Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Wavelength ❯ Wavelength ( One-Shot )

Wavelength

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in here, the song, 'Throw Your Arms Around Me', is copyright of the Doug Anthony All Stars (I think), blah, blah, blah. 'If We Hold On Together' is property of Diana Ross. 'My Immortal' is property of Evanescence and 'November Rain' is property of Guns N Roses. 'Bridge Over Troubled Waters' is property of Paul Simon and Arthur Garfunkel

***********

The 15th Angel had come, it had been destroyed and with it, was one of Shinji's last remaining friends: Asuka Langley Soryu. Now she was in a coma and would possibly never wake up. His thoughts suddenly turned to Rei, his last real friend, he had many times considered coming clean with Rei about the fact that he liked her: he wasn't sure how he much he liked her, like a friend, sibling, lover, he wasn't sure. So these thoughts still plagued him as he walked down one of the streets in outer Tokyo 3.

"Why are the Angels so cruel, what have we got that they want so badly that they are willing to kill us all for it?" he pondered

His reverie was so deep and analytical that he didn't realise that he was now in Rei's street; he was very puzzled. Another thing he could never work out was how or why he was drawn to the girl, she seemed almost magnetic for him, no matter how interesting the lessons were, and they were rarely that, he would find her a great deal more interesting, and Kensuke was all to willing to point this out to him, much to his embarrassment.

"So, what draws me to this place?" he asked the sky, buildings and ground

*************

Little did Shinji know that he was being watched, by none other than his blue haired compatriot who lived in the derelict building standing before him; Rei's usual aplomb was for a brief second, shaken, and in that second, thousands of emotions, ideas, images, notions and feelings assaulted her like a flash of radioactive light in the mind. It gave her a migraine.

[That, was, new] she mused before the ground came and rushed to meet her.

**************

Shinji would question his own hearing after this, but he could of sworn he heard a loud thud coming from the building in front of him, so he allowed his curiosity to get the better of him and he walked very quickly to the only place where, if there was a thud, could be: Rei Ayanami's apartment. The door, as per usual, was not locked

[That never ceases to amaze me: she hasn't bee robbed or anything despite living in the worst area of town] Shinji mused as he walked in; he caught sight of a pair of feet

****************

"Rei!" he cried and ran over to her

"Uhggg" she moaned incoherently

"We better get you up onto your bed" Shinji muttered

As carefully as he could, Shinji lifted the prone girl to the cot that served as her bed: he noticed that Rei was quite heavy for someone as slim and petit as she looked, but the training for Eva was having side benefits so he didn't notice it: it had slowly built up his muscles and while he was no Incredible Hulk, he was still a lot stronger than when he first came to Tokyo 3

[God damn shitty bed] he silently cursed as he put her on it and began to give her a small check up

"No fever, no broken bones, a small bump and a bruise on her head. I suppose she'll be okay", he said quietly and put a light blanket over her

Shinji sat down on the chair that sat at the desk in Rei's room; that's when he saw a radio. If he was going to watch her, he'd put on music so he began to tune a station in, he found one with a song just beginning, it's tune sounded nice enough

I will come for you at night time
And I will raise you from your sleep
I will kiss you in four places
As I go running up your street

And I will squeeze the life out of you
And you will make me laugh and make me cry
And we may never forget it
You will make me call your name
And I'll shout it to the blue summer sky

And we may never meet again
So shed your skin and lets get started
And you may throw your arms around me
Yeah you may throw your arms around me

Well I came for you at night time
And I watched you in your sleep
Lord I met you in high places
I kissed your head and kissed your feet

Now if you disappear out of view
You know that I will never say goodbye
And though I try and forget it
You will make me call your name
And I'll shout it to the blue summer sky

And we may never meet again
So shed your skin and lets get started
And you may throw your arms around me
Well I came for you at night time

And I watched you in your sleep
Lord I kissed you in four places
I kissed your head and kissed your feet
Throw your arms around me
Yeah you may throw your arms around me

Shinji had begun to sing along with the song after the first verse and he was really enjoying it. When the song ended, he looked down and saw Rei looking at him curiously, genuine bewilderment all over her face

"Why were you singing?" she asked

"Well, ah, um, I" he stuttered gibberish for the first few sentences

Rei just continued to look at him with that simultaneously intensive and soft look; it was a skill he'd never figured out

"I was enjoying the song, and when I enjoy it, I either hum or if the words are easy, I sing along with it" he said, going a bit red

"It was, nice" Rei said after some thought

This comment stopped Shinji dead; in fact he did a very good stunned mullet impression. This only made Rei tilt her head to the side in such a manner that Shinji found oddly appealing, even cute.

