Title: Above All Else Author: Psilanthropy Chapter:03 -- The Intertwined Souls Kunihirou had waited patiently for hours for Megumi to return. He knew that government woman had taken her away, but he expected her to come back soon after. When he finished the book he was reading, four hours had come and gone, with no Megumi. Watanabe started to wonder if she would come back at all. Perhaps more people from the government would come to apprehend him for kidnapping or something. No, probably not... He'd made sure of that months ago. He wasn't too worried about his roommate. She had always been on top of whatever situation she got into, even though she acted very immature at times. He had never seen her truthfully afraid or totally confused, except when it came to their relationship of course. That was just how humans were. Staring down at the face of death was a simple idea and not hard to do, but knowing true love was so much more deceptive. It couldn't be avoided. Kunihirou felt like he loved Megumi. After all, he had spent the last two years forcing down the urge to call her, to see her face and hear her voice. He'd been cold towards her when she appeared because he was angry. He wanted that part of his life to be over. He hated the fact that he still wanted her. He couldn't deny how he felt, but had all of that emotional heartache been for nothing? No, it wasn't meaningless. He had matured, grown stronger than before. Before Megumi, the only female influence in his life had been his step-mother. Kunihirou had never known his real mother, and he did not know if she was dead or alive. The woman he called "mother" was really his stepmother, but his parents neglected to tell him that she was not his blood. He had found out on his own when he was ten. He hated his parents after that, but his father did his best to make things easier for him. His father had worked as a musician for a local orchestra, and extra money was scarce. However, his father had taught him that money was by no means essential for happiness, that a man should live as he wanted to. His stepmother also worked, at a job in a government office that she constantly complained about. She had worked there for many years, but after a promotion when Kuni was twelve, she stopped complaining. She often stayed out until the early hours of the morning, and went on many business trips. Not soon after, Kunihirou's father, the one person he respected, disappeared. That was in 2025, when Kuni was 14. He moved out soon after, divorcing the mother who did not love him. In an ironic turn of events, his stepmother's father, who had just died, left Kunihirou a great deal of money. That man had been very rich, the former owner of a successful wheel manufacturing company. Why he left his money to his grandson and not his daughter was a mystery, but that woman had succeeded in manipulating the legality of the distribution of money. Kuni, therefore, had very little access to the money, but he'd learned from his father how to go far on a small amount of cash. Since then he had lived alone. And besides the time he spent with Megumi, he had been alone in all other aspects as well. He was lonely, sure, but he was afraid of people and was acutely aware of that fact. He had been antisocial to a fault, until he got his driver's license. Since the population of Japan had been drastically cut by the Second Impact, the government had lowered the driving age to 16 for economic reasons. His step-grandfather had also left a very old car, an show car from the mid-1990s. Racing down mountain roads was a pastime of some of the people in Watanabe's class at the time, and at one point one of them had noticed his car. "It looks like an awesome old-school mountain racer," they told him. So he learned to race like they did and actually did quite well. He got used to the normal crowd, and he talked to them on a regular basis, but they were no more than acquaintances of a common hobby. Mountain racing was how he met Megumi, and later became his escape from her. It was important to him. They dated for about six months before he moved to Tokyo. -- When Megumi finally did come home at four A.M. the next morning, she found Kunihirou asleep on the couch, the book in his lap. She smiled to herself in the darkness; she was glad to be back with the man she loved. Her life had been chaotic after he left, but she'd made it through. She got the blanket off his bed and put it over him, taking the book and setting it aside. She noted its cover in a passing glance. "The Instrumentality of Mankind" by Cordwainer Smith. After Megumi had went to bed, Kunihirou drifted into consciousness for just a second to make one thought. The apartment smelled odd. It took him several seconds to recognize the smell, but when he did, it was a familiar one. He smelled blood. -- In the days leading up to the arrival and subsequent activation testing of the newly dubbed "Second Children," Doctor Ibuki had been very nervous. It had been years since any activation of an Evangelion had been attempted. When Commander Ikari asked her to be the head of Project E, she had a lot of doubts about his motives. She knew about Ikari, the truth about NERV. She knew the now-dissolved SEELE committee had planned to use the EVA series and Unit 01 to start a Third Impact. However, none of that had happened. NERV was shut down very quickly, in matter of days in fact. It