Innocent Trip
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion, nor do I claim to. Mr. Anno does. I'm…just a young fanfiction writer.
A/N: This is the kind of story that I merely wrote because I really wanted to , but I didn't think about what would happen in the later chapters (for the most part). Instead of making it all up as I go along, I'm going to try to make a coherent plot out of this, though it may take some time to think out and write down. N-Not because I'm lazy or anything, though…

Shinji Ikari walked out the door, not a care in the world.

His day had started out normally enough. Grumbling about having to get up so early in the morning, especially this morning, considering he had to wake up at 5 in the morning, lumbering into the bathroom for a shower, debating on whether or not he should shave (having a tendency to shave anyway regardless of what little facial hair he had), making some coffee, and cooking breakfast were all part of his daily routine. And perhaps that was just how he liked it. After all, having a "normal" life was something that he came to appreciate. After Third Impact, it seemed like everything changed, and yet…everything remained the same, somehow.

But Shinji wasn't going to think about that. He had moved on a long time ago. Now he was a grown man. As he walked out of his apartment, dressed in a plain white t-shirt, dark blue jeans, and a black leather jacket, and holding a baggage consisting of clothes and a laptop, he glanced at his watch, before proceeding to dash down the stairs and head straight for his car. Shinji wasn't exactly late, but he always wanted to make sure that he'd at least be early. Just in case there might be traffic or something.

As he entered his car, he felt a small vibration in his pocket. As Shinji reached into his pocket and took out his phone, he saw that he had received a text from his co-worker. It said "Have fun in Germany, Shinji! Kelly, Michelle, and I all hope you enjoy yourself there!" and attached was a picture of a baby sleeping.

The Japanese man couldn't help but smile a bit. His co-worker, a bright and cheery young man named Keiji, had just had his first child, Michelle, a few weeks ago with his wife. As Shinji put his phone back into his pocket and inserted a key into his car, he thought about Keiji, and how happy he was for him about how he already had his life all sorted out. He was 27, married, and already had a child.

Funny…Shinji was older by two years and he didn't even have a steady girlfriend. He had been single for about three or four years. Whatever. Shinji found that his work was too important for stuff like that anyway.

Ugh…who am I kidding? I have plenty of time for girlfriends. It's not like I'm one of those important bankers or something. I'm just a chef.

Despite what Shinji believed, it didn't stop his other co-workers from setting him up to dates. Only a two of them were successful, and the girls that had caught Shinji's interest were the ones who ended up dating him. But in the end, the fact remained that Shinji was single. Bah! Not like he needed a girlfriend anyway. After all, one of the main perks of being single was the fact that he didn't have to spend an extensive amount of money for anyone else, and he had all of his spare time to himself.

Hmm. Still, Shinji couldn't deny that he regretted one thing; leaving his last girlfriend on sour terms. Then again, what's done is done. But still…he could have apologized for being so…no, he wasn't going to apologize! This was entirely her fault, of course!

Oh, but was it? I mean, I admit that I was a bit—

Nope! It was entirely her fault! She should've known that a bad attitude like that repulsed men!

Sighing loudly to himself, Shinji decided to block those negative thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts. That's what his old therapist had told him to do when he was younger, and so he did do it. Not that his therapist was actually much help anyway, but still…

Shinji began thinking of his vacation to Germany as he drove into the streets of the new Tokyo-3. Well, actually, it's been around for 15 years, but people decided to call it "new" since it was the rebuilt Tokyo-3 after Third Impact.

No, no, Shinji. No thoughts of Third Impact. Thoughts of Germany. Thoughts of his much needed vacation to Germany.

A few weeks earlier, the workers were discussing travel and places they'd like to travel to. It was just about closing time, so no customers were coming. It was convenient that the manager had decided to show up to work that day, seeing as how he often neglected his responsibilities. Anyway, it was convenient because the manager, Mr. Suzuki, was the one who recommended Germany. From what he said, it seemed to be a wondrous and beautiful place, where the people were friendly and the overall atmosphere was welcoming. According to the old man, Shinji would almost feel right at home there. Then again, Mr. Suzuki always had a tendency to over-exaggerate.

Still, the point got across that Germany was apparently a great place to be. And it seemed to look best in the snow. Then again, Mr. Suzuki was one of those "old geezers" who lived before Second Impact, and thus, knew what snow was actually like.

If it's worth noting, it was Winter right now. To be precise, the date was December 5th, 2030. Shinji didn't know why, but he felt that he had forgotten to do something important involving December 4th, and it somewhat bothered him all day, but that day had gone and passed, and nothing happened, so Shinji proceeded with his normal life as usual.

