Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Gainax Studios or Neon Genesis Evangelion. No profit is being made from this story.
Inspired by a thunderstorm at two o' clock in the morning.
The Sound of Rain
by
RampagingEvangelion
A cold precipitation fell relentlessly on the city of Tokyo-3. A strong storm from the Pacific had blown in from the east and had collided with another raging storm system that had blown in from the mainland of Asia; a relatively rare event. This event had, however, effectively caused both systems to hover above Japan with its focal point being the region surrounding Tokyo-3.
Despite the fact Tokyo-3 was the fortress city of the world, capable of fending off angels and other horrors, it was still susceptible to rain. All the armor and concrete in the ground stopped water from being absorbed into the earth. Added to this, the city practically sat at the bottom of a dried basin, making the geography to appear to be a giant, man-made bowl.
Most of the time, this never caused problems asTokyo-3 usually received little rain due to the climate change the Second Impact had caused. Usually it was no more than half an inch at a time; small enough increments that the city's drainage systems could handle. The two storm systems, however, caused far more precipitation than a half an inch. In a matter of days, well over ten feet of rain had fallenon the city. Flooding began, effectively canceling all school and public services. Stores began shutting down temporarily because no one was willing to leave their homes. Those that did leave their homes usually had no choice. One of those people was Misato Katsuragi.
Being the Head of Operations at NERV, Misato couldn't afford to miss work. No matter the weather, the piles of paperwork would not wait for anybody. At some points the weather had been so dangerous Misato was forced to stay inside the Geofront because of the severe winds and rain. The skyline of Tokyo-3 turned narrow streets into wind tunnels, causing winds to reach typhoon like levels at times.
It had been three days since the storms moved in. With school canceled and most other places closed, the teens of the city were bored out of their minds. Watching television and playing video games only satisfied their boredom for so long after all.
Asuka and Shinji sat in the living quarters of Misato's apartment. It was a little past seven o' clock, but the dark rain clouds outside concealed this fact; it appeared to be more around nine or ten. Normally the sun would just be setting at thistime of year. Both Asuka and Shinji were dressed in comfortable, casual clothing. Of course for Asuka, who was wearing her sleepwear, this wasn't much. All she had on was an oversized t-shirt and a pair of shorts made out of soft, elastic material. The shorts themselves, in typical Asuka fashion, left little to the imagination. However, the oversized shirt acted like a small dress and hid the shorts most of the time.
Shinji on the other hand was wearing gym shorts and a red t-shirt one size too large. Earlier in the day, he had tried to put his school uniform on despite knowing school was canceled because of the severe weather; Asuka would not allow such a thing though.
"If you have a day off school and are going to be confined to the apartment all day, you're sure as hell going to dress like it!" she had yelled at Shinji when he had walked out of his room with his white shirt and black pants.
Though Shinji didn't know why it bugged Asuka he was wearing his school uniform, he decided it would be best not to anger the beast inside and slipped back into his room and changed into his current attire.
Since school had been canceled that day and Shinji and Asuka had no way to get together with their friends due to the weather, the two teens made do with what they had. Asuka, naturally, had gained control of the television remote and was the 'queen of the tube'. She spent most of her day watching random shows and cliché, low-budget movies that were prominent in the post-second impact world.
Shinji on the other hand decided to make the best of his confinement and cleaned the apartment from the bottom up. He washed the floor in the kitchen, vacuumed all the carpets, and dusted all the furniture. Of course, these were normal chores for the teen, but recent angel attacks and schoolwork had been putting him behind on his cleaning regiment. He took the rainy, workless day as an opportunity to catch up on these duties.
However, Shinji didn't spend the entire day cleaning. There was no way it would take him that long to finish all of his chores. The teen had dusted the last piece of furniture at around two o' clock in the evening. Not a bad time; he still had time to enjoy himself.
However, what exactly he would do to enjoy himself was a question not even he knew the answer to. Sure, he could lock himself in his room and listen to his antiquated SDAT, but even that got boring after a while. Asuka was in charge of the television, and Shinji was near certain what she enjoyed watching would not suit his interest. He could have always called up Touji or Kensuke, but he didn't feel like talking to either friend at the moment.
After debating to himself what to do with his day, Shinji finally decided to succumb to boredom and watch whatever Asuka was watching. The teen walked over to the couch and took a seat next to Asuka. The girl paid him no heed and continued to watch the glowing screen of the television. Just as Shinji had guessed, characters from a mindless action-film were blasted across the screen as a large explosion blew up a vehicle. The explosion was loud, but it was not loud enough to eclipse the sound of rain pattering against the balcony window.