seemed like that part of her life was over in a split-second. The government denied her any contact with her friends and co-workers from NERV. They were all given new names, new lives, by the government. She didn't know what became of Aoba or Hyuga or Katsuragi, or even Doctor Akagi. She hadn't heard from the Commander or Fuyutsuki or any of the Children. Indeed, she actually tried to find information on Shinji, Rei, and Asuka a few months afterwards, but found absolutely nothing, even in the more covert channels of information. She got an internship at Kyoto University and decided to continue her studies, eventually earning several master's degrees and becoming very well known for her research into artificial intelligence. She found herself driven to surpass Akagi and the MAGI supercomputers, even though she could never go near the Geofront again. She was shocked when she received a letter from Gendo Ikari three years ago. Apparently he was trying to get government funding to reopen NERV. When Ikari went before the United Nations, she made a special trip to go and observe. The SEELE committee surely must have faded away if Ikari was trying to bring the Geofront back to life. When the UN approved the recreation of NERV, she approached Ikari immediately. The chance was too great to pass up. Initially he showed doubt, but after more consideration he called her and asked. So there she was, with her own personal assistant, much like the position she had been in during NERV's older days. Aida Kensuke was the man she had personally picked. She had heard about him at the University as an up-and-coming military genius, but also a major in biotechnology. She met with him a few times before coming back to NERV and was very impressed by his enthusiasm. When she did return, she expected to find Unit 01 and Unit 02 frozen, just as she remembered them. Things weren't as she remembered, however. Unit 00 had reappeared, already in the early stages of regeneration. Unit 02 was very badly damaged and almost destroyed. Unit 01 had disappeared, and Commander Ikari had cryptic responses on its status at first. When pilots had been located for Units 00 and 02, the regeneration of both units was put onto top priority. Things began to get hectic. It was at that point she requested an assistant. Ikari approved, and Ibuki immediately contacted Aida Kensuke. The enthusiasm she had witnessed earlier was greatly surpassed. She knew he would fit in well. After all, two of his classmates were already in high positions at the new NERV. Ibuki was surprised that so many of the people affected the greatest by the Angel attacks would return to Tokyo, let alone want to be associated with NERV. Suzuhara, Aida, and Horaki had all known the pilots. But that was so long ago, and none of the pilots had been heard from, so maybe they had put it behind them. "Doctor Ibuki?" Maya was startled from her daydreaming to find the commander standing in front of her desk. "Oh, I'm sorry, Commander! I was compiling some of the data on Unit 00, and I guess I dozed off! I'm so sorry!" Ikari held up his hand in protest, a small but amused grin on his face. "Don't apologize. I understand that you are working very hard." "No, it's not that it's too difficult..." "It's OK." Maya nodded slightly. Ikari had been acting strange for the last couple months, kind of like a normal human being with real emotions. "About Unit 00, would it be possible for initial activation tomorrow?" "Well, we still have a lot of inconsistencies in the biomechanical components, and the MAGI provided enough data to reject the idea of an activation until we sort out the problems with the A-10 nerve connections-" "I'd like it ready tomorrow. Please see to it," he said in a more stern tone before leaving. Maya sighed. "This paperwork is just going to keep piling up until the Project R is complete." Project R, the retrieval of Evangelion Unit 01. NERV had been resurrected in 2026, more than three years ago. In the beginning Ikari had been unclear on his intentions. Last time it had been to defeat all Angels and then begin Third Impact. Of course the Angels had been defeated, but Third Impact had not been accomplished. There were no signs of more Angels, but for the time being the goal of NERV was to bring EVA-01 back. Back from where? The moon. Even the MAGI supercomputers could find no reason for that EVA to be there. Theoretically, since EVA couldn't survive in space without special equipment, it was impossible. However it had been verified by satellite and by visual confirmation. EVA-01 rested very near the site of the first moon landing 80 years before, the Lancea Longini in hand. The new S-Type equipment and pilots were the means, and Unit 01's safety was the justification. Everything was already set except the timing. Unit 02's pilot seemed to be willing, but the plans which awaited her might change her mind. Ayanami, of course, would comply, assuming that she synched with the EVA. Maya sighed and dived back to her desktop, furiously typing commands into the MAGI. -- "Fuugo, are you worried about girls? Like, in a serious way?" Ienari put a lot of thought into his response. "Hmm... No, I don't really. It would be nice to have a girlfriend, but I don't want a serious relationship for a few years." He considered asking why Kuni wanted to know, but decided against it. His friend had made no mention of the girl they had