Note: there are some lime-ish aspects to this chapter, but nothing more
offensive than anything seen in Evangelion TV series itself. Just 
wanted those who worry about such things to be aware ^_^


Chain Lightning Studios Presents
 Together We Stand Book Two
          Divided We Fall
          By T. L. Webb



Does anybody here remember Vera Lynn?
Remember how she said that we would meet again
some sunny day?
         Vera
            Pink Floyd, The Wall

[]=======================[]
   Book Two, Part Nine
[]=======================[]


     "Watch out, idiot!"


[]=======[]
   Then:
[]=======[]
  
      
       The two skateboarders missed crashing into one another 
by inches, but the quick adjustments that had averted their 
impact did not totally leave the two unscathed. One ended up 
misjudging his descent down a nearby handicapped ramp and 
lost his balance-- resulting in his skateboard shooting up the 
ramp without him. The other was sent tumbling as her board 
glanced off a step and dislodged her from its back.         

          Climbing to his feet, the first boarder rubbed his sore 
arse and shook his head to clear his somewhat jumbled 
thoughts. He'd seen the other boarder at the very last second 
as he'd come around a hedge and had she not shouted they 
would have not doubt run directly into one another. He limped 
over to the girl and breathed a quick thanks to above that she'd 
been wearing a helmet... then realized that it wasn't on her 
head, but beside it. 

         "Oh shiest!" he muttered in the local dialect as he knelt 
beside her and gave her a quick once over for injuries. He 
really didn't care much for German as a language, but it was 
great for cursing.
         
       Not seeing any blood save a scraped thigh, he brushed 
some of the raven hair out of her face and checked the pulse at 
her neck-- steady and strong.

        "**miss? Are you awake?**" he asked in German before 
realizing with a start that she was Japanese like him. 
Breathing a sigh of relief that he wouldn't be testing his still 
developing skill with the course language, he switched to 
Japanese

        "Hey, are you alright?" he inquired as a soft groan came 
from somewhere in the mass of hair that still covered most of 
her face.  

       "Wazzat?" she moaned as she opened her eyes and 
squinted up at him.

      "You had a nasty tumble," he told her, "you might want to 
rest for a moment in case you hurt yourself."

        "Ugh, I don't think much more than my pride needs to be 
scraped off the pavement."

         "Are you sure?" he asked as he picked up her helmet, "it 
looks like you hit hard enough to dislodge this-- I'd recommend 
you at least wait a moment to assess the full damage."

         "It didn't pop off, I just didn't strap it down very 
tight. They scratch my chin and leave a nasty mark."

        "You do realize that if you'd hit at a different angle, 
_that_ would leave an even nastier mark... right?"

        "Look, I don't need safety tips from someone who barrels
around blind corners at top speed."

        "Touché!" he replied with a grin, "perhaps we could take 
a step back and try again? I don't think you smacked your head, 
unless you feel dizzy?"

        "I'm alright-- just got the wind knocked out of me, I think 
my hair held the helmet mostly in place."

        "Well that's something to be thankful for.... I don't think I
introduced myself, by the way."

         "You didn't, but I already kind of have you pegged as
'scruffy looking guy from the back row' in B period physics."

        "You have Dr Akira? Hmmm perhaps I should try to stay 
awake for a change, I seem to be missing out on some very 
pretty ladies."

       "Flattery will get you nowhere, buster. Now, you wanna to 
move so I can get up?"

       "Oops, sorry about that."
  
        He moved back and offered her a hand up-- which she
accepted graciously. Once up he remedied the lack of
introductions.

         "I'm Ryouji Kaji. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

         "I'm Misato, nice to meet you too."


[]========[]
     2015
[]========[]


        In Asuka's opinion, one of the greatest benefits of having 
Misato's apartment complex to themselves was that they didn't
have to use the parking garage next door, this made the walk from
the car to apartment much easier when carrying things, and
Misato's visitors were able to park right at the entrance. This didn't
totally make up for having to live with her and Shinji, but it did
make it easy to tell who the visitors were. As she strolled up the
walk from the train station, she was excited to find a familiar car
parked right behind Misato's. 

         Her inpatient wait for the elevator to arrive was followed by
an even less patent wait for the elevator to reach their floor. She
practically burst from the double doors with a gleeful smile on her
face. It had been weeks since she'd seen Kaji and she missed him
terribly. 

    Other people could say whatever they wanted to about her 
feelings toward him, but she knew that it was only a mater of time
before he would be hers. She'd worked it out in her head dozens
of times. All she had to do was make him fall as desperately in
love with her as she was with him by the time she old enough and
then there would be nothing to keep them apart. 

     When she'd found out that he was going to be joining her 
on the Over the Rainbow, she had barely been able to contain 
herself. Even running into Misato had only dampened her 
excitement a little bit. To her it had meant that the time keeping
them apart would be that much shorter. After her failed attempts
to seduce him one night on the carrier it had occurred to her that
Kaji just didn't want to go to jail. So she was content to hold off
any more attempts to trip him until she could do so safely. People
might look down at them for the differences in their ages, but true
love was always misunderstood by the ignorant.

       The only real stumbling block in her plans to trap Kaji had
been, and still was, Misato. Asuka hadn't been worried at first,
after the first meeting it was obvious that Misato had little interest
in rekindling any past romance. The infuriating part had been that
Kaji refused to stop flirting

       She knew it was just his way, and sometimes she doubted he
really did it on purpose, but Kaji's tendency to flirt with every
female he met was quickly rising on Asuka's list of things she
despised. 

      Opening the front door and walking into the apartment, 
she was just about to announce her return when something 
stopped her. She didn't know quite what, but something wasn't 
right. As she removed her shoes and walked down the hall, 
that undeniable element began to crystallize. If they had 
company then the lights should have been on, but she could 
see from where she was that the kitchen and possibly the 
living room were both dark. 

