Part 10

The day that Mr. Langley returned home was surprisingly a rather simple and natural moment in Shinji's life. He had never met his fiancé's father before this moment, so when he just popped up outside the house, asking his wife for entrance, it seemed as though Shinji's concerns preceding his inevitable arrival had all been for naught. He had feared that Mr. Langley was a rather intimidating figure, like his own father. Asuka had never mentioned her father before, or at least explicitly, so he just naturally assumed he had been as much as a crappy father as his own.

Upon arrival, Mr. Langley approached his wife, and kissed her directly on the lips. Asuka frowned slightly as at this, but as her father parted from his second wife, Asuka's step mother, he turned to his daughter, and approached her, an apparently warm expression on his face. "Hello there, totcher. It's been far too long since the last time you've graced us with a visit."

"Hello, dad," Asuka replied. Shinji couldn't help but find it weird how she addressed this man as "dad." It almost sounded alien coming from her lips. It was, in fact, a little strange, and he had a hard time adjusting to the sound of her saying such words. It was even more startling when she pulled her father into a hug, resting her cheeks against his broad chest.

Her father patted his daughter's shoulders, smiling slightly. "Listen, daughter, we have much to discuss while you're here."

Asuka parted, slowly. She glanced over at Shinji, and, for an instant, Shinji could see the hints of infinite pain, infinite grief, infinite heartbreak, exposed for only a moment in her pupils. But, then again, maybe it had been a trick of the light, as, after blinking only once, this infinite abyss of emotion seemed to have vanished entirely, a curious glint emanating from her irises as she turned to her large, formidable father. "Oh? What exactly?" she asked, folding her hands behind her back, resting them just below her rear end.

"About your child, of course," Mr. Langley replied, smiling slightly.

Shinji didn't like that smile he wore.

He didn't know why; he just didn't.

"And this must be the famous Third Child," Mr. Langley replied, turning toward Shinji, who had been watching the entire exchange from behind Asuka.

"His name's Shinji," Asuka mumbled.

"Right! I apologize. He deserves to be called by his first name if you chose him to be your husband," Mr. Langley responded as he extended his hand to Shinji, "You must excuse me; I've heard so much about you from NERV's Germany branch that I feel a certain degree of respect already and we haven't even met yet. I must say, my daughter made a fine choice of a husband."

Shinji blushed slightly as he accepted Mr. Langley's hand, bashfully glancing at the ground, at his toes, away from this man's face. "Oh, really, I'm not that special—"

"You salvaged the world from Third Impact's annihilation. You know, some people regard you as a messiah! In Germany, we also remember your efforts to help salvage our nation in the early years of the reconstruction. We are, for all intents and purposes, indebted to you and Asuka's singular efforts. Without you, we wouldn't of returned from the horrors of—"

"Stop flattering him," Asuka replied, "It might go to his ego. He is a big idiot, you know. A dummkopf!"

"Eh, he is going to be the father of my grandkid, so I suppose I could at least compliment him a little bit before I interfere with how he's raised."

"I suppose," Shinji replied, blushing still, but still feeling uneasy about looking the man in the eye. He didn't know why he didn't feel comfortable. He usually wasn't this awkward with new people, especially considering his role as a diplomat of sorts for NERV. Still, something about this guy rubbed him the wrong way. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was enough to make him feel a little anxious just by holding his hand. He slowly released it, resisting the urge to wipe his hand against his pants, as Mr. Langley turned toward his daughter Kate, and greeted her accordingly.

As the young girl greeted her father with enthusiasm, perhaps with the intention of receiving admiration, Shinji made eye contact with Asuka. Silently, as though they were speaking with the spasms in their faces and the glints of their eyes, Shinji asked Asuka if there was a reason he felt so awkward around her father, as if there was an explanation for his skin crawling.

She replied with a yes.

They once again ate lunch after Mr. Langley's arrival, a rather unappetizing fried dish. Shinji longed to taste rice and fish once more. He hated the taste of this German food. He actually felt he could prepare it better, and even asked at dinner if, for dinner, he could prepare the meal. Mr. Langley laughed. "A husband who does the housework. My daughter did get lucky."

