Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is Owned by Gainax. Buy the DVD's of
the Series and the Movies from them. I did, and it was worth every dime.
I don't own anything except my DVD's, and this is done for my own
satisfaction.
Episode 2:01 Survival of the first
Takes place after 1st season, and the End of Evangelion Movie.
Presumed Date is January 1st, 2016
Shinji awoke to the sound of waves lapping the beach upon which he was laying.
'Now why am I sleeping on a beach?' he thought to himself. 'Oh, yeah, now I remember, I came back from Third Impact.'
Reaching up and brushing the sleep from his eyes, his vision cleared, but it took him a moment to realize that. At first he thought he was suffering from a kind of blindness, because all he could see was red. Then he noticed movement in the red before him, as long unruly wisps of red hair were caught in the warm breeze blowing off the sea of LCL.
'Oh great, it's her,' he thought, rolling his eyes, 'why'd she have to come back anyway. Of all the people to wake up next to on the beach it had to be her.'
He sat up, looking down at Asuka's still sleeping form. He'd tried to kill her, was it yesterday, today. Whatever, it had been just before he'd fallen asleep, fully exhausted by his re-emergence from the sea of LCL.
'Looking at her like this, you'd almost think she was human,' he thought.
Asuka stretched and began to shift, finally rolling over and opening her eyes.
'Ah. The demon awakens,' he thought, sarcastically.
"Morning Asuka, are you alright?" he asked, timidly
"Not like it's any concern of your's Third-Child," she snapped, sleepily.
"Well I was just wondering. That is, I mean to say, you're wearing that eye patch and the sling, and well..." he drifted off.
"Huh?" she said, reaching up with her right arm to touch her left eye and left arm, both of which were swathed in bandages. "How the hell did I get bandages on me?" Sitting up she wrenched the bandages off, and examined her face and arm with her fingers.
"If you don't mind me saying so, Asuka, everything looks alright. I mean, your eye is a little puffy, but I don't think it's anything serious though," Shinji offered.
"Oh, like you'd know anything. I know you haven't had any more medical training than the standard first aid course you're required to take, while I've been to college, and have studied advanced life saving techniques," she smirked.
"And what does your advanced training tell you about your condition," Shinji asked with a sigh.
"What I already knew. That I'm the strongest person you'll ever meet, and nothing can hurt me," she said, tossing her hair with a contemptuous flip.
'Here we go again. Asuka the Great has declared herself completely wonderful. I wish someone would tell me why I find myself wanting to kill her at the same time I want to take her into my arms and hold her,' he thought.
"Well Baka, are you just going to sit there and stare, or are you going to help me find some food," she said looking down on him. He hadn't even noticed that she'd stood up.
"Um, right, Asuka, we should see if we can find something to eat, there's got to be a store or a house or something around here somewhere. Wherever here is," he said, encouragingly.
Shinji stood up, and looked up and down the beach. There was nothing to be seen except the sea and the sand.
"Follow me Third Child," she said, and flounced inland, away from the sea. After about two hundred yards they topped out on a set of sand dunes and looked down upon a large paved parking lot.
"That's a good sign," Shinji said. "All we have to do is follow this road until it leads to a store or house where we can find some food."
"Obviously," Asuka said, rolling her eyes.
Asuka jogged down the dune, and stepped lightly onto the blacktop, following the road away from the beach. Shinji followed.
"Hey Asuka, do you think there's anyone else back yet?" Shinji asked.
"No, we're the first, I'm sure of it," she said, not bothering to look back at the boy.
"And why are you so sure?"
"Because Baka, my Mother told me we would be the first. We won't have to wait long though," she said.
"So... you... saw your mother... too," he said timidly.
"Of course. She told me I had to come back," said Asuka.
'She also told me that if it weren't for you those old men at SEELE would have had their way, and we'd be stuck in Lilith's black egg for all eternity. But there's no way I'm going to thank you for that,' she thought to herself, a smirk crossing her face.
After what seemed hours of walking the two children came to a restaurant at the intersection of their road and a large four-lane highway. There were several cars parked in front of the place, and several piles of damp clothing marked the site of their owners 'ascension.' Asuka walked up to the big glass doors and peered inside.
"Looks like the powers off," she said.
"Well that's lucky," said Shinji.
"BAKA! Why do you think that's LUCKY? If there IS any food in there it's likely to have spoiled, with no power to the refrigerators."
"Hey, I can't be sure of anything, but I don't think we were gone that long, so most of the food's probably still okay. And if the power's off then we won't get electrocuted trying to figure out how to turn stuff off. Think about it for a minute Asuka. All over the world people vanished in the middle of things. Talking on phones, drying their hair, or cooking. If all the stoves were still running, the whole place would probably burn down before we could do anything about it," Shinji explained.
"Oh? And what about Gas stoves you idiot, surely some of them were left running? And how are we supposed to cook anything for ourselves? Answer me THAT!" she challenged.
