>From the Scriviner:

	Okay folks. This is a really odd one for me. I'd just finished a
marathon session of Neon Genesis Evangelion (Vol 1-5, & 7) and I felt
like I really needed to write a fic about this series because it's so
GREAT! 
	So for some odd reason, I ended up writing something where I tried to
keep within the boundaries of the original series. Which is really
unusual for me because my work is largely composed of fusions, alternate
universes and crossovers all series. Of course, I think I've gone pretty
off tangent by around the end, but I hope people can tell me what they
think. Also the subbed copy I got wasn't too clear about Misato's rank,
so bear with me if it's wrong. 
	This work doesn't necessarily require familiarity with Evangelion, but
it'd really help.
	C&C can be public or private (ebon@i-manila.com.ph) any of it would be
appreciated.

	Incidentally... who wrote 'I'm Shinji Ikari'? I was wondering if there
were any further installments of that fic?
	Anyway, on with the story:


-------------------------------------------------------------
Two hearts of One Mind.
A Neon Genesis Evangelion fanfic by the Scriviner 

	It has to be admitted that piloting an Eva, a multi-ton, several story
high, semi-biological mecha designed for killing angels (which it must
be noted are nothing at all like the winged humanoid figures one
expects), would be a very dangerous job. Especially for fourteen year
olds, who incidentally were the only ones who could mentally interface
with the Evas in the first place. So it's hardly surprising that the
pilots get injured as a matter of course. This can range anywhere from
getting slightly banged up when the Eva gets knocked into a wall, all
the way up to brain death as the pilot's mind gets fried by the feedback
from the Eva's nerve linkages. And that's just during training. Actual
combat was far worse.
	These however were not the thoughts going through Shinji Ikari's head
at the moment. He was mostly annoyed at the dull ringing in
aforementioned head and wondering why the painkillers they'd issued him
hadn't taken effect yet. It wasn't anything really serious... it was
more embarrassing than anything else. He'd managed to bang his head on
the hatch of his entry plug pretty hard. Which wouldn't really have been
all that bad, since it was several hours ago and most of the pain had
faded, but that wasn't the worst part of it, actually.
	It was his fellow Eva pilot, sometime combat backup and roommate
(though not by choice) Asuka Langley Soryu who was driving him nuts. The
two of them were sprawled on the two couches in almost identical
positions watching TV. Asuka, however, hadn't stopped yammering about
how stupid he'd been and how she'd never have made such a dumb mistake,
since the two of them had gotten home and it was really, really, REALLY
annoying. Then again, he had to admit she was probably doing it to annoy
him in the first place. Trouble was it was working.
	Both of them were fairly slender fourteen year-olds. Shinji's face was
entirely too serious for someone his age and he had a thoughtful quiet
air about him. Asuka, who was already starting to fill out and was
showing definite signs of becoming devastatingly gorgeous when the time
came, on the other hand gave the impression that as far as she was
concerned, the whole world was a stage and she was the female lead. It
was not surprising that the two of them did not get along all to well.
	Shinji kept his attention focused on the TV, using it mostly to help
him tune Asuka out. He raised his remote to change the channel just as
Asuka raised her own remote. The screen flickered briefly between a
history documentary and a soap opera then back. Shinji didn't have the
energy to even turn to glare at her. She however obviously did.
	"Hey! Are you even listening to me?" She asked, exasperated at Shinji's
utter lack of reaction.
	Shinji didn't even turn to look at her, but replied in a bored tone,
"Actually, no. I just didn't have the heart to tell you to stop. You
seemed like you were enjoying listening to yourself rant."		
	"You lousy idiot!" Asuka fumed, changing the channel back to her soap,
"I don't know why they bother keeping your around!"
	"The feeling's mutual!" He shot back, bringing the documentary back on
the screen.
	"Do you mind?! I'm trying to watch!" Asuka yelled at him, switching
back to the soap opera.
