Neon Genesis Evangelion and all characters from therein are the
property of Gainax. They are used without permission and we beg the
kind and benevolent creators of the glorious show not to sue us. ^_^
Chain Lightning Studios Presents
Together We Stand
By T. L. Webb
Did you ever wonder
Why we had to run for shelter
When the promise of a brave new world
Unfurled beneath a clear blue sky
Goodbye Blue Sky
Pink Floyd, The Wall
[]===============[]
Book 1 Part 7
[]===============[]
It had been months since Shinji'd had a
chance to see the sky like this.
Living in the isolated area where his
uncle's home was had few advantages, and he had
missed out on a lot of things that most kids
his age took for granted. He hadn't had many
friends, and he had been too far away from the
nearest town to go to middle school, his Uncle
had arranged a tutor for those three years.
However, there had been few things that
he had actually enjoyed while living with his
uncle. Despite the fact that the man had
insisted he'd no talent for it, his first cello
lessons had been one of his fondest memories--
but the one thing he had always loved more than
that was the area where he'd lived had an
amazing view of the night sky.
Now, as he gazed up at the magnificent few
above him he smiled as a slight wave of vertigo
passed over him. The stars were so crystal
clear without the city to dim them out, and he
had almost forgotten what it was like. He had
almost forgotten how grand a view there was to
be had by merely looking up at the night sky on
a clear night. Lying back against the grass he
could almost imagine himself being back there,
still a child, still unaware of all the awful
things to come.
It was almost a shame that the power would
be back on in the city so soon.
"You know," he said to Asuka and Rei as he
watched the slowly rotating view above, "its
ironic that without the lights, the stars are
so much more beautiful."
Asuka was laying a few feet away beside
Rei. They had defeated another angel, and since
their services would no be required until power
was restored, they'd asked the person who had
driven Makoto to HQ to drop them off here.
"I guess," the redhead replied, " but its
kind of creepy, I mean without the lights it's
like there aren't any humans down there."
Shinji started to reply, but was
interrupted by the breathtaking sight of Tokyo
Three coming back to life.
"There," Asuka said with a smile, "I feel
better now."
"Mankind fears the darkness" Rei said
speaking up, " and chases it away with flames."
As Shinji pondered this, Asuka let out a
little snort, " philosophy huh?"
"I wonder," Shinji asked, " is that why
the Angels attack? Because we're able to
initiate change like that?"
"Oh who cares what they think," Asuka told
him, "it doesn't matter. They attack, we kick
their ass, and that's all you should worry
about."
"I'd still feel better if we knew what we
were dealing with," Shinji told her.
"Don't be an idiot Shinji. A solider who
thinks too much is useless on the battlefield.
Just follow orders and keep your head down."
"That's your philosophy Asuka, I can't do
that."
"Then why are you even bothering to do
this if you cant do it right?"
"Because I have to."
"What kind of lame-ass answer is that?"
"A true one."
"Anyone ever tell you that you're screwed
in the head, Third Child?"
"You, every day."
"Ha-ha, I don't know why Hikari puts up
with you. It _can't_ be your sense of humor"
"You'd have to ask her Asuka, I'm not
going to start this argument again."
"Wuss. Hey, what's the deal with your two?
I mean, what do you even have in common?"
Shinji was quiet for a moment while he
thought about that.
"Well, we both like to cook for one
thing," he said, " we like some of the same
music, and movies... she's loaned me a few of
her books and mangas-- so far our tastes in
that are about the same, but a lot of it is
more subtle than that."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, a lot of the time it seems like
we're on the same... well wavelength I guess
you could say. I feel like I can--."
"Puppy love," Asuka said, cutting him off
with and smirking triumphantly.
"What?"
"Its nothing but puppy love, Shinji. You
two don't have anything that a thousand other
teenagers haven't gone through... pathetic."
"I don't know why I bother talking to you
sometimes," Shinji said as he climbed to his
feet, "all you ever do is insult me."
As Shinji walked down the hill, Asuka
rolled her eyes and leaned back again.
[]====[]
[]====[]
A few feet away, Rei Ayanami sat and
pondered the conversation that had just
transpired between her fellow pilots. Every day
she learned more about them, and every day she
wondered why she had never taken such an
interest in the past. The interactions between
the others were becoming increasingly
fascinating to her, and she was paying far more
attention to them than anyone would ever guess.
It was also frustrating because other than
a select few, she had no one to discuss these
things with. Talking to Pilot Soryu was
generally an exercise in futility. Doctor Akagi
became disturbed when she brought up such
matters, and she was hesitant to even broach
the subject with Commander Ikari. She had the
distinct impression that he would not only
disapprove, but also order her to stop such
interaction.
This left Miss Horaki, Pilot Ikari and
Captain Katsuragi. Of the three the former and
later were her best sources of information.
Shinji occasionally was of help, but he tended
to be too reserved in his comments to be of
much use. He did, sometimes, shed light on
things that she did not understand, and
hopefully her current problem might be one of
those.
As she climbed to her feet and walked
down to where he was now sitting, he looked up
at her and nodded a hello.
"You are disturbed by what Pilot Soryu
said," She stated as she stopped beside the
tree he was resting against.
Shinji let out a sigh and nodded in
agreement.
"Yeah, I wish she' just lay off the
teasing at least once," he told her, "I know
she disapproves of me and Hikari seeing one
another-- but she could at least _try_ to be a
little more understanding."
"I myself do not fully understand it,"
Rei said, "but I have through curiosity begun
to try. Perhaps she is so abrasive because she
has not made a similar effort to understand?"
"Could be, but she still doesn't have to
be so blunt and rude about it."
"How should she be about it then?" Rei
asked.
"I don't know Rei... it's just that I'm
having enough trouble trying to deal with
school, Eva, and a girlfriend. Dealing with
Asuka on top of it all is wearing me thin."
"Have you told her this?"
"I've tried, but she doesn't seem to ever
listen."
"I see," Rei said as she turned and began
walking away.
As Shinji looked after her, he made a note
to ask Hikari to teach her how to end a
conversation.
[]====[]
[]====[]
"How is school?" Commander Ikari asked as
he and Rei ate dinner several nights later.
"There are no difficulties, Commander."
"That is good, and is everything else in
order?"
"Yes."
"Has the Second Child given you any more
difficulties?"
"No sir, she seemed to have lost interest
once our test scores showed her synch ratio
surpassed mine."
"I see. Continue to avoid her when
possible. Her skill for Eva is undeniable, but
we must continue to treat her ego with kid
gloves. Eventually the stress of piloting will
overcome her-- show caution when this does
finally occur.
"And the Third?"
"Hmm as long as he remains fixated on his
classmate I see no danger of a similar
breakdown, continue to observe, but report any
apparent instabilities to the nearest Section
Two agent."
"Yes sir," Rei replied, privately relived
that he had not ordered her to avoid Shinji as
well.
"Sub-Commander Fuyutski and I will be
leaving soon for the Antarctic Dead Sea. We
should be far enough along to begin the new
transfer procedures during that timeframe, are
you prepared for them?"
"Yes sir."
"Good," the commander said as he rose to
leave. He did not say anything else, but he was
deeply worried, the reports he had received as
of late showed that Rei had taken a more active
role in her fellow pilot's lives... and that
could be problematic if not handled properly.
Her social development was limited, and given
his plans for the girl... that had been a
blessing in itself. Her new interest in the
other children was not a danger on its own, but
it presented a potential stumbling block should
certain plans come to fruition before the
predictions of the Scrolls came to pass.
But even this was not the worst of his
problems. if Rei began to show similar
instabilities as the other pilots then much of
what he had planned would be placed in
jeopardy. So much depended on keeping Rei
stable...
Hopefully when the dummy plugs were
completed they would no longer need the pilots.
Hopefully then he would no longer have to
put Rei at such risk.
[]====[]
[]====[]
"Thanks for coming Hikari," Asuka told
her friend the next day, "I don't think I'd be
able to stand those two without help"
They were in the middle of putting
together a surprise party for Misato, who had
just been promoted to Major. Kensuke and Touji
had taken charge of the planning and
construction, and had ushered the girls out of
the living room saying that their presence was
'disturbing the flow of creativity'. Hikari
knew the two better and suspected that Kensuke
just wanted Asuka out of the room before
another fight started between her and Touji.
"It's not a problem," Hikari replied, "I
promised Kensuke I'd bring over these extra
decorations anyway."
"So the gyms all set then?"
"We finished up yesterday, it's all
ready."
"You mean, you even got chaperones?"
"It was easy once we got Kodama signed up.
She convinced Misato and Misato even talked Mr.
Kaji into helping out."
"I can't say I'm upset about that," Asuka
said with a lecherous grin.
"How's your costume coming?" Hikari asked-
- eager to change the subject, "Will it be
ready on time? You told me last week that it
was kind of complex."
"Oh, once I found the right shops it was
easy."
"You're having it made? Isn't that
expensive?
"Not with the pay we get as pilots."
"Oh..."
"What?"
"Shinji only had his pay restored the other
day."
"Restored? When did he lose it?"
"You didn't know? After the second battle
he got in trouble."
"Hmmm, I heard about that... he tried to
run away or something, right?"
"Well he wasn't actually running away...
more like trying to take a breather. He told me
he was actually about to come back to the
apartment when they picked him up."
"Right, like I said-- he ran away.
Couldn't handle the pressure."
"Asuka, that's not being fair, do you even
know what he was going through then?"
"No, but who cares? I mean it _is_ his
job."
"Asuka, did you chose to be a pilot?"
Hikari asked, trying a different track
"Sort of."
"What do you mean?"
"Well they picked me way back when I was
around four, but I was honored to be selected."
"So you're doing this because you want
to."
"Absolutely."
"What if they hadn't brought you into it
until a year ago?"
"I'm not following you."
"What if you had already decided what
you wanted to do with your life, and then they
forced you to pilot against your will?"
"I'd probably be pissed but I'd go along
with it, it is to save mankind you know."
"Shinji is in that type of situation. In
a very real sense he was drafted for the
project. When he arrived he had no idea why Mr.
Ikari had called him, and then they just kind
of dropped everything into his lap. You had
almost ten years to prepare yourself Asuka, he
had maybe half an hour."
"Never really thought about it like
that... but if he hates all this so much, why
does he stay? He could have left anytime once I
arrived... couldn't he?"
"I don't know. I think he's getting the
hang of it, and I think he prefers living with
Misato to his Uncle."
"Speaking of Misato, when are she and
idiot boy due back?"
"Stop that, and it should be another half
hour. Shinji said that the store they were
going to was in midtown."
"I see, well... what do we do until then?"
"We could help the other two stooges with
the decorations..."
"Yeah right," Asuka asked with a laugh,
"why bother, I mean, what are men good for
besides manual labor?"
[]====[]
[]====[]
As Misato drove them back to the
apartment, Shinji smiled at the thought of her
face when they walked in to the condo. He'd
never been a part of a surprise party before,
and he had to admit it was fun. Of course,
trying to keep a straight face was becoming
more and more difficult as the night
progressed, but he felt he could last till they
got back... at least he hoped he could.
He looked over at his guardian who was
lost in thought. Strange to think that until
recently he would have been enjoying the quiet
between them. He was changing, and he couldn't
honestly say he wasn't enjoying it. Eventually
he did grow too uncomfortable with the silence,
and tried to spark a conversation.
"Congratulations on your promotion," he
said.
"Thanks Shinji," She replied, her voice
still distant, " but, to tell you the truth,
I'm not exactly overjoyed."
"I can sympathize with that," he told
her, "being praised in public doesn't make me
happy either. It only made Asuka mad back at
headquarters.... Misato, why did she get angry
anyway?"
"You're still upset about that?"
"Yeah, I guess I am."
"You worry too much about what others
think of you, Shinji."
"Is that bad?"
"It can be, for example; how do you
define cool?"
"W-what?"
"Cool, how do you define it?"
"Um... the opposite of hot?"
"No silly, I mean like when a person
is cool."
"Oh... um I guess I don't know."
"ok, take Kaji for example. He's a
jerk and he drives me up the wall sometimes,
but would you say that Kaji is good at keeping
his cool?"
