Hi again, everyone!
So, here's the second episode. I'm sorry about the formatting in the
first post--my line wrap wasn't set exactly right. If it was too
annoying to read, you can check out an html version at
http://sage_ohlmin.tripod.com/evafic.htm under the "Project: Proteus"
link. Enjoy! C&C always appreciated.
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION--
PROJECT: PROTEUS
by Sparky Clarkson
Episode Two: Meetings / The Bogeyman
Shinji bolted upright in the bed. He sat frozen for a moment,
breathing heavily--allowing the adrenaline of fear to course through
his system. However, he quickly became aware that his surroundings
were not threatening... though they were hardly comforting.
He was sitting in a nondescript hospital bed--plain white linen
sheets, and a thin blanket that had been folded down so it only
covered his feet. He was dressed in a plain, open-backed hospital
gown, one that offered little protection from the conditioned air. As
in all hospitals, the atmosphere was a bit too cold, and was suffused
with the tangy scent of chlorine disinfectant. The room had a small
chair and a table next to the bed, and a television attached to the
wall. An I.V. drip was positioned near the bed, its needle taped
securely in place where it punctured the skin on the inside of
Shinji's arm. The room was dimly lit by fluorescent panels in the
ceiling. Shinji could see three doors, all identical, in the walls.
Shinji slowly relaxed back down onto the bed, resting his head on the
small, squarish pillow. He stared upward and murmured, "Unfamiliar
ceiling." His room at his teacher's house, where he had spent
countless hours staring upward from the bed, had been made of wood,
and lit by a bare incandescent bulb. The tiled pattern of fiberboard
tiles and fluorescent panels seemed alien, unnatural to the boy.
Slowly, a question began to form in the back of Shinji's mind.
Eventually, it broke through to the surface, and he asked the empty
room what he had been wondering. "Where am I?"
***
"So the damage was not significant?" Naoko asked. One of her more
unruly curls fell down into her face, and she brushed the
silver-tinged brown lock aside with a swift motion.
Ritsuko nodded, her face buried in an open file folder. "EEG
suggests no major changes in brainwave patterns as a result, although
our data from before the test is limited. The strain on his cranial
nerves was great, but the ill effects are probably not of lasting
importance," the blonde scientist replied.
"You keep forgetting, Rit-chan," Naoko scolded, "That's his mind and
soul, not just an assortment of nerve cells. Don't think so
clinically."
"I don't see why I shouldn't," Ritsuko said, snapping the folder shut
and leaning back in her chair. "Trinity only needs the nerve cells."
Naoko shook her head. _If you only knew how wrong *that* was,_ she
thought. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the cherrywood
desk. The surface was mostly bare, its emptiness punctuated only by a
computer screen, a keyboard, a closed notebook, and a picture showing
a picture of her at a younger age, with the commander and a
brown-haired Ritsuko. "We've been over this before, Rit-chan. I feel
your work would be more effective if you showed a little more
compassion," Naoko said.
"Whatever," Ritsuko sniffed. "I don't need to interact with the
pilots much, so compassion is secondary to efficiency," she retorted.
Naoko shook her head and sighed. "I don't have time to go into this
right now," she said, standing. She grabbed the lab coat that she had
left hanging on the back of her chair and slid it onto her shoulders,
patting the breast pocket to make sure it held some pens. She swiped
the notebook from her desk and tucked it under one arm. She told her
daughter, "There's a meeting of the division heads in five minutes to
discuss the present situation." She stepped around the desk and to
the door of her office.
She opened the door and waved Ritsuko out. As her daughter left,
Naoko grabbed her shoulder and said, "But I do want to talk to you.
We should have dinner tonight at my place. Okay?"
Ritsuko frowned. "Will the General be there?" she asked.
"No."
"Well then, I'll come. Should I bring something?"
Naoko nodded. "A boyfriend," she said, winking.
"Mother..."
"Okay, okay. We'll talk about that later, too," Naoko said. She
gently propelled Ritsuko out into the hallway, letting the door slide
shut as she followed. As Ritsuko went one way down the hall, Naoko
took the other direction. Glancing at her watch, Naoko muttered,
"Yes, she definitely needs to hear some things. I wonder, though, if
I have any standing to be saying them..."
***
The door slid open to reveal Kaji Ryouji. "Hey Shinji," he said,
flashing the boy a grin as he stepped into the hospital room. "I
heard you were awake and came on down."
Shinji sat up in the bed, somewhat surprised to have a visitor.
"Why?" he asked, absently rubbing the bandage covering the spot from
which the I.V. needle had recently been removed.
Kaji continued to walk towards the bed as the door slid closed.
Shinji noticed that he was carrying a small gym bag. Kaji stopped at
the bed and said, "I'd like to say that I came down here just because
I wanted to see that you were doing better. However, it's actually
part of my job now."
"Oh," Shinji said, "I was not expecting that it would be otherwise.
I've never had such a thing happen." He looked down at the sheets
spread over his legs for a moment before a question popped into his
mind. "Your job?" he asked, turning back towards the ponytailed man.
For a moment, Shinji saw a lingering frown on Kaji's face before the
man remembered himself and returned to smiling. "That's right,
Shinji, my job. I work for Nerv as a physical therapist. I used to
be on general duty, but since your test was successful, I've been
assigned to you full time," he said.
Shinji's heart fell. "It was a success?" he asked, almost inaudibly.
"Yes. You achieved a good synchronization with the Proteus command
system. That makes the test a success," Kaji explained.
"But... at the end..."
"Dr. Akagi told me it's just something that happens the first time.
It even happened to Rei, I'm told," Kaji said.
"Rei?"
Kaji replied, "Oh, that's right... you haven't met her yet. She
pilots Proteus-01. You'll see her soon." He put his hand underneath
Shinji's chin and tilted the boy's head up. "Hey, don't look so
glum," he said, "Success like you had is something special. You're
only the fifth person we've ever found who could do that, and none of
them did as well on the first try."
Shinji managed a half-hearted smile, hoping that would appease the
man. He didn't relish the prospect of even going near the Proteus
again, but he didn't want to offend Kaji either.