picked up more than two weeks ago. At first Fuugo thought she had left again, but since his friend remained so sullen, he was forced to think she was still around. He had more common sense than to ask. As they drove to school, Kunihirou was tense. He knew that Megumi was to begin school soon, and that she would be placed in the same class as he. Things at home had been weird. He wasn't sure if Megumi was completely in love with him or hated his guts. She swung back and forth between the two, with no middle ground. It was hard on Kunihirou. When she was loving him, he felt like things were wrong, like he would be taking advantage of her if he loved her back. When she hated him, he look her harsh words to heart. He couldn't help it. She was the only person who had been so close to him. He felt like he... owed her, for being there. He also felt bad by keeping these things from his one and only friend, but it couldn't be helped. He felt so uncomfortable speaking of his personal life. "Hey, isn't that Ayanami?" Fuugo's voice broke Kuni's concentration. "Huh?" He looked up the road towards the left where his friend was pointing. The blue hair was unmistakable. "Yea, it must be." "You should pull over and see if she wants a ride. That would be the respectable thing to do for your classmate. I mean, I kind of just want to see what she says. She's so odd, you know? She never says anything." "I know." Kuni signaled to the left and brought the Nissan to the side of the road, next to the walking girl, then rolled down the window. "Ayanami-san!" The girl stopped and turned, but made no response. Kuni had a bit of a difficult time trying to figure out if she recognized them. "Do you want a ride to school?" "No, I do not require it." Kuni could barely hear her voice over his car. "Are you sure? You come in late almost every day, so I thought you might want to be there on time, for the sake of your grades." Kuni kind of felt like he could relate to this girl. She was so quiet and always alone. She reminded him of himself in some ways. "I won't ask for anything in return. So how about it?" She stared at him, not blankly, but considering her options. After several moments she nodded. Kuni grinned just a little as Fuugo opened his door and got out, pulling his seat forward so she could get in the back seat. She did so a little clumsily, as if she had never done it before. "Are we classmates?" Ayanami asked after they were back underway. "You don't recognize your classmates?!" Fuugo exclaimed. "Hey, she's only been in our class for a couple weeks, so you can't expect her to know everyone," Kuni said in a neutral tone. "Ayanami-san, where did you attend school before coming to our school?" he asked, looking at her through the rearview mirror. "I attended a class with a private tutor." That made sense to Kunihirou. Since she had very little contact with other kids her own age during her lifetime, she was socially inept. She didn't know how to act around people. "Kunihirou went to a small private school before coming here, too," Fuugo explained. "You two are a lot alike, you know? You're both really quiet and private." Neither of his companions made a response. Fuugo sighed; he had made a mistake. "Sorry, I just..." "No, you're right," Kuni said quickly. "We are alike." Kunihirou noticed Ayanami looking at him. She had a kind of "feel" around her. When he first saw her, he thought she was stuck up, too high and mighty to associate with anyone. Time passed, and his opinion changed. The news about her previous schooling reinforced his feelings. She was so calm and reserved all the time. Kunihirou admired that kind of emotion control. -- "Rei, are things going well at school?" "Yes. There are no problems." Commander Ikari and Ayanami Rei were riding a long elevator into the deeper parts of NERV's headquarters, just as they did almost every day. Ikari held these times with Rei as treasures. "Have you made conversation with any of your classmates?" The girl hesitated just a second. "Yes, I did. Two of my classmates offered my a ride to the school this morning. They were the first to approach me, and I followed your instructions and accepted." Ikari frowned slightly more than before. He wanted things to be better for Rei this time, easier. Maybe then things would turn out differently. "Rei, I didn't tell you to, I suggested it. You didn't have to." She opened her mouth to respond, but paused again. "It's your choice if you want to talk with your classmates or not, do you understand?" "I do. I suppose... I wanted to talk to them." Ikari's brow raised in surprise as he looked at the young woman. She looked back, and her face was abnormally soft. For that brief moment, she reminded him of Yui more than ever before. The look of pure serenity surprised Ikari more than her words. "Any reason?" he asked casually. She made no response. "Do you know their names?" "Ienari Fuugo and Watanabe Kunihirou. I looked for their names in their school profiles." "Oh, I'm surprised you were so interested in these two." Ikari recognized the second name she had given. Watanabe was the boy the Second Children was staying with. He thought it was an odd coincidence that this boy was suddenly associated with both Children. But it was just that- a coincidence. Mathematically it was bound to happen. Ikari did find it odd, however, that Rei would be drawn to him. Yes, she was drawn to that