touch. "If it were not serious, then you would not have cried out in pain."

He rubbed the back of his head and laughed her ability to see past the dismiss of his condition. "Okay, okay... I just don't want you to feel guilty or anything. I was being careless, so it was my fault, not yours."

They had a discussion about his condition at school a few days after the angel battle, one that involved Rei apologizing for allowing him to be hurt and Asuka saying it was his fault, then apologizing under her breath. After some time, he had convinced the blue-haired girl that she did not need to apologize. Still, the lingering feeling bounced in her mind.

Mayumi looked at the spot where Ayanami had poked Shinji and traced her finger over the same area. "Is... does it hurt a lot, Shinji?"

Her was sincere and childish, so he couldn't help but stutter and blush. "N-No... could we get off the subject? All it does is make you two feel responsible for what I did."

"It's just that--" She stopped in mid sentence when he drew her closer. She got the message and dropped the subject. The silence ensued, so she decided to speak to the girl she had uttered no more than greetings to. "Hey, Ayanami, do you mine telling me about how you and Shinji first met?"

Shinji felt his stomach start to hurt again, but he let Rei speak on the subject. "The first time I had met Shinji, he had just transferred into Tokyo-3. There was an angel attack, but because there was no other, I was to be sent out in Unit-01, despite my injuries. There, while on the hospital stretcher, I met Shinji. He piloted instead of me." She looked at her shoes and then forward. "He was different then."

He looked at the bright red eyes of the pale skinned girl. "I was different...? How so?"

"You were usually sad, morose even," she looked at the arm placed on the Mayumi's waist, "nor do I believe you would have piloted the Evangelion again after your first experience."

The boy looked at the red blinking light of the crosswalk and sighed happily. "Maybe I have changed a little... but it's probably because I've had some inspiration to do so."

Though he was indirect and very subtle, Mayumi knew who he spoke of, which brought a smile and blush she tried to hide with her bangs. It was his way of flirting, the kind you had to try and pick up on; it made it all the more sweeter to her. "Yeah, I think you've changed too... for the better."

"You think so?" He was hesitant about allowing himself the praise, since it was not in his nature to be proud of anything he has done. "Maybe..."

Shinji stared at the street light, the blinking red light now gone, and immediately began to worry. The power was going out; the sirens would begin once again, he knew it. He stepped forward and looked at the two girls, worry once again in his eyes. "Something's wrong! The street lights are going out and--"

Before he could continue his sentence, a large helicopter could be heard in the distance, but it was louder and too close to be one of NERV's. The blue-haired girl looked to the sky and saw the tank destroyer in the distance, it's mounted guns pointed towards the citizens of Tokyo-3. "We have to find the closest path to NERV headquarters! It should be within this block."

All around them the citizens screamed as the helicopter opened fire on the surrounding buildings, cracking the armored cannons within the armory like hails on brittle glass. They ran and ran from the barrage of shells that landed on the streets and cars, smoking from their firing and melting the clothes of the unfortunate that they fell upon.

The sable-haired girl stared at the destruction in disbelief, too shocked to move, too shocked to turn her eyes away as the buildings were turned into steel swiss cheese. "Sh-Sh-Shi-Shinji!" She grabbed hold of the boy who stared at the second tank destroyer unleashing the large armor piercing bullets to the defensive structures.

Snapping back into reality, he took Mayumi by her arm and followed Rei as she led them towards the nearest emergency passage into NERV. "Follow me! This is the closest way into the geo-front!"

They ran between two normal buildings, not far away enough from the aircrafts to mute the screams and bangs, and arrived to a slanted dead end. Mayumi, out of breath, held onto Shinji's shoulder and looked behind them, reassuring herself that surviving was a possibility. "This is a dead end! How are we suppose to get to NERV through here!"

"Shinji, help me move this dumpster-- behind it lies our entrance," she said too casually for anyone's comfort.

The boy grabbed hold of the dumpster and pulled it away from the concrete wall, revealing a manhole leading into the sewers of the city. The boy looked down at the darkness in fear then back to the source of the screams, and held the sewer lid open, choosing to let the girls go first. "Go first!"

"B-But, Shinji--"

He looked back to the nearing sounds of fearful citizens and back towards the scared girl. "We don't have time for this! Climb down," he turned towards his fellow pilot, "you too, Rei!"

Without arguing, the blue-haired girl climbed down into the sewers. Hesitantly, the sable-haired girl followed, watching her feet as they disappeared into the black of the lightless depths. Once she touched down on the damp concrete, she looked up at the entrance, and said, "Shinji! Get down here, now!"

Before he could argue, a voice shouted from behind him, a gruff voice somewhat muffled by a protective mask. "Hold it right there, kid!" the soldier raised his rifle towards the boy's head and continued, "Step forward with both hands raised, slowly!"

Shinji pushed the lid back and leaned it against the concrete walls behind him. His heart was thumping against his chest, his palms were soaked, and his legs were shaking as the muzzle stared down at him. He complied and raised his arms, walking forward slowly.

"Shinji! What are you doing? Get down here!"

His blood froze in his veins-- the soldier now knew there were more with him, Rei and Mayumi. The soldier moved forward, never letting his guard down, and pointed the gun downward into the sewer as he kept some distance between he and the boy. "You two, get back up here."

She felt like crying. She felt like crying like a child who saw a mean stranger. She felt like crying when she had realized her father was dead. The sable-haired girl placed her arms on the ladder shakily, climbing upward with tears in her eyes and her bladder barely holding it's contents. She would comply for the sake of Shinji, as did Rei right behind her, but her heart broke when she saw what Shinji so stupidly did.

The boy pushed the man to the wall, knocking him off balance in one foot, but receiving the end of the rifle to his jaw. He felt the snap of his chin and the blood oozing from his bit tongue, but he found the opportunity he was waiting for. Shinji pushed the lid to the sewers back over the entrance, sealing the girls from the soldier and his detriment. And even though he could hear Mayumi's screams for him and Rei pulling her back away from the surface, understanding perfectly what he had just done for them without spitting it back at him, he still was fearful of the muzzle over his forehead.

"Damn brat!" The soldier picked up the boy by his collar and shoved him against the wall. "I hope fucking those girls was worth your life!" He kicked Shinji in his chest and brought him to his knees, sending him into a fit of coughing as his bandages were soaked in his blood. The soldier placed his finger over the trigger, but never pulled.

The pilot opened his eyes when he heard the sound of gunfire, seeing the soldier in front of him have his eyes roll back as his ear sent a spray of crimson onto the dumpster. Shinji stared at the limp body over him, and kicked it off of him, shedding tears as the pain in his chest lit him on fire. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Get up, Shinji!" The man in black draped the boy's arm over his shoulder and carried his nearly unconscious form, "We have to get out of here!"

