From: Chris Burke Subject: [Eva][FanFic] Rei's Birthday Present - Part 1 -- SPOILER ALERT - the following fanfiction contains spoilers. It is recommended that you see the entire series before reading this fic. -- This fan fiction is adapted from Neon Genesis Evangelion, produced by Gainax. All characters herein are the sole property of Gainax, and no claim on them is made by this author; etc. etc. -- Rei's Birthday Present, part 1 by Chris Burke -- Misato sighed. She was sitting at the dining room table, nursing a beer. In front of her was a massive pile of papers. Perhaps mountain would have been more accurate. Certainly not anything so organized as a stack. The haphazardly arranged papers covered the majority of the table's surface, and rose to a tall peak in the center. Some had spilled off the slope onto the floor. On the chair next to her was a small, neatly arranged stack - the 'out box'. She finished reading a damage claim for a public building that Unit 01 had crashed into during the last battle, and signed at the bottom. She calmly placed it beside her, increasing the size of the out box by fifty percent. , she mused, Though she didn't have to bring this pile home with her. It would have been faster and easier to do it in her office at Nerv HQ, where there weren't distractions like the beer in her hand, and of course... "Mein Gott en Himmel!" "Oops! I'm sorry Asuka!" "Stupid Shinji! My shirt is all wet! I've got to go change, now. Be more careful when you're doing the dishes. You're so clumsy!" "Then don't sneak up on me!" "I wasn't sneaking! I was trying to get a glass of water. I didn't realize I'd end up wearing it!" Misato sighed again. Of course it would have been easier to do it all at her office. The whole environment was better. An official desk, made solely for doing this kind of work at. Wearing a uniform helped, too. Easier to work when dressed for it, which is why she still hadn't changed. The office was also much more peaceful... "And what was with that dinner you cooked last night? Could it have been any more burnt? It was like one of Misato's Instant Tragedies!" Misato thought. "I'm sorry Asuka!" "You already said you were sorry for that last night! If you have to apologize for everything, at least you could only do it once. You're pathetic!" "Then why did you bring it up again?" "To demonstrate what a loser you are!" The continuing argument grew in volume, which meant it was coming closer. It also meant it was even less likely Misato could get any work done. Still, she had no choice but to do it here. Or rather, she had chosen to have no choice. After the last time she had left the two of them alone all night, Ritsuko had made a few pointed comments about what two bored, unchaperoned teenage hormone factories might have done to pass the time. Misato had tried to laugh it off, saying that they were always at each other's throats. Ritsuko's silence had left ample time for Misato to consider all the possible ways to be at someone's throat... Misato shuddered, and renewed her resolve to never leave them alone again. "Misato! I shouldn't have to cook tonight because Shinji ruined last night! It didn't count." "I already said I was sorry!" "If you're sorry, then you should be grateful for a chance to redeem yourself," Asuka declared triumphantly. "But... that's not fair!" They were surprisingly easy to tune out with a little effort, Misato discovered. She had always wondered how a mother could be walking through a store calmly looking at merchandise with an air raid siren in human form holding her hand. Now she knew it was just a matter of learning from experience the correct frequencies to filter. A definite survival skill. Nevertheless, she needed to pay attention to resolve at least this facet of the argument. "Asuka will cook tonight," she said. "But Misato!" Asuka whined. An Asuka whine was a unique form of expression. It was more similar in tone and intent to an ultimatum than a traditional whine. The primary difference was that the ultimatum was implied by context. "You agreed to the schedule, now stick with it." "Humph." Asuka folded her arms across her chest. "So I guess this means I can burn dinner whenever I want, then?" "But you won't, will you?" Misato said over the rim of her beer. Asuka did a double take, then tossed her head. "Of course not! I'm not incompetent like this pathetic excuse for a man." "Hey! What does cooking have to do with..." Her intervention no longer needed, Misato stopped paying attention. Her mind wandered. she thought. She looked out the window. Or would have, except her view was blocked by a white hillock made of paper. She picked up a group of papers held together with a paper clip. The latest synch test reports. She wasn't sure why Ritsuko always gave them to her; she wasn't the one who understood all this nonsense. Still, Ritsuko would know if she didn't read them. She flipped to the next page. Small fluctuations in synch ratios were normal, or so she was told. Certainly nothing to bother mentioning. It wouldn't do Shinji any good to hear about the drop, normal or not. Asuka she expected more from. She flipped the page. Misato took a closer look at the chart. It showed a sharp climb up from zero at her first synchronization attempt, then a long flat region, then a long period of steady growth up to the present, and starting -- she looked at the dates -- just after the Fifth Angel. Not as dramatic as Shinji's growth, nor as high as Asuka's consistent performance, but growth nevertheless. Three and a half in one week was certainly noteworthy. She tapped her pen against her lips, and thought of what she should do. Maybe she should say something to Rei, congratulate her on her improvement. It was part of her job, after all, to see after the morale of the pilots. She thought about it... Her saying "Way to go Rei! Good job!", and Rei just standing there, or saying "Hai" in that emotion-less voice. , she thought. She continued to look at the sheet, letting her eyes lazily scan it as she thought. She sat up. "This is interesting," she said aloud. "Ahh! Asuka, stop!" "You pervert! You know you tried to get my shirt wet on purpose!" Asuka had Shinji's head locked tightly under her arm and was rubbing his head with a knuckle mercilessly. She looked up from her task. "What is?" She let go of Shinji. He stumbled back, and gave Asuka a nasty look. "It looks like Rei's birthday is in three days." Misato turned the sheet away, so Asuka wouldn't see the score. Asuka started. "What? Wonder Girl has a birthday? I always figured she was grown in a vat or something... or do they get birthdays too?" "You're so mean, Asuka..." Shinji said. Some back mental process in Asuka's brain chose that moment to alert her to what portion of her anatomy she had, just moments before, been pressing Shinji's head into. "And you better not have enjoyed that!" Shinji's confused, stammered response was automatic. "I... I'm sorry!" "You did! You pervert!" She grabbed Shinji, punishing him with another noogie. Misato frowned. According to Ritsuko, in order to be even eligible for piloting an Eva, you had to have been conceived on the same night as the Second Impact. Very close to the exact moment, in fact. Something about the energies present at that time. There were other factors in piloting Eva, but without that one thing there was no chance. Taken along with the death toll from the Impact, and it was little surprise that potential pilots were so hard to find. Shinji was born a little over thirty-five weeks after Second Impact, fifteen years ago. Asuka was born fifteen days after him. There had been a party for each of them, with all their friends from school and anyone from Nerv who cared to show up -- Kaji and Ritsuko, of course. Normally, two parties in rapid succession would do noticeable damage to a small apartment such as Misato's. However, as the process of having a party included cleaning up before and after, Misato's apartment came through the ordeal in substantially better shape than it had begun. There had been many parties around then. It seemed like Shinji's entire class had their birthdays all within three weeks of each other. To make sure everyone's party was properly attended, some had to double or triple up. It had been a hectic time, at least for the kids. The last party had been two months ago. Misato was again reminded of a mystery that she hadn't thought about for some time. Who was Ayanami Rei? Her parents were unknown. She couldn't check the birth certificate. It wasn't classified; it just didn't exist. No password or security breach could expose what wasn't there. In fact all of her records had been destroyed. It was as though the girl hadn't existed until she walked through the doors of the junior high school. It was just like Ritsuko to do this to her. Tell her about the requirements for an Eva pilot then give her the printouts with Rei's date of birth on them, probably at the same time. As if her friend was throwing these mysteries in her face, daring her to figure them out. Ritsuko probably knew, but she never let on, other than these damned... Wait... Someone was talking to her. "Hmm?" she said, turning off the filters and looking up into Asuka's glaring face. Misato thought vaguely. "I _said_ what are we going to do about Wonder Girl's birthday?" She hadn't thought about it. She hadn't known about Rei's birthday until just now, but she hadn't even considered the possibility. Even with all of those birthday parties, it had never occurred to her that maybe at some point Rei would need one too. That was the thing about Rei -- you didn't think about her. Everything she did seemed to say that it wasn't _necessary_ to think about her. Misato still felt kinda bad about not doing it anyway. "Hrm... We could have a party? Here, of course," she offered. "Um..." Shinji began uncomfortably. "I don't think she'd really appreciate a party..." "Well, you outta know," Asuka said, a wicked smile on her face, "since you're so _close_ to the First Child." There was an emphasis on the word 'close' that made Shinji blush. "It's not like that!" Asuka had a point though, Misato thought. Shinji was probably the closest one to Rei, outside of the Commander. "You don't think a party would be nice?" Misato said to Shinji. "Maybe she just never had one before." Shinji cringed slightly, and didn't answer immediately. Misato asked him again, but he didn't hear. He was lost internally, thinking of the time two months ago. -- Shinji ran out of the school, and looked down the street. There was Ayanami, two blocks away. She always came to school early - at least earlier than he did - and left as soon