boy. Ikari knew it from the moment she spoke his name. The tone she used was one of pure tranquility, barely pleasant and somewhat inviting. It was true that Ikari had asked her to make some acquaintances at school. The fact that Watanabe had found her was a little troubling. The only person to be caught between the pilots of Units 00 and 02 was Ikari Shinji. Gendo sighed at the memories of his son. He had lost the boy so long ago, long before Third Impact. Ikari lost Shinji the moment Yui disappeared. In the quest to be reunited with her, he had lost his son in every sense of the word. That was a secondary goal of the R Project. Given the variable of the S2 engine, the MAGI gave a sliver of a chance that Shinji might be alive. Of course, that would mean that he had spent the last 14 years alone inside the entry plug on the moon. What a lonely existence that must be. It was unimaginable. In that aspect Gendo wished Shinji was gone, so he would not have endured such a thing. All he wanted was for Shinji to know that he was sorry, for everything. -- Meanwhile, back at the ranch... The sun still hung high in the sky. Kunihirou had quickly eaten after returning from class, hoping to avoid the situation he was now embroiled in. "Where are YOU going?" "I'm going to drive the mountain. It's been almost a months since I've been up there, and I finally convinced some of the other racers to let me come back." Kunihirou was trying to keep a cool head. He had been planning his return to the mountain passes for many days, but Megumi had been gone quite often in the past week, so he hadn't gotten around to telling her. He knew that she would want to come with him, and that was a problem. It was true that she had been scarce in his apartment, but her presence was always in Kuni's mind. He would have felt bad telling her that she couldn't come, so he hadn't told her at all. Megumi stood in the doorway, her hands on her hips and a frown on her face. Watanabe stood a not more than four feet in front of her, wearing his special driving shoes and gloves. Kuni had been leaving, much earlier than he ever had. He had expected her to get home later, and he was leaving early to avoid this exact situation. He could tell that she was becoming angrier with every passing silent moment. He had stated the truth, but he knew she wouldn't let it stop there. "Why didn't you ask me? I like driving too, you know. It's not just you!" "You've been so busy, I felt bad asking you! Don't you feel tired?" he said, trying to make up excuses as he went. "That's not the point, Kuni." They stood in silence, staring at each other. "You were just going to sneak out before I got back. I'm sure when you got home, you'd have some elaborate story about it all. I'm not stupid; I know how you work." "So?" It was a pitiful comeback. Megumi threw up her arms and stomped past him. "Do whatever the hell you want." Kunihirou left angry, but quickly calmed down on his walk to Circle-K. He hadn't gotten around to purchasing a new space in the garage, but the manager of the grocery store had been very understanding. Kunihirou never realized that the small-talk at the cash register every week brought a bond between himself and the usual employees that all recognized him. It was this mindset that separated him from society. He couldn't see the bonds he created just by noticing the same people every day. One good thing about parking at the Circle-K was the fact that a gas station was just across the street. 100 octane was all Kuni had ever put in the Silvia. Only the best for his beloved Silvia. She would never yell at him for leaving or acting odd. She would never leave without him. And maintaining the relationship was easy. Kunihirou loved his car, even though he beat the living crap out of it every time he sat in the driver's seat. Racing a car was no less than pushing it to the limit. Pushing Megumi to the limit was no less than suicide. All day at school he had been excited because of his return to the mountain passes. His racing acquaintances had been reluctant to let him return so soon. He'd broken the most basic law of racing: if you organize a race, show up! But since Kunihirou was considered to be the best racer in Tokyo, they had little choice. "The best racer in Tokyo" sounded like a special title, but it had little real value. Whatever semblance of organization the mountain racers of Japan had before Second Impact was gone. People didn't race in teams anymore, and almost no one left to race in other towns. There were no more than twenty mountain racers in Tokyo. Racing was more of a social event than a competition. Racing had always been his escape from his problems. Kunihirou wasn't surprised when Megumi left early in the morning once again. Ever since she had left that night, she had been gone quite often. When he queried her about her absence, she only had hollow excuses and blatant lies. He had no idea when Megumi return on that day, but to best avoid her he planned on leaving much earlier than he would have on a Megumi-free day. The sun was still up; he wasn't used to that. As he drove around in a Tokyo that was bathed in the oranges and reds of a spring sunset, Kunihirou had nothing to do at all. Fuugo had other plans on that weekend, and obviously Megumi was now out of the picture. Kunihirou had a few hours to waste before he could even start up the mountain. There were many