"Well, I'd think that whatever shut off the power, probably also blew out the fires and things. I can't be sure, so we might want to be careful. I mean, it would really suck to survive the end of the world and get blown up by a gas explosion when we walk into a kitchen."
Asuka glared at him for a moment, and then turned her back on him. "Hmmph," she flounced, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Anyhow, lets go check for something to eat. I'm starved," he said. Taking the lead, he stepped up and pushed on the glass doors. As they opened to admit him, Asuka was still standing her ground.
"Coming?"
"No, I'm going to wait and see if you get blown up," she said.
"Whatever," he said, turning his back.
Shinji walked into the restaurant, and looked around. Despite there being no power, the light coming through the windows was enough for him to see by. There were several empty sets of cloths in here as well, and what looked like the remains of several meals. Shinji checked the plates, and noticed from the corner of his eye that Asuka was still standing outside watching him carefully.
'Well the foods not fresh, but it doesn't look moldy, so it's probably only a day or two old,' he thought. He turned around and looked for the entrance to the kitchen. Spying it made his way into it. Here he found four more sets of cloths; a waitress uniform, and three chef's smocks. The kitchen was very large and appeared to have a large walk in freezer as well as a large walk in refrigerator. Shinji braced himself, and opened the door to the refrigerator, hoping it didn't smell too bad.
Surprisingly the large room was still relatively cold. Not as cold as normal, he was sure, but the food here was still fresh. Smiling, he shut the door, and opened the freezer. Ice still clung to many of the items within, and a large metal box in the corner was filled with ice cubes.
"Alright," he exclaimed.
Turning around, he examined the layout of the kitchen, noticing that burners on the stoves all appeared to be gas. He walked over to the first one, and gingerly pressed and twisted the knob. A soft hiss rewarded his effort, and Shinji looked around to see if there was a match or igniter of some kind. There wasn't, but that didn't mean he couldn't get the stove lit. Looking down at the piles of cloths, he saw that there was a pack of cigarettes in one of the cooks pockets, so he started his search there.
Sure enough, there was a small box of matches located next to the pack of cigarettes, and Shinji extracted these, and lit one, carefully waving it near the burner, and turning on the gas. A soft thump and a louder hiss, accompanied by spreading warmth, and soft glow heralded the lighting of the stove. Pleased, Shinji looked around, as he turned down the stove to a soft, barely noticeable flame.
"Better clean this up a little first," he said to himself. He gathered the Woks on the other burners, and placed them all in the large sink at the back of the kitchen. He turned on the water, and was rewarded by a soft gurgle and then a small deluge, as it began to fill the sink. This accomplished, he shut off the water, letting the dishes soak, and looked around. Picking up the cloths of the cooks, he tossed them into a pile in the corner, keeping one of the aprons for himself, and put it on, before heading into the large refrigerator.
Gathering some beef, and a few vegetables he headed out to the kitchen, and quickly chopped up his ingredients. He started another one of the burners, and, on the first he placed a pot, which he quickly filled with water and rice, which he found in a huge bin in the back. After it began to boil he reduced the heat, and set a small wind up timer to tell him when it was done. He then placed a clean wok from the rack on the other burner and grabbed his utensils. Tossing the ingredients he'd gathered into the wok over the next several minutes, he added a number of sauces and seasonings he found sitting within easy reach.
The smells rising out of the wok were teasing his nose, and Shinji turned off the burner, just as the timer for the rice went off. He took the rice of its burner and shut it off as well.
Looking around, he found two plates, chopsticks, and a large teapot.
'Tea sounds great, right now,' he thought to himself. Smiling, he relit the burner, and set the teapot on it, scooping leaves from another container into a strainer, and waiting for the water to boil. Within a few minutes the water was ready, and Shinji plunged in his tealeaves, and let them steep.
'Now to get Asuka,' he said, and moved back out to the front of the Restaurant. Asuka was there already, cleaning up the remains of the clothing scattered around the room.
"Asuka, Lunch is ready," he announced softly.
Asuka jumped at his words, plainly she had not heard him leave the kitchen and was surprised.
"Mein Gott Im Himmel!" she exclaimed, "Don't you ever sneak up on me like that again Third Child."
"Shinji."
"What?" she asked.
"My name is Shinji. And I would appreciate it if you would use that name when you address me. There are no more EVA's, no more NERV, and, at least at present, no more PEOPLE on the entire planet. The least you can do is provide me the common courtesy of using my name," he said, staring at her.
'Whoa! That's not the old Spineless Shinji I know,' she thought, surprised.
"Okay Shinji, sure thing," she said.
'Wow!' thought Shinji, 'that was easier than I thought it would be. Cool.'
"Pick a seat, and I'll bring the food out, okay?" he said.
"Great," Asuka said, turning her back on him, and picking a seat that afforded her a good view of the highway intersection.
Shinji, meanwhile, was doing his impersonation of a professional waiter, and had loaded up dishes and bowls on both arms, and had placed a tea service on a platter, with the chopsticks, and was now backing though the kitchen door carrying everything to the table.
