Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Comfort and Kindness ❯ Final Ploy ( Chapter 14 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Disclaimers:
Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters, concepts, etc. are
Property of ADVision, and Gainax. I only *wish* they were mine.
If you have not read this whole fic, I do state now this is a waffy fic, with a bit of action as well!
Special thanks to Chewy, Andre Laval, and John Brown for pre-reading this chapter!
**Sorry for the long delay but i have had much happen this summer, and my creative juices has gone to other stories.
But, I promise that I will finish this and "Sibling bonds this month! Thanks to those who stuck around for the end.
dennisud

Comfort and Kindness

' ' = Mental Conversation

( ) = Thoughts by characters

" " = Dialogue by characters

Chapter # 14: Final Ploy

Now that Rei has ... recovered how will Shinji deal with the change?
Can Rei hold out much longer?
Can Touji, and Hikari find and help a depressed, and suicidal Asuka,
and what is The Fifth Child doing? Let's see now!

In Caring Hands

Shinji was looking, staring at the horizon across the new lake made by the destruction of Unit-00.
("Rei, Why did you leave me? Why?") was all Shinji could think about as he contemplated to do now.
He found out about Asuka running away, and Touji and Hikari helping with the search efforts.

He knew what she was going through. She only knew that Touji was dead,
Shinji also knew what he felt and was worried for his friend.
He worried she might do what he was thinking of doing himself.
But he didn't see himself as a strong person, so he sat and wondered what to do.
He felt awful that he wasn't helping in finding Asuka, but he simply didn't have it in him any more to do that.

"Nice breeze we have today, isn't it Mr. Ikari."
Shinji turned to who was speaking and shuddered for a minute.
He saw next to him a gangly gray-headed boy looking out onto the lake.
He had a smile on his face and was humming a familiar song.

"Who are you . . . and how do you know me?" Shinji asked as he looked at the strange boy.
Then he shivered, as the he strange boy turned to face him. He had . . . red crimson eyes.
The same as … Rei…

"I am Kaworu Nagisa, the Fifth Child, and you are the world famous Shinji Ikari, the Third Child. Am I right so far?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Ahh, what do you mean by world famous?" Shinji waited for a response.

"Well, you are famous. Many know of the three Children who are safeguarding humanity." replied the gray haired boy.

"Yeah, Well because of me, two of those children are either dead or hurt because of me."
Shinji then hung his head, silent tears issuing from his eyes. "It seems I always hurt those I care about the most."

"But, I thought the First and Second Children were alive and well. Did you not help in destroying the sixteenth angel?"

"Not really. Rei self destructed Unit-00 to keep it from hurting me." He sighed and continued to stare in front of him.
"But, didn't she survive the detonation?" Kaworu was now curious.

"Yes, and no. She is alive, but she seems to have lost her memories and doesn't recognize that . . . we were involved."

The fifth Child nodded in affirmation "You had a relationship with the first, and now she doesn't remember it."
A look of concern crossed the thin boy's face.

"She seems to have the memories, but not the emotions that are attached to them.
When I ran into her yesterday, she acknowledged we were involved, but she had no feelings towards me,
no caring for me, other than as a co-worker."
He hung his head wiping away some tears.

"I can see how that would be disheartening. But you can take solace in the fact that she lives."
He looked kindly to the distraught child.

"Yeah. I can go on hoping she can live. But with what I know now, she might not make it.
Anyway, she isn't the same girl I fell for." Shinji looked even more depressed.

"Well Shinji, I can call you that, right?" He nodded without looking up.
"Shinji, there's always something to live for. You know if you think of it, why would we live.
There wouldn't be any point would there?" Kaworu looked for a response.

"To be honest, I'm not too keen on continuing to live right now." he sighed and continued on.
"My friends are hurt, my father hates me, as I hate him. The only girl I have ever cared about in my whole life,
doesn't like me any more." He finally turned to the light skinned boy.
"The things in my life that made it worth living are either hurt, or they're not there at all."

"You have to have a little faith in . . ."
Angry Shinji interrupted him, razing his voice as he spoke.

"Faith in what, who ever sent the angels? Society? My father?
The love I don't have any more from Rei? Where can I look for this faith? Where? Tell me!"
Shinji was now seething and clenching his hands as he looked at the enigmatic boy, who still had a smile on his face.

