And most importantly, no more Angels had appeared, giving everyone a much-needed rest. In fact, Misato wanted all the pilots to relax a great deal since they had all been under a great deal of stress by her sense. She had brought all four of them with her, including Kaji as an �escort�, to a shopping mall that had just recently opened in Tokyo-3.

Kaji, Shinji, and Cirus did little more than follow the girls around as they went from store to store, either window shopping or buying much more than they needed. Rei was of course her usual calm self and it was actually quite something to see her walking around with all of them. Misato knew that it was mainly due to Cirus walking just a few feet behind her that she was so complacent and cooperative.

Kaji looked down at his watch and sighed. �It�s about lunch time, Katsuragi. Shouldn�t we get something to eat?� he asked, obviously more weary from walking around than hungry.

Misato stopped and turned around to them as she looked at her own watch. �Hmm, you�re right, Kaji. Well what do you two think?� she asked, looking at Rei and Asuka.

�I do not have a preference,� Rei answered calmly with a shake of her head.

�I�m not hungry yet, I want to shop some more!� Asuka predictably responded instead, her arms flapping up and down frustratedly.

�Well then why don�t we split up? The guys go to the food court and the girls keep shopping?� Misato offered lightly.

Cirus looked at Rei through his glasses to see if he could tell what she wanted to do.

�That�s fine with me,� Kaji answered.

�And me,� Shinji added.

�Yeah, that�ll work,� Asuka agreed with a quick nod.

Misato looked down at Rei with a secretive little smile. �Mmm, and what about you, Rei?�

Rei looked up calmly and hesitated for a moment before giving an awkward shrug.

�Come with us girls, it�ll be more fun,� Misato suggested with a warm smile.

Rei looked over at Cirus who looked back with politely raised eyebrows, wordlessly saying �up to you�.

Rei looked back at Misato. ��A�all right,� she agreed finally.

Asuka and Misato both smiled broadly and Misato switched her bags to one arm before taking Rei�s hand and the three of them started to walk off, Rei more being dragged out of a surprised stupor than walking. She recovered and started to walk with them as they chatted away.

Cirus winced sympathetically and waited for a moment in case Rei decided she would prefer to go with them, but she did not turn back around and so he joined Kaji and Shinji as they made their way to the food court.

On their way into the sea of tables they saw Ritsuko and Maya sitting at a table chatting.

�Ah, Ritsuko, good to see you here,� Kaji greeted her warmly as they walked up. �And the lovely Maya has joined you I see.�

Maya tried in vain to hide her blush by looking down at the table.

Ritsuko smiled and looked up calmly. �And you, Kaji. Mmm, Cirus and Shinji, where are Misato and Rei then?�

Cirus was the only one of the two to noticeably turn pale at the question. He preferred to think it wasn�t that obvious.

�Misato and Asuka managed to persuade Rei to join them shopping,� Kaji explained.

Ritsuko politely raised her eyebrows. �Really? That�s surprising. Well why don�t you three join us?� she offered, motioning at the seats beside her and Maya.

�Thank you very much, Dr. Akagi,� Kaji answered appreciatively and the three of them sat down.

�So what were you two discussing before we so rudely interrupted?� Cirus asked calmly with a faint smile.

Ritsuko smiled again. �Men.�

Cirus noted with a touch of sympathy that Maya�s blush deepened and she shrunk down in her seat. �Indeed, and the man that could catch our fine Maya here would be a fine lucky one,� he said with a broader smile, nodding toward Maya, who he was sitting directly beside.

Ritsuko gave a nod with a warm smile on her face. �I must agree.�

Maya smiled and noticeably relaxed at the praise. ��Thank you, but I�m sure I�m not all that.�

�Ah, Maya, don�t sell yourself short. If not for Katsuragi I would have long ago tried to get my arms around you,� Kaji added with his own broad smile.

This made Maya blush again, but she still smiled. �Oh! �Thank you.�

Misato and Asuka were busily looking through a rack of sweaters since the temperatures were beginning to cool down. Rei, with slightly wide-eyed at the amount of energy they were exuding into their search, watched from a few feet away as they whipped around. Asuka came up beside her. �Come on, Rei, isn�t there anything you like here?� she asked with a bit of a frown.

�But I do not need clothes,� Rei answered calmly.

Asuka dismissed the comment with a wave of both arms. �That�s nonsense, you always need clothes! Come on, shopping is fun!� she said excitedly as she grabbed Rei�s hand and started to drag her off.

Rei blushed as Asuka ran around the store with her, taking clothing off of racks and holding it up the startled young girl to see if they looked about right.

�Oh this looks nice on you, Rei! Oh and this too! And this, and this, and this! Oh there�s so much stuff to try on. Go try some on!� Asuka ordered excitedly, waving Rei off into the dressing room.

�Asuka, she doesn�t need to try everything on,� Misato reminded the young woman with a slightly bewildered look on her face.