Asuka was impressed, not that she would ever admit it, that he managed to deliver all the food to the table without dropping or spilling anything. Setting everything in it's proper place, Shinji served Asuka her tea, and seated himself opposite her.
"Dig in," he said, grabbing a large spoon full of rice.
For the next twenty minutes the two children ate ravenously, barely speaking a word, only pausing to sip at their tea, and swallow. Finally sated, Asuka leaned back in her chair, and patted her stomach.
"I couldn't eat another bite," she said.
"Me neither," said Shinji, but then exclaimed, "Oh, I forgot," and jumped up to rush into the kitchen. Moments later he returned with two small plastic wrapped treats.
"Fortune Cookies?" Asuka asked. "I thought the Japanese didn't like these things?"
"Well, they're not really Asian cuisine, but most restaurants have them these days. We seem to have absorbed them into our culture."
Shinji broke his open, eating the sweet dough quickly and read his fortune to himself, 'True love is a path not a destination.' He swallowed the dough and looked up at Asuka, blushing, and hoping she wouldn't notice. She didn't.
Asuka, meanwhile, was pondering the meaning of her cookies message. 'False pride is the bane of true happiness.'
She just looked at it, not noticing Shinji's fading blush, and then crumbled the paper up, throwing it on the table.
"Okay Shinji, lets get some food for later, and get one of these cars running. You can drive can't you?" She said.
"Asuka, I'm not even fifteen years old, I don't have my license yet."
"As you pointed out, we're probably the only two people on the whole planet, so I don't think we're going to have to worry about a cop pulling us over," she said.
"Yeah, but I still don't know how to drive."
"Sheisse," Asuka swore.
"But I could ride that motorcycle," he said, pointing.
Asuka followed his motion, and saw a powerful looking street bike parked at the end of the restaurant. Its black and gold lines seemed to flow as an ocean wave, its streamlined shape screaming speed.
"Besides, those things get way better mileage. We're going to have to do a lot of riding, I'd bet, so we'll need to conserve what fuel we have," Shinji said.
"Okay, Shinji, lets see how well you can ride," she said, getting up, and heading outside.
Shinji followed her out a few minutes later, after he'd cleaned up their dishes, and ducked back into the kitchen for a few quick snacks to take with them.
Asuka was sitting on the hood of the car next to the bike, and tossed him a black and gold helmet as he walked up. He looked around, and noticed two more piles of clothing, One set of Black and another Set of Gold leather riding gear.
"Better put on the leather jackets and pants too," he said, "if we do go down, I'd hate to get a nasty road rash." He bent over and picked up the first jacket and pants, and slid into them. There were a pair of boots there as well, but they looked too big for him. 'Better to have them than nothing else,' he thought, 'besides I can always trade them in at the first shoe store we come to.'
He finished dressing in the riding gear, and pulled the helmet on, noticing that there was a small mouthpiece in the front of the helmet. He tightened the helmet up, and flipped a switch he found on the chinstrap. He then turned to face Asuka.
The site that met his eyes caused a slight nosebleed, and he began to sweat. Asuka had always looked great in her plugsuit, but this was incredible. The Golden Leather gear she was wearing showed off all of her curves. Especially her cleavage, since the jacket was obviously made for either a small man, or flat chested woman. Her breasts were squeezed together and she was unable to zip the jacket up any farther because of them.
He noticed that she was looking him up and down, and then heard a muffled, "Ready?"
Shinji nodded, and reached over to flip the switch on Asuka's helmet.
"Can you hear me?" he asked.
"Whoa," she said over the helmets built in two-way radio, "how'd you do that?"
"Built in radio, I noticed it when I put on the helmet."
"Cool."
"Alright, lets go," he said, climbing into the reclined drivers seat, and steadying the powerful bike. Asuka climbed in behind him, and sat down. Shinji sat still for several moments, and Asuka asked, 'Well?"
"No keys."
"Jeez, do I have to think of everything. Check your pockets."
"Oh, yeah," said Shinji, slightly embarrassed. Sure enough the right front pocket contained the keys to the bike, and Shinji withdrew them, inserted them into the ignition, and started the bike. The soft purr that came from the bike belied the feeling of power that Shinji felt in the bikes control yoke. Several small LCD screens lit up in front of him, showing digital gauges and readouts for the bikes functions. On top of the screens a red label lit up with a series of Kanji symbols, and Shinji looked at. It read, "Kawasaki Kiken Jingutsu 3700."
"Kiken Jingutsu?" Shinji said quietly.
"What was that?" Asuka asked.
"This bike, I've never heard of it before. It's called a Kiken Jinjutsu, or Dangerous Individual," he said.
"Well, whatever it is, let's get this thing going."
"Right," he said, examining the screens before him. It took a moment, but he found a small icon on the central touch sensitive screen that said "kickstand" and pressed it. The kickstand of the bike raised, and Shinji's legs absorbed the weight of the bike, as it rocked back and forth under him.