"So, how are you feeling?" Kaji asked.
"I feel okay... I'm a little weak, and a little hungry," Shinji
replied. His stomach gave a small rumble to accentuate the point.
"Well, that's natural enough after sleeping for a week," Kaji
remarked, grinning again. "I'll tell you what. We'll work on the
weakness for a little while, and then you can eat dinner. Sound
good?" Kaji asked.
Shinji nodded. "Okay," he replied quietly.
"Great! Now I'm betting you won't want to exercise much in that
loose gown they gave you, so I've got some clothes here I pulled out
of your luggage," Kaji said, opening the gym bag. He pulled out blue
shorts and a grey t-shirt that had a faded logo on it. Shinji
wondered how Kaji had chosen them--they were his favorite clothes to
wear around the house when he was just relaxing. Shinji started to
pull off the gown, but then remembered Kaji was next to him and
stopped, blushing slightly. "I know," Kaji said. "I'll help you to
the bathroom and you can change there, okay?"
Shinji nodded. Kaji tossed the bag into the chair, tapped the
release to lower the railing on the side of the bed, and folded the
sheets down to below Shinji's feet with a single fluid motion. Shinji
swung his legs off the bed and hopped down. His knees buckled almost
instantly, and only Kaji managed to save him from an unpleasant fall.
"Easy there, Shinji," the therapist said, "You've been in bed for a
week, and your muscles aren't quite as strong as they were. I'll help
you along." Kaji looped an arm behind Shinji's neck and under his
arm, then grabbed the clothes and began walking Shinji towards one of
the doors. When they got there, he tapped the panel beside it.
The door slid open to reveal a small room with a sink, mirror,
toilet, and tub. "Everything in here's close together so you can
always hold on to something. Go sit on the toilet and I'll hand you
your clothes," Kaji said. Shinji obeyed, using the rim of the sink to
support himself until he reached the john, then nearly collapsing onto
the closed toilet seat. He saw that Kaji had been staring at him with
a look of appraisal on his face. "Good," Kaji said, then tossed the
boy the shorts and t-shirt. "I'll be out here if you need me."
Shinji nodded, and the door slid closed.
Shinji shucked off the gown, noting with irritation that the folds in
the loose fabric had left indentations where they had been pressed
into his body. He let the almost shapeless piece of fabric fall to
the floor, then pulled the shorts on, lifting himself carefully from
the toilet seat to slide them on fully. He then pulled on the
t-shirt. It felt heavier than he remembered.
Shinji sat for a moment, composing himself, then grabbed the sink
again and forced himself into an upright position. He groaned with
the effort, then began to work his way back towards the door, using
small, painful steps. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror.
His cheeks were hollow, and his hair in disarray. His eyes were
bleary and dull. _I look awful,_ he realized, then turned away and
touched the panel next to the door.
The lights in the bathroom turned off.
Shinji sighed and touched the panel again. The lights came back on
and he saw the other button on the panel. With an annoyed snort, he
pressed the other button. The door slid open and revealed Kaji
standing right outside.
Kaji started, then relaxed and said, "Oh good, you're done. I was
about to go in and check on you. I already ordered dinner--it'll be
here in about an hour, which gives us plenty of time to exercise those
muscles you haven't been using. Okay?"
Shinji nodded, but turned his face to the floor as he replied,
"Okay."
***
"Don't you want to eat something?" Shinji asked, halfway through
devouring his meal. If he had been asked when he first woke up, he
probably would have said that it was impossible to get any hungrier.
But after the exercises he had done with Kaji, he was positively
ravenous. Still, he had eaten the meal in his typical manner--slowly
and carefully, his chopsticks nimbly manipulating the noodles and meat
he had been given. The food didn't taste very good, but Shinji was
hardly one to care at this point.
Kaji smiled and leaned further back in the small chair. "No," he
said, shaking his head, "I'll be having dinner at a restaurant
tonight... assuming my date gets out of her meeting on time."
"Oh," Shinji said. He felt vague curiosity about who Kaji might be
dating, but didn't feel he knew the man well enough to ask about his
intimate affairs. He returned to focusing on his meal--an easy enough
task, given the circumstances.
After a moment, Kaji asked, "Aren't you curious?"
Shinji nodded. "Yes," he admitted, "But I didn't want to intrude..."
"You're not," Kaji protested. He pulled the chair closer to the bed
and gently patted Shinji on the back. "We'll be working together,
right? And we're men, right? So we should be friends and share our
war stories at the very least, right?" he asked.
Shinji blushed slightly, but said, "Okay."
Kaji leaned back again and folded his arms behind his head.
"Actually, you've met her already," he said, his grin widening. "I
and Major Katsuragi have been together for some time."
"Misato-san? I don't know much about her," Shinji said.
"But she's pretty, no?"
Shinji blushed slightly. "Yes," he admitted.
"See! I should tell you, though, that you've made quite an
impression on her. She's very much looking forward to working with
you," Kaji said, winking.
"Really?" Shinji asked, putting another wad of noodles into his
mouth.
"Sure. You're not much of a talker, but compared to Rei you're a
practical Demosthenes," Kaji replied. Shinji had no idea what the
therapist was talking about, but nodded anyway as he swallowed his
noodles.
The rest of the meal passed in relative silence, as Shinji ate and
Kaji watched, occasionally interjecting some comment about the various
people Shinji would soon be working with. As this didn't require him
to speak, Shinji was able to steadily consume his food until the plate
was almost spotless. He pushed the rolling table away from the bed,
and said, "That was good. I feel much better now."
"I'll bet you're tired," Kaji said, "I'll let you get some rest." He
stood and half-turned to leave.
"I'm not quite ready to sleep yet," Shinji murmured. As if to
contradict himself, he lay down on the bed, facing the therapist.
Kaji smiled. "Ah, but I must leave, Shinji," he said, "Misato
awaits. But I have something, at least, that will keep you company."
He grabbed the gym bag from where he had placed it on the floor, and
pulled something from it... a small, yellow SDAT player with a pair of
earphones. He handed the object to Shinji. "Your teacher told us
that you liked to listen to music, so I figured I'd bring you this as
well," Kaji explained. He carried the bag over to the only door that
had not been opened, and pressed the access panel. The door revealed a
small closet, into which Kaji put the bag.