	"So am I!" he flicked the channel change button on his remote at the
exact moment Asuka flicked her own. The result was a cooking show with a
man with a fake moustache and a fake Italian accent showing people what
to do with synthetic meatballs and instant sauce.
	"That reminds me..." Both said at the same time. They glared at each
other for a moment.
	Asuka continued, "Where is Misato anyway? It's her turn to cook dinner.
Not that I'm really looking forward to it." She added in a low mutter.
	Commander Misato Kitsuragi was Asuka and Shinji's token
'adult-in-charge' who incidentally owned the apartment they were both
living in. She was Director of Operations for NERV, the organization
which created, owned and maintained the Evas. Nerv was in fact largely
in charge of the war against the angels. 
	Misato, by sheer virtue of her having attained her position alone made
her a very competent and intelligent woman. Publicly at least. At home
she had sake for breakfast, she was sloppy and lived off of instant food
or takeout more often than not. As a result, both Shinji and Asuka
suffered on occasion because of it. 
	Shinji shrugged and turned to look at his watch, an expression of
concern on his face, "She usually calls if she's going to be this
late... maybe I ought to call her office..."
	"Idiot!" Asuka roared at him from across the living room, "They haven't
restored phone service to this district since last week's battle."
	Shinji frowned at her. She always knew the right thing to say to annoy
him. "There's no need to shout about it." He replied, raising his voice
a little.
	Asuka merely glared at him disapprovingly. Shinji glared back for a
moment, but he didn't have the energy for it. He collapsed back onto the
counch and muttered, "She's probably got some extra work to do."
	"You don't suppose there's another angel attack?" Asuka asked, her
voice oddly enthusiastic. She wants another chance to show off what kind
of a pilot she was, Shinji thought.
	"I think we'd have heard the alarms already." Shinji replied.
	Asuka sighed, "Well, I'm starving, I don't think I can wait for her
much longer. I think there's still two TV dinners in the back of the
freezer."
	"Are you sure they're not the ones that Misato stuck in there?" Shinji
asked tentatively.
	"The ones from three weeks ago?" Asuka asked, pulling a face, "No I
don't think so. These ones are still in their wrappers."
	"Oh. Good." Shinji replied, a look of distaste on his face, "Well,
they've got to be better than the stuff Misato tried to feed us last
night."
	His companion grimaced openly, "Her pseudo-spaghetti? The instant beef
stew she added tomato paste and wasabe flavored potato chips to before
she spread it on the instant soba noddles? Yuk... Even the penguin
wouldn't eat it."
	Shinji smiled slightly. Pen-Pen, Misato's pet warm weather penguin,
while having developed a cast iron stomach from all of Misato's various
culinary disasters, had his limits.
	"I can't understand how Misato manages to make instant food taste bad.
It's incredible." Asuka continued. Her stomach gave a warning grumble
causing her to wince. "I am starving..."
	"Uh huh." Shinji replied absently, and without too much sympathy. He
turned his attention back to the TV.
	"So what are you waiting for Shinji?" Asuka demanded, "Why don't you go
pop those dinners in the microwave?"
	"Me?" Shinji frowned, turning to face Asuka, "You're closer to the
kitchen."
	"By all of five feet!" Asuka shot back, "I'm too weak from hunger to
move..." She groaned dramatically.
	"You're the one who's so hungry." Shinji pointed out. Almost as if on
cue, his own stomach gave a rumble.
	Asuka laughed and pointed at Shinji's midsection, "Looks like I'm not
the only one!"
	Shinji sighed and got up off the couch, "Fine. I'm getting my dinner."
	"Make sure you keep mine in for an extra fifteen seconds! I want to
make sure it gets heated through!" Asuka called after him as he passed
through the doorway.
	"Who said anything about your dinner? I'm just getting mine." Shinji
replied, sticking his head back into the living room.
	"Why you..!" Asuka cried, hurling a throw pillow at him as he ducked
back into the hallway. Asuka held out for all of thirty seconds before
the various warning noises her digestive system was giving her spurred
her out of her comfortable sprawl.