'Hmm... feels pretty light. Probably made from Carbon fiber and aluminum. Maybe even titanium,' he thought. 'Still, if I crash this thing, we aren't going to be any better off.'
"Well, are we going?" Asuka asked.
"Yeah, right, just one question. Which way do we go?"
"Go west young man," Asuka said in a deep voice, and then laughed. Shinji looked up slightly, gauged the suns movement since their arrival at the diner, and headed out onto the highway, turning to the right and accelerating.
Asuka was suddenly pressed back into the seat, and let out a squeal of delighted terror. Where, in the name of all that was Holy, did Shinji learn to drive a motorcycle? He was gunning the bikes accelerator, and shifting up through the gears on the long straight road. Soon the acceleration eased off, and she was able to lean forward. She couldn't quite make out the controls, and leaned forward, into Shinji, pressing herself against him, and looking over his right shoulder.
The tachometer was nearing the orange at 3700 rpm's and their speed was an astonishing 244 kilometers per hour.
"Um, Shinji, not that I'm complaining, but do you really think we should be going this fast?"
"What's wrong Asuka, don't like the speed?" Shinji asked.
"No, just wondering what's going to be left of us after we hit a car parked in the middle of the road."
"Oh, yeah, right," Shinji said, and chopped their speed to a more respectable 100 kph. "Sorry about that," he said, "I've just never been on a bike with this much power before. Isn't it great?"
"Yeah, great," she said, noticing how firm his lithe body was under the leather jacket. She leaned wrapped her arms around him, telling herself that it was just to make her more secure.
Shinji noticed the arms wrapping around his chest, and decided he liked their soft pressure. Another nosebleed began as he imagined Asuka's breasts pressed up against his back, constricted by the tight leather. Gulping down his heart, and giving his head a slight shake he concentrated on the large sign they were approaching. There were several cities listed and the relative distance from the sign to each, but the one that caught Shinji's attention was the one that said "Nagoya-2 45km."
"Alright. We're not too far from Nagoya-2," he said.
"What's so great about that?" Asuka asked.
"Well Ritsuko mentioned that there was a NERV Emergency Command Facility there. There was also some information about it in those papers that we had to read through before the mission where we tried to capture the 8th angel. Surely you remember THAT?"
'How could I forget? That's the mission where I almost died in that volcano, and you saved me, at the cost of considerable damage to your EVA. It's where I first began to feel like we might...' Asuka let that thought trail off.
"Of course I remember that mission," she snapped, "but I had more on my mind than reading some mindless paperwork about NERV, I was too busy learning how to defeat the enemy."
"Oh, well anyway, some of the equipment for that operation was scrambled out of the NERV reserve base at Nagoya-2. I'd beet that there's a ton of stuff that we could use. Survival gear and the like," he continued.
"And power?" she asked.
"Probably. Ritsuko mentioned something about a Geothermal plant that tapped deep into the core there to supply power to the base, so it wasn't dependant upon nuclear or other outside sources."
"Then what are you waiting for, lets haul ass."
"Yes Ma'am," Shinji said, pouring power to the bike once more, and reveling in the feeling of Asuka's arms gripping his chest for dear life.
Fifteen minutes later, Shinji directed the bike off an innocuous looking ramp and onto a side road. He slowed as they approached a deserted guard post, and swerved around the barricade. Driving onto the base, he passed several deserted vehicles, and was beginning to wonder what exactly he was looking for when Asuka pointed and shouted in his ear, "There."
He followed her directions, and soon found himself at the entrance to a monorail transport train, similar to those used in the NERV Geofront. He parked the bike, dropped the kickstand, and waited until Asuka had climbed off before he stood up. He motioned Asuka to follow his lead and took off his helmet. Asuka did the same and her beautiful red locks flowed out behind her as she shook her head.
"Well, now what?" she asked. "I don't see any indications of power on this thing."
"We'll have to go down manually. This is going to take some time, so I guess it's a good thing we brought some food."
Gathering their supplies, the two teenagers set out to explore the facility before them. After a few minutes they found that the emergency power was activated, and the doors were sealed tight shut. Shinji typed in his NERV id number and security pass code, and the first door opened. He turned to smile at Asuka.
"Baka," she said, and Shinji's smile dropped.
"Fine Asuka, lets just get inside," he said dully.
It took them the better part of four hours to find the Central Operations and Command Center for the facility, which Shinji thought was a great stroke of luck. Actually, it was more because of the fact that the facility here was nowhere near as big as the NERV command center in the Geofront, which, after all, had been built inside the egg of Lilith, which was now in Orbit as a new black moon.
"Well, Shinji, now what?" she asked, hands on her hips, almost challenging him with her stance.
"Now we start trying to help ourselves," he said.
Next on Episode 2:02 of Neon Genesis Evangelion The Children manage to make life seem a little more normal as their exploration of the NERV base leads to some wonderful surprises. Shinji and Asuka spend a day exploring the surface of the surrounding area, and discover some things about each other that may surprise them both.