"Faith is not found anywhere but here!" He pointed to his chest
"In your heart. If you have no faith in yourself, then you have no faith in others.
Even if many have faith in you." Shinji went from angry to confused.

"What are you talking about, no one has faith in me!" the Third Child yelled.

"Would you believe all those you named have a sense of faith in you."
Shinji looked at the boy with disbelief.

"Huh?"

Kaworu smiled again and continued,
"Would you have been here in the first place, and stayed, had your father not had some faith in your abilities?
Would the First have gotten close to you had she not had some faith in you?
Would you have had the Second and the Fourth Children as friends had they not had some faith in you?
Finally, would your guardian have been your guardian without her choosing to? Am I right?"

Shinji nodded yes.

"Has she not tried to be your friend and protector?" Shinji nodded yes for the fourth time as Kaworu finished.
"Then that alone should give you enough faith to carry on. And now you can count my faith in you as well"

"But . . . but we just met. How can you be so confident of my abilities?"

"It's quite simple, Shinji Ikari. I love you."

"WHAT? What are you talking about?"
"In these few minutes, I have found you to be a caring and kind person.
Wanting to shield others you care about from life's pain and troubles.
So much so that you hurt and make yourself responsible for those who you know and care about.
Even though most of the time you aren't responsible for what happens to them.
You have a big heart and so that is why I love you."

Shinji digested what Kaworu had said and began to understand they type of love the strange boy had for him.
That made him smile, then frown. ("Great, another person to worry about.") He said to himself.
But he smiled again.
He was still happy to have someone to talk to, even though he was even stranger than those he already knew were.
Shinji then invited Kaworu to lunch at the Geofront and they stayed together and talked for the rest of the day.

A Sister's Talk

From a vantage point 500 yards away a section 2 agent observed two women sitting on a cliff,
overlooking the remains of Tokyo-3. One was older, blond and lying on her side with her arm propping her head up.
The second figure was sitting on her knees. Both, seemingly having a picnic lunch out in the open air.
The younger woman had her head down, her blue hair covering her eyes.
The listening devices couldn't pick up their conversation, so the agent was content to trying to read lips
and keep a visual observation of the two women.
Commander Ikari had said to keep their distance to allow them to think they weren't being observed.
So he kept vigil on the two as the day rolled on.

"Ritsu, I can't take this much longer. I can't bare to see Shinji's face again, I know I'll break."
A distraught Rei Ayanami quietly said to her sister Ritsuko Akagi, Head of the E-Project and Head of the Nerv Research department.

"I know. But with the Fifth Child' scheduled to be here today, you have to try." She sighed.
"We still have to deal with the seventeenth angel. And you know who that is." Ritsuko had informed Rei of the true identity of the angel.

"Why can't we lay a trap for the angel, then he won't infiltrate the Geofront?"
Rei said in quiet hope to change her sister's mind.

"No, it would alert SEELE and the Commander. If he knew we knew of the angels true identity,
we would both be in the brig."(Or worse if I know him well enough!)

"He . . . might replace me, couldn't he?" Rei looked apprehensive, then looking into her eyes, she knew the truth.

"Almost definitely yes. That also means he'll put a bullet in my head as well."
"Not when I can stop him." Rei said with a renewed sense of determination.

"You might not be able to do much Rei. Remember who and what you are.
Even though you are powerful, you cannot be my protector. You must protect Shinji if the plan is to be successful.
So for now, we'll play along until the right time comes.
Then you will have to be strong and resist the Commander's orders."

Rei nodded to affirm what her sister had said.
"But, I need to talk to Shinji, please. He has to know about the angel."
She placed her hand on her sisters as a way to silently plead her case.

"I'll see what I can do, maybe the Sync test with the fifth child."

"Wouldn't that be taking a risk, Ritsu?"

"No, if I can get Maya to help me. Just you be ready to speak to him quickly Rei."
Ritsuko then took Rei's hand and squeezed it. "All right."

Rei said now going back into emotionless tone.
Ritsuko saw her sister's mood change, she resolved to do something.

"Oh my, how the time flew by. Let's finish our lunch and head back. You do want to see Shinji, right Rei?"
Rei answered her with her quiet soft smile and a little more pink on her cheeks.
Ritsuko smiled back, and started to prepare what she would do to help Shinji and Rei.
She hoped to pull this off without the Commanders suspecting.