	
	The two of them were in the process of chipping away at the ice in the
freezer which held their TV dinners when the doorbell rang.
	"I'll get it." Shinji said wiping some sweat away from his forehead. 
	Asuka glared at him for a moment as though he were using the doorbell
as an excuse to slack off, then went back to work on the ice with the
knife.
	He opened the door and found to his surprise Rei standing outside with
a neutral expression on her face. Rei was the first of the Eva pilots
that NERV found and in most people's opinions, a decidedly strange girl.
There was something strangely intense and at the same time resigned
about her which made her very difficult to approach. Shinji knew it
well.
	She had an overnight bag on one shoulder and she was still wearing her
school uniform.
	"Rei, this is a surprise."
	Rei glanced down for a moment, noting the knife which Shinji still held
in hand without expression before saying in a soft monotone, "Commander
Katsuragi said something came up at the office. She won't be home until
tomorrow at noon. I'm supposed to keep you and Soryu company."
	That was another surprise. Shinji stepped away from the door and made a
vague gesture to come in, "Oh. Um... sure."
	Rei stepped into the house without acknowledging him further. Shinji
watched her walk past him, wondering why Misato told her to stay with
them tonight... his mind wandered a bit on that topic, before he
realized he was gawking at Rei who was now looking back at him.
	"Better close the door." She told him.
	"Er... right..." Shinji replied, embarrassed at having been caught
staring.
	"Ah-HAH!" Asuka's voice cried out from the kitchen. "I got em free,
Shinji! Dinner in a minute or so!"
	"Have you eaten yet, Rei?" Shinji asked tentatively. She was still
staring at him and he growing very uncomfortable.
	"No." Rei said softly.
	Shinji's reply was lost as Asuka burst in.
	"So who was it?" Asuka inquired. She caught sight of Rei, who seemed to
be watching a mildly squirming Shinji. She rolled her eyes and sighed.
Men, constantly thinking with their hormones.
	"Hi, Ayanami! What's up?" Asuka asked brightly.
	Rei told her almost exactly the same message she gave Shinji, in the
same monotone, "Commander Katsuragi said something came up at the
office. She won't be home until tomorrow at noon. I'm supposed to keep
you and Ikari company."
	Asuka raised an eyebrow then grinned, "Oh... I guess Misato doesn't
trust Shinji anymore after what happened the last time we got left alone
together so she sent a chaperone!"
	Shinji blushed and frowned at Asuka, "Nothing happened!"
	"You still tried to kiss me, you lech!" Asuka shot back.
	"I am not a lech!"
	"Yes you are!"
	Shinji gave a disgusted snort, blushing even more furiously and stalked
off to the kitchen.
	"Where do you think you're going, pervert?" Asuka demanded. "The food's
not ready yet!" 
	"I'm heating up some water for instant ramen. Give the other TV dinner
to Rei." Shinji replied.
	Asuka turned to look at Rei, who's expression hadn't changed during the
entire exchange. Asuka's mouth quirked... she'd had her suspicions
regarding Shinji and Rei for a while now... she was pretty sure the
Shinji had a thing for Rei. It was hard for someone as empathic as an
Eva pilot to live with someone and NOT pick up a little on what they
thought about. Rei hadn't shown any sort of interest in Shinji, but she
was always like that... her train of thought got derailed suddenly.
	"Why did you call him a pervert?" Rei asked, her tone still soft and
expressionless save for a mild puzzlement.
	"Well, Duh!" Asuka replied, "Weren't you listening? He tried to kiss
me!"
	"So?" Rei persisted.
	"SO?! What do you mean so?! Who knows what else he would've done to me
in my sleep if he'd succeeded in kissing me?!!" Asuka gesticulated
wildly.
	Rei replied, "I'm sure he would know." As she followed Shinji to the
kitchen.
	"Oooooh!" Asuka groaned angrily. Rei was simply impossible to talk to.
Sometimes she thought that the two of them were conspiring against
her... after all, she WAS better then both of them combined and they
knew it. She gave herself a little grin, satisfied at her explanation
for their rude behavior and followed her fellow pilots to have dinner.