"I guess so..."
"Okay then, we have a starting place.
Now why is that? How does he keep it?"
"I... well, I guess I'm not sure."
"For one thing, he doesn't care what
people think about him. Especially about how he
looks or dresses. That's why he can get away
with dressing like a slob around headquarters."
"That doesn't make much sense Misato."
"Well its just part of it, but it's a big
part. You need to realize your position. I
mean-- you're a vital part of Nerv, and get to
pilot the most advanced war machine in the
history of mankind. You have every right to
play up to that, but you don't and I respect
you for it. However, your greatest problem is
that you still worry too much about what others
think. If you'd just realize all the things
that you have going for you... you'd be that
much closer to dealing with the hard stuff. You
keep sweating the small stuff and its going to
start getting to get to you like it did after
the fourth angel."
"You're telling me... that I need to
decide what's important and what's not?"
"Exactly."
"But how do I decide that?"
"Good question Shinji," Misato said with
a grin, "figure that out and let me know-- I'm
still working on it myself"
Shinji frowned at that. Wasn't this
supposed to be an advice session? Or was that
actually the advice? Maybe what Misato needed
and what he did as well to follow the advice
were different things entirely. If that was the
case then he was a little better off... but not
by much
"Oh, thanks for the help," he said
shaking his head with a chuckle. Maybe he
should just stick to Kensuke and Touji for
advice, he figured. At least they gave straight
answers... usually dumb ones, but straight
ones.
[]====[]
[]====[]
Misato's reaction was worth the trouble.
When she entered the kitchen and had five
people jump out at her yelling "surprise"
Shinji was glad that she didn't have her
service pistol handy. Misato jumped almost
three feet backwards and hit her head on the
closet door, then fell to the floor in a daze.
For a moment Kensuke panicked, but once she saw
the elaborate decorations that the kids had set
up Misato had begun to laugh, and everyone
relaxed.
The party started out great, with Touji
and Asuka providing most of the entertainment
by constantly trying to insult the other.
Unfortunately for Touji-- Asuka didn't fight
fair and most of their verbal sparring ended
with him sitting down with an angry blush.
Kodama had shown up just before Shinji and
Misato and the 'evil twins' were planing a
series of drinking games for later that
evening.
About half an hour after the start of
the party, Kaji and Ritsuko finally arrived--
resulting in Asuka's face lighting up brighter
than any of the decorations. As she made a
beeline for the older man's arm-- where she
would remain attached for most of the evening--
Hikari sat down beside Shinji and Misato.
"Did you get your costumes selected yet?"
Hikari asked.
"We're going tomorrow to pick them up,"
Misato replied as she popped open another beer,
"good thing Shinji here got his pay back, I
only have so much cash on hand these days."
"So, how did the tests go today?"
"I'm up eight points," Shinji said with a
smile, "I think if I keep it up then I--"
"Ah-em."
They looked up to see Ritsuko frowning at
them.
"Shinji," she said, " I don't think its
appropriate for you to be discussing such
things. I would advise you drop that subject
before one of the Section Two guards overhears
and reports it to your father."
"Now, now Ritsu, " Kaji said as he tried
to take a sip of his sake-- a difficult task
with Asuka clinging to his arm, "Shinji spends
so much of his time cooped up with those tests
that _not_ talking about them would leave him
as quiet as Misato tells us he used to be.
Surely you don't want that."
"Of course not Kaji," Ritsuko shot back,
" but we can't very well have him mouthing off
about classified tests."
"Afraid someone will find out about your
rubber fetish?" Misato piped in, causing
Ritsuko's face to take on a shade of red even
Shinji had never achieved.
"I think we better go outside," Hikari
whispered to Shinji with a giggle.
"Huh?" Shinji asked, "how come?"
"Because I think Miss Akagi is about to
start using language that we're not supposed to
know."
Shinji took another look at the glowering
Ritsuko, and nodded in agreement. They were
about to make their escape when the doorbell
rang.
"We'll get it" Shinji said as he and
Hikari made their escape to the front hall.
Opening the door, Shinji was pleasantly
surprised to find Rei standing there. Asuka had
claimed to have invited her, but they had all
expected her to be a no-show.
It was nice to be wrong about that.
[]====[]
[]====[]
"Don't you love the view from here Rei?"
Hikari asked as the three sat outside on the
patio a bit later. Touji and Kensuke had just
left and other than Asuka (who was still
attached to Kaji's arm) it was just the adults.
So while they proceeded to get drunk, the three
teenagers had decided to step outside and talk
for awhile.
Rei looked out at the view of Tokyo Three,
and nodded in agreement.
"I wonder--I have seen this before," Rei
asked, "why do I continue to find pleasure in
the view?"
"Because looking at something that's
beautiful never gets old," Shinji said--
smiling at Hikari as he did so.
"Shinji Ikari," Hikari asked with a
laugh, "are you flirting with me?"
"I think so, at least I'm trying to,"
Shinji replied with a blush, "am I doing it
right?"
"You're doing fine sweetie," Hikari told
him as she kissed him on the cheek.
"What is the purpose of that?" Rei asked
"Of what?" Shinji said as he leaned back
against the side of the lawn chair where Hikari
was sitting.
"Of a kiss. What purpose does it serve?"
Hikari blinked, and leaned back in the
chair thoughtfully. She was becoming used to
Rei's odd questions. They were coming more and
more often lately, but the girl could throw out
a stumper like no one else.
"That's hard to answer Rei. There are
different kinds of kisses, some of them mean
different things."
"For example?" Rei asked.
A playful grin crossed Hikari face and she
reached over and took hold of Shinji's arm,
pulling him up onto the chair with her. Shinji
was completely mystified by her intentions, but
went along. He trusted Hikari not to do
anything embarrassing-- besides, he wasn't
about to complain about the proximity.
Turning to Rei, Hikari smiled and began to
speak.
"Kissing can mean anything from a simple
token of friendship to a display of love, to
more...amorous meanings. For example, this one
is just a sign of affection, it could be given
between friends or just siblings," she leaned
over and gave Shinji a light peck on the cheek,
"I kiss my sisters and father like that to say
hello or goodbye. It just means that I care
about them."
Shinji had caught on to what Hikari was up
to by this point, and while he was blushing
deeply, he couldn't honestly say he wasn't
enjoying the demonstration.
"Even men used to kiss back in old times,
Romans would greet one another like this," she
kissed Shinji lightly on both cheeks.
"And they no longer do this?" Rei asked
"Most men don't... um, as for why, that's
a discussion for another time," Hikari said, "
now where were we? Ah, yes... couples tend to
kiss a bit more intimately."
She displayed this by kissing Shinji
tenderly on the lips. When Shinji opened his
eyes again he saw something that made him
frown. He started to say something about it,
but Hikari grinned and put a finger to his
lips.
"Hush, we're almost done," Hikari said
with a giggle, "please hold all questions till
the end of the demonstration."
She looked back over to Rei who was
observing with great interest.
"Then there's the kind of kiss that the
better romance novels spend three pages
describing. I wouldn't try this with anyone you
weren't already involved with-- it can be taken
as a display of lust and tends to incite such
feelings in the participants."
Before Shinji could even try to read any
deeper meanings in what Hikari had just said,
he found himself swept up in the most amazing
kiss he had shared with her yet. During their
first kiss he had felt briefly like the rest of
the world had faded back leaving only them.
This was like that, except about twenty times
more intense.
When they finally came up for air,
Shinji had forgotten what he had been about to
say before that. It didn't take him long to
remember however. In fact, it only took one
look back at the door to the living room.
Hikari and Rei heard a round of applause
and turned to the doorway to see Kodama, Kaji,
Ritsuko, and Misato clapping and laughing from
the glass door. After a moment's shock at
having an audience for their little
'demonstration' Hikari and Shinji began to
laugh as well. Rei watched all this and had
anyone looked, they might have been surprised
to see a small smile at the corner of her lips.
[]====[]
[]====[]
"I'm glad no one has to work in the
morning," Shinji told Kaji as he helped the
older man clean up the mess. It was almost
midnight, and just about everyone else was
gone. Rei had left, and Hikari had taken Kodama
home. Ritsuko had elected to sleep in Misato's
room-- which, thanks to the efforts of Hikari
and Asuka earlier that afternoon, was the
cleanest it had been since Shinji had moved in.
"They will no doubt appreciate that when
the hangover kicks in," Kaji agreed as they
placed more bottles in a box.
"Um... Kaji?"
"Yes Shinji?"
"Where did Asuka go? I didn't see her
after the three of us stepped outside."
Kaji grinned, " well, to tell you I must
first swear you to secrecy."
"I don't understand, but alright."
"She passed out after her third drink."
"You let her drink?" Shinji asked,
completely shocked.
"It wasn't a matter of 'allowing' her to
do anything," Kaji said with a bemused chuckle,
"she was determined to join in the game, and
once that girl sets her sights on something its
nearly impossible to change her mind."
"But still..."
"Don't worry Shinji, if she feels
anywhere near as bad as some of and the others
no doubt will tomorrow morning, I think it will
prove a valuable lesson for her-- the girl just
can't hold her liquor."
"How come you're not drunk?"
"Oh I am, but unlike the others I know a
few little tricks to keeping my head about me."
"What do you mean?"
"Hmmm... take Kodama for example. She made
the mistake of hitting the beer first thing--
then doing shots with the rest of us later on.
Even so, she's not going to be the worst off of
us all in the morning. Some people never did
learn that you _don't_ mix around your drinks.
Misato didn't do anything other than beer and
tequila, and I stuck to the sake all night.
While I will be feeling it tomorrow, I should
be better off. Ritsuko on the other hand let
the other girls pour her drinks for her... and
with Misato that's a mistake."
"I'll have to remember that."
"Remember this as well," Kaji added, "
drinking doesn't change your mood, it enhances
it. If you're in a bad mood when you start,
you're going to end up in a worse one. On the
other hand-- if you're in a good mood the
reverse is true. Just keep that in mind when or
if you ever decide to go out drinking."
"Thanks Kaji"
"Just giving you some of the advice I
wish I'd had when I started out."
" I appreciate it... um, can I ask you
something else?"
"Go ahead."
"Well you know that I'm seeing
Hikari..."
"I believe it's been made obvious at
this point."
"Um... right. Well, sometime after the
dance... I wanted to take her somewhere nice
for dinner... but I don't know anywhere that
would let us in at our age."
"I think I might have a bit of advice--
do you have your Nerv ID card?"
"Yes."
"Flash that at anywhere in town. If they
don't let you in after that-- tell Misato. I
would wager that they will be kissing your feet
the next time you show up."
"That seems kind of dishonest Kaji..."
"It's only dishonest if you abuse it
Shinji. Just keep that as a backup plan if
anyone gives you trouble. It's an ace in the
hole that you can bring out in emergency."
"But how will I know if I'm abusing it?
I'd feel bad enough using it to get my way like
that in the first place."
"That's a very good questions Shinji...
and one I'm not really qualified to answer. For
now lets just say that it depends mostly on
your motives. Sometimes we have to do things
that go against our ideas of right and wrong in
order to survive. You don't like to fight,
correct?"
"No... I don't."
"But you also know that if you don't
fight, then people you know will get hurt or
killed."
" . . . "
"There is no easy answer to this Shinji.
I can't advise you on everything, but I can say
that you should try whenever possible to do
what you feel is right. I had a friend in
collage who was a walking encyclopedia of
obscure quotes, and there was one I never
forgot. 'You have to be one of the good guys,
because there are way too many of the bad'. I
always thought of that as a good philosophy to
try and live by."
[]====[]
[]====[]
Deep in the center of what had a fifteen
years before been the frozen continent of
Antarctica, an aircraft carrier sat in the
crimson tide surrounded by stalagmite-like
pillars of crystallized salt. Second Impact had
killed off not only the life on land, but also
rendered the sea for miles and miles
uninhabitable.
Now, a decade and a half later, Nerv had
returned to the wasteland to reclaim the tool
of it's instrumentality-- the lance of
Longinus.
"Fuyutski, what is the progress?" Ikari
asked as he entered the command deck of the
ship Nerv was using as it's base of operations.