The two roommates spent the next few hours watching the film and its sequel, which was on directly afterwards, exchanging comments on everything from characters to the impossibilities that the film studios made possible through special effects. It was around six o' clock when Asuka stated she was hungry.
Of course, Shinji knew the girl expected him to get up and prepare a meal for her, and this is exactly what he did, almost like a trained dog. He fried some fish up and boiled some rice. After seasoning and preparing the dishes, he placed them on the table and put a third fish he had fried onto a plate and placed it in front of PenPen's freezer. The smart bird opened his door and took the meal, seeming to thank Shinji with a nod of his head.
When Shinji sat down at the table, both teens began to eat. Just as well as Shinji was 'trained' to cook and clean for the two women in his life, Asuka was equally well trained when it came to her insults on Japanese cuisine. Almost immediately, she began to whine and complain about the lack of real meat and food. She went into reminisces of her favored German food. Shinji nodded and tried to agree the best he could with Asuka, noting it was impossible to make such meals with the food he had on hand.
Asuka ignored his excuses and finished her meal. Shinji finished shortly after and cleaned up the kitchen. When he finished, Shinji found Asuka sitting back in her same spot on the couch.
"Asuka, aren't you bored of watching the TV yet?" Shinji asked, sighing.
"No I'm not and what's it to you anyways? It's not like there's anything good on for you to watch anyway. Japanese television is so stupid!" Asuka moaned as she raised the remote and flipped through the channels.
"If there's nothing on, why watch it then?" Shinji asked.
Asuka rolled her eyes as if the answer was obvious. "Duh, because what else is there to do?" Asuka asked.
"How about we talk?" Shinji asked, almost not realizing what he had just said.
Asuka furrowed her brow as the words left his lips. For a small moment in time, Shinji was absolutely terrified. He didn't even know why or how the words had escaped his mind and became words.
However, much to his surprise, Asuka didn't roar in rage or throw a tantrum. Instead, she just shrugged her shoulders and said, "Alright, talk about what?"
Shinji was astounded at her answer and didn't know how to reply. In fact, he didn't have a clue as to how the conversation should go at all.
"Um, I don't know…" Shinji trailed off as he looked away from the girl in front of him and out the window. Asuka cocked her head off to the side and let out a frustrated huff.
"Third, if you're going to suggest talking, how about you have an idea about what to talk about first?" Asuka said as she turned up the volume of the television and turned her focus away from Shinji.
"S-sorry, Asuka," Shinji apologized and took a seat next to her on the couch. He sat at the opposite end, a full cushion separating them.
As Asuka continued to watch the television, Shinji stared out the window. It was still raining quite hard. The wind was blowing it in all directions and was hammering their apartment complex with the precipitation. The sounds of rainwater from the roof draining down the gutter systems could be heard near the balcony entrance, this was because the system of piping ran right down the side of the apartment.
Shinji couldn't help but feel a bit sad. However, he didn't know why he felt sad. Was it the sound of the rain? Rain was generally considered a sad thing, but why? Wasn't rain good?
"Hey, Asuka?" Shinji began. Asuka looked over at the teen and muted the television; she must have been in an exceptionally good mood if she muted the television.
"What is it, idiot? Have something to say this time?" She asked in a somewhat mocking manner.
Shinji ignored her comment and proceeded to ask his question. "Does the rain make you sad?" the teen asked.
Asuka was taken aback by the question. "Sad? Why would Shinji ask if rain makes me sad?" she thought. "Pfft, only morons let something like rain make them sad," the girl proclaimed. "It's just water falling from the sky."
"Yeah, but, it seems like it makes most people sad and I don't know why. Isn't rain a good thing? Without it, there wouldn't be any grass, or trees, or life. You'd think rain would make people happy," Shinji explained. Asuka never thought about it like that. Even she knew most people associated rain with sad and bad things, but without rain, there wouldn't be anything good.
"You think too much, idiot. Of course people get sad when they see rain because they know they can't go out and do fun stuff," Asuka said. "It's common sense, Shinji. God, do you need to grow a brain as well as a spine?"
Shinji cringed as he heard her last sentence. "Stop it Asuka, I'm just trying to talk to you," he said, his voice showing signs of annoyance and hurt.
Asuka just rolled her eyes and looked away. For the next several seconds, an awkward silence filled the air. However, aftera few moments, Shinji finally spoke up again.
"You know, I think rain is a good thing, not only because it gives everything life," Shinji said as he stared at the ground in front of him. Asuka looked over, the soft glow of the muted television showing on her face.