�Oh she�ll like it once she tries it!� Asuka replied with a big smile. If she was going to lose Cirus� attention to the girl, she could at least look good.

Rei looked at the pile of clothes Asuka had picked out for her with a puzzled expression on her face. She finally leaned down in the dressing room and picked three pieces out that seemed to look� good to her. She wasn�t used to dressing for the appearance of clothing, so she put it on and went out to see what Misato and Asuka thought of it.

Misato�s big smile and Asuka�s widened eyes told her a great deal.

�Is this good?� she asked nevertheless.

She was wearing a black shirt with a black sweater over it that had very long sleeves and black skin-tight pants made of an elastic cloth. It was actually casual dress, which looked surprisingly good on the young woman.

�It looks very good on you, Rei,� Misato replied warmly.

��Yeah, it does,� Asuka replied in a much slower fashion.

Misato winked and took Rei�s hand. �Come on, we�ll pay for them on the way out and take the tags off so you can show this to Cirus.�

Rei blushed suddenly and stopped Misato. ��That is not needed, we can return them to the shelves.�

Misato smiled and winked again. �Trust me, Rei.�

Rei reluctantly let Misato lead her on, Asuka following quickly behind with a slowly building smile. I�m better than I thought.

The five of them at the table had started a discussion on the quality of food at the mall�s food court, which Cirus occasionally added a comment to, but otherwise stayed out of. Give a person a taste and they think they�re a connoisseur, he thought wryly.

�Hi, Ritsuko!� Misato called out cheerfully as she, Rei, and Asuka walked up. Rei actually was carrying some store bags surprisingly, but even more so, her clothes got everyone�s attention.

Cirus, having been lost in thought, was the last to turn around and see her. His eyes promptly widened behind his glasses. He quickly recovered and stood up, giving an example that Kaji and Shinji followed, to allow Rei to sit in his place. Rei smiled at him as she sat down and he took the seat beside her. Then Asuka sat down with Shinji on her right and Misato and Kaji on the other side.

�Do you like this?� she asked, looking down at her clothes herself.

Cirus perked his eyebrows up. �Do I?� he asked with a amused smile. �You look very nice in casual dress, Rei.�

Rei smiled with a bit of a blush at his compliment before looking down at her lap as the others restarted their food debate.

Cirus� cellular phone suddenly rang and he mentally hit himself for not turning it off. He picked it out of his pocket and answered it, hoping to end the call quickly. �Hello?�

The others heard a muffled voice on the other end, but couldn�t make out the words.

Cirus� mood turned much lighter as he heard what the person had to report and he hung up after a quick good bye. �I have to go check on something, I�ll be back in about a half hour. Where will all of you be?� he asked as he stood up.

�I think we�ll still be here,� Misato answered with a smile.

Cirus nodded with a smile of his own before looking down at Rei�s expectant face. He leaned down to her and whispered in her ear. �I have a surprise for you, so I can�t tell you yet. I�ll be back soon, I promise,� he swore to her lightly, but meaning every word before gently resting his hand on her shoulder as his good bye and leaving the table, tossing a light bye over his shoulder to the rest of them.

�I wonder what that was all about?� Asuka asked in a bored manner.

Rei was looking down at her lap with a smile on soft lips. He�d touched her shoulder so gently, like he was still afraid he didn�t have the right to do so, but it was very comforting when he did. She hoped he came back very soon.

And a little over twenty-five minutes later he did, a warm smile on his face as he walked up the table.

�Ah, Cirus, welcome back,� Misato greeted him first.

He tipped his head to her in reciprocation as he sat back down beside Rei, letting his hand brush against her arm as he did. Rei smiled at the gesture and relaxed again.

�Find what you were looking for?� Asuka asked insinuatingly.

�Indeed I did, Asuka,� Cirus answered lightly. He was obviously in a good mood.

Ritsuko smiled as she stood up, slinging her purse over her shoulder. �Well I hope you all have a good day, I need to get home. Bye,� she said calmly as she walked off.

Maya stood up as well and tipped her head with a cheerful smile. �I think I�ll be off, too. Bye everyone, thanks.�

After they all said their farewells Misato looked at her watch. �Hmm, I guess we should get back home so we can still have a bit of a day to relax.�

�Aw, but I want to shop some more,� Asuka replied sourly.

�I�ll stay with Asuka,� Shinji offered.

�Ah, thank you, Shinji,� Asuka replied with a big smile, hugging the boys arm.

Shinji blushed and scratched the back of his head with his free arm. �No problem, Asuka.�

�That�s very nice of you, Shinji,� Misato replied smiling as she stood up. �Kaji, do you want to stay with the kids or head off with me?�

Kaji stood up. �I think I�ll join you Katsuragi.�

�Okay then. Bye you guys,� Misato waved a cheerful farewell to the pilots as she and Kaji left.