people leaving their jobs and traffic was a little heavy, but Kunihirou enjoyed showing his car off, so he decided to tour the city. -- Soryu Megumi was trying to enjoy her hot bath, but she just couldn't. In the three weeks since she had come to Tokyo her life had changed greatly. She was now the Second Children, a pilot of the biomechanical Evangelion Unit 02. Those things had saved the world from the Angel's attacks fifteen years ago. Now she was a special pilot of the same robot that her half-sister had used. She was so confused about her status as pilot. Were more Angels going to attack Japan? Why else would the EVAs be used? She had found out on this day that the first mission NERV was going to undertake was the retrieval of EVA-01 from the moon. Lieutenant Suzuhara had told her that it was an option for her to pilot EVA to the moon. It sounded like a dream, riding a giant robot into space. However, if she declined the mission, he said she would be dropped from NERV. Megumi had absolutely no idea what she was supposed to do. When that "government woman," named Agent Horaki, had appeared at Watanabe's apartment and introduced her to the EVA and to NERV, Megumi had been ecstatic. The idea of saving the world intoxicated her. She was special; Doctor Ibuki had said that not just anyone could pilot an EVA. The pilot had to be special. In addition she had been reunited with the boy she loved. However, she had been disheartened when she learned that she would be spending a great deal of her time training with the Evangelion. In addition they expected her to enroll at the local school after the first mission. To make her personal matters worse, she wasn't allowed to tell Kunihirou about anything. Kuni was someone who likes things to be clean-cut and evident, with everything out on the table for all to see. This part of his personality complicated things between them, just as it had the last time. Kuni had been acting so cold towards her. Of course she didn't expect him to be the same exact person she met two years earlier, but he was so... changed. He was always quiet and made very few movements. Indeed, she never saw him act in a way that was wasteful of energy. He always moved confidently, with a purpose. There were many times when she would find him so entranced in a book or his music that she couldn't gain his attention without shouting. It was like he was in another world. He hadn't been that way before. What had happened to him in the past two years to make him this way? -- At three in the morning, Kunihirou said his goodbyes and headed back towards the city. His car was running a little on the hot side, so he took it easy. He had a lot of fun that night and had driven well. Anyone who watched him race was impressed. He received many compliments, but he couldn't take them to heart at all. He just did what came naturally. He made a quick stop inside the Circle-K and bought an energy drink. Kuni didn't plan on sleeping that night. By the time he started to walk home, a thick fog covered the city. The humidity made the air heavy, just enough to make his t-shirt cling to his skin. He felt dirty, sticky, and was quickly becoming desperate for a cold shower. The elevator at his apartment complex was refreshingly air-conditioned, even feeling a little chilly since he was used to the heat. When he arrived at his room, he slid his passcard through the slot with some feeling of relief. The little light blinked red. Kuni frowned. His card wouldn't work? He slid the card again, and again. It was denied each time. Kunihirou sighed. Megumi must have changed the coding. She must have been really pissed... Watanabe understood that she was upset, but being locked out of his own apartment bordered on unacceptable, even from the one who was closest to him. Megumi had his heart, but his mind was still his own. He walked back to Circle-K and dialed his phone number from a payphone outside. There was no answer. The night cashier felt bad for him, but Kuni had no inclination to ask her if she had any ideas. His car was the first place he went to find refuge. To his chagrin he had allowed the gas gauge was dangerously near "E," and his ATM card was inside his apartment. Plus the Silvia had no A/C. Sitting for hours in a car with no A/C on a night with no wind was a stagnant way of killing oneself. Ienari was out of town this weekend, so that brought his possibilities down to... zero. Unless... Kunihirou stood next to the payphone outside the Circle-K, leaning against the side of the building. He was thinking about his single possibility, besides spending the entire night in his car. That thought mildly disgusted him. He held nothing against those who hadn't the money for a bed, but he wasn't that kind of person. Therefore, he had only one option. It was a crazy idea, but it was his only option short of sitting in his car until Megumi let him back in. He opened the arm rest and dug into it. Finally he found his class list and located Ayanami's phone number. He deposited more money into the phone and made the call. He highly doubted if she would be awake. The phone rang once, twice, thrice... When she picked up the phone, he wasn't sure what to do. ""Hello?"" He could barely hear her voice. ""Hello?"" Kunihirou's face was comically uncomfortable, and he quickly reached up to scratch his head with his free hand as he spoke. "Oh, hi, Ayanami-san. This is Watanabe