"And what else is it good for?" Asuka asked in a short voice that seemed to suggest she was just waiting to insult his answer.
Shinji finally looked up and let a small smile grow on his face. "I guess… it makes you appreciate the better times in your life."
Asuka was, unexpectedly, surprised at his answer. She had never looked at rain like that; it was almost as if Shinji was being optimistic. "Is that what you think?" Asuka asked, her voice showing no signs of harshness.
"Yeah, it is," he told her, "It's like life. When something sad happens, it makes you think of the good times you had. That's what makes it sad. But, when you get past the sadness, you have a new appreciation of the good times in life," Shinji told the German girl sitting next to him.
It was so strange; Shinji was having a conversation with Asuka where she wasn't yelling at him. He didn't know where any of his words or thoughts were coming from; it was like his mouth was working separately from the rest of his body.
"That's pretty deep and unlike you, Shinji," Asuka said as she relaxed back into the couch. "A necessary sadness, huh?"
"I guess that's what I'm trying to say…" Shinji trailed off. "Sorry, I don't know where any of this is coming from. Am I boring you, Asuka?" Shinji asked, realizing how he had been going on and on. Much to his surprise, he received no insults or dirty looks from the girl. Instead, all Asuka did was shake her head.
"Well, you aren't exactly the best entertainment, but you're better then what's on TV," she noted. Shinji smiled and fell back into the couch as well.
"That's good then," he chuckled. As he did so, a terribly loud lightning strike could be heard. Asuka and Shinji could hear the superheated air cracking as millions of volts of electricity traveled through the nearby bolt. Seconds later, the lights in their apartment flickered before the power went out completely. All of the lights, appliances, and the television died as their source of power was cut off.
"A power outage?" Shinji asked as he stood up to look around. Despite the time, it was nearly pitch black. The clouds were blocking nearly all light coming from the evening sun.
"No squat, idiot!" Asuka yelled as she also stood up. "Great, we can't do anything all day, and now the power's out? How could my day get any better?" The fiery girl asked sarcastically as she looked around.
"C-calm down, Asuka. It's just a power outage. I'm sure it'll be back up in a bit," Shinji assured the girl. Though he couldn't see her reaction to his statement, he was almost certain the girl was rolling her eyes in frustration.
"Whatever, idiot. Just help me find a flashlight or something," Asuka ordered as she began to walk towards the kitchen. Just as she cleared the couch, her foot made contact with one of the wooden legs of the table in front of them. "Scheiße!"
"Asuka, are you okay?" Shinji asked, worried.
"Of course I am, idiot! I just hit my foot on the damn table, nothing that can stop me," she told him.
Shinji, more carefully, stepped around the table and trailed Asuka into the kitchen. Both he and his roommate began opening up cupboards, looking for anything they could use for lighting. After several minutes, Asuka threw her arms up in frustration.
"Damn it! Doesn't Misato have any functioning flashlights? All of them have dead batteries or broken light bulbs!" she shouted. "I swear that woman is a moron."
"Hey, Asuka, don't be so hard on her. How often does the power go out in our apartment anyways?" Shinji asked. He had a point; this was the first time the power had ever gone completely out, unintentionally that is. There was of course the time NERV had harvested all of Japan's power to use in the prototype positron rifle against the fifth angel, but that was an intentional blackout.
"Still, she's supposed to be prepared for situations like these. She's the head of operations for God's sake, she supposed to be prepared for all situations." Asuka said, continuing her rant.
Trying his best to ignore the girl, Shinji opened another drawer as he attempted to find a source of light. Because of the darkness, it was hard to see what was in the drawer, however, his hand could feel the distinct feel of a certain substance; wax.
"Asuka, I've found some candles!" Shinji said, excited. Asuka hurried over and reached into the drawer. Sure enough, her hand felt the sticks. The girl took several in her hands and pulled them out.
"Great, at least it's something," she sighed. "Look in there for their holders. We can't just burn them like this," Asuka ordered.
"Yeah," Shinji agreed. After a bit of feeling around, Shinji found several metal holders. "Will these do?" he asked as he gave them up to Asuka. The girl slipped one of the sticks into the holder; it was a perfect fit.
"Yeah, those will do. Now hurry up and find a lighter! These things are useless without fire."
Knowing she was right, Shinji walked over to another drawer he knew held a lighter. Opening it, he immediately saw the white cigarette lighter Misato used from time to time when she was stressed and decided to smoke. By the time Shinji had turned around, Asuka had already set up the candles.
"Well, are you just going to stand there or are you going to light these?"she asked, slightly annoyed.