"What? You really don't expect me to cook, do you?" Asuka laughed, forcibly. It was a laugh that Asuka usually made whenever she was trying to resist the urge to slam her knuckles into someone's throat. Needless to say, she never laughed that way around Shinji; if she wanted to hit him, she had no damn problem doing so.

"I suppose not," Mr. Langley replied with a shrug.

"You never were much for domestic chores, Asuka," Mrs. Langley replied.

"Remember how when she was little, and we asked her to do the dishes, she'd just refuse?" Mr. Langley replied, "When you wanted to, you could be a most disobedient child."

"Dad, mom!" Asuka grumbled under her breath, her eyes furious and wide.

"Then there was that time you shattered all the plates in the house," Mrs. Langley replied.

"Oh, so that's who did it?" Kate asked, surprised.

"Mother—!"

"What is it, dear?" Asuka's stepmother asked, curiously.

"Can we please talk about something else?" Asuka snarled through her teeth.

"Oh, I see. You're embarrassed about that? Understandable," Mr. Langley said, nonchalantly, "I mean, you did go through a rough time back then."

"Rough time?" Shinji asked, confused. What was Mr. Langley talking about? Her mother's separation from her husband? Her death, perhaps? Shinji knew, after all, her mother had been separated from her father and eventually died, but was the separation from the husband death? Asuka had never told him much, but, judging from Asuka's wide eyed, scandalous expression, the memories surging through her head were so painful and dark she didn't want to recall them.

"You mean Asuka had never told you about Kyoto?" Mrs. Langley asked, surprised.

"Kyoto?" Kate asked, curious, "You mean Asuka's real mom?"

"Shut up. Shut up! SHUT UP!!!" The sound of the redhead's fist against the table silenced all four of them. They stared at her as she rose to her feet, trembling violently as she clenched her fists, her nails almost biting into her soft palms as she glared at her parents, her eyes wide, and yet maybe just a bit teary. "All of you, just shut up!"

"Asuka, what's wrong?" Shinji rose from his seat, and reached out for the redhead. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and was thanked for his chivalry with a punch to the jaw! The jab knocked him backward, not drawing blood, but leaving a large red welt. Asuka stared down at him with a look of fury. For an instant, it looked as though the fiery redhead wanted to stomp on him, beat him, kill him, but then realization dawned in her eyes that she had just hit Shinji. Her eyes widened for a moment before she turned on her feet, and sprinted up to her room. The sound of her door slamming filled the entire house, and reverberated in every hall.

There was a moment of silence.

"She's lost her mind, hasn't she?" Kate asked, simply.

Shinji turned to Asuka's family, stroking his chin. "Do you need some ice on that injury?" Mrs. Langley asked, rising from her seat, approaching the refrigerator hastily.

"No, I'm fine."

"I see. I suppose I'll leave you alone for now. Excuse me." Mrs. Langley left the room, leaving Shinji alone with Mr. Langley, and of course Kate, who hadn't seemed to realize that she was not welcomed in this conversation.

"I apologize for my daughter's behavior," Mr. Langley replied, "I hope you understand that—"

"What happened to her?" Shinji asked, simply.

"Well, she got angry and hit you," Mr. Langley replied, flatly.

"That's not what I meant."

"I thought so," Mr. Langley replied with a sigh, "You mean Kyoto, right?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. Kate, leave the room."

"What? But why?" the blonde pouted, her eyes wide and confused.

"Do as I say. Leave the room. This is a personal matter."

Fuming, the blonde rose from her seat, her arms folded over her chest, as she marched out of the room, up the stairs, only to slam the door to her own room shut. Loudly.

She was certainly Asuka's sister.

Mr. Langley ran his hand on the side of the table as he rose from his seat, walking toward the cabinets. He withdrew a bottle of imported vodka, and poured a small shot for himself. He offered some to Shinji, and he accepted a small puddle of the drink diluted with orange juice. As Mr. Langley took a strong sip from his glass, he said, slowly, "I feel awkward telling you this myself. I thought my daughter would've filled you in."

"Well, she didn't."

