************************************************************************************** Neon Genesis Evangelion: Crimson Resurrection Written By Daryl (my Magnificent Octopus AKA Magnum Opus) lurgee@cyberway.com.sg http://zap.to/unspokenbonds Edited by: Irene Mar ************************************************************************************** Author's note: Hi once again! There's a link to the official CR homepage, if you feel like going...oh yeah! Be sure to sign the guestbook! Wanna hear something funny? I almost stopped writing this. Why? Mainly cause by seeing other people's fanfics, better stuff than I write, and they're mainly Asuka based fics, I got majorly depressed and wondered the point of writing this cause most people are after Asuka fics anyway. So why the heck am I still writing this then? Simple. I don't subscribe to the school of "service, service!". Uhm, this may sound really self-righteous but I write stuff that I like, that I want to see. And all I can do is pray really, really hard and hope that you like it. And I guess, yeah, you've all been really supportive of me. Giving me comments, criticisms and generally encouraging me to keep writing. So, in short, this is to YOU! THE FANS OF CR! THANK YOU! Another one of those real life-isms. That comment by Shinji about his playing is the same one that was made by Irene, my editor, when she so kindly edited my humble fic! That's her actual comment to Asuka and Misato... ^_^ And another thing, remember the timeline? In this episode, Kaji ain't dead! Anyhow, Comments, suggestions, flames, whatever you have to say. It's all very welcome. I reply to EVERYTHING! Even the hate mail... heh heh -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Crimson Resurrection Chapter 5: Realization +/+ Opening Theme Song: Radiohead: Nice Dream +/+ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ******************* Misato's Apartment ******************* Shinji stared out at the light mist that shrouded the Tokyo-3 skyline. /// If only it could be like this all the time...peaceful... \\\ He turned around and walked to the living room. Through the force of sheer habit, he began to tidy up around the house. He wondered how two females could be bigger slobs than he ever could be. He shrugged his shoulders and began to pick up various magazines lying around the floor. Besides, he rather enjoyed doing the housework...gave him time to himself. After he cleared up, he walked across to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. It's been ages since they had a decent breakfast, or at least one that extended beyond dry, blackened toast and paint-melting coffee for him and beer for Misato. Yes! He decided. Now that he had time, he would prepare some _real_ food. They still had some of the soup base that Ritsuko had given them. Since he had time, he'd make something for them. Fashioning breakfast out of the stuff in Misato's fridge would be something of a challenge. Most of the fridge was occupied by beer. Nevertheless, he found some food and began to cook. By 8, he was done. The tests would begin in 2 hours and he wanted to wait till Asuka and Misato had gotten up before eating. He walked into his room and picked up his cello. He hadn't played it in ages. A thin layer of dust lay on the surface of its black case. He dusted it off and walked into the hallway, sat on a chair facing the balcony and began playing. He couldn't find the notes at first. He had stopped playing for a long time, but after awhile, experience took over and he began to settle into his rhythm. After a few minute's of playing, both Asuka and Misato came out of their rooms together. "What's with the noise?" /// Call Bach's music, noise?! \\\ They yawned this together. He let the comment pass. After all, he knew sometimes that anything can sound like noise first thing in the morning... He smiled at both of them and gestured to the table behind him. "I made breakfast." "But it's not..." "My turn to make it today? I know. I just felt in the mood. Enjoy!" "Well, _someone_'s in a good mood today..." He ignored the comment and put his cello back in his room. He sat down and waited for both of them to take a bite before he started. He caught Misato's expression. "Bad?" "Hmm...No! It's good! Best breakfast you ever made!" "Asuka? How is it?" "Hmph. I can do better!" Through her eyes, Shinji saw her holding up a couple of grudging eights. "I'll take that as a compliment then..." "I didn't say it was good!" "Alright, alright, ftop arguing, it'f only morning..." It was hard to sound serious when you had a mouth full of food. "Huh!" Asuka fumed at not being able to have the last word. "Don't forget the synch tests at 10!" "How could I forget?" "Same here..." Misato noticed Shinji's expression when he said that was dreamier than usual. "You alright, Shin-chan?" He stiffened. "Uh...yes! Yes! Why wouldn't I be? Ha Ha." Bad mistake. Asuka caught his nervousness. "No he isn't. He's in love, see? With Wonder Girl." Misato gave Shinji a sly smile. "Ha, I knew it all along! Even from the time when I asked you to pass along her new ID card." Shinji tried not to blush. The more he tried, the harder he blushed. "Understood." Asuka mimicked Rei's tone. "That's all she ever says!" Shinji tried to open his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Asuka. "I don't understand why you're wasting your time on her when you have..." Asuka tried to cover up her mistake. She reddened