      'Okay,' she thought--refusing to panic, 'maybe they went 
out with Dr. Akagi again.'

    But... there had been shoes at the door. She turned back to 
look, and sure enough-- there were Kaji's shoes. This did not 
imply anything that Asuka wanted to think about, but she found it
impossible to prevent her mind from racing through the
possibilities.

       Her heart pounding, she stepped into the kitchen where a 
half-eaten lunch was sitting out on the table. Beyond the kitchen
she could see the door to Misato's room half-open. Her breath
quickening in anxiety, she walked around the table and into the
living room.

     The only light was a sliver of sunlight cutting through Misato's
curtains, but it revealed more than Asuka wanted to see. In the
darkness of the room there were two shapes draped over the
futon. As one of them shifted she let out a little gasp.

     Taking two steps back, she spun around and ran through 
the living room and hall. If the door hadn't been an automatic
sliding model, she would have slammed it

      'You bitch!' she cursed silently as she ran to the stairwell 
and stopped to catch her breath, 'he's _mine_! How could you 
do that? How could you choose her over me? How?'

      Confused, and heartbroken, Asuka curled up on the steps 
and tried very hard not to cry.  


[]=======[]
   Then
[]=======[]


      "Hi ya, Kaji!" Misato called as she dropped down beside him
on the park bench.

       "Gah!" he cried, jumping in surprise, "would it kill you to give
me a warning-- at least once-- before you pounce from out of
nowhere like that?"

       "No, this is more fun," she said with a bright smile, "so what's
the big whoop? Your message said to meet you out here as soon
as I could."

      "Well I was going to ask you to dinner, but your insufferably
rude greeting has me reconsidering it," Kaji responded with a wink
and a smile to let her know he was kidding.

      "Oooohh a date?" Misato sighed with a grin, "you do realize
that I've sent more than one guy to the hospital for presuming he
had my favor?"

       "A prize with no risk is not a prize worth winning Misato, 
didn't you pay attention in Dr. Anno's philosophy course at 
all?"

       "Yeah, but I don't like to think of myself as a prize to 
possess, more like a lioness to be tamed," she added a playful 
flick of her finger on his nose. Suddenly she grabbed his hand 
and stood up. Pulling him to his feet, Misato began dragging 
him across the park to a concession stand.

      "Two shaved ice please," she told the owner--tossing the
money onto the counter before Kaji could reach for his wallet. 
She pushed the cone of flavored ice shavings into his and again
they were off at the breakneck pace that seemed to be Misato's
idea of a leisurely stroll.

       "I believe it's traditional for the male to purchase the
refreshments on a date," he told her with a smile as they reached
the overlook to the local skate park.

      "Did I say this was a date?" she asked sweetly.

      "Well, it _was_ implied," he said with a shrug.

       "Tell you what-- we'll just say that you owe me, and I'll let
you pay me back Friday night. How's that sound?"

       "Like something a devious little minx such as yourself would
come up with," he let out a laugh, "very well, I except. Friday night
it is."

       "Oh, and there is just one more little thing."

       "I hesitate to even ask, but what would that be?"

       "I get to pick the restaurant."


[]======[]
   2015
[]======[]

     
       Shinji and Hikari had stopped off for lunch at the restaurant
they'd had their first meal together in. 

      "So what was this big thing you wanted to show me?" Hikari
asked as she took a sip of her tea.

     Shinji reached into his school bag and produced the old photo
album that sub commander Fuyutski had given him a few days
before. 

      "What's that?" she asked him as she scooted her chair over
next to him. 

     "It's a scrapbook from back when they were still building the
Geofront, sometime around ten years ago."

      "I think my parents were around for that," Hikari noted as 
Shinji opened the book to reveal a set of overhead pictures of 
the undeveloped land Tokyo Three would someday occupy. At 
one edge a dark shadowy splotch could bee seen poking out of 
a bare patch of rock. A piece of paper below the photo read-- 
First sighting of Black moon December 1998.

     "Shinji... is that the Geofront?" Hikari asked with surprise.

      "I'm pretty sure, I mean it is in the right spot... from what 
I can guess they found it and just built the city around it."

      "But... if we didn't build it..." she trailed off, confused.

      "I don't think anyone knows," he replied, "and I'm afraid to
ask, they might take this away from me if they learn I know even
this much."

      "I can see why, I mean this is totally against the official
records. If some reporter got ahold of just that picture it would 
be just as bad as when Nerv opened it's second branch in the US and
they had to admit that their test sight actual existed."

      "Yeah, Kensuke told me about that, but check this one out,"
he turned a few pages and there was a set of black and white
photos that showed a glowing white figure that dimly resembled an
Eva. Beside that there was a satellite photo of the sea around
Antarctica. Below both of these was a torn piece of paper with
several words jotted down

White Moon,
Second Impact
Lance of Longinus?
Anti AT Field
Lilith
Katsuragi experiment

Below all of them there was a single name underlined and 
circled. 

Adam 

     "What is that?" Hikari asked.

      "I don't know... I think it's an angel, maybe the first or 
the second one... mind you, I still haven't gone through the whole
book. They've been calling our enemies Angels though...And I
think there was something about an Adam that has to do with 
the religious stuff."

      "I guess... I never really thought much about it."

      "Me neither... but I'm starting to think Mr. Fuyutski gave 
me this for more than just the pictures of my mom..."
       
     "Can I see one?" Hikari asked, suddenly glad for the
opportunity to change subject. She didn't know what all the
information in the scrapbook meant, but it frightened her. 

      "Huh? Oh, sure," he replied, turning to one of the middle
pages. It was the same one he'd seen first with his father and 
Fuyutski standing beside where Yui Ikari sat. Hikari looked at it
for a moment, then looked up to Shinji. She stared at him for a
few moments then looked back to the picture.

