Disclaimer: I don't own shit. Really. Ask my wife if you don't believe me.
Author's Notes
1) Yes folks! It's finally here! Asuka will at last make her debut in the story. For those of you who have read my story Till Death Does Us In, then you'll probably be able to guess that I plan on picking on our favorite redhead a lot.
2) Attention Asuka Lovers: This fic may not be for you! Not to create suspense or anything, but Asuka is a huge part of this story but will be bashed, though what exactly that part is won't be revealed till later.
3) BushWhacker: First of all, nice name. Second, yes I know Asuka's mom is inside Unit-02. That may or may not be an important plot point at this time. I haven't decided.
Well now…at least that's all that out of the way. Now on with the story!
A Moon's Shadow
By Ama no Murakumo
Chapter 7: Enter Asuka
"You're picking up the Second Child tomorrow?"
Misato grinned. "You better believe it Shinji! I think you'll both get along great," she said. Inwardly though, she thought, 'Hopefully Asuka makes him fall head over heels for her. Shinobu's a nice girl and all, but I doubt she's the right one for Shinji.'
Shinji flipped through the file Misato had given him that held most of the Second Child's information. He didn't like what he was reading, especially concerning the psyche profile.
'Hot-tempered, egotistical, and the social skills of a rabid wombat…I've got a baaaad feeling about this,' he told himself. Chancing a glance at Misato, he noticed she was staring at him with that mischievous smile of hers.
'I take that back. I've got a real bad feeling about this…'
"I'm assuming that you want me to help you go get her, right?" The purple haired woman nodded.
"You got it! And you can bring along any two friends that you want." Hearing this, Shinji was a little relieved.
'Well at least I won't be alone in this. Let's see, Shinobu is obviously going. Now who else…?'
(The next day: On the helicopter)
Shinobu looked over at Misato apprehensively. The older woman didn't seem all that pleased that the blue haired beauty was with them. And it seemed as if Toji's being there just made things worse, considering the boy wouldn't stop drooling over Misato.
When Shinji had told the group that he would be allowed to take Shinobu and one other friend with him to retrieve the pilot of Unit-02, they had played a heated battle of Jan-Ken-Pon to determine who got the last seat on the helicopter. Toji had beaten out everyone handily and was excited to get out of the city, even if only for a short while.
Turning her head, Shinobu smiled as she noticed her boyfriend sleeping in the seat next to her. Leaning on his shoulder, she closed her eyes and tried to forget everything else. She was just happy to be here with Shinji.
Misato wasn't just upset at having Shinobu there. She was downright pissed! First of all, she had been hoping that Shinji wouldn't take Shinobu, even though it was a long shot. Also, she and Ritsuko both agreed in private that Shinobu was not Shinji's kind of girl. When Akagi suggested that Asuka might make a better choice, Misato jumped at the idea. Unfortunately, her so-called 'maternal instincts' that she'd been following had blinded her to seeing that her ward truly was happy with his current situation.
Besides, if she could read his mind, then she would have figured out that Shinji didn't like abrasive girls like the redheaded German.
Looking down, she relaxed upon seeing the Pacific Fleet that held the Second Child. Leaning forward, she nudged Shinji awake. The boy's eyes fluttered open as he stretched his body upwards and yawned, causing Shinobu to open her eyes as well.
The Third Child looked at his guardian. "What's up?"
"We are, at the moment. But jokes aside Shinji, we're about to land. There's our destination."
Toji whistled. "That's a lotta water." At that, Shinji went rigid as a board.
'Water? Oh sweet, merciful God don't tell me…' The young man glanced outside and, realizing where he was, started shivering in fright. Shinobu looked at him worriedly.
"Shinji? What's wrong?" Now the other two were looking at him in worry.
"Misato…you never told me we were heading out into the middle of the ocean. You said that we would retrieve the Second Child from her ship. I thought you meant at the docks!"
"What's the matter Shinji?"
"I don't do water. For one thing, I can't swim. For another, I get seasick easily. And that's just the beginning…" Shinobu wrapped her arms around her boyfriend and whispered soothing words in his ear to try and calm the boy down. Judging by the way he was shaking, she could tell that Shinji was terrified of being there.
'I never should have agreed to this. I shoulda stayed in bed…' he thought as the chopper made its descent.
Unknown to the group, they were being watched from the deck of the Over the Rainbow by a lone figure, her dress billowing in the wind.
(Over the Rainbow)
The kids were currently following Misato, who was leading them on a wild goose chase all around the ship deck in search of their target. After a couple minutes, Shinobu decided to speak up.
"Ms. Misato…are you telling us that you don't know where this Asuka girl is?" Misato glared at the girl.