"The fifth recovery team has located the
lance," Kozo replied, "and the other
submersibles are on their way to assist."
"Very well."
"Incidentally, I've been meaning to ask
you about something. Is there a problem? You've
been distracted for the entire mission."
" . . . You know me too well."
"Of course, as I recall that _was_ one of
the reasons you brought me into all of this. So
what is it this time? Something to do with
Adam?"
"No, Adam's regeneration is, in fact,
ahead of schedule."
"Seele being a pain in the ass again?"
"That is always the case... but no."
"Rei then? I hear she has been spending
time with the other pilots more often as of
late."
" . . . "
"I see..." Fuyutski said with a nod, "
Gendou, do you remember the first day that you
saw the clones?"
"Of course."
"Do you remember what you said to me then?
The warning about getting too emotionally
attached?"
"I remember perfectly. I may have been
furious at the time, but I still believe it to
be sound advice."
"That was understandable, and I do admit
that my decision to use Yui's DNA for the
Nephelem was a personal one. I made it with no
consent from you. However, remember that you
did finally agree that my reasoning was sound.
The scrolls told us what would be necessary if
we were to upset Seele's schedule."
"Rei's harmonic tests with Unit One do
backed you up, but it was still quite a shock."
"I do understand, and never think that it
was a decision that was made lightly, but back
to my point. I doubt that I need to remind you
that Rei has a purpose, and if we are to
realize our goal--we need to remember what she
is."
"As usual you are correct. It is difficult
sometimes... she looks so much like Yui that I
almost forget that she is not really my child
occasionally."
"Is that why you moved her?"
"Yes and no. The primary motivation was
that she was becoming self reliant and there
was no longer a need for my constant
supervision. We both know that I never did have
much time for her, but you are correct in that
guess, Professor... as much as she resembles
Yui... it was becoming dangerous to stay in
such close quarters."
"I'm starting to see why her recent
interaction with the others is bothering you so
much."
"Do you?"
"Naturally. Remember that I knew Yui
longer than you did, and I very clearly recall
how full of life she was. The more Rei grows as
a person the stronger the resemblance becomes,
not to mention the harder it will become on us
poor old men who so vividly remember her
genetic benefactor."
"Perhaps you are correct. However, if that
is the case then should we halt it? She will
follow the order if it is given, but the
question remains-- is it necessary?"
"For now I see no harm in it. As long as
she keeps her control, and her AT field does
not manifest then there shouldn't be a problem.
The scrolls do not warn of it, but we must
still be wary of that possibility."
"I'm forced to agree I suppose," Gendou
said as he leaned back in his chair. Suddenly
he broke into a smirk, "Perhaps this will help
my image with the staff?"
Fuyutski almost laughed aloud, "I doubt
much could repair that, old friend. Besides,
doesn't the 'Bastard King' image work to your
favor?"
"That's a new one, " Gendou said with a
snort. He had no illusions about being loved by
his subordinates, and it was a running joke
between him and Kozo to try and keep up with
the latest insulting pet names that they
invented for him.
"If I'm not mistaken it was the Second
Child who started it," Fuyutski added, "I think
it was just after the Eighth Angel."
"Leave it to an American to produce the
most entertaining insubordination," Gendou said
sourly.
"So, what are you planning to do about
Rei for now?"
"For now... I think I'll take your
advice and let things be. After all, there is
no reason to have _all_ of our pilots despising
me."
[]====[]
[]====[]
The following afternoon, while the
residents of the Katsuragi household were
dealing with the effects of a hard night of
partying, Rei Ayanami was finishing her costume
for the dance that night. She was just checking
the final stitches when her cell phone rang.
Removing it from her school pack she
answered.
"Yes?"
"Good evening Rei," Ritsuko said, "we
need you to come down to headquarters, the new
module was completed ahead of schedule and
we're ready to begin the transfer experiments."
"I-- I understand..." Rei said sadly. Had
Ritsuko not been still hung over, she would
have heard the catch in the girl's voice. Rei
hung up the phone and began to remove the Mutio
costume she had been planning on wearing to the
dance
[]====[]
[]====[]
Shinji stood in front of Hikari's house
and tried to calm himself. He had known to
expect this sooner or later, but it didn't make
him any less nervous about it. He took another
glance at the driveway where Mr. Horaki's car
was sitting and reached out to right the doorbell.
He had been surprised that it had taken
this long to meet Hikari's father, but at the
same time it was something of a relief. The few
times he'd had to deal with his own father had
_never_ been pleasant. Their yearly meetings at
his mother's grave had been tense at best, and
those had stopped almost three years ago. He
didn't know how to talk with his own father...
how was he going to talk with Hikari's?
As the doorbell rang he removed his
costume's straw hat, and stood as straight as
he could. He wanted to make the best impression
possible. Thankfully his costume was a fairly
simple one, and he wouldn't feel too
ridiculous.
A few moments passed and finally the door
opened. Hikari's father was about what Shinji
had pictured from her descriptions. Outwardly
he fit the typical absent minded scientist
mold. Had he been wearing a lab coat the
picture would have been complete. He looked at
Shinji for a moment before breaking into a
smile and inviting him inside.
"You must be Shinji. I almost didn't
recognize you without your plugsuit."
"Have we met before, Sir?" Shinji asked,
a little confused.
"hmmm, well not exactly," Mr. Horaki said
apologetically, "they called me in to assist
during after the injury you received from the
Fifth Angel."
"Really? Well then I should thank you,
sir. I was told I nearly didn't make it."
"Oh, no thanks are necessary. I didn't
actually have anything to do with your rescue.
My department was brought in to speed your
recovery."
"Then I still owe you thanks, Sir. I came
out of that better than I had any right too. I
still have nightmares about being boiled alive
sometimes. I'd imagine they would be worse
without your help."
"Thank you Shinji, but lets not talk of
work tonight. I get so few evenings where I can
rest nowadays."
"Fair enough Sir" Shinji said with a
polite smile. There were no words for how glad
he was that things were going so well.
"Hikari will be down in a bit. While we're
waiting why don't we talk about what are your
plans after this mess is all over?" Mr. Horaki
asked as they sat down in the living room.
"Its hard to say," Shinji said as he
thought back to the last time he had been asked
this, "I'm still fairly young."
"True," Mr. Horaki agreed, "I didn't
really chose a direction for my life till after
Second Impact, I was about twenty at the time.
In hindsight that wasn't a fair question to
ask-- especially considering your position with
Eva."
"Well, its not entirely unfair...when
Kodama asked me the same question, Sir, I told
her that I'd like to learn to write music. I'm
still interested in that."
"I admire you for that... We have so few
people nowadays that want to create, and I
think we need it now more than ever."
Shinji was about to agree when the older
man looked up at the stairs. Shinji followed
his line of sight and saw that Hikari was
heading down to join them. Her hair was let
down with a ribbon in it, and she was dressed
in a black tunic and had-- of all things-- a
giant spatula strapped to her back.
"Sorry I took so long Shinji." She said
as she gave her father a hug.
"Don't worry about it hun," Mr. Horaki
told her, "it's an old tradition for the young
man to sit with the girl's father and be
intimidated as she finishes getting ready."
Hikari shook her head and took Shinji's
hand as she handed her father a camera, "could
you get a picture of us in costume before we
go?"
"Of course," he replied as they stepped
against the wall.
Once the picture was taken, they thanked
him and headed off to the school. As they
walked toward the party, Hikari asked Shinji
why he had dressed as a samurai.
"No offence, but I don't see where that
matches a part of your personality."
"Well, when I picked it I had a specific
character in mind. I got the idea when I was
over at Kensuke's watching movies with him and
Touji a while back."
"Who is it supposed to be?"
"The way they explained it, the character
was based on an old legend in the first place,
but the movie was called 'wind ninja
chronicles'. It was about a Ronin named Jubei
who got blackmailed into a war against an army
of demons."
"Oh, I think I see the parallel now."
"Well there was that, but also at the end
he decided to fight because he wanted to, not
just because he was being forced... he could
have taken the easy way out and left, but he
stayed and fought."
"And you want to be able to do that..."
"Basically..."
"And here I am picking my costume just
because I like to cook" Hikari said--adjusting
the bow in her hair with a giggle.
[]====[]
[]====[]
They could hear the music from a block
away, and when they arrived the party was
already in full swing. Walking into the gym
Shinji was impressed with the work that had
gone into the decorations. Somehow they had
found the time to transform the entire gym into
a cave. It was impressive to say the least.
Once they finished gawking at the
room they started looking for their friends.
They found Kensuke rather quickly. He was
wandering around with his camera, dressed in
his military fatigues.
"Hey Kensuke!" Shinji called over the
music, "over here!"
Kensuke turned and waved as he made his
way through the surprisingly large crowd.
Knowing how few students they had, the dance
committee had left an open invitation to the
other Tokyo Three high schools and junior
highs, and several had taken up the offer.
"Glad you made it," Kensuke told them as
he swept the floor with his camera, " can you
believe this turnout?"
"Wouldn't miss it," Hikari told him, "and
what's the deal with your costume?"
"What's wrong with it?" Kensuke asked.
"Other than you wear it every other
weekend anyway?" Shinji pointed out with a
laugh.
"Hey, don't knock it--it was cheep,"
Kensuke said as he flashed a grin, "call me the
ten yen costume king!"
"So, why are you filming the party?"
Hikari wanted to know.
"For the memories, and for blackmail
material-- you would never believe what some
people dressed as!"
A person dressed as a large yellow rodent
danced past and Hikari couldn't help but agree
with her friend on that one. The costumes some
people were wearing didn't seem to follow any
rhyme or reason. Some were based on current
movies and anime's, and some like Shinji's and
Hikari's were based off of old classics. To
their surprise there were even a couple of
homemade plug suits. Kensuke finally wandered
off and the two made their way over to the
snack table where they expected to find at
least one of the adults who were chaperoning.
Sure enough Misato was keeping an eagle
eye on the punchbowl. As the two approached,
they saw that she had already confiscated
several small bottles of alcohol. Shinji
couldn't help but agree with her selection for
that post. If anyone were an expert on that
type of thing it would be her. Not only that,
but any guys trying to spike the punch would
first have to peal their eyes off her costume.
She was dressed as a cat, and the skintight
suit left little to the imagination.
She waved them over and flicked Shinji's
hat down playfully as they walked up.
"Took you long enough," she said smiling,
"man, I haven't been to one of these in
years... I forgot how much fun they were!"
"Have Asuka and Rei arrived yet?" Hikari
asked hopefully.
"Well Asuka's here, but Rei won't be
coming. She had to head down to HQ for some
tests."
"Is something wrong?" Shinji asked,
worried for his friend.
"No, just something Ritsu had to take care
of. I don't know the details. Don't worry
though, she's fine"
"That's a shame, I think she was looking
forward to this..." Hikari said.
"Don't sweat it. You guys can take her out
or something and make up for it. For now don't
worry. Get out there and have some _fun_
already!"
They grabbed some snacks and took
Misato's advice. Finding an empty spot at one
of the few dozen tables they sat down and
watched the mayhem that typically unfolds from
a good party.
It wasn't long before they saw Kaji and
Asuka walking around. Shinji couldn't say he
was surprised by Asuka's costume, but he was
impressed with the work that had been put into
its design. She was dressed as a Norse
Valkyrie, complete with a metallic breastplate,
a sword, and a winged headdress. Kaji' costume
was harder to place; he was wearing a tuxedo
and, to Shinji's surprise, had his ponytail
tucked under his collar.
"Why does the idea of her as a 'chooser
of the slain' bother me so much?" Touji said as
he appeared out of the crowd and sat down
beside them, "glad I finally found ya, I
wondered where you two were hiding."
"Hi Touji," Hikari said, "what's your
costume? I can't quite place it..."
He was wearing a baseball cap and jersey,
and was carrying a huge bat, but she couldn't
see any team identification anywhere. He also
had a Band-Aid on his nose.
"It's from an old fighting game my dad
has. The guy uses all these sports attacks."
"I think I've seen that at a oldies
restaurant," Hikari said, "it's a school themed
game right?"