       "S-Shinji... I don't know how to ask this... but does she 
remind you of--"

        "Rei, he said-- letting out a sigh of relief, "I'm glad 
you saw that too, I was afraid I was imagining things."

      "But how?"

       "I don't know Hikari. There are a lot of things going on 
that are just weird... you know, my first impulse was to take 
this right to Rei and show her... but then I got to thinking. 
Rei is our friend, but she answers directly to the Commander.
After that day at Mom's grave I'm pretty sure he told her to 
report any questions about where she came from directly to him. 
There's stuff in here that could make this whole mess make sense, 
but not if we lose it. As much as I want to ask her directly I 
just can't risk it."

       "I see what you mean... so what now?"

       "For now we do our job, keep our eye's open and our teeth
together.... What's that look about?"

        "Oh, nothing," she told him as she leaned in and kissed 
him, "Just me being impressed with my boyfriend. We have some time
before Misato and Ritsuko are supposed to show up for dinner,
want to see if the apartment is empty?"

       Shinji's eyes widened, "w-what?"

        "Calm down," Hikari giggled, "I just wanted to listen to 
some more of your music collection."

     "What do you mean 'some more'?"

      "I played a few tapes while you were... Um, gone. I like your
selections by the way."

      "Thanks, If it's the tapes I think you mean then I was
experimenting with something at the time."
 
      "You mean how they have some weird theme? I couldn't place
it, but all the songs on each tape seem to be related somehow. I
still can't place it actually, I mean they were all different kinds 
of music."

       "Well, the experiment was that each song has a similar
underlying bass riff. That's why it's so hard to pick up, because 
the bass is in the background so you don't really notice it on a
conscious level. Even though the tempos change, the basic beat is
the same. I guess it worked if you noticed it."

     "That's kind of cool Shinji, I never would have thought of 
that."

     "I really hadn't even planed on showing that to anyone.... You
really liked it?"

       "I speak the truth, silly-- of course I liked it!"

       "Well... if you liked that... I have another little project 
in mind. Mind if I run some of the ideas past you?"

     "I'd love to hear them," she told him as they paid and left 
the restaurant, "we have a lot of lost time to make up for--let's 
get started."
   
 
[]======[]
    Then
[]======[]


     "A ramen stand?" Kaji asked Misato in surprise.

     "Yeah, a ramen stand... you complaining about my 
choice of dining establishments?"

     "No, just surprised to find one in Germany-- much less so
close to school."

      "Really?" Misato asked, "With all the students from Japan I
would have been surprised _not_ to find one so close."
    
     "Well you do have a point, so what are you going to order?"

     Misato ordered the most expensive item on the list--which was
still considerably cheaper than most of the other restaurants they
could have gone to, and after Kaji ordered as well they sat down
to eat and watch the sunset.

      "I'm so glad we'll all be going back to Japan once we graduate,"
Misato told him as she snuggled up close, "it gets  so cold here."

        "I'm not exactly in a position to complain at the moment," 
he said as he put an arm around her, "but you must admit that the 
countryside is lovely... hard to believe  most of this country has 
been razed to the ground two or three times  in the past hundred 
years."

        "I guess... but you can still see the scars."

       "On the land or its people?"

       "Both really. Most of the battlegrounds are so obvious 
because of all the trenches and bombings just totaled the hillsides, 
and the people... you know how they wont let us go  outside of the 
town during the week?"

         "Yes, we've had three attacks this year alone. I don't 
think it's the people Misato, People are about the same inside 
no matter what they look like outside. Look at our own country-- we
call anyone not of Japanese descent by what most other countries
would consider a racial slur on a casual basis."
      
      "I guess... but you're right Kaji, this is a beautiful country. 
It's just a shame its people can't realize what they have."

         "So," Kaji said cheerfully, " changing the subject as quickly 
as possible-- what do you want to do next on our little date?"

           "Um... Kaji? Not that I'm some expert on it or anything? But 
if I'm not mistaken it's the guy's job to plan the date."

     "True, but I thought I'd break the pattern and at least give you the
option before I started dragging you all over town to bore you with the
mundane things that I'm interested in."

        "Well... in that case," she sat up and began whispering in his
ear--causing his face to go bright red.

         "Are you serious?"

         "Yep."

         "Are you sure?"

          "Uh huh."

         "...Then who am I to argue?"


[]======[]
   2015
[]======[]


       [TetsuShojo] oh crap Kensuke, I just saw what time it 
was... sometimes I hate this annoying need that the human 
body has for sleep *sigh*

       [TheMechSage] *lol* don't worry, we'll talk again 
tomorrow

        [TetsuShojo] yeah, it's just that this is about the only 
good part of my day anymore, and I want it to last.

        [TheMechSage] tell you what, next week we'll have 
another "date". What movie do you want to download?

        [TetsuShojo] hmm surprise me, but no more hentai! ^_^

        [TheMechSage] as I recall, _you_ were the one who 
picked that movie =P

         [TetsuShojo] whoops... well I better go before anymore 
of my foot ends up in my mouth. Goodnight sweetie *kisses*

     Kensuke logged off and, with one last longing look at the blank
monitor of his computer, reached for the phone. It only rung once and
Shinji answered cheerfully. He was glad that his friend was in high
spirits, as such a mood had been rare until recently.

       "Oh, hey Kensuke," Shinji said, "what's going on?"

      "Not much, just decided to see what and your better half were up
to."

       "Looks like your psychic streak is slipping Kensuke, she left an
hour ago."

        "Well I was half right," Kensuke noted with a chuckle, "I mean
she was there at least."

        "Give it up and just admit you were wrong," Shinji teased--
another rarity for him. He must really be happy to be alive again,
Kensuke figured.

