ANNNNNNNND I'M BACK. Wow Jesus how long has it been...four months I think? Anyway yeah sorry guys about that long bout of nothing. I just had so much stuff going on during that last term of school that this was put on the back burner for a long time. But I'm back to updating this (for a while at least, things might get slow again in September). So again, thanks to everybody that waited patiently for this and I apologize for the wait.
Shinji opened his eyes slowly.
For several seconds, as he looked around, he didn't know where he was.
Then he looked down at the girl next to him with strawberry colored hair and he remembered. Or at least, he remembered some things...
The sun was setting over on the horizon, turning the blood colored water a sickly red hue. The capsized battleships floating meaninglessly out in the Bay of Tokyo-3, their purposes long served. Above the beaches where Shinji sat on, the city of Tokyo-3 lay quietly, almost as though it was sleeping peacefully. Such a calm sound had not been heard in this part of the world for a long forgotten time.
Amidst all of this, Shinji and the girl next to him where the only two people that stood out among the destruction of Tokyo-3 and the world.
Shinji continued gazing at the sun, watching it slowly continue setting, seemingly sinking into the ocean. Now that he was awake, he had to admit that he was a little afraid.
During his brief nap, he had hoped that more humans would show up, someone that could help him, or even explain what had happened to everything. But now, with night starting, he was having to face reality that he may be the only person in the city.
'Or at least one of the only people,' he thought as he eyes trailed down towards the girl next to him. Her chest was still slowly moving up and down, indicating that she was breathing, but Shinji had hoped that she would have woken up while he had been asleep. He would at least have someone to talk to and maybe she even knew what had happened. Her attire would certainly suggest that she wasn't a normal fifteen year old girl.
Shinji looked at her for a few seconds longer, letting his eyes travel over her face before he shook his head and stood up. He didn't know what he was gonna do, but simply sitting wasn't helping. He needed to think.
Standing up he directed his gaze farther down the beach and then up the sandy slope behind him to the wreckage that was Tokyo-3. He supposed that he would have to go into the city eventually, but he didn't feel like he was ready for that. Things still hadn't...quite sunk in yet.
Digging his hands into his pockets, he started walking along the beach, just as the sun disappeared across the water.
'Okay...what had happened?' was Shinji's first thought.
The end of the world was the most apparent answer, but Shinji couldn't just take that laying down.
He been living in Tokyo-3 for what...half a year or so? His father had sent him here at the beginning of the year and made him live at an apartment with some guy. His father had brought him here for an unknown reason, but Shinji had wondered if it hadn't had something to do with Nerv. He could remember waking up this morning and going to class and everything as if it was a normal day...and then nothing. Several hours seemed to have just been taken out of his memory it seemed like. He was supposed to be living with a new roommate tomorrow also, but that didn't seem like it would be happening anytime soon.
Kicking his feet as he walked along the sand, he looked towards a large building that seemed to have been a hotel of some sorts. It looked like the building had been in disrepair for several years. Was it somehow possible that Shinji had been sent into the future somehow?
'Thats fucking stupid,' thought Shinji. 'No...something more plausible than that.'
Though he honestly couldn't think of anything.
Stopping suddenly he looked up towards the sky and was surprised that he could see the stars. He couldn't remember ever seeing the stars his entire time living in Tokyo-3.
"Are there really no other humans?" mumbled Shinji.
He had never really enjoyed associating with people, but to just have everyone disappear all at once was just too strange.
"It doesn't make any sense," sighed Shinji.
Running a hand through his hair he looked back towards the way he had come. He could still see the body of the girl in the distance, and was glad that he could still see her. Though the darkness was certainly starting to get heavier, and without the light from Tokyo-3-
'This might be a problem,' thought Shinji.
He didn't know what had happened, or why it seemed only himself and the strange girl were alive in the city, but right now he had to focus on other things.
Walking to the edge of the water, he ran his hand in it, but only felt the odd substance of the fluid, almost like sand. It was like he was on a different world, a separate earth. Nothing made sense.
'I'm alive though, so I suppose I should be thankful for that.'
Though was he really being honest? With the world as it was, living would be-
Shinji stopped himself here; it was pointless to think about anything other than the next hour of his life.
Turning towards the ruins of Tokyo-3, a frown passed over his face. He knew that he would have to explore them tonight, even if he didn't really want to. And though he didn't want to admit it, the fact that the girl hadn't woken up yet was starting to trouble him.
Moving away from the water, he decided on his course, though whether it was the correct or wrong decision, he didn't know.
Walking back to where the girl lay didn't take long and he was soon caught in a problem; he didn't want to let her out of his sight. It was worry more than anything. He didn't want to run the risk of him not being there when she woke up, or if something more serious happened-
Shinji shook his head.
'Best not to think about that,' he thought.
