[Warhammer comes out and yada yada yada.]

	WH: {Looks up.} Hmm, looks like I'm running out of patience for my own 
entrances. 


Teknos Warhammer presents

Seraphim's Judgment:
Part 9d:
Shinji's Angels


	Hikari's home was like most others in Tokyo-3, a small kitchen, a 
bedroom or two, and a central room leading to the door. {Very much like 
my own.} Kaworu thought as he took off his shoes. 

	"It's not much, but it's home." Hikari said as she stepped into the 
kitchen to start the boiler for some herb tea she had kept. "Have a 
seat, I'll be with you in a minute." She announced from the kitchen. 

	Taking a seat, he looked about to see the standard clean Japanese 
kitchen. Kaworu tried to find something that he could think of to talk 
about, but he never really thought about what to speak. He didn't know 
that much about Hikari, other than the fact she was the class 
representative. 

	Taking a seat across from him, Hikari spoke with curiosity about her 
guest, "So, what it's like?"

	The question made Kaworu blink, "What it is like to be... what?"

	"Sorry, I mean, how does it feel to be different from everyone else?"

	"Well," he said after taking a breath, "It feels rather isolating, yet 
at the same time comforting. There is no one to bother you from your 
thoughts, but then there is no one to share your thoughts with. It is 
the blessing and curse one gets when they choose to be alone." 

	She chuckled a bit and replied, "I know how you feel. Was your 
childhood that bad?"

	He sighed, "I did not have much of a childhood to begin with. My mother 
told me that when I was born, it was a miracle that we were found after 
the Second Impact subsided. We went from town to town, trying to adapt 
to how life was now, but none of the cities we lived in really spoke to 
us the way our old home did.

"Also, it seems that the curse that comes with my appearance has caught 
up with me as well. I was called names such as ghost, ghoul, and so on. 
Simply because of a medical condition had altered the permanent color of 
my skin. The closest thing I had to a friend was my older brother, who 
passed away after being diagnosed with a fatal cancer when I was six."

	Hikari gasped and realized it was better had she not asked. 

	"No, do not worry. It is better to let it out than to keep the poison 
in. After my brother's death, I almost lost all-purpose in life, but 
when I started to hear Handle's 'Messiah'. It made me think of my 
brother and all the good times that came with him. I received a viola 
for my ninth birthday and have been playing it ever since. Almost an 
attempt to keep him alive."

	A weak 'meow' caused him to stop and look down by him to see the 
sickest and frail looking, black and white kitten he ever saw. 

	"Kone! What're you doing out? You're supposed to be asleep." Hikari 
said while crawling to the still meowing kitten. As she picked Kone up, 
Kaworu noticed the solids that had developed from its eyes and the mucus 
from its nose. It sneezed a few times as Hikari took him back to his 
room.

	"Horaki-san," Kaworu asked, "Is there something wrong with you cat?" 

	Hikari sighed and hugged the tiny kitten gently, "Yes. Kone's always 
been sick. The vets can't even tell what's wrong with him, and it's been 
that way ever since his mother died several months ago." 

	Turning to her, he asked, "Then why continue to let him suffer? Allow 
him to be put to sleep and... " Hikari's face contorted as she screamed 
back,

	"I can't do that!" her rage was suspended and she took a rather sad 
look back to her kitten, "He's so young and I still believe he'll get 
better. I just need to keep on making sure he takes care of himself." He 
said nothing as she continued, almost sobbing, "But, he's just so 
miserable when he's like this, I can't stand it. I still hope that 
someday, he'll get better."

	Kaworu took note of this, as did Tabris. He turned his head to the 
kitchen as he heard the kettle begin to whistle. 

	"Oh jeez, Kaworu, could you put Kone back in his bed please?" He nodded 
as she gently handed the kitten that was slightly bigger than both of 
his hands. While Kaworu was taking the kitten back to his room, Kone 
looked up to him and meowed several times, between intervals of sneezing 
as well. 