       "Nah, I rest my case on the grounds that she was actually there.
So anything new? Is the red death still acting funnier than usual?"

       "Kinda... she's been gone all day, Hikari says she'll talk to her 
at the next harmonics test to see what's wrong."

         "Oh... hey I have a question. I want to get Tetsu something nice, 
but I don't know where to start."

       "Um... why are you asking me?"

       "Shinji, you might not be an expert, but you do have a little more
experience than I do with women. Not much mind you."

         "Well, if I were you I'd ask Hikari. I think that--"

         Over the line, Kensuke heard Misato calling Shinji's name. 

             "Uh... hold on a sec," Shinji said as Kensuke heard the phone
tap against a table. He was about to place it on speakerphone so he
could work on a model when he realized he could hear the others
speaking in Misato's apartment.

         "So we had to leave the last couple of bags," Misato was saying,
"would you be a dear and run down for them?"

        "Sure," Shinji replied, "be right back."

       There were a few moments of silence, and once Shinji was gone
Misato began speaking with someone else-- whose voice Kensuke
didn't recognize.

        "Okay, now where were we?" Misato asked that someone else.

       "You were asking for classified material." the other woman
answered coolly.

       "Grrrr if you use that phrase one more time I'm going to shove
those glasses of yours down your throat--rectaly."

       "I'm serious Misato, I can't talk about these things. The Marduk
institute's files are for the eyes of only about a dozen people the 
world over. The only non-Nerv personnel in the entire city who had access 
to those files was the school principal."

      "Right, this is where I have the problem. A junior Highschool
_principal_ has access to the candidate pool, and I don't? Wanna run
that one by me again?"

         "There are reasons for these decisions Misato, and they were
decided upon long before you even joined Nerv. Just accept it and
move on with your job. Don't get to deeply involved."

         "You are completely full of shit Ritsuko, you know that?"

        "Of course, you constantly remind me."

       The voices drifted to another room, and Kensuke pondered what
he'd just heard. Listening in on the phone line one night he'd heard his
father mention how odd it was that Nerv had produced a pilot just in
time as they had. He also thought it strangely convenient that someone
from the same school as the other three pilots attended had been the
one. Add it all up and it spelled conspiracy, and that was one of his
favorite subjects. 

       "Hey Kensuke?" Shinji's voice said--startling him out of his
thoughts.

       "Yeah, I'm still here," Kensuke responded quickly.

        "I'm afraid I gotta go and get dinner started. See you in school,
okay?"

        "Sound like a plan," Kensuke said as he said goodbye and hung
up.

        'So the principal has a list of pilot candidates...' he thought, 
'it just might be time to test my snooping skills'


[]======[]
    Then
[]======[]


        The two stumbled into the dorm room in a fit of giggles and
fumbled kisses. Kaji just barely managed to hang his coat when a very
demanding Misato grabbed him by the arm and dragged him further
into the dark apartment. The immediate goal was obvious, and while
Kaji was willing, he was hesitant to proceed in the inebriated state they
were both enjoying.

     They'd begun their little party with a trip to an off campus bar.
After a round of drinks, Misato had announced it was time to go to the
second phase of their date-- which had been a rather steamy movie.
Instead of the anticipated romantic atmosphere Kaji had expected upon
finding they were the soul occupants in the theater, the movie turned
out to be so bad that they spent the night making jokes at the on-screen 
antics.

     From there they had hit the bar again, and after a further amount of
alcohol, they'd returned to the theater for yet another round of even
more hilarious heckling. Afterwards they'd returned to the bar, and
once last call had come around Misato had announced they were
heading to his place. 
   
      They'd had the time of their lives that night, and if Misato had
anything to say about it, it wasn't over just yet.

     However, just as they reached the bedroom, Kaji noticed that
Misato was suddenly looking a little green around the gills. Not
wanting to ruin any of his possessions, he pulled her quickly to the
bathroom-- reaching it just as the dam burst. 

          As she heaved into the toilet, Kaji leaned against the shower,
partially in relief that he'd made it in time, but also in relief that 
Misato would no doubt be feeling a little less amorous for the next few 
hours. Not that he didn't want her-- gods no! It was all he could do to 
keep his eyes off her most of the time! He had his reasons, and he'd been
ragged on for that particular streak of chivalry, but he held to it
nevertheless. 

     As Misato finished worshiping the porcelain deity, he handed her a
damp washcloth and helped her to her feet. 

      'Drinking till she throws up,' he thought in sour amusement as he 
led her to the futon, 'I'd forgotten what party animals we collage kids 
could be.'

      Setting her down on the mattress, he placed a set of covers over
her and walked to the closet where his extra futon was. She was
asleep by the time he turned around and he shook his head and
chuckled as she began to snore softly. 

     In less than ten minutes, he was asleep himself-- a sardonic smile
plastered on his face.
 

[]======[]
   2015
[]======[]


       "Rise and shine, Shinji," came a voice that roused the sleeping
pilot from his sleep, "I need to speak with you."

      Shinji sat up and rubbed his eyes. Once they had adjusted he
recognized both the voice and its owner as Kaji. 

      "Grundlmumph," he replied as he reached for his clothes.

       "What language was that?" Kaji asked in a bemused tone.

     "That was 'I'm still asleep' for 'I'll be just a moment'," Shinji
replied more coherently. He finished getting dressed and stumbled out
to the hall where Kaji was waiting. Walking softly, they exited the
apartment and Shinji noticed that it was still dark out.

        "What time is it?" he asked as they made their way out of 
the apartment and over to the elevators.

         "Around six in the morning, I think."
  
         "Why are you over so early?"

        "Actually I'm over late, I didn't leave."

        "Er... okay... So what did you need to talk about?"