"Say what?" he said, still rather surprised

"I said that your singing was nice", Rei repeated patiently

"Thank you. You're the only person to say that" he said

"Why? Hasn't anyone else heard you sing?" Rei asked

Shinji shook his head. It was Rei's turn to be stunned now, although she didn't do a mullet impression, she blinked fifteen times, Shinji had counted

"Can you sing?" Shinji asked

Rei wasn't sure; she had never tried to sing

"I don't know" she replied, sitting up

Shinji saw this as a rare and golden opportunity to get to know this mysterious beauty better, and at the same time it would help him show Rei that there were other things in her life other than Eva if she wanted them.

"Well I'll tell you what Rei. You listen to the music station on this radio all day today and tomorrow, then if you here a song you like, write it down, I'll go out and find the sheet music for it on a cello, I'll play and we'll see if you can sing" he said

Rei answered before she could think about the proposal logically "Okay" she said

"Well, it's getting a bit late; Misato and I are going to visit somewhere special today, I don't want to be late, but I'll see you tomorrow at school" Shinji said and left the apartment.

****************

Misato drove her blue coupe down a road in outer Tokyo 3, Shinji beside her in the passenger seat. On his lap were two flowers: a red rose and a white one. They soon reached their destination: Tokyo 3 Memorial Park: in it is those who died in and after 2nd Impact. The pair got out, gave each other reassuring smiles and took a rose each; Shinji took the white one, leaving Misato the red one. Then they each took a different path towards their respective gravestone to visit. Shinji knelt near his mother's and wondered what would be happening if she were alive now, not that it mattered to him now because not ever she could calm the rage he'd felt nor sooth the pain he was still feeling.

Misato was just wondering if she would still be a Major in Nerv if her father was alive; she doubted it but no one could map out a future, although Misato had a sneaking suspicion that certain powers were trying to just that right now. Misato had to chuckle; here she was grieving for a workaholic who barely spent any time with either her or her mother, but she had been split in two by his selfless act of saving her at a cost of his own life, so was her father just a fool who just tried to a good deed before dying, or did he, like Shinji and Asuka, care all along but was unable to express it; she just didn't know.

The pair left the cemetery in silence, rode home in silence, toasted their deceased loved ones in silence but wept inside for absent friends, mainly Asuka but Shinji also saluted Toji, for powering on without his limbs as a person. After some short story telling, the pair retired to bed.

*************

Rei had listened to the radio for almost 5, maybe even 6 hours and so far, only one song had caught her attention, but it was duet so she ruled it out. Rei was almost going to tell Shinji that no songs had caught her ear, until an old tune by a singer identified as Diana Ross began playing; soft piano work, nice clear voice and a good message

[This one] she decided and grabbed a pencil and paper to write down the relevant information so the sheet music could be obtained

Diana Ross. If We Hold On Together, is what Rei wrote down on the paper. She then folded it up and put the paper in her school bag; awaiting the next day of school, with a slight feeling of, anticipation.

Rei got up and as usual she showered, ate and got dressed but a new sense of purpose because she had found a song that she liked. True she had been asked to find it, but the choice of song was up to her, not one chosen for her. This made her feel odd, not unpleasant but odd.

Shinji was on the other side of town getting ready also: he fed himself, then Pen-Pen and laid out a few things for Misato if she got up: she had been working the late shift and was usually stuffed by the time she got home. He barely even saw her these days but he knew she was upset about Kaji dying, at whose hands he didn't know but he was upset too, he liked Kaji, he was like a big brother even a father to him.