"You got it," Touji replied as he took a
sip of his drink, "anyone seen Rei?"
[]====[]
[]====[]
"Good evening Rei" Ritsuko said as the
young girl entered the lab.
"Good evening doctor Akagi," Rei replied
as she stepped up to the main bank of scanning
devices and began to remove her clothes.
"We'll be doing a test run on the transfer
program tonight, Rei, so it'll be a bit
different than normal. We should be done by
midnight."
"Yes, doctor Akagi," Rei replied, and had
Ritsuko not know the girl for almost ten years,
she would have missed the slight disappointed
note in her voice.
"Is something wrong Rei?"
"No, doctor Akagi, " Rei said. Ritsuko was
surprised to realize that Rei was looking away
from her with a slight blush.
'Is she lying to me?' Ritsuko asked
herself with a touch of amused shock. It was an
interesting development, but not something that
would stop the press-- so to speak. It also
didn't take much imagination to figure out why.
Misato had been talking her ear off about this
party for most of the week, and it was _all_
Asuka had been able to talk about at the
previous night's celebration.
"I'm sorry I had to call you in at such
short notice," Ritsuko said-- testing the
waters, "I know that the others were expecting
you at the party."
Rei's eyes widened a bit and her blush
became more pronounced, and Ritsuko had to
fight not to smile. According to Misato, Shinji
had never developed his father's talent for
lying either-- it must be something from the
mother's side. At any rate it wouldn't do for
the girl to think she was toying with her...
"Rei, I really am sorry about this but we
are under orders. We can't delay these tests,
but-- tell you what, I'll see what I can do to
make it up to you, okay?"
"I-.... Tha-- thank you." Rei said with
a startled look coming over her face.
Ritsuko's feelings for the albino girl
were complicated. Sometimes she pitied Rei,
sometimes she envied her, and there had been
times as of late that she hated her. This
however, might have been the first time she had
ever felt any kind of warmth toward the girl.
It was an odd feeling-- considering what she
knew.
[]====[]
[]====[]
As Rei climbed into the large tube and
it began to fill with LCL, she thought back to
what she had just said to the doctor. 'Thank
you.' They were words of gratitude, and they
were words she had never spoken before to
anyone-- not to Miss Horaki, Major Katsuragi,
Pilot Ikari... or even the Commander.
Why was that?
It was not due to lack of opportunity--
many people as of late had gone out of their
way to answer her questions about various
things that befuddled her. Perhaps it had more
to do with the degree of which she was
grateful...
That the doctor felt bad about her
missing the gathering at the school had been a
relief somehow, and she could not quite
describe exactly why that was so.
[]====[]
[]====[]
After awhile the DJ finally decided it was
time for a slow song and Hikari turned to
Shinji and smiled.
"Can you dance?" she asked
"Not to the fast stuff, but I think I
could handle this."
They got up and headed out onto the dance
floor. After a moment's awkwardness, Shinji
placed an arm around Hikari and they began to
dance slowly. At first Shinji had to work hard
not to step on her feet, but he soon got the
hang of it. He had never done this, and he
regretted that he didn't have much practice. it
turned out to be even more fun than he had
expected it would.
From the edge of the crowd, Kaji watched
the two with a smile. He was glad that Shinji
seemed to be holding up so well-- the
information he had about Eva had indicated that
the machines could create mental instabilities
in the pilots after time. If Shinji had someone
to help him through it, he might make it after
all.
Asuka was another subject entirely, at
the moment she was out on the dance floor
alone--and that summed up her situation best.
She was alone emotionally and while she seemed
to thrive on it, he suspected that her self-
imposed isolation from others would be her
downfall. He wasn't always going to be there to
look after her, and if she didn't grow out of
her obsession with him soon it was impossible
to say just how bad things would get. She
refused to let anyone in, and that was a shame.
The difficulties the children would soon be
facing were something that she would never be
able to handle alone.
With any luck the kids would make it out
alive, but he wouldn't bet on all of them being
in one piece.
As he made his rounds, had to grin at
the thought of having been put in charge of
policing the dancers. According to his
instructions, he was to make sure that all the
partygoers stayed at least a foot apart and did
not dance lewdly. The idea was almost as
amusing as Misato being in charge of keeping
people from drinking. Obviously the planners of
this event were not without a sense of irony.
"Hello Mr. Kaji, " called a familiar voice
from his left, he looked and found Kodama
Horaki moving through the crowd to where he was
currently standing.
"Please, Miss Horaki, " he said, "the
'mister' is so unnecessary, just call me Kaji,
Ryoji Kaji."
"Very cute, I suppose you'll be asking me
for a dry martini next?"
"Nonsense, if I need alcohol then I'll ask
Misato," Kaji said with a grin.
"That's a nice costume Asuka," Kodama
added as the redhead appeared out of the crowd.
Asuka took a look at Kodama's costume and
started to laugh. She was dressed in a short
back dress, a red beret, and a red jacket.
Apparently she had decided to play up on her
sister's 'evil twins' joke.
"Thank you Kodama," once she got her
giggles under control, "I spent a lot of time
trying to find the right pieces."
"It came out well, I think. Has anyone
seen Hikari? I haven't seen her since this
afternoon."
Kaji broke into another of his trademark
grins and pointed to a spot on the dance floor
where Hikari and Shinji were currently ignoring
everything but the music and one another.
Kodama smiled as she saw the two, then let out
a short laugh.
"Aren't you supposed to be keeping them
farther apart than that?" she inquired.
"Ah, but if I actually enforced that rule,
then Asuka would have to detach herself from my
arm... and then she would most likely kill me.
So, I think until clothes start being shed I'll
ignore a little smooching on the dance floor."
"Hey!" Asuka said loudly, realizing that
she had just been pseudo-insulted, " why does
everyone always think I'm going to be violent?
I'm not _always_ violent . . . am I?"
Kaji patted her on the shoulder and
smiled, "The important thing is _you_ believe
that."
[]====[]
[]====[]
As the song ended, Shinji was about to say
something to Hikari when a well-known and
dreaded siren cut into the music.
The crowd immediately began to panic, and
rush the doors, and Hikari was almost separated
from Shinji three times as they made their way
to Misato's snack table.
Asuka was already there, and when the room
emptied they began to make their way to the
door. As they reached the door and started to
head toward Misato's car, Hikari stopped. She
had almost forgotten that she couldn't go with
them. Shinji turned to her and frowned-- he was
just then reaching the same realization.
"Be careful," She told him as she turned
to go with the others to the shelters. Before
she got too far, Shinji grabbed her hand and
stopped her.
"Thank you," he said and kissed her.
With one last longing look, he turned and
joined Asuka and Misato in the car while Hikari
watched from the parking lot. As the blue
Renaut A301 screeched out of the parking lot,
Kensuke lowered his camera and wiped a tear
from his eye.
"That was beautiful..." he said with a sigh
before joining Hikari, who was already hurrying
to the shelter.
[]====[]
[]====[]
"You want us to catch it in our _hands_?"
Asuka cried as Misato explained her plan to
kill the latest Angel
"Yes," Misato told her, " we will position
the Evas at the estimated point of impact and
use the AT fields to stop its descent."
Shinji hadn't actually been listening
very much to what Misato had to say. She had
placed a projection of the blast radius on the
monitor and his entire focus had been directed
at one spot. That spot was the shelter where
Hikari was right that moment. When the Angel
hit, no matter which part of the City it
struck-- the shelter was still in the blast
zone.
"What if the Angel hits outside the
projected area?" he asked.
"We're still toast," Misato told him,
"even with an indirect hit the shockwave will
destroy the city and the Geofront."
Shinji tuned out again after hearing
that. He had known from the beginning that he
was fighting to save people-- it was the only
way he had been able to keep from abandoning
Eva entirely and going back to his uncle. As he
looked at the location of the shelter covered
in red on the screen, he realized that he had a
much more personal reason to do it.
"What are our chances of succeeding" he
asked when the room went quiet again.
"Haven't got a clue, not good though."
"If we win, it'll be a miracle!" Asuka
said, still trying to assimilate their
assignment and keep from screaming at how
insane it was
'Then we'll just have to _make_ one
happen,' Shinji thought as he took one more
look at the blast radius.
[]====[]
[]====[]
"Hey Asuka?" Shinji asked as they rode
the lift to the Cage.
"What?"
"Why do you do this? Why do you pilot?""
"To show the world how great I am!"
Asuka declared with a fierce smile.
"So it's a way to prove to others you
exist?"
"You could say that," she said with a
shrug.
Shinji nodded and turned back to the
front of the cage. After a moment the curiosity
got the better of her and Asuka spoke up again.
"Aren't you gonna ask Rei too?"
"We've already discussed it"
"What, have you been having secret
meetings behind Hikari's back?" Asuka asked
with a smirk.
"Of course not!" Shinji shot back.
"Yesh! Scuuuuse me for breathing,
Third Child! Okay then if wonder girl is off
topic then why do _you_ pilot Eva?"
" I didn't know for a long time, but I
think I do now..." Shinji said softly.
"Well?"
"120 minutes until the estimated time of
collision," Maya announced over the PA system.
"I'll tell you later," Shinji said as the
lift reached their stop.
[]====[]
[]====[]
"I still hate this thing," he said aloud
as he waited for the order to move out. He knew
he probably always would too. Despite the fact
that his control over the Eva grew daily, there
was always a little part of his mind that knew
that a beast was hiding inside the armor--
waiting to be let loose again.
"The Angel has been sighted" Aoba
reported.
Shinji looked up at he sky. He could see
the twinkling reflection of light off the Angel
as its descent began. He remembered what Misato
had told him the day of her party-- about her
father... and the Angels
"All Eva's to your starting positions,"
Misato called over the communications link.
Her feelings toward her father
surprisingly mirrored his towards his own. She
had tried to hate him for so long, but still
couldn't bring herself to fully despise him.
She had tried to describe how she had directed
all her rage towards him towards the angels.
Shinji didn't know if he could do that. Her
father was long dead while his was a constant
presence. As grateful as he was to Misato for
trying to help him find his purpose... he
wondered if he should tell her that it wasn't
necessary anymore.
"On your marks," Misato began...
'I have my own reason now,' Shinji
thought, 'I have someone I love who is in
danger. If I don't fight-- if I don't do my
best... then she could die. I can't let that
happen as long as there is something I can do
to prevent it.'
"Get set," she continued...
So he would hate it, he would fear it, but
he wouldn't run from it. As long as there was
something he could do to keep the Angels from
hurting anyone he would keep fighting. More to
the point, as long as there was a way to keep
Hikari safe, he would fight to his dying
breath.
"GO!"
With a renewed sense of purpose, Shinji
Ikari charged forward to meet his future head
on.
[]====================[]
End of Book One
[]====================[]
Authors Incoherent Babbling:
Well, we're at the end of Book One, and
from the response I've been getting it looks
like y'all like this little yarn! ^_^
One quick note about Hikari's pop.
Hikari's about the only character in the cast
who isn't screwed in the head somehow ^_^ so I
figure her pop can't have been too bad.
The costumes... well I tried to go with
the classics, (hey you try figuring what's
still going to be popular 15 years from now!)
but it took me forever to decide on Touji's.
its from a game called Rival Schools. I ended
up going with it because a couple of the
fighters are sports themed, and because one of
the ultimate attacks looks like the 'dance like
you want to win' sequence.
For the record, Shinji was Jubei from Ninja
Scroll fame (the costume was _not_ inspired by
Jubei chan for the record ^_^ )
Hikari was Ukkyo from Ranma 1/2. (hey, I
figured, why not?)
In Rei's case the costume was kind of a
homage to one of my favorite fics. Her costume-
- the character Mutio from Blue Submarine #6--
was inspired by a comment made in Children of
an Elder God. As I recall, someone says that
Rei seems like a mermaid in one chapter. If
you've seen that series (and read that fic)
then you ought to see where I got the
connection ^_^
I think I got most of the Waff out of my
system, so expect things to get bad from here
out. The Second Book of Together We Stand is
titled:
[]===================[]
Divided We Fall
[]===================[]
Hotwire
Chain Lightning Studios
http://hotwire182.freeyellow.com/chainlightning.html
property of Gainax. They are used without permission and we beg the
kind and benevolent creators of the glorious show not to sue us. ^_^
Chain Lightning Studios Presents
Together We Stand
By T. L. Webb
Did you ever wonder
Why we had to run for shelter
When the promise of a brave new world
Unfurled beneath a clear blue sky
Goodbye Blue Sky
Pink Floyd, The Wall
[]===============[]
Book 1 Part 7
[]===============[]
It had been months since Shinji'd had a
chance to see the sky like this.
