THIS LONELY HEART WANDERS

By: Tezza1502

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I make any claim to, 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'. I am simply exercising my imagination in a non-profit way.

CHAPTER 5:

"Who's idea was this, anyway!" Touji grumbled as the group walked along an isolated road leading into a forest. Joining him, Kensuke, Shinji, Hikari and Rei at the last moment on their excursion to Mt. Futago was Hikari's younger sister, Nozomi, and Touji's little sister, Mari. Both Hikari and Touji's fathers thought it might make a nice change for the younger siblings to tag along. At the moment, Mari was being carried on Touji's back. Hence the grumbling emanating from the older Suzahara. Mari had tried gamely, but she no longer possessed the stamina to walk long distances, despite her therapy at the hands of Dr. Akagi and her team.

"Y'see, this is what happens when you don't push an athlete constantly. They stop training and lose alllllll their stamina, even for the little things." Kensuke intoned solemnly while making sure he was safely out of his friend's long reach.

Touji swiped at him while the others chuckled. "Tell you what, shorty. Why don't you come over here and give Mari a piggyback instead!"

Kensuke admonished the jock playfully. "Ah-ah! I wouldn't dream of denying the Suzahara siblings of this perfect bonding moment." He snickered as he danced away from another swipe from Touji. "I mean, what kind of a friend would that make me?"

"A useful one!" Touji grumbled.

"Am I really a burden, big brother?" Mari asked, slightly worried.

"Huh. No, Mari. We're just joking around." He quickly reassured his sister. "I'm also wondering exactly how long it's going to be until we reach Shinji's secret picnic spot." He said, trying to make the hair on the back of the Third Childs' head spontaneously burst into flames through a combination of intense glaring and muttered curses.

"Wuss! We've only been walking for five minutes." Kensuke teased again while dancing away from yet another failed swipe. "I doubt we have far to go."

"Actually, we're here." Shinji announced as the group rounded a corner. As the others came to a halt, he and Rei marched confidently towards a guardhouse blocking the road through a tall barb wired fence.

Two armed guards were stationed here permanently. One was already marching towards them. His partner hung back to the side, making sure to keep his companion out of the line of fire.

"I'm sorry, but this is government property." The first guard announced loudly. "The general public is not permitted to go beyond this point. So I'm afraid I will have to ask you to head back into the village." His tone was courteous, but firm.

"I thought Shinji said we could come here?" Hikari whispered to Kensuke nervously. She only wanted a picnic, not to get into trouble with the authorities.

"S'okay." Kensuke reassured her confidently. "Wait for it."

"Wait for what?" She looked over to Touji, only to see that he wasn't worried either. Like Kensuke, he also seemed to be expecting something.

Kensuke indicated that she could keep her eyes on their friends. "Aaaaaaand…there it is."

Hikari turned her attention back in time to see Shinji and Rei both show the guard something. As they did, the guard straightened up and saluted. The pilots returned the salute. A few quiet words later and the guard was walking back to the guardhouse. Shinji waved to the others. "C'mon, its all sorted!"

"What just happened?" Hikari asked warily as they moved forward again.

Kensuke rolled his eyes. "Think about it. Ever since that Angel attack when they blacked out Japan, this mountain has been NERV property." He reminded Hikari of the mission where Shinji and Rei had defeated the Fifth Angel together as he pointed to the blood-red logo adorning the guardhouse as they walked towards it. "And we are friends with the only functional Evangelion pilots in the world. Plus, their guardian basically runs NERV. Shinji and Rei could have this city served to them on a silver platter, if they wanted." He stated evenly.

"oh" Hikari said quietly. While it made sense, she had never really thought about how much power her friends potentially had at their fingertips. "Right."

"Yeah, it kinda makes your head spin the first time you realise what those two could get away with if they really put their minds to it." Touji put in.

Hikari turned that over in her mind a few times. The implications became scarier the more she thought about it. "So… how do you get your head around it." She asked nervously.

"Simple." Touji answered. "We remember one thing."

"They're Shinji and Rei." Kensuke continued. "Two of the most responsible kids alive."

"And the shyest! Neither of them really like to throw their weight around." Touji finished up. "In fact, this is only about the third time I've seen either of them pull something like this."

Hikari absorbed that and began to feel a little ashamed of where her thoughts had been heading a moment ago. "You're right. Neither of them like to show off. I should have-"

"Don't worry about it, Hikari." Kensuke reassured her. "Touji and I did the same thing when we first found out about it. They are still the same people we go to school with now that they were every other week before you found out."

As clichéd as that sounded to Hikari, it actually helped. She smiled at Kensuke. "Thanks."

Walking inside, Shinji led them down a sealed road towards two incredibly large metal platforms that jutted out over the edge of the cliff. Nozomi moved a little closer to her sister as they made their way through a cluster of abandoned prefabricated buildings. "What is this place?" She asked nervously.

"Soon after I arrived in Tokyo-3, Rei and I had to fight an Angel together. This place was where we launched our attack from." Shinji answered, his voice slightly coloured by the memory of that day and the events surrounding it. He stopped walking at the place where road became metal and let his mind wander back to that time as he stared out over the protruding platforms. Rei stepped up beside him and fell into contemplation over the things that were spoken of that night, and the bonds that had begun forming between them.

