From: "Rei-chan" Souls Conspiracy Chapter 1 -A pair of glasses wet with tears- Rays of sunlight were happily shining on the city of NeoTokyo-3. It was the month of April. Even with the intensification of the month's great heat by the aftermath of Second Impact. The students of the first middle school of Neo Tokyo-3 didn't look annoyed by this strange atmospherical phenomenon; after all, since they were born, this was the world as they had known it, and living in a world without cold winters didn't annoy them that much; let's even say it didn't annoy them at all. So, during recess, all boys were having fun loitering in the yard, laughing, joking, and of course gossiping about their classmates and teachers. That day looked so similar to many others, but soon it was going to become a very unusual one... "Hey, Shinji! Do you have any idea of what's up the next hour ?? Mmmmmm?" shouted Touji, nudging him, between a bite he took off a sandwich and a sip of Coke. "Eh?" Shinji looked almost surprised at Touji's voice. After all, it wasn't hard to see what the boy meant, from the look of his face and his provocative tone of voice. But Shinji was obviously too absorbed by other thoughts to play his friend's game, and so his look appeared, at first, confused. In his place, it was Kensuke who answered, Touji's faithful supporter; who, being on shared his friend's enthusiasm, taking a small videorecorder out of his bag. "Ghh... right! I've been waiting all week for the swimming class, I've already reloaded both my videorecorder and my camera, be sure we are not going to miss any of those dolls in swim suits!" Touji and Kensuke hi-fived each other, maniacally grinning, pleased with their plan of filming their female classmates during the swimming lesson. "Oh Kensuke, you really are a pig, aren't you?" Touji added jokingly, still keeping his maniac stare. "That was Mr. Hentai speaking!" Kensuke quickly responded, winking his eye at Touji. The two boys kept on happily joking with each other, laughing like lunatics at the least innuendo about their classmates' gorgeous bodies, but Ikari was completely outside of all this. The boy was absorbed by his thoughts, and wasn't giving any notice to anything his friends were saying. Though, his gaze was fixed on a group of girls from his class who were in front of him, chatting. *She's not out yet...* he thought, while his gazed appeared o be looking for something specific... Touji and Kensuke were surprised from their classmate's silence, he looked completely ignorant for their exchange. They were about to tell him something, when they abruptly realized that, actually, their classmate's gaze was fixed on their nearby, and, misunderstanding everything, they interpreted what they were looking at in their own way. "I see you're thinking like us, aren't you, Ikari?" Touji said nudging the boy at his side. "I always said that behind Ikari's innocent look there's a first class pig!" Kensuke went on playfully, suddenly realizing that Shinji wasn't looking at the round forms of the girls he was staring at, but looked as if his gaze was lost in emptiness. "Hey! Shinji! What's the matter?" the four-eyed boy said while he was moving his hand in front of his friend's eyes, putting on a confused look. At last, Shinji came out of his train of thought, and answered to the words of his two friends "HAI ?????" he yelled like a pupil who's not paying attention and is taken by surprise by a teacher. "What's on your mind today ? Who are you staring at among our classmates ? At last, our great Evangelion pilot has discovered the existence of the opposite sex, hasn't he ?" Touji went on, while, mimicking Ikari's attitude, was trying to have a look at the boy's "object of desire". The Third Child wasn't unmoved by the words uttered by Touji and Kensuke, so his face didn't waste any time in changing color because of the embarassing situation: "N...no, I was looking there by accident..." He mumbled, timidly trying to justify his actions. But they had him by now. When those two kids had something in their minds, it was really hard to make them change their opinion and correct the situation. Especially when it was about their little lord, to embarass Shinji, jokingly of course, was their favorite pasttime ! "Oh yeah, really! Come on, tell the truth! I bet you're wondering why "your" Ayanami hasn't come out yet, aren't you ?" Kensuke said. Shinji had been hit in his soft spot. It was incredible, the way his two friends had been able to read his mind; and that only added to his embarassment, while his face was changing color, from red to almost purple! "N..no!! It's not so! I wasn't thinking of..." "Come on, come on! You don't have to give us excuses! We'll take pictures and we'll film her too, are you happy with that ??" Touji didn't even let the boy end his explanation, when he put his arm around the boy's shoulder, pulling him towards himself. "But... But I...!!!" Yet again the boy was interrupted, this time by Kensuke, who swiftly took Touji's lead. "Whom do you think you're fooling, my friend! It shows from a mile away that you like Rei Ayanami ! You spend all day staring at her!" He said, winking at him. Shinji was at the end of his rope, and couldn't stand anymore the salacious remarks of his two friends; with a small forward leap, he came down from the low wall where he was sitting with his two "attackers", and answered them. "NOW STOP IT!! All I and Ayanami share