"Yeah, just a second," Shinji said as he walked to the nearest candle and ignited the lighter. He passed the flame over the wick which instantly caught the flame. He repeated the process with the other candles until the room glowed orange from the fire.
"Well, at least it's something…" Asuka commented as she looked around, satisfied they now had some form of illumination. However, anyone could see she was still peeved about the power outage.
"Mhm," Shinji agreed. As the boy also looked around, he couldn't help but feel…happy? Why should he be happy? It was storming outside so he couldn't do anything, the power was out, and there was absolutely nothing to do. As he thought this to himself,Asuka looked over and noticed his face seemed to suggest he was deep in thought.
"Hey, idiot, what are you thinking about?" Asuka asked.
Shinji snapped from his thoughts and looked at the girl. "Oh, sorry! Nothing, I'm not thinking of anything," he told her.
Asuka closed her eyes and brought both hands up to her forehead. "You're such an idiot at times, Shinji. Why the hell would you say 'sorry' when I asked you what you were thinking about?" the German teen asked. "Ew, you must have been thinking perverted things! I can't believe I'm stuck with a pervert like you!" Asuka screeched.
"N-n-no! That's not it!" Shinji defended himself. "I was just saying sorry for, um, just because."
Asuka shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Idiot! That's all you ever say! I swear, it's always 'sorry this' or 'sorry that'. It really pisses me off!" Asuka said, raising her right index finger and shoving it in his face.
"Sorry," Shinji said out of habit. His eyes widened and he covered his mouth as he realized what he had said. "I know, I'm sorry Asuka!" Again, his eyes widened and he covered his mouth for a second as if he had said something taboo. "I'm s-"
"Don't say it!" Asuka ordered as she covered his mouth with her hand. Shinji looked down at it and nodded his head. Seeing he understood, Asuka removed her hand and sighed. "You really are hopeless, Ikari."
"I… don't have any comment on that," Shinji said with a sigh of his own.
After this, a strange silence filled the room. It wasn't awkward, but it wasn't comfortable either. About half a minute passed before either of them said a word.
"So, idiot…what do we do now?" Asuka asked, obviously bored and wanting to do something. Shinji looked around and shrugged.
"I don't know. Everything we have requires power, like the TV or the radio," Shinji pointed out. Asuka put her hands on her hips and looked at him like he was a moron.
"Well of course I know that, idiot! Even a child could figure that out," Asuka told him. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "Where's your SDAT, Shinji?"
"Why? You wouldn't like any of the music on it…" Shinji trailed off.
"Whoever said that I don't like…?" the teen trailed off, waiting for her roommate to tell her what type of music he had on the tapes he listened to.
"Classical," he said while turning his face away from her, almost as if he was ashamed to say it.
"Eh, classical?" Asuka questioned. "I didn't know you were into that?"
Shinji turned to face her again and nodded his head. "M-most people don't like that stuff nowadays. They think it's too old fashioned," he began to explain. "I've never told Touji or Kensuke what I listen to. They'd probably just laugh and think I was joking."
"So you're hiding your taste of music from your friends because you think they'll laugh at you?" Asuka asked, her voice betraying how unbelievable she thought that sounded.
"Well, yeah," Shinji answered.
"Idiot! How stupid are you?" Asuka asked as she leaned against one of the walls of the dimly lit room. "Your music has more class than both of those goons combined. They listen to whatever is popular. Hell, they'd listen to nails being scratched on a chalkboard if it was popular!"
"I-I guess…" Shinji said, his voice making it exceedingly clear he wasn't comfortable with how things were right now. Asuka was defending him and his taste in music? He may not have been comfortable with the situation, but he sure didn't mind Asuka defending him.
"Now go get the SDAT. I'll get the audio splitter," Asuka commanded. Shinji gave her a puzzling look.
"We still have that?" Shinji asked, referring to the audio splitter. It was the one Misato got them when they had to do synch training. The Captain had made them listen to the same song over and over in order to prepare them for the battle against the seventh angel. It was crucial everything was synched, so instead of getting a second audio device and risk them not being in synch, Misato went out and bought a simple splitter. Though primitive, it did the job perfectly, as the resulting battle proved.
"Of course we do. What do you think? Misato just threw it out afterwards?" Asuka asked incredulously. "It's in the drawer near the phone. Now hurry up, idiot. Go get the SDAT."
Shinji nodded his head, grabbed a lit candle, and ran off to his room. If the teen didn't keep his room so neat and organized, he would have had trouble finding the audio player. This was because, despite the small amount of light that radiated from the candle, his room remained mostly dark because of the power outage. Luckily, the teen's eyes had already begun to adjust to the darkness.