       "Well... it's a long story and kind of hard to explain, but to 
sum things up-- I'm about to take on a new job of sorts... and if I 
take it I might be gone for a very long time. I got to thinking about 
it and I realized that I didn't have time to take care of my things--
which I won't be needing for a little too long to simply put in storage."

      "Okay, I think I understand, but why tell me?" Shinji asked.

       "I'll get to that, but as I was saying-- I need someone to look 
after a few of my possessions while I'm gone. Consider it a long-term loan
until I reclaim them."

        "I..." Shinji began to catch on, and didn't know quite what to say.
They reached the front door and sitting under the awning was Kaji's
car. It was a red European sports car of an older design. It looked like
it would be more at home in some American spy movie than driving
around the streets of Tokyo Three. 

         As he stared at the vehicle, Kaji reached into his pocket and
produced a set of keys.

       "Once you get your license, remember to get it tuned up every
few thousand miles. The rest of my things are back at my flat, and
there is a list of what goes to you Asuka and Misato. Take care of
yourself, Shinji. See you around."

        "Kaji.. I cant take... this?" his protest turned to a question 
as he looked back up to find that Kaji was already walking down the
sidewalk. Shinji looked down at the keys in his hands and back up to
where Kaji was strolling away. He could hear him whistling a tune as
he put his hands in his pockets. As Kaji rounded a corner, Shinji
scratched his head and wondered why Kaji had sounded more like he
was reading a will than making a loan.


[]======[]
   Then
[]======[]


      Kaji swam back into consciousness to discover something warm
and pleasant to the touch pressed against him. The slight hangover
momentarily forgotten, he opened his eyes to find the warm, pleasant
object was in fact Misato. She was obviously awake, and as his eyes
adjusted further to the soft light of the room, he found hers staring 
into his own.

     "You sleep too much," she said as she gave him a quick kiss on 
the nose.

      "How long have you been there," He asked as she somehow
managed to roll the two of them onto the futon in one spin.

      "Not too long, you're cute when you sleep-- you know? You get
this little droolie on the corner of your mouth."

     "Is that a fact?" he said with a grin, reaching over and puling her
closer, "well, if I might be able to find something similarly cute 
about you-- but you just stay too consistent in your cuteness."

     "If you're trying to talk me out of my undies it isn't going to 
work," Misato said suddenly-- pressing a finger to his lips.

       "I know," he said with a wry smile, "its impossible at any rate."

      "What makes you say that?" Misato demanded as she sharply
pulled a hair from his bangs.

     "You threw them at the movie screen last night," Kaji said simply 
as Misato's eyes widened.

     "Oh... right."

     "Why did you insist on getting so thoroughly trashed last night
anyway? Not that I don't enjoy a good bender once in awhile, but not
if I'm expecting any level of coherent company with the fairer sex."

     "I... I had my reasons," Misato said as she scratched a spot just
above her ribs.

      "Listen, I appreciate you wanting the night to go smoothly, but I
need to make something clear-- I'm not going to do this with you if
you're not willing to do it sober."

      Misato's eyes widened as a fierce blush spread across her face.
Kaji frowned as he realized that he'd hit on some aspect of the truth
with that statement.

     "It wasn't like that," Misato said as she turned away slightly, 
"I... I was just scared. I thought that if I did that then I wouldn't 
be."

      "Why would you be afraid?" Kaji asked, "I know that we've only
known one another for a month or two-- but I'd hoped you would have
realized by now that I wouldn't hurt you."

      Misato didn't answer, but she began to unbutton her blouse. Kaji
was so stunned by the action, that he was speechless as she sat up and
removed the cloth. As surprised as he'd been by that, he was even
more stunned to see that from the bottom of her ribs spreading almost
up to her breastbone there was a huge and jagged scar. 

       "This is why I was scared," she whispered, "the last guy who 
saw it was so freaked out that he just grabbed his shoes and left 
the room-- never heard from him after that."

       "How did it happen?" Kaji asked softly as he sat up and brushed
a tear from her face. 

      "I was at the Antarctic base when Second Impact happened, I
don't like to think about it, but I was hurt pretty bad and nearly 
didn't survive. This is just a little memento from that. Kind of a 
turn-off, huh?" 

     Kaji didn't dignify her self-effacing statement with a verbal 
answer, he just leaned in and kissed her.


[]======[]
    2015
[]======[]


       Later that day Shinji was just coming out of the employee's
shower when he heard the screaming. Concerned he turned around a
moment to pinpoint the direction that it was coming from. It only 
took a moment to recognize that the voice was Asuka's, and that it 
was coming from the girl's locker room. The door muffled the voice 
to the degree that he was unable to make out the words, but it was 
obvious that someone had angered the German.

      'Oh no,' he thought, 'she must be pissed at Rei again.'

      That theory was dashed as the sound of footsteps caused him 
to turn and find Rei entering the lounge area that separated the 
male and female baths. She was still in her Plugsuit and he could 
smell the dried LCL on the suit from where he stood. She had 
obviously not been to the baths yet. As he looked from the room 
to Rei and back, he heard another voice countering Asuka's and 
suddenly realized whom it was Asuka was arguing with.

       As he debated whether or not to break up the argument, the 
door slammed open and Asuka stormed out. Her breaths were coming 
out in violent huffs and she practically stomped down the hall as 
she finished buttoning her school uniform. Although he wasn't sure, 
one side of her face seemed to be red. 

      Rei didn't even hesitate; she stepped past him and entered the
bath. A moment passed and just as he was about to walk out of the
lounge himself, he heard Rei's voice.

      "Shinji, come here please."

        As curious as he was concerned, he rushed into the woman's
baths to find Rei kneeling beside Hikari-- who was sitting on the 
floor covering her eye with her hand.

        Forgetting everything else, Shinji dashed up and joined Rei
beside Hikari.
 