"I swear I'm cursed" he said softly and headed out the door to school

Shinji walked with a melancholy look and feel about him all the time, but his one last joy in the world was still there: music. His trusty SDAT was gone, he had since replaced it with an MP3 player with triple the songs on it that his old tapes. He chuckled as he remembered Kensuke helping him put the tapes on his laptop and encode them to MP3 for his player.

"Good times are few and far between now. I'm looking forward to hearing Rei sing though" he remembered his cello and his 'date' of sorts with the only friend he had left.

************

School was so boring that Shinji considered dropping out: him, Rei and the children of a few Nerv personnel were the only students left in his whole year! Alas though his status required him to go to school and if he quit he would be chucked out of Nerv, out of Misato's and out of Tokyo 3 so it wasn't worth the trouble and fuss it would cause him and the others.

***************

When lunch finally came, Shinji sought Rei out on the rooftop: that is where she sat to have her lunch. He approached Rei with the same caution that a person approaching a mysterious animal might use.

"Hi Rei, did you find a song?" he asked after swallowing hard several times

"Yes. Here is the name" she said and handed him the note with the relevant details

[If We Hold On Together. Very nice, very nice indeed] Shinji thought

"Okay, we'll go to the shopping centre and get the sheet music after school" he said, Rei nodded

************

Shinji was tingling with excitement he'd not felt since Christmas when he got a bike, years ago now. He could barely concentrate as the teacher explained how to do a simple math problem to the class. The end of school did not come soon enough for Shinji Ikari that day as he practically bounded out of his seat and down to the gates to wait for Rei; she was in a more advanced mathematics class than he was. Rei was a few minutes late because she had to clean the blackboard but Shinji was would have waited all day.

"Shall we?" he asked when Rei approached him

Rei said nothing but nodded and began walking towards the mall. The trip was silent and peaceful, even comfortable for them but soon the noise and claustrophobia of the mall descended on them, making Shinji nervous and Rei uncomfortable until they found the store where Shinji bought all his music

"Hi Shinji, long time no see" the proprietor, a blind blonde woman joked

"Very funny Rika" Shinji said dryly

Rika cocked her head to the side and sniffed the air and then a sly smile graced her sharp features

"Shinji, who's the girl?" she asked, chuckling as she heard Shinji choke a little

"How did you know I was a girl?" Rei asked

"Well, you have a feminine scent for a start and Shinji's two friends are usually here in front of me giving me the eye, you aren't" Rika responded deftly

"Oh" all Rei said in response

[Hmmm, my, my Shinji we are a tasteful young man] Rika was able to build a mental picture of Rei from her voice, the way she moved and even by the noise she didn't make

"Found it!" Shinji cried out

[He sounds jovial] Rika thought

"Oh by the way, I didn't get you name young lady" Rika said

"Rei Ayanami" Rei answered

"I'm Rika Asagiri. No relation before you ask" Rika was referring to a famous Japanese singer named Priss Asagiri

"Bye Rika" Shinji called after he paid for the sheet music

"Goodbye Ms. Asagiri" Rei said

"No need for formalities Rei, you may call me Rika" the woman said and smiled

Rei said nothing as she left. Rika had to chuckle as she analysed Shinji's choice of women.

[He must like a challenge. That girl's colder than liquid oxygen, and about as tough on the outside as a tank. You know what they say though: the tougher the shell, the sweeter the nut] Rika thought and decided to close up early.

***********

Shinji was looking over the music as he walked to his apartment so that he would have an idea as to what he was playing. Rei was studying a lyric sheet that came with the sheet music so she knew the words. This silent overview lasted until they reached Shinji's door.

"Okay, Rei if you're hungry I can fix you some noodles" Shinji said as he made his own snack

"Yes please" she replied and sat down on the easy chair, still reading the lyrics.

Rei remembered the different pitches and tones of voice the singer on the radio had used and she was going to try and follow that example. Shinji soon appeared with two bowls of noodles and some chopsticks.