On the other hand though, he couldn't very well carry her. It would have been...awkward.
'What to do,' thought Shinji. 'I don't want to leave her, but at the same time I don't have much of a choice.'
Shinji then noticed a piece of driftwood not too far off in the distance. Looking around him, he noticed that there was a strange amount of wood laying around the beach, most of which seemed to have been splintered off from buildings.
"Right...a fire would work," mumbled Shinji as he started counting the pieces of wood. The fire would help not only to relieve his worries of the girl, but also if there were any more survivors, they may see the flames and be drawn to it.
'But making it is another problem,' frowned Shinji. He had never tried lighting a flame without anything other than a match.
'One step at a time,' he told himself as he stood up. He was rather glad to be moving and having a set goal to work towards. It certainly kept his mind off of other things.
Gathering up as much dry wood as he could, he then scaled the sandy slope behind him to the top where there was some dry brush and picked several handfuls and brought it back down to the beach. He didn't have any sort of way to chop the wood so he dug a hole in the sand using one of the pieces of wood and dug himself a sand pit. Placing the larger pieces of wood at the bottom, he stacked it higher with the smaller pieces, hoping that it would burn longer like this. He kept a pile of wood next to this pit as extra kindling incase the flames started to die down.
Now though, the problem was exactly how he was going to make those flames.
Climbing back up the slope he stood up at the top and looked towards the destruction of Tokyo-3. Everything was much more apparent up here.
The shops and stores that littered the edge of the beach looked as though they had been bombed from the inside. Empty holes filled the window frames and twisting pieces of metal lined the sides of them, indicating that they were once chairs and tables. Most likely a coffee shop of some kind. Thankfully though, a road also ran along this stretch of the beach and Shinji didn't think he would have to search far before he found a lighter.
Any thought that what he was doing was wrong must have been long since abandoned, because Shinji had no problems going through the cars, purses, glove compartments, and other peoples belongings as he searched for a lighter. Maybe it was because of his disassociation with people in general, or maybe he just buried that part of his mind which told him it was wrong. Certainly if there had been bodies in the cars like he had initially been worried about, or the peoples clothes he would have had second thoughts. But without any of this, he was able to pick through things without thinking about it.
Finally after about the seventh car he had been through, he found a lighter on the ground of the drive side door. Flicking it on, a golden flame lit in front of him and seemed to wave back and forth at him. Flicking it off, Shinji leaned out of the car and stood up.
Sliding back down the slope to the beach below, he jogged to the fire pit and kneeled down next to it. Setting the brush on top of the wood, he placed the lighter in the brush and lit it. Grabbing some of the smaller logs, he placed them gently on top of the brush, letting the logs catch fire. Shifting the logs that were now lit around, he proceeded to gently stroke the fire, catching the sparks on the other pieces of wood. Tokyo-3's nights could be particularly brutal at times, and Shinji wanted not only himself, but the girl to be warm.
Glancing over at her, he saw that she was still sleeping...or unconscious. He wasn't really sure to be true. But she was still breathing, and that seemed to be okay.
With the fire roaring now and warmth starting to spread through his body, Shinji's mind went back to the darkness of Tokyo-3. He wasn't tired, and this surprised him since he had been up and down that slope now twice over, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to look for anything else in that darkness.
He was hungry however, and this suddenly became apparent as he felt his stomach rumble.
Food was one thing, but water was entirely different. If he put it off till tomorrow, would he still be able to get it? He couldn't imagine these buildings being in the best condition and hadn't really thought until now about the dangers of one of those falling down when he was near one, or worse, inside of one. But wandering around in the dark was a different situation all together.
'And I'm still worried about her...' thought Shinji as his eyes went to the girl in the strange outfit. He had no idea what her situation was. Whether she was hungry, thirsty, or anything of the sorts, but if the fire did end up going out during the night, then the cold breeze of the ocean would be sure to freeze them quickly. Getting a cold was certainly the last thing he desired right now.
'Water and blankets then,' thought Shinji as he rested his chin in his hand as he looked into the torrent of flames dancing in front of him. As he looked towards the girl, he could see the shadow of the flames flickering off her face. Watching the flames dance across her face for a moment longer, he eventually placed his hands on his knees and pushed himself upwards. Pocketing the lighter which he had placed beside him, he proceeded to venture into the darkened city.
Shinji didn't want to walk far; as long as he could see the light of the fire in the distance he wasn't as worried, but the state of the buildings were starting to worry him.
It looked like nuclear fallout had occurred, and every building that he walked by looked as though it had been in a state of disrepair for several years. He did check in several vehicles as he made his way into the city, but didn't find anything he considered useful.
With the lighter in his hand, he passed many stores, most of which didn't seem to even have a scrap of paper left inside it. Whatever had occurred, seemed to have destroyed everything down to the smallest item.
