Author's Notes: Here it is. After over a month of procrastination, 2.25 is here in full. Two weeks of my abscence can be blamed on vacation, but it's really just laziness. But I really enjoyed working on this chapter, and I think it's one of my best. A huge thanks to my waifu/equal gender partner Sailor Star Dust for all of her help and badgering involving this chapter, as well as a thanks to Eric Blair for pointing out a few mistakes. Without further nonsense, here's 2.25.
A quick note on shipping in this fic, as I think this is the most appropriate place for it: A/S fans, this may be your only chance to really squeal, so take advantage of it. I do not openly write A/S, R/S, M/S, R/S or anybody/S, as personally I think that Shinji's a bit too messed up to support a relationship not based on mutual necessity. The only pairing you will find openly acknowledged in this fic is Misato/Kaji. (Besides Gendou/Yui, for obvious reasons) Otherwise, Shinji and co. are all confused teenagers, and they're just exploring ideas and possibilities.
REBUILD OF
EVANGELION
2.25: A MOMENT, HEARTS OVERLAP
"Here is how this will work," Misato continued after we recovered from the shock, "You see that pad over there? Each of you will take a spot on it, and copy the steps that it gives you. Each step is tuned to a note in the music. You will be graded based on your accuracy and synchronization."
She pointed to the far wall, where two Twister-like pads had been set up, with an electronic score keeper behind each one.
That doesn't sound too bad. But still, why does she have to live with me?
"That'll be no problem!" Asuka said, "With my skills, I should be able to overcompensate for the Third's lack thereof!"
I chose not to retort, as I had no desire to start a fight. I had decided to simply ignore the Second altogether, for the sake of the mission.
"Oh, one more thing," Misato added, now grinning.
"Yes?"
"During your training, you will wear these all the time. The Japanese dress for the occasion, after all!" she said brightly.
She held up a bag containing clothes. Asuka and I reached in and pulled out two near-identical sets of clothing. They were unmistakably dance uniforms, complete with tights, likely stolen from a children's dance class. Mine was blue, Asuka's was pink. Both had little music notes in the center of the shirt.
"No WAY, Misato! Living with this baka is enough to deal with, but dressing like him too! I can't stand it!"
--
It had been three days since Misato had given us the insurmountable task of working together, and we were no closer. In fact, our relationship had devolved into constant confrontation. Asuka would not accept that she was just as lousy at coordinating as I was, and constantly blamed me for our low scores. It was during one of these many rants when the doorbell rang.
A reprieve? Finally…
I removed my headset (it played the music for the attack in my head on a loop) and began walking towards the door, followed by Asuka.
"Yes?" we both called.
I walked to the door and reached for the knob. Asuka tried to push me out of the way, but merely succeeded in pushing my head down, so her head rested on top of mine. I was able to awkwardly pull the door open, and surveyed our visitors with a downcast expression.
"T…traitor!" Touji gasped.
"Matching outfits again, in this day and age? I can't believe this!" Kensuke said.
It was, of course, Touji, Kensuke, and the Class Representative, Hikari. Touji was, surprisingly, clad in his school uniform for once. Both boys looked absolutely terrified and embarrassed, while anger slowly spread over Hikari's face.
"Well, Misato-san said that Japanese start by dressing the part, so she made us…" we (Asuka and I) stammered, burning with embarrassment.
"That's filthy, you two!" Hikari shrieked.
"You're…you're wrong!"
"Two wrongs don't make a right!"
"Oh, welcome everybody!"
Misato-san!
Asuka and I turned to look around the corner, where Misato and Rei stood. Misato was chuckling at the spectacle.
"Could ya please explain what this is about?" Touji asked.
--
After grabbing a beer or three, Misato sat them down and explained the operation, which was met by raucous laughter from the three.
"You shouda told us that to begin with!" Touji said.
"So how is the coordination going?" Hikari asked eagerly.
"Well…as you can see…" Misato said.
Throughout the explanation, Asuka and I had begun another round of practice. We hadn't improved at all since the beginning; in fact, we seemed to have gotten worse. Asuka would go too fast, and I tripped up trying to keep up with her. In her anger, she threw her headset on the ground, yelling about how inferior I was.
"Are you surprised?! There's NO WAY I could lower myself down to Shinji's level! It's just an utterly impossible idea!"
"Then you give up?" Misato asked coolly.