The Sync Test

The Sync test was going as planned and the Commander was inwardly happy.
("Not much more time and we'll be together Yui, just a few more days.")
"Commander, the Fifth Child's tests are excellent. In fact he now has the top sync score of all the active pilots."
Ritsuko said as the Commander simply nodded.

"All right. Finish the test, debrief and send the pilot's home.
And when the second is found, run a sync test on her and the fourth child."
The Commander then left the Central Dogma command center without acknowledgement
and the command crew started the shut down process for the test.

"Pilots Ikari and Ayanami, will stay in the test plugs. Pilot Nagisa can go." Ritsuko added.

"But, why doctor?" asked a confused Makoto.

"Because there's a irregularity in their sync ratios, so they will be monitored for thirty minutes more.
Is that satisfactory, Lieutenant?"
she said in a now irritated tone.

"Y-yes ma'am, sorry Ma'am!" he turned and hurried back to his duty station.

After she turned, Ritsuko turned her attention to her sister in The Unit-00 test plug.
Ritsuko gave a look that conveyed a hidden message to the First Child.
Rei simply blinked and slightly nodded in compliance.
She then came up to Maya Ibuki's back and gently squeezed her shoulder.
She looked up at the older woman and nodded with a slight smile.
Maya quietly typed on her keyboard and then went back to what she was doing.
Ritsuko then went to another station and added some more of her own,
then she sat down and observed the pilots and their ratios, as well as keeping an eye on her deception
and on using the Magi to cover for it.
("Come on Rei, you only have 20 minutes, don't waste the time.") Ritsuko then sighed as she kept an eye on the readouts.

In her test plug, Rei was concentrating on the thought of one person. Shinji Ikari.
Her sister had told her to simply concentrate on Shinji sitting in the test plug
and being able to see him within the plugs.
It was tough because of her heritage could cause a blue pattern to appear, so she had to be careful.
So she started by calling out into that image, 'Shinji.'
She repeated this for about four minutes. The finally, an answer is heard in her head.
'Rei? is . . . is that you?'

'Shinji, can you hear me?'

'Y-yeah. But how...'

'Ritsu, told me that she would allow us a way to communicate, like this,
but it won't last so I need you to know two things. Plus don't react physically, or they may suspect.'

'Ok Rei.' There was a pause. 'Well, what are they, Rei?'

'First, I . . . do feel every emotion from all my previous memories. Shinji, I do still care for you . . .
but I have to keep this emotionless mask on so your father won't suspect that anything is wrong.'

Shinji was elated, but quickly reined in his emotions lest the techs would see this.

Then he thought of what Rei said. 'But, Rei, . . . you mean that he would hurt . . .you?'
("That, he thought, was inconceivable. Him, Asuka, or anyone that worked for Nerv,
he could see his father manipulating or even causing them to get hurt or even die for his plans.
But Rei's, his favorite? He wouldn't . . . would he?!")

'Do you think he didn't know about the sixteenth?' She paused for effect, then continued.
'He knew that whomever would go out first would be attacked and invaded.'
She felt he needed more convincing, so she let him on some more information.
'He has a copy of the Dead Sea Scrolls that help him plan out all contingencies.
He knew Shinji, and my body had died.' Shinji remembered that his mother had mentioned that to him
while he was absorbed in unit-01. Then it dawned on him. This isn't my Rei.

'But how, When . . . ! Who are you then if my Rei is dead!' He was angry.

'That body died, but my soul, my spirit was transferred to this body,
and I have had to use this emotionless mask before you and I became close, before the fifth angel.'
She paused to allow Shinji time to understand

'How can I trust you? My father might have orchestrated this whole thing.' Shinji was angry still, not convinced.

Rei sighed, then said, 'Do you remember what we talked about, while we slept together, after the fifth angel? "
Shinji tried to remember. 'Yes, I do.'

'Do you want me to recite what we said to each other? Would that prove I am Rei Ayanami? Your Rei?'

After some more contemplation Shinji said, 'Yes, Rei would do that word for word.'

{FLASHBACK-start:}
"Shinji-kun, do you view images and hear sounds while you slept?"

Smirking a little Shinji answered; "Well, Yes Rei-chan, that is a good description of a dream. So, what did you dream about ?"

"You do not understand, Shinji-kun, what you call a dream I have never had it happen before." This did confuse Shinji.

"So, your telling me that you have never had dreams while you slept, until today, is that right Rei-chan?"