as the bell rang. He'd only stopped to talk to Touji for a moment, and already she was almost out of sight. He started to run. "Ayanami!" he called out when he was less than a block behind her. She stopped and turned. "Ayanami," he said, catching up to her. He smiled. "Hello, Ikari-kun," Rei said. His smile widened. The simple greeting was more than most people could expect from Rei. Ever since that day, though, he had received such small acknowledgments. Greeting him in the hallway before class; glancing sideways at him as they walked side by side toward the Eva cages for testing; waiting for him to catch up to her when he called her name. Tiny things, but they meant a lot to Shinji. That day, when she had smiled at him. He could still remember clearly how her face had lit up with it. The memory was one of his warmest since he had come to Tokyo-3. It made him feel good about himself, for having caused it. Hopeful, as well. If someone as alone as her, seemingly so much more alone than he was, could find happiness, even for just a moment... Shinji started, realizing he had been staring at her. His smile dropped. It didn't help that Rei was staring back. His brain began to shut down. "Er... Um..." Rei was still standing there, looking at him. She looked slightly annoyed. His eyes widened in alarm when he realized this wasn't likely to change soon. He had forgotten why he had stopped her. "I ah... I..." His brain tried to recover from its embarrassment. "I wanted to say..." His hand patted his pocket. There was something in it. "Wanted to give you..." He pulled a folded piece of thick paper out of his pocket. He looked at it, blankly. Breaking eye contact seemed to revive his brain somewhat. "Ah, I... I'm having a birthday party tomorrow..." he began. "tomorrow is my birthday," he added, cringing as he said it. He held out the card to her. "I want you to come to my birthday party," he finished with more confidence. She took the card and examined it. "A birthday party?" "Yes! Can you come?" he asked, remembering with some trepidation her frequent absences. She looked up at him, then back at the card. "I will come." "Great!" he said, smiling again. With that he left in the direction of the apartment. It would have been easier to give it to her in class, when he had given everyone else their invitations. He couldn't do that though. People would get the wrong idea. They always did. It seemed like every time he talked to her, someone would whisper about it. Maybe because he was the only one who ever did. No, this was definitely the best way. -- The night of the party Shinji stood in the doorway, greeting the guests. "Hey, Shinji!" "Hey, Touji!" he smiled as his friend entered the apartment with a small box in his hand. "Where's the Class Rep?" "Why the hell should I know that?" Touji answered angrily. "Okay, just asking," Shinji replied, trying to hold in his mirth. "You can put it over there," he said gesturing toward a growing pile of gift-wrapped boxes. Touji said something as he left down the hall, but Shinji didn't hear it. Standing in the doorway was Ayanami. "Hello, Ikari-kun," she said. "Hi, Ayanami." He smiled at her. Shinji noticed that her hands were empty. he thought, trying to keep his disappointment from showing on his face. "Eh... I have to greet the guests. Just go in and get comfortable." She nodded and walked past him. "Hey, Kensuke! There's no Eva's in here, so you can put away the camera..." After all the guests were in, Shinji stood around socializing. Being the "guest of honor" meant that everyone wanted to talk with him. Kensuke and Touji were of course by his side most of the night (which seemed to annoy Hikari). Asuka was a little friendlier than normal, but of course demanded his complete attention. Even people he didn't know very well but had invited out of politeness were talking to him. Which left him no time to talk to Ayanami. He looked away from his largely one-sided conversation with Kensuke on the relative merits of hand-held versus integrated weaponry for the Evas to find her. She was sitting in a corner on a hard folding chair, one of the extras they had borrowed from a Nerv projection room. She was holding a half-empty glass of punch and nibbling on a cracker. Her eyes met his as soon as he looked her way. He smiled helplessly, then turned back to answer Hikari's inquisition as to whether he was enjoying the party or not. Opening presents was worse, because of course she didn't have one. None of the gifts were very large; having so many birthdays in a row would break any junior high student's bank. A couple manga, a gift certificate for music that two people had gone in on, a shot glass, an eight by eleven print of Unit 01 leaping over a hill (from Kensuke). The whole time Ayanami didn't move from her chair in the corner. No one seemed to notice, which was good. After that, the party reformed into smaller groups, which gave him a moment to go over to her. "Hey, Ayanami," he said. When she didn't answer, he became more uncomfortable. "Um... how are you enjoying the party?" he asked, feeling stupid as he said it. "It is very loud," she said. Shinji couldn't help but smile, remembering making the same observation himself to Misato. "You get used to it after a while." "I have not," she answered. "Ah, it takes a while." He grabbed another chair and sat down. "It took me a while, anyway." Ayanami's look was a question. "Well, I didn't used to like parties either. But once I went to a few, made some friends, I got used to the noise. Mostly I had just felt left out." She seemed to consider this. She opened her mouth to speak, but never got the chance. "Come here, stupid!" Asuka shouted, grabbing Shinji's arm and pulling him off the chair. He looked back at Ayanami as he stumbled away after the Second Child. The rest of the night he had been unable to go back there. Every time he managed to glance over at the lonely corner, she was looking back at him. At the end of the night, he was showing everyone out. Ayanami was the last one to go. She stopped briefly in the doorway. "Ayanami... Thanks for coming... I'm... sorry," he said, apologizing for something he wasn't sure of. "Goodbye," was her only response before she walked away. -- Shinji returned from his recollection. "No," Shinji said, "a party is definitely the wrong thing to do." "Oh, okay then," Misato said, sounding disappointed. "Well, what are we going to do instead?" "I don't know," Shinji said. He felt bad, shooting down Misato's idea without having any of his own. "We have to at least get her a present," Misato said matter-of-factly. "Any suggestions?" Again Shinji had no answers. "You two come up with something," Asuka declared, apparently annoyed with the conversation. "I'm going to get my water then go to my room." She turned away. Misato leaned back. "Hmm... Well, we have two days to think about it. If you come up with anything, let me know. I'll do the same." "Uh... Okay," Shinji agreed. That settled, Misato went back to the onerous task of sifting through a week's worth of papers. -- "This is going to be good," Shinji said. Three days had passed. He was sitting in the back seat of Misato's car, on their way to Ayanami's apartment. "Was she in school today?" Misato asked, taking a turn at high velocity. "Yes!" he said, unable to hold on for dear life with his hands full. "Did she go home?" "I think so. And could you slow down? It's hard to hold on when you drive like this!" In the rear-view mirror he saw her stick her tongue out at him. Earlier in the day, while he was at school, his cell phone had rang. It had taken him a moment to realize what the unfamiliar sound was. When he had picked it up, Misato's voice had answered. "Hey Shinji-kun! Remember how you were telling me that Rei's apartment is all empty and that she's always alone?" "Yeah..." he'd answered. "Well, I had a great idea! Listen to this..." "Misato, that's so expensive!" he had said, quietly, to keep his classmates from hearing. "Hey, do you think a party is cheap? You can go in with me. Ask Asuka too." Shinji had to admit, it was a good idea. He held the present up in front of him, and grinned. He couldn't wait to give it to her. The car lurched to a stop, nearly causing him to drop the gift. "We're here!" Misato said. "Put it in the box and come on." -- Ayanami Rei entered her apartment, shutting the door behind her. She was tired. School was as always uneventful and the lecture a repeat of Second Impact horrors, but she didn't need the professor to keep her mind occupied. In addition, she had gone into NERV early to meet with Dr. Akagi. She had finished in time to attend school still, but the effects of the tests were still lingering. She took off her shoes and walked into the bedroom. She took a beaker off of her refrigerator, and went to the bathroom to fill it. Returning to the refrigerator, she used the water to take her pills, one from each bottle. Finish her schoolwork, make a dinner of ramen, read some of the book she had gotten from the library, and then sleep. Then another day would follow much like this one, assuming no Angel attacks or new requirements of her by the Commander. Laying on her bed, she had just begun to start her schoolwork when there was a knock on the door. "Ayanami!" came a voice. Muffled, but clearly Ikari's. She got up and went to the door. She opened it. Standing there, with a huge smile on his face, was Shinji. Next to him stood Katsuragi, also beaming. "Happy birthday, Ayanami Rei!" they yelled in unison. In his hands, Ikari was holding a large cardboard box, with holes in the side and top. A red paper bow was taped to the top. In Misato's arms were a small green bag and a larger one which was labeled "Puppy Chow". From the box came a scratching noise, and a small whimper. Rei frowned. -- end part 1 first posted 6/8/1999 wyrm@engin.umich.edu http://www.umich.edu/~wyrm/abp -- Thanks go to Daniel Snyder for providing inspiration and feedback, not to mention good things to read while I was experiencing writer's block. From: wyrm@engin.umich.edu Subject: [EVA][FanFic] Rei's Birthday Present part 2 -- SPOILER ALERT - The following fanfiction contains spoilers. It is advised that you see the entire series before reading this fic. -- This fan fiction is adapted from Neon Genesis Evangelion, produced by Gainax. All characters thereof are the sole property of Gainax, and no claim on them is made by this author. -- Previous parts can be found at: http://www.umich.edu/~wyrm/abp/fanfic.html Rei's Birthday Present, part 2 by Chris Burke -- Shinji stood in front of the open door to Rei's apartment. Next to him stood Misato. In the doorway