	Putting the kitten back in his small basket, Kone didn't struggle or 
move as Kaworu covered him up, "Now, you be good and sleep for 
Horaki-san. Ne?" The kitten meowed once more, as if it comprehended him, 
and curled up for sleep. Inside, a separate voice said,

	{Kone was asking for our help.}

	{I know that Kaworu.}

	{Kone had no wish to make Hikari sad, but he couldn't do anything about 
it.}

	{Yes, I am aware of that.}

	{Then, why can we not help him?}

	{SILENCE KAWORU! The reason why we cannot is that once we rejoin with 
Adam, it will most likely kill him when the blast happens.}

	{At the least, let him know what health is before his life ends!}

	{I have no answer for you Kaworu, I am going to rest.}

	{Tabris! Wait!}

	But it was too late; the other half of the two minds had vanished, 
leaving Kaworu alone again. 

	"Kaworu... Kaworu... hello?" Hikari asked, waving her hand in front of 
his face. He blinked and shook his head.

	"Oh, forgive me. I had several things on my mind at once."

	She smiled and walked back to the table, "Don't worry about it. Do you 
do that often though?" She asked, pouring a cup for him.

	Taking his seat, he recalled the first time Tabris had awoken and told 
him of his true heritage and all the conversations after that. "Yes, I 
become absent minded quite frequently."

	She smiled a bit as she finished pouring her own cup and after a single 
sip, she looked into the cup and then back to him, "So, have you finally 
been able to talk to him?"

	He blinked at her question, "What are you talking about?"

	She rolled her eyes, "About Shinji. Everyone knows you like the guy, 
but no one really cares anyway so they don't pester you about it. And 
those two morons are too stupid to even listen to what's going around." 
She took another sip from her cup, and then looked back to him with a 
childish grin. "So, how are you going to do it?" 

	For one of the few times in his life, Kaworu felt speechless and no 
words would come. This time, Hikari looked at him incredulously. "You 
mean, you don't even know how to approach him?" She shook her head, 
"Boys, can't understand, and I doubt I will."

	He blinked, "What makes you say that?"

	She leaned on the table and looked out the window. "Well, unless you're 
blind, you've noticed that Touji and Asuka have been getting a little 
closer because of those angels. What makes it worse is that Touji is the 
first boy I've ever liked and Asuka has been my best friend ever since 
she got here."

	She sighed heavily as Kaworu continued to listen and took pity upon 
her. "I mean, I don't really want to choose between the two, but it 
looks like I should have done something when I had the chance. Now it 
looks like I still get my best friend and lose my first crush. Life can 
sure suck sometimes."

	Kaworu chuckled at that last statement, "Life wouldn't be worth living 
if it didn't grate upon one's nerves once in a while."

	She contorted her face in a frown, "And do you want to know why I hate 
that quote? Because it's right."

	He held his stomach as the laughter came. He tried to quell the 
laughter, but it wasn't going that well. Hikari tried to stay in a bad 
mood, but it was no use. They both laughed at the quote and then at 
nothing. The laughter was definitely needed. 

	"I'll tell you what. You play any instruments? Wait a minute, you said 
you played a viola. I'm losing already. Anyway, Shinji really likes to 
play his cello, think you two could start something if you went onto 
something he was comfortable with? That's the way most boys open up."

	Kaworu looked more pensive than usual, "Are you sure of that?" 

	She smiled and nodded, "Yeah. Tomorrow, we got music class and he's 
sure to bring his cello. Try and get to his usual place at lunch and 
show him how good you are. It's foolproof."

	"Unless someone happens to make a better fool." Kaworu joked. 

*************************************************

	That night, Kaworu smiled to himself at the thought of finally getting 
a chance to talk with Shinji. The concept was beyond exciting. 

	That was when he heard it. No human could hear it, but to him, it was 
all too clear. It sounded like a wail or a cry of anguish that only 
other angels could hear. That was when Tabris took over. Nefesh was 
near! He stood up, ran to the door, and without a thought, he flew 
through the air and to the source. 

