Chapter 2: The Final Day of Tranquility
"Gott, can't you do something about your snoring, wondergirl?!" Asuka Langley Soryu was cranky this Sunday morning, her plans to sleep in having been foiled by her roommate's snoring at 7:00 AM.
"Sorry, Asuka." Rei Ayanami chuckled nervously, having finally been awoken when the redhead got so tired of listening to her snore that she'd thrown a pillow at her.
Asuka simply mumbled something in German before heaving a sigh. Now she just needed to figure out what she was going to do with her day. Her homework had all been finished Friday and had hardly been a challenge to someone as smart as she was.
That obviously out of the question, she found her gaze wandering over to the Playstation 3 that sat next to the girls' TV. Video games could only keep her occupied for so long before she got tired of playing, but as things stood now, it was her best bet.
Or so she thought.
As she reached for the power switch on the back of the console, there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it."
A girl with shoulder length blown hair and standing a few inches shorter than Asuka greeted her. It was a face Soryu recognized instantly, causing her to smile. "Hi Hikari."
"Remind me how we let Ken drag us into this again?" Toji Suzuhara looked to Shinji who walked beside him as they followed their long time friend Kensuke Aida to the local museum for some special exhibit on military history.
Ikari shrugged, having to look up since Toji was at least a head taller than him. "He really wanted to go, and it's not like we had anything better to do today."
"Mreh, I guess." Suzuhara conceded.
"Hurry up you two!" Kensuke called excitedly from the street corner ahead of them.
Shinji smirked. With how excited his friend was over this exhibit, he figured the military buff would have a field day if he knew about the Evas. "Hell, he'd probably faint with envy if he found out I was a pilot."
"What are you smiling about, Ikari?" Toji asked, suspicious of his friend.
"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all."
With the Fourth Child selected and Unit 17 activated, Misato wasn't needed at work today, so she found herself relaxing at home this afternoon. Having just taken a nice hot bath, she lay stretched out on the couch with a can of her favorite beer in her hand.
There was the sound of a freezer opening and closing in the kitchen, followed by the clicking of taloned feet on the tile floor. Soon, there was a beaked, feather-clad face staring at her over the end of the couch.
Captain Katsuragi let out a giggle. "Enjoy today's paper, Pen Pen?"
"Wark!"
She smiled at the warm water penguin, now her only roommate again. That hadn't been the case two weeks ago. Katsuragi glanced up at a picture hanging on the wall, depicting her, Shinji, and Asuka a year ago.
Commander Ikari wanted nothing to do with his son, and Asuka needed someone to look after her while she was stationed at NERV-1, away from her father and her stepmother.
So, Misato had taken in the two kids for the four years preparing them for the Angels' arrival, but now that they were in college, she thought it best for them to live in the dorms like normal kids.
Now she found herself sitting here, missing them. It was anyone's guess how she'd managed to survive this long without Shinji around to cook.
To her credit, she was trying to get better, and she thought she was doing all right.
She would be in for a rude awakening if her feathered critic could speak English or Japanese.
Eric stared at the ceiling, trying to figure out if he had dreamed yesterday up or not.
Shinji had offered for him to tag along to go see some exhibit with his friends, but Eric had politely turned his fellow pilot down since he had homework to finish.
In his defense, he was currently trying to do his homework, but everything that had happened the day before just kept swimming around in his mind.
He grabbed his wallet and opened it, finding the NERV ID card right where he had put it last night.
"Guess yesterday was as real as it gets."
She wasn't exactly sure why Hikari insisted that Rei come along as well, but Asuka had to admit it felt great to get out for once.
"This was a fantastic idea!" She exclaimed as the three of them sat at a table in a café on 31st street. "Sure beats the food in the mess hall."
Hikari Horaki smiled, "Yeah, I figured it would be nice to get out for once. Maybe after this we can browse some of the shops around town too."
"Hikari, I like the way you think." Rei chirped.
The corner of Asuka's mouth turned up slightly, "For a change, I agree with wondergirl."
"OH MY GOD, A PTRD-41 ANTI-TANK RIFLE! WHAT A BEAUTY!"
Shinji couldn't help but be amused as his friend gawked at the massive gun. Toji, on the other hand, had his face in the palm of his hand.
Kensuke went on about how the PTRD was a Russian gun used all the way back in World War II. The rest of it was just technical babble to him, but Shinji didn't mind. Although probably nowhere near as much as Aida was, he was having fun. It had been a while since he'd last hung out with his two best friends.
He could sense that Toji felt the same way, considering that Shinji could see his friend's mouth form into a smile behind his hand.
As they continued on through the exhibit, Shinji felt a kind of sadness in the back of his mind as he realized that this way of life might soon be threatened. The Angels would be coming, and he would have to pilot Unit 01 to fight them.
He didn't really want to fight. Hell, he didn't even know if it would be worth it to try fighting. The Angels might end up being too strong. But enjoyable moments like this might just be worth fighting for. With that resolve, he put the issue to rest for now.
As the sun set over Stone Grotto that day, none would be completely prepared for what was to happen the next. This would be mankind's last day of tranquility for some time. The might of the heavens was about to descend upon them.
Every animal on Earth can sense it. In their cages, so too, can the mighty Evas sense the awakening of their foe.
It is the first messenger and the first of Adam's children.
The Third Angel
The Wrath of God
Za'afiel