"Vegetarian ramen" he said softly and placed it on the table in front of her

"Thank you" Rei replied and began to eat

*************

Watching the pair was, as per usual a few of the Section 2 agents, but the one charged with watching the Katsuragi apartment was an odd sort, his name was Yamaki: Gendo had decreed that there was no concept of privacy with them. This guy however, made sure that although they were still recording, he turned off the monitors in the viewing area.

"Well, well. Going to have a sing-along are we. Gotcha" he said and trained a small microphone on them, using computer equipment he filtered all the noise.

He watched with a great deal of anticipation: he rarely saw these two together and he thought it was kind of cute the way they interacted with each other, and this little proposal had reached his ears yesterday when a little bird told him that they were in Rei's apartment and Shinji was singing to her. He asked for a recording of it and he held in his hand the CD of said recording

"Okay little lady, lets see what you've got" he muttered and waited

*****************

Shinji felt he had learnt the music well enough by now so he proposed that they start

"Okay" Rei said and held the words in front of her

*****************

Yamaki hit the record button as Shinji lifted his cello bow

*****************

The music started and the room was filled with beautiful cello music, and after a few bars: Rei began to sing:

"Don't lose your way

With each passing day

You've come so far

Don't throw it away

Live believing

Dreams are for weeping

Wonders are waiting to start

Live your story

Faith, hope and glory

Hold to the truth in your heart

If we hold on together

I know our dreams will never die

Dreams see us through to forever

Where clouds roll by

For you and I...

Souls in the wind

Must learn how to bend

Seek out a star

Hold on to the end

Valley, mountain, there is a fountain

Washes our tears all away

Word are swaying

Someone is praying

Please let us come home to stay

If we hold on together

I know our dreams will never die

Dreams see us through to forever

Where clouds roll by

For you and I...

When we are out there in the dark

We'll dream about the sun

In the dark we'll feel the light

Warm our hearts, everyone

If we hold on together

I know our dreams will never die

Dreams see us through to forever

As high as souls can fly

The clouds roll by

For you and I..."

****************

Yamaki hit stop and looked really pleased with himself

"That girl has got some talent" he said to himself contentedly and burnt the track to a CD

***************

Shinji was in shock and awe: Rei had the most beautiful voice he had ever heard in his entire life; soft like silk and twice as smooth, it seemed to flow from her mouth like water from a creek over a fall. He was surprised that he even kept playing his cell when she started singing

"Well, now we both know how well we sing" Shinji said and put his cello away

Rei was smiling, right at the camera.

"Yes, how do I sing?" she asked Shinji

Shinji was bowled over

"Like a goddess" he replied before thinking, he blushed a great deal after that

"Thank you again, Shinji. This was a pleasant experience" Rei said and started to pack up and leave

"You're going?" Shinji asked

"You do not wish me to go?" she responded

"Well, no, not really" he said, blushing like crazy at his response

Rei put her bag down and took her shoes off again. She then went and sat beside Shinji on the couch and looked at him; she was smiling

"Then I won't"

****************

Yamaki took a snapshot. It was black and white but the colour camera was on too, so he could raid that for footage.

"Okay, well so far so good for the Shin-man" he said to himself and reported the activity to HQ

"Say again?" his commander asked

"The first child was singing, while the third child played background on his cello" Yamaki repeated. He could even see Kazuhiko's totally gob-smacked face in his mind's eye

"Okay" the older man said and hung up.

****************

Shinji was in an odd position

[I have a beautiful girl in my apartment; we're going to be alone for the next three hours at least. What do I do?], he wondered

Rei was still looking at him, she was still smiling but she seemed confused

"What is wrong?" she asked

"Well, to tell you the truth Rei, I'm not sure what to do. I've never had a guest like you, I mean Toji and Kensuke were easily pleased: I just pulled out the VCR and we watched moves or talked"

"But?" she prompted

"I've never had a female guest, like you. So I don't know what to do," he answered meekly

Rei surprised Shinji by stroking his cheek with a great tenderness

"You don't need to do anything" Rei cooed, her hand still on his face

Shinji had never seen Rei act like this, and in truth it scared him a little. Yet at the same time, it was kind of nice to have someone show him some affection with no underlying motives, it reminded Shinji of a song he heard

"When I look into your eyes

I can see a love restrained.

