Avatar the first Airbender
Fire on the mountain
"I'm so glad I could go shopping with you Kaji" Asuka said delightedly holding the man's arm.
"And I'm so glad you could join us Shinji." Kaji told the boy on his other side causing Asuka to glare around the man's arm
"I'm happy to get outside for a while and anyway I wanted to get to know you better." Shinji said.
"And what would you like to know about me mister…" The man didn't finish as the girl pulled him forward.
"Come on Kaji this way!" she said giddy as Shinji followed behind.
"What about this?" Asuka asked as she held up a white and red striped two piece.
"Aren't you a little young for that?" Kaji asked.
"Aww but it's what all the girls are wearing." She explained.
"I doubt the class rep would be caught dead in that." Shinji said in deadpan.
"Who asked you?!" She snapped
"Come to think of it who invited you?" She asked
"Now Now Asuka, be nice. Why don't I get us a treat?" The man said and made an exit.
"You're trying too hard to be mature again." He whispered.
"Shut up" she whispered back and went to pay for her purchase.
"Oh I'm so excited about the school trip." Asuka said.
"And where are you going?" Kaji asked
"Okinawa!" She said giddy.
"So Shinji are you excited about this trip?" Kaji asked the boy
"Yeah, I've never been to Okinawa, I wonder if it's anything like Ember Island?" He asked himself which drew stares from the other two.
"Just forget I said anything." He told them rubbing the back of his neck.
"What!" Asuka shouted
"What do you mean we can't go?" Asuka shouted
"It's standard procedure. What if an angle were to attack?" She asked
"You mean we're on permanent standby?" Asuka asked
"That's right." She said
"Shinji say something!" Asuka shouted
"Misato's got a point. We need to be here in case of an attack. Besides, I really didn't care about the trip that much." He said
"Well why can't we take the fight to them, everyone knows offense is a good defense." She said
"Typical firebending mentality." Shinji thought
"Besides this is a great time to catch up on your studies, or do you think I haven't noticed." Misato said and pulled two disks out from under the table.
"Both of your grades are forwarded straight to my terminal and I am very disappointed in both of you."
"That's because the archaic grading system you use here is worthless!" Asuka shouted
"Maybe so but when in Rome. At least try to adjust to Japanese school life." She said
"This sucks." She said. Asuka watched as the plane pulled away.
"Well that's that." She said
"Come on Shinji." She said and turned to the monk, but he wasn't there.
"Oh man, this is gonna be great!" Toji exclaimed and peeked at Hikari, who had the window seat.
"I'm sad Asuka couldn't come." She said
"Yeah, I'm sort of sad about Shin…" The boy was saying before his jaw went slack from shock.
"Toji?" Hikari asked and looked out the window, and wondered if she was seeing things. Shinji was flying next to the jet pushing his airbending to the limit to keep up. Pulling out a piece of paper he taped it to the window.
"Have a great trip!" It read before he flipped his glider closed and fell away from the jet. He freefell for a minute watching the jet pull away before flipping his glider open again. Rei dived into the pool as Shinji typed on a computer.
"Hey Shinji what's you doing?" Asuka asked
"Basic physics primer" he said not looking up from the screen.
"You're such an avid student." She said coyly
"I love to learn. Besides it's not like bending will get me good job." He said looking up and blushing at the way Asuka filled out her bikini. The monk stared a moment before plastering a huge grin on his face and giving a huge double thumbs up.
"Lookin good." He said.
"Idiot" She said
"So what problem are you on?" She asked
"A problem on thermal expansion." He said
"That's an easy one." She said as she bent over him and started typing.
"I am a monk I must think pure thoughts, I am a monk I must think pure thoughts, I am a monk I must think pure thoughts" He thought as she typed.
"There, all done." She said
"Wow, I'm impressed." Shinji said in awe.
"Well it's easy if you know how. After all I did finish college." She said
"You went to university?" He asked completely impressed
"I graduated last year." She said
"Brains and beauty. Now if you worked on your personality a little you wouldn't have a problem landing a man like Kaji." He said snidely
"Why you!" She shouted and swung but the monk was long gone.
"But seriously, you do need to work on your anger issues, not only for your sake, but for everyone else as well." He said near the edge of the pool. Rei had walked over and stood few feet away ready to respond if the second child threatened Shinji again.
"Remember the talk we had on the roof. You're a fire Asuka and if you don't learn to expiate your anger you'll consume yourself. The monk said with that wisdom that had enchanted her the night before the seventh angle.
"I realize you're angry at your life and what has happened to you, but believe me there are people out there who have it far worse." Shinji said.
"And how would you know!" She asked angrily
"How would you know half of what I've been through?" She demanded. Shinji stayed quiet for a time, his face in shadow, and when he looked up he had a look in his eyes more haunted than anything Asuka had ever seen.