"Don't be ridiculous! Of course I know wh-oomph!" The woman had turned to face Shinobu as she told her off and thus didn't watch where she was going. So it came to no surprise that she ended up running right into somebody.
As the laws of irony dictate, it just so happened to be the very person they were looking for: a voluptuous, thin, redhead wearing a prideful smirk on her face.
"Hey! Watch where you're-oh, it's you, Misato!" the redhead exclaimed, flinging her arms around her former guardian.
"Hey Asuka, long time no see! You've certainly gotten bigger."
"Sure have! And my figure's filled out a lot too," she replied.
The pompous redhead smirked and struck a pose that would've been more appropriate on a runway model. Then again, the German did think of herself as perfect in every way.
Turning her glance to the other three, she huffed and stuck her nose in the air. "So which of these peons is the Third Child?" Misato grinned and pointed at Shinji, who looked rather nervous at being on a ship in the middle of the ocean.
"This is Shinji. He's a little seasick right now, so take it easy on him." Strutting over to the slightly shaking boy, she began circling him like a hawk. Shinobu was watching the redhead carefully, not sure what the other girl's plans were.
'She better not make a move on Shinji. He's mine!' she exclaimed in her head. As if reading her mind, Asuka leaned to the side and looked right at Shinobu. Smirking, the girl turned around haughtily.
"He's nothing special. Just a boring, scared little boy. And I'm guessing that the little mouse next to him is his girlfriend,' she said. After hearing Tomoe belittle Shinobu for so long, Shinji took special exception to hearing anybody call his girlfriend a 'mouse.' Smashing his fear of water into the ground for the moment, Shinji stalked over to the redhead and stood nose-to-nose with her.
"Listen you Nazi bitch! You can insult me all you want, since I'm stuck dealing with you at NERV. But don't you ever, EVER insult Shinobu like that again or I'll lay you out flat!" he shouted, astonishing everyone present. None, though, was more shocked than Asuka, who glared at the defiant boy before bringing up her hand to slap him.
Before she could, however, a powerful gust of wind blew across the deck of the ship and threw her sundress up, revealing her personal tastes in underwear to everyone. Shinji, who was standing right in Asuka's face, didn't see anything though. That didn't stop the German fireball from getting even angrier and striking the boy across the face. Turning to Toji and Shinobu, she stomped over and raised her hand again.
SMACK! Down goes Toji.
SMACK! Down goes Shinobu.
BAM! CRASH! Beware of flying Asukas people…
Misato could only stare in horror as she watched Asuka deck the Suzuhara boy before turning on Shinobu, only to have an enraged Shinji hammer his fist into the redhead's gut. The result: Asuka Langley Sohryu was sent flying through the air until punching through a shut door leading below deck.
'Oh hell…this wasn't supposed to happen,' Misato thought. Her eyes were transfixed on the empty doorway that Asuka went through before feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand straight up. Gulping, she slowly turned around, coming face to face with a thoroughly pissed off Shinji Ikari. He was currently holding Shinobu in his arms, though the look on his face told her that he was anything but content.
"Misato Katsuragi, I suggest that you keep that asylum reject away from me and the others outside of NERV business. Otherwise, I may be forced to remove her head from her shoulders. Permanently!"
The older woman nodded before rushing downstairs to tend to Asuka. When she and the others got there, however, they found her being helped up by an unshaven man wearing a ponytail. Misato glared at the man.
"Kaji! What the hell are you doing here you lecher!" When he heard how his caretaker described the man, Shinji's guard instantly went up. He hated guys who thought they were God's gift to women, and this Kaji fellow seemed to fit the bill. Also, the look in his eyes suggested that he had a few secrets to hide. Suddenly, he remembered something Yui had said while telling him about his father's plans.
Shinji leaned over to Shinobu and whispered, "Hey Shin-chan. Mother told me that this guy's supposed to have the Adam embryo that my old man needs for Instrumentality." The blue haired girl gasped.
"But what can we do about it?"
"All I know is that the she said he was supposed to deliver it to Gendo. That must be why he's here." She nodded in understanding.
"Then we need to keep him from delivering it."
"Definitely."
Toji didn't hear any of this, as he was busy watching Kaji and Misato argue back and forth like an old married couple. Walking up to the pair, Shinji looked between them before reaching behind his back and, with a flick of his wrist, implanted the Tsukikage into the wall between them.
Needless to say, the arguing stopped. Everyone, Asuka included, stared at the stoic look on Shinji's face.
"Shouldn't we be reporting to the goat in charge of this bath toy instead of trying to out-insult each other?" Asuka glared and turned to Misato.