Kunihirou, I'm sorry if I woke you up," he said quickly. He realized that he was nervous but didn't understand why. He found himself looking around, as if to try to find something to take his mind off of the conversation. He looked up and sighed quietly. The moon was particularly bright that night, he noticed. Kuni silently swore at the heat wave which had moved into the area as a bead of sweat fell from his brow. ""I was not asleep."" "Oh, OK." That was a little odd. "Um, well, I have a... favor to ask. It's OK if you say no... Well, it's kind of embarrassing... I got locked out of my apartment, and I was wondering if I could stay at your place until tomorrow morning..." His tone varied because of his anxiety, giving off an unwelcomed realism to his need. Watanabe didn't expect her to allow it, but his brain was caught up in the complexities of the simulations in his mind of what might happen if she said yes. Running through little simulations of what would happen, what she would say and how he would respond, was something he did when he was nervous. In fact he did it quite often, even in his spare time, but usually he did it when he was worried about something. ""I have no spare bed."" "I can sleep on the floor, I don't mind," he quickly responded. ""..."" "It's OK if you say no." The silence after he said those words was uncomfortable for Kuni. Being locked out of one's apartment was one deal, but being kicked out was something different. Would Ayanami ask why he needed to stay at her apartment? What would he say? 'Because the girl that lives with me locked me out?' How would she respond to that? ""It is acceptable. However, you must leave by seven."" His eyes widened slightly, and his eyes stopped wandering. "Are you serious?" ""Yes."" Kunihirou sighed with relief, but also when he realized how stupid the question he had asked was. This was Ayanami, after all. If she wasn't being serious, what was she? ""I will expect your arrival."" The phone clicked and dead air filled Kuni's ear. He set the phone down slowly, just a little shocked that she had agreed. Ayanami's apartment was more than thirty blocks away, in the area of the city that was always under construction. The Silvia surely wouldn't make it through so many stoplights. All public transportation was halted at midnight except the trains which ran to other parts of the country. It looked like he was going to have to walk. He considered checking to see if Megumi's car was unlocked since he knew from previous experience how to hot-wire it. However, he decided against it. Revenge was something he wasn't interested in. -- Soryu opened her eyes calmly. She hadn't been able to fall asleep in the bath like she usually could. She came to the conclusion that she was unable to sleep in the empty apartment without the security of knowing that Kunihirou was there in case anything odd should occur. Not only that, but she was beginning to feel guilty for changing the passcodes and locking him out of his own apartment. Even if she was angry at him, the apartment was his property. She had no right to do what she had done. During her relaxation, Megumi had realized that her body and mind were exhausted from the past couple weeks of training; she was in no condition to be racing at all. She would never admit this to Kunihirou, though. She hated admitting when she was wrong, especially to him, because that meant he was right. She knew he wouldn't make a big deal about being right, but she also knew that he remembered those times very well. She knew he would bring it up at a later time if necessary to defend himself. He was just that kind of person; he loved such a type of blackmail. After getting into her pajamas, she looked through Watanabe's books, which were not limited to the large bookshelves in his living room. There were tall stacks of books and magazines piled up near the walls, under and around his couch, on top of his table, and in some places around his kitchen. She found it obvious where he sat in each room, as the books and such radiated out from those spots. At his old apartment, things had been very orderly. The different media all had its own place, separated and organized alphabetically and then chronological. Over the past two years he had changed much, or so it appeared on the outside. It was true that he hadn't talked much before, but he had just been shy. Once they had been close friends for a couple weeks, he opened up to her. After that he was very much like a "normal" person in her eyes. He spoke without restrictions; he spoke his mind. In the end that was part of what had unraveled their relationship. Megumi sighed loudly and sat down on the couch in a spot that was markedly worn. The feelings of those days had been brought up in the three weeks she had been in Tokyo, starting when she had received the invitation, which had been verified by Agent Horaki to be false. Although she found it hard to admit, she had held out hope for two years that he would return. Her life since their breakup had been a trip from one nightmare to the next. Her self-confidence had plummeted. Her friends abandoned her; Megumi never could figure out why. She realized later that she needed help, but she was too proud to ever seek it. Megumi did spend a couple weeks trying to track down her half sister, Asuka, but found it to be futile. She learned that everyone involved with the special NERV