suddenly. "Huh! Who'd be interested in a jerk like you, anyway? Baka! Pervert! She shot up from the chair and marched off towards her room. Misato snickered. Shinji merely sat there with his mouth open. "What...what just happened?" Misato merely smiled at him. He met her expression with a look of total bewilderment. "Now hurry up! Go get changed or you'll be late!" "Ahh...right!" He walked into his room and began changing into his uniform. He didn't understand. Why were they still made to wear uniforms even though school was already closed? Probably because it encouraged a feeling of conformity. Imagine if Asuka was allowed to wear whatever she liked to the headquarters, a voice in the back of Shinji's head asked. His mind began operating on 2 levels. One concentrated on changing and the other half wandered. /// What was she smiling for? Don't tell me...oh no... \\\ A loud voice was heard coming from behind the door. "Hey! Baka Shinji! Hurry up! "Relax, will you? It's still early...and you take an eternity to get dressed anyway." A choking noise was heard and a shadow could be seen storming off to the left. "Shinji-kun, she's right. Get dressed quick!" "Right!" He finished dressing in a rush. When he went out of his room, he saw Asuka fully dressed and waiting for him. "Ooh, uhhh...I'm...I'm sorry..." "All right, stop apologizing, stupid! And let's get a move on!" "We're off!" "See you later!" A slightly muffled voice called from the kitchen. ******************* Streets of Tokyo-3 ******************* Asuka spoke first. "I don't see why Misato can't take us there." "That's because she doesn't start till quite a bit later. And there's no point in her making so many trips." Shinji patiently explained to her. "Even so..." "Never mind, besides, the fresh air and exercise would do you good." She continued grumbling. Shinji put her voice out of his mind and concentrated on walking. Images fought for space in his head. "How do you think we were chosen to be pilots?" She turned her head. "I don't know...through some kind of genetics test, I guess..." "I really hate piloting, you know that?" "Yeah...I feel the same way sometimes too..." Shinji's face registered a look of mild surprise. Her eyes softened for a moment before she caught herself and suddenly went poker faced and turned her nose up. She sneered while saying the next sentence. "Hmph! You actually thought I was serious, huh? Me! The incredibly gifted, beautiful, exclusive pilot of Evangelion Unit 2, hate piloting? You must be joking! The feeling of beating you and Wonder Girl at the synch tests is more than worth it!" Shinji smiled at her. "I understand..." "And stop grinning like that!" This encouraged him to give an even wider grin. "Baka!" She muttered that under her breath. They continued on in silence, their footfalls making hollow clicks on the pavement. A lone bird chirped its song on the branch of a tree, its call echoing across the empty streets. ******************* NERV Headquarters ******************* They reached the entrance to Central Dogma and slid their cards along the scanner. The doors opened with a hiss as they stepped through them. "You go on ahead. I want to see Kaji-san first." Her eyes lit up. He narrowed his gaze at her. "But what makes you think he wants to see you?" He said it not quite under his breath. "WHAT?! What did you say?" "Uh...eh...nothing! Nothing!" "It'd better be nothing, or you'll have your nose down your throat!" "!!!" He shrank back under her words. He had full confidence she would do that, or would she? He didn't dare test the accuracy of his theory. "Later then, baka Shinji...tata!" "..." While starting for the escalator, he didn't hear a person approaching him from behind. He didn't notice her until she was walking next to him. "Gah!" He nearly jumped a foot in the air. He quickly composed himself and decided to greet her. "Uh...Good morning, Rei..." She nodded to acknowledge his greeting. "Good morning, Ikari-kun." They reached the top of the escalator and Shinji continued walking forward, lost in his own world. "Ikari-kun. The lifts are this way." "Hmmm? Oh! Right! Right!" He looked slightly sheepish as Rei led the way towards the lift. After a short wait, the lift doors slid open and they both stepped inside. The lift began its long descent as they proceeded towards the testing area where they would conduct the test. The lift's floor indicator clicked slowly. Finally, Rei broke the silence. "Ikari-kun." "Um...Yes?" "Do you dream?" "Oh...of course, sometimes..." "I had a dream last night. It was...strange." "Really? Funny, I had a strange dream myself..." "What about?" "Eh...well...you were...um...in it, actually..." "Me?" "Yeah. You...helped me...you encouraged me..." He began to blush very hard. "If I could help it, I'd like more of those dreams! Ha ha..." Rei remained silent. If he could see her face, he'd have noticed she was blushing. "I see." "Oh! I'm sorry...really...I shouldn't have said that..." "No. You need not apologize..." He noted a softer hint to her voice. The lift doors slid open and Asuka stood in the open doorway. The first thing she noticed was that the First and Third Children were blushing. "What the?! What have you been up to?" Rei tried to exit the lift but was blocked by Asuka. "Excuse me." "Don't you dare ignore me! I asked you a question!" "Asuka...please..." "I have a name." "Hmph! Who cares? Wonder Girl! You're ALWAYS trying to be better than me! What's your