It's Evangelion Episode 2:02 Playing House
Episode 2:01 Survival of the first
Takes place after 1st season, and the End of Evangelion Movie.
Presumed Date is January 1st, 2016
Shinji awoke to the sound of waves lapping the beach upon which he was laying.
'Now why am I sleeping on a beach?' he thought to himself. 'Oh, yeah, now I remember, I came back from Third Impact.'
Reaching up and brushing the sleep from his eyes, his vision cleared, but it took him a moment to realize that. At first he thought he was suffering from a kind of blindness, because all he could see was red. Then he noticed movement in the red before him, as long unruly wisps of red hair were caught in the warm breeze blowing off the sea of LCL.
'Oh great, it's her,' he thought, rolling his eyes, 'why'd she have to come back anyway. Of all the people to wake up next to on the beach it had to be her.'
He sat up, looking down at Asuka's still sleeping form. He'd tried to kill her, was it yesterday, today. Whatever, it had been just before he'd fallen asleep, fully exhausted by his re-emergence from the sea of LCL.
'Looking at her like this, you'd almost think she was human,' he thought.
Asuka stretched and began to shift, finally rolling over and opening her eyes.
'Ah. The demon awakens,' he thought, sarcastically.
"Morning Asuka, are you alright?" he asked, timidly
"Not like it's any concern of your's Third-Child," she snapped, sleepily.
"Well I was just wondering. That is, I mean to say, you're wearing that eye patch and the sling, and well..." he drifted off.
"Huh?" she said, reaching up with her right arm to touch her left eye and left arm, both of which were swathed in bandages. "How the hell did I get bandages on me?" Sitting up she wrenched the bandages off, and examined her face and arm with her fingers.
"If you don't mind me saying so, Asuka, everything looks alright. I mean, your eye is a little puffy, but I don't think it's anything serious though," Shinji offered.
"Oh, like you'd know anything. I know you haven't had any more medical training than the standard first aid course you're required to take, while I've been to college, and have studied advanced life saving techniques," she smirked.
"And what does your advanced training tell you about your condition," Shinji asked with a sigh.
"What I already knew. That I'm the strongest person you'll ever meet, and nothing can hurt me," she said, tossing her hair with a contemptuous flip.
'Here we go again. Asuka the Great has declared herself completely wonderful. I wish someone would tell me why I find myself wanting to kill her at the same time I want to take her into my arms and hold her,' he thought.
"Well Baka, are you just going to sit there and stare, or are you going to help me find some food," she said looking down on him. He hadn't even noticed that she'd stood up.
"Um, right, Asuka, we should see if we can find something to eat, there's got to be a store or a house or something around here somewhere. Wherever here is," he said, encouragingly.
Shinji stood up, and looked up and down the beach. There was nothing to be seen except the sea and the sand.
"Follow me Third Child," she said, and flounced inland, away from the sea. After about two hundred yards they topped out on a set of sand dunes and looked down upon a large paved parking lot.
"That's a good sign," Shinji said. "All we have to do is follow this road until it leads to a store or house where we can find some food."
"Obviously," Asuka said, rolling her eyes.
Asuka jogged down the dune, and stepped lightly onto the blacktop, following the road away from the beach. Shinji followed.
"Hey Asuka, do you think there's anyone else back yet?" Shinji asked.
"No, we're the first, I'm sure of it," she said, not bothering to look back at the boy.
"And why are you so sure?"
"Because Baka, my Mother told me we would be the first. We won't have to wait long though," she said.
"So... you... saw your mother... too," he said timidly.
"Of course. She told me I had to come back," said Asuka.
'She also told me that if it weren't for you those old men at SEELE would have had their way, and we'd be stuck in Lilith's black egg for all eternity. But there's no way I'm going to thank you for that,' she thought to herself, a smirk crossing her face.
After what seemed hours of walking the two children came to a restaurant at the intersection of their road and a large four-lane highway. There were several cars parked in front of the place, and several piles of damp clothing marked the site of their owners 'ascension.' Asuka walked up to the big glass doors and peered inside.
"Looks like the powers off," she said.
"Well that's lucky," said Shinji.
"BAKA! Why do you think that's LUCKY? If there IS any food in there it's likely to have spoiled, with no power to the refrigerators."
"Hey, I can't be sure of anything, but I don't think we were gone that long, so most of the food's probably still okay. And if the power's off then we won't get electrocuted trying to figure out how to turn stuff off. Think about it for a minute Asuka. All over the world people vanished in the middle of things. Talking on phones, drying their hair, or cooking. If all the stoves were still running, the whole place would probably burn down before we could do anything about it," Shinji explained.
"Oh? And what about Gas stoves you idiot, surely some of them were left running? And how are we supposed to cook anything for ourselves? Answer me THAT!" she challenged.
"Well, I'd think that whatever shut off the power, probably also blew out the fires and things. I can't be sure, so we might want to be careful. I mean, it would really suck to survive the end of the world and get blown up by a gas explosion when we walk into a kitchen."