group had disappeared in one way or another. That was one of the reasons Megumi had decided to stay with NERV for the so-called 'Project R'. Perhaps she could find her sister with the connections NERV had. Megumi had been feeling an increased bond with Asuka since she had first gotten into the EVA. She assumed that it was because her sister had also piloted the robot. The Evangelions had a very strong link to the pilot's mind, so maybe a part of Asuka had been imprinted on it. Megumi wasn't stupid, of course, and realized that her position wasn't one that warranted searching through NERV for her sister. All she could do was listen and obey, be a good pilot. Once the staff trusted her, once she had assimilated into NERV, she would continue her search for her missing step-sister. Megumi felt better with that plan formulated, and the next issue on her mind was her guilty conscience. She decided immediately that she had been wrong for changing the passcodes, but she was justified in being angry. After all, she thought he was trying to reconstruct their relationship. Perhaps he had tried to avoid her because of her unwillingness to talk about her new "job." Of course she couldn't tell him because of NERV's rules, but also because of his paranoia. If he knew she was becoming deeply involved in a secret government organization, he would throw her out without a second thought. She had no doubt in her mind that he wouldn't allow himself to live with her under such circumstances. Megumi knew that it would come down to NERV fighting against her love for Watanabe. At that point Kuni was more important to her. She quickly found one of his large t-shirts and threw it on before grabbing her keys as she ran out the door. The walkway faced north, out into the street. She looked back and forth down the sidewalks, but the fog was so thick that it was impossible. The cool concrete beneath her feet contrasted greatly to the ambient heat. Soryu walked down past the elevator; the stairs would be quicker. Although the walkway from the complex was three floors above the street, Kunihirou's apartment was on the fifth. She reached her car without problem and unlocked her car. The squealed the rear tires of her Silvia as she sped through the garage, even causing a couple alarm to sound. Her lead foot lightened as she reached the empty streets; she could barely see more than ten feet in front of her car. Kunihirou heard her car as its noise echoed through the parking garage, but didn't recognized her car's exhaust tone. He continued to walk towards the construction area across the city, his hands shoved down in his pockets. He thought nothing of it as headlights appeared from the garage, but he finally glanced over when the car slowed beside him, matching his pace. The car quickly gained his full attention. It was Megumi's, and sure enough, she was driving, looking back at him. The driver's window slowly rolled down. "Kunihirou." She continued to hold his attention. She had rarely used his full name. "What?" he asked, trying to sound neutral. He continued to walk, but slowed his pace considerably in the silence that followed. His mind began to run through scenarios of what might happen, while her's tried to find the right words. "I..." Tears began to well up in her eyes, no matter how hard she tried to hold them back. When he saw her state, his eyes softened. "I'm sorry." Soryu Megumi finally broke down and cried, truly cried. It was the first time she had cried in front of anyone for many years. Sobs racked her body as she put her head down on the steering wheel. Kunihirou was taken aback. He stared at her in silent shock. He had never seen her cry. Indeed, he hadn't seen anyone cry for a long time. He didn't understand why she was crying. Megumi wasn't that kind of person, the kind that cries for no reason. But in any case, this was someone who he cared for deeply. Kuni approached the car slowly. She tried to read his emotions, but his face and body language suggested nothing. Soryu recognized this behavior; she'd seen it once before. At the end of their relationship, he had acted this way. He stopped when he got near the driver's door, not bending over into the vehicle. He didn't want Megumi to see the confusion on his face. How was he supposed to react? What should he do? Just allow her to get away with it? Of course he wouldn't ask her to leave. Those feelings from before had been growing day by day, although he wasn't sure if they were true or not. She grabbed at one of his hands, which hung limply at his sides. He didn't resist but made no effort to console her. "I'm sorry, OK?!" she yelled, her voice cracking. Her throat was tight, making it hard to speak. "Please tell me you're OK. Please tell me you don't hate me... Tell me you want me here... Please tell me you want to be with me..." In that moment, Kunihirou's heart opened to her, as it had in the past. He opened his mouth to speak, but his voice was silent. His eyes widened. In that moment he realized that he could not speak, an unholy light brightened the city in its brilliance. It was much brighter than the sun, seemingly colorless, not even white light. The light was followed by the heat, then the actual force of the explosion hit the pair. They shared a single thought before everything went black. Tokyo had been bombed. END Chapter:03 AN: Finally, some action! Look for more in the next chapter.