"The commander and Dr. Akagi said that it was not necessary to dream, they told me to clear my thoughts and to just sleep."

"And, that's what you do Rei, you just sleep, and not dream?"

"There seemed nothing for me to dream about, until now." She said all of this in her usual monotone manner, which Shinji was becoming, use to. Shinji was becoming more aware of the little slight movements and flares of the eyes and mouth which he learned showed Rei's real mood and temperament. He caught with Rei's last statement a change in inflection followed by a slight quivering of the right side of her mouth. From his observations this meant that Rei was apprehensive that she had not dreamt before, and her mouth quivering meant to him that she was getting nervous.

"Rei-chan, can you tell me what you did dream about?" Shinji was trying to distract her from her nervousness.

"I saw a great lake with a forest all around it. You and I were having lunch, on a blanket ....... "

"That's called a picnic Rei." She gave him a slightly annoyed look for interrupting her story. "Sorry Rei-chan, go on."

".... Moreover, we were not in our standard school uniforms.
"Really, what were we wearing?" asked a now curious Shinji while she rested on his chest.

"I had a red plaid dress, with a brown turtleneck shirt. You had a blue shirt, with a gray jacket, and your normal black pants."
She then looked at Shinji. Rei asked;
"Why did you want to know Shinji-kun?"

"Well, I heard that if you dream about a relaxing place or event,
then it means that you are relaxed and from what you were saying, happy!"

"I am not sure if I was happy."

"Well, was there more to the dream Rei-chan?"

"We seemed to be talking about various things when two children came up to us demanding lunch.
I then observed you and myself making room for them and I served food from the basket next to where I was seated."

"Two, children, you said Rei?" She gave one slight nod yes. "So then what happened?"

"We ate our respective dishes and then we seem to go and play various games."

"What types of games? You mean like some of those we play in PE class?"

"Yes, exactly." She then had a slight frown after what she had said. So Shinji asked;

"What's wrong Rei-chan?" A Look of concern traveled through his face.

"I never recall myself smiling or laughing during these games while we played them in school,
but here I was laughing, and smiling? How odd." Rei still had a puzzled look when Shinji let out a slight chuckle.

"Did I say something funny, Shinji-kun?" Rei now showed slight annoyance at her friend.

"No, no, you misunderstand me Rei, I can see you doing just those things, Yes I can."

"But, I do not do this. Why should I dream about things I do not do?"

"Because deep down dreams are manifestations of what you desire Rei, even you."

"But, I don't..."

"I know you don't laugh or smile in public because you didn't see a need for it, right Rei-chan?" She nodded yes.

"But, it seems that your subconscious, or your soul, says otherwise.
In your dreams it shows you in various ways how you feel deep down inside."

After another pause of silence. "Do you understand what I'm saying Rei-chan? She nodded yes again.

{FLASHBACK-end:}

'Was that accurate, Shinji?' Rei sat in her entry plug apprehensively, and noticed she had about 3 minutes left.
She then sensed the change in Shinji's feelings from one of anger to happiness and joy.
It enveloped her with the force of a sledgehammer, almost making her emotionless mask falter.
But she kept it on while within their minds both embraced and kissed. Something neither had done since Unit-00's detonation.

'Rei, why didn't you tell me this before? Do you know how I felt?'
Shinji said as he continued to hold his image of Rei. Oh, but she did.
Feeling this within her mind, Rei finally broke down.

'Shinji, I can not do this much longer so please I will see you tonight, at your apartment.' She slowly let go of him in her mind.
Shinji understood what she meant, and smiled at her.

'Ok, I'll see you tonight. But, Rei what was the second thing you wanted to talk to me about?'

She sighed, ' The fifth child, . . . is the seventeenth Angel.' Then she felt Shinji tensing up.

But before they could deal with it, the Sync test was over. They were allowed out.
They then looked at each other. A silent acknowledgement passed between them.

Inexorable Slide

Asuka was hiding!
Hiding from section-2, hiding from Hikari who she saw and heard,
and mainly trying to hide from her inner demons now harassing her mind.
But now with no one to really love her, now that Touji was dead,
she had to deal with them, without his comfort.
Asuka then was thinking to herself.