It still bothered him, though. Even now, he was thinking he had forgotten to do something on December 4th…

Hmm. Maybe it doesn't matter. Deciding to block out that negative emotion, Shinji began going over the German vocabulary he learned when he was younger. He didn't know why he was learning German at the time, but to Shinji, it just felt…right.

Almost like he was doing it for someone else.

Asuka Langley Sohryu walked out the door, not a care in the world.

Her day started out normally enough with a hot shower and an apple (Apparently, apples were more effective in waking one up than coffee), before putting on a black dress that a very old friend had given her. Hell, she knew from the get-go that the entire day was going to be normal, which was a shame. She disliked routine, and liked days where noteworthy things actually happened. But whatever. Asuka had her birthday party the day before, and now, today was going to be a normal day.

The German lady grunted to herself as she left her house. 29 years old now, huh? Hmph. That was almost 30. And Asuka found it sad that at almost thirty, she was still single. Then again, in her defense, she wasn't exactly looking. But perhaps now was a good time to start, though. After all, she had a legacy to pass down! Asuka Langley Sohryu's descendants would be blessed with her name and blood!

Asuka couldn't help but giggle a bit as she walked. She remembered back when she was younger. When she was full of pride and confidence. At least, that's what it seemed like at the time.

Oh my god…am I really thinking of that again? Asuka thought to herself in disgust, And where's my car?! She thought, before blinking. Oh, that's right.

The reason she was walking to work was because of that stupid accident the other day! One thing lead to another while driving home from work one day, and before Asuka knew it, her sports car was being sent the shop for repairs. Asuka gave the other driver hell for ruining her nice car, the poor fellow driver being easily intimidated by Asuka's aggressive mien.

Hmph. One would think that by 2030, it wouldn't take very long at all to repair a car, but it didn't. Either Asuka had a poor choice of repairmen or the accident really did a number on her vehicle. Or maybe both. After all, a whopping two days had passed, and still no word from the repairmen! And then, a certain thought crossed Asuka's mind.

Oh my god. I swear, if they ran off with my car, I will hunt them down to the ends of the Earth! She thought viciously as she continued walking. About two minutes had passed and she was already up for a quick rest. Maybe walking wasn't exactly her thing. Even so, her work was far enough as it was by car. God knows how long it is by walking. And Asuka couldn't afford a rest.

...Not even if it's a really quick five minute rest? Ack! No, no! There's that meeting I'm having today! I can't afford to miss that!

Mustering up strength to go forward, the German lady took a deep breath and walked a bit faster now. She had to admit that there was something…nice about walking along the streets of Germany. Something refreshing…assuming that was even the right word anyway. Asuka found it difficult to put it in words. Walking was quite a different experience from driving.

After all, in a car, the young woman had to focus on many things while driving. She had to be mindful of the other cars, the signals, the lights, everything. And on top of that, the few thoughts that were still in her mind after that were blocked out when she'd turn on the radio and almost be lost in the music. Almost.

It was like she was at rest when she walked.

Now, if only she didn't get tired easily! Maybe then she'd walk more often! Because really, it was nice. The wind blowing in the air, the feeling of being one with the crowd, and so forth. It was all relaxing. No wonder people often walked in their leisure time. Maybe soon she'll start walking more often too.

And not because she needed to lose a few pounds or so! Anyway, it seemed like a fair trade. Walk to work for thirty minutes, sit down in the meeting for about thirty minutes.

…Okay. Well, actually, the meeting might actually go on for an hour or two, but still.

The airport was busy. This was odd, considering it was about 5 in the morning. Then again, sometimes, people just needed to get to places. Since it was December, there were many people here coming to visit their relatives and/or friends in other parts of the world. Crazy to think that they'd leave as early as twenty days before Christmas, though! Still, Shinji himself wasn't leaving for Christmas. Just a simple brief vacation that'll last for a few days. Maybe about a week, and then he'll come back home.

As Shinji walked around to find his plane, he began thinking about why he was going on vacation. The young chef wasn't exactly stressed out or anything of the sort. And he didn't usually go on vacations, so it was odd that he was going to leave his comfortable home so readily and easily. It reminded him of a pretty old movie (possibly from 2004) where a man is suddenly compelled to ditch work for a day to meet someone he didn't know. Or at least, someone he believed he didn't know. Maybe he could apply that sort of situation here.

Ah, here's the plane. Shinji went through the usual routine there, while also continuing his…perplexing thoughts.

Anyway, maybe the Japanese man could somehow connect that to his odd feeling he had during the first three days of December, and then the stressful emotion of believing he had forgotten something important on the 4th. Now here Shinji was, December 5th, assuming that he was going to find something that had been waiting for him in Germany.

Maybe it had something to do with…her…?

No, no! That's preposterous! She had most likely moved on a long time ago, and so had Shinji. At least, that's what he believed, but if he was going to think about this any longer, he was probably going to let the memories swarm him again.