As Hikari looked at the body language of the First and Third Child, something occurred to her. "Why is this place special to you two?" She blurted before she could censor her thoughts. Shinji chuckled as she blushed a little at her own daring.

"Nothing much gets past you, does it Hikari." When his friends spun around to stare at him in surprise, he answered the question. "While we were waiting for the operation to commence, Rei and I had our first real conversation at the end of these platforms." He looked at Rei and smiled.

She returned it as she too recalled that time. "We discovered how much we had in common. That we were not as alone in this world as we had originally been led to believe." Unconsciously, she slipped her hand into his and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Then we walked out there, and while I killed an Angel she saved my life. Almost at the cost of her own." Shinji finished softly, pointing with his free hand towards a patch of landscape that still showed the scars of where two Evangelions had fought for humanity's existence. "As far as I know, neither of us has been back here since then. So I thought, why not? Here's a place that's closed to the public, safe, and we can make as much noise as we like without disturbing anyone." Shaking off the small bit of melancholy that had settled upon him, Shinji smiled at Rei as he turned to face the rest of the group. "So, who's hungry?"

Kensuke recovered from Shinji's little speech first. "Dude, you're one of my best friends, an' I'm grateful for that. But every now and again you say something that seriously comes out of left field."

"Yeah well, just keeping you on your toes." He answered sheepishly while scratching the back of his head.

"Well I think it's sweet that they want to share a place with us that's so special to them." Nozomi piped up. Mari and Hikari nodded in agreement.

Nodding his thanks at their understanding, Shinji once again suggested that it was time to partake of the food he and Hikari had spent no small time the day before preparing.

After they had finished everything off, Touji had pulled out a frisbee. Soon, all of them were racing around the area playing a weird kind of tag with it. Mari was especially lethal, as Kensuke soon found out. After he had unleashed another tease-fest on Touji for missing a couple of easy catches, she had taken it upon herself to mete out some vengeance with the flat piece of plastic, Suzahara-style.

"Alright! I apologise! I'm sorry for suggesting that Touji would be better off trying to catch it in his mouth like a dog." Kensuke grovelled in front of the ten-year-old girl after being nailed, hard, in the back of the head by the frisbee for the fifth time in as many minutes.

"Damn straight you're sorry!" Mari crowed.

"Mari Suzahara! Language!" Hikari chided, in full class-rep mode now.

"But, Touji says that all the time?"

"Yes, but he's a stooge. No-one's expecting him to act civilised." Hikari retorted, sparing a glare for the boy in question who was apparently teaching his little sister such bad habits.

"Yeah." Touji piped up in agreement, before realising that he had just been insulted again. "Hey!"

"And on that note, I think it's time for a break." Shinji distracted them before it turned into a free for all.

"We got anything left to eat?" Touji asked as he began rummaging through the picnic basket they had brought with them. "I'm starving!"

"Dunno why." Kensuke muttered. "You didn't run fast enough to ca-ouch!" Mari had overheard him again.

"For someone my brother says is the smartest person in the school, you sure don't learn very fast, do you?" She smirked from behind her safe haven, i.e.: her big brother.

Kensuke looked from the frisbee laying at his feet to the grinning girl, wondering whether it would be worth the bad karma to return fire at her with it.

While Kensuke was deciding the merits of exacting revenge on someone several years younger than him, Shinji was also weighing something up in his head. Since that moment he had shared with Hikari in the classroom a couple of days ago, he had not been able to get the sight of her nervously approaching lips his out of his mind. And considering that she was the one who had initiated the encounter, he figured that she must have some sort of feelings for him. A part of the reason he had suggested this place for a picnic was because of the old walking tracks nearby. He figured that he might be able to steal some time alone with her and talk about what might be between them.

In hindsight, it was a badly thought out idea. Especially since the younger siblings had tagged along. He realised that Hikari's sole focus for the afternoon would now be on Nozomi, and keeping her in line.

In fact, he had not even been able to walk near her so far, much less talk to her. 'I really should have thought this out a bit better.' He sighed, mentally kicking himself.

"Take heart. She does have feelings for you." Came a whispery voice from his left side.

"Rei?"

Rei looked up at Shinji reassuringly. "Perhaps next time, you should just ask her out on a date."

Shinji started, then chuckled self-consciously. "Am I really that obvious?"

Rei smirked. "Only to me." She nodded pointedly Hikari, who was still throwing the frisbee with her sister and Mari. "And perhaps, to her as well." He looked over at Hikari just in time to see her turn away a little too quickly, a touch of colour gracing her cheeks.

"Yeah well, there's still Touji to consider." He scratched the back of his head in frustration. It wasn't quite a secret that the class-rep had been quietly pursuing the clueless jock for a number of years.

"True." Rei allowed. "But nevertheless, she did try to kiss you." She stressed.

"You saw it happen, huh." It wasn't quite a question. "Why are you pushing this?"

"Pushing what?" Rei enquired.

"Please." Shinji snorted. "I know you way better than that."