was Rei. She was looking at the large cardboard box in Shinji's arms, her mouth turned down in the faintest of frowns. "Um... Can we come in?" Shinji asked, nervously. He had many expectations when he knocked on the door, but Rei's current expression was not one of them. Rei stepped aside to let them pass. They walked past her and into the bedroom. Shinji set the box down in the center of the room, and turned to smile at Rei who came into the room after them. "This is her room? What a dump." Misato's muttered comment caused Shinji's smile to twitch. He hoped Rei didn't hear. She didn't appear to, though Shinji had to admit that didn't mean much. After a moments silence punctuated by the sounds of construction, she spoke. "What is this?" she asked, her mouth turned down slightly. "We brought you a present," Shinji said, gesturing at the box at his feet. "A present?" She looked down at the box, which made another whimpering sound. Her mouth straightened. "A birthday present," Misato said, coming to stand next to Shinji. "For you birthday," she said when Rei didn't respond. This statement too was met with silence. "Hello, Rei? Today is your birthday?" Misato said, incredulous. "My... birthday?" Rei said quietly. Shinji thought he heard an odd tone in her voice, but didn't know what it meant. Shinji couldn't believe it. Surely his father would have... "Just open the box, Rei," Misato said tersely, interrupting Shinji's thoughts. Obediently, Rei stepped forward and knelt in front of the box. Shinji quickly sat down cross-legged nearby, between Rei and Misato. He grinned and leaned forward in anticipation as she lifted the lid. Rei looked into the box. Inside was a small dog, looking back up at her with wide brown eyes. From head to tail it was less than a foot long, most of that being taken up by its narrow body. Its legs were stubby even in relation to its small frame. Its head, too large for the small body, was topped with large pointed ears. That and the narrow muzzle lended a fox-like appearance. Its short fur was brown and white in large patches. The puppy wagged its tail, and barked. Rei turned a questioning look on Shinji. "It's your present, Rei," he said, trying to reassure her with his smile. "It's a corgi," he added, even though the word held little meaning for him. Rei looked at him, then at the bag of dog food at Misato's feet, then back at the dog. "I am to care for it, then?" The frown had returned. "Geeze, Rei, I'm not ordering you to," Misato said. She sat down on the floor, crossing her legs in front of her. "We just thought you'd like a pet. You know, someone to keep you company. It's so gloomy here." She gestured to encompass the entire apartment. Rei looked down at the dog, as though not quite sure what to do with it. The puppy, however, had its own ideas. It bunched up its long body and short legs, and leapt out of the box onto Rei's lap. Without hesitation it leaped again towards the pale girl's face. Reflexively Rei leaned back away from the canine projectile. Already off balance, the impact of the puppy's small mass against her chest was enough to send her over backward. She landed with a flop, knees in the air, dog perched on her chest and licking her face with vigor. Misato burst out laughing. Shinji joined her, and turned his head to avoid seeing something he shouldn't. The sound reflected off the bare walls, brightening the atmosphere of the otherwise dark room. "Rei, I think she likes you!" Misato laughed. At the sound of Misato's voice the dog looked up. It hopped off Rei and bounded over to Misato. "Oh no you don't!" Misato said cheerfully, catching the pup when it leapt up toward her face. She held it in one hand and stroked it with the other. "Such a cute puppy!" Rei sat up and wiped her face with the back of her hand. Shinji looked over at her, still chuckling. He answered her confused expression with a shrug. He turned back to Misato, who was struggling to hold the wiggling puppy. "Hey, let me hold her." Misato handed the puppy over to Shinji, who took it in both hands. He held it up to his face and let it lick him. He laughed at the tickling sensation and coo-ed "Good dog." He set it down on his lap and stroked its back. "Hey," Misato said with a girlish giggle, "you're keeping her from her mother." "Right," Shinji said, and held it out at arms length for Rei. She looked at it warily, as though it may have been poisonous. "Go on, take it," he encouraged. Hesitantly she reached out. At Shinji's nod of approval, she grabbed the pup from his hands. It wriggled in her grasp, and to keep from dropping it she pulled it up against her. Still for not a moment, it rolled over and stood up on her arms. This time she didn't back away when it's face approached hers. It began to lick her face. Misato leaned back on her hands, laughing again. "Well, while you two get to know each other... Shinji, why don't you show her what else we got." "Okay," he said, and took hold of the smaller bag. "There's the food, of course. Here's a chew toy," he said, pulling out a smooth white bone-shaped toy. "Water and food dishes, leash, another chew toy." Rei watched over the head of the dog as Shinji added a green rubber frog to the pile. It squeaked when he set it down. "A book, collar, dog tag, ball, and... another chew toy?" He raised an eyebrow at the yellow rubber duck, but set it down with the other items. The dog, apparently satisfied with the coating of slobber on Rei's white skin, jumped down off her arms. It scampered over to the pile and grabbed the rubber frog in its teeth. It padded back to Rei, and climbed onto her lap. "We got a license," Misato said, "and she's already had all her shots. So you don't need to worry about that." She glanced around the room, as though looking for something. Rei nodded. The animal in her lap chewed on the frog enthusiastically. She kept her hands at her sides, away from it. "Just to warn you -- she had just started house training when we got her. So you will have to handle that." Misato tapped her chin. "That's in the book, right Shinji-kun?" "Ah... Yes, I think so," he answered. "Good. She has no other training yet either. She's three months old, though, and this breed is supposed to be easy to train, so that's no problem." Misato shifted uncomfortably. "Ah... Ayanami?" Shinji said concernedly. "What are you going to do with it while you are at school?" Misato answered for her. "She'll have to leave it here alone. So you'd better get on that house-training, or you'll have a mess, Rei." Shinji looked at Misato, then at Rei and the dog. Taking care of a dog sounded like a lot of work. He began to suspect that what was supposed to be a gift was actually just a burden. He didn't want to place any more burdens on Rei. "Ah... Ayanami... are you...?" He tried to find a voice for his concerns. "Are you up to all this? I mean, are you sure you can handle it?" "I will," she answered. "Of course she can, Shin-kun," Misato said, waving her hand. "Taking care of a puppy isn't that hard." This didn't reassure Shinji much. He didn't think Rei knew what was involved. With her treating it like an assignment, she would agree to it regardless. He was not sure if Misato really knew much about taking care of dogs, either. Pen Pen didn't count, given the degree of self-sufficiency the penguin showed. "Rei," Misato said, closing her eyes and putting her fingertips to her temple, "you can touch her, you know. She isn't going to bite, as long as you are nice to her." Slowly Rei placed one of her hands on the dog's back. As soon as she touched it, the dog dropped its chew toy and twisted around to lick her hand. She brought up her other hand and began to lightly stroke the animal's fur. At the sight, Shinji felt his spirits rise. He was reminded of why he had thought this was the perfect gift for the quiet girl, and his worries vanished. Even if taking care of the puppy was a burden, wouldn't that be offset by what was happening right now? He believed -- had to believe -- that they were doing the right thing. Conviction restored, Shinji watched Rei in silence. The repetitive clanging of a nearby pile-driver filled the small apartment. The metallic, rhythmic cacophony set the peaceful image of a small girl petting a puppy into sharper relief for Shinji, making it seem more precious. He wanted to stay here, to watch this first contact for hours. "Well!" Misato's voice cut sharply into Shinji's nearly meditative state. "We'd better get going, don't you think, Shinji?" She stood up abruptly. "Ah... I guess so." It hadn't really been a question. He wasn't quite sure why she wanted to leave so suddenly, but he got up regardless. "Have fun with your new friend, Rei," Misato said as she passed by the girl without looking at her. Shinji looked from Misato's retreating back down to Rei. She looked up at him. "Ah... I'll see you in school tomorrow," he said. Ayanami's gaze dropped back down to her lap, where the puppy was now lying still under her touch, eyes half closed. "Goodbye, Ikari-kun." Seeing Shinji coming, Misato turned from where she had been waiting to open the apartment door. She ushered Shinji out, and was about to follow when she hesitated. With one hand on the door, she called back into the room. "Rei?" "Yes, sir?" the soft answer came. "Your last synch test showed you up three and a half points. That's outstanding, Rei. Keep up the good work." "Yes, sir." Misato sighed in exasperation. She stepped out of the apartment, and shut the door behind her. "Let's go, Shinji," she said, and began walking briskly down the hallway. Shinji followed after a moments hesitation, and had to run to catch up. They passed the elevator, which was out of order as it had been the last time Shinji had been there months ago. "Three and a half? That's pretty good," he said conversationally. Shinji looked up at Misato's hard-set jaw before she started down the stairwell, taking the steps two at a time. They had nearly descended all four floors when Shinji called out "Misato-san!" He was winded from keeping up with his speeding guardian. "What, Shinji-kun?" she said over her shoulder, not slowing down. He followed her down the hallway on the ground floor and out the front door into the waning afternoon sunlight. "Misato, I'm sure..." He paused to catch his breath while Misato walked around her car which was parked in front of the building. She opened the door and got in. Shinji sat down after Misato opened the door for him. "I'm sure Rei meant to thank you. She was just kinda surprised that's all." "What?" Misato said, starting the car and tearing away from the derelict building. "Oh, I don't really care about