Ah, hell. Maybe he shouldn't go to Germany after all. It'll remind him of her now that she's on her mind.

But whatever. It's too late now. He may as well try to enjoy his vacation. There's no backing out now.

…Especially now that he was boarding the actual airplane.

Sighing as he reluctantly walked towards his seat, Shinji found that he was sitting next to an old lady who didn't look too friendly to other people, and behind him sat a woman and her baby. Oh, no. Not a baby on a plane! Shinji thought as he sat down miserably. As he sat down, he could feel the "darkness" from the old lady, and felt as if she'd harshly poke him with her cane if he so much had sneezed.

This was going to be a long flight.

Surprisingly, for a long and tiring day, Asuka found that nothing of importance happened as usual. This wouldn't have surprised her if it were any other day, but today, she had to work a few extra hours, she had a so-called important meeting (where nothing actually happened, mind you), and she had received a renewed ID card.

Last time she had checked, it was around 9:30 or so, so that would explain why there weren't many people out by now. Lucky bastards, they were probably all comfortable in their homes while Asuka had just gotten off work and was now walking back home.

Then again, to be fair, she did choose to just walk back home. Her co-worker, a young man who's name escaped Asuka at the moment because he was really boring, offered to drive her home, to which Asuka "politely" declined. The German woman saw that her co-worker was visibly disappointed, so as Asuka walked off, she briefly thought about what if he liked her? Meh, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to date him anyway if she had known this guy for about who knows how long and still didn't remember his name.

Actually, since walking home was going to take a while, she might as well occupy herself by trying to remember the poor chap's name. Now, was it…was it Erik? No, Erik had longer hair. Ooh! Wasn't he the one who helped renew her ID card? His name might be on the back or something!

Looking through her purse to search for her ID card, Asuka eventually managed to fish it out after a few moments of searching. Aha! Found it! She thought proudly, before—

Thud.

…And before she knew it, embarrassingly enough, Asuka found herself sitting on her ass. She also felt a small pain on her forehead. Rubbing said forehead, Asuka looked forward to see an Asian man about her age right in front of her in pretty much the same position; sitting on his ass and rubbing his forehead in pain.

Quickly growing angry at the man for being so clumsy and humiliating her like this. Heads will roll! Standing up, she crossed her arms with a deep frown, looking down at the man, who was still apparently composing his thoughts together. Assuming this Neanderthal was smart enough to even think, anyway!

"Watch where you're going next time!" She yelled at him. Asuka was frankly glad that at this late hour, no one else was really present to witness the troublesome event.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I…I wasn't paying attention to where I was going!" He cried out in response apologetically.

Sighing loudly in frustration, Asuka quickly realized that she had dropped her ID card somewhere. "Ah, crap! You idiot, you made me lose my ID card!" She exclaimed as she looked around looking for it.

Looking to see if the man had gotten ahold of the ID card, Asuka examined him further. He had dark brown hair and blue eyes, had some sort of wimpy expression on his face, and had a baggage that was labeled "S. Ikari."

…Wait a minute. No, it couldn't be! It couldn't be him, could it?! Well...well…dark brown hair? Check. Blue eyes? Check. Wimpy expression? Check. Why couldn't it be him?!

Asuka's eyes widened as she was processing all this. Shinji Ikari in Germany?!

Shinji, a bit annoyed that he seemed to be less important than an ID card to this stranger, didn't reply at first. As he came back to his senses, he decided he may as well help the strange woman find her ID card. After all, it was his fault this incident happened, seeing as how Shinji was more focused on finding his way through the city, looking at his city map he had acquired.

Right now, Shinji actually somewhat still wanted to be on that plane, with the crying baby behind him and the old grouchy lady next to him. Funny, just earlier, Shinji had thought that no stranger could be able to intimidate him more than the old lady with her menacing presence, but in a short span of time, Shinji found that the old lady had been beaten by this lady, who seemed like not only would she be willing and capable of killing him, his body would probably never be found.

Shinji found a card on the ground, easily assumed to be the ID card. As he picked it up, he glanced up at the woman. "I think I found it, Miss…" He began, but never finished his sentence as he flipped over the card and saw the name.

Asuka Langley Sohryu.

He stared at the name and the picture, before staring at the woman in front of her, who seemed to be just as surprised as him. Did she recognize him?

"A-Asuka?!"

A/N: I just want to make a few things clear. This original draft was written around midnight when I'm too tired and anxious to do a proper check for spelling and grammar errors, so I apologize if there are any inconsistencies and/or errors. Second, since neither Shinji nor Asuka can speak English, you might say that the dialogue is translated from German to English or something. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Reviews are greatly appreciated, and will motivate me to continue this story.