"M-Ma-Mayu... R-Re..." He got up and limped along with the man that carried him. "They're...--"

"A lot safer than we are! Now shut-up and follow me, the enemy is getting closer!" The man looked up as an enemy soldier popped up from the rooftop. He let go of the pilot and fired two shots into the soldier's head. They were already here, and they were surrounded. "Shit..."

--

She held the child in her arms but did nothing more than let the innocent whimpers muffle in her school uniform. It had been twenty minutes since the sirens had begun screeching the warning song, and the sounds of machine gun fire and helicopters had reached their ears; worse than that, there seemed to be no end.

It was, of course, Aiko that was whimpering; though Asuka could not blame the child. Even with her bravado and ego, she could admit, though only to herself, that loneliness was the worst type of pain. Give her the teeth of an angel, the blast of positron, or the clean slice of a tentacle, but not loneliness. It was shame, she thought, that the young Yamagishi was experiencing that herself. Trying not to cry because of the time that passed between Mayumi's leave from school and the attack of an unknown force was roughly five minutes, and NERV was at least twenty away.

They could be dead for all they knew; and that is what allowed her to hold the girl and, even if she would not comfort her past that, hold her own fears in. Angels were one thing, but humans were another matter entirely, she thought.

All around the classroom the students watched through the steel gates that had sprung out from the school's walls and covered the windows. There was a wide range of emotions. Some were completely afraid for their lives, hiding under desks and huddling next to one another, hoping that their parents were well and in shelters. Others stood in amazement near the bared windows at the localized destruction. Hikari tried her best to get the students all away from the windows, fearing that a stray bullet would pierce the glass, but failed in keeping control of the frightened students.

Her phone rang. She reached in her shoulder bag with her free arm and opened the phone, "What the hell is going on!"

The short-haired technician's voice was serious yet vivid in hidden dread. "We're under attack by an unknown enemy force! Communications with the UN forces are down and Section 2 is currently busy protecting the area around the school. Asuka, listen to me carefully. The school should be retracting into the mountainside soon enough, but it's going to take sometime. While that's going on, I'll need you to get to NERV central!"

"How am I suppose to do that! There's a damn war going on outside!"

"There's a passage in the janitor's office, it just looks like an old door, but it has a NERV ID scanner for a handle. Use your ID to open it and follow the path, it'll lead you straight into the geo-front!" Before the redhead hung up, the technician spoke once again. "Asuka! Once you get here, we're going to need you to pilot Unit-02, so prepare yourself."

She paused. "Right." She hung up and peeled the girl's head from her bosom, forcing her red, emerald eyes to her own steel blue. "I have to go to NERV, alright? Stay here and wait for me to go settle this."

The girl couldn't speak with the fear for her sister's life drying her throat, so she hugged her rival tightly. Asuka peeled her off once more and flicked her forehead. "Listen, if I don't go, a lot of people might die." She felt like she was talking to an eight year old, but now was not the time to tease the short girl. She turned towards the class representative and signaled her over. "Hikari! Would you mine taking care of the shrimp here? I have to get to NERV."

"S-Sure, Asuka." The redhead got up and opened the door. "Be careful, okay?"

The redhead turned back and grinned at the freckled girl. "As much as I can." She left without another word.

--

They fell down into the sewer, landing on the moist concrete with a small splash, all the while Mayumi yelled for him, for Shinji. That idiot had done something only fools in love could have done, choosing for the girl to live simply because he decided it was best. "Shinji! Shinji! Shinji!"

The blue-haired girl looked up at the sound of a single gunshot and flinched at sound of tearing flesh and popping bone. The cold sensation was stronger than ever, freezing her chest and straightening her spine. But she knew better than to return. He had given them the chance to live, and to let that go would only make his death meaningless. She grabbed Mayumi's arm before she started climbing up once more. "We have to go. There will be more on the way."

The girl turned her head and pushed Rei away, climbing the ladder and pushing the lid off. She poked her head out and saw four soldiers cornering a Section 2 agent in the slanted dead end. She would have gone down once again, but her eyes caught Shinji sitting against the concrete wall, his shirt splotched with the lifeblood that seeped through his bandages. "Shinji!"

The boy turned to look at the girl, his lowered eyes becoming open at her sight. "Get the hell out of here!"

The soldiers looked at the injured boy and all but one of the four lowered their weapons. "The third child, Shinji Ikari?" One of the soldiers reached into his satchel and removed a small device, pressing the screen with his fingers and staring at the image of the third pilot and then looking at the injured boy. "Confirmed-- take him into custody."

Ignoring all common sense, the girl left the sewer and crawled over to the boy's side. He looked angrily at her, and she knew exactly why, but cared not. "Are you alright!" Her voice was soaked in her fear, as well as her cheeks with fresh tears.

Shinji leaned against the wall and pushed himself upward. "You idiot... I told you to get out of here..." The soldiers raised their weapons once again and Shinji raised his arms, still leaning against the concrete wall. "Don't shoot! I'll go..."

He grabbed hold of his side and started walking towards the four soldiers, shoving the girl's arm away when she reached for him, telling him to stop. He was stopped when the Section 2 agent moved in front of him. "Don't be so dense, Ikari. We can't just turn over an important pilot."

The Section 2 agent raised his gun quickly, spraying two soldiers with a barrage of slugs. Their comrades raised their guns and riddled the agent with their own ammunition, careful to not hit the child behind him. "Aahh! Gahh...!" He fell over and landed over the pilot, knocking him down onto his elbows.

Shinji looked at the body with wide eyes. His eyes met the dead eyes of the brave agent, never blinking, just existing to stare at him. "Ngahh... ah..."

The soldiers walked towards the boy, automatics in hand, and pointed the muzzles at his head. "Get up, your coming with us."

All Shinji could do was stare at the eyes as Mayumi held onto him, clutching him as if she were falling into an abyss, while the black-scarlet blood of the agent covered his elbows. He looked up as when he caught sight of a familiar person on the rooftop in front of him. "M-Mr. Kaj-ji..."

The soldiers looked upward towards the rooftop only to see the unshaven agent point his pistol at them. The taller soldier looked to his left as the back of his partner's head sprayed it's contents to the streets. "What the...? Bastard!"

The soldier swerved to his left, getting his left shoulder clipped by the unshaven agent. He dropped to his knee and pressed the gun to the pilot's head, pushing him to the wall once again. "Hold your fire, or the kid's gonna get his head sprayed on this wall."

Mayumi panicked. In her state of fear, she attempted to grab the gun from the man's hand, only to be have a knife put to her throat by the soldier's free hand. "Don't move, you little bitch." She gulped, feeling the cold steel on her slender neck, and let the tears run down to the bloodied alleyway.

