The whole world was underwater.
Or so it seemed due to the shimmering heat of summer. The very air was burning hot, each breath tasted of roasted pavement and other things left too long in the sun. The young man walked purposefully towards his destination, his white collarless shirt was pasted to his body with his sweat and he could feel the uncomfortable sensation of his jeans starting to stick to his legs. He carried a sports bag over his head as a makeshift sun shield. He knew he looked weird but it was better than having his brains roasted.
He saw his destination; a two storey apartment building with a small courtyard. He began running towards it, anticipating getting out of the sun and in front of his air conditioner. He stopped by the main door as he fumbled for his key card. The slim plastic slipped through his sweaty fingers and he knelt down to pick it up.
He froze as his fingers touched the plastic.
Across the street, a girl wearing white stood under a white parasol.
The young man swore that the girl had blue hair and red eyes.
Shin Seiki Evangelion - Seasons
Natsu – Summer Eternal
Neon Genesis Evangelion created by, registered, and copyrighted to GAINAX Project EVA, Movic, and any other company and/or division associated with the creation and/or production of Neon Genesis Evangelion. A.D.Vision holds the copyrights to the English version of Neon Genesis Evangelion. This work of fiction is not intended for any commercial purposes but was created for the entertainment of the Author and Fans of Neon Genesis Evangelion.
No copyright infringement was in any way intended.
Seasons written by Jino Turtlegod
M Rating. For mature readers only. Some scenes, themes, language, and situations are not suitable for younger readers. Reader discretion is advised.
Ver 1 – 22 APR 08
Natsu – Summer Eternal
The house feels empty.
Empty Nest Syndrome. I think that's what's it called.
My children have grown up and spread their wings. Unfortunately they had flown off in different directions. The little twits.
Everything had been going on as anticipated, my boy was going to college. He had already made arrangements for his own apartment in a distant city with enough space for my girl. Odd. Now that I think about it, it does seem strange that my children were a match made in Heaven – though I have a feeling that Heaven has a grudge against us. Well, they're not really blood related. And we're probably borderline dysfunctional. So yeah, even though I have a nagging suspicion that they go at it like wild rabbits when I'm gone, I don't really think that there's anything wrong with it. Because even though we were a family and they look up to me as a mother figure, they never really looked at each other as siblings. So it's ok for them to have se... y'know... an adult relationship since they're not brother and sister. Hmmm. Yeah. That reasoning works... I think I'll get myself a beer.
But I was really surprised when I came home and she was on the way out. A wheeled luggage in one hand and a large sports bag over the other shoulder. They were not scheduled to move out until after graduation a couple of weeks from then.
"Running away?" I had asked.
"You won't know," she replied with downcast eyes, those damnable mirrored shades of hers preventing me from reading her eyes.
"Try me."
"I need to find myself. I can't give him a broken china doll."
"What?! But aren't you together?"
"I never really answered him." It was a good thing she had a tinge of shame in her voice. I would have smacked her for that.
"And what would you do if while you're out there finding yourself, someone snatches him up?!"
"Then it was not meant to be." She lifted her glasses with one hand and wiped her tears on the sleeve of the other. I knew that her eyes were mismatched since it all ended several years ago. But that day, both eyes were red from crying.
I couldn't stop her, and we both knew it.
"Please tell him not to follow me, and I really mean it. This isn't some drama where the girl says 'no' but wants the boy to follow her to the ends of the earth. I need to find myself. I need to know who I really am."
When he came home I told him what she told me.
It wasn't pretty watching someone's world come tumbling down. The happy smile he had when he said 'Tadaima!' caved into itself. He crumpled to the floor and sobbed silently, his tears pooled on the wooden floor. All I could do was to kneel by his side and rub his back as he cried. I felt so useless.
I regret not shooting her in the leg so that she couldn't leave.
But who am I kidding.
I could never hurt either of them.
It took nearly a week before I called in the cavalry. Shinji was saved from a quagmire of self pity and despair and continued on to graduate and live happily ever after – hooray.
Eh? My phone's ringing. I look at the caller ID.
"Shinji? How's the move?"
"Calm down, and no, I'm not drunk. I'm just slightly inebdeb... inebriateted... Oh, fine, yeah, I'm a little buzzed."
"Rei? I don't really know where she is. The Commander is very efficient in covering up his tracks."
"Hmmm. Yeah. I still have some contacts in the UN. I'll try to see what I can turn up. Have you called Ken-kun?"
"I'm a bit hurt that you called him before you called me..."
I smile as my boy stuttered over the phone. It's still fun to tease him. I calmed him down and assured him that I was just teasing him. After some light chitchat, I called several people requesting for some information on a girl with blue hair and red eyes that disappeared several years ago. I doubt anyone can find her. The Commander took her and I doubt that he'll allow both of them to be found unless he wanted them found. He's a bastard like that.
All I can do is sigh. But Hell. My blood is flowing. I love a challenge.
I clean up the apartment as a way of burning off the excess adrenaline. It was a way of keeping my hands busy while my mind tried to process the probabilities. I was in the middle of making a mental list of people whom the Commander might have contacted when I noticed that I was in Asuka's room, throwing some garbage into a garbage bag. My hand was on a strange rectangular piece of plastic. It had a white line in a groove in the middle and had a chemical smell. There were blue lines on the white line. I've never seen one before since I never needed it (I can't have children) but I knew what it was. After several more minutes of rummaging around I found the packaging box and the instructions.
Oh fuck.
Tsu Zu Ku