(Asuka's POV)

What use is a pilot with zero confidence in herself and causing probably more deaths.
First her inaction caused Touji to die, then she didn't know about whether Rei was alive either.
"But Maybe he's with . . . Mama. Yeah, he's got to be there. Maybe it's time I join them.
But, I don't know. I think I still wanna stay here, and try to pilot. But why? I can't do it anymore.
Yeah, I'll just see Touji and Mama soon. Oh how tired I am.
Wait, I'll hide and sneak back to the cot in the school nurses office.
That will at least give me a place to wait until I join them."
So, she hid and kept on doing that for three straight days.
Then she started scavenging like a street animal. Slowly sinking in her delusions, fed by her inner demons.
Stealing from the backs of restaurants and then running into the nearby rubble.
The child once known as Asuka Langley Souryu was slowly losing the battle for sanity.

(Third Person POV)

Then on the third day, she was seen by Section-2 near the now broken buildings of Tokyo-3's former junior high school.
Misato was heading the search with all, her intensity and confidence.
Then when that report came in, She had an idea and found Touji nearby.
Touji and Hikari, had not gone home since Asuka disappeared.
Throughout those days of looking both had talked and settled their feelings for each other.
Now they were just good friends while both now put their utmost effort in finding Asuka.
Both had a dreaded feeling that she would do something drastic,
so they had almost exhausted themselves by the third day in trying to find her.

Both were joined the previous day by Kensuke, who when he heard the situation, came back from Tokyo-2 to help.
Though he wasn't as close to the Second Child as Hikari or Touji, he felt that he should do his part at least as a friend.
Misato smiled as she approached the trio.
"Ok, Section-2 spotted her near your old school. I want you three to go there.
I'll hold back Section-2 so you can get in there and search for her, especially you Touji."

"But, why aren't you sending in the Section-2 agents as well?"

"It's become obvious to me that Asuka can spot one a mile away.
So, only one of you three have a chance to get her back, and the more she stays out there,
the more chance she might . . . hurt herself."
The children had frightened looks as she said that. Trying to change the mood Misato continued.
"Ok, when one of you have found her, bring Touji to her immediately."

"But, why me first?" asked the fourth child.

"She ran out right after she saw the angel skewer you Eva through it's mid-section.
She probably thinks your dead, so you need to take point Pilot Suzahara. And bring her back in one piece."
He numbly nods as it dawns on him why she really ran away.

("I've got to find her, she needs to know I . . . love her. She needs to know that she's not alone").

"Ok you guys let's go!"
Both look at him with confused looks.
"Ok, ok I know I'm not Asuka, but I know we need to find her fast, right?"
Hikari, and Kensuke nodded and with a new resolve, they headed off towards their old school.

It took the trio about ten minutes to get through the shattered streets and buildings,
but they got there and fanned out but kept within shouting distance of each other.
As they got closer to the school, Kensuke then noticed a burnt out campfire. It was still warm.

"Hey guys, I found something."

As they converged on the scene, they heard a door slam across the street, in the part of the school building that was still standing. They all looked at each other, then they made their way, towards their old school.
They ran to that building and after a few minutes of talking and climbing they reached the door, it was locked.
It was the school's nurses office,
Then, they got quiet as Touji signaled that he should speak,
"Asuka, listen to me, It's Touji honey, I'm ok, I didn't get skewered by that stupid angel. I just got knocked out is all."

They waited for a reply then they heard very softly,
"Touji, is that you up there. How's Mama? Aww, don't worry my love, I'll be joining you and Mama soon, ok?"

Her voice was growing softer as she spoke. That told the three friends only one thing.
She was losing consciousness. They could think of several reasons. Then there were more moments of silence.
That was not good, so Touji and Kensuke squared up and using their shoulders, broke the door down.

Hikari stepped over the two prone friends and started to look for Asuka.
Luckily she had locked herself in the Nurse's office. As Hikari made her way towards the back of the office,
she saw Asuka, lying in the bathtub, . . . with a slit wrist.
The blood was pooling below the naked and now very pale girl. So it was a scream that alerted the two boys,
who got up and headed to the doorway where they saw that horrendous site.
Asuka was in the bathtub, which had what looked like blood at the bottom, then their attention was drawn to two things.
First, she was naked, and two she had slit her wrist.
"Oh My God!, Asuka, . . . no!" was all Touji said as he stepped towards her he took his shirt off and tore it into straight pieces.
His training kicked in.

"Kensuke, go get Misato, and an ambulance, NOW!"