In truth, Shinji had nearly forgotten about the outage because of the conversation he was having with Asuka. It was nice talking to the girl, especially when she wasn't berating him or whining about something.
After a few moments, Shinji felt his SDAT and picked up the device. He walked over to the doorway and exited the room. Looking down the hallway, he saw Asuka standing there with a set of headphones and the audio splitter. If it wasn't for the candles burning in the background, he wouldn't have been able to see her at all.
"I've got it," Shinji said as entered the living quarters.
"Good, now come over here and sit down," Asuka told him as she took her seat on the couch. The teen put her feet out in front of her, stretching her legs. Shinji walked over to her, unplugged his headphones, and handed the SDAT over to his roommate.
With the device in hand, Asuka plugged the audio splitter into the audio jack and plugged her headphones into the splitter. Shinji did the same and waited for Asuka to press the play button. After several seconds, however, no music could be heard. Curious, Shinji looked over to see Asuka staring down at the device.
"Is something wrong?" He asked, concerned there may have been something wrong with the SDAT.
Asuka looked up and furrowed her brow. "Where the hell's the play button!?" the teen asked, annoyed, as she shoved the device in Shinji's face.
"Ah! Asuka, be careful with that!" Shinji shouted as he fell back from having the music player shoved in his face. To his dismay, his hand got wrapped up in the audio wiring, causing the SDAT to fall back with him. It seemed to happen in slow motion, the audio player hitting the ground that is. "My SDAT!" Shinji yelled as he watched it hit the carpet.
When the player hit the carpet, the battery cover flew off, sending the piece of plastic and the batteries that ran the device to go flying in all different directions. When Shinji finally was able to get up and orient himself, the only thing on the ground he could see was his SDAT, and the battery cover. Much to his relief, it didn't appear like his player had taken any physical damage, but he couldn't be certain until he had more closely inspected it.
"Idiot, what the hell was that?" Asuka yelled as Shinji reached down to pick up his music player. Shinji seemed oblivious to the girl and was on the floor, too concentrated on inspecting his prized possession to give Asuka any of his attention.
"Thank goodness, I don't think it's broken…" Shinji sighed as he leaned up against the couch.
"You better be thankful it's not broken! Now hurry up and hit play or something," Asuka demanded. However, to her surprise, Shinji stood up and shook his head.
"A-Asuka, the batteries came out. We have to find them first," he told her. Asuka's eye narrowed as stared down at the teen.
"What the hell? That thing is so old it still takes batteries? It doesn't have an internal battery that is charged or something?" she whined.
"I-I'm sorry! It needs batteries!" Shinji cringed under her glare. All she did was return his action with more berating.
"'Sorry' again? Damn it Shinji! Grow a spine and start looking for those batteries!" Asuka yelled as she got down herself and began looking for the batteries.
"Y-yeah…" Shinji agreed. Already on his hands and knees, Shinji began looking around for the batteries. It was a task easier said than done.
In the near total darkness the apartment was currently in, finding two small, black tubes was like finding a needle in a haystack. It would have been easier if they had) heard where they went, but the carpet muted any sounds they would have made. After several minutes and only one battery found, Asuka threw her arms up in frustrations.
"This is stupid!" she shouted. "Why the hell are we looking for the stupid battery when we have new ones in the drawer?"
For a short moment in time, both Shinji and Asuka felt the same; like dunces.
Neither wanting to admit how stupid they felt, both stood up and walked over to where Misato kept the batteries. It was in a small drawer next to the kitchen utensils. When they opened the drawer, they saw several small boxes which contained batteries.
"Perfect!" Asuka shouted as she reached in. "D-cells… C-cells… AAA… Eh? Where are the AA's?" the German teen asked as she threw the wrong sized batteries over her shoulder, causing them to be a scattered mess on the floor behind her. Asuka's small hand reached to the back of the drawer in an attempt to find the correct sized batteries. To her, and Shinji's, dismay, there was nothing but old pens and pads of paper in the drawer. "What the hell is wrong with this woman?! Doesn't she have anything we would need in an emergency? No working flashlights, not even one of the most common batteries? What's next, no medical supplies?"
As Asuka fumed, Shinji's mind was trying to think of any way of calming the angering beast next to him. There was no doubt she was bored, and the fact that nothing seemed to be going her way was just adding fuel to the fire. "She wanted to listen to classical music with me… Wait, classical?"
"-most idiotic woman to walk the earth should have a rusty iron pole shoved up her-" Asuka continued to rant.