"I can see. Well, you see, Kyoto, my first wife, she was part of the first synchronization test involving Evangelion Unit-02. What unfortunately happened was, like with your mother, Yui, there was an accident. The Evangelion happened to swallow a large chunk of her soul into itself, and left Kyoto, how should we say, incomplete. The remains of her that were left in her human form were deeply depressed, and a little, no, very unstable. She ended up developing these psychotic delusions that this doll she had, this tiny raggy little thing, was actually her daughter, Asuka. Every day, she'd call the doll Asuka, refer to it as though it were her own daughter. And every day, our daughter would see her behave in such an odd way. I suppose, in retrospect, I was disturbed by the whole ordeal. I escaped through means that I can't deny I'm not very proud of right now. My daughter saw the worst of me, let's say, and that, piled with the horrible condition her mother was in, left my girl a wreck. It wasn't long after that she was selected to be a pilot. I was told she was extremely happy, and that she ran to see her mother. However, that was also the day her mother hung herself, but not before hanging the doll she believed to be Asuka herself."

Shinji stared at Mr. Langley as he swallowed his shot of vodka, quickly. Shinji's hands, however, were trembling too violently for him to even bring the glass to his lips, to even sip on its contents without sloshing it all over his face. All he could see was his fiancé, then a little girl, staring up at the rocking feet of her dead mother, a shadow against the light, creaking back and forth on the boards of the ceiling. What thoughts were going through her mind at the time? What could one possibly think? How could one think? Shinji struggled not to imagine the image of her staring, of her mind breaking to pieces in one swell swoop, her heart not being raped by the pains of horror no child should ever face, of her innocence and safety of mind being demolished in a heartbeat.

Shinji ran his hands through his hair, his shaky fingers sending tremors through the field of brown. Finally, he found his words. "Now everything makes sense."

"Hmmm?"

"The reason why she had been so afraid of coming back to Germany all these years. I thought all this time maybe it was because she didn't like you or maybe that she blamed you for her mother leaving her or dying or what have you, but now it all makes sense. She didn't come back for all this time because she didn't want to remember her mother. It all makes—and that's why she hated Rei, and when she called her a doll—oh God, it all makes sense! And when I suggested we called the baby Rei, she said twice that she wouldn't call it Rei because she was a doll. God, I was reminding her of—and then when—and—and—and—"

"Calm down, Shinji," Mr. Langley replied, putting a hand on Shinji's shoulder. All of a sudden, the man seemed to look a lot less intimidating. Shinji didn't mind looking this man in the eyes. He could see, in a second, that his eyes betrayed a hint of regret, a hint of self loathing, apparently hidden beneath the façade of relaxation. Shinji wondered, momentarily, what Mr. Langley had meant when he said that he had done some things he regretted. However, there wasn't enough time for that right now.

"I'd like to make some food for Asuka, but I'm going to need your help to get some of the supplies."

"Of course."

"I can cook good German food, but I think what she needs right now is to be reminded of Japan a bit. I need you to get—"

#

Shinji wrapped his knuckles against the door to Asuka's room. It had taken several hours preparing everything, but now the scents had filled the air, smells of Germanic and Japanese foods filled every puff of air in the building, the estate. Surely some had drifted into Asuka's room and was tantalizing her nostrils with beautiful scents. However, she needed a personal touch to rouse her from her self-isolation.

"Uh, Asuka? It's me, Shinji. Dinner's ready."

"I'm not hungry."

Shinji sighed. "I made something really good."

"I said I'm not hungry. Are you deft?"

"Listen, if you don't open this door up now, I'm going to knock it down."

"You couldn't even if you tried."

"You know what? You're probably right."

"Of course I am. I always am. Now shut up and leave me alone. I don't want you to see me like this."

"Listen, I don't care what you're like right now. I just want you to know that you can come down to eat it whenever you want. We've spent the last few hours making this, and I really hope you'd—"

"Why'd you waste your time?"

"Come again?"

"I hit you. I hurt you. Why are you doing something nice for someone who doesn't deserve your sympathy?"

Shinji laughed under his breath. "Do I really need a reason? I'm doing this because I love you."

Slowly, the door opened. Shinji backed away a few paces as Asuka's face became visible. Though her head was hanging low, though her bangs and locks of scarlet covered most of her face, the smeared lines of tears running down her soft cheeks was impossible to overlook. She brushed aside the trails of tears from her face with the back of her hand, clearly praying she had brushed them aside before Shinji could see her momentary weakness. "Dummkopf," she grumbled, leaving her room behind, staring at the ground as she did so, unwilling to meet Shinji's eyes.