that." "You don't?" "No, not at all. I mean, this is Rei we're talking about, right?" Shinji looked over at her, noticed her expression had softened. "I didn't do it for thanks. I did it because you thought it was the right thing to do, and partly because it makes me feel better." "Oh... You left so suddenly, and you looked kinda upset... I thought..." "Oh, no." Misato laughed. "I just had to get out of there before I got a migraine. The noise was driving me crazy! Is it always like that?" "I've only been there once before!" Shinji said defensively. "But... it was like that last time, too." "How can she stand it?" Shinji shrugged. "So, do you think she liked her present?" He sighed. "No... Not yet anyway. It will probably take her a while." He looked out the window at the tall white buildings of Tokyo-3, gleaming orange as the sun began to fall. "But I'm sure someday she'll be really happy we got her that puppy." Misato was satisfied with the answer and fell silent. Shinji let himself drift off into a daydream, in which a smiling Rei told him how grateful she was for their gift, how happy she was not to be alone any longer. He was startled out of his reverie when he heard Misato mutter distantly: "What an awful place to wake up with a hangover." -- When Rei heard the door to her apartment close, she let out a nearly inaudible sigh. The unnoticed tension in her shoulders eased. The ordeal was over, and she was alone again. Except she was not. She looked down, and noticed as if for the first time her hand petting the dog. Startled, she moved her hand away. She looked at her hand, wondering what had possessed it. She could still feel the fine texture of the fur lingering on her fingertips. she rationalized. Satisfied for the moment, she considered the animal, which had fallen asleep on her lap. Here, completely unexpected, was a change in her life. This did not alarm her. Change was inevitable, and must be dealt with when it came. She was not yet sure how large a change the animal represented. Most likely not as large as when she had moved into the apartment and started going to school. Not as large as when the Eva project had entered its main phase. Not as large as Ikari-kun... But that was a different kind of change. Here instead was a change in responsibility, and her daily routine. No more. Responsibility. Rei was only directly responsible for her own well being, which was fairly simple. A monotonous task, really, but it was required of her, so she did it without complaint. Now she was responsible for the dog as well. Katsuragi had said that it was not an order, but clearly she was expected to care for the animal. Rei accepted the task with a mental shrug. She would do it, of course. Except that she had no idea how. She looked to her side at the pile of things Misato and Shinji had brought along with the dog, hoping for some aid. she thought with relief. She reached to pick the book up without disturbing the puppy. The thin book was entitled "Your Puppy and You: A Practical Guide". The cover featured a pencil sketch of a child hugging a small dog to his chest. She opened the book, and scanned the contents. She skipped the chapters "Choosing the Right Breed" and "Selecting a Puppy" as clearly irrelevant to her situation, and opened the book to "Care and Feeding". Several paragraphs into the chapter, Rei was confused. According to the book, puppies required large amounts of food to grow, but smaller breeds required less food. Smaller than what? Less food than what? How much less? The answers were not there. The only solid information she could extract was that there should be three meals a day, with feedings just before her own meals if possible. Rei briefly noted the pain in her stomach. It was time for her to eat, which by the book's logic made it time to feed the dog as well. She set down the book, and then picked the dog up off her lap and set it down beside her. The dog stood up and yawned. It looked up at her and wagged it's tail. Rei attempted to stand, and nearly fell over in the attempt. Her legs were completely numb. She waited for sensation to return, which it did, painfully. Standing solidly now on still tingling legs, she picked up the pair of bowls and set them in a corner. She then studied the bag of food. The bag was labled, in large letters, as having more meat content than competing brands. While Rei was herself a vegetarian, she had no problem with others eating meat. If meat was what dogs ate, then so be it. What she did have a problem with was the smell of meat, which she found highly unpleasant. She hoped the smell of the dog food would be bearable. When she opened the bag, the dog began to bark excitedly and run around her legs. She held the bag open, and gave an experimental sniff. The scent was unlike anything she had smelled before; not pleasant, but also not at all like meat. She nodded in satisfaction. On the back of the bag was a small chart containing recommended servings based upon the weight of the puppy. This was still useless as Rei did not have a method of weighing the dog. She decided that too much food was better than too little, until she learned different, and filled the bowl. As soon as she set it down the puppy dove into the bowl. Rei filled the other bowl with water and set it down beside the first. She then went to prepare her own dinner. Heating her ramen noodles did not take long. She took a seat on the bed and began to eat her noodles just as the dog finished eating. It had left about a quarter of the bowl un-eaten, and was now was lapping water from the other bowl. Rei noted the amount of food left for future reference. Rei thought, and grabbed another mouthful of ramen with her chop sticks. The dog turned away from the water bowl. It wandered around the room with it's nose to the ground, stopping to sniff at a bed post, and near her dresser. Rei watched it as she chewed. Eventually it stopped in the far corner. It turned around, looked directly at Rei, and squatted on its haunches. A moment later it stood and scampered away happily, leaving behind a small puddle. -- Misato emerged from her bedroom. She had on her jean shorts and yellow tank top, and had her hair pulled back. She stretched, glad to be out of her uniform and ready to relax. she thought, and headed for the kitchen with a purposeful stride. In the kitchen, Asuka was sitting at the table, reading a magazine. She didn't look up when Misato walked past to the refrigerator. "So, how did it go?" she asked. "Oh, all right, I think," Misato replied, opening the refrigerator. She grabbed a can of Yebisu, not noticing the already open can behind the container of orange juice. Asuka turned a page. "I can't believe you spent so much money on Wonder Girl." "Oh it wasn't that much," Misato answered, closing the refrigerator. "The woman selling the puppies was pretty desperate to get rid of them before they got too old. Seems with the current situation, no one has time for a pet. She gave us a lot of stuff for free, too." She cracked open the beer. "Besides, I spent a lot on Shinji's and your birthdays." "Yeah, but you're our guardian," Asuka replied. Misato stopped with the lip of the can millimeters from her mouth. "Oh, so because I'm your guardian I have to throw you a big party?" "You know what I meant!" Settling back against the refrigerator door, Misato took a long drink. She let out a long and energetic whoop. Asuka tapped her finger in irritation until the last echoes faded. "Well, now that that's done..." Shinji walked into the room. "What's going on?" "We were just talking about your trip to First Child's," Asuka said, "until our guardian decided to let the world know she was drinking." "Oh." Shinji kept his voice flat through substantial effort. "I thought maybe Misato had put her face down on the hot stove." "Are you stupid?" Asuka retorted, but with evident humor. "She makes that noise so much, I'd think you'd be used to it by now." "But it _sounds_ like she's in pain," Shinji explained, his face curling into a grin. "I can't help but worry that maybe this time she really is." "It's the woman who cried wolf," Asuka said. "If she does put her face down on the stove, we can't be blamed. 'Oh, Misato's just drinking again,' we'll say." Shinji snickered. Misato stared at them with narrowed eyes. she thought, nursing her beer, Silence settled on the kitchen. Shinji fidgeted. By way of making conversation, he said "So, Asuka... Why didn't you want to go in with us on Ayanami's present?" Asuka slapped her magazine shut. "Because I think it's a stupid idea, that's why!" "Come on, Asuka, it's a good idea," Shinji protested. "She's always alone, and this will give her some company." "How do you know she wants company?" Asuka shot back. "Regardless, by giving First Child that dog you've sentenced it to death." "She can take care of a puppy! It's not like she won't feed it," Shinji replied angrily. Asuka shook her head. "Maybe she could keep it from starving, if she had an instruction book. But a puppy needs more than food. It needs something it'll never get from Wonder Girl -- love." Shinji stared at her. She stormed on. "I bet when you gave it to her she didn't even pet it unless you told her to." When Shinji lowered his eyes, she smirked. "I knew it. There's no hope." "But..." Shinji started, but had nothing to say. "I don't know, Asuka" Misato interjected. "The dog obviously liked Rei." "So does Shinji, but you don't see her showering _him_ with affection." Shinji's only response was to turn bright red. Misato continued to drink. "I'll have no part in putting a dog into a loveless home," Asuka said with finality. She opened her magazine and flipped idly through it. "Besides," she said offhand, eyes on a full-page advertisement, "it's not like she got _me_ anything for _my_ birthday." "Ah ha," Misato said. Asuka glared at her askance. "Asuka, I told you, she didn't know she was supposed to," Shinji said. "Humph." Asuka turned the page in the magazine. "That's no excuse. She should have figured it out from your party. Which reminds me that she didn't even come to mine." "You invited her?" Misato said. She shook the beer can, felt its emptiness. she told herself, glumly. "Of course!" Asuka said. "I had to invite my fellow pilots, no matter how weird." She looked pointedly at Shinji. "Gee, I can't imagine why Ayanami didn't come to your party," Shinji said sardonicly. Asuka's eyes narrowed briefly, then she tossed her head. "It's your fault. Your party was so boring, and she didn't realize mine would be better." Shinji grumbled but didn't respond. Asuka flashed him a triumphant grin, mentally putting a tick mark under