"Hey Misato, how come he has a sword? He could seriously hurt somebody with that thing!" As if to prove her point, she tried to grab the hilt to yank it out and keep it for herself.
Too bad she never knew about the security measures Shinji had on the sword. With a simple thought, the Atlamillia pulsed and as soon as the Second Child touched the hilt, she was blasted back by a surge of electricity. Her hair was sticking out at impossible angles, much to Toji's amusement. Even Kaji laughed at the redhead's expense.
"What the hell was that!" Smirking, Shinji stepped forward and yanked the blade out of the wall.
"If anybody other than me tries to so much as touch this thing, they're gonna get the shock of their life," he explained. Having said his piece, Shinji took Shinobu by the hand and led the group up to the helm where the Admiral was directing the pilot.
"Admiral, the group from NERV has arrived," one of the sailors announced. Growling, the Admiral of the Pacific Fleet turned and walked over to the six.
"So this is the band of fools that NERV sent? What a joke…"
Glowering at the older man, Shinji tapped the Tsukikage with his finger. "You wanna call us a joke one more time, ya old buzzard?" The implied threat didn't go unnoticed, but the Admiral took one look at the blade and decided that a retort wouldn't be in his best interests.
Shinobu stared at her boyfriend. 'Shinji's kind of snappy today. Being on this ship must be making him more nervous than I imagined,' she thought.
Asuka glared at the boy (A/N: She seems to be doing that a lot doesn't she?) and spoke up. "Listen Third Child! You can't just go around threatening people who are better than you. So why don't you learn your place and take orders from your superiors. Like me, of course!"
Shinji stared at the girl like she had grown a second head. "You know what Asuka? My cousin always told me to try and see things from other peoples' point of view, but doing so with you is impossible…"
"And why is that?"
"Simple. I can't stick my head that far up my ass," he snapped. Toji and Shinobu both burst out in hysterics at the look on the girl's face. For once, Asuka was rendered speechless.
Being verbally bitch slapped can do that to you.
Her face turned bright crimson and she grabbed Shinji, dragging him towards the hangar. "You're coming with me Third Child. I'll show you just how inferior you really are."
(Unit-02 Hangar)
"Why am I here again? I could care less about this piece of junk," Shinji barked at Asuka.
"Junk!? Why you! Unit-02 is the first ever Eva built for actual combat. Your Test Type and the Prototype are the pieces of junk."
"Shut up, Hitlerette. If Unit-01 is junk, then explain how I managed to beat the first two Angels without any form of backup." Asuka couldn't think of a retort for that. Even she had to grudgingly admit that Shinji's piloting skills were good. Not as good as hers of course! But still decent…
Before they could argue anymore on the subject, the ship violently lurched as an explosion went off.
"What the…! Now what's going on!?" Shinji yelled as he and Asuka ran outside, only to be met by Shinobu and Toji.
"What was that sound, Shinji! Are we under attack?" Toji asked. Shinji's face looked grim as he pointed to a massive shadow that was tearing its way through the Pacific Fleet like a hot knife through butter. Shinobu shrieked.
"It's another one! An Angel!"
"Goddammit! Can't I ever get a break? And I don't have Unit-01 to pilot either!" Asuka smirked and patted Shinji on the back.
"Poor Third Child. I guess you'll just have to come with me in Unit-02. That way you can see my marvelous piloting skills." Shinji just stared at her.
"I'd rather eat Misato's cooking and die of food poisoning. You get in that Eva and do your job yourself, Sohryu."
Asuka huffed and ran off to get into her plugsuit. Toji looked at Shinji worriedly.
"Hey man, what if she can't beat that thing? Then we're toast!"
"Don't worry Toji. Just cause I don't have Unit-01 doesn't mean I'm useless." Unsheathing the Tsukikage, Shinji began drawing energy from the Atlamillia to augment his strength. His companions watched in awe as the young pilot become covered in a blazing red aura.
At that moment, Unit-02 emerged from the hangar, prog knife in hand and ready to battle. Turning on the external speakers, Asuka yelled, "Watch and learn, Third Child. This is how a real Eva pilot works." She knelt down as if to kick off the ship but Gaghiel, the Sixth Angel, leaped from the ocean lunged straight at Asuka, who froze at seeing the immense size of the Angel.
Shinobu and Toji screamed in fright while Shinji got into a stance and, kneeling into a battoujutsu position (A/N: Think Kenshin Himura before he unsheathes his sword), swept the Tsukikage out in an arc.
"Shockwave Roar!" A curved wind tunnel of white-hot ki smashed into Gaghiel, forcing it back into the water with a screech of pain. Unit-02 looked down at Shinji as Asuka tried to figure out just what the hell he did. Hearing a loud roar, the redhead looked up and brought the prog knife up just in time, jamming it up the Angel's chin to fend it off.