There was one thing that surprised him as he walked around the outskirts of the city, and that seemed that animals were completely unaffected by whatever had happened. As he had passed a car at one point, he saw a dog grabbing something in its mouth, only realizing seconds later that it was a large piece of meat, like the leg of a butchered animal. The dog growled at him however, and Shinji didn't want to press his luck. He may have had the lighter, but he'd rather not get bitten by a wild dog.
As the dim light of the fire started to get further and further away, Shinji was just feeling that he was wasting his efforts on something which may not even exist. As he walked past a small store though he turned his head, and paused as he looked into the store. Holding the lighter out in front of himself, he looked past the darkened windows to what was inside.
The store was better off than most of the others he had passed along the way, and looking at it, Shinji guessed that it had been a sporting goods store of some kind. Carefully walking in between the shattered glass panels of the window, he stepped through the empty window and looked around at the shop.
Most of the shelves were still intact, though with a certain darkened color to the wood, suggesting that it had caught fire. Passing what looked like a twisted cash register, Shinji walked along the aisles peering through the darkness as he did. Twisted pieces of metal, melted rubber, and broken pieces of wood were only some of the things that he passed on his may towards the back of the store. He was hoping to find some sleeping bags, but even that didn't seem very promising.
He reached the back of the store, but was met only with a rack of blackened shoes, all too brittle to even pick up. Shaking his head in defeat, he was about to backtrack and head back to the beach when he spotted an employee only sign on a door to the far right of the back wall. He hesitated for a second, thinking things couldn't be much better there than out here but didn't see any reason why he shouldn't at least look. He walked towards to the door and pushed it inwards.
Except it wouldn't budge.
Shinji pushed again, adding more pressure to the door, but even then it wouldn't move an inch. He even tried kicking it, but this was more in frustration than anything.
With sweat finally starting to run down his cheek, he leaned up against the side of the door and cursed quietly. The roof must have caved in, but if something that could help him did exist back there, he wanted to do everything he could to get it.
Looking around for something to hit the door with, something perhaps more solid, he spotted a golf club, a driver that hadn't been turned into a chunk of metal. Grabbing it, he walked back over to the door and stood before it with the club held in his hands. Take a few steps back, he lunged forward and swung with all his might against the door. A golf club had certainly never been used like this before. The club made contact with the door and made a large dent in it with a loud hollow sound.
Stepping back from the door, Shinji swung again, this time cracking the wood and on his third swing, he broke through the wood, creating a sizable hole that he could look through. Throwing the golf club to one side he looked through the hole while holding up the lighter next to him.
The roof overhead had certainly caved in, and a bunch of the ceiling lay scattered across the room and directly in front of the the door lay several large pieces of wood. But Shinji saw hope in this. He had been afraid that the wood had been piled in front of the door, be he figured that if he swung a few more times at the door, he would be able to push his way through it. He did just that.
It took ten minutes for him to accomplish this before his hands were blistered and red from clutching the club so tightly, but he finally made it through. Dropping the driver, he pushed his way through the door, wincing slightly as the splinters he had missed dug into his skin and pierced it, making him bleed slightly. He ignored this though, and didn't think anything of it.
'There better be something worthwhile in this room,' thought Shinji as he waved his lighter around.
The back room seemed to have escaped whatever had vaporized the front room, and a lot of things were still intact. Shinji walked past several shelves, ignoring the many shoe boxes that lined them, searching for anything that could keep them warm tonight.
Passing into another room, the room had caved in on this one as well, but it was worse; part of the wall had caved in as well. Shinji almost all but ignored this room since it was smaller than the previous room which seemed to just be for storing items, but he saw something which made him do a double take. What look the top half of a chair but with its legs snapped off lay on its side amidst the rubble. Walking over to it, he picked it up and held it in his hands.
"This must have been a break room or something," mumbled Shinji.
He now spotted what he had missed before. A small counter ran along one side of the room and what looked like a sink was built into one of the counter tops. Shinji walked up to it and turned on the faucet without much hope. Predictably, not even a drop of water trickled out.
'Should have know better,' he thought. 'But if there is a sink, it wouldn't be too surprising if a small refrigerator was here.'
Shinji then started looking around for any speck of white that stood out compared to the grey and brown colors of the wood and roof tiling. It took him some time before he started shifting pieces of wood, looking for any sign of a fridge.
After moving several medium sized pieces, he finally found it crammed into a corner of the room. It had long ceased functioning, but if Shinji could find water in there, even if it was to last a day, he would be thankful. Tugging open the door, he was met by such a awful smell that it forced him to veer off to the right as he puked.
A rat from the looks of it had somehow found itself a way into the fridge and died during the cave in of the roof. The body was twisted and contorted and its fur was already starting to fall off.