"I put some other clothes in this for tomorrow," Kaji said, "The next
day, you go home." He allowed the door to slide shut, and then made a
brisk exit.
Shinji watched the door close behind Kaji. He stared at it for
several minutes, almost... almost hoping the smiling therapist would
come back in. After a while, he murmured, "Where is home?"
A moment later, he slipped the earphones on and hit "Play."
***
Misato had always found the meeting room somewhat eerie. For one
thing, the room was kept dark, except for lights above the seats at
the large, metallic, horseshoe-shaped table. Add to this the fact
that all the walls in the room, as well as the ceiling, the floor, and
the skirt of the table were black, and the effect was positively
frightening.
Misato sat two seats away from one end of the table. In front of
her, a small computer with a flat, 2mm thick, fold-down screen was
embedded in the table. A little beyond that was her nameplate. She
couldn't see it, but knew what it said: "Major Misato Katsuragi."
Written with Roman letters, in western name order, out of respect for
the founders and initial funders of Trinity.
To Misato's right, towards the end of the table, sat Naoko. The
aging scientist was twirling a pen around her thumb as she stared at
something on the screen of her computer. Apparently, she too had
zoned out a bit. That was okay--the subjects presently being
discussed only applied to the commanders.
The last seat at this end was taken by an unusually large and
muscular man, with buzz-cut black hair and one very dark brown eye.
His left eye was a pure milky white, and a long scar ran through it
from his cheek up to underneath his hair. He wore the standard khaki
outfit, with white trim instead of maroon or blue. His nameplate
would have indicated that he was "Colonel Kijuro Aida" had he not
managed to turn it upside down in a fit of rage long ago. Kijuro's
focus was entirely on the man standing in the front of the room.
That man was Defense Minister Ishiwara Seishiro. He was dressed in a
black suit and white banded-collar shirt. The cherry-blossom pin
gleamed on his lapel, reflecting the lights that focused on the seats
at the table he was facing. At present he was saying something about
how the local governments around Mongolia were too factionalized to
unify for some purpose or other. Misato let her attention wander
again.
To Misato's left sat Colonel Fuyutsuki, who also had focused his
attention rigidly on Seishiro's presentation. However, Kouzou was
simultaneously typing away at a status report on some facility or
other at Matsushiro. Misato chalked it up to the former professor's
famed talent for compartmentalizing the tasks facing him. Some of the
less reverent technical workers at Trinity called it his
"multi-tasking capability." The seat to Fuyutsuki's left was
empty--the nameplate indicated that it was reserved for the Defense
Minister now speaking.
The central seat of the table was taken by Ikari Gendo. He had
leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table, his hands folded in
front of his face. He seemed to be paying close attention to
Seishiro's presentation, but the way light reflected off those
strange, orange-tinted glasses, one could never be sure exactly where
he was looking.
At Gendo's left sat a wizened old white-haired man with twinkling
grey eyes. He was hunched over his computer, and seemed to be paying
no attention at all to Seishiro's speech. Then again, Misato
reflected, he might have written it. One could never quite be sure of
what Keel Lorenz did or did not know or do at Trinity. Misato wasn't
sure she ever wanted to find out.
The last four seats at the table were not taken by any real people.
Instead, they held holographic representations of men meeting in an
identical room on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. All of them
were American military officers, dressed in impeccable olive army
uniforms. Three of them were nondescript--buzz-cut WASPs who sat
rigidly and impassively in their seats. Misato briefly wondered
whether they were actually that still, or if they had just set their
holographs to a paused state and left the room.
The fourth person had definitely not done such a thing. He sat next
to Lorenz, behind a nameplate reading "Major General Robert Edward
Stuart III." His appearance was not quite as grand as his title.
Stuart was slightly overweight and bald, and a little short to boot.
He was ugly, sweaty, and twitchy. Misato always had a hard time
looking at the man due to his constant fidgeting. Naoko had the
annoying habit of twirling the pen, but that was nothing compared to
this. Misato was just glad that holograms weren't yet advanced enough
to carry smell. The American general reeked.
Her attention was brought back to the speaker by a change in his
inflection. Whatever else could be said about the man, Seishiro knew
how to conduct a briefing so that you always knew when important
information was coming. "That brings us to the focus of this
meeting," he said, and a small screen behind him came to life, showing
a detailed map of the eastern regions of Mongolia. Five small x's,
all clustered closely together. glowed brightly on the map. "The
local government near the landing site has been so preoccupied with
external matters that it has not yet realized what has happened. We
expect that they shall be informed before 1800 hours two days from
now. At that time, they will almost certainly ask the United Nations
for assistance. This is something that we must circumvent.
"At 1200 hours tomorrow, the United States ambassador to Japan will
visit Prime Minister Honsho, ostensibly bringing him the satellite map
you see behind me. At 1300 hours, Minister Honsho will call President
Warren, ostensibly to discuss the information. At 1500 hours, they
will send a joint message to the five countries between the sea and
the landing site, describing the situation and asking permission to
mount a joint U.S.-Japanese expedition to meet the aliens. All of the
involved principalities will undoubtedly agree, hoping to curry favor
with us and thereby gain a trade advantage over their neighbors. This
will give us the sole first shot at establishing contact with the
aliens."
"Excellent, Minister Ishiwara," Gendo said. "Colonel Aida, as head of
Seele, you will choose the Trinity staff to go on this mission."
"Yes, sir," Kijuro replied briskly. His voice was a rich baritone,
but had no smoothness. Almost every word he said was clipped and
unmusical.
General Stewart then interjected, "Might I suggest a heavy military
escort?" Misato cringed. She usually liked American southern
accents, but somehow his tenor voice turned a nice sound into a flat,
unattractive drawl. "Given their past actions, it seems more than a
little reasonable to expect that these aliens are hostile. We should
not send personnel to them without adequate protection," he added.