Asuka shortly stood up and started to drag Shinji off with her. Cirus waved nonchalantly over his head at the two of them as Shinji was dragged off. Good luck, my friend. I think you�ll need it.

�What are we going to do now?� Rei asked calmly looking up at him with her red eyes.

Cirus smiled secretively. �That all depends on you. Would you like to join me somewhere private?�

Rei nodded once calmly.

Cirus stood up and waited calmly for Rei to join him before the started off together. �It�s not a very long walk, but would you rather take a cab?� he asked with politely raised eyebrows.

�I do not mind walking,� Rei answered with a brief shake of her head.

�Fair enough,� Cirus replied softly and they continued on.

The mall was close to the border of the city, so they were soon out in a gently shaded hillside dirt path, walking side-by-side. They had been walking for about ten minutes or so when Rei looked up at him with a calmly curious expression on her face. �Do you want to hold my hand?� she asked.

Cirus almost gawked and stumbled, but managed to tone it down to a minor miss-step. He looked down at Rei�s slightly smiling face as she reached out her hand gently. He took it in his and curled his fingers around her soft-skinned hand slowly. It just felt so beautiful to him.

He cleared his throat softly and motioned up ahead with his free hand. �We�ll be there soon. It�s not much farther.�

�All right,� Rei replied calmly.

As they walked Rei heard the sound of falling water grow louder and louder. Finally as they rounded a curve through some bushes she saw the source of the sound, and what a sight it was.

A beautiful little patch of ground with soft grass and a single shady tree led into a small, natural pool with a beautiful little waterfall back to the right. The sun gently shimmered off the bright, smooth rocks and water and didn�t force her to squint at all.

Cirus led her along the small patch of dry ground until they were between the water and tree. He let her sit down on the ground softly first before joining her and looking out at the crystal clear water together silently for a few moments.

Ironically, it was Rei who first broke the silence. ��It is very beautiful here,� she said softly, her voice delicately drifting into Cirus� ears.

He smiled gently. �I�m glad you think so, too. I wanted this to be a good place,� he said.

Rei turned her head to him with a very slight smile and a curious look. �You have been acting very strangely today,� she said lightly.

Cirus� smile broadened warmly as he pulled a small box out of his inner coat pocket. He held the box so that Rei could see it quite clearly and she poked her head down at it with a slightly puzzled expression on her face.

�What is it?� she asked calmly.

Cirus slowly opened the box toward himself, revealing its contents to Rei. A beautiful gold and silver ring was inside. Two hands led from the band on either side of the center and gently held a heart with a crown upon it. The band was laced in a twisting pattern of gold and silver with small diamonds in the crown. It was beautifully crafted and intricately carved.

Rei�s mouth opened softly as she looked down at it, her hand reaching up to cover her mouth.

Cirus smiled again and took the ring out, holding it in one hand and offering her his other hand with a softly expectant nod. Rei slowly reached out with her right hand and lay it down in his before he slipped the ring over her third finger, next to her smallest. He let her pull her hand away as she looked down at the ring on her hand. She looked back up at him with a more urgent air of curiosity in her eyes.

�That is an Irish Claddagh ring,� Cirus explained slowly. �Normally it symbolizes friendship, but in this case�� his voice trailed off as he reached up with his hand to the fingers of her hand, holding them gently. �This is my heart� and its yours for as long as you want it,� he finished softly, his voice not really capable of generating a higher volume without cracking.

Rei�s cheeks turned a faint pink as her eyes slowly revealed her realization. She was so shocked that it took a few moments to clarify in her mind.

�I would have done this much, much sooner, but the ring wasn�t finished until today,� Cirus explained quietly.

Rei was too full of shock and emotion to respond yet. Part of her had just been caressed with the greatest warmth she could have ever thought possible. Her mouth opened as if she was going to speak but no words could make it out past her throat. He was so gentle.

Cirus smiled warmly, taking his glasses off and reaching up with his free hand as he let them fall to the ground, caressing her cheek gently. Rei closed her eyes and smiled, taking in the warmth of his caress as it soothed her. She opened her eyes and looked into his and their soft black depths. She found herself leaning closer to him, her eyes drifting closed again, and he found himself slowly leaning toward her with his eyes closing as well. The soft warmth of his caress drew her close without force, the gentleness of his hand relaxing her infinitely. Rei tilted her head softly with his hand, drawing so close she could feel the warmth of his face near hers. And with wordless consent, their lips touched softly� gently.

Rei finally realized with a sensation of relief in her soul that warmed her heart that she loved him. She loved him so much and his presence made her so happy that she never wanted to be away from him. Tears of happiness ran down her soft, gently blushing cheeks as she felt the warmth from his hand and his lips gently wrap around her heart. She gently reached up and stroked his face with her soft fingers, feeling the warm tears coming from his eyes silently as well. �So kind�

And for the first time, Rei knew what it truly meant to be human.