But darlin' when I hold you,

Don't you know I feel the same" Shinji sang

Rei blinked "What song was that?" she asked

"November Rain, an old song that Misato listens to" he said

[Tonight is my last night on this Earth. And for this reason, I am going to spend it with the one person who cares for me, truly] Rei thought and executed her plan

"Rei, what are yo-" Shinji was cut off as Rei pressed her lips to his

Shinji was at first nervous, but then he remembered the song he quoted 'When I look into your eyes; I can see a love restrained. But darlin' when I hold you; don't you know I feel the same'. Did he just say that he loved Rei?

[Maybe I did] he thought, and from then he just went with the flow. A tear trailed down his cheek, Rei wiped it away and they just sat there.

**********

Yamaki came back from his coffee buying expedition and he was shocked to see his whole team around one monitor

"All right Shinji" one of them yelled

[Wait…] Yamaki thought for a second and broke into a run

When he reached the screen, he wasn't sure whether to shit his pants or do as his team and jump for joy: on the screen were Shinji and Rei, in bed, making love. Yamaki knew that Gendo would go berserk if he saw this

[Ah but the key word is 'if'] he reminded himself

Yamaki leaned over and turned the monitor off, then ejected the tape

"Okay, let's all make a deal: we let them keep this moment for themselves. They deserve that right?" he said

"Yamaki, the tape recorder wasn't on. They've been making out since you left. They only started this a few minutes ago" his second in command said

"Whose timing" a voce said, an arm with a stopwatch rose up

"Okay. We can check them out every now and then, just to measure his stamina. As fellow men we must know what the younger generation is capable of" Yamaki said, and appointed the resident female, Yumi, to watch the monitor with the stopwatch

**********

Rei woke up covered in a cold sweat later that night, she'd had a nightmare: her first and it scared her terribly. Her whimpering woke Shinji up

"Rei, what's wrong?' he asked, slipping an arm around her waist. Rei spun around and hugged herself as close to Shinji as she could

"A bad dream" she whispered

On impulse, Shinji remembered another song; he congratulated himself for knowing so many and having the talent to sing them.

"When you're weary, feeling small
When tears are in your eyes,
I will dry them all
I'm on your side
When times get rough
And friends just can't be found

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

When you're down and out
When you're on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you
I'll take your part
When darkness comes
And pain is all around

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

Sail on silver girl
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine
When you need a friend
I'm sailing right behind

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind"

Shinji saw that Rei was now asleep, and smiling again, like the real kind of Angel. The he himself settle down to a contented sleep

*****************

Shinji awoke the following morning to an empty bed: there was a note on the bedside table. With great anticipation, he reached over and grabbed it. It read:

'Dear Shinji,

When you read this, I shall obviously not be beside you. I want you to know however, last night you made me feel loved and human, like no one else has ever done before and I love you for it, as you love me.

Please, when the time comes, you shall know it when it arrives, do not mourn, for I will always reside in your heart.

Love,

Rei'

Shinji took several minutes to fully comprehend the words of the letter but eventually it came to him: Rei knew that somehow she was going to die. Before he could speak, Angel alarms began sounding

[Oh no] he realised and flung himself out of bed and into some clothes and out of the door.

Misato was waiting downstairs for him; she was originally going to talk to him about last night, having threatened to kick Yamaki off Shinji's detail if he didn't tell her what went on. She was thinking cute until Yamaki mentioned they got heavy in the bedroom. Yamaki had then likened her to a ticking time bomb and felt sorry for Shinji. He did neglect to mention that Rei had left an hour before Misato got home.

"Shinji, I have to talk to you after this. Meet me in my office after the battle" Misato said

[She knows. I'm in deep shit] Shinji thought, blushing giving his secret away

Just as they arrived at Nerv, Shinji saw Rei's Eva pop up out of the ground. He pressed his face to the glass

"Rei" he whispered as they pulled into an elevator.