Gendo nodded. "That is an excellent suggestion. Seishiro, you will
please arrange it so that strong contingents from the Japanese
Tactical Attack Force and the United States Armed Forces will
accompany the contact team. Above all, it is important that the U.N.
and RulCom not get involved in the first contact. The security of
both our nations depends on getting to the aliens first," he said.
Fuyutsuki cleared his throat, and Gendo nodded at him. "This crisis
makes our central focus critical. What is the status of the Proteus
units and pilots?" the older man asked.
Stewart waved to one of the other Americans. The indicated soldier
stood up and said in an almost mechanical voice, "Pilot York is in
good condition following the sabotage attempt a month ago. All his
wounds are healed and his last test put him at a synchronization of
about 57%. While slightly lower than previous levels, this ratio is
acceptable given the peculiarity of the situation. We expect an
upward trend in the ratio as he becomes re-acclimated to Proteus-05."
He continued, "The unit itself is completely repaired and ready for
battle--all systems are optimal," then lapsed back into his default
frozen state.
Gendo then turned to Misato. She leaned forward in her chair and
said, "Pilot Ayanami is healthy and ready for combat. Her ratio is
holding steady at 55%, where it has been for the past few months.
Pilot Ikari awakened earlier today and seems to be in adequate
physical and mental condition to continue training. His initial
synchronization ratio was about 35%, and Gehirn simulations predict
that it will increase through training to a maximum of at least 75%.
He is presently undergoing physical therapy with the assistance of
Lieutenant Kaji," she said, her face blank as she pulled the facts
from her memory.
"Ah yes," Keel remarked, his eyes twinkling. "And when are you going
to marry the good Lieutenant? You've had us holding our collective
breath for months!"
Misato blushed as Kijuro, Naoko, and Kouzou laughed. Even Gendo
seemed to smile, though his mouth was mostly obscured by his hands.
Keel was known for his sharp tongue and eccentric sense of humor,
particularly with practical jokes. Even Gendo had not completely
avoided becoming a target. After a moment, Gendo waved his hand and
the laughter ceased.
"Enough mirth," the general said. "This is a critical period. In
three days, we will send an expeditionary force to Mongolia to make
first contact with alien life. Trinity will remain on alert
twenty-four hours a day until contact is made and peacefully
resolved. Until that time, you and all members of your staffs are to
consider yourselves on call. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir," everyone replied.
"Excellent. Meeting adjourned." The Americans disappeared as the
holographic projectors powered down, and the Japanese members quickly
left the room.
Out in the hallway, Misato was pleased to see Kaji waiting for her.
"Hello, beautiful," the therapist said, winking. "Ready for dinner?"
"You bet! These meetings always make me hungry... and tense," Misato
replied, nuzzling up against her boyfriend.
"Ah ah ah!" Kaji chided. "Not in front of the others... someone
might think you've picked a favorite!"
"Haven't I?" Misato asked, lowering her eyelids.
Kaji raised an eyebrow. "I suppose so," he admitted. He started to
gently pull Misato down the hall. "Well, let's go cure your hunger,"
he said.
"And the tension?" Misato asked in an alluring voice.
Kaji spun around and dipped the Major into a deep kiss. "That," he
said, pulling back, "I will take care of... later."
"Well, lead on, Lieutenant," Misato replied.
"Yes, ma'am."
***
Naoko slid her door open, noting that the person behind it, as
expected, was her daughter. Ritsuko was finally out of her lab
coat, wearing a long black skirt with a blue blouse. Naoko frowned
momentarily, thinking that Ritsuko wore too much makeup--particularly
that ridiculously red lipstick. She caught herself almost immediately
however, and welcomed her daughter into the apartment.
Naoko's home was suited to her lifestyle--large common rooms, and
only two bedrooms. These days, Naoko rarely had to worry about
long-term roommates. The main room had been set up into several
purpose-specific areas. There was a place with a television and a few
chairs, another area that had several couches around a low table, and
larger space that held her dinner table and the associated
furnishings. "I'm afraid the fare is rather plain tonight," Naoko
said as she led her daughter towards the table. "I had no time to go
shopping because the meeting ran long."
"I expected it would, what with the landing in Mongolia," Ritsuko
responded, seating herself.
"That's hardly it," Naoko grumbled. "We spent only a few minutes
talking about that. Most of the time was taken up by an executive
session and one of Colonel Aida's security talks. He's a nice man,
but so boring," she continued.
"So I suppose everything is in place to begin the offensive?" Ritsuko
asked.
"Now, we don't know we'll have one of those yet," Naoko said, walking
into her kitchen. Once there she grabbed a couple of bowls and took
them out to the table. "We can't be certain the aliens are hostile,
despite the Second Impact," she said as she set the bowls down on the
table.
"*I'd* take it as a sign," Ritsuko scoffed. Naoko shook her head and
returned to the kitchen, grabbing two more bowls to take out.
"There," she said as she placed them on the table. "Plain food, but I
daresay you've eaten worse. I can only imagine what goes on when you
visit Mi-chan's place for dinner."
"I'm sure it will be good as always, mother. Itadakimasu."
"Itadakimasu. Now, Rit-chan, about getting a boyfriend..."
Ritsuko groaned, rolled her eyes, and grabbed her chopsticks.
***
"Honestly, Kaji, I can't imagine how you found a place like this,"
Misato said, sipping at her wine. She savored the rich flavor of the
red for a moment, then swallowed, lightly licking her lips to collect
the last drops. In front of her lay the remains of an entree spread
out on a small plate, her knife and fork crossed on top of it. "What
was that you ordered for me?" she asked.
"Gnocchi," Kaji said, quickly scraping his spoon around the inside of
his bowl to scoop up the last of his risotto. As he stuck the spoon
in his mouth to glean the last remains of his meal from its metal
surface, Misato sat back in her seat and gazed around.
The restaurant truly was amazing. Despite the fact that the city was
almost brand new, this place had... atmosphere. The lighting for the
room in general was low, but the arrangement of the whole place was
such that all the tables were booths, so there was little danger of
tripping. Each booth had additional lighting in the form of a candle.
These also were unusual--old wine bottles served in place of
candlesticks, and these were so coated in wax that they appeared more
like small white mountains with flames on top than candles. The room
was quiet--though almost every table was taken, the booths kept the
noise level down--but occasionally the rich smells wafting into the
main room from the kitchen were accompanied by cheerful curses in
Italian.