"You don't have anyone else, do you?"
"Rei?"
Asuka's face fell immediately.
"Yes, Ma'am?"
"Why don't you try?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
Rei donned a headset and took her place on the pad. Her presence was calming; being next to anyone who wasn't overflowing with anger was a nice change. And as soon as the music started, I found I was able to concentrate. In fact, it was positively easy. Rei adjusted her speed and timing to mine exactly, so I just had to follow the music.
"It looks like I should alter the operation to pair Shinji and Rei," Misato said.
I heard Asuka give an audible gasp, but I ignored it and continued on. As the music approached its final notes, I heard Asuka start yelling, once again, in anger.
"No! I can't stand this! I've had enough!"
Eh?
I stopped and looked over in time to watch Asuka slam the door behind her, walking out of the apartment.
"Asuka-san!" Hikari called after her.
"Even the Devil cries sometimes…" Touji said solemnly.
Wow…she's really upset…
"IKARI-KUN!"
?
I turned to look at Hikari, removing my headset.
"Go after her!"
"Erm…"
"You made a girl cry! Take responsibility!"
How the hell is this MY fault?
--
I followed Asuka down to the drugstore, which was located within the apartment complex, ignoring the strange looks people were giving me, likely due to my current attire.
How did I get stuck following her again? I didn't DO anything. She decided to get angry because Rei was better at being…well…an agreeable person.
I found Asuka crouched down, examining the sodas in the back of the drugstore.
"Um…" I began.
"Don't say anything," Asuka said.
I bent down to her level.
"I know," she continued, "I have no choice but to pilot the Eva."
She stood up.
"I'll do it."
--
"Since it's come to this, I'll show up both Rei and Misato!" Asuka declared.
After much sulking and talking to herself, Asuka had finally come to a decision. She would cooperate with me, but she wasn't going to like it.
"You don't have to show them up or anything."
"You're being too easy on them! You're a man, aren't you?"
Again with the "aren't you a boy?" thing. Jeez. Why does it matter? She's more manly than most guys I've met…although…when she isn't directly abusing me, she's kind of attractive…
"For their attack…" she took a bite of her sandwich but continued speaking, "…on my pride…" she spat crumbs as she spoke, "I'll pay them back ten times over!"
She turned to face the setting sun, and began to drink her soda in one go. I sort-of thought that I understood what she was talking about, although I was still confused as to why it was such a big deal. A small smile tugged at my face. And for some reason, I was finding my irritation against her dissipating, which was very disconcerting, but probably for the best.
--
Asuka walked up to the calendar the next morning and circled the attack date in red marker. Today was the 8th, the attack was the 11th. We only had three days left. It seemed that Asuka was at least determined to make good on her promise, as she demanded that we begin training immediately.
After wolfing down a hurried breakfast, Asuka pulled me over to the training pads. As the music started, she began concentrating intently. I tried to follow along, but she was going too fast. I tried to match her speed, but I ended up losing my balance and falling over onto her mat. She promptly kicked me out of the way with her customary angry yell.
"You're too slow, Third! Do I honestly have to slow myself down so much to match you?"
"I'm trying! When I try to go faster, I just trip myself up!"
"OK, fine. I'll slow down a bit. But only because I have to."
We spent the entire rest of that day trying to come to a speed that we could both agree on. By the end of the day, our average score had gone up from 0 to 15. Not exactly promising. At least we were so tired from the day's efforts that we didn't argue for an hour before falling asleep like the previous nights. Asuka was right about one thing: Sleeping together in the same room was not a good idea.
The next day did not get off to a better start. Both of us were equally determined to improve today, so we both rushed to the bathroom at the same time, therefore we were continuously pushing each other out of the way to brush our teeth and whatnot. The rest of the day progressed without much incident. We worked even harder on the training program, boosting our score from 15 to 25; which although an improvement, was not good enough. Asuka and I simply did not get along. We couldn't even agree on a simple TV channel.
The next day began in a similar manner. Asuka woke up well before I did, and apparently went straight for the bathroom. I woke up, and immediately found that I had to use the restroom. I went to the bathroom and turned the knob, which was met with screams of "Don't peek, ecchi!" I stood outside the bathroom and waited. Pen Pen decided to stand next to me, for whatever reason. I doubted that he knew how to use the toilet, but you never really knew with Pen Pen.
