From: "Rakna" <rakna@globetrotter.qc.ca>


The One I Love Is...
Prologue - Even dolls have feelings
Written by Alain Gravel <rakna@globetrotter.qc.ca>
Based on characters created by and copyright GAINAX

http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Teahouse/2236/


Note: This part was initially posted as a stand alone story under the
name "Valentine's Day: Ayanami Rei"

=======================================================================

Prologue - Even dolls have feelings

    Ayanami Rei.
    The assigned pilot of Unit-00.
    Most people who knew her would agree that the First Children
possessed little emotion. Actually, most people, with the exception of
the Commander and Pilot Ikari, thought she had NO emotion whatsoever.
    A few times, Ayanami had shown those two genuine emotion.
    One of the Ikaris often wondered if Ayanami had known happiness,
while the other did not seem to care.
    But in overall, Ayanami was a total mystery.
    For much of her life, Ayanami behaved as though she felt no emotion.
However, two events changed that: the failed activation test of Unit-00,
and the arrival of the Third Children, Ikari Shinji. While the first
event apparently had little impact on the life of Ayanami, the second
greatly perturbed her very simple life.
    For reasons she could not comprehend, the young Ikari didn't seem to
be scared of her as the rest of her class were. He had shown interest in
her. He seemed to care about her even more than Commander Ikari. This
possibility disturbed her regular thoughts. And over time she found her
mind more and more preoccupied with thoughts of the Third Children.
    That made her... uneasy.
    She couldn't understand him.
    He had cried for her.
    He had made her smile.
    And she had enjoyed the feeling.
    And now...
    Ever since the fight with the Seventh Angel...
    His attention seemed to have shifted to the Second Children.
    This idea... disturbed her.
    She had, actually, grown to enjoy the Third Children's attention.
    She didn't want to lose it.
    Out of one of her school uniform pockets, Ayanami withdrew a small
pocket calendar card she had found on the street one day.
    She stared at it a moment.
    One day was marked in red.
    February 14th.
    Contrary to what people might think, Ayanami Rei was acutely of what
was going on around her. She had a lot of time to observe the world and
the people who lived in it. She often had trouble comprehending them.
But she could easily pick up every bit of relevant factual information
she came across. So, she knew the meaning of that date. She also studied
the rituals men and women seemed to perform on that date. A few months
earlier, she would have considered it a waste of time. But now... it was
a tool she could use.
    Slowly, the teenage girl got up and picked up a small package from a
desk. A small box of chocolates. She had skipped a meal to buy it.
    "Ikari-kun..."
    Filled with an almost alien resolution, Ayanami decided that she
wouldn't lose Ikari Shinji to the fiery Second Children.
    Quickly, she left her empty apartment.
    That morning, NERV Headquarters received many emergency calls from a
number of the operatives assigned to watch over the three Evangelion
pilots.
    Something was definitely wrong.
    That morning, Pilot Ayanami Rei ran to school.
    With a broad smile highlighting her face.

=======================================================================

Author's note:

I know what some of you may think. Rei is OOC (out of character).
Personally, I'm not so sure of that. Sure, Rei is a pretty cold person,
but she has shown that she had emotions. In the series, she has done a
few amazing things for Shinji's sake. I personally believe that Rei's
problem is that she has difficulty recognizing her own emotions, even
more trouble expressing them. And remember, as much emotionless Rei may
seem, she is still a teenage girl.

Well, this is my vision of Rei. Feel free to disagree.


Alain Gravel
rakna@globetrotter.qc.ca
February 18th 1999

Written on February 14th 1999
Revised on April 19th 1999
Additional corrections on May 29th 1999
Final revisions on March 2nd 2000