	"Well..." Asuka said as she sprawled on the couch again, dinner being
happily digested, "That wasn't too bad..." 
	Shinji lounged on the other couch, also somewhat full, "I guess."
	Rei sat primly on the easy chair and didn't say anything. She kept her
eyes on the TV show the three of them were watching. It was some sort of
game show. It wasn't particularly good, but none of them particularly
felt like changing the channel.
	"This is boring..." Asuka said after a few minutes.
	"It's nearly over anyway..." Shinji replied.
	"I can't work up any enthusiasm over whether or not this guy manages to
win the damn house or not. Why are we even watching this?" Asuka
complained.
	"There's nothing better on."
	"That does it then, I'm sleeping." Asuka announced as she got up off
the couch and stretched. Shinji glanced at her quickly without really
thinking about it. She might be annoying, but he had to admit she was
definitely pretty.
	"And don't get any ideas about following me into my room, Ikari!" Asuka
added, waggling a finger in his general direction.
	Shinji rolled his eyes, "I wasn't planning on it." He made it sound as
if wild horses couldn't drag him into that room.
	She turned her nose up at him and with a flip of her hair she was out
the doorway.
	Shinji muttered, "Sometimes I wish NERV never found her."
	Rei asked suddenly, still in her soft voice, "Would you rather it had
been just the two of us?"
	He turned to face her, a little surprised not only at how the question
was worded, but that Rei was showing signs of curiosity at all, "Um...
that's not quite what I meant I guess... I just wish they'd gotten
someone more... I don't know... um... easy to get along with?"
	Shinji noted a very slight change in Rei. He was one of a very short
list of people who'd spent any considerable amount of time with Rei and
it was possible for him to read some of her moods, difficult though it
was. Her eyes brightened slightly and the corners of her mouth almost
curled up. She asked in her same quiet monotone, but Shinji thought he
heard a hint of amusement, "Someone like me?"
	"Er..." Shinji had no reply for that. He stretched his arms out for a
moment at the precise moment that Rei did too. He felt the oddest
sensation... it almost felt like the sensations he'd received when he
was inside her Eva and trying to synchronize with it... her Eva felt
like... her...
	Asuka ducked her head into the living room again... jolting Shinji out
of whatever state he was in. She had changed into a long T-shirt, which
served as her sleeping clothes and she was frowning suspiciously, "I
don't believe my ears... are you two flirting?"
	"Hey! That's not it at all!" Shinji cried. Rei's expression neither
confirmed nor denied.
	"Trust me, Ayanami... You're better off without this guy. He's probably
just waiting for you to doze off so he can rip your clothes off or
something..."
	"Would you quit that, Asuka?!" Shinji yelled at her.
	"Why would he do that?" Rei inquired quietly.
	Asuka rolled her eyes, "What planet are you from, Ayanami? So he can
see your naked body! That's what all of these perverts think about all
the time."
	Rei's expression had slipped back to neutral as she replied, "But he's
already seen me without clothes on. Why should it matter if he sees it
again?"	Asuka's jaw dropped. Shinji's face reddened considerably. Asuka
marched over to the couch, grabbing a throw pillow on her way with which
she began to beat on Shinji's head, "You lecherous, perverted, filthy
minded... MAN!"
	"OW! Hey, cut that out! Stop! It was an... OW! Accident! Argh!" Shinji
held his hands up to try and ward Asuka off.
	"So you admit it! Take this! And THIS!" she proceeded to brutally beat
on his still ringing head with the throw pillow, "How dare you take
advantage of Ayanami!"
	Rei watched, mildly confused at it all. Interaction with other people
and understanding them were never her strong suits, "What are you doing,
Soryu?"
	Asuka stopped long enough to give Rei a puzzled glance, "Wha? Doesn't
it bother you that he looked at you while you were naked?!"
	Rei gave her head a very small shake, "No."