Shinji hadn't imagined he would have been greeted by something like this, but at least something good had come out of this. Spitting onto the ground, hating the taste of vomit, he looked back into the fridge and stared at the four water bottles in the inside door. Thankfully, the rat was in a far back corner of the fridge so he wouldn't have to go near it. Forcing himself not to puke again, he quickly grabbed the four bottles. Slamming the door closed, he quickly left the room and held his breath until he reached the item storage room before he breathed again.
He looked down at the four bottles tucked in his arms and at least thought that it had been worth it in the end. Setting them down on an empty shelf, he looked around the room again. The room seemed to stretch far into the back and he hadn't checked that area yet.
He passed an odd assortment of soccer balls and soccer related products before he reached the back of the store. Camping stuff largely littered this area including some fishing poles. Shinji had never been fishing in his life, but supposed that it was something that would be good to learn. He could at least cook whatever he caught. But carrying the fishing poles would be difficult with the bottles also. He'd just have to grab them again at a later date.
Sifting through some of the other stuff, he saw a bunch of useless camping gear, none of which included a pot or frying pan. The thought of fish had reminded him of how hungry he was.
'Well, I found the water at least, so it wasn't too bad I suppose,' sighed Shinji as he stood up and started walking away from the camping goods. He figured that he should start getting back by now. He wanted be sure the fire stayed strong long into the night.
As he walked past the camping goods though, his eye caught onto something wrapped in plastic that was tucked into a corner. Walking over to it, Shinji pulled it out and realized that it was a dark green sleeping bag. He smiled slightly, but then looked around.
'There's only one,' he thought suddenly.
He stood still for several seconds, his bran registering that phrase. Of course it wouldn't have been that easy.
'Damn it,' he thought as he looked around the store again, waving the flickering flame back and forth. As he passed over everything a second time though, he had to admit defeat. He guessed he wouldn't be sleeping much tonight.
Walking back to the door he broke through, he carefully placed the sleeping bag through the hole, being sure not to tear it. Next he threw the bottles through and climbed through the hole, ignoring the splinters which pierced his skin again.
He didn't notice that the cut from earlier had already scabbed over.
After returning to the beach, he tossed what he had found from the city in a pile and started stacking more tinder on the fire. It had gone down more than he had suspected and he figured he'd spend most of his night keeping it alive. After getting it back up to a sizable column though, he turned to other matters.
He had no way of knowing how far off the sunrise was, but had to guess it was getting close to midnight by now. The moon was already high up in the sky and the chilly ocean breeze was starting to hit the beach. Shinji felt himself shiver as he sat in front of the fire. He had always been rather resilient to the cold, so he could manage well enough...but-
He looked at the girl across from him on the other side of the fire pit and frowned. From the moment he had gotten the sleeping bag, he knew things would come to this, but he didn't enjoy it anymore. If anything, he hated it even more.
Standing up he grabbed one of the water bottles and opened it, letting several drops of water soothe his parched throat. He wanted to be careful with this water in case they may not find anymore for a while. Placing the bottle beside where he had been sitting, he then grabbed the sleeping bag and removed it from the plastic wrap. He unfurled it and let it hang in front of him surprised at how large it actually was.
Sighing at what he was about to do, he glanced over at the girl, wishing that she would wake up at that moment. But that was just wishful thinking on his part.
Walking over to her, he knelt down beside her and laid the sleeping bag out, unzipping it and opening it up. Glancing down at her again he paused for several seconds before he took his arm and slid it under her back, his arm digging into the cool sand and gliding across her back. Shinji had been correct in his assumption that her clothes were made out of some strange elastic. He brought his arm upward now, being careful to not jolt her forward suddenly so that her head lulled from side to side. She was oddly heavy for a girl her age, but Shinji attributed this to the fact that she was unconscious. She seemed rather slim as it was. With her now being propped up in a sitting position, Shinji took his other arm and placed it under her thighs before he counted to three, and lifted her gently in the air before setting her down on the warm sleeping bag. He then zipped up the sleeping bag until it was just below her neck and then leaned backwards, letting out a sigh of relief. He had been worried that she may have woken up during the whole ordeal and couldn't imagine things would have gone very well considering what he was doing.
Now that she was wrapped in the sleeping bag though, it really seemed that she was sleeping. Her mouth was slightly agape now revealing her white teeth, and Shinji had to look away. He had been very aware of how close he was to her while he had briefly carried her, almost as though she was a baby.
'Don't think like that,' Shinji told himself.
Moving away from her, he sat back down on his side of the fire and stared into the flames. Everything that had happened, everything that was going to happen was so distantly removed from Shinji's conscious that he didn't think of anything as he gazed into the fire.
It was a short time later before he fell asleep.