her name. "Well, Asuka," Misato said, setting her empty can down on the counter, "it's too late for you to go in on the puppy anyway. You could still get her a gift if you wanted, but you don't have to." With that she went to the living room to relax on the couch. "I'll be in my room." Shinji walked out of the kitchen. Asuka stood up. "Fine. I'm starting dinner now, so don't get too comfortable." Alone now, Asuka went to the refrigerator and opened it. Casting a glance at the living room, she grabbed the open, mostly full can of Yebisu. There were many things about Japan that Asuka had a little trouble getting used to. Not having beer was one of them. "When in Rome" had been Misato's take on the issue of the ludicrous drinking age law, but that was not a cliche Asuka put much stock in. She wasn't sneaking, of course. Drinking beer was her right, and she would exercise it when and where she chose. It was just more convenient to avoid an argument over the issue. For this reason it was fortunate that Misato didn't keep track of her beer supply very well. Nevertheless, an open, partly finished can would raise suspicion. Finishing it was out of the question. Yebisu, it turned out, was not much to Asuka's liking. In fact, she hated it. She emptied the can into the sink. Asuka looked back into the living room to make sure she wasn't being watched. Her mind was drawn to the last thing Misato had said to her. she thought, She set the empty can along side the others, and then began to prepare dinner. -- Ayanami Rei was exhausted. She had already been fatigued when she had come home from school. The unexpected arrival of two visitors had only exacerbated matters. Dealing with people was always a draining experience for Rei. Even more with Ikari-kun. Then there was the dog. Rei hastily consulted the book in response to the dog's sudden release. The book made it clear that cleaning up the mess was imperative, lest the dog take to going there all of the time. She didn't have the recommended cleaners, and so improvised with dish soap. That done, she then went to find some newspaper. Normally there were papers by the front of the apartment building, left there for the occupants and never claimed. This time was no exception, and she returned to her room with an armful. She laid out a sheet where the dog had gone before, in case it did decide to keep using that spot. Next Rei lay down on the bed to do her much-delayed schoolwork. By the time she finished the work, it was past the time when she was normally asleep. She sat up on the edge of her bed and set the schoolwork aside. Now that all practical concerns were accounted for, she could afford some time for introspection. The dog had kept itself occupied while she did her homework by wandering around the room, sniffing at everything. Now it found the end of a used bandage hanging out of a cardboard box, and grabbed it in its teeth. It ran across the room, dragging the blood-stained cloth behind it. Rei studied the playing animal. The animal which was her present. she thought. While she knew the concept, she had never thought of it applying to her. Commander Ikari had never mentioned her birthday before. The puppy caught Rei's stare. It dropped the bandage and ran to her. It stood with its small front paws on her shin, looking up at her and tail wagging furiously. Rei looked down at it, puzzled. It jumped up to her knees, and fell back down, tail still wagging. Thinking she understood what it wanted, she reached down and picked it up, then set it down on her lap. It jumped up, and its nose touched Rei's. Then it lay down in her lap, panting. It looked up at her expectantly. Rei brought her hand halfway up toward it, then stopped. Earlier she had startled herself by petting it, yet she had been about to touch it again. It had not been an entirely unpleasant sensation, however. Perhaps she could find out why she felt the impulse. Thus Rei, purely in the interest of discovery, pet the dog. The puppy's tail, which had been swaying back and forth peacefully, beat furiously in response to Rei's touch. She took this to mean that the dog, at least, approved. She rubbed its back lightly. The dog's fur was soft and smooth. Her fingertips tingled. The dog radiated heat into her palm and lap. Rei yawned. She remembered the gifts others had brought to Ikari-kun's party. The dog sighed; its back moved under her hand with the motion of its breath. she thought, stroking it. The dog rolled over, so her hand rubbed its stomach. Rei stopped, yawned again. She picked up the puppy and set it down on the floor. It whined questioningly. Rei ignored it, and began to undress. It was late, she had to get up early again the next morning, and she was obviously too tired to think clearly. Rei slid under the bed sheet, and reached up to turn off the fluorescent lamp. The room was lit palely by moonlight through the window. Rei closed her eyes. She focused on her breathing, attempting to relax her mind. Over the sound of the machinery that receded at night but never ended she heard quiet whimpering. She didn't respond, intent on getting the rest she needed. The whimpering stopped, and was replaced with the clicking of claws on the bare floor. Then scratching noises, near her head, and a yip. She opened her eyes and looked over just in time to see the puppy's head vanish below the edge of the bed. The clicking noise came again, then the dog appeared, front paws just clearing the bed. It scrabbled for purchase on the bed sheets, slipped, and fell. It landed with an audible thump, and whimpered loudly. Rei, thinking it may have injured itself, turned over and looked down past the edge of the bed. The dog was sitting, looking up morosely and whining. When it saw Rei, it stood up and wagged it's tail. It scampered away from the bed, turned, and charged. It leapt up and landed halfway on the bed. It kicked its hind legs until it was able to push itself up onto the bed. Rei rolled onto her back again. The puppy walked across the bed to her head. It licked her cheek for a moment, then stopped to yawn. It turned around in place several times, then curled itself up against the crook of her neck and closed its eyes. It sighed contentedly. She moved her hand up to rest on the puppy's back. Rei stared at the ceiling, her attempt to rest derailed by this new feeling. Soon, however, her eyelids became too heavy to hold open, and she drifted off to sleep. -- end part 2 -- first posted 7/27/1999 wyrm@engin.umich.edu http://www.umich.edu/~wyrm/abp/fanfic.html -- From: wyrm@engin.umich.edu Subject: [Eva][FanFic] Rei's Birthday Present, Part 3 -- SPOILER ALERT - The following fan-fiction contains spoilers. It is advised that you see the entire series before reading this fic. -- This fan fiction is adapted from Neon Genesis Evangelion, produced by Gainax. All characters thereof are the sole property of Gainax. They are used without permission and no claim on them is made by this author. -- Previous parts can be found at: http://www.umich.edu/~wyrm/abp/fanfic.html Rei's Birthday Present, part 3 by Chris Burke -- Rei's eyes opened to a dark room. She lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling she could not see, not fully awake but feeling something amiss. The familiar screech of the alarm clock echoed off of the bare walls; a reminder of her duty. She breathed slowly, deliberately. The sound of her breathing was lost in the din. she thought groggily. She wondered why she was so hot. She was sweating. She shifted, and moved her arm from under the blanket. The dry air sucked the sweat from her arm, chilling it and accentuating the heat of the rest of her body. The sensation awakened her more fully, and she noticed the weight on her stomach. She pulled back the blankets and sat up. The puppy yelped as it was tipped off her stomach onto the bed. She stared at it, her mind not yet able to merge the dog into its picture of things. She sat quietly for a moment, allowing the pieces of memory to slowly fall into place. Her whole body felt the chill when she got up from the bed to turn off the alarm. She turned on the fluorescent lamp over her bed. The bulb illuminated a circle on the bed; a small island amidst the encroaching shadows. Rei walked out of the room and into the bathroom. She stepped into the shower and pulled the curtain. She turned on the faucet, and icy water blasted away the last remnants of sleep. Among other deficiencies, the water heater in her building was not working. When she turned off the water and opened the curtain, the dog was sitting there, wagging its tail. It followed at her feet when she got out of the shower, dodging the water droplets falling off of her and barking when it got hit. Rei returned to her bedroom, toweling her hair. The bag of dog food caught her eye, reminding her to feed the dog. She finished drying herself, then opened the bag. The puppy barked excitedly as she poured the food into the bowl, leaving it three quarters full. She watched it devour the food eagerly as she dressed. Then she picked up her satchel and walked to the front door, to leave for an early morning with Dr. Akagi. As soon as she opened the door, Rei heard the click of the puppy's feet on the ground. It came scampering around the corner and ran down the hallway toward her. It barked as Rei began to close the door behind her. She looked at it through the narrowing opening before the door clicked shut. She could hear it barking and scratching at the door as she turned and walked away. A few minutes later Ayanami stepped out of the apartment building onto the street. The first rays of sunlight from beyond the horizon lightened the sky to a soft indigo. -- Asuka slouched in her chair, one hand on her chin, the other on her desk twirling a pencil absent-mindedly. She was staring across the room at the First Child, which was considerably easier now than it had been a week ago. In the past month alone three students had left the class, including most recently the one who had sat directly between her desk and Rei's window seat. Families leaving the danger of Tokyo-3 had become so common that no one even mentioned his absence. Asuka didn't care other than that now she had a clear view of Wonder Girl -- a view she would not have appreciated on any other day. Not that the albino was doing anything particularly interesting. As a rule, she never did. It was just that what she was doing now was different than what she normally did at school, which made it more interesting than yet another inaccurate rehash of the Second Impact. Thus Asuka watched as Rei read a book instead of staring out the window. Asuka sighed. Of the many exciting and important things she saw herself doing in her life, watching a strange blue-haired girl read a book was not among them. At the very least, she would have rather just talked with Hikari, who was sitting in front of her. Unfortunately the Class Rep insisted on maintaining class discipline, so that option was out. Just as Asuka's already limited interest dwindled to nothing, Rei shifted positions, giving Asuka a glimpse of the cover of the book. She couldn't catch the title in the brief second it was visible, but she did see a picture with a dog. Interest pushed back above the threshold, she turned to Shinji. "Hey, stupid," she whispered in a voice meant to carry three desks away to where Shinji sat, but no more. Shinji, who had been practicing sleeping with his eyes open but only getting the first part right, started at hearing his name. He caught Asuka's look, and leaned over his computer to type. The message appeared on Asuka's screen. /What is it, Asuka?