They were at a standstill. The pilot of Unit-01 was pinned to a wall with a gun to his head, Mayumi had a knife to her throat, and Kaji, at that distance, could not get a shot that would guarantee their safety. Their palms sweated, their hearts raced, and the rest of the army would arrive soon. The bangs were coming closer and the helicopters had nearly destroyed all missile silos, not that they could be used while the children were outside of their Evangelions.

It was fortunate, to say the least. Kaji looked at the mop of blue-hair and red eyes climbing out of the sewers, slowly and quietly, not making a sound as far as he could tell-- he needed to keep him distracted. "What do you want with the pilot?" he yelled.

He cocked the hammer. "That is none of your concern, spy."

Kaji smirked and kept the gun steady in his iron grip. "How would you know of that?" He made sure to keep eye contact with the soldier, never looking at the girl in school uniform who crouched out of the sewer and stepped closer to the three.

"Simple-- no cheesy black suit or sunglasses." He pushed the gun against Shinji's head once more, causing him to grit his teeth. "Enough. Disarm yourself, now. And maybe, I won't have to blast this kid away. Come on, NERV doesn't want to lose it's precious Third Ch--"

The soldier grit his teeth when he felt a pocketknife bury itself into his shoulder. He looked up at the crimson eyes before the world was swallowed by darkness.

Rei let go of the knife as soon as Kaji shot the man in the back of his head. She ran over to Shinji, who leaned against the wall, breathing heavily as he looked back at the crimson eyes and the tearful russet irises. "You idiots... I told you to run..."

They were too afraid to hug the boy. He was covered in blood, some not his own, and breathing heavily, his chest moving slowly upward and downward. He moved his aching hand through his hair and sighed sadly. "If I'm not in my Evangelion getting beat up, I'm being pistol whipped..."

The unshaven agent jumped from the rooftop, landing on ledges, the dumpster that had hidden the sewers, and ran towards the boy and lifted him upward, looking at his red eyes. "You doing alright, Shinji? Can you run?"

The boy leaned against the wall and coughed as the blood inside of him dripped from his lip. "I-I've been better..."

Kaji reached into his pocket and withdrew his phone. He waited impatiently for her to pick up, finally getting his wish after a few seconds. "Katsuragi! Get over here quick! Shinji's been hurt pretty bad, and... yeah, hurry up before reinforcements get here!" He looked to the boy as he leaned against the wall once more and slid down until he sat on the alleyway floor. "Your tougher than that, Shinji... Rei, Mayumi, help him up and get ready to load him up in Misato's car. She'll be here in a few seconds."

--

"Sectors 3 has been completely overtaken! Sector 6 has been nearly occupied!"

"Airborne helicopters have destroyed 35 of self defense structures!"

"Remaining unknown enemy soldiers 276!"

"Section 2 members have been decimated to 37!"

Gendo Ikari stood by as the hologram of Tokyo-3 showed the blinking lights of the enemy and allies alike. The situation would be resolved in a short time. The Second Child was nearing the Eva cages the last he had check, and the school had just finished retracting into the mountainside. All that was left was the deployment of Unit-02.

"Sir, we've just been informed that there has been at least 3 enemy soldiers spotted inside the school!"

The commander looked at the hologram and laced his fingers together in front of him. "Are there any Section 2 agents left inside of the school?"

"Just one, sir!"

"Have him guard class 2-A. Do not let a single soldier live."

--

The blood red hands grabbed hold of it's rifle and opened fire on the small cluster of soldiers before it. Leaving not even a smudge of the blood spilled, the bullets tore through the soldiers and cracked the streets beneath them. They ran in every direction, but with one intent. Escaping.

"These guys...! They break into my city, kill people, and run away at the sight of my Unit-02! How dare they!" The enraged pilot willed her Eva, clutched the dual controls, and leaned forward, sending the red beast down several blocks towards the fleeting ants. The guilt of killing humans now gone with the furry of the temperamental girl, the Eva lifted it's rifle without true target.

The red titan stopped and dropped to one knee, raising the gun to eye level and wiping away at least 6 more enemies from the face of the Earth. The infantry ran through the streets, disorganized and in panic over the biomechanical beast.

The two tank destroyers turned their tails away from the sun and headed towards the Evangelion, flying across the city in mere seconds. With the enrage girl inside too busy to notice their presence, one helicopter turned it's mounted machine guns towards the rifle, hitting the heated barrel and tearing the armor. The gun refused to shot, and Asuka finally noticed the helicopter.

"Grrr...!" The Evangelion dropped the gun and grabbed the helicopter as it attempted to fly higher, crushing it in-between it's crimson fingers. The second tank destroyer flew in front of the Evangelion and shot it's armor piercing bullets into the top left viridian eye of the beast.

The red titan bowed on it's knee and placed it's hands onto the payment. Asuka closed her left eye and grit her teeth at the numb feeling. In her anger, she had forgotten to raise her A.T. Field, an unforgivable mistake in her mind.

Gendo's voice resonated from the sound only screen next to her. "Do not let the enemy escape!"

"I wasn't planning to!" The female pilot grabbed the controls and pressed the button on the side of the left handle. The left wing of the Evangelion opened and shot out five spikes towards the tank destroyer, turning into metal shards sprayed over Tokyo-3.

"Commander!" shouted the short-haired technician, "the Section 2 agent inside of the school has been injured, but drove off the three soldiers!-- They've taken someone from class 2-A!"

Above his orange glasses, his eyebrows twitched. "Do not let them escape."

--

Every time he would open his eyes he could feel the wind in his hair and movement beneath. It was like a rollercoaster ride without the restraints in front. But he could hear sounds that were definitely not from a rollercoaster, screams from fear, gunshots, and the heavy stomping of an Evangelion.

There was a slap to his cheek, and then a slap to his chin, making it feel like he was shocked by a few volts. "Ugh... ngah..." He could barely keep his eyes open, but the gentle tapings wouldn't stop. Eventually, he forced his eyes open to see the wet russet irises of his 'inspiration'. "Mayumi..."

The girl in front of him laughed in between her sobs, happy that he was once again awake. She wanted to hold him, to soothe the pain in whatever way she could, but he looked too injured for such an act. "S-Shinji... stay awake! You can't fall asleep like this..."

The boy looked to his left and saw the concerned look of his blue-haired comrade. "Rei... I didn't expect you... to" he coughed downward, not wanting to let any blood get on her, " I-I didn't expect you to come back... you should have left towards NERV."

"I should have," she said softly, "but I could not leave you behind."

He smiled at her with his half-closed eyes, earning a blush from the girl. "Thank you..." He turned back to the girl in front of him. "W-Where are we?"