Shinji didn't know whether it was the shrill scream, the loud movement of something being dragged across the sand, or that his throat was suddenly being strangled by thin hands that had woken him up. But he did know one thing.
The girl was awake.
Shinji's eyes flew open as her grasp on his neck tightened, cutting off the much needed oxygen. He hadn't known when he had fallen asleep, but the fire and burned completely out now and the girl seemed to have dragged herself clear across the still smoldering embers. Shinji's eyes squinted as he fought with his brain, willing it to not cause him to pass out as he looked up at the girl choking him. It was the first time he had seen her eyes, and he momentarily forgot that she was trying to kill him. Her eyes were as clear as the sky, as clear as the ocean had once been. Her face was incredibly hard now though, scrunched up in so much anger that it looked like she was going to explode. A dark crease had appeared upon her forehead, and her pupils were wide and shrunken back into her skull. As Shinji continued to stare at her, he realized that tears had started to leak from her eyes.
Reality was brought back quickly to him however, as he felt more pressure being put on his neck. She was strong, stronger that he had imagined, and he could feel his vision starting to leave him.
'Must...do...something,' he thought desperately.
He opened his mouth to try to say something, but his brain wouldn't produce the words properly with the lack of oxygen.
'Am I...going to die?' he thought as he glanced up at her face stricken with anger.
'No...not like this,' he thought suddenly.
Forcing his right arm upward, he pressed it roughly into her chest, forcing her backwards and relinquishing the hold on his neck. Taking a quick gulp of air, he turned towards her just in time as she lunged towards him again, reaching for his neck. He batted her hand away this time and took another breathe of air, feeling his entire head spinning with the sudden burst of oxygen. He felt even more like passing out now.
Shaking off the feeling he stared back at her who had moved away from him a little now, but was still glaring hatefully at him, her eyes still filled with anger and if Shinji didn't know better, a death glare. He was now wary, not wanting to get up or move at all, so he sat in a sprawled position on the ground.
The girl glared back at him still; she was crouched in a sitting position, ready incase he decided to run for it. Only problem was, she wasn't confident that she could catch him if he really decided to run. She shifted position a little though, and winced as she did so. Shinji couldn't help but notice this.
He looked where she looked; down around her legs and all the way to her feet were large dark marks, likely the cause of when she had dragged herself across the fire pit. Shinji couldn't imagine the pain from that, but he suddenly thought of something.
Standing up, he stood in place for several seconds as he stared back at the girl several paces in front of him. Next second, he took two steps back, and then three steps back. He then turned and looked at the girl and was surprised to see that she hadn't gotten up, but was desperately trying to get up. She would place both hands on either side of her, and trying pushing her body upward, but her entire lower body didn't seem to want to listen to her.
'Did she injure herself that badly?' thought Shinji. 'Or was the reason she dragged herself across the fire because she couldn't use her legs to begin with?'
Shinji walked several steps backwards again, testing his theory again. The girl seemed to have given up however, and was now attempting to drag herself forward. As she looked up at him however, she seemed to realize that he knew she couldn't chase after him. She glared back at him, her eyes boring into his until her gaze fell and she slowly shifted her legs so that they were in front of him. The were as heavy as lead, but if she touched them, she couldn't feel any sensation.
As Shinji watched this pitifulness, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her as she dragged her legs around so she could sit properly. He was even beginning to wish she had just stayed asleep now that she was awake, and apparently wanted to kill him for some reason.
As the girl finally managed to become comfortable, she redirected her gaze at Shinji as he stood in front of her. She hating this feeling of being completely merciless in front of some stranger she didn't even know. To wake up and find somebody asleep close to her, without knowing anything about them or what they had possibly done. It made her so sick she wanted to puke.
Shinji watched her silently, his hands at his sides. He was unsure what to do in a situation like this. Having never gotten along well with humans in general, having a girl suddenly try to strangle him to death was a situation he hadn't imagined himself being in.
'We can't just stay like this forever though,' thought Shinji as he sighed.
Resigning to that fact, he sat down slowly, make sure the girl wouldn't try to go after him as he did this. She seemed to be somewhat surprised that he was sitting down now though, as her eyes widened slightly, but then quickly went back to that death stare.
They sat across from each other now, both watching each other. The girl had been initially surprised that Shinji hadn't just ran away, letting her die in that undignified way. But instead he had sat down, bringing himself down to her level. That pissed her off even more though; he was pitying her.
'I have to say something,' thought Shinji. 'But what do I say to this girl who just tried to kill me?'
Shinji didn't have a clue what to do, but didn't think this was a time to introduce himself. Looking back at her, he saw that her gaze had switched to her legs. She was examining them slowly, moving her hands over the black burns across her legs and feet. She seemed slightly more calm now as she did this, but Shinji noticed that her right eye kept flickering back to him.