"And how did you find it?" Misato asked, gazing at her boyfriend.
Kaji wiped his mouth with a napkin as he set the spoon down. "I
actually knew the chef from back when I was... when we were apart. I
ran into him at the market the other day. Seems he left Italy for a
better life on the other side of the world. He didn't have any ties
left in Italy anyway--after Venice sank, he had no family and no home.
Sometimes it's best to start over," he explained.
Misato nodded, and took another sip of her wine. "Speaking of people
who are starting over..." she said.
"Yes?"
"I'm worried about the new pilot... Shinji."
"So am I," Kaji admitted.
"You know he's slated to live by himself, near Rei?" Misato asked.
Kaji nodded, the grim look on his face expressing his discontent with
that situation far more eloquently than words ever could. "You think
that's a bad idea," Misato commented, her eyes revealing that she
agreed.
"Yes," Kaji said, "I suppose I shouldn't get too close to those I'm to
work with--but as we both know, I'm very bad with that
regulation." Misato blushed and took another sip of her wine. Kaji
said, "There's something about that boy... I guess he reminds me a
little of myself at that age, having nobody. He's adrift here--he has
nobody to turn to. I get the impression that he didn't have anybody
at his old home, either. I don't think he's the kind of person who
reaches out to others. If we let him live alone, he'll just turn
further inward. He'll end up like Rei, if he's lucky. If not, he'll
probably waste away to nothing." Kaji clenched his fist in sudden
anger and growled, "Commander Ikari always seems to have that effect
on children--a slow crushing of the soul."
Misato nodded. "What do you think we can do about it, though?" she
asked.
"That's what I was meaning to ask you about tonight," Kaji said, his
anger dissipating a little. He leaned forward, his face earnest as he
described a plan. "Look, my place is little more than a closet, which
is fine because I never sleep there," he stated. This elicited a
slight blush from Misato, which Kaji ignored as he continued, "So I
can't look after him there. But your apartment is huge--too big for
one or even two people. You have two whole bedrooms you hardly use,
except to store old boxes. We could clear one of them out, and he
could live there with us!" Kaji shoved himself back in his seat as he
finished describing his plan, a broad grin on his face.
Misato thought for a moment, then laughed. "That will make for quite
an odd little household, don't you think?" she asked. "An unmarried
man and woman taking care of a boy who isn't their son. Living as
family, without being family. I would laugh it down, if I hadn't
intended on suggesting the very same thing," she continued.
Kaji laughed. "We think alike," he said. "One more sign that we
were meant for each other."
Misato grinned. "You know, everyone at work will think that we're
insane," she commented.
"Hey, I'm only crazy for you," Kaji said, a wry smile twisting his
face.
"What a pathetic line."
"Hey, it works, doesn't it?"
***
Shinji woke with a start. The unfamiliarity of his surroundings
jarred him for a moment, but he quickly recollected where he was and
why. He saw his SDAT lying on the table next to his bed. It was
turned off and emitting no sound. In fact, Shinji could hear nothing
that could explain why he had awakened so suddenly. The lights in the
room were very low--just bright enough that he could see where he was
going if he had to walk around. Shinji snuggled down into his
mattress and pillow, ready to go back to sleep.
Then he heard a cough, as if someone were clearing his throat.
Shinji immediately sat upright in the bed and peered around the room.
Almost instantly he noticed the person who had made the sound. A tall
man stood in front of one of the doors, wearing a long black
trenchcoat and holding a black fedora in front of his chest with both
black-gloved hands. The man had extremely short blonde hair and green
eyes, which somehow sparkled even in the darkened room. His features
were rough, and his skin slightly pockmarked, as if scarred from acne
earlier in life. The man looked to be about thirty.
_The man from the train station..._ Shinji thought.
"Hello, Ikari Shinji-kun. I am honored to meet you," the man said.
He spoke Japanese with a strange accent--one Shinji couldn't quite
place. The man was easy to understand nonetheless. His mouth curled
into a slight smile as he spoke. "I just dropped by to see how you
were doing," the man continued. "You're very important to me... to
all of us. I just wanted to be sure that you were all right after
that little incident with the Proteus unit."
"Who... who are you?" Shinji asked quietly.
"My name is... Demna. I'm just passing through," the man replied,
smiling as if his words held some secret meaning. After a pause, he
continued, "I came with another purpose too--to give you a message.
You came to this place looking for something... hoping for something.
You will find it. Just remember that you may not always know what you
really want," and pressed the pad next to the door. As it opened, he
turned quickly and stepped through, disappearing as the door slid shut
behind him.
For some reason, Shinji felt a compulsion to follow the man. He
pushed himself out of the bed and stumbled part of the way to the
door that Demna had left through before his weakened muscles gave way
and he tumbled to the floor. Shinji pushed himself up to his hands
and knees, shaking his head to get a grasp of his bearings. Then,
ignoring his new bruises, he crawled towards the door like a madman,
slowing only in time to rear up and slam his hand onto the pad.
The door slid open, and Shinji found himself to be peering intently
into the closet.
***
"It's time, Shinji," Misato said, taking the boy's hand. Shinji
cringed slightly at the contact, but allowed himself to be led down
the hallway. He was back in his usual clothes--white dress shirt,
black slacks, tennis shoes. A school uniform. Almost all the clothes
he had were a part of it; he never wore anything in public except the
uniform.
Their progress was slow. Despite the exercise, Shinji's legs still
felt like they had weights on them. After a few minutes, the pair
came to an elevator. Misato led them into it and reached forward to
press a button. Shinji braced himself against the walls, and the
Major noticed. She smiled and said, "Relax, Shinji. This isn't an
express elevator. You'll be fine."
Shinji relaxed a bit and Misato pressed one of the buttons on the
panel. Almost immediately, the elevator began to ascend, although its
rate of movement was much more reasonable than that of the only other
elevator Shinji had been conscious in at Trinity. He watched as the
elevator climbed through headquarters. Apparently, the floor
numbering was such that the higher the level, the lower the number.