/ Asuka typed in her response. /Did you get her that book?/ /What book?/ Asuka rolled her eyes and gestured with her head in Rei's direction. Shinji turned toward Rei, stared for a moment, then looked back to Asuka. He nodded in affirmation. /See?/ his next message read. /I told you so./ /Told me what?/ Asuka turned to face Shinji so he could see her incredulous expression. /Look at her. She's only reading it because she thinks she's supposed to; like it's an assignment. It won't make any difference./ /It shows that she's trying,/ Shinji insisted. /It shows she doesn't know what she's doing,/ Asuka wrote. /And she can't learn love from a book. Though I wonder if she can learn at all./ "Ayanami can learn about love!" Shinji said aloud in a harsh whisper. "You're just mad she didn't come to your party!" Behind Shinji, Kensuke perked up. "What did you say about Ayanami and love?" he said in a whisper louder than Shinji's. "Shinji loves Ayanami?" Touji said, not whispering at all. The rest of the class began laughing, and Shinji's face turned deep red. Hikari was not amused. "Quiet all of you! We are still in class!" she cried. She leveled an icy stare on Suzahara, who instantly assumed a stiff-backed studious air. Asuka turned forward again, and sighed. While amusing, that hadn't turned out the way she had wanted. Now she would have to strike down yet more rumors about the First and Second Children. It had been bad enough when Shinji had chased Wonder Girl after school to give her that stupid invitation. Worse had been at his party when he had sat in that secluded corner with her all alone. Asuka had been forced to intervene there to prevent the gossip from getting out of hand. She wondered sometimes why she bothered to do damage control for her roommate, but she knew she had no choice. Shinji was so pathetic; he just caved in the face of embarrassment and made things worse. He needed her. That, and she just couldn't stand to have everyone believe something so stupid. Because it _was_ stupid. Absolutely ridiculous. Whenever she pointed out just how moronic the idea of Wonder Girl and the Spineless Wonder as a couple was, suspicion would immediately shift to Asuka herself. Fortunately those rumors were easy to kill. An appropriately condescending look was enough to remind people that she would never fall for a loser like Shinji. she thought. She looked at the friend who insisted on making class as boring as possible, then at the clock. Asuka rested her head on her hands, and resigned herself to her fate. She glanced over at Wonder Girl, who was still reading as though nothing had happened. -- "So how did your adventure in guilt appeasement go yesterday?" Dr. Akagi sat at her desk in the upper offices of NERV, enjoying the view of the Geofront out the window. On the desk were the unfinished reports she had been working on before the Major had arrived. Not that she minded the distraction. Years as a scientist had not made report writing any more palatable than it had been in college. She silently thanked her friend for giving her an excuse to put them off. "Oh, not so bad," Misato replied, ignoring Ritsuko's choice of wording. Ritsuko had a tendency to put things in the most negative terms, which was annoying even -- especially -- if she was right. "Not much to say. It's _Rei_ we are dealing with here. But anyway, I feel better now, having done something." Ritsuko hid her bemused smile behind her coffee mug. "I still don't see why you felt guilty in the first place. You aren't her guardian." "I know, but that's part of it." Misato sat down on the edge of Ritsuko's desk. "Of the three pilots, she is the one I give the least attention. I'm always looking after the morale of Shinji and Asuka, but I never worry about Rei. No, Rei is always fine. Good ol' dependable Rei. I was even willing to be guardians to Shinji and Asuka, and look out for them in their lives outside of NERV. But I didn't even remember Rei's birthday." She sighed. "It's pretty obvious I don't treat her very well." Ritsuko nodded. "So you feel bad because you treated Rei like a tool and not a person?" "Yeah, pretty much." "Did you ask her how she feels about that?" Ritsuko reached past the porcelain cats to the coffee machine for a refill. "You might be surprised by her answer." "I know. The way she acts makes it easy to treat her that way. But that doesn't make it right." She shifted, and set her own mug down on the desk. "Mind if I...?" She gestured to the carafe. At Ritsuko's nod, she poured herself a cup. "Have you ever seen Rei's apartment?" Misato asked. Ritsuko shook her head, and leaned back in her chair. "Oh! It's an absolute dive! The whole building looks like it could fall down at any moment. And there's this construction right by the building that never stops and the noise just drives you insane! I can't imagine how anyone could live there." "Is that so?" "Her apartment is just about empty, too, and so dark and dingy it's depressing just being there. I'm not sure anyone else even lives in the building. It must be lonely, and I have to wonder about her safety..." "Misato!" Ritsuko cut her off. "You aren't thinking of becoming Rei's guardian, are you?" "No!" Misato quickly answered. "I mean, I thought about it, but it just wouldn't work. I'd have to get a bigger apartment, which I can't afford. Asuka would raise hell if I even mentioned the idea. And I'm just not sure that's what Rei wants or needs." Ritsuko scoffed into her coffee. Misato thought. "And the final reason is that the thought of taking on another kid -- especially Rei -- is horrifying. I've got all I can handle and then some with just Shinji and Asuka. It's selfish, but I can only do so much." "A good decision," Ritsuko agreed. "Besides, shouldn't the Commander be her guardian? He acts like he is." Ritsuko looked out the window over the lake. "No, not really." Her voice sounded detached. "If you say so. So she's out of luck, then." Ritsuko just shrugged, still facing away from her friend. "She hasn't needed one so far." "Hmm..." Misato frowned. "Well, I still think Shinji was right," she said, even if she didn't fully believe it. "I thought the puppy was your idea," Ritsuko said. She picked up one of her cat figurines and toyed with it absently. she thought. "Yeah, but that's just because I overheard one of the maintenance staff talking about these puppies she was trying to sell. Based on what Shinji had said about her, I thought it would fit. So in a way, it was his idea." "Are you trying to give Shinji the credit he deserves," Ritsuko asked, "or abdicating responsibility in case it doesn't work out?" "Hey, stop that," Misato said, glaring. "I'm sorry," Ritsuko said exhaustedly. "I'm not being very fair. Will you forgive me?" She turned around, faced Misato with a slight smirk. "When haven't I?" Misato said, smiling. "You're just in one of your moods." She stood up and made a show of checking her watch. "Well, I'd better let you get some work done." "Oh, no, that's okay," Ritsuko said quickly. "We don't talk much these days..." "Ah, well, I have to go," Misato said. "Maybe we can get together after work sometime." Ritsuko nodded. "We will," she said. She did want to, so it wasn't really a lie. She watched Misato leave, then turned to her desk. To her disappointment the reports had not written themselves. she said, casting a last wistful glance to where her friend had gone. Yet she was not entirely unhappy that Misato had left; she had been getting pretty tired of talking about Ayanami Rei. -- Another day of school had past and gone, and Ayanami Rei made her way home. She walked with a gait neither hurried nor relaxed. She walked purposefully, eyes straight ahead, back rigid, ignoring the sights of Tokyo-3 as she ignored them every day. The world that held her attention was internal. Rei was at the moment trying to work through the state of confusion she was left with after reading the book. It consistently failed to provide details, and regularly contradicted itself. That the entire situation was completely outside her limited realm of experience made her feel discomfortingly dependent on the book. The book was not the only thing that had confused Rei that day. Suzahara-kun's comment had made her cheeks hot, a reaction that she did not understand. She had known then that Suzahara-kun misrepresented Ikari-kun's words, but she had still reacted in that way. Even remembering made her feel uncomfortable. She decided not to think about it anymore. Instead she reflected on what Ikari-kun had whispered to the Second Child just before. Ayanami Rei heard a lot more than she was given credit for. Most people will assume that if someone isn't looking at them, or not showing any interest in what they are saying, then the person isn't listening. They will then say things that they normally wouldn't. Rei rarely showed any visible interest in what was being said, but she was almost always listening. It wasn't a trick that she did consciously. People around her would speak as if she wasn't there, and to her this was normal. It never even occurred to her that Ikari-kun hadn't intended for her to hear him. she repeated to herself. She entered her apartment building, and went to the stairwell. At the same methodical pace as before, she ascended. she admitted readily. She had heard of the concept of love, but did not think she had ever seen it. She could not even begin to comprehend what it would mean to love someone, or to have someone love her. she thought, obliquely arriving at a satisfactory answer to that question. Thinking about love and Ikari made her feel strange. Her feet automatically carried her up the last flight of stairs to her