She wiped at her eyes and sat next to the boy, interlacing her fingers with his own bloodied digits. "In Misato's car, we're trying to find a way to get back to NERV without... without running into the remaining soldiers."

Shinji lowered his head as the car ran over the body of a downed soldier and let his bangs over his eyes. "I thought I was dead..." He looked at the two people in the front seats of the car and saw the man who had saved all three of their lives. "Mr. Kaji... thanks for saving us. Misato... I..."

"Don't talk! We've gotta get you to Ritsuko right away!" She turned the wheel and made a sharp corner to avoid a pair of fearful enemy soldiers. "Just stay awake."

"R-R-Right..." He looked over at his shivering girlfriend and the bruise on her cheek. Gently, he ran his finger over her cheek and frowned at her flinch. "You should have ran..."

She looked at her skirt and let tears land on the turquoise fabric. "Just shut-up, Shinji! You know I couldn't just leave you alone!" She shivered at the tired look he gave her. "... Just like you wouldn't have if I was in your place..."

He sighed and looked at his red-stained shirt, following her hair as it trailed down the tainted fabric. "Your letting your hair get dirty again..." He moved her hair away from his shirt and rested his head on the top of his seat.

She whimpered and hugged the boy softly, carefully resting her head on his shoulder. "Just shut-up... please, just stop talking..."

He smirked at her with blood dripping from the edge of his mouth and half-closed eyes.

--

"Come back to HQ, Asuka! They've already lost well over a hundred soldiers and have no way of defeating an Evangelion," Maya placed her hands on her keyboard and brought up a green and white map of Tokyo-3, "so find the nearest escape route and return to base!"

Asuka held back the Evangelion, pulling it's reigns, stopping the warhorse in it's tracks, and faced the short-haired woman. "I can still get them! They've gone through the mountainside-- all I need is to reload on--"

"That's enough, Asuka! There still might be civilians outside of the shelters, we don't want you to kill them too!"

Her eyes twitched as the sentence sunk into her mind, clearing herself of the anger induced rashness. "F-Fine..." The red Evangelion looked on as the ants retreated, retreating itself into a hallow building and re-entering the geo-front. "H... How many people did I kill...?"

--

How unfortunate. That is what was said about the pilot's condition. Shinji Ikari, designated pilot of Evangelion Unit-01, the vaunted Third Child, was, by normal medical conditions, long since dead. His bleeding heart, caused when he was boiled alive in the LCL by the fifth angel, had nearly failed from the blood loss he had incurred. His ribcage had cracked under the boot of an unknown and now dead soldier. To make matters worse, after months of ignoring the pain in his chest, his heart muscle had weakened. With Ritsuko, operating was an option, but it was still a difficult task; and an impossible job for any normal doctor.

It had been two weeks since he had checked into the NERV hospital, and things had only gone from bad to worse. No one but the blue-haired pilot and his guardian had visited the boy, holding his hand, hoping that he would squeeze it gently, but were always disappointed by his lack of responsiveness.

The russet-eyed girl had come only once; when he had been first admitted. She had held his bloodstained hand, sobbing quietly when she was forced to leave his side for operation. Mayumi wished for nothing more than a speedy recovery, but she had faith in the doctor that had saved her own life twice, so she waited. She waited until she received the horrible truth.

Painfully, he woke to the unfortunately familiar ceiling of the hospital tile. Pale white and sterile.

Rubbing his eyes, he looked to the source of warmth in his hand, finding the ashen hand of his first friend. His chest hurt too much to get up and hug her, fearing that she may be nothing but a desire his mind made real. "R-Rei...?"

The girl opened her eyes slowly, awakening from the few hours of sleep she allowed herself while in Shinji's presence, and looked at his half-opened royal blue eyes, thankfully still filled with the light of life. "Shinji, your awake..."

"I guess that I am." He turned his head completely and looked at her calm, yet clearly tired expression. The barely visible dark rings under her eyes did not belong, and he felt horrible for causing such an imperfection. "You've been here a long time, haven't you?"

She nodded her head and squeezed his hand somewhat. "I only left when I had a good reason too, or when I was needed by the Commander."

He coughed out a chuckle and squeezed her hand back. "Thank you, Rei." The girl blushed at him and lowered her head, in no way happy about what she had to say. "Is something wrong? You look kinda sad..."

"Shinji..." she squeezed his hand harder and did not look at his eyes, since she knew that his reaction would be heartbreaking. It would make the cold feeling sink her heart. "Shinji... it's about... I..." She found herself stuttering for the first time in such a long time, struggling to force the words she regretted out of her mouth, and his condition did not make things easier on her conscious. "It is about Aiko..."

Shinji's smile turned into a confused frown. His mind was too tired from excessive sleep to even comprehend what was to be told. "W-What is it? What's wrong with her?"

"She..." she frowned and continued, "Aiko... she was kidnapped by the soldiers during the invasion..."

There seemed to be a moment where there was no time. She could not see his face with her own head hung low, since she dared not take a look. Already she could hear him gulp as the information sunk into his mind. He let go of her hand and stared at the ceiling tile, not saying a word, but with trembling lips.

She rose from her seat and attempted to walk away, but his hand gently tapped her wrist, not even having the strength to truly attempt to stop her. With tears in his throat, he choked out, "pl-please don't leave me, Rei, please... not now."

She raised her head and stood next to his bedside. "I am sorry..."

He once again grabbed hold of her hand and looked at her with tearful eyes. Slowly and painfully, he sat up on his bed and stared at the white sheets. "I... H-How is Mayumi doing?"

"She has not been to school since the invasion."

"I guess she wouldn't." He gulped once again and sighed with trembling lips. "H-How's Asuka and Misato? Are they ok-kay?"

"They are unharmed. Pilot Soryu has occasionally visited you, as well as Misato when she could get away from her duties."

"O-Oh..." He imagined the cheerful young girl, sleeping soundly in his arms. It was excruciating. "Does Misato know who did this?"

"No one is certain what group did this..." The heartbroken expression on his face made her heart twist. "I am sorry... I wish there was more I could do for you."

He put his eyes on his palms and let the tears run down his arms, refusing to sob, but allowing his weakness to be shown to the blue-haired girl. "Aiko... why her...? Why the hell did it have to be her!"

The blue-haired girl knew not what to do. Should she comfort him? Comfort her friend? Would he even accept the sympathy in his state? She didn't know. Under normal circumstances, she could have asked Shinji what she was feeling, but she couldn't. 'What should I do?'

Awkwardly at first, she sat down on his bed and squeezed his hand gently, but firmly. He needed someone, anyone, so when Rei had made the effort to console him, he was grateful. Like a weeping child with his mother, he laid his head down on her lap and let his tears fall on the fabric of her school uniform while she held his shivering form.