       "Are you alright?" He asked as he placed his hand on top of 
hers.

      "Yeah... I mean, I will be," Hikari responded in an annoyed tone,
"thank you Rei, could you get me some ice?"

        "One moment," Rei told her as she stood and walked over to the
locker room area where the refrigerator was. 

      "What happened?" Shinji asked as he moved Hikari's hand from
her eye, revealing a swelling bruise.

       "Oh, I did something stupid," Hikari said with a sigh, "I was 
going to see how Asuka was feeling, but she started in on you and I 
got pissed off. Leaving out all the juicy bits-- we basically ended 
up fighting."

        "But I don't understand, why would she hit you? She's your
friend, isn't she?"

         "Shinji, she didn't take the first swing," Hikari admitted 
sadly.

         'So that's why the side of her face was red,' Shinji realized. 

         "I don't know exactly what's going on with her Shinji," Hikari
continued as Rei returned, "but something is definitely wrong."

         "I will inform Dr. Akagi," Rei announced as she handed Shinji a
rag filled with crushed ice, "she will look into the matter."
 
        "What will they do?" Shinji asked--concerned for his roommate.

     "I do not know. Harmony between the Pilots is almost as important
as between the Eva. They may simply medicate her or place her on
leave of absence. It is for the doctor to determine."

       Having said that, Rei stood and walked over to the washing area.
As Shinji turned back to Hikari and held the icepack against her eye,
he leaned in and kissed her on the other cheek.

      "Thanks for defending me, but it wasn't necessary. You know that
I don't want you getting hurt because of me."

     "I know that, sweetie, but I was just so mad... I wish I knew what 
was really bothering her. Its frustrating having to dig past the wall 
she's placed around herself."

         "Well," he said as he helped her to her feet, "perseverance wins
the battle."
 
       "I hope so," Hikari said. She was about to add something else
when she stopped and grabbed hold of Shinji's arm. 

       "If you turn around I'll be forced to hurt you," she told him with 
a giggle. 

        "Wha?" he asked as she pushed him towards the door.

       "Um, lets just say that Rei still hasn't gotten the 'don't undress
around men' thing down."

       "Oh," he replied as they left the room, leaving Rei alone in the
bath to scrub off the foul smell of stale LCL.


[]======[]
   Then
[]======[]

    
     As he poured a little more soap onto the washcloth, Kaji whistled a
happy little tune. Misato was due back with the takeout any moment
and he was taking the opportunity to scrub up a little. They'd been
taking turns making to food runs, this was the seventh one, he thought-- 
honestly he'd lost track. 

      He was going to hate himself when his grades came back in, but
the past couple of days-- and nights-- had been worth it. Particularly
that second night with the massage.  Besides, he could handle a day or
two of no-show in class, from what he'd seen last semester, both he
and Misato had been in the top five percent of their class. It wasn't as
if he had some major goal other than to survive until graduation. Most
of the kids here were a sure thing to be hired-- the hard part had been
getting in and keeping their scores passing for the duration.

       Suddenly, he heard a rustling and Misato was wrapped around
him. 

       "Hey there-- the Pizza's here," she purred in his ear.      

     "I'll be out in a bit-- assuming you don't detain me here."

      "You spend too much time in the bath anyway. What, are you
trying to wash away the sins of our past couple of days?"

      "No, more like one from several years ago," He said, "but that's 
a story for another day."
       

[]======[]
   2015
[]======[]


         "Hey Misato?" Shinji called as he and Hikari walked into her
office. He switched on the light, and found that she was not napping
behind the stack of UN paperwork as he'd suspected. Hikari sat
down in the guest chair and grabbed a small mirror out of her purse.

       "I don't think it's going to swell anymore...if I'm lucky I 
won't have too bad a shiner."

        "Don't worry, I haven't even noticed it for the past twenty
minutes," Shinji said, "I wonder where Misato is."

       "I dunno, she's usually here around now... maybe there was a
meeting?"

       "Could be, wanna just call it a night?"

       "Sound fine to me, how's a movie and chilled ramen fest over at
my place sound?"

        "Sounds great, we can check in with Misato when she gets
home.... Um, Kodama isn't going to be threatening my life is she?"

       "Don't worry, she's promised to behave, so she'll at least 
try to act civil around you."

       "Well that's good to know," Shinji said as he took her hand, 
"by the way, you're never going to believe what happened this 
morning..."


[]======[]
   Then
[]======[]


     As Ritsuko turned the corner to the science building, she was
surprised to see her friend Misato standing beside the courtyard
fountain. The reason she was surprised was that Misato had been
absent from class for the past week. In fact, if she hadn't left a
message on their machine, Ritsuko would have called the police. Too
many kids were getting beat up by the locals for her not to worry.

      Shaking her head she strolled up to where her roommate stood
and called out her name.

      "Hey Ritsu!" Misato called back cheerfully; "I was looking for 
ya!"

       Ritsuko frowned. She was more than used to Misato perpetually 
perky attitude, but after ditching school for a week she wasn't in 
the mood.

      "Just where the hell have you been Katsuragi?" she demanded, 
"do you have any idea what your little hiatus is going to do to 
your GPA?"

       "Oh puleeese Ritsu, its not like I care if I only graduate 
tenth in the class instead of first. I'm not here to prove 
anything--unlike you."

       "Okay, okay. But seriously, where have you been?"

        Misato grinned the most smugly satisfied grin that Ritsuko 
had ever seen. Before she could answer, however, someone walked up
and put an arm around her. She frowned a bit but placed her own arm
around his waist and introduced him as Ryouji Kaji.

        Ritsuko was considered by many to be somewhat frigid. She had
only been on two dates in the three years she'd been at the academy
nor had she really had anything resembling a relationship in that time.
She was not stupid however, and knew enough about people to
immediately realize just what Misato had been up to.
       