He watched as the number read out by the display over the door
steadily decreased. When it reached eleven, the elevator stopped, but
Shinji remembered that Misato had pressed the button for the third
floor.
The elevator doors slid open to reveal a girl in her early teens.
She wore a plain-looking blue dress, probably a school uniform, with a
red bow. Her pale bluish hair was fairly short, and somewhat tangled.
Her skin, too was pale, contrasting sharply with her red eyes. Shinji
knew he had not seen her before. Nonetheless, something about her
seemed familiar...
"Oh!" Misato exclaimed, breaking into Shinji's reverie. "You two
haven't met yet! Shinji, this is Ayanami Rei, pilot of Proteus-01.
Rei, this is Ikari Shinji. He'll be piloting unit 03," she explained.
Rei stared calmly at the boy as she stepped into the elevator.
Shinji found her placid gaze unnerving. "H-hi," he said, awkwardly
extending his hand. "Pleased to meet you."
Rei looked at Shinji's hand as if he had just offered her a week-old
dead fish. Rather than take it, she stared into his face even more
intently and asked, "Are you?"
Shinji was taken aback by this. He floundered hopelessly for a few
moments, his jaw moving silently, before he managed to squeeze out,
"Y-y-yes. I-I've h-heard a great deal a-about you."
Rei nodded and turned around to face the elevator door, which had
closed. She turned her head briefly to look at the panel of buttons,
then reached out and pressed a button marked "S" at the top of the
panel.
Misato leaned over and whispered into Shinji's ear, "Don't be
offended, Shinji. She's like that with everyone." Shinji nodded, but
shrank into a corner away from the girl.
Soon enough, the elevator stopped on the third floor and Shinji and
Misato got out. A quick walk down the hall and out brought them to
the garage again. Misato's car was parked nearby. She led Shinji
over to it, and they both got in, Misato calmly tossing the small gym
bag into the back seat.
As Misato started the car, Shinji asked, "Misato-san? Where are we
going?"
"Home," she said, grinning at the boy.
Shinji shook his head. "I mean, where is that? I have no home here.
Am I to live with my... with my father?" he asked, his voice trailing
off almost into inaudibility at the end.
"No," Misato responded, winking at Shinji, "You'll be living with
me!"
"With... you, Misato-san?"
"Just Misato, Shinji. You don't need to use any honorific with my
name. And yes, you will be living with me," she replied. Shinji
couldn't think of anything to say. Misato recognized his shock and
said, "It won't be so bad--you'll have other roommates besides me.
You've already met Kaji, so..."
"Kaji lives with you?" Shinji asked.
Misato put the car in gear and began to drive out of the garage.
"Well, don't look so shocked," she said.
"B-b-but he said that you were his girlfriend. He didn't say you
were married," Shinji said.
"We're not," Misato admitted. Then she shot Shinji a wicked grin.
"It's the scandal of the entire program," she said, then giggled.
Shinji grinned too. He wasn't sure how to deal with Misato, but Kaji
was a nice person to be around. Misato drove the car under an exit
sign and said, "Watch out, Shinji. This is something you're not going
to believe."
The car emerged from the garage onto an upward ramp that soon
transformed into a road and emerged from underground. At first,
Shinji almost thought he was outdoors. It was a natural
assumption--the area around the road they were now on was heavily
forested, and the light was bright enough to be sunlight. Then,
however, he realized that the horizon of was very near, and curved
upward into a rock wall. "A real Geo-Front!" he exclaimed
breathlessly. He stared up through the sunroof and saw an entire
city hanging from the roof of the immense cavern. Huge lights placed
on the ceiling in between the buildings provided the illumination for
the cave.
"That's right, Shinji. You didn't get to see it last time because the
car-train to here passes through the bedrock, not the actual
Geo-front. However, the car-train up to my place is on the other side
of the city, so I thought we'd drive along down here," Misato
explained. They were passing a series of low buildings, most of which
looked like barracks or military depots. Nothing suitable for
civilian use or habitation was visible.
"Why isn't there more of the city down here?" Shinji asked.
Misato nodded. "It seems a waste," she said, "But actually, all this
area is just a mask. There's less than three meters of dirt here, and
then the Trinity building begins. It stretches underneath the entire
floor of the Geo-Front and for some distance around. This whole place
is a fortress."
"A fortress to protect against what?"
"I expect we'll find out soon."
***
Shinji leaned up against the wall, breathing heavily. Under most
conditions, he would have considered the sack of groceries he was
carrying to be pretty light, as it contained only milk and a few
frozen entrees. However, in his weakened state, it might as well
have been an anvil. At least the elevator had been working properly.
Shinji looked at the door to his new home: apartment 420. Misato
stood in front of it, fumbling through her purse for the correct
card. After a moment, she pulled out a small maroon rectangle and
inserted it into a slot near the door. With a beep, the door slid
open. She knelt down and grabbed up the two grocery bags she had been
carrying in addition to the purse and gym bag she had slung over her
shoulder. With a slight grin on her face, she stepped across the
doorway and kicked off her shoes.
"Tadaima!" she called, sliding some slippers onto her feet.
>From within the apartment, Kaji's voice cheerfully replied,
"Okaerinasai!"
Misato signaled for Shinji to cross the threshold. He said,
"Ojamashimasu," and started to step through the door, but Misato held
up a hand to stop him.
"This is your home now," she reminded the boy, then lowered her hand.
Shinji smiled slightly and stepped forward again, saying, "Ta...
tadaima."
Kaji appeared in the small entryway wearing a pair of slippers and
solemnly replied, "Okaerinasai, Shinji. Let me take that for you."
He grabbed the bag out of Shinji's hands as the boy carefully removed
his shoes, then turned and kissed Misato. "How was everything? Did
you get dinner?"
"Went off without a hitch," Misato replied, and handed Kaji her own
grocery bags by way of reply to his second question. "You pop some
stuff in the microwave while I show Shinji around. Did you already
put his boxes in his room?"
"Of course. I even took the liberty of unpacking a few things," Kaji
said as he retreated down a hallway.