"Always, Aiko. I'll never let anything happen to you."

--

When he left the hospital two days later, he left with the assistance of a crutch and the blue-haired pilot. The entire city population seemed to have disappeared after the outside invasion. According to Rei, there was only about 30 civilian casualties, but that was enough for half of the population to leave the fortress and move elsewhere. The week after his hospitalization was a time of burial for the agents who had fallen before the unknown enemies; they were buried inside the geo-front or their home towns.

So he went home with Rei, slowly traveling to the apartment because Misato's car had sustained severe damage on the ride to the slanted alley and back to the geo-front. He was fine with it though, he was in no rush to go anywhere. He could not face Mayumi; for how could he face the girl after he broke his promise? He didn't want to go home, even though he had no where else, because he knew sleeping in that room would remind him of Aiko.

As he stopped at every crosswalk, he could remember her warm breath on his skin, her naiveté and innocence created by the sheltered life Mayumi had let her live. It hurt. Oh, how it hurt.

Once he had arrived at his apartment, he tried to open the door, but was refused. The door opened as soon as he reached for it, revealing the melancholic guardian. She stepped out and led him inward, not letting him rely on the crutch completely, resting some of his weight on her instead, no matter how much he said it was not necessary. He looked back and told Rei to stay, and she could not say no to him.

"Welcome home, Shinji," she said somewhat softly.

He sat on the couch and placed his crutch on the arm rest. "Yeah..."

Rei sat down next to the boy and looked at the crutches he had just used. Misato was aware of the friendship between he and the First Child, but it was still strange. The usually unsociable Rei Ayanami had dedicated her free time to the eternally injured Third Child. It would have been a cute habit if not for the circumstances. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

He rested his elbows on his knees and looked at the floor. "Do we know who did this?"

The cold tone in his voice only made the worn out major worry over her charge. "Unfortunately, no. The UN hasn't found out who invaded the city. And--"

"I mean Aiko," he said calmly, "who took Aiko?"

"We don't know who took her or why... I'm sorry, Shinji."

His voice became ever more desperate. "W-We'll get her back, right? She's just a little girl, what would they want with her anyway? She's just a little girl..."

The older woman knelt down before him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll find out who did this. And we'll get her back." She doubted her words, but the boy was on the brink, both physically and mentally. He needed the reassurance, even if it were false, that things would work out.

"Misato..." he sad almost pleadingly, "I can't sleep here. Not today..."

The mother in her took over her, overriding her usual guardian disposition. She placed her hand on his shoulder and kissed his forehead. "I understand, but where will you go?"

"I guess I could find a hotel or... or something-- I don't really know..." Shinji looked at the slender fingers that grabbed his wrist. "R-Rei?"

"You could spend the night at my apartment. I would not mind."

The offer was both expected and unexpected. Shinji would not have minded a hotel room, but he would prefer being with someone who he could talk to, even the usually stoic Rei. It was unexpected in that she had offered without him truly hinting at her; not that he ever would, since he hated being in people's ways. "Are... are you sure you wouldn't mind?"

"Yes."

"Is that okay, Misato?"

The woman stood up and ruffled his hair. "Sure. Asuka's at Hikari's place, so I don't see why you couldn't go over Rei's place." She avoided the opportunity to tease him and stood up, smiling. "I'll go pack something for you, so don't get up."

Once she was done packing up a duffel bag with three day's worth of Shinji's clothes, she left the bag near the door and helped Shinji get up, even with the knowledge that he was able to do it with no assistance. Both Rei and Shinji stood in front of her, in front of the door, with sullen expressions. "Don't worry, Shinji. Pen-Pen's refrigerator has just been repaired, so I'll have company in a few hours."

Shinji looked down and leaned his weight on the single crutch. Misato smiled sadly at her charge and hugged him. "Get some rest. And make sure to visit her, okay?"

He didn't need to ask who she was talking about. "... Yeah, sure..." Before he left, the purple haired woman hugged him once more, tightly, in a way only a mother could express her care for her child. "Misato?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered in his ear, "your birthday passed, and..."

"I-It's okay..." He returned her embrace and picked up his duffel bag. "I can't find a reason to celebrate anyway."

The two walked away from the apartment and continued to the bottoms. The slow walk only took a few minutes, but it felt too short for Shinji. As long as he continued to walk somewhere, to walk away from somewhere, he could take his mind off of her, off of them.

But it was hard to run away from people once they have left their mark. Even after they arrived and unpacked, setting up Shinji's futon next to Rei's bed and the such, he could not find peace. That night, that silent night of moon rays, he talked to Rei about the unknown force, making it a rather short conversation. Though she would later regret to some extent, Rei had asked who exactly Aiko was to Shinji. After talking to each while staring at the dirty ceiling he had cried. He didn't make a sound, but when the female pilot looked down to make sure the boy was fine, she saw the streams that ran down his cheeks, glowing brightly with the moon's reflection. The cold feeling had returned.

Shinji did not feel like going to school in the morning, understandably so, and Rei said that she had already learned everything they were currently teaching in class, so she went to NERV HQ allowed Shinji to sleep late in her home, making sure, for the first time, to lock the door when she left the building.

It was late in the afternoon when he awoke. With all his injuries, he could have slept a few more hours, but every time he closed his eyes he would find himself staring into Aiko's emerald irises or the eyes of the dead agent who had taken bullets for him. The warm blood turned cold on his flesh, the coppery taste and smell of lifeblood soaking into his cells and into his very core-- the very though disgusted him. The only way to combat the images and smells was in the shower.

Their was more weight on his neck and head than usual in the water-- he hadn't cut his hair in quite some time, he thought. He stepped out of the shower, the only clean thing in the apartment, and looked inside of his duffle bag. Shinji raised his eyebrow. Misato had taken it upon herself to buy the young man some extra clothes. Nothing flashy or expensive, for that he was grateful, so at least he knew that his guardian knew his tastes. He placed on the usual things, his underwear and socks.

Inside the duffel bag he saw his school uniform and a few other new articles-- a dark sage green shirt, no doubt from Misato finding out Mayumi loved muted colors, especially green; a black shirt of the same type, and several pairs of pants and slacks. He would have gone with his normal uniform had he not found a note which read, 'From Misato, try to cheer up! Everything will work out. Just let me handle everything and look pretty for me. P.S. There are some shades in the small pocket. You'll look cute.' He blushed, looked at the bright sun outside the window, and took the glasses from the small pocket.

Putting on the black shirt and a pair of tan slacks, he set out to do anything but sit and reminisce to himself about why he was so miserable and useless. He closed the door, raised his arm towards the sun and placed the necessary glasses on.