I looked at the clock. I had been standing there for twenty minutes. I was beginning to lose control. She had to get out soon, or there would be rather embarrassing consequences.
"Asu…ka…hurry…up!" I stammered.
As if I spoke a password, the door slammed open, smashing me in the face. Pen Pen dashed in and made for the toilet. I grabbed him and tossed him out of the room, now in actual physical pain.
However, after the bathroom incident, things seemed to improve. I cooked lunch, which received, surprisingly, a grudging compliment from Asuka. It wasn't without sting, however, as she likened me to a housewife.
Whatever. A compliment from Asuka is something I won't hear often. I'll just ignore the last bit.
Misato had left us a message on the telephone, warning us that she'd be out late that night, so we needed to do our own laundry. I gathered up all of our clothes and tossed them into the machine, then hung them up on the clothesline, which was outside, over the balcony, to dry. Asuka seemed to have retired to her room.
Finally, a moment's peace.
I withdrew my SDAT from my pocket and put it in. Even when I wasn't feeling bad, I tended to use it to drown out the ever-constant drone of cicadas. I closed my eyes and just relaxed.
I had only been sitting there for a few minutes before the balcony door flew open. Asuka had been wondering where her clothing had gone, and was surprised to see that I had washed it all for her.
"You're really handy, Third Child. It's like having my own maid!"
She looked down and eyed my SDAT.
"You still use one of those old things? MP3 players are what we used back in Germany! They're digital, so you can have hundreds of songs all on one…"
Asuka had begun on another Germany-is-so-much-better-than-Japan rant, so I turned up the volume on my SDAT and ignored her. The track clicked onto Track 25.
"Hey, what are you listening to, anyway?"
"Um…just a bit of this…and that…"
My face began to burn slightly; Track 25 was by Kotono Mitsuishi, a female pop artist. Hardly what Asuka would likely expect a "boy" to be listening to.
"Oh really? I can't help but wonder what the great Third Child listens to in his spare time. Let's find out!"
She bent down and reached for one of my headphones. I began to stammer in protest; however nothing could deter Asuka when she was interested. I cringed and looked away as she put it into her ear, expecting a hearty laugh. However, three seconds went by without laugh, and I was startled to see Asuka looking at me with newfound appreciation, humming the melody.
"Wait a second, the great Third Child listens to Kotono Mitsuishi? I underestimated you. I happen to love her music as well! Perhaps you aren't as bad as I had first thought."
Eh? We have something in COMMON? Wow. That was the opposite reaction I expected.
We ended up spending the next half-hour together, listening to the remaining tracks on my SDAT player, with Asuka either praising or criticizing my music tastes. However, she seemed less hostile already. That day, we made remarkable progress on the simulator, increasing our average score all the way from 25 to 95. By the end of the day, we even managed a 100. We made it.
--
That night, we decided to celebrate our victory by wearing other clothes. We had gotten sick and tired of the matching outfits over the last six days. Asuka decided to take a shower as well. I picked up a manga magazine and laid down on my bed, half-listening to my SDAT.
After an hour-long shower, Asuka emerged.
"Where's Misato?" she asked.
"At work. She called earlier. She'll be there all night."
Asuka walked by my room and looked at me, smiling.
"So that means we're all alone tonight!" Asuka said brightly, winking.
These words could have meant a variety of things; however, one possible meaning jumped out at me.
She's not…hinting at me…right? She can't be. No way…no…maybe?
Asuka, however, seemed to just treat it as a passing remark. She walked over and scooped up her bedding, and carried it over into Misato's bedroom. She closed the door behind her, then turned around and opened it again.
"This is the impenetrable Wall of Jericho. Take one step over this wall and you're a dead man."
She paused and looked at me, and I couldn't help but notice that her shirt was hanging a bit too low. That, and her suggestive comment earlier, as well as her current behavior all screamed at me to go over the wall anyway.
But I wasn't sure.
So I didn't.
"And now, it's time for children to go to bed," she finished, slamming the door behind her.
Children? She's no less of a child than I am, whether she knows it or not…
Regardless, I lay in my bed, thoughts and nerves racing through my brain. The next day was the attack. I had no idea how it was going to end up. We got a perfect score once, but that was only one time. Every other time, we messed up on the ending. What if we missed the core? Or if our timing was off and it regenerated? The Evas would only have enough power for one try. If we blew it, it was over. Tokyo-3 would be lost. Touji, Kensuke, the Class Rep, they'd all lose their homes, maybe even their lives! If we messed up, it was over.