'She doesn't trust me,' thought Shinji. He should have expected this somewhat, and rather wished he hadn't fallen asleep.
Though an idea came to him then.
Standing up again, the girls head came whipping around as her eyes locked on him, watching his every movement. Shinji watched her calmly before he started walking along in a wide half circle around the right side of her; her head followed him as he walked. Walking in a wide arc, he walked all the way around her to the point that she was desperately trying to look behind her but unable to see without repositioning her body. She stopped though as he came back into her field of wish. In his hands he held two bottles.
Shinji sat down again several paces in front of her and placed both water bottles next to him before he open his and took a draught out of it. The water felt cool as it slid down his throat which was still sore from when she had been choking him. Setting down his bottle, he looked across at her and saw that she wasn't looking at him angrily anymore. Her expression was one of confusion.
'What is wrong with her?' wondered Shinji almost somewhat amusedly.
Shinji waited several more seconds before he picked up the other water bottle he had brought, and rolled it across the sand; the bottle bumped gently into the girls knee. She stared down at it for several seconds, her face a mixture of expressions.
"Drink it," said Shinji tonelessly.
The girls eyes darted towards him, surprised to hear a human voice. Shinji stared back and nodded his head slowly. The girl looked back down at the water bottle before picking it up in her hands. She looked at the cap for several seconds before determining it hadn't been opened before. Quickly opening it, she took several long swallows, just realizing then how thirsty she was. The water slid down her throat, moistening her lips in the process until she paused and removed the bottle from her lips. She slowly set the bottle down next to her, but didn't remove her grip on the bottle. She looked back at Shinji then, a frown on her face.
'Is it really that strange for someone to do something like this?' thought Shinji as he looked back at her. He hadn't really expected to receive words of thanks, but knowing that she could at least talk would have been something.
Ignoring this, he raised his own bottle to lips and was about to take a drink when-
"Where are we?" asked the girl with a clear voice.
Shinji looked at her for a second through his raised bottle before he lowered it slowly and looked back at her. She was looking determinedly at him now.
Shinji took several seconds to reply until he looked across the beach to the bloodied ocean and said-
"Tokyo-3, I think."
His eyes darted back to her as he said this, he saw that her eyes had widened slightly as he said this. Was she equally confused and surprised as he was by this, or did her eyes hold a different meaning?
They sat in silence again, sipping there water quietly, but as Shinji quickly noticed, both bottles had almost been emptied already. Looks like he'd be looking for more water before the day ended. So much for saving it.
"Why is no one here?" asked the girl again.
Shinji turned towards her and replied, "I don't know. You're the only other person I've seen, and I was up in the city for these,' he said as he gestured to the water bottles.
The girl looked at him for several seconds before she turned away from him. Shinji thought he might have seen her mutter something under her breath, but he couldn't hear what it was.
Looking at her legs he couldn't think of anything else to say so he asked, "How are your legs?"
The girl glared back at him for a few seconds, not enjoying the question, but he already knew that she couldn't move, so ignoring it was pointless.
"I can't move them."
Shinji already knew this, but he still pressed the subject.
"Were they already like that before you-"
Shinji hesitated; he had been about to say before you tried strangling me.
"-before you crawled across the fire."
The girl continued glaring at him, but eventually replied, "They were already like this."
Shinji didn't think that pushing this further would do any good. Admittedly though, her being basically crippled was a problem, and he was worried about her legs, but if she didn't want to talk about it, he would just wait. He could understand that, as he certainly had things he didn't want to talk about.
Shinji stood up then, stretching his body and relieving the tension that was building between them just now. The girl watched him silently as he walked several paces away from her towards the ocean. She let out a small sigh herself then; she had been incredibly nervous since the moment she had awoken.
Shinji looked out across the ocean for several more seconds before he walked back to where the girl sat. She watched him as he passed by her and started walking towards the slope to the right of where they had sat. She shifted her body slightly, watching as he climbed the hill and was momentarily thinking that he was walking away, that he had made a decision to leave her when he bent over and picked something up. Several seconds later, he came jogging back down the hill, his arms filled with dry brush.
The words 'what are you doing,' were half formed in her mouth before her hand brushed against something. Picking it up, she realized it was a lighter, and understood then what he was doing.
Shinji walked back several seconds later with his arms full of dried drift wood. Dropping everything on the ground, he was about to look for the lighter when he realized it was in the girls hands. There eyes met, and for several seconds, Shinji was afraid that she wasn't going to give it to him. Silently, he held his hand out asking for it. He knew she must understand what he was doing by now, but was never truly sure whether sure she would give it to him. It took her several seconds until she dropped the lighter in his hands wordlessly.
Shinji didn't bother saying thanks, as he knew she had been close to not giving it to him. Was she that unable to trust him?