	Elsewhere, Rei suddenly woke with a start. She could hear a powerful 
wail that no human could make. She walked to the exit and looked to 
where she thought she heard it come from. It was almost painful to hear. 
The wail spoke of anguish, pain, loss, and sadness. 

	{You hear it as well?} An ethereal voice said beside her. Rei turned to 
see Kooriichi floating in the air, staring at the same direction Kaworu 
went. {Do you suppose that it is he?}

	"Him?" Rei asked, not at all knowing the cause of this late night 
occurrence. 

	{The Lost One. Adam is not the only reason why the Angels came. There 
was a traitor among them who escaped to Earth and hid among the humans 
for a while. The others search for him so that they exact their revenge 
against him.} She whispered without bothering to turn to Rei. 

	Almost as if she ignored the last thing that Kooriichi said, Rei asked, 
"Who are you?"

	Kooriichi turned and said with a bit of a smirk, {in a sense... I am 
you. My reasons are the same as that of the purpose of NERV, to stop 
another Impact, even though the higher level personnel are the ones who 
seek it. My reasons for visiting you are that we are sisters in every 
sense of the word and I had wishes to visit you. I do not see the wrong 
in that.}

	Rei blinked at the last couple of words. "Why would anyone wish to see 
me?"

	The first Rei clone chuckled to herself, "No matter how many time I 
know this will happen, it still amuses me to see you act this way. You 
are my sister Rei, a tie that I value very much."

	Rei was still confused, "I do not understand."

	As Kooriichi began to fade out, she said simply, "You will someday, 
imouto. You will." 

	Rei wondered when, or if, she would completely understand what her 
words meant. 

	Knowing that nothing more could be done about the wailing or Tabris, 
Rei went back into her apartment. 

	Just as she pulled up the covers of her bed, she noticed the picture of 
Shinji she drew. It was on her desk; just on top of a folder she had 
planned to put it in. 

	She could explain how, but when she lifted the picture of Shinji 
smiling, put it inside the folder, and hugged it; she felt a little 
warmer despite the cold. 

	"...Shinji-kun..." she whispered to no one, just holding the folder. 
She then went to her dresser, opened the top drawer, and placed the 
folder inside. Right beside Commander Ikari's glasses. 

	She slept a bit better than usual, though like before she had no clue 
why.

End of Chapter 9d


[Warhammer comes out again.]
	WH: First of all, considering that most danchi (I believe that's what 
they're called) have similar designs when it comes to interiors, I 
figured they would be no different, even in the future. 

	For you 'Koko Wa Greenwood' fans, you'll recognize Kone from the anime. 
For those of you who don't know, Kone is the resident cat that lives 
outside the dorm called Greenwood. The name is basically Neko with the 
kana reversed. 

	A friend of mine once said that a lot of things are open for 
speculation in EVA. So, I speculate that Kaworu had a little more than 
just a mom and dad. Also, there is a reason for everything that a 
character is, meaning Kaworu gets picked a bit, and he finds solace in 
family. 
	
	I would imagine that Tabris and Kaworu are two separate people, but 
both live in the same body. Somehow, someway, they were able to come to 
some sort of consensus and co-exist, which would give perfect reason for 
Kaworu's behavior. 

	Also, the reason why Kooriichi stays in this world, when it appears she 
is more than capable of leaving her prison, is her sister. Why else? Or 
does she even need a reason?

	Next chapter, both angels make their move and who ever comes victorious 
will have the affection of Shinji Ikari. 

[Warhammer returns to the light.]


Teknos Warhammer-
-Knight of the True Fiancee
-Offical Nodoka Saotome Guardian
-Self Proclaimed Guardian of Kiyone Makabi
-Fanfic hero for the Underdogs
-And so much more

View his fanfics at: 
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Garden/4853/index.html

"It's the End of the World as we know it, and other than a slight 
headache, I feel fine."
-Crow T. Robot, MST3K, Invasion of the Neptunemen


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