Living in the isolated area where his
uncle's home was had few advantages, and he had
missed out on a lot of things that most kids
his age took for granted. He hadn't had many
friends, and he had been too far away from the
nearest town to go to middle school, his Uncle
had arranged a tutor for those three years.
However, there had been few things that
he had actually enjoyed while living with his
uncle. Despite the fact that the man had
insisted he'd no talent for it, his first cello
lessons had been one of his fondest memories--
but the one thing he had always loved more than
that was the area where he'd lived had an
amazing view of the night sky.
Now, as he gazed up at the magnificent few
above him he smiled as a slight wave of vertigo
passed over him. The stars were so crystal
clear without the city to dim them out, and he
had almost forgotten what it was like. He had
almost forgotten how grand a view there was to
be had by merely looking up at the night sky on
a clear night. Lying back against the grass he
could almost imagine himself being back there,
still a child, still unaware of all the awful
things to come.
It was almost a shame that the power would
be back on in the city so soon.
"You know," he said to Asuka and Rei as he
watched the slowly rotating view above, "its
ironic that without the lights, the stars are
so much more beautiful."
Asuka was laying a few feet away beside
Rei. They had defeated another angel, and since
their services would no be required until power
was restored, they'd asked the person who had
driven Makoto to HQ to drop them off here.
"I guess," the redhead replied, " but its
kind of creepy, I mean without the lights it's
like there aren't any humans down there."
Shinji started to reply, but was
interrupted by the breathtaking sight of Tokyo
Three coming back to life.
"There," Asuka said with a smile, "I feel
better now."
"Mankind fears the darkness" Rei said
speaking up, " and chases it away with flames."
As Shinji pondered this, Asuka let out a
little snort, " philosophy huh?"
"I wonder," Shinji asked, " is that why
the Angels attack? Because we're able to
initiate change like that?"
"Oh who cares what they think," Asuka told
him, "it doesn't matter. They attack, we kick
their ass, and that's all you should worry
about."
"I'd still feel better if we knew what we
were dealing with," Shinji told her.
"Don't be an idiot Shinji. A solider who
thinks too much is useless on the battlefield.
Just follow orders and keep your head down."
"That's your philosophy Asuka, I can't do
that."
"Then why are you even bothering to do
this if you cant do it right?"
"Because I have to."
"What kind of lame-ass answer is that?"
"A true one."
"Anyone ever tell you that you're screwed
in the head, Third Child?"
"You, every day."
"Ha-ha, I don't know why Hikari puts up
with you. It _can't_ be your sense of humor"
"You'd have to ask her Asuka, I'm not
going to start this argument again."
"Wuss. Hey, what's the deal with your two?
I mean, what do you even have in common?"
Shinji was quiet for a moment while he
thought about that.
"Well, we both like to cook for one
thing," he said, " we like some of the same
music, and movies... she's loaned me a few of
her books and mangas-- so far our tastes in
that are about the same, but a lot of it is
more subtle than that."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, a lot of the time it seems like
we're on the same... well wavelength I guess
you could say. I feel like I can--."
"Puppy love," Asuka said, cutting him off
with and smirking triumphantly.
"What?"
"Its nothing but puppy love, Shinji. You
two don't have anything that a thousand other
teenagers haven't gone through... pathetic."
"I don't know why I bother talking to you
sometimes," Shinji said as he climbed to his
feet, "all you ever do is insult me."
As Shinji walked down the hill, Asuka
rolled her eyes and leaned back again.
[]====[]
[]====[]
A few feet away, Rei Ayanami sat and
pondered the conversation that had just
transpired between her fellow pilots. Every day
she learned more about them, and every day she
wondered why she had never taken such an
interest in the past. The interactions between
the others were becoming increasingly
fascinating to her, and she was paying far more
attention to them than anyone would ever guess.
It was also frustrating because other than
a select few, she had no one to discuss these
things with. Talking to Pilot Soryu was
generally an exercise in futility. Doctor Akagi
became disturbed when she brought up such
matters, and she was hesitant to even broach
the subject with Commander Ikari. She had the
distinct impression that he would not only
disapprove, but also order her to stop such
interaction.
This left Miss Horaki, Pilot Ikari and
Captain Katsuragi. Of the three the former and
later were her best sources of information.
Shinji occasionally was of help, but he tended
to be too reserved in his comments to be of
much use. He did, sometimes, shed light on
things that she did not understand, and
hopefully her current problem might be one of
those.
As she climbed to her feet and walked
down to where he was now sitting, he looked up
at her and nodded a hello.
"You are disturbed by what Pilot Soryu
said," She stated as she stopped beside the
tree he was resting against.
Shinji let out a sigh and nodded in
agreement.
"Yeah, I wish she' just lay off the
teasing at least once," he told her, "I know
she disapproves of me and Hikari seeing one
another-- but she could at least _try_ to be a
little more understanding."
"I myself do not fully understand it,"
Rei said, "but I have through curiosity begun
to try. Perhaps she is so abrasive because she
has not made a similar effort to understand?"
"Could be, but she still doesn't have to
be so blunt and rude about it."
"How should she be about it then?" Rei
asked.
"I don't know Rei... it's just that I'm
having enough trouble trying to deal with
school, Eva, and a girlfriend. Dealing with
Asuka on top of it all is wearing me thin."
"Have you told her this?"
"I've tried, but she doesn't seem to ever
listen."
"I see," Rei said as she turned and began
walking away.
As Shinji looked after her, he made a note
to ask Hikari to teach her how to end a
conversation.
[]====[]
[]====[]
"How is school?" Commander Ikari asked as
he and Rei ate dinner several nights later.
"There are no difficulties, Commander."
"That is good, and is everything else in
order?"
"Yes."
"Has the Second Child given you any more
difficulties?"
"No sir, she seemed to have lost interest
once our test scores showed her synch ratio
surpassed mine."
"I see. Continue to avoid her when
possible. Her skill for Eva is undeniable, but
we must continue to treat her ego with kid
gloves. Eventually the stress of piloting will
overcome her-- show caution when this does
finally occur.
"And the Third?"
"Hmm as long as he remains fixated on his
classmate I see no danger of a similar
breakdown, continue to observe, but report any
apparent instabilities to the nearest Section
Two agent."
"Yes sir," Rei replied, privately relived
that he had not ordered her to avoid Shinji as
well.
"Sub-Commander Fuyutski and I will be
leaving soon for the Antarctic Dead Sea. We
should be far enough along to begin the new
transfer procedures during that timeframe, are
you prepared for them?"
"Yes sir."
"Good," the commander said as he rose to
leave. He did not say anything else, but he was
deeply worried, the reports he had received as
of late showed that Rei had taken a more active
role in her fellow pilot's lives... and that
could be problematic if not handled properly.
Her social development was limited, and given
his plans for the girl... that had been a
blessing in itself. Her new interest in the
other children was not a danger on its own, but
it presented a potential stumbling block should
certain plans come to fruition before the
predictions of the Scrolls came to pass.
But even this was not the worst of his
problems. if Rei began to show similar
instabilities as the other pilots then much of
what he had planned would be placed in
jeopardy. So much depended on keeping Rei
stable...
Hopefully when the dummy plugs were
completed they would no longer need the pilots.
Hopefully then he would no longer have to
put Rei at such risk.
[]====[]
[]====[]
"Thanks for coming Hikari," Asuka told
her friend the next day, "I don't think I'd be
able to stand those two without help"
They were in the middle of putting
together a surprise party for Misato, who had
just been promoted to Major. Kensuke and Touji
had taken charge of the planning and
construction, and had ushered the girls out of
the living room saying that their presence was
'disturbing the flow of creativity'. Hikari
knew the two better and suspected that Kensuke
just wanted Asuka out of the room before
another fight started between her and Touji.
"It's not a problem," Hikari replied, "I
promised Kensuke I'd bring over these extra
decorations anyway."
"So the gyms all set then?"
"We finished up yesterday, it's all
ready."
"You mean, you even got chaperones?"
"It was easy once we got Kodama signed up.
She convinced Misato and Misato even talked Mr.
Kaji into helping out."
"I can't say I'm upset about that," Asuka
said with a lecherous grin.
"How's your costume coming?" Hikari asked-
- eager to change the subject, "Will it be
ready on time? You told me last week that it
was kind of complex."
"Oh, once I found the right shops it was
easy."
"You're having it made? Isn't that
expensive?
"Not with the pay we get as pilots."
"Oh..."
"What?"
"Shinji only had his pay restored the other
day."
"Restored? When did he lose it?"
"You didn't know? After the second battle
he got in trouble."
"Hmmm, I heard about that... he tried to
run away or something, right?"
"Well he wasn't actually running away...
more like trying to take a breather. He told me
he was actually about to come back to the
apartment when they picked him up."
"Right, like I said-- he ran away.
Couldn't handle the pressure."
"Asuka, that's not being fair, do you even
know what he was going through then?"
"No, but who cares? I mean it _is_ his
job."
"Asuka, did you chose to be a pilot?"
Hikari asked, trying a different track
"Sort of."
"What do you mean?"
"Well they picked me way back when I was
around four, but I was honored to be selected."
"So you're doing this because you want
to."
"Absolutely."
"What if they hadn't brought you into it
until a year ago?"
"I'm not following you."
"What if you had already decided what
you wanted to do with your life, and then they
forced you to pilot against your will?"
"I'd probably be pissed but I'd go along
with it, it is to save mankind you know."
"Shinji is in that type of situation. In
a very real sense he was drafted for the
project. When he arrived he had no idea why Mr.
Ikari had called him, and then they just kind
of dropped everything into his lap. You had
almost ten years to prepare yourself Asuka, he
had maybe half an hour."
"Never really thought about it like
that... but if he hates all this so much, why
does he stay? He could have left anytime once I
arrived... couldn't he?"
"I don't know. I think he's getting the
hang of it, and I think he prefers living with
Misato to his Uncle."
"Speaking of Misato, when are she and
idiot boy due back?"
"Stop that, and it should be another half
hour. Shinji said that the store they were
going to was in midtown."
"I see, well... what do we do until then?"
"We could help the other two stooges with
the decorations..."
"Yeah right," Asuka asked with a laugh,
"why bother, I mean, what are men good for
besides manual labor?"
[]====[]
[]====[]
As Misato drove them back to the
apartment, Shinji smiled at the thought of her
face when they walked in to the condo. He'd
never been a part of a surprise party before,
and he had to admit it was fun. Of course,
trying to keep a straight face was becoming
more and more difficult as the night
progressed, but he felt he could last till they
got back... at least he hoped he could.
He looked over at his guardian who was
lost in thought. Strange to think that until
recently he would have been enjoying the quiet
between them. He was changing, and he couldn't
honestly say he wasn't enjoying it. Eventually
he did grow too uncomfortable with the silence,
and tried to spark a conversation.
"Congratulations on your promotion," he
said.
"Thanks Shinji," She replied, her voice
still distant, " but, to tell you the truth,
I'm not exactly overjoyed."
"I can sympathize with that," he told
her, "being praised in public doesn't make me
happy either. It only made Asuka mad back at
headquarters.... Misato, why did she get angry
anyway?"
"You're still upset about that?"
"Yeah, I guess I am."
"You worry too much about what others
think of you, Shinji."
"Is that bad?"
"It can be, for example; how do you
define cool?"
"W-what?"
"Cool, how do you define it?"
"Um... the opposite of hot?"
"No silly, I mean like when a person
is cool."
"Oh... um I guess I don't know."
"ok, take Kaji for example. He's a
jerk and he drives me up the wall sometimes,
but would you say that Kaji is good at keeping
his cool?"
