Chapter 9

Shinji had dived to the ground on top of Asuka's unconscious form to protect her when the bullets started flying. He watched her father fall with a mix of satisfaction and sadness. He wondered how sad Asuka would be that her father had been killed. Not very, he figured, given that her father had threatened to kill her several times. One of the police officers spoke into his radio.

"This is unit Metro one-two-zero, requesting an ambulance at Central Park and twenty second street, over."

"Roger, Metro one-two-zero," a female dispatcher's voice responded, "There's one en route to your twenty now, over."

"Copy, dispatch. Over and out," the officer said, and then turned to Shinji and said, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Shinji said, "Asuka's been knocked out, but I think she'll be fine. I'll carry her home. Dad, are you okay?"

"I'll be fine once I take some aspirin and ice my knee for a while," Gendo said, "Could someone give me a hand up, please?"

One of the officers who was closest to Gendo pulled him to his feet. Gendo then limped over to Shinji, who was now also standing, and looked him squarely in the eyes. They stared at each other for almost a minute. They seemed to be unable to find the right words to say to each other. Finally, Gendo broke the silence.

"Good job, Shinji."

Shinji hesitated. He was on the horns of an emotional conflict, and wasn't sure how to respond.

"Dad," he said slowly, "I just…helped to get a man killed. Are you sure that what I did was so good?"

Gendo took a deep breath. He pondered how best to answer his son's question. Before he could say anything, though, Shinji spoke again.

"I wonder…what mom would have said about this. Would she have been as proud of me as you seem to be?"

"Shinji," Gendo said carefully, "I know you never really…knew your mother, but please understand this: Yui would have been very proud of what you did here today. What you did was very noble, and you should be proud of yourself. I know I'm very proud of you, and I always will be."

"Thanks, dad," Shinji replied quietly.

Shinji bent down and gathered Asuka into his arms. His shoulder burned from the strain, but he set his face, bit down the pain and lifted her up. He turned and strode resolutely toward home, ignoring the reporters who were beginning to gather. Gendo joined him, limping alongside his son.

The next day, Shinji walked into the kitchen to find his father reading the paper, as was usual. What wasn't usual was the headline on the front page. It read: "Heroic Highschooler Aids Police". Shinji snorted silently.

Heroic, he thought, right. I helped get a man killed. Yeah, that's really heroic. The only thing I did was try to save Asuka from getting hurt.

"What's wrong, Shinji?" Gendo asked, looking up from the paper, "Is something troubling you?"

"I was…just thinking about yesterday," Shinji said slowly, indicating the paper.

"Oh, that," Gendo said, "Here."

Gendo handed Shinji the newspaper. Shinji found the main body of the article and began to read.

"Shinji Ikari, 17, is being praised as a hero by city police for his role in the apprehension of escaped fugitive, former Colonel Zeppelin Soryu. Ikari, who declined to comment, was seen leaving the scene carrying the colonel's daughter, Asuka Langley Soryu. There have been confirmed rumors of Ikari's romantic involvement with Miss Soryu.

"The police confirmed that Ikari and Colonel Soryu had encountered each other before, and that this previous encounter resulted in Soryu's arrest for assault, battery, and attempted murder. The police also confirmed that they had used Ikari and Soryu's daughter as 'bait' to flush out Colonel Soryu."

"Those…those…pigs!" Shinji stammered angrily, "They used us as bait? They dangled Asuka and me like a worm on a hook just because they couldn't catch him themselves?! What were they thinking?"

"Keep reading, Shinji," Gendo said calmly. Shinji rolled his eyes and read on:

"The police have publicly apologized for this tactic, but have insisted that it was the only way to find the man. They regret the injuries that were sustained by Ikari, his girlfriend, and his father, Gendo Ikari."

Shinji read through the rest of the article. The officer who had been shot in the arm was mentioned. So was the hostage situation that ended in the shootout which resulted in the death of Asuka's father.

"…the coroner pronounced him dead at the scene."

Shinji finished reading the article and set the paper down on the table. He turned around and saw Asuka standing in the doorway.

"How are you feeling?" Shinji asked tentatively.

"My head hurts," Asuka grumbled. She had slept ever since Shinji had brought her home. It was no surprise to Shinji that she had awoken with a headache, after the hit she took.

"That'll pass," Shinji said, "Dad, how's your knee?"

"Fine," Gendo replied, "I'll ice it some more today after I get home from work."

When Shinji and Asuka got to school, they both encountered a wave of cheers. They got pats on the back, exclamations of praise and admiration, and Shinji even heard a few screams that sounded like proposals of marriage. He and Asuka smiled and waved politely, trying not to enjoy it too much.