I haven't heard a peep out of Asuka…I wonder if she's doing OK?
"Hey, Soryu, are you awake?"
It was a full minute before she decided to respond.
"Yeah…"
"I can't sleep. I'm too nervous about tomorrow."
"Just relax…if you get worried about it, you won't sleep and you won't be able to do well tomorrow! We'll be fine!"
"But aren't you…afraid? Or nervous?"
"Of course not! We got a perfect score, remember?"
"Yeah…I suppose."
I remained quiet for a while before I spoke up again.
"Hey, Soryu?"
"What, Third Child?"
"There's something I've been wanting to ask you."
"What?"
"Why…do you pilot Eva?"
"Why? Because I was chosen! I'm elite! No one else can do what I can do. And everyone praises me!"
!!
"So…" I prodded tentatively, "You pilot Eva to be recognized by others?"
"I guess…but it's more so I can praise myself, if you have to put it so bluntly."
"I see…"
She's…like…me. She pilots Eva for others. For the praise that others give her. To be recognized.
Maybe…maybe we aren't so different. Behind her attitude, she pilots Eva for the same basic reasons that I do.
"Soryu?"
"What now, Third Child? You're so weird sometimes…"
"I…nothing. Never mind."
"I'm glad you stayed here instead of giving the mission to Rei" is laying it on a bit thick…
"By the way, Asuka," she said.
"What?" I replied, confused.
"Call me Asuka. It's so weird hearing you call me 'Soryu.' Only adults call me that."
"Um…OK, Asuka."
"Now let me sleep, Third Child."
"Goodnight."
With that, I rolled over and was able to find sleep quickly.
--
"Operation, begin!" Misato called.
"Roger!" Asuka and I replied.
"Ready, Third Child?"
"Ready! Eva Launch!"
I felt the familiar sensation of being catapulted upward, and quickly found myself standing next to Asuka, in the streets of Tokyo-3. The Angel, Israfel, was standing straight ahead of us.
"Let's go!" Asuka yelled. She leaped into the air, and the music began to play. I concentrated all my energy on leaping with her, but the Eva remained stationary.
"No, NO!"
The Angel split in two, and one half went straight for Asuka. I pushed as hard as I could on the handgrips, but the Eva wouldn't budge.
"Dammit, move!"
I heard Asuka scream over the communicator, but I couldn't see where she was. The other half loomed in front of me, closing in.
"MOVE!"
--
I jerked awake. It was still that night in Misato's apartment. I had been dreaming.
I'm pathetic…I can't even sleep without having anxiety overcome me.
As I rolled back over to try to sleep again, I heard something coming from Asuka's room. Moaning.
"Ma…ma…"
Asuka?
"Mama…mama…"
She talks in her sleep? She's calling for her mother…
I found myself standing up and slowly walking over to her room. I took care not to make any noise as I walked. I didn't want to wake her up.
Why am I doing this? Why does it matter that she talks in her sleep?
I inched the door to her room open and stepped inside.
Well, I suppose the Wall of Jericho came tumbling down after all…
I walked up to her and knelt down beside her bed. I could see that she was crying.
"Mama…mama…why…"
She reached out slowly with her hand, and it brushed up against mine. She immediately grabbed it and held onto it tightly.
"Mama…you're here…Mama…"
Her tears began to stop. A childish smile spread all over her face. She gripped my hand tightly and I heard the smallest hint of a happy laugh.
"Mama…mama…"
She fell silent after this, but she held onto my hand for another five minutes before letting go. I stood up and looked down at her. She seemed so timid, so fragile, so…childish. She looked nothing at all like the girl that I had been butting heads with all week. Here was undeniable proof that the Second Child, Soryu Asuka Langley, had a soul after all.
"You really are…just a child like me…" I said under my breath. I saw her stir. I decided I had better return to my bed. While I had no harmful intentions, I knew that she would definitely not see it that way. I slowly walked back to my room. As I opened the door, I could have sworn I heard a choke, as if fighting back a tear. I looked back, and I could see Asuka still wore that blissfully happy smile. I smiled myself, and walked back to my bed. Sleep came easy, and I did not dream the rest of the night.