hallway. She was supposed to take care of it. Katsuragi-san had said it was for company, something Rei had never had much of nor felt a need for. She stood in front of her apartment door. She hesitated a moment, then reached to open the door. When she opened the door far enough to step into the apartment, the dog was already in a headlong dash down the hallway. Barking loudly, tail wagging furiously, it ran between Rei's legs, then around in front of her. It jumped up, tongue lolling, paws on her thighs. It fell, then jumped again. It rolled over in place, stooped to look up at her, then rolled again, tail still beating. Rei watched this display impassively. She stepped out of her shoes, then walked passed it. The dog jumped up to follow her, weaving between her legs. She set her satchel down on her bed. She looked around the room, and saw that the puppy had in fact used the newspaper she had laid out. Unfortunately it had also used just about every other part of the floor. She filled the dog's bowls, then cleaned up the various messes on the floor. When that was done, she sat cross-legged on the floor. The dog, finished with its meal, didn't hesitate to jump on Rei's lap and extend upward to lick her face. Rei put her hand on the dog's back and rubbed it gently. While it was still licking her, she took the collar from the bag next to her, and affixed it around the dog's neck. It dropped down on her lap, and looked up at her questioningly. She pet it again briefly, then affixed the leash to the collar. She could not imagine how to answer the question. For the moment, she would just care for the dog as required. Which, if she understood the book correctly, meant taking the dog for a walk. She stood up. The puppy twisted, trying to catch the leash in it's teeth. She moved away, stopping just before the leash became taught. "Come," she said. "We are going for a walk." The dog snapped at the leash again, and trotted toward her. Rei walked out of the apartment, puppy at her feet. -- The sound of the cicadas filled the air near the small park in central Tokyo-3, even more so than in other parts of the city. Trees were scattered around the lightly hilled park, providing patches of shade in the afternoon sun. A few paved trails crossed the well-maintained grasses and passed the man-made carp pond. A mated pair of Mandarin Ducks rested on the still water. On the path next to the pond a young woman walked, humming a pop tune to herself over the noise of the insects. She wore blue jeans and a loose white t-shirt with a Totoro on the front. A pony tail tied with a blue ribbon hung down to the middle of her back. In her hand she held the handle of a retractable leash. At the other end of the leash, nose to the ground, was a black Labrador Retriever. She continued down the path, moving slowly to give her dog time to sniff at everything, which it gladly did. Near the end of a stone terrace in the side of a hill she stopped to let her dog do its business next to a tree. While she waited, she heard a voice coming from the trail past the terrace. "What are you doing," the feminine voice said. "Stop. You cannot go that way. If you do not turn around, we will be..." The voice stopped. Himiko was curious. She saw that Hachi was done. "Hachi, heel," she said, and Hachi moved to her side. She walked around the terrace, and stopped when she saw that in the middle of the paved path stood a girl. A very strange girl. The girl was wearing a junior-high school uniform, which was not unusual. The blue hair and white skin were. As were the red eyes, the color of which were visible even at ten meters. The girl did not move at all. The probable reason was that a leash was wrapped tightly around her legs. The small puppy at her feet had one foot caught on the leash and was twisting its body around to bite at the offending strap. The girl for her part was looking down at the puppy with a blank look of confusion. The young woman stifled a giggle and walked toward the girl. "Having a problem?" she said, keeping her gaze deliberately on the puppy in order to avoid staring. She stooped down. "Here, let me help you. Hachi, sit." She patted her dog lightly when it complied. She reached toward the puppy. The puppy barked sharply at her and tried to back away, but only caught its leg even more on the leash. She took the leg and gently lifted it, freeing the pup. She unwrapped it from the girl and set it down. The puppy's tail wagged happily. She giggled. "There, that's better. What a cute puppy you have!" She watched it approach her dog. The two animals sniffed at each other, tails wagging. "Did you get it from a breeder, or do you own the dam too? It looks a little young for weaning. Oh, but where are my manners!" She stood up and bowed. "My name is Ueda Himiko. This is Hachi." "I am Ayanami Rei," the girl answered flatly. "Pleased to meet you," Himiko said, smiling. "And what is this adorable creature's name?" Ayanami stood silently until Himiko almost thought she wasn't going to answer, then spoke. "I do not know," was the reply. "Ah," Himiko said. "Haven't decided yet? How long have you had him? Or is it her?" Ayanami stooped and picked up the puppy. Turning it around, she answered "It is female." She set the dog down, which turned and tried to climb up her leg. She stayed crouched down for a moment to stroke its head before standing. "I see..." Clearly this was a brand-new dog owner, though they seemed to have bonded quickly. She decided to give the girl another chance to engage in the favorite conversational activity of dog owners: talking about their dogs. "So, what kind of dog is it?" Another pause. "I do not know," the girl said, still without tone. "Oh," Himiko said, downtrodden at realizing how little the girl knew about dogs, even her own. Still, she couldn't help but talk to a fellow dog owner, no matter how new. "Well, it kinda looks like a Cardigan Welsh Corgi," she said tentatively, not wanting to sound too sure of herself. "How did you get her?" "It was... a gift," Rei answered. Himiko looked up at Ayanami for the first time since the beginning of the conversation. She couldn't help being struck by the girl's strange appearance. She became self-conscious about noticing and looked away, then became self-conscious about looking away. she thought. She didn't let her concern show, however. "Oh, that's nice. Puppies are a lot of work, but they are also a lot of fun. Hachi here is two, so he's still pretty much a puppy." Himiko stood watching the young pup bounce back and forth between Rei and Hachi. Hachi sat grinning, his tail slowly swishing back and forth. He bent his head to touch noses with the smaller animal. "If you want some advice," she began to fill the void in conversation, "I would suggest leaving the leash on when you get home. It will give her a chance to get used to it." she thought. She looked at the girl again, who had the same impassive expression. "If you haven't already, you will also want to start training. It takes patience, but it's easiest to do it now rather than after bad habits develop. It's also a good way to get to know your puppy." Rei nodded, then opened her mouth slightly. Himiko waited patiently for her to speak, and tried not to stare. "Ueda-san... am I supposed to give it a name?" Now Himiko couldn't help but stare. "Of course you are, Ayanami-san!" "What name do I give it?" "Any name you want!" she responded, waving her arms. "You can give it a name just for fun, or name it after something, or a name that means something to you. For example, I named Hachi after the famous Akita that waited every day at the train station for its master to come home, even after its master died." She reached down to pat her Lab's head. "My Hachi is very loyal and will wait for me outside of class, which is pretty good. Though the main thing he waits by is the food dish!" She laughed, but her laughter died before her audience's stoic gaze. "Eh..." Himiko floundered. Between the girl's strange appearance and equally strange behavior, this encounter was becoming more than she knew how to deal with. "Well, it has been very nice meeting you, but I have to get home." She ran a hand through her hair nervously. "Good luck with her." Rei simply nodded. "Hachi, heel," Himiko said and took off, masking her sigh of relief in the command. She walked for a ways, until she was sure she was out of earshot, and looked behind her. The girl was walking in the opposite direction, puppy weaving back and forth on its leash. "What a strange girl..." she commented. "Although... maybe I'm not being entirely fair. After all, I was pretty rude. It's as bad to be caught trying not to stare as it is to stare, right?" She looked down. Hachi looked back up at her, mouth open in a non-committal grin. "So what do you think, Hachi? Was that a nice girl?" Hachi barked cheerfully, and wagged his tail. "Well, then I agree," Himiko laughed as the pair walked out of the park. -- "Come," Rei said. Without hesitation, the puppy ran to her, claws clicking on the hard apartment floor. The leash trailed out behind it. "Good dog," she said, and petted it. One thing Rei could not understand was why it was necessary to praise and reward the puppy for doing what it was supposed to do. It should do what was expected of it, and that was that. The book, however, insisted praise was important and Rei had no choice but to accept it as authoritative on the subject of dog training. She picked up the puppy and walked across the room. She set it down, and backed away. The puppy sat on its haunches and looked up at her questioningly. "Come," she said. Before she had even finished the word the puppy was running to her, barking happily. She bent and rubbed the puppy's side. "Good dog," she said, and continued to pet it. The book had also said to use her dog's name when issuing commands, but as of yet she hadn't given it one. She decided to try a new exercise. Going on the books instructions, she filled the puppy's food bowl. It stood and barked excitedly at her feet. "Sit," she said as she raised the bowl up past the puppy's head. It followed the bowl with its head, and reflexively sat on its haunches. "Good dog," she said as soon as its bottom touched the floor, and petted it. It stood up immediately and barked. Rei set the dish down and it began to eat. The first lesson in "sit" completed successfully, Rei sat down beside the bowl. She thought for a while, but nothing came up -- at least nothing that seemed like it would be a good name. For some reason naming the dog Ikari didn't seem... appropriate. The puppy finished eating, and took advantage of its master's reflection by jumping