	Asuka's eyes grew wide as she passed her gaze from Rei to Shinji then
back, "You don't mean to say that the two of you've been sleepi...?" She
couldn't bring herself to complete the sentence... she couldn't really
understand why... it wasn't even as if she was getting jealous at all...
it was simply the fact that Rei was taking it all so ridiculously calmly
that Asuka felt she had to get mad on Rei's behalf...
	"That's not it either, Asuka..." Shinji grumbled from the couch, still
blushing furiously, but now rubbing his head, his headache wasn't
helping him think clearly, "It was an accident, really..."
	"It wasn't his fault he lost his balance and landed on me." Rei
volunteered quietly. Shinji acked as Asuka glared at him and readied the
throw pillow again.
	"This was while you were naked?" Asuka asked, still very much confused.
	Shinji looked as if he wanted to crawl under a rock somewhere... he'd
hoped that she wouldn't talk about the incident, but here she was
actually telling Asuka! Asuka of all people! It was almost as if Rei was
trying to cause trouble!
	Rei nodded, expression still totally neutral, but her eyes had fallen
on Shinji again.
	Asuka whirled to face the cringing Shinji, "What the heck were you
doing with Rei while she was naked?!"
	Shinji... pushed to the limit, snapped back, "What business is it of
yours if I was naked with Rei?! Er... I mean... she was... er..."
Unfortunately... anger and a nasty headache also have the tendency to
make people slip their words up sometimes...
	Asuka's jaw dropped. Again. "Well... I don't care how you two are going
to go around denying this." She threw the pillow over her shoulder,
"It's none of my business if you and Rei are going to do something you
shouldn't be doing until after your married..."
	Rei was suspiciously silent.
	"But..." Shinji tried to explain... if any of this got back to
Misato... or worse to his father. This would not be good...
	Asuka coolly walked out of the room, overdramatically muttering and
posing, "Don't mind me... Get yourself in trouble why don't you... What
an idiot... What a pair of weirdoes."
	Shinji's mouth worked uselessly as he tried to figure out what else to
say... not that he had anything left to say, since his only company was
Rei and the TV.
	Asuka ducked her head into the room one last time and called out, "You
two deserve each other!"
	Rei regarded her with a flat expression as Asuka stormed off to her
room, "I'm going to sleep now." Rei said flatly as she walked from the
easy chair to the couch, unbuttoning her shirt as she walked. She had
her back to Shinji as she did it, and he was staring blankly at the TV.
Her shirt was already totally unbuttoned when Shinji turned to face her.
	"Um... maybe you'd like to stay in my room instead? You can use the
bed. I can stay on the couch." He paused for a moment as he realized
what he was staring at... again... he turned to one side quickly. She
didn't seem to notice at all.
	Rei seemed to consider his question for a moment longer than necessary
before replying, "Yes."
	Shinji kept his face turned away, "Um... w-w-why is your shirt
unbuttoned?"
	Rei stood up and walked calmly to the doorway, "I was undressing to
sleep." She took her shirt off entirely, stuffing it into the overnight
bag which she heaved over one shoulder. 
	Shinji's eyes bugged out when he realized that she was down to just her
bra and skirt... and whatever she had under the skirt... he kept his
gaze directly opposite her, but didn't shut them... Rei didn't really
seem to care... he asked in a strained voice, "Do you have to do that
while you're still here?!"
	"You haven't shown me where your room is." She replied
matter-of-factly. Shinji was surprised to hear a very tiny note of
exasperation in her tone.
	"Um... it's... er... down the... hall... um... right... third door on
the right... yeah, that's it." Shinji rattled off with difficulty. He
kept his eyes firmly planted on an uninteresting spot of wall, but his
peripheral vision was pretty good. She walked off as soon as he'd
completed the directions and he breathed a sigh of relief.
	Even from this distance he was starting to feel something oddly
familiar and not familiar... he was receiving the odd phantom sensation
the same as before... he took a deep breath and he could almost swear he
could feel her in the air around him. Her presence. Almost like a
scent... almost exactly like the time he was in her Eva.