"Asuka!" Shinji interrupted. Unfortunately for Shinji, Asuka turned her attention towards him. Her eyes were still lit with a raging fire over the situation. The pilot did his best not to cringe under her stare.
"What is it?" she asked sharply. Her words felt like razors, piercing him with their harsh tone.
"I-I-I was thinking… I-if you w-wanted to l-listen to c-c-classical music, I-I could bring out my cello and play…" the teen started. Turning his head away from Asuka, he continued, "I'm not very good, b-but it's better than n-nothing, right?"
"You play the cello?" Asuka asked, almost completely forgetting about the situation at hand. Shinji looked up and saw Asuka looking at him with an inquisitive face, not the sinister one she had on just a moment ago.
"Y-yeah… I've been playing for a while now, but I still don't think I'm very good…" he restated. Several seconds, which seemed like judgment day itself, passed before Asuka gave her answer.
"Fine, I guess it's better than nothing."
Shinji was both nervous and overjoyed. He was overjoyed because Asuka no longer wanted to exterminate all life in the apartment, but he was also nervous he wouldn't measure up to her expectations. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Shinji nodded his head and said, "O-okay, let me go get it."
Almost running out of the room, Shinji found himself in front of his cello case in no time. The pilot hadn't even bothered to grab a candle because his night vision had mostly adjusted and he was too frightened by Asuka to risk the extra time needed to grab one
Shinji looked over the case with a sense of sentimentality. He had only pulled out the instrument a few times since he had moved in with Misato and dust was gathering atop the case. It was sitting in the corner of his closest, behind a few pair of pants
Moving the pants, Shinji reached into the closet and pulled out the large case. The darkness made it difficult to pull out; he didn't want to trip on anything or force it out if it got caught on something. However, no problems arose and he maneuvered it out of its resting place.
Cello case in hand, Shinji carefully walked back over into the living room and set the instrument down. Asuka had moved several of the candles into the room to allow for better lighting and was sitting down on the couch, awaiting his performance.
Shinji, however, couldn't begin to play anything without something to sit on. As nice as the soft couch was, he couldn't play in such a position. The pilot needed a stool, so he walked over to the kitchen and grabbed one of the chairs from the table. Chair in hand, Shinji reentered the living room and positioned himself near the wall opposite of Asuka.
The teen went over and opened the case to his cello. It was a beautiful instrument, made of the finest wood prior to the second impact. Though he had no way to be certain, he suspected it was his mother's cello. He knew she played, and he couldn't think of any other way his uncle would have possession of such a fine instrument. Along with his cello, Shinji also grabbed the bow. After all, even the best cellist is nothing without their bow.
Finally, with everything in hand, Shinji walked back over to the stool and took a seat. All the while, Asuka remained silent as she eyed the teen. His actions were so fluid, yet cautious. It looked as though he was handling something very precious to him.
Shinji looked up once to see Asuka's awaiting look before sighing and closing his eyes. "I am alone. There is nobody here. It's just me, and my cello,"
Shinji played the first measure and instantlyAsuka knew what song it was; it was Bach's Cello Suit number one, the prelude. Shinji's entrance into the piece was astonishing.
The opening crescendo was the epitome of beautiful. Every note was fluid and clear, full of life and emotion. As the song went on, Asuka's eyes widened in awe; Shinji's fingers danced along the strings of the instrument like they were dancing in a ballroom. His skill was beyond words.
The song went on, its highs points and lows points both equally beautiful. Shinji's body moved in rhythm with the bow. It looked as though he was a part of the music. Though hard to see because of the poor lighting, Shinji's face ran parallel with the tone of the music. When the music was low, his face showed sadness, when it was high, he looked as though he was on top of the world.
Asuka had never seen Shinji like this, so happy and carefree. It was as if the music was setting him free from his normal, confining and submissive personality. When he played, it was as though he was the only person in the entire world. Shinji continued to play for several minutes, letting the music consume him.
"That idiot, no, Shinji has talent like this but never plays?" Asuka thought, astounded. "Not even the professors at the University played this well…" The girl looked at the face of her roommate. "It's beautiful."
Finally, Shinji finished the piece. After the final note was played, the teen gracefully pulled the bow away from the cello. After several moments, Shinji looked up and finally opened his eyes.
"D-did you like it?" were the first words out of his mouth.
Even Asuka Langley Sohryu, with all of her pent-up pride and sharp words, couldn't deny the beauty of the piece.