"I have been through the same thing you have, and I was lucky enough to have a group of teachers to help through it. But more than that I traveled among the people of this world before I was summoned here. I am a monk after all. I helped where I could but it was a drop in the
bucket. The scars of second impact aren't healed at all. Around this world there are people, men women and children that are being abused trampled and starved as we fight this war. All of humanities resources are flowing here leaving the rest of the world in shambles. Compared to the abused, neglected, downtrodden children I helped aid in my travels we live rather well." Shinji said, and Asuka could find no comeback
"There are thousands of children who have gone through we have and worse and instead of throwing fits they pick themselves and each other up and move forward. Sometimes it's the lost boys and sometimes it's the lord of the flies but they survive without the comfy lives we live here. That is why I fight this war, not for my father, or Misato or even to protect the people in this city. I fight for the people who are suffering through no fault of their own, so that when we win this war and all the worlds resources are not needed in one place, the world can really heal. And when that day comes, I will go back out into the world to help" Having said that, Shinji metal bended his laptop to him and walked out.
"Think about what I said, both of you." He said before walking out. Shinji was meditating when he felt Asuka walk into the apartment.
"Can we talk?" She asked meekly through the crack in the door.
"Yes." He said never leaving his meditation. Shinji felt Asuka sat down with her back to him and leaned against him.
"I'm sorry about earlier." She said
"Apology accepted, but what I said was for your sake more for anyone else. If you hope to keep your sanity you must deal with the issues of your mother. It is going to be hard, the hardest thing you have ever done, but once you do you will feel better and more alive than you have in years." He said.
"Do you think you can help me?" She asked. Shinji gusted to his feet causing Asuka to fall back onto the floor. Shinji squatted down looking her in the eyes.
"First lesson, unwind. Stop worrying about being the best. You're already better than most people; you don't need to prove it." He said smiling.
"Lesson two, stop trying to grow up, it just makes you seem younger." Shinji explained getting to his feet and offering Asuka his hand. The girl took it an allowed herself to be drawn to her feet. "I think you're ready for your first lesson." Shinji said and led her to the roof.
"What lesson are you talking about?" Asuka asked. Shinji just smiled and taking a deep breath launched into flurry of punches and kicks each generating a flash of fire. Faster and faster he went until it looked like flame was coming from everywhere. Shinji ended the demonstration by stopping still and roaring, breathing flame with a jet of flame coming from each fist. The fire vanished and he breathed again.
"Nice huh? I keep saying you are fire, and that isn't flattery. I believe you have the ability to learn firebending, to generate and control fire." He said and standing in front of her mad a small flame in his hand.
"Rei is a waterbender able to control liquid to do as she wills it, and Toji is an earthbender able to make the ground beneath your feet do what he wants it to." Shinji explained
"This is impossible, there's no scientific basis for this." She whispered to herself.
"Not even my teachers know exactly what makes a bender, only that certain people are born with the genetic ability to bend." Shinji said.
"So Wonder girl and that stooge already know how to do this?" Asuka asked.
"Yep" He said.
"Well then teach me what you taught the first!" she demanded.
"That's not possible." Shinji said.
"And why not!?" She demanded.
"Reis a waterbender, you're a firebender." Shinji explained earning a blank look.
"A person is born able to bend one element and one element only." He said.
"Yeah right, I've seen you use fire, water, and air, or did you think I forgot the slap you gave me?" She said.
"Well?" Shinji said weakly not wanting to raise Asuka's competiveness any further.
"Well what?" She demanded.
"I'm the only person on the planet able to be all four elements." She said and waited for the explosion. Instead Asuka laughed uproariously.
"You really do think your special don't you?" She mocked. Shinji was saved having to answer that by their cell phones ringing. The three pilots were standing in a room with a giant screen on the floor showing picture of a volcano.
"We have found a dormant Angle in the volcano and will attempt a capture." Misato said
"Any volunteers?" Misato asked
"Me me, I love diving!" Asuka said gleefully
"Maybe I should do it?" Shinji asked.
"We'll go with Asuka for now." Misato said after some consideration.
"Don't worry I won't let you down." She said
"Alright, we'll begin the preparations." Misato said. Asuka was in the hanger putting on her plugsuite.
"This heat resistant model doesn't look any different from the usual one?" Asuka wondered.
"Press the button on the right wrist." Ritsuko said. Asuka did so and was shocked when it expanded into a balloon due to the coolant. Her shock was double when she saw the modifications to unit 02. After some argument it was settled that Asuka would dive with unit 01 as back up. Asuka was slowly lowered into the volcano.
"Hey Shinji look, a perfect swan dive." She said as Unit 02 entered the lava with a splash.
"It's so hot, and this suit is like a sauna." Asuka complained as she descended.
"There's a hot spring near here, we'll go there when this is over." Misato said. After descending further Asuka found the egg and successfully trapped it, until it grew and hatched breaking out of the cage. Unit 02 tried fighting the angle but couldn't pierce its shell with the prog knife. It was only when they thought of pumping it full of coolant that they could kill it. The only problem was that the angle managed to cut the Eva's ties to the surface. Unit 02 started to sink when the lava around it firmed and shot upward. Shinji used a combination of earth and firebending to bend the lava and push Unit 02 to the surface. The Unit shot out of the volcano in a spray of lava, and dropped into Unit 01s arms.
"Hey Asuka, have you gained weight?" Shinji asked coyly earning a few curses from the girl.
"Thanks" she said after calming down.
Kaji was walking when he felt a gust and then something landed in front of him.
"So the rumors are true, you really can fly." Kaji said
"We need to talk." Shinji said
In the next episode Kaji shares Nerv's secrets with Shinji, but when the power cuts out the three children must make their way through nerve to fight the new angle. With no power will the children win. It's in the next episode in the darkness.