Asuka and Shinji stood on the deck, waiting for the heavenly messenger to reappear. Meanwhile…
(Back in the helm)
"Way to go you two! That's how it's done!" Misato's elation was short-lived, however, when she saw Kaji making his getaway in a chopper. Growling, she smacked the Admiral in the head.
"Do something! Shoot that cowardly bastard down!"
"I can't. All our anti-air missiles fell overboard when that damn toy got up."
(Back on deck)
"Take this you bastard!" Asuka screamed as she swung the knife again at the Angel's mouth.
"Aerial Shotgun!" Shinji made a pointed thrust as a large burst of concentrated energy struck the enemy's underbelly. The two attacks successfully pushed Gaghiel back underwater. Shinji was breathing heavily. The Atlamillia's power was really taking its toll on his body.
"This is getting us nowhere. Hey Asuka!"
"What do you want, Third Child?"
"Next time it comes up, try to wrench its mouth open so I can get a clear shot at the core. I can't do much against that thing's thick hide."
"Whatever. And you're teaching me how you do that later."
'Not on your life, you bitch…' Shinji thought as the shadow came rushing at the Over the Rainbow again. On schedule, the monster took a leap and dived at the ship. Eyes blazing, Shinji got into position as Asuka caught the giant fish with Unit-02 and tried to pull its gaping maw open and keep it that way.
All of a sudden, the Tsukikage burst into a bright light. Shinji and the others looked at the blade in wonder as it seemed to elongate before their very eyes. The light got brighter, forcing the three to cover their eyes. Then, as quickly as it began, the light stopped. Looking down at his weapon, Shinji gasped in amazement.
The weapon had transformed. The Tsukikage appeared to anyone who knew about weapons as a katana, though now it looked even more so. The blade had extended to five feet in length, with the hand guard changing from blue to red. Topping off the change was a picture of a cloud at the base of the blade.
Staring in shock at his beloved weapon, Shinji was trying to figure out just what happened until he heard a familiar voice whisper in his mind.
'You've done well Shinji. Your training with the Tsukikage has caused it to build-up into its next form: the Heaven's Cloud. From what I know of the sword, it has two more such build-ups. Only by increasing your own strength can you empower the sword. Keep working hard, and make us all proud,' Simba's voice reverberated through Shinji's head.
Smiling to himself, he was forced to look up as Asuka let out a screech, "Anytime today, Third! I can't hold this damn thing much longer!"
Bending his knees slightly, Shinji got into a stance. Shinobu and Toji stood back and watched as their friend drew even more energy from the Atlamillia.
"Let's see how you like my favorite finishing move, you overgrown tuna! FLYING GUILLOTINE!!"
Taking the handle of the Heaven's Cloud in both hands, Shinji swung the blade like a baseball bat, sending a giant spinning, razor-sharp disc of energy straight at Gaghiel's core. The attack struck true, slicing right through the red orb. However, it didn't stop there. Everyone on board the Pacific Fleet was struck dumb as the massive disc weaved its way through the celestial being's body and literally cut the entire Angel in half.
Back in the helm, Misato shakily picked up the microphone and, finding her voice…
"SHINJI! Just what the fuck was THAT!!"
Turning back to the others, Shinji ignored his guardian's screams and smirked at Toji.
"Told you I wasn't useless without my Eva," he said. As the last words left his mouth, he staggered some before beginning to collapse. Only Shinobu's catching him prevented a painful meeting between Shinji's head and the ship deck. The boy smiled and gave his girlfriend a soft kiss on the lips, causing her to blush a little before she kissed him back.
Looking at her new co-worker and the girl in his arms, Asuka could only think, 'Such raw, destructive power…I must HAVE IT!'
Shinji shuddered. What the hell was that sensation he just felt? It couldn't be the ocean. That would've just given him nausea…
'I felt as if my entire soul was falling down an abyss…I better talk to Simba and Artie. They may know something.'
Well that's Chapter 7 everyone. Love it? Hate it? Somewhere in the middle? Send me reviews, and lots of them. I love your comments. And for those wondering why Shinji is so afraid of water, Xiao was once a cat. Cat's tend to hate water. Need I say more?
Next time on A Moon's Shadow, Chapter 8: A Strange Crystal, Even Stranger News. As Asuka starts school in Tokyo-3, she finds a weird rock shard laying in the road. And after consulting with Simba, Shinji is told some shocking revelations. What are they? Keep reading to find out.
Hope to see you guys in the next installment. This is Ama no Murakumo, signing off for now!