--
That morning, if Asuka did, in fact, notice my presence last night, she did not make mention of it. There wasn't time, actually. Immediately after waking up, we showered, ate, and then Misato took us straight to Nerv HQ. Asuka and I sat in the backseat, neither of us looking at each other, both lost in our own thoughts, mentally preparing for the fight ahead.
This is it…all of that time…I think we're ready. We can do it.
After the relatively short drive to Nerv HQ, Misato rushed us directly to the locker rooms. We changed our clothes in silence. After Asuka finished changing, the barrier lifted and we looked at each other. Our eyes met, and both of us were equally determined.
"Ready, Asuka?" I asked.
"Ready. Let's go."
Misato was waiting for us outside the locker room. She took us to the Eva cages, and then left for the command center. Nerv operatives aided us with the launching process. Once synched up, the Evas were transported to the launch pad, where we were put on standby.
"Target has broken through the final defense line at Gora," Aoba announced.
"Here it comes!" Misato said, "We won't fail this time!"
"Deploy your AT Fields as soon as the music starts," she instructed, "Then stick to the operation. Got it, you two?"
"Roger!" we both said.
Let's do this.
"The target has entered the mountains," Aoba said, continuing to give us updates.
"Full power, maximum speed from the start, got it?" Asuka asked.
"I know that. We'll finish in sixty-two seconds," I replied.
And that's all the time we've got. If we blow the routine, the Evas are out of power. They'll use too much too fast at that speed. And then the army will have to resort to another N2 mine, destroying the entire city.
"Target entering Ground Zero."
"Detach external power cables," Misato ordered.
The cables detached, and the countdown began.
"Launch."
Immediately as she said this, the music began and the Evas were catapulted upwards. We came out in the middle of the city, directly in front of the enemy. We didn't stop at the surface, though. Instead we were thrown upwards, into the sky. The tech division had devised a special weapon that would be used to force a split, which we threw down at the Angel now. It created a laser between the piece that I threw and the one that Asuka threw. This forced the Angel to split in half. From there, the routine began.
Each move in the routine felt entirely natural; from offense to defense, everything seemed as if part of a dance. The music flowed through us both, and our timing was flawless. After luring the Angels to the center of the area, Misato ordered the troops to fire every remaining weapon at the Angel, creating a large smoke screen around it. From this cover was where the final strike would be made.
Asuka and I moved as one, each attacking one of the Angel's halves, hitting it into the air then smashing it down. They jumped backwards and recombined into one. However, its cores did not merge as fast as the rest of it. Momentarily, two cores were in its chest instead of one. This was our chance. Asuka and I leaped into the air exactly at the same time, and planted a kick directly into the center of each core. They shattered without effort, and the Angel was thrown backwards into the mountains. It exploded in a shower of blood, exactly as the timer struck zero. Both Evas were out of power, but the enemy was defeated.
"Both Evas confirmed operational," Maya announced.
Operational yes, but we were in a rather compromising position. I was sprawled out over a crater, with Asuka's Unit-02 in a similar position on top of me.
"Geez…" Misato sighed.
"This is pathetic…" Ritsuko added.
I decided that I'd rather be outside of the Eva than stuck like this, so I ejected the plug and walked onto my Eva, surveying the damage. I heard a voice from a ways away, and saw that Asuka had decided to do the same. She ran straight for me, a customarily angry look on her face.
"You jerk! How DARE you do that to my Unit-02?!" she demanded.
"What are you talking about? You're the one who fell on me!" I responded indignantly.
"You're the one who lost his timing first! It's because you're always so out of it! What were you doing, staying up so late last night?!"
"I…image training for today's battle!"
"Liar! I know you were peeping on me while I was sleeping!"
"No fair! You were awake?!"
"That's AWFUL! I was just kidding, but it was real?! You were PEEPING?!"
"No, I wasn't! I was just checking on you!"
"PERVERT! LECH! FIEND! I can't BELIEVE YOU!"
"It's because you were talking and moaning in your sleep!"
"Yeah, right! That's just an excuse!"
I started to laugh, for some reason. I suppose that it was because I was fighting and yelling about something trivial, and funny. My life had gotten to the point where I didn't have to take everything seriously. I was starting to be happy. Genuinely happy. And I wasn't worried. I was, at the time, living in the moment, for once in my life.
"OK, fine, you caught me. I was peeping on you," I said, laughing.