is the task of piloting the Evangelions, nothing else!" He couldn't tell why himself, but he wasn't able to say these words with the determination he would have liked to show. Actually, his voice sounded unsure and unwilling. Why? Maybe this statement didn't match reality ? "Who knows! Maybe, but I'm sorry to disappoint you, if you hope to see Ayanami today in a swimming suit, you're really off mark. This morning, I saw the head pupil hand the teacher a NERV statement, according to which Ayanami couldn't take swimming classes for a while..." Kensuke said, assuming a know-it-all air, while crossing his legs. "What?" Shinji couldn't hide his surprise when he heard those words." Why the hell should NERV make Ayanami skip swimming lessons ?" "Right... oh yeah. You're sorry, aren't you? Come on, admit it!" The boy went on, while adjusting his glasses on his nose, and picking on Shinj's patience. Suzuhara was as confused as Shinj when he heard the news Kensuke had just shared. "SAY WHAT?? And why did they do that???" Kensuke shrugged "Dunno. Maybe she's got her period." Touji came down from the wall, and put his hand on Shinji's shoulder, ironically showing all his regret. "I'm so sorry, my friend... I know you were looking forward to admiring Ayanami in swimming suit... alas.. but don't you worry, when classes are over Uncle Touji will take you to a little shop where they sell special magazines ..." Touji didn't complete the sentence, because his perverted look was enough to make it clear what kind of magazines he meant. Touji's idea appealed to Kensuke apparently, but certainly not to Shinji, who was quickly looking for an excuse to get away. "S... sorry, but I have to go... in the classroom, we have English in the next hour, and I still have to complete my homework!!..." Shinj said, fleeing toward the school gate. "HEY!! DON'T FORGET TO COPY THE EXERCISES IN MY WORK BOOK!!" Touji stopped flapping his arms as soon as he heard Shinji's assent, which he yelled without stopping. Immediately, though, his look ceased to be hilarious, as if he had suddenly remembered something serious. "Hai... Touji, my friend, I really think that guy's in love..." Kensuke said after having made sure that Shinji was far enough not to hear them. "Right", his friend answered, taking his gaze away from the boy, who had almost reached the school gate. "Actually, he's the first boy to show some interest in Rei... I mean, keeps showing it..." Kensuke nodded "True, true. After all, Ayanami is not one who goes unnoticed... do you remember the day when she first came to the school? She raised everybody's interest..." "Yes, but when we realized how morose and taciturn her character was, we kept away from her. No one did anything but avoid her..." Touji continued Kensuke's thoughts "Actually, she seems to have an aura of sadness and loneliness... that's too bad. This way, all her beauty will go to waste..." he mumbled, disappointment in his voice, while he slowly crossed his arms. "Besides, since she got transferred here, I've never seen her with someone else, here at the school... she doesn't seem to have made friends with anybody..." "Maybe, getting to know her better... after all, among all of us, Shinj is the one who spends the most time with her... well.. we only see her at school, while he..." Touji confusedly tried to explain his ideas about the issue. Truth was that, after all, he wasn't able to consider Rei as an emotionless being, as often other classmates called her, when gossiping... "After all, we never made any effort to try and understand her feelings. I must admit we've all been a little selfish..." Kensuke lowered his head, an unusual gesture for him, while he uttered those words. He looked sad and sorry, it was obvious all he'd said was true. And this truth hurt them, too... "Who cares! Anyway, now Shinji's there with her. So, it's no use crying over spilt milk, my friend." Touji said in high-pitched voice, erasing the sad atmosphere that had been borne from their thoughts about the blue haired girl. Kensuke understood his classmate's thought, and smiling, came down from the wall he was sitting on. "You're right. But now, we better go change our clothes if we really want to take pictures of those babes in swim suits!" Touji didn't let his friend repeat himself, and after winking again at him, he ran with Kensuke toward the school's gate. Meanwhile, Shinj still felt unsure and embarrassed because of Kensuke's words. *Damn!. .. it necessary for them to tease me every time they get the chance ?...* The boy thought, helpless. But Kensuke's and Touji's words had had a strange effect on him. Maybe, if they'd been talking about some other girl, he wouldn't have felt so embarrassed... Who knows why every time they talked about Ayanami, his heart began to beat one thousand times a minute, and his complexion changed into a ripe tomato's. He couldn't give himself a reason why. He sighed, while slowly slid open the door to his class slide on its rail. But at the moment the door opened, something struck his attention: the classroom, unlike what he was expecting, was completely empty. "What?..." the boy, still dazed and confused, went forward, at first leaning to better see around, then slowly taking a few cautious steps inwards. He wasn't finished looking around yet, when he suddenly noticed something unusual on the floor between the desks in the back row, and while he was approaching to examine