But the ghosts continued to haunt him no matter where he went. Somewhere between the bottoms and the rich sections of Tokyo-3, he decided that he would do the only thing he could do, since he was dressed for such an occasion.

He walked, crutch underneath his right arm, to NERV and reached the tollgate. Even the man that stood in the tollgate seemed to both pity and respect him. Pity, because he had endured so much outside of his Evangelion. Pity, because every one in the NERV grapevine knew about his relationship with the Yamagishi family. Respect, because they knew what he had done to assure the safety of his girlfriend and the First Child. Respect, because he had survived.

Despite the looks he received on his way to her office, he never stopped looking down at his feet, since he could never return the looks of the staff. No where near as soon as he would have preferred, he arrived at the good doctors office, but, unfortunately, she was not there. That little bit of disappointment sent a cold wave on his already on-edge heart. He closed the door to her office and left towards the command center.

As soon as he stepped through the door, he was stared at by the two technicians that assisted him during his angel fights, but he was fortunate enough to not see the same look of pity. He walked over to the two and asked, "Excuse me, but do any of you know where it is where the Section 2 agents were buried?"

Hyuuga looked over at the long haired man and back towards the pilot. "Yeah, but some of them weren't buried in Tokyo-3."

"I... would you happen to know where the agent who... who saved my life was buried at? He was--"

Aoba looked away from his workstation and at the boy. "He was buried in the cemetery just outside the city limits, on the west side." The man wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to Shinji. "Here's the address and the name he's buried under."

Shinji thanked the technicians and left without another word, the command center filled with the light clack of his crutch. By the time he reached the NERV parking lot, he was spotted by the missing technician, Maya Ibuki. She left her keys inside of the car and rushed over to the boy, thinking he was in some sort of trouble. "Are you alright, Shinji?"

He looked at her worried face and sighed; he hated it when people worried over him. "No, I'm okay Ms. Ibuki. I was headed out towards the train station."

"The train station?" She suddenly had the urge to slap him. "Your not going to run away again, are you?"

He paused, the thought sinking into his mind. "N-No... I was just headed to the cemetery... I wanted to... I don't know."

She looked at the young boy and gave him a sad smile. "Well, I'll give you a lift. I wouldn't be a very nice person to just let you get on a train when I have a car, especially when your hurt," she raised her hand when he was about to refuse her offer, "and I won't take no for an answer. It's least I can do for the boy that saves our lives so often."

He didn't smile, but nodded his head and let her lead him towards her car, making sure that he let himself in, refusing her offer of assistance, saying, "Thanks, but I'm not that useless."

--

She stared long and hard at the cold white ceiling. The house, aside from the bedrooms, were so cold and emotionless. Just a table, a couch, a TV, and a few other furnishings. Pictures were painful, so they stayed in the room of whoever owned them. Only her mother kept pictures of her past in the living room, but even then they were harmless pictures, whose memories were pleasant, and brought no sorrow.

Certain pictures were now tainted that sat in her room, haunting her. But she couldn't hide them, couldn't ignore them. The first one was of the entire Yamagishi family standing outside their home; Taini was waving and smiling at the camera, Mayumi was blushing at the fact the picture was meant for Shinji, and Aiko was smiling wide while she stood in-between her sister and mother. The second picture was of only Aiko, since she had taken it upon herself to give Shinji a personal picture of her; the back of which said, 'To my Shinji!'

She wanted to give the pictures to him on his birthday, but then the attack happened. Why did such things happen? The sable-haired girl had read many history books, learning about the numerous wars that raged on and on and repeated and continued throughout time, finding the single and most important thing; it usually wasn't worth it. Religiously or financially motivated, almost all were voracious or rapacious. She was born in a time of war, and she did not want to be involved in such a time again, but now her sister, her dearest Aiko, was gone for some reason lost to her, maybe even to the child herself.

Oh, how she cried the days after she found out what had happened. So many tears had been shed that she could have sworn her eyes would have dried out and fell off. Her mother had tried to comfort her, crying herself when her daughter was not in her presence, but Mayumi would always yell at her, telling her to get out of her room. It hurt her to yell at her mother, but she couldn't face her. She couldn't face her, herself in the mirror, or her beloved boyfriend. She couldn't face his slowly breathing body surrounded by beeping machines and hanging sacks of morphine and blood.

Even after Misato had informed Taini that Shinji had woken up three days ago, she couldn't visit him. Then she would have to tell him what happened to Aiko, and she hardly had the mental strength to admit that to herself. So she placed her head on her pillow and stared at the white ceiling of the living room, since she could not sleep in the room that haunted her so, and sobbed when the house was spotless and gave nothing to distract her.

There was a knock at the door. She knew it couldn't be her mother, since she had keys to their house, so it could only be a select number of people. "Mayumi? It's me, Kaji. Mind letting me in?"

Mayumi wiped her eyes and slipped her slippers on, walked to the door and opened it to find the unshaven man standing before her. "H-Hello..." Though she knew to not distrust the man, since she had trust in her beloved, the agent still set her on edge. "What can I do for you?"

"You know, Shinji has been out of the hospital for two days now."

She looked down at her slippers. "Oh... I knew he was awake, but..."

"He's strong," he said while looking at his red sports car, "He should still be in bed, I know, but he's up and walking around with a crutch under his arm." He looked back at the girl. "If you want, I could take you to him."

She clenched her fist. "Does... does he know?"

"... Yes, he does." He could tell by the look on her face that she was about to say no to his offer. She couldn't bring herself to face him, but she wanted to. "Hurry up, get your shoes on before he's on the move again. He seems to enjoy walking around when he shouldn't be."

"O-Okay..." She walked into her home and took off her slippers, putting her shoes on and trading her yellow vest for a sweater over her school uniform. "Where's he right now?"

"Last I checked, he was headed towards the cemetery outside the city limits. He's not on foot right now, though."

--

He stepped out of the car without his crutch, refusing to lean on it while he stood among the deceased; since he had too many close calls with the reaper to tempt his scythe with the sight of the weakness, and stared at the numerous grave sites. Maya stepped out of her car, locked the doors and placed her hand on his shoulder.

Maya didn't know who he was visiting, but she knew he probably wanted privacy. Still, she couldn't let him go alone without his crutch, so she walked with him through the graves, steadying him with a hand on his shoulder whenever he went off-balance.

"Thank you, Ms. Ibuki," he said without turning to her, "It would be dark out if I was on foot."

She looked at the setting sun, the golden orange of the sun reflecting on the ocean in the distance, and sighed. It was a beautiful sunset, but it was such an ugly place. Her first girlfriend was dead and buried as well, she thought they continued to move deeper into the seaside cemetery. "Think nothing of it."