The apartment seemed to be pretty large. The entryway led to two
hallways, with what appeared to be a closet accessible on the corner
between them. The longer one was straight ahead, and it was down this
one that Kaji had retreated. Misato led Shinji through the shorter
passage, which led off to the left.
The hallway ended with a door on the right side that opened into a
large living room. "Here's the den," Misato said, and swept her arm
around to indicate the room. One wall was entirely windows, along
with a glass door. Since the curtains were open Shinji could see that
the door led to a fairly large balcony with a small metal table and
two chairs. Most of the furniture in the room--two loveseats, a few
cushioned chairs, and a low coffee table--was arranged around a rather
large TV-stereo which had DMD and SDAT players underneath it.
A large, open sliding door led to what was obviously the kitchen,
which held a wooden table with four plain chairs. As Shinji watched,
Kaji breezed into the cooking area and began unloading the groceries.
The whole area was filthy. Not that there was dirt everywhere, but
there were empty cans of beer and food containers, dirty plates,
bowls, and utensils, and a number of spill stains throughout the two
rooms Shinji had seen. He frowned, but before he could say anything,
Misato had dragged him to the side of the room opposite the windows
and through a sliding door. He found himself in the long hallway,
with the door out to his right.
There was a door right in front of him too. Unlike most of the
others, it was a western-style door with a knob. Shinji understood
why when Misato opened it. "The bathroom," she said. "We've only got
one, I'm afraid, but it should be enough." She slid the door closed
quickly, before Shinji could really take in the room, but he could
almost have sworn that he saw something moving in there.
Misato led Shinji down the hall. The next door on the right was
open, and revealed a large room with a double bed in the center, a
desk, and some auxiliary furniture. It was also a huge mess--all of
the stuff Shinji had seen strewn about the common room was there, with
the added mess of clothing left lying everywhere. Some of the items
left on the floor made Shinji blush. "Kaji and I sleep in here,"
Misato said, indicating the room with a wave of her hand, then pulling
him down the hall without further explanation.
The next door was off to the left, and led to the kitchen. Shinji saw
Kaji slide something into an extra-large microwave, then shut the door
and start typing in the time. Shinji also noticed that the kitchen
held two large refrigerators, though as Kaji began putting the food
away Shinji realized that he was using only one of them.
There was a door at the end of the hall, but Misato didn't lead
Shinji to it. Instead she directed him to the last door on the
right. It was closed, but there was a heart-shaped piece of light
blue posterboard taped to it on which Misato had sloppily written
"Shin-chan's lovely suite" in black ink.
Shinji hesitated for a moment, then slid the door open. The room
within was pretty plain--furnished only with a twin-sized futon, desk
and chair--but fairly large. There was an open closet with a built-in
dresser to one side of the room, and a pair of large windows in the
far wall. The room was lit by a combination fan-light. Five boxes
sat in the center of the room, looking almost pitifully small.
Misato tossed the gym bag onto the bed, grabbed Shinji's shoulder and
said, "Nice, huh? We'll help you unpack later... for now, let's eat!"
As they turned to leave the room, Kaji called out, "Dinner's ready!"
***
"There! Everything's unpacked and put away," Misato said, brushing
her hands together. She was leaning up against the doorframe, since
she really hadn't helped much. Shinji sat down heavily on his bed,
exhausted by the process. Though he had few possessions, he still had
a good bit of trouble figuring out where he would put those things.
Kaji, standing next to the desk, righted one of the books on it and
said, "We'll requisition you a computer from Trinity's stores
tomorrow. For now, though, I guess you're all set. Why don't you
take a bath and call it a night?"
Shinji nodded numbly, then watched as Misato and Kaji left, sliding
his door shut behind them. Shinji stood up and adjusted the blinds on
his windows so that they were closed. He then stripped out of his
clothes, neatly placing each article into the hamper in his closet as
he removed it. He grabbed the towel that Misato had left on his bed,
wrapped it firmly around his waist, and walked down the hall to the
bathroom.
He entered the room, then closed the door and clicked the lock. He
placed his towel on the rack, then turned around and pulled back the
curtain around the shower/bath.
Too say that he was surprised by what he saw behind it might have
been an understatement.
***
"I'm amazed he agreed to do so many of the chores," Misato said.
Kaji snorted, grinning. "He's used to doing them, I'll bet," he
said. "The man he lived with wasn't the sort to cut anyone any
slack. You might remember him. Professor Iriye? We were in his
history class while he was visiting the University."
Misato blushed. "I don't remember much about that class," she
admitted, "I had my mind on something else."
Kaji grinned and settled back further into the divan he and Misato
were sitting on. He took a sip from his beer and stared into her
eyes. "So did I," he said.
Misato smiled demurely and ran the hand she wasn't using to hold a
beer through her purple-black hair. She opened her eyes as wide as
she could--Kaji called it her "innocent girl" look--and asked,
"Really?" Kaji didn't reply, instead just staring at his lover.
This was the kind of moment he lived for.
He was, therefore, a little dismayed when it wasinterrupted--first by
the scream and then by the appearance of a very frightened, naked
Shinji, who was pursued by a hopping, squawking red, black, and white
flightless bird. Shinji dove into a corner of the room, knocking a
few stacks of beer cans over, and cowered there, spread with his back
against the wall, as the bird quickly calmed down and waddled off to
the kitchen.
"Wha... what... what *is* that?" Shinji asked.
Kaji raised an eyebrow. "Pen-pen," he said, "a warm-water penguin.
He can be pretty foul-tempered, but he makes for a fun roommate most
of the time. You must have interrupted one of his soaks."
Shinji relaxed visibly. "Oh," he said.
Misato began to giggle a little. Shinji stared at her blankly for a
moment, but then nearly fainted as he realized the reason why she was
laughing. His face turned pale white for a moment, then bright red as
he brought his hands over to cover his crotch. "Uh... if you'll
excuse me..." he whispered, then sidled out of the room as fast as he
could.
When they heard the bathroom door close, both adults laughed for a
moment. Kaji grinned ruefully, and said, "I guess we should have
warned him, but I honestly thought Pen-pen was asleep in his freezer."