it, he was surprised to find what he had been looking for since he had entered the classroom: Rei Ayanami. "Ayan..." Shinji stopped suddenly, when he realized the girl seemed to be laying on the classroom floor, unconscious. The Third Child's look abruptly changed into one of great fear, and so, putting aside the very personal feelings he had for her, he shoved aside the row of desks that were in his way and reached her side "AYANAMI!!!" The boy's shout echoed all over the empty classroom, and perhaps reached even the lobby, like lighting from a clear sky, Shinji, once he was on his knees next to her, hurried to take her in his arms and put her on his knees, trying to stay calm and check her condition, before panic could completely envelope him. "Ayanami!!" Rei's face was whiter than snow, and her eyes gave no sign of opening, not even at the warm touch of the boy's hands; but luckily, the labored breathing that came from the girl confirmed to the boy that she was alive. Shinji tried to take heart from this detail; who knows why, in such situations he always thought about the worst... "Hey! Ayanami, come on, wake up!" Shinji's alarmed voice grew more urgent, while he swiftly stroked the girl's shoulder to revive her. And he did. "Mmmm..." Rei reacted almost immediately to those motions, and to Shinj's great joy, with apparent effort she opened her intense red eyes. Eyes where it was possible to observe the immense physical and psychological weakness in that moment... "I... don't... want... don't" Those were the very first words utterd from Rei's lips, still dazed and confused. But as soon as she focused the silhouette in front of her, who was cradling her in his arms, she stopped talking, and her looked became one of surprise. "Ik..Ikari-kun...!" Hearing his name, Shinji sighed out of relief, and on his face appeared a spontaneous smile of gratitude. But he certainly didn't give any thought to the words that Rei had uttered in a state of confusion... "Ayanami! What's the matter?? Are you sick??" Ikari-kun, even though he had resuscitated the girl, couldn't stop worrying about her. If she had fainted, there surely was a reason.. Rei put her hand to her head, while she tried hard to recall the last events around her. "Did I... faint?" She asked with a confused tone. Shinji nodded, while he kept supporting her on her feet, an arm around her shoulders. Rei looked so frail and helpless... she obviously wasn't feeling well at all. It was the second time he took her in his arms in a time of need; the first time was when he had just arrived to NeoTokyo-3, that time too, she wasn't feeling well. And that time too... he had her in his arms. This detail made Shinji blush, from the embarrassment at thinking how their classmates would have reacted, in finding them in that position. Especially Touji and Kensuke, who would have found evidence of what they suspected. "Ehm...come on, sit here..." Slowly, Shinji helped her get up from the floor, putting her delicately on the first chair available. He couldn't help but notice the efforts she was making to get up, and this added to his worry. Why was he worrying so much about her? After a few seconds pause, interspersed by Rei's silence and labored breathing, the boy, seeing that things weren't improving, took a decision. "We better go to the infirmary, let me help you..." he mumbled, taking Rei's arm and putting it around his neck, for support. But at those words, something seemed to click in Rei, that made her object to Shinj's idea. "No... it isn't necess..." She wasn't able to complete the sentence, because a sudden rumble came from her stomach to her and Ikari's ears. Shinj had already prepared an answer to persuade her to be taken to the infirmary, when he had to swallow it, because something unexpected had happened... "But this is hunger!" Shinji went back on his steps, and again he helped the girl sit on the same chair. "Haven't you had anything to eat, today?" "No..." Was Rei's coincise answer, that expressed an unusual guilty feeling "... I haven't eaten or slept since yesterday, I feel queasy..." Shinji looked almost offended at those words. It was unconceivable! Why should Rei go a whole day without sleep and food?? Now he could clearly see why she'd fainted. The whole situation was, to say the least, unbearable. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. "What?? And why?!?!?" Shinji couldn't hide his astonishment, and his voice had involuntarily reached a high pitch, unlike Rei's, that didn't change a bit, both beacuse she couldn't gather the necessary strength, and because it wasn't her way to do such a thing... "I've been... very busy, and just haven't had the time to eat and sleep..." The blue-haired girl's voice almost seemed unwilling to betray the truth hidden behind her words. She took her eyes off the boy, pointing them to the left, to keep them from crossing Shinji's. "You didn't have time to... eat and to sleep???" Shinji couldn't buy it. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed unbelievable. How could Rei not have had time enough to fulfill such primary needs? "NERV business?" Rei thought about it for a moment, before speaking, and from her look it was easy to see that she found it difficult to give an answer. "Yes... let's say so..." Shinji didn't pay much attention to Rei's answer, he knew she wasn't very talkative, and she hated it when people intruded on her private life. So he didn't ask her anything else, but just took a bentou with his lunch from his bag, which was on desk close to him. After that, he went to Ayanami again and offered it to her, saying: "Dozoo, here's mine. I hope you like springrolls..." Shinji smiled while he waited for the girl to get his lunch from his hands. He liked to help her and to be kind toward her. After all, he perfectly knew that Rei couldn't love that much her lonely moments. He was in her same condition, after all... Rei took her gaze away from the emptiness where it was lost, and turned to face Shinji, visibly surprised. Her look was so sweet and innocent, that Shinji couldn't hold back a shy smile that was surfacing on his lips. "Dozoo! Take it! I'm happily giving it to you, come on! I've already had lunch..." Of course, this was a lie; Shinj had not eaten anything, but he sure wasn't in Rei's condition. He'd had a hearty breakfast at home before going to school, so he wasn't really starving. Rei, after a few moments' pause, took in her hand the small lunchbox, stuttering a very shy "Th.. thank you...Ikari". Once again, Sjinji answered with a smile. Such were the little things in his life that made him happy. It was the first time that Shinji had given something to Rei: he felt different, his heart was beating one thousand times a minute. But something broke the magic of that moment: there was something strange in Rei. The girl's gaze looked somehow different, there was an added shade of sadness. And it wasn't only the quesiness she'd felt a while ago... Of course, Rei sure isn't a joyful and talkative girl; her silhouette is constantly shrouded in a thick halo of mystery, but that day a little more sadness was clearly visible in her eyes: she looked on the verge of tears, and was more pale than usual. "A...Ayanami...your eyes shine...is there something wrong?" Rei shook her head, as if she had been fearing such a question from the boy. "No... it's all right..." She went on opening the lunchbox. "It's... all right..." "AAAAAAH!!! Here you are!!!! " To suddenly break the sweet and sour atmosphere that had been created inside the classroom, Touji and Kensuke, coming back to the classroom and catching their classmate red-handed, didn't waste any time in pointing at him and accusing him of being with his "chick". "To...Touji!! Kensuke!!" Unlike Rei, who just turned and watched the boys without really paying attention, Shinji couldn't hide his embarrassment and shame. And he was perfectly right. Kensuke quickly grabbed Shinji's shoulders from behind, as if he were a koala. "That's it, master!! That's why you fled so quickly a little ago, didn't you??" "Aaah!! But... but... but what are you talking about, Kensuke!!" The boy answered trying to break free. But it wasn't easy for him, since Touji had intervened to make matters worse. "Sure, sure!... When you can't take it anymore you just flee, don't you??" The boy jokingly said, stroking Shinj's hair with one hand. " Tell the truth, what were you guys been doing before we came in??" He went on, amusing himself in teasing the Third Child. "But it isn't so!!!" Shinji's complexion went purple again, especially because this time Rei was there, who was observing the scene, confused. But, luckily for him, the two brats began to behave, admitting they'd already tortured Shinj enough for the day. So Touji, patting Shinji's shoulder, explained the reason why they's come back into the classroom. "You better hurry and go change your clothes! The P.E. teacher says you're the only one missing, and if you're late again you're going to get a note!" Shinji looked unwilling to leave again Rei alone, and his friends didn't get it, and seeing that their friend was hesitating, they were about to take him under his arms on both sides and drag him outside. "No!! Wait!! LET ME GO!!" Shinj's cries couldn't change his classmates' minds, so, after a few secs, the boy found himself, willy-nilly, outside the classroom. Leaving Rei once again into the arms of loneliness... Silence ruled the room again. Rei sighed and helplessly lowered her head, while using one hand to take, slowly, the two bamboo sticks inside Shinji's bentou. Her look was thoughtful... as if she'd been reflecting for a moment... "To flee..." The girl repeated with almost unperceivable voice the words that Kensuke had just told Shinji "...when you can't take it... anymore..." End of Chapter 1 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ~*~ Note: the bentou is the typical lunch-box, divided in compartments, that the Japanese use (in the anime, they're usually tied up in cloth), and that vary in form and dimension. Some are really similar to our metal containers for stationery (the long-shaped boxes) but with a lot more room. ~*~ Usually, for Japanese boys trading a bentou with, or preparing it for another boy/girls is a way to show him/her their special feelings . For young people seeing each other, this is one of the most romantic things they could think of ^_^; that's why Shinji is so embarrassed when Kensuke and Touji come into the classroom and see him having lunch with Rei ^_^; ~*~ Many thanks to Marcello Clarizia for the translation of this chapter. Many thanks also to Alvin Au and Jason Carter for the correction of it!^_^ THANKS!! ^.^ ~*~ If you wanna ask me something, please email me to reichan@inwind.it or visit my website (In italian and in english) http://members.tripod.it/aoitears ~*~ DO NOT FORGET TO REVIEW!!!!!