        "Hello Ritsuko, we had computer programming back in our
sophomore year if I'm not mistaken."

       "You're not," she said causing Misato to look back and forth
between them suspiciously, "nice to see you again... I think."

        "Um, you two know each other?" Misato asked as she reached
down and pinched Kaji on the bum. 

       "Just from class," Ritsuko said, "although we did go out for 
lunch once when we were teamed up on a project. Oh don't look at 
him like that, he kept his hands to himself... I notice he's gotten 
over that habit by the way."

         "Kaji?" Ritsuko heard Misato whisper, "not that I really 
mind... but would you move your hand off my boob? You can play later--
we're in public."

        "My deepest apologies," Kaji said as he moved his hand up to
Misato's shoulder, "I momentarily forgot myself while bathed in the
radiance of two such lovely ladies."

        "Don't tell me you fell for this cheesy pseudo-Shakespearean
routine Misato," Ritsuko said as she shook her head in amusement

       "Why I'm shocked, Ritsu," Kaji said in a hurt voice, "this 'routine'
as you call it is for my own amusement, I wouldn't dream of using it to
pick up women.... Unless you're implying that it actually works?"

         "You two can make dirty faces at each other later," Misato told
them, " right now I need food."

          "Alright, but I'm not letting you two out of my sight, you'd
probably get picked up on some kind of PDA charge."

      Kidding one another all the way, the three made their way to the
cafeteria.      


[]======[]
   2015
[]======[]


      In the top level of the Geofront's twenty-seventh air vent, a lone
figure leaned right beside the giant fan blades. He looked out into the
shadows of the room and smiled. In a few moments he'd probably be
dead, and he'd come to terms with it. Not that he wanted it to be that
way, but his orders had come directly from Seele, and there was little
if any chance of fooling them after the double cross he'd pulled.

     In a way, Kaji thought of his impending death as penance for what
he'd done to his friends almost two decades past... that long ago day
when they'd been starving and had tried to raid an army storehouse.
His cowardliness that day had cost their lives. Perhaps that's why he'd
been so sympathetic towards Shinji, every time he could help the boy
make the right decision was a slight ease of his own conscience.

     Even so, he knew that there was little chance of an out. Even if he
killed the man who would be rounding the corner any moment he'd still
be hunted down like a dog. Seele had its hooks into everything and he
knew of only one group that had ever confounded their vice-like grip. 

     If he thought he had time to contact them, he'd have done it in a
heartbeat. Unfortunately his orders had come in with no warning and
he'd missed his window to get out of the mess. It seemed that his nose
for trouble had finally led him too deep into the viper's nest.

        After what felt like forever, a pair of footsteps began to echo
through the vent. Moments later the grim looking young man who'd
assisted the kidnapping of Kozo Fuyutski stepped into the light.

       "You're a little late," Kaji said as he gripped the tiny dilinger 
in his pocket. The other man had his gun in hand, and he'd only have one
chance to live through this.

         Suddenly a shot rang out-- startling both men.

         They looked at one another from across the room in shock for 
several eternal moments. Then the young man clutched his chest and 
fell to the floor. Blinking in surprise, Kaji pulled out his weapon and 
scanned the darkness around him. After a moment a shape stepped out from 
the corner, and he lowered his weapon.

          "Well," he said, "this is a surprise."

         "Is it now?" The woman in the back jumpsuit asked.

         "Of course it is my dear. I never expected you to have the steel
for such an act."

        "You'd be surprised what I'm capable of Kaji," she said as she
walked up to the body on the floor, "then again, how do you know
that I'm not going to kill you as well?"

        "The fact that you just asked me that is one clue, but tell me,
Ritsuko, just how long were you standing there? I never heard you
come in."

        "I intercepted this little bacteria's message to you through the
Magi. He wasn't exactly what I'd call professional."

         "I agree... so what happens now? Seele will most likely have my
head by the end of the week anyway, all you've done is make yourself
an accomplice."

       "Seele wont find you Kaji, this body as if now is officially yours.
The Magi will record your death and Seele will be none the wiser
unless you do something stupid."

     "Hmmm it seems I am in your debt... but I am at a loss to
understand this risk you're taking."

          "You are one of the only friends I've ever had Kaji, don't be
insulting."

          "I suppose there is that."

          "So where will you go now?"

         "Well, there is a group that can help me-- providing I can get in
touch with them. They are notoriously elusive."

         "You know.. I recall telling you months ago not to get too
involved in this mess."

         "Ritsuko, have I _ever_ been the type to listen to good advice?"

         "Point taken.... That was one thing you and Misato always had
in common."

          "Oh, we had a little more than that," Kaji said with a laugh.

          "I ... I guess this is goodbye..."

           Kaji stepped up to her and gave her a warm hug. 

          "Look after Misato for me, okay?"

          "I'll try, Kaji... be careful."

           "Always," he said with a smile. 

         And with that he vanished into the shadows.


[]======[]
   Then
[]======[]


      "Hey Misato!" Kaji called as he stepped into their apartment, "I
found a bottle of tequila you always wanted-- straight from what's left
of California!" They'd been living together for months now and while
most of the time he'd never been happier, they'd been a little distant
lately. It was only a few days to graduation and he wanted to make
their last few days in Germany good ones..

      The place wasn't a palace, but it was enough for two lovesick
students. He flipped on the light and set the groceries down on the
table. Looking around he noticed that a few things were missing from
the living room.

       'Oh shiest,' he thought, 'don't tell me we've been robbed.'

        He sighed and walked into the bedroom, and was unsurprised to
see a few things were gone in there as well. He scratched his head and
was about to turn back to the living room to call the police when he
noticed something. 

All the missing stuff was Misato's.

       A cold sweat broke out across his brow as he saw the message
light on his phone was blinking. Nervously, he walked up and pressed
play.