In truth, the cemetery was nothing more than a piece of land, sectioned off near a cliff overseeing the ocean by a steel gate. It was makeshift, but so were many burials in the time after Second Impact. So she had to wonder, who would Shinji be seeing in this place?

"Shinji, who is it your looking for?"

He looked at the piece of paper and found the cenotaph. "This person," he said while kneeling down onto one knee, "he was the agent who protected me in the alleyway before I almost handed myself to them." He took off the sunglasses and stared at the cenotaph with tired eyes. "He saved me and Mayumi. I just wish... there was something more that I can do."

Maya folded her arms and looked down at the boy, making sure he had his space. "I know it's hard to see people die, but we can't control when people leave us."

He got up from his knee and stood in front of the grave solemnly. "But he didn't have to die! Soldiers didn't have to just come here and kill us-- and for what?" steadily, his voice grew louder and angrier, "for money? For the Evangelions? For Aiko!"

She stared at the grass beneath her boots. There was nothing more to say. NERV was responsible for killing angels, a noble cause to be sure, but NERV was also responsible for taking in trillions of dollars, leaving millions, even billions homeless, poor, hungry, and desperate. They saved the world from sudden destruction, but in turn left them with nothing but enough to wet their throats.

A car screeched to a halt behind them. Maya, in knowing that she would be with the Third Child outside of NERV, put her hand on the holster inside her jacket. She looked at the car and took her hand out of her jacket. "It's just him."

Shinji stumbled while turning back and grabbed hold of her shoulder, "Ugh... I'm sorry."

She placed his arm on her shoulder and supported him. "I knew it wasn't a smart idea to let you walk around without your crutch. Come on, I think there's someone here to talk to you."

"Someone...?" He turned towards the sound source and saw Kaji smirking at him, an almost proud expression on his face. "Mr. Kaji, what are you doing here? How'd you know I was here?"

"Shinji, what kind of an spy would I be if I didn't know things like that?" He looked at the female logistics officer and smirked. "On the arm of another woman, huh, Shinji?" She blushed but didn't take his arm off of her.

"It-It's not..." He sighed at yet more teasing. "What is it Mr. Kaji? I'm kinda worn out today."

"Who, me? I don't need anything right now, it's someone else that wants something from you." He took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, moving to the side and letting him get a view of her. "Ms. Yamagishi."

From her view on the bottom of that knoll, all she could see was his figure leaning on a distinctively female silhouette. The two dark figures against the intense golden orange of the setting sun seemed surreal, but she knew better than to let her eyes tell her lies. No matter how unreal it seemed, it was him, awake and not surrounded by beeping machines and sacks of morphine and blood.

She didn't move, instead choose to look at her skirt and fold her arms together in the cool wind. "S-Shinji?"

He let go of the woman who supported him. "Mayumi..." Slowly he walked towards her, trying his hardest to not to limp in front of her. With every step, she seemed to get closer and closer to crying, so he came closer and closer, and she continued to fight the tears.

It was too much to fight though. Her sister was gone. She had rejected her mother in anger. Her boyfriend had nearly been killed because she was too stupid to run when he told her to. She had nearly killed him; and he was all too happy to see her. "Sh-Sh-Shinji..."

She let her tears run free when he wrapped her arms around her. She hated it; to cry once again, and in his arms, about her, about him, about everything. Even a rock against the tides will smooth and wear down. "Oh, God... Shinji!"

She sobbed uncontrollably. Her knees gave out under her and she leaned on him once again. She fell to onto her knees and he knelt before her, holding as her body shook gently. Mayumi sobbed sadly, finding comfort in the boy who let his own fears out in tears. They couldn't find words to express what they felt, an amalgam of happiness, sorrow, fear and desperation, so they cried it all out.

Kaji stepped next to the woman. "Maybe they need their privacy."

She looked at them and nodded her head. "I think your right."

They walked to the edge of the cliff and looked at the setting sun. Kaji looked at the rather attractive woman and offered her a cigarette, but was refused. "Not a smoker, huh?"

"No, I think it's a bad habit."

The unshaven man flicked his cigarette into the sea and stared at the setting sun. She appreciated the gesture. "It's a shame, really. If they were normal kids, they might have made a cute couple."

"What do you mean?"

He wouldn't say anything about Mayumi, but it was obvious why Shinji wasn't normal. "He's an Evangelion pilot. 'Rider of the Warhorse', 'The Equestrain', the 'Third Child', the 'Son of the Bastard', and 'The Fated Pilot'; but never
'Shinji Ikari'."

Every nickname given to Shinji, she thought back, usually had some connection with his ability to pilot or his father. It was a sad truth, but an undeniable one. "I see..."

"The only people to ever know that child as 'Shinji Ikari' are me, you, Misato, and his friends. Every time someone mentions him, he's the pilot of Evangelion Unit-01. Never 'Shinji Ikari'. Even his own father doesn't call him by that." He turned away from the setting sun and towards the two children who were now sitting beneath a tree still crying. "But not to us, not to her. To us, he's Shinji, the teenage boy living with the beautiful purple-haired woman. To her, he's Shinji Ikari, her boyfriend."

"Do you know if... they've said--"

"No-- and I don't think they will." He chuckled and looked back towards the sun as it passed underneath the horizon. "I've seen Shinji's files and her files. I've spent some time with each of them, and I've talked to Misato and even a little with Taini. They won't say it."

"Oh..."

"If he wasn't a pilot, they could have just gone about their business, but unfortunately," he looked towards them once again and towards the graves around them, "that's not the case."

--

It was night time already and Maya had already gotten into her car, waiting for the two children to dry their tears. Kaji had told her to stay, because their was something left to do, so she did. It was the least she could. Kaji leaned against his car and asked, "Are you guys ready?"

They both nodded and lifted themselves from beneath the tree. They walked to the car slowly, Mayumi helping Shinji in whatever way she could. Kaji stopped the young girl. "I'm afraid that Shinji has something he has to do before he can go home."

"B-But..."

Kaji looked at the woman. "Maya, would you mind taking Mayumi home? I'm sure her mother will understand if you were the one to take her."

She looked at the tear-streaked young girl. "I don't mind."

"I have something important to discuss with him," he paused, "it's a private matter."

Shinji just looked at the other people and rubbed the back of his head. "If it's important... Mayumi, go home. I'll see you tomorrow at school, okay?" She looked down at her shoes and nodded. "Okay, we'll talk during lunch."

Maya and Mayumi got into the car and left the seaside cemetery with a cloud of dust in their wake, creating a trail that followed them into the black of night. Kaji looked at Shinji and led him towards the cliff once again, moving slowly so the boy didn't struggle with the walking aid.