The Military Otaku didn't hesitate as he ran like a roadrunner down the broken hallways
and was down on the street in less than a minute. That left Hikari, and Touji to help Asuka.
He looked at his friend with grave concern. He was seeing the life bleed out of the girl he had finally fallen in love with being helped by another who cared for him probably as much as he for Asuka.

He cleared his mind and focused on the current situation.
"Ok, Hikari, I'm going to stop the flow of blood with these strips from my shirt, then you help her get dressed
Call me back in when your have her dressed and we'll get her down stairs. OK?"

Hikari nodded then asked;
"Hey, how do you know about First aid?" as Touji was applying the pieces of his shirt around Asuka's wrist
as Hikari was separating her clothes.

"After Mari (Touji's sister) was hurt, I took a first aid course. Since when she gets out of the hospital,
I want to be ready, just in case."
Hikari smiled, One of the reasons she had fallen for the Lanky jock was his big heart,
wanting to help people, even now she admired and cared for him.
But she knew she had to move on and focus on her friend Asuka, and the hard path she would be walking.

"Well, when we get her out of here, I'll tell her that her knight in shining armor came to save her from herself."
She smiled, but that left her face at the look Touji's face had shown.

"Oh, You'll need to take a number, cause when she wakes up, I'm gonna chew her out trying to do this stupid . . . " He choked up.
Hikari patted him on the back trying to help him relieve the guilt he was having.
Then he composed himself and they got her up on her weak legs.

As they were preparing to walk her out, Hikari said, "She seems to have more demons than she can handle."
She looked intently at Touji.
"She'll need her friends to stand by her. So be her friend first, then you can chew her out about what she did.
Heck I'll even help you when you do, but always be her friend first."

Touji's anger left him, replaced with the anguish of not being there for her before.
She had tried to kill herself, because she thought there was no one to love her, to care for her.
He knew his feelings now. Now he decided, through hell or high water, he was going to be there for her.
He was not sure if he could help her, but he was gonna try.
But now he, and Hikari were there for her, literally and emotionally.
So, after Hikari helped a groggy and bloodied Asuka get dressed, Touji was left to think how he would help her,
the girl who had won his heart.

First, he wasn't going to leave her or Mari, except for sleeping and bathing.
He would split his time between them. Maybe if he asked Misato,
they could have adjoining rooms. That would be easier.
Next he would support her through the counciling that was sure to come,
but most of all he would let her know clearly that he would be there for her period.
Then Hikari calling for him disturbed his thoughts.

"Ok, She's ready, come back here and help me, Touji."
He was startled, but then composed himself.

"Ok, I'm coming."
The site was quite less disturbing, but it still wrenched Touji's gut at Asuka's weakness and venerability
He then gingerly took a non-coherent Asuka by her left arm,
Hikari already had her right and they slowly helped the weak, groggy Asuka down the rickety stairs
of their half-demolished school.

By the time they reached the broken street in front of the school, Misato, Ritsuko
and the Nerv ambulance and paramedics were waiting.
They placed Asuka on a stretcher and wheeled her into the ambulance.
Hikari, joined by Kensuke stood right next to a now saddened Touji Suzahara
Ritsuko got into the back of the ambulance and as they were closing the doors,
Touji called out, "Can I come with her . . . Please?"

Ritsuko seemed to stop for a few moments determining the sincerity in the lanky boys' eyes.
Then she smiled. "I don't see any reason an Eva pilot can't accompany another. It might help her recover faster."
Touji smiled, quickly jumped into the ambulance and sat in a seat next to Asuka's head and held her free hand as they left.
Misato then piled Hikari and Kensuke into her car and followed her to the Infirmary.

Protect Shinji

It was late and all the commotion with finding and saving Asuka had died down.
Rei was sitting, waiting to escort Touji to his apartment as per Misato's orders.
Shinji had been sent home by Misato to cook dinner and clean the house.
She had figured that would keep him busy so he won't worry about Asuka.
But it did delay Rei's meeting with Shinji until she took Touji home.
Rei, however was told to wait here. So she did as she was told, when a shadow enveloped her.
She looked up and saw the Fifth Child, Kaworu Nagisa.
Though not reacting outwardly, she cringed inwardly, as she knew his real purpose.

"Well, the First Child, here to escort the Fourth home I'm assuming." he said with a smile on his face.
Rei slowly stood up, stoically facing the one person that could be closest to her physically
. . . yet she knew he was different in their thinking.