       Kaji.
       With any luck you'll listen to this before you 
 jump to any crazy conclusions. I wish there was a 
 better way to say this, but I need to move back in 
 with Ritsuko. Please don't call, this is something 
 that I need to work out on my own. I don't know if 
 I'll be back... I'm sorry 

 Kaji, I wish there was another way to say this 
 but it's over.   
                   
      Goodbye

        He sat down on the futon in shock. It was as if someone had
thrown him off a tall building and he was falling down and down. Even
with how they'd been acting in the past few weeks, he hadn't seen this
coming at all. He'd just assumed her distant attitude had been due to
the approaching tests. What made things worse was that he'd been
considering proposing over the past month or so. 

        Stepping in to the kitchen, he opened the package she'd just
received and pulled out the bottle of tequila that had arrived. He
quickly opened it and drank straight from the bottle. As the alcohol hit
him like a truck, he wandered back to the bedroom and erased the
message. 

      He then stepped up to the window and looked out at the campus. 

        "I just realized...I never had a chance to tell you something,"
 he whispered-- knowing quite well she couldn't hear him, but needing to
say the words aloud, "I never told you that I love you..."


[]=====[]
   2015
[]=====[]


       Asuka opened her door a crack and looked out. She'd just heard
something that sounded like a table banging a wall. With the door
open, she could hear a voice drifting from the living room, but it was
muffled by something. 

       Curious, she opened her door and walked out. She rounded the
corner of the living room to see Misato kneeling beside the table that
held the phone. The older woman's shoulders were shaking and it
sounded as if she were crying. As she started to turn to go back to her
room, she heard Misato speak again.

      "You damn fool... why couldn't you leave it alone?"

       Not entirely sure what Misato was going on about-- and more
than a little afraid to find out-- Asuka hurried back to her room. She
had more important problems than whatever Misato was sobbing
about. 

         They were trying to humiliate her, she knew that now. 

         She would prove them all wrong of course. She would take the
next angel and tear it apart, and then they would all see that she was
a better pilot than the others. They could go on about Ayanami's focus, 
or Ikari's incredible natural talent or even Horaki's potential... but 
the truth was that none of them were anywhere near as skilled as she 
was. True, she'd had a run of bad luck with the last couple of angels, 
but she was ready to show them all that it was a fluke. All she needed 
was a chance. One opening to attack and she'd prove that she was the 
best Pilot in all of Nerv.

       After all-- look at her competition! A suicidal basketcase, an
introverted little brown noser, and a lovesick snob. How any of them
had qualified to pilot an Eva was beyond her. 

      As soon as the next angel attacked she'd show them all what she
could do.


[]====================[]
   To be continued...
[]====================[]


      Author's incoherent babbling
   
    Well another chapter done much faster than I'd anticipated ^_^

      I was dreading this one boys and girls and those who aren't sure--
lemme tell you! The thing about this chapter is its more or less two fics
in one-- not easy to do. I think I have most of the kinks hammered
out, but if anyone has some suggestions for the final posted draft, I'm
open to them.

     Anyway, I want to point out that the thing about Kaji's past as a
kid came from the translation I received over the EML of the
Evangelion Manga. The short story is that after second impact when
Kaji was a kid he and some friends were starving to death and tried to
steal some food. Kaji got caught and if I remember correctly the
soldiers forced him into telling them where his friends were. His 
friends all died as a result, and I think maybe his brother, although I 
don't recall exactly. This was revealed during the 'you need to go kick 
the 14th angel's ass now' pep talk (okay, so in the manga it wasn't the
14th, but y'all know which Angel I mean ^_^)

    Huh? Why did I let Kaji live? Well I'll be getting to that later
(besides, I don't believe that until we see the body he's really dead--
blame it on a misspent youth reading Marvel Comics ^_^)

     Lesse, things to come-- Asuka will be sliding deeper into her 
not-so-happy-place, and we'll learn more about the Marduk's candidate
list--that scene with Kensuke was _not_ an accident. Also, as Kaji
eluded to back there, I'm introducing a aspect to the story which may
cause some debate, but I find to be at least a little plausible. 

     Its interesting... in the outline I had planned some things that
happened in this chapter were originally scheduled to occur last
chapter, but as I wrote I realized it was too soon and pushed it back.
This story is leading me in some intriguing directions. Originally I 
didn't intend to do the flashing back and forward. There was originally 
going to be only a couple of them, but when I started this chapter it 
just seemed the thing to do. I dunno... 

     Anyway, other projects are proceeding nicely, I've got the first 
draft of Mojo Rising done, and am awaiting feedback... incidentally I 
could use pre-readers on that, if anyone's interested. It would help 
if you'd read Strike Fiss's Omoi series, but it's not 100% mandatory.

    I've resumed working on Unreal as well, I'm having trouble with a
couple of scenes, but it's proceeding nicely-- keep in mind that I'm 
doing multiple projects at once here, so even if you're waiting on a 
specific project, at least you can rest assured that _something_ will 
come out of from Chain Lightning on a semi-regular basis ^_^ 

      anyway, last but not least, I've _still_ got that Hazard fic 
kicking around, I've about got the kinks hammered out of the outline 
now and I'll be resuming full production after Mojo is done. Also, 
that Cowboy Bebop fic is under re-evaluation as I've got some 
interesting new ideas I want to use in it that ought to make it flow 
a little better than it did before... for those of you who are 
worried about retcons, it takes place somewhere between 'my funny 
valentine' and the last four episodes. While I do have a few little 
ideas of how to do a continuation, I have no plans at the moment to 
do so. 

anyway, enough of my yammering-- I'm outta here

LOVE and PEACE!

Hotwire
Chain Lightning Studios
http://www.chainlightningstudios.com