*************

Shinji suited up in record time and jumped in his plug with previously unknown vigour. He watched the battle ensue. When the Angel began to invade Rei's body, he got angry, rage born of the most mysterious love, but love none the less

Let me up there!" he cried out to his father

"Negative" was the cold response

Shinji raged, pleaded and even begged to be let up there

[I'm not going to help her by sitting here asking. Okay, Eva unit 1; lets see what you can really do] he thought and grabbed the control stick and pressed the manual activation code.

"EVA UNIT 01. ACTIVATING" a computerised voice said

"What?" Misato ran to check; catapult 5 was being used and the Eva was already half way to the surface

[Yamaki, wasn't lying] realisation dawned on the Major: what he'd said was true

Shinji bolted to the place where Rei was but alas, it was too late: his onboard computer told him that Eva 0's self-destruct protocol had been engaged

"Core will self-destruct in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0" Shinji was just reaching her when the Eva exploded, bathing the other Eva in a yellow light

***********

Shinji sat in the Gantry that Unit 0 was once held in: but never again would it rest here, nor would it's pilot ever grace the Earth with her feet again. Shinji knew it was a bit selfish, but he wanted her back if only to kiss her one last time before she left. Shinji looked up at the opening of a door to his left; a man of about 30 walked into the gantry and sat beside him

"Who are you?" Shinji asked

"It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all", the man said

Shinji glared at him

"I'm Yamaki. The poor sod who is charged with watching your home nearly 24/7"

Shinji's eyes widened in horror

"Don't worry, we switched off the recording devices when the action started getting real intimate" he said

Shinji sighed in relief

"We all thought that after all this shit, if your 'moment' was going to happen, it was going to be private" he didn't say that Yumi had timed him

"Thanks Yamaki. I had a special relationship with her, now she's gone" he said sadly

Yamaki smiled and handed Shinji a CD and a picture frame

"Here; my team and I, we threw these together for you after we heard unit 0 was destroyed" he said

"What are they?' Shinji asked

"Well on the CD is a recording of Rei singing that song at your place yesterday. The other track is one I got Yoshi Masuda to do for me. Rei sang it this morning after she left your house and went home", Yamaki said

"Thanks Yamaki. This must sound so lame, but we make love once, and I claim to be in love with her after she dies" Shinji lamented

"It isn't lame, you'd be surprised how strongly people feel for others, even if they only spend a short time together" the man said back

Shinji looked at the picture: it was Rei, she was looking up at the camera in his house: he saw the chair in the background. Yamaki smiled and got up

"See ya Shinji. Keep her close now, you hear" he said and went to eat

"Yeah. I will" Shinji said

"Oh and, forty minutes is pretty good, kid" he called back

Shinji just stared at the open door

[I don't want to know] he thought

****************

When Shinji got home, he expected a grilling from Misato, but all he got was a soft smile and an apology. And a warning never to pull that kind of stunt again until he was 16. Shinji retreated to the main room and put the CD in the system, soft music soon began playing

"Pretty voice, who is it?" Misato asked

"Rei" he answered

Misato nearly dropped her beer and began listening to the song:

I'm so tired of being here

Suppressed by all my childish fears

And if you have to leave

I wish that you would just leave

'Cause your presence still lingers here

And it won't leave me alone

These wounds won't seem to heal

This pain is just too real

There's just too much that time cannot erase

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears

When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears

I held your hand through all of these years

But you still have

All of me

You used to captivate me

By your resonating life

Now I'm bound by the life you left behind

Your face it haunts

My once pleasant dreams

Your voice it chased away

All the sanity in me

These wounds won't seem to heal

This pain is just too real

There's just too much that time cannot erase

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears

When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears

I held your hand through all of these years

But you still have

All of me

I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone

But though you're still with me

I've been alone all along

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears

When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears

I held your hand through all of these years

But you still have

All of me

Shinji sat on the couch and played the song twelve times, at the end he just cried, but she was right: he was the only person Rei ever fully gave herself to: she didn't just him his first time, but a piece of her soul too, he would forever treasure this CD and the gift Rei gave him.

The End

A/N: For those of you who don't know, the Doug Anthony All Stars are an Australian comedy trio that were big in the 80's. Their lead singer, Paul McDermott is an Australian comedy king and still a very successful man.