Rei allowed Shinji that conceit. It was the truth, after all. "Because I also know you. And I have come to know her as well. I believe that you two would be a 'great couple'." He grunted at Rei's use of their guardian's favourite phrase for describing him with another. "Although if you think that I am wrong, that is your choice." A slight twinkle of mischief made itself visible in her eyes. "There is always Misato's option, after all…"

Shinji rolled his eyes. "Okay! Okay. No need to get nasty." They shared a smirk. "So, any more advice for me? Hikari must have given you something on Friday. You looked like a cat that had been locked inside a hen house overnight during dinner." Shinji remembered.

"Yes, she did." Rei also recalled that night. She had worn a slight grin on her face over what she and Hikari had discussed earlier. Shinji's barely controlled curiosity over said discussion was almost comical. And Rei's occasional pointed comments hadn't helped his mood, either. Unfortunately, it had completely slipped her mind what their guardian was capable of when given the opportunity. Misato had pounced on to the emotions swirling around reasonably quickly. The resulting tease-fest had been epic, even by Misato's standards. Rei had spent most of Saturday's tests at NERV getting back into Shinji's good books.

An impatient noise from shinji brought her out of her thoughts. "I believe taking her somewhere where there are a lot of people would be a good idea for a first date."

"Huh? Why? Can't I be trusted with her alone, or something?" Shinji felt annoyed by the insinuation that he would do something to Hikari without her permission.

Rei realised how her statement sounded. "I didn't mean it that way." She quickly reassured him. "What I meant was, Hikari has never really been on a proper date before."

"She hasn't?" This was news to him. He would have sworn that Asuka had dragged their class representative out on a double date or two, before.

Rei shook her head negatively. "So if there are other people around, she won't be so nervous about being out with you in public."

"Oh." Shinji thought about that. While he had only been out a few times himself, they were with girls who had more dating experience . And considering how nervous he had been, he could easily envisage how Hikari might feel being alone on a date with a boy for the first time. "I guess…"

"In any case, you should leave this until later. We have a nice day to get through first. You can tie yourself up in knots over Hikari at home." Rei said with a smile as she stood up to go and join the other girls.

Shinji watched her go, trying not to grin at her growing willingness to tease him if he started to wallow.

Eventually, the sun began its journey from the middle of the sky towards the horizon. It had taken the group a half hour or so to get to Mt. Futago, and a further half an hour to make their way through the crowds visiting the markets in the nearby village. So, if they wished to browse through the street stalls before returning to Tokyo-3, now was the time to pack up.

Their load considerably lightened by the fact that they had eaten every ounce of food they had brought with them, Shinji and Touji made Kensuke shoulder the backpack that contained all their blankets and utensils. When he complained, Shinji said that it was his punishment for piking out on the way there and leaving the carrying to him and Hikari. Touji added that that he needed the training to build up his muscle mass. "How you gonna ever get into the military if ya can't carry a pack, huh?" He teased.

Ignoring the boys as they messed about with each other, Rei casually began talking to Hikari in a low voice while they walked with the two younger girls. "Shinji is feeling a little silly right now."

"Why?" Hikari tried to feign confusion, but ended up looking slightly flushed instead. She was not used to having a girl-talk with someone, let alone Rei. Her duties as class representative, plus the fact that she basically ran the Horaki household, left little time for such activities. So chatting about boys with other girls was very much a novel experience for her. (Her conversations with Asuka didn't really count, since those talks were mostly one-sided, and usually consisted of nothing more than either putting down the boys at school, or a long discourse on why she was so perfect for Kaji.)

Rei merely cocked an eyebrow at her in response.

Her blush deepened slightly. "Did he tell you why he didn't just ask me out?"

"Yes." Rei sighed in exasperation. "He was over thinking the situation, as usual. I believe that he wanted to show you the walking trails around here at some point, and then discuss what happened in the classroom with you. Alone."

"Oh." Hikari considered that. "Um, could you tell him that I'm sorry for messing up his day please."

"Hikari, you have nothing to be sorry about. Today was not 'messed up' at all. For any of us. Did you not have fun?" Rei retorted, scolding the other girl gently. "I know that I did. And so did Shinji, as well as your sister and the others. First and foremost, today was about our group of friends having a picnic together. Any plans he may have had about getting you alone for a talk were secondary to that."

"Right." Hikari nodded.

"Plus, he feels that you still harbour affection for Touji, and he is unsure whether he would be…I believe the phrase is 'cutting in?'… between the two of you."

"Uh-huh." Hikari's shoulders slumped. 'Great! I'm confused about the way I've been thinking about Shinji, and he's feeling guilty because he thinks I still have the hots for the other stooge! Can this get any worse?'

"In any case, I suggested that he merely ask you out on a date if he wished to spend time with you privately." Rei finished.

Hikari gulped. 'Question answered.'

Notes: Okay, this is as far as I got on this fic. As usual, I have a few idea's and directions I could take this. I also have no idea when my Muse will return, let alone focus on this story. So, if you readers are still curious, just put it on alert, or follow, or whatever we are supposed to do these days, and let it fade from your mind. T