"Why are they cheering for me, Shinji-kun?" Asuka asked out of the corner of her mouth, "You're the big hero."

"Yeah," Shinji said, "but without you, I'd have had no reason to be heroic, because I'd have had nothing to fight to defend."

"Shinji-kun…" Asuka said, blushing brilliantly.

Several of the teachers came out and tried to restore order; to no avail. Just one hour into the school day, the students were sent home.

"Hey," Shinji said as he and Asuka were walking, "you know what tomorrow is?"

"No, what?" Asuka asked.

"Tomorrow's the tryouts for track!" Shinji said, excitement building in his voice.

"Mein gott, you're right!" Asuka gasped, "Shinji, we're not ready!"

"Sure we are," Shinji said confidently, "I mean you definitely are. You've been training all year, haven't you?"

"Yeah."

"Well, if anyone should be feeling nervous, it's me," Shinji continued, "I've only been training for about two weeks."

"Yeah, but you're a natural," Asuka protested, "I've been training all year and you can still outrun me. I'm suddenly really worried that I won't make the team."

"You'll do fine, Asuka-chan," Shinji said bracingly, "You wanna go somewhere and work off your nerves?"

Asuka grinned at Shinji's mischievous question and the relatively innocent delivery of it.

"I'd love to, Shinji-kun," she replied, "but I think, right now, that I'd rather just go home and relax. Sorry."

"Oh, okay…" Shinji said, heaving a huge, false sigh. He and Asuka smiled at each other.

When they got back to the house, they were greeted by Gendo's surprised face. When he asked them why they were home so early, Shinji truthfully told him that his and Asuka's presence at school had caused total anarchy.

"…and none of the teachers could restore order, so they sent us home," Shinji concluded.

"Well, now that you're here," Gendo said, "what are you two planning on doing today?"

"Well…tryouts are tomorrow," Asuka said, "and I'm really nervous about them."

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Gendo said honestly.

"That's what I told her," Shinji chimed in.

"I know you're both right," Asuka said sheepishly, "but I'm still just…jittery, I guess. This is a big thing for me. I've wanted to do track for a long time."

"We were just planning on hanging out here today," Shinji said.

"That's fine," said Gendo, "I'm heading to work now, and Asuka, your mom left for work about ten minutes ago. So, just behave yourselves today, okay?"

"Sure thing, dad," said Shinji.

As Gendo headed out the door, Asuka and Shinji moved into the living room and stretched out on the couch together. Asuka picked up the remote and switched on the TV. She surfed the channels until she came to the movie channels.

"Hmm," she said, "I wonder what's on."

"Nothing too girly, please?" Shinji yawned, "You know I can't stand chick-flicks."

"Well, what if I feel like watching one?" Asuka asked defiantly, stopping on a gooey romance movie.

"I'd probably puke," Shinji said, yawning heavily again.

"Sounds more to me like you'd fall asleep." Asuka remarked, beginning to surf some more.

"I don't—yawn—know why I'm so tired all of a sudden," Shinji yawned, "I'm just rih—yawn—really relaxed…"

Shinji's eyelids drooped heavily and slid shut. Asuka found a movie she liked, and watched about five minutes of it before she, too, fell asleep. The couple slept, totally ignorant of the world around them as they drifted through a blissful slumber. The only thing that woke them was Gendo's voice, after what seemed to be only a few moments.

"Shinji? Asuka? I'm home," he called as he stepped in the door. Shinji's eyes snapped open.

"Dad?" he asked, confused, "What are you doing home so soon?"

"Soon?" Gendo repeated incredulously, "I'm home late."

"But, you just left," Shinji protested. Then, he stopped and looked around. It was getting dark outside, and the clocks all read 8 o'clock pm.

"8 pm?" Shinji asked, shocked, "Asuka and I slept through the entire day?"

"It would appear that way," said Gendo.

"I thought it best to just let them sleep," Asuka's mother said, walking in from the kitchen.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Asuka asked, "Going to bed seems kind of pointless when you aren't tired, and we'd suck big-time if we went to tryouts tomorrow without any sleep."

"That's true," Shinji agreed, "but I'm not that tired either."

"Well, you two could go out and sample some of the city's night life," Gendo suggested.

"You mean a club?" Asuka asked hopefully.

"I don't want to see you anywhere near one of those places," Asuka's mother protested, "Those establishments turn good girls like you into whores!"

"Momma!" Asuka gasped, "Don't insult me like that! You know that Shinji's the only man for me!"

