Alright, First off I'd like to again thank all those who wrote in telling me they wished to continue reading. It only took me an hour to get through all the emails and pm's btw.
Second, damn you raz for beating me to the punch. FYI "Jo" I have seen many a author post annoucements like that. Some saying that they were ending the story, others to say that there would be some kind of extended delay in posting's.
Third, to justanotherguyathiscomputer, I refuse to surrender to terrorists! heh
Okay, now that that's out of the way, I bring you REAL chapter 14... Hopefully it will continue to entertain people.
Disclaimer still in ch1.
14
Misato walked in after a late night in her office. "Damn that Gendo, some of those fish were irreplaceable." She continued to grumble as she walked towards the fridge and grabbed a beer.
As she passed the living room she could hear the soft static of the TV and the dim glow from the tube. Figuring one of the children must have fallen asleep she slowly walked into the room.
She was surprised to find both children asleep on the couch.
Shinji was lying against the back of the couch, his head leaning to the right over the back. Asuka on the other hand was in a far more comfortable position, nestled in Shinji's side, with his left arm draped over her.
Misato could only smile while they slept, 'At least one of them will wake up refreshed.' She thought as she turned off the TV and left the room.
She decided that she would tease them about it later, right now all she wanted to do was finish her beer, go to bed, and hope to god that she didn't dream about fish.
Amid the darkness, Asuka saw a bright light.
"Are you there?" she asked into the darkness.
"Yes, I am always here." A reply from the darkness.
Asuka walked over to the light, and again found herself face to face with her mirror image, only this time she took note that the clones eyes, were her normal shade of blue.
"Okay, what's with the eye color? How did you switch them like that?" she asked.
The shadow smiled "I can't tell you that, my master gave me very specific instructions, he only told me to give you a hint. Hmm, what could I do?" it replied.
Asuka was furious, "What do you mean your master? Someone is doing this to Shinji and me? What kind of a freak would take pleasure from this?"
The shadow chuckled at her comment. "A freak he may be, but he is very powerful, and if I upset him, we could both be in trouble." The shadow suddenly clapped her hands, generating a weak light as she pulled her palms apart.
"What are you doing?" Asuka inquired as the shadow continued to clap, each time the light getting brighter.
"That is for us to know, and you to figure out." It grinned again as a large hand reached out of the darkness and touched her right shoulder. The girl turned her head as if listening.
"Yes master, I am on my way." She said to the unheard voice, she then turned her head back to Asuka, "I must go, remember what I have shown you."
With one final clap a bright light temporarily blinded Asuka, when she opened her eyes again; she was alone in the dark.
Asuka slowly opened her eyes, taking in the light of the new day.
A deep inhale reminded her of where she had fallen asleep 'God he smells good.' she thought as she moved away from him to go to the bathroom.
As she walked away, Shinji slowly opened his eyes.
His neck was killing him, but he felt fading warmth from his side, letting him know that Asuka had recently woken.
He tried to straighten his neck to get a better look around the room, but quickly found out that it only sent a sharp pain through him. So he resigned himself to rest on the couch until Asuka returned.
As she walked down the hallway she could hear Shinji call out.
"Hey Asu-chan, could you do me a favor?" he asked as he continued to face the wall.
"Hmm? Whatcha need Shinji-kun?" she walked over to him and laid her head on the couch facing his.
"Could you crack my neck for me? I'm kind of stuck like this." He asked, pain evident in his voice.
She giggled and walked behind him, gently grabbing the sides of his neck.
"Alright, hold on." With a quick flex of her wrists, and a loud pop, Shinji's neck was stretched and pain-free.
"Oooh, that is so much better. Thanks hon." Shinji stood up and headed towards the kitchen "What do you want for breakfast?" he asked as he got out some pans.
"Whatever you feel like making. I'm going to step out on the patio for a few." Asuka said as she walked onto the patio while he started their breakfast.
As she stood on the balcony, over looking the city she helps to protect, Asuka couldn't help but recall the dream she had.
"What was that all about anyways?" She looked at the palms of her hands. "Nothing looks different."
She clapped her hands together and pulled them apart, but nothing happened.
"Hmm, I knew it... I'm crazy." She said with a sigh.
A cool breeze whipped up, forcing Asuka to wrap her arms around herself to keep the chill at bay.
As the wind died down Asuka placed her hands on the balcony and a bright light shown from beneath her hands.
She watched in a daze as the porch started to change around her.
Where the walls had once stopped at the edge of the balcony they now continued up and around, the light spreading and encompassing the room.
As the light died down she looked around and noticed that the room was no longer open to the outside.
Where the outer walls of the balcony stopped about three foot up, they now stretched all the way to the roof.
'Wait, roof?' she thought.
Sure enough there was now a roof over her head, with several skylights.
Asuka stood there looking around as Shinji came running into the room.
"What was that….. light…." He said as he took note of the rooms new appearance.