"I guess so..."
"Okay then, we have a starting place.
Now why is that? How does he keep it?"
"I... well, I guess I'm not sure."
"For one thing, he doesn't care what
people think about him. Especially about how he
looks or dresses. That's why he can get away
with dressing like a slob around headquarters."
"That doesn't make much sense Misato."
"Well its just part of it, but it's a big
part. You need to realize your position. I
mean-- you're a vital part of Nerv, and get to
pilot the most advanced war machine in the
history of mankind. You have every right to
play up to that, but you don't and I respect
you for it. However, your greatest problem is
that you still worry too much about what others
think. If you'd just realize all the things
that you have going for you... you'd be that
much closer to dealing with the hard stuff. You
keep sweating the small stuff and its going to
start getting to get to you like it did after
the fourth angel."
"You're telling me... that I need to
decide what's important and what's not?"
"Exactly."
"But how do I decide that?"
"Good question Shinji," Misato said with
a grin, "figure that out and let me know-- I'm
still working on it myself"
Shinji frowned at that. Wasn't this
supposed to be an advice session? Or was that
actually the advice? Maybe what Misato needed
and what he did as well to follow the advice
were different things entirely. If that was the
case then he was a little better off... but not
by much
"Oh, thanks for the help," he said
shaking his head with a chuckle. Maybe he
should just stick to Kensuke and Touji for
advice, he figured. At least they gave straight
answers... usually dumb ones, but straight
ones.
[]====[]
[]====[]
Misato's reaction was worth the trouble.
When she entered the kitchen and had five
people jump out at her yelling "surprise"
Shinji was glad that she didn't have her
service pistol handy. Misato jumped almost
three feet backwards and hit her head on the
closet door, then fell to the floor in a daze.
For a moment Kensuke panicked, but once she saw
the elaborate decorations that the kids had set
up Misato had begun to laugh, and everyone
relaxed.
The party started out great, with Touji
and Asuka providing most of the entertainment
by constantly trying to insult the other.
Unfortunately for Touji-- Asuka didn't fight
fair and most of their verbal sparring ended
with him sitting down with an angry blush.
Kodama had shown up just before Shinji and
Misato and the 'evil twins' were planing a
series of drinking games for later that
evening.
About half an hour after the start of
the party, Kaji and Ritsuko finally arrived--
resulting in Asuka's face lighting up brighter
than any of the decorations. As she made a
beeline for the older man's arm-- where she
would remain attached for most of the evening--
Hikari sat down beside Shinji and Misato.
"Did you get your costumes selected yet?"
Hikari asked.
"We're going tomorrow to pick them up,"
Misato replied as she popped open another beer,
"good thing Shinji here got his pay back, I
only have so much cash on hand these days."
"So, how did the tests go today?"
"I'm up eight points," Shinji said with a
smile, "I think if I keep it up then I--"
"Ah-em."
They looked up to see Ritsuko frowning at
them.
"Shinji," she said, " I don't think its
appropriate for you to be discussing such
things. I would advise you drop that subject
before one of the Section Two guards overhears
and reports it to your father."
"Now, now Ritsu, " Kaji said as he tried
to take a sip of his sake-- a difficult task
with Asuka clinging to his arm, "Shinji spends
so much of his time cooped up with those tests
that _not_ talking about them would leave him
as quiet as Misato tells us he used to be.
Surely you don't want that."
"Of course not Kaji," Ritsuko shot back,
" but we can't very well have him mouthing off
about classified tests."
"Afraid someone will find out about your
rubber fetish?" Misato piped in, causing
Ritsuko's face to take on a shade of red even
Shinji had never achieved.
"I think we better go outside," Hikari
whispered to Shinji with a giggle.
"Huh?" Shinji asked, "how come?"
"Because I think Miss Akagi is about to
start using language that we're not supposed to
know."
Shinji took another look at the glowering
Ritsuko, and nodded in agreement. They were
about to make their escape when the doorbell
rang.
"We'll get it" Shinji said as he and
Hikari made their escape to the front hall.
Opening the door, Shinji was pleasantly
surprised to find Rei standing there. Asuka had
claimed to have invited her, but they had all
expected her to be a no-show.
It was nice to be wrong about that.
[]====[]
[]====[]
"Don't you love the view from here Rei?"
Hikari asked as the three sat outside on the
patio a bit later. Touji and Kensuke had just
left and other than Asuka (who was still
attached to Kaji's arm) it was just the adults.
So while they proceeded to get drunk, the three
teenagers had decided to step outside and talk
for awhile.
Rei looked out at the view of Tokyo Three,
and nodded in agreement.
"I wonder--I have seen this before," Rei
asked, "why do I continue to find pleasure in
the view?"
"Because looking at something that's
beautiful never gets old," Shinji said--
smiling at Hikari as he did so.
"Shinji Ikari," Hikari asked with a
laugh, "are you flirting with me?"
"I think so, at least I'm trying to,"
Shinji replied with a blush, "am I doing it
right?"
"You're doing fine sweetie," Hikari told
him as she kissed him on the cheek.
"What is the purpose of that?" Rei asked
"Of what?" Shinji said as he leaned back
against the side of the lawn chair where Hikari
was sitting.
"Of a kiss. What purpose does it serve?"
Hikari blinked, and leaned back in the
chair thoughtfully. She was becoming used to
Rei's odd questions. They were coming more and
more often lately, but the girl could throw out
a stumper like no one else.
"That's hard to answer Rei. There are
different kinds of kisses, some of them mean
different things."
"For example?" Rei asked.
A playful grin crossed Hikari face and she
reached over and took hold of Shinji's arm,
pulling him up onto the chair with her. Shinji
was completely mystified by her intentions, but
went along. He trusted Hikari not to do
anything embarrassing-- besides, he wasn't
about to complain about the proximity.
Turning to Rei, Hikari smiled and began to
speak.
"Kissing can mean anything from a simple
token of friendship to a display of love, to
more...amorous meanings. For example, this one
is just a sign of affection, it could be given
between friends or just siblings," she leaned
over and gave Shinji a light peck on the cheek,
"I kiss my sisters and father like that to say
hello or goodbye. It just means that I care
about them."
Shinji had caught on to what Hikari was up
to by this point, and while he was blushing
deeply, he couldn't honestly say he wasn't
enjoying the demonstration.
"Even men used to kiss back in old times,
Romans would greet one another like this," she
kissed Shinji lightly on both cheeks.
"And they no longer do this?" Rei asked
"Most men don't... um, as for why, that's
a discussion for another time," Hikari said, "
now where were we? Ah, yes... couples tend to
kiss a bit more intimately."
She displayed this by kissing Shinji
tenderly on the lips. When Shinji opened his
eyes again he saw something that made him
frown. He started to say something about it,
but Hikari grinned and put a finger to his
lips.
"Hush, we're almost done," Hikari said
with a giggle, "please hold all questions till
the end of the demonstration."
She looked back over to Rei who was
observing with great interest.
"Then there's the kind of kiss that the
better romance novels spend three pages
describing. I wouldn't try this with anyone you
weren't already involved with-- it can be taken
as a display of lust and tends to incite such
feelings in the participants."
Before Shinji could even try to read any
deeper meanings in what Hikari had just said,
he found himself swept up in the most amazing
kiss he had shared with her yet. During their
first kiss he had felt briefly like the rest of
the world had faded back leaving only them.
This was like that, except about twenty times
more intense.
When they finally came up for air,
Shinji had forgotten what he had been about to
say before that. It didn't take him long to
remember however. In fact, it only took one
look back at the door to the living room.
Hikari and Rei heard a round of applause
and turned to the doorway to see Kodama, Kaji,
Ritsuko, and Misato clapping and laughing from
the glass door. After a moment's shock at
having an audience for their little
'demonstration' Hikari and Shinji began to
laugh as well. Rei watched all this and had
anyone looked, they might have been surprised
to see a small smile at the corner of her lips.
[]====[]
[]====[]
"I'm glad no one has to work in the
morning," Shinji told Kaji as he helped the
older man clean up the mess. It was almost
midnight, and just about everyone else was
gone. Rei had left, and Hikari had taken Kodama
home. Ritsuko had elected to sleep in Misato's
room-- which, thanks to the efforts of Hikari
and Asuka earlier that afternoon, was the
cleanest it had been since Shinji had moved in.
"They will no doubt appreciate that when
the hangover kicks in," Kaji agreed as they
placed more bottles in a box.
"Um... Kaji?"
"Yes Shinji?"
"Where did Asuka go? I didn't see her
after the three of us stepped outside."
Kaji grinned, " well, to tell you I must
first swear you to secrecy."
"I don't understand, but alright."
"She passed out after her third drink."
"You let her drink?" Shinji asked,
completely shocked.
"It wasn't a matter of 'allowing' her to
do anything," Kaji said with a bemused chuckle,
"she was determined to join in the game, and
once that girl sets her sights on something its
nearly impossible to change her mind."
"But still..."
"Don't worry Shinji, if she feels
anywhere near as bad as some of and the others
no doubt will tomorrow morning, I think it will
prove a valuable lesson for her-- the girl just
can't hold her liquor."
"How come you're not drunk?"
"Oh I am, but unlike the others I know a
few little tricks to keeping my head about me."
"What do you mean?"
"Hmmm... take Kodama for example. She made
the mistake of hitting the beer first thing--
then doing shots with the rest of us later on.
Even so, she's not going to be the worst off of
us all in the morning. Some people never did
learn that you _don't_ mix around your drinks.
Misato didn't do anything other than beer and
tequila, and I stuck to the sake all night.
While I will be feeling it tomorrow, I should
be better off. Ritsuko on the other hand let
the other girls pour her drinks for her... and
with Misato that's a mistake."
"I'll have to remember that."
"Remember this as well," Kaji added, "
drinking doesn't change your mood, it enhances
it. If you're in a bad mood when you start,
you're going to end up in a worse one. On the
other hand-- if you're in a good mood the
reverse is true. Just keep that in mind when or
if you ever decide to go out drinking."
"Thanks Kaji"
"Just giving you some of the advice I
wish I'd had when I started out."
" I appreciate it... um, can I ask you
something else?"
"Go ahead."
"Well you know that I'm seeing
Hikari..."
"I believe it's been made obvious at
this point."
"Um... right. Well, sometime after the
dance... I wanted to take her somewhere nice
for dinner... but I don't know anywhere that
would let us in at our age."
"I think I might have a bit of advice--
do you have your Nerv ID card?"
"Yes."
"Flash that at anywhere in town. If they
don't let you in after that-- tell Misato. I
would wager that they will be kissing your feet
the next time you show up."
"That seems kind of dishonest Kaji..."
"It's only dishonest if you abuse it
Shinji. Just keep that as a backup plan if
anyone gives you trouble. It's an ace in the
hole that you can bring out in emergency."
"But how will I know if I'm abusing it?
I'd feel bad enough using it to get my way like
that in the first place."
"That's a very good questions Shinji...
and one I'm not really qualified to answer. For
now lets just say that it depends mostly on
your motives. Sometimes we have to do things
that go against our ideas of right and wrong in
order to survive. You don't like to fight,
correct?"
"No... I don't."
"But you also know that if you don't
fight, then people you know will get hurt or
killed."
" . . . "
"There is no easy answer to this Shinji.
I can't advise you on everything, but I can say
that you should try whenever possible to do
what you feel is right. I had a friend in
collage who was a walking encyclopedia of
obscure quotes, and there was one I never
forgot. 'You have to be one of the good guys,
because there are way too many of the bad'. I
always thought of that as a good philosophy to
try and live by."
[]====[]
[]====[]
Deep in the center of what had a fifteen
years before been the frozen continent of
Antarctica, an aircraft carrier sat in the
crimson tide surrounded by stalagmite-like
pillars of crystallized salt. Second Impact had
killed off not only the life on land, but also
rendered the sea for miles and miles
uninhabitable.
Now, a decade and a half later, Nerv had
returned to the wasteland to reclaim the tool
of it's instrumentality-- the lance of
Longinus.
"Fuyutski, what is the progress?" Ikari
asked as he entered the command deck of the
ship Nerv was using as it's base of operations.