Lighting the fire quickly, he stood back for several seconds watching as the flames licked the wood. Across from him, the girl stared into the flames.
Looking down at her, Shinji thought, 'This is a good a time as any I suppose.'
Sitting down across the fire from her, Shinji placed his hands on his knees and said, "Look...as much as you don't trust me, and I have to say, I don't really trust you either, we seem to be the only two people in the entire city. What I guess I'm trying to say is...we have to at least stay together until we're able to find more people."
"And if nobody else comes?" asked the girl, her voice suddenly growing in volume.
Shinji was trying to be optimistic, but the way she said that made him pissed off for some reason.
"You don't believe anybody else will come?"
The girl didn't reply, already having spoken her mind.
Shinji stared back at her for a few seconds, wondering what could possibly have made her so inept in dealing with other people. He wasn't a role model by any means, but he at least did want to survive.
After several seconds of silence, Shinji finally opened his mouth and muttered, "Shinji...Shinji is my name."
The girl slowly raised her head and looked back at him. Her face was blank as she stared back at him.
Her small mouth eventually opened as she replied, "Asuka, is mine."
They both looked into the fire for several seconds before Shinji stood up and grabbed the sleeping bag and walked around the fire. The girl, Asuka, watched him as he did this and was momentarily surprised when he handed it to her.
"Wrap yourself in this," Shinji said.
Asuka watched his eyes for several seconds, searching for any hint of malicious intent in his eyes, though she couldn't find anything. She didn't really like accepting this from him, but she took it all the same.
Shinji then walked to where he had been sitting, and bent down and grabbed the lighter before he stood up again.
"Though it is still early in the morning, I'm going to enter the city again. By tonight both water bottles will be gone and I can search in daylight better than night anyways."
As he started walking towards the slope, Shinji said, "Don't try moving much either. Your legs will recover faster if you let them sit."
Asuka was just about to open her mouth and say something though when she stopped herself. What point was there in arguing with him anyway.
"I'll be back in a few hours," said Shinji as he reached the top of the slope and disappeared in a few hours.
'Like I'll believe that,' thought Asuka as she looked into the fire. She had noticed that he had taken the lighter with him.
She slowly wrapped her body in the blanket, even managing to place her legs in them. She remembered when she had woken up, and had at first thought that she was in her bed back home in Germany. Everything had been incredibly warm, but then something, a cold breeze most likely had hit her. She then noticed that she was on sand, and in a sleeping bag. She had looked around and her eyes had quickly snapped to that boy. It was only a few seconds before she was on top of him, trying to break his neck. She wondered why he hadn't brought that up yet.
'Probably waiting till I fall asleep to do something,' thought Asuka. She shivered at the thought. No, she couldn't fall asleep, not in case he did end up coming back.
She shifted positions, forcing herself to become less comfortable, but the combination of the sleeping bag and fire were making her eyes start to droop.
'Can't...sleep,' muttered Asuka.
It was moments later when her head drooped onto her chest, and she fell deeply asleep.
It took Asuka several seconds to remember where she was when she awoke, but when she did, she sat bolt upright.
"Oh...you awake?"
Her head darted to her left and saw Shinji walking over to the fire, several more pieces of wood in his arms.
Her mouth opened against her will and she stammered, "You're back?"
"I was gone for several hours and have been back for several, you've just been sleeping this whole time."
Asuka opened her mouth again, but this time clamped it closed and turned towards the fire, but only now realized it was extinguished.
"No need for a fire right now with the sun as it is," said Shinji.
Asuka looked up into the sky and saw that he was right. The sun was high in the sky, indicating that it was noon or a little after.
"I found more water," said Shinji as he pointed to several more bottles next to the fire. Asuka stared at these and then back at Shinji, confused by what she was seeing.
"Why did you come back?" she eventually asked.
Shinji set the wood down beside the fire pit and then looked at her, a frown on his face.
"Why wouldn't I?"
Asuka didn't reply, feeling like she would have rather not asked.
"Its not like I gain anything from leaving you."
"So you would if you could gain something!" Her voice was suddenly harsh.
Shinji shook his head and replied, "I didn't say that, and I wouldn't do that."
Asuka shut up briefly, but Shinji could tell that she was still seething about this. He couldn't understand this girl.
Walking around the other side of the fire pit, he sat down and opened one of the water bottles. Taking several swigs, he set it down and saw that she was staring at him intently. Wiping his mouth he let out a sigh and asked, "Is your leg any better?"
Asuka ignored him for for a while before she muttered, "No."
'At least she's talking,' thought Shinji.
"We'll we should at least clean up the burn marks from the cinders."
Shinji made to stand up, but was quickly rebutted by Asuka.
"Don't bother, I'll do it myself."
"With what? You're are not using the water in the bottles to clean those burns."