He looked at her with a face that screamed 'what the hell'.
"Asuka, what happened?" He asked her.
She looked at her hands, then back towards him, "I... I don't know..."
Shinji slowly walked over to her and gently grabbed her hand.
"All right, tell me what you do now." He said as they walked over to the patio chairs.
She told him all about her dream, about the girl clapping her hands and the bright light that followed.
"So I thought maybe that had something to do with my eyes. So I clapped them together, but nothing happened. Then a it got breezy and cool, and when the wind died down I leaned against the rail, thinking about how nice it would be if we had a sun room instead of that open air balcony. The next thing I knew the room was changing around me."
Shinji nodded his head at her story, not once did he make fun of it, or question anything she said.
'I'm more concerned about this shadow master, but that's for another time.' he thought.
"Let's try something." Shinji stood up and walked over towards the breakfast he was starting.
He poured milk into a bowl and set it in front of Asuka. "Okay, here's what I want you to do. Clap your hands again, this time, put them on the bowl, but imagine that its yogurt."
Asuka raised an eyebrow, as if questioning his sanity.
"Trust me." He said with a slight grin.
She nodded and clapped her hands again, the instant she touched the bowl, a bright light blinded him.
When the glowing stopped, the bowl of milk was now a bowl of plain yogurt.
"Try it." he said as he handed her a spoon.
She reached out and scooped herself a small bit of the strange mix and tasted it. "Mmm, just like plain yogurt."
Shinji smiled widely, "Well, I think we know what you can do now."
Asuka just smiled as she got up to add some fruit to her fresh breakfast.
As she sat back down a thought struck her. "But... What about you? What caused your eye's to change?"
Shinji smiled weakly, "Remember when I faced off against Joe in the gym?"
She nodded, remembering the fight well.
"I think I can still fight like that, maybe better, I haven't tried it yet. I'm afraid too, I don't want anyone hurt." He finished, sounding worried.
Shinji walked back to the stove and finished making his breakfast.
After breakfast, the children made their way towards school.
"Okay, so the story is that we are trying out non prescription contacts. Right?" Asuka said, making sure they got their story straight.
Shinji nodded as she talked. "And hopefully they will leave it at that and won't push it." he said, slightly concerned.
It was bad enough they couldn't talk about the Eva's in school, but this was beginning to push them.
Asuka reached out and took Shinji's hand in hers and continued to walk, they both just smiled.
When they got to the gates of the school Asuka attempted to let go of his hand, but he held tight.
When she looked at him he just smiled and said "We have nothing to hide, they won't say anything, and if they do. Well, they will regret it."
Asuka just smiled and nodded as they headed into school, holding hands for the first time.
As they entered the classroom there was a clamor of desks being moved, then dead silence. The two children could feel the eyes of all those in the classroom looking at their hands.
Shinji was the first to speak "Does anyone have a problem with this?" His voice so full of authority, that it scared Asuka a little.
'He is way to much like his father.' She thought.
No one said a thing and everyone shook their heads. Fortunately for him, Toji wasn't in class today.
"Good. If anyone does have an issue, I'll be in the yard at lunch, we can settle it there." Shinji then guided Asuka to her chair before going to his own.
As he opened his desktop the emails swarmed, everything from congratulations to hate mail to straight out death threats, all from the male population.
He looked over and saw Asuka was getting the same kind of response, though most likely from the females of the class.
Shinji slammed his laptop closed and stood up, the air around him starting to whip around as the energy within him surged with his anger.
"GOD DAMN YOU ALL! Why don't you just leave us alone?" He screamed as torrents of wind rose sharply, blowing paper all around him.
A growing sizzle could be heard, and then suddenly an arc of electricity flashed around him. Causing the students to leap from their seats and seek refuge against the walls.
Asuka stood up and started moving towards him.
"Shinji... calm down..." She said, worried about him loosing it like in the gym.
Shinji glared around the room, everyone was currently staring at him, and their eyes as wide as mouths.
"NO, I refuse to calm down. These little fuckers have annoyed me for the last time. So what if I'm dating the prettiest girl? I don't give a damn what these bastards think, but I will NOT allow the harassment to continue!" He said as the wind around him tossed desks out of his way.
Shinji was now floating several inches above the ground and the energy arcs and wind continued to grow.
Asuka continued to walk towards him, "Please Shinji, calm down."
She reached out and touched his hand in an attempt to calm her highly agitated boyfriend. "Don't!" he shouted as he jerked his hand away. "I will not stand down, not this time. Who here wants to end up like Techi, hmm? Any takers?" he asked of the crowd.
No one moved, Asuka once again tried to reach out and touch Shinji.
"Please Shinji-kun, please just calm down, your scaring me." Shinji looked down into Asuka's eyes and saw fear, plain and simple. "Scared? SCARED? You don't know what scared is yet!" He said as he drew back his fist.