onto her lap. Still lost in thought, Rei held the dog to herself with one hand and stroked it with the other. She pressed its ears back against its head and watched them spring back up. A meaning she was never allowed to forget. "Ichi," she said to the puppy, rubbing its head. "Your name is Ichi." Ichi wagged her tail happily in response. -- Night was held at bay in Ayanami's room by the single lamp affixed to her bed. She stood in the center of the floor, Ichi at her feet. "Ichi, sit," Rei said. Ichi stood up and put her front paws on Rei's shin, then dropped back to the floor. For almost an hour Rei had been repeating the command; for almost an hour Ichi had refused to sit. She had long ago exhausted what little advice was in the book, and was hoping that repetition was what was needed. She crouched in front of Ichi. "Ichi, sit," she said, and tried to tuck the puppy's hind legs and force it to sit. Ichi yelped and twisted away from her master's hand. Rei wasn't surprised, since that was exactly what Ichi had done the last two dozen times she had tried that. "Ichi, sit," she repeated, making sure to use her firmest voice. Or what she assumed was her firmest voice. She wasn't really sure what "firm" sounded like; she hadn't ever had any need to use such a voice herself. She supposed that she would characterize Commander Ikari as "firm", but if she was supposed to sound like _him_ then there was no hope. Firm voice or not, Ichi didn't sit. She did lay down, look up at Rei, and huff. Her small tail swept slowly across the floor. Prompted by a need for some success, Rei stood and backed away from her puppy. When she was across the room she called out: "Ichi, come." Ichi jumped up and scampered across the room to her, tongue hanging out and tail flapping. "Good dog," Rei said, not caring if her voice sounded sufficiently affectionate. Her hand reached to Ichi's head of its own accord. Ichi responded by licking her fingertips. No answer materialized. Rei noticed that it was late, and decided to quit for the night. She unhooked Ichi's leash, feeling a sense of failure. Moments after Rei got into bed and turned the light off, Ichi leapt onto the bed and nestled into the crook of her neck. -- Morning came, and Rei awoke covered in sweat once again. She turned off the alarm and wondered how such a small body could generate so much heat. After her cold shower, she filled Ichi's dish. "Ichi, sit," she said in a futile gesture as she lifted the bowl above the puppy's head. To her surprise, it sat immediately, eager gaze on the dish. "Good dog," she remembered to say, and set the dish down. Rei puzzled over this for a moment. It was her second use of the bowl, and her second success at getting Ichi to sit. She wondered briefly if she would have to carry a food dish around for whenever she wanted Ichi to sit. That would clearly be impractical. She would have to find another way. She dressed and headed for the door. Before she had put on the first of her shoes, Ichi came tearing around the corner toward her, barking furiously. Rei avoided the jumping dog and finished putting on her shoes. She opened the door, and Ichi immediately tried to rush through. Rei grabbed her and set her down away from the door. "You cannot come," she said as she was forced to stop Ichi from running out the door again. As she said it, though, she had second thoughts. Could Ichi come with her? Ueda-san had mentioned taking her dog to school. Rei had never seen any of the other students with an animal in school, but perhaps they didn't have pets. Her decision made, Rei closed the door. She got the leash from the bedroom and affixed it to Ichi's collar. "Let's go, then," she said, and led her puppy out of the apartment. -- Rei carried Ichi in her arms as she ascended the stairs to the school. She had already discovered that stairs proved a formidable obstacle for the small dog, and Rei did not want to wait for Ichi to face the challenge of each step in turn. The halls of the school were empty, the combined effect of Ayanami's early arrival time and the decreasing population of the school. As she approached her classroom, she saw the one person who consistently arrived before she did: The Class Representative. Horaki Hikari, about to enter the classroom, glanced in Rei's direction. As per usual, she didn't pay much attention to the pilot. A moment later what she had seen registered, and she turned to stare in shock. "Ayanami, what is that?" she said accusingly, pointing at Rei's chest. "It is a dog," Rei said. "I know that!" A vein popped out conspicuously on Hikari's forehead. "I meant you can't bring a dog into school! No pets allowed! Get it out of here! What were you thinking?" she finished for good measure. She looked to see the effect her tirade had. She would have liked to see chagrin, but knowing it was Ayanami she settled for blinking and breathing. Rei stoically absorbed this information, then did the only thing she could think to do. She turned and walked out of the school, headed for her apartment. Hikari entered class satisfied, once again reassured that without her personal intervention the entire world would degenerate into lawlessness. When Ayanami reached the top of the stairs, she saw the other two Children at the bottom. "Why do we have to come so early, Asuka?" Shinji grumbled, clearly mourning the lost half-hour of sleep. "Because if I can't talk to Hikari during class, I at least want to talk to her before class so I don't go insane... I mean, it doesn't concern you! Just do as you are told, like always!" "Yes, yes," Shinji replied, indicating that he never had any intention of doing otherwise. He looked up just in time to see Ayanami walking down the stairs, her puppy cradled in her arms. "Good morning, Ikari-kun," she said as she passed him. "Eh... Hi Ayanami," he managed to say to her back. He turned to Asuka, who was staring intently at Rei. She stood there for a minute, then said "Come on, stupid," and walked up the stairs. Shinji followed. Hikari greeted them when they entered the classroom. Asuka sat next to her friend. Shinji took his seat near the back and got a head start on making up for lost REM cycles. "Hi, Asuka. You're here early." Hikari talked while she arranged the printouts for the day into stacks. "It's because I'm such a dedicated student," Asuka declared. Hikari giggled. "Hey, did you by chance just see Ayanami leaving here with a _dog_?" "Oh, yeah. It's just like the First Child to do something strange like bring her puppy to school." "You know about this?" Hikari asked. "Sure. Misato and Shinji had the bright idea to buy her a puppy for her birthday." "Really?" Hikari beamed. "Shinji, that's so nice!" "Uh, what? Oh, thanks," Shinji mumbled, then went back to sleep. "I had no idea it was her birthday," Hikari said. "She didn't exactly advertise," Asuka pointed out. "So that must have been what you were talking about with Shinji yesterday." "Yeah. I'm just worried she won't give the puppy the love it needs," Asuka said, repetition stealing the conviction from her voice. "Oh, come on," Hikari admonished. "How could anyone not love a puppy?" "I guess," Asuka said, not entirely paying attention. She was busy trying to think of a way to change the subject. She was getting pretty tired of talking about Wonder Girl. -- In the center of his expansive office, Commander Ikari Gendo sat at his desk. Uncharacteristically absent was Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki. Instead, at his side stood Ayanami Rei. "Commander," Rei began, looking straight ahead. Gendo's silence told her to continue. "I have a question," Rei said. She always felt nervous asking him questions. Anything she needed to know, he would tell her; to ask for more information was to suggest otherwise. It wouldn't do to question the Commander's judgment. "Yes, Rei." He was also looking forward. They would often have entire conversations this way, never looking at each other. "Major Katsuragi... she said that it was my birthday two days ago." The wording satisfied Rei. She was merely trying to clear up contradictory information. "That is true," was the Commander's response. Rei nodded. The Major had been correct. Yet the Commander had not seen fit to mention it, so it could not be as important as she and Ikari-kun had made it out to be. "Why did you wish to know?" "Major Katsuragi and the pilot of Unit 01 believed it to somehow be an important day. I did not know if this was correct." "I see," Gendo said. "Were you in school today?" "Yes, sir," Rei responded. Clearly the subject of her birthday was closed. "Is that going well?" he asked; a common question. "There are no problems," she said quickly. She wasn't sure, however, if that was true. Outside of her encounter with the Class Representative, she hadn't gotten in any trouble for taking Ichi to school. The teacher hadn't seemed to notice her entering the classroom late. Still she wasn't sure if it was something she shouldn't mention. Or at least mention Ichi herself. Uneasily she decided not to bother him with something so unimportant. With a start she realized that he was looking at her now, his brow furrowed in displeasure. "Rei, there is a synchronization test tomorrow?" he said in the tone he used with all subordinates who were not meeting expectations. "Yes, sir," Rei replied shakily. "And I will be with Dr. Akagi before that." She couldn't meet his eyes. She hadn't been paying attention, and the Commander disliked having to repeat himself. She stood there in uncomfortable silence, and bent her arm across her body to grab the opposite elbow. She squeezed her arm, and tried to control her breathing. She could feel his hard gaze studying her. He remained silent for several minutes, and with each moment her anxiety grew. She could feel sweat running down her forehead. "Well then," he said at last, expression and tone softening. "Let's go get some food." "Yes, sir," she said, tension escaping to the air in her words. In a flash her anxieties were gone, and she smiled in spite of herself. She couldn't help but smile whenever he used that voice. It was his Special Voice, and it was only for her. They ate together in silence, as was their custom. During the meal, Rei worried that there wouldn't be time to walk Ichi before it became dark. If she could catch the next train out of the Geofront then she could make it home in time. She ate hurriedly, then excused herself. The Commander said nothing. -- end part 3 first posted 3/11/2000 wyrm@engin.umich.edu http://www.umich.edu/~wyrm/abp -- Thanks go to TJ Hamilton for providing C&C and a little bit of nagging, and to Daniel Snyder for the same.