"The fifth recovery team has located the
lance," Kozo replied, "and the other
submersibles are on their way to assist."
"Very well."
"Incidentally, I've been meaning to ask
you about something. Is there a problem? You've
been distracted for the entire mission."
" . . . You know me too well."
"Of course, as I recall that _was_ one of
the reasons you brought me into all of this. So
what is it this time? Something to do with
Adam?"
"No, Adam's regeneration is, in fact,
ahead of schedule."
"Seele being a pain in the ass again?"
"That is always the case... but no."
"Rei then? I hear she has been spending
time with the other pilots more often as of
late."
" . . . "
"I see..." Fuyutski said with a nod, "
Gendou, do you remember the first day that you
saw the clones?"
"Of course."
"Do you remember what you said to me then?
The warning about getting too emotionally
attached?"
"I remember perfectly. I may have been
furious at the time, but I still believe it to
be sound advice."
"That was understandable, and I do admit
that my decision to use Yui's DNA for the
Nephelem was a personal one. I made it with no
consent from you. However, remember that you
did finally agree that my reasoning was sound.
The scrolls told us what would be necessary if
we were to upset Seele's schedule."
"Rei's harmonic tests with Unit One do
backed you up, but it was still quite a shock."
"I do understand, and never think that it
was a decision that was made lightly, but back
to my point. I doubt that I need to remind you
that Rei has a purpose, and if we are to
realize our goal--we need to remember what she
is."
"As usual you are correct. It is difficult
sometimes... she looks so much like Yui that I
almost forget that she is not really my child
occasionally."
"Is that why you moved her?"
"Yes and no. The primary motivation was
that she was becoming self reliant and there
was no longer a need for my constant
supervision. We both know that I never did have
much time for her, but you are correct in that
guess, Professor... as much as she resembles
Yui... it was becoming dangerous to stay in
such close quarters."
"I'm starting to see why her recent
interaction with the others is bothering you so
much."
"Do you?"
"Naturally. Remember that I knew Yui
longer than you did, and I very clearly recall
how full of life she was. The more Rei grows as
a person the stronger the resemblance becomes,
not to mention the harder it will become on us
poor old men who so vividly remember her
genetic benefactor."
"Perhaps you are correct. However, if that
is the case then should we halt it? She will
follow the order if it is given, but the
question remains-- is it necessary?"
"For now I see no harm in it. As long as
she keeps her control, and her AT field does
not manifest then there shouldn't be a problem.
The scrolls do not warn of it, but we must
still be wary of that possibility."
"I'm forced to agree I suppose," Gendou
said as he leaned back in his chair. Suddenly
he broke into a smirk, "Perhaps this will help
my image with the staff?"
Fuyutski almost laughed aloud, "I doubt
much could repair that, old friend. Besides,
doesn't the 'Bastard King' image work to your
favor?"
"That's a new one, " Gendou said with a
snort. He had no illusions about being loved by
his subordinates, and it was a running joke
between him and Kozo to try and keep up with
the latest insulting pet names that they
invented for him.
"If I'm not mistaken it was the Second
Child who started it," Fuyutski added, "I think
it was just after the Eighth Angel."
"Leave it to an American to produce the
most entertaining insubordination," Gendou said
sourly.
"So, what are you planning to do about
Rei for now?"
"For now... I think I'll take your
advice and let things be. After all, there is
no reason to have _all_ of our pilots despising
me."
[]====[]
[]====[]
The following afternoon, while the
residents of the Katsuragi household were
dealing with the effects of a hard night of
partying, Rei Ayanami was finishing her costume
for the dance that night. She was just checking
the final stitches when her cell phone rang.
Removing it from her school pack she
answered.
"Yes?"
"Good evening Rei," Ritsuko said, "we
need you to come down to headquarters, the new
module was completed ahead of schedule and
we're ready to begin the transfer experiments."
"I-- I understand..." Rei said sadly. Had
Ritsuko not been still hung over, she would
have heard the catch in the girl's voice. Rei
hung up the phone and began to remove the Mutio
costume she had been planning on wearing to the
dance
[]====[]
[]====[]
Shinji stood in front of Hikari's house
and tried to calm himself. He had known to
expect this sooner or later, but it didn't make
him any less nervous about it. He took another
glance at the driveway where Mr. Horaki's car
was sitting and reached out to right the doorbell.
He had been surprised that it had taken
this long to meet Hikari's father, but at the
same time it was something of a relief. The few
times he'd had to deal with his own father had
_never_ been pleasant. Their yearly meetings at
his mother's grave had been tense at best, and
those had stopped almost three years ago. He
didn't know how to talk with his own father...
how was he going to talk with Hikari's?
As the doorbell rang he removed his
costume's straw hat, and stood as straight as
he could. He wanted to make the best impression
possible. Thankfully his costume was a fairly
simple one, and he wouldn't feel too
ridiculous.
A few moments passed and finally the door
opened. Hikari's father was about what Shinji
had pictured from her descriptions. Outwardly
he fit the typical absent minded scientist
mold. Had he been wearing a lab coat the
picture would have been complete. He looked at
Shinji for a moment before breaking into a
smile and inviting him inside.
"You must be Shinji. I almost didn't
recognize you without your plugsuit."
"Have we met before, Sir?" Shinji asked,
a little confused.
"hmmm, well not exactly," Mr. Horaki said
apologetically, "they called me in to assist
during after the injury you received from the
Fifth Angel."
"Really? Well then I should thank you,
sir. I was told I nearly didn't make it."
"Oh, no thanks are necessary. I didn't
actually have anything to do with your rescue.
My department was brought in to speed your
recovery."
"Then I still owe you thanks, Sir. I came
out of that better than I had any right too. I
still have nightmares about being boiled alive
sometimes. I'd imagine they would be worse
without your help."
"Thank you Shinji, but lets not talk of
work tonight. I get so few evenings where I can
rest nowadays."
"Fair enough Sir" Shinji said with a
polite smile. There were no words for how glad
he was that things were going so well.
"Hikari will be down in a bit. While we're
waiting why don't we talk about what are your
plans after this mess is all over?" Mr. Horaki
asked as they sat down in the living room.
"Its hard to say," Shinji said as he
thought back to the last time he had been asked
this, "I'm still fairly young."
"True," Mr. Horaki agreed, "I didn't
really chose a direction for my life till after
Second Impact, I was about twenty at the time.
In hindsight that wasn't a fair question to
ask-- especially considering your position with
Eva."
"Well, its not entirely unfair...when
Kodama asked me the same question, Sir, I told
her that I'd like to learn to write music. I'm
still interested in that."
"I admire you for that... We have so few
people nowadays that want to create, and I
think we need it now more than ever."
Shinji was about to agree when the older
man looked up at the stairs. Shinji followed
his line of sight and saw that Hikari was
heading down to join them. Her hair was let
down with a ribbon in it, and she was dressed
in a black tunic and had-- of all things-- a
giant spatula strapped to her back.
"Sorry I took so long Shinji." She said
as she gave her father a hug.
"Don't worry about it hun," Mr. Horaki
told her, "it's an old tradition for the young
man to sit with the girl's father and be
intimidated as she finishes getting ready."
Hikari shook her head and took Shinji's
hand as she handed her father a camera, "could
you get a picture of us in costume before we
go?"
"Of course," he replied as they stepped
against the wall.
Once the picture was taken, they thanked
him and headed off to the school. As they
walked toward the party, Hikari asked Shinji
why he had dressed as a samurai.
"No offence, but I don't see where that
matches a part of your personality."
"Well, when I picked it I had a specific
character in mind. I got the idea when I was
over at Kensuke's watching movies with him and
Touji a while back."
"Who is it supposed to be?"
"The way they explained it, the character
was based on an old legend in the first place,
but the movie was called 'wind ninja
chronicles'. It was about a Ronin named Jubei
who got blackmailed into a war against an army
of demons."
"Oh, I think I see the parallel now."
"Well there was that, but also at the end
he decided to fight because he wanted to, not
just because he was being forced... he could
have taken the easy way out and left, but he
stayed and fought."
"And you want to be able to do that..."
"Basically..."
"And here I am picking my costume just
because I like to cook" Hikari said--adjusting
the bow in her hair with a giggle.
[]====[]
[]====[]
They could hear the music from a block
away, and when they arrived the party was
already in full swing. Walking into the gym
Shinji was impressed with the work that had
gone into the decorations. Somehow they had
found the time to transform the entire gym into
a cave. It was impressive to say the least.
Once they finished gawking at the
room they started looking for their friends.
They found Kensuke rather quickly. He was
wandering around with his camera, dressed in
his military fatigues.
"Hey Kensuke!" Shinji called over the
music, "over here!"
Kensuke turned and waved as he made his
way through the surprisingly large crowd.
Knowing how few students they had, the dance
committee had left an open invitation to the
other Tokyo Three high schools and junior
highs, and several had taken up the offer.
"Glad you made it," Kensuke told them as
he swept the floor with his camera, " can you
believe this turnout?"
"Wouldn't miss it," Hikari told him, "and
what's the deal with your costume?"
"What's wrong with it?" Kensuke asked.
"Other than you wear it every other
weekend anyway?" Shinji pointed out with a
laugh.
"Hey, don't knock it--it was cheep,"
Kensuke said as he flashed a grin, "call me the
ten yen costume king!"
"So, why are you filming the party?"
Hikari wanted to know.
"For the memories, and for blackmail
material-- you would never believe what some
people dressed as!"
A person dressed as a large yellow rodent
danced past and Hikari couldn't help but agree
with her friend on that one. The costumes some
people were wearing didn't seem to follow any
rhyme or reason. Some were based on current
movies and anime's, and some like Shinji's and
Hikari's were based off of old classics. To
their surprise there were even a couple of
homemade plug suits. Kensuke finally wandered
off and the two made their way over to the
snack table where they expected to find at
least one of the adults who were chaperoning.
Sure enough Misato was keeping an eagle
eye on the punchbowl. As the two approached,
they saw that she had already confiscated
several small bottles of alcohol. Shinji
couldn't help but agree with her selection for
that post. If anyone were an expert on that
type of thing it would be her. Not only that,
but any guys trying to spike the punch would
first have to peal their eyes off her costume.
She was dressed as a cat, and the skintight
suit left little to the imagination.
She waved them over and flicked Shinji's
hat down playfully as they walked up.
"Took you long enough," she said smiling,
"man, I haven't been to one of these in
years... I forgot how much fun they were!"
"Have Asuka and Rei arrived yet?" Hikari
asked hopefully.
"Well Asuka's here, but Rei won't be
coming. She had to head down to HQ for some
tests."
"Is something wrong?" Shinji asked,
worried for his friend.
"No, just something Ritsu had to take care
of. I don't know the details. Don't worry
though, she's fine"
"That's a shame, I think she was looking
forward to this..." Hikari said.
"Don't sweat it. You guys can take her out
or something and make up for it. For now don't
worry. Get out there and have some _fun_
already!"
They grabbed some snacks and took
Misato's advice. Finding an empty spot at one
of the few dozen tables they sat down and
watched the mayhem that typically unfolds from
a good party.
It wasn't long before they saw Kaji and
Asuka walking around. Shinji couldn't say he
was surprised by Asuka's costume, but he was
impressed with the work that had been put into
its design. She was dressed as a Norse
Valkyrie, complete with a metallic breastplate,
a sword, and a winged headdress. Kaji' costume
was harder to place; he was wearing a tuxedo
and, to Shinji's surprise, had his ponytail
tucked under his collar.
"Why does the idea of her as a 'chooser
of the slain' bother me so much?" Touji said as
he appeared out of the crowd and sat down
beside them, "glad I finally found ya, I
wondered where you two were hiding."
"Hi Touji," Hikari said, "what's your
costume? I can't quite place it..."
He was wearing a baseball cap and jersey,
and was carrying a huge bat, but she couldn't
see any team identification anywhere. He also
had a Band-Aid on his nose.
"It's from an old fighting game my dad
has. The guy uses all these sports attacks."
"I think I've seen that at a oldies
restaurant," Hikari said, "it's a school themed
game right?"