"You idiot!" she began. Shinji cringed, expecting the flow of insults to begin. However, what he heard was very different. "That was one of the most beautiful things I've heard in my life! You really are stupid if you didn't think that was very good!"
Shinji was amazed; Asuka was… complimenting him? She thought he was good? He never considered himself above average before, and now one of the most critical people in his life thought he was good?
"T-thanks, Asuka," he said with a small smile. Although surprised, Shinji had probably never felt happier in his life, after his mother's death of course.
"You know, you should really play more often," the red haired girl said as she clapped her hands a couple of times. "It'd be nice to hear some good music once in a while."
"I suppose so…" Shinji said as he scratched the back of his head, still not used to the praise coming from Asuka. "But, I didn't know you liked classical music, Asuka," Shinji noted,quickly changing the subject.
Asuka just shrugged her shoulder and looked at the ceiling. "Well, classical music was one of the courses I had to take to get my degree in college. Before that, I never cared much for it. Coming from Germany I had heard enough of the stuff as a child. It was always Beethoven, Bach, or Mozart. I swear, Europe treats those guys like super heroes!" Asuka scowled. "It wasn't until I took those courses did I actually begin to appreciate that type of music."
Asuka's opening up to him made Shinji a bit uncomfortable, but also put a sense of curiosity in him. What was Asuka like after all?
"So, do you play anything then?" Shinji asked, truly not knowing whether Asuka played any instruments. Instead of answering her roommate, Asuka looked the other way and tried to ignore the question. Shinji knew he had touched base on something Asuka didn't want to talk about. "I-I'm sorry for asking-"
"Don't be sorry, idiot," Asuka told him. After a brief moment, Asuka sighed and nodded her head. "Yeah, I play the violin. But I haven't touched it in ages. I've probably forgotten how to play the damn thing…"
"Oh…" Shinji said, disappointment obvious in his voice. Asuka rolled her eyes and let another sigh escape from her lips.
"But, I did bring it with me, just in case I ever felt like playing."
Shinji's eyes lit up like a child on Christmas morning. Was she suggesting what he thought she was? "Asuka, do you want to… play a duet with me?" Shinji's tone was hopefulness at its best.
The time between Shinji's question and Asuka's answer seemed like an eternity for the young boy. However, if that's what eternity felt like, it was well worth the wait.
"Fine, Ikari. I'll play with you," Asuka answered.
Without another word, Asuka stood up and walked over to her room. Sliding the door open, she stepped into the darkness. Nearly a minute passed before the girl came out again, violin case in hand.
"What do you know how to play, Ikari?" Asuka asked as she opened her case, revealing her violin and bow.
Shinji hadn't even thought about this part. What duets did he know?
His mind scrambled, trying to think of anything to play. However, most of the pieces he knew were solos or were meant for orchestras. "Damn it, I can't let a chance like this pass by!"
"Do you know Canon in D?" Shinji asked, finally realizing he knew the popular song. Granted, usually it was played with more than one violin, but he was sure it'd still sound beautiful with only his cello and Asuka's violin.
"Yeah, I know it," Asuka answered as she readied her violin. Tucking it against her neck and raising her bow. Ready to perform, she gave Shinji a glance. "Ready?"
Surprised at Asuka's speed of getting ready, Shinji nodded and quicklytried to prepare himself as well. "Okay, ready…"
Bow raised, Shinji slowly began the opening to the song. The cello's slow yet superb tone mixed with the sounds of the rain and wind, created an unreal atmosphere.
On cue, Asuka began to play her violin. Although Asuka claimed not to have played it in years, it was perfectly tuned and sounded just as clear as Shinji's cello.
In the apartment complex, there were no longer two Evangelion pilots. No teens withatraumatic past. No, all there was were two musicians with a love for music.
Together, they played as though there were no angels who threatened to bring their lives to an end at any moment; there was no pain or fear, only their emotions that transcended through their music.
At that moment, Asuka Langley Sohryu was not defined by being an Eva pilot; she was defined by the music her violin made. Shinji was not defined by his faults and troubles; he was defined by the music.
Their hands moved as though they had played the performance time and time before. Perhaps it was their synch training from the seventh angel that helped them play so well together. Neither would ever know.
After nearly four minutes of playing, the duo played the final notes of the song. Asuka and Shinji remained still, unsure of what to do next.
"Asuka," Shinji began. Both opened their eyes and looked at each other. "That was amazing."
Asuka remained still for a little while longer before nodding her head. "We should play together more often, Shinji," Asuka suggested, no trace of malice or ill-intent prevalent in her voice.
"Yeah, we should," Shinji agreed, a small smile forming on his face. "You're really good at playing the violin, Asuka."
