All characters are property of Ganiax, etc. and other people beisides me.
I just... borrowed them for a short while. Borrowed, yeah, that's it....
Curiosity
Rei Ayanami just didn't understand. Every day she sat in the school
Classroom, staring out the window, just hoping for a glimpse of why the
others found this activity so pleasing. She'd tried it with other objects,
other views, but none offered what this did. A look at humanity at its
best and its worst.
Its best was the layers of natural beauty placed throughout the city.
Its worst was the unnatural skyscrapers and other buildings that covered
the land like some parasite.
She could hear some commotion in the background, someone was yelling. Rei
dismissed it as soon as she recognized the voice: the pilot of Unit 2.
There were times, not many of them, but every now and then Rei envied the
other girl; if what she felt could even be called envy. The other girl
knew how to express just what she felt, and had absolutly no problems with
letting everyone else know as well.
The victim of this latest outburst, the pilot of Unit 1, was held in his
place by fear, a not too unwarranted reaction when dealing with the
redhead. Rei took a moment from her view to study the confrontation.
The girl that was standing was gesticulating wildly, obviously wondering
what the boy was thinking, and told him as much.
The boy, still sitting, tried to stammer out an explanation, but the other
would have nothing of it. She just turned up her nose and walked away
after saying something odd because the boys cheeks flushed red and he
turned away, only to come into eye contact with Rei.
Red eyes studies dark blue ones, and were obviously searching for
something. She still had no idea and turned away. But not before noticing
something about his face. The fact that it looked so much like the other
man in her life. Even though years of development separated the two, not
to mention outlooks on life, the similiarites were too numerous to deny.
For a brief second, Rei almost had an idea about what she was looking for
outside the glass, but the moment she turned to it, the idea left her like
so much vapour. Nonplussed, she continued her study, taking in almost
every detail that she could, before it was gone.
She knew it would be gone, beacuse that was her job in life, it was her
purpose in being. Ever since she woke up in that white room, with those
two adults looking down at her, she knew exactly what she was on the world
for.
Had she taken the time to consider it, in that respect she was luckier
than most. Most humans have no idea what they are on the world for, what
their purpose is, their reason to by. Rei, on the other hand, knew exactly
what she was ment for.
And if that wasn't enough for her, every time she looked at someone else,
she could see the difference between her and them. They had coloured skin,
while hers was a chalky pale colour. They had hair that looked like
everyone elses, while hers was a blue that stood out against her skin.
They had eyes that could only see what they wanted to see, that could show
them many things that her own couldn't; her eyes had that tinge of colour
that made her what she was. The way that it was explained to her was that
everyone who had eyes like hers had a purpose of being, and that purpose
was life itself. They were there to save life or to end it. Or both,
depending on how one viewed it.
Once again she turned from the window to the other occupants of the room,
and the pilot of Unit 1 again. Did he know how much he resembled his
father? Did he know what his father had done for him, no matter what it
looked like? Would he even care? Or did his wounds run too deep to ever
be healed? While she thought this, the boy in question turned from his
friends, like something had gone off in his head, to look back at her.
Rei catalogued this with all the other similarites: the ability to tell
who was watching you and where they were. Then his gaze turned from her to
the redhead, to stare at her with the same intensity that Rei had looked at
him. She studiously ignored him. His eyes traveled up and down, not
letting a single detail esacpe his view. Another similarity.
Then he suddenly realized what he was doing and turned back to his
friends, a little too fast, lost his balance, and fell out of his chair.
Everyone else in the room burst out in laughter, even Unit 2's pilot,
finally turning to him, the humour clear in her eyes. She also had that
look, like she was planning something. Whatever it was, it would probably
be embarassing to the pilot of Unit 1.
But, for one brief instant, the two pilots locked gazes, and both pairs of
eyes grew wide; like they were seeing something new. And perhaps they
were, Rei couldn't tell. The only thing that gave away their shock was the
length of time that they stared at each other; and while that wasn't long,
for those two, it was an eternity. Perhaps something was growing between
them?
Again, that glimmer of understanding gnawed at the edge of Rei's mind,
driving her gaze from her teammates back to the glass partition. The sun
suddenly was cast behind clouds, and the world behind her was plunged into
reflections before her. She could see the redhead walk over to where the
boy was still laying on the floor, and offered her hand to him. Hesitating
a brief second before accepting, the boy grabbed it. Only to be helped up
and then pushed back down.
He sighed, and in a moment of courage and impishness, slipped a foor
behind her ankle and tripped her. When she sat up in indignation, so did
he. In perfect unision, the got to their feet, brushed themselves off, and
shared another look.
What were those two doing? Why were they here? Who are they here for?
What did they want from life? For Rei, the only answer that fit all three,
was each other. Apparently, even if they didn't know it consoisly, they
had an unconsious understand of what was transpiring around them, and were
reacting accordingly. She watched, thouroghly ingrossed in the actions
before her, as they turned away and returned to their respective groups of
friends, who all had their mouths hanging open at what was displayed before
them.
Suddenly unable to look at them any longer, Rei returned her gaze to the
glass. Perhaps that was what everyone else got out of this view, she
mused. A way of answering questions that they had no idea existed.
Understanding was the basis for all answers; before you could answer the
question, you had to understand what was being asked of you. Before her,
in this view of glass and nature and buildings, was a reflection of the
soul, and deep within that reflection, if you knew how to look for it, was
the understanding to all questions in life.
Glancing back at her classmates before totally sealing herself from all
that was going inside that room, Rei Ayanami had more questions than
answers, but, ironically, found herself closer to understanding the larger
question.
end