Asuka glared at him for a moment, and then turned her back on him. "Hmmph," she flounced, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Anyhow, lets go check for something to eat. I'm starved," he said. Taking the lead, he stepped up and pushed on the glass doors. As they opened to admit him, Asuka was still standing her ground.
"Coming?"
"No, I'm going to wait and see if you get blown up," she said.
"Whatever," he said, turning his back.
Shinji walked into the restaurant, and looked around. Despite there being no power, the light coming through the windows was enough for him to see by. There were several empty sets of cloths in here as well, and what looked like the remains of several meals. Shinji checked the plates, and noticed from the corner of his eye that Asuka was still standing outside watching him carefully.
'Well the foods not fresh, but it doesn't look moldy, so it's probably only a day or two old,' he thought. He turned around and looked for the entrance to the kitchen. Spying it made his way into it. Here he found four more sets of cloths; a waitress uniform, and three chef's smocks. The kitchen was very large and appeared to have a large walk in freezer as well as a large walk in refrigerator. Shinji braced himself, and opened the door to the refrigerator, hoping it didn't smell too bad.
Surprisingly the large room was still relatively cold. Not as cold as normal, he was sure, but the food here was still fresh. Smiling, he shut the door, and opened the freezer. Ice still clung to many of the items within, and a large metal box in the corner was filled with ice cubes.
"Alright," he exclaimed.
Turning around, he examined the layout of the kitchen, noticing that burners on the stoves all appeared to be gas. He walked over to the first one, and gingerly pressed and twisted the knob. A soft hiss rewarded his effort, and Shinji looked around to see if there was a match or igniter of some kind. There wasn't, but that didn't mean he couldn't get the stove lit. Looking down at the piles of cloths, he saw that there was a pack of cigarettes in one of the cooks pockets, so he started his search there.
Sure enough, there was a small box of matches located next to the pack of cigarettes, and Shinji extracted these, and lit one, carefully waving it near the burner, and turning on the gas. A soft thump and a louder hiss, accompanied by spreading warmth, and soft glow heralded the lighting of the stove. Pleased, Shinji looked around, as he turned down the stove to a soft, barely noticeable flame.
"Better clean this up a little first," he said to himself. He gathered the Woks on the other burners, and placed them all in the large sink at the back of the kitchen. He turned on the water, and was rewarded by a soft gurgle and then a small deluge, as it began to fill the sink. This accomplished, he shut off the water, letting the dishes soak, and looked around. Picking up the cloths of the cooks, he tossed them into a pile in the corner, keeping one of the aprons for himself, and put it on, before heading into the large refrigerator.
Gathering some beef, and a few vegetables he headed out to the kitchen, and quickly chopped up his ingredients. He started another one of the burners, and, on the first he placed a pot, which he quickly filled with water and rice, which he found in a huge bin in the back. After it began to boil he reduced the heat, and set a small wind up timer to tell him when it was done. He then placed a clean wok from the rack on the other burner and grabbed his utensils. Tossing the ingredients he'd gathered into the wok over the next several minutes, he added a number of sauces and seasonings he found sitting within easy reach.
The smells rising out of the wok were teasing his nose, and Shinji turned off the burner, just as the timer for the rice went off. He took the rice of its burner and shut it off as well.
Looking around, he found two plates, chopsticks, and a large teapot.
'Tea sounds great, right now,' he thought to himself. Smiling, he relit the burner, and set the teapot on it, scooping leaves from another container into a strainer, and waiting for the water to boil. Within a few minutes the water was ready, and Shinji plunged in his tealeaves, and let them steep.
'Now to get Asuka,' he said, and moved back out to the front of the Restaurant. Asuka was there already, cleaning up the remains of the clothing scattered around the room.
"Asuka, Lunch is ready," he announced softly.
Asuka jumped at his words, plainly she had not heard him leave the kitchen and was surprised.
"Mein Gott Im Himmel!" she exclaimed, "Don't you ever sneak up on me like that again Third Child."
"Shinji."
"What?" she asked.
"My name is Shinji. And I would appreciate it if you would use that name when you address me. There are no more EVA's, no more NERV, and, at least at present, no more PEOPLE on the entire planet. The least you can do is provide me the common courtesy of using my name," he said, staring at her.
'Whoa! That's not the old Spineless Shinji I know,' she thought, surprised.
"Okay Shinji, sure thing," she said.
'Wow!' thought Shinji, 'that was easier than I thought it would be. Cool.'
"Pick a seat, and I'll bring the food out, okay?" he said.
"Great," Asuka said, turning her back on him, and picking a seat that afforded her a good view of the highway intersection.
Shinji, meanwhile, was doing his impersonation of a professional waiter, and had loaded up dishes and bowls on both arms, and had placed a tea service on a platter, with the chopsticks, and was now backing though the kitchen door carrying everything to the table.
