Secrets should never be forgotten…
Chapter 7
Comfort and shock
Half an hour earlier
The kitchen
Meanwhile in the kitchen, Asuka and Shinji were already awake wearing their school uniform, Shinji making some toast, he didn't particularly feel like rice that morning and neither did Asuka, who ordered him to make toast with butter. Handing her a plate with two slices of buttered toast he placed down a jar of marmalade and one of strawberry jam in between the both of them. He had some jam on both of his toasts, whereas Asuka preferred the marmalade. There was complete silence between the two of them. Shinji kept looking at Asuka and noticed that her eyes were slightly red, but he didn't want to comment on it.
"Asuka…" He began.
"What is it?!" She snapped.
Jerking back a bit he pointed to her plate, "Have you finished? I have to wash the plates."
Looking down she realised that her plate was empty, without saying anything more she pushed it towards his direction and stood up from the table, walking over to the window. Picking up the plates quietly he placed them in the sink along with the knives they just used and started washing them. Finishing quickly he placed them out to dry and left the kitchen area into the living room. He saw her looking out to the city below, the rain spattering against the window. Though he couldn't see, her eyes were filled with pain and sadness.
Strangled…
A woman holding the neck of a doll
Hatred…
A doll's head ripped off, blood drops beneath it
Shame…
A little girl, crying alone
Suicide…
The silhouette of a woman hanging
Comfortable…
A little girl needing no one, dependant only on herself
The tears were flowing freely now. Okaasan, why didn't you protect me? Instead you tried to kill me. Why did that Angel bring all these memories up again…? Her shoulders were moving involuntarily as she stifled her sobs. Shinji noticed this as he was sitting at the sofa. He got up and moved behind Asuka. He held her shoulder lightly. Suddenly waking up out of her reverie she slapped away his hand, turning towards him sharply.
"What are you doing baka Shinji?!" She yelled harshly.
"Nothing… I was…" He was looking at her blue eyes, and the tears that poured from them, "Worried…"
What?! This wimp is feeling sorry for me?! I've got to teach him a lesson!
She starting hitting him on the chest, Shinji was about to defend himself when he noticed that the hits weren't at all like her previous ones, these were paltry in terms of strength, so he allowed her to continue. After a few minutes of pummelling, her arms began to get tired and eventually they only made tapping sounds on his shirt. Looking at him once again, all she saw in his eyes was sadness, but a hint of something else. Could it be compassion? Giving in, Asuka started to cry out loud, and launched herself into his chest, her face spreading her tears onto his shirt, her arms clutching his top. Shinji froze; this was the first time that Asuka had hugged him, so he was unsure of what to do. I want to hug her… But she'll kill me for doing something perverted… Yet I'm only helping her… Throwing caution to the wind, he slowly embraced her, placing his arms around her thin back. Doing this only made her cry louder and wetter sobs into his shirt. Shinji has a sudden image in his mind. I remember this… I… I was running along a pavement, one of them was cracking in one area, and I slipped, grazing my knee badly. I was crying a lot… then someone… my mother! She picked me up and hugged me, telling me it would be all right… Trying to mimic his mother he started gently rubbing her back and whispering 'It'll be okay' to Asuka. He also recalled his mother kissing the area near his knee to help it heal faster, but he wasn't about to kiss Asuka on the head yet. I don't know what that Angel did to Asuka, but it'll more take time to heal than a normal injury, mental wounds hurt the most, in terms of pain and how long it lasts. Moving one of his hands up he held her head gently and made no more movements, giving her time to cry.Several minutes passed and Asuka had finally run out of tears, and instead she kept sniffing a lot, still holding onto Shinji, who was looking out of the window impassively. Once he thought it was safe to talk he spoke.
"Asuka," He began, which resulted in her looking up at him, "A… Are you feeling a little better now?"
Not wanting to speak yet because of the fear that another sobs might come out first, she nodded. Shinji smiled sincerely, "That's good Asuka." He looked over to the sofa, "Let's sit down for a bit…"
They both walked over to the sofa and sat down. Shinji wasn't expecting anything more, and wasn't surprised to see Asuka sit nearer the opposite end away from him. Glancing at her he glad to see that her cheeks were dry now, her eyes gradually becoming less red by the minute. A few moments of silence before Misato entered the room.
"Hello you two! Have a good night sleep?"
Shinji spoke first, "Yes, arigatou Misato."
Misato was about to continue, not expecting Asuka to reply, but, "I had a good night also Misato." She said neutrally.
She hasn't spoken to me for a few days… For her to suddenly talk to me something must've happened…
A sly look crossed her face, her eyebrow raising in suspicion, "What have you two been up to today?"They both sat bolt upright on the sofa, "Nothing!" They yelled together exasperated.
Misato was still dubious but said no more. "Well, it doesn't matter anyway. I have news for you, we're all heading straight for NERV, no more school today."
"Why?" Shinji said, "What's happened?"
Misato looked a little serious, "Readings similar to the last incident have appeared again in Mabase, we are to report to NERV for further instructions."
Shinji and Asuka looked grave and understood what this meant. "Why… Why do I have to go?" Asked Asuka, "I mean… I… can't pilot…" She managed to get out before any more emotions came to the surface.
"I'm not sure, but you're a part of this now, that's all. Lets go now, we'll drive there."
Shinji and Asuka suddenly felt their stomachs lurch as the sweatdropped together. I shouldn't have eaten if I knew that Misato was going to drive…
One ten minute drive from hell later
NERV Headquarters
"Reporting for duty sir!" Misato saluted the Commander in Central Dogma. The two pilots were standing queasily behind her, her faces a shade of green. Rei was already standing there when they arrived.
"Major Katsuragi," Said a hand clasped Gendo, "You will accompany the three children for immediate deployment to Mabase." This shocked the pilots, their faces going through many expressions of disbelief, curiosity and fear. "Ibuki Maya will accompany Unit-01 and Unit-02. Thanks to our 'expert'" He said this in a derogatory tone, "we now have a device to detect this emissions in Mabase."
Misato looked behind her to see a familiar lab coat together with a clipboard in hand. The face seemed to have aged a lot, her eyes were tired, her face devoid of any emotion, and her blonde hair was in tatters, as is it hadn't been combed for a long while. Handcuffs were shown to be tight around her wrists.
"Ritsuko…" Misato was lost for words. She knew that this person had done many bad things, she had withheld information, created clones of Rei using DNA strands of humans. However at one point, she was her friend, they had shared many a drink together, laughed about the future, commiserated one another, and worked with each other. She turned to the commander with anger present in her eyes.
"If this turns out to be another enemy similar to the one found last time, then you will reside in Mabase permanently. NERV has found a suitable apartment for the four of you and set up a small base nearby to house the Evangelions. Your personal possessions will be moved in a short time to your new address. All the necessary technicians and engineers are already there building the structures." He had finished, and was watching over the people beneath him, their faces, their expressions. "The VTOL craft will be docking at Extraction Point A in ten minutes. I expect you to be there without further delay. Dismissed."
Misato was numb with shock, the news was overbearing, incomprehensible, and it took several seconds before she saluted him. Gendo calmly got up and walked away from them. "Fuyutsuki, I leave the rest to you."
Moving forwards slightly the former professor looked down upon his staff. "There are few more issues to discuss, and though I can understand that you might have some misgivings about all this, however there is nothing that can be done. These new foes must be stopped, and the only way of doing that is to be there when it happens." Hmph, the commander used his usual charm in telling them that they were to leave their homes for a long while, I thought I had to say it a bit nicer for them. Sure enough the pilots and Misato looked less glum at this prospect, but still were not happy overall.