"Hey, listen, Asuka—"

"What did that old bastard tell you?" Asuka hissed.

"What? You mean your father?"

"What did he say?" Asuka repeated, her voice low and dangerous.

There was no way of beating around the bush now. "He, uh, just told me about your—er—your mother and, well, what, uh, happened to, um, her."

Asuka leaned her weight against the framework of her bedroom door, her head slumped over. "Look, I don't want to talk about it right now, okay?"

"That's fine," Shinji replied, "We'll talk about it when you're ready. Alone. Okay?"

Asuka glanced up. Her eyes, despite having completed their sobbing long ago, were still filled with tears. They refused to fall, but rather stayed static in Asuka's eyes. "You stupid idiot! Dummkopf!"

"I know, I know," Shinji replied, pulling the German woman into a hug, gently stroking her sides and back. He felt slender arms wrap around his middle, pulling him tightly against his fiancé's breasts, her slightly cushioned body, as she nestled her hair against the underside of his jaw, becoming limp in his arms, yet refusing to release her lover, refusing to leave his side for this one moment.

The feeling would have lasted an eternity had the scents of delicious foods not wafted into Asuka's nostrils. "What's that?" she asked, perking up.

"I told you I cooked food for you. I thought you said you weren't hungry," Shinji replied, slyly.

"Oh, shut up! Dummkopf! I'm pregnant for God's sake! I'm not hungry, but she is." Asuka gestured toward her belly, which stuck out ever so slightly.

"You mean he."

"I mean she!"

"He."

"She!"

"He!"

"She!"

"He!"

"She!"

"You're arguing like an old married couple," Mr. Langley shouted from the kitchen.

"Shut up!" the two of them shouted, mutually at the man who had helped make the meal Shinji prepared possible.

Mr. Langley laughed. "How long must I wait here, anyway?"

"Oh, hang on a second!" Asuka snapped. She turned to Shinji, and smirked, slightly. "Guess we'll settle this debate another time."

"Alright, sounds good to me."

The two of them descended the stairway, and Shinji lead Asuka into the kitchen. For a moment, all she could do was stare at the feast presented before them, a series of dishes and plates of all sorts there before them. Hot, steamy rice was pilled up on a rather large, ornate bowl Shinji had found in the back of one of the cabinets (apparently, according to Mr. Langley, it had belonged to Asuka's mother, who was part Japanese herself), mounds of sausages that still sizzled in their serving plates, rows of teriyaki chicken and sushi, fish and miso soup, weinersnitzel and strudle, and other dishes that all looked delicious. The scents wafted through the air, like a cornucopia of deliciousness.

Asuka stared at the spread, speechless for a few moments, before replying, with a slight frown, "This is it?"

"Yeah, sorry," Shinji replied.

"I thought you'd do better, Shinji," Asuka replied, raising her nose to the air in disapproval, "I mean, really? The food looks undercooked."

"Asuka," Mrs. Langley mumbled under her breath as the redhead took her seat. Asuka reached out for her eating utensils, only to find, to the left of her plate, a spoon, to the right a fork and knife, and behind the plate a pair of chopsticks.

"Oh great! Now what do I eat with?" stammered Asuka, eventually choosing the chopsticks, "Only stupid Shinji the dork could make eating even more complicated than it has to be. Thanks a lot!"

"My pleasure," Shinji replied, grinning to himself.

After helping herself to a massive quantity of food, Asuka sampled each of the foods. She chewed slowly for each bite, as though she were savoring every taste that filled her mouth, dissolved slowly over her taste buds, filling her with a warmth unlike any other. She turned to Shinji, and said, in a high, critical tone, "This stuff tastes like dog food! I'm disappointed, Shinji! Really. It's so disgusting, I can't take another bite!" she added, right before shoving another piece of sausage straight into her open, welcoming jaws. "Unbelievable!"

"I suppose I've failed you, then," Shinji replied, with a sheepish grin.

"You can bet that much, idiot!" Asuka said before sipping down a spoonful of luscious miso soup, "Really, you need to learn how to cook better."

"I'll try."