	Normally, Shinji would've listened to his walkman until he would
finally allow himself to drift off to sleep... but he wasn't risking
going into his room to look for it. Certainly not if there was a
possibility that Rei's idea of sleep wear was her under garments, which
was entirely possible...
	He settled down on the couch to rest at the precise moment Rei did the
same on the bed, twelve feet away. They both breathed a heavy sigh as
they both turned over to their left side, each tucking a hand under
their heads before finally drifting off.

	Shinji woke up softly to the strains of the American song 'Fly Me To
The Moon' being sung by Megumi Hayashibara playing in his right ear. He
blinked his eyes slowly open... it was still dark... he felt an odd
pressure in one of his ears and there was some sort of shadowy figure
obscuring his vision as he tried to focus.
	"Wha..?" he asked, still dazed from his awakening.
	He felt a warm breath of air touch face lightly. A scent he
recognized... "Ayanami?" he whispered.
	She moved her face slightly closer to his, her features becoming
clearer as she shifted. She had an earphone fitted into her left ear and
it took him a moment to realize that the other end of the earphone was
in his right ear. He was aware of her breathing. The movement of air
across his face... the gentle rise and fall of her chest. Thank goodness
she was wearing a shirt at least... he thought to himself.
	She was most definitely not sleepwalking. She was looking at him
intently. Her eyes were obscured in part by her hair and by the shadows,
so he couldn't see any more of her expression. She reached out and
gently ran her fingertips across his cheek.
	"I thought you would want something to listen to. To help you sleep."
She answered quietly.
	"It's my favorite tape... how did you know?" he asked, trying to mask
his nervousness with small talk.
	"I just did. It felt right."
	"Oh. I... um... I see..." Shinji frantically fished for something...
anything to say to her... "What are you trying to do?"
	"What do you mean?" Rei asked softly, almost as if she didn't care
whether or not she was answered.
	"I was already sleeping fine... why the..."
	"I don't know. I just wanted to be where you were."
	"Huh?"
	"I do not understand it either. Commander Katsuragi didn't really tell
me to keep you and Asuka company... she just said I could stay here if I
wanted to."
	Shinji gulped nervously.
	Rei's hand brushed lightly against Shinji's cheek again, "I am not
asking for anything from you. Merely let me be nearby. I won't do
anything. Just let me stay with you, now." Her voice was still soft...
but the tiny hint of pleading was almost impossible to ignore.
	"Rei, this is so sudden..." Shinji tried to say.
	"No, it's not." Rei said, her voice gathering strength, "When I
synchronized with your Eva... I felt you through the Eva... the pattern
of your thoughts that you left there was there for me to read... and I
know what it's like to be you... I've been inside your head... and I
know you experienced the same when you synchronized with my Eva. We are
probably the two closest human beings on the planet... we have seen the
world through each other's eyes..."
	"But... I forgot everything that I learned about you from the
synchronization... My mind couldn't handle them I guess... I told the
doctors..."
	She finally smiled at him. "Perhaps you may not remember them
consciously... but you know them. You know me... Everything."
	"Maybe..." Shinji hazarded.
	"What do I want now?" Rei asked quietly.
	"To lie down and get some sleep." Shinji answered without thinking.
	"Good." Rei said. Shinji, without realizing it, moved aside allowing
Rei to lie down next to him on the narrow sofa.
	Rei snuggled quietly into Shinji's side. The two of them lying quietly.
Shinji did not understand what was happening, but he followed what he
felt. "Is this such a good idea?" Shinji asked finally, "I mean my bed's
got more room than this... and Asuka's going to find us like this
tomorrow morning..."
	"Just get some sleep. Don't worry about Soryu." She murmured softly.
	Shinji smiled a little as he felt both of them begin to drift off to
sleep... perhaps this wouldn't be so bad.
	In her own room, Asuka Langley Soryu was sound asleep... also bound and
gagged firmly, but not so tightly as to cut off her circulation. Rei had
made sure of that. After all. She didn't want her sleep or Shinji's to
be interrupted.
	
End.