Asuka and her mother glared at each other. Shinji could almost see the sparks flashing between them. While Shinji tried to keep an open mind about things and see both sides of an argument, he did feel that Asuka's mother was being rather stifling. Asuka finally broke the silence and said:

"Shinji, let's go out tonight."

"Sounds like fun," Shinji said, "Where to?"

"Anywhere but here," Asuka said darkly.

"Asuka Langley Soryu, I forbid you to walk out that door!" her mother shouted.

"Let them be," Gendo said quietly.

"What?!" Asuka's mother demanded.

"Let them be," Gendo repeated, firmly and clearly, "They're not children anymore, Kyoko, it's time to let them learn to be adults."

"But—but—," Kyoko stammered. She was feeling her control slipping away and was unable to regain it.

"We all know that it's dangerous out there," Gendo continued, "Perhaps Shinji and Asuka know this a little better than some others might, but that's no reason to stop them from enjoying themselves and having a night out together. They know how to use their common sense, right?"

"Right," Shinji and Asuka said together.

"Then, they both know what kind of situations to avoid," Gendo continued, "Kids, I want you to go out tonight and celebrate your impending acceptance onto the track team."

"Sure thing, dad," Shinji said. Then, looking at Asuka, he added, "Do you want to change before we leave?"

"Yeah," Asuka said, heading for the stairs, "I'll just be a minute."

Asuka came back downstairs a short time later. She had changed out of her school uniform and into something that, in Shinji's opinion, was much more exciting. She was now wearing a white miniskirt that showed off most of her legs, and a light blue spaghetti-strap shirt. Shinji could tell that she wasn't wearing a bra. Asuka's mother swelled with impotent rage.

"Okey-dokey, Shinji-kun," Asuka said brightly, "Shall we go?"

"Definitely," Shinji said. He opened the front door and made an exaggerated gesture of "ladies first".

"After you, fraulein," said Shinji.

"Oh," said Asuka with a girlish giggle, "Danke, mein herr."

They walked out the door and down the walk. Shinji was silent for a few minutes, and then spoke.

"Um, Asuka," he said.

"What's up, Shinji-kun?"

"Do you know any of the clubs around here?" Shinji asked.

"Well, no," Asuka replied, "As you saw, momma isn't too happy about me having a social life. My friend, Hikari, though—you know her, right?"

"She's the Class Rep, isn't she?"

"That's right," Asuka said, "Well, believe it or not, she's a wild child; a real party animal. She knows about all of the city's clubs."

Asuka pulled out her cell phone and pressed one of her speed-dial keys.

"Hikari? It's Asuka. Got a question for ya: Which club would you most recommend for a good evening's party?"

There was a pause as Asuka listened. When she spoke next, she sounded shocked.

"There's a night club there?" she asked, "No way! Okay. So, how do you get there? Uh-huh…Ja? What's the name? The Lighthouse Club? Okay. Oh, we will. Yeah. Bye, now!"

"So," Shinji asked, "Where's this Lighthouse Club?"

"Where do you usually find lighthouses?" Asuka asked, "It's over by the bay!"

"The bayside district?" Shinji repeated, disbelieving, "Are you nuts?"

If there was one place that Shinji had always been told to avoid, it was the bayside district. According to Shinji's father, the people there were rude, rough-shod, and dangerous. The bars and establishments were supposed to be hideouts and havens of gangs and criminals.

"What's so bad about the bayside district?" Asuka asked.

Shinji went into a brief rant about everything his dad had told him about the bayside district. Asuka listened and when Shinji had finished, she flagged a cab and said:

"Look, Shinji-kun, I respect your dad and I love you, but don't you think you're being just a little bit dramatic?"

She and Shinji climbed into the cab.

"Where to, folks?" the driver asked.

"The Lighthouse Club, please," Asuka said, "and step on it!"

The cab took off. Shinji picked up where he had left off.

"I don't know whether I'm being paranoid or not," he said, "All I'm saying is let's be a little cautious tonight, okay?"

"I'm always cautious, Shinji-kun," Asuka said, somewhat unconvincingly. Ten minutes later, the cab pulled over to the curb.

"Here we are, folks," the cab driver said, "Da Lighthouse. Dat'll be $12.50."

After Shinji paid the driver, he and Asuka walked up to the door of the club. They were stopped by a large, muscular bouncer.

"Hold it," he said in a gruff, grunting voice, "Youse gotta be at least 16 ta geddin here."

Shinji and Asuka automatically reached for their student ID badges. The bouncer took them and examined them closely, as though trying to find some falsehood in them. He turned them over in his hands several times before handing them back to Shinji and Asuka.

"G'wan in, youse two," the bouncer said, opening the door, "Welcome ta da Lighthouse Club."

"Thanks," Shinji said.