"Yeah, we should have known when he didn't come out for dinner,"
Misato agreed, then giggled again.
"Since when do you giggle at the sight of naked men?"
"Men? He's just a boy. I *never* giggle when I see a *man* naked."
Kaji knew where this was going. With a wolfish grin, he asked, "Oh?
And what sort of noise *do* you make?"
"Wouldn't *you* like to know..."
***
Shinji curled up on the bed in his darkened room and clicked the
"Play" button on his SDAT player. Immediately, the haunting strains
of Antonin Dvorak's "Slavonic Dance No. 2" began to pour out of the
earphones. Shinji closed his eyes and burrowed into his pillow as the
mournful tune hit its stride, the violin chorus, as always, inciting a
sorrowful vision that mirrored his own internal state.
Iriye-sensei had owned an extensive collection of classical music,
Shinji recalled, but it had all been arranged by composer, so Shinji
was rarely able to listen to as much as a full hour of music which
matched his mood. The little SDAT player had changed that--Shinji had
made tapes for all kinds of moods. Strange that it had come from his
father. Though in all probability Gendo had bought the player without
a thought for the good it might do his son, Shinji always wondered
whether the gift had some other meaning--a recognition of his needs,
perhaps?
Shinji groaned and curled up tighter as the dance switched to a major
key. Hoping like that just made him feel emptier when he came back to
reality. His father didn't love him--he'd forced him into that awful
machine, hadn't he? _I hoped... that he had changed..._ Shinji
thought, covering his head with hands to block out the world entirely.
_But I should have known... hoping only made the pain greater when he
betrayed me again..._ The dance slid back into the minor key, ending
the ray of brightness.
As the darker strain renewed, Shinji thought, _I hoped I could make at
least a comfortable life here, but they laughed at me... and now I'm
stuck. I shouldn't have come..._
This tape--it was his favorite, loaded with songs that spoke of
sadness, emptiness, and loneliness. For a while, Shinji had left it
out of the player, listening to one of his brighter mixes on his way
to Tokyo-3, and his "angry" mix when he had first gotten the letter.
In the hospital, however, he had slipped this one, which had the
simple, descriptive label of "sad," back into the SDAT player. The
dance turned to the major key once more, then quickly slid back into
the minor, wavered a bit and then ended just as it seemed about to go
back to the major.
A hand gently touched Shinji's shoulder, and he nearly jumped out of
the bed in surprise. As low as he was feeling, Shinji didn't really
want to deal with anybody right now, but he had no choice. After his
initial reaction, he could hardly pretend that he was asleep. He
uncovered his face and removed the earphones as he rolled over to look
at whomever had bothered him.
He was somewhat surprised to see Misato standing next to the bed.
She was right in the path of the light from the door, so Shinji could
see little more than her silhouette. Nonetheless, he could tell that
she was wearing a long nightgown made of *very* thin fabric. Shinji
could feel himself blushing slightly. _At least it wasn't so thin
that I can see through it,_ he told himself as Misato knelt down next
to his bed and looked him in the eye.
"I didn't mean to wake you," she whispered.
"It's okay. I wasn't asleep yet," Shinji replied.
"Look, I'm sorry about what happened with Pen-Pen earlier. He didn't
mean to scare you... he was just a little annoyed at having someone
walk in on him while he was bathing. I'm sure you can understand,"
Misato said. Shinji nodded slightly and sighed his agreement. For
several moments afterwards, the two stared at each other in silence.
Misato bit her lip, then said, "Shinji, I also want to apologize for
myself. I wasn't laughing at *you* earlier."
"You weren't?" Shinji asked.
"Of course not. It was just... the situation reminded me of
something else, and I couldn't help laughing about it."
Shinji digested this for a moment, then asked, "What did it remind you
of?"
"The first time Kaji bathed here, the same thing happened," Misato
explained. "The only time Pen-Pen doesn't lock the door to the
bathroom is when he thinks I have a guest. I think he likes to play
the same prank on everyone. So that's why I was laughing. I... I'm
sorry if I hurt your feelings. This is your home, and I want you to
feel comfortable."
Shinji's heart froze for a moment, then released an overlarge surge of
blood that made his chest feel warm. _Could she really..?_ he
thought. He smiled slightly and said, "It's okay, Misato. I know you
didn't mean anything by it."
Misato grinned broadly and stood. "Now go to sleep, Shinji," she
said. "You've got a big day tomorrow."
"How so?" Shinji asked as Misato walked back to the door.
The Major turned around and said, "Tomorrow's your day to clean,
isn't it?" Before he could reply, she slid the door closed,
darkening the room.
Shinji groaned and rolled over so he was facing the wall again. He
slid the earphones back in and caught the beginning of Gershwin's
Second Prelude for Piano. The piece usually conjured up an image of
an empty, abandoned city in his mind. Tonight, however, as Shinji
drifted off to sleep listening to the haunting chord progression, he
saw in his mind's eye two people on a hill watching the stars. A man
and a woman they were, and Shinji could not identify them, but he
assumed he was imagining Misato and Kaji.
Except... as Shinji slid further into his dream, it seemed that from
time to time the starlight glinted off blue eyes...
***
On the street, a man in a black trenchcoat and fedora tossed the last
bit of his unfiltered cigarette onto the sidewalk and ground it out
with his black boot. He leaned up against a flickering lamppost and
stared up at Shinji's room, noting when the light in the larger room
next to it went out. As he looked up, the yellowish illumination from
the streetlight reflected eerily from his bright green eyes.
After a moment, Demna turned away and walked down the street, his
even paces taking him right by the alert Seele operative who was
carefully scanning the street for suspicious characters. The
security agent didn't even blink as Demna casually brushed past him.
As the black-clothed man continued down the street, he muttered, "And
now, the *real* work begins. Enough meetings."
*********
So, why can't I be normal?
Special Thanks to Disaster and Silencer, who pre-read this part for
me.
Sparky
*********
"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent."--Isaac Asimov
"Ascent of the Fallen", "Project Proteus", and other Neon Genesis
Evangelion fanfiction can be read on the web at Sparky' Homepage:
http://sage_ohlmin.tripod.com/evafic.htm
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