problem?" "There is no problem. Excuse me." "WHAT! How dare you?!" Rei had a look of mild puzzlement on her face. This only served to fuel Asuka's anger. This was not helped by the fact that Rei neatly sidestepped the gap between her and the lift doors to exit. Shinji looked down and noticed Asuka's fists were clenched. The knuckles were white. "Asuka..." She stood there fuming for a moment before she spun on her heel and ran down the corridor in the opposite direction Rei was walking. /// She's gone the wrong way... \\\ He shrugged and followed the same path Rei took. He didn't want to chase up to her. He walked at a slow pace to the locker rooms. They still had time. ******************* Locker Room ******************* In the locker room, while she slowly changed into her plug suit, she tried to make sense of the situation. She punched the locker in anger. The metallic bang echoed through the empty room. /// That...that BITCH! Why?! How dare he! How dare she! Why HIM?! \\\ While she fumed, she didn't notice the hiss of another plug suit next to her becoming skin-tight. The only thing she saw was a flash of white suit and blue hair as Rei passed her. The door slid closed behind her. Just behind that door, as she walked away, a metallic crash could be heard. ******************* Testing Room ******************* Shinji sat calmly in the entry plug as it began to fill with LCL. He remembered the first time. He nearly choked in the plug. He moved his hand around. It had a slightly thick quality to it, not unlike soup. He experimentally blew a bubble with his mouth. He smiled. It never failed to amuse him. He sniffed. That smell again... "Blood.....I smell blood....." "Prepare for synch." A voice called over the intercom. Ritsuko. He recognized the cool tones. "Understood." "Yeah. Got it!" "OK..." The pilots called out their acknowledgement. "Start!" He concentrated his mind and the viewscreen glowed rainbow for a few moments before he could see outside. The simulation showed the Tokyo-3 streets. There was that feeling. Of being one. One with EVA. He felt somehow bonded to it. He moved the controls experimentally. It had weight. Just like if he was moving his real arm. Out of habit, he stretched. "Shinji-kun, keep still for a moment...we have to take readings..." The cold, disembodied voice startled him. "Uh...oh...sorry..." He sunk back into the seat. He could see the faces of the other two pilots on either side of him, holographically projected onto the sides of the viewscreen. Asuka, as usual, looked impatient, but something was bothering her. She lost the usual swaggering confidence, today she just looked angry. She suddenly turned her head to glare at him. "Hey! Baka! What're _you_ looking at?!" "Eh...uhm...nothing..." She turned away with a snort, and continued staring straight ahead, concentrating on the test, trying to achieve better scores than the both of them. Rei. Her face impassive as she sat in the plug. Shinji turned to look at her. What was it about her dream? He never had a chance to ask her. They were interrupted by Asuka. Almost at the same time, their eyes met. She opened her mouth as if to say something but instead closed it again. He sat there in silence, longing to say something, but a force stopped him from doing so. Rei held his gaze for some time. It took Shinji some time to realize he was staring at her. He quickly turned his head away and began to blush. "Congratulations, Shinji-kun!" Misato's cheerful voice brought him back to reality. "Huh? Uhm...what for?" "Your synch and harmonics are improving every day! At this rate, you're going to be better than Asuka soon!" He noticed when Misato mentioned about him surpassing Asuka's scores, the red suited pilot to his side stiffened. "But I'm STILL ahead by 50 points!" He wanted to say something but was interrupted by Misato again. "Oh and one more thing...Shinji and Asuka, you've got to make your own way home. Sorry, but I've got an...uh...er...appointment. Yeah, that's it! Appointment!" Asuka grunted an affirmative while Shinji nodded. He had a funny thought. /// Could she be meeting...nah! Can't be... \\\ "All right! The tests are over." The voice of Ritsuko echoed through the plug. The pilots sat in silence as the LCL was ejected from their plugs and they were raised above the water. ******************* Locker Room ******************* Shinji leaned against a wall waiting for the both of them to appear. After awhile, Asuka stormed through the door. She was not wearing the friendliest of expressions. He merely shrugged and began to follow her. To his surprise, she held up a warning finger. "DON'T follow me!" This caused Shinji to stop dead in his tracks. He stood there looking confused while Rei silently walked past him. An idea beat him over the head. "Uhm...Ayanami, wait a second..." She stopped and turned her head. "You know, since Misato-san won't be going home, and well...Asuka doesn't want company...I...well..." His voice trailed off. She arched an eyebrow ever so slightly to indicate her interest. He took it as his cue to continue. "I...erh...I...I was wondering if...if you would like to...uh... join me for lunch?" Her curiosity was piqued. Shinji noticed a flash of _something_ behind her red eyes. "Why?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To be continued... End of Chapter Five +/+ Closing Theme Song: Stone Temple Pilots: Interstate Love Song +/+ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------