Asuka was impressed, not that she would ever admit it, that he managed to deliver all the food to the table without dropping or spilling anything. Setting everything in it's proper place, Shinji served Asuka her tea, and seated himself opposite her.
"Dig in," he said, grabbing a large spoon full of rice.
For the next twenty minutes the two children ate ravenously, barely speaking a word, only pausing to sip at their tea, and swallow. Finally sated, Asuka leaned back in her chair, and patted her stomach.
"I couldn't eat another bite," she said.
"Me neither," said Shinji, but then exclaimed, "Oh, I forgot," and jumped up to rush into the kitchen. Moments later he returned with two small plastic wrapped treats.
"Fortune Cookies?" Asuka asked. "I thought the Japanese didn't like these things?"
"Well, they're not really Asian cuisine, but most restaurants have them these days. We seem to have absorbed them into our culture."
Shinji broke his open, eating the sweet dough quickly and read his fortune to himself, 'True love is a path not a destination.' He swallowed the dough and looked up at Asuka, blushing, and hoping she wouldn't notice. She didn't.
Asuka, meanwhile, was pondering the meaning of her cookies message. 'False pride is the bane of true happiness.'
She just looked at it, not noticing Shinji's fading blush, and then crumbled the paper up, throwing it on the table.
"Okay Shinji, lets get some food for later, and get one of these cars running. You can drive can't you?" She said.
"Asuka, I'm not even fifteen years old, I don't have my license yet."
"As you pointed out, we're probably the only two people on the whole planet, so I don't think we're going to have to worry about a cop pulling us over," she said.
"Yeah, but I still don't know how to drive."
"Sheisse," Asuka swore.
"But I could ride that motorcycle," he said, pointing.
Asuka followed his motion, and saw a powerful looking street bike parked at the end of the restaurant. Its black and gold lines seemed to flow as an ocean wave, its streamlined shape screaming speed.
"Besides, those things get way better mileage. We're going to have to do a lot of riding, I'd bet, so we'll need to conserve what fuel we have," Shinji said.
"Okay, Shinji, lets see how well you can ride," she said, getting up, and heading outside.
Shinji followed her out a few minutes later, after he'd cleaned up their dishes, and ducked back into the kitchen for a few quick snacks to take with them.
Asuka was sitting on the hood of the car next to the bike, and tossed him a black and gold helmet as he walked up. He looked around, and noticed two more piles of clothing, One set of Black and another Set of Gold leather riding gear.
"Better put on the leather jackets and pants too," he said, "if we do go down, I'd hate to get a nasty road rash." He bent over and picked up the first jacket and pants, and slid into them. There were a pair of boots there as well, but they looked too big for him. 'Better to have them than nothing else,' he thought, 'besides I can always trade them in at the first shoe store we come to.'
He finished dressing in the riding gear, and pulled the helmet on, noticing that there was a small mouthpiece in the front of the helmet. He tightened the helmet up, and flipped a switch he found on the chinstrap. He then turned to face Asuka.
The site that met his eyes caused a slight nosebleed, and he began to sweat. Asuka had always looked great in her plugsuit, but this was incredible. The Golden Leather gear she was wearing showed off all of her curves. Especially her cleavage, since the jacket was obviously made for either a small man, or flat chested woman. Her breasts were squeezed together and she was unable to zip the jacket up any farther because of them.
He noticed that she was looking him up and down, and then heard a muffled, "Ready?"
Shinji nodded, and reached over to flip the switch on Asuka's helmet.
"Can you hear me?" he asked.
"Whoa," she said over the helmets built in two-way radio, "how'd you do that?"
"Built in radio, I noticed it when I put on the helmet."
"Cool."
"Alright, lets go," he said, climbing into the reclined drivers seat, and steadying the powerful bike. Asuka climbed in behind him, and sat down. Shinji sat still for several moments, and Asuka asked, 'Well?"
"No keys."
"Jeez, do I have to think of everything. Check your pockets."
"Oh, yeah," said Shinji, slightly embarrassed. Sure enough the right front pocket contained the keys to the bike, and Shinji withdrew them, inserted them into the ignition, and started the bike. The soft purr that came from the bike belied the feeling of power that Shinji felt in the bikes control yoke. Several small LCD screens lit up in front of him, showing digital gauges and readouts for the bikes functions. On top of the screens a red label lit up with a series of Kanji symbols, and Shinji looked at. It read, "Kawasaki Kiken Jingutsu 3700."
"Kiken Jingutsu?" Shinji said quietly.
"What was that?" Asuka asked.
"This bike, I've never heard of it before. It's called a Kiken Jinjutsu, or Dangerous Individual," he said.
"Well, whatever it is, let's get this thing going."
"Right," he said, examining the screens before him. It took a moment, but he found a small icon on the central touch sensitive screen that said "kickstand" and pressed it. The kickstand of the bike raised, and Shinji's legs absorbed the weight of the bike, as it rocked back and forth under him.