"Correct, I am waiting for Pilot Suzahara, as he finishes his visit with Pilot Soryu."
He then gazed at her with the same crimson red eyes she had. "You know, we are more alike than anyone else."

"How so?" Rei asked as this peaked her interest.

"Well, I'm sure we'll know soon." He paused then asked, "How is the Second Child?"

Rei quietly contemplated her answer. "Due to her loss of blood, Asuka has not woken up."

"You called her by her first name, yet earlier you used her sir-name. Why?"

"She . . . is my friend, and friends are allowed to call each other by their first names. That is expected in our culture."

"Ah, well then, I am correct in calling Shinji by his first name." She gasped, her iron grip on her emotions failing.
"As I'm sure you do." He smiled more. Rei knew what he was doing.
Gauging her reactions to determine her relationship to Shinji.
She started to get nervous. ("What's of he was going to use Shinji to fulfill his purpose?")
But, then the conversation ceased as Touji exited the room.

He turned to Rei, very distraught. "She isn't waking up Rei! She's in a coma and the doctor can't say it's just the blood loss."

"Then what is their prognosis, Pilot Suzahara." asked a curious Kaworu Nagisa.
An emotional Touji turned to the strange looking boy
"Who the hell are you?" He then looked at Rei, then Kaworu, and then back to Rei.
"Is this your brother Rei? I didn't know you had a brother?"

"No, He is Kaworu Nagisa, the Fifth Child." She said with her emotionless mask back on.

"Oh," He nodded to Kaworu, then turned to Rei again.
"Ah, listen Rei, can you see yourself home, I got permission to bed down on the floor, so I can be here when Asuka wakes up."

"But, Major Katsuragi, told me to escort you . . . "

"Rei, Please? Be a friend, and go home without me. I'll be here tomorrow morning to shower and eat, ok?

Just go by the apartment and let Shinji know Please?" Touji looked his puppy eyed best to sway the enigmatic girl.

Rei looked down then up again. "Have a good night Touji, I'll see you tomorrow."
Then Touji did something that Rei normally wouldn't have put up with. He hugged her. "Thanks!"
Was all he said as he quickly turned to make his way back into Asuka's hospital room.

"Don't worry I'll escort her home. Have a good night Pilot Suzahara." said Kaworu.

Rei looked at the Fifth Child with apprehension. Would he and her have to fight each other on their way home, or did he really want to escort her home? She did the logical thing, she asked.

"Why did you offer to escort me home?" Rei waited for a response.
"Because Shinji wants to see you and if I escort you, The Commander will be confused.
They will then start focusing on me for the rest of the night, and should leave you two alone to talk."

Rei was simply dumbfounded. Why would the Seventeenth Angel intentionally allow her to stay with Shinji alone?
It was obvious to her that he had feelings for Shinji. She had found out about Shinji's friendship with the fifth child,
so logically he would want her as far away from Shinji as possible. So why was he doing the opposite?

"Why are you allowing me to be with Shinji, alone tonight?" Rei asked the obvious.

"Because it makes him happy. And I want to make him happy. That alone is enough for you to know."

Though a smile still was on his face, it was obvious in looking in his eyes that the threat was clear to her.
"I care for him, and will protect him with my life." Rei said in a quiet but clear voice. Making it clear to him of her feelings.

"Ah, good, we agree on something." Was the last thing he said as the two light skinned children made their way out of Nerv's
Infirmary, and the Geo-front itself.

It took about twenty minutes of silent walking as both children stared straight ahead.
They even scared some of the people they met along the way as they seemed like ghosts in the moon's light.
They eventually found themselves at the apartment door.

"Well, good night First Child. Give my regards to Shinji."

"I will give him your regards, Fifth Child." She then swiped her card key and opened the door.

"Keep him safe, Ayanami. The time will soon come upon us when he will need to be protected."

"I will, Nagisa. Make sure you are not the one to hurt him." She made herself clear, then closed the door.

Kaworu the stood there, not moving for a few minutes until he could hear the two pilots talking.
He then said quietly, almost in a whisper, "I'm sorry Shinji."
A single tear tracked down his cheek as he then turned and left.

Chapter # 15: Neo-Instrumentality
A new view to the final act of Evangelion. All the players are ready, but how will it all end ?
Only two chapters left! The Seventeenth angel leads to the Final Battle of Tokyo-3, while Third Impact looms.
How Will Yui Ikari's plan succeed?