They reached the cliff, the night sky now dark as shadows created by street lights, and stared out at the black and ever moving black silk that was the sea. "What was it that you wanted to talk to me about, Mr. Kaji."

"It's about her."

Shinji looked at the sea and let the night wind spread his hair. "What is it?"

"What... what would you do if I were to give you the chance to get her back?"

He dug his crutch into the ground and hesitated, not believing that he could ever truly provide something like that. "I would do whatever it took to get her back, but..." he dug into the soft grass with his crutch once again, "... I can't really do much at the moment."

"Heh, no, I guess not." He turned back towards the graves. "I'll make you this offer, Shinji. Once you recover, I'll give you the opportunity to get her back-- but there's a catch."

Shinji looked at the grave of the agent he came to visit and frowned. "I would think so..."

"In order to do this, you'll have to follow me outside of Tokyo-3. We'll leave the city together and I'll set you up with a friend of mine. You can stay there as long as it takes for me to find more details on her location. But I hope you know, if you say yes, that it will be dangerous. There's a chance that... you might not make it back to Tokyo-3."

The prospect of rescuing Aiko made his chest warm, washing away the doubt he held in his heart of ever laying his eyes on her again. But he kept his emotions in check. If being overemotional inside of an Evangelion got him the way he was now, he could only imagine what could happen without the biomachine. "I might not... make it back." He lowered his head and thought it over. "Why... why do I have to leave the city?"

"I can't say right now, I'll tell you everything once, and if, we leave-- let's go. I'll drive you to Rei's apartment." He looked at Shinji's face, which questioned how he knew that he was living in Rei's apartment, and smiled. "She's probably worried about you."

--

Shinji knocked on the cold door of her apartment and frowned when the door opened without so much as a push from his knuckles. Even if she had been expecting him, it was careless of her. He walked through the door as quietly as possible, took off his shoes, locked the door, and tip-toed towards his futon next to Rei's bed.

To his surprise, he found the girl laying on the bed, arms to her side, with moonlight bathing her in a ethereal blue, her crimson eyes looking directly at him. If it were not for the slow rise and fall of her chest, he would think her dead. She raised herself on her elbows and said, "Your back."

He rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I'm sorry if I woke you."

She laid back down and looked at the plain white ceiling. "Don't worry. I could not sleep."

"Oh." He walked over to his futon, leaning his crutch against the somewhat dirty walls, and laid down on his bed, cautiously maneuvering so he would not put pressure on his chest. As he looked at the ceiling, remembering his conversation with Mr. Kaji, he felt the urge to ask her something. "Rei..."

"Yes?"

"Were you... waiting for me to come back?"

She paused in her own uncertainty. "Perhaps. I wasn't aware of your whereabouts, so that may have preoccupied my mind."

"Hmph," he sighed happily, "I'll make sure to call you next time, okay?"

Though he could not see, the stoic girl blushed at his words and consideration. "Okay."

Although all would seem right, the truth was far from tranquil. While the blue-haired girl slept peacefully in the moonlight bath, Shinji stayed wide awake, staring at the white ceiling, thinking and considering Kaji's proposal. He would do anything for Aiko, or so he told himself. The only thing keeping him from packing up his things and calling Kaji right then and there, telling him that it was time to leave the city of steel-blood and angel-flesh was his dear Mayumi.

What would she do if he just up and left? True, he deliberated, even if she hated him for leaving, he could bring back Aiko to her, keep his promise, and be forgiven. Even still there was one more factor that kept him on the futon instead of Kaji's car; the prospect of death.

When he didn't have anyone but himself, when he did not have his friends and Mayumi, he did not fear dying, so long as it was painless and not by his own hand. Now with those invisible bonds that combined his heart with them, death was a prospect that made his legs wobble and shoulders tense. But was he really willing to die for those people? He was willing to ride the purple warhorse, but would he risk himself without that steel and flesh shield?

'I... I don't want to die, and I can't just leave Mayumi alone. She'd cry. I hate it when she cries...'

It seemed every time he talked to Mayumi, there was always some sort of tragedy working in the background, slowly tearing at their hearts until neither could take it. They'd find comfort in each other after they survived from whatever it was that plagued them, be it mysterious medical conditions or angel from the skies, and live to see the next challenge.

But it seemed, at least in his mind, that this could be the last time he'll see everyone. Until he could stand up without the crutch, until he could draw painless air, it would seem he had time with them. All of them, and her. The thought alone made his youthful eyes water, but he had made his decision, he would do all he could to get the child back.

'If I just left it all alone and pass up this opportunity, I may never see her again. I don't think I could go on living with myself if I didn't at least try... damn it. This is just too much!'

He looked over to see Rei's hand hanging off of her bed. 'I hope Rei and Asuka can handle whatever angels come... I'll have to tell someone. Not Mayumi, not Misato... I trust Rei, but.. I think dad might have her under his watch. Asuka... I don't know.'

His eyes closed once, then a second time, time between his long blinks increasing with every flutter of eyelashes. 'I can't tell Kensuke or Touji-- if I did, then Hikari would eventually find out. Then Asuka, and then Mayumi.' He closed his and eyes and didn't open them again that night. 'Ms. Yamagishi... can I tell her? It's a long shot...'

The shaft of light that bathed Rei Ayanami was blocked temporarily by the passing of a large, low-flying plane. The wind blew the large curtains open and allowed the moonbeam to cover Shinji as well as her as the cross hanging under the plane flew in front of the moon.

--

To be continued.

--

Author's Notes: Forgive me if it feels a bit rushed, but I really don't have that much time free at the moment.

Something freaked me the hell out in the process of making this story though. Around the time that I though up Aiko's role in the second book, I met a girl who fit Aiko's personality about... I'd say, 80. She's short too, though not as young. Scared the shit out of me at first; but now I just call her the Peppo. (Gotta watch Gankutsuou to know why.) And that moon/cross thing at the end too! My computer sits at the corner of the room next to a large closet with sliding doors; and I have bars on my window. So when I finished the story with the whole moon, Taini, and cross thingy, I looked behind at the white sliding door and saw that the metal bars had made a cross behind me, and the curtains had made this shape around the cross that looked like a coffin... I was in a fuckin' coffin of moonlight-- with a cross! So I said, "Oh, hell nah! This is how horror movies start," and I left the room.

Anyway... I hope you enjoyed this chapter, since it took so long to make with all the time I've been spending outside the house. Until recently, I've only had about... 5 hours of sleep every two days. I guess graduating high school is a time when one must party. Still, now that it's been some time since graduation, I'll have a lot of free time to write, philosophize, sleep, and just be lazy until I got to get a summer job and go to college.

Peace to the gods of the Earth!

XxRagnarokxX88