'Hmm... feels pretty light. Probably made from Carbon fiber and aluminum. Maybe even titanium,' he thought. 'Still, if I crash this thing, we aren't going to be any better off.'
"Well, are we going?" Asuka asked.
"Yeah, right, just one question. Which way do we go?"
"Go west young man," Asuka said in a deep voice, and then laughed. Shinji looked up slightly, gauged the suns movement since their arrival at the diner, and headed out onto the highway, turning to the right and accelerating.
Asuka was suddenly pressed back into the seat, and let out a squeal of delighted terror. Where, in the name of all that was Holy, did Shinji learn to drive a motorcycle? He was gunning the bikes accelerator, and shifting up through the gears on the long straight road. Soon the acceleration eased off, and she was able to lean forward. She couldn't quite make out the controls, and leaned forward, into Shinji, pressing herself against him, and looking over his right shoulder.
The tachometer was nearing the orange at 3700 rpm's and their speed was an astonishing 244 kilometers per hour.
"Um, Shinji, not that I'm complaining, but do you really think we should be going this fast?"
"What's wrong Asuka, don't like the speed?" Shinji asked.
"No, just wondering what's going to be left of us after we hit a car parked in the middle of the road."
"Oh, yeah, right," Shinji said, and chopped their speed to a more respectable 100 kph. "Sorry about that," he said, "I've just never been on a bike with this much power before. Isn't it great?"
"Yeah, great," she said, noticing how firm his lithe body was under the leather jacket. She leaned wrapped her arms around him, telling herself that it was just to make her more secure.
Shinji noticed the arms wrapping around his chest, and decided he liked their soft pressure. Another nosebleed began as he imagined Asuka's breasts pressed up against his back, constricted by the tight leather. Gulping down his heart, and giving his head a slight shake he concentrated on the large sign they were approaching. There were several cities listed and the relative distance from the sign to each, but the one that caught Shinji's attention was the one that said "Nagoya-2 45km."
"Alright. We're not too far from Nagoya-2," he said.
"What's so great about that?" Asuka asked.
"Well Ritsuko mentioned that there was a NERV Emergency Command Facility there. There was also some information about it in those papers that we had to read through before the mission where we tried to capture the 8th angel. Surely you remember THAT?"
'How could I forget? That's the mission where I almost died in that volcano, and you saved me, at the cost of considerable damage to your EVA. It's where I first began to feel like we might...' Asuka let that thought trail off.
"Of course I remember that mission," she snapped, "but I had more on my mind than reading some mindless paperwork about NERV, I was too busy learning how to defeat the enemy."
"Oh, well anyway, some of the equipment for that operation was scrambled out of the NERV reserve base at Nagoya-2. I'd beet that there's a ton of stuff that we could use. Survival gear and the like," he continued.
"And power?" she asked.
"Probably. Ritsuko mentioned something about a Geothermal plant that tapped deep into the core there to supply power to the base, so it wasn't dependant upon nuclear or other outside sources."
"Then what are you waiting for, lets haul ass."
"Yes Ma'am," Shinji said, pouring power to the bike once more, and reveling in the feeling of Asuka's arms gripping his chest for dear life.
Fifteen minutes later, Shinji directed the bike off an innocuous looking ramp and onto a side road. He slowed as they approached a deserted guard post, and swerved around the barricade. Driving onto the base, he passed several deserted vehicles, and was beginning to wonder what exactly he was looking for when Asuka pointed and shouted in his ear, "There."
He followed her directions, and soon found himself at the entrance to a monorail transport train, similar to those used in the NERV Geofront. He parked the bike, dropped the kickstand, and waited until Asuka had climbed off before he stood up. He motioned Asuka to follow his lead and took off his helmet. Asuka did the same and her beautiful red locks flowed out behind her as she shook her head.
"Well, now what?" she asked. "I don't see any indications of power on this thing."
"We'll have to go down manually. This is going to take some time, so I guess it's a good thing we brought some food."
Gathering their supplies, the two teenagers set out to explore the facility before them. After a few minutes they found that the emergency power was activated, and the doors were sealed tight shut. Shinji typed in his NERV id number and security pass code, and the first door opened. He turned to smile at Asuka.
"Baka," she said, and Shinji's smile dropped.
"Fine Asuka, lets just get inside," he said dully.
It took them the better part of four hours to find the Central Operations and Command Center for the facility, which Shinji thought was a great stroke of luck. Actually, it was more because of the fact that the facility here was nowhere near as big as the NERV command center in the Geofront, which, after all, had been built inside the egg of Lilith, which was now in Orbit as a new black moon.
"Well, Shinji, now what?" she asked, hands on her hips, almost challenging him with her stance.
"Now we start trying to help ourselves," he said.
Next on Episode 2:02 of Neon Genesis Evangelion The Children manage to make life seem a little more normal as their exploration of the NERV base leads to some wonderful surprises. Shinji and Asuka spend a day exploring the surface of the surrounding area, and discover some things about each other that may surprise them both.
It's Evangelion Episode 2:02 Playing House