"Who said I was gonna use those?"
"Then what? Ocean water won't help you."
Asuka paused; she was going to use the water from the ocean.
"I can deal with the salt."
"I wasn't talking about that, the ocean isn't...the water is something different, some strange liquid that smells like blood. You can even smell it from here."
Now that Asuka thought about it, he was right. She could smell it from here, the stench of LCL fluid. She had become so accustomed to it that she hardly noticed it. But why had the Bay of Tokyo-3 turned to LCL fluid? Or was it just like she had thought when this boy told her they were in the remnants of Tokyo-3?
Letting out a sigh, Asuka grabbed the empty water bottle and threw it at Shinji. "Just fill this with the stuff in the ocean. Who cares what it is."
"But it could harm you."
'If it could harm me I'd be dead by now,' thought Asuka snidely.
"Don't worry about it," said Asuka as she waved him off. "Just get the stuff and I'll do the rest."
Shinji stared at her for several more seconds, wondering why she was so positive that the stuff was fine.
"Okay," he said eventually.
It took him only a few minutes to fill the bottle when he reached the ocean. It was strange, it felt like sand when he ran his hands through it, but it clearly fit in the bottle as a liquid.
Taking it back to Asuka, he handed her the bottle and she quickly opened it and spread it on her outstretched leg. She immediately winced.
"Does it hurt?" asked Shinji.
Asuka took a few seconds to reply.
"Yes, but thats because of the salt."
"Salt?"
"The salt from the ocean mixed with this stuff."
"So thats why it felt like sand," mumbled Shinji.
"Most likely," replied Asuka, 'though several of its other properties probably caused that affect,' she thought silently.
It didn't take long for Asuka to clean the burns on her legs; thankfully they weren't that bad, but her legs still wouldn't move.
The day passed slowly afterwards and Shinji and Asuka barely talked to each other during this time. Shinji was constantly keeping the fire burning, wanting to keep his mind occupied with something, while Asuka seemed to have been lost in her own thoughts, curled in the warmth of the sleeping bag.
The sun began sinking across the ocean eventually and Asuka opened her eyes and turned towards it. Shinji, who had thought she had been asleep turned towards her and was momentarily surprised at how beautiful she looked with the orange and red rays of the sun hitting her face.
"What exactly are we going to do now?" asked Asuka suddenly as she turned back towards the fire.
Shinji didn't know himself, which was the problem. He had been maintaining his sanity be doing everything by the moment, by the minute, and by the hour. If he had to think about the days to come, he wasn't sure what they would do. They couldn't just keep living like this.
Shinji's stomach rumbled then, and he was reminded of his hunger once again. He hadn't found food again today, which was growing to be a problem. If he didn't find any tomorrow...
"I don't know," replied Shinji slowly.
'And here I thought you had a solution to everything,' thought Asuka bitterly. But at the same time, she realized just how worried Shinji was about things, even if he didn't say anything. She supposed that it had been different for him when he had found himself here, all by himself until he found her. But even then he didn't know whether she would awake. If she had been in his position...
"Can I ask you something?" asked Shinji suddenly.
"...What?" replied Asuka after a seconds pause.
"Why did you trying killing me?"
Asuka had been waiting for this question from him and had been surprised that it hadn't come sooner.
"How would you have reacted if you were in my place?"
"...What do you mean?"
"Waking up without any idea where you were with some boy sleeping across from you."
'Isn't choking someone still going too far?' thought Shinji.
Asuka didn't want to spell it out for him though, so she didn't. If he didn't understand what she was getting at, it was better that way. The less he knew about her, the better.
The sun across the horizon set and in several short hours, a new day would be starting.
Asuka rolled over, facing away from the fire and covered herself from head to toe in the sleeping back. The plug suit didn't make sleeping particularly comfortable, but it was something she had wondered about before. She couldn't remember wearing her plug suit or going in for any tests before this all happened. She couldn't really remember much of what she had done during that day was the problem.
Shinji continued sitting in front of the fire, his head resting in his hands. He had gotten a headache sometime during the past hour, and hoped that it would subside sooner or later. He was unwillingly thinking about tomorrow and what it would bring. Asuka's leg didn't seem to be getting any better, so they would have to stay on the beach for a while. If he was honest, he would have preferred to have found a place to stay in the city; at least it would be close to more supplies.
Placing more wood onto the fire, he lay down on the cool sand and rolled onto his back so that he was looking up at the sky. It was still hard to comprehend what had happened, since it felt like he had been sitting in a classroom until just a little while ago. But things were as they were.
It took both Shinji and Asuka a long time to fall asleep that first night that they were together, mainly because both were still a bit wary of the other, but when they finally did, it was almost in unison.
And I would just like to say Dear God FanFiction has changed a lot during these past few months.