Asuka could only stand there and watch as the fist flew towards her. She closed her eyes just before the impact, but was surprised when none came.
When she opened her eyes she saw that Joe was now standing in front of her. Shinji's fist was pressed hard against Joe's chest, but he didn't even move.
"Shinji, what's gotten into you?" He asked.
"I'm so sick of all this bullcrap… I've had enough and I'm drawing the line." Shinji said the energy still flowing from him.
"And you draw the line at hitting the one you love?" Joe asked simply.
Shinji's face was a blank slate for a moment before something in the back of his mind clicked.
"Wha…." Shinji said as the wind and energy slowed down and dissipated.
As he came back down to the floor his legs gave out, somewhat exhausted. Joe reached out and took him under the shoulder to support his weight.
"Alright, I think it's time we got you two out of here." Joe said as he motioned Asuka towards the door.
As they neared the door someone from the back of the room shouted "Fuckin freak."
Shinji suddenly whirled around and thrust his palm forward, sending a massive current of air out, throwing the offender hard against the wall, pinning him there. Shinji's eye glowed brightly before fading. As he dropped his hand to his side the student fell to the ground.
Asuka and Joe managed to get him out of the school without anymore issues.
A short time later Shinji was sitting in his room, Asuka sitting next to him, holding his hand.
"It will be okay Shinji, trust me." Asuka said comfortingly.
Shinji smiled weakly "I wish I could, but... I don't even know how to control what I have. How can you trust me? I mean, I lost it back there, I almost hit you, and that person could be severally hurt." He said. "If it hadn't been for Joe, I could have hurt you."
Asuka just squeezed his hand gently. "Shinji, do you trust me?"
Shinji stared into her eyes, and nodded "You know I do."
Asuka smiled "Then trust me when I tell you that we will figure this out."
Shinji sighed and nodded "I will, I promise."
The door opened and Misato walked in looking at the two. "Well at least the kid isn't going to press charges." She said trying to sound upbeat.
Shinji raised his head to look at her, "But?" he asked, knowing it was there.
"But, I am going to have you restricted from the school. I think you need time to relax. The last few angels have been rather tough on both of you, so I'm ordering that you two take the week off. Lounge around if you want, or go out and do something. Just try to relax." Misato said, trying to comfort her semi-adopted children.
Asuka smiled as she looked at Shinji, "See, I told you it would be okay, we'll just take some time for ourselves and everything will be ok."
Shinji smiled and nodded. So everything was set for their temporary vacation, Misato was heading out of town for something work related, and the children were going to have a nice quite time to themselves.
Something Asuka had been looking forward to since they admitted their lover for each other.
As night rolled around, Shinji and Asuka were sitting in the living room watching TV, both of them getting tired.
They had plans set for the next day and decided that they should start getting ready for bed.
Shinji turned off the lights and lay down on his bed. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door.
"Come on in Asuka." He said smiling.
Asuka opened the door and stood there with nothing more than her night shirt and pair of shorts on.
Shinji smiled "Want to sleep in here?" he asked.
She nodded and walked over to his bed where she crawled into it, got next to him, and cuddled up against his chest.
Shinji smiled as she got comfortable. Though neither of them really knew why, they had never had a bad night of sleep while the other was close.
Of course he had to fight off the thoughts that were going through his head as he felt her breast press into his side as she got closer.
'Think pure thoughts. Think pure thoug.. Think... I... wonder what those babies look li... damn it Ikari!' he thought as he closed his eyes and prayed for sleep to take him quickly.
Asuka, too, closed her eyes and let the sleep wash over her as she held onto the one thing that was more important than anything she had ever had before.
Shinji found himself among the dark again.
"Hello?" he asked into the darkness, waiting for his mirror self to appear.
Several minute later a thunderous boom echoed in his head and a voice was heard all around him.
"Ikari! You seem to have a problem. Is that correct?" It said.
Shinji turned around in circles looking for the source of the voice.
"You won't find me, Mr. Ikari." the voice boomed.
He finally stopped turning and picked a direction to face, "Yes, I am having a problem with the powers I have. I cannot seem to control myself when the rage takes over."
The voice made a knowing mumble, and then Shinji spoke again. "Are you the 'Master' that Asuka's mirror self talked about? Are you controlling all of this?"
The voice chuckled before he spoke "You could call me that, though I see myself as a master to none."
Shinji clenched his right fist, "So you're to blame for all that's gone wrong?"
The voice once again boomed loudly "Stop this! You are doing nothing to help the situation. I have come here for a cram session on how to control your powers, that is... if you want to control these powers." it said, as if questioning Shinji about it.
Shinji hung his head, and thought for a minute. "Alright, teach me what I need to know to control these powers."
A massive smile formed in the darkness, "Good, let us begin." and for the rest of the night Shinji was mentally trained on how to control his powers and focus his anger and rage.
All while the love of his life slept beside him.