The girl let out a small laugh and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I am me after all. You should be thankful you got to play with the great Asuka Langley Sohryu!" she said with a wink. Putting her violin down in its case, Asuka stood tall and stretched her back. Shinji did the same and put his cello in its case. When he looked up, Shinji was awestruck by the sight he saw.
Little had he or Asuka noticed, but the rain and howling winds had begun to wind down during their duet. The German girl stood in front of the sliding glass door that led to their balcony. Behind the door, the moon showed itself, finding a small opening in the clouds that were beginning to scatter and disperse. Her pale skin glowed with the moonlight; her auburn hair was accented by the candles that burned in their building. However, Asuka soon noticed Shinji staring.
"Eh, what are you staring at, idiot?" She asked. However, despite her words, her voice was calm and gentle.
"Oh, n-nothing, Asuka," Shinji said as he scratched the back of his head.
Asuka just smirked a little at the boy and nodded her head. "Alright, Shinji. I'll let it slide just this once," she said smiling. Turning around, she too saw the moon and breaking cloud cover. "It's beautiful…" she said with awe. Taking a step forward, Asuka opened the glass door and took a step outside. The rain had completely stopped now, and the harsh winds were now warm breezes. Shinji followed his roommate outside and leaned against the waist-high wall that was the farthest point out on the balcony.
Both remained quiet, immersed in a comfortable silence.
"Hey Shinji?" Asuka said, asking for his attention.
"Yes Asuka?"
"I think you're right," she told him. Shinji looked over at her with a questioning look.
"Right about what?" he asked.
"About the rain. It's necessary and it's sad at times, but it makes you appreciate better times," Asuka said. Turning to look at him, she showed him her smile. It wasn't forced or fake, but a true, genuine smile. "Thanks for making me appreciate a storm like the one we just had."
Looking out, the hills and surrounding forest glittered with light reflected from rainwater. It was like the city had been turned off and nature had turned itself on.
Shinji returned the smile and said, "It's no problem Asuka. I like to see you happy like this anyways."
Then, something totally unexpected happened; Asuka kissed him on the cheek.
Dumbfounded, Shinji looked at Asuka with wide eyes. Her smile remained as she raised one of her eyebrows.
"Now, Ikari, that kiss right there never happened? Understand?"
Shinji remained looking at her dumbly before nodding his head. "I've got it, Asuka," he said, his face still the same as before. Asuka cocked her head off to the side before sighing.
"Well, I guess I should say only you know that it happened? Okay?"
Shinji nodded his head and finally let a smile of his own find its way on his face. "Okay."
The two spent the rest of the night out on the balcony. They talked about anything and everything. After growing tired, the two sat down on a couple of reclining chairs Misato had out on the balcony and fell asleep.
From that point on, every time Misato was away for the night, Asuka and Shinji would play duets on the balcony of their apartment, gracing the nighttime air with the beautiful sounds of Back, Beethoven, Mozart, and others like them. They were truly great times.
A/N:
"DEADLYPOLE CAME UP WITH THE IDEA SO HE DESERVES ALL THE CREDIT, RAMPAGING EVANGELION IS JUST A MEANS I USED TO WRITE IT BECAUSE I WAS TOO LAZY! :P"
This is the note my pre-reader wrote. He's such a nice guy, isn't he?
In all seriousness, I'd like to thank him for helping me out on several parts of this story. For those of you who like the ending, thank deadly. I couldn't think of anything and was going to just have them fall asleep on the couch with their hands touching (cliché, I know). When he typed, "Have Asuka kiss Shinji on the cheek", I thought he was crazy. Turns out it wasn't a bad ending after all. It was fun to write as well (and keeping them mostly in-character was fun as well).
Other than that, deadly did jack-squat… besides pre-read for me. I SUPPOSE I should give him credit for that. Joking aside, deadly is a great guy who is also a great person to turn to when you just can't think of something!
Also, as some of you have noticed, I'm back from ages of not posting stuff. I've been writing, but I keep most of my stuff to myself and deadlypole. For those of you who liked Different Beginnings *shudders at the thought of that horrendous story*, you'll be happy to know I'm (sort of) chugging along with the re-write. It's about a about 70K words now. Aren't you all happy?
One last note (Damn, this is one long A/N), I know Canon in D is a cliché piece in this series, but it is such an amazing and beautiful piece, and one of the best violin/cello duets (in my opinion).
I hope you all enjoyed my new writing styles and improved skills. Reviews are appreciated, so I know what you all like about the work. :)
Signed,
RampagingEvangelion