"You got it," Touji replied as he took a
sip of his drink, "anyone seen Rei?"
[]====[]
[]====[]
"Good evening Rei" Ritsuko said as the
young girl entered the lab.
"Good evening doctor Akagi," Rei replied
as she stepped up to the main bank of scanning
devices and began to remove her clothes.
"We'll be doing a test run on the transfer
program tonight, Rei, so it'll be a bit
different than normal. We should be done by
midnight."
"Yes, doctor Akagi," Rei replied, and had
Ritsuko not know the girl for almost ten years,
she would have missed the slight disappointed
note in her voice.
"Is something wrong Rei?"
"No, doctor Akagi, " Rei said. Ritsuko was
surprised to realize that Rei was looking away
from her with a slight blush.
'Is she lying to me?' Ritsuko asked
herself with a touch of amused shock. It was an
interesting development, but not something that
would stop the press-- so to speak. It also
didn't take much imagination to figure out why.
Misato had been talking her ear off about this
party for most of the week, and it was _all_
Asuka had been able to talk about at the
previous night's celebration.
"I'm sorry I had to call you in at such
short notice," Ritsuko said-- testing the
waters, "I know that the others were expecting
you at the party."
Rei's eyes widened a bit and her blush
became more pronounced, and Ritsuko had to
fight not to smile. According to Misato, Shinji
had never developed his father's talent for
lying either-- it must be something from the
mother's side. At any rate it wouldn't do for
the girl to think she was toying with her...
"Rei, I really am sorry about this but we
are under orders. We can't delay these tests,
but-- tell you what, I'll see what I can do to
make it up to you, okay?"
"I-.... Tha-- thank you." Rei said with
a startled look coming over her face.
Ritsuko's feelings for the albino girl
were complicated. Sometimes she pitied Rei,
sometimes she envied her, and there had been
times as of late that she hated her. This
however, might have been the first time she had
ever felt any kind of warmth toward the girl.
It was an odd feeling-- considering what she
knew.
[]====[]
[]====[]
As Rei climbed into the large tube and
it began to fill with LCL, she thought back to
what she had just said to the doctor. 'Thank
you.' They were words of gratitude, and they
were words she had never spoken before to
anyone-- not to Miss Horaki, Major Katsuragi,
Pilot Ikari... or even the Commander.
Why was that?
It was not due to lack of opportunity--
many people as of late had gone out of their
way to answer her questions about various
things that befuddled her. Perhaps it had more
to do with the degree of which she was
grateful...
That the doctor felt bad about her
missing the gathering at the school had been a
relief somehow, and she could not quite
describe exactly why that was so.
[]====[]
[]====[]
After awhile the DJ finally decided it was
time for a slow song and Hikari turned to
Shinji and smiled.
"Can you dance?" she asked
"Not to the fast stuff, but I think I
could handle this."
They got up and headed out onto the dance
floor. After a moment's awkwardness, Shinji
placed an arm around Hikari and they began to
dance slowly. At first Shinji had to work hard
not to step on her feet, but he soon got the
hang of it. He had never done this, and he
regretted that he didn't have much practice. it
turned out to be even more fun than he had
expected it would.
From the edge of the crowd, Kaji watched
the two with a smile. He was glad that Shinji
seemed to be holding up so well-- the
information he had about Eva had indicated that
the machines could create mental instabilities
in the pilots after time. If Shinji had someone
to help him through it, he might make it after
all.
Asuka was another subject entirely, at
the moment she was out on the dance floor
alone--and that summed up her situation best.
She was alone emotionally and while she seemed
to thrive on it, he suspected that her self-
imposed isolation from others would be her
downfall. He wasn't always going to be there to
look after her, and if she didn't grow out of
her obsession with him soon it was impossible
to say just how bad things would get. She
refused to let anyone in, and that was a shame.
The difficulties the children would soon be
facing were something that she would never be
able to handle alone.
With any luck the kids would make it out
alive, but he wouldn't bet on all of them being
in one piece.
As he made his rounds, had to grin at
the thought of having been put in charge of
policing the dancers. According to his
instructions, he was to make sure that all the
partygoers stayed at least a foot apart and did
not dance lewdly. The idea was almost as
amusing as Misato being in charge of keeping
people from drinking. Obviously the planners of
this event were not without a sense of irony.
"Hello Mr. Kaji, " called a familiar voice
from his left, he looked and found Kodama
Horaki moving through the crowd to where he was
currently standing.
"Please, Miss Horaki, " he said, "the
'mister' is so unnecessary, just call me Kaji,
Ryoji Kaji."
"Very cute, I suppose you'll be asking me
for a dry martini next?"
"Nonsense, if I need alcohol then I'll ask
Misato," Kaji said with a grin.
"That's a nice costume Asuka," Kodama
added as the redhead appeared out of the crowd.
Asuka took a look at Kodama's costume and
started to laugh. She was dressed in a short
back dress, a red beret, and a red jacket.
Apparently she had decided to play up on her
sister's 'evil twins' joke.
"Thank you Kodama," once she got her
giggles under control, "I spent a lot of time
trying to find the right pieces."
"It came out well, I think. Has anyone
seen Hikari? I haven't seen her since this
afternoon."
Kaji broke into another of his trademark
grins and pointed to a spot on the dance floor
where Hikari and Shinji were currently ignoring
everything but the music and one another.
Kodama smiled as she saw the two, then let out
a short laugh.
"Aren't you supposed to be keeping them
farther apart than that?" she inquired.
"Ah, but if I actually enforced that rule,
then Asuka would have to detach herself from my
arm... and then she would most likely kill me.
So, I think until clothes start being shed I'll
ignore a little smooching on the dance floor."
"Hey!" Asuka said loudly, realizing that
she had just been pseudo-insulted, " why does
everyone always think I'm going to be violent?
I'm not _always_ violent . . . am I?"
Kaji patted her on the shoulder and
smiled, "The important thing is _you_ believe
that."
[]====[]
[]====[]
As the song ended, Shinji was about to say
something to Hikari when a well-known and
dreaded siren cut into the music.
The crowd immediately began to panic, and
rush the doors, and Hikari was almost separated
from Shinji three times as they made their way
to Misato's snack table.
Asuka was already there, and when the room
emptied they began to make their way to the
door. As they reached the door and started to
head toward Misato's car, Hikari stopped. She
had almost forgotten that she couldn't go with
them. Shinji turned to her and frowned-- he was
just then reaching the same realization.
"Be careful," She told him as she turned
to go with the others to the shelters. Before
she got too far, Shinji grabbed her hand and
stopped her.
"Thank you," he said and kissed her.
With one last longing look, he turned and
joined Asuka and Misato in the car while Hikari
watched from the parking lot. As the blue
Renaut A301 screeched out of the parking lot,
Kensuke lowered his camera and wiped a tear
from his eye.
"That was beautiful..." he said with a sigh
before joining Hikari, who was already hurrying
to the shelter.
[]====[]
[]====[]
"You want us to catch it in our _hands_?"
Asuka cried as Misato explained her plan to
kill the latest Angel
"Yes," Misato told her, " we will position
the Evas at the estimated point of impact and
use the AT fields to stop its descent."
Shinji hadn't actually been listening
very much to what Misato had to say. She had
placed a projection of the blast radius on the
monitor and his entire focus had been directed
at one spot. That spot was the shelter where
Hikari was right that moment. When the Angel
hit, no matter which part of the City it
struck-- the shelter was still in the blast
zone.
"What if the Angel hits outside the
projected area?" he asked.
"We're still toast," Misato told him,
"even with an indirect hit the shockwave will
destroy the city and the Geofront."
Shinji tuned out again after hearing
that. He had known from the beginning that he
was fighting to save people-- it was the only
way he had been able to keep from abandoning
Eva entirely and going back to his uncle. As he
looked at the location of the shelter covered
in red on the screen, he realized that he had a
much more personal reason to do it.
"What are our chances of succeeding" he
asked when the room went quiet again.
"Haven't got a clue, not good though."
"If we win, it'll be a miracle!" Asuka
said, still trying to assimilate their
assignment and keep from screaming at how
insane it was
'Then we'll just have to _make_ one
happen,' Shinji thought as he took one more
look at the blast radius.
[]====[]
[]====[]
"Hey Asuka?" Shinji asked as they rode
the lift to the Cage.
"What?"
"Why do you do this? Why do you pilot?""
"To show the world how great I am!"
Asuka declared with a fierce smile.
"So it's a way to prove to others you
exist?"
"You could say that," she said with a
shrug.
Shinji nodded and turned back to the
front of the cage. After a moment the curiosity
got the better of her and Asuka spoke up again.
"Aren't you gonna ask Rei too?"
"We've already discussed it"
"What, have you been having secret
meetings behind Hikari's back?" Asuka asked
with a smirk.
"Of course not!" Shinji shot back.
"Yesh! Scuuuuse me for breathing,
Third Child! Okay then if wonder girl is off
topic then why do _you_ pilot Eva?"
" I didn't know for a long time, but I
think I do now..." Shinji said softly.
"Well?"
"120 minutes until the estimated time of
collision," Maya announced over the PA system.
"I'll tell you later," Shinji said as the
lift reached their stop.
[]====[]
[]====[]
"I still hate this thing," he said aloud
as he waited for the order to move out. He knew
he probably always would too. Despite the fact
that his control over the Eva grew daily, there
was always a little part of his mind that knew
that a beast was hiding inside the armor--
waiting to be let loose again.
"The Angel has been sighted" Aoba
reported.
Shinji looked up at he sky. He could see
the twinkling reflection of light off the Angel
as its descent began. He remembered what Misato
had told him the day of her party-- about her
father... and the Angels
"All Eva's to your starting positions,"
Misato called over the communications link.
Her feelings toward her father
surprisingly mirrored his towards his own. She
had tried to hate him for so long, but still
couldn't bring herself to fully despise him.
She had tried to describe how she had directed
all her rage towards him towards the angels.
Shinji didn't know if he could do that. Her
father was long dead while his was a constant
presence. As grateful as he was to Misato for
trying to help him find his purpose... he
wondered if he should tell her that it wasn't
necessary anymore.
"On your marks," Misato began...
'I have my own reason now,' Shinji
thought, 'I have someone I love who is in
danger. If I don't fight-- if I don't do my
best... then she could die. I can't let that
happen as long as there is something I can do
to prevent it.'
"Get set," she continued...
So he would hate it, he would fear it, but
he wouldn't run from it. As long as there was
something he could do to keep the Angels from
hurting anyone he would keep fighting. More to
the point, as long as there was a way to keep
Hikari safe, he would fight to his dying
breath.
"GO!"
With a renewed sense of purpose, Shinji
Ikari charged forward to meet his future head
on.
[]====================[]
End of Book One
[]====================[]
Authors Incoherent Babbling:
Well, we're at the end of Book One, and
from the response I've been getting it looks
like y'all like this little yarn! ^_^
One quick note about Hikari's pop.
Hikari's about the only character in the cast
who isn't screwed in the head somehow ^_^ so I
figure her pop can't have been too bad.
The costumes... well I tried to go with
the classics, (hey you try figuring what's
still going to be popular 15 years from now!)
but it took me forever to decide on Touji's.
its from a game called Rival Schools. I ended
up going with it because a couple of the
fighters are sports themed, and because one of
the ultimate attacks looks like the 'dance like
you want to win' sequence.
For the record, Shinji was Jubei from Ninja
Scroll fame (the costume was _not_ inspired by
Jubei chan for the record ^_^ )
Hikari was Ukkyo from Ranma 1/2. (hey, I
figured, why not?)
In Rei's case the costume was kind of a
homage to one of my favorite fics. Her costume-
- the character Mutio from Blue Submarine #6--
was inspired by a comment made in Children of
an Elder God. As I recall, someone says that
Rei seems like a mermaid in one chapter. If
you've seen that series (and read that fic)
then you ought to see where I got the
connection ^_^
I think I got most of the Waff out of my
system, so expect things to get bad from here
out. The Second Book of Together We Stand is
titled:
[]===================[]
Divided We Fall
[]===================[]
Hotwire
Chain Lightning Studios
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